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Description
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ToC Cover: Lucy Lawless Warrior Princess to Eco-Warrior by Merryn Johns (p54); Bisexual Visibility by Emily Dievendorf (p30); Brandi Carlile Goes Homes by Kim Hoffman (p32); London Town Chic by Stella & Lucy (p32); Holly and Eila Go Green in Hawaii by Ella Algood (p60); Music Special Madison Violet by Jess McAvoy (p36); Celesbian Playlist by Janelle Sorenson (p38); Larger than Life by Kristin Flickinger (p40); Joan as Police Woman by Jess McAvoy (p42); Listen Up by Dave Steinfeld and Jillian Eugenios (p44); Rachael Sage Returns by Jess McAvoy (p46).
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issue
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6
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Date Issued
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July-August 2012
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Format
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PDF/A
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Publisher
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Frances Stevens
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Identifier
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Curve_Vol22_No6_July-August-2012_OCR_PDFa.pdf
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extracted text
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Brandi Carlile Joan As Police Woman Cat Cora
The Green Issue
SAPPHIC
SOUNDS
RAUNCHY
ROCK 'N' ROLL
STYLE TIPS
CREATE THE
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Features JULY/AUGUST
2012
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Warrior Princess to Eco-Warrior
Sword-wielding lesbian icon Lucy Lawless is
out to save the planet from evil corporations
and we couldn't be more thrilled by her latest
passion. By Merryn Johns
Bisexual Visibility
Why affirming bisexuality is vital to our
community's well-being. By Emily Oievendorf
Brandi Carlile Goes Home
The sapphic songstress gets back to her
roots with a new album. By Kim Hoffman
London Town Chic
Watch out, America! Punk is back with this
British street style invasion. By Stella & Lucy
Holly and Eila Go Green in Hawaii
This lesbian couple went off the grid and
committed to sustainable living. By Eila Algood
MusicSpecial
Our annual celebration of the legends and
fresh faces in lesbian and women's music.
36
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Madison Violet
The Canadian duo make award-winning
music together. By Jess McAvoy
Celesbian Playlist
Create the ultimate summer mix tape with
your favorite celebs. By Janelle Sorenson
Larger Than Life
Storm Large is a survivor and singer with
a unique message. By Kristin Flickinger
Joan As Police Woman
The multitalented musican heads to
Michfest. By Jess McAvoy
Listen Up
These artists should be on your radar.
By Dave Steinfeld and Jillian Eugenios
Rachael Sage Returns
The haunting songstress has produced an
unforgettable new album. By Jess McAvoy
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July/August 2012
I1
Departments
JULY/AUGUST
2012
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IN EVERY ISSUE
4
8
Editor's Letter
9
Contributors
10
17
18
20
27
80
11
22
z
23
Letters
This Is What a Lesbian Looks Like
26
Out in Front
Lesbofile
Lipstick & Dipstick
28
Scene
Stars
Curvatures
Love the planet with gloriously
green accessories and apparel;
and meet the lesbian taste-makers
of the digital age.
Health Advice
Learn how you can relieveanxiety
and increase well-being with the help
of your iPod.
72
74
Laugh Track
Queer Queen of Qomedy,
Poppy Champlin, hits the road
alongside a few of her funniest friends.
The Two of Us
Our monthly profile of lesbian couples
who live, love and work together.
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Politics
For the sake of our future holding our
politicians to their promises starts now.
By Victoria A. Brownworth
-
.
-
.
Books: Author and journalist Meredith
Maran mines her unique life for material.
Film: Outfest Film Festival celebrates
30 years of queer cinema.
77
Tech: How to be a conscientious consumer
78
Food: Lesbian Iron Chef Cat Cora is dishing
by recycling your outmoded gadgets.
up a new look for reality 1V on Bravo's Around
the World in 80 Plates.
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Domestic partners have unique investment planning needs and challenges. You've worked hard to
create a life and build wealth together, now you want to make sure your treasured nest egg will always
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EDITOR'S
NOTE
A
SAN EDITOR
IN LGBTpublishing, it's been part of my
job to monitor lesbian culture for the past 15 years.
Nowhere has the growth spurt in queer expression
been as significant as in music. Once upon a time, out queer
female musicians were hard to find. Now, there are too many
to mention in our Music Issue without leaving some out.
What we need, going forward, is to build the LGBT music
industry to be an equivalent platform in the music industry.
That's why OUTmusic-The
LGBT Academy of Recording
Arts is so important. This vital organization recognizes the
LGBT music industry trailblazers who make it easier each
year for the next generation of aspiring
LGBT artists to follow in their footsteps.
The Academy's mission is also to show that
our LGBT music industry is viable, that our
music market has spending power, and that
our entertainers can stand equally with the
best in the mainstream. But we can't achieve
this without support from LGBT musicians
themselves-and
from patrons of the arts
like you. As Diedra Meredith, chairwoman
of OUTmusic-The
LGBT Academy of
Recording Arts, told me, "This is your equiv~
alent music award show like the Grammys.
This is your night to shine:'
This year, 0 UT music is asking lesbian
musicians and their fans to support the
Academy by joining and participating in the
OUTmusic 1,000 Strong Campaign to raise
awareness and funds. The campaign aims
to enroll more than 1,000 out and proud
recording artists and patrons of the arts to join
and support OUTmusic. You can become a member starting
at $100, and your membership comes with benefits that will
reward the investment many times over. If you're a lesbian
musician and would like to submit your work for consideration
at the 8th Annual OUT music Awards, you must activate your
membership by July 31.
Under new leadership by Meredith (aka Deepa Soul), the
OUT music Awards has grown to be the most celebrated night
in LGBT music and entertainment, with 2,000~plus in atten~
dance. The Academy will host the 8th Annual OUTmusic
Awards in Las Vegas, Dec. 14-16, so save the date (curve
is the official women's media sponsor and will host a special
women's event). Log on to outmusicawards.com and get your
membership. You could win an opportunity to perform at the
Awards and an opportunity to win a luxury VIP package for
you and three friends-your
turn to party like a rock star!
Play
Like a
Girl
~~,_.
Merryn
Editor-i
merryn@curvemag.com
41curve
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
JULY/AUGUST
2012
LESBIAN
MAGAZINE
I VOLUME 22 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 Victoria A. Brownworth, Gina Daggett,
Sheryl Kay, Stephanie Schroeder, Constance Parten
Copy Editor Katherine Wright
Editorial Assistant Adam Brinklow, Kim Hoffman
OPERATIONS
Director of Operations Laura McConnell
ADVERTISING
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ART/PRODUCTION
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CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Kathy Beige, Kelsy Chauvin, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Maria De La
0, Jill Goldstein, Lisa Gunther, Melany Joy Beck, Kristin Flickinger,
Gillian Kendall, Charlene Lichtenstein, Karen Loftus, Sassafras
Lowrey, Ariel Messman-Rucker, Constance Parten, Laurie K.
Schenden, Stephanie Schroeder, Lori Selke, Kristin Smith, Janelle
Sorenson, Allison Steinberg, Dave Steinfeld, Edie Stull, Yana
Tallon-Hicks, Tina Vasquez, Jocelyn Voo
CONTRIBUTING
ILLUSTRATORS
& PHOTOGRAPHERS
Erica Beckman, Meagan Cignoli, JD Disalvatore, Sophia Hantzes,
Syd London, Cheryl Mazak, Maggie Parker, Constance Parten,
Leslie Van Stelten, Katherine Streeter, Kina Williams
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Volume 22 Issue 6 Curve (ISSN 1087-867X) is published monthly (except for bimonthly
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postage paid at San Francisco, CA 94114 and at additional mailing offices (USPS 0010-355).
Contents of Curve Magazine may not be reproduced in any manner, either whole or in part,
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persons or organizations appearing, advertising or listing in Curve may not be taken as an
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The Client List
Outspoken, queer, feminist sex worker Kitty
Stryker shares her unapologetic views on
patriarchy, privilege and giving voice to other
women in her field.
Isle of Klezbos
Meet the all-female klezmer-style band
that's putting a new spin on the traditional
Jewish musical genre.
A Rose by Another Name
Shakespeare gets a new spin courtesy
of Women's Will, a troupe setting out to
queer your perspective on the bard with
its all female cast.
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Dorian Faust and company make room
for queer women of color in the world of
burlesque with their artistic take on the
titillating stage performance.
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FLEA&TICK
FOOD
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K12778
LETTERS
I feel like I do and I couldn't be happier for
these lovely ladies and excellent role models.
Your beautiful article made my day. Keep up
the great work.
-C. Raymond, Oakland, Calif.
From Curve's
Facebook Wall
Vay!I waswonderingif therewere
goingto be morethan2 seasons.This
answeredthat for me.:-D-Kim Staley
Family Circle
I read your article "Sudden~Onset Parenting"
(Vol. 22#3] and it applied directly to me.
But after eight years my partner and I broke
up. It's a whole new ball game since the
breakup, especially when your son has no
memory of life without you and his birth
mother has a new partner who he doesn't
care for. Luckily, he and I have weathered the
challenges but it has been tough. There is a
whole other side to the instamom situation.
I was hoping to read about this side of it and
any others going through what I am.
-Heather Ladish, Portland, Ore.
Curve Kudos
Thanks for the intelligent and well~written
article "Stud Seduction" (Vol. 22#5]. I really
enjoyed the insight into a subculture involv~
ing women of color. I look forward to more
articles of this quality!
-Jennifer Wales, Boston, Mass.
I was thrilled to read the story about Nikki
and Jill expecting a baby ("Baby Makes 3;'
Vol. 22#5]. Even though I don't know them,
It depends,
is shecute
36% and
funny?
cares,what
32% Who
doessheread?
Noway,I'll burnherCDs
24% and
showhertheway
8% Definitely,it'sa sign
Accordingto a curvemag.com
poll
I loveWhitin a dress... andheels... damn
-Talia Halperin
CoriandKacyarestill the HOTTEST
oneson the show(sorry,ladies)!
-June Albergo
Cannotwait for it to returnI miss
Whitney,Romi,CoriandKacy.I am glad
that SajdahandClaireare not backI
didn'tthink theywereall that great.I am
alsogladtheyaredoingbi-coastalthis
year.-Jeni AllisonZiegler
Glad to be Gay
I am 38 years young (smile). I am a woman
that loves women. Yes! Yes! Yes! Anyway, I
read one of your magazines for the first time
and the only thing I could say is: Wow! I really
enjoyed all that was said.
-LaShawn Scott, Bruceton Mills, WV.
howclassy-Diana MarieDenza
I amcountingdownthe days!
-Samantha Gail
I haven'tgottenminein the mailyet...
want it NOW!!!
... lol ;) -Sarah Gray
Sapphic Suggestions
Thanks for creating such a great magazine!
I'm a reader from Taiwan. May I offer a sug~
gestion: an interview with Zoie Palmer or
Anna Silk from Lost Girl. Thanks again for
what you're doing for the world.
-Alice, Taiwan
You're dating a new girl
and her taste in music is
terrible. Deal breaker?
Whitneyhason a dress?!Damn!
-Donetta McCray
My partner and I subscribe to your maga~
zine and love it. I learn so much. I have
found great music, restaurants, movies and
books through the magazine. I recently
came upon a great new author who does
lesbian fiction. She goes by the name R.E.
Bradshaw but her real name is Vicki W.
Thomas. She lives in Oklahoma with her
wife of 24 years. Her books are so much fun.
Some are great thrillers, some are mysteries,
.tJ Like
some are just good old fashion lesbian love
stories. It would be great to read an article
about her life.
-Anne Lemeris, South Windsor, Conn.
Editor'sNote:Thanks for the tips!
The Radisson Edwardian Hotel
Correction:
referred to on p.70 of the June (Vol. 22#5]
issue was the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Mercer
Street, not the Radisson Blu Edwardian
Hampshire in Leicester Square, as illustrated.
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CONTRIBUTORS
Stella and Lucy-the
dynamic duo behind this
month's rock 'n' roll,inspired fashion spread on page
48-are passionate women with a unique way of
combining styling and writing to create their Lez is
More brand. Lucy (right) is a fashion lecturer at the
London College of Fashion and Stella is an author and
published poet. You won't find a quirkier, more fun,
loving and driven pair. Featured regularly in Diva,
the U.K:s lesbian magazine, Stella and Lucy support
the diversity in their community and have become
productive role models and lesbians to watch out for.
Follow them on Twitter@LEZ_ISMORE.
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EmilyDievendorfis director of policy for Equality
Michigan, where she moves issues of priority to
the Michigan LGBTA community to the forefront
of public policy. Prior to joining Equality Michigan,
Emily worked as a legislative staffer to two state repre,
sentatives in the Michigan House of Representatives.
She graduated from James Madison College at
Michigan State University with a degree in social
relations and has long been active in social justice
regarding issues including LGBT equality, race rela,
tions and equality, women's rights and HIV/ AIDS.
She currently serves on the Ingham County Women's
Commission and the Lansing Area AIDS Network
Board of Directors. Read her piece on the prevalence
of bisexual invisibility on page 30.
Editorial assistant KimHoffmanis a writer and art,
ist who, in her spare time, is working on the next
great American screenplay for lesbian TV. Trotting
between Seattle, Florida and LA., she is always on
deck for new adventures. She has contributed to
the Vancouver, B.C. music blog, MV Remix and in
2009, self,published her first novel, Sun Block. She is
a full,time believer in the aesthetic of John Hughes
'80s films. Hoffman tackles the wild world of lesbian
T umblrs on page 1 L
LaurieSchendenis a writer, filmmaker and armchair
athlete living in Southern California. A graduate
of Michigan State University, she's been a feature
writer for the Los Angeles Times, co,creator of the
Laughing Matters film series, and a writer and story
consultant on the award,winning documentary
Christa McAuli.ffe: Reach for the Stars. She is cur,
rently producing two documentaries, Unstoppable:
Icons of the 20th Century, and a documentary on the
40th anniversary of Title IX. She interviews lesbian
auteurs about this year's landmark Outfest Film
Festival on page 74.
Stella and
Lucy support
the diversity
in their
community
and have
become
productive
role models
and lesbians
to watch
out for.
July/August 2012
I9
CURVATURES
San Francisco-based soulful spinner,
DJ Carmin Wong, talks about her musical
muses, being out to the crowd and setting
the mood for her newest album.
This Is What a
Lesbian Looks Like
t) ONHERINSPIRATION:
We would have to go
way back to when Darude was around
spinning the track "Sandstorm," which got
me into trance when I was a kid. Music is my
soul and my therapy. I'm passionate about
what I do. Being a DJ is part of sharing
myself and my music with the masses.
t} ONMEETINGHERMATCH:I was at the Playboy
Mansion with my date on Halloween. I saw
DJ Ella and ditched my date and we started
to flirt. We talked and then realized we're
both DJs and love the same music. Next
thing you know, we're playing at events
and making music together ever since.
t) ONBEINGAN OUTDJ:Coming out is quite
an issue for some in more serious careers
and I can respect that. But I don't think
that my performance in my career should
be judged based on my sexual orientation.
t) ONHERUPCOMING
ALBUM:I have been in
the studio almost every night composing
my songs. All the songs are self-written
and I'm currently in the studio with my
producers to get this album out in time! I
came up with the album title when I was
sharing the tracks with my best friends,
and I realized I wanted my worldwide
album to be called Cooling, like the effect
the ocean gives-music that is not only
relaxing, but has a moving and motivating
effect on the listener. I'm excited to launch
my album, hopefully before the end of
this year to be shared with the world one
moment at a time. (carminwong.com)
[Rosanna
RiosSpicer]
10
I curve
Tumblr for You
When the blogging platform Tumblr was created, back in 2007, it
encouraged people to scrapbook who they are and what they love
and introduced the notion that everyone could brand themselves as
tastemakers. But for some bloggers, those who wanted to go viral for
more altruistic reasons, T umblr presented the opportunity to send a
gay~positive message to the masses.
When T umblrs with lesbian themes began to crop up, the women
behind the Tumblr monikers Suicide Blonde and Bohemea began
posting lesbian~related art and photos, as well as opinions on
fashion, film, television, music and politics, then came to assume a
vital role in the community-giving sage advice to readers, mostly
girls and women, who needed to know that they are not alone.
The pair started their Tumblrs in 2008. Partners in life-they met
on Livejournal circa 2001-they initially used the Tumblr~sphere to
showcase their photo collections, as "a way to hone our aesthetic:'
Today, their message is clear: "We want to show the people who look
at our biogs, especially the gay and lesbian kids who are finding them~
selves, that the gay gaze' is unique-we appreciate beauty, struggle
and history because we are always aware of the people around us:'
Suicide Blonde and Bohemea recently took their celebration of
the "gay gaze" a step further and created Pussy le Queer, a naughty~
picture~only Tumblr. "Running an NSFW blog that's completely
devoid of male bodies, and with the mind~frame of accepting all
different kinds of definitions of sexy, has been more successful
than we could have imagined;' says Bohemea. But they will always
take time to reach out to the lesbian and bisexual women who
look to them for validation. She adds, "Women who are in that
tender stage of just coming out are drawn to us because they see
we are both women who share many of their same interests and
are enthusiastically appreciative of women. It assures them that
their emotions are natural and right:'
Jenna Rosenthal, the creator of Dyke, has a similar perspective:
"The main purpose of my blog is to give lesbians around the world
a safe place to go to enjoy photos and have a blog they can relate to.
I've gotten messages from people who live in small towns, feel alone
and have no sense of community. Seeing photos and reading stories
about others like them brings them happiness, and that makes me
feel like what I'm doing matters;' she says.
While all the women who've created these biogs appreciate the
safe space that T umblr creates online, they hope the messages and
images they champion will have real~world impact as well.
Katherine Fleming and Tiana Hampton, the co~creators of Fuck
Yeah Dykes, started compiling photos of queer and androgynous
women almost three years ago. "We love the diversity that we see
in our submission box every day and hope that these images are of
people our followers can identify with and be inspired by. Plus, who
doesn't want to see all those beautiful queers?" FYD has become so
well~known as an eye~candy archive of famous and self~identified
dykes that Fleming and Hampton now run their own online shop.
Tumblr-esbians: Dannielle
Owens-Reid (left) and
Jenna Rosenthal
Dannielle Owens~Reid became the talk ofTumblr Town for her
brainchild, Lesbians Who Look Like Justin Bieber, which takes
photo submissions from lesbians who, spoiler alert, look like The
Biebs. "I started it as a gigglyjoke, and I had no idea people would be
so excited about it;' says Owens~Reid. But much of that excitement
turned to controversy. "Right after I started LWLLJB, I got a bunch
of negative comments. Some girls said I was stereotyping the lesbian
community, making lesbians look bad;' she continues.
After she and her online counterpart, Kristin Russo, began to
respond to readers, they recognized that some of those issues would
be better served in an advice blog. The two created EveryonelsGay.
com, where they try to find the answers to readers' questions through
their own life experience, and deliver their pronouncements with
comic relic£ Their fresh, candid approach is what has made EIG go
viral. It has recently become a nonprofit organization, and Owens~
Reid and Russo now tour schools around the nation, educating
young adults about the LGBT community. Owens~Reid finds it
hard to believe that such important and rewarding work could have
come from simply responding to a few negative comments: "Basically,
LWLL JB changed my life:'
Many of these Tumblrs have changed the lives of the people who
read them, too, especially the young girls everywhere looking for
validation, reassurance and somewhere they can keep tabs on the
T umblr~esbians taking control of our culture. [KimHoffman]
TUMBLRS TO FOLLOW:
suicideblonde.tumblr.com
bohemea.tumblr.com
liquorinthefront.tumblr.com
everyoneisgay.com
fuckyeahdykes.tumblr.com
lesbianswholooklikejustinbieber.
tumblr.com •···························\
July/August 2012111
CURVATURES
Gloriously
Green Goodies
Love the planet with eco-friendly apparel,
accessories and homewares. By Rachel Shatto
0
1. NotOnYourWatch
It's time to take careof the planet,so it's only
fitting that yourwatchis as greenas it can
be.Youcan't go wrongwith a Sproutsince
"simplyput,our missionis to makethe most
eco-friendlywatchwe possiblycan."Their
wonderfullyquirky,andbiodegradable
cork,
cornresinandmotherof pearltimepiece
embodieseco-chic.($65,sproutwatches.com)
2. LightUpYourLife
Madeof 100percentall-naturalsoy,these
handcrafted
candlesilluminateanddeodorize
yourhome,burning40 percentlongerthan
paraffinwax.Youcanalsousethefragrant
meltedwaxasa soothingskinmoisturizer
for
sunburnsandirritationscausedby poisonoak
or eczema.($25,thesoico.com)
3. SalvageSparkler
Hand-crafted
from recycledglassthis pseudo
sparklermakesfor the perfecteye-catching
terrarium,noveltyknickknackor a cutecountertopcatchall. ($60,megamyers.etsy.com)
4. Foliage-Friendly
Footwear
Lovethe planetfromyourtoesupwith Etnies'
environmentally
friendlyCapriceEcoshoes.
Madefromhempandrecycledrubberthese
kickstakeit onestepfurtherbygivingback:
Foreverypairof shoessold,Etnieswill planta
treein Brazil'sAtlanticRainforest
in SaoPaulo.
($50,etnies.com)
N MOISTURIZER
UMBER
I2751
:irnpm,y-Jl:lldard;olirir{l,a,
~flRIIWl"""WfCCllbi.,y,
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12
I curve
5. FairTradeFashion
Youdon'thaveto sacrificestylein the name
of yourenvironmentally
consciousmorals
with dressesfromMataTraders.
Thisfair
trade-onlyclothingcompanyonlyfeatures
originaldesignshandmade
in IndiaandNepal
bywomen'scooperatives
with safeconditions
andlivingwages.($73,modcloth.com)
9. Feedthe Planet
Thepurchaseof FEEDProject'sNature
Bag,madefrom environmentallyfriendly
and artisan-createdmaterials,will provide
25 mealsin areasdevastatedby disasters
throughthe UNWorldFoodProgramme.
That'swhat we call a happymeal.
($50,feedprojects.com)
6. A GlassAct
Plasticwaterbottlesareso lastcentury,plus
they'rebadfor the environment
andfor you.
Forbettertaste,durabilityandenvironmentally
soundagua,choosethe PURE
GlassBottle
asyourportableandreusablevessel.Patent
pending"SafeShell"
technologyis usedto
applya clearprotectivecoatingto prevent
breakages
to the 100percentrecyclableand
BPA-free
glass.($20,pureglassbottle.com)
1O.ReclaimedRock
Forgetdiamondsand pearlsand adorn
yourselfin reclaimedwood.Ourpick is
CrabbyGrafter'sbig bold baublemade
from salvagedwalnut and maple.
($38,crabbycrafter.etsy.com)
7. OnCloud9
Handmade
fromstainlesssteel,sterlingsilver,
concreteand75 percentpost-consumer
recycledglass,this cloudnecklacehasa silver
lining,literally.($90,drcraze.etsy.com)
8. Re-CycledMemories
Createdbya groupof Oregonartisansfrom
salvagedbikechainsthis unique,edgyand
eco-conscious
framegivesa wholenew
meaningto theword"recycle."($32andup,
uncommongoods.com)
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11. DoGoodDecanter
Canyouguesswhatthis winedecanter
with openicechamberwasin its pastlife?
Thegreenhueis a hint.If youguessedthat
it's madefromrecycledwindshieldsyou're
right-and scary-goodat this guessinggame.
($58,uncommongoods.com)
12. PurePleasure
TheFiFirabbit-stylevibefromGoodVibrations'
Ecoroticlinehitseveryspotof eco-desirability.
Featuringeco-smartmagneticinduction
charging,this waterproofwonderis stylish,
strong,andmadewith body-safe,
supersoft
siliconemoldedto followthe naturalcurvesof
yourbody.($139,goodvibes.com)
13. LushLocavore
Pamperyourplanetandyourcomplexion
with a spasetfromWildRoseHerbs,which
sourcesall its materialsfromtheirorganically
growngardensandextensivelocalnetworkof
earth-conscious
distributors.
Theset includes
MeadowBathSalts,IntensiveCareHealing
Salve,TotalAttunementDetoxFaceMaskand
Moisturizer.
($37,wildroseherbs.etsy.com)
CURVATURES
the rundown
BritishColumbia
Supreme Court Justice LorylRussell
has ordered an
anonymous lesbian couple who split in 2006 to divide the remaining 13
sperm samples they had in storage. While together, the couple used the
sperm to each become pregnant. The former couple ended up in court
in 2009 when one of them wanted to have another child biologically
related to her first child, with her new partner. The ex refused and
requested the sperm be destroyed. Russell's decision is groundbreaking
has included a
in that it classifies the sperm as property ... JCPenney
lesbian couple in their May catalogue. The "freedom of expression''
advertisement reads "you'll often find Wendi, her partner, Maggie, and
daughters elbow deep in paint, clay or mosaics:' The conservative group
One Million Moms who previously protested the department store's
have issued a call to action
hiring of spokesperson EllenDeGeneres
asking supporters to confront local store managers about the inclusion
of lesbians ... DavidJ. Sims,a board member from the OhioRiverValley
Council
chapter of the BoyScouts
ofAmerica,
has resigned in protest over
Tyrrellwho had led her son's Tiger Cub pack until
the removal of Jennifer
it became known that she is a
lesbian. Sims, whose two sons
now in college were involved
in boy scouts was quoted as
saying, "Ms. Tyrrell's removal
goes against my fundamental
beliefs of how we should
treat our fellow human beings
No matter how you define
yourself, one thing we can all
agree on is how marriage should
be defined: as "a Human Right."
($18, proud threads)
and is, in my opinion, wholly
discriminatory. I understand
that the Boy Scouts of America is free to run its organization as it sees
fit, however, I can not formally be a part of it based upon this policy:'
Tyrell says that scouting officials have refused to meet with her ... The
NewZealandBroadcasting
Standards
Authority
has ruled that despite
Street,a popular British show,
complaints over a lesbian kiss on Coronation
did not violate any broadcasting standards because "the mere fact that
the kiss was between two women does not make it less acceptable:: ..
President
Obamavoiced his support for
same-sex
marriage
in an exclusive interview
with ABC News' Robin Roberts. Obama,
who had previously said his views on gay
marriage were "evolving;' made his personal
support known a matter of days after Vice
President Joe Biden lent his support, and one
day after gay marriage was voted down in
Lowrey]
North Carolina. [Sassafras
14
I curve
WearYourMusic.org's
rocktastic
jewelrylinehitsa high
notebygivingback,withtheirOriginal
Artist'sGuitarStringBracelets.
Thesebracelets
are handcrafted
fromrecycledfinesilverandguitar
strings,usedanddonatedbycelebritymusicians-the
profitsof whichgoto the charityof the artist'schoice.
So,notonlyaretheyedgyandhot,they'vegotheart.
Somenotablecelesbians
withbeneficent
blingonsale
are:JoanJett(PETA),
AniDifranco(Southern
Center
for HumanRights),BrandiCarlile(TheLooking
Out
Foundation,
TheU.S.Charitable
GiftTrust),and
JoanBaez(Resource
Centerfor Nonviolence).
($100andup,wearyourmusic.org)
[RachelShatto]
OUTINFRONT
Changing
the System
Two women transforming the
future in law and medicine.
By Sheryl Kay
Legal Eagle
When she was only an eighth,grader, Lisa
Linsky made one of the most important
decisions of her life. ''A friend approached me.
His legal guardian was being investigated by
Child Protective Services and he sought my
counsel. I was 14 years old. I never knew why
he chose me to help him, but I still remember
sorting through this problem with him. I
went home to my parents and declared, 'I
am going to be a lawyer; " Linsky says, "and
I never strayed from the course, and it never
occurred to me to do anything else as a career.
Although my parents thought I would get
married, have kids, and settle down close to
home in Philadelphia, I moved to New York
and became the white,collar professional my
parents thought I would marry. I started out
in a prosecutor's office because I wanted to
get into a courtroom and try cases:'
She began her professional life investigating
and prosecuting cases involving family,related
homicides, sex crimes, crimes against chil,
dren and the elderly, and domestic violence.
"It was Law and Order material, and we were
on the cutting edge of prosecuting these cases.
I learned to advocate for those who could
not do so for themselves:' From there, she
moved into private practice and today serves
as a trial attorney and partner at McDermott
Will & Emery, where she also founded
and chairs the firm's LGBT Diversity and
Inclusion Committee. On her watch, the
firm has been recognized by the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC), earning a perfect
score on the Corporate Equality Index every
:.'.
year since 2006.
:l
Linsky's advocacy for the LGBT commu,
0
nity extends well beyond her law firm. She
is an officer on the national board of direc,
:.,: tors for Lambda Legal, and she created the
i
doctors do not recognize the importance
of creating a safe environment for sexual,
minority women and are even more unaware
of the specific health needs of lesbians. One
solution, she says, is to require accredited
medical schools not only to cover health
disparities in the LGBT community, but
to assess their graduates in cultural compe,
tency with lesbian, bisexual and transgender
patients.
Over the years, Knittel has certainly done
her part in this effort. As a community
service project, she has created a resource
guide for health care professionals who
want to provide primary care to transgender
patients. The guide is now featured on the
websites of the American Medical Student
Association, the American Academy of
Family Physicians, and the Gay and Lesbian
Medical Association.
She has also lent her talents to the medi,
cal community worldwide-from
assisting
with pre, and post,HIV,test
counseling in
Honduras, to conducting HIV data research
Medical Mediator
in South Africa.
Some people dream of becoming a medical
And while all this keeps her busy pretty
doctor-others
want a Ph.D. AndreaKnittel, much 24/7, she is also an avid recruiter,
at the age of 29, is going for both, having
promoting careers in medicine and research
just finished her third year in the Medical
for women, and makes herself available to
Scientist Training Program at the University
prospective students-in
particular, lesbians,
of Michigan Medical School and School of
bisexuals and queers-via email, phone and
Public Health.
even in person. To that end, she always advises
"I love thinking about how gender, culture
young people to network.
"Lean on the community. You have to,
and sexuality shape the decisions people
make and their access to health care-and
to achieve your dreams;' she says. "Don't be
I've always been passionate about addressing
afraid to reach out to people who have the
inequalities in health care;' she says.
jobs you want, who are living the lives you'd
One of the greatest challenges facing lesbi,
like, and who are a few steps ahead of you,
ans today, says Knittel, is equal access to the
because they are the ones who can help you
prevention and treatment of disease. Many
find the resources you need:'
blog Out and About: LGBT Legal for the
Huffington Post. In addition, she's done pro
bono work on behalf of LGBT asylum,
seekers who have fled their home countries
due to persecution, and she has collaborated
with the Trevor Project.
"These projects touch on the social issues
of our time;' notes Linsky. "They involve real
people with real problems, people who need
legal assistance and cannot afford it, and
working on such compelling matters with
these remarkable organizations helps to
transform our world:'
Regarding the international lesbian com,
munity, she says, "I am concerned that women
across the world are being tortured and raped
because of their sexual orientation. We cannot
look away. We are in a unique position to
effect change. We all need to jump in and
work to stop injustice and violence, locally
and globally. The time has come to focus our
energies on how best to come together, if we
are to continue to evolve and flourish:'
July/August 2012
I 17
LESBOFILE
Label Dance All our fave celesbians are changing, denying and claiming
labels this month. By Jocelyn Voo
who has recently come out as trans. Singer
and guitarist Tom Gabel, who formed the
band in 1997 and has been dealing pri~
vately with gender dysphoria for years, told
Rolling Stone that he had decided to begin
transitioning with the help of hormones
and electrolysis treatments. Gabel, who will
take the name of Laura Jane Grace, will not
only continue to front the band, but will also
remain married to his wife Heather, who
has been "super~amazing and understand~
ing;' according to Gabel. His first album as
a woman will be a nod to the journey, tided
Transgender Dysphoria Blues. 'Tm going
to have embarrassing moments, and that
won't be fun;' Gabel said. "But that's part
of what talking to you is about-is hoping
people will understand, and hoping they'll
be fairly
Rock 'n' Roll Romance
It's wedding bells for BethDitto!The Gossip
frontwoman and her girlfriend of two years,
Kristen Ogata, are planning to make honest
women out of each other next summer in
Hawaii, Ogata's home state.
The twosome met on the job: Ogata
worked as Ditto's assistant while Ditto was
in a long~term relationship with Freddie
Fagula, but despite Ditto's admitted aflinity
for Ogata, the pair didn't get together until
Ditto's relationship deteriorated.
"I dated Freddie for nine years, and I was
always worried it was going to end;' Ditto
told the London Evening Standard of her
previous relationship, which ended in 2010.
"With Kristen I never worry about it ending,
I just feel completely full and whole:'
Hear What You Want to Hear
Ladies, it's time to get your panties out of a
bunch: no, QueenLatifahdid not just come
out of the closet. Despite Latifah announc~
ing that she's to headline Long Beach Pride
(and the gay blogosphere subsequently
exploding), there was no confirmation of
the actor's personal revelations from either
her or Pride announcements.
Chalk this up to us hearing what we
want to hear.
18
I curve
Jessie J Comes Out as Lesbian?
Or at least that's what her unauthorized
biography says. Author Chloe Govan claims
the pop singer is "100 percent gay;' and
that the singer only portrayed herself as
bisexual due to pressures from her record
company, who thought swinging both ways
was "trendy, exotic and a fashion statement"
to entice fans.
Jessie J's reaction: 'Tm really a les~
bianr! Ha! Thanks for writing yet
another boring untrue story;' she
tweeted.
The truth from the horse's
mouth: ''I've never denied
[being bisexual];' she told
the Daily Mail last year. "If
I meet someone and I like
them, I don't care if they're
a boy or a girl:'
This is what we call
a "fashion statement" that
never goes out of style.
Front(wo)man
Punk rock band Against
Me! is getting a new
frontwoman-in the form
of its current frontman
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She Said
Julj!August
2012
I 19
Clean Up Your Side of the Street
When your relationship's ailing, do what you can do. By Lipstick and Dipstick
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I've been with my girlfriend for two years now.
She's my first serious girlfriend. When we met, she wanted me every night.
She was a sexual person and couldn't look at me without touching me or
telling me how hot I was. I couldn't keep my hands off her either, and the sex
was so intense and good for a long time. Now she rejects me. I still want the
same relationship with her. I want romance and compliments and sex. She
wants it once a week, and it's awkward, because of all the times she rejects
me during the week due to tiredness, drunkenness or stress. She won't go
to therapy with me either. She insists she still wants me, but I'm just not
satisfied with this sex life. When we do have sex, it's pretty good, and I forget
all about the fact that I want a different kind of relationship for a few days. Am
I unrealistic? This has been going on for the last year and I don't feel good
about myself anymore. Is this her problem or mine?-Can't
Keep My Hands
Off Her in Kansas
Lipstick:Pull up a little stool, Kansas,
because recess is over. We are known for
tucking our jewels in a drawer after a few
years. We do, however, bring them out,
dust them off, and enjoy their beauty from
time to time, the frequency of which, I'm
convinced, is tied to the health of that
relationship.
Dipstick:Kansas, you didn't have to tell
me this was your first real relationshipotherwise, you would know that although
sex can be good and fulfilling in a long~
term relationship, it is never as fiery or as
frequent as it is in the beginning. Frankly,
I'd be more worried about your girlfriend's
drunkenness than the lack of sex.
Lipstick:There is a way, Kansas, to pull
yourself out of this sexless abyss and create
a deeper connection with your partner,
but it involves the participation of both
parties, and I think the real issue here is
the fact that she refuses to go to therapy
with you. This is a nail in the coffin of
many relationships. Why won't she go with
your Is she stubborn? Is it her ego? Anyone
who says she won't go to therapy needs a
20
I curve
serious awakening. We're here to open up
and grow, people. We're here to learn and
love one another.
Dipstick:Lipstick, I think you and Kansas
might both be overreacting a bit. Sex once
a week seems pretty good for the average
American couple. Regardless, sex really
isn't the issue here, is it? It's about being
present and learning to cope with stress in
healthy ways that work for your relation~
ship. Like Lip said, it's going to take two of
you to fix it.
Lipstick:Try to approach her again about
therapy. Frame it the way we have, that you
both need to show up. If your overworked,
boozehound girlfriend still refuses, I urge
you to still go see someone anyway,
because-as
my own therapist likes to
say-it's important to clean your side of
the street. You never know. You might just
find that once you start cleaning, you'll
sweep her right out the door.
DearLipstickandDipstick:
I'm an outfemme
lesbian,the mommyof two youngkids,and
a graduatestudentin medicine.
Ontopof an
alreadyhecticlife,for a yearanda half I've
beendatinganotherprofessional
femmelesbianwho'sfourhoursawayfromme.I have
twoyearsto gobeforeI finishgradschool,
and
I canstayhereor I canmovewithmychildren
to Sandy'shouseandfinishschoolin Buffalo,
N.Y.For unfortunatereasons,Sandycannot
moveto be with us.Herhouseis paidfor,and
Lipstick & Dipstick
ADVICE
If your overworked, boozehound girlfriend refuses to
go to therapy, I urge you to
still go see someone anyway,
because it's important to
clean your side of the street.
saying directly: She doesn't know if you're
worth the trouble of moving, and you don't
make her laugh. She's actually said those
harsh things to you. What's more, you're
the only one willing to compromise, and
your desperation for support and love has
given you the equivalent of beer goggles.
My advice to you is to stay put and give
yourself another year before making this
decision. Do it for yourself. Do it for your
kids. If there's anything worse than the
thought of uprooting them and moving,
it's the thought of doing all that and then
getting dumped once you get there!
a:
w
a:
if
w
c3
(!}
<(
the Stateof Pennsylvania
doesn'trecognize start oversomewhere
else.Sheis the most
hermaster'sdegree,soshecan'tteachhere. beautiful
womanI haveeverlaideyeson,and
I havelotsof decisions
onmyshoulders,
and the passionbetweenus is intense.I've been
muchtojuggle.Shewantsmeto moveinwith raisingmykidsonmyownforyearsnow,with
her,but I'd haveto uprootmy children,
take hardlyany help.I'm tired.I want someone
themawayfromtheirgrandparents,
sell my to loveme andhelpme.It's so hardto meet
large house,and moveinto her smallone. someone!
I'm cute,smartanda greatcatch,
Justthinkingaboutpackingmakesme sick. yetI'vebeenaloneforfiveyearsbecause
I'm
withthetiniestgay
I do loveSandydearly;however,
I'm notsure in the middleof nowhere,
if we arerightforeachother.ShesaysI don't community.
I tryto makeherhappyandcommakeherlaugh,andwe'vebeenarguinga lot promise,
butshedoesn'tcompromise
for me.
lately.I askedher,if I movedin with herfor Whatdoyouthink?-Princess
Buttercup
a few years,wouldshebewillingto relocate
to somewhere
newfor all of uswhenI finish Dipstick:
It's crazy, isn't it, Lipstick, how the
gradschool.
I'd liketo moveintoa biggergay smartest, best-educated women can make
community,
somychildren
wouldfit in andI'd the stupidest relationship decisions:'
havemoreopportunities
to makea six-figure
salary.Heranswerwasthatshedidn'tknowif Lipstick:
True, Dip. Fellow Femme, you've
it wasworthit,forthesakeofourrelationship, got to read between the lines here. On
to giveupherjobandherinherited
home,and second thought, just listen to what she's
Dipstick:
Lipstick is right, Buttercup.Trust
your gut on this one-it's not just the packing that's turning your stomach. It's Sandy's
excuses. Getting a teaching credential in
another state and renting out her little
house is not as hard as moving two kids,
selling a home, and starting a new graduate
program. She wants you to do all the work.
You're looking for a life partner, someone
to help with the children. Sandy is not that
girl. Finish your degree in your small town.
In two years, move to Boston, where there
are tons of other single lesbians moms also
earning six figures. Buffalo winters are too
harsh
Tune in to curvemag.com/
lipstickanddipstick
to watchThe
Lipstick& DipstickShow.Or
write to tv@lipstickdipstick.com.
July/August 2012121
ADVICE Health
Your Playlist Can Change Your Life
Learn how music can supply
motivation, relieveanxiety and increasewell-being. By Emelina Minero
could put you in a great
mood while you're on
your way to work, but
irritate you when you're
waking up. Pay attention
to when and how a song
affects you.
Ingrainsongsinto your
memory.When you find
a song that is perfect for
a given situation, like a
song that motivates you
when you work out or
puts you in a good mood
when you wake up, repeat
that song during those
times. Before you know
it, simply listening to that
song will instantly put
you in the right mood.
Tobecome
moreefficient,
createplayliststhat are
task-specific.Make difAnyone who's faced the heartache of a break
up by listening to a ballad, or sung joyfully
about new love to an uptempo anthem is
familiar with the power of music to energize
you, make you smile, soothe your broken
heart. But what if listening to music could
actually revolutionize your mental health?
