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Description
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ToC Lesbian Web Series Explosion! By Caitlyn Byrne (p34); Girls in the Hood by Lisa Tedesco (p44); Nice Threads! By Catilyn Byrne 9p48: If the Shoe Fits by Melanie Barker (p50); Cloth & Justice by Rachel Shatto (p51); Cover: Tabatha Coffey is Back! (p56); Sealed with a Kiss by Melanie Baker (p62); Bold Strokes by Merryn Johns (p65); Passion Dance by Melissa Kitson (p68); Cover Photo By Virginia Sherwood/Bravo.
See all items with this value
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issue
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6
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Date Issued
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September 2014
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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_Vol24_No6_September-2014_OCR_PDFa.pdf
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extracted text
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SEPTEMBER
2014
m
COVER
PHOTO
BY VIRGINIA
SHERWOOD/BRAVO
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
1
SEPTEMBER
2014
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
IN EVERYISSUE
4
EDITOR'S NOTE
6
CURVETTES
8
FEEDBACK
10
THE GAYDAR
80
STARS
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
TRENDS
REVIEWS
9
BEAUTY
A-list anti-aging products,
without the scary sacrifices.
26 FILM
Lesbian filmmaker Charlotte
Lagarde has a passion for
the sea, surfing and telling
women's stories.
11 LES LOOKS LIKE
Meet the high femme behind
butch blog, dapperQ.
14 LESBOFILE
Our favorite celesbians behaving badly.
VIEWS
By Victoria A. Brownworth
14 OUT IN FRONT
Meet our community leaders.
31 FOOD
Summer may be over but
our taste for icy sweet treats
doesn't have to end just yet.
14 IN CASE YOU MISSED
IT ... News from across the
country.
16 POLITICS
Are we what we wear?
By Victoria A. Brownworth
18 THE TWO OF US
Our monthly profile of captivating lesbian couples who
live, love and work together.
20
LIPSTICK & DIPSTICK
22 ADVICE
Sarah Toce's personal story
about her lesbian pregnancy.
24 SCENE
You had to be there! Our
reviews of the best LGBT
events and girls' nights
around the country.
2
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
By Marcie Bianco
28 BOOKS
What will it take to make a
woman president? We review
the latest books by and about
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
By Rachel Shatto
32 MUSIC
Mary Gauthier is back, and
better than ever, with a
masterpiece of love and loss.
By Dave Steinfeld
RONTJMERRYN'S
MEMO
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
SEPTEMBER
2014
»
LESBIAN
VOLUME
MAGAZINE
24 NUMBER
6
PUBLISHERSilke Bader
FOUNDINGPUBLISHER Frances Stevens
n the world of magazine publishing, the September issue is synonymous with a
splurge in pages devoted to fashion spreads and fashion advertising. I still have
a copy of the September 2013 Vogue, which boasts on its cover"902 pages of
fabulous fall fashion:' I have been unable to discard this doorstop-sized tome,
with its opulent layouts, over-the-top and mostly unaffordable apparel, and
otherworldly accessories straight off the international runways.
At Curve, however, the September issue looks very different. I believe-even though
we're one-tenth the size of the world's best-known fashion magazine-that
we're just
as mighty. Curve, you see, is created by gay women for gay women. As a lesbian-owned
community publication, we can never compete with the likes of Conde Nast. But what we
can do is represent lesbians authentically,
and, to me, this does not mean we have to
forsake fashion as an editorial topic.
The stereotypical image of lesbians is
as the wallflowers at the style party, but
the days of limiting our wardrobe to ball
caps, plaid, cargo pants and Croes are
fading ( until Cara Delevingne chooses
to wear them ironically). In the past
four years at Curve I have incorporated
fashion into almost every issue-without
hearing any complaints. In fact, most
people have heaved a sigh of relief. The
editorial door to fashion opened in 2010,
when Curve featured DIY designers and
crafty queer girls with Etsy stores who
create consistently gorgeous (and often
environmentally conscious) clothes and
accessories, and continues by shining a spotlight on the current crowd-funding boom in
queer fashion. I have lost count of the number of recent "tomboy" startups-they
seem
to be announced almost monthly-and
in this issue we feature a couple of cool projects,
especially for andro-leaning lesbians.
Stylish lesbians are hip and visible in the mainstream: from Jenna Lyons' cameo in Girls
to Internet lists such as "50 Lesbian & Bisexual Fashion Models;' to the antics of (morethan-friends?) Cara Delevingne and Karlie Kloss.
Visibility is power, so who better to put on the cover of our Style issue than Tabatha
Coffey? From her wardrobe to her attitude, she is completely self-determined and proves
that when you know and create your own sense of style, success soon follows. This issue,
she's joined by many other stylish lesbians in the world of the visual arts, film, dance,
online-even landscape gardening!
Sure, the fashion industry is riddled with problems and dubious ethics, so I believe it can
use all the lesbians it can get! Here's to another season of even more queer girl couture.
I
!z
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
merryn@curvemag.com
EDITORIAL
EDITORIN CHIEF Merryn Johns
MANAGINGEDITOR Rachel Shatto
COPY EDITOR Katherine Wright
CONTRIBUTINGEDITORS Victoria A. Brownworth,
Gina Daggett, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Jillian Eugenios,
Sheryl Kay, Stephanie Schroeder, Dave Steinfeld
EDITORIAL
ASSISTANTS
Caitlyn Byrne, Lisa Tedesco
PROOFREADERElizabeth Harper
OPERATIONS
DIRECTOROF OPERATIONSJeannie Sotheran
EVENTS& MEDIA RELATIONSCOORDINATORRobin Perron
ADVERTISING
NATIONALSALES
Rivendell Media (908) 232-2021, todd@curvemagazine.com
ART/PRODUCTION
ART DIRECTORMeghan Musalo, Ricardo Calvi Vivian
PRODUCTIONARTIST Kelly Nuti
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Melany Joy Beck, Kathy Beige, Jenny Block, Adam L.
Brinklow, Kelsy Chauvin, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Traci
Dinwiddie, Maria De La 0, Elizabeth Estochen, Jill
Goldstein, Kristin Flickinger, Gillian Kendall, Kim Hoffman,
Charlene Lichtenstein, Karen Loftus, Sassafras Lowrey,
Emelina Minero, Laurie K. Schenden, Stephanie Schroeder,
Janelle Sorenson, Rosanna Rios-Spicer, Allison Steinberg,
Stella & Lucy, Dave Steinfeld, Edie Stull, Yana Tallon-Hicks,
Sarah Toce, Tina Vasquez, Jocelyn Voo
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS & PHOTOGRAPHERS
Lauren Barkume, Alex Styles, Meagan Cignoli,
Sophia Hantzes, Janet Mayer, Syd London, Cheryl Mazak,
Maggie Parker, Robin Roemer, Leslie Van Stelten
CONTACT INFO
Curve Magazine
PO Box 467
New York, NY 10034
PHONE(415) 871-0569
FAX (510) 380-7487
SUBSCRIPTIONINQUIRIES(800) 705-0070
(toll-free in usonly)
(818) 286-3102 (outside US)
ADVERTISINGEMAILadvertising@curvemag.com
EDITORIALEMAILeditor@curvemag.com
LETTERSTO THE EDITOREMAIL letters@curvemagazine.com
Volume 24 Issue 6 Curve (ISSN 1087-867X) is published 8 times
per year (January/Febrary, March, April/May, June, July/August,
September, October, November/December) by Avalon Media,
LLC, PO Box 467, New York NY 10034. Subscription price:
$59.90/year, $59.90 Canadian (U.S. funds only) and $89.95
international (U.S. funds only). Returned checks will be assessed
a $25 surcharge. Periodicals 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, without written permission from the publisher.
Publication of the name or photograph of any persons or
organizations appearing, advertising or listing in Curve may not be
taken as an indication of the sexual orientation of that individual or
group unless specifically stated. Curve welcomes letters, queries,
unsolicited manuscripts and artwork. Include SASE for response.
Lack of any representation only signifies insufficient materials.
Submissions cannot be returned unless a self-addressed stamped
envelope is included. No responsibility is assumed for loss or
damages. The contents do not necessaraly represent the opinions
of the editor, unless specifically stated. All magazines sent discreetly.
Subscription Inquiries: Please write to Curve, Avalon Media LLC.,
PO Box 467 New York NY 10034, email crvcs@magserv.com.
Canadian Agreement Number: 40793029. Postmaster: Send
Canadian address changes to crvcs@magserv.com, Curve, PO
Box 122, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6S8. Send U.S. address changes to
crvcs@magserv.com,
Curve, PO Box 17138, N. Hollywood,
CA 91615-7138.Printed in the U.S.
curvemag.com
4
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Curve's online selection of must-do, must-try, must-have extras.
CULTURE
ART
CUMMING BACK FOR MORE
The NY.C's Museum of Sex
opens an erotic fairground of
sexual pleasures and perils. The
interactive exhibit brings you up
close and personal with sexual
culture, in a fun and free-spirited
way-it even includes a bouncy
castle of giant breasts. Imagine
the State Fair, until Dec. 31, only
R-rated! Just another queer rea-
EVENTS
FESTIVALS
A LUSCIOUS SUMMER OF QUEER MUSIC
Imagine three days of camping beneath groves of oak
trees, dining on fabulous food, and best of all, attending the
musical Mecca of LGBT musicians, DJsand comics. This will
be the scene on Aug. 22 in Saratoga Springs, Calif. Ladies,
it's going to be three marvelous nights to remember. With
son to visit the Big Apple. Read
headliners like Grammy performer Mary Lambert, lesbian
music icon Cris Williamson and the hilarious Marga Gomez.
Don't miss out on your last and luscious fling for the
summer! Read more on
G curvemag.com
more on
G curvemag.com
NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
UNHAPPY ANNIVERSARY,PUTINI
LIFESTYLE
RELIGION
Do you know that this summer also marked the first anniversary of the Russian
president's anti-homosexuality propaganda law? The HRC released a new report
documenting a year of discrimination, persecution, and violence against LGBT
MAYA ANGELOU TO NOT RESTIN PEACE?
Russiansfollowing the enactment of the law, which has outraged international human
When news circulated that the notorious Westboro Baptist
rights watchdogs. Catch all the international rights updates on
G curvemag.com.
Church in Topeka, Kan. was planning to protest the "homegoing" service of our nation's most beloved citizen, poet,
author, civil rights activist, and sister-sage to us all, Dr. Maya
Angelou, there was a collective gasp of disbelief. Read
more on
~
~
~
G curvemag.com
~
~
~
~ We have some of the
History, despite its wrenching pain,
cannot be unlived, but if faced with
courage, need not be lived again.
- Maya Angelou
~
~~
~
~
~
~
~~
~~
~
~
leading voices in our
community sharing
their thoughts on
love and romance,
parenting and politics,
and sex and spirituality-not to mention
our huge collection of
lesbian fandom.
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
5
.._
_UPRONT!CURVETTES
___,
VICTORIAA.
BROWNWORTH
Victoria is an award-winning
journalist and the author and
editor of nearly 30 books.
She has won the NLGJAand
the Society of Professional
Journalists awards, the Lambda
Literary Award and has been
nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
She won the 2013 SPJAward
for Enterprise Reporting in May
2014. She is a regular contributor to The Advocate, SheWired
and A Room of One's Own in the
U.K., a blogger for Huffington
Post and a contributing editor
for Curve and Lambda Literary
Review. Her book, From Where
We Sit: Black Writers Write Black
Youth won the 2012 Moonbeam
Award for cultural and historical
fiction. Her novel, Ordinary
Mayhem, will be published
in fall 2014. Her collection of
essays, Lesbian Erasure, will be
published in spring 2015.
Follow her @VABVOX.
6
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
SARAH TOCE
ADRIENNEJORDAN
MELISSAKITSON
Award-winning journalist Sarah
is founder and editor-in-chief of
TheSeattleLesbian.com. Sarah
attended a national journalists'
convening at the White House
in 2014, was featured on Fox
News, MSNBC, Huffington
Post, and other news outlets to
discuss civil rights issues in the
U.S. in 2013. In 2012 Sarah contributed to the book Gay Press,
Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT
Community Newspapers in
America. Recently, she reported
on the Windy City Times' AIDS
@ 30 series, which won the
prestigious Peter Lisagor Award
from the Chicago Headline
Club. She was also nominated
for a national GLAAD Award,
in the same category with The
New York Times and The Boston
Globe. This month she shares
her experience of lesbian
pregnancy on page 22.
Adrienne is a freelance writer
for publications like USA Today,
Men's Fitness, and Instinct
magazine. When she is not
walking with rhinos in South
Africa or sleeping in ice hotels
in Norway, she enjoys barhopping at her home base in West
Hollywood. She journeyed to
Northern Germany in May to
explore Hamburg, a city rich in
history stemming from its 800year old port. After a few days
sampling German cuisine and
cocktails in Hamburg's scandalous Reeperbahn neighborhood,
she traveled an hour north to
Oldenburg to see how L-Beach,
the German lesbian festival,
compares to our Dinah Shore.
Read about it on page 78. See
where her next travel adventure takes her by lnstagram
(@ajeveryday) or through her
blog ajtravelconfessions.com.
Melissa is a bilingual freelance
Australian writer, editor and
journalist. She has previously
written for Fodor's Travel
Guides and worked as a reporter
in Guadalajara, Mexico, as a
translator for the Pan American
Games and as a writer for
Oxford University Press. She
currently lives in Buenos Aires,
Argentina where she is Junior
Editor of the Buenos Aires
Review. For this issue Melissa
enters the sensual world of
queer tango in Buenos Aires
on page 68.
Checkoutour
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NICE PEACES
I liked the update on the
gorgeous Heather Peace, and
all of the music artists included in Curve [Vol. 24 #5].
It was also refreshing to
WNBA
STAR
see real lesbian music talent
BRITTNEY
GRINERand discover many artists
BRINGS
I hadn't heard of before.
THE
HEAT
Keep up the good work!
-Donna Ellis, Melbourne
Australia
been fit and active but this
trip showed us just how
much discrimination disabled
people face every day. The
flight crews and TSA people
were very nice to us but there
needs to be more awareness
amongst business owners
and those in hotels about the
needs of the incapacitated.
-Audrey Pope, Scottsdale,Ariz.
Posts from our
Facebook fans
facebook.com/cu rvemag
BRITTNEYGRINER
SCORES!
I am on the cover of
Curve Magazine!!!!!!
It's out today! What a
way to celebrate Pride
month. I am honored!
-Brittney Griner
She's awesome!!
SUMMER SLAM DUNK
Thank you, thank you, thank
you for putting Brittney Griner on your cover! She is my
one true crush: tall, gorgeous,
talented and a super human
being who inspires others
with her strength, openness,
honesty, and out-and-proud
attitude. What a great role
model for lesbians everywhere.
-Delvene Clay, Chicago Ill.
DISABLEDAWARENESS
I enjoyed the article ''A Guide
for Travelers with Non-Conforming Bodies;' [Vol. 24 #5].
My partner and I are and have
always been keen travelers
until she recently broke an
ankle. Rather than cancel our
scheduled vacation we decided
to go ahead, using crutches
and a wheelchair. Even though
we are older, we have always
-Kandyce Le'Clair
Hansbrough
Star athlete on the cover
of the music issue! Keep
up the homemade vibe.
-Ellen Mah
What a beauty.
-Marie Timbreza
Where can I buy a copy?
-Michell Banuelos
Cartwright
HAPPILYEVERAFTER
·.·.·.·.·:.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.::::::::::::::::::: ::
GAY SKI WEEK ·:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.
Harriet volunteered almost
every day for a year at the
animal shelter I now manage.
We became close friends
and then she had to move
back to the United Kingdom. We were deeply in love
and decided to get married
despite the distance. Imagine
how pleasantly surprised
we were when the Supreme
Court ruled that it would
r ii count on a federal level, and
thus we would have immigration rights. We could not be
happier and more thankful!
- Laura McKelvey &
Harriet Ribbons, Atlanta
Linda Warrick (right) is the lucky winner of New Zealand's Gay Ski
+
MEET
THE
WINNER!
Week competition,
She attracts lots of
pretty girls:-) wish
I had her charm
-Aimee Babanto
Gorgeous
-Kim Erickson
Brilliant photo that pops!
Love it! -Marcie Bianco
I met this young
lady when she was
at Baylor, she is so
nice and TALL. I wish
her the best of luck.
-Wendy Hall
You wear it well: your
clothes, your style,
your attitude, your
graciousness, your
skills .... Nice going.
-Reisa SterlingMiller
pictured with Gay Ski Week QT organizer Sally
Whitewoods (left).
~
WRITE
Curve magazine, PO Box 467, New York, NY 10034
letters@curvemagazine.com
LISIEmail:510.380.7487
curvemag.com/letters
Send to:
Fax:
8
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
Online:
2014
Subscriber Services are now available at
curvemag.com/customerservice.
✓ subscribe
✓ pay your bill
✓ change address
✓ renew
✓ get missing issues
✓ give a gift
TRENDS/BEAU
Celebrity Skin
A-LISTANTI-AGING,WITHOUT THE SCARY
SACRIFICES.BY MELANIE BARKER
Don't I late,
I~xfoliatc
From Amber Heard's peaches and cream complexion to Beyonce's
"flawless" visage-wouldn't it be nice to access celeb beauty secrets
without Botox or a big bank balance? Plastic surgery is scary and
we should be focused on aging naturally. Allure magazine's 2013
anti-aging survey revealed that LGBT respondents are more likely to
be attracted to people older than them by more than 10 years. Older
is better, that's for sure, so to keep looking hot at any age-and without invasive procedures-check out these "no-tox" products.
This Swiss-made Mild Scrub
is formulated with premium
quality white marble powder
that removes dead skin
cells while providing gentle
exfoliation. Containing no
oils, but 2 percent oxygen
(a natural antiseptic), this
product is especially good
for acne-prone skin or those
living in humid climates.
($65, karinherzog.com)
~ice ~otox!
For a natural alternative to Botox try
Sublime Beauty's The Face Whisperer
Day with Argireline. We kid you not:
this light day cream works fast to
reduce the formation of deep lines.
Apply just a small amount and feel
the peptides going to work, relaxing
the facial muscles and tension lines.
($50, sublimebeautyshop.com)
~ Iintclc
in a .Jm•
Swift Lift by emerginC is a lifting,
firming and tightening serum which
uses a variety of patented and
natural ingredients such as marine
biopolymer lnstalift, green tea,
grape extract, black currant extract,
and witch hazel. We recommend
saving this one for a drop or two
around the eyes.
($79, emerginc.com)
Grin , \ml narc H All
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BARESKIN
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Cosmeceuticals seek a holistic
approach to beauty and Bello Moi
products, founded by motherdaughter team Carol and Logan,
aims to address all skin types-and
ages. Choose from the Antioxidant
Anti-Aging Tea rich in goji berries
or the Recovery Antioxidant
Masque, with gingko biloba and
sea buckthorn. The latter is a cool
summer treat, especially if you store
it in the fridge! ($70, bellomoi.com)
Damage Control
The Jan Marini Skincare Management System is a complete skincare line
that takes your face from night to day, season to season, and is endorsed by
leading surgeon Dr. Lee Ann Klausner. Our favorite products are Antioxidant
Daily Face Protectant Broad Spectrum SPF 33 and C-ESTA Serum Face
Serum. The sunscreen is gentle and effective and the collagen boosting
serum definitely works-this duo is an unbeatable anti-aging team.
($130, janmarini.com)
BIOGLYCOLIC
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There's nothing less appealing than fake
foundation covering up your lifelines.
Instead, use this gentle liquid foundation
free of parabens, chemicals or fragrance,
just ultra-thin, jojoba-coated mineral
pigments suspended in a coconut-derived
base with broad spectrum SPF.Apply just
a few drops to the unique face brush, buff,
and be off. ($29, sbareminerals.com)
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SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
9
NDS/
THE GAYDAR
p
~~ THEGAYDAR
Takes one to know one? Let our gaydar help
~ you decide who's hot, who's not, who's
~ shaking it and who's faking 1tin lesboland.
~ BY RACHEL SHATTO
~
While we all know that Rick
Perry isn't the brightest
crayon in the box, he takes his
stupidity to new heights (lows?)
by comparing homosexuality to
alcoholism
The Presbyterian Church
hops on board with
marriage equality and we're
so happy we can almost gay
marry them ... almost
l
Turns out the incredibly
popular Sims video game
franchise owes all its
success to a perfectly
timed but accidental
simulated lesbian kiss
at a game expo. First
time-lesbian kisses, they
change everything, sigh
I
'\-~RIA.,v
~
~
III
0
~
!@
{ 61J
(Us
RIP Tara. Yes, our
second favorite
lesbian (Pam
forever) vamp
meets her true
death on True
Blood and that's a
huge bummer
As if Melissa McCarthy
and Susan Sarandon
going on a road trip
isn't enough to sell
us on Tammy. Kathy
Bates and Sandra Oh
play a couple. Adorbs
College
Humor
achieves the
impossible
and makes a
short about
frat guys
watching a
lesbians kiss
that is heartwarming
satire of the
excellent kind,
in "Hottest
Lesbian Kiss
Ever"
P...
1
>-
""
""
u.J
0..
...J
~
:i:
~
What's better
than Orange is
the New Black?
An OITNB kitten
parody, duh
Wedding bells
ring for Melissa
Etheridge and
Linda Wallem,
too!
i
Cf)
S:2
Congrats to Monifah
Carter and her gorgeous
bride Terez Thorpe. The
two marry on the finale
of R&B Divas and there
is nary a dry eye (in the
living room)
iE
Ilene Chaiken is back,
and this time she is
turning her lens on the
Deep South with L-Word
Mississippi: Hate The
Sin. Not sure about that
title, but you can bet
we'll still be tuning in
10
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Maria Bello
announces she
is working on a
memoir about her
"modern family"
and coming out.
Looks like it's time
to start a book club!
And because there's
never enough OITNB
Dani Shay kills with
her theme song
parody "You've Got
My Time." Whew, so
it's not just us that
can't stop watching
i
('.)
0
0
('.)
NDStGOSSIP
~ LESBOFILE
~
~
Angel and Ireland are an item, Hillary struts her
allly stuff and Evan calls foul on hookup rumors.
~
BY JOCELYN VOO
son," he told a Chicago radio station inter-
On the Record
viewer when asked about it. "As far as that
Despite the cuddly lnstagram photos and
is concerned, always believe what you see
racy tweets traded between rapper Angel
with your own eyes."
Haze and model Ireland Baldwin, the
But despite the negative reaction from
media has, for once, decided to downplay
his father, Jay wrote on his Ask.fm blog that
their relations rather than exaggerate it-
his mother and sister have shown incredi-
much to Haze's chagrin.
ble support.
"It's rad in some ways, it sucks in others,"
"My mom was like, 'Baby, you know I love
made a larger stance on political responsibility when it comes to speaking out on
the self-described pansexual told The
you if you were bi, gay, lesbian, you name
Independent. "An interracial gay couple,
it and I would still love you so much,"' he
political angs .... There's a lot of work to be
I mean that's just weird for America right
wrote. "And same with my sister, she told
done, and I believe it's going to come down
to people demanding that those who hold
such matters. "We're living in a time of real
now." Most outlets just call them best
me that she was proud of me, and respects
friends, Haze says, in spite of the PDA photos
me by calling me handsome and calling me
public office start making evidence-based
and suggestive tweets they trade, like "Your
her little brother now, and I love her for that,
decisions again."
body is a canvas. I want to paint it red."
so you know it was great for me."
But make no mistake: this couple, who
met at New York Fashion Week through a
Seems like R. Kelly may be trapped in his
own closet of denial right now.
mutual connection, is red hot. Ireland says
Rebound Rejected
After nearly two years of marriage to actor
Jamie Bell, True Blood actor Evan Rachel
in a May 5 tweet: "Don't let this go to your
Soap Box Strut
Wood was suddenly linked to another
head, but you're the best I've ever had."
Politicians are not unfamiliar with making
recently single actor: Hollywood bad girl
headline-grabbing gaffes. And Republican
Michelle Rodriguez.
Cue the mic drop.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry knows this first-hand
Trapped in the Trans Closet
with one of his most recent blunders that
Breaking her social media hiatus, Wood
took to Twitter to set the record straight.
It's one thing for celebrities to come out in
likened homosexuality with alcoholism:
"Looks like someone is already trying
the public eye. It's another for their kids to.
"Whether or not you feel compelled to
to start a rumor that I 'hooked up' with
And for singer R. Kelly, having his 14-year-
follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have
Michelle Rodriguez at 'An Evening with
old son Jay declare that he's transgender
the ability to decide not to do that."
Women'-I
has been a raw dose of reality.
Media outlets unilaterally jumped on
Michelle Rodriguez."
"You don't really wanna open it up
by saying my daughter is becoming my
12
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
him for his faux pas, but potential 2016
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
have never even said 'hello' to
For those of you who were hoping for a
textbook rebound story-sorry!
•
TRENDS/
"Linda [Perry] has a
habit of domesticating the
squirrels in the backyard ...
she feeds them nuts out of her
hand. I'm less of a squirrel lover,
let's just say that."
-Bad Teacher star Sara
Gilbert to People on the
last time she cringed
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PROFILE
RoeyThorpe
Advocate» Oregon
Roey Thorpe was a child of the Civil Rights and
anti-Vietnam War movements. She stuck up for the
kids that were being bullied, and sometimes got
into trouble for making her voice heard. "Later I
learned about feminist and gay rights pioneers who
moved me with their courage," says Thorpe. "Audre
Larde, Bayard Rustin, Harry Hay, Del Martin, and
Phyllis Lyon, they were my heroes."
In the mid-'90s Thorpe took that energy and
started on her PhD dissertation, an oral history
project of women in Detroit who had lived as
lesbians decades earlier.
"Learning about our history helps us know, first
and foremost, that we have always existed and
been part of people's families and workplaces and
neighborhoods," says Thorpe. "And we learn that we
have a history of resistance and enormous creativity
in the face of overwhelming misunderstanding and
hate, and we have so much to be proud of."
As the Director of Advocacy Programs for
Equality Federation today, Thorpe spends her time
trying to close the gap between the states that
have marriage equality and just about every other
right, and those that have no protections at all. Her
most current project involves consulting with local
activists on passing nondiscrimination
laws in states
where it's still legal to fire someone or deny housing
based on sexual orientation or gender identification.
Thorpe works with grass roots movements
across the country and says that one of the biggest
challenges she sees for the LGBT community is
transphobia. And she's going to try to do whatever
she can to stop it.
"I was in a relationship with a trans man, and I
was so shocked and saddened at the rude remarks
people made and at the kinds of questions they felt
were OK to ask," she recalls. "People I barely knew
asked me such personal questions about my sex
life and my partner, and about my own identity, and
then they wanted to argue with me when I responded.
It was painful, and it made me committed to making
this change." -Sheryl Kay
14
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
November23-30, 2014
Oliviais honored toannounce Bonnie Raitt!
Performingon board November 23rd
AUSTRALIA& NEW ZEALAND
CRUISE ODYSSEY
February
13-24,2015
Joinus for the 25th anniversaryof
Olivia Travelin 2015!
■
POLITICS
»
ADVICE»
COMMUNITY»
Dangerous Style
Are we really what we wear?
BY VICTORIA A. BROWNWORTH
You are what you eat. Weve heard that forever. But-though
no
one comes right out and says it-women, whether they're heads
of state, celebrities, or the average little girl on the street, are
defined and categorized by what they wear.
It starts at birth, when we are swaddled in pink in the maternity
ward, and it doesn't end until the day we die. (Can anyone ever
remember seeing a woman in a coffin wearing pants? I know I can't.)
In the U.K. right now, there is a large~scale feminist protest
against an ad campaign for Clarks children's shoes. At issue is the
sexist language of the ads, "boys test their shoes to destruction,
girls love comfort and style;' as well as the girls' shoes that the
16 CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
company is promoting. They're flimsy and sparkly and not con~
ducive to the kind of hard play that kids engage in. But what little
girl isn't going to want the sparkly shoes when they are promoted
in pink and purple and "Everyone else has them, Mummy"?
Women are taught early on how to perform femininity through
our style of dress. Gender non~conformity is not only deemed
unacceptable, but increasingly, when girls want to dress "like a
boy;' or boys want to dress "like a girl" (as if this isn't already a
fake construct), parents start considering the idea that their child
might be transgender, when, really, they are just doing what kids
do-playing.
VIEWS/POLI
In schools that require children to wear
uniforms, girls wear skirts, boys wear
pants. Girls aren't offered a choice, even
if they feel more comfortable (and safer)
in pants. Skirts hamper girls' movements
and also force them to always think about
whether their underwear will be revealed if
they are climbing, or running, or fall down
while playing. Skirts restrict girls' ability to
do the same things boys are doing because
modesty and safety always have to be in
the forefront of girls' consciousness.
When we are old enough to choose what
we wear and have some clothing autonomy,
we have already been inculcated into what is
"appropriate" for us, including hair accessories, jewelry, makeup, and, of course, shoes.
Even the three female associate justices of
US. Supreme Court have lace around the
collars of their judicial robes.
In interviews during her recent book
tour, former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton [see Book Reviews] talked about
how the media has focused almost as much
on her style of dress as on the issues she's
espoused. Hillary Clinton wears pants,
not skirts. As she describes it, the media
has long been fixated on, if not obsessed
by, her hair and her clothes, while the
hair style and clothing of male politicians
goes unremarked upon. This fixation even
worked its way onto TheTonightShow,after
the announcement that Chelsea Clinton
was pregnant. "If it's a girl, it will get some
of Chelsea's old hand-me-downs, and if it's
a boy, it will get some of Hillary's;' Jimmy
Fallon joked.
This kind of thing would be funnier if the
way women dress didn't get them ignored,
dismissed, harassed, attacked, raped, and
murdered throughout the world.
Style is problematic for women. We may
have a range of choices as to what we wear,
but those choices also impact how we are
perceived in society. Those choices are often
used as one more misogynist hammer to
beat us with. Sometimes literally.
It's easy to point to hijab and burka as
repressive to women. Those articles of
clothing seem to stand out for many as representative of the way women are oppressed
by male-driven views of female modesty.
But as Muslim women who wear hijab will
argue, women in the West are oppressed
by having to reveal most of their bodies in
order to reflect cultural norms. It's a hard
argument to refute.
The way women dress is so central to
the perception of who we are as people
that it is also a component of the crimes
perpetrated against us. On college campuses, young women are urged to be aware
of how they dress so as not to invite rape.
When women are raped, one of the first
questions they are asked is, "What were
you wearingt
The detective who interviewed me after
I was raped and nearly killed asked me
that question. What I was wearing had
nothing to do with why I was attacked in
broad daylight outside my own house.
Yet the question keeps getting asked of
women victims.
The way lesbians dress is often a factor in
hate crimes against them. Women targeted
for "corrective rape" in South Africa have
almost all been butch lesbians who dressed
androgynously. The societal message, as
many men in South Africa have stated, is
that these butch lesbians need to be taught
how to perform femininity. To death.
Raise your hand if someone has ever said
to you "You don't look like a lesbian'' or "You
look like a man:' If a lesbian chooses heteronormative dress, she's told she doesn't look
like a lesbian-sometimes by her own community. But if she chooses a more androgynous or masculine style, she's told she looks
like a man, or is trying to be a man.
Yet for generations, some women who
dress in male attire have been considered
sexy, and the look has cut across a large
swath of popular culture, as well as erotica
and pornography. Whether it's Marlene
Dietrich and Greta Garbo, who dressed
in tuxedos in the 1930s, or singer Janelle
Monae and designer Rei Kawakubo, who
dress that way today, attractive women in
men's clothes have always evoked a sexual
frisson in both men and women.
But that doesn't translate to the everyday woman.
Gender non-conformity in our lesbian style makes us targets. When we do
Janelle Monae, or even just Ellen, we get,
well, shit. Most butch lesbians I know can't
dress butch at work. They can go the Hillary route, but out-and-down butch? Still
not acceptable in 2014 at most jobs.
It's part of the not-so-subtle lesbo-phobia
that runs through both mainstream and
LGBT culture. Women who eschew menespecially those who look like they might
perform masculinity as well or better than
any man-make
everyone uncomfortable.
How can a patriarchal society run smoothly
and oppressively if the women who are lesbians refuse to allow men to tell them what
to do-whether that includes how to dress
or who to have sex with?
Not so long ago, butch lesbians were
dragged out of gay bars and checked to see
if they passed the "three items" rule-in
order to discourage cross-dressers, women
were prohibited from wearing more than
three pieces of men's clothing. I was too
young to even know about it when I was
sneaking into bars with a wink from the
protective older butches who were my lesbian moms. The one and only time I got
caught in a police raid that I wasn't able
to escape, it was because I had the "three
items" problem. I was only 16. How many
thousands of lesbians got arrested just
because they were wearing men's clothes,
even though they were very much women?
The fact is, women are no more what
we wear than men are. Style should be a
manifestation of what we like, what we feel
comfortable in-reflecting only a facet of
who we are. Take high heels. Women who
wear them know they're never comfortable
at first. We may get used to them, and we
may even get to like them, but wearing
them or not shouldn't define who we are as
women. Dressing "like a woman'' or "like a
man" doesn't change your gender-it's just
one more false binary used, inevitably, to
trap women or dismiss them. In the West,
if we dress "provocatively;' we are called
sluts; in Muslim nations, if a woman goes
out without her chador or burka, she can
be beaten, or worse.
If clothes make the man, clothes un-make
the woman. That's the problem with style.
No matter how women dress, our style
puts us in danger. And until that changes,
all of us will still be what we wear, rather
than who we are underneath.•
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
17
HOW
DIDYOU
MEET?
Bikes were going past, our eyes met.
AMANDA: I was working in the Royal
We then had a very romantic 24 hours
going. When I got to the U.K., we were able
Australian Navy, based in Sydney, and
together, before she flew back to the U.K.
to really get to know one another and it
Emma was over in Australia for the first
Unbelievably, I'd forgotten to take her
was clear that we were both very much in
time in 2008 to go to Sydney Mardi Gras.
number but thanks to Facebook I was able
love. However, we still had the matter of
to track her down. Five months later we
10,000 miles of distance to contend with.
EMMA: I had initially intended to spend my
we were determined to keep the contact
were able to see each other again. It was
holiday in California but at the last minute
a long five months but we tried to speak
WAS
ITLOVE
ATFIRST
SIGHT?
caved in to my friends.
to each other as much as possible-being
AMANDA: As two strangers meeting in
in the Navy meant that this was difficult
the street, it's fair to say there was an
AMANDA: We were both watching the
when I was at sea for weeks at a time, but
immediate mutual physical attraction. I
Mardi Gras Parade and as the Dykes on
what we were feeling was very strong and
couldn't stop slyly peering over to look
18 CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
OF
VIEWS/TWO
at her, and I caught her doing the same.
as we didn't know when we would be back
fortunate, it's not been an issue for us,
We were with other friends, so when the
in Australia. I can highly recommend a
especially in London. Occasionally, when
groups started to talk to one another, I
wedding on the beach-it was stunning and
out and about, you can get a few
was able to break the ice. However, I'd
you don't even have to worry about shoes!
unwanted stares.
my friends' persuasions, she would have
WHEN
DIDYOU
DECIDE
TOWORK
TOGETHER
AND
START
ABUSINESS?
had a few too many drinks, which wasn't
garden design service. Emma's background
YOU'VE
BEEN
SELECTED
TOCREATE
ASHOW
GARDEN
ATTHIS
YEAR'S
RHS
HAMPTON
COURT
FLOWER
SHOW
IN
LONDON
FOR
PRIDE.
