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Description
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ToC Queer Disability (p18); The Awareness Lifestyle (p22); Haute Couture Athletes (p39); Inside the WNBA (p46); Starring Scout Durwood (p60); Sue Bird Is Out (p62); Get High in Denver (p68); Wanderlust Couple (p74).
See all items with this value
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Sports Issue
See all items with this value
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issue
-
5
-
Date Issued
-
Oct-Nov 2017
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Format
-
PDF/A
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Publisher
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Frances Stevens
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Identifier
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Curve_Vol27_No5_October-November-2017_OCR_PDFa.pdf
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extracted text
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OUR FOOLPROOF GUIDE ON HOW TO WEAR THIS SEASON'S ESSENTIALS.
Plus, check out Macy's Presents: The Edit for our very best fashion, ideas & inspiration. macys.com/theEDIT
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Createdfor Macy's.BarIll pipedchiffontop.
Polyester.
Women.$69.50.WeblD4872718
Createdfor Macy's.BarIll. Nelly.$99.50.
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dragonbomber.Women.$89.
LACE-UP PUMPS
SanctuaryRobbieskinnyjeanswith velvetrose.
Cotton.Women.$139.WeblD5193897
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THE ULTIMATE THIRD LAYER
Sanctuaryboyfriendshirt.Women.$79.
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2017
FEATURES
JS
QUEER DISABILITY
Meet the women who are
struggling, surviving, and
achieving great things.
22
THE AWARENESS LIFESTYLE
Breast cancer precautions can
happen in the privacy of your
own home.
:J{)
HAUTE COUTURE ATHLETES
Discover the 'sharp' suits made
especially for physical types
by none other than Sharpe
Suiting.
~J(J
INSIDE THE WNBA
Meet the out and powerful
star players in women's pro
basketball.
(J()
STARRING SCOUT DURWOOD
Have you discovered this rising
lesbian entertainer yet?
(iS
GET HIGH IN DENVER
The Rocky Mountain capital
has plenty of peaks for queer
women.
,~J
WANDERLUST COUPLE
Follow blogger duo The
Vagabroads as they explore
South America and beyond.
2
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
39
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
IN EVERYISSUE
4
EDITOR'S NOTE
6
CURVETTES
8
FEEDBACK
10
THE GAYDAR
79
STARS
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
TRENDS
REVIEWS
11 OUT IN FRONT
Meet the community leaders
who are doing us proud. By
26 MUSIC
Interviews with Ani DiFRanco
and Chastity Brown. By Dave
Sheryl Kay
Steinfeld
11 IN CASE YOU MISSED
IT ... LGBT news from across
the country.
30 FILMS
A new documentary, Girl on
Girl, discusses femme invisibility, plus the best releases for
October.
12 WOMEN WE LOVE
Each issue we pick a lucky lady
with a look and a life to match.
13 CURVE CONFIDENTIAL
What's new and noteworthy
with our favorite celesbians.
32 BOOKS
New releases that will leave
you feeling inspired about
fitness and feminism.
By Chloe Curran
14 SHE SAID
The best celebrity quotes from
interesting queer women and
allies.
VIEWS
16 POLITICS
Deep thoughts and heartfelt
convictions on a different topic
each issue from our contributing politics editor. By Victoria
LAST LOOK
78 CROSSWORD
Can you tame our Queer Quiz?
By Myles Mellor
79 STARS
What do the heavens have in
store for you this starry issue?
By Charlene Lichtenstein
A. Brownworth
18 ISSUES
Our in-depth look into a hot
button topic affecting queer
women worldwide.
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
3
Bring Your
'W'Game
his year is the 45th anniversary of the passage of Title
IX into law. The Obama administration strengthened
the statute, adding protections for transgender students
and sexual assault victims to law which was intended to assist
women in finding equality in education, government employment,
and sports. Even though more women than ever are seeking
to prevent or redress gender-based discrimination through the
provisions of Title IX, the Trump administration is seeking to make
budget cuts to the Office of Civil Rights and to limit the breadth of
civil rights investigations. While Trump and Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos may not be able to dismantle or repeal the law, it is
unlikely that their staff will be encouraged to enforce, let alone
expand it.
This is our Sports issue and in it we celebrate many women who,
in all probability, would never have attained and enjoyed careers in
professional sports without Title IX-a law whose effect has been
most impactful for women and girls in education and athletics. In
fact, it's very likely that this issue of Curve would disappear from
your hands if Title IX had never happened. To read about why the
law is important, what it's done for girls and women, and why it
4
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
must be protected, read "A Level Playing Field" by Victoria A.
Brownworth on page 16.
Based on our online poll last month, Curve readers would
like to see more women athletes come out and encounter
less discrimination and homophobia from management and
sponsors when they do. You were right on the money! Of all the
complaints filed with the Office of Civil Rights, 80 percent pertain
to discrimination in sports, which indicates that we still have a long
way to go before we have true equality.
This issue, we chose basketball champion Sue Bird of the
WNBA's Seattle Storm as our cover girl. This newly out, four-time
Olympic gold medal winner is a lesson in strength, persistence,
and humility. I hope you enjoy Lucy J. Madison's excellent interview
on page 62. And if Sue Bird isn't enough to inspire you to support
your favorite team or athlete, be sure to go see Battle of the Sexes,
starring Emma Stone, when it is released nationally on September
22. Battle of the Sexes is about the famous tennis match between
Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. King and Riggs played in the
Houston Astrodome, and the match was nationally televised in
1973, long before ESPNand the Tennis Channel. If you don't know
the story of that legendary game, I don't want to spoil it for you
here. Just go and see the movie and be inspired by King's fierce
determination to legitimize the sport of tennis for all women. The
film's release this month could not be more timely.
It's viscerally thrilling to watch athletes who are at the peak of
their game, but it's important to remember that not all of us are
lucky enough to have bodies that function at that level. An indepth article on the estimated 3 million disabled queer women in
America is overdue, and I hope you enjoy meeting the amazing
women on page 18, and reading about their struggles-and their
triumphs.
Enjoy this issue, and I hope it gives you the strength and
inspiration you need to see out your goals for 2017.
4l!y
MERRYNJOHNS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
merryn@curvemag.com
"JI@Merryn1
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cu RVETTES
LAURIEHOLLOWAY
Laurie has been a starry-eyed storyteller for 30 years.
She was an editor at newspapers nationwide, including
Dallas, Nashville, and Washington, D.C. In Palm Springs,
she was the first editor to assign stories on the Dinah
Shore Classic golf tournament. Most recently, she
headed up the communications team at the Dallas Zoo,
and produced "Giraffe Birth Live," the groundbreaking
partnership with Animal Planet that live-streamed a
giraffe birth for the first time. She lives in Northern
Virginia with her wife, a forensic DNA expert.
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
OCT/NOV
LESBIAN
2017 » VOLUME
MAGAZINE
27 NUMBER
5
PUBLISHER Silke Bader
FOUNDING PUBLISHER Frances Stevens
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Merryn Johns
SENIORCOPY EDITOR Katherine Wright
CONTRIBUTINGEDITORS Marcie Bianco, Victoria A.
Brownworth, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Anita Dolce Vita,
Sheryl Kay, Gillian Kendall, Dave Steinfeld
EDITORIALASSISTANTSGemma Dart
OPERATIONS
DIRECTOROF OPERATIONS Jeannie Sotheran
JANELLEBECK
Janelle has been writing for Curve for over six years,
individually and with her co-writer and wife Melany Joy
Beck. When she's not working on bringing Curve readers
the best and brightest queer, bisexual, and lesbian
stars in the music and entertainment scenes, she has
worked on documentary films, contributed harmonies
to an alt-country band, and has acted in regional theater
and network television. This issue she interviews Scout
Durwood and finds out about the newest women's
music festival, Mothership.
PROOFING
PROOFREADERMarcie Bianco
ADVERTISING
NATIONAL SALES Rivendell Media (908) 232-2021
EMAIL todd@curvemagazine.com
ART/PRODUCTION
ART DIRECTOR Bruno Cesar Guimaraes
SOCIAL MEDIA
MANAGERGemma Dart
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Melany Joy Beck, Janelle Beck, Roxy Bourdillon, Kelsy
Chauvin, Chloe Curran, Jane Czyzselska, Mallorie DeRiggi,
Dar Dowling, Kristin Flickinger, Sanya Franich, Jessica
Halem, Sarah Hasu, Kim Hoffman, Charlene Lichtenstein,
Sassafras Lowrey, Kelly McCartney, Myles Mellor, Bella
Qvist, Laurie K. Schenden, Yana Tallon-Hicks, Lisa Tedesco
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS & PHOTOGRAPHERS
Steph Brusig, Erica Camille, Grace Chu, Meagan Cignoli,
Shelby Coley, Sara Lautman, Syd London, Maggie Parker,
Diana Price, B. Proud, Robin Roemer, Leslie Van Stelten
CARRIE LYELL
Carrie is Editor of DIVA, Europe's best-selling magazine
for lesbians and bi women. She has previously written
for Pink Paper, Lesbilicious and The Guardian and
always wanted to write about queer culture, mostly
because being gay is the only thing she's any good at,
and she is passionate about amplifying queer women's
voices both in LGBT and mainstream media. Originally
from Edinburgh, she's still getting to grips with being a
Londoner. You can find her tweeting @Seej.
LUCY J. MADISON
Lucy is a novelist, poet, and screenwriter who always
dreamed of playing professional basketball. She's the
author of the WNBA-themed contemporary lesbian
romance Personal Foul, the contemporary lesbian
romance In the Direction of the Sun, plus a collection
of poetry entitled I.V.Poems (Sapphire Books). Lucy
resides in shoreline Connecticut and Provincetown, MA.
Connect with her on lnstagram, Facebook, and Twitter:
@lucyjmadison and lucyjmadison.com.
CONTACT INFO
Curve Magazine
PO Box 467
New York, NY 10034
PHONE (415) 871-0569
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(toll-free in us only)
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Volume 27 Issue 5 Curve (ISSN 1087-867X) is published 6 times per
year (February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September,
October/ November/, December/January) by Avalon Media, LLC,
PO Box 467, New York NY 10034. Subscription price: $35/year, $45
Canadian (U.S. funds only) and $55 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
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Inquiries: Please write to Curve, Avalon Media LLC., PO Box 467 New
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Printed in the U.S.
curvemag.com
6
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
EMMA STONE
As
BILLIEJEAN KING
STEVECARELL
As
FROMTHEDIRECTORS
OF
BOBBY RIGGS
'LITTLEMISS SUNSHINE'
••••
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•• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
•••
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•••• • • • • •••••••••• ••••
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•• •• •••
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• • ••
•••••• ••••• •••••• ••••• ••••••••• ••
•••• •••••• • •••••••••
BASEDON A TRUESTORY
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WHY
WE
LOVE
-Alicia Nicole, Brooklyn NY
THANK OOOUUU!
Your cover on Young M.A
was dope. I sat down with a
Hennessy in front of my AC
and read the whole story in
about 5 minutes. To all the
haters out there: I'm "sorry
for your loss," but she has
changed rap forever, so deal
with it. Straight and gay,
male and female-everyone
knows who she is and that's
an achievement.
-Me/an
VISIBILITYWITHOUT
MISOGYNYPLEASE
I applaud your choice of a
woman of color on the cover
of Curve, but rap in general
(and some of M.A's lyrics) still
feed misogyny. Are lines like "I
want a rich bitch not a cheap
hoe" doing anything for the
female LGBTQcommunity? Is
appropriation a step toward
making that shit meaningless?
Butch via email
THE DARKSIDE OF PRIDE
We are a proudly engaged
Stud4Stud couple whom
unfortunately get gay bashed
on social media and to
our faces even at an event
where we should've felt most
comfortable: NYC Pride 2017.
For years we've been laughed
at, and talked about, but it's
reached a level where we
actually get pointed at and
literally called "disgusting"
because we are two dominant
women who found love with
one another. We uploaded an
anti-gay-on-gay-bashing video
to our growing Ty&Loyaltie
fan page on Facebook. Ever
since we posted that video on
June 28th, 2017 it's received
over 40,000 views. We hope
that our voices are heard
concerning the in-community
gay bashing that's growing
like wildfire, potentially
even becoming dangerous
because people simply don't
understand why we chose one
another. Isn't the purpose of
LGBT Pride festivities to show
that there indeed is no H8;
to show that Love Is Love no
matter whom it's between; to
be proud of being different
from anyone else? But where's
the Pride and Love when your
own peers wont accept your
difference?
-Marsha "Ty" Padmore and
Samm "Loya/tie" Willims, via
email
WHAT
WOULD
YOU
LIKE
TOSEE
MORE
OFINSPORTS?
46%
MORE OUT LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL ATHLETES
8%
MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISABLED ATHLETES
8%
LESS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX ATHLETES
38%
LESS HOMOPHOBIA
FROM MANAGEMENT AND SPONSORSHIP
WRITE
Curve magazine, PO Box 467, New York, NY 10034
US!Email: letters@curvemagazine.com
Send to:
8
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
Subscriber Services are now available at
curvemag.com/magazine
subscribe
pay your bill
change address
renew
get missing issues
give a gift
10 GIRL GAYDAR
13 CELESBIANGOSSIP
14 THEY SAID WHAT?
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
9
TRENDS/
p
THE GAYDAR
I THEGAVDAR
Takes one to know one? Let our gaydar
help you decide who's shaking it and
who's faking it in lesboland.
BY MARCIE BIANCO
Capitol Police Officer and out
lesbian Crystal Griner is kissed by
Donald Trump while receiving her
Medal of Valor I
Spelman College, the prestigious
HBCU, establishes a LGBTQ scholarship
program and a lecture series
Netflix ends Orphan
Black and Gypsy,
causing fans to
grieve and launch
online petitions
Gameof
Thrones'
steamy
makeout sesh
between
lronborn
Yara Greyjoy
and Dornish
Amazon
Queen Ellaria
Sand ends far
too abruptly
Nicole Kidman
plays lesbian
feminist Julia
Edwards in Jane
Campion's BBC
series of Top of
the Lake: China
Girl
Jane Lynch
takes on a
dramatic role
as former
US Attorney
General
Janet Reno
in Discovery
Channel's
Manhunt:
Unabomber
Bisexual
actor Anna
Paquin stars
in upcoming
lesbian
drama, Tell It
to the Bees.
Popular children's
cartoon Doc
McStuffins
introduces lesbian
parents, with the mixed
race couple voiced by
Wanda Sykes and Portia
de Rossi, as parents of
a Latina child
10
CURVE
Real Housewives's
Sonja Morgan
lets her vag hang
out during the
girls' drunken
Mexico jaunt, but
cries when Luann
won't reciprocate
because "she's
married now"
(she's since
divorced)
OCT/NOV
Annie Clark aka St. Vincent
is set to direct a feature film
adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The
Picture of Dorian Gray-with
Dorian as a woman!
2017
Judy Reyes, who plays
the butch character
Quiet Ann, captures
our hearts on new hit
TNT show, Claws.
After losing resident lesbian Sue
Perkins, The Great British Bake
Off finds another lesbian, Sandi
Toksvig, to take her place. But
will there be soggy bottoms?
TRENDS/
BISHOP
KAREN
OLIVETO
>>Tampa,
Florida
Spntua Chang A ent/Centennial,
Colorado
When she was only 11years old, Methodist Bishop
Karen Oliveto's minister asked her if she might want to
consider a job in the church. The fact that she was born
on Good Friday in a town called Babylon was irrelevant.
But the query was the seed that gave root to her lifelong
vocation.
"I loved the Bible stories and the hymns of faith," she
recalls. "That question broke me open. I began preparing
for ministry at that age, and preached my first sermon
when I was 16." In the mid-1980s, while she and her fellow lesbian Methodist ministers were all deeply closeted
in the church, Oliveto says they found one another at
gatherings of clergywomen "by seeing who was singing
Cris Williamson's 'Song of the Soul' from memory."
Over the years, more and more clergy became
supportive of LGBTrights, eventually allowing Oliveto
and her fellow gay ministers to serve openly in certain
parts of the country. While some still faced rules that
prohibited them from serving, the climate changed so
much that 111of them officially came out in a pastoral letter to the denomination in May 2016. Two months later,
Oliveto was unanimously elected bishop for the Western
Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, and soon
thereafter became the subject of an investigation of her
sexuality, resulting in a church "trial."
In May of this year, a decision was reached. "It is quite
convoluted," says Oliveto. "They found my nomination,
election, and assignment in good order. They questioned my consecration as bishop, but did not undo it."
A UMC commission is now considering ways to
address the issue, and in 2019 there will be a vote on the
proposal that this commission produces. Meantime, the
bishop says there is still considerably more work to do.
"My ministry has always included in-the-streets
activism, especially around LGBTQrights, working with
immigrant communities, and doing advocacy around
homelessness and economic justice," she says. "As
bishop, my ministry now has a wider reach. I am working
with churches in my area to become sanctuary churches
for immigrants in response to the Trump administration's
anti-immigration policies."
Oliveto says she's been overwhelmed by the amount
of support she's received. "I do believe that the people in
the pews have moved beyond the [LGBTQ] issue, and it
is time for the church's rules to catch up."
NEWS
Christine Forster
AUSTRALIA
HAS
REACHED
ATIPPING
POINT
ON
MARRIAGE
EQUALITY,
with a national ballott via postal survey in which Australians will
be able to vote "yes" or "no" on whether same-sex couples should
be allowed to marry. An estimated 95 percent of Australian adults
are enrolled to vote, which is compulsory-except
for more than
250,000 people ages 18-24, who aren't yet on the electoral roll.
Whether out of complacency or cynicism toward their political
leaders, it is hoped that-as with Ireland-the youth of Australia will
register and vote in favor of marriage equality. Former conservative
prime minister Tony Abbott has spoken out against the ballott, calling it "political correctness." Abbott's out lesbian sister, Christine
Forster, who is a city councillor, has tweeted: "If you don't believe
your relationships (or anyone else's) are second rate: vote yes."
• AHINDU
AND
JEWISH
LESBIAN
couple tied the knot in what
appears to be the first interfaith
same-sex wedding ceremony
in Britain. Kalavati Mistry and
Miriam Jefferson, who is from
Texas,tied the knot in August
after meeting each other 20
years ago in a training course.
• AWAITRESS
DISPLAYING
AN
equality tattoo was denied a tip
in a Rockport, Illinois BuffaloWild
Wings.The receipt said, "Can't
tip someone who doesn't love
Jesus.Badtat(t)oo:' The waitress
responded on lnstagramsaying
that "being gay DOESNOTmean
you don't believe in Jesus."
a personal video to judges to
convince them she is a lesbian.
• ST.PETERSBURG,
RUSSIA
PRIDE
was the biggest in its eight
years with 100 activists and
attendees carrying rainbow
flags and signs squaring off
against police and rightwing protestors. Organizers
believe numbers would
be higher if LGBTRussians
were not so afraid of the
repurcussions of coming out.
Putin's introduction of a "gay
propaganda law" in 2013 has
dampened, if not squashed,
the country's growing Pride
movement.
HOME
PARTY
LEADER
• ANIGERIAN
GAY
RIGHTS
ACTIVIST• JEWISH
accused by a High Court judge
of faking her sexuality to seek
asylum in the UK has won her
13-year battle to stay in the UK.
Aderonke Apata's application
was denied in 2015 because
the judge did not believe she
was gay-in spite of her years
of LGBTactivism and her belief
she would be killed if she
returned to Nigeria. Apata sent
Naftali Bennett has defended
his spokeswoman after a
leading rabbi left the national
religious party in protest over
Bennett's aide, who is a lesbian.
Bennett tweeted: "Anyone who
thinks I need to discriminate
against a person because of
sexual orientation, gender or
skin color will encounter a total
refusal from me."
- By Sheryl Kay
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
11
ma es
1sory an sen s
hearts aflutter.
ON
HOW
SHE
LANDED
ON
ANDY
COHEN'S
RADAR
FOR ON
CONTRIBUTING
TO
LGBTO
VISIBILllY
AND
THE
FOX
REALITY
SHOW,
LOVE
CONNECTION BREA
ING
STEREOTYPES
ABOUT
LESBIANS
As much as I would like to say that
Eve;rytime there is a lesbian person or
Andy is my bestie and texted me to
c aracter represented on TV, it gives
personally invite me on the show, that is
t 'e general public a little bit more of
unfortunately not the case. I actually got a a'r\ ~nderstanding of what "we" are
and sheds a little light into our diverse
message from a friend of a friend through
Facebook asking if I would be interested.
~opulation population. Also, it is so
When you live in L.A., you have a lot of
~portant
for young gays to see people
friends and acquaintances in casting jobs.,like
~1hem on TV! It can give hope to
1
,,
LGjlQ kids or adults in difficult situCONCERNSABOUTGOINGON
REALITYTV
aJions. I think that Love Connection
After I went through the preliminary
, ~s particularly powerful because it
casting process I withdrew myself
,i I featured four real life lesbians who are
because I started to panic about possib:le ., looking for love just like everyone else. I
repercussions. But after I learned more
that we can continue to normalize
• m. Because we are really just
specifics about the show and what they
were hoping to accomplish, I came
wesome people!
back around and was all in. It's definitely
a vulnerable feeling to talk about your
ON
ANDING
A"to ECONNECTION"
ON
THE
SHOW
personal and love life on camera, knowing
I dated Alison Freed for a couple of
that millions of people could watch.
months and ow we're best friends. So
Love Connection worked really hard to
match people who they thought could
actually make love connections, so that
made it easy to be authentic. I know this
sounds cliche, but you really do forget
that the cameras are there. I went into
this experience with the goal of being
as authentic as possible so that America
could get to know a real lesbian.
ON
WHAT
KIND
OF
WOMAN
SHE
ISLOOKING
FOR
The type of woman that I look for
is someone who is funny, driven,
confident, witty, strong-minded,
and communicative. Being a good
communicator is so important! Also,
someone who likes to embrace the now
and is not always planning for the future.
In the looks department-pretty eyes and
good teeth are a must!
12
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OCT/NOV
2017
I'm as single AF (laughs). Just waiting for
the right girl to fall into my lap.
ON
LIFE
OUTSIDE
OF
LOVE
CONNECTION
I have an amazing corporate job
that keeps me pretty busy and
I also am in the gym 4-5 days a
week. I recently started a blog
(yourfriendlyneighborhoodlesbian.co
to talk about my experiences with the
Love Connection and life as a lesbian in
L.A. I have some new potential business
opportunities in the pipeline that I a
super excited about. Also, I am looki
into signing up for acting classes just
for fun! I am always wanting to travel
and to plan new adventures ...so yeah,
life is good!
Follow Liz Baxter on lnstagram:
@LizBinLA #doitforthegram
TRENDstGOSSIP
CURVE
CONFIDENTIAL
Celesbians
behaving
badly ... and sometimes
well.
BY CHLOE CURRAN
• ELLEN AND PORTIA ARE STILL MARRIED
After nine years together, Ellen and Portia are still conspicuously smitten with each other.
The two married on August 16, 2008, and remain deliriously in love. Both took to lnstagram
to reminisce about their anniversary. In lieu of long, flowery speeches, both kept it simple.
Ellen posted a black and white photograph of them on their wedding day accompanied
by the caption "Being her wife is the greatest thing I am." Portia chose a blurry shot of the
two embracing and beaming into the camera, writing "We've been together so long that
not only do we look like kids in this picture, but it was taken with a camera! Happy 9th,
Thing." Ellen and Portia are truly the Barack and Michelle of lesbians.
• FOREVER 21 RIPS OFF LESBIAN FASHION AT WILDFANG
You've likely seen Wildfang's signature "Tomboy" or "Wild Feminist" T-shirts on your
favorite celesbians and lnstagram it-girls. Wildfang CEO and designer Emma Mcilroy took
to lnstagram to call out Forever21 for ripping off their designs and explained her anger to
Refinery29. "When you rip off that T-shirt, you're not just ripping off us, you're also taking
money out of the pocket of Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, because 10% of every
product that we make goes directly to them ...l would love to know how much everyone in
that supply chain was paid, because I can tell you that I pay well above minimum wage for
anyone in my company," she said. She intends to pursue legal action.
