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issue
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6
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Date Issued
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July-August 2011
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PDF/A
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Frances Stevens
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Curve_Vol21_No6_July-August-2011_0CR_PDFa.pdf
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Win a Trip to Stockholm, Sweden From Curve
Stockholm is the rainbow capital of Scandinavia. Gay life is all
around you, the women are warm, welcoming-and gorgeous,
too! While the city embraces all things gay every day, Stockholm
Pride festival takes place each year in August. And now you can
win a trip for two, for a four-night stay! Visit curvemag.com to
find out how to enter.
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Our Extended Interview and
Free Music From Daphne Willis
Land loving lesbian separatists )
Need more Daphne Willis? And really, who doesn't. Then check
out our exclusive extended interview with the saucy out songstress. Plus, download a free MP3 of her song "One By One."
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Chatting up
Victoria Brownworth
Read our interview with writer,
editor, activist and curve
politics columnist Victoria
A. Brownworth on her new
book, From Where We Sit:
Black Writers Write Black
Youth. Edited by Brownworth
this anthology is an innovative collection from 13
established and up-and-coming African-American
authors, exploring the idea of what it means to
be black. Featuring works by Jewelle Gomez,
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Anne Shade and more.
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More on the Lesbian
Separatist Movement
Want to learn more about
the lesbian separatist movement featured in "Back to the
Future" (page 34)? Read Diane
Anderson-Minshall's extended article on these
fascinating and ahead of the curve eco-conscious
land dykes. Plus, find out what you can do to help
support their efforts or even join up yourself.
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EDITOR'S
NOTE
''You
don't own me, don't try to changeme in any way•••" Sung
by a 17 ~year~old Lesley Gore in 1964 (she finally came
out in 2005), covered by Dusty Springfield and later by
Joan Jett-could this be the first lesbian pop anthem? When
I look back a few decades, I see a world of lesbian music that
has always been mainstream, and I'm thankful for that, espe~
cially since lesbians usually have so little space in mainstream
culture. Whether they meant to or not, Janis Joplin, k.d. lang,
Melissa Etheridge, Joan Armatrading, The Indigo Girls, Tegan
and Sara and Lady Gaga have helped
generations of women come to terms with
their sexual identity. I remember buying
Shadowlands-on cassette-and
I was
delighted with k.d. lang's appropriation of
Patsy Cline and Peggy Lee. I felt strangely
elated when I first heard "Bring Me Some
Water" played over the PA system at my
local mall as soccer moms went about their
business. Similarly, Sophie B. Hawkins'
"Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" and Jill
Sobule's "I Kissed a Girl" (not to mention
Katy Perry's polarizing ditty of the same
name) put lesbian messages out there, and
were chart toppers, too.
Lesbians have always been thirsty for
music that helps articulate our emotional
and erotic longings. Music is our muse.
Who hasn't, in the early stages of dating, looked to her prospec~
tive partner's musical tastes as an indication of compatibility?
We're passionate about music with an intensity almost
worth noting, anthropologically: I have never met a lesbian
who wasn't besotted by Sarah Mclachlan (what's that about?).
And lesbian breakups frequently involve fighting over record
and CD collections. In fact, the wonderful Jen Foster's breakup
song, "Taking Bob Dylan;' is a nod to this phenomenon.
Nowadays, though, I will happily turn down the volume
and listen to the wind in the trees outside, and the song of
cardinals, starlings and swallows is so free of angst. Nature is
another kind of muse, and it's increasingly vital that we listen
to her. I feel that it's fitting to combine our Music and Green
themes in a double issue this month. I was thrilled to have
music icon k.d. lang on our cover, especially since she lives
spiritually, quietly and lightly on our very fragile planet.
Enjoy music this summer but also spare a thought, and
as many acts of kindness as you can, for the green and quiet
spaces on this earth. After all, we need to protect them for the
next generation of music~loving lesbians.
Listening
to the
Muse
Merryn Jo s
Editor-inief
merryn@curvemag.com
s I curve
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
JULY/AUGUST
2011
LESBIAN
I
MAGAZINE
VOLUME 21 NUMBER 6
Publisher Silke Bader
Founding Publisher Frances Stevens
EDITORIAL
Editor in Chief Merryn Johns
Managing Editor Rachel Shatto
Associate Editor Jillian Eugenios
Book Review Editor Rachel Pepper
Contributing Editors Diane Anderson-Minshall, Victoria A.
Brownworth, Gina Daggett, Sheryl Kay, Stephanie Schroeder
Copy Editor Katherine Wright
PUBLISHING
Associate Publisher Diana L. Berry
Director of Operations Laura McConnell
Advertising Sales Rivendell Media
ART/PRODUCTION
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Production Artist Kelly Nuti
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
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Clarke, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Beren deMotier, Lauren Marie
Fleming, Lisa Gunther, Tania Hammidi, Kathi lsserman, Melany
Joy Beck, Gillian Kendall, Georgia Krokus, Kate Lacey, Charlene
Lichtenstein, Karen Loftus, Sassafras Lowrey, Ariel MessmanRucker, Alison Peters, Heather Robinson, Laurie K. Schenden, Lori
Selke, Janelle Sorenson, Dave Steinfeld, Edie Stull, Yana TallonHicks, Jocelyn Voo
CONTRIBUTING
ILLUSTRATORS
& PHOTOGRAPHERS
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Contents of Curve Magazine may not be reproduced in any manner, either whole or in part,
without written permission from the publisher. Publication of the name or photograph of any
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welcomes letters, queries, unsolicited manuscripts and artwork. Include SASE for response.
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TRACYCHAPMAN/ KIRSTENVANGSNESS / SANDRABERNHARD/
JODIE FOSTER/ ANI DIFRANCO/ MELISSAETHERIDGE/TAMMYLYNN
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LYNCH/ K,O, LANG/ JACKIEWARNER/ ANNE HECHE/ MEREDITH
BAXTER/ JANIS IAN/ WE GOT THEM COVERED/ ANGELINAJOLIE/
KRISTANNALOKEN/ JOEY LAURENADAMS / TALLULAHBANKHEAD
LAURELHOLLOMAN/ DREW BARRYMORE/ AMANDA BEARSE/
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/ INDIGOGIRLS/ ROSIEJONES / LAURENHAYS/ BAI LING/ MELISSA
FERRICK/ FRIDAKAHLO/ REGINALUND / ROXANNEMICHAELS
/ NICOLERAYBURN/ TOSHI REAGON/ MICHELLERODRIGUEZ/
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1
curve
LETTERS
summer and I feel lesbians are not encouraged enough to do this. Thanks, and keep up
the good work! -Chelsea, Dallas, Texas
From Curve's
Facebook Wall
I lovemesomeCurve!I'm so excited
to havean articlein this month'sissue,
whatan honor!-Hollis Bulleit
Fit for Print
REALLWORD
Sizzling, Sexy and
IS BACK!
Even More Scandalous
Way to Represent!
I am in awe of your magazine. How do you
do it:' Every month there is such an interesting
mix of stories about lesbians, some rich and
famous like Leisha Hailey, others unknown
or unsung and living abroad. I am so proud
as a lesbian to be able to open each issue and
feel connected to these women and inspired
by their lives. On a personal note, I want to
thank you for including fitness in the magazine. I have a goal to get in better shape for
Poll
Which lesbian musician's biopic
would you most like to see?
34%
25%
18%
16%
6%
1%
LeishaHailey
MelissaEtheridge
Thankyoufor yourinformative,
creative,andsassyinterviewwith
UhHuhHer!MyfianceandI hadthe
awesomeexperience
of seeingthem
liveandwe gotto chatwith themafter
the show.Theseladiesarethe real
deal!Pleasekeepthe interviewsand
articlescoming,ya'IIarethe bestat it!
-Lauren I Cox
Weareextremelyproudto announce
our partnershipwith CurveMagazine!
-Flawles, SanDiego
From Curvemag.com
Editor's Note: We posted the trailer for
Becoming Chaz on Curvemag.com and it
kicked off a frenzy of debate, making it clear
that trans-inclusion is still dividing our community. Here's a sample of the discussion:
Loveyourmag-we haveit at our
gaycafe/barTrun6herein Reykjavik,
Iceland-stop by if youareeverin the
coldnorth:)-Tn.in6
What is going on with the G&L movement:'
The fact that trannies are treated as normal
is bizarre. The perception could easily be,
for someone who has no contact with our
community, that all gays and lesbians turn
into the opposite gender. I for one, find it
repulsive! I realize this is not currently a
trendy belief but who cares! -Shads
I find your comment highly offensive. There
is a real reason that trans people are "attached"
to the LGBT movement-many
of them
lived as gays or lesbians before transitioning,
and many of them are still queer. Also, who is
to say that trans people are or aren't normal:'
What the fuck is normal:' I bet many straight
people would say the exact same offensive
things to you, for being gay. -Amazon
I can't seem to go to any so-called "lesbian"
bar or party in N.Y.C. without seeing several
female-to-male transsexuals. Because they
Thismagazineis a godsend.
Thankyou
:D-Vicki Driver
Justa message
to saythanks,
especially
for everything
doneforthe
-loeyy
youngerlgbtcommunity!
Jenkinson-Holmes
LoveCurveMag• -WhOaGRL_
Productions
iJ Like
"used to be" lesbian hardly seems a valid
reason to hang around. -Spaghetti
T ransgendered people were hardly "added
on" to any movement. Do a little research and
you can see they were always there, sharing
in our same struggles (e.g. Stonewall). We
all face discrimination, mostly by the same
people for the same reasons, and that's why
there is an LGBT community at all-Robyn
TracyChapman
k.d.lang
JanisIan
AlixDobkin
According
to a curvemag.com
poll
,o I curve
I guess you could say I'm not your average
subscriber to a woman's magazine. I hate
dieting tips. After all, if the Lord had wanted
me to look like a slender red jungle fowl
chicken, he would have made me that way.
What a breath of fresh air curve is. Your
articles are insightful, funny, true and important. I love advice and book reviews. In future
I would like to see more advice columns,
issues, coming out stories and stories of
overcoming hardship. -Angel, Cohutta, Ga.
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JohannaGohmann
has written for a variety of print and
online publications, including: Salon, The Morning News,
The Chicago Sun-Times, Red, and The Dubliner. She is a
frequent contributor to Bust. Her essays appear in The Best
Womens Travel Writing 2010; The Best Sex Writing 2010;
and A Moveable Feast: Life-Changing Food Adventures
Around the World. Read her first person account of participating in and viewing the art instillation "The Great Wall
of Vagina" on page 12. UohannaGohmann.com)
AllisonSteinbergis fascinated by the shrinking closet and
feels like "it's our youth who are in large part responsible:'
It was under this guise that she first became interested in
exploring further the topic of LG BT youth, the brainchild
of "Coming Out Young" on page 30. Steinberg is a writer
with a strong background in all topics lesbian and transgender, particularly with regards to representations in
media. She currently authors JetBlue's blog, Blue Tales and
enjoys her travel benefits to the fullest extent.
DianeAnderson-Minshall,
once the editor in chief of this
glorious mag, has spent the better part of the year traveling in her 1969 Dodge Wright Way motor home, writing about environmental issues for GreenitForward.org
and discovering the romantic limitations of sharing 10
feet of living space with her spouse. Anderson-Minshall
is also co-author of the award-winning detective series
Blind Faith, Blind Curves and Blind Leap-as well as the
thriller, Punishment With Kisses. She's appeared in
numerous publications from People to Passport and is a
frequent TV and radio guest, appearing on NPR, Out on
the Bay, WE's Secret Lives of Women, Here TV's Lesbian
Sex and Sexuality and on numerous news programs.
JuliaSteineckehas been exploring her surroundings and
writing about them for over 20 years. Between travels
she lives in Toronto and retreats to her cabin in northeastern Ontario. She recently completed a six-year stint
as the author of Pink Planet, an LGBT travel column in
the Toronto Star. This month she shares with curve
readers her lesbian adventures in Cuba on page 66.
"Cuba is one of my favorite countries to write about; a
bundle of contradictions that engages me on many levels:
A larger-than-life culture, an incredible history and some
of the friendliest people I've met:' Julia has led writing
retreats in Cuba and on the Toronto Islands. She meets
her readers at facebook.com/Julia Takes YouThere.
July/August 2011
I 11
Amber Elizabeth
balances the glam
world of modeling
with rough and
,
tumble football/
and a little lingerie
/
thrown in.
Recycling the Sounds of Music
Lesbian jewelry maker Wesla Weller gives new life to old musical instrument parts.
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Recycling is a way of life for Wesla Weller; reimagining
is her creative gift. And now Weller is channeling her
talent into up~styling jewelry out of recycled musical
instrument parts to create her Upbeat Jewellery ( spelled
jewellery to include her last name).
A graphic designer with Los Angeles magazine and
an illustrator of more than a dozen books-including
Eric Idle's The Quite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl
left the corporate world in
and the Pussycat-Weller
2006 to start her own card business. "I wanted to be
doing my own thing;' she says. With the support of
her partner Jane, an editor with the Los Angeles Times,
Weller began producing her Weller Than Ever line of
cards using recycled paper and soy ink.
However, a metal~smithing class "for fun" at Otis
College of Art, and a small spark of inspiration lead
Weller to conceive of Upbeat Jewellery. Today it's
become her passion. ''I'll go into music stores and ask,
'Do you have any guitar strings I can have?' And they'll
pull them out of the trash can. I asked about drum
heads, they said, 'Oh, we just threw away a bunch of
them; so I literally went dumpster diving to get a stack
of those:'
When sizing up various strings, gears and parts
Weller says, "I look at them with all my other stuff and
I think, Those would look really cool like this:' Wood
violin pegs or guitar pegs made of ivoroid or pearloid
make fetching pendants. "It's just really exciting to me
that I can incorporate a lot of things I love;' she says.
The next step for Weller is to use her passion to
give something back. She hopes to share her profits
with youth programs, such as the Mr. Holland's Opus
Foundation that provide musical instruments to kids.
"I love the idea of taking parts of instruments that
supposedly have outlived their usefulness and in some
way regenerating that into some kid getting a new
instrument," she says.
Her collection includes a Drum Circles series based
on labyrinths and mandalas. And the cleverly~titled
Cymbalism series is made 0£ what else, old cymbals.
So far she has a Love Cymbal, Peace Cymbal and
Status Cymbal.
"I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to use
for the Sex Cymbal yet," Weller says with a laugh.
( upbeatjewellery.com) [LaurieK.Schenden]
"I'llgo into musicstoresand ask, 'Do you
have any guitarstringsI can have?'And
they'llpullthem out of the trash can."
July/August 2011
I 13
CURVATURES
The Great Wall of Vagina
A sculpture participant shares the unique experience of seeing
her intimate contribution on display. By Johanna Gohmann
It's a sunny May morning and I'm wandering
the twisted streets of Brighton, England,
trying to find my vagina. Unfortunately, the
GPS on my phone isn't working, and the
lack of street signs isn't helping matters.
To clarify, I'm not looking for my actual
vagina. I am well aware of where she is.
What I'm looking for is "The Great Wall of
Vagina;' an art piece I participated in back
in 2008. This unique sculpture is the brainchild of British artist Jamie McCartney, and
I'm here to see the finished project.
Back in 2006, McCartney was running
his body casting studio, busily slapping
plaster to willing flesh and making molds
14
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of everything from newborn baby feet to
women's heaving bosoms. Then one day
he encountered some statistics on vaginal
cosmetic surgery, and he learned that thousands of women have begun to dish out
thousands of dollars for labiaplasties. He
was shocked to realize that so many women
are now paying to get their "abnormal"
labia snipped into a more "attractive" look.
(Thank you, pornography, for this delightful
new brand of body dysmorphia.)
A light bulb went off for McCartney, and
he decided to create a massive sculpture to
help showcase the incredible uniqueness of
every woman's shape. He put out a call for
female volunteers of all ages and set to work
creating anonymous white plaster casts of
their vaginas.
I first got wind of the project when,
as an American living in Dublin, I saw
McCartney interviewed for a BBC documentary called "The Perfect Vagina" and
I was utterly intrigued by his project. So
much so, I hopped a plane to London to
participate. The whole casting experience
was certainly one I will never forget. (You
haven't lived until you've sat in sub-zero
temperatures behind a flimsy curtain on
Brighton pier, while a cheerful Englishman
smears blue algaenate between your legs.)
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Five years and some 400 vaginas in the
making, the sculpture is finally complete.
Which is why I'm lost on the Brighton
streets on this bright Friday morning. I pop
into a sex shop called Tickled, and a friendly
woman behind the dildo counter helpfully
points me in the direction of the gallery. I
head off down a little lane and gaze at the
items in the passing windows ... jewelry
for sale... tea towels featuring Princess Kate
and Prince William ... a pile of plaster baby
fists ... ah yes! Here we are.
I stroll into Brighton Body Casting, and
there stands McCartney busily unpacking
a cardboard box.
"Remember met I ask.
"Hmmm. Your face looks familiar. Oh
wait, yes, I actually know more than your
face, don't It he laughs.
McCartney ushers me back into the main
gallery, and I quickly see that the walls
are completely covered with vagina. It is
a veritable vagin~a~rama. The white casts
are grouped together in groups of 40, and
were the panels laid end~to~end it would
measure into a 26~foot wall of woman.
As it is, McCartney has the panels spread
around the room in a square. If you stand
in the center, you are completely sur~
rounded by the delicate white moldings. I
squint, and it kind oflooks like I'm in the
china department of Macy's.
McCartney hands me a tiny booklet
that highlights some of the more unique
casts. For instance, panel one has identical
twin sisters, as well as a female to male
trans man. Panel two has a male to female
trans woman, and panel three has two of
the same woman: One cast before she gave
birth, one after. Mixed among the panels
are a 78 year~old grandmother, a woman
after a labiaplasty, and several women with
genital piercings.
"So, can you find yourst McCartney
asks. "I know I certainly can't:'
'Tm not sure, actually:' And really, I'm
not. I should have brought a photo. Or a
hand mirror. As I wander the room, I think
I spot mine, but I'm not 100 percent certain.
I lean closer to it, and one of McCartney's
gallery assistants walks by.
"It's pretty impressive, isn't itt She muses.
For a split second I actually think she
means mine specifically, and I almost blush
and say"Thank you:' I quickly realize she of
course means the entire sculpture.
"Yes! Impressive!" I agree.
What is also impressive is the amount of
merchandise McCartney has available for
purchase. On the more upscale end, there's
a photo book that details the making of the
sculpture, and includes various interviews
and stories from the participants. Then
there's the other end of the vulva promo~
tions spectrum: Postcards, posters, fridge
magnets, even mugs.
I can't help but feel a bit strange about
the merchandising of the sculpture, as it's a
little awkward to have my genitals feature as
part of a gift shop. True, I'm not even really
sure if my cast appears on any of that stuff,
and I suppose I should just be grateful he
opted against lunch boxes and sun visors.
Ultimately, I know the tchotchkes are a good
marketing tool, and hey, if the Philadelphia
Museum of Art can sell a necktie printed
with Frida Kahlo's portrait of her broken
spine, well then why shouldn't McCartney
hawk a few magnets?
As I leave, I'm happy to realize I still feel
good about participating in the project.
I feel much the same as before: That no
matter what happens with the piece-if
outraged vandals attack it with hammers,
or some drunk tourist sticks Bubblicious
to my clitoris-well
it's OK. Because if
the sculpture alters even one person's
misconceptions of the female form, it is
worth it.
After the show closes in Brighton,
McCartney plans on taking it around
the country in a mobile gallery so many
more people can see the sculpture. I
ponder this as I make my way back to
the train, my magnet and mug clinking
together in my bag. I'm actually moving
back to the States very soon. It's amusing
to think that long after I settle into my
Brooklyn apartment, my vagina will
still be out touring around merry old
England. (gwov.co.uk)
"Thewalls are
completely covered
with vagina. It is a
veritablevagin-a-rama.
The white casts are
grouped together in
groups of 40, and
were the panels laid
end-to-end it would
measure into a 26foot wall of woman."
July/August 2011
I 15
CURVATURES
the rundown
The latest victim of so~called
"corrective rape" in SouthAfrica
was a 13~year~old lesbian who
had been open about her sexual~
ity. Government~funded research
studies have shown that one in four
South African men have admitted to
committing rape. "Corrective rape"
is a frequent form of violence perpetuated against
lesbians in the country, and is intended to "cure" them.
The South African government has condemned the
act, and this most recent attack ... KatyPerryof"I
Kissed a Girl" fame has told
VanityFairthat she has actually
"experimented" with women,
which contradicts her original
media stance when the hit was
first released. When asked
why she lied, Perry explained
that some of the male journal~
ists were "sleazy" and that she
"didn't like where the guys
were taking the interviews"...
NormaHurtado,
an Austin,
Texas lesbian, and her mother Maria Hurtado, were
murdered by the father (Jose Alfonso Aviles) of
Norma's girlfriend who was angry that his daughter
was in a lesbian relationship. Aviles' response to his
daughter's relationship with Norma had been violent
previously: Police had responded to calls around his
domestic violence and sexual assault of his daughter's
girlfriend. Norma's girlfriend's name has not been
publicly released, and her father is currently being
held without bail. .. Chelsea
Clintonhelped kick off
New York State phone banking for marriage equality
in the state. Her involvement came hours after her
father, former President Bill Clinton, came forward in
support of the campaign's goals of winning marriage
equality before June ... In the ongoing custody
battle
between Janet Jenkins and former civil union spouse
Lisa Miller over their daughter, Isabella, Timothy
David Miller has been arrested. After their separation
in 2003 Miller moved
with their daughter to
Virginia. Courts ruled
that Jenkins had pa~
rental rights and or~
dered that custody be
transferred to Jenkins
onJan. l, 2010, which
has not yet happened.
[Sassafras
Lowrey]
16
I curve
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OUTINFRONT
Embarking on
Providence
Their rights are our rights.
By Sheryl Kay
CuttingThroughRedTape
Once upon a time, her grandmother used to
for afternoon strolls
take PolinaSavchenko
through a park adjacent to Kazan Cathedral
in St. Petersburg, Russia. Today, that same
park is a popular lesbian meeting spot.
"I take it as a sign of fate;' says Savchenko,
who now serves as director of development,
board member and projects coordinator for
Coming Out, an NGO that lobbies and
advocates for the universal recognition of
equal rights, hosting educational and cultural
events and providing psychological and legal
services to the LGBT community in Russia.
Destiny has taken a few strange turns
for Savchenko, who grew up in Russia,
then immigrated with her parents to
America in 1989 at age 14. After settling
in here, Savchenko began down the road
to the American dream, attaining a BA in
chemistry and French from the University of
Illinois and going on to a successful career in
information technology.
But something didn't feel right, she recalls.
"I never really felt I completely left Russia;'
she says. ''And one day, I said, 'That's it! I don't
know what lies ahead- I have no idea what
I will do, no plans, no security-but
I know
I have to take the leap of faith and find out
what this calling means: So I came back:'
Social and cultural life for lesbians in St.
Petersburg is very rich, notes Savchenko,
especially since she helped found Coming
Out, but there is no protection against
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Homophobia is still state sponsored; national
leaders openly describe the gay community
as sick, its people as perverted and carriers
of disease.
"I do want to live in a free land, with
fundamental respect for human rights;'
she says, explaining her return to Russia
and her strong commitment to civil rights
projects. These include establishing a local
LGBT community center and heading the
Organizing Committee for last year's very
successful International
Queer Culture
Festival in St. Petersburg. "I do want to live
openly as a gay woman. I do want justice and
happiness for LGBT people. And if my home
country has all these problems, then my place
is here, trying to solve them:'
Setting the Bar
It almost sounds like a story from the late
'50s: Black woman is raised in small-town
Louisiana, grows up experiencing hate and
prejudice, finally secures employment but
gets fired simply for being who she is.
The only difference in the scenario is that
Johnson
is fired
this time it is 2006: Ashland
when her employers learn she is a lesbian, and
because there is no state or federal employment
protection for gays, it is legal.
"It was my first real experience with this
type of rejection, and I was extremely hurt
and angry;' recalls Johnson. "I also felt a
strong disappointment in myself for being in
that situation. Here I was, a gay woman in the
South, and I had no idea that it was entirely
legal to fire me for being gay:'
It was just the kick-start Johnson needed
to propel her into civil rights and lead her to
law school, where she started volunteering
with local equal-rights groups. This experience showed her that the people who were
in the best position to help bring about
advancements were those who had an intimate understanding of the law.
"That's the kind of difference I ultimately
want to make;' she says.
In the past year, Johnson has started the
LGBT Law Initiative at the University of
Georgia, a program designed to help queer
students learn more about the possibilities
and potential challenges associated with
attending law school. The 28-year-old hopes
the LGBT Law Initiative will create a pipeline for young equal-rights advocates to enter
law school, noting that many LGBT youth
are often deterred from attaining a JD degree
because studying law is such a historically
conservative program.
"No one can champion your cause more
truly than you .... So, regardless of if it's something small...the important thing is to actprotect your rights, promote your rights and
own your movement in any way you
July/August 2011
I 19
LESBOFILE
Sapphic Scuttlebutt
Evan comes out, Angie may be back to her gay ways
and Gaga keeps on fighting the good fight. By Jocelyn Voo
Bi Blood
Looking back, dating androgynous shock~
rocker Marilyn Manson for nearly three
years should've been an indicator that True
Bloodactor EvanRachelWoodis bisexual.
"I was always into very androgynous
things. Guys, girls ... I'm into androgyny in
general;' Wood told Esquire. 'Tm up for any~
thing. Meet a nice guy, meet a nice girl...I'm
more kind of like the guy when it comes to
girls;' she adds. 'Tm the dominant one. I'm
opening the doors, I'm buying dinner. Yeah,
I'm romantic:•
Wine 'em, dine 'em and go in for the killmakes sense, coming from someone who
plays a (lesbian) vampire queen.
Timeto SayGoodbye?
Much of the lesbian world thought we'd lost
Angelina Jolie for good when she shacked up
with Brad Pitt (hey, we did!). But maybe
because the Lindsay Lohan rumor mill has
run dry, new tabloid reports are surfacing of
Jolie being unfaithful-with
a woman.
In Touch claims that the actor and mom
to six has "a string of female lovers that she
hooks up with from time to time" to quell her
"strong bisexual desires;• and goes even as far
as naming a room in L.A:s Roosevelt Hotel
as one of the love dens La Jolie rents for ']ust
a few hours:•
Look, we all remember her Jenny Shimizu
20
I curve
days of yore. But maybe it's finally time to
retire the old fantasy-especially
since we
have new up~and~comers climbing out of the
closet ... and then again, maybe not.
NewsworthyExample
Lead by example:' That's what Rachel
Maddow's trying to do. The bespectacled
political commentator is calling out her
fellow broadcast news journalists to, well,
come out. 'Tm sure other people in the
business have considered reasons why they're
doing what they're doing, but I do think that
if you're gay you have a responsibility to
come out;' Maddow told The Guardian.
Some have suspected that she was ref~
erencing CNN anchor Anderson Cooper,
whose sexuality has oft been called into
question. However, Maddow made clear on
her blog that he wasn't at all being targeted.
Rather, it's more about public responsibility
and personal peace: "I also believe that
coming out makes for a happier life:•
Agreed!
Walkthe Walk
Singer Christina Aguilera
has the honor of being the
first inductee onto the
new Gay Walk of Fame at
The Abbey, known as "the
best gay bar in the world:'
Christina Aguilera
"I share a special bond with my gay and
lesbian fans. We've supported each other
for years;' Aguilera said. "It is such an honor
to be the first honoree on The Abbey's Gay
Walk of Fame. This is one of my favorite
places and a special destination for gays and
lesbians from around the world:'
FightForYourRight
Lady Gaga isn't just walking the walk-she's
talking the talk. Ever supportive of the LGBT
community, Gaga went nose~to~nose with
an anti~gay activist handing out "get out of
hell free" cards outside one of her shows.
In a recent video on Gagavision, her
YouTube video series, Gaga tells the protes~
tor, "We really believe in God at my show:•
The protestor counters: "Your pervert ways
don't quite equate to what God is all about,
darlin."
"What I'm trying to understand is, there's
3,000 people standing in my line, and
nobody standing in your line;' Gaga
responds. "Who's goin' to hell?"
But while Gaga brushes off the
haters with a joke, there's more to it:
She's "sad that my fans have to
see that, but I know that it's
just part of what I'm sup~
posed to do:•
A true fighter for the
cause? You bet.
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July/August 2011
I 21
STARS
Hot Child in the City
By Charlene Lichtenstein
Cancer{June22-July 23)
Crabsistersare morereticent
thanmostwomen,butdon't
thinkfor a minutethattheyare
unableto saywhat'sontheir
minds.Theyhavethe common
touch,blessedwiththe uncanny
abilityto relateto practically
anyone.
They'lleventalkto
Scorpios!
Forthisreason,Cancer
dykesgenerally
getwhatthey
wantwhentheywantit. Don't
underestimate
thisgal;
you'llwinduplosing.
Late summer brings the heat.
Aries{March21-April20)
The party train pulls into your station so get on board
and get on down. Lambda Rams have a ticket to all
the top hot summer events and will enjoy every last
one of them. Along the way, find new creative ways to
express yourself artistically. Art can be a very effective
babe magnet.
Libra{Sept.24-0ct. 23)
You are more social than usual and will find any excuse
to gather your bosom buddies together. So allow your
social calendar to overflow and don't waste a drop!
Consider expanding your circle by joining new groups
or organizations. You never know who you will meet.
A friend of a friend may prove to be very... friendly.
Taurus{April21-May 21)
While escaping to distant shores may have its appeal,
Sapphic Bulls are happiest staying dose to home this
summer. Maybe it's because you can relax as you lounge
around the house. Gal pals beat a path to your door for
BBQs, sunbathing and unlimited beer. Or maybe it's
because of those naked poolside nymphs.
Scorpio{Oct.24-Nov.22)
Retirement is a long ways off and a lofty idea. That
must be why you are so ambitious this summer and
allow career demands to take precedence over fun and
frolic. Expect to burn the midnight oil at work and
continue to slowly climb up the corporate ladder. But
beware: all work and no play makes Scorpio Jane a
fuddy duddy.
Gemini{May22-June 21)
Give some of your latent great ideas room to roam this
summer. They will find receptive ears and may lead to
bigger and better things for you in the long term. But
think first and plan your delivery so that your com~
munications have structure and heft. It is time to get
serious, Gemini. Can you do that and still wear those
hot pink pantaloons?
Sagittarius{Nov.23-Dec.22)
Travel is highlighted on your calendar all through the
summer. Hurry and pack your bags before thoughts
of work and other obligations give you pause. Set out
in search of adventure. Who knows what or who you
will find in some far corner of the world. Explore every
nook and cranny. No names please!
Cancer{June22-July 23)
While you may not be exceedingly rich, you may feel
a bit more extravagant and flush through the summer.
Money comes to you more easily and you don't feel
that you have to scrimp and save every dime. Do you
Leo{July24-Aug.23)
have your eye on a certain special someone? Muster up
Theimageof someravenously
the courage to ask for her number.
regal,fierylionfits rathernicely
withthe burningpersonality
profileof the lambdaLeo.Like Leo{July24-Aug.23)
Sagittarius,
Leohasa bit of This is your time to shine. The fates conspire to push
the feistyanimalin her.She you into center stage and the adoring crowds will rush
cannotbe reignedin (unless forward to applaud your every gesture. So now that
you'retalkingleatherstraps you know that all eyes are on you, maybe it's time
aroundthe bedpost)andenjoys to refresh your wardrobe and give yourself a quick
beingthe completecenterof makeover? Yes, it is possible to improve on perfection,
attention-or else! Lioness!
Aquarius{Jan.21-Feb.19)
Are you in a relationship or in the market for one? If so,
this is the time to meet your match, Aqueerius. Make
yourself available and seek out new venues to meet and
greet. For those who are in a committed partnership,
put more effort into making it the best it can be. And
the more the better. While it takes two to tango, one
partner usually leads.
Virgo{Aug.24-Sept.23)
Turn up your intuition into high gear and go with
Charlene
Lichtenstein
is
theauthorofHerscopes: your gut. There is secretive activity going on all around
you and behind the scenes buzz that you can harness
A Guideto Astrology
and exploit to your advantage. It is time to take your
for Lesbians
(Simon&
sweet revenge on those who have tripped you up over
Schuster)
(tinyurl.com/HerScopes).
Nowavailableasan ebook.
the past few months. Or you can forgive and forget.
Pisces{Feb.20-March20)
It is never too late to adopt a healthier lifestylewhether through a revamped diet or a renewed exercise
regime. Buff your stuff, Guppie. Resolve to improve
your bad habits all through the summer. Well not all
your bad habits. You need something a little naughty
about your personality to remain interesting. Ahem.
22
I curve
Capricorn{Dec.23-Jan. 20)
You have more than your fair share of sex appeal now,
Capricorn. Use it or lose it. The summer just got
hotter. You will have a full choice of hotties who
gravitate into your orbit and hope to land on your
beach. But be discerning in your amorous pursuits.
There is no sense wasting your oil on a dry prospect.
SCENE
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Lesbian Spring Break From Palm Springs to Provincetown,
lesbians across the country celebrated the new season with sex and style.
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1 Spring came early to Soho, N.Y.C. when Juicy
Pink Box threw the lavish FrenchKissFete(April
21) to celebrate the release of their latest supersexy DVD. 2, 3 Girl Bar's DinahShoreWeekand
Club Skirt's The Dinah(March 30-April 3) once
again delivered delightful debauchery and endless
celebrity entertainment across five days and several
venues. 4, 6 Nearly one hundred lesbians took over
Mexico's IslaMujeresPalaceResortfor some Sweet
eco-friendly lesbian leisure (April 30-May 7). 5 The
lucky ladies who attended Provincetown's Single
Women's
Weekend
socialized, schmoozed and were
serenaded by dyke diva Lori Michaels in concert and
at an intimate brunch (May 20-22).
0
in
July/August 2011
I 23
My Celebrity Girlfriend is Too Close to Her Exes
I'm getting crowded out by all her former lovers. By Lipstick and Dipstick
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: My girlfriend of many years seems to grow
closer to her long-past exes with each year that passes. She waxes poetic
about the time they did this or that and talks about how wonderful and
brilliant they are. I've been open and understanding of this for as long
as we've been together, and the exes attend every stinking family get
together we have and I'm about fed up. By the way, she is a celebrity,
so I'm sure that's why all her exes drop everything and run to her. In
addition to that, they have all benefitted from their relationships in some
way (books, movie, etc.) So, it's no sweat off their backs to attend every
function. But honestly, it's getting a little crowded at the dinner table and
it feels terribly shallow. Worse, she believes these people love her as
much as she loves them, and I suppose for the career advances, they
just might. How do I cope? My kids and I are feeling totally squeezed
out. I'm afraid it's going to ruin this relationship.-Choking on her Exes
lezzieland. For some reason, we collect exes
like antiques and often they increase with
value in the same way. Passing time has a
way of cooling down the angry flame that
burned all the photos of you two when you
broke up, tempering the rage that made you
"accidentally" knock her favorite coffee cup
off the counter. Tell me this: Have you been
honest with your girlfriend about how you
feel? Boundaries are important and if you
feel there is no sacred space for just you and
your immediate family, you're right, this
imbalance will eventually drive you apart. If
you haven't been to a therapist together, it's
time to book an appointment. Because kids
are involved and they have a way of upping
the emotional ante, a mediator would serve
you both well.
Dipstick:
Oh I understand your partner com~
pletely. Every time Lipstick and I get chased
by the paparazzi, I just want to go home and
relax around my old friends, the people who
know and love me best-be
they my old
festival buddies, my women's peace encamp~
ment sisters or my old girlfriends. If you're
worried about what her exes want to gain
via her stardom, trust me, new acquaintances
are even worse. I remember the girl who
tried to take me to lunch just so she could
write about dining with Dipstick in her
blog. Celebrities have to be careful about
who they let in their inner circle. You need
to stop thinking of these old flames as ex~
lovers and look at them for what they are:
your famous girl's chosen family. Would you
bitch if her mother and sisters showed up at
every holiday? Who cares that she wants the
people she feels close to at the dinner table
at Easter and Gay Pride? At least she's not
sneaking off to see them. I suggest you add
another plate to the table and smile when
you pass the bread.
Dear Lipstickand Dipstick:I feel sillyasking,
but I'm lookingfor somesoundadviceon how
to pickup women.I live in a collegetownand
seemto be havingtroubletellingthe difference
Lipstick:This is juicy. I'm sure our readers
are as curious as I am about who this girl's
24
I curve
lover is and if she's out of the closet. Dipstick,
I'm not buying what you're saying. I think
you're skirting the issue here. Limelight
aside, this is such a common problem in
ex:
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Lipstick & Dipstick ADVICE
infriendlystraightwomenandflirtinglesbians.
I
keepmakingfriends,butcan'tseemto transitionanyof thosefriendships
intoa relationship.
I don'twantto forcetheissuewithanyone,
but
I alsodon'twantto spendsomuchtimemaking
acquaintances
thataren'tinterested
in dating.
-Poor Poppy
Lipstick:You're just spreading your seeds
right now, Poppy. Eventually, a flower will
grow. A good place to cultivate the fertile
ground is the Internet. Sign up with Curve
Personals and have a look around at available
women, those who clearly call themselves
gay (or bisexual). If they're online, they're
available. Put yourself out there, too, but
be honest about who you are and what
you're looking for. Nothing is worse than a
woman who misrepresents herself online. Dip,
remember "Ginger Snap"?
Dipstick:
Do I ever!
Lipstick:Even though Ginger put down
"Very Athletic;' she couldn't throw a Frisbee
to an eager border collie. Dipping your toe
into the lady pond by meeting women on the
Internet allows you to slowly get wet (ahem)
and insert yourself (I can't help myself) into
a pack of lesbians. Breaking into this sacred
circle is the hardest part. Once inside, the
protective crowd will help you sharpen your
gaydar and your confidence.
Dipstick:The easiest way to tell if she is
a lesbian is if when you make a pass, she
kisses you back. Oh, wait, no, that happened
with my volleyball coach's wife. Regardless,
Lipstick is right about one thing: You need
to insert yourself into the pack oflady-loving
lesbians. Join the campus GSA. Trek it out
to the rugby field and watch the burly girls
bash into each other. Check out a women's
studies class or step into a visiting LGBT
scholar's lecture. Sneak into a lesbian bar and
hit on a short-haired femme.
i
w
DearLipstickand Dipstick:I've beenwith my
(3 girlfriend
for 1O monthsnowandI loveherso
CL
much.She's27 andI'm 19. It seemslikea big
age difference,but it doesn'treallyhaveany
impactonoutrelationship-other
thangoingto
a gaybar.Threemonths
afterI movedin,sheleft
forAfghanistan
inSeptember.
Witheachpassing
dayandafterhoursofSkypeI findmyselfloving
hermoreandmore.I wantsobadto marryher,
butI'm notsurewhentherighttimewill be.We
havevaguelytalkedaboutit, but she seems
a littleunsure.Shesaysif thereis anyoneshe
wouldbe marriedto, it wouldbe me,butshe's
notsureif shewantsthe labelof "marriage."
I
figureI shouldwaita fewmoremonths
andtake
the plunge,the worstthingthat canhappenis
shesaysno,butthatdoesn'tmeanourrelationshipis over. Anyadviceas to how,if when,I
shouldgoforit?-PushingHerDowntheAisle
Lipstick:Hey Pushy, want to save yourself
some serious heartache? Don't get married. I
know you love her, but trust Lipstick: Don't
rush this decision. You and your young heart
have lots of stretch marks coming. Don't
wait another couple months, young'un, wait
a couple more years. Better yet, a couple
more decades.
Dipstick:
The right time won't be right until
Obama signs the legislation to overturn Don't
Ask, Don't Tell. But even then, I don't think
you lovers are destined to walk down the
aisle. Lipstick is right, 19 is young and so is a
10-month relationship-especially
when for
most of it she's been in a war zone. There is
no need to rush into a marriage that won't be
recognized by her employer. Hell, you can't
even get on her health insurance. I wonder
what your motivation is, when clearly your
lover is, at best, lukewarm on the idea. People
who are true partners don't pop the question knowing the odds are 50-50. It sounds
like you might have different values around
commitment and marriage. These are things
that need to be worked out if your want your
relationship to stand the test of time. Settle
in when soldier gal gets home and have long
talks about what you each want for your
future. If and when you both express a desire for a lifetime together, surprise her with a
ring. Until then, cool it, kiddo.
Tune in to curvemag.com/lipstickanddipstick@
to watchthe The Lipstick& DipstickShow.
llliill
Or write to tv@lipstickdipstick.com.
July/August 2011
~-
I 25
ADVICE Fitness
Before You Diet, Try It
By Jill Sloane Goldstein
Growing up in a moderately health conscious
home, I have clear recollection of a magnet
that resided on our kitchen refrigerator that
read: Nothing Tastes As Good As Thin
Feels. As a little girl I didn't quite understand
the suggestion behind the adage. I simply had
an arsenal of examples to dispute it. Ding
Dongs, pizza, Fruity Pebbles and my grandmother's layer chocolate cake were certainly
delicious. How something called nothing,
which I not only knew was inedible but was
convinced was less sugary than my favorites,
could actually taste better was befuddling.
Then puberty struck and my metabolism
abandoned its resemblance to that
of a 10-year-old boy's. Curves began to develop and my thighs grew
less forgiving. Slowly, I started to reconsider that magnet and began to
truly understand why my mother
kept it as a front line defense against
the temptations lurking behind the
stainless steal door.
Years later I found my passion
for fitness and once again questions
began to arise. But this time, my
debate wasn't focused on what foods were
more delectable or which were and weren't
worthy of an indulgence. Nowadays, I challenge the very concept at the center of it all:
Thin. Why must being thin be the focus of
Why breaking a sweat should come first.
our feelings toward our bodiesr What defines
thin anywayr And why do we place so much
value on being thin when its interpretation
is highly subjective and it's not necessarily an
appropriate body type for all womenr Why
aren't we instead emphasizing the importance
of being fitr
When it comes to discussing our bodies, I
think it's time we turn the conversation from
getting skinny to getting in shape. Fitness
is not a complex, nor intimidating activity
reserved only for athletes or the overly tanned,
rock solid enthusiasts that populate our infomercials. Nor is it an undertaking that must
Not to mention, the benefits of fitness
are plentiful. Regular exercise strengthens the
heart, aids the circulatory system, boosts
good cholesterol, lowers blood pressure
and increases beneficial bone density. It also
promotes mental health, relieving stress
and anxiety and levels of depression, while
promoting restful sleep and energy renewal.
Exercise has even been known to decrease
risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Then of course there is the desirable outcome
of weight loss, fat reduction and muscle development-the
visible gems we can show off
at the beach this summer.
Another big drawr Regular exercise
also raises metabolism. The addition
of muscle mass to our bodies will
cause an increase in the number of
calories that are utilized at rest. So
it is comforting to know that while
we are exerting ourselves through
a high intensity workout, the hard
work will result in an increase in
metabolism that continues to burn
calories after our workout.
So the next time you try to avert a
food craving with a motto like 'Tm Dieting
Because I'm Thick and Tired Of It;' consider
the fact that exercise, paired with good nutrition, will help you achieve your goals faster
and easier than diet alone.
"Fitness is not a complex, nor
intimidating activity reserved only
for athletes or the overly tanned,
rock solid enthusiasts that
populate our infomercials."
be completed at a certain intensity level or
for a specific amount of time to be beneficial.
Exercise is for anyone, of any age and any
ability, and can be valuable in an array of
forms. The only mandate is willingness.
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g
FIT BITS
Summer is here
and the weather
is exercise
friendly. There
are countless
ways to exercise,
even if a gym is
out of reach. One
of my favorite
activities to do
at home is jump
rope. I'm talking
about the good
old-fashioned
schoolyard skip.
Jump roping
is, minute-forminute, one of
the single most
comprehensive
and beneficial
exercises you
can do. It works
the entire body,
burns calories,
develops long,
lean muscles
in all major
muscle groups
(read: toned
thighs, calves,
butt, shoulders)
and optimizes
cardiovascular
conditioning.
So your stamina
improves each
time you do it. It
also happens to
be cheap, convenient, portable,
and a quick way
to work out when
time is limited.
Just 10 to 15
minutes can
equate to running
a
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26
I curve
POLITICS
Killing the Earth-and Ourselves
I am a recycler. I'm also a proselytizer for
recycling. One would think that in 2011 we
wouldn't need to be talking about this anymore. Everyone should be recycling. And yet
we don't.
Recently, I was visiting one of my city's
most celebrated agencies, run almost entirely
by socially conscious women. Yet there in the
trash can I saw not just plastic bags but cardboard boxes and soda cans and water bottles.
Recyclables. I said to the woman I was visiting,
my eyebrows raised and my voice reflecting
my shock, "No recycling?" She sighed and
said, "We've discussed it a lot, but no:'
No! Seriously? After you've discussed it?
In an office where everyone is well educated
and thus is aware 0£ you know, science?
I'm stunned by how little we've advanced
since I attended that first Earth Day celebration in 1970 and got sun poisoning, which
was both an irony and a warning. Sure, we all
take bags made of hemp or recycled materials into the grocery store, because now it's
2s
I curve
embarrassing not to-it looks so unevolved.
But what about everything else we do, or
don't do?
Here are some of the many questions you
can ask yourself about your own green evolution: What shampoo and soap, detergent and
household deaning products do you use? Do
you buy products in containers that can or
cannot be recycled? What do you do with
your mail after you've read it? Your newspapers and magazines? What about those
batteries that leak lead or lithium, your new
CFL light bulbs filled with mercury, your old
electronics? How do you dry your clothes?