CAN
YOU
TELL
USMORE?
next morning. There followed a day of
is business whereas my background
AMANDA: Like other gay couples, we have
sightseeing and I even took Emma to the
was garden design and horticulture, so
encountered various degrees of hostility
Navy base and gave her a tour of our ship.
we knew we complemented each other
and negative reactions over the years, even
We didn't want the day to end, but we
and could each bring something to the
for simply holding hands in public. This is
knew time was running out.
business. It was through some early
a key driver in wanting to create the Pride
projects and networking that we began
garden with Stonewall, a charity without
EMMA: I knew I was in trouble when I
to sub-contract with larger landscaping
which we believe our lives would be very
left Sydney and landed in Tokyo for a
companies, which is how we gradually got
different. For the project we will be building
few days. Here I was, in one of the most
into the world of show gardens as well as
a garden which represents a journey from
exciting cities in the world and all I could
running our own design projects.
the constraints of old-fashioned beliefs
freedom. The journey will be highlighted
friends told me that nothing would likely
HOW
DIDWORKING
TOGETHER
ALTER
YOUR
RELATIONSHIP?
come of it and urged me to party but I
EMMA: Working together generally works
pride that segregates two communities.
couldn't help the way I was feeling. A week
well as we both respect each other's skills
It begins at the rear of the garden in a
later, back in London, a huge bouquet of
and ideas. We both share the goal of
dark environment of suppressed planting
flowers arrived-I
wanting to be successful and travel the
and ends in a free, thriving and colorful
going down too well, and if it wasn't for
left! I think we both knew that there was
AMANDA: During my garden design course
something special happening when we
we put a website together to offer a local
agreed to have breakfast together the
and people blinded by pride to a life of
think about was this Australian sailor I had
literally known for just over 24 hours. My
just knew I had to see
her again.
by a series of walls, which represent the
world to take part in all the major shows.
landscape. The planting at the front of
There are times when we clash and end
the garden celebrates natural beauty and
WHEN,
WHERE,
AND
WHY
DID
YOU
DECIDE
TO
GET
MARRIED?
up having a bit of a heated debate, but we
makes use of unusually shaped flowers
always find that we can laugh about things
which emphasize that being different is
AMANDA: After 18 months managing a long
later. I think that is the key to success.
something to be proud of.
Ibiza (where we got engaged), Paris and
WHEN
YOU
HAVE
DISAGREEMENTS
HOW
DOYOU
RESOLVE
THEM?
a wider audience and there will also be
Sydney- Emma took a year out from work
AMANDA: We are no different to other
opportunities to donate directly at the
and came to Australia to live with me. Here
couples-we
we started to make a plan about our future
laugh at each other and enjoy making up!
from the sale of the plants on the last day
together and decided that life would be
We try to avoid going to bed still stewing
of the show will also go to Stonewall.
more straight forward if I left the Navy.
over something and rather deal with things
When thinking about what I wanted to do
as they happen.
distance relationship-with
some romantic
meetups in various locations including
have disagreements but we
next as a career, I decided to follow my
EMMA: The show will hopefully touch
garden, should visitors wish. The proceeds
ANY
ADVICE
FOR
CURVE
READERS
WHO
WANT
TOLIVE
AND
WORK
WITH
THEIR
PARTNERS?
As we were going to be leaving Australia
ARE
YOU
OUT
TOYOUR
CLIENTS
AND
COMMUNITY?
and making a massive commitment for me
AMANDA: We are out to both clients
go for it-when working together, we think
to change countries, we decided to get
and the garden designer community in
it's important to share the same goals and
married on one of our favorite beaches
general. We try to be ourselves and hope
plan for the business, but it's useful to
and demonstrate our commitment to one
that people accept that we are normal. We
have clearly defined roles so that you don't
dream and study garden design in the U.K.
EMMA: We would recommend that couples
another with family and friends. As gay
hope that us living our lives as openly as
clash but have the freedom to do your own
marriage was not yet legal in Australia-as
we can, will encourage others to do the
job, knowing you can consult with each
is still the case four years later-we had a
same. Safety in numbers.
other on matters at any time. Whether
commitment ceremony.
working or living together, it's always about
EMMA: We're not exactly the only gay
communicating properly, enjoying each
EMMA: It was important for us to do
garden designers on the circuit, which
other's company and trusting one another.
something special with Amanda's family
helps. Whether or not we have just been
(amandamillerdesigns.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
19
s1LIPSTICK+DIPSTICK
"Why Do Some Lesbians
Have to Be So Butch?''
The first step in overcoming discrimination is to take a
look deep inside. ev uPsT1cK & 01PsT1cK
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I am bisexual and I have some questions. First, I don't understand
why there is "gay culture" at all. Why is it so important to be separate from "heterosexual" culture?
Also, why do some lesbians have to be butch (or some men have to be queens)? If a woman
doesn't like men, why would she want a woman to be masculine, like a man? I like women,
feminine women, and that makes sense to me. I am a little bit tomboy, in a sense, because I like
men's sports and hate dresses, and I've never been interested in girly stuff. But I am sexy as a
woman, no doubt about it. I don't have to resemble a man to live with my manly side. I do find it
very important to stop discrimination, and make sure that we all have the same legal rights, but
we should make sure that lesbians and gay men don't discriminate either. People fear dating
bisexuals because we aren't 100 percent gay, which, to me, shows ignorance and discrimination.
As for gay culture, I don't think it's as open-minded as it should be. I see divisions within gay
culture. Those with good jobs and a certain lifestyle don't mix with those who are considered
average. As for celebrating Gay Pride, that's something else I've never understood. Why should
anyone be proud of their sexuality? I understand not being ashamed of it-but proud? I'm proud
of myself, yes, but for being able to love a person regardless of their gender. It's my nature. I was
born this way. To be proud of being gay sounds arrogant. We are a lot more than our sexuality.
Not judging, just my opinion. Here's hoping that someday we can all feel we belong in this
world.?-Bisexua/ Babe From Binghamton
/////////H/////////////////////HH//////////////////////////////////////////H///////////////////////////////,W////////////////////H////////////////////////////////////////////H/////////////////////H////////////////////////////////
Lipstick: Bless you, child, for I can tell
you're a young soul and have some big lessons to learn. You're on the cusp though.
While I agree with you on two points-we
are more than our sexuality, and the world
needs less discrimination-I've
got some
pointed feedback on the other stuff.
Why is "gay" culture different from
"straight" culture? Because, until recently,
we've been cast aside, treated as freaks,
and beaten down into a separate space.
Different neighborhoods, different bars,
etc. It's through this enforced segregation
that we've given birth to a culture that is
uniquely queer-a
colorful child who often
loves to dance and prance. None of us set
out to create a distinct culture, and some
LGBTs (like yourself) may not fully embrace every aspect of it, but it happened
organically. It is also akin to what happens
in nature when a flower somehow finds
its way through a crack in the sidewalk.
20
CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
Once it breaks through, it stands there,
bias yourself. Instead of worrying about
all alone, until others also find their way
how others choose to define themselves,
to the sunlight. Then, before you know it,
look at your own internalized butch-pho-
suddenly there's a large patch of flowers,
bia. My guess is, your abhorrence of all
and they're beautiful and strong because
things manly in a woman is due to your
they've worked hard to survive. Eventually,
discomfort with that aspect of yourself,
just as we're witnessing in our world right
which is itching to jump out. Not judging,
now, the concrete will decompose and dis-
just my opinion.
appear, and the rest of the greenery will fill
in the gaps. Soon, then, it will be nothing
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I have this
but one big, glorious, blended garden.
amazing girlfriend, and we have been
Why do some lesbians have to be butch?
together for more than three years now.
Dip, I'll punt this juicy morsel to you.
A few months ago, I started taking care
of my nails and now they are lovely, but
Dipstick: BBB, let me put it this way. Why
pretty sharp and long. The problem is, I
do you have to be bisexual? Why do you
love them like this but I hurt my girl every
have to like both men and women? Why
time we're having sex. She has pretty
can't you choose just one-because
obvi-
sensitive skin down there. What can I do
ously that would make everyone around
to keep my nails pretty, but also have safe
you more comfortable. Is it something
and fun sex with my girlfriend without
you just woke up one day and decided to
hurting her?-Sa//y Scissorhands
do? When you know the answer to that
question, you'll have the answer to why
Lipstick: Lesbian 101's first rule is "Keep
some of us are a bit more boy-like, or
Your Nails Short," so give your girlfriend's
queenish. Like you, we were born this way.
coach a break and file those things down.
And, thankfully, we have a gay culture that
No one wants to get fresh with Freddy
embraces us for being our true selves. If I
Kruger.
want to wear a trucker hat and Carhartts,
I know that my gay people are going to
Dipstick: Lipstick, I'm surprised that you
love and support me for that. Likewise, I
of all people would tell a feisty femme
embrace my queenly brothers, those who
to cut her PowerPoints. That's like asking
choose to roller-skate through life in skin-
Wonder Woman to take off those golden
tight short shorts and big rainbow boas,
bracelets or Melissa Etheridge to put
flowing fabulousness wherever they roam.
down her guitar. There's no need to cut
Lipstick: Word, Dip. Why do we celebrate
Just slap on a pair of latex gloves. Double
Gay Pride? We're proud because we've
up, if you have to. They will protect your
once been ashamed, and deeply so.
pretty nails and her pretty hootenanny.
back those lovely nails you've cultivated.
Many of our brothers and sisters are still
Use plenty of lube and see how many
reconciling that indignity, but those of us
fingers you can fit inside.
who have are damn proud of it. It's not an
easy skin to shed, and our heterosexual
Lipstick: Those switchblades will rip
(and maybe even bisexual) counterparts
through latex faster than my nana's toe-
will never understand its weight. They've
nails pierce her pantyhose. What needs
never been sliced by the horror of being
to happen, Sally, is for you to get out your
turned away at the ER when their girlfriend
emery board and dull down those dag-
has been in an accident. They've never
gers. Go about halfway and see if that's
been unwelcome in their parents' home, or
enough. Be sure you keep the edges
humiliated in school hallways. And they've
wide and round, not pointy and narrow.
never been a pawn in the circus that is
Lesbians and long nails only go together
media and politics. We're proud and we
in porn videos.
celebrate because we can't help ourselves.
The sea change has come and the joy
Do you have a burning
runneth over.
question for Lipstick
Dipstick: Take a look deep inside, BBB.
ask@Ii pstickd i pstick.com
& Dipstick? Write to
While you plead for gays and lesbians to
embrace bisexuals, you display such utter
The Baby Bump
One couple's unexpected encounter with Planned Parenthood.
BY SARAH TOCE
'You do know that the Viagra prescription
isn't covered by your insurance, right?" the
clerk asked my wife at the drive-through
window.
Uncontrollable laughter ensued, and if
we had both been drinking milk at that
moment, it would've shot straight out of
our nostrils.
'Tm here for my folic acid prescription-I
don't need Viagra;' I answered."That's someone else's medication:'
The reality about trying to conceive is
that you end up taking medications you
never knew existed, and then you're told to
try some more. For instance: birth control.
I've been married to my wife, Steph, for
over six years, and, as effective as one little
pill per day might be in keeping unwanted
pregnancies at bay-and I say this with all
due respect-we didn't have that problem.
Taking birth control pills in order to get
pregnant might have been the most unnatural idea I'd ever heard of (turns out, you
take them for several reasons), until the
day I had to have a dilation and curettage
at Planned Parenthood in order to terminate a pregnancy. Now, that concept was
even more mind-blowing than the birth
control. The procedure was necessary to
abort an unhealthy pregnancy, but still, it
just felt wrong. This pregnancy cycle was
22
CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
supposed to work-at least I thought so.
I was a healthy woman, 30 years old, who
had gotten pregnant on the very first try. I
was a rare bird. Except that the numbers
were consistently low from the moment
we obtained the positive lab result. We
obeyed all the doctors' and nurse practitioners' orders at Overlake Reproductive
Health, a clinic we had come to know and
love in Bellevue, Wash., yet six weeks of
blood tests, ultrasounds, visits to the doctor, and reading more material than I care
to recollect all led to this one moment at
Planned Parenthood.
Perhaps the hardest words to hear were
from the ultrasound technician: "It's beautiful and in the perfect spot, right in the center
of the uterus, but the sac is just empty:'
"So then I'm not pregnant, right?" I ask.
"Your body will continue to act as
though it is pregnant until the hormones
realize it's empty and not going to result
in a healthy baby-then
it will naturally
abort. It could take two weeks, a month, or
longer;' the doctor told us.
0 K. So I'm not pregnant, but I am
pregnant.
None of it made sense and, ultimately,
you have to trust that someone "out there,
up there, over there;' knows what they're
doing, because you sure as hell have no
OK.
SOl'MNOT
PRtGNANT,
BUT
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VIEWS/AD
idea-and that may be the first sign of becoming a mother-having, literally, no idea
what you are actually meant to be doing.
The out-of control feeling is not a happy
experience for someone who runs her own
successful brand. Any way you slice it, I
am successful for a reason, and it's most
likely not because I'm spiraling out of control or allowing others to take the reins.
I'm used to fending for myself and making things that shouldn't work, well, work.
When they don't, nothing seems to make
any sense. "What do you mean, it didn't
work? No, that wasn't in my plan ... "
The day had arrived to have the procedure and I was having mixed emotions.
You know those "surprise" gift bags they
sell for a dollar, the ones that kids beg their
parents for because you have no idea what's
inside? That gift bag had nothing on me.
The lobby was organized chaos because
the doctor had missed her ferry ( something that, undoubtedly, happens only
in Seattle). There were at least 50 people
in the waiting room already and the center had just opened, but I had slipped in
under the radar because of my special
circumstances. I wasn't at Planned Parenthood to abort a baby. I was at Planned
Parenthood to facilitate a miscarriage.
Up until the time I put the gown on
(and even a few weeks after the procedure) my hormones were insane-PMS
on steroids with a pinch of liquid nitro-
gen. And for what? There was no chance
of a healthy pregnancy, and the longer I
waited, the more anxiety-driven my world
became. My wife was beside herself with
worry, and my close friends, who knew
about my "special circumstances;' were becoming more confused with each passing
day. And they tell pregnant women not to
stress. It's quite the impossible situation to
be in, especially for the pregnant woman
carrying an empty sac for six weeks.
The entire process lasted about 15 minutes, and before I realized what was happening, it was over. A burst of relief and
sadness flooded over me for the remainder
of the day, but a stop at Cupcake Royale
with a dear friend helped to lift my spirits. Being the journalist that I am, all I
could think about was, How am I going
to tell this story? It was such an odd circumstance, such an extraordinary situation, that words failed me-even
when
attempting to write-which,
again, for a
control freak, wasn't cop acetic.
Some actions you must take on your
own to fully understand the gravity of
them. I'd written about Planned Parenthood 100 times over in my career, but,
being a gay woman, never in my wildest
dreams could I have imagined I'd one
day be in need of their services. We are
so quick to judge others and imagine we
know the reasons for everything they do,
don't do, or should be doing. Sometimes
the story isn't black and white, and the
hook is found simply in the showing up
and being present.
We waited the mandatory cycle to try
again and the result was negative. In a
meeting with the generous doctors at
Overlake, they said it might be worth
conducting a pregnancy loss panel, which
is basically testing 20 vials of blood for
abnormalities. We did the test and everything came back just fine. June is Pride
month in the U.S. and our busiest time of
the year for advertising, sponsorships, promotional parties, and such, so we decided
to wait to try again until we could settle
ourselves down and-clearing
throatrelax. Stay tuned.
In sharing my story with Curve readers,
I had a choice. I could tell the truth as it
happened, or I could save face and edit the
events that occurred-or
act like none of
it ever happened. I've never been one to
mince words, and the truth is that when
going through such an emotional rollercoaster ride such as this one has been, you
start looking for a reason. Why did this
happen? What was I meant to learn about
myself through this? What was this experience meant to teach others? All of these
thoughts, questions and concerns ran
through my mind before submitting this
story. However, one prevailed and that is
why you're reading it today.
"There is a reason this is happening. It is
to help others:'
Clear as day, I heard it. That little voice
inside that Oprah calls a whisper ... it is indeed a whisper. I've felt it all my life and
it's never steered me wrong. I knew in that
moment that the story needed to be told,
and that editing myself was not an option.
Yes, you're a lesbian, but you may need
Planned Parenthood one day, whether you
think you will or not. •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
23
0
n June 4, in Washington, D.C.,
Marriott International hosted a
launch party for #LoveTravels,
a provocative portrait series by celebrated
photographer Braden Summers that fea~
tures out pro basketball player Jason Col~
lins, model and transgender rights activist
Geena Rocero, and other LGBT influenc~
ers and achievers.
Also in attendance were Judy and Dennis
24
CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
Shepard, and Tammy Baldwin ( the first
woman elected to represent Wisconsin
in the Senate and the first openly gay
U.S. Senator in history). Jason Collins
presented to Judy and Dennis Shepard a
signed No. 98 jersey in honor of their son,
Mathew Shepard. Earlier in the day, Col~
lins and Rocero unveiled their images from
the campaign on iconic Marriott proper~
ties. (marriottlovetravels.com) •
T
imes Square and Broadway, traditionally the place where hopefuls
dream of seeing their name in lights,
became the setting for the dreams of foster
kids at the opening of the Heart Gallery
NYC Pride Photo Exhibition on June 9,
where eyes and hearts were focused on
the 12 larger-than-life portraits of LGBT
youth and 24 other foster children.
"My feet hurt so bad. These shoes
weren't hefty enough for what I faced. All
my life I've been running from pain ... Racing;' shared Brieanna, one of the LGBT
foster youth whose portrait is part of the
exhibition. She continued to read her
poem to the mesmerized audience, ''All
my life. I've lived in 50 places, clothes left
behind, different faces. Different races
with different thoughts. Different minds
with different taunts. They left me behind
and barely checked on me. Social workers
making promises like soon-to-be-dads:'
The opening of the Heart Gallery NYC
Pride Photo Exhibition, which ran June
10-20 at the Times Square Museum
& Visitors Center, and was free to the
public, gathered more than 270 LGBT
foster youth, celebrity photographers,
prospective adoptive families, Broadway
performers, electeds and guests who filled
the Times Square Museum and Visitors
Center to launch the first-time photo exhibit which shared a unified goal of finding
"forever" families and a loving and stable
home environment for foster children.
The exhibition honored the nearly 12,000
N.Y.C. children living in foster care and the
hundreds waiting and ready to be adopted.
(heartgallerynyc.org) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
25
FILM»
The Next Wave
Charlotte Lagarde has a passion for surfing and women's stories.
BY MARCIE BIANCO
ith over two decades of experience in the film
industry, director and producer Charlotte
Lagarde is invested in making storytelling a
public act that raises awareness and creates
community. As a lifelong swimmer and surfer, Lagarde has focused
her lens on telling the stories of women's surfing communities, from
the three generations of women nurturing each other in Swell to
her intimate portrait of the Hawaiian surfing legend Rell Sunn in
Heart of the Sea: Kapolioka'ehukai. Lagarde's award~winning films
Beautiful Son, Voting in America, Swell and Zeef were broadcast
on PBS stations and the Sundance Channel. Heart of the Sea, also
broadcast on PBS, has garnered numerous accolades, including the
2003 PBS/Independent Lens Audience Award, the Best Docu~
mentary Award at the Ashland Independent Film Festival and the
Audience Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Currently at work producing Deann Borshay Liem's In the Matter
of Cha Jung Hee and Geographiesof Kinship-The Korean Adoption
26
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Story, Lagarde finds respite in traipsing through Brooklyn with her
partner, multimedia artist Jen Bervin, and their funny little dog,
Tender Buttons.
What is it about women surfing that compelled you to make
these films?
Well, I've always loved strong women and the ocean. Water is my
element. As a child, I was a competitive swimmer. I grew up on the
Atlantic coast of Brittany. I spent my childhood summers sailing
with my cousins on a lake in the Alpson the lake in the Alps and on
my grandfather's sailboat in the Mediterranean where my mother
read us The Odyssey. I picked up windsurfing as soon as the sport
was invented. When I moved to Los Angeles, there was no wind, so
I looked into surfing. I was shocked to see mainly men and what I
experienced as a very aggressiveculture toward women and the water.
In surfing advertisements and films, the only images of women
were as bimbos and sex objects. When I met Zeu£ she introduced
There is a constant element of surprise with
water, which can take so many forms. I love
its strength and its beauty. It's a good reminder that we are very small. For Rell and
for Zeu£ it was also a healing place. Water
is something that keeps me balanced. As far
as symbolism, you can't really go wrong with
water. It flows as a narrative. It is reflective.
Zeuf (1994), Swell (1996), and Heart of
the Sea (2003) all feature women who
find strength or solace through surfing.
I'm interested in people who are overcoming trauma, and Zeuf and Rell embodied
a way that one can go through something
very difficult without being a victim-and
actually have it become a source of strength
and a commitment to living life fully and
positively. That was something that was
lacking in the media and in film. Really,
what connects these films is Zeu£ She is
the one who introduced me to the community in Santa Cruz and to the amazing
story of Rell, who was already a legend in
Hawaii and among surfers, but otherwise
was unknown in the culture at large. The
film about Zeuf was more iconic-the
Amazon that came out of the water and
took me back in.
How did you meet Zeuf?
me to a community that was quite different. She taught me how to sur£ I wanted
to show another way of being in the ocean.
When did you become a filmmaker?
In the early 1990s. I joined the Los Angeles chapter of Women's Action Coalition
(WAC), a feminist direct-action organization founded in the aftermath of the Anita
Hill testimony. I became the WAC videographer and recorded our demonstrations.
So making films about women surfers was
a way of merging my strong feminist beliefs
and my love of the ocean.
Water is a theme in the trilogy but how
does it also function in the storytelling?
In 1994, I started the documentary master's program at Stanford University. I
needed a subject for my first film. A photographer I had met at WAC kept talking
about this nurse in the ICU at Highlands
Hospital in Oakland who was a surfer, an
incredible athlete, and young breast cancer
survivor. I called her and she invited me
down to Santa Cruz to interview her. She
was living in a surf shack a few hundred feet
from the ocean. It was pouring rain that day
and the sound of the rain on the corrugated
metal roof was deadly. To muffle the sound
outside, I created a tent with blankets suspended over chairs. We sat inside of it on
the carpet and I recorded our conversation.
We were whispering to each other like kids,
creating a world where it was safe to share
secrets. This conversation was the basis
for my first film, Zeuj, a portrait of Robin
"Zeuf" Janiszeufski, who used surfing to
recover from her mastectomy. Zeufbecame
the first woman to paddle the 32 miles
across Monterey Bay, one of the deepest
channels in the Pacific infamous for its rip
currents and sharks. The film was shown
in over 30 countries. It launched my career
as a filmmaker and was also the start of
an intimate friendship with Zeu£ who introduced me to the community of women
surfers that inspired my next two films.
I hear you're working on a sequel?
Last March, Zeuf asked me if I would do
a follow-up film. She had learned that her
cancer, which had metastasized six years
before, had spread again, this time to her
head and her liver. I went out to Santa Cruz,
Cali£, very ambivalent about making a film
about her dying because I did not want her
to die. We talked at length and decided to
embark on a film about our friendship. This
film has forced me to break the observational barrier at the most vulnerable times.
Filming Zeuf and me during the last eight
months of her life was even harder than I
had imagined. Sometimes I just could not
film. Zeuf would turn the camera on me
and ask me why. I realized that while she
was comfortable about being filmed, and at
peace with dying, I was not yet.
It was Zeuf who introduced you to Rell?
She spoke very highly about this Hawaiian
surfer, Rell Sunn. She had read about Rell's
battle with cancer and her incredible feats
as a water woman in The Suifer's Journal.
When Zeuf was diagnosed with breast
cancer, she wrote to Rell and asked for advice. Meanwhile, I was looking into making
a film about the history of women surfers. I
asked Zeuf to put us in touch. When I first
reached out to Rell, she was very sick, and
she declined. Then she got better, and out
of the blue, she called me and asked if I was
still interested in filming her. I was just out
of grad school and broke. Jane McKenzie,
one of the surfers in Swell, gave us a thousand dollars. We packed our camera equipment, bought round-trip tickets to Hawaii
and a couple of weeks later we were meeting
Rell in Makaha. I learned later that Zeuf
had orchestrated the whole thing. It still
puts a smile on my face.
How has your life been affected by working with these amazing women?
They have taught me to live my life fully,
with passion, intention, compassion and
always grace and humor. When facing
tough choices, I often find myself thinking,
What would Zeuf do? Though I have lost
many dear friends, Zeuf is the one who introduced me to my own mortality. Now, I
see it as so much a part of life-something
you live towards with a certain curiosity.
(swellcinema.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
27
She's Ready
Two new books look at Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
BY VICTORIA
A. BROWNWORTH
he's back! Hillary Clinton hit
the book tour circuit on June
10 with Hard Choices, a new
memoir about her days as
secretary of state.
Seeing Clinton back in the public eye
has ignited speculation that she will run
for president again in 2016. She looked a
lot like she was campaigning-Supreme
Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor and Rep.
John Lewis (D~Ga.) both turned up at
the Costco warehouse in northern Vir~
ginia where she was signing books, mak~
ing it a perfect occasion for impromptu
selfies, especially with Sotomayor in capris
and a T~shirt!
S
28
CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
And maybe because Clinton has looked
so much like she's campaigning, the media
has felt they could start to treat her like
a presidential hopeful. In Clinton's first
exclusive interview since she left the State
Department in February ( and right before
her book hit the shelves), ABC's Diane
Sawyer was poking and prodding, trying
to draw blood. And Sawyer was just the
first. All of which raises questions: Can
women have power in the U.S.? Can a
woman ever be president?
The journalist Marianne Schnall, who
also runs the website Feminist.com, shifts
the tone of those perennial questions in
her immensely readable and inspiring new
book from Seal Press, What Will It Take
to Make a Woman President?
Schnall got the idea for the book when
her S~year~old daughter asked her, "Why
haven't we ever had a woman president?"
That context is both heartbreaking and
compelling as it propels Schnall on a quest
to get answers-for her daughter, for her~
sel£ for every woman and girl in America.
What Will It Take to Make a Woman
President? is a collection of amazing inter~
views with some of the top female political
leaders in the U.S., as well as many notable
feminists and women who are well~known
for leadership. Many big names are here,
old and young, straight and lesbian, married
REVIEWS/
and single. There are even a few men, like
Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times
and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom,
who when he was mayor of San Francisco
famously went ahead and married samesex couples because it was right. Among
those couples were the iconic lesbian activists Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who had
been together for 51 years.
And although this is clearly a left-leaning
book, there are a few Republicans in the
mix, such as up-and-coming Latina political
strategist Ana Navarro and Senators Olympia Snowe and Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Everyone will want to read what Nancy
Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Maya Angelou,
Anita Hill, Eleanor Holmes Norton,
Sheryl Sandberg, Donna Brazile, Melissa
Etheridge, and all the other notable women in the book have to say. Their perspectives are certainly wide-ranging.
What is remarkable about this collection is how each interview builds on the
last to form a complete picture of why we
need and deserve a female president. As
Steinem, who just turned 80, says, "Experience is everything. Somebody who
has experienced something is more
expert at it than the experts. We
need politicians who look like the
country:'
Sandberg, the COO of Facebook,
says,"The word'female; when inserted
in front of something, is always with
a note of surprise-female
COO,
female pilot, female surgeon-as if
the gender implies surprise, which it
does. I am a female leader. One day
there won't be female leaders. There
will just be leaders:'
Schnall tells us if we want a female leader-a woman presidentwe have to focus our attention on
changing the narrative created by
our sexist and misogynist society.
Schnall writes, "Sexist news coverage and the sexualization and
objectification of women and girls
in television and magazines impact
not only a woman's self-perception,
but how men view women as well.
-
Studies show that when media coverage
focuses on a female politician's appearance,
she pays a price in the polls. Many interviewees pointed to the sexist media coverage that Hillary Clinton was subjected
to during her 2008 campaign-with
commentators saying things like, 'When Hillary Clinton speaks, men hear "Take out
the garbage"' -and expressed the need for
fair and accurate coverage. The media need
to be held accountable, and we all need to
be conscious about what media we consume and support:'
Today, the media is back in sexist gear
with regard to Hillary Clinton, the likely
2016 Democratic candidate for president
and the most experienced and qualified candidate in decades. Both sides are already using Clinton's new book as a partisan stick, as
they re-craft the sexist message of the 2008
Democratic primary for 2016.
Unsurprisingly, Hard Choices,by Hillary
Rodham Clinton and published by Simon
& Schuster, has gotten mixed reviews. The
left-leaning New York Times calls it"a subtle,
finely calibrated work that provides a portrait of the former secretary of state and for-
BOOKS
mer first lady as a heavy-duty policy wonk:'
The left-leaning Los Angeles Times calls
the book "a richly detailed and compelling
chronicle of Clinton's role in the foreign initiatives and crises that defined the first term
of the Obama administration ... and teems
with small, entertaining details about her
interactions with foreign leaders:'
The center/right-leaning New Republic
reviews the NYT review (not the book but
the review!), with the headline "Hillary
Clinton, Michiko Kakutani, and How Not
to Write a Book Review:' The National
Review, a neo-con right-wing policy mag,
reviewed close to 1,000 Amazon reader
reviews-which were almost equally partisan and gave the book either one star or
five stars. It was the equivalent of asking
people on the street what they thought.
(Many of the one-star reviews begin with
"Lies, lies, lies:')
But across the pond in the U.K., The
Guardian, with no political axe to grind,
takes the book-and
Clinton-apart
not to eviscerate, but to deconstruct. In
doing so, the paper grants her "thoroughness" and "clarity:' "She is a disaggregator;'
it claims, meaning that she breaks
things down, sees the larger picture,
finds a plan, makes it work. In sum,
The Guardian notes, "The U.S. could
do worse than having [Hillary Clinton] as their next president:'
It's thought provoking to read
these two books together-a
neo-feminist perspective on why
America is past due for a female
president and then the step-by-step
details of what it would mean for a
woman to be president in the 21st
century. These aren't short booksSchnall's is just under 400 pages
and Clinton's is nearly 700-but
this reader came away from the confluent experience with a keen sense
of how to get a woman in the White
House and why Hillary Clinton
would be a smart, incisive, and focused president, one we would all
know was definitely up to the job,
irrespective of her gender. •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
29
1 he Best of British Reads
1
The U.K.turns the page in lesbian fiction.
he 2014 Lambda Literary Prize for Lesbian Romance was won by British
author Andrea Bramhall
for her novel Clean Slate,
published by Bold Strokes Books. It marks
a wonderful resurgence in British les-fic
over the last couple of years.
The U.K. has a proud tradition of women writers, going back to Jane Austen, the
Brontes, and George Eliot. Who knows
which, if any, had hidden Sapphic tendencies. From the early 20th century we
see the emergence of lesbian writer Radclyffe Hall, bisexual Virginia Wool£ and the
'70s and '80s was a golden era with The
Women's Press, Silver Moon, and Virago
imprints. But since that time, the strength
and depth have faded. We do have some
well-known and award-winning lesbian
authors who have crossed into the mainstream-Jeanette
Winterson, Val McDermid, Sarah Waters, Manda Scott-all of
whom have written f/ f and m/ f stories.
But until recently, the les-fic shelf has
seemed bare.
It may be that the death of the women's
presses in the U.K. stymied young authors,
and the growth of fan fiction and indie
publishing allowed them a voice. But now,
many British authors have been picked
up by publishers in the States; prominent
among them is Bold Strokes Books.
Some of these women are writing exceedingly good books. Bramhall's Clean Slate is
one of them: A romance full of emotional
T
30
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
ev suE FIDLER
suspense, it deals with how serious issues
such as abuse, and abandonment affect
our relationships, but with a lightness of
touch and flicker of humor to sweeten the
read. Her latest novel, Nightingale,is a stunning exploration of how arranged or forced
marriages can damage the lives of Muslim
women in the West and follows one victim
of abduction back to Pakistan and to a life of
imprisonment and abuse.
Amy Dunne's Secret Lies is a finalist for
a Goldie Award (from the Golden Crown
Literary Society) in the Young Adult category. On the one hand, it is a tale of emerging lesbian love; on the other, it is a serious
exploration of abuse and self-harm, and
the impact they can have on young girls'
personal and public lives.
Clare Ashton produces exquisitely written novels. Her first two were slightly dark
and unusual romances; her third and latest, That Certain Something (Breezy Tree
Press), offers the best of British rom-com,
revealing a particular social landscape in
the style of an Ealing comedy, with a wonderful ensemble cast and a joyful sense of
timing, pace, and style.
In The Girl with the Treasure Chest
(Village Books), Veronica Fearon has produced a gritty, hard, and demanding first
novel exploring the dark side of London
gangs. The twist is that not only is the
main character a boi-she is the gang boss.
Cari Hunter's three novels are all exciting and well-crafted action/ thrillers. Each
one is different in terms of setting and
plot: In Snowbound, she creates for us a
hostage situation in England; in Desolation
Point, a thrilling chase through the North
Cascades in Washington; and in Tumbledown, an FBI-led pursuit across Maine.
All are from Bold Strokes Books.
The list goes on, signaling the emergence of many wonderful women writers
and a growing sense of community. It's a
delight to have British lesbians creating
such good books, and Bramhall's Lambda
win just confirms that judges in the U.S.
are becoming aware of them as well. So
branch out, support the community, and
explore the works of today's great British
writers. You'll be glad you did.
Sue Fidler writes as the VelvetLounger on
the LesbianReadingRoom at curvemag.com.
•
REVIEWS/
FOOD
friend thought we would hit it off as friends.
We exchanged business cards platonically
and it quickly turned into something more.
Natasha was actually the first woman I'd
ever dated! We got married in N.Y. in 2012.
When did you decide to go into business
together?
On our first date, Natasha started talking
about how she was making ice cream and
cookies and naming them after architects. I
thought that was genius and I wanted in
immediately!
What does architecturally-inspired ice
cream mean?
Well, Natasha had
this thesis project
called Farchitecture
- (food+ architecture)
back at UCLA grad
school and its goal was
to figure out ways that
food and design influence and enhance each
other. Coolhaus was
born from this quirky
concept and is a triple entendre named after
our favorite architect Rem Koolhaas, the Bauhaus design movement, and that an ice cream
sandwich is a cold house with cookie slab and
roof and ice cream walls.
What's the craziest flavor combo that
you tried that actually worked?
FOOD»
ummer may be quickly disappearing into fall, but like a dessert at the end of a great meal,
weve saved summer's sweetest
treat for last: Cool Haus gourmet ice cream.
The lovechild of business and life partners Natasha Case and Freya Estreller,
Cool Haus began in 2008 with one used
food truck, selling their architecturally inspired (more on that later) ice cream and
cookie sandwiches at the Coachella music
festival. An instant hit, Cool Haus now
boasts 11 trucks in three states and can be
found in Whole Foods all across the nation.
They've developed a cult following including A- Listers like Will Farrell and Angelina
S
Jolie (they even catered a birthday party at
her house). Plus they've released a book!
So what exactly makes Cool Haus so
special? No doubt it's their sweet and savory flavors that you never knew you always
wanted to try. Beer & Pretzles, Brown Candied Bacon, or Cuban Cigar are all on the
menu-and that's just the beginning. They
are natural, handmade and organic (whenever possible) from hormone-free dairy.
Co-founder Estreller shares Cool Haus'
unique story.
How did you first meet?
We met at a mutual Cornell friend's birthday party back in November 2008. Our
I would say either our Peking Duck ice
cream (Peking duck skins, hoisin sauce,
Chinese 5-spice base and crushed fortune
cookies) or our Ants on a Log ice cream (celery and peanut butter ice cream with raisins)
that we actually made for Portlandia and in
honor of their "Celery" episode for SXSW
this year. Both are surprisingly delicious.
What's the craziest flavor combo you
tried that didn't work?
Waldorf Salad ice cream. Do not use aged
cheese in ice cream, especially blue cheese.
What's your favorite flavor?
Mine is our Makers Mark Manhattan
with bourbon, vermouth, and Italian sour
cherries. Natasha's is our dirty mint chip
with fresh mint leaves and brown sugar.
(eatcoolhaus.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
31
N
o disrespect to Beyonce but
she is not a "survivor:' For all
her good looks and soaring
vocals-and
she may well
be a lovely person-Beyonce
is a pop star.
Mary Gauthier, on the other hand, is
a survivor. Born in Louisiana and adopted
shortly after her birth, Gauthier was a
teenage runaway. She hung out with drug
addicts and drag queens, moved around a
lot, became addicted to alcohol and heroin, and, at a particularly low point, even
wound up in jail. She didn't write her first
song until she was 35.
Since the late '90s, over the course of
seven studio albums, Gauthier has become
one of the best songwriters of her generation. Her 2010 album, The Foundling,is a
song cycle that deals with the pain of being abandoned as a infant, the unshakable
sense of rootlessness that led her to search
for her birth mother, and her birth mother's
decision to not have a relationship with her
(chronicled in the disc's harrowing centerpiece, "March 11, 1962"). The Foundling
was one of the best albums of 2010, hands
32
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down. Does Gauthier equal the lofty songwriting of that album on her new album,
Troubleand Love2Remarkably, yes.
