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Description
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ToC Bonus Sex Issue; Travel in to the Vortex by Gillian Kendall (p32); Paradise Found by Diane Anderson-Minshall (p36); Michelle Tea Time by Sara Seinberg and Catherine Plato (p40); We Heart Tegan and Sara by Catherine Plato (p43); Cover: Together Again? [Bette & Tina / Jennifer Beals and Laurel Holloman] By Diane Anderson-Minshall (p44); The Stonewall Lesbian Revealed by Patrick Hinds (p64); Ten Powerful Lesbian Doctors by Stephanie Schroeder (p660; Please and Tease Your Lady This Valentine's by Mea Chavez (p30); Can We Play Like the Boys? by Gabrielle Sidon (p50); Move Over Pussycat Dolls by Jennifer Sherwin (p54); Hollywood's Best (or Worst) Pickup Lines by Alice Clarke (p56); All in the Famly by Katie Peoples (p58); The Alternative to the Alternative by Catherine Plato (p59); I was a Middle-aged Pinup by Diane Anderson-Minshall (p60); Annual Sex Issue; Cover photo by Naomi Kaltman.
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Sex Issue
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issue
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1
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Date Issued
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January-February 2008
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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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Curve_Vol18_No1_January-February-2008_OCR_PDFa.pdf
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extracted text
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FranklySpeakfng
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THE BEST-SELLING LESBIAN MAGAZINE
VOLUME 18 NUMBER 1
1550 Bryant Street, Suite 510
San Francisco, California 94103
Phone 415-863-6538 Facsimile 415-863-1609
Advertising Sales 415-863-6538 ext. 10 or 212-446-6700
Subscription Inquiries 818-286-3102
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 Publisher
Senior Editor
Assistant Editor
Assistant to the Editor
Book Review Editor
Music Review Editor
Contributing Editors
Proofreaders
Art Director
Production Manager
Production Artist
Web Producer
Operations Director
Sales Department
Advertising Sales
MySpace Manager
MySpace Marketing
Marketing Representative
Editorial Assistants
Photo Assistants
Frances Stevens
Diane Anderson-Minshall
Sara Jane Keskula
Colleen M. Lee
Katie Peoples
MeaChavez
Rachel Pepper
Margaret Coble
Julia Bloch, Victoria A.
Brownworth, Gina Daggett,
Sheryl Kay, Gretchen Lee
Theresa Johnson, Raqhel
Leach, Remy Ramirez,
Katherine Wright
Stefanie Liang
Ondine Kilker
Kelly Nuti
Nikki Woelk
Flo Enriquez
Holly DeMaagd
Diana L Berry, Rivendell Media
Lindsey J. Taylor
Amanda Campa
Tammy Lam
Heather Gilligan, Jenna V.
Loceff, Colleen McCaffrey
Kristin A. Smith, Una Swislocki
Nicole Teichman, Shari Chang
How to Get a Girl
It's no coincidence that
our annual sex issue has
featured the lovelyladies
of The L Word for three
years running.
Frances Stevens Publisher/Editor in Chief
Not only is The L Word the most popular lesbian show on earth, but it also examines topics our community faces in the bedroom and out on the streets. To some, Bette and Tina might be considered
television's premier lesbian couple. They've dealt with lesbian bed death, affairs, three-ways, parenting,
Contributing Writers John Dean Alfone, Kathy Beige,
Alice Clarke, Jennifer Corday, Lauren Marie Fleming,
Michele Fisher, Patrick Hinds, Kathy lsserrnan, Jenny
Jedeiken, Elle Kaycee, Gillian Kendall, Kate Lacey,
Char1ene Lichtenstein, Kar1yn Lotney, Candace Moore,
Catherine Plato, Amber Rivard, Sara Schieron, Stephanie
Schroeder, Sara Seinberg, Jenny Sherwin, Gabrielle
Sidon, Ursula Steck, Allison Steinberg, Jocelyn Voo,
Melany Walters-Beck
Illustrators Phil Cho, Katherine Streeter
Contributing Photographers Brie Childers, Gabriela Hashun,
Michah Joel, Naomi Kaltman, Paul Michaud, Mia Nakano,
Toky Photograhpy, Dar1ingPropaganda, Elisa Shebaro,
Urban Shutterbug Photography, Kina Williams
breakups and make-ups, not to mention sexual fluidity. Despite all they've been through, many viewers
still wait with bated breath, hoping they will get back together yet again. So, when our executive editor,
Diane Anderson-Minshall, got the chance to interview both Jennifer Beals (Bette) and Laurel Holloman
(Tina) she poked around a bit to test the relationship waters.
One answer that we got from both women was that creator Ilene Chaiken isn't out to make the actors
likeable, but to make a drama that deals with the real issues facing lesbian relationships. Besides celebrating the beginning of a new L Word season, these exclusive interviews are perfect anchors for our annual
sex issue. In this issue, we're bringing you a bevy of advice, experiments and hot topics on lesbian sex.
Since it's a double issue (January/February), we've packed twice the pleasure in our special sex section. I
think about it as how to get your girl ... and keep her.
From advice on how to please the girl you already have to Michele Fisher's candid guidance for
married girls who aren't getting any, we've got the answers you need this month. According to our staff,
getting kinky and mixing it up a bit could prove to be the answer. To my surprise, a few of our office crew
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Volume 18 Issue 1 Curve (ISSN 1087-867)() is published monthly (except for
bimonthly January/Februaryand July/August) by Outspoken Enterprises.Inc.,
1550 Bryant St., Ste. 510, San Francisco, CA 94103. Subscription price:
$49.95/year, $62.95 Canadian (U.S. funds only) and $71.95 international(U.
S. funds only). Returnedchecks wil be assesseda $25 surcharge.Periocficals
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, either whole or in part, without written permission from the
publisher.Publicationof the nameor photographof an; persons or organizations
appearing,advertising or listing in Curve may not be taken as an indicationof
the sexualorientationof that individualor group unlessspecificallystated. Curve
welcomes letters, queries, unsolicttedmanuscriptsand artworl<.Include SASE
for response. Lack of any representation only signifies insufficient materials.
Submissionscannot be returned unless a self-addressedstamped envelopeis
included. No responsibilttyis assumed for loss or damages. The contents do
not necessarily representthe opinionsof the editor, unlessspecifically stated. All
magazinessent discreetly.Subscription Inquiries:Pleasewrite to Curve, 1550
Bryant Street, Sutte 510, San Francisco,CA 94103, e-mail shop@curvernag.
com, or call 818-286-3102. Canadian Agreement Number: 40793029.
Posbnaster.
SendCanadanaddresschangesto shop@cuvemag.com,
Guve,PO Box
122, NiagaraFalls, ON L2E 6S8. SendU.S.addresschangesto shop@curvemag.
com,Curve,POBox17138,N. Holywood,CA91615-7138.Printedn the U.S.
A
Keyword: Curvemag Web site: curvemag.com
members took a bold step and enrolled in a class on how to emulate a pinup girl. Anything for the mag, right
girls? Then, we follow writer Catherine Plato as she learns pole dancing from industry experts. We even sent
two baby dykes out on the town to test some of Hollywood's most famous pickup lines. Then we follow a more
mature woman's exploration into the secret world of lesbian bathhouses. This year, our special sex issue is a bit
more risque. I want to know what you think. Drop us an e-mail to editor@curvemag.com and let us know
how you made out ... or moved on!
Features
"Someone
asked ...
'Areyou
worried
what's
goingto
happento
your
career?'
And I'm like,
'Areyou
kidding?
I did a
lesbian
movie.And
I worked
morethan
I ever had
afterthat."'
January/February 2008
32 Travel in to the Vortex Sedona, Arizona may
Let's Talk About Sex
be full of New Agers, but this skeptical lady finds
herself digging the vibes. By Gillian Kendall
30 Please and Tease Your Lady This
Valentine's We turn up the heat with these
36 Paradise Found With impeccable comedic tim-
romantic gift ideas. By Mea Chavez
ing, Michelle Paradise is set to become the new
Ellen. By Diane Anderson-Minshall
50
Can We Play Like the Boys? One woman's
exploration into the secret world of lesbian bath-
40 Michelle Tea Time Sister Spit's Next Generation
houses. By Gabrielle Sidon
tour offers time to look back on the ladies who
rode in the infamous van. Plus, a chat with Michelle
Tea. By Sara Seinberg and Catherine Plato
Laurel Holloman
page 44
Volume 18#1
54 Move Over Pussycat Dolls The Pin Up Girls are
sexy, sultry and Sapphic. By Jennifer Sherwin
iS
43 We Heart Tegan and Sara We share some
alone time with Sara Quin. By Catherine Plato
56 Hollywood's Best (or Worst) Pickup Lines
up about her L Word character and what's in store
hot and which are not. By Alice Clarke
a:
58 All in the Family Former Playboy centerfold
Susan Bernard is bringing back her father's classic
Beals that doesn't mention Flashdance (well, not
pinups. By Katie Peoples
too much). By Diane Anderson-Minshall
takes porn where the SuicideGirls have never gone
before. By Catherine Plato
how a hit to her face sparked an entire movement.
By Patrick Hinds
66 Ten Powerful Lesbian Doctors Meet the
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women bringing lesbian health issues out of the
closet. By Stephanie Schroeder
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Delarverie talks about the Stonewall Riots and
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64 The Stonewall Lesbian Revealed Storme
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One girl's quest to find out which pickup lines are
44 Cover: Together Again? Laurel Holloman opens
Cover photo by
Naomi Kaltman
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Anderson-Minshall
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January/February 2008
"Denialworksfor
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pets
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relationships.
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20 Scene More hotties than you can shake
the lady herself.
a stick at.
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In the Stacks Rachel Pepper finds her-
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Contributors All you need and want to
22 Lipstick & Dipstick Tell that flirtacious
know about our interns.
straight girl to come out or get lost.
73 Music Watch Margaret Coble sets the
mood for a little lovin' this Valentine's with
sexy sounds from some amazing artists.
8
Letters You tell us what you think about
23 Ask Fairy Butch How to make your
going green and gay media.
girlfriend very, very happy.
76 I Tried It Catherine Plato finds her inner
stripper and lives to brag about it.
10 Out in Front A conservative and femi-
24 Astro Grrl It's a great time for new ca-
nist lesbian, a film festival curator and a
reer moves. What's in the stars for you?
GENIUS activist grace our pages.
25 Get the Spark Back Our relationship
12 Open Studio Corey Aughtry captures
13 Curvatures We chat with teen musician
hold out for a roll in the hay?
Sonya Kitchell. Plus, get organized this
year with some cool office supplies.
28 Politics Change the world by making
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Sapphic Screen Candace Moore picks
the campiest shows and films sure to
cure the winter blues.
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about Madonna rumors.
your geeky Valentine with these gift suggestions from Elle Kaycee.
Marie Fleming does. Trust us.
revolution your New Year's resolution.
Plus Sandra Bernhard comes clean
77 Tech Girl Put a smile on the face of
80 Top Ten Reasons We Love Chave
26 Dyke Drama How long is too long to
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Contributors
"I had so many' ideas for Christmas gifts after I worked on the December
gift guide;' says California native MeaChavez.
She enjoys researching and
writing, and oddly enough she likes to proofread and edit. Chavez earned
her B.A. in English, and is now gaining experience in publishing as assis~
tant to the editor at CURVE. She plans to continue a career in reading and
writing. Cooking is Chavez's therapy and Top Chefis her favorite show.
She also dabbles in jewelry making and painting.
"I'm so relieved to take a break from the English canon and read some~
thing new;' says former English teacher KristinA. Smith."Thankfully, I
was assigned to read two contemporary books and interview the authors:'
When she isn't discussing the impact of lesbian pulp novels or dreaming
of driving a cab, Smith is taking journalism classes and renovating her
converted warehouse. She hopes to be a successful freelance writer and
travel around the world ... preferably on a bike.
"I get to read books about porn:' says bookworm and self~proclaimed
photo~nerd JennaV.Loceff.Just a semester away from graduating on the
lO~year plan, editorial assistant Loceff is happy to be in the world of pub~
lishing. When not toiling away as the managing editor of San Francisco
State University's student paper, she loves to travel and play with any kind
of camera she can get her hands on. A voracious reader, Loceff can be
found at her local pub nursing a Guinness with her nose in a book.
"Interning ~t CURVE is awesome. I show up and have no idea what I'm
getting myself into;' says assistant LinaSwislocki.
Uncertainty is "what
s:w
keeps this job interesting. It's far from being a normal desk job. I'm learn~
ing all about publishing and the LGBT community:' Never one to scoff
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at the chance to learn, Swislocki plans to get a teaching credential and
introduce others to the joys of grammar and punctuation.
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sunburn:' In spite of being shellacked in "The Pit" by tear sheets, press
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is extremely grateful.
Her dream is to be a travel writer and investigative reporter, but in the
meantime she will settle for her gig as a server, where McCaffrey uses the
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experience to gain further insight into the nature of the human condition
and where she channels her inner Dostoevsky.
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don't write!' But being an intern has helped shape my goals;' says photo as~
sistant NicoleTeichman.
A New York City native, Teichman found herself
(literally and philosophically) on the West Coast studying documentary
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photography. 'J\ctivism is in my blood. My mom was a hippie protesting
the Vietnam War in front of the White House. Women's issues and queer
issues have always been in the forefront for me, so CURVE is a natural fit:'
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Letters
"I know the local B&B, farmer's market and
bus route aren't as catchy or marketableas
the latest 'green' product, but you would do
your readersand the environmenta service
by featuringthese simple solutions more
prominently."
What Type of
Lesbian Are You?
Youknowthatyou've
madea markin the
worldwhenyou'rethe
inspiration
for an online
quiz(see"FifteenTypes
of Lesbians,"
Vol.15 Local Vacations Are Greener
#3).Wefoundthis little
I was pleased to see CuRVE encouraging us readers to "go green"
gem,"HowMuchof
[Vol. 17 #9]. However, I would have liked to see you take the
a Lesbian
AreYou,"
concept of"green" further than you did. Some of the most enby "nogoodgirl"
on
QuizFarm.com
andjust vironmentally friendly choices a person can make involve encouldn'tresistplugging gaging with a local community rather than consuming "green"it. (Atpresstimethe labeled products from far away. For example, you could have
quizwasunavailable, encouraged readers to seek out travel destinations in their local
butyoucancertainly area rather than flying around the world for ecoadventures; carstill seetheoriginal bon offsets for plane rides help, but a lot of greenhouse gases
at curvemag.com.) are still put into the air when we choose to fly more. And your
Basedon howmuch article featuring mail-order food and bottled water contradicted
youagreeor disagree
your advice to shop locally for food and drink filtered tap water
withthestatements,
from a reusable bottle. Also, there's a happy medium between
thequizdetermines
just
whatkindof lesbian walking and driving in many parts of the United States: public
youare,for example: transportation. The more we ride it and expect it to work well,
the FemmeFatale,the the better it will get! I know the local B&B, farmer's market
SurpriseDykeor the and bus route aren't as catchy or marketable as the latest'green"
Stud.Findoutwhatover product, but you would do your readers and the environment a
56,000peoplealready service by featuring these simple solutions more prominently.
know-just whattype Thanks for introducing us to more environmentally friendly
of lesbianyouare. choices-I look forward to reading more about them in CURVE
- KatiePeoples in the future.
- Brittany, Newark, NJ. •
Recycle, Reduce, Reuse
Loved the emphasis on going green in your last issue! I'm so glad
to see CURVEpaying attention to this important topic. Along
those same lines, have you thought of switching to printing your
magazine on recycled papen' I've read that lots of magazines are
now printing their pages on recycled paper. It might be worth
checking out for you as well.
- Marianne Merola, via e-mail
No Room for Prudery
Regarding the letter from Kim Ann Callan in the September
2007 [Vol. 17 #7] issue. Shame on you, Kim Ann Callan, for
trying to shame us about our own sexuality! There is no room
in a lesbian magazine for prudery, and the fact that you're also a
queer publisher, who should be advocating the dissemination of
information rather than trying to censor it, makes it even more
tragic. Fairy Butch is one of my favorite sex-ed writers and my
favorite part of CURVE:a fabulous advice-giver and extremely
entertaining wordsmith (oh yes, and did I mention one smokin'
hot butch?). And now that On Our Backs has unfortunately
ceased publication, it's even more imperative that CURVEand
other lesbian/ queer mags pick up and carry the sex-ed torch. As
a sex educator and former sex-column writer for Weird Sisters
West, a local Colorado queer publication, I know firsthand
(firstfist?) the importance of giving people honest and up-todate info about sex. Omitting the details because "our detractors" might read it and gain "ammunition;' is not only paranoid
but unethical and potentially dangerous, particularly when the
reader is enjoying a delicate act like fisting. Without accurate
instruction, sex can be unsafe. "Safe, sane and consensual" is, or
should be, just as true for vanilla sex and relationships as it is
for the BDSM community. And if fisting makes me a deviant,
I will proudly sport that label (T-shirts, anyone?). Apparently,
a "woman's personal sexual preferences" are an issue with you.
Open your mind, Kim Ann, and your cunt will follow!
- Debra A. Myers, Denver, CO
Hurray for New Subscribers
I just bought my first issue of CURVEand I really love your mag.
I especially enjoyed reading the piece ''A Camcorder Revolution''
[Vol.17 #8]. It was the best article I've read in a long time and I
wish it were longer. I hope to read more from Heather Fitz and
I plan to subscribe to CURVE.Thanks!
Editor's Note: Marianne, we'reso glad you liked our initialforays
- Shannon B., via e-mail
intogoinggreen.Infact, the magazineisprinted onpartiallyrecycled
paper and we'reinvestigatingother ways to have a lesserimpact on A Publication Disconnection?
theplanet, too,includingcomputerrecyclingprogramsand new types I do not understand why men _and women who are able to beof low-impactinks. Thanksfor keepingus on our toes!
come editors and publishers of gay/lesbian publications do not
seem to want to communicate with each other. I suggest that
s Icurve
they all glance at an issue of Lesbian Connections
and see what I believe our community needs. Here
is a well-4one publication that actually serves its
readers/ supporters. Even though it is aimed only
at lesbians, the point is generic. It has readers who
write in and let other readers know about what is
going on in their area of the country, share news
of some book or event they know about, and
even share pictures of their animals. This is true
community.
First, why has no national publication that I
know of ever mentioned this publication? The
Advocate, Out, etc., should be ashamed of themselves for their constant pictures and pages devoted to celebrities, most of whom are not gay, yet
find no time to cover others in our community.
And along that line, why is it they ignore probably the best national source of groups and publications serving our community, the Gay Yellow•
Pages?It is time for homosexuals to support the
few publications that do give us information we
need, that treat us as friends, not as consumers,
giving us only material that helps their advertisers
sell us their cars, liquor, etc. This is the time for us
to ask for more than we could get in the '50s and
'60s. If we don't, we deserve the nongay way we
are treated.
- Billy G., via e-mail
Editor's Note: Billy, you're preaching to the choir
here. We adoreLesbian Connections and have covered it in ourpagesin thepast. While LC's missionis
differentthan oursin ways,we both.tryto educateand
inform lesbiansand for that they have our unending
support.Readerscan checkthem out at lconline.org.
We Reach the Comic Fans
I'm just too excited about the "Top Ten Reasons
We Love Paige Braddock:' [Vol. 17 #8]. I must
have been in the literary closet to not know about
Ms. Braddock. I love to read and I have a whole
library of books in my home. I worshiped Charles
Schulz, I have everything he's ever done, and I've
devoted a room in my house to the Peanut's gang.
It's wonderful to know a lesbian is the creative director of his studio. Ms. Braddock must be blessed
to have worked with such an artist as •Charles
Schulz. Please see if you can help me find Ms.
Braddock's work. Thank you in advance.
- Tina, via e-mail
Got Somethingon Your Mind?
E-mail letters@curvemag.com; write to
CURVE
Letters, 1550 Bryant St., Ste. 510, San Francisco,
CA 94103; fax to 415-863-1609. Please include
your name, city and state. Letters may be edit~d
for clarity and length.
January/February 2008
I9
Margaret Murray
Brittany Hoffman
Tammy Bruce
It's all about the power of art for Margaret Murray.
'Tm as optimistic about the life,changing poten,
Brittany Hoffman says she first became an LGBT
She calls herself an openly gay, pro,choice, gun,
owning, pro,death penalty, voted,for,President,
tial of art today as I was when I was a teenager;'
says Murray, executive director of One in Ten,
advocatejust after her senior year in high school.
"I think I became an activist when my mother
discovered I was queer and I refused to apolo,
Bush authentic feminist.
At 27 years old she was elected president of
the parent organization of Reel Affirmations,
the Washington, D.C. LGBT film festival.
"Festivals,especiallyLGBT festivals,present an
gize for it;' says Hoffinan. "I cried, I yelled, I felt
opportunity to transport people out of their lives
and into another person's;' says Murray, an artist
for 15 years. Art, she says, offers a vehicle for cross,
never apologized:'
Hoffinan took all that energy into real,world
ing the line between entertainment and education.
"Once you experience a different perspective, you
cator while attending Smith College. A few years
later, she became a volunteer for Help Individual
government which successfully takes that con,
can't erase that:'
as men are in the majority of power positionsis a government bent on totalitarianism:'
She also became a New York Times best,sell,
bad for not having had the courage to tell my
mother before she found out on her own, but I
activism, where she served as a peer sexuality edu,
the Los Angeles chapter of NOW, the youngest
to ever attain that position. (She also spent two
years on the national board of directors.)
She's pro,choice to her core. "Women main,
raining control of their bodies is the keystone to
our personal freedom;' says Bruce, now 45. 'J\ny
trol-and
all governments will always try as long
Murray acknowledges that there have been
Prostitutes Survive (HIPS) in Washington, D.C.,
where she conducted outreach in female, male and
more gay male films than lesbian films,but finds
that lesbian directors are slowly achieving parity
transgender sex worker communities by providing
on,the,street counseling and information, distrib,
regarding the quantity of films being produced.
What is especiallyremarkable, she says, is that this
uting safer sex and safety materials, and recording
demographic and qualitative information.
Today, at 27 years old, Hoffman serves as the
Right and Wrong, a direct assault on what she
calls the "left elite:'
Gender YOUTH program campus director for
the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition, work,
rect link to the NRA (dick on the icon of her
handgun, named Snuffy ), and when she's not
ing with over 300 student and youth leaders to
raise awareness about gender,motivated violence,
blogging, Bruce hosts her own syndicated radio
show, a mix of populist politics wrapped in indi,
vidualism with a strong dose of American patri,
is happening with greater funding constraints and
fewer resources than have traditionally been avail,
able to the gay male market and that it is being
achieved by women banding together and produc,
ing some outstanding lesbian cinema.
"I think every single film festival needs a strong
female programming presence;' says Murray. "If
you don't have someone in there fighting for these
films, they'll fall by the wayside:'
Murray is also the owner of Movies That
Move, a roaming cinema showcase that matches
specific film screenings with out,of,the,way lo,
cales.She has also lent her talents as film·curator to
major museums across the country, including the
Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla.
If you know of any LGBT activists or
any women who are Out in Front at
work, at home or in the community,
please let us know by writing to
curvesoutinfront@hotmail.com.
10
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gender stereotypes and gender as a human rights
isslle. Her most recent work involves the Gender
ing author with her second book, The Death of
Her Web site (tammybruce.com) has a di,
Equality National Index for Universities and
otism, along with feminism, culture and society.
So, did this feminist lesbian really vote for
Schools (GENIUS) project, where universities
and colleges are 'graded" on where they stand on
George Bush:' Hang on-the
answer is yes.
Originally taken with his hard,hitting stance
issues of gender rights.
"Working and living within the social justice
community isn't so much a tangible, easily ar,
against terrorists after Sept. 11, Bruce now feels
let down.
ticulated choice as much as it is this kind of crazy,
internal pull that just won't go away;' says
Hoffman. "Don't get me wrong-it gets hard
To those m the LGBT community who
might be confused by her dear dedication to
feminist causes while she adheres to some con,
servative politics, Bruce says, "The more diverse
ter and more compassionate experience. I want
the lesbian community is when it comes to
ideas, politics and lifestyle, the stronger we will
become, and the more women who have not nee,
that for my family, my friends, my opponents
and mysel£ and if I'm going to reap the benefits,
I want to be a contributor:'
essarily seen themselves in the very few publicly
open lesbians we have, may feel more confident
to come out, to embrace who they are:'
and emotional and exhausting, but it's a family
of folks devoted to the idea that life can be a bet,
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Corey Aughtry
Corey Aughtry is hoping to take photography to a whole new level by bringing androgyny
out of the closet. Aughtry, a 29,year,old New York photographer, wants to let gender,bend,
ing, genderqueer and old school androgynous folks know they're not alone in this brave new
world.
Aughtry began taking photographs, she says, of anything and everything she found beau,
tiful when she got her first camera at age 15. When she came out at age 20, she ventured out
to more intriguing arenas-queers, it turns out, make for captivating subjects. She says her
photographs seek to encourage lesbians to feel comfortable in their own skin, offering viewers
a perspective of beauty that you won't find in commercial magazines. She hopes her pho,
tographs can give more insight to those who don't fully understand women who transcend
gender norms.
While Aughtry long planned her recent shoot, she had trouble finding models that fit the
bill. So she jumped in front of the camera herself In the process, she found more than she bar,
gained for. While she occasionally uses other models, much of Aughtry's work today is inspi,
rational self,portraiture. Her sensual photographs, she admits, show love and hope-things
that capture the heart and the mind.
121 curve
Curvatures
mesomeinsightasto howit isthatyouaretravelinginternationally,
beingexposed
to thislifestyle,
at sucha youngage?Haveyour parentsbeen
involved?
Yeah, my parents are both artists. My father is a
photographer and a fine artist, a painter, and my
mom's an illustrator. Basically, from a very young
Not Your Mother's
Soda Pop
age they were bringing me out to concerts and
restaurants. I was hanging out with adults and
SONYA KITCHELL is an 18-year-old
singer-songwriter from Northampton,
Mass., (sonyakitchell.com). While she
is accustomed to performing acoustic
folk-rock, her voice also seems to channel an older energy from another space
and time. CURVE recently caught up with
Kitchell at the Bonnaroo Music Festival
in Manchester, Tenn., to discuss her early start in the music industry, Northampton as a lesbian mecca and trampolines. - ]DA
OrySodaCo.offersnonalcoholicalternatives
for
treated as an equal-treated as a child, but as if I
culinarypairing.Founder
was intelligent.
andCEOSharelle
Klauswantedto give
andanyone
Do you have a relationshipwith the lesbian moms-to-be
elsewhoisn't hitting
community?
. [Laughs.] Yeah, actually, because I'm from the bottleanalternativeto boozeat dinner.
Northampton, which is the lesbian capital. All my
Thelightlyflavored
friends' moms are lesbians, and my guitar teacher,
sodascomein four
and half the women I know are lesbians, so it's a
essences-lavender,
very homelike thing for me. My parents met in
rhubarb,lemongrass
San Francisco and all their friends were gay men
andkumquat.
All are
before they moved to Northampton. And yes, my
refreshing,
but lavender
is themostuniqueflavor
parents are a man and a woman [la~ghs],
but I don't
according
to oursecret
know what it means or how it's different. I grew up
tasters
(aka
the interns).
around so many women and I feel very comfortable
It
pairs
well
with
surrounded by them. I happen to be straight, but it's
anythingfromcheese
to porkto chocolate.
Rhubarb
is theonly
flavorwithoutmuchof
a sweetaftertaste;
and
if theotherthreeflavors
arethewinesof the
sodaworld,rhubarbis
the beer.Forhigh-end
bubbleswithoutthe
mineraltasteof most
like they're my moms, sisters, aunts and friends.
Talkaboutthe inspiration
for the lyricsto youralbumWords sodawaters,theseare
definitelya must-have.
CameBacktoMe.
(drysoda.com)
- JVL
Questions for
Sonya Kitchell
Howdidyoustartsoyoung?
Basically, I started voice lessons at 7 years old because I decided
I wanted to become a singer. At 12, I bought myself a guitar and
then learned how to play the piano because I figured I'd better
learn to accompany mysel£ Writing and playing music is my
passion. I have always given up everything and anything for it,
almost. I have always pursued it.
I just wrote a bunch of songs and that title came from a song
called "Words:' I chose that tide to encapsulate the album
because maybe the one thing that ties all those songs together
is that I wrote them. My songwriting has changed now. It's
interesting-as
I'm growing older, the songs are starting to
make more sense and are starting to be more about the present,
as opposed to existential stuff that's outside of you.
CURVATURES
WRITTEN
BY
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I noticethatyourtourdatesincludea lotof international
travel. Whatdoyouhavecomingupasfar asyournextalbum?
Canwe talk aboutthat?
My next album I'm very excited about. It will be darker, I can
I just got back from two months in Europe and before that I was
in India. The last place I was in was Barcelona. It was beautiful.
I wish I had more time, but Paris was really one of my favorite
places we went to.
guarantee. I feel like the songs I've been writing are a lot better,
and I've become a better musician, growing into mysel£ I just
want it to be a very sonically rich and powerful record. That's
I washangingoutwithanothermusicianhereat Bonnaroo,
and
she'samazedthatyouhavesuchmaturityat 18.Canyougive
MaybehaveKakiKingas a guitarist?
my goal-something
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Perhaps! No, she just jumps on the trampoline with me [laughs].
JohnDeanAlfone,
DianeAndersonMinshall,
Mea
Chavez,
Margaret
Coble,ColleenM.
Lee,JennaV.Loceff,
KatiePeoples,
Stephanie
Schroeder,
KristinA. Smithand
LinaSwislocki
January/February 2008
Curvatures
WHAT'S HOT
Kids' Stuff
With a Twist
Does a Girl Good
Nothing warms a body, cures a cold or mends a broken heart better than chicken
soup. If you aren't lucky enough to have a grandmother who makes you homemade
soup, then call on the company Grandma's Chicken Soup to act as a surrogate in
your time of need.
Grandma's Chicken Soup (grandmaschickensoup.com)
delivers on its slogan, "More
Than Just Soup;' by offering a variety of packages, from the simple Just Soup (soup with
noodles, matzo balls or both, $29.50) to the extravagant Tea Relaxation Package (a combi- •
nation of soup, music and relaxing teas). For a modest $1,625 they will send a real grandma
to your house to deliver the package, hugs included.
Grandma's Chicken Soup comes with a custom greeting to match the occasion. You can
Subvertthe patriarchy
with ColoringOutside
theLines,a kid-friendly
collectionof drawings
andbiasof historicand
contemporary
feminist
iconsfromSusanB.
Anthonyto AngelaDavis
andAlixOlson.$15,
riotgrrrlink.com
- MC
Takethe
painoutof
travelingwith
the littleones
with Little
JetSet.With
choiceslike
52Thingsto
Doin the Car,
the Backseat
TravelTinandBooks-ina-Cup,youwon'thave
to popthe aspirinwhile
packingthe suitcase.$3
andup,littlejetset.com
-CML
choose from the classic grandmotherly encouragement-"Sometimes
you win, sometimes you
lose. But you're still my star, no matter how you do;' to the modern-"Cause I heard that you were
illin. Here's some Jewish penicillin:'
So get yourself some love in a soup bowl, or send it to someone else who needs it. It's about the same price as flowers and a lot yummier. And if all this talk of grandmas makes you miss your own, go and visit her ... and bring her something nice. - KAS
Did Your Christmas Suck, Too:
Did Santa fail to-deliver the goods this year? Return those fes-
Mousing Around
tive socks and get these great gifts instead.
Designer Appliances has
come up with the most
Become a Film Director
Featuring
sharper
image
ity, the JVC Everio Hard Drive
Camcorders are the perfect tool to
strategy. The AirO 2bic has
master the art of video storytelling.
mouse, which reduces stress
on hand muscles and nerves. Available in black or white and a
left-handed model (for that other 11 percent of the population).
($100, aerobicmouse.com)
These camcorders include a docking
station to charge your battery, one-touch direct DVD burning,
one-touch backup of video files to a PC, and also an in-camera
A Healthier You
Camera of the Gods
We all make that
There's a reason the Olympus SP
55OUZ, with its 18x wide-angle
zoom lens, is named after the fabled
lose weight and get healthy. The
CardioChek Portable Blood Test
bilization and high-speed sequential shooting so you can capture images of anything that moves. ($400, olympusamerica.
If youlongfor your
tongueto tingle,try com)
JonesSodaCo.'s
carbonated
candy.It's Hey Player
availablein sixflavors, Connect to your chat and gaming community through
soyourmouthcan your TV with the Windows Live Messenger Xbox 360.
cheat,evenif youcan't. Text, talk and play simultaneously. Combine contacts
$3,jonescandy.com from your Xbox Live and Windows Live messenger lists.
-CML
Broadcast what you're playing on your Xbox console.
Watch videos, play games or navigate the dashboard while
having conversations within the Xbox Guide. The Xbox
360 Messenger Kit includes a chat pad and an Xbox 360
headset. ($40, xbox.com)
I
curve
you place your hand in the
editing function to keep you organized. ($500 and up, jvc.com)
home of deities. This 7.1 megapixel
camera comes with dual image sta-
14
ergonomic way to mouse
as part of its Anti.Fatigue
qual-
resolution
to
System is here to help. This handy little
system is the first and only device that's
been cleared by the FDA for checking cardiovascular health indicators at home. Similar
to what diabetics use to test their blood sugar, the
CardioChek tests for HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose
and ketone levels. ($99, cardiochek.com)
Relive the Rat
In the new Ratatouille video game, you are
Remy, the adorable rat that longs to become
a gourmet French che£ as he dashes and
darts in and out of sewers, streets and the
kitchen. Available on multiple platforms,
but the Nintendo Wii version was our favorite-you feel like you're in the movie.
($50, thq.com) -
Staff
Curvatures
Get Organized
Yeah, yeah, new year, new you-we've heard it all before. Instead of spending a grand on a new,gym membership that you'll never use, why not plunk down
some cash on things that'll actually help you work all year long. Don't wait for spring cleaning. Get yourself organized now.
First Stop: KangaRooM Storage
This is the wet dream of storage boutiques, with a bevy of functional, fashionforward solutions for tidying up your home·and office. There's a hot Phone/PDA
Charging Station that will recharge all your gear in one simple place, a Black Box
Cord Organizer that takes all those endless strands of electronica and packs them
into one place out of sight, and the sexy faux leather Stackable File Boxes that almost
everyone needs. Among our faves: A faux leather Monitor Stand, a Personal File
System (a four-book system that'll
replace a whole file drawer in your
office), a new Video Game Storage
Unit and the must-have Personal
Media Travel Pouch. The latter is
a petite version of the Travel Cord
Organizer, which lets you pack away
your cell, camera and iPod cords
while you're on the road. ($13 and
up, kangaroomstorage.com)
Fine Line Between Work and Home
Need "me" time? The Balance Sheet Notepad divides
to-do sections into"work" and"home" categories, so
you'll never forget to pick up Samantha at soccer.
($10, mommytrackd.com)
A Better Brazilian
Supply freaks like my office mates will love Post-It's
colorful new Samba Collection, a bevy of flags, tabs,
notes, planners and dispensers whose geometric and
floral patterns give your space a Brazilian flair. Who
says function and style can't go hand in hand? ($2
and up, postit.com)
For Die-Hard Readers
Created by a woman who wanted to keep all the info she found
in her magazines handy and organized without taking the time to
clip and file, Scanalog is the only software that allows you to scan
mags and file them electronically, organizing clippings in 11 master
categories (e.g., career, home, recipes) or, if you're really detailed,
up to 107 extra categories. ($50, scanalog.com)
Puzzlingly Compact
Magnetized pieces of the postmodern, wheel-shaped Stationoli Desk Set
fit together or break apart at your convenience. The set includes stapler,
pencil sharpener, staple remover, sticky note and paperclip holder, calculator
and digital alarm clock. Sticks to metal desks or walls for easy access. ($40,
uncommongoods.com)
16
Icurve
-
-----
Hang It in Style
You missed the board! Wait, you did it on purpose, to
hang your coat with these clever Dart Hooks, which screw
into the wall to look like you just missed the bull's,eye.
($35, uncommongoods.com)
WIN A FREE DVDI
. Want a chanceto take homethe
lesbianeroticdocumentarythat director Shine LouisHoustoncalls "the
sweetestthing I've ever seen"?Real
women,real sex. Ten luckywomen
will get a Valentine'sgift to remember.Send your name and addressto
assistanteditor@curvemag.com
with
"Ashleyand Kisha"in the subjectline
by Feb.14.
January/February
2008
Curvatures Lesbofile
Here's a Story of Some Lovely Ladies
Find out the latest celebrity rumors, myths and reality. I By Jocelyn Voo
Long-held lesbian rumors are laid to rest, and
straight guys hit on gay girls (with mixed results )-just another month in our part of town.
Reality, Baby
Adrianne, Yoanna, Eva, Naima: Any of these
names ring a bell? No? Maybe it's because these
past winners of Americas Next Top Model have
hardly hit the big time since winning Tyra Banks'
now-tired reality modeling contest. Last we
checked, the only person who'd made noticeable
air-time since getting the boot was Cycle S's Kim
Stolz,who became an MTV VJ for MTVU, the
parent channel's university-targeted outlet. Stolz
is now making the political rounds, interviewing
presidential hopefuls such as John Edwards.
But now another ANTM alum has made
strides in her life: bisexual model-wrestler Michelle
Deightonand her boyfriend(?) of two years(!),
Survivor-contender, wrestler, reality-villian Jon
"Jonny Fairplay" Dalton, are expecting a little
bundle of joy. Did anyone know that Deighton was
pregnant? Or, for that matter, seeing men again?
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Blunt Reaction
Talk show host EllenDeGeneres
has had many celebrities on her self-titled show, but few have tried
to bestow on her a personal parting gift. Not so for
JamesBlunt,whose yearlong romance with model
PetraNemcova
ended last March. ''I'll give you my
phone number afterwards;' Blunt told DeGeneres.
"I am actually very effeminate:' But, alas, no dice.
"It's not going to work;' responded DeGeneres,
"but thanks for trying:'
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia
Last year, rumors circulated that sugar-and-spice
'70s child star MaureenMcCormick,
aka Marcia on
The Brady Bunch, might've been more naughty than
nice with her co-star EvePlumb,
aka Jan, while the
cameras weren't rolling. McCormick's tell-all book,
Heres the Story, set to be released in 2008, allegedly spills the beans on their sexual awakening.
"The most explosive comments will be how the
then blonde, blue-eyed cutie developed a crush
on Eve Plumb, which led to some sexual play;' a
source told the National Enquirer. "This book will
certainfy come as a shocker. While Maureen is not
a lesbian, she reveals there were some sexual hijinks
going on behind the scenes:' But before specula-
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tion could go far, McCormick's publisher quashed
the rumor. Figures. Personally, we always thought
Cindy would be the one to bat for both teams.
All Press Is Good Press
That rumor about something going down between
Madonna
and SandraBernhard?
Never happened,
according to Bernhard ... but she certainly didn't
mind people thinking she was linked to the original material girl. "I don't mind being asked about
Madonna. It was awesome at the time. We had a
really funny friendship and kind of played with
the press and the media;' she said. "It was before
the Internet, and there was still a little bit of allure
and excitement and fun to it:'
Inside Beth Ditto's Head
Rock star, fashion designer . . . advice colum-
nist? It's all part of a normal day for BethDitto.
Unbeknownst to us over on this side of the Pond,
the Gossip front woman has been serving as a
biweekly (har, har, har) advice columnist for the
British newspaper the Guardian since late April
2007. In her inaugural column, Ditto details how
she got to her current status: After a difficult childhood in Arkansas, she moved to feminist-friendly
Olympia, Wash., where the music and DIY scenes
were exploding. "At that point I came out kicking
and screaming-I was so out of the closet it was
insane;' Ditto remembers. Unsurprisingly, Ditto
is fun and articulate. "There isn't any question I
wouldn't want to be asked;' says Ditto. "Even if it's
personal. Even if it's scary. Even if it's 'How do you
take in your trousers so that they fit you properly?'
I'm up for all of it. Bring it on!" What's next for the
multi-tasker? We wait with bated breath. ■
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Curvatures·
.,
INTHE NEWS
Gov.Arnold
Schwarzenegger
signed
legislation
giving
property
taxreliefto
surviving
domestic
partners.
EllenDeGeneres
received
theTrevor
Life
Award
fromtheTrevor
Project.
Formoreinformation
visitthetrevorproject.org.
Don'tmissthelesbian
andgayskiweekevent
BlueGay-La
(bluelaketahoe.com/ski)
atSouth
Shore,
LakeTahoe,
Calif./Nev.,
Jan.23-27.
You Can Build Your Nest
and Give to Charity, Too
Here is an easy way to save the world by doing something you
would do anyway: decorating your home or yourself with beauti,
fol handmade goods from around the world. Nest (buildanest.
com) is a nonprofit online retailer that sells clothing, jewelry and
home accessories and turns the profits into micro,loans for worn,
en in developing countries. Loan recipients can choose to repay
their loans in cash or by selling the goods they make on Nest.
The idea of the micro,loan-where
a business in a developing
country is awarded a small amount
of money (usually around $50)
for supplies or other necessi,
ties-first
appeared in the
1970s. Since then, various
forms of the micro,loan
concept have appeared.
Nest's
micro,loan
model is particularly ex,
citing because the retailer
Friends
oftheFestival,
Inc.changed
thename
oftheannual
Tampa
International
Gayand
Lesbian
FilmFestival
to
theClipFilmFestival.
Anestimated
$75,000
worthoffurniture,
arcade
games
andsuppliesfromtheMcGinnis
Mansion
inBeaverton,
Ore.,wasdonated
to
theSexualMinority
YouthResource
Center
inPortland.
Sixstates,
Alaska,
Louisiana,
North
Dakota,
South
Dakota,
South
Garolina
and
WestVirginia,
haveno
openlygayelected
officials
atanylevelof
government,
according
totheGayandLesbian
Victory
Fund.
has elected to give loans
only to businesses that
are owned and operated
by women. These en,
trepreneurs, who are
often limited by their
lack of education
and
their
class,citizen
second,
status,
flourish when given
a chance to take
control of their own
businesses and livelihoods. The women are able to increase their
social standing, provide for their families and pay their debts. In
fact, women have an astoundingly high repayment rate on these
loans-to
the tune of
98 percent.
Nest is also exciting
because, like the loans
it funds, it operates un,
der a sustainable busi,
ness model. The com,
pany sells handmade
items in the U.S. by up,
and,coming designers,
many of whom design
Cambodian
Prime
Minister
HunSen
disowned
hisadopted
lesbian
daughter
for
marrying
a woman.
-KP
items specifically for
the Web site, thereby
promoting local as well
as foreign talent and
ensuring a bigger pot
for those who need to
draw from it. - LS
~·
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"Oneofthemost
romantic
lesbian
destinations
on
theplanet."
-PlanetOut
~p.
Bethlehem,
NH
877LES-B-INN
(537-2466)
www.highlandsinn-nh.com
January/February 2008
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1 The ladies of Dante'sCoveat the premier party in L.A. 2 Twin Cities HRC Dinner at,
tendees (from right) Leslie Sandberg, Amy Johnson and Ann DeGroot 3 ALRP Lawyer of
the Year award recepient Alma Soongi Beck (in pink) is joined by cuRvE's photo assistant
Nicole Teichman (far left) and BALIF board members Kelly McCown and Sally Morin
4 "Most Handsome" drag king winners with judge Michelle Wolff (far right) at the It's
Not Just a Man's World calender release and Halloween party in Sacramento 5 Jamie Lee
Curtis (left) and Jennifer Chrisler, executive direc~or of FEC, formerly Family Pride, at the
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Jamie writer/director Michelle Ehlen 8 Michelle Paradise (left) and Jennifer Corday at the
Dante'sCove premier party in L.A. 9 Keynote speaker Kathy Najimy at the Twin Cities
HRC Dinner, Minneapolis 10 Suzanne Noe of Prosuzy on imgay.tv at the Tampa Film
Fest 11 Erin McKeown entertaining the crowd at the Twin Cities HRC dinner
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Advice
Lipstick & Dipstick
Flirting with Disaster
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I'm out at work
and met a woman who seemed interested
in me. Soon it became clear she is probably closeted, although her interest in me
seemed genuine. I'm in a band and she's
come to a number of my shows, and we
always hang out at work. The problem is,
when I flirt back, she runs away. When I
ask her to lunch or drinks, she declines or
avoids answering, but when I back off, she
seems upset with me. This was a vicious
cycle until I finally told her how I felt after
one of my shows. By opening up, I'd hoped
to get some clarity. Much to my embarrass-
ment, she said she had no as to clue what
I was talking about. She said she was flattered yet doesn't feel the same way. She's
colder toward me now. What is the deal?
Is it safer just to stay away from closeted
women, if that's what's going on? Or is
there something else I could have done?
-Rockin' Out in Rochester
Lipstick:If I have to answer one more question
about a fellow sister falling for a straight woman,
I'm going to fucking lose my mind. Seriously.
Come on, people!
Okay, sorry. I'm calm now. If I was in a band,
I'd play the guitar
and sing the song
"Hey, Breeders,
Leave My Girls
Alone:' I'd dedicate it to all the
curious hetero chicks out
there who continue putting their mitts in our
cookie jar with no intention of ever really eating
a cookie. My tune would be just like Pink Floyd's,
too, except it wouldn't make you want to slit your
wrists or drop acid, but instead go to a dyke bar
and play pool with a bunch of butches.
Dipstick:I'd be in the band, too. Or wait, maybe
"I've never been with a woman, and at this point,
I'm so anxious about being a virgin and so firmly
ensconced as everyone's best friend that I'm about
ready to give myself up as a lost cause, buy a dog
and a new copy of Yes /Am, and enter a life of bitter
hermitage with a vibrator and all four seasons of
The L Word. Am I missing some sort of internal chip?"
I'd be at the bar playing pool ... I'm not sure.
Rockin' Out, let's give the closet case the benefit of the doubt here. You're right, she probably
does have feelings for you. She likes attention
from the cute dyke in the band. Who wouldn't?
Like most of us before we came out, she may not
even be aware that what she's feeling is a crush.
She thinks it's normal to stop by your desk two
to three times a day, to ask you for a ride around
the parking lot on your Harley, to laugh at all your
jokes and touch your thigh after she's
had a few drinks. It's all fun, until she's
forced to admit what she's doing: flirting. Yes, you're right to follow your
instincts and stay far away from this
closet queen. Hit on your bass player
instead. The two of you probably have
great rhythm already.
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I'm
a 21-year-old lesbian. I go to an
all-women's college in an area
known as a "lesbian mecca." My
friends tell me I'm a pretty good
catch. I'm cute, in decent shape
and intelligent. I have no trouble
meeting friends socially, but I'm
painfully single. In fact, I have
never been on a date. I don't
know what's wrong with me. I
can't tell when women are flirting and I end up being friends
with every woman I'm interested
in. I've never been with a woman,
and at this point I'm so anxious
about being a virgin and so firmly
ensconced as everyone's best
22
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Ask Fairy Butch Advice
Blow Her Mind
friend that I'm about ready to give myself up as a lost cause, buy a dog and
a new copy of Yes I Am, and enter a life
of bitter hermitage with a vibrator and
all four seasons of The L Word. Am I
missing some sort of internal chip?
- Miserable in Mecca
Lipstick:Miz, don't give up! Can't tell if a
woman is flirting? When she gazes into your
eyes then brushes the hair out of your face,
she's flirting. When her hand touches yours
playfully, she's flirting. When she unzips
your jeans and pulls off your underwear, she's
definitely flirting! Here's a tip: Flirt back.
After all, don't you love aggressive women?
I do. In fact, my first girlfriend-aka Double
D-came
on really strong back when we
first got together and damn, was our fire
fierce. What's keeping you from breaking the
seal, Miserable in Mecca, is fear. So, look it
directly in the face and tell it to go bother
some other lonely, hard-up dyke. Push yourself and put yourself out there. To build your
confidence and sexual IQ check out Felice
Newman's The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A
PassionateGuidefor All of Us.
Dipstick:MM, chill out. Unless a lot has
changed since I was in school, gay co-eds
don't really"date:' I remember hanging out in
the student union, going to gay bars, watch-
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Dear Fairy Butch: My partner and I have been
together for almost 10 years, which seems
incredible since we're both in our early 30s.
We have a very satisfying sex life, but I have
one issue. My partner has a fantasy that
she'd like me to fulfill. She'd love for me to
give her a blowjob while she wears a strapon. She tells me it's about the role-playing
aspect and she'd love to know how it feels.
I love my butch and would like to oblige this
fantasy, but I'm stumped. I have no idea
what to do. She was my first sexual experience ever, which she knows. What would be
the best way to do this for her without coming off as looking, or feeling, ridiculous and
stupid? -Loving Partner in Pittsburgh
DearLove:Darling, the key to giving an awesome
strap-on blowjob lies as much between the eyes as it
does between the thighs. It's no wonder you might
feel timid at first-not only do you lack experience,
but the sometimes mystical act of strap-on cocksucking can be rather confounding to some. But
even though you won't be stimulating a flesh and
may enjoy a finger or
two in her vagina or
anus, though she may
well prefer them left
alone in order to preserve the fantasy of altering her gender.
Here's to your first blowjob, my dear. May you
and your partner enjoy it in good health!
Dear Fairy Butch: I am engaged to enter into
a long-term commitment (via nuptial ceremony) with my lover of nine months and we are
planning to continue with our monogamous
relationship. I am in my early 30s and she is
in her mid 40s. One issue that we expect to
be facing soon is her menopause. I am curious about what effects that might have on
our sex life. -Connoisseur of Older Women
in Connecticut
DearConnoisseur:
Well, sugarplum, I'm not going
to lie to you: Certain changes affecting sexuality
do occur in postmenopausal women. Yet there are
remedies as well as ways of relating to these changes. First, let's get to the changes that occur in some
blood cock, you can still engage her physically. Why
does she want you to perform this feat for her? In
women. These are: a) vaginal dryness and thinning
addition to the actual physical sensations a strap-on
blowjob can elicit, the imagery involved-you per-
of the vaginal lining b) lessening of the libido, and
c) less intense orgasms and the need for increased
haps kneeling before her, stroking her thighs with
her cock bobbing in :,ind out of your mouth-can
stimulation in order to get to orgasm.
Now, let's get to those remedies. Vaginal dry-
be quite powerful and pleasurable indeed.
In my book, The Ultimate Guide to Strap-On
ness can be readily dealt with through the application of Astroglide or K-Y Jelly, and local estrogen
creams can decrease vaginal thinning without in-
ing the field hockey team and even studying
as a pack. Every once in a while, one of us
Sex: A CompleteResourcefor Women and Men, I devote a chapter to finding the "inner dick," and dildo
fluencing hormone levels throughout the body. If
would get drunk and sleep with someone else
in the pack, or pick up someone from outside
the pack at a bar. Sure, there was one couple
fellatio is an especially good time for both of you to
envision that hunk of silicone or PVC as a material
juicing things up doesn't solve the issue, systemic
estrogens in the form of pills and patches· can be
used. The lowest effective dose should be used and
in the group, but they fought more than they
fucked, so none of us envied them. Being in
expression of a psychic reality. For those minutes or
hours in which you'll be involved in the endeavor,
do what you can to envision the piece as her real
college is all about the circle of friends you'll
stay connected to for the rest of your life. A
cock. This works best, by the way, with a realistic
dildo, complete with head, shaft, veins and balls.
woman's flagging libido and orgasmic intensity.
Attitudes can be restructured to accommodate
college buddy will probably introduce you
Make sure that the base of the dildo is solidly
connected to your lover's vulva. Use your lips and
tongue to caress the head of the cock, lick the shaft,
postmenopausal women's changing bodies. Some
folks find the extra time and attention required to
reach orgasm a great time to cuddle and connect
with their partners. Also, many women really come
to your future wife at her Ph.D. party three
years from now. So, stop stressing so much
about it. But if it's really important for you to
grab the base and tap it against your lips and face.
slough off that pesky virginity, stop worrying
about who is and who isn't flirting and just
Do all the things that you think might feel good,
including licking the underside of the shaft, tongu-
start asking girls out. The odds are in your
favor that at Lesbian U at least one woman
will say yes before you graduate. ■
ing the balls and kissing the head gently. When you
really start to get going, suck the head as you stroke
the shaft rhythmically and press the base into her
Ask us anythingaboutsex, loveor lesbiansat
lipstickdipstick.com.
pussy. This is where the visual and the physical sensations of the act really come together! Your butch
progesterone can be added to protect the uterus.
Small amounts of testosterone can often boost a
into their own at the time of menopause, having
developed increased sexual skill and confidence, as
well as a greater sense of emotional security. For
more info, check out thirdage.com and ourbodiesourselves.org. ■
E-mailJb@fairybutch.comwith your queriesregarding
lesbianlife,sexualityand romance.
January/February 2008
Advice
Astro Grrl
New Year, New Career
"The adoring masses
beat a path
to your
door in
early 2008."
Capricorn (December 23-January 20)
Sex:Reach out and touch someone new. You make an excellent
first impression, which gives you the chance for further impres,
sions ... and indentations. Career:
Steel yourself and plan to de,
liver your spiel to bosses later in the month. Who knows what
you can accomplish without whining.
Aquarius (January 21-February 19)
Sex:The adoring masses beat a path to your door in early 2008.
Although you are given a range of delightful choices, try to set,
tle on just one particular face in the crowd. Career:A miscom,
munication on the job could cost you dearly. But all is well if you
use your mouth strictly for unprofessional pursuits.
Pisces (February 20-March 20)
Sex: ot only are you tossed into the social epicenter, you are
adored for the goddess you are. Is it possible to have too much
of a good thing:> Heck no. Career:They love you at work too.
Work your considerable charm up to a lather and press the
bosses. Rubadub, Guppie.