Improving your quality of life can begin
with selecting the right playlist, say Galina
Mindlin, MD, PhD, Don DuRousseau,
MBA, and Joseph Cardillo, PhD, the authors
of YourPlaylistCan ChangeYourLife.
But how is that possible? It's achieved
by manipulating your brainwaves. Don't
panic, it's not as complicated as it sounds.
Beta, alpha, theta and delta are not just
reminders of Greek life on campus; they are
the names of brainwave frequencies. Beta
is your waking state; alpha and theta are
lower frequencies. Alpha represents a relaxed
mental state; theta, the barely conscious state
between sleep and wakefulness. Delta is the
deep-sleep state. You can choose music that
matches these frequencies to alter your state
22
I curve
of mind and achieve the one you want.
Through music, you can send yourself
subliminal messages to cultivate more focus,
gain energy and achieve a mood. It can also
relieve anxiety, sharpen your memory, activate your creativity, increase your alertness
and productivity, and enhance your ability
to stave off stress, insomnia, depression and
even addiction.
Here are six tips to get you started.
Picksongsthat you like a lot. Regardless
of the state of mind you want to achieve,
if you love a song on your playlist, it will
amplify the effect you're going for. Also,
pay attention to the emotions you associate
with certain songs. If a specific song makes
you happy, play it often. If you notice that a
song puts you in a downer mood, even if it's
a beautiful song, refrain from including it in
your playlist.
ferent playlists for different tasks: a playlist
for driving home from work, a morning
wake-up playlist, a workout playlist, a bedtime playlist. When you switch playlists, it
will help you easily transition from one state
of mind to another, helping you transition
from one activity to another.
Lookfor new and old songs.Keep your
playlist updated with songs that you love.
Take time to look for new and old songs
that really resonate with you to add to your
playlist. If a song loses its appeal, remove it
from your playlist.
Useguidedimagery.If you want to achieve
relaxation, or any mental state, recall an
image or a memory when you listen to a
specific song. Focus on that memory and how
it made you feel-emotionally, energetically
and physically.After you've practiced guided
imagery with a specific song, the song will
Pay attentionto when a certain song bring up those feelings and that associated
worksandwhenit doesn't.The same song memory whenever you hear it.
LAUGH
TRACK
The Queen of Comedy
Poppy Champlin hails her comedy sisters-and
By Merryn Johns
herself.
Barb Neligan in Florida, and Erin Foley in Virginia.
Lesbians
areknownforbeingpolitically
correct.Isthistrue?
You mean lesbians in general or lesbian comedians? (Laughs] No,
the comedians are not that politically correct. Well, Kate (Clinton]
is, but in general I think lesbians are fair and kind, and that can be
thought of as politically correct if taken to the nth degree.
Asa comic,doyoufeelthereareanytopicsthatareoff-limitsto you?
I am not into misogyny. I am not into violence and hurting people
unless it is a little S&M, which I like-well, don't hurt me, but I
Howlonghaveyoubeena comicandif youhadn'tbeena comic,what don't mind being tied and up and waiting for you to bring me coffee.
wouldyourprofession
be?
Willcurve readersdielaughing
if theyattenda QQQshow?
I have been a comic since I was born. You know I was delivered by The Q3 comedy shows are three triple threat headlining lesbian
caesarean, my mother couldn't push me out, and so I was basically comics! You don't get that unless you go on an Olivia cruise or
valeted. I didn't get the warm water park slide out the tunnel of Dinah Shore or MichFest. I mean, I am bringing this to your
love-no, I was airlifted like a crippled horse out of the creek. I had town-three
for the price of one. If you see a Queer Queens of
to be funny.
Qomedy Show you will see one of the best comedy shows of your
Youtoura lot,butwheredoyoucallhome?
life. I had a gal say to me last night that she was laughing so hard
Rhode Island is my home once again. I left 23 years ago, went to she thought she was going to have a heart attack. So bring a medic
Chicago for eight years and then L.A. for 14 and now I am back with you. (poppychamplin.com)
in R.L in the woods, in a shack with my brother living in the base~
ment. It's a little Slingblade~ishbut I love it.
Whatis yourmaritalstatus?Anypartners,
cats,dogs,kidsor U-Hauls
in sight?
I have a partner right now, she is living in N.Y. and we see each
other on weekends. We have flyby sleepovers, airport rendezvous
and sometimes she drives me to my gigs in New England.
QueerQueens
of Qomedy
is unique.
Wheredidyougettheidea?
I was desperate to work bigger venues. I wanted to have a name that
could fill a 400-500 seat theatre so I added two more names to
mine and made that happen.
What'syourcriteriaforselecting
the"bestlesbiancomics"
fromacross
thecountry?
Well, I have worked with most of the lesbian comics and a lot of
them are my friends and coworkers, and I just pick them as I think
of who would work well together at that venue and who is available
and who is closest. We are all the best. Comedy is so subjective that
everyone's tastes are different in who they like so-in my opinionI am the best.
AsofJuly,whowillbetouringandwhere?
As of July I am hoping to get Chicago on the map and I don't
know who I would use, but Karen Williams comes to mind and
maybe I can get Elvira Kurt for that one. On August 16 I am head~
ing to D.C. and I have booked Michele Balan and Zoe Lewis at
The Birchmere Music Hall. I have previously worked with Julie
Goldman and Roxanna Ward in Phoenix, Gina Yashere and
Fortune Feimster in San Diego, Vickie Shaw,Jennie McNulty and
For many lesbians, as for veteran funny lady Poppy Champlin, it's
all about community. However for Champlin, community means
the extensive network of hardworking, constantly touring out les~
bian comics like herself, including Michele Balan, Elvira Kurt and
Julie Goldman. So, it was a natural step for Champlin to join forces
with some of her favorite fellow comics to create the Queer Queens
of Qomedy tour-in which a changing lesbian lineup offers triple
the lezzie laughs for audiences around the nation.
THETWOOFUS
Lindsay and Veronica
Lindsay White, 28, and Veronica Lorraine May, 29, make music together in San Diego's
gayborhood Hillcrest as folk-pop duo, The Lovebirds. By Merryn Johns
How they met
Lindsay:
We met each other through a local music promoter named
Cathryn Beeks. I was working on putting together a band for my
solo music.
Veronica:
We were on the bill for some shows and we finally connected. Oddly enough, I came to Lindsay's Thanksgiving dinner
years ago with my other girlfriend at the time. We were just friends
and appreciated each other's music.
Lindsay:
I was newly married to a man at the time-we had been
together since I was 18 years old. I loved my husband dearly but
knew I wasn't happy in the marriage. All signs pointed to lesbian.
Through the wreckage of the divorce, I realized not only that I was
gay, but that I was completely and totally in love with Veronica.
Making art together
Lindsay:
We have an amazing songwriting partnership. We both
have such unique songwriting styles, but somehow they mesh perfectly. Veronica is a fantastic musician, and I can bring it with the
lyrics. She challenges me to be more dynamic musically, and I challenge her to spend time on her lyrics. We also work insanely hard
on creating really interesting harmonies. Our songwriting partnership is the foundation of our romantic relationship, as well as a
survival tool that we've been able to turn to in difficult times.
Veronica:
We make music together and we color together. We also
make fingerprint people. You get ink and stamp your finger onto a
piece of paper and from there on out the creative sky is the limit.
We also make short films together. We have a lot of great ideas for
creative projects that may even be lucrative at some point. We are
also in the process of creating our own language, just in case you
were wondering if we were weirdos.
What's different now as a couple
Lindsay:It's so great to have Veronica to share my personal and
musical journey with. I thought I was the weirdest person I'd ever
met until I found her. We are careful to develop our individual
hobbies and friendships so we don't get stuck in a connected-atthe-hip rut, but when we are together, we have the most fun. We
also have what we call the "Bubble of Trust" where we are free to
say whatever we are feeling without being judged for it. The best
part of my day is at the end of the night when I curl up in her arms
and just let all my muscles relax. It's the safest place.
Veronica:Well, as a lesbian, your wardrobe doubles. You have
someone to slow dance with. You have someone to picture as an
old woman with wrinkles and dimples. The biggest perk: someone to play rock-paper-scissors with. I think the biggest reason
we work so well together is that we fell in love with each other's
art so long ago.
How they resolve differences
Lindsay:
Therapy, of course! We always marvel at the fact
we are still together since we've faced so much adversity. I've
been through a divorce, she's been hospitalized, and the
list goes on and on. The biggest issue we face is Veronica's
bipolar [disorder] because it can't be worked through and
left behind like any other problem. It will always be a factor
at play in our relationship. We joke sometimes that there
are three people in our relationship. But I like to look at
it like there are even more people in our relationship (our
individual therapists, our couples therapist, her psychiatrist
and all of our wonderfully supportive friends and family
members). Those people are integral in the success of our
relationship and we are just as grateful for them as we are
for each other.
Veronica:
Lindsay has been my lighthouse in so many different storms. She always guides me to safety. I have never met
such a resilient woman and I really don't think I ever will.
She is patient and understanding. I can only hope to return
that favor time and time again. ( thelovebirdsmusic.com)
26
I curve
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SCENE
Desert Hearts
Girl Bar Dinah Shore Weekend celebrates its move to Las Vegas.
Girl Bar Dinah Shore Weekend in association
with Truck Stop Girlz and Caesars Total
Rewards filled Sin City with thousands of
lesbians who were ready to party. Girl Bar
Dinah Shore Weekend, now in its 22nd
year, has made Vegas its new home, taking
advantage of the 24-hour nightlife that has
made the neon-lit oasis world famous. The
weekend was an outstanding success in its first
year transfer from Palm Springs, Calif. to Las
Vegas, according to event producers Robin
Gans, Sandy Sachs, Linda Fusco and Michelle
Agnew. The weekend's events at venues across
the Strip were at full capacity and guaranteed
the announcement of Dinah Shore Weekend
for April 25-29, 2013. Caesars Entertainment
served as hosts of the event and Richard
Brower, director of LGBT marketing there
said, ''As the only casino company with a 100
percent on the Human Rights Campaign
Corporate Equality Index, our commitment
to the LGBT community is strong. We look
forward to a long-lasting relationship with
the Girl Bar and the Truck Stop Girlz Dinah
Shore event founders:' (dinahshoreweekend.com)
[GeorgiaKrokus]
July/August 2012
I 27
POLITICS
End of the Rainbow
If Obama is re-elected, what must we ask of him?
By Victoria A. Brownworth
On May 9, 2012, President Obama gave an
exclusive interview to ABC's Robin Roberts
in which he declared his support of same-sex
marriage. The news went viral immediately.
Kudos for the president-and big money for
his re-election campaign-came pouring in.
Within a day he had gotten more than $30
million in donations.
The news broke on a Wednesday, which
meant that the Sunday talk shows were
full of discussion on what a "brave" move it
was. Conservative gay columnist Andrew
Sullivan broke down in tears on NBC's
The Chris Matthews Show, while lesbian
Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen asserted
on ABC's This Week that Obama had taken
great risks in making the statement.
The following Monday, Newsweek'scover
pictured Obama sporting a rainbow halo,
and The New Yorker, which often depicts
political commentary on its covers, portrayed
the South Portico of the White House, its
six columns each a different color, together
making a rainbow. The title of the cover art
was" Spectrum of Light:'
The tributes were to be expected. But
2s
I curve
now that a little time has passed and the
dust has settled, the LGBT community
must put this announcement in perspective,
along with Obama's record as president.
To have a sitting president assert support
for the civil rights of an oppressed group,
and from the White House itself, is no
minor historical hiccup. It may, in fact, be the
single most important thing that President
Obama has done while in office.
That said, however, the statement does
not make him a saint, it does not make him
pro-queer, and it does absolutely nothing
to improve the actual lives of queers in the
U.S. He said it. Now whatr Does anything
actually come with that pro-marriageequality statement?
Apparently not.
Since Obama made his statement, I've
been inundated with requests for money
from his campaign. What I haven't gotten
are any assurances from either the President
himself or the Democratic Party, that this
statement was anything more than lip
service to a voting block essential for the
close race in November.
But once we re-elect Obama, what's in it
for usr
Single-issue support for presidents and
presidential candidates has always done a
disservice to the nation. The United States
is inarguably the most diverse nation on the
planet. This means that conflicts will arise,
usually over single issues. At their worst,
those conflicts have caused an event as dramatic and grave as the Civil War, as well as
the battles over Communism in the 1950s,
black civil rights and the Vietnam War in
the 1960s, and women's rights in the 1910s
and 1970s. Now, in the 2010s, the battle is
over queer civil rights.
But we are not a single-issue nation and
when we vote single-issue, do we ask ourselves at what point do we hold our leaders
accountable?
Obama's pronouncement aside, for four
years he has worked against rather than
for us as a community and a constituency.
Millions of taxpayer dollars went into this
Administration's fight against the repeal of
Don't Ask, Don't Tell as well as for the protection ofDOMA. We simply can't pretend
that this didn't happen.
Nor can we pretend that the Democratic
National Convention isn't in North Carolina.
That would be North Carolina, the state that
voted in a total ban on same-sex marriage,
civil unions and domestic partnership one
day before Obama's historic statement.
The Democratic Party would never
have chosen a demonstrably racist state
in which to hold its convention. We know
that. The DNC didn't choose Arizona.
But it did choose North Carolina knowing
in advance that the referendum was on
the primary ballot. Where does that leave
us as a constituency? The Democratic
National Committee has refused to put
marriage equality into the Democratic
platform. Whyr
We also have to ask about Obama's
long evolution on marriage equality-four
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years-and
then the sudden reveal a few
days after Vice President Biden asserted
his own support for marriage equality,
yet not a day earlier when it might have
made a difference in the North Carolina
vote. And we have to wonder why Obama
demanded-and
received-an
apology
from Biden for blurting out his own sup,
port in advance of the President.
We have to be worried about what
Obama hasn't done-that he hasn't released
Bradley Manning from indefinite deten,
tion, even though Manning hasn't been
convicted of any crime nor has he done
anything that the New York Times and
Washington Post haven't done with regard
to Wikileaks. We have to be concerned
that Obama has refused to take his pro,
marriage statement to the next step, which
is an Executive Order. Truman did it with
the swipe of a pen-desegregated
the
entire military. Obama could desegregate
American queers just as easily.
He said it.
Now what?
Does anything
actuallycome with
that pro-marriage
equalitystatement?
We have to be concerned that we don't
just face the inability to marry and the
federal and state benefits that accrue to
that. We have to be concerned about the
violence perpetrated against us daily and
the discrimination we face on the job, in
housing, at school.
Where does the President really stand
on our civil liberties and civil rights?
If we say as a community that Obama
is our candidate, then we have to ask ques,
tions and demand answers.
In the mid, 1980s when I was covering
Washington as a beat reporter, I covered
march after march on the Reagan White
House. There were AIDS activists and
feminists among the protesting groups
attempting to hold President Reagan
accountable for his stances on AIDS
and abortion.
I was sitting in the press section of the
U.S. Supreme Court the day Bowers v.
Hardwick was argued and I stood in the
blazing heat outside the High Court the day
the ruling came down and the late Justice
Harry Blackmun-who
had also written
the decision in Roe v. Wade and who had
written the dissent in Hardwick-bravely
broke court protocol and told the small
group of us that the decision to let the
sodomy laws stand was a moral outrage.
As voters, as women, as queers, we have
to break politically correct protocol. We
have to stand up to presidents, to govern,
ment. It doesn't matter whether it's our
guy or the other guy-or maybe even one
day, our gal or the other gal. It's our job as
citizens in a democracy to stand against
tyranny, be it seemingly small or writ
large. DOMA is writ large. ENDA is writ
large. Bradley Manning's incarceration is
writ large.
A few days before I wrote this column,
my partner's tires were slashed. All four
tires. The police were clear: It was a hate
crime and recorded it as such. Our bum,
per stickers are clear indicators of our
queer politics. Each tire had been slashed
more than four times. Imagine the time,
imagine the rage, imagine that the person
who did it was wishing they could do it to
us, instead.
It's still dangerous just to be queer in
America. Which is why we need the pro,
tection of our president. We must hold
President Obama accountable to us and
for us, before and after the election. You
can't say that you think everyone should
be able to eat at the same lunch counter
but then say the states can decide. You
can't say it's not a federal issue but a fed,
eralist issue when married couples get
federal tax breaks and marriage grants
more than 1,400 different legal benefits.
It can't be up to the states. It has to be up
to the President.
We can choose to support Obama's
re,election based on a single statement or
we can choose to hold him accountable for
that statement and its impact on our lives.
That statement was a beginning. Now
it's up to us to make sure the President
doesn't think it was also the
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a
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f
isexual women have higher incidences of depression, suicide,
ubstance abuse and poor physical health than their heterosexual
ond lesbian counterparts. So what are we doing to help our
ansexual sisters?By EmilyDievendorf
he first time I was called "greeedy· it was by a drag
queen at the Michigan Pride Festival.She wasn't talking
to me directly. She was calling out audience members
in the unapologetic, hilarious and crass way only a
drag queen can, asking one attendee if she was a
lesbian. The woman said, "No, I'm bi..The drag queen
responded, "Oh, you're greeedy.' Everyone laughed,
myself included. But I also left thinking, "So that's how it is.'
I could never be greedy. I have terrible luck with women.
ut I probably wouldn't date you, male or female, regardess of luck. I'm very particular, maybe to the point of
elusion, and my interest rarely has to do with physical
~ttraction above all else. You would need to be funny, clever,
bverly literate, cultured and committed to social justice.
'm also a serial monogamist and loyal to a fault, unable
o focus on more than one person at a time. I'm not your
~tereotype, but few of us are.
I believe sexuality as a continuum, with no easy boxes
o fit into, is the most logical explanation for the variations
e see in human sexuality. Labels are vile and unrealistic to
me, an attempt to satisfy others' need for simplicity when
life just isn't so. I have struggled with how I would explain
I yself, resentful that I had to at all. My partners have
lways known me to be fluid and I hadn't considered it
nybody else's business. At a certain point I decided that I
ad to claim my place in the community because my own
, nvisibility would be part of the perpetuation of others
retending I don't even exist. I wrote "bi" across my foreead and wore it proudly.
Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon recently found herelf swimming in controversy when she told the New York
1
I
I
I
1
I
Times that her homosexuality is
a choice. After much explanation she clarified that she was
capable of attraction regardless
of sex but was turned off by the
bisexual label. The label can seem
ugly, as the stereotypes that are
associated with bisexuality are
unflattering and demonizing by
societal norms.
Bisexuals are seen as promiscuous, confused, invalid, incapable of monogamy, oversexed,
greedy, going through a phase and on and on ...
I claim the bisexual label because I don't remember a
time when I wasn't attracted to both men and women,
either in a romantic sense or as a manifestation of sexual
attraction. A bisexual (pansexual, omnisexual, fluid) is
someone whose enduring physical, romantic, emotional
attraction is to people of more than one gender. Bisexuality
is still offered only tentative acceptance in the gay rights
movement. The lack of mention is all the more interesting when you consider that bisexuals make up the largest
group within the LGBT community according to a 2002
study conducted by the CDC, with one third of men and
two thirds of women in the community identifying as bi.
While most Americans don't identify themselves by the
label, a 2002 study found that 13 percent of women and
7 percent of men report being attracted to both women
and men.
We now have studies that show bisexuality is both a
real and stable designation. To prove our legitimacy, a
brave bunch of us (not me-ouch!)
volunteered to be
tested for arousal at the sight of sexy images of men and
women. Those who claimed to be bisexual, gasp, were
able to respond to both sexes. Studies have also disproven
claims that bisexuality is a stop on the way to figuring out
your sexuality. In one University of Utah study, 92 percent
of participants who identified as bisexual or "without
label" at the start of the study identified as bisexual and
without label 10 years later.
The stigma, or biphobia, that comes with being bisex~
ual has serious consequences. According to the NCLR,
bisexuals have higher incidences of depression, suicidal
thoughts and attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, and poor
physical health in general than their heterosexual, gay and
lesbian counterparts. Bisexuals most often don't come
out to their health provider and as a result receive incom~
plete information regarding their sexual health. Bisexual
women with monosexual partners have an increased rate
of domestic violence compared to every other female demo~
graphic. Compared to lesbians, bisexual women are twice
as likely to live in poverty. Discrimination against bisexuals
is greater in the workforce. While lesbians earn 2. 7 percent
less than straight men, bisexual women earn nearly 11
percent less according to the HRC.
There is an acute stress that comes from feeling like
you are not a legitimate member of a community. In
nonurban areas lesbians and bisexual women experience
comparable levels of frequent mental distress, but in urban
areas distress decreases for lesbians and nearly doubles for
bisexual women. Resources and support are more likely to
be available for lesbians in urban areas, and not as likely to
be found anywhere for bisexuals. Regardless of established
need, projects addressing issues related to bisexuality are
the least funded among programs for the lesbian, gay, bi
and transgender communities.
I'm currently dating a man. I refuse to hide him because
being in a relationship with him is part of who I am. If asked
about my sexuality I would expect him to answer without
pause that I identify as bi. Still, when a man is my date to
a gay rights event there is an uncomfortable and restless
feeling of undeniable guilt that rests inside me. I feel like a
traitor, I feel like I took the easy way out, I feel like I'm not
relating and might, therefore, not be able to represent the
queer community. In reality I know that those judgments
come from the outside. When I'm dating a man, the truth
is that I fell in love or in like and it happened to be with
a man. In gay rights we fight for the freedom to love and
the freedom to express our desire without shame. In our
efforts to gain the basic rights that we lack in order to care
for our loved ones we encounter enormous and shocking
amounts of hate. I may not always be with a man but I
will always bring my date to the party. I'm just grateful that
love, my fluid ability to love included, exists.
This articlefirst appearedin the huffingtonpost.com.
July/August 2012
I 31
Singer-songwriter Brandi
Carlile returns to her roots.
By Kim Hoffman
Whatdoyouthinkcanbefoundin thePacificNorthwest
music
scenethatcan'tbefoundanywhere
else?
I don't know. I mean, there's definitely a short history here
with the grunge scene. But before that, Loretta Lynn lived
here, Quincy Jones lived here, Ray Charles had a brief stint
here in the Northwest. We definitely have a rich music history. But also, the environment lends itself to moodinessit's very Goonies-esque. [laughs] It's also a little bit gray, and
nature kind of takes the center stage. So it's a big influence
in that way.
You,Phil,andTim [Hanseroth]
havebeentouringthroughthe
bulkof your20s.Howhasthatimpacted
yourlife?
It definitely was an up-and-down adventure! I just turned
30. Well, I didn't just turn 30, I'm about to turn 3 LI felt like
a lot of people in their 20s-in the way that I got super, super
career-minded, really focused on cultivating a following, and
a touring career, and my relationship with the twins [Phil
and Tim], and just really becoming this traveling, touring
persona. But yeah, I was really occupied during that decade
of my 20s. And then all my brothers and sisters started
having kids [Laughs], and I'd come home, and I got a little
more domestic in that way. So, I really felt when I turned 30
that I had that nuclear fallout-that
whole ''I've been doing
one thing too much and not another thing enough:'
Yoursong"TheStory"has beencalleda "universallesbian
anthem."
Howdoesthatmakeyoufeel?
[Laughs] A "universal lesbian anthem" 2 I think that's great. I
think it should be. It's big. It's powerful. It has presence about
it. And I wouldn't want it any other way.
YoucreatedtheLooking
OutFoundation
backin 2008,andthen,
through
that,theFighttheFearcampaign.
Whyaretheseimportantprograms
forwomen?
One of the Looking Out Foundation's favorite things to do
is empower women. It's needed, and, even in my community
(in Washington], it's really progressive, and I'm really proud
to be from here. You can still find places that are underserved
and people that are disenfranchised. And so, the Fight the
Fear campaign was on the heels of a lot of violence-not
34
I curve
just Teresa Butz [a Seattle lesbian who was murdered in her
home in 2009]. I mean, that's obviously what sparked the
absolute need for mobilization in that way, but there was
a lot of violence toward women, there was a lot of violence
toward gay people at that time. And there were homeless
people getting killed on the street and fights happening that
didn't need to happen. There was a really cool self-defense
organization here in Seattle called Home Alive-do you
remember Mia Zapata [of the Gits ], the rock singer who got
killed outside, by the dubr
Ohyes,of course.
Shewasamazing.
Yeah, well Valerie Agnew created Home Alive in her remembrance. They gave self-defense courses to women, and I just
kind of piggy-backed on their idea, got the Seattle Police
Department involved. And Seattle's own self defense organizations said, Maybe we should try to take this empowerment
to them. And so we went to battered women's shelters, homeless women's shelters, LGBT centers, and we talked about the
defense courses. If I could say my foundation is about one
thing, it's about empowering the underserved.
Speaking
of empowerment,
howdidyouandyourpartnerfeel
aboutPresident
Obama'scomingout in supportof marriage
equality?
We were so, so pleased. I was so pleased when I saw that.
And touched. I've met President Obama and sung to him.
I sang "Folsom Prison Blues" to him on the White House
lawn on the Fourth of July when I played for the troops.
And I've always had a penchant for Obama. But when he
acknowledged (his support of same-sex marriage], it was
really empowering and encouraging to me, personally, in my
life. Yeah, I'm going to write him a letter.
Brandi,you'vebeenknownto havea veryuniqueconnection
to
yourfans.Youwerecreatingmailinglistsat thebeginning
ofthis
wholething.AndI'm wondering,
asyoulookbackonit all now,
at 30,whatissomething
thefanshavegivenyou,orcontinue
to
giveyou,andwhatdoyouaimto givethemback?
My fans have given me loyalty. They come to my shows on
a regular basis, because I tour on a regular basis. And that's
really important. But, to be honest, one of the most important things my fans have given me, (and] my dose friends, is
the Looking Out Foundation. They fund the Looking Out
Foundation, and they support the things that we do. And we
couldn't do the things we want to do in our community without them. We have an event every year that they themselves
completely plan, fund and support. One dollar from every
ticket sold at every single show goes to the Looking Out
Foundation. And then, a lot of the things we get involved
with are because they send us letters and say, Hey, this is happening in our community. They are food-bank-suffering and
need some help, or Hey, so-and-so needs chemotherapy and
can't pay their insurance deductable. And those are the sorts
of things the Looking Out Foundation gets involved withbecause of our fans. Also, my fans are really intelligent, and
they are excellent at critiquing and raising awareness, through
me, for other people. (brandicarlile.com)
OLIVIA EL
TRAV
E
H
T
S
I
Y FOR
N
A
P
COM
ANS!
I
B
S
E
L
FROM
BREAKTHROUGH
TO
BREAK-UP
AND BACK
AGAIN,
CANADIAN
MUSIC DUO
MADISON
VIOLET
KEEPS IT
TOGETHER.
BYJESS
MCAVOY
WILLIAMS HAD
VECHILD (OR TWO), AND
THEY WERE CAN}\DIAN, THEY WOULD BE
MADISON VIG
HASGAI
T. THIS LESBIAN FOLK DUO
ASOLID FOLLOWING OVER THE
PAST FEW YEARS,TOURING CONSTANTLY
Ac~pss
NORTH AMERICA, AUSTRALIA AND
EU OPE. THEY HAVE ALSO BAGGED SOME
SER1OUSAWARDSINCLUDING THE 2009
JOHN LENNON SONGWRITING CONTEST
FOR THEIR TRACK "THE RANSOM." THEY
ALSO TOOK HOME THE 2009 CANADIAN
FOLK MUSIC AWARD FOR VOCAL GROUP OF
THE YEAR, WERE NOMINATED FOR SIX EAST
COAST MUSIC AWARDS AND A 2010 JUNO
(CANADA'S MUSIC AWARDS) FOR ROOTS &
TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (GROUP).
BUT LET'STAKE IT BACK TO THE GREEN ROOM
IN TORONTO, 1999. BRENLEY MACEACHERN
AND LISA MACISAAC, THEN STRANGERS
WORKING IN SEPARATE MUSICAL PROJECT
GOTTO TALKING ABOUTTHEIR LINEAGE,
ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT NOT ONLY DID
THEY KNOW EACH OTHER'S FAMILIES, BUT
THEIR FATHERS SAT TOGETHER IN HIGH
SCHOOL. THEY BEGAN A MUSICAL AND
PERSONAL PARTNERSHIP AND WHllE T
INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP OF 10 YEARS
PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP.
LATESTALBUM, THE GOOD I
ISA
T G
T
LTJOU
ND
EY OF
PART.
Howyoumetis sucha greatstory.I loveit whenthe universe
putspeopletogetherin a randomway.
Brenley:
Put us together to drive us nuts.
Lisa:You got that right!
Howdoesit feelto beworkingtogetherafterthebreakup?
Brenley:
This is a new discussion that we are having lately.
We kind of didn't want to talk about it because it's hard
when you're sort of kind of close to it, and it was a slow
coming out for us anyway.
Howwasthecomingoutprocess
foryouas musicians?
Brenley:
Well, the first step was coming out to our friends,
and then family ... and we kept it from our fans for a while.
The first time we were asked we completely denied it.
Mostly because management at the time told us that if we
did it then we would ruin our career. Also there was a fear
that every interview was going to be just about our sexuality
and not about the music and I thought, That sounds so boring!
And then you see campaigns [like] "It Gets Better" and stuff
starts to happen and then you go, You know what, we do
have a responsibility, so just be honest.
What'sit likeperforming
thesongsaboutthebreakup?
Brenley:Some are harder than others. Luckily there has
been enough time and space between us and some of the
heavy subject matter. Not distancing ourselves enough to
lose the emotion, but enough that you are at a good place.
Lisa:I feel like we are at a good place in our relationship.
There are songs about new relationships as well. The essence
of the album is about starting over.
Howareyoupreparing
forthisU.S.tour?
Brenley:
It will be interesting for us because it's all new terri~
tory. For the last four or five years we have had heaps of mail
from people from the States waiting for us to come to their
town, so hopefully we will be able to satisfy some of those
requests. (madisonviolet.com)
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HAT TODAY'S
CE LESBIAN TASTEMAKERS ARE
LISTENING TO? I CHATTED WITH A
FEW OF OUR FAVORITE STARS AND
GOT THE DETAILS ON WHAT TUNES
KEEP THESE WOMEN MOVING.
Freshoff of a WestCoasttour,Girlin a ComadrummerPhanieDiazcompileda
playlistsureto capturethe essenceof theseTexanrockers.TheiralbumExits
andall theRestrecentlywonthe honorof Bestlndie/AltRockalbumfromthe
Independent
MusicAwards.Listenup!
1. "I'm Alright"
byAgentRibbons
2. "BabylonianGorgon"byTheBags
3. "Kinder"by DavidGarza
4. "Don'tThankMe" by FrenchKicks
5. "HerJazz"by HuggyBear
6. "LuckyNumber"by LeneLovich
7. "500" by Lush
8. "Cantina"by PinataProtest
9. "Little One"by SaraRadle
10."I CouldBeHappy"byAlteredImages
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38
I curve
A TRIBUTE TO JANIS JOPLIN'S ICONIC VOICE.
BYJESS MCAVOY
"Hey, wait a minute! Stop stop stop stop! What thefuck is going
on out there? I'm up here bleedingfor you people!... This is a
two-way streetand ifyou don't get on that road I'm going to have
to get off... I don't get up here to rehearse.This is lovemaking.I'm
wooingyou, come on!"
It was San Diego, 1962. Janis Joplin, performing live, knew
what she had, and she wasn't going to be taken for granted.
After this little speech, the crowd went nuts.
The opening line of the 1970 studio recording of Janis
Joplin's "Cry Baby;' captured on the definitive double-disc
edition of The Pearl Sessions,demonstrates why you would.
Like a jet engine revving up to take off, she recklessly rips her
voice up a virtual slope to inform you that you are about to
be hit full throttle with all the frustration, angst and pain of
a jilted lover.
It was a very different world in 1970. San Francisco had
become the epicenter of the hippie movement. Janis Lyn
Joplin was 27 years old. She grew up in Port Arthur, Texas,
and with her hardheaded Capricorn nature she transformed
her feelings of rejection by the folks in her hometown into
an epic career that epitomized sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
More than that, though, in 1970 a record was a record. Ani
Difranco said it best in her song"Fuel":"People used to make
records, as in a record of an event, the event of people playing
music in a room:'
The PearlSessionsis the perfect example of that. Originally
released onJan.11, 1971 (three months after Joplin's passing
on Oct. 4, 1970), it is an intimate gem that leaves me feeling
as though I'd dropped into the studio while they were recording it. It reveals the vulnerability of the woman and the raw
nature of the recording process.
Joplin was an openly sexual person. Sex with women or
men, it wouldn't matter. She was like many artists of her
time: Her sexuality was undefined. Her music came before
everything else.
Her inherent awareness of the emotional exchange she was
having with her audience-and the fact that if she didn't get
anything back, she wouldn't be able to go on-was delicious.
People saw what she could do and wanted it. Wanted her.
Wanted to be a part of that fire.
I think a queer person understands this fire. This passion
that is challenging to identify, and the risk you take in
carrying it around-a passion that could kill you. That depth
of feeling, that love, that lust. That exchange.
I wait for an icon like this to reappear. I trawl through the
vending machine-style entertainers who last a season, maybe
two. I hope for a moment that will stop me in my tracks.
This happens so rarely these days, now that music is made
to order. Back then, there was room to figure out where that
fire fit.
As an artist, I want to see more examples of the fire fueling
us rather than killing us. As an artist, I want to see more
artists taking the risk to expose themselves passionately, just
for the sake of it. And as a woman, I want to see more women
getting up on stage and doing what Janis did: Being exactly
what they are, loudly, and with their own unique voice.
JamieHolm,bassistfor pop-rockoutfitSickof Sarah,is gearingupfor a longstintat the summer
2012WarpedTour.Beinga musician,Holm'sroutineconsistsof gruelingtravel,crowdedclubs
andheartydosesof that rock'n' roll lifestyle.Thisis the soundtrackto herdays.
1. "TheFuneralSong"by Bandof Horses
2. "BloodBank"by BonIver
3. "TheseDays"byTheFooFighters
4. "Readyto Start"byArcadeFire
5. "NewGoodbye"
by HeyRosetta
6. "OnTuesdays"
byThe4onthefloor
7. "SkeletonKey"by Margotandthe NuclearSoandSo's
8. "ForgotaboutDre"by EminemandDr.Dre
9. "TheCave"by MumfordandSons
10."LonelyBoy"byTheBlackKeys
July/August 2012
I 39
largRr
Than
lirR
when I got my book deal. I was with my friend, who is a great
comedic writer and a yummy love. It was the night before I
went to New York to get my deal. We were at the opera and
he was like, "Sweetie, this is so exciting, I'm so proud of you:'
And I burst into tears. I had just been holding it in all night
long. I was trembling and I was holding back tears, and he
said, "What's wrong:>"And with all sincerity I said, "I have
been a piece of shit my whole life, and now everybody thinks
I'm great, and I don't know what to do:' I've come a long way
from that, having walked through doing something that I
was totally convinced I was going to suck at, was going to
fall flat on my face, and I did it anyway, and did it to the best
of my ability-so I'm very proud, because it was hard, really
hard. I've come to this place in my life where I'm like, This is
my call to service. This is how I serve my fellow man. That,
that ... self-diminishing is really not part of my vocabulary
anymore. I roar with the awesomeness of a thousand suns.
Whatwasthebestpartof writingthe book?
When I was done! It was a painful slog. I think the most
Whatlightsyouup?
challenging part was wrapping my head around the fact that
I was going to have to write a book-that I was under contract
Justice. I like seeing fairness. I like seeing people speaking up
to produce around 300 pages of information, and humorous
for what they believe in. I like seeing love. I like inspiration.
anecdotes about the sadder aspects of my life.
Other people's inspiration. Underdogs light me up. People
who've worked really, really hard and then finally get what
Whywasit important
to diveintothehardpartsof yourlife?
they've been working toward. Hope lights me up.
I wanted to honor my mom. She was a beautiful, lovely little
Whatareyoutryingto accomplish
withyourmusicandwriting? spirit who had hopes and dreams, who had an aborted future
due to whatever crossed wire in her head that was no fault
My number one impetus to get up and sing is to create joy
in the room-to take energy and make joy out of it. That is of her own. There was a good part of my life where I hated
how I feel I've been called to serve in this life. It's hard, hearther, and I hurt her at every opportunity, out of my own fear
breaking work, but it's also work that people are jealous 0£ and out of my own childishness. So, it was important to get
Sometimes there's a lot of shame. You want to diminish your
as much right as I could, and also get as deep as I could, so I
successes because you don't want to look like an ass. You don't
wouldn't allow for the easy pass of "She was fucked up and
want to be too shiny. You don't want to be too awesome. The
I was a victim:'
tendency is to diminish and to just be smaller. I have really Why do dykeseverywherelook up to StormLargeand say
stopped doing that. The exclamation point of that feeling was
"Awesome.
Loveher"?
Storm Large is a singing Amazon, a 6-foot blonde powerhouse.
Whether she is singing in front of the Oregon Symphony
or fronting her rock band, the Balls, listening to her is like
strapping yourself into a ride at an R-rated theme park. From
hard-pumping, feminist rock anthems to friendly sing-alongs
on the topic of her vagina, you never know exactly what's
around the corner (but you know you want to go there).
When I caught up with Large, she was in her kitchen in
Portland, Ore., making lunch during a rare quiet moment
at home. She was lamenting the fact that eating in airports
is destroying her digestive system-which is funny if you've
read her memoir, Crazy Enough,and know something about
her childhood, her mother's mental illness and her own
earlier, truly self-destructive lifestyle. Yet, along with singing,
she's written a book and a one-woman show. She's played
Carnegie Hall and the Edinburgh Festival. It's hard to know
exactly where to start with such an eclectic talent, so I asked
an appropriately broad question.
••
••
••
•••
••
••
HestaPrynnis a televisionhost,musicianandrapperandis currentlytravelingthe worldas a DJfor fashionand
music'shottestparties."I'm aboutto releasesomeproperdancemusic,"Prynnsays.Thisincludesa singleproduced
by OJAof MadDecentcalled"WeCouldFallin Love"anda videowith "dopevisualeffects"is soonto follow.Thisis
HestaPrynn's"Outsidethe BoxPartySongsI Fuckin'Love"mix.
1. "I'm 111"
by RedCafefeat.Fabolous
2. "CallYourGirlfriend"by Robyn
3. "CruelSummer"by Bananarama
4. "MachineGunFunk"by BiggieSmalls
5. "Pepper"by ButtholeSurfers
40
I curve
6. "GhettoSuperstar"by Myafeat.WyclefJean& ODB
7. "Lights"by EllieGoulding
8. "HereComesYourMan"by Pixies
9. "TurnIt Gold(ldoZ Remix)"by HestaPrynn
10."She'sNotThere"byTheZombies
••••
••
•••••••
I think because, well, I'm loud. And I'm hot-hotness helps.
I'm unapologetically sexual, and also really open about my
sexuality, and really open and understanding about other
people's. My undying support for the [LGBT] community,
and just the common sense of supporting love in all of its
forms. I'm honored that people respect and love me.
You'veusedthe term "sexuallyomnivorous."
Whatdoesthat
mean?
I am opportunistically sexually omnivorous. I am usually in a
monogamous relationship. I've got a big, wide monogamous
streak, and I tend to be monogamous with men, but I am very
attracted to women as well, and so 'opportunistically sexually
omnivorous" is a very polysyllabic way to say I'm lazy, and if
it tastes good I'll eat it. [Laughs] I had an argument with a
woman who said,"You've been with men and women, so you're
bisexual:' And I said, "No, I'm omnivorous. I'm monogamous
with a man currently, but I am omnivorous:' And she said,
"Well, there is no term, really, for that-there is no group for
that:' And I said, "Exactly:' As soon as you give something a
name, then there is a group that rallies around it, and there is a
group that rallies against it. Sexuality cannot be quantified. It's
like trying to define a spark. It is so personal and so galvanizing
and polarizing that as long as you put yourself in a box, that's
where you're going to be. And sexuality just can't be boxed,
because there are people who have lived their whole lives as a
housewife in Des Moines, and then they come busting out and
they are a hardcore, diesel~dyke,anal~fisting motherfucker, and
they are so happy and liberated. And what's that? So I just
don't like sexuality being so specific.
Whatis it youwantpeopletothinkofwhentheythinkofyou?
I would like to be of service. I would like to be a positive force
in the world, be it through just writing a funny song, or tell~
ing a joke, or cooking a meal, or drying a tear, or [chuckles]
changing some tax policy at the federal level where people get
a tax kickback for volunteering. I spent a lot of time feeling
really sorry for myself and being incredibly negative and cyni~
cal. And so I want to make up for all that by being a force
of love and good in the world with everything I do. I want
people to think about me and smile, and think of something
inappropriate I said or did that held a lot of truth in an
uncomfortable situation.
