Watermark Issue 23.19: Prouder Than Ever

e: E i d M I DE ns CO U lI L G i a I A DE e c F I C RI Sp OF H P E IT TH T W U O

watermark Your LGBT Life.

issUe 23.19 • septeMBer 22 - octoBer 5, 2016 • WaterMarkonLine.coM

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Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

watermark Your LGBT life.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

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watermark Your LGBT life.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

DePArtments 6 // mAil 7 // eDitor’s DesK 8 // orlAnDo news 10 // tAmPA bAY news 13 // stAte news 15 // nAtion & worlD news 41 // Arts & entertAinment 49 // CommunitY CAlenDAr 51 // tAmPA bAY out+About 53 // orlAnDo out+About 55 // AnnounCements/ weDDing bells 56 // tAmPA bAY mArKetPlACe 58 // orlAnDo mArKetPlACe

PAGE

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You certainly cannot come to this community without an overwhelming sense of what happened there, and how it is that we turned that tragedy into a force for good, and recognizing that each of us plays a role in making sure that that happens.

—forMer texas senator wendy davis

on the Cover

PAGE

27

PAGE PROUDER THAN

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EVER: In the face of the immense tragedy at Pulse, Come Out With Pride faces it’s biggest challenge yet: making Pride out of tears illustration by Jake Stevens

sCAn Qr CoDe for

wAtermArKonline.Com

get the bAlAnCe right:

Come Out With Pride scrambles through last-minute developments and still finds a way to smile and celebrate.

wAtermArK i ssue 23 .19 //sePt ember 22 - oCt ober 5, 2016

ChAnge is gooD

DArK AftermAth

AbsolutelY fAbulous Don’t get siCK

PAGE The 2016 Out & Equal Workplace Summit brings thousands to Orlando for some corporate training on how to get equality right.

PAGE While many try to heal their wounds from the June 12 tragedy, Chris Brodman passes in North Tampa.

PAGE

read It Online!

In addition to a Web site with daily LGBT updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com

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10

Sarasota Gears Up for Fabulous Independent Film Festival at the Harvey Milk Festival.

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PAGE

Our political column Uprisings can’t stop coughing at the pieces as Hillary takes a fall and Trump has a ball.

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GIVe uS a fOllOW ON tWItter aNd INStaGraM at @WaterMarKONlINe aNd be Sure tO lIKe uS ON facebOOK. watermark Your LGBT life.

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MAGRUDER LASER VISION wants you to know, just because LASIK and VISION CORRECTION is an elective surgery doesn't mean you shouldn’t be able to afford it.

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toP web Comments “the comments left on the national story I read were so vile that it made me think if they created a gay country I would move there.

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wAtermArKonline.Com:

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“Having just seen the rendering, I’m disturbed by the apparent decision to not include the very names of those the press release claims this wrap is intended to memorialize.

Yes, there’s symbolism. But the names of the lost are more immediate, more of a connection to those lost, than any symbol, no matter how beautiful, thoughtful, or deeply felt, can ever be.

What was most beautiful were those 49 people we’ve lost forever. Their names deserved a place over all else.”

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“The comments left on the national story I read were so vile that it made me think if they created a gay country I would move there. Hardly even a voice of sympathy. My heart goes out to everyone affected. On a better note, a trip through the Dallas airport this weekend saw a TSA agent say she loved my Pulse tattoo and sadly a friend of hers lost her best friend at Pulse. Dallas airport, not Orlando.”

watermark Your LGBT life.

—ELIZABETH NICOLE

“So sad to survive the Pulse shooting and pass away 3 months later.”

—PAUL VINCENNIE

ON tIM KaINe SayING the cathOlIc church MIGht chaNGe ON MarrIaGe eQualIty:

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—BILL JANSSEN

ON Nc republIcaNS SayING they WIll repeal hb2 If charlOtte cIty cOuNcIl repealS lGbt OrdINaNce:

“In what world does the argument, “We will consider possibly not persecuting people if you stop protecting them first” win any contest of sense?”

—KEVIN M. SULLIVAN

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ON lady GaGa aNNOuNcING a releaSe date fOr her NeW albuM “JOaNNe”

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“Congrats to ALL of the ARTISTS that donated their works.”

—KEVIN M SULLIVAN

“My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and his boyfriend.

Truly a sad loss. Peace be with him.”

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

—CHRISTOPHER MILLIRON

editor’s

billy Manes edItOr

BIlly@WatermarkOnline.com

H

Desk

ow in the hell are we going

to do this? That is the main remnant echo that stays between my ears having spoken to Orlando’s Come Out With Pride board over the last week. The frustration reads clearly on most faces.

Everybody talks about grief in different ways, and many people have yet to even fully process the June 12 massacre at Pulse. If it sounds like we’re harping on it, it’s because the world is watching, waiting to see how Orlando – a slight burg in the shower of a castle – recovers. We are still in it.

Now it’s reaching a different level, as grief does.

I’ve heard of legs buckling from some of our community’s stalwarts at that moment when they could finally exhale, I’ve heard of triumphs and tragedies, watched survivors walk (online, granted) for the first time since that fateful

day. I’ve heard of celebrity and political engagement nearly often as I’ve heard of the anti-politic, the corporate celebration versus the grassroots. There is talk of lawsuits, however secondhand that talk might be. There’s also quite a bit of “Keep Calm” going on, because a rollercoaster is indeed a rollercoaster.

These are all ingredients that go into the soup that is Come Out With Pride 2016: careful, but not too careful; solemn, but not too solemn.

It is, perhaps, the most difficult balancing beam this community has ever walked. How to throw a party when the streets are covered in

tears? Well, that party is happening and happening soon: Oct. 8, to be more precise, and much of the week preceding it.

How, then, do we do this?

Fortunately, most of us don’t have to make it happen. We just need to show up, laugh, cry and remember that this is a long path we’ve walked and we won’t see the word “Finish” until we are approaching the cliff of our own mortality. And though that sounds bleak, that’s exactly what the board at Come Out With Pride is dealing with exponentially in these seemingly never-ending days.

For me, though, Pride has always been about the struggle, both internal and fiscal. We didn’t climb here on the backs of fools; we got here because of the sheer tenacity of those preceding us: James Baldwin, Harvey Milk, Andy Warhol, Allen Ginsburg, to name a few. None of those were ever comfortable shoulders, but they were necessary.

This is why we fight. It’s also why, for every Pride in the last decade, I’ve been shocked into happy tears.

When families are there supporting our rights, we know we’re getting there. When our own families are there supporting our rights, we know we’re getting there. We’re just not there yet.

Appearances can be misleading, something we’ve all learned from the last year of celebration leading to trauma. We thought we’d made it – though we knew we hadn’t made it in the workplace, in our leases, in some cake shops – but it turns out the fight is more necessary now than ever. We were thrown by the events of June 12, but we were not destroyed. In fact, it’s my hope that we’ve been recharged, rebooted out of a calm complacency and pushed back into the purpose, the real purposefulness, of equality. We will march. We will rise.

In this issue, you’ll find some of the background on Come Out With Pride and the struggle to keep

it going this year. It couldn’t have been easy just four months out from an event; everyone involved knows, however, that June 12 was unimaginably difficult for those directly affected: the families, the survivors.

There have been some criticisms of the messaging Come Out With Pride has been sending post-Pulse – specifically the apolitical ones in a political season – but there are

It is, perhaps, the most difficult balancing beam this community has ever walked.

How to throw a party when the streets are covered in tears?

plenty of things to celebrate in our community, and our Pride. This year, the route has expanded to accommodate an expected 200,000 people; there’s a celebrity food event; the grand marshals will be your local politicians and your Pulse survivors on an equal level.

That balancing beam is going to be tough to walk for all involved, but this parade should be a celebration of healing.

And after that, this parade should catalyze action on all of our parts. Actions like the Out & Equal Summit coming to Orlando the very same week, actions like celebrating our strongest advocates in the Tampa Bay area. You’ll find a little bit of all of that – and some politics – in this issue.

How in the hell are we going to do this? We just are.

wAtermArK stAff Founder and Guiding Light: tom Dyer • tom@Watermarkonline.com

Sales Director: Danny Garcia ext. 107 • Danny@Watermarkonline.com

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tAmPA bAY offiCe TEL: 813-655-9890 FAX: 813-849-2986

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

Contributors Maia Monet is a photographer at Southern Nights in Orlando and a singer with the band Mad Transit. Page 21

poor riCh white lady

is a personal imaginary friend of Orlando comedian Jeff Jones. She drinks a bit. Page 23

krista dituCCi

is a freelance writer and family advocate for Manatee Children’s Services. She lives in Sarasota with her husband and children. Page 41

AAron AlPer, sCottie CAmPbell, susAn ClArY, KristA DituCCi, KirK hArtlAge, JosePh Kissel, JAson leClerC, mArY meeKs, stePhen miller, DAviD morAn, gregg shiPiro, greg stemm, Dr. steve YACovelli, , miChAel wAnZie

PhotogrAPhY briAn beCnel, niCK CArDello, Angie folKs, bruCe hArDin, Julie milforD, trAvis moore, Chris stePhenson, lee vAnDergrift, tinKerfluff

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7

central florida news

2016 out & eQuAl worKPlACe summit Comes to orlAnDo for 20-YeAr AnniversArY Billy Manes

O

ne of the most prestigious conferences for LGBT business people will head to Orlando, Oct. 5-7. The Out & Equal Workplace Summit, hosted at the Disney Swan and Dolphin hotels, has a clear message: “Marriage isn’t the end; we need to be certain that we don’t lose our jobs after our weekend wedding just because we are LGBT.” With more than 3,000 people expected to attend – from corporations like Dell, IBM, Comcast Universal, Hewlett Packard, Lockheed Martin, Wells Fargo and Disney – the conference promises to inspire and inform those who are looking to press forward with equal rights in the workplace.

Bank of America, which has been there since the beginning two decades ago, genuine work: has been a driving force in tricia russell: “I can’t pretend pushing what would seem to be someone I’m not.” to be a common-sense iMaGe coUrteSy tricia rUSSell agenda. Transgender woman Tricia Russell, 59, knows and appreciates the struggle for rights. She’s lived them: first as Patrick, now as Tricia.

“Like all transgender people, I was born transgender and I will die transgender,” Russell, a vice president in the bank’s global risk department, says. “It was a very difficult process, a gut-wrenching process.”

Tricia grew up Catholic and found less acceptance from her parents than she does from her employers.

“As my mom put it, my wanting to be a girl was an insult to God,” she says. “My father was physically and emotionally abusive.”

Initially her transition went smoothly. A member of the bank’s human resources department spoke with her about the matter.

“He said, ‘Tricia, I want you to know this: You’re going to have struggles,’” she recalls. “’We are not only OK with you transitioning at Bank of America, we encourage it. Also, by the way, there are other transitioning people on staff.’ His message was, ‘I can’t pretend to be someone I am not.’”

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates is a nonprofit that joins Fortune 1,000 companies in an effort to chisel away at discrimination. The conference is both an educational and a networking opportunity for fair-minded businesspeople promoting workplace equality.

“I honestly will tell you, I’ve worked my tail off all of my life, and it was important for me to achieve all that I could achieve,” Russell says.