Aries (March 21-April 20)
Sex:There is more to you than meets the eye in early 2008. Is it
your sense of"cool"? You will be happier if you turn up the heat
before you freeze. Career:Don't wait patiently for the raise you
deserve at work. Time will tell only if you occasionally wind
the watch.
Taurus (April 21-May 21)
Sex: Grrr. Sapphic Bulls know just what to do to turn a gal's
engine on and send it into overdrive. Rev it and accelerate all
through 2008. Just don't run out of gas.
Career:Daydreaming will not get the job done, but maybe a
certain dreamboat will give you a helping hand. How low will
she go?
Gemini (May 22-June 21)
Sex:You are feisty to a fault. Lovergrrls would like a bit of atten,
tion but may play hard to get. Know when to turn it on, up and
off. It will drive them crazy! Career:
A few things about the job
continue to surprise you in early 2008. Maybe, just maybe, you
are contributing to the general melee?
Cancer (June 22-July 23)
Sex:Relationships bring luck and love in early 2008. If you are
looking for your match you may just find one. But you have to
get Out there and look. See? Career:Keep up your confidence
by telling yourself how smart and capable you are. Lie if you
have to.
they should think again or, even better, you should give them a
strong hint. Career:Use your connections to get a push up the
corporate ladder. If that doesn't work, try flirtation, bribery or
even blackmail.
Virgo (August 24-September 23)
Sex: Relationships can go the distance if you give them your
full attention. Are you on the prowl? Use more effective bait
than just waving your wallet around. Career: You are tempted
to spend, spend, spend. I guess it's better than work, work,
work. But be sure you get what you pay for.
Libra (September 24-0ctober 23)
Sex: A girlfriend in need asks for a favor yet again. She is a
pest. Try to fob her off on someone who is unsuspectingly na,
ive. Career:If you have put in the time at work, you can now
reap the rewards. If you have been lazy, use the time to put in
the sweat equity. Oh goodie.
Scorpio (October 24-November 22)
Sex: Lovergrrls light up your life and demand your presence
at every little social event. How much light do you really need,
though? Career:
You think you can pull the wool over the eyes of
senior management. Interestingly, this will work ... for a time.
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Sagittarius (November 23-December 22)
Sex:You heat up the landscape all through the winter. Find a
sizzly lady who you can cook to a crisp. Career:Expect action,
more action and reaction in your career now. You think that
you.are too good to be true. But are you really:>■
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Leo (July 24-August 23)
Sex: Gal pals think they know what is good for you. Perhaps
24
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For more advicefrom the stars, visit our astrologer,Charlene
Lichtenstein,online at thestarryeye.com.
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Relationships Advice
Come On Baby,Light My Fire
A few tips on how to get that spark back. I By Kate Lacey
You used to light her fire in the bedroom, but now your twilight playground
is about as combustible as a swimming pool during a rainstorm. Lesbian Bed
common fantasy is the threesome. Inviting a third party is fine if you're both
Death (LBD) can happen to anyone, and while the factors for her carnal boy-
into that, but be aware of the risks you take when you share your intimate
relations with another person. You have enough problems seducing one girl
cott may vary, there are steps you can take to stoke the flames faster than she
can say'Tm not in the mood:'
without introducing another, and if she didn't want to be with you alone,
chances are having a crowd in the room is not the answer. Some fantasies are
better left to the imagination.
Change of Venue
Is your woman burning her fuel in another girl's furnace? If so, you can bet
Mix it up:If you're always on top, maybe it's time to let someone else ride the
she's not going to have much heat left for you. Really, you should move on if
pony for a while. Go to the nearest sex shop and find some interesting new toys
she's stoking flames elsewhere. As much as you may crave the excitement of
to try out with one another. Try giving her a massage, or maybe a drink while
touching fire, it's an easy way to get burned. Look for the classic signs of infidelity: unexplained absences, odd phone numbers on the caller ID or tell-tale
"curling iron burns" on the neck-and she doesn't curl her hair. Once she has
listening to the music that she finds sexy. Maybe it's time to try a little thing
called seduction. Perhaps the lesbian bed was beaten to death by your insensi-
moved on to greener pastures and forsaken your bed for another's, there's not
tivity in thinking that lights out means get naked. There is an art to foreplay and
seduction that maybe you've forgotten. While a good stiff breeze and a Victoria's
much you can do (short of weekly couple's therapy with Dr. Phil) to get that
Secret commercial may open the floodgates for you, perhaps it takes a bit more
loving feeling back on track.
to get your girl revved up these days. The 11 clock news may not get her going,
but maybe a special video will. (By the way, fast-forwarding your DVD to the
Menopause
good parts of Dante's Cove doesn't really constitute foreplay, either.)
o
She's having the change oflife, which means, yes, you both are having a change
in life. She's menopausal while you're just pausing, waiting it out. Her hor-
The key to maintaining a relationship will always be to talk openly with each
mones are waxing and waning like the ocean tides and her sex drive is nil.
Hormone therapy can help, as can some herbal remedies. You should go with
other. Explore what's boring you as well as what could possibly heat you up. Be
willing to listen without judgment, and remember that you shouldn't feel bad
her to the doctor. Be supportive and understand that she cannot help how she
doesn't feel right now. Remember, your turn will come, and the patience you
for wanting to have intimate relations with your girl, just as she shouldn't feel
bad for not wanting intimacy. In the end, sex is just one small part of what con-
show now may be granted to you in return.
stitutes a relationship. There is a whole world of intimacy to explore that may
have very little to do with what you do when you get naked. Start to build on
Same Old, Same Old
that and before you know it, you will have a bonfire blazing between you. ■
If the two of you are in a sexual rut, this is actually the best reason
for not getting your Posturepedic rocking. Breathing new life into
a mature relationship takes creativity and a willingness to change
on both your parts. Here are some ideas you can try:
Roleplaying:Get out of your old skin and recreate yourselves behind closed doors. Play doctor and nurse, pick your favorite L
Word character (or any other television persona), or go to a bar
separately and pick each other up as if you'd just met. Try playing
rehab roommates, where one of you is Britney and the other is
Lindsay, and watch those sparks fly. (Though there may not be
enough alcohol on the planet to make it that hot.) Do not, however, expect her to suddenly become a different person; this is not
the point. If she's always been a shy and passive girl with control
tendencies, calling her by a different name for 20 minutes will not
suddenly alter her personality.
~
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Getkinky:Talk about your fantasies and try living them out-with
§
each other. Some people are not open to being tied up, dominated,
humiliated or handcuffed to their bedpost. In that case, you have
(f)
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to work with what you're given. If her idea of kinky is having sex
§?
in the daytime with all of your clothes on, holding out may mean
(_)
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no sex again until the next Republican president is in office. One
January/February 2008
Dyke Drama
Michele Fisher
How Long Is Too Long to Wait:
The best part of being queer is the sex, unless, of course, you aren't getting any.
I am a homo,sex,ual. We homosexuals like to have sex with people of the
same gender. We don't necessarily like them better than we like the other
gender; we'djust rather have sex with them.
Isn't it ironic that we get into relationships with folks of the same sex so
that we can have the right kind of sex for us, but then some of us don't have
sex once we're in those relationships?
Been there and done that. And from what I am hearing, so have a lot of
you out there.
Now that I am older, wiser and homier, I would never put up with a pla,
tonic relationship with a lover. Platonic. Doesn't that mean "friend?"
Companionship. Isn't that what pets are for?
Do single lesbos have more sex than married ones? I really hope not. I
hope that everybody is having lots of sex.
But judging by the number of crabby lesbians I see around town, I fear
that many of us are not getting enough.
So here it is, my attempt to make sure that the lesbian community is a
sexier place to be. Hopefully, after you read this, you will be overcome with
desire and take it out on some other woman. (Perhaps those of you who are
at work should postpone reading this article until after your shift.)
To those of you who would write to inform me that some people have
very good reasons for not having sex, and that only therapy can help them
discover the nature of their feelings, I say you are right-sex is not a substi,
tute for therapy. But then again, my therapy,addicted compadres, therapy is
no substitute for sex, either.
I know a woman who has not slept with another woman (or man) in 15
years. She is not ugly, nor is she any weirder than the rest of us. She is not so
busy that she doesn't have time for sex, nor is she committed to some spiri,
tual pursuit that precludes physical intimacy. She wasn't sexually traumatized
or humiliated. She told me that after her last relationship, she just kind of
forgot about sex for a few years. After that, she worried about why she was
not sexual, but assumed that the right woman would come (ahem) along and
end her unintentional stint of celibacy. At about the five,year point, she quit
worrying and just figured that life would show her the way. Now it's been 15
years, and she swears she doesn't miss it. In fact, she is not even sure if she
wants to have sex ever again.
Fifteen blankin' years without sex with another woman! No way. I would
die. Perhaps it would have been better had I waited until I
was out of her earshot to express my feelings on the subject,
but I could not contain my horror. Obviously, I was way more
upset about her situation than she was, but then she's had a
lot more time to get used to it.
But at least she is single. What if she had a wife and had
not had sex in 15 years? Sometimes I see a couple at the
grocery store and I swear I can t~ll that they have not had
the pleasure in a long, long time. Sure, I could be wrong. But
when you see that look in a woman's eye, and she is giving it
to a pint of ice cream, you kind of know what isn't going on
in the bedroom. Like I said, been there and I am not going
back. (Sorry, Sara Lee.)
A few weeks ago, I was talking to a woman who has been
in a relationship with the same woman for 22 years. I was
impressed. We talked about everything from their super fun
and cute kid to the "eating local and organic" trend that is fi,
nally catching on, even outside of Lezzieville. Then we got to
talking about our women and she let me in on a little secret
that I feel compelled to share (which is probably why people
don't tell me their secrets). She doesn't need sex. Her wife
wants sex, she told me, but she herself doesn't need it. "So
what do you do about your wife's needs?" I asked her. "It's the
only thing we fight about;' she replied.
Sex is worth fighting for and about. I didn't risk my life
being a queer in "Trailer Park, Ore.;' so that I could not have
sex with women.
What does "not needing sex" mean, anyway? I fear it is
a euphemism for "I don't want to have sex:' Nobody really
needs sex, but when you want it bad, it sure feels like a need.
If you are one of those folks who don't "need" sex, and your
partner does, then I suggest you get naked right now. Hey, if
26
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she asked you for a brownie or a new surfboard you wouldn't hesitate, so you
are getting off cheap ... so to speak.
If, Goddess forbid, you are not having sex with your partner because you
are not attracted to her, then get the hell out! It is not complicated-it's
pain-
don't. You can't give in because then she wins. You never clean the bathroom
so she is never going to do you again. Whoa! When did all this weirdness
happen? Maybe you do need professional help ... from a cleaning woman
and a hooker.
ful. Those two concepts are very different, so don't get them twisted, sister.
Maybe sex was just your way of securing a relationship, and now that the
Both of you need to move on and find people you do want to see naked.
But if you just can't make yourself do it, even though you do want to be
courtship stage is over, so is the frolicking. Snap out of it! Sex is not relation-
with her, then there's something serious going on-and
it ain't going away
just because you ignore it. Everything else you have together is not enough.
Knitting and traveling cannot take the place of sex, nor can eating or childrearing. Sooner or later, you are going to have to face the problem.
Denial works for ill-behaved pets and unruly hair, but not for sexless relationships. What will happen is that one of you will find a new pastime called
ship foreplay. It is the difference between having a relationship and having a
goldfish. Somet~mes it's the only thing that keeps you from throwing her stuff
on the front lawn.
What should you do if you are trapped in a nonsexual relationship? Well,
don't stop bringing it up. Even when she threatens that your blabbing about
it makes her want sex even less, just keep on keeping on. She is just trying to
a little tramp, and life will become all bad really fast. What makes us not need
turn you into a passionless robot like her. Being a nag is better than being a
eunuch. She might just do you to get you to shut up. When sex ends, the re-
sex? Do we get tired, lazy, mad, bored or a combo of all of the above?
I think we get uptight and self-conscious and squeeze all the joy out of the
lationship will eventually follow. It may take several years, but it will happen.
At some point, you will hide the fact that you are using the "spare bedroom"
experience. Just because you are no longer carried away on a pillow of ecstasy
from your gay friends the same way you used to hide the fact that you were
when you and your girl make whoopee doesn't mean that you are not into it, or
that you have to stop making noise or asking for what you want. No, it is not
not using it from your parents years ago.
We are sexual beings. We queers risk our lives every day for sex, so make
embarrassing. Going poo with the door open is embarrassing (after the age of
the risk worthwhile. You deserve passion and pleasure. If it has been too long
4) and many of you are doing that in front of your women (yuck). So what is
the big deal about asking her for a couple more fingers to get you off?
between romps, do something about it. Log on, reach out or roll over-just
don't give up.
I have also heard that sex in relationships becomes a power struggle, and
not the fun kind that involves leather and barking orders. She wants it so, you
Reduce the number of grouchy dykes in the world by one. She definitely
won't be missed. ■
January/February 2008
I27
Politics VictoriaA. Brownworth
My Resolution Revolution
Make a plan to change the world in 2008.
The New Year always scares me. So much promise, so many good intentions.
How to make the promise and the good intentions come to fruition?
This year, with the first likely woman candidate for president in U.S. histo,
ry, possibilities look more and more like probabilities. This time next year, we
may very well be waiting for the inauguration of the first female president.
days after the announcement of the award. She was born in Iran when it
was still Persia (her father was a British officer), published her first book in
1950, and in 1962 published what m;my consider to be her most monumen,
tal work, The Golden Notebook. Lessing changed the face of literature and the
lives of countless women with her openly feminist work and made the white,
That's part of the tantalizing promise of change.
But change, like charity, always begins at home. With individuals, not gov,
men,only world ofliterature take notice.
I thought about these two women as New Year's approached because, de,
ernments. With one woman, not one president.
In September 2007, one of my personal heroines, Aung San Suu Kyi, who
spite significant odds, they have devoted their lives to change. Suu Kyi has
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, once again led the democracy move,
literally risked her life every day for two decades in the fight to reclaim her
position as prime minister,elect of Burma and return her people to freedom.
ment in Burma (now called Myanmar by the military regime). Once again,
the woman who has spent 11 years in and out of house arrest was imprisoned
Lessing has fought to put women front and center in literature and thus in
social consciousness-a difficult task in 1950 and a hard one even today.
by the regime as it worked to quell the uprising of the world's most oppressed
people. Yet her voice was not stilled; she was not silenced.
In October 2007, Doris Lessing, one of the most celebrated feminist writ,
find if we look.
ers in the world, won the Nobel Prize in literature. Lessing turned 88 just
"Hopeis difficultto maintainin the face
of horror.Yet hope is our onlychancefor
survival.My firstNew Year'sresolution,
then, is: Don't giveup hope."
We need role models to help us chart our own course. They are easy to
In my own personal sphere, there are four: My maternal grandmother,
Anne Djorup Moore, was a suffragist. My paternal grandmother, May
Seversen Brownworth, took in washing and other women's children during
the Depression. My sister's youngest daughter, Shifra Goldenberg, is working
for peace-at just 20-in the Middle East. My best friend of over 30 years,
Roberta Hacker, is a social worker who has spent the past 44 years-since
she was 18-protecting women and children from domestic violence, some,
times saving their lives.
I've received hundreds ofletters over the years from women and girls who
tell me that I am their role model, that my words have helped to make a
change in the lives of others. I feel
honored every time someone tells
me that, because what I strive to
do is what Gandhi implored: "Be
the change you want to see in the
world:'
I have tried to be that change; I
have, at times, failed. But I have al,
ways tried, and that's the first steptrying to make a difference.
Each of us needs to choose a path
for change if we want the world to be
a better, safer, more equitable place.
When Martin Luther King, Jr. gave
his famous "I Have a Dream" speech
at the march on poverty in August
1963, the speech began as a dark and
despairing rant about the plight of
the poor in the United States. But
Mahalia Jackson, the famous gos,
pel singer, had heard King's origi,
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nal speech when he had practiced it
days earlier. She stood behind him
and she called out to him repeat,
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Martin!"
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IN THE NEWS
And he did. Those words resound still, with their message of
hope and possibility.
Despair is easy because so much horror surrounds us. Hope
is difficult to maintain in the face of horror. Yet hope is our only
chance for survival.
My first New Year's resolution, then, is: Don't give up hope.
My second resolution is to urge everyone to pick one issue and
work on it for the duration of 2008. It isn't to lose weight or quit
smoking. Those are admirable personal goals. Good for you, if you
can do them. But what I want you to do is something bigger, some,
thing for the world. Something like stopping these evils:
• Therapeandmurderof women and girls in Congo, Sudan,
Somalia and elsewhere. Stop Rape Now (stoprapenow.org) and
Women for Women International (womenforwomen.org) can
direct you to ways you can help women and girls who have been
victimized by rape, war and repression.
• Theenslavement
of women and girls worldwide. Some of this
is sexual slavery; some of it is domestic slavery. There are millions
of actual slaves in the world today and the overwhelming majority
of them are female. Anti,Slavery International (antislavery.org) is
a British nongovernmental organization that works to stop slavery
worldwide. Its images of suffering girls and women will haunt you,
but that's a good thing, because it will make it easier for you to act
to save them.
• Theacidattackson women and girls by men for refusing
marriage or sexual proposals. These are on the rise, particularly
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in India and Bangladesh. Various nongovernmental organizations
are helping these women and girls, but Human Rights Solidarity
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and how to help the survivors.
The gravity of these issues cannot be overstated. Women and
girls are being held in domestic and sexual slavery in the United
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States as well as abroad. In New Jersey, California, Oklahoma,
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Florida, Texas and New York, women and girls are being held
against their will in private homes and in brothels. Women are
being eviscerated and raped in Congo and Sudan. The emo,
tional and physical trauma, if they are lucky enough to survive, is
monumental.
We can act now to help stop these atrocities.
It's a new year.
Few of us will become the next Aung San Suu Kyi or Doris
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end the suffering of women and girls. In 2008, resolve to make the
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Couple
SuesOverTwins
Ina storythat'srattlingeveryone's
cage,
a lesbian
coupleinAustralia
is suingtheir
Canberra
gynecologist
afterheallegedly
botched
anin vitrofertilization
procedure
andimplanted
twoembryos
insteadof
one,resulting
inthebirthoftwingirls.
Thecouple,
whowantedonlyonechild,
is suingDr.Sydney
Robert
Armellin
for
$340,000
to coverthecostof raisingone
of thetwins.
Thecasehasspurredanoutcryfrom
Australian
Senator
GuyBarnettandfrom
manyothersworldwide
whoclaimthat
IVFprocedures
shouldbeavailable
only
to marriedheterosexual
couples.
The
implication,
supporters
of thecouplesay,
isthatthesewomenareungrateful
for
havingtwohealthychildrenandtherefore
shouldnothavethesamerightsas
straightcouples.
Ina statement
released
bythecouple,
thewomensaidthecasewasneverabout
whethertheylovedtheirchildren,
butmore
about"thedutycaredoctorshaveover
theirpatients."
Thecaseis pending
at presstime.
thantheirs.
Theresults
comefroma
Dutchstudyof
200couples
with
childrenranging
in agefrom4 to
8.Theresearch
groupwasequallydivided
between
lesbian
andheterosexual
couples.
Usinga combination
offamilyobservation,questionnaires
andparenting
logs,
thestudyfocusedonboththeemotional
well-being
of thechildren
andtheparentingskillsoftheadults.
Inaddition
to confirming
thatchildren
of lesbians
wereequally
well-adjusted,
theresearch
showed
thatthelesbian
biological
mothers
werehappier
withtheir
co-parents
thanthestraightmothers
were.
According
to theRockaway
Institute,
a national
centerforresearch
andpublic
policyonLGBT
issues,
theresultsofthe
Dutchstudywereverysimilarto the
resultsof U.S.andCanadian
research.
Republican
MayorChanges
HisStance
OnGayMarriage
Inanemotional
pressconference,
Mayor
JerrySanders
of SanDiegopublicly
reversedhisopposition
to
gaymarriage
and
GaysDecline
onBroadcast
1V,
vowed
to
sign
Increase
onCable
a resolution
in
LastTVseason,
therewerefewerLGBT
supportof it.
characters
onnetwork
TVbutlotsmore
The
onscriptedcable
Republican
shows,according
mayorsaid
to a studyby
thatlikemanyAmericans,
his
GL.AAD.
"position
hasevolved
significantly."
Mayor
Thestudy
Sanders
initiallysupported
civilunionsand
foundthatin
domestic
partnerships
butnowbelieves
the2007-08
gaymarriage
istheonlyoption.
season
there
Sanders'
decision
couldbedetrimental
willbesevenregularly
appearing
LGBT
to himpolitically.
In2000,61percent
of
characters
in supporting
or leadingroles
San
Diego
voters
signed
a
ballot
measure
onnetworkshows:sixonABCandoneon
banning
gaymarriage.
Sanders
is upfor
NBC.CBS,FOXandtheCWhavenoplans
re-election
thisyear.
to airshowswithLGBT
characters.
Inhispressconference,
themayor
Cable
TV,ontheotherhand,will have
thatmanypeoplein his
40 regularLGBT
characters
on21scripted acknowledged
community
woulddisagree
withhisdecishows(likeNip/Tuck
above),
anincrease
sionbutvowedthathewasonly"tryingto
of 15characters
fromlastyear.
dowhat[hebelieves]
is right."
GLAAD
saidthesenumbers
showthat
Sanders
endedhispressconference
by
network
TVis growingmorecautious
personalizing
thisdivisiveissue,referring
aboutdepicting
gays.
specifically
to hislesbian
daughter,
her
partnerandmembers
of hispersonal
staff.
"I wanttheirrelationships
to be
StudyProves
Lesbian
Parents
Are
protected
equallyunderthelaw.I could
asGood
orBetter
not
look
any
oftheminthefaceandtell
Finally,
thereis scientific
evidence
to prove
themthattheirrelationships
wereanyless
whatweknewallalon~hildren raised
meaningful
thanthemarriage
thatI share
bylesbianparents
areaswell-adjusted
as
withmywife,"Sanders
said.
children
raisedbyheterosexuals,
andthat
- KatiePeoples
andKristin
A.Smith
ourparenting
skillsmayevenbebetter
January/February 2008
I29
IF SANTA WAS STINGY
There's still time to get her Babeland's Come Together Holiday
Kit, a sexy package with Massage
Spray Oil, Laya Spot, Petal Ring
and Babeland Toy Cleaner. Pair it up
with Babeland's own Massage Bars
(which come in a portable 8-pack).
($72 and $18, babeland.com)
WE HEART HOOTERS
She'll love Tit Totes as much as our editors did. These
completely unique and handcrafted handbags made
out of bras (by a Scorpio femme, no less) make for
cute and super sexy clutches named after celebs. ($80
and up, motherwit.com/tittotes)
IT'S IN THE CARDS
The 100 tear-out lottery tickets in the spicy
little Sex Scratchers offer up Tic-Tac-ooOH and Baby's Got Blackjack
in which everyone wins. The Erotic Massage Deck offers up 50 ways
to get in the mood while Truth or Dare (a game of passion) turns the
summer camp favorite on its head. ($15 and up, chroniclebooks.com)
LET ff SNOW
Warm up her winter with a steamy
come-hither Satin Tapestry Flowered Jacquard Strapless Corset and
Tiered Silk Chiffon
Skirt from Shirley
of Hollywood. ($40
and up, shirleyofhollywood.com)
MODERN CHOCOLATE AND STRAWBERRIES
Have fun writing naughty messages on each other
with Gasworks' lickable Body Chocolate Pens. Pair
them with the heart-shaped Alpine Strawberry Recyclabowl-a kit full of everything you need to raise
your own strawberries-and you'll remind her that the
chocolate strawberry routine will last the long haul.
($10, goodvibes.com; $20, wishingfish.com)
MOOD LIGHTING
Earthly Body vegan, envirofriendly, petro-free hemp and
soy candles double as massage
oil in scents like Naked in the
Woods, Breakfast in Bed and
Squeezed. They even have
edible massage candles! ($16,
earthlybody.com)
HANDS ARE TIED
She won't mind having her hands
tied with these Fuzzy Pink Handcuffs. Or
you won't. ($12 and up, fuzzydude.com)
Panting after that dream gal just got a lot easier.These 27 gifts are sure to
make her sit up and listen. Or lay down and do other things for Valentine'sday.
By Mea Chavez • Photos by Mia Nakano and Kina Williams
nau
BOTTOMS UP
Sporty is sexy with the lesbian-made Tung Gear colorful
boy briefs, designed for the alternative tomboy. If that's
too tame, give her Sik's blunt panties with to-the-point
_ expressions like "There's more to me than just a great
ass," "All you can eat" and "Wish you were here." ($12,
tunggear.com and sikworld.com)
GEEK POETRY
Did you meet online? Fall in love chatting?
Then these QWERTY magnets made from used
keyboards are the perfect way to say "LUV U."
($9, firebox.com)
A COOL DATE
Sure, it's not for you Minnesotans, but
the Southern belles will adore this cuteas-can-be and totally gay-in-rainbow-colors Ice Cream Carrier. Carpet picnics with
hot fudge sundaes will definitely lead to
surprise. ($60, uncommongoods.com)
STRUT YOUR STUFF
Protect your skin without sunscreen.
These racy parasols are the perfect accessory to splash some color into a room.
What a bang the Mandarin cherry parasol
would make in your pad or garage, for that
matter. ($20, retroagogo.com)
LOUNGE AROUND
These 100 percent organic cotton robes from
Britta Wear are colorful and soft, and come in
multiple styles. Slip on the short, Red Orchid
print poplin robe for trips to and from the
pool or shower. Or get snuggly in the long
and comfy Sky Blue Chrysanthemum terry
velour for evenings in front of the fire. The
robes are made in a sweatshop-free environment in San Diego and 1O percent of the profits go to environmental and animal charities.
($98 and up, brittawear.com)
GIRLS NIGHT IN
Have a little fun this winter with Table Topics,
decks of 135 conversation starters for women, couples and more, that get as steamy as
you like. ($25, tabletopics.com)
SINGING IN THE RAIN ...
ER, SHOWER
If she's a Homo Depot type, she
doesn't want a bustier. Surprise her
with Moen's enormous new 8-inch
Rainshower Showerhead. She'll get
the message. ($37, !owes.com)
D'LISH-OUS DELIGHTS
Portland, Ore.'s own D'lish's handmade bath and body treats
are so yummy looking she'll want to eat 'em. Meant to look
like real food, these heavenly smelling treats are made of
all-natural ingredients like strawberries and dried milk. Try our
_ editor's faves: the Venus Envy fizz, the Peppermint UFO and
the truly decadent Birthday Cake Novelty Bath Bombe. ($4
and up, dlishus.com)
ne-
VOODOO FOR YOU-KNOW-WHO
Handy and clever, this knife holder will cut
away the pain or regret, or just let you laugh
at the thought of your ex. It's the perfect antiValentine's day gift. ($100, firebox.com)
to see the desert.
emotions and spiritual intuitions are amplified in their vicinity, so
All that hot sand
whatever your path, it will be sped up in Sedona. Personally, I felt
and prickly cactiyuck. Furthermore, I am skeptical about most things mystical.
most drawn by the Cold Stone Creamery ice cream vortex and
was literally unable to walk by it without feeling the pull of strong
That's probably why I won a seven-night luxury stay in Sedona,
Ariz., spiritual-tourism destination of the Upper Sonoran Desert.
Gift certificates in hand, I invited a Wiccan friend from Phoenix,
internal urges. It sucked me in day after day to peruse its many offerings, and when I departed I always felt brighter, sweeter, more
l'D NEVER WANTED
packed my hiking gear and resigned myself: At least I'd get some
decent Mexican food.
Some three hours south of the Grand Canyon, at 4,500 feet,
and way cooler than Phoenix, Sedona is renowned for the massive
red-rock formations that surround the town and for its invisible
"energy vortexes;' which reportedly channel energies in ways best
understood by American Indians and New Age seekers. It is the
planetary meeting place of spirit and commerce.
Sedona gets some 3.5 million vis1tors a year, most of them
looking for a hit-or at least a hint-of mysticism. Most of them
find it, because you can't step out of your hotel room or campsite
without encountering the mystic, either in person, in the rocks or
in the hundreds of businesses that make up Sedonas center.
The town's main streets intersect at a Y that connects Uptown,
34
I curve
intensely alive.
In preparation for our Medicine Wheel ceremony with Sedona
Vortex Tours, we were asked to fill out a questionnaire: "Where
are you on your spiritual path? What books have you read?" Each
question was followed by a tiny blank space. When my friend and
I laughed, the guide shared some of the answers she'd seen:
Q:Whereareyouonyourspiritualpath?
A:Here.
Q:Booksread?
A:Allof them.
The next day, before heading for my first"vortex hike;' I com-
the Gallery District and West Sedona. Each area bustles with
pleted the Sedona Spirit Yoga and Hiking Responsibility for
Personal Well-Being form ("I promise to move cautiously and
honor my body's needs"). Though I honored my body's needs by
businesses touting enlightenment. Endless signs advertise healers, past life readings, American Indian sweat lodges, psychics,
nature-inspired feng shui, tarot card readers, spiritual massage,
wimping out halfway to the top, the journey was nonetheless enchanting. The leader, Roxeanne, explained how native people had
used local plants for medicine and food, and I clambered high
tai chi, chi gong, fire walking, earth spirit learning, crystal energy
work, "Crystal Blue Persuasion;' etc. You and your aura can get
massaged, read, treated, healed and photographed all on the same
enough to do tai chi on a stone plateau overlooking the greenand-red valley. While my fitter companions carried on to the spiraling vortex center, I rested on a flat rock. I watched huge birds
day, even before you hike to the nearest vortex (marked with a
white spiral on the tourist map).
Although vortexes affect everyone differently, it's agreed that
gliding on the air currents, and I sent telepathic encouragement to
the doll-size hikers below. I don't know if it was the vortex energy,
but I felt high.
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town turned arts village, hosts a monthly event called
Although Sedona may have its silly aspects, every single tour
guide, psychic or server, every healer or hotel employee I met had
"Out in Jerome;' when the gay-friendly galler-
their feet on the ground and a strong sense of humor. "In Sedona,
ies and eateries (i.e., all of them) stay open
we all put a safety shield of white light around our vehicles;' one
guide mentioned as we entered a busy road, "but sometimes folks
from out of town forget to put theirs on, so there can be accidents:' No one read doom in my aura or channeled energy at me.
No one even threatened to share their feelings.
Well beyond gay-friendly, Sedona embraces any visitor who
appreciates fine scenery and a good massage. Same-sex couples
mingle with straights in the Jeep tours and hot tubs, and everyone's happy on vacation. No one blinked when we asked for queer
newspapers. Furthermore, the service at nearly every restaurant
and hotel was excellent. The staff at the cushy, creekside Amara
Resort made me feel especially welcome, and ex-New Yorker
Peter may be the best bell captain on earth. In decades of world
travel, I've never before seen a valet sprint.
To meet the locals, try to visit the city pool, the Wildflower
Bread Company or the amazing Cafe Raw Bliss & Chocolates
(organic, orgasmic, sugarless gourmet sweets). Bring an extralarge suitcase and a little extra cash to raid the fantastic thrift
I
SAT ON A
FLAT ROCK. I
and conversation.
WATCHED HUGE
Despite Sedona's tourist attractions, one longtime resident
BlRDS GLIDE ON
told me that she dislikes going
into town and mostly stays on THE AIR CURRENTS ...
her property in the hills. "So;'
I DON'T KNOW IF IT
I asked her, "Sedona's about the
WAS THE VORTEX
spirituality, for you?"
She corrected me: "It's about
ENERGY, BUT I
the land:' I agree. This former desertFELT HIGH.
a-phobe is no longer skeptical about the
late, and people pack the Mile High
Grill for silly drinks, magical salads
wonders of Sedona. I did eat great Mexican
food at Oaxaca and Rincon's, but even better, I enjoyed a sugar-scrub massage at the hands of Beth Ernst and
heard American Indian storytelling and music from flutist Kelvin
store, Twice Nice, where the donated designer fashions scream of
Mockingbird. After a week of hiking and sweating, shopping and
sightseeing, I finally got quiet and relaxed, listening to Navajo sto-
being cast off by wealthy women with exquisite taste and where
profits benefit a women's shelter. Also, Jerome, a former ghost
ries of the people, the animals and the mystics of the desert, but
most of all, the land. ■
January 2008
I35
llollywooJ' s new quadruple lkeal
jusl happens lo be a lesbian. llurrah.
Ry Diane AnJerson-MinshJl • Pholos by Toky Photography
I
t'd be a mistake to take Michelle Paradise at face value. The comic ac,
really fantastic. Especially working with a network like Logo .... they're a
tor who created and starred in The Ten Rules, the lesbian short film
little bit smaller, so they give you the opportunity to do things that you
might not otherwise get to do. I have other executive producers that I work
about dating and exes that became an underground hit years ago,
looks like the ultimate lesbian girl next door. She's funny and cute
and maybe a little shy, and when, during a breezy lunch in an al fresco
with. Bill Grundfest, who came on to develop the show for television, has
quite a lot of experience. He was on Mad About You and he's been in televi,
cafe, she offers up that trademark smile and her lilting earnest chortle, you
know, right then, that you want to be her and you want to do her. And after the
Why Logo instead of a different network?
premier of her unabashed hit Exes and Ohs-a Logo television series based
on the original short-half of the lesbians in America think so, too. Paradise,
This is a lesbian show, lesbian characters ... so a gay network was a perfect
choice. Logo has been really collaborative ... the direction that the network
whose pitch,perfect comic timing is, honest to God, second only to that of
Ellen DeGeneres, has channeled her aw,shucks niceness into life as a qua,
is going seems to be the perfect fit for this kind of show and this kind of
sensibility. This is a dramady. It has a basic cable kind of sensibility to it. It
druple threat, as the creator, producer, writer and star of the series that's set
was never meant to be, nor would it ever be, the kind of show that pushes
boundaries sexually or anything like that. Plus, the fact that they wanted to
to turn gay TV on its head. And she did it all without an agent or an iota of
Hollywood's infamous "let's do lunch" smarminess, relying on help from the
short's director, Lee Friedlander, and producer, Abbie Ludgwig, and a whole
lot of buzz. Now this former Mormon (and BYU grad) is one of Tinseltown's
youngest showrunners (aka producer,creator), one,half of a Hollywood
power couple (but she won't talk about her well,known girlfriend) and quite
the big cheese, managing a cast of hot, some openly lesbian, actors (including
superstars Heather Matarazzo and Megan Cavanagh). As for this late,bloom,
ing funny chick who's been hamming it up since she was a 5,year,old, staging
backyard Hello Dolly remakes in San Diego, well, success co~ldn't have hap,
pened to a nicer gal.
The reception to Exes and Ohs is phenomenal.
I know. It's so exciting. I can't even cell you. It's really fantastic.
sion and comedy for a long, long time.
do this, which is also a really big deal because, as you know, getting a show
on the air is ... not something that happens every day.
Absolutely. Tell me a little bit about casting the show. Was there a
casting couch?
Yes,we all slept with everybody [laughs].No, the casting process was very, very
long. For our main characters, we saw hundreds and hundreds of actresses
and it was a casting process like you would do on any other show. We had
fantastic casting directors who put out breakdowns for us and brought in
actors that they knew, as well. It was a process of slowly finding the ones
who had the mix of things that were.right for the show. Megan (Cavanagh]
came from the short film. She even came in and auditioned, because the
network just wanted to see everyone. So what we did is, we would do the
I think initially lesbian viewers have a tendency to compare Exes to
casting and then bring our top choices to the network and then we would
sit in for the network casting session and we'd all discuss the actresses af,
The L Word, but I think in reality it's a little more like Sex and the
terward. You know, we were really all in agreement that these were the best
City, or even Ally McBeal.
There's a lot of shows on the networks that have lesbian content, but ours is
only the second lesbian,specific show. I kind of expected that people would
want to make the comparison. For me it's like comparing ER and Scrubs,or
ER and Sex and the City ... They are two completely different shows doing
two completely different things. And they' re not meant to be the same at
all. It seems like once people see our show they can kind of see that.
folks for the roles.
Was anyone unknown?
Marnie [Alton] was pretty new. She had done a lot of work in Canada, but we
weren't familiar with her work here.
I think Marnie's going to be quite popular.
She actually is. A lot of people love her and love that character . . . and the
chemistry between her and Sam.
You're pretty young for a showrunner, aren't you?
What's some feedback that has surprised you the most?
Yeah, that part has been great. I've gotten to do so much on the show. It's been
I'll have to think about that.
36 I curve
Nothing surprises you [laughs].
No, it's not that ... There's a way in which all feedback is kind of surprising.
Because since we started developing this with Logo, it's been a couple of
years of, you know, developing the project and then shooting the pilot and
then waiting for a pickup and then getting picked up and writing and shooting. So, the fact that it's out there and people can respond is surprising.
What's been the challenge in being only the second lesbian nonreality show on TV?
Well, the challenge for me and I would say for all of us on this project really, was being aware of that, but then really wanting to make sure that
these characters come across and are treated in a well-rounded way, that
they are fully fleshed out characters, and that we are doing justice to them
and justice to the stories that we're trying to tell. I personally feel a great
responsibility to do right by these characters and to be honest with them
and for them, to be honest reflections of certain, I guess you would say,
certain aspects of the gay community. You know, you're never going to be
able to represent all aspects of a community and that certainly [will] never
be what anyone could try and do.
Who would you love to cast on Exes and Ohs?
Oh my gosh. You mean as a main character or a guest star?
Either. It's your show, baby, you tell me.
If Wanda Sykes ever wanted to make a guest appe~rance, that would be great.
She could play any character she wanted. That would be hysterical. Or
someone like Lily Tomlin, even just to come on and say hi. I just came back
from the Olivia cruise and she did a comedy set on the cruise as it was tak-
DeGeneres. How does that feel?
ing off and it was just so funny. And she is such an icon.
Oh, well, I mean Ellen is hugely talented and I think she's hysterical. So it's
How was the cruise?
It was fantastic. I went with Megan and we went on to do a screening of the
first two episodes. We were supposed to do the screening in the boat
screening room, which is like a little theater. And Megan and I walked
in and the seats were maybe half filled and we were just looking at one
another, thinking, Oh God, I hope more people show up. And then, all
only a compliment when you are compared with talented people who are
at the top of their game. It's not something that I'm attempting to do or
anything like that. But if you' re going to be compared to someone, being
compared to someone who is hysterical and talented and all of that is a really great thing, as opposed to being compared to someone who is boring
and puts people to sleep.
of a sudden, we turn around and more and more people are coming in,
and then it's full and standing room only, and then there's a line. We actu-
You don't like to talk about your personal life too much, which is so dif-
ally got to move it. Everyone picked up and walked into the huge theater
where Lily Tomlin had actually performed and we got to do our screening
in there, which was fantastic.
That's ·one of the things I really, really love about writing and playing Jen.
Everything is just kind of on the surface for her and she'll blurt things out
Did you get a lot of material from the Olivia cruise as well?
I get a lot of material from everything. I'm always looking around and just sort
of making mental notes of things, or people or situations. Even when I'm
walking down the street, certain things will catch my attention.
ferent from your on-screen character, whose life is lived in public.
or say them or experience them and the filter between the personal and the
private isn't really there.
Her emotions are lived in real time.
It's one of the things I love also about the fantasy sequences, where we get to
Does this mean your friends' social lives aren't safe around you?
see in her head. It's another way of getting to see how she thinks, that we
don't usually get to see-and when she's not blurting it out we get to see
No, not at all [laughs].I would never take something and put it into a script
it anyway. And there's something really fun about that and freeing about
that anyone could look at and say, Oh, that'sme. ... I would never want my
family or friends or any of their family or friends to worry about watching
the show and [thinking) that they might suddenly see themselves. So, I
think if I am going to use something, I'll use more of me.
Your comic timing has really been perfected since the short came
out. Was that organic, or something you were working feverishly on?
Oh, thank you. A little bit of both. Since I did the tour, I studied at the
Groundlings [school], and I have done a lot of sketch comedy and improv
live performances and have done more comedy just in my acting work.
Now, you know, you're starting to get some comparisons to Ellen
that.
What about her penchant for constant self-analysis? Any life imitating
art there?
No, no, not at all. Are you kidding? Yes, I'm a Capricorn, I'm a thinker. I'm
probably not as obsessed about it as Jen is. I would say that the parts of
Jen that are similar to me are probably turned up by a factor of 10. That's
also something I love about her. It's something that we all do to an extent.
We have those conversations with people that we go off later and then we
think, "Oh God, should I have said that? I didn't say that. I should have
said this:'That part of Jen feels very real to me.
Another Day in Paradise continued on page 65
38
Icurve
~yrye, PRESENTS
THE LADIES
OFLOGO
-
Available on
~iTunes
Spit,Sisters!
Lastspring,1Oyearsafter theyfirst startedtakingpunkpoetryacrossthe
country,the womenof SisterSpit launchedtheir NextGenerationTour.If you
missedthe wholething,here'sthe lowdownon the majorplayersin this edgy
poetrygroup. BySaraSeinberg
Name:NomyLamm
Tour:1999.
Astrological
fate:Virgo with Cancer moon, Leo
rising.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?A
bunny.
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Deliriously laugh,
ing and making up fake musicals with Anna Joy
and Silas.
. Favorite
writer: Marjane Satrapi.
Favorite
town:Reno (Nev.].
Name:TaraJepsen
Tour:1997.
Astrological
fate:Mighty (occasionally) Scorpio.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
Corporate lawyer.
Favoriteroadsnack:Cashew Lara Bars.
Favorite
townfromthetour:Baltimore.
If thetourwerea song?"Tonight" by Phil
Collins, or maybe "Sussudio:'
Name:CristyC.Road
Tour:2007.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
Aerosrnith.
Favorite
memories
fromthetour:The beautiful
Sister Spit family dinner in a desolate cottage in
upstate New York, and doing the Los Angeles
40
Icurve
reading plastered and baked, on crutches and in
front of a screen that played gay porn.
Wouldyoudoit again?Every day.
Wasit whatyouthoughtit mightbe?No, it was
better.
Favorite
writers:Tom Robbins, bell hooks. Luisa
Capetillo too. But Hunter S. Thompson was a
first love.
Favorite
townsfromthetour:Chicago for its an,
tique beauty and purity. Arcata [Calif.] for its pot.
If thetourwerea song?"Roots Radicals" by
Rancid.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?A
marine biologist, or a writer for SaturdayNight
Live.
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Playing ball in the
street in New Orleans with a little girl who asked
me if I'd ever been in prison.
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?Yes. I went for
the adventure but came back thinking of myself
as a real artist.
Favoritewriters:James Baldwin, Walt Whitman,
Lynda Barry.
If thetourwerea song?"Song of 27" by Richard
Buckner.
Name:Ali Liebegott
Tour:1997, 1999 and 2007.
Astrological
fate:Leo.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
Garbage man.
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Rolling down
grassy hills in the Appalachian Mountains.
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?Yes.
Favoriteroadsnack:Coke.
Favoritewriters:Anne Carson, Lynda Barry.
If thetourwerea song?"Dragon Lady" by che
Geraldine Fibbers.
Name:SamuelTopiary
Tour:1997.
Astrological
fate:Taurus, Aquarius moon, Sag
rising.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?An
actress and a writer-that was after I wanted to
be the first girl on the Yankees.
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Being teased by
Ali and Sash when Sarah Gina Jones and I were
trying to have a private little scene about being in
prison.
Favoritethingthathappened
sincethetour:
Making the Atalanta film.
Favorite
writers:Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni
Morrison, Eileen Myles, Michelle Tea, Ali
Liebegott.
Name:CooperLeeBombardier
Tour:The first tour in 1997 and the West Coast
tour in 1999.
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en
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ci5
The wordsmiths (from left to right): Nomy Lamm, Tara Jepsen, Cristy C. Road, Ali Liebegott, Cooper Lee Bombardier, Samuel Topiary, Michelle Tea, Lynn Breedlove
If thetourwerea song?The first thing that
popped into my head was "Time in a Bottle;'
"Lovin: Touchin, Squeezin'" by Journey, that
Geraldine Fibbers song that we couldn't stop
playing ...
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0
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Name:MichelleTea
Tour:All of them!
Astrological
fate:Aquarius, Leo rising, Sag moon.
@.
Venus in Capricorn.
z<(
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
0
a:
Librarian.
~
Favorite
memoryfromthetour:Performing in
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~
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<(
a:
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~
(/)
Boston on the very first tour in 1997. I'm from
there and it felt so special to perform where I'm
from and have so many people come to see it,
including my mom and friends from when I was
a teenage death rocker.
Name:TamaraLlosa-Sandor
Tour:Next Generation, April 2007.
Astrological
fate:Truly a Virgo trapped in a Libra
sign.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
Reporter, detective, baseball player.
Favorite
memoryfromthetour:Michelle [Tea]
and Nicole Georges reading the true crime book
onJonBenet Ramsey out loud in the van.
Because it helps people, because it changes the
world and because it will fundamentally change
you, the writer, artist, filmmaker, contortionist
... It will shake the cobwebs from your heart and
grease the rusty gears in your head.
If thetourwerea song?"Crazy Train'' by Ozzy
Osbourne played at half tempo by 10 calliopes
and an elementary school kazoo orchestra.
Favorite
writers:Miranda Mellis. Whenever I
hear her read I want to be a better writer. Also
"Thetourhelpedme understand
it is importantto
shareone'swork... It will shakethe cobwebsfrom
yourheartandgreasethe rustygearsin yourhead."
(/)
Favorite
thingthat'shappened
sincethetour:
cc
a:
0
~
UJ
0
0
UJ
a:
0
....J
Starting the tours again.
me a life!
Wouldyoudoit again?Hell yes!
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?I gaze out the
Favorite
writers:Ali Liebegott, Eileen Myles.
window with more deep longing than usual.
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?Sister Spit gave
UJ
Favorite
writers:Lynda Barry, Raymond Carver,
<(
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z
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it....J
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Name:LynnBreedlove
Tour:1998.
Astrological
fate:Sag.
Favorite
thingthat'shappened
sincethetour:
UJ
Making a movie.
<(
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?Whole new level
CD
~
CD
UJ
of respect for femmes.
Favorite
writer:Mark Twain.
a:
Favorite
townfromthetour:Atlanta, where the
a..
point game led to a makeout melee with the
entire audience and performers.
0
~
UJ
0
0
(.)
Anna Joy Springer. Her writing is so much like
lead weights and balloons at the same time. It
makes me shiver and aspire for more greatness in
my personal work.
Rebecca Brown.
Favorite
townfromthetour:Boston. We had a
three-day stay and I got to see my old pals and
eat at Pho Pasteur twice.
Name:IdaActon
Tour:1998.
Astrological
fate:Gemini, Aries rising, Aquarius
moon. Not to brag ...
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?The tour helped
me understand it is important to share one's work.
Name:SarahWest
Tour:1997.
Astrological
fate:A freaky fish .
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Ali crunchin' a
beer can between her tits is nearly my only lucid
memory from the tour ...
Favorite
townfromthetour:Nawlins, hands
down!
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?A
fireman.
Favorite
writer:I love Sara Seinberg. ■
January/February 2008
I41
TheNextGeneration
AuthorMichelleTeachatsaboutthe futureof SisterSpit.ByCatherinePlato
I, like other writer dykes of my generation, have a mild Michelle Tea obses,
Are there any adventures you can share?
sion. She's contributed to dozens of anthologies and has edited a handful,
Columbia, Mo., was crazy! Columbia, Mo., was off the hook. It was nuts.
most recently It's So You: 35 Women Write About Personal Expression Through
Fashion and Style, a collection of fashion musings from contributors as diverse
So after our show there, we we·nt to the gay karaoke bar with a bunch of
as Jenny Shimizu, Kate Bornstein and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon.
denly girls on the tour were doing tequila shots off each other's cleavage.
And it was fun because everyone was doing karaoke. Eileen Myles did this
Naturally, I was pretty psyched to meet Tea in person. Tea was surpris,
ingly chatty, smiley and down,to,earth: all rare qualities for an ultra,hip San
people from the audience. And it was like Girls Gone Wild. It was like, sud,
crazy old,time karaoke. It was really great. It was fun.
Francisco lit legend and queer feminist icon.
What's your audience like at the shows?
What was it like to go back to touring with Sister Spit after so long?
Well, because we were doing mostly colleges, students and mostly girls, and
mostly queer girls. But you know, sometimes boys, and certainly straight
girls too. We're going to try [on the next tour] to do more shows off,cam,
It was really strange and great. It was a wonderful tour. It was so different
from the Sister Spit tours in the '90s. It was so much less debaucherous. It
pus because the only thing about doing on,campus shows is there's no
was so much less bottom of the barrel. We were able to do primarily col,
variety to the folks you're performing to. I love them all. But it just is nice
leges and to actually make money, which meant I could pay the perform,
ers. I mean, in the '90s I had lost money off Sister Spit. [Now] we were
to hit the city-you
get people of different ages, you get people of different
class backgrounds.
Do you think your audiences are pretty much the same as the ones
staying in hotels and we were giving everyone [a] food per diem, and so it
just felt like we were high,rolling. It was crazy. The downside is there's a
that would show up in the '90s?
certain amount of experiencing the inside of a town when you're being put
Totally. It's the next generation of the people who came, and then it's plus the
up in people's homes. And so there weren't as many insane adventures.
people who also came in the '90s.
How big is your average audience?
It really varied on this last tour. University of Delaware, we performed to like,
six people. I guess at the University of Delaware there're only six people in
that college interested in the six people in Sister Spit. And then, when we
did our show here in San Francisco, or in Brooklyn, or in Chicago, we had
huge crowds. So it really just depends on who's living in that town, who
has heard that we're coming-like,
how did the word get out, where did
the word get out?
You do a lot of community things in San Francisco, don't you? I mean,
there's Radar ...
Yeah! I feel really lucky. I am the artistic director of Radar Productions. It's a
literary nonprofit-I
actually got nonprofit status.
And you were the founder, right?
Yeah. I had a mentor,JeffJones. He has his own nonprofit, the Queer Cultural
Center. I was doing my work, so alienated from the system, any system, for
so long, and curating events in San Francisco, probably for 14 years. And
Jeff was able to see the work I was doing and say,"You are a nonprofit. You
don't understand that, but the work you're doing is what a nonprofit does,
and you could get the funding that a nonprofit gets:• I had been working
for free, without getting any money, putting on these events for free. Any
money that I did get in went to the performers, or benefits to fund Sister
Spit. I worked for probably 11 years doing queer community literary events
without ever making money off it. And a few years ago he was able to work
with me to start getting grant funding. So now, I'm able to do the same work
and make a living off of it. It's great to know that people will read for free,
or for $20, but it's awesome to be able to give people $1,000 and say,"Here,
write something new and come read:' I never thought I would be in a posi,
tion where I was paying other people. I was always just hoping that maybe
one day I'd get paid. So it's surpassed my wildest dreams. ■
)
To read the full interview online, visit curvemag.com.
They'vegone
fromteenagefolkies to bonafide
indierockstars,
but Sara Quin,of
Teganand Sara,
saystheystilllove
theirlesbianfans.
By CatherinePlato
'
• Power
Following SoJealous,the lovesick, heartbroken and utterly apolitical 2004 album that thrust the Quin twins out of the lez-rock closet and into the larger
No. I never read interviews, because I hate reading wh;t I said. And I occa-
indie rock canon, Tegan and Sara bring back the politics with their latest
sionally read reviews. So I read the first couple of reviews that come out of
album, The Con. While So Jealous was purely personal-love, sex, breakups
and heartache-The Con's opening track, "I Was Married;' outwardly challenges homophobia and advocates for gay rights without sacrificing the selfconsciousness and depth that make Tegan and Sara rock as songwriters.
the record, then I sort of get an idea of how people are responding to the
album, and in a year, I'll probably do it again, you know? See how, a year
later, people are reviewing you.
What do you like best about the new album?
I caught up with Sara Quin right before their show at San Francisco's
Brava Theater. Sara was talkative and friendly, and seems unaffected by her
rock star status. We chatted in her "lair;' as she called the freezing cold, blue-
That is hard. We've been playing the album in sequence, exactly as it is on the
record, and I feel like it's weird when we take the individual songs out of
sequence, I feel like they really miss the one that comes before and after. I
cushioned tour bus where she and her bandmates would be staying for the
really see this album as being strong from start to end. And that makes me
really proud. Every time we put out an album, I think, this is solid, all these
next few months.
When your first few albums came out, the press was all, "Canadian!
Lesbian! lwins!" And now it seems like people are paying less attention to that stuff and talking more about you just as musicians. Do you
think that your audience is changing too?
It's really hard to say. We started touring in the U.S. and internationally eight
years ago, and there was a small influx of time where I was like, "Oh my
God, everybody's asking us about being gay, and it feels like all our conversations with people are becoming very political because of that:' And then
it went away, kind 0£ And it's like, OK, cool, people just know, and that's
great. I'm glad to see (sexuality] sort of not be the focus, but also don't want
it to necessarily be irrelevant. I want our audience to know.
Do you read a lot of your press, like your interviews, your reviews?
songs are great. But for the first time, I really 100 percent passionately feel
like this album as a whole is so good.
Do you like touring?
I have a love-hate relationship with both being at home and touring. I'm
definitely a bit of a globe-trotter a~d I love being with my family, my road
family and being with everybody, the camaraderie of playing shows and
then getting on the bus and then hanging out, being in a new city every
night and the kind of adventure and mystery that happens when you're on
the road. But then ... I'm a bit of an introvert and there are times when I
feel totally maxed out on communal living and I can't wait to go home and
be by myself and do my own thing.
