Watermark Issue 27.02: The Battle Within

Your LGBTQ Life.

January 23 - February 5, 2020 • Issue 27.02

Hometown Genie returns to Orlando for ‘Aladdin’

Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber unveils new name, branding

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departments 7 // Publisher’s Desk 8 // Central Florida News 10// Tampa Bay News 12// State News 13// Nation & World News 17// Talking Points 33// Community Calendar 35// Tampa Bay Out + About 37// Central Fl Out + About 38// Tampa Bay Marketplace 40// Central Fl Marketplace 45// Wedding Bells/

Announcements 46// The Last Page

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Too many people think transphobia is binary. There are plenty of people who are allies but hold transphobic views.

Some LGBTQ people don’t understand the trans experience and they’re unwilling to become better allies.

–YouTube influencer, Watermark columnist and photographer Maia Monet

On the cover

page Great Scott!:

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page The Battle

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Within: Transgender

and nonbinary discrimination in the LGBTQ community.

Watermark Issue 27.02 // Jan 23 - Feb 5, 2020

Design by DiBenedetto/wiedemann.

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Central Florida native Michael James Scott heads back to Agrabah (and Orlando) to play the Genie in “Disney’s Aladdin.”

Updating Her Life

State of the Bay

Team Trump

Page Turners

page Central Florida intersex woman asks judge for gender change on birth certificate.

page The Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber of Commerce unveils its new name.

page

page

Read It Online!

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

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Former Attorney General Pam Bondi named part of Trump’s impeachment legal team.

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ReadOut presents its third annual festival of lesbian literature and events.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WatermarkOnline and Like us on Facebook. watermark Your LGBTQ life.

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

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January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

Publisher’s

Rick Claggett PUblisher

Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

I

Desk

went to a small, Southern

Baptist college in Mars Hill, North Carolina.

It was definitely a culture shock. I considered myself a religion-wary, big city boy from Central Florida. Is that even an accurate statement for Orlando in 1993? There were still orange groves everywhere I walked and the East-West Expressway was just two lanes each way, with 25 cent tolls.

Although, we had Blockbuster which was more than Mars Hill could boast. Mars Hill was a two-stoplight kind of town.

I didn’t hate it though, in retrospect I loved it. College is where I gained my passion for musical theater. I had the opportunity to stage manage a musical called “American Beauty.”

It was a spoof on beauty pageants, but it made my sappy, young, gay heart melt.

There was a beautiful song by a stunning actress, formerly Ms. Illinois, called “Music.” The lyrics are about the immense power

music has on us. It can take over any situation. Music can pull you out of a funk in an instant, and it can tear at your soul when you least expect it. The latter being the case for me most recently.

I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I saw several friends had posted a new music video from James Blunt called “Monsters.” Spoiler alert: It’s a tear jerker. Basically, it’s a goodbye song to his ailing father. I have listened

to the first verse, but that’s about as far as I made it. Since my last article, my family experienced the 5-year mark of my dad’s passing.

He died on New Year’s Eve 2014 after suffering from a long-term illness. His death was slow and my mom and I were by his side when he took his last breath.

I relate so much to the words James Blunt puts together: acknowledging the imperfections of himself and his father as the two men simply find a way to say goodbye. Hearing that one word, “goodbye,” took me right back to the moment I said goodbye to my dad. There was great sadness in that moment, losing the man who had taught me so much; but there was relief for the end of his pain and beauty in comforting him — protecting him from his fears and monsters.

I can’t say that a day goes by that I don’t think of him. Sadly too many do. I don’t say that in shame, but just the reality of life. With living in two cities, sitting on two boards, running two companies and trying to plan a wedding, it’s easy to lose track of the past.

Luckily life has a way of jogging my memory of what is important.

In honor of my dad, I’m going to share a story that epitomizes my relationship with him. It was 1985 and my parents and I were heading home from a little league game when we passed my 10 year-old self’s favorite place in the world — Taco Bell. This was the year Taco Bell introduced the Pizzazz Pizza, so I said, “Ooo dad, I want a Pizzazz!” To which my dad exclaimed, “You want a piece of what?!?”

I feel like we laughed for ten minutes. That’s who my dad was, and that’s the moment I developed my sense of humor. He was the king of corny dad jokes. Every time my brother would say, “I’m thirsty,” my dad would follow with, “Hi thirsty. I’m Friday. How ‘bout

watermark staff Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • Ext. 110 Rick@WatermarkOnline.com Business Manager: Kathleen Sadler • Ext. 101 Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com

CFL Bureau Chief: Jeremy Williams • Ext. 106 Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com Tampa Bay Bureau Chief: Ryan Williams-Jent • Ext. 302 Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com Creative/Photographer: Dylan Todd • Ext. 102 Dylan@WatermarkOnline.com

we get together Saturday for a sundae?” As long as my dad could talk, right up to the end, he made cringe-worthy jokes that always had me laughing.

I may not think about him every day, but every day he lives on through me as I carry on his terribly funny sense of humor. It’s not just me either. It’s rubbed off on my roommate, my fiancé and certainly my brother’s kids. I’m sure if my Puggle, Amber Atkins, could talk she would carry on his legacy as well. Thank you James Blunt for the trip down memory lane, and thank you dad for the continuing laughter. I love you

I may not think about him every day, but every day he lives on through me as I carry on his terribly funny sense of humor.

and I miss you.

In this issue of Watermark we continue our series of discrimination within the LGBTQ community, focusing on the treatment of our transgender and non-binary family. Our arts and entertainment features introduce you to Central Florida’s Genie in a bottle from “Aladdin” and Gulfport’s ReadOut. In Central Florida news we follow Juleigh Amanda Mayfield’s battle to have her birth certificate reflect her gender, and in Tampa Bay news the Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber gets a make-over.

We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.

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January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

contributors Beneva Fruitville

has been honored for her theatrical roles and volunteerism. She has performed onstage from New York to Fiji and can be seen on screen via Amazon Prime and Sarasota’s Suncoast View. Page 15

Alec Reynolds

is a USF alum and progressive activist in Tampa Bay fighting on behalf of inclusivity and equality in Florida. Page 19

Lora Korpar is

a journalism student at the University of Central Florida and a former Watermark intern. She plans to graduate in Spring 2020. Page 45

photography Brian Becnel, Nick Cardello, Bruce Hardin, Jamarqus Mosley, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift

distribution LVNLIF2 Distributing, Ken Carraway, Vanessa Maresca-Cruz CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher.

Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

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central florida news

LGBTQ workshop to help heal trauma coming to Winter Park Samantha Neely

O

RLANDO | The sting of rejection within the LGBTQ community is something therapists Lindsay Kincaide and Marcie Cramer have seen show up in many forms for years, both professionally and personally.

“When you look at what people think of trauma and about sexual abuse, being beaten or being neglected, at the core of all of those is a rejection,” Cramer says. “From my perspective, the community is rejected, so it’s multifaceted and you’ll see it’s really like a gem. Wherever you turn, you’ll see a different facet but at the core of this is: ‘Do I have a right to be here?’ ‘Do I have a right to exist?’ ‘What is my worth?’ … that all comes from rejection.”

Kincaide says after finding out Cramer ran LGBTQ workshops in the late 90s to 00s, she wanted to collaborate on a workshop for the community that she loved. After weeks of planning, they created “Healing Trauma in the LGBTQ Community,” deciding that focusing on rejection and the internalized shame it causes was the most meaningful approach.

“What makes the group therapy and workshops so powerful is you get that message that you are wanted, accepted and you’re allowed to speak your truth,” Kincaide says.

Kincaide and Cramer, who both work at Center for the Healing Arts, agree that workshops are a great way to heal old wounds. After years of not facilitating sessions and noticing that there are very few LGBTQ specific workshops, Cramer says she is excited to create a safe space for the community she’s been an ally of since her teens.

“Workshops use the opportunity to drill down to the cause instead of just trying to deal with the symptoms,” she says. “We heal down and we grow up – so we can really drill down to where the trauma is.”

While planning the activities and discussions for the workshop, the duo made sure to cater it to each person to fit their agenda.

“It’s very experiential, they are really going to experience healing and then confront the feelings,” Kincaide says. “We’re going to have a variety of different types of activities and techniques to use, so there is really going to be something that’s going to fit everyone with all sorts of different processes.”

However, they say they are aware that this is an intense, immersive process and it can be challenging for some.

“We are conscious that there will be some people that come in with a lot of anxiety,” Cramer says. “They are the warriors because they’re doing it in spite of how anxious they feel.”

The main idea that they want participants to leave with is that they are loved and deserve love.

“The more everyone is in touch with the best part of themselves, the better the planet will be,” Cramer says.

“Healing Trauma in the LGBTQ Community” will be held Feb. 22 from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information and to reserve a space, visit CenterForTheHealingArts.com.

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Intersex advocate:

Juleigh Amanda Mayfield speaks with the press outside the Osceola County Courthouse Jan. 15. Photo by Jeremy Williams

Updating Her Life Central Florida intersex woman asks judge for gender change on birth certificate Jeremy Williams

K

ISSIMMEE, Fla. | A Central Florida intersex woman asked an Osceola County judge for a gender marker change on her birth certificate Jan. 15.

Juleigh Amanda Mayfield was born 47XXY, meaning she was born with an extra copy of the X chromosome. This left Mayfield neither completely biologically male or female, but both. At birth, her parents began raising her as male.

“Information just wasn’t readily available in 1975,” Mayfield says.

“XXY wasn’t even discovered until the early 1950s, so it’s safe to say doctors in Alabama in 1975 had no knowledge about it.”

At age 17, Mayfield moved to Orlando and was diagnosed with XXY. She was given testosterone and would take it for five years before she was advised by doctors to stop due to health issues. For 20 years Mayfield was on no hormones.

In 2018, again due to serious health-related issues, doctors told Mayfield she needed to be on

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

copious amounts of estrogen. This is when Mayfield began her journey to becoming Juleigh.

“I travel a lot for work, as an actress and an advocate for the XXY community,” Mayfield says, “and I was traveling as Juleigh but showing up with James’ ID. I would have to give TSA a piece of paper that says ‘I’m in the process of transitioning, please don’t make an issue about it. My paperwork will all say male.’ That’s very scary because you don’t know how people are going to react.”

Along with her class, Dr. Irene Pons – a University of Central Florida associate lecturer and an old friend of Mayfield’s since their days of working at Disney – assisted Mayfield in getting her name changed on her ID to reflect her correct name. They found that changing its gender marker was not as simple.

“I contacted Alabama to see what I had to do to change my birth certificate from male to female,” Mayfield says. “The person on the phone said, ‘You are going to have to prove to the state of Alabama that

you had transitional surgery to get the gender change.’ I didn’t have to do that because I was born both.”

Pons and her class began creating the documentation Mayfield would need to ask a Central Florida judge to grant an order for a gender change on all her legal documents, including her birth certificate.

Pons and Mayfield hoped that on Jan. 15, the judge would sign off on the request which, according to Pons, means Alabama should have to recognize it. However, the judge postponed his ruling, asking for a week to review the case including information on a similar case from Indiana Pons submitted to the courts.