8

keep it together:

Women’s rights hero Wendy Davis on intersectionality. iMaGe FroM WiKicoMMonS MeDia

the power of two Former Texas Senator Wendy Davis on the importance of joining forces between the LGBT and women’s rights communities Billy Manes

w

hen former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis stood strong against a state and a Republican Party that maligned her until the witching hour, she actually stood strong, on her feet, for 11 hours on June 25, 2013. She filibustered. At issue were the rights of women, the closing of Planned Parenthood clinics in her state, human rights at large. It would lead to a national media storm and failed campaign for governor.

“I definitely feel like I came out stronger from that, but much more important than that, I feel like people who support reproductive freedoms came out stronger,” Davis told Watermark just before a Sept. 9 Hillary Clinton campaign appearance at the University of Central Florida with congressional hopeful Stephanie Murphy.

watermark Your LGBT life.

WATERMARK: INterSectIONalIty Of WOMeN’S rIGhtS aNd lGbt rIGhtS. caN yOu SpeaK tO that aNd Where It fallS IN yOur heart?

WenDY DaVis: In its broadest terms, at the base of those rights is the idea that centers around equality and the belief that we will not be the country we need to be until we fully embrace the quality of every individual regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race or immigrant status. Of course, Secretary Clinton has been talking a great deal about that and it’s important to know that you can’t really have the strength in any one of those areas unless, or until, you have the strength in all of them – because they do cross lines.

These aren’t neat and compact categories of people. Some people fit into all of the categories I just spoke about, so they do impact each other. I certainly know that the LGBT community has shown itself to be strongly behind fighting for women’s rights and immigrants’ rights and vice

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

versa. It all comes around and overlaps in a very important way.

dO yOu thINK We’re chaNGING the defINItION Of lIberalS, aNd huMaNIZING It? Maybe buIldING brIdGeS?

Yeah, that’s a really good way to say it. I hadn’t thought about it in exactly those terms, but I think one of the things of my generation – I’m in my early 50s – what we tended to do is be on autopilot, where we were concentrated and focused solely and uniquely on an issue that felt like it was most impactful to us. And what I see in this new, young, vibrant generation of millennials is a much deeper understanding about the overlap and that we can’t fight for the one and leave the other behind.

IN the WaKe Of pulSe, What are yOur feelINGS abOut that INcIdeNt?

You certainly cannot come to this community without an overwhelming sense of what happened there, and how it is that we turned that tragedy into a force for good, and recognizing that each of us plays a role in making sure that that happens. Of course, for Secretary Clinton, she has used that experience as an opportunity to not only to continue her conversation about the importance of full equality for the LGBTQ community, but also to talk about the nation’s responsibility in making sure we provide a safe climate here in this country.

o r l a n d o e m e rge n c y s i g n a l

r e s id e n t i a l a n d c o m m e rc ia l

s e c u r it y s ys t e m s

B u rgl a r A l a r m s • M ed i c a l A Le r t s • A l a r m M o n ito r i n g 2 4 h o u r m o n ito r i n g w i t h n o l o n g t e r m c o n t r a c t a n d n o p h o n e l in e r e qu i r e d

Helping Secure Central Florida’s LGBT Community with

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Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

9

tampa bay news

metro gAlA honors longstreth AnD others Adam T. McLaughlin

s

t. petersburg | The replica high school gymnasium dance floor and metal bleachers were filled with what looked like cast members plucked from the set of Grease, as the 4th Annual Metro Wellness Gala kicked off Sept. 10. The Gala was a benefit to raise funding for programs at Metro and to recognize community partners.

Metro was established in 1993 with programs designed to meet the needs of and provide support to the LGBT community. Various programs are offered through Metro for seniors, youth, transgender and the LGBT community as a whole.

Event attendees were dressed for the ‘50s homecoming dance theme; leather jackets, poodle skirts, rolled-up jeans and plain white T-shirts were prevalent throughout the party. The Morean Center for Clay provided the venue for the benefit. The event featured live entertainment, a silent auction, and an awards ceremony to recognize those who have made significant contributions to Metro and the LGBT community. Entertainment included dancers and performances by the Una Voce Men’s Chorale. The group peppered in acapella numbers throughout the night.

The gala culminated with the presentation of leadership awards to honor those who are passionately involved with Metro and the local LGBT community.

Brian Longstreth was this year’s Robert Pope Distinguished Leadership award recipient.

His extensive history of service and significant involvement in the community made him a fitting choice for this honor. The list of Longstreth’s contributions date back many years and has continued to build over time. Longstreth is a co-founder of St. Petersburg Pride, owner of Your Neighborhood Realty, owner of the Gay St Pete House and part-owner of Punky’s Bar and Grill. He was also essential in helping to facilitate the purchase this year of the building where the Metro St. Petersburg offices and primary care are located.

“I’m humbled by this,” Longstreth stated after receiving the honor. “I’ve lived here for about 30 years.

St. Pete has become much more community-oriented.

It’s nice to see the growth of Pride and the gay community, in general. And I think there is room for even more growth.”

Other award recipients were King of Peace Metropolitan Community Church (Spirit of Service Excellence Award) and Dr. Brian Elliott (Dr. John Barnett Service Award). The event is expected to take in approximately $56,000-$60,000. Proceeds from the event will go to support the various programs within the Metro organization.

10

pulse Mark:

chris brodman got a Pulse tattoo days after surviving the massacre.

tragic trip Pulse shooting survivor found dead at Tampa residence Jeremy Williams

T

aMpa | Pulse shooting survivor Chris Brodman died in the early morning hours while attending a friend’s birthday party in North Tampa Sept. 11.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Brodman’s identity Sept. 13 after notifying his next of kin.

Deputies found Brodman laying in the backyard of the Tampa residence unconscious, according to a HCSO press release. Several people and paramedics with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue attempted CPR to no avail. Brodman was pronounced deceased on scene.

“The medical examiner’s preliminary examination showed no physical signs of homicidal violence,” HCSO Public Information Office Larry McKinnon says. “Now it’s a matter of forensics and toxicology to come back from the Medical Examiner’s Office to come up with the official cause of death.”

Brodman’s boyfriend, Cord Cedeno, took to Facebook with pictures of the two of them together, expressing his grief.

“I still can’t believe my baby is gone.

I can’t sleep, I can’t breathe, I don’t know how I’m going to go on without him,” Cedeno wrote.

Cedono started a GoFundMe page

watermark Your LGBT life.

to raise funds for Brodman’s funeral expenses, writing, “No one deserved to die like he did and making sure his memory lives on is my main goal.”

While the HCSO said there was no evidence of homicidal violence, Cedono seemed to be indicating differently.

“I won’t let whoever did this take away what an amazing person he was and the memories we made together,” Cedono continued in his post on the GoFundMe page. “He deserves justice.

Our families are working together to make sure he is laid to rest in peace and remembered for the kind and good man he was.”

The GoFundMe page raised more than $1,500 in the week after Brodman’s death.

Brodman appeared in a Univision documentary with best friend Ramses Tinoco after the shooting at Pulse.

Tinoco, like Brodman, was there the night of the shooting.

“Chris was like a little brother to me. He was always passionate about life, always traveling, always happy,” Tinoco says. “After everything at Pulse, he was a tremendous support for me and comforted me.”

Tinoco says after the Pulse shooting Brodman’s demeanor had changed, something Brodman addressed in the Univision documentary.

“Physically, I have gone through being really hyped up and nervous and on edge to being completely drained,

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physically and emotionally. I didn’t really feel any emotion, I just felt dead inside. I hated that feeling. I’d rather feel scared, because then I’m alive, you know? Feel something, [rather] than feel nothing at all,” Brodman said.

Tinoco says that both he and Brodman were still seeking counseling because of the Pulse shooting.

“Chris was having a rough time this year. He ended a seven-year relationship with his partner, then everything at Pulse, but he was starting to do much better. Cord and him started dating after Pulse and seemed to really like each other,” Tinoco says. “It was nice that he had found someone.”

Brodman went to get a tattoo days after he escaped Pulse.

“I know aspects of me are changed because of what happened. It’s a night I’m not going to forget, so I figured in memorial of the victims, I want to get this done,” Brodman said to Univision.

Tinoco did not attend the party in Tampa the night Brodman died.

Cedono contacted him the next morning to tell him his friend had passed away.

Pulse survivor Orlando Torres also received a call from Cedono about Brodman’s death. Torres appeared in the Univision documentary as well and was close friends with Brodman.

“It was supposed to be a fun night.

They were supposed to go out there and just, you know, have a fun night out there in Tampa,” said Torres to Orlando’s WKMG News 6. “His boyfriend posted on Facebook, as well as my friend posted on Facebook, that Chris Brodman had passed away.”

The HCSO will not be releasing more information pending further investigation.

watermark Your LGBT life.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

11

Annual Costume Gala • October 29, 2016 Rosen Plaza, Orlando • 6:00pm - 12:00am

Classic songs of legendary 80s rock artists underscore a tale of big dreams in Hollywood on the Sunset Strip!

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watermark Your LGBT life.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

state news

trAns teen fights JACKsonville Courts to KeeP out of Abusive home Jeremy Williams

J

aCksonville, fla. | Ryan Stalvey, a transgender high school student from Jacksonville, Fla., is doing all the things a typical teen does as they start a new school year. He is getting new clothes and catching up with friend he hasn’t seen since last year, but Stalvey is also worrying about whether the state is going to force him to live in an abusive household.

Stalvey, who is 16, currently lives with a foster family. In May 2014 he came out to his parents as transgender.

“I didn’t know what trans was,” Stalvey says. “I knew that I was queer in some way and my biological mother knew it, too.

That’s when she stopped showing me any kind of affection.”

When Stalvey discovered what transgender meant and realized that’s what he was, he told his biological mother. That is when, according to Stalvey, the abuse started.

“I was at school and I was dressed in male clothing,” Stalvey says. “When she saw me, she dragged me outside and started swinging on me in the parking lot.”

Stalvey says the abuse continued from May 2014 all the way to Jan. 2016. That’s when Stalvey got the help of another transgender student at his high school.

“We met in my school’s [Gay-Straight Alliance] my freshman year; he was a junior,” Stalvey says. “I didn’t think I would meet another trans person when I went. I just stood up and said, ‘Hey, my name is Ryan; I don’t really want to be here. I’m probably the only transperson at this school.’ He stood up and said ‘I’m trans too,’ and I hugged him, and we were kind of best friends from there on out.”

Stalvey became close with the entire Dennis family. They eventually became his surrogate family and he told them of the abuse. In Jan. 2016, they helped Stalvey to record it.

“My foster family helped me catch my biological mother

irreConCilable differenCes: ryan Stalvey is

in the process of trying to be adopted by a foster family in Jacksonville, Fla.

choking me, hitting me, basically abusing me,” Stalvey says.

Stalvey’s biological mother was arrested for domestic abuse and Stalvey went to live with the Dennis family. The charges were dropped in May after Stalvey’s mother completed 28 hours of community service and attended two training sessions at a local LGBT center. Stalvey says that his brother leaked the video of the abuse on Tumblr.

“Immediately it went viral. I got a lot of support from my peers at school, and my teachers, because a lot of people didn’t really know what was going on, but I guess it kind of shed a light on what happens behind closed doors for kids,” Stalvey says.

Stalvey says even though his biological parents have indicated they do not want him back, they are refusing to give up custody to the Dennis family.

“They are making my life very difficult,” Stalvey says. “Now that I’m 16, I wanted to get a job and get my driver’s license, but I am being blocked by them because they are still my legal guardians.”