Missionaccomplished.
(stormlarge.com)
SEXUALLY OMNIVOROUS SINGER STORM LARGE
TURNS VICTIMHOOD INTO VA-VA-VOOM.
BY KRISTIN FLICKINGER
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July/August 2012
I 41
PUNK ROCK
R&B TALENT
JOAN WASSER
ANTICIPATES
HER APPEARANCE AT
MICHIGAN
WOMYN'S
MUSIC
FESTIVAL.
BYJESS
MCAVOY
Doyouhaveroomin yourlifeforanything
else?
There's room for everything, if you make room for it. I live in New
York City, so there is a lot to do. I keep very active because if I don't
I lose my mind. I ride my bike and do a lot of things that make me
sweat. I take advantage of the city. I hang out in my apartment and
make music.
Whatdoyouthinkabouthavingsucha stronglesbianfollowing?
I guess people see me as a strong woman. I think that's a good start.
I think you could refer to me, in terms of my sexual preference,
as anything except for just straight. One of my friends, I think 10
years ago, said to me, "Joan, you're a tri~sexual-try anything!" And
that does feel very appropriate. I really am attracted to human
beings. And I have been attracted to every possible format you
could imagine, so you know I am very open that way.
Is thatsomething
thatis availableforpeopleto know?
I am definitely very open about who I am. I mean, I don't talk
specifics about my personal life- I mean, usually ... [Laughs]
Michigan
Womyn's
MusicFestivalis a prettyhardcore
women'sevent.
Didtheyapproach
youto play?
Yeah. This was the first year I was able to do it. I have been in the
midst of other big tours in the past. A lot of my friends have done
it, and I am totally thrilled that I am going to get to do it this year.
Andyouareawareof theexclusion
of menandtransgender
people?
I knew about the men, I didn't know about the transgender.
Doyouhaveanythoughts
aboutthat?
Oh, I don't know! It's so confusing because I have a lot of close
people to me that fit into that category. That's a tough one. I don't
know what to say. I understand, because it gets very complicatedugh, but, see, I didn't know about that ...
Willyoubeperforming
soloorwithyourregularband?
I am performing with a band of amazing women who I have per~
formed with before. My regular band is two fantastic guys, and if
they could change their gender for the show I am sure they would.
But I am playing with a bunch of women who I have performed
with before and they are stunning musicians. So I am really looking
forward to it, actually.
Playingwithanall-womanbandis special.
It really is. I can't agree with you more. It's super powerful and
really wonderful. I mean, that's why it's called a festival. Festivals
are usually full of men, and I have nothing against men. But it feels
like something more than a festival, it is a different experience, it's
really, really profound! Because it happens so rarely-that's why it's
really so great.
Doyouhaveanysolidplansforthenextfiveor 1Oyears?
Well, I don't plan super~far ahead, honestly. It just doesn't work for
me. I am going to finish this record, and I am already starting on a
new Joan As Police Woman record. I am just trying to explore the
ideas of what that is going to be.
Doyouhaveanyadviceforwomentryingto getintocreativefields?
Trust your instincts, just keep going and don't stop.
voanaspolicewoman.com)
July/August 2012
I 43
lislen
Up
human sexuality, the place where spirituality and sexual,
ity meet, where sexuality and consumerism meet. I grapple
with the struggle, the sensuality and the humility of human
experience-fear, loss, peace and quiet mystery:' Despite the
moody and esoteric nature of her music, Belle's work has not
only been critically acclaimed but it's also found its way into
Epoque
various films and TV shows-includingjersey
Hailing from the Pacific Northwest and sounding something
Shore!
like an American Kate Bush for the 21st century, AnomieBelle
Anomie Belle plans to spend the remainder of 2012
is having a busy year. The Oregon,born, Seattle,based musi,
touring in support of The Crush and is already working on
her third full,length album. [DaveSteinfeld]
cian recently issued her sophomore album, The Crush. This
disc follows her 2008 debut SleepingPatternsand represents a
significant step forward. "I took more risks and experimented
more on [this album] than with SleepingPatterns,"says Belle. If you prefer garage rock to electronica, you'll be glad to know
"My self,expression with the second album was more raw
that The Dollyrots are gearing up for the release of their
and exposed. Also, I engineer and produce my own music
eagerly awaited fourth studio disc. The new outing finds the
and learned a lot between albums and had some nicer record,
longtime duo of Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas joined by
ing equipment:' She also just released the track "Picture
veteran drummer (and out musician) AliciaWarrington.
The
Perfect;' which is a duet with Posies co,leader Jonathan
Dollyrots-who formed in Florida but have been based for
Auer, as a single. "I wrote 'Picture Perfect' about the way
years in L.A.- have already opened for legendary acts like
we think relationships are supposed to look-an impossible
The Go,Gos and the Buzzcocks and will tour the U.K. this
image that we can't actually recreate in real life because it was
fall with Bowling for Soup.
never real to begin with;' she explains. "In that sense, 'Picture
Warrington, who just joined The Dollyrots in November,
says, "It has been a big deal for me to join a group because
Perfect' is sort of a breakup song. I was breaking up with the
image of relationships I was taught to want but that isn't
I usually stick to the hired gun and session type of gigs. It
actually fulfilling:' Belle-who identifies as queer-adds,
was a little weird joining two people who have been playing
"The moment I wrote the song, I envisioned it as a duet with
together for over 10 years [but] the three of us get along
a man. I reached out to [Jon] and it was the perfect fit. He is really well, connect musically and have fun-which is a really
such a gentle, humble, capable and instantly likable person:'
important element in keeping a band together:' The upcom,
Of her work in general, Belle says, "For me, music is an
ing album includes such irresistible garage rock nuggets as
"I Wanna Go;"'Hyperactive" and "Twist Me to the Left:'
introspective place. I like to dwell in the dark and hidden
spaces-the places where our thoughts and emotions feel
Though she's currently pounding the skins for The
contradictory ... ! observe the beauty and the fluid nature of
Dollyrots, Warrington's musical background is by no means
ARTISTSTO
KEEP AN EAR
OUT FOR.
Belk
ffiarching
loHerOwn
Drumbeal
God-Des
& Sheare
currentlyin the studio
finishingtheir hotly
anticipatedfourthalbum
andwill be on tour
throughoutthe Midwest
this summer.Checkout
god-desandshe.com
for
tour datesandmore
information!
44
I curve
God-Des'playlist
1. "Lights"by Journey
2. "Juicy"by BiggieSmalls
3. "BabyI'm A Star"by Prince
4. "PassingMe By" by Pharcyde
5. "Noneof YourBusiness"by SaltN Pepa
6. "DogDays"by FlorenceandTheMachine
7. "Clocks"by Coldplay
8. "BreathMe" by Sia
9. "CloserToFine"by IndigoGirls
10."ToMakeYouFeelMyLove"by GarthBrooks
She'splaylist
1. "FeelsLikethe FirstTime"by Boston
2. "Wavin'Flag"by K'naan
3. "Foreverin BlueJeans"by NeilDiamond
4. "Trya LittleTenderness"
by OtisRedding
5. "Boyfriend"by JustinBieber
6. "Kodachrome"
by PaulSimon
7. "LoveWill KeepUsTogether"by CaptainandTennille
8. "ComeToMe" by BonnieRaitt
9. "PeaceTrain"by CatStevens
10."NightMoves"by BobSeger
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limited to one genre. She's played with everyone from Hannah
Montana to Uh Huh Her and from former En Vogue singer
Dawn Robinson to Tracy Chapman. "I grew up with Polish
grandparents playing polka music, a mom who listened to
R&B and a metal head sister and uncle!" says Warrington.
"So I was introduced to all styles of music from the start.
That's something that has always stuck with me. I love the
constant challenge of having to learn different styles of songs
from such a diverse group of artists:' The latest addition to
her resume is working with Chris Rene, a rap and R&B artist
who recently appeared on The X Factor. [DaveSteinfeld]
ijl SoHard
Hard rock drummer Sandra Alva of metal band Modern
Day Escape has a confession to make: "Lately;' she says, ''I've
been so into country music:'
It is difficult to picture Alva listening to the likes of Blake
Shelton and Luke Bryan, both her favorites and the latter of
whom sings about catfish and country girls. "Last summer
I spent a month in Dallas and I came back and I was like, 'I
want to listen to country: Ever since then I haven't stopped. I
don't know what it is:'
Luckily for Alva, she'll be back in the Lone Star State this
summer when Modern Day Escape goes on tour for their
latest album Under the Gun. It's the first album Alva has
created with the group since joining nearly two years ago,
moving over to the band after leaving Black Veil Brides,
which she said was too glam rock, not enough rock'n' roll.
"I would wear black makeup all over my body and it wasn't
really me. I wasn't really comfortable making my hair 10 feet
high. I just like being myself and I didn't want to be fake:' At
Modern Day Escape"we just rock out, we don't have to dress
up. We can just be ourselves and play whatever we want. It's
more my style:'
Alva's first love was actually hip~hop, and she used to
breakdance before she stumbled upon her cousin's drum
set when she was 11 years old. Intrigued, she picked up the
drumsticks, made a simple beat and soon enough she was
able to play songs right after hearing them. "I love playing
drums. You have your own little space and you're just rocking
out. And it's a good workout:'
She calls Modern Day Escape "super metal:' Though the
original band was formed in Florida in 2006, the present
incarnation is based in Los Angeles and took on Alva as
the new drummer in 2011. Alva says the best thing about
her upcoming tour is that she gets to travel the country
with her bandmates, a group of dudes she calls her best
friends. "I was always one of the guys;' she says. "You
know how there's always a group of guys and then there's
that one girl that has long hair and doesn't know how to
dress really:' That was me:' Alva, who has been out since
she was 14 and will be turning 24 on tour, says she was
always most comfortable kicking back with the guys, eat~
ing pizza, drinking soda and burping. "I still do that but
I have somewhat of a style now:' (moderndayescape.com)
[JillianEugenics]
SEASONED SISTERACT
JuneandJeanMillington
are hardly "emerging"
artists. Returning artists would be a better
way to describe them. Though they aren't
often cited as such, the Millington sisters
formed what was arguably the first allfemale band ever, Fanny, in the late 1960s.
This was not a "girl group" but rather four
women playing their own instruments and
cranking it up to 11. The original lineup of
Fanny-June and Jean on guitar and bass
respectively, drummer Alice de Buhr and
keyboardist Nickey Barclay-recorded
four albums during the first half of the
'70s, toured with bands like Jethro Tull and
scored a couple of minor hits but never
became a household name. In addition to
being an all-female band at a time when
there was no precedent for this, Fanny was
an anomaly in other ways.
While the Millington sisters were born
in the Philippines, Barclay was from the
Washington D.C. area and de Buhr hailed
from Iowa, of all places. And though Jean
is straight, June is queer. But she reveals,
"No one talked about being gay [back
then], even if you were feeling something.
We had no idea what that was, really."
After flying under the radar for years,
the Millingtons are back with a vengeance.
They released their first album in ages, the
ironically named Play Like a Girl, in 2011. A
true family affair, the album also features
Jean's son Lee Madeloni on drums. June
is in the process of penning her autobiography, which she hopes to release next year.
And throughout all this, she and her longtime partner, Ann Hackler, have overseen
the Institute for the Musical Arts (ima.org).
Currently based in Goshen, Mass., IMA is a
non-profit dedicated to helping women and
girls in the music business. The 25-acre
property includes everything from a bunkhouse and fully equipped kitchen to state
of the art recording studios and a performance space that seats 200. Jean, who
cites Paul McCartney and James Jamerson
as her primary influences as a bassist, has
also worked at IMA as a teacher. In addition,
she is an herbalist.
When I ask her how the music industry
has changed in the 40-odd years since
Fanny emerged, June Millington says,
"Not only wasn't the industry the same,
the world wasn't the same. We didn't have
birth control, and abortions were illegal.
We had absolutely no role models and
most people either were shocked or considered it a joke for girls to start an electric
band on their own. There were no women's
centers, no schools resembling Berkeley
or GIT where young women could get any
information on how to play what we were
hearing on the radio. [IMA] feeds the young
performer in me who could have used a
place like [this] all those years ago-and
speaks to my desire to pass on what I
know." [DaveSteinfeld]
July/August 2012
I 45
Passion
Play
FOR RACHAEL SAGE, BULLYING, BISEXUALITY
AND BROKEN HEARTS INSPIRED HER BRILLIANT
MUSICAL CAREER.
BYJESS MCAVOY
RACHAEL SAGE TAUGHT HERSELF TO PLAY
THE PIANO AT AGE 3, AND STARTED WRITING
SONGS TO COPE WITH BEING BULLIED AT
SCHOOL IN CONNECTICUT. SHE DREAMED
OF A CAREER IN MUSIC, THEN MADE IT
COME TRUE, FOUNDING
MPRESS RECORDS,
TRAVELINGTHE WORLD, AND SHARING
THE STAGE WITH JUDY COLLINS, SHAWN
COLVIN AND SARAH MCLACHLAN.
WHEN
I CAUGHT UP WITH THE TALENTED AND
MULTIFACETED QUEER MUSICIAN, SHE WAS
IN PORTLAND, ORE., AWAITING HER SHOW
AT THE STAR THEATER. WE DISCUSSED HER
POST-BREAKUP ALBUM, HAUNTED BY YOU,
AND THE CHALLENGES AND BENEFITS OF
BEING AN AVID SONGWRITER AND A
SUCCESSFUL RECORD LABEL OWNER.
At whatpointdidyouknowyouwerea musician?
For me it was really very, very young. I remember being 5 or
6 years old and knowing that I wanted to be a songwriter. I
don't know that I thought about what that was at the time.
But the arrival of the four-track tape recorder as a bat mitzvah
gift from my extended family dictated a lack of my social life
for a number of years. I guess that was a turning point.
YoufoundedMPressRecords
in 1996.Whatinspiredyou?
I think, for a lot of young people, college is the time where
you go through all of your extreme ups and downs, and I
think the upside was that I felt really inspired and empowered by the creative community there, and I was seeing a lot
of examples of people putting out a lot of creative workAni DiFranco, the Indigo Girls and Loreena McKennitt
were the reference point for me. I used my acting training
to pretend that I had a much bigger staff than just one. I
pretended to be this manager, that booking agent-and
whoever else I thought could sell the product.
That'sprettyballsy.
It's chutzpah. Sometimes it gets you into trouble, and sometimes you can be lucky.
Running
a recordlabeltakesa lotof work.Whatconvinced
you
to doit? Howdoesit affectyourowncreativecareer?
I think it was at Lilith Fair in 1999, when I saw Sarah
Bluespowerhouse
RuthieFosterhasbeenon the roadfor almostall of 2012in supportof her newly
releasedalbumlet It Burn.Aftera shortbreakto rechargeher batteries,the restof 2012will be filled with
writingandtouringall overthe U.S.,the U.K.andNorway."It will be a great2012"saysFoster.Tunein.
w
1. "My HandyManAin't HandyNoMore"byAlbertaHunter
2. "Shingleby Shingle"by EricBibb
3. "Edithandthe Kingpin"byTinaTurner
4. "Isn't it A Pity"by NinaSimone
5. ''A'alEih"by SamiraSaeed
6. "AmrDiab"by NaurElAin
7. "Won'tLet MeGo"byAmosLee
8. "RoadToZion"by DamianMarley
9. "I'll NeverLoveThisWayAgain"by DionneWarwick
10."Bapa"by GeoffreyGurrumulYunpingo
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Mclachlan and the whole operation and how personable every~
one in her team was. She made everyone, from the opening act to
the headliner, seem equal. That sense of community was what I
really wanted to create in some way.
Youidentifyas bisexual.Hasthisaffectedyourart?
I think that's one of the things that's so empowering about being
queer and being a musician, that inescapable understanding that
music is something that can bring so many different kinds of
people together and open up people's ears and minds to ideas that
they otherwise may not be open to-because
you are presenting
it through art.
Eachnewrecordbecomes
somewhatof a favoritechild.Is thishow
youfeelaboutyourmilestone
tenthalbum,Hauntedby You?
You know, it's a favorite and a challenge because I wrote most
of the songs on this record on guitar, and I wrote them before I
felt entirely comfortable performing them in public. So I am very
proud of the nerve it took for me to sit down in the studio and do
it until I got it right. I do feel really happy with the record and I
am really proud of it, and now that I am on tour it's taking a lot
of courage to play these songs in a much more raw kind of way
than I would be on the piano, because piano is second nature to
me-it's like talking-and
guitar is still scary.
Doyouhaveany advicefor aspiringmusiciansor womenwho are
lookingto succeedin the business
of music?
Stick to your own vision. I think that's the best advice that I've
ever received. (rachaelsage.com)
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ActorClementine
Ford,whostoleour heartsasthe earnestMollyKrollon TheL Word,
is jugglinga few rolesincludingan onstage
GoDownandis workingon writinga book,dueout nextyear."I seemusicas the
turn in a LosAngelesproductionof Phantoms
foundationof my life,"Fordsays."Whenpeopleaskwhat kindof musicI like,I say'everything'andI meanit." Listenin!
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1. "PerfectlyFlawed"by BatMcGrath
2. "I Couldn'tLeaveYouif I Tried"by RodneyCrowell
3. "WhenYouWishUpona Star"by PetraHadenandBill Frisel
4. "MiseryandGin"by MerleHaggard
5. "ConnieFrancis"byTheCentimeters
6. "ComicStrip"by SergeGainsbourg
with BrigitteBardot
7. "AshtrayHeart"by CaptainBeefheart
8. "EarthDiedScreaming"byTomWaits
9. "Johnthe Revelator"by SonHouse
10."I Just Don'tKnowWhatto DoWithMyself"byTheWhiteStripes
July/August 2012
I 47
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FROM
WARRIOR
PRINCESS
TO
ECO-WARRIOR
In these troubled times,
it's hearteningto see
our favorite glamazon
turn her back on the
red carpetand stand
up for her beliefs.
By MerrynJohns
On February 23, statuesque Xena actor Lucy Lawless took a leaf from her
famous character's superhero book by spending 77 hours occupying the
Shell oil-drilling ship Noble Discoverer. Lawless and six other Greenpeace
activists, who are now referred to as the Taranaki 7, crept aboard the ship
in the early morning while it was moored in Port Taranaki, a port complex in
New Plymouth, New Zealand. Lawless and the other activists boarded the
ship to raise awareness about deep-sea oil drilling. In a statement released
to the press Lawless said, "Deep-sea oil drilling is bad enough, but venturing
into the Arctic, one of the most magical places on the planet, is going too far.
I don't want my kids to grow up in a world without these extraordinary places
intact or where we ruin the habitat of polar bears for the last drops of oil." The
Taranaki 7 were arrested on charges of burglary. Ready to stand trial in New
Zealand, where she's also filming Top of the Lake with celebrated film director
and fellow New Zealand er Jane Campion (The Piano, Portrait of a Lady),
Lawless spoke frankly to curve about her environmental views and her love
for her lesbian fan base.
54
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STop
--~-'1_Elt
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Thelasttimewe spokeit was2007,youwere
a blonde,
andyouwerelaunching
yoursinging
careerwith a seriesof concertsat the Roxy
Theatrein LosAngeles.
Fiveyearslateryou're
a brunetteagain,andyou'veclimbedaboard
a drillingship as a Greenpeace
protester!
How many more facets are there to your
character?
Plenty, plenty. Yeah, I feel like I'm only just
beginning to exercise my wings.
Lucy,you'vealwaysstruckmeas a verygenuineperson,
and
nowwith yourGreenpeace
roleI feel that way evenmore.I
thinkI canspeakonbehalfof all yourlesbianfansto saywe
weredelighted
thatwe weren'tmisledin lovingourWarrior
Princess
somuch.
Oh good, good!
Whatlittheenvironmental
fireinyou?Whenwasyourwake-up
callaboutthestateof ourplanet?
Actually, it was evacuating Hurricane Katrina. That was
what taught me that I never, ever want to go through this
56
I curve
(. ·-
I
again. When I see that our refusal to wean ourselves off
fossil fuels is now bound to cause more intense and more
frequent natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, I find
that intolerable-and
really a disgrace. I see it as intergenerational violence upon our grandchildren. I don't want
to be a part of that. I'm trying to reduce my footprint as
much as possible. I'm trying to stop flying for anything but
absolutely necessary travel. I'm carpooling. The whole bit.
I drive a hybrid car at the moment, have done for about 10
years. But I want something better. I want something that
doesn't run on fossil fuels at all, and I know the technology's out there-so give it to us. Here's the beautiful thing:
None of us are powerless anymore. With the Internet, we
all have voices. And you see how that's effecting change in
North Africa and the Middle East. We can have that in
our own countries too, because there's terrible, dirty deals
being made behind closed doors. And now that we know
about that, it's incumbent upon us to do something about
it, to fight for our children, to fight for their right to live in
a clean world and an ethical society.
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Youbecamea climateambassador
for Greenpeace
in 2009. Whereare younowwith the courtcase?Youwerearrested
Whatmadeyousnapthis yearand go,"I'm puttingon my andarebeingtriedfor burglary.
hardhatandI'm gettingonboard
thisship"?
It just got put off again. They're going to renegotiate the
Just the time where we are now: There's going to be no
charges. The general understanding from the Law Society
going back unless ordinary people like you and me stand
here is that [the charge of] burglary is insupportable.
Certainly, if they proceed with those charges we will fight
up for and demand our rights for climate justice. If you
them, because nothing was taken. There was no self interest
hope to eat food grown off the land, and if you hope to
drink water that comes from our water table, you've got
in our activities there. Nothing was destroyed. So we'll
to start fighting for the health of those things. Because
see how that plays out. But I can't talk too much about
with the fracking and the deep~sea drilling and going into
it, of course ...
Wasn'twhatyouweretryingto doa bitliketheOccupy
movethe Arctic-the search for fossil fuels now is getting more
ment-goodold-fashioned
protestbyvirtueof yourphysical
desperate and therefore more dangerous. Oil spills are
presence?
an inherent part of drilling-look
at the terrible gas leak
Thank you, I like that, I'm going to use that! If we lose
that's going on up in the North Sea at the moment. It's
the right to protest, society will continue to be domi~
becoming much more dangerous to pursue these things.
nated by commercial forces that have zero empathy or
And really, there's no reason to pursue them anymore: We
care for the health of the people or the planet, and,
have the technology for a clean, sustainable, beautiful
apparently, zero concern for any kind of decency or jus~
future. But schmucks like you and me who pay our taxes
tice. Not all businesses are like that, of course-there
are
are going to have to fight for it, because those great big
many ethical people out there. But there is a long history
corporations who pay bugger all taxes are going to screw
of despicable deals being made by many of these great
us to the ground. So put your dukes up, guys, because we
can do this.
big companies.
July/August 2012
I 57
A lot of the angerwe'veseenexpressed
throughthe Arab
Springandthe Occupymovement
is aboutbeingdeceived,
aboutcorruption,
aboutgovernment
gettinginto bedwith
bigbusiness.
We trusted them, didn't we? We thought there'd be a
trickle-down effect. We believed in commerce. But, unfortunately, you can't run a country like a business, because
there is too much of a human matrix. All animals and all
human beings are part of this matrix. We cannot survive if
our dirt is poisoned, if our water table is degraded.
YoucomefromNewZealand,
whichcanactuallyusetheword
"pristine"?
Doyoufeelthattoomanypeoplein otherpartsof
theplanethavegivenupandsoldout?
At the moment, our seas are really terrific-our economic
zone, which extends 200 miles out, has up until now been
pristine. However, our government has been sneakily lobbying, using taxpayers' money, for great big oil companies
to come down and drill two and three kilometers below
the sea, where in the event of a blowout like Deepwater
Horizon no human being could ever get down to fix it. So,
bye-bye, pure green New Zealand. Bye-bye to the New
ss I curve
"We cannot
surviveif our dirt
is poisoned,if
our water table is
degraded."
Zealand premium brand
that we piggyback all
our products on. Goodbye to our fisheries, our
beach life, good-bye to
our whole way of life.
It would just trash our
nation, because we have no regulations. Have you ever
heard of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement?
I havenot.Whatis it?
Basically, that's some crazy agreement where, down the
line, if your government goes and puts in some environmental controls or protection measures, corporations who
came down here, like oil, who have set up operations in
your economic zone, can sue the government for something that amounts to restraint of trade ...
Youcouldbe askedto sacrificeyourenvironment
in order
to producea profitablefinancialquarteron a spreadsheet
somewhere
onanothersideof theworld?
It's bizarre, isn't itr I can't help thinking back to that study
where they tested a thousand students for psychopathic
traits, and by far the greatest number were drawn to commerce, because business rewards self-serving, cold-hearted
behavior. I can't help but think how that study plays out in
the real world, as those people go on to become extremely
successful, because they think about nothing except how
to make the next deal as profitable as possible.
YousaidyouclimbedaboardtheNobleDiscoverer
onbehalfof
yourchildren.
Howdoyoufeelabouttheirplacein theworld?
I feel very strongly that we should not burden our children ...
they deserve a childhood that is as hopeful and ebullient
as what we had, and that ought to be their birthright. It's
our job as grownups to take care of this shit, so that they
don't have to.
You'rea householdnameand part of the Hollywoodstar
culture.Hasthereeverbeena timewhenyourcolleagues
and
advisorsquestioned
yourenvironmental
beliefs?
Oh, all the time. They couldn't believe it when I got a Prius,
and they were getting into their Bentleys and whatever.
That's reality. You can't expect everybody to be like youotherwise you just alienate people. But even though I talk
very seriously with you, I still have a very joyful outlook
about how we're going to go about this.
Yournextfilm projectis withJaneCampion.
What'sit liketo
workwithsucha brilliantfemaledirector?
She's an extraordinary human being. She's really a genius. I
didn't even know what the word meant until I met her.
Sothisprojectis noBitchSlap?
(Laughs] Sometimes you do things to help out your
mates, and then sometimes you do things for the life experience. And that was what this was.Just being around Jane
Campion is such a profound learning experience.
Canyoutell mewhattypeof character
youplay?
I can't tell you too much ... but I wonder if people will recognize me at first. And it's extremely bizarre.
It soundsa longway fromSpartacuson Starz.Wasthat as
muchfunas it appeared?
Yes, even on Spartacus when it's terrible, it's a professional
pleasure. I just lucked out on that one. It was an extraordinary experience.
WhenI saw youplayingLucretia,oppositethe lovelyJaime
Murrayas Gaia,I couldtell that you hadn'tdesertedyour
Xena fans. Why do you keep tormentinglesbians?But
please,don'tstop.
(Laughs] I was just fulfilling the role, really.
Nevertheless,
it seemsyou'llalwayshavethis hugelesbian
following.
I love that. That's fantastic, because they've been such
wonderful fans. The thing about a lesbian following, if I
can generalize here, is that they have a great sense of justice. You see a lot of lesbian women in justice professions,
whether they are social workers, police, lawyers-a lot of
the women that I have come to know have been in those
fields. That makes them really fantastic people to me.
July/August 2012
I 59
d; the
e
olly Algoo
Eila and Hsustainable acreag
Algoods'
8, my partner Holly and I vacationed
ug. 22, 2008, we were living here. Our
s why. Why leave a comfortable life on the
shoreline complete with good friends, fami y, wor , hobbies and activism to move to the unknowns
of l:tI waii? My answer: why not? This move offered us a
le, n canvas to paint our dream life together. The painting
....is loo ing bright, colorful and very much in process.
•
._ __
Holly and I began our relationship in May, 2001. We
were in N.Y.C. on 9 / 11 and lived through a number of trips
to family court where we were told we'd never gain physical
custody of my son, Montana!, because we were lesbians (he
now attends University ofHawai'i). Much has changed since
then, including our last names. We combined our maiden
names of Alff and Goodman to create Algood in 2002.
In 2005, we were married on Salt Spring Island, British
Columbia, Canada. We lived part time on Salt Spring
Island, which is where we became increasingly aware of
eco-friendly living. The people there greatly value the environment. While there, we became committed to incorporating
greener living into our lifestyle. We began by volunteering
on green home tours and attending local workshops on
environmental topics. Holly's initial learning came from her
mother who was a nature lover and fervent recycler. Holly
became increasingly aware of environmental impacts when
she worked with municipal utility companies as an organization effectiveness consultant in the 1990s, during energy
deregulation. My first foray into doing something positive
for the environment was using cloth diapers when Montana
was born in 199 L While living in Connecticut, Holly and
I sold our regular cars for Prius hybrids and began using
eco-friendly building materials when renovating our home.
During our vacation to Hawaii in 2008, I was intuitively
drawn to visit the northernmost town of Hawi (pronounced
Havi) on the Big Island. It was there that we saw a 33-acre
parcel of open ranchland for sale. Driving down the road to
view the land, we saw a wind farm and expansive views of
the green grassy hillside, deep-blue ocean and the island
of Maui!
Once we made the move to Hawaii, in order to create
our green oasis, we did extensive research, attended classes
and workshops, and talked to people to learn as much
as we could about living a greener life. Holly has a green
thumb and is the one who investigates and inquires about
the correct vegetation to plant. She also does mediation
and volunteers for several community organizations. Being
mechanical, I operate our John Deere tractor (quite a shift
from my Brooklyn beginnings), and maintain the batteries
and aquaponics systems. Other passions of mine are writing, music and most recently producing programs for local
public-access TV. We live off-grid, creating our own energy
via sun and wind. We have been planting trees and growing
our own food on what is mostly cattle-grazing land (which
used to be planted entirely with sugar cane). Our chickens
provide us with fresh, organic eggs and our aquaponics
system symbiotically sustains the production of both fish
and organic vegetables. Our goal is to reduce our carbon
footprint and create more energy than we need; create
more food than we can eat, then share it.
In the bamboo barn we've built, we host neighborhood
events such as yoga classes, Ho'oponopono (a form of
Hawaiian mediation), African dance, poetry readings and
community meetings. The barn offers expansive sunset and
sunrise views of the ocean and Maui. It engenders peaceful and inspirational energy. We have planted hundreds of
trees in the hope of changing this open ranchland, where
few things will grow, into a fruit and hardwood forest
that will sustain many types of fruits and vegetables. This
land could eventually feed hundreds of people-rather
than the current 30 cows. We invite people to see what we
have done, (including hosting guests through airbnb.com)
as a way to inspire others. Our objective is to raise awareness about how each of us can make a positive impact on
our world.
There is a lot of positive growth in building a greener
Hawaii. We've seen an increase in the use of bamboo as a
building material. Bamboo Living, a local company, designs
and creates all the components for its bamboo structures,
which are International Building Code-approved. Many
of us shop at Habitat for Humanity's Restore for recycled
building materials. Holly and I are the Hawaii distributors
for American Clay Earth Plaster, a very earth-friendly, allnatural interior wall finish that's wonderful to work with,
looks beautiful, and has many healthful benefits. We've
seen an increase in the green products being sold at home
center stores. Although we still see some contractors exhibit
a lot of resistance to going green, we think the change in
consciousness is inevitable. The more we all become more
conscious of and responsible for our impact on the environment, the more we will want to make wise, environmentally
kind decisions.
We live in a 575-square-foot house, and we're not alone!
More and more, people are realizing that they can live
comfortably in smaller spaces, if they are well designedwith high ceilings and big windows for natural lighting and
good ventilation. Among the most innovative designers
here are a local lesbian couple who build and sell Habitats
Hawaii. Their tiny houses on wheels are easily portable,
solar-ready and set up for a rainwater catchment system.
We are out as a couple everywhere here and have never
felt mistreated by the community, but rather appreciated
and very accepted. We believe that it is important to be
honest with people, in a kind and loving way. During our
time in Connecticut, we were very active politically in working toward marriage equality. As a couple, we often spoke
at high schools and colleges, to educate, inform and invite
conversation. Since moving to Hawaii, we have opted to
teach by example, as a couple who try to live greener every
day in the hopes other lesbians who see us will feel inspired.
(algoodliving.com)
July/August 2012
I 61
Discover the lesbian side of this Mexican beach town.
By Julia Steinecke
are so many other things to do on a romantic
ay to Puerto Vallarta, you may be surprised at
little time you spend on the beach. The coastline
1 beautiful, but so is the patio of El Arra yin (elarrayan.
com.mx), where I start by sampling plantain empanadas
with chipotle and garlic sauce. Lush plants and brightly
colored native Huichol art fill the dining area-and
in
the middle is El Arrayin himself, an aromatic tree that
produces small fruits like the one in my drink. Carmen
Porras, the owner, introduces me to her wife, the co-owner,
Claudia Victoria Rodriguez. They got married in Mexico
62
I curve
City in 2010. "I am the face;' says Carmen, "but she
runs the restaurant:' Their goal is to provide authentic
Mexican cuisine, bringing old family recipes up to date
with local ingredients. I move on to slow-cooked beef
barbacoa, served on a freshly milled corn tortilla, and
topped with cactus salad and cilantro.
Down the street, nine art galleries are full of tourists
participating in the Art Walk (vallartaartwalk.com), which
runs till 10 p.m. on Wednesday nights during the winter
months (October-May). The participating galleries show
contemporary paintings, sculpture and textiles. The city
is full of galleries-across town, in the Zona Roma.mica,
Basilio Badillo has a few, including Patti Gallardo Eclectic
Art and Interior Design (pattigallardo.com). A jewelry
artist named Sonia Ruiz is on duty when I drop in. "Patti
opened a path for women artists in this town;' she says.
On display are pieces by eight artists, and I'm especially
drawn to the paintings of winged women. Sonia explains
that Patti used to exhibit only women artists, but now also
works with men.
A romantic stroll down the newly rebuilt seaside
Malec6n (pedestrian walkway), which lines the west side
of the city, brings more art into view. Public art on the
Malec6n includes La Rotonda del Mar, a circle of fanciful
creatures with mismatched shoes. It has a bench where
two can sit and gaze upon the ocean, leaning against
giant ears.
The whole city center is pleasant for strolling-more
picturesque than the newer resort towns and less trafficchoked than the larger cities. However, visitors may come
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Puerto Vallarta
night life (from top);
Art and music on
the beach; Mary
Mancha at Cafe
San Angel; Anne
Bryant and
Lydia Damato
at Uncommon
Grounds
July/August 2012
I 63
away with a somewhat diminished enthusiasm for Vallarta's
charming cobblestones after an ankle~twisting walk or a
bone~jarring taxi ride.
The main plaza, or zocalo, right off the Malec6n, pro~
vides good people~watching opportunities. Plaza Lazaro
Cardenas, in the Zona Romantica, is best viewed from
A Page in the Sun (facebook.com/apageinthesun), a cafe
that sells books, beverages and light meals. On Saturday
mornings, next to the plaza, the Old Town Farmers Market
(oldtownfm.com) sells local fruit, baked goods, crafts
and more. While you're there, you may run into Sylvie
Scopazzo, a friendly dyke expat who sometimes provides
musical entertainment. Sylvie leads the Ladies Outdoor
Club Adventures and is the power behind Power Walk the
Hidden Streets of Puerto Vallarta (toursdujourmexico.com).
She also gigs around town with her classic rock band, the
Zippers. Fourteen years ago, Sylvie was living in Vancouver
and longing for the sun. A co~worker suggested Vallarta,
which Sylvie had never visited. ''After another bike ride in
the rain, I said, Tm done with this!'" So she sold her pos~
sessions and headed south. "Three days later, I realized that
this was where I wanted to be:' Sylvie worked as a restau~
rant host, timeshare promoter, scuba instructor and hot
air balloon ticket seller. Then she enjoyed a successful stint
running canopy tours, where she met the zip line workers
who are now in her band. Like most expat women here, she
is busy working at all her various enterprises.
Where the girls are in Puerto Vallarta: at work. Diana
DeCoste-nicknamed
the Mayor-runs
a legendary gay
and lesbian day cruise (dianastours.com). Charlotte Semple,
founder of the Old Town Farmers Market, and Carole Fast
make Xocodiva artisan chocolates and sell them at their
cafe, in the Zona Romantica (xocodiva.com). Anne Bryant
and Lydia Damato run the Uncommon Grounds Chill
Out Lounge (uncommon~grounds.com), several blocks
inland near the banks of the Cuale River. A mixed crowd
attends their live music, dances and workshops.
Another mixed nightlife option popular with lesbians is
Apaches, a cocktail bar not far from Plaza Lazaro Cardenas.
The women overflow next door to Cafe San Angel. If you're
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planning a getaway to Puerto Vallarta, check ahead, because
both of these places may have to dose temporarily due to
construction on Olas Altas Street.
As I'm chatting with the owner of San Angel, a woman
comes up to me and says, "Please come and see my place.
I want you to send the lesbians:' She leads me around
the corner to the Metamorfosis Day Spa (metamorfosis~
dayspa.com), a small establishment with cozy treatment
rooms. She introduces herself as Angelica Lopez and
presents the ever~smiling staff, most of whom appear to
be related to her.
From here, a few city beaches are within walking dis~
tance, including the gay beach known as Blue Chairs, at
the south end of Playa de los Muertos. A sign for Blue
Chairs Resort by the Sea (bluechairsresort.com) welcomes
everyone, though the great majority of the beachcombers
are gay men. From there I could go farther afield, to the
hotel zone north of downtown, to the resort beaches far~
ther south, or to the seaside village of Yelapa, with its own
romantic cabanas for women (casarosayelapa.com). So
many beaches, so little time, and so many other things to
do! ( visitpuertovallarta.com)
Locally recommended accommodations
include Casa Andrea (casa-andrea.com)
in the Zona Romantica and Hotel
Emperador (hotelemperadorpv.com), a
mixed place near the gay beach. Garza
Blanca (garzablancaresort.com) is a
high-end resort south of the city with an
infinity pool and a talented chef. Room
technology was not in the best state of
repair during my stay, but the staff tried
hard to fix it. They offer weddings and
they've done two same-sex ceremonies.
GayGuideVallarta.com offers a handy
printable calendar and interactive map.
Whether
spending
yourdayslounging
nextto
a rooftop
hotelpool,strolling
through
thechic
fashion
anddesign
districtorlivingit upatone
of thefamousLGBTnightlifevenuesof
SantaMonicaBoulevard,
WestHollywood
offersunmatched
styleandexcitement.
Bestof all,at just 1.9squaremilesin size,
WestHollywood
hasbeennamed
California's
mostwalkable
city!
www.gogaywesthollywood.com
July/August 2012
I 65
9a:r~9r~:
<;t.Pt
Not your grandma's Florida resort town.
By Gillian Kendall
oment I approach the city limits and pass the
lcome to St. Petersburg sign, an NPR reporter is talk~
i; g about the other St. Petersburg, in Russia. Although
homosexuality has been decriminalized there for the past 20
years, an anti~gay law banning "homosexual propaganda''
has just gone into effect in St. Petersburg, the most
European city in Russia. Consequently, the Canadian
government has issued an advisory, warning openly gay
travellers that they might encounter difficulties or dis~
crimination. Meanwhile, in search of a gay, green good
time, I'm driving into Sunshine City-glad
to be in St.
Pete, and glad to be in America.
This city of a quarter million, north of groovy Gulfport,
west of tolerant Tampa, is an affordable beach destination
with an artsy edge. The green wave of sustainable tourism is
moving through the palmy, balmy suburbs and right into
the bubbling, bayside downtown.
Let's get the nomenclature right: St. Petersburg ( the city,
often called "St. Pete" for short) faces Tampa Bay, while
St. Pete Beach (a separate town, with an officially short~
erred name) is 10 miles away and faces the Gulf of Mexico.
Beaches on the gulf are superior to those on the bay for
66
I curve
swimming, snorkelling and so on, but to get away from
the flocks of snowbirds, it's best to stay in St. Petersburg
(on the bay), which offers casuakhic accommodations,
offbeat eateries and an amazing arts scene.
Two enhancements to St. Petersburg's sustainability
status are the Saturday food and crafts market, and the
motorized trolley that runs every 15 minutes around
downtown. Drivers park free on the outskirts and use the
trolley for errands or sightseeing, and at 50 cents a ride it's
cheaper than gas.
One of Florida's most walkable neighborhoods, down~
town St. Pete stretches from the recently relocated Dali
Museum in the south to the hot~pink Vinoy Hotel in the
north, and in between encompasses a waterfront park and
a bevy of restaurants, cafes, showy shops and galleries.
For a beach town, St. Pete has a very sophisticated arts
scene, with three major museums: the world~class Dali;
the Chihuly Collection, a permanent exhibit of Dale
Chihuly's glasswork; and the Museum of Fine Arts.
On the waterfront are a number of pricey, dress~up
restaurants, but for inexpensive, clean, green fare, head up
Central Avenue (just south of 1st Avenue North) to the
Top: Old world charm at gay owned and operated Dickens House
Bed and Breakfast; A suite stay at the Indigo Hotel
popular Cafe Bohemia, where owner and chef Matt Neal
admits to being "kind of obsessed with ingredients;' or to
vegetarian heaven, Leafy Greens Cafe.