“The Indiana case is specifically on point,” Pons said after the hearing. “I also have 109 cases to look through and I’m going to bolster her position as much as I can based on the authority that I find. Then we wait for his decision.”

If granted, this would be the first case in the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court where an intersex person is allowed a gender marker change to be applied to another state.

“It’s hard to understand that just a piece of paper weighs so heavy on everything we do and what so many people take for granted in society,” Mayfield says. “It’s not just about me getting my birth certificate, it’s about me sharing my story.”

Pons had until Jan. 22 to submit the amended case, at which time the judge will review and make a decision.

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

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January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

9

tampa bay news

Sarasota Pride marks 30 years with first January outing Ryan Williams-Jent

S

ARASOTA | Sarasota Pride will be held Jan. 25 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at J.D. Hamel Park, the first January outing in the celebration’s 30-year history.

Sarasota Pride, Inc., its organizing nonprofit, exists to encourage visibility for members of the LGBTQ community living in Sarasota and throughout Florida.

It promotes the elimination of prejudice through community activities like this year’s Pride in the Park.

An estimated 6,000 participants attended Sarasota Pride’s last gathering on Oct. 20, 2018, Sarasota Pride, Inc. Chair Cindy Barnes says. In August of last year, the organization announced it would skip its traditional October festival, and thus 2019 altogether, citing scheduling conflicts with the city.

Barnes now sees the conflict as a blessing. Sarasota Oktoberfest, held at J.D. Hamel Park in lieu of Sarasota Pride 2019, was shuttered due to inclement weather.

“We would have had to cancel the thing,” she says.

She also sees the move as benefiting the organization and Pride attendees in other ways. “October is one of the busiest months of the year,” Barnes says. “When we had Pride in 2018 there were seven events going on in town that day. It’s hard to get tents, tables and chairs.”

Barnes also cites the weather. “I don’t think it’s ever going to be cool in October again,” she says. “I think the weather’s going to be much better.”

More than 40 new and returning vendors are expected to fill J.D. Hamel Park for Sarasota Pride this year, showcasing an impressive assortment of goods and services. “We have a lot of vendors who have never been here before,” Barnes says, “they’ve just come out of the woodwork. We also have our repeat offenders, as I call them; they always come back. We have a big variety this year.”

That includes a wide range of food and beverages, with Barnes touting “the cheapest alcohol of any festival in Sarasota.” Attendees can expect a plethora of fan favorite entertainment as well.

The St. Petersburg-based pop/rock duo Halcyon perform from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., followed by the Sarasota-based rock group Divine AF from 2 – 4 p.m.

Between performances, emcee Lindsay Carlton-Cline will be joined by fellow drag entertainers Anita Cox, Savannah Lynn and Grandma Pearl for performances throughout the festival.

Sarasota Pride isn’t likely to return to an October outing, Barnes says, but says the organization’s six-member board will consider feedback from the community. “It will depend on how this turns out,” she says, “but I think we will probably stay in January.

“Everyone can’t have Pride in June and October,” Barnes adds. “We’ll have to evaluate after it’s over, see how everyone feels and go from there. Just come out and have a good time.”

Sarasota Pride 2020 will be held Jan. 25 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at J.D. Hamel Park. For more information, visit SarasotaPride.org.

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A NEW DAY:

(L-R) Mayor Jane Castor, LGBT Chamber of Commerce President Justice Gennari and Mayor Rick Kriseman unveil the chamber’s new name Jan. 17.

PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

State of the Bay Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber of Commerce unveils new name Ryan Williams-Jent

T

AMPA | The Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber of Commerce, formerly the Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber of Commerce, unveiled its new name and branding Jan. 17 at the Centre Club during its annual State of the Chamber luncheon.

The chamber has served Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ community since 1983, representing businesses, groups and individuals throughout Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties. As an affiliate of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), it provides LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTE) certification to LGBT-owned businesses and promotes equality.

More than 175 supporters attended the annual luncheon, including St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. The longstanding chamber members discussed the state of equality in Tampa Bay, detailing their dedication to diversity and inclusion for all. They were flanked by presentations from chamber

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

leadership, members and Trulieve, the event’s presenting sponsor.

The State of the Chamber exists to recognize community leaders, discuss the chamber’s vision for the future and detail its accomplishments of the previous year. Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber of Commerce President Justice Gennari used the opportunity to reveal that membership had an overall growth of 830% in 2019, with event attendance growing by 166%.

“We are kicking off 2020 with our members, past and current board members, elected leaders and corporate partners to showcase our 35 plus years in the Tampa Bay Region and our vision for the next 35,” Gennari shared.

“Last year we hosted the NGLCC International Business and Leadership Conference in Tampa Bay and this year we look to match the excitement with seven new educational programs, networking socials, events and so much more,” he continued. “We truly are the only resource in Tampa Bay Area advocating for the LGBT business community and dedicated to expanding economic development for the LGBT business community

and this event highlights the milestones we have achieved.”

Gennari subsequently unveiled the chamber’s new name and branding, sharing its updated logo designed by Tampa’s BKN Creative. The LGBTBE-certified firm worked diligently on the design to ensure it matched the chamber’s strategic plan.

The new branding incorporates the colors of the rainbow and seven hexagons, representing the chamber’s seven core values and the Tampa Bay counties its serves.

“We worked with BKN Creative to ensure that the new branding truly represented our chamber,” Gennari said.

“The transition will take place over the next few weeks as we continue to execute our strategic plan for 2020,” he continued. “The rebrand will not change the way the Chamber advocates for current members and it will continue to support its members throughout the seven-county region.”

“BKN Creative is incredibly honored to have worked with the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber on their recent rebrand and logo design,” BKN CEO Kevin Tydlaska-Dziedzic added. “We look forward to seeing this chamber continue to excel and impact our Tampa Bay LGBTQ community.”

For more information about the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber of Commerce, its LGBTBE certification and future events, visit DiversityTampaBay.com.

To view a full photo gallery of the luncheon, visit WatermarkOnline.com.

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

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January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

11

state news

Bondi named part of Trump’s legal team Samantha Neely

F

ormer Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Jan. 17 was named a part of President Donald Trump’s legal team for his impeachment trial.

Bondi will join the likes of former O.J. Simpson attorney Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr, the former independent counsel whose investigation of President Bill Clinton led to his impeachment.

Critics were quick to point out that Bondi, who is a longtime ally of Trump, is a highly controversial choice for his legal team considering the history the two share.

Bondi has an extensive anti-LGBTQ record as attorney general. She filed a 40-page emergency petition with the Supreme Court to stop same-sex marriage in Florida and made several comments about the community, such as saying that marriage is “a union between a man and a woman.”

Bondi has said that she believes Trump didn’t do anything wrong and Trump himself has called the impeachment “totally partisan … a hoax.”

Florida Republicans introduce 4 anti-LGBTQ bills Samantha Neely

H

ours before the 2020 legislative deadline, seven Florida Republican lawmakers submitted four anti-LGBTQ bills on Jan. 13.

The lawmakers, which include Rep. Anthony Sabatini, Sen. Dennis Baxley, Rep. Byron Donalds, Rep. Michael Grant, Sen. Joe Gruters, Rep. Bob Rommel and Sen. Keith Perry, introduced the bills that each included a companion bill in the House and Senate.

HB 1365, the “Vulnerable Child Protection Act,” would make it a second-degree felony to provide certain medical care or treatments to transgender children.

According to Sabatini’s Facebook post regarding the bill, he said, “No parent should be allowed to sterilize, castrate or permanently disfigure a child.”

HB 305, or “Preemptions of Conditions of Employment,” would

repeal the protections that are currently in place for employers to not discriminate against people for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

HCR 309, or “Equal Rights for Men and Women” – and HB 537, “Home Based Business” – could legalize conversion therapy where it has previously been banned. It would also allow it to be performed within homes.

“It’s hard to believe that this is a legislature where three LGBTQ members are proudly and openly serving, but it is,” State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith said in a tweet.

“This is what it feels like to be kicked in the gut by your colleagues. I am so utterly offended and disappointed.”

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren retweeted Smith’s commentary.

“These bills would cause immense harm to LGBTQ+ Floridians – especially children,” Warren wrote. “I’ll fight to protect LGBTQ+ youth, including by passing the

Equality Act, banning conversion therapy nationwide and ensuring that every LGBTQ+ person gets the gender-affirming health care they need.”

Florida isn’t the only state that has recently put forth anti-LGBTQ legislation. South Dakota, Missouri and South Carolina all have bills that would ban transgender-related care.

These bills have caught the attention of several local advocacy groups and many have released statements on the bill.

“This is the most overtly anti-LGBTQ agenda from the Florida Legislature in recent memory,” Equality Florida Public Policy Director Jon Harris Maurer said in a press release. “It runs the gamut from openly hostile legislation that would arrest and imprison doctors for providing medically necessary care, to legislation that would carelessly erase critical local LGBTQ protections.”

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nation+world news

White House, LGBTQ groups clash over regulations Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

F

ollowing the release of new regulations from the Trump administration with the stated intent of protecting the religious freedom of federal grantees, LGBTQ groups and the White House are locked in a dispute over whether they enable anti-LGBTQ discrimination.

President Trump unveiled the new regulations Jan. 16 at an event in observance of National Religious Freedom Day. The triage of measures are 1) Regulations from nine federal agencies lifting regulations requiring religious-affiliated federal grantees to inform individuals seeking their service of secular alternatives; 2) Guidance affirming First Amendment protections for prayer in schools; and 3) An Office of Management & Budget memo ensuring religious organizations are eligible for grants.

It’s the first measure that has invoked the ire of LGBTQ rights advocates. The nine agencies from which the regulations came down are the Justice Dept., the Dept. of

Agriculture, the Labor Dept., Dept. of Homeland Security, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Dept. of Health & Human Services, the Dept. of Education and the Dept. of Housing & Urban Development.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) asserted in a statement that the new regulations would “roll back existing protections for LGBTQ and other people seeking government services and benefits.”

“The right to believe and to exercise one’s faith is a core American value. The right to discriminate with taxpayer dollars is not,” HRC President Alphonso David said.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere denied the latest regulations enabled discrimination in a statement. “Are these the same groups who function more like a campaign arm of the Democratic Party and have refused to credit the president with any action he’s taken to protect LGBTQ Americans?” Deere asked.

“The president believes in human dignity for all and that no one should be discriminated against, including religious organizations and the LGBTQ community,” the statement continued.

If one measure of determining whether or not a religious freedom measure is anti-LGBTQ is testing out it pleases anti-LGBTQ groups, the results would come out as a “yes.”

Tony Perkins, president of the anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council, said Trump is “taking on the bullies” in a statement largely focused on the new regulation ensuring teachers and parents can pray in schools.

Also hailing the measure was Alliance Defending Freedom CEO Michael Farris. He said the new regulations were based in part on the anti-LGBTQ legal firm’s victory in the Trinity Lutheran case.