• TAKE MY WIFE IN LIMBO AFTER SEESO FOLDS
A campaign to save Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher's groundbreaking comedy
Take My Wife is blazing through the internet. But will it be enough? The show revolves
around the life, love, and work of real-life comedian couple Cameron Esposito and
Rhea Butcher. The first season aired last August on Seeso, NBC's experimental comedy
streaming service. The second season was set to air soon but Seeso announced that it
will be shutting down. Some Seeso shows have already found another home, but Take
My Wife has not. The show has a record amount of diversity, both behind and in front of
the camera. A quarter of the cast is women of color, and more than half identify as LGBT.
• HANNAH HART'S NEW SHOW DEBUTS ON THE FOOD NETWORK
The ultra-successful lesbian YouTuber behind My Drunk Kitchen just kicked off her
network TV career with I Hart Food, a new show on The Food Network. I Hart Food follows
Hannah Hart across America as she tries the signature dishes of American cities. Airing
on Mondays at 10/9c, I Hart Food sounds like a classic Food Network formula modernized
by a YouTube star host. As someone who recently watched a season of The Next Food
Network Star and found it inexplicably engrossing, I'm excited to watch a lesbian beam
into the camera while taking advantage of this tried and true genre.
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
13
"The story gets
furthered through that
[lesbian] relationship more than it
would have with a man ... I'm glad she
didn't have to examine her brokenness with a
man ...l just feel that this [LGBTQ] community is
not represented the way that it should be in film.
Actors are always talking about reflecting society
in media, but if we're gonna do that, we should
really do that. I could have hooked up with a
guy, but it's great that I hooked up with a girl.
I'm proud of that."
-Charlize Theron to ComicCon
about Atomic Blonde
14
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OCT/NOV
2017
18MAKING DISABILITYVISIBLE
22BREASTCAREAT HOME
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
15
A Level
Playing
Field
The importance of Title IX
for women's equality.
BY VICTORIA
A. BROWNWORTH
Women have never had equal rights
under the law in America. Yet some laws
have helped us begin to shake off the
yoke of inequality under which all women
suffer-the 19th Amendment gave women
the right to vote; Griswold v. Connecticut
made contraception legal in 1965; Roe v.
Wade gave women reproductive choice
in 1973; in 2003, Lawrence v. Texas
decriminalized homosexuality; in 2015,
Obergefell v. Hodges legalized samesex marriage allowing lesbians the same
benefits that had advantaged heterosexual
couples for decades.
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OCT/NOV
2017
One law that gets less attention than
these others is Title IX, which President
Richard Nixon signed as part of the
Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX
stipulates that any educational program
or activity that receives federal funding
cannot discriminate on the basis of sex.
Title IX was a game changer. Ultimately,
this law has impacted as many women
and girls as those that guarantee the right
to vote and the right to choice, creating
a more equitable environment in every
aspect of elementary, secondary, and
college education, public or private. While
the focus appeared to be on sports, Title IX
opened the door to academic education
as well. Before Title IX, colleges couldand did-refuse to admit women solely
based on their sex.
Title IX also allowed girls and women
to take any classes they wanted in high
school and college-no more exclusion of
females from traditionally male pursuits.
Nor could academia bar women from
teaching in those fields. Title IX could
also, if certain cases come before the
U.S. Supreme Court next session, end
employment
discrimination
against
lesbians who are being discriminated
against solely on the basis of sex if they
are fired for being lesbian.
In its 2017-18 session, the U.S. Supreme
Court is likely to take on the cases of
Kimberly Hively, a physical education
professor, and Jameka Evans, a hospital
employee, under the Title IX provision.
Hively and Evans are lesbians who were
fired from their respective jobs for being
gender nonconforming.
Lower court
rulings in both cases suggest that Title
IX should be applicable to their lawsuits,
both of which are being handled by
Lambda Legal. It's a heady proposition
that would forever alter American law
and create the safety net for lesbians that
Congress has failed to provide since ENDA
(the Employment Non-Discrimination Act)
was first introduced in 1994.
While Title IX has long been synonymous
with sports and literally created an equal
playing field for girls and young women
from elementary school through college,
the law has also been broadened in recent
years to address the pandemic of sexual
assaults on high school and college
campuses, assaults that impact one in five
young women.
In April 2011, the Office for Civil Rights
(OCR) of the Department of Education
refined the language of Title IX to address
VIEWS/
this area of sexual assault.
The language of the OCR is succinct
and irrefutable: All public and private
elementary
and secondary schools,
school districts, colleges, and universities
(hereinafter
'schools') receiving any
Federal funds must comply with Title IX.
Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis
of sex can include sexual harassment
or sexual violence, such as rape, sexual
assault, sexual battery, and sexual
coercion. If it is proven that a school has
failed to protect girls and women from
these crimes, that school would lose its
federal funding.
In 2013, Andrea Pino and Annie
Elizabeth Clark, now 26 and 28, filed a
sexual harass-ment complaint against
their college, the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, using Title IX.
I met Pino and Clark soon after they
had filed their lawsuit and was deeply
impressed by their activism and bravery.
The lawsuit asserted that UNC was failing
to protect students from sexual assaultsomething both young women had been
victims of while at the college. The school
was equally culpable for its execrable
handling of such cases, the women
asserted.
How could Title IX be about rape
when it was about making sure girls got
game, like boys did? The OCR, which
had expanded the language of Title IX
two years before Pino and Clark filed
their suit, understood the connection. In
March 2013, Clark got a response from
the U.S. Department of Education: It was
taking on the women's case, and a year
later the Obama White House announced
a task force to assess and address the
problem. Vice President Joe Biden
would be overseeing the investigation.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who had
opened her own investigation of sexual
assault in the military, got on board and
engaged Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to
present a bill to address the issue.
Without Pino and Clark and their
willingness to go public with their own
rapes and the violent details of those
crimes-concomitant
with the expansion
of Title IX under Barack Obama-the
epidemic of sexual violence on campuses
might not have gotten the attention that
it has in recent years. Clark and Pino
were the subject of a documentary, The
Hunting Ground, in 2015. The film was
short-listed for an Academy Award, and
the song "'Til It Happens to You," sung by
Lady Gaga, was nominated for an Oscar
for Best Original Song.
Women's sports had never been seen
in the same light as men's. That changed
once Title IX was fully implemented.
Female students were finally able to
argue that schools should treat sports
for women and girls with the same
seriousness accorded to sports for men
and boys.
The change in women's sports has been
dramatic since Title IX. In 1974 fewer than
300,000 girls played high school sports.
In 2016, that number reached an all-time
high of 3,324,326. Now, girls are not that
far behind boys (whose participation is
at 4,544,574). The top five sports for girls
are basketball, track and field, volleyball,
softball, and soccer; the top five for boys
are basketball, track and field, baseball,
cross-country, and football. What doesn't
differ is the opportunity girls now have to
participate in college sports scholarship
programs, in the Olympics and other
national
sports
competItIons,
and,
ultimately, in professional sports.
In 1974, it was difficult to name more
than a handful of women's sports figures
and nearly all were tennis players.
Today, when a former tennis great, like
born-again Christian and homophobe
Margaret Court, complains that lesbians
have infiltrated and ruined tennis, as she
did recently, there are dozens of women
in tennis and other sports to call her out
for homophobia. Title IX created the
atmosphere for that level of allyship.
At the 2016 summer Olympics in
Rio, more than two dozen out lesbian
athletes participated-many
from the
U.S. In 2013, when two lesbian basketball
players filed suit against their coach for
discrimination, it was under Title IX. A
week before Christmas 2015, U.S. District
Court Judge Dean Pregerson ruled
in favor of the two women in Layana
White and Haley Videckis v. Pepperdine
University, writing that "sexual orientation
discrimination is not a category distinct
from sex or gender discrimination."
It was the first ruling of its kind.
In the Pepperdine case, the women,
who were in a relationship, cited repeated
homophobic references to their sexual
POLITI
orientation from coach Ryan Weisenberg,
who had previously coached the Los
Angeles Sparks in the WNBA. The
complaint stated that Weisenberg had
told the team that "lesbianism is not
tolerated on this team" and "that's why
teams lose." Weisenberg alleged that
there were lesbians on the Sparks team
and said that's what led to the demise
of the team spirit. "That's the reason our
team fell apart and lost."
Weisenberg and Court aside, lesbian
athletes have been key players in every
major sport since Title IX, from Billie
Jean King and Martina Navratilova in
tennis to Abby Wambach, who holds the
international world record in soccer goals
for both women and men-184.
Wambach exemplifies the power of
Title IX. She played on her high school and
college teams and then rose to become a
two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA
Women's World Cup champion, as well
as a six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer
Athlete of the Year Award. In 2011, she
became the first-ever soccer player of
either gender to be named Athlete of the
Year by the Associated Press.
In 2012, Wambach was awarded FIFA
World Player of the Year and in 2015
was listed among Time magazine's 100
most influential people in the world. And
when Wambach ran to kiss her wife in
the stands after the U.S. won the 2015
Women's World Cup, it was a lesbian
moment felt around the world.
As women and girls celebrate the 45th
anniversary of Title IX, the impact it has
had on the country is irrefutable. On
August 7, Torie Bowie became the first
U.S. woman to win the 100 meter world
title in six years at the IAAF in London.
Like Wambach, Bowie reflects the best of
Title IX, coming from tiny Sand Hill, Miss.,
where her high school wins landed her a
scholarship to the University of Southern
Mississippi and from there to a series of
Olympic medals including the gold in Rio.
Title IX gave girls what boys have
always had: heroic role models. Women
could now change a world that had
always been reserved for men, just by
being themselves.
Title IX is a law that must be preserved
and protected, just as it has protected
and elevated literally millions of girls over
the past 45 years. •
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
17
Embracing our full spectrum.
The images were the very essence of
Resistance. Disabled women were putting
their lives on the line, protesting attempts by
President Trump and Senate Republicans
to repeal the Affordable Care Act and gut
Medicaid. Some in wheelchairs, some
with limbs distorted by dystrophies or by
oxygen tanks or breathing tubes, disabled
women camped in the halls of Congress or
outside the doors of various senators until
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-KY)called for their arrest.
Throughout June and July, there they
were, chanting, holding placards, staging
"die-ins" like those during the AIDS crisis
in the 1980s and '90s. Every day on CNN
and every night on the national news these
women were there: some being pushed
into, and others being lifted from their
wheelchairs into the waiting Capitol Police
vans, as they all chanted to save the ACA
and Medicaid.
18
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OCT/NOV
2017
evv1croR1AA.
eRowNwoRrH
It was a revolutionary moment: The
whole world was watching as these
women made America's largest-yet most
invisible-minority more visible.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five
American adults has at least one kind of
disability. The CDC study, drawn from 2013
data, says 53 million Americans have a
disability, while the 2010 U.S. Census puts
the number at 56.7 million.
How is it, then, that so few people in
this country are aware that the number
of disabled Americans is so shockingly
high? Some disabled women-Millennials
to Baby Boomers-are trying to change
that. Twitter, Facebook, and lnstagram
have become venues for disability rights
activists to come out, to form a community
from those whose disabilities are as diverse
as that 56.7 million figure suggests, and as
closeted as the nondisabled community
has often demanded.
Visibility is the door through which
change happens. Alice Wong is the
founder and project coordinator of the
Disability Visibility Project, which collects
oral histories of people with disabilities
in the U.S. It is run in coordination with
StoryCorps, so the histories are filed at
the Library of Congress. A presidential
appointee to the National Council on
Disability under President Barack Obama,
Wong was the first person to visit the
White House and the President by means
of robotics when, in 2015, she attended
the reception at the White House for the
25th anniversary of the Americans with
Disabilities Act via telepresence robot.
Wong is one of the most visible of the
disability rights activists on Twitter, where
her #CripTheVote hashtag created a locus
for visibility throughout the 2016 election.
In May, Wong, who was born with spinal
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muscular atrophy, wrote a poignant op-ed
for the New York Times about how Medicaid
and the ACA allowed her to live her fullest
life, independently. Without that support
she would have become just another
warehoused victim, as disabled Americans
have been for generations. "It is more than
a healthcare program. It is a life-giving one.
And I am proof," she wrote, detailing how
Medicaid allowed her to go to college and
then find work.
In the 1980s and '90s, as one of a handful
of out lesbian journalists, I was often a
guest on popular talk shows. It was on
one of these shows that I first met Karen
Thompson, a progenitor of the fight for
lesbians and disability rights. Thompson's
partner, Sharon Kowalski, had been in an
accident with a drunk driver, which had
left her disabled. For seven years, from
the mid-'80s to the early '90s, Thompson,
who had shared a commitment ceremony
with Kowalski and with whom she had
lived for several years, fought Kowalski's
father for legal guardianship of the woman
she considered her wife. Donald Kowalski
denied that his daughter was a lesbian and
told the courts that Thompson was trying to
sexually abuse his now-disabled daughter in
the nursing home where she was receiving
care. Yet Thompson fought on, eventually
winning the case and bringing Sharon
home.
The Thompson-Kowalski story is every
lesbian couple's nightmare:
Sudden
disability leaves one of you at the mercy of
people denying your lesbianism and your
personhood, and you are unable to fight
for your own needs and desires. But it was,
for many, also an anomalous story: The
LGBTcommunity has had its own shameful
history of shunting its disabled members
into a different closet, where disability and
all it entails is invisible. For a community that
touts intersectionality, except for providing
sign language for the deaf at LGBTevents,
the needs of the disabled have been slow
to be addressed. In Philadelphia, when
the William Way LGBT Community Center
bought a building in 1997, seven years
after the Americans with Disabilities Act
was signed into law by President George
H.W. Bush, the beautiful new site-a 19thcentury townhouse in the center of the
Gayborhood-was wheelchair inaccessible.
Bodies-athletic, sleek, youthful, and
nondisabled-had long been how LGBT
people had been viewed, both outside and
within the LGBTcommunity.
Disabled queers, who have always
skirted the margins of queer community,
were virtually invisible, either by accident
or design, for years. But as the backlash
against "special rights" intensifies under
President Trump, those who are queer and
disabled are fighting marginalization with
the kind of activism that characterized the
era of ACT-UP,Queer Nation, and Lavender
Menace. Like the Resistance itself, it's being
led by women.
Nicola Griffith, who left her home
in Leeds, England, at 16 to live a life
unrestricted by familial homophobia, says,
"I was born a woman and always knew I
was a dyke:' She was not, however, always
disabled, reflecting the fact that about half
of all disabilities are acquired after birth.
Griffith is the well-known writer of awardwinning fiction and nonfiction; she has
been addressing disability personally for
decades. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
(MS) in 1993, only a few years into her
relationship with her partner and wife of
29 years, the writer Kelley Eskridge, Griffith
says that, as a writer, lesbian coming out
stories held no interest for her. Disability,
however, is a different issue entirely.
"For me," Griffith explains, "[lesbian]
coming out stories were-apart from the
sex-tedious and eye-rollingly predictable.
Why would I want to write one? But I didn't
grow up disabled. The few disabled people
I saw-in real life or as characters on page
or screen-were tragic figures who would
rather die than use a wheelchair. My selfimage was formed around my physicaland emotional and intellectual-strength.
That changed when I was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis-the same month my first
book was published:'
MS is a progressive neuromuscular
disease. Griffith says that over the years
the encroaching disability has forced her
to address her own ableism and come out
in a different way than she did when she
was a teenager. Her teenage self always
knew she was lesbian. "I couldn't write a
crip character because I didn't know how
to be okay with disability at the bedrock of
my existence, or my characters'. I couldn't
unlearn my own ableism," she admits. In
25 years, none of her books centered on a
disabled character until now: So Lucky will
be out in late spring 2018.
The difference
between
Griffith's
experience and Ace Ratcliffe's is reflective
of the range of disability among those
56.7 million Americans. At 30, Ace Ratcliffe
has grown up with social media, regularly
posting photos of her daily life as a disabled
Millennial in Oakland, Calif., on lnstagram
and Twitter. She and Griffith, along with
2nd oth(~rs, arc creating new space
for disabled women to come out and be
visible with and beyond their disabilities.
"I'm a queer nonbinary human," says
Ratcliffe. One of the issues disabled
women often face is getting both the
medical community and society at large to
acknowledge and address their disabilities.
Ratcliffe wants people to know about her
disease, which afflicts as many as one in
10,000. More common than MS, yet less
well-known, it often takes years to be
diagnosed.
"I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos
syndrome [hEDS], which is a connective
tissue disorder;' she explains. "Basically,
that means that my body makes collagen
incorrectly at a genetic level. Collagen
VIEWS!ISSU
is in almost every system of your bodymany people mistakenly believe it's just in
your skin. Because collagen is in almost
everything, and my body makes collagen
incorrectly, I have a variety of symptoms.
The most frequent and excruciating
symptom
is 101nt dislocations
and
subluxations as a result of movement-if I
sneeze too hard, my ribs dislocate. If I turn
around to back my car up, my shoulders
will go out. The loose muscles in my body
are too weak to hold my skeleton in place.
Because of the damage done by my joints
dislocating frequently, the disease is often
considered to be degenerative. I also
have co-morbidities, which is a fancy way
to say 'more chronic illnesses: The other
major one I have is autonomic dysfunction,
which means my nervous system doesn't
regulate my body properly. I do not have
great control over my blood pressure or my
heart rate, and if I stand up for too long, I will
experience syncope-passing out:'
Pain is a constant for Ratcliffe and many
other disabled women. And pain can be as
isolating as disability itself.
Griffith
wants
disabled
peopleespecially within the lesbian communityto be seen and, more importantly, to be
heard. "Statistically, there are probably
more than 3 million disabled queer women
in the U.S.,"she says. "Where are we? You
don't see us because we don't have access:
physical, political, social, or financial. We are
disconnected against our will from civic life,
from each other, from you:'
been
Some
corporations
have
acknowledging disability in ad campaigns
for everything from food to fashion. The
occasional disabled child can be seen in
TV ads but disabled adults are rarely seen,
which makes Jillian Mercado, a 29-year-old
New York model, a groundbreaking figure in
the fashion industry. Her work has appeared
in ads for Nordstrom's, Diesel, and Target,
and she has been featured in Cosmopolitan
and Glamour magazines, and in the 2016
merchandise campaign for Beyonce's
Formation World Tour.
Signed with the IMG modeling agency,
Mercado vlogs about fashion and her own
life and is highly visible on social media. "I'm
showing that having a disability doesn't have
to be ugly, and how it should be embraced.
I wish I had that role model growing up, but
to *be* that role model is great," she says on
her IMG profile.
Getting and keeping work in their
chosen fields is a struggle for disabled
people. According to the Department of
Labor Statistics, in 2015 only 17.5 percent
of disabled Americans were employed.
Griffith, Mercado, and Wong are among the
fortunate few. Ratcliffe is currently employed
as a tech writer, but says, "I was forced out
of my dream career as a mortician due to
disability discrimination in 2015:' She finds
it difficult, due to complications of her
disability, to work a full 40-hour week.
Fighting for access and health care is
often a full-time job, Ratcliffe explains.
"So often-especially
in 2017-l've seen
myself vilified in the news as a Millennial
who needs access to medical care for my
chronic illnesses. Somehow, I'm a 'bad
person' because of my health needs-I
must have said or done something in the
past that means I deserve these illnesses,
that I deserve medical bankruptcy, that I
deserve to have to work 12-hour days with
my elbow fully dislocated. It's exhausting to
disabled people in their thinking-the same
way straight people have become LGBT
allies over the years since Stonewall. Of
the millions of disabled lesbians and queer
women, Griffith notes, "We're here. We have
a lot to say: a lot to offer, a lot we want, and
a lot you need."
Ratcliffe wants nondisabled people to
know "large portions of my life are tough.
That is inarguable. But that doesn't mean
my life isn't worth living. Excruciating pain
doesn't mean I can't wake up and appreciate
the wonder of the world, or the beauty of
art, or how amazing my dog is. It just means
my life has to revolve on managing those
things, so I can appreciate everything else.
Sometimes I definitely wish I could stop the
pain. Sometimes I even wish I were dead.
But that doesn't crawl into every aspect of
living. I want people to know that:'
While Ratcliffe was forced to accept and
address her disability early, for Griffith the
struggle took longer, but was no less harsh.
"Perhaps because my physical impairments
gained on me slowly, it took years to feel the
sting of non-disabled people's dismissal,"
she says as she echoes Ratcliffe's words. "It
took years for me to begin to understand
that I had been dismissing myself. But
more likely it's because growing up I hadn't
seen disabled queer women, in real life or
on page or screen. At all. And then when
finally I began to see disabled characters,
they were distorted: tragic cripples, angry
cripples, helpless cripples. Cripples whose
bodies, like those of queer people, were
sites of difficulty rather than delight.
Cripples written by the nondisabled who
have no fucking clue:'
Griffith's call to action seems so simple,
yet those of us who read coming out stories
as teenagers know the path to inclusion
is incredibly fraught. "We all need to see
ourselves;' she says. "We need mirrors. We
need to hear our own voices. Our strong,
beautiful, ordinary, disabled, queer voices.
We need to see and hear ourselves:'
Griffith entreats, "Let's find each other.
Let's welcome each other. Let's practice
radical hospitality. Next time you put
together an article, or a party, or an event,
reach out. Don't say, 'If you need anything,
just ask: Do the work of imagining what we
might need, and then make it happen. Don't
put the work on us. You can't anticipate
everything, but you can begin. And when
we speak-on Twitter, in person, in a
book-listen:'
"THERE
ARE
MORE
THAN
3MILLION
DISABLED
QUEER
WOMEN
INTHE
U.S.
WHERE
ARE
WE?"
know people feel that way about me, when
all I'm striving to do is make sure humans
can live their lives without focusing entirely
on their health issues. I spend at least one
full day a week dealing with phone calls to
doctors, insurance companies, pharmacies.
It's overwhelming, to have to give up so
much of your time to your illness. I don't
deserve to be a bad guy simply because my
genetics are bad."
Illumining the breadth of disability and
the ways in which non-disabled society
constricts a full 20 percent of the population
is at the forefront of the activism these
women are participating in.
Griffith wants doors opened, voices
heard, people seen. She coined the phrase
"radical hospitality," which will no doubt
resonate with many, because it articulates
the need for nondisabled people to include
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
21
Bosom
Buddy
Your approach to
beating breast cancer
will be transformed
with this new device.
BY MELANIE BARKER
Marilyn Dans
No one likes talking about breast cancer,
but let's get serious: it's a reality that can
victimize anyone in the LGBTQcommunity.
But as a disease that impacts primarily
women, we especially should not turn a
blind eye to the devastating reality that is
breast cancer-why wait until it affects us
or someone we love?
Most doctors and insurance companies
don't
recommend
mammograms
until the age of 40, which leaves
women aged 18 to 39 vulnerable
to the disease with little to no tools
for prevention. Now there's a technology to
help increase breast awareness in between
those regular, sometimes uncomfortable
mammograms.
Enter Marilyn Dans, president and
founder of SilkProUSA, the distributors of
Pink Luminous Breast, an LED-powered
hand-held device that allows you to visually
check your breast for abnormalities in
the privacy of your own home. Dans, a
single mother of 7-year-old twin boys was
troubled by the ongoing lack of awareness
around women's breast health-and the
shockingly high incidence of the disease.