A gay green traveller has many accommodation options,
all of them good. The historic Beach Drive Inn offers breezy
suites, luxurious breakfasts and genuine eco~credentials,
including a certificate for its efforts toward sustainable
tourism. The inn recycles and composts, uses solar lighting,
offers bicycles for guests, and is listed as a green lodging
facility. Furthermore, the prices are amazing, at least to
those of us who are used to California and East Coast
rates-about $225 gets a sweet Jacuzzi suite plus breakfast
for two.
Owner Heather Martino walks the recycling walk: She
takes me to her favorite secondhand boutique, the fabu~
lous Designer Exchange on Central Avenue, where I score
a virgin pair of the Australian~made Blundstone boots
that I could never afford when I lived in Oz. Next door is
an organic day spa (see the sidebar on "Sugaring'').
The most clearly "family~friendly" B&B in the area is
Dickens House. This gay~run historic home has been
impeccably restored by the owner, Ed Caldwell; a che£ a
fine artist and an interior designer, he uses all his talents
to produce beautiful meals and spaces. The living room
has a fireplace, a big front porch offers rocking chairs and
newspapers and the cozy bedrooms and suites prove size
doesn't matter. My third~floor Orange Belt room is tiny
but perfectly formed. Not all his clients are gay. But, he
says, "We get very few Republicans. I think it's all the nat~
ural wood-it's too warm. Republicans want center~hall
Colonials with white paint, all structured and organized:'
The GOP supporter who's visiting at the time I'm there
has been getting an earful at breakfast. Ed Caldwell hasn't
been running his own business for 17 years in order to
preside over a dull dining room. The round table and the
morning papers encourage conversation, and Ed encour~
ages, um, debate.
A few blocks away is La Veranda, a sprawling, airy B&B
decorated in funky turn~of~the~last~century elegance,
with bi~level verandas bigger than your last apartment.
Breakfast (made by the owner, Nancy Mayer) is served
on the downstairs veranda: Enjoy the homemade biscuits,
and be sure to sneak some eggs to Jack, the six~toed kitty.
None of these B&Bs has a pool, but all are within
July/August 2012
I 67
easy reach of the Olympic-size pool at the North Shore
Aquatic Complex on the waterfront. At $5 admission for
adults, and with a play pool and a slide for the kids, it's
green, inexpensive entertainment-the
only drawback is
that you can't skinny dip.
Those travelling with children, or for work, might prefer to stay in downtown St. Petersburg at Hotel Indigo,
one of the boutique (read: small, chic) properties of the
International Hotel Group. With some 75 rooms, a
smallish pool, and free parking, the former hospital now
offers a sophisticated, inexpensive alternative to the big
chains, and one that's in the middle of everyplace you
want to go downtown.
Nothing could be greener or gayer than B. Andrew
Skin Care, a local brand of skin-care products made with
organic ingredients and love by a local couple, Brett
Crandal and Andrew Guilfoil. After a struggle with ill
health, Andrew became wary of anything containing
chemicals and artificial ingredients, and his work to promote his healthy handmade products is paying off: Sales
are spreading rapidly, and after just one treatment my skin
feels oh-so-organic.
St. Petersburg, Fla., may not be the next San Francisco,
or the potential P-Town of the South, but it is like an
up-and-coming Oakland, Calif., or a warm, walkable
Washington, D.C., minus the homophobes. With queerfriendly businesses, warm weather and cultural diversity, it's
enough to make any visitor appreciate gay,green America.
Sugaring is the new waxing, so dip me in honey
and throw me to the lesbians. By Gillian Kendall
hurts like hell:' So spoke my elegant, hairless friend
arie, as she stepped naked into her hot tub. I'd just told
her I was about to get sugared, and she was sharing her
experience, strength and hope in regard to hair removal. 'J\t
least, waxing does. You know that, right?"
"No;' I said. ''I've never even had a leg wax:'
She shuddered delicately, sliding into the warm water. "I
hate hair:' She told me about a friend, someone who regularly bathes in her pool, whose pubic region looks "like an
old gnome, with a beard:'
My own unkempt bits probably struck her the same way.
I wondered if many other lesbians were so negative about
pubes au naturel, and if so, at what point in a new relationship they might bring it up.
At any rate, I was about to get the no-gnome look
' t
68
I curve
myself. I'd been sweeMalked into it by the sweet-faced
women of Inspire Natural Beauty, in St. Petersburg, Fla.,
when I'd gone to them a week earlier in search of crueltyfree makeup.
What I found-in
addition to nice lash-conditioning
brown mascara-was
a green-certified spa owned and
operated by gay-friendly women with luminous skin.
Founder Lea Ann Barlas told me, "It was always hard for
me to reconcile beauty with my concern for the environment, because of the chemicals and waste [in the cosmetics
industry]:' While working in a Santa Fe beauty shop, she
thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to have a makeup shop with
all-natural products?" Now she runs one, stocked with her
own selection of organic, chemical-free products, most of
which are vegan.
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On the day of my sugaring experience, Lea Ann remarks,
"Our entire spa is cruelty-free;' as she leads me to the
treatment room.
"You mean this won't hurtt I ask, hopefully.
"It's animakruelty-free;' she amends. "Come in:'
This is the first place in the area to offer sugaring for hair
removal, and Lea Ann has chosen it over waxing because
the product is natural and biodegradable-and
hurts less.
While wax adheres to the skin, the warm, honeylike sugar
simply sticks to the hair. When the sugar is removed, it
takes the hair off but leaves the skin soft, supple-and,
yes, sweet.
At least five friends, hearing that I was getting sugared,
have asked, "Does that mean they lick it off your" Lea Ann
says the product, which she heats in a slow cooker, is wholly
edible, so I taste a morsel. Not bad: I could imagine licking
the residue of the process off someone I liked.
But no lezzo would put a tongue near a mess of used
sugaring gel. After it has removed the hair from a few small
sections of my leg, the sticky ball of pulled-off goop looks
like dirty fur. Lea Ann uses fresh blobs of gel much more
often than she has to, just for aesthetic reasons.
But the stuff feels warm and soft when it's being applied,
and the short sting when it's pulled off hurts less than
womenfest.com (305) 294-4603
I expected it to. To remove hair, the technician quickly
rolls the blob of sugaring gel up and off, sort of the way
we used to pull Silly Putty off a cartoon. The first pull-off,
on my right shin, ranks on the discomfort scale somewhere
between shaving without shaving cream and plucking out
my eyebrows. Strangely, only the first strip on etch shin or
thigh hurts-subsequent
removals in th same area don't
bother me at all. The irritation is slightly worse at the bikini
line, but nothing I wouldn't undergo e ery month or so to
keep myself, uh, lickable.
Post-sugaring, I find out that I'm bemg treated to a fac1 ,
including a decadent massage. I'm dri i ed in wa/m towels
and breathing in scented, soothing ~· arh. I think, drow~
sily, that I've never been massaged du
a fa ial b
or maybe I have ... there's something v X fa
being so cosseted and well treated ... is
like in the wombr My mind is fuzzy, my sens
sweet, sugary daze.
The only fly in the sugar-ointment is that my hair
back quickly. A week after the process I have' nubs, anq
two weeks later the hair is nearly back to normal, though
it seems a bit more sparse than before. Waxing max last --.
longer, but it hurts more, too: Not being into pain, I'd st"Gk
to sugaring.
July/August 2012
I 69
Offset carbon emissions even as you fly.
By Gillian Kendall
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.her.I'll admi tGir when I'm planning a trip, an airline's
environmental record is not utmost in my deliberations.
My primary ca
rns are price, legroom and convenience
of sche
'.A.gay,friendly culture helps, too: see "How
1endly is Your Airliner" next issue.)
But once I'm strapped in, an airline's green policies
do affect my trip. I once choked on fumes on a Garuda
Indonesia trip to Bali because the flight attendants sprayed
gray plumes of toxic insecticide into all the overhead bins.
That measure was after a long flight from Australia, when
the air quality was already execrable, and the heavy cloud
of toxic fumes made my partner and I sick.
I was grateful on recent British Airways and American
Airlines flights to have my own water bottle filled-and
refilled, and refilled-instead
of using a new plastic con,
tainer every time I wanted a drink. I was also heartened
to hear-while checking out the leg rest, the extra leaning,
back room, and the entertainment facilities in the World
Traveller Plus service of a 777,300-the
pilot promoting
the airlines' recycling measures, which substantially reduce
landfill at many ports.
British Airways' sustainability efforts also include the
One Destination Carbon Fund, which provides sustain,
able energy for housing, wind turbines for schools and
solar panels for community pools.
American Airlines is also lightening its load with new
designs (drink carts have been redesigned for less heft,
though unfortunately it won't be any easier to squeeze
past them in the aisles!) and taking measures to reduce
fuel consumption, for instance using tractors instead of jet
engines to taxi down runways. Between 2005 and 2011,
AA cut fuel consumption by 139 million gallons, saving
$371 million and untold emissions. Also, AA, along with
Finnair and aircraft maker Boeing, is installing"winglets"
on large aircraft: those are the upward,turned tips of the
wings that make it look as if the plane is politely extend,
ing its pinkies. These funny,looking devices reduce the
vortex drag.
The carbon~offset (should be guilt~offset!) programs
are now offered as an option with ticket purchase by
many airlines, including British Airways, Air Canada,
Japan Airlines and QANTAS.
Here's how it works: Passengers can choose to pay a set
price to offset carbon emissions for their share of a flight.
For a round~trip on Air Canada from Toronto to Miami,
for example, that costs about $7.80.
If you'd prefer to invest your travel dollars in a company
that is making green efforts without yourself paying addi~
tional bucks, you might choose your next carrier from the
scorecard at climatecounts.org (currently, Delta, Northwest
and American are high fliers).
For folks travelling on airlines that don't offer offsets, or
for offsetting other kinds of emissions (such as car, train,
even house or event emissions), check out carbonfund.org,
which proffers offset possibilities alongside the heartening
motto "Reduce what you can; offset what you can't:'
Although flying will never be the greenest means of travel,
it's good to know everyone can make small but positive
choices by simply considering the enviroment when selecting
thier airline. Now sit back, relax and enjoy your
fcentaur instin~.tt-tenpotef ~QvEGAS
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July/August 2012
I 71
REVIEWSIn The Stacks
WritingHer Way Home
Author and journalist Meredith Maran mines her lifefor material.By Stephanie Schroeder
Meredith Maran's first memoir, What It's Like
to Live Now (1995), covers a lot of personal ground:
from her childhood in New York City, to her 1960s social and
political activism, to marrying a man, having children and getting
a divorce, to becoming intimately involved with women.
Today, Maran, 60, lives in Oakland, Calif. with her wife, Katrine
Thomas, whom she has been with for 15 years. The two were
married the day before Prop. 8 passed in 2008. Maran has two
sons and a grandson.
What It's Like to Live Now is described in Library Journal as
an attempt"to reconcile her activist ideals of the 1960s and 1970s
with her life today and shows us clearly how her life has been and
is still shaped by them:'
Lesbian and bisexual readers of What It's Like to Live Now
would, Maran says, come with a copy of that book to her other
readings and book tour events. "This happened consistently, the
most memorable occasion being when I was touring for my 2003
nonfiction book Dirty. I was speaking at a theater in Seattle, and
after my talk a woman about my age came up to me with a copy
of every one of my books in a canvas bag-including
the book I
published in 1970, and didn't own a copy of, and hadn't seen since!
She actually gave me her copy. It was moving to me to know that
writing a memoir about raising kids in Oakland as a lesbian mom
evoked such loyalty that readers would follow my career through
several books that had nothing to do with that topic:'
This year, Maran published her 11th book, A Theory of Small
Earthquakes. It's her first novel, and she hopes those same readers
will reacquaint themselves with her through this work. "Writing
A Theory Of Small Earthquakes felt to me like coming home to
721curve
the readers of the memoirs I published in 1995 and 1997;' Maran
says, "and I hope they'll come home to me!"
Well-received in everything from Reader's Digest and Ladies'
Home Journal to People magazine, A Theory Of Small Earthquakes
is, according to Maran, a family story spanning two decades, and
is set against the social, political and geological upheavals of the
Bay Area. Eager to escape her damaging past and chart her own
future, Alison Rose is drawn to Zoe, a free-spirited artist who
offers emotional stability and a love outside the norm. After
they've had many happy years together, the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake deepens fissures in the two women's relationship, and
Alison leaves Zoe for a new, "normal" life with a man. Alison's son
is the outcome of both of these complicated relationships, and
the three parents strive to create a life together that will test the
boundaries of love and family in changing times.
''A decade ago, a friend told me a true story about such a
nontraditional family, whose existence required so much daily
forgiveness on the part of all involved. I thought, 'If only I were
a novelist, that would make a great plot; " Maran recalls. ''As I
watched the story unfold in real time, in my friend's real life, the
itch to write it finally overcame my fear of attempting a novel. After
a lifetime of writing only nonfiction, that fear was epic-and, as it
turned out, well-founded:'
A Theory of Small Earthquakes "took two years to write, five
years to rewrite, and many gnawed fingernails to sell to a publisher.
And it's been the most thrilling writing experience of my life;'
says Maran.
The book was not an easy sell. "My agent shopped the first version of the novel in 2006, and about 15 editors, all of them female,
said they loved the book but didn't love the lead character, Alison,
because she wasn't 'likable; 'sympathetic; 'relatable' -all euphemisms for 'nice: I suspect that Alison's active bisexuality was a
factor they didn't want to mention as well;' says Maran. "It was
crushing to hear this, especially since I'd written a story for More,
years before, about male protagonists who were assholes, when
female protagonists were not, and are not allowed to be much
more interesting than 'nice:"
The book finally landed with the indie house Soft Skull Press,
a publisher Maran says, "was determined to position it ... as a love
story-not
a gay love story, or a bi love story, or a 'normal' love
story, just a love story.
"My hope is for the largest possible number of people, including people who don't agree with me, to read my book. I want my
book to be an enjoyable as well as a thought-provoking read. It's
not a Great Work of Literature, but it's the kind of book I like
to read, with compelling characters and a twisty plot and a deep
examination of what it means to love. So when one reviewer called
it a 'beach read; I took that as high praise!"
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Another reviewer said the novel "hits every possible stereotype
on the subjects of feminism, liberalism and lesbianism:'
Maran, being "an incurable and impractical optimist;' took that
to mean that the book" 'hits stereotypes by rendering them as the
ridiculous, and also sometimes true, generalizations they are. I
assume my readers are smart enough to know the difference between
poking fun at stereotypes and perpetuating them;' she says. Elated
to have published her first (but not last) work of fiction, Maran says,
"I stopped writing memoirs at the request of my family:'
Having had "several long~term relationships with dudes before
marrying my husband in 1974;' Maran also had "several long~term
crushes on chicks, none of which was consummated until I finally
got up the nerve to cross Sexuality Street. I'm sort of amazed when
I compare my coming~out process in the early 1980s to the process
of bi and lesbian girls coming out these days. I'm aware of the
importance of keeping our oral herstory alive, reminding our young
'uns of how we collectively got where we are now. That's one reason
I wrote the novel-to bring life to the past, and help younger people,
LGBT and het, to understand what a huge factor sexual orientation
was as recently as 20 years ago:' (meredithmaran.com)
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Radicaltakesonfeminismanderoticism.ByRachelPepper
WhenWeWereOutlaws:
A
Memoirof LoveandRevolution,
JeanneCordova
{Spinsters
Ink}:
Whatwasit liketo livethrough
the 1970sasa radicallesbian
feminist?You'llget nobetter
answerthanfromJeanne
Cordova's
recentmemoir,When
WeWereOutlaws.Cordova
portraysthe '?Osasanexciting
time,whenlesbianswere
just beginning
to organize,
to
findtheirvoice-in music,in
politics,in the media-and to
findoneanother.It wasa time
of big ideasandevenbigger
ideals,and WhenWeWere
Outlawscharacterizes
those
yearsas passionately
political,
anti-establishment,
andsexually
liberating.
Whethershewas
runningTheLesbianTide,a
pioneering
lesbiannewspaper,
interviewing
politicalprisoners
suchas EmilyHarris(ofthe
Symbionese
Liberation
Army),
or grapplingwith sexismwithin
the earlyLGBTmovement
(culminating
in a notorious
strikeat L.A.'s GayCommunity
Center),
Cordova
wasalwaysa
leaderonthescene.Shewas
the L.A.chapterpresidentof the
Daughters
of Bilitis,1970-71,
andan organizerof the groundbreakingNationalLesbian
Conference
at UCLAin 1973.
Thatshewasalsoan attractive
butchanda heartbreaker
only
addsto hermystique.
Whilethe
bulkof the bookseemslikea
carefullyconstructed
recollectionof heractivism,many
readerswill enjoyhearingabout
whoshewasdatingevenmore
thanhowshewaschanging
the politicallandscape.
Afterall,
it is hardworkbeinga player
anda lesbianrevolutionary.
For
example,Cordova
remembers
a momentwhena loverasked
for moretimewith her,andshe
suggested
thewomanjoin her
newspaper
collectiveinstead.
Affronted,
the womanquipped,
"That'sanoutrageously
bad
idea,Jeanne... WhywouldI
wantto join a groupof your
presentandex-lovers!"
Perplexed,
Cordova
ponders
whythis is an issue,andwrites,
"SincefeminismI'd always
livednon-monogamously,
havingtwo,sometimethree,
loverssimultaneously.
That's
howfeministsweresupposed
to liveoutsideof patriarchal
colonization.
Weweren't
supposed
to be livingbehind
whitepicketfences.Wewere
radicals.Wewereengagedin
politicalrevolution."
Although
timeshavechanged,Cordova
hasstayedactive,contributing
to manyanthologies;
publishingseveralbooks,aswell as
the Community
YellowPages;
co-founding
LEX,the Lesbian
Exploratorium
Project;and
organizing
andchairingthe
2010ButchVoicesconference.
Cordova
continuesto setthe
standardfor whatourleaders
of anyagecanbe:energetic,
visionaryandpassionate
about
the LGBTcommunity.
CurvyGirls:Eroticafor Women,
editedby RachelKramer
Bussel{SealPress}:Women
with curvesgettheirduein
this anthology,
whichamply
celebrates
full-figuredfemale
sexuality.KramerBusselis the
editorof 30 anthologies,
and
hereshegathersstoriesfrom
well-seasoned
eroticawriters
suchas SommerMarsden,
EvanMoraandIsabelleGray.
Whilemostof the piecesin
this collectionareheterosexual
in nature,thereareseveral
lesbianofferings,including
"Recognition"
by SalomeWilde
andTalonRihai,aboutanairport
tryst betweentwofull-figured
gals,and"At Last"byJessica
Lennox,whichcelebrates
a
friendshipthat'scaughtfire.
Lesbianandbisexualreaders
will enjoythe restof the pieces
too,whichrangefromkinky
one-nightstandsin places
as unlikelyas recordshops
andrestaurantkitchensto
relationships
of a moreongoing
nature.Still,nomatterwhat
the setting,this is a bookthat
revelsin the empowerment
of
sexywomen,regardless
of their
sizeor shape,andno matter
whatconflictingmessages
the mainstream
mediatriesto
directtheirway.Notaledoes
it betterthanthe lastone,
"HappyEnding,"by Donna
GeorgeStorey,whichexplores
a woman'scomingto terms
with her"blockbuster
butt."
Asshebeginsto tell hermale
fiance"TheStoryof MyAss,"
shewrites,"I knowit's almost
impossible
to believea sweetfaced,flat-chestedgirl would
havesucha big,bouncyass,"
anass,shesays,that sheused
to hate,buteventually
decided
notto: "Because
onceI stopped
hatingmyass,I discovered
something
veryinteresting.
In
spiteof all thosemodelswith
flat little bumsin the magazines,realmenout in the real
worldcouldn'tkeeptheireyes
awayfrommyasset...And
I'm notgoingto giveupthat
hard-wonpleasureever-for
you,or anyoneelse.I will never
beashamedof myassagain."
A joyfulmessage
to allthecurvy,
big-bottomed
womenoutthere
and,of course,their
July/August 2012
I 73
REVIEWSSapphic Screen
GirlsOn Film
At 30, Outfest is more than just a queer film festival. By Laurie K. Schenden
Outfest turns 30 this year, an age that's
considered way too old for fairy tales,
but from its humble beginnings in 1982,
screening three films over a single weekend, to showing more than 200 films from
around the world over 10 days in 2012, the
festival itself is a happily-ever-after storyin which the girl always gets the girl (or the
boy gets the boy).
"One of the things we're really proud of;'
says Kirsten Schaffer, the executive director
of Outfest, "is that we have grown from
being just a film festival:' Indeed, there's
much more than flicks and popcorn at this
Los Angeles LGBT event. Outfest runs a
prestigious screenwriting lab, two film festivals (Outfest and Fusion, the people of
color festival), and a program called Access
LA, which pairs young filmmakers with
industry pros.
"Through its annual festival, work in
film preservation, and education programs,
Outfest has provided unparalleled support
to queer filmmakers. I'm proud to be an
Outfest alum and a mentor;' says filmmaker
Nisha Ganatra, who's a volunteer mentor
m the Access LA program. Her feature
film, the lesbian romance, ChutneyPopcorn,
won the 1999 Outfest Audience Award for
Outstanding Narrative Feature.
But with all the gay characters on TV
and film, are LGBT festivals still vitalr"My
answer is a resounding yes!" says Ganatra.
"While technology has made our work
more accessible than ever before, nothing
can duplicate the experience of watching
this work together, as a community:'
Schaffer agrees. Over the years, some
of the highlights in lesbian film have been
screened at Outfest's wildly popular opening nights. "Outfest Opening Nights have
been the most memorable because the audiences were so excited to see Show Me Love,
D.E.B.S.,and Puccinifor Beginners,as well as
Achievement Award-winners Jane Lynch,
Donna Deitch and Christine Vachon:'
"Outfest has been an amazing resource
and platform for me;' says Angela Robinson,
the writer and director of the lesbian spy
comedy D.E.B.S.Robinson went on to direct
the Disney big-budget Herbie:FullyLoaded,
starring Lindsay Lohan. Most recently, she
became the co-executive producer of HBO's
TrueBlood."Myfirst short film ever, Chickula:
TeenageVampire,was shown at Outfest a
zillion years ago. And I had the best screening of my life there;' she adds, "the opening
night screening of D.E.B.S. [the short was
an Audience Award winner in 2003]. It was
a perfect screening-everybody in the audience got all the jokes, there was an amazing
feeling of fun and community, plus Nina
Jacobson [who ran Disney at the time] was
in the audience:'
"Ten years ago I had a couple short films
screened at Outfest, and now my last two
feature films have played there as well;' says
Wendy Jo Carlton, the director of Jamie
and Jessie Are Not Together, an Outfest
favorite in 2011. "I really love the breakfast panel series, which is an inspiring and
recharging highlight every year, and I have
to add that Outfest parties are consistently
awesome because you never know who you
might meet, whether it's an Oscar-winning
producer or your next lover:'
In honor of the 30th anniversary, a special film series called Downtown 30 presents
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LGBT films each month at the Downtown
Independent.Also, Outfest's Legacy Project
is restoring Different From the Others, a gay
film from Germany made in 1919. The
Legacy Project, started seven years ago in
partnership with UCLA, is dedicated to
saving and protecting LGBT films.
"I don't believe I would have a career
in film and television had it not been for
Outfest screening my first short film, Dear
Emily, over a decade ago;' says Katherine
Brooks, a director of The Osbournes and
The Real World. Brooks has also made
one of the most successful lesbian films in
recent memory, Loving Annabelle, which
won the Audience Award at Outfest in
2006; in addition, Diane Gaidry won the
Best Actress Award for her role in the
film. "They have always been supportive of
my films and allowed me to network with
industry people that have helped connect
me in my business:'
Outfest has always been known for
mixing up its lineups, presenting big~name
films such as Making Love with Harry
Hamlin and Kate Jackson in its first year;
hosting Ed Burns, who introduced The
Groomsmen starring John Leguizamo to
Outfest audiences, and showing indie and
experimental films such as Cheryl Dunye's
The Owls, which screened last year.
"Like many filmmakers, I love to have
my projects screened in the cinema capi~
tal of the world, Hollywood;' says Dunye,
whose groundbreaking films Watermelon
Woman (1996) and Stranger Inside (2001)
won Outfest Audience Awards. ''I've served
as a board member, worked as a program~
mer, lead workshops and most importantly
entertained queer moviegoers with my sto~
rytelling;' says Dunye."Thank you for giving
me the opportunity to grow. You are why I
do what I do, and I look forward to continu~
ing to do it again and again:'
Actor~filmmaker Dreya Weber has had
two films win the Grand Jury Prize at
Outfest, The Gymnast and A Marine Story.
"Outfest has always been a great target to
aim for, it's so big and so well organized and
so supportive of filmmakers;' says Weber.
"In a world where you don't know what
support is going to be possible, particularly
for social~themed movies or movies that are
a little bit more on the periphery, it's an
incredibly supportive home and network:'
Nicole Conn, writer~director of A Perfect
Ending, Elena Undone and Claire of the
Moon, has a 20~year history with Outfest.
"Outfest is really a wonderful source for
LGBT artists. They have always been sup~
portive in the community and given a home
to my work. I am forever grateful for their
constant dedication to filmmakers and the
creation of art:'
"Outfest is a time of celebrating the stories
and experiences of our LG BT culture and
Outfest 2012 Sneak Peek
Mosquitay Mari Studious,
sweetnatured,15-year-old
Yolanda
meetsthe
feistyandgorgeousMari.Premiering
at
the 2012Sundance
FilmFestival,
this is
the featurefilm debutof writer-director
AuroraGuerrero,
whoseshortshave
screenedat OutfestandFusion,the
multicultural,
gender-inclusive
festival
in L.A..
KissMe is a vibrantfilm thatfollowsone
woman'sjourneyof self-discovery
in the
picturesque
countryside
of Sweden.
My BestDayA callcomesfromKaren's
long-lostfather,settingin motiona chain
of eventsthatwill changeonesmall
townforever.Meanwhile,
herco-worker
Meganmustdecidebetweenherlongtime
girlfriendandthethrillof a newlove.
AudreLonie:TheBerlinYears
includesnever-before-seen
archival
footagerevealing
the privatelifeand
passions
of theaward-winning,
influential
womanwhoignitedtheAfro-German
movement.
Cloudburst
OscarwinnersOlympia
Dukakis(Moonstruck,
SteelMagnolias)
andBrendaFricker(MyLeftFoo~shine
asa randylesbiancouplewhotakeoff on
a roadtrip to get marriedin Canada.
The 30th Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival will be held July 12-22.
July/August 2012
I 75
REVIEWSSapphic Screen
existence;' says Cathy DeBuono (We Have to Stop Now, And
Then Came Lola)."It provides a huge contribution to the expan~
sion of all consciousness, which in any form is absolutely vital,
not only to our culture but to humanity as a whole. It's also a
damn good time!"
The fact that Outfest is held in the film capital of the world
means that filmmakers are getting industry access that few other
festivals can offer. Outfest's industry networking system has
enabled Wolfe to meet with many, many new filmmakers, says
Kathy Wolfe, founder of Wolfe Video, the largest distributor of
LGBT films in North America. "In this way, Outfest's Access LA
initiative to introduce filmmakers to distributors and other indus~
try professionals is unique. It enables filmmakers to expand their
careers and helps their films reach even wider audiences. Over this
past 30 years, Outfest has had an enormous impact on the LGBT
film landscape. We're so grateful for all that they do, and proud
to have our films and filmmakers showcased in such an extraor~
dinary festival:'
JD Disalvatore ( Gay Propaganda,Eating Out 2, Shelter)has had
a long association with Outfest, both as a filmmaker and behind
the scenes. "Over the 10 days it happens, you can pretty much
run into everyone you've ever known in this city that is gay;' she
says. "Plus, the movies can move, entertain and often inspire. We're
in an election cycle, and every day in the news you can hear ... some~
thing negative about homosexuals and our rights. I'd like more and
more LGBT filmmakers to get really successful, so they can create
positive LGBT images in major television shows and movies:•
After 30 years, one of the biggest changes to come about for
Outfest is its recent partnership with New York's NewFest. 'i\ll
nonprofits have been affected by the economy in the last few
years;' says Schaffer. "Many of us are looking for collaborations
and partnerships, to do our work more effectively:'
Even though it's easier to see LGBT content than ever before,
"We can't depend on the TV and movie studios;' says Schaffer.
"One year it will be great, another year nothing happens. But you
76
I curve
know every year at Outfest there's going to be a big selection. We
bring stories from around the world that represent a very diverse
perspective. Whether it's the first gay film from Tanzania, or a
film made in the South in the U.S., they're often showing us
fictional or nonfictional stories that you aren't seeing anywhere
else:• (outfest.org)
"We bring storiesfrom around
the world that representa
diverseperspective.Whether it's
the first gay film from Tanzania,
or a film made in the South in
the U.S., they're storiesthat you
aren't seeing anywhereelse."
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Tech Girl REVIEWS
Don'tTossThat Phone
How to save the planet by recycling your outmoded gadgets. By Adam L. Brinklow
It's hardly news that technology moves forward quickly, but what
should we tech savvy,first adopters do about our growing collection
of obsolete gadgets while still being kind to the planet?
Every year, companies dazzle consumers with newer, sleeker
and even more versatile versions of their best~selling gadgetsMotorola's Droid X2 was released less than 13 months after the
Droid X, and Apple released its iPad 2 only a year after the original.
This whirlwind pace comes with a hidden price tag, as the EPA
estimates that North Americans discard 125 million phones
each year, making a total of 65,000 tons of landfill. A 2009 EPA
survey showed almost 30 million computers were discarded that
year. Altogether, discarded electronics added up to 2.37 million
short tons, and the pace has not abated.
Virtually all of that waste goes straight into landfills, where
metals and chemicals from the devices will have decades to fer~
ment into a toxic cocktail. It was generations ago that consumers
learned how to responsibly manage the waste they produced after
each trip to the grocery store, but society is just beginning to pay
attention to the emerging problem of e~waste.
Fortunately, as e~waste is becomes more prominent, so too is
e~cycling. "The majority of people have at least one old cell phone
in a drawer;' says Esmeralda Rodriguez, product manager at
NextWorth, one of many new startups taking aim at the problem
of e~waste. "There are all these products that, if they were back in
the market, someone could have bought that instead of buying a
new one, but because it's in the drawer it just ends up in a landfill:'
Companies like Next Worth divert old electronics to new buyers
and help consumers find the best trade~in deals so that fewer
gadgets end up in the trash. If everyone who used their phone or
iPod for two years before getting a new one traded it instead of
throwing it away, Rodriguez explains, that two~year lifespan could
easily become a four~year lifespan, meaning half as much waste.
Even electronics with no trade~in value to
anyone shouldn't simply be dumped.
Though the EPA reports that less
than 30 percent of all discarded
electronics are recycled, a lot
of major retailers now offer
electronics recycling. Most
municipal recycling centers
can point in the direction of
a certified electronics recy~
cler even if they themselves
don't accept the devices.
So, how do you make sure
you're being a responsible post~
consumer? Rodriguez offers a few
helpful few tips:
0 Don'tjust let old gadgetscollectdust.Look around your
home for any old gadgets that aren't being used and check e~cycling
sites to see if they have any value.
8 Takegoodcareof yourdevicesandassumetheywill have
at leastoneotherowner.Dents and scratches don't seem like a
big deal, but the better shape your gadget is in the more likely it
will end up in someone else's pocket rather than a garbage can.
@ Beforejumpingon the hottestnewgadget,researchif it's
reallyworthreplacingyouroldone.Often, even a heavily mar~
keted upgrade will only feature minor improvements and might
be aimed at those who didn't buy the previous device rather than
those who did.
8
Whenyoudo makea new purchase,
alwayscheckto see
if youcan trade in yourold device.Not only does this reduce
waste, it usually reduces your bill as well.
0 Whenyoudecideto tradein somethingoldfor something
new,do it quickly.Dated devices are always the most valuable
in the first month or two after the next generation
market.
enters the
0 Shoparoundfor yourbeste-cyclingoptions.Consider both
online and physical retail outlets and see who offers the best deal.
@ Neverjustthrowsomething
away.Check with local recycling
centers about proper facilities for recycling unwanted electronics,
or check online.
0
Don'tjust restrictyour e-cyclinghabitsto phonesand
computers.Even little things like headphones and
phone chargers can find new life on the second~
hand market, or at least should be properly
recycled.
0
Aswithanygreenissue,awareness
isthenumberonepriority.
As soon as
you've traded or recycled your unused
electronics, make sure friends and fam~
ily members think to do the same.
® Veryfewelectronics
shouldever
be disposed
of in thetrash.Consider
this an absolute last resort. Even a few
more months in the drawer is preferable.
( nextworth.com)
July/August2012 I 77
REVIEWSFood
GlobalGourmet
Cat Cora is dishing up a new look for reality lV
By Georgia Krokus
Bravo's Around the World in 80 Plates follows 12 chefs as they travel
the globe testing their culinary skills and international street
smarts-think
Top Chef meets The Amazing Race. Who better
to host the series, along with Aussie chef Curtis Stone, than out
lesbian Iron Chef Cat Cora, a Greek~ American with a healthy and
innovative approach to ethnic cuisine. Cora took time out from
her busy schedule to talk travel, kitchen equality and balancing
work with motherhood.
Whatwasyourfavoritedestination
in theseries?
I'm in love with the Thai people and the Thai food and Thailand,
although Morocco was pretty amazing as well. That was pretty
fun with the belly dancers and the Moroccan food being passed
around.
YouandyourwifeJenniferhavefourboys.Howdidyoubalancethe
show'sschedule
withyourfamilylife?
This is a really great opportunity and we decided together that
intimidating industry ... women weren't very welcome for years. I was
it was worth taking it on for us, for our future. And we just kind
of came together and made that decision together. That was the just on the cusp of where women were a little bit allowed to come
longest I think I've ever been away from home. And so it was and do apprenticeships. I had eight rejection letters from eight
three~star Michelin chefs before I got two acceptance letters to do
really tough. We worked on trying to Skype as much as possible
and made it work. You just do the best you can.
apprenticeships. So that just shows you-it wasn't that long ago
Thesixfemaleandsixmalecontestants
arenota truereflection
of
where women were not really accepted into some of those kitchens.
theactualgenderratioin therestaurant
industry.
Is realityTValterSo I think that we've made a lot of progress. Reality television and
ingthesexismin theindustry?
these competitions are helping to get women inspired to take that
The great thing about what reality TV is doing is it's giving women
leap: Yes, you can get into the kitchen and be an executive chef. You
the open door. It's giving them that inspiration to go for it and to don't have to be a pastry chef, although that's a great profession as
really join the industry, which is fantastic because we do need a well. But there are other options. Women are starting to find their
lot more women in the industry. So in that way, it's also showing
power and to do that. (bravotv.com)
a different style of chef than we're used to seeing. I think a lot of
people's idea of women chefs for a long time has just been more
geared towards pastry, more geared towards baking. And we are
TIPS FOREXPLORING
NEW
HEALTHIEST
ETHNICCUISINE
seeing now that no, women can be chefs. Women can be executive
FLAVORS
WHILE
TRAVELING:
WHEN
NOT
TRAVELING:
chefs and they can be tough and strong and powerful in the
I alwaystalk to the locals,
Growingup as a Greek
kitchen. So this has been great for the movement of more women
whether
it's
someone
who's
American
I think the
into the culinary industry.
Mediterranean
diet is oneof
Mosthomecooksarewomen.Wheredoestheinitialculinarygender drivingyou,or someonewho's
a guide.Thehotelconciergeis
the healthiest,with the fresh
imbalance
comefrom?
my lastchoicein a lot of foreign produce-nuts, vegetables,
If you go back in time, a lot of the three~star Michelin chefs
countriesjust becausetheytend fruits,freshfish, leanmeats,
were all taught by their mothers. I mean, they were running the
to sendtouriststo touristdestiyogurt,lotsof reallygreat
restaurants. And then the restaurants all got handed over to their
nations.Talkingto peopleon the
oliveoils,artichokes,olives,a
sons and the sons turned them into bigger business and a brand
streetis reallywhereI go first. If
lot of sunfoodslike tomatoes,
and the whole thing. And I think that's really when men took
youkeepseeingsomethingover eggplants,citrus,that are
over restaurants and really began to make them a true business
andover,somethingpopping
veryhealthy.Citrusis
with Michelin stars and to monetize it. That is really where that
upthat seemslike it's typical
definitelymy go-to,to really
started and it just continued. And so of course there were fewer
localfood,that's somethingyou
makethoseflavors,makethat
shouldprobablytry.
foodcomealive.
women because it was such a male~dominated industry. It was an
78
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July/August
2012
I 79
STARS
Summer Sizzles
Get ready for romance thanks to Venus and Mars
in flirtatious air signs. By Charlene Lichtenstein
Cancer(June22-July 23)
If you happen to hear some scuttlebutt about
yourself, act surprised. But the fact is that you are
well~aware of all the nice things that others are say~
ing about you. In fact you may have planted a few
of these hon mots yourself. Plan some get~togethers
and generate even more juicy gossip.
Cancer(June22-July 23)
LesbianCrabstend to be girlie
girls who neverreally liked to
roll in the mud,climb trees or
build forts. Shewas probably
teacher'spet,which never
earnedher popularitypoints
and almostguaranteeda
periodicthrashingfrom jealous
Ariesgirls. However,clever
Crabdykeseventuallywised
up and recruitedthe robust
Ariesas her personalprotector.
A fool she is not!
Leo(July24-Aug.23)
I wouldn't be surprisedif
youngLionessesdreamtof
beinggreatactorsor rock
'n' roll stars with adorning
teenybopperfans. Morethan
likely,she spenthoursupon
hoursposingand performing
in front of the mirror and
imaginingthe swelling,
cheeringcrowdsof hot babes.
Madonna,a Leo,wore her
spandexbetterthan mostand
MaeWest,anotherLeo,would
haveworn spandexwell had it
beeninventedat the time.
Leo(July24-Aug.23)
Girlfriends have a lot to say. Are you prepared to
listen? Some of their advice and suggestions will
actually be worthwhile, if you give it half a chance.
And it could spark new ideas and opinions. Be
sure to include a gal pal or two in any venture this
summer. They not only have your best interests at
heart, but they can also guide you to success.
Aquarius(Jan.21-Feb.19)
Aqueerians are grrls who want to have fun. Not only
will you find yourself on the top of every party list,
you will also toss a few A~List events yoursel£ You
also have a creative spark that ignites great ideas and
personal masterpieces. Eat, drink and be very merry
through the summer.
Virgo(Aug.24-Sept.23)
You can do no wrong at work and they seem to love
everything you do and say. What a nice change of
pace! Surf the corporate tide for as long as you can
and profit from every happy wave. You will go far.
Schmooze the top executives as you continue to
plan for your next big move.
Pisces(Feb.20-March 20)
While the summer usually means a far afield adven~
ture, you may find a bevy of beautiful things to do
closer to home this summer. Why travel when you
can have it home delivered, Guppie? In fact, there
may be many interesting projects to attend to around
the house.
Libra(Sept.24-0ct. 23)
Libras may fall in lust with an exotic stranger or two
this summer. Your taste for the unusual will lead
you into many far afield adventures. But you have to
get out of your safety zone to get the full, fabulous
effect. Reach out and prepare yourself for one new
exciting thing after another.
Aries(March21-April 20)
Just ask and you shall receive. Speak the words of
love and you may find many fine ladies lining up
to spend time with you. But as tempting as this all
might be, don't engage in idle clit chat unless you are
serious. Are you ready to commit to just one lover~
grrl? The summer steams along and new amours du
jour pop up every day.
Scorpio(Oct.24-Nov.22)
Scorpios are passionate, jealous and intense and
that goes triple for you this summer. You are irresist~
ible and sexy and can use your sensuality to lure a
helpless flygirl into your web. But be sure that your
intentions are pure, good, generous and not evil or
selfish. Otherwise you may only wind up with an
assortment of ladies with sharp stingers.
Sagittarius(Nov.23-Dec.22)
Feeling the need to connect on a meaningful level
Charlene
Lichtenstein
is
this
summer? You are given every chance to do so.
theauthorof HerScopes:
For
those
Amazon Archers who are in a relation~
A GuidetoAstrology
ship,
ramp
up the heat. For those on the prowl, get
for Lesbians
(Simon&
out of your comfort zone and try to find a few new
Schuster)
(tinyurl.com/HerScopes).
