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Description
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ToC Phoenix Blazes by Aefa Mulholland (p26); The Year in Dyke Music by Sara Seinberg, Mary Christmas, Melany Walters-Beck and Catherine Plato (p30); Rabbi Lisa Edwards by Sue Katz (p36); Cover: Megan Morris by Diane Anderson-Minshall (p46); Miami Film Fest by Tracy E. Gilchrist (p56); Director Katherine Brooks by Tracy E. Gilchrist (p58); Q&A With Directors Dreya Weber and Leslie Klainberg by Sheela Lambert (p60); Only Onstage - Our Annual Theater Issue: 2006 Lesbian Theater Awards by Diane Anderson-Minshall (p52); Stand-up Storyteller by Kathy Belge (p54); Another Little Piece of Our Hearts by Catherine Plato (p55); Greta Garbo, Mi Amor by Catherine Plato (p72); In Stores Now - Annual Holiday Gift Guide (p38); Cover photo by Brie Childers.
See all items with this value
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Holiday Gift Guide
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issue
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10
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Date Issued
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December 2006
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Format
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PDF/A
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Publisher
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Frances Stevens
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Identifier
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Curve_Vol16_No10_December-2006_OCR_PDFa.pdf
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extracted text
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74470 80539
7
FranklySpeaking
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
Reality TV, Lesbian Style
Cover girl Megan Morris
is the latest hottie from a
have graced the runway of
America's Next Top Model,
Frances Stevens
Diane Anderson-Minshall
Catherine Plato
Rachel Pepper
Margaret Coble
Julia Bloch, Victoria A.
Brownworth, Sheryl Kay,
Gretchen Lee, Sarah Warn
Laura K. Cucullu
Jaclyn Barcewski, Michelle
Ma, Katherine H. Nelson,
Jocelyn Voo, Laurie Werbner
Editorial Assistant
Sonia Kreitzer
Art Director
Kas Neteler
Production Manager
Ondine Kilker
Web Producer
Nikki Woelk
Catalog Manager
Holly DeMaagd
Ad Sales & Marketing
Danie Belfield
Sara Jane Keskula
Rivendell Media
Marketing & PR Manager
Bambi Weavil
Amanda Campa
Marketing Coordinator
Marketing Representatives Jennifer Angeline Arboleda,
Mellissa Dombroski,
Gabrielle James, Tammy
Lam, Megan Elizabeth
Marchese, Catrina McQuerry
Copy Chief
Proofreaders
which just may be the gayest
show on television.
Frances Stevens Publisher/Editor in Chief
A
VOLUME 16 NUMBER 10
1550 Bryant Street, Suite 51 0
San Francisco, California 94103
Phone 415-863-6538 Facsimile 415-863-1609
Advertising Sales 415-863-6538 or 212-446-6700
Subscription Inquiries 818-760-8983
Advertising E-mail advertising@curvemag.com
Editorial E-mail editor@curvemag.com
Letters to the Editor E-mail letters@curvemag.com
Publisher/Editor in Chief
Executive Editor
Associate Editor
Book Review Editor
Music Review Editor
Contributing Editors
bevy of queer beauties who
LESBIAN MAGAZINE
s more and more lesbians find their way onto reality television shows, I can't help but wonder what
affect their appearances are having on our community and on middle America. Obviously, reality
television is far from real. It's edited and spun to create the maximum possible drama among characters.
Our fate is left to be decided on the cutting,room floor as one lesbian inevitably represents our com,
munity, whether she (or we) like it or not.
Interestingly enough, one show chose to cast queer female contestants in all five seasons. According to
our executive editor, Diane Anderson,Minshall, Americas Next Top Modeljust might be the'gayest show
on television:' Not only does it have drag queen,turned,runway
trainer"Miss" J. Alexander and art direc,
tor Jay Manuel - but also a bevy of queer girls, including our cover girl, this season's Megan Morris, and
last season's Kim Stolz, now a veejay on mtvU. Interestingly enough, Morris' life as a lesbian was far less
a focal point of her role on the show than Stolis. Although Morris was voted off the show in only the
second episode of the season, the editors left the lesbian discussions in the house on the cutting room
floor. It might be because, unlike Stolz, Morris was voted off the show early on or perhaps, the director
viewed the topic as passe after Stolis lesbian rampage in the last season.
Morris' interests run far beyond modeling and being a "bartender from San Francisco;• which was the
recurring title they gave her on the show. In our cover interview, we speak with Morris about what it was
like to be a lesbian on reality television, her behind,the,scenes interactions with the other models, why
Contributing Writers Kathy Beige, Mary Christmas,
Jennifer Corday, Gina Daggett, Michele Fisher,
Tracy E. Gilchrist, Sue Katz, Kate Lacey, Sheela
Lambert, Charlene Lichtenstein, Dana Kaye Litoff,
Karlyn Lotney, Aefa Mulholland, Lauren Palmigiano,
Kathryn Papanek, Amanda Poulsen, Stephanie
Schroeder, Sara Seinberg, Ursula Steck, Allison
Steinberg, Melany Walters-Beck
Contributing Illustrator Katherine Streeter
Contributing Photographers David Allen, Brie Childers,
Hsin-Yin-Chiu, John Clark, Roni Galgano, Gabriela
Hashun, Sharon Kerr, Kenna Love, Maggie Parker,
Susanne Petermann, Joe Samson, Elisa Shea,
Debra St. John, Trish Tunney, Kina Williams
she thinks she got kicked off the show so early and her real life passion to create film and animation.
Whether you love or loathe reality television, the on,screen LGBs (not so much T yet) are changing the
fabric of society. Gone are the days when school children didn't even know the words 'gay" and "lesbian:'
It's prime time now, and it's changing the fabric of our society.
And if you're too hung up secretly watching reality television to start thinking about your holiday shop,
ping, don't fret. Our editorial staff has been hard at work since the summer researching potentials for our
annual gift guide. Our goal is simple - to take the guesswork out of your holiday shopping drama and
point toward some great gifts for all the loving ladies in your life. Whether you're shopping for your BFF,
your girlfriend or your sister, the list is a great resource - full of presents for every budget. Hey, I'll take
the Red Hot Mama boxes and the Hanukkah brownies please.
Volume 16 Issue 10 Curve 0SSN 1087-867X) is published monthly (except for
January and July} by Outspoken Enterprises, Inc., 1550 Bryant St., Ste. 510,
San Francisco, CA 94103. Subscription price: $39.95/year, $51.95 Canadian
(U.S. funds only) and $61.95 international (U.S. funds only}. Returned checks
will be assesseda $25 surcharge. Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco,
CA 94114 and at addttional mailing offices (USPS 0010-355). Contents of Curve
Magazine may not be reproduced in any manner, ooher whole or in part, without
written permission from the publisher. Publication of the name or photograph
of any persons or organizations appearing, advertising or listing in Curve may
not be taken as an indication of the sexual orientation of that individual or
group unless specifically stated. Curve welcomes letters, queries, unsolicited
manuscripts and artwoo<. Include SASE for response. Lack of any representation
onty signifies insufficient materials. Submissions cannot be returned unless a
self-addressed stamped envelopeis included. No responsibility is assumed for
loss or damages. The contents do not necessarily represent the opinions of
the edttor, unless specifically stated. All magazines sent discreetly. Subscription
Inquiries: Please write to Curve, 1550 Bryant Street, Sutte 510, San Francisco,
CA 94103, e-mail shop@curvemag.com, or call 818-760-8983. Canadian
Agreement Number: 40793029. Newsstand Circulation: BigTop Newsstand
Services 415-643-0161 or maire@blgtoppubs.com. Postmaster:Send Canadian
addresschanges to shop@curvemag.com,
CuNe, PO Box 122, Niagara Falls, ON
L2E 688. Send U.S. addresschangesto shop@curvemag.com,
Curve,PO Box 17138,
N. Hollywood,
CA 91615-7138.Printedin the U.S.
A
21curve
Keyword: Curvemag Web site: curvemag.com
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Features
"Countless
people
talk to me
about how
important
our music
was to them
growingup
and coming
out. They
remindme
againand
againhow
important
musicis."
December 2006
Volume 16#10
this up-and-coming dyke destination. By Aefa
Only Onstage:
Our Annual Theater Issue
Mulholland
52
26 Phoenix Blazes Hot sun and hotter chicas at
a stage - check out the leading ladies. By Diane
30 The Year in Dyke Music Team Dresch, the
Donna Dresch,
page 30
2006 Lesbian Theater Awards All the world's
Anderson-Minshall
Organ, Northern State, and the mourning of
Sleater-Kinney. By Sara Seinberg, Mary Christmas,
54
Melany Walters-Beck and Catherine Plato
Stand-up Storyteller Kimberly Dark tackles
gender, sex work and other juicy topics in her latest one-woman show. By Kathy Beige
36 Rabbi Lisa Edwards The rabbi and her wife discuss the world's first queer synagogue. By Sue Katz
55 Another Little Piece of Our Hearts Lesbian
thespian Cathy Richardson brings Janis Joplin
back to life. By Catherine Plato
46 COVER: Megan Morris The latest lesbian Top
Model contestant is more than just another pretty
face. By Diane Anderson-Minshall
72
Greta Garbo, Mi Amor Renaissance woman
Odalys Nan in shares her inspiration for Garbo's
56 Miami Film Fest We voyage to the Sunshine
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State for queer film, cocktails and girl-watching. By
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Tracy E. Gilchrist
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58 Director Katherine Brooks The woman behind
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Cuban Lover. By Catherine Plato
In Stores Now:
Annual Holiday Gift Guide
38
Best 71 Gifts for Family and Friends Once
a:
Loving Annabelle confesses her love for Catholic
again, CURVEbrings you our annual guide to help
~
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schoolgirl uniforms. By Tracy E. Gilchrist
you shop without dropping this holiday season.
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60 Q&A With Directors Dreya Weber and Leslie
Klainberg Two lesbian filmmakers tell all. By
~...J
Sheela Lambert
~
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Cover photo by
Brie Childers
0
""')
December 2006
I5
Departments
December 2006
"I usedto believe
that womenwere
the hope of the
world,and most
days I stillbelieve
that. I try not to
lookat women
in powerwho so
replicatethe men
in power.Rather,I
lookat the women
who representthe
majorityof the
world'steachers,
socialworkers
and doctors."
page 69
2
Frankly Speaking Our publisher offers
up her thoughts on this issue.
18 Lesbofile Marcia Cross finally puts the
rumors to rest. Nah, just kidding.
64 In the Stacks Rachel Pepper goes
retro with Different Daughters and Spring
Fire. Plus, Don't Kiss Me and activist
8
Contributors A few words on the writers who make it happen.
20 Scene More frolicking photos of lesbian
poet Veronica Precious Banahan.
life from around the country.
66 Music Watch Margaret Coble grooves
10 Letters Sheryl Swoopes scores with
one reader, fouls out with another. Kristin
Chenoweth has a new fan, and Lipstick
22 Ask Fairy Butch Mom gets in the way
of love, and a teacher gets the schoolgirl
blues.
23 Lipstick & Dipstick The duo offers
and Beth Neff lead the way.
Azam Ali and Kaki King.
68 Tech Girl Get your motor running with
and Dipstick miss the mark.
12 Out in Front Haven Herrin, Desiree Fitts
to Skye, CeU and Nina Simone. Plus,
these hot wheels.
up sex tips for the holy and the wholly
uninspired.
69 Politics The world, Victoria A.
Brownworth reminds us, needs peace,
14 Curvatures Lesbians mourn icon Tee
A. Corinne. Plus, Atlanta's House of
24 Astro Grrl Astrologer Charlene
Lichtenstein hands out some star advice.
70 Dyke Drama Michele Fisher on why
Buchanans, I Heart Brooklyn Girls, and
the Femme 2006 conference.
62 Sapphic Screen Catherine Plato rocks
out to homohop Pick Up the Mic and
16 Open Studio Illustrator Tara
McPherson's sweetly creepy graphics.
justice and healing this holiday season.
penny pinchers just ain't worth it, discount or not.
and Israeli filmmaker llil Alexander.
~
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queercore Rise Above. Plus, The Wire
CJ)
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80 Top Ten Reasons We Love X-rated
comedian Lisa Myers.
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Contributors
Trip
Out!
"I used to be most proud of my martial arts career, my life-long activism
and my world travel;' SueKatzsays,"but now, at 58, it's all about my cleavage."Katz, who writes about lesbian Rabbi Lisa Edwards for this issue
(see page 36), has published nonliction and short fiction on the three
continents where she has lived. A pioneer in the early feminist movement (her first collective was called Stick It in the Wall, Motherfucker
Collective), she has chronicled and commented on sexuality and gender
issues ever since. She currently has a column on EdgeBoston.com, which
receives 500,000 hits per month. Her most recent writing project focuses
on the intersection of baby boomers and alternative sexualities, and she
keeps busy with rather orgasmic personal "research:'
"Having the opportunity to photograph beautiful women of all sizes is
a dream come true. That many of them get a better glimpse of their own
beauty through my lens makes photography more than a job ... it's how
I interact with my world;' says freelance photographer KinaWilliams.
Specializing in queer events, performers and big girls, Williams has
been the event photographer for the Tucson Sex Workers Arts Festival,
CURVEs 15th Anniversary party in Portland and, more recently, the
Femme 2006 conference held in San Francisco this past August (see
page 17). She got her start in photography with the help of Heather
MacAllister, aka"Reva Lucian; founder of Big Burlesque. "Heather
contacted me and said,'You're a photographer, I need promo photos: I
was working for a professional photographer at the time but I hadn't really done much on my own. But after a four-hour session and hundreds
of amazing photos, I just knew I was meant to document queer art and
culture:• See more of her work online at kinawilliams.com.
1
SaraSeinberg
has been a fan, which is short for fanatic, of Team Dresch
Needto get away?
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(see page 30) since she found herself in the basement of a house in
Portland, Ore., watching their first live show. The band didn't have a
name yet, and the drummer, Scotty (who now plays for Built to Spill),
had to wait in the van after the set because no boys were allowed in the
show. "I'd never seen anything like it," she says. 'Td never felt anything
that powerful gather in a small dank space to change the world. But I
suppose that's often how it happens, in the small dank corners where no
one can see the clouds gather for the storm:• Seinberg recently returned
home to San Francisco with her dog, Gus. A writer and photographer as
well as the programming director for Homo a Go Go, she is also really
smitten with kale.
''I've met quite a few guitar goddesses;' says JenniferCorday,
who interviews Kaki King (seepage 67), "but I really love her style:' Born and raised
in Long Beach, Cali£, Corday has always enjoyed hamming it up and was
her high school mascot. She majored in theater before launching her career
as a musician and is now a bona fide rock star with three award-winning
albums and another due for release early next year. She performs regularly
in dubs from San Diego to Los Angeles, occasionally hitting the road to
perform at pride festivalsand special events across the nation. She enjoys
writing for CURVEand especially loves discovering new artists. She penned
her latest single,"Redneck Lesbo; as a joke, but the girls went crazy for it,
so she decided to release it as a single - complete with parental advisory
warning. 'Tm not really a country artist;' Corday admits, "but I like wearing
cowgirl hats now and then. As long as they have flames:•See cuRvE's review
of Redneck Lesbo on page 71.
these
'
"GwJry P~
... -V. .
ey pleasure."
-Va ."Y
"The torment of forbidden love
never I eel as good as it does in
Loving Annabelle."
- aftere//e,,.
CO#I
Fabulous!
Cynara
Gypo
The Story of Queer Cinema
"The love scene at the end of the film is
one of the best ever shot "
"Remarkable ...unexpected romance
and danger." - Los~
Times
The most entenaining gay history lesson
you've ever had. The superstars of gay
and lesbian cinema shine in this amazing
overview of LGBT film history, packed
with smart interviews and a tremendous
array of film clips.
- LezLove Video.com
A lesbian Wuthering Heights starring
the stunning Melissa Hellman (beloved
Judy Francesconi model) and equally hot
Johanna emeth.
2t2
availableat
Thestorefor movielovers.
When Helen, a bored British housewife
meets Tasha, a young gypsy immigrant,
the two women find conoection and
unexpected passion in this innovative,
award-wi!llllDB
drama.
Letters
"Whatreallygets me is that to come out,
so manylesbiansrisklosingeverything
when they have nothing.Now that's
courageous!Let'ssee some articlesabout
women who come out and risklosingit all
withoutlawyersand high-endconnections
to defendthem or big endorsementsto
supportthem."
Got Your Back
In December 2005, my
wife and I were evicted
from our apartment
by our homophobic
land.lord who refused to
add my wife to my lease
after we were married.
We spent the next
seven months moving
around, and unfortunately our subscription
to CURVEwas unable to
keep up with us.
We recently received
the newest issue with
Sheryl Swoopes on
the cover and upon
opening it and seeing
all the old covers, were
disheartened to see we
failed to receive four
issues. Four! Is there
anything we can do to
get those back issues,
short of paying an extra
$6 for each? Ir makes
me sick that we paid for
a magazine subscription and missed half
the issues! I know it's
not cuRvE's fault or
responsibility at all ... it
just really, really sucks.
Thanks.
- Rebeccaand
Heather Wierenga,
via e-mail
Editor's Note: Ladies,
that sucksall around.
First,you confrontedone
of the mostpervasive
forms of discrrimination, in housing.Then
you missedAlexandra
Hedison,JoanJett, Alix
Olsen,PamelaMeans,
KatherineMoennig and
a wholebunchmore.But
nofret, we'vegot your
back,and you'll begetting a carepackagein the
mail soon.
10
Icurve
Play Ball!
What a thrill to see Sheryl Swoopes on your cover (Vol. 16,
#8). I've been a fan of hers since the 1996 Olympics and have
followed her WNBA career. The interview was great. I hope
she continues to play for the Comets, bur I wish her the best in
whatever she does.
- Maggie Cloud, via e-mail
Don't get me wrong, I think it's courageous of Sheryl Swoopes
to come out as she did, bur chis is where my support wanes. She
may have considered the loss of endorsements long enough to
let Olivia put an offer on the cable. Ir's none of my business how
much money was offered for her sponsorship, but I'm guessing
it was enough to pay the bills. As was stated in the article, her
coming out was a "highly calculated event, involving an exclusive interview with ESPN magazine ... followed by the cover
of The Advocate:•Doesn't that soften the blow, so to speak? Ir
was a planned media event that turned into a prolific coming
out party! What really gets me is that to come out, so many
lesbians risk losing everything when they have nothing. Now
that's courageous! High-profile athletes may risk losing a lot of
money, but they are likely doing well for themselves to begin
with. Let's see some articles about women who come out and
risk losing it all ... without lawyers and high-end connections to
defend them or big endorsements to support chem. If Swoopes
were to lose her job - an unlikely scenario, as she is still such a
phenomenal basketball player - I'm confident she would find
a high-paying job doing something else. In this day and age, it
takes a lot more than a big coming-our party hosted by a sports
network and a leading gay magazine to get me to cheer on my
sister friends. Good for you, Sheryl. But let's not forget the little
people of the world who have a lot more to lose.
-Meg White, Shrewsbury,NJ.
Crushing on Kristin
I enjoyed Kristin Chenowerh's character on The West Wing,
(Vol. 16, #8) but boy, do I really adore her now! Ir's just pure
pleasure to read about sincere, tolerant people. I'm not going to
tum into a Christian any more than she's going to turn into a
lesbian - but ain't it great to be different and cool with each
other anyway? She gees my respect, 100 percent. Good stuff.
- Kenye Williams, Lancaster,Ohio
Taiwan Loves Us!
I'm living in Taiwan, and I love CURVEso much. Thank you for
giving me a great magazine. Taiwan has very many gay people,
especially in Taipei, where I live. There are also many lesbians. But we actually do not have a gay publication. Therefore,
CURVEis the only way we can understand lesbian culture. By
the way, in September 2006, we also had a pride festival. This
year was our seventh. In front of the Taipei City Hall, we flew
the rainbow flag. Pride unfolded us with the vigor in front of
the social populace.
- Hsin-Yin-Chiu, Taipei, Taiwan
Thanks for the Welcome Wagon
I'm writing in response to Diane Anderson-Minshall's article on
Gender 101 (Vol.16, #7) and the following articles on trans issues in your September 2006 issue. First, I want to say that I've
been reading CURVEfor the past two years and have been seeing
more and more articles and references to transgender awareness,
which is a wonderful thing. This type of activism and education
helps us to break down the barriers separating our communities.
I've transitioned from female to male over this past year, and I've
felt the separation that can occur between communities which
has greatly saddened me, especially when faced with the possibility of losing my relationship with my lesbian partner. It brings
me hope when I read articles about transmen and lesbians staying together after the transition because so often this is not the
case. So thank you for your activism.
I'd also like to bring your attention to a new documentary put
our called GenderRebel.This documentary looks at how it feels
to be genderqueer in our society, and also looks at the struggles
felt between me and my partner as I underwent my chest surgery
and began hormones.
- Ryan, Lincoln,Neb.
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Ack! Don't Skip Sex, Gir1s!
Lipstick & Dipstick is my favorite column in
CURVE.I find it amusing and insightful and usu,
ally agree with at least one of you. Unfortunately,
I had a real probl~m with your advice to Energizer
Bunny (Vol. 16, #8). To suggest masturbation for
a person who is struggling with a relationship chat
is lacking sex is absurd! Sex is a very important
issue in a relationship, even though many lesbians
seem to pretend chat it is not. We preoccupy our,
selves with building a home and a life, trying to
have kids, fighting for equal rights, pursuing the il,
lusion of love. We tend to forget char in the end we
are just like everybody else, and sex is and should
be a priority; just because we are not driven by the
male libido does not mean chat chose primal needs
do not exist. If a person is not sexually satisfied by
their partner, as in the case of Energizer Bunny,
they are not satisfied, period. After all, why do
people get into relationships in the first place ... is
sex not one of the main reasons? If two people in
a relationship are not compatible at that very basic
and primal core, they are not going to work. All
the communication, all the distractions and all the
sex toys in the world will not resolve chat issue!
- Mina, CanogaPark, Calif.
Lipstick: Do you really chink a lesbian rela,
fla-kcys.com/kcywcst
tionship where they make love twice a week is
"lacking in sex"? I don't. We hear from women
every day complaining char they don't have sex
anymore, and lee me tell you, Energizer Bunny
and her girlfriend are doing just fine knocking
their boots two days a week. For these women
who write in, sadly in relationships where inti,
jobs, kids, etc., who have a chance to play football
and have to foot the bill for a lot of our expenses
while playing. Please, more coverage. I chink your
readers would enjoy it.
macy truly is a problem - they haven't made love
in over a year - we alwaystell chem they have to
make it a priority, chat if you don't tend to your
garden, it will die. We believe you must make
time for sex, even penciling it into your schedule
if you have to. But seven days a week? Who can
keep up with chat? Certainly not me.
I'm an Australian lesbian who loves your magazine.
It is the most liberal minded magazine in the world
for lesbians. Your articles and features on issues af,
We Want More, More, More
I chink it would be cool if you interviewed Jackie
Warner from Bravo's Work Out. She is a great role
model and season one ended with her getting out of
a bad relationship. It would be interesting to know
where she gets her courage from, personally and
professionally. I love your magazine! Thanks.
- Lisa, Maywood,NJ
Got Something on Your Mind?
E,mail letters@curvemag.com; write to CURVE
Letters, 1550 Bryant Sc., Ste. 510, San Francisco,
CA 94103; fax to 415,863, 1609. Please include
your name, city and state. Letters may be edited for
clarity and length.
Ia like to see more coverage in CURVEon the
Women's Professional Football League. I am cur,
rently a member of the SoCal Scorpions team in
San Diego. We are a bunch of women with full,time
- SusanDeVol,via e,mail
Keep It Coming
fecring the lesbian community are great, and always
leave me speechless. I recommend your magazine to
friends in Australia. Keep up the great work
- Leisha,via e,mail
Corrections
In the Curvatures section of our October issue
(Vol. 16,_#8) we neglected to give credit to Steve
Azzara Photography for the photos of the T,shirts
from bewild.com. CuRvE regrets the error. ■
)-888-279-3632
December 2006
I 11
Serves 'Em Right
Peanut and Pearls
Womynswork
HavenHerrinis the perfect candidate for the
Mom played drums, big brother played them
too - so it's no wonder Desiree
Fittsgrew
up with a passionate attachment to her set
of Pearls.
But keeping the rhythm was just the begin,
ning for Fitts, who went on to teach herself
keyboards, bass and guitar.
Today, Peanut (as she's been called since
her premature birth) puts her talent to work
in Birmingham, Ala., fronting for a funk and
rock band called Mother May I.
Music, says Peanut, is in her soul. That love,
coupled with her knowledge of the industry,
When girls say BethNeffknows the best dirt,
they're not talking about some insignificant
gossip - Neff knows real dirt.
For 25 years Neff worked as an organic
vegetable farmer and an environmental activ,
pushed her from the stage to production two
years ago when she formed the Birmingham
Chicks Rockfest, a five,hour concert featuring
women songwriters and performers.
This past September marked the second
annual festival. Most proceeds went to cover
expenses, and the small remainder will help to
bankroll next year's concert.
"It's an event that I felt the local music
industry needed [in order) to help boost the
talent of female singers and musicians in the
South;' she says. In her own experiences,
Peanut became frustrated trying to play at
festivals that would only allow performers
who met certain qualifications, such as having
a released CD.
"I remember how bad I used to feel when,
ever someone would say that;' she said. "I
remember thinking, but music is my passion,
and it's in my heart ... why can't I be a part of
your music festival?"
Open to women performers in all genres,
Rockfest has no such stipulations. Peanut
encourages the women to play whatever feels
right, originals or covers: 'J\s long as you feel
it in your heart, then that's all that matters:•
- Sheryl Kay
the varied experiences of lesbians in the
workplace. She's assembling the book from
responses to her online survey, calling the
research the Womynswork Project.
So far she's received dozens of responses
from all over the country and Canada, with
respondents of all ages and in all professions.
''I've already spoken with an attorney who
lost her position working for a federal judge
due to her sexual orientation, a therapist
who works mostly with lesbian women, a
veterinarian who struggles with working in
an almost exclusively male occupation and a
chef who struggles to be taken seriously by
her peers;' says Neff.
Whether uplifting or heartbreaking, the
experiences appear universal - so much so,
that Neff expects the book will be embraced
not only by lesbians, but by all women.
"Social impact has always been part of my
intention;' Neff says. "It's that normalization
thing - to show that people are just like you:'
The research phase will conclude this fall,
but Neff will continue the project by hosting
online feedback sessions at her Web site,
womynswork.org. - Sheryl Kay
United States military.
She graduated valedictorian from the
University of Richmond, she's in great physical
condition, she's patriotic, and by golly,even now,
in wartime, Herrin is ready and willing to serve.
But wait ... you didn't ask; can we tell?
Yes,Herrin, 24, is a very out lesbian. So
when she and three other gay friends sincerely
attempted to enlist at an Army recruiting
center in Minneapolis, Minn., this summer
without hiding their sexual preferences, all four
were rejected.
The friends are part of Right to Serve, a
campaign spearheaded by Herrin and Jacob
Reitan. The two have joined with young
people across the country who would like to
pursue military careers but have not because
of their sexual orientation. The groups
attempt to register for military service and
later return to the recruiting centers and con,
duct sit,ins protesting their rejections.
'J\ccording to the Urban Institute, there
are 42,000 gay people who would sign up
right now if they could;' Herrin says. "We're
arguing for them and for the plight of 65,000
gay people who are serving right now, and
nobody in the military knows they are gay.
When one of them gets shot and killed,
nobody knows they have a same,sex partner
at home and maybe children too, so the family
finds out by reading some list of dead soldiers
in a newspaper. That is just untenable:'
A former fine arts student, Herrin wishes
she had more time for the pallette, but until
she sees global equality for the LGBT com,
munity, she's in this battle for good.
"I can't see injustice and ignore it;' she
says. 'J\nd I can't leave it for someone else to
do:' -Sheryl
Kay
121 curve
ist, managing food cooperatives and farmers
markets and teaching about permaculture. She
also served as a La Leche League leader for 10
years while raising her children.
Now, at 47, she's cultivating a new
venture, returning to what she calls her "true
passion;' writing. Neff is working to complete
a collection of literary essays centered on
go red. anyway you want ... eat red - apples,
cherries, tomatoes. leave red kisseson someone's
cheek. laugh so hard your face turns red. but
whatever
you do, do it for your heart. take a
moment everyday and put your hand on your
heart. and then make your own promise to be
heart healthy.
www.goredforwomen.org
1-888-MY HEART
for women
love
your
heart
~
American Heart ..
Association. V'
Curvatures
If This House Is a Rockin'
Down South, traditions run deep. For years,
lavish beauty pageants and dance competitions
in Atlanta have often been hosted by gay black
"houses;' quasi,fraternities set up to offer a safe
Hello Jovida
and cordial social meeting ground.
Congrats
to Jovida
Two women, longtime partners, have taken
Guevara-Ross
who
the concept to the next level with the House of
joinedCalifornia's
Community
United Buchanans, a social group oflesbians and gays who
AgainstViolence,
the have come together to form a surrogate family.
"We recognized the need for a house to rep,
nation'soldestLGBT
anti-violence
organiza- resent more than entertainment;' says Noriega
tion,asits newexecutive Buchanan (nee Nicole), 33, the proxy "father"
director.Guevara-Ross, who oversees the family with "mother" Goldie
formerassociate
director Buchanan (nee Tanya), 34. "People need to
of theWomen's
Building belong somewhere. Many of these people have
in SanFrancisco,
has
been turned away by their natural families:'
an impressive
recordof
Admission to the group is by application and personal con,
socialactivismin the
sultation, and membership is maintained by annual reviews.
community.
While none of the members live with the Buchanans, 14
"CUAV
hassuchan
"family
members;' ranging in age from 22 to 44, come together
extraordinary
legacy
for
meetings,
social settings, outings and community service
of confronting
violence
againstandwithinour projects. They provide each other with emotional support,
community,
andI intend direction and a solid network of loyal "sisters and brothers:'
to continuethat legacy,"
Community involvement is central at the House, and this
shesays."I can'tthink past year, the group donated its time to Meals on Wheels and
of a moreimportant Hands on Atlanta.
taskthankeepingour
community
safefrom
violence."
Guevara-Ross'
hire
culminates
whathas
beena yearof transition
andchangefor-CUAV,
as
theorganization
looks Judging by the press, Julie and Hillary Goodridge are the
to expandthesafetynet Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes of the lesbian community; the
for all LGBTsurvivors two have been the focus of intense media scrutiny since they
of violencein California. announced their separation back in July.
Nicholas
Hodges,
chair
One of seven couples to bravely sue for and win the right
of CUAV's
Boardof
to wed in Massachusetts, the Goodridges along with their
Directors,
saysthat
then,9,year,old daughter had their wholesome faces plastered
Guevara-Ross
"brings
incredible
experience across the pages of newspapers and magazines after the 4, 3
andenergyto the court decision was announced.
Julie and Hillary were among the first to legally wed in
agency,
anda sincere
warmthandpassion May 2004, but they were not the first married couple to sepa,
thatconnects
herwith rate. In fact, the BostonGlobereported in January that up to 45
ouranti-oppression couples have filed for divorce since same,sex marriages began
mission."Formoreinfor- taking place in Massachussetts. So why are the media paying
mationaboutCUAV
and so much attention to this couple's separation?
theirwork,pleasevisit
Lesbians have been debating for months. Did the pressure
cuav.org.
-Amanda
of maintaining their status as upstanding lesbian citizens con,
Poulsen
And let's not forget, partying is important, too.
Through their venture, HOB Productions, the couple
sponsors some ofHotlanta's best lesbian parties. This past year
alone, HOB produced fabulous dyke revelries for Memorial
Day, July 4, Black Gay Pride, Atlanta Pride and Halloween.
"We do this because we believe our love for family and each
other, our passion for excellence and our sincerest desire to
build a better people regardless of their race, creed, sexual ori,
entation or life experiences, is just bigger than just the two of
us;' Noriega says. For more info, visit hobproductions.4t.com.
-Sheryl
Kay
Living Separate Lives
tribute to their marital failure? According to the 2000 census,
40 percent of couples who marry within a five,year span of
cohabitation also divorce during that same period. Are we sad
to learn we may be no different than our hetero counterparts, or
14
I
curve
are we worried that this somehow reflects an inability to show
our normalcy and stability? Does this lessen us further in the
eyes of those who watch us critically and perhaps scornfully?
Kristian
Mineau, president
of the conservative
Massachusetts Family Institute, which is appealing the court
decision legalizing same,sex marriages, says they aren't inter,
ested in using the Goodridges' divorce to their advantage. The
Goodridges have declined interviews with media outlets, both
LGBT and mainstream. I received a firm declination from
Julie, but Hillary replied saying, "I appreciate your attitude,
and think CURVE is terrific. I am not, however, going to say any
more about my marriage, the marriage debate, or anyone else's
marriage at this time. I need to concentrate on taking care of
my daughter, on my life, and having some privacy:'
Their now, 10,year,old daughter, Annie, seems to be the
center of their world. She is the driving force that prompted
them to step into the public light for the 2003 decision that
legalized same,sex marriages and the reason why they seek pri,
vacy regarding their separation. What could be better family
values than that?·- Allison Steinberg
Beyonce
"The gay people I hang out with are extremely talented,
and I seek out talented people, 'cause I have good
ideas, but I can't do anything with my hands, so I
latch onto people and can say, 'Hey can you make
a snake out of a bandana,' and they'd be able to
Mark Your Calendars:
It's Sexy Lesbian Time
Finally, someone has created the perfect hot but not het pinup
calendar and we expect they'll be dyke Santa's No. 1 stocking
stuffer this month. The I Heart Brooklyn Girls 2007 pinup
calendar offers real gay-girls-next-door from Brooklyn (yes, 12
queer femmes) posing as classic pinup girls from 1905 through
the present day. Each girl is named for a Brooklyn neighborhood, and each represents a different decade. Queer creators
have superbly refocused the traditional calendar girl through an
all-female lens, sending up classic pinups such as the Gibson girl,
d1e Varga girl and the Tiger Beat toughie.
The first calendar of its kind had me so excited that I just
about slobbered on the phone talking with the very sexy stylist
and Miss Red Hook (May), akaLaura Allen.
"I Heart Brooldyn Girls not only shows off the foxy, feisty
femme contingent of one of Brooklyn's most vital communities;'
Allen says,"but also redresses stereotypes of what lesbians look like,
both then and now:•The four months pictured above are proof
The four queer artists behind· the project include designer
Allen, creator of the-story.com; Victoria's Secret hair and makeup stylist Deirdre Novella, akaMiss Bay Ridge; designer Mari
~
0
Irizarry, the oh-so-lovely Miss Cypress Hills; and photographer
(.)
,(/')
fi! . Erica Beckman, who serves as photo editor at Fortune Small
~
Businessmagazine by day.
~
.~
The large-format, wire-bound calendar sells for $15 online at
~ iheartbrooklyngirls.com. Best yet? A portion of proceeds will be
~ donated to the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence
~ Project. - Diane Anderson-Minshall
do it." >> Comic Amy Sedaris to Out Smart
"The fact that I have a special right because I'm
allowed to have a thousand different privileges
because I'm able to get married just because I
happen to be straight doesn't seem fair to me
- that people who are my closest friends, people
I consider to be my family, don't have those same
rights." >> Actor Judith Light to Q Vegas
"I love being around other women. I love the strength
of that, of talking to other women, learning from
other women.">> Singer Beyonce to Giant
"Every name I've been called has made me that much
stronger to fight for what I think should be a freedom for all women: to be able to express themselves." >> Singer ChristinaAguilerato Jane
"[Angelina Jolie]'s gorgeous. She could have my
babies. I'd do her in a heartbeat!">> RealityTV
maven Janice Dickinsonto The National
Ledger
December 2006
I 15
Tara
McPherson
l
I
1LLUSTRATOR
"Sweetly creepy" may be the best way to describe Tara McPherson's illustrations, posters and paintings. "I love that dynamic because it creates a certain tension in the work to where you're drawn
in, but conversely subtly repulsed;' she says in Lonely Heart, her new book released last September
by Dark Horse Press. If her style looks familiar, you may have seen some of the gig posters she's
designed for bands like Green Day, Le Tigre, Depeche Mode and the Strokes. A bass player herse1£
McPherson (left) has always been deeply inspired by music - lucky for a girl who lives in Brooklyn.
"There is a very large and diverse art community here and it's very inspiring to see and hear what
everyone is working on;' she says."There is ... a sense of urgency that I don't feel in other cities, which
in turn makes me work harder:' Currently, she's working on a painted graphic novel called Donor, to
be released by DC Vertigo Comics in 2007. Check out more of her work, plus some sweetly creepy
swag, online at taramcpherson.com. - Catherine Plato
16
I curve
Curvatures
Considering Femme--ininity
Femmes, femmes ·everywhere -
reading, teaching, shimmy-
ing, singing, making art, learning, unlearning, connecting and
discussing. Close to 600 femmes, partners and allies gathered in San Francisco in August to convene Femme 2006:
Conversations and Explorations. The conference, led by a
steering committee of more than 20 people, explored how and
why being femme matters, and how femme identity can transform queer politics.
In her keynote address, longtime femme activist Amber
Hollibaugh, senior strategist for the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force, issued a call to create the kind of femme community that will "save our lives:'
"Femme identity has often remained an invisible identity, except in relation to who we partnered with, and that has
resulted in a lack of community, solidarity, and commitment
between femmes that will be the thing that changes our lives;'
Hollibaugh explained on the final day of the conference. "You
can't do it by yourself You can't survive alone. And yet.the price
of naming ourselves as 'femme' to this day often remains the
price of shame - not just ridicule, but shame - and struggle
to see ourselves as people worthy of value:'
Hollibaugh noted that many in the queer community don't
understand that femme is a choice, a constructed identity that's
"distinct from unconsidered femininity:' But that wasn't the case
at the conference, where femmes of all genders, classes, cultural
backgrounds and sexual proclivities flaunted their femininity
in bold patterns, bright colors, the highest of heels, the tightest
of shirts and the sharpest of minds.
Though it wasn't the first femme conference - which was
held a decade ago in San Francisco, and another was held in
2005 in Seattle - it was one of the largest conferences of its
kind. For many women, just being in a room with so many
femmes was a revelation. Attendee Michele Mashburn was
heartened to spend so much time with other femmes with
disabilities, forming a community she said she hopes will last
long after the conference ends. Jessica Eve Humphrey, chair of
the 2006 conference, promised there would be more room for
political and social discussions at the next femme conference,
tentatively scheduled for 2008. To get involved in planning the
next femme conference, check femme2006.com for updates.
- Heather Boerner
Goodbye Jadine
TheaffableJadineLouie
hasbeenmakingthe
besthappenfortheSan
Francisco
Lesbian/Gay
Freedom
Bandfor more
thana decade.
Hertenureastheband'sartistic
directorandconductor
endedlastSeptember
whenshetookthe
podiumforthe lasttime
in herfarewellconcert,
TheBestIsYetto Come.
Louiecancertainlygo
outwithaplomb:Under
herdirection,notonly
wasthe bandnamedthe
officialbandof theCity
of SanFrancisco,
they
alsotransformed
their
Dance-Along
Nutcracker
intoanoutrageously
popularvarietyshowand
performed
at hundreds
of parades
andcivicand
community
events.For
moreinformation
onthe
Lesbian/Gay
Freedom
Band,visittheirWebsite
at slgfb.org.-Kathryn
Papanek
December 2006
j
17
Curvatures
Lesbofile
Marcia, _Marcia,Marcia
Marcia's mad, Rosie's back, and Eva wants us. I ByJocelyn Voo
Vampire girls and verbal backpedaling. This
month, who knows where were being pulled?
"Promiscuous"
'Tm reading a book about Chinese medicine which
claims all people are inherently bisexual to balance their energies;' singer NellyFurtadotold gay
European magazine GUS."lt makes so much sense.
As humans we have both male and female energies.
I believe KurtCobain's
statement that, in the end,
everyone is gay. Everyone should have the freedom
to experiment. I believe sexual experim<':ntationis
part of human history:•Weeks after her admission,
Furtado backpedaled. This, of course, comes from
the woman who said in an interview earlier in the
year,"This album [Loose]is really sexually assertive
in the way TLC used to be. I'm admitting to all my
fans that I am a woman, and I love to have sex:'
"MyAngelinaJoliecrushwas much moresexualthan
my Tom Cruisecrusheverwas," RosieO'Donnelltold
Newsweekin September.Well, duh.
Really, Really Desperate Housewives
There are women who are lonely, and then there
are women who are so lonely they switch sides.
Rumors were flying that Desperate Housewives'
MarciaCrossis secretly in the closet, though she
recently wed stockbroker Tom Mahoney. So as
any TV journalist is wont to do, BarbaraWalters
called her on it when Cross was a guest on The
View. "I just thought about Barbara, 'You didn't
have to ask me that question. That was tabloidy
of you;" Cross said.
But if Cross has taken it upon herself to play
tabloid police, maybe she should first talk to her
Desperate co-star EvaLongoria,
who's been doing
plenty of tabloid outing herself. Despite being in a
steady relationship with San Antonio Spurs point
guard TonyParker,in che August issue of Playboy,
Longoria admits shed once kissed a woman, but"I
wish I had a full-on gay experience because I chink
women are beautiful creatures ... Maybe I'm just
her vampire teeth;' according to the New York Post.
holding out for the future:' Eva, were here.
Ordinarily I'd insert a snide joke here, but in this
case, the truth simply cannot be topped.
Love at First Bite
Everyone knows chat beautiful women are danWake up With Rosie
gerous, but if you believe New York cab driver
Critics and viewers alike waited with bated breath
Eric Darko, they can also be deadly. The cabbie
for RosieO'Donnell's
arrival on The View, joinand Stephanie
Adams,Playboy'sMiss November
ing BarbaraWalters,Joy Beharand Elisabeth
1992 and the first openly gay Playmate, got into a Hasselbeck
in early September. Would she come
dispute while Adams was hitching a ride home to
out sporting a ridiculous fauxhawk? Crack jokes
her Chelsea apartment. Boch cabbie and Adams
about StarJones'
wake? Make the production edicalled 911, with Darko celling dispatchers that
tor really earn his paycheck by bleeping out the curse
Adams was a vampire and that she "showed him
words that'd pepper her prose? Sadly, nothing Page
18 I curve
Six-worthy occurred. Instead, the former Queen of
Nice walked out to a standing ovation, and talked
candidly about her life with partner KelliCarpenter
O'Donnell,
her experience coming out ("I sort of
thought everybody knew"), and even joked that a
large bouquet of flowers on the set was sent to her
by her former fantasy main squeeze, TomCruise,
whom she always referred to as "my Tommy"
when she was hosting The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
Nowadays? "My AngelinaJoliecrush was much
more sexual than my Tom Cruise crush ever was;'
O'Donnell told Newsweek in September. Damn
straight. Welcome back, Rosie. ■
Curvatures
Tee A. Corinne: Tribute to a Great Lesbian Artist
the Oregon woods propelled her toward landscape
imagery in her work: labia melded together with
tree roots and fiddlehead fems to create immensely
sensual and provocative portraits of female sexuality
and female connections to the earth.
The eroticism of her art was complemented by
her erotic writings. In numerous collections of stories and poems, Corinne told stories oflesbian sexuality in its many aspects - all, inevitably,celebratory,
like the story she wrote for Coming Out of Cancer:
Writings From the Lesbian Cancer Epidemic. Years
before lesbians wrote about their cancer experiences,
before her lover died of cancer, before she received
Two days before my friend, lesbian artist Tee A.
Corinne, died on Aug. 27, Jean Sirius' blog charting
the progress of Corinne's brief but devastating bout
with liver cancer noted the following: "Tee spent
much of the day sleeping on the sofa, looking out the
window.'the sky is so blue, the trees so green, all the
different shades .... i'm just being really,really quiet
and that feels good. Probability of canasta tonight:
very high:'
For those who didn't know her, that description of Corinne in her last 36 hours is indicative
of her spirit: She never stopped registering things;
she was always present. She was playful, vibrant,
flirty, warm, deep and massively intelligent. But
that presentness of hers: Of all the gifts she gave
the lesbian community, both collectively and individually, that was her greatest gift - it compelled
her to see everything then report it back in ways
that only artists can, a kind of synesthesia.
Corrine and I met in the early 1980s when we
were both involved in the Women's Caucus for Art
of the College Art Association. (She would later
help found the queer branches of that group, as one
of her many achievements.) I never ceased to be impressed with her knowledge of women artists and
photographers, which was encyclopedic. Not only
was Corinne herself an iconic contributor to women's art, but she was also a committed chronicler of
women's art. Without her digging and delving, the
work of countless women would have disappeared
without remark. She was a true art historian who
delighted in uncovering and writing about new
works by women - or simply calling up a friend
and passing on the information, replete with some
sexy tidbit of gossip about the artist.
Corinne always had a story to tell, but it's the
iconoclastic breadth of her work as an artist and
writer that will be her ultimate legacy.One of her
photographs hangs on a wall in my bedroom. At first
glance it appears to be a construction of differently
hued chiaroscuro sinews; actually, it's a photograph
of two women having sex - sensual, exquisite, noholds-barred sex.
z
z
ct:
:::E
a:
w
t:ii
Q.
w
z
~:::,
en
Corinne gave us lesbian sex in an 8-by-10 glossy
- not the male porn version or a sanitized Boston
marriage version, but real lesbian sex. She was the
first lesbian photographer to portray sexual images
of lesbians, to recreate the female gaze from the
active end of the lens to the passive end. When she
made lesbian erotic art for lesbians, she etched a path
for other photographers and eroticists to follow.
For decades, Corinne was the cartographer of
the lesbian body. From her famous solarized nega-
tive portrait of two women entwined in each other's
arms that graced a 1977 cover of Sinister Wisdom, to
her declarative Cunt Coloring Book first published in
1975, to Yantras of Womanlove, published in 1982
and one of the first books of lesbian erotic photographs, Corinne blazed a trail with her blatantly lesbian art. For a decade every book from Naiad Press,
one of the largest lesbian publishing houses in the
world, had a Tee Corinne cover.
In the 1980s, she began to do stylized configurations of lesbian bodies in sexual poses as well as in
sexual acts. These photographs are breathtaking for
their sensuality and composition.
In the final year of her life,she broke ground again
with the CAT scan-style digitized portraits she took
of herself and her longtime lover Beverly Brown as
Brown was dying of colon cancer in January 2005.
With her camera, Corinne told the story of lesbian
bodies that had not previously been told. With her
writing, she told stories of lesbian sexuality and lesbian art previously hidden.
Part of her iconoclasm lay in her desire to capture all aspects of lesbian desires, sexualities and
bodies. In an interview several years ago, Corinne
told me she wanted to capture lesbian desire on film,
to transmit it to viewers in all its many layers and
facets. Corinne's subjects were real lesbians of all
ages, ethnicities and shapes. She photographed disabled women naked in wheelchairs, myself included,
and women suffering from illness whose bodies had
been transmogrified by surgeries, like Brown.
She captured fabulous portraits of lesbian writers, artists and musicians, many of which have been
featured in this magazine. Her years spent living in
her own diagnosis, Corinne was envisioning lesbian
sexuality post-cancer and writing about it. In doing
so, as with all her groundbreaking work, she opened
the door to discourse. The woman in her story
"Vibrator Party" is able to engage in a group sexual
encounter with other lesbians post-mastectomy;
lesbians reading that story had their own experiences of body affirmed, rather than discounted.
But all this iconoclastic unveiling of lesbian
erotic experience had a price. In an interview I did
with Corinne in 1992, she said her work made her
"famous, but in an obscure kind of way" and in subsequent years, that didn't change. She wasn't able to
break into the mainstream art world, despite the importance of her academic work in art history and the
stellar nature of her photography, which certainly
has the gravity, depth and transgressive power that
Robert Mapplethorpe's work has, but which never
captured the same mainstream attention.
The provocative element of Corinne's work led
not to the national exhibitions she should have had,
but to censorship. Where queer women see a celebration oflesbian sexuality and female art historians
saw art of unique stature, others see pornography.
Corinne's work was banned in Canada, her books
stopped at the border during the pornography raids
of the 1990s. Her work was also collected by the
Traditional Values Coalition while on display at the
San Francisco library and presented to a U.S. Senate
committee as "pornography:'
At the end of her too-short life (she died two
months before her 63rd birthday), Corinne had created a massive volume of work: photographs, books,
academic and art historical writings, criticism, political writing, ceramics, sculpture and painting.
She was indeed a Renaissance woman whose work
opened doors for lesbian photographers and artists. By promoting healthy images of lesbian life and
sexuality,by celebrating the diversity of lesbian lives
Tee Corinne continued on page 71
December 2006
I 19
1 Girl power at Provincetown's Women's Week 2 Surfs up at P-town's Women's Week
3 Lizzy Acker (from left) with Curvettes Catherine Plato, Danie Belfield and Ondine Kilker,
and writer Ariane Conrad 4 The emotional Fat-Bottom Mama's Benefat for Big Burlesque
and Fat Bottom Mama's founder Heather MacAllister at the Center for Sex and Culture in
San Francisco. Clockwise from left: Heather MacAllister, Loretta Greene, Tina Palivos, Dina
Palivos, Sondra Solovay, Kelli Dunham and Vanya Hollis 5 Suzanne Westenhoefer (3rd
from right) parties with pals at Pearl's Rainbow in Florida. 6 CuRVEcolumnists Kathy Belge
(left) and Gina Daggett flank God-des-& She at the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago 7 Renee
Zellweger (left) and Marian Wright Edelman (right) at a gala dinner hosted by Queen Rania
of Jordan during a conference to launch the Global Women's Action Network for Children
20
Icurve
e0
z
~
0
I
...J
::J
~
8 The Women's Dinner at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association convention
in Miami. From left: Julie Boker of GO NYC, Abigail Garner of Families Like Mine and
LoAnn Halden from PlanetOut.com 9 Girls get their groove on at cuRvE's Summer Music
Fest at Whisper in San Francisco 10 Canadian cuties party at a fundraiser for YouthCo, a
Vancouver, B.C.-based organization that helps youth living with HIV and AIDS. From left:
Sheena Sargeant, Evin Jones, Caitlin Padgett and Aaron Monroe. 11 San Francisco's DJ
Gray gets her groove back 12 Damron's Gina Gatta (left) and Laura Spanjian at Whisper
13 Ladies from AdventureOutWomen.com are all smiles 14 San Francisco's DJ Saratonin
lays down the tunes 15 Don't mess with Miami's DJ Pat Pat 16 Was it the music or the DJs:"
Who knows:"All we know is that cuRvE's Whisper party was anything but quiet.
December 2006
I21
Advice
BAD GIFT
IDEAS
Ask Fairy Butch
Mom's Ruining My Love Life
Wantto keepgetting
nightlynookie?Some
Dear Fairy Butch: I'm in a new relationship with a
giftscouldleadyourgirl
notto keepon giving. woman I'm wildly attracted to. I've had plenty of
Reconsider
before sexual experience (I'm 38), but suddenly I feel like
puttingthesepresents I've got no clue how to make love to a woman. My
underthetree: new girlfriend is very tight inside and even when
very lubricated, my finger causes her pain. I keep
The Not-So-Subtle
my nails as short as possible, but they still seem
Suggestion Gift
to scrape her inside. We've tried a glove, but that
Holidays
arenotimefor
still seems to scrape. Is it me? Is it her? She says
criticism,constructive
she's had plenty of sex where it hasn't hurt, but
or otherwise.
