Watermark Issue 19.20: Come Out With Pride

DAYTONA BEACH • ORLANDO • TAMPA • ST. PETERSBURG • SARASOTA • ISSUE 19.20 • SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 • WATERMARKONLINE.COM

YOUR LGBT LIFE. Tampa’s

MANDI MCKEE tells her truth

PLUS: A NEW

STEEL MAGNOLIAS WAIT, WAIT’S PAULA POUNDSTONE CLEANING HOUSE’S MARK BRUNETZ

COUNTRY

COME OUT WITH PRIDE

With fireworks, a film festival, and a party at PH, will attendance break 100,000 this year?

Chely Wright brings her riveting coming out doc, Wish Me Away, to Orlando

CONFESSIONAL

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SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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What does it mean, that Mitt Romney needs to be ‘humanized?’

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32

It’s not the kind of thing you’d want to hear about your kid at a parentteacher conference.

– PAULA POUNDSTONE, TALKING ABOUT ATTEMPTS TO SOFTEN THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE AT THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION IN TAMPA.

PAGE

ON THE COVER

PAGE Country music star Chely

broke ground when 41 Wright she came out in the May

3, 2010 issue of People magazine, and then on Oprah and Ellen. The dramatic behind-the-scenes story of her journey is told in the riveting documentary, Wish Me Away. Wright will be in Orlando on Wednesday, Oct. 3 to talk about the film as part of Come Out With Pride’s Out in the Open Film Read Festival.

Preview

“DRINK YOUR JUICE, SHELBY!”

27

What do you love more than your luggage?

Steel Magnolias, of course! And in a Lifetime remake produced by the openly gay team of Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, the African American cast plugs into sisterhood and sistahood. Queen Latifah, Alfre Woodard, and Phylicia Rashad star.

WATERMARK ISSUE 19.20 // SEPT . 27 - OCT . 11, 2012

ORLANDO NEWS

TAMPA BAY NEWS

PAGE Headdress Ball raised a

PAGE Tampa’s Mandi McKee

COWP

GALLERY W

it online!

SCAN QR CODE FOR

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

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record-setting $329,000 for the Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, and an award was created to honor Maggie King, the organization’s development director for the past dozen years. Also in Orlando the Orange County School Board moved closer to protecting staff, teachers and students based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

12

learned the hard way that publicity cuts both ways.

After an appearance on Anderson Live, McKee claims her story regarding the impact of a hair loss drug on her decision to transition to living as a female was distorted, and the experience far different than expected. McKee sets the record straight in our story by Zach Caruso.

PAGE Come Out With Pride

35

expands to 11 days in its eighth year as a successful fall event. In addition to an expo with 110 vendors, the parade and fireworks, this year’s COWP includes a film festival and a big post-event party at the Parliament House featuring pop and LGBT icon Debbie Gibson.

PAGE Once again, Headress Ball

a big success for the 62 was Hope and Help Center. The

event, held at the Hilton Orlando on Saturday, Sept. 22, drew well-dressed movers-and-shakers from Central Florida’s LGBT-friendly community.

With an Oz-like “Twisted” theme, many were clad in green. The point: raise plenty of green for the area’s biggest AIDS Service Organization.

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watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

5

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR LONG LIVE TIGLFF

T

“Panic now, not a week before the election or, God forbid, a week after.”

HANKS FOR YOUR EXTENSIVE COVERAGE AND PROMOTION of the Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. I don’t care what anyone says. Watching a gay movie at the Tampa Theatre with friends, old and new, is way better than streaming it on my Ipad.

Long live the festival! See you there!

—BOB POE

DENISE FRANKUM BRANDON

COMMIT TO THE CAMPAIGN

I

WAS CHAIRMAN OF THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY DURING THE INFAMOUS 2000 ELECTION. And while we had tremendous support from thousands of people, there were also many others who held back from doing all they could to help us. Then came election night.

For the next 35 days, those people who held back were more than willing to do anything and everything they could to turn back the clock and change the outcome of the election.

But, it was too late. Even those of us who had done all we could before the election spent many sleepless nights wondering if we could have done something—anything— more or different to have gotten us to 538 more votes.

Now, here we are 12 years later with the possibility that this election could be every bit as close as it was in 2000.

And as disastrous as the outcome was for our nation then, it could be far worse if we loose this one now. Just think about the Supreme Court, the Affordable Health Care Act, economic policies that would hurt people who can least afford it, continuing the war in Afghanistan and reversing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ to name a few.

I believe what Mitt Romney says about where he wants to take this country— and you should too!

I’ll never forget a breakfast I had with Rev. Jesse Jackson a few years ago where he explained to me the difference between ‘support’ and ‘commitment.’ He said: “Take a look at your plate of bacon and eggs. Now the hen, she supported your breakfast.

But the hog, he made a commitment to it!”

That’s why I don’t want Watermark readers to just support this campaign.

We need to go further and

Never let your flooring be boring.

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SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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make a commitment to it!

Volunteer or contribute at barackobama.com. Panic now, not a week before the election or, God forbid, a week after.

BOB POE ORLANDO

ONE YEAR ANNIVESARY: REPEAL OF DADT

A

YEAR AGO TODAY, WE UPHELD THE FUNDAMENTAL AMERICAN VALUES OF FAIRNESS AND EQUALITY by �inally and formally repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ Gay and lesbian Americans now no longer need to hide who they love in order to serve the country they love.

The ability of service members to be open and honest about their families and the people they love honors the integrity of the individuals who serve, strengthens the institutions they serve, and is one of the many reasons why our military remains the �inest in the world.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

editor’s

Tom Der

PUBLISHER/ FILL-IN EDITOR

SteveB@WatermarkOnline.com

M

Desk

Y FRIEND, STUART MILK, THREW ME

a savory bone a couple months ago—the opportunity to participate in a forum on “The Economics of Equality” in Milan, Italy. As much as I wanted to attend, I ended up declining.

I had a frightening mid-�light panic attack several years ago.

I’m now comfortable �lying anywhere east of the Mississippi, but the prospect of a nine-hour transcontinental �light proved too intimidating—at least for now.

But I gave some thought to what I might say about “The Economics of Equality” on a panel of people from all over the world wearing headphones. It boiled down to this: The importance of economic equality for LGBT people is quanti�iable on several levels.

Portrayals of af�luent DINCs (DualIncome-No-Children) abound on

WATERMARK STAFF

television and other media, but recent studies show that LGBT people earn lower wages and face higher rates of joblessness and poverty than the general population.

We also experience a much higher incidence of job-related harassment and discrimination. The situation for transgender workers is alarming, with 90 percent reporting some form of mistreatment on the job.

Recall that it’s legal to �ire someone because of their perceived sexual or gender orientation in most states, including Florida. We are often denied access to spousal health care bene�its. And we

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lack important federal economic safeguards like the ability to �ile joint tax returns, transfer property upon death and pass on Social Security survivor bene�its.

In an election cycle focused on jobs, jobs, jobs, it’s senseless to deny the impact of these and other quanti�iable economic factors on the LGBT community. But that tells only part of the story.

In college I learned about Abraham Maslow, the brilliant psychologist who believed that human needs are hierarchical in nature and that higher needs will go unsatis�ied if lower needs are unmet. He ranked them this way, from lowest to highest: physiological needs like food, water and sleep; safety needs like good health and a secure home; love and belonging needs like friendship, family and sexual intimacy; esteem needs like achievement, con�idence and the respect of others; and �inally self-actualization needs that include morality, creativity and spontaneity.

Life and learning have taught me the truth of Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs.” I bet the same applies for most in the LGBT community.

As a kid I was a good student from a nurturing family environment, and I thrived. But when I discovered my sexual inclinations as a teenager, I learned that I was vulnerable. Despite having most of my physical and emotional needs met, I felt unsafe. I distanced myself from others, began abusing alcohol and other recreational drugs, and drifted from one meaningless job to another, never

fully engaged. I was languishing between Maslow’s second and third levels, feeling unsafe and unloved.

When I came out in my late 20s everything changed. I learned that the person I truly am could be loved and respected. And as the real me downloaded, so did a healthy dose of ambition. I �inished law school, set up practice and started a newspaper that now owns property and employs a dozen people— with bene�its.

Sociopolitical culture and economic systems have a huge impact on where people �ind themselves in Maslow’s hierarchy.

A society that treats people equally and respectfully offers each one a head start. And it provides a boost to those higher levels of esteem and self-actualization, where real productivity and ful�illment occur.

But as long as governments tolerate inequality, disrespect and discrimination, too many will languish at the lower levels of human potential.

In that, we all suffer. And that’s the real “Economic Impact of Equality.”

As the real me downloaded, so did a healthy dose of ambition.

PARTING GLANCES

• Watermark editor Steve Blanchard takes one big vacation a year, out to Nevada to attend to his and partner Phil’s exciting Talent Quest franchise. He’s there this week, which is why you �ind me here, and on every page of this issue as editor.

It’s a job I did for more than half of Watermark’s 18 years. It’s fun to sit in the saddle again.

• I hope you’ll read my interview with Chely Wright (p. 33), and will come meet her while she’s in Orlando with her riveting coming out documentary, Wish Me Away, on Oct. 3. She’s sensitive, articulate, amazing. I can’t wait to host the Q&A with her afterward.

• On a lighter note, I’ll weigh in: Partners over The New Normal. |  |

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SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

CONTRIBUTORS ZACH CARUSO

is a musician and journalist from New Jersey who now lives in St. Petersburg. He has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and an MA in writing. Page 12

GREGG SHAPIRO

is a Chicago-based freelance journalist and entertainment reporter whose work appears frequently in Watermark. PAGE 27

ERIK CABAN

is the administrative assistant for Watermark and also a freelance contributor. He specializes in arts and entertainment interviews. Pages 32, 34

Greg Burton, Erik Caban, Scottie Campbell, Amy Dees, Kirk Hartlage, Rev. Phyllis Hunt, Joseph Kissel, Ken Kundis, Mary Meeks, Stephen Miller, David Moran, Anthony Paull, Greg Stemm, Brett Stout, Louanne Walters, Stephen Warne

PHOTOGRAPHY Nick Cardello, Angie Folks, Tom Eckert, Julie Milford, Travis Moore, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift

DISTRIBUTION Debbie Oliver, Phil Garris, Ken Caraway 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.

Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations.

WATERMARK is published every second Thursday.

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The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication.

WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors.

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watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

7

orlando NEWS

Orange school policies get more inclusive Jamie Hyman JAMIE@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

O

RLANDO | The Orange County School Board is moving forward with an inclusive nondiscrimination policy that adds protections for both sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

Clinton McCracken, an art teacher at Howard Middle School, said he got the nondiscrimination ball rolling two years ago. On Sept. 20 he urged the Board to include gender identity, as they initially were just going to include sexual orientation. Procedure requires another public workshop that includes the gender identity/expression language, so that will be set for December. The Board will then vote on the policy at the next available meeting.

“We are striving to add these protections so that OCPS LGBT employees can do their best work without fear of discrimination,” McCracken told Watermark. I want this policy so that our employees can feel comfortable to be their true selves.”

The Board is also negotiating adding domestic partner bene�its for district staff members. |  |

County Commissioners stall charter amendment Jamie Hyman JAMIE@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

ORLANDO | On Sept. 11, the Board of County Commissioners discussed a pair of proposals that some feared that would have a negative effect on LGBT employee protections currently in place.

In August, Citizens for a Greater Orange County collected more than 50,000 petition signatures for a referendum on Nov. 6 that, if approved by voters, would require many employers to provide paid sick time.

In response, Commissioner Jennifer Thompson presented a competing ballot question; a charter amendment that would block the sick-time measure by barring all county laws that regulate employer/ employee protections—possibly including the Human Rights Ordinance (HRO), which protects against LGBT discrimination from employers.

In the end, the commissioners unanimously rejected the sick pay petition for the November ballot, saying that the ordinance’s title and wording were unclear.

They also elected to postpone Thompson’s amendment.

“Commissioner Thompson acknowledged that she was deluged by hundreds of complaints from the LGBT community, and agreed to eliminate the retroactive provision, which would save the HRO from being repealed,” said local attorney and LGBT activist Mary Meeks in an email to Watermark. |  |

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watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

SALUTE TO SERVICE: Maggie King, Hope and Help Center of Central Florida development director, was surprised at the Headdress Ball to learn the “Maggie King Volunteer of the Year Award” had been named in her honor. PHOTO BY JAKE STEVENS

Money and Muscle Headdress Ball raises $329,000 Jamie Hyman

JAMIE@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

O

RLANDO | The 23rd annual Headdress Ball was another record-smashing fundraiser for Hope and Help Center of Central Florida, Inc., raising $329,000. Last year’s previous record was $325,000.

Duane Hoyle, Hope and Help’s volunteer coordinator, said the event on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the Hilton Orlando ran “seamlessly.” Hoyle was the point person for the more than 200 volunteers who donate their time to making Headdress happen.

“Every person has said it was amazing,” Hoyle said. “We’ve had so

many �irst time guests who said they’re ready to buy a ticket for next year.”

The 2012 theme was “Twisted”—a Wicked and Oz-like concept that saw many dressed in formal green. For the second year, event organizers incorporated BidPal technology, which allowed attendees to bid on auction items, vote on headdresses or simply donate any amount from their seats at their tables.

“We used it to its fullest extent during our donation ask,” Hoyle said. “We raised $41,000 in eight minutes—we never dreamed of raising that amount.”

The Board of Directors also created the “Maggie King Volunteer of the Year Award,” after Hope

New Pride event for Volusia County Staff report NEW SMYRNA BEACH | Despite some close calls with cancellation, the 2012 Volusia Pride Festival is all systems go for Nov. 10.