"The statistics are staggering;' says
Dans. "According to the National Breast
Cancer Foundation, one in 8 women in the
U.S. are diagnosed with Breast Cancer in
their lifetime, and every 12 minutes there
is a fatality:'
Dans knows that early detection is key
to helping women fight the disease, but
few women find mammograms easy,
22
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
accessible, or affordable. Most of us fall
back on a quick breast check when taking
a shower, or we ask our partners to tell us if
they feel anything irregular. Changing this
reactive attitude means changing our view
of our bodies and adopting what Dans
calls an "awareness lifestyle."
"I'm passionate about helping women
to choose the Pink Luminous Breast
lifestyle and embrace being proactive with
breast health," she says.
And let's face it: the technology currently
available to women's health screenings is
not exactly female-friendly.
"As a young female Latin entrepreneur,
I've worked extremely hard to reach
my stature in a business world led
predominantly by men. To achieve what
you want in life you have to have a vision,
strive and take the steps you need to get
there. You need to get up when the world
knocks you down, and stay the course.
Nothing worth having is easy to get-you
must work hard and believe in what you
do, no matter what."
Dans worked on a prototype and its
design for a device that would be appealing
to all gender expressions and user-friendly.
"My staff and I, predominantly women,
have done all the leg work to get any
necessary certifications, create protocol,
market, label and exceed quality standards,
to deliver a product that improves the
lives of all people-regardless of race,
background, or sexual orientation. Pink
Luminous Breast is aimed to make being
proactive with breast self-checks hasslefree and comfortable, in your own home."
It's about the size or an electric
toothbrush or a massaging device, but
possibly unlike those, this device can be
shared with the women who are closest to
you-and it also makes a great gift.
WHAT IT IS
• Pink Luminous Breast is SilkProUSA's
innovative at home
breast health
monitoring device
• It's a compact, portable wireless device
for breast self-examination
• The FDA regulated, class 1 medical
device with Red LED light has no side
effects
HOW IT WORKS
• LED light is safely absorbed by your
red blood cells and illuminates potentially
harmful masses. Dark areas or shadows
should be followed up with your Doctor
immediately
• Works on all races, skin tones, and any
breast size regardless of any prior breast
surgeries
• Does not eliminate the need for
mammograms and should work in concert
with physician check-ups
WHERETO GET IT
Pink Luminous Breast is $199 and now
available for purchase. Curve readers get
10 percent discount with special code
Save10. (silkprousa.com)
26FOLKING UP THE BINARY
-----•
28MOTHERSHIPTAKESOFF
30GET YOURGIRL ON GIRL
I
OCT/NOV
2017
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24
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REVIEWS/
MU31C
ASOUL
SIREN
RETURNS
Chastity Brown finds her groove
on her first album in four years.
Y DAVE STEINFELD
"It takes a broken person to write
about broken things," Chastity Brown
s ys casually. "I don't fucking know."
We're sitting in Chelsea on the West Side
of Manhattan in 90-degree heat, and
Brown is telling me about the making of
her new album, Silhouette of Sirens. It's
her first studio release over four years, a
tasty brew of folk and soul, plus other musical ingredients. When I ask her about
the gap between albums, she says, "Oh
my God, we need a drink for this! There's
a number of reasons why this has taken
so long ....We began with the whole idea
of control and framework. [But] what that
made was a really perfect-sounding [album]. It was too perfect to share with people!" She laughs. "The guys that I play with
[are] incredible badasses who are really
intuitive. I wanted to showcase what they
do live, but also what I do live. So we had
to scrap six months of recording and start
over. And within that, I realized I needed to
write some new songs."
Half the songs on Silhouette were written by Brown alone, and half were written
in collaboration with her longtime guitarist, Robert Mulrennan.
Last year was a big one for Brown. She
toured with Ani DiFranco and signed to
Red House Records, which is based in
her current hometown of Minneapolis.
But she's not from the Midwest originally;
Brown grew up in Union City, Tennessee. "I
keep my hometown at arm's [length]," she
admits. "The pace of life is definitely akin
to my own: a slow, even keel. And my sister has a beautiful farm with lots of horses
and chickens. But the life of the South-or
[at least] of Union City, Tennessee-is like
30, 40 years behind. I remember we were
playing a city high school basketball team.
The majority of the team was black, and
kids from my school threw nooses out
on the court. My high school flag was the
Confederate flag. The Confederate motherfucking flag! And I had no idea [of] its
significance until I moved away from that
town."
Brown's feelings of being an outsider
came not only from being queer but from
being a woman of color who was raised
by a doting mother and an abusive stepfather, both of whom were white. Her birth
father was black but wasn't part of the
picture. But she found a surrogate father
of sorts in the celebrated author James
Baldwin.
"It was probably when I first moved to
Knoxville [that] I read Giovanni's Room,"
she remembers. "The main character
just embodies all these complex things
and contradictions-but
at critical times
he's a coward. I've never been so pissed
off after reading a book that I wanted to
track an author down and be like, 'This is
fucked up! You should have finished this
differently!' I didn't know anything about
James Baldwin at that point, and it just
unleashed this obsession. From there, I
read every novel I could get my hands on
over the past 10 years. James served this
purpose for me, not growing up with my
black [birth] father. [My father] was from
North Carolina but he lived in New York
for a while, and up in New Hampshire, and
he was a jazz musician. So James... just
taught me about black culture in a way
that I felt like my father would have:'
And Brown's journey of identity and belonging is essential listening, especially
now. (chastitybrownmusic.com) •
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
25
THttVtRlASTIN
ANI
DIFRAN
The original Righteous Babe talks
politics, Prince, and her new album.
W en Ani DiFranco arrived on the music scene in 1990-an openly bisexual
wo, an who used a traditional genre (folk
music) to explore risky subject mattershe made an immediate impression. But
it took the music industry suits a good
half-dozen years to catch on. It was only
after she'd released extremely popular
albums like Not a Pretty Girl, Dilate, and
Little Plastic Castle (all issued between
1995 and 1998) that the majors came calling. The first time we met, in December
2007, DiFranco told me exactly what she
thought about signing with a major label:
"I determined early on that, for me, being independent was not a means to an
end ...l looked at the five-year contracts,
and whatever tiny percentage of my record sales I would actually see, and I just
thought, 'Fuck that.'" So, to her credit, DiFranco has stayed on her own label, Righteous Babe Records, to this day, and she
has continued to release CDs (by herself
and other artists) prolifically.
When I met her this time around, DiFranco was passing through NYC to promote her 20th studio album, Binary. Not
only had she barely aged physically in the
past decade, but she was still friendly,
present, and surprisingly optimistic-despite the fact that she was on a whirlwind
trip and Curve was her last interview. In
many respects, Binary is a standard DiFranco disc: percussive guitar playing accompanied by thought-provoking lyrics
that are by turns personal and political.
The album features her longtime rhythm
section, bassist Todd Sickafoose and
drummer Terence Higgins, and frequent
collaborators Jenny Scheinman on violin,
and the legendary Ivan Neville on various
26
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2017
REVIEWS/
instruments. Her daughter, Petah (now
10, amazingly), sings backup on the love
song "Even More."
Much like Rickie Lee Jones-who has
also drawn inspiration from the musical
potpourri that is New Orleans-DiFranco
says her own work is greatly informed
by her adopted hometown. "As a musician, it's like going to Mecca!" she says.
"There's a profound confluence of cultures and history there. I mean, it's this
huge slave port where so many people
entered America in bondage-and then
massive amounts of Europeans. You
know, the French and the Spanish influence is very heavy there. My daughter
goes to a French school. [So from the]
blending of European musical traditions
and African [traditions] this whole new
art form is created. And that's just the
beginning! There's the funk and the brass
bands-you know, there's every genre of
music. It's really a great place to live and
come home to and get inspired in. And I
live right in the thick of it."
"Play God" was the first single from Binary (released at the end of last year, actually) and is an intense pro-choice track
on which she sings:
dom for women-kind of took over. So it
took a left turn and became that. And the
spirit of the song really comes from reproductive freedom as a civil right, which
is how I think of it now ...[lt's] a necessary
step for women's emancipation and empowerment-which
is a necessary step
for peace on Earth, you know? I just feel
like it's kind of the key that will fit this lock
of patriarchy, [and] once we can unlock
that, we can go so many places."
A number of things had changed since
I talked to DiFranco in late 2014, after
Allergic to Water came out. A lot of wellknown musicians had died, many of them
prematurely. One of those musicians was,
of course, Prince, who passed suddenly
in April of last year. While they weren't
besties, as the kids say, DiFranco and The
Purple One were friends; he appeared on
her 1999 effort, To the Teeth, and she returned the favor by playing on his Rave
Un2 the Joy Fantastic album. The two
kept in touch periodically after that and
were big fans of each other's work. Indeed, the first thing she said when I asked
her about working with Prince, was "Talk
about intimidating!"
Now, of course, Prince was gone. And
when I asked her about him this time
around, it was the one time during our
conversation that she got misty-eyed and
her optimism wavered. "That's a tough
one," she admits. "Because my will is to
go to the positive, you know? To try to focus on the positive. [But] I still cry when I
hear his music. It just ...lt was a death that
was not meant to be. Even in that time
when he was a bit stronger and healthier, I could just feel. ..He sort of brought
out the maternal in me. I wanted to be
a safe person for him. And I think he felt
safe with me, in our sort of acquaintanceship ...! felt like he was [someone] who
never quite had the unconditional love
and safety that every person deserves.
He was like this fragile, exquisite, exotic
earthling. Barely an earthling.
"I actually was trying to get in touch
with him around that time," she continues. "[No one] I knew could get in touch
with him. Even people in his band didn't
have his number. And I was concerned
about that. He was in a lot of physical
pain the last few years, and slipping into
self-medicating. So that was an indica-
" YOU
GET
TO
RUN
THE
WORLD
INYOUR
OWN
SPECIAL
WAY
YOU
GET
MUCH
MORE,
MUCH
MORE
THAN
YOUR
SAY
GOVERNMENT,
RELIGION,
IT'S
ALL
JUST
PATRIARCHY
I MUST
INSIST
YOU
LEAVE
THIS
ONE
THING
TO
ME
...
YOU
DON'T
GET
TO
PLAY
GOD,
MAN.
IDO,,
"When I started writing ["Play God"], I
was in the headspace of 'What would it
sound like if I was writing a bragging blues
[song]?' But pretty soon, the will in me to
give voice to what I think is a really important political issue-reproductive free-
MU31C
tion, and then the news came down ...You
know, we were not bros or anything, and
still I had that feeling of 'Fuck! What could
I have done? I should have been there for
him. Somebody should have been there
for him!' Where was the world when you
needed it?"
Another change since 2014 is that, of
course, we have a new president. It's no
secret that DiFranco is an old-school liberal, a big fan of Barack Obama, and a
feminist. So I had to ask for her thoughts
on our new administration. Amazingly,
she was still optimistic. She's been encouraged by how many people have
banded together-in
her own circle, in
America, and around the world-since
Donald Trump took office, including
friends who were once apolitical.
And she was excited to take part in the
Women's March that was held in Washington, D.C., after his inauguration. "[It
was] just so uplifting," says DiFranco. "No
disrespect to the organizers, but it wasn't
a victory of organization; it was a victory
of the people. I mean, it was just a show of
force ...Everybody I've talked to who was
there experienced nothing but love and
respect-and
in difficult circumstances, you know? It was hard to breathe,
it was hard to move. You were stuck all
day, trapped in crowds, it was frustrating
physically. And yet there was nothing but
peace and togetherness and mutual support and understanding. Even the police
were kind! I've been to a bunch of demonstrations, you know, post-election. And to
me, having been an activist all through
the 1990s, the police were adversaries.
They positioned themselves [that way]
whether we were anti-war protesters or
anti-World Bank. There has been a lot of
tension and animosity between the police and activists. We've been treated like
terrorists. But not so anymore! Suddenly,
we are really united, I believe, across all
kinds of lines-[against] a much bigger
and more terrifying enemy. Nothing, unfortunately, bonds people like a common
enemy. And, I believe, in this administration we truly have one."
As I wrote after our first meeting nearly
a decade ago: It's not hard to understand
why Ani's fans love her so much. It's not
just her work; it's who she is.
(righteousbabe.com) •
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
27
?
A
WOMEN'S
FESTIVA
iFOR
EVERYON
MUSIC»
Mothership combines art,
music, and feminism in
the Coachella Valley.
In 2015, Laura Wise {pictured above)
found herself yearning for a sacred
women-only
space where attendees
could connect with one another in a festival setting filled with music, fashion,
and art.
"I was really coming into my own
feminism and felt really passionate
about it, and I felt like it was something
we weren't talking about a lot in L.A.
There wasn't a ton of political awareness around feminism at that time, not
like there was in San Francisco and New
York," Wise says.
"I really wanted to create a space for
people to talk about feminism and gender equality, and make it fun, and make
it a space where people who don't necessarily identify with that label might
come and be a little seduced by it," she
continues.
The event, now called Mothership,
28
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2017
has grown over the last two years, and
has expanded into a three-day, twonight festival and retreat in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, Calif. This
year, it takes place October 13 through
15, and Wise has included something for
everyone to be "a little seduced by.".
"The experience was designed specifically as a campout, because I know
when you're roughing it and camping
with other women, that really brings
people together. It was really successful last year because people left with
life-long friendships, and women met
and started collaborating.
So many
partnerships came out of that event.
We have workshops and programming
all day, then at night we have music and
it's all girls on stage. The programming
throughout the day is any wacky thing
you can think of," Wise says.
Mothership is designed to be an
LGBTQ safe haven. But is it truly inclusive of all members of our community?
"I am very adamant that it is an inclusive event. Anyone who identifies partially or wholly as a woman is welcome,
and that includes non-binary individuals, mid-transition M to F women, the
whole spectrum," Wise says.
This year, Wise partnered with the
newly established Tegan and Sara Foundation (teganandsarafoundation.org),
a
nonprofit headed up by Tegan and Sara
Quin, whose mission is "fighting for
economic justice, health, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women." A
part of all ticket proceeds will be donated to the foundation.
"They were really excited about working together with us and amplifying
their mission. Tegan and Sara will be
onsite-we're
going to do a special interactive event in which we talk about
REV1Ews1MU31C
women claiming their power, women in
media, women in music. And there will
be interactive elements for the audience to participate in, so you can come
and hang out with Tegan and Sara,"
Wise says.
Ticket prices include access to all
panels and workshops, nighttime entertainment, and a campsite. Food trucks
will be available onsite to provide fuel
in between all the female-focused fun.
"Everything is funky and fun, and the
political elements are woven into the
event in a really organic way. You're
not going to know that you're having
this intense political experience until
you leave. There's booze, there's music, there's dancing, there's camping,
and a lot of the workshops are really
fun. I want this to be a break for women, it should be fun and relaxing."
(mothershipfest.com) •
REVIEWS/
FlLMS
GIRL
MEETS
GIRL
ON
GIRL
ON BEING HOMELESS DURING THE
TIME OF FILMING:
Even though I didn't necessarily look
homeless, I often slept in my car, I took
What's it like to appear in a
lesbian documentary about
femme invisibility? Karen
Sabel Lewis shares her
experience.
ONBEINGCASTINGIRLONGIRL:
A friend called me and told me about
[director] Jodi Savitz and her film Girl On
Girl and asked me to come and meet her,
along with a few other girls. It sounded
like it was for a good cause so I decided
to check it out. Once I got there, I knew all
the other girls so I felt really comfortable.
Jodi asked us a few questions on camera.
A few days later she called me and asked
me if I wanted to be part of it. She felt my
story was important. At that time I had just
broken up with my longterm girlfriend so it
was my first time really getting to see what
the scene was about. I was feeling kind of
discouraged, however, because dating as
a femme was difficult. I never really looked
"gay" enough and felt like I wasn't really taken seriously. So when I heard about Jodi's
film I immediately thought, Yes that's me!
30
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2017
showers in public, and I struggled to eat.
Yet, I still held part-time jobs and a lot
of people around me would have never guessed my living situation. I think
we get a lot wrong about how complex
being homeless really is. Sometimes it
means sleeping on the street, sometimes
it means couch surfing and asking strangers for help. Homelessness looks different
to everyone who goes through it so it was
important to talk about the day-to-day experience and how quickly your mind can
normalize a difficult situation.
ON THE IMPACT IT HAD ON HER LIFE:
The film has really helped me process
my past. Before the film I rarely ever talked
about my experience because I thought
it was just a sad part of my life I'd rather
leave behind. I was ashamed that it even
happened. When I first auditioned for the
film I didn't really think it was going to go
too deep into it. But as we began filming
I think the process of sharing helped me
heal and forgive myself and forgive everyone involved. I really didn't expect to come
out of it with a sense of strength and pride,
but I did. And the feedback has been so
inspiring. I realize there's so many women
who have been or are going through similar situations, and it really makes me happy
that I can give them support and help them
feel less isolated.
ON WHERE SHE IS NOW IN LIFE:
Currently my main passion is ethical
fashion. I moved to New York a year ago
and got to work as a visual manager for a
big brand in Soho and 5th Avenue. Now,
I work as a stylist for an ethical fashion
brand and run my own vintage store online. I believe environmentally friendly and
ethical consumerism is the future so I'm
really invested in it.
ON WHY QUEER WOMEN SHOULD SEE
GIRLONGIRL:
Because it's a film that address a problem all women have to deal with: the fact
that masculinity is respected and femininity is doubted. Women should be able to be
respected whether they are very feminine
or very masculine or anything in between.
We shouldn't have to act like men to be
taken seriously. The film addresses femme
invisibility from a sexuality standpoint, but
it is an issue that affects all women in one
way or another. It's also worth seeing just
to break stereotypes about what it means
to be a lesbian. It also gives you a feeling of
sisterhood. Listen to women. We are capable of asserting ourselves and being solid
in our identities.•
Watch Girl on Girl on demand at
girlongirlmovie.com.
REVIEWS/
FlLMS
FILMS»
GAME
CHANGERS
Groundbreaking lesbians in sports and music-Billie
BY MERRY
Jean King and Chavela.
JO NS
BATTLE
OF
THE
SEXES
OPENS NATIONALLY ON SEPTEMBER22
If you want to know what optimal white male privilege looks like-that is, if you don't
already-Battle of the Sexes takes you back in time to when men had all the power
and decided which "little ladies" they'd throw a few crumbs to. In the late '60s, second-wave feminists created a movement only to be laughed off by males as "hairylegged feminists," "bra burners" and "Women's Libbers." The legendary 1973 tennis
match between World No. 1 Billie Jean King and ex-champ and compulsive gambler
Bobby Riggs was a historic turning point following Title IX: 'libber' against 'lobber'
in a televised tennis match watched by millions. King's demand that women tennis
players be taken seriously and awarded equal pay kicked the feminist movement
squarely into the limelight. Effectively challenged to a duel by Riggs, who wished
to prove King physically inferior, therefore less valuable, King accepted on behalf
of women's tennis and found herself faced with more opponents than Riggs: the
tennis establishment, the media, and her homophobic rival Margaret Court. The fascinating, feel-good Battle of the Sexes presents Emma Stone as a determined but
vulnerable Billie Jean King in the finest role of her career, and a hilarious Steve Carel I
as the clownish but complex Riggs. King wants to change the sport and win equality
for women-while struggling with her emerging sexuality. Riggs wants to "put the
show back into chauvinist" but alienates his family in the process. The script is right
on and the film, directed by Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton (Little Miss Sunshine), is
a must-see for anyone fighting oppression. (battleofthesexes-movie.com)
CHAVELA
OPENS NATIONALLY IN OCTOBER
·+
..
!
••n
I
..
...,
""---~;i
..
l!lnllCII
A stunning and charismatic performer with a rich, sensual voice and enviable guitar-playing skills, Chavela Vargas is a music legend in the Spanish-speaking world.
She was also a lesbian and had many lovers, including (allegedly) Frida Kahlo. Like
a Mexican Marlene Dietrich, Chavela challenged conventional mores and Catholic
traditions by dressing in trousers, drinking tequila, smoking cigars, and singing love
songs to women without changing the pronouns-in the 1950s. Born in Costa Rica
in 1919,Chavela ran away to Mexico City as a teenager to busk in the streets. From
humble beginnings not unlike Edith Piaf, by the 1950s she was a celebrated figure in
the city's club scene, and by the '60s she was a star in her adopted homeland and
Spain. She played the world's great venues, recorded 80 albums, wrote her autobiography at 81, and was awarded a Latin Grammy for Lifetime Achievement. But
Chavela also endured heartbreak, became an alcoholic, and dropped out of view
for over a decade. She was rediscovered when the Spanish director Pedro Almodovar adopted her as his muse and featured her songs in many of his films. Chavela
returned to the stage at the age of 71to reclaim her rightful place in the pantheon of
performance greats. While she passed in 2012 at age 93, she now lives on forever in
a multi-award-winning documentary directed by Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi.
Commanding, handsome and brilliant, Chavela is yours to discover through interviews, archival photos, footage, and of course, music. (musicboxfilms.com/chavela)
OCT/NOV
2017
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31
BOOKS»
WINNING
WOMEN
Books to motivate you and make you think.
Bv MELANIE BARKER
SI I.
WAL/<.
Do,-1· 1
TALK
My Rad Life
Sit, Walk, Don't Talk
Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl
Jennifer How'd
(Penguin Random House)
(Parallax Press)
Technically, it's not a book-it's a journal. But this gorgeously
illustrated notebook is a daily reminder that women can, do,
and always have done amazing things in many fields-from
science to sports. A great gift for the budding feminist, female student, or maybe even for yourself. Women featured
inside include Stacyann Chin, Margaret Cho, Lady Gaga,
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bell Hooks, Audre Lorde, Michelle
Obama, Adrienne Rich, Susan Sontag, Alice Walker and
many more diverse and inspirational feminists.
Written by an out and certified mindfulness practitioner, this
book is about a revelatory experience: Howd went on her first
ever nine-day silent meditation retreat, but was not prepared
for the reality of the situation, or what it unleashed. In this her
debut memoir, she details what happens to her internally at the
retreat-such as competing inner voices that emerge from the
void of silence in this boot camp for the soul. Funny, painful,
surprising and true, this is a book for women embarking on a
quest for enlightenment, but unsure of what to expect.
Spinning
Women In Sports
Tillie Walden
Rachel lgnotofsky
(Macmillan)
(Penguin Random House)
This debut book is an autobiographical coming-of-age graphic
memoir about competitive figure skating, coming out, and finding a path to happiness while you're still trying to discover your
true identity, and without changing who you really are. Walden
started creating the book when she was just 19, and it's an emotional and powerful journey as she deals with bullies, coaches,
and other skaters. It captures the mood of adolescence well and
would make a perfect gift to any girl or young woman struggling
to be herself in a hostile and pressured environment.
This is a colorful and creative books of illustrated profiles featuring leading female athletes such as Nicola Adams, Mia Hamm,
Violet Palmer, Billie Jean King as well as many lesser known but
important figures, and in often overlooked sports, such as pingping. The book also addresses issues such as the gender pay
gap and media coverage inequity. Currently, Title IX is under
threat and this serves as a friendly reminder that going backwards would be a tragic setback for the next generation of
physical female achievers.
32
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40FASHION FIT FOR EVERYONE
44PUREBEAUTYPRODUCTS
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
33
This
past
Charlotte
summer,
(aka
international
Curve
CB) Glasser
sent
of
the
LGBTQ event production
company Hot Rabbit for a barber salon
experience
at New York City's Hairrari
Barber Shop, located
at 34 East 1st
Street in the East Village.
CB
is
known
fashion-forward
for
her
versatile,
queer cut and sassy
hair flips. So, we were excited to see if
Hairrari could deliver a style that would
effortlessly
take this communications
strategist,
speaker, community
and event producer
leader,
from day to play
while maintaining CB's unique look.
Hairrari Barber Salon was founded
by Magda Ryczko, a queer immigrant
woman
from
trained
most
Poland. She personally
of
the
Hairrari
staff.