How often and how fast do you drive? What
do you do with your garbage? How long do
you stand in the shower? How much food
do you waste in a day, a week, a month? Do
you buy locally? If you smoke, what do you
do with the butts that leach nicotine and
other toxins into the ground? What do you
do with your expired medications? What do
you do with your old clothes, shoes, sheets,
towels and anything else made of fabric?
Do you recycle all your cans, glass, plastic
containers and paper?
If these questions make you squirm a little,
they should. The answers tell how green you
really are and how committed you are to saving
the planet.
Part of my wanting to save the planet is
selfish. I want to live. I have chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease and uncontrolled asthma.
This is not the romantic kind of ailment
where you cough a little into a dainty lace
handkerchieflike some 1930s movie heroine,
but the gasping-for-breath-even-on-oxygen
kind of thing.
I've never smoked a day in my life, but you'd
never know it from the condition of my lungs.
I've always lived in highly polluted areas of the
country, and for years I've worked at newspapers where the people around me smoked
excessively. This combination has taken its
toll. My lungs are in bad shape, but so too
are the lungs of people all over the country.
POLITICS
Today, it is believed that one in four children
will develop some sort of asthma, and one of
the reasons is that we make too much trash
and it's polluting our air.
That's simplistic, but everything we don't
recycle has to go somewhere. Most states
have to burn a lot of their trash. It's getting
pretty ugly out there in the atmosphere we
have to breathe.
When I was working in Los Angeles, the
air had a thickness to it that made it feel like
you were breathing through a wet towel. In
Mexico City, on most days you can't even
see across the street. And when I lived in
London, where diesel is queen, I came home
at night to nostrils blackened with soot, as if
I'd been sweeping chimneys. How much of
what was on my face was in my lungs?
Air pollution also matters because it's
what's warming the planet unnaturally.
Anti-science people claim that global warming
is a myth, but science is science. Climate
change is a reality. Nine of the past 10 years
have been the hottest on record. Massive
storms; flooding of the sort that's decimated
Australia, parts of Europe and the length
of the Mississippi; blizzards, rampant forest
and brush fires-all
are by-products of
global warming.
Every time you forget or choose not to
recycle, you contribute to it. Every time you
fill your car up at noon on a hot day or leave
your motor running when you're not driving,
you contribute to it. Every time you cut down
a tree or cut your grass very low or put your
leaves in plastic bags instead of composting
them, you contribute to it.
Killing Mother Earth means killing ourselves. It's suicidal not to be green. It's not
just about whether we will get asthma or our
children will get asthma. It's about heating
the planet to a degree that human, animal
and plant life will die, oceans will rise and
flora and fauna will become extinct because
habitats will be destroyed.
Women have been in the forefront of the
ecological movement. Lesbians like Rachel
Carson have led the world in investigating
climate change. Wangari Maathai won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work to
promote ecologically sustainable development, which, the Nobel Committee noted,
advanced the cause of peace, because the
world is already at war over resources like
water and food. Soon, perhaps, the unsustainable resource will be fresh air.
Our planet is in crisis. And, despite the fact
that many things are beyond our control, we
can alter our response to climate change. We
can think about our actions and how they
impact the planet. We can buy and use and
discard responsibly. We can refuse to patronize
restaurants and businesses that don't recycle.
My Eco-Life
We can refuse to buy products packaged in
unrecyclable materials. We can commit to
being green. We can save our own lives and the
lives of those who come after us. We can save
the world. We just have to do it.
For morefrom Victoria Brownworth read her
political blogat victoriabrownworth.comand
follow her on twitter @ VABVOX.
Dr.HelenCaldicotton whatwe candoto savethe planet.
WhenI was 19 I readOn
TheBeachby NevilShute,
whichendedwith everyone
dyingonthe planetaftera
nuclearwar in the northern
hemisphere.
Thelastto die
werepeoplein Melbourne,
Australia,whichis where
I hadgrownup.I was
neverthe sameagain.I
hadalreadydonefirst year
medicineandunderstood
well the relationship
betweenradiationand
mutationandat thattime
Russia,the U.S.andChina
weretestinghugeH-bombs
in the atmosphere.
I tried
to getthe attentionof my
fellowstudents,mostly
male,buttheywere
uninterested
andit wasn't
until 1991that I foundout
aboutfalloutin Adelaide,
Australiafromthe French
atomicteststhat I was
impelledto act. I wrotea
letterto TheAdvertiserand
the nextthingI wason [TV]
talkingaboutradiation,
childrenandFrenchtests.
Aswomenarenearlyhalf
of the earth'spopulation
andsincewe aretypically
nurturingof life,I felt it
imperativeto mobilize
women.At first we called
it theWomen'sPartyfor
Survival,butthenchanged
its nameto Women'sAction
ForNewDirections.It is
still a verypowerfulforce
throughoutthe U.S.I believe
the planet'spositionis
duelargelyto a patriarchal
society.I thinkthe urgency
andthreatof global
warminghashit everyone
hard,but at the sametime
nobodyis attendingto the
threatof nuclearwar and
nuclearwinter,whichcould
be precipitatedtonightby
accidentor design.
Butwhatcanyoudoto
createpositivechange?
Readthe bookIf YouLove
ThisPlanetformanyideas
in yourdailylife,at work
andat home,thenoncewell
informed,write lettersto
the editor,takeon yourlocal
politicianbecauseheor she
is yourrepresentative
and
youaretheir leaders.Get
a solarhotwatersystem,
encourage
the government
to makesolarpowerfree,
turn off everylight in every
roomexceptwherethey
arebeingused,don't use
air-conditioning,
turn off
all electricalappliances
at night,don't usehot air
dryersin publicbathrooms
astheyareglobalwarming
dryersmadeby burning
coal.Thinkgloballyandact
locallyandviceversa.
I am alternativelyan
optimisticpessimistor a
pessimisticoptimist.If I
werenot I wouldbecome
verydepressedandfeelthat
life wasnotworthliving.But
beinga doctorI understand
the goodnessin each
humanheart.Wehaveto
appealurgentlyto people's
betternatures,andthat can
bedone.[HelenCaldicott]
Did You Know?
• Tampons
aremadefrom
trees,andplasticapplicators
last500years
• Onefootballfield is cleared
everyeightsecondsin the
Amazonfor soyplantations
• OnebeefpattyfromCentral
Americansteersrepresents
thedestruction
of 5 square
metersof Amazonrainforest
• Cocaine
hascausedthe
destruction
of 6 millionacresof
Amazonforestin the past20years
• 21 billiondisposable
diapers
areusedin the U.S.peryear
• Tropicalwoodfor trendy
furnitureis usuallyillegallylogged.
Fora podcastinterview with HelenCaldicott,go to ifyoulovethisplanet.org.
July/August 2011
I 29
LAUGH
TRACK
In Her Wheelhouse
Crooning comic Julie Wheeler's melodious mirth. By Merryn Johns.
Comic and singer Julie Wheeler is the total
package: She can rock, wail and croon like the
King-in fact, she even played Elvis on stage
in Viva Las Vegas: The Musical, which she also
produced-and she can bring down the house
with her own unique brand of comedy. Now
the sexy butch (once voted one of the "Top 10
Sexiest People" by MetroSource magazine) talks
serenading the ladies, butch visibility and drops
her best line on us (spoiler alert: it worked).
relationship like a baby. When you put that
CD on the counter in the store, look at your
partner and loudly say,"Whose baby is this?"
You may get weird looks at the Target, but it'll
be worth it in the end, trust me.
Whoisyourultimateduetpartner?
Don Ho, the Hawaiian singer famous for
his "Tiny Bubbles" song. We would tour as
Homo and Ho.
Doyoufeelbutches
getshortshriftinthemedia?
I do. But at the same time we've also come a
Notmanylesbian
comicsalsosing.lsthesinging long way. We have a lot more positive butch
role models like Rachel Maddow, k.d. lang,
lesbiancomica rarebreedandif so,why?
Yes, we are a rare breed because we are a niche Lea Delaria, Amy Ray, etc. for our young
of a subset from a small percentage that resides butches to look up to. In my day, we just had
in the venn diagram where music and comedy Alice from the Brady Bunch. But it could always
be better, so I'm touring my new show"Butch
overlap. Which is almost as good as a puzzle
Blanket Bingo" to explore some of these
wrapped in a riddle tied up in a conundrumthemes and let the young queers know not
or a scallop wrapped in bacon.
Whendidyoudiscover
thatyouhavepipes?
It was after winning the talent show in High
School and graduating, my roommate and I
started packing them in every Thursday at the
local dyke bar in town and it was then that I
thought I might have half a pipe.
Haveyoueverserenaded
a girlfriend?
Yes, but I try and keep my inner Gleek in
check.
Whatsongsdoyousingintheshower?
It would be easier to answer which songs I
won't sing in the shower: Dixieland Jazz and/
or Barbershop Quartet. Everything else is fair
game, sung at the very top of my lungs.
Lesbians
take musicseriously
especially
when
dating.Whatisonyourmixtapefora ladylove?
Lesbians take their music very seriously, I
realized this the first time I saw k.d. lang's
face when she sang. When I make a mix tape
I try and keep it light. I make sure I have a
good mix of songs we both like and treat it
like a party where I invite everyone's music to
see if it gets along. I just hope my favorite song
doesn't punch her favorite song in the face.
Whena couplebreaksup,themusiccollection
is
oftenfoughtover.Hasthishappened
to you?
This has not happened to me because my
advice is to treat everything you bring into the
30
I curve
only does it get better, it gets homofabulous!
What'syourbestcomedy
oneliner?
I dated an Amish gal once, well to be fair I
wasn't sure she was Amish, but she did have a
vibrator you had to pedal.
What'syourbestdatingline?
Wanna see a vibrator you have to pedal?
Doesbeingfunnyhelpattractwomen?
Yes, that and a pocketful of roofies.
What'sthefunniest
thingaboutlesbians?
I would never make fun of lesbians for a
perceived stereotype, so can we all please stop
wearing Croes before it becomes oner
What'supnextforyou?
I'll be performing at the Red Rock Women's
Music Festival in August, Iowa Women's Fest
and Sweet's Isla Mujeres trip in September,
and Women's Week in Provincetown m
October. ( The]ulie Wheeler.com)
•
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edition you get curve in your inbox before it hits
the stands. Flick through pages, watch videos,
listen to songs, forward stories to friends and best
of all, o more recycling. Just download and save!
subscribe and save today at curvemag.com
COMING
One of the single,most defining moments in each of our
lives is that first step we take toward coming out. We each
have experienced that cognitive awareness in our little gay "Harassment is more pronounced in middle school than
hearts that finally gives way to an actual, overt pronuncia,
in high schools;' observes Byard, "because you see a lot
tion of our sexual and gender identities. And now, according
of issues coming into play as students reach adolescence.
to research, that "aha moment" seems to be coming sooner
Middle school years are when one's individual identity
comes into focus:'
and sooner for young queers.
Previously, LGBT folks came out later in life. After all,
In a September 2009 New York Times Magazine article,
we grew up in times and places that didn't allow for the
"Coming Out in Middle School;' author Beniot Denizet,
free, let alone the early, expression of our sexual and gender
Lewis observed the trending toward earlier recognition
identities. While many might not have even considered
and expression of sexual identity. In the article Denizet,
ourselves as sexual beings at age 10
Lewis recounts his observations
or 11, kids today are not only aware
Why today's queer youth is as he follows around 13,year,old
Oklahoma native, Austin, a young
of their budding sense of gay sel£ but
skipping the closet years
adolescent who is out and proud,
are actively advocating for the expres,
By Allison Steinberg
with regular attendance at a com,
sion and exploration of their emerging
munity center that offers services
identities. "It's about living in a time
for LGBT youth, and a boyfriend to boot. Austin was 11
thankfully when people are able to talk. Older people
had the same thoughts but maybe couldn't talk;' offers
years old when he decided he couldn't stay in the closet
Eliza Byard, Executive Director of the Gay, Lesbian, and
his whole life and made plans to come out to his family,
Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
schoolmates and others. For those of us that had these
conversations with ourselves in our late teens, 20s, 30s or
It may be difficult to discern just how young LGBT
kids are coming out today compared to previous genera,
older, cases like Austin come as a shock and a relief that
tions, but several tell,tale signs show the trend pointing
the next generation of gay children have voices that are
toward an identification with a particular orientation at
being heard at younger and younger ages-and in increas,
age 11, 12 and 13. "It does appear that youth are coming
ingly rural and formerly homophobic places.
''A good school is a good school no matter where," says
out at earlier ages;' offers Daryl Presgraves, Interim
Byard. Park School, a progressive primary K, 12 school in
Communications Director of GLSEN. "The world has
Brookline, Mass. started a Gay Straight Alliance [GSA]
changed dramatically in the past generation, and it is hard
in their middle school five years ago. "We're proud of
to overestimate the impact that has had on LGBT youth;'
our middle school GSA, believe in the importance of
Presgraves adds.
addressing LGBT issues with middle school students,
Indeed, those now m their 20s and 30s may have
and would like to share our experiences with others,"
come out during high school or college. However many
offers GSA faculty advisors Katherine Callard and Alan
of today's youth are coming out in junior high school.
32
I curve
In Oregon and other states, the land
dyke movement continues to flourish.
By Diane Anderson-Minshall
Ni A6dagain was just 28 years old when she arrived at
OWL Farm in July of 1985, carrying a 2-year-old on one
hip and a backpack with all her worldly possessions on
the other. She had left academia in New Orleans, visited
the jungles of Costa Rica and passed through a lesbian
community in Tucson, Ariz. before landing at this 14 7 -acre
lesbian sanctuary in Oregon. "I joined the women's land
movement 25 years ago to be able to live intimately with
the Earth," says A6dagain. "Instead of the pursuit of
individual materialist goals, I joined those members of
my generation who were seeking a meaningful lifestyle
based on forming communal living arrangements, which
would be sustained by living off the land. The reality was
exhilarating, powerful, painful and ever-changing. It beat
the alternative hands down:'
Not far away in southern Oregon, Bethroot Gwynn
lives at Fly Away Home, a women's land she founded in
1976. "Two of us began this land and still live here, now
in separate households. We share the large vegetable garden and the work involved with other common areas. In
the early '80s, first one, then another
woman came to live here, and we were
a family of four:' Gwynn will turn 70 in
just a few months and like a lot of the
lesbians who went back to the land in
the last 30 years, she is still there-still
splitting firewood, still growing fruits
and vegetables.
What was once a small cluster of
environmentalists in the U.S. is now
part of a much larger movement, and
there's no denying that lesbians have
always been at the forefront of it. In fact,
when it comes to addressing environ34
I curve
mental issues in America, a lesbian-Nancy
Sutley-is
one of the most powerful people out there as chairwoman
of President Obama's Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ). Among her top priorities is greening the U.S.
government, the country's single largest user of energy.
One of the hottest green trends today-what
experts
are telling us is crucial-is the need to create sustainable
intentional communities, something queer women understood decades ago when they combined lesbian-feminist
politics with ecological principles, fostering greater awareness
of both environmental issues and women's stewardship of
the Earth.
According to Dr. Jane Dickie, a professor of psychology
and the director of the Women's Studies Department at
Hope College in Michigan, "Groups of women, particularly
lesbian separatists, have formed communities that are often
very much in tune with today's green movements:'
As early as the 1970s, many women who were part of
the counterculture, back-to-the-land movement here and
in Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand embraced
a form of lesbian separatism that combined feminist ecology and female empowerment. Land trusts were set up by
lesbian homesteaders. These "land dykes" (as many called
themselves) grew their own organic food, found low-impact
methods to supply their homes and equipment with energy
(solar, water, wind) and bartered with local farmers and
other self-supporting craftsters, artists and homesteaders.
LESBIANSIN Tl-IE WILD
Lesbians have always thrived at caring for wild spaces. The
explorer Ann Bancroft, for example, led the first allwomen's expedition to the Antarctic in 1992, and packed
out all the trash generated by her trip and the garbage left
behind by other male explorers.
y
r
o
ict
I=
===-
:::;;;E
An affinity for living sustainably on the land was once
considered women's mere fondness for nature, but in the
1980s it morphed into what the author Greta Gaard
calls 'ecofeminist political engagement" as lesbians reconceived the woman-nature connection. Gaard writes in
Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 1,
"Ecofeminists believe that the subordination of women
is fundamental to militarism and capitalism and intimately connected to the subordination of nature, people
of color, animals and the erotic:'
As Sandia Bear notes in Out in All Directions: The
Almanac of Gay and Lesbian America, "For some women,
the experience ofliving on the land ... allowed them to participate in a natural cycle quite different from city life. One
governed by the sun. The moon. The seasons .... Then there
was the land itself: what we gave to it, what it taught us ....
It was about reclaiming an ancient bond. It was about
community; it was about home:'
IS IT HISTORY IF IT'S STILL GOING ON?
Now, in 2011, you might imagine that women's lands were
a thing of the past. A 2009 New York Times article that
focuses on Alapine, a lesbian community in the southern
Appalachian Mountains in Alabama, talks about the"fading
patchwork" oflesbian separatist communities, while noting
that about 100 communities still exist in the United States.
36
I curve
With DiscoveringAdobeland.net, two young women, Jesse
Landstrom and Sara Gulbrandsen, are documenting the
growth and decline of a once-thriving lesbian community
in the mountains near Tucson, where rammed earth buildings have given way to mobile homes. But even there, the
women, and the community, still persist.
"Women's lands still exist;' agrees Bethroot Gwynn.
"What's past tense is the occasional phenomenon on
women's lands of large groups of women coming together
to live collectively. [But] most land groups have always
been small in terms of resident members. Two to three
in many places. What was often true back then was a
swirl of visitors and temporary residents. It was a movement, and some settled in:'
Today, there are women living on and caretaking lands
in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, New Mexico,
Maine, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin-and
in Australia,
Britain, Mexico, Canada, Scotland, France, Sweden, Wales
and New Zealand. Historically, nowhere has the land dyke
movement been stronger than in Oregon, where a thriving
hive of women still exists.
During what was a key decade, 1974 to 1984, Ruth
and Jean Mountaingrove and a collective of volunteers in
Oregon published Womanspirit magazine, which combined spirituality and ecological feminism and served to
unify the political agenda at the many women's communities in the region. Maize, a country living magazine still
published today, and Womanspirit were sustaining and
influential, says A6dagain. "Without Womanspirit, I am
not sure the women's land movement in Oregon would
have happened in the same way, or grown to be what it is:'
Although lesbian separatism was founded on essentialist constructions of gender and nature, Dr. Catriona
Sandilands, the author of The Good-Natured Feminist:
Ecofeminism and the Quest for Democracy, says, "The
Oregon communities have developed, over time, a
blend of lesbian principles and local environmental
knowledge. This has produced a complex tradition of
lesbian ecopolitical resistance:'
In Oregon, those women's communities included
Cabbage Land (originally a mixed-gender community),
Fishpond, OWL, Rainbow's Other End, Rootworks,
Fly Away Home, WomanShare,
Rainbow's End,
Steppingwoods and We'Moon Healing Ground. And
guess what: They're all still there-and
many of them
are still welcome visiting women and new residents.
"Yes, this is a thriving lesbian network in Oregon;' says
Gwynn, "by now involving scores of women who live in
the cities and small towns, as well as those who make their
home in the country, whether or not they live on land
identified as' women's land:"
z
w
w
GIVING A HOOT ABOUT UTOPIA
Perhaps the most famous of the women's lands in the
United States is the Oregon Women's Land Trust (known
ti
z
;;
w
::::;
(/)
w
....J
worldwide as OWL). Many of the major lesbian artists
(writers, musicians, visual artists) who are now in their 40s,
50s and 60s made a stopover at OWL at some point in
their careers. Ironically, today it is the only women's land in
Oregon that doesn't have permanent residents on it. "But
there is a very committed group of women who govern
her, caring for her as they can, with weekend gatherings,
quarterly meetings where decisions are made, and future
visioning," says A6dagain. "One of the major objectives of
OWL is to hold land in perpetuity. Sometimes it means a
thriving women's community living together on the land,
as happened in the '80s when I lived there, or it is that the
land is there and available for visits by women, but the
land itself is always and ever protected from exploitation
and destruction:'
Unfortunately, protecting the land from exploitation is
becoming tougher these days. The women who manage
the OWL Trust have been fighting the installation of a
liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline, a project that would
use eminent domain to condemn part of their property,
clear-cut about seven acres and plant pipes for LNG (an
energy source as dirty as coal). The local community and
even conservative politicos have been fighting the battle for
years, but litigation is far from over.
"This [pipeline] would be devastating for our land
and the over 200 miles it would go through in southern
Oregon;' says OWL board member Katie Brandt.
LNG pipelines aren't the only threat to women's lands
these days. Changing emotional landscapes have already
helped to dwindle the number of visitors. Elizabeth Clare,
a poet, essayist and activist, wrote of a trip she took to
OWL and WomanShare in Oregon in the book Queerly
Classed: "I certainly don't believe that I can cure my sense
of disjunction with a simple move to the Oregon mountains, where I could live at OWL or WomanShare and
shop at Myrtle Creek. Rather than a relocation to the
Oregon mountains, I want a redistribution of economic
resources so that wherever we live-in the backwoods, the
suburbs, or the city-there is enough to eat; warm, dry
houses for everyone; true universal access to health care
and education:'
But what is the future of women's lands if young lesbians
today don't have much desire to live in women-only space?
Or live off the grid? Kristen Brandt, a 56-year-old Eugene,
Ore., townie who lived at OWL for two years in the 2000s
and misses it every day, says, "Not so many younger lesbians have that desire to get away from the world of men, it
seems, and make something of their own:'
Nevertheless, young queer womenmany who eschew the lesbian label-are
creating their own forms of ecological
feminism in intentional rural communities
and urban co-housing experiences. Not
far from Gwynn's Fly Away Home is an
organic farm called Gypsy Cafe, where
women are living and building. It is,
says Gwynn, "a hubbub of activity. Only
women live there, younger than the most
of us first-generation country dykes, but
they do not identify [it] as women's land
or women-only space:'
Gypsy Cafe might reflect a natural progression from the lesbian communities
that have existed for 30 years in Oregon
to the sustainable communities that queer
women are building anew today-mixedgender lands, urban co-housing, even suburban LGBT
retirement facilities. A queer ecovillage is being formed
in Gainesville, Fla., a self-described "farm and wildernessbased ecocommunity for LGBTQI and Native two-spirit
people with an emphasis on creating a majority femalecentered space:' Like many early women's land pioneers,
the founders envision a "multi-racial, multi-generational,
affirmatively anti-racist, anti-sexist" space, but they also
want to combat transphobia and make spaces for all families-even those with men.
"NOT SO MANY
YOUNGEJ~
LESBIANSJ-IAVE
TJ-IATDESIRE
TO GETAWAY
l=ROMTJ-IE
WORLD 01=
MEN, IT SEEMS,
AND MAKE
SOMETJ-IING
01=TJ-IEIR
OWN."
ECO IN THE CITY
READ THE FULL
ARTICLE FOR MORE
ON HOW YOU CAN
SUPPORT THESE
COMMUNITIES AT
CURVEMAG.COM
In this down economy, it's no surprise that friends are
shacking up, but a larger movement has begun to grow in
the last decade, concurrent with the maturing of the back~
to~the~landers: Queer co~housing. Today, in urban areaswhich, admittedly, attract a great percentage of lesbian
and bisexual women, for at least part of their lives-are
awash with lesbian~led co~housing, many of the occupants
espousing a modern form of queer ecofeminism that
reclaims urban greenery and allows female empowerment
without separatism (or having to rough it in rural areas).
Darcy Totten, 30, is one of the young queer women
who are espousing the beauty of co~housing. She lives in
Sacramento, Cali£, with her partner, the performer Jasper
James, and two roommates. Totten, who works for a local
television station, inherited her mother's home on the
American River. "It was far too large for two people, so we
opened it up to renters. We currently have two roommates
and often host any number of traveling queer artists that
we know from New York, San Francisco and Texas who
might be passing though:'
People come and stay, she says, contribute to the house in
some way, and move on when they are ready. "It never made
any sense to us to have so much space if we weren't going to
use it for the people we love:'
Totten's house has a huge garden in the backyard and she
and her housemates are thinking of turning it into an urban
farm. The collective reuses all their home~improvement
materials and tries to make as small an ecological footprint
as possible. Totten, who has lived in a number of co~housing
situations in New York and San Francisco, tends to
think of her current space as "the antidote to women's land.
I've never been very comfortable in entirely single gender
space;' she explains. "Variety is the spice of our queer lives,
and I enjoy communities that cross a range of sex, gender,
race, ethnicities, political viewpoints and ages, as well as
0 R A DAV OR A LI~ETIM E
WOMEN'S COMMUNITIES
occupations. Our current home ... is comprised of four female
bodies, one two~spirit identity, two regular gay male guests,
one librarian, one person over 50 and three in their 30s, two
professionals, one artist, one yoga teacher, one white woman
and three mixed race... individuals, and any number of guests
including men, heterosexuals, Republicans, Democrats and
anarchists, and people of every religion:'
For women like Totten, living in an urban area doesn't
mean they can't connect with the land. It may mean they
need to work harder to defend urban green spaces or to
work in community gardens to grow vegetables with their
neighbors-even if they're Republicans.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING, AGAIN
"It is important that the myth be debunked that this move~
ment happened;'says A6dagain. "It is stillhappening:'
One thing A6dagain is surely right about: "Whether a
woman is a 30~year resident on one of the many lands that
fall between Grants Pass and Portland, Ore., a summer
visitor who comes for two weeks every third year, or a 'townie'
who comes to a musical concert, women identify themselves
as members of this community because of the power of the
relationships that have been established among us:'
As the buzz about sustainable intentional communities
is only getting louder, A6dagain recently attended a national
communities conference, and found that "our lands were
the longest lasting communities in the country. We are now
seen as the progenitors of a movement, which is expanding
out to encompass other communities:'
Though the environmental movement owes these lesbian
feminists a great deal for their pioneering ways, they are,
as always, humble. "I think it's like the hundredth monkey
concept;' says Bethroot Gwynn. "Everyone everywhere is
becoming conscious ofliving with a lighter footprint, caring
for the earth. We, and the other back~to~the~landers, just
got there first:'
Feelinginspired
to goseparatist?
Severalwomen-serving
communities
in Oregon
welcomevisitors.
OWLFarm:A 147majestic
forest secluded
cabinsandthree
spacesurrounded
bymeadows, lovelygardens,
welcomes
cabins,
gardens
andfruittrees.
womentravelers.
121stuckstaple@gmail.com
Visitors
welcome
forhikes,
camping
oruseofcabins.
Steppingwoods:
137acresof
121lovesowlfarm@hotmail.comwooded
women's
land,perfect
Cabbage
Lane:80 acresofforest
witha focusonbuilding
yearroundcampsites,
maintaining
theaccessroadsandrestoring
watersystem.
121cabbagelane@gmail.com Rainbow's
End:57 acresof
forwomen's
concerts
andmeditationretreats.
Tenting,
RVsite
woods,meadows,
wildlife,
Copperland:
A 40-acrehilltop
viewsandcamping.
anda smallstrawbalehouse
with360-degree
mountain
view. beautiful
tovisitors.
Guestroomsforwomenvisitors 121featherington@wildblue.netareavailable
121danajem@jeffnet.org
areavailable.
RavenSong:45 acresof mead-
121tk4fish@jeffnet.org
FlyAwayHome:
A 40-acre
forested
hillside
witha cabin
available
forwomenvisitors
to
workoncurrentlandprojects.
11 541-643-0614
38
I curve
ows,forestandwildlife.Women
areencouraged
to visitandgive
a helpinghand.
121beloved@jeffnet.org
Rootworks:
Sevenacresof
forested
mountainside,
three
We'Moon
Land:52 acreslocated
onehoursoutheast
of Portland
featuring
oldgrowthforests,
creek,meadows,
organic
garden,
rusticdwellings,
mainhouse.
121wemoonland@gmail.com
WomanShare:
A 23-acre
women'slandnestledinfoothills.
Opentotravelers,
visitors,
potentialresidents,
retreats.
Private
cabins,
sharedkitchen,
bathhouse,
hottubandcomposting
outhouse.
11541-862-2807
DIRECTORIES & MAGAZINES
Shewolf
's Directory
of
Wimmin's
Lands:
121wimminland@aol.com
MaizeMagazine:
121maize@wiseheart.com
Queers
in Community:
ic.org/qic
I drink out of a Klean Kanteen, shop with a canvas bag and
walk to work. I even carry bags of milk cartons and soup
cans to public recycling dumpsters because my landlord
won't get one for our building. Yes, I, like so many others,
am"going green:' No, you won't see me taking two-minute
showers, using organic deodorant or gardening but I do
show my love to the environment. I'm just more of a getit-on-with-a-rechargeable-vibrator
kind of girl. I may not
have a green thumb, but I certainly have some other green
body parts. Now it's time to get your sustainable swerve on
with the latest eco-friendly sexcessories. Global warming
is the bad kind of hot. Help fight it with the good kind.
The average person throws out eight batteries per year,
filling up landfills with hazardous waste that leaches
into our soil and water. Not sexy. Battery-free rechargeable vibes bring sexy back with futuristic functions and
sleek designs. Smart Swedish toy designer Lelo'sentire
rechargeable line is made from body-safe, forever-durable
(and therefore greener) silicone and features sophisticated
vibrators, dildos, plugs and rings that prove you can truly
have it all-a green product that doesn't compromise
aesthetics, and a pretty sex toy that's not afraid to get
down and dirty for the planet. Greenify your G-spot with
the ever-popular GIGIor keep your eco-efforts undercover
with the discreet lipstick-disguised MIAthat conveniently
charges in the USB port of your computer (en.lelo.com).
JimmyJane
(jimmyjane.com), the distinguished company
that first had us questioning the term sex "toy" with the
Form 6, is now bringing green sex to the masses with their
silicone, rechargeable and waterproof "Pleasure to the
People" line of aptly named "pleasure objects:' This revolutionizing campaign features three vibrators (the Form
2, Form 3 and recently released Form 4), all of which pair
modern earth-conscious technology with no-frills functionality such as ergonomic shapes, multiple speeds and
vibration patterns, price-justifying 3-year warranties and
even a handy travel lock for the jet-set planet-protector.
Form 2 is a sophisticated version of the popular Rabbit
vibrator, with a cotton-tailed inspired two-pronged design.
Form 3 keeps the titillating technology advancing
with an egg-like shape and a round base that extends
into a slim, flexible pad so that when the base is
cupped in your palm, the pad acts like a
vibrating second-skin to your fingers
and yields to the pressure of
your fingertips, putting
you more in touch
with the body
so you can
hit that
.,..
NobEssence's
Bamboo Fling
conscious struggle ( cherrybombinwear.com).
special spot without the clumsy guesswork.
The newly-debuted Form 4 has a round head
The sustainable sex you have is only as good
11-)'1
.p
and a short shaft that make this insertable toy
as your lube. The wetter, the better for you. The
sliquid'
- organ
iCs
a real G-spot hitter. Flexible but not flimsy, 4
more organic, the better for the environment.
Sliquid Organic'sall-natural, latex-and toycustomizes to your curves without caving under
safe lubes are all prime planet-saving choices.
internal pressure.
Sex and the City's Samantha made the Rabbit
Blended with certified organic botanicals and
vibrator with its simultaneous rotating penetraingredients like Aloe Vera, Sliquid gives the
tion and vibrating bunny ears world famous. Make
eco-erotic even more to get wet about with 100 percent
your floppy-eared fun world-friendly with the VanityVr10 recyclable bottles and partially recycled paper labels
Bunny,which is made from easy-to-clean silicone, fully ( sliquidorganics.com).
rechargeable and specifically designed to titillate more
Developed by female urologist Darlene Gaynor, Valerais
a USDA Organic Certified lubricant that gets back to the
of your terrain with extra-long ears and a thicker, longer
juicy basics with components like shea butter, sunflower
shaft (goodvibes.com).
seed oil, coconut oil and flower extracts. Though the allWhen it comes to eco-friendly insertables, it's all
wooden toys may be
natural oils do it non-compatible with latex barriers,
about materials and NobEssence's
the greenest in the bunch. Organic, water-proof, hypoit may be worth switching to non-latex alternatives for
allergenic and smoothly shellacked, these earthy rings, dildos,
the planet's (and your body's) sake (myvalera.com).
beads and plugs are made from sustainably farmed wood
Safer-sex products may be some of the hardest to greenify,
( nobessence.com).
but don't let that be another excuse not to wrap (or cover)
For those who literally like to fight for the planit up! Latex gloves are biodegradable and recyclable as
et, check out Angela Riccobono's Cherry medical waste. Glydecondoms, while not recyclable, are
Bombin'
Restraints.
Made from reused
vegan. This cruelty-free, fair-trade company doesn't engage
bike tubing, these cute cuffs are
in animal testing and sources their latex from ownerhandmade by Riccobono herself
operated rubber farms (glyde-condoms.com). Make your
with an easily adjustable, duraown dental dams from these conscious condoms: Cut off
the tip, cut down one side of the resulting tube so that it
ble over-lapping Velcro design
which will fit many sizes withunfolds into a solid rectangle, and apply to your favorite
lickable body-part.
out unsafely tightening during
a nice, consensual, healthy, ecoBeing green's never felt this good.
TI-IREEQUESTIONS J:ORTl-IE GREEN QUEEN
Whatmakesa sexcessory"Ecorotic"?
GoodVibrations(GV)
promoteswhatthey've
termedEcoroticproducts
whichincludeorganic,
body-friendly
andlongerlastingtoysthat won't hit
the landfillrightaway.I
thinkof greentoysin terms
of organiccontents.
What
materialis thetoy made
of?Canit berecycled?
40
I curve
aboutthis appealsto
customers.
CarolQueenbeganbuddingas a sexologistin the 1970sandhaswrittenbookson
Willgoinggreenbetween
humansexualitysuchas RealLiveNudeGirl:Chroniclesof Sex-Positive
Cultureand
the sheetsactually
the eroticnovelTheLeatherDaddyandtheFemme.Thesex-positive
Americanauthor,
makea difference?
educatorandactivist(witha doctoratein sexology,no less)hasalsobeenan organizer
First,anychangefor the
in the LGBTcommunitywhereshehelpedfoundoneof the first gayyouthgroupsin the
goodis betterthannone.
UnitedStates,andlateradvocated
for the emergingbisexualcommunity.Now,after
Justas it mattersto recycle
over30 yearsof speakingup aboutsex,shetells us whywe needto getgreen-positive yourkitchenplastic,so it
aboutoursextoy choices.
mattersto choosegreener
sexproducts.Second,this
andlonger-lasting.
Organic culturetendsto separate
product-it doesn'tuse
Doesit useup batteries
batteries,mostof the item
or is it rechargeable?
Is it
lubesareeasieron the
sexfromotherelementsof
body.Plus,peoplelove
is recyclable
andit lasts
"locarotic"?-a wordI just
life,keepingthe bedroom
beingableto makea
madeup.Thatis,wasit
a longtimecompared
to
doorclosedandhaving
sourcedlocallyor doesit
othervibes.
choicethat mattersto
everyonethinkingthat sex
We
havea bigcarbonfootprint Whatdocustomers
love the environment.
is somehow"different."
won't endglobalwarming Greening
fromhavingbeenshipped aboutGV'sEcorotic
oursexlives
with oursextoy choices
fromafar?TheHitachi
collection?
helpsreintegrateoursexuMagicWand,for example, Mostgreenvibratorsand
aloneandit's easyto feel
alitywith everythingelse.
doesn'thavethebest
helplessaboutthesebig
othertoysarehigher
It's a sex-positive
as well
carbonfootprintbecause
issues,
quality,sothey'renotonly environmental
as an earth-conscious
way
it's imported.Butin other
so knowingthat GVis a
greenbut arealsoattracto think.(carolqueen.com)
waysit's definitelya green tive,beautifullydesigned
companythat hasthought [YanaTallon-Hicks]
\\Tcget pc1·sonal
llith the myste1·ions
bisexual bombshell.
Uy Uaelu•I Shatto
Photo by ,lshh•y \'guyt•n
Whatwasgrowingupin Phillylikefor you?
I grew up with a single mom. She was a waitress. We were
really, really, really, really poor. I've always been different.
My friends' parents used to call me the weird girl from
around the corner. I've just always been unique and I had
good times when I was young but I got made fun of a lot
because I couldn't really afford nice clothes. I would wear
my cousins' hand me downs. But all in all I had a good
childhood.
Whatwereyouraspirations?
Didyouwantto bea celebrity?
My mom, she always had celebrity magazines in the
house ... so I grew up reading those magazines and I'd
always tell my mom that I'd never ever want to be famous.
I'd rather just win the lottery and nobody knows my name.
So, maybe that's why God gave it to me.
Tellmea littlebit aboutyourjourneyto stardom.
I got discovered in New York by this lady that worked for
Def Jam. She approached me and said I was really beautiful
and she asked me if I wanted to do music videos. She was
like, There's a music video tomorrow. You fly to Miami and
they'll pay you and you don't have to worry about anything.
I was like, Look, I can't afford to just jump on an airplane
and just leave, I have to go to work. She was like, no, it's all
(/)
:::)
0
Cll
<(
0
<(
expenses paid, you don't have to worry about anything, and
you get a check on top of it. So I was like, Wow, that's kind
of cool, OK! [Laughs] So I started doing music videos.
I got signed to Ford Models and then all of a sudden I
was in different countries and people would ask me to take
pictures with them. And I was like, Wow, you really know
who I am:1 Is this even real:' I don't understand. I didn't
understand it, it just happened so fast.
Wasit hardforyouto adjustto the instantfame?
People don't understand that it's like being a millionaire
and losing it all the next day. It was the same thing for me,
I was brought into a whole other world that I didn't
understand. I was totally out of my element and it was a
huge blow when I went from nothing to everything overnight. It shocked me and I didn't know how to deal with
it. I still wanted to just be Amber from Philly and have
barbecues with my friends. It just wasn't the same. [But] I
thank God for it, you know:'
Whathasyourbiggestlifelessonbeen,sofar?
I'm really nice and really compassionate and like to talk
to people but in this business people take that and they
run with it and they take advantage of you. So I realized
that especially if I'm going to be in this industry that I
really can't be nice to everyone. And that's kind of sad, but
I can't.
What'sthe hardestpartof beingin the publiceye?
When you become a celebrity, you can't fully be yoursel£
When you are yoursel£ you have to deal with a lot of scrutiny. A lot of rumors. If you're just being nice and someone
asks you for a picture and someone takes a picture, the next
day on the Internet they're going to associate you with that
person and say that you're dating. When you go out to a
club with your friends you want to go on the dance floor
and you want to have fun. You want to drink and maybe
one night you want to get really wasted and just have fun
with your friends, but those days are over.
Whatinspiredyoursignature
shorthaircut?
When I was little, I was in love with the Sinead O'Connor
video, "Nothing Compares to You:• So I was like, when I
get old enough I'm going to cut my hair like that. When
the time finally came and I was ready to do it, I asked all
my friends and they were like, you're going to look so
stupid, Amber, don't you dare do that. I was like, No, I
really, really want to do it, you guys don't understand. So
I did it. I went to the barbershop ... I cut it off and I went
home and I cried my eyes out for like a week. My hair's
naturally really dark, so I thought maybe if I dye it blonde
it'll soften it up. I've had it that way over seven years now.
Whydidyougetinvolved
withthe N0H8campaign?
I've always been the type of person who's non-judgmental.
I always picked up for the gay kids in school. When I got
into high school I wasn't really the dork anymore, I got
kind of popular. But I used to be a dork so when I'd see
kids making fun of gay kids or nerds or kids that were
overweight I just kind of stepped in. I just feel like you can
love anyone. It's not against God. I think that God makes
all of us individuals and he makes us who we are and I just
believe that love is love, you know:'
Whendidyoucomeoutas bisexual?
I've always been attracted to girls ever since I was little, and
I like boys too. But as I got older in my teenage years a lot
of the, you know, "freaky girls" who were doing all kind of
nasty stuff would say they were bisexual so I never wanted
to, because I wasn't into those things.
It was a weird moment in my life when I didn't know
how to like explain to myself I wasn't gay, but I wasn't
straight and I just wasn't like some freak-that you know
was just having threesomes all day [laughs]. For me, if I
was in a relationship with a woman then I was just with
her and vice versa.
When I had my first girlfriend-me
and my mom
are best friends- I just told her and my mom was like,
"Whatever makes you happy girl. Whatever you like, that's
your business, I don't care:• It was really easy for me.
Whatdoyouthinkis the biggestmisconception
peoplehave
aboutyou?
Because I was a stripper at 15 years old, I think a lot of
people look at that and they think I was a prostitute and I
was a whore and I did dirty things for money. When really,
I was very young and I did what I had to, to survive at that
time. It's not like I was a little girl thinking like, Oh when
I grow up I want to be a stripper! And I want everyone to
treat me like shit. It definitely wasn't like that for me. It was
a survival tactic.
In the urban community [especially] they really, really
put me down. This one time I was in Milan and I'm literally around multi-millionaires and billionaires at this dinner
and Dita Von Teese gets on stage and she gets buck naked
and she spins around in a big martini glass and everyone
clappedfor her. And it's bullshit. It's not fair that it's OK
for her to do it because she's doing it for rich white people
but you know I was in like, the hood, and I did what I
had to do to survive ... and I
constantly get ridiculed.
Are there any causesthat are
important
to you?
Yes definitely: HIV/ AIDS.
I lost four friends in 2009. I
used to be in the gay ballroom
scene and so I had a lot of like
gay, lesbian and transgender
friends and it really sucked.
What'snextforyou?
I just got a movie role! I can't
really explain much about it
but I'm really, really excited.
I went on my first audition,
ever. And I got the part,
which was really awesome.
(amber-rose.org)
July/August 2011
I 43
THE 15thANNUAL MUSIC ISSUE
•
THE SEXY CROONER GOES
COUNTRY, MOVES UP-TEMPO
AND REMINDS US WHY WE STILL
CONSTANTLY CRAVE HER.
·,,··a-·._
••
. ••
.,.·· \ -
.•.
·'.
-·
t~---_·._·~ -;:f... .
.~-·-
..,....
-
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---·
.
-
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.,,.
SINGS If Lbt.J
D
BY STEPHANIE SCHROEDER
and positive music, not preten~
tious or particularly deep, but
IN VARIOUS LIFESTYLES AND FASHIONS, WHERE BOTH FINDING AND
fun, smooth and uplifting:'
REMEMBER! NG WHO YOU ARE ISN'T NECESSARILY SUPPORTED," SAYS
Singing, like everything lang
does, is spiritual. Her music
K.D. LANG. SHE COULD BE TALKING ABOUT HERSELF, OR ABOUT YOU
and Buddhist practice are, she
AND ME, BUT SHE IS ALSO TALKING ABOUT HER NEW ALBUM, SING IT
says, inseparable. "Everything I
LOUD, HER FIRST WITH HER OWN BAND IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
do as a Buddhist practitioner
is spiritual;' she states, dispel~
ling any notion that she is more invested in her Buddhism
Joe (Pisapia, lang's new writing and producing part~
than she is in her singing career.
ner] wrote the title track, 'Sing It Loud; about watching
Although her sultry, sensuous voice has defined her since
his niece growing up. I felt it was a beautiful sentiment to
she came out in 1992, lang, who turns 50 in November, is
sing to everybody and anybody. It's really about where your
philosophical about her enduring status as a butch lesbian
moral compass is and what you stand for:'
sex symbol. "I don't consider myself a sex symbol;' she says
These days, lang's musical compass points to her roots.
simply and without a trace of self deprecation.
The country album she promised us when we spoke to her
While lang may reject the title, we'll never forget her jaw~
in 2009 has come to fruition. However, not wanting to be
shoehorned into any genre, she refers to Sing It Loud as dropping appearance on the August 1993 cover of Vanity
"alternative Americana:'
Fair featuring her wearing a man's three~piece suit and sit~
ting in a barber's chair with supermodel Cindy Crawford
"I never know what is moving and inspiring me at any
"shaving" her with a straight razor. Within the lesbian
given time, or what direction I will go in;' she confides, as
community it ignited a libido firestorm, which still burns
though she is allowing herself permission to try just about
anything in the future.
today. lang's publicly masculine appearance was roguely
seductive as well as subversive. That cover was an espe~
Happy with her music and very confident in herself at
cially shocking image for mainstream media and solidified
the moment, lang, a Buddhist convert, ponders her current
lang's status as a cultural icon, broadening her power and
Zen contentment: "I don't know if it's a state I'm going to
sex appeal far beyond the lesbian community. The image
reside in forever. I don't have much to lose. I've got a lot of
experience under my belt, but I've got a lot left to say as sent a message to America that lang meant business and
was here to stay.
well:' This attitude is evident in both lang's music and her
Not surprisingly, lang has her own ideas about what's
stage demeanor."Joe and I, when we met, agreed on the way
sexy.'Tm more comfortable with playfulness and curiositywe could best use our music. We wanted to make soulful
"I THINK IT'S VERY EASY IN OUR SOCIETY TO BE LOST AS INDIVIDUALS
44
I curve
•
46
I curve
that's what sexuality is for me, not the body of my being,"
says lang. Which is a healthy attitude, especially when it
comes to the subject of aging. ''Age is irrelevant because the
mind is ageless. My favorite movie is Harold and Maude,
and at SO~something Maude was the foxiest woman of
all time:'
We don't know about Maude, but lang's playfulness has
always been alluring for lesbians, and most likely lead to her
reputation as a lesbian lothario (she has been romantically
linked to many celesbians, including Leisha Hailey, and has
openly discussed her views of non~monogamy, unusual
for a lesbian role model).