Resistthe
urgeto improveyour some women do tend to scrape her. We've considpartnerwith itemssuch ered a dildo, of course, but they don't make them
asa Botoxgift certificate, as small as a finger or two. Do they make thick
rubber finger cots? Is there another solution? Is
LadyBicbackshaveror
WonderGirdle. the angle all wrong? It's getting so that I'm afraid
Thefollowingbooks to touch her. - She's Tiny in Tulsa
couldserveasa backhandedcompliment Dear Tulsa:Honey, I feel your, or should I say her, pain. Have
likelyto earnyoua back- you tried cotton swabs wrapped in plastic wrap or a cut latex
handedslap_:
Dummies'
glove? That's about as small it gets and with patience and a
Guideto Pleasing
your
spiffy manicure, you just might meet with success. It may be
Sexua!PartneroranythingbyDr.Phil. that your partner is experiencing vaginismus, which means
penetration is difficult for her. There are different treatment
Freebies and
options for her, including work with Kegel exercises, dilation,
Cheapies
education and work with a counselor. And remember penetraSure,it's temptingto
regiftanitemyoudidn't tion isn't the end-all be-all of sex; plenty oflesbians like to skip
want.Reconsider
if your it altogether. Find out if your girlfriend is one of them.
girla) hasseentheitem
all yearin yourcloset Dear Fairy Butch: My girlfriend and I have recently
orb) gaveyouthose been split up by my mom; she doesn't think I should
showergelsandsoaps
be dating a girl. I came out to my mom a while ago,
in StinkyCloverscent.
and she still hasn't accepted it. I know everything
Avoidthoselittlepaper
coupons
thatsaythings takes time, but this has been almost eight months
like"goodfor onefree now and I want my girlfriend (soon-to-be wife) back
favorthat I'd really with me. Of course, my mom says I have to wait for
rathernotdo."You're seven months to even start thinking about getting
notfoolinganyone.If
back with her, and since my girlfriend is bisexual my
shehasanygraymatter mom wants her to choose, to either be straight or
at all,she'llknowyou gay. That's not right! I don't know what to do. I want
spentNOTHING
onherto
to beat some sense into my mom, but I know that
makethecoupons.
Andif
won't solve anything. So can you please give me
youdon'tplanto let her
some help? - PO'ed in Poughkeepsie
cashin onthe2-hour
toe-sucking
session,
you
Dear Slugger:First off, table those violent urges toward your
shouldn'tgiveit to herin
thefirst place. mater. They'll land you nowhere. You didn't give your age, but I
Itemsfromdrugstores have a hard time understanding why your mom gets to dictate
shouldalsobeavoided. whom you get to date, and more to the point, whom they get
Generally
speaking,
if
to date! If the issue is that you can't bring your girlfriend into
youlovesomeone,
never your home, then you'll simply have to find other places for your
buyhergift in thesame assignations for a while. It's tough, but not impossible. I know
placeyoubuyyour a couple who spends their student loans hooking up for a year,
tampons.
- KateLacey and while I wouldn't recommend it, it shows some creativity
22
I
curve
and passion. As for your girlfriend having to choose between
being gay or straight, you know that's bogus, and that's what's
important. Now, try to work around your mom and give your
honey a smooch for me.
Dear Fairy Butch: I'm hoping that you can also give
me some words of wisdom. I teach vocal music at my
local Catholic high school. I have a lovely 16-year-old
student with a fabulous voice and intellect. She's the
type of student every teacher dreams of, though, I'm
certain, not in the way I've been dreaming of her. What
the hell is wrong with me? I've never had this type of
thing happen to me before and I'm scared to death. I'm
in a wonderful (it really is!) relationship with my partner
of almost seven years. I feel like a pedophile - am I?
What's wrong with me? - A Distraught Teacher
Dear Teach: Listen, some teachers do get crushes on their
students, especially those in the upper grades, but that's exactly
where your crush must stop. Fantasy is fantasy and no one can
take that away from you, but you must not act on it. Here are
some thoughts: Can you arrange it so that another adult can be
in the room with you at all times, perhaps an aide? The safety
of your students should be of the highest priority to you, and
making a move on this girl would likely jeopardize that feeling
of safety and propriety for her. If these feelings persist, I would
suggest seeing a counselor to see how you can harness these
feelings in a productive and healthy way so it doesn't endanger
this girl, ruin your career and end your relationship. ■
E-mailfb@fairybutch.comwith your queriesregardinglesbianlife,
sexualityand romance.
Lipstick& Dipstick Advice
A Threesome or Better Tools?
by Christa Schulte, Daily Sex: 365 Positionsand
Activities for a Year of Great Sex (it's written for
straighties, so improvise) and Felice Newman's
definitive The Whole Lesbian Sex Book, chock-full
of great info and juicy suggestions!
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: My girlfriend
and I have been together for nearly three
years. We have tried almost everything
in terms of sex. I need some new ideas.
- Bored in Bethlehem
Lipstick: My personal holiday favorite is the
original "Tinsel Tickle;' rivaled only by "Where'd
Lipstick Put the Mistletoet Don't forget "Yuletide
Yoni;' preferred by new-age dykes, a position that
steers clear of traditional, missionary holiday sex.
Unfortunately, there's no room for a detailed explanation; they're all quite involved, but use your imagination. Just be careful with the mistletoe - like
your ex-girlfriend's fruitcake, it may be poisonous.
Dipstick: Oh lover girl, my bet is you haven't
begun to scratch the skin of all the fun that awaits
you in the bedroom ... and the basement, and the
kitchen, and the backyard and the backseat. Hell,
just change the location, and the sex becomes more
enticing. I'm getting damp just thinking about
it. Try slipping these inspirational books into
your sweetie's stocking: Tantric Sex for Women
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: My girlfriend
wants to have a threesome and already
knows whom she wants to invite into
our bedroom, but I'm really hurt by the
idea. I love her and want us to be monogamous, and I already feel threatened
by this woman. It makes me wonder if
Patrice still loves me. Should I stop worrying and give in? - Torn about the Trio
Lipstick:Everyone get back - I think I'm gonna
puke! This brings up all kinds of icky memories. Do
not, I repeat, do not give in if you're uncomfortable!
From personal experience, a threesome (when two
participants are in a monogamous relationship) is a
very bad idea which almost always leaves one, if not
everyone, crying. Beyond a firm no - which you're
absolutely entitled to give - you have three other
options: a) Play Russian Roulette, brave through
it, and hope you girls make it out alive. b) Open up
your relationship and sleep with whomever you'd
like, with prescribed rules. c) Go to Dinah Shore
and find a girl that wants you and only you.
Dipstick: Hey Lipstick, isn't Dinah Shore where
you had that ill-fated threesomer Threesomes are
always bad news for lesbians. Sometimes hets make
a go at it; desperate couples troll lesbian bars, he in
a leisure suit, she in a skimpy dress. Yuck! Dykes
can't do threesomes because we get too emotionally
involved. Invite a third into your bed and you'll
either end up hating her or falling in love with her,
neither of which you want. Feel threatened you
should! Patrice just wants to find a way to sex up a
woman she has a crush on within the boundaries of
your relationship. Be strong and don't give in!
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I'm 17 and
have a huge crush on a girl in my church
youth group. So far, I haven't worked up
the courage to talk to her. I'd like to ask
her out, but I fear getting kicked out of
church if she doesn't like me. After I came
out at my Christian high school, I was
suspended for a week. How do I handle
this? - Crushed on a Church Chick
Lipstick:For a high schooler, you're a smart little
gentile; if you're gonna get crucified at church, you
wanna make sure she's a sure thing. (Hallelujah for
coming out on campus!) Why not slip a note in a
hymnal and pass it down to her:' In it, tell her you
know someone who's got a crush, but that there's
one catch: it's a girl. Watch carefully as she reads,
her body language may speak more of the gospel
than her lips. If she responds favorably, then take
her outside, introduce yourself and fess up. But
Crushed, as a general rule, I don't think trolling
for girls at church is a good idea unless you go to
the Unitarian church, and then you can even ask
the minister out!
Dipstick: I disagree with Lipstick. Church is
a fine place to meet a lady. I remember when I
was a Catholic child, after my mother tucked me
into bed, I would pull my favorite bedtime story,
Lesbian Nuns: Breaking the Silence, from under
my mattress and dream of meeting a lesbian nun
of my own. Although I've met several sexy ladies
in habits over the years, I never did make one my
own. But that's not the point, Crushed. Love is a
rare gift from God, and if you feel it with Mary,
then you should go for it. Lipstick did get one
thing right: making a pass in the sanctuary is a
no-no. Instead, invite her over for a night of popcorn and movies. Stay away from heavy titles like
The Passion of the Christ, and instead pick something more light-hearted, like Imagine Me & You.
If Mary snuggles closer during the kiss between
Rachel and Luce, then sweet Jesus, you're in! ■
Ask aboutsex, loveor lesbiansat lipstickdipstick.com.
December 2006
I
23
Astro Grrl
Advice
. StargazingHolidays
Be sure
to travelin
December
and expose
yourselfto
an arrayof
assorted
exotic
delicacies.
Or maybe
it willbe
morefun to
just expose
yourself.
Justavoid
drafts.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21}
Sex: It's all about you this December. Lesbian Archers
are not only charismatic and charming, they are also
bold, beautiful and ready for action. What a nice change
of pace! Career:You don't really care if they like you or
not at work because you have bigger fish to fry. Have you
ever smelled frying fish, though:' Forgive.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Sex: Your intuition tells you that she is really into you.
Maybe that is true, but are you into her:' Oh, with a little
luck ... Career: Happy bonus season, Capricorn. Have
you been naughty or nice on the job:' Check your stock,
ing for any stray pieces of coal.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Sex: Relationships may hit a sand barge this December.
Will you scuttle the Love Boat Aqueerius, or will she:'
All hands on deck! Career: Although you would prefer
to hang out with assorted girlfriends instead of working, try
to put in some face time at the office. And make it a holly jolly
face, please!
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Sex: Sex and work stir into a magical and intoxicating egg nog
this December. But what will happen in the new year:' Ho ho
ho! Career: You are brilliant at work - sharp, strategic and
magnanimous. In fact, you are at the top of your game. Or is
itgayme:'
Icurve
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Sex: Lionesses should get out of their cave and meet and greet
this December. Crawl into someone else's cave instead. Career:
You would rather party this holiday, but work beckons. Find
time for both. Remember: Slow and steady wins the rat race.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Sex: Be sure to travel in December and expose yourself to an
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Sex: You are a woman of mystery in December. Be generous
array of assorted exotic delicacies. Or maybe it will be more
fun to just expose yourself. Just avoid drafts. Career:It is dif,
ficult to keep your mind on the job. Sapphic Rams may have to
find interesting office mates to keep themselves focused. How
interesting is up to you ...
with your gifts, but don't keep your intentions under wraps.
Career: You know just what to say to sway the senior staff
toward your way of thinking. However, perpetual mistletoe in
the ladies' bathroom should not be your legacy.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Sex: Sex can bring you to a new level this December. Does this
mean that you will try it upstairs:' Career: There are things
24
But will you become too hot to handle:' Don't ask me - ask
her. Career: Late nights at the office will take their toll if you
let them. At least you will clock the overtime. Don't spend it all
in one place or all on one woman.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Sex: Girlfriends want to play matchmaker, but keep your
that you are not seeing clearly at work. Did you remember to
pack your reading glasses:' Focus, focus.
expectations low. Didn't mother tell you not to play with
matches:' Ouch! Career: Love can be found if you search for
it, especially on the job. Prepare to be swept off your feet by a
gale,force wind at work. Who's Gale:'
Gemini (May 21-June 21}
Sex:Just when you thought things were out of control, lover,
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Sex: You find a well,endowed benefactress to fund your
girls have a way of bringing everything into perspective. Find
a new love on vacation. Will it be on your vacation or on hers:'
Career: Expect some kabooms on the job. Revenge is yours,
but don't give the appearance of enjoying it too much.
assorted projects this December. Some Scorpios have all the
luck! Career: Months of frustration in your career end in
December. Show them who's boss and who is the lowly file
clerk in the leather G,string. ■
Cancer (June 22-July 22)
Sex: A hot romance at work boils the water in the watercooler.
For more advicefrom the stars, visit our astrologer,Charlene
Lichtenstein,onlineat thestarryeye.com.
RACHAIL
SA66
Definitive Lesbian Tees
"This is Sage the
storytellerin her
prime and folk
at it's finest."
- VENUS
With a bold line of T-shirts emblazoned "Beaver;'
"Camp Sappho;'"Lady Rebel;'"Tipping the Velvet
Cafe" and "Wildflower 69;' you'd think designer
0
.J
~
8
(.)
~
w
:::>
en
Tracey M. Robinson, 39, of Jersey City, would
have enough on her plate selling her wares and
satisfying customers. But Robinson and partner
Tonja F. Jordan, also 39, have prepared a more
extensive menu for themselves.
Robinson's job as a financial analyst and
Jordan's career as a New York City-based
"Rainbow Attorney" fuel and finance their apparel
gig. Their ambition translates into an innovative
and growing alternative lifestyle apparel company.
The couple met on Yahoo! Personals two years
ago and have since been spending their spare
time together - both personally and professionally - serving up their clothing biz, Lipstick &
Wildflowers to the queer community.
"Tracey's the creative driver;' says Jordan, who
handles the business side of things, including
updating the company blog, lipstickandwildflow
ers.blogspot.com, with photos and narrative detailing the couple's exploits at Pride events up and
down the East Coast. "We have a lot of support in
the community;' says Robinson. "And it's not just
lesbians. T ransgender folks are enthusiastic customers and gay men love our lipstick T-shirts:•
Straight women also find Robinson's tees
appealing because of the quality and comfort of
the type of shirts she chooses. "I use a more formfitting shirt that is softer, has rounded arms and is
made for the female figure. They aren't long and
boxy like other T-shirts:• Robinson says her inspiration comes from designers Trip le 5 Soul and
Steven Alan.
Lipstick & Wildflowers tees, available online
at lipstickandwildflowers.com, are sized small to
2X and preshrunk with hand-pulled silkscreen
images; custom orders are available for larger
sizes, limited only by T-shirt manufacturers'
imaginations.
This lesbian power couple gives back to the
community supporting NYC's Callen-Larde
Community Health Center and Living Beyond
Belief, which fosters HIV/ AIDS prevention
education among youth. Jordan also handles pro
bono cases and often works on a sliding fee scale
through Lambda Legal.
Which celesbians would they like to see dressed
up or down in their T-shirts? Well, Katherine
Moennig is a favorite of Robinson's while Meshell
Ndegeocello is Tonja's pick. Both also agree that
Ellen and Portia, Melissa, Ani, and workout drill
sergeant Jackie Warner would each look fabulous
sporting a Lipstick & Wildflowers branded tee .
Look for their winter season rock 'ri roll
themed shirts, pants and jackets soon, and a full
clothing line in the future. - StephanieSchroeder
POBox118,~thlehem,NH0357◄
877LES·B·INN
(537-2◄66) ~ 603869-3978
vaca~fthlandslnn-nh.com
~ www.hlahlandslnn-nh.com
December 2006
I
25
It sizzles year round, so why wait for summer to
.............................................................................................................
I threw back the floor-to-ceiling blinds of my hotel room, expecting
views of other hotel buildings, or perhaps a pool, and was thrilled
to take in a sandy butte scattered with flowering cacti and mesquite
trees. A delicious, hot breeze blew in. I wandered out. Hidden amid
foliage, under a waterfall, I discovered one of the Buttes Resort's four
hot tubs, carved out of the rock. In the hotel store, I surveyed plush
roadrunners, rattlesnakes and real scorpion glass paperweights and
realized there was a probably a reason they were in stock.
I was disappointed to discover roadrunners are neither purple
nor common. Shy, little brown birds, they scuttle through the scrub
without drawing attention to themselves. Snakes and scorpions,
however, are a different matter. They are in no short supply. However,
the rattlesnake reputation is worse than reality, it seems. It's painful,
but those bitten have several hours to get medical attention.
"It's usually men who are bitten;' my tour guide,John, wryly told
me the next morning on the Apache Trail.
The Apache Trail is a 45-minute drive from Tempe, the vibrant,
youthful city to the immediate south of Phoenix. The drive passes
Apache Junction, where rumor has it there is a women-only trailer
park. One park we passed had its own golf course, the ironically
26
Icurve
named Snakehole Golf and Country Club, where they use leftover
grease from fast food restaurants in the R.V. park to harden sand
around holes. Golf courses in this valley of the sun have a "rattlesnake rule" - you can pick up your ball and remove it as many paces
as it takes to get your heart rate back to normal.
We drove through the Sonoran Desert, past giant saguaro and
chola cacti, to the town of Tortilla Flat, population six. The entire
town, which consists of a post office, saloon, general store and
boarded-up motel, was for sale on eBay back in 2003.
I was surprised by the amount of water among the red cliffs.
Boating is popular in Arizona, where most lakes are reservoirs.
Curiously, Arizona has "more shoreline than the State of California;'
according to John. When we stopped on the trail, John pointed out
flowering cacti, peering under rocks as he talked. After the third or
fourth such inspection, he picked something up. Held by its stinger
was a 3-inch-long scorpion.
"Who wants to hold it?" he asked. As I shuddered and backed
away,my traveling companion Mary strode forward, holding out her
hand. John instructed her to cup her hands around the creature and
reopen them. She did and the scorpion had curled into a ball, ready
visit this lesbian sunbird heaven? sv AEFA MULHOLLAN □
···············································•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
to sleep. "Only one in 50 will sting you;' he reassured, as it trekked
over her hands.
While scorpions' fearsome reputation may be exaggerated,
Phoenix's summer heat is not. Many types of hardy cactus can't even
survive it, I learned in che Desert Botanical Garden. Non-native
plants often "sunburn or desiccate:' One resident describes biking to
work during summer as akin to pedaling into a giant blow dryer.
On the dividing line between Tempe and Phoenix, the Desert
Botanical Garden in Papago Park is home to the world's largest collection of desert plants. We explored trails as the sun sec. A sickleshaped moon rose over dramatic buttes. We sampled Arizona wine,
and I admired dozens of stars twinkling overhead - until realizing
that they were planes, on course to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor.
It's not just che temperature that sizzles - Phoenix has scorching hot nightlife to go with its 325 days of sunshine, and the women's scene has no shortage of options. On our Sunday night, Mary
and I had a choice of five very different types of nightlife: reggaeton, cumbia, Spanish pop and hip-hop at the E Lounge or country
karaoke at Cash Inn Country. We chose the E Lounge, an easy walk
from our room at Clarendon Suites. Despite signs en route prornis-
ing "Lezbos a Go Go;' very few lezbos were actually found to be "a
go
go:
At the E Lounge, some of Melissa Etheridge's more doleful
moments blared out of the jukebox. The Spanish pop policy was
obviously a rather tenuous one. There was little evidence of cumbia,
or of Phoenix's lesbian community. Though crammed to the rafters
with carousing women Thursday through Saturday, Sunday at the E
Lounge definitely lacks a little. Mary and I grabbed stools by the bar,
where occasional air guitar solos by staff brightened things up.
While gesticulating exuberantly, I inadvertently elbowed the
beer bottle the woman beside me was drinking. I apologized for
almost knocking out her teeth, and she took chis as an opportunity
to buy us shots. This was an effort to entice Patsy, the bar manager,
to show off her shoe pouring cricks. Patsy needed little enticement.
Seconds later, she stood on the bar, pouring a row of four shots
simultaneously from up high. She and Sherry, the shot buyer, shared
enough enthusiastic reports of action on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday nights to make me schedule a return visit.
le became clear staff was closing up, although the bar was officially
open for another three hours. They were heading to famed dance
December 2006
I 27
It's not just the temperature that sizzles - Phoenix has
scorching hot nightlife to go with its 325 days of sunshine,
~~.d.!r.~ yYq~E:~.'~.
~~~~.e. h~~ nq ~r.ort~gE:.
o!_~P.ti~~~......... .
club Ain't Nobody's Bizness and invited us along.
Nestled in a strip mall, the Biz, as it's known, was
packed and friendly. A mixed lesbian and gay crowd
teemed round the bar while on the other side of a high
fence, a herd of under-2ls filled the dance floor. The
fence, similar to ones used to pen cattle, was disconcerting. It's apparently an Arizona-wide policy to keep
those below legal drinking age in these cages. At the
Biz, they even have their own under-21 entrance.
After a night doing shots, we headed to Scottsdale
to rejuvenate at Spa Avania at the Hyatt Regency
Scottsdale Resort. With dozens of sumptuous spas,
it's little wonder Greater Phoenix is known as the
"resort capital of the world;' and Avania may be the
most sumptuous of them all. Keep in mind that it's
cheaper to rent a car for a day than to take a taxi; the
distances, and therefore cab totals, are staggering.
We were thrilled to discover our midday treatments
- surprisingly reasonably priced - allowed us the
delicious prospect of enjoying the spa's facilities until
it closed at 10 p.m. Avania has spectacular amenities;
the women's side of the spa features a eucalyptus steam
room, outdoor rain showers and a relaxation lounge
with fresh apples and pears to snack on. A lounge with
an outdoor fireplace and iced mint ginger water overlooks the co-ed, swimming pool-sized French Celtic
mineral pool. A dip feels like being dunked from head
to toe in moisturizer.
After choosing from an extensive music menu, I
enjoyed an hour-long massage, the best I've ever experienced, which soothed away all aftereffects of the previous night's bar-hopping. Mary had similarly ecstatic
reports about her wrap.
We practically floated to our table in the Hyatt's
gorgeous Vu restaurant. Overlooking one of the hotel's
pools (the Hyatt boasts 10 swimming pools and a natural, 7-acre lagoon), ambient music played at perfect
volume, velvet banquettes were scattered with flurries
of cushions, and tables were separated by sheer orange
drapes. Attentive servers started us off with the most
delicious soup I've ever supped. Pumpkin, vanilla and
star anise soup was poured at the table from its own
carafe into a bowl nestled on a saucer-size zen garden
of sand and star anise. The rest of the meal reached
similar superlative-worthy heights: a delicious finale to
my five days in the desert. Like everything else I did in
Phoenix, it left me with an appetite for more. ■
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
What Else Do You Need to Know?
When to go: October through April is a
great time to visit Phoenix. Avoid summer
unless you like it really hot and want to
take advantage of enticing resort deals.
Big events include Phoenix Pride (azpride
.org); Outfar! Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
(outfar.org); Rainbows Festival (rainbowsfestival.com); and Tempe Festival of the
Arts (tempefestivalofthearts.com). First
Fridays Art Walk is a monthly highlight,
(artlinkphoenix.com); and look out for Arizona Roller Derby Girls' bake sale outside
Helga's, a commune gallery at 3rd Street
and Garfield. Scottsdale Art Walk has
taken place every Thursday for 30 years
(scottsdalegalleries.com/artwalks.html).
Get gay info: For a Sapphic slant, scour
the Phoenix Convention and Visitors
Bureau's LGBT site (visitgayarizona.com).
Tempe's CVB also offers lesbian and gayspecific vacation planning, (tempecvb
.com/glbt.asp).
Where to stay: The Clarendon boutique ho28
I curve
tel is a rare Phoenix find (theclarendon.net),
with E Lounge and zGirl in walking distance.
The colorful Fiesta Inn Resort (fiestainnresort
.com), and the spectacular Marriott Buttes
Resort (marriott.corn/phxtm), are in Tempe,
one of 22 incorporated cities that make up
the exhilarating jigsaw of Greater Phoenix.
Tempe's bars and restaurants are smokefree, and the city is home to one of the largest public institutions in the country, Arizona
State University, home of lesbian sorority
Gamma Rho Lambda.
Great grub: In Phoenix, reserve a spot at
Cheuvront, owned by openly gay State
Senator Ken Cheuvront, and enjoy wine·s,
artisanal cheese and old movies playing
with French subtitles, call 602-307-0022.
In Scottsdale, try happy hour at converted
girls' school El Chorro's (elchorrolodge
.com); or linger on Vu's hip banquets, call
480-444-1234 .
Best bar bets: E Lounge and zGirl clubs
are in the same block of North 7th Avenue;
(eloungephx.com, zgirlclub.com). Also try
Cash Inn Country or the Biz (cashinncountry
.net, aintnobodysbizness-az.com) .
See the Sights: DeTours offers an excellent, informative way to discover the
Apache Trail and Sonoran Desert (detours
az.com). The Desert Botanical Garden
boasts the world's largest collection of
desert plants, as well as Arcadia Farms
cafe where great food stars, incuding wild
salmon salad with cactus pear glaze and
refreshing cactus iced tea (dbg.org).
Spoil yourself in Scottsdale: Sumptuous
spa spot Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch
allows you to be pampered and enjoy the
desert heat from under the palm fronds
(scottsdale.hyatt.com).
If there's time: Visit the Heard Museum
and learn about Southwestern culture, heritage and peoples (heard.erg); or watch the
WNBA Phoenix Mercury shoot and score
(wnba.com/mercury). - Aefa Mulholland
AAvacations.com/ra nbow
As individual as you are
By Sara Seinberg
□
The hottest '90s dyke band is
back - and they're all grown up.
-
()
C
Queer to the core before anyone ever coined the term "queercore;'
the 1994 release of Team Dresch's debut record, PersonalBest, gave
queer girls a soundtrack that would remain forever ensconced in the
gay pantheon. But with a power so pervasive, the edges of anger and
rebellion seeped into straight music subculture with such lasting
effect that the band's much~heralded recent reunion concerts feature
not only a legion of new queer faces who never had the chance to
see the band in the '90s (due to multiplicat~on~table math home~
work, no doubt), but also a healthy peppering of straight dudes
respectfully lining the backs of the clubs, bobbing their heads along
in agreement. The news is good for dyke rock fans: Team Dresch
- Donna Dresch, Kaia Wilson, Jody Bleyle and Marci Martinez
- are officially back together, working on a new record ("although
it's hard to 'hippie jam' with Jody in (Los Angeles J;'admits Wilson)
and getting ready to hit the road. We caught up with each woman
for a little one~on~one.
►
DonnaDresch(guitar,bass,headbanger)
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30 I curve
How did the band come together in the first place?
And are you together again?
I met Jody when her band Hazel came through Olympia,
(Wash.,] in 1992. I met Kaia when her band came through
at around the same time. We stayed in touch and then Jody
was like, "I wanna be in a band with all dykes!" and I was like,
"Yeah!" We originally came together because we all felt so
isolated and alone and we were all like, "There you are:'
So when we broke up ... it was pretty devastating. Going
through all we did being broken up and coming full circle
just felt so good when we played that show at Homo a Go
Go. It was like the most fun we have ever had. It really just
felt better than we could have imagined. I think maybe it
was our best show. At least I felt that way. We didn't plan on
playing again or anything, but our friend Anna (Lobianco
of self~defense project Free to Fight] was the real reason we
decided to get back together again. She had been very sick
with cancer, and we wanted to raise money for (her].
Are you working on a record?
We are. We would love to have it out by winter. We'd like to
do a bigger tour, but nothing too big. Jody is a mom now.
How else are things different for you?
Well, it's intense to talk to the younger fans. They actually
grew up listening to our records. Countless people talk to me
about how important our music was to them growing up and
coming out. They make me remember again and again how
important music is.
JodyBleyle(guitar,bass,long-hairedbutch)
How Is the band different now than It was In 1993?
It's different because 1) we don't practice, 2) we don't fight
and, 3) more people come to our shows. But really, we were
I
originally driven by loving to play music ... and our isolation
... and really, I think we're still driven by the same things.
Maybe the desperation isn't at the same level, but it's still
there, that desire to connect and be with your people. I think
a key thing is, yes, most people grow and change, but not
rock musicians. We just want to rock. In some ways that's
great; in some ways it's stunted, but it's just kind of inescapable. I really, really wanted to get a Ph.D. in economics. I
wanted to quit playing music. I really, reallydid. But I can't.
I'm stunted.
So really, why are you playing in the band again?
(!)
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~
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Those shows are magical spaces - the energy in the room is
transformative, and I value it more than just about anything
else I've ever experienced. The fact that all these people have
-come together to create it is magical, and I value it, and I
want to be a part of it for as long as I can. I work with hundreds of people every day to create software - it's a monumental effort - and it doesn't contain any of the magic that
these little rock shows have all the time.
Do you have a favorite recent moment being back?
At the Knitting Factory, Anna was sitting on the side of the
stage the whole time rocking out and singing along, and Nina
[Anna's sister] said to her, "You know all the wordst
And Anna said, "Of course! These are my songs!"Anna
was our housemate and sister, and she was dedicated to
I
being true to her ideals in every area of her life. That's not
easy to do the older you get, to live your ideals in your job, in
your relationship, raising your kids.
KaiaWilson(guitar,singer,heartthrob)
How did you all reunite?
We had all been partying together last year at Burning Man.
At one point, Jody got in her little battery-powered inflatable go-cart and just started drivin' around screamin: "Let's
get back together and play right when they light the really big
man on fire." Donna put rubbing alcohol on her ass and lit
it. Meanwhile I'm hanging upside down in our paper mache
"tree" in my Burning Man bat costume yammering on about
how Lost Boys changed my life because Jamie Gertz was so
hot, and Marci was sitting on her blanky repeating something about lights and God and that movie about the little
mouse. Then we all tuned into what Jody was screaming, and
we just said, "Yeah, OK:' And that was it.
How has the band changed since the first go-round?
Well, we are definitely older. We all have bad backs or just get
winded a lot quicker. I think it's safe to say we are actually a lot
more mature, mostly, and thoughtful about what we're doing.
The band played reunion at Homo a Go Go in 2004.
Why keep playing after that?
Team Dresch continued on page 71
December 2006
I31
[
The L Word introduced us to indie's next
big heartbreak. The Organ is now the band
U.S. dykes can't get enough of.
"This is the best part of the song/where I admit that I might be
wrong:'
I'm listening to "Brother;' a track that opens Grab That Gun, the
debut full,length CD from Vancouver, Canada's broody all,girl quin,
tet the Organ. They're the kind of band whose name you hear come
up in conversation a lot these days, with people talking in excited
tones about the 'great new group that no one knows about yet:' Being
in that kind of underground, abouMo,explod~ waiting room of fame
is a magical time for a band, but the odd thing is that the Organ
is already hugely popular, just not in this country. The Canucks
are Debora Cohen, guitar; Shelby Stocks, drums; Jenny Smyth,
Hammond organ; singer Katie Sketch and her bassist sister, cutely
called Shmoo (who replaced Ashley Webber last year).
Though they've played together since 2001, they are practically
unheard of in the U.S. apart from an appearance on The L Word last
year, when cults of dyke drama addicts all over America watched
raptly as the band moved through fog and hot lights, playing their
sweet goth,rock and wailing messages of melancholy. At the time,
the show hadn't yet aired in Canada, and the band was still unfamil,
iar with everyone's favorite Los Angeles lesbians.
Frontwoman Sketch admits that after being asked to do an ap,
pearance, "We never thought much about it again until it aired in
Australia and the States and fan e,mails started to pour in. Then, of
course, we watched and became immediately addicted. I really can't
say enough positive things that came to our band from having been
32 Icurve
on the show:'
The Organ's standing reputation is that of a female version of
the Smiths, with a singer who blends notes of Debbie Harry and
Joy Division's Ian Curtis. That much is true, but the band brings
something of their own to the table as well, creating classic art,rock
with achy gloom and a brilliantly emotive, affecting lyricism. The
music, a recipe of 4,byA beats and jangling guitars similar to early
'80s influences like the Cure (whom they have shared billing with),
marches forward with a repetitive but atmospheric style, serving as
a steady, clean platter for the deliciously witty and wistful rµµsings
of lead singer Sketch.
Lyrics including "We should go down to the mall/look at peo,
ple, judge them all/judge them before they judge us/ and leave them
feeling bad" from "Basement Band Song;' are bound to resonate not
only with the millions of alienated teenagers who buy records but
also with gay fans who have already come to love the band. As for
mysel£ I can't drive my car anywhere without giggling and having
the song "Steven Smith" run through my head: "I am driving, it's
true/and I've got something for you:'
Lesbian fans take note: Rock,groupie crushes are an inevitable
factor with the Organ. Sketch is a perfect specimen of androgy,
nous, new wave charm, with a booming baritone and the heartbro,
ken stage shyness that tends to paradoxically turn a singer into a
star. Her rock pinup qualities drew attention from fashion designer
Marc Jacobs, who shot her mournfully gazing into the camera for
his winter 2005 ad campaign. Of that surreal experience, she says
that her biggest concern was that the shoot happened to fall on a
day off from tour when she had planned to catch up on errands:
"I decided that I'd regret it much later in life if I didn't just suck up
my fatigue and dirty laundry and do the shoot. Thankfully, (it] only
lasted a few hours, so I managed to get my laundry done anyways:'
Obsession with this band is not unheard 0£ nor native to any
particular geographic region -fan drawings of band members have
their own section on the band's Web site. Right now, that kind of
mania is centered mostly in Europe, where the band has so far
focused their incessant year~round touring. Sketch explains that the
decision to spend more time overseas was as much a logistical one
as anything: "Our amazing European booking agent wanted to set
up tours for us in the U.K., so that pretty much sealed the deal. As a
result, we signed to Too Pure Records (home of Stereolab] and that
brought quite a bit of press - and thus, bigger audiences:'
Of course, all that running around opening for bands like
Interpol, Cat Power and the Wedding Present might delay their
follow~up album.
"We're going to have to take off time to write more songs, and
I don't see this time being made available in the near future;' says
Sketch, who adds that, "Touring is physically exhausting. Driving
every day, all day, sleeping in a different place every night and drink~
ing excessively takes its toll. This being said, we're always looking
forward to the next tour. It's very addicting:' ■
To see the Organ in action,go to theorgan.caor mintrecs.com.
December 2006
I33
Soon to be stars, Northern State is ideal for
lesbian.s who like their hip-hop with a Ph.D.
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''Apart of a larger community;' says Sprout, finishing her sentence.
◄
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34
It's one day before the beginning of the Michigan Womyn's Music
Festival, and Northern State has stopped off for a warm~up gig
before exposing their special brand of literate girl rap to throngs of
scantily clad females from all over the world. The energy is pure,
giddy excitement as band members Hesta Prynn, Spero and Sprout
talk about what it's like to be playing this yeal'.'sfestival.
"In every way that we can be grateful, we are;' explains Prynn,
seated on the edge of a gilded sofa in the basement of the Abbey
Pub in Chicago. She is a tall, lanky ball of energy and, like all of
Northern State, frighteningly intelligent, funny and instantly like~
able. "The way it all started was about issues. Three women in music
able to be-"
Icurve
All three hail from New York, where Sprout and Prynn were
childhood friends. "I introduced Spero and Hesta sophomore year.
Then we all became BFFs;' Sprout says. Although when these three
"best friends forever" were asked if they sported the "Best Friend"
necklaces popular in the early '90s Prynn sheepishly admits, "I had
them with someone else:'
Friendship infidelities aside, Northern State manages to meld
their unique influences of literature, feminism and hip~hop into a
dance~friendly blend of women~centered music. Educated at Vassar,
Oberlin and NYU, these women have a collective background in
Shakespearean theater, audio engineering, environmental education
and a smattering of other subjects from the liberal arts buffet.
Spero's experience in engineering helped the group record and
mix from their ealiest demos to their current projects. "We work
together. A good deal of the co~production is driven by us;' she
explains. "We'll start with the instrumental. Sometimes we'll get a
track from someone else, but we are very hands on:'
"We're studio rats;' confesses Sprout proudly.
This is evident tonight as Spero is hard at work until they hit the
stage, programming the sequencer, calling out instructions to the
sound technician and generally making sure that Northern State
puts on their best show. From the first beat, they captivate with
a gritty East Coast style that takes a page from the Beastie Boys'
manual, a pinch of Sleater~Kinney and a dash of Salt~N~Pepa. All
three women rap on each track extensively with a little bit of singing
thrown in just to mix it up. Must be that Tegan and Sara influence.
"The Tegan and Sara tour was so awesome for us;' says Sprout of
their 2005 tour mates. Northern State has also opened for Le Tigre,
De La Soul, the Roots and Talib Kweli, just to name a few. Their
upcoming album, the follow~up to 2004's All City,just might be the
one to rocket them out of hipster iPods and on to superstardom. In
any case, Northern State will still be bustin' rhymes for intelligent
females everywhere. And you can say you knew them when. ■
By Catherine Plato
Count my heart among the many broken when Sleater-Kinney
announced their "indefinite hiatus" last June. Despite initial optimistic delusions, we knew what chis meant - we might as well
replace "indefinite" with "permanent:' After 11 years of beautiful,
heart-wrenching, ass-kicking rock 'n' roll, was chis really the end?
Founded by guitarists and former girlfriends Corin Tucker and
Carrie Brownstein, Sleater-Kinney released seven albums during
their decade-plus run, from their 1995 self-tided debut to 2005's
The Woods. Janet Weiss joined in 1997, replacing drummer Lora
Macfarlane, for Dig Me Out, their first release on Kill Rock Stars.
Despite a sonic evolution from their riot grrl roots to the dark, Pearl
Jam-influenced hard rock of their last album, Sleater-Kinney retains
its original, though widening, fan base of irreverent rocker chicks.
Sadly, to understand what Sleater-Kinney meant to a generation
of women, it's essential to have seen chem live.They were our Beatles,
our Hendrix, the ones who made us want to go home post-show,
grab the nearest instrument and strum and scream until our fingers
and vocal chords bled. What queer rockstar wannabe wouldn't be
inspired by a chick wailing, "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone"? Their
final performance last August at the Crystal Ballroom in their
hometown of Portland, Ore., packed new and old fans alike- from
aging punk rockers who supported the band in its earliest days to a
new generation of riot grrls inspired by the same message.
"I am very fortunate and extremely grateful to live in a time when
I can see Sleater-Kinney play live;' said longtime friend Eddie Vedder,
who opened for chem with a Dylan-esque protest song, followed by
a ukulele-guitar duet with Weiss. His sentiments echoed throug the
crowd; we were about to wimess a historic moment, the end of an era as
vital to feminism as to rock. The set ended bittersweetly,with the quintessential breakup song,"One More Hour:' As Tucker sang,"In one more
hour, I willbe gone/In one more hour, I'll leave this room;' the words
hit harder and deeper than ever, reminding us againof the impending
"indefinite hiatus" - and, for at least one foolish optimist in the crowd,
leaving us clinging hopefully to the word "indefinite' ■
as weapons, but that th~y weren't intended as weapons. To me, Judaism isn't
about those two verses in Leviticus that say that a man shouldn't have sex with
a man. That was someone's opinion at that time, or perhaps it had a specific
context, like worrying about procreation. For me, what's interesting about those
verses is that they tell us that men have always been sleeping with men:'
After all, says Edwards, "We no longer believe that adulterers will be
stoned to death. Even the fifth-century rabbis of the Talmud worked out ways
to understand those verses to avoid meting out such punishments:•
Edwards' wife, Tracy Moore, has an official role, too, as wife of the rabbi
(called the rebbitzin). The two have been together for 20 years, and Moore's
empathetic, extroverted warmth is an indispensable social lubricant among
the congregants.
A campaign manager for a Los Angeles-based public radio station, Moore
is a longtime political activist who opposes the occupation of Palestine and
supports a two-state solution. But because the synagogue needs to provide a
spiritual home to Jews holding the full spectrum of views on Israel, "It's not a
good place to bring up Israeli politics. It's better to separate church and state;'
she says.
Edwards herself is cautious about Middle East politics, although personally
she condemns both the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian leadership. The
pulpit, she says,"is the one place where I censor mysel£ Ours is a very liberal congregation, with the exception of Israeli politics. The comfortable compromise is
that services are neutral ... I advocate for peace but without specific solutions:•
Before she was a rabbi, Edwards was one of the first out rabbinical students
- and the first to demand domestic partner benefits. LGBT pioneers like herself, she believes,"were influential in helping the Reform Movement decide to
reach out to the gay and lesbian community and to support our struggles for
equality:' To her mind, visible and influential queer congregations encourage all
LGBT Jews to be open and active in the Jewish community.
The work Beth Chayim Chadashim has done since the '70s to create
gender-sensitive liturgy has been primarily in English, since Hebrew is one of
the most gendered of all languages. (Even 'clitoris" and "breast" are masculine
words.) "Beth Chayim Chadashim was one of the first, though, to add the
mothers to Hebrew prayers that list the male ancestors, like Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. We added Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel;' Edwards says.
In her rare spare time, Edwards also teaches at the University of Southern
California, where her students examine texts too often ignored.
"For example, there's a whole text in the Talmud about intersex and androgynous people. And the [ancient] rabbis don't condemn them or frown on them.
They're very matter-of-fact, acknowledging they exist and asking what we can
do about them in a society that we've divided into male and female roles:•
Beth Chayim Chadashim embraces a range of unlikely congregants, many
progtessives who appreciate the level of social consciousness, and nearly 10
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percent of the congregation is straight.
"We have lots of atheists who come to services at our temple;' Edwards
reveals."They like it as a contemplative space. They like the music, the conversation, and we don't check spiritual IDs at the door:'
As such, the synagogue also attracts dozens of Jews-by-choice, otherwise
kn~wn as converts. Edwards attributes this to the fact that "liberal Judaism
has been a welcoming place for LGBT people looking for a spiritual home:'
The temple's past president, Davi Cheng, is a Chinese lesbian convert, and
Edwards' key liturgical partner, Cantorial Soloist Fran Magid Chalin, has
been with the synagogue through many personal changes.
1
"I was the L in LGBT for about 15 years and now I'm the 'B;' Chalin jokes.
Moore is also a new Jew. "I became a Jew because I'm married to a rabbi;' she explains. "The reason I could become a Jew is because of feminist,
secular and queer Judaism. And because Jews invented literary criticism.
When I discovered that it's mostly about disputing the meaning of texts,
I felt right at home:• (Both Edwards and Moore hold advanced degrees in
English literature.)
As the success of Edward's own synagogue impacts other Jewish institutions, some wonder if there will always be a need for queer synagogues.
"I do not look forward to the day when queers are just absorbed into
mainstream synagogues;' Moore admits, "which might be isolating:'
Edwards agrees. "It's different to be welcomed as a stranger than to be
welcomed to a place where people 'get you; where you're not exotic:'
One Friday night, Edwards delivers a sermon about Moses, who is reputed
to have stuttered. But, she tells worshipers, it is actually written that he was
"heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue:' She can relate.
"I don't remember a time in which I've felt more like I speak a different language from the majority of people around me;• she says. "It's scary
when those people continue to hold a lot of power and would use that power
against you:• ■
December 2006
I37
of the Best
HolidayGifts
'Tis the season when you desperately search for cool gifts for your friends and
family without breaking your bank account - or heading to chain stores to buy
what the hoi polloi have already purchased. CuRvE'sgot your back with
a bevy of fun things, including some DIY stuff and a couple of "if money's no
object" products to make shopping super easy this year.
GOOD BAGGAGE
1. Hell's Belles Sexy unreformable
girls will love, love, love anything
from Hell's Belles, from sexy leopard
clutches to pinstripe travel sets. If
you've got a tattooed hottie, a femme
naughty or an absolute dom in your
life, get her something from this onewoman show. $40 and up, hbnyc.net
2. Do Over Simple, the shoe company,
now takes its responsible manufacturing to handbags. This Feedbag is constructed from wool and jute with zipper
bases made from recycled milk jugs. You
oat to have it. $70, simpleshoes.com
3. Joey Jr. Purse Mate Tired of
fumbling for your keys or phone inside
your cavernous hipster bag? This oddlynamed contraption has tons of pockets
and fits inside your purse or backpack to
help organize all the tiny things that sink
to the bottom. Comes in tons of colors but
we love the ultrabutchy camoflauge. In two
sizes. $15 and up, joeyjunior.com
4. Measure Up Erin Originals' handsewn
Tape Measure Wallet is made with love,
sturdy, and comes in a few color configurations. $30 and up, erinoriginals.com
5. Sk8ter Bois Buying a Crumpler Bag of
any sort is fun, because they have names
like Western Lawn, Breakfast Buffet and
That Wine Bar, but our fave is the water
resistant and multipocket laptop bags called
(depending on size, of course) Moderate,
Considerable and Dreadful Embarrassment.
$80 and up, smalldog.com
Not Pictured: Zip It These fun and funky
bags are actually a series of zippers that girls
(and trendy boys) can zip together in different
ways to create a one-of-a-kind bag. $7 and
up, myzipit.com
38
I curve
2
1
3
BATH, BEAUTY
AND BEYOND
12
6, 7. Aloha Baby Malie Kauai's
home and body products
are the first with Hawaiian
Hydrosols. Mango Butter Bun
and Linen Mist are musts.
Prices vary, maliekauai.com
8, 9, 10. WildWoozle Soap
Company's Lotus Yoga
Collection contains perfect
post-workout products pairing
Tahitian tamanu oil with herbs
like St. John's Wort and arnica
resulting in lovely balms and
massage oils. $5 and up, wild
woozle.com
11. Bath Candy Work-at-home
mom Jhanna Dawson's High
Desert Bath & Body is handsdown a CURVE editor favorite.
With fragrances including zen
tea, iced mint, mayan gold, and
pomegranate and rosewater,
drop these little cocoa butter candies in the bath for a
aromatic and moisturizing tub of
fun. $10 for bag of five candies;
Highdesertbandb.com
12. Tuff Betty's Lavender
and Tea Tree Kukui bar is an
awesome do-it-all soap from
these sexy, soap-making sisters
from Portland, Oregon. $5,
tuffbetty.com
Not Pictured: I'm on Fire
Mia Bella's Sweet Orange and
Chili Pepper soy/veg/beeswax
candles are paraffin-free (meaning it's biodegradable, cleans
up easy and won't kill your bird
like other candles) and perfectly
yummy. $3 and up, buyamia
bella.com
13. Eye Love It Urban Decay's
Ammo Shadow Box offers their
10 best-selling eyeshades in a
case with skull and heart flourishes emerging from a pistol
of violet metallic foil and velvet
flocking that takes makeup
from cutesy to dangerous. $34,
urbandecay.com
14. Lush Tidings Almost anything from Lush is sure to please
but our faves this season are the
spicy foot lotion Pied de Pepper,
Ginger Dusting Powder and,
the poshest gift of all, the Super
Deluxe Drum, which comes with
10 products including bubble
bars, bath bombs, balls and
melts, and the intense Sonic
Death Monkey Shower Gel. $72,
lush.com
December 2006
I39
MOMS, BABIES
AND PETS
SEXY STUFF
15. Be the Present You too
can play Santa - and feel like a
Pussycat Doll at the same time
- in one of these scintillating
Shirley of Hollywood outfits
including Poodle Faux Fur Top
and Skirt or Stretch Velvet and
Marabou Baby Doll. Sizes go up
to 4X. $29 and up, shirleyof
hollywoood .com
19. Break Time An adorable
Time Out Lamby is perfect for
anyone who needs a break. $25,
uncommongoods.com
20. Speed Racers The awardwinning PlasmaCar (for kids
ages 3 to 103, they say) uses
inertia, centrifugal force and
friction to propel kids; actions
applied to the handlebars transfer motion to the wheels so no
batteries or pedals are needed.
$70, Plasmacar.com
16. Behind Closed Doors Do
not give this to your girlfriend in
front of her parents. But do give
her the OhMiBod, then watch
her get hours of enjoyment from
the first music-driven
insertable vibrator on
the market. Made for
your iPod but compatible with any MP3
or CD player and
even your computer,
OhMiBod converts
music into vibration
and comes with an
iPod mini garter, a
tiny, 5-foot cord, and
a splitter so you can
share the love. $69,
ohmibod.com
17. Marilyn's Back
The Marilyn Monroe
Velvet Collection - a
limited edition of the
highly coveted wine
- is back adorned
with her original Playboy photo
with assets covered by a peeloff boa, and it all comes in a
"peel and peek" package. $200,
marilynwines.com
18. Signature Scents If
Jean Nate is your idea of fresh
fragrance, get thee to Apothia
for some girlie education on their
signature Velvet Rope, inspired
by an icy, dry vanilla martini
spiked with absolute jasmine
and a twist of grapefruit. And, for
a dose of countertop sexy, get
her Nanadebary Bronze, a fiery
fragrance with hints of bergamot,
cinnamon, cedar and sandalwood. $75 and up, apothia.com
18
21. Let Her Sleep For those
not-so-special mornings when
she just can't be disturbed
comes this hand-embroidered Fuck Off eye quilt from
Jennicakes (and if you're not
into that F-word, they also offer
Sod Off). $24, jennicakes.com.
22. Dress 'Em Up At
Petsmart's Dogs.com you Qan
get your furry friend dressed
to the nines (love the tennis
sweater) and chewing on toys
worthy of a pampered princess.
Prices vary, dogs.com
17
23. Puppy Perfection One
of the more adorable gifts this
season is perfect for pooch's
first Christmas. The handmade
Puppy Pad Training Cake from
Roxie's Shop is a wrapped
"cake" of puppy pads, treats,
toys and puppy care essentials
that covers Tinkerbell's first
three months at home. $99 and
up, roxiesshop.com
24. The Dog Ate It The first
cookbook with recipes designed
for dogs and owners to savor
together. $15, penguin.com
22
Not Pictured: Doggie
Mansions Since dogs started
to travel on private jets in Louis
Vuitton carry-ons, it's little
surprise they now have Doggie
Mansions, too. From urban brownstones to Mediterranean-style
estates (with plasma TV, air conditioning and marble floors),
nothing's too good for woman's best friend. $8,000 and up, dog
giemansions.com
Not Pictured: Rigor Mortis Alternateens and queers of all ages
adore Kristin Tercek's handmade plushes with names like Bat,
Creature, Gimp and Mummy. $40, cuddlyrigormortis.com
25. Cooking in the Kitchen Jessie Steele's sexy aprons
- with names like Red Polka Dot and Pink Paris - make Mom
(or wifey) look like she's heading to a cocktail party instead of
stirring it up Martha-style. $32 and up, wishingfish.com
26. Pets for Your Pets Tuffie's dog toys - in cool shapes like
Larry Lobster and Gary Gator - are like jawbreakers covered in
fleece so nobody can tear them apart. $8 and up, mydogtoy.com
40
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DO A LITTLE GOOD
24
27. The Gift of Good Help
East St. Tammany Habitat
for Humanity rebuild 100
Katrina-ravaged homes
outside New Orleans in the
next year. Housing supplied;
you add the womanpower.
Habitat also has all-women
building crews. $0, esthfh.org
28. DKNY to the Rescue
Snag this DKNY Jeans nailhead "hope" tee to help St.
Jude Children's Research
Hospital and girls like 16year-old patient and teen
advocate Wendy (pictured).
$18 each, stjude.org
29. Healthy Toys
Foamstruction is the first
craft-construction toy using
wheat-starch, nontoxic
reusable foam pieces that
kids can moisten and stick
together (no glue needed).
$20, foamstruction.com
30. Feed a Village These
EcoWeekender wallets are
handmade from rice and
fish feed bags by women in
Cambodia who are affected
by polio or land mines and
who serve as their family's
sole breadwinners. $24,
world-shoppe.com
Not Pictured: Hollywood
Glow Ever wonder how
Sienna Miller goes from ivory
to bronzed in no time? The
Nuress Home Tanning Salon
self-spray system. You'll get
a UV-free tan in four minutes,
and 3 percent of total sales
goes to the Skin Cancer
Foundation. $150, nuress.com
31. I Heart Art Buy from
one of the dozens of lesbian
artists at the 28th Annual
Celebration of Craftswomen
in San Francisco - the larg-
est women's fine crafts show
in the U.S. - and you'll benefit the Women's Building,
too. This kaleidoscope necklace from Carter Siebels is a
must. Prices vary, celebrationofcraftswomen.org
Not Pictured: Sticker
Sisters Ariel Fox's Sticker
Sisters - which puts out
stickers like "This insults
women" - offers the super
cute Brave Girl-Aid Mini Kit,
which features 15 bandages
in a red plastic box adorned
with more girl-power images.