Hairrari, which has three New York City
locations-in
and
the
Williamsburg,
Bushwick,
East Village-specializes
in
queer cuts and curates a welcoming,
relaxing,
and fun experience
for all
genders and gender presentations.
OCT/NOV
2017
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35
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"It feels good to create a space where
Char on her experience:
"The vibe
my hair. "I self-trained after having my
everyone is treated as a unique canvas
was East Village chic, yet welcoming.
license for a few years," Magda told me.
and we try to accommodate
Upon
"In that time, I was assisting at salons but
the best
entering,
Magda
immediately
we can," shares owner Magda Rydzko
offered me a choice of cocktail,
beer,
not really learning much since we got to
states.
or water. After getting settled in, Magda
do a haircut a week, if that, and sweep
and anyone that comes in knows that
began my consultation. Unliketraditional
and shampoo in the meantime. It was
everyone
'men's' barbers, Magda understood the
difficult to get a job that trains well, that
"Our
clientele
is very
mixed
and anyone are welcome."
Many of Hairrari's staff members and
hair artists
are part of the LGBTQ+
communities,
and
experiences
from
barber
help
their
separate
mainstream,
shops.
celebrity
Mccloskey
of
Hairrari
hyper-masculine
Some
clientele
personal
of
includes
Hunter
Hairrari's
Kiyomi
Valentine
and
aesthetic
I was trying to achieve, but
is why my process of training [Hairarri
I was anxious not to
staff] has a different model." Magda uses
lose the length of my top bun, and it was
YouTube videos to train her staff, which
an absolute
now includes a team of 15 at all three
without judgement.
must that my side shave
be even, high, and tight. I was in good
locations. Ultimately, I loved my haircut
hands.
from
For the
consultation,
Magda
Magda
and
would
absolutely
recommends you bring photos! 'It's the
recommend
fastest and most thorough
anyone seeking a wel-coming
way to ex-
the shop and their staff to
styling
Camille Perri, author of The Assistants,
plain what you're looking for.' Magda
experience
among
and I had an opportunity
queer cut that reflects their identity."
other
community
38
CURVE
high
profile
members.
OCT/NOV
LGBTQ
her background
2017
to chat about
while she was cutting
and also wanting a quality
(hai rra ri .com)
Katya was born
in Moscow
but
moved to Atlanta, Ga. when she was
a baby. She played soccer at Florida
Lightweight sapphire blue sport suit designed by Leon Wu and Antonio
State University, her team ranking in the
Soto of Sharpe Suiting. Katya's suit was measured and made virtually
national top 5 as well as the 2014 NCAA
for her while she was in Serbia, using Sharpe Suiting's body metric
National Champions.
prediction software or virtual tailor.
A Golden Torch
Award Winner at Florida State, Katya
majored in sociology
Communications.
and minored
After
college,
in
Katya
played professionally in Russia, Finland,
Iceland,
Cyprus,
and
Serbia.
She
played Serbian football club FK Spartak
Subotica's three matches in the 2016-17
UEFA
Women's
qualifying
Champions
League
round in August 2016 and
continues to play professionally in Central
Europe. She also competed against the
U.S. Women's National Team with the
Russian Women's National Team.
"When Leon Wu first told me about
Sharpe
Suiting's
Virtual
tailoring
software, I was curious about how this
could
possibly
work, and anxious to
see how well the suit might fit. My first
impression when putting on the suit was
'Wow, this is spot on!' We only needed to
make a few stylistic alterations and boom,
the suit was ready to go. I would definitely
recommend trying Sharpe's virtual tailor.
Most of us have pretty busy schedules, so
to be able to save some time and get the
sizing down within 5 or 10 minutes online
instead of coming in to get measured for
sizing is awesome." (sharpesuiting.com)
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Excelling in gymnastics at an early age,
Kiralee's love for physical performance
provided a smooth transition to a career
as a stunt performer, actor, filmmakerand scientist.
Kiralee attended
UCLA where
she
was a gymnast. One of the most highly
recruited
year,
freshmen
she
garnered
her
graduating
two
National
Championship titles and 9 All-American
titles (both first and second team). She
was a Pac-10 gymnast of the year and
a Pac-10 Conference Medalist. She was
a finalist for the AAI American Award,
which is given annually to the nation's
most
outstanding
all-around
senior
gymnast.
Kiralee graduated from UCLA with a
B.S. in Neuroscience
authored
articles
and she has co-
in over a hundred
publications
based on brain mapping
techniques
to analyze changes in the
brain. Fun fact! Based on her career
W AT SHE'S WEARING:
in both the film industry and science,
Sharpe Suiting 4-way stretch
Kiralee has an Erdos-Bacon
cuffed high waistband slacks, designed by Leon Wu and Hai Hyunh.
which
measures
the
number
"collaborative
distance" in authoring academic papers
between
that
person
mathematician
and Hungarian
Paul Erdos-and
one's
Bacon number or degrees connection
to actor Kevin Bacon. It reflects a small
world
phenomenon
entertainment
in academia
and
of which Kiralee has one
of the lowest numbers.
As a stuntwoman Kiralee has doubled
numerous leading actresses and worked
on many films and TV series including
Preacher,
Twin
Peaks, Transformers,
Twilight: Breaking Dawn, NCIS: LA, to
name just a few.
"About a year ago, Leon had imagined
making an elastic suit that even I could
wear on-the-job.
By that, he meant that
I would be able to actually do stunts
wearing it. I was amazed! After trying
the suit out in action, it didn't inhibit any
of my movement. I didn't even feel like I
was wearing a suit." (sharpesuiting.com)
42
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OCT/NOV
2017
black wool suit with pleated and
FEATURES/
BEAU y
Why did an urban lesbian create a luxury line
of vegan skin care products? Rachel Winard
shares her startup success, Soapwalla.
WHAT
LED
YOU
TOCREATE
SOAPWALLA?
It was out of necessity, really. I have systemic lupus erythemato-
sus, an auto-immune illness that can manifest itself in a number
of ways. I get terrible skin rashes, hives, and irritated skin patches.
When it was at its worst, I could barely use water on my skin
without irritation. I tried everything on the market that said it was
'hypoaller-genic' or 'natural' and found that those products exacerbated my sensitivities. Late one night in 2002, and desperate for
something I could use, I went into my tiny NYC kitchen, opened
my cabinets, and thought, "If these ingredients are safe in my
body, they'll probably be safe to use on my body." I threw myself
headfirst into a 7-year long study of chemistry, herbology, aromatherapy, basic medical understanding of common medical issues.
The line grew slowly over 7 years as I developed my skills, and as I
needed products. I premiered Soapwalla in December 2009, and
we'll be celebrating our 8th birthday this holiday season!
WHAT
ARE
THE
BENEFITS
OFPURE
INGREDIENTS?
When my skin was at its worst, the simplest, purest ingredients
were the only ones I could use. I took this as a sign. Also, my years
of research really instilled in me a deep respect for whole plant
materials and the potency of carrier/essential oils. Our skin is
incredibly intuitive. When we bombard it with dozens of products
on a daily basis, we create confusion and imbalance. Less is truly
more in skincare. I approach skin care the way I approach food.
We focus on utilizing natural ingredients (we don't use synthetic
ingredients like petrochemical by-products, parabens, phthalates,
etc.) because I've found them to be more effective at treating
underlying skin conditions, as well as being better for the environment and more pleasant to work with.
WHAT
BACKGROUND
BROUGHT
YOU
TOTHE
BUSINESS?
I started playing the violin when I was 4 years old, turned profes-
sional at the age of 12, graduated high school early, went to Juilliard,
and then realized that the business of music wasn't a perfect a fit for
me. I got an undergraduate degree in political theory, and ended up
at Columbia Law School. During my first year, I was diagnosed with
lupus. In 20061 was on chemotherapy to try to get my illness under
control, with little success-and left for India to see an Ayurvedic
doctor. We worked together every day for 4 months and he got me
feeling better than I had in years. When I returned to NYC,the stress
OCT/NOV
2017
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43
2oa/Slml
was just too much for my immune system and I left the law, and struggled to figure
out what I was going to do next. During this time, friends and family gently prodded
me to sell my beloved skincare products to the public.
I formulate Soapwalla's products the way I compose pieces-I can't not see the
world in musical terms. Law school and practice were invaluable for teaching me
how to think about things analytically, and to be able to read and execute basic
contracts. I'm still friends with my old bosses at my last law firm, and they were so
supportive during my transition and throughout Soapwalla's successes.
ISYOUR
PRODUCT
MORE
EFFECTIVE
THAN
COMMERCIAL
BRANDS?
Many people are skeptical of natural products' efficacy, with reason. I want Soap-
walla products to be even more effective than commercial versions, so I go through
an intensely rigorous testing process before I release a product. For the jet-black
Activated Charcoal and Petitgrain Facial Soap Bar, no other ingredients came close
in performance to the superfine charcoal and tea tree essential oil duo regarding
balancing skin and alleviating breakouts. Also, our line is unisex by choice.
HOW
DOES
YOUR
IDENTITY
FACTOR
INTO
THE
BRAND?
I am an out, proud lesbian-both
personally and professionally. I think it's important
for me to be out and visible. Soapwalla is political by its very nature: lesbian-owned
and 100 percent women-run. My partner Stacey handles wholesale and retail
accounts, and all matters related to shipping and inventory. We're lucky-we work
incredibly well together and our business strengths complement each other nicely.
We have an amazing community in Brooklyn, especially in our neighborhood. I have
close friends who own small businesses throughout the neighborhood. We bounce
ideas off each other, support each other, pool and share resources. We use our platform to spread love and highlight organizations that do good in our communities.
SO,WHAT'S
SOSPECIAL
ABOUT
SOAPWALLA?
Curve road-tested 5 products: Activated Charcoal and Petitgrain Facial Soap Bar,
Phosphorescence Facial Mask, Balancing Facial Toning Mist, and Luxurious Body Oil.
The verdict? We found the products to be both hydrating and healiing: blemishes,
dryness, rosacea, and sensitivity were combatted, and the clarity and elasticity of
our skin improved. Plus the products felt fresh and healthy, due to their natural foodgrade and certified organic ingredients. Recommended! (soapwallakitchen.com)
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46THE LEGENDSOF THE WNBA
50
MEETTHE SUPERCOACH
52DERBYDARLINGS
OCT/NOV
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45
SPORTING
HOOPS
&DREAMS:
THE
BY CARRIE LYELL
The year is 1997, and on a cloudy June
evening the New York Liberty and the
Los Angeles Sparks are anxiously preparing to tip off inside the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif., in the
first-ever game of the WNBA.
"We were nervous as hell," says Teresa
"T-Spoon" Weatherspoon, who was on
the court as a player that night and is
now the Liberty's director of Player Development.
Despite being hobbled with a knee injury, Teresa is reminiscing about that first
game all those years ago as she helps
me work on my jump shot. "Keep that
elbow in. That's it...You got it!" she says
with a big grin. She's so encouraging
that I start to think I could actually make
it as a basketball player. When the conversation swings back to that first game
at the Forum, I ask her, "Did you win?"
She flashes me another smile. "We went
46
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OCT/NOV
2017
in that building and got 'em."
The Liberty's 67-57 win against the
Sparks that night set the WNBA in motion, and from its inception the league
has continued to give women the opportunity to make sports history. This
year, the WNBA is celebrating 20 years
of "moving the ball forward," but in the
beginning its future was never certain."Everybody said that this was not
even going to last for five years," Te-resa says, throwing another ball my way.
"They said, 'You won't get 5,000 people
in the stands, no way possible.' Radio
stations, TV stations were saying, 'This
is not going to work, this is a summer
league, they can't fight with the NBA.'"
It wasn't the first time Teresa had been
told no. "When I was an eighth-grader, I
was told I would never be great at playing this game of basketball.'' But that just
served as motivation for the tenacious
Texan, who in a playing career spanning
more than 20 years has won countless
awards and honors, and scored possibly the most memorable basket in
WNBA history. Look it up on YouTube;
it's incredible.
After I try (and fail spectacularly) to
recreate "The Shot," T-Spoon tells me
about standing on the podium in Seoul
at the 1988 Olympics with a gold medal
around her neck. "When I got that gold
medal, my mind went straight back to
being an eighth-grader. I was standing
there, every-body's crying, and I'm jumping for joy. I couldn't wait to get home.
When I did, I told my mom, 'Ma, I know
I told you this is yours, but I just need it
for one second.' I ran to this house, beat
the door down. This man took a minute
to come to the door. He opened it, and
I said, 'Remember this eighth-grader?'
I took that gold medal out, put it in his
face, and said, 'Only 12 of the best get
this."
Back in 1988, Olympic success was all
there was for college basketball players
like Te-resa. But it was medal success
in 1988, '92, and '96 that paved the way
for the WNBA, and gave women players
the chance to go pro. "Our young ladies
in our 1996 Olympic team did a heck of
a job of representing us," Teresa says.
"They knocked down doors. Every door
that closed? lmma knock this one down.
And that's what we did until, boom, the
door fell open. One door is going to
open, but you can't give up once one has
closed. That could be your best door, the
one that closed. That could be your best
no, the one that said no. That could be
your best if, the one that said if. Because
that's motivation. It pushes you to go
knock down that door, to go get your
yes, and stop that if. When you have that
mentality, things change."
And change they did. The WNBA finished the 2016 season with an increase
in live at-tendance and double the TV
viewership that it had the year before.
Players like Tina Charles, Elena Delle Donne, and Brittney Griner are household
names. But the road to success has not
been easy. All but three of the franchises
from the WNBA's inaugural season have
folded, the league has struggled to get
the kind of media coverage it deserves,
and though the WNBA is miles ahead of
many other women's sports, it has some
way to go before its women achieve equity with the stars of the NBA.
The best players in the women's
league, for example, take home around
$107,000 a year, while the top-paid
NBA player, LeBron James, makes an
eye-watering $36 million. That disparity
in wages means that the majority of the
WNBA players go overseas to play in the
off-season in order to supplement their
income.
I went to the NBA headquarters on
Fifth Avenue to meet WNBA President
Lisa Borders and find out more. "Salaries are not as high as we would like for
them to be," she says frankly. "That's no
secret. Salaries in the U.S. are driven by
the revenue that's generated in the U.S.,
so if the revenue doesn't exist, you can't
give it to people. Our challenge is driving revenue to the point that you can
match the salaries or exceed the salaries
that players might get in other plac-es.
Do we need to grow the revenue so the
salaries can increase? Absolutely. Are we
focused on that? Absolutely."
The players I met were pragmatic
about the wage issue, and pointed out
that the inequali-ty on the court is simply
a reflection of the inequality off it. And
while comparisons with the NBA are nat48
CURVE
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2017
ural and something that the players are
used to, there's a definite sense of frustration that instead of focusing on their
skill and athleticism, people are more interested in how much money they earn
and why they don't wear "more flattering
uniforms."
Comparing the NBA with the WNBA
is like comparing apples and oranges,
says Teresa, pointing out that the NBA
has a 50-year head start on the women's
league. "We're happy with our league,"
she says. "Of course, there are things
that we want to change, but it's not
about being equal to them all the time,
because we already know it's almost impossible."
But there are many ways in which the
NBA could learn from the WNBA-take,
for in-stance, the women's approach to
LGBT issues. In 2007, John Amaechi was
the first NBA player to speak publicly
about his sexuality, and no active players have come out since Jason Collins in
2013. Last August, former college basketball player Derrick Gordon said that
the reason he didn't make it to the NBA
is because the league is "not ready for
another openly gay player right now." Yet
in that same month, when Chicago Sky
supremo Elena Delle Donne came out in
an interview with Vogue, revealing her
engagement to a woman, the news did
not even headline the piece. And underscoring the WNBA's commitment to inclusiveness, Delle Donne was one of four
openly gay players on the U.S. women's
Olympic basketball team. Together, they
won gold in Rio.
Stefanie Dolson of the Washington
Mystics went public with her sexuality, to
little or no fanfare, in May. She told ESPN,
"Not everyone in the WNBA needs to be
out, but I feel called to lead an authentic
life in the open. I know who I am, and I
don't care if people judge me. I am 6 feet
5, I dye my hair purple, and I experiment
a lot with fashion. My motto is: If they're
going to stare, they might as well stare at
something fun."
When I met Dolson on the terrace of
a hotel overlooking Madison Square Garden, before the Mystics' game against
the Liberty, she told me that she didn't
think twice about coming out-she knew
she had the backing of her family, her
teammates, and, most importantly, the
league. "The WNBA is ahead of the game
when it comes to athletes coming out,"
the 24-year-old center told me. "Like,
they support you in such a way that it
makes you feel comfortable to come
out, or to say who you are as a person, in
any way, shape, or form."
It hasn't always been like that. Just 11
years ago, Sheryl Swoopes came out
when she was the biggest name in the
league.he WNBA "turned their backs on
me," she says, a claim that is refuted by
the president of the league, who issued
a statement saying that Swoopes's "lifestyle choice" was a "non-issue" for them.
Though the phrase "lifestyle choice" was
perhaps a giveaway as to the league's
true feelings.
Swoopes has since talked openly about how she feared she'd have a
negative impact on the league by going public, and several former players
and coaches claim that at one point
the WNBA was so worried about being
branded a "lesbian organization" that it
pressured lesbian and bisexual players
to stay in the closet. Was that something that weighed on Dolson's mind?
"No," she says emphatically. "A lot has
changed. I understand that it could have
had a negative impact, but honestly, I
didn't think about it."
Righting those past wrongs might
go some way to explaining why the
WNBA today puts such emphasis on its
LGBT-friendly credentials. I asked Lisa
Borders why embracing the LGBT community is so important to the league.
"When we think about basketball, people often talk about demographics. Is it
a women's game? Is it a men's game? Is
it for gay people? Straight people? My
thinking is it's for everybody," she tells
me.
Of course, that makes sense from a
marketing point of view. But what are
her personal views on diversity and
inclusion? "The LGBT community has
long been one that has been disen-franchised, much like the African American
community. Much like women, quite
frankly. I'm a woman, and I'm African
American. I've been underestimated. I've
been judged. It hurts. It's not constructive. So I'm not going to re-enact that
behavior. It's important, not just for our
game but for life."
Indeed, under principled leadership
from Lisa Bordets, the WNBA has taken
a strong stance on equality, launching
WNBA Pride this summer and raising
money for victims of the Pulse nightclub
shooting in Orlando, a cause close to the
hearts of many players, including Liberty guard and Orlando native Shavonte
Zellous. Her sister had planned to go
to Pulse that evening, but changed her
mind at the last minute when her boss
called and asked her to work early the
next morning. Two of the friends she was
going to meet were among the 49 dead.
The WNBA's support has been really
important to her, she says. "To see that
and to see people supporting what you
may represent is key, not only for me but
for everyone. It plays a major role, and
it's a good thing we have a league like
the WNBA that supports it. Just having
that recognition, to know that you're not
alone, is a plus for not only me but every
family in Orlando that lost someone or
had someone that's been injured."
uring the Liberty-Mystics game, Zellous was wearing her rainbow sneakers,
and from our courtside seats I could see
that she'd etched the words "Orlando
Strong" and "Orlando United" on them
with a Sharpie, a small sign of just how
much the league has moved on since
Swoopes came out in 2005. While not
perfect by any stretch, the WNBA is
learning to accept and embrace not only
lesbian and bi players, but lesbian and
bi fans too. At halftime, I spotted lots of
queer fans, including Betty singer Amy
Ziff, and everyone I spoke with said they
felt welcomed and appreciated. Nevertheless, the WNBA is stigmatized in a
way that's hard to eradicate. According
to L.A. Sparks player Essence Carson, it's
a commonly held belief that the majority
of the players and coaches in the league
are lesbian or bi, and Liberty's Swin Cash
also spoke about a friend who wouldn't
let her daughter play basketball because
she feared it would make her a lesbian.
Tackling these misconceptions is going to take a lot of effort. The future is not
a given. Securing the long-term growth
of women's pro basketball won't be easy.
But if the last 20 years of the WNBA have
proved anything, it's that these women
like a challenge. I'm confident that players like Dolson, Griner, Zellous, and Delle
Donne will keep moving the ball forward
for a long time to come. In the words of
T-Spoon, "We're 20 years deep, but we're
not gonna stop pushing." (wnba.com) •
STEPHANIE
WHITE:
BY LYNDSEY D'ARCANGELO
Stephanie White grew up in a small
Indiana town with no stoplights and only
one school. Luckily, basketball was in her
blood. The Hoosiers-like script of her life
began to unfold at age 9, when her father
first let her play ball with the big boys, and
those early days eventually led to a dazzling career in basketball.
"My dad and all his buddies would pay
a dollar to open up the old West Lebanon
gym and play every week," White says.
"I'd go and watch, and then they finally let
me play. Those guys really taught me the
game, like how to use a screen and how to
make a pass in transition. I loved it."
White, 39, describes her upbringing
as a "typical Indiana story," where the
entire community comes together to lift
up one of its own. They held fundraisers
and events to help send White to basketball camps and tournaments, where
with good coaching and endless hours
of practice she learned to hone her skills.
White repaid the town's kindness by becoming one of the best women's basketball players in the country.
In 1995, White was named Miss Basketball Indiana and Gatorade National Player
of the Year. She went on to play college
basketball for Purdue University and was
drafted in 1999 by the now-defunct Charlotte Sting of the WNBA. A year later, she
returned to Indiana to play for the Fever
in the team's inaugural season. Fittingly,
that's where White retired.
"I tore my ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] after a couple of seasons with the
Fever," she says. "I still wanted to keep
playing. But Tracy Roller, the coach at Ball
State, contacted me. She had an opening
on her staff and she wanted to know if I
was interested. I told her that I still wanted
to play and she said I could do both. Ball
State was just up the road, so I decided to
try it out, and the moment I stepped onto
the floor as a coach, I knew that's what I
wanted to do."
After pulling double duty as a player
and a coach for one season, White decided to hang up her basketball sneakers
in 2004 and became an assistant coach
at Kansas State. From there, she went to
Toledo University for two years before
heading to the WNBA as a coach for the
Chicago Sky. Three years later, her former
coach and mentor Lin Dunn, who had recruited White to Purdue, offered her an
assistant coaching spot back home with
the Indiana Fever.
Dunn retired at the end of 2014 season
and White took over as head coach. The
Fever made the WNBA Finals in White's
first season at the helm, and made the
Playoffs again the next year. Regardless of
the team's success, she ultimately decided to return to the college ranks in 2016 as
head coach at Vanderbilt University.
"I knew that I wanted to get back into
college athletics eventually, because you
have an opportunity to make an impact on
a different level than you do at the pros,"
White explains. "In terms of not just the
game, but more so with the players-helping them understand the value of their
dreams and what they should demand
from society, and being able to help them
find their voice. There's also something
about the spirit of college sports that I
love and missed. But it was going to take
a special place to get me to make that
jump. And Vanderbilt was one of those
schools."
White describes her first season at Vanderbilt as rebuilding, where the players are
adjusting to a new system and a new way
of doing things. "Our team works incredibly hard and they are so open to change.
It's a process, sure. But we're growing and
getting better every day."
When White took over at Vanderbilt,
she became the only out lesbian coach
in all of women's basketball. Jennifer Azzi
held that title until she stepped down as
the head coach at the University of San
Francisco last season. White inadvertently
filled her shoes.
"Anyone who knows me knows my relationship with my wife has never been
a secret. Being open about it is for my
family, and there are a lot of people who
know me and if they know about my relationship, maybe it will sway them one way
or another. It's not like I set out to be the
only [out lesbian coach]. I just live my life
and I want the best for my family, just like
everyone wants."
White is the mother of three boys, a
5-year-old and 3-year-old twins. She and
her wife do their best to accommodate a
family life and a life in basketball equally.