However, lang has long since given up her lady~killing
ways and settled down, in the best sense. She allows that
minds change with age, likes and dislikes change, "but one's
essential nature-and
sincere, intimate interest in another
person-is ageless:' By "another person;' she's referring to
Jamie Price, her partner of nearly 10 years. "Jamie isn't
interested in show biz, which is a nice balance. She's a very
selfless person who volunteers all her time to nonprofits,
substantially Buddhist organizations. Her work is more
important than mine;' lang says. She is not being modest.
She's serious. "I don't mean to demean music, but (Jamie's]
work is so substantial:'
The couple carefully cultivates privacy in the very public
City of Angels. "Keeping the spotlight off our relation~
ship;' says lang, "has contributed to its longevity:'
And while sadly, lang is off the market, she hasn't left
the state. When lang is performing live, as she is this year
for Sing It Loud, her butch cowgirl nature, along with her
wit and intelligence, shine brightly. Playing to a mostly
lesbian, sold~out crowd in April at Le Poisson Rouge,
a small, extremely eclectic venue in New York City, it
was classic bad girl lang as she teased and flirted with
the audience. During her performance of "I Confess,"
lang provocatively drew out the line 'TH be your daddy;'
while flashing a knowing and playful grin-and the crowd
roared-and
swooned.
She knows how to please an audience and her bold
presence on stage captures the essence of butch bravado,
except with lang it's not simply bravado. "Butch is so
hard to define;' she says. "With so many straight women
working out, some are really butch. I think Madonna is so
much more butch than me;' she laughs. "Really, I just feel
more comfortable and natural being butch and it suits me
more;' says the charming chanteuse about the role that we
love, and which fits her so damn well. "I would look like a
drag queen otherwise. I am much more comfortable with
a butch aesthetic:•
While lang has often spoken about her mentors and
elders in the music community, she's becoming somewhat
of a pillar in the lesbian community, herself-not
to men~
tion that in her early (controversially butch~presenting)
career she was at the forefront of the new gender discus~
sion. As such, she is the perfect person to ask about today's
ever~evolving definition of gender. "I find the gap between
genders is dosing. Men are more effeminate and women
more masculine. I think women are threatening to begin
with, but a woman in men's clothes is even more threat~
erring. However, femininity is ultra powerful;' lang says
with relish.
Her view on the many divisions within the lesbian
community is simple-and
wonderfully inclusive. "You
wouldn't want a community to move all in the same direc~
tion-to be all the same, like the Republicans. Alternatives
are what make up the diversity of our community. I think
we should celebrate that. It's an indefinable, ever~changing
and diverse culture-again,
something to be celebrated:'
A crossover artist (in so many ways), lang says her
musical aspirations have been the same from the begin~
ning-and are likely to surprise you-her endeavor is to
be mainstream.Not in the worst sense, but in a positive
way. To have a truly broad~based appeal. "Walking the
middle line is the epitome of eclectic. I've always wanted
an indefinable demographic and a broad~spectrum audi~
ence: Imagining an 85~year~old Republican woman from
Texas and a butch dyke from New York City who is 21
sitting together at my show makes me happy. Music is a
peaceful way to bridge difference. It has always been part
of my manifesto for my music:•
In the aforementioned issue of Vanity Fair,lang stated
she thought she would be ostracized by Nashville and the
country music industry when she came out. It didn't hap~
pen. She actually gained popularity and her music sales
persisted. It was when she appeared in an ad for PETA
that Nashville disowned her based on pressure from cattle
ranchers and the beef industry.
Lesbian country music singers have lang as a formidable
forbear and most say it was her grand entree into the
country scene that budged open the closet door. It wasn't
that queers were suddenly welcome in Nashville then (or
now-just
ask Chely Wright, who regularly gets death
threats and hasn't seen the Grand Ole Opry stage since
coming out); just that lang's irrefutable talent, larger that
life presence and innate subversive sexiness overshadowed
the ingrained homophobia in that particular music scene.
It's been rumored-though
not documented-that
lang
took Nashville so completely by surprise that she couldn't
be categorized-or contained. By returning to her country
roots with Sing It Loud, she is disproving the rumor that
she was rejected by Nashville because she was "too much:'
"The thing is, I always knew I wasn't a 'country singer:
My musical influences were very eclectic. My initial
liaison with Nashville was voluntarily short and at arm's
length;' lang says, dispelling the rumors that she had no
control over that portion of her career. "My intention was
to pay homage to those who influenced me-Patsy [Cline],
George [Jones] and Tammy [Wynette]. But my real influ~
ences were Joni [Mitchell] and classical artists. I was not in
Nashville that long and I didn't want to fit in. In fact, I don't
want to be pigeonholed into any genre. Being seen only as
a gay singer makes me uncomfortable. I am so much more
than my sexuality:' Then she jokes, "Maybe Nashville was
too much for me:•
Unlike many manufactured mainstream artists, lang
has always insisted upon a creative freedom that is now
rare in the industry. "Music is much more exciting and
more diverse than the mainstream music media portrays;'
lang points out."Seventy to 80 percent of a page in a news~
paper is spent on American Idol, so all other artists fight
for the remaining 20 percent of the space:•
"Would Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell win American Idol
today?" lang asks. "They wouldn't even make it past the
auditions:• (kdlang.com)
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'Ifthereisonethingthatlesbians
arepassionate
about,it'stheirmusic,whichiswhy
therearesomanyamazing
lesbian,
bisexual
andqueer-identified
musicians
today.So
many,thattherejustisn'tenough
roomin
ourpagesto dojusticetothemall-or for
ofthem.Sowe've
thatmattera quarter
assembled
a listof 101gay-of-center
ladies
andgirlgroups
(inalphabetical
order)who
belongonyourmust-listen
musicist.
1.An Horse
2.Antigone
Rising
3. JoanArmatrading
4. Sandra
Bernhard
5. SarahBettens
7.AliciaBridges
8. Monique
Brumby
9. TheButchies
July/August 2011
I 47
.
.
•
MEETTHE TWIN CITIES'
BEST-KEPTSECRET,SOULFUL
SONGSTRESSASHLEY GOLD.
BY MELANY JOY BECK AND
JANELLE SORENSON
"Honey, I'm always on the verge of something," laughs
songstress Ashley Gold when asked if the release of her
EP Late Bloomer makes her feel like she's on the cusp of
something great. "But what that is, I just don't know yet:'
Sipping from a Tazo Chai Tea Shake at an Uptown,
Minneapolis teashop, it's dear that Gold is, in fact, on the
verge of something. The March release of her first and
long,awaited EP has fallen into the welcoming arms of
long,time Gold fans, oft,cynical music reviewers, and the
playlists of some pretty exclusive indie radio stations.
Her style is an anomaly, blending smooth powerhouse
vocals with clever spoken word rhymes, folk and dance
party,inducing beats. No newcomer to the scene, Gold
has been frequenting open mic nights and playing solo
gigs around the Twin Cities for years. She's practically a
household name amongst Minneapolis scenesters, so the
release of Late Bloomer acts as somewhat of a bookend to
an era, while simultaneously bursting through the doors of
another. It also brings Gold one step closer to sharing her
music with a wider audience.
'Tm looking forward to making my own opportunities
for the album. I really want to be on Greys Anatomy;' she
says, playfully hitting the table for emphasis. Having stuck
pretty dose to home for the majority of her career, Gold is
also looking forward to the opportunity to tour. "I would
love to tour. That seems like the logical next step:'
10. BrandiCarlile
11.Vanessa
Carlton
12.TracyChapman
13. Deborah
Cheetham
14. BethClayton
15.AmyCook
16. CatieCurtis
17. EvaDahlgren
18. LeaDeLaria
19.AniDifranco
48
I curve
"
-.
This queer,friendly and self,prodaimed "yes sexual" has
spent the majority of her life in Minnesota, though Gold
has the street cred of a born and bred New Yorker and a
signature style as unique as the music she creates. Large
hoop earrings are a staple of her personal style, regardless
of whether she's kicking around in skinny jeans, sneakers
and a T,shirt, or a strapless dress and heels.
Likened initially to pop artists Nelly Furtado and Colbie
Calliat, Gold admits that though she's flattered by the com,
parisons, it's artists like Nina Simone and India Arie that
were the impetus for turning her dream of making music
into a reality."India Arie [was a] huge influence;' she gushes.
"I remember feeling like, I want to be her. I want to sing
these soulful songs. I want to play guitar, and I started to
teach myself:'
Despite obvious talent and inspiration, Gold was slow
to embrace performing full time, struggling to balance her
passion to perform with her desire to give back to the com,
munity. 'Tve tried to do the going to work slash going to
school' thing. I did non,profit social work;' she reflects,
stirring the remains of her tea. "I wanted to do something
helpful to people in a different way and [now] I want to do
it through music. Music is really healing and powerful, and
I want to be able to touch people and affect them:'
If Late Bloomer is any example, Gold is on to something.
With wisdom and perspective beyond her years, she consoles
20. BethDitto
21.TheDittyBops
22.AlixDobkin
23. DanielleEgnew
24. MelissaEtheridge
25. Feloni
26. MelissaFerrick
27. Ferron
28. JenFoster
29. RuthieFoster
_______
and conspires through the six songs on the EP, leaving listeners
feeling like they just had a hearMo~heart with a best friend-only
not in an after school special kind of way. Gold gets it. And she's
finally ready to share.
When asked if music can save the world, Gold starts, then stops.
Despite the cheerfulness of the afternoon sun, the conversation takes
30. MaryGauthier
31. God-Des
andShe
32. SophieB.Hawkins
33. HunterValentine
•, •
•,~
a somber turn as she ponders a question she ha~ prob1)ly as~ct
herself many times. "You know, I don't know if music can save the
world. People are going to annihilate one another, and if they don't,
the ocean will;' she shrugs, shifting to look out the window at the
people strolling past. "We just got to keep on trucking and stay in the
moment. That's how music will save me:' (ashleygoldmusic.com)
34. IndigoGirls
35.AlisonGoldfrapp
36. MissyHiggins
37.JanisIan
38. Sharonlsbin
39.JessieJ
40. JoanJett
41. KakiKing
42. KissKill
43. JessKlein
July/August 2011
I 49
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TRANSFORMED
CLIKS FRONT MAN FLIES SOLO
WITH MOCKINGBIRD
BY DAVE STEINFELD
• •
..
If you're a music fan, chances are you're familiar with
Lucas Silveira. A Toronto native, trans man and top~
notch musician, Silveira and his band The Cliks debuted
in 2007 with the album Snakehouse. An irresistible disc of
melodic rock, Snakehouse was followed two years later by
the band's sophomore set, Dirty King.
A lot has happened since then. The other members of
The Cliks left the band; Silveira began taking hormones;
he fell in love with Brooklyn, N.Y.and he recently released a
solo disc, Mockingbird. The new album may come as a sur~
prise to some Cliks fans with its more subdued tone and
the fact that six of its eight songs are covers. These range
from Jeff Buckley's "Last Goodbye" to T.I:s "Whatever
You Like" to the opener, Leonard Cohen's 'Tm Your
Man" -which seems an appropriate choice at this point
in Silveira's life.
Whydidyoudecideto doa solorecord?
I've been going through many changes in my life and one
of those changes happened to coincide with my choice to
fully transition with hormones. It changed my voice and
my artistic expression, which was an intense process that
I wasn't prepared for. I feel like a completely different
44. JenniferKnapp
45. LadySovereign
46. NomyLamm
47. PattyLarkin
48. MelangeLavonne
49. Lesbians
onEcstasy
50. KatrinaLeskanich
51. LeTigre
52. EmmaMcKenna
53. ErinMcKeown
so I curve
person. I am a completely different person, in fact.
The songs I've been writing of late are different than
the songs I wrote for The Cliks. I started to do covers on
YouTube when I started testosterone to document my
vocal changes without telling the fans and see how it went.
The fans loved the covers and kept requesting MP3s so I
talked to my manager and she said, "You should do a covers
record:' So it kind of happened accidentally because the
demand was there.
In the past,you'vediscussed
yourfondness
for TheBeatles.
Wereyoutemptedto tacklea BeatlessongonMockingbird?
There are some things that I keep sacred and don't touch.
As much as I love The Beatles-and
you know I do- I
think it's hard to do the songs justice. There are some
artists who I love that I can never see myself doing a public
cover of. The other day, someone told me I should do a
cover of Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" and I was like, ''Are
you crazy~ How can I ever make an Adele song bettert I
don't know, some things you just don't touch.
You'vesaidthatyouhavea "non-monogamous"
relationship
withbandmembers.
WheredoTheCliksstandnow?
Right now, I am The Cliks. The way I see it, is that I
always was. None of the other members had their heart in
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the band the way I did and that's merely because the band
was a vehicle for songs that I wrote. This created a rift in
the last lineup because they started to want the kind of
recognition that I had as a writer. I was willing to share
the money involved, but to put someone's name on a song
I wrote? Fuck that noise.
I think what happens is that when you are the leader of
the band [and] the sole songwriter, you have a vision and
it's dear and focused. When the people around you don't
have that vision and try to overbear yours with their own,
things fall apart. It's like lovers breaking up. People change
in partnerships. Sometimes they change in the same direc~
tion, sometimes they end up on two completely different
roads and at that point it's time to say goodbye.
I'm curiousto get yourthoughtson the recentassaulton
Chrissy
Polis,a transwoman,at a McDonald's
in Baltimore.
It really hit home for me because I just recently came off
the road from the first tour where I was "sort of" passing
as male, which meant I needed to start using male public
bathrooms. This is a cause for anxiety for so many trans
people. I would ask the members of Hunter Valentine,
who I was touring with, to keep an eye on me when I went
in or to wait outside the bathrooms in case something
went wrong. They were very patient with me and a few
times Kiyomi-the
lead singer, who is a great friend of
mine-said to me, "You need to walk in with confidence.
You pass as a guy. No one's going to bother you:'
So, when I saw that video, it was like watching my worst
fear come true. It really triggered me in a way that took a
lot of my confidence away. It also took away hope for me
that people had the capacity to change or that people were
becoming more accepting. I truly hope [the Polis attack
will] become a pivotal point in the movement of trans
rights. We'll see.
Whatareyourfuturegoals?
At this point, I [limit] the word "goals" to waking up in
the morning and making sure I don't smoke. [Laughs]
Seriously, it's hard to have goals these days in the music
industry because it's so volatile. I can say that I'd like to
record another Cliks album this summer and that I'd like
to keep supporting the new album.
To be honest, my main long~term goal is to just be a
songwriter and not have to tour. I would like to start writing
music for other people to sing. At the end of the day, that's
always how I've seen myself. I'm a songwriter. I just want
to write songs. ( thecliks.com)
..
....
,.- .
•
·):·•_,··
: X.•
.I
r=1N1AY PA.RIK
COLUMBIA.,
SC
out
Pr·
Events from August 28th - September 4th
Parade & Festival on September 3rd
www.scpride.org • 1108 Woodrow Street • Columbia, SC 29205
July/August 2011
I 51
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FOLK MAVEN NATALIA ZUKERMAN ON MUSIC,
ART AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
BY RACHEL SHATTO
Folk singer Natalia Zukerman has seen it all. A New York
native, she's travelled across North America and Europe
playing her unique brand of swinging Americana. She's
painted murals in Berkeley, Cali£, and she's even played
alongside folk (and lesbian) icon Janis Ian in Japan to
hushed and adoring crowds. But despite her nomadic and
experience~rich life, Zukerman remains a humble, down~
to~earth musician with a deep love of music, the environment,
and communing with her audience from the stage.
A product of parents Eugenia and Pinchas Zukermansuccessful musicians in their own right-becoming
a
musician was a foregone conclusion. "It was something that
was required. 'If you're going to live in this house, you're
going to play an instrument, god damn it!' " Zukerman
jokes. "It was an amazing thing to have grown up with that,
as much as sometimes I hated it. It definitely brought music
into my life:'
Although she began as a violinist, Zukerman soon tran~
sitioned to the guitar, and this decision was the first step
in her transformation into a folk singer~extraordinaire. 'Tm
primarily a guitar player, and these days I've been playing a
lot oflap steel guitar, too. I'm a hack at everything else. I'm a
terrible banjo player. I'm terrible at ukulele. If it has strings
.,
__________________________
,..•lill•ilil!'i:~
....
.'.
•
I can kind of fuck with it, but I don't know what I'm doing.
Don't ask me to play violin anymore-that sounds like I'm
killing a small farm animal;' she laughs.
Zukerman's dedication and innate musicality has led
to her successful career as a travelling musician for over a
decade, a recent professional highlight being asked to play
along with Ian, after the star heard Zukerman's music on
a local radio station. ''A bunch of radio DJs have been very
supportive of me. One of the DJs gave Janis my record two
years ago. In true Janis form she sent me her autobiography
and her greatest hits with a note saying, 'I love your record,
A QUICKIE WITH NATALIAZUKERMAN :·.:~,.;.::···
• here's
Yourultimaterockstarmomentsofar?
YoumeanwhenI closeddowntheApplebee's
inVirginia?
[Laughs]
Wewantedto gogetdrinksaftertheshow.Sotheoneplaceto goin
Ashland,
Va.wastheApplebee's.
Thebartender
cameoutfrombehind
thebarandwaslike,"I don'thaveanymorewhiskey!"
I feellikewe
cametothattownanddestroyed
it.
Doyouhavea celebritycrush?
I'vehadthehotsforCatherine
Keener
foryears.It onlygetsmore
intense
asshegetsmoreandmorecomfortable
withwhosheis.
Doyouplaycovers?
I havean18-year-old
fanthat'sjusta delicious
littleguyandhe'llsend
melikeKe$ha
... andsay,You've
gotto coverthis.I thinkto myself,
You'rereallygettingold,thisistheworstshitI'veeverheardin mylife.
I'll learnit andjustplayit forhim.
52
I curve
mine in return and I hope we can work together
someday: I'm like rubbing my eyes, like seriously? Coming
straight to my home address? So I ended up opening up for
her last spring:'
The two also hit the road together, playing gigs in Japan.
"Janis is like The Beatles over there. There were people waiting
in our hotel lobby when we'd come back from the shows at
night. People lining up to get their picture taken with her.
They're incredibly supportive of musicians;' she says.
But the more subdued-if deeply passionate-fans took
some time for Zukerman to get used to."They're incredibly
quiet-exceedingly so. There were nights they were done
clapping before we were even off the stage. Not that they
didn't absolutely love it, they just don't emote the same way
we do, for sure. They clap so quietly. I had some fans of
Janis follow me from show to show, in the interim learning
everything about me and eventually buying all of my records:'
There's plenty to get excited about, particularly with
Zukerman's latest record, Gas Station Roses.This ambitious,
bluesy and polished album is an auditory journey through
folk, country and blues set to Zukerman's skillful guitar
work and paired with her mellow, breathy, Ani DiFranco~
esque vocals. Zukerman sets out to span the all~American
genres and succeeds, and in doing so helps reinvigorate an
oft~underrated musical category. "Folk music is just music
by people for people and it's somehow gotten this connota~
tion that it's going to be boring. I don't think folk music is
boring. To me what it means is people who play their instru~
ments and write their songs and tell stories. I definitely feel
beholden to that tradition:'
In taking her show on the road, Zukerman comes in
contact with a spectrum of audiences-from
tolerant,
to conservative, to outright homophobic-however,
that
hasn't prevented her from being out, except when safety
demands otherwise." [Coming out is] a little bit of a career
cul~de~sac for some people. I think there was a moment
where I thought, Yikes, I'm afraid of it, but I just kind
of went with it anyway. I love it when I get to play for
primarily gay audiences and it doesn't happen that often.
So now when it does I'm like, Woo~hoo! Conversely,
there's still times when I feel so many folk followers are
extremely straight ... there's homophobia everywhere. So,
there are times I've chosen to not be out-and
that never
feels good:'
There is one aspect of her identity that Zukerman does
wish had more visibility: that of Natalia the artist. "I have
a degree in art, painting and art history from Oberlin and
moved out to the Bay Area and started a mural company.
It's something I've done on and off since I've been touring
full time. It was actually something we incorporated into
the pre~order campaign ... people bought prints and donated
money to the making of the record process. It's the first
time I've ever combined the two disciplines, they've just
really for some reason remained separate to me. Somehow,
I always felt like I had to hide one from the other because it
just kind of felt like that saying, 'Jack of all trades, master of
none; which really sticks in my craw;' she says. "I don't feel
like that's true. Painting is almost the same muscle at this
point as song writing, whereas they used to feel like really
different parts of my brain:'
Adding to the growing list of her passions, Zukerman is
deeply environmentally conscious-although
her constant ,
travelling inevitably makes an impact the planet, something
of great concern to her.
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54. LoriMichaels
55.Allison
Miller
56. Mirah
57. HollyMiranda
58.AnikaMoa
FIND OUT HOW
TO WIN A COPY
OF NATALIA
ZUKERMAN'S
LATESTALBUM
AT
CURVEMAG.COM
"My carbon footprint is looming and that's something • .', ..
that I think about a lot;' she admits. Which is why she doe-sl
:••,•
her best to curb it with common sense solutions. "I have
•
a travel mug and I get made fun of sometimes still, but I
just don't take a paper cup at a coffee shop. I do not eat fast
food ever, ever, ever. I really try to do my part as some~
body who's taking from the planet often. It's a mindset
about the way you live your life in general. Every action has
a reaction and that's how I tend of think of my interactions
with every human I come in contact with, too. I try to leave
the smallest mark possible, spread the joy and do the least
damage I can do:'
Zukerman has taken this to the next level with her com~
mitment to The South Bronx Exchange, an organization that
helps schools and other organizations go green."The South
Bronx is one of the worst environmental areas in the U.S.
and there's a high instance of asthma happening up there in
young children. [I was] looking around nationally to see if
there was a company I can give something to and I thought,
well, my environmental mindset would say think globally,
act locally. So I looked around locally and found this orga~
nization.They're just doing an amazingjob:'
It seems that thinking locally is foremost on Zukerman's
mind these days as the forever~touring musician looks to
hang up her travelling shoes in favor of a more domesticif equally musical-adventure. "I bought an apartment in
New York two years ago. The good news is it's awesome and
I love it and the bad news is I can't afford it;' she laughs. "So
I'm on the road and that's my full~time job. I love the live
performance and yes I love the travel. But sometimes I want
to see what it'd be like to be bored and well rested. I hope to
transition to touring a little bit less. It's just so expensive and
environmentally horrendous and all of the other stuff that I
care about:' ( nataliazukerman.com)
0
ca
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..
59. BillieMyers
60. MeshellNdegeocello
61. FaithNolan
62. SiiriNordin
63. LauraNyro
64.AlixOlson
65.AmandaPalmer
66. HeatherPeace
67.Peaches
68. Lourdes
Perez
.a.
GE
IN AUSTRALIA, SHE'S AS HIGHLY
PRAISED AS MISSY HIGGINS. NOW,
JESS MCAVOY IS HEADING OUR WAY.
SPORTED
BYMERRYNJOHNS
If you haven't heard of Jess McAvoy, you soon will. The
Australian import is already a self-made powerhouse in
her native country and now she's bringing her unique and
edgy folk pop contribution stateside. McAvoy began performing as a teen and has developed such a passionate and
faithful fanbase that her sold-out shows, and industrious
approach as an indie artist, have amounted to 12 self-produced records through her own label. And with a growing
number of performances booked in North America this
summer and fall, you'll finally get your chance to fall for
this openly lesbian rocker.
Americangirlshaveheardof MissyHiggins,
butnotyouyet.
Howwouldyouliketo introduce
yourself,
musically?
Missy [Higgins] and I write quite different kinds of songs.
She has this incredible pop sensibility that I really rebelled
against when I first started writing. My style is dark
acoustic pop, or urban folk-if you want to throw around
genres. Really, I'm a songwriter, and I follow the songs.
Lastmonth,yousaidgood-bye
toyourmanyfansDownUnder.
Whythemove,orarewejustlucky?
I think I'm lucky, having the opportunity to explore different markets. I have a beautiful life in Melbourne, but I
need to try something different, and I am in a position to
do so. The population in Australia is so sparse, and as a
result there are so many incredible, hard-working musicians who can't sustain themselves with their art. I don't
want to be that anymore. I need a bigger audience.
In the musicvideofor "TheSailor,"youplaya boi in sailor
dragtakenfromyourladylove.
A gutsymoveonyourpart.
It was very hard. I was working with one of my oldest
friends, a beautiful director by the name of Jim Batt. We
had worked together on former projects and I left the
whole concept up to him. So when we came to the idea of
my love interest in the video being a woman, he built this
beautiful, honest representation of the song. I was initially
really anxious about putting the clip out into the world,
knowing the history of what can happen to artists when
they come out. I'd been avoiding the subject of my sexuality
since I started performing at 16.
It is an important song to me-it happens to be about
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69. LindaPerry
70. Phranc
71. KatePierson
72. Pink
73. CarolePope
74. AnimalPrufrock
75. ChrisPureka
76. QiaoQiao
77.Yehudit
Ravitz
78. JoshiReagon
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a woman and I wanted to honor that. I received a pretty
amazing reception for my honesty. A few of my peers
commended me for it, which was lovely. I got a couple of
letters from strangers too, so generally it was cool. There
were some less fun moments, but it's really important to
me to be honest in my work.
Tellus moreaboutbeingout:Howdo youidentify,andhow
hasit affectedyourcareer?
I have always maintained that my sexuality is a fairly fluid
thing, though I have mostly been involved with women. I
have struggled with it over the years, in terms of where it
fits in my career. It gets scrutinized more than I thought
it would. I get all kinds of strangers asking me about my
personal life because I'm a performer and they' re curious.
I have also had a couple of interesting confrontations with
industry people about it over the years-because they just
don't know where to place me, because !"look straight:' It's
a pretty interesting dance. On the flipside, I have had such
amazing support from the gay community. Women have
such a wonderful way of being passionate supporters of
music. I get access to a lot of that. It's pretty rad.
Whoareyourmusicalrolemodelsandinfluences?
Musically, I had a pretty steady diet of Tori Amos in
my angsty teen years. Once I really noticed Madonna
though, in the Blond Ambition days, the aim became
clear. I had to meet Madonna. I think these contrasting
tastes opened me up to all kinds of music. The obvious
contenders have stuck out over the years: Fiona, Ani,
Feist, some Joan as Police Woman, and then full~swing
back around to Etta James, Edith Piaf and the delec~
table Nina Simone. Oh, and Rage Against the Machine.
You'rean indie,self-funded
musician,
activesince1999,with
fouralbumsandsevenEPsunderyourbelt.So,what'snext?
Well, I have plans, you see. I'm working on a very special
project that is a departure from the style I have been
working with all these years, and I have a few other things
up my sleeve. I'll be traveling around America and Canada
looking for the right opportunities for any one of my projects.
Because I have mostly done everything on my own for a
long time, I've learned a lot about how things work. I guess
you can say I have street smarts, Aussie~style.
OK,nowa personal
question.
Anyspecialladyin yourlife?
Let's just say I have a good reason to frequent New York
City, other than the city hersel£
Wherewillwe firstbeableto seeyouperform?
You can certainly expect some shows in Toronto and New
York City from around August till the end of the year.
Best would be to get on Facebook, or sign up to my mailing
list on my website. I'll keep you in the loop, so you can
come and say G'day. (jessmcavoy.com)
Grady
July/August 2011
I 55
Nearly two decades ago, led by banshee frontwoman
Courtney Love, Hole broke out of the Northwest's Riot
Grrrl scene-ferocious, independent, loaded with female
talent. With Love providing the theatrics, drummer Patty
Schemel supplied Hole's pounding beat, but that all came to
an end as the band was on the verge of its biggest commercial success. When producer Michael Beinhorn replaced
Schemel with a male studio musician for the recording of
1998's CelebritySkin, Schemel left the band. And as the album
climbed the charts, Hole's former drummer descended
deeper into addiction, finally ending up on the streets of
Los Angeles, stealing and selling herself to get high.
That moment is the dramatic turning point in the new
documentary Hit So Hard: The Life & Near Death Story
of Patty Scheme/. The film combines archival footage of
Schemel' s time with the band and present-day interviews
PATTY SCH EMEL ROSE TO FAME WITH HOLE,
SUFFERED THROUGH ADDICTION AND HOMELESSNESS,
AND SURVIVED TO TELL THE TALE.
BY MARIA DE LA 0
with her bandmates: Eric Erlandson, Melissa Auf der Maur
and Courtney Love herself. The film also includes interviews with three other female drummers: Gina Schock
of the Go-Go's, Debbi Peterson of the Bangles and Kate
Schellenbach of Luscious Jackson.
At its core, Hit So Hard is a story of redemption. It
premiered at SXSW in Austin and is making the rounds
of film fests, including NDNF in New York City, Outfest
in L.A. and Cannes.
Whatinspired
youto tellyourstoryin HitSoHarcl?
A friend of mine, [queer filmmaker] Jenni Olson, suggested that I get all of my old footage digitized because it
would disintegrate. It was in the closet, just sitting there.
Christina, my wife, talked to director David Ebersole and
we started looking at all the footage. He said, "This is a
really great story:'
Whateffectdid growingup in a smalltown like Marysville,
Washington,
haveonyourmusic?
Everything came there later. In California, everybody was
into everything right away. They got to hear new music
quick. Where I was, it took forever for anything new to
come around. Everybody's family either worked at the mills
or Boeing. It was just a boring town. The sound [we came
up with] was being brewed and mixed together in these
basements.
WhenproducerMichaelBeinhorn
forcedyouout,duringthe
recording
of Celebrity
Skin,it wasa turningpointforyou.Now
that youhavehadtimeto reflect,whatwouldyouhavedone
differently?
I probably-definitely-wouldn't
have just given up on the
whole thing. It was my whole life. It was what made me me.
Ifl had just said,"OK, let Johnny One-Take do it and I will
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just come back and play my parts on tour;' things would
have been a lot easier.
Didyourbandmates
haveanyfeelingsof betrayaloveryour
leavingtheband?
The frustration with me was around the drug abuse-[it
had been] building way before that incident went down.
Wasit difficultto getyourformerbandmates
together
forthe
movie?
There was still resentment built up. And it just started to
disappear. I had worked on it over the years, but it was
good to hear them talk and see them again, just to close
the chapter.
Leaving
thebandsentyouintoa spiral.Howlongdidthatlast?
Maybe two and a half years. It was a slow progression to
getting down to nothing.
Howlongwereyouonthestreet?
I couldn't last long out there. Maybe six months.
Whatdidyoulearnfromreaching
rockbottom?
I was that person who said, ''I'llnever do that:'Then I did. I
ended up doing all of that. That's where my addiction took
me, and coming out of it made me grateful for the simple
things, like going to bed, waking up, having coffee.Not taking
that stuff for granted. [It taught me] to be humble, to be
grateful. Because ego takes you down, too.
Doyouhavemoreempathy
forothersnow?
Yeah. Any time a friend of mine is having a problem ... !
feel for them. I love music, and it was great when it paid
my bills. But it can also break your heart. And I do have
compassion for other addicts that struggle with those same
things, like ego and not being good enough.
Whatdoyoudoto stayhealthynow?
I do my meetings, of course. And I do a lot of work for the
Musicians' Assistance Program, which helps other drug
addicts who play music get into treatment. And it's crazy,
but I'm just relearning how to be a normal person, how to
deal with stuff that you learned when you were 12-like,
when you get upset, maybe you should try to talk about it.
I just try to keep things more balanced.
Isit truethatCourtney
Lovehooked
youupwiththeMusicians'
Assistance
Program?
There were many, many interventions. The first one was
her getting a bunch of people together that were part of
Musicians' Assistance Program in her living room, and
there was a guy there with tea, catering. That didn't work.
Considering
Courtney
Love'sreputation,
peoplewouldbevery
shocked
to hearthatshetriedto helpyougetclean.
Right. For her, she can handle what she does in her life,
in her choices. Whereas my choices historically have been
similar to hers, I can't seem to function that way. She can.
At onepointin the movie,Courtney
talksabouthowit wasa
toss-upwhetheryouwouldbea drummer
forNirvana
or Hole.
She really expounds on that. I played drums and jammed
with Kurt a few times, but there was never really any time
where I was going to be in Nirvana. Let's clear that up right
now. But because we played together, she likes to throw
that around. It's a nice lie. I've heard other things she's said
that were not nice about people. But I'll take that one.
Whatareyoudoingmusically
now,andwhat'sinthefuture?
I'm in a band called Psychic Friend and it's with Will
Schwartz, who was in Imperial Teen, and Bo Boddie, and
we have some shows coming up. I also have another band
with my brother called Green Eyes. We named it that
because it's a Husker Dii song and we love Husker Dii.
Psychic Friend is more of an indie pop band and Green
Eyes is more of an all~out rock band. And there's some
more stuff that I hate saying, because I can't say who it is,
because it hasn't been finalized yet. I'll just say it's [playing
for] one of my idols.
Canyoutalk aboutyourinvolvement
in the RockCampfor
Girls?
I love doing it, because I would've liked something like that
when I was a kid. It teaches these girls how to play instru~
ments, how to turn on the amp. Just all the basics you need,
so that you're not overwhelmed. So you feel comfortable
and you can express yourself. There are no rules, so they can
just write-it's pure, it's the punk rock idea: Write about
whatever you want, play however you want to play.
At the endof the movie,yousaya "musicfirst"attitudewas
reallywhatbroughtyoudown-you neededto startthinking
"Pattyfirst."What'sdifferent
thistime?
I put a lot of work into it, but it's not my identity. It's not
my end~all and be~all. Other things are important, like my
family. There are other things in the world to do than just
to be a drummer. (pattydoc.com)
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79. KatieReider
80. DoriaRoberts
81. Luiza Sa
82. KateSchellenbach
83. Sia Furler
84. Sickof Sarah
85. Sleater-Kinney
86. JillSobule
87. DustySpringfield
July/August 2011
I 57
ACLs that she began taking her musical talent seriously. "I
was laid up with knee surgeries so I started playing guitar
since there's not a whole lot else you can do. I'd get chord
books and learn cover songs and play them at parties and
stuff with friends. It just kind of rolled from there:'
Today, the laid back and effortlessly cool singer/songwriter is touring in support of her second album BecauseI
Can, a confident, self-assured sophomore effort so upbeat
and lyrically bold that it could just as easily have been titled
''Audible Prozac:'
LESBIAN POP ROCK STAR DAPHNE WILLIS
LIFTSOUR SPIRITS.
BY RACHEL SHATTO
Daphne Willis came by her musical talent the old fashioned way-genetics. Both Willis' parents studied music
and performed live while she was growing up. "They actually had a little duo thing and they'd play at the club down
[in Austin, Texas] and my dad plays guitar so when I was in
high school he taught me how to play guitar;' she explains.
But it wasn't until Willis, a lifelong jock, tore both of her
Is it trueyouwerediscovered
onanairplane?
Yeah. I had this EP that I had done just independently
and I got a small licensing. So, it was playing on American
Airlines flights and Kevin Welk [President of Welk Music
Group] was on a flight and he happened to plug in his
headphones into the armrest while one of my songs was
playing. We got the call the next week. But it was just hilarious, the serendipity of it, that he plugged it in just at that
moment. Right place, right time.
Wereyououtas a teenanddidyouexperience
anybullying?
I was lucky. I came from a really supportive family. I was out
to a few friends in high school and then I came out to my
parents. It's a big deal to tell your family. But I was so lucky.
I think they already knew and they made a joke. My dad
was like, Well, I won that one! Like they had a bet going on!
[Laughs] They said, well when you were 13 or something,
your dad said, "I think she's gay" and my mom said, "Well,
we'll just have to wait and see:' I'm sitting there bawling and
a mess and they're just like 'eh' and 'cool: It was hilarious.
Didyouhaveconcerns
beingoutwouldimpedeyourcareer?
My attitude is, "Hey, whatever;' but I understand that not
everybody shares that attitude. I guess I don't really think
about it that much. The people who matter don't mind and
the people who mind don't matter.
Wereanyof thesongsonBecause
I Ganautobiographical?
Yeah, definitely, a lot of the songs were pulled from things
I've experienced in the past year.
Themessageof the albumseemsto be:"Findwhoyouare
andacceptyourself."
Wasthatintended?
I definitely just like to write about personal growth and how
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91.TeamDresch
92. TeganandSara
93.AliceTemple
94.ToppTwins
95.Tragik
96.Tribe8
97. lwo NiceGirls
98. Uh-Huh-Her
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everybody has their own adversities and struggles. And I try
to write songs that are a little bit more positive for people,
too. I always like to feel inspired and uplifted when I listen
to [music). So, I try and reflect that in my own work.
Is thereanyonesongonthealbumyoufeelclosestto?
"One By One:' I wrote it with a couple of really good
friends. We wrote it during a transitional time-I'd moved
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LEZZIE
LIGHTNING
ROUND
~:t-!·~.
What'syourultimaterockstar
No,andI didn'tevenknowwhat
moment,sofar?
steampunkwas.I'veheardtheir
to Nashville and I was coming out of a relationship and was
at NotreDamelast
I played
eventsarekindof fun. ButI just
just in general feeling kind of overwhelmed. I've definitely
Saturday
andsomeone
proposed likethe goggles.I'm not a steamcome a long way just since we wrote that song and it really
to me.Butit waskindofcreepy.
punker,but I respectthem.Me
does help me to put things in perspective and just slow
Shefollowed
usfromDesMoines andthe steampunkcommunity,
down and take things one by one. That if there's something
andthenChicago
... andlegitimately we'recool[Laughs].
about your life you don't like, you can change it.
busted
outa ringandproposed. If youcouldtourwith anyone,
Arethereany causesthat are importantto you?
What'syourweirdesthabit?
whowouldit be?
Oh yes! I have been working with this organization called
I'mobsessed
withgoggles.
I have I havemad,madrespectfor
the Generation Project. They're awesome. They cater to
waytoomanypairs.I havewelding BrandiCarlile.I'veseenherlive
low~income students and low~income schooling systems
goggles
andI puttintedlenses
a bunchof timesandI just am
that need supplies. The educators go on and register like:
inthem.Thedifferent
goggles
on
continuously
floored.I thinkshe's
We need three sets of this book or we need baseball bats
thedifferent
daysareindicative just a phenomenal
talent.
or we need musical equipment ... instead of just donating
of mymood
... if I'minjusta crazy Whois yourcelebritycrush?
money, they take the money, buy the product and ship it to .
f~nmoodI'llweartheseshiny
NikkiCosta.She'sgotthis strange
the schools for you. You can also design a gift. I donated an·.~\,= ~•· onesthatareglittered
out.
kindof quirkyvibeaboutherthat
acoustic guitar. (daphnewillis.com)
:_.. :-··Arpyoua closetsteampunk?
I'm attractedto in women.
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July/August
2011
I 59
SWEDISH
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Maja Ivarsson, the bisexual bombshell front woman of
Swedish band The Sounds, says she smiles whenever she
sees an IKEA because "they're always blue and yellow" and
it's good to see that Swedish brand of minimalism going
mainstream. Americans have truly embraced all that is
Swedish, from H&M to Swedish meatballs and of course
Ivarsson's funky band, the genre-hopping group that's been
driving us to the dance floor since 1999. When it comes to
her band-of 15 years-Ivarsson refuses to claim allegiance
to any one musical genre saying "labels are no good" but
that "we're the band that mixes pop, rock and punk rock
with a lot of electronic elements. Some call it New Wave
but I don't call it New Wave. I think it's a mix of everything:' And the latest offering from this eclectic group,
Something to Die For, is available now and continues the
band's tradition of endlessly catchy musical excellence.
~~/~~.~}::,·
MAJA IVARSSON ON CONQUERING
THE PLANET WITH DANCE.
BY JILLIAN EUGENIOS
going to go to Japan. It's one of the things that you dream
about as a band. Conquering the planet with dance is
definitely something we're trying to do.
Yougetto seea lotofAmerica,
especially
smalltownAmerica.
Whathaveyoulearnedbyseeingoursmallercities?
It's actually a pleasant surprise because I think a lot of
Europeans have this idea that smaller cities in America are
narrow minded. I think the opposite. It might have to do
with the fact that I'm Swedish, and I'm blonde, and I'm
a girl. People might not be as open to me if I came from
somewhere else. I would say that Americans are very open
and generous. Like El Paso, for instance, is one of my favorite
places. They are so devoted.
Howdidgrowingupin Swedeninfluence
yourworldview?
Swedes in general are very modest, and I think that's a
good thing. Especially in the music business because it can
get to your head pretty easily. Being Swedish keeps you
TheSounds'song"Dancewith the Devil"talksabout"con- grounded. Here in America everybody's like, You could be
queringthe planetwith dance."Whatdoesit meanto have number one, you're a champion, you could be president! In
sucha diverse,
international
fanbase?
Sweden it's more like, You can be a plumber if you want to.
It means everything to us. It means we can actually make a That's equally as fine as being a lawyer.
Whowastheinspiration
behindthesong"Diana"?
living playing music. Weve been one of those bands coming
This is one of my favorite songs on the album. Shes a ficout of Sweden that was blessed to actually have a platform
tional person. Diana doesn't really exist, but at the same
in America and play shows. We have a big fan base in Latin
America, in Mexico, North America, Europe ... soon we're time, I wrote a song for the first album called Seven Days
a Week. My best friend growing
up was named Diana. She went
to America as a 19-year-old and
she became a prostitute and she
overdosed when she was 20. It was
right before the first album came
out. So I wrote the song Seven Days
a Week, which is about her. But
even though this song, "Diana;'
is a fictional story I think about
her when I sing it. The lyrics are not
spot-on about her but it's definitely
dose so maybe that's why I like it so
much. It's a great track.
What'scomingupforTheSounds?
I see only good things in the future.
Only good stuff right now. We're
on a good label in America. The
album is out and we're going to do
tours. South America is coming
up and everybody is really excited.
(the-sounds.com)
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It's a rainy night at the Triple Rock Social Club in
Minneapolis' West Bank neighborhood and JD Samson
is feeling the weight of the world. "On our record there's a
song called 'If You Want Something~' the former Le Tigre
member explains backstage. "Go for what you desire and
somehow it will come to you. I think that's clearly what we
all need to do right now. Our days are numbered:' In stark
contrast to this morbid sentiment, Samson's new record,
Talk About Body, has her coming out of the shadows in
a big way to lead the dance~pop outfit, MEN, bringing
a new breed of genderqueer hero to the forefront while
opening up a dialogue that even the mainstream music
press can't ignore.
"For a while everything I did was gay and that's not all
I am;' Samson says. "But at the same time, our outfits are
completely made out of queer symbols. I feel like it's very
important to maintain my image as a queer person and
support equal rights for queers in general. But I also feel
like it's important to play a show and not ever bring up the
fact that you're queer and for people to just enjoy the music:'
Samson's music and stage show is a hyperactive concoc~
tion of in~your~facepolitics, bubbly synths and retro~queer
slogans. The hand~sewn yin and yang tee she sports
underlines both the balance and the contradictory nature
of Samson's identity.
"I usually pass as a guy, even during shows;' she shrugs.
''Afterward, people will be like, your voice is so high, how do
you do that:' And I'm like, Oh, wow. They have no idea:'
With Samson's boyish good looks and razor~thin mous~
tache, she could easily nudge Justin Bieber off the pages of
Tiger Beat if not for the fact that she is ... well ... a she.
"This record is good;' Samson argues. "I don't get why
we're not huge right now. I don't think it's about the way
we sound. I think it's about who we are as humans. I
think the front person of this band being some gender~
queer weirdo definitely does not help us in the mainstream
music world:'
Despite the relative novelty of trans and genderqueer
pop stars, Samson is also quick to point out the progress
of the past 15 years, helped along in no small part by the
power of the press. "[curve] changed my life. Did you
know that?" she asks, shaking her head."I would look at the
music reviews and I would write down everything on a little
piece of paper and then I would go to the record store and
buy all the records. That's the way I knew about everything.
I didn't have the Internet:'
With the economy firmly in recession, global turmoil and
the looming fears of 2012, Samson takes refuge and respite
in the power of dance music. "With Le Tigre, Kathleen and
Jo brought me into such an amazing world and I think that
there's this juxtaposition with the music that we were making
and the music that I'm still making now that is about
movement;' Samson explains. "Whether that movement
is physical or figurative that is where they come together
for me. It's really vulnerable to move your body with other
tEADE
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JD SAMSON DISHES ON HER NEW PROJECT AND
BRINGING GENDERQUEER INTO THE MAINSTREAM.
BY MELANY JOY BECK
people and to take up space and be sweating together and
it's the perfect place to talk about politics, while you're in
your body and vulnerable and surrounded by others that
are doing the same thing:'
Her point was illustrated at a Madison, Wisc. show the
previous evening. Coinciding with the Union rally in protest
of the legislation to effectively end collective bargaining
rights in the state, political tensions ran high.
"I felt so excited to be there during this moment;' she
says. "Coming in to town, I was really prepared for that
audience to be there and I felt like that's exactly what hap~
pened. Everybody was freaking out. I totally miss that. Last
night I felt the audience acting like the audience of Le Tigre.
It's this hunger for activism:'
Whether music can save the world or not, JD Samson
is glad to provide a soundtrack. "I feel really lucky to be
where I am and connect with all these awesome people;'
she smiles. "That's the biggest thing for me. When people
tell me, You've helped me, or You changed me, or I'm so
inspired by you, that helps me to move forward with my
life and keep going:' (menmakemusic.com)
,.
•
July/August 2011
I 61
SEEING GREEN
The lead singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and overall
mastermind behind the project See Green is the openly
Green.Her
bisexual and clearly multitalented Courtenay
infectious, upbeat indie power pop will have you tap~
ping your toes and smiling. With strong yet quirky
vocals, Green is a welcome addition to the music
landscape. The wise yet peppy ''Are You Happy" has hit
written all over it and is reminiscent of New Wave and
the likes of The Go~Go's. Green's new EP, Ultramarine,is
out this summer and we can't think of a sunnier girl~power
sound to bop along to. (courtenaygreen.com)
.
. .