Rea Carey, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, condemned the regulations at the same time her organization was hosting its annual Creating Change conference in Dallas, Texas.

“The stated reason for the new rules is to ‘remove burdens’ on providers, but serving women, people of color, religious minorities and LGBTQ people is not a burden,” Carey said. “Our communities no longer expect better from this administration, yet every time Trump attempts to remove support from those who need them most, it causes both tangible and psychological harm.”

Belize Court of Appeal upholds sodomy law ruling Michael K. Lavers of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

Belize’s Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling that said the country’s colonial-era sodomy law is unconstitutional.

Belize Supreme Court Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin in 2016 issued his ruling in a case against Section 53 of the country’s Criminal Code that Caleb Orozco, a prominent LGBTQ activist in the Central American country, brought. The Belizean government challenged portions of Benjamin’s ruling, but the Court of Appeal upheld it.

“I have proven as a citizen that our fundamental rights have value and can be upheld by our courts, and

that any alienated section of society can stand on principle and can go to court and use the fundamental rights to ensure that the state leaves no one behind,” said Orozco in a statement after the Court of Appeal issued its ruling.

“Today is a renewal of hope in the substance of the chief justice’s decision in 2016, which still stands,” added Orozco.

OutRight Action International Deputy Executive Director Maria Sjodin noted to the Washington Blade the Belize Supreme Court is the first court in the English-speaking Caribbean to strike down a colonial-era sodomy law. Activists throughout the region have said Orozco’s case continues to resonate in their countries.

LGBTQ people in Jamaica, Dominica, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines in recent years have challenged their respective

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

countries’ sodomy laws in court.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago has appealed a 2018 ruling that declared the country’s sodomy law unconstitutional.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights last fall held a hearing in D.C. that focused on challenges to Jamaica’s sodomy law.

The three LGBTQ Barbadians who have challenged their country’s colonial-era statute brought their case to the commission. A decision in their favor could have sweeping implications throughout the Caribbean, especially in countries that continue to criminalize consensual same-sex relations.

“We urge authorities in Belize to embrace and fully implement the ruling, and to work with civil society to promote genuine equality for its LGBTIQ inhabitants,” Sjodin told the Blade.

in other news Bills seek to end kentucky conversion therapy Bills aimed at ending conversion therapy, which seeks change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, have been introduced in Kentucky’s Republican-dominated House and Senate. The proposals would ban mental health professionals from engaging in conversion therapy with people under age 18. It would also apply for adults who are under guardianship or those who are wards of the state. Republican Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr of Lexington, lead sponsor of the Senate measure, called the practice “conversion torture.” Democratic Rep. Lisa Willner of Louisville, lead sponsor of the House bill, denounced it as a “discredited and dangerous” practice.

Uganda imam suspended for same-sex marriage Frank Mugisha, an LGBTQ rights activist who runs the group Sexual Minorities Uganda, says criticism of a local imam who unknowingly married a man in a Muslim ceremony highlights intolerance in the East African country. The imam, who says he did not know his partner was male, has been suspended from clerical duty and his partner has been charged with committing an “unnatural” offense. Mugisha said it was not clear whether the imam’s partner is transgender, one reason his group had decided not to release a statement regarding the case. Uganda has attempted to enact life-threatening penalties targeting homosexuals, including death by hanging.

anti-LGBTQ adoption bill passes in tennessee In its first bill of the year, the Tennessee Senate approved HB 836, which would allow adoption agencies to refuse placement into LGBTQ homes on the basis of religious objections. The Senate passed the bill 20-6. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Paul Rose, prohibits requiring private licensing child-placement agencies to participate in child placement “that would violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions.” The Tennessee House approved the legislation in April 2019 and following the Senate bill’s passage, Gov. Bill Lee announced he would sign the measure into law.

Brazil Supreme Court OKs Netflix’s gay Jesus film The president of Brazil’s Supreme Court issued an order Jan. 9 allowing Netflix to continue streaming “The First Temptation of Christ,” a comedy depicting Jesus as a gay man. The special was produced by the Rio-based group Porta dos Fundos, whose headquarters was bombed.

“It is not to be assumed that a humorous satire has the magic power to undermine the values of the Christian faith, whose existence goes back more than two thousand years,” Supreme Court President Jose Antonio Dias Toffoli wrote in his decision. Porta dos Fundos said in a statement that it stands “against any act of censorship, violence, illegality, authoritarianism and all the things we no longer expected to have to repudiate in 2020.”

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

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Beneva Fruitville

Picking Berry All My World was a Stage

I

love musicals. In fact,

musical theater has been my hobby and lifelong career, a path I chose after I saw the musical “A Chorus Line” at 13 years old. In that one evening of music, dance, comedy and drama, I learned that performing was not only a viable career – but one that I, Berry Ayers, absolutely had to have.

I grew up in church and sang my first solo at the age of four with dreams of becoming the next Sandy Patti. That “Chorus Line” performance still hung in my memory like the first time I saw Dorothy step out into the colorful world of Oz, however; there were people on that stage talking about abuse, sex, hurt, anger, power and ultimately, love.

My life went from Sandi Patti to Patti Lupone, Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. I studied, worked hard, went to a performing arts high school and I walked out of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music with an agent and a career. Performances Off-Broadway, in national tours, on cruise ships and in regional theater followed.

At first, the work I was getting was in the ensemble; the townsfolk in River City or the dancing waiters at the Harmonia Gardens. As a highly trained and very serious actor, when I was dancing on the “West Side Story” fire escapes of New York City, I was asked to determine who my character was, what his home life was like and what he wanted. Acting meant that you go on stage and become someone else. I didn’t have to be me; I could pick whoever I wanted to be.

At the age of nine, I was diagnosed with Manic Depressive Disorder with Suicidal Ideations. Other diagnoses through the years have been Bipolar Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Severe Depression, PTSD, Anorexia, Bulimia and Body Dysmorphia. I am also an addict. Being me, all the time, was not easy. Musical theater allowed me

to be whoever I wanted to be in my bedroom while “I Dreamed A Dream” onstage.

As my career progressed, I started making a name for myself and was able to pick the roles I wanted. It was about this time I was picked to perform in an AIDS benefit in drag, something I had only done onstage in a musical. I was also asked to pick a name for this performance.

At the time, I was hired for the musical “Chicago” in Sarasota. The rehearsals were at a dance studio located at the intersection of Beneva and Fruitville Roads. Upon hearing that, I said “Beneva Fruitville … that sounds like a drag name!” My friends laughed and I suddenly had a new nickname. Beneva Fruitville it was!

Drag opened so many doors for me, beginning with guest performance spots. Within six months, I was hosting my own show.

I have since created the longest-running theatrical production in Sarasota and occasionally co-host a daytime talk show for our ABC affiliate. It has also been wonderful having a modicum of notoriety, something I dreamed about when I first sang that Sandy Patti song in church so many years ago.

Somewhere in the middle of this journey, something changed in me. For so long I had chosen to be someone else – but intrinsically, without the Beneva persona of being sexy, sassy and salacious – who was Berry?

I tried self-medicating with drugs and alcohol.

I played with the concept of gender fluidity. I also tried non-prescribed and illegal hormones. Things got very dark, suicidal dark, and I resumed therapy.

I discovered that I was experiencing something called dysphoria, adding it to my previously stated list of diagnoses.

In any case, I had finally found my true self: a

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

44-year-old, trans woman who has never felt more alive and more comfortable in her own skin than being able to say those words. So, what does a girl do when she realizes that she needs to put her mental health first?

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She talked me through the basics of Metro’s services, treated me with respect and care and we are proceeding at my pace.

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drag a full-time career!

I clearly didn’t think that out thoroughly. Jobs give health insurance. No health insurance, no therapist. A little lost and wondering what my next step would be, friends told me to call Metro Inclusive Health.

I made an appointment for an assessment and in December, I met my new therapist.

and I want them now! But, I am literally just beginning my journey; just beginning the process of getting my letter of support so that I can begin HRT. In order to get approved for HRT you must have a letter from your therapist explaining your dysphoria and we are working on that process now. Going through my past, defining examples of my specific dysphoria

the first time I can pick who I really am – and this time, I am Picking Berry.

So this is my journey.

I choose to be open, honest and transparent because for

I had finally found my true self: a 44-year-old, trans woman who has never felt more alive and more comfortable in her own skin.

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

Berry Ayers, aka Beneva Fruitville, has been honored for her theatrical roles and volunteerism.

She has performed onstage from New York to Fiji and can be seen on screen via Amazon Prime and Sarasota’s Suncoast View.

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talking points Why are we celebrating her body?

Why does it matter? Why aren’t we celebrating her music? ‘Cause it isn’t gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes.

—Jillian Michaels talking about Lizzo on BuzzFeed News’ “AM to DM” Jan. 8

Taylor Swift, Janet Mock to be honored by GLAAD

T

aylor Swift and writer-director-producer Janet Mock will be honored at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards for their advocacy on LGBTQ issues. Swift will receive the Vanguard Award, which is presented to allies who have made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people. Mock will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award, presented to an LGBTQ media professional. Swift has become an outspoken proponent for the Equality Act. Her “You Need To Calm Down” video also featured prominent LGBTQ celebrities. Mock, who wrote a book about her life as a transgender woman, is a writer and director for Ryan Murphy’s “Pose,” about 1980s ballroom culture with a large LGBTQ cast. She also signed a deal with Netflix in 2019 to produce content for the streaming service. They will be honored at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on April 16.

Jake Gyllenhaal to produce, star in film version of ‘Fun Home’

“B

rokeback Mountain” star Jake Gyllenhaal will produce and star in a film adaptation of “Fun Home,” the Broadway musical based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel of the same name. Winner of the 2015 Tony Award for Best Musical, “Fun Home” depicts Bechdel onstage at three different ages as she delves into memories of her dysfunctional upbringing, especially those surrounding her closeted father, in a home that also served as the location for the family’s mortuary business. Gyllenhaal will take on the role of Bechdel’s father, Bruce. The show’s original director, Sam Gold, is on board to direct the film version as well. Gyllenhaal will produce through his company, Nine Stories Productions.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Sundance aims for more movie critic diversity

A

Sundance Film Festival program designed to increase diversity among media members covering the annual event in Park City boomed in popularity in the initiative’s second year. For this year’s festival, 51 journalists were selected out of a pool of 319 applicants to receive travel stipends provided in the program. The chosen writers are women (61%), LGBTQ (49%), minorities (84%) and people with disabilities (25%). The festival runs Jan. 23–Feb. 2. Sundance officials created the Press Inclusion Program in 2018 after a study by USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative showed that two-thirds of movie critics were white men. Netflix and the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes are among organizations backing the initiative.