The Dennis family is in the middle of a custody transfer right now, but the process is going slower than normal because of Stalvey’s biological mother.

“We have a joint custody paper that’s been signed by my foster family, and we’re just waiting for

my biological mom to sign it; she’s holding off on signing it, but it’s a process,” Stalvey says. “If I follow a few rules –I have to stay in school, I can’t get into any legal trouble, stuff like that – as long as I keep my grades up and I keep doing what I’m doing by Feb. 15, I should be out of all this.”

The attention Stalvey has gained as a result of the video has been a double-edged sword for him.

“When the video and everything went viral last year, my teachers found it and they started treating me differently out of pity, which I don’t like,” Stalvey says.

“Same thing happened with some students. They all start treating me differently out of pity and I was like, ‘Look, this doesn’t change who I am; this has always been happening.’ I’m alright now. I’m out of the situation, kind of.”

The spotlight has also allowed Stalvey to be an advocate for LGBT youth rights, especially for teens who are experiencing situations similar to his. In a Tumblr post, a 14-year-old female-to-male trans teen wrote that he was also being abused by his parents.

“I want to help in any way I can,” Stalvey wrote back to him.

“Sharing my situation wasn’t just to raise awareness for my abuse, but the abuse of others as well. Please stay strong and please message me. Hang in there and know I’m rooting for you in the meantime.”

On social media, Stalvey’s supporters are using the hashtag #RiseforRyan to raise awareness to his case, and even organized a rally for him late last school year.

“We had a lot of support, although we also had a few people show up and threaten us,” Stalvey says. “Surprisingly it was all old guys. Luckily, we had the Jacksonville Sheriff officers who were there to protect us and even some local bikers came to watch out for us and support us.”

Stalvey says this situation has taught him a lot, but most importantly it has taught him what family really is.

“Family isn’t always blood.

Your family is people who have your back and you also have their back. Someone you can trust, not someone you’ve grown up with.

They’re just people who care for you, people who genuinely care for you,” he says.

watermark Your LGBT life.

floriDA mAn ArresteD for fire set to Pulse shooter’s mosQue Wire Report

f

ort pierCe, fla. | About two months before Joseph Michael Schreiber allegedly tried to burn down a mosque sometimes attended by Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, he posted on Facebook that “All Islam is radical” and that all Muslims should be treated as terrorists and criminals.

Schreiber, 32, was arrested without incident Sept.

15 and was being interrogated by investigators looking into the fire set late Sunday at the Islamic Center of Fort Pierce, said Maj. David Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.

A July post placed on Facebook by Schreiber, who is Jewish, stated that, “IF AMERICA truly wants peace and safety and pursuit of happiness they should consider all forms of ISLAM as radical. … ALL ISLAM IS RADICAL, and should be considered TERRORIST AND CRIMANALS (sic) and all hoo (sic) participate in such activity should be found guilty of WAR CRIM (sic) until law and order is restored in this beautiful free country.”

Thompson told a news conference that Schreiber, who has a criminal record, was taken into custody on a street in Fort Pierce by authorities acting on tips from members of the community and aided by surveillance video taken from the mosque and elsewhere. He said the arson charge, coupled with a hate crime enhancement under Florida law, carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Thompson said detectives were still questioning Schreiber on Wednesday evening, and he didn’t say if Schreiber had a lawyer.

The fire was set late Sunday on the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The blaze also coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. No one was injured in the fire, which burned a 10-by-10-foot hole in the roof at the back of the mosque’s main building and blackened its eaves with soot.

Thompson said a search warrant was executed at Schreiber’s home, where investigators reported finding evidence linked to the arson, as well as anti-Islamic social media posts.

Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida, said Schreiber “obviously doesn’t know about the efforts our community is engaged in with our cousins, the Jews, not only in Florida but throughout the nation.”

Omar Saleh, an attorney for CAIR, described both Schreiber and Mateen as “degenerates” and “punks.”

“Just like on June 12, when I was stressing that Mateen’s actions do not speak on behalf of Islam, I know that whatever religion Mr. Schreiber is, his actions do not speak on behalf of his religion,” Saleh said.

Mateen was killed by police after opening fire at the Pulse nightclub on June 12 in a rampage that left 49 victims dead and 53 wounded, making it the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Mateen professed allegiance to the Islamic State group. His father is among roughly 100 people who attend the mosque.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

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Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

nation+world news

ACC, NCAA latest blows for North Carolina governor’s re-election Wire Report

R

ALEIGH, N.C. | Gov. Pat McCrory frames the debate over North Carolina’s law about transgender people and restrooms as one of common sense and safety and privacy. Yet try as he might, he can’t shake the narrative from the law’s opponents of bigotry and intolerance.

The NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference delivered the latest blows this week, stripping the state of lucrative championships and leaving the Republican with another bruise as he fights for his political life. Entering the final weeks of the nation’s most closely watched governor’s race, McCrory is trying to reset the focus for voters.

“When we were raising the average teacher pay, creating new jobs and cutting taxes, other folks were actually pushing to make our schools allow boys to use the girls’ locker rooms and showers,” McCrory says in a recent television ad. “Are we really talking about this?”

If McCrory wins re-election, it will be in face of some of America’s biggest household names: Apple, Google and Facebook have all come out against the law, while PayPal canceled a planned expansion in McCrory’s hometown of Charlotte because of it. The NBA moved its

2017 All-Star game out of Charlotte, and entertainers such as Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Ringo Starr have canceled shows in North Carolina.

It’s unclear whether the law is actually costing McCrory supporters, but the economic hits keep playing into the hands of Democratic challenger Attorney General Roy Cooper, who wants the law repealed.

Polls have shown McCrory even with or trailing Cooper.

“This governor’s election is going to say a lot about our state and who we are,” Cooper said this week on a Raleigh sports radio show. “I think it’s time to show the country and the rest of the world who we really are. This is hurting us and it’s got to stop.”

The law, known as House Bill 2, was approved by the GOP-led legislature in March in response to Charlotte’s approval of an anti-discrimination ordinance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people at hotels, restaurants and retailers. McCrory and lawmakers had sought to counter the actions in Charlotte, where he was mayor for 14 years.

The law canceled the ordinance, prevented other local governments from passing similar laws and directed transgender people to use restroom and locker rooms in schools and government buildings

corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate.

The NCAA and ACC punishments could make it harder for moderate voters McCrory relied on in 2012 to keep supporting him, said Michael Bitzer, a political science professor at Catawba College.

The ACC action, coming two days after the NCAA withdrawal, could be more acute. Four North Carolina schools play in the league, headquartered in Greensboro since it was founded in 1953.

“It’s one thing for Bruce Springsteen to pull concerts and for PayPal to pull jobs,” Bitzer said, but “when you’re talking about the heart of a sports conference in a state with such loyalty that’s a real punch in the gut about this policy decision, and who’s to be held responsible for it.”

Carter Wrenn, a longtime Republican consultant in North Carolina, said polls he’s seen don’t make House Bill 2 a “cutting issue” – one that makes people change their votes. The public still puts national security, education and the economy ahead of it, Wrenn said.

“I don’t think it is going to influence a lot of votes,” Wrenn said.

McCrory and his allies blame the Human Rights Campaign, the “sports and entertainment elite” and Democrats for conspiring to make an example out of North Carolina on LGBT rights. This continued Tuesday when McCrory called the NCAA a “multi-billion dollar, tax-exempt monopoly,” while criticizing its decision to pull out events.

Australian Parliament gets bill to set up same-sex marriage vote Wire Report CANBERRA, Australia | Australia’s prime minister introduced legislation to Parliament Sept. 14 that would allow a public but non-binding vote on same-sex marriage early next year.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a marriage equality advocate who is the only serving prime minister to attend the Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, introduced the bill on the first anniversary of his ascension to the top government job.

He replaced Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a gay marriage opponent who proposed that the public decide the issue with a popular vote and avoid a bitter debate in Parliament.

But the Feb. 11 plebiscite – a compulsory vote for all adult Australians – would have no legal weight. Parliament would ultimately decide whether the law would be changed.

Although such a vote appears to be a move toward changing the law, most gay rights activists are against a plebiscite, saying it should be decided in Parliament without the potential divisive public debate.

They fear that government plans to spend 15 million Australian dollars ($11 million) on publicizing the cases for and against marriage equality would give legitimacy to bigoted and homophobic views.

Turnbull said the real reason marriage equality advocates opposed the plebiscite was because

they thought enough lawmakers already supported the reform for it to become law.

“They don’t want to run the risk of the Australian people giving them the wrong answer,” Turnbull told Parliament.

“For our part, we put our faith in the Australian people and we know that their answer, whether it is ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ will be the right answer,” he said.

The government does not have a majority in the Senate, and two minor parties that support same-sex marriage have said they won’t vote for a plebiscite.

The government’s only chance of a plebiscite is now the opposition Labor Party.

watermark Your LGBT life.

in other news Chelsea Manning ends hunger strike after Army approves treatment A transgender soldier imprisoned in Kansas for leaking classified information to the WikiLeaks website will end a hunger strike after the Army agreed to allow her to receive medical treatment for her gender dysphoria, the American Civil Liberties Union announced Sept. 13. Chelsea Manning’s medical treatment will begin with surgery that was recommended by her psychologist in April, the ACLU said. Manning began the hunger strike at Fort Leavenworth military prison Sept. 9, vowing to continue until she received better treatment.

Megan Rapinoe kneels during anthem before U.S. match against Thailand Megan Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem again, this time before a U.S. women’s national team match against Thailand Sept. 15. Rapinoe first knelt during the anthem Sept. 4 before a game with her National Women’s Soccer League team, the Seattle Reign. She said she wanted to express solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who is not standing during the anthem to bring attention to racial inequality. After the game, U.S. Soccer issued a statement saying that representing the country is a “privilege and honor” for any player or coach associated with the national teams. It was unclear whether Rapinoe will face any sanctions from the federation.

South Africa bars American pastor over hate speech An American pastor who has made anti-gay comments has been barred from entering South Africa, the government said Sept. 13. Steven Anderson and members of the Faithful Word Baptist Church of Tempe, Arizona will not be allowed to travel to South Africa because they allegedly promote hate speech and “social violence,” said Malusi Gigaba, the home affairs minister. South Africa is still struggling to curb discrimination despite laws that are among the most “progressive” in the world, and the country does not “need more hatred advocated to our people,” Gigaba said. South African laws forbid discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and allow same-sex marriage.

King of Norway gives speech on tolerance, trends on social media Norway’s royal palace says a recent speech by King Harald in support of gay rights and diversity has attracted widespread international attention. Spokeswoman Marianne Hagen said Sept. 6 that the palace has received many requests from people asking for an official English translation of the king’s speech on Sept. 1. Speaking in the Palace Park in Oslo, 79-year-old Harald said: “Norwegians are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other.” The speech has been shared tens of thousands of times on social media.

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viewpoint

maia monet

TR ANS OF

thoUGht The Dating Game

i

’ve never been very

good at dating. In fact, you might say I am downright awful at it.

I just never learned to do it when other people did. When I was a young teenager, I was inhibited by the fact that there was a lot of shame wrapped up in my interest in girls. Of course, not in the same way a typical lesbian would experience it, because there was none of the taboo of samesex attraction. However, I found it incredibly confusing to process the fact that, not only did I have the strong drive to be with a girl, I also had an equally strong desire to BE her.