$7, stickersisters.com
December 2006
I41
HOMESWAG
32. Perfect for Pancakes
Fiesta's nifty Base Bowls have
colorful handles and nonslip
bases for easy mixing. $10 and
up, fiestaproducts.com
33. Piggy With a Mission This
cute Piggy Bowl and Spoon set
comes from Santiago, Chile,
through a group that works with
disadvantaged craftswomen.
$18, world-shoppe.com
34. Kosher Nosh Get ready
for the eight days this month
with the Hanukkah Eighteen, a
gift set of kosher brownies and
blondies that even gentiles will
adore. $50, brownies.com
35. Hardcore Home Decor
Kathy Steig's hand-embroidered
Skull Hand Towels are perfect
for those chicks who want a
little edge in their bathrooms.
$15, pixelgirlshop.com
36. Recycled Soakers Let
the media be your friend with
Recycled Newspaper Coasters
made of paper coiled around
broom bristles. This four coaster
set comes from a women's
co-op in the Philippines. $19,
world-shoppe.com
37. Purrfect Glasses Fat Cat
tumblers are kittyrific. $35 for
four, uncommongoods.com
38. Personal Space OK, air
purifiers aren't the sexiest gifts
but if your girl has a hankering
for some home ecosensitivity,
the Blueair AirPod is the funkiest
one on the market, with different color docking stations and
changeable filter designs. $99,
blueair.com
39. Smashing '60s The Coach
Lamp from the Lava collection
is back in circulation for the first
time since the 1960s, and we
couldn't be more excited, baby.
$40, lavaworld.com
37
Not Pictured: Petite Spice
Moroccan-made cherry red
Baby Tagine Salt and Pepper
Wells are so cute she might not
want to use them, but they're
perfect for anyone who's getting
her first apartment. $24,
world-shoppe.com
Not Pictured: Make Bath
Time Magnifique And surprise
her, too, with the new Paris, a
waterproof vibrating ducky who
sports a feathered boa and geniune Swarovski crystal beak jewel.
$26, boudoiressentials.com
42
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38
39
STOCKING
STUFFERS
40. Sip by the Fire Green &
Black's organic chocolate bars
are perfect for the cocoaholic
on your holiday gift list. Also
try a toasty mug of organic hot
chocolate - their signature dark
chocolate and raw cane sugar
delights - as a perfect holiday
morning treat. $9, bluefrog
chocolates.com
Not Pictured: Just for Fun
Kids love these Shatter Sports
3-D static cling decals, which,
when attached to your car (or
bedroom) windows, look like a
baseball (or golf ball or trout or
so on) has shattered your glass.
$6 and up, shattersports.com
41. Naughty Necklaces Tell
it like it is this year with these
fabulous silver necklaces
featuring vintage images and
phrases that include "Dear
Santa Define Good" and "But
Santa I Can Explain." Perfect
for wayward girls of all ages.
$25, tuffbetty.com
42. Pill-Popping Chocolat
Michel Cluizel's Narcotic
Grade Cocoa nibs are the
perfect antidotes to all that
family holiday stress. $5,
chocolatmichelcluizel-na.com
43
43. Secret Stash These
little cases are great for hiding
everything from tchotchkes to
tampons. Our faves include
Red Hot Mama pill boxes ($26,
uncommongoods.com), Red
Tango Multi Color Compacts ($9,
tangoland.com), and Swinging
Secret Agent Tampon Case ($28,
uncommongoods.com)
44. Pop Art These retro,
gal-power luggage tags from
Lugtagz will look great accompanying a ticket for two to Tahiti.
$9, lugtagz.com
45
45. Mad Gabs Get in the
holiday spirit with holiday Candy
Cane and Sugar Cookie Holiday
Moose Balms (made of olive
oit; not moose) and Moose
Smooches, all of which come in
great stocking stuffer gift sets.
$3 and up, madgabs.com
December 2006
I43
DVD BOX SETS
A DVD Box Set The ultimate gift? Hours of her favorite TV show for her, 20 hours you don't have to process your feelings for you. Our faves
this year are The Complete Kathy and Mo Show; The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful (a two-pack with season one of Beverly Hills 90210
and Melrose Place); CS/: Seasons 1-6 gift set; Dr. Katz Professional Therapist Season 2 (Sandra Bernhard and Janeane Garofalo are guests);
Medium: The Complete First Season; Big Love Season One; The L Word Season 3; Kids in the Hall: The Complete Series; Homicide: Life on the
Streets: The Complete Series; and the mother of all gifts, Ellen Seasons 1-5. ($20 and up, amazon.com)
BUNG
49. Bond, Jane Bond
Storm's super sleek and
high-tech Filtron Watch will
make her feel like she's in a
spy novel. $160, storm
watches.com
52. Old School Cool These
Mini Cassette Earrings from
Sabrina's Charm are so retro
cool (the cassette even has a
real ribbon) your gal will love
'em. $12, pixelgirlshop.com
4 7. Hazy Shades Panoptx
Gale Sunglasses with
ColorTec Copper lens make
for great ski-to-surf accessories you can wear year round.
$95, panoptxstore.com
50. Lock it In Connie
Verrusio's Lock Jewelry is
a perfect match for those
toolbelt divas and joined-atthe-hip couples. Sterling silver
keyholes come in necklaces,
cufflinks and earrings. $55 and
up, uncommongoods.com
53. High Femme Alert
Skandlz's fanciful strappy
sequin Priscilla slides have
handpainted dragons on
black wooden bases. $79,
skandlz.com
48. Rock 'n' Roll Togs
It's hipster-meets-funky
exec with these tees from
Oneworld, a women-owned
company that's become a
smash hit in Macy's and
Saks. $44, only in stores
51. Bye Bye Binary
Challenge Show off
your personal diversity in
this Gender Schmender
capsleeve tee from womanowned Bawdy Wear. $17,
bawdywear.com
46. Buckle Up With
Seattleite Erica Gordon's
hand-forged steel belt buckles and handmade leather
belts. New raves include
Jumbo, Tunnel, Chain Arrow
and Antique Key. $50 and
up, steeltoestudios.com
54. The Zoe These handmade, limited edition (only
50 made) silk ties feature
embroidered vector illustrations by Swiss artists Ukiyo5.
Zoe has a skull with heartshaped eyes on a striped tie.
Soi, will she be happy. $38,
pixelgirlshop.com
5~
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Icurve
PRINTED MATTER
TECH, TOOLS
AND TOYS
61. Malicious Missives With the Poison
Pen Letter Writing Set she can let that cheating ex know exactly how she feels. The kit
comes with 32-page booklet of ideas, 20
sheets of paper, 20 envelopes, skull-andcrossbones stickers and one poison-pen.
Perfect for anyone who's recently been
dumped (or your favorite goth girls). $17,
redwheelweiser.com
55. Let's Deal Curvy vixens
and grinning devils adorn this
trademark Coop Poker Set, which
will have you feeling like you're
are sitting down to a card game
around an old engine block in
a Tijuana chop shop. With two
decks, 200 chips, five metal dice,
dealer chip and sexy black metal
case, it's sure to help her put the
stud back in stud poker. $125,
tfaw.com
62. Gear Up for 2007 The Stitch 'N Bitch
Page-a-Day Calendar 2007: The Knitter's
Calendar and The We'Moon '07 Spirituality
Datebook are fun diversions from the usual
kitten calendars mom gets. $13 and $18
respectively, powells.com and wemoon.ws
56. Home Movies The new
Bowers & Wilkins' Mini Home
Theater will charm that movie lover
on your list with its smooth, sleek
metal look and ease of use (in
case you don't know the difference between a tweeter, diaphragm or subwoofer). $1,250 and
up, bwspeakers.com
63. Needlepointing Get crafty with Jenny
Hart's Stitch-It Kit;' a gift box of 35 funky
patterns (like pirates and guitars), embroidery
hoop and needle, floss, book and two tea
towels. $23, chroniclebooks.com
57. Made for Teens But cool
enough for the rest of us: the
Zoombox, a portable projector
that plays DVDs and attaches to
video cameras, cable and gaming
systems and projects 60-inch
images onto your wall. $300,
Hasbro.com
58. Dino Time The Roboraptor
- a robotic, remote controlled,
32-inch-long prehistoric beast with
artificial intelligence - reacts to
commands and senses and hears
people around him. Creepy but
very cool. $119, wowwee.com
59. Luxury Wings The Marquis
Jet Card is the ultimate opulent
gift, or rather, gifts. The Jet Card
provides 25 hours of flight time
on luxury private jets plus gift
certificates to Ermenegildo Zegna
and Sotheby, spa and chauffeur
access, and a concierge who will
do anything legal to assist you.
$109,000 and up, marquisjet.com
60. Taste This We all want
LG's new Chocolate, the first cell
phone that looks and acts like
a music player, with Bluetoothenabled headset, a 1.3 megapixel
camera, iPod like external dial
wheel, super sensitive
touch navigation, dedicated music keys and the
ability to store up to 1,000
songs. Even better, it has
a built-in VZ Navigator that
makes Mapquest a thing
of the past. Let her ditch
her phone, camera, iPod
and GPS in exchange for
this one sexy device. $150,
verizonwireless.com
58
60
December 2006
I45
By DianeAnderson-MinshallI Photographyby Brie Childers
America'sNext TopModel kicked her off, but lesbiananimator
Megan Morris has a lot more in store for us.
I
:::i:
0
I've said it before but it's even truer now than it was just a year ago:
the CW's Americas Next Top Model is the gayest show on television. With a host of super gay men - including drag queen-turnedrunway trainer "Miss J:'Alexander and non-plussed but fabulous,
silver-topped art director Jay Manuel - the show is gayer than Queer
Eyefor the StraightGuy. But let's not forget, this is a show about girls.
And plenty of them bat for our team. Every year, thousands of women
line up around the country to become one of 10 finalists who make it
into the Top Model mansion for what essentially becomes a 12-week
girlie slumber party. From season one, when black, bald dyke Ebony
Haith lost out to tomboy Adrianne Curry, a decidedly bi-curious,
Gia-like model who engaged in an awful lot of faux-lesbian frolicking
with butchy smart girl Elyse Sewell, to the current season where not
one, but two, openly lesbian women made plus a whole lot of bi-curious girls made it into the house, Top Model has been the only reality
TV show to present a lesbian, bisexual or flamboyantly bi-curious girl
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CD
to the airwaves every single season.
Some, like Sewell, who one said producers saw her short haircut
and brought her on the semifinals as "a potential token lesbian;' have
suggested that producers have a lesbian mandate. Others, well, we're
just damn happy with whoever is orchestrating this dykey little dramality. Since Haith's reign, Top Model has introduced some of the
more interesting queer girls on TV, including season five'spixie butch
Kim Stolz, season four's Midwestern bisexual wrestler Michelle
Deighton and season six's bisexual law student Leslie Mancia.
And while women like Stolz laud the show for helping make changes in an industry where out lesbians are vastly underrepresented, lesbians are thankful for something altogether different: AmericasNext Top
Modeloffers up a televised vision of androgyny, even outright butchness,
where at least slight masculinity appears to be requisite for actually winning (think of winners Naima Mora, Eva Pigford, Yoanna House).
This season there are actually two lesbians in the house, and, says
finalist Megan Morris - who was sent packing after episode two - a
whole lot of lesbian curiosity. Morris, who survived a plane crash at 9
(in which her mother died of hypothermia while saving her daughter's
life) and has little interest in becoming the next Tyra Banks, may just
be one of the most interesting women yet to grace the show. Too bad
viewers saw so little of her. We sat down with the part-time model,
full-time business owner, to get the skinny on the woman who could
have been America's next top model.
December 2006
I 47
Morris called her
girlfriendto tell her
2,000 other women
were in line to
auditionfor
Top Model. "She's
like, 'Just keep
doing it, just see
how far you get!' ...
She encourages
me, and she's the
most supportive
person in the world,
which helps me
so much."
I wish you could have strut your stuff a little
more before you got cut.
of California and New York - and so I wasn't
about to just like, find this one agency.
I know! I guess I needed to make out with somebody or something to add drama.
That's a lot of places for your age. Are you
One of the things you said as you were leav-
yourself or what?
ing is that you wish you would have let the
I think I am a nomad, but no, that's not the reason
why I moved. Initially it was for my dad's business. He was an attorney, and he had different
businesses in the United States and so we kind
of followed him too, and you know, he ended
up shutting down some of them and we'd kind
of like stay in one place for a couple years, and
then stay in another place for like six years
as he was kind of like closing down different
businesses, and after that, I ended up moving
to Maryland to live with my aunt and uncle my
senior year of high school and then I went to
college in San Francisco so I ended up moving
judges see mo~ of your personality.
Well, in front of the judges I was trying to be a
little bit more reserved, and really take in their
feedback. I wasn't as much myself
Judging day seems really difficult for the
women since it's a bit like you're in the
interview process at the same time you're
about to be judged on your week's work.
It's true, and ... it's on television so it's just so different from like going to [a regular audition].
It's much more high pressured.
What surprised you the most about the
experience?
Going into it I had these expectations - I knew
that they were going to put us in the most
awkward of possible situations . . . to get a
reaction from us. So what surprised me was ...
the actual shoots that they had us do . . . the
themes of the shoots, like the wigs. It was just
like, what's next?
Like, what the hell is a weavologist?
Right, right, exactly. I was actually pretty excited
about that shoot, because when they took us
there, I was like OK, this is totally off the wall,
they've got these crazy wigs that they want us
to wear and this is going to be a really fun photos hoot because we can pretty much do whatever we want and . . . I was thinking that the
photographer would want us to do something
a little more off the wall and wild.
a bit of a nomad, or are you still finding
to San Francisco.
One of the things that the judges really liked
Yeah, I guess. Also, it could have helped that I'm a
media studies major. I majored in media studies and minored in African studies. I hadn't
seen the show before but I knew like what kind
of stuff they were looking for.
Being a media studies major, do you feel like
you were able to really utilize that kind of
talking about your mother's death on TV?
media savvy to your advantage?
I knew they would ask about that, but it's not a hard
thing to talk about. It was hard in general, at
first, just to talk to the judges for the first time.
They kind of throw you in there, and they don't
tell you who you're about to talk to, because you
go through a series of interviews ... before the
show starts. I like to tell the story because I think
it's not something that a lot of people would ...
relate [to]. People just haven't really [met] a lot
of people who've been in a plane crash and sur-
I feel like I went in there knowing a little bit more
out in the world ... I also went in it, into the
whole show, in a different mind state than
a lot of the girls. A lot of the girls going into
it, well, their life dream is to become a model,
and that's always been how it is them, and for a
vived, so I guess I don't mind telling the story at
all. It's a pretty interesting one I guess.
How old were you when you and your
mother were in the plane crash?
That was in 1992, so I was almost 9.
Yeah, I did do some modeling. Nothing huge. Like
I was going to sign up with some agencies but
I had been moving around a lot - I've lived in
Oklahoma and Utah, and then different parts
recognize that there is a certain degree of
arranged drama in reality TV.
was that you had this personal trauma in
Actually the photographer [Tracy Bayne] was
looking for the models to be very soft ... very
like quiet and like beautiful, you know? And I
was like hoping that we could do something a
little wild . . . more facial expression and, you
know, things like that. I was pretty excited
about it, so I was disappointed with ... what
she was telling us to do, versus what I really
wanted to do in that shoot. I was also taking
99 percent of direction from the photographer
because I was like, alright, well this is how she's
going to do it, this is how she wants it. I'm just
going to do what she says. And I think that's
also why I went wrong on that photo shoot
- just listening to her so much, not [following] my own [instincts]. You gotta listen to
yoursel£
And yet you seem pretty savvy about it and
your background. How did you feel about
But that wasn't what happened.
Were you modeling before this?
maybe appreciate life more. But I'm definitely
the type of person who's willing to risk a lot
more than a lot of people I know. I just, I feel
that, you know. I feel like taking risks in life
is really important and experiencing as much
as possible is one of the most important parts
of life, and that's kind of one of the reasons I
ended up going on the show because it's like
one of those opportunities ... you don't come
across every day. You know, I'm not a fan of
reality TV; I'm not a fan of television in general. I don't even own a TV.
That must have been really hard, losing your
mom so young.
Yeah, it didn't make it any easier, that's for sure. It's
weird too ... it seemed like it wasn't as hard for
me when I was younger, but getting older and
through college and things like that seemed
to be the hardest part of not having a mom,
because I ended up not being quite as close to
my father. [Youjust need] somebody to confide
in, to talk about things and help you make plans.
And to have somebody who's ... in the back of
your head like this person's always gonna be
there. You know, that seemed like the hardest
part really was when I got older, not having her.
I put a lot of pressure on what I'm going to do
with my future. And what am I going to do
with my life? It would have helped to have a
mother in my life.
Do you feel like you learned something from
having gone through that?
I really do. I feel like it's made me, I don't know,
lot of the girls trying out for the show. But for
me, it wasn't. I mean, modeling is something
that's really fun but it's not as important to me
as other things, like career. [Modeling] is not
what I look for as a career. So I went into it
with a very laid-back state of mind. We'll see
what happens, and ... see how far I can get in it
and it doesn't matter what happens either way.
I was just excited to see what would happen,
what would come of it, and that was the most
exciting part for me.
Tell me about your new project.
I started a medical animation studio so it's geared
toward the medical industry especially for
pharmaceutical companies . . . to show how
any kind of [medication] functions in the body
on an intracellular level. It's really important
to me. Most people are so unaware of what
goes on in their body. A lot of people skipped
out on anatomy and physiology classes just
because it's not interesting to them, and so,
hearing that sort of thing, I wanted to create
some sort place where people could go and
they could find information but that's actually
visually interesting.
How fascinating. Were you doing this before
you were on Top Model?
Yeah. I'm still looking for investors right now
because we'd like to get a nice studio and
things like that, but right now we're doing
December 2006
I 49
start-up stuff.
You say, "we." Is that you and a business
partner or?
Me and a couple other people. I have a couple animators. I also have a collective that a friend and
I started. It's a collective of 15 individuals who
specialize in different things, from computer
animation to any kind of post-production. It's
basically like a post-production house.
And that's in San Francisco?
The collective? We're all over the states. Some of
us are in New York, some in L.A. and in San
Francisco.
I'm surprised that they didn't mention that
at all on the show. That seems like so much
more of an interesting moniker than just
"bartender from San Francisco."
Right! You know, it's so funny, because, I feel like they
did end up creating these characters so that, you
know, people could relate to them. Like, I was,
"Megan, 23, bartender:' I'm not really, Megan,
the animator, Megan the filmmaker, and you
know, that kind of thing. [Laughs]
One of the bloggers for Entertainment
Weekly described you as "Kim, but less
gay." Did you expect to get comparisons to
Kim Stolz?
I thought about it. I mean, it had crossed my mind
but ... it did surprise me a little bit. I'm like,
wow, I didn't know people would really pick up
on [me being lesbian].
In the past it seems like contestants have
had sort of mixed reactions to like, lesbian or
bi contestants. What was the response from
the girls that you were in the house with?
"I put a lot of pressure on what I'm going
to do with my future. And what am I going
to do with my life? It would have helped to
have a mother in my life."
It was actually kind of funny. Everyone seems so
fascinated. They're like, "Lesbian? What is
this lesbianism?" It was like, OK, yes! They
asked me questions . . . and it was kind of
cute. I swear, like 40 percent of the girls were
bi-curious at least. One [woman] was like, "If
I wasn't getting married next year, I would,
you know, totally date you:' I was completely
open about it on the show and I felt like, so
much of the conversation with the girls was
just like, "Tell me about lesbianism:' And they
didn't show any of that [on TV] and I was like,
hmm, I wonder why. I'm guessing that they
didn't want another Kim on the show, which
is understandable because they need to make
it different every time.
They did at least show you talking with your
girlfriend on the phone.
Yeah, they did it subtly. It was still kind of ambiguous to some people. I think that [viewers]
could be like, "Is it like a close friend? Is it girl
whose a friend?"
Are you and your girlfriend still together?
Yeah, we are still together.
soIcurve
What can tell me about your girlfriend?
Did you come out to your family at the
A few of the things that you've done are
She's a fabulous, intelligent, beautiful girl. She
graduated from the same university that I
graduated from (University of San Francisco],
but a year after me. She's 22. She's in PR and
marketing and ... she's a very gregarious person. I feel like ,she's my PR [person]. She's a
pretty awesome person.
same time?
things that fill people full of dread, like
Not at the same time. It took me a little bit longer
to tell my familyjust because, I didn't, you know
obviously I didn't know how they would react.
I came out to my dad like a couple years ago ...
about a year after Courtney and I began dating.
coming out, being on a reality TV show,
Did she encourage you to go on the show?
They were really supportive. My dad, yeah, it surprised me majorly. I was so scared to talk to my
family about it and I was scared even, to tell my
brother because ... I didn't want to lose their
respect in any way.And I wanted them to know
that just because of your sexual orientation,
you're still the same person, yada yada yada, that
sort of thing. Once I told them, they were like,
"You know what:' Whatever makes you happy,
I just want you to be happy:• They were a little
bit surprised. But at the same time, over time, it
was just like, it just is. It wasn't so much as, oh,
my sister or my daughter is a lesbian:' But more
like, oh, OK, she has a girlfriend, and that's that.
So it's much easier now.
A little bit. We were both kind oflike,"Oh, should
I do it:' You know, it could be fun just to see
what happens:' And she was like, "Yeah, do it!
It'll be awesome. You know, just go:'And I was
like, alright. I called her up waiting in line and
I'm like, "You know, there's like 2,000 people
here right now, I don't know if I want to do
this:' She's like, "Just keep doing it, just see how
far you get!" [Laughs]I was like, alright. Yeah,
she's great. She encourages me, and she's the
most supportive person in the world, which
helps me so much, just (by] believing in me.
Since she's in public relations, is she helping you figure out how to utilize your 15
Did your family's reaction surprise you at all?
minutes of fame?
What part of Megan before Top Model is dif-
Actually, it's kind of funny. Like last night, I'm in
New York right now and she's in San Francisco.
And she sent me an e-mail and she's like, "You
need to get contact information from every
publicist who's asked you questions and you
want a copy of this and that:' And I'm like,
0 K, 0 K. So she kind of tries to play that role
sometimes.
ferent from Megan now?
When did you know you were gay?
Well Courtney, the girl I'm with right now is
actually the first girlfriend I've ever had. It
was kind of funny how it worked out. (We
got together] three and a half years ago, so I
guess it was when I was 20. I had been dating guys before that. I was just like, nah, this
is boring. I didn't find a guy I ever liked, and
then I saw this woman around campus and I
was like, wow, this girl, she's just so beautiful.
It was kind of funny, because, a friend of mine
had had a class with her ... and she went up to
her without telling me one day, and was like,
"You know what:' I have this friend, she's tall,
she has blond hair and she kind of likes you:'
And she's like, "Hmm, OK. Does she have a
• name:"'
"Well, her name's Megan:'
"Wait, I think I know who you're talking about!"
She had been seeing me like 6 months ... noticing
me, and I guess she like liked me as well, so it
was kind of weird. Out of everybody at school,
or anywhere, we both like, kind of noticed each
other, and so we hit it off. Like, in three days, it
was like we were together.
In great lesbian fashion.
Yeah, yeah, really! [Laughs]
I don't think it's really affected me that much. I'm
pretty much the same person I was before.
One thing that always disappoints me is
when girls who make the top 10 cry when
they get sent home and say, "I can't believe I
failed at this." And I'm always thinking, out of
surviving a plane crash. Is there anything
that you fear?
Obviously there are things that scare me but
nothing ultimately scares me. There's always
recovery in any situation. Whether anything
happens, I feel like there's always a bright side
to it, so it's hard to say what one big fear of
mine would be because there is always a positive you can make out of any bad situation.
What are your hopes and dreams? ·
At this point, I have a list of goals ... things I have
to do before I die. Get my business up and
running. I really want to make a difference in
the medical industry. There's definitely a huge
need for it. I've been reading a lot of literature
on it.
I'm also in the midst of writing a screenplay; it's
kind of based on my life and certain things
that have happened. I'm partially into that,
about halfway, so I want to get that finished
and written by next May, and then I'd like to
put out a feature-length filmof that screenplay
by the time I'm 27. See, I've got like little age
goals. Maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't, but
it's what I'm shooting for. I'd like to continue
modeling ... but it's definitely not the ultimate
thing. It's not that I have to model; it's something that I enjoy doing.
all those people, you made it to the top 1O!
It's more of a hobby. You're not expecting to
Yeah, it's true. Yeah, it's good to strive for the best
.. . but, it's a reality TV show ... this isn't your
be Cindy Crawford .
modeling career. What was really disappointing was seeing how, like Monique for instance,
seeing how some of the girls acted. This is such
a good opportunity for them and they're taking it so far as to having such bad behavior. I
was so, just, taken back. I was like, wow, I can't
believe that they would act like this. I was like,
embarrassed for them. I was like, how could
you do this:' You have such a good opportunity and you' re being a crazy person.
Is there recourse for the women on there
who are nasty and sabotaging other women?
They have certain limits. They want that kind of
stuff on there. Like they want Monique there.
But you're not allowed to hit anybody. If you
hit anybody, you're out.
That's good, at least.
Yeah, no fights. We did end up telling one of the
directors and the producers about Monique
and they were like, ';\s long as she doesn't hit
you, we can't do anything:' That's about all
they do, say, "Hey you live with them, you put
yourself in the situation so you've got to fight
it out in front of the camera. Give us some
entertainment:'
Exactly.
Those are some lofty goals. It's better to
have one of those must-do-before-I-die lists
when you're 23 versus when you're 40 so
you have more time to get stuff done.
I suppose so. I'm looking at it at the point where
well, if it doesn't happen at least I have time to
do something ... more realistic.
Tell me what would surprise people to know
about you.
I don't know if it would ... but I'm definitely the
type of person who's willing to do almost anything within certain (boundaries]. That's not
surprising enough.
Well, being willing to do almost anything
legal is pretty surprising.
I want to go hang gliding. I've always wanted to
do that. People think that's scary. But then I
wouldn't go skydiving. Some people think it's
not (safer], but there's something about (hang
gliding] that sounds better than just dropping. Like those roller coaster rides that just go
straight down and you're sitting in a chair:' I'm
not in to that at all. ■
December 2006
I51
By Diane Anderson-Minshall
LesbianTheaterAwards
With so much emphasis on dykes in Hollywood, it's a surprise that the lesbians of theater get as little attention as
they do. After all, it's our theatrical thespian sisters - not Tinseltown - who weave rich tapestries of queer, feminist,
gender-bent and ethnically diverse imagery for the entire world to see. The hardest part is knowing that after their
12-week run, the story is over and the lesbian playwright, director or actor moves on to another story while the play
merely lingers in our memories. As a thanks for those memories, here are our 2006 Lesbian Theater Awards.
1.TheBreakUpNotebook:
TheLesbian
Musical(Hudson Backstage
Theatre, Los Angeles): The SoCal girls started the year off right
with playwright Patricia Cotter's hilariously sardonic comedy that
combined lesbian heartbreak (our lovely heroine, Helen, has just
been dumped), dyke dating, queer weddings and pop musical numbers to bring audiences to their feet. (hudsontheatre.com)
2. The Long ChrisbnasRide Home (Bobbindoctrin
Puppet
Theatre, Houston, Texas): Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre and
Unhinged Productions teamed up to produce the Houston premiere of The Long Christmas Ride Home, an adult puppet play by
lesbian and Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel that's not a thing
like Avenue Q. Fusing traditional theater and Bunraku puppet
techniques, the funny and heartening Long Christmas weaves a
52 Icurve
story about one troubled family on a snowy Christmas Eve. (bob
bindoctrin.org)
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3. Exposed:
Experiments
in Love,Sex,Death,Art (CounterPULSE,
San Francisco): The sold-out, West Coast premiere of Annie
Sprinkle's latest work, at the National Queer Arts Festival, set
audiences abuzz. Exposed takes place in a love laboratory, exploring everything from lesbian courtship and artificial insemination
to breast cancer and community. Audience members were given
the chance to interact with the lab technicians and real-life lovers,
Sprinkle and professor and experimental artist Elizabeth Stephens.
(loveartlab.com)
4. DoesThis Monologue
Make Me LookFat? (The Columbus
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National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival, Columbus, Ohio): Minneapolis
playwright and actor Amy Salloway's utterly fearless, absolutely hysterical
confessional goes through seven intersecting stories - covering everything
from her rebel uterus to a surrealist lesbian adventure - about one woman
finding self-acceptance. It won Columbus' award for Best Comedy Solo Show,
which was of little surprise. (columbustheatrefestival.com)
8. Allthe KingsMen(Various locations, Boston): It's not easy to dismiss the
Kings as a simple drag troupe when their performances are superb comic storytelling set to music in a modernist twist on Shakespeare. (atkm.com)
9. WhyD'YaMakeMe WearThis,Joe?(Fresh Fruit Festival, New York): The
story of two women falling in love with each other while their fiances are off
to war in the South Pacific,Joe is lovingly performed as a 1940s-ish female
5. Strippedand Teased:Scandalous
StoriesWith SubversiveSubplots version of Brokeback Mountain (minus Ang Lee) written by awa~d-winning
(International Gay and Lesbian Theater Festival, Montreal, Canada): Queer
director Vanda and directed by Melissa Attebery. (freshfruitfestival.com)
performance artist Kimberly Darlc's compelling one-woman show looks at
strippers and consumers and posits questions about the ways women "con- 10. MasteringSex& Tortillas!(La Pena Cultural Center, Berkeley, Calif.):
struct" themselves for social viewing. (kimberlydark.com)
This sexy and erotic comedy tackles race, sex, gender and immigration (hey,
6 TheHarlemRenaissance
(BlackOut 2006, Charlotte, N.C.): At BlackOut
2006, this first annual theater event in North Carolina, a multiple actor, dancer, musician and spoken-word artist production offered up a fascinating view
of the-impact of LGBT and same-gender-loving black people in history, including Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Langston Hughes. (carolinasblackpride
movement.com)
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7 Playmakingfor Girls (7 Stages Main Stage Theatre, Atlanta): In
Synchronicity Performance Group's one-night-only production, teenage girls
recently released from Atlanta detention centers gathered to perform eight
hard-hitting short plays based on their lives. By integrating the young actors
with seasoned pros, the plays take on a level of depth and personal intimacy
that audience-driven works often lack, and as such they become powerful
tools for validating these girls' voices. (synchrotheatre.com)
they make it all work) from a queer Chicana perspective. Partners Adelina
Anthony and Coral Lopez are an absolute riot (Anthony's high-femme professor of Lesbian 101 is screamingly funny), and viewers will never look at a
tortilla the same way again. (adelinaanthony.com)
Honorable
Mentions:
TheIdiotKingat Wow Cafe, New York; TheTwelveDays
of Cochinaat Theatre Rhinoceros, San Francisco; Beautyandthe Breastat
Exit Theatre, San Francisco; CagedDamesat Bailiwick Repertory Theatre,
Chicago; QueerWeddingSweet A Fabulous
JewishWeddingMusicaland
QueerVaudeville
Extravaganza
at the Jewish Community Center, New York;
WonderWoman:The Musicalat the Columbus National Gay and Lesbian
Theatre Festival; My YolandaLoveat Queer Soup Theater, Boston; The
Children's
Hourat TimeLine Theatre, Chicago. ■
For more about lesbian theater, go to curvemag.com.
December 2006
I53
By Kathy Beige
The Stand-up Storyteller
Human behavior fascinates 37 -year-old sociologist Kimberly Dark. She thinks other people are interested too, but they would never
read a boring sociology text or journal. So
she's turned her research into performance.
"I don't write fiction;' Dark says. ';\.11of
the stories I tell, they're funny and entertaining, but they also have some kind of social
issue that causes people to think and talk
about things later:'
Dark says her style is more like stand-up
comedy than traditional theater.
"It's not a traditional theater show where
there is a fourth wall and the audience and I
never really speak to each other;' she says. Dark
also changes the material, depending on the
audience. "I teach gender studies and there's
a piece of me that likes to find the teaching
moment with the audience;' she says.
Dark has been performing spoken word
for seven years. She got her start at the San
Diego Gay and Lesbian Center where she
gained a reputation as "the poet who wasn't
boring:' She competed in poetry slams while
completing her graduate degree. "I believe as
soon as you stand up and read something, it's
not just a poem anymore. It is a performance;'
she says.
Her latest one-woman show, Stripped and
Teased: Scandalous Stories With Subversive
Subplots, explores gender issues via stories about sex workers and their patrons.
Three pieces form the center of the show, "Strippers and Waitresses;'
"Strippers and Soldiers" and "Strippers and Lesbians:' The show garnered this year's award for Best Improvisational/Spoken Word at the
Columbus Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival in Ohio.
In the story about lesbians, Dark talks about an ex-lover who
enjoyed going to strip clubs and had occasional fantasies about the
women. Without judgment, Dark explores the power dynamic of the
dancers and the patrons.
From the piece"Strippers and Lesbians": "One fantasy that she entertained is that the dancers liked her and her friends better than they
liked the men. Well, let's say they did. Maybe they felt less stressed,
more appreciated .... But is this what's really involved in liking somebody? One party is clothed, safe, the subject of the story, no matter how
the story reads. One party has the money, the car in the parking lot, the
friends at the bar. One party is wearing shoes you could run in if you
needed to:'
Strip clubs are one place where gender roles are strictly enforced, she
contends. The dancers embody submission, sexuality,helplessness,flirtation
and prettiness. "Men are also doing gender in a really prescribed fashion;'
she says.'They are there to pay and objectify.We live in a time where we're
told women have equality and that women have the ability to have anything
54
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a man can have. But part of what a man has is power over women:'
One way Dark flips the power dynamic is just by telling these stories. "Women don't often get to see their lives represented onstage,
especially lesbians:'
Dark has completed three other performance pieces, including the
popular Butch/Femme Chronicles, in which she explored why most lesbians don't identify as butch or femme, yet the language is pervasive in
our culture. 'Tm interested in how a two-gender system is recreated by
people within one gender;' she says.
One look at Dade's long hair, painted fingernails and sculpted eyebrows would cause most people to put her in the "femme" box, but,
she admits, "I was uncomfortable with the label for the same reasons
I think many people are: you don't have a line-item veto. Being femme
means you're helpless, it means you're high maintenance, it means
you're not capable of doing things. There's negative stuff that goes
along with the positive:'
Since performing Butch/Femme Chronicles, she has come to embrace
the term more for hersel£ "Everything I write, including the political
stuff, is terribly personal to me. I'm really exposed onstage;' she says. ■
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By Catherine Plato
AnotherLittlePiece of Our Hearts
The idea of a musical,based on the life of Janis Joplin was a little hard for me to
swallow at first. Musical theater makes me think of Rodgers and Hammerstein,
an army of scantily clad tap dancers and impossibly happy endings - in a word,
"cheese:'Where would the rock icon hersel£ a heroin-addicted blues singer who
suffered a premature and tragic death, fit into the picture? It seemed to make
only marginally more sense than Kurt Cobain: The Musical.
The script of Love,Janis was adapted from a book of the same name, a collection of Joplin's own letters compiled by her younger sister, Laura. Lured by San
Francisco's famous rising hippie scene, Joplin lefr her Texas home in her early
20s, and Love, Janis begins around the time of her arrival in San Francisco.
Comprised almost entirely of Joplin's own letters, interviews and songs,
the play documents Joplin's rise to fame until her
untimely death in 1970. In addition to showing
Joplin's well-known wild and charismatic personality, it also reveals her as a sensitive, ambitious and
articulate woman. Director Randal Myler successfully entertains while artfully taming the cheese.
Other than a backing band with a few odd lines,
the play is a two-woman show. Look-alike Morgan
Hallett plays "speaking Janis;' while "singing Janis"
is played by Cathy Richardson, an alt-country
and rock singer, as well as a super sexy out lesbian. Because of the role's intense vocal demands,
Richardson alternates performances with another
singer - most recently, Katrina Chester.
Tall, blond and fair-skinned, Richardson doesn't
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bear a great physical resemblance to Joplin, though
hearing her sing, you'd swear she was the real deal.
Every note, every throaty twangy warble, lets you
believe, if only for a minute, that you've seen the
original. "(The role required] a lot of research;'
admits Richardson, who listened to Joplin's recordings hundreds of times in preparation. 'Tve done
the show a few hundred times, and in that amount
of time you can really craft something ... I did completely lose myself there for a while there:'
The native Chicagoan joined the show's original
cast in 1999. The role had first been offered to singer
Beth Hart, who stepped down at the last minute. A
friend of Richardson then told her about the role.
"I kind of was interested but didn't think it was my
thing. I don't do theater; I don't sound like Janis
Joplin;' Richardson says. "(But] I came and sang a
few songs, and the whole time they were like, 'She
looks like Beth, she sounds like Beth, she'll definitely fit in Beth's costumes. We won't even have to
make new costumes! She's perfect!'"
After touring throughout the U.S., Richardson
found it especially exciting to do the show in San
Francisco, where Joplin lived and performed during
the height of her career. "(In San Francisco] there's
this total other wave of information that's just anecdotal from people that knew her;' she says.Joplin
was widely rumored to be bisexual, and according to Richardson, the rumors
seem to have a pretty solid basis. 'Tm just astounded at the sheer amount of
people that she's slept with .... It's really been funny to me, all these people
- men and women alike. These women are in their 60s, and they still get that
twinkle in their eye when they talk about it:'
Love, Janis has already extended its run several weeks in San Francisco;
tour plans after that have not yet been confirmed. ■
Check curvemag.com for our full interview with Cathy Richardson, as well as
updates on when Love, Janis may be hitting your hometown.
Theater Profiles continued on page 72
Most of the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival happens in the
dark, but some of it goes on through the wee hours until sunlight
floods the mini,bars of South Beach's countless boutique hotels.
And while the eighth annual film fest last April focused on show,
casing up,and,coming filmmakers, there was also a fair amount of
people,watching and heat,inspired exhibitionism to be had. Miami
makes for a hotbed of revelers of various body types, all baring parts
that would generally remain under wraps. As often as you can stir
your mojito with a sliver of sugar cane, men and women parade past
South Beach's fabulous sidewalk cafes sporting mostly skin and the
occasional strategically placed swatch of fabric.
Replete with art deco boutique hotels, designer shops and side,
walk cafes all situated across from its famous beaches, South Beach's
Ocean Drive is a voyeur's paradise and a great warm,up before some
prolonged cinephilia once the sun goes down. Merely a month after
Brokeback Mountain grabbed the Oscar for best director, the Miami
film festival showcased LGBT,themed features, documentaries and
shorts that would have left those stodgy Academy Awards voters
- who were gobsmacked by Jake Gyllenhaal's and Heath Ledger's
fresh,air frontal fumbling - absolutely apoplectic.
My Miami home was the Park Central Hotel, a slice of art deco
During my first day's stroll down Ocean Drive to check out
the Versace Mansion, in my typical fashion, I missed the bus to
the opening night screening of Manuel Gomez Pereira's Spanish,
language farce Reinas (Queens), starring three of Pedro Almodovar's
lady muses. A lovely pair of lesbian filmmakers, producer Maya
Gallus and director Justine Pimlott, who were also bedding down at
the Park Central, offered to share their ride with me, but vanity got
the better of me and after a five,minute hair,straightening, MAC,
lipstick,applying, low,cut top,changing session, I'd missed that ride
and was in a cab headed in the wrong direction.
One $25 cab ride later, I arrived at the opening night venue, the
Gusman Center in downtown Miami, and on a post,coffee mad dash
to the women's room, I quite literally ran into one of the fest's co,
directors, Carol Coombes, a lovely Englishwoman with a fiery,red
Louise Brooks coiffure and lipstick to match. After the screening, I
attached myself to the filmmakers whose ride I'd missed, Pimlott and
Gallus, who were presenting their documentary Fag Hags: Women
Who Love Gay Men.
They kindly adopted me for the rest of the fest, saving me from
appearing like a desperate lesbian alone in South Beach. The opening
night gala at Club Space Miami offered a flowing chocolate fondue,
The Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival feels a lot like a very sexy, queer
version of Cannes. No wonder lesbians love it. By Tracy E. Gilchrist
history located on Ocean Drive, about 300 yards from the Atlantic
Ocean where, on sandy white beaches, beautiful girls and boys in
every possible combination slather one another with lotion. The
hotel's funky stationery and fancy herb,scented bathroom sundries
are nothing compared to the mini,bar, which is illuminated from the
inside like the Hope Diamond on display and stocked with top,shelf
liquors and champagne. Feeling naughty and assuming that a late,
morning cocktail was compulsory in Miami, I poured an Absolut
and soda and prepared to nap my first Miami afternoon away in a
room I could only assume had an illicit history.
I woke up refreshed and ready to dive into the local culture. But
first I needed a sexy swimsuit, so I bit the body,image bullet and
tried on a bikini top and boy,short bottoms while a Mary,Kate
Olsen,sized salesgirl watched. I bought the first bikini I'd worn since
I was 10. (Since 1996, I've worn a practical and unrevealing Speedo
tankini, but it wouldn't suffice for South Beach.)
I had been hoping for some late,night elbow rubbing, while
carrying a flute of champagne in a hot tub, with the fest's celebrity
attendees, hence the need for a hot bathing suit. Plus, celebrities
were on my list of vetted possible hook,ups.
The closest I got to a celebrity was when Peter Paige, Queer as
Folk's Emmett Honeycutt, there representing his film Say Uncle,
caught me stuffing a wad of nachos in my mouth at a party at the
National Hotel - home of South Beach's 250,foot,long swimming
pool. However, I did get into the South Beach spirit throughout my
trip and bared myself up and down the strip in my spanking new
bikini, feeling as confident as if I'd been sporting my favorite jeans.
56 j curve
comparable to Rome's Trevi Fountain, at which partygoers savored
chocolate,dipped ladyfingers.
Bronzed, nubile men and women dressed as Greek gods and
women donned in French Renaissance garb (complete with white,
powdered wigs and pancake makeup) glided through the crowd of
pristinely clad cinephiles. There was even a muscled, single,horned,
silver,painted boy who galloped through the party, proving indeed
that the unicorn is not a myth.
Loving Annabelle, a love story for any lesbian who's ever been
crushed out on a teacher or has a Catholic schoolgirl uniform fetish,
served as the lesbian centerpiece on the first Saturday of the fest.
Annabelle's sexy and slightly tough director Katherine Brooks was
on hand before the screening to begin the titillation.
Annabelle's screening served as a warm,up for another sold,out
night of lesbian short films on Sunday. The shorts program, titled
"What Girls Like;' featured Hung, a 12,minute paean by The L
Word's Guinevere Turner to wielding a penis for a day, followed by
Jennie Livingston's Whos the Top, a Fellini, and Busby Berkeley,
esque lesbian SIM film and a personal favorite of mine. And Attack of
the Bride Monster - a short that utilized camp and horror elements
to illustrate that lesbians, too, can become bridezillas - proved to
be a crowd,pleaser. Its writer, Austin,based Leslie Belt, admittedly
penned the main character after hersel£
If uniform,clad hot actors weren't enough for the sold,out crowd
that night, there was more girl,watching to do Saturday evening at
the all,women after party at Siren on Lincoln Road, a strip teeming
A Look Back at Miami continued on page 59
Lesbian director Katherine Brooks talks about making one of the year's
most controversial films, Loving Annabelle. By Tracy E. Gilchrist
Katherine Brooks has gone from directing some of the most iconic and influential small-screen duos in history
to
writing and direct-
ing an award-winning feature about a bad girl sent off to Catholic school and the conflicted female teacher she seduces, reminiscent
of the lesbian cult classic Madchen in Uniform. While directing reality TV series, including The Simple Life, The Osbournes, The Real
World and Meet the Barkers, Brooks tangled with the likes of Paris and Nicole, Ozzy and Sharon, and Nick and Jessica, but this sum-
mer she wowed (and shocked) lesbian audiences at film festivals throughout the country with Loving Annabelle, which snagged the
Los Angeles Outfest's Outstanding Narrative Feature Award in July. Now that this indie hit (the film's MySpace page has more than
12,500 friends already) heads to DVD - Wolfe Video releases it on Dec.12 -
fans will have even more to talk about with deleted
scenes, an alternate ending and a behind-the-scenes featurette. We look back at the year's most debated film with auteur Brooks.
It's clear that the classic Madchen in Uniform informed Lav-
Why did you want to write about a teacher-student
your coming out?
romance? Was there a special pedagogue in your life?
I saw Madchen in Uniform eight years ago, and I found myself
engaged in the issue of student-teacher relationships. It inspired
me to explore the relationship between a teacher and student
The teacher-student idea came from the German film Madchen in
on a more sexual and emotional level, rather than a younger girl
searching for a mother figure within her teacher.
Catholic schoolgirl fetishes are rampant these days - at
least in my world. Did you go to Catholic school? Or did you
have any crushes on girls in plaid skirts and knee-highs
when you were in high school?
I went to public school and down the street was an all-girls Catholic
school, and I just really loved their uniforms. I never had any
crushes, but I always wanted to go to their school so I could wear
58
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the uniform. Guess I have a little fetish. [Laughs]
ing Annabelle's subject matter. Was that film influential in
Uniform that was about a young girl who had a crush on her
teacher. I really wanted to explore the emotional and sexual
dynamic of a teacher-student relationship. I've never had a crush
on a teacher, but I've always been attracted to older women ....
Especially women that are emotionally shut off. When I started
writing Annabelle,I was 28. So, I'd had a lot of time to really
work through my issues of being drawn to women like Simone
[played by Diane Gaidry ], who have a hard time opening up to
love. So, I think I was a lot like Annabelle [played by Erin Kelly]
and naturally transformed into Simone. And now I'm a nice
mixture of both.
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When I started writing the script eight years ago, I was a lot like
Annabelle. I was very drawn to emotionally shut down older
women. But as I got older and experienced more, especially in
regards to heartbreak, I began to dissolve more into Simone.
By the time the script was done I felt I was a combination of
them both.
Why do you think Simone broke the teacher-student taboo
and risked her career?
An environment like that is like a fishbowl. She grew up there and
should have known how dangerous it would be. Simone is like a
cat trapped in a cage. She has grown so tired of her life but has
no idea how to get out of it. She's stuck. Sometimes, when you're
in an intense situation, it's hard to see the risk and consequence
factor because you are so swept up in the emotion.
Besides the fact that Annabelle is stunning and seductive,
From left: Justine Pimlott, Tracy E. Gilchrist, Carol Coombes, Susan Stryker and
Maya Gallus enjoy the News Cafe brunch honoring the filmmakers.
does Simone have other motivations for being in a relationship with her?
Simone feels like Annabelle can really "see' her. Although it scares
her, she is also drawn to the attention and intensity that
Annabelle gives her. She feels safe to be herself, and in that safety
her walls begin to come down.
How did you find your lead actors who played Annabelle
and Simone?
I met Erin (Kelly] five years ago at a play. I knew when I first laid
eyes on her that she was Annabelle. Over the next five years,
we workshopped the script together. Diane came on three days
before shooting. We had lost our other lead, and she literally had
to jump right in.
What location stood in for the school? Was it actually a
Catholic boarding school?
It was shot at a Catholic high school in Pasadena [Cali£].
Your film focuses on the build-up to the love relationship
more than on the moment they consummate it. But the sex
is hot. In this post-L Word climate of steamy lesbian sex on
pay television, did you feel like you had to up the ante?
Yes,I did. I also wanted to create a sex scene that was real. My biggest
issue with sex scenes in movies is when there is so much sexual
tension created and then you get to see them kiss for 20 seconds
and then a long fade-out to hands holding ... bugs the shit out of
me. I wanted to have a nice payoff for all the sexual tension.
How have people responded to the film in terms of the ethical issues it poses because Annabelle is only 17?
I've been questioned on the morality issue, and I always say the same
thing: I don't believe we have the right to judge a situation that
we are not directly involved in.
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What can you tell me about your next project?
It's a.supernatural thriller that takes place in New Orleans involving
one of the most haunted houses in the French Quarter. It's also
a true story and has been quite an intense journey for me. It's
called The Curse on 1140 Royal Street.
You've worked extensively on reality television and you
directed a short film. Did you exercise some fresh directing
muscles shooting a feature?
The whole idea of reality is to capture and create real moments ...
which is the biggest challenge in a movie - bringing truth to a
scene and making it real. The two mediums are more alike than
I thought. ■
A Look Back at Miami continued from page 56
with sushi, South American cuisine and designer shops.
After some techno-thumping at Siren, I skipped over to the film festival's
piano-bar party at the National Hotel, and within moments I had joined an
audience singalong of "Que Sera Sera" with a roomful of Miami-bronzed
gay men.
After a couple of tropical martinis and exhausting the Kander and Ebb
songbook, I headed back to the lesbian bash at Siren with two dykes (an excouple, of course) who'd befriended me. We walked via a boardwalk that begins
where the National's 250-foot swimming pool ends and feels kind oflike you're
walking in one of those secret passageways in the board game Clue.
My new friends parted ways when one wobbled home from the bar and the
other, a Miami-based Hollywood location scout, made some overtures to make
breakfast for me. I'm not big on breakfast and she wasn't a celebrity, so we said
goodbye in a cab and I rolled into my room, raided the mini-bar for some $12
nuts and $8 Pringles then fell asleep in one of my voluptuous beds.
Sunday brunch at News Cafe on Ocean Drive brought me together - over
several cups of coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice - with festival co-director
Coombes, filmmakers Pimlott and Gallus, trans activist Susan Stryker (who codirected Screaming Queens: The Riot at Comptons Cafeteria) and Raymond Lee,
producer of the Filipino film The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros.
Since I'm a film reviewer and not a film star (the difference being that I
dine with celebs one day and then spend the next begging the nice women at
my bank not to charge me overdraft fees), I only indulged in one big dinner
out. I went along with Pimlott and Gallus to Lincoln Road's Doraku, which
features sushi, sake and music in a mellow Japanese teahouse. Wed just spent
the day swimming and sipping Coronas on the beach as the body parts wed
missed with SPF 89 burned, while less timid women shed their bikini tops and
lounged topless under their umbrellas. Doraku's exquisitely prepared sushi
was just right to top off the day.
I had my first literal taste of a Miami beach a few days earlier at the gay
beach - a swath of sand on South Beach about 100 yards long and demarcated by rainbow flags at each end - where I pretended to read a Susan Sontag
novel and occasionally glanced up over my highlighter to stare at the buff bodies frolicking in the waves. A few topless lesbians dotted towels, but the gay
beach really belongs to the boys.
After four days of cinema and lots of skin and cocktails, I was on a plane
headed home with memories of sun, sand and a queer film experience a bit like
a mini-Cannes. I'll definitely be back. And now that all of South Beach has
seen my ass thanks to that new bikini, maybe next time I'll go European and
troll the beaches sans bikini top. ■
December 2006
I59
Lesbians helmed two of the y
the women behind Fabulous! a
Dreya Weber, actor and
producer of The Gymnast
The aerial dance sequences are stunning. In a
studio movie, stunt doubles would have done
those scenes. How were they done in your film?
All of the aerials in The Gymnastwere performed by
the actors in the film. There's no trick photography,
computer generation or stunt doubles. Everything
you see on-screen was real. I have been doing aerials
for 12 years and was hired to choreograph the aerial
numbers for Cher's Living Proof Farewell Tour, teach
aerials to the dancers and dance on the tour myselL
That is how I met Addie Yungmee, who plays Serena.
She and I trained for the film onstage ... in arenas all
over the world.
Ned Farr, the writer-director of the film, has said
that he based the character of Jane on you. Can
Lesli Klainberg, co-director of Fabulous! The
Story of Queer Cinema
you tell us what you have in common with your
Many of the comments by the people you interviewed were hysterical. Who
character?
cracked you up the most?