"It's not so much juggling as it is compartmentalizing," White laughs. "Our boys
love sports and the team loves our boys,
so it makes it easier. My oldest comes to
practice and shoots around. I think it's
important for them to see that I love my
job and that I work really hard, and to see
strong women and the way that we balance everything, and also to understand
that they are equally as important."
As her boys get older, White says she
sees them getting involved in basketball
at some level. Her oldest is so used to being around all-women's teams that when
he finally saw men play, he said, "Boys
play basketball, too?" Having a mom who
coaches a sport is the kind of thing kids
brag about at school. And White plans on
coaching for a long time. "I want to coach
as long as I feel I can give it everything I
have, and continue to impact the lives of
young people, and continue to help grow
our game. When it comes time for me to
stop coaching, I hope I can stay involved
in basketball in some way."•
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
51
DERBY
DUO:
DREW
FLOWERS
&NICOLE
WILLIAMS
BY THOMAS GERBASI
For those who compete in flat track roller derby, the first question that comes up
is usually about time management. There
are several practices a week, games to be
traveled to, a day job to manage, and, if
you're lucky, a personal life.
So how do the sport's power coupleDrew Flowers and Nicole Williams-manage to do it?
Silence. Then laughter.
"We work well under stress," says Williams, who is known to the sports world
as Bonnie Thunders. Flowers, whose derby name is OMG WTF, agrees, noting that
it's all about giving each other space in
the midst of the daily chaos.
"We make an effort to allow each other
to have time to do other things outside of
derby," Flowers says. "It's a relationship.
There's give and take and compromise
and making sure that the other person's
happy by giving them the space to be
happy."
As longtime members of the Gotham
Girls Roller Derby league, whose All-Star
team has won five Women's Flat Track
Derby Association world titles, and as
the owners of the Five Stride Skate Shop
in Brooklyn, there was never much time
for that personal space, but they've
made it work since 2008, and they expect to continue to do so in their new
home in the Pacific Northwest, where
they opened their second Five Stride location in Portland, a place Williams will
continue to skate in as a member of the
defending WFTDA champion Rose City
Rollers.
About the only thing the couple won't
do these days is play against each other,
a regular occurrence when they were on
opposing teams a few years back.
"For me, it was definitely a conscious
decision to not skate against her," Flowers says. "On my team, it was always an
ongoing joke: 'Hey OMG, do you want to
stay at our house this week?' [Laughs]
We are so competitive, and tension ran
high those weeks leading up to a game."
That competition has only fueled the
pair, and in a sport that has finally become legitimate and put a comfortable
distance between itself and its pro-wrestling-esque,
staged-outcome
past,
they've become innovators and educators: Thunders is the scoring machine
and OMG the blocker and defensive
force, as well as the coach of Team USA
in the 2017 Roller Derby World Cup.
To some, this duo is almost seen as a
single entity-BOMG-but
that's certainly not the case in reality.
"There's an illusion that we have the
same opinions and that we're the same
person," says Williams, 33. "But we're actually very different."
"I think we have similar character traits
but pretty different personalities that
complement each other," adds Flowers,
38. "And with any relationship, you can't
be an exact carbon copy of a person. It's
just not going to work out. You'll drive
each other crazy."
There were signs that the two were a
perfect pair. Flowers was a former Division I soccer player for Cal State Fullerton, Williams a synchronized ice skater
for Syracuse University, and they hit it
off immediately when Flowers arrived in
New York City as a member of the Montreal derby team she was coaching, even
if there was a hiccup at first.
"When I first talked to Bonnie, I asked
her if she was gay and she said no," Flow-
ers laughs. "So that sort of put a damper on things for a minute. But I thought,
Well, she keeps talking to me, so I guess
that even though she's not 'gay; she
might actually be gay."
"I didn't think of myself as gay at that
time," Williams counters. "I was definitely bisexual, and I dated women, but not
seriously up until that point. OMG is my
first long-term girlfriend. But at that time
I was figuring a lot of things out about
myself and was very intimidated by that
ques-tion, I guess."
"Let alone in a cab with three other
people," Flowers laughs.
"In my head, I didn't say no, but apparently that's what came out of my mouth,"
Williams said.
This interplay makes it clear why the
relationship works. Plus, it didn't hurt
that, unlike many gay athletes, Flowers
and Williams are fortunate to now compete on a playing field that is truly level.
"The queer athletes in roller derby, we
take it for granted how good we have it,"
Flowers says. "I don't think people realize
how awful it is in other sports. I grew up
playing soccer, and I was in college feeling like I was the only gay person on my
team. But it wasn't looked upon as being an awesome thing. So you learn to
live within these boxes and be quiet and
not really be com-pletely comfortable in
this environment that you're spending all
your time in. Because you have to. It's a
survival thing."
Flowers and Williams aren't surviving
anymore. Instead, they're thriving in all
aspects of their lives, which could use a
little more free time but probably won't
get it anytime soon. That's a price they're
willing to pay.•
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
53
When Nicola Adams walks into the
room, it's hard not to take notice. Despite
her size-just 5 feet 5 and 112 poundsthe flyweight world amateur boxing
champion has a cut physique, an intensity, and a megawatt smile that demand
attention. She admits she gets mobbed
in her home city. Do hopeful women try
to pass her their phone numbers when
she's out on the town? "Yeah, yeah," she
answers in her Yorkshire drawl, cool as
you please. "It's something that I've got
used to, you know."
Her first Olympic boxing triumph, at
the 2012 games in London, made her
not only the first female boxer ever to
represent Great Britain, but also the first
out LGBT person to win Olympic boxing
gold. After she competed in the 2016
Olympics in Rio, Adams was the first out
bi woman to win Olympic gold twice, and
the first British boxer to win back-to-back
gold.
Outside the ring, she's collecting a
handsome bevy of UK awards, too, including an MBE, awarded by the Queen
in 2013, in recognition of her services to
boxing and her unprecedented achievements in sports. "I actually wasn't expecting that," she admits. At 33, is she too
young to be considered a national-if not
global-treasure?
Becoming a role model both for women boxers and for women in the LGBT
community is something else Adams has
grown used to, and a task she takes seriously. "It makes me really honored and
proud. It's a nice thing for people to look
up to me so highly. I'd just like to keep on
inspiring." That shouldn't be too much
of a stretch, as a cursory glance at her
social media channels attests. There, as
well as on the street, young women tell
the champ several times a day how much
she's inspired them to take up a sport, especially boxing. "That's really, really nice
to hear," she says, coming as it does at a
time when the world might just about be
ready to watch women's boxing on TV.
Before 2012 some people didn't even
know that women's boxing existed,"
she tells me. "It's taken off quite well. I
guess they just need a big name to be
able to take it forward, in the women's
professional ranks as well." Could that
"big name" be Nicola? If it is, she's not
giving anything away. In fact, rather like
her cool game in the ring, Adams is a pro
at ducking and dodging the questions
she's not ready to answer. When I ask
about her plans for the future, she hints
at her chance to become a triple Olympic
champion. "We've never had that," she
observes, with a smile so wide it looks
like her whole head is grinning. "There's
always some history to be made, so I have
a lot to think about."
She's keeping quiet about her love life,
which is hardly surprising, given the media's obsession with the private lives of
famous women and their "gal pals." It's no
secret, however, that Adams's girlfriend
is 27-year-old American boxer Marlen Esparza, winner of the bronze medal in the
women's flyweight division at the 2012
games in London. The couple recently attended the London premiere of the new
Bridget Jones movie, and Esparza sometimes accompanies Adams to matches.
Nicola Adams was born in 1982. Growing up in east Leeds, she first developed
her love of boxing while watching Muhammad Ali on film as he beat the undefeated heavyweight champion George
Foreman (yes, he of the Grill fame) in the
historic 1974 boxing match dubbed The
Rumble in the Jungle.
Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard are still important guides to Adams. "They are my
heroes, past, present, and future. [It was
Ali's] character, in and outside the ring.
His ability in the ring, his speed, his footwork. He was a wicked boxer. He did so
much as a person. He was a boxer, civil
rights [activist]-everything.
All round,
just did the most."
At 12 years old, Adams found herself at
a boxing class when her mother couldn't
find a babysitter to look after her and her
younger brother Kurtis while she went to
the gym. The coach, who told her that
she'd be a champion if she followed his
instructions to the letter, didn't mind
that she was a girl. She must have been
listening hard, even then. "Before it was
an Olympic sport. I was 12 years old and
I was like, 'Yeah, I'm going to be a boxer
and I'm going to be in the Olympics one
day.' I just always had that dream," she remembers.
It was that dream that lead Adams to
fight her first match and win it when she
was 13, but because there were so few
young women in boxing at that time, it
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
55
"'+
would be four years before she found a
second opponent.
In 2001, she became the first woman
boxer ever to represent Great Britain,
winning gold and subsequently European gold, and world championship silver
twice. The following year she had to abstain from the sport for several months
due to a badly damaged vertebra. Despite
doctors and trainers thinking she might
never box again, she returned to success
at the 2010 World Championships, where
she took silver again, competing now at
flyweight (120 pounds). In the run-up to
the London 2012 Olympics, Adams won
a string of championships, eventually defeating Chinese boxer and world number
one Ren Cancan in the final to claim gold
in the first-ever Olympic women's boxing
competition.
Fast-forward to this year and the European qualifiers in April. Adams bagged
the gold there, ensuring her place in the
World Championships. Five weeks later,
she won the World Championships, also
a qualifying event and a tough one. Nabbing gold again won Adams the grand
slam-European,
Olympic, World, and
Commonwealth
Championship
titles,
making her the first British boxer ever to
56
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
achieve that, male or female.
Experts in the sports world say it's Adams's unique combination of skills that
give her the edge over her opponents.
She's fast, furious, and honed like a classical Greek statue. Her killer smile and
deadly boxing style are unparalleled.
"When she's in the ring, she just doesn't
let up," BBC sports correspondent Natalie Pirks notes, adding, "The fact that
she spars with men is really interesting."
Nicola also seeks out and takes all the
help she can, working with nutritionists,
physiologists, and trainers to prepare
her body and mind for all her tournaments, and living-as Ali did-by motivational maxims such as this one: "Tell me I
can't and that's why I will."
"Everything that you put in is what you
get out of the sport," she explains. "So
the harder you work, the more time you
dedicate yourself, the better you will be."
She may be known as the Baby-Faced
Assassin, but few boxers are more disciplined in the ring. "You can't get angry in
the ring. If you [do] and you lose control,
you'll get caught. Everybody thinks that
you get in there, you're angry, and you
start swinging away. But it doesn't work
like that. You always have to be under
control and thinking, all the time. It's like
a game of chess. You're trying to make
your opponent do things, to make mistakes, so that then you can capitalize on
them."
Is that what she did when she beat
Sarah Ourahmoune in Rio? Speaking on
British radio, she said her French opponent in the final was "really fierce, really
game; I knew she would give 110 percent
and she did." What kept her so focused
throughout the bout? "Just the thought
of winning, really, and wanting to become a double Olympic champion."
I wonder whether it is this sense of
purpose and self-belief that has been
the driving force throughout her life.
Shortly after her parents separated, her
mother, Dee, was ill for a time and young
Nicola bravely carried on, getting herself and Kurtis to school, cooking their
meals, and taking care of Kurtis at home,
as well as visiting her mom in the hospital. "We were a family who said, 'We'll
get through this,"' she says. It's this persevering spirit, I suspect, that has got
her through the hard times.
Now at the peak of her game, Adams
has no shortage of sponsors to choose
from. But I wonder if she feels that she,
like other women in sports, may have
missed opportunities as a result of being open about her sexual identity. "No,
no. Definitely not. I think my sponsors
and money's coming in quite well," she
counters.
Has she ever come across any biphobia within the profession? "No, luckily
I've never come up against anything like
that. I've always been quite well looked
after, and I think my friends and family, and my team that I have around me,
have always been really supportive."
What advice would she give to readers who want to work their way up in
boxing? "I would say, just be who you
are. Be comfortable. If you don't want to
come out, you don't have to come out. I
didn't actually come out. I was just who
I was. So I didn't do a whole announcement or anything. That's what worked
for me, just being myself. If you're a boxer or any sports person, how well you
do will be determined on how good you
are in the ring. So if you're good at your
sport, good at what you do, if you're
winning medals, gold medals speak for
themselves." •
0
GOLDEN
GIRLS:
KATE&HELE
RICHARDSONBY ROXY BOURDILLON
Your lives would make a great film," I
tell Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh.
Their story has serious blockbuster appeal. The pair met playing field hockey as
teenagers, fell in love as adults, and overcame career-threatening injuries and major sporting setbacks to win Olympic gold
for England. It's a heartwarming saga with
a strong emotional arc and queer women wielding giant wooden sticks. Who
wouldn't want to stuff their face full of
popcorn while watching that on the silver
screen?
They seem keen on the idea so I ask
who would play them in this sapphic double-biopic? Team captain Kate doesn't
need long to decide. "Jennifer Lawrence.
She's ballsy. She's like, 'This is who I am'."
What about her wife and teammate
Helen? While she's brilliant at hockey,
she's not so hot at naming celebrities.
After much deliberation she exclaims, "I
know! Whatshername out of Charlie's Angels!"
"Drew Barrymore?" offers Kate. "I knew
you were going to say her!"
The go-getting starlets are the perfect choice to portray these two women
whose resilience, dedication and ability
to kick ass spurred them on to take Rio
by storm.
After winning gold at the 2016 Summer
Olympics in Rio, Kate had the "massive
honor" of being the British flag bearer in
the closing ceremony and they've since
become national heroes, being interviewed by the likes of the BBC, the Guardian and Woman's Hour. Has it all sunk in
yet? Helen's "not sure it ever will" and her
wife agrees: "As a little girl watching the
Olympics you remember Sally Gunnell
standing on top of the podium, singing
the national anthem with tears coming
down her face, and you think that's amazing. It's certainly what we've always wanted even though sometimes it's seemed
quite far away."
Helen in particular has had to deal with
some overwhelming challenges on her
journey to Olympic gold. After the team
won bronze at London 2012, Helen had
two back surgeries within two years. She
trained as hard as she could but missed
out on selection for the 2014 World Cup.
"That was the lowest point of my career.
I wasn't sure whether I would make it
back."
Their thorough training paid off and
both Helen and teammate Hollie Webb
scored their all-important penalties. I ask
what it's like to realize you've won Olympic gold.
"Everyone goes mad," recalls Helen.
"You sprint the fastest you've ever
sprinted," adds Kate. "Then you start to
hug people. You look at them and you
see everything they've been through-I
mean, I'm crying now-every emotion is
right up there on the surface."
Was it extra special experiencing such
an emotional supernova with your wife by
your side?
"We know each other better than anybody else in the team," explains Kate.
"When we look at each other we see all
the ups and downs in minute detail. I
burst out crying when I hugged Helen. It
was so momentous to have gone through
all that. It was almost like it flashed before
my eyes."
Helen elaborates, "We've seen literally
every struggle that we've been through
as an individual and we've known that
each of us has wanted to become an
Olympic champion for so long. To finally
realize that and to do it together is really
special".
As the first same-sex married couple to
win gold at the Olympics, I ask if it's important to them to be part of LGBT history
as well as sporting history.
"It is," confirms Kate. "Before this we
were quite keen to keep our professional
lives and our home lives separate. But we
do understand that [being LGBT] is still
not acceptable everywhere. If sport is a
place where you can go and be yourself,
then we should absolutely promote that
as much as possible."
Since Rio, they've been inundated with
letters, emails and social media posts
from fans thanking them for their openness, saying that it's helped them to feel
more comfortable with their own sexuality. "That's so nice to hear," admits Helen.
"It's great that we can help just one person, let alone hopefully a few more."
Kate describes hockey as a wonderful
sport to be out in: "Being around teams
where there are lot of women of different
sexualities just made it more open and
more on the table. Some players have
actually been able to come out and feel
more comfortable in the team because
two of the older, more senior, players are
being open and talking about it."
It's clear from watching the squad
play that they're a close-knit group and
Helen sums it up perfectly: "What we've
achieved is fantastic but what will live
with me forever is how I felt within that
team. Not necessarily winning the gold
medal, but being around people who
want to achieve and strive to be the best
they can be. That's definitely the most
special thing."•
OCT/NOV
2017
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FEATURES/
THE L-LI
ut lesbian Scout Durwood is many
Javina Magness, a move that caught the
song for me to write because it was me
things:
eye of producer
voicing literal frustration," Durwood says.
comedian,
burlesque
dancer, singer, and actor-just
to
Dave Darling (Queen
Latifah, Tom Waits, Def Leppard).
The creation of Take One Thing Off
name a few. After years of divvying
"Dave came up to me after a show, and
involved many people, from the LGBTQ
up her time between these artistic
from there we sat down and were like,
endeavors, she has found that on
'What do we want to do?' I've always been
"So much of the world around this album
her debut album, Take One Thing Off,
a comedian who does a lot of music, or
is queer. The amount of queer people that
community, to Durwood's delight.
many of her passions intersect. Arriving
a musician who does a lot of comedy, so
have worked on the album, on promoting
at making an album wasn't exactly a
to put everything in one room was really
the album, on the videos, has been such a
straight line for the entertainer.
"I
got
nightlife
super-involved
with
queer
in New York and was go-go
dancing and living kind of a Studio 54
incredible, and it has been wonderful to
love fest. It has been very genderqueer, very
watch it take shape," she says.
girly;' she says.
Take One Thing Off is a combination
of Durwood's
talents.
Short
When asked if she has a favorite talent,
comedic
Durwood would prefer not to choose. "I'm
backed by a catchy beat
going to say I love them all, but I definitely
wild ride of an existence, and that threw
monologues
me into burlesque, and I was also doing
("The
mixed
with
have opinions. The thing I love is getting all
stand-up," Durwood says of her dizzying
ballads ("Fallin' in Love"), topped
with
the things I love into a room. Like, my dream
start in the entertainment business.
Wedding
Song"),
the eponymous pop show-stopper "Take
is to do Take One Thing Off as a burlesque
"Then I hit an age, and I was like, 'It's
One Thing Off," the album is truly a
show that turns into an hour-long comedy
now or never,' and I moved to Los Angeles.
showcase of all Durwood has to offer as
show. That's the dream:'
For me, it's kind of always happened all at
an entertainer.
once. I had an MTV show last year [Mary
In addition to entertainment, Durwood
"We knew we wanted to come in telling
recently started playing on a basketball
+ Jane] and that's what I did for three
the story of my life in burlesque, and I
team. The mentality that keeps her in the
months, and when that was done I did a
knew I wanted to do a parody of a song,
game often translates to life outside the
short film while we were waiting for the
so that became 'Go Go,' and I wanted
court. "I'm really proud of not giving up. It
album to come out. The trick for
is a brutal world and the reward
me is to always be focused and
system is not linear,so just waking
always be working on something.
It's the only way you can do all
these things," she says.
executive
MTV stoner comedy
produced
by rapper
Snoop Dogg, was a dip in the
waters of scripted television for
Durwood
who
played
Jordan,
one-half of a pair aiming to be
the most in-demand
up and staying in the game feels
great;' she says. "I joke that the
reason basketball is so fun is
Mary + Jane, the hysterical but
short-lived
"IWANT
TO
BE
AQUEER
ADVOCATEANDIWANTTO
MAKE
STORIES,
SO
THAT
OTHER
QUEER
PEOPLE
CAN
SEE
THEMSELVES
ON
TV"
marijuana
dealers in the Los Angeles area. It
that it doesn't really matter when
you have a good game. You can
just be proud of it. Whereas if so
much of your heart and soul in
life gets tied up in your craft, it's
harder to be proud of it. But if you
have a good game, you can just
be proud:'
As for being an out public
figure in a tumultuous time in the
was an experience she loved.
"That Mary + Jane family is still such a
to do a love song to alcohol, so that
United States, Durwood wants her art to
family, and the show is still so great. That
became 'All the Pretty Bottles.' So some
speak for itself.
show is done, but the family around it is
of it clicked into place, whereas 'Take
"I want to both be a queer advocate and
still alive," she says. "I'm rarely starstruck,
One Thing Off,' which is the first song we
march and wave my rainbow flag, and I
also just want to make stories, so that other
because, you know, we're all just a deck
wrote on the album, just fell out, so we
of cards, we all just get shuffled together,
decided to frame the album around that,"
queer people can watch them and see
but Snoop took my breath away a couple
she says.
themselves on TV, because I think that is
of times. You just couldn't not be 8 years
old. You're like, 'Oh my god, it's Snoop.' "
When Mary + Jane ended, Durwood
Durwood's
really undervalued. I forget until something
experience being queer, however, didn't
comes out that stars a queer woman how
come out so easily. "Dave was like, 'You
much it stirs you, and it's like, 'It's me! It's
Writing
a
song
about
hit a crossroads. After years working as
need to do a song about being queer,
me!' so I don't think we can be voiceless;'
a comedian, she started to miss singing.
about being gay,' and I was like, 'No, I'm
she says.
She got a role starring in the musical
good.' And he kept pushing it, and we
Original, about the life of blues singer
ended up with 'Here We Are,' the hardest
"My thing is, be visible. Tell your story,
sing your song." (scoutdurwood.com)
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
•
61
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FEATUREstCOVER
ST
On August 8, looking tired, Sue Bird sat down outside the visiting team's locker room after the Seattle Storm endured a lopsided 81-74 loss to the Connecticut Sun. The mood outside the Storm
locker room was subdued and unusually quiet. After all, the team
was struggling through a season that they should have been dominating, given their talented roster. They'd won only one game since
the All-Star break. Two days later, in a late-season push to make the
playoffs, the Seattle Storm fired their head coach, Jenny Boucek, after her two-plus mediocre seasons at the helm. On this night, if Bird
was frustrated with her team or soon-to-be-fired coach, she didn't
show it. She is, as always, the consummate professional.
At 36 years old, Bird is the oldest player in the WNBA and has seen
her fair share of head coaches and losses. But she's also seen more
than her fair share of wins, championships, and accolades, in large
part because she's considered by many to be the best point guard in
the history of the women's game. After a storied high school career
at basketball powerhouse Christ the King Regional High School in
Queens, N.Y.,Bird went on to UConn, where she led her Huskies to
a four-year overall record of 114-4, capturing two National Championships, a Wade Trophy, and a Naismith Award in the process. She
was drafted by the Seattle Storm in 2002 and won two WNBA Championships (2004, 2010). She won four Olympic gold medals (2004,
2008, 2012, 2016). She's one of only nine other women ever to
win an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, and a WNBA
Championship.
Yet even as her team's playoff future hung in the balance in what
might be her final season in the league (she laughs off questions
about her possible retirement), Bird was still acutely aware that the
luxury of doing what she loves at the highest level is granted to her
because of Title IX. And while she and her WNBA league-mates battle one another for the coveted WNBA title, off the court, Title IX is in
its own battle for survival.
Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally
funded education, including athletics, is under assault by the Trump
administration on its 45th anniversary. Trump's budget proposal recommends a 7 percent budget reduction for the Office of Civil Rights
BASKETBALL
DEMIGODDESS
SUE BIRDONTITLE
IX, THE WNBA,
ACTIVISM,AND
COMINGOUT.
BY LUCY J. MADISON
(OCR), which would force the department to slash approximately
27 jobs at a time when Title IX complaints are on the rise. Of the
current Title IX complaints, 80 percent focus on equality in sports,
which means that the proposed budget cuts would directly impact
the OCR's ability to investigate athletic discrimination.
When asked about the effect of Title IX on her, personally, Bird
settles into her folding chair and thinks for a moment. She says,
"Growing up, I played every sport. In my town, there was no girls'
soccer team, so I had to play on the boys' team. My code name was
Tail, because of my ponytail. Back then, I never realized how Title IX
impacted my life. Aside from having no girls' team to play on, sports
was always there. Now I understand it."
She knows it's not just about her generation any longer, that
younger generations are still benefiting from Title IX. "While it
seems easy to cut the funding, while it seems easy for people to ask
'What do we need it for now?' clearly, there is a trickle-down effect.