Wonder Quin Power continued on page 65
January/February 2008
I 43
I n Pe rs On ,
there issomething savagely sweet about actor Laurel Holloman,
a beguiling blonde who plays working mom Tina Kennard on Showtime's The L Word.It's been there all along, of
course, and even viewers of her magnificent 1995 debut as butchy and lovestruck Randy Dean in The Incredibly
True Adventure of Two Girls in Love could see it. Thirteen years later, Holloman, an openly bisexual woman offscreen, is one of the most talked about actors on The L Word. Holloman's character started out four seasons ago
as half of gyno-America's most popular couple and has gone through a grueling few years playing, in succession,
a stay-at-home wife, doormat, cuckolded lover, confused lesbian or reluctant bisexual (depending on who you
ask), die-hard friend, single mom, entertainment mogul and, possibly now, forlorn lesbian ex. Phew.
For Holloman, whose sweetness hides a wickedly fun alter ego, that's all a part of the ride. "Why be on a
show for five years and just be Mother Earth that everyone gets along with? That would have been really boring
for me as an actor:'
With an acclaimed role on Angel and a handful of indie films like Tumbleweedson her resume, Holloman
(whose curious nickname is Little Monkey) is set for another season of adventure. And her fans can't wait.
What was your reaction when creator Ilene Chaiken told you Tina would date a man?
I was completely thrown. I asked her why, and she said it was because it was a story she felt that needed to be
told. She had seen it happen ... lesbian women get thrown into the straight world, especially after they have
kids.
Where's Tina this season?
The fifth season is a really great bookend for who Tina was first season. She's grown so much. There's a great
exploration in this season of her career, and also of the movie industry, and she's now actively a part of it.
What's been the hardest season for you?
Season four. The relationship with Henry wasn't explored so you never really saw why she went there, and all of
a sudden you see a lot of feelings for Bette come back ... maybe they really never went away. It was as if it was
something she had to get out of her system, because it was the only way she was going to grow. And once she
starts to grow, Bette finds her more attractive, too.
You got to touch on what can happen to a bisexual woman who's been In the lesbian community
and then finds herself In a relationship with a man.
I think Tina was very lonely. One of the great things was Shane was the least judgmental, but then Jenny, who
was sort of the newbie, was the harshest on her. I know someone who identifies with being a lesbian and feels
she's a lesbian and [later dated] guys, and she said it has been a hard place and it made her friends really angry.
Maybe she just needed to have that experience.
You don't have a lot of control over how Tina Is written, do you?
Ilene gives you the bare bones and you come in and you can put some flavor into it. She listens and she's always
open to listening. I think Jennifer and I have always wanted Bette and Tina to be together, but that doesn't
quite make for very high drama.
January/February 2008
I45
"I just feel like when you fall in love you can't help who you fall in love with. You
love who you love; it just is what it is. My mom is very supportive, very open. My
mom actually met the woman I dated after I shot the movie. I hope I can raise my
daughter that way. I just want her to be free to be who she is. "
Do you ever have moments when you're llke, "Gosh, Tina
Kate (Moennig] said it one time, it just sucks that she died, and
wouldn't do this?"
Yeah, many times. And there are certain times (Ilene] says, "OK
I feel the same way. It makes a great story line but ... she just
clicked with everything. It does come up in this season. We
we can change it:' She's not that interested ... in you being the
likeable person. It's not about likeability; it's about the truth
It's interesting what a global Impact The L Word is having.
of how people behave sometimes. Tina behaves quite horri-
Seeing it launch In all these other countries.
bly when she was in the position where she was making the
I've been in other countries (where] people recognize me ... like
a tiny island in the Caribbean where two girls came up and
said, "We love your show:• (Women] come up and say, "I got
money and Bette was struggling.
Some viewers were concerned that there was little men-
do address it.
tion of Dana's death last year. How did that feel for the
to show it to my parents and it's helped so much:' And that's
actors on set?
not going to come from any TV show; it's going to come from
our TV show.
Very early on you were saying, "I'm really bisexual. I just
happened to fall In love with a man." It would be easier
for you to say you were straight.
To be honest, I've never gotten any flack for it. I was always a girl
that dated guys and then I shot Two Girls in Love and was
dating a guy and then I had a relationship with a woman. I
thought, I can't say I'm straight anymore, that would just be
a lie. I looked for other relationships with women and they
didn't happen. I don't know if that's because I'm shyer with
women. And then ultimately I met my husband and got married. I wish I had met more women [laughs]. I guess people
can define my sexuality however they see fit, but I mostly just
don't define it.
Other queer women see that you don't have to actually
define yourself, but doing so lets people know there are
so many different ways you could be and still be part of
this queer world.
I just feel like when you fall in love you can't help who you fall
in love with. You love who you love; it just is what it is. My
mom is very supportive, very open. My mom actually met the
woman I dated after I shot the movie. I hope I can raise my
daughter that way. I just want her to be free to be who she is.
Other actors end up spending so much time having to
dance around It, and maybe It's Just a little easier for you.
I've definitely been in the middle of interviews where I can't believe I'm being asked the same things again and there's just no
creativity. Someone asked a couple of months ago ... Are you
worried what's going to happen to your career?[Laughs] And I'm
like, Are you kidding? I did a lesbian movie. And I worked more
than I ever had after that. I did all these movies and it's been
great and I think part of the reason I got The L Word might
have been because of that. And so, to never work again? No.
I don't feel that. And I don't feel anyone in our cast feels that
way. You kind of just want to say,"What world are you living
in? Because I'm not living in that world:' ■
all b
ar
It's easy to imagine Jennifer Beals rolling through the Hollywood
When you originally signed on to play Bette, did you have
Hills on her way to The L Word set, navigating traffic and deflect,
any inkling the series would last as long as it has?
ing questions with such skill that I almost forget I'm actually trying
No, it's been a lovely surprise. Honestly, I didn't really thinkabout it. •
to get the woman to divulge something new that no other writer
Bette has gone through some interesting story arcs in the
ever has. Because, face it, when Beals-the
hottie who came on
the scene playing welder turned dancer Alex in Flashdance-says
something like, "Oh, it's my pleasure;' well, women swoon. I'm only'
human. And I've been waiting 24 years to hear her utter that line
(though, in my imagination, the circumstances are a bit different).
But for all her fame and immense lesbian adoration, Beals is
still a bit of an enigma: a laid,back mom who doesn't do the party
scene, doesn't play the Hollywood game, tries (often successfully)
to counter questions or, as she does today, brings others into her
)
last few years. What do you think is the biggest lesson
she's learned?
Love and consistency. [The importance of] taking the time to
carve out a true relationship.
You and Marlee Matlin have been friends for decades.
I
What's it like playing opposite each other?
of the time.
/'J~--•
Your onscreen child learns to sign a bit next season. How
conversation, turning her questions to co,stars, crew and produc,
much do you get to explore what it means to be partnere\l·
er Ilene Chaiken.
with a deaf woman this season?
Read more of our L Word interviews at curvemag.com.
f,
We just laugh the whole time. We make fun of each other most
'
Yeah, quite a bit actually, because I meet her friends.
January/February 2008
1·
4 ..
·,:-).::,::·l::
.. ,..
,. "'·.
·,
',
What challenge hasn't Bette faced that you'd like to see
her come up against?
Rodeo queen-that
would be a good one.
Yeah, I definitely see that in her future.
I'd like to see her be the victim ... I just think there are so many
things going on, like with the Matthew Shepard Act ...
people don't realize that sexual orientation and gender are
not part of the hate crime laws. And I would wish that my
character could be a platform for discussion about that a little bit more. The characters are so insulated in Los Angeles,
specifically West Hollywood, that it's not often they have to
come up against it. And I think it would be interesting for
them to get a look at what really needs to happen, the kinds
of equality and security and civil rights. I think that they
need to take a road trip.
[Beals turns to producer-creatorslash lesbian visionary flene
Chaiken.]
What challenge do you think Bette needs to go through? I said
she needs to become a rodeo queen and go barrel racing. I
also said she needs to go on a road trip, so we could get a
glimpse of what the country is like.
Chaiken: I think she needs to rediscover her passion in her
work.
That's really, really exciting. There are just so many misconceptions about the Pride Parade that are propagated on
television. They'll just pick the most outlandish outfit and
categorize the whole parade as that. So people don't really
know what it's about, that Pride has just so many different
colors. ■
That's a good one. I guess that's why she's the boss.
That's why she's the boss. That's right.
Are you rooting for a Bette and Tina reunion?
If they can earn it. If it's not earned, I'm not interested. But
frankly, right now Bette has a really great partner; she's with
somebody really kind of amazing.
Have you ever had to put your foot down about something
that you know Bette wouldn't do that's written in the
script?
Oh, kissing Dana Delaney ... Bette kissing the senator. I thought,
I can't, I can't have Bette go all the way through with it. I just
sucked her finger. That was a very Clinton moment, wasn't
it? I'm not gonna kiss her, but I'll suck her finger.
Has The L Word brought additional media attention to
you? Do you have more fans all around you all the time
now?
Well, I don't go out. I go to work and maybe go to the occasional
event to help a cause. I've always been a hermit. I'm not a
party person. I prefer to sit at home reading. Except maybe
in my teens. Then I was the person dancing on the bar, but I
got it out of my system really early.
Are you surprised that almost 25 years later people are
still talking about Flashdance?
I don't really consider it. To be surprised, I would have to consider it in some way.
You were the grand marshal of the San Francisco Pride
Parade a couple years ago.
It was one of the most fantastic experiences ever.
There's something to be said for the vast number of
people around you Just sort of celebrating your difference that day.
48
Icurve
part of the hate crime laws. And
I would wish that my character
could be a glatform for discussion about that a little bit more.
The characters are so insulated
in Los Angeles, specifically West
Hollywood, that it's not often they
have to come up against it. And
I think it would be interesting for
them to get a look at what really needs to happen, the kinds
of equality and security and civil
rights. I think that they need to
take a road trip."
~P.iqy&
A lesbian's experience at a bathhouse. By Gabrielle Sidon
few years ago, my girlfriend and I settled on a don't,ask,
don'Mell arrangement for out,of,town flings. But I haven't slept
so Icurve
right woman, but the experience made me wonder once again
if I was capable of a light extramarital adventure. A bathhouse
seemed like the place to find out.
around. I've been too nervous about putting my relationship in
jeopardy, and the offers I've received have reeked of trouble. I don't
care how many books there are with the word "polyamory" in the
When I arrived, I saw women hanging out on the sidewalk.
The hot tub had broken down, and no one was allowed to enter.
title-situations
like that where someone isn't going to get hurt
are hard to come by. It's been easier to enjoy the attention that's
come my way and leave it at that. But one flirtation piqued more
Instead of discreetly slinking in, I was obliged to chat with the
other women, one of whom attempted to ramp up the sexual en,
ergy by reading erotic poems out loud. Not her own, thankfully,
than my desire. When I met an acquaintance I'll call Toni at a
conference, we were mutually attracted. I tend to dodge crushes,
but this time I found myself in the grip of one. When I saw a
funky shirt in the window of a store and fantasized about buy,
but a selection by Chrystos.
Eventually, we were let in. I paid the $25 cover charge, and a
volunteer handed me a locker key and fluorescent bracelet, which
I was told I could offer to someone for a kiss. Then a frowning
ing it for Toni, I began to worry. Imagining dressing a woman is
much more serious than imagining undressing her. Was some,
thing missing in my relationship?
Asking myself this question caused more ripples than I think
sleeping with Toni would have. I concluded that I was with the
young woman in a leather bra and a short skirt read a list of rules,
concluding with a terse lecture: "Women failed here tonight.
They failed to take on the shared responsibility for our environ,
ment. The hot tub is broken because no one told a volunteer it
was overflowing. We have to give the owner every penny we make
en
~
<(
0
<(
N
::i
tonight for the repair, so if you see a problem, make sure you tell
a volunteer:'
Okey-doke.
Upstairs, I agreed to share my locker with a perky young
blonde. As we deposited our handbags, I felt a twitter in my guts.
I had been having sex with the same woman for over a decade.
Could I do this?
"I wish they served alcohol;' I remarked to my locker mate.
"Do you want a drink? I have rum in my car:'
The atmosphere didn't help. Women wandered about with
towels knotted around their waists, and I felt like I was at the Y.
I was wearing swishy black slacks with a black silk camisole and
didn't want to take them off. Not because I was shy or embarrassed about my body-I
just feel my nudity should be someone's
reward. But since I was the only woman dressed besides the volunteers, I decided to get partially naked by playing strip Twister. A
game was in progress on the lower floor. One woman turned the
spinner, calling out combinations in a loud, cheerful voice: "Red,
We headed outside with a third woman in tow. We were all
femme, although I didn't know if these women would characterize
left foot, green, right arm:' Two women contorted their limbs on a
themselves that way. I'm 40 and they both turned out to be 25.
between another woman's thighs. These were the only women I
saw having sex the entire night, and they registered about as much
interest as pet rocks.
Inside the blonde woman's car, we took turns squirting booze
from her water bottle into our mouths. It was cozy; I almost
didn't want to leave. The blonde said she was bisexual and wanted
a sexual experience with a woman. "I keep telling guys 'No' and
then they don't even want to be my friend. So I thought, 'Why
don't I go after what I really want?"'
The other woman said,'Tm queer. You could call me bisexual,
but that makes my life soun_dmore interesting than it is. Coming
here tonight is a big deal for me:'
I asked her if she was here to see a particular woman, a guess
that turned out to be correct. Personally, I was a little interested
in one of the volunteers-let's
call her Suzanne-whom
I knew
plastic sheet. Beside the game, a woman lay with her head buried
Twister was more compelling. Women crowded around the
game, shrieking and giggling. I joined in and ·was soon wearing
only a lacy black bra and panties. Another spin and the girl beside
me moved into a position that would allow the woman behind
her, were she inclined, to perform analingus.
"You better hope you don't fart;' one woman called out, and
everyone laughed.
"Yeah, especially since I had beans for supper;' the woman
with the extended posterior quipped.
Fart jokes didn't let up for another five minutes. Like the
slightly.
Back at the bathhouse, I ran into Suzanne. Earlier in the day I
had asked her about attire, and she made a stern comment about
woman who'd had beans for dinner, my hands were on the floor
street clothes being inappropriate. Apparently, the rule didn't apply
being at Girl Guide camp, when someone opened the door while
I was using the outhouse.
to her. She was fully dressed, replete with big black boots. She's
trendy and younger than me, neither of which were qualities I
tend to go for, but we had shared interests. We began talking and
I asked her what she was looking for tonight.
'Td like to go home and go to bed:'
That didn't sound promising.
She added, "Well, I know everyone:'
I said, "You don't know me:'
"I should get back to work:' She dashed· away.
I took a deep breath. I had been blown off. Well, I was a big
girl. Time to check out other possibilities.
The bathhouse was on two floors, each of which consisted of
a hall with rooms on either side. Walking through the space, I noticed the femme to butch ratio of the perhaps 35 women was about
2:1, odds that were not in my favor. Many of the women were attractive but seemed awfully young and devoid of sexual attitude. I
didn't see what I was looking for, namely, a butch who knew what
to do with me. A woman who would tell me I looked lovely,and I
would tell her she was handsome, but she would say it first.
and my ass was in the air, on display to the small, rowdy crowd.
Did I feel like I was turning anyone on? Hardly. I was reminded of
I left.
Upstairs, one woman was getting a foot massage, another
woman was getting a back massage, and a third group sat in a
room reading erotica aloud. There was a make-out room, but it
was empty. The most popular place was the sauna. As I sat soaking up the heat in my bra and panties, I heard the women, all of
whom seemed to know one another, discuss camping trips. The
idea of interjecting flirtatious banter seemed ludicrous. Making
eye contact wasn't even possible. When my locker mate came in
to ask me to unlock the locker, I followed her out. As she retrieved
a water bottle, I asked where the third woman we were drinking
with was.
"She took off:'
We hadn't been here long. Had things gone badly with the
woman she was interested in?
I asked my locker mate if she'd met anyone.
She shook her head. "How about you?"
"The women aren't old enough or butch enough:'
January/February 2008 j 51
"How about the woman you were talking to downstairs?"
"She rejected me:'
My locker mate made a sympathetic moue.
"I didn't invite you. I just gave you information:'
God, she was being literal while I was trying to be arch. I was
about to tell her she didn't have to kiss me when she did. Yet as
I headed downstairs where I bumped into Suzanne, who
greeted me with a big smile. Had I made a mistake? I wasn't sure,
her ton,gue slid around my mouth, I wasn't sure if she wanted to,
so a little later I decided to let her approach me. I made it easy
by watching The L Word in the lounge, which was close to where
and pushed her body into mine, I felt a rush. That grrr feeling,
where I want to pounce on a woman, is engendered by how hot
she was working. In the spring, I had gone to a lesbian club to
celebrate a friend's birthday, and pheromones had flown about like
she finds me. After a moment, she released me. "Good night:'
"Tease:' The word was out of my mouth before I had time to
fireflies, little bursts of light in the dark. An attractive couple had
think. Had I really said that?
It didn't matter because she was gone.
started dancing with me, making me the filling in their sandwich.
"You two are naughty girls;' I told them after the song ended. The
butch had winked at me: "We like it like that:' What makes a
night full of sexual heat? I'm not sure; I just knew this wasn't one.
But things started to look up when Suzanne came over and sat
beside me. "Catching up on The L Wordt
and I couldn't relax. But when she slammed me up against a wall
I dug my stuff out of my locker, dressed, gave my key to my
locker mate, and exited. As I headed back to where I was staying, I
thought of that gay male disco anthem about loving the one you're
with. If a lesbian had written the song, it would go,"If you can't be
with the one you love, leave the bathhouse in a huff:'
'Tm not interested in flogging:' True, but what had turned
It also occurred to me that I went to the bathhouse because of
me off to the flogging demonstration I had just left, was listening to the volunteer expound on the topic with the tone that an
Toni. Part of me wanted to stomp out those last burning embers of
elementary school teacher might use to explain the solar system.
Everyone else had stayed, probably because it demanded neither
participation nor flirtation.
The make-out room was still empty. Suzanne was still dressed.
And I was still in rriy fancy bra and panties. It was, uh, a little
distracting. Was she interested or just being friendly? I couldn't
tell. I knew I was having a hard time keeping up my end of the
conversation because I wanted to kiss her. But she went back to
the booth and came out holding a bicycle helmet.
Shit. She was leaving.
Taking off my bracelet, I handed it to Suzanne. "Seeing as you
invited me here, I think you should kiss me:'
So I sat down to watch
a little porn. It was either do that or clean
my crush, while another part of me thought that if I had sex with
a woman I was less fond of than Toni, I would have a better sense
of how to handle things if Toni and I ever did sleep together.
Weirdly, I wound up having sex with my girlfriend less than
an hour after getting back from my trip. "For some reason, I'm so
horny;' she said, sliding a hand over my back.
Girlfriends are psychic. Lust and affection for another woman might hold my brain hostage for a little while, but it doesn't
necessarily mean much. I think what I've learned from all this is
that desire isn't easy to manufacture or contain. Nudity and strip
Twister don't create ardor, and the only thing that will make sex
outside my marriage safe is faith in it. But I won't be bothering
with bathhouses. ■
I'm not completely satisfied, so I cue up the
next flick, the must-see In Search of the Wild
Kingdom. The word "porn'' has an array of asso-
my apartment.
Of
course I'm going to pick the porn. My first choice
was The Bi-Apple, which begins with Simone
in search of the Fuck House, a place where this
ciations with it, including sex and sleaze. It also
comes with certain expectations. I expect to see
sexual researcher could observe an array of sexual
expressions. Although she tries to knock, she is
They're surely not doing it to please me. I guess
I've become a little jaded by porn, but lesbian director Shine Louise Houston has just cured me
only met with moans, so she audaciously opens
the door despite being ignored. A hetero pair, in
the midst of hard-core pounding, don't stop, but
manage to shake her hand.
After watching the same guy get it from both
a woman and then a man, Simone gets to have a
little of her own fun with a woman. Lesbian viewers will savor this scene. Simone doesn't stop there,
though. Having abandoned her business attire
completely, she's ready to help this video bring new
meaning to the concept of fluid sexuality.
52
Icurve
identical, fake, very straight-looking girls doing it
when I read the label "lesbian'' on the DVD cover.
of my skepticism. All I know is that the women I
see in mainstream porn aren't pleasing each other
nearly as hard as the lesbians in Wild Kingdom.
It's no wonder Houston's been awarded for
her direction of lesbian faves The Crash Pad and
Supetfreak. She directs hot lesbian sex scenes.
This is lesbian porn made by a queer woman for
queer women.
Formatted as a mockumentary, Wild Kindom,
follows Georgia Mann, a documentary filmmaker
(maybe
Houston's
poking fun at herself)
who is directing a new
film, Lesbians of San
Francisco.She's a bit of
a sociologist but finds herself even more baffied by
girl-on-girl action than she was before she began
her search into what truly defines lesbian sexuality. She and her crew track their subjects, refuse
to acquire consent and manage to capture some of
the hottest scenes imaginable. (Honestly, I've really never seen a woman give another woman oral
like that on film.) This sex is raw, real and good.
Comic relief unwinds each rolling climax.
With a film like Wild Kingdom, no longer will
lesbians be confined to their own imaginationsand neither will I. Do you need to spice things up
in the bedroom for Valentine's Day, too? These
films are sure to help. (adameve.com, blowfish.com)
-Mea Chavez
Two women smile shyly into the camera. They are young. They are
black. They sit entwined as only lovers do, talking about sex and being
black. Then the camera cuts to them having sex.
Ashley and Kisha: Finding the Right Fit is a documentary showcasing
the love story of a lesbian couple.
So how does a sweet little movie about tender young love spark a
fist-pumping, civil rights-questioning brawl? By getting banned from
the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF).
In Australia, for a film to be sold it has to be "classified;' or given
a rating, by the Office of Film
and Literature Classification
(OFLC). And if a movie is
classified as "X;' it can't be sold.
Many film festivals will request
exemptions for the films they
show because the classification
process is long and expensive.
At this year's MUFF,
festival
director
Richard
Wolstencroft applied for an exemption for Ashley and Kisha.
The OFLC denied the request without seeing the film, based on the
director Tony Comstock's previous explicit documentaries that depict
real couples having real sex.
Comstock says that the denial may not have been a reaction to the
explicit content of the film, but retribution. In 2006, Wolstencroft went
against the orders of the OFLC and screened one of Comstock's movies. So this year, he OFLC forbade Wolstencroft from showing seven
movies, and even sent police to ensure that Ashley and Kisha wasn't
screened.
Comstock maintains that the movie is only controversial because it's
about lesbians."If you're a realist you're saying,'Of course it's controversial; and if you're an idealist you're saying, 'What's controversial about
people being in love:>"'
Comstock has many reasons for taking up arms against the OFLC.
First, there are his subjects and his product. "There's a sense of responsibility and of trust ... I haven't had to fight for my sexuality, I fight
for my movies:' Second, he thinks of himself as fighting the latest battle
against censorship and the moral majority. "This is the last little gasp of
a dying way of thinking about the world:'
But most importantly, he sees the ban as an affront to human rights.
"It's not Iran, or Saudi Arabia, or Malaysia. It's not one of these places
with oppressive regimes. It's Australia, for Christ's sake ... It's a freedom
issue. Freedom is not liberal or conservative. Totalitarians don't care
about freedom. It's exciting that this little film is provoking some discussion about these big ideas:'
And it is. In light of the controversy, an ad hoc community of the
Australian body politic has come together to support a lesbian film.
From the LGBT community to the Institute of Public Affairs (a freemarket think tank), people have all come together to protest the ban.
This delights Comstock. "Black, white, gay, straight-the people who
like our stuff like our stuff. You're getting to something transcendental
al5out the nature of love and sex and gender:' - By Lina Swislocki
January/February 2008
I55
Two lesbians put the classics and the cliches to the test. By Alice Clarke
ike me, my friends are reclusive, pimply faced, teenage
geeks, which probably explains
why we're single and spend our
weekends playing video games,
watching DVDs and knitting.
The only scenario that I imagine would ever get us girlfriends is if my neighbors· had
friends over and they looked
through the window into my
living room and were impossibly impressed by our
prowess at Guitar Hero
or my DVD and comics
collections.
After many weekends of mind-numbing DVD geekdom, my
friends and I became increasingly suspicious of
the characters' ease at per-
ing, I used the line, and was startled by her whispered response of
"Maybe later, at my place:' Unfortunately, as we continued to chat,
I discovered that she was almost twice my age and a little creepy.
Eventually, I made a polite excuse and escaped. She then stalked
me for the rest of the evening, warning the other women that I
was a cruel tease. So, not exactly a win, but close.
"Youlooklikemynextgirlfriend."
Quagmire,
FamilyGuy(2004):
How Quagmire ends up with so many women remains a mystery.
The only reactions we got were:
"Wow, that's cheesy. I don't think that's going to work on anyone here:'
"That'd be great-if I didn't already have a girlfriend:'
"Not in 3,000 lifetimes:'
And my personal favorite: "You sure it isn't 'exr' I wouldn't
It turns out that complete strangers don't appreciate you criticizing their abuse-yelling skills and just glare at you when you offer
them tips on football.
So my friend Andi and I decided to leave the couch, go out into
the world, and test the lines and
scenarios that Hollywood promises
will find us love. Here are the lines we used and the assorted responses that we got:
"You'rea wanker,Number9!" Luce,ImagineMe & You(2006):
"You'rea wanker,Number9!" Rachel,ImagineMe & You(2006):
Apparently, just yelling a seemingly random line while stuck in a
traffic jam doesn't inspire any woman to get out of a taxi and kiss
you. It just makes them turn and look at you like you're crazy.
But perhaps I wasn't projecting well enough.
"$100sayswhenyouturnaround,I say'Wow."'Barney,How I
Met YourMother(2006):I mostly just received a resounding"No;'
but it did start a couple of entertaining How I Met Your Mother
conversations.
"We'll always have Paris."Rick, Casablanca(1942):That's
"If I toldyouI likedyourbody,wouldyoutakeoffyourpantsand what we would say when we accidentally hit on a straight girl.
dancearounda little?"Captain
ZappBrannigan,
Futurama(2000): Unfortunately, none of the girls magically turned, nor did anyFor this one, rejections ranged from the usual "Not a chance" to
"No. You're pathetic:' But astonishingly, despite the line being a
Icurve
of Futurama. Shortly after entering the club on the first night of
research, I accepted a woman's come-hither look, we started danc-
I Met Your Mother would
constantly be turned down
her that she was a self-centered
bitch; and no one would be loving
Annabelle.
56
to be threatening and had a good chance of starting a discussion
blame them for leaving you:'
Kennedy that she was still grieving
the love of her life and informed
too impressed with
Alice's pickup lines.
I had never really used a pickup line before, so I chose to begin with Captain Brannigan's line because it was far too ludicrous
suading people to fall in
love with them. Surely, in
real life, Barney from How
and sporting a black eye; Willow
from Buffy would have reminded
The ladies aren't
monumental failure for the good captain; we had one success.
Sort 0£
one get the (very) veiled reference to when Paris kissed Rory on
Gilmore Girls. We weren't surprised.
a:
j
...J
:::,
a..
i5
z
~
"Haveyoumet ... ?" Barney,Ted,Marshal,JamesandRobin,HowI
Met YourMother(2006):This one turned out to be highly successful,
gaining us many phone numbers and drinks. The downside is that it
only works when you have a tag team. "Have you met met doesn't work
nearly as well.
"Youknow,whenyoublowoutthematchit'saninvitation
to kissyou?"
Leo,Fleshand the Devil(1926):It doesn't have quite the same effect in
our matchless society; the girl I used it on just had a lighter and a blank
expression. But it's a great line nonetheless.
"fuckmeif I'mwrong,butI thinkyouwantto kissme."Coop,Imagine
Me & You(2006):I avoided this one until the last night, mostly because
I knew it would end in pain. The slaps, however, were the least painful
consequences.
At our regular club there is a woman we've dubbed Scary Dread
Girl. She's around 6 foot, has long red dreadlocks, forgets that other
people are corporeal and tries to walk through them, and always wears
a studded leader jacket, tight black ripped jeans, steekapped boots and
an expression that says she will kill for fun. On the last night of our research I got triple-dared to use this line on her. I accepted, believing she
would just punch me and it would all be over. I gave my glasses to Andi,
walked over to Scary Dread Girl and braced for impact. Instead, she
leaned in, said, "You're right;' and kissed me on the cheek. She kissed
my other cheek and said, "I can't right now, though:' Another kiss. 'Tm
with my girlfriend:' A lingering kiss. "Find me later:'
I backed slowly across the room to Andi.
Later, I was dancing with Andi. Suddenly, there was Scary Dread
Girl, dancing so close to me that I may actually be pregnant.
Despite being hot, Scary Dread Girl is really scary, and I was kind
of afraid of what her equally terrifying girlfriend would do to me. The
fear spiral in my brain left no room for an escape plan, so I danced and
pictured the next day's headlines, after the police found my mangled
body.
Just as my mother's worst fears were -about to be realized, Andi
bravely came to my rescue.
At the end of the experiment we learned that creepy lines only work
on creepy people, not everything Hollywood tells us is true, and perhaps
it's better to date someone with whom you have common interests.
So now, after our intense collaboration on pickup-line research,
Andi and I are dating each other. We spend our weekends learning how
to project abuse from the diaphragm, discussing the best slaying techniques and trying to clock Guitar Hero on expert.
I guess using cheesy pickup lines can get you the girl. ■
SuicideGirls took the world by storm, but No Fauxxx'sthe one
pushing the edge. By Catherine Plato
SuicideGirls is more than just a site these days-the
company has its own clothing line, live burlesque tour
(now viewable on DVD), radio show and a new maga,
zine. The site has produced and sold two movies to
Showtime and several models were on an episode of
CSI: NY last year. Yes, the little porn site that could is
definitely no longer underground.
But it hasn't been all smooth sailing. In September
2005, a slew of SuicideGirls, including some of the
site's most popular, left permanently, claiming breach
of contract and varying degrees of verbal abuse from
Suhl during the live burlesque tour. Girls who per,
formed on the tour reported less,than,pleasant re,
hearsal conditions and unpaid royalties from the tour
documentary DVD that was released earlier in the
year. Ex,models revealed that Suhl's involvement in
the site was downplayed; by claiming Mooney as the
chief founder and creative mind behind SuicideGirls,
it was easier to keep up the site's fa~ade as an empow,
ering, feminist enterprise. While most of the compa,
Unless you've been living in a convent for the past six years, chances are you've
heard at least something about the SuicideGirls, the punk rock soft,core porn
site turned multimedia conglomerate. Started in September 2001 by then,
couple Selena Mooney and Sean Suhl (known as "Missy" and "Spooky" to site
members), suicidegirls.com was originally ajust,for,fun project. Mooney, who
lived in Portland at the time, had the idea to capture the nontraditionally gor,
geous local alterna,chicks-tattoos,
piercings, dreads and all-in traditional
ny's employees are women, Suhl is listed (on Oregon's business directory) as
the company president.
Although the site's popularity continues to grow, some of its former mod,
els are intent on getting the word out about its imperfect .business practices
through MySpace and LiveJournal communities, as well as SuicideGirlX.
com, a site dedicated to negative SuicideGirls press. Many ex,models went
pinup,style images. According to the Web site, "Combining the DIY attitude
of underground culture with a vibrant, sex,positive community of women
on to work for competing sites, and some even began their own. Whether the
godmother of Internet alt porn is a sexist and exploitative tyrant or the good,
intentioned "vibrant, sex,positive community" it claims to be, it's far from the
(and men), the company was founded on the belief that creativity, personality
and intelligence are not incompatible with sexy,compelling entertainment, and
only option on the market these days.
There are hundreds of ways to quench your thirst for filth without leaving
millions of people agree:'True to the punk DIY ethos, the models chose their
own outfits, makeup, poses and photographers, or even opted to selfshoot.
your laptop, but what appears to be the queer,friendliest site around these
days is No Fauxxx ("porn that doesn't fake it"). No Fauxxx apparently takes
over where SuicideGirls left off. Rather than just featuring the SuicideGirls'
The site's pale, skinny (and occasionally not so skinny) tatted girls were an
alternative for the porn aficionado sick of the fake,tanned, fake,breasted, fake,
blonde women dominating the industry.
Fast forward six years. Today SuicideGirls is the undisputed queen of punk
rock porn, and a self proclaimed "contemporary lifestyle brand:' For less than
$50 a year, members can join a MySpace,type community, with groups, chats,
blogs and, of course, boobies-two new sets per day, to be exact. There are
dozens of out lesbian SuicideGirls, girl,on,girl photo sets aplenty and a few
thriving queer communities within the community: Gay Girls Only, LGBTQ
BlackLGBTQ Genderfuck and an L Word fan group. The site boasts over
1,000 models, over 300,000 members (including actor Hal Sparks' girlfriend,
the Dandy Warhols' Zia McCabe and, formerly, Courtney Love), frequent ce,
lebrity interviews (in the past year they've featured Debbie Harry, Margaret
Cho and Sandra Bernhard) and over 4 million unique visitors per month. And
standard fare of mostly skinny naked white girls with pierced nipples and
sleeve tattoos-which, really, isn't so risque these days-No Fauxxx is "hoc,
radical porn made by ladies, queers and artists from all over the world" and
features "models of all genders and sizes:' It lacks the ultraprofessional polish
of SuicideGirls, both in site design and sometimes photo quality-though, for
some queer porn,lovers, chat amateur, genuine DIY edge is a good thing.
Though No Fauxxx is much further under the radar than SuicideGirls, it's
been online for nearly as long. Founder"Trouble Royale''began the site in 2002
when she found some pieces missing from "mainstream'' alterna,porn. Like the
SuicideGirls, No Fauxxx models each have individual profiles where they can
cell the world who they are. Only No Fauxxx models get categories like'gender
identity" and"sexual identity;' unrestricted by lame drop,down menus. Models'
The Alt to the Alt continued on page 65
January/February 2008
I59
By Diane Anderson_,Minshall
Photographyby Darling Propaganda
It's a rare warm, sunny day in San Francisco and I'm trotting down to South of
Market with a suitcase full of clothes that can only charitably be called "slutty:'
I'm a die--hard power femme but by no means a real girlie girl. (Bulldagger I've
been called, bombshell; well, maybe not.) But today I'm going to change all that,
thanks to the help of two women: a 30--year burlesque queen slash local icon,
Bombshell Betty, and her trusty rock--star photographer, Darling Propaganda.
And I've dragged along two Curvettes-associate
publisher Sara Jane Keskula
and assistant editor Katie Peoples-who_ get to undergo their own transforma-tions in front of the camera.
60
Icurve
Curvettes and me, it had to be condensed (we are on the clock,
after all) into one afternoon of fun. We start by nervously entering Bombshell Betty's studio-a
combination dance space, dress-
ing room and girlie Pee Wee's playhouse-and
getting into "body
conscious" clothing for our first pinup lessons. For me, I'm nearly
naked; the other girls are a bit more discreet. (I'm the only one
who is over the 30 mark, mind you.) Before we start learning how
to move in front of a camera, how to mimic old-style poses and
how to make that s~xy pout, we meet our equally sexy photographer, Darling Propaganda.
"For years, the joke was that when I saw a pretty girl, I
didn't know if I wanted to do her or be her;' says Propaganda.
'i\.pparently, what I want is to photograph her!"
Propaganda, too, has been obsessed with pinups and beauty
queens since she was a little girl. "My hippie mom wouldn't allow
me to have Barbies because they were bourgeoisie. All her withholding did was create in me an intense fetish for stiletto shoes
and playing dress up:'
Propaganda's own studio (darlingpropaganda.com)
with props and costumes-vintage, new, wacky-which
the women who come to her.
is rife
inspire
"Generally, even if they have little or no idea what they want
when they come in, I can find something that makes their eyes
light up, and that emotion is what makes a great image:'
Bombshell Betty concurs: "It is always exciting to me when
a woman comes to the shoot thinking that she is just not photogenic or that she just can't look good in pictures, and after the
shoot she is finally really pleased with pictures of herself ... It is
also rewarding to see the shy, self-conscious women come out of
their shell and really get into feeling sexy. The transformations I
ike a lot of girls, I've been obsessed with beauty queens. Not
the gushing guffaws of Miss Texas or the post hip-hop derriers of
JLo and Jessica Biel. No, I've always been fascinated by the oldschool pinup beauties, the Vargas girls, the tawdry temptresses
who could brandish structured undergarments and make supportive underwire bras look like the sexiest things on earth. And
I'm not the only one, of course.
"Before I ever heard the word'burlesque; I was a fan of the old
song-and-dance movies, Mae West, Bugs Bunny and Bettie Page;'
says Bombshell Betty, whose first official entrance into the world
of neoburlesque was in 2000, when she started a touring go-go
performance troupe based in Vancouver, B.C. "So it just seemed
like a natural transition to go from my modern, belly dance-based
bump-and-grind take on go-go to incorporating skits, fire dancing, fan dancing, striptease and pastie twirling-including
ing tassels and sparkler tassels:'
flam-
When her Vancouver roommate suggested she teach burlesque classes, "I thought that was outrageous and dismissed the
idea;' says Betty. But in San Francisco a few years later, and without her troupe, she did just that, beginning with her now famed
Burlesquercise! classes and DVDs, and later with her Pinup
Modeling Workshop ($195, bombshellbetty.net), which has become, well, almost a San Francisco legend in itsel£
Normally, the Pinup Workshop is a two-day operation; one
day for instruction, the second for a photo shoot. But for the
am privileged to watch are amazing:'
Of course, we were different nuts. Who knew how long it
would take to crack our shells? Apparently, one hour and fifteen
minutes. The classes made us all a little selfconscious, and standing in front of the mirror
making bedroom eyes at my reflection was a
bit awkward, but came in handy when I had to
"make love" to the camera. Bombshell's signature props were fantastic to work with. I had all
sorts of wild ideas about wearing one fluffy,blue
petticoat and nothing else.
Then came the photo shoot itsel£ Sara Jane
was first, a glammed up '20s flapper doll, vamping like Marion Davies. Then Katie, dressed in
pink, sort of a rockabilly desperate housewife.
When it's my turn, I freeze. Betty is directing
me, Darling Propaganda is saying things that
normally I love to hear from a woman (i.e., "Oh,
that's hot!") and all I can remember is that Betty
told us to mouth the vowels if we got stuck smiling or pouting. So I begin what would become
my day's mantra: a sexy, Betty Boopish version
of A-E-I-O-U, with a lot of emphasis on the
It works. I'm as relaxed as the other girls,
tearing off one outfit for the next and urging
January/February 2008
I61
Propaganda to make my posterior look as big as possible (Hey,
so I admit it, I'm an ass girl). Betty helps, giving me hints that
are simple but make all the difference ("How about your hand on
your hipst"Rrrrr!" and "Don't cover your face!" are tops among
them), while our lenswoman shoots and urges, "Oh, that's great:'
It takes about two hours but by then I'm convinced that I'm
the new Anna Nicole Smith (w~ll, without the drugs, death and
Howard K. Stern). I'm already envisioning launching my own
burlesque troupe and starring in my own pinup calendars-filled
with nothing but sexy, fat, queer girls.
Of course, I'm hardly unique. After all, hundreds of women
have been flocking to Bombshell Betty's Pinup Workshop for
months now."One of the things I love the most about my classes is
the great diversity in the women who attend;' says Betty. "Women
of every age, from 18 to over 60, have enjoyed the class. I have had
ex-members of the Fat Bottom Burlesque Revue as well as people
of all shapes, sizes, ages and ethnicities ... there is no typical stu-
Disgruntled by "the lack of real people out there having orgasms in porn;' mechanical
engineer Boots Boccaleone and systems administrator G.A. Sincock decided to make
their own. Their brainchild, Red Handed Porn, a name inspired by the exhibitionism
of being caught red-handed, launched in January 2007, encompassing everything under
the sun, with an unintentional focus on queer women and transfolk. The crew at Red
Handed Porn does all its own filming because, besides fake orgasms, Boccaleone says,
"high quality is also something missing in (mainstream] porn:' Calling itself the "home
of hot, real, amateur masturbation porn;' Red Handed Porn offers various packages
covering as many bandwidths as budgets; and since the.site depends on real people in
authentic settings having genuine orgasms, voyeurs aren't the only ones getting their
rocks off. Qualified exhibitionists may have the opportunity to rub one out on camera and have their autoerotic fantasy documented in an episode on the easy-to-browse
site, which offers talent testimonials, outtakes and viewer-rated episode selections. The
flexible membership includes six episodes a month. Red Handed Porn also
sponsored the San Francisco-based
Masturbate-a-thon in an effort to help
promote masturbation as an important way to stop spreading disease and
help sexuality, says Boccaleone. "If you
really know your own body, you're that
much more capable of sharing it with
someone else;• she says. ( redhandedporn.com) -
62
Icurve
ColleenMcCaffrey
dent. I have had openly lesbian, straight, bisexual and transexualtransgender people attend my classes, and everyone seems to feel
welcome and accepting of everyone else in the class:'
Betty's taught her fair share of lawyers, housewives, tattooed
punk girls, beauty school dropouts and Ph.D. holders. Isis Starr,
the "Living Legend of Burlesque;' attended Bombshell Betty's
Pinup Workshops at the age of 60 or so. "I have also had people
fly in from out of town or even around the world for the workshops, so we have people of various cultures participating as well.
What is important to me is that everyone feels accepted and honored for who they are. Everyone is trying something new in this
class, and that brings them together:'
For my fellow Curvettes, that's more than just a "Can I get a
Kumbaya?" spiel. "Betty and Darling were really reassuring and
just made me feel hot;' admits Sara Jane. She's still raving about
the class-from the props and makeup to the real tricks to being
photographed, she can take the experience into her everyday life.
And she's thinking of going back with a group of friends. Katie,
too, is all raves about playing dress up: "I didn't think I could look
that girlie in a photo. It's a rarity. I can't wait to show them off:'
And for me, well, I liked reaching outside of who I thought
I was, and, as Betty says, creating a sort of alter ego. Or maybe I
was creating a whole new way of looking at mysel£ big hips and
all. If you see me on stage soon, twirling pasties and eating fire,
well, you'll know what I mean. ■
gj;-'S/~
~ Ul£/PJJcw
Can a pooch ruin your love lifer One lesbian finds out.
ByJennyJedeiken
'Tm looking for sanitary pads and strap-on harnesses with belts, if you have
that for a dog," I ask the clerk at the pet store. I have come here on a mission.
Our new dog Pookie, a miniature bull terrier, which we acquired during the
lunacy of our home renovation, is in heat. With thoughts of protecting what
little functionality there is left in my relationship, I have elected to find a solution for the 21 days of bleeding that I have been advised will follow.
My girlfriend Greta is so in love with the little creature that if it were up
to her, she would mop up after her with hand-held Hermes tea towels spread
open across her lap for three weeks, on the couch, without bothering to get up
once for a shower. But I am of an entirely different disposition.
The clerk points me to a narrow aisle in the back of the store. Next to
packages of doggie diapers for the "incontinent older pooch," I spy the one I
need: "The preferred female product, for a bitch in heat;' reads the box, and
it comes with a tidy companion box of pads. I open the package and pull
out a slinky black thong with criss-crossing belts; it looks as though it were
designed for a mutt with a lack of self-correcting Christian values. The little
snap-on straps seem more manageable than the bulky denim diaper-cover
with red-and-white cowboy stitching up the side, which we'd purchased at the
dog boutique George on Union Street in San Francisco five days before.
Besides, the $50 blue-jean one disappeared beneath a small, isolated tornado of clothing in one of the kids' bedrooms. Maybe someone threw it out
the window. Maybe. Everyone had deep feelings about the menstruating dog.
It all began several weeks before, with the ill-timed adoption of our new
companion. Despite the fact that we were all seething with hatred for one
another during our eight-month home remodel and renovation, my partner
decided it was a fine time to acquire a new pet. It had been eight weeks since
our family-three kids a~d the two of us-had had the luxury of using a
kitchen with running water or a stove, 40 days since we had slept in our bedroom or had the privacy afforded to chose whose home is not transformed
into a testosterone-charged construction site at 7 :30 every morning.
Soon we were busy schmoozing up a miniature bull terrier and Greta
had fallen in love with the quirky breed. "You know the bull terrier-it's the
'Target dog' with the egg-shaped head," she told me. It was also the "Spuds
Mackenzie" dog, and the famous dog pictured alongside General George
Patton. "There are only something like 135 born a year in the U.S.;' she said.
Days later she pulled up to our home with the new specimen. "Thanks for
making this so easy for me;' she said, as she showed off the pure-bred dog with
royal markings, which she had acquired at the grave discount price of $2,000.
The breeder normally charges $2,500 for a dog, but Pookie had an eye problem, rendering her useless to a breeder."She didn't want to pass along chis gene;'
explained my partner."Besides, she's a year old, so we won't have to train her:•
Housebroken, yes, but within weeks there were drops of blood dotting
every surface in our home: beds, carpets, laundry in transition, everywhere
that beloved pooch trotted. Pookie had gotten her period. "Lee's fix her," I
suggested, knowing that we were all living on top of each other.
"We can't fix her. She's going to be in a dog show;' my partner announced.
''I've registered her in a show next month, so we can't touch her:' Pookie used
to be in dog shows. There are pictures of her in magazines, advertising her existence bef~re it was determined chat her genetic makeup was not desirable.
Two weeks later we drove to a hotel by the airport to watch Pookie prance
in front of middle-aged bald men. I had been up all night the night before
because Greta and I had gotten into a fight over something irrelevant. We
had to make up in a hurry because the next day we were going co a miniature
bull terrier specialty dog show. Even though I was reeling from anger at her, I
knew I had to make up with her. My children would never forgive me if they
missed seeing their beloved animal in the ring.
I could ask no intelligent question at the dog show. All the people that
were there understood the basic ground rules of dog shows and and, despite
the worshipful devotion of my entire family, Pookie did not place in the show.
In the ring she was just a ho-hum mini-bull, smaller than average, with a
somewhat uninterested show-dog disposition.
But it didn't matter that Pookie was not victorious in competition, because in our house she was the gal who won in the end. Without having to
compromise too much of her core belief systems, Pookie got to live on our
Tempur-Pedic bed pretty much like she owned it, even though I despised
seeing her on it and she was incapable of hurting my partner's feelings.
When Greta asked the breeder, Isabel, about acquiring another puppy,
she was told: "It will have to be a male, because two females can't live together.
There will be constant animosity:' Maybe she's right. One year, and one perfect puppy lacer, I'm the one who is moving out. Now Greta sleeps with two
miniature bull terriers. The new puppy, Teddy, just won first place in a dog
show in Los Angeles in a category called "Best of opposite sex:' ■
January/February 2008
I63
Unc.overing
the StonewaI
·Lesbian
Storme Delarverie was there that infamousnight.
Now she's coming clean about it all. By Patrick Hinds
At a downstairs bar in the heart of Manhattan's Chelsea District, Storme
why had she never come forward to claim her place in history?
DeLarverie appears almost nightly. She almost never discards the floppy,
I was consumed by the mystery, but it was nearly impossible to research.
brim hat that covers a torrent of cotton,ball hair or the burgundy glasses
that shield half her face, but she's never unapproachable. To passersby, elderly
The few histories that exist mention her only in passing, and a "woman
dressed in a man's clothes" is virtually impossible to distinguish within sur,
women may seem out of place in a neighborhood known for the young, mus,
viving photographs of the riots. This is why it came as such a shock nine years
cular set, but DeLarverie is often the center of attention. Shy, in the polite but
later when Tree-a
guarded way one might expect from a well,known celebrity, she returns hellos
lesbian who was clubbed that night. Some people try to say it was a drag
queen, but it wasn't. Her name is Storme. She's 85. I bet she'd talk to you:• His
and accepts the occasional drink from the young, queer strangers who are
awed by an elder in their midst, a strange sight in a city where there are few
of her generation left. But DeLarverie is not a well,known celebrity, despite
the fact that she's twice made history here. The first time, she made history
as an emcee of the legendary Jewel Box Review at Harlem's Apollo Theater
in the '50s and '60s, where she earned the distinction of being the only female
performer in the nation's first integrated female,impersonation show.
Stonewall veteran I was interviewing-said,
"I know the
implication was obvious: She's not getting any younger. She might finally be
willing to tell her story, before it's too late.
She agreed to a meeting in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel on 23rd Street.
The conversation was awkward at first. I was nervous to the point of shaking
and she clearly wasn't feeling chatty, but eventually we found our groove and
she started to open up.
The second was about 20 blocks south of the Apollo, outside the Stonewall
Born in New Orleans in 1926 to a black mother and a white father, she
Inn when, helping a man who had been shoved to the ground, she defied a
police officer's order to "move on, faggot" and was subsequently clubbed in
began a career as a professional big,band singer in the late '30s, "touring the
the face. The clubbing, by almost all accounts, was the spark that turned the
demonstration outside the Stonewall into what has gone down in history as
the Stonewall Riots. She disappeared amid the craziness of the riot that night
and for 38 years has never identified herself That is, until now.
I learned of the legend of the Stonewall Lesbian in 1997, when I read
Martin Duberman's Stonewall. She is described by witnesses as a woman
dressed in a man's clothes, who was clubbed when she got "lippy" with a cop,
either because her handcuffs were too tight or because the police were try,
ing to move her along. And all who saw her agree that the clubbing was the
catalyst for the riots. Her detractors, whose position is that she was created
to further mythologize the riots, posed the obvious question: If she did exist,
country with my long hair and high heels:' She joined the Jewel Box Review in
the late'40s, where-dressed as a man to serve as the Jewel Box's emcee-she
became one of the nation's earliest known drag kings. It was enough to pique
the interest of Diane Arbus, who took a series of photographs of DeLarverie
and wrote ofher,"[Storme) has consciously experimented [with) her appear,
ance as a man without ever tampering with her nature as a woman:'
It was after a performance at the Apollo in the early morning of June 28,
1969, that DeLarverie made her way downtown to the Stonewall. "I rarely
went to women's bars;' she told me, "but I always stopped by the Stonewall
and others like it. I liked to see if I could help the boys out in any way:'
Dressed "as any man would be'' in her costume from the show, slacks and
jacket lapels, with her short hair slicked down to her head, she happened
upon the bar just as the crowd was starting to gather. She stood across the
street with her back against the gate to Christopher Street Park until she saw
a man on the ground near the bar's entrance. She rushed through the crowd
to the man's side and as she tried to help him up, an officer grabbed her shoul,
der and told her to move along. ''As politely as I could;' she said, "I said, 'Just
a minute, officer, I'm trying to help this man: He then yelled, 'I said, move
along, faggot: I think he thought I was a boy. When I refused, he raised his
nightstick and clubbed me in the face:' It was then that the crowd surged and
started attacking the police with whatever they could find, she said.
I asked my last question hesitantly. "Have you heard of the Stonewall
Lesbian? The woman who was clubbed outside the bar but was never identi,
fied?'' DeLarverie nodded, rubbing her chin in the place where she received 14
stitches after the beating. "Yes;'she said quietly."They were talking about me:•
And then, almost as an afterthought, I asked, "Why did you never come
forward to take credit for what you did?"
She thought for a couple of seconds before she answered, "Because it was
never anybody's business:•
After the riots? DeLarverie remained an activist,a performer and, most telling,
a security guard in New York.She still livesin Chelsea today. ■
Wonder Quin Power continued from page 43
Another Day in Paradise continued from page 38
You guys started playing when you were 15.
Since you've got a series about the pitfalls
want to find characters to fall in love with and
Was there a band or anything you were lis-
of lesbian dating, let me ask you what's the
stories they can relate to, and I'm just so proud
tening to that inspired you to get into music?
biggest dating mistake women make?
There was so much music I was listening to, but
I think it was less the music and it was more
You asked earlier what the mos~ surprising feed-
that I can be one of the people ... who is helping to provide that. It's really a privilege and I
we started going to see shows. I mean not con-
people ask me dating advice now. I did not at
If they cancelled the show tomorrow, would
certs, we were going to see like, punk gigs and
all expect that doing this show would lead to
that, but I get e-mails from people who share
you feel like a success or a failure?
weekend, free-at-the-community-center type
stuff. And I remember when I started going to
back is. . . . It's that because I do this show,
take it very seriously. I know we all do.
A huge success, because decisions like that ...
things and who ask advice. It got to the point
sometimes have nothing to do with the project.
see those punk gigs, I suddenly knew kids who
where other people were noticing it, as well.
were in bands. I was like, well if they can be in
AfterEllen asked me to do this video blog and
ask for people's worst dating stories. Thankfully
Everyone on this project has put their heart
and soul into it ... and has done their abso-
a band, what would be the difference between
me being in a band and them being in a band?
And that was really what inspired me.
And at what point did you decide to go for it
I don't have to answer any questions. I am just
going to read some of them and act them out
with props.
lute best work-from
our actors to our crew
to our network executives, who were really
involved, to me and my fellow [producers].
and make it your job?
How do you know if it's a date or just two
I think we've turned out a really good show.
There's nothing that I can look at and say, "I
I can remember being in grade 12, everybody was
filling out applications for university, and mak-
friends getting together?
would have done this differently:' If we don't
I have no idea.
come back, I'll just know it's about something
ing plans for post-high school, and I just didn't
want to. And I loved music so much. It was
tough the first couple years. I was working a
job and paying rent. Deciding that you're going to make music your career and just being a
musician are two very different things.
What moments in your career have been really exciting? The White Stripes covered you
a while back and I imagine that must have
been great. Were there any other moments
Does any lesbian know the answer to that?
You know, if you can find them, pl~ase let me
know, because I have no idea. It's difficult with
women, isn't it? It's expected that the man will
can you tell from looking at a woman in a
social setting whether she's good in bed?
ask the woman out and they'll go on a date. But
[Laughs]Wow. I don't know.
when you get two women together, who's going to ask who out? And if one of them isn't
You just have to embrace your dating expert
bold and daring and specifies that this is a date,
well then, are we having coffee? Is this a date?
I think you just have to take your clothes off and
see if she responds. If she turns away sort of
Should I be excited? Should I get dressed up?
where you were just like, wow!
Should I shave my legs?