‘Modern Family’ to bid farewell in April series finale

a

bc’s “Modern Family” will air its finale after 11 seasons on April 8, and there are no spin-offs in the works involving its large cast. Eric Stonestreet jokingly pitched one featuring Cam and Mitch, the gay couple played by him and Jesse Tyler Ferguson, after executive producer Steven Levitan told a TV critics meeting on Jan. 8 that nothing is planned. The show was an immediate hit and holds the record with “Frasier” of five straight Emmy Awards as television’s best comedy. Before the finale, ABC is presenting a fan-curated tribute on March 11. The network will kick off the night in prime time with the series’ very first episode, followed by favorite episodes that fans get to vote on next month.

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18

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

T

he LGBTQ community

celebrated a milestone in 2019, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. It was an uprising born of exhaustion and fury over the NYPD’s incessant raids on the LGBTQ bar.

Almost nightly, officers harassed and arrested Stonewall Inn patrons simply for gathering at the Greenwich Village locale. Until June 28, 1969. That’s when LGBTQ patrons stood up and fought back, led by two transgender women of color: Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.

Not only were the riots intrepid but the protests served as a forceful sign of activism yet to come; a catalyst for the civil rights we enjoy today. The LGBTQ community now attends family-friendly parades led by mayors proudly marching through their city streets and Bank of America floats carrying LGBTQ and ally employees. Participants are adorned in rainbow boas and glitter and follow routes protected by local police departments.

LGBTQ and ally establishments are pridefully packed day and night throughout the month, celebrating our identities and the benchmarks in our social progression. While we still face oppression and discrimination in today’s political climate, acceptance for LGB people is the new overall norm.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual couples can marry across the nation, from the expansive New York City to the tiniest town in blood red Texas. A gay man can take his boyfriend to a work function and perform as a drag queen on a Saturday night, all while serving in the U.S. military, and Ellen DeGeneres is one of television’s biggest stars and a household name. For many, it’s a beautiful time to be LGB – but what about the T? Continued on pg. 21

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

| uu | The Battle Within from pg.19

Ahead of last year’s annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, which honors the transgender lives lost in acts of violence each year, results from the 2019 Trans Murder Monitoring research project were released. Advocacy organization Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide, which compiled and analyzed the data, found 331 cases of reported killings of transgender and gender-diverse people last year.

In the U.S., the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) found that at least 25 transgender or gender non-confirming individuals were killed. In 2018, Florida led the nation with five transgender women of color being murdered across the state – three in Jacksonville, one in Orlando and another in North Port.

Transgender people frequently community champ: Nikole Parker empowers the transgender community as Equality Florida’s TransAction Florida Project Coordinator. Photo by jake stevens experience harassment and discrimination. While one might spaces to take refuge in. I am not After Kay explained they were and adds that some cisgender phone went off. It was her best assume the demeaning treatment nearly as affected as I used to be.” nonbinary, “one of the men told me individuals “try to decide what’s friend, a lesbian, warning her that comes from stereotypical Kay adds that while they feel that ‘wasn’t a real thing,’ another transphobic because they’re a part I was transgender. Those moments transphobic individuals outside of more comfortable in cisgender asked me what I ‘really was,’ and of the community.”

As such, they make it seem that who you are is a our community, which it does, it LGB spaces than in cisgender another said that I needed to ‘at “use the same language straight ‘gotcha’ for others. It made me feel often comes from other members heterosexual ones, they aren’t yet least pick a side,’” they recall. “At people have used to oppress like I was different.” of the LGBTQ community at large. completely at ease. “I still avoid that point my friend and I no longer lesbians and gays.”

Monet and her best friend, Lesbian, gay, bisexual and even talking to people or making eye felt safe and we left the venue.”

For members of the larger a burlesque performer and other transgender people have contact unless I know for certain Kay has also experienced and LGBTQ community to become successful YouTube influencer, committed acts of harassment. that I’m welcome there,” Kay says of witnessed harassment from other better allies, Monet says, “listening subsequently created a video on Some examples include the former. As for the latter, “I will transgender individuals. “I like to and learning about the transgender the platform about transgender micro-aggressions like making fun be afraid of physical violence and help the people who are early in experience is a good start.” women.

According to Monet, of someone for how they walk to harassment.” their journey and there’s always a That isn’t always easy, some of its comments were confrontationally asking someone Harassment can often come large amount of unlearning to be St. Petersburg’s Cermet Kay says, about their assigned gender at birth grossly ill-informed, describing from the aforementioned TERFs, done,” they explain. “I’m always particularly when it comes to transgender women as predatory or their hormonal changes during which Kay defines as “individuals careful to show them the same members of the LGBTQ community. males grooming young girls for the early stages of their transition. who hide their anti-trans biases patience and compassion that I was “I regularly run into small cases sexual molestation.

These instances are common yet behind academic sounding given when I went through that of harassment in online LGBTQ It’s a “typical TERF talking rarely discussed in the public forum. language and thought.” Kay says the process. However, I occasionally spaces,” the nonbinary professional point,” Monet explains. “They think That’s why Watermark is speaking feminists are “more dangerous than run into binary trans individuals says, “where my opinions are transgender women are biological with individuals in the transgender your garden variety transphobe who hold on to regressive ideas often dismissed because I’m a men invading female spaces for community who’ve experienced because they specifically and that the community has largely ‘trans-trender’ or I’m challenged to sexual deviance.” The acronym discriminatory treatment on the intentionally push for institutional moved past.” justify my identity in the name of stands for “trans exclusionary basis of their gender identity from discrimination against the In grad school, Kay says, they ‘friendly debate.’” radical feminist,” and she says the within the LGBTQ community. trans community. witnessed a transgender woman A trans-trender is derogatory comments were all from lesbians.

Maia Monet is a transgender “These are the people who destroying a Pride flag for “drawing slang, defined as “a person who TERFs are mostly women who woman and lesbian living in instigate online ‘debate’ over too much attention to the trans changes their gender identity as in Monet’s words “believe trans Orlando. She’s also a notable people’s identities and push for community.” More recently, another a fad, without experiencing any women are encroaching and YouTube influencer, photographer discriminatory legislation within transgender woman told them they gender-related dysphoria.” Kay says erasing cis-women and are only and a Watermark columnist. Maia our government,” they continue. were “pretty enough to pass as a cis the online attacks haven’t been the focused on genitalia” when it comes says she’s encountered negative “The only reason ‘radical’ and woman” if they wanted and there worst of it, however. to gender identity. interactions in social situations ‘feminist’ is in the acronym is wasn’t a “need to be nonbinary.”

“I was at a drag show where “Too many people think several times. because they chose those words “Early in my transition it my friend and I were harassed transphobia is binary,” she explains.

“I am a lesbian and I love themselves – in reality, there is impacted me very negatively,” Kay and demeaned by other members “There are plenty of people who our community but most of the nothing radical nor feminist about reflects. “I had imposter syndrome of the audience before the show are allies but hold transphobic harassment that occurs, at least their ideas.” and frequently questioned if I was even started,” Kay recalls. “Several views. Some LGBTQ people don’t for me, is from lesbians,” Monet Kay says in order for the LGBTQ really trans, or trans enough. This individuals, who probably were understand the trans experience says. “On one occasion someone community to become better fear caused me to delay some cisgender gay men from the things and they’re unwilling to become asked why I transitioned if I was allies, “they can proactively educate elements of my transition, like they said, approached us and better allies.” still into women. themselves using the numerous beginning Hormone Replacement offered unsolicited ‘advice’ about A gay man who sexually “Another night I met a young online resources that exist. They Therapy. Now that I feel more our presentation – even going so assaulted Monet is one example lady and asked her on a date,” she far as to physically touch us to point established in the community and of that. She says he dismissed continues. “After we had sex her have several exclusively nonbinary things out.” her protests, citing his sexuality, Continued on pg. 23 | uu |

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

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January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

| uu | The Battle Within from pg.21

can also actively work to protect trans people even when we’re not there.” An example they give is correcting those who may use incorrect names or pronouns.

“It may feel uncomfortable, small and inconsequential but those actions build up and send strong signals that ripple through social circles,” Kay elaborates.

“Transphobia is deeply rooted in our society’s unconscious assumptions, and so the most effective way to combat it is by consistently bringing them into the light where they can be corrected.”

Equality Florida, the state’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s LGBTQ community, offers a number of resources to combat transphobia. Through its transgender inclusion initiative TransAction Florida, it grows grassroots engagement, influences state public policy and conducts transgender inclusion workshops.

The initiative exists to create a broader base of understanding and support from societal institutions which interact with the expansive transgender community. Transgender and nonbinary individuals, as well as other members of the LGBTQ community and allies, can utilize their Transgender Resource Guide to learn about community support.

University of South Florida student Fox Hindsman, a transmasculine St. Petersburg resident, understands the need for that support. One of their first instances with transphobia from within the LGBTQ community occurred in high school after they revealed their identity to a friend.

“I told my closest friend and only her because I didn›t think it would go over well,” Hindsman recalls. “I was absolutely scared of being ex-communicated from my social circle.”

The following day, while eating lunch with their circle of friends which referred to themselves as the “Trans Lunch Squad,” tensions escalated. “The ringleader of our group, who was the reason I even discovered gender exploration was possible, brought up that being gender flux isn’t real,” Hindsman says.

It was the gender identity they were exploring at the time, and their friend asserted “that anyone who claims to identify outside of the gender binary was the real

problem with the community and why we would never be fully accepted in society.”

When Hindsman didn’t chime in to agree, looking instead to the group for support, they were verbally attacked. “He told me that I was specifically what was wrong with the community and that I was fake,” they recall.

“From that point on I would stay away from anywhere I could be purposefully misgendered by the very people who had welcomed me with open arms.”

Hindsman says now that it gave them an “immense amount of internalized transphobia, especially in regards to other nonbinary people.” These experiences and others made them feel “alienated, shameful, disgraceful and like an abomination of nature because I took anything anyone ever said

he went back to his family and had them leave. I internalized that situation for many years.

Transgender people sometimes internalize others’ hate.”

She adds that experiencing and witnessing harassment from another LGBTQ source baffles her.

“Transgender and nonbinary people have been at the forefront fighting for our rights for decades,” Parker says. “It’s hurtful to see how we can be discriminated against and hated even among our own community.

There are not many spaces trans and nonbinary individuals can go to feel safe.

“So when we are in LGBTQ+ spaces but still experiencing hate and discrimination, then it becomes a question of ‘where is safe for us?’ Our community often loves to highlight how they’ve been discriminated against by

why they feel that way. Help get them to better understand the experience of someone who is trans or nonbinary. Education is key to acceptance.”

Equality Florida Director of Transgender Equality Gina Duncan agrees. As the chair of TransAction Florida’s Advisory Council, she ensures transgender inclusion is woven into Equality Florida’s core mission.

“There are several nuanced transphobic issues within the LGBTQ community,” Duncan says.

The activist and trainer specifically points to the Black and QLantix populations.

“We have learned from anti-trans POC violence that this segment of the trans population is underserved and underprotected as black trans murders continue to escalate across the world,” Duncan

As an LGBTQ community we share a common bond to have the right to live an authentic and fulfilled life. We are stronger together and we must continue to evolve together.

— equality florida director of transgender equality gina duncan

about my gender identity very hard.”