Initially, a group of college students sought to hold the event in

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

Daytona Beach at Riverside Park, but rental fees and other costs proved too high. Now the festival will be held on the grounds of the United Church of Christ on Washington Street. On Sept. 12, the church council voted in favor of hosting the event and church leadership will step in to help organize it.

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and Help’s development director Maggie King, who has been with the organization for twelve years.

Aaron Sanford, who volunteered for Hope and Help for two years before recently being hired as a peer counselor, received the honor.

Headdress Ball has grown from a headdress competition involving local �lorists to Hope and Help’s largest annual fundraiser, which has raised more than $3 million for the AIDS Service Organization over the years. When asked why the event enjoys such longevity, Hoyle said, “It’s always a little bit naughty, and people know that Hope and Help is a wonderful organization where 90 cents out of every dollar raised goes back to clients and services.”

He also credits the support of the local LGBT community for the event’s success. |  |

Last year, the church voted to be ‘open and af�irming,’ meaning that the congregation would accept LGBT members.

The last time any sort of pride event was held in the area was Daytona Pridefest, at City Island Park in Daytona Beach in 2009. |  |

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

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orlando NEWS

Gay Days Vegas attracts 30K Jamie Hyman JAMIE@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

L

AS VEGAS | In 2012, Gay Days expanded west with a sister event in Vegas.

Gay Days Las Vegas debuted Sept. 4-10 with the Tropicana Hotel and Casino playing host hotel. Orlando-based Gay Days, Inc. co-owner Chris Manley said an estimated 30,000 people attended and enjoyed elements similar to Gay Days Orlando: the Gay Days Expo, pool parties and a kick-off party at Macy’s.

Manley said the Vegas expo was smaller than Orlando’s, but that was expected in an inaugural year.

“Our expo had nothing near the traf�ic in Orlando,” Manley said. “2012 was our 14th year in Orlando and about

19,000 came through [the Expo]. We had about 4,000 in Vegas. Most vendors were very happy and felt it was an average size expo for out there in the west.”

After a previous week of monsoon weather, Manley said the weather cooperated during the four days that comprised Gay Days Vegas. Also helping was a partnership with Las Vegas Pride. “Their numbers were up, with people �lowing back and forth between the two events,” Manley noted.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, LGBT tourism is on the rise in the city, propelled by word of mouth, new programming and targeted efforts by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The tourism agency has created dedicated advertising campaigns aimed

at the LGBT community that appear in gay media outlets such as Out and Curve. A recent one features a malefemale couple standing in the middle of an all-male pool party under the phrase, “Everyone’s welcome, even straight people.”

That type of support is not lost on Manley.

“The government and community has been more welcoming than Orlando ever has been in the last 22 years,” he told LVRJ. The Tropicana has also sought LGBT business, and was named one of 2011’s “25 Hottest Hotels” by GayTravel. com.

One highlight of Gay Days Vegas was the �irst night, when the Tropicana beamed the Gay Days logo onto the side of their building.

“We had people showing

HOST WITH THE MOST: The Tropicana Hotel played host for the inaugural Gay Days Vegas, held Sept. 4-10 in conjunction with Las Vegas Pride. up all weekend that had seen that, were in town and somehow didn’t realize we were having Gay Days,” Manley said.

He said Gay Days Vegas will continue. They are booked

ahead for the next three years, and their website—GayDays. com—is currently being updated with new information about both Gay Days Vegas and Gay Days Orlando. |  |

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SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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CELEBRATE

FAMILY+FRIENDS

LOVE+LIFE EQUALITY+RESPECT

PRIDE

+JOY MACY’S IS PROUD TO JOIN THE PARADE IN ORLANDO IN HONOR OF LGBT PRIDE. WE THINK IT’S REALLY SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE.

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tampa bay NEWS

Rights of straight, unmarried couples top Largo DPR talks Staff Report

L

ARGO | If a heterosexual couple decides not to get married, should they still be allowed to register for a few basic rights that married couples enjoy? That seemed to be the crux of the argument during a Largo City Commission meeting earlier this month.

Commissioners debated a proposed domestic partnership registry, and while commissioner Michael Smith and mayor Pat Gerard supported it, other commissioners weren’t so ready to follow in the footsteps of larger cities like Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

The surprising hold up? The rights of straight citizens who choose not to get married.

“They consciously made a decision not to be married, and we’re affording them rights that are for marriage and without the commitment of marriage?”

Commissioner Woody Brown said. “I have a problem with that.”

Smith, who is Largo’s �irst openly gay commissioner, said the proposed DPR is not a gay/ straight issue, but a basic rights issue. Gerard, who supports the DPR, disagreed.

“If my partner was a woman, I wouldn’t be able to get married, and I sure as hell would want these rights,” she said. “It’s about people being able to love who they want. This is pretty basic stuff here.”

City staff brought in copies of the domestic partner ordinances in Tampa and St. Petersburg, which allow a few basic protections to unmarried domestic partners, like hospital visitation, health care decision making and funeral planning.

Putting the city in the middle of such sensitive situations worried commissioner Curtis Holmes, who fears the city could face lawsuits if a registry is approved.

“If we have a domestic partner go to Largo Medical Center and tell them to pull the plug [on a person’s partner], I guarantee we’ll have a lawsuit,” Holmes said. He added that an individual’s family members may not appreciate the city giving such important rights to an unmarried partner.

The commission decided it wanted more information from city attorney Alan Zimmet, who will write an opinion to be presented at a future meeting. |  |

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CLEARING THE AIR: Mandi McKee says the media has distorted her claims about a hair loss drug.

Misrepresented Ybor’s Mandi McKee tackles media, clari�ies hair loss allegations Zac Caruso

CARUSO@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

T

AMPA | “Man Claims Hair Loss Drug Made Him a Woman.”

That is the sensational—and sensationally misleading—headline that’s burdened Mandi McKee this past month. After appearing in a handful of news articles, including the New York Post and France’s Closer magazine, McKee’s troubling and ultimately inspiring story has been spun into something more tabloid than truth.

McKee, formerly known as Will, says she suffered negative side effects from a hair loss drug, but otherwise the articles—and a disheartening appearance on Anderson Live—have painted a mostly inaccurate picture.

“Over the course of my life as a man, there were times when I felt

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I may have bisexual tendencies. I was always attracted to women, and I had thoughts about men,” says McKee. “But I was happily married for 10 years. I had a son. I may have had thoughts from time to time about men—and even about gender—but nothing ever close enough that I considered taking action.”

That is why McKee believes that taking �inasteride—the generic form of Propecia—did not cause her to become transgender, but rather brought otherwise dormant feelings to the fore and ampli�ied them in distressing ways.

McKee is referring to “Post Finasteride Syndrome,” a documented condition characterized by physical, mental, and sexual side effects that remain even after use of the drug has long been discontinued.

There are so many individuals claiming to be affected by this condition that there is currently a

watermarkonline.com

class-action lawsuit against Merck, the manufacturer of Propecia.

McKee’s story has received widespread publicity, but it was McKee’s guest spot on Anderson Live that garnered the most attention, and created the most misinformation. McKee says the format, focus and time allotted to the interview changed at the last minute, giving her little time to prepare.

“They initially said it was going to be 20-40 minutes out of the hour-long show,” says McKee. “But when we got to the studio, everything changed. The producers were coming in and out saying ‘The questions have been changed,’ and ‘The theme of the show has changed.’

While in the waiting room, McKee also learned the expert doctor from Washington, D.C. who was set to be a guest, and who done studies on Post Finasteride Syndrome and had evaluated her, wouldn’t be there.

They replaced him with an expert unknown to McKee. “I was comfortable that [the

Continued on page 14 |  |

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tampa bay NEWS 14

|  | Mandy McKee from pg.12

�irst doctor] knew my symptoms and would be there to con�irm that what I was saying was true,” McKee recalls. “Now he wasn’t even there.”

On air, the segment was cut to around 10 minutes and the focus shifted from the science of Post Finasteride Syndrome to her personal life.

“It felt like ‘The Trial of Mandi McKee’,” she says.

According to McKee, it is necessary to start at the beginning to fully understand her journey.

Four years ago, as Will, he moved to West Park Village with his thenwife Michele and their one-yearold son. A software engineer of 10 years, he rented a nearby of�ice space where he ran his successful company, Tampa Bay Interactive.

Alarmed by his rapidly receding hairline, he began taking a generic version of the hair loss drug Propecia in 2008 that he ordered online and without a prescription.

By Christmas of 2008, he began to notice slight changes in his emotions. His mother

came to visit for the holiday, and while making Christmas dinner a minor incident turned into a monstrous blowup.

“That was unlike me to be so emotional,” says McKee. The following year McKee experienced problems at work, saying he felt ‘spaced out’ and unable to focus on tasks. A major project was cancelled, and he faced increasing stress over �inancial dif�iculties and also escalating emotional changes and sexual dysfunctions.

According to McKee, it took a massive toll.

“It went beyond sexual dysfunction, it was a total loss of interest,” McKee says. “It became evident that something was just missing, and I started to get depressed. My body just wasn’t responding like it used to.”

By early 2011, McKee’s marriage had ended, and he attempted to move on. He found a new place to live in Tampa’s Ybor City, and took advantage of the rich night life and other activities.

But a mounting internal struggle loomed.

“I started returning to questions I had when I was younger—maybe I’m bisexual,

watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

maybe I’m gay’,” says McKee. “I made a lot of friends [in Ybor City], but it became evident to me during that time that my problem was not just a question of sexual orientation.”

Still living as a man, McKee says he suffered from panic attacks and sunk into a deep depression, often not leaving home. Finally he realized that much of the problem was rooted in his resistance to a powerful

Now Mandi, McKee shared her wish to transition with a transgender support group.

She set an appointment with a doctor to talk about hormone therapy, but before the meeting she decided to do some research of her own. It was during this research that McKee had what Oprah would call her “aha” moment. She discovered that one of the drugs used in transgender male-to-female hormonal therapy is �inasteride.

“I thought, ‘You have got to be kidding me,” says McKee. “Generic �inasteride is the drug I took for hair loss!”

McKee did more research on Post Finasteride Syndrome and found that many men claim to suffer emotional, sexual, and mental effects after using the hair loss drug.

Trans*Action Florida executive director Michael Keefe understands the effects of Post Finasteride Syndrome, but he isn’t convinced they apply to the degree claimed by McKee. “There are thousands of other men who have taken the same

“When we got to the studio, everything changed.”

—MANDI MCKEE desire to live as a woman.

“To say I struggled with it would be an understatement,” says McKee. “But I knew that what I was feeling inside were feminine-type emotions.”

By May of 2011, McKee had crashed. At rock bottom, he decided that he needed to move forward and take steps to get his life back on track. By December, he was in transgender counseling and began self-identifying as a woman.

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watermarkonline.com

drug who have had these side effects, but they aren’t claiming to be transgender now,” says Keefe. “Gender identity is more than physical appearance and hormones, it’s also based in the psyche. That’s where it typically begins, actually.”

Keefe noted that changing gender identity can be enormously confusing, and that McKee’s experience and perceptions should be respected.

He also expressed sympathy for the sensational approach taken by the media.

“The [transgender] community at large doesn’t necessarily support this particular claim, but there’s a great deal of support for Mandi personally,” Keefe says.

“And we’re disappointed with Anderson Live and other media for taking such a sensationalistic perspective.”

In the end, McKee just wants people to learn something from her story.

“Always accept people for who they are today,” she says. “Not just for who they are, but for who they are today.” |  |

S

ARASOTA | With the help of outspoken former NCAA wrestler Hudson Taylor, ALSO Out Youth’s “Stand Up Sarasota” week reached more than 1,500 students throughout the month of September.

Taylor is straight, but he has worked with the Human Rights Campaign to advocate for LGBT rights since ranking third in the country in the 197-pound NCAA wrestling weight class two years ago. He spoke to hundreds of students at Booker High School on Sept. 4 and Riverview High School on Sept. 7. He also spoke at Laurel Nokomis School.

“As an athlete in gyms, locker rooms and on bus rides, I can

attest to the prevalence of antigay attitudes and language,” Taylor said. “Calling someone ‘gay’ was as common as calling someone a ‘jerk.’”

The week, which was endorsed

by Sarasota Mayor Suzanne Atwell, gave students, parents and teachers a chance to address bullying in schools and other LGBT issues.

During a symposium on Sept.

6 at the Unitarian Universalist Church, Taylor was joined by The Bully Vaccine author Jen Hancock to discuss bullying in schools.

They also participated in breakout discussions on teen addiction and prescription drug abuse.

Parents and guardians learned how to talk to children about sex, STDs and cyber-bullying.

“One day people will �ind

Hudson Taylor

themselves thinking not just that an old practice was wrong and a new one was right but that there was something shameful in the old ways,” Taylor said.

The week coincided with news that America’s Promise Alliance (APA) named Sarasota as one of the Top 11 U.S. Communities for LGBT Youth. Each year, APA chooses the 100 best communities for young people, and this year was the �irst time it focused on LGBT youth.

Selected communities provide their youth with programs speci�ically geared toward them and to increase graduation

A TRUE CHAMPION: Former NCAA wrestler and straight ally Hudson Taylor spoke at several area schools during “Stand Up Sarasota” week.

rates. According to APA, “Winning communities come from all across the country and are addressing the unique challenges [LGBTs] face.” Applications are submitted by individual communities and then judged by a blue-ribbon panel of national leaders on youth issues. Each winning community receives a $2,500 grant to be used to help fund a local program or service, or for a local event to

celebrate the win.

This year APA focused on communities, like Sarasota, that support on LTBG youth. Factors for evaluation included the availability of resource centers, safe spaces and activities, counseling and mentoring.