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FEATUREstCOVER
ST
We still need to push it and keep it in the forefront."
Speaking of being at the forefront, Bird also believes that the
WNBA has been leading the charge on many social issues for women since its inception in 1996, and the growth of social media has
given each individual player more of a voice than she ever had before. Bird believes that the younger players in the league bring more
of an awareness and confidence with them, in large part because of
how connected everyone is, thanks to today's technology.
"That progression is definitely something I've seen in my time
with the league, and not just with LGBTQ+issues. In Seattle, we celebrate Pride, we have a Go Green initiative, focus on breast cancer
awareness, and so many other issues. Players also support their own
charities and foundations."
It's often been said that politics and sports don't mix, but actually
they do. All the time. Back in 1967, Katherine Switzer became the
first female to compete in the Boston Marathon, even as the race
director tried to rip off her race number. And who can forget the
image of Jesse Owens on the podium saluting the American flag
during the long jump ceremony at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?
Bird understands now that having a voice on social issues is part
of her identity as a professional athlete. "Particularly as women, we
can use our league, our play, and our voices to talk about things
that women deal with on a daily basis. I do think there is something
special about a female having that power."
With female empowerment also come issues of sexism and homophobia. Bird has stated publicly that homophobia hurts the
league, while she adamantly shoots down any rumors that homophobia somehow exists within the league player-to-player. Instead, she asserts that the league is hurt by those people who assert
their homophobia by refusing to watch the WNBA, but will actively
disparage the league and its players.
"Back in the day when the NBA was looked upon as all black, the
racists in the world would not watch it. Our league is looked at as
predominantly gay." The parallels Bird draws between the NBA's
growing pains and the WNBA's are clear: The NBA weathered that
storm, and the WNBA will do the same.
Present homophobia notwithstanding, Bird made headlines recently for coming out as a lesbian in an ESPNWarticle, although the
headlines were noticeably less intense than when other professional
athletes had publicly announced their sexuality in the past. "It hasn't
made a ripple in terms of overall coverage, which is great," she says.
Bird is unassuming and humble about standing atop a platform for
social issues.
"There is a subtle difference between a public figure, which I
don't really identify with but in some regards I am, and Jane Doe
down the street in terms of coming out. Jane Doe just tells people
in her life. She's out, that's it. A public figure has to go public to be
out. By every other definition, I was out. It wasn't something I was
hiding."
The decision to announce her sexuality, and her relationship with
fellow Olympian and professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe,
was not premeditated. ESPNWsimply asked the question and she
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MARKtTPlACt
answered it. "That wasn't my coming out article. I didn't contact
them to do that. It's not my personality to be like, 'Hey, look at me.'
It happened naturally and organically. Afterwards, I had to call my
agent and Megan to say, 'FYI, this is happening.'"
Bird is also confident and at ease in her own skin. "Coming out
was not uncomfortable because it's not something I am uncomfortable about. If it was something that I felt ashamed about, it would
probably have been harder. I'm sure it would be harder for somebody if they felt that way, but I don't.''
"This is a blanket statement for my whole life: I've always lived
my life, done my thing. I think the best parallel is me as a basketball
player. That's something people can see. I don't care about points or
personal accolades. I do my job. People see that. That's how I am off
the court. I just go about my business. I try to act a certain way and
be good to people. But it's not necessarily my personality to be at
the forefront. I'm actually a pretty shy person."
Shyness aside, Bird realizes that her actions, and the way in which
she chooses to live her life, can impact others who are struggling
with their own sexuality. "A nice byproduct is that I've been able to
help others just by living my life and being open about it. People
who were scared to come out now have some courage to do so. As
much as I didn't do it for that reason, it's nice to know I'm having that
positive impact for people." (suebirdonline.com) •
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72VOLUNTEERINGON VACATION
74VAGABONDGIRLS LIVETHE DREAM
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Denver is in a sweet spot these days.
The Mile-High City has undergone a
cultural and economic renaissance over
the past decade or so, and a recent visit
there revealed a metropolis teeming with
charisma.
There are new restaurants, shopping
strips, and bars cropping up everywhere.
Burgeoning neighborhoods
like RiNo
and Uptown are adding to the arts and
dining mix. And plenty of old-school
favorite spots are still going strong, some
of them restored to their former glory.
To top
it off, Denver's
LGBT
community is stronger than ever, with
an unforgettable PrideFest taking over
the city each June, a thriving Community
Center (glbtcolorado.org),
and yearround events like the CinemaQ queer
film festival (denverfilm.org).
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And to all this add great weather and
progressive thinking, plus the Rocky
Mountains and other incredible natural
landscapes, and Denver starts to seem
like a dream city.
Here's the catch: Locals know how
great they have it, and they're a little
wary of newcomers. Transplants from
cities across America are moving in,
eager to join the booming recreationalcannabis industry and shore up jobs in
every industry, from tech to culinary to
real estate.
During my visit, I asked lots of
Denverites about how their town has
evolved. Over and over I heard such
positive responses, so many bursts of
civic pride. But curiously, nearly every
native Coloradan followed this optimism
with a single sentiment: "Don't move
here." It was comically
consistent,
especially for a Brooklynite like me to
hear, since my own home borough has
undergone a similar influx of savvy urban
dwellers-and there's not a thing we can
do about it. It's just the nature of a great
city.
But for most of us, our travels are
simply holidays, not scouting trips. We're
just hoping to enjoy all that our getaway
destination has to offer. So Denverites,
please know that I proclaim your city to
be as much fun to visit as it probably is
to live there, and I hope you won't mind
sharing.
The first big thing to note about Denver
is the gastronomy. Colorado farmland
makes for crazy-good local ingredients,
and chefs here know how to use them.
Also, locals love to eat out. Right on
FEATURES/
trend, two stellar food halls have joined
the scene and are perfect ways to sample
a mix of restaurants. At the two-story
"collective eatery" that is Avanti Food &
Beverage (avantifandb.com) in Highland
Park, you'll find seven food vendors-like
Bamboo Sushi, Quiero Arepas, and The
Regional's American comfort food-plus
an upstairs craft-cocktail bar and lots of
open-air seating.
Over in the burgeoning River North
Art District, or "RiNo," The Source is
(thesourcedenver.com)
a
centuryold foundry building that has been
converted into a food market and retail/
gallery space. The industrial-meetsartisanal style works well, with lofty
ceilings, outdoor seating, and welldesigned enclaves for about 15 different
merchants, including a Mexican eatery, a
bakery, cheese and spice markets, and a
big island of a bar in the middle.
The Crooked Stave Artisan Beer
Project (csartisans.com) has an outpost
in The Source to sell its specialty sour
and otherwise
unusual brews-and
represents the kind of Denver quirkiness
that blends flavor, adventure, and
occasional inebriation. Not to mention
that anything in the craft-brewery domain
is welcome here, and you can get a map
of the Denver Beer Trail (denver.org) to
sample the city's suds.
RiNo is home to one of Denver's longrunning weekends-only LGBT nightclubs,
Tracks (tracksdenver.com), with a huge
dance floor and a friendly mixed crowd
that comes for theme parties, drag
shows, and even a monthly roller-skating
party.
But Capitol Hill is the main gayborhood
here, and you can roam Colfax Avenue
for your pick of flirty watering holes. Join
the local cowgirl/boy scene at Charlie's
(charliesdenver.com), where needing a
two-step partner is a perfect reason to
meet ladies-maybe
you'll even learn
something about the Colorado Gay
Rodeo Association. X Bar (xbardenver.
com) is an easygoing lounge with good
happy hours, karaoke nights, and a
Sunday beer bust that turns up the club
volume late on weekends.
Don't miss cocktails at Blush & Blu
(blushbludenver.com),
Denver's
last
official lesbian bar and cafe. Strong
drinks, friendly women, and events like
TRA
--
weekly comedy shows will give you a
taste of how the local lezzos do things
in the Queen City of the West (Denver's
fabulous other nickname).
You can walk or check out a B-Cycle
(denverbcycle.com)
and ride down
the hill to the Golden Triangle Creative
District, home to the city's major art
institutions. The Denver Art Museum
(denverartmuseum.org)
is huge but
manageable and well worth a visit for
its permanent and temporary exhibits.
Around the corner, the Clyfford Still
Museum (clyffordstillmuseum.org) is one
of the only art museums built especially
to complement
and illuminate
an
individual artist's style.
Around
the corner,
the brand70
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new, super-cool
Kirkland
Museum
(kirklandmuseum.org) opens in spring
2018; it's designed as a series of salonstyle rooms that house different periods
of art and decor, including Bauhaus, Art
Nouveau, Art Deco, and more, as well as
Colorado regional art.
Round out your cultural immersion
by checking in atThe ART, a Hotel
(thearthotel.com),
where
every
marvelous piece of visual, sculptural,
and multimedia artworks were curated
especially for the property, many of them
created by world-renowned artists.
No place exhibits civic pride better than
Union Station
(unionstationindenver.
com), which wrapped up a $54 million
renovation in 2014 that made the still-
active train station one of the best
downtown hubs. You can have brunch
at the queer-friendly local chain Snooze,
browse indie shops like Tattered Cover
Book Store, and even spend the night
at the small luxury Crawford Hotel
(thecrawfordhotel.com).
Denver's investment in itself is clear
in the way it values and preserves its
local architecture,
balances culture
and commerce,
and celebrates its
own history and diversity. It's a fun
town that knows when to get down to
business. It's as if Colorado knew all
along that Denver would be its own
heavenly little capital, and the rest
of the world is finally catching on.
(denver.org/about-denver/lgbt)
•
FEATURES/
Jeannette Candau and Suzy Schutz's
common interests-food,
wine, travel,
and the outdoors-led
them not only to
marriage but to owning the European
walking vacations company, The Blue
Walk. Candau and Schutz enjoy learning
about new places and discovering the
paths less traveled-and
sharing them
with like-minded travelers in their guided
tours through picturesque regions of
France, Italy, Greece, and England. It's an
approach they learned through their own
adventures-such
as the time they took
a wrong turn down a country road in
Campania, Italy and ended up lost amid
vineyards. A passing farmer gave them
directions and invited them to meet his
family. "His wife brought out a spread
of wonderful cheese and meats, and of
course their house-made wine, while we
swapped stories of their home and our
travels. It was amazing," says Candau.
You won't get lost on a Blue Walk tour
but you will access what Schutz calls
"the golden part of travel-meeting
locals that allow us to crack open a
different culture and experience more
deeply what it really is to live there."
The tours consist of leisurely strolls or
hikes along stunning coastlines, open
countryside, down cobblestone streets,
through charming village squares, all
the while enjoying the great outdoors
and local culture. Hiking boots and
backpacks are optional, as all routes are
"people friendly." Art, wine, and yogathemed itineraries are also available.
Do they each have a favorite tour? "My
first tour was Greece, so it has a special
place for me," says Schutz. "Being out
on the ferry, traveling to the islands is
magical; peaceful, quiet and pristine."
But she's equally mesmerized by the
charm of Northern Italy, and the beauty
TRA
of the French Riviera.
Candau agrees. "A nice thing about
our French Riviera tour is that we stay in
Nice the entire time, and then walk or use
the local rail to move to these incredible
locations along the coast. You only
unpack once and still get to see a variety
of these iconic destinations."
They are both excited about a custom
trip they are creating for a group of
women to Italy's Emilia Romagna region,
best known for its incredible food
such as Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese,
prosciutto
di Parma, and balsamic
vinegar-plus plentiful wine. This region
is less traveled, but with a countryside
just as stunning as Tuscany, and the trip
will highlight many of the great culinary
offerings for which Italy is famous. "It's
coming together so well," says Schutz,
"we see adding this to our public tours
in the near future." (thebluewalk.com) •
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Just imagine! Mae-Dell Lacy, 87, has
been to every single place in the world
that has piqued her interest. "I have
always made sure to go all the places I
have wanted to go," says Lacy, about her
lifetime of world travel.
Now, people young and old can see
the remote corners of the world together,
bridgetheagegap, and help communities
in need, thanks to a new program forged
by two great organizations-SAGE and
Global Volunteers. SAGE is the nation's
largest organization providing advocacy
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and services to LGBT elders.
Global Volunteers has pioneered shortterm international service programs
since 1984, waging peace by engaging
volunteers in meaningful projects in
developing communities
around the
world.
"Global Volunteers is the perfect
partner, as SAGE works to build ties
between younger and older people in
the LGBT community," says Susan Herr,
SAGE's chief engagement officer. "The
opportunity offered by Global Volunteers,
not only to serve people around the world
but to create meaningful connections
with a group of like-minded LGBT folks,
is invaluable."
But when Mae-Dell Lacy began
her globetrotting,
neither of these
organizations existed. In the early 1960s,
Lacy took a year and a half off from
teaching English in Los Angeles to travel
the world on cargo ships, hitting ports of
call in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Borneo,
Singapore, India, Yemen, Sudan, and
Lebanon, not to mention Europe.
FEATURES/
"Oh, we had lots of adventures," says
Lacy, who now lives in Berkeley, Calif.
"We almost got kidnapped in the Sudan."
For all the exotic corners of the world
she had ticked off her bucket list by the
time she was in her 30s, China was the
one place she still longed to see. Travel
restrictions kept her from adding the
country to her worldwide itinerary in the
1960s, but when the doors to tourism
opened in the early '80s, Lacy and her
mother were among the first to book a
trip.
In 1997, Linda Schlapp, now LGBT
program director for Global Volunteers,
was in her second year as a Global
Volunteer team leader in Xi'an, China.
But during that year, she received news
that her father was seriously ill.
"My father
was the one who
encouraged me to travel," Schlapp says,
"but he wasn't able to travel as much as
he would have liked. Even so, he had a
global spirit that he instilled in me."
Schlapp, who was in her early 30s
at the time, was seriously questioning
whether she should stay with her group
or return to the United States. Then she
met a woman three decades older, who
would become a friend for life: MaeDell Lacy. In her 60s at the time, Lacy
was a Global Volunteer teaching English
to Chinese students at a community
college.
"I had a big, bulky video camera, so
I suggested to Linda that she take the
camera and make a video that she could
send back home to her father," Lacy says.
Over the course of three weeks, Schlapp
used Lacy's camera to record the
wonders of China, including its massive
traffic jams, all interspersed with footage
of more than 100 well-wishers. When
Lacy returned to Los Angeles, she mailed
the video to Schlapp's father, so he could
get a taste of his daughter's experiences.
He cried with joy when he watched the
video. He died three months later.
Schlapp and Lacy probably would
never have formed their friendship had
it not been for their experience together
at Global Volunteers. "We wouldn't have
had this extraordinary opportunity to
share such a powerful moment in time.
And my family, especially my father and
I, would never have received such an
amazing gift that I still cherish to this
day," Schlapp recalls.
This is the beauty of Global Volunteers.
"It allows us to take down walls that keep
us apart and build friendships-like
the
one I built with Mae-Dell," says Schlapp.
"We shouldn't limit ourselves because
of our experiences, and we certainly
shouldn't limit our experiences because
of our age. Each generation has so much
to offer."
In addition
to making
life-long
friendships
with people across the
age spectrum, there are many other
tangible benefits in participating
in
a Global Volunteer trip. Participants
have the opportunity to help in-need
communities around the world, and to
provide hands-on help with important
development
projects,
which
can
TRA
range from infrastructure support and
education to nutrition and health care.
And while doing good, participants are
able to see the world, build relationships,
and deduct all their travel expenses from
their taxes.
Global Volunteers has several trips
on the horizon. Two Vietnam tours are
in the works: one from October 14,
2017, to October 27, 2017, and another
from October 13, 2018, to October 27,
2018. All the programs in Vietnam offer
opportunities to meet with the local
LGBT community in Hanoi.
Two trips to Cuba are also planned.
One to Sancti Spiritus will be from
November 4, 2017, to November 18, 2017.
The other will take place in Havana from
May 5, 2018, to May 19, 2018, and will
correspond with Havana Pride, which is
celebrated around the International Day
Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and
Biphobia, on May 17,2018.
Schlapp adds that Global Volunteers
are welcome to create their own groups
or join any of its general teams going
to locations that have been thoroughly
vetted and approved to be welcoming to
members of the LGBT population. Those
destinations include the Cook Islands,
Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Italy, Greece,
Mexico, the Blackfeet Nation in Montana,
Peru, and Vietnam.
"The
best
thing
about
Global
Volunteers is meeting people," says
Lacy. "And you're helping people. It's
a really good way to see the world."
(lgbt.globalvolunteers.org) •
Most of us have gazed up at a brilliant
night sky or across an infinite sea, feeling
the deep, longing pull of wanderlust. We
sigh, then return to jobs and bills and
responsibilities.
Yet some hear that siren call and turn
not away, but toward it.
Nashville couple Sunny Eaton and
Karin Balsley chose a path less traveled
nearly two years ago, and found it's no
coincidence that "wander" is so very
close to "wonder."
Their story has the makings of a great
country song: They sold everything,
bought a 1997 Toyota Landcruiser,
packed up their dog Gracie, and headed
off on an ambitious overland trek down
the PanAmerican Highway toward Tierra
del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South
America.
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"When you look back at a year in your
life and can't distinguish one day from
the next, it's time to make a change,"
Sunny says. "We weren't happy with our
lives' trajectory. Now, every day is new,
exciting, challenging and meaningful."
So far, they've explored the U.S.,
Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize,
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and
Panama.
As the wheels turn and they unfurl
their rooftop tent on deserted vistas,
thousands accompany them via their
captivating,
self-deprecating
blog,
"Vagabroads: An Overland Journey from
Nashville to the End of the World."
Together since 2012, Sunny, a criminal
defense attorney, and Karin, a systems
engineer, had everything we all work for:
a house, nice cars, close friends, loving
families, health insurance.
So why would a glamorous couple
ditch it all for car wheels on a gravel
road and a rooftop tent? It started with a
series of obstacles, capped by a year and
a half of treatment and recovery from a
rare disease called Eagle's Syndrome for
Karin.
"It's such a cliche, but life smacked
us in the face and reminded us of its
fragility," says Sunny. "We didn't want to
waste another second."
The couple did some serious soulsearching, usually over a glass or two of
cabernet. Key themes crystallized: travel,
exploration, healthy living, creativity,
time together. Soon, the decision was
made. Life would change, dramatically.
With the what and the why decided,
that left only the how.
FEATURES/
"We researched backpacking, then
realized we're maybe a little too highmaintenance for that," Karin says.
"Then we discovered this community
of people driving all over the world
in their cars, to places we didn't even
know you could drive. It was a way of life
that deeply resonated with us. It was ...
freedom."
While successful, they didn't have
a trust fund. There was no lottery win,
no big windfall or inheritance. They cut
back on nights in Nashville bars listening
to songwriter friends. They sold off
everything they owned, down to their
shoes and dishes.
"We gave upa lot-not just possessions
and dinners out, but security, career
growth, our nest egg," Sunny says.
Friends were skeptical, worried about
them traveling through countries with
reputations for violence and misogyny.
And the couple is honest enough to
admit they also bought into those fears.
"We knew nothing!" Sunny says.
"Our stereotypes
were of violence
and robberies and murders. It was so
ridiculous. Within a few days of arriving
in Mexico, I realized that I'm a fucking
idiot. We had to drop those fears of
shadows around every corner. No one is
after us. They're warm, loving, modest,
smart people, and we're not as important
as we thought we were."
Traveling as a lesbian couple hasn't
been a problem, either.
"It seems like Latin American men
go out of their way to make us feel
comfortable," Karin says. "Mexico was
very welcoming, and Costa Rica was
progressive. We were more careful in
Belize, because it's still not a safe place
for gay people. But the more we tried to
act like friends, not spouses, the more
obvious we were. It's unnatural not to
just be who we are."
While everything is different, not
everything gets coated with romantic
fairy dust.
"Your problems and responsibilities
don't disappear when you hit the road,"
Sunny says. "The 'we sold everything?!'
fear still skyrockets, just as you're
watching
a glittering
lightshow
of
shooting stars under a perfect sky."
One difficult time came on news
from home.
After the election in November, the
LGBT community
reeled, afraid that
hard-earned rights would be lost under
a Trump administration.
Via dodgy Wi-Fi, Sunny immediately
launched the LGBT Legal Relief Fund,
drafting fellow attorneys to help gay and
trans people complete legal documents
to protect themselves. The Fund so far
has helped 126 people, from formalizing
adoptions to estate planning.
"No matter where I am, I'm always
two things: a lawyer and a gay woman,"
Sunny explains. "That means doing
everything I can to protect my gay
brothers and sisters, to help us achieve
equality and protect our love. I have to
do whatever I can to that end, or nothing
TRA
else I do matters."
But by far the most heartbreaking
days involved Gracie. The beloved pup
became sick a year into the trip. Karin
and Sunny spent countless hours finding
qualified veterinarians and consulting
with experts in the U.S.
When the diagnosis came, it was
devastating. Gracie had cancer, and
it was terminal. They sobbed in each
other's arms, cursed more than a bit, and
decided that Gracie's last months would
be doggie heaven on earth, laced with
favorite meals and unlimited time on the
beaches she adored.
After weeks of extra love, brave, strong
Gracie left their side in March, and a
shattered Sunny wrote perhaps the most
heartrending Facebook obituary ever
penned for a pup. Later, they donated
her leftover veterinary supplies to
WorldVets in Nicaragua, because Gracie
would have wanted it that way.
"Losing Gracie was one of the most
difficult things we've ever gone through,"
a still-grieving Sunny says. "We feel so
lucky that in her last months, we were
able to be with her 24/7, exploring the
world, climbing mountains and running
on beaches."
The velvet along this overlanding path
has far overshadowed the pain of her
loss, the fears, the political outrage.
Karin expertly gunning the Landcruiser
through rivers, up the sides of volcanos
and over roads best described as
suggestions. A random meetup with
Daniela Sea ("Max" on The L Word) in
Antigua. Having breakfast with the Mayor
of La Libertad in El Salvador.
"We've nearly slid off the side of a
mountain," Sunny says. "We've sunk
axle-deep in sand on a deserted Mexican
beach. We've been lost in the mountains
of Guatemala with no GPS. We've come
face-to-face
with the world's most
venomous snake and one of its deadliest
spiders. No matter what we face, we now
know that we can handle it."
And along the way, in generous
service to their fellow sisters, they've
taken copious notes to create a new blog
post of the best lesbian bars in the world
at: vagabroads.com/blog/best-lesbianbars-worldwide.
Then there are the new lifelong
friendships, forged in shared community.
The couple's drive for connection led
them to start a private Facebook group
just for overlanding women-and within
three weeks, it had nearly 400 members.
They share support, tips, photos and
stories. There's even a book in the works.
Karin even took advantage of the
Facebook page to ask a very important
question: "Hey ladies! Has anyone run
across any Paul Mitchell hair products
at a reasonable price in El Salvador,
Guatemala or Mexico?"
"It's hard being 'girlie' on the road,"
she says with a laugh. "I used to own
every product out there, but now I've
been relegated to one small bathroom
bag. Sunny and I have gotten to see
each other in every scenario possible,
and thankfully our love has proven to be
more than skin deep."
This life isn't for everyone, they
know. It has changed them, deeply and
profoundly.
" 'Finishing' the trip is no longer the
goal," Sunny says simply. "Our time on
the road is priceless. Our days are so
rich, so layered, so vibrant, and we've
grown so much as individuals and as
a couple. Now, we revel in what we've
missed before. The woven colors of life,
vibrant skies, robust smells, enchanting
people. We'll never be the same."
In fact, as they head back to Nashville
this month to recharge before continuing
their journey, the couple worries how
they'll fit back into their old world, seeing
life as they do through new lenses.
"As soon as we get there, we'll start
putting things together so we can hit the
road again," Sunny says. "That's where
our home is now.