When you make independent films you have to use
what you've got. I tore my Achilles while I was performing onstage, so the scar is real. I was a competi-
Dan Bucatinsky and Don Roos [director of Happy Endings,The Oppositeof Sex] are
tive gymnast but not at the level that Jane was in our
film. Emotionally, we are very different. When I was
first w~rking on the character, I didn't like her passivity. But then I found the tough survivalist in Jane
that had managed to stay alive in spite of all the safe
and small choices she had made after her early disappointment. When I found that, I started to have so
much compassion for her that I really grew to love
her and her journey of rediscovery.
extremely funny fellows and they're friends of mine and I specifically wanted to
interview them together.
They're like a comedy team.
They are. They're a couple, they've been a couple for 14 years. My partner and I have been
together as long as they've been together. I've actually known Dan since we were 6
or 7 years old. He's extremely funny, Don is extremely funny and together the two of
them are just riffing off each other.
One thing that I loved was the dykesploitation poster, "Ingrid said yes, Lisa
said yes and Nils didn't say nol"
I love that, too.
And the film clip where they have the butch dyke, and they say -
What was your coming-out experience like?
"The bull dyke will now do her work!"
I was in my mid-20s when I started to be able to articulate my personal expressions of sexuality, and since
that time I have always defined myself as omnisexual.
I feel alternately sad and frustrated that we have to
define our sexuality at all though, because everyone
should feel free enough to love anyone and not have
love restricted by gender orientation.
And she's lowering herself over you with her mouth open and horror music is
What did you want to the message of this film
wanted to see a girl kiss another girl. I wanted to kiss another girl but if I
to be?
couldn't do it, I wanted to see somebody do it. I wanted to see them holding
We need more movies that have complex portraits of
hands, I wanted to feel what that would be like, through them."
life.We need to be told stories that encourage bravery. And we really need more movies that celebrate
women's strength. ■
60
Icurve
playing in the background.
I have to say that dykesploitation stuff is the gem of this movie. It's not really queer cinema
... it's lesbian representation, but not what we had in mind. They were made for straight
guys but we look at them now and say,"Oh my god, that is so great!" ... I wait every time
in the screening for that dykesploitation scene and people just howl, they scream!
One of the most hearfelt moments was when Heather Matarazzo says, "I just
I'm in my 40s and I remember what it was like to not have those images. What it was
like to grow up where you were really hungry for it. A big part of our story is this
idea of seeing yourself reflected on the screen and the hunger for that. You can't
underestimate the power that these images have for everyone. ■
Reviews
Sapphic Screen
Music to Our Queer Ears
I
From hip--hop to punk rock, these music docs rock our world. By Catherine Plato
EDITOR'S
PICK
TheWire:The
Complete
ThirdSeason
(HBO):
Lesbian
detective
Shakima
Greggs
is on
thesideof a losingbattle
overBaltimore's
drug
war./Jes
sheandher
policepeepstry to take
downStringerBelland
theBarksdale
gang,other
divisions
arebattling
theVietnam-style
pileup
of drugrelatedDO/Jes
in a whollyuniqueand
controversial
way.Even
better,Greggs,
always
themoralcenterof a
Whether she's into rap or rock, the music lover in your life will
showaboutadulterous
dig this month's picks. Pick up the Mic explores the thriving
copsbattlingaddictions
andequallycomplex underground homohop scene, while Rise Above looks at the
criminals
creatingfamily history of the iconic queercore band Tribe 8. Wherever your
amongtheirtreacherous musical tastes may lie, a few fine ladies with a good sense of
empires,
letsthatrolego rhythm sure know how to hold our attention.
andshowsusthesideof
herselfthat'sa lot more Pick up the Mic: The Revolution of Homohop (Planet
likeherwomanizing Janice Films)
partnerMcNulty
thanwe To the uninitiated,'queer hip-hop" sounds like a bit of an oxymocouldhaveeverimag- ron. Hip-hop often means beefy,ultrahetero men, necks adorned
ined.(hbo.com)
- Diane
with bling and lyrics rife with misogyny and homophobia.
Anderson-Minshall
But Pick up the Mic reveals how - despite the current state
of the mainstream - hip-hop's roots in social protest actually
make it the perfect forum for queer artists. Interviewing rappers that cover the entire spectrum of L, G, B and T, director Alex Hinton introduces a thriving underground scene that
spans across gender, race lines and geography.
So is your average homohopper primarily an activist, intentionally exploiting an exclusive scene, or just an artist who's
picked an unlikely medium? The question takes center stage
toward the end of the documentary, as artists discuss their role
within or outside of mainstream hip-hop. While some artists
insist on staying underground and playing at primarily queer
events, others see their identity as incidental, and not a defining
part of their sound. As Miss Money, a Houston-based gospel
singer, producer and queer rapper states, 'Tm a hip-hop artist
who's gay - I don't do 'gay' hip-hop:'
Either way, there's a lot to be said for the dozen-plus artists
62
Icurve
in Pick up the Mic who actively defeat stereotypes, challenge our
expectations and sound damn good while doing it. Lesbians
will love the dyke duo Scream Club, as well as recent CURVE
interviewees JenRO and Katastrophe and Michfest favorites
God-des & She. (pickupthemic.com)
Rise Above: The Tribe 8 Documentary (Red Hills
Films)
Director Tracy Flannigan leaves no rock unturned in this
energetic and entertaining look at San Francisco's premier
queercore punk band. Founded in 1992 by Leslie Mah, Silas
"Flipper" Howard and Lynn Breedlove, Tribe 8 went on to
shock, amuse and inspire audiences for years.
Dykes who never experienced Tribe 8 live will love the
concert footage. Famous for their wild onstage antics, the band
regularly played topless, performing a mid-song mock castration or blow job. This made them unpopular with certain
crowds, notably some conservative feminists at the Michigan
Womyn's Music Festival, who claimed that a Tribe 8 show
could be traumatic for survivors of sexual abuse. But rather
than portraying Tribe 8 as one-dimensional shock rockers, Rise
Above gives a personal and introspective look at the women
behind the music. The band responds to the Michigan protesters, explains the meaning behind the spectacle and confesses
their own personal histories and insecurities. Flannigan reveals
the band as five individual, sensitive and highly intelligent
women, making their story all the more exciting. (riseabovethe
tribe8documentary .com) ■
I
'·
DVD PICKS
1ur
ms
:VE
tes
riis
ier
las
to
he
nd
ts,
tin
an
~w
1er
ise
en
es
us
nt
J,e
amenities,
relationships
and
themselves
- onstageandoff.
Meyerson's
cameracapturesthe
comicsin performance
withtheir
fanseatingup momentslike
flannel-wearing
butchMatthews
regalingfanswithtalesof barely
conquering
a bunnyslope.But
Meyerson
goesbehindthe
scenesin a round-table
discussionwherethe womengeta
littlemorepersonal,
provingthat
TheDevilWearsPrada(Fox):
a littlehumorin life goesa long
Sure,therearemoreimportant
way.Hicks,thefirstAfricanmoviesbutwatchingMeryl
American
womannominated
Streepas MirandaPriestly,
the
for BestFemaleStand-upat the
notoriously
icycooleditorof
American
Comedy
Awards,dares
Runwaymagazine,
dominates
heraudiences
to laughat her
thefashionworldwitha finely
dissection
of African-American
manicured
fist is ascloseto
names,whileKurt,a Toronto
nirvanaas I'vebeenin months.
nativewhowonFunniestFemale
WithDVDI cangetthereagain.
Comicat the Canadian
Comedy
(foxhome.com)
- DAM
Awards,nailstheAmerica's
obsession
withconvenience
In MyFather'sChurch
(women andall-nightshopping.The
MakeMovies):
In herbeautiful, film will soonpremiereonthe
unpretentious
andutterlyspellLogochannel.(alloutfilms.com)
bindingdocumentary,
Charissa - TracyE.Gilchrist
E.Kingtakesuswith heron her
pathto gettingmarriedto her
Looking
forCheyenne
(here!
partnerKelly.King'sfatheris a
Films):In herdebutfeature,
UnitedMethodist
pastor,dearly
directorValerieMinettoleads
belovedby hisdaughter.
Butcan hercharacters
ona journeyof
sheaskhimto officiatetheir
self-discovery.
Cheyenne,
played
marriageceremony?
In 1999,
byMilaDekker,
is anout-ofanotherUnitedMethodist
pastor workjournalist,disenchanted
wassuspended
for officiatinga
withmodernpoliticsandmoney,
same-sexunion.If King'sfather
whochecksoutonlifeandher
saysyes,hisjob is injeopardy.If
girlfriendto liveoff thelandwhile
hesaysno,howcanhisdaughter herabandoned
girlfriendSonia
dealwith hisrefusal?Thehurtof (AureliaPetit)struggles
to fill the
rejectionshefeelsbythechurch emotional
gapleftbehind.While
shegrewup in,andstill believes Cheyenne
self-sufficiently
rides
is herspiritualhome,is a matter herbikeanddigsthroughtrash
manylesbiansandgayscan
for food,Soniaengages
in an
relateto. Butfor King,the issue
affairwithPierre,ananarchist
is particularly
personal,
complex whoignoresSonia'sidentity
andhe~rt-wrenching.
(wmm.
asa lesbian.Unsatisfied,
Sonia
com)- UrsulaSteck
takesupwiththecontrolling
and
emotionally
damaged
Beatrice.
Laughing
MattersMore(AllOut Twofailedloveaffairsleave
Films):Whosayslesbiansaren't Sonialonelierthanbefore,sendfunny?Filmmaker
anddocumen- ingherin searchof hertruelove,
tarianAndreaMeyerson
smashes Cheyenne.
Beautifully
shotand
thatoldstereotype
onceagain
achingwithsensuality,
Looking
withthisaward-winning
followtor Cheyenne,
likeanenduring
up,in whichcomicsElvira
relationship,
traverses
theterrain
Kurt,ReneHicks,VickieShaw
of love,politics,compromise
and
andSabrinaMatthewsskewer
identity.(heretv.com)-TEG
politics,race,aging,modern
llil Alexander
IFILMMAKERI
Four years of hard work finally paid off for Israeli filmmaker Ilil Alexander, whose
documentary KeepNot Silentwon the Israeli Academy Award for Best Documentary
in 2004. The film tells the stories of three Orthodox Jewish lesbians living in a con,
servative Israeli community and meeting covertly as the "Orthodykes:' Each woman
finds a unique way to deal with her sexuality in the midst of severe societal disap,
proval: Yudith comes out, Miriam,Ester stays closeted, and Ruth enjoys a long,term,
husband,sanctioned affair with a female lover. In respecting the women's distinctive
privacy concerns, Alexander creatively found ways to reveal their stories while con,
cealing their identities. -
CatherinePlato
Were there moments when you thought this film might not happen?
Yeah, many times! In a documentary, you are always trying to reveal some,
thing, but I was also always trying to hide something. It was like I was fight,
ing the nature of cinema. I had never seen a documentary where you didn't
see the faces of the characters, and I was worried that I couldn't portray the
women in an honorable, honest way without showing their faces.
How was the film received in the Orthodox community?
Very well in the places we were showing it. I've heard there are lots of pirate
tapes and DVDs of it in those communities. I'm happy; whoever watches the
film will see that it's not anti,religion. It brings forth the voices of women in
the community and portrays the beauty of the religion .... So many people
commented ... that they were surprised at how open,minded the Orthodox
community was.
Did you go into the project with any stereotypes of your own?
In the beginning, I saw these Orthodox women as victims of their society,
forced to conform and be like everyone else. But then I realized that it's their
choice, and that they were much more independent than I had assumed.
Ruth, for example, became religious as an adult; she sought it out on her
own. She wanted spirituality for herself. (The Orthodox community] is not
that different from any another society. People are people. You can find open,
minded or narrow,minded people anywhere. The leadership is what's differ,
ent, and maybe the leadership leans more to the conservative side. ■
December 2006
I63
Reviews
In the Stacks
Retro Reading List
I
Lesbian pioneers and one prolific writer make our hit list. By Rachel Pepper
EDITOR'S
PICK
As 2006 draws to a close, what better time to look back at our
own history and the women who helped shape modern lesbian
culture long before CURVE hit the scene. Historian Marcia Gallo
gives us a look at some of the pioneers of the LGBT movement
in DifferentDaughters,while Marijane Meaker's SpringFirestill
sizzles 50 years after its first printing.
Spring Fire, Marijane Meaker {Cleis Press)
Don'tKissMe: The Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters
Art of ClaudeCahun of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights
andMarcelMoore, Movement, Marcia Gallo (Carroll and Graf)
ed.LouiseDownie Marcia Gallo gives an incredible gift of our history with
(Aperture):
Knownfor
DifferentDaughters,which chronicles the impact the Daughters
herriveting,ahead-otof Bilitis had on the lesbian
her-timeself-portraits,
ClaudeCahun(akaLucy rights movement. From its
humble beginnings in the
Schwob)nowhasa
early 1950s by a few women
cult-likefollowingfor
hergender-bending
role- in a San Francisco apartment
playingworks.Shemet until its wind down in the late
DIFFERENT
Moore(thepennamefor '70s, this pivotal organizaDAUGHTERS
Suzanne
Malherbe)
asa
tion spawned chapters across
-A
HISTORY
OF THEteenandthetwowere the country and paved the
DAUGHTERS
OF BILITI
loversandcollabora- way for future lesbian and
ANO THE RI E OF THE
torsuntilCahun'sdeath
feminist groups. Meticulously
LESBIAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT
40 yearslater.In Don't
researched for Gallo's dissertaKissMe,sevenauthors
MARCIA
M.
CALLO
examine
theirlivesand tion, the book is chock-full of
works(boththeatri- the foibles of the lively characcalandliterary),their ters who shaped our destiny.
Some of these early pioneers are well known to us, most
photographic
technique
andtheirrelation- noticeably Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who have been a coushipto the Surrealist ple for over 50 years and still live in San Francisco. Others who
movement.
Thetome, joined the DOB are Naiad Press co-founder Barbara Grier,
a breathtaking
240 and Barbara Gittings, former editor of the DOB newsletter,
pages,alsotalksabout The Ladder. Others who are interviewed or make appearances
the lovers'Resistance
in the book include Charlotte Bunch; Lorraine Hansberry,
operations,
trial,imprisJewelle Gomez, Marie Kuda, Audre Lorde, Barbara Smith and
onmentandattempted
suicidesduringthe early DOB leaders like Pat "Dubby" Walker and Stella Rush.
No mere compendium of personalities, however, the book's
German
occupation
of
GreatBritain'sChannel reach stretches way past one small organization to capture the
IslandsduringWWII. excitement of a burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement. Open
(aperture.org)-Diane any page of DifferentDaughtersand you will be entertained as
Anderson-Minshallwell as informed by accounts of cross-dressing women (once
considered transvestites), suspense and thefts (some say Grier
"stole" The Ladder, but Gallo writes that Grier considered it
"an act of lesbian feminism salvation"), and feminist infighting
(both Robin Morgan and a MTF singer named Beth Elliott
nearly caused riots at a DOB conference).
It is clear from Gallo's gripping account that the DOB were
essential to the LGBTQ movement, much more than a "ladies
auxiliary of the mostly male Mattachine Society:' They were in
many ways at the forefront of the struggle. Whether holding
conferences, spurring research, publishing, networking, doing
64
Icurve
grass-roots activism or simply bringing lesbians together when
there were few opportunities for safely doing so, the DOB
paved the way for all that would soon follow. Reading Different
Daughterswill make you appreciate how far we've come, and
whom to thank for how we got here. (carrollandgref.com)
Over the course of a long and prolific career, the award-winning
novelist Marijane Meaker has written an astounding collection
of young adult novels, true crime books, mysteries and short
stories. Best known to younger audiences as the author of the
'70s classics Dinky HockerShootsSmackand If I Love You,Am I
TrappedForever?,Meaker has held many pen names, including
ME Kerr, Ann Aldrich and Vin Packer. The Aldrich name she
used during the '50s and '60s,.the golden era of the lesbian pulp
fiction novel. Tides from these years include We Walk Alone
ThroughLesbos'Lonely Grovesand We, Too,Must Love. Meaker
employed the Packer pseudonym during this same time for her
true crime books such as Dark Intruder, The TwistedOnes, The
Youngand the Violent,as well as the lesbian-themed novel Spring
Fire.In fact, Spring Fire,one of the first known examples of a
lesbian paperback novel, sold an incredible 1.5 million copies
when it first appeared in 1952.
With such output, it's unclear
why lesbians aren't
more familiar with
Meaker, who lives
and teaches writing
in upstate New York.
The Evil Friendship,
based on the true
life Parker-Hulme
matricide case that
shook New Zealand
in the '50s and
became the basis for
the movie Heavenly
Creatures,is one of
her best true crime
novels. It's a taut suspense tale which has at its heart a relentless love affair between
two teenage girls. The companion piece in the Stark House edition contains another true crime novel, 'WhisperHis Sin. Part of
a huge re-issue of Meaker's books this past year, including a new
edition of Dinky Hocker,Cleis recently published the first new
edition of SpringFirein 40 years. And she's still busy writing; this
spring will see the publication by Carroll and Graf of Meaker's
Scott Free,a transgender detective novel. With all these books
to choose from, it's due time you discovered the works of this
important foremother of lesbian literature. (cleispress.com)
■
PAGE TURNERS
FertilityGoddesses,
Groundhog
Bellies& theCoca-Co/a
Company:
TheOrigins
of
ModernHolidays,
Gabriella
Kalapos
(Insomniac
Press):
EverwonderwhatGroundhog
Dayhasto dowithmenstruation?Gabriella
Kalapos
takeson
the historyof holidayritualsand
whywespendso muchtimeand
moneyonthem,arguingthat
they'dbeso muchmorerelevant
if we knewtheelusiveorigins
ratherthancurrentcommercial,
religiousor politicalcauses.
(insomniacpress.com)
- Diane
Anderson-Minshall
TheMeadowlark
Sings,Helen
RuthSchwartz
(Harrington
Park
Press):
It's2055andAmericahas
exiledall queersto thenewisland
nationof Cali.Bothnationsmust
re-examine
theirideasabout
homosexuality
whenbeautiful
lesbianCaratravelstoAmerica
on
a diplomatic
missionandfallsin
lovewiththepresident's
closeted
daughter.
Anundisputedly
unique
premise,
butSchwartz's
sometimesclumsywritingkeepsthe
novelfrombeinganythingmore
thanmildlyentertaining.
(haworth
press.com)-Kathryn
Papanek
Veronica
Precious
Banahan
I
SPIRITUAL POET, ACTIVIST I
Veronica Precious Bohanan is a Chicago-based spiritual poet,
writer and activist illuminating the world with her first book of poetry and prose, Om: My Sistagyrl Lotus. As the pioneer of her own
publishing company, UnSilenced Woman Press, half of the activist duo AquaMoon and co-founder of woman-based organization
SpokenExistence Inc., Bohanan is a positive voice for women and
African Americans everywhere -
Lauren Palmigiano
Your poetry is very spiritual. Are you a spiritual person?
Yes ... I try to keep things simple and balanced. Folks try to
make spirituality all deep and complex. For me, it is simple
and it is constant. I pray, meditate and speak affirmations
daily. Also, spirituality is my mother .... (Her] interces-
Ordeal,
LindaLovelace
sory prayers keep me whole and complete, and I sing her
(Kensington
Publishing
Corp.):
praises daily.
Thisharrowing
autobiography
by How would you describe your style of writing?
DeepThroatstarLindaLovelace
I try to translate the oral tradition of Black Americans to the
aboutherabusivepastprovides
page and to combine sistagyrl with academia. That is who I
anengaging
andprovocative
am; hence I want to be a reflection of myself, my community,
lookat theoftendisturbing
truth
my people and my culture.
behindthe scenes.(kensington
Your
poems
are often stories - are they true or fictional?
books.com)
- KP
Both. It is no fun, and it is not a challenge only to write
what you know. Boring. And if I did that, how would I
Missing:TheOregon
CityGirls,
grow as a writer? Most pieces start off familiar, albeit
LindaO'Neal,PhilipTennyson
and~ickWatson(NewHorizon
about myself or someone I've encountered, but by the end
Press):
Theshockingtruestory
it is my imagination.
of two girlsmurdered
in Oregon Tell me more about your AquaMoon partnership.
Cityin 2002,Missingtakesyou
(The mission is to] bridge the gap between the streets, hipdeepintothe mindof Private
hop, feminism and performance activism. Aqua Beats and
Investigator
LindaO'Neal.She
Moon Verses:Vol. I, which is a choreopoem (a combination of
sharesherownintimateobserpoetry, music, and choreography], premiered in September
vationsof the manwhomur2004 .... We give taboo subjects peace, justice and a voice. We
deredAshleyPondandMiranda
address
lesbian-straight friendship and sistahood in a nonGaddis
whilealsolendinginsight
comedic manner. We also deal with rape, misogyny, activism
intotheshortcomings
of our
and women's health. ■
legalsystem.(newhorizonpress
books.com)-Amanda
Poulsen
December 2006
I 65
Reviews
Music Watch
Gifts Galore
I
Try a little night music to warm up your holiday party. By Margaret Coble
EDITOR'S
PICK
Elysium
fortheBrave,
AzamAli(SixDegrees):
Thisprolificworldmusic
singer,halfof the bestsellingduoVas,hauntinglytacklesEnglish
vocalsfor thefirsttime
andseamlessly
blends
thatnebulous
place
betweenelectronic
rock
andglobalfusionon her
secondsoloalbum.No
electronic
overkillhere, Making a list, checking it twice, so many options! All the heavy
though,astraditional hitters in the music world release new material at this time of
instruments
suchasa
year, but these three discs are highly recommended.
lafta,handdrumsand
a neyflutecreatean
Mind How You Go, Skye (Cordless)
atmospheric
tapestryof
While I always enjoyed Skye's vocal contributions to the U.K.
alternative
globalmusic
that'sasspellbinding trip-hop band Morcheeba, I couldn't be more thrilled with her
asthe Iranian-born, new 11-track solo debut which features her rich, lush voice
indian-raised
Ali herself. front and center, delivering her own highly personal lyrics over
Andif it all sounds electronic-flourished acoustic pop that ranges from familiar
vaguelyfamiliar?That's trip-hop territory to more straight-up pop and even a cappella
because
you'veheard numbers. The result is a mesmerizing, melodic collection of
Ali on myriadfilm andTV tracks that paints a portrait of a strong, determined woman on
scoresfrom TheMatrix a journey to herself, coming into her own. Notable collaboraRevolutions
to Alias. tions on this set include her husband, bassist Steve Gordon,
(azamalimusic.com)
with whom she co-wrote "Calling' (on their honeymoon!);
Diane
Anderson-Minshall
Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris), with whom she
came up with the poignant "Jamaica Days;' a song about meeting her biological grandmother for the first time; and Patrick
Leonard (most noted for his work with Madonna), who produced the bulk of the album. Highlights include the sparse,
• moody "What's Wrong With Me;' the first U.K. single; "Love
Show;' already a hit in Europe; and"Tell Me About Your Day;'
my personal fave, which paints a striking pre-Katrina portrait
of my beloved city, New Orleans. (skyewebsite.com)
CeU (Six Degrees)
It's a sad fact that a female musician who writes her own songs
is still a novelty in Brazil, but it's true. Sao Paulo-born CeU
(which loosely translated means "heaven'' or "sky") doesn't
let that slow her down, though, having already gained wide
popularity in France, Holland, Itafy and Canada, as well as
her native country, with her delicate balance of traditional
Brazilian musical influences combined with more modern
66
I curve
electronic experimentation. This debut U.S. release sports 15
varied tracks, ranging from reggae-dub-tinged tropical grooves
(the syncopated lead-off single, "Malemolencia"), to dub-funk
delights filled with turntable scratches and low-end bass booms
("Roda" and "10 Contados"), to more traditional Brazilian
jazz cuts featuring brassy horns and thick layers of percussion
("Rainha") and even straight-up sambas ("Samba Na Sola").
Other highlights include her interesting cover of the Bob Marley
classic "Concrete Jungle;' almost devoid of its reggae roots; ''Ave
Cruz;' with its wicked, twisting basslines; and the whimsical "O
Ronco Da Cuica;• a celebration of the cuica, a Brazilian percussion instrument that sounds like an animal in distress. I can't really comment on the lyrics, as it's almost entirely in Portuguese,
but my hips haven't stopped shaking since I put the disc in, so it
gets a thumbs up from me. (sixdegreesrecords.com)
Nina Simone: Remixed and Reimagined
(Legacy/RCA)
DJ remix albums are a dime a dozen these days, it seems, but
every now and then, a few stand out. How can you go wr~mg,
though, really, with source material from a voice like the late,
great Nina Simone? Often pigeonholed into the 'Jazz" category,
Simone's career actually encompassed a wide range of influences including blues, soul, R&B, classical, Broadway musicals,
folk, African traditional, European pop and gospel - all of
which make her ripe for reinterpretation from a wide range of
DJ/ remixer / producers here. Groovefinder's platinum-selling
U.K. Top 30 big-beat remix of''Ain't Got No/I Got Life" (from
the musical production Hair) is the album's most notable cut,
while the blistering percussive extravaganza "Funkier Than a
Mosquito's Tweeter" stands out as possibly the most irresistible
(and hilarious), with Madison Park vs. Lenny B's deep house
treatment of "The Look of Love" a personal favorite. (legacy
recordings.com) ■
OTHER LICKS
Harpo'sGhost,
TheaGilmore
(Sanctuary):
Fansof KTTunstall,
PJHarvey,
AlanisMorissette
andevenLucinda
Williams
shouldgivea goodlistento U.K.
acousticindierockphenom
Gilmore's
seventhalbumrelease,
sportingthe radio-friendly
single
"CheapTricks,"themorepolitical
"Everybody's
Numb"andsweet
courtshipclap-a-long
"CallMe
YourDarling."(theagilmore.com)
Ill, Mosquitos
(Bar/None):
The
Brazilian-American
co-edindie
popbandreturnswithaneven
dreamier,
psychedelic-tinged
bossanovasoundonthisthird
effort,filledwithswooning
love
songs,airypopdittiesanda
brilliantPortuguese
adaptation
of NeilYoung's
"A ManNeedsa
Maid."(mosquitosnyc.com)
Guitar goddess Kaki King has wowed fans across the nation with her
unique style and jaw-dropping skill, building a reputation as a show-
woman who promises to amaze you with her technical prowess. King
takes a new stance on her current record, Until We FeltRed, delving
into the unknown, making music in a place full of surprises and discoveries without the pressure to impress. - JenniferCorday
What is the meaning behind the title of your new record?
It's supposed to be very ambiguous. The color red covers so
much emotional terrain: sex, politics, shame ... but what did
we do before we were red? It's a mystery where the listener
can fill in the blanks.
Your record is great love-making music. Ever heard that?
Well, not many people have heard it yet, but that's great! I
hope to hear more of that.
You have a song called "Jessica." Who was she?
She was an older woman who was my counselor at camp (and
she was a lesbian]. I was (15 or 16 and I was] just coming out,
so I was curious. I was interested in her sexuality.
How has being a lesbian affected your life and career?
Sugarfoot,
MichelleMalone
(ValleyEntertainment):
The
Georgia-based
outblueswoman
unleashes
anothersuperbset
filledwith 13 rootswinnersthat
rangefromtwangy,soulfulfolk
to gutsy,slideguitar-fueled
rock,
includingbothacousticand
electricversionsof thelead-off
single"WhereIsthe Love."
(michellemalone.
com)
HalfthePerfectWorld,
Madeleine
Peyroux
(Rounder):
Thesmoky-voiced
singer'smuch
anticipated
follow-upto 2004's
Other Licks continued on page 71
It just doesn't seem like that big a deal. I don't think about it
and I don't worry about it. I appreciate the fact that it wasn't
always easy, and I realize our freedom did come at a price, but
(it doesn't really affect me]. I'm not an activist.
Do you worry how your fans will perceive this record?
No, especiall>: not with this one. My two previous albums
were solo guitar albums, but I had to really let go of that ...
I had made a career out of always impressing people because
I was known as this whiz kid. But suddenly I realized I had
become the stereotype of mysel£
People had really come to expect it of you?
Yes, but once you've been there, done that, you have to do
something different. A painter doesn't always use the same
materials. It's really freeing, when any artist goes in a different
direction. Ultimately, you can't make music for other people;
you just got to make yourself happy. ■
December 2006
I67
Reviews Tech Girl
A Need for Speed
I
Some girls just love things with wheels. By Diane Anderson#Minshall
Even if you're a subway junkie, chances are good you've got some form of wheels in your life. We all know
carpooling and hybrid vehicles are good, SUV s, well, not so much. But how's a dyke to choose the best from
the rest? Here are a few of my current faves.
Clockwise from top left:
The Petro Zillia Electra
Bicycle, the Vespa GTS
250 i.e., Paul Frank
Orange Julius Cruiser,
Jaguar XK Convertible
and Harley Davidson XL
1200L Sportster Low
Not Your Old Man's Bike
Women, lesbians especially,now embrace
motorcycles like never before and, for
those who do, the new Harley Davidson
XL 1200L Sportster Low is the perfect
long and low cycle with lots of power. Its got a lowered seat height (so my feet touched the
ground easily), reduced clutch and brake lever effort, wide pullback handlebars and passthrough power didn't leave me overstimulated. Hit one of Harley's free, women-only Garage
Parties to learn how a motorcycle is supposed to feel. ($9,495, harleydavidson.com)
The 411 on luxury
If money is no object, there is one car that you must consider: the ultrasleek, super sexy and
wildly loaded 2007 Jaguar XK Convertible. A gorgeous combo of sports car and touring car,
the XK is the most technologically advanced Jag ever, with great features like keyless entry,
push-button start, adaptive cruise control (which prevented me from hitting the guy in
front of me while I was tailgating) and a great DVD console that controls navigation, music
and phone. Easily the sexiest and most powerful car I've ever driven, the Jaguar XK is also
smarter, safer and a hell of a lot more fun than my Ford. ($80,000,jaguarusa.com)
For Rockabilly Babes
Appealing to hipsters, rockabillies, surf urchins, punks, queers, beatniks, cholas and car
freaks seems a heady task, but Electra Bicycle manages to do just that with their funky,
high-quality, retro-inspired cruisers.With models like Pink Fink, Black Betty, Tiki and
Rosie, it's hard to pick a fave, but I have to go with the Petro Zillia Rainbow Bike designed
by Nony Tochterman, who made history last year when she rode her bubblegum pink
Electra cruiser down the runway at the close of her show at Mercedez Benz Fashion Week
at Smashbox Studios. The Rainbow is easy to use, with a twist shifter, full fender graphics, lined wicker basket, porn porns, heart-shap~d embossed saddle, Retrorunner tires with
custom pink sidewalls and a Hi-Tensile steel frame with a limited lifetime warranty. ($500,
electrabike.com)
Scoot About Town
Why not ditch the car altogether and move to the Vespa GTS 250 i.e., the fastest, most powerful and most high-tech Vespa in history, with gas mileage around 70 miles per gallon. It
has a powerful 250cc four-stroke, liquid-cooled, electronic injection engine, 12-inch wheels
and a superb double-disc braking system with an optional ABS and brake servo. The steel
frame is the same design as the cult-like hit Vespa Granturismo, and new features on the
GTS include the tail light, instrument panel, racy saddle and vintage Vespa-style rear rack.
The GTS is considered the perfect all-in-one scooter (classic look, great maneuverability
and lots of power) and after my test drive, I have no reason to quibble with that assessment.
($5,800, vespausa.com)
In Your Orange Dreams
The Paul Frank Orange Julius is a special edition Nirve cruiser with a Nirve frame, fulllength fender set with pinstripes, vintage grips, welded kickstand, front basket, tractor-style
double-spring saddle and an "I Love My Bike" bell. Sure, it's not good for mountain biking,
but damn I looked as cool as a creamsicle on it. ($345, nirve.com) ■
VictoriaA. Brownworth Politics
Pick a Cause
Any Cause Will Do
As the year draws to a close, it's time we all become the collective voice of peace and justice.
A
s the year draws to a close, we don't need
of peace and justice, equity and forgiveness in the
history of the world, the Sermon on the Mount?
the endless fear,mongering by President
George W. Bush or North Korea's Kim Jong Il
or Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to tell us that
Where does Christ the reformer and radical vision,
ary fit into this version of Christianity?
the world is a very scary and volatile place. War,
As I change the channel again, I always wonder:
terrorism, torture, poverty, disease, starvation,
Where are the new prophets of peace and justice?
If we want to heal the world, we must be those
slavery and incarceration all make the world
grim indeed for more than two,thirds of the
earth's population.
justice. It doesn't matter if you are Christian or
In this season of light, when we celebrate
Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist, Wiccan or atheist. It
Christmas, Hanukkah and Solstice, we must
ask: What does the future hold for a world
isn't about preaching religion or God/Goddess. It's
about preaching salvation.
people. We must become evangelists for peace and
beset by so much darkness, and what can we do
The televangelists all preach salvation, but of a
to make a place of light?
different sort. Their salvation happens in another
The world needs healing, peace, justice,
world, after death, by a harsh and unforgiving God.
I'm talking about preaching salvation here and now,
equity, freedom. All those things so seemingly
intangible are possible, if not probable.
fixing the mess that has been made of the world now, not hoping that in the
So how do we make the possible, probable? How do we create a just world
when injustice is rampant?
hereafter, if you happen to believe in one, that it will all be sorted. We need
to mitigate the suffering of billions right now, today. That requires a new per,
And do we even really want a just world?
spective on salvation.
That last question is one most people of conscience never ask themselves,
because they think they don't have to ask it. Of course we want a just world!
I used to believe that women were the hope of the world, and most days
I still believe that. I try not to look at women in power who so replicate the
But do we? Consider what it means for others to have what you have: it
men in power. Rather, I look at the women who represent the majority of the
world's teachers, social workers and doctors. I look at them and find hope in
means giving up some of what you have for balance in the world. Equity does
require that some have less so that others have more. There cannot be an end
to poverty unless there is also an end to wealth. There cannot be freedom
unless slavery, oppression and occupation are abolished.
Accepting and embracing harmony isn't an easy task. It isn't simply sitting
alone in a quiet room with the sound of waterfalls while doing a favorite yoga
exercise and breathing deeply. Achieving harmony might be the most difficult
act one could ever attempt, and I say "attempt" because it has never actually
been achieved on this earth. There is no true harmony, only dissonance: a dis,
women because we seem to want to heal the planet, we seem to want to end
poverty and disease and general wretchedness. We seem not to want to wage
wars and torture and terrorize; most of us seem repulsed by those things.
But do we want to give up our comfort to create comfort for others?
Most of us are not forced to decide whether or not to put our own lives
at risk to save the lives of others. But I believe that most of us will always
choose to do what is right or what is demanded of us. Not just when we feel
the warmth of the holidays suffuse us with a sense of well,being and gratitude
that we want to share, but always, even in the darkest times.
sonance of the soul, the soul of the planet. We all have to work to lessen, if not
wholly dissipate that dissonance, because otherwise none of us will survive.
Achieving harmony, then, is hard work, intense work, life,long work. Not
And so I again ask: Are you willing to take on the task of bettering the
world, the task of salvation, the task of giving up so that others can have?
everyone wants to sign on for such work. And yet if we don't, what future
awaits us? Does any future await us? Perhaps this seems too grim a discourse
Every year this column is a homily of sorts, a reflection on the end of the
year, the feelings engendered by the holidays, the overall concept of peace in
for a holiday missive. But I have pledged my life to peace and justice, and like
our time. It's always a little preachy, always a little demanding, and this year is
no different. This year I am in evangelist mode and just like any televangelist,
I will tell you: If you sign onto my mission, you will be rewarded tenfold.
Here's what I want you to do. I want each person reading this column to
any evangelist, I want others to join me in my mission.
In the past year - a year fraught with wars and torture and terrorism and
incalculable anguish - I have considered becoming an actual evangelist. I
have thought that perhaps what I needed to do with my life is travel the world
preaching peace and justice from one corner of the globe to another.
Some insomniac nights I have surfed the TV and found myself mesmer,
ized by Trinity Broadcast Network. I've listened to the televangelists whip
give it to 10 people or more. I want each person reading this column to pick a
cause that is vitally important to her, or him, and work at that cause through,
their audiences into a frenzy over issues of money, right,wing politics and
fear. I have listened to them and wondered: Where is the Christ that I, as
a Catholic, believe in? Where in the message of these televangelists is the
out the year. I want each person reading this column to make a pledge to
support peace and justice in every aspect of her or his life. I want each person
reading this column to know that if you do this, if you spread the gospel of
peace and justice, of equity and forgiveness, you are making the world a better,
safer, healthier, more hopeful place.
Christ who taught so patiently? Where is the Christ who not only healed
the sick but touched the untouchable, the literal and metaphoric lepers of
his time? Where is the Christ who delivered the most extraordinary sermon
In this season of light, I wish you peace, the promise of joy and the bless,
ing of hope. And it is my wish that in the coming year, we can all spread that
message and help heal the wounds of our world. ■
December 2006
I
69
Dyke Drama
Michele Fisher
Discount Dyke Drama
The best things in life are free ... or maybe not.
I
once worked with a dyke who was so cheap
she would have taken dick if it were free.
_I
When she entered the lunchroom, we would
hunch over our food like wolves guarding a
4
Sate
fresh kill because she treated our plates like her
own personal buffet. She would walk in with
an empty paper plate and begin making the
rounds at each table, asking for a morsel here
and grabbing another one there until she had
her meal assembled.
It is not a sin to be broke, not a crime to be
poor - but being cheap is unforgivable.
Marry a tightwad and you will regret it 365
days a year because you will be angry, embarrassed and/ or depressed most of the time. I've
dated cheaters, drunks, bullies and floozies, but
none of them ever got my goat like the woman
who poured my dub soda in a Tupperware container so that she could take the bottle back to
the store for a nickel. We didn't last long, but the
lessons she taught me were swift and everlasting.
Perhaps you are not sure if your woman is
just thrifty or a full-blown cheapskate. Read on
and see where she fits.
"Waste not, want not" is a fine way to be,
but a bag of cat litter is not supposed to last a
year, and it should not be recycled. Does she
scoop and toss, or does she shake the dumps
on the spatula for several minutes while staring intently, like a prospector panning for gold?
If she does you'd better run, because it's only a
matter of time before you catch her rinsing off
the turds, blow-drying the sifted out litter bits
and returning them to the box.
If she asks you to eat a big lunch before she
takes you to dinner, you should probably break
your date. Some women are more comfortable
"going Dutch;' especially early in the relationship, but if she asks for your half
of the parking money at a meter, then let this date be your last with her.
before you end up in tears in front of a grocery store security guard.
Almost as bad as the women who leave lousy tips for good service are the
When a woman takes you around to meet her friends, it is usually a good
sign, as it is an indication that she is getting serious about the relationship.
But if she only takes you to her friends' homes unannounced and at dinner-
women who complain that you tip too much. Odds are that you are only giv-
time, she may just be trying to save a few bucks. The same goes for meeting
family. Dinner at Mom and Dad's once in a while builds goodwill, but if your
girlfriend's little brother has given you an unflattering nickname which he
calls you to your face and her Dad is eating his dinner in his underwear in
front of you, then you have been coming over way too often.
If she makes her own dental dams out of used dish gloves, then the safest
sex would be with someone else. 'Nuff said.
There is nothing wrong with clipping coupons, but watch out if she's
using the color Xerox at work to make her own. You'd better get rid of her
70
I curve
ing too much money because cheapo gave so little the last time you two ate
there. But the worst offender of all is the woman who pretends to have left
something behind at the table and then swipes a few bucks before the server
picks it up. If you should ever catch one of these creatures in action, tell her
that you hope she stole enough for cab fare to get her home.
When you realize that the bulge in her pants is an anti-theft tag, it's time
to call it quits.
No matter how many times she says it, don't believe that the acids in
a:
~w
a:
ti>
tomatoes kill germs. Penny pinchers love to cover petrified leftovers with
tomato sauce and call it a casserole. You will spend much more at the emer-
w
z
1i:
gency room than she saved on the meal.
~
w
J:
Karaoke can be amusing if you're drunk enough, but beware of the woman who keeps inviting you to concerts featuring a tranny who sounds just like
Cher, a woman who sounds better than Melissa Etheridge and a dude who
blows Elton John out of the water.
I don't care what she says, medications have expiration dates. It is not OK
for cough syrup to change color, and Morn's hormone pills won't help diarrhea.
Muff diving is fun, dumpster diving isn't.
If it really is her vacation home, then how come you two have to climb in
the back window ... at 3 a.m.?
There is a cycle on the dryer called "air dry'; but there is no such cycle on a
washing machine as "air wash:' A woman who takes off an article of clothing,
hangs it over a chair, then dons it the next day claiming that the article has
"aired out" will not get another chance to foul the air around me. A woman
like that probably takes air baths, too.
Beware of a woman who gets arrested just to make free phone calls.
It doesn't matter how much they will give you for a kidney in Morocco,
and you shouldn't have to tell her that more than once.
Supermarket samples are not just like tapas.
If her idea of world travel involves swallowing Italian sausage-sized balloons of opiates and crapping them out in a bucket while a guy waves a gun in
your face, get ready for some real low-budget adventures.
When she is still wearing the cardboard sunglasses two months after her
eye exam, she may have a spending issue. But if she tries to keep the jar after
giving a stool sample, then there's no saving her.
If she is not religious, then why does she keep taking you to church picnics? And how come she never seems to know anybody at those things?
Tee Corinne continued from page 19
and lesbian bodies, Corinne emboldened lesbians
to be themselves. She took the "love that dare not
speak its name" and not only spoke it, she drew the
pictures and photographed the acts. She took what
had been hidden, masked in shame, and glorified it.
Corinne always pushed boundaries, until the
end, never holding back. There was no experience,
not even dying, that didn't fascinate her and motivate
her to create something.
Corinne's work will live on through the Tee A.
Corinne Prize for Lesbian Media Artists, established
by Moonforce Media, awarding unrestricted grants
of up to $1,000 annually.Joan E. Biren, the photographer best known as JEB, will choose the inaugural prizewinner. For more info visit jebmedia.com.
- VictoriaA. Brownworth
Team Dresch continued from page 31
The Homo a Go Go show was the most
fun, rewarding, passion-filled, emotionally
charged show I've ever played. I think we
were all surprised at how easy and awesome it felt playing together again. We all
really just respect each other as humans
and musicians and realized we wanted to
keep collaborating.
She's not an alcoholic, but she goes to AA meetings for the refreshments.
No, "new to me" is not the same as new. Especially when the item in question is lingerie.
She always brings the same thing to potlucks, Ziploc bags, which she
rinses out after each use.
Traffic tickets are expensive, and it's only natural to get angry when you
or your partner gets one. But when your lover gets mad at you because you
did not offer to sleep with the officer to get out of the ticket, she's probably
beyond redemption.
Do not put up with a woman who signs you up for drug trials. And yes,
even a little drug-induced tumor is something to get pissed about.
Free packets of mayo are not handy singles of lube, and putting them in
the nightstand is not going to make you change your mind.
When the seafood supper she makes you came from a koi pond, you had
better not stay for dessert.
Don't pursue a relationship with a woman who often begins conversations
with, "You won't believe what the neighbors were throwing away today ... "
I love Halloween as much as the next person, but trick-or-treating is for
kids. And no, it doesn't matter if the people handing out the candy can't tell
how old you are under the sheet. It's still wrong!
You shouldn't have to tell her not to buy sex toys at garage sales.
If anything in this column sounds familiar to you, let this be your warning.
Do not think you can change a tightwad into a big spender. It will not
work. In fact, it only gets worse as she gets older. If you don't want to spend
your golden years hitchhiking to doctors appointments and fighting the
pigeons for bread crumbs, get away from that discount dyke right now. ■
MarciMartinez(drummer,
philosopher)
How is it different being an out dyke in music
today than it was when the band started?
There seem to be more dyke bands now then
there were back in the early '90s, or at least
more queer bands ... It may be a little easier
for dykes to feel that they can start a band
now, with a support network. Maybe it's due
to past generations helping pave the way. It
depends on what avenue the bands go into.
Major label things still feel very different for
women to get the recognition that men do.
Either you've got be a Britney type, or even
the Donnas -who I love- are stilljust safe
enough for the masses to accept.
Do you remember a big moment playing
with the band back in the day?
Back then, I really wasn't able to understand what we were doing, the political and social impact we had on people's
lives. I think a big highlight for me had
to be the recording of Personal Best, the
process and the end result. We recorded
that in a week, and I was blown away by
the quality and yet the rawness that was
retained. John Goodmanson is a brilliant
engineer. ■
Other Licks continued from page 67
Careless
Lovefeatures12 moreof hertrademark
piano-jazz
offerings,
withfoursparkling
originalsand
coversnotablyTomWaitsandJoniMitchell(thek.d.
langduet"River").(madeleinepeyroux.com)
Despite
OurDifferences,
IndigoGirls(Hollywood):
Debuting
ona newrecordlabelafter20-plusyears,
everyone's
favoritelesbianfolk-rockers
havestill
gotit, asevidenced
bythissurprisingly
infectious
13-trackrelease.
Guestappearance
byPinkand
newcomer
BrandiCarlilearejusttwohighlights.
(indigogirls.com)
LongNightMoon,CatieCurtis(Compass):
I'll
forgivetheoutsinger-songwriter
forthinkingit was
theMississippi
RiverthatfloodedNewOrleans
after
Hurricane
Katrinalastyear(it wasLakeBorgneand
LakePontchartrain,
primarily)
because
thepolitical
sentiments
of therestof "PeopleLookAround"
- herInternational
Songwriting
Competition-winningcenterpiece
to this,herstrongest
albumto date
- areentirelyright-on.(catiecurtis.com)
Redneck
Lesbo,
Jennifer
Corday
(Envy):
This
enhanced
CDincludes
a liveaudioandvideoversion
of dykesinger-songwriter
(andCURVE
contributor)
JenniferCorday's
latestsingle,a crowd-pleasing,
hilariousparodyof countrystarGretchen
Wilson's
"Redneck
Woman"
withanexplicitlylesbiantwist.
CanI geta "hellyeah?"(corday.neQ
- MC
December 2006 j 71
By CatherinePlato
Theater Profiles continued from page 55
Greta Garbo, Mi Amor
Were Mercedes de Acosta alive today, she would be a
dream come true for lesbians and tabloids alike. Born in
1893, she was her era's version of a radical butch dyke:
a short,haired, outspoken feminist who looked sexy in
slacks. She was even a vegetarian.
Star magazine would have a veritable field day with
her personal history. In 1920, the poet, playwright and
socialite married artist Abram Poole1 only to divorce him
later. The reason? They were both homosexual. Better yet,
it was no secret with whom de Acosta was cavorting both before and after her divorce. Her long list of celebrity
lovers includes Marlene Dietrich, Isadora Duncan, Alla
Nazimova and Eva Le Gallienne. Her most famous rela,
tionship, though, was with Swedish starlet Greta Garbo,
whom she saw romantically on and off for nearly 15 years.
It's a bit of a wonder de Acosta doesn't have more of a
modern,day lesbian following, though that could change
with the upcoming film adaptation of Garbo's_CubanLover,
a stage play that explores her alluring and mysterious life,
one lusty lover at a time. Playwright, director and lead ac,
tor Odalys Nanin opened the show in Los Angeles in 2001
and hopes to begin production on the film version in 2007.
Nanin's fascination with de Acosta grew from a lifelong
crush on Garbo.
'T ve been in love with Garbo since I was 10 years old;'
Nanin confesses."But I never thought that she was bi or any,
thing like that. I just thought she was beautiful:'When Nanin
came across an article about Garbo's affair,she was thrilled to
learn that not only was Garbo's greatest love a woman, but
was Cuban like hersel£ "It was my dream come true!" she
gushes with a smile. She later learned about an exhibit at
Philadelphia's Rosenbach Museum that displayed previously
unopened (per de Acosta's request) love letters between the
two women, and promptly flew there from her home in Los
Angeles. After returning, Nanin completed Garbo'sCuban.Lover within
two weeks, casting herself in her dream role as Garbo's sweetheart.
The play focuses primarily on de Acosta's relationship with Garbo,
though it also features some rather sensual moments with Marlene
Dietrich. Isadora Duncan appears as de Acosta's confidante and muse,
clad in a loose white gown like a member of a classical Greek chorus.
[She] is onstage nonstop:'
In addition to her plans for the film version, Nanin is tentatively sched,
uled to perform Garbo'sCuban Lover this spring at the Wings Theater in
New York City. This will be her first live performance of the show outside
of L.A. Lesbian theater,goers in L.A. can look forward to a new play this
September, Skin of Honey, a lesbian love story that takes place in politi,
"I've been in lovewith Garbo since I was 10 years old," Nanin confesses.
"But I neverthoughtthat she was bi or anythinglikethat. I just thought
she was beautiful."
The physical appearance and mannerisms of each actor uncannily
resemble those of her legendary character and clearly demanded some
intense research. Despite the many important personalities depicted in
the show, though, Nanin insists that it is, above all, de Acosta's story.
"The real character that I developed was Mercedes de Acosta;' she says.
"It's almost like writing a one,woman show, a big long monologue.
72lcurve
cally volatile Cuba, where same,sex lovers run the risk of imprisonment
or worse.Two teenagers are torn apart by the Bay of Pigs Invasion, only to
be reunited 20 years later. Like all ofNanin's work to date, Skin of Honey
promises to be poignant, innovative and vital to our community. ■
Find out more about Nanin's projectsat machatheatre.org.
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Top Ten ReasonsWe Love Lisa Myers
It's impossible not to love Lisa Myers, a notsuitable-for-children comedian with a quick wit
and a foul mouth. Though you have to see her act
to get the full effect, here's why she has such a loyal
following. - Dana Kaye Litoff
1. She'sdirty!X-rated and proud, Myers says, "I
refuse to do a clean set to play the game a lot of
comedians play in hopes of getting on [The Tonight
Show With Jay] Leno:' Her act includes gay themes,
sex and drinking, which she sums up as 'celebrating
sexuality and laughing at stupid people:'
2. Shehasnoboundaries.
With Myers, no one is
safe, and no topic is taboo. She's neither politically
correct nor afraid to talk about sticky subjects
such as race and religion. 'Tm not afraid to say
Pat Robertson is a fucking lunatic, and I'm very
candid on my feelings about being anti-hate and
pro-choice;' she says.
3. She'snota snobwhenit comesto venues.In
fact, she loves playing at hole-in-the-wall bars.
"The people go there to see comedy;' Myers states,
"and they' re a good audience:' She says one of her
best shows was at a dive bar in Idaho, performing
for a bunch of cowboys.
4. She'sgot experience.
Sort of a job collector,
Myers has worked everything from transportation
and shippingjobs to IRS collection. She was even
a phone sex operator, but that gig didn't last long.
Still, her resume provides plenty of material for
her comedy.
5. She'llpostyourinstantmessages
on herWeb
site. No one is safe. If you IM Myers and say
something funny, rude or creepy, more than likely,
it's going on her homepage. But there's no denying
how much fun it can be to read the transcripts of
creepy guys trying to cyber with her.
6. She'sjust a small-towngal. She was born in
Astoria, Ore., a small, conservative and closeted
town. In this mostly Scandinavian community,
Myers says, "It's amazing how a dark-haired loudmouthed girl of questionable ethnicity - I'm
mostly Caucasian from what I can tell, but not an
ounce Scandinavian - can stand out in a sea of
blue-eyed blondes:'
7. Shecameoutto hermotherina stripclub.That's
right, Myers was at a strip club with her mother
when she decided to tell her that she's been with
women. After the big announcement, Myers recalls,
"she started talking about her cats. At first I thought
so I curve
"It'samazinghowa dark-hairedloud-mouthed
girlof
questionable
ethnicity- I'm mostlyCaucasianfrom
what I cantell,but not an ounceScandinavian
- can
standout in a sea of blue-eyedblondes."
she didn't hear me, but I'm pretty sure she did:'
a FAT girl. I'm over 200 pounds and I shop at Lane
Bryant. But goddamn it, I'm hot for a fat chick!"