SONIC SOUTH
It may surprise you that the Sunshine State could ever
produce a band that writes about a weird array of dark
subjects, from stalkers to teenage angst, but the Sleepy
Vikings,who hail from Tampa, do. Compared to Sonic
Youth their debut album, They Will Find You Here,
finds the comparison to be an apt one. For those of you
too young to have experienced the alternative rock of
the early '90s, here's a very cool Viking voyage reduxcomplete with three out lesbian band members this time
around. (sleepyvikings.com)
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GIRL WITH GUITAR
The bittersweet, sincere vocals of Lindsay
Whitemake her sound like the lovechild of
Hope Sandoval and Regina Spektor-and
we love it. The San Diego~based musician
is newly out, having separated from her
husband after realizing she was gay. She's
played San Diego Pride and embraces her
new visibility, feeling that coming out can
help other women in the situation she was
in. "I went to hell and back trying to get
my life together and finally had to own
up to who I really was;' explains White.
She's flourishing now, having just released
her first solo album, Tracks, and enjoying
a musical life with her partner, musician
Veronica May. (lindsaywhitemusic.com)
SHE IS KING
Shawnee, lead singer of She King,is an
aboriginal two~spirit singer/ songwriter
with what it takes to make it big. She's sexy,
with shades of Joan Jett, and is about to
make her mark on her native Canada's mu~
sic map. Recently sponsored by Carparelli
Guitars, Shawnee also rec~eived a record
label offer while working in Toronto with
producer Michael Hanson, best~known as
a former member of Canadian rock band,
Glass Tiger. Shawnee's singles "Freak
Show;' "Psycho" and "Shut Down" already
have a cult following, but stay tuned for
the album which is sure to make a splash
this summer. (shekingband.com)
HOT ROCKERS
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The U.K. all~girl foursome (three are les~
bian) JOANovARC
has rocked music festivals
all around Europe this year including sup~
porting Uh~ Huh Her. Their big sound has
elements of everyone from Heart to U2, and
should satisfy those craving anything from
hard core rock'n' roll to power pop. Yes, get
ready for a little fist pumping or dare we
say air guitar because these British ladies
can certainly shred. And after a busy year
rocking it live, they return to the studio to
record their first full~length album. In the
meantime, grab their EP. voanovarc.co.uk)
RAINB0WWAREH0USE.0RG
On Australia's East Coast, an eco-camp
offers a luxe brush with nature.
By Georgia Krokus
64
I curve
AUSTRALIAN
TOURISM
is famous for its
bush adventures, but just because you leave the
beaten path doesn't mean you have to leave all
comforts behind. Paperbark Camp-envisioned
in
1998, when the trend toward nature-based tourism
was just beginning-was
inspired by the experience
of African safari camps, which offered an outdoorsy
escape but without all the packing and unpacking
required for traditional camping. When Paperbark's
owners discovered beautiful Jervis Bay, just under
three hours drive south of Sydney, they were
besotted by its pristine beaches and surrounding
natural bushland. That there was a dearth of good
accommodation available in the region proved to
be a boon for them; they settled on an untouched
100-acre site with creek frontage, and set about
building an eco-sensitive escape that would co-exist
harmoniously with the protected wetlands.
PHOTOS: DON FUCHS (BEACH), DICK SWEENEY
July/August 2011
I 65
ONTHE
MENU
YOU'LL
FIND
DISHES
BOUNTIFUL
WITH
PRODUCE
SUCH
LOCAL
ASFRESHLY-SHUCKED
POINT
GREENWELL
OYSTERS,
PAN-ROASTED
LOCAL
FISH
AND,IF
YOU'RE
GAME,
EVEN
..
KANGAROO.
Over 10 years later, the camp has
evolved from the original basic vision
of a bush bivouac to an architect~
designed camp that embodies the
now popular idea of'glamping;' com~
plete with an established restaurant
known for its fine food-and resident
possums, which are actually a lot
cuter than their North American
namesakes. The original safari tents
have been upgraded and supplemented
with private, deluxe tents from which
guests are serenaded by morning
birdsong. The surrounding towering
spotted gums and paperbark trees
offer a retreat for humans and are
home to colorful parrots and adorable
kangaroos. When you venture from
your tent to eat at Gunyah restaurant
("gunya" is Aboriginal for small bark
shelter) you can enjoy a gourmet cooked
breakfast, and afterwards, plenty of
back~to~nature activities. Paddle on
the creek or swim at the deserted white sand beach~
es where the native fauna and flora come right down
to the sand. Explore the spectacular scenery of the
Booderee National Park with its Aboriginal heritage
and botanical gardens ("Booderee" is an Aboriginal
word from the Dhurga language meaning "bay of
plenty:') Canoes, kayaks and bicycles are provided
free for guest use, so take a bike and explore the local
villages; enjoy a dolphin cruise or clear bottom sea
kayak before heading back and relaxing with a massage,
a soak in the tub or an afternoon nap.
Then while away the evening with a romantic,
66
I curve
candlelit tree~top culinary adventure at Gunyah,
which has been featured in Australia's best food guides
and is rated 4.5 stars by TripAdvisor. On the menu
you'll find dishes bountiful with local produce such
as freshly~shucked Greenwell Point oysters, pan~
roasted local fish and, if you're game, even kangaroo,
which may sound alarming to exotic animal lovers,
but for interested carnivores, is fairly comparable to
venison, even more plentiful Down Under, and more
sustainable than beef. But be sure to make a reserva~
tion because the locals enjoy this restaurant just as
much as the guests. (paperbarkcamp.com.au)
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ECOCRED
'Glamping' can be good for the environment! Paperbark Camp was ecotourism accredited
in 1999 and reduces its environmental impact with the following features:
• Architect-designed buildings in sympathy
with the landscape. Meaning, no large
trees have been removed
• Solar powered electric 12-volt lighting
• Natural ventilation, so there's no
air conditioning required
• Low flow shower heads
• Vegetable gardens, irrigated from
tank water to supply restaurant
• No fencing to maintain the wildlife corridor
• Driven piles and shallow foundations
only-all buildings are built off the ground
• Removal of foreign plant species
• Dual flush toilets
• Strict adherence to local recycling
programs
• Hot water heated on demand only
• Use of recycled paper products
• Light-sensitive timer switches
• Rainwater used when possible
• Low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs
• Biodegradable cleaning agents used
• Revegetation of areas that are affected
by development
• No intentional feeding of wildlife
July/August 2011
I 67
On an island once forbidden to
Americans, change is coming.
And visiting is easier-and more
surprising-than you've dreamed.
By Julia Steinecke
WESTEP
fNTO
the dark streets of Central Havana just
before midnight. Our destination is a government~owned bar
called Habaneciendo, where a woman named Milagros told
us there would be a lesbian party on Sunday. We're much too
early, so we wait while local men and women gradually fill the
cramped, narrow space, talking over the Justin Bieber videos
on the big screen. An hour later, when the Spanish dance
music begins, the queer women pour onto the dance floor, and
there are more than I've ever seen together in Cuba.
Five years ago, on my last visit to the island, this scene
would have been unthinkable. Back then, most parties were
illegal and were held in secret locations under the constant
threat of police raids.
I'm dancing with one of our group when a local woman
suddenly cuts in and takes my place on the floor. Next thing we
know, her friends are all around us saying"hola;' and presenting
their cheeks for kissing. While one woman dirty~dances with
our friend, my prior dance partner is bumps and grinds with a
tiny androgyne with short~short hair and a little curl on top of
her head. Our friend soon disappears with her admirer and, a
few minutes later, we see the local woman pulling her right out
of the bar. I find them in the hallway, where our friend is being
cornered by her admirer, asking for a kiss.
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Events, and lesbian dramas like this, can happen
more openly now in Cuba, partly because of the changes
wrought by the daughter of President Raul Castro.
Mariela Castro Espin is the director of CENESEX,
the government's National Centre for Sex Education.
Influenced by her feminist mother, Mariela (who locals
refer to by her first name, like they do with her father
and her uncle, Fidel) has helped bring in a number of
progressive laws. In 2008, Cuba announced that gender
reassignment surgery would be performed free of
charge for transsexuals who qualify. Only a few dozen
individuals have qualified and about 10 operations
have taken place so far.
Mariela has been working on same~sex partnership
recognition for some time now, and continues to
say that one day it will become a reality, though
some Cubans express their doubts. Mariela has also
spearheaded celebrations of the International Day
Against Homophobia with a parade in Havana and an
outdoor drag show in Santa Clara.
The following Saturday, I hop a Viazul bus and ride
five hours inland to Santa Clara, a university town in
the middle of the island, which many tourists pass
through without a second glance. That night, I head for
a cultural center called El Mejunje, and find crowds of
70
I curve
queer and trans people waiting outside a ruined hotel
with trees growing out the windows. Inside, a disco
beat begins to pound. The throng files in and starts
dancing, while a couple of women kiss passionately in
the middle of the courtyard.
El Mejunje (The Mixture) is located a couple of
blocks west of Parque Vidal. It was founded 20 years
ago by Ramon Silverio, an impoverished local kid who
loved when the travelling circus came to town. Silverio
worked in education and theatre, and dreamed of a
place where artists, rock musicians, drag performers
and intellectuals of all orientations could gather and
find acceptance.
"Ramon Silverio is a very important cultural figure
in Cuba;' a local tourism worker tells me. However,
the easy~going ambience here is not just because of
him. "The city culture is very friendly and accepting;
tranquilo," the worker says. Gays and lesbians can walk
on the streets with no fear of violence; transwomen can
dress as they wish.
A couple of days later, I return to El Mejunje, which
has a full roster of cultural activities during the week:
Rock, folk, theatre, magicians and senior citizen's
dances. Students, from the nearby Universidad Central
Marta Abreu de las Villas, are gathering in the cafe next
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GETTING TO CUBA FROM THE U.S.
Cuba Educationand ExplorerToursprovides
informationon how Americanscan jointheir
programsat legalcubatravel.com.
They offer
a RainbowCuba Tourwith participationin the
InternationalDay AgainstHomophobia.Global
Exchange(globalexchange.org/tours)
and the
Cuba Aids Project(cubaaidsproject.com)
also
arrangevisits.
WHERE TO STAY AND PLAY
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door to the courtyard, so I join some women at their table.
A guy hovers behind me and asks a series of questions in a
slurred voice. Am I a journalist:' Do I prefer men or women:'
Would I like to have sex with any of these women:'
I ignore him, and chat with my companions, who are
majoring in psychology, journalism, art and computer
science. One wears a winter scarf and a toque labeled CSI
Las Vegas. She picks up a worn guitar and strums a few
chords and her friends begin to sing folk songs in Spanish.
Two women link arms and tell me they are girlfriends.
Another pulls out a deck of cards and asks me if I'd like
to play.
Suddenly I hear a crash and see a body flying across the
room. It's the man who had been questioning me. Another
body lands on top of him, and they roll around on the floor,
fighting. Our table slides sideways, scattering the playing
cards. We head outside and I decide to call it a night, though
later, I'm told the troublemakers were handily ejected and
the evening continued without incident
On my last day, I head to Santa Clara's most famous site,
the Che Guevara monument, museum and mausoleum.
Exhibits detail the life of the revolutionary hero, from his
childhood plagued by asthma, to his
little~known nursing career, to his time
in the Sierra Maestra Mountains. In
most photos his hair is a mess and it
seems he could use a bath. Next door,
the mausoleum contains the remains
of Guevara and the other fighters killed
with him in Bolivia. In the dimly~lit,
somber room, there's a niche dedicated
to a woman named Tania. She's the
controversial Haydee Tamara Bunke
Bider, a poet, musician, linguist, teacher, construction
worker, soldier and spy. The carving of her face is in the
shadow, but her eyes burn through the darkness.
The best way to find out about localeventsand
meetingplacesis to stay at a gay-friendlyCasa
Particularsuchas Casa Aleidoin CentralHavana
(cuba-junky.com/havana/casa-aleido.htm).
Women'seventsare knownas Fiestasde
Milagrosand Fiestasde Lila,dependingon who
is organizingthem. Ask at Habaneciendo,on the
northside of NeptunoStreet,just east of Italia
Avenue.Habaneciendois the back space of the
morefamousCasa de la MusicaCentro Habana.
Cafe Cantante,in the back of the National
Theatre,on Havana'sPlaza of the Revolution,
has a weekendgay discocalled El Divino,with
a few lesbiansin attendance.Queerwomen
can occasionallybe found at the gay Mi Cayito
beach in the Playasdel Este regionof Havana.
Many Coco Taxi driversare also rumouredto be
sisters.If you want to meet a Cuban girlfriend
or make a new friend,alwaysapproachwomen
respectfully:Some will be welcomingand
forthcoming,but otherswill not feel safe talking
to foreigners.
July/August 2011
I 71
REVIEWSMusic Watch
Caught in Her Web
Meet out rocker White Widow. By Dave Steinfeld
Patullo exudes a ballsy, rock chick vibe
and her music is infectious and mainstream,
friendly. So, it's fitting that she cites PJ
Harvey and Stevie Nicks as two of her main
musical influences. In fact, she got the White
Widow moniker from Nicks. "Fleetwood
Mac is one of my favorite bands;' says
Patullo. ''And [Stevie] refers to the black
widow in her song 'Gold Dust Woman:
"I think sometimes it's more
[that] being a woman in this
industry can be a little
difficult. But I wouldn't
necessarily say that about
being gay."
White Widow is the nom de rock of
Massachusetts,native singer Carla Patullo
who has been making albums for half a decade
now-culminating with Black Heart. Some,
times she pursues a more standard, hard
rock direction. In other instances-such
as
with that album's terrific track, "I Break" she takes a more minimal, electronic ap,
proach which is even more effective because
of its subtlety. You always get the feeling she
is one step away from going over the edge,
but she never does.
I caught up with Patullo recently from her
adopted hometown in Texas. As an out
lesbian artist, I wondered how she's been
accepted in George W. Bush's home state.
"I never thought I would live in Texas;' she
admits with a laugh. "But being out here, and
being a part of the Pride event that happened,
was actually pretty amazing. I'm fortunate to
be in Austin and I feel really good energy
721curve
from the gay community here ... I think some,
times it's more [that] being a woman in this
industry can be a little difficult. But I wouldn't
necessarily say that about being gay:'
I kind of came up with the idea of White
Widow because there's this sadness to [my
music] but ... edgy,but,bright,
I guess, is
what I'm going for:' So far, it seems to be
working. Her songs have already been fea,
tured on both the big and small screen; the
title track of Black Heart was recently used
in the MTV series Teen Mom.
This year looks to be a big one for Patullo.
In addition to her own music, she's excited
Get Ready To Rock with Anne Mccue
If your mental picture of a "girl with a
guitar" is a be-dreaded dyke crooning
folkily along with her acoustic, get
ready to have your world rocked by
lesbian axe-slinger Anne McCue. For
fans of Jimmy Page, The Doors and
Heart, this soft-spoken, guitar shredding Aussie import is the Sapphic
answer to your classic rock craving.
Her latest album, Broken Promise
Land, is a '70s throwback with a bluesy
edge and a hint of psychedelic rock.
But it's her devastating proficiency
on the guitar, paired with beautifully
written songs that put her in good
company amongst the rock greats.
So, it's little surprise that this soulful
rocker was selected to open for
Lucinda Williams and performed at
the Lilith Fair revival. For more on
McCue, pick up her recently released
DVD, Anne Mccue: Live in Nashville,
featuring more than an hour of live
performances and interviews with
this humble (and smoking hot) rock
goddess on the rise. (annemccue.com)
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about her work on the upcoming EP by
friend and mentor Sandra Bernhard.
"It's Sandra's EP but I'm producing it
and performing the instruments on it;'
she explains. "There's a couple of songs
that we wrote together. It's going to be
like a six~song [disc ]-all originals. We
just recorded it about a month ago:' It's
the first time that Patullo has produced
someone's music other than her own.
Of Bernhard, she says, "She's definitely
been a huge influence for me perfor~
mance~wise. And she's actually a really
great singer. Working with her [has] been
really inspiring:'
In addition to the Bernhard project,
Patullo is hoping to release A Psychological
Thriller, the follow~up to Black Heart,
sometime this summer. Asked whether
the new album will be different from
its predecessor, she says, 'Tm producing
everything and performing everything
again, so that won't be different. But it
is definitely moving in a [new] direction.
I'm doing more fictional writing now,
which is pretty new for me. I'm kind of
moving out lyrically where I've never
gone:' (whitewidowmusic.com)
SinandRedemption 8 SongsAbouta Girl
ChristineMartucci
DeepDarkRobot
(Sunsetswest
Records)(CustardRecords)
Lesbianrocker
Christine
Martucci's
thirdalbum,Sin
is
andRedemption,
unabashedly
purerock
'n' roll-all guitars,
gutsandswagger.
If
StevieNicksandBon
Joviwereto havea
musicallovechildit
wouldbeMartucci,
whosebrash,gravely
vocalsarefull of
bravadoandperfectly
suitedto the powerballadsthatmakeupthe
album.Thematically,
Martuccisticksto the
classics,
goodgirl
gonebadanthems
andlovesongs-but
witha Sapphictwist.
Fromthetitletrack:
"I partiedwith my
demons/Got
highon
holywineandtried
all kindsof women/
fromthefineto the
divine."Thereis also
something
gleefully
earthyandbluecollar
aboutthealbum.You
can'thelpbutfeelthat
to properlyappreciate
it
youreallyshouldhave
a girlononearmanda
(domestic)
beerin the
otherhand.
(christinemartucci.
com)
LindaPerry'snew
project,DeepDark
Robothastheout
lesbianandmusic
industrymoverand
shakersharinga deeply
personal
journeywith
analbumbasedona
reallifeinfatuation
with
a straightgirl whoPerry
fell for hardbutcould
neverhave.Teaming
upwithdrummer
TonyTourney-whom
Perrymetthrough
herex,Clementine
Ford-Robotmarks
Perry'sfirst groupeffort
in 15years,andher
returnto the micis a
welcomeone.Perry's
raspy,powerfulvocals
lendemotional
weight
to eachtrack,conjuring
the bestof Melissa
Etheridge
andin quieter
moments,
JanisJoplin.
Therawandaching"It
FuckingHurts"is the
penultimate
songfor
anyonewhohasever
losta ladyloveto a
man,andtheswinging
"FuckYou,Stupid
Bitch"is the post-split
anthemthatbegsto
besungat thetopof
yourlungs.
(deepdarkrobot.
com)
BornThisWay
LadyGaga
(lnterscope)
Blessed
LucindaWilliams
(LostHighway
Records)
Withherlatestalbum, LikeNinaSimone,
Joni
it's clearthatLady
Mitchellor evenMacy
Gagawantedto write
Gray,Lucinda
Williams
a loveletterto queers possesses
a voice
andlittlemonsters
of
thatis unconventionall stripes.Andlike
allybeautiful.
Onher
thediversityof her
latestalbum,Williams
audience,
BornThis
putsherpowerfuland
Wayis a collectionof
meandering
voiceto
dance-friendly
anthems goodusewithsongs
thatcallona grabbag that,likeherdrawnout
of musicalinfluences, delivery,
taketheirtime
rangingfrom'80s
windingthroughyou.
NewWave,to ABBA,
to Alwaysa storyteller,
BruceSpringsteen.
Top Williams'lyricsarefull
trackgoesto "Judas" of tragedy,triumph
whichis the perfect
andcontentment.
marriageof synthy
"SeeingBlack"is an
beatsandGaga'send- impactful,hard-rocking
lesslymalleable
voice. cut inspiredbythe
TheLatin-infused
and
emotional
confusion
irresistible
"Americana" followinga friend's
grabsholdof youand
suicide.Thealbum
dragsyouonto the
opener,
"Buttercup"
is
dancefloor.Whilecrit- a feistykiss-offto an
icswaitin thewingsin ex-loverandthetitle
anticipation
of thestar- track,"Blessed"is pure
letwhohasrocketed Americana.
Forfansof
to famein recentyears countryandfolk-and
to fallflat on herface, thosenottypically
theywill haveto waita drawnto thegenrebit longer.
Therearea
thereis plentyto love
few nigglingcomplaints here.Withhersaltof
(likeperhapsbeing
theearthabilityto zero
tooreminiscent
of
in onourhumanity,
it's
Madonna)
overall,but
hardnotto seeyourself
Bornis a rock-solid
reflectedinWilliams'
popalbum.
music.
(ladygaga.
com)
(lucindawilliams.
com)
July/August 2011
I 73
REVIEWSSapphic Screen
QueerAs Folk
Cracking wise with New Zealand's identical funny ladies. By Merryn Johns
New Zealand's favorite comedy duo-and
its finest export after lamb chops and Lord
of the Rings-is The Topp Twins. Real life
lesbian twins, Lynda and Jools Topp, have
been making people laugh, and think, for 30
years, warming the hearts of even the most
hardened redneck and achieving cult status
in their homeland and abroad. If you haven't
encountered these queer Kiwis before, a new
documentary on their lives, UntouchableGirls
will introduce you to these hilarious, horse~
riding, yodeling, folk~singing masters of
character comedy. And there's a serious side,
too: From beating breast cancer to fighting
political injustice, the twins stand for the
good, old~fashioned notion of doing the right
thing-a concept that is these days as distant
as New Zealand itself. Like most twins, they
are inseparable, so while it was Jools who
answered curve'squestions, we're sure Lynda
wasn't too far away.
74
I curve
comefrom?
Congratulations
ona fabulous
film.Whoseidea yourpoliticalinstincts
wasit?
We got our political instincts from our mum
It was Arani Cuthbert's idea, our manager for and dad. They taught us right from wrong
the last 20 years. She produced the film.
and how to be fair.
You grew up on a dairy farm in rural New Thisyear has beenveryturbulent,politically,
Zealand.Areyousurprised
bythe international andwe still havea lot to achieve,bothfor the
criticalandaudience
acclaimforthefilm?
LGBT
community
andbroaderhumanrights.But
To some degree we have been surprised. We whatis mosturgent?
initially made the film for New Zealand.
The world just needs to lighten up!
Everything else has just been a bonus.
Youwereclearlyextraverts
froman earlyage.
abilitycomefrom,
To many in the NorthernHemisphere,
New Wheredid yourperforming
each
Zealandseemsan unspoiledparadise.Some andis it a twinthing-did youencourage
maybe surprised
that youstartedyourcareer other?
as politicalactivists.
We don't think we are extraverts. We were
We are all political animals. I guess we are a quite shy when we were little; we just sung at
long way away from anywhere so we never home a lot. That was how we learned, it was
sit on the fence. New Zealanders like to our apprenticeship.
keep informed of what's going on in the rest At whatage didyourealizeyouweregayand
of the world.
howdidyoubreakthenewsto eachother?Is it i:6
You protestednucleartestingin The Pacific, possible
youbothknewat thesamemoment? j
amongmanyotherimportant
causes.
Wheredid Yes, it is possible, we did realize at the same
moment. We saw some lesbian women
and said to each other, "Hey, we're just
like them!"
At whatpointdidyourealizeyouwerefunny
anddo youeverfeel yourcomedictalentis
connected
to an identitythat maynotfit in
withthemainstream?
We just always were funny. People need to
laugh. Our humor is really "Kiwi" and we
sure as hell fit into the mainstream.
It was wonderfulto see bothyourpartners
in thisfilm.Areyouableto revealanything
aboutthem,like their namesand how long
youhavebeentogether?
We really try and keep our private lives
private. Mary is American-Mary
and I
met on the Lesbian Love Boat from New
York to Montreal 14 years ago. Donna
[Lynda's partner] is a good Kiwi girl who
knows how to handle a horse!
Howwouldyoudescribe
yourbrandofhumor?
Anddoyoumakeeachotherlaugh?
We make each other laugh all the time.
Our humor is just real life. Life is funny
sometimes.
Yourcharacters
arehilarious,
including
Camp
MotherandCampLeader-whoneverleads.
Wheredoyougetyourideasforthesedelightfullyoddpeople?
Our characters aren't based on any par~
ticular person or people but more types of
people we have grown up with.
A remarkable
andverymoving
partofthefilm
dealswithyourbreastcancer.
Wasit difficult
to film thesescenes,especiallywhen you
were so sick and Lyndahadto stay brave.
Whatwereyouthinkingat thetime?
Lynda filmed me in the hospital, she wanted
a record. No one knows if you are going to
live or not. Anyway, I'm here now so it's all
good-you can't kill a weed!
In manywaysyouareambassadors
for New
Q_
Zealandandfor lesbians.
Whatdo youwant
thewholeworldto learnaboutboth?
ti: We do feel proud to be New Zealanders
[lJ
z
0
a: and you always have to remember where
you come from. Although it is important to
<(
be out and proud, some of our best friends
are straight.We just don'twant them teaching
(_)
our children! (Laughs] We should be respect~
ful of all people and celebrate people's
differences. (topptwins.com)
8
g
d
DriveAngry
Prettylittle liars:
TheComplete
First
(Summit
Season
Entertainment)
(WarnerHomeVideo)
Cracks
(IFCFilm)
Skins:Season1
(MTV)
Setin an English1930s Controversial
for its
boarding
school,Cracks frankdepictionof
Outlesbianand
seesdivingcoachMiss teensexanddrug
Hollywood
up-andWhatbeginsasa
G.(EvaGreen)
asthe
use,SkinshadlV
comer
Amber
Heard
guiltypleasure
swiftly
objectof admiration, activistgroupParents
becomes
a simpleplea- hasneverbeensexier
affectionandlustof her Television
Council
or kickedmorebutt
surewiththissoapy,
swimteam-a group
clutchingtheirpearls
thaninthis '?Os
sexyseriesbasedon
andcryingfoulfor
throwback of girlsselectedas
the popularyoungadult exploitation
herprotegees.
When
whattheybelieved
was
Nicolas
novels.Fourfriendsare co-starring
theglamorization
of
drawnbacktogethera Cage.Havingescaped wefirst meetMs.G,
sheis thepictureof a
transgressive
behavior.
yearafterthemysteriousfromHellto revenge
free
spirit:
Beautiful,
But
anyone
making
the
murder
of
his
disappearance
of their
adventurous
andmyste- theseclaimshasn't
onlydaughterbya
friendAlison.Soon
rious.Butfollowingthe seena full episodeof
zealouscultleader,
theybeginreceiving
arrivalof a newstudent, thisseries.Basedon
Milton(Cage)
enlists
ominoustextsfrom
Flamma,
MissG'scare- thehit Britishshowby
the
help
of
Piper
a mysterious
person
fullyconstructed
artifice thesamename,Skins
a truckstop
knownonlyas"A"who (Heard),
is equalpartsdrama
waitress-turned-action-beginsto crumbleas
threatens
to expose
fascination
givesway
andcautionary
tale,
theirsecretsaswellas heroinein the pursuit
to
obsession.
Dripping
characters
are
faced
of
his
vengeance.
On
uncover
themurderer
withatmosphere
and
witheverything
from
theirtrail:Thecops,
livingamongst
them.
a visualfeastof period failinggradesand
fanaticalmurderous
Gasp-inducing
plot
Cracks
jealousies
to abandoncultmembers
andThe costumes,
twistsandturns
relishes
the
romance
of
ment,
mental
illness
Accountant
a
demonic
aside,the highlightof
theeraandpoignantly andSTDs-plus,a
bountyhuntersent
theseriesis Emily,a
chronicles
thekindness few ragingpartiesand
lesbianteencomingto fromHellto collectits
Blood, andcrueltyof adoles- felonioushijinksthrown
termswithhersexuality undeadescapee.
centfemalecliques.It's intothe mix.Central
guts,adrenaline
and
andstartingherfirst
a fascinating
character inthecliqueisTea,a
relationship.
Playedby darkhumorabound
studyin groupmentality, lesbianconfused
by
curve covergirl Shay in this modernday
bullyingandthe loss
hersuddenly
mercurial
gem.Best
Mitchell,she'ssweet, grindhouse
sexuality,
andplayed
of all,Heardcontinues of innocence.Juno
smartandmultifacwide-eyed
withachingrealismby
eted-the character
we to stretchherthespian Temple's
performance
of the
SofiaBlackD'Elia.Tea
wings,provingthat
all wishwe hadonlV
scornedformerfavorite provesa fascinating
whenweweregrowing she'sasviablea
student-turned-bu
Ily
and-for manybaby
buddingactionstaras
up.Andunlikemany
dykesandbaby
makeswhatcould
sheis dramaticactor.
networkdepictions
of
lesbianrelationships, If youlikeyourmovies easilybea despicable bis-familiar character.
relatable.
And Whilepuristsclingto
LittleLiarsisn'tafraid packedwithbeautiful character
Green
turns
in
a
breaththeoriginal,beassured
women
and
oozing
of a PDA.If youhaven't
thereis plentyin the
besureto takingperformance
checkedoutLiars,putit testosterone,
at thetopof yourto-do takeDriveAngryoutfor asthetragic,unstable remakeworthexploring.
(ifcfilms.com) (mtv.com)
list. (warnerbros.com) a spin.(summit-ent.com)villainess.
July/August 2011
I 75
REVIEWSIn The Stacks
Fromthe Heart
Poetry and romantic short stories raise our pulses this month. By Rachel Pepper
15 Ways to Stay Alive, Daphne
Gottlieb(ManicD Press):Daphne
Gottlieb has been working the
queer poetry scene for quite
some time now. An author,
creative~wntmg teacher and
spoken~word artist, Gottlieb's
publishing history began in
1999, when her first book, Pelt,
was published. Since then,
she's written many more, and
even veered off the poetry path for
a graphic novel collaboration with
Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian
Terrorist artist Diane DiMassa,
and to edit a collection of stories.
However, it's her poetry that packs
((
the most punch. A past work, Final
Girl, was the winner of the Audre
Lorde Award in Poetry for 2003 from
the Publishing Triangle, and was named
one of The Village Voice's Favorite Books of
2003. Why Things Burn was the winner of
a 2001 Firecracker Alternative Book Award
and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award
that year. Gottlieb's new collection, 15 Ways
to Stay Alive, bristles with her usual non~
sentimentality. This razor~sharp poetry is
peppered with references to Freud, vintage
TV, post~punk
politics, parental~child
relations and love. Some poems juxtapose
text taken from a unique variety of sources
including other writers, Craigslist personal
ads and even Gottlieb's own e~mail. Other
poems, like "Sexy Balaclava;"'No poetry after
Auschwitz" and "Carpe Noctem" resonate
like an echo in a cave. If you're a Sister Spit
fan, or savvy about spoken word, you've likely
heard of and even seen Gottlieb read. For
those of you skeptical about reading poetry,
give Gottlieb a chance. (manicdpress.com)
BestLesbian
Romance
2011,editedbyRadclyffe
(CleisPress):Everyone needs a little romance
now and then. If romance is represented in
stories that are short, snappy and full of sex, all
the better. Best Lesbian Romance series editor
Radclyffe has assembled a respectable crop
76
I curve
of 17 authors for this year's
offering, including regular
contributors Rachel Kramer
Bussel, Sacchi Green, Miel
Rose and Charlotte Dare.
Although billed as romance,
the book has its share of sultry
pickups, chance encoun~
ters, beach trips, dinners
and frilly flirtations. The
stories are diverse in tone,
style and subject, making
, for more variety than in
many, similar antholo~
gies. While a few stories
here are mediocre, most,
including "The Game"
by Elaine Burnes, "I
Think I Will Love
If YouLoveThisPlanet:
A Planto SavetheEarth
HelenCaldicott
(W.W.Norton& Company)
Thefeministandantinuclear
campaigner
hasbeenlabeled
analarmistby
critics,butafter
the recentnuclear
crisisin Japan,
herimpassioned
pleasseem
moreurgentthanever.This
revisedclassicshowsjust how
aheadof the curveCaldicott
is, andwhywe needto heed
herwordsbeforeit is too late.
Exploring
fatalglobaltrends
suchas ozonedestruction,
globalwarming,toxicpollution,
foodcontamination
anddeforestation,Caldicottpresentsa
bleakpictureof ourworldwhile
makinga casefor its salvation.
Andit comesdownto you.
(wwnorton.
com)
lfYoul.ovcThisPlanc1
You" by Rebecca S. Buck, and "Camellias"
by Anna Meadows, are well~written, each
containing a satisfying, surprising twist. The
collection's best is Cheyenne Blue's "Dirty
Laundry" in which two women find comfort
together while living in an Irish Magdalene
Laundry. These were church~run homes
for wayward" women, many of whom were
victims of rape and abuse, made to do laun~
dry their entire lives, and thus economically
benefitting the Church-the
last Laundry
closed only in 1996. The collection ends
with Radclyffe's own "When Hearts Run
Free" about a newly~turned lesbian were~
wolf dreaming of exciting things to come.
Luckily, readers of this series know that
most likely, that vision will include a new
book for 2012, arriving sometime this fall.
(cleispress.com)
Likea Tree:HowTrees,
Women,
and TreePeople
CanSavethePlanet
JeanShinodaBolen
(ConariPress)
TheNextEcoWarriors:
22 YoungWomenandMen
WhoAreSavingthePlanet
Editedby EmilyHunter
(ConariPress)
TheJungiananalystturns
herwisdomto the mystical
powerof treesandthe
importance
of the sacred
femininein our increasinglycompromised
natural
world.In the
destruction
of trees
andforests
aroundthe
worldwe are
destroying
ourselves,
butsofew of us
pauseto realizethe impact
our lifestyleshaveontrees,
the stewardsandlungsof
the earth.Thisbookwill
makeyoustopandthink
about-quite literally-our
roots.(redwheelweiser.
com)
If babyboomershavedone
muchto squanderthe planet's
resources
in recordtime,then
we'dbestlookto the millennials
to bailusall out.Thisbook
provesthattoday'syouthis a
far cry fromunengaged
and
apathetic.
A handfulof young
environmental
activists(especiallywomenwhorangefrom
AllannaBeltranin the forests
of Tasmania
to TanyaFields'
urbanfarmin
the Bronx)
areabandoningselfish
materialism
for collective good.
(redwhee/weiser.com)
Food
REVIEWS
Better Than Chocolate
Kathy Wiley is revolutionizing our favorite treat. By Constance Parten
Or, better than the chocolate you're probably
So where does Wiley come up with these
used to. Poco Dolce chocolate is, in a word,
flavors:' Mostly from her own palate. "I
follow exactly what I want to do or what I
dangerous. How dangerous:'
"I actually joke you can't bring it on a first think works in each line;' she says.
date. It's almost too much;' Poco Dolce owner
Those lines started nearly a decade ago.
Kathy Wiley warns when asked if she's ever Wiley had been thinking seriously about a
seduced a woman with her unique confec- career in the food industry, but didn't quite
tionery. "It can be a little dangerous. You've know what she wanted to do. She and her
got to assess the situation first:'
partner at the time had different aspirations, and when they broke up, Wiley made
Wiley is right, this decidedly grown-up
chocolate is seductive. Some varieties have a huge leap. She quit her job as director of
a silky texture reminiscent of ganache, all IT for a small firm, bought a car and took
of them live up to the name Poco Dolce about six months to think about what her
(which means "a little sweet"
in Italian), but where the San
"I actually
Francisco-based
chocolatier
raises danger levels is with
joke you
flavors: Five Spice, Bittersweet
can't bring
with Sea Salt, Double-Shot
Espresso, Burnt Caramel (a
it on a first
kitchen accident turned gendate. It can
ius), Aztec Chile, Olive Oil
Sea Salt-not
your run-ofbe a little
the-mill chocolate flavors, to
dangerous."
be sure.
new food business should be.
"I always wanted to have my own business
and I always wanted it to be food related, but,
that being said, it takes a little bit to really
focus, I guess you'd say;' she says.
After some time working as a baker, Wiley
finally narrowed her culinary focus down to
chocolate-but
not just any chocolate. She
had a real fondness for salt and wanted to do
something a little different-and
with that,
Poco Dolce was born.
While the ingredients aren't all organic
Wiley does try to keep them as local as possible. The sea salt comes from Sel Gris, the
olive oil is from California (the brand is her
closely held secret!) and the chocolate comes
from Guittard Chocolate. Wiley maintains
a close relationship with the companies she
does business with, ensuring they have fair
trade and farming practices.
Wiley hopes to have new Poco Dolce
flavors available sometime around the 2011
holiday season, perfect timing for those
seeking a less-than-sweet treat that's outside
the box. (pocodolce.com)
July/August 2011
I 77
REVIEWSTech Girl
Home, Green Home
Eco-friendly gadgets for every room in your house. By Rachel Shatto
The list of things you need to do to 'go green" can feel endless-from recycling bottles to planting a victory garden, to
ditching your favorite products in protest of unsustainable business practices. So, it's understandable that, despite the
best intentions, going green feels daunting. But the best way to ease into an eco-warrior lifestyle is to start at home. Here
are nine gadgets and luxury items, all of which were featured in this year's Green Products Expo, to green every room in
your happy, healthier, and Earth-friendly abode.
A Steamy Solution
Clearing the Air
Whengreeningyourhomeit's easyto overlookthe
loo,butdon'tmissthisopportunity
to bidadieuto
wastedenergy-andunnecessarily
burningfossil
fuels-with theWhisperGreen-Lite
ventilation
fan.
What'ssoexcitingabouta bathroom
fan?Well,for
onething,it is 792percentmoreenergyefficientthan
ENERGY
STAR
standards-andwhenareyouever
goingto beableto claima successratelikethat?
($413,panasonic.com)
Whyusewater-polluting
chemicals
to cleanyourhardsurfacefloors
whenthe besttoolfor thejob is
goodold-fashioned
H20?Reliable's
Steamboy
T2eliminates
the needfor
bothcleaningproductsandwasteful
disposable
moppads.Byutilizing
steamat upto 245degrees,it cleans
andsanitizesbetter,too.Givethose
germy,watersupplypoisoning
mops
andchemicals
the boot.($149,
reliablecorporation.com)
Chemical-free Cleaning
Creepycrawliesgotyoudown?You'renot
alone,asthe nationfacesa bedbugepidemic.
Fortunately
there'sanotheroptionbesides
bombingyourhousewithtoxicchemicals:
TheVeriluxCleanWave
Sanitizing
Bagless
vacuum.Byutilizingan ultra-powerful
UV
lightit killsbedbugsandtheireggs.For
thosewithoutinvadinginsects,the UVlight
alsodoesa seriousnumberon 99 percent
of viruses,bacteria,moldandallergens.
($400,verilux.com)
~{···~;\~:·•
{
.,
,t ' .~
.} •• :1-
i:,t
··,. --~ ·,.. -~ .
'~· ......·•.,' ., - ... •'":-r
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No More Plastic Bottles
Askanyenvironmentalist:
plasticbottleshavegot
to go.Thesepetroleum-based
containers
fill upour
landfillsandpolluteourwaters-and that'sjust
thetip of the polymericeberg.Whichis whythe
SodaStream's
abilityto turnordinarytapwaterinto
sodain secondsis a welcomealternative.
Witha
varietyof (cornsyrup-free)
flavors,notto mention
fruitjuiceandflavoressences-thepossibilities
for carbonated
delightsareendless(ourlow-cal
suggestion:
fizzyCrystalLight,yum).($80andup,
sodastreamusa.com)
" • J: . ,_~..
•._:r··
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•
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Fightingfor the planetcanbea
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andsometimes
youneedto takea momentoutfor
yourself.Nothingbeats20 minutes
ona SpoonkECO
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matfeaturesa plant-based
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hempcasingin naturaldyedcolors.
De-stress
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you'vetakenstepsto takecareof
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($80,spoonkspace.com)
..
Composter's Little Helper
Composting
canbea stinkybusiness,
butwith FullCircle's
HomeFreshAir,collectingcompostbecomes
anodor-free
endeavor.
Byutilizinga patentedwindflumesdesign,it's able
to preventanaerobic
decomposition,
whichis whatcausesthe
odorthatattractsflies.Plusthe FullCircletraditionof stylishand
sustainable
designmakesit the perfectadditionto anygreen
kitchen.($30,fullcirclehome.com)
Stake Vampire Energy Leaks
SM~~
j~ -
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~-UJ
&
Breathe Easy
BitsLimited'sSmartStripSurgeProtector
is greatfor any
roombutit's idealfor yourlivingroom'sentertainment
center.Notonlydoesit eliminatethewastefulvampire
powerdraw(whenappliances
continueto drawpower
despitebeing"turnedoff") responsible
for 5 percentof
theU.S.'spoweruse,thesmartstripallowsyouto set up
a "controloutlet"which,whenactivated,(e.g.byturning
onyourTV)will turnonthe powerto the restof theoutlets
onthestrip.($40,bitsltd.net)
Whenit comesto battlingpoorair quality,
Humanscale's
Personal
Zoneair purifieris
theheavyartillery
yourlungscrave.Energyefficient
andarmedwitha patented
paper
filtrationsystem,
thePersonal
Zonesucceeds
in removing
morethat99 percent
of the
contaminants
intheair-includingdust,
smoke,bacteria,allergens,smogandviruses.
Thefiltercanbevacuumed
forreuseandis
recyclable.
($400,humanscale.com)
Seeing the Light
Air purifiersin everyroomwouldbe nice,butspendy-andnot
exactlyenergyefficient-but thatdoesn'tmeanyouneedto sacrifice
air qualityin the restof the house.Swapouryourlightbulbswith
PurelyProducts'CFLlightbulbs.Theseenergy-efficient
bulbsuse
built-inionizersto rid yourhomeof airborneallergenslikepollen,
dust,petdanderandmoldspores.How'sthatfor brightening
your
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July/August 2011
I 79
TOPTENREASONS
WELOVE
...
Diedra
Meredith
The OUTMusic executive
director on fighting for LGBT
visibility in the music industry.
By Jillian Eugenics
1 . Shewantsusto haveourownversionofthe
Grammys.
After meeting the founders at the
2006 OUTMusic awards, Meredith thought,
"You guys don't realize what you have here.
This could be like our gay Grammys. I
blew in with the big ideas, just excited to
be involved:' Next thing you know, come
the end of 2006, the organization was transitioning into new leadership. "No one else
really answered the call:' She was appointed
Executive Director in 2007.
the one thing that was being told and suggested was that I not be openly lesbian and
so flamboyantly lesbian. And I was like,
I don't see the point. That's who I am and
that's who's going to the top of the Billboard
charts, why do I have to change that nowt
6 .... andis bigongettingothersbeingout,too.
"It became a great thing when people started
coming out in the industry. Their careers
didn't get lost so it became easier to have that
argument with the record executive. Like,
2. She keepsthe dreamof OUTMusic
alive. 'Hey, these people came out and their careers
Shortly after becoming executive director,
didn't end: Their response to that is that they
"the reality hit that [OUTMusic] is not trawere already famous and it's hard to take an
ditionally funded. Unfortunately our own
artist from scratch who happens to be openly
LGBT community didn't see the value so it
gay and make them a household name. I say,
was up to me to find a way
Why? Because you don't
have a blueprint? Because
that we could all link together
you don't know? Then
as a community, that we can
you just create it:'
embrace our musical expression and appreciate it:'
7. She's a survivor."In
3. ShehelpedOUTMusic
pull
2005 I was diagnosed
throughin desperatetimes.
with a joint disease in
In 2010, the organization
which I had to undergo
suffered. It took a hit with
an emergency surgery.
In that surgery they had
the economy, major sponto go in front of my neck
sors pulling out, and people
and move my vocal cords
withintheorganizationwith
"duplicitous intent:' She said,
over in order to replace
"I had been betrayed, I
discs in my spine and
neck. There was a 50/50 chance I would
couldn't believe that was happening. It was
so horrible. I thought that I was done in
come out of that surgery paralyzed from the
neck down:' This happened just as her single
this industry and I thought it was going to
be over. So I was lying down one day and I
was shooting up the Billboard charts.
said, 'Live Nation: And I just picked up the
8. Shehelpshomeless
youngpeople."I have
phone and called:' With the support of Live
Nation she said, "We're going to revive this.
the opportunity to teach these young kids
songwriting and the music business at the
We're going to do it:'
Reciprocity Foundation, which is an organi4. She is passionateabout LGBTvisibility. zation that supports homeless and at-risk
"We've been to programmed to see heteroyouth:'
sexual people expressing themselves in music.
9. She'sinspirational.
OUTMusic has had
When was the last time you saw a music
a bumpy road, but she's a fighter. "Monkey
video with same-gender loving expression?
wrenches have been thrown, but we're going
Where it was as authentic as when heteroto make it through:'
sexual people express themselves? That's also
an area to break through, to get people to see
that in music:'
1 0. She'sa womanona mission.
"OUT Music
means freedom of expression. To finally be
5. She'salwaysbeenoutandproud... "When
in a place where we stand on an equivalent
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Win a Trip to Stockholm, Sweden From Curve
Stockholm is the rainbow capital of Scandinavia. Gay life is all
around you, the women are warm, welcoming-and gorgeous,
too! While the city embraces all things gay every day, Stockholm
Pride festival takes place each year in August. And now you can
win a trip for two, for a four-night stay! Visit curvemag.com to
find out how to enter.
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Our Extended Interview and
Free Music From Daphne Willis
Land loving lesbian separatists )
Need more Daphne Willis? And really, who doesn't. Then check
out our exclusive extended interview with the saucy out songstress. Plus, download a free MP3 of her song "One By One."
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Chatting up
Victoria Brownworth
Read our interview with writer,
editor, activist and curve
politics columnist Victoria
A. Brownworth on her new
book, From Where We Sit:
Black Writers Write Black
Youth. Edited by Brownworth
this anthology is an innovative collection from 13
established and up-and-coming African-American
authors, exploring the idea of what it means to
be black. Featuring works by Jewelle Gomez,
Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, Anne Shade and more.
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More on the Lesbian
Separatist Movement
Want to learn more about
the lesbian separatist movement featured in "Back to the
Future" (page 34)? Read Diane
Anderson-Minshall's extended article on these
fascinating and ahead of the curve eco-conscious
land dykes. Plus, find out what you can do to help
support their efforts or even join up yourself.