Nowavailableasan ebook.
hot spots to score with some new hotties.
so I curve
Capricorn(Dec.23-Jan. 20)
Exercise is on your personal agenda this summer,
Capricorn. And if it isn't, it should be. You benefit
from concentrating on your health and wellbeing to
process and reduce stress. Not only will you find
that you are more at peace and nicer to be with,
you will also look fabulous with both an inner and
outer glow.
Taurus(April21-May 21)
Love is "wilde" and reckless and so are you. With
so many activities on your agenda, you can be a
Sapphic bull in a china shop, creating excitement,
causing havoc and running up a damages bill. Make
time this summer to relax and luxuriate in your
passions but also make time to focus on the details
of the job at hand.
Gemini(May22-June 21)
You are a heavenly being, around which all lesser
planets revolve this summer. How does it feel to be 2
the center of adoring attention? Your name comes
up on the top of everyone's guest list. Enjoy every
last festive event.
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The Green Issue
SAPPHIC
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STYLE TIPS
CREATE THE
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PRINCESS TO
ECO-WARRIOR
HOW OUR FAVORITE
LESBIAN ICON TOOK
ON BIG OIL TO SAVE
THE ARCTIC
REEN
CRAVING THE ULTIMATE
RAVEL
ACKAGE?
FUN. COURTESY OF
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W\SC~NSIN
-.COM-
Features JULY/AUGUST
2012
54
30
32
48
60
Warrior Princess to Eco-Warrior
Sword-wielding lesbian icon Lucy Lawless is
out to save the planet from evil corporations
and we couldn't be more thrilled by her latest
passion. By Merryn Johns
Bisexual Visibility
Why affirming bisexuality is vital to our
community's well-being. By Emily Oievendorf
Brandi Carlile Goes Home
The sapphic songstress gets back to her
roots with a new album. By Kim Hoffman
London Town Chic
Watch out, America! Punk is back with this
British street style invasion. By Stella & Lucy
Holly and Eila Go Green in Hawaii
This lesbian couple went off the grid and
committed to sustainable living. By Eila Algood
MusicSpecial
Our annual celebration of the legends and
fresh faces in lesbian and women's music.
36
38
40
42
44
page page page
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32
42
78
46
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Madison Violet
The Canadian duo make award-winning
music together. By Jess McAvoy
Celesbian Playlist
Create the ultimate summer mix tape with
your favorite celebs. By Janelle Sorenson
Larger Than Life
Storm Large is a survivor and singer with
a unique message. By Kristin Flickinger
Joan As Police Woman
The multitalented musican heads to
Michfest. By Jess McAvoy
Listen Up
These artists should be on your radar.
By Dave Steinfeld and Jillian Eugenios
Rachael Sage Returns
The haunting songstress has produced an
unforgettable new album. By Jess McAvoy
SAPPIIK
sou1101
page
48
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page36
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page54
July/August 2012
I1
Departments
JULY/AUGUST
2012
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IN EVERY ISSUE
4
8
Editor's Letter
9
Contributors
10
17
18
20
27
80
11
22
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23
Letters
This Is What a Lesbian Looks Like
26
Out in Front
Lesbofile
Lipstick & Dipstick
28
Scene
Stars
Curvatures
Love the planet with gloriously
green accessories and apparel;
and meet the lesbian taste-makers
of the digital age.
Health Advice
Learn how you can relieveanxiety
and increase well-being with the help
of your iPod.
72
74
Laugh Track
Queer Queen of Qomedy,
Poppy Champlin, hits the road
alongside a few of her funniest friends.
The Two of Us
Our monthly profile of lesbian couples
who live, love and work together.
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For the sake of our future holding our
politicians to their promises starts now.
By Victoria A. Brownworth
-
.
-
.
Books: Author and journalist Meredith
Maran mines her unique life for material.
Film: Outfest Film Festival celebrates
30 years of queer cinema.
77
Tech: How to be a conscientious consumer
78
Food: Lesbian Iron Chef Cat Cora is dishing
by recycling your outmoded gadgets.
up a new look for reality 1V on Bravo's Around
the World in 80 Plates.
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Domestic partners have unique investment planning needs and challenges. You've worked hard to
create a life and build wealth together, now you want to make sure your treasured nest egg will always
be there for each other. We understand what you are facing - and we want to be a part of your success.
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Advisor'M and ADPA'M are service marks of the College for Financial Planning"!
EDITOR'S
NOTE
A
SAN EDITOR
IN LGBTpublishing, it's been part of my
job to monitor lesbian culture for the past 15 years.
Nowhere has the growth spurt in queer expression
been as significant as in music. Once upon a time, out queer
female musicians were hard to find. Now, there are too many
to mention in our Music Issue without leaving some out.
What we need, going forward, is to build the LGBT music
industry to be an equivalent platform in the music industry.
That's why OUTmusic-The
LGBT Academy of Recording
Arts is so important. This vital organization recognizes the
LGBT music industry trailblazers who make it easier each
year for the next generation of aspiring
LGBT artists to follow in their footsteps.
The Academy's mission is also to show that
our LGBT music industry is viable, that our
music market has spending power, and that
our entertainers can stand equally with the
best in the mainstream. But we can't achieve
this without support from LGBT musicians
themselves-and
from patrons of the arts
like you. As Diedra Meredith, chairwoman
of OUTmusic-The
LGBT Academy of
Recording Arts, told me, "This is your equiv~
alent music award show like the Grammys.
This is your night to shine:'
This year, 0 UT music is asking lesbian
musicians and their fans to support the
Academy by joining and participating in the
OUTmusic 1,000 Strong Campaign to raise
awareness and funds. The campaign aims
to enroll more than 1,000 out and proud
recording artists and patrons of the arts to join
and support OUTmusic. You can become a member starting
at $100, and your membership comes with benefits that will
reward the investment many times over. If you're a lesbian
musician and would like to submit your work for consideration
at the 8th Annual OUT music Awards, you must activate your
membership by July 31.
Under new leadership by Meredith (aka Deepa Soul), the
OUT music Awards has grown to be the most celebrated night
in LGBT music and entertainment, with 2,000~plus in atten~
dance. The Academy will host the 8th Annual OUTmusic
Awards in Las Vegas, Dec. 14-16, so save the date (curve
is the official women's media sponsor and will host a special
women's event). Log on to outmusicawards.com and get your
membership. You could win an opportunity to perform at the
Awards and an opportunity to win a luxury VIP package for
you and three friends-your
turn to party like a rock star!
Play
Like a
Girl
~~,_.
Merryn
Editor-i
merryn@curvemag.com
41curve
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
JULY/AUGUST
2012
LESBIAN
MAGAZINE
I VOLUME 22 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 Victoria A. Brownworth, Gina Daggett,
Sheryl Kay, Stephanie Schroeder, Constance Parten
Copy Editor Katherine Wright
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WRITERS
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0, Jill Goldstein, Lisa Gunther, Melany Joy Beck, Kristin Flickinger,
Gillian Kendall, Charlene Lichtenstein, Karen Loftus, Sassafras
Lowrey, Ariel Messman-Rucker, Constance Parten, Laurie K.
Schenden, Stephanie Schroeder, Lori Selke, Kristin Smith, Janelle
Sorenson, Allison Steinberg, Dave Steinfeld, Edie Stull, Yana
Tallon-Hicks, Tina Vasquez, Jocelyn Voo
CONTRIBUTING
ILLUSTRATORS
& PHOTOGRAPHERS
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Syd London, Cheryl Mazak, Maggie Parker, Constance Parten,
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The Client List
Outspoken, queer, feminist sex worker Kitty
Stryker shares her unapologetic views on
patriarchy, privilege and giving voice to other
women in her field.
Isle of Klezbos
Meet the all-female klezmer-style band
that's putting a new spin on the traditional
Jewish musical genre.
A Rose by Another Name
Shakespeare gets a new spin courtesy
of Women's Will, a troupe setting out to
queer your perspective on the bard with
its all female cast.
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Dorian Faust and company make room
for queer women of color in the world of
burlesque with their artistic take on the
titillating stage performance.
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FLEA&TICK
FOOD
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ore registered trademarks of Boyer. Frontline is a registered trademark of Meriol.
K12778
LETTERS
I feel like I do and I couldn't be happier for
these lovely ladies and excellent role models.
Your beautiful article made my day. Keep up
the great work.
-C. Raymond, Oakland, Calif.
From Curve's
Facebook Wall
Vay!I waswonderingif therewere
goingto be morethan2 seasons.This
answeredthat for me.:-D-Kim Staley
Family Circle
I read your article "Sudden~Onset Parenting"
(Vol. 22#3] and it applied directly to me.
But after eight years my partner and I broke
up. It's a whole new ball game since the
breakup, especially when your son has no
memory of life without you and his birth
mother has a new partner who he doesn't
care for. Luckily, he and I have weathered the
challenges but it has been tough. There is a
whole other side to the instamom situation.
I was hoping to read about this side of it and
any others going through what I am.
-Heather Ladish, Portland, Ore.
Curve Kudos
Thanks for the intelligent and well~written
article "Stud Seduction" (Vol. 22#5]. I really
enjoyed the insight into a subculture involv~
ing women of color. I look forward to more
articles of this quality!
-Jennifer Wales, Boston, Mass.
I was thrilled to read the story about Nikki
and Jill expecting a baby ("Baby Makes 3;'
Vol. 22#5]. Even though I don't know them,
It depends,
is shecute
36% and
funny?
cares,what
32% Who
doessheread?
Noway,I'll burnherCDs
24% and
showhertheway
8% Definitely,it'sa sign
Accordingto a curvemag.com
poll
I loveWhitin a dress... andheels... damn
-Talia Halperin
CoriandKacyarestill the HOTTEST
oneson the show(sorry,ladies)!
-June Albergo
Cannotwait for it to returnI miss
Whitney,Romi,CoriandKacy.I am glad
that SajdahandClaireare not backI
didn'tthink theywereall that great.I am
alsogladtheyaredoingbi-coastalthis
year.-Jeni AllisonZiegler
Glad to be Gay
I am 38 years young (smile). I am a woman
that loves women. Yes! Yes! Yes! Anyway, I
read one of your magazines for the first time
and the only thing I could say is: Wow! I really
enjoyed all that was said.
-LaShawn Scott, Bruceton Mills, WV.
howclassy-Diana MarieDenza
I amcountingdownthe days!
-Samantha Gail
I haven'tgottenminein the mailyet...
want it NOW!!!
... lol ;) -Sarah Gray
Sapphic Suggestions
Thanks for creating such a great magazine!
I'm a reader from Taiwan. May I offer a sug~
gestion: an interview with Zoie Palmer or
Anna Silk from Lost Girl. Thanks again for
what you're doing for the world.
-Alice, Taiwan
You're dating a new girl
and her taste in music is
terrible. Deal breaker?
Whitneyhason a dress?!Damn!
-Donetta McCray
My partner and I subscribe to your maga~
zine and love it. I learn so much. I have
found great music, restaurants, movies and
books through the magazine. I recently
came upon a great new author who does
lesbian fiction. She goes by the name R.E.
Bradshaw but her real name is Vicki W.
Thomas. She lives in Oklahoma with her
wife of 24 years. Her books are so much fun.
Some are great thrillers, some are mysteries,
.tJ Like
some are just good old fashion lesbian love
stories. It would be great to read an article
about her life.
-Anne Lemeris, South Windsor, Conn.
Editor'sNote:Thanks for the tips!
The Radisson Edwardian Hotel
Correction:
referred to on p.70 of the June (Vol. 22#5]
issue was the Radisson Blu Edwardian, Mercer
Street, not the Radisson Blu Edwardian
Hampshire in Leicester Square, as illustrated.
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CONTRIBUTORS
Stella and Lucy-the
dynamic duo behind this
month's rock 'n' roll,inspired fashion spread on page
48-are passionate women with a unique way of
combining styling and writing to create their Lez is
More brand. Lucy (right) is a fashion lecturer at the
London College of Fashion and Stella is an author and
published poet. You won't find a quirkier, more fun,
loving and driven pair. Featured regularly in Diva,
the U.K:s lesbian magazine, Stella and Lucy support
the diversity in their community and have become
productive role models and lesbians to watch out for.
Follow them on Twitter@LEZ_ISMORE.
(.)
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EmilyDievendorfis director of policy for Equality
Michigan, where she moves issues of priority to
the Michigan LGBTA community to the forefront
of public policy. Prior to joining Equality Michigan,
Emily worked as a legislative staffer to two state repre,
sentatives in the Michigan House of Representatives.
She graduated from James Madison College at
Michigan State University with a degree in social
relations and has long been active in social justice
regarding issues including LGBT equality, race rela,
tions and equality, women's rights and HIV/ AIDS.
She currently serves on the Ingham County Women's
Commission and the Lansing Area AIDS Network
Board of Directors. Read her piece on the prevalence
of bisexual invisibility on page 30.
Editorial assistant KimHoffmanis a writer and art,
ist who, in her spare time, is working on the next
great American screenplay for lesbian TV. Trotting
between Seattle, Florida and LA., she is always on
deck for new adventures. She has contributed to
the Vancouver, B.C. music blog, MV Remix and in
2009, self,published her first novel, Sun Block. She is
a full,time believer in the aesthetic of John Hughes
'80s films. Hoffman tackles the wild world of lesbian
T umblrs on page 1 L
LaurieSchendenis a writer, filmmaker and armchair
athlete living in Southern California. A graduate
of Michigan State University, she's been a feature
writer for the Los Angeles Times, co,creator of the
Laughing Matters film series, and a writer and story
consultant on the award,winning documentary
Christa McAuli.ffe: Reach for the Stars. She is cur,
rently producing two documentaries, Unstoppable:
Icons of the 20th Century, and a documentary on the
40th anniversary of Title IX. She interviews lesbian
auteurs about this year's landmark Outfest Film
Festival on page 74.
Stella and
Lucy support
the diversity
in their
community
and have
become
productive
role models
and lesbians
to watch
out for.
July/August 2012
I9
CURVATURES
San Francisco-based soulful spinner,
DJ Carmin Wong, talks about her musical
muses, being out to the crowd and setting
the mood for her newest album.
This Is What a
Lesbian Looks Like
t) ONHERINSPIRATION:
We would have to go
way back to when Darude was around
spinning the track "Sandstorm," which got
me into trance when I was a kid. Music is my
soul and my therapy. I'm passionate about
what I do. Being a DJ is part of sharing
myself and my music with the masses.
t} ONMEETINGHERMATCH:I was at the Playboy
Mansion with my date on Halloween. I saw
DJ Ella and ditched my date and we started
to flirt. We talked and then realized we're
both DJs and love the same music. Next
thing you know, we're playing at events
and making music together ever since.
t) ONBEINGAN OUTDJ:Coming out is quite
an issue for some in more serious careers
and I can respect that. But I don't think
that my performance in my career should
be judged based on my sexual orientation.
t) ONHERUPCOMING
ALBUM:I have been in
the studio almost every night composing
my songs. All the songs are self-written
and I'm currently in the studio with my
producers to get this album out in time! I
came up with the album title when I was
sharing the tracks with my best friends,
and I realized I wanted my worldwide
album to be called Cooling, like the effect
the ocean gives-music that is not only
relaxing, but has a moving and motivating
effect on the listener. I'm excited to launch
my album, hopefully before the end of
this year to be shared with the world one
moment at a time. (carminwong.com)
[Rosanna
RiosSpicer]
10
I curve
Tumblr for You
When the blogging platform Tumblr was created, back in 2007, it
encouraged people to scrapbook who they are and what they love
and introduced the notion that everyone could brand themselves as
tastemakers. But for some bloggers, those who wanted to go viral for
more altruistic reasons, T umblr presented the opportunity to send a
gay~positive message to the masses.
When T umblrs with lesbian themes began to crop up, the women
behind the Tumblr monikers Suicide Blonde and Bohemea began
posting lesbian~related art and photos, as well as opinions on
fashion, film, television, music and politics, then came to assume a
vital role in the community-giving sage advice to readers, mostly
girls and women, who needed to know that they are not alone.
The pair started their Tumblrs in 2008. Partners in life-they met
on Livejournal circa 2001-they initially used the Tumblr~sphere to
showcase their photo collections, as "a way to hone our aesthetic:'
Today, their message is clear: "We want to show the people who look
at our biogs, especially the gay and lesbian kids who are finding them~
selves, that the gay gaze' is unique-we appreciate beauty, struggle
and history because we are always aware of the people around us:'
Suicide Blonde and Bohemea recently took their celebration of
the "gay gaze" a step further and created Pussy le Queer, a naughty~
picture~only Tumblr. "Running an NSFW blog that's completely
devoid of male bodies, and with the mind~frame of accepting all
different kinds of definitions of sexy, has been more successful
than we could have imagined;' says Bohemea. But they will always
take time to reach out to the lesbian and bisexual women who
look to them for validation. She adds, "Women who are in that
tender stage of just coming out are drawn to us because they see
we are both women who share many of their same interests and
are enthusiastically appreciative of women. It assures them that
their emotions are natural and right:'
Jenna Rosenthal, the creator of Dyke, has a similar perspective:
"The main purpose of my blog is to give lesbians around the world
a safe place to go to enjoy photos and have a blog they can relate to.
I've gotten messages from people who live in small towns, feel alone
and have no sense of community. Seeing photos and reading stories
about others like them brings them happiness, and that makes me
feel like what I'm doing matters;' she says.
While all the women who've created these biogs appreciate the
safe space that T umblr creates online, they hope the messages and
images they champion will have real~world impact as well.
Katherine Fleming and Tiana Hampton, the co~creators of Fuck
Yeah Dykes, started compiling photos of queer and androgynous
women almost three years ago. "We love the diversity that we see
in our submission box every day and hope that these images are of
people our followers can identify with and be inspired by. Plus, who
doesn't want to see all those beautiful queers?" FYD has become so
well~known as an eye~candy archive of famous and self~identified
dykes that Fleming and Hampton now run their own online shop.
Tumblr-esbians: Dannielle
Owens-Reid (left) and
Jenna Rosenthal
Dannielle Owens~Reid became the talk ofTumblr Town for her
brainchild, Lesbians Who Look Like Justin Bieber, which takes
photo submissions from lesbians who, spoiler alert, look like The
Biebs. "I started it as a gigglyjoke, and I had no idea people would be
so excited about it;' says Owens~Reid. But much of that excitement
turned to controversy. "Right after I started LWLLJB, I got a bunch
of negative comments. Some girls said I was stereotyping the lesbian
community, making lesbians look bad;' she continues.
After she and her online counterpart, Kristin Russo, began to
respond to readers, they recognized that some of those issues would
be better served in an advice blog. The two created EveryonelsGay.
com, where they try to find the answers to readers' questions through
their own life experience, and deliver their pronouncements with
comic relic£ Their fresh, candid approach is what has made EIG go
viral. It has recently become a nonprofit organization, and Owens~
Reid and Russo now tour schools around the nation, educating
young adults about the LGBT community. Owens~Reid finds it
hard to believe that such important and rewarding work could have
come from simply responding to a few negative comments: "Basically,
LWLL JB changed my life:'
Many of these Tumblrs have changed the lives of the people who
read them, too, especially the young girls everywhere looking for
validation, reassurance and somewhere they can keep tabs on the
T umblr~esbians taking control of our culture. [KimHoffman]
TUMBLRS TO FOLLOW:
suicideblonde.tumblr.com
bohemea.tumblr.com
liquorinthefront.tumblr.com
everyoneisgay.com
fuckyeahdykes.tumblr.com
lesbianswholooklikejustinbieber.
tumblr.com •···························\
July/August 2012111
CURVATURES
Gloriously
Green Goodies
Love the planet with eco-friendly apparel,
accessories and homewares. By Rachel Shatto
0
1. NotOnYourWatch
It's time to take careof the planet,so it's only
fitting that yourwatchis as greenas it can
be.Youcan't go wrongwith a Sproutsince
"simplyput,our missionis to makethe most
eco-friendlywatchwe possiblycan."Their
wonderfullyquirky,andbiodegradable
cork,
cornresinandmotherof pearltimepiece
embodieseco-chic.($65,sproutwatches.com)
2. LightUpYourLife
Madeof 100percentall-naturalsoy,these
handcrafted
candlesilluminateanddeodorize
yourhome,burning40 percentlongerthan
paraffinwax.Youcanalsousethefragrant
meltedwaxasa soothingskinmoisturizer
for
sunburnsandirritationscausedby poisonoak
or eczema.($25,thesoico.com)
3. SalvageSparkler
Hand-crafted
from recycledglassthis pseudo
sparklermakesfor the perfecteye-catching
terrarium,noveltyknickknackor a cutecountertopcatchall. ($60,megamyers.etsy.com)
4. Foliage-Friendly
Footwear
Lovethe planetfromyourtoesupwith Etnies'
environmentally
friendlyCapriceEcoshoes.
Madefromhempandrecycledrubberthese
kickstakeit onestepfurtherbygivingback:
Foreverypairof shoessold,Etnieswill planta
treein Brazil'sAtlanticRainforest
in SaoPaulo.
($50,etnies.com)
N MOISTURIZER
UMBER
I2751
:irnpm,y-Jl:lldard;olirir{l,a,
~flRIIWl"""WfCCllbi.,y,
0
C,
0
12
I curve
5. FairTradeFashion
Youdon'thaveto sacrificestylein the name
of yourenvironmentally
consciousmorals
with dressesfromMataTraders.
Thisfair
trade-onlyclothingcompanyonlyfeatures
originaldesignshandmade
in IndiaandNepal
bywomen'scooperatives
with safeconditions
andlivingwages.($73,modcloth.com)
9. Feedthe Planet
Thepurchaseof FEEDProject'sNature
Bag,madefrom environmentallyfriendly
and artisan-createdmaterials,will provide
25 mealsin areasdevastatedby disasters
throughthe UNWorldFoodProgramme.
That'swhat we call a happymeal.
($50,feedprojects.com)
6. A GlassAct
Plasticwaterbottlesareso lastcentury,plus
they'rebadfor the environment
andfor you.
Forbettertaste,durabilityandenvironmentally
soundagua,choosethe PURE
GlassBottle
asyourportableandreusablevessel.Patent
pending"SafeShell"
technologyis usedto
applya clearprotectivecoatingto prevent
breakages
to the 100percentrecyclableand
BPA-free
glass.($20,pureglassbottle.com)
1O.ReclaimedRock
Forgetdiamondsand pearlsand adorn
yourselfin reclaimedwood.Ourpick is
CrabbyGrafter'sbig bold baublemade
from salvagedwalnut and maple.
($38,crabbycrafter.etsy.com)
7. OnCloud9
Handmade
fromstainlesssteel,sterlingsilver,
concreteand75 percentpost-consumer
recycledglass,this cloudnecklacehasa silver
lining,literally.($90,drcraze.etsy.com)
8. Re-CycledMemories
Createdbya groupof Oregonartisansfrom
salvagedbikechainsthis unique,edgyand
eco-conscious
framegivesa wholenew
meaningto theword"recycle."($32andup,
uncommongoods.com)
0
11. DoGoodDecanter
Canyouguesswhatthis winedecanter
with openicechamberwasin its pastlife?
Thegreenhueis a hint.If youguessedthat
it's madefromrecycledwindshieldsyou're
right-and scary-goodat this guessinggame.
($58,uncommongoods.com)
12. PurePleasure
TheFiFirabbit-stylevibefromGoodVibrations'
Ecoroticlinehitseveryspotof eco-desirability.
Featuringeco-smartmagneticinduction
charging,this waterproofwonderis stylish,
strong,andmadewith body-safe,
supersoft
siliconemoldedto followthe naturalcurvesof
yourbody.($139,goodvibes.com)
13. LushLocavore
Pamperyourplanetandyourcomplexion
with a spasetfromWildRoseHerbs,which
sourcesall its materialsfromtheirorganically
growngardensandextensivelocalnetworkof
earth-conscious
distributors.
Theset includes
MeadowBathSalts,IntensiveCareHealing
Salve,TotalAttunementDetoxFaceMaskand
Moisturizer.
($37,wildroseherbs.etsy.com)
CURVATURES
the rundown
BritishColumbia
Supreme Court Justice LorylRussell
has ordered an
anonymous lesbian couple who split in 2006 to divide the remaining 13
sperm samples they had in storage. While together, the couple used the
sperm to each become pregnant. The former couple ended up in court
in 2009 when one of them wanted to have another child biologically
related to her first child, with her new partner. The ex refused and
requested the sperm be destroyed. Russell's decision is groundbreaking
has included a
in that it classifies the sperm as property ... JCPenney
lesbian couple in their May catalogue. The "freedom of expression''
advertisement reads "you'll often find Wendi, her partner, Maggie, and
daughters elbow deep in paint, clay or mosaics:' The conservative group
One Million Moms who previously protested the department store's
have issued a call to action
hiring of spokesperson EllenDeGeneres
asking supporters to confront local store managers about the inclusion
of lesbians ... DavidJ. Sims,a board member from the OhioRiverValley
Council
chapter of the BoyScouts
ofAmerica,
has resigned in protest over
Tyrrellwho had led her son's Tiger Cub pack until
the removal of Jennifer
it became known that she is a
lesbian. Sims, whose two sons
now in college were involved
in boy scouts was quoted as
saying, "Ms. Tyrrell's removal
goes against my fundamental
beliefs of how we should
treat our fellow human beings
No matter how you define
yourself, one thing we can all
agree on is how marriage should
be defined: as "a Human Right."
($18, proud threads)
and is, in my opinion, wholly
discriminatory. I understand
that the Boy Scouts of America is free to run its organization as it sees
fit, however, I can not formally be a part of it based upon this policy:'
Tyrell says that scouting officials have refused to meet with her ... The
NewZealandBroadcasting
Standards
Authority
has ruled that despite
Street,a popular British show,
complaints over a lesbian kiss on Coronation
did not violate any broadcasting standards because "the mere fact that
the kiss was between two women does not make it less acceptable:: ..
President
Obamavoiced his support for
same-sex
marriage
in an exclusive interview
with ABC News' Robin Roberts. Obama,
who had previously said his views on gay
marriage were "evolving;' made his personal
support known a matter of days after Vice
President Joe Biden lent his support, and one
day after gay marriage was voted down in
Lowrey]
North Carolina. [Sassafras
14
I curve
WearYourMusic.org's
rocktastic
jewelrylinehitsa high
notebygivingback,withtheirOriginal
Artist'sGuitarStringBracelets.
Thesebracelets
are handcrafted
fromrecycledfinesilverandguitar
strings,usedanddonatedbycelebritymusicians-the
profitsof whichgoto the charityof the artist'schoice.
So,notonlyaretheyedgyandhot,they'vegotheart.
Somenotablecelesbians
withbeneficent
blingonsale
are:JoanJett(PETA),
AniDifranco(Southern
Center
for HumanRights),BrandiCarlile(TheLooking
Out
Foundation,
TheU.S.Charitable
GiftTrust),and
JoanBaez(Resource
Centerfor Nonviolence).
($100andup,wearyourmusic.org)
[RachelShatto]
OUTINFRONT
Changing
the System
Two women transforming the
future in law and medicine.
By Sheryl Kay
Legal Eagle
When she was only an eighth,grader, Lisa
Linsky made one of the most important
decisions of her life. ''A friend approached me.
His legal guardian was being investigated by
Child Protective Services and he sought my
counsel. I was 14 years old. I never knew why
he chose me to help him, but I still remember
sorting through this problem with him. I
went home to my parents and declared, 'I
am going to be a lawyer; " Linsky says, "and
I never strayed from the course, and it never
occurred to me to do anything else as a career.
Although my parents thought I would get
married, have kids, and settle down close to
home in Philadelphia, I moved to New York
and became the white,collar professional my
parents thought I would marry. I started out
in a prosecutor's office because I wanted to
get into a courtroom and try cases:'
She began her professional life investigating
and prosecuting cases involving family,related
homicides, sex crimes, crimes against chil,
dren and the elderly, and domestic violence.
"It was Law and Order material, and we were
on the cutting edge of prosecuting these cases.
I learned to advocate for those who could
not do so for themselves:' From there, she
moved into private practice and today serves
as a trial attorney and partner at McDermott
Will & Emery, where she also founded
and chairs the firm's LGBT Diversity and
Inclusion Committee. On her watch, the
firm has been recognized by the Human
Rights Campaign (HRC), earning a perfect
score on the Corporate Equality Index every
:.'.
year since 2006.
:l
Linsky's advocacy for the LGBT commu,
0
nity extends well beyond her law firm. She
is an officer on the national board of direc,
:.,: tors for Lambda Legal, and she created the
i
doctors do not recognize the importance
of creating a safe environment for sexual,
minority women and are even more unaware
of the specific health needs of lesbians. One
solution, she says, is to require accredited
medical schools not only to cover health
disparities in the LGBT community, but
to assess their graduates in cultural compe,
tency with lesbian, bisexual and transgender
patients.
Over the years, Knittel has certainly done
her part in this effort. As a community
service project, she has created a resource
guide for health care professionals who
want to provide primary care to transgender
patients. The guide is now featured on the
websites of the American Medical Student
Association, the American Academy of
Family Physicians, and the Gay and Lesbian
Medical Association.
She has also lent her talents to the medi,
cal community worldwide-from
assisting
with pre, and post,HIV,test
counseling in
Honduras, to conducting HIV data research
Medical Mediator
in South Africa.
Some people dream of becoming a medical
And while all this keeps her busy pretty
doctor-others
want a Ph.D. AndreaKnittel, much 24/7, she is also an avid recruiter,
at the age of 29, is going for both, having
promoting careers in medicine and research
just finished her third year in the Medical
for women, and makes herself available to
Scientist Training Program at the University
prospective students-in
particular, lesbians,
of Michigan Medical School and School of
bisexuals and queers-via email, phone and
Public Health.
even in person. To that end, she always advises
"I love thinking about how gender, culture
young people to network.
"Lean on the community. You have to,
and sexuality shape the decisions people
make and their access to health care-and
to achieve your dreams;' she says. "Don't be
I've always been passionate about addressing
afraid to reach out to people who have the
inequalities in health care;' she says.
jobs you want, who are living the lives you'd
One of the greatest challenges facing lesbi,
like, and who are a few steps ahead of you,
ans today, says Knittel, is equal access to the
because they are the ones who can help you
prevention and treatment of disease. Many
find the resources you need:'
blog Out and About: LGBT Legal for the
Huffington Post. In addition, she's done pro
bono work on behalf of LGBT asylum,
seekers who have fled their home countries
due to persecution, and she has collaborated
with the Trevor Project.
"These projects touch on the social issues
of our time;' notes Linsky. "They involve real
people with real problems, people who need
legal assistance and cannot afford it, and
working on such compelling matters with
these remarkable organizations helps to
transform our world:'
Regarding the international lesbian com,
munity, she says, "I am concerned that women
across the world are being tortured and raped
because of their sexual orientation. We cannot
look away. We are in a unique position to
effect change. We all need to jump in and
work to stop injustice and violence, locally
and globally. The time has come to focus our
energies on how best to come together, if we
are to continue to evolve and flourish:'
July/August 2012
I 17
LESBOFILE
Label Dance All our fave celesbians are changing, denying and claiming
labels this month. By Jocelyn Voo
who has recently come out as trans. Singer
and guitarist Tom Gabel, who formed the
band in 1997 and has been dealing pri~
vately with gender dysphoria for years, told
Rolling Stone that he had decided to begin
transitioning with the help of hormones
and electrolysis treatments. Gabel, who will
take the name of Laura Jane Grace, will not
only continue to front the band, but will also
remain married to his wife Heather, who
has been "super~amazing and understand~
ing;' according to Gabel. His first album as
a woman will be a nod to the journey, tided
Transgender Dysphoria Blues. 'Tm going
to have embarrassing moments, and that
won't be fun;' Gabel said. "But that's part
of what talking to you is about-is hoping
people will understand, and hoping they'll
be fairly
Rock 'n' Roll Romance
It's wedding bells for BethDitto!The Gossip
frontwoman and her girlfriend of two years,
Kristen Ogata, are planning to make honest
women out of each other next summer in
Hawaii, Ogata's home state.
The twosome met on the job: Ogata
worked as Ditto's assistant while Ditto was
in a long~term relationship with Freddie
Fagula, but despite Ditto's admitted aflinity
for Ogata, the pair didn't get together until
Ditto's relationship deteriorated.
"I dated Freddie for nine years, and I was
always worried it was going to end;' Ditto
told the London Evening Standard of her
previous relationship, which ended in 2010.
"With Kristen I never worry about it ending,
I just feel completely full and whole:'
Hear What You Want to Hear
Ladies, it's time to get your panties out of a
bunch: no, QueenLatifahdid not just come
out of the closet. Despite Latifah announc~
ing that she's to headline Long Beach Pride
(and the gay blogosphere subsequently
exploding), there was no confirmation of
the actor's personal revelations from either
her or Pride announcements.
Chalk this up to us hearing what we
want to hear.
18
I curve
Jessie J Comes Out as Lesbian?
Or at least that's what her unauthorized
biography says. Author Chloe Govan claims
the pop singer is "100 percent gay;' and
that the singer only portrayed herself as
bisexual due to pressures from her record
company, who thought swinging both ways
was "trendy, exotic and a fashion statement"
to entice fans.
Jessie J's reaction: 'Tm really a les~
bianr! Ha! Thanks for writing yet
another boring untrue story;' she
tweeted.
The truth from the horse's
mouth: ''I've never denied
[being bisexual];' she told
the Daily Mail last year. "If
I meet someone and I like
them, I don't care if they're
a boy or a girl:'
This is what we call
a "fashion statement" that
never goes out of style.
Front(wo)man
Punk rock band Against
Me! is getting a new
frontwoman-in the form
of its current frontman
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She Said
Julj!August
2012
I 19
Clean Up Your Side of the Street
When your relationship's ailing, do what you can do. By Lipstick and Dipstick
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I've been with my girlfriend for two years now.
She's my first serious girlfriend. When we met, she wanted me every night.
She was a sexual person and couldn't look at me without touching me or
telling me how hot I was. I couldn't keep my hands off her either, and the sex
was so intense and good for a long time. Now she rejects me. I still want the
same relationship with her. I want romance and compliments and sex. She
wants it once a week, and it's awkward, because of all the times she rejects
me during the week due to tiredness, drunkenness or stress. She won't go
to therapy with me either. She insists she still wants me, but I'm just not
satisfied with this sex life. When we do have sex, it's pretty good, and I forget
all about the fact that I want a different kind of relationship for a few days. Am
I unrealistic? This has been going on for the last year and I don't feel good
about myself anymore. Is this her problem or mine?-Can't
Keep My Hands
Off Her in Kansas
Lipstick:Pull up a little stool, Kansas,
because recess is over. We are known for
tucking our jewels in a drawer after a few
years. We do, however, bring them out,
dust them off, and enjoy their beauty from
time to time, the frequency of which, I'm
convinced, is tied to the health of that
relationship.
Dipstick:Kansas, you didn't have to tell
me this was your first real relationshipotherwise, you would know that although
sex can be good and fulfilling in a long~
term relationship, it is never as fiery or as
frequent as it is in the beginning. Frankly,
I'd be more worried about your girlfriend's
drunkenness than the lack of sex.
Lipstick:There is a way, Kansas, to pull
yourself out of this sexless abyss and create
a deeper connection with your partner,
but it involves the participation of both
parties, and I think the real issue here is
the fact that she refuses to go to therapy
with you. This is a nail in the coffin of
many relationships. Why won't she go with
your Is she stubborn? Is it her ego? Anyone
who says she won't go to therapy needs a
20
I curve
serious awakening. We're here to open up
and grow, people. We're here to learn and
love one another.
Dipstick:Lipstick, I think you and Kansas
might both be overreacting a bit. Sex once
a week seems pretty good for the average
American couple. Regardless, sex really
isn't the issue here, is it? It's about being
present and learning to cope with stress in
healthy ways that work for your relation~
ship. Like Lip said, it's going to take two of
you to fix it.
Lipstick:Try to approach her again about
therapy. Frame it the way we have, that you
both need to show up. If your overworked,
boozehound girlfriend still refuses, I urge
you to still go see someone anyway,
because-as
my own therapist likes to
say-it's important to clean your side of
the street. You never know. You might just
find that once you start cleaning, you'll
sweep her right out the door.
DearLipstickandDipstick:
I'm an outfemme
lesbian,the mommyof two youngkids,and
a graduatestudentin medicine.
Ontopof an
alreadyhecticlife,for a yearanda half I've
beendatinganotherprofessional
femmelesbianwho'sfourhoursawayfromme.I have
twoyearsto gobeforeI finishgradschool,
and
I canstayhereor I canmovewithmychildren
to Sandy'shouseandfinishschoolin Buffalo,
N.Y.For unfortunatereasons,Sandycannot
moveto be with us.Herhouseis paidfor,and
Lipstick & Dipstick
ADVICE
If your overworked, boozehound girlfriend refuses to
go to therapy, I urge you to
still go see someone anyway,
because it's important to
clean your side of the street.
saying directly: She doesn't know if you're
worth the trouble of moving, and you don't
make her laugh. She's actually said those
harsh things to you. What's more, you're
the only one willing to compromise, and
your desperation for support and love has
given you the equivalent of beer goggles.
My advice to you is to stay put and give
yourself another year before making this
decision. Do it for yourself. Do it for your
kids. If there's anything worse than the
thought of uprooting them and moving,
it's the thought of doing all that and then
getting dumped once you get there!
a:
w
a:
if
w
c3
(!}
<(
the Stateof Pennsylvania
doesn'trecognize start oversomewhere
else.Sheis the most
hermaster'sdegree,soshecan'tteachhere. beautiful
womanI haveeverlaideyeson,and
I havelotsof decisions
onmyshoulders,
and the passionbetweenus is intense.I've been
muchtojuggle.Shewantsmeto moveinwith raisingmykidsonmyownforyearsnow,with
her,but I'd haveto uprootmy children,
take hardlyany help.I'm tired.I want someone
themawayfromtheirgrandparents,
sell my to loveme andhelpme.It's so hardto meet
large house,and moveinto her smallone. someone!
I'm cute,smartanda greatcatch,
Justthinkingaboutpackingmakesme sick. yetI'vebeenaloneforfiveyearsbecause
I'm
withthetiniestgay
I do loveSandydearly;however,
I'm notsure in the middleof nowhere,
if we arerightforeachother.ShesaysI don't community.
I tryto makeherhappyandcommakeherlaugh,andwe'vebeenarguinga lot promise,
butshedoesn'tcompromise
for me.
lately.I askedher,if I movedin with herfor Whatdoyouthink?-Princess
Buttercup
a few years,wouldshebewillingto relocate
to somewhere
newfor all of uswhenI finish Dipstick:
It's crazy, isn't it, Lipstick, how the
gradschool.
I'd liketo moveintoa biggergay smartest, best-educated women can make
community,
somychildren
wouldfit in andI'd the stupidest relationship decisions:'
havemoreopportunities
to makea six-figure
salary.Heranswerwasthatshedidn'tknowif Lipstick:
True, Dip. Fellow Femme, you've
it wasworthit,forthesakeofourrelationship, got to read between the lines here. On
to giveupherjobandherinherited
home,and second thought, just listen to what she's
Dipstick:
Lipstick is right, Buttercup.Trust
your gut on this one-it's not just the packing that's turning your stomach. It's Sandy's
excuses. Getting a teaching credential in
another state and renting out her little
house is not as hard as moving two kids,
selling a home, and starting a new graduate
program. She wants you to do all the work.
You're looking for a life partner, someone
to help with the children. Sandy is not that
girl. Finish your degree in your small town.
In two years, move to Boston, where there
are tons of other single lesbians moms also
earning six figures. Buffalo winters are too
harsh
Tune in to curvemag.com/
lipstickanddipstick
to watchThe
Lipstick& DipstickShow.Or
write to tv@lipstickdipstick.com.
July/August 2012121
ADVICE Health
Your Playlist Can Change Your Life
Learn how music can supply
motivation, relieveanxiety and increasewell-being. By Emelina Minero
could put you in a great
mood while you're on
your way to work, but
irritate you when you're
waking up. Pay attention
to when and how a song
affects you.
Ingrainsongsinto your
memory.When you find
a song that is perfect for
a given situation, like a
song that motivates you
when you work out or
puts you in a good mood
when you wake up, repeat
that song during those
times. Before you know
it, simply listening to that
song will instantly put
you in the right mood.
Tobecome
moreefficient,
createplayliststhat are
task-specific.Make difAnyone who's faced the heartache of a break
up by listening to a ballad, or sung joyfully
about new love to an uptempo anthem is
familiar with the power of music to energize
you, make you smile, soothe your broken
heart. But what if listening to music could
actually revolutionize your mental health?
Improving your quality of life can begin
with selecting the right playlist, say Galina
Mindlin, MD, PhD, Don DuRousseau,
MBA, and Joseph Cardillo, PhD, the authors
of YourPlaylistCan ChangeYourLife.