This record is similar to The Foundling
in a couple of ways: first, in that it too is
a song cycle of sorts, and second, in that
it deals with a loss. But rather than exploring issues of family, Gauthier turns
her gaze to matters of the
heart this time around. There
are only eight songs on Trouble and Love. Gauthier-who
coproduced the disc in Nashville with Patrick Granadoexplains, "I [originally] wrote
35 or 36 songs and it turns out
that the eight that are on it are
exactly what I needed to tell
this story. These are the ones
that are the best and that tell the
story in a chronological way:'
Gauthier is not one for small
talk either; she cuts through
the preliminaries and gets right
down to business on Trouble
and Love. The opening track,
"When a Woman Goes Cold;' is probably
one of the most powerful songs she's ever
written. Anyone who has lived through
that moment when your partner-specifically your female partner-shuts
down
and turns into a stranger before your
eyes will relate to these lyrics. "It's not a
voluntary thing;' says Gauthier. "There's
REVIEWS/MUSIC
something in the DNA that shuts a
woman down. And she's gone! It's not a
choice anymore. She might wanna come
back, and she cannot. I've gone through it
more than once;' she continues. ''I've actu~
ally been that person [who goes cold] as
well. So I've been on both sides of it. And
having been alive for a while, I know that
it's not a unique situation to me-that
it
happens to people. I didn't realize how
much it happens to people until I started
playing the song out, and women came
rushing to me. I thought I wrote a dude's
song, really. I thought I wrote one of
those lesbian songs that men can go, 'Oh,
fuck yeah!'...But one of the things that
this song has done is that it explains this
as a phenomenon-a
universal human
phenomenon. So that when it's happened
to someone and they don't know what the
fuck just hit 'em, they can say, 'Well, she's
gone cold. Look, there's this song!' It puts
it into a context, so it's not so personal:'
From there, Trouble and Love contin~
ues through the aching tide track to the
old~timey blues of"Oh Soul" to what may
be my favorite song on the album, "How
You Learn to Live Alone:'
With a deceptively simple melody and
lyric, Gauthier manages to convey the
incredible sadness and resignation that
accompany the aftershock of being left.
Of the tune, which has been featured on
the TV series Nashville, Gauthier says,
"In this song, there's an acceptance. I'm
not fighting it anymore. You know, the
final stage of grief is acceptance. And
once you get to acceptance, there's peace,
there's healing, and there's also gonna be
love again. So, with this song, the record
takes a turn:'
The final song on the album, ''Another
Train;' takes it a step further. To her cred~
it, though she goes deep into the darkness,
Gauthier doesn't point fingers, and she ends
Trouble and Love by letting in some light.
"The last line of the record is,'There's gonna
be another train: You know, I'll find my way
back to love... This was a mighty, mighty
blow. It brought me to my knees and I
stayed there for quite a while;' she laughs.
"But it didn't kill me. I'm standing back up,
and I'm getting to the station, and there
will be another train. Human resilience is
a thing to behold:' The words of a survivor.
(marygauthier.com) •
HOT
LICKS))
BYRACHELSHATTO
Openly queer and proudly feminist, stripper turned up-and-coming
rapper Brooke Candy is hard, if not impossible defme. Most will
recognize her from her unforgettable performance in Grimes'
"Genesis" video, but that is all about to change-the sense that she
is about to break out big, is nearly palpable. Visually, Candy is a
mixture of goth, sci-fl, and ratchet culture. On her EP, Opulence
(which was produced by Sia Furler) Candy embodies her role as
provocateur. Her lyrics are highly sexualized, in your face and utterly
unapologetic, making her music as confrontational as it is catchy.
I
Royksopp
andRobyn
DoItAgain
(Cnerrytree
Recoros/lnterscope)
Swedish musician Robyn had long been near and dear to lesbian
hearts, and her latest outing, a collaboration with Royksopp for
this "mini album," is just more fuel to fan our fangirl flames. The
album is both experimental and full of the familiar electro-pop
beats, catchy hooks and wit that has become Robyn's calling
card. The standout track on the record, "Sayit," features the
unique duet of Robyn and a very cheeky Speak & Spell. It's yet
another example of how her willingness to not take things so
seriously makes her a joy to listen to. "Do It Again" is sure to move
fans of a more traditional dance track, while "Every Little Thing
I Do" slows things down to show off Robyn's sweet vocals-and
rounds out a deeply satisfying, if brief, track list.
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
33
After Happily
Ever After
FINALLY,A LESBIANSERIESFOR SETTLED-DOWN FOLKS
n June 4, America's hottest new couple headed to
TV on Pivot as part of its
Pride programming. The
Better Half was created
by and stars real-life couple Lindsay Hicks
and Amy Jackson Lewis and follows them
through the day-to-day hurdles of making
a relationship work. While it pokes fun at
the cliches about lesbian relationships, the
series also reveals the more poignant upsand-downs every couple faces. Jackson
Lewis and Hicks took time out to answer
a few questions about this better-thanmost series.
0
How did the two of you first meet?
Jackson Lewis: Before I confess where
we met, I should preface that we had a
really solid made-up story that we told
for a long time and we are only recently
coming out with the truth ... OKCupid.
Wow, that felt good.
Hicks: Ah! The sweet sting of the truth.
34
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2014
BY CAITLYN BYRNE
I will admit, I wanted to creepily see what
was out there, so I made a really stupid
profile that focused on stinky cheese and
used the word "SKINNY" in all caps. My
face was obscured by weird hats in all of
the pictures I put up. Embarrassing stuff.
I don't know how we got to the point of
actually meeting but I'm forever grateful
that we did.
Is this the first time you've worked
together?
Jackson Lewis: The Better Half was
indeed the first project we ever started
together. We were both so busy with our
own jobs and projects that for a while
there we were basically only seeing each
other to crash out and sleep at the end of
the day. We thought, what if we created
something together, so we'd have an excuse to work and hang out all the time?
Hicks: Amy and I both had written a lot
of stuff in the past, but writing together
ended up being to most fun way to do it.
I am constantly brimming with nonsense
ideas and Amy helps me give shape to my
weirdness. It was really fun to discover
new ways to support each other creatively.
The series follows a couple in an
already seasoned relationship. What
made you take that approach?
Jackson Lewis: We wanted to make
something about happy, healthy people in
an honest and fun relationship. Most of
the content out there focused on drama,
cheating, fighting, sex, straight-girl-fallsfor-a-girl, etc. For the people out there
who were in a good, stable place, we
wanted to give them something to enjoy
and relate to. We wanted to make people
laugh. Even at themselves a little bit.
Hicks: The beginning of a new relationship is the story that always gets to
have all of the fun. We were interested in
exploring what goes on when you already
know everything about your partner and
you've seen it all together. That part of a
relationship should be the most fun and
should be paid more attention. Lasting
relationships are what people strive for,
but most of the stories we see focus on
the very dramatic and exciting beginnings
or endings. It was a story I wanted to see.
So we made it!
How has it been both acting and
writing for the series?
Jackson Lewis: We figured out the perfect way for us to collaborate-Lindsay
gets down the first draft, I edit it down and
give feedback, Lindsay makes changes, and
so on. Were told that this is the perfect
collaboration, astrologically-Libras
like
to start things, Leos like to seal the deal.
Hicks: Amy and I both have a tendency
to lead, so both of us sitting in front of the
same computer and writing was ... a pretty
tense comedy of errors. We have become
very careful about balancing brutal-ish
honesty with encouragement. We know
each other's sensitivities and strengths
pretty well by now.
to, gay or straight. It's a show about
relationships, but not specifically queer
relationships. I always say, if my bro-iest
straight guy friends can watch the show
without feeling weird or turned-on,
we've succeeded!
Jackson Lewis: As far as acting in the
series, it was fun to be able to create heightened characters of ourselves and then see
them come to life. As we move forward
with the series, we plan on diving much
deeper in the characters as humans: likes
and dislikes, careers, friends, family.
Hicks: I am from the south, and some
people there have a tendency to demonize
the LGBT community. You tell someone
you're gay, and they think you're some
kind of evil alien. I have dealt with a lot of
shame and fear in my own life due to that
mentality and I know I am not alone. In
telling this story, I wanted to make it clear
that we are human beings in a committed
and loving relationship, just like any other
pair.Two people in love, living a nice little
life? What's not to approve of, y'all?
( thebetterhalfseries.com) •
Who are you most trying to reach?
Jackson Lewis: Of course, it's amazing
to be representing the LGBT community with our show, but our goal is to
make something that everyone can relate
Welcome to
Dyke Central
A NEW QUEER WEB SERIESABOUT OUR
FAVORITEWEST COAST GAYBQRHQQO
here are 31 flavors and then
some when it comes to the
diversity that can be found
within the LGBT community,
and Dyke Central embraces
and represents almost all the colorful
queers under the rainbow.
Dyke Central, the San Francisco Bay
Area~based queer series touted for the
diversity of its cast and relatability of its
T
36
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SEPTEMBER
2014
BY CAITLYN BYRNE
characters, released its second episode,
"Taboo;' in June on YouTube. And people
are taking notice.
Dyke Central was included in several
"Lesbian Web Series" shortlists in the last
several months-including
Buzzfeed and
After Ellen. This year, "Taboo" was selected
for screening at the Dinah Shore Film Fes~
tival, Outfest's Fusion, and Inside Out To~
ronto. In addition, Frameline, the world's
largest LGBT film festival, has pro~
grammed "Taboo" and three more brand
new episodes for this year's festival, giving
SF Bay Area fans an opportunity to watch
four new episodes on the big screen-and
meet the cast in person.
So what's the story-literally-behind
Dyke Central? Set in Oakland, Calif., the
West Coast's hotbed of lesbian culture,
the plot centers around 30~something
butch roommates Alex and Gin. The first
season sees Alex attempting to sustain her
dysfunctional relationship with girlfriend
Jackie in the face of new opportunities
and the return of an old flame. Gin, on the
other hand, is a chameleon who she tends
to lose herself in others and whose identity
changes with every new love interest. Surrounded by a diverse group of friends who
guide, challenge and support them, Alex
and Gin struggle to adapt to grow, while also
attempting to create a balance within their
own lives without losing themselves in the
process. Sound a bit familiar?
Nourished by the encouragement and
support of fans near and far, Dyke Central launched an Indiegogo campaign to
fund five more episodes this summer, to
complete season one. Producers are also
seeking sponsorship from companies and
organizations.
"What separates Dyke Centralfrom every other queer webseries, is its diversity.
However, it doesn't just throw minorities
into the mix to appease its audience or to
get noticed, it honest-to-goodness revels
in its diversity. From the storylines to the
cast, the series swells to bursting, in its
display of our community's true face;' says
Manovil. (dykecentral.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
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37
Making It
Bloomin L.A.
HIT SERIESBLOOMERS WILL RETURNFOR
SEASON THREE-WITH YOUR HELP BY LISA
aching that point in life
where you say farewell to
your twenties and make
hat leap into your thirties
an be terrifying. There
will always be those questions, such as,
"Did I choose the right career?" "Will I
ever get married?""Do I even want kids?"
In the web series comedy Bloomers, we
follow a group late~twentysomethings as
R
38
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SEPTEMBER 2014
TEDESCO
they enter their thirties, against the back~
drop of Los Angeles, through times that
are hard~hitting, tender, and hilarious. The
cast and production team has reached out
to the LGBT community to help make a
third season a reality. "We are trying to
lndieGogo for our season three efforts be~
cause we really believe that our fans have
an interest in seeing a third season;' says
Fernanda Espindola, executive producer
and star of the show."They've said as much
in YouTube comments. Now we're giving
them the power to make it great:' And that
power is considerable.
With Bloomers' growing audience of
nearly 12 million viewers and 20,000
subscribers, a third season of 12, 22~min~
ute episodes is hopefully inevitable. To
help Bloomers season 3 blossom, go to:
indiegogo.com/projects/bloomers~season~3 •
What the F?
INGRI0 JUNGERMANN'S HILARIOUS ANO CINEMATIC WEB
SERIESIS IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN BY MERRYN JOHNS
ot all lesbian web series
are about coming out
Some of them don't even
star the writer/ director's friends. F to 7th, an
eight-episode lesbian web series by Ingrid
Jungermann, co-creator of The Slopeweb
series, is quirky, absurd, smartly written,
and stars some well-established, recognizable actors: Amy Sedaris (Strangers
With Candy), Gaby Hoffmann (Girls),
Annette O'Toole (Smallville), Olympia
Dukakis (Moonstruck), Janeane Garofalo (Reality Bites), and Kristen Connolly
N
(House of Cards).
The Slope, which investigated lesbian
culture in Brooklyn's gayborhood of Park
Slope, garnered Jungermann, 37, a cult
following; she was named one of Filmmakermagazine's "25 Faces of Independent
Film" in 2012, and was recently featured on
0 UT s "100 People of the Year" list.
F to 7th, also set in Brooklyn, is Jungermann's shot at auteur status: Her uncomfortable, androgynous Woody Allen-esque
lesbian, who is called "lngrid;"goes in'' rather
than "comes our;' dissecting and analyzing
every aspect of her life, her identity, and her
relationships in an attempt to come to terms
with her age, her sexuality, and her purpose-way beyond the comforts of old-fashioned lesbianism. Season one screened at
prestigious film festivals including the Los
Angeles Film Festival, Frameline, Outfest
and NewFest and season two offers one of
the best and freshest takes on urban lesbian
life this year-small screen or big.
When I meet Jungermann in a Manhattan
cafe,near to NYU, which is where she earned
an MFA in Film, I find a woman who is less
antsy and anxiety-ridden than her onscreen
persona (she laughs easily over a beer). She's
SEPTEMBER 2014
CURVE
39
so good humored that it's hard to believe she
draws her comedy from her darkest secrets,
drawing inspiration from her existential angst
and her family background.
What makes F to 7th a cut above other
web series is the humor, the writing, and Jun~
germann's passion for cinema. Her flair for the
dramatic began when she did theater in high
school. When she was 24, she made her first
short film. After college in North Carolina,
the Floridian~turned~New Yorker started a
women's performance company, and then she
got into casting, another strength of her work.
"I always write for women, I've always been
really into women I grew up watching and I
40
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SEPTEMBER
2014
tend to write not for younger actors, just for
actors my age and older, 30s and up, because I
think they're fascinating to watch. They have a
whole history of work behind them that I love;'
says Jungermann. Take, for example, Annette
O'Toole, who plays her religious zealot moth~
er; or Olympia Dukakis, who plays Marie, the
bartender at a lesbian pub which features in a
purgatory~like dream sequence. Actors of this
caliber certainly aren't attracted by the mon~
ey-the Screen Actors Guild's New Media
Contract pays $100 a day. They're attracted
by Jungermann's writing, her brisk direction,
and her ability to assemble a fine crew.It helps
that she has such deep respect for actors. Of
Olympia Dukakis, she says: "She's magical,
and so kind and generous. Sitting across from
her, I would forget my lines because her eyes
totally drew me in, I forgot where I was. It was
a dream to work with her:'
Jungermann aims high. When I ask her
what web series she admires, she doesn't
have any. "My reference points are cinema.
I didn't know anything about web series
when I started:'
For her, the attraction to new media is
pragmatic. 'Tm not a patient person so it's a
very fast way to get your work out there and
not be precious about it. Female filmmakers
are so hard on themselves. They feel like they
can't put something out there until it's perfect,
so they wait and they wait and they wait. And
six years later maybe they have a script ...
"There's not many of us out there, espe~
cially lesbian filmmakers. Being too precious
can hurt you. You can put something im~
perfect out there, something that you want
to explore, put your voice out there and try
something new. I think that's fascinating for
an audience. Being lazy and not working on
your writing is not what I'm talking about. I'm
talking about just getting your work done:'
Jungermann's signature style is "homo~neu~
rotic;' a phrase coined by her ex~girlfriend
and her mother. "Were no longer together,
but were very good friends;' she says of the
ex, who is different from the ex who was also
the co~creator of TheSlope.Dyke drama? "So
many exes, so little time;' she laughs, making
herself the butt of the joke, just like her char~
acter,"Ingrid;' who tends to be overly earnest
and prone to making tactical blunders that
nevertheless lead to epiphanies-like
Lena Dunham's character in Girls. And
just as that series examines the underbelly
of heterosexuality, F to 7th tackles many
lesbian taboos. Jungermann's sense of hu~
mor can be a little off~color and edgy.
"I thought I'd get more of a backlash from
it;' she says of the episode in which "Ingrid"
ponders the possibility-insists actuallythat her father molested her. "I have had a
couple of people say to me that molestation
isn't funny;' she says of the (fictional) episode,
where her religious mother plants the idea in
her daughter's mind by saying, "Your father
loved women. All women. From any family:'
Her father, in front of his new wife (played
by Kristin Connolly), says, "Ingrid. I wish;'
absurdly hoping this will reassure his daugh~
ter,"I wish I did molest you. But I didn't:'
"The point of that episode is that I'm not
making fun of molestation, I'm making fun of
my character for trying to figure out what the
reason is for being gay,''explains Jungermann.
"Because the world tells you theres something
wrong [with homosexuality], there has to be a
reason. So that's where that came from:'
Will there be a third season? She hopes
so, but she's a little busy right now, in the
middle of writing a feature film and a pilot
for a TV show. "I've learned so much from
this season through the last. I feel like I grew.
I would always want to do a season that goes
beyond the last one, but I would have to
think of an idea that would inspire me to do
eight more episodes:'
Her ultimate goal is a lesbian TV show:
"I think it will be a huge challenge because
it's lesbian content and it's not sexy at all,
and for networks and cable it's a difficult
thing to envision, but it doesn't stop me
from trying to get it done:' (Fto7th.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
41
~ Ready, Set,
:_Scissr!
-j/
- MOVE OVER, GIRLS A NEW SERIESEXPLORES
LESBIAN LIVESAND LOVES IN BROOKLYN,NY
BY CAITLYN BYRNE
our lesbians. Twelve relationships. One iPhone app.
Lauren Augarten's new web
series Scissr gives viewers a
fresh look at what being a
lesbian in modern-day Brooklyn is really
like. Augarten depicts the lives of four
young lesbians and their intertwined
F
42
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SEPTEMBER 2014
relationships, finally giving us a show that
we have been requesting for years, post-L
Word-a series that represents what she
describes as "a more realistic world, where
gay women come in a multitude of colors,
shapes and sizes. Where sexuality is simply a part of our characters, it is not their
entire personality:'
Augarten paints a realistic picture of
LGBT life is through her characters.
Aviva, Corey, Emily, and Niamh are four
20-something lesbians from very different backgrounds. Aviva (played by Augarten herself) has just come out and is
hoping to connect with the other lesbians online, while Corey (Paulina Singer,
How to Make It In America) has just gone
through a traumatic breakup and is ready
to swear off women altogether and Emily
(Kelly Sebastian, Tastemakers) is constantly looking for the next best thing.
Navigating life and love in Brooklyn is
easy for none of them, but when they meet
through an iPhone app, the girls realize
they have much more in common than
they originally thought.
Jamie Clayton stars as Niamh, a cisgender lesbian woman and the gatekeeper of
Scissr, the neighborhood gay bar. Clayton,
who is trans in real life, previously played
the role of Michelle in the Emmy Award
winning series Dirty Work and Kyla on
HBO's Hung in addition to co-hosting
VHl's groundbreaking show TRANS-
Form Me with Laverne Cox.
Augarten understands what it's like to
be 20-something, living in New York, trying to figure out who you are and where
you fit in the world, which is a daily struggle-sexuality aside. "For me, it's made so
much easier by the community of people I
have around me, egging me on as we tread
that path together. With Scissr, we want
to give young lesbian women that community, in a realistic, relatable and entertaining way:'
So ladies, if you are looking for a web
series that both entertains and educates,
check out Scissr's pilot episode on YouTube and help this budding video endeavor bloom by supporting their project.
( scissrtheseries.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
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43
DapperD
launches the
latest line of
tomboyattire.
BY
LISA TEDESCO
GIRLSIN
THE HOOD
We are our own person. Some of
us choose to dress differently than
society expects. As lesbians, we may
be attracted to women, but how queer
women present differs widely-femmes,
butches, and a growing group of folks
who prefer to rock a tomboy style.
Enter Dapper D Fashions, a men's-style
clothing line for women founded by
Vanna Pecoraro, a retired police officer
with a taste for the fashion world.
"After leaving law enforcement, I lost
my identity," says Pecoraro. "I started
searching for what my true passion was.
I realized I wanted to pursue my dreams
of having my own clothing line. I have
always been passionate about fashion,
even back when I was in uniform, always
taking great pride in whatever I put on."
Pecoraro felt more comfortable in ooO:'S-----------------
clothing but found it difficult to
shop in the men's department of a
store.
"I want to take that stigma away for
the butch fashionistas out there," she
says. With the Dapper D team at her
side, Pecoraro launched their successful Kickstarter campaign in May,
which landed the fashion entrepreneur
enough funds to purchase the inventory
needed to start an e-commerce site. The
more inventory the company purchases,
the more cost effective they can be. "My
wife and I decided to go to Kickstarter
rather than an investor, so that we can
see our vision come to life," says Pecoraro.
Dapper D reached their goal, which was
to raise $15,000 by June 18. "We are so
thankful for all of the pledges, and the
amazing support we have received from
the LGBT community and allies alike! We
want to encourage everyone: Be brave.
Be authentic. Be you," says Pecoraro.
(dapperdfashions.com) •
FEATURES/
SEPTEMBER
2014
ST
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47
FEATURES/
ST
Put Your
own
Fun Scandinavian-inspired footwear perfect for fall.
BY MELANIE BARKER
Fall can be a tricky season for toes: we're longing to cling to our
sandals and flip-flops but the cooler weather beckons boots,
which have been gathering dust since last spring. Spruce up
your closet with some funky footwear that is perfect for inbetween seasons.
Swedish Hasbeens is a retro-cool shoe line that has earned
a cult-like following for its comfy clogs, chunky sandals and
versatile boots. Available in 15 countries and at retailers such
as Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Shopbop,
Madewell, ModCloth and Free People, to name a few, Swedish
Hasbeens have been worn by fashion-savvy celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore and
Kylie Minogue.
With a sense of practicality and flair that harks back to the
unisex '70s, Swedish Hasbeens are handmade in small batches
using ecologically prepared natural grain leather, which is both
high quality and environmentally friendly. Whether you prefer
slip-ons, zippers, buttons, buckles, or laces, slide your toes into
something Swedish, queer and quirky as you say goodbye to
summer! (swedishhasbeens.com)
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CL©TH &
JU<;TIC~
f0R All
udiences were first introduced
to Whitney Mixter and Sada
Bettencourt as stars of The Real L
Word. For three seasons we watched
as they loved, sparred, split, and
against all odds came back together
to finally marry in the show's finale.
But it turns out the hit Showtime
series was only the first of their many
collaborations, the most recent being the
duo's clothing line Cloth & Justice.
Effortlessly cool and infinitely wearable,
this line is very much an expression of the
women behind it. In their words it is an
"integration of wearable art and comfortable
fits for women, men and every identity in
between." The clothing line includes various
tees, tanks, hats and jewelry, all of which the
couple design together, inspired by various
cultures across both the globe and time.
Curve caught up with Mixter as she and
Bettencourt were hard at work on their upcoming fall line-which she teases is going
to be the brand's biggest and best yet-to
discuss the intersection of style and politics,
their creative process, and what the future
holds for them. (Hint: there may be a Cloth
& Justice maternity line in the near future.)
How did Cloth & Justice come to be?
Sada and I both had a big interest in
clothes, obviously, and what you wear is a
form of expression, so we thought it would
be a natural path to go towards the path of
creating a line that reflects out interests and
our aesthetics.
We really wanted to make ...an all-inclusive unisex line. We want to have everyone
be welcome here.
Who is the target Cloth & Justice client?
The client is comfortable in their own skin
or trying to get there, early twenties young
person Just somebody who's liberal-minded,
who likes to dress casually but have some
flair to it. We're definitely not out there walking runways with asymmetrical stabbing
necklines. It's everyday wear. It's what I
would kick it in. I could wear it to the club or
I could wear it to the airport.
How do you go about creating your
designs?
We do everything in-house. This whole
thing has been a huge learning experience
for us. Honestly, since Couple's Therapy
aired, our line has taken off exponentially
In terms of design, we like to take inspira-
52
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
tion from different ethnic origins. We've
done Egyptian-inspired designs, we've done
Polynesian and Maori type designs. We've
done malas, which are Buddhist inspired
jewelry pieces.
How do your individual roles in the business complement one another?
We usually get the concept...and we talk
about it, we talk about what we like about
it, and we go with it. The good thing about
this is we see eye to eye on a lot of designs.
There's not a lot of back and forth or "I
hate that idea" kind of thing We can pretty
much agree-or at least compromise, thank
God-on a lot of ideas. I guess that's what
marriage it all about-it's about compromise. [Laughs] I'm kind of the masculine
perception of things and she's the feminine
side of things and it balances out, so we
have a whole cohesive view, I think.
Along with your clothing line, you've also
been a guest on the web news shows The
Young Turks and The Rubin Report. Is that
a career path you are pursuing?
That's huge at the top of my list in terms of
what I want to be doing, a kind of political
satire commentary. I love The Young Turks, I
love what they stand for, and doing it is just
a blast. I've actually been doing The Rubin
Report for a while now as a guest and really
that's what I want to get into. If I could be
like The Colbert Report done lesbian-style, I
would be all about it. That is where I want to
be going.
I was a political science major and a
pre-law student, so I think it's time to tie it all
in. I double majored in poli-sci and women's
studies and I have two bachelors in those,
so I feel like I've really handled the women's
studies in my career. I've studied a lot of
women. And now it's time to handle the
political science aspect. [Laughs]
What fashion item should no lesbian go
without this summer?
I think basic clean pieces are really important. You have to have one good, solid
cutoff short. That includes butches, too. You
don't have to be all Daisy Duke like. [Laughs]
I'm a big fan of white T-shirts and cutoff
shorts.
It's good to have one statement piece.
Rock a necklace, rock some accessories.
Hats are big now in any sense. We've got
some really cool five-panel hats, I think
those are really good "say something"
pieces.
Why did you choose the name Cloth &
Justice?
We feel as though what you wear can be
really reflective of what your viewpoint is
on the world and what you stand for, what
you represent. What you wear can be the
key-and we have the ampersand key in our
logo-to your own personal justice, what
you speak in the world and what you stand
for. That's what we're really going for in
Cloth & Justice.
We're a startup and people think because
we went on TV shows it must be easy, we
must have big budgets, but no, we're to the
grindstone on this and it's a struggle like
any business-but we've got big plans and
we eventually want to have each piece tied
to a nonprofit or cause we believe in and
have that kind of end up transcending the
whole justice aspect of things. That's really
important to both Sada and I.
You have a new look. What made you
decide to cut off your famous dreads?
You have to understand, I had dreads
for ...13 years. I posted a picture of them on
lnstagram right before I cut them off and
said, "I think it's a good day for a change,"
and you would have thought I was standing
on the edge of the Golden Gate Bridge
and going to jump off with the response I
got. People virtually trying to intercept the
cutting process. [Laughs] But you know, the
thing is, as India.Arie says, I'm not my hair.
What people don't know is that honestly my hair was really affecting my health.
Having heavy hair for 11years gives you neck
problems, turns out, so hey, time to break
free. And I did it and I feel good, honestly. I
now dive in any pool of water I come across.
FEATURES/
SEPTEMBER
2014
ST
CURVE
53
YOU KNOW, THE THING IS,
AS INDIA.ARIE SAYS, ''
l'M NOT MY HAIR.
Or any pool of cream corn for that matter.
[Laughs] I feel like I should pick apart my dreads
and see if I can find some trophies from the
cream corn days resting in them. That's disgusting, I can't believe I just said that. I had to let
those go. You know how many bad memories
are in those dreads, and good ones, too? I had
to shed all that; I'm a married woman now.
What's next for Cloth & Justice?
Well, we've been online thus far solely, which has
been pretty impressive, that we've been able to
do so well with an on line presence, but we want
to try to get into stores. We want to transcend all
boundaries, get into stores, and make ourselves
known not just as lesbian designers but as
designers that happen to be lesbian.
What's next for you and Sada?
We never stop, really. We've always got things on
the horizon. We've had some people approach
us about potentially doing a spin-off, kind of
our own show sort of thing. We're not sure if we
want to go there or not yet, but we've talked
about it. We're also planning on starting a family
pretty soon so that's exciting. That's going to
change a whole lot of things, because I'm carrying the first child. I feel like I need to design
some butch maternity wear or something. Some
butch drop-crotch sweatpants for the woman
that just doesn't have anything to wear. [Laughs]
We can't wait to see the Cloth & Justice
maternity and baby clothes!
I'm going to make my own onesies. It's going to
be like a baby onesie and an adult onesie. One's
going to be sewn together. Sounds like a plan
to me. Sounds cozy. (clothandjustice.com) •
named one of 2013's
TOP TEN FILMS
by huffington
post, uk.
Tru, 37, is a serial bed-hopping lesbian, unable to
commit to jobs or relationships for long. But when she
meets Alice, 60, a beautiful widow (and her friend
Suzanne's mother), sparks fly and the two women
forge an unlikely friendship ... and more. 87min.
,,
t
;J"ttf
WINNER!
BEST ACTRESS,
TE TROTTER [TIE)
N DIEGO LGBT FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER!)"
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INSIDE OUT TORONTO
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available for streaming 10/7
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100s of MoviesAvailable24/7
TABATHA'S
TAKEOVER
CONTINUES,
BUT
NOW
IT'SYOUR
TURN,
TOO!
BY MERRYN JOHNS
56
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
FEATUREStCO
abatha Coffey has been called everything under the sun, from "the Gordon
Ramsay of hair" to "that hairdresser bitch
from TV" The reality TV star of Bravo's
Tabatha Takes Over is also the author of
two books, It's Not Really About the Hair and
Own It! Her path to success is an unlikely story: Her parents ran burlesque-style strip clubs
in Australia, mostly featuring transsexual performers, and the young Tabatha took solace
in the glamour of the clubs, which offered an
escape from her rather excruciating existence
as an obese and oft-teased child in suburban
Queensland.
T
We know her today only because on a hunch, while she was
still a hairstylist, Coffey answered a casting call for a reality TV show.
She made the cut, made the cast, and hasn't looked back since.
She has now joined the pantheon of small-screen style icons
we instantly recognize, with her unmistakable outfits of black leather,
satin, and sequins (which make her look as though she's heading to
a nightclub, not a hair salon); her trademark frosted-platinum helmet
of hair; and her catlike, steely blue eyes.
If you think she's mean, humorless, and unapproachable, Episode 27 of In Bed With Joan, hosted by another opinionated blonde,
Joan Rivers, is a revelation. "I wonder who's going to come out of my
closet tonight," says Rivers, reclining on her chaise. The door opens
and out walks Tabatha Coffey, to a squeal of delight and applause
from Rivers. "I would only get
back in the closet for you, Joan,"
says Coffey, laughing. Joining
Rivers on the chaise, Coffey tells
Be the Boss
her all about the fabulous strip
of Your Lifeclubs of her childhood, where
at Home
she was surrounded by "feathers, tits and arse, and eyelashes."
and in the
The conversation also touches
Workplace
on her unapologetic attitudes,
her detractors, her fans, and her
sexuality. "Yes,you're definitely
not the only woman I've been in
bed with, Joan."
Things you perhaps didn't
know about Tabatha Coffey:
She knew she was gay at a very
young age, crushing out on vintage pinup girls-any reticence
she has about discussing her
private life has to do with her low-profile partner. During a botched
breast augmentation, an artery in her chest was severed, which
nearly left her dead. She's constantly surprised when journalists (me
included) admit they're scared and nervous before an interview with
her. She feels eternally grateful for the support of her viewers and
fans-so much so that she probably won't be rude to you if you take
her photo while she's standing in line at the grocery store, even if she
looks like shit. She doesn't like hugs, but she does care-she's still in
touch with some of the business owners from season one of Tabatha
Takes Over. At her first San Francisco Pride, she wore "my rainbow,
which is black," and she loves a really nice pair of high heels.
I caught up with the diva of hair (but it's not really about the hair) to
chat about her personal style, the new book, and what's next.
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
57
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FEATUREStCO
Where do you currently call
home?
Wherever I am long enough to
unpack my suitcase. I travel a
lot to make the show and for
speaking engagements and
other projects. But actually,
New Jersey is where I call home.
Do you spend any time in
Australia? And if you do, what
cultural differences do you
notice?
I just got back from a trip,
actually. I love going home, but
now I look forward to coming
back to the U.S.,as well. I do love
a good lamington [Australian
sponge cake], though. There are
obviously unique things about
every country, but I think with
globalization things are becoming the same.
What inspired you to write
Own It!, your new book?
I get emails from people all
over the world asking for
business and life advice. I
can't walk through the airport
or down the street without
someone stopping me with a
question that is really important
to them-and often they want a
hug. I am honest and direct, and
I think people crave that and
trust me for calling it like I see
it and making them own their
baggage. I wanted to empower
as many people as I could, and
writing a book is a great vehicle
for that. So Own It! was born. It
was a way for me to give back to
my fans and help people in need
of taking charge of their lives.
What makes this book different
from It's Not Really About the
Hair?
My first book was a memoir,
and was about the challenges I
faced and the lessons I learned.
It was a way for people to get
to know me better and for me
to share my journey from my
unorthodox childhood to now.
Own It! is advice on how to take
control of and responsibility for
your business and your life. In
order to be successful, you need
to be empowered.
One of your signature qualities
is your honesty-and again
you are honest and tough but
fair in your book. Why do you
think your approach works in
a country like America, where
it can be culturally valued to
"sugarcoat" things?
Actually, I don't think Americans
like sugarcoating. I think that's
what they are served, from permissive parents to fake friends.
People respond to me precisely
because I don't sugarcoat anything. It is a waste of my time
and everyone else's time. But I'm
not honest just to be mean. I am
honest to be productive. We all
have a powerful capacity for de-
nial, and I hold a mirror up and
stop the denial. Working with
business owners and their staffs,
I see a lot of excuses and finger-pointing, instead of people
looking at themselves in the
mirror to fix the problems. You
should always start with yourself.
Own your attitude, own your
problems, own your success.
Self-evaluate and be honest
about yourself and find out how
you can be a better person,
professionally and personally.
m
"Norma's Notes" at the end of
each chapter is both an homage
to your mother and also good
old-fashioned, down-to-earth
advice. How are you similar to
your mother in terms of ethics,
and where have you improved
upon her secrets to success?
Thank you. My mother was a
very strong woman and a very
wise businesswoman. I learned
to find my own moral compass
and follow it. My mother taught
me to always stand up for
myself, and she was a very
good cheerleader when I was
picked on as a child for being
obese. But she also wasn't
afraid to bring me up in an
"adult" environment that
taught me to be myself and
face adversity.
One of your other signature
qualities is your personal
style: fashion-centric, professional, with a touch of the
dominatrix! Are you ever
worried that your image
appears to be bossy and
intimidates others?
Well, I have been known to use a
pair of tall heels to my advantage! But I don't worry about how
my style makes other people feel
because my style is my own. If
people feel intimidated, that's
their problem! As a hairdresser
who trained with Vidal Sassoon, I
feel more comfortable in black
than any other color-unless I'm
wearing pink pajamas, of course!
In your previous book, you
reclaim the word "bitch" by
turning it into a powerful
acronym. What do you think
of Beyonce's efforts to "ban
bossy" because it is a sexist
word, used only in reference
to girls?
I think any woman who takes
charge and feels empowered
earns the title of "boss" and
should wear it proudly. Let's
reclaim "bossy" as a good
attribute.
Would you describe yourself
as a feminist? If not, why not?
I'm not sure when being a
feminist was up for debate. I
believe in the empowerment
and equality of women. So,
yes, of course I am.
You are appearing on the
cover of Curve's Style issue.
In your opinion, which female
celebrities do you think have
a sense of style, and why are
they successful at it?
I think the celebrities who take
a risk and dress for themselves
are great. When Jennifer Lawrence went for it and cut her
hair, I loved it. It's unfortunate
when some celebrities-and
this happens with everyone,
not just celebrities-dress for
what is perceived as beautiful,
rather than what works for
them. All of that said, Beyonce
rocks it.
YOU
SHOULD
ALWAYSSTARTWIT
YOURSELF.
OWN
YOUR
ATTl1UDE,
OWN
YOUR
PROBLEMS,
OWN
YOUR
SUCCESS.
60
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
''
FEATUREStCO
TABATHA'S
TIPS:
BETHEBOSSOF YOUR
LIFE-AT
HOMEAND IN
THEWOR~LACE
Historically, lesbian women
have been considered to have
no style: Is that a myth or a
reality to you?
Everyone has their own sense of
style, regardless of sexual preference. Some have great style and
some need a little workl I think
stereotypes are stupid.