Support and unity is critical, Equality Florida’s Nikole Parker stresses. The Orlando resident serves as TransAction Florida’s project coordinator, focusing on community building and empowerment of the transgender community.

“It’s important to understand that we’re in this fight together,” she explains. “We can’t do it alone, or siloed. There is power in numbers.

Trans and nonbinary folks are the first to fight for the rights of all LGBTQ+ people and we need our lesbian, gay, bisexual & queer family to help us.”

Parker learned that early in her own transition. While meeting a friend’s boyfriend for the first time in a restaurant, she recalls noticing a visibly uncomfortable gentleman with his family. “He finally calls over the waiter and says ‘that is disgusting. I’m not subjecting my family to that’ and points at me,” she recalls.

“I was mortified. I didn’t understand what I was doing to make this gentleman uncomfortable,” she continues. “He walked over to another couple and said ‘Do you see that?!’ referring to me. When they asked him to please move away from their table

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

straight cis-gender individuals,” she continues, “but nobody likes to talk about the transgender hate spewed out in our own community.”

Parker believes discrimination against transgender individuals from within the LGBTQ community exists because “ignorance leads to transphobia. Humans fear the unknown. If it’s not understood, the easiest thing to do is reject and fear it.”

She believes “people need to take time to realize we’re all human.

We all just want to live our happy, authentic lives. When you’re talking about marginalized communities, people are fighting for their seat at the table, their rights, their freedom.

I think sometimes the natural thing to do is kick down the person running next to you, so at least you make it through the finish line.”

Parker imagines a world where the LGBTQ community collectively changes that mindset, working together to carry one another across that line. “If the enemy is against us all, why don’t we band together to fight versus being more divisive?”

“See something, say something,” she summarizes. “You hear someone talking negatively about someone who is trans or nonbinary, question their logic. Ask them

says. “While black trans women are experiencing an epidemic of violence, there is not enough being done to address and stem the tide of this violence.”

What’s more, “not enough black trans voices are being lifted to share personal experiences of harassment, discrimination and violence,” she continues. “As a community, from the Pulse tragedy, we learned that the QLatinx trans community was underrepresented and underserved by LGBTQ nondiscrimination initiatives being implemented by the community at large.”

Duncan also says that a nuanced resentment of transgender individuals being the impediment for passing LGBTQ nondiscrimination policy also exists. That was particularly evident with the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA. The legislation provides protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in hiring and employment. It has been introduced each year since 1994, failing to pass in congress every year since.

Gender identity was added in 2007, and some sponsors believed that even with Democratic control

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in congress, it wouldn’t pass with transgender protections.

Organizations including HRC stood by the decision at the time.

“In Florida we have passed over 40 city and county Human Rights Ordinances that include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations,” Duncan counters.

“The latter equating to bathroom usage. Many within the LGB community feel that if they did not have to battle resistance to trans people using the restroom that aligns with their gender identity, more nondiscrimination laws would get passed.”

The LGB community at large can also be slow or resistant to embracing nonbinary identities, something Duncan says can be generationally influenced. “Many within the LGB community find nonbinary identities and their language of engagement to be over complicated and unnecessary,” she explains.

“Gender neutral pronouns like the singular they, bathrooms and policies are often begrudgingly embraced by our LGBTQ community or dismissed as a generational fad currently made en vogue by Millennials and Gen Y and Z,” she elaborates. “I have spoken to several LGBTQ community leaders who have expressed their reluctance to embrace nonbinary nuanced language and have resented this being forced on them as a further complication of gender inclusion.”

To create a more inclusive environment, Duncan stresses that unity is essential. We must “continue to stand shoulder to shoulder against discrimination and hatred,” she asserts, “and be open to our differences based on our personal sexual orientations or gender identities.

“As an LGBTQ community we share a common bond to have the right to live an authentic and fulfilled life,” Duncan concludes.

“We are stronger together and we must continue to evolve together.”

For more information about Equality Florida, TransAction Florida or to access the organization’s Transgender Resource Guide or additional educational assets, visit EQFL.org/ TransActionFL.

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M

Jeremy Williams

ichael James Scott has run the gamut

when it comes to appearing on Broadway. He has been in “Mamma Mia!,” “Hair,” “Elf,” “Something Rotten!” and “The Book of Mormon” to name a few, but there is one role above all that he is most associated with — “Aladdin’s” Genie.

“I call it my ‘Genie journey,’” Scott says. “I never expected it to be a part of my life for this length of time and for it to literally take me all around the world.”

For those of you who have been living inside of a magic lamp for the last 30 years, “Disney’s Aladdin” is the story of a poor, streetwise kid

named, you guessed it, Aladdin who is granted three wishes by the Genie of the lamp. Aladdin uses those wishes to try and win the heart of Jasmine, princess of Agrabah, before the evil Jafar and his wisecracking parrot Iago take over.

Scott first came to the big, blue behemoth of a role as the standby in the original Broadway Continued on pg. 27

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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Friend Like Mike: Michael James Scott, in all his Genie glory, takes the stage with the ensemble for his show-stopping number “Friend Like Me.” Photos by Deen Van Meer

| uu | Great Scott! from pg.25

show, but he would go on to originate the role in Australia and perform as the Genie on the North American tour, in London and then finally, this past year, on a Broadway stage.

As the current national tour makes its way through the U.S., the Central Florida native returns to the role of the Genie for the production’s Orlando stop at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Jan. 22-Feb. 9.

Scott spoke with us ahead of his trip back to The City Beautiful about love, marriage and the role of a lifetime. watermark: You were born in Baltimore but you were raised here in Central Florida?

MICHAEL JAMES SCOTT: Yes, I came to Orlando when I was like

six years old, so I grew up there and went to elementary, middle and high school in Central Florida.

What do you remember most about your time in Orlando back then?

It wasn’t as developed then as it is now, but there was still a really cool openness and sunshine to it. It had a small town feel that just happened to be a tourist destination.

You got into performing when you were quite young. You started doing commercials when you were a kid?

All of that was going on while I was in school. I went to Dr. Phillips High School and across the street was Universal Studios with Nickelodeon Studios, and I remember going across the street to shoot different TV shows and for auditions, and the same with

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Disney. As a young kid I was also doing things for Disney. I grew up working in the parks when I was in high school too, so entertainment was always a part of growing up.

Was there a lot of encouragement for performing in the arts in your house when you were growing up?

Basically my mom said I sang before I spoke. Truly, like this crazy little chubby black kid who just wanted to sing and dance. Then when I was in elementary school, at Rock Springs Elementary School, my choir teacher — Belinda Brewer, who is now passed away — saw something in me and asked my parents if she could expose me to this crazy industry of performing arts and that’s kind of how it happened.

You know, I call them my angels, but I had so many angels who really believed in me and went

out of their way to give me these opportunities so my parents were extremely grateful for them, and obviously I am extremely grateful for them, but my parents just said yes. They saw that my little face lit up performing in front of people or just being a ham and they let me go for it. Your children show you who they are at a very early age and I think my parents really saw how much I enjoyed it and just allowed me to do that.

My mom was kind of like my momager. We really learned together this industry because we didn’t have an agent, it was my mom, and growing up in Orlando there were so many opportunities for child actors and children in the arts. I’m still so thankful for Orlando being a city that really supports the arts because I’m a product of that. I’m a product of the opportunities Orlando gives to a child.

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You were a part of Broadway Theatre Project and you have worked with theater legends like Gregory Hines, Ben Vereen, Julie Andrews.

What are a few of the lessons you learned during that time that you still utilize today?

Broadway Theatre Project was a huge, huge part of my foundation growing as an artist. I think one of the biggest things for me was really seeing these old school masters of the arts embodied by their work ethic. That was I think the biggest thing for me that I got to witness seeing the work ethic of these old school legends. There’s so many amazing people, some who have passed away, that I got to work with one-on-one and the thing I’ll always take with me wherever I go is the work ethic those legends had.

I had the fortune of working with Gregory Hines and Ben Vereen,

Continued on pg. 29 | uu |

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reading of this because I just knew how special it was.

| uu | Great Scott!

YOU WENT FROM “THE BOOK OF MORMON” TO “DISNEY’S ALADDIN.” YOU DIDN’T ORIGINATE THE ROLE OF THE GENIE BUT YOU WERE A PART OF THE ORIGINAL BROADWAY PRODUCTION?

from pg.27

men of color in this business who I never would have gotten to know and work with if it weren’t for Broadway Theatre Project. To see somebody who looked like me, to see what they were doing and seeing how they went into this business and how they approached things was a lesson that I didn’t even know I was getting because it was right in front of me. Now when I look on it, I see that it was teaching me exactly what I needed for my foundation and for my career, learning all of that from these masters.

I was the original standby for the Genie in “Aladdin.” As the standby I knew that there would be a future with this role, and this role of the Genie was unlike anything I had ever done in terms of it literally is a do everything plus the kitchen sink kind of role.

Also, James Monroe Iglehart — who originally played the Genie — is a friend of mine and we both wanted to work together for a while, he’s like my brother. He was a really amazing partner in terms of being able to standby for somebody who I really respected and who also respected me, and we would talk about all kinds of Genie

You were a part of the original cast of “The Book of Mormon,” which is a musical not for the faint of heart. What were your first thoughts when you read that show?

I was a part of the very first secret reading of the “Book of Mormon,” like over 10 years ago, and I had just come off of doing “Jerry Springer The Opera” at Carnegie Hall. I never thought that I would ever sing any words like that on the Carnegie Hall stage, let alone anything worse [laughs].

So I got the call to come in and do this show’s secret reading — it wasn’t called “The Book of Mormon” at the time — it was called “The Untitled Musical Project,” and it was just the first act, maybe like 30 pages or something, it was very small. I remember the thing that struck me the most was how brilliant the writing was. I also did not grow up watching “South Park” and I also didn’t really know who Matt Stone and Trey Parker were.

I obviously did my research after and realized who I was in the presence of and they’ve become friends and are amazing, but I think the biggest thing that we all took from it, there was seven of us I believe that were a part of the whole thing all the way through, we all knew that there was something special about it because the writing was so good.

You know, you do readings, you workshop new shows and some you see potential in and some you’re like absolutely not, but there was something special about “The Book of Mormon,” and I was like I have to make myself available no matter where I am. When they moved forward with it I was in London doing “Hair” and they asked me if I would come back and I left early to come back and do a

for Best Actor, and again I never expected this journey.

What is it about the Genie that you enjoy playing so often?

Oh, gosh. Well first of all, it’s nice to get to play a subtle, very low-key and laid-back character [laughs].

I mean, to be able to get to play a role who is so loved by so many people in the world, like it’s such an iconic role because of the late, great Robin Williams. The foundation that Robin laid down is what made everyone fall in love with this character of the Genie.

The Genie is full of laughter and love and I’m able to do that. I mean, I’m someone who loves to laugh, I love it be silly. I’m still that same little boy who just wanted to be a ham growing up and now I get to be a ham as a grown man, why not?