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EDITOR'S
NOTE
''You
don't own me, don't try to changeme in any way•••" Sung
by a 17 ~year~old Lesley Gore in 1964 (she finally came
out in 2005), covered by Dusty Springfield and later by
Joan Jett-could this be the first lesbian pop anthem? When
I look back a few decades, I see a world of lesbian music that
has always been mainstream, and I'm thankful for that, espe~
cially since lesbians usually have so little space in mainstream
culture. Whether they meant to or not, Janis Joplin, k.d. lang,
Melissa Etheridge, Joan Armatrading, The Indigo Girls, Tegan
and Sara and Lady Gaga have helped
generations of women come to terms with
their sexual identity. I remember buying
Shadowlands-on cassette-and
I was
delighted with k.d. lang's appropriation of
Patsy Cline and Peggy Lee. I felt strangely
elated when I first heard "Bring Me Some
Water" played over the PA system at my
local mall as soccer moms went about their
business. Similarly, Sophie B. Hawkins'
"Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" and Jill
Sobule's "I Kissed a Girl" (not to mention
Katy Perry's polarizing ditty of the same
name) put lesbian messages out there, and
were chart toppers, too.
Lesbians have always been thirsty for
music that helps articulate our emotional
and erotic longings. Music is our muse.
Who hasn't, in the early stages of dating, looked to her prospec~
tive partner's musical tastes as an indication of compatibility?
We're passionate about music with an intensity almost
worth noting, anthropologically: I have never met a lesbian
who wasn't besotted by Sarah Mclachlan (what's that about?).
And lesbian breakups frequently involve fighting over record
and CD collections. In fact, the wonderful Jen Foster's breakup
song, "Taking Bob Dylan;' is a nod to this phenomenon.
Nowadays, though, I will happily turn down the volume
and listen to the wind in the trees outside, and the song of
cardinals, starlings and swallows is so free of angst. Nature is
another kind of muse, and it's increasingly vital that we listen
to her. I feel that it's fitting to combine our Music and Green
themes in a double issue this month. I was thrilled to have
music icon k.d. lang on our cover, especially since she lives
spiritually, quietly and lightly on our very fragile planet.
Enjoy music this summer but also spare a thought, and
as many acts of kindness as you can, for the green and quiet
spaces on this earth. After all, we need to protect them for the
next generation of music~loving lesbians.
Listening
to the
Muse
Merryn Jo s
Editor-inief
merryn@curvemag.com
s I curve
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
JULY/AUGUST
2011
LESBIAN
I
MAGAZINE
VOLUME 21 NUMBER 6
Publisher Silke Bader
Founding Publisher Frances Stevens
EDITORIAL
Editor in Chief Merryn Johns
Managing Editor Rachel Shatto
Associate Editor Jillian Eugenios
Book Review Editor Rachel Pepper
Contributing Editors Diane Anderson-Minshall, Victoria A.
Brownworth, Gina Daggett, Sheryl Kay, Stephanie Schroeder
Copy Editor Katherine Wright
PUBLISHING
Associate Publisher Diana L. Berry
Director of Operations Laura McConnell
Advertising Sales Rivendell Media
ART/PRODUCTION
Art Director Stefanie Liang
Production Artist Kelly Nuti
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Jamie Anderson, Kathy Beige, Stacy Bias, Kelsy Chauvin, Bree
Clarke, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Beren deMotier, Lauren Marie
Fleming, Lisa Gunther, Tania Hammidi, Kathi lsserman, Melany
Joy Beck, Gillian Kendall, Georgia Krokus, Kate Lacey, Charlene
Lichtenstein, Karen Loftus, Sassafras Lowrey, Ariel MessmanRucker, Alison Peters, Heather Robinson, Laurie K. Schenden, Lori
Selke, Janelle Sorenson, Dave Steinfeld, Edie Stull, Yana TallonHicks, Jocelyn Voo
CONTRIBUTING
ILLUSTRATORS
& PHOTOGRAPHERS
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Contents of Curve Magazine may not be reproduced in any manner, either whole or in part,
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TRACYCHAPMAN/ KIRSTENVANGSNESS / SANDRABERNHARD/
JODIE FOSTER/ ANI DIFRANCO/ MELISSAETHERIDGE/TAMMYLYNN
MICHAELS/ ALEXANDRAHEDISON/ LILYTOMLIN/ KELLYMCGILLIS/
SARAH GILBERT/ JENNYSHIMIZU/ MARTINANAVRATILOVA/KATE
CLINTON/ MICHELLEWOLFF/ CLEA DUVALL/ TEGAN & SARA/ JANE
LYNCH/ K,O, LANG/ JACKIEWARNER/ ANNE HECHE/ MEREDITH
BAXTER/ JANIS IAN/ WE GOT THEM COVERED/ ANGELINAJOLIE/
KRISTANNALOKEN/ JOEY LAURENADAMS / TALLULAHBANKHEAD
LAURELHOLLOMAN/ DREW BARRYMORE/ AMANDA BEARSE/
CRYSTALBERNARD/ BILLYJEAN KING/ CHAZ BONO / AMBER HEARD
/ OREADE MATTEO/ CRIS WILLIAMSON/ FERRON/ ALIXDOBKIN
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DIETRICH/ AMANDA DONOHOE / GINA GERSHON/ LINDAFIORENTINO
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/ INDIGOGIRLS/ ROSIEJONES / LAURENHAYS/ BAI LING/ MELISSA
FERRICK/ FRIDAKAHLO/ REGINALUND / ROXANNEMICHAELS
/ NICOLERAYBURN/ TOSHI REAGON/ MICHELLERODRIGUEZ/
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FORD/ ROSIE0 DONNELL/ JILLIANMICHAELS/ BRANDICARLILE/
DEL MARTIN/ WANDA SYKES/ COURTENAYSEMEL/ BETH DITTO/
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MAURESMO/ ROBYN/ BITCH/ AUDRE LORD / DORIAROBERTS/
SARAH SHAHI/ SHERYLSWOOPES/ CATIECURTIS/ CHRISTINA
AGUILERA/ LADY GAGA/ OPRAH/ HILLARYCLINTON/ JANE VELEZMITCHELL/ KRISTENSTEWART/ ILENECHAIKEN/ MARGARETHE
CAMMERMEYER/ SAM RONSON / LINDSAYLOHAN
1
curve
LETTERS
summer and I feel lesbians are not encouraged enough to do this. Thanks, and keep up
the good work! -Chelsea, Dallas, Texas
From Curve's
Facebook Wall
I lovemesomeCurve!I'm so excited
to havean articlein this month'sissue,
whatan honor!-Hollis Bulleit
Fit for Print
REALLWORD
Sizzling, Sexy and
IS BACK!
Even More Scandalous
Way to Represent!
I am in awe of your magazine. How do you
do it:' Every month there is such an interesting
mix of stories about lesbians, some rich and
famous like Leisha Hailey, others unknown
or unsung and living abroad. I am so proud
as a lesbian to be able to open each issue and
feel connected to these women and inspired
by their lives. On a personal note, I want to
thank you for including fitness in the magazine. I have a goal to get in better shape for
Poll
Which lesbian musician's biopic
would you most like to see?
34%
25%
18%
16%
6%
1%
LeishaHailey
MelissaEtheridge
Thankyoufor yourinformative,
creative,andsassyinterviewwith
UhHuhHer!MyfianceandI hadthe
awesomeexperience
of seeingthem
liveandwe gotto chatwith themafter
the show.Theseladiesarethe real
deal!Pleasekeepthe interviewsand
articlescoming,ya'IIarethe bestat it!
-Lauren I Cox
Weareextremelyproudto announce
our partnershipwith CurveMagazine!
-Flawles, SanDiego
From Curvemag.com
Editor's Note: We posted the trailer for
Becoming Chaz on Curvemag.com and it
kicked off a frenzy of debate, making it clear
that trans-inclusion is still dividing our community. Here's a sample of the discussion:
Loveyourmag-we haveit at our
gaycafe/barTrun6herein Reykjavik,
Iceland-stop by if youareeverin the
coldnorth:)-Tn.in6
What is going on with the G&L movement:'
The fact that trannies are treated as normal
is bizarre. The perception could easily be,
for someone who has no contact with our
community, that all gays and lesbians turn
into the opposite gender. I for one, find it
repulsive! I realize this is not currently a
trendy belief but who cares! -Shads
I find your comment highly offensive. There
is a real reason that trans people are "attached"
to the LGBT movement-many
of them
lived as gays or lesbians before transitioning,
and many of them are still queer. Also, who is
to say that trans people are or aren't normal:'
What the fuck is normal:' I bet many straight
people would say the exact same offensive
things to you, for being gay. -Amazon
I can't seem to go to any so-called "lesbian"
bar or party in N.Y.C. without seeing several
female-to-male transsexuals. Because they
Thismagazineis a godsend.
Thankyou
:D-Vicki Driver
Justa message
to saythanks,
especially
for everything
doneforthe
-loeyy
youngerlgbtcommunity!
Jenkinson-Holmes
LoveCurveMag• -WhOaGRL_
Productions
iJ Like
"used to be" lesbian hardly seems a valid
reason to hang around. -Spaghetti
T ransgendered people were hardly "added
on" to any movement. Do a little research and
you can see they were always there, sharing
in our same struggles (e.g. Stonewall). We
all face discrimination, mostly by the same
people for the same reasons, and that's why
there is an LGBT community at all-Robyn
TracyChapman
k.d.lang
JanisIan
AlixDobkin
According
to a curvemag.com
poll
,o I curve
I guess you could say I'm not your average
subscriber to a woman's magazine. I hate
dieting tips. After all, if the Lord had wanted
me to look like a slender red jungle fowl
chicken, he would have made me that way.
What a breath of fresh air curve is. Your
articles are insightful, funny, true and important. I love advice and book reviews. In future
I would like to see more advice columns,
issues, coming out stories and stories of
overcoming hardship. -Angel, Cohutta, Ga.
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CONTRIBUTORS
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JohannaGohmann
has written for a variety of print and
online publications, including: Salon, The Morning News,
The Chicago Sun-Times, Red, and The Dubliner. She is a
frequent contributor to Bust. Her essays appear in The Best
Womens Travel Writing 2010; The Best Sex Writing 2010;
and A Moveable Feast: Life-Changing Food Adventures
Around the World. Read her first person account of participating in and viewing the art instillation "The Great Wall
of Vagina" on page 12. UohannaGohmann.com)
AllisonSteinbergis fascinated by the shrinking closet and
feels like "it's our youth who are in large part responsible:'
It was under this guise that she first became interested in
exploring further the topic of LG BT youth, the brainchild
of "Coming Out Young" on page 30. Steinberg is a writer
with a strong background in all topics lesbian and transgender, particularly with regards to representations in
media. She currently authors JetBlue's blog, Blue Tales and
enjoys her travel benefits to the fullest extent.
DianeAnderson-Minshall,
once the editor in chief of this
glorious mag, has spent the better part of the year traveling in her 1969 Dodge Wright Way motor home, writing about environmental issues for GreenitForward.org
and discovering the romantic limitations of sharing 10
feet of living space with her spouse. Anderson-Minshall
is also co-author of the award-winning detective series
Blind Faith, Blind Curves and Blind Leap-as well as the
thriller, Punishment With Kisses. She's appeared in
numerous publications from People to Passport and is a
frequent TV and radio guest, appearing on NPR, Out on
the Bay, WE's Secret Lives of Women, Here TV's Lesbian
Sex and Sexuality and on numerous news programs.
JuliaSteineckehas been exploring her surroundings and
writing about them for over 20 years. Between travels
she lives in Toronto and retreats to her cabin in northeastern Ontario. She recently completed a six-year stint
as the author of Pink Planet, an LGBT travel column in
the Toronto Star. This month she shares with curve
readers her lesbian adventures in Cuba on page 66.
"Cuba is one of my favorite countries to write about; a
bundle of contradictions that engages me on many levels:
A larger-than-life culture, an incredible history and some
of the friendliest people I've met:' Julia has led writing
retreats in Cuba and on the Toronto Islands. She meets
her readers at facebook.com/Julia Takes YouThere.
July/August 2011
I 11
Amber Elizabeth
balances the glam
world of modeling
with rough and
,
tumble football/
and a little lingerie
/
thrown in.
Recycling the Sounds of Music
Lesbian jewelry maker Wesla Weller gives new life to old musical instrument parts.
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Recycling is a way of life for Wesla Weller; reimagining
is her creative gift. And now Weller is channeling her
talent into up~styling jewelry out of recycled musical
instrument parts to create her Upbeat Jewellery ( spelled
jewellery to include her last name).
A graphic designer with Los Angeles magazine and
an illustrator of more than a dozen books-including
Eric Idle's The Quite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl
left the corporate world in
and the Pussycat-Weller
2006 to start her own card business. "I wanted to be
doing my own thing;' she says. With the support of
her partner Jane, an editor with the Los Angeles Times,
Weller began producing her Weller Than Ever line of
cards using recycled paper and soy ink.
However, a metal~smithing class "for fun" at Otis
College of Art, and a small spark of inspiration lead
Weller to conceive of Upbeat Jewellery. Today it's
become her passion. ''I'll go into music stores and ask,
'Do you have any guitar strings I can have?' And they'll
pull them out of the trash can. I asked about drum
heads, they said, 'Oh, we just threw away a bunch of
them; so I literally went dumpster diving to get a stack
of those:'
When sizing up various strings, gears and parts
Weller says, "I look at them with all my other stuff and
I think, Those would look really cool like this:' Wood
violin pegs or guitar pegs made of ivoroid or pearloid
make fetching pendants. "It's just really exciting to me
that I can incorporate a lot of things I love;' she says.
The next step for Weller is to use her passion to
give something back. She hopes to share her profits
with youth programs, such as the Mr. Holland's Opus
Foundation that provide musical instruments to kids.
"I love the idea of taking parts of instruments that
supposedly have outlived their usefulness and in some
way regenerating that into some kid getting a new
instrument," she says.
Her collection includes a Drum Circles series based
on labyrinths and mandalas. And the cleverly~titled
Cymbalism series is made 0£ what else, old cymbals.
So far she has a Love Cymbal, Peace Cymbal and
Status Cymbal.
"I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to use
for the Sex Cymbal yet," Weller says with a laugh.
( upbeatjewellery.com) [LaurieK.Schenden]
"I'llgo into musicstoresand ask, 'Do you
have any guitarstringsI can have?'And
they'llpullthem out of the trash can."
July/August 2011
I 13
CURVATURES
The Great Wall of Vagina
A sculpture participant shares the unique experience of seeing
her intimate contribution on display. By Johanna Gohmann
It's a sunny May morning and I'm wandering
the twisted streets of Brighton, England,
trying to find my vagina. Unfortunately, the
GPS on my phone isn't working, and the
lack of street signs isn't helping matters.
To clarify, I'm not looking for my actual
vagina. I am well aware of where she is.
What I'm looking for is "The Great Wall of
Vagina;' an art piece I participated in back
in 2008. This unique sculpture is the brainchild of British artist Jamie McCartney, and
I'm here to see the finished project.
Back in 2006, McCartney was running
his body casting studio, busily slapping
plaster to willing flesh and making molds
14
I curve
of everything from newborn baby feet to
women's heaving bosoms. Then one day
he encountered some statistics on vaginal
cosmetic surgery, and he learned that thousands of women have begun to dish out
thousands of dollars for labiaplasties. He
was shocked to realize that so many women
are now paying to get their "abnormal"
labia snipped into a more "attractive" look.
(Thank you, pornography, for this delightful
new brand of body dysmorphia.)
A light bulb went off for McCartney, and
he decided to create a massive sculpture to
help showcase the incredible uniqueness of
every woman's shape. He put out a call for
female volunteers of all ages and set to work
creating anonymous white plaster casts of
their vaginas.
I first got wind of the project when,
as an American living in Dublin, I saw
McCartney interviewed for a BBC documentary called "The Perfect Vagina" and
I was utterly intrigued by his project. So
much so, I hopped a plane to London to
participate. The whole casting experience
was certainly one I will never forget. (You
haven't lived until you've sat in sub-zero
temperatures behind a flimsy curtain on
Brighton pier, while a cheerful Englishman
smears blue algaenate between your legs.)
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Five years and some 400 vaginas in the
making, the sculpture is finally complete.
Which is why I'm lost on the Brighton
streets on this bright Friday morning. I pop
into a sex shop called Tickled, and a friendly
woman behind the dildo counter helpfully
points me in the direction of the gallery. I
head off down a little lane and gaze at the
items in the passing windows ... jewelry
for sale... tea towels featuring Princess Kate
and Prince William ... a pile of plaster baby
fists ... ah yes! Here we are.
I stroll into Brighton Body Casting, and
there stands McCartney busily unpacking
a cardboard box.
"Remember met I ask.
"Hmmm. Your face looks familiar. Oh
wait, yes, I actually know more than your
face, don't It he laughs.
McCartney ushers me back into the main
gallery, and I quickly see that the walls
are completely covered with vagina. It is
a veritable vagin~a~rama. The white casts
are grouped together in groups of 40, and
were the panels laid end~to~end it would
measure into a 26~foot wall of woman.
As it is, McCartney has the panels spread
around the room in a square. If you stand
in the center, you are completely sur~
rounded by the delicate white moldings. I
squint, and it kind oflooks like I'm in the
china department of Macy's.
McCartney hands me a tiny booklet
that highlights some of the more unique
casts. For instance, panel one has identical
twin sisters, as well as a female to male
trans man. Panel two has a male to female
trans woman, and panel three has two of
the same woman: One cast before she gave
birth, one after. Mixed among the panels
are a 78 year~old grandmother, a woman
after a labiaplasty, and several women with
genital piercings.
"So, can you find yourst McCartney
asks. "I know I certainly can't:'
'Tm not sure, actually:' And really, I'm
not. I should have brought a photo. Or a
hand mirror. As I wander the room, I think
I spot mine, but I'm not 100 percent certain.
I lean closer to it, and one of McCartney's
gallery assistants walks by.
"It's pretty impressive, isn't itt She muses.
For a split second I actually think she
means mine specifically, and I almost blush
and say"Thank you:' I quickly realize she of
course means the entire sculpture.
"Yes! Impressive!" I agree.
What is also impressive is the amount of
merchandise McCartney has available for
purchase. On the more upscale end, there's
a photo book that details the making of the
sculpture, and includes various interviews
and stories from the participants. Then
there's the other end of the vulva promo~
tions spectrum: Postcards, posters, fridge
magnets, even mugs.
I can't help but feel a bit strange about
the merchandising of the sculpture, as it's a
little awkward to have my genitals feature as
part of a gift shop. True, I'm not even really
sure if my cast appears on any of that stuff,
and I suppose I should just be grateful he
opted against lunch boxes and sun visors.
Ultimately, I know the tchotchkes are a good
marketing tool, and hey, if the Philadelphia
Museum of Art can sell a necktie printed
with Frida Kahlo's portrait of her broken
spine, well then why shouldn't McCartney
hawk a few magnets?
As I leave, I'm happy to realize I still feel
good about participating in the project.
I feel much the same as before: That no
matter what happens with the piece-if
outraged vandals attack it with hammers,
or some drunk tourist sticks Bubblicious
to my clitoris-well
it's OK. Because if
the sculpture alters even one person's
misconceptions of the female form, it is
worth it.
After the show closes in Brighton,
McCartney plans on taking it around
the country in a mobile gallery so many
more people can see the sculpture. I
ponder this as I make my way back to
the train, my magnet and mug clinking
together in my bag. I'm actually moving
back to the States very soon. It's amusing
to think that long after I settle into my
Brooklyn apartment, my vagina will
still be out touring around merry old
England. (gwov.co.uk)
"Thewalls are
completely covered
with vagina. It is a
veritablevagin-a-rama.
The white casts are
grouped together in
groups of 40, and
were the panels laid
end-to-end it would
measure into a 26foot wall of woman."
July/August 2011
I 15
CURVATURES
the rundown
The latest victim of so~called
"corrective rape" in SouthAfrica
was a 13~year~old lesbian who
had been open about her sexual~
ity. Government~funded research
studies have shown that one in four
South African men have admitted to
committing rape. "Corrective rape"
is a frequent form of violence perpetuated against
lesbians in the country, and is intended to "cure" them.
The South African government has condemned the
act, and this most recent attack ... KatyPerryof"I
Kissed a Girl" fame has told
VanityFairthat she has actually
"experimented" with women,
which contradicts her original
media stance when the hit was
first released. When asked
why she lied, Perry explained
that some of the male journal~
ists were "sleazy" and that she
"didn't like where the guys
were taking the interviews"...
NormaHurtado,
an Austin,
Texas lesbian, and her mother Maria Hurtado, were
murdered by the father (Jose Alfonso Aviles) of
Norma's girlfriend who was angry that his daughter
was in a lesbian relationship. Aviles' response to his
daughter's relationship with Norma had been violent
previously: Police had responded to calls around his
domestic violence and sexual assault of his daughter's
girlfriend. Norma's girlfriend's name has not been
publicly released, and her father is currently being
held without bail. .. Chelsea
Clintonhelped kick off
New York State phone banking for marriage equality
in the state. Her involvement came hours after her
father, former President Bill Clinton, came forward in
support of the campaign's goals of winning marriage
equality before June ... In the ongoing custody
battle
between Janet Jenkins and former civil union spouse
Lisa Miller over their daughter, Isabella, Timothy
David Miller has been arrested. After their separation
in 2003 Miller moved
with their daughter to
Virginia. Courts ruled
that Jenkins had pa~
rental rights and or~
dered that custody be
transferred to Jenkins
onJan. l, 2010, which
has not yet happened.
[Sassafras
Lowrey]
16
I curve
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OUTINFRONT
Embarking on
Providence
Their rights are our rights.
By Sheryl Kay
CuttingThroughRedTape
Once upon a time, her grandmother used to
for afternoon strolls
take PolinaSavchenko
through a park adjacent to Kazan Cathedral
in St. Petersburg, Russia. Today, that same
park is a popular lesbian meeting spot.
"I take it as a sign of fate;' says Savchenko,
who now serves as director of development,
board member and projects coordinator for
Coming Out, an NGO that lobbies and
advocates for the universal recognition of
equal rights, hosting educational and cultural
events and providing psychological and legal
services to the LGBT community in Russia.
Destiny has taken a few strange turns
for Savchenko, who grew up in Russia,
then immigrated with her parents to
America in 1989 at age 14. After settling
in here, Savchenko began down the road
to the American dream, attaining a BA in
chemistry and French from the University of
Illinois and going on to a successful career in
information technology.
But something didn't feel right, she recalls.
"I never really felt I completely left Russia;'
she says. ''And one day, I said, 'That's it! I don't
know what lies ahead- I have no idea what
I will do, no plans, no security-but
I know
I have to take the leap of faith and find out
what this calling means: So I came back:'
Social and cultural life for lesbians in St.
Petersburg is very rich, notes Savchenko,
especially since she helped found Coming
Out, but there is no protection against
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Homophobia is still state sponsored; national
leaders openly describe the gay community
as sick, its people as perverted and carriers
of disease.
"I do want to live in a free land, with
fundamental respect for human rights;'
she says, explaining her return to Russia
and her strong commitment to civil rights
projects. These include establishing a local
LGBT community center and heading the
Organizing Committee for last year's very
successful International
Queer Culture
Festival in St. Petersburg. "I do want to live
openly as a gay woman. I do want justice and
happiness for LGBT people. And if my home
country has all these problems, then my place
is here, trying to solve them:'
Setting the Bar
It almost sounds like a story from the late
'50s: Black woman is raised in small-town
Louisiana, grows up experiencing hate and
prejudice, finally secures employment but
gets fired simply for being who she is.
The only difference in the scenario is that
Johnson
is fired
this time it is 2006: Ashland
when her employers learn she is a lesbian, and
because there is no state or federal employment
protection for gays, it is legal.
"It was my first real experience with this
type of rejection, and I was extremely hurt
and angry;' recalls Johnson. "I also felt a
strong disappointment in myself for being in
that situation. Here I was, a gay woman in the
South, and I had no idea that it was entirely
legal to fire me for being gay:'
It was just the kick-start Johnson needed
to propel her into civil rights and lead her to
law school, where she started volunteering
with local equal-rights groups. This experience showed her that the people who were
in the best position to help bring about
advancements were those who had an intimate understanding of the law.
"That's the kind of difference I ultimately
want to make;' she says.
In the past year, Johnson has started the
LGBT Law Initiative at the University of
Georgia, a program designed to help queer
students learn more about the possibilities
and potential challenges associated with
attending law school. The 28-year-old hopes
the LGBT Law Initiative will create a pipeline for young equal-rights advocates to enter
law school, noting that many LGBT youth
are often deterred from attaining a JD degree
because studying law is such a historically
conservative program.
"No one can champion your cause more
truly than you .... So, regardless of if it's something small...the important thing is to actprotect your rights, promote your rights and
own your movement in any way you
July/August 2011
I 19
LESBOFILE
Sapphic Scuttlebutt
Evan comes out, Angie may be back to her gay ways
and Gaga keeps on fighting the good fight. By Jocelyn Voo
Bi Blood
Looking back, dating androgynous shock~
rocker Marilyn Manson for nearly three
years should've been an indicator that True
Bloodactor EvanRachelWoodis bisexual.
"I was always into very androgynous
things. Guys, girls ... I'm into androgyny in
general;' Wood told Esquire. 'Tm up for any~
thing. Meet a nice guy, meet a nice girl...I'm
more kind of like the guy when it comes to
girls;' she adds. 'Tm the dominant one. I'm
opening the doors, I'm buying dinner. Yeah,
I'm romantic:•
Wine 'em, dine 'em and go in for the killmakes sense, coming from someone who
plays a (lesbian) vampire queen.
Timeto SayGoodbye?
Much of the lesbian world thought we'd lost
Angelina Jolie for good when she shacked up
with Brad Pitt (hey, we did!). But maybe
because the Lindsay Lohan rumor mill has
run dry, new tabloid reports are surfacing of
Jolie being unfaithful-with
a woman.
In Touch claims that the actor and mom
to six has "a string of female lovers that she
hooks up with from time to time" to quell her
"strong bisexual desires;• and goes even as far
as naming a room in L.A:s Roosevelt Hotel
as one of the love dens La Jolie rents for ']ust
a few hours:•
Look, we all remember her Jenny Shimizu
20
I curve
days of yore. But maybe it's finally time to
retire the old fantasy-especially
since we
have new up~and~comers climbing out of the
closet ... and then again, maybe not.
NewsworthyExample
Lead by example:' That's what Rachel
Maddow's trying to do. The bespectacled
political commentator is calling out her
fellow broadcast news journalists to, well,
come out. 'Tm sure other people in the
business have considered reasons why they're
doing what they're doing, but I do think that
if you're gay you have a responsibility to
come out;' Maddow told The Guardian.
Some have suspected that she was ref~
erencing CNN anchor Anderson Cooper,
whose sexuality has oft been called into
question. However, Maddow made clear on
her blog that he wasn't at all being targeted.
Rather, it's more about public responsibility
and personal peace: "I also believe that
coming out makes for a happier life:•
Agreed!
Walkthe Walk
Singer Christina Aguilera
has the honor of being the
first inductee onto the
new Gay Walk of Fame at
The Abbey, known as "the
best gay bar in the world:'
Christina Aguilera
"I share a special bond with my gay and
lesbian fans. We've supported each other
for years;' Aguilera said. "It is such an honor
to be the first honoree on The Abbey's Gay
Walk of Fame. This is one of my favorite
places and a special destination for gays and
lesbians from around the world:'
FightForYourRight
Lady Gaga isn't just walking the walk-she's
talking the talk. Ever supportive of the LGBT
community, Gaga went nose~to~nose with
an anti~gay activist handing out "get out of
hell free" cards outside one of her shows.
In a recent video on Gagavision, her
YouTube video series, Gaga tells the protes~
tor, "We really believe in God at my show:•
The protestor counters: "Your pervert ways
don't quite equate to what God is all about,
darlin."
"What I'm trying to understand is, there's
3,000 people standing in my line, and
nobody standing in your line;' Gaga
responds. "Who's goin' to hell?"
But while Gaga brushes off the
haters with a joke, there's more to it:
She's "sad that my fans have to
see that, but I know that it's
just part of what I'm sup~
posed to do:•
A true fighter for the
cause? You bet.
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July/August 2011
I 21
STARS
Hot Child in the City
By Charlene Lichtenstein
Cancer{June22-July 23)
Crabsistersare morereticent
thanmostwomen,butdon't
thinkfor a minutethattheyare
unableto saywhat'sontheir
minds.Theyhavethe common
touch,blessedwiththe uncanny
abilityto relateto practically
anyone.
They'lleventalkto
Scorpios!
Forthisreason,Cancer
dykesgenerally
getwhatthey
wantwhentheywantit. Don't
underestimate
thisgal;
you'llwinduplosing.
Late summer brings the heat.
Aries{March21-April20)
The party train pulls into your station so get on board
and get on down. Lambda Rams have a ticket to all
the top hot summer events and will enjoy every last
one of them. Along the way, find new creative ways to
express yourself artistically. Art can be a very effective
babe magnet.
Libra{Sept.24-0ct. 23)
You are more social than usual and will find any excuse
to gather your bosom buddies together. So allow your
social calendar to overflow and don't waste a drop!
Consider expanding your circle by joining new groups
or organizations. You never know who you will meet.
A friend of a friend may prove to be very... friendly.
Taurus{April21-May 21)
While escaping to distant shores may have its appeal,
Sapphic Bulls are happiest staying dose to home this
summer. Maybe it's because you can relax as you lounge
around the house. Gal pals beat a path to your door for
BBQs, sunbathing and unlimited beer. Or maybe it's
because of those naked poolside nymphs.
Scorpio{Oct.24-Nov.22)
Retirement is a long ways off and a lofty idea. That
must be why you are so ambitious this summer and
allow career demands to take precedence over fun and
frolic. Expect to burn the midnight oil at work and
continue to slowly climb up the corporate ladder. But
beware: all work and no play makes Scorpio Jane a
fuddy duddy.
Gemini{May22-June 21)
Give some of your latent great ideas room to roam this
summer. They will find receptive ears and may lead to
bigger and better things for you in the long term. But
think first and plan your delivery so that your com~
munications have structure and heft. It is time to get
serious, Gemini. Can you do that and still wear those
hot pink pantaloons?
Sagittarius{Nov.23-Dec.22)
Travel is highlighted on your calendar all through the
summer. Hurry and pack your bags before thoughts
of work and other obligations give you pause. Set out
in search of adventure. Who knows what or who you
will find in some far corner of the world. Explore every
nook and cranny. No names please!
Cancer{June22-July 23)
While you may not be exceedingly rich, you may feel
a bit more extravagant and flush through the summer.
Money comes to you more easily and you don't feel
that you have to scrimp and save every dime. Do you
Leo{July24-Aug.23)
have your eye on a certain special someone? Muster up
Theimageof someravenously
the courage to ask for her number.
regal,fierylionfits rathernicely
withthe burningpersonality
profileof the lambdaLeo.Like Leo{July24-Aug.23)
Sagittarius,
Leohasa bit of This is your time to shine. The fates conspire to push
the feistyanimalin her.She you into center stage and the adoring crowds will rush
cannotbe reignedin (unless forward to applaud your every gesture. So now that
you'retalkingleatherstraps you know that all eyes are on you, maybe it's time
aroundthe bedpost)andenjoys to refresh your wardrobe and give yourself a quick
beingthe completecenterof makeover? Yes, it is possible to improve on perfection,
attention-or else! Lioness!
Aquarius{Jan.21-Feb.19)
Are you in a relationship or in the market for one? If so,
this is the time to meet your match, Aqueerius. Make
yourself available and seek out new venues to meet and
greet. For those who are in a committed partnership,
put more effort into making it the best it can be. And
the more the better. While it takes two to tango, one
partner usually leads.
Virgo{Aug.24-Sept.23)
Turn up your intuition into high gear and go with
Charlene
Lichtenstein
is
theauthorofHerscopes: your gut. There is secretive activity going on all around
you and behind the scenes buzz that you can harness
A Guideto Astrology
and exploit to your advantage. It is time to take your
for Lesbians
(Simon&
sweet revenge on those who have tripped you up over
Schuster)
(tinyurl.com/HerScopes).
Nowavailableasan ebook.
the past few months. Or you can forgive and forget.
Pisces{Feb.20-March20)
It is never too late to adopt a healthier lifestylewhether through a revamped diet or a renewed exercise
regime. Buff your stuff, Guppie. Resolve to improve
your bad habits all through the summer. Well not all
your bad habits. You need something a little naughty
about your personality to remain interesting. Ahem.
22
I curve
Capricorn{Dec.23-Jan. 20)
You have more than your fair share of sex appeal now,
Capricorn. Use it or lose it. The summer just got
hotter. You will have a full choice of hotties who
gravitate into your orbit and hope to land on your
beach. But be discerning in your amorous pursuits.
There is no sense wasting your oil on a dry prospect.
SCENE
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Lesbian Spring Break From Palm Springs to Provincetown,
lesbians across the country celebrated the new season with sex and style.
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1 Spring came early to Soho, N.Y.C. when Juicy
Pink Box threw the lavish FrenchKissFete(April
21) to celebrate the release of their latest supersexy DVD. 2, 3 Girl Bar's DinahShoreWeekand
Club Skirt's The Dinah(March 30-April 3) once
again delivered delightful debauchery and endless
celebrity entertainment across five days and several
venues. 4, 6 Nearly one hundred lesbians took over
Mexico's IslaMujeresPalaceResortfor some Sweet
eco-friendly lesbian leisure (April 30-May 7). 5 The
lucky ladies who attended Provincetown's Single
Women's
Weekend
socialized, schmoozed and were
serenaded by dyke diva Lori Michaels in concert and
at an intimate brunch (May 20-22).
0
in
July/August 2011
I 23
My Celebrity Girlfriend is Too Close to Her Exes
I'm getting crowded out by all her former lovers. By Lipstick and Dipstick
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: My girlfriend of many years seems to grow
closer to her long-past exes with each year that passes. She waxes poetic
about the time they did this or that and talks about how wonderful and
brilliant they are. I've been open and understanding of this for as long
as we've been together, and the exes attend every stinking family get
together we have and I'm about fed up. By the way, she is a celebrity,
so I'm sure that's why all her exes drop everything and run to her. In
addition to that, they have all benefitted from their relationships in some
way (books, movie, etc.) So, it's no sweat off their backs to attend every
function. But honestly, it's getting a little crowded at the dinner table and
it feels terribly shallow. Worse, she believes these people love her as
much as she loves them, and I suppose for the career advances, they
just might. How do I cope? My kids and I are feeling totally squeezed
out. I'm afraid it's going to ruin this relationship.-Choking on her Exes
lezzieland. For some reason, we collect exes
like antiques and often they increase with
value in the same way. Passing time has a
way of cooling down the angry flame that
burned all the photos of you two when you
broke up, tempering the rage that made you
"accidentally" knock her favorite coffee cup
off the counter. Tell me this: Have you been
honest with your girlfriend about how you
feel? Boundaries are important and if you
feel there is no sacred space for just you and
your immediate family, you're right, this
imbalance will eventually drive you apart. If
you haven't been to a therapist together, it's
time to book an appointment. Because kids
are involved and they have a way of upping
the emotional ante, a mediator would serve
you both well.
Dipstick:
Oh I understand your partner com~
pletely. Every time Lipstick and I get chased
by the paparazzi, I just want to go home and
relax around my old friends, the people who
know and love me best-be
they my old
festival buddies, my women's peace encamp~
ment sisters or my old girlfriends. If you're
worried about what her exes want to gain
via her stardom, trust me, new acquaintances
are even worse. I remember the girl who
tried to take me to lunch just so she could
write about dining with Dipstick in her
blog. Celebrities have to be careful about
who they let in their inner circle. You need
to stop thinking of these old flames as ex~
lovers and look at them for what they are:
your famous girl's chosen family. Would you
bitch if her mother and sisters showed up at
every holiday? Who cares that she wants the
people she feels close to at the dinner table
at Easter and Gay Pride? At least she's not
sneaking off to see them. I suggest you add
another plate to the table and smile when
you pass the bread.
Dear Lipstickand Dipstick:I feel sillyasking,
but I'm lookingfor somesoundadviceon how
to pickup women.I live in a collegetownand
seemto be havingtroubletellingthe difference
Lipstick:This is juicy. I'm sure our readers
are as curious as I am about who this girl's
24
I curve
lover is and if she's out of the closet. Dipstick,
I'm not buying what you're saying. I think
you're skirting the issue here. Limelight
aside, this is such a common problem in
ex:
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Lipstick & Dipstick ADVICE
infriendlystraightwomenandflirtinglesbians.
I
keepmakingfriends,butcan'tseemto transitionanyof thosefriendships
intoa relationship.
I don'twantto forcetheissuewithanyone,
but
I alsodon'twantto spendsomuchtimemaking
acquaintances
thataren'tinterested
in dating.
-Poor Poppy
Lipstick:You're just spreading your seeds
right now, Poppy. Eventually, a flower will
grow. A good place to cultivate the fertile
ground is the Internet. Sign up with Curve
Personals and have a look around at available
women, those who clearly call themselves
gay (or bisexual). If they're online, they're
available. Put yourself out there, too, but
be honest about who you are and what
you're looking for. Nothing is worse than a
woman who misrepresents herself online. Dip,
remember "Ginger Snap"?
Dipstick:
Do I ever!
Lipstick:Even though Ginger put down
"Very Athletic;' she couldn't throw a Frisbee
to an eager border collie. Dipping your toe
into the lady pond by meeting women on the
Internet allows you to slowly get wet (ahem)
and insert yourself (I can't help myself) into
a pack of lesbians. Breaking into this sacred
circle is the hardest part. Once inside, the
protective crowd will help you sharpen your
gaydar and your confidence.
Dipstick:The easiest way to tell if she is
a lesbian is if when you make a pass, she
kisses you back. Oh, wait, no, that happened
with my volleyball coach's wife. Regardless,
Lipstick is right about one thing: You need
to insert yourself into the pack oflady-loving
lesbians. Join the campus GSA. Trek it out
to the rugby field and watch the burly girls
bash into each other. Check out a women's
studies class or step into a visiting LGBT
scholar's lecture. Sneak into a lesbian bar and
hit on a short-haired femme.
i
w
DearLipstickand Dipstick:I've beenwith my
(3 girlfriend
for 1O monthsnowandI loveherso
CL
much.She's27 andI'm 19. It seemslikea big
age difference,but it doesn'treallyhaveany
impactonoutrelationship-other
thangoingto
a gaybar.Threemonths
afterI movedin,sheleft
forAfghanistan
inSeptember.
Witheachpassing
dayandafterhoursofSkypeI findmyselfloving
hermoreandmore.I wantsobadto marryher,
butI'm notsurewhentherighttimewill be.We
havevaguelytalkedaboutit, but she seems
a littleunsure.Shesaysif thereis anyoneshe
wouldbe marriedto, it wouldbe me,butshe's
notsureif shewantsthe labelof "marriage."
I
figureI shouldwaita fewmoremonths
andtake
the plunge,the worstthingthat canhappenis
shesaysno,butthatdoesn'tmeanourrelationshipis over. Anyadviceas to how,if when,I
shouldgoforit?-PushingHerDowntheAisle
Lipstick:Hey Pushy, want to save yourself
some serious heartache? Don't get married. I
know you love her, but trust Lipstick: Don't
rush this decision. You and your young heart
have lots of stretch marks coming. Don't
wait another couple months, young'un, wait
a couple more years. Better yet, a couple
more decades.
Dipstick:
The right time won't be right until
Obama signs the legislation to overturn Don't
Ask, Don't Tell. But even then, I don't think
you lovers are destined to walk down the
aisle. Lipstick is right, 19 is young and so is a
10-month relationship-especially
when for
most of it she's been in a war zone. There is
no need to rush into a marriage that won't be
recognized by her employer. Hell, you can't
even get on her health insurance. I wonder
what your motivation is, when clearly your
lover is, at best, lukewarm on the idea. People
who are true partners don't pop the question knowing the odds are 50-50. It sounds
like you might have different values around
commitment and marriage. These are things
that need to be worked out if your want your
relationship to stand the test of time. Settle
in when soldier gal gets home and have long
talks about what you each want for your
future. If and when you both express a desire for a lifetime together, surprise her with a
ring. Until then, cool it, kiddo.
Tune in to curvemag.com/lipstickanddipstick@
to watchthe The Lipstick& DipstickShow.
llliill
Or write to tv@lipstickdipstick.com.
July/August 2011
~-
I 25
ADVICE Fitness
Before You Diet, Try It
By Jill Sloane Goldstein
Growing up in a moderately health conscious
home, I have clear recollection of a magnet
that resided on our kitchen refrigerator that
read: Nothing Tastes As Good As Thin
Feels. As a little girl I didn't quite understand
the suggestion behind the adage. I simply had
an arsenal of examples to dispute it. Ding
Dongs, pizza, Fruity Pebbles and my grandmother's layer chocolate cake were certainly
delicious. How something called nothing,
which I not only knew was inedible but was
convinced was less sugary than my favorites,
could actually taste better was befuddling.
Then puberty struck and my metabolism
abandoned its resemblance to that
of a 10-year-old boy's. Curves began to develop and my thighs grew
less forgiving. Slowly, I started to reconsider that magnet and began to
truly understand why my mother
kept it as a front line defense against
the temptations lurking behind the
stainless steal door.
Years later I found my passion
for fitness and once again questions
began to arise. But this time, my
debate wasn't focused on what foods were
more delectable or which were and weren't
worthy of an indulgence. Nowadays, I challenge the very concept at the center of it all:
Thin. Why must being thin be the focus of
Why breaking a sweat should come first.
our feelings toward our bodiesr What defines
thin anywayr And why do we place so much
value on being thin when its interpretation
is highly subjective and it's not necessarily an
appropriate body type for all womenr Why
aren't we instead emphasizing the importance
of being fitr
When it comes to discussing our bodies, I
think it's time we turn the conversation from
getting skinny to getting in shape. Fitness
is not a complex, nor intimidating activity
reserved only for athletes or the overly tanned,
rock solid enthusiasts that populate our infomercials. Nor is it an undertaking that must
Not to mention, the benefits of fitness
are plentiful. Regular exercise strengthens the
heart, aids the circulatory system, boosts
good cholesterol, lowers blood pressure
and increases beneficial bone density. It also
promotes mental health, relieving stress
and anxiety and levels of depression, while
promoting restful sleep and energy renewal.
Exercise has even been known to decrease
risk for dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Then of course there is the desirable outcome
of weight loss, fat reduction and muscle development-the
visible gems we can show off
at the beach this summer.
Another big drawr Regular exercise
also raises metabolism. The addition
of muscle mass to our bodies will
cause an increase in the number of
calories that are utilized at rest. So
it is comforting to know that while
we are exerting ourselves through
a high intensity workout, the hard
work will result in an increase in
metabolism that continues to burn
calories after our workout.
So the next time you try to avert a
food craving with a motto like 'Tm Dieting
Because I'm Thick and Tired Of It;' consider
the fact that exercise, paired with good nutrition, will help you achieve your goals faster
and easier than diet alone.
"Fitness is not a complex, nor
intimidating activity reserved only
for athletes or the overly tanned,
rock solid enthusiasts that
populate our infomercials."
be completed at a certain intensity level or
for a specific amount of time to be beneficial.
Exercise is for anyone, of any age and any
ability, and can be valuable in an array of
forms. The only mandate is willingness.
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g
FIT BITS
Summer is here
and the weather
is exercise
friendly. There
are countless
ways to exercise,
even if a gym is
out of reach. One
of my favorite
activities to do
at home is jump
rope. I'm talking
about the good
old-fashioned
schoolyard skip.
Jump roping
is, minute-forminute, one of
the single most
comprehensive
and beneficial
exercises you
can do. It works
the entire body,
burns calories,
develops long,
lean muscles
in all major
muscle groups
(read: toned
thighs, calves,
butt, shoulders)
and optimizes
cardiovascular
conditioning.
So your stamina
improves each
time you do it. It
also happens to
be cheap, convenient, portable,
and a quick way
to work out when
time is limited.
Just 10 to 15
minutes can
equate to running
a
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26
I curve
POLITICS
Killing the Earth-and Ourselves
I am a recycler. I'm also a proselytizer for
recycling. One would think that in 2011 we
wouldn't need to be talking about this anymore. Everyone should be recycling. And yet
we don't.
Recently, I was visiting one of my city's
most celebrated agencies, run almost entirely
by socially conscious women. Yet there in the
trash can I saw not just plastic bags but cardboard boxes and soda cans and water bottles.
Recyclables. I said to the woman I was visiting,
my eyebrows raised and my voice reflecting
my shock, "No recycling?" She sighed and
said, "We've discussed it a lot, but no:'
No! Seriously? After you've discussed it?
In an office where everyone is well educated
and thus is aware 0£ you know, science?
I'm stunned by how little we've advanced
since I attended that first Earth Day celebration in 1970 and got sun poisoning, which
was both an irony and a warning. Sure, we all
take bags made of hemp or recycled materials into the grocery store, because now it's
2s
I curve
embarrassing not to-it looks so unevolved.
But what about everything else we do, or
don't do?
Here are some of the many questions you
can ask yourself about your own green evolution: What shampoo and soap, detergent and
household deaning products do you use? Do
you buy products in containers that can or
cannot be recycled? What do you do with
your mail after you've read it? Your newspapers and magazines? What about those
batteries that leak lead or lithium, your new
CFL light bulbs filled with mercury, your old
electronics? How do you dry your clothes?