AfterEllen.com picked the
following women as this year's
Top 7 Lesbian Style Icons:
Cara Delevingne, AzMarie
Livingston, Kristen Kish, Robin
Roberts, Casey Legler, Jenna
Lyons, and Brittney Griner. Do
you agree? And if so, what are
these women doing right?
There are always trends, and this
is even more so within "communities," but I am always attracted
to the iconoclasts who do their
own thing. It's interesting that all
the women on the list feel comfortable expressing their take on
the tomboy look. Personally, I am
always a sucker for a girl in heels.
Tabatha Takes Over has had
five successful seasons. Are
there plans for a sixth season?
I have been focusing on my
book and traveling for speak-
ing engagements this year, as
well as promoting my wig line,
LUXHAIR. And there are big new
plans in the works, so let's just
say you will see me back on TV
soon.
What aspect of your reality
TV show do you most enjoy?
I really love helping people.
There is always resistance at
first, but when a business owner
or staff member finallygets what
I am saying and turns the corner,
it is a great feeling.
The last time we spoke, you
said that you had a female
partner but that she chose to
keep a low profile. Has anything changed on that front?
No, nothing has changed on
that front.
If you could leave this earth
with one accomplishment,
what would it be?
Well. This is one of those questions that invite a grandiose or
even pompous answer, so I am
weary. But I would like to think
I help people in all kinds of
ways, big and small.
(tabathacoffey.com) •
OWN
WHO
YOU
ARE:
STYLE
"Dress for your body shape-don't try and hide behind
your clothes. They should give you confidence and highlight your best attributes rather than cover up what you
perceive to be your flaws."
OWN
YOUR
BUSINESS:
SUCCESS
"Define what success means to you-not what it means
to everyone else. It will help you stay on track with your
plans if you know what the ultimate goal is. It may be
money, fame, or power, or it may be something different
that is just as important to you."
OWN
YOUR
NETWORK:
RELATIONSHIPS
"To own your personal relationships you must first know
yourself better than anyone else does. No one can make
you happy or treat you how you want/need to be treated
unless you understand what makes you tick."
OWN
YOUR
CHALLENGES:
COMPETITION
"I have a passion for hairdressing and have won many
accolades. But they don't mean something because I
beat other people; they mean something because they
validate what I love to do. So be competitive but do it
for the right reasons, because winning in and of itself
can be very empty."
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
61
FEATURES/
t's not every day that a lesbian mother of four in her late
fifties makes her directorial debut, but that's Marina
Rice Bader's style. The driven and passionate late
bloomer, known mostly as the former partner oflesbian
cinema pioneer Nicole Conn, and executive producer of
Conn's Elena Undone and A Peifect Ending, has now embarked on her first outing as cinema auteur. Anatomy of
a Love Seen is a first for Rice Bader, who is also one of the first out
filmmakers to deliver a lesbian-themed feature film to audiences
immediately after its first festival premiere. Curve caught up with
the driving force behind Soul Kiss Films, Bader's independent film
company, to learn the inspiration behind Anatomy of a Love Seen.
How did you come up with the idea for this film?
Well, I had this film within a film thought rolling around in my
head, how it would be fun for folks to see what goes on behind the
scenes on a movie set. Then I added the layer of how challenging
it is to create a love scene, which the audience doesn't really think
about generally. Then I thought about how love fits into all of itreal, painful, blissful, take-you-to-the-mat kind oflove. What could
be more fascinating than two women who had this kind of love,
were decimated by it, and then forced not only into the same room
to face each other, but the same bed!
Two women unexpectedly fall in love on a film set. Is the
autobiographical?
I think it's universal because most people fall in love without
much warning. It's like"wham'' you've fallen, ready or not! Did
happen to me personally? Yes, it did, and the roller coaster
these two women go on .. .let's just say I rode it.
plot
too
that
ride
You also play the director onscreen. Why did you decide to
step in front of the camera?
I just couldn't conceive of directing an actor playing the director to
direct the actors in an improvised film. Doesn't that just make your
head spin, because it sure did mine. My brain isn't wired to handle
something like that, especially since there was already so much going on. A film within a film, our crew working the film and being
the crew in the film, two cameras shooting simultaneously, everyone being in character the entire time-it's unscripted and we had
to shoot it in five days!
Your character is a controlling director with tension knots who
wants to believe in true love. How close to you is she?
Ha! Very close indeed. Directors have to be controlling to some extent, but Kara-my character-really is hell-bent in the film, with
one goal in mind. That was me in real life with this film. As for true
love, absolutely, I want to believe in it. You bet I do. I'm just confused
by it, and as a result so is Kara. I would say,however, that the majority
of my tension knots come from my four beautiful children.
How did the improvisation work and what's your favorite
moment in the film?
Beyond the scene arcs and some key lines, you really didn't know
THE L LI
what was coming your way, so it looks real because it is real. I am
so very grateful that Sharon Hinnendael, Jill Evyn and Constance
Brenneman brought such passion and commitment to the project. We all stayed in character the entire time, so some of the
wonderful moments in the film weren't even while filming scenes.
How cool is that? I would say the most "real" or "spontaneous" key
scene takes place in the green room toward the end of the film.
Holy smokes, we had to really bring it down in the edit. It was
crazy and wild and full of emotions. It was so big that I thought
the audience would have a tough time digesting it- I think the
full scene will end up in the DVD extras. As for my favorite moment in the film, that's something I cannot say. We haven't shown
it in the trailer or talked about it at all, so it shall remain a mystery.
You're known to
lesbians through
your relationship with your
ex, director
Nicole Conn, but
what are your
personal favorite
lesbian films?
Yes, it was my own
Adventure in True
Love with Nicole
that introduced me
to the world of lesbian cinema, and
I'm grateful to her
for that. I truly
adore being part of this community. My favorite lesbian films
would include Kyss Mig (Kiss Me), Fire (a beautiful film from
India), When Night is Falling, Aimee & Jaguar, and-purely
for
the unbridled passion of Manuela-Madchen
in Uniform (the
1931 version).
You started Soul Kiss Films in 2009 as a way of making
movies by women for women. When did you decide you
wanted to direct and what is distinctive about your style?
I've always liked being behind the camera, and on a much smaller
level had been directing for 18 years as a photographer. All the
pieces had to work together even then-I could never just shoot,
it had to all make sense. I picked the wardrobe, did the makeup,
directed the actor. They would often leave out of breath. My background did give me a sense of confidence going in that I'd be able
to do it, but you don't really know, do you, until you've done it. I
learned so much and will take that knowledge to the next project.
I think my directing style is different because it's based on organic, instinctual choices that are unique to me. I don't go in with too
many locked ideas because on the set things can change in a moment, and you have to be able to roll with it. I'm really self-educated
and have so much to learn, but what I lack in certain areas I make
up for in sheer passion and drive.
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
63
Anatomy of a Love Seen was made over 30 days, with the shoot
being only five days. How did you do it with so little time, not
much experience, and a miniscule budget of $70,000?
It was 30 days from my decision to make the film to completion
of principal photography, so by the time I got a few key members on board we had about two weeks of solid pre-production.
You really do have to toss the rulebooks in this kind of scenario
because the rules don't apply, and I think that's good because
you're forced to be creative under out-of-the-box circumstances.
Finding a great team who I could count on, making the right
choices given our very real limitations of money and time, and
always staying calm: those were the keys.
At 58 and with four children, how do you find time and energy
to write and direct films?
A universal question for all working parents, and I don't have the
answer. I've also never heard the question answered in a way
that makes it any easier. You just strike the best balance you can
and know there will be things you miss as a parent, that your
kids will be pissed you're not available 24/7, and learn to be easy
on yourself. As for the 58 part of the question, if it's relevant at
all I suppose I have a bit less energy that when I was 38, but I'm
so much more driven now, so I think it evens out.
You've said you weren't "self-realized" until your 50s. Do you
identify as a lesbian now or what label do you use, if any?
This decade has been one of incredible discovery for me, in all
facets of my life. I'm sort of the poster child for late bloomers,
so it's not surprising that I should be at this incredibly exciting
stage in my life at almost 60. Regarding labels, I suppose if I had
to give myself one it would be lesbian, but I'd rather not have a
label. It's interesting to think about it, though. I'm proud of who
64
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
I am, so label me, but I don't want to be stereotyped or put in a
box, so don't label me.
Why did you choose to digitally stream the film?
I think for independent film it is the future, and here's why: The
traditional route, while beneficial in a number of ways, separates
you from your audience, and your audience is the single most
important asset a filmmaker like myself has. I decided to make
the film available immediately after our Los Angeles Outfest
premiere on July 18 because it makes no sense to hold it back
from the people I made it for. Yes, I will be missing some other
opportunities but I'm fine with that. Knowing that someone
in Brazil can watch it the same day as someone in the U.S. or
England or Trinidad literally gives me goose bumps, and that
doesn't really happen going the traditional route. The film will
be available with subtitles in Spanish, French, Portuguese and
German ( more to come) so we can be accessible to the most
folks possible. Curve readers, I appreciate your support more
than I can say, and it's that support that allows me to keep
making films that serve our community. •
FEATURES/ STYLE
Rose Masterpol masters
her medium.
BY MERRYN JOHNS
0
S
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
65
n this age of mass media satura~
tion, more of us are exposed to
Internet memes, emoticons, and
Instagram photos than to the vi~
sual arts. And who has time to go
to an art museum:' But the trends
and ephemera of the digital age have not
dissuaded the out lesbian painter Rose
Masterpol from investing her time and
considerable talent in a medium that some
might say peaked last century. Masterpol
was influenced by such mid~century Ab~
stract Expressionist masters as Pollock,
De Kooning, Kline, and Motherwell.
Her expressionistic canvases are col~
orful, energetic, joyful, and ambiguous
66
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
enough in their possible meanings that
the eye is drawn to their oscillating forms
and dancelike splashes and free to wan~
der and imagine. These images are about
as far from a "Keep Calm and Carry On''
meme as you can get-and
yet there is
something thoroughly contemporary and
compelling about them.
As the renowned art critic and curator
Peter Frank said of Masterpol's work: "The
drawn line assumes a rhythmic animation
akin to graffiti writing and on occasion even
cartoon caricature, seeming almost cho~
reographed. Here Masterpol, deliberately
or not, proposes a translation of hip~hop
and other urban dance into non~objective
FEATURES/
painting, perhaps even a kind of notation;
certainly, she is re-purposing the energy of
the 'street' to painterly effect:'
Frank notes that Masterpol improves
on her influences by incorporating "feeling" rather than imitating their imagery or
their method. Her individuality and spirit
are self evident in these canvases, and their
titles, which include "Breathing Room;'
"Heart Jar;' "Heaven's Thunder;' "Modern
Confession;' and others. Of course, there's
a story behind the work. Masterpol, who
called Los Angeles home for 25 years, fell
in love with and recently moved to Santa
Fe, N.M., a region that attracts countless lesbian artists and artisans. This new
home is a powerful source of inspiration
for the prolific painter.
"Santa Fe is the Land of Enchantment.
Need I say moret she says, referring to the
city's tagline. "The light is exquisite and the
cloud arrangements are out of this world.
The landscape and sunset colors are more
vibrant than any I have seen in my life. It is
expansive here and there is room to breathe:'
The essence of the land would of course
appeal to an artist who has said that her
own work "is a convergence of color, shape,
stroke, and line. I seek to build something
from nothing, and in the process symbols
and images reveal themselves. I do not analyze, strategize or conceptualize; rather, I
construct and deconstruct until I unravel
an abstract 'portrait of the moment: I paint,
build, layer, letting the painting happen ....
The work then is intuitively formed, breathing with a presence of its own:'
Masterpol trained at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y. (AAS),
Syracuse University, and at California
Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where she
obtained her BFA. Her medium is acrylic
on large canvases and her method is to
work quickly, using her body physically
in an action painting manner. A full-time
artist, she is represented in several galleries in the U.S. and frequently sells based
on little more than photos of her work on
STYLE
the Internet. Celebrity art collectors who
have purchased her work include actors
Jane Lynch, Sela Ward, and German Expressionist collector Robert Gore Rifkind.
In an age dominated by the "viral;' i.e.
the rapid dissemination of digital images,
what value does an "original" have? "I think
it has value;' says Masterpol. ''All of the
above just makes the work more public
and it gets faster exposure, more easily
global than ever before. I do not reproduce
my work for sale; I only sell originals. I
may have a piece reproduced for the sake
of a TV show, movie or commercial but
that is the extent of it. The value remains
untouched in my mind:'
Previously immersed in West Hollywood's LGBT community, Masterpol is
now also an "out and open" member of Santa
Fe's vibrant LGBT community, where she
lives with her wife, painting, and taking on
creative assignments for fertility and surrogacy services. And for this artist, fertile
ground matters. (masterpol.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
67
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f you're leaving from LAX, by
the time you arrive in the islands
you'll have been in the air for eight
hours. During that time, the vast
expanse of the blue Pacific be~
comes routine, and is overtaken
by a burnt orange sky as you chase the sun~
set for an hour on your approach.
Then Moorea, Tahiti, Bora Bora, the
islands of French Polynesia appear out of
nowhere, their great mountains reaching
into the sky, their deep lagoons encircled
by protective sandy reefs. The first view of
this exotic land can leave you breathless.
Commonly though inaccurately known
as "Tahiti;' French Polynesia is a sprawling
set of islands made up of several archipel~
agos. A visit to French Polynesia usually
begins in the Society Islands-the
archi~
72
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
pelago that contains Tahiti and Bora Bora.
Tahiti Faa'a, the main international air~
port, is three miles from Tahiti's capital,
Pape'ete. Though most visitors use Tahiti as
a mere stopover on the way to Bora Bora,
those who take the time to explore the is~
land's capital, Papeete, are rewarded with
bustling town squares, outdoor markets,
and even Les Roulottes, a thriving food
truck scene on the main whar£ with music
and entertainment every night of the week.
Our trip included only a brief stop in
Tahiti, with an overnight at the Manava
Suite Resort and a morning puddle jump
to the jewel of the Society Islands, Bora
Bora, known as "the romantic island:' The
name alone inspires dramatic images: clear
lagoons, distant mountains, and the kind of
exotic overwater bungalows that most peo~
ple only see on their screensavers at work.
The Society Islands are part of an ex~
pansive cultural region that also includes
Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, and New Zealand.
As a region, Polynesia is united by an
ancient culture but distinguished by the
overlays of the Western nations that have
claimed its parts. Those familiar with Ha~
waii will recognize Bora Bora as a cousin of
our U.S. state. There are familiar plants and
fragrant aromas, but the crashing waves of
Hawaii are replaced by calm lagoons; here,
the locals speak French as their default lan~
guage, and the customary Tahitian greeting
"Ia ora na'' replaces the Hawaiian ''.Aloha:'
When you fly into Bora Bora, you'll see
right away how it differs from any outpost
of American culture. For instance, during
the flight you are handed a tiare flower to
place in your hair. Just as in other Polyne~
sian cultures, a flower behind the right ear
signals that you are single, while a flower be~
hind the left ear signals that you are taken.
The tiare, a variety of gardenia, is every~
where in French Polynesia, and is often
a visitor's first taste of the culture. You'll
notice that the instructions on the seat
tray are not just in English and French but
in Tahitian as well. The language is heard
regularly in the islands.
And there's something else. Landing
on one of the sandy islets, or motus, that
make up Bora Bora's ree£ we find ourselves gathering our luggage on a platform
surrounded by the some of the most crystal clear water in the world. The only way
from the airport to the hotels, it turns out,
is by boat. Our porter smiles and points
the way, and a gorgeous, shimmering mahogany vessel greets us, the words "Four
Seasons" stenciled in gold-the first signal
of the luxury experience for which Bora
Bora is renowned. From the white leather
chaise lounges in the cabin of the boat, to
the flower lei and conch shell greeting us at
the dock, each moment is something out
of a honeymoon fantasy.
A trip to French Polynesia needs to
include a stay in an overwater bungalow.
Most resorts here offer them, with slight
variations in style. Le Meridien, which
claims to have invented the bungalows,
provides them with a huge glass section
of floor, allowing you an immersive experience of the water and the sea life below.
Others, like the Pearl Beach Resort, have
glass coffee tables with lids that slide open,
so you can see and feed the fish. Our bungalow at the Four Seasons included several small viewing windows throughout
the two-room suite (including one in the
shower). The gorgeous bungalow offered a
private outdoor deck with an entrance to
the water, and a two-person tub enclosed
by sliding shutters that reveal a spectacular view of the lagoon at sunset.
Each night, a "romance menu" appeared
on the bed, with offerings including a
beach dinner at sunset and a four-hour
royal spa session for two. The romantic
repast gives new meaning to the idea of
dinner and a show. From the sunset appetizers served by a royally dressed Tahitian
as you lounge in a beachside loveseat, to
the two-person feast of local delicacies,
and a private fire dance, this is a dream
meal-even for women with an array of
special food needs.
The royal spa treatment could not get
any more luxurious. Starting with foot soaks in flower
petal water on the spa's private deck, and
moving to side-by-side body scrubs, the
four-hour experience continues with massages on special tables placed on the glass
overwater floor, and ends with an hourlong soak in an outdoor coconut milk bath
for two, paired with an array of tropical
fruits and juices. This is the be-all and
end-all of spa treatments, in one of the
most beautiful settings in the world.
Bora Bora has many beautiful resorts
that offer varied accommodations. Our
next stop, the Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort, provides overwater bungalows as
well as large beachfront complexes with
outdoor showers, hot tubs, and plunge
pools. Our two-room suite featured stunning sunrise views of the famed Mount
Otemanu. We spent our mornings there
sipping coffee and combing the beach for
pencil-urchin quills. The grounds are gorgeous and rugged, featuring winding paths
and towering coconut trees. The Pearl has
its own luxury spa complex, Manea Spa,
nestled above a freshwater spring.
Same-sex marriage is legal in French
Polynesia-in
fact, marriage is a cottage
industry in the islands. Not surprisingly,
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
73
many of the resorts have elaborate chapels, each with its own unique flavor. The
Pearl Beach Resort, which boasts the
first same-sex wedding on Bora Bora, of
fers traditional Polynesian ceremonies on
its white-sand beach. The Four Seasons
chapel faces Mount Otemanu, while its
catamaran wedding allows for a ceremony
on the water. Le Meridien offers an underwater wedding, which takes place under the
glass floor of an overwater chapel, so that
guests can stay dry while they watch the
ceremony below. And most resorts can offer
you a wedding on your own private island.
As well as being a romantic destination,
French Polynesia is an adventure destination, and anyone who visits should consider exploring. A jeep tour of Bora Bora's
main island will give you a perspective
that you won't get from below. The tours
include roller-coaster trails up to the enormous guns left by the U.S. after WWII,
perched to afford sweeping views of neighboring islands. The jeep tours also include
stops at local pearl farms and art galleries-you get an interesting combination
of history, fresh fruit, and hard-sell sales
74
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
pitches. Lagoon tours, on the other hand,
circle the island on motorized outriggers,
while local guides play weathered ukuleles and sing island songs. The Lagoon
Specialists tours feature stops to see indescribable giant blue clams, and to swim
with stingrays and reef sharks, both in the
shallows of the lagoon and in the deep blue
waters just outside the protective reef-an
experience that inspires fear and then awe.
The tour ends only after lunch on a private
motu, where your charming guides teach
you how to open a coconut and tie a pareo
(Tahitian sarong).
For those who are looking for an even
more exotic experience, there are many
other, more remote destinations in French
Polynesia. The Tuamotu Archipelago,
which is made up of a series of atolls (ringshaped coral reefs), provides a distinctly
otherworldly experience. From the air, the
atolls are nearly invisible until you are on top
of them. They rise mere feet above the water,
white and pink rings in an ocean of blue.
A stop on the pink-sand atoll of Tike-
hau is like touching
down into a movie.
Most of the 400 residents
live in the single village, which
we are told is a "two-hour walk''
over the reef from the largest hotel on the
atoll-the
37-room Tikehau Pearl Beach
Resort. Though the resort can cater to
most travelers' needs, it is remote. Essentials, such as reef shoes, should be brought
with you, and Wi-Fi can be spotty, so it's
best to consider time on this atoll as an
opportunity to unplug.
The Tuamotu is renowned for its phenomenal diving, and Jacques Cousteau
declared Tikehau's 17-mile-long lagoon
to have the greatest variety of fish species
in the entire archipelago. Whether you're
an avid diver or snorkeler bringing all your
own gear, or a traveler adventuring below
the surface of the water for the first time,
Tikehau is astounding. We arrived, gear
in hand, ready for some fun, and found
FEATURES/
it in the shallow waters just feet from
our beachfront bungalow. Stingrays, reef
sharks, colorful triggerfish, tangs, surgeonfish, and the ubiquitous scissortail
sergeant major greeted us in the warm
water. The shadows of the overwater
bungalows serve as a hideout for schools
of jackfish, and curious butterfly fish followed us everywhere, as if begging to be
photographed. If you plan a trip to French
Polynesia, investing in a good underwater
camera is well worth it. Many nights we
found ourselves snorkeling in the shallows
until dusk, when the light begins to fade
and the usually docile reef sharks appear
in earnest, looking for a meal.
Tikehau has a wild, untamed
feel. Unlike Hawaii, or even
Bora Bora, the atolls, while
offering a luxury experience, also offer
excursions that can
have you pinching yoursel£ Tikehau's lagoon tour offers deep snorkeling out in the
lagoon, at a coral outcropping known as a
"cleaning station;' where manta rays come
to be scoured by tiny wrasses. We watched
the great birdlike creatures appear and,
with their 10-foot wingspans, gracefully
maneuver themselves into place while the
wrasses went to work. Though harmless to
humans, mantas are alarmingly large, with
long tails trailing behind them and strange
structures on their heads for diverting the
microorganisms they feed on into their
gills. Swimming with these animals is absolutely thrilling, and we decided to return
to this place with scuba gear and an instructor for a training dive-an experience
we will never forget.
The lagoon tour also includes a stop at
Bird Island. This motu is home to thousands of nesting seabirds that fill the air
with flashing wings and the sounds of their
cries. Guides walk you through the groves
of coconut palms that cover the whole of
TRAVEL
Tikehau, pointing out red-footed booby
nests concealed in bushes and fairy tern
eggs balanced on tree limbs. If you're fortunate, you might see the awkward booby
babies, white masses of fuzz in their nests.
The tour ends with lunch on a private
motu. Less polished than the Bora Bora
lagoon lunch, this features whole lagoon
fish, one for each guest, cooked on an open
grill and served family-style. Instead of a
cultural display, guides take the remains of
lunch to the shallows and feed the swarms
of reef sharks that gather for a meal.
After you spend a week in these waters,
it is amazing how normal it seems to see
the black tips of shark fins darting through
the water. More than once, we found ourselves moving toward them unafraid, hoping for a closer look. This is the magic of
French Polynesia. Ultra-luxury resorts
nourish your body, while the rugged
beauty of the islands, the water, and the
wildlife nourish your soul.
Thank you to Tahiti Tourism for providing flights, accommodations, and excursions.
Go to tahiti-tourisme.com. •
Maryland's
largestcityis readyto showyouanything,
so longasyouembrace
yourinneroddball.
BY CYGNUS FOGLE
altimore is, on the sur~
face, a city full of history,
art, family fun and glori~
ous seafood. Beneath the
veil of tourism, however,
lies an unapologetically
weird "city of neighborhoods;' bursting
with all the kitsch your little queer heart
could ever desire.
WHOTOKEEP
ANEYEOUTFOR
Charm City is brimming with talented
folks, new and old. If you're feeling a little
overwhelmed at first, take a breather and
check out Visit Baltimore's websiteespecially if you' re looking for a group
excursion (wedding season, y'all)! Feel
free to check out the quintessential his~
torical destinations, such as the Edgar
Allen Poe House & Museum downtown
or the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museumbut if you're in the mood for the less
conventional, try paying a visit to native
76
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Baltimorean performer Divines grave
over in Towson or hit up the downtown
area whilst trying to spot the infamous
Pope ofTrash,John Waters. For the love
of Lord Baltimore, don't you dare miss
out on The American Visionary Art
Museum (AYAM), a jaw ~dropping col~
lection of self~taught artists with ever~
evolving current and ongoing exhibits.
Call the National Aquarium and set
up a sleepover that schedules a catwalk
above the tanks full of silently drifting
sharks, or drop by to say hello to their
new three~finned sea turtle, Calypso.
WHATTOEAT
If you're feeling luxurious, dine at Mr.
Rain's Funhouse (located inside AVAM)
to enjoy your art and eat it too. The Wit
and Wisdom Tavern at The Four Seasons
Hotel in Harbor East for a great Bloody
Mary, and City Cafe is known for their
monstrous Baltimore Club Sandwich
brimming with crab cake and shrimp
salad. Try hitting up the various and sun~
dry downtown hotspots if you're looking
for something a little more accessible;
Paper Moon Diner in Remington offers
a wide range of food-from
bacon milk~
shakes to vegan nachos-while
Belvedere
Square in North Baltimore offers things
both sweet and savory at Sofi's Crepes
along with sushi, wood~fired pizza, hearty
soups and a market full of fresh munchies.
WHENTOVISIT
All year round. Seriously, though. There's
always great stuff happening, whether it
be art or music or something else entirely.
Summertime provides ample opportunity
for fun activities, such as watching the
at Pride in June, catching all the vendors
at Artscape ( the country's "largest free
arts festival;' July 18-20), a show at the
Windup Space or moves on the hill at
AVAM.
WHERE
THEQUEERS
ARE
Hit up the tried~and~true gay and lesbian
bars such as The Hippo, Grand Central and
Club Bunns. You could try to schedule your
trip around one of Glitter Thigh's adroitly~
themed monthly queer/ trans dance par~
ties (queer prom, anyone:>)or drift through
one of the handfuls of clubs and bars open
near Ram's Head Live! after a show. Check
out the zine rack at Red Emma's on North
Avenue for some serious reading mate~
rial, but don't forget to look up from your
new books and grab a mug of Spicy Hot
Chocolate-you'll
miss all the great vegan
fare their cafe has to offer.
HOWTONAVIGATE
BALTIMORE
A city of neighborhoods, your travel op~
tions in Baltimore are so dizzying that
thinking about finding your way around
might seem a little overwhelming at first.
Fortunately, you' re not without options.
If you're of the smartphone variety, stay
charged and download Uber or Lyft for
an easy ride-these
apps hook you up
with reliable local drivers, and both apps
allow you to pay via card through your
phone for minimal hassle. The Charm
City Circulator is Baltimore's free public
bus system, but the Light Rail and MTA
are both decent low~cost ways to experi~
ence the city and beyond-potholes
and
all. Taxis are expensive here, so avoid if
you can (but if you must, cross your fin~
gers for Larry the Celebrity Cab Driver).
Us queers love our bikes, of course, and
there's plenty to see while cycling around
Hampden or Mt. Vernon, Baltimore's
professed gayborhood.
WHYYOUSHOULD
VISIT
Baltimore is the quirky weirdo cousin you
secretly wished you were cool enough to
be. Now's your chance! Grab your leopard
print and your John Waters movie callee~
tion and get going! (baltimore.org) •
or the last four years, Oldenburg, Germany, has been host
to L- Beach, a lesbian festival
featuring world-class live music,
DJ sets, sports, workshops, and
other fun events in a gorgeous
beachside location next to the
Baltic Sea. The L-Beach festival is largely
unknown in the States, but is popular
with German, Swiss, and Scandinavian
lesbians. And it has events and attractions
for everyone-from
20-somethings, to
women in their 70s, to lesbian families
with children. L- Beach is located at a resort called Weissenhauser Strand (with
comfortable condo-style accommodations),
so you can take advantage of all the onsite activities (including wakeboarding,
go-carts, and a pool and sauna), or you
can spend three days just relaxing on the
beach. The possibilities this year seemed
endless, from an outdoor erotica market
with sex toys, to foreign movies, to tantra
lessons for couples, to workshops on gender identity and how to dress in drag.
The founder of L- Beach, Claudia Kiesel, was a prominent lesbian party promoter in Hamburg for 10 years before she
78
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
decided to create her own lesbian festival.
"I wanted to do something for women
only, a production that does not exist anywhere else;' she says. And she did just that,
using the contacts she'd built over the last
decade. L-Beach is now the largest women's
festival in Europe, with an annual attendance of 4,000 women. "It's not Dinah
Shore, which is mainly focused on pool
parties. As I grew older, I wanted something of quality, so we have excellent live
music performances;' states Kiesel.
When asked about her marketing
strategy to attract more American girls
to her party, she laughs and replies, "Lezzies go where the lezzies are:' And get
this: L- Beach offers something that you
don't often see on the festival circuit-a
darkroom for girls, where they are free to
enjoy one another's company in the darkness from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. "Gay boys have
one, so we need one;' says Kiesel. This
year, some of the other prominent events
included an L-Stars Casting competition,
much like The Voice,where a panel of judges
chose the best singer, as well as a film festival showcasing independent lesbian films
from all over the world.
However, the main attraction of L-Beach
is the world-class live music performances.
Lesbian musicians come from all over to
perform. For example, a lesbian rapper from
North Carolina performed alongside a German rapper, Sooki. K's Choice, a Tennessee-based band with a Belgian lead singer,
rocked the main stage one evening, following the girl group Swedish Dyke Vibes.
Each year, one of the actors from The
L Word is the celebrity guest (Leisha
Hailey and Daniela Sea have appeared in
the past). This year, Janina Gavankar ( the
character Papi) was seen at the parties
and events, and was there to give a talk
on Whos Afraid of Vagina Wolf, the independent movie she recently starred in. The
festival is also affordable- budget-friendly
prices start around $180 for two nights,
FEATURES/
which include accommodations and festival
tickets. This is good news for international
visitors: "Face it, lesbians can be cheap;'
chuckles Kiesel.
International travelers may want to balance their weekend at L-Beach with a few
days in Hamburg, which is only an hour
from the festival by train. Unfortunately,
many international travelers are unaware
of all that the city has to offer. Hamburg
is the place to be if you like music, art, and
theatre. For example, there's the Reeperbahn Festival, featuring up-and-coming
bands from all across Europe, and each
month there is a spoken-word performance at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus.
The popular International Queer Film
Festival will be held October 14-19 this
year. Currently under construction, the
Elbphilharmonie Hamburg is positioned
to be the best concert hall in the world.
Hamburg is also a liberal and gay-friendly
destination. Registered partnerships have
been legal since 2001, and Germany allows people to decide how they would like
to be classified on their birth certificate.
Hamburg is also a very tolerant city, and
often you will see gay and lesbian couples
holding hands in public.
When you arrive in Hamburg, book
a room at the Superbude Hotel, near
the trendy hipster Sternschanze district.
The funky, skater-punk vibe of the hotel
fits in perfectly with the neighborhood.
The guidebooks call it "alternative" and
there certainly is a lot of graffiti in Sternschanze-but
the infamous site of many
Hamburg demonstrations has undergone
some recent gentrification. On an average
day, the mini-cafes are packed with locals
having a smoke or a beer, as passersby
window-shop in the swanky boutiques
and record stores. The Lockengelot redesign studio uses old materials to make
new furniture, turning oil drums into
cupboards and records into lamps; and
108 van Haen den Vintage Crafts sells
handmade shoes, vintage goods, restored
leather purses, and furniture. If you are
in Sternschanze on a Saturday, browse
with the locals at the Rinderschlachthalle,
the biggest flea market in Hamburg, and
the location of the start-up German music scene. For lunch, visit Bullerei, serving
popular Hamburg cuisine like burrata and
steak tartare.
Perhaps the most beautiful (and most
expensive) areas of Hamburg are the
neighborhoods surrounding the Alster
lakes. The inner Alster is bordered by luxury boutiques and the imposing medieval
city hall. The inner Alster is also called
the Jungfernsteig, which means "young
woman" in German. In the 1800s, young
women would stroll around the Alster
looking to attract a husband, much like the
scene in the Seurat painting ''A Sunday
Afternoon on the Island of La Grande
Jatte:' A stroll or boat tour will bring you to
the outer Alster, which houses millionaire
row and the historic Atlantic Kempinski
TRA
Hotel, used as a location in the James
Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies.
MonckebergstraBe is one of the busiest
shopping streets in Hamburg. After some
retail therapy, stop by the Apples Restaurant & Bar in the Park Hyatt Hamburg
and try the signature Apples cocktail,
made from the fresh fruit of the German
countryside. The gay area of Hamburg
is in St. Georg, a few S-Bahn train stops
from Sternschanze. Here, the main street,
Lange Reihe, is popular for bar-hopping
( there are not many lesbian-only establishments). Start at Kyti Voo, a mixed gay
cafe owned by Claudia Kiesel, of L-Beach
fame, or Cafe Grosa, an old-school gay
cafe featuring eclectic wall art and serving
tasty cakes. Wunderbar is also a popular
gay and lesbian hangout. (I-beach.com) •
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"Love Deserves
A Second Chance"
SEPTEMBER
2014
J
CURVE
79
Lingering Heat
Summer is nearly over, but the temperature
is still rising. By Charlene Lichtenstein
Virgo (Aug. 24-Sept. 23)
Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 20)
Taurus (April 21-May 21)
There are rumors swirling
around you, Virgo, and they
seem to be raising your
popularity quotient to the top of
the A-list. Enjoy the scuttle and
get your butt to places where
you can confirm the delightful
gossip with your bold social
maneuvers and connections.
Your intuition may be telling
you something so listen very
carefully as to who is who, what
is what and exactly when.
Will falling in lust with a gal
pal complicate a perfectly
platonic relationship? It is your
theory to test this September,
should you decide to take the
romantic leap. Capricorns
can be overly conservative
and afraid of expressing your
emotions but this is the time to
show your true rainbow colors.
Let the sun shine in and create
a steamy heat wave.
Spend your end-of-summer
September cocooning at
home with your best bosom
buddy and see how that can
transform your relationship.
The world will still go on even
as you shut it out. And while
you are domesticating, why
not reassess your overall
surroundings with an eye
for home improvement. Will
you redecorate, renovate or
relocate, Taurus?
Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19)
Libra (Sept. 24-Oct. 23)
Tegan and Sara Quin
turn 34 on September 19
~
%
(Aug. 24-Sept. 23) %
Because Virgo rules the %
sixth house of the day- %
%
to-day job, health issues
%
and pets, Sapphic Virgins %
are happiest in careers %
that enable them to deal %
with the nitty gritty details, %
whether it's in accounting %
or nursing. They are %
meticulous, independent %
%
workers who are detail%
oriented and very neat and %
clean. You couldn't ask for %
a better office manager %
or veterinarian or even %
assembly line worker. %
These gals can handle the %
%
repetitive tasks better than
%
most women. In a very %
strange way, it gives her a %
sense of accomplishment;
%
it's measurable and %
quantifiable, after all. %
%
%
Charlene
Lichtenstein
is theauthor %
of HerScopes:
A Guide
to Astrology%
forLesbians
(Simon& Schuster)- %
%
tinyurl.
com/HerScopes.
%
VIRGO %
Nowavailable
asanebook. ~
80
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Jump into the social swim this
September, Libra, and see
where you wash up. You have
that certain something that
combines easy charisma with
bold confidence that draws the
ladies to you. Plan to expand
your circle of girlfriends
by joining new groups and
associations and spread
yourself thin all over town.
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)
Put your ambitions on the front
burner and see how much
influence you can cook up
now. Scorpios often prefer to
work behind the scenes but
the fates conspire to push
you out into center stage. Get
ready for your close-up and use
every opportunity to gain the
advantage. Will you be a Cruella
de Ville or benevolent Queen
Bee when you reach the top?
Relationships can evolve to an
entirely new and happier level
this September, Aqueerius.
That is, if you can pry yourself
away from the demands of the
job. Try to find greater balance
or, even better, tip the scales
towards lovergrrls. You can
make up for lost career time
and professional accolades
later. For now, seek an
appreciative audience of one.
Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20).
Guppies have much more
energy than usual this
September and are poised
to make their mark on the
world. Whether that means
extensive travel or just cruising
the Internet is up to you, your
budget and your available time.
But be sure to make the most of
whatever you have. Today, some
pleasant neighborhood hot
spot; tomorrow, some exciting
international g-spot.
Gemini (May 22-June 21)
You are especially diplomatic,
charming and delightful this
September, Gemini. Use your
sugary gift of gab to lure a
certain co-worker into your
cubicle. You might have lust
on your mind or decide to use
your personal oil to effortlessly
glide projects off your desk
and onto hers. Will you be a
lovergrrl or a taskmistress?