I get to tell the audience to give me more applause, what actor doesn’t want to do that? I just think that there’s something special about

Genie was that the creative team gave such freedom for me to bring Michael into the character and once I got that permission, I just ran with it.

The cool thing about the Genie and the stage production of the show is there are original elements of the Genie that they brought back that that were written but didn’t make it into the film. So while it is a different version of the Genie, it is still the same foundation, this bigger than life character that Robin created. I definitely took it and molded it into what my version of it is. My Genie has inspiration from the old school song-and-dance men like Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis, Jr., Gregory Hines and Ben Vereen.

Then I mixed in people like my grandfather and my father, and a little Beyonce. It’s this combination from a bunch of different people who I’m inspired by put into one role. That was how I was able

My Genie has inspiration from the old school song-and-dance men like Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis, Jr., Gregory Hines and Ben Vereen. Then I mixed in people like my grandfather and my father, and a little Beyonce.

— Michael James Scott on crafting his version of the Genie things together.

So I was kind of looking past what it was that I was doing in terms of what the future could be with the Genie and me playing the role. So that’s how that came about. I was a part of the original production as a standby for a little less than a year before leaving to go to another show and then coming back to play the Genie.

You went on to originate the role in Australia, and also play the Genie in London and on the U.S. national tour, and just recently performed as the role on Broadway.

The role has taken me all around the world and it has been a crazy and unbelievable journey that I never ever really expected. The Genie has been a part of my life now for five years, off and on, and it’s been kind of insane. In Australia I won their version of the Tony

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

the role, he is so loved by so many people and he’s all about love and is a big kid at heart and that, to me, is really fun to play and it’s really fun to explore and find new things every night with the audience.

Even though the show is called “Aladdin,” I think most people know that the star is the Genie and I think that comes from, like you said, the originator of the character, Robin Williams.

How Robin voiced that character, did that influence how you approached the Genie or did you make a conscious effort to separate your Genie from his?

First it’s a huge daunting task to take on the role of the Genie because of the foundation that Robin laid down, but what was really cool about this production in terms of me approaching the

to bring in my influences and pay homage to all of the original, incredible performers in my life.

As a member of the exclusive club of Genies, I’m sure you get asked this question all the time but if you found a magic lamp, what are your three wishes?

Fried chicken will be first, an abundance of it. The next thing would be, as cliché as it is, I would wish for the people in my life to be taken care of. I’d put this protective shield around them so that they are always safe. Then my final wish would be to be able to be invisible because I’m just so nosy.

Sticking with wishes, if you could have your wish granted to be in any show and star in it with anyone, what would be the dream gig for you?

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

I don’t think that the role is a written yet, but it would be fun to get to do a show with Audra McDonald. I would love to do a show with Stephanie Block again.

So maybe I just want to do a show with big fierce women and me. Life of the divas and we will bring on Bernadette Peters and Patti Lapone.

You know, I feel like as I’m saying it out loud. Maybe that’s what it is, a big beautiful divas show.

I do want to say congratulations. You recently got married to filmmaker Jeremy Merrifield.

You two have known each other for 20 years, been together for a decade.

Why did you guys decide to get married now?

You know, we talked about getting married before, like “sure when it becomes legal we’ll discuss it,” and then it became legal in this country and we honestly never thought we’d see it. You know, Jeremy and I have been together, and known each other, for quite some time and I think when it came down to it it just seemed like the right next step.

I’m so grateful for a man in my life who lets me be me and vice versa, and we both thought it was really important to celebrate that love in front of the people that we love. We also thought, in these divisive times, what a wonderful opportunity to bring people together in love, so it just felt right to do it now.

Did you go big, Genie-style fairytale wedding or was it more of a low key kind of affair?

I guess people might say it was a little over the top [laughs]. I did have three costume changes, so there was that. Broadway.com did this whole thing about it and said “the ultimate goal of a Broadway wedding is to have three Elphabas, an Olaf, King George, a Genie, Mormons and a drag queen all in one place.” There was something like 10 Tonys, five Emmys and four Grammys, and we didn’t even think about that until it was said to us.

But when you say an over-the-top wedding, I think the thing that was over the top was how much love there was and I think to us that’s what was really important.

“Disney’s Aladdin” plays at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando Jan. 22-Feb. 9. Tickets start at $31 and are available at DrPhillipsCenter.org.

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PHOTO BY DENNIS GOLONKA

WITH SPECIAL GUEST:

Literature

Page Turners

ReadOut presents third annual festival of lesbian literature, events

(above)

lit fest:

A diverse array of authors and performers from across the state and nation will be featured at ReadOut 2020.

Photos courtesy readout 2020

S

Tiffany Razzano

apphic fiction isn’t necessarily known for its high quality, Gulfport author Alison Solomon says.

“Lesbian literature doesn’t always have a good name for itself, unfortunately,” she explains, adding that of course there are many talented lesbian authors. Readers just need to know where to find them.

It’s one of the reasons she launched ReadOut in 2017, a festival of lesbian literature, through the Gulfport Public Library’s award-winning LGBTQ Resource Center. Solomon, chair of the ReadOut Committee, invited a slate of lesbian writers, many of them from Florida, to share their work and their creative process at the event.

Solomon explains that Gulfport, with a reputation as a lesbian haven, is the ideal location for ReadOut. Not only is the lesbian community “very

involved,” many of them are also writers and avid readers.

Turnout was high at the inaugural ReadOut and three years later it’s still going strong. This year’s festival runs Jan. 31 through Feb. 2 at the library, and includes a series of events.

The curated line-up features writers from across the country, as well as local favorites. Attending authors scheduled to attend include Lilia Bruce, RJ Samuel, Sarah Glenn, Becky Harmon, Riley Scott, Renee McKenzie, Becky Bohan, MB Austin, Leslie Lawrence, Meredith Doench, Robin Becker, Edie Daly, Lynn Miller, Lynn Carr, Erin Zak, Stefani Deoul, Catherine Malorisi, Ellen Levy, Fay Jacobs, Tina Michele, Magnolia Robbins and Elle E. Ire.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

“We really have got some excellent authors this year, quite a few with academic backgrounds,” Solomon says.

“The majority of the authors are new, but there are a few returning favorites as well … I think it’s a great way for lesbian readers to get exposed to a whole bunch of new authors they may not know about and, also, new genres.”

The ReadOut committee’s goal this year was to present a more diverse event. “We’re doing this during Black History Month, so we certainly hope that we might have a more diverse audience than we have in the past,” she says.

The group invited Tampa author Sheree L. Greer to serve as ReadOut’s keynote speaker. A St. Petersburg College professor, she is also the founder of Kitchen Table Literary Arts Center, which is dedicated to supporting the voices of black women and women of color writers.

“My biggest hope is that we see a really diverse collection of writers and readers come out,” a press release from Greer reads. Her keynote presentation, which she’ll deliver Feb. 1 from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m., is entitled “Why Our Stories Matter.”

“If I could put it in a tag line, I’d say ‘Queer people do more than Pride parades,’” the release adds. “You know, we get coverage that one day of the year when we fill the street, but we also do a lot of important things that contribute to the community. We are every facet of the community. We are in every industry, working alongside you, every day, and we do more than just fill up the streets in parades. This is a chance to see another side of our talents and our strengths that we bring to the community.”

Greer will also lead a free writing workshop on Feb. 2 at 9 a.m., “You Are the Protagonist: Using Your Experiences to Create Compelling Fiction and Non-fiction.” Sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council, it will feature a variety of exercises including memory mining, exploratory free writing and reflection-based revision.

Participants will be asked to “deeply consider the power of their own personal challenges and triumphs

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in crafting compelling fiction and nonfiction,” Greer shares.

ReadOut begins Jan. 31 from 3-5 p.m., with an afternoon tea featuring a panel of romance writers reading their work. Later that evening, from 7-8:30 p.m., Greer and other authors will meet with readers at a wine-and-cheese event.

Following Greer’s keynote presentation Feb. 1, authors will read from their work and answer audience questions from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and 1:30-4 p.m. In between readings, ReadOut will provide a free buffet lunch from Pia’s Trattoria in Gulfport.

Readers will also be able to purchase their favorite authors’ books from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 1. The New York-based dancer-poet duo Nia & Ness will subsequently take the stage at the Catherine Hickman Theater at 8 p.m. They’ll perform their full-length piece “Home.”

Ness says it invites the audience “to be a fly on the wall and listen to our very intimate and deep conversations, which have to do with our being an out, black lesbian couple. All the things that we experience: the good, the bad and everything in between.”

Tickets to see Nia & Ness are $20 for early-access seating and $15 for general admission. “Our work is about our lives, so it’s about being black, lesbian women, but everyone can find their own story in it. They can find aspects of themselves within our work.”

“We thought their performance was a good complement to ReadOut,” Solomon says. “People have been blown away by their performance.

From everything we’ve heard, it’s a very powerful and emotional show.”

ReadOut has previously welcomed around 200 readers and writers, and Solomon expects a similar turnout this year. The festival draws from beyond the lesbian community, Solomon says, but individuals of all genders and sexual orientations attend simply because they’re interested in quality writing. “I think it’s important to expose people who are LGBTQ to a whole genre they may not be familiar with,” she explains.

With a packed schedule, there’s something of interest for all readers.

“People can come to any part of the conference they want,” Solomon says.

“There’s something for everyone.”

ReadOut 2020 will be held Jan. 31-Feb. 2 at the Gulfport Public Library, located at 5501 28th Ave. S. in Gulfport. Nia & Ness will perform at the Catherine Hickman Theater, located at 5501 27th Ave. S. For more information about events, registration and tickets, visit GulfportReadOut2020.bpt.me and NiaAndNess.bpt.me.

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community calendar

event planner arts+entertainment

Central Florida

CENTRAL FLORIDA

Pat’s Final Bearaoke!

“Aladdin,” Jan. 22Feb. 9, Dr. Phillips Center, Orlando. 844-513-2014; DrPhillipsCenter.org

Thursday, Jan. 30, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

Parliament House, Orlando

Kelly Richards Piano Bar Sing-A-Long, Jan. 24 and 31, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com FunHouse, Jan. 24, Stonewall bar, Orlando. 407-373-0888; StonewallOrlando.com Pints for Pride Night, Jan. 24, Castle Church Brewing, Orlando. 407-635-9410; CastleChurchBrewing.com Tatianna, Jan. 24, Southern Nights, Orlando.

407-412-5039; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsOrlando Tim Murray’s Stand-Up Show, Jan. 25, Parliament House, Orlando. 407-425-7571; ParliamentHouse.com Rock Hard Fitness: #Sweatworking, Jan. 26, Rock Hard Fitness, Orlando. 407-802-4631; RockHardFitnessOrlando.com Songs From A Whole New World, Jan. 27, The Mezz, Orlando. 407-704-6268; MessOrlando.com Gender Roles: Given, Taken and Desired, Jan. 29, Valencia College East Campus, Orlando.