But how is that possible? It's achieved
by manipulating your brainwaves. Don't
panic, it's not as complicated as it sounds.
Beta, alpha, theta and delta are not just
reminders of Greek life on campus; they are
the names of brainwave frequencies. Beta
is your waking state; alpha and theta are
lower frequencies. Alpha represents a relaxed
mental state; theta, the barely conscious state
between sleep and wakefulness. Delta is the
deep-sleep state. You can choose music that
matches these frequencies to alter your state
22
I curve
of mind and achieve the one you want.
Through music, you can send yourself
subliminal messages to cultivate more focus,
gain energy and achieve a mood. It can also
relieve anxiety, sharpen your memory, activate your creativity, increase your alertness
and productivity, and enhance your ability
to stave off stress, insomnia, depression and
even addiction.
Here are six tips to get you started.
Picksongsthat you like a lot. Regardless
of the state of mind you want to achieve,
if you love a song on your playlist, it will
amplify the effect you're going for. Also,
pay attention to the emotions you associate
with certain songs. If a specific song makes
you happy, play it often. If you notice that a
song puts you in a downer mood, even if it's
a beautiful song, refrain from including it in
your playlist.
ferent playlists for different tasks: a playlist
for driving home from work, a morning
wake-up playlist, a workout playlist, a bedtime playlist. When you switch playlists, it
will help you easily transition from one state
of mind to another, helping you transition
from one activity to another.
Lookfor new and old songs.Keep your
playlist updated with songs that you love.
Take time to look for new and old songs
that really resonate with you to add to your
playlist. If a song loses its appeal, remove it
from your playlist.
Useguidedimagery.If you want to achieve
relaxation, or any mental state, recall an
image or a memory when you listen to a
specific song. Focus on that memory and how
it made you feel-emotionally, energetically
and physically.After you've practiced guided
imagery with a specific song, the song will
Pay attentionto when a certain song bring up those feelings and that associated
worksandwhenit doesn't.The same song memory whenever you hear it.
LAUGH
TRACK
The Queen of Comedy
Poppy Champlin hails her comedy sisters-and
By Merryn Johns
herself.
Barb Neligan in Florida, and Erin Foley in Virginia.
Lesbians
areknownforbeingpolitically
correct.Isthistrue?
You mean lesbians in general or lesbian comedians? (Laughs] No,
the comedians are not that politically correct. Well, Kate (Clinton]
is, but in general I think lesbians are fair and kind, and that can be
thought of as politically correct if taken to the nth degree.
Asa comic,doyoufeelthereareanytopicsthatareoff-limitsto you?
I am not into misogyny. I am not into violence and hurting people
unless it is a little S&M, which I like-well, don't hurt me, but I
Howlonghaveyoubeena comicandif youhadn'tbeena comic,what don't mind being tied and up and waiting for you to bring me coffee.
wouldyourprofession
be?
Willcurve readersdielaughing
if theyattenda QQQshow?
I have been a comic since I was born. You know I was delivered by The Q3 comedy shows are three triple threat headlining lesbian
caesarean, my mother couldn't push me out, and so I was basically comics! You don't get that unless you go on an Olivia cruise or
valeted. I didn't get the warm water park slide out the tunnel of Dinah Shore or MichFest. I mean, I am bringing this to your
love-no, I was airlifted like a crippled horse out of the creek. I had town-three
for the price of one. If you see a Queer Queens of
to be funny.
Qomedy Show you will see one of the best comedy shows of your
Youtoura lot,butwheredoyoucallhome?
life. I had a gal say to me last night that she was laughing so hard
Rhode Island is my home once again. I left 23 years ago, went to she thought she was going to have a heart attack. So bring a medic
Chicago for eight years and then L.A. for 14 and now I am back with you. (poppychamplin.com)
in R.L in the woods, in a shack with my brother living in the base~
ment. It's a little Slingblade~ishbut I love it.
Whatis yourmaritalstatus?Anypartners,
cats,dogs,kidsor U-Hauls
in sight?
I have a partner right now, she is living in N.Y. and we see each
other on weekends. We have flyby sleepovers, airport rendezvous
and sometimes she drives me to my gigs in New England.
QueerQueens
of Qomedy
is unique.
Wheredidyougettheidea?
I was desperate to work bigger venues. I wanted to have a name that
could fill a 400-500 seat theatre so I added two more names to
mine and made that happen.
What'syourcriteriaforselecting
the"bestlesbiancomics"
fromacross
thecountry?
Well, I have worked with most of the lesbian comics and a lot of
them are my friends and coworkers, and I just pick them as I think
of who would work well together at that venue and who is available
and who is closest. We are all the best. Comedy is so subjective that
everyone's tastes are different in who they like so-in my opinionI am the best.
AsofJuly,whowillbetouringandwhere?
As of July I am hoping to get Chicago on the map and I don't
know who I would use, but Karen Williams comes to mind and
maybe I can get Elvira Kurt for that one. On August 16 I am head~
ing to D.C. and I have booked Michele Balan and Zoe Lewis at
The Birchmere Music Hall. I have previously worked with Julie
Goldman and Roxanna Ward in Phoenix, Gina Yashere and
Fortune Feimster in San Diego, Vickie Shaw,Jennie McNulty and
For many lesbians, as for veteran funny lady Poppy Champlin, it's
all about community. However for Champlin, community means
the extensive network of hardworking, constantly touring out les~
bian comics like herself, including Michele Balan, Elvira Kurt and
Julie Goldman. So, it was a natural step for Champlin to join forces
with some of her favorite fellow comics to create the Queer Queens
of Qomedy tour-in which a changing lesbian lineup offers triple
the lezzie laughs for audiences around the nation.
THETWOOFUS
Lindsay and Veronica
Lindsay White, 28, and Veronica Lorraine May, 29, make music together in San Diego's
gayborhood Hillcrest as folk-pop duo, The Lovebirds. By Merryn Johns
How they met
Lindsay:
We met each other through a local music promoter named
Cathryn Beeks. I was working on putting together a band for my
solo music.
Veronica:
We were on the bill for some shows and we finally connected. Oddly enough, I came to Lindsay's Thanksgiving dinner
years ago with my other girlfriend at the time. We were just friends
and appreciated each other's music.
Lindsay:
I was newly married to a man at the time-we had been
together since I was 18 years old. I loved my husband dearly but
knew I wasn't happy in the marriage. All signs pointed to lesbian.
Through the wreckage of the divorce, I realized not only that I was
gay, but that I was completely and totally in love with Veronica.
Making art together
Lindsay:
We have an amazing songwriting partnership. We both
have such unique songwriting styles, but somehow they mesh perfectly. Veronica is a fantastic musician, and I can bring it with the
lyrics. She challenges me to be more dynamic musically, and I challenge her to spend time on her lyrics. We also work insanely hard
on creating really interesting harmonies. Our songwriting partnership is the foundation of our romantic relationship, as well as a
survival tool that we've been able to turn to in difficult times.
Veronica:
We make music together and we color together. We also
make fingerprint people. You get ink and stamp your finger onto a
piece of paper and from there on out the creative sky is the limit.
We also make short films together. We have a lot of great ideas for
creative projects that may even be lucrative at some point. We are
also in the process of creating our own language, just in case you
were wondering if we were weirdos.
What's different now as a couple
Lindsay:It's so great to have Veronica to share my personal and
musical journey with. I thought I was the weirdest person I'd ever
met until I found her. We are careful to develop our individual
hobbies and friendships so we don't get stuck in a connected-atthe-hip rut, but when we are together, we have the most fun. We
also have what we call the "Bubble of Trust" where we are free to
say whatever we are feeling without being judged for it. The best
part of my day is at the end of the night when I curl up in her arms
and just let all my muscles relax. It's the safest place.
Veronica:Well, as a lesbian, your wardrobe doubles. You have
someone to slow dance with. You have someone to picture as an
old woman with wrinkles and dimples. The biggest perk: someone to play rock-paper-scissors with. I think the biggest reason
we work so well together is that we fell in love with each other's
art so long ago.
How they resolve differences
Lindsay:
Therapy, of course! We always marvel at the fact
we are still together since we've faced so much adversity. I've
been through a divorce, she's been hospitalized, and the
list goes on and on. The biggest issue we face is Veronica's
bipolar [disorder] because it can't be worked through and
left behind like any other problem. It will always be a factor
at play in our relationship. We joke sometimes that there
are three people in our relationship. But I like to look at
it like there are even more people in our relationship (our
individual therapists, our couples therapist, her psychiatrist
and all of our wonderfully supportive friends and family
members). Those people are integral in the success of our
relationship and we are just as grateful for them as we are
for each other.
Veronica:
Lindsay has been my lighthouse in so many different storms. She always guides me to safety. I have never met
such a resilient woman and I really don't think I ever will.
She is patient and understanding. I can only hope to return
that favor time and time again. ( thelovebirdsmusic.com)
26
I curve
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Desert Hearts
Girl Bar Dinah Shore Weekend celebrates its move to Las Vegas.
Girl Bar Dinah Shore Weekend in association
with Truck Stop Girlz and Caesars Total
Rewards filled Sin City with thousands of
lesbians who were ready to party. Girl Bar
Dinah Shore Weekend, now in its 22nd
year, has made Vegas its new home, taking
advantage of the 24-hour nightlife that has
made the neon-lit oasis world famous. The
weekend was an outstanding success in its first
year transfer from Palm Springs, Calif. to Las
Vegas, according to event producers Robin
Gans, Sandy Sachs, Linda Fusco and Michelle
Agnew. The weekend's events at venues across
the Strip were at full capacity and guaranteed
the announcement of Dinah Shore Weekend
for April 25-29, 2013. Caesars Entertainment
served as hosts of the event and Richard
Brower, director of LGBT marketing there
said, ''As the only casino company with a 100
percent on the Human Rights Campaign
Corporate Equality Index, our commitment
to the LGBT community is strong. We look
forward to a long-lasting relationship with
the Girl Bar and the Truck Stop Girlz Dinah
Shore event founders:' (dinahshoreweekend.com)
[GeorgiaKrokus]
July/August 2012
I 27
POLITICS
End of the Rainbow
If Obama is re-elected, what must we ask of him?
By Victoria A. Brownworth
On May 9, 2012, President Obama gave an
exclusive interview to ABC's Robin Roberts
in which he declared his support of same-sex
marriage. The news went viral immediately.
Kudos for the president-and big money for
his re-election campaign-came pouring in.
Within a day he had gotten more than $30
million in donations.
The news broke on a Wednesday, which
meant that the Sunday talk shows were
full of discussion on what a "brave" move it
was. Conservative gay columnist Andrew
Sullivan broke down in tears on NBC's
The Chris Matthews Show, while lesbian
Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen asserted
on ABC's This Week that Obama had taken
great risks in making the statement.
The following Monday, Newsweek'scover
pictured Obama sporting a rainbow halo,
and The New Yorker, which often depicts
political commentary on its covers, portrayed
the South Portico of the White House, its
six columns each a different color, together
making a rainbow. The title of the cover art
was" Spectrum of Light:'
The tributes were to be expected. But
2s
I curve
now that a little time has passed and the
dust has settled, the LGBT community
must put this announcement in perspective,
along with Obama's record as president.
To have a sitting president assert support
for the civil rights of an oppressed group,
and from the White House itself, is no
minor historical hiccup. It may, in fact, be the
single most important thing that President
Obama has done while in office.
That said, however, the statement does
not make him a saint, it does not make him
pro-queer, and it does absolutely nothing
to improve the actual lives of queers in the
U.S. He said it. Now whatr Does anything
actually come with that pro-marriageequality statement?
Apparently not.
Since Obama made his statement, I've
been inundated with requests for money
from his campaign. What I haven't gotten
are any assurances from either the President
himself or the Democratic Party, that this
statement was anything more than lip
service to a voting block essential for the
close race in November.
But once we re-elect Obama, what's in it
for usr
Single-issue support for presidents and
presidential candidates has always done a
disservice to the nation. The United States
is inarguably the most diverse nation on the
planet. This means that conflicts will arise,
usually over single issues. At their worst,
those conflicts have caused an event as dramatic and grave as the Civil War, as well as
the battles over Communism in the 1950s,
black civil rights and the Vietnam War in
the 1960s, and women's rights in the 1910s
and 1970s. Now, in the 2010s, the battle is
over queer civil rights.
But we are not a single-issue nation and
when we vote single-issue, do we ask ourselves at what point do we hold our leaders
accountable?
Obama's pronouncement aside, for four
years he has worked against rather than
for us as a community and a constituency.
Millions of taxpayer dollars went into this
Administration's fight against the repeal of
Don't Ask, Don't Tell as well as for the protection ofDOMA. We simply can't pretend
that this didn't happen.
Nor can we pretend that the Democratic
National Convention isn't in North Carolina.
That would be North Carolina, the state that
voted in a total ban on same-sex marriage,
civil unions and domestic partnership one
day before Obama's historic statement.
The Democratic Party would never
have chosen a demonstrably racist state
in which to hold its convention. We know
that. The DNC didn't choose Arizona.
But it did choose North Carolina knowing
in advance that the referendum was on
the primary ballot. Where does that leave
us as a constituency? The Democratic
National Committee has refused to put
marriage equality into the Democratic
platform. Whyr
We also have to ask about Obama's
long evolution on marriage equality-four
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years-and
then the sudden reveal a few
days after Vice President Biden asserted
his own support for marriage equality,
yet not a day earlier when it might have
made a difference in the North Carolina
vote. And we have to wonder why Obama
demanded-and
received-an
apology
from Biden for blurting out his own sup,
port in advance of the President.
We have to be worried about what
Obama hasn't done-that he hasn't released
Bradley Manning from indefinite deten,
tion, even though Manning hasn't been
convicted of any crime nor has he done
anything that the New York Times and
Washington Post haven't done with regard
to Wikileaks. We have to be concerned
that Obama has refused to take his pro,
marriage statement to the next step, which
is an Executive Order. Truman did it with
the swipe of a pen-desegregated
the
entire military. Obama could desegregate
American queers just as easily.
He said it.
Now what?
Does anything
actuallycome with
that pro-marriage
equalitystatement?
We have to be concerned that we don't
just face the inability to marry and the
federal and state benefits that accrue to
that. We have to be concerned about the
violence perpetrated against us daily and
the discrimination we face on the job, in
housing, at school.
Where does the President really stand
on our civil liberties and civil rights?
If we say as a community that Obama
is our candidate, then we have to ask ques,
tions and demand answers.
In the mid, 1980s when I was covering
Washington as a beat reporter, I covered
march after march on the Reagan White
House. There were AIDS activists and
feminists among the protesting groups
attempting to hold President Reagan
accountable for his stances on AIDS
and abortion.
I was sitting in the press section of the
U.S. Supreme Court the day Bowers v.
Hardwick was argued and I stood in the
blazing heat outside the High Court the day
the ruling came down and the late Justice
Harry Blackmun-who
had also written
the decision in Roe v. Wade and who had
written the dissent in Hardwick-bravely
broke court protocol and told the small
group of us that the decision to let the
sodomy laws stand was a moral outrage.
As voters, as women, as queers, we have
to break politically correct protocol. We
have to stand up to presidents, to govern,
ment. It doesn't matter whether it's our
guy or the other guy-or maybe even one
day, our gal or the other gal. It's our job as
citizens in a democracy to stand against
tyranny, be it seemingly small or writ
large. DOMA is writ large. ENDA is writ
large. Bradley Manning's incarceration is
writ large.
A few days before I wrote this column,
my partner's tires were slashed. All four
tires. The police were clear: It was a hate
crime and recorded it as such. Our bum,
per stickers are clear indicators of our
queer politics. Each tire had been slashed
more than four times. Imagine the time,
imagine the rage, imagine that the person
who did it was wishing they could do it to
us, instead.
It's still dangerous just to be queer in
America. Which is why we need the pro,
tection of our president. We must hold
President Obama accountable to us and
for us, before and after the election. You
can't say that you think everyone should
be able to eat at the same lunch counter
but then say the states can decide. You
can't say it's not a federal issue but a fed,
eralist issue when married couples get
federal tax breaks and marriage grants
more than 1,400 different legal benefits.
It can't be up to the states. It has to be up
to the President.
We can choose to support Obama's
re,election based on a single statement or
we can choose to hold him accountable for
that statement and its impact on our lives.
That statement was a beginning. Now
it's up to us to make sure the President
doesn't think it was also the
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ot
a
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ase
f
isexual women have higher incidences of depression, suicide,
ubstance abuse and poor physical health than their heterosexual
ond lesbian counterparts. So what are we doing to help our
ansexual sisters?By EmilyDievendorf
he first time I was called "greeedy· it was by a drag
queen at the Michigan Pride Festival.She wasn't talking
to me directly. She was calling out audience members
in the unapologetic, hilarious and crass way only a
drag queen can, asking one attendee if she was a
lesbian. The woman said, "No, I'm bi..The drag queen
responded, "Oh, you're greeedy.' Everyone laughed,
myself included. But I also left thinking, "So that's how it is.'
I could never be greedy. I have terrible luck with women.
ut I probably wouldn't date you, male or female, regardess of luck. I'm very particular, maybe to the point of
elusion, and my interest rarely has to do with physical
~ttraction above all else. You would need to be funny, clever,
bverly literate, cultured and committed to social justice.
'm also a serial monogamist and loyal to a fault, unable
o focus on more than one person at a time. I'm not your
~tereotype, but few of us are.
I believe sexuality as a continuum, with no easy boxes
o fit into, is the most logical explanation for the variations
e see in human sexuality. Labels are vile and unrealistic to
me, an attempt to satisfy others' need for simplicity when
life just isn't so. I have struggled with how I would explain
I yself, resentful that I had to at all. My partners have
lways known me to be fluid and I hadn't considered it
nybody else's business. At a certain point I decided that I
ad to claim my place in the community because my own
, nvisibility would be part of the perpetuation of others
retending I don't even exist. I wrote "bi" across my foreead and wore it proudly.
Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon recently found herelf swimming in controversy when she told the New York
1
I
I
I
1
I
Times that her homosexuality is
a choice. After much explanation she clarified that she was
capable of attraction regardless
of sex but was turned off by the
bisexual label. The label can seem
ugly, as the stereotypes that are
associated with bisexuality are
unflattering and demonizing by
societal norms.
Bisexuals are seen as promiscuous, confused, invalid, incapable of monogamy, oversexed,
greedy, going through a phase and on and on ...
I claim the bisexual label because I don't remember a
time when I wasn't attracted to both men and women,
either in a romantic sense or as a manifestation of sexual
attraction. A bisexual (pansexual, omnisexual, fluid) is
someone whose enduring physical, romantic, emotional
attraction is to people of more than one gender. Bisexuality
is still offered only tentative acceptance in the gay rights
movement. The lack of mention is all the more interesting when you consider that bisexuals make up the largest
group within the LGBT community according to a 2002
study conducted by the CDC, with one third of men and
two thirds of women in the community identifying as bi.
While most Americans don't identify themselves by the
label, a 2002 study found that 13 percent of women and
7 percent of men report being attracted to both women
and men.
We now have studies that show bisexuality is both a
real and stable designation. To prove our legitimacy, a
brave bunch of us (not me-ouch!)
volunteered to be
tested for arousal at the sight of sexy images of men and
women. Those who claimed to be bisexual, gasp, were
able to respond to both sexes. Studies have also disproven
claims that bisexuality is a stop on the way to figuring out
your sexuality. In one University of Utah study, 92 percent
of participants who identified as bisexual or "without
label" at the start of the study identified as bisexual and
without label 10 years later.
The stigma, or biphobia, that comes with being bisex~
ual has serious consequences. According to the NCLR,
bisexuals have higher incidences of depression, suicidal
thoughts and attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, and poor
physical health in general than their heterosexual, gay and
lesbian counterparts. Bisexuals most often don't come
out to their health provider and as a result receive incom~
plete information regarding their sexual health. Bisexual
women with monosexual partners have an increased rate
of domestic violence compared to every other female demo~
graphic. Compared to lesbians, bisexual women are twice
as likely to live in poverty. Discrimination against bisexuals
is greater in the workforce. While lesbians earn 2. 7 percent
less than straight men, bisexual women earn nearly 11
percent less according to the HRC.
There is an acute stress that comes from feeling like
you are not a legitimate member of a community. In
nonurban areas lesbians and bisexual women experience
comparable levels of frequent mental distress, but in urban
areas distress decreases for lesbians and nearly doubles for
bisexual women. Resources and support are more likely to
be available for lesbians in urban areas, and not as likely to
be found anywhere for bisexuals. Regardless of established
need, projects addressing issues related to bisexuality are
the least funded among programs for the lesbian, gay, bi
and transgender communities.
I'm currently dating a man. I refuse to hide him because
being in a relationship with him is part of who I am. If asked
about my sexuality I would expect him to answer without
pause that I identify as bi. Still, when a man is my date to
a gay rights event there is an uncomfortable and restless
feeling of undeniable guilt that rests inside me. I feel like a
traitor, I feel like I took the easy way out, I feel like I'm not
relating and might, therefore, not be able to represent the
queer community. In reality I know that those judgments
come from the outside. When I'm dating a man, the truth
is that I fell in love or in like and it happened to be with
a man. In gay rights we fight for the freedom to love and
the freedom to express our desire without shame. In our
efforts to gain the basic rights that we lack in order to care
for our loved ones we encounter enormous and shocking
amounts of hate. I may not always be with a man but I
will always bring my date to the party. I'm just grateful that
love, my fluid ability to love included, exists.
This articlefirst appearedin the huffingtonpost.com.
July/August 2012
I 31
Singer-songwriter Brandi
Carlile returns to her roots.
By Kim Hoffman
Whatdoyouthinkcanbefoundin thePacificNorthwest
music
scenethatcan'tbefoundanywhere
else?
I don't know. I mean, there's definitely a short history here
with the grunge scene. But before that, Loretta Lynn lived
here, Quincy Jones lived here, Ray Charles had a brief stint
here in the Northwest. We definitely have a rich music history. But also, the environment lends itself to moodinessit's very Goonies-esque. [laughs] It's also a little bit gray, and
nature kind of takes the center stage. So it's a big influence
in that way.
You,Phil,andTim [Hanseroth]
havebeentouringthroughthe
bulkof your20s.Howhasthatimpacted
yourlife?
It definitely was an up-and-down adventure! I just turned
30. Well, I didn't just turn 30, I'm about to turn 3 LI felt like
a lot of people in their 20s-in the way that I got super, super
career-minded, really focused on cultivating a following, and
a touring career, and my relationship with the twins [Phil
and Tim], and just really becoming this traveling, touring
persona. But yeah, I was really occupied during that decade
of my 20s. And then all my brothers and sisters started
having kids [Laughs], and I'd come home, and I got a little
more domestic in that way. So, I really felt when I turned 30
that I had that nuclear fallout-that
whole ''I've been doing
one thing too much and not another thing enough:'
Yoursong"TheStory"has beencalleda "universallesbian
anthem."
Howdoesthatmakeyoufeel?
[Laughs] A "universal lesbian anthem" 2 I think that's great. I
think it should be. It's big. It's powerful. It has presence about
it. And I wouldn't want it any other way.
YoucreatedtheLooking
OutFoundation
backin 2008,andthen,
through
that,theFighttheFearcampaign.
Whyaretheseimportantprograms
forwomen?
One of the Looking Out Foundation's favorite things to do
is empower women. It's needed, and, even in my community
(in Washington], it's really progressive, and I'm really proud
to be from here. You can still find places that are underserved
and people that are disenfranchised. And so, the Fight the
Fear campaign was on the heels of a lot of violence-not
34
I curve
just Teresa Butz [a Seattle lesbian who was murdered in her
home in 2009]. I mean, that's obviously what sparked the
absolute need for mobilization in that way, but there was
a lot of violence toward women, there was a lot of violence
toward gay people at that time. And there were homeless
people getting killed on the street and fights happening that
didn't need to happen. There was a really cool self-defense
organization here in Seattle called Home Alive-do you
remember Mia Zapata [of the Gits ], the rock singer who got
killed outside, by the dubr
Ohyes,of course.
Shewasamazing.
Yeah, well Valerie Agnew created Home Alive in her remembrance. They gave self-defense courses to women, and I just
kind of piggy-backed on their idea, got the Seattle Police
Department involved. And Seattle's own self defense organizations said, Maybe we should try to take this empowerment
to them. And so we went to battered women's shelters, homeless women's shelters, LGBT centers, and we talked about the
defense courses. If I could say my foundation is about one
thing, it's about empowering the underserved.
Speaking
of empowerment,
howdidyouandyourpartnerfeel
aboutPresident
Obama'scomingout in supportof marriage
equality?
We were so, so pleased. I was so pleased when I saw that.
And touched. I've met President Obama and sung to him.
I sang "Folsom Prison Blues" to him on the White House
lawn on the Fourth of July when I played for the troops.
And I've always had a penchant for Obama. But when he
acknowledged (his support of same-sex marriage], it was
really empowering and encouraging to me, personally, in my
life. Yeah, I'm going to write him a letter.
Brandi,you'vebeenknownto havea veryuniqueconnection
to
yourfans.Youwerecreatingmailinglistsat thebeginning
ofthis
wholething.AndI'm wondering,
asyoulookbackonit all now,
at 30,whatissomething
thefanshavegivenyou,orcontinue
to
giveyou,andwhatdoyouaimto givethemback?
My fans have given me loyalty. They come to my shows on
a regular basis, because I tour on a regular basis. And that's
really important. But, to be honest, one of the most important things my fans have given me, (and] my dose friends, is
the Looking Out Foundation. They fund the Looking Out
Foundation, and they support the things that we do. And we
couldn't do the things we want to do in our community without them. We have an event every year that they themselves
completely plan, fund and support. One dollar from every
ticket sold at every single show goes to the Looking Out
Foundation. And then, a lot of the things we get involved
with are because they send us letters and say, Hey, this is happening in our community. They are food-bank-suffering and
need some help, or Hey, so-and-so needs chemotherapy and
can't pay their insurance deductable. And those are the sorts
of things the Looking Out Foundation gets involved withbecause of our fans. Also, my fans are really intelligent, and
they are excellent at critiquing and raising awareness, through
me, for other people. (brandicarlile.com)
OLIVIA EL
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ANS!
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S
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FROM
BREAKTHROUGH
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BREAK-UP
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AGAIN,
CANADIAN
MUSIC DUO
MADISON
VIOLET
KEEPS IT
TOGETHER.
BYJESS
MCAVOY
WILLIAMS HAD
VECHILD (OR TWO), AND
THEY WERE CAN}\DIAN, THEY WOULD BE
MADISON VIG
HASGAI
T. THIS LESBIAN FOLK DUO
ASOLID FOLLOWING OVER THE
PAST FEW YEARS,TOURING CONSTANTLY
Ac~pss
NORTH AMERICA, AUSTRALIA AND
EU OPE. THEY HAVE ALSO BAGGED SOME
SER1OUSAWARDSINCLUDING THE 2009
JOHN LENNON SONGWRITING CONTEST
FOR THEIR TRACK "THE RANSOM." THEY
ALSO TOOK HOME THE 2009 CANADIAN
FOLK MUSIC AWARD FOR VOCAL GROUP OF
THE YEAR, WERE NOMINATED FOR SIX EAST
COAST MUSIC AWARDS AND A 2010 JUNO
(CANADA'S MUSIC AWARDS) FOR ROOTS &
TRADITIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR (GROUP).
BUT LET'STAKE IT BACK TO THE GREEN ROOM
IN TORONTO, 1999. BRENLEY MACEACHERN
AND LISA MACISAAC, THEN STRANGERS
WORKING IN SEPARATE MUSICAL PROJECT
GOTTO TALKING ABOUTTHEIR LINEAGE,
ONLY TO DISCOVER THAT NOT ONLY DID
THEY KNOW EACH OTHER'S FAMILIES, BUT
THEIR FATHERS SAT TOGETHER IN HIGH
SCHOOL. THEY BEGAN A MUSICAL AND
PERSONAL PARTNERSHIP AND WHllE T
INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP OF 10 YEARS
PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP.
LATESTALBUM, THE GOOD I
ISA
T G
T
LTJOU
ND
EY OF
PART.
Howyoumetis sucha greatstory.I loveit whenthe universe
putspeopletogetherin a randomway.
Brenley:
Put us together to drive us nuts.
Lisa:You got that right!
Howdoesit feelto beworkingtogetherafterthebreakup?
Brenley:
This is a new discussion that we are having lately.
We kind of didn't want to talk about it because it's hard
when you're sort of kind of close to it, and it was a slow
coming out for us anyway.
Howwasthecomingoutprocess
foryouas musicians?
Brenley:
Well, the first step was coming out to our friends,
and then family ... and we kept it from our fans for a while.
The first time we were asked we completely denied it.
Mostly because management at the time told us that if we
did it then we would ruin our career. Also there was a fear
that every interview was going to be just about our sexuality
and not about the music and I thought, That sounds so boring!
And then you see campaigns [like] "It Gets Better" and stuff
starts to happen and then you go, You know what, we do
have a responsibility, so just be honest.
What'sit likeperforming
thesongsaboutthebreakup?
Brenley:Some are harder than others. Luckily there has
been enough time and space between us and some of the
heavy subject matter. Not distancing ourselves enough to
lose the emotion, but enough that you are at a good place.
Lisa:I feel like we are at a good place in our relationship.
There are songs about new relationships as well. The essence
of the album is about starting over.
Howareyoupreparing
forthisU.S.tour?
Brenley:
It will be interesting for us because it's all new terri~
tory. For the last four or five years we have had heaps of mail
from people from the States waiting for us to come to their
town, so hopefully we will be able to satisfy some of those
requests. (madisonviolet.com)
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HAT TODAY'S
CE LESBIAN TASTEMAKERS ARE
LISTENING TO? I CHATTED WITH A
FEW OF OUR FAVORITE STARS AND
GOT THE DETAILS ON WHAT TUNES
KEEP THESE WOMEN MOVING.
Freshoff of a WestCoasttour,Girlin a ComadrummerPhanieDiazcompileda
playlistsureto capturethe essenceof theseTexanrockers.TheiralbumExits
andall theRestrecentlywonthe honorof Bestlndie/AltRockalbumfromthe
Independent
MusicAwards.Listenup!
1. "I'm Alright"
byAgentRibbons
2. "BabylonianGorgon"byTheBags
3. "Kinder"by DavidGarza
4. "Don'tThankMe" by FrenchKicks
5. "HerJazz"by HuggyBear
6. "LuckyNumber"by LeneLovich
7. "500" by Lush
8. "Cantina"by PinataProtest
9. "Little One"by SaraRadle
10."I CouldBeHappy"byAlteredImages
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38
I curve
A TRIBUTE TO JANIS JOPLIN'S ICONIC VOICE.
BYJESS MCAVOY
"Hey, wait a minute! Stop stop stop stop! What thefuck is going
on out there? I'm up here bleedingfor you people!... This is a
two-way streetand ifyou don't get on that road I'm going to have
to get off... I don't get up here to rehearse.This is lovemaking.I'm
wooingyou, come on!"
It was San Diego, 1962. Janis Joplin, performing live, knew
what she had, and she wasn't going to be taken for granted.
After this little speech, the crowd went nuts.
The opening line of the 1970 studio recording of Janis
Joplin's "Cry Baby;' captured on the definitive double-disc
edition of The Pearl Sessions,demonstrates why you would.
Like a jet engine revving up to take off, she recklessly rips her
voice up a virtual slope to inform you that you are about to
be hit full throttle with all the frustration, angst and pain of
a jilted lover.
It was a very different world in 1970. San Francisco had
become the epicenter of the hippie movement. Janis Lyn
Joplin was 27 years old. She grew up in Port Arthur, Texas,
and with her hardheaded Capricorn nature she transformed
her feelings of rejection by the folks in her hometown into
an epic career that epitomized sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.
More than that, though, in 1970 a record was a record. Ani
Difranco said it best in her song"Fuel":"People used to make
records, as in a record of an event, the event of people playing
music in a room:'
The PearlSessionsis the perfect example of that. Originally
released onJan.11, 1971 (three months after Joplin's passing
on Oct. 4, 1970), it is an intimate gem that leaves me feeling
as though I'd dropped into the studio while they were recording it. It reveals the vulnerability of the woman and the raw
nature of the recording process.
Joplin was an openly sexual person. Sex with women or
men, it wouldn't matter. She was like many artists of her
time: Her sexuality was undefined. Her music came before
everything else.
Her inherent awareness of the emotional exchange she was
having with her audience-and the fact that if she didn't get
anything back, she wouldn't be able to go on-was delicious.
People saw what she could do and wanted it. Wanted her.
Wanted to be a part of that fire.
I think a queer person understands this fire. This passion
that is challenging to identify, and the risk you take in
carrying it around-a passion that could kill you. That depth
of feeling, that love, that lust. That exchange.
I wait for an icon like this to reappear. I trawl through the
vending machine-style entertainers who last a season, maybe
two. I hope for a moment that will stop me in my tracks.
This happens so rarely these days, now that music is made
to order. Back then, there was room to figure out where that
fire fit.
As an artist, I want to see more examples of the fire fueling
us rather than killing us. As an artist, I want to see more
artists taking the risk to expose themselves passionately, just
for the sake of it. And as a woman, I want to see more women
getting up on stage and doing what Janis did: Being exactly
what they are, loudly, and with their own unique voice.
JamieHolm,bassistfor pop-rockoutfitSickof Sarah,is gearingupfor a longstintat the summer
2012WarpedTour.Beinga musician,Holm'sroutineconsistsof gruelingtravel,crowdedclubs
andheartydosesof that rock'n' roll lifestyle.Thisis the soundtrackto herdays.
1. "TheFuneralSong"by Bandof Horses
2. "BloodBank"by BonIver
3. "TheseDays"byTheFooFighters
4. "Readyto Start"byArcadeFire
5. "NewGoodbye"
by HeyRosetta
6. "OnTuesdays"
byThe4onthefloor
7. "SkeletonKey"by Margotandthe NuclearSoandSo's
8. "ForgotaboutDre"by EminemandDr.Dre
9. "TheCave"by MumfordandSons
10."LonelyBoy"byTheBlackKeys
July/August 2012
I 39
largRr
Than
lirR
when I got my book deal. I was with my friend, who is a great
comedic writer and a yummy love. It was the night before I
went to New York to get my deal. We were at the opera and
he was like, "Sweetie, this is so exciting, I'm so proud of you:'
And I burst into tears. I had just been holding it in all night
long. I was trembling and I was holding back tears, and he
said, "What's wrong:>"And with all sincerity I said, "I have
been a piece of shit my whole life, and now everybody thinks
I'm great, and I don't know what to do:' I've come a long way
from that, having walked through doing something that I
was totally convinced I was going to suck at, was going to
fall flat on my face, and I did it anyway, and did it to the best
of my ability-so I'm very proud, because it was hard, really
hard. I've come to this place in my life where I'm like, This is
my call to service. This is how I serve my fellow man. That,
that ... self-diminishing is really not part of my vocabulary
anymore. I roar with the awesomeness of a thousand suns.
Whatwasthebestpartof writingthe book?
When I was done! It was a painful slog. I think the most
Whatlightsyouup?
challenging part was wrapping my head around the fact that
I was going to have to write a book-that I was under contract
Justice. I like seeing fairness. I like seeing people speaking up
to produce around 300 pages of information, and humorous
for what they believe in. I like seeing love. I like inspiration.
anecdotes about the sadder aspects of my life.
Other people's inspiration. Underdogs light me up. People
who've worked really, really hard and then finally get what
Whywasit important
to diveintothehardpartsof yourlife?
they've been working toward. Hope lights me up.
I wanted to honor my mom. She was a beautiful, lovely little
Whatareyoutryingto accomplish
withyourmusicandwriting? spirit who had hopes and dreams, who had an aborted future
due to whatever crossed wire in her head that was no fault
My number one impetus to get up and sing is to create joy
in the room-to take energy and make joy out of it. That is of her own. There was a good part of my life where I hated
how I feel I've been called to serve in this life. It's hard, hearther, and I hurt her at every opportunity, out of my own fear
breaking work, but it's also work that people are jealous 0£ and out of my own childishness. So, it was important to get
Sometimes there's a lot of shame. You want to diminish your
as much right as I could, and also get as deep as I could, so I
successes because you don't want to look like an ass. You don't
wouldn't allow for the easy pass of "She was fucked up and
want to be too shiny. You don't want to be too awesome. The
I was a victim:'
tendency is to diminish and to just be smaller. I have really Why do dykeseverywherelook up to StormLargeand say
stopped doing that. The exclamation point of that feeling was
"Awesome.
Loveher"?
Storm Large is a singing Amazon, a 6-foot blonde powerhouse.
Whether she is singing in front of the Oregon Symphony
or fronting her rock band, the Balls, listening to her is like
strapping yourself into a ride at an R-rated theme park. From
hard-pumping, feminist rock anthems to friendly sing-alongs
on the topic of her vagina, you never know exactly what's
around the corner (but you know you want to go there).
When I caught up with Large, she was in her kitchen in
Portland, Ore., making lunch during a rare quiet moment
at home. She was lamenting the fact that eating in airports
is destroying her digestive system-which is funny if you've
read her memoir, Crazy Enough,and know something about
her childhood, her mother's mental illness and her own
earlier, truly self-destructive lifestyle. Yet, along with singing,
she's written a book and a one-woman show. She's played
Carnegie Hall and the Edinburgh Festival. It's hard to know
exactly where to start with such an eclectic talent, so I asked
an appropriately broad question.
••
••
••
•••
••
••
HestaPrynnis a televisionhost,musicianandrapperandis currentlytravelingthe worldas a DJfor fashionand
music'shottestparties."I'm aboutto releasesomeproperdancemusic,"Prynnsays.Thisincludesa singleproduced
by OJAof MadDecentcalled"WeCouldFallin Love"anda videowith "dopevisualeffects"is soonto follow.Thisis
HestaPrynn's"Outsidethe BoxPartySongsI Fuckin'Love"mix.
1. "I'm 111"
by RedCafefeat.Fabolous
2. "CallYourGirlfriend"by Robyn
3. "CruelSummer"by Bananarama
4. "MachineGunFunk"by BiggieSmalls
5. "Pepper"by ButtholeSurfers
40
I curve
6. "GhettoSuperstar"by Myafeat.WyclefJean& ODB
7. "Lights"by EllieGoulding
8. "HereComesYourMan"by Pixies
9. "TurnIt Gold(ldoZ Remix)"by HestaPrynn
10."She'sNotThere"byTheZombies
••••
••
•••••••
I think because, well, I'm loud. And I'm hot-hotness helps.
I'm unapologetically sexual, and also really open about my
sexuality, and really open and understanding about other
people's. My undying support for the [LGBT] community,
and just the common sense of supporting love in all of its
forms. I'm honored that people respect and love me.
You'veusedthe term "sexuallyomnivorous."
Whatdoesthat
mean?
I am opportunistically sexually omnivorous. I am usually in a
monogamous relationship. I've got a big, wide monogamous
streak, and I tend to be monogamous with men, but I am very
attracted to women as well, and so 'opportunistically sexually
omnivorous" is a very polysyllabic way to say I'm lazy, and if
it tastes good I'll eat it. [Laughs] I had an argument with a
woman who said,"You've been with men and women, so you're
bisexual:' And I said, "No, I'm omnivorous. I'm monogamous
with a man currently, but I am omnivorous:' And she said,
"Well, there is no term, really, for that-there is no group for
that:' And I said, "Exactly:' As soon as you give something a
name, then there is a group that rallies around it, and there is a
group that rallies against it. Sexuality cannot be quantified. It's
like trying to define a spark. It is so personal and so galvanizing
and polarizing that as long as you put yourself in a box, that's
where you're going to be. And sexuality just can't be boxed,
because there are people who have lived their whole lives as a
housewife in Des Moines, and then they come busting out and
they are a hardcore, diesel~dyke,anal~fisting motherfucker, and
they are so happy and liberated. And what's that? So I just
don't like sexuality being so specific.
Whatis it youwantpeopletothinkofwhentheythinkofyou?
I would like to be of service. I would like to be a positive force
in the world, be it through just writing a funny song, or tell~
ing a joke, or cooking a meal, or drying a tear, or [chuckles]
changing some tax policy at the federal level where people get
a tax kickback for volunteering. I spent a lot of time feeling
really sorry for myself and being incredibly negative and cyni~
cal. And so I want to make up for all that by being a force
of love and good in the world with everything I do. I want
people to think about me and smile, and think of something
inappropriate I said or did that held a lot of truth in an
uncomfortable situation.
Missionaccomplished.
(stormlarge.com)
SEXUALLY OMNIVOROUS SINGER STORM LARGE
TURNS VICTIMHOOD INTO VA-VA-VOOM.