Here was something not even hinted at in my grade school human sexuality class. There was a great gaping chasm of missing information if you were anything except cisgender and heterosexual. I don’t recall if I even knew about transgender people back then, but I do remember an intense curiosity to know what it was like to grow curves. It was also around this time I started to make a habit of “borrowing”

clothes from my sisters, trying them on in my locked room and pretending I was the female version of me.

Needless to say, I was wracked with guilt over my behavior, and in the absence of any sort of competing explanation other than that I was sick or perverted, it remained a secret. Dating a girl was thus a tricky proposition, because it would only have been a matter of time before she found out my secret.

So I didn’t date, or even kiss a girl, all throughout my teens, which stunted my social development. It wouldn’t be until I was 21 that I finally kissed a girl, had sex and went on a date.

It happened in that order too and with the same girl. I ended up marrying her.

Many years later, after my divorce, I found myself back out in the dating pool with scant knowledge about how to play the mating game. Dating for any middle-age divorcée is not easy, but in my case it was additionally complicated by the fact that I was now a transgender woman who hadn’t had “the” surgery and now identified as a lesbian. Besides the fact that I hadn’t had a female adolescence where I would have learned the basic ins-and-outs of womanhood, I was soon to find out that having male genitalia, or even formerly having them, would limit my dating.

I think it is safe to say transgender people of just about any age or variety have a tougher time finding an accepting partner. Coming out for us is a continual process, even once we have self-identified our orientation. I cannot simply enjoy dating other women, carefree in the knowledge that all my LGBT cards are on the table. I know that at some point I will have the nervous task of telling my new prospective partner that I am also transgender. I also know that if don’t tell

watermark Your LGBT life.

them, you can be sure that someone else will.

I’m often asked by cisgender friends at what point do I reveal that I am transgender. The answer is: sometimes never. Everyone handles this differently, but if there won’t be a second

sake of safety.

For all the perils, I am one of the lucky ones with a choice to come out and that has made my dating pool wider. The difficulty for a transgender person without that choice is significant. All the regular

lesbian tell me she couldn’t set me up with a friend because it could end her friendship. I also once had a lover’s phone light up on the nightstand with a message from her best friend saying, “Did you know Maia is transgender!” The thing is,

date, there is no point to telling her. At best, it would invite all sorts of highly personal questions that could quickly devolve into Transgender 101, complete with an explanation of the state of my genitals. At worst, it could get violent.

For straight transwomen dating cisgender men, the stakes are higher, as coming out too often leads to death.

Indeed, some of the earliest advice I got was to come out in a public space for the

avenues, from the brutal picture-based dating apps to a friend setup, would present challenges in finding acceptance based on gender identity as opposed to physical appearance.

Most people I know have trouble making that leap.

Perhaps not coincidentally, most trangender people I know are single.

Despite my good fortune, I am transgender and that is still seen as a dating “gotcha.” I once had a

I just want to be loved for who I am and not rejected for who I was. Isn’t that what we all want?

For straight transwomen dating cisgender men, the stakes are higher, as coming out too often leads to death.

Melody Maia Monet is a photographer at Southern Nights in Orlando and a singer with the band Mad Transit. She can be reached at monet@alumni. princeton.edu.

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Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

8/3/16 12:04 PM

viewpoint

poor rich White Lady

Get Out Of

mY KitChen Basket cases are people, too

f

irst of all, i want to

apologize for taking an extended break from writing with you.

I had to take some time off after the excitement and hangovers of attending the Republican National Convention in, oh, I can’t remember where it was, but I do believe it was a good time.

It was amazing to stand in front of a room of likeminded patriots and watch the coronation of Donald J. Trump! You know who wasn’t there? Hillary Clinton.

She wasn’t there. Why wasn’t she there? Because she hates American patriots. That has been made even more obvious by her recent statements calling half of Trump supporters a “basket a deplorables.” First of all, I have no idea what that means. Fortunately, I saw a commercial on

television where they played the remainder of the clip. She said Trump patriots were racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamophobia, xenophobic, claustrophobic, dyslexic and hydrophobic. All of these horrible generalizations

by Hillary Clinton are totally wrong.

First of all, I have spent several minutes around the typical Trump supporter.

While some of them have a usual odor to them, they do not hate anyone, well, other than Democrats. I have not seen any racism at all in Donald Trump’s movement.

There is no hate. There is actually a lot of love and pride.

I have seen many people with signs showing off how proud they are of their family names.

I think the White family are big supporters of Donald J. Trump. So many of them attend his rallies and hold up signs showing their pride in being a White. There is no hatred there.

Thirdly, there is no sexism either. As a female, Hillary Clinton should be treated exactly the same as any other male who sells national secrets to the Chinese in exchange for expensive pantsuits. Is there proof that this happened? That is not the issue. The issue is that many people have said that it happened, so it must be true.

Actual proof is not needed if Donald Trump has heard it from many people. That is all I am saying.

There are no homophobic people in the Republican party. We love the gays. We

are even OK with protecting gay people from terrorists in the same way we protect heterosexuals from terrorists.

Did you hear us applaud at the convention? We believe that gays are equal to all normal people when it comes to protecting you from terrorism.

Do you gays not appreciate

bad ones. Frankly, most of them look alike. To keep our country safe, we simply must keep the ones from the bad countries out of America. To be honest, I wish they would do the same thing at the mall near my house. If someone lives in a questionable or high crime neighborhood, they

for last Christmas. That’s right, I said Christmas, not holiday! Offended? A basket is a wonderful gift to give someone. Baskets can be filled with many things: wine, cheese, crackers, wine, cookies, wine, baked goods, lotions, wine. Only kind, good, generous people will

that? Donald Trump loves the LQPTGB community. All we ask is that you not use our bathrooms, locker rooms, wedding cake shops or public pools. You can still own flower shops and hair salons.

Finally, Trump patriots do not hate people from the Middle East. We just don’t want the ones that are terrorists to come in to our nation. When it comes to Muslims, it’s not easy to tell the good ones from the

should not be allowed in the mall. I think we would all feel much safer when purchasing a gold cheese grater at Crate and Barrel.

Even more finally, I am highly offended by Hillary’s use of the word “basket” in a negative fashion. “Basket” is a wonderful word, not deplorable AT ALL. I love receiving a gift basket, especially if it’s like the wine of the month club that Carly Fiorina signed me up

give someone else a basket.

Roger Ailes once offered to show me his basket when I was on a tour of the Fox News Studios but unfortunately I did not have time. Donald Trump is offering America a basket, but it is not filled with deplorables; it is filled with freedom, and wine.

As a female, Hillary clinton should be treated exactly the same as any other male who sells national secrets to the chinese in exchange for expensive pant suits.

Poor Rich White Lady is a personal imaginary friend of Orlando comedian and satirist Jeff Jones. She drinks a bit.

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viewpoint

D’Anne Witkowski

creep

of the week Trans, Texas and Attorney General Ken Paxton

L

GBT people have

heard the phrase, “Come out, come out, wherever you are” over and over again for decades now.

The idea, of course, is that coming out of the closet is the only way to change hearts and minds about who and what LGBT people are. After all, it’s hard to hate, say, lesbians, if you find out that your favorite aunt or your sister or your favorite coworker is playing for Team Lez. You’ve got to at least take a step back and rethink all of the terrible assumptions you’ve made and ideas you’ve had about lesbians, right?

Ideally, yes. And truth be told, the fact that the closet door is no longer the major barrier it once was for so many people (but not all people—we’ve got a long way still to go) has been key in advances in LGBT rights, especially over the last five to 10 years.

But then there will always be people who have their minds made up and no amount of people meetin’ is going to change their minds, no

sir, no how.

And one of those people is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

On September 1, Paxton had dinner at the home of a transgender boy. Now, in case you didn’t know, Paxton is not a big fan of trans folks. In fact, he’s pretty much a mosquito-bitten taint about the whole thing. He recently, along with attorneys general from other states, filed a lawsuit over the Obama administration’s recommendations that trans students be treated like human beings while at school, for example. Paxton doesn’t want people he deems perverts to pee next to “normal” Texas children.

The family extended the invitation to Paxton hoping that meeting a real trans kid would “soften” his anti-trans stance.

And so Paxton went over to their house, broke bread with them, and had a come-to-Jesus moment where he wept about what a shit head he’d been and vowed to change his ways.

Ha ha ha. Just kidding.

In reality, he went over to their house, ate their food, and then continued to be a trans-phobic prick.

He shows no sign of slowing his roll on the anti-trans lawsuits, for example. He wants Texans to be able to discriminate against trans people whether it’s in the bathroom or the doctor’s office. In his twisted morality play, it’s cool for doctors to be able to refuse to treat trans patients, and for trans men and women to stay out of public restrooms.

Which is why he’s in a fight with Target ever since the retailer announced that its trans guests and employees could use whatever restroom they deemed appropriate. Not in Paxton’s Texas! He warned in May that “allowing men in women’s restrooms could lead to criminal

watermark Your LGBT life.

Truth be told, the fact that the closet door is no longer the major barrier it once was for so many people (but not all people—we’ve got a long way still to go) has been key in advances in LGBT rights, especially over the last five to 10 years. But then there will always be people who have their minds made up and no amount of people meetin’ is going to change their minds, no sir, no how. and otherwise unwanted activity.” Because he totally gets it!

And so Paxton must have been just thrilled to have his warnings come to fruition in the form of reports that on at least two different occasions, men in different Target stores were trying to take cell phone video of women in changing rooms.

The only logical

conclusion: must be those trannies!

“After this latest incident, I hope Target finally recognizes the importance of protecting its customers, especially in environments where they can be at their most vulnerable,” Paxton said in a statement, alluding to his earlier “warnings” that trans men and women are perverted heathens who

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

should have to cross their legs and be chained to their home toilet forever and ever amen.

But hey, at least he ate blueberry cobbler with a trans kid. What a hero.

D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow her on Twitter @ MamaDWitkowski.

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talking points Alexis was a brilliant artist and painter, a singer, an entertainer and an actor. We learned what real bravery is through watching her journey of living as a trans woman. We came to discover the one truth –

characterS IdeNtIfIed aS

LESBIAN, GAY OR

that love is everything.

TRANSGENDER

—david, rosanna, riChMond and patriCia arQuette in a stateMent after their sister, alexis, passed away

accOuNted fOr

LESS THAN 1% Of

ALL

SPEAKING PARTS

lady GaGa IN talKS tO play Super bOWl halftIMe ShOW

l

ady gaga May be Joining the likes of Beyonce, Katy Perry and Madonna as powerhouse divas who played the biggest stage in the world – the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Gaga is in talks with the NFL to perform next year at Super Bowl 51, according to a report from Billboard. One of the main reasons is said to be her performance of the National Anthem to start the 2016 Super Bowl. “We have had conversations with several fantastic artists about the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show. However, at this point we do not have a final decision,” an NFL rep told Billboard. Gaga’s rep did not respond back to Billboard for comment. This year’s game is scheduled for Feb. 5, 2017, at the NRG Stadium in Houston.

IN FILM

32 Or

OUT OF

4,370 characterS StudIed. —A report from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

rupaul WINS fIrSt eMMy aS DRAG RACE hOSt

R

upaul Charles, host of the aptly named RuPaul’s Drag Race, won his first Emmy at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards Sept. 10. Charles took home the award for Outstanding Host of a Reality Competition Series. “I came here thinking I got invited to the prom and I’m going to dance my ass off tonight, but I didn’t expect that I would have this in my hand,” Charles told press backstage. Charles won the award over many big name hosts such as Ryan Seacrest (American Idol), Jane Lynch (Hollywood Game Night), Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn (Project Runway), Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars) and Steve Harvey (Little Big Shots).

watermark Your LGBT life.