8. She'sthatwomanyousaw.If you think Myers
looks familiar, it's probably from her brief television appearance on NBC's Last Comic Standing.
She was the one in line, wearing sweatpants and
totally hung-over. Way to work it.
10. She'sexpanding.
Although Myers previously
9.Shehasa healthy
bodyimage.
She declares on her
toured exclusively on the West Coast, she's going
national next year. She's booking shows in Texas,
New York, Chicago, Florida, and even Scotland.
But don't worry if your hometown isn't on her
docket; she's releasing a CD in early 2007, titled
blog,'Tm a chubby girl. You could go as far as to say
Hot and Bothered.■
Is the cure for breast cancer around the corner or off in the distance? No
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FranklySpeaking
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
Reality TV, Lesbian Style
Cover girl Megan Morris
is the latest hottie from a
have graced the runway of
America's Next Top Model,
Frances Stevens
Diane Anderson-Minshall
Catherine Plato
Rachel Pepper
Margaret Coble
Julia Bloch, Victoria A.
Brownworth, Sheryl Kay,
Gretchen Lee, Sarah Warn
Laura K. Cucullu
Jaclyn Barcewski, Michelle
Ma, Katherine H. Nelson,
Jocelyn Voo, Laurie Werbner
Editorial Assistant
Sonia Kreitzer
Art Director
Kas Neteler
Production Manager
Ondine Kilker
Web Producer
Nikki Woelk
Catalog Manager
Holly DeMaagd
Ad Sales & Marketing
Danie Belfield
Sara Jane Keskula
Rivendell Media
Marketing & PR Manager
Bambi Weavil
Amanda Campa
Marketing Coordinator
Marketing Representatives Jennifer Angeline Arboleda,
Mellissa Dombroski,
Gabrielle James, Tammy
Lam, Megan Elizabeth
Marchese, Catrina McQuerry
Copy Chief
Proofreaders
which just may be the gayest
show on television.
Frances Stevens Publisher/Editor in Chief
A
VOLUME 16 NUMBER 10
1550 Bryant Street, Suite 51 0
San Francisco, California 94103
Phone 415-863-6538 Facsimile 415-863-1609
Advertising Sales 415-863-6538 or 212-446-6700
Subscription Inquiries 818-760-8983
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Publisher/Editor in Chief
Executive Editor
Associate Editor
Book Review Editor
Music Review Editor
Contributing Editors
bevy of queer beauties who
LESBIAN MAGAZINE
s more and more lesbians find their way onto reality television shows, I can't help but wonder what
affect their appearances are having on our community and on middle America. Obviously, reality
television is far from real. It's edited and spun to create the maximum possible drama among characters.
Our fate is left to be decided on the cutting,room floor as one lesbian inevitably represents our com,
munity, whether she (or we) like it or not.
Interestingly enough, one show chose to cast queer female contestants in all five seasons. According to
our executive editor, Diane Anderson,Minshall, Americas Next Top Modeljust might be the'gayest show
on television:' Not only does it have drag queen,turned,runway
trainer"Miss" J. Alexander and art direc,
tor Jay Manuel - but also a bevy of queer girls, including our cover girl, this season's Megan Morris, and
last season's Kim Stolz, now a veejay on mtvU. Interestingly enough, Morris' life as a lesbian was far less
a focal point of her role on the show than Stolis. Although Morris was voted off the show in only the
second episode of the season, the editors left the lesbian discussions in the house on the cutting room
floor. It might be because, unlike Stolz, Morris was voted off the show early on or perhaps, the director
viewed the topic as passe after Stolis lesbian rampage in the last season.
Morris' interests run far beyond modeling and being a "bartender from San Francisco;• which was the
recurring title they gave her on the show. In our cover interview, we speak with Morris about what it was
like to be a lesbian on reality television, her behind,the,scenes interactions with the other models, why
Contributing Writers Kathy Beige, Mary Christmas,
Jennifer Corday, Gina Daggett, Michele Fisher,
Tracy E. Gilchrist, Sue Katz, Kate Lacey, Sheela
Lambert, Charlene Lichtenstein, Dana Kaye Litoff,
Karlyn Lotney, Aefa Mulholland, Lauren Palmigiano,
Kathryn Papanek, Amanda Poulsen, Stephanie
Schroeder, Sara Seinberg, Ursula Steck, Allison
Steinberg, Melany Walters-Beck
Contributing Illustrator Katherine Streeter
Contributing Photographers David Allen, Brie Childers,
Hsin-Yin-Chiu, John Clark, Roni Galgano, Gabriela
Hashun, Sharon Kerr, Kenna Love, Maggie Parker,
Susanne Petermann, Joe Samson, Elisa Shea,
Debra St. John, Trish Tunney, Kina Williams
she thinks she got kicked off the show so early and her real life passion to create film and animation.
Whether you love or loathe reality television, the on,screen LGBs (not so much T yet) are changing the
fabric of society. Gone are the days when school children didn't even know the words 'gay" and "lesbian:'
It's prime time now, and it's changing the fabric of our society.
And if you're too hung up secretly watching reality television to start thinking about your holiday shop,
ping, don't fret. Our editorial staff has been hard at work since the summer researching potentials for our
annual gift guide. Our goal is simple - to take the guesswork out of your holiday shopping drama and
point toward some great gifts for all the loving ladies in your life. Whether you're shopping for your BFF,
your girlfriend or your sister, the list is a great resource - full of presents for every budget. Hey, I'll take
the Red Hot Mama boxes and the Hanukkah brownies please.
Volume 16 Issue 10 Curve 0SSN 1087-867X) is published monthly (except for
January and July} by Outspoken Enterprises, Inc., 1550 Bryant St., Ste. 510,
San Francisco, CA 94103. Subscription price: $39.95/year, $51.95 Canadian
(U.S. funds only) and $61.95 international (U.S. funds only}. Returned checks
will be assesseda $25 surcharge. Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco,
CA 94114 and at addttional mailing offices (USPS 0010-355). Contents of Curve
Magazine may not be reproduced in any manner, ooher whole or in part, without
written permission from the publisher. Publication of the name or photograph
of any persons or organizations appearing, advertising or listing in Curve may
not be taken as an indication of the sexual orientation of that individual or
group unless specifically stated. Curve welcomes letters, queries, unsolicited
manuscripts and artwoo<. Include SASE for response. Lack of any representation
onty signifies insufficient materials. Submissions cannot be returned unless a
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Inquiries: Please write to Curve, 1550 Bryant Street, Sutte 510, San Francisco,
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A
21curve
Keyword: Curvemag Web site: curvemag.com
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Features
"Countless
people
talk to me
about how
important
our music
was to them
growingup
and coming
out. They
remindme
againand
againhow
important
musicis."
December 2006
Volume 16#10
this up-and-coming dyke destination. By Aefa
Only Onstage:
Our Annual Theater Issue
Mulholland
52
26 Phoenix Blazes Hot sun and hotter chicas at
a stage - check out the leading ladies. By Diane
30 The Year in Dyke Music Team Dresch, the
Donna Dresch,
page 30
2006 Lesbian Theater Awards All the world's
Anderson-Minshall
Organ, Northern State, and the mourning of
Sleater-Kinney. By Sara Seinberg, Mary Christmas,
54
Melany Walters-Beck and Catherine Plato
Stand-up Storyteller Kimberly Dark tackles
gender, sex work and other juicy topics in her latest one-woman show. By Kathy Beige
36 Rabbi Lisa Edwards The rabbi and her wife discuss the world's first queer synagogue. By Sue Katz
55 Another Little Piece of Our Hearts Lesbian
thespian Cathy Richardson brings Janis Joplin
back to life. By Catherine Plato
46 COVER: Megan Morris The latest lesbian Top
Model contestant is more than just another pretty
face. By Diane Anderson-Minshall
72
Greta Garbo, Mi Amor Renaissance woman
Odalys Nan in shares her inspiration for Garbo's
56 Miami Film Fest We voyage to the Sunshine
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State for queer film, cocktails and girl-watching. By
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Tracy E. Gilchrist
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58 Director Katherine Brooks The woman behind
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Cuban Lover. By Catherine Plato
In Stores Now:
Annual Holiday Gift Guide
38
Best 71 Gifts for Family and Friends Once
a:
Loving Annabelle confesses her love for Catholic
again, CURVEbrings you our annual guide to help
~
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schoolgirl uniforms. By Tracy E. Gilchrist
you shop without dropping this holiday season.
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60 Q&A With Directors Dreya Weber and Leslie
Klainberg Two lesbian filmmakers tell all. By
~...J
Sheela Lambert
~
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Cover photo by
Brie Childers
0
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December 2006
I5
Departments
December 2006
"I usedto believe
that womenwere
the hope of the
world,and most
days I stillbelieve
that. I try not to
lookat women
in powerwho so
replicatethe men
in power.Rather,I
lookat the women
who representthe
majorityof the
world'steachers,
socialworkers
and doctors."
page 69
2
Frankly Speaking Our publisher offers
up her thoughts on this issue.
18 Lesbofile Marcia Cross finally puts the
rumors to rest. Nah, just kidding.
64 In the Stacks Rachel Pepper goes
retro with Different Daughters and Spring
Fire. Plus, Don't Kiss Me and activist
8
Contributors A few words on the writers who make it happen.
20 Scene More frolicking photos of lesbian
poet Veronica Precious Banahan.
life from around the country.
66 Music Watch Margaret Coble grooves
10 Letters Sheryl Swoopes scores with
one reader, fouls out with another. Kristin
Chenoweth has a new fan, and Lipstick
22 Ask Fairy Butch Mom gets in the way
of love, and a teacher gets the schoolgirl
blues.
23 Lipstick & Dipstick The duo offers
and Beth Neff lead the way.
Azam Ali and Kaki King.
68 Tech Girl Get your motor running with
and Dipstick miss the mark.
12 Out in Front Haven Herrin, Desiree Fitts
to Skye, CeU and Nina Simone. Plus,
these hot wheels.
up sex tips for the holy and the wholly
uninspired.
69 Politics The world, Victoria A.
Brownworth reminds us, needs peace,
14 Curvatures Lesbians mourn icon Tee
A. Corinne. Plus, Atlanta's House of
24 Astro Grrl Astrologer Charlene
Lichtenstein hands out some star advice.
70 Dyke Drama Michele Fisher on why
Buchanans, I Heart Brooklyn Girls, and
the Femme 2006 conference.
62 Sapphic Screen Catherine Plato rocks
out to homohop Pick Up the Mic and
16 Open Studio Illustrator Tara
McPherson's sweetly creepy graphics.
justice and healing this holiday season.
penny pinchers just ain't worth it, discount or not.
and Israeli filmmaker llil Alexander.
~
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80 Top Ten Reasons We Love X-rated
comedian Lisa Myers.
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Contributors
Trip
Out!
"I used to be most proud of my martial arts career, my life-long activism
and my world travel;' SueKatzsays,"but now, at 58, it's all about my cleavage."Katz, who writes about lesbian Rabbi Lisa Edwards for this issue
(see page 36), has published nonliction and short fiction on the three
continents where she has lived. A pioneer in the early feminist movement (her first collective was called Stick It in the Wall, Motherfucker
Collective), she has chronicled and commented on sexuality and gender
issues ever since. She currently has a column on EdgeBoston.com, which
receives 500,000 hits per month. Her most recent writing project focuses
on the intersection of baby boomers and alternative sexualities, and she
keeps busy with rather orgasmic personal "research:'
"Having the opportunity to photograph beautiful women of all sizes is
a dream come true. That many of them get a better glimpse of their own
beauty through my lens makes photography more than a job ... it's how
I interact with my world;' says freelance photographer KinaWilliams.
Specializing in queer events, performers and big girls, Williams has
been the event photographer for the Tucson Sex Workers Arts Festival,
CURVEs 15th Anniversary party in Portland and, more recently, the
Femme 2006 conference held in San Francisco this past August (see
page 17). She got her start in photography with the help of Heather
MacAllister, aka"Reva Lucian; founder of Big Burlesque. "Heather
contacted me and said,'You're a photographer, I need promo photos: I
was working for a professional photographer at the time but I hadn't really done much on my own. But after a four-hour session and hundreds
of amazing photos, I just knew I was meant to document queer art and
culture:• See more of her work online at kinawilliams.com.
1
SaraSeinberg
has been a fan, which is short for fanatic, of Team Dresch
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(see page 30) since she found herself in the basement of a house in
Portland, Ore., watching their first live show. The band didn't have a
name yet, and the drummer, Scotty (who now plays for Built to Spill),
had to wait in the van after the set because no boys were allowed in the
show. "I'd never seen anything like it," she says. 'Td never felt anything
that powerful gather in a small dank space to change the world. But I
suppose that's often how it happens, in the small dank corners where no
one can see the clouds gather for the storm:• Seinberg recently returned
home to San Francisco with her dog, Gus. A writer and photographer as
well as the programming director for Homo a Go Go, she is also really
smitten with kale.
''I've met quite a few guitar goddesses;' says JenniferCorday,
who interviews Kaki King (seepage 67), "but I really love her style:' Born and raised
in Long Beach, Cali£, Corday has always enjoyed hamming it up and was
her high school mascot. She majored in theater before launching her career
as a musician and is now a bona fide rock star with three award-winning
albums and another due for release early next year. She performs regularly
in dubs from San Diego to Los Angeles, occasionally hitting the road to
perform at pride festivalsand special events across the nation. She enjoys
writing for CURVEand especially loves discovering new artists. She penned
her latest single,"Redneck Lesbo; as a joke, but the girls went crazy for it,
so she decided to release it as a single - complete with parental advisory
warning. 'Tm not really a country artist;' Corday admits, "but I like wearing
cowgirl hats now and then. As long as they have flames:•See cuRvE's review
of Redneck Lesbo on page 71.
these
'
"GwJry P~
... -V. .
ey pleasure."
-Va ."Y
"The torment of forbidden love
never I eel as good as it does in
Loving Annabelle."
- aftere//e,,.
CO#I
Fabulous!
Cynara
Gypo
The Story of Queer Cinema
"The love scene at the end of the film is
one of the best ever shot "
"Remarkable ...unexpected romance
and danger." - Los~
Times
The most entenaining gay history lesson
you've ever had. The superstars of gay
and lesbian cinema shine in this amazing
overview of LGBT film history, packed
with smart interviews and a tremendous
array of film clips.
- LezLove Video.com
A lesbian Wuthering Heights starring
the stunning Melissa Hellman (beloved
Judy Francesconi model) and equally hot
Johanna emeth.
2t2
availableat
Thestorefor movielovers.
When Helen, a bored British housewife
meets Tasha, a young gypsy immigrant,
the two women find conoection and
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drama.
Letters
"Whatreallygets me is that to come out,
so manylesbiansrisklosingeverything
when they have nothing.Now that's
courageous!Let'ssee some articlesabout
women who come out and risklosingit all
withoutlawyersand high-endconnections
to defendthem or big endorsementsto
supportthem."
Got Your Back
In December 2005, my
wife and I were evicted
from our apartment
by our homophobic
land.lord who refused to
add my wife to my lease
after we were married.
We spent the next
seven months moving
around, and unfortunately our subscription
to CURVEwas unable to
keep up with us.
We recently received
the newest issue with
Sheryl Swoopes on
the cover and upon
opening it and seeing
all the old covers, were
disheartened to see we
failed to receive four
issues. Four! Is there
anything we can do to
get those back issues,
short of paying an extra
$6 for each? Ir makes
me sick that we paid for
a magazine subscription and missed half
the issues! I know it's
not cuRvE's fault or
responsibility at all ... it
just really, really sucks.
Thanks.
- Rebeccaand
Heather Wierenga,
via e-mail
Editor's Note: Ladies,
that sucksall around.
First,you confrontedone
of the mostpervasive
forms of discrrimination, in housing.Then
you missedAlexandra
Hedison,JoanJett, Alix
Olsen,PamelaMeans,
KatherineMoennig and
a wholebunchmore.But
nofret, we'vegot your
back,and you'll begetting a carepackagein the
mail soon.
10
Icurve
Play Ball!
What a thrill to see Sheryl Swoopes on your cover (Vol. 16,
#8). I've been a fan of hers since the 1996 Olympics and have
followed her WNBA career. The interview was great. I hope
she continues to play for the Comets, bur I wish her the best in
whatever she does.
- Maggie Cloud, via e-mail
Don't get me wrong, I think it's courageous of Sheryl Swoopes
to come out as she did, bur chis is where my support wanes. She
may have considered the loss of endorsements long enough to
let Olivia put an offer on the cable. Ir's none of my business how
much money was offered for her sponsorship, but I'm guessing
it was enough to pay the bills. As was stated in the article, her
coming out was a "highly calculated event, involving an exclusive interview with ESPN magazine ... followed by the cover
of The Advocate:•Doesn't that soften the blow, so to speak? Ir
was a planned media event that turned into a prolific coming
out party! What really gets me is that to come out, so many
lesbians risk losing everything when they have nothing. Now
that's courageous! High-profile athletes may risk losing a lot of
money, but they are likely doing well for themselves to begin
with. Let's see some articles about women who come out and
risk losing it all ... without lawyers and high-end connections to
defend them or big endorsements to support chem. If Swoopes
were to lose her job - an unlikely scenario, as she is still such a
phenomenal basketball player - I'm confident she would find
a high-paying job doing something else. In this day and age, it
takes a lot more than a big coming-our party hosted by a sports
network and a leading gay magazine to get me to cheer on my
sister friends. Good for you, Sheryl. But let's not forget the little
people of the world who have a lot more to lose.
-Meg White, Shrewsbury,NJ.
Crushing on Kristin
I enjoyed Kristin Chenowerh's character on The West Wing,
(Vol. 16, #8) but boy, do I really adore her now! Ir's just pure
pleasure to read about sincere, tolerant people. I'm not going to
tum into a Christian any more than she's going to turn into a
lesbian - but ain't it great to be different and cool with each
other anyway? She gees my respect, 100 percent. Good stuff.
- Kenye Williams, Lancaster,Ohio
Taiwan Loves Us!
I'm living in Taiwan, and I love CURVEso much. Thank you for
giving me a great magazine. Taiwan has very many gay people,
especially in Taipei, where I live. There are also many lesbians. But we actually do not have a gay publication. Therefore,
CURVEis the only way we can understand lesbian culture. By
the way, in September 2006, we also had a pride festival. This
year was our seventh. In front of the Taipei City Hall, we flew
the rainbow flag. Pride unfolded us with the vigor in front of
the social populace.
- Hsin-Yin-Chiu, Taipei, Taiwan
Thanks for the Welcome Wagon
I'm writing in response to Diane Anderson-Minshall's article on
Gender 101 (Vol.16, #7) and the following articles on trans issues in your September 2006 issue. First, I want to say that I've
been reading CURVEfor the past two years and have been seeing
more and more articles and references to transgender awareness,
which is a wonderful thing. This type of activism and education
helps us to break down the barriers separating our communities.
I've transitioned from female to male over this past year, and I've
felt the separation that can occur between communities which
has greatly saddened me, especially when faced with the possibility of losing my relationship with my lesbian partner. It brings
me hope when I read articles about transmen and lesbians staying together after the transition because so often this is not the
case. So thank you for your activism.
I'd also like to bring your attention to a new documentary put
our called GenderRebel.This documentary looks at how it feels
to be genderqueer in our society, and also looks at the struggles
felt between me and my partner as I underwent my chest surgery
and began hormones.
- Ryan, Lincoln,Neb.
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Ack! Don't Skip Sex, Gir1s!
Lipstick & Dipstick is my favorite column in
CURVE.I find it amusing and insightful and usu,
ally agree with at least one of you. Unfortunately,
I had a real probl~m with your advice to Energizer
Bunny (Vol. 16, #8). To suggest masturbation for
a person who is struggling with a relationship chat
is lacking sex is absurd! Sex is a very important
issue in a relationship, even though many lesbians
seem to pretend chat it is not. We preoccupy our,
selves with building a home and a life, trying to
have kids, fighting for equal rights, pursuing the il,
lusion of love. We tend to forget char in the end we
are just like everybody else, and sex is and should
be a priority; just because we are not driven by the
male libido does not mean chat chose primal needs
do not exist. If a person is not sexually satisfied by
their partner, as in the case of Energizer Bunny,
they are not satisfied, period. After all, why do
people get into relationships in the first place ... is
sex not one of the main reasons? If two people in
a relationship are not compatible at that very basic
and primal core, they are not going to work. All
the communication, all the distractions and all the
sex toys in the world will not resolve chat issue!
- Mina, CanogaPark, Calif.
Lipstick: Do you really chink a lesbian rela,
fla-kcys.com/kcywcst
tionship where they make love twice a week is
"lacking in sex"? I don't. We hear from women
every day complaining char they don't have sex
anymore, and lee me tell you, Energizer Bunny
and her girlfriend are doing just fine knocking
their boots two days a week. For these women
who write in, sadly in relationships where inti,
jobs, kids, etc., who have a chance to play football
and have to foot the bill for a lot of our expenses
while playing. Please, more coverage. I chink your
readers would enjoy it.
macy truly is a problem - they haven't made love
in over a year - we alwaystell chem they have to
make it a priority, chat if you don't tend to your
garden, it will die. We believe you must make
time for sex, even penciling it into your schedule
if you have to. But seven days a week? Who can
keep up with chat? Certainly not me.
I'm an Australian lesbian who loves your magazine.
It is the most liberal minded magazine in the world
for lesbians. Your articles and features on issues af,
We Want More, More, More
I chink it would be cool if you interviewed Jackie
Warner from Bravo's Work Out. She is a great role
model and season one ended with her getting out of
a bad relationship. It would be interesting to know
where she gets her courage from, personally and
professionally. I love your magazine! Thanks.
- Lisa, Maywood,NJ
Got Something on Your Mind?
E,mail letters@curvemag.com; write to CURVE
Letters, 1550 Bryant Sc., Ste. 510, San Francisco,
CA 94103; fax to 415,863, 1609. Please include
your name, city and state. Letters may be edited for
clarity and length.
Ia like to see more coverage in CURVEon the
Women's Professional Football League. I am cur,
rently a member of the SoCal Scorpions team in
San Diego. We are a bunch of women with full,time
- SusanDeVol,via e,mail
Keep It Coming
fecring the lesbian community are great, and always
leave me speechless. I recommend your magazine to
friends in Australia. Keep up the great work
- Leisha,via e,mail
Corrections
In the Curvatures section of our October issue
(Vol. 16,_#8) we neglected to give credit to Steve
Azzara Photography for the photos of the T,shirts
from bewild.com. CuRvE regrets the error. ■
)-888-279-3632
December 2006
I 11
Serves 'Em Right
Peanut and Pearls
Womynswork
HavenHerrinis the perfect candidate for the
Mom played drums, big brother played them
too - so it's no wonder Desiree
Fittsgrew
up with a passionate attachment to her set
of Pearls.
But keeping the rhythm was just the begin,
ning for Fitts, who went on to teach herself
keyboards, bass and guitar.
Today, Peanut (as she's been called since
her premature birth) puts her talent to work
in Birmingham, Ala., fronting for a funk and
rock band called Mother May I.
Music, says Peanut, is in her soul. That love,
coupled with her knowledge of the industry,
When girls say BethNeffknows the best dirt,
they're not talking about some insignificant
gossip - Neff knows real dirt.
For 25 years Neff worked as an organic
vegetable farmer and an environmental activ,
pushed her from the stage to production two
years ago when she formed the Birmingham
Chicks Rockfest, a five,hour concert featuring
women songwriters and performers.
This past September marked the second
annual festival. Most proceeds went to cover
expenses, and the small remainder will help to
bankroll next year's concert.
"It's an event that I felt the local music
industry needed [in order) to help boost the
talent of female singers and musicians in the
South;' she says. In her own experiences,
Peanut became frustrated trying to play at
festivals that would only allow performers
who met certain qualifications, such as having
a released CD.
"I remember how bad I used to feel when,
ever someone would say that;' she said. "I
remember thinking, but music is my passion,
and it's in my heart ... why can't I be a part of
your music festival?"
Open to women performers in all genres,
Rockfest has no such stipulations. Peanut
encourages the women to play whatever feels
right, originals or covers: 'J\s long as you feel
it in your heart, then that's all that matters:•
- Sheryl Kay
the varied experiences of lesbians in the
workplace. She's assembling the book from
responses to her online survey, calling the
research the Womynswork Project.
So far she's received dozens of responses
from all over the country and Canada, with
respondents of all ages and in all professions.
''I've already spoken with an attorney who
lost her position working for a federal judge
due to her sexual orientation, a therapist
who works mostly with lesbian women, a
veterinarian who struggles with working in
an almost exclusively male occupation and a
chef who struggles to be taken seriously by
her peers;' says Neff.
Whether uplifting or heartbreaking, the
experiences appear universal - so much so,
that Neff expects the book will be embraced
not only by lesbians, but by all women.
"Social impact has always been part of my
intention;' Neff says. "It's that normalization
thing - to show that people are just like you:'
The research phase will conclude this fall,
but Neff will continue the project by hosting
online feedback sessions at her Web site,
womynswork.org. - Sheryl Kay
United States military.
She graduated valedictorian from the
University of Richmond, she's in great physical
condition, she's patriotic, and by golly,even now,
in wartime, Herrin is ready and willing to serve.
But wait ... you didn't ask; can we tell?
Yes,Herrin, 24, is a very out lesbian. So
when she and three other gay friends sincerely
attempted to enlist at an Army recruiting
center in Minneapolis, Minn., this summer
without hiding their sexual preferences, all four
were rejected.
The friends are part of Right to Serve, a
campaign spearheaded by Herrin and Jacob
Reitan. The two have joined with young
people across the country who would like to
pursue military careers but have not because
of their sexual orientation. The groups
attempt to register for military service and
later return to the recruiting centers and con,
duct sit,ins protesting their rejections.
'J\ccording to the Urban Institute, there
are 42,000 gay people who would sign up
right now if they could;' Herrin says. "We're
arguing for them and for the plight of 65,000
gay people who are serving right now, and
nobody in the military knows they are gay.
When one of them gets shot and killed,
nobody knows they have a same,sex partner
at home and maybe children too, so the family
finds out by reading some list of dead soldiers
in a newspaper. That is just untenable:'
A former fine arts student, Herrin wishes
she had more time for the pallette, but until
she sees global equality for the LGBT com,
munity, she's in this battle for good.
"I can't see injustice and ignore it;' she
says. 'J\nd I can't leave it for someone else to
do:' -Sheryl
Kay
121 curve
ist, managing food cooperatives and farmers
markets and teaching about permaculture. She
also served as a La Leche League leader for 10
years while raising her children.
Now, at 47, she's cultivating a new
venture, returning to what she calls her "true
passion;' writing. Neff is working to complete
a collection of literary essays centered on
go red. anyway you want ... eat red - apples,
cherries, tomatoes. leave red kisseson someone's
cheek. laugh so hard your face turns red. but
whatever
you do, do it for your heart. take a
moment everyday and put your hand on your
heart. and then make your own promise to be
heart healthy.
www.goredforwomen.org
1-888-MY HEART
for women
love
your
heart
~
American Heart ..
Association. V'
Curvatures
If This House Is a Rockin'
Down South, traditions run deep. For years,
lavish beauty pageants and dance competitions
in Atlanta have often been hosted by gay black
"houses;' quasi,fraternities set up to offer a safe
Hello Jovida
and cordial social meeting ground.
Congrats
to Jovida
Two women, longtime partners, have taken
Guevara-Ross
who
the concept to the next level with the House of
joinedCalifornia's
Community
United Buchanans, a social group oflesbians and gays who
AgainstViolence,
the have come together to form a surrogate family.
"We recognized the need for a house to rep,
nation'soldestLGBT
anti-violence
organiza- resent more than entertainment;' says Noriega
tion,asits newexecutive Buchanan (nee Nicole), 33, the proxy "father"
director.Guevara-Ross, who oversees the family with "mother" Goldie
formerassociate
director Buchanan (nee Tanya), 34. "People need to
of theWomen's
Building belong somewhere. Many of these people have
in SanFrancisco,
has
been turned away by their natural families:'
an impressive
recordof
Admission to the group is by application and personal con,
socialactivismin the
sultation, and membership is maintained by annual reviews.
community.
While none of the members live with the Buchanans, 14
"CUAV
hassuchan
"family
members;' ranging in age from 22 to 44, come together
extraordinary
legacy
for
meetings,
social settings, outings and community service
of confronting
violence
againstandwithinour projects. They provide each other with emotional support,
community,
andI intend direction and a solid network of loyal "sisters and brothers:'
to continuethat legacy,"
Community involvement is central at the House, and this
shesays."I can'tthink past year, the group donated its time to Meals on Wheels and
of a moreimportant Hands on Atlanta.
taskthankeepingour
community
safefrom
violence."
Guevara-Ross'
hire
culminates
whathas
beena yearof transition
andchangefor-CUAV,
as
theorganization
looks Judging by the press, Julie and Hillary Goodridge are the
to expandthesafetynet Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes of the lesbian community; the
for all LGBTsurvivors two have been the focus of intense media scrutiny since they
of violencein California. announced their separation back in July.
Nicholas
Hodges,
chair
One of seven couples to bravely sue for and win the right
of CUAV's
Boardof
to wed in Massachusetts, the Goodridges along with their
Directors,
saysthat
then,9,year,old daughter had their wholesome faces plastered
Guevara-Ross
"brings
incredible
experience across the pages of newspapers and magazines after the 4, 3
andenergyto the court decision was announced.
Julie and Hillary were among the first to legally wed in
agency,
anda sincere
warmthandpassion May 2004, but they were not the first married couple to sepa,
thatconnects
herwith rate. In fact, the BostonGlobereported in January that up to 45
ouranti-oppression couples have filed for divorce since same,sex marriages began
mission."Formoreinfor- taking place in Massachussetts. So why are the media paying
mationaboutCUAV
and so much attention to this couple's separation?
theirwork,pleasevisit
Lesbians have been debating for months. Did the pressure
cuav.org.
-Amanda
of maintaining their status as upstanding lesbian citizens con,
Poulsen
And let's not forget, partying is important, too.
Through their venture, HOB Productions, the couple
sponsors some ofHotlanta's best lesbian parties. This past year
alone, HOB produced fabulous dyke revelries for Memorial
Day, July 4, Black Gay Pride, Atlanta Pride and Halloween.
"We do this because we believe our love for family and each
other, our passion for excellence and our sincerest desire to
build a better people regardless of their race, creed, sexual ori,
entation or life experiences, is just bigger than just the two of
us;' Noriega says. For more info, visit hobproductions.4t.com.
-Sheryl
Kay
Living Separate Lives
tribute to their marital failure? According to the 2000 census,
40 percent of couples who marry within a five,year span of
cohabitation also divorce during that same period. Are we sad
to learn we may be no different than our hetero counterparts, or
14
I
curve
are we worried that this somehow reflects an inability to show
our normalcy and stability? Does this lessen us further in the
eyes of those who watch us critically and perhaps scornfully?
Kristian
Mineau, president
of the conservative
Massachusetts Family Institute, which is appealing the court
decision legalizing same,sex marriages, says they aren't inter,
ested in using the Goodridges' divorce to their advantage. The
Goodridges have declined interviews with media outlets, both
LGBT and mainstream. I received a firm declination from
Julie, but Hillary replied saying, "I appreciate your attitude,
and think CURVE is terrific. I am not, however, going to say any
more about my marriage, the marriage debate, or anyone else's
marriage at this time. I need to concentrate on taking care of
my daughter, on my life, and having some privacy:'
Their now, 10,year,old daughter, Annie, seems to be the
center of their world. She is the driving force that prompted
them to step into the public light for the 2003 decision that
legalized same,sex marriages and the reason why they seek pri,
vacy regarding their separation. What could be better family
values than that?·- Allison Steinberg
Beyonce
"The gay people I hang out with are extremely talented,
and I seek out talented people, 'cause I have good
ideas, but I can't do anything with my hands, so I
latch onto people and can say, 'Hey can you make
a snake out of a bandana,' and they'd be able to
Mark Your Calendars:
It's Sexy Lesbian Time
Finally, someone has created the perfect hot but not het pinup
calendar and we expect they'll be dyke Santa's No. 1 stocking
stuffer this month. The I Heart Brooklyn Girls 2007 pinup
calendar offers real gay-girls-next-door from Brooklyn (yes, 12
queer femmes) posing as classic pinup girls from 1905 through
the present day. Each girl is named for a Brooklyn neighborhood, and each represents a different decade. Queer creators
have superbly refocused the traditional calendar girl through an
all-female lens, sending up classic pinups such as the Gibson girl,
d1e Varga girl and the Tiger Beat toughie.
The first calendar of its kind had me so excited that I just
about slobbered on the phone talking with the very sexy stylist
and Miss Red Hook (May), akaLaura Allen.
"I Heart Brooldyn Girls not only shows off the foxy, feisty
femme contingent of one of Brooklyn's most vital communities;'
Allen says,"but also redresses stereotypes of what lesbians look like,
both then and now:•The four months pictured above are proof
The four queer artists behind· the project include designer
Allen, creator of the-story.com; Victoria's Secret hair and makeup stylist Deirdre Novella, akaMiss Bay Ridge; designer Mari
~
0
Irizarry, the oh-so-lovely Miss Cypress Hills; and photographer
(.)
,(/')
fi! . Erica Beckman, who serves as photo editor at Fortune Small
~
Businessmagazine by day.
~
.~
The large-format, wire-bound calendar sells for $15 online at
~ iheartbrooklyngirls.com. Best yet? A portion of proceeds will be
~ donated to the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence
~ Project. - Diane Anderson-Minshall
do it." >> Comic Amy Sedaris to Out Smart
"The fact that I have a special right because I'm
allowed to have a thousand different privileges
because I'm able to get married just because I
happen to be straight doesn't seem fair to me
- that people who are my closest friends, people
I consider to be my family, don't have those same
rights." >> Actor Judith Light to Q Vegas
"I love being around other women. I love the strength
of that, of talking to other women, learning from
other women.">> Singer Beyonce to Giant
"Every name I've been called has made me that much
stronger to fight for what I think should be a freedom for all women: to be able to express themselves." >> Singer ChristinaAguilerato Jane
"[Angelina Jolie]'s gorgeous. She could have my
babies. I'd do her in a heartbeat!">> RealityTV
maven Janice Dickinsonto The National
Ledger
December 2006
I 15
Tara
McPherson
l
I
1LLUSTRATOR
"Sweetly creepy" may be the best way to describe Tara McPherson's illustrations, posters and paintings. "I love that dynamic because it creates a certain tension in the work to where you're drawn
in, but conversely subtly repulsed;' she says in Lonely Heart, her new book released last September
by Dark Horse Press. If her style looks familiar, you may have seen some of the gig posters she's
designed for bands like Green Day, Le Tigre, Depeche Mode and the Strokes. A bass player herse1£
McPherson (left) has always been deeply inspired by music - lucky for a girl who lives in Brooklyn.
"There is a very large and diverse art community here and it's very inspiring to see and hear what
everyone is working on;' she says."There is ... a sense of urgency that I don't feel in other cities, which
in turn makes me work harder:' Currently, she's working on a painted graphic novel called Donor, to
be released by DC Vertigo Comics in 2007. Check out more of her work, plus some sweetly creepy
swag, online at taramcpherson.com. - Catherine Plato
16
I curve
Curvatures
Considering Femme--ininity
Femmes, femmes ·everywhere -
reading, teaching, shimmy-
ing, singing, making art, learning, unlearning, connecting and
discussing. Close to 600 femmes, partners and allies gathered in San Francisco in August to convene Femme 2006:
Conversations and Explorations. The conference, led by a
steering committee of more than 20 people, explored how and
why being femme matters, and how femme identity can transform queer politics.
In her keynote address, longtime femme activist Amber
Hollibaugh, senior strategist for the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force, issued a call to create the kind of femme community that will "save our lives:'
"Femme identity has often remained an invisible identity, except in relation to who we partnered with, and that has
resulted in a lack of community, solidarity, and commitment
between femmes that will be the thing that changes our lives;'
Hollibaugh explained on the final day of the conference. "You
can't do it by yourself You can't survive alone. And yet.the price
of naming ourselves as 'femme' to this day often remains the
price of shame - not just ridicule, but shame - and struggle
to see ourselves as people worthy of value:'
Hollibaugh noted that many in the queer community don't
understand that femme is a choice, a constructed identity that's
"distinct from unconsidered femininity:' But that wasn't the case
at the conference, where femmes of all genders, classes, cultural
backgrounds and sexual proclivities flaunted their femininity
in bold patterns, bright colors, the highest of heels, the tightest
of shirts and the sharpest of minds.
Though it wasn't the first femme conference - which was
held a decade ago in San Francisco, and another was held in
2005 in Seattle - it was one of the largest conferences of its
kind. For many women, just being in a room with so many
femmes was a revelation. Attendee Michele Mashburn was
heartened to spend so much time with other femmes with
disabilities, forming a community she said she hopes will last
long after the conference ends. Jessica Eve Humphrey, chair of
the 2006 conference, promised there would be more room for
political and social discussions at the next femme conference,
tentatively scheduled for 2008. To get involved in planning the
next femme conference, check femme2006.com for updates.
- Heather Boerner
Goodbye Jadine
TheaffableJadineLouie
hasbeenmakingthe
besthappenfortheSan
Francisco
Lesbian/Gay
Freedom
Bandfor more
thana decade.
Hertenureastheband'sartistic
directorandconductor
endedlastSeptember
whenshetookthe
podiumforthe lasttime
in herfarewellconcert,
TheBestIsYetto Come.
Louiecancertainlygo
outwithaplomb:Under
herdirection,notonly
wasthe bandnamedthe
officialbandof theCity
of SanFrancisco,
they
alsotransformed
their
Dance-Along
Nutcracker
intoanoutrageously
popularvarietyshowand
performed
at hundreds
of parades
andcivicand
community
events.For
moreinformation
onthe
Lesbian/Gay
Freedom
Band,visittheirWebsite
at slgfb.org.-Kathryn
Papanek
December 2006
j
17
Curvatures
Lesbofile
Marcia, _Marcia,Marcia
Marcia's mad, Rosie's back, and Eva wants us. I ByJocelyn Voo
Vampire girls and verbal backpedaling. This
month, who knows where were being pulled?
"Promiscuous"
'Tm reading a book about Chinese medicine which
claims all people are inherently bisexual to balance their energies;' singer NellyFurtadotold gay
European magazine GUS."lt makes so much sense.
As humans we have both male and female energies.
I believe KurtCobain's
statement that, in the end,
everyone is gay. Everyone should have the freedom
to experiment. I believe sexual experim<':ntationis
part of human history:•Weeks after her admission,
Furtado backpedaled. This, of course, comes from
the woman who said in an interview earlier in the
year,"This album [Loose]is really sexually assertive
in the way TLC used to be. I'm admitting to all my
fans that I am a woman, and I love to have sex:'
"MyAngelinaJoliecrushwas much moresexualthan
my Tom Cruisecrusheverwas," RosieO'Donnelltold
Newsweekin September.Well, duh.
Really, Really Desperate Housewives
There are women who are lonely, and then there
are women who are so lonely they switch sides.
Rumors were flying that Desperate Housewives'
MarciaCrossis secretly in the closet, though she
recently wed stockbroker Tom Mahoney. So as
any TV journalist is wont to do, BarbaraWalters
called her on it when Cross was a guest on The
View. "I just thought about Barbara, 'You didn't
have to ask me that question. That was tabloidy
of you;" Cross said.
But if Cross has taken it upon herself to play
tabloid police, maybe she should first talk to her
Desperate co-star EvaLongoria,
who's been doing
plenty of tabloid outing herself. Despite being in a
steady relationship with San Antonio Spurs point
guard TonyParker,in che August issue of Playboy,
Longoria admits shed once kissed a woman, but"I
wish I had a full-on gay experience because I chink
women are beautiful creatures ... Maybe I'm just
her vampire teeth;' according to the New York Post.
holding out for the future:' Eva, were here.
Ordinarily I'd insert a snide joke here, but in this
case, the truth simply cannot be topped.
Love at First Bite
Everyone knows chat beautiful women are danWake up With Rosie
gerous, but if you believe New York cab driver
Critics and viewers alike waited with bated breath
Eric Darko, they can also be deadly. The cabbie
for RosieO'Donnell's
arrival on The View, joinand Stephanie
Adams,Playboy'sMiss November
ing BarbaraWalters,Joy Beharand Elisabeth
1992 and the first openly gay Playmate, got into a Hasselbeck
in early September. Would she come
dispute while Adams was hitching a ride home to
out sporting a ridiculous fauxhawk? Crack jokes
her Chelsea apartment. Boch cabbie and Adams
about StarJones'
wake? Make the production edicalled 911, with Darko celling dispatchers that
tor really earn his paycheck by bleeping out the curse
Adams was a vampire and that she "showed him
words that'd pepper her prose? Sadly, nothing Page
18 I curve
Six-worthy occurred. Instead, the former Queen of
Nice walked out to a standing ovation, and talked
candidly about her life with partner KelliCarpenter
O'Donnell,
her experience coming out ("I sort of
thought everybody knew"), and even joked that a
large bouquet of flowers on the set was sent to her
by her former fantasy main squeeze, TomCruise,
whom she always referred to as "my Tommy"
when she was hosting The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
Nowadays? "My AngelinaJoliecrush was much
more sexual than my Tom Cruise crush ever was;'
O'Donnell told Newsweek in September. Damn
straight. Welcome back, Rosie. ■
Curvatures
Tee A. Corinne: Tribute to a Great Lesbian Artist
the Oregon woods propelled her toward landscape
imagery in her work: labia melded together with
tree roots and fiddlehead fems to create immensely
sensual and provocative portraits of female sexuality
and female connections to the earth.
The eroticism of her art was complemented by
her erotic writings. In numerous collections of stories and poems, Corinne told stories oflesbian sexuality in its many aspects - all, inevitably,celebratory,
like the story she wrote for Coming Out of Cancer:
Writings From the Lesbian Cancer Epidemic. Years
before lesbians wrote about their cancer experiences,
before her lover died of cancer, before she received
Two days before my friend, lesbian artist Tee A.
Corinne, died on Aug. 27, Jean Sirius' blog charting
the progress of Corinne's brief but devastating bout
with liver cancer noted the following: "Tee spent
much of the day sleeping on the sofa, looking out the
window.'the sky is so blue, the trees so green, all the
different shades .... i'm just being really,really quiet
and that feels good. Probability of canasta tonight:
very high:'
For those who didn't know her, that description of Corinne in her last 36 hours is indicative
of her spirit: She never stopped registering things;
she was always present. She was playful, vibrant,
flirty, warm, deep and massively intelligent. But
that presentness of hers: Of all the gifts she gave
the lesbian community, both collectively and individually, that was her greatest gift - it compelled
her to see everything then report it back in ways
that only artists can, a kind of synesthesia.
Corrine and I met in the early 1980s when we
were both involved in the Women's Caucus for Art
of the College Art Association. (She would later
help found the queer branches of that group, as one
of her many achievements.) I never ceased to be impressed with her knowledge of women artists and
photographers, which was encyclopedic. Not only
was Corinne herself an iconic contributor to women's art, but she was also a committed chronicler of
women's art. Without her digging and delving, the
work of countless women would have disappeared
without remark. She was a true art historian who
delighted in uncovering and writing about new
works by women - or simply calling up a friend
and passing on the information, replete with some
sexy tidbit of gossip about the artist.
Corinne always had a story to tell, but it's the
iconoclastic breadth of her work as an artist and
writer that will be her ultimate legacy.One of her
photographs hangs on a wall in my bedroom. At first
glance it appears to be a construction of differently
hued chiaroscuro sinews; actually, it's a photograph
of two women having sex - sensual, exquisite, noholds-barred sex.
z
z
ct:
:::E
a:
w
t:ii
Q.
w
z
~:::,
en
Corinne gave us lesbian sex in an 8-by-10 glossy
- not the male porn version or a sanitized Boston
marriage version, but real lesbian sex. She was the
first lesbian photographer to portray sexual images
of lesbians, to recreate the female gaze from the
active end of the lens to the passive end. When she
made lesbian erotic art for lesbians, she etched a path
for other photographers and eroticists to follow.
For decades, Corinne was the cartographer of
the lesbian body. From her famous solarized nega-
tive portrait of two women entwined in each other's
arms that graced a 1977 cover of Sinister Wisdom, to
her declarative Cunt Coloring Book first published in
1975, to Yantras of Womanlove, published in 1982
and one of the first books of lesbian erotic photographs, Corinne blazed a trail with her blatantly lesbian art. For a decade every book from Naiad Press,
one of the largest lesbian publishing houses in the
world, had a Tee Corinne cover.
In the 1980s, she began to do stylized configurations of lesbian bodies in sexual poses as well as in
sexual acts. These photographs are breathtaking for
their sensuality and composition.
In the final year of her life,she broke ground again
with the CAT scan-style digitized portraits she took
of herself and her longtime lover Beverly Brown as
Brown was dying of colon cancer in January 2005.
With her camera, Corinne told the story of lesbian
bodies that had not previously been told. With her
writing, she told stories of lesbian sexuality and lesbian art previously hidden.
Part of her iconoclasm lay in her desire to capture all aspects of lesbian desires, sexualities and
bodies. In an interview several years ago, Corinne
told me she wanted to capture lesbian desire on film,
to transmit it to viewers in all its many layers and
facets. Corinne's subjects were real lesbians of all
ages, ethnicities and shapes. She photographed disabled women naked in wheelchairs, myself included,
and women suffering from illness whose bodies had
been transmogrified by surgeries, like Brown.
She captured fabulous portraits of lesbian writers, artists and musicians, many of which have been
featured in this magazine. Her years spent living in
her own diagnosis, Corinne was envisioning lesbian
sexuality post-cancer and writing about it. In doing
so, as with all her groundbreaking work, she opened
the door to discourse. The woman in her story
"Vibrator Party" is able to engage in a group sexual
encounter with other lesbians post-mastectomy;
lesbians reading that story had their own experiences of body affirmed, rather than discounted.
But all this iconoclastic unveiling of lesbian
erotic experience had a price. In an interview I did
with Corinne in 1992, she said her work made her
"famous, but in an obscure kind of way" and in subsequent years, that didn't change. She wasn't able to
break into the mainstream art world, despite the importance of her academic work in art history and the
stellar nature of her photography, which certainly
has the gravity, depth and transgressive power that
Robert Mapplethorpe's work has, but which never
captured the same mainstream attention.
The provocative element of Corinne's work led
not to the national exhibitions she should have had,
but to censorship. Where queer women see a celebration oflesbian sexuality and female art historians
saw art of unique stature, others see pornography.
Corinne's work was banned in Canada, her books
stopped at the border during the pornography raids
of the 1990s. Her work was also collected by the
Traditional Values Coalition while on display at the
San Francisco library and presented to a U.S. Senate
committee as "pornography:'
At the end of her too-short life (she died two
months before her 63rd birthday), Corinne had created a massive volume of work: photographs, books,
academic and art historical writings, criticism, political writing, ceramics, sculpture and painting.
She was indeed a Renaissance woman whose work
opened doors for lesbian photographers and artists. By promoting healthy images of lesbian life and
sexuality,by celebrating the diversity of lesbian lives
Tee Corinne continued on page 71
December 2006
I 19
1 Girl power at Provincetown's Women's Week 2 Surfs up at P-town's Women's Week
3 Lizzy Acker (from left) with Curvettes Catherine Plato, Danie Belfield and Ondine Kilker,
and writer Ariane Conrad 4 The emotional Fat-Bottom Mama's Benefat for Big Burlesque
and Fat Bottom Mama's founder Heather MacAllister at the Center for Sex and Culture in
San Francisco. Clockwise from left: Heather MacAllister, Loretta Greene, Tina Palivos, Dina
Palivos, Sondra Solovay, Kelli Dunham and Vanya Hollis 5 Suzanne Westenhoefer (3rd
from right) parties with pals at Pearl's Rainbow in Florida. 6 CuRVEcolumnists Kathy Belge
(left) and Gina Daggett flank God-des-& She at the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago 7 Renee
Zellweger (left) and Marian Wright Edelman (right) at a gala dinner hosted by Queen Rania
of Jordan during a conference to launch the Global Women's Action Network for Children
20
Icurve
e0
z
~
0
I
...J
::J
~
8 The Women's Dinner at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association convention
in Miami. From left: Julie Boker of GO NYC, Abigail Garner of Families Like Mine and
LoAnn Halden from PlanetOut.com 9 Girls get their groove on at cuRvE's Summer Music
Fest at Whisper in San Francisco 10 Canadian cuties party at a fundraiser for YouthCo, a
Vancouver, B.C.-based organization that helps youth living with HIV and AIDS. From left:
Sheena Sargeant, Evin Jones, Caitlin Padgett and Aaron Monroe. 11 San Francisco's DJ
Gray gets her groove back 12 Damron's Gina Gatta (left) and Laura Spanjian at Whisper
13 Ladies from AdventureOutWomen.com are all smiles 14 San Francisco's DJ Saratonin
lays down the tunes 15 Don't mess with Miami's DJ Pat Pat 16 Was it the music or the DJs:"
Who knows:"All we know is that cuRvE's Whisper party was anything but quiet.
December 2006
I21
Advice
BAD GIFT
IDEAS
Ask Fairy Butch
Mom's Ruining My Love Life
Wantto keepgetting
nightlynookie?Some
Dear Fairy Butch: I'm in a new relationship with a
giftscouldleadyourgirl
notto keepon giving. woman I'm wildly attracted to. I've had plenty of
Reconsider
before sexual experience (I'm 38), but suddenly I feel like
puttingthesepresents I've got no clue how to make love to a woman. My
underthetree: new girlfriend is very tight inside and even when
very lubricated, my finger causes her pain. I keep
The Not-So-Subtle
my nails as short as possible, but they still seem
Suggestion Gift
to scrape her inside. We've tried a glove, but that
Holidays
arenotimefor
still seems to scrape. Is it me? Is it her? She says
criticism,constructive
she's had plenty of sex where it hasn't hurt, but
or otherwise.
Resistthe
urgeto improveyour some women do tend to scrape her. We've considpartnerwith itemssuch ered a dildo, of course, but they don't make them
asa Botoxgift certificate, as small as a finger or two. Do they make thick
rubber finger cots? Is there another solution? Is
LadyBicbackshaveror
WonderGirdle. the angle all wrong? It's getting so that I'm afraid
Thefollowingbooks to touch her. - She's Tiny in Tulsa
couldserveasa backhandedcompliment Dear Tulsa:Honey, I feel your, or should I say her, pain. Have
likelyto earnyoua back- you tried cotton swabs wrapped in plastic wrap or a cut latex
handedslap_:
Dummies'
glove? That's about as small it gets and with patience and a
Guideto Pleasing
your
spiffy manicure, you just might meet with success. It may be
Sexua!PartneroranythingbyDr.Phil. that your partner is experiencing vaginismus, which means
penetration is difficult for her. There are different treatment
Freebies and
options for her, including work with Kegel exercises, dilation,
Cheapies
education and work with a counselor. And remember penetraSure,it's temptingto
regiftanitemyoudidn't tion isn't the end-all be-all of sex; plenty oflesbians like to skip
want.Reconsider
if your it altogether. Find out if your girlfriend is one of them.
girla) hasseentheitem
all yearin yourcloset Dear Fairy Butch: My girlfriend and I have recently
orb) gaveyouthose been split up by my mom; she doesn't think I should
showergelsandsoaps
be dating a girl. I came out to my mom a while ago,
in StinkyCloverscent.
and she still hasn't accepted it. I know everything
Avoidthoselittlepaper
coupons
thatsaythings takes time, but this has been almost eight months
like"goodfor onefree now and I want my girlfriend (soon-to-be wife) back
favorthat I'd really with me. Of course, my mom says I have to wait for
rathernotdo."You're seven months to even start thinking about getting
notfoolinganyone.If
back with her, and since my girlfriend is bisexual my
shehasanygraymatter mom wants her to choose, to either be straight or
at all,she'llknowyou gay. That's not right! I don't know what to do. I want
spentNOTHING
onherto
to beat some sense into my mom, but I know that
makethecoupons.