Other programming, like anti-bullying initiatives, were also considered. |  |

sarasota

Staff Report

NEWS

Stand Up Sarasota week reaches 1,500 students

Vice President, Investments

Financial Advisor

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state NEWS

Broward schools recognize LGBT History Month Gideon Grudo FORT LAUDERDALE | The Broward County School Board unanimously voted Sept. 19 to of�icially recognize October as LGBT History Month, becoming among the �irst school systems in the nation to take such a step.

Leo Washington, a Hollywood Hills High School student, actor, football team captain, and club president told the school board he knows at least 30 people in his school who are afraid to come out.

“I’m 18 and African-American,” he said, choking up.

“All we want is to recognize them for who they are.”

Board Member Robin Bartleman told the various student speakers that they made history.

“You’re going to be the individuals that students will read about in future LGBT history months,” she said.

“Every child deserves to feel safe—not just in their school, but in their own skin.”

The resolution opens the door for teachers to create curriculum surrounding LGBT history. |  | Editor’s Note: Gideon Grudo is a reporter with the South Florida Gay News and this article is used with permission. Read the entire resolution at WatermarkOnline.com.

Lesbian couple hits the jackpot Staff report

C

ORAL SPRINGS | A Coral Springs couple is $10 million dollars richer after winning the top prize in the Billion Dollar Blockbuster Scratch-off game.

Tara Tuttle, 35, and her wife, Cary Tullis, traveled to Tallahassee to claim the largest prize awarded so far this year in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Tuttle’s winning ticket cost

twenty bucks. She told lottery of�icials she carried it around for a month before she scratched it and found out she won.

“Now I’m just overwhelmed and so excited to buy my family a home and look into options for opening a charitable organization for those affected with cancer,” Tuttle said.

Tuttle chose the one-time, lump-sum payment of $6.5 million. She bought her ticket at a Coral Springs Publix.

The Billion Dollar Blockbuster

Scratch-off offers the largest prize of any scratch-off game in lottery history and has awarded more than $407.4 million in prizes so far. Five $10 million and 74 $1 million prizes still remain. |  |

of his car. It had been parked in a lot outside of the University of Florida law school that morning.

Two days later, University of Florida president Bernie Machen issued a statement on the crime: “The conduct is both unacceptable at our university — or anywhere else — and is illegal. We will not tolerate

this kind of behavior on our campus.”

Tritt, who is openly gay, did not return calls for comment.

He is director of the Center for Estate Planning and has taught at UF’s Levin College of Law since 2005. Students voted him “Law Professor of the Year” in 2009, 2010 and 2011. |  |

UF professor targeted in hate crime Staff report GAINESVILLE | Police are investigating a hate crime directed at a University of Florida law professor.

At 11:40 a.m. on Sept. 10, Professor Lee-ford Tritt found the word “faggot” scratched into the side

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IN OTHER NEWS HOUSING PROJECT FOR ELDERLY GAYS GETS OK IN PHILLY Developers plan to break ground next month on a $20 million affordable housing project for elderly gays now that it has received the necessary state, federal and local approvals and funding has been secured.

The project is planned for a section of Philadelphia’s downtown affectionately known as the Gayborhood.

GINSBURG PREDICTS GAY MARRIAGE COMING TO HIGH COURT Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said that she believes the Defense of Marriage Act will likely go to the U.S. Supreme Court within the next year. In response to a law student’s question at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Ginsberg said she could not talk about matters that would come to the court, and that the Defense of Marriage Act would most likely be “before the court toward the end of the current term.”

NEWS

AUSSIE LAWMAKERS UPHOLD BAN ON GAY MARRIAGE

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Australian lawmakers have overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would have legalized gay marriage. The House of Representatives voted 98-42 against the legislation. Polls show that most Australians support gay marriage, but many in the ruling center-left Labor Party, including Prime Minister Julia Gillard, are against it.

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First U.S. city declares Bisexual Pride Day Wire Report

B

ERKELEY, CA | Berkeley has become what is thought to be the �irst U.S. city to of�icially proclaim a day recognizing bisexuals. The City Council unanimously declared Sept. 23 as Bisexual Pride and Bi Visibility Day. Since 1999, bisexual activists have claimed the date to celebrate

their community, and bisexual pride events routinely are held in Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and other cities. Berkeley Councilman Kriss Worthington introduced the resolution, telling his colleagues that it was important for the city to support an occasion “conceived as a response to the prejudice and marginalization of the bisexual persons by some in both the straight and greater LGBT communities.”

The Williams Institute, a UCLA

think tank, estimates that more than four million Americans identify as bisexual, more than the number of Americans who identify as gay, lesbian or transgender combined.

Some bisexuals nevertheless say they feel overlooked or misunderstood. And while bisexuals are part of the acronym that makes up the LGBT rainbow, some activists protest that gays are some of their harshest critics. |  |

at a news conference in Washington to express support for a November referendum in Maryland to allow same-sex marriage.

“As African-American Christian pastors and leaders, we cannot stand on the side of those who attempt to justify legalized discrimination under the guise of religious belief,” said Rev. Delman

Coates.

Sharpton, president of National Action Network, emphasized his view that the matter is strictly a civil rights issue.

“You cannot be a part-time civil rights activist,” Sharpton said.

“You cannot be for civil rights for African-Americans but not for gays and lesbians.” |  |

African-American clergy support marriage equality Wire Report WASHINGTON, D.C. | Black clergy members who support same-sex marriage joined the Rev. Al Sharpton Sept. 21 to dispel the myth that all African-American ministers are against it.

About a dozen clergy members joined the Rev. Al Sharpton Sept. 21

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Finding the chicken in chicken

Jamie Hyman ONLINE MEDIA DIR. JAMIE@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

A

S WE LEARN MORE ABOUT

the people at the helm of Chick-�il-A, the latest antigay company with a public relations nightmare unfolding online, we �ind that they aren’t just bigots. They’re cowards, too.

There’s something old school about Chick-�il-A and its president, Dan Cathy, isn’t there? I can’t help but think that if he and I were introduced in some sort of �ictional professional capacity, he’d be shaking his head over how quickly Facebook changes and grumbling about the good ol’ days.

Back then he didn’t have to worry about a bunch of angry LGBT activists and allies launching a boycott in a matter of hours because they used the internet to uncover his dogged �inancial support of anti-gay organizations.

Too bad, Dan. These are the times we live in and these are the tools we all use. I’m tired of your bigoted crap, and there’s a part of me that hopes you won’t ever catch up. But just for the fun of it, let’s take a look at some of Chick-�il-A’s missteps this past week.

Mistake #1: Negotiations aren’t private.

I still can’t understand why Chick-�il-A thought their memo to Chicago’s Alderman Moreno, signed by Chick-�il-A’s Senior Director of Real Estate, would stay

mum. The fast food company was in negotiations with the Alderman after he said he’d block a new Chick-�il-A from his Chicago neighborhood. As a refresher, the memo read: “The WinShape Foundation [Chick-�il-A’s non-pro�it arm] is now taking a much closer look at the organizations it considers helping, and in that process will remain true to its stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas.”

Chick-�il-A wanted it both ways. The memo suggests that they’ll back away from support of organizations like the Marriage and Family Foundation to get that restaurant built, while continuing their anti-gay fundraising on the side.

But in the internet age, no one gets away with that kind of double talk.

There are just too many motivated people with internet access dying to expose hypocrisy.

Mistake #2: Twitpic is a wussy clari�ication.

Let’s not even pretend the Twitpic Cathy posted the very same day the memo was made public was an accident. The photo was tweeted from the 2012 WinShape “Ride for the Family,” a fundraiser for Marriage and Family Foundation, which helps lobby against marriage equality.

Cathy was sending a message to his followers: We’re telling the Alderman what he wants to hear, but don’t worry bigots. Chick-�il-A is still on your side.

Is that not the most weenie way to reaf�irm a point of view?

You’re the president of a kazillion dollar company, Cathy. Don’t bluff your way through negotiations on one hand while using the other hand to press “send” on a photo that shows your colors have not changed.

He did later tell Mike Huckabee, of all people, that “Chick-�il-A made no such concessions, and we remain true to who we are and who we have been.”

Okay. So what was that memo about, then?

Mistake #3: Non-statement’s never work.

Once they realized they weren’t going to get away with their weenie non-stance on the issue, Chick-�il-A made what might be the worst possible next move: they issued a non-statement.

By that I mean they posted on their website one of those irritating, content-void statements that company PR �laks like to pretend are a valid response to a controversy. Actually, they’re a cowardly non-response that serves no purpose other than allowing PR �laks to later say, “Well, we did release a statement… what more does

Chick-fil-A wanted it both ways. But in the internet age, no one gets away with that kind of double talk.

the media want?”

Seriously, this is the heart of what the non-statement said: “A part of our corporate commitment is to be responsible stewards of all that God has entrusted to us. Because of this commitment, Chick-�il-A’s giving heritage is focused on programs that educate youth, strengthen families and enrich marriages, and support communities. Our intent is not to support political or social agendas.”

Not only is that the worst kind of PR-speak, but those last two sentences directly contradict each other. If you are giving to anti-gay organizations, you are supporting political and social agendas.

I wonder if Cathy longs for the old days of daily newspapers, when people had to wait till the following morning to get their news. The days when it was sometimes dif�icult to connect the dots between a memo that says one thing in the interest of corporate expansion and a photo that tells bigoted fans, “Shhhh, it’s ok. We still hate gays.” The days when he could more effectively hide his hate from the millions of equality supporters who are online watching his every move—boycott screeds at the ready.

If he wants to stop being a roadblock for progress and return to those days, that’s okay with me. |  |

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Ken Kundis KEN@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

R

ECENTLY, AND QUITE LATE

to the game, I had the opportunity to see the excellent HBO documentary, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. I probably don’t have to tell you that it was reportage and analysis on the history of gays in the military, the establishment of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on gays and lesbians serving openly, and the subsequent repeal of that nefarious and insulting policy.

In the HBO doc, Democrats are universally cast as heroes. (John McCain comes off as enormously meanspirited and a little nutty.) And Democrats are, in fact, the ones who have actually done positive things for gay and lesbian Americans.

The Clinton White House took a lot of �lack from both sides for the torturous dance that was (mercifully, past tense) “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Without debating that, gays and lesbians achieved political prominence during the Clinton/Gore administration, and were rewarded with recognition and action. Out gays and lesbians were appointed to high of�ice. Real money was �inally mobilized to battle the AIDS epidemic.

The administration consistently said the right things in public, even when political reality dulled much of the tangible progress we sought.

More importantly, even back then we had the unerring sense that the two most powerful couples—Bill and Hillary, Al and Tipper (we can’t forget the Tipper)—believed in their hearts that gays and lesbians were fully equal and fully invested in the American experiment. It’s an old joke that Bill Clinton was the �irst black president. I always think of him as the �irst gay one, too.

It’s easy to forget where we had been a short time before. Gay men fought and lost a war in the 80s and early 90s against both a disease and an uncaring federal government.

Ronald Reagan and George Bush watched passively like it was happening on television. For them, of course, it was. At the height of the epidemic, Reagan never referred to AIDS publicly.

But with baby boomers in the White House, we had the sense that they were actually friends with out gay people. They understood what being gay is really about because, as is always the case, knowing a gay person is the highest predictor of believing in full equality for gays and lesbians. (For defenders of Nancy Reagan, Rock Hudson was in the closet so he doesn’t count.)

Such ideas—that knowing a gay person makes you (shock!) more gaysupportive—are table stakes these days. Gays and lesbians are more visible and more accepted now than at any time in our history. There were close to 500 openly gay delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte—at least one from every state. These are truly salad days in the �ight for equal rights, with more victories to come.

This next generation won’t stand for anything less. I’ve seen it with my own two eyes: for those under age 25, being anti-gay subjects you to the ridicule of your peers.

And so that leads me to our current election. The LGBT community voted for President Obama in 2008 in astonishingly, historically high numbers. Since then, he has been criticized by some gays and lesbians for not doing enough to support us, or for not doing it quickly enough.

It should be easy now, the thinking goes, to push through all of things that gays and lesbians want, to

make us fully equal in the eyes of the law. We scratched your back, Mr. President. We really did.

Some gays and lesbians I’ve spoken to, and whose posts I read on Facebook, even suggest we should sit this election out since the Democratic incumbent did so little for us.

But here’s the deal: The most dangerous dog is the one that’s mortally wounded, and that’s true for ideas as well. History is turning the page on a generation of people who maintain crazy, disproven notions about our community. And they know it—or at least they sense it. So the polemic gets louder, the messages

more polarizing, the screeching more unpredictable and hateful.

It’s the last �lash of a star that is falling out of orbit.

Problem is, those people can still manage to get elected. And so they must be dealt with. The American political vessel is a battleship, not a speedboat; it can’t make hairpin turns.

The president hasn’t moved as quickly on a great many things— LGBT and otherwise—as many of us hoped he would. But he’s on the right side of us, and the right side of history, and that surely beats the alternative. |  |

It’s an old joke that Bill Clinton was the first black president. I always think of him as the first gay one, too.

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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TALKING POINTS [My mother] thinks children need a father and a mother and I agree with her.

I can’t think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads.

—RUPERT EVERETT, OPENLY GAY ACTOR, IN AN INTERVIEW WITH BRITAIN’S SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE. EVERETT HAS ALSO SAID HE DOESN’T CONSIDER HIMSELF TO BE PART OF THE “GAY COMMUNITY,” AND HAS ADVISED YOUNG GAY ACTORS THAT COMING OUT WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT THEIR CAREERS.

TV TEN-YEAR TIMELINE

1972 1982 1992 2002 2012

Hal Holbrook and a young Martin Sheen are lovers in That Certain Summer, the first TV movie to tackle gay themes. Everybody suffers.

In Brideshead Revisited, based on the Evelyn Waugh novel, Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews titillate huge audiences with their sexually charged bromance.