The White Stripes thing was really cool. Even this
record. Stuff that's already happening. There are
Should I shave my legs! Exactly! You don't know.
I've got a friend who is often going out on "I
magazines that wouldn't touch us last time we
don't know if this is a date" dates. We see
put a record out. Magazines that, to me, didn't
her dancing at clubs and we'll whisper in her
make sense. Like, why wouldn't we be able to
ear, It's a date.
get coverage in RollingStone or Spin magazine?
Or Filter?What the fuck do I have to do to get
Yeah, well, you have to be told. It's so uncomfort-
these people to do something on us? And then
all of a sudden it just happens and you're like,
OK, so you want to have coffee? And, by the
way, this is a date. And then you get into a thing
where 20 years later you're still friends.
oh thank God.
else and that will be OK.
One last dating question for the road. How
able. Women don't specify. We don't specify
role now, Michelle.
shyly, or calls the police, then you know she's
just not the one to romp. But if she, too, takes
her clothes off and then drags you into the other room, at least until the police arrive, then you
know you're in for a wild time. ■
Alt to the Alt continued from page 59
menus. Models' gender identities include "mtf
genderqueer;' "femme-tomboy;' "lady dandy;' 'girly
I didn't realize that you had such a strong
Now that you're famous, or semi-famous at
boylike girl;' "fag elf boy"-more interesting than
SuicideGirls' options of "male;' "female'' and the
fan base in Australia.
least, do you have groupies?
vague catch-all "exotic:' Self-defined sexual identi-
Yeah. At the beginning of [the So Jealous tour]
we went over and opened for another band in
Australia. We just were like, OK, let's go over
there and see if we can make something work,
I don't know about groupies. I don't get yelled
at when I go places, except when I hit other
ties of No Fauxxx models are typically some variation of queer: from "queer girlfag" to "pansexual fag"
to "trysexuall:' Political correctness doesn't get in
the way of ultra hot photos, videos and erotic short
and we went over and were surprised at how
many kids knew who we were already. We were
calling our manager at home in Canada and
being like, "No, they do know who we are. We
should be here more often! ... I know we don't
sell any records but they know, they know. The
kids know who we are:' You know, it's not like
we're superstars, but that's not really what our
mandate is anyway. We always make jokes that
we're like the corner store. We're not trying to
be a franchise. We're just trying to be ourselves.
You just know you can come in and get good
service, and good chips or whatever. ■
people's cars. But I do have quite a few people
who comment on the stuff I've been doing with
AfterEllen, or who find my Web site, and a
couple people who comment on my blog regularly. Some of the folks who read my blog, in
particular, have been following this whole journey from before we even shot the pilot. So, you
know, that's kind of fun, that they've gotten to
be along for the process with me.
Queer girl fans are some of the best fans
to have. You get their undying devotion, but
they're not breaking into your house at night.
Everyone that I've met who has seen the show has
been incredibly kind and incredibly respectful.
People really want this kind of content and they
stories, ranging from the solo, pinup type shots to
full-on lesbian sex, complete with dildos and common kitchen appliances.
On the minus side, a year membership costs
over twice as much on No Fauxxx as SuicideGirls.
However, if you flunked freshman English because
you couldn't stop fantasizing about a genderqueer
Tom and Huck getting it on in the woods, or
you've ever wondered what Cindy Wonderful
and Sarah Adorable from queer electro hip-hop
duo Scream Club look like naked and doing each
other, do not fear: The land of Internet porn has a
home for you, too. ■
January/February 2008
I 65
D
CHRISTY ISLER
nity. Mosbacher is not afraid to take on issues such
As an associate professor of perinatology and the
as homophobia in sports and is currently working
residency program director in the Department
on a documentary about the Pennsylvania State
University women's basketball scandal, where
of Obstetrics and Gynecology at East Carolina
University's Brody School of Medicine in
Greenville, N.C., Isler is a busy woman. "I see patients with complications, make prenatal diagnoses and detect birth defects and risks associated
coach Rene Portland
allegedly discriminated
against and intimidated lesbian ballplayers. She is
the daughter of Robert Mosbacher, a Republican,
who was secretary of commerce from 19'89 to
with problem pregnancies:' Like all the doctors on
1992. Father and daughter have both a loving re-
this list, she is well-respected and considered one
of the best out lesbian doctors in the business.
lationship and an ongoing political disagreement.
She's made efforts to reach out to lesbians in other
D
JANE PETRO
Aside from performing cosmetic surgery practice
in Westchester, N.Y., Petro is active in developing
countries, operating on burn victims and children
with cleft palates, an easily repaired genetic condition common in Asia and Central America. "I
spend about four months a year teaching, traveling and doing advocacy work in Ghana, Palestine,
Columbia, Brazil and elsewhere, flying in with
medicine and surgical equipment and operating
political families as well. "I tried to communicate
for five to 10 days in a row;' she says. Petro also
works with survivors of domestic violence at My
with Mary Cheney during the elections but she
didn't respond;' she says. "It's very sad. I think it's
nization Healing the Children Northeast (htcne.
Sister's Place in Westchester and with the orga-
very harmful to be in that type of situation, and
now especially, with a child in the mix, it's going to
be devastating:'
fD SHELLY KOLTON •
II
Women's
org).
She is a co-founder of New York City's Downtown
El PATRICIA ROBERTSON
BETTY DODSON
for One (bettydodson.com) has been a best-seller
for over 20 years. Since the '80s, her personal la-
OB/GYN practice for lesbians. Kolton was an
early advocate for lesbian parenting and is an ex-
bel expanded to include "heterosexual-bisexual-
pert on transvaginal ultrasound. Her practice is
known to respect size issues and has gowns up to
lesbian-SM-leather-dyke-masturbating-queer:'
"Back in the early days of '70s feminism, I was
cy and is a member of the Fetal Treatment Center
at UCSF Children's Hospital. She also made her
always pressured to choose between being straight
or gay. Today, I think the label 'queer' is the most
co
mark in the annals oflesbian health by co-founding
the Lyon-Martin Clinic, a center for lesbian health
>-
research in San Francisco 20 years ago. Robertson
remembers that she was one of only a handful of
inclusive. It seems many younger women truly
enjoy sex with either the same or the opposite
sex;' she says. She points out that terms like "heteroflexible" and "homoflexible" are hopeful signs
women at her medical school. "As a female medi-
of change and acceptance. 'Tm sure a big part
cal student in those days, you were basically seen
as wasting their time or taking up space that could
have been better used for a man:'
of claiming a gay identity is the struggle we go
through with acceptance;' she says.
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NANETTE GARTRELL
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children of lesbians, the longest-running study
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21 years (nllfs.org). Gartrell is also a big name in
lesbian-feminist medical ethics and has examined the issue of maintaining boundaries between
therapists and their patients. Her new book, My
Answer Is No ... If That's Okay with You: How
Women Can Say No and (Still) Feel Good About It,
includes quotes from female celebrities and politicians, CEOs and everyday women.
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(downtownwomenobgyn.
com), the busiest, best-known
A perinatologist at the University of California at
San Francisco, she specializes in high-risk pregnan§i
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OB-GYN
She is a renowned sex educator, whose classic Sex
O'Hanlan's personal motto is "Homophobia is a
health hazard:' The past president of the Gay and
Lesbian Medical Association says, "The stigma
and discrimination around lesbians and trans
people harms us psychologically and physically; it
leads us to have more risk factors, such as stress,
and best-loved
size 4 X. Her patient questionnaires are probing
but neutral and nonjudgmental on sexual activity,
sexuality, gender, size and other concerns of lesbians and trans people. "I learned a lot about sensitivity to size issues from Dr. Beth Shimlock, a
former senior doctor here who was herself a large
woman;' says Kolton. She is also a go-to gal for the
treatment of menopause, using both Western and
alternative therapies.
EJMARION
KAVANAUGH-LYNCH
She volunteers as president of the Lesbian Health
Fund, which grants seed money to researchers and
practitioners for investigations into cancer and
medical issues related to lesbians. KavanaughLynch's day job is director of the California Breast
Cancer Program. "My core belief in my medical
practice is that it is essential to involve key constituents in medicine and medical care, i.e., activists
an increase in obesity, higher rates of smoking and
alcoholism:'
O'Hanlan is a gynecological oncologist in
who know how to get results, along with healthcare providers and the patients themselves:'
Southern California whose work with FTMs
in general and with total laparoscopic hysterec-
IJiJSUSAN LOVE
tomy in particular is politically and medically
groundbreaking. "Since FTMs are refused care on
a regular basis, they come to us from all over to
She is, hands-down, the most famous breast cancer
have proper hysterectomies;' she says. A group of
FTMs was even able to negotiate a deal with her
hospital to quote the costs ahead of time, so she
Los Angeles. The best prescription for any lesbian
is to read Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book and Dr.
and hormone researcher around and the founder
of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation in
only charges the standard fee she gets from insur-
Susan Love's Hormone Book, if you haven't done so
already. Both are standard references on the top-
ance companies.
ics, so get them-for
your health. ■
January/February 2008
I 67
Reviews Sapphic Screen
Cable's Guilty Pleasures
Delightfully,bombasticallynaughtyTV is here. I By CandaceMoore
IllegalAliens
(Edgewood):
Thingsget
blownup in this movie.
Many,manythings.
AndAnnaNicoleSmith
turnsintoa helicopter.
Andthat'sevenbeforea
mind-control
suppositoryturnsherintothe
powersupplyfor a machinethatthe badguy(a
womannamedRexwith
boobsevenbiggerthan
AnnaNicole's,playedby
ChynaDoll)usesto turn
the moonintoa megaasteroidona collision
coursewith Earth.
Thisfilm,whichSmith
produced,
is alsoher
last.Somecriticscalled
the posthumously
releasedflick a metaphor
Thoroughly"bad"TV is a naughty, guilty pleasure and one that
for herlife,andif that
is made more irresistibly watchable lately by the folks at here!
meanscampy,mindless,
TV.
If you haven't DVR'd these queer shows, you need to host
blow-the-suppositorya
DVD
party to enjoy some of this fare. It's simply too good
out-of-your-behind
fun,
thentheyarecertainly and "bad" to miss.
right.It's hardto decide
whetherIllegalAliens Dante's Cove, Season Three (here!): For those uniniti,
is purenonsense
or ated (or nonaspirant) to the bizarre world that occupies this
a pieceof comedic fictional inlet (somewhere in magical/ geographical relation to
genius.Forthefirst Laguna Beach), how can mere words describe the witch blasts,
time,it madememourn oiled chests, Twin Peaks,esque musical underscores, sudden
the lossof AnnaNicole
queerific sex and deliciously wooden (or hyper,melodramatic)
andthe kindof artistic
line deliveries? Perhaps the producers of Dante's Cove have ere,
energysheembodied.
ated a whole new homo genre or form of beyond,the,Sontag
(edgewoodstudios.com)
- UrsulaSteck camp: a soft,core/ soap opera/ fantasy /horror melange. We
68 I curve
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You might catch a glimpse this third season of beautiful and
out actress Jill Bennett as a post,typhoon bush,, tree, and
people,eating monster, but who really knows what comes of
that? Tune in to find out who's on the giving and receiving end
at Dante's Cove. It's worth renting the back episodes, not in any
kind of "quality;' or spiritual, sense, but because John Waters
would likely also eat popcorn and believe. (heretv.com)
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Lesbian Sex and Sexuality (here!): Director Katherine
Linton's six,part documentary miniseries on dyke sex and
sexual expression goes behind the scenes of the lesbian erotic
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film industry and between the sheets of queer women and bois
who configure their love and sex in a variety of ways: embod,
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BDSM practices and more. While not comprehensive, the se,
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could call it campsoapfanhorror or something unintelligible
like that. But unintelligibility is Dante's Cove's strong suit,
along with butt shots, and most recently, more tattoo,reveal,
ing, bump,and,grind, strokey,strokey, kissy,kissy hott! (with
ries makes a dent in a subject sorely in need of further filmic
(and personal) exploration. Framed by informative, contex,
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tualizing interviews with lesbian sexpert Diana Cage (former
editor of On Our Backs), Lesbian Sex and Sexuality takes a lo,
~
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two t's and an exclamation point) lesbian sex between Michelle
Wolff and Dante's Cove newbie Jenny Shimizu (yes, the for,
mer CK model). Jensen Atwood (Noah's Arc) also appears as a
T res um Council member who knows a load about sex magic.
calized approach, visiting two or three groups of interviewees,
who are in their element for each specific topic. Audiences get
to know each episode's subjects and their takes on fucking and
filming fucking intimately; however, as if contemporary TV
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KillHouse(Fabulocity):
To
callthis queerishmoviesimply
campywouldbean understatement.A bunchof realestate
agentsarepickedoff oneby
oneby a serialkillerin a "tale
of bloodlust,rivalryandgreed."
Thefocusis on oneLosAngeles
familytryingto selltheir house.
Thefolkstakeoff whilethe
angstyteenagebrothersmokes
too muchpot,hissistergets
nakedtoo muchandtheirexconcaretakerbroodsa lot.A femalerealestateagentis stuck
in the middleof it all.While
therewereplentyof opportunitiesto makethis as ridiculously
violentas possible,the movie
wassurprisingly
tameaside
fromthe brutalopeningscene.
Withhilariousacting,campyaction sequences
anda debatable
plot,Kill Houseofferedgreat
laughs.(killhousemovie.com)
- KatiePeoples
turbulenceandcrash-lands
intoa worldinhabitedby giant
spiders,giantcatsand,of
course,giantpeople.Booming
orchestralmusicaccompanies
the hodgepodge
castof charactersontheirquestfor freedom
fromthe planet.BeforeCGI,
beforegreenscreensandbefore peopleknewhowto write,
this showapparently
garnered
legionsof gen-Xlesbianfans
overthe courseof two seasons.
Thespecialeffectsarewell,
just that.Special.Theladiesare
buxomandbrassy.Complete
with anorphanchildandhis
dog,anda "military"badguy
whostuttersandsweatsa lot,
scenesof closegetawaysinterminglewith quotableone-liners.
Landof theGiantsis perfectin
the placeof background
music
at a disco-themed
cocktail
party.Theimpossiblypointy
spaceboobsaredistracting
enoughto keepanyonewatching.DeannaLudd,GaryConway
andDonMarshallarea few of
the luckyactorswhopranced
aroundthescreenfor ourviewingenjoyment.
(foxstore.com)
- JennaV.Loceff
on hiswild ridesthroughthe
city chasinghisownheart.
(godspeedfilm.
com)
- UrsulaSteck
RickandSteve(Logo):Logo
Network'sanimatedshowRick
andSteve,theHappiestGay
Couplein All the Worldfollows
the life andadventures
of a
groupof gayfriendsthrough
WestLahungaBeach.Theseriesstarscutiesmart-boyRick
andhisgym-rathusbandSteve
asthe mostlyhappygaycouple.
Rick'sbestfriendis Kirstin
andsheandherbutchwife
Danaaretryingto havea baby.
Thatis whereRickandSteve's
cupof "axlegrease"comes
in handy.Partcomedy,part
musical,partabsurdiststopmotionadventure,
the zany
shenanigans
just don'tstop.
FromRickandSteve'sforays
intothe worldof threesomes,
to
Kirstin'slate-nightventureinto
a truck-stopbathroomin search
of "liquidgold"to put in her
turkeybaster,the showdoes
notdisappoint.
Othercharacters(andcharacters
theyare)
includeChuck,the 50-year-old,
Godspeed
(Altcinema):
A
HIV-positive,
wheelchair-using
movieasfast,hardandpoetic
boyfriendof Evan,the 19asthe greatpunksongsthat
.
runthroughit. LynnBreedlove, year-old,pill-poppingpothead
VoicedbyAlanCumming,
Will
a SanFrancisco
LGBTscene
Matthews,
WilsonCruzand
favorite,wrote,directedand
EmilyBrookeHands.
playedthe protagonist,
a bike
- JVL
messenger
addictedto speedin (logoonline.com)
Landof theGiants(Fox):In
this 1968cheesy-as-all-get-out the varioussensesof the word.
ThecamerafollowsJim,whose )) Wantto seemoreRickandSteve?
sci-ti/suspense
TVshow,an
Goto curvemag.com
formernamewasElizabeth,
airplane-spacecraft
hitssolar
!-I
I
J' \ ~ , r
1 1 .'
!, I
1
www.judeaeden.com
Find someone
you click with on
pinksofa.com
1 week free trial
Just enter the promo code
CUrve11
when you join
~sofa.com
connecting lesbians
January/February
2008
I69
Q+A
Guinevere Turner
documentary is starting, in reverse formation, to
emulate reality-show aesthetics, we do see that
fast-and-loose look played out here. Definitely
Screenwriter Guinevere Turner has won awards for
worth catching on the here! Network or on DVD,
the series features interviews with important art-
The Notorious Bettie Page and worked on mainstream
ists and auteurs of lesbian sex, including Shar
films like American Psycho and BloodRayne. We got
Rednour, Jackie Strano, Nan Kinney, Debbie
Sundahl,· Tristan Taormino, Shine Houston,
the skinny on her new projects. -
Sara Schieron
You've worked with many of the same people repeatedly, like Mary Harron, Christine
Vachon and Rose Troche. Can you tell me
about the bonds you have?
Obviously, my bond with Rose was what got
Mistress Leda and Phyllis Christopher, among
others. (heretv.com)
The Lair, season one {here!): If the Lost
Boys were muscle queens who lured their bait to
me
an exclusive sex club to service them with vampiric
into Go Fish and that was the way I met Christine,
mouths and fangs, Thom (David Moretti) would
be the Corey Haim character on their trail of per-
and through Christine I met Mary. I'm lucky
enough now, in L.A., to have a large support sys-
forated, naked John Does: fairly clueless, curious
and cute. The thing is, Thom, whose flash-forward
tem of women filmmakers. We all work on each
other's films and read each other's scripts, so there's
jump-starts The Lair's first season-a
even more relationships developing.
taped from behind bars, where he awaits sure
I was surprised a bigger rumor wasn't
started after Kristanna Loken, the star of
BloodRayne-a film you wrote-came out
as bi after the film wrapped.
doom-is an adult journalist after a scoop, not a
pre-teen Bop model. Handed all his clues about
monologue
the bathhouse blood- ('n cock-) suckers by supporting characters, he succeeds best at lathering
Did you expect a bigger rumor because she was
himself at home in elongated shower scenes. But
gay?
when his boyfriend Jonathan falls into head vamp
Damien's clutches, Thom finally gets his clothes
She came out after working on a picture you
wrote and maybe you two ...
God, I wish! You're always invited to go but I hate being on sets as a writer. I just hate being on
sets if I don't have anything to do. I should have been on that set. Romania sounded lonely to
me, only now I realize I could have been making out with Kristanna Loken. At the time I didn't
know about her "gayness:'
Is bringing fringe issues into the mainstream a goal of your work?
on (well, temporarily). Birthday-suited soft core
that might've made a befanged Kiefer Sutherland
blush is this show's bread and butter. Luckily,
there are enough Dante's Cove-style interludes in
this gay horror-soap to play out master-servant
It's not only what I'm drawn to but also what is drawn to me. American Psycho wasn't my idea. It was
a book, and then Mary Harron brought it to me and said, "Do you want to write this together?"
scenarios and provide scenes aplenty of BJs, rimming and leather-clad, wrestling, full-boy orgies.
There's certainly enough cheesy fantasy fodder, as
The same thing happened with Bettie Page. Someone brought it to us. What interests me is the
stuff in the margins, and all the different ways that those things manifest themselves: as gay or
well as cheeky laugh fodder, here to go around.
(heretv.com) ■
serial killers or as bondage queens. The Bettie Pag~ thing is special to me. The thing that really
underlies that is feminism and I know that's sort of antiquated and old school but really, how
) For Dante'sCoveinterviews,visit curvemag.com.
people fetishize her, the iconic look of her, and who she was are such different things. What she
did-all the bondage stuff and nude posing-and what she was-a religious and kind of proper
girl-and how she reconciled those two things, that's what fascinated me about (her].
You've directed three shorts. Tell me about your plans for the fourth.
With the fourth short that I am making, I tried to challenge mysel£ So the next film I'm doing [One
Week Later] there's one actor and she's dead and the only dialogue is the messages people are leaving her as she lies dead in her apartment. So it's one location, one actor ... to show all the ways that
life is going on around her, because you realize she died ... suddenly and in the middle of her life.
What's the down low on POWER UP? Have you been involved with them for long?
l?
They've helped me out with my films. They helped me get insurance when I did one of my shorts
and they're part of the whole L.A., indie film, lesbian community that I'm a part 0£
t:::.
Their first film is in theaters, /tty Bitty 1itty Committe.
w
I haven't seen it yet, but ... I feel like we need a fresh, spunky little dyke movie. It's been a while.
:5
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) For morefrom Guinand /tty Bitty visit curvemag.com.
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70
Icurve
In the Stacks
Reviews
Adoption and Adaptation
Two very different tales of assimilation. I By Rachel Pepper
These authors use different methods to immerse the reader
in issues of identity-either
by exploring a personal adoptive
journey to sel£ or by finding an identity in an adoptive coun,
try-but
both will satisfy readers with savvy prose and (mostly)
happy endings.
The Mistress's Daughter: A Memoir, A.M. Homes
(Viking): With this memoir, A.M. Homes has taken on the
most challenging of all her stories: her own. Since 1990, Homes
has made a career for her,
wonderful addition to the genre of the adoption narrative, and
while we are never told why her birth father was so reluctant to
give her the (positive) results of his DNA test, we do appreciate
that she has found some measure of peace through the birth of
her own biological daughter. "Most important;' writes Homes,
"now I am Juliet's mother, and that brings with it a singularity
of love and fear that I have never known before, and for thatand she is truly a blend of all four family lines- I thank all my
mothers and fathers, for she is my greatest gift:'
self as a fearless and bril,
The Teahouse Fire, Ellis Avery (Riverhead Books)
liant
In 2006, The Teahouse Fire won Avery a Lambda Literary
Award for Lesbian Debut Fiction, and rightly so. A scholar
writer.
Her
novels
include Music for Torching,
In a Country of Mothers and
This Book Will Save Your
Life. Her most controversial
novel, The End of Alice, is
of the Japanese tea ceremony, Avery imparts her knowledge of
Japanese history and culture
in a subtly told lesbian novel
unlike any other. If you
have ever wondered what
it would be like to fully im,
about a convicted child mo,
lester and murderer. When
merse yourself in a different
culture, to adapt, to learn
she was still a teenager, she
wrote Jack, a novel about a
the language, and yet to still
boy whose father is gay. She
has also been a writer and a
be considered a foreigner,
you will appreciate The
Teahouse Fire. The narra,
producer for The L Word,
and has enjoyed a long collaboration with Rose Troche, who is
now The L Word's co,executive producer. Troche has directed
tor is Aurelia, an orphaned
American girl who is 9 years
a film adaptation of Homes' short story collection The Safety of
Objects,and has optioned several of her novels.
old when she sails to Japan
with her uncle, a mission,
Perhaps because Homes is now the mother of a young
daughter, to whom this memoir is dedicated, she was eventually
compelled to tell her own story. Born to a young woman having
an affair with a much older married man, Homes was adopted at
birth, while her adoptive parents were still mourning the death
of their 9,year,old son. Homes says that for the most part she
was happy growing up; hers was a supportive, intellectual family.
As an adult, Homes located and met her birth mother, Ellen (a
disturbed and possibly criminal loner), and her biological father,
Norman (a married, cagey, former football player). As Homes
tries to deal with the emotional fallout from reconnecting with
her biological parents, she also charts her extensive genealogi,
cal search for distant biological and nonbiological relatives.
Because Homes is such an experienced writer, parts of
this memoir are incredibly moving and well,written, but oth,
ers, like the genealogical section, are less absorbing. Most in,
triguing are the various ways in which Homes finds herself
linked to her biological kin: Her birth mother keeps wadded,
up cash in her pants pockets, just as Homes has always done;
one look at her biological father reveals to her that she has
inherited the shape of his ass; even the doomed ongoing attrac,
tion between her birth parents seems significant. This book is a
ary, in 1865. He soon dies in a fire, and she is adopted by the
Shin family, who runs a school in Kyoto that teaches the ancient
ritual of the tea ceremony. She is renamed Urako and made a
servant to the Shins' daughter, Yukako. As Aurelia grows up, she
struggles with how to assimilate yet still find her own identity
in a foreign land. At the same time, the huge changes in Japan's
political, economic and social structure mean that Yukako and
her family face their own intriguing fates. Captured in elegant,
detailed prose, the art of the tea ceremony is what threatens to
destroy, then ultimately saves, the family. It is also what gives
INTERN'S
PICK
Paradoxia,
Lydia
Lunch (Akashic
Books):LydiaLunchis
rawandraunchyin her
newbook.Shetakes
usthroughthedark
placesin hermindand
chronicles
herearlylife
in NewYorkCity,New
Orleans
andLondon.
It is a survivor'stale:
sheis a victimof incest
andabusewhoturned
it aroundandbecame
anabuser.Hergraphic
descriptions
of sexual
conquests,
drug-addled
nightmares
andsex
for paywill leave
thereaderat once
disturbed,
turnedon
andelated.Lunchis a
predatorwhodoesn't
seemto carewhoor
whensheattacks.This
is a peekintothe lifeof
a womanwhobreaks
all the rules.(akashicbooks.com)
- Jenna
V.Loceff
) Readourexclusive
interview
withLydiaLunch
at curvemag.com.
Urako her freedom, many years later. While for some readers
the story may unfold too slowly, those who appreciate the in,
tricacies of life in 19th,century Japan will embrace it. This is
a literary novel to take one's time with-to savor. Eventually,
as the novel draws to a close in 1891, Urako is able to shed the
constraints of her life and journey back to New York City, where
she finds that the city of her childhood has grown up without
her. Having always held out hope for her own happiness, she
sends for Inko, a woman she loved briefly in Japan. We don't get
to see much of their life together, but we do know that Aurelia
has finally come home at last. ■
January/February 2008
I
71
Q+A
Ruth Perkinson
PAGE TURNERS
A conservative Republican
woman in the South who
is "in love with her own
repression" is not someone you would want to
date. However, after you
get over that initial concept, Ruth Perkinson's first
book, Veras Still Point, will
take you on one woman's
path to find what has been
missing in her life-love,
and maybe a little sex.
Perkinson, a Democrat, a
former teacher and now a
bona fide author, is busy these days weaving more tales and setting the record straight about Southern Republicans. -
Colleen
M.Lee
What was the inspiration for Vera's Still Point?
The inspiration came from a myriad of people and experiences and from my own repressed, provincial battle with
self-esteem.
Are there many Vera Currans in the South? Is it possible
to be gay and a Republican?
There are Vera Currans everywhere. She's a universal character
showing up in your neighborhood, anyone's neighborhood,
really. What I mean by that is that she is gay and she's smart
and she's well-read and she's funny. The problem is, though,
she doesn't know she's alive. She doesn't think anyone sees
her. [And] there are gay Republicans everywhere. They give
the rest of us good contrast.
Can teachers, educators and librarians who are not out
be truly happy and good at their jobs?
Anytime you silence who you are on any level, you c~t be the
complete worker, the complete friend or for that matter, a
complete person. So, if [someone is] struggling with issues
of silence, whether it is internally or externally motivated,
then no one is happy in his or her profession. It's a long and
BellaAbzug,Suzanne
MarinLevineandMary
Thom(Farrar,Straus
andGiroux):BellaAbzug
readslikea conversation amongcronies,the
dialogueculledfromvariousinterviewswithAbzug
andherfamily,friends,
colleagues
andteachers.
This"oralhistory"style
givesthe readera unique
insightintothe life of an
iconicfeministwhois
seeminglyas well-known
for herincrediblehats
as herpassionate
and
progressive
politics.The
bookmovesat an engagingclip,notstagnatingin
detailedchronology,
like
manyotherbiographies.
Notthat it isn't chronological-it is, andthere's
a castof charactersanda
timelineat the beginning
of eachchapterto help
youkeepeverythingclear.
Overall,the bookcreatesa
lovingandostensiblyhonestandcompleteportrait
of a powerful,fascinating
andfarsightedwoman.
(fsgbooks.com)-Lina
Swislocki
lonely road and sometimes gay people themselves are their
own worst enemies.
Like Vera, have you ever forgotten why or that you
haven't had sex in years?
That's a tough one. Sex. Sex. Sex. Always on the mind. Like
Vera, there are times in my life when I've been on quite the
dry spell ... but I like to think that it is in those times that our
imaginations set us free to explore the possibilities that loom
in our heads over a casual cup of coffee with a new friend or
in the furtive glance of a good-looking girl hanging out in the
same aisle ~ith you in the bookstore. Those possibilities are
intoxicating and arousing for me. ■
72lcurve
Second
Season,
AliVali
(BoldStrokes):
Tully
GastonBadeaux's
partner
is cheatingon her.And
in theirownbedroom,no
less!WhenTullycomes
homefromworkearly
anddiscoversthetryst,a
rip-roaringfistfightwith
the homewrecker
ensues.
Tully'slife andthe livesof
hertwo school-age
childrenchangedrastically
afterward,butthe breakup
is onlythe beginning.
Thebooktakesplace
in NewOrleans,
during
the summerpreceding
KatrinaandRita,andVali,
a NewOrleansnative,
flawlesslyweavesin the
hurricanes'impact.Unlike
yourstandardromance,
SecondSeasonprominantlyfeatureschildren
in its plot.Vali'ssmooth
Southernstyleandcolorful
descriptions
of the locale
fill outthis livelyromance.
(boldstrokesbooks.
com)
- Kathilsserman
morethana pinchof sci-fi
andimaginesSuperman
andCaptainMarvelas
versionsof the Messiah,
Batmanasthe Jewish
Golem,andLexLuthoras
the wizard-likeEgyptian
godThoth.-Mea Chavez
TheBestof theBest
American
Erotica2008
(Ed.SusieBright):Not
sinceAna'isNin'sDelta
of Venushasa book
hadthis combination
of
eroticvisionandmental
masturbation.
SusieBright
bringsoutthe creme-dela-cremein celebration
of the 15thanniversary
editionof the Bestof the
BestAmericanErotica.
Complex
characters,
bold
scenariosandsteamy
rendezvous
makethis
anthologymorethanjust
a bedsideshortcutto foreplay.Fuelis addedto the
OurGodsWearSpandex, fire by includingauthor
writtenbyChristopher interviewsandinsight
intowhatinspiredthese
Knowles,
illustratedby
MichaelLinsner(Wieser hoterotictales.Thereis
Books):WonderWoman, something
for everyone
a pagangoddess?
In
onthesepage-turnmind
OurGodsWearSpandex, ing,pulse-raising
Christopher
Knowlescon- orgasmsBrighthasso
eloquently
compiled.This
nectsthe dotsbetween
ancientmythology
and
is a bookyoursweetie
won't mindyoutaking
comicbookheroes.
Mostlyinventedby men,
to bedandevenreading
thefemalecomicheroes
aloudfrom.Orbetteryet,
actingout.Keepthis book
we claimas iconsof
feminismandgirl power
withinreachof the sheets
aretruly modern-day
becausefor anyone
goddesses:
Diana,Athena whogetsoff on cerebral
andAphroditeall rolled
stimulationas muchas
eroticfantasy,it is sureto
intoone.Knowlesmixes
makeyoubegfor more.
ancientmythologies
and
- ColleenMccaffrey
Christiantheologywith
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Music Watch
Reviews
Super Sultry Sounds
Solo sirens who separate themselves from the pack. I By Margaret Coble
When it comes to sexy music, opinions vary widely. Some people
like hard,driving house music. Others prefer sensual, vocal jazz.
Or maybe a sweet,talking singer,songwriter crooning straight
from the heart. Me, well, my tastes are kind of eclectic-I can
find the romance in all kinds of sounds. Sometimes it's in the
voice. Sometimes it's the style of the music or the instrumentsor the lyrics. Often, I find it's in some unexplainable uniqueness,
something that sets a singer and her music apart from the pack.
This month, Krystle Warren, Heidi Mortenson, Kristen Gass
and Sia Furler have seduced my ears. Maybe they'll turn you
on, too.
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Diary, Krystle Warren and the Faculty (Velour): With
phrasing that reminds me of India.Arie, but with a much deep,
er, smokier voice that sits somewhere between Nina Simone and
Erykah Badu-particularly on this six,song EP's pop,friendly,
lead,off track, ''I've Seen Days"-Krystle Warren totally does it
for me. The Kansas City, Mo.,,bred singer,songwriter uniquely
melds jazz and folk in a way that's taken New York City by
storm: Mark my words, she's going to be huge. This debut EP
is just a teaser to get us going while Warren and her band, the
Faculty, finish their full,length album, entitled Circles,to be re,
leased later this year. In the meantime, these six songs (plus a
few more on her MySpace page) will have to do. From the lan,
guorous bass lines of the slow,burning, jazzy bump,n,grinder
"The New Astrologer" to the funkier tropicalia interludes of the
more up,tempo ''A Song for Holly;' the EP showcases Warren's
diverse skills and instantly memorable vocals. Do yourself a
favor and search YouTube for her videos-she's a hottie, too.
(krystlewarren.com)
Band of Silhouettes, Kristen Gass (Brutal Harmony):
This stunning six,song debut EP from the out,queer Juilliard
School theater major will probably get labeled by critics as ex,
perimental folk,rock, but don't let that scare you-this is primo
mood music. The Brooklyn transplant's unconventional ap,
proach, which she deems "freak folk;' results in haunting melodies
and lyricism, and showcases extraordinary musicianship, ranging
from the poignant instrumental guitar piece "Ode (for James);'
which opens the set, to the dramatic "Dog Days;' which sounds
like some of Ani DiFranco's darker, more intense fare. The
DiFranco comparison continues with "Colorado;' which reminds
me of "Millennium Theater;' with its sparse guitars and mostly
whispered vocals. The rest of the EP continues in much the same
vein, but, hey, if it works, why not? I look forward to hearing more
from this up,and,coming performer. (kristengass.com)
DirtyBeauty,Steph
HayesandtheGood
Problems
(Permanent
Records):
StephHayes,
formerlyof Stargazer
Lily,hasspenthercareerwritingsongswith
industryhit-makers.
Thisalbum,however,
is notpopfluff.These
arethesongs,Hayes
says,thatshethought
weretoofolksyfor
herpreviousproject.
TheGoodProblems
deliveranamazing
albuminfluencedby
Depression-era
folk
and'60sprotestsongs.
Youcandefinitelyhear
it whenthis sevenpiece,lesbian-fronted,
Philadelphia-based
band,includinga string
duet;playsthe heck
outof outlawcountryrocksongslikethe
foot-stomping
"Sorry
Seattle,She'sMine"
and"Makin'a Livin'."
(good
problems.
com)
- KatiePeoples
Don't LonelyMe, Heidi Mortenson (Wired): Experimental
electro,pop/ punk might not sound sexy to some, but there's some,
thing about Heidi Mortenson's sultry voice that pulls me in past
January/February 2008
I 73
Q+A
Allison Miller
Drummer Allison Miller's career has been punctuated by the crash of the cymbal and sizzle of
the snare. From idolizing the work of Terri Lyne Carrington on the Arsenio Hall Show to banging
on toms for Ani Difranco, there's no doubt that she's got the beat and is all about sharing it with
the next generation of hard-hitting girls (and her girlfriend, crooner Erin McKeown). - Melany
Walters-Beck
Your latest gig had you sharing the stage with Ani DiFranco. What's it like working with
such a cultural icon of the feminist community?
She is able to speak in a way that touches a lot of people's hearts. The older I get, the more I'm
involved in activism and feminism, and doing a gig where those two are combined is heaven.
Being a woman today, you're naturally a feminist. For someone to say they're not a feminist is
just asinine to me. Having an opportunity to do what we do means taking the responsibility to
pass on our knowledge.
Of all the projects you've done, which one best represents what you do musically?
Two albums that best showed my musicality would be Erin McKeown's Sing You Sinners, her take
on jazz standards that came out last year, and Shakers n' Bakers' [self-titled release]. That band
really displays what I do.
How difficult is it to balance the desire to do your own art versus the opportunity to
work with other talented people?
The biggest challenge is time. Fortunately, I get a lot of calls to work in other people's bands, but sometimes it takes away from being able to do my own music. I have two jazz records out. One recorded in New York City, one in my father's studio in Maryland. I also have a new band that I started
with Erin called emma and we'll probably tour next year. It's at myspace.com/weareemma.
You're currently splitting time between touring with Erin McKeown and Ani DiFranco.
What unique challenges does that pose?
Right now, I'm primarily working with Ani. Of course, I always love touring with Erin, but sometimes the touring schedules conflict.
You do spend a lot of time on the road. What are some must-have tour bus items?
My running shoes, the New York Times crossword puzzle, tube socks and really good espresso. ■
74
Icurve
the blips and bleeps. It helps that the topic of much
of this sophomore album from the occasionally
mustachioed, Berlin-based DJ and Danish Music
Academy student is sex and relationships-with
girls. The opening "Tiger" -peppered
with
growls, meows, cowbells and even a trumpeting elephant-is a tale of seduction and longing
that floats along over a bossa nova drum machine
rhythm. It might not sound compelling, but one
listen to Mortenson's come-hither vocals and
you can literally feel her desire. "Girl Since I Met
You" is a sweet but occasionally dirty, nerdy crush
song, which blips along over an electro beat that
brings to mind the dyke electro-pop duo Scream
Club (with whom Mortenson collaborates occasionally). Some cuts are a little harder and more
experimental (e.g., "Coincidence"), but in general,
it's a very listenable and danceable album that fans
of Lesbians On Ecstasy and Chicks On Speed will
appreciate. (nosnetrom.net)
Some People Have Real Problems, Sia
(Monkey Puzzle}: The Australian-born, Los
Angeles-based singer Sia Furler ought to be up
in the pantheon of contemporary white-girl soul
singers like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, but
she's not quite there yet. Though she has garnered
widespread acclaim for her work with the UK.
trip hoppers Zero 7, and her striking hit "Breathe
Me;' which played over the closing segment of
the Six Feet Under series finale, none of her previous albums have gotten the promotion they've
deserved. So here's hoping this latest 13-cut disc,
which runs the gamut of down-tempo and uptempo soulful pop, propels her to new heights.
Already, the quirky video for the hidden bonus
cut "Buttons" has become a viral sensation via
YouTube, and several cuts-including the mellow
lead-off track, "Little Black Sandals;' and the more
up-tempo, old-school R&B-flavored "The Girl You
Lost to Cocaine'' -sound like radio hits to me.
Personal picks include the Tori Amos-like jazzy
piano shuffler "Lentil" and the witty word-playing
'J\.cademia;' as well as her spot-on, aching cover of
the Pretenders' "I Go to Sleep:' Really, every song
here deserves lengthy praise, but I'm out of room.
Just get it. (siamusic.net) ■
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OTHER LICKS
Yoga Grooves
Dreamy New Age albums that will get you in
the mood for a little Downward-Facing Dog.
I JustLoveGirls,Sugarbeach
(selfreleased):
Conquering
theairwaves
andthedanceflooris thegoalof this
lesbiandance-pop
duo(andcouple)
basedinVancouver,
B.C.,whooffer
uptheirridiculously
catchy"I Just
LoveGirls,"alongwiththreeother
beat-friendly
cutsonthisdebutEP.
(sugarbeachmusic.
com)
TheRumorMill,AngieHeaton
andtheGentleTamers(Spur):
Americana,
alt-country,
rootsfolk-Illinois nativeHeatoncoversit
all skillfully,andwithanever-present
twang.Up-tempo
cutsliketherolling
"Train,"gospel-inflected
"GodShaped
Hole"andtheopeningtitletrackdoit
the mostfor me.(angieheaton.com)
Breakfast
ontheMorningTram,
StaceyKent(BlueNote):Americanborn,internationally
acclaimed
jazz
vocalistKentservesupa smattering
of Frenchchansons,
Brazilian
sambas,
<(
popularstandards
andbrand-new
0
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originalsonthissumptuous
12-track
C.
~
disc,alwaysshowcasing
herdistinct,
()
FunkThis,ChakaKhan(Burgundy/ emotivevoice.(staceykent.com)
~ Columbia):
Fromtheopening"Back
~
~
in the Day"to theclosing"SuperLife,"
:::,
CD
the divais back.Thisis oneof the
u3
N
funkiestrecordsI'veheardin years!
a:
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Covering
materialbyJoniMitchell,
<I'.
¢
PrinceandJimiHendrix,
collaborating
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with MaryJ. Blige,MichaelMcDonald
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andoriginalRufusbandmate
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Tony
Maiden,plusofferingseveral
0
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originals,Khanworkswith producers
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JimmyJamandTerryLewisfor a real
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TheBlack& WhiteAlbum,lmani
Coppola
(Ipecac):Thebiracial
iconoclast
pushesall boundaries
with
this latest14-cutdiscthat rangesin
stylefromthescreaming
punk"Woke
UpWhite,"to thebitingballad"Black
& WhiteJingle,"to the rap-laced,
distortion-heavy
rock"30thBirthday,"
withanabundance
of radio-friendly,
roots-based
rocklike"Springtime."
(imanicoppola.
net)
IsleOf,JennyHoyston
(Southern):
EraseErrata'sout-queer
frontwoman
offersa debutsoloeffortin herown
name(she'spreviously
recorded
solo
as"Paradise
Island")that'sfilledwith
sparse,lo-fi indiepunkrock,electropopandfolk,all withanexperimental
edge.(myspace.
com/jennyhoyston)
Cinematic:
Classic
FilmMusic
Remixed,
Various
Artists(Six
Degrees):
Classicfilm scores+
someof theworld'smostinnovative
remixer-producers
= anamazing
auraljourney.If youlikesoundtracks,
you'vegottahavethisone.(sixdegreesrecords.com)
- Margaret
Coble
Sure,youhateNewAgemusic-or soyoutell yourfriendsuntil
you'reat thespaw0ndering
howto pocketthatCDthat gotyouso in
themoodfor a littleafternoon
delight.Don'tworry,dear.Herearea
few CDsthat'll getyouin thegroovefor yoga,meditation
or anything
elserequiringa bit of zen.- DAM
YogaOne,multipleartists(Quango):
A mood-enhancing
soundtrack
wherethe linernotesaregraphicsof yogaposesand
themusicis a compilation
of ambientsounds,instruments,
nature,
harmonyandelectronicmelody.(yogaonesandiego.com)
DreamsBeyond
theTwilight,
DanielKobialka(Li-Sem):Likea
musicalpalette,Dreamsis a colorfultrip of verylonginstrumental
poemsthatseemto magicallylowermybloodpressure.
Bonus:
Several
femalemusicians,
suchastheflutistWendyAdaire,round
outthesound.(danielkobialka.com)
SacredCircles:In the Company
of Monks{Nandana):
The duo
behindSacredCirclesjoins a handfulof monksand singerLorena
Robertsto re-envisionthesebeautifullyevocativeBuddhistverses.
Thesechantswereinvokedto helpfind peaceaftera deathandeven
the mostsecularamongyouwill find it as well. (sacredcirclesmusic.
com)
SacredCircles:
Journeyto theDivine(Nandana):
Usingharmonic
balancing,
this healingmusicalbumcreatesa soothingenvironment
for meditation,
yogaandmassage.
Regular
listeninghasa cumulative
effectand helpswith sleepdisorders,
anxietyand more.Thealbum
debutedon NewAgeradioat No.2 andwasontheTop10 chartsfor
threeconsecutive
months.It wasa BestRelaxation/Meditation
Award
nominee
andit contains
thepowerful"GayatriMantra"and"Prayerfor
Peace."(sacredcirclesmusic.com)
■
January/February 2008
I 75
Reviews
I Tried It
My Inner Stripper
One qu~er girl discovers that pole dancing is as hot as it looks. I By Catherine Plato
I've always beeri ~ big fan of strip clubs; the combo of topA0 remixes, the
ubiquitous scent of vanilla body spray and the small army of half-naked, long-
infomercial-esque plug for the longer series. I left, amused and inspired but
legged stilettoed college girls brings me helplessly to my knees every time. But
My search for satisfaction brought me to Catherine Rose, a retired, eight-
you know what I've always found really, really cool about blowing a week's salary on impossibly hot women pretending
year veteran stripper, a teacher since 2000 and the founder of erotic dance
institution Slinky Productions. "I am one of
to like me? Badass pole dancing. A perverse
the pioneers teaching this movement;' she told
spin on the art of jungle gym gallivanting,
good pole dancing is a sweet money-mak-
me proudly during a pre-class conversation.
ing melange of grace and athleticism, coy
innocence and brazen whorishness. It's also
the latest in trendy workouts, with classes
popping up at Crunch Fitness and independent dance studios around the country.
only half-satisfied.
She told me that her class focused more on the
technique of. erotic dance. I was happy to expect more pole and less affirmation.
The Slinky Productions studio was smaller
and a little more bare-bones than S Factor.
It's in San Francisco's Center for Healing and
As a former modern dancer, a lifelong perv
Expression, and the poles are removable struc-
and a liberal arts major always in search of
tures. We kept the lights on throughout class
and had mirrors in the room-again, the fo-
marketable skills, I just had to try.
A quick Google search led me to S
Factor (sfactor.com), a chain of pole dancing studios founded by actress Sheila Kelley
after playing a stripper in 2000's Dancing
at the Blue Iguana. Kelley was never a real
cus was on actual skill and technique rather
than sexy self-appreciation. My instructor,
Sara North, was another retired erotic dancer
herself, and a friendly, punky chick with multi-
live stripper herself, but her role in the film
colored hair and large tattoos. While S Factor
students wore more typical workout attire,
inspired her to teach erotic dance to other
women. She has nine studios throughout
the Slinky students wore anything from biker
shorts to leotards to sequined halter tops.
the country, and all offer six levels of classes. I signed up for the introductory class: an
Admittedly, I felt much more at home and
hour and a half, $40 session.
The room was dark; there were two
poles in the middle, soft, fuck-me R&B
playing from a stereo and about 10 gym-short-dad women in their 20s
through 40s. The instructor, a shapely, outgoing woman named Tauren had
everyone introduce themselves and say what drew them to the class. Half the
students were there for a bachelorette party; other ,motives included toned
abs and surprising their husbands with a sexy treat. In my nose ring and
Sleater-Kinney tee, I felt conspicuously gay.
We spent the first third of the class doing a stripper floorwork-inspired
warm-up: pelvic thrusts, torso rolls, some yoga-esque stretches and the occasional booty smack. The lights were low and there were no mirrors in the
room because, as Tauren pointed out, if you feel sexy,you must look sexy too.
Fair enough. After the warm-up we practiced walking around the room wagging our hips and feeling ourselves up, amidst constant reminders of our own
unique and inherent sexiness. Being told how hot I am for a full hour is definitely cool, but I did find myself craving a little more hand-to-pole contact.
The pole trick finally came: a fairly simple move where you hook your
ankles around the pole and spin to the bottom. After practicing a few times
(with 10 students and only two poles in the class, we didn't have time for
much more), Tauren and another instructor sat us down for a demonstration: a five-minute improvised dirty dance combining floorwork, pole tricks
and general ass-shaking. Breathtaking. The women were absolute virtuosos,
like the Charlie Parkers of eroticism. Class ended to applause, giggling and an
76 j curve
eventually even felt, sincerely, the love-thyself
that had been slightly force-fed by S Factor.
By the end of the first class, I had about three
different pole spins mastered, and could even
climb. I was psyched that so many of the moves were actually much easier
than they looked.
While S Factor offers levels one through seven, each with its own panty
(like belts earned in martial arts), Slinky Productions' classes are organized
by specific sexy skills: Lap dancing, pole dancing and floorshow classes are
all popular offerings (slinkyproductions.com for rates). While pole dancing
is a good abs, arms and shoulders exercise, lap dancing focuses more on the
glutes and hamstrings. Though taking a 90-minute to three-hour class-the
typical length at most studios-is super fun and sexy, it might not be enough
to give you a good workout, especially since the student-to-pole ratio typically
doesn't allow for as much practice as you might like. The solution? Invest in
your own removable pole, or do it like the strippers of yore and practice on
your local stop sign. That's what I did, and not only did my dancing improve,
but my public practice sessions have earned me all sorts of colorful new pals.
If you really want to dance like a pro, skip Crunch Fitness and the larger studios, and go straight to a real live stripper (even a retired one) to show you how
it's done. However, if you're perhaps a little older and certainly a bit less brazen,
a studio like S Factor might be more your style. Either way, taking it to the pole
is a decent means of exercise and a fabulous means of feeling like a badass. ■
....J
....J
w
) Wantto bring the strip club home?Goto curvemag.comand find out how.
z~
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Tech Girl Reviews
A Spark for Your Valentine
Items sure to please the hard--wired honey in your life. I By Elle Kaycee
Admittedly, these probably aren't the electronics that first come to mind when you think about lesbian love, but nontraditional gifts can be the quickest
way to a true geek's heart. For the girl who gets turned on tinkering with hardware or validating code (I can't be the only one), we've got a pleasing array
of tech that's sure to make her smile.
DIV TechieLove
Maybe it's not one-of-a-kind, but you can tell your sweetie that assembling
this LED heart was quite a labor of love. That's because you have to solder
it together first (and I do recommend assembling it before you give it, unless
she's really a geek). You supply the solder and the iron, ThinkGeek sends you
the circuit board, 28 red LED lights and a pile of resistors and diodes. If
you need a little help-or
maybe your girl is the hands-on type and you've
both pledged to exchange low-to-no-dollar gifts-check out the step-by-step
engineering info on Ladyada.net, run by the brilliant (and super cute) Limor
Fried. (thinkgeek.com, $10)
We <3 Jewelry
Jewelry became such a standard Valentine's Day gift because, let's face it, most
of us like a little sparkle, if only on occasion. There are loads of options for
accessorizing every masculine and feminine outfit, from Sweet Tooth Design's
<3 necklace for your favorite online-chat maven, to Fractalspin's subtle-geek
rectangular microcontroller cuffiinks or triple capacitor pendant in various
colors. (sweettoothdesigns.com, $75 necklace; fractalspin.com, $30 and up)
Her Gadgets,YourWords
The more gadgets that come encased in metal, the easier it is to personalize
them with unique laser-etched graphics and your very own words. Several
companies can now engrave stock art as well as customized designs on
laptops, cell phones, MP3 players and any other metal gadget you've got.
Boston's Engravee, New York City's Adafruit Industries (co-founded by the
aforementioned Limor Fried) and Toronto's HiTechTattoos are just a few. If
you decide to get personal, remember that it's hard to separate anyone from
an everyday gadget like a cell phone, and most engravers, including these
three, need to have you bring your gadget into their shop. Research engravers
in your area, and get customer feedback before you pick one. (engravee.com,
adafruit.com, hitechtattoos.com; prices vary)
Better Than Socks, But Maybe Not Much
Paranoid nerds like me will remember last year's Valentine's Virus, which
From top down: The LED heart, <3 necklace,
a personalized engraved laptop and Kaspersky Internet Security 7 .0.
spread across desktops like the plague. Sure, a gift of security software
doesn't say "do me;' but it does say you care, and it ain't exactly cheap. The
lesser-known Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 bests the more-familiar (and
commonly pre-installed) Norton and McAfee security suites, plus Kaspersky
offers a free-and excellent-online virus scanner. If she's addicted to the
Internet, she might just thank you nicely for it. (kaspersky.com, $80 and up)
January/February 2008
I
77
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December 2007
I 79
Top Ten ReasonsWe Love Chave Alexander
7·.She'swantsyouto loveyourbody.One reason
Alexander continues to shimmy and shake is the
constant positive feedback she gets from women
of all shapes and sizes. Her goal is "to help people
who are where I was move on a little bit:' She
knows taking your clothes off in front of scream,
ing fans is not for everyone, but she emphasizes
that every woman should be able to love what she
looks like naked.
8. She'll coveryou in glitter as she givesyou
a heartfelthug. A people person through and
through, Alexander is known in the community
for being as friendly as she is talented.
"Sheknowsthat taking
yourclothesoff in frontof
screamingfans is not for
everyone,but emphasizes
that everywoman should
be able to lovewhat she
lookslikenaked."
Ever since she was a preschooler in a little tutu,
performing has been Chave Alexander's passion.
After years of struggling with her body image,
she's grown into a gloriously curvaceous gal who
shimmies across the stage in her burlesque show.
She has taken the pain of her experiences, shaped
it into something to be proud of and inspires
other women to do the same. - Lauren Marie
include unexpected delights in a variety of genres
with Harlem Shake Burlesque. She has made re,
9. She'scharitable.
Last summer, Alexander rode
curring appearances at the Supper Club and Dirty
Little Secret, and in Margaret Cho's Sensuous
AIDS/LifeCycle. To help her raise money, some
of her favorite burlesque and drag performers vol,
Woman. She's even got a drag king persona named
unteered their time to put on a spectacle. She'll do
Mo Boutte, Alotta's country cousin.
it all again this year, and if you want to help, go to
her Web site (web.mac.com/alottaboutte).
her bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles for
4. She wears drag queencouture.Citing San
Fleming
Francisco's drag community as a major inspiration
for Alotta Bouttes give,all attitude, Alexander
1O.She'savailablefor gigs,goodtimesand intimateencounters.
With talent like hers, we're sure
1. She's got Alotta Boutte,her alter ego. As
often joins such greats as Juanita Moore and
Alotta-a name inspired by her mother's maiden
name, Boutte-Alexander
has strutted her splen,
Heklina, Mistress of Trannyshack. She's even
been blessed with the honor of being dressed
she'll have people lining up for as much Boutte as
they can get. ■
did stuff across both national and international
by famous (and infamous) drag queen costume
designers, which she says sure beats sewing fringe
onto her panties hersel£
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3. She'sconstantly
reinventing
herself.At a young
age, Alexander started taking dance classes and
singing in church choirs. She knew both the piano
, and the alto sections of Handel's Messiah by heart
in the fifth grade. She expanded her repertoire to
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threat.Whether belting out
a show tune, pounding the piano, floating on tap
shoes or creating a new comedic sch tick, Alexander
has audiences in awe.