Cancer (June 22-July 23)
Money isn't doing you much
good piling up in a dusty old
bank account. It needs to be
released into the fresh air and
used to provide lots of fun!
Or so you think, Cancer. The
temptation will be to splurge
on frolic and festivities with
your various paramours. But try
to keep an eye on the bottom
line for runaway costs. She
loves you with money. Don't
test the relationship.
Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22)
If you have itchy traveling feet,
September may be the month
to scratch them. Get out of
your usual routine and see how
exciting the world can become.
But check your itinerary twice
and be sure that all the details
are in place before you embark.
It would be a shame to find
yourself in Paris, Vir. instead of
Paris, France.
Aries (March 21-April 20)
Lambda Rams can fall head
over heels for a pert lovergrrl
this September. She knows just
what to do to get your lamb
chops cooked. But life will
not just be one long luxurious
love session. In fact, expect an
active social life throughout
the month. You have many on
your "to do" list.
Leo (July 24-Aug. 23)
You are the center of attention
and surrounded by an adoring
crowd. So now what, Lioness?
While the world calls out for
more of you, your yearnings
seem to lie closer to home.
Can you combine the best of
both worlds this September by
hosting a bunch of bashes with
a bevy of beauties?•
~ BEST
..r.".·.T·"··
••
PLACES TO WORK
2014 for LGBT Equality
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-
SEPTEMBER
2014
m
COVER
PHOTO
BY VIRGINIA
SHERWOOD/BRAVO
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
1
SEPTEMBER
2014
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
IN EVERYISSUE
4
EDITOR'S NOTE
6
CURVETTES
8
FEEDBACK
10
THE GAYDAR
80
STARS
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
TRENDS
REVIEWS
9
BEAUTY
A-list anti-aging products,
without the scary sacrifices.
26 FILM
Lesbian filmmaker Charlotte
Lagarde has a passion for
the sea, surfing and telling
women's stories.
11 LES LOOKS LIKE
Meet the high femme behind
butch blog, dapperQ.
14 LESBOFILE
Our favorite celesbians behaving badly.
VIEWS
By Victoria A. Brownworth
14 OUT IN FRONT
Meet our community leaders.
31 FOOD
Summer may be over but
our taste for icy sweet treats
doesn't have to end just yet.
14 IN CASE YOU MISSED
IT ... News from across the
country.
16 POLITICS
Are we what we wear?
By Victoria A. Brownworth
18 THE TWO OF US
Our monthly profile of captivating lesbian couples who
live, love and work together.
20
LIPSTICK & DIPSTICK
22 ADVICE
Sarah Toce's personal story
about her lesbian pregnancy.
24 SCENE
You had to be there! Our
reviews of the best LGBT
events and girls' nights
around the country.
2
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
By Marcie Bianco
28 BOOKS
What will it take to make a
woman president? We review
the latest books by and about
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
By Rachel Shatto
32 MUSIC
Mary Gauthier is back, and
better than ever, with a
masterpiece of love and loss.
By Dave Steinfeld
RONTJMERRYN'S
MEMO
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
SEPTEMBER
2014
»
LESBIAN
VOLUME
MAGAZINE
24 NUMBER
6
PUBLISHERSilke Bader
FOUNDINGPUBLISHER Frances Stevens
n the world of magazine publishing, the September issue is synonymous with a
splurge in pages devoted to fashion spreads and fashion advertising. I still have
a copy of the September 2013 Vogue, which boasts on its cover"902 pages of
fabulous fall fashion:' I have been unable to discard this doorstop-sized tome,
with its opulent layouts, over-the-top and mostly unaffordable apparel, and
otherworldly accessories straight off the international runways.
At Curve, however, the September issue looks very different. I believe-even though
we're one-tenth the size of the world's best-known fashion magazine-that
we're just
as mighty. Curve, you see, is created by gay women for gay women. As a lesbian-owned
community publication, we can never compete with the likes of Conde Nast. But what we
can do is represent lesbians authentically,
and, to me, this does not mean we have to
forsake fashion as an editorial topic.
The stereotypical image of lesbians is
as the wallflowers at the style party, but
the days of limiting our wardrobe to ball
caps, plaid, cargo pants and Croes are
fading ( until Cara Delevingne chooses
to wear them ironically). In the past
four years at Curve I have incorporated
fashion into almost every issue-without
hearing any complaints. In fact, most
people have heaved a sigh of relief. The
editorial door to fashion opened in 2010,
when Curve featured DIY designers and
crafty queer girls with Etsy stores who
create consistently gorgeous (and often
environmentally conscious) clothes and
accessories, and continues by shining a spotlight on the current crowd-funding boom in
queer fashion. I have lost count of the number of recent "tomboy" startups-they
seem
to be announced almost monthly-and
in this issue we feature a couple of cool projects,
especially for andro-leaning lesbians.
Stylish lesbians are hip and visible in the mainstream: from Jenna Lyons' cameo in Girls
to Internet lists such as "50 Lesbian & Bisexual Fashion Models;' to the antics of (morethan-friends?) Cara Delevingne and Karlie Kloss.
Visibility is power, so who better to put on the cover of our Style issue than Tabatha
Coffey? From her wardrobe to her attitude, she is completely self-determined and proves
that when you know and create your own sense of style, success soon follows. This issue,
she's joined by many other stylish lesbians in the world of the visual arts, film, dance,
online-even landscape gardening!
Sure, the fashion industry is riddled with problems and dubious ethics, so I believe it can
use all the lesbians it can get! Here's to another season of even more queer girl couture.
I
!z
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
merryn@curvemag.com
EDITORIAL
EDITORIN CHIEF Merryn Johns
MANAGINGEDITOR Rachel Shatto
COPY EDITOR Katherine Wright
CONTRIBUTINGEDITORS Victoria A. Brownworth,
Gina Daggett, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Jillian Eugenios,
Sheryl Kay, Stephanie Schroeder, Dave Steinfeld
EDITORIAL
ASSISTANTS
Caitlyn Byrne, Lisa Tedesco
PROOFREADERElizabeth Harper
OPERATIONS
DIRECTOROF OPERATIONSJeannie Sotheran
EVENTS& MEDIA RELATIONSCOORDINATORRobin Perron
ADVERTISING
NATIONALSALES
Rivendell Media (908) 232-2021, todd@curvemagazine.com
ART/PRODUCTION
ART DIRECTORMeghan Musalo, Ricardo Calvi Vivian
PRODUCTIONARTIST Kelly Nuti
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Melany Joy Beck, Kathy Beige, Jenny Block, Adam L.
Brinklow, Kelsy Chauvin, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Traci
Dinwiddie, Maria De La 0, Elizabeth Estochen, Jill
Goldstein, Kristin Flickinger, Gillian Kendall, Kim Hoffman,
Charlene Lichtenstein, Karen Loftus, Sassafras Lowrey,
Emelina Minero, Laurie K. Schenden, Stephanie Schroeder,
Janelle Sorenson, Rosanna Rios-Spicer, Allison Steinberg,
Stella & Lucy, Dave Steinfeld, Edie Stull, Yana Tallon-Hicks,
Sarah Toce, Tina Vasquez, Jocelyn Voo
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS & PHOTOGRAPHERS
Lauren Barkume, Alex Styles, Meagan Cignoli,
Sophia Hantzes, Janet Mayer, Syd London, Cheryl Mazak,
Maggie Parker, Robin Roemer, Leslie Van Stelten
CONTACT INFO
Curve Magazine
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PHONE(415) 871-0569
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Volume 24 Issue 6 Curve (ISSN 1087-867X) is published 8 times
per year (January/Febrary, March, April/May, June, July/August,
September, October, November/December) by Avalon Media,
LLC, PO Box 467, New York NY 10034. Subscription price:
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international (U.S. funds only). Returned checks will be assessed
a $25 surcharge. Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco, CA
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of Curve Magazine may not be reproduced in any manner, either
whole or in part, without written permission from the publisher.
Publication of the name or photograph of any persons or
organizations appearing, advertising or listing in Curve may not be
taken as an indication of the sexual orientation of that individual or
group unless specifically stated. Curve welcomes letters, queries,
unsolicited manuscripts and artwork. Include SASE for response.
Lack of any representation only signifies insufficient materials.
Submissions cannot be returned unless a self-addressed stamped
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curvemag.com
4
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Curve's online selection of must-do, must-try, must-have extras.
CULTURE
ART
CUMMING BACK FOR MORE
The NY.C's Museum of Sex
opens an erotic fairground of
sexual pleasures and perils. The
interactive exhibit brings you up
close and personal with sexual
culture, in a fun and free-spirited
way-it even includes a bouncy
castle of giant breasts. Imagine
the State Fair, until Dec. 31, only
R-rated! Just another queer rea-
EVENTS
FESTIVALS
A LUSCIOUS SUMMER OF QUEER MUSIC
Imagine three days of camping beneath groves of oak
trees, dining on fabulous food, and best of all, attending the
musical Mecca of LGBT musicians, DJsand comics. This will
be the scene on Aug. 22 in Saratoga Springs, Calif. Ladies,
it's going to be three marvelous nights to remember. With
son to visit the Big Apple. Read
headliners like Grammy performer Mary Lambert, lesbian
music icon Cris Williamson and the hilarious Marga Gomez.
Don't miss out on your last and luscious fling for the
summer! Read more on
G curvemag.com
more on
G curvemag.com
NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
UNHAPPY ANNIVERSARY,PUTINI
LIFESTYLE
RELIGION
Do you know that this summer also marked the first anniversary of the Russian
president's anti-homosexuality propaganda law? The HRC released a new report
documenting a year of discrimination, persecution, and violence against LGBT
MAYA ANGELOU TO NOT RESTIN PEACE?
Russiansfollowing the enactment of the law, which has outraged international human
When news circulated that the notorious Westboro Baptist
rights watchdogs. Catch all the international rights updates on
G curvemag.com.
Church in Topeka, Kan. was planning to protest the "homegoing" service of our nation's most beloved citizen, poet,
author, civil rights activist, and sister-sage to us all, Dr. Maya
Angelou, there was a collective gasp of disbelief. Read
more on
~
~
~
G curvemag.com
~
~
~
~ We have some of the
History, despite its wrenching pain,
cannot be unlived, but if faced with
courage, need not be lived again.
- Maya Angelou
~
~~
~
~
~
~
~~
~~
~
~
leading voices in our
community sharing
their thoughts on
love and romance,
parenting and politics,
and sex and spirituality-not to mention
our huge collection of
lesbian fandom.
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
5
.._
_UPRONT!CURVETTES
___,
VICTORIAA.
BROWNWORTH
Victoria is an award-winning
journalist and the author and
editor of nearly 30 books.
She has won the NLGJAand
the Society of Professional
Journalists awards, the Lambda
Literary Award and has been
nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
She won the 2013 SPJAward
for Enterprise Reporting in May
2014. She is a regular contributor to The Advocate, SheWired
and A Room of One's Own in the
U.K., a blogger for Huffington
Post and a contributing editor
for Curve and Lambda Literary
Review. Her book, From Where
We Sit: Black Writers Write Black
Youth won the 2012 Moonbeam
Award for cultural and historical
fiction. Her novel, Ordinary
Mayhem, will be published
in fall 2014. Her collection of
essays, Lesbian Erasure, will be
published in spring 2015.
Follow her @VABVOX.
6
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
SARAH TOCE
ADRIENNEJORDAN
MELISSAKITSON
Award-winning journalist Sarah
is founder and editor-in-chief of
TheSeattleLesbian.com. Sarah
attended a national journalists'
convening at the White House
in 2014, was featured on Fox
News, MSNBC, Huffington
Post, and other news outlets to
discuss civil rights issues in the
U.S. in 2013. In 2012 Sarah contributed to the book Gay Press,
Gay Power: The Growth of LGBT
Community Newspapers in
America. Recently, she reported
on the Windy City Times' AIDS
@ 30 series, which won the
prestigious Peter Lisagor Award
from the Chicago Headline
Club. She was also nominated
for a national GLAAD Award,
in the same category with The
New York Times and The Boston
Globe. This month she shares
her experience of lesbian
pregnancy on page 22.
Adrienne is a freelance writer
for publications like USA Today,
Men's Fitness, and Instinct
magazine. When she is not
walking with rhinos in South
Africa or sleeping in ice hotels
in Norway, she enjoys barhopping at her home base in West
Hollywood. She journeyed to
Northern Germany in May to
explore Hamburg, a city rich in
history stemming from its 800year old port. After a few days
sampling German cuisine and
cocktails in Hamburg's scandalous Reeperbahn neighborhood,
she traveled an hour north to
Oldenburg to see how L-Beach,
the German lesbian festival,
compares to our Dinah Shore.
Read about it on page 78. See
where her next travel adventure takes her by lnstagram
(@ajeveryday) or through her
blog ajtravelconfessions.com.
Melissa is a bilingual freelance
Australian writer, editor and
journalist. She has previously
written for Fodor's Travel
Guides and worked as a reporter
in Guadalajara, Mexico, as a
translator for the Pan American
Games and as a writer for
Oxford University Press. She
currently lives in Buenos Aires,
Argentina where she is Junior
Editor of the Buenos Aires
Review. For this issue Melissa
enters the sensual world of
queer tango in Buenos Aires
on page 68.
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NICE PEACES
I liked the update on the
gorgeous Heather Peace, and
all of the music artists included in Curve [Vol. 24 #5].
It was also refreshing to
WNBA
STAR
see real lesbian music talent
BRITTNEY
GRINERand discover many artists
BRINGS
I hadn't heard of before.
THE
HEAT
Keep up the good work!
-Donna Ellis, Melbourne
Australia
been fit and active but this
trip showed us just how
much discrimination disabled
people face every day. The
flight crews and TSA people
were very nice to us but there
needs to be more awareness
amongst business owners
and those in hotels about the
needs of the incapacitated.
-Audrey Pope, Scottsdale,Ariz.
Posts from our
Facebook fans
facebook.com/cu rvemag
BRITTNEYGRINER
SCORES!
I am on the cover of
Curve Magazine!!!!!!
It's out today! What a
way to celebrate Pride
month. I am honored!
-Brittney Griner
She's awesome!!
SUMMER SLAM DUNK
Thank you, thank you, thank
you for putting Brittney Griner on your cover! She is my
one true crush: tall, gorgeous,
talented and a super human
being who inspires others
with her strength, openness,
honesty, and out-and-proud
attitude. What a great role
model for lesbians everywhere.
-Delvene Clay, Chicago Ill.
DISABLEDAWARENESS
I enjoyed the article ''A Guide
for Travelers with Non-Conforming Bodies;' [Vol. 24 #5].
My partner and I are and have
always been keen travelers
until she recently broke an
ankle. Rather than cancel our
scheduled vacation we decided
to go ahead, using crutches
and a wheelchair. Even though
we are older, we have always
-Kandyce Le'Clair
Hansbrough
Star athlete on the cover
of the music issue! Keep
up the homemade vibe.
-Ellen Mah
What a beauty.
-Marie Timbreza
Where can I buy a copy?
-Michell Banuelos
Cartwright
HAPPILYEVERAFTER
·.·.·.·.·:.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.·.::::::::::::::::::: ::
GAY SKI WEEK ·:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::.
Harriet volunteered almost
every day for a year at the
animal shelter I now manage.
We became close friends
and then she had to move
back to the United Kingdom. We were deeply in love
and decided to get married
despite the distance. Imagine
how pleasantly surprised
we were when the Supreme
Court ruled that it would
r ii count on a federal level, and
thus we would have immigration rights. We could not be
happier and more thankful!
- Laura McKelvey &
Harriet Ribbons, Atlanta
Linda Warrick (right) is the lucky winner of New Zealand's Gay Ski
+
MEET
THE
WINNER!
Week competition,
She attracts lots of
pretty girls:-) wish
I had her charm
-Aimee Babanto
Gorgeous
-Kim Erickson
Brilliant photo that pops!
Love it! -Marcie Bianco
I met this young
lady when she was
at Baylor, she is so
nice and TALL. I wish
her the best of luck.
-Wendy Hall
You wear it well: your
clothes, your style,
your attitude, your
graciousness, your
skills .... Nice going.
-Reisa SterlingMiller
pictured with Gay Ski Week QT organizer Sally
Whitewoods (left).
~
WRITE
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SEPTEMBER
Online:
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TRENDS/BEAU
Celebrity Skin
A-LISTANTI-AGING,WITHOUT THE SCARY
SACRIFICES.BY MELANIE BARKER
Don't I late,
I~xfoliatc
From Amber Heard's peaches and cream complexion to Beyonce's
"flawless" visage-wouldn't it be nice to access celeb beauty secrets
without Botox or a big bank balance? Plastic surgery is scary and
we should be focused on aging naturally. Allure magazine's 2013
anti-aging survey revealed that LGBT respondents are more likely to
be attracted to people older than them by more than 10 years. Older
is better, that's for sure, so to keep looking hot at any age-and without invasive procedures-check out these "no-tox" products.
This Swiss-made Mild Scrub
is formulated with premium
quality white marble powder
that removes dead skin
cells while providing gentle
exfoliation. Containing no
oils, but 2 percent oxygen
(a natural antiseptic), this
product is especially good
for acne-prone skin or those
living in humid climates.
($65, karinherzog.com)
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For a natural alternative to Botox try
Sublime Beauty's The Face Whisperer
Day with Argireline. We kid you not:
this light day cream works fast to
reduce the formation of deep lines.
Apply just a small amount and feel
the peptides going to work, relaxing
the facial muscles and tension lines.
($50, sublimebeautyshop.com)
~ Iintclc
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Swift Lift by emerginC is a lifting,
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around the eyes.
($79, emerginc.com)
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Cosmeceuticals seek a holistic
approach to beauty and Bello Moi
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Anti-Aging Tea rich in goji berries
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Masque, with gingko biloba and
sea buckthorn. The latter is a cool
summer treat, especially if you store
it in the fridge! ($70, bellomoi.com)
Damage Control
The Jan Marini Skincare Management System is a complete skincare line
that takes your face from night to day, season to season, and is endorsed by
leading surgeon Dr. Lee Ann Klausner. Our favorite products are Antioxidant
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serum definitely works-this duo is an unbeatable anti-aging team.
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There's nothing less appealing than fake
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Instead, use this gentle liquid foundation
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L
Waterproof
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SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
9
NDS/
THE GAYDAR
p
~~ THEGAYDAR
Takes one to know one? Let our gaydar help
~ you decide who's hot, who's not, who's
~ shaking it and who's faking 1tin lesboland.
~ BY RACHEL SHATTO
~
While we all know that Rick
Perry isn't the brightest
crayon in the box, he takes his
stupidity to new heights (lows?)
by comparing homosexuality to
alcoholism
The Presbyterian Church
hops on board with
marriage equality and we're
so happy we can almost gay
marry them ... almost
l
Turns out the incredibly
popular Sims video game
franchise owes all its
success to a perfectly
timed but accidental
simulated lesbian kiss
at a game expo. First
time-lesbian kisses, they
change everything, sigh
I
'\-~RIA.,v
~
~
III
0
~
!@
{ 61J
(Us
RIP Tara. Yes, our
second favorite
lesbian (Pam
forever) vamp
meets her true
death on True
Blood and that's a
huge bummer
As if Melissa McCarthy
and Susan Sarandon
going on a road trip
isn't enough to sell
us on Tammy. Kathy
Bates and Sandra Oh
play a couple. Adorbs
College
Humor
achieves the
impossible
and makes a
short about
frat guys
watching a
lesbians kiss
that is heartwarming
satire of the
excellent kind,
in "Hottest
Lesbian Kiss
Ever"
P...
1
>-
""
""
u.J
0..
...J
~
:i:
~
What's better
than Orange is
the New Black?
An OITNB kitten
parody, duh
Wedding bells
ring for Melissa
Etheridge and
Linda Wallem,
too!
i
Cf)
S:2
Congrats to Monifah
Carter and her gorgeous
bride Terez Thorpe. The
two marry on the finale
of R&B Divas and there
is nary a dry eye (in the
living room)
iE
Ilene Chaiken is back,
and this time she is
turning her lens on the
Deep South with L-Word
Mississippi: Hate The
Sin. Not sure about that
title, but you can bet
we'll still be tuning in
10
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Maria Bello
announces she
is working on a
memoir about her
"modern family"
and coming out.
Looks like it's time
to start a book club!
And because there's
never enough OITNB
Dani Shay kills with
her theme song
parody "You've Got
My Time." Whew, so
it's not just us that
can't stop watching
i
('.)
0
0
('.)
NDStGOSSIP
~ LESBOFILE
~
~
Angel and Ireland are an item, Hillary struts her
allly stuff and Evan calls foul on hookup rumors.
~
BY JOCELYN VOO
son," he told a Chicago radio station inter-
On the Record
viewer when asked about it. "As far as that
Despite the cuddly lnstagram photos and
is concerned, always believe what you see
racy tweets traded between rapper Angel
with your own eyes."
Haze and model Ireland Baldwin, the
But despite the negative reaction from
media has, for once, decided to downplay
his father, Jay wrote on his Ask.fm blog that
their relations rather than exaggerate it-
his mother and sister have shown incredi-
much to Haze's chagrin.
ble support.
"It's rad in some ways, it sucks in others,"
"My mom was like, 'Baby, you know I love
made a larger stance on political responsibility when it comes to speaking out on
the self-described pansexual told The
you if you were bi, gay, lesbian, you name
Independent. "An interracial gay couple,
it and I would still love you so much,"' he
political angs .... There's a lot of work to be
I mean that's just weird for America right
wrote. "And same with my sister, she told
done, and I believe it's going to come down
to people demanding that those who hold
such matters. "We're living in a time of real
now." Most outlets just call them best
me that she was proud of me, and respects
friends, Haze says, in spite of the PDA photos
me by calling me handsome and calling me
public office start making evidence-based
and suggestive tweets they trade, like "Your
her little brother now, and I love her for that,
decisions again."
body is a canvas. I want to paint it red."
so you know it was great for me."
But make no mistake: this couple, who
met at New York Fashion Week through a
Seems like R. Kelly may be trapped in his
own closet of denial right now.
mutual connection, is red hot. Ireland says
Rebound Rejected
After nearly two years of marriage to actor
Jamie Bell, True Blood actor Evan Rachel
in a May 5 tweet: "Don't let this go to your
Soap Box Strut
Wood was suddenly linked to another
head, but you're the best I've ever had."
Politicians are not unfamiliar with making
recently single actor: Hollywood bad girl
headline-grabbing gaffes. And Republican
Michelle Rodriguez.
Cue the mic drop.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry knows this first-hand
Trapped in the Trans Closet
with one of his most recent blunders that
Breaking her social media hiatus, Wood
took to Twitter to set the record straight.
It's one thing for celebrities to come out in
likened homosexuality with alcoholism:
"Looks like someone is already trying
the public eye. It's another for their kids to.
"Whether or not you feel compelled to
to start a rumor that I 'hooked up' with
And for singer R. Kelly, having his 14-year-
follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have
Michelle Rodriguez at 'An Evening with
old son Jay declare that he's transgender
the ability to decide not to do that."
Women'-I
has been a raw dose of reality.
Media outlets unilaterally jumped on
Michelle Rodriguez."
"You don't really wanna open it up
by saying my daughter is becoming my
12
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
him for his faux pas, but potential 2016
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
have never even said 'hello' to
For those of you who were hoping for a
textbook rebound story-sorry!
•
TRENDS/
"Linda [Perry] has a
habit of domesticating the
squirrels in the backyard ...
she feeds them nuts out of her
hand. I'm less of a squirrel lover,
let's just say that."
-Bad Teacher star Sara
Gilbert to People on the
last time she cringed
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PROFILE
RoeyThorpe
Advocate» Oregon
Roey Thorpe was a child of the Civil Rights and
anti-Vietnam War movements. She stuck up for the
kids that were being bullied, and sometimes got
into trouble for making her voice heard. "Later I
learned about feminist and gay rights pioneers who
moved me with their courage," says Thorpe. "Audre
Larde, Bayard Rustin, Harry Hay, Del Martin, and
Phyllis Lyon, they were my heroes."
In the mid-'90s Thorpe took that energy and
started on her PhD dissertation, an oral history
project of women in Detroit who had lived as
lesbians decades earlier.
"Learning about our history helps us know, first
and foremost, that we have always existed and
been part of people's families and workplaces and
neighborhoods," says Thorpe. "And we learn that we
have a history of resistance and enormous creativity
in the face of overwhelming misunderstanding and
hate, and we have so much to be proud of."
As the Director of Advocacy Programs for
Equality Federation today, Thorpe spends her time
trying to close the gap between the states that
have marriage equality and just about every other
right, and those that have no protections at all. Her
most current project involves consulting with local
activists on passing nondiscrimination
laws in states
where it's still legal to fire someone or deny housing
based on sexual orientation or gender identification.
Thorpe works with grass roots movements
across the country and says that one of the biggest
challenges she sees for the LGBT community is
transphobia. And she's going to try to do whatever
she can to stop it.
"I was in a relationship with a trans man, and I
was so shocked and saddened at the rude remarks
people made and at the kinds of questions they felt
were OK to ask," she recalls. "People I barely knew
asked me such personal questions about my sex
life and my partner, and about my own identity, and
then they wanted to argue with me when I responded.
It was painful, and it made me committed to making
this change." -Sheryl Kay
14
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
November23-30, 2014
Oliviais honored toannounce Bonnie Raitt!
Performingon board November 23rd
AUSTRALIA& NEW ZEALAND
CRUISE ODYSSEY
February
13-24,2015
Joinus for the 25th anniversaryof
Olivia Travelin 2015!
■
POLITICS
»
ADVICE»
COMMUNITY»
Dangerous Style
Are we really what we wear?
BY VICTORIA A. BROWNWORTH
You are what you eat. Weve heard that forever. But-though
no
one comes right out and says it-women, whether they're heads
of state, celebrities, or the average little girl on the street, are
defined and categorized by what they wear.
It starts at birth, when we are swaddled in pink in the maternity
ward, and it doesn't end until the day we die. (Can anyone ever
remember seeing a woman in a coffin wearing pants? I know I can't.)
In the U.K. right now, there is a large~scale feminist protest
against an ad campaign for Clarks children's shoes. At issue is the
sexist language of the ads, "boys test their shoes to destruction,
girls love comfort and style;' as well as the girls' shoes that the
16 CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
company is promoting. They're flimsy and sparkly and not con~
ducive to the kind of hard play that kids engage in. But what little
girl isn't going to want the sparkly shoes when they are promoted
in pink and purple and "Everyone else has them, Mummy"?
Women are taught early on how to perform femininity through
our style of dress. Gender non~conformity is not only deemed
unacceptable, but increasingly, when girls want to dress "like a
boy;' or boys want to dress "like a girl" (as if this isn't already a
fake construct), parents start considering the idea that their child
might be transgender, when, really, they are just doing what kids
do-playing.
VIEWS/POLI
In schools that require children to wear
uniforms, girls wear skirts, boys wear
pants. Girls aren't offered a choice, even
if they feel more comfortable (and safer)
in pants. Skirts hamper girls' movements
and also force them to always think about
whether their underwear will be revealed if
they are climbing, or running, or fall down
while playing. Skirts restrict girls' ability to
do the same things boys are doing because
modesty and safety always have to be in
the forefront of girls' consciousness.
When we are old enough to choose what
we wear and have some clothing autonomy,
we have already been inculcated into what is
"appropriate" for us, including hair accessories, jewelry, makeup, and, of course, shoes.
Even the three female associate justices of
US. Supreme Court have lace around the
collars of their judicial robes.
In interviews during her recent book
tour, former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton [see Book Reviews] talked about
how the media has focused almost as much
on her style of dress as on the issues she's
espoused. Hillary Clinton wears pants,
not skirts. As she describes it, the media
has long been fixated on, if not obsessed
by, her hair and her clothes, while the
hair style and clothing of male politicians
goes unremarked upon. This fixation even
worked its way onto TheTonightShow,after
the announcement that Chelsea Clinton
was pregnant. "If it's a girl, it will get some
of Chelsea's old hand-me-downs, and if it's
a boy, it will get some of Hillary's;' Jimmy
Fallon joked.
This kind of thing would be funnier if the
way women dress didn't get them ignored,
dismissed, harassed, attacked, raped, and
murdered throughout the world.
Style is problematic for women. We may
have a range of choices as to what we wear,
but those choices also impact how we are
perceived in society. Those choices are often
used as one more misogynist hammer to
beat us with. Sometimes literally.
It's easy to point to hijab and burka as
repressive to women. Those articles of
clothing seem to stand out for many as representative of the way women are oppressed
by male-driven views of female modesty.
But as Muslim women who wear hijab will
argue, women in the West are oppressed
by having to reveal most of their bodies in
order to reflect cultural norms. It's a hard
argument to refute.
The way women dress is so central to
the perception of who we are as people
that it is also a component of the crimes
perpetrated against us. On college campuses, young women are urged to be aware
of how they dress so as not to invite rape.
When women are raped, one of the first
questions they are asked is, "What were
you wearingt
The detective who interviewed me after
I was raped and nearly killed asked me
that question. What I was wearing had
nothing to do with why I was attacked in
broad daylight outside my own house.
Yet the question keeps getting asked of
women victims.
The way lesbians dress is often a factor in
hate crimes against them. Women targeted
for "corrective rape" in South Africa have
almost all been butch lesbians who dressed
androgynously. The societal message, as
many men in South Africa have stated, is
that these butch lesbians need to be taught
how to perform femininity. To death.
Raise your hand if someone has ever said
to you "You don't look like a lesbian'' or "You
look like a man:' If a lesbian chooses heteronormative dress, she's told she doesn't look
like a lesbian-sometimes by her own community. But if she chooses a more androgynous or masculine style, she's told she looks
like a man, or is trying to be a man.
Yet for generations, some women who
dress in male attire have been considered
sexy, and the look has cut across a large
swath of popular culture, as well as erotica
and pornography. Whether it's Marlene
Dietrich and Greta Garbo, who dressed
in tuxedos in the 1930s, or singer Janelle
Monae and designer Rei Kawakubo, who
dress that way today, attractive women in
men's clothes have always evoked a sexual
frisson in both men and women.
But that doesn't translate to the everyday woman.
Gender non-conformity in our lesbian style makes us targets. When we do
Janelle Monae, or even just Ellen, we get,
well, shit. Most butch lesbians I know can't
dress butch at work. They can go the Hillary route, but out-and-down butch? Still
not acceptable in 2014 at most jobs.
It's part of the not-so-subtle lesbo-phobia
that runs through both mainstream and
LGBT culture. Women who eschew menespecially those who look like they might
perform masculinity as well or better than
any man-make
everyone uncomfortable.
How can a patriarchal society run smoothly
and oppressively if the women who are lesbians refuse to allow men to tell them what
to do-whether that includes how to dress
or who to have sex with?
Not so long ago, butch lesbians were
dragged out of gay bars and checked to see
if they passed the "three items" rule-in
order to discourage cross-dressers, women
were prohibited from wearing more than
three pieces of men's clothing. I was too
young to even know about it when I was
sneaking into bars with a wink from the
protective older butches who were my lesbian moms. The one and only time I got
caught in a police raid that I wasn't able
to escape, it was because I had the "three
items" problem. I was only 16. How many
thousands of lesbians got arrested just
because they were wearing men's clothes,
even though they were very much women?
The fact is, women are no more what
we wear than men are. Style should be a
manifestation of what we like, what we feel
comfortable in-reflecting only a facet of
who we are. Take high heels. Women who
wear them know they're never comfortable
at first. We may get used to them, and we
may even get to like them, but wearing
them or not shouldn't define who we are as
women. Dressing "like a woman'' or "like a
man" doesn't change your gender-it's just
one more false binary used, inevitably, to
trap women or dismiss them. In the West,
if we dress "provocatively;' we are called
sluts; in Muslim nations, if a woman goes
out without her chador or burka, she can
be beaten, or worse.
If clothes make the man, clothes un-make
the woman. That's the problem with style.
No matter how women dress, our style
puts us in danger. And until that changes,
all of us will still be what we wear, rather
than who we are underneath.•
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
17
HOW
DIDYOU
MEET?
Bikes were going past, our eyes met.
AMANDA: I was working in the Royal
We then had a very romantic 24 hours
going. When I got to the U.K., we were able
Australian Navy, based in Sydney, and
together, before she flew back to the U.K.
to really get to know one another and it
Emma was over in Australia for the first
Unbelievably, I'd forgotten to take her
was clear that we were both very much in
time in 2008 to go to Sydney Mardi Gras.
number but thanks to Facebook I was able
love. However, we still had the matter of
to track her down. Five months later we
10,000 miles of distance to contend with.
EMMA: I had initially intended to spend my
we were determined to keep the contact
were able to see each other again. It was
holiday in California but at the last minute
a long five months but we tried to speak
WAS
ITLOVE
ATFIRST
SIGHT?
caved in to my friends.
to each other as much as possible-being
AMANDA: As two strangers meeting in
in the Navy meant that this was difficult
the street, it's fair to say there was an
AMANDA: We were both watching the
when I was at sea for weeks at a time, but
immediate mutual physical attraction. I
Mardi Gras Parade and as the Dykes on
what we were feeling was very strong and
couldn't stop slyly peering over to look
18 CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
OF
VIEWS/TWO
at her, and I caught her doing the same.
as we didn't know when we would be back
fortunate, it's not been an issue for us,
We were with other friends, so when the
in Australia. I can highly recommend a
especially in London. Occasionally, when
groups started to talk to one another, I
wedding on the beach-it was stunning and
out and about, you can get a few
was able to break the ice. However, I'd
you don't even have to worry about shoes!
unwanted stares.
my friends' persuasions, she would have
WHEN
DIDYOU
DECIDE
TOWORK
TOGETHER
AND
START
ABUSINESS?
had a few too many drinks, which wasn't
garden design service. Emma's background
YOU'VE
BEEN
SELECTED
TOCREATE
ASHOW
GARDEN
ATTHIS
YEAR'S
RHS
HAMPTON
COURT
FLOWER
SHOW
IN
LONDON
FOR
PRIDE.
CAN
YOU
TELL
USMORE?
next morning. There followed a day of
is business whereas my background
AMANDA: Like other gay couples, we have
sightseeing and I even took Emma to the
was garden design and horticulture, so
encountered various degrees of hostility
Navy base and gave her a tour of our ship.
we knew we complemented each other
and negative reactions over the years, even
We didn't want the day to end, but we
and could each bring something to the
for simply holding hands in public. This is
knew time was running out.
business. It was through some early
a key driver in wanting to create the Pride
projects and networking that we began
garden with Stonewall, a charity without
EMMA: I knew I was in trouble when I
to sub-contract with larger landscaping
which we believe our lives would be very
left Sydney and landed in Tokyo for a
companies, which is how we gradually got
different. For the project we will be building
few days. Here I was, in one of the most
into the world of show gardens as well as
a garden which represents a journey from
exciting cities in the world and all I could
running our own design projects.
the constraints of old-fashioned beliefs
freedom. The journey will be highlighted
friends told me that nothing would likely
HOW
DIDWORKING
TOGETHER
ALTER
YOUR
RELATIONSHIP?
come of it and urged me to party but I
EMMA: Working together generally works
pride that segregates two communities.
couldn't help the way I was feeling. A week
well as we both respect each other's skills
It begins at the rear of the garden in a
later, back in London, a huge bouquet of
and ideas. We both share the goal of
dark environment of suppressed planting
flowers arrived-I
wanting to be successful and travel the
and ends in a free, thriving and colorful
going down too well, and if it wasn't for
left! I think we both knew that there was
AMANDA: During my garden design course
something special happening when we
we put a website together to offer a local
agreed to have breakfast together the
and people blinded by pride to a life of
think about was this Australian sailor I had
literally known for just over 24 hours. My
just knew I had to see
her again.
by a series of walls, which represent the
world to take part in all the major shows.
landscape. The planting at the front of
There are times when we clash and end
the garden celebrates natural beauty and
WHEN,
WHERE,
AND
WHY
DID
YOU
DECIDE
TO
GET
MARRIED?
up having a bit of a heated debate, but we
makes use of unusually shaped flowers
always find that we can laugh about things
which emphasize that being different is
AMANDA: After 18 months managing a long
later. I think that is the key to success.
something to be proud of.