Ryan Phillipe is introduced as a hunky gay high school student on One Life to Live.

Will & Grace is the highest rated sitcom amongst audiences 18-49.

Here! is launched as the first cable network targeting LGBT audiences.

28 prominent gay characters populate TV. Modern Family garners 14 Emmy nominations.

The New Normal features the first extended same-sex kiss on network television… in bed!

BAD FENG SHUI

A

MBER RESTAURANT, IN NEW YORK’S LGBTFRIENDLY WEST VILLAGE, refused to host a same-sex couple’s wedding rehearsal dinner because “gay parties are especially bad for feng shui,” according to the New York Daily News.

COCK W RINGS IN THE CASTRO

HAT’S THE LATEST FASHION STATEMENT IN SAN FRANCISCO’S CUTTING EDGE GAY COMMUNITY? Cock rings.

In public. Many now even refer to the Castro neighborhood as “Cock Ring Row.” Believe it or not, San Fran permits public nudity as long as there is no visible sexual arousal.

For our female readers, cock rings are designed to clamp off blood �low in the penis to help men maintain a roaring hard on! Openly gay City Supervisor Scott Weiner says the trend goes too far. He’s considering introducing a ban. “Walking around with a cock ring on is just not acceptable, responsible behavior,” he said. And in case you’re reading our minds, Weiner may also introduce legislation that would require naked people to place a towel down before sitting on public transportation, and to cover up in restaurants. Ewww. |  |

MARY SASHAYS UP TO JAX

H

AMBURGER MARY’S HAS SUCCESSFUL LOCATIONS IN TAMPA AND ORLANDO… and now Jacksonville! The uber-gay restaurant opened in May in the trendy St. Nicholas/ Spring Park neighborhood and has received glowing reviews from UrbanSpoon.com.

PEOPLE ARE TALKING AT WATERMARKONLINE.COM ON THE REPORT THAT CHICK-FIL-A WOULD STOP ANTI-GAY DONATIONS… THEN FURTHER REPORTS THAT THEY WOULDN’T:

“I’m sure profits are more “Keep up the vigil, never allow “They pander too heavily to the religious right. I want no influential than principles. I someone to pacify us with part of them.” might be wrong, but I’m not rhetoric, and remember— ready to swallow what they with pressure comes change. —LJ SOSA are feeding!”

Let each of us become the sharp pebble in their shoe.” “I’ll believe it when I see ‘one —DON SHETTERLY —TODD KOTTMEIER million’ moms calling for a CFA boycott, and Rush popping “A bit late. Damage is done.” a vein on-air about it.”

—DAN LANDRY

—BRIAN CAHILL

EVEN RABBITS CARE ABOUT SIZE

A

TEAM FROM HARVARD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL HAS SUCCESSFULLY REMOVED THE “CORPORA CAVERNOSA”—the spongy tissue that swells during an erection—from 18 rabbits, and then used cells to grow replacement tissue that was then surgically added to their existing penises. After a recovery period, they were able to perform normally with their enhanced equipment. The team is now trying to grow a complete rabbit penis. According to New Scientist, if successful the procedure could be used on men who want a bigger beef whistle. But given the size of some of the boob jobs �loating around, we hope the technology will be used responsibly.

MORE QUOTES… ’CAUSE THEY’RE GOOD.

“I adore her (even though she’s just dreadful, isn’t she?)”

—MADONNA ON LADY GAGA DURING A CONCERT IN ATLANTIC CITY LAST WEEKEND. SHE ALSO CLAIMED THEY’LL WORK TOGETHER SOON. UMKAY. “The introduction of crystal meth into the gay community—which was already sexually active—was like the introduction of crack into the African-American community. It was a bonfire.”

—KEEP THE LIGHTS ON SCREENWRITER AND DIRECTOR IRA SACHS. THE FILM WILL PLAY AT TIGLFF ON SUNDAY, OCT. 7.

“I watch the news channels incessantly. All the stories are about the election; all the commercials are for Viagra and Cialis. Election, erection, election, erection—either way it’s about getting screwed!”

—BETTE MIDLER

WATERMARKONLINE.COM POLL Editor’s note: After this poll was posted, further information revealed that Chick-fil-A apparently will continue to give money to anti-gay organizations.

CHICK-FIL-A HAS REPORTEDLY HALTED THEIR DONATIONS TO ANTI-GAY ORGANIZATIONS.

WILL YOU STOP YOUR BOYCOTT?

No.

They are only doing this to protect their profits, not because they believe LGBTs deserve equality.

19% No. Too little, too late - they’ve already done too much to harm gays to get my business.

16% Yes.

It’s important to publicly support their reversal from an anti-gay stance.

15% Maybe. I’m not sure I

trust Chick-fil-A not to flip-flop.

15% I was never boycotting

Chick-fil-A in the first place.

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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AARTS RT &

ENTERTAINMENT

Steel MEN OF W

Gregg Shapiro GREGGSHAPIRO@AOL.COM

THE DO-OVER DUO: Steel

Magnolias producers Craig Zadan (left) and Neil Meron: “You only remake a movie if you have something new to say, or if you can broaden the universality of it.”

HAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU

hear the phrase, “Drink your juice, Shelby”? Sally Field fussing over Julia Roberts in the 1989 Southern comedic tearjerker Steel Magnolias?

The new remake, airing Oct. 7 on Lifetime, updates the story and features a stellar cast of AfricanAmerican actresses. Like the original, this version of Steel Magnolias is about sisterhood, but it’s also about sistahood.

Queen Latifah, who has developed into a natural actress, gives the performance of her career.

Screenwriter Sally Robinson’s update

of Robert Harling’s original play is respectful, and doesn’t shy away from the very funny gay content.

The executive producers of this inspired remake, Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, are the gay geniuses behind the wildly successful movie versions of Hairspray and Chicago, and the TV redo of Gypsy featuring Bette Midler. Meron and Zadan recently received the Visionary Award

Gay producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan had a great idea: an AfricanAmerican remake of Steel Magnolias.

from the Outfest Legacy Project.

They were eager to talk about Steel Magnolias and other projects.

WATERMARK: HOW DID THE

IDEA OF REMAKING STEEL MAGNOLIAS WITH AN AFRICANAMERICAN CAST COME ABOUT?

NEIL MERON: A couple of years ago Craig and I were talking about things that we wanted to do, and what were some great roles for women. Our conversation naturally went to Steel Magnolias, but we thought the only way we could really tackle it was if we could bring something new to it.

The original was brilliant. And we felt that if we could bring together a remarkable group of actors that would justify proceeding.

CRAIG ZADAN: We know Robert

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Harling, who wrote the original play and the original screenplay for the �irst movie. Robert said it was always his fantasy to have Steel Magnolias done, again, with an all black cast and set it in a black town in the South.

WERE THERE CONCERNS ABOUT REMAKING SUCH AN ICONIC MOVIE?

NM: You only remake a movie if you have something new to say, if you can maybe broaden the universality of it. We felt that by hiring the actors that we did, we had something new to say that enhanced what was already a great piece.

CZ: It’s very important to us that Robert Harling, who created it, did

Continued on page 36 |  |

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Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon in Arbitrage.

Screened Out MOVIE REVIEWS

Legends and Gods

D

IRECTOR PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON

The Master Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern

inspired Daniel Day Lewis to an Oscar-winning performance in There Will Be Blood. He also lifted up Tom Cruise in Magnolia, Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights, and even Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love.

Stephen Miller

STEPHEN@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

In The Master, Phillip Seymour Hoffman is predictably amazing. Joaquin Phoenix, on the other hand, is a revelation. His performance is clearly one of the year’s best.

The Master is an intriguing look at the use of spirituality to quell baser instinct.

The acting is impressive, so it’s sad to report that Anderson still has dif�iculty telling a cohesive story.

Phoenix is Freddie, a mentally unstable WWII vet job-hopping through the post-war era. Freddie’s violent outbursts and sexual �ixations are fueled by cocktails that mix alcohol and paint thinner

Arbitrage

Trouble with the Curve

Starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Laetitia Casta, Tim Roth

Starring Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman

F

INSPIRED MADMAN: Joaquin Phoenix shows us why, as an actor, he’s The Master.

Then this sinner �inds New Age guru Lancaster Dodd (Seymour Hoffman), a self-help author who founded The Cause, a cult-like religion similar to Scientology. Dodd wants to reform him and show his vacillating followers and critics that he has the power of redemption.

But a pregnancy, lawsuits and other legal troubles are all introduced without explanation or resolution. Talented supporting actors must contend with half-written characters. The �ilm ambles along for almost two and a half hours before winding down.

Through it all, though, Phoenix and Seymour Hoffman are a joy to behold, even when the plot mires them in earthly confusion. In that sense, The Master is both Heaven and Hell. |  |

Amy Adams and Clint Eastwood as daughter and father in Trouble with the Curve.

A

OR THOSE OF US WHO FTER EASTWOOD’S WILD AREN’T FINANCE WONKS, SWING TALKING TO AN “arbitrage” is the simultaneous EMPTY CHAIR—pinch-hitting use of commodities for loans, for the Republicans at their national sales, or pro�its. It’s almost always convention—many wondered if the illegal. Think Bernie Madoff and legend had lost it. Of course, that begs you’ll be on the right track. the question whether Dirty Harry ever Gere is brilliant as a charming, had it in the �irst place; some of his acting sociopathic billionaire embroiled performances have raised doubts. in a life of slippery ethics. After As a director, Eastwood has proved making a bad business decision, he himself time and again. But he didn’t tries to cover it up until he can sell. direct Trouble with the Curve—and it But the buyer is dragging shows. This time, his oft-time the process out and possibly second-in-command, Robert manipulating the sale price. RATINGS GUIDE Lawrence, is giving the signals.

Gere is also philandering on Eastwood is an old, socialite wife Sarandon with curmudgeonly baseball Casta. When an accident scout trying to hide his onset Overflowing occurs, Gere’s many lies blindness. Adams is his type-A with glittery start to catch up with him. lawyer daughter, who suffers fabulousness Gere has specialized in with abandonment issues. edgy slickness since American Despite the fact that she’s Pretty damn Gigolo, but we can’t really up for a big promotion at good, but it’s no care about his character. work, Adams follows Daddy Sunset Boulevard The enticement in Arbitrage to North Carolina to help is whether he will be held scout a player for the Braves.

An entertaining accountable. As the �ibs She’ll be his eyes, and they’ll enough flick multiply and overlap, police work through their issues. with perhaps detective Roth is on his tail.

Timberlake is along for the ride a few holes The fortunes of innocent playing a rival scout, former people hang in the balance.

Eastwood recruit and potential Ever so slightly First-time writer/ love interest for Adams. watchable, just director Nicholas Jarecki None of the actors for that hot actor does a brilliant job layering completely embarrass on the complexity. Gere’s themselves, even though the character is so incredibly Two hours of plot holds no surprises. Some your life you’ll hollow that even the dramatic random moments feel like never get back scenes between him and wild pitches. The rich baseball Sarandon seem bloodless. metaphor is underutilized.

You’ll admire the man’s tenacity— The biggest error is the script. “That’s his BS quotient—but you’ll still not called protecting; that’s called want him to pay and pay big. rejecting!” exclaims Adams, in typically What emerges is a story of unnatural sounding dialogue. The fact captivating complexity and depth, that she and Eastwood can muddle with no soul at the center. But through such Little League writing and isn’t that the way the �inancial still create some touching moments system and the wonks who shows they’re both still in the game. |  | populate it are built? |  |

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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Y O G A

ALLEN ZIMMERMAN Registered Yoga Teacher

Reduce stress, find energy and balance.

Private or Group instruction, based in Tampa Bay. Call 305 .915 .9360 (Cell ) AllenYoga@gmail.com

PAULA POUNDSTONE

OCT. 6 25

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YEARS

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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IS IT TRUE YOU USED TO WORK AT A DINER ON ORANGE BLOSSOM TRAIL IN ORLANDO?

I did! I worked at the International House of Pancakes—eleven at night to seven in the morning. I was just telling my son the story of me heroically saving a man who had passed out and almost drowned in his eggs. My son was like, “You can’t drown in eggs.” I told him, “Sure you can—if they’re over easy!”

Even back then, the area wasn’t top-of-the-line. I lived in an apartment off Orange Blossom Trail which was probably four miles away.

I used to walk to work—at night. I couldn’t get over how many people offered me rides. I had no idea that those other women walking out there were hookers! What’s worse,

HEY PAULA: Paula Poundstone brings her stream-of-consciousness comedy to the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Saturday, Oct. 6. PHOTO COURTESY PERSONAL PUBLICITY

Wait Wait…

Okay, Tell Me!

STAND-UP COMEDIAN Tampa-bound comedian Paula Poundstone weighs in on NPR, junk food, Facebook, and Orlando’s OBT

T

Erik Caban ERIK@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

AMPA | ARMED WITH NOTHING BUT A

stool, a microphone and a can of Diet Pepsi, stand-up comedian, actress, author, and radio personality Paula Poundstone draws on her own life in her stand-up show. And nothing is off the table: her kids, her cats, politics, her secret affair with junk food and a full complement of neuroses.

Poundstone brings her streamof-consciousness wit to the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, Saturday, Oct. 6.

Very much a trailblazer, she was the �irst woman to win a Cable ACE award for her HBO special, the �irst woman to perform at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, and

32

the �irst to be invited to Harvard University.

Before she made it as a comedian, Poundstone did a stint as a waitress at an IHOP on Orlando’s Orange Blossom Trail. She found a new fan base as a panelist on NPR’s game show Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Poundstone, who is ambivalent

watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

to the point of boredom about her sexuality, called Watermark from her home in Santa Monica. During our conversation, she also talked with her children, steamed a suit, prepared a grocery list and fended off a cat bite.