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5. She's a San Franciscotreat. Not only can
Alexander be seen at the queerific haunts by the
Bay, she is also currently a member of the cast of
San Francisco's famous Beach Blanket Babylon, the
world's longest running musical review.
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the title of the magazine!"
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THE BEST-SELLING LESBIAN MAGAZINE
VOLUME 18 NUMBER 1
1550 Bryant Street, Suite 510
San Francisco, California 94103
Phone 415-863-6538 Facsimile 415-863-1609
Advertising Sales 415-863-6538 ext. 10 or 212-446-6700
Subscription Inquiries 818-286-3102
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 Publisher
Senior Editor
Assistant Editor
Assistant to the Editor
Book Review Editor
Music Review Editor
Contributing Editors
Proofreaders
Art Director
Production Manager
Production Artist
Web Producer
Operations Director
Sales Department
Advertising Sales
MySpace Manager
MySpace Marketing
Marketing Representative
Editorial Assistants
Photo Assistants
Frances Stevens
Diane Anderson-Minshall
Sara Jane Keskula
Colleen M. Lee
Katie Peoples
MeaChavez
Rachel Pepper
Margaret Coble
Julia Bloch, Victoria A.
Brownworth, Gina Daggett,
Sheryl Kay, Gretchen Lee
Theresa Johnson, Raqhel
Leach, Remy Ramirez,
Katherine Wright
Stefanie Liang
Ondine Kilker
Kelly Nuti
Nikki Woelk
Flo Enriquez
Holly DeMaagd
Diana L Berry, Rivendell Media
Lindsey J. Taylor
Amanda Campa
Tammy Lam
Heather Gilligan, Jenna V.
Loceff, Colleen McCaffrey
Kristin A. Smith, Una Swislocki
Nicole Teichman, Shari Chang
How to Get a Girl
It's no coincidence that
our annual sex issue has
featured the lovelyladies
of The L Word for three
years running.
Frances Stevens Publisher/Editor in Chief
Not only is The L Word the most popular lesbian show on earth, but it also examines topics our community faces in the bedroom and out on the streets. To some, Bette and Tina might be considered
television's premier lesbian couple. They've dealt with lesbian bed death, affairs, three-ways, parenting,
Contributing Writers John Dean Alfone, Kathy Beige,
Alice Clarke, Jennifer Corday, Lauren Marie Fleming,
Michele Fisher, Patrick Hinds, Kathy lsserrnan, Jenny
Jedeiken, Elle Kaycee, Gillian Kendall, Kate Lacey,
Char1ene Lichtenstein, Kar1yn Lotney, Candace Moore,
Catherine Plato, Amber Rivard, Sara Schieron, Stephanie
Schroeder, Sara Seinberg, Jenny Sherwin, Gabrielle
Sidon, Ursula Steck, Allison Steinberg, Jocelyn Voo,
Melany Walters-Beck
Illustrators Phil Cho, Katherine Streeter
Contributing Photographers Brie Childers, Gabriela Hashun,
Michah Joel, Naomi Kaltman, Paul Michaud, Mia Nakano,
Toky Photograhpy, Dar1ingPropaganda, Elisa Shebaro,
Urban Shutterbug Photography, Kina Williams
breakups and make-ups, not to mention sexual fluidity. Despite all they've been through, many viewers
still wait with bated breath, hoping they will get back together yet again. So, when our executive editor,
Diane Anderson-Minshall, got the chance to interview both Jennifer Beals (Bette) and Laurel Holloman
(Tina) she poked around a bit to test the relationship waters.
One answer that we got from both women was that creator Ilene Chaiken isn't out to make the actors
likeable, but to make a drama that deals with the real issues facing lesbian relationships. Besides celebrating the beginning of a new L Word season, these exclusive interviews are perfect anchors for our annual
sex issue. In this issue, we're bringing you a bevy of advice, experiments and hot topics on lesbian sex.
Since it's a double issue (January/February), we've packed twice the pleasure in our special sex section. I
think about it as how to get your girl ... and keep her.
From advice on how to please the girl you already have to Michele Fisher's candid guidance for
married girls who aren't getting any, we've got the answers you need this month. According to our staff,
getting kinky and mixing it up a bit could prove to be the answer. To my surprise, a few of our office crew
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Volume 18 Issue 1 Curve (ISSN 1087-867)() is published monthly (except for
bimonthly January/Februaryand July/August) by Outspoken Enterprises.Inc.,
1550 Bryant St., Ste. 510, San Francisco, CA 94103. Subscription price:
$49.95/year, $62.95 Canadian (U.S. funds only) and $71.95 international(U.
S. funds only). Returnedchecks wil be assesseda $25 surcharge.Periocficals
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, either whole or in part, without written permission from the
publisher.Publicationof the nameor photographof an; persons or organizations
appearing,advertising or listing in Curve may not be taken as an indicationof
the sexualorientationof that individualor group unlessspecificallystated. Curve
welcomes letters, queries, unsolicttedmanuscriptsand artworl<.Include SASE
for response. Lack of any representation only signifies insufficient materials.
Submissionscannot be returned unless a self-addressedstamped envelopeis
included. No responsibilttyis assumed for loss or damages. The contents do
not necessarily representthe opinionsof the editor, unlessspecifically stated. All
magazinessent discreetly.Subscription Inquiries:Pleasewrite to Curve, 1550
Bryant Street, Sutte 510, San Francisco,CA 94103, e-mail shop@curvernag.
com, or call 818-286-3102. Canadian Agreement Number: 40793029.
Posbnaster.
SendCanadanaddresschangesto shop@cuvemag.com,
Guve,PO Box
122, NiagaraFalls, ON L2E 6S8. SendU.S.addresschangesto shop@curvemag.
com,Curve,POBox17138,N. Holywood,CA91615-7138.Printedn the U.S.
A
Keyword: Curvemag Web site: curvemag.com
members took a bold step and enrolled in a class on how to emulate a pinup girl. Anything for the mag, right
girls? Then, we follow writer Catherine Plato as she learns pole dancing from industry experts. We even sent
two baby dykes out on the town to test some of Hollywood's most famous pickup lines. Then we follow a more
mature woman's exploration into the secret world of lesbian bathhouses. This year, our special sex issue is a bit
more risque. I want to know what you think. Drop us an e-mail to editor@curvemag.com and let us know
how you made out ... or moved on!
Features
"Someone
asked ...
'Areyou
worried
what's
goingto
happento
your
career?'
And I'm like,
'Areyou
kidding?
I did a
lesbian
movie.And
I worked
morethan
I ever had
afterthat."'
January/February 2008
32 Travel in to the Vortex Sedona, Arizona may
Let's Talk About Sex
be full of New Agers, but this skeptical lady finds
herself digging the vibes. By Gillian Kendall
30 Please and Tease Your Lady This
Valentine's We turn up the heat with these
36 Paradise Found With impeccable comedic tim-
romantic gift ideas. By Mea Chavez
ing, Michelle Paradise is set to become the new
Ellen. By Diane Anderson-Minshall
50
Can We Play Like the Boys? One woman's
exploration into the secret world of lesbian bath-
40 Michelle Tea Time Sister Spit's Next Generation
houses. By Gabrielle Sidon
tour offers time to look back on the ladies who
rode in the infamous van. Plus, a chat with Michelle
Tea. By Sara Seinberg and Catherine Plato
Laurel Holloman
page 44
Volume 18#1
54 Move Over Pussycat Dolls The Pin Up Girls are
sexy, sultry and Sapphic. By Jennifer Sherwin
iS
43 We Heart Tegan and Sara We share some
alone time with Sara Quin. By Catherine Plato
56 Hollywood's Best (or Worst) Pickup Lines
up about her L Word character and what's in store
hot and which are not. By Alice Clarke
a:
58 All in the Family Former Playboy centerfold
Susan Bernard is bringing back her father's classic
Beals that doesn't mention Flashdance (well, not
pinups. By Katie Peoples
too much). By Diane Anderson-Minshall
takes porn where the SuicideGirls have never gone
before. By Catherine Plato
how a hit to her face sparked an entire movement.
By Patrick Hinds
66 Ten Powerful Lesbian Doctors Meet the
2
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women bringing lesbian health issues out of the
closet. By Stephanie Schroeder
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Delarverie talks about the Stonewall Riots and
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for Tina now. And finally an interview with Jennifer
64 The Stonewall Lesbian Revealed Storme
~
One girl's quest to find out which pickup lines are
44 Cover: Together Again? Laurel Holloman opens
Cover photo by
Naomi Kaltman
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learns the ways of the pinup girl. By Diane
Anderson-Minshall
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January/February 2008
"Denialworksfor
ill-behaved
pets
and unrulyhair,
but notforsexless
relationships.
Whatwillhappen
isthatone of you
willfinda new
pastimecalleda
littletramp,and
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20 Scene More hotties than you can shake
the lady herself.
a stick at.
71
In the Stacks Rachel Pepper finds her-
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Contributors All you need and want to
22 Lipstick & Dipstick Tell that flirtacious
know about our interns.
straight girl to come out or get lost.
73 Music Watch Margaret Coble sets the
mood for a little lovin' this Valentine's with
sexy sounds from some amazing artists.
8
Letters You tell us what you think about
23 Ask Fairy Butch How to make your
going green and gay media.
girlfriend very, very happy.
76 I Tried It Catherine Plato finds her inner
stripper and lives to brag about it.
10 Out in Front A conservative and femi-
24 Astro Grrl It's a great time for new ca-
nist lesbian, a film festival curator and a
reer moves. What's in the stars for you?
GENIUS activist grace our pages.
25 Get the Spark Back Our relationship
12 Open Studio Corey Aughtry captures
13 Curvatures We chat with teen musician
hold out for a roll in the hay?
Sonya Kitchell. Plus, get organized this
year with some cool office supplies.
28 Politics Change the world by making
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the campiest shows and films sure to
cure the winter blues.
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about Madonna rumors.
your geeky Valentine with these gift suggestions from Elle Kaycee.
Marie Fleming does. Trust us.
revolution your New Year's resolution.
Plus Sandra Bernhard comes clean
77 Tech Girl Put a smile on the face of
80 Top Ten Reasons We Love Chave
26 Dyke Drama How long is too long to
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Contributors
"I had so many' ideas for Christmas gifts after I worked on the December
gift guide;' says California native MeaChavez.
She enjoys researching and
writing, and oddly enough she likes to proofread and edit. Chavez earned
her B.A. in English, and is now gaining experience in publishing as assis~
tant to the editor at CURVE. She plans to continue a career in reading and
writing. Cooking is Chavez's therapy and Top Chefis her favorite show.
She also dabbles in jewelry making and painting.
"I'm so relieved to take a break from the English canon and read some~
thing new;' says former English teacher KristinA. Smith."Thankfully, I
was assigned to read two contemporary books and interview the authors:'
When she isn't discussing the impact of lesbian pulp novels or dreaming
of driving a cab, Smith is taking journalism classes and renovating her
converted warehouse. She hopes to be a successful freelance writer and
travel around the world ... preferably on a bike.
"I get to read books about porn:' says bookworm and self~proclaimed
photo~nerd JennaV.Loceff.Just a semester away from graduating on the
lO~year plan, editorial assistant Loceff is happy to be in the world of pub~
lishing. When not toiling away as the managing editor of San Francisco
State University's student paper, she loves to travel and play with any kind
of camera she can get her hands on. A voracious reader, Loceff can be
found at her local pub nursing a Guinness with her nose in a book.
"Interning ~t CURVE is awesome. I show up and have no idea what I'm
getting myself into;' says assistant LinaSwislocki.
Uncertainty is "what
s:w
keeps this job interesting. It's far from being a normal desk job. I'm learn~
ing all about publishing and the LGBT community:' Never one to scoff
c3
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at the chance to learn, Swislocki plans to get a teaching credential and
introduce others to the joys of grammar and punctuation.
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sunburn:' In spite of being shellacked in "The Pit" by tear sheets, press
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is extremely grateful.
Her dream is to be a travel writer and investigative reporter, but in the
meantime she will settle for her gig as a server, where McCaffrey uses the
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experience to gain further insight into the nature of the human condition
and where she channels her inner Dostoevsky.
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don't write!' But being an intern has helped shape my goals;' says photo as~
sistant NicoleTeichman.
A New York City native, Teichman found herself
(literally and philosophically) on the West Coast studying documentary
g,
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photography. 'J\ctivism is in my blood. My mom was a hippie protesting
the Vietnam War in front of the White House. Women's issues and queer
issues have always been in the forefront for me, so CURVE is a natural fit:'
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Letters
"I know the local B&B, farmer's market and
bus route aren't as catchy or marketableas
the latest 'green' product, but you would do
your readersand the environmenta service
by featuringthese simple solutions more
prominently."
What Type of
Lesbian Are You?
Youknowthatyou've
madea markin the
worldwhenyou'rethe
inspiration
for an online
quiz(see"FifteenTypes
of Lesbians,"
Vol.15 Local Vacations Are Greener
#3).Wefoundthis little
I was pleased to see CuRVE encouraging us readers to "go green"
gem,"HowMuchof
[Vol. 17 #9]. However, I would have liked to see you take the
a Lesbian
AreYou,"
concept of"green" further than you did. Some of the most enby "nogoodgirl"
on
QuizFarm.com
andjust vironmentally friendly choices a person can make involve encouldn'tresistplugging gaging with a local community rather than consuming "green"it. (Atpresstimethe labeled products from far away. For example, you could have
quizwasunavailable, encouraged readers to seek out travel destinations in their local
butyoucancertainly area rather than flying around the world for ecoadventures; carstill seetheoriginal bon offsets for plane rides help, but a lot of greenhouse gases
at curvemag.com.) are still put into the air when we choose to fly more. And your
Basedon howmuch article featuring mail-order food and bottled water contradicted
youagreeor disagree
your advice to shop locally for food and drink filtered tap water
withthestatements,
from a reusable bottle. Also, there's a happy medium between
thequizdetermines
just
whatkindof lesbian walking and driving in many parts of the United States: public
youare,for example: transportation. The more we ride it and expect it to work well,
the FemmeFatale,the the better it will get! I know the local B&B, farmer's market
SurpriseDykeor the and bus route aren't as catchy or marketable as the latest'green"
Stud.Findoutwhatover product, but you would do your readers and the environment a
56,000peoplealready service by featuring these simple solutions more prominently.
know-just whattype Thanks for introducing us to more environmentally friendly
of lesbianyouare. choices-I look forward to reading more about them in CURVE
- KatiePeoples in the future.
- Brittany, Newark, NJ. •
Recycle, Reduce, Reuse
Loved the emphasis on going green in your last issue! I'm so glad
to see CURVEpaying attention to this important topic. Along
those same lines, have you thought of switching to printing your
magazine on recycled papen' I've read that lots of magazines are
now printing their pages on recycled paper. It might be worth
checking out for you as well.
- Marianne Merola, via e-mail
No Room for Prudery
Regarding the letter from Kim Ann Callan in the September
2007 [Vol. 17 #7] issue. Shame on you, Kim Ann Callan, for
trying to shame us about our own sexuality! There is no room
in a lesbian magazine for prudery, and the fact that you're also a
queer publisher, who should be advocating the dissemination of
information rather than trying to censor it, makes it even more
tragic. Fairy Butch is one of my favorite sex-ed writers and my
favorite part of CURVE:a fabulous advice-giver and extremely
entertaining wordsmith (oh yes, and did I mention one smokin'
hot butch?). And now that On Our Backs has unfortunately
ceased publication, it's even more imperative that CURVEand
other lesbian/ queer mags pick up and carry the sex-ed torch. As
a sex educator and former sex-column writer for Weird Sisters
West, a local Colorado queer publication, I know firsthand
(firstfist?) the importance of giving people honest and up-todate info about sex. Omitting the details because "our detractors" might read it and gain "ammunition;' is not only paranoid
but unethical and potentially dangerous, particularly when the
reader is enjoying a delicate act like fisting. Without accurate
instruction, sex can be unsafe. "Safe, sane and consensual" is, or
should be, just as true for vanilla sex and relationships as it is
for the BDSM community. And if fisting makes me a deviant,
I will proudly sport that label (T-shirts, anyone?). Apparently,
a "woman's personal sexual preferences" are an issue with you.
Open your mind, Kim Ann, and your cunt will follow!
- Debra A. Myers, Denver, CO
Hurray for New Subscribers
I just bought my first issue of CURVEand I really love your mag.
I especially enjoyed reading the piece ''A Camcorder Revolution''
[Vol.17 #8]. It was the best article I've read in a long time and I
wish it were longer. I hope to read more from Heather Fitz and
I plan to subscribe to CURVE.Thanks!
Editor's Note: Marianne, we'reso glad you liked our initialforays
- Shannon B., via e-mail
intogoinggreen.Infact, the magazineisprinted onpartiallyrecycled
paper and we'reinvestigatingother ways to have a lesserimpact on A Publication Disconnection?
theplanet, too,includingcomputerrecyclingprogramsand new types I do not understand why men _and women who are able to beof low-impactinks. Thanksfor keepingus on our toes!
come editors and publishers of gay/lesbian publications do not
seem to want to communicate with each other. I suggest that
s Icurve
they all glance at an issue of Lesbian Connections
and see what I believe our community needs. Here
is a well-4one publication that actually serves its
readers/ supporters. Even though it is aimed only
at lesbians, the point is generic. It has readers who
write in and let other readers know about what is
going on in their area of the country, share news
of some book or event they know about, and
even share pictures of their animals. This is true
community.
First, why has no national publication that I
know of ever mentioned this publication? The
Advocate, Out, etc., should be ashamed of themselves for their constant pictures and pages devoted to celebrities, most of whom are not gay, yet
find no time to cover others in our community.
And along that line, why is it they ignore probably the best national source of groups and publications serving our community, the Gay Yellow•
Pages?It is time for homosexuals to support the
few publications that do give us information we
need, that treat us as friends, not as consumers,
giving us only material that helps their advertisers
sell us their cars, liquor, etc. This is the time for us
to ask for more than we could get in the '50s and
'60s. If we don't, we deserve the nongay way we
are treated.
- Billy G., via e-mail
Editor's Note: Billy, you're preaching to the choir
here. We adoreLesbian Connections and have covered it in ourpagesin thepast. While LC's missionis
differentthan oursin ways,we both.tryto educateand
inform lesbiansand for that they have our unending
support.Readerscan checkthem out at lconline.org.
We Reach the Comic Fans
I'm just too excited about the "Top Ten Reasons
We Love Paige Braddock:' [Vol. 17 #8]. I must
have been in the literary closet to not know about
Ms. Braddock. I love to read and I have a whole
library of books in my home. I worshiped Charles
Schulz, I have everything he's ever done, and I've
devoted a room in my house to the Peanut's gang.
It's wonderful to know a lesbian is the creative director of his studio. Ms. Braddock must be blessed
to have worked with such an artist as •Charles
Schulz. Please see if you can help me find Ms.
Braddock's work. Thank you in advance.
- Tina, via e-mail
Got Somethingon Your Mind?
E-mail letters@curvemag.com; write to
CURVE
Letters, 1550 Bryant St., Ste. 510, San Francisco,
CA 94103; fax to 415-863-1609. Please include
your name, city and state. Letters may be edit~d
for clarity and length.
January/February 2008
I9
Margaret Murray
Brittany Hoffman
Tammy Bruce
It's all about the power of art for Margaret Murray.
'Tm as optimistic about the life,changing poten,
Brittany Hoffman says she first became an LGBT
She calls herself an openly gay, pro,choice, gun,
owning, pro,death penalty, voted,for,President,
tial of art today as I was when I was a teenager;'
says Murray, executive director of One in Ten,
advocatejust after her senior year in high school.
"I think I became an activist when my mother
discovered I was queer and I refused to apolo,
Bush authentic feminist.
At 27 years old she was elected president of
the parent organization of Reel Affirmations,
the Washington, D.C. LGBT film festival.
"Festivals,especiallyLGBT festivals,present an
gize for it;' says Hoffinan. "I cried, I yelled, I felt
opportunity to transport people out of their lives
and into another person's;' says Murray, an artist
for 15 years. Art, she says, offers a vehicle for cross,
never apologized:'
Hoffinan took all that energy into real,world
ing the line between entertainment and education.
"Once you experience a different perspective, you
cator while attending Smith College. A few years
later, she became a volunteer for Help Individual
government which successfully takes that con,
can't erase that:'
as men are in the majority of power positionsis a government bent on totalitarianism:'
She also became a New York Times best,sell,
bad for not having had the courage to tell my
mother before she found out on her own, but I
activism, where she served as a peer sexuality edu,
the Los Angeles chapter of NOW, the youngest
to ever attain that position. (She also spent two
years on the national board of directors.)
She's pro,choice to her core. "Women main,
raining control of their bodies is the keystone to
our personal freedom;' says Bruce, now 45. 'J\ny
trol-and
all governments will always try as long
Murray acknowledges that there have been
Prostitutes Survive (HIPS) in Washington, D.C.,
where she conducted outreach in female, male and
more gay male films than lesbian films,but finds
that lesbian directors are slowly achieving parity
transgender sex worker communities by providing
on,the,street counseling and information, distrib,
regarding the quantity of films being produced.
What is especiallyremarkable, she says, is that this
uting safer sex and safety materials, and recording
demographic and qualitative information.
Today, at 27 years old, Hoffman serves as the
Right and Wrong, a direct assault on what she
calls the "left elite:'
Gender YOUTH program campus director for
the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition, work,
rect link to the NRA (dick on the icon of her
handgun, named Snuffy ), and when she's not
ing with over 300 student and youth leaders to
raise awareness about gender,motivated violence,
blogging, Bruce hosts her own syndicated radio
show, a mix of populist politics wrapped in indi,
vidualism with a strong dose of American patri,
is happening with greater funding constraints and
fewer resources than have traditionally been avail,
able to the gay male market and that it is being
achieved by women banding together and produc,
ing some outstanding lesbian cinema.
"I think every single film festival needs a strong
female programming presence;' says Murray. "If
you don't have someone in there fighting for these
films, they'll fall by the wayside:'
Murray is also the owner of Movies That
Move, a roaming cinema showcase that matches
specific film screenings with out,of,the,way lo,
cales.She has also lent her talents as film·curator to
major museums across the country, including the
Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Fla.
If you know of any LGBT activists or
any women who are Out in Front at
work, at home or in the community,
please let us know by writing to
curvesoutinfront@hotmail.com.
10
Icurve
gender stereotypes and gender as a human rights
isslle. Her most recent work involves the Gender
ing author with her second book, The Death of
Her Web site (tammybruce.com) has a di,
Equality National Index for Universities and
otism, along with feminism, culture and society.
So, did this feminist lesbian really vote for
Schools (GENIUS) project, where universities
and colleges are 'graded" on where they stand on
George Bush:' Hang on-the
answer is yes.
Originally taken with his hard,hitting stance
issues of gender rights.
"Working and living within the social justice
community isn't so much a tangible, easily ar,
against terrorists after Sept. 11, Bruce now feels
let down.
ticulated choice as much as it is this kind of crazy,
internal pull that just won't go away;' says
Hoffman. "Don't get me wrong-it gets hard
To those m the LGBT community who
might be confused by her dear dedication to
feminist causes while she adheres to some con,
servative politics, Bruce says, "The more diverse
ter and more compassionate experience. I want
the lesbian community is when it comes to
ideas, politics and lifestyle, the stronger we will
become, and the more women who have not nee,
that for my family, my friends, my opponents
and mysel£ and if I'm going to reap the benefits,
I want to be a contributor:'
essarily seen themselves in the very few publicly
open lesbians we have, may feel more confident
to come out, to embrace who they are:'
and emotional and exhausting, but it's a family
of folks devoted to the idea that life can be a bet,
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Corey Aughtry
Corey Aughtry is hoping to take photography to a whole new level by bringing androgyny
out of the closet. Aughtry, a 29,year,old New York photographer, wants to let gender,bend,
ing, genderqueer and old school androgynous folks know they're not alone in this brave new
world.
Aughtry began taking photographs, she says, of anything and everything she found beau,
tiful when she got her first camera at age 15. When she came out at age 20, she ventured out
to more intriguing arenas-queers, it turns out, make for captivating subjects. She says her
photographs seek to encourage lesbians to feel comfortable in their own skin, offering viewers
a perspective of beauty that you won't find in commercial magazines. She hopes her pho,
tographs can give more insight to those who don't fully understand women who transcend
gender norms.
While Aughtry long planned her recent shoot, she had trouble finding models that fit the
bill. So she jumped in front of the camera herself In the process, she found more than she bar,
gained for. While she occasionally uses other models, much of Aughtry's work today is inspi,
rational self,portraiture. Her sensual photographs, she admits, show love and hope-things
that capture the heart and the mind.
121 curve
Curvatures
mesomeinsightasto howit isthatyouaretravelinginternationally,
beingexposed
to thislifestyle,
at sucha youngage?Haveyour parentsbeen
involved?
Yeah, my parents are both artists. My father is a
photographer and a fine artist, a painter, and my
mom's an illustrator. Basically, from a very young
Not Your Mother's
Soda Pop
age they were bringing me out to concerts and
restaurants. I was hanging out with adults and
SONYA KITCHELL is an 18-year-old
singer-songwriter from Northampton,
Mass., (sonyakitchell.com). While she
is accustomed to performing acoustic
folk-rock, her voice also seems to channel an older energy from another space
and time. CURVE recently caught up with
Kitchell at the Bonnaroo Music Festival
in Manchester, Tenn., to discuss her early start in the music industry, Northampton as a lesbian mecca and trampolines. - ]DA
OrySodaCo.offersnonalcoholicalternatives
for
treated as an equal-treated as a child, but as if I
culinarypairing.Founder
was intelligent.
andCEOSharelle
Klauswantedto give
andanyone
Do you have a relationshipwith the lesbian moms-to-be
elsewhoisn't hitting
community?
. [Laughs.] Yeah, actually, because I'm from the bottleanalternativeto boozeat dinner.
Northampton, which is the lesbian capital. All my
Thelightlyflavored
friends' moms are lesbians, and my guitar teacher,
sodascomein four
and half the women I know are lesbians, so it's a
essences-lavender,
very homelike thing for me. My parents met in
rhubarb,lemongrass
San Francisco and all their friends were gay men
andkumquat.
All are
before they moved to Northampton. And yes, my
refreshing,
but lavender
is themostuniqueflavor
parents are a man and a woman [la~ghs],
but I don't
according
to oursecret
know what it means or how it's different. I grew up
tasters
(aka
the interns).
around so many women and I feel very comfortable
It
pairs
well
with
surrounded by them. I happen to be straight, but it's
anythingfromcheese
to porkto chocolate.
Rhubarb
is theonly
flavorwithoutmuchof
a sweetaftertaste;
and
if theotherthreeflavors
arethewinesof the
sodaworld,rhubarbis
the beer.Forhigh-end
bubbleswithoutthe
mineraltasteof most
like they're my moms, sisters, aunts and friends.
Talkaboutthe inspiration
for the lyricsto youralbumWords sodawaters,theseare
definitelya must-have.
CameBacktoMe.
(drysoda.com)
- JVL
Questions for
Sonya Kitchell
Howdidyoustartsoyoung?
Basically, I started voice lessons at 7 years old because I decided
I wanted to become a singer. At 12, I bought myself a guitar and
then learned how to play the piano because I figured I'd better
learn to accompany mysel£ Writing and playing music is my
passion. I have always given up everything and anything for it,
almost. I have always pursued it.
I just wrote a bunch of songs and that title came from a song
called "Words:' I chose that tide to encapsulate the album
because maybe the one thing that ties all those songs together
is that I wrote them. My songwriting has changed now. It's
interesting-as
I'm growing older, the songs are starting to
make more sense and are starting to be more about the present,
as opposed to existential stuff that's outside of you.
CURVATURES
WRITTEN
BY
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.J
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I noticethatyourtourdatesincludea lotof international
travel. Whatdoyouhavecomingupasfar asyournextalbum?
Canwe talk aboutthat?
My next album I'm very excited about. It will be darker, I can
I just got back from two months in Europe and before that I was
in India. The last place I was in was Barcelona. It was beautiful.
I wish I had more time, but Paris was really one of my favorite
places we went to.
guarantee. I feel like the songs I've been writing are a lot better,
and I've become a better musician, growing into mysel£ I just
want it to be a very sonically rich and powerful record. That's
I washangingoutwithanothermusicianhereat Bonnaroo,
and
she'samazedthatyouhavesuchmaturityat 18.Canyougive
MaybehaveKakiKingas a guitarist?
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Perhaps! No, she just jumps on the trampoline with me [laughs].
JohnDeanAlfone,
DianeAndersonMinshall,
Mea
Chavez,
Margaret
Coble,ColleenM.
Lee,JennaV.Loceff,
KatiePeoples,
Stephanie
Schroeder,
KristinA. Smithand
LinaSwislocki
January/February 2008
Curvatures
WHAT'S HOT
Kids' Stuff
With a Twist
Does a Girl Good
Nothing warms a body, cures a cold or mends a broken heart better than chicken
soup. If you aren't lucky enough to have a grandmother who makes you homemade
soup, then call on the company Grandma's Chicken Soup to act as a surrogate in
your time of need.
Grandma's Chicken Soup (grandmaschickensoup.com)
delivers on its slogan, "More
Than Just Soup;' by offering a variety of packages, from the simple Just Soup (soup with
noodles, matzo balls or both, $29.50) to the extravagant Tea Relaxation Package (a combi- •
nation of soup, music and relaxing teas). For a modest $1,625 they will send a real grandma
to your house to deliver the package, hugs included.
Grandma's Chicken Soup comes with a custom greeting to match the occasion. You can
Subvertthe patriarchy
with ColoringOutside
theLines,a kid-friendly
collectionof drawings
andbiasof historicand
contemporary
feminist
iconsfromSusanB.
Anthonyto AngelaDavis
andAlixOlson.$15,
riotgrrrlink.com
- MC
Takethe
painoutof
travelingwith
the littleones
with Little
JetSet.With
choiceslike
52Thingsto
Doin the Car,
the Backseat
TravelTinandBooks-ina-Cup,youwon'thave
to popthe aspirinwhile
packingthe suitcase.$3
andup,littlejetset.com
-CML
choose from the classic grandmotherly encouragement-"Sometimes
you win, sometimes you
lose. But you're still my star, no matter how you do;' to the modern-"Cause I heard that you were
illin. Here's some Jewish penicillin:'
So get yourself some love in a soup bowl, or send it to someone else who needs it. It's about the same price as flowers and a lot yummier. And if all this talk of grandmas makes you miss your own, go and visit her ... and bring her something nice. - KAS
Did Your Christmas Suck, Too:
Did Santa fail to-deliver the goods this year? Return those fes-
Mousing Around
tive socks and get these great gifts instead.
Designer Appliances has
come up with the most
Become a Film Director
Featuring
sharper
image
ity, the JVC Everio Hard Drive
Camcorders are the perfect tool to
strategy. The AirO 2bic has
master the art of video storytelling.
mouse, which reduces stress
on hand muscles and nerves. Available in black or white and a
left-handed model (for that other 11 percent of the population).
($100, aerobicmouse.com)
These camcorders include a docking
station to charge your battery, one-touch direct DVD burning,
one-touch backup of video files to a PC, and also an in-camera
A Healthier You
Camera of the Gods
We all make that
There's a reason the Olympus SP
55OUZ, with its 18x wide-angle
zoom lens, is named after the fabled
lose weight and get healthy. The
CardioChek Portable Blood Test
bilization and high-speed sequential shooting so you can capture images of anything that moves. ($400, olympusamerica.
If youlongfor your
tongueto tingle,try com)
JonesSodaCo.'s
carbonated
candy.It's Hey Player
availablein sixflavors, Connect to your chat and gaming community through
soyourmouthcan your TV with the Windows Live Messenger Xbox 360.
cheat,evenif youcan't. Text, talk and play simultaneously. Combine contacts
$3,jonescandy.com from your Xbox Live and Windows Live messenger lists.
-CML
Broadcast what you're playing on your Xbox console.
Watch videos, play games or navigate the dashboard while
having conversations within the Xbox Guide. The Xbox
360 Messenger Kit includes a chat pad and an Xbox 360
headset. ($40, xbox.com)
I
curve
you place your hand in the
editing function to keep you organized. ($500 and up, jvc.com)
home of deities. This 7.1 megapixel
camera comes with dual image sta-
14
ergonomic way to mouse
as part of its Anti.Fatigue
qual-
resolution
to
System is here to help. This handy little
system is the first and only device that's
been cleared by the FDA for checking cardiovascular health indicators at home. Similar
to what diabetics use to test their blood sugar, the
CardioChek tests for HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose
and ketone levels. ($99, cardiochek.com)
Relive the Rat
In the new Ratatouille video game, you are
Remy, the adorable rat that longs to become
a gourmet French che£ as he dashes and
darts in and out of sewers, streets and the
kitchen. Available on multiple platforms,
but the Nintendo Wii version was our favorite-you feel like you're in the movie.
($50, thq.com) -
Staff
Curvatures
Get Organized
Yeah, yeah, new year, new you-we've heard it all before. Instead of spending a grand on a new,gym membership that you'll never use, why not plunk down
some cash on things that'll actually help you work all year long. Don't wait for spring cleaning. Get yourself organized now.
First Stop: KangaRooM Storage
This is the wet dream of storage boutiques, with a bevy of functional, fashionforward solutions for tidying up your home·and office. There's a hot Phone/PDA
Charging Station that will recharge all your gear in one simple place, a Black Box
Cord Organizer that takes all those endless strands of electronica and packs them
into one place out of sight, and the sexy faux leather Stackable File Boxes that almost
everyone needs. Among our faves: A faux leather Monitor Stand, a Personal File
System (a four-book system that'll
replace a whole file drawer in your
office), a new Video Game Storage
Unit and the must-have Personal
Media Travel Pouch. The latter is
a petite version of the Travel Cord
Organizer, which lets you pack away
your cell, camera and iPod cords
while you're on the road. ($13 and
up, kangaroomstorage.com)
Fine Line Between Work and Home
Need "me" time? The Balance Sheet Notepad divides
to-do sections into"work" and"home" categories, so
you'll never forget to pick up Samantha at soccer.
($10, mommytrackd.com)
A Better Brazilian
Supply freaks like my office mates will love Post-It's
colorful new Samba Collection, a bevy of flags, tabs,
notes, planners and dispensers whose geometric and
floral patterns give your space a Brazilian flair. Who
says function and style can't go hand in hand? ($2
and up, postit.com)
For Die-Hard Readers
Created by a woman who wanted to keep all the info she found
in her magazines handy and organized without taking the time to
clip and file, Scanalog is the only software that allows you to scan
mags and file them electronically, organizing clippings in 11 master
categories (e.g., career, home, recipes) or, if you're really detailed,
up to 107 extra categories. ($50, scanalog.com)
Puzzlingly Compact
Magnetized pieces of the postmodern, wheel-shaped Stationoli Desk Set
fit together or break apart at your convenience. The set includes stapler,
pencil sharpener, staple remover, sticky note and paperclip holder, calculator
and digital alarm clock. Sticks to metal desks or walls for easy access. ($40,
uncommongoods.com)
16
Icurve
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-----
Hang It in Style
You missed the board! Wait, you did it on purpose, to
hang your coat with these clever Dart Hooks, which screw
into the wall to look like you just missed the bull's,eye.
($35, uncommongoods.com)
WIN A FREE DVDI
. Want a chanceto take homethe
lesbianeroticdocumentarythat director Shine LouisHoustoncalls "the
sweetestthing I've ever seen"?Real
women,real sex. Ten luckywomen
will get a Valentine'sgift to remember.Send your name and addressto
assistanteditor@curvemag.com
with
"Ashleyand Kisha"in the subjectline
by Feb.14.
January/February
2008
Curvatures Lesbofile
Here's a Story of Some Lovely Ladies
Find out the latest celebrity rumors, myths and reality. I By Jocelyn Voo
Long-held lesbian rumors are laid to rest, and
straight guys hit on gay girls (with mixed results )-just another month in our part of town.
Reality, Baby
Adrianne, Yoanna, Eva, Naima: Any of these
names ring a bell? No? Maybe it's because these
past winners of Americas Next Top Model have
hardly hit the big time since winning Tyra Banks'
now-tired reality modeling contest. Last we
checked, the only person who'd made noticeable
air-time since getting the boot was Cycle S's Kim
Stolz,who became an MTV VJ for MTVU, the
parent channel's university-targeted outlet. Stolz
is now making the political rounds, interviewing
presidential hopefuls such as John Edwards.
But now another ANTM alum has made
strides in her life: bisexual model-wrestler Michelle
Deightonand her boyfriend(?) of two years(!),
Survivor-contender, wrestler, reality-villian Jon
"Jonny Fairplay" Dalton, are expecting a little
bundle of joy. Did anyone know that Deighton was
pregnant? Or, for that matter, seeing men again?
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Blunt Reaction
Talk show host EllenDeGeneres
has had many celebrities on her self-titled show, but few have tried
to bestow on her a personal parting gift. Not so for
JamesBlunt,whose yearlong romance with model
PetraNemcova
ended last March. ''I'll give you my
phone number afterwards;' Blunt told DeGeneres.
"I am actually very effeminate:' But, alas, no dice.
"It's not going to work;' responded DeGeneres,
"but thanks for trying:'
Marcia, Marcia, Marcia
Last year, rumors circulated that sugar-and-spice
'70s child star MaureenMcCormick,
aka Marcia on
The Brady Bunch, might've been more naughty than
nice with her co-star EvePlumb,
aka Jan, while the
cameras weren't rolling. McCormick's tell-all book,
Heres the Story, set to be released in 2008, allegedly spills the beans on their sexual awakening.
"The most explosive comments will be how the
then blonde, blue-eyed cutie developed a crush
on Eve Plumb, which led to some sexual play;' a
source told the National Enquirer. "This book will
certainfy come as a shocker. While Maureen is not
a lesbian, she reveals there were some sexual hijinks
going on behind the scenes:' But before specula-
18
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tion could go far, McCormick's publisher quashed
the rumor. Figures. Personally, we always thought
Cindy would be the one to bat for both teams.
All Press Is Good Press
That rumor about something going down between
Madonna
and SandraBernhard?
Never happened,
according to Bernhard ... but she certainly didn't
mind people thinking she was linked to the original material girl. "I don't mind being asked about
Madonna. It was awesome at the time. We had a
really funny friendship and kind of played with
the press and the media;' she said. "It was before
the Internet, and there was still a little bit of allure
and excitement and fun to it:'
Inside Beth Ditto's Head
Rock star, fashion designer . . . advice colum-
nist? It's all part of a normal day for BethDitto.
Unbeknownst to us over on this side of the Pond,
the Gossip front woman has been serving as a
biweekly (har, har, har) advice columnist for the
British newspaper the Guardian since late April
2007. In her inaugural column, Ditto details how
she got to her current status: After a difficult childhood in Arkansas, she moved to feminist-friendly
Olympia, Wash., where the music and DIY scenes
were exploding. "At that point I came out kicking
and screaming-I was so out of the closet it was
insane;' Ditto remembers. Unsurprisingly, Ditto
is fun and articulate. "There isn't any question I
wouldn't want to be asked;' says Ditto. "Even if it's
personal. Even if it's scary. Even if it's 'How do you
take in your trousers so that they fit you properly?'
I'm up for all of it. Bring it on!" What's next for the
multi-tasker? We wait with bated breath. ■
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Curvatures·
.,
INTHE NEWS
Gov.Arnold
Schwarzenegger
signed
legislation
giving
property
taxreliefto
surviving
domestic
partners.
EllenDeGeneres
received
theTrevor
Life
Award
fromtheTrevor
Project.
Formoreinformation
visitthetrevorproject.org.
Don'tmissthelesbian
andgayskiweekevent
BlueGay-La
(bluelaketahoe.com/ski)
atSouth
Shore,
LakeTahoe,
Calif./Nev.,
Jan.23-27.
You Can Build Your Nest
and Give to Charity, Too
Here is an easy way to save the world by doing something you
would do anyway: decorating your home or yourself with beauti,
fol handmade goods from around the world. Nest (buildanest.
com) is a nonprofit online retailer that sells clothing, jewelry and
home accessories and turns the profits into micro,loans for worn,
en in developing countries. Loan recipients can choose to repay
their loans in cash or by selling the goods they make on Nest.
The idea of the micro,loan-where
a business in a developing
country is awarded a small amount
of money (usually around $50)
for supplies or other necessi,
ties-first
appeared in the
1970s. Since then, various
forms of the micro,loan
concept have appeared.
Nest's
micro,loan
model is particularly ex,
citing because the retailer
Friends
oftheFestival,
Inc.changed
thename
oftheannual
Tampa
International
Gayand
Lesbian
FilmFestival
to
theClipFilmFestival.
Anestimated
$75,000
worthoffurniture,
arcade
games
andsuppliesfromtheMcGinnis
Mansion
inBeaverton,
Ore.,wasdonated
to
theSexualMinority
YouthResource
Center
inPortland.
Sixstates,
Alaska,
Louisiana,
North
Dakota,
South
Dakota,
South
Garolina
and
WestVirginia,
haveno
openlygayelected
officials
atanylevelof
government,
according
totheGayandLesbian
Victory
Fund.
has elected to give loans
only to businesses that
are owned and operated
by women. These en,
trepreneurs, who are
often limited by their
lack of education
and
their
class,citizen
second,
status,
flourish when given
a chance to take
control of their own
businesses and livelihoods. The women are able to increase their
social standing, provide for their families and pay their debts. In
fact, women have an astoundingly high repayment rate on these
loans-to
the tune of
98 percent.
Nest is also exciting
because, like the loans
it funds, it operates un,
der a sustainable busi,
ness model. The com,
pany sells handmade
items in the U.S. by up,
and,coming designers,
many of whom design
Cambodian
Prime
Minister
HunSen
disowned
hisadopted
lesbian
daughter
for
marrying
a woman.
-KP
items specifically for
the Web site, thereby
promoting local as well
as foreign talent and
ensuring a bigger pot
for those who need to
draw from it. - LS
~·
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nee 1983
"Oneofthemost
romantic
lesbian
destinations
on
theplanet."
-PlanetOut
~p.
Bethlehem,
NH
877LES-B-INN
(537-2466)
www.highlandsinn-nh.com
January/February 2008
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1 The ladies of Dante'sCoveat the premier party in L.A. 2 Twin Cities HRC Dinner at,
tendees (from right) Leslie Sandberg, Amy Johnson and Ann DeGroot 3 ALRP Lawyer of
the Year award recepient Alma Soongi Beck (in pink) is joined by cuRvE's photo assistant
Nicole Teichman (far left) and BALIF board members Kelly McCown and Sally Morin
4 "Most Handsome" drag king winners with judge Michelle Wolff (far right) at the It's
Not Just a Man's World calender release and Halloween party in Sacramento 5 Jamie Lee
Curtis (left) and Jennifer Chrisler, executive direc~or of FEC, formerly Family Pride, at the
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Jamie writer/director Michelle Ehlen 8 Michelle Paradise (left) and Jennifer Corday at the
Dante'sCove premier party in L.A. 9 Keynote speaker Kathy Najimy at the Twin Cities
HRC Dinner, Minneapolis 10 Suzanne Noe of Prosuzy on imgay.tv at the Tampa Film
Fest 11 Erin McKeown entertaining the crowd at the Twin Cities HRC dinner
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January/February 2008
I21
Advice
Lipstick & Dipstick
Flirting with Disaster
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I'm out at work
and met a woman who seemed interested
in me. Soon it became clear she is probably closeted, although her interest in me
seemed genuine. I'm in a band and she's
come to a number of my shows, and we
always hang out at work. The problem is,
when I flirt back, she runs away. When I
ask her to lunch or drinks, she declines or
avoids answering, but when I back off, she
seems upset with me. This was a vicious
cycle until I finally told her how I felt after
one of my shows. By opening up, I'd hoped
to get some clarity. Much to my embarrass-
ment, she said she had no as to clue what
I was talking about. She said she was flattered yet doesn't feel the same way. She's
colder toward me now. What is the deal?
Is it safer just to stay away from closeted
women, if that's what's going on? Or is
there something else I could have done?
-Rockin' Out in Rochester
Lipstick:If I have to answer one more question
about a fellow sister falling for a straight woman,
I'm going to fucking lose my mind. Seriously.
Come on, people!
Okay, sorry. I'm calm now. If I was in a band,
I'd play the guitar
and sing the song
"Hey, Breeders,
Leave My Girls
Alone:' I'd dedicate it to all the
curious hetero chicks out
there who continue putting their mitts in our
cookie jar with no intention of ever really eating
a cookie. My tune would be just like Pink Floyd's,
too, except it wouldn't make you want to slit your
wrists or drop acid, but instead go to a dyke bar
and play pool with a bunch of butches.
Dipstick:I'd be in the band, too. Or wait, maybe
"I've never been with a woman, and at this point,
I'm so anxious about being a virgin and so firmly
ensconced as everyone's best friend that I'm about
ready to give myself up as a lost cause, buy a dog
and a new copy of Yes /Am, and enter a life of bitter
hermitage with a vibrator and all four seasons of
The L Word. Am I missing some sort of internal chip?"
I'd be at the bar playing pool ... I'm not sure.
Rockin' Out, let's give the closet case the benefit of the doubt here. You're right, she probably
does have feelings for you. She likes attention
from the cute dyke in the band. Who wouldn't?
Like most of us before we came out, she may not
even be aware that what she's feeling is a crush.
She thinks it's normal to stop by your desk two
to three times a day, to ask you for a ride around
the parking lot on your Harley, to laugh at all your
jokes and touch your thigh after she's
had a few drinks. It's all fun, until she's
forced to admit what she's doing: flirting. Yes, you're right to follow your
instincts and stay far away from this
closet queen. Hit on your bass player
instead. The two of you probably have
great rhythm already.
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I'm
a 21-year-old lesbian. I go to an
all-women's college in an area
known as a "lesbian mecca." My
friends tell me I'm a pretty good
catch. I'm cute, in decent shape
and intelligent. I have no trouble
meeting friends socially, but I'm
painfully single. In fact, I have
never been on a date. I don't
know what's wrong with me. I
can't tell when women are flirting and I end up being friends
with every woman I'm interested
in. I've never been with a woman,
and at this point I'm so anxious
about being a virgin and so firmly
ensconced as everyone's best
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Ask Fairy Butch Advice
Blow Her Mind
friend that I'm about ready to give myself up as a lost cause, buy a dog and
a new copy of Yes I Am, and enter a life
of bitter hermitage with a vibrator and
all four seasons of The L Word. Am I
missing some sort of internal chip?
- Miserable in Mecca
Lipstick:Miz, don't give up! Can't tell if a
woman is flirting? When she gazes into your
eyes then brushes the hair out of your face,
she's flirting. When her hand touches yours
playfully, she's flirting. When she unzips
your jeans and pulls off your underwear, she's
definitely flirting! Here's a tip: Flirt back.
After all, don't you love aggressive women?
I do. In fact, my first girlfriend-aka Double
D-came
on really strong back when we
first got together and damn, was our fire
fierce. What's keeping you from breaking the
seal, Miserable in Mecca, is fear. So, look it
directly in the face and tell it to go bother
some other lonely, hard-up dyke. Push yourself and put yourself out there. To build your
confidence and sexual IQ check out Felice
Newman's The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A
PassionateGuidefor All of Us.
Dipstick:MM, chill out. Unless a lot has
changed since I was in school, gay co-eds
don't really"date:' I remember hanging out in
the student union, going to gay bars, watch-
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Dear Fairy Butch: My partner and I have been
together for almost 10 years, which seems
incredible since we're both in our early 30s.
We have a very satisfying sex life, but I have
one issue. My partner has a fantasy that
she'd like me to fulfill. She'd love for me to
give her a blowjob while she wears a strapon. She tells me it's about the role-playing
aspect and she'd love to know how it feels.
I love my butch and would like to oblige this
fantasy, but I'm stumped. I have no idea
what to do. She was my first sexual experience ever, which she knows. What would be
the best way to do this for her without coming off as looking, or feeling, ridiculous and
stupid? -Loving Partner in Pittsburgh
DearLove:Darling, the key to giving an awesome
strap-on blowjob lies as much between the eyes as it
does between the thighs. It's no wonder you might
feel timid at first-not only do you lack experience,
but the sometimes mystical act of strap-on cocksucking can be rather confounding to some. But
even though you won't be stimulating a flesh and
may enjoy a finger or
two in her vagina or
anus, though she may
well prefer them left
alone in order to preserve the fantasy of altering her gender.
Here's to your first blowjob, my dear. May you
and your partner enjoy it in good health!
Dear Fairy Butch: I am engaged to enter into
a long-term commitment (via nuptial ceremony) with my lover of nine months and we are
planning to continue with our monogamous
relationship. I am in my early 30s and she is
in her mid 40s. One issue that we expect to
be facing soon is her menopause. I am curious about what effects that might have on
our sex life. -Connoisseur of Older Women
in Connecticut
DearConnoisseur:
Well, sugarplum, I'm not going
to lie to you: Certain changes affecting sexuality
do occur in postmenopausal women. Yet there are
remedies as well as ways of relating to these changes. First, let's get to the changes that occur in some
blood cock, you can still engage her physically. Why
does she want you to perform this feat for her? In
women. These are: a) vaginal dryness and thinning
addition to the actual physical sensations a strap-on
blowjob can elicit, the imagery involved-you per-
of the vaginal lining b) lessening of the libido, and
c) less intense orgasms and the need for increased
haps kneeling before her, stroking her thighs with
her cock bobbing in :,ind out of your mouth-can
stimulation in order to get to orgasm.
Now, let's get to those remedies. Vaginal dry-
be quite powerful and pleasurable indeed.
In my book, The Ultimate Guide to Strap-On
ness can be readily dealt with through the application of Astroglide or K-Y Jelly, and local estrogen
creams can decrease vaginal thinning without in-
ing the field hockey team and even studying
as a pack. Every once in a while, one of us
Sex: A CompleteResourcefor Women and Men, I devote a chapter to finding the "inner dick," and dildo
fluencing hormone levels throughout the body. If
would get drunk and sleep with someone else
in the pack, or pick up someone from outside
the pack at a bar. Sure, there was one couple
fellatio is an especially good time for both of you to
envision that hunk of silicone or PVC as a material
juicing things up doesn't solve the issue, systemic
estrogens in the form of pills and patches· can be
used. The lowest effective dose should be used and
in the group, but they fought more than they
fucked, so none of us envied them. Being in
expression of a psychic reality. For those minutes or
hours in which you'll be involved in the endeavor,
do what you can to envision the piece as her real
college is all about the circle of friends you'll
stay connected to for the rest of your life. A
cock. This works best, by the way, with a realistic
dildo, complete with head, shaft, veins and balls.
woman's flagging libido and orgasmic intensity.
Attitudes can be restructured to accommodate
college buddy will probably introduce you
Make sure that the base of the dildo is solidly
connected to your lover's vulva. Use your lips and
tongue to caress the head of the cock, lick the shaft,
postmenopausal women's changing bodies. Some
folks find the extra time and attention required to
reach orgasm a great time to cuddle and connect
with their partners. Also, many women really come
to your future wife at her Ph.D. party three
years from now. So, stop stressing so much
about it. But if it's really important for you to
grab the base and tap it against your lips and face.
slough off that pesky virginity, stop worrying
about who is and who isn't flirting and just
Do all the things that you think might feel good,
including licking the underside of the shaft, tongu-
start asking girls out. The odds are in your
favor that at Lesbian U at least one woman
will say yes before you graduate. ■
ing the balls and kissing the head gently. When you
really start to get going, suck the head as you stroke
the shaft rhythmically and press the base into her
Ask us anythingaboutsex, loveor lesbiansat
lipstickdipstick.com.
pussy. This is where the visual and the physical sensations of the act really come together! Your butch
progesterone can be added to protect the uterus.
Small amounts of testosterone can often boost a
into their own at the time of menopause, having
developed increased sexual skill and confidence, as
well as a greater sense of emotional security. For
more info, check out thirdage.com and ourbodiesourselves.org. ■
E-mailJb@fairybutch.comwith your queriesregarding
lesbianlife,sexualityand romance.
January/February 2008
Advice
Astro Grrl
New Year, New Career
"The adoring masses
beat a path
to your
door in
early 2008."
Capricorn (December 23-January 20)
Sex:Reach out and touch someone new. You make an excellent
first impression, which gives you the chance for further impres,
sions ... and indentations. Career:
Steel yourself and plan to de,
liver your spiel to bosses later in the month. Who knows what
you can accomplish without whining.
Aquarius (January 21-February 19)
Sex:The adoring masses beat a path to your door in early 2008.
Although you are given a range of delightful choices, try to set,
tle on just one particular face in the crowd. Career:A miscom,
munication on the job could cost you dearly. But all is well if you
use your mouth strictly for unprofessional pursuits.
Pisces (February 20-March 20)
Sex: ot only are you tossed into the social epicenter, you are
adored for the goddess you are. Is it possible to have too much
of a good thing:> Heck no. Career:They love you at work too.
Work your considerable charm up to a lather and press the
bosses. Rubadub, Guppie.
Aries (March 21-April 20)
Sex:There is more to you than meets the eye in early 2008. Is it
your sense of"cool"? You will be happier if you turn up the heat
before you freeze. Career:Don't wait patiently for the raise you
deserve at work. Time will tell only if you occasionally wind
the watch.
Taurus (April 21-May 21)
Sex: Grrr. Sapphic Bulls know just what to do to turn a gal's
engine on and send it into overdrive. Rev it and accelerate all
through 2008. Just don't run out of gas.
Career:Daydreaming will not get the job done, but maybe a
certain dreamboat will give you a helping hand. How low will
she go?