Ibiza (where we got engaged), Paris and
WHEN
YOU
HAVE
DISAGREEMENTS
HOW
DOYOU
RESOLVE
THEM?
a wider audience and there will also be
Sydney- Emma took a year out from work
AMANDA: We are no different to other
opportunities to donate directly at the
and came to Australia to live with me. Here
couples-we
we started to make a plan about our future
laugh at each other and enjoy making up!
from the sale of the plants on the last day
together and decided that life would be
We try to avoid going to bed still stewing
of the show will also go to Stonewall.
more straight forward if I left the Navy.
over something and rather deal with things
When thinking about what I wanted to do
as they happen.
distance relationship-with
some romantic
meetups in various locations including
have disagreements but we
next as a career, I decided to follow my
EMMA: The show will hopefully touch
garden, should visitors wish. The proceeds
ANY
ADVICE
FOR
CURVE
READERS
WHO
WANT
TOLIVE
AND
WORK
WITH
THEIR
PARTNERS?
As we were going to be leaving Australia
ARE
YOU
OUT
TOYOUR
CLIENTS
AND
COMMUNITY?
and making a massive commitment for me
AMANDA: We are out to both clients
go for it-when working together, we think
to change countries, we decided to get
and the garden designer community in
it's important to share the same goals and
married on one of our favorite beaches
general. We try to be ourselves and hope
plan for the business, but it's useful to
and demonstrate our commitment to one
that people accept that we are normal. We
have clearly defined roles so that you don't
dream and study garden design in the U.K.
EMMA: We would recommend that couples
another with family and friends. As gay
hope that us living our lives as openly as
clash but have the freedom to do your own
marriage was not yet legal in Australia-as
we can, will encourage others to do the
job, knowing you can consult with each
is still the case four years later-we had a
same. Safety in numbers.
other on matters at any time. Whether
commitment ceremony.
working or living together, it's always about
EMMA: We're not exactly the only gay
communicating properly, enjoying each
EMMA: It was important for us to do
garden designers on the circuit, which
other's company and trusting one another.
something special with Amanda's family
helps. Whether or not we have just been
(amandamillerdesigns.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
19
s1LIPSTICK+DIPSTICK
"Why Do Some Lesbians
Have to Be So Butch?''
The first step in overcoming discrimination is to take a
look deep inside. ev uPsT1cK & 01PsT1cK
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I am bisexual and I have some questions. First, I don't understand
why there is "gay culture" at all. Why is it so important to be separate from "heterosexual" culture?
Also, why do some lesbians have to be butch (or some men have to be queens)? If a woman
doesn't like men, why would she want a woman to be masculine, like a man? I like women,
feminine women, and that makes sense to me. I am a little bit tomboy, in a sense, because I like
men's sports and hate dresses, and I've never been interested in girly stuff. But I am sexy as a
woman, no doubt about it. I don't have to resemble a man to live with my manly side. I do find it
very important to stop discrimination, and make sure that we all have the same legal rights, but
we should make sure that lesbians and gay men don't discriminate either. People fear dating
bisexuals because we aren't 100 percent gay, which, to me, shows ignorance and discrimination.
As for gay culture, I don't think it's as open-minded as it should be. I see divisions within gay
culture. Those with good jobs and a certain lifestyle don't mix with those who are considered
average. As for celebrating Gay Pride, that's something else I've never understood. Why should
anyone be proud of their sexuality? I understand not being ashamed of it-but proud? I'm proud
of myself, yes, but for being able to love a person regardless of their gender. It's my nature. I was
born this way. To be proud of being gay sounds arrogant. We are a lot more than our sexuality.
Not judging, just my opinion. Here's hoping that someday we can all feel we belong in this
world.?-Bisexua/ Babe From Binghamton
/////////H/////////////////////HH//////////////////////////////////////////H///////////////////////////////,W////////////////////H////////////////////////////////////////////H/////////////////////H////////////////////////////////
Lipstick: Bless you, child, for I can tell
you're a young soul and have some big lessons to learn. You're on the cusp though.
While I agree with you on two points-we
are more than our sexuality, and the world
needs less discrimination-I've
got some
pointed feedback on the other stuff.
Why is "gay" culture different from
"straight" culture? Because, until recently,
we've been cast aside, treated as freaks,
and beaten down into a separate space.
Different neighborhoods, different bars,
etc. It's through this enforced segregation
that we've given birth to a culture that is
uniquely queer-a
colorful child who often
loves to dance and prance. None of us set
out to create a distinct culture, and some
LGBTs (like yourself) may not fully embrace every aspect of it, but it happened
organically. It is also akin to what happens
in nature when a flower somehow finds
its way through a crack in the sidewalk.
20
CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
Once it breaks through, it stands there,
bias yourself. Instead of worrying about
all alone, until others also find their way
how others choose to define themselves,
to the sunlight. Then, before you know it,
look at your own internalized butch-pho-
suddenly there's a large patch of flowers,
bia. My guess is, your abhorrence of all
and they're beautiful and strong because
things manly in a woman is due to your
they've worked hard to survive. Eventually,
discomfort with that aspect of yourself,
just as we're witnessing in our world right
which is itching to jump out. Not judging,
now, the concrete will decompose and dis-
just my opinion.
appear, and the rest of the greenery will fill
in the gaps. Soon, then, it will be nothing
Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I have this
but one big, glorious, blended garden.
amazing girlfriend, and we have been
Why do some lesbians have to be butch?
together for more than three years now.
Dip, I'll punt this juicy morsel to you.
A few months ago, I started taking care
of my nails and now they are lovely, but
Dipstick: BBB, let me put it this way. Why
pretty sharp and long. The problem is, I
do you have to be bisexual? Why do you
love them like this but I hurt my girl every
have to like both men and women? Why
time we're having sex. She has pretty
can't you choose just one-because
obvi-
sensitive skin down there. What can I do
ously that would make everyone around
to keep my nails pretty, but also have safe
you more comfortable. Is it something
and fun sex with my girlfriend without
you just woke up one day and decided to
hurting her?-Sa//y Scissorhands
do? When you know the answer to that
question, you'll have the answer to why
Lipstick: Lesbian 101's first rule is "Keep
some of us are a bit more boy-like, or
Your Nails Short," so give your girlfriend's
queenish. Like you, we were born this way.
coach a break and file those things down.
And, thankfully, we have a gay culture that
No one wants to get fresh with Freddy
embraces us for being our true selves. If I
Kruger.
want to wear a trucker hat and Carhartts,
I know that my gay people are going to
Dipstick: Lipstick, I'm surprised that you
love and support me for that. Likewise, I
of all people would tell a feisty femme
embrace my queenly brothers, those who
to cut her PowerPoints. That's like asking
choose to roller-skate through life in skin-
Wonder Woman to take off those golden
tight short shorts and big rainbow boas,
bracelets or Melissa Etheridge to put
flowing fabulousness wherever they roam.
down her guitar. There's no need to cut
Lipstick: Word, Dip. Why do we celebrate
Just slap on a pair of latex gloves. Double
Gay Pride? We're proud because we've
up, if you have to. They will protect your
once been ashamed, and deeply so.
pretty nails and her pretty hootenanny.
back those lovely nails you've cultivated.
Many of our brothers and sisters are still
Use plenty of lube and see how many
reconciling that indignity, but those of us
fingers you can fit inside.
who have are damn proud of it. It's not an
easy skin to shed, and our heterosexual
Lipstick: Those switchblades will rip
(and maybe even bisexual) counterparts
through latex faster than my nana's toe-
will never understand its weight. They've
nails pierce her pantyhose. What needs
never been sliced by the horror of being
to happen, Sally, is for you to get out your
turned away at the ER when their girlfriend
emery board and dull down those dag-
has been in an accident. They've never
gers. Go about halfway and see if that's
been unwelcome in their parents' home, or
enough. Be sure you keep the edges
humiliated in school hallways. And they've
wide and round, not pointy and narrow.
never been a pawn in the circus that is
Lesbians and long nails only go together
media and politics. We're proud and we
in porn videos.
celebrate because we can't help ourselves.
The sea change has come and the joy
Do you have a burning
runneth over.
question for Lipstick
Dipstick: Take a look deep inside, BBB.
ask@Ii pstickd i pstick.com
& Dipstick? Write to
While you plead for gays and lesbians to
embrace bisexuals, you display such utter
The Baby Bump
One couple's unexpected encounter with Planned Parenthood.
BY SARAH TOCE
'You do know that the Viagra prescription
isn't covered by your insurance, right?" the
clerk asked my wife at the drive-through
window.
Uncontrollable laughter ensued, and if
we had both been drinking milk at that
moment, it would've shot straight out of
our nostrils.
'Tm here for my folic acid prescription-I
don't need Viagra;' I answered."That's someone else's medication:'
The reality about trying to conceive is
that you end up taking medications you
never knew existed, and then you're told to
try some more. For instance: birth control.
I've been married to my wife, Steph, for
over six years, and, as effective as one little
pill per day might be in keeping unwanted
pregnancies at bay-and I say this with all
due respect-we didn't have that problem.
Taking birth control pills in order to get
pregnant might have been the most unnatural idea I'd ever heard of (turns out, you
take them for several reasons), until the
day I had to have a dilation and curettage
at Planned Parenthood in order to terminate a pregnancy. Now, that concept was
even more mind-blowing than the birth
control. The procedure was necessary to
abort an unhealthy pregnancy, but still, it
just felt wrong. This pregnancy cycle was
22
CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
supposed to work-at least I thought so.
I was a healthy woman, 30 years old, who
had gotten pregnant on the very first try. I
was a rare bird. Except that the numbers
were consistently low from the moment
we obtained the positive lab result. We
obeyed all the doctors' and nurse practitioners' orders at Overlake Reproductive
Health, a clinic we had come to know and
love in Bellevue, Wash., yet six weeks of
blood tests, ultrasounds, visits to the doctor, and reading more material than I care
to recollect all led to this one moment at
Planned Parenthood.
Perhaps the hardest words to hear were
from the ultrasound technician: "It's beautiful and in the perfect spot, right in the center
of the uterus, but the sac is just empty:'
"So then I'm not pregnant, right?" I ask.
"Your body will continue to act as
though it is pregnant until the hormones
realize it's empty and not going to result
in a healthy baby-then
it will naturally
abort. It could take two weeks, a month, or
longer;' the doctor told us.
0 K. So I'm not pregnant, but I am
pregnant.
None of it made sense and, ultimately,
you have to trust that someone "out there,
up there, over there;' knows what they're
doing, because you sure as hell have no
OK.
SOl'MNOT
PRtGNANT,
BUT
I AMPRtGNANT.
NONt
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StNSt
AND,
UlTIMATtlY,
YOU
HAVt
TOTRUST
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SOMtONt
'OUT
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UPTHtRt,
OVtR
THtRt,'
KNOWS
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VIEWS/AD
idea-and that may be the first sign of becoming a mother-having, literally, no idea
what you are actually meant to be doing.
The out-of control feeling is not a happy
experience for someone who runs her own
successful brand. Any way you slice it, I
am successful for a reason, and it's most
likely not because I'm spiraling out of control or allowing others to take the reins.
I'm used to fending for myself and making things that shouldn't work, well, work.
When they don't, nothing seems to make
any sense. "What do you mean, it didn't
work? No, that wasn't in my plan ... "
The day had arrived to have the procedure and I was having mixed emotions.
You know those "surprise" gift bags they
sell for a dollar, the ones that kids beg their
parents for because you have no idea what's
inside? That gift bag had nothing on me.
The lobby was organized chaos because
the doctor had missed her ferry ( something that, undoubtedly, happens only
in Seattle). There were at least 50 people
in the waiting room already and the center had just opened, but I had slipped in
under the radar because of my special
circumstances. I wasn't at Planned Parenthood to abort a baby. I was at Planned
Parenthood to facilitate a miscarriage.
Up until the time I put the gown on
(and even a few weeks after the procedure) my hormones were insane-PMS
on steroids with a pinch of liquid nitro-
gen. And for what? There was no chance
of a healthy pregnancy, and the longer I
waited, the more anxiety-driven my world
became. My wife was beside herself with
worry, and my close friends, who knew
about my "special circumstances;' were becoming more confused with each passing
day. And they tell pregnant women not to
stress. It's quite the impossible situation to
be in, especially for the pregnant woman
carrying an empty sac for six weeks.
The entire process lasted about 15 minutes, and before I realized what was happening, it was over. A burst of relief and
sadness flooded over me for the remainder
of the day, but a stop at Cupcake Royale
with a dear friend helped to lift my spirits. Being the journalist that I am, all I
could think about was, How am I going
to tell this story? It was such an odd circumstance, such an extraordinary situation, that words failed me-even
when
attempting to write-which,
again, for a
control freak, wasn't cop acetic.
Some actions you must take on your
own to fully understand the gravity of
them. I'd written about Planned Parenthood 100 times over in my career, but,
being a gay woman, never in my wildest
dreams could I have imagined I'd one
day be in need of their services. We are
so quick to judge others and imagine we
know the reasons for everything they do,
don't do, or should be doing. Sometimes
the story isn't black and white, and the
hook is found simply in the showing up
and being present.
We waited the mandatory cycle to try
again and the result was negative. In a
meeting with the generous doctors at
Overlake, they said it might be worth
conducting a pregnancy loss panel, which
is basically testing 20 vials of blood for
abnormalities. We did the test and everything came back just fine. June is Pride
month in the U.S. and our busiest time of
the year for advertising, sponsorships, promotional parties, and such, so we decided
to wait to try again until we could settle
ourselves down and-clearing
throatrelax. Stay tuned.
In sharing my story with Curve readers,
I had a choice. I could tell the truth as it
happened, or I could save face and edit the
events that occurred-or
act like none of
it ever happened. I've never been one to
mince words, and the truth is that when
going through such an emotional rollercoaster ride such as this one has been, you
start looking for a reason. Why did this
happen? What was I meant to learn about
myself through this? What was this experience meant to teach others? All of these
thoughts, questions and concerns ran
through my mind before submitting this
story. However, one prevailed and that is
why you're reading it today.
"There is a reason this is happening. It is
to help others:'
Clear as day, I heard it. That little voice
inside that Oprah calls a whisper ... it is indeed a whisper. I've felt it all my life and
it's never steered me wrong. I knew in that
moment that the story needed to be told,
and that editing myself was not an option.
Yes, you're a lesbian, but you may need
Planned Parenthood one day, whether you
think you will or not. •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
23
0
n June 4, in Washington, D.C.,
Marriott International hosted a
launch party for #LoveTravels,
a provocative portrait series by celebrated
photographer Braden Summers that fea~
tures out pro basketball player Jason Col~
lins, model and transgender rights activist
Geena Rocero, and other LGBT influenc~
ers and achievers.
Also in attendance were Judy and Dennis
24
CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
Shepard, and Tammy Baldwin ( the first
woman elected to represent Wisconsin
in the Senate and the first openly gay
U.S. Senator in history). Jason Collins
presented to Judy and Dennis Shepard a
signed No. 98 jersey in honor of their son,
Mathew Shepard. Earlier in the day, Col~
lins and Rocero unveiled their images from
the campaign on iconic Marriott proper~
ties. (marriottlovetravels.com) •
T
imes Square and Broadway, traditionally the place where hopefuls
dream of seeing their name in lights,
became the setting for the dreams of foster
kids at the opening of the Heart Gallery
NYC Pride Photo Exhibition on June 9,
where eyes and hearts were focused on
the 12 larger-than-life portraits of LGBT
youth and 24 other foster children.
"My feet hurt so bad. These shoes
weren't hefty enough for what I faced. All
my life I've been running from pain ... Racing;' shared Brieanna, one of the LGBT
foster youth whose portrait is part of the
exhibition. She continued to read her
poem to the mesmerized audience, ''All
my life. I've lived in 50 places, clothes left
behind, different faces. Different races
with different thoughts. Different minds
with different taunts. They left me behind
and barely checked on me. Social workers
making promises like soon-to-be-dads:'
The opening of the Heart Gallery NYC
Pride Photo Exhibition, which ran June
10-20 at the Times Square Museum
& Visitors Center, and was free to the
public, gathered more than 270 LGBT
foster youth, celebrity photographers,
prospective adoptive families, Broadway
performers, electeds and guests who filled
the Times Square Museum and Visitors
Center to launch the first-time photo exhibit which shared a unified goal of finding
"forever" families and a loving and stable
home environment for foster children.
The exhibition honored the nearly 12,000
N.Y.C. children living in foster care and the
hundreds waiting and ready to be adopted.
(heartgallerynyc.org) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
25
FILM»
The Next Wave
Charlotte Lagarde has a passion for surfing and women's stories.
BY MARCIE BIANCO
ith over two decades of experience in the film
industry, director and producer Charlotte
Lagarde is invested in making storytelling a
public act that raises awareness and creates
community. As a lifelong swimmer and surfer, Lagarde has focused
her lens on telling the stories of women's surfing communities, from
the three generations of women nurturing each other in Swell to
her intimate portrait of the Hawaiian surfing legend Rell Sunn in
Heart of the Sea: Kapolioka'ehukai. Lagarde's award~winning films
Beautiful Son, Voting in America, Swell and Zeef were broadcast
on PBS stations and the Sundance Channel. Heart of the Sea, also
broadcast on PBS, has garnered numerous accolades, including the
2003 PBS/Independent Lens Audience Award, the Best Docu~
mentary Award at the Ashland Independent Film Festival and the
Audience Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
Currently at work producing Deann Borshay Liem's In the Matter
of Cha Jung Hee and Geographiesof Kinship-The Korean Adoption
26
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Story, Lagarde finds respite in traipsing through Brooklyn with her
partner, multimedia artist Jen Bervin, and their funny little dog,
Tender Buttons.
What is it about women surfing that compelled you to make
these films?
Well, I've always loved strong women and the ocean. Water is my
element. As a child, I was a competitive swimmer. I grew up on the
Atlantic coast of Brittany. I spent my childhood summers sailing
with my cousins on a lake in the Alpson the lake in the Alps and on
my grandfather's sailboat in the Mediterranean where my mother
read us The Odyssey. I picked up windsurfing as soon as the sport
was invented. When I moved to Los Angeles, there was no wind, so
I looked into surfing. I was shocked to see mainly men and what I
experienced as a very aggressiveculture toward women and the water.
In surfing advertisements and films, the only images of women
were as bimbos and sex objects. When I met Zeu£ she introduced
There is a constant element of surprise with
water, which can take so many forms. I love
its strength and its beauty. It's a good reminder that we are very small. For Rell and
for Zeu£ it was also a healing place. Water
is something that keeps me balanced. As far
as symbolism, you can't really go wrong with
water. It flows as a narrative. It is reflective.
Zeuf (1994), Swell (1996), and Heart of
the Sea (2003) all feature women who
find strength or solace through surfing.
I'm interested in people who are overcoming trauma, and Zeuf and Rell embodied
a way that one can go through something
very difficult without being a victim-and
actually have it become a source of strength
and a commitment to living life fully and
positively. That was something that was
lacking in the media and in film. Really,
what connects these films is Zeu£ She is
the one who introduced me to the community in Santa Cruz and to the amazing
story of Rell, who was already a legend in
Hawaii and among surfers, but otherwise
was unknown in the culture at large. The
film about Zeuf was more iconic-the
Amazon that came out of the water and
took me back in.
How did you meet Zeuf?
me to a community that was quite different. She taught me how to sur£ I wanted
to show another way of being in the ocean.
When did you become a filmmaker?
In the early 1990s. I joined the Los Angeles chapter of Women's Action Coalition
(WAC), a feminist direct-action organization founded in the aftermath of the Anita
Hill testimony. I became the WAC videographer and recorded our demonstrations.
So making films about women surfers was
a way of merging my strong feminist beliefs
and my love of the ocean.
Water is a theme in the trilogy but how
does it also function in the storytelling?
In 1994, I started the documentary master's program at Stanford University. I
needed a subject for my first film. A photographer I had met at WAC kept talking
about this nurse in the ICU at Highlands
Hospital in Oakland who was a surfer, an
incredible athlete, and young breast cancer
survivor. I called her and she invited me
down to Santa Cruz to interview her. She
was living in a surf shack a few hundred feet
from the ocean. It was pouring rain that day
and the sound of the rain on the corrugated
metal roof was deadly. To muffle the sound
outside, I created a tent with blankets suspended over chairs. We sat inside of it on
the carpet and I recorded our conversation.
We were whispering to each other like kids,
creating a world where it was safe to share
secrets. This conversation was the basis
for my first film, Zeuj, a portrait of Robin
"Zeuf" Janiszeufski, who used surfing to
recover from her mastectomy. Zeufbecame
the first woman to paddle the 32 miles
across Monterey Bay, one of the deepest
channels in the Pacific infamous for its rip
currents and sharks. The film was shown
in over 30 countries. It launched my career
as a filmmaker and was also the start of
an intimate friendship with Zeu£ who introduced me to the community of women
surfers that inspired my next two films.
I hear you're working on a sequel?
Last March, Zeuf asked me if I would do
a follow-up film. She had learned that her
cancer, which had metastasized six years
before, had spread again, this time to her
head and her liver. I went out to Santa Cruz,
Cali£, very ambivalent about making a film
about her dying because I did not want her
to die. We talked at length and decided to
embark on a film about our friendship. This
film has forced me to break the observational barrier at the most vulnerable times.
Filming Zeuf and me during the last eight
months of her life was even harder than I
had imagined. Sometimes I just could not
film. Zeuf would turn the camera on me
and ask me why. I realized that while she
was comfortable about being filmed, and at
peace with dying, I was not yet.
It was Zeuf who introduced you to Rell?
She spoke very highly about this Hawaiian
surfer, Rell Sunn. She had read about Rell's
battle with cancer and her incredible feats
as a water woman in The Suifer's Journal.
When Zeuf was diagnosed with breast
cancer, she wrote to Rell and asked for advice. Meanwhile, I was looking into making
a film about the history of women surfers. I
asked Zeuf to put us in touch. When I first
reached out to Rell, she was very sick, and
she declined. Then she got better, and out
of the blue, she called me and asked if I was
still interested in filming her. I was just out
of grad school and broke. Jane McKenzie,
one of the surfers in Swell, gave us a thousand dollars. We packed our camera equipment, bought round-trip tickets to Hawaii
and a couple of weeks later we were meeting
Rell in Makaha. I learned later that Zeuf
had orchestrated the whole thing. It still
puts a smile on my face.
How has your life been affected by working with these amazing women?
They have taught me to live my life fully,
with passion, intention, compassion and
always grace and humor. When facing
tough choices, I often find myself thinking,
What would Zeuf do? Though I have lost
many dear friends, Zeuf is the one who introduced me to my own mortality. Now, I
see it as so much a part of life-something
you live towards with a certain curiosity.
(swellcinema.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
27
She's Ready
Two new books look at Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
BY VICTORIA
A. BROWNWORTH
he's back! Hillary Clinton hit
the book tour circuit on June
10 with Hard Choices, a new
memoir about her days as
secretary of state.
Seeing Clinton back in the public eye
has ignited speculation that she will run
for president again in 2016. She looked a
lot like she was campaigning-Supreme
Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor and Rep.
John Lewis (D~Ga.) both turned up at
the Costco warehouse in northern Vir~
ginia where she was signing books, mak~
ing it a perfect occasion for impromptu
selfies, especially with Sotomayor in capris
and a T~shirt!
S
28
CURVE
SEPTEMBER 2014
And maybe because Clinton has looked
so much like she's campaigning, the media
has felt they could start to treat her like
a presidential hopeful. In Clinton's first
exclusive interview since she left the State
Department in February ( and right before
her book hit the shelves), ABC's Diane
Sawyer was poking and prodding, trying
to draw blood. And Sawyer was just the
first. All of which raises questions: Can
women have power in the U.S.? Can a
woman ever be president?
The journalist Marianne Schnall, who
also runs the website Feminist.com, shifts
the tone of those perennial questions in
her immensely readable and inspiring new
book from Seal Press, What Will It Take
to Make a Woman President?
Schnall got the idea for the book when
her S~year~old daughter asked her, "Why
haven't we ever had a woman president?"
That context is both heartbreaking and
compelling as it propels Schnall on a quest
to get answers-for her daughter, for her~
sel£ for every woman and girl in America.
What Will It Take to Make a Woman
President? is a collection of amazing inter~
views with some of the top female political
leaders in the U.S., as well as many notable
feminists and women who are well~known
for leadership. Many big names are here,
old and young, straight and lesbian, married
REVIEWS/
and single. There are even a few men, like
Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times
and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom,
who when he was mayor of San Francisco
famously went ahead and married samesex couples because it was right. Among
those couples were the iconic lesbian activists Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who had
been together for 51 years.
And although this is clearly a left-leaning
book, there are a few Republicans in the
mix, such as up-and-coming Latina political
strategist Ana Navarro and Senators Olympia Snowe and Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Everyone will want to read what Nancy
Pelosi, Gloria Steinem, Maya Angelou,
Anita Hill, Eleanor Holmes Norton,
Sheryl Sandberg, Donna Brazile, Melissa
Etheridge, and all the other notable women in the book have to say. Their perspectives are certainly wide-ranging.
What is remarkable about this collection is how each interview builds on the
last to form a complete picture of why we
need and deserve a female president. As
Steinem, who just turned 80, says, "Experience is everything. Somebody who
has experienced something is more
expert at it than the experts. We
need politicians who look like the
country:'
Sandberg, the COO of Facebook,
says,"The word'female; when inserted
in front of something, is always with
a note of surprise-female
COO,
female pilot, female surgeon-as if
the gender implies surprise, which it
does. I am a female leader. One day
there won't be female leaders. There
will just be leaders:'
Schnall tells us if we want a female leader-a woman presidentwe have to focus our attention on
changing the narrative created by
our sexist and misogynist society.
Schnall writes, "Sexist news coverage and the sexualization and
objectification of women and girls
in television and magazines impact
not only a woman's self-perception,
but how men view women as well.
-
Studies show that when media coverage
focuses on a female politician's appearance,
she pays a price in the polls. Many interviewees pointed to the sexist media coverage that Hillary Clinton was subjected
to during her 2008 campaign-with
commentators saying things like, 'When Hillary Clinton speaks, men hear "Take out
the garbage"' -and expressed the need for
fair and accurate coverage. The media need
to be held accountable, and we all need to
be conscious about what media we consume and support:'
Today, the media is back in sexist gear
with regard to Hillary Clinton, the likely
2016 Democratic candidate for president
and the most experienced and qualified candidate in decades. Both sides are already using Clinton's new book as a partisan stick, as
they re-craft the sexist message of the 2008
Democratic primary for 2016.
Unsurprisingly, Hard Choices,by Hillary
Rodham Clinton and published by Simon
& Schuster, has gotten mixed reviews. The
left-leaning New York Times calls it"a subtle,
finely calibrated work that provides a portrait of the former secretary of state and for-
BOOKS
mer first lady as a heavy-duty policy wonk:'
The left-leaning Los Angeles Times calls
the book "a richly detailed and compelling
chronicle of Clinton's role in the foreign initiatives and crises that defined the first term
of the Obama administration ... and teems
with small, entertaining details about her
interactions with foreign leaders:'
The center/right-leaning New Republic
reviews the NYT review (not the book but
the review!), with the headline "Hillary
Clinton, Michiko Kakutani, and How Not
to Write a Book Review:' The National
Review, a neo-con right-wing policy mag,
reviewed close to 1,000 Amazon reader
reviews-which were almost equally partisan and gave the book either one star or
five stars. It was the equivalent of asking
people on the street what they thought.
(Many of the one-star reviews begin with
"Lies, lies, lies:')
But across the pond in the U.K., The
Guardian, with no political axe to grind,
takes the book-and
Clinton-apart
not to eviscerate, but to deconstruct. In
doing so, the paper grants her "thoroughness" and "clarity:' "She is a disaggregator;'
it claims, meaning that she breaks
things down, sees the larger picture,
finds a plan, makes it work. In sum,
The Guardian notes, "The U.S. could
do worse than having [Hillary Clinton] as their next president:'
It's thought provoking to read
these two books together-a
neo-feminist perspective on why
America is past due for a female
president and then the step-by-step
details of what it would mean for a
woman to be president in the 21st
century. These aren't short booksSchnall's is just under 400 pages
and Clinton's is nearly 700-but
this reader came away from the confluent experience with a keen sense
of how to get a woman in the White
House and why Hillary Clinton
would be a smart, incisive, and focused president, one we would all
know was definitely up to the job,
irrespective of her gender. •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
29
1 he Best of British Reads
1
The U.K.turns the page in lesbian fiction.
he 2014 Lambda Literary Prize for Lesbian Romance was won by British
author Andrea Bramhall
for her novel Clean Slate,
published by Bold Strokes Books. It marks
a wonderful resurgence in British les-fic
over the last couple of years.
The U.K. has a proud tradition of women writers, going back to Jane Austen, the
Brontes, and George Eliot. Who knows
which, if any, had hidden Sapphic tendencies. From the early 20th century we
see the emergence of lesbian writer Radclyffe Hall, bisexual Virginia Wool£ and the
'70s and '80s was a golden era with The
Women's Press, Silver Moon, and Virago
imprints. But since that time, the strength
and depth have faded. We do have some
well-known and award-winning lesbian
authors who have crossed into the mainstream-Jeanette
Winterson, Val McDermid, Sarah Waters, Manda Scott-all of
whom have written f/ f and m/ f stories.
But until recently, the les-fic shelf has
seemed bare.
It may be that the death of the women's
presses in the U.K. stymied young authors,
and the growth of fan fiction and indie
publishing allowed them a voice. But now,
many British authors have been picked
up by publishers in the States; prominent
among them is Bold Strokes Books.
Some of these women are writing exceedingly good books. Bramhall's Clean Slate is
one of them: A romance full of emotional
T
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ev suE FIDLER
suspense, it deals with how serious issues
such as abuse, and abandonment affect
our relationships, but with a lightness of
touch and flicker of humor to sweeten the
read. Her latest novel, Nightingale,is a stunning exploration of how arranged or forced
marriages can damage the lives of Muslim
women in the West and follows one victim
of abduction back to Pakistan and to a life of
imprisonment and abuse.
Amy Dunne's Secret Lies is a finalist for
a Goldie Award (from the Golden Crown
Literary Society) in the Young Adult category. On the one hand, it is a tale of emerging lesbian love; on the other, it is a serious
exploration of abuse and self-harm, and
the impact they can have on young girls'
personal and public lives.
Clare Ashton produces exquisitely written novels. Her first two were slightly dark
and unusual romances; her third and latest, That Certain Something (Breezy Tree
Press), offers the best of British rom-com,
revealing a particular social landscape in
the style of an Ealing comedy, with a wonderful ensemble cast and a joyful sense of
timing, pace, and style.
In The Girl with the Treasure Chest
(Village Books), Veronica Fearon has produced a gritty, hard, and demanding first
novel exploring the dark side of London
gangs. The twist is that not only is the
main character a boi-she is the gang boss.
Cari Hunter's three novels are all exciting and well-crafted action/ thrillers. Each
one is different in terms of setting and
plot: In Snowbound, she creates for us a
hostage situation in England; in Desolation
Point, a thrilling chase through the North
Cascades in Washington; and in Tumbledown, an FBI-led pursuit across Maine.
All are from Bold Strokes Books.
The list goes on, signaling the emergence of many wonderful women writers
and a growing sense of community. It's a
delight to have British lesbians creating
such good books, and Bramhall's Lambda
win just confirms that judges in the U.S.
are becoming aware of them as well. So
branch out, support the community, and
explore the works of today's great British
writers. You'll be glad you did.
Sue Fidler writes as the VelvetLounger on
the LesbianReadingRoom at curvemag.com.
•
REVIEWS/
FOOD
friend thought we would hit it off as friends.
We exchanged business cards platonically
and it quickly turned into something more.
Natasha was actually the first woman I'd
ever dated! We got married in N.Y. in 2012.
When did you decide to go into business
together?
On our first date, Natasha started talking
about how she was making ice cream and
cookies and naming them after architects. I
thought that was genius and I wanted in
immediately!
What does architecturally-inspired ice
cream mean?
Well, Natasha had
this thesis project
called Farchitecture
- (food+ architecture)
back at UCLA grad
school and its goal was
to figure out ways that
food and design influence and enhance each
other. Coolhaus was
born from this quirky
concept and is a triple entendre named after
our favorite architect Rem Koolhaas, the Bauhaus design movement, and that an ice cream
sandwich is a cold house with cookie slab and
roof and ice cream walls.
What's the craziest flavor combo that
you tried that actually worked?
FOOD»
ummer may be quickly disappearing into fall, but like a dessert at the end of a great meal,
weve saved summer's sweetest
treat for last: Cool Haus gourmet ice cream.
The lovechild of business and life partners Natasha Case and Freya Estreller,
Cool Haus began in 2008 with one used
food truck, selling their architecturally inspired (more on that later) ice cream and
cookie sandwiches at the Coachella music
festival. An instant hit, Cool Haus now
boasts 11 trucks in three states and can be
found in Whole Foods all across the nation.
They've developed a cult following including A- Listers like Will Farrell and Angelina
S
Jolie (they even catered a birthday party at
her house). Plus they've released a book!
So what exactly makes Cool Haus so
special? No doubt it's their sweet and savory flavors that you never knew you always
wanted to try. Beer & Pretzles, Brown Candied Bacon, or Cuban Cigar are all on the
menu-and that's just the beginning. They
are natural, handmade and organic (whenever possible) from hormone-free dairy.
Co-founder Estreller shares Cool Haus'
unique story.
How did you first meet?
We met at a mutual Cornell friend's birthday party back in November 2008. Our
I would say either our Peking Duck ice
cream (Peking duck skins, hoisin sauce,
Chinese 5-spice base and crushed fortune
cookies) or our Ants on a Log ice cream (celery and peanut butter ice cream with raisins)
that we actually made for Portlandia and in
honor of their "Celery" episode for SXSW
this year. Both are surprisingly delicious.
What's the craziest flavor combo you
tried that didn't work?
Waldorf Salad ice cream. Do not use aged
cheese in ice cream, especially blue cheese.
What's your favorite flavor?
Mine is our Makers Mark Manhattan
with bourbon, vermouth, and Italian sour
cherries. Natasha's is our dirty mint chip
with fresh mint leaves and brown sugar.
(eatcoolhaus.com) •
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N
o disrespect to Beyonce but
she is not a "survivor:' For all
her good looks and soaring
vocals-and
she may well
be a lovely person-Beyonce
is a pop star.
Mary Gauthier, on the other hand, is
a survivor. Born in Louisiana and adopted
shortly after her birth, Gauthier was a
teenage runaway. She hung out with drug
addicts and drag queens, moved around a
lot, became addicted to alcohol and heroin, and, at a particularly low point, even
wound up in jail. She didn't write her first
song until she was 35.
Since the late '90s, over the course of
seven studio albums, Gauthier has become
one of the best songwriters of her generation. Her 2010 album, The Foundling,is a
song cycle that deals with the pain of being abandoned as a infant, the unshakable
sense of rootlessness that led her to search
for her birth mother, and her birth mother's
decision to not have a relationship with her
(chronicled in the disc's harrowing centerpiece, "March 11, 1962"). The Foundling
was one of the best albums of 2010, hands
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down. Does Gauthier equal the lofty songwriting of that album on her new album,
Troubleand Love2Remarkably, yes.
This record is similar to The Foundling
in a couple of ways: first, in that it too is
a song cycle of sorts, and second, in that
it deals with a loss. But rather than exploring issues of family, Gauthier turns
her gaze to matters of the
heart this time around. There
are only eight songs on Trouble and Love. Gauthier-who
coproduced the disc in Nashville with Patrick Granadoexplains, "I [originally] wrote
35 or 36 songs and it turns out
that the eight that are on it are
exactly what I needed to tell
this story. These are the ones
that are the best and that tell the
story in a chronological way:'
Gauthier is not one for small
talk either; she cuts through
the preliminaries and gets right
down to business on Trouble
and Love. The opening track,
"When a Woman Goes Cold;' is probably
one of the most powerful songs she's ever
written. Anyone who has lived through
that moment when your partner-specifically your female partner-shuts
down
and turns into a stranger before your
eyes will relate to these lyrics. "It's not a
voluntary thing;' says Gauthier. "There's
REVIEWS/MUSIC
something in the DNA that shuts a
woman down. And she's gone! It's not a
choice anymore. She might wanna come
back, and she cannot. I've gone through it
more than once;' she continues. ''I've actu~
ally been that person [who goes cold] as
well. So I've been on both sides of it. And
having been alive for a while, I know that
it's not a unique situation to me-that
it
happens to people. I didn't realize how
much it happens to people until I started
playing the song out, and women came
rushing to me. I thought I wrote a dude's
song, really. I thought I wrote one of
those lesbian songs that men can go, 'Oh,
fuck yeah!'...But one of the things that
this song has done is that it explains this
as a phenomenon-a
universal human
phenomenon. So that when it's happened
to someone and they don't know what the
fuck just hit 'em, they can say, 'Well, she's
gone cold. Look, there's this song!' It puts
it into a context, so it's not so personal:'
From there, Trouble and Love contin~
ues through the aching tide track to the
old~timey blues of"Oh Soul" to what may
be my favorite song on the album, "How
You Learn to Live Alone:'
With a deceptively simple melody and
lyric, Gauthier manages to convey the
incredible sadness and resignation that
accompany the aftershock of being left.