WATERMARK: TELL US ABOUT THE SHOW YOU’RE DOING HERE IN TAMPA.

PAULA POUNDSTONE: There’ll be no physical injuries. I talk about raising a house full of kids and animals. I talk about the public school system and the state of network news. My favorite part is where I do the time-honored, “What do you do for a living?” I love talking to the audience. Little biographies of audience members emerge and I play off that.

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WATERMARK’S PUBLISHER NEVER MISSES WAIT WAIT… DON’T TELL ME! HE SAYS HE’LL DRIVE AROUND IN HIS CAR THE WHOLE HOUR IF YOU’RE A PANELIST. HOW DID YOUR GIG ON THE NPR RADIO SHOW COME ABOUT?

YOU’RE ON RECORD ABOUT YOUR LOVE OF JUNK FOOD: TWINKIES, HO-HOS, TACO BELL. WITH THREE KIDS AT HOME, DO YOU MAKE AN EFFORT TO FEED THEM HEALTHY FOODS?

I make a huge effort to make them eat healthy. In fact, I just sent my oldest daughter out to buy a food scale. I insist that she eat in accordance with the �ive food groups. [Laughs] She just tried to pass off one-and-a-half cups of leaf lettuce as a full vegetable portion!”

So, yes, I try really hard to have my kids eat healthy. But if I’m being truthful, I recently bought a rather large safe for my bedroom closet, and in there you will �ind my stash of Butter�ingers. I do a lot of my junk food eating in my walk-in closet late at night. And on the road it’s just disgusting, too. Eating healthy on the road means that instead of getting Fritos from the vending machine, I get the Chex Mix. Lower in sodium.

“What does it mean, that Mitt Romney needs to be ‘humanized?’

It’s not the kind of thing you’d want to hear about your kid at a parent-teacher conference.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT MICHELLE OBAMA’S HEALTHY FOODS INITIATIVE?

I’m totally on board!

They just Let me tell you called me up something—this will and asked me piss people off—I even if I wanted to applaud Bloomberg do it. At �irst for his ban on super we didn’t even size sodas. Not do it in front of because I think it’s a a live audience. —PAULA POUNDSTONE solution—I mean, any We were all idiot can just order in separate �ive smalls.

But he’s bringing to studios wherever we lived and light the topic of obesity, just like hooked up by phone. Once they Michelle Obama has. In our local discovered the magic of a live elementary school there is a 60% audience, they located themselves obesity rate. That’s obscene! into the basement of a bank in And the �ix is ridiculously easy— downtown Chicago, which is our nutrition and sleep. We are also headquarters now. They’re coming sleep deprived, by the way— up on their 15th anniversary. which is why Starbucks has had Honestly, I had never even heard of its way with us. the show. I’ve been on it for close to I love Michelle Obama. I a dozen years now. especially love that she had a crooked piece of hair sticking out DO YOU THINK THE RADIO SHOW during her convention speech. It HAS EXPOSED YOU TO A BROADER made her more like us. I bet when AUDIENCE? she was about to go on some De�initely! A lot of people come operative went, “Come here. Let’s to my shows and say they heard fuck up your hair a little bit.” |  | of me because of Wait, Wait...

Don’t Tell Me! It’s such a great audience. They’re well-informed, MORE INFORMATION smart, have a great sense of humor. They class up my shows.

WHO: Paula Poundstone To read bonus content from this interview go to watermarkonline.com.

watermarkonline.com

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 6, 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: David A. Straz Center, Tampa TICKETS: strazcenter.org

More than 180 artists from around the world!

Live Entertainment All Weekend

Nov 17 - 18, 2012 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

DOWNTOWN DELAND Between Daytona & Orlando From I-4, Exit at S.R. 44 West Presenting Partners; MainStreet DeLand Association Museum of Florida Art and Sands Theater Center Funding and Support Services Provided in Part by The City of DeLand and The Cultural Council of Volusia County

DeLandFallFestival.com SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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DESIGN, ON-SCREEN AND OFF

CLEAN MACHINE: Style Network’s Mark Brunetz (Clean House) shares tricks to transform any space ‘from status quo to TV show’ at The Orlando Home Show Oct. 5 - 7. PHOTO COURTESY BISBEE AND CO.

Designing

with Style

TELEVISION STAR

Style Network’s Mark Brunetz is ready to Clean House at Orlando’s Home Show

H

Erik Caban ERIK@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

ANDSOME, OFTEN HILARIOUS MARK

Brunetz is best known as co-host of Style Network’s hit show Clean House, which airs in over 30 countries. But the multi-talented Cleveland native, now 49, also co-starred in two of Jane Fonda’s exercise videos and worked with producer Sandra Bullock on Hope Floats and Practical Magic.

The Emmy-Award winning Brunetz will share his creative ideas and de-cluttering expertise at the Orlando Home Show Oct. 5-7. He spoke with Watermark from his home in Glendale, California.

AN EPIDEMIC OF CLUTTER Brunetz was ideally suited to the challenges of Clean House, in which he assisted participants in

34

de-cluttering their homes—and inevitably their lives—to make way for a better future.

In his book, Take the U Out of Clutter, Brunetz explains how people can shift their focus from acquiring and keeping ‘things’ to creating a healthy, streamlined lifestyle.

“Think of home organization like weight loss,” he said. “Everybody

watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

knows how to lose weight—eat better food and exercise. So why are we a nation of obese people?”

After nine years on Clean House, Brunetz says he gained a unique insight into the barriers people face.

He determined that most people think the problem is their ‘stuff,’ but for most the problem is the story they have around the stuff.

“I realized, after working with so many people, that there are �ive common stories that people tell themselves that cause the clutter,” he said. “Two examples: ‘I’ll feel guilty if I get rid of that,’ and ‘I might need that some day.’

So Brunetz’s approach is to teach people how to organize their stories so that they can tackle the task of organizing their stuff.

“Let me tell you,” he enthused. “If you can get the stories straight, the stuff works itself out.”

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discovered a love of design.

After a stint as creative director and event producer at the huge Most designers work with a Mandalay Bay complex in Las single client at a time. On television, Vegas, he moved to Los Angeles and Brunetz notes, you have several: the homeowner, the network and a huge founded Mark Brunetz Designs.

“Within a year, I was discovered and opinionated audience. Some by some MTV producers in a shop love the �inal product, others loathe on Melrose,” Brunetz recalled. “That it. It makes for memorable viewing, was the beginning of [my career] in like the infamous episode featuring the whole makeover genre.”

Toni Dragon.

In 2001, he became the host “She hated what we did so of Crib Crashers, a show where much she literally melted down on unsuspecting fans have their camera,” Brunette remembered. rooms transformed to look like “I was new to the show; it caught their favorite star’s crib. Since then us all off guard. She just wasn’t he’s appeared on AREA for Style ready—which is key. She could not Network, Outer Spaces for HGTV and be pleased.”

Faking It for TLC. Another favorite was the show’s From med student to exercise �irst gay couple, Devon and Matthew. innovator to television designer, “Yes, gay people have clutter— the path seems linear to Brunetz. we’re all human beings,” Brunetz The common thread, he says, is said. “But we played that up on the presence, artistic vision and a show, and we learned that Matthew passion for self-improvement. had been disowned by his family.”

“Throughout, I’ve always been a Brunetz’ solution: use the strong creative force,” Brunetz said. opportunity to help the couple “I’ve always had a voice, always create a nurturing home for had an opinion. And that opinion themselves, on a physical but also typically re�lects my desire to help emotional and spiritual level. people attain a better life.”

“It was so In 2008, Brunetz sweet,” Brunetz founded Design recalled.

Without Borders, an “There was organization that this moment at conducts makeovers the end where in developing nations.

Matthew his The �irst was in Cape partner and Town, South Africa. our crew said, —MARK BRUNETZ. And Brunetz was ‘Wow, I feel like recently named a I’m at home.’ spokesperson for the International It’s incredibly special to me to be Design Guild’s program to connect able to create that for someone.” designers with local charities to make over their spaces.

SERENDIPITY IN DESIGN Since leaving Clean House last Brunetz didn’t start out to year, Brunetz says he’s spending be a style guru. At East Carolina quality time with his partner of 13 University he studied a pre-med years, Eddie Flores, and their two curriculum, and after postdogs. Brunetz is also working on �ive graduate work became the staff new shows that will all utilize his exercise physiologist at the Jane areas of expertise: design, lifestyle Fonda Workout in Beverly Hills. and the reality format.

He introduced Fonda to step “I feel like it’s my responsibility aerobics, and then created and coto help change people’s lives,” starred in two of her most popular says Brunetz. “I want to keep exercise videos. doing that.” |  | Brunetz eventually started his own personal training company, MORE INFORMATION developing products for celebrities like Suzanne Somers, Sheena WHO: Mark Brunetz of Style Easton, Florence Grif�ith-Joyner Network’s Clean House and Kim Alexis. And that’s how he WHAT: Orlando Home Show met Sandra Bullock. Brunetz not WHEN: Friday Oct. 5, 6 p.m.; only helped her produce movies, Saturday Oct. 6, 12 p.m. he remodelled her homes and & 5 p.m; Sunday Oct. 7, 3 p.m.

“I feel like it’s my responsibility to help change people’s lives.”

To read bonus content from this interview go to watermarkonline.com.

watermarkonline.com

WHERE: Orange County Convention Center TICKETS: $10 at OrlandoFallShow.com

Inaugural Production!

In Our New Home • 54 West Church Street Tickets starting at $25!

Mad Cow Theatre Presents

VamPirE’s bAll BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

OCTOBER 19 -21 TH

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Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by James Lapine

Oct 6-26, 2012 MadCowTheatre.com • 407.297.8788 • Downtown Orlando 32801

STOP KISS

by DIANA SON SEPT. 27-29, 2012 OCT. 10, 12, 14, 2012 The relationship between two friends is irrevocably altered with one kiss.

407-823-1500 | www.theatre.ucf.edu

by ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA OCT. 4-7, 11, 13, 2012 A scandalous video tape threatens to unravel the lives of students at a prestigious prep school.

FOR TICKETS CALL

407-426-1739

O R L A N D O B A L L E T.O R G

All performances at Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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|  | Steel Magnolias from pg.27

not say to us, “Oh, please don’t do that.” He was excited see an all black version—he really wanted us to do it. Those characters and that story are based on his own life. But we’re not competing with the original version. It’s the same with Broadway revivals. Gypsy was done with Ethel Merman originally, but look how many Gypsys have been done on Broadway since, and with so many brilliant stars. When you have a classic, usually there’s no reason not to try it a different way.

QUEEN LATIFAH PLAYS M’LYNN, THE ROLE ORIGINATED ON SCREEN BY SALLY FIELD. SHE GIVES AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE THAT WILL SURPRISE MANY PEOPLE—IT HAS EMMY AND GOLDEN GLOBE WRITTEN ALL OVER IT. DID WORKING WITH HER IN THE PAST IMPACT YOUR DECISION TO CAST HER IN STEEL MAGNOLIAS?

NM: A lot of the success in projects like this is due to casting. Queen Latifah had the strength, the dignity and the acting chops to really anchor this new production of Steel Magnolias, and to rede�ine it. So you start with Queen Latifah and build

everything around her.

CZ: We had magni�icent experiences working with her on Chicago and Hairspray. They were two of the best �ilms she’s ever done—and that we’ve ever done— and we thought we’d love to have that experience a third time together as a team. She understood how passionate we were about doing the piece and about her being in it, and she said ‘yes’ immediately. She’s given wonderful performances in the past, but nothing that she’s done can prepare the audience for the depth of the performance she gives in Steel Magnolias.

FROM THE STEEL MAGNOLIAS CAST, YOU ALSO WORKED WITH PHYLICIA RASHAD (A RAISIN IN THE SUN) AND BRANDY (CINDERELLA, DOUBLE PLATINUM, DROP DEAD DIVA). DOES THAT HELP WITH AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT LIKE THIS?

NM: We love to work with the same actors because you have a shorthand, and you know they can deliver. It’s more like a family.

When you work with friends who are incredibly talented and who enjoy working with one another, it creates a wonderful environment that spreads throughout the whole production.

CZ: We do it a lot. We did three movies with Judy Davis…

NM: Several TV movies with Barbra Streisand, Whoopi Goldberg, Victor Garber…

CZ: It’s ridiculous how many times we’ve worked with him.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS ALSO STARS TWO YOUNGER ACTRESSES, ADEPERO ODUYE AND CONDOLA RASHAD, PHYLICIA’S DAUGHTER. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES, AND REWARDS,

in the movie. It’s satisfying to have incredibly gifted, talented stars deliver in ways that may rede�ine them, but at the same time it’s incredibly satisfying to put new people into the mix and introduce them.

EVEN THOUGH YOUR MOVIES, CHICAGO AND HAIRSPRAY, WERE BIG SUCCESSES, THE MAJORITY OF YOUR PRODUCTION WORK HAS BEEN IN TV. DO YOU LIKE WORKING IN TV MORE?

CZ: I don’t think we have a preference. We started with the theater and Broadway, and then we wanted to take that to every single medium. So we might produce a feature �ilm then go to television and then a Broadway show—just going from medium to medium. It allows you to �lex different muscles. There is no similarity between making a feature �ilm and a TV movie, or a TV series, or a Broadway show. They all require such radically different skills as a producer. It keeps us fresh and it keeps us curious and it keeps us interested.

“You like to have your work reflect parts of who you are… as gay men it’s kind of an imperative.”

—NEIL MERON IN CASTING YOUNG TALENT?

NM: Part of the satisfaction of being a producer is being able to introduce new talent. Craig and I spotted Condola in a Broadway show, Stick Fly. She’s the only person that we wanted to play Shelby. We knew about Adepero from Pariah, of course. She auditioned, and it was so spectacular and special that we knew she needed to be

A NUMBER OF YOUR PROJECTS HAVE DEALT WITH GAY CHARACTERS

OR GAY SUBJECT MATTER. HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT TO YOU?