"We don't want to check off an
accomplishment. We've truly found a
new life, one much more extraordinary."
(vagabroads.com) •
Follow the Vagabroads
lnstagram: @thevagabroads
Facebook.com/vagabroads/
Twitter: @vagabroads
TLOOK/
CROSSWORD
THE
L-OUIZ
Test your
lesbian knowledge
with our queer crossword.
BY MYLES MELLOR
ACROSS
1. Trans hero with Seal
Team Six, 2 words
8. Popular lesbian talk
show host
9. Founder of Aids Walk
San Diego and legendary
caregiver, Susan
10. Semiannual, for short
11. Goal for many lesbian
heroines (fair treatment)
13. Asian-American lesbian
activist and biologist,_
Chan
14. Boston locale
15. American lesbian
activist who cofounded
Daughters of Bilitis, 2
words
18. Stole
19. Listener
20. Night gear, for short
78
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
21. Veteran of the Stonewall
Riots, Silvia_
24. Tennis star who was one
of the first openly gay
athletes, Martina
26. More in Spanish
27. Romantic flowers
28. L Word star, Jennifer_
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
DOWN
Someone to hold onto
Malicious
Got all excited
Turn down
Famous fruit picker
Hobby shop buy
"Black lesbian, feminist
mother, warrior, poet" in
her own words, Audre_
9. Blue bird
10. Vogue
12.
13.
14.
16.
17.
18.
20.
22.
23.
25.
Wedding
Pickle container
Lily with tulip-like flowers
Damage
and dearest
Foremother of the LGBTQ
movement, Tamara_
Juliette_,
CEO of Pink
Lobster Dating
Tests
Arm or a leg
Bugs for example, abbr.
LAST LOOK/
ST
Falling
ForHer
Give a little boo to you-know-who this autumn as Mars
and Venus glide from earthy Virgo into flirty Libra.
BY CHARLENE LICHTENSTEIN
ARIES
(MARCH
21-APRIL
20)
BATTLEOF THE SEXESSTAR
EMMA STONE
was born on November 8, 1988.
SCORPIO
(OCT24-NOV
22)
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
1/,
Charlene
Lichtenstein
istheauthor 1/,
1/,
of HerScopes:
A Guide
toAstrology1/,
(Simon
& Schuster)1/,
ForLesbians
1/,
nowavailable
asanebook. 1/,
1/,
Sapphic Scorps are virile
gals who can withstand
ongoing torture and even
the occasional cold and flu.
They tend to have strong
constitutions, even if they
are not particularly active or
athletic. While other water
signs (Pisces and Cancer)
are generally thought of as
less robust and prone to
bouts of depression, nervous conditions and general
nagging ailments, Scorpio
dykes are about as frail as
a driving steamroller or a
falling anvil.
If you can get yourself ship
shape, you find that cruise
season extends well into
autumn. Aries can navigate
any social stew and gather up
bosom buddies to launch a
flotilla. But be choosey when it
comes to the one lovergrrl who
can really float your boat. You
may be in over your head.
LEO
(JULY
24-AUG
23)
Put your money where your
mouth is this autumn. If you
want circumstances to change,
fund it and move it along.
Become a powerbroker who
makes things happen. Impress
the ladies with your financial
acumen and generosity. Where
will you spend your energies?
Oh, let's guess, Leo.
SAGITTARIUS
(NOV
23-DEC
22)
TAURUS
(APRIL
21-MAY
21)
VIRGO
(AUG
24-SEPT
23)
Virgos become super-focused
this autumn, as anything they
can envision, they can achieve.
Don't hang around the house
and wait for the front doorbell
to ring. Get Out and about,
meet influential power elites
who can help you along. Make
small thoughts become big
movements. Make the earth
move for you-know-who.
CAPRICORN
(DEC
23-JAN
20)
Caps may have the urge to
travel and cast their net far and
wide. Explore the world before
time and money become tight.
You will have the opportunity
to hook up with an exotic and
passionate travel companion
on your journey. She can
become your own personal
grand adventure.
GEMINI
(MAY
22-JUNE
21)
LIBRA
(SEPT
24-OCT
23)
Your temperature is rising as
autumn gets underway. What
is turning you on, Aqueerius?
It seems almost everyone
and everything can get you
excited. You have boundless
sexual energy that demands to
be sated. Find your hotspots
at the 'meet' market and see
who gets on your wavelength.
Whew! Overload!
Expect to have a frenetic
and exciting autumn as your
personal projects rev into
overdrive. But try to conserve
your energies and dole out
your efforts carefully so that
you can go the distance. And
that goes for the romantic
possibilities that will be pulled
into your magnetic orbit. You
are a force, Taurus.
Plan more at home activities,
Gemini. They will add fun,
flirtation and frolic to your life,
which seems to be too sedate
recently. Loosen the bonds
of your creativity and take
flight. Who knows who you will
attract when the leash is off. Of
course, there are some ladies
who prefer the leash. Give
them what they want.
There are so many interesting
things swirling around in the
background that you may not
be totally aware of the effect
you have on others. Libras are
especially sexy now and charm
the hearts of so many women
that, for some, heartbreak is
inevitable. Be kind, diplomatic
and practical in the fall party
season.
CANCER
UUNE
22-JULY
23)
SCORPIO
(OCT
24-NOV
22)
Cancers seem to know just
what to say to get exactly what
they want. The big question is,
do you really know what you
want? Give consideration to
improving relationships with
long-lost relatives or estranged
family members. You may be
surprised at how the tables
have turned. Then you can eat
(tinyurl.com/HerScopes) their dinner.
Gal pals vie for your attention
and you are happy to let the
crowd carry you for-ward. But
a wise Scorpio will hold back
from the groupthink and spring
a few festive surprises later
in autumn. Who knows, you
may turn a few girlfriends into
lovergrrls. Will you find a few
gems in the trash? Of course
some of us are into trash.
Sagittarians may not know
how to channel their corporate
influence now, but don't
worry. Not only do you have
personal oil to spare, you
will find that bosom buddies
offer you advice on how to
spread it around. You may find
yourself sliding up the ladder
to success. Don't slip off!
AQUARIUS
UAN
21-FEB
19)
PISCES
(FEB
2O-MARCH
20)
Guppies find themselves
embroiled in a range of
relationship issues. What
you will need to decide this
autumn is whether a certain
partnership gives you everything that you need. Does it
have the passion and intensity
that will hold your interest? If
not, have a heart to heart with
her and see if you can start a
raging fire.
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
79
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FEATURES
JS
QUEER DISABILITY
Meet the women who are
struggling, surviving, and
achieving great things.
22
THE AWARENESS LIFESTYLE
Breast cancer precautions can
happen in the privacy of your
own home.
:J{)
HAUTE COUTURE ATHLETES
Discover the 'sharp' suits made
especially for physical types
by none other than Sharpe
Suiting.
~J(J
INSIDE THE WNBA
Meet the out and powerful
star players in women's pro
basketball.
(J()
STARRING SCOUT DURWOOD
Have you discovered this rising
lesbian entertainer yet?
(iS
GET HIGH IN DENVER
The Rocky Mountain capital
has plenty of peaks for queer
women.
,~J
WANDERLUST COUPLE
Follow blogger duo The
Vagabroads as they explore
South America and beyond.
2
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
39
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
IN EVERYISSUE
4
EDITOR'S NOTE
6
CURVETTES
8
FEEDBACK
10
THE GAYDAR
79
STARS
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
TRENDS
REVIEWS
11 OUT IN FRONT
Meet the community leaders
who are doing us proud. By
26 MUSIC
Interviews with Ani DiFRanco
and Chastity Brown. By Dave
Sheryl Kay
Steinfeld
11 IN CASE YOU MISSED
IT ... LGBT news from across
the country.
30 FILMS
A new documentary, Girl on
Girl, discusses femme invisibility, plus the best releases for
October.
12 WOMEN WE LOVE
Each issue we pick a lucky lady
with a look and a life to match.
13 CURVE CONFIDENTIAL
What's new and noteworthy
with our favorite celesbians.
32 BOOKS
New releases that will leave
you feeling inspired about
fitness and feminism.
By Chloe Curran
14 SHE SAID
The best celebrity quotes from
interesting queer women and
allies.
VIEWS
16 POLITICS
Deep thoughts and heartfelt
convictions on a different topic
each issue from our contributing politics editor. By Victoria
LAST LOOK
78 CROSSWORD
Can you tame our Queer Quiz?
By Myles Mellor
79 STARS
What do the heavens have in
store for you this starry issue?
By Charlene Lichtenstein
A. Brownworth
18 ISSUES
Our in-depth look into a hot
button topic affecting queer
women worldwide.
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
3
Bring Your
'W'Game
his year is the 45th anniversary of the passage of Title
IX into law. The Obama administration strengthened
the statute, adding protections for transgender students
and sexual assault victims to law which was intended to assist
women in finding equality in education, government employment,
and sports. Even though more women than ever are seeking
to prevent or redress gender-based discrimination through the
provisions of Title IX, the Trump administration is seeking to make
budget cuts to the Office of Civil Rights and to limit the breadth of
civil rights investigations. While Trump and Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos may not be able to dismantle or repeal the law, it is
unlikely that their staff will be encouraged to enforce, let alone
expand it.
This is our Sports issue and in it we celebrate many women who,
in all probability, would never have attained and enjoyed careers in
professional sports without Title IX-a law whose effect has been
most impactful for women and girls in education and athletics. In
fact, it's very likely that this issue of Curve would disappear from
your hands if Title IX had never happened. To read about why the
law is important, what it's done for girls and women, and why it
4
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
must be protected, read "A Level Playing Field" by Victoria A.
Brownworth on page 16.
Based on our online poll last month, Curve readers would
like to see more women athletes come out and encounter
less discrimination and homophobia from management and
sponsors when they do. You were right on the money! Of all the
complaints filed with the Office of Civil Rights, 80 percent pertain
to discrimination in sports, which indicates that we still have a long
way to go before we have true equality.
This issue, we chose basketball champion Sue Bird of the
WNBA's Seattle Storm as our cover girl. This newly out, four-time
Olympic gold medal winner is a lesson in strength, persistence,
and humility. I hope you enjoy Lucy J. Madison's excellent interview
on page 62. And if Sue Bird isn't enough to inspire you to support
your favorite team or athlete, be sure to go see Battle of the Sexes,
starring Emma Stone, when it is released nationally on September
22. Battle of the Sexes is about the famous tennis match between
Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. King and Riggs played in the
Houston Astrodome, and the match was nationally televised in
1973, long before ESPNand the Tennis Channel. If you don't know
the story of that legendary game, I don't want to spoil it for you
here. Just go and see the movie and be inspired by King's fierce
determination to legitimize the sport of tennis for all women. The
film's release this month could not be more timely.
It's viscerally thrilling to watch athletes who are at the peak of
their game, but it's important to remember that not all of us are
lucky enough to have bodies that function at that level. An indepth article on the estimated 3 million disabled queer women in
America is overdue, and I hope you enjoy meeting the amazing
women on page 18, and reading about their struggles-and their
triumphs.
Enjoy this issue, and I hope it gives you the strength and
inspiration you need to see out your goals for 2017.
4l!y
MERRYNJOHNS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
merryn@curvemag.com
"JI@Merryn1
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LAURIEHOLLOWAY
Laurie has been a starry-eyed storyteller for 30 years.
She was an editor at newspapers nationwide, including
Dallas, Nashville, and Washington, D.C. In Palm Springs,
she was the first editor to assign stories on the Dinah
Shore Classic golf tournament. Most recently, she
headed up the communications team at the Dallas Zoo,
and produced "Giraffe Birth Live," the groundbreaking
partnership with Animal Planet that live-streamed a
giraffe birth for the first time. She lives in Northern
Virginia with her wife, a forensic DNA expert.
curve
THE BEST-SELLING
OCT/NOV
LESBIAN
2017 » VOLUME
MAGAZINE
27 NUMBER
5
PUBLISHER Silke Bader
FOUNDING PUBLISHER Frances Stevens
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Merryn Johns
SENIORCOPY EDITOR Katherine Wright
CONTRIBUTINGEDITORS Marcie Bianco, Victoria A.
Brownworth, Lyndsey D'Arcangelo, Anita Dolce Vita,
Sheryl Kay, Gillian Kendall, Dave Steinfeld
EDITORIALASSISTANTSGemma Dart
OPERATIONS
DIRECTOROF OPERATIONS Jeannie Sotheran
JANELLEBECK
Janelle has been writing for Curve for over six years,
individually and with her co-writer and wife Melany Joy
Beck. When she's not working on bringing Curve readers
the best and brightest queer, bisexual, and lesbian
stars in the music and entertainment scenes, she has
worked on documentary films, contributed harmonies
to an alt-country band, and has acted in regional theater
and network television. This issue she interviews Scout
Durwood and finds out about the newest women's
music festival, Mothership.
PROOFING
PROOFREADERMarcie Bianco
ADVERTISING
NATIONAL SALES Rivendell Media (908) 232-2021
EMAIL todd@curvemagazine.com
ART/PRODUCTION
ART DIRECTOR Bruno Cesar Guimaraes
SOCIAL MEDIA
MANAGERGemma Dart
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Melany Joy Beck, Janelle Beck, Roxy Bourdillon, Kelsy
Chauvin, Chloe Curran, Jane Czyzselska, Mallorie DeRiggi,
Dar Dowling, Kristin Flickinger, Sanya Franich, Jessica
Halem, Sarah Hasu, Kim Hoffman, Charlene Lichtenstein,
Sassafras Lowrey, Kelly McCartney, Myles Mellor, Bella
Qvist, Laurie K. Schenden, Yana Tallon-Hicks, Lisa Tedesco
CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS & PHOTOGRAPHERS
Steph Brusig, Erica Camille, Grace Chu, Meagan Cignoli,
Shelby Coley, Sara Lautman, Syd London, Maggie Parker,
Diana Price, B. Proud, Robin Roemer, Leslie Van Stelten
CARRIE LYELL
Carrie is Editor of DIVA, Europe's best-selling magazine
for lesbians and bi women. She has previously written
for Pink Paper, Lesbilicious and The Guardian and
always wanted to write about queer culture, mostly
because being gay is the only thing she's any good at,
and she is passionate about amplifying queer women's
voices both in LGBT and mainstream media. Originally
from Edinburgh, she's still getting to grips with being a
Londoner. You can find her tweeting @Seej.
LUCY J. MADISON
Lucy is a novelist, poet, and screenwriter who always
dreamed of playing professional basketball. She's the
author of the WNBA-themed contemporary lesbian
romance Personal Foul, the contemporary lesbian
romance In the Direction of the Sun, plus a collection
of poetry entitled I.V.Poems (Sapphire Books). Lucy
resides in shoreline Connecticut and Provincetown, MA.
Connect with her on lnstagram, Facebook, and Twitter:
@lucyjmadison and lucyjmadison.com.
CONTACT INFO
Curve Magazine
PO Box 467
New York, NY 10034
PHONE (415) 871-0569
SUBSCRIPTIONINQUIRIES(800) 705-0070
(toll-free in us only)
ADVERTISINGEMAIL todd@curvemagazine.com
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LETTERSTO THE EDITOREMAIL letters@curvemagazine.com
Volume 27 Issue 5 Curve (ISSN 1087-867X) is published 6 times per
year (February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September,
October/ November/, December/January) by Avalon Media, LLC,
PO Box 467, New York NY 10034. Subscription price: $35/year, $45
Canadian (U.S. funds only) and $55 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
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No responsibility is assumed for loss or damages. The contents
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Inquiries: Please write to Curve, Avalon Media LLC., PO Box 467 New
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Printed in the U.S.
curvemag.com
6
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
EMMA STONE
As
BILLIEJEAN KING
STEVECARELL
As
FROMTHEDIRECTORS
OF
BOBBY RIGGS
'LITTLEMISS SUNSHINE'
••••
•• •• •• ••••••• •••
•• •• •••••••••••••••••
••••••••
•
••••
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•
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• ••••
•• •• •• •• •• •• •• ••
•••
•••
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••••••
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•• •• •••
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• • ••
•••••• ••••• •••••• ••••• ••••••••• ••
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WHY
WE
LOVE
-Alicia Nicole, Brooklyn NY
THANK OOOUUU!
Your cover on Young M.A
was dope. I sat down with a
Hennessy in front of my AC
and read the whole story in
about 5 minutes. To all the
haters out there: I'm "sorry
for your loss," but she has
changed rap forever, so deal
with it. Straight and gay,
male and female-everyone
knows who she is and that's
an achievement.
-Me/an
VISIBILITYWITHOUT
MISOGYNYPLEASE
I applaud your choice of a
woman of color on the cover
of Curve, but rap in general
(and some of M.A's lyrics) still
feed misogyny. Are lines like "I
want a rich bitch not a cheap
hoe" doing anything for the
female LGBTQcommunity? Is
appropriation a step toward
making that shit meaningless?
Butch via email
THE DARKSIDE OF PRIDE
We are a proudly engaged
Stud4Stud couple whom
unfortunately get gay bashed
on social media and to
our faces even at an event
where we should've felt most
comfortable: NYC Pride 2017.
For years we've been laughed
at, and talked about, but it's
reached a level where we
actually get pointed at and
literally called "disgusting"
because we are two dominant
women who found love with
one another. We uploaded an
anti-gay-on-gay-bashing video
to our growing Ty&Loyaltie
fan page on Facebook. Ever
since we posted that video on
June 28th, 2017 it's received
over 40,000 views. We hope
that our voices are heard
concerning the in-community
gay bashing that's growing
like wildfire, potentially
even becoming dangerous
because people simply don't
understand why we chose one
another. Isn't the purpose of
LGBT Pride festivities to show
that there indeed is no H8;
to show that Love Is Love no
matter whom it's between; to
be proud of being different
from anyone else? But where's
the Pride and Love when your
own peers wont accept your
difference?
-Marsha "Ty" Padmore and
Samm "Loya/tie" Willims, via
email
WHAT
WOULD
YOU
LIKE
TOSEE
MORE
OFINSPORTS?
46%
MORE OUT LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL ATHLETES
8%
MORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DISABLED ATHLETES
8%
LESS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX ATHLETES
38%
LESS HOMOPHOBIA
FROM MANAGEMENT AND SPONSORSHIP
WRITE
Curve magazine, PO Box 467, New York, NY 10034
US!Email: letters@curvemagazine.com
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8
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
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10 GIRL GAYDAR
13 CELESBIANGOSSIP
14 THEY SAID WHAT?
OCT/NOV
2017
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9
TRENDS/
p
THE GAYDAR
I THEGAVDAR
Takes one to know one? Let our gaydar
help you decide who's shaking it and
who's faking it in lesboland.
BY MARCIE BIANCO
Capitol Police Officer and out
lesbian Crystal Griner is kissed by
Donald Trump while receiving her
Medal of Valor I
Spelman College, the prestigious
HBCU, establishes a LGBTQ scholarship
program and a lecture series
Netflix ends Orphan
Black and Gypsy,
causing fans to
grieve and launch
online petitions
Gameof
Thrones'
steamy
makeout sesh
between
lronborn
Yara Greyjoy
and Dornish
Amazon
Queen Ellaria
Sand ends far
too abruptly
Nicole Kidman
plays lesbian
feminist Julia
Edwards in Jane
Campion's BBC
series of Top of
the Lake: China
Girl
Jane Lynch
takes on a
dramatic role
as former
US Attorney
General
Janet Reno
in Discovery
Channel's
Manhunt:
Unabomber
Bisexual
actor Anna
Paquin stars
in upcoming
lesbian
drama, Tell It
to the Bees.
Popular children's
cartoon Doc
McStuffins
introduces lesbian
parents, with the mixed
race couple voiced by
Wanda Sykes and Portia
de Rossi, as parents of
a Latina child
10
CURVE
Real Housewives's
Sonja Morgan
lets her vag hang
out during the
girls' drunken
Mexico jaunt, but
cries when Luann
won't reciprocate
because "she's
married now"
(she's since
divorced)
OCT/NOV
Annie Clark aka St. Vincent
is set to direct a feature film
adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The
Picture of Dorian Gray-with
Dorian as a woman!
2017
Judy Reyes, who plays
the butch character
Quiet Ann, captures
our hearts on new hit
TNT show, Claws.
After losing resident lesbian Sue
Perkins, The Great British Bake
Off finds another lesbian, Sandi
Toksvig, to take her place. But
will there be soggy bottoms?
TRENDS/
BISHOP
KAREN
OLIVETO
>>Tampa,
Florida
Spntua Chang A ent/Centennial,
Colorado
When she was only 11years old, Methodist Bishop
Karen Oliveto's minister asked her if she might want to
consider a job in the church. The fact that she was born
on Good Friday in a town called Babylon was irrelevant.
But the query was the seed that gave root to her lifelong
vocation.
"I loved the Bible stories and the hymns of faith," she
recalls. "That question broke me open. I began preparing
for ministry at that age, and preached my first sermon
when I was 16." In the mid-1980s, while she and her fellow lesbian Methodist ministers were all deeply closeted
in the church, Oliveto says they found one another at
gatherings of clergywomen "by seeing who was singing
Cris Williamson's 'Song of the Soul' from memory."
Over the years, more and more clergy became
supportive of LGBTrights, eventually allowing Oliveto
and her fellow gay ministers to serve openly in certain
parts of the country. While some still faced rules that
prohibited them from serving, the climate changed so
much that 111of them officially came out in a pastoral letter to the denomination in May 2016. Two months later,
Oliveto was unanimously elected bishop for the Western
Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, and soon
thereafter became the subject of an investigation of her
sexuality, resulting in a church "trial."
In May of this year, a decision was reached. "It is quite
convoluted," says Oliveto. "They found my nomination,
election, and assignment in good order. They questioned my consecration as bishop, but did not undo it."
A UMC commission is now considering ways to
address the issue, and in 2019 there will be a vote on the
proposal that this commission produces. Meantime, the
bishop says there is still considerably more work to do.
"My ministry has always included in-the-streets
activism, especially around LGBTQrights, working with
immigrant communities, and doing advocacy around
homelessness and economic justice," she says. "As
bishop, my ministry now has a wider reach. I am working
with churches in my area to become sanctuary churches
for immigrants in response to the Trump administration's
anti-immigration policies."
Oliveto says she's been overwhelmed by the amount
of support she's received. "I do believe that the people in
the pews have moved beyond the [LGBTQ] issue, and it
is time for the church's rules to catch up."
NEWS
Christine Forster
AUSTRALIA
HAS
REACHED
ATIPPING
POINT
ON
MARRIAGE
EQUALITY,
with a national ballott via postal survey in which Australians will
be able to vote "yes" or "no" on whether same-sex couples should
be allowed to marry. An estimated 95 percent of Australian adults
are enrolled to vote, which is compulsory-except
for more than
250,000 people ages 18-24, who aren't yet on the electoral roll.
Whether out of complacency or cynicism toward their political
leaders, it is hoped that-as with Ireland-the youth of Australia will
register and vote in favor of marriage equality. Former conservative
prime minister Tony Abbott has spoken out against the ballott, calling it "political correctness." Abbott's out lesbian sister, Christine
Forster, who is a city councillor, has tweeted: "If you don't believe
your relationships (or anyone else's) are second rate: vote yes."
• AHINDU
AND
JEWISH
LESBIAN
couple tied the knot in what
appears to be the first interfaith
same-sex wedding ceremony
in Britain. Kalavati Mistry and
Miriam Jefferson, who is from
Texas,tied the knot in August
after meeting each other 20
years ago in a training course.
• AWAITRESS
DISPLAYING
AN
equality tattoo was denied a tip
in a Rockport, Illinois BuffaloWild
Wings.The receipt said, "Can't
tip someone who doesn't love
Jesus.Badtat(t)oo:' The waitress
responded on lnstagramsaying
that "being gay DOESNOTmean
you don't believe in Jesus."
a personal video to judges to
convince them she is a lesbian.