How often and how fast do you drive? What
do you do with your garbage? How long do
you stand in the shower? How much food
do you waste in a day, a week, a month? Do
you buy locally? If you smoke, what do you
do with the butts that leach nicotine and
other toxins into the ground? What do you
do with your expired medications? What do
you do with your old clothes, shoes, sheets,
towels and anything else made of fabric?
Do you recycle all your cans, glass, plastic
containers and paper?
If these questions make you squirm a little,
they should. The answers tell how green you
really are and how committed you are to saving
the planet.
Part of my wanting to save the planet is
selfish. I want to live. I have chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease and uncontrolled asthma.
This is not the romantic kind of ailment
where you cough a little into a dainty lace
handkerchieflike some 1930s movie heroine,
but the gasping-for-breath-even-on-oxygen
kind of thing.
I've never smoked a day in my life, but you'd
never know it from the condition of my lungs.
I've always lived in highly polluted areas of the
country, and for years I've worked at newspapers where the people around me smoked
excessively. This combination has taken its
toll. My lungs are in bad shape, but so too
are the lungs of people all over the country.
POLITICS
Today, it is believed that one in four children
will develop some sort of asthma, and one of
the reasons is that we make too much trash
and it's polluting our air.
That's simplistic, but everything we don't
recycle has to go somewhere. Most states
have to burn a lot of their trash. It's getting
pretty ugly out there in the atmosphere we
have to breathe.
When I was working in Los Angeles, the
air had a thickness to it that made it feel like
you were breathing through a wet towel. In
Mexico City, on most days you can't even
see across the street. And when I lived in
London, where diesel is queen, I came home
at night to nostrils blackened with soot, as if
I'd been sweeping chimneys. How much of
what was on my face was in my lungs?
Air pollution also matters because it's
what's warming the planet unnaturally.
Anti-science people claim that global warming
is a myth, but science is science. Climate
change is a reality. Nine of the past 10 years
have been the hottest on record. Massive
storms; flooding of the sort that's decimated
Australia, parts of Europe and the length
of the Mississippi; blizzards, rampant forest
and brush fires-all
are by-products of
global warming.
Every time you forget or choose not to
recycle, you contribute to it. Every time you
fill your car up at noon on a hot day or leave
your motor running when you're not driving,
you contribute to it. Every time you cut down
a tree or cut your grass very low or put your
leaves in plastic bags instead of composting
them, you contribute to it.
Killing Mother Earth means killing ourselves. It's suicidal not to be green. It's not
just about whether we will get asthma or our
children will get asthma. It's about heating
the planet to a degree that human, animal
and plant life will die, oceans will rise and
flora and fauna will become extinct because
habitats will be destroyed.
Women have been in the forefront of the
ecological movement. Lesbians like Rachel
Carson have led the world in investigating
climate change. Wangari Maathai won the
Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work to
promote ecologically sustainable development, which, the Nobel Committee noted,
advanced the cause of peace, because the
world is already at war over resources like
water and food. Soon, perhaps, the unsustainable resource will be fresh air.
Our planet is in crisis. And, despite the fact
that many things are beyond our control, we
can alter our response to climate change. We
can think about our actions and how they
impact the planet. We can buy and use and
discard responsibly. We can refuse to patronize
restaurants and businesses that don't recycle.
My Eco-Life
We can refuse to buy products packaged in
unrecyclable materials. We can commit to
being green. We can save our own lives and the
lives of those who come after us. We can save
the world. We just have to do it.
For morefrom Victoria Brownworth read her
political blogat victoriabrownworth.comand
follow her on twitter @ VABVOX.
Dr.HelenCaldicotton whatwe candoto savethe planet.
WhenI was 19 I readOn
TheBeachby NevilShute,
whichendedwith everyone
dyingonthe planetaftera
nuclearwar in the northern
hemisphere.
Thelastto die
werepeoplein Melbourne,
Australia,whichis where
I hadgrownup.I was
neverthe sameagain.I
hadalreadydonefirst year
medicineandunderstood
well the relationship
betweenradiationand
mutationandat thattime
Russia,the U.S.andChina
weretestinghugeH-bombs
in the atmosphere.
I tried
to getthe attentionof my
fellowstudents,mostly
male,buttheywere
uninterested
andit wasn't
until 1991that I foundout
aboutfalloutin Adelaide,
Australiafromthe French
atomicteststhat I was
impelledto act. I wrotea
letterto TheAdvertiserand
the nextthingI wason [TV]
talkingaboutradiation,
childrenandFrenchtests.
Aswomenarenearlyhalf
of the earth'spopulation
andsincewe aretypically
nurturingof life,I felt it
imperativeto mobilize
women.At first we called
it theWomen'sPartyfor
Survival,butthenchanged
its nameto Women'sAction
ForNewDirections.It is
still a verypowerfulforce
throughoutthe U.S.I believe
the planet'spositionis
duelargelyto a patriarchal
society.I thinkthe urgency
andthreatof global
warminghashit everyone
hard,but at the sametime
nobodyis attendingto the
threatof nuclearwar and
nuclearwinter,whichcould
be precipitatedtonightby
accidentor design.
Butwhatcanyoudoto
createpositivechange?
Readthe bookIf YouLove
ThisPlanetformanyideas
in yourdailylife,at work
andat home,thenoncewell
informed,write lettersto
the editor,takeon yourlocal
politicianbecauseheor she
is yourrepresentative
and
youaretheir leaders.Get
a solarhotwatersystem,
encourage
the government
to makesolarpowerfree,
turn off everylight in every
roomexceptwherethey
arebeingused,don't use
air-conditioning,
turn off
all electricalappliances
at night,don't usehot air
dryersin publicbathrooms
astheyareglobalwarming
dryersmadeby burning
coal.Thinkgloballyandact
locallyandviceversa.
I am alternativelyan
optimisticpessimistor a
pessimisticoptimist.If I
werenot I wouldbecome
verydepressedandfeelthat
life wasnotworthliving.But
beinga doctorI understand
the goodnessin each
humanheart.Wehaveto
appealurgentlyto people's
betternatures,andthat can
bedone.[HelenCaldicott]
Did You Know?
• Tampons
aremadefrom
trees,andplasticapplicators
last500years
• Onefootballfield is cleared
everyeightsecondsin the
Amazonfor soyplantations
• OnebeefpattyfromCentral
Americansteersrepresents
thedestruction
of 5 square
metersof Amazonrainforest
• Cocaine
hascausedthe
destruction
of 6 millionacresof
Amazonforestin the past20years
• 21 billiondisposable
diapers
areusedin the U.S.peryear
• Tropicalwoodfor trendy
furnitureis usuallyillegallylogged.
Fora podcastinterview with HelenCaldicott,go to ifyoulovethisplanet.org.
July/August 2011
I 29
LAUGH
TRACK
In Her Wheelhouse
Crooning comic Julie Wheeler's melodious mirth. By Merryn Johns.
Comic and singer Julie Wheeler is the total
package: She can rock, wail and croon like the
King-in fact, she even played Elvis on stage
in Viva Las Vegas: The Musical, which she also
produced-and she can bring down the house
with her own unique brand of comedy. Now
the sexy butch (once voted one of the "Top 10
Sexiest People" by MetroSource magazine) talks
serenading the ladies, butch visibility and drops
her best line on us (spoiler alert: it worked).
relationship like a baby. When you put that
CD on the counter in the store, look at your
partner and loudly say,"Whose baby is this?"
You may get weird looks at the Target, but it'll
be worth it in the end, trust me.
Whoisyourultimateduetpartner?
Don Ho, the Hawaiian singer famous for
his "Tiny Bubbles" song. We would tour as
Homo and Ho.
Doyoufeelbutches
getshortshriftinthemedia?
I do. But at the same time we've also come a
Notmanylesbian
comicsalsosing.lsthesinging long way. We have a lot more positive butch
role models like Rachel Maddow, k.d. lang,
lesbiancomica rarebreedandif so,why?
Yes, we are a rare breed because we are a niche Lea Delaria, Amy Ray, etc. for our young
of a subset from a small percentage that resides butches to look up to. In my day, we just had
in the venn diagram where music and comedy Alice from the Brady Bunch. But it could always
be better, so I'm touring my new show"Butch
overlap. Which is almost as good as a puzzle
Blanket Bingo" to explore some of these
wrapped in a riddle tied up in a conundrumthemes and let the young queers know not
or a scallop wrapped in bacon.
Whendidyoudiscover
thatyouhavepipes?
It was after winning the talent show in High
School and graduating, my roommate and I
started packing them in every Thursday at the
local dyke bar in town and it was then that I
thought I might have half a pipe.
Haveyoueverserenaded
a girlfriend?
Yes, but I try and keep my inner Gleek in
check.
Whatsongsdoyousingintheshower?
It would be easier to answer which songs I
won't sing in the shower: Dixieland Jazz and/
or Barbershop Quartet. Everything else is fair
game, sung at the very top of my lungs.
Lesbians
take musicseriously
especially
when
dating.Whatisonyourmixtapefora ladylove?
Lesbians take their music very seriously, I
realized this the first time I saw k.d. lang's
face when she sang. When I make a mix tape
I try and keep it light. I make sure I have a
good mix of songs we both like and treat it
like a party where I invite everyone's music to
see if it gets along. I just hope my favorite song
doesn't punch her favorite song in the face.
Whena couplebreaksup,themusiccollection
is
oftenfoughtover.Hasthishappened
to you?
This has not happened to me because my
advice is to treat everything you bring into the
30
I curve
only does it get better, it gets homofabulous!
What'syourbestcomedy
oneliner?
I dated an Amish gal once, well to be fair I
wasn't sure she was Amish, but she did have a
vibrator you had to pedal.
What'syourbestdatingline?
Wanna see a vibrator you have to pedal?
Doesbeingfunnyhelpattractwomen?
Yes, that and a pocketful of roofies.
What'sthefunniest
thingaboutlesbians?
I would never make fun of lesbians for a
perceived stereotype, so can we all please stop
wearing Croes before it becomes oner
What'supnextforyou?
I'll be performing at the Red Rock Women's
Music Festival in August, Iowa Women's Fest
and Sweet's Isla Mujeres trip in September,
and Women's Week in Provincetown m
October. ( The]ulie Wheeler.com)
•
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edition you get curve in your inbox before it hits
the stands. Flick through pages, watch videos,
listen to songs, forward stories to friends and best
of all, o more recycling. Just download and save!
subscribe and save today at curvemag.com
COMING
One of the single,most defining moments in each of our
lives is that first step we take toward coming out. We each
have experienced that cognitive awareness in our little gay "Harassment is more pronounced in middle school than
hearts that finally gives way to an actual, overt pronuncia,
in high schools;' observes Byard, "because you see a lot
tion of our sexual and gender identities. And now, according
of issues coming into play as students reach adolescence.
to research, that "aha moment" seems to be coming sooner
Middle school years are when one's individual identity
comes into focus:'
and sooner for young queers.
Previously, LGBT folks came out later in life. After all,
In a September 2009 New York Times Magazine article,
we grew up in times and places that didn't allow for the
"Coming Out in Middle School;' author Beniot Denizet,
free, let alone the early, expression of our sexual and gender
Lewis observed the trending toward earlier recognition
identities. While many might not have even considered
and expression of sexual identity. In the article Denizet,
ourselves as sexual beings at age 10
Lewis recounts his observations
or 11, kids today are not only aware
Why today's queer youth is as he follows around 13,year,old
Oklahoma native, Austin, a young
of their budding sense of gay sel£ but
skipping the closet years
adolescent who is out and proud,
are actively advocating for the expres,
By Allison Steinberg
with regular attendance at a com,
sion and exploration of their emerging
munity center that offers services
identities. "It's about living in a time
for LGBT youth, and a boyfriend to boot. Austin was 11
thankfully when people are able to talk. Older people
had the same thoughts but maybe couldn't talk;' offers
years old when he decided he couldn't stay in the closet
Eliza Byard, Executive Director of the Gay, Lesbian, and
his whole life and made plans to come out to his family,
Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
schoolmates and others. For those of us that had these
conversations with ourselves in our late teens, 20s, 30s or
It may be difficult to discern just how young LGBT
kids are coming out today compared to previous genera,
older, cases like Austin come as a shock and a relief that
tions, but several tell,tale signs show the trend pointing
the next generation of gay children have voices that are
toward an identification with a particular orientation at
being heard at younger and younger ages-and in increas,
age 11, 12 and 13. "It does appear that youth are coming
ingly rural and formerly homophobic places.
''A good school is a good school no matter where," says
out at earlier ages;' offers Daryl Presgraves, Interim
Byard. Park School, a progressive primary K, 12 school in
Communications Director of GLSEN. "The world has
Brookline, Mass. started a Gay Straight Alliance [GSA]
changed dramatically in the past generation, and it is hard
in their middle school five years ago. "We're proud of
to overestimate the impact that has had on LGBT youth;'
our middle school GSA, believe in the importance of
Presgraves adds.
addressing LGBT issues with middle school students,
Indeed, those now m their 20s and 30s may have
and would like to share our experiences with others,"
come out during high school or college. However many
offers GSA faculty advisors Katherine Callard and Alan
of today's youth are coming out in junior high school.
32
I curve
In Oregon and other states, the land
dyke movement continues to flourish.
By Diane Anderson-Minshall
Ni A6dagain was just 28 years old when she arrived at
OWL Farm in July of 1985, carrying a 2-year-old on one
hip and a backpack with all her worldly possessions on
the other. She had left academia in New Orleans, visited
the jungles of Costa Rica and passed through a lesbian
community in Tucson, Ariz. before landing at this 14 7 -acre
lesbian sanctuary in Oregon. "I joined the women's land
movement 25 years ago to be able to live intimately with
the Earth," says A6dagain. "Instead of the pursuit of
individual materialist goals, I joined those members of
my generation who were seeking a meaningful lifestyle
based on forming communal living arrangements, which
would be sustained by living off the land. The reality was
exhilarating, powerful, painful and ever-changing. It beat
the alternative hands down:'
Not far away in southern Oregon, Bethroot Gwynn
lives at Fly Away Home, a women's land she founded in
1976. "Two of us began this land and still live here, now
in separate households. We share the large vegetable garden and the work involved with other common areas. In
the early '80s, first one, then another
woman came to live here, and we were
a family of four:' Gwynn will turn 70 in
just a few months and like a lot of the
lesbians who went back to the land in
the last 30 years, she is still there-still
splitting firewood, still growing fruits
and vegetables.
What was once a small cluster of
environmentalists in the U.S. is now
part of a much larger movement, and
there's no denying that lesbians have
always been at the forefront of it. In fact,
when it comes to addressing environ34
I curve
mental issues in America, a lesbian-Nancy
Sutley-is
one of the most powerful people out there as chairwoman
of President Obama's Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ). Among her top priorities is greening the U.S.
government, the country's single largest user of energy.
One of the hottest green trends today-what
experts
are telling us is crucial-is the need to create sustainable
intentional communities, something queer women understood decades ago when they combined lesbian-feminist
politics with ecological principles, fostering greater awareness
of both environmental issues and women's stewardship of
the Earth.
According to Dr. Jane Dickie, a professor of psychology
and the director of the Women's Studies Department at
Hope College in Michigan, "Groups of women, particularly
lesbian separatists, have formed communities that are often
very much in tune with today's green movements:'
As early as the 1970s, many women who were part of
the counterculture, back-to-the-land movement here and
in Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand embraced
a form of lesbian separatism that combined feminist ecology and female empowerment. Land trusts were set up by
lesbian homesteaders. These "land dykes" (as many called
themselves) grew their own organic food, found low-impact
methods to supply their homes and equipment with energy
(solar, water, wind) and bartered with local farmers and
other self-supporting craftsters, artists and homesteaders.
LESBIANSIN Tl-IE WILD
Lesbians have always thrived at caring for wild spaces. The
explorer Ann Bancroft, for example, led the first allwomen's expedition to the Antarctic in 1992, and packed
out all the trash generated by her trip and the garbage left
behind by other male explorers.
y
r
o
ict
I=
===-
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An affinity for living sustainably on the land was once
considered women's mere fondness for nature, but in the
1980s it morphed into what the author Greta Gaard
calls 'ecofeminist political engagement" as lesbians reconceived the woman-nature connection. Gaard writes in
Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia, Vol. 1,
"Ecofeminists believe that the subordination of women
is fundamental to militarism and capitalism and intimately connected to the subordination of nature, people
of color, animals and the erotic:'
As Sandia Bear notes in Out in All Directions: The
Almanac of Gay and Lesbian America, "For some women,
the experience ofliving on the land ... allowed them to participate in a natural cycle quite different from city life. One
governed by the sun. The moon. The seasons .... Then there
was the land itself: what we gave to it, what it taught us ....
It was about reclaiming an ancient bond. It was about
community; it was about home:'
IS IT HISTORY IF IT'S STILL GOING ON?
Now, in 2011, you might imagine that women's lands were
a thing of the past. A 2009 New York Times article that
focuses on Alapine, a lesbian community in the southern
Appalachian Mountains in Alabama, talks about the"fading
patchwork" oflesbian separatist communities, while noting
that about 100 communities still exist in the United States.
36
I curve
With DiscoveringAdobeland.net, two young women, Jesse
Landstrom and Sara Gulbrandsen, are documenting the
growth and decline of a once-thriving lesbian community
in the mountains near Tucson, where rammed earth buildings have given way to mobile homes. But even there, the
women, and the community, still persist.
"Women's lands still exist;' agrees Bethroot Gwynn.
"What's past tense is the occasional phenomenon on
women's lands of large groups of women coming together
to live collectively. [But] most land groups have always
been small in terms of resident members. Two to three
in many places. What was often true back then was a
swirl of visitors and temporary residents. It was a movement, and some settled in:'
Today, there are women living on and caretaking lands
in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, New Mexico,
Maine, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin-and
in Australia,
Britain, Mexico, Canada, Scotland, France, Sweden, Wales
and New Zealand. Historically, nowhere has the land dyke
movement been stronger than in Oregon, where a thriving
hive of women still exists.
During what was a key decade, 1974 to 1984, Ruth
and Jean Mountaingrove and a collective of volunteers in
Oregon published Womanspirit magazine, which combined spirituality and ecological feminism and served to
unify the political agenda at the many women's communities in the region. Maize, a country living magazine still
published today, and Womanspirit were sustaining and
influential, says A6dagain. "Without Womanspirit, I am
not sure the women's land movement in Oregon would
have happened in the same way, or grown to be what it is:'
Although lesbian separatism was founded on essentialist constructions of gender and nature, Dr. Catriona
Sandilands, the author of The Good-Natured Feminist:
Ecofeminism and the Quest for Democracy, says, "The
Oregon communities have developed, over time, a
blend of lesbian principles and local environmental
knowledge. This has produced a complex tradition of
lesbian ecopolitical resistance:'
In Oregon, those women's communities included
Cabbage Land (originally a mixed-gender community),
Fishpond, OWL, Rainbow's Other End, Rootworks,
Fly Away Home, WomanShare,
Rainbow's End,
Steppingwoods and We'Moon Healing Ground. And
guess what: They're all still there-and
many of them
are still welcome visiting women and new residents.
"Yes, this is a thriving lesbian network in Oregon;' says
Gwynn, "by now involving scores of women who live in
the cities and small towns, as well as those who make their
home in the country, whether or not they live on land
identified as' women's land:"
z
w
w
GIVING A HOOT ABOUT UTOPIA
Perhaps the most famous of the women's lands in the
United States is the Oregon Women's Land Trust (known
ti
z
;;
w
::::;
(/)
w
....J
worldwide as OWL). Many of the major lesbian artists
(writers, musicians, visual artists) who are now in their 40s,
50s and 60s made a stopover at OWL at some point in
their careers. Ironically, today it is the only women's land in
Oregon that doesn't have permanent residents on it. "But
there is a very committed group of women who govern
her, caring for her as they can, with weekend gatherings,
quarterly meetings where decisions are made, and future
visioning," says A6dagain. "One of the major objectives of
OWL is to hold land in perpetuity. Sometimes it means a
thriving women's community living together on the land,
as happened in the '80s when I lived there, or it is that the
land is there and available for visits by women, but the
land itself is always and ever protected from exploitation
and destruction:'
Unfortunately, protecting the land from exploitation is
becoming tougher these days. The women who manage
the OWL Trust have been fighting the installation of a
liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline, a project that would
use eminent domain to condemn part of their property,
clear-cut about seven acres and plant pipes for LNG (an
energy source as dirty as coal). The local community and
even conservative politicos have been fighting the battle for
years, but litigation is far from over.
"This [pipeline] would be devastating for our land
and the over 200 miles it would go through in southern
Oregon;' says OWL board member Katie Brandt.
LNG pipelines aren't the only threat to women's lands
these days. Changing emotional landscapes have already
helped to dwindle the number of visitors. Elizabeth Clare,
a poet, essayist and activist, wrote of a trip she took to
OWL and WomanShare in Oregon in the book Queerly
Classed: "I certainly don't believe that I can cure my sense
of disjunction with a simple move to the Oregon mountains, where I could live at OWL or WomanShare and
shop at Myrtle Creek. Rather than a relocation to the
Oregon mountains, I want a redistribution of economic
resources so that wherever we live-in the backwoods, the
suburbs, or the city-there is enough to eat; warm, dry
houses for everyone; true universal access to health care
and education:'
But what is the future of women's lands if young lesbians
today don't have much desire to live in women-only space?
Or live off the grid? Kristen Brandt, a 56-year-old Eugene,
Ore., townie who lived at OWL for two years in the 2000s
and misses it every day, says, "Not so many younger lesbians have that desire to get away from the world of men, it
seems, and make something of their own:'
Nevertheless, young queer womenmany who eschew the lesbian label-are
creating their own forms of ecological
feminism in intentional rural communities
and urban co-housing experiences. Not
far from Gwynn's Fly Away Home is an
organic farm called Gypsy Cafe, where
women are living and building. It is,
says Gwynn, "a hubbub of activity. Only
women live there, younger than the most
of us first-generation country dykes, but
they do not identify [it] as women's land
or women-only space:'
Gypsy Cafe might reflect a natural progression from the lesbian communities
that have existed for 30 years in Oregon
to the sustainable communities that queer
women are building anew today-mixedgender lands, urban co-housing, even suburban LGBT
retirement facilities. A queer ecovillage is being formed
in Gainesville, Fla., a self-described "farm and wildernessbased ecocommunity for LGBTQI and Native two-spirit
people with an emphasis on creating a majority femalecentered space:' Like many early women's land pioneers,
the founders envision a "multi-racial, multi-generational,
affirmatively anti-racist, anti-sexist" space, but they also
want to combat transphobia and make spaces for all families-even those with men.
"NOT SO MANY
YOUNGEJ~
LESBIANSJ-IAVE
TJ-IATDESIRE
TO GETAWAY
l=ROMTJ-IE
WORLD 01=
MEN, IT SEEMS,
AND MAKE
SOMETJ-IING
01=TJ-IEIR
OWN."
ECO IN THE CITY
READ THE FULL
ARTICLE FOR MORE
ON HOW YOU CAN
SUPPORT THESE
COMMUNITIES AT
CURVEMAG.COM
In this down economy, it's no surprise that friends are
shacking up, but a larger movement has begun to grow in
the last decade, concurrent with the maturing of the back~
to~the~landers: Queer co~housing. Today, in urban areaswhich, admittedly, attract a great percentage of lesbian
and bisexual women, for at least part of their lives-are
awash with lesbian~led co~housing, many of the occupants
espousing a modern form of queer ecofeminism that
reclaims urban greenery and allows female empowerment
without separatism (or having to rough it in rural areas).
Darcy Totten, 30, is one of the young queer women
who are espousing the beauty of co~housing. She lives in
Sacramento, Cali£, with her partner, the performer Jasper
James, and two roommates. Totten, who works for a local
television station, inherited her mother's home on the
American River. "It was far too large for two people, so we
opened it up to renters. We currently have two roommates
and often host any number of traveling queer artists that
we know from New York, San Francisco and Texas who
might be passing though:'
People come and stay, she says, contribute to the house in
some way, and move on when they are ready. "It never made
any sense to us to have so much space if we weren't going to
use it for the people we love:'
Totten's house has a huge garden in the backyard and she
and her housemates are thinking of turning it into an urban
farm. The collective reuses all their home~improvement
materials and tries to make as small an ecological footprint
as possible. Totten, who has lived in a number of co~housing
situations in New York and San Francisco, tends to
think of her current space as "the antidote to women's land.
I've never been very comfortable in entirely single gender
space;' she explains. "Variety is the spice of our queer lives,
and I enjoy communities that cross a range of sex, gender,
race, ethnicities, political viewpoints and ages, as well as
0 R A DAV OR A LI~ETIM E
WOMEN'S COMMUNITIES
occupations. Our current home ... is comprised of four female
bodies, one two~spirit identity, two regular gay male guests,
one librarian, one person over 50 and three in their 30s, two
professionals, one artist, one yoga teacher, one white woman
and three mixed race... individuals, and any number of guests
including men, heterosexuals, Republicans, Democrats and
anarchists, and people of every religion:'
For women like Totten, living in an urban area doesn't
mean they can't connect with the land. It may mean they
need to work harder to defend urban green spaces or to
work in community gardens to grow vegetables with their
neighbors-even if they're Republicans.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING, AGAIN
"It is important that the myth be debunked that this move~
ment happened;'says A6dagain. "It is stillhappening:'
One thing A6dagain is surely right about: "Whether a
woman is a 30~year resident on one of the many lands that
fall between Grants Pass and Portland, Ore., a summer
visitor who comes for two weeks every third year, or a 'townie'
who comes to a musical concert, women identify themselves
as members of this community because of the power of the
relationships that have been established among us:'
As the buzz about sustainable intentional communities
is only getting louder, A6dagain recently attended a national
communities conference, and found that "our lands were
the longest lasting communities in the country. We are now
seen as the progenitors of a movement, which is expanding
out to encompass other communities:'
Though the environmental movement owes these lesbian
feminists a great deal for their pioneering ways, they are,
as always, humble. "I think it's like the hundredth monkey
concept;' says Bethroot Gwynn. "Everyone everywhere is
becoming conscious ofliving with a lighter footprint, caring
for the earth. We, and the other back~to~the~landers, just
got there first:'
Feelinginspired
to goseparatist?
Severalwomen-serving
communities
in Oregon
welcomevisitors.
OWLFarm:A 147majestic
forest secluded
cabinsandthree
spacesurrounded
bymeadows, lovelygardens,
welcomes
cabins,
gardens
andfruittrees.
womentravelers.
121stuckstaple@gmail.com
Visitors
welcome
forhikes,
camping
oruseofcabins.
Steppingwoods:
137acresof
121lovesowlfarm@hotmail.comwooded
women's
land,perfect
Cabbage
Lane:80 acresofforest
witha focusonbuilding
yearroundcampsites,
maintaining
theaccessroadsandrestoring
watersystem.
121cabbagelane@gmail.com Rainbow's
End:57 acresof
forwomen's
concerts
andmeditationretreats.
Tenting,
RVsite
woods,meadows,
wildlife,
Copperland:
A 40-acrehilltop
viewsandcamping.
anda smallstrawbalehouse
with360-degree
mountain
view. beautiful
tovisitors.
Guestroomsforwomenvisitors 121featherington@wildblue.netareavailable
121danajem@jeffnet.org
areavailable.
RavenSong:45 acresof mead-
121tk4fish@jeffnet.org
FlyAwayHome:
A 40-acre
forested
hillside
witha cabin
available
forwomenvisitors
to
workoncurrentlandprojects.
11 541-643-0614
38
I curve
ows,forestandwildlife.Women
areencouraged
to visitandgive
a helpinghand.
121beloved@jeffnet.org
Rootworks:
Sevenacresof
forested
mountainside,
three
We'Moon
Land:52 acreslocated
onehoursoutheast
of Portland
featuring
oldgrowthforests,
creek,meadows,
organic
garden,
rusticdwellings,
mainhouse.
121wemoonland@gmail.com
WomanShare:
A 23-acre
women'slandnestledinfoothills.
Opentotravelers,
visitors,
potentialresidents,
retreats.
Private
cabins,
sharedkitchen,
bathhouse,
hottubandcomposting
outhouse.
11541-862-2807
DIRECTORIES & MAGAZINES
Shewolf
's Directory
of
Wimmin's
Lands:
121wimminland@aol.com
MaizeMagazine:
121maize@wiseheart.com
Queers
in Community:
ic.org/qic
I drink out of a Klean Kanteen, shop with a canvas bag and
walk to work. I even carry bags of milk cartons and soup
cans to public recycling dumpsters because my landlord
won't get one for our building. Yes, I, like so many others,
am"going green:' No, you won't see me taking two-minute
showers, using organic deodorant or gardening but I do
show my love to the environment. I'm just more of a getit-on-with-a-rechargeable-vibrator
kind of girl. I may not
have a green thumb, but I certainly have some other green
body parts. Now it's time to get your sustainable swerve on
with the latest eco-friendly sexcessories. Global warming
is the bad kind of hot. Help fight it with the good kind.
The average person throws out eight batteries per year,
filling up landfills with hazardous waste that leaches
into our soil and water. Not sexy. Battery-free rechargeable vibes bring sexy back with futuristic functions and
sleek designs. Smart Swedish toy designer Lelo'sentire
rechargeable line is made from body-safe, forever-durable
(and therefore greener) silicone and features sophisticated
vibrators, dildos, plugs and rings that prove you can truly
have it all-a green product that doesn't compromise
aesthetics, and a pretty sex toy that's not afraid to get
down and dirty for the planet. Greenify your G-spot with
the ever-popular GIGIor keep your eco-efforts undercover
with the discreet lipstick-disguised MIAthat conveniently
charges in the USB port of your computer (en.lelo.com).
JimmyJane
(jimmyjane.com), the distinguished company
that first had us questioning the term sex "toy" with the
Form 6, is now bringing green sex to the masses with their
silicone, rechargeable and waterproof "Pleasure to the
People" line of aptly named "pleasure objects:' This revolutionizing campaign features three vibrators (the Form
2, Form 3 and recently released Form 4), all of which pair
modern earth-conscious technology with no-frills functionality such as ergonomic shapes, multiple speeds and
vibration patterns, price-justifying 3-year warranties and
even a handy travel lock for the jet-set planet-protector.
Form 2 is a sophisticated version of the popular Rabbit
vibrator, with a cotton-tailed inspired two-pronged design.
Form 3 keeps the titillating technology advancing
with an egg-like shape and a round base that extends
into a slim, flexible pad so that when the base is
cupped in your palm, the pad acts like a
vibrating second-skin to your fingers
and yields to the pressure of
your fingertips, putting
you more in touch
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so you can
hit that
.,..
NobEssence's
Bamboo Fling
conscious struggle ( cherrybombinwear.com).
special spot without the clumsy guesswork.
The newly-debuted Form 4 has a round head
The sustainable sex you have is only as good
11-)'1
.p
and a short shaft that make this insertable toy
as your lube. The wetter, the better for you. The
sliquid'
- organ
iCs
a real G-spot hitter. Flexible but not flimsy, 4
more organic, the better for the environment.
Sliquid Organic'sall-natural, latex-and toycustomizes to your curves without caving under
safe lubes are all prime planet-saving choices.
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Sex and the City's Samantha made the Rabbit
Blended with certified organic botanicals and
vibrator with its simultaneous rotating penetraingredients like Aloe Vera, Sliquid gives the
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eco-erotic even more to get wet about with 100 percent
your floppy-eared fun world-friendly with the VanityVr10 recyclable bottles and partially recycled paper labels
Bunny,which is made from easy-to-clean silicone, fully ( sliquidorganics.com).
rechargeable and specifically designed to titillate more
Developed by female urologist Darlene Gaynor, Valerais
a USDA Organic Certified lubricant that gets back to the
of your terrain with extra-long ears and a thicker, longer
juicy basics with components like shea butter, sunflower
shaft (goodvibes.com).
seed oil, coconut oil and flower extracts. Though the allWhen it comes to eco-friendly insertables, it's all
wooden toys may be
natural oils do it non-compatible with latex barriers,
about materials and NobEssence's
the greenest in the bunch. Organic, water-proof, hypoit may be worth switching to non-latex alternatives for
allergenic and smoothly shellacked, these earthy rings, dildos,
the planet's (and your body's) sake (myvalera.com).
beads and plugs are made from sustainably farmed wood
Safer-sex products may be some of the hardest to greenify,
( nobessence.com).
but don't let that be another excuse not to wrap (or cover)
For those who literally like to fight for the planit up! Latex gloves are biodegradable and recyclable as
et, check out Angela Riccobono's Cherry medical waste. Glydecondoms, while not recyclable, are
Bombin'
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Made from reused
vegan. This cruelty-free, fair-trade company doesn't engage
bike tubing, these cute cuffs are
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operated rubber farms (glyde-condoms.com). Make your
with an easily adjustable, duraown dental dams from these conscious condoms: Cut off
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TI-IREEQUESTIONS J:ORTl-IE GREEN QUEEN
Whatmakesa sexcessory"Ecorotic"?
GoodVibrations(GV)
promoteswhatthey've
termedEcoroticproducts
whichincludeorganic,
body-friendly
andlongerlastingtoysthat won't hit
the landfillrightaway.I
thinkof greentoysin terms
of organiccontents.
What
materialis thetoy made
of?Canit berecycled?
40
I curve
aboutthis appealsto
customers.
CarolQueenbeganbuddingas a sexologistin the 1970sandhaswrittenbookson
Willgoinggreenbetween
humansexualitysuchas RealLiveNudeGirl:Chroniclesof Sex-Positive
Cultureand
the sheetsactually
the eroticnovelTheLeatherDaddyandtheFemme.Thesex-positive
Americanauthor,
makea difference?
educatorandactivist(witha doctoratein sexology,no less)hasalsobeenan organizer
First,anychangefor the
in the LGBTcommunitywhereshehelpedfoundoneof the first gayyouthgroupsin the
goodis betterthannone.
UnitedStates,andlateradvocated
for the emergingbisexualcommunity.Now,after
Justas it mattersto recycle
over30 yearsof speakingup aboutsex,shetells us whywe needto getgreen-positive yourkitchenplastic,so it
aboutoursextoy choices.
mattersto choosegreener
sexproducts.Second,this
andlonger-lasting.
Organic culturetendsto separate
product-it doesn'tuse
Doesit useup batteries
batteries,mostof the item
or is it rechargeable?
Is it
lubesareeasieron the
sexfromotherelementsof
body.Plus,peoplelove
is recyclable
andit lasts
"locarotic"?-a wordI just
life,keepingthe bedroom
beingableto makea
madeup.Thatis,wasit
a longtimecompared
to
doorclosedandhaving
sourcedlocallyor doesit
othervibes.
choicethat mattersto
everyonethinkingthat sex
We
havea bigcarbonfootprint Whatdocustomers
love the environment.
is somehow"different."
won't endglobalwarming Greening
fromhavingbeenshipped aboutGV'sEcorotic
oursexlives
with oursextoy choices
fromafar?TheHitachi
collection?
helpsreintegrateoursexuMagicWand,for example, Mostgreenvibratorsand
aloneandit's easyto feel
alitywith everythingelse.
doesn'thavethebest
helplessaboutthesebig
othertoysarehigher
It's a sex-positive
as well
carbonfootprintbecause
issues,
quality,sothey'renotonly environmental
as an earth-conscious
way
it's imported.Butin other
so knowingthat GVis a
greenbut arealsoattracto think.(carolqueen.com)
waysit's definitelya green tive,beautifullydesigned
companythat hasthought [YanaTallon-Hicks]
\\Tcget pc1·sonal
llith the myste1·ions
bisexual bombshell.
Uy Uaelu•I Shatto
Photo by ,lshh•y \'guyt•n
Whatwasgrowingupin Phillylikefor you?
I grew up with a single mom. She was a waitress. We were
really, really, really, really poor. I've always been different.
My friends' parents used to call me the weird girl from
around the corner. I've just always been unique and I had
good times when I was young but I got made fun of a lot
because I couldn't really afford nice clothes. I would wear
my cousins' hand me downs. But all in all I had a good
childhood.
Whatwereyouraspirations?
Didyouwantto bea celebrity?
My mom, she always had celebrity magazines in the
house ... so I grew up reading those magazines and I'd
always tell my mom that I'd never ever want to be famous.
I'd rather just win the lottery and nobody knows my name.
So, maybe that's why God gave it to me.
Tellmea littlebit aboutyourjourneyto stardom.
I got discovered in New York by this lady that worked for
Def Jam. She approached me and said I was really beautiful
and she asked me if I wanted to do music videos. She was
like, There's a music video tomorrow. You fly to Miami and
they'll pay you and you don't have to worry about anything.
I was like, Look, I can't afford to just jump on an airplane
and just leave, I have to go to work. She was like, no, it's all
(/)
:::)
0
Cll
<(
0
<(
expenses paid, you don't have to worry about anything, and
you get a check on top of it. So I was like, Wow, that's kind
of cool, OK! [Laughs] So I started doing music videos.
I got signed to Ford Models and then all of a sudden I
was in different countries and people would ask me to take
pictures with them. And I was like, Wow, you really know
who I am:1 Is this even real:' I don't understand. I didn't
understand it, it just happened so fast.
Wasit hardforyouto adjustto the instantfame?
People don't understand that it's like being a millionaire
and losing it all the next day. It was the same thing for me,
I was brought into a whole other world that I didn't
understand. I was totally out of my element and it was a
huge blow when I went from nothing to everything overnight. It shocked me and I didn't know how to deal with
it. I still wanted to just be Amber from Philly and have
barbecues with my friends. It just wasn't the same. [But] I
thank God for it, you know:'
Whathasyourbiggestlifelessonbeen,sofar?
I'm really nice and really compassionate and like to talk
to people but in this business people take that and they
run with it and they take advantage of you. So I realized
that especially if I'm going to be in this industry that I
really can't be nice to everyone. And that's kind of sad, but
I can't.
What'sthe hardestpartof beingin the publiceye?
When you become a celebrity, you can't fully be yoursel£
When you are yoursel£ you have to deal with a lot of scrutiny. A lot of rumors. If you're just being nice and someone
asks you for a picture and someone takes a picture, the next
day on the Internet they're going to associate you with that
person and say that you're dating. When you go out to a
club with your friends you want to go on the dance floor
and you want to have fun. You want to drink and maybe
one night you want to get really wasted and just have fun
with your friends, but those days are over.
Whatinspiredyoursignature
shorthaircut?
When I was little, I was in love with the Sinead O'Connor
video, "Nothing Compares to You:• So I was like, when I
get old enough I'm going to cut my hair like that. When
the time finally came and I was ready to do it, I asked all
my friends and they were like, you're going to look so
stupid, Amber, don't you dare do that. I was like, No, I
really, really want to do it, you guys don't understand. So
I did it. I went to the barbershop ... I cut it off and I went
home and I cried my eyes out for like a week. My hair's
naturally really dark, so I thought maybe if I dye it blonde
it'll soften it up. I've had it that way over seven years now.
Whydidyougetinvolved
withthe N0H8campaign?
I've always been the type of person who's non-judgmental.
I always picked up for the gay kids in school. When I got
into high school I wasn't really the dork anymore, I got
kind of popular. But I used to be a dork so when I'd see
kids making fun of gay kids or nerds or kids that were
overweight I just kind of stepped in. I just feel like you can
love anyone. It's not against God. I think that God makes
all of us individuals and he makes us who we are and I just
believe that love is love, you know:'
Whendidyoucomeoutas bisexual?
I've always been attracted to girls ever since I was little, and
I like boys too. But as I got older in my teenage years a lot
of the, you know, "freaky girls" who were doing all kind of
nasty stuff would say they were bisexual so I never wanted
to, because I wasn't into those things.
It was a weird moment in my life when I didn't know
how to like explain to myself I wasn't gay, but I wasn't
straight and I just wasn't like some freak-that you know
was just having threesomes all day [laughs]. For me, if I
was in a relationship with a woman then I was just with
her and vice versa.
When I had my first girlfriend-me
and my mom
are best friends- I just told her and my mom was like,
"Whatever makes you happy girl. Whatever you like, that's
your business, I don't care:• It was really easy for me.
Whatdoyouthinkis the biggestmisconception
peoplehave
aboutyou?
Because I was a stripper at 15 years old, I think a lot of
people look at that and they think I was a prostitute and I
was a whore and I did dirty things for money. When really,
I was very young and I did what I had to, to survive at that
time. It's not like I was a little girl thinking like, Oh when
I grow up I want to be a stripper! And I want everyone to
treat me like shit. It definitely wasn't like that for me. It was
a survival tactic.
In the urban community [especially] they really, really
put me down. This one time I was in Milan and I'm literally around multi-millionaires and billionaires at this dinner
and Dita Von Teese gets on stage and she gets buck naked
and she spins around in a big martini glass and everyone
clappedfor her. And it's bullshit. It's not fair that it's OK
for her to do it because she's doing it for rich white people
but you know I was in like, the hood, and I did what I
had to do to survive ... and I
constantly get ridiculed.
Are there any causesthat are
important
to you?
Yes definitely: HIV/ AIDS.
I lost four friends in 2009. I
used to be in the gay ballroom
scene and so I had a lot of like
gay, lesbian and transgender
friends and it really sucked.
What'snextforyou?
I just got a movie role! I can't
really explain much about it
but I'm really, really excited.
I went on my first audition,
ever. And I got the part,
which was really awesome.
(amber-rose.org)
July/August 2011
I 43
THE 15thANNUAL MUSIC ISSUE
•
THE SEXY CROONER GOES
COUNTRY, MOVES UP-TEMPO
AND REMINDS US WHY WE STILL
CONSTANTLY CRAVE HER.
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SINGS If Lbt.J
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BY STEPHANIE SCHROEDER
and positive music, not preten~
tious or particularly deep, but
IN VARIOUS LIFESTYLES AND FASHIONS, WHERE BOTH FINDING AND
fun, smooth and uplifting:'
REMEMBER! NG WHO YOU ARE ISN'T NECESSARILY SUPPORTED," SAYS
Singing, like everything lang
does, is spiritual. Her music
K.D. LANG. SHE COULD BE TALKING ABOUT HERSELF, OR ABOUT YOU
and Buddhist practice are, she
AND ME, BUT SHE IS ALSO TALKING ABOUT HER NEW ALBUM, SING IT
says, inseparable. "Everything I
LOUD, HER FIRST WITH HER OWN BAND IN MORE THAN 20 YEARS.
do as a Buddhist practitioner
is spiritual;' she states, dispel~
ling any notion that she is more invested in her Buddhism
Joe (Pisapia, lang's new writing and producing part~
than she is in her singing career.
ner] wrote the title track, 'Sing It Loud; about watching
Although her sultry, sensuous voice has defined her since
his niece growing up. I felt it was a beautiful sentiment to
she came out in 1992, lang, who turns 50 in November, is
sing to everybody and anybody. It's really about where your
philosophical about her enduring status as a butch lesbian
moral compass is and what you stand for:'
sex symbol. "I don't consider myself a sex symbol;' she says
These days, lang's musical compass points to her roots.
simply and without a trace of self deprecation.
The country album she promised us when we spoke to her
While lang may reject the title, we'll never forget her jaw~
in 2009 has come to fruition. However, not wanting to be
shoehorned into any genre, she refers to Sing It Loud as dropping appearance on the August 1993 cover of Vanity
"alternative Americana:'
Fair featuring her wearing a man's three~piece suit and sit~
ting in a barber's chair with supermodel Cindy Crawford
"I never know what is moving and inspiring me at any
"shaving" her with a straight razor. Within the lesbian
given time, or what direction I will go in;' she confides, as
community it ignited a libido firestorm, which still burns
though she is allowing herself permission to try just about
anything in the future.
today. lang's publicly masculine appearance was roguely
seductive as well as subversive. That cover was an espe~
Happy with her music and very confident in herself at
cially shocking image for mainstream media and solidified
the moment, lang, a Buddhist convert, ponders her current
lang's status as a cultural icon, broadening her power and
Zen contentment: "I don't know if it's a state I'm going to
sex appeal far beyond the lesbian community. The image
reside in forever. I don't have much to lose. I've got a lot of
experience under my belt, but I've got a lot left to say as sent a message to America that lang meant business and
was here to stay.
well:' This attitude is evident in both lang's music and her
Not surprisingly, lang has her own ideas about what's
stage demeanor."Joe and I, when we met, agreed on the way
sexy.'Tm more comfortable with playfulness and curiositywe could best use our music. We wanted to make soulful
"I THINK IT'S VERY EASY IN OUR SOCIETY TO BE LOST AS INDIVIDUALS
44
I curve
•
46
I curve
that's what sexuality is for me, not the body of my being,"
says lang. Which is a healthy attitude, especially when it
comes to the subject of aging. ''Age is irrelevant because the
mind is ageless. My favorite movie is Harold and Maude,
and at SO~something Maude was the foxiest woman of
all time:'
We don't know about Maude, but lang's playfulness has
always been alluring for lesbians, and most likely lead to her
reputation as a lesbian lothario (she has been romantically
linked to many celesbians, including Leisha Hailey, and has
openly discussed her views of non~monogamy, unusual
for a lesbian role model).
However, lang has long since given up her lady~killing
ways and settled down, in the best sense. She allows that
minds change with age, likes and dislikes change, "but one's
essential nature-and
sincere, intimate interest in another
person-is ageless:' By "another person;' she's referring to
Jamie Price, her partner of nearly 10 years. "Jamie isn't
interested in show biz, which is a nice balance. She's a very
selfless person who volunteers all her time to nonprofits,
substantially Buddhist organizations. Her work is more
important than mine;' lang says. She is not being modest.