Of the tune, which has been featured on
the TV series Nashville, Gauthier says,
"In this song, there's an acceptance. I'm
not fighting it anymore. You know, the
final stage of grief is acceptance. And
once you get to acceptance, there's peace,
there's healing, and there's also gonna be
love again. So, with this song, the record
takes a turn:'
The final song on the album, ''Another
Train;' takes it a step further. To her cred~
it, though she goes deep into the darkness,
Gauthier doesn't point fingers, and she ends
Trouble and Love by letting in some light.
"The last line of the record is,'There's gonna
be another train: You know, I'll find my way
back to love... This was a mighty, mighty
blow. It brought me to my knees and I
stayed there for quite a while;' she laughs.
"But it didn't kill me. I'm standing back up,
and I'm getting to the station, and there
will be another train. Human resilience is
a thing to behold:' The words of a survivor.
(marygauthier.com) •
HOT
LICKS))
BYRACHELSHATTO
Openly queer and proudly feminist, stripper turned up-and-coming
rapper Brooke Candy is hard, if not impossible defme. Most will
recognize her from her unforgettable performance in Grimes'
"Genesis" video, but that is all about to change-the sense that she
is about to break out big, is nearly palpable. Visually, Candy is a
mixture of goth, sci-fl, and ratchet culture. On her EP, Opulence
(which was produced by Sia Furler) Candy embodies her role as
provocateur. Her lyrics are highly sexualized, in your face and utterly
unapologetic, making her music as confrontational as it is catchy.
I
Royksopp
andRobyn
DoItAgain
(Cnerrytree
Recoros/lnterscope)
Swedish musician Robyn had long been near and dear to lesbian
hearts, and her latest outing, a collaboration with Royksopp for
this "mini album," is just more fuel to fan our fangirl flames. The
album is both experimental and full of the familiar electro-pop
beats, catchy hooks and wit that has become Robyn's calling
card. The standout track on the record, "Sayit," features the
unique duet of Robyn and a very cheeky Speak & Spell. It's yet
another example of how her willingness to not take things so
seriously makes her a joy to listen to. "Do It Again" is sure to move
fans of a more traditional dance track, while "Every Little Thing
I Do" slows things down to show off Robyn's sweet vocals-and
rounds out a deeply satisfying, if brief, track list.
SEPTEMBER
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After Happily
Ever After
FINALLY,A LESBIANSERIESFOR SETTLED-DOWN FOLKS
n June 4, America's hottest new couple headed to
TV on Pivot as part of its
Pride programming. The
Better Half was created
by and stars real-life couple Lindsay Hicks
and Amy Jackson Lewis and follows them
through the day-to-day hurdles of making
a relationship work. While it pokes fun at
the cliches about lesbian relationships, the
series also reveals the more poignant upsand-downs every couple faces. Jackson
Lewis and Hicks took time out to answer
a few questions about this better-thanmost series.
0
How did the two of you first meet?
Jackson Lewis: Before I confess where
we met, I should preface that we had a
really solid made-up story that we told
for a long time and we are only recently
coming out with the truth ... OKCupid.
Wow, that felt good.
Hicks: Ah! The sweet sting of the truth.
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BY CAITLYN BYRNE
I will admit, I wanted to creepily see what
was out there, so I made a really stupid
profile that focused on stinky cheese and
used the word "SKINNY" in all caps. My
face was obscured by weird hats in all of
the pictures I put up. Embarrassing stuff.
I don't know how we got to the point of
actually meeting but I'm forever grateful
that we did.
Is this the first time you've worked
together?
Jackson Lewis: The Better Half was
indeed the first project we ever started
together. We were both so busy with our
own jobs and projects that for a while
there we were basically only seeing each
other to crash out and sleep at the end of
the day. We thought, what if we created
something together, so we'd have an excuse to work and hang out all the time?
Hicks: Amy and I both had written a lot
of stuff in the past, but writing together
ended up being to most fun way to do it.
I am constantly brimming with nonsense
ideas and Amy helps me give shape to my
weirdness. It was really fun to discover
new ways to support each other creatively.
The series follows a couple in an
already seasoned relationship. What
made you take that approach?
Jackson Lewis: We wanted to make
something about happy, healthy people in
an honest and fun relationship. Most of
the content out there focused on drama,
cheating, fighting, sex, straight-girl-fallsfor-a-girl, etc. For the people out there
who were in a good, stable place, we
wanted to give them something to enjoy
and relate to. We wanted to make people
laugh. Even at themselves a little bit.
Hicks: The beginning of a new relationship is the story that always gets to
have all of the fun. We were interested in
exploring what goes on when you already
know everything about your partner and
you've seen it all together. That part of a
relationship should be the most fun and
should be paid more attention. Lasting
relationships are what people strive for,
but most of the stories we see focus on
the very dramatic and exciting beginnings
or endings. It was a story I wanted to see.
So we made it!
How has it been both acting and
writing for the series?
Jackson Lewis: We figured out the perfect way for us to collaborate-Lindsay
gets down the first draft, I edit it down and
give feedback, Lindsay makes changes, and
so on. Were told that this is the perfect
collaboration, astrologically-Libras
like
to start things, Leos like to seal the deal.
Hicks: Amy and I both have a tendency
to lead, so both of us sitting in front of the
same computer and writing was ... a pretty
tense comedy of errors. We have become
very careful about balancing brutal-ish
honesty with encouragement. We know
each other's sensitivities and strengths
pretty well by now.
to, gay or straight. It's a show about
relationships, but not specifically queer
relationships. I always say, if my bro-iest
straight guy friends can watch the show
without feeling weird or turned-on,
we've succeeded!
Jackson Lewis: As far as acting in the
series, it was fun to be able to create heightened characters of ourselves and then see
them come to life. As we move forward
with the series, we plan on diving much
deeper in the characters as humans: likes
and dislikes, careers, friends, family.
Hicks: I am from the south, and some
people there have a tendency to demonize
the LGBT community. You tell someone
you're gay, and they think you're some
kind of evil alien. I have dealt with a lot of
shame and fear in my own life due to that
mentality and I know I am not alone. In
telling this story, I wanted to make it clear
that we are human beings in a committed
and loving relationship, just like any other
pair.Two people in love, living a nice little
life? What's not to approve of, y'all?
( thebetterhalfseries.com) •
Who are you most trying to reach?
Jackson Lewis: Of course, it's amazing
to be representing the LGBT community with our show, but our goal is to
make something that everyone can relate
Welcome to
Dyke Central
A NEW QUEER WEB SERIESABOUT OUR
FAVORITEWEST COAST GAYBQRHQQO
here are 31 flavors and then
some when it comes to the
diversity that can be found
within the LGBT community,
and Dyke Central embraces
and represents almost all the colorful
queers under the rainbow.
Dyke Central, the San Francisco Bay
Area~based queer series touted for the
diversity of its cast and relatability of its
T
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2014
BY CAITLYN BYRNE
characters, released its second episode,
"Taboo;' in June on YouTube. And people
are taking notice.
Dyke Central was included in several
"Lesbian Web Series" shortlists in the last
several months-including
Buzzfeed and
After Ellen. This year, "Taboo" was selected
for screening at the Dinah Shore Film Fes~
tival, Outfest's Fusion, and Inside Out To~
ronto. In addition, Frameline, the world's
largest LGBT film festival, has pro~
grammed "Taboo" and three more brand
new episodes for this year's festival, giving
SF Bay Area fans an opportunity to watch
four new episodes on the big screen-and
meet the cast in person.
So what's the story-literally-behind
Dyke Central? Set in Oakland, Calif., the
West Coast's hotbed of lesbian culture,
the plot centers around 30~something
butch roommates Alex and Gin. The first
season sees Alex attempting to sustain her
dysfunctional relationship with girlfriend
Jackie in the face of new opportunities
and the return of an old flame. Gin, on the
other hand, is a chameleon who she tends
to lose herself in others and whose identity
changes with every new love interest. Surrounded by a diverse group of friends who
guide, challenge and support them, Alex
and Gin struggle to adapt to grow, while also
attempting to create a balance within their
own lives without losing themselves in the
process. Sound a bit familiar?
Nourished by the encouragement and
support of fans near and far, Dyke Central launched an Indiegogo campaign to
fund five more episodes this summer, to
complete season one. Producers are also
seeking sponsorship from companies and
organizations.
"What separates Dyke Centralfrom every other queer webseries, is its diversity.
However, it doesn't just throw minorities
into the mix to appease its audience or to
get noticed, it honest-to-goodness revels
in its diversity. From the storylines to the
cast, the series swells to bursting, in its
display of our community's true face;' says
Manovil. (dykecentral.com) •
SEPTEMBER
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Making It
Bloomin L.A.
HIT SERIESBLOOMERS WILL RETURNFOR
SEASON THREE-WITH YOUR HELP BY LISA
aching that point in life
where you say farewell to
your twenties and make
hat leap into your thirties
an be terrifying. There
will always be those questions, such as,
"Did I choose the right career?" "Will I
ever get married?""Do I even want kids?"
In the web series comedy Bloomers, we
follow a group late~twentysomethings as
R
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TEDESCO
they enter their thirties, against the back~
drop of Los Angeles, through times that
are hard~hitting, tender, and hilarious. The
cast and production team has reached out
to the LGBT community to help make a
third season a reality. "We are trying to
lndieGogo for our season three efforts be~
cause we really believe that our fans have
an interest in seeing a third season;' says
Fernanda Espindola, executive producer
and star of the show."They've said as much
in YouTube comments. Now we're giving
them the power to make it great:' And that
power is considerable.
With Bloomers' growing audience of
nearly 12 million viewers and 20,000
subscribers, a third season of 12, 22~min~
ute episodes is hopefully inevitable. To
help Bloomers season 3 blossom, go to:
indiegogo.com/projects/bloomers~season~3 •
What the F?
INGRI0 JUNGERMANN'S HILARIOUS ANO CINEMATIC WEB
SERIESIS IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN BY MERRYN JOHNS
ot all lesbian web series
are about coming out
Some of them don't even
star the writer/ director's friends. F to 7th, an
eight-episode lesbian web series by Ingrid
Jungermann, co-creator of The Slopeweb
series, is quirky, absurd, smartly written,
and stars some well-established, recognizable actors: Amy Sedaris (Strangers
With Candy), Gaby Hoffmann (Girls),
Annette O'Toole (Smallville), Olympia
Dukakis (Moonstruck), Janeane Garofalo (Reality Bites), and Kristen Connolly
N
(House of Cards).
The Slope, which investigated lesbian
culture in Brooklyn's gayborhood of Park
Slope, garnered Jungermann, 37, a cult
following; she was named one of Filmmakermagazine's "25 Faces of Independent
Film" in 2012, and was recently featured on
0 UT s "100 People of the Year" list.
F to 7th, also set in Brooklyn, is Jungermann's shot at auteur status: Her uncomfortable, androgynous Woody Allen-esque
lesbian, who is called "lngrid;"goes in'' rather
than "comes our;' dissecting and analyzing
every aspect of her life, her identity, and her
relationships in an attempt to come to terms
with her age, her sexuality, and her purpose-way beyond the comforts of old-fashioned lesbianism. Season one screened at
prestigious film festivals including the Los
Angeles Film Festival, Frameline, Outfest
and NewFest and season two offers one of
the best and freshest takes on urban lesbian
life this year-small screen or big.
When I meet Jungermann in a Manhattan
cafe,near to NYU, which is where she earned
an MFA in Film, I find a woman who is less
antsy and anxiety-ridden than her onscreen
persona (she laughs easily over a beer). She's
SEPTEMBER 2014
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39
so good humored that it's hard to believe she
draws her comedy from her darkest secrets,
drawing inspiration from her existential angst
and her family background.
What makes F to 7th a cut above other
web series is the humor, the writing, and Jun~
germann's passion for cinema. Her flair for the
dramatic began when she did theater in high
school. When she was 24, she made her first
short film. After college in North Carolina,
the Floridian~turned~New Yorker started a
women's performance company, and then she
got into casting, another strength of her work.
"I always write for women, I've always been
really into women I grew up watching and I
40
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2014
tend to write not for younger actors, just for
actors my age and older, 30s and up, because I
think they're fascinating to watch. They have a
whole history of work behind them that I love;'
says Jungermann. Take, for example, Annette
O'Toole, who plays her religious zealot moth~
er; or Olympia Dukakis, who plays Marie, the
bartender at a lesbian pub which features in a
purgatory~like dream sequence. Actors of this
caliber certainly aren't attracted by the mon~
ey-the Screen Actors Guild's New Media
Contract pays $100 a day. They're attracted
by Jungermann's writing, her brisk direction,
and her ability to assemble a fine crew.It helps
that she has such deep respect for actors. Of
Olympia Dukakis, she says: "She's magical,
and so kind and generous. Sitting across from
her, I would forget my lines because her eyes
totally drew me in, I forgot where I was. It was
a dream to work with her:'
Jungermann aims high. When I ask her
what web series she admires, she doesn't
have any. "My reference points are cinema.
I didn't know anything about web series
when I started:'
For her, the attraction to new media is
pragmatic. 'Tm not a patient person so it's a
very fast way to get your work out there and
not be precious about it. Female filmmakers
are so hard on themselves. They feel like they
can't put something out there until it's perfect,
so they wait and they wait and they wait. And
six years later maybe they have a script ...
"There's not many of us out there, espe~
cially lesbian filmmakers. Being too precious
can hurt you. You can put something im~
perfect out there, something that you want
to explore, put your voice out there and try
something new. I think that's fascinating for
an audience. Being lazy and not working on
your writing is not what I'm talking about. I'm
talking about just getting your work done:'
Jungermann's signature style is "homo~neu~
rotic;' a phrase coined by her ex~girlfriend
and her mother. "Were no longer together,
but were very good friends;' she says of the
ex, who is different from the ex who was also
the co~creator of TheSlope.Dyke drama? "So
many exes, so little time;' she laughs, making
herself the butt of the joke, just like her char~
acter,"Ingrid;' who tends to be overly earnest
and prone to making tactical blunders that
nevertheless lead to epiphanies-like
Lena Dunham's character in Girls. And
just as that series examines the underbelly
of heterosexuality, F to 7th tackles many
lesbian taboos. Jungermann's sense of hu~
mor can be a little off~color and edgy.
"I thought I'd get more of a backlash from
it;' she says of the episode in which "Ingrid"
ponders the possibility-insists actuallythat her father molested her. "I have had a
couple of people say to me that molestation
isn't funny;' she says of the (fictional) episode,
where her religious mother plants the idea in
her daughter's mind by saying, "Your father
loved women. All women. From any family:'
Her father, in front of his new wife (played
by Kristin Connolly), says, "Ingrid. I wish;'
absurdly hoping this will reassure his daugh~
ter,"I wish I did molest you. But I didn't:'
"The point of that episode is that I'm not
making fun of molestation, I'm making fun of
my character for trying to figure out what the
reason is for being gay,''explains Jungermann.
"Because the world tells you theres something
wrong [with homosexuality], there has to be a
reason. So that's where that came from:'
Will there be a third season? She hopes
so, but she's a little busy right now, in the
middle of writing a feature film and a pilot
for a TV show. "I've learned so much from
this season through the last. I feel like I grew.
I would always want to do a season that goes
beyond the last one, but I would have to
think of an idea that would inspire me to do
eight more episodes:'
Her ultimate goal is a lesbian TV show:
"I think it will be a huge challenge because
it's lesbian content and it's not sexy at all,
and for networks and cable it's a difficult
thing to envision, but it doesn't stop me
from trying to get it done:' (Fto7th.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
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~ Ready, Set,
:_Scissr!
-j/
- MOVE OVER, GIRLS A NEW SERIESEXPLORES
LESBIAN LIVESAND LOVES IN BROOKLYN,NY
BY CAITLYN BYRNE
our lesbians. Twelve relationships. One iPhone app.
Lauren Augarten's new web
series Scissr gives viewers a
fresh look at what being a
lesbian in modern-day Brooklyn is really
like. Augarten depicts the lives of four
young lesbians and their intertwined
F
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SEPTEMBER 2014
relationships, finally giving us a show that
we have been requesting for years, post-L
Word-a series that represents what she
describes as "a more realistic world, where
gay women come in a multitude of colors,
shapes and sizes. Where sexuality is simply a part of our characters, it is not their
entire personality:'
Augarten paints a realistic picture of
LGBT life is through her characters.
Aviva, Corey, Emily, and Niamh are four
20-something lesbians from very different backgrounds. Aviva (played by Augarten herself) has just come out and is
hoping to connect with the other lesbians online, while Corey (Paulina Singer,
How to Make It In America) has just gone
through a traumatic breakup and is ready
to swear off women altogether and Emily
(Kelly Sebastian, Tastemakers) is constantly looking for the next best thing.
Navigating life and love in Brooklyn is
easy for none of them, but when they meet
through an iPhone app, the girls realize
they have much more in common than
they originally thought.
Jamie Clayton stars as Niamh, a cisgender lesbian woman and the gatekeeper of
Scissr, the neighborhood gay bar. Clayton,
who is trans in real life, previously played
the role of Michelle in the Emmy Award
winning series Dirty Work and Kyla on
HBO's Hung in addition to co-hosting
VHl's groundbreaking show TRANS-
Form Me with Laverne Cox.
Augarten understands what it's like to
be 20-something, living in New York, trying to figure out who you are and where
you fit in the world, which is a daily struggle-sexuality aside. "For me, it's made so
much easier by the community of people I
have around me, egging me on as we tread
that path together. With Scissr, we want
to give young lesbian women that community, in a realistic, relatable and entertaining way:'
So ladies, if you are looking for a web
series that both entertains and educates,
check out Scissr's pilot episode on YouTube and help this budding video endeavor bloom by supporting their project.
( scissrtheseries.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
43
DapperD
launches the
latest line of
tomboyattire.
BY
LISA TEDESCO
GIRLSIN
THE HOOD
We are our own person. Some of
us choose to dress differently than
society expects. As lesbians, we may
be attracted to women, but how queer
women present differs widely-femmes,
butches, and a growing group of folks
who prefer to rock a tomboy style.
Enter Dapper D Fashions, a men's-style
clothing line for women founded by
Vanna Pecoraro, a retired police officer
with a taste for the fashion world.
"After leaving law enforcement, I lost
my identity," says Pecoraro. "I started
searching for what my true passion was.
I realized I wanted to pursue my dreams
of having my own clothing line. I have
always been passionate about fashion,
even back when I was in uniform, always
taking great pride in whatever I put on."
Pecoraro felt more comfortable in ooO:'S-----------------
clothing but found it difficult to
shop in the men's department of a
store.
"I want to take that stigma away for
the butch fashionistas out there," she
says. With the Dapper D team at her
side, Pecoraro launched their successful Kickstarter campaign in May,
which landed the fashion entrepreneur
enough funds to purchase the inventory
needed to start an e-commerce site. The
more inventory the company purchases,
the more cost effective they can be. "My
wife and I decided to go to Kickstarter
rather than an investor, so that we can
see our vision come to life," says Pecoraro.
Dapper D reached their goal, which was
to raise $15,000 by June 18. "We are so
thankful for all of the pledges, and the
amazing support we have received from
the LGBT community and allies alike! We
want to encourage everyone: Be brave.
Be authentic. Be you," says Pecoraro.
(dapperdfashions.com) •
FEATURES/
SEPTEMBER
2014
ST
CURVE
47
FEATURES/
ST
Put Your
own
Fun Scandinavian-inspired footwear perfect for fall.
BY MELANIE BARKER
Fall can be a tricky season for toes: we're longing to cling to our
sandals and flip-flops but the cooler weather beckons boots,
which have been gathering dust since last spring. Spruce up
your closet with some funky footwear that is perfect for inbetween seasons.
Swedish Hasbeens is a retro-cool shoe line that has earned
a cult-like following for its comfy clogs, chunky sandals and
versatile boots. Available in 15 countries and at retailers such
as Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Shopbop,
Madewell, ModCloth and Free People, to name a few, Swedish
Hasbeens have been worn by fashion-savvy celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore and
Kylie Minogue.
With a sense of practicality and flair that harks back to the
unisex '70s, Swedish Hasbeens are handmade in small batches
using ecologically prepared natural grain leather, which is both
high quality and environmentally friendly. Whether you prefer
slip-ons, zippers, buttons, buckles, or laces, slide your toes into
something Swedish, queer and quirky as you say goodbye to
summer! (swedishhasbeens.com)
50
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
CL©TH &
JU<;TIC~
f0R All
udiences were first introduced
to Whitney Mixter and Sada
Bettencourt as stars of The Real L
Word. For three seasons we watched
as they loved, sparred, split, and
against all odds came back together
to finally marry in the show's finale.
But it turns out the hit Showtime
series was only the first of their many
collaborations, the most recent being the
duo's clothing line Cloth & Justice.
Effortlessly cool and infinitely wearable,
this line is very much an expression of the
women behind it. In their words it is an
"integration of wearable art and comfortable
fits for women, men and every identity in
between." The clothing line includes various
tees, tanks, hats and jewelry, all of which the
couple design together, inspired by various
cultures across both the globe and time.
Curve caught up with Mixter as she and
Bettencourt were hard at work on their upcoming fall line-which she teases is going
to be the brand's biggest and best yet-to
discuss the intersection of style and politics,
their creative process, and what the future
holds for them. (Hint: there may be a Cloth
& Justice maternity line in the near future.)
How did Cloth & Justice come to be?
Sada and I both had a big interest in
clothes, obviously, and what you wear is a
form of expression, so we thought it would
be a natural path to go towards the path of
creating a line that reflects out interests and
our aesthetics.
We really wanted to make ...an all-inclusive unisex line. We want to have everyone
be welcome here.
Who is the target Cloth & Justice client?
The client is comfortable in their own skin
or trying to get there, early twenties young
person Just somebody who's liberal-minded,
who likes to dress casually but have some
flair to it. We're definitely not out there walking runways with asymmetrical stabbing
necklines. It's everyday wear. It's what I
would kick it in. I could wear it to the club or
I could wear it to the airport.
How do you go about creating your
designs?
We do everything in-house. This whole
thing has been a huge learning experience
for us. Honestly, since Couple's Therapy
aired, our line has taken off exponentially
In terms of design, we like to take inspira-
52
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
tion from different ethnic origins. We've
done Egyptian-inspired designs, we've done
Polynesian and Maori type designs. We've
done malas, which are Buddhist inspired
jewelry pieces.
How do your individual roles in the business complement one another?
We usually get the concept...and we talk
about it, we talk about what we like about
it, and we go with it. The good thing about
this is we see eye to eye on a lot of designs.
There's not a lot of back and forth or "I
hate that idea" kind of thing We can pretty
much agree-or at least compromise, thank
God-on a lot of ideas. I guess that's what
marriage it all about-it's about compromise. [Laughs] I'm kind of the masculine
perception of things and she's the feminine
side of things and it balances out, so we
have a whole cohesive view, I think.
Along with your clothing line, you've also
been a guest on the web news shows The
Young Turks and The Rubin Report. Is that
a career path you are pursuing?
That's huge at the top of my list in terms of
what I want to be doing, a kind of political
satire commentary. I love The Young Turks, I
love what they stand for, and doing it is just
a blast. I've actually been doing The Rubin
Report for a while now as a guest and really
that's what I want to get into. If I could be
like The Colbert Report done lesbian-style, I
would be all about it. That is where I want to
be going.
I was a political science major and a
pre-law student, so I think it's time to tie it all
in. I double majored in poli-sci and women's
studies and I have two bachelors in those,
so I feel like I've really handled the women's
studies in my career. I've studied a lot of
women. And now it's time to handle the
political science aspect. [Laughs]
What fashion item should no lesbian go
without this summer?
I think basic clean pieces are really important. You have to have one good, solid
cutoff short. That includes butches, too. You
don't have to be all Daisy Duke like. [Laughs]
I'm a big fan of white T-shirts and cutoff
shorts.
It's good to have one statement piece.
Rock a necklace, rock some accessories.
Hats are big now in any sense. We've got
some really cool five-panel hats, I think
those are really good "say something"
pieces.
Why did you choose the name Cloth &
Justice?
We feel as though what you wear can be
really reflective of what your viewpoint is
on the world and what you stand for, what
you represent. What you wear can be the
key-and we have the ampersand key in our
logo-to your own personal justice, what
you speak in the world and what you stand
for. That's what we're really going for in
Cloth & Justice.
We're a startup and people think because
we went on TV shows it must be easy, we
must have big budgets, but no, we're to the
grindstone on this and it's a struggle like
any business-but we've got big plans and
we eventually want to have each piece tied
to a nonprofit or cause we believe in and
have that kind of end up transcending the
whole justice aspect of things. That's really
important to both Sada and I.
You have a new look. What made you
decide to cut off your famous dreads?
You have to understand, I had dreads
for ...13 years. I posted a picture of them on
lnstagram right before I cut them off and
said, "I think it's a good day for a change,"
and you would have thought I was standing
on the edge of the Golden Gate Bridge
and going to jump off with the response I
got. People virtually trying to intercept the
cutting process. [Laughs] But you know, the
thing is, as India.Arie says, I'm not my hair.
What people don't know is that honestly my hair was really affecting my health.
Having heavy hair for 11years gives you neck
problems, turns out, so hey, time to break
free. And I did it and I feel good, honestly. I
now dive in any pool of water I come across.
FEATURES/
SEPTEMBER
2014
ST
CURVE
53
YOU KNOW, THE THING IS,
AS INDIA.ARIE SAYS, ''
l'M NOT MY HAIR.
Or any pool of cream corn for that matter.
[Laughs] I feel like I should pick apart my dreads
and see if I can find some trophies from the
cream corn days resting in them. That's disgusting, I can't believe I just said that. I had to let
those go. You know how many bad memories
are in those dreads, and good ones, too? I had
to shed all that; I'm a married woman now.
What's next for Cloth & Justice?
Well, we've been online thus far solely, which has
been pretty impressive, that we've been able to
do so well with an on line presence, but we want
to try to get into stores. We want to transcend all
boundaries, get into stores, and make ourselves
known not just as lesbian designers but as
designers that happen to be lesbian.
What's next for you and Sada?
We never stop, really. We've always got things on
the horizon. We've had some people approach
us about potentially doing a spin-off, kind of
our own show sort of thing. We're not sure if we
want to go there or not yet, but we've talked
about it. We're also planning on starting a family
pretty soon so that's exciting. That's going to
change a whole lot of things, because I'm carrying the first child. I feel like I need to design
some butch maternity wear or something. Some
butch drop-crotch sweatpants for the woman
that just doesn't have anything to wear. [Laughs]
We can't wait to see the Cloth & Justice
maternity and baby clothes!
I'm going to make my own onesies. It's going to
be like a baby onesie and an adult onesie. One's
going to be sewn together. Sounds like a plan
to me. Sounds cozy. (clothandjustice.com) •
named one of 2013's
TOP TEN FILMS
by huffington
post, uk.
Tru, 37, is a serial bed-hopping lesbian, unable to
commit to jobs or relationships for long. But when she
meets Alice, 60, a beautiful widow (and her friend
Suzanne's mother), sparks fly and the two women
forge an unlikely friendship ... and more. 87min.
,,
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;J"ttf
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available for streaming 10/7
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~ WolfeOnDemand.com
~
100s of MoviesAvailable24/7
TABATHA'S
TAKEOVER
CONTINUES,
BUT
NOW
IT'SYOUR
TURN,
TOO!
BY MERRYN JOHNS
56
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
FEATUREStCO
abatha Coffey has been called everything under the sun, from "the Gordon
Ramsay of hair" to "that hairdresser bitch
from TV" The reality TV star of Bravo's
Tabatha Takes Over is also the author of
two books, It's Not Really About the Hair and
Own It! Her path to success is an unlikely story: Her parents ran burlesque-style strip clubs
in Australia, mostly featuring transsexual performers, and the young Tabatha took solace
in the glamour of the clubs, which offered an
escape from her rather excruciating existence
as an obese and oft-teased child in suburban
Queensland.
T
We know her today only because on a hunch, while she was
still a hairstylist, Coffey answered a casting call for a reality TV show.
She made the cut, made the cast, and hasn't looked back since.
She has now joined the pantheon of small-screen style icons
we instantly recognize, with her unmistakable outfits of black leather,
satin, and sequins (which make her look as though she's heading to
a nightclub, not a hair salon); her trademark frosted-platinum helmet
of hair; and her catlike, steely blue eyes.
If you think she's mean, humorless, and unapproachable, Episode 27 of In Bed With Joan, hosted by another opinionated blonde,
Joan Rivers, is a revelation. "I wonder who's going to come out of my
closet tonight," says Rivers, reclining on her chaise. The door opens
and out walks Tabatha Coffey, to a squeal of delight and applause
from Rivers. "I would only get
back in the closet for you, Joan,"
says Coffey, laughing. Joining
Rivers on the chaise, Coffey tells
Be the Boss
her all about the fabulous strip
of Your Lifeclubs of her childhood, where
at Home
she was surrounded by "feathers, tits and arse, and eyelashes."
and in the
The conversation also touches
Workplace
on her unapologetic attitudes,
her detractors, her fans, and her
sexuality. "Yes,you're definitely
not the only woman I've been in
bed with, Joan."
Things you perhaps didn't
know about Tabatha Coffey:
She knew she was gay at a very
young age, crushing out on vintage pinup girls-any reticence
she has about discussing her
private life has to do with her low-profile partner. During a botched
breast augmentation, an artery in her chest was severed, which
nearly left her dead. She's constantly surprised when journalists (me
included) admit they're scared and nervous before an interview with
her. She feels eternally grateful for the support of her viewers and
fans-so much so that she probably won't be rude to you if you take
her photo while she's standing in line at the grocery store, even if she
looks like shit. She doesn't like hugs, but she does care-she's still in
touch with some of the business owners from season one of Tabatha
Takes Over. At her first San Francisco Pride, she wore "my rainbow,
which is black," and she loves a really nice pair of high heels.
I caught up with the diva of hair (but it's not really about the hair) to
chat about her personal style, the new book, and what's next.
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
57
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FEATUREStCO
Where do you currently call
home?
Wherever I am long enough to
unpack my suitcase. I travel a
lot to make the show and for
speaking engagements and
other projects. But actually,
New Jersey is where I call home.
Do you spend any time in
Australia? And if you do, what
cultural differences do you
notice?
I just got back from a trip,
actually. I love going home, but
now I look forward to coming
back to the U.S.,as well. I do love
a good lamington [Australian
sponge cake], though. There are
obviously unique things about
every country, but I think with
globalization things are becoming the same.
What inspired you to write
Own It!, your new book?
I get emails from people all
over the world asking for
business and life advice. I
can't walk through the airport
or down the street without
someone stopping me with a
question that is really important
to them-and often they want a
hug. I am honest and direct, and
I think people crave that and
trust me for calling it like I see
it and making them own their
baggage. I wanted to empower
as many people as I could, and
writing a book is a great vehicle
for that. So Own It! was born. It
was a way for me to give back to
my fans and help people in need
of taking charge of their lives.
What makes this book different
from It's Not Really About the
Hair?
My first book was a memoir,
and was about the challenges I
faced and the lessons I learned.
It was a way for people to get
to know me better and for me
to share my journey from my
unorthodox childhood to now.
Own It! is advice on how to take
control of and responsibility for
your business and your life. In
order to be successful, you need
to be empowered.
One of your signature qualities
is your honesty-and again
you are honest and tough but
fair in your book. Why do you
think your approach works in
a country like America, where
it can be culturally valued to
"sugarcoat" things?
Actually, I don't think Americans
like sugarcoating. I think that's
what they are served, from permissive parents to fake friends.
People respond to me precisely
because I don't sugarcoat anything. It is a waste of my time
and everyone else's time. But I'm
not honest just to be mean. I am
honest to be productive. We all
have a powerful capacity for de-
nial, and I hold a mirror up and
stop the denial. Working with
business owners and their staffs,
I see a lot of excuses and finger-pointing, instead of people
looking at themselves in the
mirror to fix the problems. You
should always start with yourself.
Own your attitude, own your
problems, own your success.
Self-evaluate and be honest
about yourself and find out how
you can be a better person,
professionally and personally.
m
"Norma's Notes" at the end of
each chapter is both an homage
to your mother and also good
old-fashioned, down-to-earth
advice. How are you similar to
your mother in terms of ethics,
and where have you improved
upon her secrets to success?
Thank you. My mother was a
very strong woman and a very
wise businesswoman. I learned
to find my own moral compass
and follow it. My mother taught
me to always stand up for
myself, and she was a very
good cheerleader when I was
picked on as a child for being
obese. But she also wasn't
afraid to bring me up in an
"adult" environment that
taught me to be myself and
face adversity.
One of your other signature
qualities is your personal
style: fashion-centric, professional, with a touch of the
dominatrix! Are you ever
worried that your image
appears to be bossy and
intimidates others?
Well, I have been known to use a
pair of tall heels to my advantage! But I don't worry about how
my style makes other people feel
because my style is my own. If
people feel intimidated, that's
their problem! As a hairdresser
who trained with Vidal Sassoon, I
feel more comfortable in black
than any other color-unless I'm
wearing pink pajamas, of course!
In your previous book, you
reclaim the word "bitch" by
turning it into a powerful
acronym. What do you think
of Beyonce's efforts to "ban
bossy" because it is a sexist
word, used only in reference
to girls?
I think any woman who takes
charge and feels empowered
earns the title of "boss" and
should wear it proudly. Let's
reclaim "bossy" as a good
attribute.
Would you describe yourself
as a feminist? If not, why not?
I'm not sure when being a
feminist was up for debate. I
believe in the empowerment
and equality of women. So,
yes, of course I am.
You are appearing on the
cover of Curve's Style issue.
In your opinion, which female
celebrities do you think have
a sense of style, and why are
they successful at it?
I think the celebrities who take
a risk and dress for themselves
are great. When Jennifer Lawrence went for it and cut her
hair, I loved it. It's unfortunate
when some celebrities-and
this happens with everyone,
not just celebrities-dress for
what is perceived as beautiful,
rather than what works for
them. All of that said, Beyonce
rocks it.
YOU
SHOULD
ALWAYSSTARTWIT
YOURSELF.
OWN
YOUR
ATTl1UDE,
OWN
YOUR
PROBLEMS,
OWN
YOUR
SUCCESS.
60
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
''
FEATUREStCO
TABATHA'S
TIPS:
BETHEBOSSOF YOUR
LIFE-AT
HOMEAND IN
THEWOR~LACE
Historically, lesbian women
have been considered to have
no style: Is that a myth or a
reality to you?
Everyone has their own sense of
style, regardless of sexual preference. Some have great style and
some need a little workl I think
stereotypes are stupid.
AfterEllen.com picked the
following women as this year's
Top 7 Lesbian Style Icons:
Cara Delevingne, AzMarie
Livingston, Kristen Kish, Robin
Roberts, Casey Legler, Jenna
Lyons, and Brittney Griner. Do
you agree? And if so, what are
these women doing right?
There are always trends, and this
is even more so within "communities," but I am always attracted
to the iconoclasts who do their
own thing. It's interesting that all
the women on the list feel comfortable expressing their take on
the tomboy look. Personally, I am
always a sucker for a girl in heels.
Tabatha Takes Over has had
five successful seasons. Are
there plans for a sixth season?
I have been focusing on my
book and traveling for speak-
ing engagements this year, as
well as promoting my wig line,
LUXHAIR. And there are big new
plans in the works, so let's just
say you will see me back on TV
soon.
What aspect of your reality
TV show do you most enjoy?
I really love helping people.
There is always resistance at
first, but when a business owner
or staff member finallygets what
I am saying and turns the corner,
it is a great feeling.
The last time we spoke, you
said that you had a female
partner but that she chose to
keep a low profile. Has anything changed on that front?
No, nothing has changed on
that front.
If you could leave this earth
with one accomplishment,
what would it be?
Well. This is one of those questions that invite a grandiose or
even pompous answer, so I am
weary. But I would like to think
I help people in all kinds of
ways, big and small.
(tabathacoffey.com) •
OWN
WHO
YOU
ARE:
STYLE
"Dress for your body shape-don't try and hide behind
your clothes. They should give you confidence and highlight your best attributes rather than cover up what you
perceive to be your flaws."