Andif
won't solve anything. So can you please give me
youdon'tplanto let her
some help? - PO'ed in Poughkeepsie
cashin onthe2-hour
toe-sucking
session,
you
Dear Slugger:First off, table those violent urges toward your
shouldn'tgiveit to herin
thefirst place. mater. They'll land you nowhere. You didn't give your age, but I
Itemsfromdrugstores have a hard time understanding why your mom gets to dictate
shouldalsobeavoided. whom you get to date, and more to the point, whom they get
Generally
speaking,
if
to date! If the issue is that you can't bring your girlfriend into
youlovesomeone,
never your home, then you'll simply have to find other places for your
buyhergift in thesame assignations for a while. It's tough, but not impossible. I know
placeyoubuyyour a couple who spends their student loans hooking up for a year,
tampons.
- KateLacey and while I wouldn't recommend it, it shows some creativity
22
I
curve
and passion. As for your girlfriend having to choose between
being gay or straight, you know that's bogus, and that's what's
important. Now, try to work around your mom and give your
honey a smooch for me.
Dear Fairy Butch: I'm hoping that you can also give
me some words of wisdom. I teach vocal music at my
local Catholic high school. I have a lovely 16-year-old
student with a fabulous voice and intellect. She's the
type of student every teacher dreams of, though, I'm
certain, not in the way I've been dreaming of her. What
the hell is wrong with me? I've never had this type of
thing happen to me before and I'm scared to death. I'm
in a wonderful (it really is!) relationship with my partner
of almost seven years. I feel like a pedophile - am I?
What's wrong with me? - A Distraught Teacher
Dear Teach: Listen, some teachers do get crushes on their
students, especially those in the upper grades, but that's exactly
where your crush must stop. Fantasy is fantasy and no one can
take that away from you, but you must not act on it. Here are
some thoughts: Can you arrange it so that another adult can be
in the room with you at all times, perhaps an aide? The safety
of your students should be of the highest priority to you, and
making a move on this girl would likely jeopardize that feeling
of safety and propriety for her. If these feelings persist, I would
suggest seeing a counselor to see how you can harness these
feelings in a productive and healthy way so it doesn't endanger
this girl, ruin your career and end your relationship. ■
E-mailfb@fairybutch.comwith your queriesregardinglesbianlife,
sexualityand romance.
Lipstick& Dipstick Advice
A Threesome or Better Tools?
by Christa Schulte, Daily Sex: 365 Positionsand
Activities for a Year of Great Sex (it's written for
straighties, so improvise) and Felice Newman's
definitive The Whole Lesbian Sex Book, chock-full
of great info and juicy suggestions!
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: My girlfriend
and I have been together for nearly three
years. We have tried almost everything
in terms of sex. I need some new ideas.
- Bored in Bethlehem
Lipstick: My personal holiday favorite is the
original "Tinsel Tickle;' rivaled only by "Where'd
Lipstick Put the Mistletoet Don't forget "Yuletide
Yoni;' preferred by new-age dykes, a position that
steers clear of traditional, missionary holiday sex.
Unfortunately, there's no room for a detailed explanation; they're all quite involved, but use your imagination. Just be careful with the mistletoe - like
your ex-girlfriend's fruitcake, it may be poisonous.
Dipstick: Oh lover girl, my bet is you haven't
begun to scratch the skin of all the fun that awaits
you in the bedroom ... and the basement, and the
kitchen, and the backyard and the backseat. Hell,
just change the location, and the sex becomes more
enticing. I'm getting damp just thinking about
it. Try slipping these inspirational books into
your sweetie's stocking: Tantric Sex for Women
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: My girlfriend
wants to have a threesome and already
knows whom she wants to invite into
our bedroom, but I'm really hurt by the
idea. I love her and want us to be monogamous, and I already feel threatened
by this woman. It makes me wonder if
Patrice still loves me. Should I stop worrying and give in? - Torn about the Trio
Lipstick:Everyone get back - I think I'm gonna
puke! This brings up all kinds of icky memories. Do
not, I repeat, do not give in if you're uncomfortable!
From personal experience, a threesome (when two
participants are in a monogamous relationship) is a
very bad idea which almost always leaves one, if not
everyone, crying. Beyond a firm no - which you're
absolutely entitled to give - you have three other
options: a) Play Russian Roulette, brave through
it, and hope you girls make it out alive. b) Open up
your relationship and sleep with whomever you'd
like, with prescribed rules. c) Go to Dinah Shore
and find a girl that wants you and only you.
Dipstick: Hey Lipstick, isn't Dinah Shore where
you had that ill-fated threesomer Threesomes are
always bad news for lesbians. Sometimes hets make
a go at it; desperate couples troll lesbian bars, he in
a leisure suit, she in a skimpy dress. Yuck! Dykes
can't do threesomes because we get too emotionally
involved. Invite a third into your bed and you'll
either end up hating her or falling in love with her,
neither of which you want. Feel threatened you
should! Patrice just wants to find a way to sex up a
woman she has a crush on within the boundaries of
your relationship. Be strong and don't give in!
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I'm 17 and
have a huge crush on a girl in my church
youth group. So far, I haven't worked up
the courage to talk to her. I'd like to ask
her out, but I fear getting kicked out of
church if she doesn't like me. After I came
out at my Christian high school, I was
suspended for a week. How do I handle
this? - Crushed on a Church Chick
Lipstick:For a high schooler, you're a smart little
gentile; if you're gonna get crucified at church, you
wanna make sure she's a sure thing. (Hallelujah for
coming out on campus!) Why not slip a note in a
hymnal and pass it down to her:' In it, tell her you
know someone who's got a crush, but that there's
one catch: it's a girl. Watch carefully as she reads,
her body language may speak more of the gospel
than her lips. If she responds favorably, then take
her outside, introduce yourself and fess up. But
Crushed, as a general rule, I don't think trolling
for girls at church is a good idea unless you go to
the Unitarian church, and then you can even ask
the minister out!
Dipstick: I disagree with Lipstick. Church is
a fine place to meet a lady. I remember when I
was a Catholic child, after my mother tucked me
into bed, I would pull my favorite bedtime story,
Lesbian Nuns: Breaking the Silence, from under
my mattress and dream of meeting a lesbian nun
of my own. Although I've met several sexy ladies
in habits over the years, I never did make one my
own. But that's not the point, Crushed. Love is a
rare gift from God, and if you feel it with Mary,
then you should go for it. Lipstick did get one
thing right: making a pass in the sanctuary is a
no-no. Instead, invite her over for a night of popcorn and movies. Stay away from heavy titles like
The Passion of the Christ, and instead pick something more light-hearted, like Imagine Me & You.
If Mary snuggles closer during the kiss between
Rachel and Luce, then sweet Jesus, you're in! ■
Ask aboutsex, loveor lesbiansat lipstickdipstick.com.
December 2006
I
23
Astro Grrl
Advice
. StargazingHolidays
Be sure
to travelin
December
and expose
yourselfto
an arrayof
assorted
exotic
delicacies.
Or maybe
it willbe
morefun to
just expose
yourself.
Justavoid
drafts.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21}
Sex: It's all about you this December. Lesbian Archers
are not only charismatic and charming, they are also
bold, beautiful and ready for action. What a nice change
of pace! Career:You don't really care if they like you or
not at work because you have bigger fish to fry. Have you
ever smelled frying fish, though:' Forgive.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Sex: Your intuition tells you that she is really into you.
Maybe that is true, but are you into her:' Oh, with a little
luck ... Career: Happy bonus season, Capricorn. Have
you been naughty or nice on the job:' Check your stock,
ing for any stray pieces of coal.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
Sex: Relationships may hit a sand barge this December.
Will you scuttle the Love Boat Aqueerius, or will she:'
All hands on deck! Career: Although you would prefer
to hang out with assorted girlfriends instead of working, try
to put in some face time at the office. And make it a holly jolly
face, please!
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Sex: Sex and work stir into a magical and intoxicating egg nog
this December. But what will happen in the new year:' Ho ho
ho! Career: You are brilliant at work - sharp, strategic and
magnanimous. In fact, you are at the top of your game. Or is
itgayme:'
Icurve
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
Sex: Lionesses should get out of their cave and meet and greet
this December. Crawl into someone else's cave instead. Career:
You would rather party this holiday, but work beckons. Find
time for both. Remember: Slow and steady wins the rat race.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Sex: Be sure to travel in December and expose yourself to an
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Sex: You are a woman of mystery in December. Be generous
array of assorted exotic delicacies. Or maybe it will be more
fun to just expose yourself. Just avoid drafts. Career:It is dif,
ficult to keep your mind on the job. Sapphic Rams may have to
find interesting office mates to keep themselves focused. How
interesting is up to you ...
with your gifts, but don't keep your intentions under wraps.
Career: You know just what to say to sway the senior staff
toward your way of thinking. However, perpetual mistletoe in
the ladies' bathroom should not be your legacy.
Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Sex: Sex can bring you to a new level this December. Does this
mean that you will try it upstairs:' Career: There are things
24
But will you become too hot to handle:' Don't ask me - ask
her. Career: Late nights at the office will take their toll if you
let them. At least you will clock the overtime. Don't spend it all
in one place or all on one woman.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Sex: Girlfriends want to play matchmaker, but keep your
that you are not seeing clearly at work. Did you remember to
pack your reading glasses:' Focus, focus.
expectations low. Didn't mother tell you not to play with
matches:' Ouch! Career: Love can be found if you search for
it, especially on the job. Prepare to be swept off your feet by a
gale,force wind at work. Who's Gale:'
Gemini (May 21-June 21}
Sex:Just when you thought things were out of control, lover,
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
Sex: You find a well,endowed benefactress to fund your
girls have a way of bringing everything into perspective. Find
a new love on vacation. Will it be on your vacation or on hers:'
Career: Expect some kabooms on the job. Revenge is yours,
but don't give the appearance of enjoying it too much.
assorted projects this December. Some Scorpios have all the
luck! Career: Months of frustration in your career end in
December. Show them who's boss and who is the lowly file
clerk in the leather G,string. ■
Cancer (June 22-July 22)
Sex: A hot romance at work boils the water in the watercooler.
For more advicefrom the stars, visit our astrologer,Charlene
Lichtenstein,onlineat thestarryeye.com.
RACHAIL
SA66
Definitive Lesbian Tees
"This is Sage the
storytellerin her
prime and folk
at it's finest."
- VENUS
With a bold line of T-shirts emblazoned "Beaver;'
"Camp Sappho;'"Lady Rebel;'"Tipping the Velvet
Cafe" and "Wildflower 69;' you'd think designer
0
.J
~
8
(.)
~
w
:::>
en
Tracey M. Robinson, 39, of Jersey City, would
have enough on her plate selling her wares and
satisfying customers. But Robinson and partner
Tonja F. Jordan, also 39, have prepared a more
extensive menu for themselves.
Robinson's job as a financial analyst and
Jordan's career as a New York City-based
"Rainbow Attorney" fuel and finance their apparel
gig. Their ambition translates into an innovative
and growing alternative lifestyle apparel company.
The couple met on Yahoo! Personals two years
ago and have since been spending their spare
time together - both personally and professionally - serving up their clothing biz, Lipstick &
Wildflowers to the queer community.
"Tracey's the creative driver;' says Jordan, who
handles the business side of things, including
updating the company blog, lipstickandwildflow
ers.blogspot.com, with photos and narrative detailing the couple's exploits at Pride events up and
down the East Coast. "We have a lot of support in
the community;' says Robinson. "And it's not just
lesbians. T ransgender folks are enthusiastic customers and gay men love our lipstick T-shirts:•
Straight women also find Robinson's tees
appealing because of the quality and comfort of
the type of shirts she chooses. "I use a more formfitting shirt that is softer, has rounded arms and is
made for the female figure. They aren't long and
boxy like other T-shirts:• Robinson says her inspiration comes from designers Trip le 5 Soul and
Steven Alan.
Lipstick & Wildflowers tees, available online
at lipstickandwildflowers.com, are sized small to
2X and preshrunk with hand-pulled silkscreen
images; custom orders are available for larger
sizes, limited only by T-shirt manufacturers'
imaginations.
This lesbian power couple gives back to the
community supporting NYC's Callen-Larde
Community Health Center and Living Beyond
Belief, which fosters HIV/ AIDS prevention
education among youth. Jordan also handles pro
bono cases and often works on a sliding fee scale
through Lambda Legal.
Which celesbians would they like to see dressed
up or down in their T-shirts? Well, Katherine
Moennig is a favorite of Robinson's while Meshell
Ndegeocello is Tonja's pick. Both also agree that
Ellen and Portia, Melissa, Ani, and workout drill
sergeant Jackie Warner would each look fabulous
sporting a Lipstick & Wildflowers branded tee .
Look for their winter season rock 'ri roll
themed shirts, pants and jackets soon, and a full
clothing line in the future. - StephanieSchroeder
POBox118,~thlehem,NH0357◄
877LES·B·INN
(537-2◄66) ~ 603869-3978
vaca~fthlandslnn-nh.com
~ www.hlahlandslnn-nh.com
December 2006
I
25
It sizzles year round, so why wait for summer to
.............................................................................................................
I threw back the floor-to-ceiling blinds of my hotel room, expecting
views of other hotel buildings, or perhaps a pool, and was thrilled
to take in a sandy butte scattered with flowering cacti and mesquite
trees. A delicious, hot breeze blew in. I wandered out. Hidden amid
foliage, under a waterfall, I discovered one of the Buttes Resort's four
hot tubs, carved out of the rock. In the hotel store, I surveyed plush
roadrunners, rattlesnakes and real scorpion glass paperweights and
realized there was a probably a reason they were in stock.
I was disappointed to discover roadrunners are neither purple
nor common. Shy, little brown birds, they scuttle through the scrub
without drawing attention to themselves. Snakes and scorpions,
however, are a different matter. They are in no short supply. However,
the rattlesnake reputation is worse than reality, it seems. It's painful,
but those bitten have several hours to get medical attention.
"It's usually men who are bitten;' my tour guide,John, wryly told
me the next morning on the Apache Trail.
The Apache Trail is a 45-minute drive from Tempe, the vibrant,
youthful city to the immediate south of Phoenix. The drive passes
Apache Junction, where rumor has it there is a women-only trailer
park. One park we passed had its own golf course, the ironically
26
Icurve
named Snakehole Golf and Country Club, where they use leftover
grease from fast food restaurants in the R.V. park to harden sand
around holes. Golf courses in this valley of the sun have a "rattlesnake rule" - you can pick up your ball and remove it as many paces
as it takes to get your heart rate back to normal.
We drove through the Sonoran Desert, past giant saguaro and
chola cacti, to the town of Tortilla Flat, population six. The entire
town, which consists of a post office, saloon, general store and
boarded-up motel, was for sale on eBay back in 2003.
I was surprised by the amount of water among the red cliffs.
Boating is popular in Arizona, where most lakes are reservoirs.
Curiously, Arizona has "more shoreline than the State of California;'
according to John. When we stopped on the trail, John pointed out
flowering cacti, peering under rocks as he talked. After the third or
fourth such inspection, he picked something up. Held by its stinger
was a 3-inch-long scorpion.
"Who wants to hold it?" he asked. As I shuddered and backed
away,my traveling companion Mary strode forward, holding out her
hand. John instructed her to cup her hands around the creature and
reopen them. She did and the scorpion had curled into a ball, ready
visit this lesbian sunbird heaven? sv AEFA MULHOLLAN □
···············································•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
to sleep. "Only one in 50 will sting you;' he reassured, as it trekked
over her hands.
While scorpions' fearsome reputation may be exaggerated,
Phoenix's summer heat is not. Many types of hardy cactus can't even
survive it, I learned in che Desert Botanical Garden. Non-native
plants often "sunburn or desiccate:' One resident describes biking to
work during summer as akin to pedaling into a giant blow dryer.
On the dividing line between Tempe and Phoenix, the Desert
Botanical Garden in Papago Park is home to the world's largest collection of desert plants. We explored trails as the sun sec. A sickleshaped moon rose over dramatic buttes. We sampled Arizona wine,
and I admired dozens of stars twinkling overhead - until realizing
that they were planes, on course to and from Phoenix Sky Harbor.
It's not just che temperature that sizzles - Phoenix has scorching hot nightlife to go with its 325 days of sunshine, and the women's scene has no shortage of options. On our Sunday night, Mary
and I had a choice of five very different types of nightlife: reggaeton, cumbia, Spanish pop and hip-hop at the E Lounge or country
karaoke at Cash Inn Country. We chose the E Lounge, an easy walk
from our room at Clarendon Suites. Despite signs en route prornis-
ing "Lezbos a Go Go;' very few lezbos were actually found to be "a
go
go:
At the E Lounge, some of Melissa Etheridge's more doleful
moments blared out of the jukebox. The Spanish pop policy was
obviously a rather tenuous one. There was little evidence of cumbia,
or of Phoenix's lesbian community. Though crammed to the rafters
with carousing women Thursday through Saturday, Sunday at the E
Lounge definitely lacks a little. Mary and I grabbed stools by the bar,
where occasional air guitar solos by staff brightened things up.
While gesticulating exuberantly, I inadvertently elbowed the
beer bottle the woman beside me was drinking. I apologized for
almost knocking out her teeth, and she took chis as an opportunity
to buy us shots. This was an effort to entice Patsy, the bar manager,
to show off her shoe pouring cricks. Patsy needed little enticement.
Seconds later, she stood on the bar, pouring a row of four shots
simultaneously from up high. She and Sherry, the shot buyer, shared
enough enthusiastic reports of action on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday nights to make me schedule a return visit.
le became clear staff was closing up, although the bar was officially
open for another three hours. They were heading to famed dance
December 2006
I 27
It's not just the temperature that sizzles - Phoenix has
scorching hot nightlife to go with its 325 days of sunshine,
~~.d.!r.~ yYq~E:~.'~.
~~~~.e. h~~ nq ~r.ort~gE:.
o!_~P.ti~~~......... .
club Ain't Nobody's Bizness and invited us along.
Nestled in a strip mall, the Biz, as it's known, was
packed and friendly. A mixed lesbian and gay crowd
teemed round the bar while on the other side of a high
fence, a herd of under-2ls filled the dance floor. The
fence, similar to ones used to pen cattle, was disconcerting. It's apparently an Arizona-wide policy to keep
those below legal drinking age in these cages. At the
Biz, they even have their own under-21 entrance.
After a night doing shots, we headed to Scottsdale
to rejuvenate at Spa Avania at the Hyatt Regency
Scottsdale Resort. With dozens of sumptuous spas,
it's little wonder Greater Phoenix is known as the
"resort capital of the world;' and Avania may be the
most sumptuous of them all. Keep in mind that it's
cheaper to rent a car for a day than to take a taxi; the
distances, and therefore cab totals, are staggering.
We were thrilled to discover our midday treatments
- surprisingly reasonably priced - allowed us the
delicious prospect of enjoying the spa's facilities until
it closed at 10 p.m. Avania has spectacular amenities;
the women's side of the spa features a eucalyptus steam
room, outdoor rain showers and a relaxation lounge
with fresh apples and pears to snack on. A lounge with
an outdoor fireplace and iced mint ginger water overlooks the co-ed, swimming pool-sized French Celtic
mineral pool. A dip feels like being dunked from head
to toe in moisturizer.
After choosing from an extensive music menu, I
enjoyed an hour-long massage, the best I've ever experienced, which soothed away all aftereffects of the previous night's bar-hopping. Mary had similarly ecstatic
reports about her wrap.
We practically floated to our table in the Hyatt's
gorgeous Vu restaurant. Overlooking one of the hotel's
pools (the Hyatt boasts 10 swimming pools and a natural, 7-acre lagoon), ambient music played at perfect
volume, velvet banquettes were scattered with flurries
of cushions, and tables were separated by sheer orange
drapes. Attentive servers started us off with the most
delicious soup I've ever supped. Pumpkin, vanilla and
star anise soup was poured at the table from its own
carafe into a bowl nestled on a saucer-size zen garden
of sand and star anise. The rest of the meal reached
similar superlative-worthy heights: a delicious finale to
my five days in the desert. Like everything else I did in
Phoenix, it left me with an appetite for more. ■
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
What Else Do You Need to Know?
When to go: October through April is a
great time to visit Phoenix. Avoid summer
unless you like it really hot and want to
take advantage of enticing resort deals.
Big events include Phoenix Pride (azpride
.org); Outfar! Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
(outfar.org); Rainbows Festival (rainbowsfestival.com); and Tempe Festival of the
Arts (tempefestivalofthearts.com). First
Fridays Art Walk is a monthly highlight,
(artlinkphoenix.com); and look out for Arizona Roller Derby Girls' bake sale outside
Helga's, a commune gallery at 3rd Street
and Garfield. Scottsdale Art Walk has
taken place every Thursday for 30 years
(scottsdalegalleries.com/artwalks.html).
Get gay info: For a Sapphic slant, scour
the Phoenix Convention and Visitors
Bureau's LGBT site (visitgayarizona.com).
Tempe's CVB also offers lesbian and gayspecific vacation planning, (tempecvb
.com/glbt.asp).
Where to stay: The Clarendon boutique ho28
I curve
tel is a rare Phoenix find (theclarendon.net),
with E Lounge and zGirl in walking distance.
The colorful Fiesta Inn Resort (fiestainnresort
.com), and the spectacular Marriott Buttes
Resort (marriott.corn/phxtm), are in Tempe,
one of 22 incorporated cities that make up
the exhilarating jigsaw of Greater Phoenix.
Tempe's bars and restaurants are smokefree, and the city is home to one of the largest public institutions in the country, Arizona
State University, home of lesbian sorority
Gamma Rho Lambda.
Great grub: In Phoenix, reserve a spot at
Cheuvront, owned by openly gay State
Senator Ken Cheuvront, and enjoy wine·s,
artisanal cheese and old movies playing
with French subtitles, call 602-307-0022.
In Scottsdale, try happy hour at converted
girls' school El Chorro's (elchorrolodge
.com); or linger on Vu's hip banquets, call
480-444-1234 .
Best bar bets: E Lounge and zGirl clubs
are in the same block of North 7th Avenue;
(eloungephx.com, zgirlclub.com). Also try
Cash Inn Country or the Biz (cashinncountry
.net, aintnobodysbizness-az.com) .
See the Sights: DeTours offers an excellent, informative way to discover the
Apache Trail and Sonoran Desert (detours
az.com). The Desert Botanical Garden
boasts the world's largest collection of
desert plants, as well as Arcadia Farms
cafe where great food stars, incuding wild
salmon salad with cactus pear glaze and
refreshing cactus iced tea (dbg.org).
Spoil yourself in Scottsdale: Sumptuous
spa spot Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch
allows you to be pampered and enjoy the
desert heat from under the palm fronds
(scottsdale.hyatt.com).
If there's time: Visit the Heard Museum
and learn about Southwestern culture, heritage and peoples (heard.erg); or watch the
WNBA Phoenix Mercury shoot and score
(wnba.com/mercury). - Aefa Mulholland
AAvacations.com/ra nbow
As individual as you are
By Sara Seinberg
□
The hottest '90s dyke band is
back - and they're all grown up.
-
()
C
Queer to the core before anyone ever coined the term "queercore;'
the 1994 release of Team Dresch's debut record, PersonalBest, gave
queer girls a soundtrack that would remain forever ensconced in the
gay pantheon. But with a power so pervasive, the edges of anger and
rebellion seeped into straight music subculture with such lasting
effect that the band's much~heralded recent reunion concerts feature
not only a legion of new queer faces who never had the chance to
see the band in the '90s (due to multiplicat~on~table math home~
work, no doubt), but also a healthy peppering of straight dudes
respectfully lining the backs of the clubs, bobbing their heads along
in agreement. The news is good for dyke rock fans: Team Dresch
- Donna Dresch, Kaia Wilson, Jody Bleyle and Marci Martinez
- are officially back together, working on a new record ("although
it's hard to 'hippie jam' with Jody in (Los Angeles J;'admits Wilson)
and getting ready to hit the road. We caught up with each woman
for a little one~on~one.
►
DonnaDresch(guitar,bass,headbanger)
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How did the band come together in the first place?
And are you together again?
I met Jody when her band Hazel came through Olympia,
(Wash.,] in 1992. I met Kaia when her band came through
at around the same time. We stayed in touch and then Jody
was like, "I wanna be in a band with all dykes!" and I was like,
"Yeah!" We originally came together because we all felt so
isolated and alone and we were all like, "There you are:'
So when we broke up ... it was pretty devastating. Going
through all we did being broken up and coming full circle
just felt so good when we played that show at Homo a Go
Go. It was like the most fun we have ever had. It really just
felt better than we could have imagined. I think maybe it
was our best show. At least I felt that way. We didn't plan on
playing again or anything, but our friend Anna (Lobianco
of self~defense project Free to Fight] was the real reason we
decided to get back together again. She had been very sick
with cancer, and we wanted to raise money for (her].
Are you working on a record?
We are. We would love to have it out by winter. We'd like to
do a bigger tour, but nothing too big. Jody is a mom now.
How else are things different for you?
Well, it's intense to talk to the younger fans. They actually
grew up listening to our records. Countless people talk to me
about how important our music was to them growing up and
coming out. They make me remember again and again how
important music is.
JodyBleyle(guitar,bass,long-hairedbutch)
How Is the band different now than It was In 1993?
It's different because 1) we don't practice, 2) we don't fight
and, 3) more people come to our shows. But really, we were
I
originally driven by loving to play music ... and our isolation
... and really, I think we're still driven by the same things.
Maybe the desperation isn't at the same level, but it's still
there, that desire to connect and be with your people. I think
a key thing is, yes, most people grow and change, but not
rock musicians. We just want to rock. In some ways that's
great; in some ways it's stunted, but it's just kind of inescapable. I really, really wanted to get a Ph.D. in economics. I
wanted to quit playing music. I really, reallydid. But I can't.
I'm stunted.
So really, why are you playing in the band again?
(!)
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Those shows are magical spaces - the energy in the room is
transformative, and I value it more than just about anything
else I've ever experienced. The fact that all these people have
-come together to create it is magical, and I value it, and I
want to be a part of it for as long as I can. I work with hundreds of people every day to create software - it's a monumental effort - and it doesn't contain any of the magic that
these little rock shows have all the time.
Do you have a favorite recent moment being back?
At the Knitting Factory, Anna was sitting on the side of the
stage the whole time rocking out and singing along, and Nina
[Anna's sister] said to her, "You know all the wordst
And Anna said, "Of course! These are my songs!"Anna
was our housemate and sister, and she was dedicated to
I
being true to her ideals in every area of her life. That's not
easy to do the older you get, to live your ideals in your job, in
your relationship, raising your kids.
KaiaWilson(guitar,singer,heartthrob)
How did you all reunite?
We had all been partying together last year at Burning Man.
At one point, Jody got in her little battery-powered inflatable go-cart and just started drivin' around screamin: "Let's
get back together and play right when they light the really big
man on fire." Donna put rubbing alcohol on her ass and lit
it. Meanwhile I'm hanging upside down in our paper mache
"tree" in my Burning Man bat costume yammering on about
how Lost Boys changed my life because Jamie Gertz was so
hot, and Marci was sitting on her blanky repeating something about lights and God and that movie about the little
mouse. Then we all tuned into what Jody was screaming, and
we just said, "Yeah, OK:' And that was it.
How has the band changed since the first go-round?
Well, we are definitely older. We all have bad backs or just get
winded a lot quicker. I think it's safe to say we are actually a lot
more mature, mostly, and thoughtful about what we're doing.
The band played reunion at Homo a Go Go in 2004.
Why keep playing after that?
Team Dresch continued on page 71
December 2006
I31
[
The L Word introduced us to indie's next
big heartbreak. The Organ is now the band
U.S. dykes can't get enough of.
"This is the best part of the song/where I admit that I might be
wrong:'
I'm listening to "Brother;' a track that opens Grab That Gun, the
debut full,length CD from Vancouver, Canada's broody all,girl quin,
tet the Organ. They're the kind of band whose name you hear come
up in conversation a lot these days, with people talking in excited
tones about the 'great new group that no one knows about yet:' Being
in that kind of underground, abouMo,explod~ waiting room of fame
is a magical time for a band, but the odd thing is that the Organ
is already hugely popular, just not in this country. The Canucks
are Debora Cohen, guitar; Shelby Stocks, drums; Jenny Smyth,
Hammond organ; singer Katie Sketch and her bassist sister, cutely
called Shmoo (who replaced Ashley Webber last year).
Though they've played together since 2001, they are practically
unheard of in the U.S. apart from an appearance on The L Word last
year, when cults of dyke drama addicts all over America watched
raptly as the band moved through fog and hot lights, playing their
sweet goth,rock and wailing messages of melancholy. At the time,
the show hadn't yet aired in Canada, and the band was still unfamil,
iar with everyone's favorite Los Angeles lesbians.
Frontwoman Sketch admits that after being asked to do an ap,
pearance, "We never thought much about it again until it aired in
Australia and the States and fan e,mails started to pour in. Then, of
course, we watched and became immediately addicted. I really can't
say enough positive things that came to our band from having been
32 Icurve
on the show:'
The Organ's standing reputation is that of a female version of
the Smiths, with a singer who blends notes of Debbie Harry and
Joy Division's Ian Curtis. That much is true, but the band brings
something of their own to the table as well, creating classic art,rock
with achy gloom and a brilliantly emotive, affecting lyricism. The
music, a recipe of 4,byA beats and jangling guitars similar to early
'80s influences like the Cure (whom they have shared billing with),
marches forward with a repetitive but atmospheric style, serving as
a steady, clean platter for the deliciously witty and wistful rµµsings
of lead singer Sketch.
Lyrics including "We should go down to the mall/look at peo,
ple, judge them all/judge them before they judge us/ and leave them
feeling bad" from "Basement Band Song;' are bound to resonate not
only with the millions of alienated teenagers who buy records but
also with gay fans who have already come to love the band. As for
mysel£ I can't drive my car anywhere without giggling and having
the song "Steven Smith" run through my head: "I am driving, it's
true/and I've got something for you:'
Lesbian fans take note: Rock,groupie crushes are an inevitable
factor with the Organ. Sketch is a perfect specimen of androgy,
nous, new wave charm, with a booming baritone and the heartbro,
ken stage shyness that tends to paradoxically turn a singer into a
star. Her rock pinup qualities drew attention from fashion designer
Marc Jacobs, who shot her mournfully gazing into the camera for
his winter 2005 ad campaign. Of that surreal experience, she says
that her biggest concern was that the shoot happened to fall on a
day off from tour when she had planned to catch up on errands:
"I decided that I'd regret it much later in life if I didn't just suck up
my fatigue and dirty laundry and do the shoot. Thankfully, (it] only
lasted a few hours, so I managed to get my laundry done anyways:'
Obsession with this band is not unheard 0£ nor native to any
particular geographic region -fan drawings of band members have
their own section on the band's Web site. Right now, that kind of
mania is centered mostly in Europe, where the band has so far
focused their incessant year~round touring. Sketch explains that the
decision to spend more time overseas was as much a logistical one
as anything: "Our amazing European booking agent wanted to set
up tours for us in the U.K., so that pretty much sealed the deal. As a
result, we signed to Too Pure Records (home of Stereolab] and that
brought quite a bit of press - and thus, bigger audiences:'
Of course, all that running around opening for bands like
Interpol, Cat Power and the Wedding Present might delay their
follow~up album.
"We're going to have to take off time to write more songs, and
I don't see this time being made available in the near future;' says
Sketch, who adds that, "Touring is physically exhausting. Driving
every day, all day, sleeping in a different place every night and drink~
ing excessively takes its toll. This being said, we're always looking
forward to the next tour. It's very addicting:' ■
To see the Organ in action,go to theorgan.caor mintrecs.com.
December 2006
I33
Soon to be stars, Northern State is ideal for
lesbian.s who like their hip-hop with a Ph.D.
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''Apart of a larger community;' says Sprout, finishing her sentence.
◄
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34
It's one day before the beginning of the Michigan Womyn's Music
Festival, and Northern State has stopped off for a warm~up gig
before exposing their special brand of literate girl rap to throngs of
scantily clad females from all over the world. The energy is pure,
giddy excitement as band members Hesta Prynn, Spero and Sprout
talk about what it's like to be playing this yeal'.'sfestival.
"In every way that we can be grateful, we are;' explains Prynn,
seated on the edge of a gilded sofa in the basement of the Abbey
Pub in Chicago. She is a tall, lanky ball of energy and, like all of
Northern State, frighteningly intelligent, funny and instantly like~
able. "The way it all started was about issues. Three women in music
able to be-"
Icurve
All three hail from New York, where Sprout and Prynn were
childhood friends. "I introduced Spero and Hesta sophomore year.
Then we all became BFFs;' Sprout says. Although when these three
"best friends forever" were asked if they sported the "Best Friend"
necklaces popular in the early '90s Prynn sheepishly admits, "I had
them with someone else:'
Friendship infidelities aside, Northern State manages to meld
their unique influences of literature, feminism and hip~hop into a
dance~friendly blend of women~centered music. Educated at Vassar,
Oberlin and NYU, these women have a collective background in
Shakespearean theater, audio engineering, environmental education
and a smattering of other subjects from the liberal arts buffet.
Spero's experience in engineering helped the group record and
mix from their ealiest demos to their current projects. "We work
together. A good deal of the co~production is driven by us;' she
explains. "We'll start with the instrumental. Sometimes we'll get a
track from someone else, but we are very hands on:'
"We're studio rats;' confesses Sprout proudly.
This is evident tonight as Spero is hard at work until they hit the
stage, programming the sequencer, calling out instructions to the
sound technician and generally making sure that Northern State
puts on their best show. From the first beat, they captivate with
a gritty East Coast style that takes a page from the Beastie Boys'
manual, a pinch of Sleater~Kinney and a dash of Salt~N~Pepa. All
three women rap on each track extensively with a little bit of singing
thrown in just to mix it up. Must be that Tegan and Sara influence.
"The Tegan and Sara tour was so awesome for us;' says Sprout of
their 2005 tour mates. Northern State has also opened for Le Tigre,
De La Soul, the Roots and Talib Kweli, just to name a few. Their
upcoming album, the follow~up to 2004's All City,just might be the
one to rocket them out of hipster iPods and on to superstardom. In
any case, Northern State will still be bustin' rhymes for intelligent
females everywhere. And you can say you knew them when. ■
By Catherine Plato
Count my heart among the many broken when Sleater-Kinney
announced their "indefinite hiatus" last June. Despite initial optimistic delusions, we knew what chis meant - we might as well
replace "indefinite" with "permanent:' After 11 years of beautiful,
heart-wrenching, ass-kicking rock 'n' roll, was chis really the end?
Founded by guitarists and former girlfriends Corin Tucker and
Carrie Brownstein, Sleater-Kinney released seven albums during
their decade-plus run, from their 1995 self-tided debut to 2005's
The Woods. Janet Weiss joined in 1997, replacing drummer Lora
Macfarlane, for Dig Me Out, their first release on Kill Rock Stars.
Despite a sonic evolution from their riot grrl roots to the dark, Pearl
Jam-influenced hard rock of their last album, Sleater-Kinney retains
its original, though widening, fan base of irreverent rocker chicks.
Sadly, to understand what Sleater-Kinney meant to a generation
of women, it's essential to have seen chem live.They were our Beatles,
our Hendrix, the ones who made us want to go home post-show,
grab the nearest instrument and strum and scream until our fingers
and vocal chords bled. What queer rockstar wannabe wouldn't be
inspired by a chick wailing, "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone"? Their
final performance last August at the Crystal Ballroom in their
hometown of Portland, Ore., packed new and old fans alike- from
aging punk rockers who supported the band in its earliest days to a
new generation of riot grrls inspired by the same message.
"I am very fortunate and extremely grateful to live in a time when
I can see Sleater-Kinney play live;' said longtime friend Eddie Vedder,
who opened for chem with a Dylan-esque protest song, followed by
a ukulele-guitar duet with Weiss. His sentiments echoed throug the
crowd; we were about to wimess a historic moment, the end of an era as
vital to feminism as to rock. The set ended bittersweetly,with the quintessential breakup song,"One More Hour:' As Tucker sang,"In one more
hour, I willbe gone/In one more hour, I'll leave this room;' the words
hit harder and deeper than ever, reminding us againof the impending
"indefinite hiatus" - and, for at least one foolish optimist in the crowd,
leaving us clinging hopefully to the word "indefinite' ■
as weapons, but that th~y weren't intended as weapons. To me, Judaism isn't
about those two verses in Leviticus that say that a man shouldn't have sex with
a man. That was someone's opinion at that time, or perhaps it had a specific
context, like worrying about procreation. For me, what's interesting about those
verses is that they tell us that men have always been sleeping with men:'
After all, says Edwards, "We no longer believe that adulterers will be
stoned to death. Even the fifth-century rabbis of the Talmud worked out ways
to understand those verses to avoid meting out such punishments:•
Edwards' wife, Tracy Moore, has an official role, too, as wife of the rabbi
(called the rebbitzin). The two have been together for 20 years, and Moore's
empathetic, extroverted warmth is an indispensable social lubricant among
the congregants.
A campaign manager for a Los Angeles-based public radio station, Moore
is a longtime political activist who opposes the occupation of Palestine and
supports a two-state solution. But because the synagogue needs to provide a
spiritual home to Jews holding the full spectrum of views on Israel, "It's not a
good place to bring up Israeli politics. It's better to separate church and state;'
she says.
Edwards herself is cautious about Middle East politics, although personally
she condemns both the Israeli occupation and the Palestinian leadership. The
pulpit, she says,"is the one place where I censor mysel£ Ours is a very liberal congregation, with the exception of Israeli politics. The comfortable compromise is
that services are neutral ... I advocate for peace but without specific solutions:•
Before she was a rabbi, Edwards was one of the first out rabbinical students
- and the first to demand domestic partner benefits. LGBT pioneers like herself, she believes,"were influential in helping the Reform Movement decide to
reach out to the gay and lesbian community and to support our struggles for
equality:' To her mind, visible and influential queer congregations encourage all
LGBT Jews to be open and active in the Jewish community.
The work Beth Chayim Chadashim has done since the '70s to create
gender-sensitive liturgy has been primarily in English, since Hebrew is one of
the most gendered of all languages. (Even 'clitoris" and "breast" are masculine
words.) "Beth Chayim Chadashim was one of the first, though, to add the
mothers to Hebrew prayers that list the male ancestors, like Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob. We added Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel;' Edwards says.
In her rare spare time, Edwards also teaches at the University of Southern
California, where her students examine texts too often ignored.
"For example, there's a whole text in the Talmud about intersex and androgynous people. And the [ancient] rabbis don't condemn them or frown on them.
They're very matter-of-fact, acknowledging they exist and asking what we can
do about them in a society that we've divided into male and female roles:•
Beth Chayim Chadashim embraces a range of unlikely congregants, many
progtessives who appreciate the level of social consciousness, and nearly 10
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percent of the congregation is straight.
"We have lots of atheists who come to services at our temple;' Edwards
reveals."They like it as a contemplative space. They like the music, the conversation, and we don't check spiritual IDs at the door:'
As such, the synagogue also attracts dozens of Jews-by-choice, otherwise
kn~wn as converts. Edwards attributes this to the fact that "liberal Judaism
has been a welcoming place for LGBT people looking for a spiritual home:'
The temple's past president, Davi Cheng, is a Chinese lesbian convert, and
Edwards' key liturgical partner, Cantorial Soloist Fran Magid Chalin, has
been with the synagogue through many personal changes.
1
"I was the L in LGBT for about 15 years and now I'm the 'B;' Chalin jokes.
Moore is also a new Jew. "I became a Jew because I'm married to a rabbi;' she explains. "The reason I could become a Jew is because of feminist,
secular and queer Judaism. And because Jews invented literary criticism.
When I discovered that it's mostly about disputing the meaning of texts,
I felt right at home:• (Both Edwards and Moore hold advanced degrees in
English literature.)
As the success of Edward's own synagogue impacts other Jewish institutions, some wonder if there will always be a need for queer synagogues.
"I do not look forward to the day when queers are just absorbed into
mainstream synagogues;' Moore admits, "which might be isolating:'
Edwards agrees. "It's different to be welcomed as a stranger than to be
welcomed to a place where people 'get you; where you're not exotic:'
One Friday night, Edwards delivers a sermon about Moses, who is reputed
to have stuttered. But, she tells worshipers, it is actually written that he was
"heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue:' She can relate.
"I don't remember a time in which I've felt more like I speak a different language from the majority of people around me;• she says. "It's scary
when those people continue to hold a lot of power and would use that power
against you:• ■
December 2006
I37
of the Best
HolidayGifts
'Tis the season when you desperately search for cool gifts for your friends and
family without breaking your bank account - or heading to chain stores to buy
what the hoi polloi have already purchased. CuRvE'sgot your back with
a bevy of fun things, including some DIY stuff and a couple of "if money's no
object" products to make shopping super easy this year.
GOOD BAGGAGE
1. Hell's Belles Sexy unreformable
girls will love, love, love anything
from Hell's Belles, from sexy leopard
clutches to pinstripe travel sets. If
you've got a tattooed hottie, a femme
naughty or an absolute dom in your
life, get her something from this onewoman show. $40 and up, hbnyc.net
2. Do Over Simple, the shoe company,
now takes its responsible manufacturing to handbags. This Feedbag is constructed from wool and jute with zipper
bases made from recycled milk jugs. You
oat to have it. $70, simpleshoes.com
3. Joey Jr. Purse Mate Tired of
fumbling for your keys or phone inside
your cavernous hipster bag? This oddlynamed contraption has tons of pockets
and fits inside your purse or backpack to
help organize all the tiny things that sink
to the bottom. Comes in tons of colors but
we love the ultrabutchy camoflauge. In two
sizes. $15 and up, joeyjunior.com
4. Measure Up Erin Originals' handsewn
Tape Measure Wallet is made with love,
sturdy, and comes in a few color configurations. $30 and up, erinoriginals.com
5. Sk8ter Bois Buying a Crumpler Bag of
any sort is fun, because they have names
like Western Lawn, Breakfast Buffet and
That Wine Bar, but our fave is the water
resistant and multipocket laptop bags called
(depending on size, of course) Moderate,
Considerable and Dreadful Embarrassment.
$80 and up, smalldog.com
Not Pictured: Zip It These fun and funky
bags are actually a series of zippers that girls
(and trendy boys) can zip together in different
ways to create a one-of-a-kind bag. $7 and
up, myzipit.com
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2
1
3
BATH, BEAUTY
AND BEYOND
12
6, 7. Aloha Baby Malie Kauai's
home and body products
are the first with Hawaiian
Hydrosols. Mango Butter Bun
and Linen Mist are musts.
Prices vary, maliekauai.com
8, 9, 10. WildWoozle Soap
Company's Lotus Yoga
Collection contains perfect
post-workout products pairing
Tahitian tamanu oil with herbs
like St. John's Wort and arnica
resulting in lovely balms and
massage oils. $5 and up, wild
woozle.com
11. Bath Candy Work-at-home
mom Jhanna Dawson's High
Desert Bath & Body is handsdown a CURVE editor favorite.
With fragrances including zen
tea, iced mint, mayan gold, and
pomegranate and rosewater,
drop these little cocoa butter candies in the bath for a
aromatic and moisturizing tub of
fun. $10 for bag of five candies;
Highdesertbandb.com
12. Tuff Betty's Lavender
and Tea Tree Kukui bar is an
awesome do-it-all soap from
these sexy, soap-making sisters
from Portland, Oregon. $5,
tuffbetty.com
Not Pictured: I'm on Fire
Mia Bella's Sweet Orange and
Chili Pepper soy/veg/beeswax
candles are paraffin-free (meaning it's biodegradable, cleans
up easy and won't kill your bird
like other candles) and perfectly
yummy. $3 and up, buyamia
bella.com
13. Eye Love It Urban Decay's
Ammo Shadow Box offers their
10 best-selling eyeshades in a
case with skull and heart flourishes emerging from a pistol
of violet metallic foil and velvet
flocking that takes makeup
from cutesy to dangerous. $34,
urbandecay.com
14. Lush Tidings Almost anything from Lush is sure to please
but our faves this season are the
spicy foot lotion Pied de Pepper,
Ginger Dusting Powder and,
the poshest gift of all, the Super
Deluxe Drum, which comes with
10 products including bubble
bars, bath bombs, balls and
melts, and the intense Sonic
Death Monkey Shower Gel. $72,
lush.com
December 2006
I39
MOMS, BABIES
AND PETS
SEXY STUFF
15. Be the Present You too
can play Santa - and feel like a
Pussycat Doll at the same time
- in one of these scintillating
Shirley of Hollywood outfits
including Poodle Faux Fur Top
and Skirt or Stretch Velvet and
Marabou Baby Doll. Sizes go up
to 4X. $29 and up, shirleyof
hollywoood .com
19. Break Time An adorable
Time Out Lamby is perfect for
anyone who needs a break. $25,
uncommongoods.com
20. Speed Racers The awardwinning PlasmaCar (for kids
ages 3 to 103, they say) uses
inertia, centrifugal force and
friction to propel kids; actions
applied to the handlebars transfer motion to the wheels so no
batteries or pedals are needed.
$70, Plasmacar.com
16. Behind Closed Doors Do
not give this to your girlfriend in
front of her parents. But do give
her the OhMiBod, then watch
her get hours of enjoyment from
the first music-driven
insertable vibrator on
the market. Made for
your iPod but compatible with any MP3
or CD player and
even your computer,
OhMiBod converts
music into vibration
and comes with an
iPod mini garter, a
tiny, 5-foot cord, and
a splitter so you can
share the love. $69,
ohmibod.com
17. Marilyn's Back
The Marilyn Monroe
Velvet Collection - a
limited edition of the
highly coveted wine
- is back adorned
with her original Playboy photo
with assets covered by a peeloff boa, and it all comes in a
"peel and peek" package. $200,
marilynwines.com
18. Signature Scents If
Jean Nate is your idea of fresh
fragrance, get thee to Apothia
for some girlie education on their
signature Velvet Rope, inspired
by an icy, dry vanilla martini
spiked with absolute jasmine
and a twist of grapefruit. And, for
a dose of countertop sexy, get
her Nanadebary Bronze, a fiery
fragrance with hints of bergamot,
cinnamon, cedar and sandalwood. $75 and up, apothia.com
18
21. Let Her Sleep For those
not-so-special mornings when
she just can't be disturbed
comes this hand-embroidered Fuck Off eye quilt from
Jennicakes (and if you're not
into that F-word, they also offer
Sod Off). $24, jennicakes.com.
22. Dress 'Em Up At
Petsmart's Dogs.com you Qan
get your furry friend dressed
to the nines (love the tennis
sweater) and chewing on toys
worthy of a pampered princess.
Prices vary, dogs.com
17
23. Puppy Perfection One
of the more adorable gifts this
season is perfect for pooch's
first Christmas. The handmade
Puppy Pad Training Cake from
Roxie's Shop is a wrapped
"cake" of puppy pads, treats,
toys and puppy care essentials
that covers Tinkerbell's first
three months at home. $99 and
up, roxiesshop.com
24. The Dog Ate It The first
cookbook with recipes designed
for dogs and owners to savor
together. $15, penguin.com
22
Not Pictured: Doggie
Mansions Since dogs started
to travel on private jets in Louis
Vuitton carry-ons, it's little
surprise they now have Doggie
Mansions, too. From urban brownstones to Mediterranean-style
estates (with plasma TV, air conditioning and marble floors),
nothing's too good for woman's best friend. $8,000 and up, dog
giemansions.com
Not Pictured: Rigor Mortis Alternateens and queers of all ages
adore Kristin Tercek's handmade plushes with names like Bat,
Creature, Gimp and Mummy. $40, cuddlyrigormortis.com
25. Cooking in the Kitchen Jessie Steele's sexy aprons
- with names like Red Polka Dot and Pink Paris - make Mom
(or wifey) look like she's heading to a cocktail party instead of
stirring it up Martha-style. $32 and up, wishingfish.com
26. Pets for Your Pets Tuffie's dog toys - in cool shapes like
Larry Lobster and Gary Gator - are like jawbreakers covered in
fleece so nobody can tear them apart. $8 and up, mydogtoy.com
40
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DO A LITTLE GOOD
24
27. The Gift of Good Help
East St. Tammany Habitat
for Humanity rebuild 100
Katrina-ravaged homes
outside New Orleans in the
next year. Housing supplied;
you add the womanpower.
Habitat also has all-women
building crews. $0, esthfh.org
28. DKNY to the Rescue
Snag this DKNY Jeans nailhead "hope" tee to help St.
Jude Children's Research
Hospital and girls like 16year-old patient and teen
advocate Wendy (pictured).
$18 each, stjude.org
29. Healthy Toys
Foamstruction is the first
craft-construction toy using
wheat-starch, nontoxic
reusable foam pieces that
kids can moisten and stick
together (no glue needed).
$20, foamstruction.com
30. Feed a Village These
EcoWeekender wallets are
handmade from rice and
fish feed bags by women in
Cambodia who are affected
by polio or land mines and
who serve as their family's
sole breadwinners. $24,
world-shoppe.com
Not Pictured: Hollywood
Glow Ever wonder how
Sienna Miller goes from ivory
to bronzed in no time? The
Nuress Home Tanning Salon
self-spray system. You'll get
a UV-free tan in four minutes,
and 3 percent of total sales
goes to the Skin Cancer
Foundation. $150, nuress.com
31. I Heart Art Buy from
one of the dozens of lesbian
artists at the 28th Annual
Celebration of Craftswomen
in San Francisco - the larg-
est women's fine crafts show
in the U.S. - and you'll benefit the Women's Building,
too. This kaleidoscope necklace from Carter Siebels is a
must. Prices vary, celebrationofcraftswomen.org
Not Pictured: Sticker
Sisters Ariel Fox's Sticker
Sisters - which puts out
stickers like "This insults
women" - offers the super
cute Brave Girl-Aid Mini Kit,
which features 15 bandages
in a red plastic box adorned
with more girl-power images.
$7, stickersisters.com
December 2006
I41
HOMESWAG
32. Perfect for Pancakes
Fiesta's nifty Base Bowls have
colorful handles and nonslip
bases for easy mixing. $10 and
up, fiestaproducts.com
33. Piggy With a Mission This
cute Piggy Bowl and Spoon set
comes from Santiago, Chile,
through a group that works with
disadvantaged craftswomen.
$18, world-shoppe.com
34. Kosher Nosh Get ready
for the eight days this month
with the Hanukkah Eighteen, a
gift set of kosher brownies and
blondies that even gentiles will
adore. $50, brownies.com
35. Hardcore Home Decor
Kathy Steig's hand-embroidered
Skull Hand Towels are perfect
for those chicks who want a
little edge in their bathrooms.
$15, pixelgirlshop.com
36. Recycled Soakers Let
the media be your friend with
Recycled Newspaper Coasters
made of paper coiled around
broom bristles. This four coaster
set comes from a women's
co-op in the Philippines. $19,
world-shoppe.com
37. Purrfect Glasses Fat Cat
tumblers are kittyrific. $35 for
four, uncommongoods.com
38. Personal Space OK, air
purifiers aren't the sexiest gifts
but if your girl has a hankering
for some home ecosensitivity,
the Blueair AirPod is the funkiest
one on the market, with different color docking stations and
changeable filter designs. $99,
blueair.com
39. Smashing '60s The Coach
Lamp from the Lava collection
is back in circulation for the first
time since the 1960s, and we
couldn't be more excited, baby.