She's serious. "I don't mean to demean music, but (Jamie's]
work is so substantial:'
The couple carefully cultivates privacy in the very public
City of Angels. "Keeping the spotlight off our relation~
ship;' says lang, "has contributed to its longevity:'
And while sadly, lang is off the market, she hasn't left
the state. When lang is performing live, as she is this year
for Sing It Loud, her butch cowgirl nature, along with her
wit and intelligence, shine brightly. Playing to a mostly
lesbian, sold~out crowd in April at Le Poisson Rouge,
a small, extremely eclectic venue in New York City, it
was classic bad girl lang as she teased and flirted with
the audience. During her performance of "I Confess,"
lang provocatively drew out the line 'TH be your daddy;'
while flashing a knowing and playful grin-and the crowd
roared-and
swooned.
She knows how to please an audience and her bold
presence on stage captures the essence of butch bravado,
except with lang it's not simply bravado. "Butch is so
hard to define;' she says. "With so many straight women
working out, some are really butch. I think Madonna is so
much more butch than me;' she laughs. "Really, I just feel
more comfortable and natural being butch and it suits me
more;' says the charming chanteuse about the role that we
love, and which fits her so damn well. "I would look like a
drag queen otherwise. I am much more comfortable with
a butch aesthetic:•
While lang has often spoken about her mentors and
elders in the music community, she's becoming somewhat
of a pillar in the lesbian community, herself-not
to men~
tion that in her early (controversially butch~presenting)
career she was at the forefront of the new gender discus~
sion. As such, she is the perfect person to ask about today's
ever~evolving definition of gender. "I find the gap between
genders is dosing. Men are more effeminate and women
more masculine. I think women are threatening to begin
with, but a woman in men's clothes is even more threat~
erring. However, femininity is ultra powerful;' lang says
with relish.
Her view on the many divisions within the lesbian
community is simple-and
wonderfully inclusive. "You
wouldn't want a community to move all in the same direc~
tion-to be all the same, like the Republicans. Alternatives
are what make up the diversity of our community. I think
we should celebrate that. It's an indefinable, ever~changing
and diverse culture-again,
something to be celebrated:'
A crossover artist (in so many ways), lang says her
musical aspirations have been the same from the begin~
ning-and are likely to surprise you-her endeavor is to
be mainstream.Not in the worst sense, but in a positive
way. To have a truly broad~based appeal. "Walking the
middle line is the epitome of eclectic. I've always wanted
an indefinable demographic and a broad~spectrum audi~
ence: Imagining an 85~year~old Republican woman from
Texas and a butch dyke from New York City who is 21
sitting together at my show makes me happy. Music is a
peaceful way to bridge difference. It has always been part
of my manifesto for my music:•
In the aforementioned issue of Vanity Fair,lang stated
she thought she would be ostracized by Nashville and the
country music industry when she came out. It didn't hap~
pen. She actually gained popularity and her music sales
persisted. It was when she appeared in an ad for PETA
that Nashville disowned her based on pressure from cattle
ranchers and the beef industry.
Lesbian country music singers have lang as a formidable
forbear and most say it was her grand entree into the
country scene that budged open the closet door. It wasn't
that queers were suddenly welcome in Nashville then (or
now-just
ask Chely Wright, who regularly gets death
threats and hasn't seen the Grand Ole Opry stage since
coming out); just that lang's irrefutable talent, larger that
life presence and innate subversive sexiness overshadowed
the ingrained homophobia in that particular music scene.
It's been rumored-though
not documented-that
lang
took Nashville so completely by surprise that she couldn't
be categorized-or contained. By returning to her country
roots with Sing It Loud, she is disproving the rumor that
she was rejected by Nashville because she was "too much:'
"The thing is, I always knew I wasn't a 'country singer:
My musical influences were very eclectic. My initial
liaison with Nashville was voluntarily short and at arm's
length;' lang says, dispelling the rumors that she had no
control over that portion of her career. "My intention was
to pay homage to those who influenced me-Patsy [Cline],
George [Jones] and Tammy [Wynette]. But my real influ~
ences were Joni [Mitchell] and classical artists. I was not in
Nashville that long and I didn't want to fit in. In fact, I don't
want to be pigeonholed into any genre. Being seen only as
a gay singer makes me uncomfortable. I am so much more
than my sexuality:' Then she jokes, "Maybe Nashville was
too much for me:•
Unlike many manufactured mainstream artists, lang
has always insisted upon a creative freedom that is now
rare in the industry. "Music is much more exciting and
more diverse than the mainstream music media portrays;'
lang points out."Seventy to 80 percent of a page in a news~
paper is spent on American Idol, so all other artists fight
for the remaining 20 percent of the space:•
"Would Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell win American Idol
today?" lang asks. "They wouldn't even make it past the
auditions:• (kdlang.com)
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'Ifthereisonethingthatlesbians
arepassionate
about,it'stheirmusic,whichiswhy
therearesomanyamazing
lesbian,
bisexual
andqueer-identified
musicians
today.So
many,thattherejustisn'tenough
roomin
ourpagesto dojusticetothemall-or for
ofthem.Sowe've
thatmattera quarter
assembled
a listof 101gay-of-center
ladies
andgirlgroups
(inalphabetical
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belongonyourmust-listen
musicist.
1.An Horse
2.Antigone
Rising
3. JoanArmatrading
4. Sandra
Bernhard
5. SarahBettens
7.AliciaBridges
8. Monique
Brumby
9. TheButchies
July/August 2011
I 47
.
.
•
MEETTHE TWIN CITIES'
BEST-KEPTSECRET,SOULFUL
SONGSTRESSASHLEY GOLD.
BY MELANY JOY BECK AND
JANELLE SORENSON
"Honey, I'm always on the verge of something," laughs
songstress Ashley Gold when asked if the release of her
EP Late Bloomer makes her feel like she's on the cusp of
something great. "But what that is, I just don't know yet:'
Sipping from a Tazo Chai Tea Shake at an Uptown,
Minneapolis teashop, it's dear that Gold is, in fact, on the
verge of something. The March release of her first and
long,awaited EP has fallen into the welcoming arms of
long,time Gold fans, oft,cynical music reviewers, and the
playlists of some pretty exclusive indie radio stations.
Her style is an anomaly, blending smooth powerhouse
vocals with clever spoken word rhymes, folk and dance
party,inducing beats. No newcomer to the scene, Gold
has been frequenting open mic nights and playing solo
gigs around the Twin Cities for years. She's practically a
household name amongst Minneapolis scenesters, so the
release of Late Bloomer acts as somewhat of a bookend to
an era, while simultaneously bursting through the doors of
another. It also brings Gold one step closer to sharing her
music with a wider audience.
'Tm looking forward to making my own opportunities
for the album. I really want to be on Greys Anatomy;' she
says, playfully hitting the table for emphasis. Having stuck
pretty dose to home for the majority of her career, Gold is
also looking forward to the opportunity to tour. "I would
love to tour. That seems like the logical next step:'
10. BrandiCarlile
11.Vanessa
Carlton
12.TracyChapman
13. Deborah
Cheetham
14. BethClayton
15.AmyCook
16. CatieCurtis
17. EvaDahlgren
18. LeaDeLaria
19.AniDifranco
48
I curve
"
-.
This queer,friendly and self,prodaimed "yes sexual" has
spent the majority of her life in Minnesota, though Gold
has the street cred of a born and bred New Yorker and a
signature style as unique as the music she creates. Large
hoop earrings are a staple of her personal style, regardless
of whether she's kicking around in skinny jeans, sneakers
and a T,shirt, or a strapless dress and heels.
Likened initially to pop artists Nelly Furtado and Colbie
Calliat, Gold admits that though she's flattered by the com,
parisons, it's artists like Nina Simone and India Arie that
were the impetus for turning her dream of making music
into a reality."India Arie [was a] huge influence;' she gushes.
"I remember feeling like, I want to be her. I want to sing
these soulful songs. I want to play guitar, and I started to
teach myself:'
Despite obvious talent and inspiration, Gold was slow
to embrace performing full time, struggling to balance her
passion to perform with her desire to give back to the com,
munity. 'Tve tried to do the going to work slash going to
school' thing. I did non,profit social work;' she reflects,
stirring the remains of her tea. "I wanted to do something
helpful to people in a different way and [now] I want to do
it through music. Music is really healing and powerful, and
I want to be able to touch people and affect them:'
If Late Bloomer is any example, Gold is on to something.
With wisdom and perspective beyond her years, she consoles
20. BethDitto
21.TheDittyBops
22.AlixDobkin
23. DanielleEgnew
24. MelissaEtheridge
25. Feloni
26. MelissaFerrick
27. Ferron
28. JenFoster
29. RuthieFoster
_______
and conspires through the six songs on the EP, leaving listeners
feeling like they just had a hearMo~heart with a best friend-only
not in an after school special kind of way. Gold gets it. And she's
finally ready to share.
When asked if music can save the world, Gold starts, then stops.
Despite the cheerfulness of the afternoon sun, the conversation takes
30. MaryGauthier
31. God-Des
andShe
32. SophieB.Hawkins
33. HunterValentine
•, •
•,~
a somber turn as she ponders a question she ha~ prob1)ly as~ct
herself many times. "You know, I don't know if music can save the
world. People are going to annihilate one another, and if they don't,
the ocean will;' she shrugs, shifting to look out the window at the
people strolling past. "We just got to keep on trucking and stay in the
moment. That's how music will save me:' (ashleygoldmusic.com)
34. IndigoGirls
35.AlisonGoldfrapp
36. MissyHiggins
37.JanisIan
38. Sharonlsbin
39.JessieJ
40. JoanJett
41. KakiKing
42. KissKill
43. JessKlein
July/August 2011
I 49
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TRANSFORMED
CLIKS FRONT MAN FLIES SOLO
WITH MOCKINGBIRD
BY DAVE STEINFELD
• •
..
If you're a music fan, chances are you're familiar with
Lucas Silveira. A Toronto native, trans man and top~
notch musician, Silveira and his band The Cliks debuted
in 2007 with the album Snakehouse. An irresistible disc of
melodic rock, Snakehouse was followed two years later by
the band's sophomore set, Dirty King.
A lot has happened since then. The other members of
The Cliks left the band; Silveira began taking hormones;
he fell in love with Brooklyn, N.Y.and he recently released a
solo disc, Mockingbird. The new album may come as a sur~
prise to some Cliks fans with its more subdued tone and
the fact that six of its eight songs are covers. These range
from Jeff Buckley's "Last Goodbye" to T.I:s "Whatever
You Like" to the opener, Leonard Cohen's 'Tm Your
Man" -which seems an appropriate choice at this point
in Silveira's life.
Whydidyoudecideto doa solorecord?
I've been going through many changes in my life and one
of those changes happened to coincide with my choice to
fully transition with hormones. It changed my voice and
my artistic expression, which was an intense process that
I wasn't prepared for. I feel like a completely different
44. JenniferKnapp
45. LadySovereign
46. NomyLamm
47. PattyLarkin
48. MelangeLavonne
49. Lesbians
onEcstasy
50. KatrinaLeskanich
51. LeTigre
52. EmmaMcKenna
53. ErinMcKeown
so I curve
person. I am a completely different person, in fact.
The songs I've been writing of late are different than
the songs I wrote for The Cliks. I started to do covers on
YouTube when I started testosterone to document my
vocal changes without telling the fans and see how it went.
The fans loved the covers and kept requesting MP3s so I
talked to my manager and she said, "You should do a covers
record:' So it kind of happened accidentally because the
demand was there.
In the past,you'vediscussed
yourfondness
for TheBeatles.
Wereyoutemptedto tacklea BeatlessongonMockingbird?
There are some things that I keep sacred and don't touch.
As much as I love The Beatles-and
you know I do- I
think it's hard to do the songs justice. There are some
artists who I love that I can never see myself doing a public
cover of. The other day, someone told me I should do a
cover of Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" and I was like, ''Are
you crazy~ How can I ever make an Adele song bettert I
don't know, some things you just don't touch.
You'vesaidthatyouhavea "non-monogamous"
relationship
withbandmembers.
WheredoTheCliksstandnow?
Right now, I am The Cliks. The way I see it, is that I
always was. None of the other members had their heart in
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the band the way I did and that's merely because the band
was a vehicle for songs that I wrote. This created a rift in
the last lineup because they started to want the kind of
recognition that I had as a writer. I was willing to share
the money involved, but to put someone's name on a song
I wrote? Fuck that noise.
I think what happens is that when you are the leader of
the band [and] the sole songwriter, you have a vision and
it's dear and focused. When the people around you don't
have that vision and try to overbear yours with their own,
things fall apart. It's like lovers breaking up. People change
in partnerships. Sometimes they change in the same direc~
tion, sometimes they end up on two completely different
roads and at that point it's time to say goodbye.
I'm curiousto get yourthoughtson the recentassaulton
Chrissy
Polis,a transwoman,at a McDonald's
in Baltimore.
It really hit home for me because I just recently came off
the road from the first tour where I was "sort of" passing
as male, which meant I needed to start using male public
bathrooms. This is a cause for anxiety for so many trans
people. I would ask the members of Hunter Valentine,
who I was touring with, to keep an eye on me when I went
in or to wait outside the bathrooms in case something
went wrong. They were very patient with me and a few
times Kiyomi-the
lead singer, who is a great friend of
mine-said to me, "You need to walk in with confidence.
You pass as a guy. No one's going to bother you:'
So, when I saw that video, it was like watching my worst
fear come true. It really triggered me in a way that took a
lot of my confidence away. It also took away hope for me
that people had the capacity to change or that people were
becoming more accepting. I truly hope [the Polis attack
will] become a pivotal point in the movement of trans
rights. We'll see.
Whatareyourfuturegoals?
At this point, I [limit] the word "goals" to waking up in
the morning and making sure I don't smoke. [Laughs]
Seriously, it's hard to have goals these days in the music
industry because it's so volatile. I can say that I'd like to
record another Cliks album this summer and that I'd like
to keep supporting the new album.
To be honest, my main long~term goal is to just be a
songwriter and not have to tour. I would like to start writing
music for other people to sing. At the end of the day, that's
always how I've seen myself. I'm a songwriter. I just want
to write songs. ( thecliks.com)
..
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r=1N1AY PA.RIK
COLUMBIA.,
SC
out
Pr·
Events from August 28th - September 4th
Parade & Festival on September 3rd
www.scpride.org • 1108 Woodrow Street • Columbia, SC 29205
July/August 2011
I 51
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FOLK MAVEN NATALIA ZUKERMAN ON MUSIC,
ART AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
BY RACHEL SHATTO
Folk singer Natalia Zukerman has seen it all. A New York
native, she's travelled across North America and Europe
playing her unique brand of swinging Americana. She's
painted murals in Berkeley, Cali£, and she's even played
alongside folk (and lesbian) icon Janis Ian in Japan to
hushed and adoring crowds. But despite her nomadic and
experience~rich life, Zukerman remains a humble, down~
to~earth musician with a deep love of music, the environment,
and communing with her audience from the stage.
A product of parents Eugenia and Pinchas Zukermansuccessful musicians in their own right-becoming
a
musician was a foregone conclusion. "It was something that
was required. 'If you're going to live in this house, you're
going to play an instrument, god damn it!' " Zukerman
jokes. "It was an amazing thing to have grown up with that,
as much as sometimes I hated it. It definitely brought music
into my life:'
Although she began as a violinist, Zukerman soon tran~
sitioned to the guitar, and this decision was the first step
in her transformation into a folk singer~extraordinaire. 'Tm
primarily a guitar player, and these days I've been playing a
lot oflap steel guitar, too. I'm a hack at everything else. I'm a
terrible banjo player. I'm terrible at ukulele. If it has strings
.,
__________________________
,..•lill•ilil!'i:~
....
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•
I can kind of fuck with it, but I don't know what I'm doing.
Don't ask me to play violin anymore-that sounds like I'm
killing a small farm animal;' she laughs.
Zukerman's dedication and innate musicality has led
to her successful career as a travelling musician for over a
decade, a recent professional highlight being asked to play
along with Ian, after the star heard Zukerman's music on
a local radio station. ''A bunch of radio DJs have been very
supportive of me. One of the DJs gave Janis my record two
years ago. In true Janis form she sent me her autobiography
and her greatest hits with a note saying, 'I love your record,
A QUICKIE WITH NATALIAZUKERMAN :·.:~,.;.::···
• here's
Yourultimaterockstarmomentsofar?
YoumeanwhenI closeddowntheApplebee's
inVirginia?
[Laughs]
Wewantedto gogetdrinksaftertheshow.Sotheoneplaceto goin
Ashland,
Va.wastheApplebee's.
Thebartender
cameoutfrombehind
thebarandwaslike,"I don'thaveanymorewhiskey!"
I feellikewe
cametothattownanddestroyed
it.
Doyouhavea celebritycrush?
I'vehadthehotsforCatherine
Keener
foryears.It onlygetsmore
intense
asshegetsmoreandmorecomfortable
withwhosheis.
Doyouplaycovers?
I havean18-year-old
fanthat'sjusta delicious
littleguyandhe'llsend
melikeKe$ha
... andsay,You've
gotto coverthis.I thinkto myself,
You'rereallygettingold,thisistheworstshitI'veeverheardin mylife.
I'll learnit andjustplayit forhim.
52
I curve
mine in return and I hope we can work together
someday: I'm like rubbing my eyes, like seriously? Coming
straight to my home address? So I ended up opening up for
her last spring:'
The two also hit the road together, playing gigs in Japan.
"Janis is like The Beatles over there. There were people waiting
in our hotel lobby when we'd come back from the shows at
night. People lining up to get their picture taken with her.
They're incredibly supportive of musicians;' she says.
But the more subdued-if deeply passionate-fans took
some time for Zukerman to get used to."They're incredibly
quiet-exceedingly so. There were nights they were done
clapping before we were even off the stage. Not that they
didn't absolutely love it, they just don't emote the same way
we do, for sure. They clap so quietly. I had some fans of
Janis follow me from show to show, in the interim learning
everything about me and eventually buying all of my records:'
There's plenty to get excited about, particularly with
Zukerman's latest record, Gas Station Roses.This ambitious,
bluesy and polished album is an auditory journey through
folk, country and blues set to Zukerman's skillful guitar
work and paired with her mellow, breathy, Ani DiFranco~
esque vocals. Zukerman sets out to span the all~American
genres and succeeds, and in doing so helps reinvigorate an
oft~underrated musical category. "Folk music is just music
by people for people and it's somehow gotten this connota~
tion that it's going to be boring. I don't think folk music is
boring. To me what it means is people who play their instru~
ments and write their songs and tell stories. I definitely feel
beholden to that tradition:'
In taking her show on the road, Zukerman comes in
contact with a spectrum of audiences-from
tolerant,
to conservative, to outright homophobic-however,
that
hasn't prevented her from being out, except when safety
demands otherwise." [Coming out is] a little bit of a career
cul~de~sac for some people. I think there was a moment
where I thought, Yikes, I'm afraid of it, but I just kind
of went with it anyway. I love it when I get to play for
primarily gay audiences and it doesn't happen that often.
So now when it does I'm like, Woo~hoo! Conversely,
there's still times when I feel so many folk followers are
extremely straight ... there's homophobia everywhere. So,
there are times I've chosen to not be out-and
that never
feels good:'
There is one aspect of her identity that Zukerman does
wish had more visibility: that of Natalia the artist. "I have
a degree in art, painting and art history from Oberlin and
moved out to the Bay Area and started a mural company.
It's something I've done on and off since I've been touring
full time. It was actually something we incorporated into
the pre~order campaign ... people bought prints and donated
money to the making of the record process. It's the first
time I've ever combined the two disciplines, they've just
really for some reason remained separate to me. Somehow,
I always felt like I had to hide one from the other because it
just kind of felt like that saying, 'Jack of all trades, master of
none; which really sticks in my craw;' she says. "I don't feel
like that's true. Painting is almost the same muscle at this
point as song writing, whereas they used to feel like really
different parts of my brain:'
Adding to the growing list of her passions, Zukerman is
deeply environmentally conscious-although
her constant ,
travelling inevitably makes an impact the planet, something
of great concern to her.
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54. LoriMichaels
55.Allison
Miller
56. Mirah
57. HollyMiranda
58.AnikaMoa
FIND OUT HOW
TO WIN A COPY
OF NATALIA
ZUKERMAN'S
LATESTALBUM
AT
CURVEMAG.COM
"My carbon footprint is looming and that's something • .', ..
that I think about a lot;' she admits. Which is why she doe-sl
:••,•
her best to curb it with common sense solutions. "I have
•
a travel mug and I get made fun of sometimes still, but I
just don't take a paper cup at a coffee shop. I do not eat fast
food ever, ever, ever. I really try to do my part as some~
body who's taking from the planet often. It's a mindset
about the way you live your life in general. Every action has
a reaction and that's how I tend of think of my interactions
with every human I come in contact with, too. I try to leave
the smallest mark possible, spread the joy and do the least
damage I can do:'
Zukerman has taken this to the next level with her com~
mitment to The South Bronx Exchange, an organization that
helps schools and other organizations go green."The South
Bronx is one of the worst environmental areas in the U.S.
and there's a high instance of asthma happening up there in
young children. [I was] looking around nationally to see if
there was a company I can give something to and I thought,
well, my environmental mindset would say think globally,
act locally. So I looked around locally and found this orga~
nization.They're just doing an amazingjob:'
It seems that thinking locally is foremost on Zukerman's
mind these days as the forever~touring musician looks to
hang up her travelling shoes in favor of a more domesticif equally musical-adventure. "I bought an apartment in
New York two years ago. The good news is it's awesome and
I love it and the bad news is I can't afford it;' she laughs. "So
I'm on the road and that's my full~time job. I love the live
performance and yes I love the travel. But sometimes I want
to see what it'd be like to be bored and well rested. I hope to
transition to touring a little bit less. It's just so expensive and
environmentally horrendous and all of the other stuff that I
care about:' ( nataliazukerman.com)
0
ca
co
..
59. BillieMyers
60. MeshellNdegeocello
61. FaithNolan
62. SiiriNordin
63. LauraNyro
64.AlixOlson
65.AmandaPalmer
66. HeatherPeace
67.Peaches
68. Lourdes
Perez
.a.
GE
IN AUSTRALIA, SHE'S AS HIGHLY
PRAISED AS MISSY HIGGINS. NOW,
JESS MCAVOY IS HEADING OUR WAY.
SPORTED
BYMERRYNJOHNS
If you haven't heard of Jess McAvoy, you soon will. The
Australian import is already a self-made powerhouse in
her native country and now she's bringing her unique and
edgy folk pop contribution stateside. McAvoy began performing as a teen and has developed such a passionate and
faithful fanbase that her sold-out shows, and industrious
approach as an indie artist, have amounted to 12 self-produced records through her own label. And with a growing
number of performances booked in North America this
summer and fall, you'll finally get your chance to fall for
this openly lesbian rocker.
Americangirlshaveheardof MissyHiggins,
butnotyouyet.
Howwouldyouliketo introduce
yourself,
musically?
Missy [Higgins] and I write quite different kinds of songs.
She has this incredible pop sensibility that I really rebelled
against when I first started writing. My style is dark
acoustic pop, or urban folk-if you want to throw around
genres. Really, I'm a songwriter, and I follow the songs.
Lastmonth,yousaidgood-bye
toyourmanyfansDownUnder.
Whythemove,orarewejustlucky?
I think I'm lucky, having the opportunity to explore different markets. I have a beautiful life in Melbourne, but I
need to try something different, and I am in a position to
do so. The population in Australia is so sparse, and as a
result there are so many incredible, hard-working musicians who can't sustain themselves with their art. I don't
want to be that anymore. I need a bigger audience.
In the musicvideofor "TheSailor,"youplaya boi in sailor
dragtakenfromyourladylove.
A gutsymoveonyourpart.
It was very hard. I was working with one of my oldest
friends, a beautiful director by the name of Jim Batt. We
had worked together on former projects and I left the
whole concept up to him. So when we came to the idea of
my love interest in the video being a woman, he built this
beautiful, honest representation of the song. I was initially
really anxious about putting the clip out into the world,
knowing the history of what can happen to artists when
they come out. I'd been avoiding the subject of my sexuality
since I started performing at 16.
It is an important song to me-it happens to be about
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69. LindaPerry
70. Phranc
71. KatePierson
72. Pink
73. CarolePope
74. AnimalPrufrock
75. ChrisPureka
76. QiaoQiao
77.Yehudit
Ravitz
78. JoshiReagon
54
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a woman and I wanted to honor that. I received a pretty
amazing reception for my honesty. A few of my peers
commended me for it, which was lovely. I got a couple of
letters from strangers too, so generally it was cool. There
were some less fun moments, but it's really important to
me to be honest in my work.
Tellus moreaboutbeingout:Howdo youidentify,andhow
hasit affectedyourcareer?
I have always maintained that my sexuality is a fairly fluid
thing, though I have mostly been involved with women. I
have struggled with it over the years, in terms of where it
fits in my career. It gets scrutinized more than I thought
it would. I get all kinds of strangers asking me about my
personal life because I'm a performer and they' re curious.
I have also had a couple of interesting confrontations with
industry people about it over the years-because they just
don't know where to place me, because !"look straight:' It's
a pretty interesting dance. On the flipside, I have had such
amazing support from the gay community. Women have
such a wonderful way of being passionate supporters of
music. I get access to a lot of that. It's pretty rad.
Whoareyourmusicalrolemodelsandinfluences?
Musically, I had a pretty steady diet of Tori Amos in
my angsty teen years. Once I really noticed Madonna
though, in the Blond Ambition days, the aim became
clear. I had to meet Madonna. I think these contrasting
tastes opened me up to all kinds of music. The obvious
contenders have stuck out over the years: Fiona, Ani,
Feist, some Joan as Police Woman, and then full~swing
back around to Etta James, Edith Piaf and the delec~
table Nina Simone. Oh, and Rage Against the Machine.
You'rean indie,self-funded
musician,
activesince1999,with
fouralbumsandsevenEPsunderyourbelt.So,what'snext?
Well, I have plans, you see. I'm working on a very special
project that is a departure from the style I have been
working with all these years, and I have a few other things
up my sleeve. I'll be traveling around America and Canada
looking for the right opportunities for any one of my projects.
Because I have mostly done everything on my own for a
long time, I've learned a lot about how things work. I guess
you can say I have street smarts, Aussie~style.
OK,nowa personal
question.
Anyspecialladyin yourlife?
Let's just say I have a good reason to frequent New York
City, other than the city hersel£
Wherewillwe firstbeableto seeyouperform?
You can certainly expect some shows in Toronto and New
York City from around August till the end of the year.
Best would be to get on Facebook, or sign up to my mailing
list on my website. I'll keep you in the loop, so you can
come and say G'day. (jessmcavoy.com)
Grady
July/August 2011
I 55
Nearly two decades ago, led by banshee frontwoman
Courtney Love, Hole broke out of the Northwest's Riot
Grrrl scene-ferocious, independent, loaded with female
talent. With Love providing the theatrics, drummer Patty
Schemel supplied Hole's pounding beat, but that all came to
an end as the band was on the verge of its biggest commercial success. When producer Michael Beinhorn replaced
Schemel with a male studio musician for the recording of
1998's CelebritySkin, Schemel left the band. And as the album
climbed the charts, Hole's former drummer descended
deeper into addiction, finally ending up on the streets of
Los Angeles, stealing and selling herself to get high.
That moment is the dramatic turning point in the new
documentary Hit So Hard: The Life & Near Death Story
of Patty Scheme/. The film combines archival footage of
Schemel' s time with the band and present-day interviews
PATTY SCH EMEL ROSE TO FAME WITH HOLE,
SUFFERED THROUGH ADDICTION AND HOMELESSNESS,
AND SURVIVED TO TELL THE TALE.
BY MARIA DE LA 0
with her bandmates: Eric Erlandson, Melissa Auf der Maur
and Courtney Love herself. The film also includes interviews with three other female drummers: Gina Schock
of the Go-Go's, Debbi Peterson of the Bangles and Kate
Schellenbach of Luscious Jackson.
At its core, Hit So Hard is a story of redemption. It
premiered at SXSW in Austin and is making the rounds
of film fests, including NDNF in New York City, Outfest
in L.A. and Cannes.
Whatinspired
youto tellyourstoryin HitSoHarcl?
A friend of mine, [queer filmmaker] Jenni Olson, suggested that I get all of my old footage digitized because it
would disintegrate. It was in the closet, just sitting there.
Christina, my wife, talked to director David Ebersole and
we started looking at all the footage. He said, "This is a
really great story:'
Whateffectdid growingup in a smalltown like Marysville,
Washington,
haveonyourmusic?
Everything came there later. In California, everybody was
into everything right away. They got to hear new music
quick. Where I was, it took forever for anything new to
come around. Everybody's family either worked at the mills
or Boeing. It was just a boring town. The sound [we came
up with] was being brewed and mixed together in these
basements.
WhenproducerMichaelBeinhorn
forcedyouout,duringthe
recording
of Celebrity
Skin,it wasa turningpointforyou.Now
that youhavehadtimeto reflect,whatwouldyouhavedone
differently?
I probably-definitely-wouldn't
have just given up on the
whole thing. It was my whole life. It was what made me me.
Ifl had just said,"OK, let Johnny One-Take do it and I will
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just come back and play my parts on tour;' things would
have been a lot easier.
Didyourbandmates
haveanyfeelingsof betrayaloveryour
leavingtheband?
The frustration with me was around the drug abuse-[it
had been] building way before that incident went down.
Wasit difficultto getyourformerbandmates
together
forthe
movie?
There was still resentment built up. And it just started to
disappear. I had worked on it over the years, but it was
good to hear them talk and see them again, just to close
the chapter.
Leaving
thebandsentyouintoa spiral.Howlongdidthatlast?
Maybe two and a half years. It was a slow progression to
getting down to nothing.
Howlongwereyouonthestreet?
I couldn't last long out there. Maybe six months.
Whatdidyoulearnfromreaching
rockbottom?
I was that person who said, ''I'llnever do that:'Then I did. I
ended up doing all of that. That's where my addiction took
me, and coming out of it made me grateful for the simple
things, like going to bed, waking up, having coffee.Not taking
that stuff for granted. [It taught me] to be humble, to be
grateful. Because ego takes you down, too.
Doyouhavemoreempathy
forothersnow?
Yeah. Any time a friend of mine is having a problem ... !
feel for them. I love music, and it was great when it paid
my bills. But it can also break your heart. And I do have
compassion for other addicts that struggle with those same
things, like ego and not being good enough.
Whatdoyoudoto stayhealthynow?
I do my meetings, of course. And I do a lot of work for the
Musicians' Assistance Program, which helps other drug
addicts who play music get into treatment. And it's crazy,
but I'm just relearning how to be a normal person, how to
deal with stuff that you learned when you were 12-like,
when you get upset, maybe you should try to talk about it.
I just try to keep things more balanced.
Isit truethatCourtney
Lovehooked
youupwiththeMusicians'
Assistance
Program?
There were many, many interventions. The first one was
her getting a bunch of people together that were part of
Musicians' Assistance Program in her living room, and
there was a guy there with tea, catering. That didn't work.
Considering
Courtney
Love'sreputation,
peoplewouldbevery
shocked
to hearthatshetriedto helpyougetclean.
Right. For her, she can handle what she does in her life,
in her choices. Whereas my choices historically have been
similar to hers, I can't seem to function that way. She can.
At onepointin the movie,Courtney
talksabouthowit wasa
toss-upwhetheryouwouldbea drummer
forNirvana
or Hole.
She really expounds on that. I played drums and jammed
with Kurt a few times, but there was never really any time
where I was going to be in Nirvana. Let's clear that up right
now. But because we played together, she likes to throw
that around. It's a nice lie. I've heard other things she's said
that were not nice about people. But I'll take that one.
Whatareyoudoingmusically
now,andwhat'sinthefuture?
I'm in a band called Psychic Friend and it's with Will
Schwartz, who was in Imperial Teen, and Bo Boddie, and
we have some shows coming up. I also have another band
with my brother called Green Eyes. We named it that
because it's a Husker Dii song and we love Husker Dii.
Psychic Friend is more of an indie pop band and Green
Eyes is more of an all~out rock band. And there's some
more stuff that I hate saying, because I can't say who it is,
because it hasn't been finalized yet. I'll just say it's [playing
for] one of my idols.
Canyoutalk aboutyourinvolvement
in the RockCampfor
Girls?
I love doing it, because I would've liked something like that
when I was a kid. It teaches these girls how to play instru~
ments, how to turn on the amp. Just all the basics you need,
so that you're not overwhelmed. So you feel comfortable
and you can express yourself. There are no rules, so they can
just write-it's pure, it's the punk rock idea: Write about
whatever you want, play however you want to play.
At the endof the movie,yousaya "musicfirst"attitudewas
reallywhatbroughtyoudown-you neededto startthinking
"Pattyfirst."What'sdifferent
thistime?
I put a lot of work into it, but it's not my identity. It's not
my end~all and be~all. Other things are important, like my
family. There are other things in the world to do than just
to be a drummer. (pattydoc.com)
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79. KatieReider
80. DoriaRoberts
81. Luiza Sa
82. KateSchellenbach
83. Sia Furler
84. Sickof Sarah
85. Sleater-Kinney
86. JillSobule
87. DustySpringfield
July/August 2011
I 57
ACLs that she began taking her musical talent seriously. "I
was laid up with knee surgeries so I started playing guitar
since there's not a whole lot else you can do. I'd get chord
books and learn cover songs and play them at parties and
stuff with friends. It just kind of rolled from there:'
Today, the laid back and effortlessly cool singer/songwriter is touring in support of her second album BecauseI
Can, a confident, self-assured sophomore effort so upbeat
and lyrically bold that it could just as easily have been titled
''Audible Prozac:'
LESBIAN POP ROCK STAR DAPHNE WILLIS
LIFTSOUR SPIRITS.
BY RACHEL SHATTO
Daphne Willis came by her musical talent the old fashioned way-genetics. Both Willis' parents studied music
and performed live while she was growing up. "They actually had a little duo thing and they'd play at the club down
[in Austin, Texas] and my dad plays guitar so when I was in
high school he taught me how to play guitar;' she explains.
But it wasn't until Willis, a lifelong jock, tore both of her
Is it trueyouwerediscovered
onanairplane?
Yeah. I had this EP that I had done just independently
and I got a small licensing. So, it was playing on American
Airlines flights and Kevin Welk [President of Welk Music
Group] was on a flight and he happened to plug in his
headphones into the armrest while one of my songs was
playing. We got the call the next week. But it was just hilarious, the serendipity of it, that he plugged it in just at that
moment. Right place, right time.
Wereyououtas a teenanddidyouexperience
anybullying?
I was lucky. I came from a really supportive family. I was out
to a few friends in high school and then I came out to my
parents. It's a big deal to tell your family. But I was so lucky.
I think they already knew and they made a joke. My dad
was like, Well, I won that one! Like they had a bet going on!
[Laughs] They said, well when you were 13 or something,
your dad said, "I think she's gay" and my mom said, "Well,
we'll just have to wait and see:' I'm sitting there bawling and
a mess and they're just like 'eh' and 'cool: It was hilarious.
Didyouhaveconcerns
beingoutwouldimpedeyourcareer?
My attitude is, "Hey, whatever;' but I understand that not
everybody shares that attitude. I guess I don't really think
about it that much. The people who matter don't mind and
the people who mind don't matter.
Wereanyof thesongsonBecause
I Ganautobiographical?
Yeah, definitely, a lot of the songs were pulled from things
I've experienced in the past year.
Themessageof the albumseemsto be:"Findwhoyouare
andacceptyourself."
Wasthatintended?
I definitely just like to write about personal growth and how
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90. EmberSwift
91.TeamDresch
92. TeganandSara
93.AliceTemple
94.ToppTwins
95.Tragik
96.Tribe8
97. lwo NiceGirls
98. Uh-Huh-Her
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everybody has their own adversities and struggles. And I try
to write songs that are a little bit more positive for people,
too. I always like to feel inspired and uplifted when I listen
to [music). So, I try and reflect that in my own work.
Is thereanyonesongonthealbumyoufeelclosestto?
"One By One:' I wrote it with a couple of really good
friends. We wrote it during a transitional time-I'd moved
(~..
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.
LEZZIE
LIGHTNING
ROUND
~:t-!·~.
What'syourultimaterockstar
No,andI didn'tevenknowwhat
moment,sofar?
steampunkwas.I'veheardtheir
to Nashville and I was coming out of a relationship and was
at NotreDamelast
I played
eventsarekindof fun. ButI just
just in general feeling kind of overwhelmed. I've definitely
Saturday
andsomeone
proposed likethe goggles.I'm not a steamcome a long way just since we wrote that song and it really
to me.Butit waskindofcreepy.
punker,but I respectthem.Me
does help me to put things in perspective and just slow
Shefollowed
usfromDesMoines andthe steampunkcommunity,
down and take things one by one. That if there's something
andthenChicago
... andlegitimately we'recool[Laughs].
about your life you don't like, you can change it.
busted
outa ringandproposed. If youcouldtourwith anyone,
Arethereany causesthat are importantto you?
What'syourweirdesthabit?
whowouldit be?
Oh yes! I have been working with this organization called
I'mobsessed
withgoggles.
I have I havemad,madrespectfor
the Generation Project. They're awesome. They cater to
waytoomanypairs.I havewelding BrandiCarlile.I'veseenherlive
low~income students and low~income schooling systems
goggles
andI puttintedlenses
a bunchof timesandI just am
that need supplies. The educators go on and register like:
inthem.Thedifferent
goggles
on
continuously
floored.I thinkshe's
We need three sets of this book or we need baseball bats
thedifferent
daysareindicative just a phenomenal
talent.
or we need musical equipment ... instead of just donating
of mymood
... if I'minjusta crazy Whois yourcelebritycrush?
money, they take the money, buy the product and ship it to .
f~nmoodI'llweartheseshiny
NikkiCosta.She'sgotthis strange
the schools for you. You can also design a gift. I donated an·.~\,= ~•· onesthatareglittered
out.
kindof quirkyvibeaboutherthat
acoustic guitar. (daphnewillis.com)
:_.. :-··Arpyoua closetsteampunk?
I'm attractedto in women.
fl,
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yourlife yourisland
Featuringthe comedyof
womenfest.com
305.294.4603
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July/August
2011
I 59
SWEDISH
,
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Maja Ivarsson, the bisexual bombshell front woman of
Swedish band The Sounds, says she smiles whenever she
sees an IKEA because "they're always blue and yellow" and
it's good to see that Swedish brand of minimalism going
mainstream. Americans have truly embraced all that is
Swedish, from H&M to Swedish meatballs and of course
Ivarsson's funky band, the genre-hopping group that's been
driving us to the dance floor since 1999. When it comes to
her band-of 15 years-Ivarsson refuses to claim allegiance
to any one musical genre saying "labels are no good" but
that "we're the band that mixes pop, rock and punk rock
with a lot of electronic elements. Some call it New Wave
but I don't call it New Wave. I think it's a mix of everything:' And the latest offering from this eclectic group,
Something to Die For, is available now and continues the
band's tradition of endlessly catchy musical excellence.
~~/~~.~}::,·
MAJA IVARSSON ON CONQUERING
THE PLANET WITH DANCE.
BY JILLIAN EUGENIOS
going to go to Japan. It's one of the things that you dream
about as a band. Conquering the planet with dance is
definitely something we're trying to do.
Yougetto seea lotofAmerica,
especially
smalltownAmerica.
Whathaveyoulearnedbyseeingoursmallercities?
It's actually a pleasant surprise because I think a lot of
Europeans have this idea that smaller cities in America are
narrow minded. I think the opposite. It might have to do
with the fact that I'm Swedish, and I'm blonde, and I'm
a girl. People might not be as open to me if I came from
somewhere else. I would say that Americans are very open
and generous. Like El Paso, for instance, is one of my favorite
places. They are so devoted.
Howdidgrowingupin Swedeninfluence
yourworldview?
Swedes in general are very modest, and I think that's a
good thing. Especially in the music business because it can
get to your head pretty easily. Being Swedish keeps you
TheSounds'song"Dancewith the Devil"talksabout"con- grounded. Here in America everybody's like, You could be
queringthe planetwith dance."Whatdoesit meanto have number one, you're a champion, you could be president! In
sucha diverse,
international
fanbase?
Sweden it's more like, You can be a plumber if you want to.
It means everything to us. It means we can actually make a That's equally as fine as being a lawyer.
Whowastheinspiration
behindthesong"Diana"?
living playing music. Weve been one of those bands coming
This is one of my favorite songs on the album. Shes a ficout of Sweden that was blessed to actually have a platform
tional person. Diana doesn't really exist, but at the same
in America and play shows. We have a big fan base in Latin
America, in Mexico, North America, Europe ... soon we're time, I wrote a song for the first album called Seven Days
a Week. My best friend growing
up was named Diana. She went
to America as a 19-year-old and
she became a prostitute and she
overdosed when she was 20. It was
right before the first album came
out. So I wrote the song Seven Days
a Week, which is about her. But
even though this song, "Diana;'
is a fictional story I think about
her when I sing it. The lyrics are not
spot-on about her but it's definitely
dose so maybe that's why I like it so
much. It's a great track.
What'scomingupforTheSounds?
I see only good things in the future.
Only good stuff right now. We're
on a good label in America. The
album is out and we're going to do
tours. South America is coming
up and everybody is really excited.
(the-sounds.com)
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It's a rainy night at the Triple Rock Social Club in
Minneapolis' West Bank neighborhood and JD Samson
is feeling the weight of the world. "On our record there's a
song called 'If You Want Something~' the former Le Tigre
member explains backstage. "Go for what you desire and
somehow it will come to you. I think that's clearly what we
all need to do right now. Our days are numbered:' In stark
contrast to this morbid sentiment, Samson's new record,
Talk About Body, has her coming out of the shadows in
a big way to lead the dance~pop outfit, MEN, bringing
a new breed of genderqueer hero to the forefront while
opening up a dialogue that even the mainstream music
press can't ignore.
"For a while everything I did was gay and that's not all
I am;' Samson says. "But at the same time, our outfits are
completely made out of queer symbols. I feel like it's very
important to maintain my image as a queer person and
support equal rights for queers in general. But I also feel
like it's important to play a show and not ever bring up the
fact that you're queer and for people to just enjoy the music:'
Samson's music and stage show is a hyperactive concoc~
tion of in~your~facepolitics, bubbly synths and retro~queer
slogans. The hand~sewn yin and yang tee she sports
underlines both the balance and the contradictory nature
of Samson's identity.
"I usually pass as a guy, even during shows;' she shrugs.
''Afterward, people will be like, your voice is so high, how do
you do that:' And I'm like, Oh, wow. They have no idea:'
With Samson's boyish good looks and razor~thin mous~
tache, she could easily nudge Justin Bieber off the pages of
Tiger Beat if not for the fact that she is ... well ... a she.
"This record is good;' Samson argues. "I don't get why
we're not huge right now. I don't think it's about the way
we sound. I think it's about who we are as humans. I
think the front person of this band being some gender~
queer weirdo definitely does not help us in the mainstream
music world:'
Despite the relative novelty of trans and genderqueer
pop stars, Samson is also quick to point out the progress
of the past 15 years, helped along in no small part by the
power of the press. "[curve] changed my life. Did you
know that?" she asks, shaking her head."I would look at the
music reviews and I would write down everything on a little
piece of paper and then I would go to the record store and
buy all the records. That's the way I knew about everything.
I didn't have the Internet:'
With the economy firmly in recession, global turmoil and
the looming fears of 2012, Samson takes refuge and respite
in the power of dance music. "With Le Tigre, Kathleen and
Jo brought me into such an amazing world and I think that
there's this juxtaposition with the music that we were making
and the music that I'm still making now that is about
movement;' Samson explains. "Whether that movement
is physical or figurative that is where they come together
for me. It's really vulnerable to move your body with other
tEADE
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JD SAMSON DISHES ON HER NEW PROJECT AND
BRINGING GENDERQUEER INTO THE MAINSTREAM.
BY MELANY JOY BECK
people and to take up space and be sweating together and
it's the perfect place to talk about politics, while you're in
your body and vulnerable and surrounded by others that
are doing the same thing:'
Her point was illustrated at a Madison, Wisc. show the
previous evening. Coinciding with the Union rally in protest
of the legislation to effectively end collective bargaining
rights in the state, political tensions ran high.
"I felt so excited to be there during this moment;' she
says. "Coming in to town, I was really prepared for that
audience to be there and I felt like that's exactly what hap~
pened. Everybody was freaking out. I totally miss that. Last
night I felt the audience acting like the audience of Le Tigre.
It's this hunger for activism:'
Whether music can save the world or not, JD Samson
is glad to provide a soundtrack. "I feel really lucky to be
where I am and connect with all these awesome people;'
she smiles. "That's the biggest thing for me. When people
tell me, You've helped me, or You changed me, or I'm so
inspired by you, that helps me to move forward with my
life and keep going:' (menmakemusic.com)
,.
•
July/August 2011
I 61
SEEING GREEN
The lead singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and overall
mastermind behind the project See Green is the openly
Green.Her
bisexual and clearly multitalented Courtenay
infectious, upbeat indie power pop will have you tap~
ping your toes and smiling. With strong yet quirky
vocals, Green is a welcome addition to the music
landscape. The wise yet peppy ''Are You Happy" has hit
written all over it and is reminiscent of New Wave and
the likes of The Go~Go's. Green's new EP, Ultramarine,is
out this summer and we can't think of a sunnier girl~power
sound to bop along to. (courtenaygreen.com)
.
. .
SONIC SOUTH
It may surprise you that the Sunshine State could ever
produce a band that writes about a weird array of dark
subjects, from stalkers to teenage angst, but the Sleepy
Vikings,who hail from Tampa, do. Compared to Sonic
Youth their debut album, They Will Find You Here,
finds the comparison to be an apt one. For those of you
too young to have experienced the alternative rock of
the early '90s, here's a very cool Viking voyage reduxcomplete with three out lesbian band members this time
around. (sleepyvikings.com)
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GIRL WITH GUITAR
The bittersweet, sincere vocals of Lindsay
Whitemake her sound like the lovechild of
Hope Sandoval and Regina Spektor-and
we love it. The San Diego~based musician
is newly out, having separated from her
husband after realizing she was gay. She's
played San Diego Pride and embraces her
new visibility, feeling that coming out can
help other women in the situation she was
in. "I went to hell and back trying to get
my life together and finally had to own
up to who I really was;' explains White.