OWN
YOUR
BUSINESS:
SUCCESS
"Define what success means to you-not what it means
to everyone else. It will help you stay on track with your
plans if you know what the ultimate goal is. It may be
money, fame, or power, or it may be something different
that is just as important to you."
OWN
YOUR
NETWORK:
RELATIONSHIPS
"To own your personal relationships you must first know
yourself better than anyone else does. No one can make
you happy or treat you how you want/need to be treated
unless you understand what makes you tick."
OWN
YOUR
CHALLENGES:
COMPETITION
"I have a passion for hairdressing and have won many
accolades. But they don't mean something because I
beat other people; they mean something because they
validate what I love to do. So be competitive but do it
for the right reasons, because winning in and of itself
can be very empty."
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
61
FEATURES/
t's not every day that a lesbian mother of four in her late
fifties makes her directorial debut, but that's Marina
Rice Bader's style. The driven and passionate late
bloomer, known mostly as the former partner oflesbian
cinema pioneer Nicole Conn, and executive producer of
Conn's Elena Undone and A Peifect Ending, has now embarked on her first outing as cinema auteur. Anatomy of
a Love Seen is a first for Rice Bader, who is also one of the first out
filmmakers to deliver a lesbian-themed feature film to audiences
immediately after its first festival premiere. Curve caught up with
the driving force behind Soul Kiss Films, Bader's independent film
company, to learn the inspiration behind Anatomy of a Love Seen.
How did you come up with the idea for this film?
Well, I had this film within a film thought rolling around in my
head, how it would be fun for folks to see what goes on behind the
scenes on a movie set. Then I added the layer of how challenging
it is to create a love scene, which the audience doesn't really think
about generally. Then I thought about how love fits into all of itreal, painful, blissful, take-you-to-the-mat kind oflove. What could
be more fascinating than two women who had this kind of love,
were decimated by it, and then forced not only into the same room
to face each other, but the same bed!
Two women unexpectedly fall in love on a film set. Is the
autobiographical?
I think it's universal because most people fall in love without
much warning. It's like"wham'' you've fallen, ready or not! Did
happen to me personally? Yes, it did, and the roller coaster
these two women go on .. .let's just say I rode it.
plot
too
that
ride
You also play the director onscreen. Why did you decide to
step in front of the camera?
I just couldn't conceive of directing an actor playing the director to
direct the actors in an improvised film. Doesn't that just make your
head spin, because it sure did mine. My brain isn't wired to handle
something like that, especially since there was already so much going on. A film within a film, our crew working the film and being
the crew in the film, two cameras shooting simultaneously, everyone being in character the entire time-it's unscripted and we had
to shoot it in five days!
Your character is a controlling director with tension knots who
wants to believe in true love. How close to you is she?
Ha! Very close indeed. Directors have to be controlling to some extent, but Kara-my character-really is hell-bent in the film, with
one goal in mind. That was me in real life with this film. As for true
love, absolutely, I want to believe in it. You bet I do. I'm just confused
by it, and as a result so is Kara. I would say,however, that the majority
of my tension knots come from my four beautiful children.
How did the improvisation work and what's your favorite
moment in the film?
Beyond the scene arcs and some key lines, you really didn't know
THE L LI
what was coming your way, so it looks real because it is real. I am
so very grateful that Sharon Hinnendael, Jill Evyn and Constance
Brenneman brought such passion and commitment to the project. We all stayed in character the entire time, so some of the
wonderful moments in the film weren't even while filming scenes.
How cool is that? I would say the most "real" or "spontaneous" key
scene takes place in the green room toward the end of the film.
Holy smokes, we had to really bring it down in the edit. It was
crazy and wild and full of emotions. It was so big that I thought
the audience would have a tough time digesting it- I think the
full scene will end up in the DVD extras. As for my favorite moment in the film, that's something I cannot say. We haven't shown
it in the trailer or talked about it at all, so it shall remain a mystery.
You're known to
lesbians through
your relationship with your
ex, director
Nicole Conn, but
what are your
personal favorite
lesbian films?
Yes, it was my own
Adventure in True
Love with Nicole
that introduced me
to the world of lesbian cinema, and
I'm grateful to her
for that. I truly
adore being part of this community. My favorite lesbian films
would include Kyss Mig (Kiss Me), Fire (a beautiful film from
India), When Night is Falling, Aimee & Jaguar, and-purely
for
the unbridled passion of Manuela-Madchen
in Uniform (the
1931 version).
You started Soul Kiss Films in 2009 as a way of making
movies by women for women. When did you decide you
wanted to direct and what is distinctive about your style?
I've always liked being behind the camera, and on a much smaller
level had been directing for 18 years as a photographer. All the
pieces had to work together even then-I could never just shoot,
it had to all make sense. I picked the wardrobe, did the makeup,
directed the actor. They would often leave out of breath. My background did give me a sense of confidence going in that I'd be able
to do it, but you don't really know, do you, until you've done it. I
learned so much and will take that knowledge to the next project.
I think my directing style is different because it's based on organic, instinctual choices that are unique to me. I don't go in with too
many locked ideas because on the set things can change in a moment, and you have to be able to roll with it. I'm really self-educated
and have so much to learn, but what I lack in certain areas I make
up for in sheer passion and drive.
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
63
Anatomy of a Love Seen was made over 30 days, with the shoot
being only five days. How did you do it with so little time, not
much experience, and a miniscule budget of $70,000?
It was 30 days from my decision to make the film to completion
of principal photography, so by the time I got a few key members on board we had about two weeks of solid pre-production.
You really do have to toss the rulebooks in this kind of scenario
because the rules don't apply, and I think that's good because
you're forced to be creative under out-of-the-box circumstances.
Finding a great team who I could count on, making the right
choices given our very real limitations of money and time, and
always staying calm: those were the keys.
At 58 and with four children, how do you find time and energy
to write and direct films?
A universal question for all working parents, and I don't have the
answer. I've also never heard the question answered in a way
that makes it any easier. You just strike the best balance you can
and know there will be things you miss as a parent, that your
kids will be pissed you're not available 24/7, and learn to be easy
on yourself. As for the 58 part of the question, if it's relevant at
all I suppose I have a bit less energy that when I was 38, but I'm
so much more driven now, so I think it evens out.
You've said you weren't "self-realized" until your 50s. Do you
identify as a lesbian now or what label do you use, if any?
This decade has been one of incredible discovery for me, in all
facets of my life. I'm sort of the poster child for late bloomers,
so it's not surprising that I should be at this incredibly exciting
stage in my life at almost 60. Regarding labels, I suppose if I had
to give myself one it would be lesbian, but I'd rather not have a
label. It's interesting to think about it, though. I'm proud of who
64
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
I am, so label me, but I don't want to be stereotyped or put in a
box, so don't label me.
Why did you choose to digitally stream the film?
I think for independent film it is the future, and here's why: The
traditional route, while beneficial in a number of ways, separates
you from your audience, and your audience is the single most
important asset a filmmaker like myself has. I decided to make
the film available immediately after our Los Angeles Outfest
premiere on July 18 because it makes no sense to hold it back
from the people I made it for. Yes, I will be missing some other
opportunities but I'm fine with that. Knowing that someone
in Brazil can watch it the same day as someone in the U.S. or
England or Trinidad literally gives me goose bumps, and that
doesn't really happen going the traditional route. The film will
be available with subtitles in Spanish, French, Portuguese and
German ( more to come) so we can be accessible to the most
folks possible. Curve readers, I appreciate your support more
than I can say, and it's that support that allows me to keep
making films that serve our community. •
FEATURES/ STYLE
Rose Masterpol masters
her medium.
BY MERRYN JOHNS
0
S
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
65
n this age of mass media satura~
tion, more of us are exposed to
Internet memes, emoticons, and
Instagram photos than to the vi~
sual arts. And who has time to go
to an art museum:' But the trends
and ephemera of the digital age have not
dissuaded the out lesbian painter Rose
Masterpol from investing her time and
considerable talent in a medium that some
might say peaked last century. Masterpol
was influenced by such mid~century Ab~
stract Expressionist masters as Pollock,
De Kooning, Kline, and Motherwell.
Her expressionistic canvases are col~
orful, energetic, joyful, and ambiguous
66
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
enough in their possible meanings that
the eye is drawn to their oscillating forms
and dancelike splashes and free to wan~
der and imagine. These images are about
as far from a "Keep Calm and Carry On''
meme as you can get-and
yet there is
something thoroughly contemporary and
compelling about them.
As the renowned art critic and curator
Peter Frank said of Masterpol's work: "The
drawn line assumes a rhythmic animation
akin to graffiti writing and on occasion even
cartoon caricature, seeming almost cho~
reographed. Here Masterpol, deliberately
or not, proposes a translation of hip~hop
and other urban dance into non~objective
FEATURES/
painting, perhaps even a kind of notation;
certainly, she is re-purposing the energy of
the 'street' to painterly effect:'
Frank notes that Masterpol improves
on her influences by incorporating "feeling" rather than imitating their imagery or
their method. Her individuality and spirit
are self evident in these canvases, and their
titles, which include "Breathing Room;'
"Heart Jar;' "Heaven's Thunder;' "Modern
Confession;' and others. Of course, there's
a story behind the work. Masterpol, who
called Los Angeles home for 25 years, fell
in love with and recently moved to Santa
Fe, N.M., a region that attracts countless lesbian artists and artisans. This new
home is a powerful source of inspiration
for the prolific painter.
"Santa Fe is the Land of Enchantment.
Need I say moret she says, referring to the
city's tagline. "The light is exquisite and the
cloud arrangements are out of this world.
The landscape and sunset colors are more
vibrant than any I have seen in my life. It is
expansive here and there is room to breathe:'
The essence of the land would of course
appeal to an artist who has said that her
own work "is a convergence of color, shape,
stroke, and line. I seek to build something
from nothing, and in the process symbols
and images reveal themselves. I do not analyze, strategize or conceptualize; rather, I
construct and deconstruct until I unravel
an abstract 'portrait of the moment: I paint,
build, layer, letting the painting happen ....
The work then is intuitively formed, breathing with a presence of its own:'
Masterpol trained at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, N.Y. (AAS),
Syracuse University, and at California
Institute of the Arts (CalArts) where she
obtained her BFA. Her medium is acrylic
on large canvases and her method is to
work quickly, using her body physically
in an action painting manner. A full-time
artist, she is represented in several galleries in the U.S. and frequently sells based
on little more than photos of her work on
STYLE
the Internet. Celebrity art collectors who
have purchased her work include actors
Jane Lynch, Sela Ward, and German Expressionist collector Robert Gore Rifkind.
In an age dominated by the "viral;' i.e.
the rapid dissemination of digital images,
what value does an "original" have? "I think
it has value;' says Masterpol. ''All of the
above just makes the work more public
and it gets faster exposure, more easily
global than ever before. I do not reproduce
my work for sale; I only sell originals. I
may have a piece reproduced for the sake
of a TV show, movie or commercial but
that is the extent of it. The value remains
untouched in my mind:'
Previously immersed in West Hollywood's LGBT community, Masterpol is
now also an "out and open" member of Santa
Fe's vibrant LGBT community, where she
lives with her wife, painting, and taking on
creative assignments for fertility and surrogacy services. And for this artist, fertile
ground matters. (masterpol.com) •
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
67
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f you're leaving from LAX, by
the time you arrive in the islands
you'll have been in the air for eight
hours. During that time, the vast
expanse of the blue Pacific be~
comes routine, and is overtaken
by a burnt orange sky as you chase the sun~
set for an hour on your approach.
Then Moorea, Tahiti, Bora Bora, the
islands of French Polynesia appear out of
nowhere, their great mountains reaching
into the sky, their deep lagoons encircled
by protective sandy reefs. The first view of
this exotic land can leave you breathless.
Commonly though inaccurately known
as "Tahiti;' French Polynesia is a sprawling
set of islands made up of several archipel~
agos. A visit to French Polynesia usually
begins in the Society Islands-the
archi~
72
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
pelago that contains Tahiti and Bora Bora.
Tahiti Faa'a, the main international air~
port, is three miles from Tahiti's capital,
Pape'ete. Though most visitors use Tahiti as
a mere stopover on the way to Bora Bora,
those who take the time to explore the is~
land's capital, Papeete, are rewarded with
bustling town squares, outdoor markets,
and even Les Roulottes, a thriving food
truck scene on the main whar£ with music
and entertainment every night of the week.
Our trip included only a brief stop in
Tahiti, with an overnight at the Manava
Suite Resort and a morning puddle jump
to the jewel of the Society Islands, Bora
Bora, known as "the romantic island:' The
name alone inspires dramatic images: clear
lagoons, distant mountains, and the kind of
exotic overwater bungalows that most peo~
ple only see on their screensavers at work.
The Society Islands are part of an ex~
pansive cultural region that also includes
Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, and New Zealand.
As a region, Polynesia is united by an
ancient culture but distinguished by the
overlays of the Western nations that have
claimed its parts. Those familiar with Ha~
waii will recognize Bora Bora as a cousin of
our U.S. state. There are familiar plants and
fragrant aromas, but the crashing waves of
Hawaii are replaced by calm lagoons; here,
the locals speak French as their default lan~
guage, and the customary Tahitian greeting
"Ia ora na'' replaces the Hawaiian ''.Aloha:'
When you fly into Bora Bora, you'll see
right away how it differs from any outpost
of American culture. For instance, during
the flight you are handed a tiare flower to
place in your hair. Just as in other Polyne~
sian cultures, a flower behind the right ear
signals that you are single, while a flower be~
hind the left ear signals that you are taken.
The tiare, a variety of gardenia, is every~
where in French Polynesia, and is often
a visitor's first taste of the culture. You'll
notice that the instructions on the seat
tray are not just in English and French but
in Tahitian as well. The language is heard
regularly in the islands.
And there's something else. Landing
on one of the sandy islets, or motus, that
make up Bora Bora's ree£ we find ourselves gathering our luggage on a platform
surrounded by the some of the most crystal clear water in the world. The only way
from the airport to the hotels, it turns out,
is by boat. Our porter smiles and points
the way, and a gorgeous, shimmering mahogany vessel greets us, the words "Four
Seasons" stenciled in gold-the first signal
of the luxury experience for which Bora
Bora is renowned. From the white leather
chaise lounges in the cabin of the boat, to
the flower lei and conch shell greeting us at
the dock, each moment is something out
of a honeymoon fantasy.
A trip to French Polynesia needs to
include a stay in an overwater bungalow.
Most resorts here offer them, with slight
variations in style. Le Meridien, which
claims to have invented the bungalows,
provides them with a huge glass section
of floor, allowing you an immersive experience of the water and the sea life below.
Others, like the Pearl Beach Resort, have
glass coffee tables with lids that slide open,
so you can see and feed the fish. Our bungalow at the Four Seasons included several small viewing windows throughout
the two-room suite (including one in the
shower). The gorgeous bungalow offered a
private outdoor deck with an entrance to
the water, and a two-person tub enclosed
by sliding shutters that reveal a spectacular view of the lagoon at sunset.
Each night, a "romance menu" appeared
on the bed, with offerings including a
beach dinner at sunset and a four-hour
royal spa session for two. The romantic
repast gives new meaning to the idea of
dinner and a show. From the sunset appetizers served by a royally dressed Tahitian
as you lounge in a beachside loveseat, to
the two-person feast of local delicacies,
and a private fire dance, this is a dream
meal-even for women with an array of
special food needs.
The royal spa treatment could not get
any more luxurious. Starting with foot soaks in flower
petal water on the spa's private deck, and
moving to side-by-side body scrubs, the
four-hour experience continues with massages on special tables placed on the glass
overwater floor, and ends with an hourlong soak in an outdoor coconut milk bath
for two, paired with an array of tropical
fruits and juices. This is the be-all and
end-all of spa treatments, in one of the
most beautiful settings in the world.
Bora Bora has many beautiful resorts
that offer varied accommodations. Our
next stop, the Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort, provides overwater bungalows as
well as large beachfront complexes with
outdoor showers, hot tubs, and plunge
pools. Our two-room suite featured stunning sunrise views of the famed Mount
Otemanu. We spent our mornings there
sipping coffee and combing the beach for
pencil-urchin quills. The grounds are gorgeous and rugged, featuring winding paths
and towering coconut trees. The Pearl has
its own luxury spa complex, Manea Spa,
nestled above a freshwater spring.
Same-sex marriage is legal in French
Polynesia-in
fact, marriage is a cottage
industry in the islands. Not surprisingly,
SEPTEMBER
2014
CURVE
73
many of the resorts have elaborate chapels, each with its own unique flavor. The
Pearl Beach Resort, which boasts the
first same-sex wedding on Bora Bora, of
fers traditional Polynesian ceremonies on
its white-sand beach. The Four Seasons
chapel faces Mount Otemanu, while its
catamaran wedding allows for a ceremony
on the water. Le Meridien offers an underwater wedding, which takes place under the
glass floor of an overwater chapel, so that
guests can stay dry while they watch the
ceremony below. And most resorts can offer
you a wedding on your own private island.
As well as being a romantic destination,
French Polynesia is an adventure destination, and anyone who visits should consider exploring. A jeep tour of Bora Bora's
main island will give you a perspective
that you won't get from below. The tours
include roller-coaster trails up to the enormous guns left by the U.S. after WWII,
perched to afford sweeping views of neighboring islands. The jeep tours also include
stops at local pearl farms and art galleries-you get an interesting combination
of history, fresh fruit, and hard-sell sales
74
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
pitches. Lagoon tours, on the other hand,
circle the island on motorized outriggers,
while local guides play weathered ukuleles and sing island songs. The Lagoon
Specialists tours feature stops to see indescribable giant blue clams, and to swim
with stingrays and reef sharks, both in the
shallows of the lagoon and in the deep blue
waters just outside the protective reef-an
experience that inspires fear and then awe.
The tour ends only after lunch on a private
motu, where your charming guides teach
you how to open a coconut and tie a pareo
(Tahitian sarong).
For those who are looking for an even
more exotic experience, there are many
other, more remote destinations in French
Polynesia. The Tuamotu Archipelago,
which is made up of a series of atolls (ringshaped coral reefs), provides a distinctly
otherworldly experience. From the air, the
atolls are nearly invisible until you are on top
of them. They rise mere feet above the water,
white and pink rings in an ocean of blue.
A stop on the pink-sand atoll of Tike-
hau is like touching
down into a movie.
Most of the 400 residents
live in the single village, which
we are told is a "two-hour walk''
over the reef from the largest hotel on the
atoll-the
37-room Tikehau Pearl Beach
Resort. Though the resort can cater to
most travelers' needs, it is remote. Essentials, such as reef shoes, should be brought
with you, and Wi-Fi can be spotty, so it's
best to consider time on this atoll as an
opportunity to unplug.
The Tuamotu is renowned for its phenomenal diving, and Jacques Cousteau
declared Tikehau's 17-mile-long lagoon
to have the greatest variety of fish species
in the entire archipelago. Whether you're
an avid diver or snorkeler bringing all your
own gear, or a traveler adventuring below
the surface of the water for the first time,
Tikehau is astounding. We arrived, gear
in hand, ready for some fun, and found
FEATURES/
it in the shallow waters just feet from
our beachfront bungalow. Stingrays, reef
sharks, colorful triggerfish, tangs, surgeonfish, and the ubiquitous scissortail
sergeant major greeted us in the warm
water. The shadows of the overwater
bungalows serve as a hideout for schools
of jackfish, and curious butterfly fish followed us everywhere, as if begging to be
photographed. If you plan a trip to French
Polynesia, investing in a good underwater
camera is well worth it. Many nights we
found ourselves snorkeling in the shallows
until dusk, when the light begins to fade
and the usually docile reef sharks appear
in earnest, looking for a meal.
Tikehau has a wild, untamed
feel. Unlike Hawaii, or even
Bora Bora, the atolls, while
offering a luxury experience, also offer
excursions that can
have you pinching yoursel£ Tikehau's lagoon tour offers deep snorkeling out in the
lagoon, at a coral outcropping known as a
"cleaning station;' where manta rays come
to be scoured by tiny wrasses. We watched
the great birdlike creatures appear and,
with their 10-foot wingspans, gracefully
maneuver themselves into place while the
wrasses went to work. Though harmless to
humans, mantas are alarmingly large, with
long tails trailing behind them and strange
structures on their heads for diverting the
microorganisms they feed on into their
gills. Swimming with these animals is absolutely thrilling, and we decided to return
to this place with scuba gear and an instructor for a training dive-an experience
we will never forget.
The lagoon tour also includes a stop at
Bird Island. This motu is home to thousands of nesting seabirds that fill the air
with flashing wings and the sounds of their
cries. Guides walk you through the groves
of coconut palms that cover the whole of
TRAVEL
Tikehau, pointing out red-footed booby
nests concealed in bushes and fairy tern
eggs balanced on tree limbs. If you're fortunate, you might see the awkward booby
babies, white masses of fuzz in their nests.
The tour ends with lunch on a private
motu. Less polished than the Bora Bora
lagoon lunch, this features whole lagoon
fish, one for each guest, cooked on an open
grill and served family-style. Instead of a
cultural display, guides take the remains of
lunch to the shallows and feed the swarms
of reef sharks that gather for a meal.
After you spend a week in these waters,
it is amazing how normal it seems to see
the black tips of shark fins darting through
the water. More than once, we found ourselves moving toward them unafraid, hoping for a closer look. This is the magic of
French Polynesia. Ultra-luxury resorts
nourish your body, while the rugged
beauty of the islands, the water, and the
wildlife nourish your soul.
Thank you to Tahiti Tourism for providing flights, accommodations, and excursions.
Go to tahiti-tourisme.com. •
Maryland's
largestcityis readyto showyouanything,
so longasyouembrace
yourinneroddball.
BY CYGNUS FOGLE
altimore is, on the sur~
face, a city full of history,
art, family fun and glori~
ous seafood. Beneath the
veil of tourism, however,
lies an unapologetically
weird "city of neighborhoods;' bursting
with all the kitsch your little queer heart
could ever desire.
WHOTOKEEP
ANEYEOUTFOR
Charm City is brimming with talented
folks, new and old. If you're feeling a little
overwhelmed at first, take a breather and
check out Visit Baltimore's websiteespecially if you' re looking for a group
excursion (wedding season, y'all)! Feel
free to check out the quintessential his~
torical destinations, such as the Edgar
Allen Poe House & Museum downtown
or the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museumbut if you're in the mood for the less
conventional, try paying a visit to native
76
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Baltimorean performer Divines grave
over in Towson or hit up the downtown
area whilst trying to spot the infamous
Pope ofTrash,John Waters. For the love
of Lord Baltimore, don't you dare miss
out on The American Visionary Art
Museum (AYAM), a jaw ~dropping col~
lection of self~taught artists with ever~
evolving current and ongoing exhibits.
Call the National Aquarium and set
up a sleepover that schedules a catwalk
above the tanks full of silently drifting
sharks, or drop by to say hello to their
new three~finned sea turtle, Calypso.
WHATTOEAT
If you're feeling luxurious, dine at Mr.
Rain's Funhouse (located inside AVAM)
to enjoy your art and eat it too. The Wit
and Wisdom Tavern at The Four Seasons
Hotel in Harbor East for a great Bloody
Mary, and City Cafe is known for their
monstrous Baltimore Club Sandwich
brimming with crab cake and shrimp
salad. Try hitting up the various and sun~
dry downtown hotspots if you're looking
for something a little more accessible;
Paper Moon Diner in Remington offers
a wide range of food-from
bacon milk~
shakes to vegan nachos-while
Belvedere
Square in North Baltimore offers things
both sweet and savory at Sofi's Crepes
along with sushi, wood~fired pizza, hearty
soups and a market full of fresh munchies.
WHENTOVISIT
All year round. Seriously, though. There's
always great stuff happening, whether it
be art or music or something else entirely.
Summertime provides ample opportunity
for fun activities, such as watching the
at Pride in June, catching all the vendors
at Artscape ( the country's "largest free
arts festival;' July 18-20), a show at the
Windup Space or moves on the hill at
AVAM.
WHERE
THEQUEERS
ARE
Hit up the tried~and~true gay and lesbian
bars such as The Hippo, Grand Central and
Club Bunns. You could try to schedule your
trip around one of Glitter Thigh's adroitly~
themed monthly queer/ trans dance par~
ties (queer prom, anyone:>)or drift through
one of the handfuls of clubs and bars open
near Ram's Head Live! after a show. Check
out the zine rack at Red Emma's on North
Avenue for some serious reading mate~
rial, but don't forget to look up from your
new books and grab a mug of Spicy Hot
Chocolate-you'll
miss all the great vegan
fare their cafe has to offer.
HOWTONAVIGATE
BALTIMORE
A city of neighborhoods, your travel op~
tions in Baltimore are so dizzying that
thinking about finding your way around
might seem a little overwhelming at first.
Fortunately, you' re not without options.
If you're of the smartphone variety, stay
charged and download Uber or Lyft for
an easy ride-these
apps hook you up
with reliable local drivers, and both apps
allow you to pay via card through your
phone for minimal hassle. The Charm
City Circulator is Baltimore's free public
bus system, but the Light Rail and MTA
are both decent low~cost ways to experi~
ence the city and beyond-potholes
and
all. Taxis are expensive here, so avoid if
you can (but if you must, cross your fin~
gers for Larry the Celebrity Cab Driver).
Us queers love our bikes, of course, and
there's plenty to see while cycling around
Hampden or Mt. Vernon, Baltimore's
professed gayborhood.
WHYYOUSHOULD
VISIT
Baltimore is the quirky weirdo cousin you
secretly wished you were cool enough to
be. Now's your chance! Grab your leopard
print and your John Waters movie callee~
tion and get going! (baltimore.org) •
or the last four years, Oldenburg, Germany, has been host
to L- Beach, a lesbian festival
featuring world-class live music,
DJ sets, sports, workshops, and
other fun events in a gorgeous
beachside location next to the
Baltic Sea. The L-Beach festival is largely
unknown in the States, but is popular
with German, Swiss, and Scandinavian
lesbians. And it has events and attractions
for everyone-from
20-somethings, to
women in their 70s, to lesbian families
with children. L- Beach is located at a resort called Weissenhauser Strand (with
comfortable condo-style accommodations),
so you can take advantage of all the onsite activities (including wakeboarding,
go-carts, and a pool and sauna), or you
can spend three days just relaxing on the
beach. The possibilities this year seemed
endless, from an outdoor erotica market
with sex toys, to foreign movies, to tantra
lessons for couples, to workshops on gender identity and how to dress in drag.
The founder of L- Beach, Claudia Kiesel, was a prominent lesbian party promoter in Hamburg for 10 years before she
78
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
decided to create her own lesbian festival.
"I wanted to do something for women
only, a production that does not exist anywhere else;' she says. And she did just that,
using the contacts she'd built over the last
decade. L-Beach is now the largest women's
festival in Europe, with an annual attendance of 4,000 women. "It's not Dinah
Shore, which is mainly focused on pool
parties. As I grew older, I wanted something of quality, so we have excellent live
music performances;' states Kiesel.
When asked about her marketing
strategy to attract more American girls
to her party, she laughs and replies, "Lezzies go where the lezzies are:' And get
this: L- Beach offers something that you
don't often see on the festival circuit-a
darkroom for girls, where they are free to
enjoy one another's company in the darkness from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. "Gay boys have
one, so we need one;' says Kiesel. This
year, some of the other prominent events
included an L-Stars Casting competition,
much like The Voice,where a panel of judges
chose the best singer, as well as a film festival showcasing independent lesbian films
from all over the world.
However, the main attraction of L-Beach
is the world-class live music performances.
Lesbian musicians come from all over to
perform. For example, a lesbian rapper from
North Carolina performed alongside a German rapper, Sooki. K's Choice, a Tennessee-based band with a Belgian lead singer,
rocked the main stage one evening, following the girl group Swedish Dyke Vibes.
Each year, one of the actors from The
L Word is the celebrity guest (Leisha
Hailey and Daniela Sea have appeared in
the past). This year, Janina Gavankar ( the
character Papi) was seen at the parties
and events, and was there to give a talk
on Whos Afraid of Vagina Wolf, the independent movie she recently starred in. The
festival is also affordable- budget-friendly
prices start around $180 for two nights,
FEATURES/
which include accommodations and festival
tickets. This is good news for international
visitors: "Face it, lesbians can be cheap;'
chuckles Kiesel.
International travelers may want to balance their weekend at L-Beach with a few
days in Hamburg, which is only an hour
from the festival by train. Unfortunately,
many international travelers are unaware
of all that the city has to offer. Hamburg
is the place to be if you like music, art, and
theatre. For example, there's the Reeperbahn Festival, featuring up-and-coming
bands from all across Europe, and each
month there is a spoken-word performance at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus.
The popular International Queer Film
Festival will be held October 14-19 this
year. Currently under construction, the
Elbphilharmonie Hamburg is positioned
to be the best concert hall in the world.
Hamburg is also a liberal and gay-friendly
destination. Registered partnerships have
been legal since 2001, and Germany allows people to decide how they would like
to be classified on their birth certificate.
Hamburg is also a very tolerant city, and
often you will see gay and lesbian couples
holding hands in public.
When you arrive in Hamburg, book
a room at the Superbude Hotel, near
the trendy hipster Sternschanze district.
The funky, skater-punk vibe of the hotel
fits in perfectly with the neighborhood.
The guidebooks call it "alternative" and
there certainly is a lot of graffiti in Sternschanze-but
the infamous site of many
Hamburg demonstrations has undergone
some recent gentrification. On an average
day, the mini-cafes are packed with locals
having a smoke or a beer, as passersby
window-shop in the swanky boutiques
and record stores. The Lockengelot redesign studio uses old materials to make
new furniture, turning oil drums into
cupboards and records into lamps; and
108 van Haen den Vintage Crafts sells
handmade shoes, vintage goods, restored
leather purses, and furniture. If you are
in Sternschanze on a Saturday, browse
with the locals at the Rinderschlachthalle,
the biggest flea market in Hamburg, and
the location of the start-up German music scene. For lunch, visit Bullerei, serving
popular Hamburg cuisine like burrata and
steak tartare.
Perhaps the most beautiful (and most
expensive) areas of Hamburg are the
neighborhoods surrounding the Alster
lakes. The inner Alster is bordered by luxury boutiques and the imposing medieval
city hall. The inner Alster is also called
the Jungfernsteig, which means "young
woman" in German. In the 1800s, young
women would stroll around the Alster
looking to attract a husband, much like the
scene in the Seurat painting ''A Sunday
Afternoon on the Island of La Grande
Jatte:' A stroll or boat tour will bring you to
the outer Alster, which houses millionaire
row and the historic Atlantic Kempinski
TRA
Hotel, used as a location in the James
Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies.
MonckebergstraBe is one of the busiest
shopping streets in Hamburg. After some
retail therapy, stop by the Apples Restaurant & Bar in the Park Hyatt Hamburg
and try the signature Apples cocktail,
made from the fresh fruit of the German
countryside. The gay area of Hamburg
is in St. Georg, a few S-Bahn train stops
from Sternschanze. Here, the main street,
Lange Reihe, is popular for bar-hopping
( there are not many lesbian-only establishments). Start at Kyti Voo, a mixed gay
cafe owned by Claudia Kiesel, of L-Beach
fame, or Cafe Grosa, an old-school gay
cafe featuring eclectic wall art and serving
tasty cakes. Wunderbar is also a popular
gay and lesbian hangout. (I-beach.com) •
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SEPTEMBER
2014
J
CURVE
79
Lingering Heat
Summer is nearly over, but the temperature
is still rising. By Charlene Lichtenstein
Virgo (Aug. 24-Sept. 23)
Capricorn (Dec. 23-Jan. 20)
Taurus (April 21-May 21)
There are rumors swirling
around you, Virgo, and they
seem to be raising your
popularity quotient to the top of
the A-list. Enjoy the scuttle and
get your butt to places where
you can confirm the delightful
gossip with your bold social
maneuvers and connections.
Your intuition may be telling
you something so listen very
carefully as to who is who, what
is what and exactly when.
Will falling in lust with a gal
pal complicate a perfectly
platonic relationship? It is your
theory to test this September,
should you decide to take the
romantic leap. Capricorns
can be overly conservative
and afraid of expressing your
emotions but this is the time to
show your true rainbow colors.
Let the sun shine in and create
a steamy heat wave.
Spend your end-of-summer
September cocooning at
home with your best bosom
buddy and see how that can
transform your relationship.
The world will still go on even
as you shut it out. And while
you are domesticating, why
not reassess your overall
surroundings with an eye
for home improvement. Will
you redecorate, renovate or
relocate, Taurus?
Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19)
Libra (Sept. 24-Oct. 23)
Tegan and Sara Quin
turn 34 on September 19
~
%
(Aug. 24-Sept. 23) %
Because Virgo rules the %
sixth house of the day- %
%
to-day job, health issues
%
and pets, Sapphic Virgins %
are happiest in careers %
that enable them to deal %
with the nitty gritty details, %
whether it's in accounting %
or nursing. They are %
meticulous, independent %
%
workers who are detail%
oriented and very neat and %
clean. You couldn't ask for %
a better office manager %
or veterinarian or even %
assembly line worker. %
These gals can handle the %
%
repetitive tasks better than
%
most women. In a very %
strange way, it gives her a %
sense of accomplishment;
%
it's measurable and %
quantifiable, after all. %
%
%
Charlene
Lichtenstein
is theauthor %
of HerScopes:
A Guide
to Astrology%
forLesbians
(Simon& Schuster)- %
%
tinyurl.
com/HerScopes.
%
VIRGO %
Nowavailable
asanebook. ~
80
CURVE
SEPTEMBER
2014
Jump into the social swim this
September, Libra, and see
where you wash up. You have
that certain something that
combines easy charisma with
bold confidence that draws the
ladies to you. Plan to expand
your circle of girlfriends
by joining new groups and
associations and spread
yourself thin all over town.
Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)
Put your ambitions on the front
burner and see how much
influence you can cook up
now. Scorpios often prefer to
work behind the scenes but
the fates conspire to push
you out into center stage. Get
ready for your close-up and use
every opportunity to gain the
advantage. Will you be a Cruella
de Ville or benevolent Queen
Bee when you reach the top?
Relationships can evolve to an
entirely new and happier level
this September, Aqueerius.
That is, if you can pry yourself
away from the demands of the
job. Try to find greater balance
or, even better, tip the scales
towards lovergrrls. You can
make up for lost career time
and professional accolades
later. For now, seek an
appreciative audience of one.
Pisces (Feb. 20-March 20).
Guppies have much more
energy than usual this
September and are poised
to make their mark on the
world. Whether that means
extensive travel or just cruising
the Internet is up to you, your
budget and your available time.
But be sure to make the most of
whatever you have. Today, some
pleasant neighborhood hot
spot; tomorrow, some exciting
international g-spot.
Gemini (May 22-June 21)
You are especially diplomatic,
charming and delightful this
September, Gemini. Use your
sugary gift of gab to lure a
certain co-worker into your
cubicle. You might have lust
on your mind or decide to use
your personal oil to effortlessly
glide projects off your desk
and onto hers. Will you be a
lovergrrl or a taskmistress?
Cancer (June 22-July 23)
Money isn't doing you much
good piling up in a dusty old
bank account. It needs to be
released into the fresh air and
used to provide lots of fun!
Or so you think, Cancer. The
temptation will be to splurge
on frolic and festivities with
your various paramours. But try
to keep an eye on the bottom
line for runaway costs. She
loves you with money. Don't
test the relationship.
Sagittarius (Nov. 23-Dec. 22)
If you have itchy traveling feet,
September may be the month
to scratch them. Get out of
your usual routine and see how
exciting the world can become.
But check your itinerary twice
and be sure that all the details
are in place before you embark.
It would be a shame to find
yourself in Paris, Vir. instead of
Paris, France.
Aries (March 21-April 20)
Lambda Rams can fall head
over heels for a pert lovergrrl
this September. She knows just
what to do to get your lamb
chops cooked. But life will
not just be one long luxurious
love session. In fact, expect an
active social life throughout
the month. You have many on
your "to do" list.
Leo (July 24-Aug. 23)
You are the center of attention
and surrounded by an adoring
crowd. So now what, Lioness?
While the world calls out for
more of you, your yearnings
seem to lie closer to home.
Can you combine the best of
both worlds this September by
hosting a bunch of bashes with
a bevy of beauties?•
~ BEST
..r.".·.T·"··
••
PLACES TO WORK
2014 for LGBT Equality
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