NM: It’s incredibly important, because you like to have your work re�lect parts of who you are. As gay men, it’s kind of an imperative.

CZ: We’ve learned the power of entertainment. You can stand on a soap box and give speeches all you want. But when you do pieces like Serving in Silence, Wedding Wars, It’s All Relative, What Makes a Family, Smash or Drop Dead Diva, you’re welcomed into peoples’ living rooms. And while you’re entertaining them, they’re also learning.

Wedding Wars is a good example. We were the �irst people to make a movie about gay marriage, but rather than advocate we decided to do a romantic comedy. Audiences would have a wonderful time without even realizing that we were also trying to make a point about marriage equality. By the end of the movie you can’t help feeling, “Wow… what’s the big deal?”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU GUYS?

CZ: We’re producing the 2013 Academy Awards.

NM: And season two of Smash.

Art that makes you think.

The Mysterious Content of Softness September 15–December 30, 2012 Lisa Kellner, Im Plant, 2012

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ARTS &

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Fiona Apple

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QUICK PICKS Bradenton Evita

through Oct. 7 Manatee Players manateeplayers.com

Known for her infamous rant at the 1997 Video Music Awards, the outspoken singer speaks her mind in ways that shock, amuse and surprise. Always an advocate for LGBT youth, she earned fans back in March after a 16-year-old high school student asked her to write a note for his school’s gay-straight alliance. The handwritten letter was posted on the blogosphere and went viral.

“A person who loves is a righteous person, and if someone has the ability and desire to show love to another—to someone willing to receive it—then for goodness sake, let them do it,” she wrote.

“Hate has no place in the equation; there is no function for it to perform. Love is love, and there will never be too much.”

This tour and album, The Idler Wheel is wiser than the Driver of the Screw, and Whipping Cords will serve you more than Ropes will ever do are Apple’s �irst since 2005’s Extraordinary Machine.

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Pride at Halloween

The Queen of Versailles

OME OUT WITH PRIDE PRESENTS A SPECIAL LGBT EDITION OF HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS at Universal Studios on Thursday, Oct. 4. As part of a week of festivities, COWP has teamed up with Universal for a night of scares. Can you survive a nightmarish horde of walkers from AMC’s The Walking Dead? How about the demented mind of Alice Cooper, a magic

trick by Penn & Teller gone horri�ically wrong, or the next dimension of terror in Silent Hill? There’s only one way to �ind out! Experience the nation’s premier annual Halloween event, now in its 22nd year, and show your pride by wearing purple. Tickets are discounted at $55, and all proceeds bene�it COWP. For tickets, visit ComeOutWithPride.com. |  |

T

HE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL FAVORITE, which has sold out shows in Orlando for weeks, comes to the Tampa Theatre on Sept.

28. With the epic dimensions of a Shakespearean tragedy, The Queen of Versailles follows Orlando billionaires Jackie and David Siegel as they build the largest house in America, and uncovers cracks in the American dream. The economic crisis

Tampa International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

brings construction to a halt, and we watch the Siegels cope with their change in circumstances.

You’ll hate them, you’ll pity them (and their kids!), and you may even end up admiring their indefatigable spirit. Either way, you’ll be fascinated by this multilayered documentary—an early Oscar contender. For tickets, visit TampaTheatre.org. |  |

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Oct. 5-13 Tampa Theatre tiglff.org

MORE INFORMATION For more events or to submit your upcoming show, concert or performance, visit WatermarkOnline.com.

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IN DEPTH COME OUT WITH PRIDE

W

Tom Dyer TOM@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

HAT IF YOU RECORDED YOUR COMING

out? Not just the dramatic moments where you tell your parents, friends and co-workers. Not just the joyful release, af�irmation and empowering freedom that results.

Country Confessional Wish Me Away is the riveting documentary about Chely Wright’s groundbreaking coming out.

But the rest of it, too.

The hiding and the lies. The fear, self-loathing and sleepless nights as you wondered how much more psychic pain you could endure, and whether you’d ever muster the courage to accept the consequences of an honest life. And in some cases, the disappointing rejection of loved ones.

That kind of brutally honest record is accomplished in a miracle of a �ilm, the award-winning documentary, Wish Me Away. It’s country music star Chely Wright’s coming out story. And it’s a riveting, inspiring, must-see �ilm for any member of the LGBT community.

The strikingly beautiful Wright, now 41, came out publicly in the May 3, 2010, issue of People magazine, on The Today Show, Ellen and Oprah, and in the Nashvillecentered world of country music where the rejection of fans and peers was virtually assured.

And throughout, Wish Me Away never blinks. Filmed over three years by Bobbie Birlef�i and Beverly Kopf and released in late 2011, the award-winning documentary makes full use of dif�icult-to-watch video diaries Wright began recording years prior as she struggled with the end of a 12-year relationship and a resulting breakdown. Using interviews with Wright, her family, her pastor, and key players in Nashville, the �ilm shifts deftly between Wright’s celebrity and her deeply moving personal journey.

Wright will be in Orlando on Wednesday, Oct. 3 for a screening of

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Wish Me Away as part of Come Out With Pride’s Out in the Open Film Festival. She’ll talk about the movie and her life afterward. I spoke with Wright by telephone last week.

WATERMARK: SO BEFORE WE BEGIN, CHELY, I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT I JUST HAD A FEMALE COUPLE IN MY OFFICE TO DO SOME LEGAL WORK. WHEN I TOLD THEM I WAS ABOUT TO INTERVIEW YOU THEY ABSOLUTELY LIT UP. THEY’RE BRINGING ALL THEIR FRIENDS TO THE SCREENING ON OCT. 3. AND THEY’RE REACTION GOT ME THINKING... YOU HAVE A BIG, IMPORTANT, MEANINGFUL LIFE. DOES IT FEEL THAT WAY TO YOU?

CHELY WRIGHT: That’s incredible to hear. I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that question in that way, so thank you for that.

I do understand the gravity of the opportunity I’ve been given. I’ve had to participate in my life to be in this position, to gain this platform. I had to pull my big girl pants up.

I read letters that are sent to me from all over the world, and I never stop marveling at the impact that a person standing up can make. I consider myself enormously lucky.

AS DIFFICULT AS COMING OUT AND BEING GAY CAN SOMETIMES BE, IF YOU RISE TO THE CHALLENGE IT’S A REAL GIFT… A REAL GROWTH OPPORTUNITY FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY.

It’s markedly different being really out as opposed to being just kind of out. One of my goals every day is to

Continued on page 46 |  |

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ONLY IN OUR DREAMS: 80s pop BIGGER IS BETTER: Organizers expect 80-100,000 people to attend this year’s Come Out With Pride, including the

Pride Parade on Saturday, Oct. 6.

Orlando’s World of Pride

A film festival and concert are just two additions to an ever-expanding COWP

O

Stephen Miller STEPHEN@WATERMARKONLINE.COM

RLANDO | NOW IN ITS EIGHTH YEAR

as a successful fall event at beautiful Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando, you’d think Come Out With Pride could coast a little bit. But that’s not how the principal organizers are built. This year will see several signi�icant new additions to an event that now spans 11 days.

“The success of our event and its reputation across the nation has driven demand up,” said COWP executive director Mikael Audebert.

The 2012 theme—“World of Pride”—is a nod to this growing international prestige, and a strategic signal to the Gay Games to take note of Orlando’s bid to host that event in 2018.

COWP hosts fundraising events at local businesses throughout the year, but in 2012 more of�icial events in late September and early October will take place at partnering venues.

Revolution, The Abbey, Hamburger

Mary’s, Doubletree Downtown and Macy’s will all host events during COWP. On Thursday, Oct. 4, Universal Studios welcomes Pride at Halloween Horror Nights, with discounted tickets bene�iting COWP. And directly after the Saturday, Oct. 6 festivities at Lake Eola Park, the Parliament House will throw a big party and concert featuring 80s pop star and LGBT favorite Debbie Gibson, who is also this year’s COWP Parade Grand Marshall.

The expo area has been expanded further around Lake Eola to accommodate 110 vendors,

and a World Showcase on the International Bridge (farmer’s market area) will feature exhibits from 10 Pride events around the world. Before and after the 4 p.m. parade, the Walt Disney Amphitheater will host performers including the Orlando Gay Chorus, Live Hart, Josey and Project DJ Slam.

Like last year, �ireworks will light up the sky over Lake Eola at 8 p.m.

This year, John Michael Weddings & Special Events will offer dinner at a prime viewing area on the south side of the park.

Overall, the Oct. 6 event is expected to draw 80-100,000 people to downtown Orlando, with an economic impact measured in the millions. Earlier this year, the city became the �irst government in the region to adopt a domestic partner registry.

“We are proud of Orlando’s reputation as one of the most inclusive places to live in America,” Mayor Buddy Dyer said in his of�icial welcome letter. “We are glad you’re here!”

icon Debbie Gibson is the COWP Parade Grand Marshall, and headliner at the Parliament House after-party.

Audubert says there are so many diverse components to Orlando’s LGBT community that it was necessary to expand COWP to several days and events.

“Representing our entire community in one day is simply impossible,” he said. “Our weeklong celebration allows us to offer a little bit for everyone before the main day.”

Last year’s COWP was postponed due to dangerous rain and wind, but the community stepped up with additional �inancial help and attendance for the delayed event on Nov. 13 was remarkable, exceeding 65,000.

To support an expanded schedule of events in 2012, organizers knew they’d have to step up fundraising.

“We are committed to keeping COWP free to the public,” said Audubert. “We found that having numerous and diverse events throughout the year that charge a small fee is the best way to generate necessary funds.”

One exciting addition this year is Out in the Open Film Festival from Sept. 30 – Oct. 3 at The Abbey. The four-day event was created with the assistance of producer Margaret Nolan, who ran the Gay Orlando Film Festival through 2008, and �ilmmaker Nils Tanager.

The impressive lineup begins with a Sept. 30 brunch screening

of My Fair Lidy, a locally produced movie starring popular Orlando drag entertainer Leigh Shannon. The following night, director Mackey Alston will introduce Love Free or Die, his inspiring documentary about openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson. The following evening, Cloudburst, starring Olympia Dukakis, will follow a juried shorts program. And on Wednesday, Oct. 3, Chely Wright will participate in a panel discussion following a screening of the awardwinning documentary about her groundbreaking coming out in the world of country music, Wish Me Away (see story p. 41).

“Since it’s Pride, we focused on documentaries that speak to things like coming out and the sociopolitical climate,” said Nolan.

Another welcome change this year is the addition of a concert event at the Parliament House featuring COWP Parade Grand Marshall Debbie Gibson.

“We had several discussions about who we wanted at the of�icial after-party for COWP,” said Parliament House spokesperson Drew Sizemore. “We all agreed Debbie Gibson was perfect, and when we contacted her she was both honored and excited.”

Audubert is excited about the involvement of the iconic Parliament House and other local LGBT businesses in COWP this year.

“It allows us to expand our offerings, open things up to more and different kinds of people, and further celebrate our culture,” he said, noting supporters as diverse as Microsoft Store, Orlando Magic, Orlando Solar Bears, Walgreens and The Brink. Hilton Grand Vacations sponsored the World Showcase, and Fringe and Food Truck Bazaar will provide international culinary offerings from noon to 6 p.m.

A late addition to the COWP lineup is a Sunday, Oct. 7 pool party called SPLASH at the Double Tree Downtown Orlando. The event will bene�it and promote Orlando’s bid for the 2018 Gay Games.

Go to ComeOutWithPride.com for more information. And in the meantime, get your Pride groove on for the most exciting COWP lineup to date. |  |

For photos and updates throughout COWP, visit watermarkonline.com.

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|  | Chely Wright from pg.41

be very, very gentle with those who are not out, or not all the way out. I try to go back and remember what it’s like to feel afraid and to be so worried about consequences.

But part of me wants to shake them by the shoulders and tell them, “You will not believe how different it is when you’re totally out... when you let the fear go.

And you’re right... it’s an incredible growth opportunity for your family. My nephew, Matt, delivers the most poignant interview in the �ilm. He says, “I’ll admit that before I knew Aunt Chely was gay I made gay jokes, I talked bad about gay people.” Then he pauses and says, “I regret that I did that.”

HOW DID YOUR MOTHER REACT WHEN YOU TOLD HER?

It’s not a particularly funny or nice story, but it’s a big part of my story.

It’s a huge element of my �ilm and my book (Wright’s autobiography, Like Me, was published in 2010).

I didn’t come out to my mother before I came out publicly because I suspected it wouldn’t go well. About 10 days after that she called me on the phone. We had a pretty intense, dif�icult conversation, and we haven’t talked since.

It’s a narrative that the �ilmmakers captured that I really didn’t want them to capture. They went and talked to my mother. It’s pretty tough stuff, but it’s important for people to understand that my coming out experience hasn’t been all roses and sunshine.

WHEN YOU APPEARED ON ELLEN RIGHT AFTER YOU CAME OUT, YOU TOLD HER THAT YOU FELT “TWO WEEKS OLD.” HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW?

I feel settled into my freedom.

I had a lot of fear, and over time I developed a skill set unknown to people who are free. I hid almost everything that was personal. When we were on tour and I’d get on the bus and my band would ask me, “What did you do this weekend?” I’d just say, “Not much.” When actually I’d done a lot!

I had a practice of detaching... of hiding my life from people. Even now, when people ask me, “What did you do this weekend?” I still �ind myself saying, “Oh, not much.” These are deeply ingrained habits. When it takes years and years to hone the craft of hiding, it takes years to unlearn that behavior.

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It may look like everything worked perfectly for me, but it didn’t. It didn’t.