Gemini (May 22-June 21)
Sex:You are feisty to a fault. Lovergrrls would like a bit of atten,
tion but may play hard to get. Know when to turn it on, up and
off. It will drive them crazy! Career:
A few things about the job
continue to surprise you in early 2008. Maybe, just maybe, you
are contributing to the general melee?
Cancer (June 22-July 23)
Sex:Relationships bring luck and love in early 2008. If you are
looking for your match you may just find one. But you have to
get Out there and look. See? Career:Keep up your confidence
by telling yourself how smart and capable you are. Lie if you
have to.
they should think again or, even better, you should give them a
strong hint. Career:Use your connections to get a push up the
corporate ladder. If that doesn't work, try flirtation, bribery or
even blackmail.
Virgo (August 24-September 23)
Sex: Relationships can go the distance if you give them your
full attention. Are you on the prowl? Use more effective bait
than just waving your wallet around. Career: You are tempted
to spend, spend, spend. I guess it's better than work, work,
work. But be sure you get what you pay for.
Libra (September 24-0ctober 23)
Sex: A girlfriend in need asks for a favor yet again. She is a
pest. Try to fob her off on someone who is unsuspectingly na,
ive. Career:If you have put in the time at work, you can now
reap the rewards. If you have been lazy, use the time to put in
the sweat equity. Oh goodie.
Scorpio (October 24-November 22)
Sex: Lovergrrls light up your life and demand your presence
at every little social event. How much light do you really need,
though? Career:
You think you can pull the wool over the eyes of
senior management. Interestingly, this will work ... for a time.
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Sagittarius (November 23-December 22)
Sex:You heat up the landscape all through the winter. Find a
sizzly lady who you can cook to a crisp. Career:Expect action,
more action and reaction in your career now. You think that
you.are too good to be true. But are you really:>■
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Leo (July 24-August 23)
Sex: Gal pals think they know what is good for you. Perhaps
24
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For more advicefrom the stars, visit our astrologer,Charlene
Lichtenstein,online at thestarryeye.com.
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Relationships Advice
Come On Baby,Light My Fire
A few tips on how to get that spark back. I By Kate Lacey
You used to light her fire in the bedroom, but now your twilight playground
is about as combustible as a swimming pool during a rainstorm. Lesbian Bed
common fantasy is the threesome. Inviting a third party is fine if you're both
Death (LBD) can happen to anyone, and while the factors for her carnal boy-
into that, but be aware of the risks you take when you share your intimate
relations with another person. You have enough problems seducing one girl
cott may vary, there are steps you can take to stoke the flames faster than she
can say'Tm not in the mood:'
without introducing another, and if she didn't want to be with you alone,
chances are having a crowd in the room is not the answer. Some fantasies are
better left to the imagination.
Change of Venue
Is your woman burning her fuel in another girl's furnace? If so, you can bet
Mix it up:If you're always on top, maybe it's time to let someone else ride the
she's not going to have much heat left for you. Really, you should move on if
pony for a while. Go to the nearest sex shop and find some interesting new toys
she's stoking flames elsewhere. As much as you may crave the excitement of
to try out with one another. Try giving her a massage, or maybe a drink while
touching fire, it's an easy way to get burned. Look for the classic signs of infidelity: unexplained absences, odd phone numbers on the caller ID or tell-tale
"curling iron burns" on the neck-and she doesn't curl her hair. Once she has
listening to the music that she finds sexy. Maybe it's time to try a little thing
called seduction. Perhaps the lesbian bed was beaten to death by your insensi-
moved on to greener pastures and forsaken your bed for another's, there's not
tivity in thinking that lights out means get naked. There is an art to foreplay and
seduction that maybe you've forgotten. While a good stiff breeze and a Victoria's
much you can do (short of weekly couple's therapy with Dr. Phil) to get that
Secret commercial may open the floodgates for you, perhaps it takes a bit more
loving feeling back on track.
to get your girl revved up these days. The 11 clock news may not get her going,
but maybe a special video will. (By the way, fast-forwarding your DVD to the
Menopause
good parts of Dante's Cove doesn't really constitute foreplay, either.)
o
She's having the change oflife, which means, yes, you both are having a change
in life. She's menopausal while you're just pausing, waiting it out. Her hor-
The key to maintaining a relationship will always be to talk openly with each
mones are waxing and waning like the ocean tides and her sex drive is nil.
Hormone therapy can help, as can some herbal remedies. You should go with
other. Explore what's boring you as well as what could possibly heat you up. Be
willing to listen without judgment, and remember that you shouldn't feel bad
her to the doctor. Be supportive and understand that she cannot help how she
doesn't feel right now. Remember, your turn will come, and the patience you
for wanting to have intimate relations with your girl, just as she shouldn't feel
bad for not wanting intimacy. In the end, sex is just one small part of what con-
show now may be granted to you in return.
stitutes a relationship. There is a whole world of intimacy to explore that may
have very little to do with what you do when you get naked. Start to build on
Same Old, Same Old
that and before you know it, you will have a bonfire blazing between you. ■
If the two of you are in a sexual rut, this is actually the best reason
for not getting your Posturepedic rocking. Breathing new life into
a mature relationship takes creativity and a willingness to change
on both your parts. Here are some ideas you can try:
Roleplaying:Get out of your old skin and recreate yourselves behind closed doors. Play doctor and nurse, pick your favorite L
Word character (or any other television persona), or go to a bar
separately and pick each other up as if you'd just met. Try playing
rehab roommates, where one of you is Britney and the other is
Lindsay, and watch those sparks fly. (Though there may not be
enough alcohol on the planet to make it that hot.) Do not, however, expect her to suddenly become a different person; this is not
the point. If she's always been a shy and passive girl with control
tendencies, calling her by a different name for 20 minutes will not
suddenly alter her personality.
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Getkinky:Talk about your fantasies and try living them out-with
§
each other. Some people are not open to being tied up, dominated,
humiliated or handcuffed to their bedpost. In that case, you have
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to work with what you're given. If her idea of kinky is having sex
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in the daytime with all of your clothes on, holding out may mean
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no sex again until the next Republican president is in office. One
January/February 2008
Dyke Drama
Michele Fisher
How Long Is Too Long to Wait:
The best part of being queer is the sex, unless, of course, you aren't getting any.
I am a homo,sex,ual. We homosexuals like to have sex with people of the
same gender. We don't necessarily like them better than we like the other
gender; we'djust rather have sex with them.
Isn't it ironic that we get into relationships with folks of the same sex so
that we can have the right kind of sex for us, but then some of us don't have
sex once we're in those relationships?
Been there and done that. And from what I am hearing, so have a lot of
you out there.
Now that I am older, wiser and homier, I would never put up with a pla,
tonic relationship with a lover. Platonic. Doesn't that mean "friend?"
Companionship. Isn't that what pets are for?
Do single lesbos have more sex than married ones? I really hope not. I
hope that everybody is having lots of sex.
But judging by the number of crabby lesbians I see around town, I fear
that many of us are not getting enough.
So here it is, my attempt to make sure that the lesbian community is a
sexier place to be. Hopefully, after you read this, you will be overcome with
desire and take it out on some other woman. (Perhaps those of you who are
at work should postpone reading this article until after your shift.)
To those of you who would write to inform me that some people have
very good reasons for not having sex, and that only therapy can help them
discover the nature of their feelings, I say you are right-sex is not a substi,
tute for therapy. But then again, my therapy,addicted compadres, therapy is
no substitute for sex, either.
I know a woman who has not slept with another woman (or man) in 15
years. She is not ugly, nor is she any weirder than the rest of us. She is not so
busy that she doesn't have time for sex, nor is she committed to some spiri,
tual pursuit that precludes physical intimacy. She wasn't sexually traumatized
or humiliated. She told me that after her last relationship, she just kind of
forgot about sex for a few years. After that, she worried about why she was
not sexual, but assumed that the right woman would come (ahem) along and
end her unintentional stint of celibacy. At about the five,year point, she quit
worrying and just figured that life would show her the way. Now it's been 15
years, and she swears she doesn't miss it. In fact, she is not even sure if she
wants to have sex ever again.
Fifteen blankin' years without sex with another woman! No way. I would
die. Perhaps it would have been better had I waited until I
was out of her earshot to express my feelings on the subject,
but I could not contain my horror. Obviously, I was way more
upset about her situation than she was, but then she's had a
lot more time to get used to it.
But at least she is single. What if she had a wife and had
not had sex in 15 years? Sometimes I see a couple at the
grocery store and I swear I can t~ll that they have not had
the pleasure in a long, long time. Sure, I could be wrong. But
when you see that look in a woman's eye, and she is giving it
to a pint of ice cream, you kind of know what isn't going on
in the bedroom. Like I said, been there and I am not going
back. (Sorry, Sara Lee.)
A few weeks ago, I was talking to a woman who has been
in a relationship with the same woman for 22 years. I was
impressed. We talked about everything from their super fun
and cute kid to the "eating local and organic" trend that is fi,
nally catching on, even outside of Lezzieville. Then we got to
talking about our women and she let me in on a little secret
that I feel compelled to share (which is probably why people
don't tell me their secrets). She doesn't need sex. Her wife
wants sex, she told me, but she herself doesn't need it. "So
what do you do about your wife's needs?" I asked her. "It's the
only thing we fight about;' she replied.
Sex is worth fighting for and about. I didn't risk my life
being a queer in "Trailer Park, Ore.;' so that I could not have
sex with women.
What does "not needing sex" mean, anyway? I fear it is
a euphemism for "I don't want to have sex:' Nobody really
needs sex, but when you want it bad, it sure feels like a need.
If you are one of those folks who don't "need" sex, and your
partner does, then I suggest you get naked right now. Hey, if
26
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she asked you for a brownie or a new surfboard you wouldn't hesitate, so you
are getting off cheap ... so to speak.
If, Goddess forbid, you are not having sex with your partner because you
are not attracted to her, then get the hell out! It is not complicated-it's
pain-
don't. You can't give in because then she wins. You never clean the bathroom
so she is never going to do you again. Whoa! When did all this weirdness
happen? Maybe you do need professional help ... from a cleaning woman
and a hooker.
ful. Those two concepts are very different, so don't get them twisted, sister.
Maybe sex was just your way of securing a relationship, and now that the
Both of you need to move on and find people you do want to see naked.
But if you just can't make yourself do it, even though you do want to be
courtship stage is over, so is the frolicking. Snap out of it! Sex is not relation-
with her, then there's something serious going on-and
it ain't going away
just because you ignore it. Everything else you have together is not enough.
Knitting and traveling cannot take the place of sex, nor can eating or childrearing. Sooner or later, you are going to have to face the problem.
Denial works for ill-behaved pets and unruly hair, but not for sexless relationships. What will happen is that one of you will find a new pastime called
ship foreplay. It is the difference between having a relationship and having a
goldfish. Somet~mes it's the only thing that keeps you from throwing her stuff
on the front lawn.
What should you do if you are trapped in a nonsexual relationship? Well,
don't stop bringing it up. Even when she threatens that your blabbing about
it makes her want sex even less, just keep on keeping on. She is just trying to
a little tramp, and life will become all bad really fast. What makes us not need
turn you into a passionless robot like her. Being a nag is better than being a
eunuch. She might just do you to get you to shut up. When sex ends, the re-
sex? Do we get tired, lazy, mad, bored or a combo of all of the above?
I think we get uptight and self-conscious and squeeze all the joy out of the
lationship will eventually follow. It may take several years, but it will happen.
At some point, you will hide the fact that you are using the "spare bedroom"
experience. Just because you are no longer carried away on a pillow of ecstasy
from your gay friends the same way you used to hide the fact that you were
when you and your girl make whoopee doesn't mean that you are not into it, or
that you have to stop making noise or asking for what you want. No, it is not
not using it from your parents years ago.
We are sexual beings. We queers risk our lives every day for sex, so make
embarrassing. Going poo with the door open is embarrassing (after the age of
the risk worthwhile. You deserve passion and pleasure. If it has been too long
4) and many of you are doing that in front of your women (yuck). So what is
the big deal about asking her for a couple more fingers to get you off?
between romps, do something about it. Log on, reach out or roll over-just
don't give up.
I have also heard that sex in relationships becomes a power struggle, and
not the fun kind that involves leather and barking orders. She wants it so, you
Reduce the number of grouchy dykes in the world by one. She definitely
won't be missed. ■
January/February 2008
I27
Politics VictoriaA. Brownworth
My Resolution Revolution
Make a plan to change the world in 2008.
The New Year always scares me. So much promise, so many good intentions.
How to make the promise and the good intentions come to fruition?
This year, with the first likely woman candidate for president in U.S. histo,
ry, possibilities look more and more like probabilities. This time next year, we
may very well be waiting for the inauguration of the first female president.
days after the announcement of the award. She was born in Iran when it
was still Persia (her father was a British officer), published her first book in
1950, and in 1962 published what m;my consider to be her most monumen,
tal work, The Golden Notebook. Lessing changed the face of literature and the
lives of countless women with her openly feminist work and made the white,
That's part of the tantalizing promise of change.
But change, like charity, always begins at home. With individuals, not gov,
men,only world ofliterature take notice.
I thought about these two women as New Year's approached because, de,
ernments. With one woman, not one president.
In September 2007, one of my personal heroines, Aung San Suu Kyi, who
spite significant odds, they have devoted their lives to change. Suu Kyi has
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, once again led the democracy move,
literally risked her life every day for two decades in the fight to reclaim her
position as prime minister,elect of Burma and return her people to freedom.
ment in Burma (now called Myanmar by the military regime). Once again,
the woman who has spent 11 years in and out of house arrest was imprisoned
Lessing has fought to put women front and center in literature and thus in
social consciousness-a difficult task in 1950 and a hard one even today.
by the regime as it worked to quell the uprising of the world's most oppressed
people. Yet her voice was not stilled; she was not silenced.
In October 2007, Doris Lessing, one of the most celebrated feminist writ,
find if we look.
ers in the world, won the Nobel Prize in literature. Lessing turned 88 just
"Hopeis difficultto maintainin the face
of horror.Yet hope is our onlychancefor
survival.My firstNew Year'sresolution,
then, is: Don't giveup hope."
We need role models to help us chart our own course. They are easy to
In my own personal sphere, there are four: My maternal grandmother,
Anne Djorup Moore, was a suffragist. My paternal grandmother, May
Seversen Brownworth, took in washing and other women's children during
the Depression. My sister's youngest daughter, Shifra Goldenberg, is working
for peace-at just 20-in the Middle East. My best friend of over 30 years,
Roberta Hacker, is a social worker who has spent the past 44 years-since
she was 18-protecting women and children from domestic violence, some,
times saving their lives.
I've received hundreds ofletters over the years from women and girls who
tell me that I am their role model, that my words have helped to make a
change in the lives of others. I feel
honored every time someone tells
me that, because what I strive to
do is what Gandhi implored: "Be
the change you want to see in the
world:'
I have tried to be that change; I
have, at times, failed. But I have al,
ways tried, and that's the first steptrying to make a difference.
Each of us needs to choose a path
for change if we want the world to be
a better, safer, more equitable place.
When Martin Luther King, Jr. gave
his famous "I Have a Dream" speech
at the march on poverty in August
1963, the speech began as a dark and
despairing rant about the plight of
the poor in the United States. But
Mahalia Jackson, the famous gos,
pel singer, had heard King's origi,
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nal speech when he had practiced it
days earlier. She stood behind him
and she called out to him repeat,
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And he did. Those words resound still, with their message of
hope and possibility.
Despair is easy because so much horror surrounds us. Hope
is difficult to maintain in the face of horror. Yet hope is our only
chance for survival.
My first New Year's resolution, then, is: Don't give up hope.
My second resolution is to urge everyone to pick one issue and
work on it for the duration of 2008. It isn't to lose weight or quit
smoking. Those are admirable personal goals. Good for you, if you
can do them. But what I want you to do is something bigger, some,
thing for the world. Something like stopping these evils:
• Therapeandmurderof women and girls in Congo, Sudan,
Somalia and elsewhere. Stop Rape Now (stoprapenow.org) and
Women for Women International (womenforwomen.org) can
direct you to ways you can help women and girls who have been
victimized by rape, war and repression.
• Theenslavement
of women and girls worldwide. Some of this
is sexual slavery; some of it is domestic slavery. There are millions
of actual slaves in the world today and the overwhelming majority
of them are female. Anti,Slavery International (antislavery.org) is
a British nongovernmental organization that works to stop slavery
worldwide. Its images of suffering girls and women will haunt you,
but that's a good thing, because it will make it easier for you to act
to save them.
• Theacidattackson women and girls by men for refusing
marriage or sexual proposals. These are on the rise, particularly
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are helping these women and girls, but Human Rights Solidarity
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and how to help the survivors.
The gravity of these issues cannot be overstated. Women and
girls are being held in domestic and sexual slavery in the United
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States as well as abroad. In New Jersey, California, Oklahoma,
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Florida, Texas and New York, women and girls are being held
against their will in private homes and in brothels. Women are
being eviscerated and raped in Congo and Sudan. The emo,
tional and physical trauma, if they are lucky enough to survive, is
monumental.
We can act now to help stop these atrocities.
It's a new year.
Few of us will become the next Aung San Suu Kyi or Doris
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others to do so. Make your No. 1 New Year's resolution to help
end the suffering of women and girls. In 2008, resolve to make the
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Couple
SuesOverTwins
Ina storythat'srattlingeveryone's
cage,
a lesbian
coupleinAustralia
is suingtheir
Canberra
gynecologist
afterheallegedly
botched
anin vitrofertilization
procedure
andimplanted
twoembryos
insteadof
one,resulting
inthebirthoftwingirls.
Thecouple,
whowantedonlyonechild,
is suingDr.Sydney
Robert
Armellin
for
$340,000
to coverthecostof raisingone
of thetwins.
Thecasehasspurredanoutcryfrom
Australian
Senator
GuyBarnettandfrom
manyothersworldwide
whoclaimthat
IVFprocedures
shouldbeavailable
only
to marriedheterosexual
couples.
The
implication,
supporters
of thecouplesay,
isthatthesewomenareungrateful
for
havingtwohealthychildrenandtherefore
shouldnothavethesamerightsas
straightcouples.
Ina statement
released
bythecouple,
thewomensaidthecasewasneverabout
whethertheylovedtheirchildren,
butmore
about"thedutycaredoctorshaveover
theirpatients."
Thecaseis pending
at presstime.
thantheirs.
Theresults
comefroma
Dutchstudyof
200couples
with
childrenranging
in agefrom4 to
8.Theresearch
groupwasequallydivided
between
lesbian
andheterosexual
couples.
Usinga combination
offamilyobservation,questionnaires
andparenting
logs,
thestudyfocusedonboththeemotional
well-being
of thechildren
andtheparentingskillsoftheadults.
Inaddition
to confirming
thatchildren
of lesbians
wereequally
well-adjusted,
theresearch
showed
thatthelesbian
biological
mothers
werehappier
withtheir
co-parents
thanthestraightmothers
were.
According
to theRockaway
Institute,
a national
centerforresearch
andpublic
policyonLGBT
issues,
theresultsofthe
Dutchstudywereverysimilarto the
resultsof U.S.andCanadian
research.
Republican
MayorChanges
HisStance
OnGayMarriage
Inanemotional
pressconference,
Mayor
JerrySanders
of SanDiegopublicly
reversedhisopposition
to
gaymarriage
and
GaysDecline
onBroadcast
1V,
vowed
to
sign
Increase
onCable
a resolution
in
LastTVseason,
therewerefewerLGBT
supportof it.
characters
onnetwork
TVbutlotsmore
The
onscriptedcable
Republican
shows,according
mayorsaid
to a studyby
thatlikemanyAmericans,
his
GL.AAD.
"position
hasevolved
significantly."
Mayor
Thestudy
Sanders
initiallysupported
civilunionsand
foundthatin
domestic
partnerships
butnowbelieves
the2007-08
gaymarriage
istheonlyoption.
season
there
Sanders'
decision
couldbedetrimental
willbesevenregularly
appearing
LGBT
to himpolitically.
In2000,61percent
of
characters
in supporting
or leadingroles
San
Diego
voters
signed
a
ballot
measure
onnetworkshows:sixonABCandoneon
banning
gaymarriage.
Sanders
is upfor
NBC.CBS,FOXandtheCWhavenoplans
re-election
thisyear.
to airshowswithLGBT
characters.
Inhispressconference,
themayor
Cable
TV,ontheotherhand,will have
thatmanypeoplein his
40 regularLGBT
characters
on21scripted acknowledged
community
woulddisagree
withhisdecishows(likeNip/Tuck
above),
anincrease
sionbutvowedthathewasonly"tryingto
of 15characters
fromlastyear.
dowhat[hebelieves]
is right."
GLAAD
saidthesenumbers
showthat
Sanders
endedhispressconference
by
network
TVis growingmorecautious
personalizing
thisdivisiveissue,referring
aboutdepicting
gays.
specifically
to hislesbian
daughter,
her
partnerandmembers
of hispersonal
staff.
"I wanttheirrelationships
to be
StudyProves
Lesbian
Parents
Are
protected
equallyunderthelaw.I could
asGood
orBetter
not
look
any
oftheminthefaceandtell
Finally,
thereis scientific
evidence
to prove
themthattheirrelationships
wereanyless
whatweknewallalon~hildren raised
meaningful
thanthemarriage
thatI share
bylesbianparents
areaswell-adjusted
as
withmywife,"Sanders
said.
children
raisedbyheterosexuals,
andthat
- KatiePeoples
andKristin
A.Smith
ourparenting
skillsmayevenbebetter
January/February 2008
I29
IF SANTA WAS STINGY
There's still time to get her Babeland's Come Together Holiday
Kit, a sexy package with Massage
Spray Oil, Laya Spot, Petal Ring
and Babeland Toy Cleaner. Pair it up
with Babeland's own Massage Bars
(which come in a portable 8-pack).
($72 and $18, babeland.com)
WE HEART HOOTERS
She'll love Tit Totes as much as our editors did. These
completely unique and handcrafted handbags made
out of bras (by a Scorpio femme, no less) make for
cute and super sexy clutches named after celebs. ($80
and up, motherwit.com/tittotes)
IT'S IN THE CARDS
The 100 tear-out lottery tickets in the spicy
little Sex Scratchers offer up Tic-Tac-ooOH and Baby's Got Blackjack
in which everyone wins. The Erotic Massage Deck offers up 50 ways
to get in the mood while Truth or Dare (a game of passion) turns the
summer camp favorite on its head. ($15 and up, chroniclebooks.com)
LET ff SNOW
Warm up her winter with a steamy
come-hither Satin Tapestry Flowered Jacquard Strapless Corset and
Tiered Silk Chiffon
Skirt from Shirley
of Hollywood. ($40
and up, shirleyofhollywood.com)
MODERN CHOCOLATE AND STRAWBERRIES
Have fun writing naughty messages on each other
with Gasworks' lickable Body Chocolate Pens. Pair
them with the heart-shaped Alpine Strawberry Recyclabowl-a kit full of everything you need to raise
your own strawberries-and you'll remind her that the
chocolate strawberry routine will last the long haul.
($10, goodvibes.com; $20, wishingfish.com)
MOOD LIGHTING
Earthly Body vegan, envirofriendly, petro-free hemp and
soy candles double as massage
oil in scents like Naked in the
Woods, Breakfast in Bed and
Squeezed. They even have
edible massage candles! ($16,
earthlybody.com)
HANDS ARE TIED
She won't mind having her hands
tied with these Fuzzy Pink Handcuffs. Or
you won't. ($12 and up, fuzzydude.com)
Panting after that dream gal just got a lot easier.These 27 gifts are sure to
make her sit up and listen. Or lay down and do other things for Valentine'sday.
By Mea Chavez • Photos by Mia Nakano and Kina Williams
nau
BOTTOMS UP
Sporty is sexy with the lesbian-made Tung Gear colorful
boy briefs, designed for the alternative tomboy. If that's
too tame, give her Sik's blunt panties with to-the-point
_ expressions like "There's more to me than just a great
ass," "All you can eat" and "Wish you were here." ($12,
tunggear.com and sikworld.com)
GEEK POETRY
Did you meet online? Fall in love chatting?
Then these QWERTY magnets made from used
keyboards are the perfect way to say "LUV U."
($9, firebox.com)
A COOL DATE
Sure, it's not for you Minnesotans, but
the Southern belles will adore this cuteas-can-be and totally gay-in-rainbow-colors Ice Cream Carrier. Carpet picnics with
hot fudge sundaes will definitely lead to
surprise. ($60, uncommongoods.com)
STRUT YOUR STUFF
Protect your skin without sunscreen.
These racy parasols are the perfect accessory to splash some color into a room.
What a bang the Mandarin cherry parasol
would make in your pad or garage, for that
matter. ($20, retroagogo.com)
LOUNGE AROUND
These 100 percent organic cotton robes from
Britta Wear are colorful and soft, and come in
multiple styles. Slip on the short, Red Orchid
print poplin robe for trips to and from the
pool or shower. Or get snuggly in the long
and comfy Sky Blue Chrysanthemum terry
velour for evenings in front of the fire. The
robes are made in a sweatshop-free environment in San Diego and 1O percent of the profits go to environmental and animal charities.
($98 and up, brittawear.com)
GIRLS NIGHT IN
Have a little fun this winter with Table Topics,
decks of 135 conversation starters for women, couples and more, that get as steamy as
you like. ($25, tabletopics.com)
SINGING IN THE RAIN ...
ER, SHOWER
If she's a Homo Depot type, she
doesn't want a bustier. Surprise her
with Moen's enormous new 8-inch
Rainshower Showerhead. She'll get
the message. ($37, !owes.com)
D'LISH-OUS DELIGHTS
Portland, Ore.'s own D'lish's handmade bath and body treats
are so yummy looking she'll want to eat 'em. Meant to look
like real food, these heavenly smelling treats are made of
all-natural ingredients like strawberries and dried milk. Try our
_ editor's faves: the Venus Envy fizz, the Peppermint UFO and
the truly decadent Birthday Cake Novelty Bath Bombe. ($4
and up, dlishus.com)
ne-
VOODOO FOR YOU-KNOW-WHO
Handy and clever, this knife holder will cut
away the pain or regret, or just let you laugh
at the thought of your ex. It's the perfect antiValentine's day gift. ($100, firebox.com)
to see the desert.
emotions and spiritual intuitions are amplified in their vicinity, so
All that hot sand
whatever your path, it will be sped up in Sedona. Personally, I felt
and prickly cactiyuck. Furthermore, I am skeptical about most things mystical.
most drawn by the Cold Stone Creamery ice cream vortex and
was literally unable to walk by it without feeling the pull of strong
That's probably why I won a seven-night luxury stay in Sedona,
Ariz., spiritual-tourism destination of the Upper Sonoran Desert.
Gift certificates in hand, I invited a Wiccan friend from Phoenix,
internal urges. It sucked me in day after day to peruse its many offerings, and when I departed I always felt brighter, sweeter, more
l'D NEVER WANTED
packed my hiking gear and resigned myself: At least I'd get some
decent Mexican food.
Some three hours south of the Grand Canyon, at 4,500 feet,
and way cooler than Phoenix, Sedona is renowned for the massive
red-rock formations that surround the town and for its invisible
"energy vortexes;' which reportedly channel energies in ways best
understood by American Indians and New Age seekers. It is the
planetary meeting place of spirit and commerce.
Sedona gets some 3.5 million vis1tors a year, most of them
looking for a hit-or at least a hint-of mysticism. Most of them
find it, because you can't step out of your hotel room or campsite
without encountering the mystic, either in person, in the rocks or
in the hundreds of businesses that make up Sedonas center.
The town's main streets intersect at a Y that connects Uptown,
34
I curve
intensely alive.
In preparation for our Medicine Wheel ceremony with Sedona
Vortex Tours, we were asked to fill out a questionnaire: "Where
are you on your spiritual path? What books have you read?" Each
question was followed by a tiny blank space. When my friend and
I laughed, the guide shared some of the answers she'd seen:
Q:Whereareyouonyourspiritualpath?
A:Here.
Q:Booksread?
A:Allof them.
The next day, before heading for my first"vortex hike;' I com-
the Gallery District and West Sedona. Each area bustles with
pleted the Sedona Spirit Yoga and Hiking Responsibility for
Personal Well-Being form ("I promise to move cautiously and
honor my body's needs"). Though I honored my body's needs by
businesses touting enlightenment. Endless signs advertise healers, past life readings, American Indian sweat lodges, psychics,
nature-inspired feng shui, tarot card readers, spiritual massage,
wimping out halfway to the top, the journey was nonetheless enchanting. The leader, Roxeanne, explained how native people had
used local plants for medicine and food, and I clambered high
tai chi, chi gong, fire walking, earth spirit learning, crystal energy
work, "Crystal Blue Persuasion;' etc. You and your aura can get
massaged, read, treated, healed and photographed all on the same
enough to do tai chi on a stone plateau overlooking the greenand-red valley. While my fitter companions carried on to the spiraling vortex center, I rested on a flat rock. I watched huge birds
day, even before you hike to the nearest vortex (marked with a
white spiral on the tourist map).
Although vortexes affect everyone differently, it's agreed that
gliding on the air currents, and I sent telepathic encouragement to
the doll-size hikers below. I don't know if it was the vortex energy,
but I felt high.
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town turned arts village, hosts a monthly event called
Although Sedona may have its silly aspects, every single tour
guide, psychic or server, every healer or hotel employee I met had
"Out in Jerome;' when the gay-friendly galler-
their feet on the ground and a strong sense of humor. "In Sedona,
ies and eateries (i.e., all of them) stay open
we all put a safety shield of white light around our vehicles;' one
guide mentioned as we entered a busy road, "but sometimes folks
from out of town forget to put theirs on, so there can be accidents:' No one read doom in my aura or channeled energy at me.
No one even threatened to share their feelings.
Well beyond gay-friendly, Sedona embraces any visitor who
appreciates fine scenery and a good massage. Same-sex couples
mingle with straights in the Jeep tours and hot tubs, and everyone's happy on vacation. No one blinked when we asked for queer
newspapers. Furthermore, the service at nearly every restaurant
and hotel was excellent. The staff at the cushy, creekside Amara
Resort made me feel especially welcome, and ex-New Yorker
Peter may be the best bell captain on earth. In decades of world
travel, I've never before seen a valet sprint.
To meet the locals, try to visit the city pool, the Wildflower
Bread Company or the amazing Cafe Raw Bliss & Chocolates
(organic, orgasmic, sugarless gourmet sweets). Bring an extralarge suitcase and a little extra cash to raid the fantastic thrift
I
SAT ON A
FLAT ROCK. I
and conversation.
WATCHED HUGE
Despite Sedona's tourist attractions, one longtime resident
BlRDS GLIDE ON
told me that she dislikes going
into town and mostly stays on THE AIR CURRENTS ...
her property in the hills. "So;'
I DON'T KNOW IF IT
I asked her, "Sedona's about the
WAS THE VORTEX
spirituality, for you?"
She corrected me: "It's about
ENERGY, BUT I
the land:' I agree. This former desertFELT HIGH.
a-phobe is no longer skeptical about the
late, and people pack the Mile High
Grill for silly drinks, magical salads
wonders of Sedona. I did eat great Mexican
food at Oaxaca and Rincon's, but even better, I enjoyed a sugar-scrub massage at the hands of Beth Ernst and
heard American Indian storytelling and music from flutist Kelvin
store, Twice Nice, where the donated designer fashions scream of
Mockingbird. After a week of hiking and sweating, shopping and
sightseeing, I finally got quiet and relaxed, listening to Navajo sto-
being cast off by wealthy women with exquisite taste and where
profits benefit a women's shelter. Also, Jerome, a former ghost
ries of the people, the animals and the mystics of the desert, but
most of all, the land. ■
January 2008
I35
llollywooJ' s new quadruple lkeal
jusl happens lo be a lesbian. llurrah.
Ry Diane AnJerson-MinshJl • Pholos by Toky Photography
I
t'd be a mistake to take Michelle Paradise at face value. The comic ac,
really fantastic. Especially working with a network like Logo .... they're a
tor who created and starred in The Ten Rules, the lesbian short film
little bit smaller, so they give you the opportunity to do things that you
might not otherwise get to do. I have other executive producers that I work
about dating and exes that became an underground hit years ago,
looks like the ultimate lesbian girl next door. She's funny and cute
and maybe a little shy, and when, during a breezy lunch in an al fresco
with. Bill Grundfest, who came on to develop the show for television, has
quite a lot of experience. He was on Mad About You and he's been in televi,
cafe, she offers up that trademark smile and her lilting earnest chortle, you
know, right then, that you want to be her and you want to do her. And after the
Why Logo instead of a different network?
premier of her unabashed hit Exes and Ohs-a Logo television series based
on the original short-half of the lesbians in America think so, too. Paradise,
This is a lesbian show, lesbian characters ... so a gay network was a perfect
choice. Logo has been really collaborative ... the direction that the network
whose pitch,perfect comic timing is, honest to God, second only to that of
Ellen DeGeneres, has channeled her aw,shucks niceness into life as a qua,
is going seems to be the perfect fit for this kind of show and this kind of
sensibility. This is a dramady. It has a basic cable kind of sensibility to it. It
druple threat, as the creator, producer, writer and star of the series that's set
was never meant to be, nor would it ever be, the kind of show that pushes
boundaries sexually or anything like that. Plus, the fact that they wanted to
to turn gay TV on its head. And she did it all without an agent or an iota of
Hollywood's infamous "let's do lunch" smarminess, relying on help from the
short's director, Lee Friedlander, and producer, Abbie Ludgwig, and a whole
lot of buzz. Now this former Mormon (and BYU grad) is one of Tinseltown's
youngest showrunners (aka producer,creator), one,half of a Hollywood
power couple (but she won't talk about her well,known girlfriend) and quite
the big cheese, managing a cast of hot, some openly lesbian, actors (including
superstars Heather Matarazzo and Megan Cavanagh). As for this late,bloom,
ing funny chick who's been hamming it up since she was a 5,year,old, staging
backyard Hello Dolly remakes in San Diego, well, success co~ldn't have hap,
pened to a nicer gal.
The reception to Exes and Ohs is phenomenal.
I know. It's so exciting. I can't even cell you. It's really fantastic.
sion and comedy for a long, long time.
do this, which is also a really big deal because, as you know, getting a show
on the air is ... not something that happens every day.
Absolutely. Tell me a little bit about casting the show. Was there a
casting couch?
Yes,we all slept with everybody [laughs].No, the casting process was very, very
long. For our main characters, we saw hundreds and hundreds of actresses
and it was a casting process like you would do on any other show. We had
fantastic casting directors who put out breakdowns for us and brought in
actors that they knew, as well. It was a process of slowly finding the ones
who had the mix of things that were.right for the show. Megan (Cavanagh]
came from the short film. She even came in and auditioned, because the
network just wanted to see everyone. So what we did is, we would do the
I think initially lesbian viewers have a tendency to compare Exes to
casting and then bring our top choices to the network and then we would
sit in for the network casting session and we'd all discuss the actresses af,
The L Word, but I think in reality it's a little more like Sex and the
terward. You know, we were really all in agreement that these were the best
City, or even Ally McBeal.
There's a lot of shows on the networks that have lesbian content, but ours is
only the second lesbian,specific show. I kind of expected that people would
want to make the comparison. For me it's like comparing ER and Scrubs,or
ER and Sex and the City ... They are two completely different shows doing
two completely different things. And they' re not meant to be the same at
all. It seems like once people see our show they can kind of see that.
folks for the roles.
Was anyone unknown?
Marnie [Alton] was pretty new. She had done a lot of work in Canada, but we
weren't familiar with her work here.
I think Marnie's going to be quite popular.
She actually is. A lot of people love her and love that character . . . and the
chemistry between her and Sam.
You're pretty young for a showrunner, aren't you?
What's some feedback that has surprised you the most?
Yeah, that part has been great. I've gotten to do so much on the show. It's been
I'll have to think about that.
36 I curve
Nothing surprises you [laughs].
No, it's not that ... There's a way in which all feedback is kind of surprising.
Because since we started developing this with Logo, it's been a couple of
years of, you know, developing the project and then shooting the pilot and
then waiting for a pickup and then getting picked up and writing and shooting. So, the fact that it's out there and people can respond is surprising.
What's been the challenge in being only the second lesbian nonreality show on TV?
Well, the challenge for me and I would say for all of us on this project really, was being aware of that, but then really wanting to make sure that
these characters come across and are treated in a well-rounded way, that
they are fully fleshed out characters, and that we are doing justice to them
and justice to the stories that we're trying to tell. I personally feel a great
responsibility to do right by these characters and to be honest with them
and for them, to be honest reflections of certain, I guess you would say,
certain aspects of the gay community. You know, you're never going to be
able to represent all aspects of a community and that certainly [will] never
be what anyone could try and do.
Who would you love to cast on Exes and Ohs?
Oh my gosh. You mean as a main character or a guest star?
Either. It's your show, baby, you tell me.
If Wanda Sykes ever wanted to make a guest appe~rance, that would be great.
She could play any character she wanted. That would be hysterical. Or
someone like Lily Tomlin, even just to come on and say hi. I just came back
from the Olivia cruise and she did a comedy set on the cruise as it was tak-
DeGeneres. How does that feel?
ing off and it was just so funny. And she is such an icon.
Oh, well, I mean Ellen is hugely talented and I think she's hysterical. So it's
How was the cruise?
It was fantastic. I went with Megan and we went on to do a screening of the
first two episodes. We were supposed to do the screening in the boat
screening room, which is like a little theater. And Megan and I walked
in and the seats were maybe half filled and we were just looking at one
another, thinking, Oh God, I hope more people show up. And then, all
only a compliment when you are compared with talented people who are
at the top of their game. It's not something that I'm attempting to do or
anything like that. But if you' re going to be compared to someone, being
compared to someone who is hysterical and talented and all of that is a really great thing, as opposed to being compared to someone who is boring
and puts people to sleep.
of a sudden, we turn around and more and more people are coming in,
and then it's full and standing room only, and then there's a line. We actu-
You don't like to talk about your personal life too much, which is so dif-
ally got to move it. Everyone picked up and walked into the huge theater
where Lily Tomlin had actually performed and we got to do our screening
in there, which was fantastic.
That's ·one of the things I really, really love about writing and playing Jen.
Everything is just kind of on the surface for her and she'll blurt things out
Did you get a lot of material from the Olivia cruise as well?
I get a lot of material from everything. I'm always looking around and just sort
of making mental notes of things, or people or situations. Even when I'm
walking down the street, certain things will catch my attention.
ferent from your on-screen character, whose life is lived in public.
or say them or experience them and the filter between the personal and the
private isn't really there.
Her emotions are lived in real time.
It's one of the things I love also about the fantasy sequences, where we get to
Does this mean your friends' social lives aren't safe around you?
see in her head. It's another way of getting to see how she thinks, that we
don't usually get to see-and when she's not blurting it out we get to see
No, not at all [laughs].I would never take something and put it into a script
it anyway. And there's something really fun about that and freeing about
that anyone could look at and say, Oh, that'sme. ... I would never want my
family or friends or any of their family or friends to worry about watching
the show and [thinking) that they might suddenly see themselves. So, I
think if I am going to use something, I'll use more of me.
Your comic timing has really been perfected since the short came
out. Was that organic, or something you were working feverishly on?
Oh, thank you. A little bit of both. Since I did the tour, I studied at the
Groundlings [school], and I have done a lot of sketch comedy and improv
live performances and have done more comedy just in my acting work.
Now, you know, you're starting to get some comparisons to Ellen
that.
What about her penchant for constant self-analysis? Any life imitating
art there?
No, no, not at all. Are you kidding? Yes, I'm a Capricorn, I'm a thinker. I'm
probably not as obsessed about it as Jen is. I would say that the parts of
Jen that are similar to me are probably turned up by a factor of 10. That's
also something I love about her. It's something that we all do to an extent.
We have those conversations with people that we go off later and then we
think, "Oh God, should I have said that? I didn't say that. I should have
said this:'That part of Jen feels very real to me.
Another Day in Paradise continued on page 65
38
Icurve
~yrye, PRESENTS
THE LADIES
OFLOGO
-
Available on
~iTunes
Spit,Sisters!
Lastspring,1Oyearsafter theyfirst startedtakingpunkpoetryacrossthe
country,the womenof SisterSpit launchedtheir NextGenerationTour.If you
missedthe wholething,here'sthe lowdownon the majorplayersin this edgy
poetrygroup. BySaraSeinberg
Name:NomyLamm
Tour:1999.
Astrological
fate:Virgo with Cancer moon, Leo
rising.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?A
bunny.
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Deliriously laugh,
ing and making up fake musicals with Anna Joy
and Silas.
. Favorite
writer: Marjane Satrapi.
Favorite
town:Reno (Nev.].
Name:TaraJepsen
Tour:1997.
Astrological
fate:Mighty (occasionally) Scorpio.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
Corporate lawyer.
Favoriteroadsnack:Cashew Lara Bars.
Favorite
townfromthetour:Baltimore.
If thetourwerea song?"Tonight" by Phil
Collins, or maybe "Sussudio:'
Name:CristyC.Road
Tour:2007.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
Aerosrnith.
Favorite
memories
fromthetour:The beautiful
Sister Spit family dinner in a desolate cottage in
upstate New York, and doing the Los Angeles
40
Icurve
reading plastered and baked, on crutches and in
front of a screen that played gay porn.
Wouldyoudoit again?Every day.
Wasit whatyouthoughtit mightbe?No, it was
better.
Favorite
writers:Tom Robbins, bell hooks. Luisa
Capetillo too. But Hunter S. Thompson was a
first love.
Favorite
townsfromthetour:Chicago for its an,
tique beauty and purity. Arcata [Calif.] for its pot.
If thetourwerea song?"Roots Radicals" by
Rancid.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?A
marine biologist, or a writer for SaturdayNight
Live.
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Playing ball in the
street in New Orleans with a little girl who asked
me if I'd ever been in prison.
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?Yes. I went for
the adventure but came back thinking of myself
as a real artist.
Favoritewriters:James Baldwin, Walt Whitman,
Lynda Barry.
If thetourwerea song?"Song of 27" by Richard
Buckner.
Name:Ali Liebegott
Tour:1997, 1999 and 2007.
Astrological
fate:Leo.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
Garbage man.
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Rolling down
grassy hills in the Appalachian Mountains.
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?Yes.
Favoriteroadsnack:Coke.
Favoritewriters:Anne Carson, Lynda Barry.
If thetourwerea song?"Dragon Lady" by che
Geraldine Fibbers.
Name:SamuelTopiary
Tour:1997.
Astrological
fate:Taurus, Aquarius moon, Sag
rising.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?An
actress and a writer-that was after I wanted to
be the first girl on the Yankees.
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Being teased by
Ali and Sash when Sarah Gina Jones and I were
trying to have a private little scene about being in
prison.
Favoritethingthathappened
sincethetour:
Making the Atalanta film.
Favorite
writers:Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni
Morrison, Eileen Myles, Michelle Tea, Ali
Liebegott.
Name:CooperLeeBombardier
Tour:The first tour in 1997 and the West Coast
tour in 1999.
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The wordsmiths (from left to right): Nomy Lamm, Tara Jepsen, Cristy C. Road, Ali Liebegott, Cooper Lee Bombardier, Samuel Topiary, Michelle Tea, Lynn Breedlove
If thetourwerea song?The first thing that
popped into my head was "Time in a Bottle;'
"Lovin: Touchin, Squeezin'" by Journey, that
Geraldine Fibbers song that we couldn't stop
playing ...
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0
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Name:MichelleTea
Tour:All of them!
Astrological
fate:Aquarius, Leo rising, Sag moon.
@.
Venus in Capricorn.
z<(
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
0
a:
Librarian.
~
Favorite
memoryfromthetour:Performing in
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~
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a:
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~
(/)
Boston on the very first tour in 1997. I'm from
there and it felt so special to perform where I'm
from and have so many people come to see it,
including my mom and friends from when I was
a teenage death rocker.
Name:TamaraLlosa-Sandor
Tour:Next Generation, April 2007.
Astrological
fate:Truly a Virgo trapped in a Libra
sign.
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?
Reporter, detective, baseball player.
Favorite
memoryfromthetour:Michelle [Tea]
and Nicole Georges reading the true crime book
onJonBenet Ramsey out loud in the van.
Because it helps people, because it changes the
world and because it will fundamentally change
you, the writer, artist, filmmaker, contortionist
... It will shake the cobwebs from your heart and
grease the rusty gears in your head.
If thetourwerea song?"Crazy Train'' by Ozzy
Osbourne played at half tempo by 10 calliopes
and an elementary school kazoo orchestra.
Favorite
writers:Miranda Mellis. Whenever I
hear her read I want to be a better writer. Also
"Thetourhelpedme understand
it is importantto
shareone'swork... It will shakethe cobwebsfrom
yourheartandgreasethe rustygearsin yourhead."
(/)
Favorite
thingthat'shappened
sincethetour:
cc
a:
0
~
UJ
0
0
UJ
a:
0
....J
Starting the tours again.
me a life!
Wouldyoudoit again?Hell yes!
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?I gaze out the
Favorite
writers:Ali Liebegott, Eileen Myles.
window with more deep longing than usual.
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?Sister Spit gave
UJ
Favorite
writers:Lynda Barry, Raymond Carver,
<(
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z
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it....J
UJ
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a:
ci
a:
Name:LynnBreedlove
Tour:1998.
Astrological
fate:Sag.
Favorite
thingthat'shappened
sincethetour:
UJ
Making a movie.
<(
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?Whole new level
CD
~
CD
UJ
of respect for femmes.
Favorite
writer:Mark Twain.
a:
Favorite
townfromthetour:Atlanta, where the
a..
point game led to a makeout melee with the
entire audience and performers.
0
~
UJ
0
0
(.)
Anna Joy Springer. Her writing is so much like
lead weights and balloons at the same time. It
makes me shiver and aspire for more greatness in
my personal work.
Rebecca Brown.
Favorite
townfromthetour:Boston. We had a
three-day stay and I got to see my old pals and
eat at Pho Pasteur twice.
Name:IdaActon
Tour:1998.
Astrological
fate:Gemini, Aries rising, Aquarius
moon. Not to brag ...
DidSisterSpitchangeyourlife?The tour helped
me understand it is important to share one's work.
Name:SarahWest
Tour:1997.
Astrological
fate:A freaky fish .
Favoritememoryfromthetour:Ali crunchin' a
beer can between her tits is nearly my only lucid
memory from the tour ...
Favorite
townfromthetour:Nawlins, hands
down!
Whatdidyouwantto bewhenyougrewup?A
fireman.
Favorite
writer:I love Sara Seinberg. ■
January/February 2008
I41
TheNextGeneration
AuthorMichelleTeachatsaboutthe futureof SisterSpit.ByCatherinePlato
I, like other writer dykes of my generation, have a mild Michelle Tea obses,
Are there any adventures you can share?
sion. She's contributed to dozens of anthologies and has edited a handful,
Columbia, Mo., was crazy! Columbia, Mo., was off the hook. It was nuts.
most recently It's So You: 35 Women Write About Personal Expression Through
Fashion and Style, a collection of fashion musings from contributors as diverse
So after our show there, we we·nt to the gay karaoke bar with a bunch of
as Jenny Shimizu, Kate Bornstein and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon.
denly girls on the tour were doing tequila shots off each other's cleavage.
And it was fun because everyone was doing karaoke. Eileen Myles did this
Naturally, I was pretty psyched to meet Tea in person. Tea was surpris,
ingly chatty, smiley and down,to,earth: all rare qualities for an ultra,hip San
people from the audience. And it was like Girls Gone Wild. It was like, sud,
crazy old,time karaoke. It was really great. It was fun.
Francisco lit legend and queer feminist icon.
What's your audience like at the shows?
What was it like to go back to touring with Sister Spit after so long?
Well, because we were doing mostly colleges, students and mostly girls, and
mostly queer girls. But you know, sometimes boys, and certainly straight
girls too. We're going to try [on the next tour] to do more shows off,cam,
It was really strange and great. It was a wonderful tour. It was so different
from the Sister Spit tours in the '90s. It was so much less debaucherous. It
pus because the only thing about doing on,campus shows is there's no
was so much less bottom of the barrel. We were able to do primarily col,
variety to the folks you're performing to. I love them all. But it just is nice
leges and to actually make money, which meant I could pay the perform,
ers. I mean, in the '90s I had lost money off Sister Spit. [Now] we were
to hit the city-you
get people of different ages, you get people of different
class backgrounds.
Do you think your audiences are pretty much the same as the ones
staying in hotels and we were giving everyone [a] food per diem, and so it
just felt like we were high,rolling. It was crazy. The downside is there's a
that would show up in the '90s?
certain amount of experiencing the inside of a town when you're being put
Totally. It's the next generation of the people who came, and then it's plus the
up in people's homes. And so there weren't as many insane adventures.
people who also came in the '90s.
How big is your average audience?
It really varied on this last tour. University of Delaware, we performed to like,
six people. I guess at the University of Delaware there're only six people in
that college interested in the six people in Sister Spit. And then, when we
did our show here in San Francisco, or in Brooklyn, or in Chicago, we had
huge crowds. So it really just depends on who's living in that town, who
has heard that we're coming-like,
how did the word get out, where did
the word get out?
You do a lot of community things in San Francisco, don't you? I mean,
there's Radar ...
Yeah! I feel really lucky. I am the artistic director of Radar Productions. It's a
literary nonprofit-I
actually got nonprofit status.
And you were the founder, right?
Yeah. I had a mentor,JeffJones. He has his own nonprofit, the Queer Cultural
Center. I was doing my work, so alienated from the system, any system, for
so long, and curating events in San Francisco, probably for 14 years. And
Jeff was able to see the work I was doing and say,"You are a nonprofit. You
don't understand that, but the work you're doing is what a nonprofit does,
and you could get the funding that a nonprofit gets:• I had been working
for free, without getting any money, putting on these events for free. Any
money that I did get in went to the performers, or benefits to fund Sister
Spit. I worked for probably 11 years doing queer community literary events
without ever making money off it. And a few years ago he was able to work
with me to start getting grant funding. So now, I'm able to do the same work
and make a living off of it. It's great to know that people will read for free,
or for $20, but it's awesome to be able to give people $1,000 and say,"Here,
write something new and come read:' I never thought I would be in a posi,
tion where I was paying other people. I was always just hoping that maybe
one day I'd get paid. So it's surpassed my wildest dreams. ■
)
To read the full interview online, visit curvemag.com.
They'vegone
fromteenagefolkies to bonafide
indierockstars,
but Sara Quin,of
Teganand Sara,
saystheystilllove
theirlesbianfans.
By CatherinePlato
'
• Power
Following SoJealous,the lovesick, heartbroken and utterly apolitical 2004 album that thrust the Quin twins out of the lez-rock closet and into the larger
No. I never read interviews, because I hate reading wh;t I said. And I occa-
indie rock canon, Tegan and Sara bring back the politics with their latest
sionally read reviews. So I read the first couple of reviews that come out of
album, The Con. While So Jealous was purely personal-love, sex, breakups
and heartache-The Con's opening track, "I Was Married;' outwardly challenges homophobia and advocates for gay rights without sacrificing the selfconsciousness and depth that make Tegan and Sara rock as songwriters.
the record, then I sort of get an idea of how people are responding to the
album, and in a year, I'll probably do it again, you know? See how, a year
later, people are reviewing you.
What do you like best about the new album?
I caught up with Sara Quin right before their show at San Francisco's
Brava Theater. Sara was talkative and friendly, and seems unaffected by her
rock star status. We chatted in her "lair;' as she called the freezing cold, blue-
That is hard. We've been playing the album in sequence, exactly as it is on the
record, and I feel like it's weird when we take the individual songs out of
sequence, I feel like they really miss the one that comes before and after. I
cushioned tour bus where she and her bandmates would be staying for the
really see this album as being strong from start to end. And that makes me
really proud. Every time we put out an album, I think, this is solid, all these
next few months.
When your first few albums came out, the press was all, "Canadian!
Lesbian! lwins!" And now it seems like people are paying less attention to that stuff and talking more about you just as musicians. Do you
think that your audience is changing too?
It's really hard to say. We started touring in the U.S. and internationally eight
years ago, and there was a small influx of time where I was like, "Oh my
God, everybody's asking us about being gay, and it feels like all our conversations with people are becoming very political because of that:' And then
it went away, kind 0£ And it's like, OK, cool, people just know, and that's
great. I'm glad to see (sexuality] sort of not be the focus, but also don't want
it to necessarily be irrelevant. I want our audience to know.
Do you read a lot of your press, like your interviews, your reviews?
songs are great. But for the first time, I really 100 percent passionately feel
like this album as a whole is so good.
Do you like touring?
I have a love-hate relationship with both being at home and touring. I'm
definitely a bit of a globe-trotter a~d I love being with my family, my road
family and being with everybody, the camaraderie of playing shows and
then getting on the bus and then hanging out, being in a new city every
night and the kind of adventure and mystery that happens when you're on
the road. But then ... I'm a bit of an introvert and there are times when I
feel totally maxed out on communal living and I can't wait to go home and
be by myself and do my own thing.
Wonder Quin Power continued on page 65
January/February 2008
I 43
I n Pe rs On ,
there issomething savagely sweet about actor Laurel Holloman,
a beguiling blonde who plays working mom Tina Kennard on Showtime's The L Word.It's been there all along, of
course, and even viewers of her magnificent 1995 debut as butchy and lovestruck Randy Dean in The Incredibly
True Adventure of Two Girls in Love could see it. Thirteen years later, Holloman, an openly bisexual woman offscreen, is one of the most talked about actors on The L Word. Holloman's character started out four seasons ago
as half of gyno-America's most popular couple and has gone through a grueling few years playing, in succession,
a stay-at-home wife, doormat, cuckolded lover, confused lesbian or reluctant bisexual (depending on who you
ask), die-hard friend, single mom, entertainment mogul and, possibly now, forlorn lesbian ex. Phew.