Katy perry SurprISeS a pulSe SurVIVOr ON ELLEN

E

llen degeneres interviewed one of the Pulse survivors on her talk show, aired on Sept. 8, and gave him a very big surprise. Tony Marrero, 30, worked with Luis Vielma, one of the 49 victims from the June 12 shooting, at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. They went to Pulse that night together. Marrero was shot four times in the back and once in the arm and credited superstar Katie Perry’s song “Rise” with helping him get through his hospital stay. “You wanna meet Katy?”

DeGeneres said to Marrero. Perry came out and Marrero got to meet her face-to-face. The full segment is available online to watch.

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MISSOurI repreSeNted IN MISS aMerIca paGeaNt by fIrSt OpeNly leSbIaN cONteStaNt

T

he first openly gay Contestant in the Miss America pageant performed, and was eliminated, Sept. 11 when the top 15 finalists were chosen. Miss Missouri Erin O’Flaherty was not among the top 15 picked to advance in the pageant during its nationally televised finale. She was the first openly gay contestant to win a state title. Djuan Trent competed in the Miss America pageant as Miss Kentucky in 2011, when she finished in the top 10. She came out as a lesbian in 2014. The winner of the pageant was Miss Arkansas. The pageant from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall included contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

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Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

IN-depth: cOMe Out WIth prIde

“i

Billy Manes

n the beginning,

everybody was kind of in shock,” Come Out With Pride board secretary and auction chair Deb Ofsowitz says. “It was hard to even talk about it.”

Osfowitz, of course, is referring to the June 12 Pulse massacre that resonated throughout the world; those few minutes of artillery fire that led to the deaths of 49 people and the injuries of 53 more at Pulse Orlando after a Saturday night, before the dawn of Sunday. The board convened immediately, she says, everybody soon after scattering

into various public relations poses as public people often do in the face of tragedy.

While tragedies are not relatable or even comparable to each other, the mass shooting at Pulse is widely reported to be the worst single gun massacre and hate crime in American history. Emotionally, the outpouring of global condolences in rainbow colors

watermark Your LGBT life.

magnified the purpose of Come Out With Pride.

“When we came together for our first meeting afterwards, we immediately started talking about how this was going to affect the celebration for October,” Osfowitz says. “We weren’t sure how we were going to have a celebration.

Because I didn’t lose anybody, I got up and I gathered my strength. We marched in the St. Pete Pride Parade. I really kind of sucked it up and did my job.”

And then it was a scramble, which in some ways it still is.

The whole narrative of Come Out With Pride had to be shifted, and shifted quickly. cONtINued ON pG. 31 | uu |

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watermark Your LGBT life.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

When we came together for our first meeting afterwards, we immediately started talking about how this was going to affect the celebration for October.

We weren’t sure how we were going to have a celebration. because I didn’t lose anybody, I got up and I gathered my strength. We marched in the St. pete pride parade.

I really kind of sucked it up and did my job.

—CoMe out with pride board seCretary and auCtion Chair deb ofsowitZ

walk tall: Mourning the lost at St. Pete Pride. Photo by toDD MontGoMery

| uu | Come Out With Pride frOM pG.29

Just one year ago, people were dancing in the streets at the news of marriage equality for the nation.

Questions lingered in the air about where the LGBTQ+ movement would move next with its political and activism priorities.

There were also cocked brows about the Come Out With Pride organization fueling the gossip mill.

In 2014, Mikael Audebert walked away from leading the board in a cloud of controversy. Finances were sifted through with fine-toothed combs; late nights of Robert’s Rules of Order at board meetings endured; fences that were slanted needed to be mended.

On Oct. 8, Come Out With Pride will return, bigger and better than ever. The parade route now consumes all of downtown. With the national spotlight on Orlando and

the massacre, the business world is watching.

“We have a lot of national corporations that are participating in the parade in ways that they haven’t done before,” Osfowitz says. Volunteers, LGBTQ+ allies and members of the community have followed suit.

Come Out With Pride is not going to be overtly political or somber – a subject which has drawn some arched brows in the community – but is going to attempt the almost impossible task of healing a community; one that, when faced with the horror of what happened just one day before, turned out by the thousands for a vigil at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando on June 13.

“We do not want the parade to be a two-mile memorial,” Osfowitz says. It is, instead, going to be a celebration of the community that came together under the worst possible circumstances.

MaKe It happeN So, how does a volunteer board even approach the task of being tasteful in the face of grief and a fairly impossible timeline buried beneath a pile of corporate contracts?

“That was an early discussion we were having,” says Come Out With Pride director of marketing and communications Jeff Prystajko. “We looked at last year, when we were celebrating marriage equality. We went into this year imagining it was going to be a continuation of that. And then we went through June 12, and everything was thrown out the window.”

The board banded together to make the event come together as a means of congratulating Orlando on its resilience. Its message, healing; its task, enormous. But, as in recent years, corporate forces were also there to help carry the message.

watermark Your LGBT life.

“Almost immediately after the Pulse tragedy my inbox was flooded with different corporations and organizations wanting to help in any way they could,” Come Out With Pride sponsorship director Matt Riha says in an email. “Many were pleased to learn that Come Out With Pride gives back to the community through our Pride Gives Back grant and scholarship program. Many of our first time sponsors have showed interest in continued support for the coming years.”

Last year’s pride event gifted $1000 scholarships to three students, including former Watermark intern Adam Manno.

But Come Out With Pride remains an expensive event to pull off while remaining in the black, especially when the route and concourses are expanded.

The numbers grow, as do the bits and pieces that nobody realizes make up an event.

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“There is always an increase in costs as the event has continued to grow year after year,” board president Brian Riha says. “We quickly realized this year’s event would be very different and require us to incur additional expenses to accommodate the anticipated increase in attendance.”

“Unless you’ve been a part of a planning team for a large-scale event like ours, you really cannot grasp the expenses to produce this annually, such as Lake Eola Park rental, road closures, barricades, safety and logistical execution, to name a few,” he adds. “Being that we are an all-volunteer board and production team, we’ve found it challenging to juggle full-time jobs while fully executing a festival of this caliber.

However, we are all incredibly passionate individuals who are dedicated to our mission, our LGBTQ+ community and the city of Orlando.”

Estimates of last year’s attendance reached up to nearly 150,000. This year, after Pulse, the numbers are expected to jump above 200,000. In order to accommodate the mass of people descending upon downtown, the route was expanded, something Brian Riha says is an exciting addition to the festivities.

“Our parade has been growing in both contingent participation and spectators for several years now. I remember last year when our board and production team float finished the parade route, there were still parade floats lined up to start their parade experience,” Brian Riha says. “So if we kept the same route this year, we would be catching our tails twice over.

The expanded route this year provides larger spectator viewing opportunities, specifically along Robinson, where we used to stage the floats.”

“This main viewing area will have Grand Stands for viewing along with many other prime locations to view the most colorful parade,” he adds. “We are very excited about this new route.

Grand Stand seating is available as part of a VIP experience package costing just above $100 per person. A group of celebrity chefs will also be on hand to serve up tasty morsels and parade-friendly bits for the inaugural Taste of Pride event

cONtINued ON pG. 37 | uu |

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Happier Hearts: The Pulse brigade at last year’s Come Out With Pride. Photo by Brian Becnel

| uu | Come Out With Pride from pg.31

($150 per person). All proceeds are to benefit the Pride Gives Back grant and scholarship programs.

As it stands, a number of celebrities have reached out to attend. Michelle Clunie (Queer as Folk, Teen Wolf, The Usual Suspects), Peter Paige (Queer as Folk, creator: The Fosters), Tony Award winner Michael Cerveris (Fun Home, The Good Wife, Fringe), Matteo Lane (Nightly Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers), Sabrina Jalees (writer: NBC’s Crowded; Transparent, After Ellen; Tedx), Eli Lieb (singer/ songwriter) & Brandon Skeie (singer/songwriter), RJ Aguiar& Will Shepherd (YouTube celebrity

vloggers “Shep689”), have all confirmed, according the press release. More are expected.

“Come Out With Pride has approached and been approached by a multitude of celebrities, and their representatives,” board member and director of entertainment J.D. Casto says. “We think that this year’s Pride will be the best event Orlando has seen, and because of the overwhelming influx of celebrity interest and involvement, we are already setting the stage for even more celebrity involvement in future Prides.”

The evening will end with a tribute to the 102 victims of the Pulse tragedy – 49 dead, 53 wounded – and their families. The names will be spoken, a moment of silence will be taken and numerous

Broadway stars will reprise their rendition of “What the World Needs Now.” Love. Sweet love.

And then there will be fireworks.

MOVING ON

With “healing” running as a central theme to this year’s Come Out With Pride, questions still remain. The board is making an attempt at tamping down controversy, clearly asking vendors in an email to not be too political.

“We basically have said, ‘We can’t stop you from doing a tribute,’” Osfowitz says. “There already is going to be a parade of solemnity.

We also need to honor the fact that this is a community that is healing and, together, needs to move forward.”

Some aren’t as secure as others

watermark Your LGBT life.

on the moving forward process, however. This writer received a message asking if she, her wife and her child would be safe at the event.

Were there any assurances?

“We know the community is concerned about security,” Orlando Police Department spokeswoman Sargeant Wanda Miglio says in an email.

“The Orlando Police Department wants to ensure all of our residents and visitors that their safety is our number one priority and we have taken steps to ensure that safety with increased presence throughout the city and at special events.

“It’s important to note that our security measures are both visible and not visible. So aside from squad cars or officers in uniform or on

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

bicycles or horses, there will be other resources out there that are less identifiable.”

“And most importantly, we would ask people to remember, ‘If you see something, say something, and we will do something,’” Miglio adds. “Call 911 to report any suspicious activity.”

Likely, there won’t be. Osfowitz points out that there was no copycat killings on the back of the Boston Marathon massacre.

Generally speaking, lightning doesn’t strike twice. But for the board, with all hands on board, no less, this is going to be a daunting process regardless.

“It’s one of those things,” Osfowitz says. “Like when somebody dies and they want a party, not a funeral. It’s tough.”

37

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artS aNd eNtertaINMeNt

ABSOLUTELY

FAB FA FABULOUS A ABULOUS BUL ULO LOUS US SARASOTA GEARS UP FOR FABULOUS INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL AT THE HARVEY MILK FESTIVAL

f

Krista DiTucci

ilM lovers in sarasota will

experience three days of LGBTQ cinema at Harvey Milk Festival’s sixth annual Fabulous Independent Film Festival, Sept.30-Oct. 2.

“Every single one of these films is so interesting in its own way,” Magida Diouri, festival programmer, says. “It’s remarkable. I really was looking for the best I could get for

Sarasota – things that would not otherwise come here.”

Diouri began her work with the FIFF during its second year when she became Sarasota Film Society’s artistic director.

watermark Your LGBT life.

After last year’s festival, Diouri asked Shannon Fortner, Harvey Milk Festival director, to take over the FIFF and make it part of the Harvey Milk Festival as a celebration of diversity.

“Cinema is very impactful,” Fortner says. “In doing an event honoring Harvey Milk, it has been interesting to see people’s reactions – their first response when they hear Harvey Milk’s name is usually, ‘Oh, like the movie Milk!’”