$40, lavaworld.com
37
Not Pictured: Petite Spice
Moroccan-made cherry red
Baby Tagine Salt and Pepper
Wells are so cute she might not
want to use them, but they're
perfect for anyone who's getting
her first apartment. $24,
world-shoppe.com
Not Pictured: Make Bath
Time Magnifique And surprise
her, too, with the new Paris, a
waterproof vibrating ducky who
sports a feathered boa and geniune Swarovski crystal beak jewel.
$26, boudoiressentials.com
42
I curve
38
39
STOCKING
STUFFERS
40. Sip by the Fire Green &
Black's organic chocolate bars
are perfect for the cocoaholic
on your holiday gift list. Also
try a toasty mug of organic hot
chocolate - their signature dark
chocolate and raw cane sugar
delights - as a perfect holiday
morning treat. $9, bluefrog
chocolates.com
Not Pictured: Just for Fun
Kids love these Shatter Sports
3-D static cling decals, which,
when attached to your car (or
bedroom) windows, look like a
baseball (or golf ball or trout or
so on) has shattered your glass.
$6 and up, shattersports.com
41. Naughty Necklaces Tell
it like it is this year with these
fabulous silver necklaces
featuring vintage images and
phrases that include "Dear
Santa Define Good" and "But
Santa I Can Explain." Perfect
for wayward girls of all ages.
$25, tuffbetty.com
42. Pill-Popping Chocolat
Michel Cluizel's Narcotic
Grade Cocoa nibs are the
perfect antidotes to all that
family holiday stress. $5,
chocolatmichelcluizel-na.com
43
43. Secret Stash These
little cases are great for hiding
everything from tchotchkes to
tampons. Our faves include
Red Hot Mama pill boxes ($26,
uncommongoods.com), Red
Tango Multi Color Compacts ($9,
tangoland.com), and Swinging
Secret Agent Tampon Case ($28,
uncommongoods.com)
44. Pop Art These retro,
gal-power luggage tags from
Lugtagz will look great accompanying a ticket for two to Tahiti.
$9, lugtagz.com
45
45. Mad Gabs Get in the
holiday spirit with holiday Candy
Cane and Sugar Cookie Holiday
Moose Balms (made of olive
oit; not moose) and Moose
Smooches, all of which come in
great stocking stuffer gift sets.
$3 and up, madgabs.com
December 2006
I43
DVD BOX SETS
A DVD Box Set The ultimate gift? Hours of her favorite TV show for her, 20 hours you don't have to process your feelings for you. Our faves
this year are The Complete Kathy and Mo Show; The Good, The Bad & The Beautiful (a two-pack with season one of Beverly Hills 90210
and Melrose Place); CS/: Seasons 1-6 gift set; Dr. Katz Professional Therapist Season 2 (Sandra Bernhard and Janeane Garofalo are guests);
Medium: The Complete First Season; Big Love Season One; The L Word Season 3; Kids in the Hall: The Complete Series; Homicide: Life on the
Streets: The Complete Series; and the mother of all gifts, Ellen Seasons 1-5. ($20 and up, amazon.com)
BUNG
49. Bond, Jane Bond
Storm's super sleek and
high-tech Filtron Watch will
make her feel like she's in a
spy novel. $160, storm
watches.com
52. Old School Cool These
Mini Cassette Earrings from
Sabrina's Charm are so retro
cool (the cassette even has a
real ribbon) your gal will love
'em. $12, pixelgirlshop.com
4 7. Hazy Shades Panoptx
Gale Sunglasses with
ColorTec Copper lens make
for great ski-to-surf accessories you can wear year round.
$95, panoptxstore.com
50. Lock it In Connie
Verrusio's Lock Jewelry is
a perfect match for those
toolbelt divas and joined-atthe-hip couples. Sterling silver
keyholes come in necklaces,
cufflinks and earrings. $55 and
up, uncommongoods.com
53. High Femme Alert
Skandlz's fanciful strappy
sequin Priscilla slides have
handpainted dragons on
black wooden bases. $79,
skandlz.com
48. Rock 'n' Roll Togs
It's hipster-meets-funky
exec with these tees from
Oneworld, a women-owned
company that's become a
smash hit in Macy's and
Saks. $44, only in stores
51. Bye Bye Binary
Challenge Show off
your personal diversity in
this Gender Schmender
capsleeve tee from womanowned Bawdy Wear. $17,
bawdywear.com
46. Buckle Up With
Seattleite Erica Gordon's
hand-forged steel belt buckles and handmade leather
belts. New raves include
Jumbo, Tunnel, Chain Arrow
and Antique Key. $50 and
up, steeltoestudios.com
54. The Zoe These handmade, limited edition (only
50 made) silk ties feature
embroidered vector illustrations by Swiss artists Ukiyo5.
Zoe has a skull with heartshaped eyes on a striped tie.
Soi, will she be happy. $38,
pixelgirlshop.com
5~
44
Icurve
PRINTED MATTER
TECH, TOOLS
AND TOYS
61. Malicious Missives With the Poison
Pen Letter Writing Set she can let that cheating ex know exactly how she feels. The kit
comes with 32-page booklet of ideas, 20
sheets of paper, 20 envelopes, skull-andcrossbones stickers and one poison-pen.
Perfect for anyone who's recently been
dumped (or your favorite goth girls). $17,
redwheelweiser.com
55. Let's Deal Curvy vixens
and grinning devils adorn this
trademark Coop Poker Set, which
will have you feeling like you're
are sitting down to a card game
around an old engine block in
a Tijuana chop shop. With two
decks, 200 chips, five metal dice,
dealer chip and sexy black metal
case, it's sure to help her put the
stud back in stud poker. $125,
tfaw.com
62. Gear Up for 2007 The Stitch 'N Bitch
Page-a-Day Calendar 2007: The Knitter's
Calendar and The We'Moon '07 Spirituality
Datebook are fun diversions from the usual
kitten calendars mom gets. $13 and $18
respectively, powells.com and wemoon.ws
56. Home Movies The new
Bowers & Wilkins' Mini Home
Theater will charm that movie lover
on your list with its smooth, sleek
metal look and ease of use (in
case you don't know the difference between a tweeter, diaphragm or subwoofer). $1,250 and
up, bwspeakers.com
63. Needlepointing Get crafty with Jenny
Hart's Stitch-It Kit;' a gift box of 35 funky
patterns (like pirates and guitars), embroidery
hoop and needle, floss, book and two tea
towels. $23, chroniclebooks.com
57. Made for Teens But cool
enough for the rest of us: the
Zoombox, a portable projector
that plays DVDs and attaches to
video cameras, cable and gaming
systems and projects 60-inch
images onto your wall. $300,
Hasbro.com
58. Dino Time The Roboraptor
- a robotic, remote controlled,
32-inch-long prehistoric beast with
artificial intelligence - reacts to
commands and senses and hears
people around him. Creepy but
very cool. $119, wowwee.com
59. Luxury Wings The Marquis
Jet Card is the ultimate opulent
gift, or rather, gifts. The Jet Card
provides 25 hours of flight time
on luxury private jets plus gift
certificates to Ermenegildo Zegna
and Sotheby, spa and chauffeur
access, and a concierge who will
do anything legal to assist you.
$109,000 and up, marquisjet.com
60. Taste This We all want
LG's new Chocolate, the first cell
phone that looks and acts like
a music player, with Bluetoothenabled headset, a 1.3 megapixel
camera, iPod like external dial
wheel, super sensitive
touch navigation, dedicated music keys and the
ability to store up to 1,000
songs. Even better, it has
a built-in VZ Navigator that
makes Mapquest a thing
of the past. Let her ditch
her phone, camera, iPod
and GPS in exchange for
this one sexy device. $150,
verizonwireless.com
58
60
December 2006
I45
By DianeAnderson-MinshallI Photographyby Brie Childers
America'sNext TopModel kicked her off, but lesbiananimator
Megan Morris has a lot more in store for us.
I
:::i:
0
I've said it before but it's even truer now than it was just a year ago:
the CW's Americas Next Top Model is the gayest show on television. With a host of super gay men - including drag queen-turnedrunway trainer "Miss J:'Alexander and non-plussed but fabulous,
silver-topped art director Jay Manuel - the show is gayer than Queer
Eyefor the StraightGuy. But let's not forget, this is a show about girls.
And plenty of them bat for our team. Every year, thousands of women
line up around the country to become one of 10 finalists who make it
into the Top Model mansion for what essentially becomes a 12-week
girlie slumber party. From season one, when black, bald dyke Ebony
Haith lost out to tomboy Adrianne Curry, a decidedly bi-curious,
Gia-like model who engaged in an awful lot of faux-lesbian frolicking
with butchy smart girl Elyse Sewell, to the current season where not
one, but two, openly lesbian women made plus a whole lot of bi-curious girls made it into the house, Top Model has been the only reality
TV show to present a lesbian, bisexual or flamboyantly bi-curious girl
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CD
to the airwaves every single season.
Some, like Sewell, who one said producers saw her short haircut
and brought her on the semifinals as "a potential token lesbian;' have
suggested that producers have a lesbian mandate. Others, well, we're
just damn happy with whoever is orchestrating this dykey little dramality. Since Haith's reign, Top Model has introduced some of the
more interesting queer girls on TV, including season five'spixie butch
Kim Stolz, season four's Midwestern bisexual wrestler Michelle
Deighton and season six's bisexual law student Leslie Mancia.
And while women like Stolz laud the show for helping make changes in an industry where out lesbians are vastly underrepresented, lesbians are thankful for something altogether different: AmericasNext Top
Modeloffers up a televised vision of androgyny, even outright butchness,
where at least slight masculinity appears to be requisite for actually winning (think of winners Naima Mora, Eva Pigford, Yoanna House).
This season there are actually two lesbians in the house, and, says
finalist Megan Morris - who was sent packing after episode two - a
whole lot of lesbian curiosity. Morris, who survived a plane crash at 9
(in which her mother died of hypothermia while saving her daughter's
life) and has little interest in becoming the next Tyra Banks, may just
be one of the most interesting women yet to grace the show. Too bad
viewers saw so little of her. We sat down with the part-time model,
full-time business owner, to get the skinny on the woman who could
have been America's next top model.
December 2006
I 47
Morris called her
girlfriendto tell her
2,000 other women
were in line to
auditionfor
Top Model. "She's
like, 'Just keep
doing it, just see
how far you get!' ...
She encourages
me, and she's the
most supportive
person in the world,
which helps me
so much."
I wish you could have strut your stuff a little
more before you got cut.
of California and New York - and so I wasn't
about to just like, find this one agency.
I know! I guess I needed to make out with somebody or something to add drama.
That's a lot of places for your age. Are you
One of the things you said as you were leav-
yourself or what?
ing is that you wish you would have let the
I think I am a nomad, but no, that's not the reason
why I moved. Initially it was for my dad's business. He was an attorney, and he had different
businesses in the United States and so we kind
of followed him too, and you know, he ended
up shutting down some of them and we'd kind
of like stay in one place for a couple years, and
then stay in another place for like six years
as he was kind of like closing down different
businesses, and after that, I ended up moving
to Maryland to live with my aunt and uncle my
senior year of high school and then I went to
college in San Francisco so I ended up moving
judges see mo~ of your personality.
Well, in front of the judges I was trying to be a
little bit more reserved, and really take in their
feedback. I wasn't as much myself
Judging day seems really difficult for the
women since it's a bit like you're in the
interview process at the same time you're
about to be judged on your week's work.
It's true, and ... it's on television so it's just so different from like going to [a regular audition].
It's much more high pressured.
What surprised you the most about the
experience?
Going into it I had these expectations - I knew
that they were going to put us in the most
awkward of possible situations . . . to get a
reaction from us. So what surprised me was ...
the actual shoots that they had us do . . . the
themes of the shoots, like the wigs. It was just
like, what's next?
Like, what the hell is a weavologist?
Right, right, exactly. I was actually pretty excited
about that shoot, because when they took us
there, I was like OK, this is totally off the wall,
they've got these crazy wigs that they want us
to wear and this is going to be a really fun photos hoot because we can pretty much do whatever we want and . . . I was thinking that the
photographer would want us to do something
a little more off the wall and wild.
a bit of a nomad, or are you still finding
to San Francisco.
One of the things that the judges really liked
Yeah, I guess. Also, it could have helped that I'm a
media studies major. I majored in media studies and minored in African studies. I hadn't
seen the show before but I knew like what kind
of stuff they were looking for.
Being a media studies major, do you feel like
you were able to really utilize that kind of
talking about your mother's death on TV?
media savvy to your advantage?
I knew they would ask about that, but it's not a hard
thing to talk about. It was hard in general, at
first, just to talk to the judges for the first time.
They kind of throw you in there, and they don't
tell you who you're about to talk to, because you
go through a series of interviews ... before the
show starts. I like to tell the story because I think
it's not something that a lot of people would ...
relate [to]. People just haven't really [met] a lot
of people who've been in a plane crash and sur-
I feel like I went in there knowing a little bit more
out in the world ... I also went in it, into the
whole show, in a different mind state than
a lot of the girls. A lot of the girls going into
it, well, their life dream is to become a model,
and that's always been how it is them, and for a
vived, so I guess I don't mind telling the story at
all. It's a pretty interesting one I guess.
How old were you when you and your
mother were in the plane crash?
That was in 1992, so I was almost 9.
Yeah, I did do some modeling. Nothing huge. Like
I was going to sign up with some agencies but
I had been moving around a lot - I've lived in
Oklahoma and Utah, and then different parts
recognize that there is a certain degree of
arranged drama in reality TV.
was that you had this personal trauma in
Actually the photographer [Tracy Bayne] was
looking for the models to be very soft ... very
like quiet and like beautiful, you know? And I
was like hoping that we could do something a
little wild . . . more facial expression and, you
know, things like that. I was pretty excited
about it, so I was disappointed with ... what
she was telling us to do, versus what I really
wanted to do in that shoot. I was also taking
99 percent of direction from the photographer
because I was like, alright, well this is how she's
going to do it, this is how she wants it. I'm just
going to do what she says. And I think that's
also why I went wrong on that photo shoot
- just listening to her so much, not [following] my own [instincts]. You gotta listen to
yoursel£
And yet you seem pretty savvy about it and
your background. How did you feel about
But that wasn't what happened.
Were you modeling before this?
maybe appreciate life more. But I'm definitely
the type of person who's willing to risk a lot
more than a lot of people I know. I just, I feel
that, you know. I feel like taking risks in life
is really important and experiencing as much
as possible is one of the most important parts
of life, and that's kind of one of the reasons I
ended up going on the show because it's like
one of those opportunities ... you don't come
across every day. You know, I'm not a fan of
reality TV; I'm not a fan of television in general. I don't even own a TV.
That must have been really hard, losing your
mom so young.
Yeah, it didn't make it any easier, that's for sure. It's
weird too ... it seemed like it wasn't as hard for
me when I was younger, but getting older and
through college and things like that seemed
to be the hardest part of not having a mom,
because I ended up not being quite as close to
my father. [Youjust need] somebody to confide
in, to talk about things and help you make plans.
And to have somebody who's ... in the back of
your head like this person's always gonna be
there. You know, that seemed like the hardest
part really was when I got older, not having her.
I put a lot of pressure on what I'm going to do
with my future. And what am I going to do
with my life? It would have helped to have a
mother in my life.
Do you feel like you learned something from
having gone through that?
I really do. I feel like it's made me, I don't know,
lot of the girls trying out for the show. But for
me, it wasn't. I mean, modeling is something
that's really fun but it's not as important to me
as other things, like career. [Modeling] is not
what I look for as a career. So I went into it
with a very laid-back state of mind. We'll see
what happens, and ... see how far I can get in it
and it doesn't matter what happens either way.
I was just excited to see what would happen,
what would come of it, and that was the most
exciting part for me.
Tell me about your new project.
I started a medical animation studio so it's geared
toward the medical industry especially for
pharmaceutical companies . . . to show how
any kind of [medication] functions in the body
on an intracellular level. It's really important
to me. Most people are so unaware of what
goes on in their body. A lot of people skipped
out on anatomy and physiology classes just
because it's not interesting to them, and so,
hearing that sort of thing, I wanted to create
some sort place where people could go and
they could find information but that's actually
visually interesting.
How fascinating. Were you doing this before
you were on Top Model?
Yeah. I'm still looking for investors right now
because we'd like to get a nice studio and
things like that, but right now we're doing
December 2006
I 49
start-up stuff.
You say, "we." Is that you and a business
partner or?
Me and a couple other people. I have a couple animators. I also have a collective that a friend and
I started. It's a collective of 15 individuals who
specialize in different things, from computer
animation to any kind of post-production. It's
basically like a post-production house.
And that's in San Francisco?
The collective? We're all over the states. Some of
us are in New York, some in L.A. and in San
Francisco.
I'm surprised that they didn't mention that
at all on the show. That seems like so much
more of an interesting moniker than just
"bartender from San Francisco."
Right! You know, it's so funny, because, I feel like they
did end up creating these characters so that, you
know, people could relate to them. Like, I was,
"Megan, 23, bartender:' I'm not really, Megan,
the animator, Megan the filmmaker, and you
know, that kind of thing. [Laughs]
One of the bloggers for Entertainment
Weekly described you as "Kim, but less
gay." Did you expect to get comparisons to
Kim Stolz?
I thought about it. I mean, it had crossed my mind
but ... it did surprise me a little bit. I'm like,
wow, I didn't know people would really pick up
on [me being lesbian].
In the past it seems like contestants have
had sort of mixed reactions to like, lesbian or
bi contestants. What was the response from
the girls that you were in the house with?
"I put a lot of pressure on what I'm going
to do with my future. And what am I going
to do with my life? It would have helped to
have a mother in my life."
It was actually kind of funny. Everyone seems so
fascinated. They're like, "Lesbian? What is
this lesbianism?" It was like, OK, yes! They
asked me questions . . . and it was kind of
cute. I swear, like 40 percent of the girls were
bi-curious at least. One [woman] was like, "If
I wasn't getting married next year, I would,
you know, totally date you:' I was completely
open about it on the show and I felt like, so
much of the conversation with the girls was
just like, "Tell me about lesbianism:' And they
didn't show any of that [on TV] and I was like,
hmm, I wonder why. I'm guessing that they
didn't want another Kim on the show, which
is understandable because they need to make
it different every time.
They did at least show you talking with your
girlfriend on the phone.
Yeah, they did it subtly. It was still kind of ambiguous to some people. I think that [viewers]
could be like, "Is it like a close friend? Is it girl
whose a friend?"
Are you and your girlfriend still together?
Yeah, we are still together.
soIcurve
What can tell me about your girlfriend?
Did you come out to your family at the
A few of the things that you've done are
She's a fabulous, intelligent, beautiful girl. She
graduated from the same university that I
graduated from (University of San Francisco],
but a year after me. She's 22. She's in PR and
marketing and ... she's a very gregarious person. I feel like ,she's my PR [person]. She's a
pretty awesome person.
same time?
things that fill people full of dread, like
Not at the same time. It took me a little bit longer
to tell my familyjust because, I didn't, you know
obviously I didn't know how they would react.
I came out to my dad like a couple years ago ...
about a year after Courtney and I began dating.
coming out, being on a reality TV show,
Did she encourage you to go on the show?
They were really supportive. My dad, yeah, it surprised me majorly. I was so scared to talk to my
family about it and I was scared even, to tell my
brother because ... I didn't want to lose their
respect in any way.And I wanted them to know
that just because of your sexual orientation,
you're still the same person, yada yada yada, that
sort of thing. Once I told them, they were like,
"You know what:' Whatever makes you happy,
I just want you to be happy:• They were a little
bit surprised. But at the same time, over time, it
was just like, it just is. It wasn't so much as, oh,
my sister or my daughter is a lesbian:' But more
like, oh, OK, she has a girlfriend, and that's that.
So it's much easier now.
A little bit. We were both kind oflike,"Oh, should
I do it:' You know, it could be fun just to see
what happens:' And she was like, "Yeah, do it!
It'll be awesome. You know, just go:'And I was
like, alright. I called her up waiting in line and
I'm like, "You know, there's like 2,000 people
here right now, I don't know if I want to do
this:' She's like, "Just keep doing it, just see how
far you get!" [Laughs]I was like, alright. Yeah,
she's great. She encourages me, and she's the
most supportive person in the world, which
helps me so much, just (by] believing in me.
Since she's in public relations, is she helping you figure out how to utilize your 15
Did your family's reaction surprise you at all?
minutes of fame?
What part of Megan before Top Model is dif-
Actually, it's kind of funny. Like last night, I'm in
New York right now and she's in San Francisco.
And she sent me an e-mail and she's like, "You
need to get contact information from every
publicist who's asked you questions and you
want a copy of this and that:' And I'm like,
0 K, 0 K. So she kind of tries to play that role
sometimes.
ferent from Megan now?
When did you know you were gay?
Well Courtney, the girl I'm with right now is
actually the first girlfriend I've ever had. It
was kind of funny how it worked out. (We
got together] three and a half years ago, so I
guess it was when I was 20. I had been dating guys before that. I was just like, nah, this
is boring. I didn't find a guy I ever liked, and
then I saw this woman around campus and I
was like, wow, this girl, she's just so beautiful.
It was kind of funny, because, a friend of mine
had had a class with her ... and she went up to
her without telling me one day, and was like,
"You know what:' I have this friend, she's tall,
she has blond hair and she kind of likes you:'
And she's like, "Hmm, OK. Does she have a
• name:"'
"Well, her name's Megan:'
"Wait, I think I know who you're talking about!"
She had been seeing me like 6 months ... noticing
me, and I guess she like liked me as well, so it
was kind of weird. Out of everybody at school,
or anywhere, we both like, kind of noticed each
other, and so we hit it off. Like, in three days, it
was like we were together.
In great lesbian fashion.
Yeah, yeah, really! [Laughs]
I don't think it's really affected me that much. I'm
pretty much the same person I was before.
One thing that always disappoints me is
when girls who make the top 10 cry when
they get sent home and say, "I can't believe I
failed at this." And I'm always thinking, out of
surviving a plane crash. Is there anything
that you fear?
Obviously there are things that scare me but
nothing ultimately scares me. There's always
recovery in any situation. Whether anything
happens, I feel like there's always a bright side
to it, so it's hard to say what one big fear of
mine would be because there is always a positive you can make out of any bad situation.
What are your hopes and dreams? ·
At this point, I have a list of goals ... things I have
to do before I die. Get my business up and
running. I really want to make a difference in
the medical industry. There's definitely a huge
need for it. I've been reading a lot of literature
on it.
I'm also in the midst of writing a screenplay; it's
kind of based on my life and certain things
that have happened. I'm partially into that,
about halfway, so I want to get that finished
and written by next May, and then I'd like to
put out a feature-length filmof that screenplay
by the time I'm 27. See, I've got like little age
goals. Maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't, but
it's what I'm shooting for. I'd like to continue
modeling ... but it's definitely not the ultimate
thing. It's not that I have to model; it's something that I enjoy doing.
all those people, you made it to the top 1O!
It's more of a hobby. You're not expecting to
Yeah, it's true. Yeah, it's good to strive for the best
.. . but, it's a reality TV show ... this isn't your
be Cindy Crawford .
modeling career. What was really disappointing was seeing how, like Monique for instance,
seeing how some of the girls acted. This is such
a good opportunity for them and they're taking it so far as to having such bad behavior. I
was so, just, taken back. I was like, wow, I can't
believe that they would act like this. I was like,
embarrassed for them. I was like, how could
you do this:' You have such a good opportunity and you' re being a crazy person.
Is there recourse for the women on there
who are nasty and sabotaging other women?
They have certain limits. They want that kind of
stuff on there. Like they want Monique there.
But you're not allowed to hit anybody. If you
hit anybody, you're out.
That's good, at least.
Yeah, no fights. We did end up telling one of the
directors and the producers about Monique
and they were like, ';\s long as she doesn't hit
you, we can't do anything:' That's about all
they do, say, "Hey you live with them, you put
yourself in the situation so you've got to fight
it out in front of the camera. Give us some
entertainment:'
Exactly.
Those are some lofty goals. It's better to
have one of those must-do-before-I-die lists
when you're 23 versus when you're 40 so
you have more time to get stuff done.
I suppose so. I'm looking at it at the point where
well, if it doesn't happen at least I have time to
do something ... more realistic.
Tell me what would surprise people to know
about you.
I don't know if it would ... but I'm definitely the
type of person who's willing to do almost anything within certain (boundaries]. That's not
surprising enough.
Well, being willing to do almost anything
legal is pretty surprising.
I want to go hang gliding. I've always wanted to
do that. People think that's scary. But then I
wouldn't go skydiving. Some people think it's
not (safer], but there's something about (hang
gliding] that sounds better than just dropping. Like those roller coaster rides that just go
straight down and you're sitting in a chair:' I'm
not in to that at all. ■
December 2006
I51
By Diane Anderson-Minshall
LesbianTheaterAwards
With so much emphasis on dykes in Hollywood, it's a surprise that the lesbians of theater get as little attention as
they do. After all, it's our theatrical thespian sisters - not Tinseltown - who weave rich tapestries of queer, feminist,
gender-bent and ethnically diverse imagery for the entire world to see. The hardest part is knowing that after their
12-week run, the story is over and the lesbian playwright, director or actor moves on to another story while the play
merely lingers in our memories. As a thanks for those memories, here are our 2006 Lesbian Theater Awards.
1.TheBreakUpNotebook:
TheLesbian
Musical(Hudson Backstage
Theatre, Los Angeles): The SoCal girls started the year off right
with playwright Patricia Cotter's hilariously sardonic comedy that
combined lesbian heartbreak (our lovely heroine, Helen, has just
been dumped), dyke dating, queer weddings and pop musical numbers to bring audiences to their feet. (hudsontheatre.com)
2. The Long ChrisbnasRide Home (Bobbindoctrin
Puppet
Theatre, Houston, Texas): Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre and
Unhinged Productions teamed up to produce the Houston premiere of The Long Christmas Ride Home, an adult puppet play by
lesbian and Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel that's not a thing
like Avenue Q. Fusing traditional theater and Bunraku puppet
techniques, the funny and heartening Long Christmas weaves a
52 Icurve
story about one troubled family on a snowy Christmas Eve. (bob
bindoctrin.org)
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3. Exposed:
Experiments
in Love,Sex,Death,Art (CounterPULSE,
San Francisco): The sold-out, West Coast premiere of Annie
Sprinkle's latest work, at the National Queer Arts Festival, set
audiences abuzz. Exposed takes place in a love laboratory, exploring everything from lesbian courtship and artificial insemination
to breast cancer and community. Audience members were given
the chance to interact with the lab technicians and real-life lovers,
Sprinkle and professor and experimental artist Elizabeth Stephens.
(loveartlab.com)
4. DoesThis Monologue
Make Me LookFat? (The Columbus
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National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival, Columbus, Ohio): Minneapolis
playwright and actor Amy Salloway's utterly fearless, absolutely hysterical
confessional goes through seven intersecting stories - covering everything
from her rebel uterus to a surrealist lesbian adventure - about one woman
finding self-acceptance. It won Columbus' award for Best Comedy Solo Show,
which was of little surprise. (columbustheatrefestival.com)
8. Allthe KingsMen(Various locations, Boston): It's not easy to dismiss the
Kings as a simple drag troupe when their performances are superb comic storytelling set to music in a modernist twist on Shakespeare. (atkm.com)
9. WhyD'YaMakeMe WearThis,Joe?(Fresh Fruit Festival, New York): The
story of two women falling in love with each other while their fiances are off
to war in the South Pacific,Joe is lovingly performed as a 1940s-ish female
5. Strippedand Teased:Scandalous
StoriesWith SubversiveSubplots version of Brokeback Mountain (minus Ang Lee) written by awa~d-winning
(International Gay and Lesbian Theater Festival, Montreal, Canada): Queer
director Vanda and directed by Melissa Attebery. (freshfruitfestival.com)
performance artist Kimberly Darlc's compelling one-woman show looks at
strippers and consumers and posits questions about the ways women "con- 10. MasteringSex& Tortillas!(La Pena Cultural Center, Berkeley, Calif.):
struct" themselves for social viewing. (kimberlydark.com)
This sexy and erotic comedy tackles race, sex, gender and immigration (hey,
6 TheHarlemRenaissance
(BlackOut 2006, Charlotte, N.C.): At BlackOut
2006, this first annual theater event in North Carolina, a multiple actor, dancer, musician and spoken-word artist production offered up a fascinating view
of the-impact of LGBT and same-gender-loving black people in history, including Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Langston Hughes. (carolinasblackpride
movement.com)
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7 Playmakingfor Girls (7 Stages Main Stage Theatre, Atlanta): In
Synchronicity Performance Group's one-night-only production, teenage girls
recently released from Atlanta detention centers gathered to perform eight
hard-hitting short plays based on their lives. By integrating the young actors
with seasoned pros, the plays take on a level of depth and personal intimacy
that audience-driven works often lack, and as such they become powerful
tools for validating these girls' voices. (synchrotheatre.com)
they make it all work) from a queer Chicana perspective. Partners Adelina
Anthony and Coral Lopez are an absolute riot (Anthony's high-femme professor of Lesbian 101 is screamingly funny), and viewers will never look at a
tortilla the same way again. (adelinaanthony.com)
Honorable
Mentions:
TheIdiotKingat Wow Cafe, New York; TheTwelveDays
of Cochinaat Theatre Rhinoceros, San Francisco; Beautyandthe Breastat
Exit Theatre, San Francisco; CagedDamesat Bailiwick Repertory Theatre,
Chicago; QueerWeddingSweet A Fabulous
JewishWeddingMusicaland
QueerVaudeville
Extravaganza
at the Jewish Community Center, New York;
WonderWoman:The Musicalat the Columbus National Gay and Lesbian
Theatre Festival; My YolandaLoveat Queer Soup Theater, Boston; The
Children's
Hourat TimeLine Theatre, Chicago. ■
For more about lesbian theater, go to curvemag.com.
December 2006
I53
By Kathy Beige
The Stand-up Storyteller
Human behavior fascinates 37 -year-old sociologist Kimberly Dark. She thinks other people are interested too, but they would never
read a boring sociology text or journal. So
she's turned her research into performance.
"I don't write fiction;' Dark says. ';\.11of
the stories I tell, they're funny and entertaining, but they also have some kind of social
issue that causes people to think and talk
about things later:'
Dark says her style is more like stand-up
comedy than traditional theater.
"It's not a traditional theater show where
there is a fourth wall and the audience and I
never really speak to each other;' she says. Dark
also changes the material, depending on the
audience. "I teach gender studies and there's
a piece of me that likes to find the teaching
moment with the audience;' she says.
Dark has been performing spoken word
for seven years. She got her start at the San
Diego Gay and Lesbian Center where she
gained a reputation as "the poet who wasn't
boring:' She competed in poetry slams while
completing her graduate degree. "I believe as
soon as you stand up and read something, it's
not just a poem anymore. It is a performance;'
she says.
Her latest one-woman show, Stripped and
Teased: Scandalous Stories With Subversive
Subplots, explores gender issues via stories about sex workers and their patrons.
Three pieces form the center of the show, "Strippers and Waitresses;'
"Strippers and Soldiers" and "Strippers and Lesbians:' The show garnered this year's award for Best Improvisational/Spoken Word at the
Columbus Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival in Ohio.
In the story about lesbians, Dark talks about an ex-lover who
enjoyed going to strip clubs and had occasional fantasies about the
women. Without judgment, Dark explores the power dynamic of the
dancers and the patrons.
From the piece"Strippers and Lesbians": "One fantasy that she entertained is that the dancers liked her and her friends better than they
liked the men. Well, let's say they did. Maybe they felt less stressed,
more appreciated .... But is this what's really involved in liking somebody? One party is clothed, safe, the subject of the story, no matter how
the story reads. One party has the money, the car in the parking lot, the
friends at the bar. One party is wearing shoes you could run in if you
needed to:'
Strip clubs are one place where gender roles are strictly enforced, she
contends. The dancers embody submission, sexuality,helplessness,flirtation
and prettiness. "Men are also doing gender in a really prescribed fashion;'
she says.'They are there to pay and objectify.We live in a time where we're
told women have equality and that women have the ability to have anything
54
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a man can have. But part of what a man has is power over women:'
One way Dark flips the power dynamic is just by telling these stories. "Women don't often get to see their lives represented onstage,
especially lesbians:'
Dark has completed three other performance pieces, including the
popular Butch/Femme Chronicles, in which she explored why most lesbians don't identify as butch or femme, yet the language is pervasive in
our culture. 'Tm interested in how a two-gender system is recreated by
people within one gender;' she says.
One look at Dade's long hair, painted fingernails and sculpted eyebrows would cause most people to put her in the "femme" box, but,
she admits, "I was uncomfortable with the label for the same reasons
I think many people are: you don't have a line-item veto. Being femme
means you're helpless, it means you're high maintenance, it means
you're not capable of doing things. There's negative stuff that goes
along with the positive:'
Since performing Butch/Femme Chronicles, she has come to embrace
the term more for hersel£ "Everything I write, including the political
stuff, is terribly personal to me. I'm really exposed onstage;' she says. ■
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AnotherLittlePiece of Our Hearts
The idea of a musical,based on the life of Janis Joplin was a little hard for me to
swallow at first. Musical theater makes me think of Rodgers and Hammerstein,
an army of scantily clad tap dancers and impossibly happy endings - in a word,
"cheese:'Where would the rock icon hersel£ a heroin-addicted blues singer who
suffered a premature and tragic death, fit into the picture? It seemed to make
only marginally more sense than Kurt Cobain: The Musical.
The script of Love,Janis was adapted from a book of the same name, a collection of Joplin's own letters compiled by her younger sister, Laura. Lured by San
Francisco's famous rising hippie scene, Joplin lefr her Texas home in her early
20s, and Love, Janis begins around the time of her arrival in San Francisco.
Comprised almost entirely of Joplin's own letters, interviews and songs,
the play documents Joplin's rise to fame until her
untimely death in 1970. In addition to showing
Joplin's well-known wild and charismatic personality, it also reveals her as a sensitive, ambitious and
articulate woman. Director Randal Myler successfully entertains while artfully taming the cheese.
Other than a backing band with a few odd lines,
the play is a two-woman show. Look-alike Morgan
Hallett plays "speaking Janis;' while "singing Janis"
is played by Cathy Richardson, an alt-country
and rock singer, as well as a super sexy out lesbian. Because of the role's intense vocal demands,
Richardson alternates performances with another
singer - most recently, Katrina Chester.
Tall, blond and fair-skinned, Richardson doesn't
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hearing her sing, you'd swear she was the real deal.
Every note, every throaty twangy warble, lets you
believe, if only for a minute, that you've seen the
original. "(The role required] a lot of research;'
admits Richardson, who listened to Joplin's recordings hundreds of times in preparation. 'Tve done
the show a few hundred times, and in that amount
of time you can really craft something ... I did completely lose myself there for a while there:'
The native Chicagoan joined the show's original
cast in 1999. The role had first been offered to singer
Beth Hart, who stepped down at the last minute. A
friend of Richardson then told her about the role.
"I kind of was interested but didn't think it was my
thing. I don't do theater; I don't sound like Janis
Joplin;' Richardson says. "(But] I came and sang a
few songs, and the whole time they were like, 'She
looks like Beth, she sounds like Beth, she'll definitely fit in Beth's costumes. We won't even have to
make new costumes! She's perfect!'"
After touring throughout the U.S., Richardson
found it especially exciting to do the show in San
Francisco, where Joplin lived and performed during
the height of her career. "(In San Francisco] there's
this total other wave of information that's just anecdotal from people that knew her;' she says.Joplin
was widely rumored to be bisexual, and according to Richardson, the rumors
seem to have a pretty solid basis. 'Tm just astounded at the sheer amount of
people that she's slept with .... It's really been funny to me, all these people
- men and women alike. These women are in their 60s, and they still get that
twinkle in their eye when they talk about it:'
Love, Janis has already extended its run several weeks in San Francisco;
tour plans after that have not yet been confirmed. ■
Check curvemag.com for our full interview with Cathy Richardson, as well as
updates on when Love, Janis may be hitting your hometown.
Theater Profiles continued on page 72
Most of the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival happens in the
dark, but some of it goes on through the wee hours until sunlight
floods the mini,bars of South Beach's countless boutique hotels.
And while the eighth annual film fest last April focused on show,
casing up,and,coming filmmakers, there was also a fair amount of
people,watching and heat,inspired exhibitionism to be had. Miami
makes for a hotbed of revelers of various body types, all baring parts
that would generally remain under wraps. As often as you can stir
your mojito with a sliver of sugar cane, men and women parade past
South Beach's fabulous sidewalk cafes sporting mostly skin and the
occasional strategically placed swatch of fabric.
Replete with art deco boutique hotels, designer shops and side,
walk cafes all situated across from its famous beaches, South Beach's
Ocean Drive is a voyeur's paradise and a great warm,up before some
prolonged cinephilia once the sun goes down. Merely a month after
Brokeback Mountain grabbed the Oscar for best director, the Miami
film festival showcased LGBT,themed features, documentaries and
shorts that would have left those stodgy Academy Awards voters
- who were gobsmacked by Jake Gyllenhaal's and Heath Ledger's
fresh,air frontal fumbling - absolutely apoplectic.
My Miami home was the Park Central Hotel, a slice of art deco
During my first day's stroll down Ocean Drive to check out
the Versace Mansion, in my typical fashion, I missed the bus to
the opening night screening of Manuel Gomez Pereira's Spanish,
language farce Reinas (Queens), starring three of Pedro Almodovar's
lady muses. A lovely pair of lesbian filmmakers, producer Maya
Gallus and director Justine Pimlott, who were also bedding down at
the Park Central, offered to share their ride with me, but vanity got
the better of me and after a five,minute hair,straightening, MAC,
lipstick,applying, low,cut top,changing session, I'd missed that ride
and was in a cab headed in the wrong direction.
One $25 cab ride later, I arrived at the opening night venue, the
Gusman Center in downtown Miami, and on a post,coffee mad dash
to the women's room, I quite literally ran into one of the fest's co,
directors, Carol Coombes, a lovely Englishwoman with a fiery,red
Louise Brooks coiffure and lipstick to match. After the screening, I
attached myself to the filmmakers whose ride I'd missed, Pimlott and
Gallus, who were presenting their documentary Fag Hags: Women
Who Love Gay Men.
They kindly adopted me for the rest of the fest, saving me from
appearing like a desperate lesbian alone in South Beach. The opening
night gala at Club Space Miami offered a flowing chocolate fondue,
The Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival feels a lot like a very sexy, queer
version of Cannes. No wonder lesbians love it. By Tracy E. Gilchrist
history located on Ocean Drive, about 300 yards from the Atlantic
Ocean where, on sandy white beaches, beautiful girls and boys in
every possible combination slather one another with lotion. The
hotel's funky stationery and fancy herb,scented bathroom sundries
are nothing compared to the mini,bar, which is illuminated from the
inside like the Hope Diamond on display and stocked with top,shelf
liquors and champagne. Feeling naughty and assuming that a late,
morning cocktail was compulsory in Miami, I poured an Absolut
and soda and prepared to nap my first Miami afternoon away in a
room I could only assume had an illicit history.
I woke up refreshed and ready to dive into the local culture. But
first I needed a sexy swimsuit, so I bit the body,image bullet and
tried on a bikini top and boy,short bottoms while a Mary,Kate
Olsen,sized salesgirl watched. I bought the first bikini I'd worn since
I was 10. (Since 1996, I've worn a practical and unrevealing Speedo
tankini, but it wouldn't suffice for South Beach.)
I had been hoping for some late,night elbow rubbing, while
carrying a flute of champagne in a hot tub, with the fest's celebrity
attendees, hence the need for a hot bathing suit. Plus, celebrities
were on my list of vetted possible hook,ups.
The closest I got to a celebrity was when Peter Paige, Queer as
Folk's Emmett Honeycutt, there representing his film Say Uncle,
caught me stuffing a wad of nachos in my mouth at a party at the
National Hotel - home of South Beach's 250,foot,long swimming
pool. However, I did get into the South Beach spirit throughout my
trip and bared myself up and down the strip in my spanking new
bikini, feeling as confident as if I'd been sporting my favorite jeans.
56 j curve
comparable to Rome's Trevi Fountain, at which partygoers savored
chocolate,dipped ladyfingers.
Bronzed, nubile men and women dressed as Greek gods and
women donned in French Renaissance garb (complete with white,
powdered wigs and pancake makeup) glided through the crowd of
pristinely clad cinephiles. There was even a muscled, single,horned,
silver,painted boy who galloped through the party, proving indeed
that the unicorn is not a myth.
Loving Annabelle, a love story for any lesbian who's ever been
crushed out on a teacher or has a Catholic schoolgirl uniform fetish,
served as the lesbian centerpiece on the first Saturday of the fest.
Annabelle's sexy and slightly tough director Katherine Brooks was
on hand before the screening to begin the titillation.
Annabelle's screening served as a warm,up for another sold,out
night of lesbian short films on Sunday. The shorts program, titled
"What Girls Like;' featured Hung, a 12,minute paean by The L
Word's Guinevere Turner to wielding a penis for a day, followed by
Jennie Livingston's Whos the Top, a Fellini, and Busby Berkeley,
esque lesbian SIM film and a personal favorite of mine. And Attack of
the Bride Monster - a short that utilized camp and horror elements
to illustrate that lesbians, too, can become bridezillas - proved to
be a crowd,pleaser. Its writer, Austin,based Leslie Belt, admittedly
penned the main character after hersel£
If uniform,clad hot actors weren't enough for the sold,out crowd
that night, there was more girl,watching to do Saturday evening at
the all,women after party at Siren on Lincoln Road, a strip teeming
A Look Back at Miami continued on page 59
Lesbian director Katherine Brooks talks about making one of the year's
most controversial films, Loving Annabelle. By Tracy E. Gilchrist
Katherine Brooks has gone from directing some of the most iconic and influential small-screen duos in history
to
writing and direct-
ing an award-winning feature about a bad girl sent off to Catholic school and the conflicted female teacher she seduces, reminiscent
of the lesbian cult classic Madchen in Uniform. While directing reality TV series, including The Simple Life, The Osbournes, The Real
World and Meet the Barkers, Brooks tangled with the likes of Paris and Nicole, Ozzy and Sharon, and Nick and Jessica, but this sum-
mer she wowed (and shocked) lesbian audiences at film festivals throughout the country with Loving Annabelle, which snagged the
Los Angeles Outfest's Outstanding Narrative Feature Award in July. Now that this indie hit (the film's MySpace page has more than
12,500 friends already) heads to DVD - Wolfe Video releases it on Dec.12 -
fans will have even more to talk about with deleted
scenes, an alternate ending and a behind-the-scenes featurette. We look back at the year's most debated film with auteur Brooks.
It's clear that the classic Madchen in Uniform informed Lav-
Why did you want to write about a teacher-student
your coming out?
romance? Was there a special pedagogue in your life?
I saw Madchen in Uniform eight years ago, and I found myself
engaged in the issue of student-teacher relationships. It inspired
me to explore the relationship between a teacher and student
The teacher-student idea came from the German film Madchen in
on a more sexual and emotional level, rather than a younger girl
searching for a mother figure within her teacher.
Catholic schoolgirl fetishes are rampant these days - at
least in my world. Did you go to Catholic school? Or did you
have any crushes on girls in plaid skirts and knee-highs
when you were in high school?
I went to public school and down the street was an all-girls Catholic
school, and I just really loved their uniforms. I never had any
crushes, but I always wanted to go to their school so I could wear
58
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the uniform. Guess I have a little fetish. [Laughs]
ing Annabelle's subject matter. Was that film influential in
Uniform that was about a young girl who had a crush on her
teacher. I really wanted to explore the emotional and sexual
dynamic of a teacher-student relationship. I've never had a crush
on a teacher, but I've always been attracted to older women ....
Especially women that are emotionally shut off. When I started
writing Annabelle,I was 28. So, I'd had a lot of time to really
work through my issues of being drawn to women like Simone
[played by Diane Gaidry ], who have a hard time opening up to
love. So, I think I was a lot like Annabelle [played by Erin Kelly]
and naturally transformed into Simone. And now I'm a nice
mixture of both.
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When I started writing the script eight years ago, I was a lot like
Annabelle. I was very drawn to emotionally shut down older
women. But as I got older and experienced more, especially in
regards to heartbreak, I began to dissolve more into Simone.
By the time the script was done I felt I was a combination of
them both.
Why do you think Simone broke the teacher-student taboo
and risked her career?
An environment like that is like a fishbowl. She grew up there and
should have known how dangerous it would be. Simone is like a
cat trapped in a cage. She has grown so tired of her life but has
no idea how to get out of it. She's stuck. Sometimes, when you're
in an intense situation, it's hard to see the risk and consequence
factor because you are so swept up in the emotion.
Besides the fact that Annabelle is stunning and seductive,
From left: Justine Pimlott, Tracy E. Gilchrist, Carol Coombes, Susan Stryker and
Maya Gallus enjoy the News Cafe brunch honoring the filmmakers.
does Simone have other motivations for being in a relationship with her?
Simone feels like Annabelle can really "see' her. Although it scares
her, she is also drawn to the attention and intensity that
Annabelle gives her. She feels safe to be herself, and in that safety
her walls begin to come down.
How did you find your lead actors who played Annabelle
and Simone?
I met Erin (Kelly] five years ago at a play. I knew when I first laid
eyes on her that she was Annabelle. Over the next five years,
we workshopped the script together. Diane came on three days
before shooting. We had lost our other lead, and she literally had
to jump right in.
What location stood in for the school? Was it actually a
Catholic boarding school?
It was shot at a Catholic high school in Pasadena [Cali£].
Your film focuses on the build-up to the love relationship
more than on the moment they consummate it. But the sex
is hot. In this post-L Word climate of steamy lesbian sex on
pay television, did you feel like you had to up the ante?
Yes,I did. I also wanted to create a sex scene that was real. My biggest
issue with sex scenes in movies is when there is so much sexual
tension created and then you get to see them kiss for 20 seconds
and then a long fade-out to hands holding ... bugs the shit out of
me. I wanted to have a nice payoff for all the sexual tension.
How have people responded to the film in terms of the ethical issues it poses because Annabelle is only 17?
I've been questioned on the morality issue, and I always say the same
thing: I don't believe we have the right to judge a situation that
we are not directly involved in.
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What can you tell me about your next project?
It's a.supernatural thriller that takes place in New Orleans involving
one of the most haunted houses in the French Quarter. It's also
a true story and has been quite an intense journey for me. It's
called The Curse on 1140 Royal Street.
You've worked extensively on reality television and you
directed a short film. Did you exercise some fresh directing
muscles shooting a feature?
The whole idea of reality is to capture and create real moments ...
which is the biggest challenge in a movie - bringing truth to a
scene and making it real. The two mediums are more alike than
I thought. ■
A Look Back at Miami continued from page 56
with sushi, South American cuisine and designer shops.
After some techno-thumping at Siren, I skipped over to the film festival's
piano-bar party at the National Hotel, and within moments I had joined an
audience singalong of "Que Sera Sera" with a roomful of Miami-bronzed
gay men.
After a couple of tropical martinis and exhausting the Kander and Ebb
songbook, I headed back to the lesbian bash at Siren with two dykes (an excouple, of course) who'd befriended me. We walked via a boardwalk that begins
where the National's 250-foot swimming pool ends and feels kind oflike you're
walking in one of those secret passageways in the board game Clue.
My new friends parted ways when one wobbled home from the bar and the
other, a Miami-based Hollywood location scout, made some overtures to make
breakfast for me. I'm not big on breakfast and she wasn't a celebrity, so we said
goodbye in a cab and I rolled into my room, raided the mini-bar for some $12
nuts and $8 Pringles then fell asleep in one of my voluptuous beds.
Sunday brunch at News Cafe on Ocean Drive brought me together - over
several cups of coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice - with festival co-director
Coombes, filmmakers Pimlott and Gallus, trans activist Susan Stryker (who codirected Screaming Queens: The Riot at Comptons Cafeteria) and Raymond Lee,
producer of the Filipino film The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros.
Since I'm a film reviewer and not a film star (the difference being that I
dine with celebs one day and then spend the next begging the nice women at
my bank not to charge me overdraft fees), I only indulged in one big dinner
out. I went along with Pimlott and Gallus to Lincoln Road's Doraku, which
features sushi, sake and music in a mellow Japanese teahouse. Wed just spent
the day swimming and sipping Coronas on the beach as the body parts wed
missed with SPF 89 burned, while less timid women shed their bikini tops and
lounged topless under their umbrellas. Doraku's exquisitely prepared sushi
was just right to top off the day.
I had my first literal taste of a Miami beach a few days earlier at the gay
beach - a swath of sand on South Beach about 100 yards long and demarcated by rainbow flags at each end - where I pretended to read a Susan Sontag
novel and occasionally glanced up over my highlighter to stare at the buff bodies frolicking in the waves. A few topless lesbians dotted towels, but the gay
beach really belongs to the boys.
After four days of cinema and lots of skin and cocktails, I was on a plane
headed home with memories of sun, sand and a queer film experience a bit like
a mini-Cannes. I'll definitely be back. And now that all of South Beach has
seen my ass thanks to that new bikini, maybe next time I'll go European and
troll the beaches sans bikini top. ■
December 2006
I59
Lesbians helmed two of the y
the women behind Fabulous! a
Dreya Weber, actor and
producer of The Gymnast
The aerial dance sequences are stunning. In a
studio movie, stunt doubles would have done
those scenes. How were they done in your film?
All of the aerials in The Gymnastwere performed by
the actors in the film. There's no trick photography,
computer generation or stunt doubles. Everything
you see on-screen was real. I have been doing aerials
for 12 years and was hired to choreograph the aerial
numbers for Cher's Living Proof Farewell Tour, teach
aerials to the dancers and dance on the tour myselL
That is how I met Addie Yungmee, who plays Serena.
She and I trained for the film onstage ... in arenas all
over the world.
Ned Farr, the writer-director of the film, has said
that he based the character of Jane on you. Can
Lesli Klainberg, co-director of Fabulous! The
Story of Queer Cinema
you tell us what you have in common with your
Many of the comments by the people you interviewed were hysterical. Who
character?
cracked you up the most?
When you make independent films you have to use
what you've got. I tore my Achilles while I was performing onstage, so the scar is real. I was a competi-
Dan Bucatinsky and Don Roos [director of Happy Endings,The Oppositeof Sex] are
tive gymnast but not at the level that Jane was in our
film. Emotionally, we are very different. When I was
first w~rking on the character, I didn't like her passivity. But then I found the tough survivalist in Jane
that had managed to stay alive in spite of all the safe
and small choices she had made after her early disappointment. When I found that, I started to have so
much compassion for her that I really grew to love
her and her journey of rediscovery.
extremely funny fellows and they're friends of mine and I specifically wanted to
interview them together.
They're like a comedy team.
They are. They're a couple, they've been a couple for 14 years. My partner and I have been
together as long as they've been together. I've actually known Dan since we were 6
or 7 years old. He's extremely funny, Don is extremely funny and together the two of
them are just riffing off each other.
One thing that I loved was the dykesploitation poster, "Ingrid said yes, Lisa
said yes and Nils didn't say nol"
I love that, too.
And the film clip where they have the butch dyke, and they say -
What was your coming-out experience like?
"The bull dyke will now do her work!"
I was in my mid-20s when I started to be able to articulate my personal expressions of sexuality, and since
that time I have always defined myself as omnisexual.
I feel alternately sad and frustrated that we have to
define our sexuality at all though, because everyone
should feel free enough to love anyone and not have
love restricted by gender orientation.