She's flourishing now, having just released
her first solo album, Tracks, and enjoying
a musical life with her partner, musician
Veronica May. (lindsaywhitemusic.com)
SHE IS KING
Shawnee, lead singer of She King,is an
aboriginal two~spirit singer/ songwriter
with what it takes to make it big. She's sexy,
with shades of Joan Jett, and is about to
make her mark on her native Canada's mu~
sic map. Recently sponsored by Carparelli
Guitars, Shawnee also rec~eived a record
label offer while working in Toronto with
producer Michael Hanson, best~known as
a former member of Canadian rock band,
Glass Tiger. Shawnee's singles "Freak
Show;' "Psycho" and "Shut Down" already
have a cult following, but stay tuned for
the album which is sure to make a splash
this summer. (shekingband.com)
HOT ROCKERS
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The U.K. all~girl foursome (three are les~
bian) JOANovARC
has rocked music festivals
all around Europe this year including sup~
porting Uh~ Huh Her. Their big sound has
elements of everyone from Heart to U2, and
should satisfy those craving anything from
hard core rock'n' roll to power pop. Yes, get
ready for a little fist pumping or dare we
say air guitar because these British ladies
can certainly shred. And after a busy year
rocking it live, they return to the studio to
record their first full~length album. In the
meantime, grab their EP. voanovarc.co.uk)
RAINB0WWAREH0USE.0RG
On Australia's East Coast, an eco-camp
offers a luxe brush with nature.
By Georgia Krokus
64
I curve
AUSTRALIAN
TOURISM
is famous for its
bush adventures, but just because you leave the
beaten path doesn't mean you have to leave all
comforts behind. Paperbark Camp-envisioned
in
1998, when the trend toward nature-based tourism
was just beginning-was
inspired by the experience
of African safari camps, which offered an outdoorsy
escape but without all the packing and unpacking
required for traditional camping. When Paperbark's
owners discovered beautiful Jervis Bay, just under
three hours drive south of Sydney, they were
besotted by its pristine beaches and surrounding
natural bushland. That there was a dearth of good
accommodation available in the region proved to
be a boon for them; they settled on an untouched
100-acre site with creek frontage, and set about
building an eco-sensitive escape that would co-exist
harmoniously with the protected wetlands.
PHOTOS: DON FUCHS (BEACH), DICK SWEENEY
July/August 2011
I 65
ONTHE
MENU
YOU'LL
FIND
DISHES
BOUNTIFUL
WITH
PRODUCE
SUCH
LOCAL
ASFRESHLY-SHUCKED
POINT
GREENWELL
OYSTERS,
PAN-ROASTED
LOCAL
FISH
AND,IF
YOU'RE
GAME,
EVEN
..
KANGAROO.
Over 10 years later, the camp has
evolved from the original basic vision
of a bush bivouac to an architect~
designed camp that embodies the
now popular idea of'glamping;' com~
plete with an established restaurant
known for its fine food-and resident
possums, which are actually a lot
cuter than their North American
namesakes. The original safari tents
have been upgraded and supplemented
with private, deluxe tents from which
guests are serenaded by morning
birdsong. The surrounding towering
spotted gums and paperbark trees
offer a retreat for humans and are
home to colorful parrots and adorable
kangaroos. When you venture from
your tent to eat at Gunyah restaurant
("gunya" is Aboriginal for small bark
shelter) you can enjoy a gourmet cooked
breakfast, and afterwards, plenty of
back~to~nature activities. Paddle on
the creek or swim at the deserted white sand beach~
es where the native fauna and flora come right down
to the sand. Explore the spectacular scenery of the
Booderee National Park with its Aboriginal heritage
and botanical gardens ("Booderee" is an Aboriginal
word from the Dhurga language meaning "bay of
plenty:') Canoes, kayaks and bicycles are provided
free for guest use, so take a bike and explore the local
villages; enjoy a dolphin cruise or clear bottom sea
kayak before heading back and relaxing with a massage,
a soak in the tub or an afternoon nap.
Then while away the evening with a romantic,
66
I curve
candlelit tree~top culinary adventure at Gunyah,
which has been featured in Australia's best food guides
and is rated 4.5 stars by TripAdvisor. On the menu
you'll find dishes bountiful with local produce such
as freshly~shucked Greenwell Point oysters, pan~
roasted local fish and, if you're game, even kangaroo,
which may sound alarming to exotic animal lovers,
but for interested carnivores, is fairly comparable to
venison, even more plentiful Down Under, and more
sustainable than beef. But be sure to make a reserva~
tion because the locals enjoy this restaurant just as
much as the guests. (paperbarkcamp.com.au)
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ECOCRED
'Glamping' can be good for the environment! Paperbark Camp was ecotourism accredited
in 1999 and reduces its environmental impact with the following features:
• Architect-designed buildings in sympathy
with the landscape. Meaning, no large
trees have been removed
• Solar powered electric 12-volt lighting
• Natural ventilation, so there's no
air conditioning required
• Low flow shower heads
• Vegetable gardens, irrigated from
tank water to supply restaurant
• No fencing to maintain the wildlife corridor
• Driven piles and shallow foundations
only-all buildings are built off the ground
• Removal of foreign plant species
• Dual flush toilets
• Strict adherence to local recycling
programs
• Hot water heated on demand only
• Use of recycled paper products
• Light-sensitive timer switches
• Rainwater used when possible
• Low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs
• Biodegradable cleaning agents used
• Revegetation of areas that are affected
by development
• No intentional feeding of wildlife
July/August 2011
I 67
On an island once forbidden to
Americans, change is coming.
And visiting is easier-and more
surprising-than you've dreamed.
By Julia Steinecke
WESTEP
fNTO
the dark streets of Central Havana just
before midnight. Our destination is a government~owned bar
called Habaneciendo, where a woman named Milagros told
us there would be a lesbian party on Sunday. We're much too
early, so we wait while local men and women gradually fill the
cramped, narrow space, talking over the Justin Bieber videos
on the big screen. An hour later, when the Spanish dance
music begins, the queer women pour onto the dance floor, and
there are more than I've ever seen together in Cuba.
Five years ago, on my last visit to the island, this scene
would have been unthinkable. Back then, most parties were
illegal and were held in secret locations under the constant
threat of police raids.
I'm dancing with one of our group when a local woman
suddenly cuts in and takes my place on the floor. Next thing we
know, her friends are all around us saying"hola;' and presenting
their cheeks for kissing. While one woman dirty~dances with
our friend, my prior dance partner is bumps and grinds with a
tiny androgyne with short~short hair and a little curl on top of
her head. Our friend soon disappears with her admirer and, a
few minutes later, we see the local woman pulling her right out
of the bar. I find them in the hallway, where our friend is being
cornered by her admirer, asking for a kiss.
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Events, and lesbian dramas like this, can happen
more openly now in Cuba, partly because of the changes
wrought by the daughter of President Raul Castro.
Mariela Castro Espin is the director of CENESEX,
the government's National Centre for Sex Education.
Influenced by her feminist mother, Mariela (who locals
refer to by her first name, like they do with her father
and her uncle, Fidel) has helped bring in a number of
progressive laws. In 2008, Cuba announced that gender
reassignment surgery would be performed free of
charge for transsexuals who qualify. Only a few dozen
individuals have qualified and about 10 operations
have taken place so far.
Mariela has been working on same~sex partnership
recognition for some time now, and continues to
say that one day it will become a reality, though
some Cubans express their doubts. Mariela has also
spearheaded celebrations of the International Day
Against Homophobia with a parade in Havana and an
outdoor drag show in Santa Clara.
The following Saturday, I hop a Viazul bus and ride
five hours inland to Santa Clara, a university town in
the middle of the island, which many tourists pass
through without a second glance. That night, I head for
a cultural center called El Mejunje, and find crowds of
70
I curve
queer and trans people waiting outside a ruined hotel
with trees growing out the windows. Inside, a disco
beat begins to pound. The throng files in and starts
dancing, while a couple of women kiss passionately in
the middle of the courtyard.
El Mejunje (The Mixture) is located a couple of
blocks west of Parque Vidal. It was founded 20 years
ago by Ramon Silverio, an impoverished local kid who
loved when the travelling circus came to town. Silverio
worked in education and theatre, and dreamed of a
place where artists, rock musicians, drag performers
and intellectuals of all orientations could gather and
find acceptance.
"Ramon Silverio is a very important cultural figure
in Cuba;' a local tourism worker tells me. However,
the easy~going ambience here is not just because of
him. "The city culture is very friendly and accepting;
tranquilo," the worker says. Gays and lesbians can walk
on the streets with no fear of violence; transwomen can
dress as they wish.
A couple of days later, I return to El Mejunje, which
has a full roster of cultural activities during the week:
Rock, folk, theatre, magicians and senior citizen's
dances. Students, from the nearby Universidad Central
Marta Abreu de las Villas, are gathering in the cafe next
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GETTING TO CUBA FROM THE U.S.
Cuba Educationand ExplorerToursprovides
informationon how Americanscan jointheir
programsat legalcubatravel.com.
They offer
a RainbowCuba Tourwith participationin the
InternationalDay AgainstHomophobia.Global
Exchange(globalexchange.org/tours)
and the
Cuba Aids Project(cubaaidsproject.com)
also
arrangevisits.
WHERE TO STAY AND PLAY
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door to the courtyard, so I join some women at their table.
A guy hovers behind me and asks a series of questions in a
slurred voice. Am I a journalist:' Do I prefer men or women:'
Would I like to have sex with any of these women:'
I ignore him, and chat with my companions, who are
majoring in psychology, journalism, art and computer
science. One wears a winter scarf and a toque labeled CSI
Las Vegas. She picks up a worn guitar and strums a few
chords and her friends begin to sing folk songs in Spanish.
Two women link arms and tell me they are girlfriends.
Another pulls out a deck of cards and asks me if I'd like
to play.
Suddenly I hear a crash and see a body flying across the
room. It's the man who had been questioning me. Another
body lands on top of him, and they roll around on the floor,
fighting. Our table slides sideways, scattering the playing
cards. We head outside and I decide to call it a night, though
later, I'm told the troublemakers were handily ejected and
the evening continued without incident
On my last day, I head to Santa Clara's most famous site,
the Che Guevara monument, museum and mausoleum.
Exhibits detail the life of the revolutionary hero, from his
childhood plagued by asthma, to his
little~known nursing career, to his time
in the Sierra Maestra Mountains. In
most photos his hair is a mess and it
seems he could use a bath. Next door,
the mausoleum contains the remains
of Guevara and the other fighters killed
with him in Bolivia. In the dimly~lit,
somber room, there's a niche dedicated
to a woman named Tania. She's the
controversial Haydee Tamara Bunke
Bider, a poet, musician, linguist, teacher, construction
worker, soldier and spy. The carving of her face is in the
shadow, but her eyes burn through the darkness.
The best way to find out about localeventsand
meetingplacesis to stay at a gay-friendlyCasa
Particularsuchas Casa Aleidoin CentralHavana
(cuba-junky.com/havana/casa-aleido.htm).
Women'seventsare knownas Fiestasde
Milagrosand Fiestasde Lila,dependingon who
is organizingthem. Ask at Habaneciendo,on the
northside of NeptunoStreet,just east of Italia
Avenue.Habaneciendois the back space of the
morefamousCasa de la MusicaCentro Habana.
Cafe Cantante,in the back of the National
Theatre,on Havana'sPlaza of the Revolution,
has a weekendgay discocalled El Divino,with
a few lesbiansin attendance.Queerwomen
can occasionallybe found at the gay Mi Cayito
beach in the Playasdel Este regionof Havana.
Many Coco Taxi driversare also rumouredto be
sisters.If you want to meet a Cuban girlfriend
or make a new friend,alwaysapproachwomen
respectfully:Some will be welcomingand
forthcoming,but otherswill not feel safe talking
to foreigners.
July/August 2011
I 71
REVIEWSMusic Watch
Caught in Her Web
Meet out rocker White Widow. By Dave Steinfeld
Patullo exudes a ballsy, rock chick vibe
and her music is infectious and mainstream,
friendly. So, it's fitting that she cites PJ
Harvey and Stevie Nicks as two of her main
musical influences. In fact, she got the White
Widow moniker from Nicks. "Fleetwood
Mac is one of my favorite bands;' says
Patullo. ''And [Stevie] refers to the black
widow in her song 'Gold Dust Woman:
"I think sometimes it's more
[that] being a woman in this
industry can be a little
difficult. But I wouldn't
necessarily say that about
being gay."
White Widow is the nom de rock of
Massachusetts,native singer Carla Patullo
who has been making albums for half a decade
now-culminating with Black Heart. Some,
times she pursues a more standard, hard
rock direction. In other instances-such
as
with that album's terrific track, "I Break" she takes a more minimal, electronic ap,
proach which is even more effective because
of its subtlety. You always get the feeling she
is one step away from going over the edge,
but she never does.
I caught up with Patullo recently from her
adopted hometown in Texas. As an out
lesbian artist, I wondered how she's been
accepted in George W. Bush's home state.
"I never thought I would live in Texas;' she
admits with a laugh. "But being out here, and
being a part of the Pride event that happened,
was actually pretty amazing. I'm fortunate to
be in Austin and I feel really good energy
721curve
from the gay community here ... I think some,
times it's more [that] being a woman in this
industry can be a little difficult. But I wouldn't
necessarily say that about being gay:'
I kind of came up with the idea of White
Widow because there's this sadness to [my
music] but ... edgy,but,bright,
I guess, is
what I'm going for:' So far, it seems to be
working. Her songs have already been fea,
tured on both the big and small screen; the
title track of Black Heart was recently used
in the MTV series Teen Mom.
This year looks to be a big one for Patullo.
In addition to her own music, she's excited
Get Ready To Rock with Anne Mccue
If your mental picture of a "girl with a
guitar" is a be-dreaded dyke crooning
folkily along with her acoustic, get
ready to have your world rocked by
lesbian axe-slinger Anne McCue. For
fans of Jimmy Page, The Doors and
Heart, this soft-spoken, guitar shredding Aussie import is the Sapphic
answer to your classic rock craving.
Her latest album, Broken Promise
Land, is a '70s throwback with a bluesy
edge and a hint of psychedelic rock.
But it's her devastating proficiency
on the guitar, paired with beautifully
written songs that put her in good
company amongst the rock greats.
So, it's little surprise that this soulful
rocker was selected to open for
Lucinda Williams and performed at
the Lilith Fair revival. For more on
McCue, pick up her recently released
DVD, Anne Mccue: Live in Nashville,
featuring more than an hour of live
performances and interviews with
this humble (and smoking hot) rock
goddess on the rise. (annemccue.com)
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about her work on the upcoming EP by
friend and mentor Sandra Bernhard.
"It's Sandra's EP but I'm producing it
and performing the instruments on it;'
she explains. "There's a couple of songs
that we wrote together. It's going to be
like a six~song [disc ]-all originals. We
just recorded it about a month ago:' It's
the first time that Patullo has produced
someone's music other than her own.
Of Bernhard, she says, "She's definitely
been a huge influence for me perfor~
mance~wise. And she's actually a really
great singer. Working with her [has] been
really inspiring:'
In addition to the Bernhard project,
Patullo is hoping to release A Psychological
Thriller, the follow~up to Black Heart,
sometime this summer. Asked whether
the new album will be different from
its predecessor, she says, 'Tm producing
everything and performing everything
again, so that won't be different. But it
is definitely moving in a [new] direction.
I'm doing more fictional writing now,
which is pretty new for me. I'm kind of
moving out lyrically where I've never
gone:' (whitewidowmusic.com)
SinandRedemption 8 SongsAbouta Girl
ChristineMartucci
DeepDarkRobot
(Sunsetswest
Records)(CustardRecords)
Lesbianrocker
Christine
Martucci's
thirdalbum,Sin
is
andRedemption,
unabashedly
purerock
'n' roll-all guitars,
gutsandswagger.
If
StevieNicksandBon
Joviwereto havea
musicallovechildit
wouldbeMartucci,
whosebrash,gravely
vocalsarefull of
bravadoandperfectly
suitedto the powerballadsthatmakeupthe
album.Thematically,
Martuccisticksto the
classics,
goodgirl
gonebadanthems
andlovesongs-but
witha Sapphictwist.
Fromthetitletrack:
"I partiedwith my
demons/Got
highon
holywineandtried
all kindsof women/
fromthefineto the
divine."Thereis also
something
gleefully
earthyandbluecollar
aboutthealbum.You
can'thelpbutfeelthat
to properlyappreciate
it
youreallyshouldhave
a girlononearmanda
(domestic)
beerin the
otherhand.
(christinemartucci.
com)
LindaPerry'snew
project,DeepDark
Robothastheout
lesbianandmusic
industrymoverand
shakersharinga deeply
personal
journeywith
analbumbasedona
reallifeinfatuation
with
a straightgirl whoPerry
fell for hardbutcould
neverhave.Teaming
upwithdrummer
TonyTourney-whom
Perrymetthrough
herex,Clementine
Ford-Robotmarks
Perry'sfirst groupeffort
in 15years,andher
returnto the micis a
welcomeone.Perry's
raspy,powerfulvocals
lendemotional
weight
to eachtrack,conjuring
the bestof Melissa
Etheridge
andin quieter
moments,
JanisJoplin.
Therawandaching"It
FuckingHurts"is the
penultimate
songfor
anyonewhohasever
losta ladyloveto a
man,andtheswinging
"FuckYou,Stupid
Bitch"is the post-split
anthemthatbegsto
besungat thetopof
yourlungs.
(deepdarkrobot.
com)
BornThisWay
LadyGaga
(lnterscope)
Blessed
LucindaWilliams
(LostHighway
Records)
Withherlatestalbum, LikeNinaSimone,
Joni
it's clearthatLady
Mitchellor evenMacy
Gagawantedto write
Gray,Lucinda
Williams
a loveletterto queers possesses
a voice
andlittlemonsters
of
thatis unconventionall stripes.Andlike
allybeautiful.
Onher
thediversityof her
latestalbum,Williams
audience,
BornThis
putsherpowerfuland
Wayis a collectionof
meandering
voiceto
dance-friendly
anthems goodusewithsongs
thatcallona grabbag that,likeherdrawnout
of musicalinfluences, delivery,
taketheirtime
rangingfrom'80s
windingthroughyou.
NewWave,to ABBA,
to Alwaysa storyteller,
BruceSpringsteen.
Top Williams'lyricsarefull
trackgoesto "Judas" of tragedy,triumph
whichis the perfect
andcontentment.
marriageof synthy
"SeeingBlack"is an
beatsandGaga'send- impactful,hard-rocking
lesslymalleable
voice. cut inspiredbythe
TheLatin-infused
and
emotional
confusion
irresistible
"Americana" followinga friend's
grabsholdof youand
suicide.Thealbum
dragsyouonto the
opener,
"Buttercup"
is
dancefloor.Whilecrit- a feistykiss-offto an
icswaitin thewingsin ex-loverandthetitle
anticipation
of thestar- track,"Blessed"is pure
letwhohasrocketed Americana.
Forfansof
to famein recentyears countryandfolk-and
to fallflat on herface, thosenottypically
theywill haveto waita drawnto thegenrebit longer.
Therearea
thereis plentyto love
few nigglingcomplaints here.Withhersaltof
(likeperhapsbeing
theearthabilityto zero
tooreminiscent
of
in onourhumanity,
it's
Madonna)
overall,but
hardnotto seeyourself
Bornis a rock-solid
reflectedinWilliams'
popalbum.
music.
(ladygaga.
com)
(lucindawilliams.
com)
July/August 2011
I 73
REVIEWSSapphic Screen
QueerAs Folk
Cracking wise with New Zealand's identical funny ladies. By Merryn Johns
New Zealand's favorite comedy duo-and
its finest export after lamb chops and Lord
of the Rings-is The Topp Twins. Real life
lesbian twins, Lynda and Jools Topp, have
been making people laugh, and think, for 30
years, warming the hearts of even the most
hardened redneck and achieving cult status
in their homeland and abroad. If you haven't
encountered these queer Kiwis before, a new
documentary on their lives, UntouchableGirls
will introduce you to these hilarious, horse~
riding, yodeling, folk~singing masters of
character comedy. And there's a serious side,
too: From beating breast cancer to fighting
political injustice, the twins stand for the
good, old~fashioned notion of doing the right
thing-a concept that is these days as distant
as New Zealand itself. Like most twins, they
are inseparable, so while it was Jools who
answered curve'squestions, we're sure Lynda
wasn't too far away.
74
I curve
comefrom?
Congratulations
ona fabulous
film.Whoseidea yourpoliticalinstincts
wasit?
We got our political instincts from our mum
It was Arani Cuthbert's idea, our manager for and dad. They taught us right from wrong
the last 20 years. She produced the film.
and how to be fair.
You grew up on a dairy farm in rural New Thisyear has beenveryturbulent,politically,
Zealand.Areyousurprised
bythe international andwe still havea lot to achieve,bothfor the
criticalandaudience
acclaimforthefilm?
LGBT
community
andbroaderhumanrights.But
To some degree we have been surprised. We whatis mosturgent?
initially made the film for New Zealand.
The world just needs to lighten up!
Everything else has just been a bonus.
Youwereclearlyextraverts
froman earlyage.
abilitycomefrom,
To many in the NorthernHemisphere,
New Wheredid yourperforming
each
Zealandseemsan unspoiledparadise.Some andis it a twinthing-did youencourage
maybe surprised
that youstartedyourcareer other?
as politicalactivists.
We don't think we are extraverts. We were
We are all political animals. I guess we are a quite shy when we were little; we just sung at
long way away from anywhere so we never home a lot. That was how we learned, it was
sit on the fence. New Zealanders like to our apprenticeship.
keep informed of what's going on in the rest At whatage didyourealizeyouweregayand
of the world.
howdidyoubreakthenewsto eachother?Is it i:6
You protestednucleartestingin The Pacific, possible
youbothknewat thesamemoment? j
amongmanyotherimportant
causes.
Wheredid Yes, it is possible, we did realize at the same
moment. We saw some lesbian women
and said to each other, "Hey, we're just
like them!"
At whatpointdidyourealizeyouwerefunny
anddo youeverfeel yourcomedictalentis
connected
to an identitythat maynotfit in
withthemainstream?
We just always were funny. People need to
laugh. Our humor is really "Kiwi" and we
sure as hell fit into the mainstream.
It was wonderfulto see bothyourpartners
in thisfilm.Areyouableto revealanything
aboutthem,like their namesand how long
youhavebeentogether?
We really try and keep our private lives
private. Mary is American-Mary
and I
met on the Lesbian Love Boat from New
York to Montreal 14 years ago. Donna
[Lynda's partner] is a good Kiwi girl who
knows how to handle a horse!
Howwouldyoudescribe
yourbrandofhumor?
Anddoyoumakeeachotherlaugh?
We make each other laugh all the time.
Our humor is just real life. Life is funny
sometimes.
Yourcharacters
arehilarious,
including
Camp
MotherandCampLeader-whoneverleads.
Wheredoyougetyourideasforthesedelightfullyoddpeople?
Our characters aren't based on any par~
ticular person or people but more types of
people we have grown up with.
A remarkable
andverymoving
partofthefilm
dealswithyourbreastcancer.
Wasit difficult
to film thesescenes,especiallywhen you
were so sick and Lyndahadto stay brave.
Whatwereyouthinkingat thetime?
Lynda filmed me in the hospital, she wanted
a record. No one knows if you are going to
live or not. Anyway, I'm here now so it's all
good-you can't kill a weed!
In manywaysyouareambassadors
for New
Q_
Zealandandfor lesbians.
Whatdo youwant
thewholeworldto learnaboutboth?
ti: We do feel proud to be New Zealanders
[lJ
z
0
a: and you always have to remember where
you come from. Although it is important to
<(
be out and proud, some of our best friends
are straight.We just don'twant them teaching
(_)
our children! (Laughs] We should be respect~
ful of all people and celebrate people's
differences. (topptwins.com)
8
g
d
DriveAngry
Prettylittle liars:
TheComplete
First
(Summit
Season
Entertainment)
(WarnerHomeVideo)
Cracks
(IFCFilm)
Skins:Season1
(MTV)
Setin an English1930s Controversial
for its
boarding
school,Cracks frankdepictionof
Outlesbianand
seesdivingcoachMiss teensexanddrug
Hollywood
up-andWhatbeginsasa
G.(EvaGreen)
asthe
use,SkinshadlV
comer
Amber
Heard
guiltypleasure
swiftly
objectof admiration, activistgroupParents
becomes
a simpleplea- hasneverbeensexier
affectionandlustof her Television
Council
or kickedmorebutt
surewiththissoapy,
swimteam-a group
clutchingtheirpearls
thaninthis '?Os
sexyseriesbasedon
andcryingfoulfor
throwback of girlsselectedas
the popularyoungadult exploitation
herprotegees.
When
whattheybelieved
was
Nicolas
novels.Fourfriendsare co-starring
theglamorization
of
drawnbacktogethera Cage.Havingescaped wefirst meetMs.G,
sheis thepictureof a
transgressive
behavior.
yearafterthemysteriousfromHellto revenge
free
spirit:
Beautiful,
But
anyone
making
the
murder
of
his
disappearance
of their
adventurous
andmyste- theseclaimshasn't
onlydaughterbya
friendAlison.Soon
rious.Butfollowingthe seena full episodeof
zealouscultleader,
theybeginreceiving
arrivalof a newstudent, thisseries.Basedon
Milton(Cage)
enlists
ominoustextsfrom
Flamma,
MissG'scare- thehit Britishshowby
the
help
of
Piper
a mysterious
person
fullyconstructed
artifice thesamename,Skins
a truckstop
knownonlyas"A"who (Heard),
is equalpartsdrama
waitress-turned-action-beginsto crumbleas
threatens
to expose
fascination
givesway
andcautionary
tale,
theirsecretsaswellas heroinein the pursuit
to
obsession.
Dripping
characters
are
faced
of
his
vengeance.
On
uncover
themurderer
withatmosphere
and
witheverything
from
theirtrail:Thecops,
livingamongst
them.
a visualfeastof period failinggradesand
fanaticalmurderous
Gasp-inducing
plot
Cracks
jealousies
to abandoncultmembers
andThe costumes,
twistsandturns
relishes
the
romance
of
ment,
mental
illness
Accountant
a
demonic
aside,the highlightof
theeraandpoignantly andSTDs-plus,a
bountyhuntersent
theseriesis Emily,a
chronicles
thekindness few ragingpartiesand
lesbianteencomingto fromHellto collectits
Blood, andcrueltyof adoles- felonioushijinksthrown
termswithhersexuality undeadescapee.
centfemalecliques.It's intothe mix.Central
guts,adrenaline
and
andstartingherfirst
a fascinating
character inthecliqueisTea,a
relationship.
Playedby darkhumorabound
studyin groupmentality, lesbianconfused
by
curve covergirl Shay in this modernday
bullyingandthe loss
hersuddenly
mercurial
gem.Best
Mitchell,she'ssweet, grindhouse
sexuality,
andplayed
of all,Heardcontinues of innocence.Juno
smartandmultifacwide-eyed
withachingrealismby
eted-the character
we to stretchherthespian Temple's
performance
of the
SofiaBlackD'Elia.Tea
wings,provingthat
all wishwe hadonlV
scornedformerfavorite provesa fascinating
whenweweregrowing she'sasviablea
student-turned-bu
Ily
and-for manybaby
buddingactionstaras
up.Andunlikemany
dykesandbaby
makeswhatcould
sheis dramaticactor.
networkdepictions
of
lesbianrelationships, If youlikeyourmovies easilybea despicable bis-familiar character.
relatable.
And Whilepuristsclingto
LittleLiarsisn'tafraid packedwithbeautiful character
Green
turns
in
a
breaththeoriginal,beassured
women
and
oozing
of a PDA.If youhaven't
thereis plentyin the
besureto takingperformance
checkedoutLiars,putit testosterone,
at thetopof yourto-do takeDriveAngryoutfor asthetragic,unstable remakeworthexploring.
(ifcfilms.com) (mtv.com)
list. (warnerbros.com) a spin.(summit-ent.com)villainess.
July/August 2011
I 75
REVIEWSIn The Stacks
Fromthe Heart
Poetry and romantic short stories raise our pulses this month. By Rachel Pepper
15 Ways to Stay Alive, Daphne
Gottlieb(ManicD Press):Daphne
Gottlieb has been working the
queer poetry scene for quite
some time now. An author,
creative~wntmg teacher and
spoken~word artist, Gottlieb's
publishing history began in
1999, when her first book, Pelt,
was published. Since then,
she's written many more, and
even veered off the poetry path for
a graphic novel collaboration with
Hothead Paisan, Homicidal Lesbian
Terrorist artist Diane DiMassa,
and to edit a collection of stories.
However, it's her poetry that packs
((
the most punch. A past work, Final
Girl, was the winner of the Audre
Lorde Award in Poetry for 2003 from
the Publishing Triangle, and was named
one of The Village Voice's Favorite Books of
2003. Why Things Burn was the winner of
a 2001 Firecracker Alternative Book Award
and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award
that year. Gottlieb's new collection, 15 Ways
to Stay Alive, bristles with her usual non~
sentimentality. This razor~sharp poetry is
peppered with references to Freud, vintage
TV, post~punk
politics, parental~child
relations and love. Some poems juxtapose
text taken from a unique variety of sources
including other writers, Craigslist personal
ads and even Gottlieb's own e~mail. Other
poems, like "Sexy Balaclava;"'No poetry after
Auschwitz" and "Carpe Noctem" resonate
like an echo in a cave. If you're a Sister Spit
fan, or savvy about spoken word, you've likely
heard of and even seen Gottlieb read. For
those of you skeptical about reading poetry,
give Gottlieb a chance. (manicdpress.com)
BestLesbian
Romance
2011,editedbyRadclyffe
(CleisPress):Everyone needs a little romance
now and then. If romance is represented in
stories that are short, snappy and full of sex, all
the better. Best Lesbian Romance series editor
Radclyffe has assembled a respectable crop
76
I curve
of 17 authors for this year's
offering, including regular
contributors Rachel Kramer
Bussel, Sacchi Green, Miel
Rose and Charlotte Dare.
Although billed as romance,
the book has its share of sultry
pickups, chance encoun~
ters, beach trips, dinners
and frilly flirtations. The
stories are diverse in tone,
style and subject, making
, for more variety than in
many, similar antholo~
gies. While a few stories
here are mediocre, most,
including "The Game"
by Elaine Burnes, "I
Think I Will Love
If YouLoveThisPlanet:
A Planto SavetheEarth
HelenCaldicott
(W.W.Norton& Company)
Thefeministandantinuclear
campaigner
hasbeenlabeled
analarmistby
critics,butafter
the recentnuclear
crisisin Japan,
herimpassioned
pleasseem
moreurgentthanever.This
revisedclassicshowsjust how
aheadof the curveCaldicott
is, andwhywe needto heed
herwordsbeforeit is too late.
Exploring
fatalglobaltrends
suchas ozonedestruction,
globalwarming,toxicpollution,
foodcontamination
anddeforestation,Caldicottpresentsa
bleakpictureof ourworldwhile
makinga casefor its salvation.
Andit comesdownto you.
(wwnorton.
com)
lfYoul.ovcThisPlanc1
You" by Rebecca S. Buck, and "Camellias"
by Anna Meadows, are well~written, each
containing a satisfying, surprising twist. The
collection's best is Cheyenne Blue's "Dirty
Laundry" in which two women find comfort
together while living in an Irish Magdalene
Laundry. These were church~run homes
for wayward" women, many of whom were
victims of rape and abuse, made to do laun~
dry their entire lives, and thus economically
benefitting the Church-the
last Laundry
closed only in 1996. The collection ends
with Radclyffe's own "When Hearts Run
Free" about a newly~turned lesbian were~
wolf dreaming of exciting things to come.
Luckily, readers of this series know that
most likely, that vision will include a new
book for 2012, arriving sometime this fall.
(cleispress.com)
Likea Tree:HowTrees,
Women,
and TreePeople
CanSavethePlanet
JeanShinodaBolen
(ConariPress)
TheNextEcoWarriors:
22 YoungWomenandMen
WhoAreSavingthePlanet
Editedby EmilyHunter
(ConariPress)
TheJungiananalystturns
herwisdomto the mystical
powerof treesandthe
importance
of the sacred
femininein our increasinglycompromised
natural
world.In the
destruction
of trees
andforests
aroundthe
worldwe are
destroying
ourselves,
butsofew of us
pauseto realizethe impact
our lifestyleshaveontrees,
the stewardsandlungsof
the earth.Thisbookwill
makeyoustopandthink
about-quite literally-our
roots.(redwheelweiser.
com)
If babyboomershavedone
muchto squanderthe planet's
resources
in recordtime,then
we'dbestlookto the millennials
to bailusall out.Thisbook
provesthattoday'syouthis a
far cry fromunengaged
and
apathetic.
A handfulof young
environmental
activists(especiallywomenwhorangefrom
AllannaBeltranin the forests
of Tasmania
to TanyaFields'
urbanfarmin
the Bronx)
areabandoningselfish
materialism
for collective good.
(redwhee/weiser.com)
Food
REVIEWS
Better Than Chocolate
Kathy Wiley is revolutionizing our favorite treat. By Constance Parten
Or, better than the chocolate you're probably
So where does Wiley come up with these
used to. Poco Dolce chocolate is, in a word,
flavors:' Mostly from her own palate. "I
follow exactly what I want to do or what I
dangerous. How dangerous:'
"I actually joke you can't bring it on a first think works in each line;' she says.
date. It's almost too much;' Poco Dolce owner
Those lines started nearly a decade ago.
Kathy Wiley warns when asked if she's ever Wiley had been thinking seriously about a
seduced a woman with her unique confec- career in the food industry, but didn't quite
tionery. "It can be a little dangerous. You've know what she wanted to do. She and her
got to assess the situation first:'
partner at the time had different aspirations, and when they broke up, Wiley made
Wiley is right, this decidedly grown-up
chocolate is seductive. Some varieties have a huge leap. She quit her job as director of
a silky texture reminiscent of ganache, all IT for a small firm, bought a car and took
of them live up to the name Poco Dolce about six months to think about what her
(which means "a little sweet"
in Italian), but where the San
"I actually
Francisco-based
chocolatier
raises danger levels is with
joke you
flavors: Five Spice, Bittersweet
can't bring
with Sea Salt, Double-Shot
Espresso, Burnt Caramel (a
it on a first
kitchen accident turned gendate. It can
ius), Aztec Chile, Olive Oil
Sea Salt-not
your run-ofbe a little
the-mill chocolate flavors, to
dangerous."
be sure.
new food business should be.
"I always wanted to have my own business
and I always wanted it to be food related, but,
that being said, it takes a little bit to really
focus, I guess you'd say;' she says.
After some time working as a baker, Wiley
finally narrowed her culinary focus down to
chocolate-but
not just any chocolate. She
had a real fondness for salt and wanted to do
something a little different-and
with that,
Poco Dolce was born.
While the ingredients aren't all organic
Wiley does try to keep them as local as possible. The sea salt comes from Sel Gris, the
olive oil is from California (the brand is her
closely held secret!) and the chocolate comes
from Guittard Chocolate. Wiley maintains
a close relationship with the companies she
does business with, ensuring they have fair
trade and farming practices.
Wiley hopes to have new Poco Dolce
flavors available sometime around the 2011
holiday season, perfect timing for those
seeking a less-than-sweet treat that's outside
the box. (pocodolce.com)
July/August 2011
I 77
REVIEWSTech Girl
Home, Green Home
Eco-friendly gadgets for every room in your house. By Rachel Shatto
The list of things you need to do to 'go green" can feel endless-from recycling bottles to planting a victory garden, to
ditching your favorite products in protest of unsustainable business practices. So, it's understandable that, despite the
best intentions, going green feels daunting. But the best way to ease into an eco-warrior lifestyle is to start at home. Here
are nine gadgets and luxury items, all of which were featured in this year's Green Products Expo, to green every room in
your happy, healthier, and Earth-friendly abode.
A Steamy Solution
Clearing the Air
Whengreeningyourhomeit's easyto overlookthe
loo,butdon'tmissthisopportunity
to bidadieuto
wastedenergy-andunnecessarily
burningfossil
fuels-with theWhisperGreen-Lite
ventilation
fan.
What'ssoexcitingabouta bathroom
fan?Well,for
onething,it is 792percentmoreenergyefficientthan
ENERGY
STAR
standards-andwhenareyouever
goingto beableto claima successratelikethat?
($413,panasonic.com)
Whyusewater-polluting
chemicals
to cleanyourhardsurfacefloors
whenthe besttoolfor thejob is
goodold-fashioned
H20?Reliable's
Steamboy
T2eliminates
the needfor
bothcleaningproductsandwasteful
disposable
moppads.Byutilizing
steamat upto 245degrees,it cleans
andsanitizesbetter,too.Givethose
germy,watersupplypoisoning
mops
andchemicals
the boot.($149,
reliablecorporation.com)
Chemical-free Cleaning
Creepycrawliesgotyoudown?You'renot
alone,asthe nationfacesa bedbugepidemic.
Fortunately
there'sanotheroptionbesides
bombingyourhousewithtoxicchemicals:
TheVeriluxCleanWave
Sanitizing
Bagless
vacuum.Byutilizingan ultra-powerful
UV
lightit killsbedbugsandtheireggs.For
thosewithoutinvadinginsects,the UVlight
alsodoesa seriousnumberon 99 percent
of viruses,bacteria,moldandallergens.
($400,verilux.com)
~{···~;\~:·•
{
.,
,t ' .~
.} •• :1-
i:,t
··,. --~ ·,.. -~ .
'~· ......·•.,' ., - ... •'":-r
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-~----~ ""~,",,
;~.:l. ·1._.1'<".11;~_~•......-----"--.,a;._·__...._ _____
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Eco-Massage
: ..t ::-:·.·•'~.:.~.'_
I,;. 1..
. •
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No More Plastic Bottles
Askanyenvironmentalist:
plasticbottleshavegot
to go.Thesepetroleum-based
containers
fill upour
landfillsandpolluteourwaters-and that'sjust
thetip of the polymericeberg.Whichis whythe
SodaStream's
abilityto turnordinarytapwaterinto
sodain secondsis a welcomealternative.
Witha
varietyof (cornsyrup-free)
flavors,notto mention
fruitjuiceandflavoressences-thepossibilities
for carbonated
delightsareendless(ourlow-cal
suggestion:
fizzyCrystalLight,yum).($80andup,
sodastreamusa.com)
" • J: . ,_~..
•._:r··
""...
•
,II .....
Fightingfor the planetcanbea
stressfulenterprise
andsometimes
youneedto takea momentoutfor
yourself.Nothingbeats20 minutes
ona SpoonkECO
Acupressure
Massage
Mat.Madewith 100
percentcertifiedorganichemp,the
matfeaturesa plant-based
foamand
hempcasingin naturaldyedcolors.
De-stress
andsleepbetterknowing
you'vetakenstepsto takecareof
yourself-andMotherEarth.
($80,spoonkspace.com)
..
Composter's Little Helper
Composting
canbea stinkybusiness,
butwith FullCircle's
HomeFreshAir,collectingcompostbecomes
anodor-free
endeavor.
Byutilizinga patentedwindflumesdesign,it's able
to preventanaerobic
decomposition,
whichis whatcausesthe
odorthatattractsflies.Plusthe FullCircletraditionof stylishand
sustainable
designmakesit the perfectadditionto anygreen
kitchen.($30,fullcirclehome.com)
Stake Vampire Energy Leaks
SM~~
j~ -
Ii
~-UJ
&
Breathe Easy
BitsLimited'sSmartStripSurgeProtector
is greatfor any
roombutit's idealfor yourlivingroom'sentertainment
center.Notonlydoesit eliminatethewastefulvampire
powerdraw(whenappliances
continueto drawpower
despitebeing"turnedoff") responsible
for 5 percentof
theU.S.'spoweruse,thesmartstripallowsyouto set up
a "controloutlet"which,whenactivated,(e.g.byturning
onyourTV)will turnonthe powerto the restof theoutlets
onthestrip.($40,bitsltd.net)
Whenit comesto battlingpoorair quality,
Humanscale's
Personal
Zoneair purifieris
theheavyartillery
yourlungscrave.Energyefficient
andarmedwitha patented
paper
filtrationsystem,
thePersonal
Zonesucceeds
in removing
morethat99 percent
of the
contaminants
intheair-includingdust,
smoke,bacteria,allergens,smogandviruses.
Thefiltercanbevacuumed
forreuseandis
recyclable.
($400,humanscale.com)
Seeing the Light
Air purifiersin everyroomwouldbe nice,butspendy-andnot
exactlyenergyefficient-but thatdoesn'tmeanyouneedto sacrifice
air qualityin the restof the house.Swapouryourlightbulbswith
PurelyProducts'CFLlightbulbs.Theseenergy-efficient
bulbsuse
built-inionizersto rid yourhomeof airborneallergenslikepollen,
dust,petdanderandmoldspores.How'sthatfor brightening
your
day.($12andup,purelyproducts.com)
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July/August 2011
I 79
TOPTENREASONS
WELOVE
...
Diedra
Meredith
The OUTMusic executive
director on fighting for LGBT
visibility in the music industry.
By Jillian Eugenics
1 . Shewantsusto haveourownversionofthe
Grammys.
After meeting the founders at the
2006 OUTMusic awards, Meredith thought,
"You guys don't realize what you have here.
This could be like our gay Grammys. I
blew in with the big ideas, just excited to
be involved:' Next thing you know, come
the end of 2006, the organization was transitioning into new leadership. "No one else
really answered the call:' She was appointed
Executive Director in 2007.
the one thing that was being told and suggested was that I not be openly lesbian and
so flamboyantly lesbian. And I was like,
I don't see the point. That's who I am and
that's who's going to the top of the Billboard
charts, why do I have to change that nowt
6 .... andis bigongettingothersbeingout,too.
"It became a great thing when people started
coming out in the industry. Their careers
didn't get lost so it became easier to have that
argument with the record executive. Like,
2. She keepsthe dreamof OUTMusic
alive. 'Hey, these people came out and their careers
Shortly after becoming executive director,
didn't end: Their response to that is that they
"the reality hit that [OUTMusic] is not trawere already famous and it's hard to take an
ditionally funded. Unfortunately our own
artist from scratch who happens to be openly
LGBT community didn't see the value so it
gay and make them a household name. I say,
was up to me to find a way
Why? Because you don't
have a blueprint? Because
that we could all link together
you don't know? Then
as a community, that we can
you just create it:'
embrace our musical expression and appreciate it:'
7. She's a survivor."In
3. ShehelpedOUTMusic
pull
2005 I was diagnosed
throughin desperatetimes.
with a joint disease in
In 2010, the organization
which I had to undergo
suffered. It took a hit with
an emergency surgery.
In that surgery they had
the economy, major sponto go in front of my neck
sors pulling out, and people
and move my vocal cords
withintheorganizationwith
"duplicitous intent:' She said,
over in order to replace
"I had been betrayed, I
discs in my spine and
neck. There was a 50/50 chance I would
couldn't believe that was happening. It was
so horrible. I thought that I was done in
come out of that surgery paralyzed from the
neck down:' This happened just as her single
this industry and I thought it was going to
be over. So I was lying down one day and I
was shooting up the Billboard charts.
said, 'Live Nation: And I just picked up the
8. Shehelpshomeless
youngpeople."I have
phone and called:' With the support of Live
Nation she said, "We're going to revive this.
the opportunity to teach these young kids
songwriting and the music business at the
We're going to do it:'
Reciprocity Foundation, which is an organi4. She is passionateabout LGBTvisibility. zation that supports homeless and at-risk
"We've been to programmed to see heteroyouth:'
sexual people expressing themselves in music.
9. She'sinspirational.
OUTMusic has had
When was the last time you saw a music
a bumpy road, but she's a fighter. "Monkey
video with same-gender loving expression?
wrenches have been thrown, but we're going
Where it was as authentic as when heteroto make it through:'
sexual people express themselves? That's also
an area to break through, to get people to see
that in music:'
1 0. She'sa womanona mission.
"OUT Music
means freedom of expression. To finally be
5. She'salwaysbeenoutandproud... "When
in a place where we stand on an equivalent
my song was at the top of the charts, I was
place and on an equivalent platform, being our
being sought after by major deals. Of course,
authentic self' (outmusicawards.com)
"That's who I am
and that's who's
going to the top
of the Billboard
charts, why do I
have to change
that now?"
The 7th Annual OUTMusic
Awards has one person
to thank for its success:
Diedra Meredith. This
firecracker of a woman is
not only the one behind
the curtain, but also an
accomplished singer/
songwriter and an advocate
for homeless youth. She's
committed to giving the
world the biggest night in
LGBT entertainment.
Hang on for the ride.
so I curve
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NOW DEPLOYING : FABULOUS WOMEN· FOR·
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GORGEOUS & ME~NINGFUL VA~ATIONS
..ALL OVER THE WORLD.
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I
A TOLERANT WORLD IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. But we're getting there. At Progressive, we believe
in respecting all people and finding beauty in their differences. Because it's one thing to call yourself
Progressive, and another to live up to that name. To learn more about how we're making progress,
visit progressive.com/lgbt.
progressive.com/lgbt
PROGREIIIVE®
Progressive Casualty Ins. Co. and its affiliates, Mayfield Village, OH. 09P00116.D (05/11)
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