Fortner says she is happy to see new partnerships happening this year. The Sarasota Film Festival has formed a new relationship with the FIFF, a duo that is especially powerful considering the SFF features an LGBTQ film series within their festival.

“It just makes all the sense in the world to partner with the Harvey Milk Festival, especially with so many

cONtINued ON pG. 43 | uu |

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41

THE LARaMIE PROJECT Presented By:

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Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

| uu | Fabulous Film Fest from pg.41

nonprofits fighting for the same dollar,” SFF producer John Secor says. “Now Shannon gets to experience my festival and I get to experience hers.”

“It is incumbent on us, especially those holding festivals or events for entertainment, to make the tent bigger and invite more people in,” Secor continues.

“Our resources are only so big.

By joining forces, we will be better able to serve even more people within our community.”

DreamLarge has also come on board as a presenter and sponsor. Additionally, The Clark West and Elliott Mitchell Family Foundation is partnering with the FIFF for the first time this year as a presenter and one of the largest sponsors.

“I’m embarrassed to say my partner (Clark West) and I were not involved in LGBT issues prior to partnering with the Harvey Milk Festival,” Elliott Mitchell says. “We were always private people; we had to be because of the corporate world we were in. The Harvey Milk Festival was taking place one year while we were at Starbucks downtown and we decided it’s time for us to give back. Now we are very involved in everything related to the Harvey Milk Festival.”

The Clark West and Elliott Mitchell Family Foundation serves as a resource center for the Sarasota LGBT community.

The foundation provides HIV support groups and mental health counseling, and will soon offer free legal advice to assist with LGBT issues such as power of attorney and living wills.

“If you go to LGBT events in the community, you’ll see your friends – the people who run the place,” Mitchell says.

“You won’t see the adult living at home alone with no social network or the elderly person whose partner has passed away and finds themselves going back into the life they walked away from 30 years earlier. Our efforts locally are to find people like this who aren’t actively involved in the LGBT community and reach out to them.”

The FIFF will feature seven LGBTQ films. The opening night on Sept. 30 will debut Closet Monster, a coming-of-age film following the life of a teenager during his first gay experience

BOYHOOD: Closet Monster, which follows an artistically driven Oscar boy hovering on the brink of adulthood, plays Sept. 30 as the opening night film.

I exam: Lucas Near-Verbrugghe and Aaron Costa Ganis reconnect after fifteen years apart in Tim Kirkman’s Lazy Eye, playing Oct. 1

Child’s play: A comedy-drama about a drag queen (Tomas Pais) and his kid (Edouard Holdener), Hunky Dory closes the festival out Oct. 2.

while guided by his spirit animal, Buffy the Hamster. West and Mitchell will present the film and discuss their work in the community.

“This festival occurs at a time of year when there’s not a lot going on, and it gives the opportunity to talk about film and the topics they include,” Mitchell says. “It brings the gay and straight communities together and creates dialogue, and it promotes the Harvey Milk Festival effort beyond just a once a year event.”

The film will commence at 7:30 at Burns Court Cinema. An after-party at MADE restaurant in downtown Sarasota will immediately follow and includes complementary light bites, drink specials, a deejay, and a special musical performance.

Mitchell says he believes the best quality films are at smaller

theaters such as Burns Court Cinema. He says the films offered through FIFF are unique.

“These are the types of films you see in a community that is well-educated and diverse and has a lot of art and theater,” Mitchell says. “To me, this is just another great thing that happens in Sarasota for people to look forward to.”

The screening for Real Boy is a special outdoor feature sponsored by the SFF and FIFF. Secor says the SFF is providing equipment used for their monthly moonlight series to accommodate the outdoor film.

Fortner says the film’s location will be finalized soon.

“Standing up announcing a film and seeing the joy of all the people sitting outside is a cool thing,” Secor says. “The picture quality is crystal clear and the sound is fantastic. It’s

watermark Your LGBT life.

really awesome to be able to show this film in that type of setting.”

Real Boy is a documentary about a woman in transition.

Secor says the film is well executed and helps broaden people’s understanding of what transgender individuals experience.

“Every town should definitely have an LGBTQ film festival,” Fortner says. “But here in Sarasota with New College and gender studies programs, it’s especially useful for this community.

We want to allow people to explore and enjoy film.”

For tickets, sponsorships, volunteering, or general information about the FIFF, please visit fabulousiff.com.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

More info:

All films on Oct. 1-2 are $8.50 admission.

Screening times and locations are as follows: Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m., Burns Court Cinema: Closet Monster Oct. 1, 1:00 p.m., Burns Court Cinema: Where Are You Going, Habibi?

Oct. 1, 3:30 p.m., Burns Court Cinema: Me, Myself and Her Oct. 1, 6:00 p.m., Burns Court Cinema: Lazy Eye Oct. 1, 8:00 p.m., TBA: Real Boy Oct. 2, 2:30 p.m., Burns Court Cinema: Love Is All You Need Oct. 2, 5:00 p.m., Burns Court Cinema: Hunky Dory

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theater

The legacy project

Osceola Arts brings the story of Matthew Shepard’s death to Orlando

(above)

OUR TOWN:

Eight local actors will portray over 60 characters during the Osceola Arts’ production of The Laramie Project Oct. 1- 10.

N

Jeremy Williams

early 20 years after the death of

Matthew Shepard, The Laramie Project, a play about Shepard’s murder in 1998 and the trial that drew international media attention to LGBT rights and hate crime laws, resonates as much now as it did then.

Osceola Arts’ Stage Left Studio Series will present The Laramie Project Oct. 1- 10, exactly 18 years after the events leading to Shepard’s death occurred and less than four months after the largest mass shooting and hate crime in the United States occurred in Orlando.

“It’s really fresh in our minds and it just makes us a bit more passionate about telling this story and telling it the right way,” says show director Aisha M. Soto. “We were blocking a scene, and were sitting there all in tears because it’s just so emotional; it’s such a heavy story and it brings up a lot of those memories we just had to live through.”

Shepard was a 21-year-old gay college student at the University of Wyoming in the late 1990s. On the night of Oct. 6, 1998, he accepted a ride from two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, at the Fireside Lounge in Laramie, Wyo. Instead of taking Shepard home, McKinney and Henderson drove out to a rural area outside of Laramie.

There McKinney and Henderson robbed and tortured Shepard, leaving him tied to a fence in the middle of nowhere.

“They left him tied up to that fence for 18 hours. He was found by a random passerby, completely covered

watermark Your LGBT life.

in blood and dirt except for the parts on his face where the tears washed it away,” Soto says. “That passerby contacted the authorities who untied him, brought him to the nearest emergency room where he then had to get medevac-ed over to a hospital in Colorado, because they couldn’t sustain his injuries.”

Shepard passed away in Fort Collins, Colo., on Oct. 12. Five weeks after his death, Moises Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project traveled from New York to Laramie.

“They decided to interview the people from Laramie to hear their stories and try to get a full understanding of this heinous crime,” Soto says. “They interviewed everyone from the sheriffs, the police, the townspeople, his family members; they were in the court room when both defendants were prosecuted.”

In all, the Tectonic Theater Project interviewed more than 200 people over the course of a year. Those interviews became the play, The Laramie Project.

“We don’t actually hear from Matthew Shepard at all in the play.

It starts with his death, so we know upfront what happened to him,” Soto says. “Starting from there the story almost goes backward, learning what happened through a series of monologues and interviews.

You’ll see a series of townspeople in many scenes – or what I like to call mini-vignettes – and they are telling the story from their perspective.”

The Laramie Project is one of the most performed plays in the U.S. today.

It is presented in three acts, with eight actors portraying over 60 characters.

While she has been involved in directing theater in the Orlando area for 10 years, this is Soto’s first time directing for Osceola Arts, and she couldn’t think of a better play to start with.

“I think it’s important for us to do this show, especially after what happened to us here this summer at Pulse,” Soto says.

While Osceola Arts selected The Laramie Project for its fall show list before the Pulse shooting, Soto says in light of those events she can’t think of

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

a more appropriate show to do right here, right now.

“It’s a story that absolutely needs to be told. Earlier this year I directed a Fringe production that I had written called Through the Eyes of the Homeless. It’s another type of social theater that just hits a lot of those issues that need to be brought to the table, need to be discussed. This is another one of these hate crimes that continue to happen,” Soto says.

Meaghan Macey moved to Orlando a few weeks before getting cast and has a personal connection to the story.

“I went to a small university in West Virginia and one of the professors is from Laramie,” Macey says. “He was there when Matthew died and during the trial and the news coverage, so he gave us a lot of insight when we did the show [at my school]. He added a lot of clarity to the characters and details about the town and showed us pictures. So I’m bringing that to this production.”

Soto knows that it’s been difficult for the cast as they move through rehearsals with the thought of Pulse on their minds, something cast member Melissa Riggins has worked with by drawing the similarities between the aftermath of the two events.

“All of the characters in this play are townspeople, some of them were close to Matthew and close to those involved in the case, and some just lived there,” Riggins says. “They don’t know much about who the people were; it just happened to be their town that it happened in and they only know about it because they live there.”

Riggins thinks the audience may see this show as a form of healing.

“That’s us. I mean, everyone here has some connection to [Pulse] because we all live here, so there are a lot of lines that we are connecting with as we are doing this play. You hear characters in the play saying things like ‘things like that don’t happen here’ or ‘we don’t raise people like that in our town’ and you think we do, because, look, it happened here.

So I think there will be many parts of this play that the audience is going to relate to and identify with.”

more information

What: The Laramie Project When: Saturdays at 2 p.m., Sundays and Mondays at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 1- 10 Where: Osceola Arts’ Stage Left Studio Tickets: $15, Tickets.OsceolaArts.org

47

The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 6PM The film documents a truly new brand of Romantic consciousness, conveying beauty, dignity, and devotion from a perspective never before seen on film.

FREE FOR MEMBERS, $5 AFTER 5PM FOR NON-MEMBERS The Summer Series is co-hosted by The Filmme Guild and a panel discussion, moderated by Allie Gemmill, Founder and Creative Director, will follow the film.

255 Beach Drive NE

48

watermark Your LGBT life.

|

727.896.2667

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

|

mfastpete.org

community calendar

eVeNt plaNNer

MaGic Mics

OrlaNdO

La maschera Goes moulin rouge friday, sept. 30, 7:00 p.M. the abbey, orlando Fall back through time with La Maschera to the 1890s when the Moulin Rouge was the embodiment of the Bohemian ideals of truth, beauty, freedom and – possibly above all else – love. Put your best dress on and grab your top hats as The Abbey entertains you with live performances, art experiences, dancing, food and drinks.

All proceeds will go to the Downtown Arts District. Tickets start at $50. For more information visit AbbeyOrlando.com.

Oktoberfest pub crawl saturday, oCt. 1, 8:00 p.M. the lodge, orlando

broadway’s The Illusionists perform at the Straz Center in Tampa Sept. 23-25 and at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando Oct. 4-9. Photo coUrteSy oF theillUSioniStSliVe.coM

OrlaNdO South Beach Invasion, Sept. 24, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; parliamenthouse.com Food Truck Wars, Sept. 24, Hard Rock Café, Orlando.