407-299-5000; ValenciaCollege.edu Nathan Holic in conversation with James C. Clark, Jan. 31, Writer’s Block Bookstore, Winter Park. 407-335-4192; WritersBlockBookstore.com “The Sound of Music,” Jan. 31-Feb. 16, Cocoa Village Playhouse, Cocoa. 321-636-5050; CocoaVillagePlayhouse.com Bow ties & Bourbon, Jan. 31, Stonewall Bar, Orlando. 407-373-0888; StonewallOrlando.com

Tati Tea “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Tatianna serves up royalty realness with performances at Southern Nights Orlando Jan. 24 and at Southern Nights Tampa Jan. 25. Screenshot from YouTube

Iberian Rooster’s Drag Brunch, Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, Iberian Rooster, St. Petersburg. 727-258-8753; IberianRooster.com

ReadOut: A Festival of Lesbian Literature, Jan. 31, Gulfport Public Library, Gulfport.

727-893-1074; MyGulfport.us/GPL

Legends: A Night of Illusions, Jan. 25, Frescos, Lakeland. 863-683-5267; FrescosLakeland.com

Bernadette Peters, Feb. 1, Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg. 727-300-2000; TheMahaffey.com

Tatianna, Jan. 25, Southern Nights, Tampa. 813-559-8625; Facebook.com/ SouthernNightsTampa

2020 Miss Gasparilla Pageant Review, Feb. 1, Bradley’s on 7th, Tampa. 813-241-2723; BradleysOn7th.com

Golden Girls Drag Diva Brunch, Jan. 26, Straz Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org

Tampa Pride Community Update Meeting, Feb. 4, Tampa Pride, Tampa. TampaPride.org

Orlando Brew Festival, Jan. 31, Orlando Science Center, Orlando. 407-514-2000; OSC.org Unity Night! All Trans Cast!, Feb. 5, Savoy, Orlando.

SavoyOrlando.com Peer Support Space’s SelfLove Club, Feb. 6, College Park United Methodist Church, Orlando. 321-926-1336; PeerSupportSpace.org 8th Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, Feb. 6, Orange County Courthouse, Orlando. 407-886-2856; HarborHouseFL.com

TAMPA BAY Honey Pot’s Gasparilla Kickoff hosted by Billy Reilich, Jan. 24, Honey Pot, Tampa.

813-247-4663; Facebook.com/Honey-Pot Gasparilla Pirate Festival 2020, Jan. 25, Downtown, Tampa.

GasparillaPirateFest.com

“That Golden Girls Show!” A Puppet Parody, Jan. 26, Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa. 813-229-7827; StrazCenter.org International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jan. 27, Florida Holocaust Museum, St. Petersburg. 727-820-0100; FLHolocaustMuseum.org

SARASOTA Sarasota Pride, Jan. 25, JD Hamel Park, Sarasota.

SarasotaPride.org HashtagLunchbag January Meet-Up, Jan. 26, Mellow Mushroom, Sarasota. 941-388-7504; HashtagLunchbag.org G2H2 February, Feb. 6, Sophie’s at Saks Fifth Avenue, Sarasota. 941-444-3077; G2H2Sarasota.com

It’s the end of an era! Bears in the City founder Pat “Da Bear” O’Rourke takes the stage for the final time as host of Bearaoke at the Parliament House’s Bear Den. Come say your goodbyes with a night of singing, drinking and Beartastic fun! Over 75,000 songs to choose from and drink specials served up by Christopher. For more information, visit BearsInTheCity.com.

Peer Support Space Open House and Anniversary Saturday, Feb. 1, 4-6 p.m.

Peer Support Space, Kissimmee Peer Support Space is celebrating its first anniversary with an open house of its new facility. Located at 880 Martin Luther King Junior Blvd. in Kissimmee, it is Central Florida’s first Peer Drop-in Center and Respite.

Come out, tour the space and enjoy light bites and live music. This is a free event. For more information, call 321-926-1336 or visit PeerSupportSpace.org.

Central Florida KoP MCC’s 45th Anniversary Gala Saturday, Jan. 25, 6-10 p.m.

Metro Inclusive Health, St. Petersburg King of Peace Metropolitan Community Church (KoP MCC) celebrates their sapphire year of being an open and affirming LGBTQ church with a 45th Anniversary Gala. Join KoP MCC for a night of dinner, dancing and celebrating. Recommended color of the evening: blue! Tickets are $45 and are available at KoP45thAnniversary.BrownPaperTickets.com.

The Scott & Patti Show Wednesday, Jan. 29, 5:30-9 p.m.

St. Pete Yacht Club, St. Petersburg Presented by Infinity, the league to aid abused children and adults, The Scott & Patti Show brings an all-new camp extravaganza, “Bjorn Again.” This new show features ABBA’s greatest hits and a few more Top 40 classics. This fundraising gala includes a dinner buffet, one complimentary cocktail, cash bar, the drawing for Infinity’s “The Great Dine-Out Tampa Bay Giveaway” and bonus opportunities and drawings. Tickets start at $65 and this is an 18 and up only event. For more information, visit InfinityStPete.org.

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

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

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January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

overheard

tampa bay out+about

EPIC REUNION

W

atermark’s bi-monthly Tampa Bay social Watermark Wednesday benefited Empath Partners in Care (EPIC) Jan. 15 at Postcard Inn on the Beach, also serving as the 2020 Remarkable People Reunion.

EPIC is a member of Empath Health, a nonprofit integrated network of care supporting those challenged by chronic and advanced illnesses. The Postcard Inn, which offers 14,000 square feet of vintage-inspired event space, treated Watermark Wednesday attendees to beautiful views and food.

Attendees included previously-recognized Remarkable People, advocates who make a difference for Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ community in a myriad of ways. Raffle participants raised nearly $250 for EPIC while networking, with winners receiving generously donated prizes from the Gold & Diamond Source, HONU Restaurant, the St. Pete Opera Company, the Straz Center for the Performing Arts and The Florida Orchestra.

View a full gallery of event photos at WatermarkOnline.com. Read upcoming issues of Watermark, visit our website and follow us on social media for information about upcoming socials.

PICTURE IT: TAMPA, 2020

T

he Straz Center for the Performing Arts will hold a “Golden Girls Drag Diva Brunch” at Maestro’s Restaurant on Jan. 26 ahead of “That Golden Girls Show! A Puppet Parody.”

“Grab a slice of cheesecake while sipping bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys in true Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sophia style,” organizers shared. “Trust us — there’s no buffet in St. Olaf’s as scrumptious as what we have planned for you. Bring your best one-liners and we’ll do the rest.”

Beginning at 11:30 a.m., the brunch will be hosted by drag diva Matthew McGee. It will also feature fellow fan favorite Tampa Bay entertainer Adriana Sparkle and celebrated pianist John Shirley. A ticket to the subsequent puppet parody must be purchased separately but is not required to attend.

“The Golden Girls are such a big part of my life that I was thrilled to be asked to host this brunch at The Straz,” McGee shared. “My whole act is a fabulous, Florida lady of a certain age! The cherry on top is that I get to share the stage with the amazing Adriana Sparkle. She’s definitely the Blanche to my Dorothy.”

The puppet parody’s Tampa stop, scheduled for Jan. 26 at 2 p.m., was announced late last year.

“Get ready for an evening of cheesecake, laughter, jazzercise, shoulder pads, sex and the elegant art of the quick-witted put down,” the Straz shared.

“Join the Girls from Sophia’s get-rich-quick schemes to Rose’s tales from St. Olaf, Blanche’s insatiable hunt for men and the Fountain of Youth and Dorothy’s daily struggle to make sense of her life,” they continued. “Devoted fans will fondly remember our four girls from Miami, and for the first-timers, this will be a joyful introduction to the brilliance of that television series.” To purchase tickets for the drag diva brunch, the puppet parody or for more information, visit StrazCenter.org.

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CLEANUP CREW: Pasco Pride volunteers collect litter from Moon Lake Rd. for Pasco County’s Adopt-A-Road program Jan. 11.

PHOTO COURTESY PASCO PRIDE

2

COUPLE COUTURE: The Never Have I Ever Guys host the Vibrant Garden of Cocktails & Couture party at the Ritz Ybor Jan. 11. PHOTO BY RUSS MARTIN

3

ROYAL TEE: (L-R) Alex Veronica, Mya Valentine, Crystal Reigns, Kori Stevens and Jaeda Fuentes dazzle at Quench Lounge Jan. 19 for the 2020 Miss Broken Slut pageant. PHOTO

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BY RYAN WILLIAMS-JENT

4

CHAMBER CHUMS: (L-R) James Keane, Ashley Brundage and Jason Fields celebrate the Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber’s new name at the Centre Club Jan. 17. PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

5

SQUAD GOALS: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (C) receives her own jersey from the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team while they trained in Tampa Jan. 10.

PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF TAMPA

6

REMARKABLES: (L-R) Remarkable People Michael Smith, Gina Driscoll, Jim Nixon, Joy Winheim, Denise Johnson, Darden Rice, John Desmond and Nancy Desmond reunite at Postcard Inn for Watermark Wednesday Jan. 15. PHOTO BY DYLAN TODD

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FOR THE CAUSE: Metro Inclusive Health accepts a check for $173,751.14 from the SMART Ride at the organization’s check distribution party in Wilton Manors Jan. 12.

PHOTO COURTESY SMART RIDE

8

DREAM BIG: The Pinellas County Young Democrats march in the St. Petersburg MLK Day Parade Jan. 20. PHOTO COURTESY PCYD

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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overheard

central florida out+about

LGBTQ activist and pioneer Cleve Jones to visit The Center Orlando

T

he LGBT+ Center in Orlando will host a book signing and meet & greet with LGBTQ rights pioneer Cleve Jones Jan. 29.

Jones – who chronicled his life in his memoir “When We Rise: My Life in The Movement” – was involved in many of the most pivotal moments of the LGBTQ rights movement including working as an activist with Harvey Milk, co-founding the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and conceiving of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

Jones’ book was partially the inspiration for the 2017 ABC miniseries “When We Rise,” on the history of the LGBTQ rights movement in the U.S. “I am excited that Cleve will be joining us,” says The Center executive director George Wallace. “He is an important person in our LGBT history and we have so much to thank him for.”

The event will be held at the LGBT+ Center in Orlando Jan. 29 from 6-8 p.m. This is a free event and open to the public. Copies of “When We Rise” will be available at the event for purchase for Jones to sign. There will also be light bites and a cash bar will be provided.

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Orlando Ballet opens new center named for Florida Arts philanthropist Harriett Lake

T

he Harriett’s Orlando Ballet Centre officially opened its doors to the public with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 10.

Complete with multiple dance studios, a 400-seat auditorium that can be converted into a 450-seat ballroom and multiple programs for dancers to choose from, the building was opened with round of applause as the board of directors cut the silver ribbon.

“We’ll have the nicest studios in all of Central Florida and our students will get the opportunity to train in the same place as the professional company, so they can see firsthand what happens if they stick with it and stay diligent in their training,” said Executive Director Shane Jewell.

Harriett Lake, a local philanthropist and supporter of the arts who the building is dedicated to, donated $5 million dollars to the construction of the new building prior to passing away in 2018.