—CHELY WRIGHT BEFORE I CAME OUT, I WAS AFRAID OF BEING EXPOSED BY SOMEONE, ANYONE, THAT DIDN’T LIKE ME SO I BECAME A REAL PLEASER. WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE SIMILAR?

My friend, Kristin Chenoweth, and I were just talking about this!

In my heart, I’m a nice person.

I got the award in school for being friendly to everybody. But the hiding caused me to be nice to people that didn’t really deserve it. I was nice to them because I didn’t want anyone to take out a rumor hit. I didn’t want an enemy. I know the damage that an enemy can do to you. I took a lot of crap that I shouldn’t have taken.

COUNTRY MUSIC IS GOOD AT TELLING STORIES. THE SONG “YOUR SHIRT” (2005: THE METROPOLITAN HOTEL) TELLS THE STORY OF SOMEONE WHO USES A TORN SHIRT TO FEEL CLOSE TO A DEPARTED LOVER. IT CAME OUT BEFORE BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, BUT I WONDER IF YOU THOUGHT OF YOUR SONG WHEN YOU WATCHED THAT HEARTBREAKING ‘SHIRT SCENE’ TOWARD THE END OF THAT MOVIE.

I didn’t write “Your Shirt,” but I loved it, and I sang it as though I’d written it. In fact, when I recorded it I was thinking about my partner of 12 years and her sweatshirt.

I’ve never told anyone this, but I saw Brokeback Mountain the day it came out. I was in a brief relationship after leaving my former partner. I wanted to see the �ilm and she wouldn’t go with me because she was afraid of being seen at a ‘gay movie.’ So I went by myself. After the �ilm was over I drove over to where she lived and said, “I can’t do this.”

And that was the beginning of my breakdown.

Brokeback Mountain had a devastatingly inspirational impact on me. I saw myself in the characters. I saw myself ending up unhappy, alone, and dying without anyone knowing who I am or what

watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

I feel. It was a major, major pivotal moment for me. I think it was for a lot of people.

DO YOU THINK YOU’LL EVER WRITE SONGS THAT DEAL SPECIFICALLY WITH SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS?

Artistically, I try never to point a compass anywhere. You just have to do what comes to you. Someone tweeted me the other day and said, “I can’t listen to Chely Wright’s old music because it’s so straight.”

Another fan responded by saying she’d charted all my songs and only something like 17 out of more than 100 mention my being with a man.

For country music that’s certainly unusual. Maybe I subconsciously avoided that because it felt like I was committing a crime against myself.

I GUESS MY FANTASY IS THAT YOU’D WRITE A VERY SPECIFIC “ODE TO BILLY JOE”-TYPE SONG ABOUT SOME OF YOU RICH EXPERIENCES, LIKE THE ONES PORTRAYED IN WISH ME AWAY.

Well, I did write a song called “Damn Liar.” [Laughs] And the �ilm shows how I held back sharing “Like Me” with my producer, Rodney Crowell, because I hadn’t told him I’m gay yet and it’s clear in that song that I’m talking about a woman I’d loved. That’s why we held my last album, Lifted Off the Ground, until I came out. I guess “Like Me” is my pro-gay anthem.

YOU MADE THE DECISION TO COME OUT IN 2007, BUT YOU DIDN’T ACTUALLY COME OUT PUBLICLY UNTIL 2010. WHAT WAS THAT THREE YEARS LIKE?

Things got much easier for me the day I decided to come out. I knew I was no longer going to be held hostage by anyone. I cleaned house… and went maybe a year and a half with no managers. I moved to New York and worked on my book.

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I �igured I’d get that out of the way and then start rebuilding my team.

I’ll tell you… you think hiding the fact that you’re gay for 35 years is something, try hiding the fact that you’re about to come out. That’s a big secret.

DID YOU EVER VACILLATE? EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND AND SAY, ‘I CAN’T DO THIS?’

Not once… and I’ll tell you why.

There was a night when I put a gun into my mouth—it’s in the book— and after I put the gun down I went upstairs and slept for a few hours The next morning I was afraid to go back downstairs because I wasn’t sure what I’d do. I got on my knees and I �inally, truly, surrendered… with a capital “S.” I quit trying to talk myself out of what I knew I needed to do, and what God was telling me I needed to do.

At that very moment, things got markedly easier for me.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE LEADING UP TO THE PUBLIC COMING OUT?

At one time we counted up how many people were involved in the logistics leading up to my coming out. It was a big machine… something like 40 to 50 people.

We’re talking my management team, record publicists, book publicists, hair and makeup people…

When it happened there was some cynicism, especially in Nashville. Some people said it was staged just to sell the book.

They’ll never understand—and they’ll never take the time to understand—the difference between what I experienced and a publicity stunt. Coming out is not To read bonus content from this interview go to watermarkonline.com.

watermarkonline.com

exactly a great way to further your career in Nashville.

ELLEN DEGENERES PAID A PRICE FOR COMING OUT INITIALLY, BUT THEN EVENTUALLY FOUND A WAY TO A DIFFERENT KIND OF SUCCESS. DO YOU THINK THAT WILL BE THE SAME FOR YOU?

After I was on her show Ellen spent a lot of time with me privately.

She explained what the fallout was for her. She said, “Be prepared… its coming. You’re on a high right now because you just came out, but be prepared because you’re probably going to crash and be depressed.

And your opportunities as a country artist will dry up. But lean on the people closest to you and it will get better.” She, and Rosie, prepared me pretty well.

I have no regrets. My greatest years in country music may be behind me… maybe not. I’m writing a new record… when I’ll make it I don’t know. I’m also �inishing a screenplay.

The possibilities became endless for me when I came out. I think my greatest accomplishments are ahead of me. |  |

MORE INFORMATION

WHAT: Out in the Open Film Festival

WHERE: The Abbey, Downtown Orlando

FILMS: Love Free or Die (documentary about Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson)— Red Carpet 7 p.m., Q&A with director Macky Alton 8 p.m., movie 9 p.m; Cloudburst (staring Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker)—Shorts by local directors 6:30 p.m., movie 8 p.m.; Wish Me Away—Red Carpet 7 p.m., movie 8 p.m., Q&A with Chely Wright 10 p.m.

TICKETS: ComeOutWithPride.org

Congratulates founding partner Jeffrey Miller and Ted Maines on their selection as Orlando Magazine’s “Number One Power Couple” and their inclusion on the

50 Most Powerful

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1- PINUP GIRL: Artist Love Alison sells her sassy pinup art at “Virginia Drive Live” in Ivanhoe Village, Sept. 14. PHOTO BY SCOTTIE CAMPBELL

2- SINGING AND SWINGING: Liz Langley and Sam Singhaus as their alter egos, “Dick and Constance” during their Karaoke for Swingers, Wednesday nights at Maxine’s on Shine. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KARAOKE FOR SWINGERS 3- COUNTRY CLUB COCKTAILS: Geyson Rosario (left) and Eduardo Castañer mingle in style at Watermark’s Third Thursday social Sept. 20 at the Historic Dubsdread. PHOTO BY MARK CADY 4- CAMPAIGN DAZE: (L-R) Attorney John Morgan, HD49 candidate Joe Saunders and Bob Poe, Central Florida Finance Director for the Obama reelection campaign, gathered for a reception at The Vue Sept. 13 to support Saunders. PHOTO BY TOM DYER

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5- CELEBRITIES+COMEDY: Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel, Moira from the Philips Phile, former Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart, recording artist Patrick Gibson Jackie “The Queen of Versailles” Siegel, and Real Radio’s Soul Brother Kevin join the Celebrity Match Game panel, Sept. 20 at The Footlight Theatre. PHOTO BY JEFF HORN

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6- MEET THE PREZ: Jennifer Foster (left) and Maryanne Metaxas rub shoulders with President Obama at an Aug. 9 campaign event in Brevard County.

7- SKIMPY SKIVVIES: Designer Andrew Christian poses with Christian Turner, winner of the Andrew Christian Underwear Model Search at Parliament House, Sept. 9. PHOTO COURTESY OF PARLIAMENT HOUSE 8- COOK-OUT WITH CLOUT: Jason Fox Holstein, MBA’s corporate development director, talks LGBT-inclusive policy with Dr. Jill Biden at a BBQ and reception for emerging young LGBT leaders, Sept. 19 in D.C. PHOTO COURTESY OF JASON HOLSTEIN

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OVERHEARD SEEING STARS AT WANZIE’S CELEBRITY MATCH GAME

W

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ANZIE’S CELEBRITY MATCH GAME: CHARITY EDITION RAISED OVER $3,350 for the Genesis Community Program Thursday, Sept. 20 at Parliament House’s Footlight Theater.

Audience members bid for the opportunity to compete as contestants. Among the winning bidders: Ellen Tatich, James Wolf and Raymond Burton. Country and western recording artist Patrick Gibson assisted Michael Wanzie in auctioning off a hand-made shawl donated by Jean Farris. Wanzie raised an additional $750 from audience members anxious to hear Gibson perform. In addition to Gibson, the celebrity panelists

were Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel, Moira from The Philips Phile, former Orange County Commissioner Linda Stewart, Jackie “The Queen of Versailles” Siegel, and Real Radio’s Soul Brother Kevin.

OFF LIMITS TO GAYS

W

ATERMARK REPORTED IN AUGUST THAT A FACEBOOK PAGE GOING BY THE NAME “OFFLIMITS NIGHTCLUB” had launched and was marketing itself as a new bar opening in the now defunct Mr. Sisters location. We’ve since learned they quietly opened on Sept. 6 and are currently promoting their of�icial grandopening Oct. 3. With advertised “Ladies Night,” “Hip-Hop Night,”

watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

and “Latin Night,” it’s safe to assume this new venture is not targeting the gays.

JOY TO THE WORLD

O

N SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, JOY METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH held a special congregational meeting and voted to call Reverend Terri Steed of Houston Texas to become the next senior pastor at Joy MCC. This comes shortly after interim pastor Rev. Lisa Heilig announced her departure in August. Reverend Steed was called to be the Senior Pastor with an overwhelming majority of 96% of the vote to support her joining Joy MCC. “I look forward to helping continue the spiritual growth of Joy MCC and its outreach to those

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

in need of the good news of Jesus Christ’s radically inclusive love,” Rev. Steed said in the press release.

Originally from Charlotte, NC, Rev. Steed is a graduate of Mars Hill College with a degree in religion.

Rev. Steed and her partner Kim Pierce will move to Orlando soon and plan to participate in Orlando’s Come Out with Pride celebration Oct. 6. Rev. Steed will be the sixth Senior Pastor in Joy MCC’s nearly 35 year history.

SWINGING AT MAXINE’S ON SHINE

M

ISS SAMMY AND LIZ LANGLEY HAVE FOUND A HOME FOR THEIR “KARAOKE FOR SWINGERS.” Their alter egos, “Dick and Constance Swinger” host this high-

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energy event every Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. Maxine’s on Shine. “We’ve really been having a blast,” says Sam Singhaus aka Miss Sammy. Catch Miss Sammy in her man-pants and moustache playing the funkiest hits of the 70’s, along with videos, dance breaks, comedy bits, and of course “more cowbell”—all set in a gorgeous restaurant with fantastic food and a tasty beer and wine menu.

Notables like Billy Manes, Christine Robison, Mimi P. Saunders, Billy Snyder, Andrea Canny, and some not-so-famous people like Jim Travolta, Sara Fawcett, and Peaches and Merv have become regulars. “You can bring your own back-up singers and CDs, or we can sing-and-swing with you,” says Singhaus. |  |

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watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

49

You can get a virus as simple as your computer can.

And you can protect yourself just as easily.

AIDS Service Association of Pinellas (ASAP) is a community resource for HIV education and prevention and for those already infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. With one in five U.S. adults or teenagers unaware of their HIV status — which may later turn to AIDS without care and treatment — it’s something you shouldn’t ignore for your own health.

Get the facts. Visit ASAPservices.org to learn more about HIV testing in our community. For those 20 and under, visit our youth site at GTECCH.org.

FOLLOW US

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SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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ShotonSite 1 4

Tampa Bay

1- STRIKE A POSE: The cast of The Honey Pot’s Steam Fridays, including Ru Paul’s Drag Race alum Alisa Summers (second from right), take time to strike a pose with a fan. Photo by Carrie West 2- OUT WEST: Talent Quest Florida owners Steve Blanchard, left, and partner Phil Garris, right, flank six Florida singers, all of whom placed or won their respective categories at Talent Quest 2012. PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE BLANCHARD

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3- NATIONAL EXPOSURE: Jeremiah Pagan of Tampa and Sunshine Mathews of Orlando proudly display their respective first and second place trophies after the Talent Quest National singing competition in Laughlin, Nev. Sept. 22. PHOTO BY STEVE BLANCHARD 4- PRETTY IN PINK: Celebrating with beads and martinis at Hamburger Mary’s. PHOTO BY CARRIE WEST 5- POST NUCLEAR: The view after 90 plus trees were cut down in Ybor City by the City of Tampa last weekend. PHOTO BY CARRIE WEST 6- GIRL TUNES: Hunter Valentine performed at the “Girls Out Loud Music Fest” Sept 15 in St. Petersburg.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GIRL2GIRL PRODUCTIONS

7- POTLUCK: The lesbian group GULF held a potluck in New Port Richey. PHOTO COURTESY OF PROSUZY.COM 8- YOU BETTER WORK: The stunning Alexis Mateo and her boys, (L-R) Victor Javaux, Michael Vacirca, and Daniel Shultz had a ki ki at Orlando’s Parliament House, Sept. 17. PHOTO COURTESY OF PARLIAMENT HOUSE

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OVERHEARD MURDER IN YBOR

Y

OU MAY HAVE NOTICED SOMETHING MISSING IN YBOR. ON FRIDAY, SEPT 21, OVER 90 TREES—most more than 15 years old—were cut down in Ybor City by the City of Tampa. “The tall and luscious trees’ only crime was providing shade and beauty to historic Ybor City,” said MC Film Fest and GaYbor Coalition Board Member Carrie West. The trees were located between 6th Ave. and 9th Ave. and 14th St. and 19th St. West said they are missed already. The city sent

out a statement—after the trees were cut down—describing the tree removal as a “much needed facelift” that will result in the planning of Olive and Crepe Myrtle trees to replace the ones that have been removed.