For Holloman, whose sweetness hides a wickedly fun alter ego, that's all a part of the ride. "Why be on a
show for five years and just be Mother Earth that everyone gets along with? That would have been really boring
for me as an actor:'
With an acclaimed role on Angel and a handful of indie films like Tumbleweedson her resume, Holloman
(whose curious nickname is Little Monkey) is set for another season of adventure. And her fans can't wait.
What was your reaction when creator Ilene Chaiken told you Tina would date a man?
I was completely thrown. I asked her why, and she said it was because it was a story she felt that needed to be
told. She had seen it happen ... lesbian women get thrown into the straight world, especially after they have
kids.
Where's Tina this season?
The fifth season is a really great bookend for who Tina was first season. She's grown so much. There's a great
exploration in this season of her career, and also of the movie industry, and she's now actively a part of it.
What's been the hardest season for you?
Season four. The relationship with Henry wasn't explored so you never really saw why she went there, and all of
a sudden you see a lot of feelings for Bette come back ... maybe they really never went away. It was as if it was
something she had to get out of her system, because it was the only way she was going to grow. And once she
starts to grow, Bette finds her more attractive, too.
You got to touch on what can happen to a bisexual woman who's been In the lesbian community
and then finds herself In a relationship with a man.
I think Tina was very lonely. One of the great things was Shane was the least judgmental, but then Jenny, who
was sort of the newbie, was the harshest on her. I know someone who identifies with being a lesbian and feels
she's a lesbian and [later dated] guys, and she said it has been a hard place and it made her friends really angry.
Maybe she just needed to have that experience.
You don't have a lot of control over how Tina Is written, do you?
Ilene gives you the bare bones and you come in and you can put some flavor into it. She listens and she's always
open to listening. I think Jennifer and I have always wanted Bette and Tina to be together, but that doesn't
quite make for very high drama.
January/February 2008
I45
"I just feel like when you fall in love you can't help who you fall in love with. You
love who you love; it just is what it is. My mom is very supportive, very open. My
mom actually met the woman I dated after I shot the movie. I hope I can raise my
daughter that way. I just want her to be free to be who she is. "
Do you ever have moments when you're llke, "Gosh, Tina
Kate (Moennig] said it one time, it just sucks that she died, and
wouldn't do this?"
Yeah, many times. And there are certain times (Ilene] says, "OK
I feel the same way. It makes a great story line but ... she just
clicked with everything. It does come up in this season. We
we can change it:' She's not that interested ... in you being the
likeable person. It's not about likeability; it's about the truth
It's interesting what a global Impact The L Word is having.
of how people behave sometimes. Tina behaves quite horri-
Seeing it launch In all these other countries.
bly when she was in the position where she was making the
I've been in other countries (where] people recognize me ... like
a tiny island in the Caribbean where two girls came up and
said, "We love your show:• (Women] come up and say, "I got
money and Bette was struggling.
Some viewers were concerned that there was little men-
do address it.
tion of Dana's death last year. How did that feel for the
to show it to my parents and it's helped so much:' And that's
actors on set?
not going to come from any TV show; it's going to come from
our TV show.
Very early on you were saying, "I'm really bisexual. I just
happened to fall In love with a man." It would be easier
for you to say you were straight.
To be honest, I've never gotten any flack for it. I was always a girl
that dated guys and then I shot Two Girls in Love and was
dating a guy and then I had a relationship with a woman. I
thought, I can't say I'm straight anymore, that would just be
a lie. I looked for other relationships with women and they
didn't happen. I don't know if that's because I'm shyer with
women. And then ultimately I met my husband and got married. I wish I had met more women [laughs]. I guess people
can define my sexuality however they see fit, but I mostly just
don't define it.
Other queer women see that you don't have to actually
define yourself, but doing so lets people know there are
so many different ways you could be and still be part of
this queer world.
I just feel like when you fall in love you can't help who you fall
in love with. You love who you love; it just is what it is. My
mom is very supportive, very open. My mom actually met the
woman I dated after I shot the movie. I hope I can raise my
daughter that way. I just want her to be free to be who she is.
Other actors end up spending so much time having to
dance around It, and maybe It's Just a little easier for you.
I've definitely been in the middle of interviews where I can't believe I'm being asked the same things again and there's just no
creativity. Someone asked a couple of months ago ... Are you
worried what's going to happen to your career?[Laughs] And I'm
like, Are you kidding? I did a lesbian movie. And I worked more
than I ever had after that. I did all these movies and it's been
great and I think part of the reason I got The L Word might
have been because of that. And so, to never work again? No.
I don't feel that. And I don't feel anyone in our cast feels that
way. You kind of just want to say,"What world are you living
in? Because I'm not living in that world:' ■
all b
ar
It's easy to imagine Jennifer Beals rolling through the Hollywood
When you originally signed on to play Bette, did you have
Hills on her way to The L Word set, navigating traffic and deflect,
any inkling the series would last as long as it has?
ing questions with such skill that I almost forget I'm actually trying
No, it's been a lovely surprise. Honestly, I didn't really thinkabout it. •
to get the woman to divulge something new that no other writer
Bette has gone through some interesting story arcs in the
ever has. Because, face it, when Beals-the
hottie who came on
the scene playing welder turned dancer Alex in Flashdance-says
something like, "Oh, it's my pleasure;' well, women swoon. I'm only'
human. And I've been waiting 24 years to hear her utter that line
(though, in my imagination, the circumstances are a bit different).
But for all her fame and immense lesbian adoration, Beals is
still a bit of an enigma: a laid,back mom who doesn't do the party
scene, doesn't play the Hollywood game, tries (often successfully)
to counter questions or, as she does today, brings others into her
)
last few years. What do you think is the biggest lesson
she's learned?
Love and consistency. [The importance of] taking the time to
carve out a true relationship.
You and Marlee Matlin have been friends for decades.
I
What's it like playing opposite each other?
of the time.
/'J~--•
Your onscreen child learns to sign a bit next season. How
conversation, turning her questions to co,stars, crew and produc,
much do you get to explore what it means to be partnere\l·
er Ilene Chaiken.
with a deaf woman this season?
Read more of our L Word interviews at curvemag.com.
f,
We just laugh the whole time. We make fun of each other most
'
Yeah, quite a bit actually, because I meet her friends.
January/February 2008
1·
4 ..
·,:-).::,::·l::
.. ,..
,. "'·.
·,
',
What challenge hasn't Bette faced that you'd like to see
her come up against?
Rodeo queen-that
would be a good one.
Yeah, I definitely see that in her future.
I'd like to see her be the victim ... I just think there are so many
things going on, like with the Matthew Shepard Act ...
people don't realize that sexual orientation and gender are
not part of the hate crime laws. And I would wish that my
character could be a platform for discussion about that a little bit more. The characters are so insulated in Los Angeles,
specifically West Hollywood, that it's not often they have to
come up against it. And I think it would be interesting for
them to get a look at what really needs to happen, the kinds
of equality and security and civil rights. I think that they
need to take a road trip.
[Beals turns to producer-creatorslash lesbian visionary flene
Chaiken.]
What challenge do you think Bette needs to go through? I said
she needs to become a rodeo queen and go barrel racing. I
also said she needs to go on a road trip, so we could get a
glimpse of what the country is like.
Chaiken: I think she needs to rediscover her passion in her
work.
That's really, really exciting. There are just so many misconceptions about the Pride Parade that are propagated on
television. They'll just pick the most outlandish outfit and
categorize the whole parade as that. So people don't really
know what it's about, that Pride has just so many different
colors. ■
That's a good one. I guess that's why she's the boss.
That's why she's the boss. That's right.
Are you rooting for a Bette and Tina reunion?
If they can earn it. If it's not earned, I'm not interested. But
frankly, right now Bette has a really great partner; she's with
somebody really kind of amazing.
Have you ever had to put your foot down about something
that you know Bette wouldn't do that's written in the
script?
Oh, kissing Dana Delaney ... Bette kissing the senator. I thought,
I can't, I can't have Bette go all the way through with it. I just
sucked her finger. That was a very Clinton moment, wasn't
it? I'm not gonna kiss her, but I'll suck her finger.
Has The L Word brought additional media attention to
you? Do you have more fans all around you all the time
now?
Well, I don't go out. I go to work and maybe go to the occasional
event to help a cause. I've always been a hermit. I'm not a
party person. I prefer to sit at home reading. Except maybe
in my teens. Then I was the person dancing on the bar, but I
got it out of my system really early.
Are you surprised that almost 25 years later people are
still talking about Flashdance?
I don't really consider it. To be surprised, I would have to consider it in some way.
You were the grand marshal of the San Francisco Pride
Parade a couple years ago.
It was one of the most fantastic experiences ever.
There's something to be said for the vast number of
people around you Just sort of celebrating your difference that day.
48
Icurve
part of the hate crime laws. And
I would wish that my character
could be a glatform for discussion about that a little bit more.
The characters are so insulated
in Los Angeles, specifically West
Hollywood, that it's not often they
have to come up against it. And
I think it would be interesting for
them to get a look at what really needs to happen, the kinds
of equality and security and civil
rights. I think that they need to
take a road trip."
~P.iqy&
A lesbian's experience at a bathhouse. By Gabrielle Sidon
few years ago, my girlfriend and I settled on a don't,ask,
don'Mell arrangement for out,of,town flings. But I haven't slept
so Icurve
right woman, but the experience made me wonder once again
if I was capable of a light extramarital adventure. A bathhouse
seemed like the place to find out.
around. I've been too nervous about putting my relationship in
jeopardy, and the offers I've received have reeked of trouble. I don't
care how many books there are with the word "polyamory" in the
When I arrived, I saw women hanging out on the sidewalk.
The hot tub had broken down, and no one was allowed to enter.
title-situations
like that where someone isn't going to get hurt
are hard to come by. It's been easier to enjoy the attention that's
come my way and leave it at that. But one flirtation piqued more
Instead of discreetly slinking in, I was obliged to chat with the
other women, one of whom attempted to ramp up the sexual en,
ergy by reading erotic poems out loud. Not her own, thankfully,
than my desire. When I met an acquaintance I'll call Toni at a
conference, we were mutually attracted. I tend to dodge crushes,
but this time I found myself in the grip of one. When I saw a
funky shirt in the window of a store and fantasized about buy,
but a selection by Chrystos.
Eventually, we were let in. I paid the $25 cover charge, and a
volunteer handed me a locker key and fluorescent bracelet, which
I was told I could offer to someone for a kiss. Then a frowning
ing it for Toni, I began to worry. Imagining dressing a woman is
much more serious than imagining undressing her. Was some,
thing missing in my relationship?
Asking myself this question caused more ripples than I think
sleeping with Toni would have. I concluded that I was with the
young woman in a leather bra and a short skirt read a list of rules,
concluding with a terse lecture: "Women failed here tonight.
They failed to take on the shared responsibility for our environ,
ment. The hot tub is broken because no one told a volunteer it
was overflowing. We have to give the owner every penny we make
en
~
<(
0
<(
N
::i
tonight for the repair, so if you see a problem, make sure you tell
a volunteer:'
Okey-doke.
Upstairs, I agreed to share my locker with a perky young
blonde. As we deposited our handbags, I felt a twitter in my guts.
I had been having sex with the same woman for over a decade.
Could I do this?
"I wish they served alcohol;' I remarked to my locker mate.
"Do you want a drink? I have rum in my car:'
The atmosphere didn't help. Women wandered about with
towels knotted around their waists, and I felt like I was at the Y.
I was wearing swishy black slacks with a black silk camisole and
didn't want to take them off. Not because I was shy or embarrassed about my body-I
just feel my nudity should be someone's
reward. But since I was the only woman dressed besides the volunteers, I decided to get partially naked by playing strip Twister. A
game was in progress on the lower floor. One woman turned the
spinner, calling out combinations in a loud, cheerful voice: "Red,
We headed outside with a third woman in tow. We were all
femme, although I didn't know if these women would characterize
left foot, green, right arm:' Two women contorted their limbs on a
themselves that way. I'm 40 and they both turned out to be 25.
between another woman's thighs. These were the only women I
saw having sex the entire night, and they registered about as much
interest as pet rocks.
Inside the blonde woman's car, we took turns squirting booze
from her water bottle into our mouths. It was cozy; I almost
didn't want to leave. The blonde said she was bisexual and wanted
a sexual experience with a woman. "I keep telling guys 'No' and
then they don't even want to be my friend. So I thought, 'Why
don't I go after what I really want?"'
The other woman said,'Tm queer. You could call me bisexual,
but that makes my life soun_dmore interesting than it is. Coming
here tonight is a big deal for me:'
I asked her if she was here to see a particular woman, a guess
that turned out to be correct. Personally, I was a little interested
in one of the volunteers-let's
call her Suzanne-whom
I knew
plastic sheet. Beside the game, a woman lay with her head buried
Twister was more compelling. Women crowded around the
game, shrieking and giggling. I joined in and ·was soon wearing
only a lacy black bra and panties. Another spin and the girl beside
me moved into a position that would allow the woman behind
her, were she inclined, to perform analingus.
"You better hope you don't fart;' one woman called out, and
everyone laughed.
"Yeah, especially since I had beans for supper;' the woman
with the extended posterior quipped.
Fart jokes didn't let up for another five minutes. Like the
slightly.
Back at the bathhouse, I ran into Suzanne. Earlier in the day I
had asked her about attire, and she made a stern comment about
woman who'd had beans for dinner, my hands were on the floor
street clothes being inappropriate. Apparently, the rule didn't apply
being at Girl Guide camp, when someone opened the door while
I was using the outhouse.
to her. She was fully dressed, replete with big black boots. She's
trendy and younger than me, neither of which were qualities I
tend to go for, but we had shared interests. We began talking and
I asked her what she was looking for tonight.
'Td like to go home and go to bed:'
That didn't sound promising.
She added, "Well, I know everyone:'
I said, "You don't know me:'
"I should get back to work:' She dashed· away.
I took a deep breath. I had been blown off. Well, I was a big
girl. Time to check out other possibilities.
The bathhouse was on two floors, each of which consisted of
a hall with rooms on either side. Walking through the space, I noticed the femme to butch ratio of the perhaps 35 women was about
2:1, odds that were not in my favor. Many of the women were attractive but seemed awfully young and devoid of sexual attitude. I
didn't see what I was looking for, namely, a butch who knew what
to do with me. A woman who would tell me I looked lovely,and I
would tell her she was handsome, but she would say it first.
and my ass was in the air, on display to the small, rowdy crowd.
Did I feel like I was turning anyone on? Hardly. I was reminded of
I left.
Upstairs, one woman was getting a foot massage, another
woman was getting a back massage, and a third group sat in a
room reading erotica aloud. There was a make-out room, but it
was empty. The most popular place was the sauna. As I sat soaking up the heat in my bra and panties, I heard the women, all of
whom seemed to know one another, discuss camping trips. The
idea of interjecting flirtatious banter seemed ludicrous. Making
eye contact wasn't even possible. When my locker mate came in
to ask me to unlock the locker, I followed her out. As she retrieved
a water bottle, I asked where the third woman we were drinking
with was.
"She took off:'
We hadn't been here long. Had things gone badly with the
woman she was interested in?
I asked my locker mate if she'd met anyone.
She shook her head. "How about you?"
"The women aren't old enough or butch enough:'
January/February 2008 j 51
"How about the woman you were talking to downstairs?"
"She rejected me:'
My locker mate made a sympathetic moue.
"I didn't invite you. I just gave you information:'
God, she was being literal while I was trying to be arch. I was
about to tell her she didn't have to kiss me when she did. Yet as
I headed downstairs where I bumped into Suzanne, who
greeted me with a big smile. Had I made a mistake? I wasn't sure,
her ton,gue slid around my mouth, I wasn't sure if she wanted to,
so a little later I decided to let her approach me. I made it easy
by watching The L Word in the lounge, which was close to where
and pushed her body into mine, I felt a rush. That grrr feeling,
where I want to pounce on a woman, is engendered by how hot
she was working. In the spring, I had gone to a lesbian club to
celebrate a friend's birthday, and pheromones had flown about like
she finds me. After a moment, she released me. "Good night:'
"Tease:' The word was out of my mouth before I had time to
fireflies, little bursts of light in the dark. An attractive couple had
think. Had I really said that?
It didn't matter because she was gone.
started dancing with me, making me the filling in their sandwich.
"You two are naughty girls;' I told them after the song ended. The
butch had winked at me: "We like it like that:' What makes a
night full of sexual heat? I'm not sure; I just knew this wasn't one.
But things started to look up when Suzanne came over and sat
beside me. "Catching up on The L Wordt
and I couldn't relax. But when she slammed me up against a wall
I dug my stuff out of my locker, dressed, gave my key to my
locker mate, and exited. As I headed back to where I was staying, I
thought of that gay male disco anthem about loving the one you're
with. If a lesbian had written the song, it would go,"If you can't be
with the one you love, leave the bathhouse in a huff:'
'Tm not interested in flogging:' True, but what had turned
It also occurred to me that I went to the bathhouse because of
me off to the flogging demonstration I had just left, was listening to the volunteer expound on the topic with the tone that an
Toni. Part of me wanted to stomp out those last burning embers of
elementary school teacher might use to explain the solar system.
Everyone else had stayed, probably because it demanded neither
participation nor flirtation.
The make-out room was still empty. Suzanne was still dressed.
And I was still in rriy fancy bra and panties. It was, uh, a little
distracting. Was she interested or just being friendly? I couldn't
tell. I knew I was having a hard time keeping up my end of the
conversation because I wanted to kiss her. But she went back to
the booth and came out holding a bicycle helmet.
Shit. She was leaving.
Taking off my bracelet, I handed it to Suzanne. "Seeing as you
invited me here, I think you should kiss me:'
So I sat down to watch
a little porn. It was either do that or clean
my crush, while another part of me thought that if I had sex with
a woman I was less fond of than Toni, I would have a better sense
of how to handle things if Toni and I ever did sleep together.
Weirdly, I wound up having sex with my girlfriend less than
an hour after getting back from my trip. "For some reason, I'm so
horny;' she said, sliding a hand over my back.
Girlfriends are psychic. Lust and affection for another woman might hold my brain hostage for a little while, but it doesn't
necessarily mean much. I think what I've learned from all this is
that desire isn't easy to manufacture or contain. Nudity and strip
Twister don't create ardor, and the only thing that will make sex
outside my marriage safe is faith in it. But I won't be bothering
with bathhouses. ■
I'm not completely satisfied, so I cue up the
next flick, the must-see In Search of the Wild
Kingdom. The word "porn'' has an array of asso-
my apartment.
Of
course I'm going to pick the porn. My first choice
was The Bi-Apple, which begins with Simone
in search of the Fuck House, a place where this
ciations with it, including sex and sleaze. It also
comes with certain expectations. I expect to see
sexual researcher could observe an array of sexual
expressions. Although she tries to knock, she is
They're surely not doing it to please me. I guess
I've become a little jaded by porn, but lesbian director Shine Louise Houston has just cured me
only met with moans, so she audaciously opens
the door despite being ignored. A hetero pair, in
the midst of hard-core pounding, don't stop, but
manage to shake her hand.
After watching the same guy get it from both
a woman and then a man, Simone gets to have a
little of her own fun with a woman. Lesbian viewers will savor this scene. Simone doesn't stop there,
though. Having abandoned her business attire
completely, she's ready to help this video bring new
meaning to the concept of fluid sexuality.
52
Icurve
identical, fake, very straight-looking girls doing it
when I read the label "lesbian'' on the DVD cover.
of my skepticism. All I know is that the women I
see in mainstream porn aren't pleasing each other
nearly as hard as the lesbians in Wild Kingdom.
It's no wonder Houston's been awarded for
her direction of lesbian faves The Crash Pad and
Supetfreak. She directs hot lesbian sex scenes.
This is lesbian porn made by a queer woman for
queer women.
Formatted as a mockumentary, Wild Kindom,
follows Georgia Mann, a documentary filmmaker
(maybe
Houston's
poking fun at herself)
who is directing a new
film, Lesbians of San
Francisco.She's a bit of
a sociologist but finds herself even more baffied by
girl-on-girl action than she was before she began
her search into what truly defines lesbian sexuality. She and her crew track their subjects, refuse
to acquire consent and manage to capture some of
the hottest scenes imaginable. (Honestly, I've really never seen a woman give another woman oral
like that on film.) This sex is raw, real and good.
Comic relief unwinds each rolling climax.
With a film like Wild Kingdom, no longer will
lesbians be confined to their own imaginationsand neither will I. Do you need to spice things up
in the bedroom for Valentine's Day, too? These
films are sure to help. (adameve.com, blowfish.com)
-Mea Chavez
Two women smile shyly into the camera. They are young. They are
black. They sit entwined as only lovers do, talking about sex and being
black. Then the camera cuts to them having sex.
Ashley and Kisha: Finding the Right Fit is a documentary showcasing
the love story of a lesbian couple.
So how does a sweet little movie about tender young love spark a
fist-pumping, civil rights-questioning brawl? By getting banned from
the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF).
In Australia, for a film to be sold it has to be "classified;' or given
a rating, by the Office of Film
and Literature Classification
(OFLC). And if a movie is
classified as "X;' it can't be sold.
Many film festivals will request
exemptions for the films they
show because the classification
process is long and expensive.
At this year's MUFF,
festival
director
Richard
Wolstencroft applied for an exemption for Ashley and Kisha.
The OFLC denied the request without seeing the film, based on the
director Tony Comstock's previous explicit documentaries that depict
real couples having real sex.
Comstock says that the denial may not have been a reaction to the
explicit content of the film, but retribution. In 2006, Wolstencroft went
against the orders of the OFLC and screened one of Comstock's movies. So this year, he OFLC forbade Wolstencroft from showing seven
movies, and even sent police to ensure that Ashley and Kisha wasn't
screened.
Comstock maintains that the movie is only controversial because it's
about lesbians."If you're a realist you're saying,'Of course it's controversial; and if you're an idealist you're saying, 'What's controversial about
people being in love:>"'
Comstock has many reasons for taking up arms against the OFLC.
First, there are his subjects and his product. "There's a sense of responsibility and of trust ... I haven't had to fight for my sexuality, I fight
for my movies:' Second, he thinks of himself as fighting the latest battle
against censorship and the moral majority. "This is the last little gasp of
a dying way of thinking about the world:'
But most importantly, he sees the ban as an affront to human rights.
"It's not Iran, or Saudi Arabia, or Malaysia. It's not one of these places
with oppressive regimes. It's Australia, for Christ's sake ... It's a freedom
issue. Freedom is not liberal or conservative. Totalitarians don't care
about freedom. It's exciting that this little film is provoking some discussion about these big ideas:'
And it is. In light of the controversy, an ad hoc community of the
Australian body politic has come together to support a lesbian film.
From the LGBT community to the Institute of Public Affairs (a freemarket think tank), people have all come together to protest the ban.
This delights Comstock. "Black, white, gay, straight-the people who
like our stuff like our stuff. You're getting to something transcendental
al5out the nature of love and sex and gender:' - By Lina Swislocki
January/February 2008
I55
Two lesbians put the classics and the cliches to the test. By Alice Clarke
ike me, my friends are reclusive, pimply faced, teenage
geeks, which probably explains
why we're single and spend our
weekends playing video games,
watching DVDs and knitting.
The only scenario that I imagine would ever get us girlfriends is if my neighbors· had
friends over and they looked
through the window into my
living room and were impossibly impressed by our
prowess at Guitar Hero
or my DVD and comics
collections.
After many weekends of mind-numbing DVD geekdom, my
friends and I became increasingly suspicious of
the characters' ease at per-
ing, I used the line, and was startled by her whispered response of
"Maybe later, at my place:' Unfortunately, as we continued to chat,
I discovered that she was almost twice my age and a little creepy.
Eventually, I made a polite excuse and escaped. She then stalked
me for the rest of the evening, warning the other women that I
was a cruel tease. So, not exactly a win, but close.
"Youlooklikemynextgirlfriend."
Quagmire,
FamilyGuy(2004):
How Quagmire ends up with so many women remains a mystery.
The only reactions we got were:
"Wow, that's cheesy. I don't think that's going to work on anyone here:'
"That'd be great-if I didn't already have a girlfriend:'
"Not in 3,000 lifetimes:'
And my personal favorite: "You sure it isn't 'exr' I wouldn't
It turns out that complete strangers don't appreciate you criticizing their abuse-yelling skills and just glare at you when you offer
them tips on football.
So my friend Andi and I decided to leave the couch, go out into
the world, and test the lines and
scenarios that Hollywood promises
will find us love. Here are the lines we used and the assorted responses that we got:
"You'rea wanker,Number9!" Luce,ImagineMe & You(2006):
"You'rea wanker,Number9!" Rachel,ImagineMe & You(2006):
Apparently, just yelling a seemingly random line while stuck in a
traffic jam doesn't inspire any woman to get out of a taxi and kiss
you. It just makes them turn and look at you like you're crazy.
But perhaps I wasn't projecting well enough.
"$100sayswhenyouturnaround,I say'Wow."'Barney,How I
Met YourMother(2006):I mostly just received a resounding"No;'
but it did start a couple of entertaining How I Met Your Mother
conversations.
"We'll always have Paris."Rick, Casablanca(1942):That's
"If I toldyouI likedyourbody,wouldyoutakeoffyourpantsand what we would say when we accidentally hit on a straight girl.
dancearounda little?"Captain
ZappBrannigan,
Futurama(2000): Unfortunately, none of the girls magically turned, nor did anyFor this one, rejections ranged from the usual "Not a chance" to
"No. You're pathetic:' But astonishingly, despite the line being a
Icurve
of Futurama. Shortly after entering the club on the first night of
research, I accepted a woman's come-hither look, we started danc-
I Met Your Mother would
constantly be turned down
her that she was a self-centered
bitch; and no one would be loving
Annabelle.
56
to be threatening and had a good chance of starting a discussion
blame them for leaving you:'
Kennedy that she was still grieving
the love of her life and informed
too impressed with
Alice's pickup lines.
I had never really used a pickup line before, so I chose to begin with Captain Brannigan's line because it was far too ludicrous
suading people to fall in
love with them. Surely, in
real life, Barney from How
and sporting a black eye; Willow
from Buffy would have reminded
The ladies aren't
monumental failure for the good captain; we had one success.
Sort 0£
one get the (very) veiled reference to when Paris kissed Rory on
Gilmore Girls. We weren't surprised.
a:
j
...J
:::,
a..
i5
z
~
"Haveyoumet ... ?" Barney,Ted,Marshal,JamesandRobin,HowI
Met YourMother(2006):This one turned out to be highly successful,
gaining us many phone numbers and drinks. The downside is that it
only works when you have a tag team. "Have you met met doesn't work
nearly as well.
"Youknow,whenyoublowoutthematchit'saninvitation
to kissyou?"
Leo,Fleshand the Devil(1926):It doesn't have quite the same effect in
our matchless society; the girl I used it on just had a lighter and a blank
expression. But it's a great line nonetheless.
"fuckmeif I'mwrong,butI thinkyouwantto kissme."Coop,Imagine
Me & You(2006):I avoided this one until the last night, mostly because
I knew it would end in pain. The slaps, however, were the least painful
consequences.
At our regular club there is a woman we've dubbed Scary Dread
Girl. She's around 6 foot, has long red dreadlocks, forgets that other
people are corporeal and tries to walk through them, and always wears
a studded leader jacket, tight black ripped jeans, steekapped boots and
an expression that says she will kill for fun. On the last night of our research I got triple-dared to use this line on her. I accepted, believing she
would just punch me and it would all be over. I gave my glasses to Andi,
walked over to Scary Dread Girl and braced for impact. Instead, she
leaned in, said, "You're right;' and kissed me on the cheek. She kissed
my other cheek and said, "I can't right now, though:' Another kiss. 'Tm
with my girlfriend:' A lingering kiss. "Find me later:'
I backed slowly across the room to Andi.
Later, I was dancing with Andi. Suddenly, there was Scary Dread
Girl, dancing so close to me that I may actually be pregnant.
Despite being hot, Scary Dread Girl is really scary, and I was kind
of afraid of what her equally terrifying girlfriend would do to me. The
fear spiral in my brain left no room for an escape plan, so I danced and
pictured the next day's headlines, after the police found my mangled
body.
Just as my mother's worst fears were -about to be realized, Andi
bravely came to my rescue.
At the end of the experiment we learned that creepy lines only work
on creepy people, not everything Hollywood tells us is true, and perhaps
it's better to date someone with whom you have common interests.
So now, after our intense collaboration on pickup-line research,
Andi and I are dating each other. We spend our weekends learning how
to project abuse from the diaphragm, discussing the best slaying techniques and trying to clock Guitar Hero on expert.
I guess using cheesy pickup lines can get you the girl. ■
SuicideGirls took the world by storm, but No Fauxxx'sthe one
pushing the edge. By Catherine Plato
SuicideGirls is more than just a site these days-the
company has its own clothing line, live burlesque tour
(now viewable on DVD), radio show and a new maga,
zine. The site has produced and sold two movies to
Showtime and several models were on an episode of
CSI: NY last year. Yes, the little porn site that could is
definitely no longer underground.
But it hasn't been all smooth sailing. In September
2005, a slew of SuicideGirls, including some of the
site's most popular, left permanently, claiming breach
of contract and varying degrees of verbal abuse from
Suhl during the live burlesque tour. Girls who per,
formed on the tour reported less,than,pleasant re,
hearsal conditions and unpaid royalties from the tour
documentary DVD that was released earlier in the
year. Ex,models revealed that Suhl's involvement in
the site was downplayed; by claiming Mooney as the
chief founder and creative mind behind SuicideGirls,
it was easier to keep up the site's fa~ade as an empow,
ering, feminist enterprise. While most of the compa,
Unless you've been living in a convent for the past six years, chances are you've
heard at least something about the SuicideGirls, the punk rock soft,core porn
site turned multimedia conglomerate. Started in September 2001 by then,
couple Selena Mooney and Sean Suhl (known as "Missy" and "Spooky" to site
members), suicidegirls.com was originally ajust,for,fun project. Mooney, who
lived in Portland at the time, had the idea to capture the nontraditionally gor,
geous local alterna,chicks-tattoos,
piercings, dreads and all-in traditional
ny's employees are women, Suhl is listed (on Oregon's business directory) as
the company president.
Although the site's popularity continues to grow, some of its former mod,
els are intent on getting the word out about its imperfect .business practices
through MySpace and LiveJournal communities, as well as SuicideGirlX.
com, a site dedicated to negative SuicideGirls press. Many ex,models went
pinup,style images. According to the Web site, "Combining the DIY attitude
of underground culture with a vibrant, sex,positive community of women
on to work for competing sites, and some even began their own. Whether the
godmother of Internet alt porn is a sexist and exploitative tyrant or the good,
intentioned "vibrant, sex,positive community" it claims to be, it's far from the
(and men), the company was founded on the belief that creativity, personality
and intelligence are not incompatible with sexy,compelling entertainment, and
only option on the market these days.
There are hundreds of ways to quench your thirst for filth without leaving
millions of people agree:'True to the punk DIY ethos, the models chose their
own outfits, makeup, poses and photographers, or even opted to selfshoot.
your laptop, but what appears to be the queer,friendliest site around these
days is No Fauxxx ("porn that doesn't fake it"). No Fauxxx apparently takes
over where SuicideGirls left off. Rather than just featuring the SuicideGirls'
The site's pale, skinny (and occasionally not so skinny) tatted girls were an
alternative for the porn aficionado sick of the fake,tanned, fake,breasted, fake,
blonde women dominating the industry.
Fast forward six years. Today SuicideGirls is the undisputed queen of punk
rock porn, and a self proclaimed "contemporary lifestyle brand:' For less than
$50 a year, members can join a MySpace,type community, with groups, chats,
blogs and, of course, boobies-two new sets per day, to be exact. There are
dozens of out lesbian SuicideGirls, girl,on,girl photo sets aplenty and a few
thriving queer communities within the community: Gay Girls Only, LGBTQ
BlackLGBTQ Genderfuck and an L Word fan group. The site boasts over
1,000 models, over 300,000 members (including actor Hal Sparks' girlfriend,
the Dandy Warhols' Zia McCabe and, formerly, Courtney Love), frequent ce,
lebrity interviews (in the past year they've featured Debbie Harry, Margaret
Cho and Sandra Bernhard) and over 4 million unique visitors per month. And
standard fare of mostly skinny naked white girls with pierced nipples and
sleeve tattoos-which, really, isn't so risque these days-No Fauxxx is "hoc,
radical porn made by ladies, queers and artists from all over the world" and
features "models of all genders and sizes:' It lacks the ultraprofessional polish
of SuicideGirls, both in site design and sometimes photo quality-though, for
some queer porn,lovers, chat amateur, genuine DIY edge is a good thing.
Though No Fauxxx is much further under the radar than SuicideGirls, it's
been online for nearly as long. Founder"Trouble Royale''began the site in 2002
when she found some pieces missing from "mainstream'' alterna,porn. Like the
SuicideGirls, No Fauxxx models each have individual profiles where they can
cell the world who they are. Only No Fauxxx models get categories like'gender
identity" and"sexual identity;' unrestricted by lame drop,down menus. Models'
The Alt to the Alt continued on page 65
January/February 2008
I59
By Diane Anderson_,Minshall
Photographyby Darling Propaganda
It's a rare warm, sunny day in San Francisco and I'm trotting down to South of
Market with a suitcase full of clothes that can only charitably be called "slutty:'
I'm a die--hard power femme but by no means a real girlie girl. (Bulldagger I've
been called, bombshell; well, maybe not.) But today I'm going to change all that,
thanks to the help of two women: a 30--year burlesque queen slash local icon,
Bombshell Betty, and her trusty rock--star photographer, Darling Propaganda.
And I've dragged along two Curvettes-associate
publisher Sara Jane Keskula
and assistant editor Katie Peoples-who_ get to undergo their own transforma-tions in front of the camera.
60
Icurve
Curvettes and me, it had to be condensed (we are on the clock,
after all) into one afternoon of fun. We start by nervously entering Bombshell Betty's studio-a
combination dance space, dress-
ing room and girlie Pee Wee's playhouse-and
getting into "body
conscious" clothing for our first pinup lessons. For me, I'm nearly
naked; the other girls are a bit more discreet. (I'm the only one
who is over the 30 mark, mind you.) Before we start learning how
to move in front of a camera, how to mimic old-style poses and
how to make that s~xy pout, we meet our equally sexy photographer, Darling Propaganda.
"For years, the joke was that when I saw a pretty girl, I
didn't know if I wanted to do her or be her;' says Propaganda.
'i\.pparently, what I want is to photograph her!"
Propaganda, too, has been obsessed with pinups and beauty
queens since she was a little girl. "My hippie mom wouldn't allow
me to have Barbies because they were bourgeoisie. All her withholding did was create in me an intense fetish for stiletto shoes
and playing dress up:'
Propaganda's own studio (darlingpropaganda.com)
with props and costumes-vintage, new, wacky-which
the women who come to her.
is rife
inspire
"Generally, even if they have little or no idea what they want
when they come in, I can find something that makes their eyes
light up, and that emotion is what makes a great image:'
Bombshell Betty concurs: "It is always exciting to me when
a woman comes to the shoot thinking that she is just not photogenic or that she just can't look good in pictures, and after the
shoot she is finally really pleased with pictures of herself ... It is
also rewarding to see the shy, self-conscious women come out of
their shell and really get into feeling sexy. The transformations I
ike a lot of girls, I've been obsessed with beauty queens. Not
the gushing guffaws of Miss Texas or the post hip-hop derriers of
JLo and Jessica Biel. No, I've always been fascinated by the oldschool pinup beauties, the Vargas girls, the tawdry temptresses
who could brandish structured undergarments and make supportive underwire bras look like the sexiest things on earth. And
I'm not the only one, of course.
"Before I ever heard the word'burlesque; I was a fan of the old
song-and-dance movies, Mae West, Bugs Bunny and Bettie Page;'
says Bombshell Betty, whose first official entrance into the world
of neoburlesque was in 2000, when she started a touring go-go
performance troupe based in Vancouver, B.C. "So it just seemed
like a natural transition to go from my modern, belly dance-based
bump-and-grind take on go-go to incorporating skits, fire dancing, fan dancing, striptease and pastie twirling-including
ing tassels and sparkler tassels:'
flam-
When her Vancouver roommate suggested she teach burlesque classes, "I thought that was outrageous and dismissed the
idea;' says Betty. But in San Francisco a few years later, and without her troupe, she did just that, beginning with her now famed
Burlesquercise! classes and DVDs, and later with her Pinup
Modeling Workshop ($195, bombshellbetty.net), which has become, well, almost a San Francisco legend in itsel£
Normally, the Pinup Workshop is a two-day operation; one
day for instruction, the second for a photo shoot. But for the
am privileged to watch are amazing:'
Of course, we were different nuts. Who knew how long it
would take to crack our shells? Apparently, one hour and fifteen
minutes. The classes made us all a little selfconscious, and standing in front of the mirror
making bedroom eyes at my reflection was a
bit awkward, but came in handy when I had to
"make love" to the camera. Bombshell's signature props were fantastic to work with. I had all
sorts of wild ideas about wearing one fluffy,blue
petticoat and nothing else.
Then came the photo shoot itsel£ Sara Jane
was first, a glammed up '20s flapper doll, vamping like Marion Davies. Then Katie, dressed in
pink, sort of a rockabilly desperate housewife.
When it's my turn, I freeze. Betty is directing
me, Darling Propaganda is saying things that
normally I love to hear from a woman (i.e., "Oh,
that's hot!") and all I can remember is that Betty
told us to mouth the vowels if we got stuck smiling or pouting. So I begin what would become
my day's mantra: a sexy, Betty Boopish version
of A-E-I-O-U, with a lot of emphasis on the
It works. I'm as relaxed as the other girls,
tearing off one outfit for the next and urging
January/February 2008
I61
Propaganda to make my posterior look as big as possible (Hey,
so I admit it, I'm an ass girl). Betty helps, giving me hints that
are simple but make all the difference ("How about your hand on
your hipst"Rrrrr!" and "Don't cover your face!" are tops among
them), while our lenswoman shoots and urges, "Oh, that's great:'
It takes about two hours but by then I'm convinced that I'm
the new Anna Nicole Smith (w~ll, without the drugs, death and
Howard K. Stern). I'm already envisioning launching my own
burlesque troupe and starring in my own pinup calendars-filled
with nothing but sexy, fat, queer girls.
Of course, I'm hardly unique. After all, hundreds of women
have been flocking to Bombshell Betty's Pinup Workshop for
months now."One of the things I love the most about my classes is
the great diversity in the women who attend;' says Betty. "Women
of every age, from 18 to over 60, have enjoyed the class. I have had
ex-members of the Fat Bottom Burlesque Revue as well as people
of all shapes, sizes, ages and ethnicities ... there is no typical stu-
Disgruntled by "the lack of real people out there having orgasms in porn;' mechanical
engineer Boots Boccaleone and systems administrator G.A. Sincock decided to make
their own. Their brainchild, Red Handed Porn, a name inspired by the exhibitionism
of being caught red-handed, launched in January 2007, encompassing everything under
the sun, with an unintentional focus on queer women and transfolk. The crew at Red
Handed Porn does all its own filming because, besides fake orgasms, Boccaleone says,
"high quality is also something missing in (mainstream] porn:' Calling itself the "home
of hot, real, amateur masturbation porn;' Red Handed Porn offers various packages
covering as many bandwidths as budgets; and since the.site depends on real people in
authentic settings having genuine orgasms, voyeurs aren't the only ones getting their
rocks off. Qualified exhibitionists may have the opportunity to rub one out on camera and have their autoerotic fantasy documented in an episode on the easy-to-browse
site, which offers talent testimonials, outtakes and viewer-rated episode selections. The
flexible membership includes six episodes a month. Red Handed Porn also
sponsored the San Francisco-based
Masturbate-a-thon in an effort to help
promote masturbation as an important way to stop spreading disease and
help sexuality, says Boccaleone. "If you
really know your own body, you're that
much more capable of sharing it with
someone else;• she says. ( redhandedporn.com) -
62
Icurve
ColleenMcCaffrey
dent. I have had openly lesbian, straight, bisexual and transexualtransgender people attend my classes, and everyone seems to feel
welcome and accepting of everyone else in the class:'
Betty's taught her fair share of lawyers, housewives, tattooed
punk girls, beauty school dropouts and Ph.D. holders. Isis Starr,
the "Living Legend of Burlesque;' attended Bombshell Betty's
Pinup Workshops at the age of 60 or so. "I have also had people
fly in from out of town or even around the world for the workshops, so we have people of various cultures participating as well.
What is important to me is that everyone feels accepted and honored for who they are. Everyone is trying something new in this
class, and that brings them together:'
For my fellow Curvettes, that's more than just a "Can I get a
Kumbaya?" spiel. "Betty and Darling were really reassuring and
just made me feel hot;' admits Sara Jane. She's still raving about
the class-from the props and makeup to the real tricks to being
photographed, she can take the experience into her everyday life.
And she's thinking of going back with a group of friends. Katie,
too, is all raves about playing dress up: "I didn't think I could look
that girlie in a photo. It's a rarity. I can't wait to show them off:'
And for me, well, I liked reaching outside of who I thought
I was, and, as Betty says, creating a sort of alter ego. Or maybe I
was creating a whole new way of looking at mysel£ big hips and
all. If you see me on stage soon, twirling pasties and eating fire,
well, you'll know what I mean. ■
gj;-'S/~
~ Ul£/PJJcw
Can a pooch ruin your love lifer One lesbian finds out.
ByJennyJedeiken
'Tm looking for sanitary pads and strap-on harnesses with belts, if you have
that for a dog," I ask the clerk at the pet store. I have come here on a mission.
Our new dog Pookie, a miniature bull terrier, which we acquired during the
lunacy of our home renovation, is in heat. With thoughts of protecting what
little functionality there is left in my relationship, I have elected to find a solution for the 21 days of bleeding that I have been advised will follow.
My girlfriend Greta is so in love with the little creature that if it were up
to her, she would mop up after her with hand-held Hermes tea towels spread
open across her lap for three weeks, on the couch, without bothering to get up
once for a shower. But I am of an entirely different disposition.
The clerk points me to a narrow aisle in the back of the store. Next to
packages of doggie diapers for the "incontinent older pooch," I spy the one I
need: "The preferred female product, for a bitch in heat;' reads the box, and
it comes with a tidy companion box of pads. I open the package and pull
out a slinky black thong with criss-crossing belts; it looks as though it were
designed for a mutt with a lack of self-correcting Christian values. The little
snap-on straps seem more manageable than the bulky denim diaper-cover
with red-and-white cowboy stitching up the side, which we'd purchased at the
dog boutique George on Union Street in San Francisco five days before.
Besides, the $50 blue-jean one disappeared beneath a small, isolated tornado of clothing in one of the kids' bedrooms. Maybe someone threw it out
the window. Maybe. Everyone had deep feelings about the menstruating dog.
It all began several weeks before, with the ill-timed adoption of our new
companion. Despite the fact that we were all seething with hatred for one
another during our eight-month home remodel and renovation, my partner
decided it was a fine time to acquire a new pet. It had been eight weeks since
our family-three kids a~d the two of us-had had the luxury of using a
kitchen with running water or a stove, 40 days since we had slept in our bedroom or had the privacy afforded to chose whose home is not transformed
into a testosterone-charged construction site at 7 :30 every morning.
Soon we were busy schmoozing up a miniature bull terrier and Greta
had fallen in love with the quirky breed. "You know the bull terrier-it's the
'Target dog' with the egg-shaped head," she told me. It was also the "Spuds
Mackenzie" dog, and the famous dog pictured alongside General George
Patton. "There are only something like 135 born a year in the U.S.;' she said.
Days later she pulled up to our home with the new specimen. "Thanks for
making this so easy for me;' she said, as she showed off the pure-bred dog with
royal markings, which she had acquired at the grave discount price of $2,000.
The breeder normally charges $2,500 for a dog, but Pookie had an eye problem, rendering her useless to a breeder."She didn't want to pass along chis gene;'
explained my partner."Besides, she's a year old, so we won't have to train her:•
Housebroken, yes, but within weeks there were drops of blood dotting
every surface in our home: beds, carpets, laundry in transition, everywhere
that beloved pooch trotted. Pookie had gotten her period. "Lee's fix her," I
suggested, knowing that we were all living on top of each other.
"We can't fix her. She's going to be in a dog show;' my partner announced.
''I've registered her in a show next month, so we can't touch her:' Pookie used
to be in dog shows. There are pictures of her in magazines, advertising her existence bef~re it was determined chat her genetic makeup was not desirable.
Two weeks later we drove to a hotel by the airport to watch Pookie prance
in front of middle-aged bald men. I had been up all night the night before
because Greta and I had gotten into a fight over something irrelevant. We
had to make up in a hurry because the next day we were going co a miniature
bull terrier specialty dog show. Even though I was reeling from anger at her, I
knew I had to make up with her. My children would never forgive me if they
missed seeing their beloved animal in the ring.
I could ask no intelligent question at the dog show. All the people that
were there understood the basic ground rules of dog shows and and, despite
the worshipful devotion of my entire family, Pookie did not place in the show.
In the ring she was just a ho-hum mini-bull, smaller than average, with a
somewhat uninterested show-dog disposition.
But it didn't matter that Pookie was not victorious in competition, because in our house she was the gal who won in the end. Without having to
compromise too much of her core belief systems, Pookie got to live on our
Tempur-Pedic bed pretty much like she owned it, even though I despised
seeing her on it and she was incapable of hurting my partner's feelings.
When Greta asked the breeder, Isabel, about acquiring another puppy,
she was told: "It will have to be a male, because two females can't live together.
There will be constant animosity:' Maybe she's right. One year, and one perfect puppy lacer, I'm the one who is moving out. Now Greta sleeps with two
miniature bull terriers. The new puppy, Teddy, just won first place in a dog
show in Los Angeles in a category called "Best of opposite sex:' ■
January/February 2008
I63
Unc.overing
the StonewaI
·Lesbian
Storme Delarverie was there that infamousnight.
Now she's coming clean about it all. By Patrick Hinds
At a downstairs bar in the heart of Manhattan's Chelsea District, Storme
why had she never come forward to claim her place in history?
DeLarverie appears almost nightly. She almost never discards the floppy,
I was consumed by the mystery, but it was nearly impossible to research.
brim hat that covers a torrent of cotton,ball hair or the burgundy glasses
that shield half her face, but she's never unapproachable. To passersby, elderly
The few histories that exist mention her only in passing, and a "woman
dressed in a man's clothes" is virtually impossible to distinguish within sur,
women may seem out of place in a neighborhood known for the young, mus,
viving photographs of the riots. This is why it came as such a shock nine years
cular set, but DeLarverie is often the center of attention. Shy, in the polite but
later when Tree-a
guarded way one might expect from a well,known celebrity, she returns hellos
lesbian who was clubbed that night. Some people try to say it was a drag
queen, but it wasn't. Her name is Storme. She's 85. I bet she'd talk to you:• His
and accepts the occasional drink from the young, queer strangers who are
awed by an elder in their midst, a strange sight in a city where there are few
of her generation left. But DeLarverie is not a well,known celebrity, despite
the fact that she's twice made history here. The first time, she made history
as an emcee of the legendary Jewel Box Review at Harlem's Apollo Theater
in the '50s and '60s, where she earned the distinction of being the only female
performer in the nation's first integrated female,impersonation show.
Stonewall veteran I was interviewing-said,
"I know the
implication was obvious: She's not getting any younger. She might finally be
willing to tell her story, before it's too late.
She agreed to a meeting in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel on 23rd Street.
The conversation was awkward at first. I was nervous to the point of shaking
and she clearly wasn't feeling chatty, but eventually we found our groove and
she started to open up.
The second was about 20 blocks south of the Apollo, outside the Stonewall
Born in New Orleans in 1926 to a black mother and a white father, she
Inn when, helping a man who had been shoved to the ground, she defied a
police officer's order to "move on, faggot" and was subsequently clubbed in
began a career as a professional big,band singer in the late '30s, "touring the
the face. The clubbing, by almost all accounts, was the spark that turned the
demonstration outside the Stonewall into what has gone down in history as
the Stonewall Riots. She disappeared amid the craziness of the riot that night
and for 38 years has never identified herself That is, until now.
I learned of the legend of the Stonewall Lesbian in 1997, when I read
Martin Duberman's Stonewall. She is described by witnesses as a woman
dressed in a man's clothes, who was clubbed when she got "lippy" with a cop,
either because her handcuffs were too tight or because the police were try,
ing to move her along. And all who saw her agree that the clubbing was the
catalyst for the riots. Her detractors, whose position is that she was created
to further mythologize the riots, posed the obvious question: If she did exist,
country with my long hair and high heels:' She joined the Jewel Box Review in
the late'40s, where-dressed as a man to serve as the Jewel Box's emcee-she
became one of the nation's earliest known drag kings. It was enough to pique
the interest of Diane Arbus, who took a series of photographs of DeLarverie
and wrote ofher,"[Storme) has consciously experimented [with) her appear,
ance as a man without ever tampering with her nature as a woman:'
It was after a performance at the Apollo in the early morning of June 28,
1969, that DeLarverie made her way downtown to the Stonewall. "I rarely
went to women's bars;' she told me, "but I always stopped by the Stonewall
and others like it. I liked to see if I could help the boys out in any way:'
Dressed "as any man would be'' in her costume from the show, slacks and
jacket lapels, with her short hair slicked down to her head, she happened
upon the bar just as the crowd was starting to gather. She stood across the
street with her back against the gate to Christopher Street Park until she saw
a man on the ground near the bar's entrance. She rushed through the crowd
to the man's side and as she tried to help him up, an officer grabbed her shoul,
der and told her to move along. ''As politely as I could;' she said, "I said, 'Just
a minute, officer, I'm trying to help this man: He then yelled, 'I said, move
along, faggot: I think he thought I was a boy. When I refused, he raised his
nightstick and clubbed me in the face:' It was then that the crowd surged and
started attacking the police with whatever they could find, she said.
I asked my last question hesitantly. "Have you heard of the Stonewall
Lesbian? The woman who was clubbed outside the bar but was never identi,
fied?'' DeLarverie nodded, rubbing her chin in the place where she received 14
stitches after the beating. "Yes;'she said quietly."They were talking about me:•
And then, almost as an afterthought, I asked, "Why did you never come
forward to take credit for what you did?"
She thought for a couple of seconds before she answered, "Because it was
never anybody's business:•
After the riots? DeLarverie remained an activist,a performer and, most telling,
a security guard in New York.She still livesin Chelsea today. ■
Wonder Quin Power continued from page 43
Another Day in Paradise continued from page 38
You guys started playing when you were 15.
Since you've got a series about the pitfalls
want to find characters to fall in love with and
Was there a band or anything you were lis-
of lesbian dating, let me ask you what's the
stories they can relate to, and I'm just so proud
tening to that inspired you to get into music?
biggest dating mistake women make?
There was so much music I was listening to, but
I think it was less the music and it was more
You asked earlier what the mos~ surprising feed-
that I can be one of the people ... who is helping to provide that. It's really a privilege and I
we started going to see shows. I mean not con-
people ask me dating advice now. I did not at
If they cancelled the show tomorrow, would
certs, we were going to see like, punk gigs and
all expect that doing this show would lead to
that, but I get e-mails from people who share
you feel like a success or a failure?
weekend, free-at-the-community-center type
stuff. And I remember when I started going to
back is. . . . It's that because I do this show,
take it very seriously. I know we all do.
A huge success, because decisions like that ...
things and who ask advice. It got to the point
sometimes have nothing to do with the project.
see those punk gigs, I suddenly knew kids who
where other people were noticing it, as well.
were in bands. I was like, well if they can be in
AfterEllen asked me to do this video blog and
ask for people's worst dating stories. Thankfully
Everyone on this project has put their heart
and soul into it ... and has done their abso-
a band, what would be the difference between
me being in a band and them being in a band?
And that was really what inspired me.
And at what point did you decide to go for it
I don't have to answer any questions. I am just
going to read some of them and act them out
with props.
lute best work-from
our actors to our crew
to our network executives, who were really
involved, to me and my fellow [producers].
and make it your job?
How do you know if it's a date or just two
I think we've turned out a really good show.
There's nothing that I can look at and say, "I
I can remember being in grade 12, everybody was
filling out applications for university, and mak-
friends getting together?
would have done this differently:' If we don't
I have no idea.
come back, I'll just know it's about something
ing plans for post-high school, and I just didn't
want to. And I loved music so much. It was
tough the first couple years. I was working a
job and paying rent. Deciding that you're going to make music your career and just being a
musician are two very different things.
What moments in your career have been really exciting? The White Stripes covered you
a while back and I imagine that must have
been great. Were there any other moments
Does any lesbian know the answer to that?
You know, if you can find them, pl~ase let me
know, because I have no idea. It's difficult with
women, isn't it? It's expected that the man will
can you tell from looking at a woman in a
social setting whether she's good in bed?
ask the woman out and they'll go on a date. But
[Laughs]Wow. I don't know.
when you get two women together, who's going to ask who out? And if one of them isn't
You just have to embrace your dating expert
bold and daring and specifies that this is a date,
well then, are we having coffee? Is this a date?
I think you just have to take your clothes off and
see if she responds. If she turns away sort of
Should I be excited? Should I get dressed up?
where you were just like, wow!
Should I shave my legs?
The White Stripes thing was really cool. Even this
record. Stuff that's already happening. There are
Should I shave my legs! Exactly! You don't know.
I've got a friend who is often going out on "I
magazines that wouldn't touch us last time we
don't know if this is a date" dates. We see
put a record out. Magazines that, to me, didn't
her dancing at clubs and we'll whisper in her
make sense. Like, why wouldn't we be able to
ear, It's a date.
get coverage in RollingStone or Spin magazine?