BY KRISTIN FLICKINGER
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July/August 2012
I 41
PUNK ROCK
R&B TALENT
JOAN WASSER
ANTICIPATES
HER APPEARANCE AT
MICHIGAN
WOMYN'S
MUSIC
FESTIVAL.
BYJESS
MCAVOY
Doyouhaveroomin yourlifeforanything
else?
There's room for everything, if you make room for it. I live in New
York City, so there is a lot to do. I keep very active because if I don't
I lose my mind. I ride my bike and do a lot of things that make me
sweat. I take advantage of the city. I hang out in my apartment and
make music.
Whatdoyouthinkabouthavingsucha stronglesbianfollowing?
I guess people see me as a strong woman. I think that's a good start.
I think you could refer to me, in terms of my sexual preference,
as anything except for just straight. One of my friends, I think 10
years ago, said to me, "Joan, you're a tri~sexual-try anything!" And
that does feel very appropriate. I really am attracted to human
beings. And I have been attracted to every possible format you
could imagine, so you know I am very open that way.
Is thatsomething
thatis availableforpeopleto know?
I am definitely very open about who I am. I mean, I don't talk
specifics about my personal life- I mean, usually ... [Laughs]
Michigan
Womyn's
MusicFestivalis a prettyhardcore
women'sevent.
Didtheyapproach
youto play?
Yeah. This was the first year I was able to do it. I have been in the
midst of other big tours in the past. A lot of my friends have done
it, and I am totally thrilled that I am going to get to do it this year.
Andyouareawareof theexclusion
of menandtransgender
people?
I knew about the men, I didn't know about the transgender.
Doyouhaveanythoughts
aboutthat?
Oh, I don't know! It's so confusing because I have a lot of close
people to me that fit into that category. That's a tough one. I don't
know what to say. I understand, because it gets very complicatedugh, but, see, I didn't know about that ...
Willyoubeperforming
soloorwithyourregularband?
I am performing with a band of amazing women who I have per~
formed with before. My regular band is two fantastic guys, and if
they could change their gender for the show I am sure they would.
But I am playing with a bunch of women who I have performed
with before and they are stunning musicians. So I am really looking
forward to it, actually.
Playingwithanall-womanbandis special.
It really is. I can't agree with you more. It's super powerful and
really wonderful. I mean, that's why it's called a festival. Festivals
are usually full of men, and I have nothing against men. But it feels
like something more than a festival, it is a different experience, it's
really, really profound! Because it happens so rarely-that's why it's
really so great.
Doyouhaveanysolidplansforthenextfiveor 1Oyears?
Well, I don't plan super~far ahead, honestly. It just doesn't work for
me. I am going to finish this record, and I am already starting on a
new Joan As Police Woman record. I am just trying to explore the
ideas of what that is going to be.
Doyouhaveanyadviceforwomentryingto getintocreativefields?
Trust your instincts, just keep going and don't stop.
voanaspolicewoman.com)
July/August 2012
I 43
lislen
Up
human sexuality, the place where spirituality and sexual,
ity meet, where sexuality and consumerism meet. I grapple
with the struggle, the sensuality and the humility of human
experience-fear, loss, peace and quiet mystery:' Despite the
moody and esoteric nature of her music, Belle's work has not
only been critically acclaimed but it's also found its way into
Epoque
various films and TV shows-includingjersey
Hailing from the Pacific Northwest and sounding something
Shore!
like an American Kate Bush for the 21st century, AnomieBelle
Anomie Belle plans to spend the remainder of 2012
is having a busy year. The Oregon,born, Seattle,based musi,
touring in support of The Crush and is already working on
her third full,length album. [DaveSteinfeld]
cian recently issued her sophomore album, The Crush. This
disc follows her 2008 debut SleepingPatternsand represents a
significant step forward. "I took more risks and experimented
more on [this album] than with SleepingPatterns,"says Belle. If you prefer garage rock to electronica, you'll be glad to know
"My self,expression with the second album was more raw
that The Dollyrots are gearing up for the release of their
and exposed. Also, I engineer and produce my own music
eagerly awaited fourth studio disc. The new outing finds the
and learned a lot between albums and had some nicer record,
longtime duo of Kelly Ogden and Luis Cabezas joined by
ing equipment:' She also just released the track "Picture
veteran drummer (and out musician) AliciaWarrington.
The
Perfect;' which is a duet with Posies co,leader Jonathan
Dollyrots-who formed in Florida but have been based for
Auer, as a single. "I wrote 'Picture Perfect' about the way
years in L.A.- have already opened for legendary acts like
we think relationships are supposed to look-an impossible
The Go,Gos and the Buzzcocks and will tour the U.K. this
image that we can't actually recreate in real life because it was
fall with Bowling for Soup.
never real to begin with;' she explains. "In that sense, 'Picture
Warrington, who just joined The Dollyrots in November,
says, "It has been a big deal for me to join a group because
Perfect' is sort of a breakup song. I was breaking up with the
image of relationships I was taught to want but that isn't
I usually stick to the hired gun and session type of gigs. It
actually fulfilling:' Belle-who identifies as queer-adds,
was a little weird joining two people who have been playing
"The moment I wrote the song, I envisioned it as a duet with
together for over 10 years [but] the three of us get along
a man. I reached out to [Jon] and it was the perfect fit. He is really well, connect musically and have fun-which is a really
such a gentle, humble, capable and instantly likable person:'
important element in keeping a band together:' The upcom,
Of her work in general, Belle says, "For me, music is an
ing album includes such irresistible garage rock nuggets as
"I Wanna Go;"'Hyperactive" and "Twist Me to the Left:'
introspective place. I like to dwell in the dark and hidden
spaces-the places where our thoughts and emotions feel
Though she's currently pounding the skins for The
contradictory ... ! observe the beauty and the fluid nature of
Dollyrots, Warrington's musical background is by no means
ARTISTSTO
KEEP AN EAR
OUT FOR.
Belk
ffiarching
loHerOwn
Drumbeal
God-Des
& Sheare
currentlyin the studio
finishingtheir hotly
anticipatedfourthalbum
andwill be on tour
throughoutthe Midwest
this summer.Checkout
god-desandshe.com
for
tour datesandmore
information!
44
I curve
God-Des'playlist
1. "Lights"by Journey
2. "Juicy"by BiggieSmalls
3. "BabyI'm A Star"by Prince
4. "PassingMe By" by Pharcyde
5. "Noneof YourBusiness"by SaltN Pepa
6. "DogDays"by FlorenceandTheMachine
7. "Clocks"by Coldplay
8. "BreathMe" by Sia
9. "CloserToFine"by IndigoGirls
10."ToMakeYouFeelMyLove"by GarthBrooks
She'splaylist
1. "FeelsLikethe FirstTime"by Boston
2. "Wavin'Flag"by K'naan
3. "Foreverin BlueJeans"by NeilDiamond
4. "Trya LittleTenderness"
by OtisRedding
5. "Boyfriend"by JustinBieber
6. "Kodachrome"
by PaulSimon
7. "LoveWill KeepUsTogether"by CaptainandTennille
8. "ComeToMe" by BonnieRaitt
9. "PeaceTrain"by CatStevens
10."NightMoves"by BobSeger
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limited to one genre. She's played with everyone from Hannah
Montana to Uh Huh Her and from former En Vogue singer
Dawn Robinson to Tracy Chapman. "I grew up with Polish
grandparents playing polka music, a mom who listened to
R&B and a metal head sister and uncle!" says Warrington.
"So I was introduced to all styles of music from the start.
That's something that has always stuck with me. I love the
constant challenge of having to learn different styles of songs
from such a diverse group of artists:' The latest addition to
her resume is working with Chris Rene, a rap and R&B artist
who recently appeared on The X Factor. [DaveSteinfeld]
ijl SoHard
Hard rock drummer Sandra Alva of metal band Modern
Day Escape has a confession to make: "Lately;' she says, ''I've
been so into country music:'
It is difficult to picture Alva listening to the likes of Blake
Shelton and Luke Bryan, both her favorites and the latter of
whom sings about catfish and country girls. "Last summer
I spent a month in Dallas and I came back and I was like, 'I
want to listen to country: Ever since then I haven't stopped. I
don't know what it is:'
Luckily for Alva, she'll be back in the Lone Star State this
summer when Modern Day Escape goes on tour for their
latest album Under the Gun. It's the first album Alva has
created with the group since joining nearly two years ago,
moving over to the band after leaving Black Veil Brides,
which she said was too glam rock, not enough rock'n' roll.
"I would wear black makeup all over my body and it wasn't
really me. I wasn't really comfortable making my hair 10 feet
high. I just like being myself and I didn't want to be fake:' At
Modern Day Escape"we just rock out, we don't have to dress
up. We can just be ourselves and play whatever we want. It's
more my style:'
Alva's first love was actually hip~hop, and she used to
breakdance before she stumbled upon her cousin's drum
set when she was 11 years old. Intrigued, she picked up the
drumsticks, made a simple beat and soon enough she was
able to play songs right after hearing them. "I love playing
drums. You have your own little space and you're just rocking
out. And it's a good workout:'
She calls Modern Day Escape "super metal:' Though the
original band was formed in Florida in 2006, the present
incarnation is based in Los Angeles and took on Alva as
the new drummer in 2011. Alva says the best thing about
her upcoming tour is that she gets to travel the country
with her bandmates, a group of dudes she calls her best
friends. "I was always one of the guys;' she says. "You
know how there's always a group of guys and then there's
that one girl that has long hair and doesn't know how to
dress really:' That was me:' Alva, who has been out since
she was 14 and will be turning 24 on tour, says she was
always most comfortable kicking back with the guys, eat~
ing pizza, drinking soda and burping. "I still do that but
I have somewhat of a style now:' (moderndayescape.com)
[JillianEugenics]
SEASONED SISTERACT
JuneandJeanMillington
are hardly "emerging"
artists. Returning artists would be a better
way to describe them. Though they aren't
often cited as such, the Millington sisters
formed what was arguably the first allfemale band ever, Fanny, in the late 1960s.
This was not a "girl group" but rather four
women playing their own instruments and
cranking it up to 11. The original lineup of
Fanny-June and Jean on guitar and bass
respectively, drummer Alice de Buhr and
keyboardist Nickey Barclay-recorded
four albums during the first half of the
'70s, toured with bands like Jethro Tull and
scored a couple of minor hits but never
became a household name. In addition to
being an all-female band at a time when
there was no precedent for this, Fanny was
an anomaly in other ways.
While the Millington sisters were born
in the Philippines, Barclay was from the
Washington D.C. area and de Buhr hailed
from Iowa, of all places. And though Jean
is straight, June is queer. But she reveals,
"No one talked about being gay [back
then], even if you were feeling something.
We had no idea what that was, really."
After flying under the radar for years,
the Millingtons are back with a vengeance.
They released their first album in ages, the
ironically named Play Like a Girl, in 2011. A
true family affair, the album also features
Jean's son Lee Madeloni on drums. June
is in the process of penning her autobiography, which she hopes to release next year.
And throughout all this, she and her longtime partner, Ann Hackler, have overseen
the Institute for the Musical Arts (ima.org).
Currently based in Goshen, Mass., IMA is a
non-profit dedicated to helping women and
girls in the music business. The 25-acre
property includes everything from a bunkhouse and fully equipped kitchen to state
of the art recording studios and a performance space that seats 200. Jean, who
cites Paul McCartney and James Jamerson
as her primary influences as a bassist, has
also worked at IMA as a teacher. In addition,
she is an herbalist.
When I ask her how the music industry
has changed in the 40-odd years since
Fanny emerged, June Millington says,
"Not only wasn't the industry the same,
the world wasn't the same. We didn't have
birth control, and abortions were illegal.
We had absolutely no role models and
most people either were shocked or considered it a joke for girls to start an electric
band on their own. There were no women's
centers, no schools resembling Berkeley
or GIT where young women could get any
information on how to play what we were
hearing on the radio. [IMA] feeds the young
performer in me who could have used a
place like [this] all those years ago-and
speaks to my desire to pass on what I
know." [DaveSteinfeld]
July/August 2012
I 45
Passion
Play
FOR RACHAEL SAGE, BULLYING, BISEXUALITY
AND BROKEN HEARTS INSPIRED HER BRILLIANT
MUSICAL CAREER.
BYJESS MCAVOY
RACHAEL SAGE TAUGHT HERSELF TO PLAY
THE PIANO AT AGE 3, AND STARTED WRITING
SONGS TO COPE WITH BEING BULLIED AT
SCHOOL IN CONNECTICUT. SHE DREAMED
OF A CAREER IN MUSIC, THEN MADE IT
COME TRUE, FOUNDING
MPRESS RECORDS,
TRAVELINGTHE WORLD, AND SHARING
THE STAGE WITH JUDY COLLINS, SHAWN
COLVIN AND SARAH MCLACHLAN.
WHEN
I CAUGHT UP WITH THE TALENTED AND
MULTIFACETED QUEER MUSICIAN, SHE WAS
IN PORTLAND, ORE., AWAITING HER SHOW
AT THE STAR THEATER. WE DISCUSSED HER
POST-BREAKUP ALBUM, HAUNTED BY YOU,
AND THE CHALLENGES AND BENEFITS OF
BEING AN AVID SONGWRITER AND A
SUCCESSFUL RECORD LABEL OWNER.
At whatpointdidyouknowyouwerea musician?
For me it was really very, very young. I remember being 5 or
6 years old and knowing that I wanted to be a songwriter. I
don't know that I thought about what that was at the time.
But the arrival of the four-track tape recorder as a bat mitzvah
gift from my extended family dictated a lack of my social life
for a number of years. I guess that was a turning point.
YoufoundedMPressRecords
in 1996.Whatinspiredyou?
I think, for a lot of young people, college is the time where
you go through all of your extreme ups and downs, and I
think the upside was that I felt really inspired and empowered by the creative community there, and I was seeing a lot
of examples of people putting out a lot of creative workAni DiFranco, the Indigo Girls and Loreena McKennitt
were the reference point for me. I used my acting training
to pretend that I had a much bigger staff than just one. I
pretended to be this manager, that booking agent-and
whoever else I thought could sell the product.
That'sprettyballsy.
It's chutzpah. Sometimes it gets you into trouble, and sometimes you can be lucky.
Running
a recordlabeltakesa lotof work.Whatconvinced
you
to doit? Howdoesit affectyourowncreativecareer?
I think it was at Lilith Fair in 1999, when I saw Sarah
Bluespowerhouse
RuthieFosterhasbeenon the roadfor almostall of 2012in supportof her newly
releasedalbumlet It Burn.Aftera shortbreakto rechargeher batteries,the restof 2012will be filled with
writingandtouringall overthe U.S.,the U.K.andNorway."It will be a great2012"saysFoster.Tunein.
w
1. "My HandyManAin't HandyNoMore"byAlbertaHunter
2. "Shingleby Shingle"by EricBibb
3. "Edithandthe Kingpin"byTinaTurner
4. "Isn't it A Pity"by NinaSimone
5. ''A'alEih"by SamiraSaeed
6. "AmrDiab"by NaurElAin
7. "Won'tLet MeGo"byAmosLee
8. "RoadToZion"by DamianMarley
9. "I'll NeverLoveThisWayAgain"by DionneWarwick
10."Bapa"by GeoffreyGurrumulYunpingo
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Mclachlan and the whole operation and how personable every~
one in her team was. She made everyone, from the opening act to
the headliner, seem equal. That sense of community was what I
really wanted to create in some way.
Youidentifyas bisexual.Hasthisaffectedyourart?
I think that's one of the things that's so empowering about being
queer and being a musician, that inescapable understanding that
music is something that can bring so many different kinds of
people together and open up people's ears and minds to ideas that
they otherwise may not be open to-because
you are presenting
it through art.
Eachnewrecordbecomes
somewhatof a favoritechild.Is thishow
youfeelaboutyourmilestone
tenthalbum,Hauntedby You?
You know, it's a favorite and a challenge because I wrote most
of the songs on this record on guitar, and I wrote them before I
felt entirely comfortable performing them in public. So I am very
proud of the nerve it took for me to sit down in the studio and do
it until I got it right. I do feel really happy with the record and I
am really proud of it, and now that I am on tour it's taking a lot
of courage to play these songs in a much more raw kind of way
than I would be on the piano, because piano is second nature to
me-it's like talking-and
guitar is still scary.
Doyouhaveany advicefor aspiringmusiciansor womenwho are
lookingto succeedin the business
of music?
Stick to your own vision. I think that's the best advice that I've
ever received. (rachaelsage.com)
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ActorClementine
Ford,whostoleour heartsasthe earnestMollyKrollon TheL Word,
is jugglinga few rolesincludingan onstage
GoDownandis workingon writinga book,dueout nextyear."I seemusicas the
turn in a LosAngelesproductionof Phantoms
foundationof my life,"Fordsays."Whenpeopleaskwhat kindof musicI like,I say'everything'andI meanit." Listenin!
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1. "PerfectlyFlawed"by BatMcGrath
2. "I Couldn'tLeaveYouif I Tried"by RodneyCrowell
3. "WhenYouWishUpona Star"by PetraHadenandBill Frisel
4. "MiseryandGin"by MerleHaggard
5. "ConnieFrancis"byTheCentimeters
6. "ComicStrip"by SergeGainsbourg
with BrigitteBardot
7. "AshtrayHeart"by CaptainBeefheart
8. "EarthDiedScreaming"byTomWaits
9. "Johnthe Revelator"by SonHouse
10."I Just Don'tKnowWhatto DoWithMyself"byTheWhiteStripes
July/August 2012
I 47
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FROM
WARRIOR
PRINCESS
TO
ECO-WARRIOR
In these troubled times,
it's hearteningto see
our favorite glamazon
turn her back on the
red carpetand stand
up for her beliefs.
By MerrynJohns
On February 23, statuesque Xena actor Lucy Lawless took a leaf from her
famous character's superhero book by spending 77 hours occupying the
Shell oil-drilling ship Noble Discoverer. Lawless and six other Greenpeace
activists, who are now referred to as the Taranaki 7, crept aboard the ship
in the early morning while it was moored in Port Taranaki, a port complex in
New Plymouth, New Zealand. Lawless and the other activists boarded the
ship to raise awareness about deep-sea oil drilling. In a statement released
to the press Lawless said, "Deep-sea oil drilling is bad enough, but venturing
into the Arctic, one of the most magical places on the planet, is going too far.
I don't want my kids to grow up in a world without these extraordinary places
intact or where we ruin the habitat of polar bears for the last drops of oil." The
Taranaki 7 were arrested on charges of burglary. Ready to stand trial in New
Zealand, where she's also filming Top of the Lake with celebrated film director
and fellow New Zealand er Jane Campion (The Piano, Portrait of a Lady),
Lawless spoke frankly to curve about her environmental views and her love
for her lesbian fan base.
54
I curve
STop
--~-'1_Elt
~T"-j-
Thelasttimewe spokeit was2007,youwere
a blonde,
andyouwerelaunching
yoursinging
careerwith a seriesof concertsat the Roxy
Theatrein LosAngeles.
Fiveyearslateryou're
a brunetteagain,andyou'veclimbedaboard
a drillingship as a Greenpeace
protester!
How many more facets are there to your
character?
Plenty, plenty. Yeah, I feel like I'm only just
beginning to exercise my wings.
Lucy,you'vealwaysstruckmeas a verygenuineperson,
and
nowwith yourGreenpeace
roleI feel that way evenmore.I
thinkI canspeakonbehalfof all yourlesbianfansto saywe
weredelighted
thatwe weren'tmisledin lovingourWarrior
Princess
somuch.
Oh good, good!
Whatlittheenvironmental
fireinyou?Whenwasyourwake-up
callaboutthestateof ourplanet?
Actually, it was evacuating Hurricane Katrina. That was
what taught me that I never, ever want to go through this
56
I curve
(. ·-
I
again. When I see that our refusal to wean ourselves off
fossil fuels is now bound to cause more intense and more
frequent natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, I find
that intolerable-and
really a disgrace. I see it as intergenerational violence upon our grandchildren. I don't want
to be a part of that. I'm trying to reduce my footprint as
much as possible. I'm trying to stop flying for anything but
absolutely necessary travel. I'm carpooling. The whole bit.
I drive a hybrid car at the moment, have done for about 10
years. But I want something better. I want something that
doesn't run on fossil fuels at all, and I know the technology's out there-so give it to us. Here's the beautiful thing:
None of us are powerless anymore. With the Internet, we
all have voices. And you see how that's effecting change in
North Africa and the Middle East. We can have that in
our own countries too, because there's terrible, dirty deals
being made behind closed doors. And now that we know
about that, it's incumbent upon us to do something about
it, to fight for our children, to fight for their right to live in
a clean world and an ethical society.
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Youbecamea climateambassador
for Greenpeace
in 2009. Whereare younowwith the courtcase?Youwerearrested
Whatmadeyousnapthis yearand go,"I'm puttingon my andarebeingtriedfor burglary.
hardhatandI'm gettingonboard
thisship"?
It just got put off again. They're going to renegotiate the
Just the time where we are now: There's going to be no
charges. The general understanding from the Law Society
going back unless ordinary people like you and me stand
here is that [the charge of] burglary is insupportable.
Certainly, if they proceed with those charges we will fight
up for and demand our rights for climate justice. If you
them, because nothing was taken. There was no self interest
hope to eat food grown off the land, and if you hope to
drink water that comes from our water table, you've got
in our activities there. Nothing was destroyed. So we'll
to start fighting for the health of those things. Because
see how that plays out. But I can't talk too much about
with the fracking and the deep~sea drilling and going into
it, of course ...
Wasn'twhatyouweretryingto doa bitliketheOccupy
movethe Arctic-the search for fossil fuels now is getting more
ment-goodold-fashioned
protestbyvirtueof yourphysical
desperate and therefore more dangerous. Oil spills are
presence?
an inherent part of drilling-look
at the terrible gas leak
Thank you, I like that, I'm going to use that! If we lose
that's going on up in the North Sea at the moment. It's
the right to protest, society will continue to be domi~
becoming much more dangerous to pursue these things.
nated by commercial forces that have zero empathy or
And really, there's no reason to pursue them anymore: We
care for the health of the people or the planet, and,
have the technology for a clean, sustainable, beautiful
apparently, zero concern for any kind of decency or jus~
future. But schmucks like you and me who pay our taxes
tice. Not all businesses are like that, of course-there
are
are going to have to fight for it, because those great big
many ethical people out there. But there is a long history
corporations who pay bugger all taxes are going to screw
of despicable deals being made by many of these great
us to the ground. So put your dukes up, guys, because we
can do this.
big companies.
July/August 2012
I 57
A lot of the angerwe'veseenexpressed
throughthe Arab
Springandthe Occupymovement
is aboutbeingdeceived,
aboutcorruption,
aboutgovernment
gettinginto bedwith
bigbusiness.
We trusted them, didn't we? We thought there'd be a
trickle-down effect. We believed in commerce. But, unfortunately, you can't run a country like a business, because
there is too much of a human matrix. All animals and all
human beings are part of this matrix. We cannot survive if
our dirt is poisoned, if our water table is degraded.
YoucomefromNewZealand,
whichcanactuallyusetheword
"pristine"?
Doyoufeelthattoomanypeoplein otherpartsof
theplanethavegivenupandsoldout?
At the moment, our seas are really terrific-our economic
zone, which extends 200 miles out, has up until now been
pristine. However, our government has been sneakily lobbying, using taxpayers' money, for great big oil companies
to come down and drill two and three kilometers below
the sea, where in the event of a blowout like Deepwater
Horizon no human being could ever get down to fix it. So,
bye-bye, pure green New Zealand. Bye-bye to the New
ss I curve
"We cannot
surviveif our dirt
is poisoned,if
our water table is
degraded."
Zealand premium brand
that we piggyback all
our products on. Goodbye to our fisheries, our
beach life, good-bye to
our whole way of life.
It would just trash our
nation, because we have no regulations. Have you ever
heard of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement?
I havenot.Whatis it?
Basically, that's some crazy agreement where, down the
line, if your government goes and puts in some environmental controls or protection measures, corporations who
came down here, like oil, who have set up operations in
your economic zone, can sue the government for something that amounts to restraint of trade ...
Youcouldbe askedto sacrificeyourenvironment
in order
to producea profitablefinancialquarteron a spreadsheet
somewhere
onanothersideof theworld?
It's bizarre, isn't itr I can't help thinking back to that study
where they tested a thousand students for psychopathic
traits, and by far the greatest number were drawn to commerce, because business rewards self-serving, cold-hearted
behavior. I can't help but think how that study plays out in
the real world, as those people go on to become extremely
successful, because they think about nothing except how
to make the next deal as profitable as possible.
YousaidyouclimbedaboardtheNobleDiscoverer
onbehalfof
yourchildren.
Howdoyoufeelabouttheirplacein theworld?
I feel very strongly that we should not burden our children ...
they deserve a childhood that is as hopeful and ebullient
as what we had, and that ought to be their birthright. It's
our job as grownups to take care of this shit, so that they
don't have to.
You'rea householdnameand part of the Hollywoodstar
culture.Hasthereeverbeena timewhenyourcolleagues
and
advisorsquestioned
yourenvironmental
beliefs?
Oh, all the time. They couldn't believe it when I got a Prius,
and they were getting into their Bentleys and whatever.
That's reality. You can't expect everybody to be like youotherwise you just alienate people. But even though I talk
very seriously with you, I still have a very joyful outlook
about how we're going to go about this.
Yournextfilm projectis withJaneCampion.
What'sit liketo
workwithsucha brilliantfemaledirector?
She's an extraordinary human being. She's really a genius. I
didn't even know what the word meant until I met her.
Sothisprojectis noBitchSlap?
(Laughs] Sometimes you do things to help out your
mates, and then sometimes you do things for the life experience. And that was what this was.Just being around Jane
Campion is such a profound learning experience.
Canyoutell mewhattypeof character
youplay?
I can't tell you too much ... but I wonder if people will recognize me at first. And it's extremely bizarre.
It soundsa longway fromSpartacuson Starz.Wasthat as
muchfunas it appeared?
Yes, even on Spartacus when it's terrible, it's a professional
pleasure. I just lucked out on that one. It was an extraordinary experience.
WhenI saw youplayingLucretia,oppositethe lovelyJaime
Murrayas Gaia,I couldtell that you hadn'tdesertedyour
Xena fans. Why do you keep tormentinglesbians?But
please,don'tstop.
(Laughs] I was just fulfilling the role, really.
Nevertheless,
it seemsyou'llalwayshavethis hugelesbian
following.
I love that. That's fantastic, because they've been such
wonderful fans. The thing about a lesbian following, if I
can generalize here, is that they have a great sense of justice. You see a lot of lesbian women in justice professions,
whether they are social workers, police, lawyers-a lot of
the women that I have come to know have been in those
fields. That makes them really fantastic people to me.
July/August 2012
I 59
d; the
e
olly Algoo
Eila and Hsustainable acreag
Algoods'
8, my partner Holly and I vacationed
ug. 22, 2008, we were living here. Our
s why. Why leave a comfortable life on the
shoreline complete with good friends, fami y, wor , hobbies and activism to move to the unknowns
of l:tI waii? My answer: why not? This move offered us a
le, n canvas to paint our dream life together. The painting
....is loo ing bright, colorful and very much in process.
•
._ __
Holly and I began our relationship in May, 2001. We
were in N.Y.C. on 9 / 11 and lived through a number of trips
to family court where we were told we'd never gain physical
custody of my son, Montana!, because we were lesbians (he
now attends University ofHawai'i). Much has changed since
then, including our last names. We combined our maiden
names of Alff and Goodman to create Algood in 2002.
In 2005, we were married on Salt Spring Island, British
Columbia, Canada. We lived part time on Salt Spring
Island, which is where we became increasingly aware of
eco-friendly living. The people there greatly value the environment. While there, we became committed to incorporating
greener living into our lifestyle. We began by volunteering
on green home tours and attending local workshops on
environmental topics. Holly's initial learning came from her
mother who was a nature lover and fervent recycler. Holly
became increasingly aware of environmental impacts when
she worked with municipal utility companies as an organization effectiveness consultant in the 1990s, during energy
deregulation. My first foray into doing something positive
for the environment was using cloth diapers when Montana
was born in 199 L While living in Connecticut, Holly and
I sold our regular cars for Prius hybrids and began using
eco-friendly building materials when renovating our home.
During our vacation to Hawaii in 2008, I was intuitively
drawn to visit the northernmost town of Hawi (pronounced
Havi) on the Big Island. It was there that we saw a 33-acre
parcel of open ranchland for sale. Driving down the road to
view the land, we saw a wind farm and expansive views of
the green grassy hillside, deep-blue ocean and the island
of Maui!
Once we made the move to Hawaii, in order to create
our green oasis, we did extensive research, attended classes
and workshops, and talked to people to learn as much
as we could about living a greener life. Holly has a green
thumb and is the one who investigates and inquires about
the correct vegetation to plant. She also does mediation
and volunteers for several community organizations. Being
mechanical, I operate our John Deere tractor (quite a shift
from my Brooklyn beginnings), and maintain the batteries
and aquaponics systems. Other passions of mine are writing, music and most recently producing programs for local
public-access TV. We live off-grid, creating our own energy
via sun and wind. We have been planting trees and growing
our own food on what is mostly cattle-grazing land (which
used to be planted entirely with sugar cane). Our chickens
provide us with fresh, organic eggs and our aquaponics
system symbiotically sustains the production of both fish
and organic vegetables. Our goal is to reduce our carbon
footprint and create more energy than we need; create
more food than we can eat, then share it.
In the bamboo barn we've built, we host neighborhood
events such as yoga classes, Ho'oponopono (a form of
Hawaiian mediation), African dance, poetry readings and
community meetings. The barn offers expansive sunset and
sunrise views of the ocean and Maui. It engenders peaceful and inspirational energy. We have planted hundreds of
trees in the hope of changing this open ranchland, where
few things will grow, into a fruit and hardwood forest
that will sustain many types of fruits and vegetables. This
land could eventually feed hundreds of people-rather
than the current 30 cows. We invite people to see what we
have done, (including hosting guests through airbnb.com)
as a way to inspire others. Our objective is to raise awareness about how each of us can make a positive impact on
our world.
There is a lot of positive growth in building a greener
Hawaii. We've seen an increase in the use of bamboo as a
building material. Bamboo Living, a local company, designs
and creates all the components for its bamboo structures,
which are International Building Code-approved. Many
of us shop at Habitat for Humanity's Restore for recycled
building materials. Holly and I are the Hawaii distributors
for American Clay Earth Plaster, a very earth-friendly, allnatural interior wall finish that's wonderful to work with,
looks beautiful, and has many healthful benefits. We've
seen an increase in the green products being sold at home
center stores. Although we still see some contractors exhibit
a lot of resistance to going green, we think the change in
consciousness is inevitable. The more we all become more
conscious of and responsible for our impact on the environment, the more we will want to make wise, environmentally
kind decisions.
We live in a 575-square-foot house, and we're not alone!
More and more, people are realizing that they can live
comfortably in smaller spaces, if they are well designedwith high ceilings and big windows for natural lighting and
good ventilation. Among the most innovative designers
here are a local lesbian couple who build and sell Habitats
Hawaii. Their tiny houses on wheels are easily portable,
solar-ready and set up for a rainwater catchment system.
We are out as a couple everywhere here and have never
felt mistreated by the community, but rather appreciated
and very accepted. We believe that it is important to be
honest with people, in a kind and loving way. During our
time in Connecticut, we were very active politically in working toward marriage equality. As a couple, we often spoke
at high schools and colleges, to educate, inform and invite
conversation. Since moving to Hawaii, we have opted to
teach by example, as a couple who try to live greener every
day in the hopes other lesbians who see us will feel inspired.
(algoodliving.com)
July/August 2012
I 61
Discover the lesbian side of this Mexican beach town.
By Julia Steinecke
are so many other things to do on a romantic
ay to Puerto Vallarta, you may be surprised at
little time you spend on the beach. The coastline
1 beautiful, but so is the patio of El Arra yin (elarrayan.
com.mx), where I start by sampling plantain empanadas
with chipotle and garlic sauce. Lush plants and brightly
colored native Huichol art fill the dining area-and
in
the middle is El Arrayin himself, an aromatic tree that
produces small fruits like the one in my drink. Carmen
Porras, the owner, introduces me to her wife, the co-owner,
Claudia Victoria Rodriguez. They got married in Mexico
62
I curve
City in 2010. "I am the face;' says Carmen, "but she
runs the restaurant:' Their goal is to provide authentic
Mexican cuisine, bringing old family recipes up to date
with local ingredients. I move on to slow-cooked beef
barbacoa, served on a freshly milled corn tortilla, and
topped with cactus salad and cilantro.
Down the street, nine art galleries are full of tourists
participating in the Art Walk (vallartaartwalk.com), which
runs till 10 p.m. on Wednesday nights during the winter
months (October-May). The participating galleries show
contemporary paintings, sculpture and textiles. The city
is full of galleries-across town, in the Zona Roma.mica,
Basilio Badillo has a few, including Patti Gallardo Eclectic
Art and Interior Design (pattigallardo.com). A jewelry
artist named Sonia Ruiz is on duty when I drop in. "Patti
opened a path for women artists in this town;' she says.
On display are pieces by eight artists, and I'm especially
drawn to the paintings of winged women. Sonia explains
that Patti used to exhibit only women artists, but now also
works with men.
A romantic stroll down the newly rebuilt seaside
Malec6n (pedestrian walkway), which lines the west side
of the city, brings more art into view. Public art on the
Malec6n includes La Rotonda del Mar, a circle of fanciful
creatures with mismatched shoes. It has a bench where
two can sit and gaze upon the ocean, leaning against
giant ears.
The whole city center is pleasant for strolling-more
picturesque than the newer resort towns and less trafficchoked than the larger cities. However, visitors may come
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night life (from top);
Art and music on
the beach; Mary
Mancha at Cafe
San Angel; Anne
Bryant and
Lydia Damato
at Uncommon
Grounds
July/August 2012
I 63
away with a somewhat diminished enthusiasm for Vallarta's
charming cobblestones after an ankle~twisting walk or a
bone~jarring taxi ride.
The main plaza, or zocalo, right off the Malec6n, pro~
vides good people~watching opportunities. Plaza Lazaro
Cardenas, in the Zona Romantica, is best viewed from
A Page in the Sun (facebook.com/apageinthesun), a cafe
that sells books, beverages and light meals. On Saturday
mornings, next to the plaza, the Old Town Farmers Market
(oldtownfm.com) sells local fruit, baked goods, crafts
and more. While you're there, you may run into Sylvie
Scopazzo, a friendly dyke expat who sometimes provides
musical entertainment. Sylvie leads the Ladies Outdoor
Club Adventures and is the power behind Power Walk the
Hidden Streets of Puerto Vallarta (toursdujourmexico.com).
She also gigs around town with her classic rock band, the
Zippers. Fourteen years ago, Sylvie was living in Vancouver
and longing for the sun. A co~worker suggested Vallarta,
which Sylvie had never visited. ''After another bike ride in
the rain, I said, Tm done with this!'" So she sold her pos~
sessions and headed south. "Three days later, I realized that
this was where I wanted to be:' Sylvie worked as a restau~
rant host, timeshare promoter, scuba instructor and hot
air balloon ticket seller. Then she enjoyed a successful stint
running canopy tours, where she met the zip line workers
who are now in her band. Like most expat women here, she
is busy working at all her various enterprises.
Where the girls are in Puerto Vallarta: at work. Diana
DeCoste-nicknamed
the Mayor-runs
a legendary gay
and lesbian day cruise (dianastours.com). Charlotte Semple,
founder of the Old Town Farmers Market, and Carole Fast
make Xocodiva artisan chocolates and sell them at their
cafe, in the Zona Romantica (xocodiva.com). Anne Bryant
and Lydia Damato run the Uncommon Grounds Chill
Out Lounge (uncommon~grounds.com), several blocks
inland near the banks of the Cuale River. A mixed crowd
attends their live music, dances and workshops.
Another mixed nightlife option popular with lesbians is
Apaches, a cocktail bar not far from Plaza Lazaro Cardenas.
The women overflow next door to Cafe San Angel. If you're
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planning a getaway to Puerto Vallarta, check ahead, because
both of these places may have to dose temporarily due to
construction on Olas Altas Street.
As I'm chatting with the owner of San Angel, a woman
comes up to me and says, "Please come and see my place.
I want you to send the lesbians:' She leads me around
the corner to the Metamorfosis Day Spa (metamorfosis~
dayspa.com), a small establishment with cozy treatment
rooms. She introduces herself as Angelica Lopez and
presents the ever~smiling staff, most of whom appear to
be related to her.
From here, a few city beaches are within walking dis~
tance, including the gay beach known as Blue Chairs, at
the south end of Playa de los Muertos. A sign for Blue
Chairs Resort by the Sea (bluechairsresort.com) welcomes
everyone, though the great majority of the beachcombers
are gay men. From there I could go farther afield, to the
hotel zone north of downtown, to the resort beaches far~
ther south, or to the seaside village of Yelapa, with its own
romantic cabanas for women (casarosayelapa.com). So
many beaches, so little time, and so many other things to
do! ( visitpuertovallarta.com)
Locally recommended accommodations
include Casa Andrea (casa-andrea.com)
in the Zona Romantica and Hotel
Emperador (hotelemperadorpv.com), a
mixed place near the gay beach. Garza
Blanca (garzablancaresort.com) is a
high-end resort south of the city with an
infinity pool and a talented chef. Room
technology was not in the best state of
repair during my stay, but the staff tried
hard to fix it. They offer weddings and
they've done two same-sex ceremonies.
GayGuideVallarta.com offers a handy
printable calendar and interactive map.
Whether
spending
yourdayslounging
nextto
a rooftop
hotelpool,strolling
through
thechic
fashion
anddesign
districtorlivingit upatone
of thefamousLGBTnightlifevenuesof
SantaMonicaBoulevard,
WestHollywood
offersunmatched
styleandexcitement.
Bestof all,at just 1.9squaremilesin size,
WestHollywood
hasbeennamed
California's
mostwalkable
city!
www.gogaywesthollywood.com
July/August 2012
I 65
9a:r~9r~:
<;t.Pt
Not your grandma's Florida resort town.
By Gillian Kendall
oment I approach the city limits and pass the
lcome to St. Petersburg sign, an NPR reporter is talk~
i; g about the other St. Petersburg, in Russia. Although
homosexuality has been decriminalized there for the past 20
years, an anti~gay law banning "homosexual propaganda''
has just gone into effect in St. Petersburg, the most
European city in Russia. Consequently, the Canadian
government has issued an advisory, warning openly gay
travellers that they might encounter difficulties or dis~
crimination. Meanwhile, in search of a gay, green good
time, I'm driving into Sunshine City-glad
to be in St.
Pete, and glad to be in America.
This city of a quarter million, north of groovy Gulfport,
west of tolerant Tampa, is an affordable beach destination
with an artsy edge. The green wave of sustainable tourism is
moving through the palmy, balmy suburbs and right into
the bubbling, bayside downtown.
Let's get the nomenclature right: St. Petersburg ( the city,
often called "St. Pete" for short) faces Tampa Bay, while
St. Pete Beach (a separate town, with an officially short~
erred name) is 10 miles away and faces the Gulf of Mexico.
Beaches on the gulf are superior to those on the bay for
66
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swimming, snorkelling and so on, but to get away from
the flocks of snowbirds, it's best to stay in St. Petersburg
(on the bay), which offers casuakhic accommodations,
offbeat eateries and an amazing arts scene.
Two enhancements to St. Petersburg's sustainability
status are the Saturday food and crafts market, and the
motorized trolley that runs every 15 minutes around
downtown. Drivers park free on the outskirts and use the
trolley for errands or sightseeing, and at 50 cents a ride it's
cheaper than gas.
One of Florida's most walkable neighborhoods, down~
town St. Pete stretches from the recently relocated Dali
Museum in the south to the hot~pink Vinoy Hotel in the
north, and in between encompasses a waterfront park and
a bevy of restaurants, cafes, showy shops and galleries.
For a beach town, St. Pete has a very sophisticated arts
scene, with three major museums: the world~class Dali;
the Chihuly Collection, a permanent exhibit of Dale
Chihuly's glasswork; and the Museum of Fine Arts.
On the waterfront are a number of pricey, dress~up
restaurants, but for inexpensive, clean, green fare, head up
Central Avenue (just south of 1st Avenue North) to the
Top: Old world charm at gay owned and operated Dickens House
Bed and Breakfast; A suite stay at the Indigo Hotel
popular Cafe Bohemia, where owner and chef Matt Neal
admits to being "kind of obsessed with ingredients;' or to
vegetarian heaven, Leafy Greens Cafe.