But West says this is a facelift that isn’t welcome. “To say the community and visiting guests to Ybor are outraged is an understatement,” said West.

PASSION FOR LOVE

B

EGINNING OCT. 19, CORPUS CHRISTI—BOTH THE MOVIE AND PLAY—

WILL DEBUT AT MCC TAMPA as part of a bene�it for the I Am Love Campaign sponsored jointly by the church and Metro Wellness and Community Centers. On Friday, Oct. 19, there will be a preview screening of the documentary, Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption, followed by a Community Forum.

On Oct. 20, a live theatrical presentation of the play will be performed. Corpus Christi is a passion play by St. Peteborn gay playwright Terrence McNally. First staged in New York in 1998, it depicts Jesus and

the Apostles as gay men living in modern-day Texas. Judas betrays Jesus because of sexual jealousy. Jesus of�iciates at a gay wedding between two apostles.

Controversial? You bet.

MAKE THE MOST OF THAT COSTUME

H

UNDREDS OF GAY MEN ARE ALREADY CREATING THEIR COSTUMES FOR THE 36TH ANNUAL ALL HALLOWS MASQUERADE BALL on Saturday, Oct. 27 at the Tampa Convention Center. This year’s

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

theme, “It’s a Small World,” offers tons of potential for creative costume makers. And this year they can hop a trolley to Ybor City and show off their costumes at Guavaween—for free! For the �irst time in decades, the Ybor City Chamber has dropped the cover charge—$12 last year— for the huge Halloween Party to stem recent dipping attendance.

With parking and bar cover charges, Guavaween had turned into Expensaween! |  |

watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

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AND MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Andrea Willis, director of education for Planned Parenthood of Greater Orlando, celebrates her birthday Oct. 1.

ANNOUNCE IT. RENT IT. SELL IT. POST IT.

Transitions

CHANGE-OF-LIFE COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Congratulations

Passings

Rev. Dr. Jim Merritt was named 2012 Man of the Year by the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida at a banquet in Gainesville on Sept. 22.

Kathryn “Kay” Flewelling, beloved “Nana” to Church of the Trinity MCC’s Rev. Charles Tigard, died on Aug. 30, 2012, after a brief illness at her home near San Diego. “During her short visit to Church of the Trinity she had an impact on many lives,” Rev. Tigard wrote in a memorial.

Ms. Flewelling is survived by four children, ten grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and two dachsunds.

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

Sarasota’s Trinity Charities program director Bruce Fournier and his partner Frank Horan celebrate eight years of marriage on Oct. 1. The couple was married in Provincetown in 2004.

Pinellas County Center for the Arts theatre department chairman Keven Renken and his partner, Bill Myerholtz, celebrate their 30th anniversary on Oct. 2.

Joe Grodecki and Charles Goss of Altamonte Springs celebrate their 25th anniversary on Oct. 5.

Orlando attorney Tony Tapia and author/ consultant Scott Vedder invite all to their commitment ceremony at 2 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 6 at the Lake Eola Amphitheater during Orlando’s Come Out With Pride celebration. City Commissioner Patty Sheehan will officiate.

Mary Birchler and Kimberly Boshears of Spring Hill celebrate 20 years together on Oct. 9. The couple has an adopted child who turned 12 years old in July.

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Local Birthdays Tampa decorator extraordinaire Matthieu Stanoch and Ybor City event planner Tony LaColla (Sept. 29); MBA member Ayr Poucher, HIV/AIDS activist Rob Domenico, Roller Derby Sunnyland Slammer Kristie Burk and pastor Anthony J. Borka (Sept. 30); Planned Parenthood director of education Andrea Willis (Oct. 1); Roller Derby Serial Thrillers co-captain Christina Sockol and CuraScript Specialty Distribution’s Troy Marr (Oct. 2); Twirler and Bay News 9 Traffic expert Chuck Henson and Orange County Clerk candidate and blogger Randy Ross (Oct. 4); poker enthusiast Rebecca Mayerfield and Lighthouse Realty broker/owner Mike Trexler (Oct. 6); Gomez Law Firm of St. Petersburg’s Ian Stanislaus, Orlando Youth Alliance board president/OADO founder Michael Slaymaker, face painter extraordinaire and roller derby fan Brit Lytle and cultural arts coordinator Jocelynn White (Oct. 7); GLBT Center volunteer Richard Champalbert (Oct. 9).

Are you making a Transition? Having a birthday or anniversary? Did you get a new job or promotion? See your news in Watermark! Send your Transition to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com or go to WatermarkOnline.com/Submit-a-Transition - it’s that easy!

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DEAR TRUTH,

M

on-and-off ever since. Fernando is a little older than me (I’m 22, he’s 27), but I still think he’s totally sexy and we have a ton of things in common. He’s the �irst guy that I’ve felt a connection with since I moved to Tampa. I think I want to take things to the next level, and Fernando has already said that he wants to “get more serious.”

My big concern is that I’m HIV negative and he’s positive. He says that it’s no big deal and as long as he stays on his meds we’ll be �ine. I’ve done some research and I get the whole ‘safe sex’ thing. I know negative men partner with positive men, but I’m not sure I can handle being with someone who might infect me. I feel guilty, but I can’t stop thinking about it.

Any advice?

—Bay Area Barista

Dear Boiling Blood, I tend to agree with you. As a member of your nephew’s close family unit, you should be able to take part in helping shape the person and citizen your nephew will become. “That’s gay” may just be ‘boys being boys,’ but it also creates an impression in his impressionable mind that being gay is somehow wrong.

I wouldn’t stand for it being said around me, for sure. I would correct him when it arose, and I would do so in front of his parents. That a grown man is also saying it makes it pretty clear where he’s getting it. As your nephew gets older, you can better explain why it’s wrong. But if you have the sort of relationship with your brother-inlaw where you can have frank discussions, I’d tell him to knock it off now. It’s offensive. If not, I’d speak to your sister and let her know that it isn’t just a word, it’s a world view that casts you in a subordinate role.

Here comes the Truth: Your family is cultivating bigotry in the next generation by not saying anything. You may not be able to change that, but you sure as hell should try.

Dear Babs, The landscape for a poz/neg couple these days is better than at anytime since June 18, 1982, when The New York Times �irst reported on what would become AIDS. However, it is not without its pitfalls.

The Truth will certainly attract the ire of the HIV community in saying this, but if it’s a deal breaker for you then it is, and you shouldn’t apologize for that. You have every right to be concerned about your health, including your HIV status. HIV is no longer fatal, but treatment involves powerful and expensive medications that—at least for now—have side effects and must be taken for life.

Relationships aren’t politics, and they aren’t democratic. If something fundamental—age, religion, HIV status— causes you profound discomfort, it is perfectly all right for you to tactfully back away. Will that be hurtful for Fernando? Yes, quite possibly, but what is your alternative? Living with constant fear and discomfort? While many couples navigate successfully around this issue, it doesn’t seem like you have it in you to do so. That’s not a criticism; it’s an observation.

Here comes the Truth: When it comes to matters of the heart, political correctness should take a back seat. |  |

Y GIRLFRIEND, MARILYN, AND I ARE HAVING A DISAGREEMENT over how to handle an awkward situation involving my family. A little background: my parents still live in the house we grew up in, and my brother and sister and I all live within an hour of them so we see each other all the time. The issue is that my nine-year-old nephew says “That’s gay” all the time, and my sister (his mom) doesn’t seem to care. I’ve also heard my brother-in-law (his father) say it a couple of times, though I suspect he tones it down when he’s around us. I casually mentioned it to my sister, but her response was basically “Boys will be boys.” Marilyn says I need to let it go but I don’t think I can.

What should I do?

—Blood Boiling in Belle Isle

When it comes to matters of the heart, political correctness should take a back seat.

DEAR TRUTH,

I

MET THIS REALLY GREAT GUY, FERNANDO, ONLINE ABOUT TWO MONTHS AGO, and we’ve been dating

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*% off discount applies to materials only; cushion, labor, and installation charges are additional. Prior orders exempt. See store for details on all offers and warranties. Offer expires 10/11/12. Participating stores only. Unless otherwise stated, all prices are for materials only. Not all merchandise in all stores. Photos are representational only. Actual merchandise may not exactly match photos shown. Although we make every effort to ensure that our advertising is accurate, we cannot be held liable for typographical errors or misprints. FAME-30132. 7/2012

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Suncoast Gala 2012 EQUALITY FLORIDA

Sunday, October 7th

AT SELBY GARDENS GREAT ROOM BY THE BAY! 811 SOUTH PALM AVENUE, SARASOTA

You are cordially invited to the 5th Annual Equality Florida Suncoast Gala!

4 pm: Exclusive self-guided tour of the Gardens 5–7 pm: Gala program celebrating 2012 Voice for Equality Honoree, Mayor Suzanne Atwell, City of Sarasota.

Keynote Address by Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith.

Individual tickets are $100

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RSVP at www.eqfl.org/suncoastgala or (407) 462-9692 (tickets available at the door)

YOUR 2012 EQUALITY FLORIDA SUNCOAST GALA STEERING COMMITTEE: Marcia Foote and Dennis Stover, Co-Chairs Michael Beauchemin, Cecelia Burnett, Grace Carlson, Mary Clupper, Chris Covelli, JoAnne DeVries, Donald Geikie, David Ingram, Bobby Jensen, Randell Johnson, Phillip King, Turner Moore, Rae Mulligan, Marjorie Peter, Ken Shelin and Bryan Worthington

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SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

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Should there be a swimsuit competition for Realtors??

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classifieds Watermark does not knowingly print advertisements for sexual services. Beyond printed content, Watermark does not inquire into the nature of personal or professional services advertising. Payment for sexual services is illegal in the State of Florida, and respondents to classified advertising should govern themselves accordingly. As required by law (Florida Statute 480.0465), Licensed Massage Therapists include their license number in all advertising.

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watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

watermarkonline.com

Wire report

D

ICKINSON, N.D. | A concussion kept Jamie Kuntz from suiting up for his �irst college football game. A kiss from his much-older boyfriend at that game led the freshman linebacker to be kicked off the team, he said.

North Dakota State College of Sciences football coach Chuck Parsons told Kuntz in a letter that he was removed from the team for lying about the kiss. Kuntz, 18, and on a partial football scholarship, left the college in southeast North Dakota this month after his dismissal from the team.

Kuntz said he and his 65-year-old boyfriend were in the press box at the game against Snow College in Pueblo, Colo., on Sept. 1. Kuntz was videotaping the game for the team

when “the kiss just happened,” he said. A teammate apparently saw the kiss and told coaches, Kuntz said.

When Parsons confronted Kuntz on the bus ride back to North Dakota, Kuntz told him the man he kissed was his grandfather.

“I lied,” Kuntz said.

In a Sept. 3 dismissal letter, Parsons told Kuntz he was being ousted from the team for “conduct deemed detrimental to the team.”

Parsons speci�ically referenced a section of the player’s manual on “lying to coaches, teachers or other school staff.”

Kuntz doesn’t believe he was dismissed simply for lying.

“I know if it was a girl in the press box nothing would have happened,” he said. “If it was an older woman, I would have probably been congratulated for it by my teammates.”

MLB player suspended for gay slur Wire report KISSED OFF: Jamie Kuntz was kicked off his football team after a teammate saw him kiss his much-older boyfriend.

Parsons recently joined the school’s diversity council as a faculty representative. Its programs include events for LGBT students.

Kuntz said he told his mother that he was gay at the same time he told her he was kicked off the team.

“I’m struggling with it,” said Rita Kuntz, choking back tears. “I love Jamie and I’m proud of him. What the school did was wrong.”

Jamie Kuntz said he met the man online more than a year ago. Kuntz said the man, whom he would not identify, lives in Colorado and the two have met there a few times in recent months. |  |

NEW YORK | The Toronto Blue Jays suspended shortstop Yunel Escobar for three games for wearing eyeblack displaying a homophobic slur in Spanish during a Major League Baseball game last weekend against Boston.

Escobar apologized to his team and “to all those who have been offended.”

“It was not something I intended to be offensive,” he said through a translator. “It was not anything intended to be directed at anyone in particular.”

Escobar wrote the message—“Tu ere maricon” or “You’re a faggot”—before Saturday’s home game on his eye-black, a sticker players wear under their eyes to reduce sun glare. The 29-year-old Cuban said he frequently puts messages there, and had never previously written that speci�ic slur.

Escobar insisted the word is often used within teams and by Latinos. “For us, it doesn’t have the signi�icance to the way it’s being interpreted now,” he said.

Escobar’s lost salary during the ban—about $82,000— will be directed to two advocacy groups, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and You Can Play. |  |

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

watermark YOUR LGBT LIFE.

sports

College football player booted for kiss

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T

HE 23RD ANNUAL HEADDRESS BALL RAISED A RECORDBREAKING $329,000 FOR HOPE AND HELP OF CENTRAL FLORIDA, INC., which provides medication, support and other services to those affected by HIV/ AIDS. This year’s theme was “Twisted.”

The winning headdress, pictured on the left, was Rainbow 411’s in�lated balloon interpretation of the tornado that took down a witch. Full story page 10.

SEPT. 27 - OCT. 11, 2012 // ISSUE 19.20

Photography

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BEFORE