Or Filter?What the fuck do I have to do to get
Yeah, well, you have to be told. It's so uncomfort-
these people to do something on us? And then
all of a sudden it just happens and you're like,
OK, so you want to have coffee? And, by the
way, this is a date. And then you get into a thing
where 20 years later you're still friends.
oh thank God.
else and that will be OK.
One last dating question for the road. How
able. Women don't specify. We don't specify
role now, Michelle.
shyly, or calls the police, then you know she's
just not the one to romp. But if she, too, takes
her clothes off and then drags you into the other room, at least until the police arrive, then you
know you're in for a wild time. ■
Alt to the Alt continued from page 59
menus. Models' gender identities include "mtf
genderqueer;' "femme-tomboy;' "lady dandy;' 'girly
I didn't realize that you had such a strong
Now that you're famous, or semi-famous at
boylike girl;' "fag elf boy"-more interesting than
SuicideGirls' options of "male;' "female'' and the
fan base in Australia.
least, do you have groupies?
vague catch-all "exotic:' Self-defined sexual identi-
Yeah. At the beginning of [the So Jealous tour]
we went over and opened for another band in
Australia. We just were like, OK, let's go over
there and see if we can make something work,
I don't know about groupies. I don't get yelled
at when I go places, except when I hit other
ties of No Fauxxx models are typically some variation of queer: from "queer girlfag" to "pansexual fag"
to "trysexuall:' Political correctness doesn't get in
the way of ultra hot photos, videos and erotic short
and we went over and were surprised at how
many kids knew who we were already. We were
calling our manager at home in Canada and
being like, "No, they do know who we are. We
should be here more often! ... I know we don't
sell any records but they know, they know. The
kids know who we are:' You know, it's not like
we're superstars, but that's not really what our
mandate is anyway. We always make jokes that
we're like the corner store. We're not trying to
be a franchise. We're just trying to be ourselves.
You just know you can come in and get good
service, and good chips or whatever. ■
people's cars. But I do have quite a few people
who comment on the stuff I've been doing with
AfterEllen, or who find my Web site, and a
couple people who comment on my blog regularly. Some of the folks who read my blog, in
particular, have been following this whole journey from before we even shot the pilot. So, you
know, that's kind of fun, that they've gotten to
be along for the process with me.
Queer girl fans are some of the best fans
to have. You get their undying devotion, but
they're not breaking into your house at night.
Everyone that I've met who has seen the show has
been incredibly kind and incredibly respectful.
People really want this kind of content and they
stories, ranging from the solo, pinup type shots to
full-on lesbian sex, complete with dildos and common kitchen appliances.
On the minus side, a year membership costs
over twice as much on No Fauxxx as SuicideGirls.
However, if you flunked freshman English because
you couldn't stop fantasizing about a genderqueer
Tom and Huck getting it on in the woods, or
you've ever wondered what Cindy Wonderful
and Sarah Adorable from queer electro hip-hop
duo Scream Club look like naked and doing each
other, do not fear: The land of Internet porn has a
home for you, too. ■
January/February 2008
I 65
D
CHRISTY ISLER
nity. Mosbacher is not afraid to take on issues such
As an associate professor of perinatology and the
as homophobia in sports and is currently working
residency program director in the Department
on a documentary about the Pennsylvania State
University women's basketball scandal, where
of Obstetrics and Gynecology at East Carolina
University's Brody School of Medicine in
Greenville, N.C., Isler is a busy woman. "I see patients with complications, make prenatal diagnoses and detect birth defects and risks associated
coach Rene Portland
allegedly discriminated
against and intimidated lesbian ballplayers. She is
the daughter of Robert Mosbacher, a Republican,
who was secretary of commerce from 19'89 to
with problem pregnancies:' Like all the doctors on
1992. Father and daughter have both a loving re-
this list, she is well-respected and considered one
of the best out lesbian doctors in the business.
lationship and an ongoing political disagreement.
She's made efforts to reach out to lesbians in other
D
JANE PETRO
Aside from performing cosmetic surgery practice
in Westchester, N.Y., Petro is active in developing
countries, operating on burn victims and children
with cleft palates, an easily repaired genetic condition common in Asia and Central America. "I
spend about four months a year teaching, traveling and doing advocacy work in Ghana, Palestine,
Columbia, Brazil and elsewhere, flying in with
medicine and surgical equipment and operating
political families as well. "I tried to communicate
for five to 10 days in a row;' she says. Petro also
works with survivors of domestic violence at My
with Mary Cheney during the elections but she
didn't respond;' she says. "It's very sad. I think it's
nization Healing the Children Northeast (htcne.
Sister's Place in Westchester and with the orga-
very harmful to be in that type of situation, and
now especially, with a child in the mix, it's going to
be devastating:'
fD SHELLY KOLTON •
II
Women's
org).
She is a co-founder of New York City's Downtown
El PATRICIA ROBERTSON
BETTY DODSON
for One (bettydodson.com) has been a best-seller
for over 20 years. Since the '80s, her personal la-
OB/GYN practice for lesbians. Kolton was an
early advocate for lesbian parenting and is an ex-
bel expanded to include "heterosexual-bisexual-
pert on transvaginal ultrasound. Her practice is
known to respect size issues and has gowns up to
lesbian-SM-leather-dyke-masturbating-queer:'
"Back in the early days of '70s feminism, I was
cy and is a member of the Fetal Treatment Center
at UCSF Children's Hospital. She also made her
always pressured to choose between being straight
or gay. Today, I think the label 'queer' is the most
co
mark in the annals oflesbian health by co-founding
the Lyon-Martin Clinic, a center for lesbian health
>-
research in San Francisco 20 years ago. Robertson
remembers that she was one of only a handful of
inclusive. It seems many younger women truly
enjoy sex with either the same or the opposite
sex;' she says. She points out that terms like "heteroflexible" and "homoflexible" are hopeful signs
women at her medical school. "As a female medi-
of change and acceptance. 'Tm sure a big part
cal student in those days, you were basically seen
as wasting their time or taking up space that could
have been better used for a man:'
of claiming a gay identity is the struggle we go
through with acceptance;' she says.
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children of lesbians, the longest-running study
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21 years (nllfs.org). Gartrell is also a big name in
lesbian-feminist medical ethics and has examined the issue of maintaining boundaries between
therapists and their patients. Her new book, My
Answer Is No ... If That's Okay with You: How
Women Can Say No and (Still) Feel Good About It,
includes quotes from female celebrities and politicians, CEOs and everyday women.
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the envelope on topics that confront our commu-
(downtownwomenobgyn.
com), the busiest, best-known
A perinatologist at the University of California at
San Francisco, she specializes in high-risk pregnan§i
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OB-GYN
She is a renowned sex educator, whose classic Sex
O'Hanlan's personal motto is "Homophobia is a
health hazard:' The past president of the Gay and
Lesbian Medical Association says, "The stigma
and discrimination around lesbians and trans
people harms us psychologically and physically; it
leads us to have more risk factors, such as stress,
and best-loved
size 4 X. Her patient questionnaires are probing
but neutral and nonjudgmental on sexual activity,
sexuality, gender, size and other concerns of lesbians and trans people. "I learned a lot about sensitivity to size issues from Dr. Beth Shimlock, a
former senior doctor here who was herself a large
woman;' says Kolton. She is also a go-to gal for the
treatment of menopause, using both Western and
alternative therapies.
EJMARION
KAVANAUGH-LYNCH
She volunteers as president of the Lesbian Health
Fund, which grants seed money to researchers and
practitioners for investigations into cancer and
medical issues related to lesbians. KavanaughLynch's day job is director of the California Breast
Cancer Program. "My core belief in my medical
practice is that it is essential to involve key constituents in medicine and medical care, i.e., activists
an increase in obesity, higher rates of smoking and
alcoholism:'
O'Hanlan is a gynecological oncologist in
who know how to get results, along with healthcare providers and the patients themselves:'
Southern California whose work with FTMs
in general and with total laparoscopic hysterec-
IJiJSUSAN LOVE
tomy in particular is politically and medically
groundbreaking. "Since FTMs are refused care on
a regular basis, they come to us from all over to
She is, hands-down, the most famous breast cancer
have proper hysterectomies;' she says. A group of
FTMs was even able to negotiate a deal with her
hospital to quote the costs ahead of time, so she
Los Angeles. The best prescription for any lesbian
is to read Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book and Dr.
and hormone researcher around and the founder
of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation in
only charges the standard fee she gets from insur-
Susan Love's Hormone Book, if you haven't done so
already. Both are standard references on the top-
ance companies.
ics, so get them-for
your health. ■
January/February 2008
I 67
Reviews Sapphic Screen
Cable's Guilty Pleasures
Delightfully,bombasticallynaughtyTV is here. I By CandaceMoore
IllegalAliens
(Edgewood):
Thingsget
blownup in this movie.
Many,manythings.
AndAnnaNicoleSmith
turnsintoa helicopter.
Andthat'sevenbeforea
mind-control
suppositoryturnsherintothe
powersupplyfor a machinethatthe badguy(a
womannamedRexwith
boobsevenbiggerthan
AnnaNicole's,playedby
ChynaDoll)usesto turn
the moonintoa megaasteroidona collision
coursewith Earth.
Thisfilm,whichSmith
produced,
is alsoher
last.Somecriticscalled
the posthumously
releasedflick a metaphor
Thoroughly"bad"TV is a naughty, guilty pleasure and one that
for herlife,andif that
is made more irresistibly watchable lately by the folks at here!
meanscampy,mindless,
TV.
If you haven't DVR'd these queer shows, you need to host
blow-the-suppositorya
DVD
party to enjoy some of this fare. It's simply too good
out-of-your-behind
fun,
thentheyarecertainly and "bad" to miss.
right.It's hardto decide
whetherIllegalAliens Dante's Cove, Season Three (here!): For those uniniti,
is purenonsense
or ated (or nonaspirant) to the bizarre world that occupies this
a pieceof comedic fictional inlet (somewhere in magical/ geographical relation to
genius.Forthefirst Laguna Beach), how can mere words describe the witch blasts,
time,it madememourn oiled chests, Twin Peaks,esque musical underscores, sudden
the lossof AnnaNicole
queerific sex and deliciously wooden (or hyper,melodramatic)
andthe kindof artistic
line deliveries? Perhaps the producers of Dante's Cove have ere,
energysheembodied.
ated a whole new homo genre or form of beyond,the,Sontag
(edgewoodstudios.com)
- UrsulaSteck camp: a soft,core/ soap opera/ fantasy /horror melange. We
68 I curve
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You might catch a glimpse this third season of beautiful and
out actress Jill Bennett as a post,typhoon bush,, tree, and
people,eating monster, but who really knows what comes of
that? Tune in to find out who's on the giving and receiving end
at Dante's Cove. It's worth renting the back episodes, not in any
kind of "quality;' or spiritual, sense, but because John Waters
would likely also eat popcorn and believe. (heretv.com)
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Lesbian Sex and Sexuality (here!): Director Katherine
Linton's six,part documentary miniseries on dyke sex and
sexual expression goes behind the scenes of the lesbian erotic
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film industry and between the sheets of queer women and bois
who configure their love and sex in a variety of ways: embod,
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BDSM practices and more. While not comprehensive, the se,
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could call it campsoapfanhorror or something unintelligible
like that. But unintelligibility is Dante's Cove's strong suit,
along with butt shots, and most recently, more tattoo,reveal,
ing, bump,and,grind, strokey,strokey, kissy,kissy hott! (with
ries makes a dent in a subject sorely in need of further filmic
(and personal) exploration. Framed by informative, contex,
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tualizing interviews with lesbian sexpert Diana Cage (former
editor of On Our Backs), Lesbian Sex and Sexuality takes a lo,
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two t's and an exclamation point) lesbian sex between Michelle
Wolff and Dante's Cove newbie Jenny Shimizu (yes, the for,
mer CK model). Jensen Atwood (Noah's Arc) also appears as a
T res um Council member who knows a load about sex magic.
calized approach, visiting two or three groups of interviewees,
who are in their element for each specific topic. Audiences get
to know each episode's subjects and their takes on fucking and
filming fucking intimately; however, as if contemporary TV
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KillHouse(Fabulocity):
To
callthis queerishmoviesimply
campywouldbean understatement.A bunchof realestate
agentsarepickedoff oneby
oneby a serialkillerin a "tale
of bloodlust,rivalryandgreed."
Thefocusis on oneLosAngeles
familytryingto selltheir house.
Thefolkstakeoff whilethe
angstyteenagebrothersmokes
too muchpot,hissistergets
nakedtoo muchandtheirexconcaretakerbroodsa lot.A femalerealestateagentis stuck
in the middleof it all.While
therewereplentyof opportunitiesto makethis as ridiculously
violentas possible,the movie
wassurprisingly
tameaside
fromthe brutalopeningscene.
Withhilariousacting,campyaction sequences
anda debatable
plot,Kill Houseofferedgreat
laughs.(killhousemovie.com)
- KatiePeoples
turbulenceandcrash-lands
intoa worldinhabitedby giant
spiders,giantcatsand,of
course,giantpeople.Booming
orchestralmusicaccompanies
the hodgepodge
castof charactersontheirquestfor freedom
fromthe planet.BeforeCGI,
beforegreenscreensandbefore peopleknewhowto write,
this showapparently
garnered
legionsof gen-Xlesbianfans
overthe courseof two seasons.
Thespecialeffectsarewell,
just that.Special.Theladiesare
buxomandbrassy.Complete
with anorphanchildandhis
dog,anda "military"badguy
whostuttersandsweatsa lot,
scenesof closegetawaysinterminglewith quotableone-liners.
Landof theGiantsis perfectin
the placeof background
music
at a disco-themed
cocktail
party.Theimpossiblypointy
spaceboobsaredistracting
enoughto keepanyonewatching.DeannaLudd,GaryConway
andDonMarshallarea few of
the luckyactorswhopranced
aroundthescreenfor ourviewingenjoyment.
(foxstore.com)
- JennaV.Loceff
on hiswild ridesthroughthe
city chasinghisownheart.
(godspeedfilm.
com)
- UrsulaSteck
RickandSteve(Logo):Logo
Network'sanimatedshowRick
andSteve,theHappiestGay
Couplein All the Worldfollows
the life andadventures
of a
groupof gayfriendsthrough
WestLahungaBeach.Theseriesstarscutiesmart-boyRick
andhisgym-rathusbandSteve
asthe mostlyhappygaycouple.
Rick'sbestfriendis Kirstin
andsheandherbutchwife
Danaaretryingto havea baby.
Thatis whereRickandSteve's
cupof "axlegrease"comes
in handy.Partcomedy,part
musical,partabsurdiststopmotionadventure,
the zany
shenanigans
just don'tstop.
FromRickandSteve'sforays
intothe worldof threesomes,
to
Kirstin'slate-nightventureinto
a truck-stopbathroomin search
of "liquidgold"to put in her
turkeybaster,the showdoes
notdisappoint.
Othercharacters(andcharacters
theyare)
includeChuck,the 50-year-old,
Godspeed
(Altcinema):
A
HIV-positive,
wheelchair-using
movieasfast,hardandpoetic
boyfriendof Evan,the 19asthe greatpunksongsthat
.
runthroughit. LynnBreedlove, year-old,pill-poppingpothead
VoicedbyAlanCumming,
Will
a SanFrancisco
LGBTscene
Matthews,
WilsonCruzand
favorite,wrote,directedand
EmilyBrookeHands.
playedthe protagonist,
a bike
- JVL
messenger
addictedto speedin (logoonline.com)
Landof theGiants(Fox):In
this 1968cheesy-as-all-get-out the varioussensesof the word.
ThecamerafollowsJim,whose )) Wantto seemoreRickandSteve?
sci-ti/suspense
TVshow,an
Goto curvemag.com
formernamewasElizabeth,
airplane-spacecraft
hitssolar
!-I
I
J' \ ~ , r
1 1 .'
!, I
1
www.judeaeden.com
Find someone
you click with on
pinksofa.com
1 week free trial
Just enter the promo code
CUrve11
when you join
~sofa.com
connecting lesbians
January/February
2008
I69
Q+A
Guinevere Turner
documentary is starting, in reverse formation, to
emulate reality-show aesthetics, we do see that
fast-and-loose look played out here. Definitely
Screenwriter Guinevere Turner has won awards for
worth catching on the here! Network or on DVD,
the series features interviews with important art-
The Notorious Bettie Page and worked on mainstream
ists and auteurs of lesbian sex, including Shar
films like American Psycho and BloodRayne. We got
Rednour, Jackie Strano, Nan Kinney, Debbie
Sundahl,· Tristan Taormino, Shine Houston,
the skinny on her new projects. -
Sara Schieron
You've worked with many of the same people repeatedly, like Mary Harron, Christine
Vachon and Rose Troche. Can you tell me
about the bonds you have?
Obviously, my bond with Rose was what got
Mistress Leda and Phyllis Christopher, among
others. (heretv.com)
The Lair, season one {here!): If the Lost
Boys were muscle queens who lured their bait to
me
an exclusive sex club to service them with vampiric
into Go Fish and that was the way I met Christine,
mouths and fangs, Thom (David Moretti) would
be the Corey Haim character on their trail of per-
and through Christine I met Mary. I'm lucky
enough now, in L.A., to have a large support sys-
forated, naked John Does: fairly clueless, curious
and cute. The thing is, Thom, whose flash-forward
tem of women filmmakers. We all work on each
other's films and read each other's scripts, so there's
jump-starts The Lair's first season-a
even more relationships developing.
taped from behind bars, where he awaits sure
I was surprised a bigger rumor wasn't
started after Kristanna Loken, the star of
BloodRayne-a film you wrote-came out
as bi after the film wrapped.
doom-is an adult journalist after a scoop, not a
pre-teen Bop model. Handed all his clues about
monologue
the bathhouse blood- ('n cock-) suckers by supporting characters, he succeeds best at lathering
Did you expect a bigger rumor because she was
himself at home in elongated shower scenes. But
gay?
when his boyfriend Jonathan falls into head vamp
Damien's clutches, Thom finally gets his clothes
She came out after working on a picture you
wrote and maybe you two ...
God, I wish! You're always invited to go but I hate being on sets as a writer. I just hate being on
sets if I don't have anything to do. I should have been on that set. Romania sounded lonely to
me, only now I realize I could have been making out with Kristanna Loken. At the time I didn't
know about her "gayness:'
Is bringing fringe issues into the mainstream a goal of your work?
on (well, temporarily). Birthday-suited soft core
that might've made a befanged Kiefer Sutherland
blush is this show's bread and butter. Luckily,
there are enough Dante's Cove-style interludes in
this gay horror-soap to play out master-servant
It's not only what I'm drawn to but also what is drawn to me. American Psycho wasn't my idea. It was
a book, and then Mary Harron brought it to me and said, "Do you want to write this together?"
scenarios and provide scenes aplenty of BJs, rimming and leather-clad, wrestling, full-boy orgies.
There's certainly enough cheesy fantasy fodder, as
The same thing happened with Bettie Page. Someone brought it to us. What interests me is the
stuff in the margins, and all the different ways that those things manifest themselves: as gay or
well as cheeky laugh fodder, here to go around.
(heretv.com) ■
serial killers or as bondage queens. The Bettie Pag~ thing is special to me. The thing that really
underlies that is feminism and I know that's sort of antiquated and old school but really, how
) For Dante'sCoveinterviews,visit curvemag.com.
people fetishize her, the iconic look of her, and who she was are such different things. What she
did-all the bondage stuff and nude posing-and what she was-a religious and kind of proper
girl-and how she reconciled those two things, that's what fascinated me about (her].
You've directed three shorts. Tell me about your plans for the fourth.
With the fourth short that I am making, I tried to challenge mysel£ So the next film I'm doing [One
Week Later] there's one actor and she's dead and the only dialogue is the messages people are leaving her as she lies dead in her apartment. So it's one location, one actor ... to show all the ways that
life is going on around her, because you realize she died ... suddenly and in the middle of her life.
What's the down low on POWER UP? Have you been involved with them for long?
l?
They've helped me out with my films. They helped me get insurance when I did one of my shorts
and they're part of the whole L.A., indie film, lesbian community that I'm a part 0£
t:::.
Their first film is in theaters, /tty Bitty 1itty Committe.
w
I haven't seen it yet, but ... I feel like we need a fresh, spunky little dyke movie. It's been a while.
:5
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) For morefrom Guinand /tty Bitty visit curvemag.com.
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0
{_)
70
Icurve
In the Stacks
Reviews
Adoption and Adaptation
Two very different tales of assimilation. I By Rachel Pepper
These authors use different methods to immerse the reader
in issues of identity-either
by exploring a personal adoptive
journey to sel£ or by finding an identity in an adoptive coun,
try-but
both will satisfy readers with savvy prose and (mostly)
happy endings.
The Mistress's Daughter: A Memoir, A.M. Homes
(Viking): With this memoir, A.M. Homes has taken on the
most challenging of all her stories: her own. Since 1990, Homes
has made a career for her,
wonderful addition to the genre of the adoption narrative, and
while we are never told why her birth father was so reluctant to
give her the (positive) results of his DNA test, we do appreciate
that she has found some measure of peace through the birth of
her own biological daughter. "Most important;' writes Homes,
"now I am Juliet's mother, and that brings with it a singularity
of love and fear that I have never known before, and for thatand she is truly a blend of all four family lines- I thank all my
mothers and fathers, for she is my greatest gift:'
self as a fearless and bril,
The Teahouse Fire, Ellis Avery (Riverhead Books)
liant
In 2006, The Teahouse Fire won Avery a Lambda Literary
Award for Lesbian Debut Fiction, and rightly so. A scholar
writer.
Her
novels
include Music for Torching,
In a Country of Mothers and
This Book Will Save Your
Life. Her most controversial
novel, The End of Alice, is
of the Japanese tea ceremony, Avery imparts her knowledge of
Japanese history and culture
in a subtly told lesbian novel
unlike any other. If you
have ever wondered what
it would be like to fully im,
about a convicted child mo,
lester and murderer. When
merse yourself in a different
culture, to adapt, to learn
she was still a teenager, she
wrote Jack, a novel about a
the language, and yet to still
boy whose father is gay. She
has also been a writer and a
be considered a foreigner,
you will appreciate The
Teahouse Fire. The narra,
producer for The L Word,
and has enjoyed a long collaboration with Rose Troche, who is
now The L Word's co,executive producer. Troche has directed
tor is Aurelia, an orphaned
American girl who is 9 years
a film adaptation of Homes' short story collection The Safety of
Objects,and has optioned several of her novels.
old when she sails to Japan
with her uncle, a mission,
Perhaps because Homes is now the mother of a young
daughter, to whom this memoir is dedicated, she was eventually
compelled to tell her own story. Born to a young woman having
an affair with a much older married man, Homes was adopted at
birth, while her adoptive parents were still mourning the death
of their 9,year,old son. Homes says that for the most part she
was happy growing up; hers was a supportive, intellectual family.
As an adult, Homes located and met her birth mother, Ellen (a
disturbed and possibly criminal loner), and her biological father,
Norman (a married, cagey, former football player). As Homes
tries to deal with the emotional fallout from reconnecting with
her biological parents, she also charts her extensive genealogi,
cal search for distant biological and nonbiological relatives.
Because Homes is such an experienced writer, parts of
this memoir are incredibly moving and well,written, but oth,
ers, like the genealogical section, are less absorbing. Most in,
triguing are the various ways in which Homes finds herself
linked to her biological kin: Her birth mother keeps wadded,
up cash in her pants pockets, just as Homes has always done;
one look at her biological father reveals to her that she has
inherited the shape of his ass; even the doomed ongoing attrac,
tion between her birth parents seems significant. This book is a
ary, in 1865. He soon dies in a fire, and she is adopted by the
Shin family, who runs a school in Kyoto that teaches the ancient
ritual of the tea ceremony. She is renamed Urako and made a
servant to the Shins' daughter, Yukako. As Aurelia grows up, she
struggles with how to assimilate yet still find her own identity
in a foreign land. At the same time, the huge changes in Japan's
political, economic and social structure mean that Yukako and
her family face their own intriguing fates. Captured in elegant,
detailed prose, the art of the tea ceremony is what threatens to
destroy, then ultimately saves, the family. It is also what gives
INTERN'S
PICK
Paradoxia,
Lydia
Lunch (Akashic
Books):LydiaLunchis
rawandraunchyin her
newbook.Shetakes
usthroughthedark
placesin hermindand
chronicles
herearlylife
in NewYorkCity,New
Orleans
andLondon.
It is a survivor'stale:
sheis a victimof incest
andabusewhoturned
it aroundandbecame
anabuser.Hergraphic
descriptions
of sexual
conquests,
drug-addled
nightmares
andsex
for paywill leave
thereaderat once
disturbed,
turnedon
andelated.Lunchis a
predatorwhodoesn't
seemto carewhoor
whensheattacks.This
is a peekintothe lifeof
a womanwhobreaks
all the rules.(akashicbooks.com)
- Jenna
V.Loceff
) Readourexclusive
interview
withLydiaLunch
at curvemag.com.
Urako her freedom, many years later. While for some readers
the story may unfold too slowly, those who appreciate the in,
tricacies of life in 19th,century Japan will embrace it. This is
a literary novel to take one's time with-to savor. Eventually,
as the novel draws to a close in 1891, Urako is able to shed the
constraints of her life and journey back to New York City, where
she finds that the city of her childhood has grown up without
her. Having always held out hope for her own happiness, she
sends for Inko, a woman she loved briefly in Japan. We don't get
to see much of their life together, but we do know that Aurelia
has finally come home at last. ■
January/February 2008
I
71
Q+A
Ruth Perkinson
PAGE TURNERS
A conservative Republican
woman in the South who
is "in love with her own
repression" is not someone you would want to
date. However, after you
get over that initial concept, Ruth Perkinson's first
book, Veras Still Point, will
take you on one woman's
path to find what has been
missing in her life-love,
and maybe a little sex.
Perkinson, a Democrat, a
former teacher and now a
bona fide author, is busy these days weaving more tales and setting the record straight about Southern Republicans. -
Colleen
M.Lee
What was the inspiration for Vera's Still Point?
The inspiration came from a myriad of people and experiences and from my own repressed, provincial battle with
self-esteem.
Are there many Vera Currans in the South? Is it possible
to be gay and a Republican?
There are Vera Currans everywhere. She's a universal character
showing up in your neighborhood, anyone's neighborhood,
really. What I mean by that is that she is gay and she's smart
and she's well-read and she's funny. The problem is, though,
she doesn't know she's alive. She doesn't think anyone sees
her. [And] there are gay Republicans everywhere. They give
the rest of us good contrast.
Can teachers, educators and librarians who are not out
be truly happy and good at their jobs?
Anytime you silence who you are on any level, you c~t be the
complete worker, the complete friend or for that matter, a
complete person. So, if [someone is] struggling with issues
of silence, whether it is internally or externally motivated,
then no one is happy in his or her profession. It's a long and
BellaAbzug,Suzanne
MarinLevineandMary
Thom(Farrar,Straus
andGiroux):BellaAbzug
readslikea conversation amongcronies,the
dialogueculledfromvariousinterviewswithAbzug
andherfamily,friends,
colleagues
andteachers.
This"oralhistory"style
givesthe readera unique
insightintothe life of an
iconicfeministwhois
seeminglyas well-known
for herincrediblehats
as herpassionate
and
progressive
politics.The
bookmovesat an engagingclip,notstagnatingin
detailedchronology,
like
manyotherbiographies.
Notthat it isn't chronological-it is, andthere's
a castof charactersanda
timelineat the beginning
of eachchapterto help
youkeepeverythingclear.
Overall,the bookcreatesa
lovingandostensiblyhonestandcompleteportrait
of a powerful,fascinating
andfarsightedwoman.
(fsgbooks.com)-Lina
Swislocki
lonely road and sometimes gay people themselves are their
own worst enemies.
Like Vera, have you ever forgotten why or that you
haven't had sex in years?
That's a tough one. Sex. Sex. Sex. Always on the mind. Like
Vera, there are times in my life when I've been on quite the
dry spell ... but I like to think that it is in those times that our
imaginations set us free to explore the possibilities that loom
in our heads over a casual cup of coffee with a new friend or
in the furtive glance of a good-looking girl hanging out in the
same aisle ~ith you in the bookstore. Those possibilities are
intoxicating and arousing for me. ■
72lcurve
Second
Season,
AliVali
(BoldStrokes):
Tully
GastonBadeaux's
partner
is cheatingon her.And
in theirownbedroom,no
less!WhenTullycomes
homefromworkearly
anddiscoversthetryst,a
rip-roaringfistfightwith
the homewrecker
ensues.
Tully'slife andthe livesof
hertwo school-age
childrenchangedrastically
afterward,butthe breakup
is onlythe beginning.
Thebooktakesplace
in NewOrleans,
during
the summerpreceding
KatrinaandRita,andVali,
a NewOrleansnative,
flawlesslyweavesin the
hurricanes'impact.Unlike
yourstandardromance,
SecondSeasonprominantlyfeatureschildren
in its plot.Vali'ssmooth
Southernstyleandcolorful
descriptions
of the locale
fill outthis livelyromance.
(boldstrokesbooks.
com)
- Kathilsserman
morethana pinchof sci-fi
andimaginesSuperman
andCaptainMarvelas
versionsof the Messiah,
Batmanasthe Jewish
Golem,andLexLuthoras
the wizard-likeEgyptian
godThoth.-Mea Chavez
TheBestof theBest
American
Erotica2008
(Ed.SusieBright):Not
sinceAna'isNin'sDelta
of Venushasa book
hadthis combination
of
eroticvisionandmental
masturbation.
SusieBright
bringsoutthe creme-dela-cremein celebration
of the 15thanniversary
editionof the Bestof the
BestAmericanErotica.
Complex
characters,
bold
scenariosandsteamy
rendezvous
makethis
anthologymorethanjust
a bedsideshortcutto foreplay.Fuelis addedto the
OurGodsWearSpandex, fire by includingauthor
writtenbyChristopher interviewsandinsight
intowhatinspiredthese
Knowles,
illustratedby
MichaelLinsner(Wieser hoterotictales.Thereis
Books):WonderWoman, something
for everyone
a pagangoddess?
In
onthesepage-turnmind
OurGodsWearSpandex, ing,pulse-raising
Christopher
Knowlescon- orgasmsBrighthasso
eloquently
compiled.This
nectsthe dotsbetween
ancientmythology
and
is a bookyoursweetie
won't mindyoutaking
comicbookheroes.
Mostlyinventedby men,
to bedandevenreading
thefemalecomicheroes
aloudfrom.Orbetteryet,
actingout.Keepthis book
we claimas iconsof
feminismandgirl power
withinreachof the sheets
aretruly modern-day
becausefor anyone
goddesses:
Diana,Athena whogetsoff on cerebral
andAphroditeall rolled
stimulationas muchas
eroticfantasy,it is sureto
intoone.Knowlesmixes
makeyoubegfor more.
ancientmythologies
and
- ColleenMccaffrey
Christiantheologywith
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Music Watch
Reviews
Super Sultry Sounds
Solo sirens who separate themselves from the pack. I By Margaret Coble
When it comes to sexy music, opinions vary widely. Some people
like hard,driving house music. Others prefer sensual, vocal jazz.
Or maybe a sweet,talking singer,songwriter crooning straight
from the heart. Me, well, my tastes are kind of eclectic-I can
find the romance in all kinds of sounds. Sometimes it's in the
voice. Sometimes it's the style of the music or the instrumentsor the lyrics. Often, I find it's in some unexplainable uniqueness,
something that sets a singer and her music apart from the pack.
This month, Krystle Warren, Heidi Mortenson, Kristen Gass
and Sia Furler have seduced my ears. Maybe they'll turn you
on, too.
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Diary, Krystle Warren and the Faculty (Velour): With
phrasing that reminds me of India.Arie, but with a much deep,
er, smokier voice that sits somewhere between Nina Simone and
Erykah Badu-particularly on this six,song EP's pop,friendly,
lead,off track, ''I've Seen Days"-Krystle Warren totally does it
for me. The Kansas City, Mo.,,bred singer,songwriter uniquely
melds jazz and folk in a way that's taken New York City by
storm: Mark my words, she's going to be huge. This debut EP
is just a teaser to get us going while Warren and her band, the
Faculty, finish their full,length album, entitled Circles,to be re,
leased later this year. In the meantime, these six songs (plus a
few more on her MySpace page) will have to do. From the lan,
guorous bass lines of the slow,burning, jazzy bump,n,grinder
"The New Astrologer" to the funkier tropicalia interludes of the
more up,tempo ''A Song for Holly;' the EP showcases Warren's
diverse skills and instantly memorable vocals. Do yourself a
favor and search YouTube for her videos-she's a hottie, too.
(krystlewarren.com)
Band of Silhouettes, Kristen Gass (Brutal Harmony):
This stunning six,song debut EP from the out,queer Juilliard
School theater major will probably get labeled by critics as ex,
perimental folk,rock, but don't let that scare you-this is primo
mood music. The Brooklyn transplant's unconventional ap,
proach, which she deems "freak folk;' results in haunting melodies
and lyricism, and showcases extraordinary musicianship, ranging
from the poignant instrumental guitar piece "Ode (for James);'
which opens the set, to the dramatic "Dog Days;' which sounds
like some of Ani DiFranco's darker, more intense fare. The
DiFranco comparison continues with "Colorado;' which reminds
me of "Millennium Theater;' with its sparse guitars and mostly
whispered vocals. The rest of the EP continues in much the same
vein, but, hey, if it works, why not? I look forward to hearing more
from this up,and,coming performer. (kristengass.com)
DirtyBeauty,Steph
HayesandtheGood
Problems
(Permanent
Records):
StephHayes,
formerlyof Stargazer
Lily,hasspenthercareerwritingsongswith
industryhit-makers.
Thisalbum,however,
is notpopfluff.These
arethesongs,Hayes
says,thatshethought
weretoofolksyfor
herpreviousproject.
TheGoodProblems
deliveranamazing
albuminfluencedby
Depression-era
folk
and'60sprotestsongs.
Youcandefinitelyhear
it whenthis sevenpiece,lesbian-fronted,
Philadelphia-based
band,includinga string
duet;playsthe heck
outof outlawcountryrocksongslikethe
foot-stomping
"Sorry
Seattle,She'sMine"
and"Makin'a Livin'."
(good
problems.
com)
- KatiePeoples
Don't LonelyMe, Heidi Mortenson (Wired): Experimental
electro,pop/ punk might not sound sexy to some, but there's some,
thing about Heidi Mortenson's sultry voice that pulls me in past
January/February 2008
I 73
Q+A
Allison Miller
Drummer Allison Miller's career has been punctuated by the crash of the cymbal and sizzle of
the snare. From idolizing the work of Terri Lyne Carrington on the Arsenio Hall Show to banging
on toms for Ani Difranco, there's no doubt that she's got the beat and is all about sharing it with
the next generation of hard-hitting girls (and her girlfriend, crooner Erin McKeown). - Melany
Walters-Beck
Your latest gig had you sharing the stage with Ani DiFranco. What's it like working with
such a cultural icon of the feminist community?
She is able to speak in a way that touches a lot of people's hearts. The older I get, the more I'm
involved in activism and feminism, and doing a gig where those two are combined is heaven.
Being a woman today, you're naturally a feminist. For someone to say they're not a feminist is
just asinine to me. Having an opportunity to do what we do means taking the responsibility to
pass on our knowledge.
Of all the projects you've done, which one best represents what you do musically?
Two albums that best showed my musicality would be Erin McKeown's Sing You Sinners, her take
on jazz standards that came out last year, and Shakers n' Bakers' [self-titled release]. That band
really displays what I do.
How difficult is it to balance the desire to do your own art versus the opportunity to
work with other talented people?
The biggest challenge is time. Fortunately, I get a lot of calls to work in other people's bands, but sometimes it takes away from being able to do my own music. I have two jazz records out. One recorded in New York City, one in my father's studio in Maryland. I also have a new band that I started
with Erin called emma and we'll probably tour next year. It's at myspace.com/weareemma.
You're currently splitting time between touring with Erin McKeown and Ani DiFranco.
What unique challenges does that pose?
Right now, I'm primarily working with Ani. Of course, I always love touring with Erin, but sometimes the touring schedules conflict.
You do spend a lot of time on the road. What are some must-have tour bus items?
My running shoes, the New York Times crossword puzzle, tube socks and really good espresso. ■
74
Icurve
the blips and bleeps. It helps that the topic of much
of this sophomore album from the occasionally
mustachioed, Berlin-based DJ and Danish Music
Academy student is sex and relationships-with
girls. The opening "Tiger" -peppered
with
growls, meows, cowbells and even a trumpeting elephant-is a tale of seduction and longing
that floats along over a bossa nova drum machine
rhythm. It might not sound compelling, but one
listen to Mortenson's come-hither vocals and
you can literally feel her desire. "Girl Since I Met
You" is a sweet but occasionally dirty, nerdy crush
song, which blips along over an electro beat that
brings to mind the dyke electro-pop duo Scream
Club (with whom Mortenson collaborates occasionally). Some cuts are a little harder and more
experimental (e.g., "Coincidence"), but in general,
it's a very listenable and danceable album that fans
of Lesbians On Ecstasy and Chicks On Speed will
appreciate. (nosnetrom.net)
Some People Have Real Problems, Sia
(Monkey Puzzle}: The Australian-born, Los
Angeles-based singer Sia Furler ought to be up
in the pantheon of contemporary white-girl soul
singers like Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, but
she's not quite there yet. Though she has garnered
widespread acclaim for her work with the UK.
trip hoppers Zero 7, and her striking hit "Breathe
Me;' which played over the closing segment of
the Six Feet Under series finale, none of her previous albums have gotten the promotion they've
deserved. So here's hoping this latest 13-cut disc,
which runs the gamut of down-tempo and uptempo soulful pop, propels her to new heights.
Already, the quirky video for the hidden bonus
cut "Buttons" has become a viral sensation via
YouTube, and several cuts-including the mellow
lead-off track, "Little Black Sandals;' and the more
up-tempo, old-school R&B-flavored "The Girl You
Lost to Cocaine'' -sound like radio hits to me.
Personal picks include the Tori Amos-like jazzy
piano shuffler "Lentil" and the witty word-playing
'J\.cademia;' as well as her spot-on, aching cover of
the Pretenders' "I Go to Sleep:' Really, every song
here deserves lengthy praise, but I'm out of room.
Just get it. (siamusic.net) ■
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OTHER LICKS
Yoga Grooves
Dreamy New Age albums that will get you in
the mood for a little Downward-Facing Dog.
I JustLoveGirls,Sugarbeach
(selfreleased):
Conquering
theairwaves
andthedanceflooris thegoalof this
lesbiandance-pop
duo(andcouple)
basedinVancouver,
B.C.,whooffer
uptheirridiculously
catchy"I Just
LoveGirls,"alongwiththreeother
beat-friendly
cutsonthisdebutEP.
(sugarbeachmusic.
com)
TheRumorMill,AngieHeaton
andtheGentleTamers(Spur):
Americana,
alt-country,
rootsfolk-Illinois nativeHeatoncoversit
all skillfully,andwithanever-present
twang.Up-tempo
cutsliketherolling
"Train,"gospel-inflected
"GodShaped
Hole"andtheopeningtitletrackdoit
the mostfor me.(angieheaton.com)
Breakfast
ontheMorningTram,
StaceyKent(BlueNote):Americanborn,internationally
acclaimed
jazz
vocalistKentservesupa smattering
of Frenchchansons,
Brazilian
sambas,
<(
popularstandards
andbrand-new
0
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originalsonthissumptuous
12-track
C.
~
disc,alwaysshowcasing
herdistinct,
()
FunkThis,ChakaKhan(Burgundy/ emotivevoice.(staceykent.com)
~ Columbia):
Fromtheopening"Back
~
~
in the Day"to theclosing"SuperLife,"
:::,
CD
the divais back.Thisis oneof the
u3
N
funkiestrecordsI'veheardin years!
a:
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Covering
materialbyJoniMitchell,
<I'.
¢
PrinceandJimiHendrix,
collaborating
z
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with MaryJ. Blige,MichaelMcDonald
~
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andoriginalRufusbandmate
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Tony
Maiden,plusofferingseveral
0
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originals,Khanworkswith producers
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JimmyJamandTerryLewisfor a real
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TheBlack& WhiteAlbum,lmani
Coppola
(Ipecac):Thebiracial
iconoclast
pushesall boundaries
with
this latest14-cutdiscthat rangesin
stylefromthescreaming
punk"Woke
UpWhite,"to thebitingballad"Black
& WhiteJingle,"to the rap-laced,
distortion-heavy
rock"30thBirthday,"
withanabundance
of radio-friendly,
roots-based
rocklike"Springtime."
(imanicoppola.
net)
IsleOf,JennyHoyston
(Southern):
EraseErrata'sout-queer
frontwoman
offersa debutsoloeffortin herown
name(she'spreviously
recorded
solo
as"Paradise
Island")that'sfilledwith
sparse,lo-fi indiepunkrock,electropopandfolk,all withanexperimental
edge.(myspace.
com/jennyhoyston)
Cinematic:
Classic
FilmMusic
Remixed,
Various
Artists(Six
Degrees):
Classicfilm scores+
someof theworld'smostinnovative
remixer-producers
= anamazing
auraljourney.If youlikesoundtracks,
you'vegottahavethisone.(sixdegreesrecords.com)
- Margaret
Coble
Sure,youhateNewAgemusic-or soyoutell yourfriendsuntil
you'reat thespaw0ndering
howto pocketthatCDthat gotyouso in
themoodfor a littleafternoon
delight.Don'tworry,dear.Herearea
few CDsthat'll getyouin thegroovefor yoga,meditation
or anything
elserequiringa bit of zen.- DAM
YogaOne,multipleartists(Quango):
A mood-enhancing
soundtrack
wherethe linernotesaregraphicsof yogaposesand
themusicis a compilation
of ambientsounds,instruments,
nature,
harmonyandelectronicmelody.(yogaonesandiego.com)
DreamsBeyond
theTwilight,
DanielKobialka(Li-Sem):Likea
musicalpalette,Dreamsis a colorfultrip of verylonginstrumental
poemsthatseemto magicallylowermybloodpressure.
Bonus:
Several
femalemusicians,
suchastheflutistWendyAdaire,round
outthesound.(danielkobialka.com)
SacredCircles:In the Company
of Monks{Nandana):
The duo
behindSacredCirclesjoins a handfulof monksand singerLorena
Robertsto re-envisionthesebeautifullyevocativeBuddhistverses.
Thesechantswereinvokedto helpfind peaceaftera deathandeven
the mostsecularamongyouwill find it as well. (sacredcirclesmusic.
com)
SacredCircles:
Journeyto theDivine(Nandana):
Usingharmonic
balancing,
this healingmusicalbumcreatesa soothingenvironment
for meditation,
yogaandmassage.
Regular
listeninghasa cumulative
effectand helpswith sleepdisorders,
anxietyand more.Thealbum
debutedon NewAgeradioat No.2 andwasontheTop10 chartsfor
threeconsecutive
months.It wasa BestRelaxation/Meditation
Award
nominee
andit contains
thepowerful"GayatriMantra"and"Prayerfor
Peace."(sacredcirclesmusic.com)
■
January/February 2008
I 75
Reviews
I Tried It
My Inner Stripper
One qu~er girl discovers that pole dancing is as hot as it looks. I By Catherine Plato
I've always beeri ~ big fan of strip clubs; the combo of topA0 remixes, the
ubiquitous scent of vanilla body spray and the small army of half-naked, long-
infomercial-esque plug for the longer series. I left, amused and inspired but
legged stilettoed college girls brings me helplessly to my knees every time. But
My search for satisfaction brought me to Catherine Rose, a retired, eight-
you know what I've always found really, really cool about blowing a week's salary on impossibly hot women pretending
year veteran stripper, a teacher since 2000 and the founder of erotic dance
institution Slinky Productions. "I am one of
to like me? Badass pole dancing. A perverse
the pioneers teaching this movement;' she told
spin on the art of jungle gym gallivanting,
good pole dancing is a sweet money-mak-
me proudly during a pre-class conversation.
ing melange of grace and athleticism, coy
innocence and brazen whorishness. It's also
the latest in trendy workouts, with classes
popping up at Crunch Fitness and independent dance studios around the country.
only half-satisfied.
She told me that her class focused more on the
technique of. erotic dance. I was happy to expect more pole and less affirmation.
The Slinky Productions studio was smaller
and a little more bare-bones than S Factor.
It's in San Francisco's Center for Healing and
As a former modern dancer, a lifelong perv
Expression, and the poles are removable struc-
and a liberal arts major always in search of
tures. We kept the lights on throughout class
and had mirrors in the room-again, the fo-
marketable skills, I just had to try.
A quick Google search led me to S
Factor (sfactor.com), a chain of pole dancing studios founded by actress Sheila Kelley
after playing a stripper in 2000's Dancing
at the Blue Iguana. Kelley was never a real
cus was on actual skill and technique rather
than sexy self-appreciation. My instructor,
Sara North, was another retired erotic dancer
herself, and a friendly, punky chick with multi-
live stripper herself, but her role in the film
colored hair and large tattoos. While S Factor
students wore more typical workout attire,
inspired her to teach erotic dance to other
women. She has nine studios throughout
the Slinky students wore anything from biker
shorts to leotards to sequined halter tops.
the country, and all offer six levels of classes. I signed up for the introductory class: an
Admittedly, I felt much more at home and
hour and a half, $40 session.
The room was dark; there were two
poles in the middle, soft, fuck-me R&B
playing from a stereo and about 10 gym-short-dad women in their 20s
through 40s. The instructor, a shapely, outgoing woman named Tauren had
everyone introduce themselves and say what drew them to the class. Half the
students were there for a bachelorette party; other ,motives included toned
abs and surprising their husbands with a sexy treat. In my nose ring and
Sleater-Kinney tee, I felt conspicuously gay.
We spent the first third of the class doing a stripper floorwork-inspired
warm-up: pelvic thrusts, torso rolls, some yoga-esque stretches and the occasional booty smack. The lights were low and there were no mirrors in the
room because, as Tauren pointed out, if you feel sexy,you must look sexy too.
Fair enough. After the warm-up we practiced walking around the room wagging our hips and feeling ourselves up, amidst constant reminders of our own
unique and inherent sexiness. Being told how hot I am for a full hour is definitely cool, but I did find myself craving a little more hand-to-pole contact.
The pole trick finally came: a fairly simple move where you hook your
ankles around the pole and spin to the bottom. After practicing a few times
(with 10 students and only two poles in the class, we didn't have time for
much more), Tauren and another instructor sat us down for a demonstration: a five-minute improvised dirty dance combining floorwork, pole tricks
and general ass-shaking. Breathtaking. The women were absolute virtuosos,
like the Charlie Parkers of eroticism. Class ended to applause, giggling and an
76 j curve
eventually even felt, sincerely, the love-thyself
that had been slightly force-fed by S Factor.
By the end of the first class, I had about three
different pole spins mastered, and could even
climb. I was psyched that so many of the moves were actually much easier
than they looked.
While S Factor offers levels one through seven, each with its own panty
(like belts earned in martial arts), Slinky Productions' classes are organized
by specific sexy skills: Lap dancing, pole dancing and floorshow classes are
all popular offerings (slinkyproductions.com for rates). While pole dancing
is a good abs, arms and shoulders exercise, lap dancing focuses more on the
glutes and hamstrings. Though taking a 90-minute to three-hour class-the
typical length at most studios-is super fun and sexy, it might not be enough
to give you a good workout, especially since the student-to-pole ratio typically
doesn't allow for as much practice as you might like. The solution? Invest in
your own removable pole, or do it like the strippers of yore and practice on
your local stop sign. That's what I did, and not only did my dancing improve,
but my public practice sessions have earned me all sorts of colorful new pals.
If you really want to dance like a pro, skip Crunch Fitness and the larger studios, and go straight to a real live stripper (even a retired one) to show you how
it's done. However, if you're perhaps a little older and certainly a bit less brazen,
a studio like S Factor might be more your style. Either way, taking it to the pole
is a decent means of exercise and a fabulous means of feeling like a badass. ■
....J
....J
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) Wantto bring the strip club home?Goto curvemag.comand find out how.
z~
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Tech Girl Reviews
A Spark for Your Valentine
Items sure to please the hard--wired honey in your life. I By Elle Kaycee
Admittedly, these probably aren't the electronics that first come to mind when you think about lesbian love, but nontraditional gifts can be the quickest
way to a true geek's heart. For the girl who gets turned on tinkering with hardware or validating code (I can't be the only one), we've got a pleasing array
of tech that's sure to make her smile.
DIV TechieLove
Maybe it's not one-of-a-kind, but you can tell your sweetie that assembling
this LED heart was quite a labor of love. That's because you have to solder
it together first (and I do recommend assembling it before you give it, unless
she's really a geek). You supply the solder and the iron, ThinkGeek sends you
the circuit board, 28 red LED lights and a pile of resistors and diodes. If
you need a little help-or
maybe your girl is the hands-on type and you've
both pledged to exchange low-to-no-dollar gifts-check out the step-by-step
engineering info on Ladyada.net, run by the brilliant (and super cute) Limor
Fried. (thinkgeek.com, $10)
We <3 Jewelry
Jewelry became such a standard Valentine's Day gift because, let's face it, most
of us like a little sparkle, if only on occasion. There are loads of options for
accessorizing every masculine and feminine outfit, from Sweet Tooth Design's
<3 necklace for your favorite online-chat maven, to Fractalspin's subtle-geek
rectangular microcontroller cuffiinks or triple capacitor pendant in various
colors. (sweettoothdesigns.com, $75 necklace; fractalspin.com, $30 and up)
Her Gadgets,YourWords
The more gadgets that come encased in metal, the easier it is to personalize
them with unique laser-etched graphics and your very own words. Several
companies can now engrave stock art as well as customized designs on
laptops, cell phones, MP3 players and any other metal gadget you've got.
Boston's Engravee, New York City's Adafruit Industries (co-founded by the
aforementioned Limor Fried) and Toronto's HiTechTattoos are just a few. If
you decide to get personal, remember that it's hard to separate anyone from
an everyday gadget like a cell phone, and most engravers, including these
three, need to have you bring your gadget into their shop. Research engravers
in your area, and get customer feedback before you pick one. (engravee.com,
adafruit.com, hitechtattoos.com; prices vary)
Better Than Socks, But Maybe Not Much
Paranoid nerds like me will remember last year's Valentine's Virus, which
From top down: The LED heart, <3 necklace,
a personalized engraved laptop and Kaspersky Internet Security 7 .0.
spread across desktops like the plague. Sure, a gift of security software
doesn't say "do me;' but it does say you care, and it ain't exactly cheap. The
lesser-known Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 bests the more-familiar (and
commonly pre-installed) Norton and McAfee security suites, plus Kaspersky
offers a free-and excellent-online virus scanner. If she's addicted to the
Internet, she might just thank you nicely for it. (kaspersky.com, $80 and up)
January/February 2008
I
77
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I 79
Top Ten ReasonsWe Love Chave Alexander
7·.She'swantsyouto loveyourbody.One reason
Alexander continues to shimmy and shake is the
constant positive feedback she gets from women
of all shapes and sizes. Her goal is "to help people
who are where I was move on a little bit:' She
knows taking your clothes off in front of scream,
ing fans is not for everyone, but she emphasizes
that every woman should be able to love what she
looks like naked.
8. She'll coveryou in glitter as she givesyou
a heartfelthug. A people person through and
through, Alexander is known in the community
for being as friendly as she is talented.
"Sheknowsthat taking
yourclothesoff in frontof
screamingfans is not for
everyone,but emphasizes
that everywoman should
be able to lovewhat she
lookslikenaked."
Ever since she was a preschooler in a little tutu,
performing has been Chave Alexander's passion.
After years of struggling with her body image,
she's grown into a gloriously curvaceous gal who
shimmies across the stage in her burlesque show.
She has taken the pain of her experiences, shaped
it into something to be proud of and inspires
other women to do the same. - Lauren Marie
include unexpected delights in a variety of genres
with Harlem Shake Burlesque. She has made re,
9. She'scharitable.
Last summer, Alexander rode
curring appearances at the Supper Club and Dirty
Little Secret, and in Margaret Cho's Sensuous
AIDS/LifeCycle. To help her raise money, some
of her favorite burlesque and drag performers vol,
Woman. She's even got a drag king persona named
unteered their time to put on a spectacle. She'll do
Mo Boutte, Alotta's country cousin.
it all again this year, and if you want to help, go to
her Web site (web.mac.com/alottaboutte).
her bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles for
4. She wears drag queencouture.Citing San
Fleming
Francisco's drag community as a major inspiration
for Alotta Bouttes give,all attitude, Alexander
1O.She'savailablefor gigs,goodtimesand intimateencounters.
With talent like hers, we're sure
1. She's got Alotta Boutte,her alter ego. As
often joins such greats as Juanita Moore and
Alotta-a name inspired by her mother's maiden
name, Boutte-Alexander
has strutted her splen,
Heklina, Mistress of Trannyshack. She's even
been blessed with the honor of being dressed
she'll have people lining up for as much Boutte as
they can get. ■
did stuff across both national and international
by famous (and infamous) drag queen costume
designers, which she says sure beats sewing fringe
onto her panties hersel£
~
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f9,
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stages.
3. She'sconstantly
reinventing
herself.At a young
age, Alexander started taking dance classes and
singing in church choirs. She knew both the piano
, and the alto sections of Handel's Messiah by heart
in the fifth grade. She expanded her repertoire to
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2. She'sa quadruple
threat.Whether belting out
a show tune, pounding the piano, floating on tap
shoes or creating a new comedic sch tick, Alexander
has audiences in awe.
w
5. She's a San Franciscotreat. Not only can
Alexander be seen at the queerific haunts by the
Bay, she is also currently a member of the cast of
San Francisco's famous Beach Blanket Babylon, the
world's longest running musical review.
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6. She'sCURVE-y.
When asked why
readers
should love her, she responded, "Because I match
the title of the magazine!"
CURVE
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