407-351-7625; hardrock.com Art Night Out: What a Relief, Sept. 28, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando. 407-896-4231; omart.org International Food & Wine Festival, Sept. 14- Nov. 14, Epcot, Walt Disney World. 407-824-4321; disneyworld.disney.go.com Halloween Horror Nights, Sept. 16- Oct. 31, Universal Resort, Orlando. 407-363-8000; hardrockhotels.com/Orlando

Velvet Sessions feat. Smash Mouth, Sept. 29, Hard Rock Hotel, Orlando. 407-363-8000; universalorlando.com Fall in the Field, Oct. 1- 2, Renningers Flea Market and Antique Center, Mount Dora.

352-383-8393; renningers.com Blocktober Fest, Oct. 1, Wall St. Plaza, Orlando. 407-420-1515; wallstplaza.net Thriller 80’s Party, Oct. 1, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; parlimenthouse.com Rebecca Fisher, Monday Night Cabaret Series, Oct. 3, The Abbey, Orlando. 407-704-6261; abbeyorlando.com

1776, Sept. 23-Oct. 23, Mad Cow Theatre, Orlando. 407-297-8788; madcowtheatre.com

The Illusionists, Oct. 4- 9, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 407-839-0119; drphillipscenter.org

Return of the Lost Boys, Sept. 24, The Copper Rocket Pub, Maitland. 407-636-3171; copperrocketpub.com

Sum 41’s Don’t Call It a SumBack Tour, Oct. 5, House of Blues, Orlando. 407-934-2583; houseofblues.com

taMpa bay The Illusionists, Sept. 23- 25, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa. 813-229-7827; strazcenter.org tranquility by the Glass: an evening of Wine tasting, Sept.

23, Top Shelf Sports Bar and Grill, Plant City. 813-704-6994; topshelfsportsbarandgrill.com emerald city with DJ Kidd Madonny, Sept. 24, Southern Nights, Tampa. 813-599-8625; southernnightstpa.com norma Kamali – city: Fashion + art + culture, Sept 24, Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa.

813-421-8368; tampamuseum.org tampa Pride launch Party, Sept. 29, Southern Nights, Tampa. 813-559-8625; southernnightstpa.com Sushi battle, Sept.

29, The Coliseum, St. Petersburg. 727-892-5202; SushiBattleTampa.com

October is here again and the beer is ready to flow. So grab your Lederhosen and your tankard and join Orlando for a night of drinking and celebrating the beginning of pumpkin-flavored everything. Take a tour to three of downtown’s favorite pubs and end the night at the Wall Street Oktoberfest block party. For more information and to purchase tickets visit OrlandoPubCrawl.com.

Gaybor Days, Sept. 29- Oct. 2, Honey Pot, Ybor. 813-247-4663; gaybor.com

taMpa bay

tampa bay toy expo, Oct 1, Hilton Garden Inn, Riverview. 813-626-6610; tampabaytoyexpo.com

Straz center Open House party

big cat rescue’s Wildcat Walkabout, Oct. 1, Big Cat Rescue, Tampa. 813-920-4130; bigcatrescue.org

sunday, oCt. 2, 6:30 p.M. straZ Center for the perforMing arts, taMpa

tampa international Gay & lesbian Film Festival, Oct. 2- 10, Palladium Theatre, Tampa.

813.879.4220; tiglff.com Leslie Jordan Live, Oct. 5, Tampa Theatre, Tampa. 813-274-8981; tampatheatre.org

The Straz Center for the Performing Arts is swinging open its doors wide for the open house party. Come mingle, connect and have a free evening to tour the center. The afternoon includes a backstage tour, face painting and other hands-on arts activities, as well as live entertainment and more. For more information on the Straz Center’s open house, visit StrazCenter.org.

SaraSOta

SaraSOta My Fair Lady, Sept. 22- Oct.6, Manatee Performing Arts Center, Bradenton. 941-749-1111; manateeperforming artscenter.com #nofilter, Sept. 23, The Gator Club, Sarasota. 941-366-5969; thegatorclub.com

Sam Woolf Live! friday, sept. 23, 8:30 p.M. the blue rooster, sarasota American Idol finalist Sam Woolf is performing live at the Blue Rooster. Come join his “Woolfpack” as you enjoy the southern atmosphere and New American Southern food. It costs $15 for front seating and $10 for the rear seating. For more information or to request reservations for the live performance go toBlueRoostersRQ.com.

To submit your upcoming event, concert, performance, or fundraiser visit watermarkonline.com.

event PlAnner AnD CommunitY CAlenDAr is brought to You bY Curtis ProteCtive serviCes • 1-800-551-8368 • CurtisseCuritY.Com watermark Your LGBT life.

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overheard

taMpa bay Out+abOut

MOre thaN tWO tearS haVe falleN aS lady chablIS paSSeS aWay

M

IDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL sCene-stealer and Savannah legend Lady Chablis died Sept. 8, according to Club One in Savannah, Ga. where Chablis was a performer. “Chablis always wanted to give the audience, be it 15 or 1500, the best that she had. With her declining health, she regretted that her body wouldn’t allow her to give more,” Club One wrote in a post on their Facebook page. The Lady Chablis was a lover of the bay area, even moving to St. Petersburg for a few years in the early 2000s, and could often be seen at the Suncoast Resort. “My favorite thing is the water,” she told the then - St. Petersburg Times in 2000. “Being close to the water, being able to [see] rain every other day, walking outside and seeing those wild parrots or canaries. What are those green birds? And the cranes in my front yard, those tall birds?

I love that. … It’s so soothing.” Chablis was one of the subjects of author John Berendt’s novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, known in Savannah simply as “The Book.”

The novel was adapted into a film in 1997 by director Clint Eastwood and starred Kevin Spacey and John Cusack. Chablis insisted to USA Today that she would play herself in the movie or there would not be one. Chablis’ sister, Cynthia Ponder, confirmed she died at Candler Hospital. A close friend, Cale Hall, said Chablis died from pneumonia and had been in the hospital for the past month.

Chablis passed away surrounded by friends and family at Candler Hospital in Savannah.

She was 59.

there GOeS the GaybOrhOOd

g

aybor days are baCk and the coalition is ready to show you a fun and happy Tampa Gay! GaYBOR Days is a weekend packed with shows and events to promote gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses in Tampa and is hosted each year by the GaYBOR Coalition. In its ninth year, GaYBOR Days looks to expand and show why Ybor City and Tampa Bay are perfect spots for any LGBT event. The weekend will get started Thursday, Sept. 29 at Southern Nights Tampa in Ybor City with an official Tampa Pride kick-off party. Tampa Pride isn’t until March 2017 but the parties last so long in Ybor you have to kick it off six months early!

The party continues through Oct. 2 with great deals and offers on restaurants, shopping, clubs and more. Many of the member businesses will be having special events and programs throughout the week. See ya at the GaYBORhood!

1

2 3

1

filM fans: Jeremy Wade neiman (L) and anthony citrola attend the kick-off party for TIGLFF at the Tampa Club Sept. 17. Photo coUrteSy oF JaSon FielDS

2

Class is in session: Pamela robinson (L) and Kevin beckner at the 2nd Annual Welcoming Week at USF Marshall Hall in Tampa Sept. 17. Photo

coUrteSy oF PaMela robinSon

3

award winner: Metro’s Robert Pope Distinguished Leadership award recipient brian longstreth with his award at the Morean Center for Clay in St. Petersburg Sept. 10. Photo

4

5

coUrteSy oF lara Shelton

4

Judy Can you hear Me?: “Patti Melt” Matthew McGee (L) and Garry allan breul perform Divas do Garland for the Community AIDS Network at the Asolo Rep Theatre in Sarasota Sept. 12.

Photo coUrteSy oF SUncoaSt aiDS theatre ProJect

5

the toyMakers: Ty Maxey (L) and Jason Fields help make toys for the September Service hosted by Balance Tampa Bay Sept. 16. Photo coUrteSy

oF balance taMPa bay

6

oh Captain, My Captain: (L-R) Miguel Fuller, elizabeth cadicamo, christina cadicamo and holly o’connor at the Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications at USF in Tampa Sept. 13. Photo coUrteSy

6

oF chriStinaeliZabeth caDicaMo

7

the balCony’s open: Jeffrey Fitsik (L) and “Tea Cup” Mark bias lunching it up at Hamburger Mary’s in Ybor City Sept. 18. Photo

coUrteSy oF JeFFrey FitSiK

8

yaaaasss kween: Kori Stevens (L) after the show with Matty Shaw at Enigma in St. Petersburg Sept.

16. Photo by Matty ShaW

8 7

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51

SEE WHAT’S ARRIVED AT THE STATION. REMARKABLE SAVINGS EVERY WEEK, WED.-SAT. Estate sale items including sofas, solid wood furniture, mid-century classics, figurines, clocks, paintings, crystal, china, nostalgia and much more at astonishing prices. A must-see for collectors and those who love quality throughout the decades. Come in and get the good stuff.

Free local delivery. Give us your e-mail and get an extra 5% off.

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Open Wednesdays, 6pm-9pm, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays 10 am-5pm.

For more information, call 407-692-4626.

52

watermark Your LGBT life.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tob er 5 , 2016 // Issue 2 3.19

overheard

OrlaNdO Out+abOut

tree Of lIfe

T

he healing proCess after a loss is much like a tree: It’s fragile at the start, but with tender care, eventually the roots will take hold, allowing the tree the opportunity to grow, to weather storms and thrive. This is why, when the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, due to terrorist attacks, the care that came for one lonely surviving pear tree became a thing. Now, standing tall at the WTC memorial plaza and proudly flourishing, this tree became a symbol of hope and healing for many. Which is why, the Survivor Tree Seedling Program came about. Each year the 9/11 Memorial gives seedlings to three communities that have endured tragedies in recent years.

According to local blog Bungalower, a seedling from the 9/11 Survivor tree will be gifted to the city of Orlando as a result to the Pulse nightclub attacks. According to the site, the tree will be planted and hosted at Leu Gardens until plans for a more permanent memorial are finalized.

2

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frOM headdreSS WIth lOVe

w

ith a new hoMe at the Marriott orlando world Center, the 27th annual Headdress Ball started off with a bang! A massive VIP lounge welcomed guests with live music and entertainment ranging from ballroom dancers to a painter doing an original art piece.

The night progressed into the massive ball room that had a very circus-like atmosphere, with everything from aerialists to the scantily clad Harriett Lake dancers accepting money in curious spots.

The glitzy night was packed with Central Florida’s who’s who and who wants to be.

Although the last tally shows Hope and Help didn’t fully reach their ultimate goal of $400,000 dollars, even days later, donations are still coming in.

$26 MIllION aNd GrOWING

T

he fund set up for the viCtiMs of the Pulse nightclub shooting now contains over $26 million dollars.

According to city officials, the One Orlando fund will start distribution of these funds at the end of the month after reviewing the 351 claim forms received by the September 12 deadline.

Out of the 351 claim forms, funds will be disbursed between the families of the 49 victims that perished and 53 hospitalized on June 12 as well as many more who were affected.

4

1

these woodpeCkers are ready: The Watermark Woodpeckers started the 2016 softball season off with a win in Orlando Sept. 11. Photo by JereMy WilliaMS

2

soCCer tiMe: Deb ofsowitz (L) and bright Kate take in an Orlando City soccer match at Camping World Stadium Sept. 17. Photo coUrteSy oF Deb oFSoWitZ

3

paint strong, orlando strong: Pulse Orlando owner barbara Poma at the Paint Strong event at the Downtown Orlando Public Library Sept.