One of the most important things about building the facility was making sure it made a strong statement about its permanence as a partner in this community for generations to come, according to Jewell.

“We’ve already announced this will be a new hub for the Fringe festival this year in May and we will be talking with other partners and organizations about how they can utilize the space, so it’s not just for the ballet,” Jewell said.

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Chamber Mixer: (L-R) Christopher Brown, Denise Merritt, Eva Fajardo and Daniel Sergi attend The Pride Chamber January Business Connect at Fields Motorcars in Orlando Jan. 8.

Photo by Danny Garcia

2

Remarkable Event: (L-R) Eric Rollings, Josh Myers and Raquel Luciano join Watermark to kick off a new year of Third Thursdays with our Remarkables reunion at Hope & Help in Winter Park Jan. 16. Photo by Dylan Todd

3

Opening Day: Orlando Ballet’s artistic director Robert Hill speaks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Harriett’s Orlando Ballet Centre Jan. 10.

Photo by Samantha Neely

4

Science Night Out: Lindsay Folks (L) and Angie Folks have a date night at the Orlando Science Center’s Science Night Live: Otronican Jan. 18. Photo by Danny Garcia

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

5

1st Day of Session: State Reps. Anna V. Eskamani (L) and Carlos Guillermo Smith representing Central Florida on the first day of the 2020 Legislative Session at the Florida Capitol building in Tallahassee Jan. 13. Photo courtesy

Carlos Guillermo Smith

6

News Makers: Irene Beatrice (L) and Juleigh Amanda Mayfield get a selfie in after a Watermark interview at Panera Bread in Kissimmee Jan. 8. Photo courtesy

7

Juleigh Amanda Mayfield

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Fresh Coat: The LGBT+ Center in Orlando gets a new paint job thanks to HRC and The Center for MLK Day of Service Jan. 20.

Photo by Roxy Santiago

8

Sign Me Up: Wes Davis (L) talks local politics with Ashleigh Woodruff at Rock Hard Fitness in Orlando Jan. 11.

Photo courtesy Wes Davis

8 January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

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January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

announcements

wedding bells

Kevin Ligad, and Nate Rohenkohl, from Orlando, Florida

Engagement Date:

June 4, 2018

Wedding Date: Officiant:

Jon Tschanz

Venue:

Orchid Garden at Church Street

Colors:

Navy / Rose Gold

I Only Want to Be with You by LYRA

Florist:

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DJ/ Entertainment:

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Christian Klimas and Kirk Borde were engaged Jan. 4.

Sunken Gardens celebrated 100 years in St. Petersburg Jan. 6.

Blur Nightclub celebrated 36 years as an LGBTQ space in Dunedin Jan. 8.

Sage SRQ celebrates one year Jan. 28.

The Hammered Lamb celebrates its seventh anniversary Jan. 29.

Local Birthdays

October 4, 2019

Wedding Song/Artist:

Congratulations

Photo by Elenor & Pete of Kristen Weaver Photography

K

evin Ligad proposed to

husband Nate Rohenkohl in front of the Eiffel Tower using the magic of numbers.

Nate said that though the couple were in one of the most romantic cities in the world, he never expected Kevin to get down on his knee right as the tower lit up and say “It’s been 1,830 days since we met, 1,700 days since we started dating and 1,550 days since I first told you I loved you – and now I want to spend every single day of the rest of my life with you.”

“We’d had a ton of wine that night so I was a little slow to pick up what was happening at first (and even more impressed that he kept it together with all that math),” Nate says. “It was the perfect night.”

Kevin first caught Nate’s eye in May 2013 when he brought Strawberitas to a mutual friend’s barbeque.

“I’ll defend my choice in drink forever,” Kevin says.

“I was in the friend zone for a bit, but the sparks couldn’t be tamed for long.”

After a few months of friendship, the couple made it official and have been together ever since.

Though they moved to Seattle this past summer, they returned to Central Florida — where they both grew up — for their wedding.

Nate and Kevin originally planned to get married in January 2020, but due to their venue closing, they had to move the date up. One of the only available dates was the exact day the couple had started dating six years ago and they felt like it was fate.

“I loved everything about the ceremony, but Nate’s vows may have been my favorite,” Kevin says. “He spoke about how before he met me, his life was in grayscale, but since we’ve been together he loves with all the colors of the rainbow (cue perfectly timed voice crack).”

They invited all the most important people in their lives,

with their nieces and nephew acting as flower girls and “ring security” making them the stars of the show, according to Nate.

The couple’s song, “I Only Want to Be with You” by LYRA, was performed by Kevin’s cousin, Megan and brother, Brian.

Kevin surprised Nate by bringing out his guitar mid-reception and singing a song he had dedicated to Nate at an open mic shortly after they met.

The reception also featured a vogue-off, which Nate said “produced some amazing moves.”

“The ceremony in general was exactly how we wanted it to be, with so many of our family members and best friends involved,” Nate says.

“I really found my perfect match in an unexpected place.

I guess we should cheers some Strawberitas for our first anniversary since that’s what first brought us together.”

— Lora Korpar

Metropolitan Business Association secretary Michael Deeying, St. Petersburg socialite Jack Robbins, Orlando actor Mike Van Dyke (Jan. 23); Orlando home inspector Paul Kusic, St. Petersburg performer Rolando Xavier, former Watermark intern Kim Slichter (Jan. 24); Tampa Bay performer Ashley Smith, ABC7 meteorologist Trevor Hayes, St. Petersburg realtor and Punky’s proprietor Jim Longstreth (Jan. 25); Tampa Bay guiding light Jan Flowers, Sarasota photographer Kaje Housman, Double M Band’s Mario Jooste, The Garage bartender Larry Wolf, Ybor City events promoter Chucky Ruckus, Tampa Bay designer Sofia Banda (Jan. 26); CR insurance group agent Miguel Rullan-Calaf (Jan. 27); Orlando performer Ellen Jewell, St. Matthew’s Tavern co-owner Matthew Fassl, Orlando thespian Tim DeBaun, Faith Arts Village Executive Director Will Benton, Tampa Bay massage therapist Michael Scranton, Tampa Bay bartender Robb Weese, Spooky Empire’s Gina Mongelli, St. Petersburg pharmacy tech Kyle Richard (Jan. 28); Central Florida photographer Jenna Michele (Jan. 29); Lightning fast jammer Haley Perry; Woodhouse Day Spa owner Mark Lettelleir, FSU grad and Ocala muse Bill Bondank, Orlando performer Apple Teenee (Jan. 30); Orlando drag legend Leigh Shannon, marketing pro Ken Kundis, former WFTV News 9 anchor Jorge Estevez, Orlando Gay Chorus singer Holly Cowden-Feld, Orlando juggler Dantei Grace (Jan. 31); Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner, St. Petersburg massage therapist Emily Stone, Tampa Softball player Thomas Hale, Orlando softball hunk Jason Hamm, Southern Nights owner Rick Kowalczyk, Social on First managing partner Mark Anthony, Tampa darling Bryan Chant, Boutique stylist Jimmy Mac (Feb. 1); The Center Orlando board member Lee Kirkpatrick (Feb. 2); Tampa Pride president Carrie West, Enigma show director Daphne Ferraro, Gulfport theater addict Rob McCabe, Central Florida activist Brock Cornelus (Feb. 3); former TIGLFF executive director Margaret Murray, Tampa Sister of Perpetual Indulgence Scott Ryan, Orlando doctor Rafael Pinero (Feb. 4); Watermark contributor Holly Kapherr Alejos, Orlando Fringe board member Daniel Blumberg (Feb. 5).

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 LGBTQ life.

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the last page I feel like a lot of folks in the LGBTQ+ community are super interested in their specific letter, and not the acronym of the community as a whole.

Hometown:

Mechanicville, NY

What would you like our readers to know about you?

Identifies As: Queer/Lesbian

If you’re not registered to vote, you should avoid me until you get registered. Trust me, I turn into an angry Dachshund when I hear people don’t vote.

Pronouns:

She/Her/Hers

What advice would you give your younger self?

Out Year: 2006

Don’t let the person you grew up with, someone you thought was your best friend, tear you down because you didn’t live up to their standards.

Stand up tall and be who you are: your family will still love you and show up on your wedding day. Most importantly, don’t let fear run your life. Live Out. Live Proud.

Profession:

Photographer, sometimes filmmaker

Professional Role Models:

Annie Leibovitz, Vivian Maier and Ava DuVernay

What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

Samantha Ponzillo

Autobiography Title:

“… The F*ck?”

Hobbies:

Cinema, paddle boarding, scuba diving, spending time with family, my wife and dog.

T

P h o t o grapher / F ilmmaker Photo by Evoke Studio

he Last Page is dedicated

to individuals who are making a positive impact on the LGBTQ community in Central Florida and Tampa Bay. This issue, we check in with Samantha Ponzillo Media owner and #HashtagLunchbag Sarasota co-organizer Samantha Ponzillo. Keep an eye on this space to learn more about the movers and shakers of your community.

What do you do professionally?

Recommend People to: Central Florida Bureau Chief Jeremy Williams at: Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com Tampa Bay Bureau Chief Ryan Williams-Jent at: Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com

46

I work in marketing during the day and take as many photo gigs as possible on nights and weekends. I sometimes freelance for publications by writing articles, taking photos or producing videos.

I generally keep busy.

How do you champion for the local LGBTQ community?

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

I volunteer for a few different LGBTQ+ organizations and donate photography and video editing services when I can. I ran a website for a long time that provided me with the opportunity to begin mentoring and providing peer counseling.

I do my best to educate the public about relevant legal updates that can affect the LGBTQ+ community as a whole, making them more aware of

what their family and friends can go through.

What is your favorite thing to read in Watermark?

I fully admit that I immediately search for Wedding Bells or generally any LGBTQ+ wedding photos.

I love to see happy families after thinking for so long that it wouldn’t ever happen.

What is your favorite local LGBTQ event?

I really love SarasotaOUT’s G2H2 events each month, shout out to Joshua Beadle.

What is your favorite thing about your local LGBTQ community?

Sarasota’s LGBTQ community is enormous!

What would you like to see improved in your local LGBTQ community?

Concerts, sports, events.

Basically if it includes running around chaotically as fast as possible to get into the best position, I love it for some strange reason.

What should readers know about #HashtagLunchbag?

HashtagLunchbag is a worldwide movement that gets everyday people to spread love and positivity – and let’s be real, we need a lot more of that nowadays. We get together once a month at various locations in Sarasota to assemble bagged lunches for the homeless community, complete with a love note like mom used to put in your school lunches.

My wife and I lived in Tampa when we first became aware of it. We did a few events with them and really enjoyed the experience. After moving to Sarasota, I reached out to see if they could schedule Sarasota meet-ups to still be involved.

One of the co-organizers suggested we start a chapter and helped us run our first event. They are the supportive older siblings that we adore.

January 2 3 - F eb rua ry 5 , 2020 // Issue 27.02 wat e r m a r konline .com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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