And she's lowering herself over you with her mouth open and horror music is
What did you want to the message of this film
wanted to see a girl kiss another girl. I wanted to kiss another girl but if I
to be?
couldn't do it, I wanted to see somebody do it. I wanted to see them holding
We need more movies that have complex portraits of
hands, I wanted to feel what that would be like, through them."
life.We need to be told stories that encourage bravery. And we really need more movies that celebrate
women's strength. ■
60
Icurve
playing in the background.
I have to say that dykesploitation stuff is the gem of this movie. It's not really queer cinema
... it's lesbian representation, but not what we had in mind. They were made for straight
guys but we look at them now and say,"Oh my god, that is so great!" ... I wait every time
in the screening for that dykesploitation scene and people just howl, they scream!
One of the most hearfelt moments was when Heather Matarazzo says, "I just
I'm in my 40s and I remember what it was like to not have those images. What it was
like to grow up where you were really hungry for it. A big part of our story is this
idea of seeing yourself reflected on the screen and the hunger for that. You can't
underestimate the power that these images have for everyone. ■
Reviews
Sapphic Screen
Music to Our Queer Ears
I
From hip--hop to punk rock, these music docs rock our world. By Catherine Plato
EDITOR'S
PICK
TheWire:The
Complete
ThirdSeason
(HBO):
Lesbian
detective
Shakima
Greggs
is on
thesideof a losingbattle
overBaltimore's
drug
war./Jes
sheandher
policepeepstry to take
downStringerBelland
theBarksdale
gang,other
divisions
arebattling
theVietnam-style
pileup
of drugrelatedDO/Jes
in a whollyuniqueand
controversial
way.Even
better,Greggs,
always
themoralcenterof a
Whether she's into rap or rock, the music lover in your life will
showaboutadulterous
dig this month's picks. Pick up the Mic explores the thriving
copsbattlingaddictions
andequallycomplex underground homohop scene, while Rise Above looks at the
criminals
creatingfamily history of the iconic queercore band Tribe 8. Wherever your
amongtheirtreacherous musical tastes may lie, a few fine ladies with a good sense of
empires,
letsthatrolego rhythm sure know how to hold our attention.
andshowsusthesideof
herselfthat'sa lot more Pick up the Mic: The Revolution of Homohop (Planet
likeherwomanizing Janice Films)
partnerMcNulty
thanwe To the uninitiated,'queer hip-hop" sounds like a bit of an oxymocouldhaveeverimag- ron. Hip-hop often means beefy,ultrahetero men, necks adorned
ined.(hbo.com)
- Diane
with bling and lyrics rife with misogyny and homophobia.
Anderson-Minshall
But Pick up the Mic reveals how - despite the current state
of the mainstream - hip-hop's roots in social protest actually
make it the perfect forum for queer artists. Interviewing rappers that cover the entire spectrum of L, G, B and T, director Alex Hinton introduces a thriving underground scene that
spans across gender, race lines and geography.
So is your average homohopper primarily an activist, intentionally exploiting an exclusive scene, or just an artist who's
picked an unlikely medium? The question takes center stage
toward the end of the documentary, as artists discuss their role
within or outside of mainstream hip-hop. While some artists
insist on staying underground and playing at primarily queer
events, others see their identity as incidental, and not a defining
part of their sound. As Miss Money, a Houston-based gospel
singer, producer and queer rapper states, 'Tm a hip-hop artist
who's gay - I don't do 'gay' hip-hop:'
Either way, there's a lot to be said for the dozen-plus artists
62
Icurve
in Pick up the Mic who actively defeat stereotypes, challenge our
expectations and sound damn good while doing it. Lesbians
will love the dyke duo Scream Club, as well as recent CURVE
interviewees JenRO and Katastrophe and Michfest favorites
God-des & She. (pickupthemic.com)
Rise Above: The Tribe 8 Documentary (Red Hills
Films)
Director Tracy Flannigan leaves no rock unturned in this
energetic and entertaining look at San Francisco's premier
queercore punk band. Founded in 1992 by Leslie Mah, Silas
"Flipper" Howard and Lynn Breedlove, Tribe 8 went on to
shock, amuse and inspire audiences for years.
Dykes who never experienced Tribe 8 live will love the
concert footage. Famous for their wild onstage antics, the band
regularly played topless, performing a mid-song mock castration or blow job. This made them unpopular with certain
crowds, notably some conservative feminists at the Michigan
Womyn's Music Festival, who claimed that a Tribe 8 show
could be traumatic for survivors of sexual abuse. But rather
than portraying Tribe 8 as one-dimensional shock rockers, Rise
Above gives a personal and introspective look at the women
behind the music. The band responds to the Michigan protesters, explains the meaning behind the spectacle and confesses
their own personal histories and insecurities. Flannigan reveals
the band as five individual, sensitive and highly intelligent
women, making their story all the more exciting. (riseabovethe
tribe8documentary .com) ■
I
'·
DVD PICKS
1ur
ms
:VE
tes
riis
ier
las
to
he
nd
ts,
tin
an
~w
1er
ise
en
es
us
nt
J,e
amenities,
relationships
and
themselves
- onstageandoff.
Meyerson's
cameracapturesthe
comicsin performance
withtheir
fanseatingup momentslike
flannel-wearing
butchMatthews
regalingfanswithtalesof barely
conquering
a bunnyslope.But
Meyerson
goesbehindthe
scenesin a round-table
discussionwherethe womengeta
littlemorepersonal,
provingthat
TheDevilWearsPrada(Fox):
a littlehumorin life goesa long
Sure,therearemoreimportant
way.Hicks,thefirstAfricanmoviesbutwatchingMeryl
American
womannominated
Streepas MirandaPriestly,
the
for BestFemaleStand-upat the
notoriously
icycooleditorof
American
Comedy
Awards,dares
Runwaymagazine,
dominates
heraudiences
to laughat her
thefashionworldwitha finely
dissection
of African-American
manicured
fist is ascloseto
names,whileKurt,a Toronto
nirvanaas I'vebeenin months.
nativewhowonFunniestFemale
WithDVDI cangetthereagain.
Comicat the Canadian
Comedy
(foxhome.com)
- DAM
Awards,nailstheAmerica's
obsession
withconvenience
In MyFather'sChurch
(women andall-nightshopping.The
MakeMovies):
In herbeautiful, film will soonpremiereonthe
unpretentious
andutterlyspellLogochannel.(alloutfilms.com)
bindingdocumentary,
Charissa - TracyE.Gilchrist
E.Kingtakesuswith heron her
pathto gettingmarriedto her
Looking
forCheyenne
(here!
partnerKelly.King'sfatheris a
Films):In herdebutfeature,
UnitedMethodist
pastor,dearly
directorValerieMinettoleads
belovedby hisdaughter.
Butcan hercharacters
ona journeyof
sheaskhimto officiatetheir
self-discovery.
Cheyenne,
played
marriageceremony?
In 1999,
byMilaDekker,
is anout-ofanotherUnitedMethodist
pastor workjournalist,disenchanted
wassuspended
for officiatinga
withmodernpoliticsandmoney,
same-sexunion.If King'sfather
whochecksoutonlifeandher
saysyes,hisjob is injeopardy.If
girlfriendto liveoff thelandwhile
hesaysno,howcanhisdaughter herabandoned
girlfriendSonia
dealwith hisrefusal?Thehurtof (AureliaPetit)struggles
to fill the
rejectionshefeelsbythechurch emotional
gapleftbehind.While
shegrewup in,andstill believes Cheyenne
self-sufficiently
rides
is herspiritualhome,is a matter herbikeanddigsthroughtrash
manylesbiansandgayscan
for food,Soniaengages
in an
relateto. Butfor King,the issue
affairwithPierre,ananarchist
is particularly
personal,
complex whoignoresSonia'sidentity
andhe~rt-wrenching.
(wmm.
asa lesbian.Unsatisfied,
Sonia
com)- UrsulaSteck
takesupwiththecontrolling
and
emotionally
damaged
Beatrice.
Laughing
MattersMore(AllOut Twofailedloveaffairsleave
Films):Whosayslesbiansaren't Sonialonelierthanbefore,sendfunny?Filmmaker
anddocumen- ingherin searchof hertruelove,
tarianAndreaMeyerson
smashes Cheyenne.
Beautifully
shotand
thatoldstereotype
onceagain
achingwithsensuality,
Looking
withthisaward-winning
followtor Cheyenne,
likeanenduring
up,in whichcomicsElvira
relationship,
traverses
theterrain
Kurt,ReneHicks,VickieShaw
of love,politics,compromise
and
andSabrinaMatthewsskewer
identity.(heretv.com)-TEG
politics,race,aging,modern
llil Alexander
IFILMMAKERI
Four years of hard work finally paid off for Israeli filmmaker Ilil Alexander, whose
documentary KeepNot Silentwon the Israeli Academy Award for Best Documentary
in 2004. The film tells the stories of three Orthodox Jewish lesbians living in a con,
servative Israeli community and meeting covertly as the "Orthodykes:' Each woman
finds a unique way to deal with her sexuality in the midst of severe societal disap,
proval: Yudith comes out, Miriam,Ester stays closeted, and Ruth enjoys a long,term,
husband,sanctioned affair with a female lover. In respecting the women's distinctive
privacy concerns, Alexander creatively found ways to reveal their stories while con,
cealing their identities. -
CatherinePlato
Were there moments when you thought this film might not happen?
Yeah, many times! In a documentary, you are always trying to reveal some,
thing, but I was also always trying to hide something. It was like I was fight,
ing the nature of cinema. I had never seen a documentary where you didn't
see the faces of the characters, and I was worried that I couldn't portray the
women in an honorable, honest way without showing their faces.
How was the film received in the Orthodox community?
Very well in the places we were showing it. I've heard there are lots of pirate
tapes and DVDs of it in those communities. I'm happy; whoever watches the
film will see that it's not anti,religion. It brings forth the voices of women in
the community and portrays the beauty of the religion .... So many people
commented ... that they were surprised at how open,minded the Orthodox
community was.
Did you go into the project with any stereotypes of your own?
In the beginning, I saw these Orthodox women as victims of their society,
forced to conform and be like everyone else. But then I realized that it's their
choice, and that they were much more independent than I had assumed.
Ruth, for example, became religious as an adult; she sought it out on her
own. She wanted spirituality for herself. (The Orthodox community] is not
that different from any another society. People are people. You can find open,
minded or narrow,minded people anywhere. The leadership is what's differ,
ent, and maybe the leadership leans more to the conservative side. ■
December 2006
I63
Reviews
In the Stacks
Retro Reading List
I
Lesbian pioneers and one prolific writer make our hit list. By Rachel Pepper
EDITOR'S
PICK
As 2006 draws to a close, what better time to look back at our
own history and the women who helped shape modern lesbian
culture long before CURVE hit the scene. Historian Marcia Gallo
gives us a look at some of the pioneers of the LGBT movement
in DifferentDaughters,while Marijane Meaker's SpringFirestill
sizzles 50 years after its first printing.
Spring Fire, Marijane Meaker {Cleis Press)
Don'tKissMe: The Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters
Art of ClaudeCahun of Bilitis and the Rise of the Lesbian Rights
andMarcelMoore, Movement, Marcia Gallo (Carroll and Graf)
ed.LouiseDownie Marcia Gallo gives an incredible gift of our history with
(Aperture):
Knownfor
DifferentDaughters,which chronicles the impact the Daughters
herriveting,ahead-otof Bilitis had on the lesbian
her-timeself-portraits,
ClaudeCahun(akaLucy rights movement. From its
humble beginnings in the
Schwob)nowhasa
early 1950s by a few women
cult-likefollowingfor
hergender-bending
role- in a San Francisco apartment
playingworks.Shemet until its wind down in the late
DIFFERENT
Moore(thepennamefor '70s, this pivotal organizaDAUGHTERS
Suzanne
Malherbe)
asa
tion spawned chapters across
-A
HISTORY
OF THEteenandthetwowere the country and paved the
DAUGHTERS
OF BILITI
loversandcollabora- way for future lesbian and
ANO THE RI E OF THE
torsuntilCahun'sdeath
feminist groups. Meticulously
LESBIAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT
40 yearslater.In Don't
researched for Gallo's dissertaKissMe,sevenauthors
MARCIA
M.
CALLO
examine
theirlivesand tion, the book is chock-full of
works(boththeatri- the foibles of the lively characcalandliterary),their ters who shaped our destiny.
Some of these early pioneers are well known to us, most
photographic
technique
andtheirrelation- noticeably Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who have been a coushipto the Surrealist ple for over 50 years and still live in San Francisco. Others who
movement.
Thetome, joined the DOB are Naiad Press co-founder Barbara Grier,
a breathtaking
240 and Barbara Gittings, former editor of the DOB newsletter,
pages,alsotalksabout The Ladder. Others who are interviewed or make appearances
the lovers'Resistance
in the book include Charlotte Bunch; Lorraine Hansberry,
operations,
trial,imprisJewelle Gomez, Marie Kuda, Audre Lorde, Barbara Smith and
onmentandattempted
suicidesduringthe early DOB leaders like Pat "Dubby" Walker and Stella Rush.
No mere compendium of personalities, however, the book's
German
occupation
of
GreatBritain'sChannel reach stretches way past one small organization to capture the
IslandsduringWWII. excitement of a burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement. Open
(aperture.org)-Diane any page of DifferentDaughtersand you will be entertained as
Anderson-Minshallwell as informed by accounts of cross-dressing women (once
considered transvestites), suspense and thefts (some say Grier
"stole" The Ladder, but Gallo writes that Grier considered it
"an act of lesbian feminism salvation"), and feminist infighting
(both Robin Morgan and a MTF singer named Beth Elliott
nearly caused riots at a DOB conference).
It is clear from Gallo's gripping account that the DOB were
essential to the LGBTQ movement, much more than a "ladies
auxiliary of the mostly male Mattachine Society:' They were in
many ways at the forefront of the struggle. Whether holding
conferences, spurring research, publishing, networking, doing
64
Icurve
grass-roots activism or simply bringing lesbians together when
there were few opportunities for safely doing so, the DOB
paved the way for all that would soon follow. Reading Different
Daughterswill make you appreciate how far we've come, and
whom to thank for how we got here. (carrollandgref.com)
Over the course of a long and prolific career, the award-winning
novelist Marijane Meaker has written an astounding collection
of young adult novels, true crime books, mysteries and short
stories. Best known to younger audiences as the author of the
'70s classics Dinky HockerShootsSmackand If I Love You,Am I
TrappedForever?,Meaker has held many pen names, including
ME Kerr, Ann Aldrich and Vin Packer. The Aldrich name she
used during the '50s and '60s,.the golden era of the lesbian pulp
fiction novel. Tides from these years include We Walk Alone
ThroughLesbos'Lonely Grovesand We, Too,Must Love. Meaker
employed the Packer pseudonym during this same time for her
true crime books such as Dark Intruder, The TwistedOnes, The
Youngand the Violent,as well as the lesbian-themed novel Spring
Fire.In fact, Spring Fire,one of the first known examples of a
lesbian paperback novel, sold an incredible 1.5 million copies
when it first appeared in 1952.
With such output, it's unclear
why lesbians aren't
more familiar with
Meaker, who lives
and teaches writing
in upstate New York.
The Evil Friendship,
based on the true
life Parker-Hulme
matricide case that
shook New Zealand
in the '50s and
became the basis for
the movie Heavenly
Creatures,is one of
her best true crime
novels. It's a taut suspense tale which has at its heart a relentless love affair between
two teenage girls. The companion piece in the Stark House edition contains another true crime novel, 'WhisperHis Sin. Part of
a huge re-issue of Meaker's books this past year, including a new
edition of Dinky Hocker,Cleis recently published the first new
edition of SpringFirein 40 years. And she's still busy writing; this
spring will see the publication by Carroll and Graf of Meaker's
Scott Free,a transgender detective novel. With all these books
to choose from, it's due time you discovered the works of this
important foremother of lesbian literature. (cleispress.com)
■
PAGE TURNERS
FertilityGoddesses,
Groundhog
Bellies& theCoca-Co/a
Company:
TheOrigins
of
ModernHolidays,
Gabriella
Kalapos
(Insomniac
Press):
EverwonderwhatGroundhog
Dayhasto dowithmenstruation?Gabriella
Kalapos
takeson
the historyof holidayritualsand
whywespendso muchtimeand
moneyonthem,arguingthat
they'dbeso muchmorerelevant
if we knewtheelusiveorigins
ratherthancurrentcommercial,
religiousor politicalcauses.
(insomniacpress.com)
- Diane
Anderson-Minshall
TheMeadowlark
Sings,Helen
RuthSchwartz
(Harrington
Park
Press):
It's2055andAmericahas
exiledall queersto thenewisland
nationof Cali.Bothnationsmust
re-examine
theirideasabout
homosexuality
whenbeautiful
lesbianCaratravelstoAmerica
on
a diplomatic
missionandfallsin
lovewiththepresident's
closeted
daughter.
Anundisputedly
unique
premise,
butSchwartz's
sometimesclumsywritingkeepsthe
novelfrombeinganythingmore
thanmildlyentertaining.
(haworth
press.com)-Kathryn
Papanek
Veronica
Precious
Banahan
I
SPIRITUAL POET, ACTIVIST I
Veronica Precious Bohanan is a Chicago-based spiritual poet,
writer and activist illuminating the world with her first book of poetry and prose, Om: My Sistagyrl Lotus. As the pioneer of her own
publishing company, UnSilenced Woman Press, half of the activist duo AquaMoon and co-founder of woman-based organization
SpokenExistence Inc., Bohanan is a positive voice for women and
African Americans everywhere -
Lauren Palmigiano
Your poetry is very spiritual. Are you a spiritual person?
Yes ... I try to keep things simple and balanced. Folks try to
make spirituality all deep and complex. For me, it is simple
and it is constant. I pray, meditate and speak affirmations
daily. Also, spirituality is my mother .... (Her] interces-
Ordeal,
LindaLovelace
sory prayers keep me whole and complete, and I sing her
(Kensington
Publishing
Corp.):
praises daily.
Thisharrowing
autobiography
by How would you describe your style of writing?
DeepThroatstarLindaLovelace
I try to translate the oral tradition of Black Americans to the
aboutherabusivepastprovides
page and to combine sistagyrl with academia. That is who I
anengaging
andprovocative
am; hence I want to be a reflection of myself, my community,
lookat theoftendisturbing
truth
my people and my culture.
behindthe scenes.(kensington
Your
poems
are often stories - are they true or fictional?
books.com)
- KP
Both. It is no fun, and it is not a challenge only to write
what you know. Boring. And if I did that, how would I
Missing:TheOregon
CityGirls,
grow as a writer? Most pieces start off familiar, albeit
LindaO'Neal,PhilipTennyson
and~ickWatson(NewHorizon
about myself or someone I've encountered, but by the end
Press):
Theshockingtruestory
it is my imagination.
of two girlsmurdered
in Oregon Tell me more about your AquaMoon partnership.
Cityin 2002,Missingtakesyou
(The mission is to] bridge the gap between the streets, hipdeepintothe mindof Private
hop, feminism and performance activism. Aqua Beats and
Investigator
LindaO'Neal.She
Moon Verses:Vol. I, which is a choreopoem (a combination of
sharesherownintimateobserpoetry, music, and choreography], premiered in September
vationsof the manwhomur2004 .... We give taboo subjects peace, justice and a voice. We
deredAshleyPondandMiranda
address
lesbian-straight friendship and sistahood in a nonGaddis
whilealsolendinginsight
comedic manner. We also deal with rape, misogyny, activism
intotheshortcomings
of our
and women's health. ■
legalsystem.(newhorizonpress
books.com)-Amanda
Poulsen
December 2006
I 65
Reviews
Music Watch
Gifts Galore
I
Try a little night music to warm up your holiday party. By Margaret Coble
EDITOR'S
PICK
Elysium
fortheBrave,
AzamAli(SixDegrees):
Thisprolificworldmusic
singer,halfof the bestsellingduoVas,hauntinglytacklesEnglish
vocalsfor thefirsttime
andseamlessly
blends
thatnebulous
place
betweenelectronic
rock
andglobalfusionon her
secondsoloalbum.No
electronic
overkillhere, Making a list, checking it twice, so many options! All the heavy
though,astraditional hitters in the music world release new material at this time of
instruments
suchasa
year, but these three discs are highly recommended.
lafta,handdrumsand
a neyflutecreatean
Mind How You Go, Skye (Cordless)
atmospheric
tapestryof
While I always enjoyed Skye's vocal contributions to the U.K.
alternative
globalmusic
that'sasspellbinding trip-hop band Morcheeba, I couldn't be more thrilled with her
asthe Iranian-born, new 11-track solo debut which features her rich, lush voice
indian-raised
Ali herself. front and center, delivering her own highly personal lyrics over
Andif it all sounds electronic-flourished acoustic pop that ranges from familiar
vaguelyfamiliar?That's trip-hop territory to more straight-up pop and even a cappella
because
you'veheard numbers. The result is a mesmerizing, melodic collection of
Ali on myriadfilm andTV tracks that paints a portrait of a strong, determined woman on
scoresfrom TheMatrix a journey to herself, coming into her own. Notable collaboraRevolutions
to Alias. tions on this set include her husband, bassist Steve Gordon,
(azamalimusic.com)
with whom she co-wrote "Calling' (on their honeymoon!);
Diane
Anderson-Minshall
Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris), with whom she
came up with the poignant "Jamaica Days;' a song about meeting her biological grandmother for the first time; and Patrick
Leonard (most noted for his work with Madonna), who produced the bulk of the album. Highlights include the sparse,
• moody "What's Wrong With Me;' the first U.K. single; "Love
Show;' already a hit in Europe; and"Tell Me About Your Day;'
my personal fave, which paints a striking pre-Katrina portrait
of my beloved city, New Orleans. (skyewebsite.com)
CeU (Six Degrees)
It's a sad fact that a female musician who writes her own songs
is still a novelty in Brazil, but it's true. Sao Paulo-born CeU
(which loosely translated means "heaven'' or "sky") doesn't
let that slow her down, though, having already gained wide
popularity in France, Holland, Itafy and Canada, as well as
her native country, with her delicate balance of traditional
Brazilian musical influences combined with more modern
66
I curve
electronic experimentation. This debut U.S. release sports 15
varied tracks, ranging from reggae-dub-tinged tropical grooves
(the syncopated lead-off single, "Malemolencia"), to dub-funk
delights filled with turntable scratches and low-end bass booms
("Roda" and "10 Contados"), to more traditional Brazilian
jazz cuts featuring brassy horns and thick layers of percussion
("Rainha") and even straight-up sambas ("Samba Na Sola").
Other highlights include her interesting cover of the Bob Marley
classic "Concrete Jungle;' almost devoid of its reggae roots; ''Ave
Cruz;' with its wicked, twisting basslines; and the whimsical "O
Ronco Da Cuica;• a celebration of the cuica, a Brazilian percussion instrument that sounds like an animal in distress. I can't really comment on the lyrics, as it's almost entirely in Portuguese,
but my hips haven't stopped shaking since I put the disc in, so it
gets a thumbs up from me. (sixdegreesrecords.com)
Nina Simone: Remixed and Reimagined
(Legacy/RCA)
DJ remix albums are a dime a dozen these days, it seems, but
every now and then, a few stand out. How can you go wr~mg,
though, really, with source material from a voice like the late,
great Nina Simone? Often pigeonholed into the 'Jazz" category,
Simone's career actually encompassed a wide range of influences including blues, soul, R&B, classical, Broadway musicals,
folk, African traditional, European pop and gospel - all of
which make her ripe for reinterpretation from a wide range of
DJ/ remixer / producers here. Groovefinder's platinum-selling
U.K. Top 30 big-beat remix of''Ain't Got No/I Got Life" (from
the musical production Hair) is the album's most notable cut,
while the blistering percussive extravaganza "Funkier Than a
Mosquito's Tweeter" stands out as possibly the most irresistible
(and hilarious), with Madison Park vs. Lenny B's deep house
treatment of "The Look of Love" a personal favorite. (legacy
recordings.com) ■
OTHER LICKS
Harpo'sGhost,
TheaGilmore
(Sanctuary):
Fansof KTTunstall,
PJHarvey,
AlanisMorissette
andevenLucinda
Williams
shouldgivea goodlistento U.K.
acousticindierockphenom
Gilmore's
seventhalbumrelease,
sportingthe radio-friendly
single
"CheapTricks,"themorepolitical
"Everybody's
Numb"andsweet
courtshipclap-a-long
"CallMe
YourDarling."(theagilmore.com)
Ill, Mosquitos
(Bar/None):
The
Brazilian-American
co-edindie
popbandreturnswithaneven
dreamier,
psychedelic-tinged
bossanovasoundonthisthird
effort,filledwithswooning
love
songs,airypopdittiesanda
brilliantPortuguese
adaptation
of NeilYoung's
"A ManNeedsa
Maid."(mosquitosnyc.com)
Guitar goddess Kaki King has wowed fans across the nation with her
unique style and jaw-dropping skill, building a reputation as a show-
woman who promises to amaze you with her technical prowess. King
takes a new stance on her current record, Until We FeltRed, delving
into the unknown, making music in a place full of surprises and discoveries without the pressure to impress. - JenniferCorday
What is the meaning behind the title of your new record?
It's supposed to be very ambiguous. The color red covers so
much emotional terrain: sex, politics, shame ... but what did
we do before we were red? It's a mystery where the listener
can fill in the blanks.
Your record is great love-making music. Ever heard that?
Well, not many people have heard it yet, but that's great! I
hope to hear more of that.
You have a song called "Jessica." Who was she?
She was an older woman who was my counselor at camp (and
she was a lesbian]. I was (15 or 16 and I was] just coming out,
so I was curious. I was interested in her sexuality.
How has being a lesbian affected your life and career?
Sugarfoot,
MichelleMalone
(ValleyEntertainment):
The
Georgia-based
outblueswoman
unleashes
anothersuperbset
filledwith 13 rootswinnersthat
rangefromtwangy,soulfulfolk
to gutsy,slideguitar-fueled
rock,
includingbothacousticand
electricversionsof thelead-off
single"WhereIsthe Love."
(michellemalone.
com)
HalfthePerfectWorld,
Madeleine
Peyroux
(Rounder):
Thesmoky-voiced
singer'smuch
anticipated
follow-upto 2004's
Other Licks continued on page 71
It just doesn't seem like that big a deal. I don't think about it
and I don't worry about it. I appreciate the fact that it wasn't
always easy, and I realize our freedom did come at a price, but
(it doesn't really affect me]. I'm not an activist.
Do you worry how your fans will perceive this record?
No, especiall>: not with this one. My two previous albums
were solo guitar albums, but I had to really let go of that ...
I had made a career out of always impressing people because
I was known as this whiz kid. But suddenly I realized I had
become the stereotype of mysel£
People had really come to expect it of you?
Yes, but once you've been there, done that, you have to do
something different. A painter doesn't always use the same
materials. It's really freeing, when any artist goes in a different
direction. Ultimately, you can't make music for other people;
you just got to make yourself happy. ■
December 2006
I67
Reviews Tech Girl
A Need for Speed
I
Some girls just love things with wheels. By Diane Anderson#Minshall
Even if you're a subway junkie, chances are good you've got some form of wheels in your life. We all know
carpooling and hybrid vehicles are good, SUV s, well, not so much. But how's a dyke to choose the best from
the rest? Here are a few of my current faves.
Clockwise from top left:
The Petro Zillia Electra
Bicycle, the Vespa GTS
250 i.e., Paul Frank
Orange Julius Cruiser,
Jaguar XK Convertible
and Harley Davidson XL
1200L Sportster Low
Not Your Old Man's Bike
Women, lesbians especially,now embrace
motorcycles like never before and, for
those who do, the new Harley Davidson
XL 1200L Sportster Low is the perfect
long and low cycle with lots of power. Its got a lowered seat height (so my feet touched the
ground easily), reduced clutch and brake lever effort, wide pullback handlebars and passthrough power didn't leave me overstimulated. Hit one of Harley's free, women-only Garage
Parties to learn how a motorcycle is supposed to feel. ($9,495, harleydavidson.com)
The 411 on luxury
If money is no object, there is one car that you must consider: the ultrasleek, super sexy and
wildly loaded 2007 Jaguar XK Convertible. A gorgeous combo of sports car and touring car,
the XK is the most technologically advanced Jag ever, with great features like keyless entry,
push-button start, adaptive cruise control (which prevented me from hitting the guy in
front of me while I was tailgating) and a great DVD console that controls navigation, music
and phone. Easily the sexiest and most powerful car I've ever driven, the Jaguar XK is also
smarter, safer and a hell of a lot more fun than my Ford. ($80,000,jaguarusa.com)
For Rockabilly Babes
Appealing to hipsters, rockabillies, surf urchins, punks, queers, beatniks, cholas and car
freaks seems a heady task, but Electra Bicycle manages to do just that with their funky,
high-quality, retro-inspired cruisers.With models like Pink Fink, Black Betty, Tiki and
Rosie, it's hard to pick a fave, but I have to go with the Petro Zillia Rainbow Bike designed
by Nony Tochterman, who made history last year when she rode her bubblegum pink
Electra cruiser down the runway at the close of her show at Mercedez Benz Fashion Week
at Smashbox Studios. The Rainbow is easy to use, with a twist shifter, full fender graphics, lined wicker basket, porn porns, heart-shap~d embossed saddle, Retrorunner tires with
custom pink sidewalls and a Hi-Tensile steel frame with a limited lifetime warranty. ($500,
electrabike.com)
Scoot About Town
Why not ditch the car altogether and move to the Vespa GTS 250 i.e., the fastest, most powerful and most high-tech Vespa in history, with gas mileage around 70 miles per gallon. It
has a powerful 250cc four-stroke, liquid-cooled, electronic injection engine, 12-inch wheels
and a superb double-disc braking system with an optional ABS and brake servo. The steel
frame is the same design as the cult-like hit Vespa Granturismo, and new features on the
GTS include the tail light, instrument panel, racy saddle and vintage Vespa-style rear rack.
The GTS is considered the perfect all-in-one scooter (classic look, great maneuverability
and lots of power) and after my test drive, I have no reason to quibble with that assessment.
($5,800, vespausa.com)
In Your Orange Dreams
The Paul Frank Orange Julius is a special edition Nirve cruiser with a Nirve frame, fulllength fender set with pinstripes, vintage grips, welded kickstand, front basket, tractor-style
double-spring saddle and an "I Love My Bike" bell. Sure, it's not good for mountain biking,
but damn I looked as cool as a creamsicle on it. ($345, nirve.com) ■
VictoriaA. Brownworth Politics
Pick a Cause
Any Cause Will Do
As the year draws to a close, it's time we all become the collective voice of peace and justice.
A
s the year draws to a close, we don't need
of peace and justice, equity and forgiveness in the
history of the world, the Sermon on the Mount?
the endless fear,mongering by President
George W. Bush or North Korea's Kim Jong Il
or Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to tell us that
Where does Christ the reformer and radical vision,
ary fit into this version of Christianity?
the world is a very scary and volatile place. War,
As I change the channel again, I always wonder:
terrorism, torture, poverty, disease, starvation,
Where are the new prophets of peace and justice?
If we want to heal the world, we must be those
slavery and incarceration all make the world
grim indeed for more than two,thirds of the
earth's population.
justice. It doesn't matter if you are Christian or
In this season of light, when we celebrate
Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist, Wiccan or atheist. It
Christmas, Hanukkah and Solstice, we must
ask: What does the future hold for a world
isn't about preaching religion or God/Goddess. It's
about preaching salvation.
people. We must become evangelists for peace and
beset by so much darkness, and what can we do
The televangelists all preach salvation, but of a
to make a place of light?
different sort. Their salvation happens in another
The world needs healing, peace, justice,
world, after death, by a harsh and unforgiving God.
I'm talking about preaching salvation here and now,
equity, freedom. All those things so seemingly
intangible are possible, if not probable.
fixing the mess that has been made of the world now, not hoping that in the
So how do we make the possible, probable? How do we create a just world
when injustice is rampant?
hereafter, if you happen to believe in one, that it will all be sorted. We need
to mitigate the suffering of billions right now, today. That requires a new per,
And do we even really want a just world?
spective on salvation.
That last question is one most people of conscience never ask themselves,
because they think they don't have to ask it. Of course we want a just world!
I used to believe that women were the hope of the world, and most days
I still believe that. I try not to look at women in power who so replicate the
But do we? Consider what it means for others to have what you have: it
men in power. Rather, I look at the women who represent the majority of the
world's teachers, social workers and doctors. I look at them and find hope in
means giving up some of what you have for balance in the world. Equity does
require that some have less so that others have more. There cannot be an end
to poverty unless there is also an end to wealth. There cannot be freedom
unless slavery, oppression and occupation are abolished.
Accepting and embracing harmony isn't an easy task. It isn't simply sitting
alone in a quiet room with the sound of waterfalls while doing a favorite yoga
exercise and breathing deeply. Achieving harmony might be the most difficult
act one could ever attempt, and I say "attempt" because it has never actually
been achieved on this earth. There is no true harmony, only dissonance: a dis,
women because we seem to want to heal the planet, we seem to want to end
poverty and disease and general wretchedness. We seem not to want to wage
wars and torture and terrorize; most of us seem repulsed by those things.
But do we want to give up our comfort to create comfort for others?
Most of us are not forced to decide whether or not to put our own lives
at risk to save the lives of others. But I believe that most of us will always
choose to do what is right or what is demanded of us. Not just when we feel
the warmth of the holidays suffuse us with a sense of well,being and gratitude
that we want to share, but always, even in the darkest times.
sonance of the soul, the soul of the planet. We all have to work to lessen, if not
wholly dissipate that dissonance, because otherwise none of us will survive.
Achieving harmony, then, is hard work, intense work, life,long work. Not
And so I again ask: Are you willing to take on the task of bettering the
world, the task of salvation, the task of giving up so that others can have?
everyone wants to sign on for such work. And yet if we don't, what future
awaits us? Does any future await us? Perhaps this seems too grim a discourse
Every year this column is a homily of sorts, a reflection on the end of the
year, the feelings engendered by the holidays, the overall concept of peace in
for a holiday missive. But I have pledged my life to peace and justice, and like
our time. It's always a little preachy, always a little demanding, and this year is
no different. This year I am in evangelist mode and just like any televangelist,
I will tell you: If you sign onto my mission, you will be rewarded tenfold.
Here's what I want you to do. I want each person reading this column to
any evangelist, I want others to join me in my mission.
In the past year - a year fraught with wars and torture and terrorism and
incalculable anguish - I have considered becoming an actual evangelist. I
have thought that perhaps what I needed to do with my life is travel the world
preaching peace and justice from one corner of the globe to another.
Some insomniac nights I have surfed the TV and found myself mesmer,
ized by Trinity Broadcast Network. I've listened to the televangelists whip
give it to 10 people or more. I want each person reading this column to pick a
cause that is vitally important to her, or him, and work at that cause through,
their audiences into a frenzy over issues of money, right,wing politics and
fear. I have listened to them and wondered: Where is the Christ that I, as
a Catholic, believe in? Where in the message of these televangelists is the
out the year. I want each person reading this column to make a pledge to
support peace and justice in every aspect of her or his life. I want each person
reading this column to know that if you do this, if you spread the gospel of
peace and justice, of equity and forgiveness, you are making the world a better,
safer, healthier, more hopeful place.
Christ who taught so patiently? Where is the Christ who not only healed
the sick but touched the untouchable, the literal and metaphoric lepers of
his time? Where is the Christ who delivered the most extraordinary sermon
In this season of light, I wish you peace, the promise of joy and the bless,
ing of hope. And it is my wish that in the coming year, we can all spread that
message and help heal the wounds of our world. ■
December 2006
I
69
Dyke Drama
Michele Fisher
Discount Dyke Drama
The best things in life are free ... or maybe not.
I
once worked with a dyke who was so cheap
she would have taken dick if it were free.
_I
When she entered the lunchroom, we would
hunch over our food like wolves guarding a
4
Sate
fresh kill because she treated our plates like her
own personal buffet. She would walk in with
an empty paper plate and begin making the
rounds at each table, asking for a morsel here
and grabbing another one there until she had
her meal assembled.
It is not a sin to be broke, not a crime to be
poor - but being cheap is unforgivable.
Marry a tightwad and you will regret it 365
days a year because you will be angry, embarrassed and/ or depressed most of the time. I've
dated cheaters, drunks, bullies and floozies, but
none of them ever got my goat like the woman
who poured my dub soda in a Tupperware container so that she could take the bottle back to
the store for a nickel. We didn't last long, but the
lessons she taught me were swift and everlasting.
Perhaps you are not sure if your woman is
just thrifty or a full-blown cheapskate. Read on
and see where she fits.
"Waste not, want not" is a fine way to be,
but a bag of cat litter is not supposed to last a
year, and it should not be recycled. Does she
scoop and toss, or does she shake the dumps
on the spatula for several minutes while staring intently, like a prospector panning for gold?
If she does you'd better run, because it's only a
matter of time before you catch her rinsing off
the turds, blow-drying the sifted out litter bits
and returning them to the box.
If she asks you to eat a big lunch before she
takes you to dinner, you should probably break
your date. Some women are more comfortable
"going Dutch;' especially early in the relationship, but if she asks for your half
of the parking money at a meter, then let this date be your last with her.
before you end up in tears in front of a grocery store security guard.
Almost as bad as the women who leave lousy tips for good service are the
When a woman takes you around to meet her friends, it is usually a good
sign, as it is an indication that she is getting serious about the relationship.
But if she only takes you to her friends' homes unannounced and at dinner-
women who complain that you tip too much. Odds are that you are only giv-
time, she may just be trying to save a few bucks. The same goes for meeting
family. Dinner at Mom and Dad's once in a while builds goodwill, but if your
girlfriend's little brother has given you an unflattering nickname which he
calls you to your face and her Dad is eating his dinner in his underwear in
front of you, then you have been coming over way too often.
If she makes her own dental dams out of used dish gloves, then the safest
sex would be with someone else. 'Nuff said.
There is nothing wrong with clipping coupons, but watch out if she's
using the color Xerox at work to make her own. You'd better get rid of her
70
I curve
ing too much money because cheapo gave so little the last time you two ate
there. But the worst offender of all is the woman who pretends to have left
something behind at the table and then swipes a few bucks before the server
picks it up. If you should ever catch one of these creatures in action, tell her
that you hope she stole enough for cab fare to get her home.
When you realize that the bulge in her pants is an anti-theft tag, it's time
to call it quits.
No matter how many times she says it, don't believe that the acids in
a:
~w
a:
ti>
tomatoes kill germs. Penny pinchers love to cover petrified leftovers with
tomato sauce and call it a casserole. You will spend much more at the emer-
w
z
1i:
gency room than she saved on the meal.
~
w
J:
Karaoke can be amusing if you're drunk enough, but beware of the woman who keeps inviting you to concerts featuring a tranny who sounds just like
Cher, a woman who sounds better than Melissa Etheridge and a dude who
blows Elton John out of the water.
I don't care what she says, medications have expiration dates. It is not OK
for cough syrup to change color, and Morn's hormone pills won't help diarrhea.
Muff diving is fun, dumpster diving isn't.
If it really is her vacation home, then how come you two have to climb in
the back window ... at 3 a.m.?
There is a cycle on the dryer called "air dry'; but there is no such cycle on a
washing machine as "air wash:' A woman who takes off an article of clothing,
hangs it over a chair, then dons it the next day claiming that the article has
"aired out" will not get another chance to foul the air around me. A woman
like that probably takes air baths, too.
Beware of a woman who gets arrested just to make free phone calls.
It doesn't matter how much they will give you for a kidney in Morocco,
and you shouldn't have to tell her that more than once.
Supermarket samples are not just like tapas.
If her idea of world travel involves swallowing Italian sausage-sized balloons of opiates and crapping them out in a bucket while a guy waves a gun in
your face, get ready for some real low-budget adventures.
When she is still wearing the cardboard sunglasses two months after her
eye exam, she may have a spending issue. But if she tries to keep the jar after
giving a stool sample, then there's no saving her.
If she is not religious, then why does she keep taking you to church picnics? And how come she never seems to know anybody at those things?
Tee Corinne continued from page 19
and lesbian bodies, Corinne emboldened lesbians
to be themselves. She took the "love that dare not
speak its name" and not only spoke it, she drew the
pictures and photographed the acts. She took what
had been hidden, masked in shame, and glorified it.
Corinne always pushed boundaries, until the
end, never holding back. There was no experience,
not even dying, that didn't fascinate her and motivate
her to create something.
Corinne's work will live on through the Tee A.
Corinne Prize for Lesbian Media Artists, established
by Moonforce Media, awarding unrestricted grants
of up to $1,000 annually.Joan E. Biren, the photographer best known as JEB, will choose the inaugural prizewinner. For more info visit jebmedia.com.
- VictoriaA. Brownworth
Team Dresch continued from page 31
The Homo a Go Go show was the most
fun, rewarding, passion-filled, emotionally
charged show I've ever played. I think we
were all surprised at how easy and awesome it felt playing together again. We all
really just respect each other as humans
and musicians and realized we wanted to
keep collaborating.
She's not an alcoholic, but she goes to AA meetings for the refreshments.
No, "new to me" is not the same as new. Especially when the item in question is lingerie.
She always brings the same thing to potlucks, Ziploc bags, which she
rinses out after each use.
Traffic tickets are expensive, and it's only natural to get angry when you
or your partner gets one. But when your lover gets mad at you because you
did not offer to sleep with the officer to get out of the ticket, she's probably
beyond redemption.
Do not put up with a woman who signs you up for drug trials. And yes,
even a little drug-induced tumor is something to get pissed about.
Free packets of mayo are not handy singles of lube, and putting them in
the nightstand is not going to make you change your mind.
When the seafood supper she makes you came from a koi pond, you had
better not stay for dessert.
Don't pursue a relationship with a woman who often begins conversations
with, "You won't believe what the neighbors were throwing away today ... "
I love Halloween as much as the next person, but trick-or-treating is for
kids. And no, it doesn't matter if the people handing out the candy can't tell
how old you are under the sheet. It's still wrong!
You shouldn't have to tell her not to buy sex toys at garage sales.
If anything in this column sounds familiar to you, let this be your warning.
Do not think you can change a tightwad into a big spender. It will not
work. In fact, it only gets worse as she gets older. If you don't want to spend
your golden years hitchhiking to doctors appointments and fighting the
pigeons for bread crumbs, get away from that discount dyke right now. ■
MarciMartinez(drummer,
philosopher)
How is it different being an out dyke in music
today than it was when the band started?
There seem to be more dyke bands now then
there were back in the early '90s, or at least
more queer bands ... It may be a little easier
for dykes to feel that they can start a band
now, with a support network. Maybe it's due
to past generations helping pave the way. It
depends on what avenue the bands go into.
Major label things still feel very different for
women to get the recognition that men do.
Either you've got be a Britney type, or even
the Donnas -who I love- are stilljust safe
enough for the masses to accept.
Do you remember a big moment playing
with the band back in the day?
Back then, I really wasn't able to understand what we were doing, the political and social impact we had on people's
lives. I think a big highlight for me had
to be the recording of Personal Best, the
process and the end result. We recorded
that in a week, and I was blown away by
the quality and yet the rawness that was
retained. John Goodmanson is a brilliant
engineer. ■
Other Licks continued from page 67
Careless
Lovefeatures12 moreof hertrademark
piano-jazz
offerings,
withfoursparkling
originalsand
coversnotablyTomWaitsandJoniMitchell(thek.d.
langduet"River").(madeleinepeyroux.com)
Despite
OurDifferences,
IndigoGirls(Hollywood):
Debuting
ona newrecordlabelafter20-plusyears,
everyone's
favoritelesbianfolk-rockers
havestill
gotit, asevidenced
bythissurprisingly
infectious
13-trackrelease.
Guestappearance
byPinkand
newcomer
BrandiCarlilearejusttwohighlights.
(indigogirls.com)
LongNightMoon,CatieCurtis(Compass):
I'll
forgivetheoutsinger-songwriter
forthinkingit was
theMississippi
RiverthatfloodedNewOrleans
after
Hurricane
Katrinalastyear(it wasLakeBorgneand
LakePontchartrain,
primarily)
because
thepolitical
sentiments
of therestof "PeopleLookAround"
- herInternational
Songwriting
Competition-winningcenterpiece
to this,herstrongest
albumto date
- areentirelyright-on.(catiecurtis.com)
Redneck
Lesbo,
Jennifer
Corday
(Envy):
This
enhanced
CDincludes
a liveaudioandvideoversion
of dykesinger-songwriter
(andCURVE
contributor)
JenniferCorday's
latestsingle,a crowd-pleasing,
hilariousparodyof countrystarGretchen
Wilson's
"Redneck
Woman"
withanexplicitlylesbiantwist.
CanI geta "hellyeah?"(corday.neQ
- MC
December 2006 j 71
By CatherinePlato
Theater Profiles continued from page 55
Greta Garbo, Mi Amor
Were Mercedes de Acosta alive today, she would be a
dream come true for lesbians and tabloids alike. Born in
1893, she was her era's version of a radical butch dyke:
a short,haired, outspoken feminist who looked sexy in
slacks. She was even a vegetarian.
Star magazine would have a veritable field day with
her personal history. In 1920, the poet, playwright and
socialite married artist Abram Poole1 only to divorce him
later. The reason? They were both homosexual. Better yet,
it was no secret with whom de Acosta was cavorting both before and after her divorce. Her long list of celebrity
lovers includes Marlene Dietrich, Isadora Duncan, Alla
Nazimova and Eva Le Gallienne. Her most famous rela,
tionship, though, was with Swedish starlet Greta Garbo,
whom she saw romantically on and off for nearly 15 years.
It's a bit of a wonder de Acosta doesn't have more of a
modern,day lesbian following, though that could change
with the upcoming film adaptation of Garbo's_CubanLover,
a stage play that explores her alluring and mysterious life,
one lusty lover at a time. Playwright, director and lead ac,
tor Odalys Nanin opened the show in Los Angeles in 2001
and hopes to begin production on the film version in 2007.
Nanin's fascination with de Acosta grew from a lifelong
crush on Garbo.
'T ve been in love with Garbo since I was 10 years old;'
Nanin confesses."But I never thought that she was bi or any,
thing like that. I just thought she was beautiful:'When Nanin
came across an article about Garbo's affair,she was thrilled to
learn that not only was Garbo's greatest love a woman, but
was Cuban like hersel£ "It was my dream come true!" she
gushes with a smile. She later learned about an exhibit at
Philadelphia's Rosenbach Museum that displayed previously
unopened (per de Acosta's request) love letters between the
two women, and promptly flew there from her home in Los
Angeles. After returning, Nanin completed Garbo'sCuban.Lover within
two weeks, casting herself in her dream role as Garbo's sweetheart.
The play focuses primarily on de Acosta's relationship with Garbo,
though it also features some rather sensual moments with Marlene
Dietrich. Isadora Duncan appears as de Acosta's confidante and muse,
clad in a loose white gown like a member of a classical Greek chorus.
[She] is onstage nonstop:'
In addition to her plans for the film version, Nanin is tentatively sched,
uled to perform Garbo'sCuban Lover this spring at the Wings Theater in
New York City. This will be her first live performance of the show outside
of L.A. Lesbian theater,goers in L.A. can look forward to a new play this
September, Skin of Honey, a lesbian love story that takes place in politi,
"I've been in lovewith Garbo since I was 10 years old," Nanin confesses.
"But I neverthoughtthat she was bi or anythinglikethat. I just thought
she was beautiful."
The physical appearance and mannerisms of each actor uncannily
resemble those of her legendary character and clearly demanded some
intense research. Despite the many important personalities depicted in
the show, though, Nanin insists that it is, above all, de Acosta's story.
"The real character that I developed was Mercedes de Acosta;' she says.
"It's almost like writing a one,woman show, a big long monologue.
72lcurve
cally volatile Cuba, where same,sex lovers run the risk of imprisonment
or worse.Two teenagers are torn apart by the Bay of Pigs Invasion, only to
be reunited 20 years later. Like all ofNanin's work to date, Skin of Honey
promises to be poignant, innovative and vital to our community. ■
Find out more about Nanin's projectsat machatheatre.org.
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I 79
Top Ten ReasonsWe Love Lisa Myers
It's impossible not to love Lisa Myers, a notsuitable-for-children comedian with a quick wit
and a foul mouth. Though you have to see her act
to get the full effect, here's why she has such a loyal
following. - Dana Kaye Litoff
1. She'sdirty!X-rated and proud, Myers says, "I
refuse to do a clean set to play the game a lot of
comedians play in hopes of getting on [The Tonight
Show With Jay] Leno:' Her act includes gay themes,
sex and drinking, which she sums up as 'celebrating
sexuality and laughing at stupid people:'
2. Shehasnoboundaries.
With Myers, no one is
safe, and no topic is taboo. She's neither politically
correct nor afraid to talk about sticky subjects
such as race and religion. 'Tm not afraid to say
Pat Robertson is a fucking lunatic, and I'm very
candid on my feelings about being anti-hate and
pro-choice;' she says.
3. She'snota snobwhenit comesto venues.In
fact, she loves playing at hole-in-the-wall bars.
"The people go there to see comedy;' Myers states,
"and they' re a good audience:' She says one of her
best shows was at a dive bar in Idaho, performing
for a bunch of cowboys.
4. She'sgot experience.
Sort of a job collector,
Myers has worked everything from transportation
and shippingjobs to IRS collection. She was even
a phone sex operator, but that gig didn't last long.
Still, her resume provides plenty of material for
her comedy.
5. She'llpostyourinstantmessages
on herWeb
site. No one is safe. If you IM Myers and say
something funny, rude or creepy, more than likely,
it's going on her homepage. But there's no denying
how much fun it can be to read the transcripts of
creepy guys trying to cyber with her.
6. She'sjust a small-towngal. She was born in
Astoria, Ore., a small, conservative and closeted
town. In this mostly Scandinavian community,
Myers says, "It's amazing how a dark-haired loudmouthed girl of questionable ethnicity - I'm
mostly Caucasian from what I can tell, but not an
ounce Scandinavian - can stand out in a sea of
blue-eyed blondes:'
7. Shecameoutto hermotherina stripclub.That's
right, Myers was at a strip club with her mother
when she decided to tell her that she's been with
women. After the big announcement, Myers recalls,
"she started talking about her cats. At first I thought
so I curve
"It'samazinghowa dark-hairedloud-mouthed
girlof
questionable
ethnicity- I'm mostlyCaucasianfrom
what I cantell,but not an ounceScandinavian
- can
standout in a sea of blue-eyedblondes."
she didn't hear me, but I'm pretty sure she did:'
a FAT girl. I'm over 200 pounds and I shop at Lane
Bryant. But goddamn it, I'm hot for a fat chick!"
8. She'sthatwomanyousaw.If you think Myers
looks familiar, it's probably from her brief television appearance on NBC's Last Comic Standing.
She was the one in line, wearing sweatpants and
totally hung-over. Way to work it.
10. She'sexpanding.
Although Myers previously
9.Shehasa healthy
bodyimage.
She declares on her
toured exclusively on the West Coast, she's going
national next year. She's booking shows in Texas,
New York, Chicago, Florida, and even Scotland.
But don't worry if your hometown isn't on her
docket; she's releasing a CD in early 2007, titled
blog,'Tm a chubby girl. You could go as far as to say
Hot and Bothered.■
Is the cure for breast cancer around the corner or off in the distance? No
one knows, but we do know we're getting closer all the time. Which is why
we're more determined than ever to keep pushing ahead. After more than
two decades in pursuit of a cure, we refuse to rest until we've reached our
goal. Learn how you can help by visiting
komen.org or calling 1.800 l'M AWARE®.
Thisspaceprovidedas a publicservice.
©2006,TheSusanG.KomenBreastCancerFoundation
The Susan
G.Komen
Breast Cancer
Foundation
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