15. Photo by billy ManeS

4

super store: Frankie Sanchez (L), director of Marketing & Events at Artegon, accepting his Ad Pop Award from Watermark’s Sales Director Danny Garcia at DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando Downtown Sept. 15. Photo

coUrteSy oF Danny Garcia

5

6

5

sMile boys: (L-R) Jeff alexander Giordano, ben Paston, Steven Peters and ben laube are ready to be fancy at the Headdress Ball at the Orlando World Center Marriott Sept.

17. Photo coUrteSy oF JeFF aleXanDer GiorDano

6

honoring heritage: carlos Guillermo Smith (L) and angel colon celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Kickoff at Orlando City Hall Sept. 15. Photo coUrteSy

7

oF anGel colon

7

faMily photo: Watermark doesn’t look too bad dressed to the nines at Hope & Help’s Headdress Ball at the Orlando World Center Marriott Sept. 17.

Photo by chriStina alFieri

8

sing-a-long: (L-R) Doug ba’aser, Matthew arter, Janine Klein and Jeff Jones can’t let it go at the Frozen Sing-A-Long celebration at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Sept. 16. Photo by ricK claGGett

8 watermark Your LGBT life.

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53

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Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

announcements

WeddING bellS

Scott Stinson, 54, and raul Salinas, 51

CongrAtulAtions

from Orlando, Florida

The Gaybor District coalition celebrates another year of uniting LGBT and LGBT-friendly businesses in Tampa’s historic district on Sept. 29.

YeArs together:

27+ years

Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan was given the Animal Hero Award by the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando.

The award will be presented at the 25th anniversary Furball Gala Nov. 5.

weDDing DAte:

October 21, 2016

loCAl birthDAYs

weDDing venue:

The Orchid Room

weDDing PlAnner:

Scott & Raul

weDDing CAterer: Levan’s Catering

weDDing theme/ Colors:

The theme is travel, and the wedding colors are tan and gray.

first song:

“I Could Not Ask For More” by Edwin McCain

interesting fACt:

They have traveled to 67 countries together.

“O

n that first date, i kind

of realized that this was probably something that I really wanted to pursue, so we kind of decided to see each other again,” Raul says. “We had a few dates after that, probably for two or three months, and we kept it very platonic and kind of started to get to know each other, which is probably one of the best things we’ve ever done, realizing we probably wanted to go further with the relationship. It was a courtship – it really was.”

Scott Stinson, who is a senior business analyst, and Raul Salinas, a hairstylist, met more than 27 years ago through a friend named Jerry, who cut Scott’s hair.

There used to be a gay bowling league in Winter Park years ago that met on Tuesday nights. Jerry told Scott he needed a substitute because one of the players on his team couldn’t make it, so he asked him if he wanted to come and he agreed. One of Jerry’s friends, Lynn, came out to the bowling night to hang out, and she knew Raul and brought him to the bowling night with her.

“We chit-chatted for a bit and saw there was a connection there, so several days later we decided

to get together and we ended up having lunch,” Scott says.

From those first couple dates, they both realized this was something special they really wanted to pursue. And as years passed, they both grew together and learned from each other.

“Raul’s been a good influence on me as far as trying to be a little more patient at times,” Scott says.

“I tend to be a little more intense about things and want to go, go, go. Raul is more like, ‘Hey, you need to be chill and be patient – things will work out.’”

And Raul says that Scott has had an equal role in impacting his life and helping him be the best version of himself too.

“For me, he’s probably taught me to be a little bit more assertive – to be a little more aggressive with things that you want and moving forward,” Raul says. “I’m a little laid back, and he’s the opposite, which has worked for us.”

Being together for more than 27 years, the two always considered themselves a married couple already. Scott says he never really thought much about marriage because he knew he was gay, and since he knew he wasn’t going to marry a woman, he didn’t think it would be possible.

He says when it finally became the law of the land, he figured that it should be something he and Raul should do since they could now get married legally as well. Scott even said many of his family members and straight friends showed their support and repeatedly asked them if they would now get legally married.

“I think other people thought more about it than we did, because we have been together for so long. We were kind of already married anyway,” Scott jokes.

Orlando sister “Isadora Knocking” Morris beverly (Sept. 22); MBA presidnet and co-owner of Balance Orlando lu Mueller-Kaul, former Watermark art director charlie carballo (Sept. 23); Tampa Bay fashion designer ivanka Ska, Pulse co-owner ron legler, Orlando photographer angie Folks (Sept. 24); former Watermark sales rep Kevin thornton (Sept. 25); EO Inn general manager eddie cooper, Orlando performer on consummate princess Janine Klein, Keep Orlando Beautiful coordinator Jody Goostree, graphic artist Jarrod Pope, former Watermark media director Jamie hyman (Sept. 26); Gulf coast photographer Deanna McKinney (Sept. 27); Tampa realtor cody limberger, Dardin Restaurants’ social media strategist Jeff alexander Giordano, Dapper Ducks owner chuck Zell (Sept. 28); Tampa decorator extraordinaire Matthieu Stanoch, Ybor City event planner tony lacolla (Sept.

29); HIV/AIDS activist rob Domenico (Sept.

30); Parliament House’s niki ames (Oct. 2); Orlando bartender taylor bulloch and “The Money Coach” tammy lally (Oct. 3); Bay News 9 traffic expert chuck henson, Orange County Trump campaign chair randy ross (Oct. 4); Bach Festival’s Zac alfon, Orlando bartender tracy thomas (Oct. 5); Lighthouse Realty broker/owner Mike trexler (Oct. 6)

Do You hAve An AnnounCement? hAving A birthDAY or AnniversArY? DiD You get A new Job or Promotion?

See your news in Watermark! Send your announcement to editor@Watermarkonline.com or go to Watermarkonline.com/Submit-a-transition.

it’s thAt eAsY!

—Samantha Rosenthal

Do you have an interesting wedding or engagement story you’d like to share with Watermark readers? if so, email the details to editor@Watermarkonline.com for consideration as a future feature on this page.

watermark Your LGBT life.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

55

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Pride Fest 2016 Oct 15th J.D.Hamel Park Gulfstream & Main

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61

uprISINGS

the MOSt deplOrable

w to their credit, Nbc did sever ties with trump after he called mexicans rapists … if by ‘severing ties’ you mean inviting him on their flagship comedy programs to show millions of Americans what a fun guy he is. Sure, he’s making life palpably dangerous for muslims and immigrants but hey, he’s good at entertainment!

—CoMedian saMantha bee on FULL FRONTAL

a JOlly crISt-MeSS

i

n a debate to end all debates, the endlessly fascinating duo of Democrat (-ish) Charlie Crist and Republican David Jolly, both running for Congressional District 13, dropped from the sky on Sept. 19, leaving a sparkling trail of rhetoric to light up the clouds behind it. The gist from Jolly, of course, was the Crist cannot be trusted. Crist, who likes nice things that exist somewhere around the middle ground, reportedly plead for civility against mean-old-nasty Jolly who quickly ran to the sewer. Or, sewage funding, rather. Jolly lurched for Mayor Rick Kriseman jugular (Jolly says that Kriseman was hiding the problem, though St. Petersburg is terrible with its sewage). Crist brought that one on himself by bringing the issue up in the first place. He asked Jolly why he had not asked for federal dollars to alleviate the situation, in Flint-tones. From there, everything went haywire, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Racism, crime and redistricting floated into the conversation and nobody won. For the record, Crist still loves President Barack Obama, though, so there’s that.

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truMp the charItIeS

A

n explosive WASHINGTON POST REPORT on Sept. 20 revealed that the presidential candidate dipped into his charitable foundation to pay his own legal bills over the years, that is if $258,000 can be referred to as “dipping.” The report goes on to name the hilarities that line Trump’s orange-skinned road to relevance: $120,000 in fines to Palm Beach County for his Mar-a-Lago Club because of a flagpole; In lieu of paying that, $100,000 went to “veterans” (though it wasn’t Trump’s money; it was donor cash); one of his golf courses spent $158,000 from the charity to another charity as hush money.

It’s just another chapter in a cycle of abuses that include $30,000 for two portraits of himself. He’s brought “self-dealing” to new heights!

“If he’s using other people’s money – run through his foundation – to satisfy his personal obligations, then that’s about as blatant an example of self-dealing [as] I’ve seen in a while,” Washington law firm analyst Jeffrey Tenenbaum told the Post. Related: Trump stopped giving to his own charity in 2009.

Murphy’S laW

A

s has been ruMored, even since the very public endorsements from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Patrick Murphy’s bid for the U.S. Senate is in trouble. If you’ve turned on your television in the past few hours, you’ve likely seen 300 advertisements against Murphy from various political action committees that look a whole lot like Marco Rubio. In short, he’s being trampled.

Now the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is going to cut spending on the Murphy campaign by 70 percent, presumably raising the white flag in Rubio’s general direction.

Murphy’s campaign is trying not to show its deck, instead insisting that other sources will come to the rescue. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the Senate Majority PAC will pony up $10 million, while AFSCME are in for $1.8 million.

Nothing to see here!

watermark Your LGBT life.

Billy Manes

hat a diZZying two weeks of nonsense we’ve witnessed on the presidential campaign trail. So dizzying, in fact, that one candidate – she of a thousand prefixes Hillary Clinton – became TMZ phone-cam fodder when she wobbled in the hands of staffers on her way to a vehicle after a Sept. 11 tribute in the overbearing sun and overbearing endorphins of public appearances.

The world gasped, as it does, when it saw the slight shifts of her head on television as she was politely escorted away. Surely that meant that she was unfit to be president. Surely she was chiming a death knell for all the world to hear.

Trump for everyone!

And though, by most messaging available to the media, Trump didn’t do his typical headline buzzard routine on something so private as Clinton’s personal health (optics!), he was quick to make note of her absence in recovery from the diagnosed bout of pneumonia from which she was suffering. That came mostly because of Clinton’s savage – but true – attack on Trump supporters as “deplorables.” Show me a Trump supporter who doesn’t have airs of privilege wrapped up in smug smile of “I’ve got mine” or some other prosperity gospel, and I’ll show you a bigot with a confederate flag living right down the road with a Trump sign in his yard.

“If Hillary Clinton will not retract her comments in full, I don’t see how she can credibly campaign any further,” Trump said to the National Guard Association of the United States according to the New York Times.

Credibility is not the same as “the art of the deal,” Trump should know. After all, Trump may be the subject of a more credible probe than those of Clinton’s medical records (Her vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine released his as well, in solidarity). Trump is presently tied up in a campaign finance scandal involving everybody’s favorite blond flip-flop Pam Bondi (more on that below) in addition to numerous law suits that seem to litter his path to glory.

And exposing health records is a dirty game.

When was the last time you worked a 17-hour day hopping airplanes and speaking to arenas full of people? When was the last time you called out sick? Clinton can’t, especially now that polls are (as they do) tightening in swing states in advance of the Nov. 8 general election. So as Trump continues to kick dirt into the infected eye of an opponent whose entire Slim Goodbody has now been questioned, picked and thrown on broadsheets by even the most reputable of media sources, then bounces back and shows everyone what she’s made of, Trump will have a lot to answer for when the subjects surrounding governing a nation come up in the debates (the first of which is Sept. 26).

Then we shall see who is the most deplorable and the most reliable. I think we already know that answer.

Sep t emb er 22 - Oc tOb er 5 , 2016 // ISSue 2 3.19

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