A gay green traveller has many accommodation options,
all of them good. The historic Beach Drive Inn offers breezy
suites, luxurious breakfasts and genuine eco~credentials,
including a certificate for its efforts toward sustainable
tourism. The inn recycles and composts, uses solar lighting,
offers bicycles for guests, and is listed as a green lodging
facility. Furthermore, the prices are amazing, at least to
those of us who are used to California and East Coast
rates-about $225 gets a sweet Jacuzzi suite plus breakfast
for two.
Owner Heather Martino walks the recycling walk: She
takes me to her favorite secondhand boutique, the fabu~
lous Designer Exchange on Central Avenue, where I score
a virgin pair of the Australian~made Blundstone boots
that I could never afford when I lived in Oz. Next door is
an organic day spa (see the sidebar on "Sugaring'').
The most clearly "family~friendly" B&B in the area is
Dickens House. This gay~run historic home has been
impeccably restored by the owner, Ed Caldwell; a che£ a
fine artist and an interior designer, he uses all his talents
to produce beautiful meals and spaces. The living room
has a fireplace, a big front porch offers rocking chairs and
newspapers and the cozy bedrooms and suites prove size
doesn't matter. My third~floor Orange Belt room is tiny
but perfectly formed. Not all his clients are gay. But, he
says, "We get very few Republicans. I think it's all the nat~
ural wood-it's too warm. Republicans want center~hall
Colonials with white paint, all structured and organized:'
The GOP supporter who's visiting at the time I'm there
has been getting an earful at breakfast. Ed Caldwell hasn't
been running his own business for 17 years in order to
preside over a dull dining room. The round table and the
morning papers encourage conversation, and Ed encour~
ages, um, debate.
A few blocks away is La Veranda, a sprawling, airy B&B
decorated in funky turn~of~the~last~century elegance,
with bi~level verandas bigger than your last apartment.
Breakfast (made by the owner, Nancy Mayer) is served
on the downstairs veranda: Enjoy the homemade biscuits,
and be sure to sneak some eggs to Jack, the six~toed kitty.
None of these B&Bs has a pool, but all are within
July/August 2012
I 67
easy reach of the Olympic-size pool at the North Shore
Aquatic Complex on the waterfront. At $5 admission for
adults, and with a play pool and a slide for the kids, it's
green, inexpensive entertainment-the
only drawback is
that you can't skinny dip.
Those travelling with children, or for work, might prefer to stay in downtown St. Petersburg at Hotel Indigo,
one of the boutique (read: small, chic) properties of the
International Hotel Group. With some 75 rooms, a
smallish pool, and free parking, the former hospital now
offers a sophisticated, inexpensive alternative to the big
chains, and one that's in the middle of everyplace you
want to go downtown.
Nothing could be greener or gayer than B. Andrew
Skin Care, a local brand of skin-care products made with
organic ingredients and love by a local couple, Brett
Crandal and Andrew Guilfoil. After a struggle with ill
health, Andrew became wary of anything containing
chemicals and artificial ingredients, and his work to promote his healthy handmade products is paying off: Sales
are spreading rapidly, and after just one treatment my skin
feels oh-so-organic.
St. Petersburg, Fla., may not be the next San Francisco,
or the potential P-Town of the South, but it is like an
up-and-coming Oakland, Calif., or a warm, walkable
Washington, D.C., minus the homophobes. With queerfriendly businesses, warm weather and cultural diversity, it's
enough to make any visitor appreciate gay,green America.
Sugaring is the new waxing, so dip me in honey
and throw me to the lesbians. By Gillian Kendall
hurts like hell:' So spoke my elegant, hairless friend
arie, as she stepped naked into her hot tub. I'd just told
her I was about to get sugared, and she was sharing her
experience, strength and hope in regard to hair removal. 'J\t
least, waxing does. You know that, right?"
"No;' I said. ''I've never even had a leg wax:'
She shuddered delicately, sliding into the warm water. "I
hate hair:' She told me about a friend, someone who regularly bathes in her pool, whose pubic region looks "like an
old gnome, with a beard:'
My own unkempt bits probably struck her the same way.
I wondered if many other lesbians were so negative about
pubes au naturel, and if so, at what point in a new relationship they might bring it up.
At any rate, I was about to get the no-gnome look
' t
68
I curve
myself. I'd been sweeMalked into it by the sweet-faced
women of Inspire Natural Beauty, in St. Petersburg, Fla.,
when I'd gone to them a week earlier in search of crueltyfree makeup.
What I found-in
addition to nice lash-conditioning
brown mascara-was
a green-certified spa owned and
operated by gay-friendly women with luminous skin.
Founder Lea Ann Barlas told me, "It was always hard for
me to reconcile beauty with my concern for the environment, because of the chemicals and waste [in the cosmetics
industry]:' While working in a Santa Fe beauty shop, she
thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to have a makeup shop with
all-natural products?" Now she runs one, stocked with her
own selection of organic, chemical-free products, most of
which are vegan.
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On the day of my sugaring experience, Lea Ann remarks,
"Our entire spa is cruelty-free;' as she leads me to the
treatment room.
"You mean this won't hurtt I ask, hopefully.
"It's animakruelty-free;' she amends. "Come in:'
This is the first place in the area to offer sugaring for hair
removal, and Lea Ann has chosen it over waxing because
the product is natural and biodegradable-and
hurts less.
While wax adheres to the skin, the warm, honeylike sugar
simply sticks to the hair. When the sugar is removed, it
takes the hair off but leaves the skin soft, supple-and,
yes, sweet.
At least five friends, hearing that I was getting sugared,
have asked, "Does that mean they lick it off your" Lea Ann
says the product, which she heats in a slow cooker, is wholly
edible, so I taste a morsel. Not bad: I could imagine licking
the residue of the process off someone I liked.
But no lezzo would put a tongue near a mess of used
sugaring gel. After it has removed the hair from a few small
sections of my leg, the sticky ball of pulled-off goop looks
like dirty fur. Lea Ann uses fresh blobs of gel much more
often than she has to, just for aesthetic reasons.
But the stuff feels warm and soft when it's being applied,
and the short sting when it's pulled off hurts less than
womenfest.com (305) 294-4603
I expected it to. To remove hair, the technician quickly
rolls the blob of sugaring gel up and off, sort of the way
we used to pull Silly Putty off a cartoon. The first pull-off,
on my right shin, ranks on the discomfort scale somewhere
between shaving without shaving cream and plucking out
my eyebrows. Strangely, only the first strip on etch shin or
thigh hurts-subsequent
removals in th same area don't
bother me at all. The irritation is slightly worse at the bikini
line, but nothing I wouldn't undergo e ery month or so to
keep myself, uh, lickable.
Post-sugaring, I find out that I'm bemg treated to a fac1 ,
including a decadent massage. I'm dri i ed in wa/m towels
and breathing in scented, soothing ~· arh. I think, drow~
sily, that I've never been massaged du
a fa ial b
or maybe I have ... there's something v X fa
being so cosseted and well treated ... is
like in the wombr My mind is fuzzy, my sens
sweet, sugary daze.
The only fly in the sugar-ointment is that my hair
back quickly. A week after the process I have' nubs, anq
two weeks later the hair is nearly back to normal, though
it seems a bit more sparse than before. Waxing max last --.
longer, but it hurts more, too: Not being into pain, I'd st"Gk
to sugaring.
July/August 2012
I 69
Offset carbon emissions even as you fly.
By Gillian Kendall
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t be~ t~an t~ human beings seated around
.her.I'll admi tGir when I'm planning a trip, an airline's
environmental record is not utmost in my deliberations.
My primary ca
rns are price, legroom and convenience
of sche
'.A.gay,friendly culture helps, too: see "How
1endly is Your Airliner" next issue.)
But once I'm strapped in, an airline's green policies
do affect my trip. I once choked on fumes on a Garuda
Indonesia trip to Bali because the flight attendants sprayed
gray plumes of toxic insecticide into all the overhead bins.
That measure was after a long flight from Australia, when
the air quality was already execrable, and the heavy cloud
of toxic fumes made my partner and I sick.
I was grateful on recent British Airways and American
Airlines flights to have my own water bottle filled-and
refilled, and refilled-instead
of using a new plastic con,
tainer every time I wanted a drink. I was also heartened
to hear-while checking out the leg rest, the extra leaning,
back room, and the entertainment facilities in the World
Traveller Plus service of a 777,300-the
pilot promoting
the airlines' recycling measures, which substantially reduce
landfill at many ports.
British Airways' sustainability efforts also include the
One Destination Carbon Fund, which provides sustain,
able energy for housing, wind turbines for schools and
solar panels for community pools.
American Airlines is also lightening its load with new
designs (drink carts have been redesigned for less heft,
though unfortunately it won't be any easier to squeeze
past them in the aisles!) and taking measures to reduce
fuel consumption, for instance using tractors instead of jet
engines to taxi down runways. Between 2005 and 2011,
AA cut fuel consumption by 139 million gallons, saving
$371 million and untold emissions. Also, AA, along with
Finnair and aircraft maker Boeing, is installing"winglets"
on large aircraft: those are the upward,turned tips of the
wings that make it look as if the plane is politely extend,
ing its pinkies. These funny,looking devices reduce the
vortex drag.
The carbon~offset (should be guilt~offset!) programs
are now offered as an option with ticket purchase by
many airlines, including British Airways, Air Canada,
Japan Airlines and QANTAS.
Here's how it works: Passengers can choose to pay a set
price to offset carbon emissions for their share of a flight.
For a round~trip on Air Canada from Toronto to Miami,
for example, that costs about $7.80.
If you'd prefer to invest your travel dollars in a company
that is making green efforts without yourself paying addi~
tional bucks, you might choose your next carrier from the
scorecard at climatecounts.org (currently, Delta, Northwest
and American are high fliers).
For folks travelling on airlines that don't offer offsets, or
for offsetting other kinds of emissions (such as car, train,
even house or event emissions), check out carbonfund.org,
which proffers offset possibilities alongside the heartening
motto "Reduce what you can; offset what you can't:'
Although flying will never be the greenest means of travel,
it's good to know everyone can make small but positive
choices by simply considering the enviroment when selecting
thier airline. Now sit back, relax and enjoy your
fcentaur instin~.tt-tenpotef ~QvEGAS
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July/August 2012
I 71
REVIEWSIn The Stacks
WritingHer Way Home
Author and journalist Meredith Maran mines her lifefor material.By Stephanie Schroeder
Meredith Maran's first memoir, What It's Like
to Live Now (1995), covers a lot of personal ground:
from her childhood in New York City, to her 1960s social and
political activism, to marrying a man, having children and getting
a divorce, to becoming intimately involved with women.
Today, Maran, 60, lives in Oakland, Calif. with her wife, Katrine
Thomas, whom she has been with for 15 years. The two were
married the day before Prop. 8 passed in 2008. Maran has two
sons and a grandson.
What It's Like to Live Now is described in Library Journal as
an attempt"to reconcile her activist ideals of the 1960s and 1970s
with her life today and shows us clearly how her life has been and
is still shaped by them:'
Lesbian and bisexual readers of What It's Like to Live Now
would, Maran says, come with a copy of that book to her other
readings and book tour events. "This happened consistently, the
most memorable occasion being when I was touring for my 2003
nonfiction book Dirty. I was speaking at a theater in Seattle, and
after my talk a woman about my age came up to me with a copy
of every one of my books in a canvas bag-including
the book I
published in 1970, and didn't own a copy of, and hadn't seen since!
She actually gave me her copy. It was moving to me to know that
writing a memoir about raising kids in Oakland as a lesbian mom
evoked such loyalty that readers would follow my career through
several books that had nothing to do with that topic:'
This year, Maran published her 11th book, A Theory of Small
Earthquakes. It's her first novel, and she hopes those same readers
will reacquaint themselves with her through this work. "Writing
A Theory Of Small Earthquakes felt to me like coming home to
721curve
the readers of the memoirs I published in 1995 and 1997;' Maran
says, "and I hope they'll come home to me!"
Well-received in everything from Reader's Digest and Ladies'
Home Journal to People magazine, A Theory Of Small Earthquakes
is, according to Maran, a family story spanning two decades, and
is set against the social, political and geological upheavals of the
Bay Area. Eager to escape her damaging past and chart her own
future, Alison Rose is drawn to Zoe, a free-spirited artist who
offers emotional stability and a love outside the norm. After
they've had many happy years together, the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake deepens fissures in the two women's relationship, and
Alison leaves Zoe for a new, "normal" life with a man. Alison's son
is the outcome of both of these complicated relationships, and
the three parents strive to create a life together that will test the
boundaries of love and family in changing times.
''A decade ago, a friend told me a true story about such a
nontraditional family, whose existence required so much daily
forgiveness on the part of all involved. I thought, 'If only I were
a novelist, that would make a great plot; " Maran recalls. ''As I
watched the story unfold in real time, in my friend's real life, the
itch to write it finally overcame my fear of attempting a novel. After
a lifetime of writing only nonfiction, that fear was epic-and, as it
turned out, well-founded:'
A Theory of Small Earthquakes "took two years to write, five
years to rewrite, and many gnawed fingernails to sell to a publisher.
And it's been the most thrilling writing experience of my life;'
says Maran.
The book was not an easy sell. "My agent shopped the first version of the novel in 2006, and about 15 editors, all of them female,
said they loved the book but didn't love the lead character, Alison,
because she wasn't 'likable; 'sympathetic; 'relatable' -all euphemisms for 'nice: I suspect that Alison's active bisexuality was a
factor they didn't want to mention as well;' says Maran. "It was
crushing to hear this, especially since I'd written a story for More,
years before, about male protagonists who were assholes, when
female protagonists were not, and are not allowed to be much
more interesting than 'nice:"
The book finally landed with the indie house Soft Skull Press,
a publisher Maran says, "was determined to position it ... as a love
story-not
a gay love story, or a bi love story, or a 'normal' love
story, just a love story.
"My hope is for the largest possible number of people, including people who don't agree with me, to read my book. I want my
book to be an enjoyable as well as a thought-provoking read. It's
not a Great Work of Literature, but it's the kind of book I like
to read, with compelling characters and a twisty plot and a deep
examination of what it means to love. So when one reviewer called
it a 'beach read; I took that as high praise!"
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Another reviewer said the novel "hits every possible stereotype
on the subjects of feminism, liberalism and lesbianism:'
Maran, being "an incurable and impractical optimist;' took that
to mean that the book" 'hits stereotypes by rendering them as the
ridiculous, and also sometimes true, generalizations they are. I
assume my readers are smart enough to know the difference between
poking fun at stereotypes and perpetuating them;' she says. Elated
to have published her first (but not last) work of fiction, Maran says,
"I stopped writing memoirs at the request of my family:'
Having had "several long~term relationships with dudes before
marrying my husband in 1974;' Maran also had "several long~term
crushes on chicks, none of which was consummated until I finally
got up the nerve to cross Sexuality Street. I'm sort of amazed when
I compare my coming~out process in the early 1980s to the process
of bi and lesbian girls coming out these days. I'm aware of the
importance of keeping our oral herstory alive, reminding our young
'uns of how we collectively got where we are now. That's one reason
I wrote the novel-to bring life to the past, and help younger people,
LGBT and het, to understand what a huge factor sexual orientation
was as recently as 20 years ago:' (meredithmaran.com)
AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Radicaltakesonfeminismanderoticism.ByRachelPepper
WhenWeWereOutlaws:
A
Memoirof LoveandRevolution,
JeanneCordova
{Spinsters
Ink}:
Whatwasit liketo livethrough
the 1970sasa radicallesbian
feminist?You'llget nobetter
answerthanfromJeanne
Cordova's
recentmemoir,When
WeWereOutlaws.Cordova
portraysthe '?Osasanexciting
time,whenlesbianswere
just beginning
to organize,
to
findtheirvoice-in music,in
politics,in the media-and to
findoneanother.It wasa time
of big ideasandevenbigger
ideals,and WhenWeWere
Outlawscharacterizes
those
yearsas passionately
political,
anti-establishment,
andsexually
liberating.
Whethershewas
runningTheLesbianTide,a
pioneering
lesbiannewspaper,
interviewing
politicalprisoners
suchas EmilyHarris(ofthe
Symbionese
Liberation
Army),
or grapplingwith sexismwithin
the earlyLGBTmovement
(culminating
in a notorious
strikeat L.A.'s GayCommunity
Center),
Cordova
wasalwaysa
leaderonthescene.Shewas
the L.A.chapterpresidentof the
Daughters
of Bilitis,1970-71,
andan organizerof the groundbreakingNationalLesbian
Conference
at UCLAin 1973.
Thatshewasalsoan attractive
butchanda heartbreaker
only
addsto hermystique.
Whilethe
bulkof the bookseemslikea
carefullyconstructed
recollectionof heractivism,many
readerswill enjoyhearingabout
whoshewasdatingevenmore
thanhowshewaschanging
the politicallandscape.
Afterall,
it is hardworkbeinga player
anda lesbianrevolutionary.
For
example,Cordova
remembers
a momentwhena loverasked
for moretimewith her,andshe
suggested
thewomanjoin her
newspaper
collectiveinstead.
Affronted,
the womanquipped,
"That'sanoutrageously
bad
idea,Jeanne... WhywouldI
wantto join a groupof your
presentandex-lovers!"
Perplexed,
Cordova
ponders
whythis is an issue,andwrites,
"SincefeminismI'd always
livednon-monogamously,
havingtwo,sometimethree,
loverssimultaneously.
That's
howfeministsweresupposed
to liveoutsideof patriarchal
colonization.
Weweren't
supposed
to be livingbehind
whitepicketfences.Wewere
radicals.Wewereengagedin
politicalrevolution."
Although
timeshavechanged,Cordova
hasstayedactive,contributing
to manyanthologies;
publishingseveralbooks,aswell as
the Community
YellowPages;
co-founding
LEX,the Lesbian
Exploratorium
Project;and
organizing
andchairingthe
2010ButchVoicesconference.
Cordova
continuesto setthe
standardfor whatourleaders
of anyagecanbe:energetic,
visionaryandpassionate
about
the LGBTcommunity.
CurvyGirls:Eroticafor Women,
editedby RachelKramer
Bussel{SealPress}:Women
with curvesgettheirduein
this anthology,
whichamply
celebrates
full-figuredfemale
sexuality.KramerBusselis the
editorof 30 anthologies,
and
hereshegathersstoriesfrom
well-seasoned
eroticawriters
suchas SommerMarsden,
EvanMoraandIsabelleGray.
Whilemostof the piecesin
this collectionareheterosexual
in nature,thereareseveral
lesbianofferings,including
"Recognition"
by SalomeWilde
andTalonRihai,aboutanairport
tryst betweentwofull-figured
gals,and"At Last"byJessica
Lennox,whichcelebrates
a
friendshipthat'scaughtfire.
Lesbianandbisexualreaders
will enjoythe restof the pieces
too,whichrangefromkinky
one-nightstandsin places
as unlikelyas recordshops
andrestaurantkitchensto
relationships
of a moreongoing
nature.Still,nomatterwhat
the setting,this is a bookthat
revelsin the empowerment
of
sexywomen,regardless
of their
sizeor shape,andno matter
whatconflictingmessages
the mainstream
mediatriesto
directtheirway.Notaledoes
it betterthanthe lastone,
"HappyEnding,"by Donna
GeorgeStorey,whichexplores
a woman'scomingto terms
with her"blockbuster
butt."
Asshebeginsto tell hermale
fiance"TheStoryof MyAss,"
shewrites,"I knowit's almost
impossible
to believea sweetfaced,flat-chestedgirl would
havesucha big,bouncyass,"
anass,shesays,that sheused
to hate,buteventually
decided
notto: "Because
onceI stopped
hatingmyass,I discovered
something
veryinteresting.
In
spiteof all thosemodelswith
flat little bumsin the magazines,realmenout in the real
worldcouldn'tkeeptheireyes
awayfrommyasset...And
I'm notgoingto giveupthat
hard-wonpleasureever-for
you,or anyoneelse.I will never
beashamedof myassagain."
A joyfulmessage
to allthecurvy,
big-bottomed
womenoutthere
and,of course,their
July/August 2012
I 73
REVIEWSSapphic Screen
GirlsOn Film
At 30, Outfest is more than just a queer film festival. By Laurie K. Schenden
Outfest turns 30 this year, an age that's
considered way too old for fairy tales,
but from its humble beginnings in 1982,
screening three films over a single weekend, to showing more than 200 films from
around the world over 10 days in 2012, the
festival itself is a happily-ever-after storyin which the girl always gets the girl (or the
boy gets the boy).
"One of the things we're really proud of;'
says Kirsten Schaffer, the executive director
of Outfest, "is that we have grown from
being just a film festival:' Indeed, there's
much more than flicks and popcorn at this
Los Angeles LGBT event. Outfest runs a
prestigious screenwriting lab, two film festivals (Outfest and Fusion, the people of
color festival), and a program called Access
LA, which pairs young filmmakers with
industry pros.
"Through its annual festival, work in
film preservation, and education programs,
Outfest has provided unparalleled support
to queer filmmakers. I'm proud to be an
Outfest alum and a mentor;' says filmmaker
Nisha Ganatra, who's a volunteer mentor
m the Access LA program. Her feature
film, the lesbian romance, ChutneyPopcorn,
won the 1999 Outfest Audience Award for
Outstanding Narrative Feature.
But with all the gay characters on TV
and film, are LGBT festivals still vitalr"My
answer is a resounding yes!" says Ganatra.
"While technology has made our work
more accessible than ever before, nothing
can duplicate the experience of watching
this work together, as a community:'
Schaffer agrees. Over the years, some
of the highlights in lesbian film have been
screened at Outfest's wildly popular opening nights. "Outfest Opening Nights have
been the most memorable because the audiences were so excited to see Show Me Love,
D.E.B.S.,and Puccinifor Beginners,as well as
Achievement Award-winners Jane Lynch,
Donna Deitch and Christine Vachon:'
"Outfest has been an amazing resource
and platform for me;' says Angela Robinson,
the writer and director of the lesbian spy
comedy D.E.B.S.Robinson went on to direct
the Disney big-budget Herbie:FullyLoaded,
starring Lindsay Lohan. Most recently, she
became the co-executive producer of HBO's
TrueBlood."Myfirst short film ever, Chickula:
TeenageVampire,was shown at Outfest a
zillion years ago. And I had the best screening of my life there;' she adds, "the opening
night screening of D.E.B.S. [the short was
an Audience Award winner in 2003]. It was
a perfect screening-everybody in the audience got all the jokes, there was an amazing
feeling of fun and community, plus Nina
Jacobson [who ran Disney at the time] was
in the audience:'
"Ten years ago I had a couple short films
screened at Outfest, and now my last two
feature films have played there as well;' says
Wendy Jo Carlton, the director of Jamie
and Jessie Are Not Together, an Outfest
favorite in 2011. "I really love the breakfast panel series, which is an inspiring and
recharging highlight every year, and I have
to add that Outfest parties are consistently
awesome because you never know who you
might meet, whether it's an Oscar-winning
producer or your next lover:'
In honor of the 30th anniversary, a special film series called Downtown 30 presents
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LGBT films each month at the Downtown
Independent.Also, Outfest's Legacy Project
is restoring Different From the Others, a gay
film from Germany made in 1919. The
Legacy Project, started seven years ago in
partnership with UCLA, is dedicated to
saving and protecting LGBT films.
"I don't believe I would have a career
in film and television had it not been for
Outfest screening my first short film, Dear
Emily, over a decade ago;' says Katherine
Brooks, a director of The Osbournes and
The Real World. Brooks has also made
one of the most successful lesbian films in
recent memory, Loving Annabelle, which
won the Audience Award at Outfest in
2006; in addition, Diane Gaidry won the
Best Actress Award for her role in the
film. "They have always been supportive of
my films and allowed me to network with
industry people that have helped connect
me in my business:'
Outfest has always been known for
mixing up its lineups, presenting big~name
films such as Making Love with Harry
Hamlin and Kate Jackson in its first year;
hosting Ed Burns, who introduced The
Groomsmen starring John Leguizamo to
Outfest audiences, and showing indie and
experimental films such as Cheryl Dunye's
The Owls, which screened last year.
"Like many filmmakers, I love to have
my projects screened in the cinema capi~
tal of the world, Hollywood;' says Dunye,
whose groundbreaking films Watermelon
Woman (1996) and Stranger Inside (2001)
won Outfest Audience Awards. ''I've served
as a board member, worked as a program~
mer, lead workshops and most importantly
entertained queer moviegoers with my sto~
rytelling;' says Dunye."Thank you for giving
me the opportunity to grow. You are why I
do what I do, and I look forward to continu~
ing to do it again and again:'
Actor~filmmaker Dreya Weber has had
two films win the Grand Jury Prize at
Outfest, The Gymnast and A Marine Story.
"Outfest has always been a great target to
aim for, it's so big and so well organized and
so supportive of filmmakers;' says Weber.
"In a world where you don't know what
support is going to be possible, particularly
for social~themed movies or movies that are
a little bit more on the periphery, it's an
incredibly supportive home and network:'
Nicole Conn, writer~director of A Perfect
Ending, Elena Undone and Claire of the
Moon, has a 20~year history with Outfest.
"Outfest is really a wonderful source for
LGBT artists. They have always been sup~
portive in the community and given a home
to my work. I am forever grateful for their
constant dedication to filmmakers and the
creation of art:'
"Outfest is a time of celebrating the stories
and experiences of our LG BT culture and
Outfest 2012 Sneak Peek
Mosquitay Mari Studious,
sweetnatured,15-year-old
Yolanda
meetsthe
feistyandgorgeousMari.Premiering
at
the 2012Sundance
FilmFestival,
this is
the featurefilm debutof writer-director
AuroraGuerrero,
whoseshortshave
screenedat OutfestandFusion,the
multicultural,
gender-inclusive
festival
in L.A..
KissMe is a vibrantfilm thatfollowsone
woman'sjourneyof self-discovery
in the
picturesque
countryside
of Sweden.
My BestDayA callcomesfromKaren's
long-lostfather,settingin motiona chain
of eventsthatwill changeonesmall
townforever.Meanwhile,
herco-worker
Meganmustdecidebetweenherlongtime
girlfriendandthethrillof a newlove.
AudreLonie:TheBerlinYears
includesnever-before-seen
archival
footagerevealing
the privatelifeand
passions
of theaward-winning,
influential
womanwhoignitedtheAfro-German
movement.
Cloudburst
OscarwinnersOlympia
Dukakis(Moonstruck,
SteelMagnolias)
andBrendaFricker(MyLeftFoo~shine
asa randylesbiancouplewhotakeoff on
a roadtrip to get marriedin Canada.
The 30th Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival will be held July 12-22.
July/August 2012
I 75
REVIEWSSapphic Screen
existence;' says Cathy DeBuono (We Have to Stop Now, And
Then Came Lola)."It provides a huge contribution to the expan~
sion of all consciousness, which in any form is absolutely vital,
not only to our culture but to humanity as a whole. It's also a
damn good time!"
The fact that Outfest is held in the film capital of the world
means that filmmakers are getting industry access that few other
festivals can offer. Outfest's industry networking system has
enabled Wolfe to meet with many, many new filmmakers, says
Kathy Wolfe, founder of Wolfe Video, the largest distributor of
LGBT films in North America. "In this way, Outfest's Access LA
initiative to introduce filmmakers to distributors and other indus~
try professionals is unique. It enables filmmakers to expand their
careers and helps their films reach even wider audiences. Over this
past 30 years, Outfest has had an enormous impact on the LGBT
film landscape. We're so grateful for all that they do, and proud
to have our films and filmmakers showcased in such an extraor~
dinary festival:'
JD Disalvatore ( Gay Propaganda,Eating Out 2, Shelter)has had
a long association with Outfest, both as a filmmaker and behind
the scenes. "Over the 10 days it happens, you can pretty much
run into everyone you've ever known in this city that is gay;' she
says. "Plus, the movies can move, entertain and often inspire. We're
in an election cycle, and every day in the news you can hear ... some~
thing negative about homosexuals and our rights. I'd like more and
more LGBT filmmakers to get really successful, so they can create
positive LGBT images in major television shows and movies:•
After 30 years, one of the biggest changes to come about for
Outfest is its recent partnership with New York's NewFest. 'i\ll
nonprofits have been affected by the economy in the last few
years;' says Schaffer. "Many of us are looking for collaborations
and partnerships, to do our work more effectively:'
Even though it's easier to see LGBT content than ever before,
"We can't depend on the TV and movie studios;' says Schaffer.
"One year it will be great, another year nothing happens. But you
76
I curve
know every year at Outfest there's going to be a big selection. We
bring stories from around the world that represent a very diverse
perspective. Whether it's the first gay film from Tanzania, or a
film made in the South in the U.S., they're often showing us
fictional or nonfictional stories that you aren't seeing anywhere
else:• (outfest.org)
"We bring storiesfrom around
the world that representa
diverseperspective.Whether it's
the first gay film from Tanzania,
or a film made in the South in
the U.S., they're storiesthat you
aren't seeing anywhereelse."
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Tech Girl REVIEWS
Don'tTossThat Phone
How to save the planet by recycling your outmoded gadgets. By Adam L. Brinklow
It's hardly news that technology moves forward quickly, but what
should we tech savvy,first adopters do about our growing collection
of obsolete gadgets while still being kind to the planet?
Every year, companies dazzle consumers with newer, sleeker
and even more versatile versions of their best~selling gadgetsMotorola's Droid X2 was released less than 13 months after the
Droid X, and Apple released its iPad 2 only a year after the original.
This whirlwind pace comes with a hidden price tag, as the EPA
estimates that North Americans discard 125 million phones
each year, making a total of 65,000 tons of landfill. A 2009 EPA
survey showed almost 30 million computers were discarded that
year. Altogether, discarded electronics added up to 2.37 million
short tons, and the pace has not abated.
Virtually all of that waste goes straight into landfills, where
metals and chemicals from the devices will have decades to fer~
ment into a toxic cocktail. It was generations ago that consumers
learned how to responsibly manage the waste they produced after
each trip to the grocery store, but society is just beginning to pay
attention to the emerging problem of e~waste.
Fortunately, as e~waste is becomes more prominent, so too is
e~cycling. "The majority of people have at least one old cell phone
in a drawer;' says Esmeralda Rodriguez, product manager at
NextWorth, one of many new startups taking aim at the problem
of e~waste. "There are all these products that, if they were back in
the market, someone could have bought that instead of buying a
new one, but because it's in the drawer it just ends up in a landfill:'
Companies like Next Worth divert old electronics to new buyers
and help consumers find the best trade~in deals so that fewer
gadgets end up in the trash. If everyone who used their phone or
iPod for two years before getting a new one traded it instead of
throwing it away, Rodriguez explains, that two~year lifespan could
easily become a four~year lifespan, meaning half as much waste.
Even electronics with no trade~in value to
anyone shouldn't simply be dumped.
Though the EPA reports that less
than 30 percent of all discarded
electronics are recycled, a lot
of major retailers now offer
electronics recycling. Most
municipal recycling centers
can point in the direction of
a certified electronics recy~
cler even if they themselves
don't accept the devices.
So, how do you make sure
you're being a responsible post~
consumer? Rodriguez offers a few
helpful few tips:
0 Don'tjust let old gadgetscollectdust.Look around your
home for any old gadgets that aren't being used and check e~cycling
sites to see if they have any value.
8 Takegoodcareof yourdevicesandassumetheywill have
at leastoneotherowner.Dents and scratches don't seem like a
big deal, but the better shape your gadget is in the more likely it
will end up in someone else's pocket rather than a garbage can.
@ Beforejumpingon the hottestnewgadget,researchif it's
reallyworthreplacingyouroldone.Often, even a heavily mar~
keted upgrade will only feature minor improvements and might
be aimed at those who didn't buy the previous device rather than
those who did.
8
Whenyoudo makea new purchase,
alwayscheckto see
if youcan trade in yourold device.Not only does this reduce
waste, it usually reduces your bill as well.
0 Whenyoudecideto tradein somethingoldfor something
new,do it quickly.Dated devices are always the most valuable
in the first month or two after the next generation
market.
enters the
0 Shoparoundfor yourbeste-cyclingoptions.Consider both
online and physical retail outlets and see who offers the best deal.
@ Neverjustthrowsomething
away.Check with local recycling
centers about proper facilities for recycling unwanted electronics,
or check online.
0
Don'tjust restrictyour e-cyclinghabitsto phonesand
computers.Even little things like headphones and
phone chargers can find new life on the second~
hand market, or at least should be properly
recycled.
0
Aswithanygreenissue,awareness
isthenumberonepriority.
As soon as
you've traded or recycled your unused
electronics, make sure friends and fam~
ily members think to do the same.
® Veryfewelectronics
shouldever
be disposed
of in thetrash.Consider
this an absolute last resort. Even a few
more months in the drawer is preferable.
( nextworth.com)
July/August2012 I 77
REVIEWSFood
GlobalGourmet
Cat Cora is dishing up a new look for reality lV
By Georgia Krokus
Bravo's Around the World in 80 Plates follows 12 chefs as they travel
the globe testing their culinary skills and international street
smarts-think
Top Chef meets The Amazing Race. Who better
to host the series, along with Aussie chef Curtis Stone, than out
lesbian Iron Chef Cat Cora, a Greek~ American with a healthy and
innovative approach to ethnic cuisine. Cora took time out from
her busy schedule to talk travel, kitchen equality and balancing
work with motherhood.
Whatwasyourfavoritedestination
in theseries?
I'm in love with the Thai people and the Thai food and Thailand,
although Morocco was pretty amazing as well. That was pretty
fun with the belly dancers and the Moroccan food being passed
around.
YouandyourwifeJenniferhavefourboys.Howdidyoubalancethe
show'sschedule
withyourfamilylife?
This is a really great opportunity and we decided together that
intimidating industry ... women weren't very welcome for years. I was
it was worth taking it on for us, for our future. And we just kind
of came together and made that decision together. That was the just on the cusp of where women were a little bit allowed to come
longest I think I've ever been away from home. And so it was and do apprenticeships. I had eight rejection letters from eight
three~star Michelin chefs before I got two acceptance letters to do
really tough. We worked on trying to Skype as much as possible
and made it work. You just do the best you can.
apprenticeships. So that just shows you-it wasn't that long ago
Thesixfemaleandsixmalecontestants
arenota truereflection
of
where women were not really accepted into some of those kitchens.
theactualgenderratioin therestaurant
industry.
Is realityTValterSo I think that we've made a lot of progress. Reality television and
ingthesexismin theindustry?
these competitions are helping to get women inspired to take that
The great thing about what reality TV is doing is it's giving women
leap: Yes, you can get into the kitchen and be an executive chef. You
the open door. It's giving them that inspiration to go for it and to don't have to be a pastry chef, although that's a great profession as
really join the industry, which is fantastic because we do need a well. But there are other options. Women are starting to find their
lot more women in the industry. So in that way, it's also showing
power and to do that. (bravotv.com)
a different style of chef than we're used to seeing. I think a lot of
people's idea of women chefs for a long time has just been more
geared towards pastry, more geared towards baking. And we are
TIPS FOREXPLORING
NEW
HEALTHIEST
ETHNICCUISINE
seeing now that no, women can be chefs. Women can be executive
FLAVORS
WHILE
TRAVELING:
WHEN
NOT
TRAVELING:
chefs and they can be tough and strong and powerful in the
I alwaystalk to the locals,
Growingup as a Greek
kitchen. So this has been great for the movement of more women
whether
it's
someone
who's
American
I think the
into the culinary industry.
Mediterranean
diet is oneof
Mosthomecooksarewomen.Wheredoestheinitialculinarygender drivingyou,or someonewho's
a guide.Thehotelconciergeis
the healthiest,with the fresh
imbalance
comefrom?
my lastchoicein a lot of foreign produce-nuts, vegetables,
If you go back in time, a lot of the three~star Michelin chefs
countriesjust becausetheytend fruits,freshfish, leanmeats,
were all taught by their mothers. I mean, they were running the
to sendtouriststo touristdestiyogurt,lotsof reallygreat
restaurants. And then the restaurants all got handed over to their
nations.Talkingto peopleon the
oliveoils,artichokes,olives,a
sons and the sons turned them into bigger business and a brand
streetis reallywhereI go first. If
lot of sunfoodslike tomatoes,
and the whole thing. And I think that's really when men took
youkeepseeingsomethingover eggplants,citrus,that are
over restaurants and really began to make them a true business
andover,somethingpopping
veryhealthy.Citrusis
with Michelin stars and to monetize it. That is really where that
upthat seemslike it's typical
definitelymy go-to,to really
started and it just continued. And so of course there were fewer
localfood,that's somethingyou
makethoseflavors,makethat
shouldprobablytry.
foodcomealive.
women because it was such a male~dominated industry. It was an
78
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July/August
2012
I 79
STARS
Summer Sizzles
Get ready for romance thanks to Venus and Mars
in flirtatious air signs. By Charlene Lichtenstein
Cancer(June22-July 23)
If you happen to hear some scuttlebutt about
yourself, act surprised. But the fact is that you are
well~aware of all the nice things that others are say~
ing about you. In fact you may have planted a few
of these hon mots yourself. Plan some get~togethers
and generate even more juicy gossip.
Cancer(June22-July 23)
LesbianCrabstend to be girlie
girls who neverreally liked to
roll in the mud,climb trees or
build forts. Shewas probably
teacher'spet,which never
earnedher popularitypoints
and almostguaranteeda
periodicthrashingfrom jealous
Ariesgirls. However,clever
Crabdykeseventuallywised
up and recruitedthe robust
Ariesas her personalprotector.
A fool she is not!
Leo(July24-Aug.23)
I wouldn't be surprisedif
youngLionessesdreamtof
beinggreatactorsor rock
'n' roll stars with adorning
teenybopperfans. Morethan
likely,she spenthoursupon
hoursposingand performing
in front of the mirror and
imaginingthe swelling,
cheeringcrowdsof hot babes.
Madonna,a Leo,wore her
spandexbetterthan mostand
MaeWest,anotherLeo,would
haveworn spandexwell had it
beeninventedat the time.
Leo(July24-Aug.23)
Girlfriends have a lot to say. Are you prepared to
listen? Some of their advice and suggestions will
actually be worthwhile, if you give it half a chance.
And it could spark new ideas and opinions. Be
sure to include a gal pal or two in any venture this
summer. They not only have your best interests at
heart, but they can also guide you to success.
Aquarius(Jan.21-Feb.19)
Aqueerians are grrls who want to have fun. Not only
will you find yourself on the top of every party list,
you will also toss a few A~List events yoursel£ You
also have a creative spark that ignites great ideas and
personal masterpieces. Eat, drink and be very merry
through the summer.
Virgo(Aug.24-Sept.23)
You can do no wrong at work and they seem to love
everything you do and say. What a nice change of
pace! Surf the corporate tide for as long as you can
and profit from every happy wave. You will go far.
Schmooze the top executives as you continue to
plan for your next big move.
Pisces(Feb.20-March 20)
While the summer usually means a far afield adven~
ture, you may find a bevy of beautiful things to do
closer to home this summer. Why travel when you
can have it home delivered, Guppie? In fact, there
may be many interesting projects to attend to around
the house.
Libra(Sept.24-0ct. 23)
Libras may fall in lust with an exotic stranger or two
this summer. Your taste for the unusual will lead
you into many far afield adventures. But you have to
get out of your safety zone to get the full, fabulous
effect. Reach out and prepare yourself for one new
exciting thing after another.
Aries(March21-April 20)
Just ask and you shall receive. Speak the words of
love and you may find many fine ladies lining up
to spend time with you. But as tempting as this all
might be, don't engage in idle clit chat unless you are
serious. Are you ready to commit to just one lover~
grrl? The summer steams along and new amours du
jour pop up every day.
Scorpio(Oct.24-Nov.22)
Scorpios are passionate, jealous and intense and
that goes triple for you this summer. You are irresist~
ible and sexy and can use your sensuality to lure a
helpless flygirl into your web. But be sure that your
intentions are pure, good, generous and not evil or
selfish. Otherwise you may only wind up with an
assortment of ladies with sharp stingers.
Sagittarius(Nov.23-Dec.22)
Feeling the need to connect on a meaningful level
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Capricorn(Dec.23-Jan. 20)
Exercise is on your personal agenda this summer,
Capricorn. And if it isn't, it should be. You benefit
from concentrating on your health and wellbeing to
process and reduce stress. Not only will you find
that you are more at peace and nicer to be with,
you will also look fabulous with both an inner and
outer glow.
Taurus(April21-May 21)
Love is "wilde" and reckless and so are you. With
so many activities on your agenda, you can be a
Sapphic bull in a china shop, creating excitement,
causing havoc and running up a damages bill. Make
time this summer to relax and luxuriate in your
passions but also make time to focus on the details
of the job at hand.
Gemini(May22-June 21)
You are a heavenly being, around which all lesser
planets revolve this summer. How does it feel to be 2
the center of adoring attention? Your name comes
up on the top of everyone's guest list. Enjoy every
last festive event.
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