• ST.PETERSBURG,
RUSSIA
PRIDE
was the biggest in its eight
years with 100 activists and
attendees carrying rainbow
flags and signs squaring off
against police and rightwing protestors. Organizers
believe numbers would
be higher if LGBTRussians
were not so afraid of the
repurcussions of coming out.
Putin's introduction of a "gay
propaganda law" in 2013 has
dampened, if not squashed,
the country's growing Pride
movement.
HOME
PARTY
LEADER
• ANIGERIAN
GAY
RIGHTS
ACTIVIST• JEWISH
accused by a High Court judge
of faking her sexuality to seek
asylum in the UK has won her
13-year battle to stay in the UK.
Aderonke Apata's application
was denied in 2015 because
the judge did not believe she
was gay-in spite of her years
of LGBTactivism and her belief
she would be killed if she
returned to Nigeria. Apata sent
Naftali Bennett has defended
his spokeswoman after a
leading rabbi left the national
religious party in protest over
Bennett's aide, who is a lesbian.
Bennett tweeted: "Anyone who
thinks I need to discriminate
against a person because of
sexual orientation, gender or
skin color will encounter a total
refusal from me."
- By Sheryl Kay
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
11
ma es
1sory an sen s
hearts aflutter.
ON
HOW
SHE
LANDED
ON
ANDY
COHEN'S
RADAR
FOR ON
CONTRIBUTING
TO
LGBTO
VISIBILllY
AND
THE
FOX
REALITY
SHOW,
LOVE
CONNECTION BREA
ING
STEREOTYPES
ABOUT
LESBIANS
As much as I would like to say that
Eve;rytime there is a lesbian person or
Andy is my bestie and texted me to
c aracter represented on TV, it gives
personally invite me on the show, that is
t 'e general public a little bit more of
unfortunately not the case. I actually got a a'r\ ~nderstanding of what "we" are
and sheds a little light into our diverse
message from a friend of a friend through
Facebook asking if I would be interested.
~opulation population. Also, it is so
When you live in L.A., you have a lot of
~portant
for young gays to see people
friends and acquaintances in casting jobs.,like
~1hem on TV! It can give hope to
1
,,
LGjlQ kids or adults in difficult situCONCERNSABOUTGOINGON
REALITYTV
aJions. I think that Love Connection
After I went through the preliminary
, ~s particularly powerful because it
casting process I withdrew myself
,i I featured four real life lesbians who are
because I started to panic about possib:le ., looking for love just like everyone else. I
repercussions. But after I learned more
that we can continue to normalize
• m. Because we are really just
specifics about the show and what they
were hoping to accomplish, I came
wesome people!
back around and was all in. It's definitely
a vulnerable feeling to talk about your
ON
ANDING
A"to ECONNECTION"
ON
THE
SHOW
personal and love life on camera, knowing
I dated Alison Freed for a couple of
that millions of people could watch.
months and ow we're best friends. So
Love Connection worked really hard to
match people who they thought could
actually make love connections, so that
made it easy to be authentic. I know this
sounds cliche, but you really do forget
that the cameras are there. I went into
this experience with the goal of being
as authentic as possible so that America
could get to know a real lesbian.
ON
WHAT
KIND
OF
WOMAN
SHE
ISLOOKING
FOR
The type of woman that I look for
is someone who is funny, driven,
confident, witty, strong-minded,
and communicative. Being a good
communicator is so important! Also,
someone who likes to embrace the now
and is not always planning for the future.
In the looks department-pretty eyes and
good teeth are a must!
12
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OCT/NOV
2017
I'm as single AF (laughs). Just waiting for
the right girl to fall into my lap.
ON
LIFE
OUTSIDE
OF
LOVE
CONNECTION
I have an amazing corporate job
that keeps me pretty busy and
I also am in the gym 4-5 days a
week. I recently started a blog
(yourfriendlyneighborhoodlesbian.co
to talk about my experiences with the
Love Connection and life as a lesbian in
L.A. I have some new potential business
opportunities in the pipeline that I a
super excited about. Also, I am looki
into signing up for acting classes just
for fun! I am always wanting to travel
and to plan new adventures ...so yeah,
life is good!
Follow Liz Baxter on lnstagram:
@LizBinLA #doitforthegram
TRENDstGOSSIP
CURVE
CONFIDENTIAL
Celesbians
behaving
badly ... and sometimes
well.
BY CHLOE CURRAN
• ELLEN AND PORTIA ARE STILL MARRIED
After nine years together, Ellen and Portia are still conspicuously smitten with each other.
The two married on August 16, 2008, and remain deliriously in love. Both took to lnstagram
to reminisce about their anniversary. In lieu of long, flowery speeches, both kept it simple.
Ellen posted a black and white photograph of them on their wedding day accompanied
by the caption "Being her wife is the greatest thing I am." Portia chose a blurry shot of the
two embracing and beaming into the camera, writing "We've been together so long that
not only do we look like kids in this picture, but it was taken with a camera! Happy 9th,
Thing." Ellen and Portia are truly the Barack and Michelle of lesbians.
• FOREVER 21 RIPS OFF LESBIAN FASHION AT WILDFANG
You've likely seen Wildfang's signature "Tomboy" or "Wild Feminist" T-shirts on your
favorite celesbians and lnstagram it-girls. Wildfang CEO and designer Emma Mcilroy took
to lnstagram to call out Forever21 for ripping off their designs and explained her anger to
Refinery29. "When you rip off that T-shirt, you're not just ripping off us, you're also taking
money out of the pocket of Planned Parenthood and the ACLU, because 10% of every
product that we make goes directly to them ...l would love to know how much everyone in
that supply chain was paid, because I can tell you that I pay well above minimum wage for
anyone in my company," she said. She intends to pursue legal action.
• TAKE MY WIFE IN LIMBO AFTER SEESO FOLDS
A campaign to save Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher's groundbreaking comedy
Take My Wife is blazing through the internet. But will it be enough? The show revolves
around the life, love, and work of real-life comedian couple Cameron Esposito and
Rhea Butcher. The first season aired last August on Seeso, NBC's experimental comedy
streaming service. The second season was set to air soon but Seeso announced that it
will be shutting down. Some Seeso shows have already found another home, but Take
My Wife has not. The show has a record amount of diversity, both behind and in front of
the camera. A quarter of the cast is women of color, and more than half identify as LGBT.
• HANNAH HART'S NEW SHOW DEBUTS ON THE FOOD NETWORK
The ultra-successful lesbian YouTuber behind My Drunk Kitchen just kicked off her
network TV career with I Hart Food, a new show on The Food Network. I Hart Food follows
Hannah Hart across America as she tries the signature dishes of American cities. Airing
on Mondays at 10/9c, I Hart Food sounds like a classic Food Network formula modernized
by a YouTube star host. As someone who recently watched a season of The Next Food
Network Star and found it inexplicably engrossing, I'm excited to watch a lesbian beam
into the camera while taking advantage of this tried and true genre.
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
13
"The story gets
furthered through that
[lesbian] relationship more than it
would have with a man ... I'm glad she
didn't have to examine her brokenness with a
man ...l just feel that this [LGBTQ] community is
not represented the way that it should be in film.
Actors are always talking about reflecting society
in media, but if we're gonna do that, we should
really do that. I could have hooked up with a
guy, but it's great that I hooked up with a girl.
I'm proud of that."
-Charlize Theron to ComicCon
about Atomic Blonde
14
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OCT/NOV
2017
18MAKING DISABILITYVISIBLE
22BREASTCAREAT HOME
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
15
A Level
Playing
Field
The importance of Title IX
for women's equality.
BY VICTORIA
A. BROWNWORTH
Women have never had equal rights
under the law in America. Yet some laws
have helped us begin to shake off the
yoke of inequality under which all women
suffer-the 19th Amendment gave women
the right to vote; Griswold v. Connecticut
made contraception legal in 1965; Roe v.
Wade gave women reproductive choice
in 1973; in 2003, Lawrence v. Texas
decriminalized homosexuality; in 2015,
Obergefell v. Hodges legalized samesex marriage allowing lesbians the same
benefits that had advantaged heterosexual
couples for decades.
16
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OCT/NOV
2017
One law that gets less attention than
these others is Title IX, which President
Richard Nixon signed as part of the
Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX
stipulates that any educational program
or activity that receives federal funding
cannot discriminate on the basis of sex.
Title IX was a game changer. Ultimately,
this law has impacted as many women
and girls as those that guarantee the right
to vote and the right to choice, creating
a more equitable environment in every
aspect of elementary, secondary, and
college education, public or private. While
the focus appeared to be on sports, Title IX
opened the door to academic education
as well. Before Title IX, colleges couldand did-refuse to admit women solely
based on their sex.
Title IX also allowed girls and women
to take any classes they wanted in high
school and college-no more exclusion of
females from traditionally male pursuits.
Nor could academia bar women from
teaching in those fields. Title IX could
also, if certain cases come before the
U.S. Supreme Court next session, end
employment
discrimination
against
lesbians who are being discriminated
against solely on the basis of sex if they
are fired for being lesbian.
In its 2017-18 session, the U.S. Supreme
Court is likely to take on the cases of
Kimberly Hively, a physical education
professor, and Jameka Evans, a hospital
employee, under the Title IX provision.
Hively and Evans are lesbians who were
fired from their respective jobs for being
gender nonconforming.
Lower court
rulings in both cases suggest that Title
IX should be applicable to their lawsuits,
both of which are being handled by
Lambda Legal. It's a heady proposition
that would forever alter American law
and create the safety net for lesbians that
Congress has failed to provide since ENDA
(the Employment Non-Discrimination Act)
was first introduced in 1994.
While Title IX has long been synonymous
with sports and literally created an equal
playing field for girls and young women
from elementary school through college,
the law has also been broadened in recent
years to address the pandemic of sexual
assaults on high school and college
campuses, assaults that impact one in five
young women.
In April 2011, the Office for Civil Rights
(OCR) of the Department of Education
refined the language of Title IX to address
VIEWS/
this area of sexual assault.
The language of the OCR is succinct
and irrefutable: All public and private
elementary
and secondary schools,
school districts, colleges, and universities
(hereinafter
'schools') receiving any
Federal funds must comply with Title IX.
Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis
of sex can include sexual harassment
or sexual violence, such as rape, sexual
assault, sexual battery, and sexual
coercion. If it is proven that a school has
failed to protect girls and women from
these crimes, that school would lose its
federal funding.
In 2013, Andrea Pino and Annie
Elizabeth Clark, now 26 and 28, filed a
sexual harass-ment complaint against
their college, the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, using Title IX.
I met Pino and Clark soon after they
had filed their lawsuit and was deeply
impressed by their activism and bravery.
The lawsuit asserted that UNC was failing
to protect students from sexual assaultsomething both young women had been
victims of while at the college. The school
was equally culpable for its execrable
handling of such cases, the women
asserted.
How could Title IX be about rape
when it was about making sure girls got
game, like boys did? The OCR, which
had expanded the language of Title IX
two years before Pino and Clark filed
their suit, understood the connection. In
March 2013, Clark got a response from
the U.S. Department of Education: It was
taking on the women's case, and a year
later the Obama White House announced
a task force to assess and address the
problem. Vice President Joe Biden
would be overseeing the investigation.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who had
opened her own investigation of sexual
assault in the military, got on board and
engaged Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to
present a bill to address the issue.
Without Pino and Clark and their
willingness to go public with their own
rapes and the violent details of those
crimes-concomitant
with the expansion
of Title IX under Barack Obama-the
epidemic of sexual violence on campuses
might not have gotten the attention that
it has in recent years. Clark and Pino
were the subject of a documentary, The
Hunting Ground, in 2015. The film was
short-listed for an Academy Award, and
the song "'Til It Happens to You," sung by
Lady Gaga, was nominated for an Oscar
for Best Original Song.
Women's sports had never been seen
in the same light as men's. That changed
once Title IX was fully implemented.
Female students were finally able to
argue that schools should treat sports
for women and girls with the same
seriousness accorded to sports for men
and boys.
The change in women's sports has been
dramatic since Title IX. In 1974 fewer than
300,000 girls played high school sports.
In 2016, that number reached an all-time
high of 3,324,326. Now, girls are not that
far behind boys (whose participation is
at 4,544,574). The top five sports for girls
are basketball, track and field, volleyball,
softball, and soccer; the top five for boys
are basketball, track and field, baseball,
cross-country, and football. What doesn't
differ is the opportunity girls now have to
participate in college sports scholarship
programs, in the Olympics and other
national
sports
competItIons,
and,
ultimately, in professional sports.
In 1974, it was difficult to name more
than a handful of women's sports figures
and nearly all were tennis players.
Today, when a former tennis great, like
born-again Christian and homophobe
Margaret Court, complains that lesbians
have infiltrated and ruined tennis, as she
did recently, there are dozens of women
in tennis and other sports to call her out
for homophobia. Title IX created the
atmosphere for that level of allyship.
At the 2016 summer Olympics in
Rio, more than two dozen out lesbian
athletes participated-many
from the
U.S. In 2013, when two lesbian basketball
players filed suit against their coach for
discrimination, it was under Title IX. A
week before Christmas 2015, U.S. District
Court Judge Dean Pregerson ruled
in favor of the two women in Layana
White and Haley Videckis v. Pepperdine
University, writing that "sexual orientation
discrimination is not a category distinct
from sex or gender discrimination."
It was the first ruling of its kind.
In the Pepperdine case, the women,
who were in a relationship, cited repeated
homophobic references to their sexual
POLITI
orientation from coach Ryan Weisenberg,
who had previously coached the Los
Angeles Sparks in the WNBA. The
complaint stated that Weisenberg had
told the team that "lesbianism is not
tolerated on this team" and "that's why
teams lose." Weisenberg alleged that
there were lesbians on the Sparks team
and said that's what led to the demise
of the team spirit. "That's the reason our
team fell apart and lost."
Weisenberg and Court aside, lesbian
athletes have been key players in every
major sport since Title IX, from Billie
Jean King and Martina Navratilova in
tennis to Abby Wambach, who holds the
international world record in soccer goals
for both women and men-184.
Wambach exemplifies the power of
Title IX. She played on her high school and
college teams and then rose to become a
two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA
Women's World Cup champion, as well
as a six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer
Athlete of the Year Award. In 2011, she
became the first-ever soccer player of
either gender to be named Athlete of the
Year by the Associated Press.
In 2012, Wambach was awarded FIFA
World Player of the Year and in 2015
was listed among Time magazine's 100
most influential people in the world. And
when Wambach ran to kiss her wife in
the stands after the U.S. won the 2015
Women's World Cup, it was a lesbian
moment felt around the world.
As women and girls celebrate the 45th
anniversary of Title IX, the impact it has
had on the country is irrefutable. On
August 7, Torie Bowie became the first
U.S. woman to win the 100 meter world
title in six years at the IAAF in London.
Like Wambach, Bowie reflects the best of
Title IX, coming from tiny Sand Hill, Miss.,
where her high school wins landed her a
scholarship to the University of Southern
Mississippi and from there to a series of
Olympic medals including the gold in Rio.
Title IX gave girls what boys have
always had: heroic role models. Women
could now change a world that had
always been reserved for men, just by
being themselves.
Title IX is a law that must be preserved
and protected, just as it has protected
and elevated literally millions of girls over
the past 45 years. •
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
17
Embracing our full spectrum.
The images were the very essence of
Resistance. Disabled women were putting
their lives on the line, protesting attempts by
President Trump and Senate Republicans
to repeal the Affordable Care Act and gut
Medicaid. Some in wheelchairs, some
with limbs distorted by dystrophies or by
oxygen tanks or breathing tubes, disabled
women camped in the halls of Congress or
outside the doors of various senators until
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
(R-KY)called for their arrest.
Throughout June and July, there they
were, chanting, holding placards, staging
"die-ins" like those during the AIDS crisis
in the 1980s and '90s. Every day on CNN
and every night on the national news these
women were there: some being pushed
into, and others being lifted from their
wheelchairs into the waiting Capitol Police
vans, as they all chanted to save the ACA
and Medicaid.
18
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OCT/NOV
2017
evv1croR1AA.
eRowNwoRrH
It was a revolutionary moment: The
whole world was watching as these
women made America's largest-yet most
invisible-minority more visible.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), one in five
American adults has at least one kind of
disability. The CDC study, drawn from 2013
data, says 53 million Americans have a
disability, while the 2010 U.S. Census puts
the number at 56.7 million.
How is it, then, that so few people in
this country are aware that the number
of disabled Americans is so shockingly
high? Some disabled women-Millennials
to Baby Boomers-are trying to change
that. Twitter, Facebook, and lnstagram
have become venues for disability rights
activists to come out, to form a community
from those whose disabilities are as diverse
as that 56.7 million figure suggests, and as
closeted as the nondisabled community
has often demanded.
Visibility is the door through which
change happens. Alice Wong is the
founder and project coordinator of the
Disability Visibility Project, which collects
oral histories of people with disabilities
in the U.S. It is run in coordination with
StoryCorps, so the histories are filed at
the Library of Congress. A presidential
appointee to the National Council on
Disability under President Barack Obama,
Wong was the first person to visit the
White House and the President by means
of robotics when, in 2015, she attended
the reception at the White House for the
25th anniversary of the Americans with
Disabilities Act via telepresence robot.
Wong is one of the most visible of the
disability rights activists on Twitter, where
her #CripTheVote hashtag created a locus
for visibility throughout the 2016 election.
In May, Wong, who was born with spinal
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muscular atrophy, wrote a poignant op-ed
for the New York Times about how Medicaid
and the ACA allowed her to live her fullest
life, independently. Without that support
she would have become just another
warehoused victim, as disabled Americans
have been for generations. "It is more than
a healthcare program. It is a life-giving one.
And I am proof," she wrote, detailing how
Medicaid allowed her to go to college and
then find work.
In the 1980s and '90s, as one of a handful
of out lesbian journalists, I was often a
guest on popular talk shows. It was on
one of these shows that I first met Karen
Thompson, a progenitor of the fight for
lesbians and disability rights. Thompson's
partner, Sharon Kowalski, had been in an
accident with a drunk driver, which had
left her disabled. For seven years, from
the mid-'80s to the early '90s, Thompson,
who had shared a commitment ceremony
with Kowalski and with whom she had
lived for several years, fought Kowalski's
father for legal guardianship of the woman
she considered her wife. Donald Kowalski
denied that his daughter was a lesbian and
told the courts that Thompson was trying to
sexually abuse his now-disabled daughter in
the nursing home where she was receiving
care. Yet Thompson fought on, eventually
winning the case and bringing Sharon
home.
The Thompson-Kowalski story is every
lesbian couple's nightmare:
Sudden
disability leaves one of you at the mercy of
people denying your lesbianism and your
personhood, and you are unable to fight
for your own needs and desires. But it was,
for many, also an anomalous story: The
LGBTcommunity has had its own shameful
history of shunting its disabled members
into a different closet, where disability and
all it entails is invisible. For a community that
touts intersectionality, except for providing
sign language for the deaf at LGBTevents,
the needs of the disabled have been slow
to be addressed. In Philadelphia, when
the William Way LGBT Community Center
bought a building in 1997, seven years
after the Americans with Disabilities Act
was signed into law by President George
H.W. Bush, the beautiful new site-a 19thcentury townhouse in the center of the
Gayborhood-was wheelchair inaccessible.
Bodies-athletic, sleek, youthful, and
nondisabled-had long been how LGBT
people had been viewed, both outside and
within the LGBTcommunity.
Disabled queers, who have always
skirted the margins of queer community,
were virtually invisible, either by accident
or design, for years. But as the backlash
against "special rights" intensifies under
President Trump, those who are queer and
disabled are fighting marginalization with
the kind of activism that characterized the
era of ACT-UP,Queer Nation, and Lavender
Menace. Like the Resistance itself, it's being
led by women.
Nicola Griffith, who left her home
in Leeds, England, at 16 to live a life
unrestricted by familial homophobia, says,
"I was born a woman and always knew I
was a dyke:' She was not, however, always
disabled, reflecting the fact that about half
of all disabilities are acquired after birth.
Griffith is the well-known writer of awardwinning fiction and nonfiction; she has
been addressing disability personally for
decades. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
(MS) in 1993, only a few years into her
relationship with her partner and wife of
29 years, the writer Kelley Eskridge, Griffith
says that, as a writer, lesbian coming out
stories held no interest for her. Disability,
however, is a different issue entirely.
"For me," Griffith explains, "[lesbian]
coming out stories were-apart from the
sex-tedious and eye-rollingly predictable.
Why would I want to write one? But I didn't
grow up disabled. The few disabled people
I saw-in real life or as characters on page
or screen-were tragic figures who would
rather die than use a wheelchair. My selfimage was formed around my physicaland emotional and intellectual-strength.
That changed when I was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis-the same month my first
book was published:'
MS is a progressive neuromuscular
disease. Griffith says that over the years
the encroaching disability has forced her
to address her own ableism and come out
in a different way than she did when she
was a teenager. Her teenage self always
knew she was lesbian. "I couldn't write a
crip character because I didn't know how
to be okay with disability at the bedrock of
my existence, or my characters'. I couldn't
unlearn my own ableism," she admits. In
25 years, none of her books centered on a
disabled character until now: So Lucky will
be out in late spring 2018.
The difference
between
Griffith's
experience and Ace Ratcliffe's is reflective
of the range of disability among those
56.7 million Americans. At 30, Ace Ratcliffe
has grown up with social media, regularly
posting photos of her daily life as a disabled
Millennial in Oakland, Calif., on lnstagram
and Twitter. She and Griffith, along with
2nd oth(~rs, arc creating new space
for disabled women to come out and be
visible with and beyond their disabilities.
"I'm a queer nonbinary human," says
Ratcliffe. One of the issues disabled
women often face is getting both the
medical community and society at large to
acknowledge and address their disabilities.
Ratcliffe wants people to know about her
disease, which afflicts as many as one in
10,000. More common than MS, yet less
well-known, it often takes years to be
diagnosed.
"I have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos
syndrome [hEDS], which is a connective
tissue disorder;' she explains. "Basically,
that means that my body makes collagen
incorrectly at a genetic level. Collagen
VIEWS!ISSU
is in almost every system of your bodymany people mistakenly believe it's just in
your skin. Because collagen is in almost
everything, and my body makes collagen
incorrectly, I have a variety of symptoms.
The most frequent and excruciating
symptom
is 101nt dislocations
and
subluxations as a result of movement-if I
sneeze too hard, my ribs dislocate. If I turn
around to back my car up, my shoulders
will go out. The loose muscles in my body
are too weak to hold my skeleton in place.
Because of the damage done by my joints
dislocating frequently, the disease is often
considered to be degenerative. I also
have co-morbidities, which is a fancy way
to say 'more chronic illnesses: The other
major one I have is autonomic dysfunction,
which means my nervous system doesn't
regulate my body properly. I do not have
great control over my blood pressure or my
heart rate, and if I stand up for too long, I will
experience syncope-passing out:'
Pain is a constant for Ratcliffe and many
other disabled women. And pain can be as
isolating as disability itself.
Griffith
wants
disabled
peopleespecially within the lesbian communityto be seen and, more importantly, to be
heard. "Statistically, there are probably
more than 3 million disabled queer women
in the U.S.,"she says. "Where are we? You
don't see us because we don't have access:
physical, political, social, or financial. We are
disconnected against our will from civic life,
from each other, from you:'
been
Some
corporations
have
acknowledging disability in ad campaigns
for everything from food to fashion. The
occasional disabled child can be seen in
TV ads but disabled adults are rarely seen,
which makes Jillian Mercado, a 29-year-old
New York model, a groundbreaking figure in
the fashion industry. Her work has appeared
in ads for Nordstrom's, Diesel, and Target,
and she has been featured in Cosmopolitan
and Glamour magazines, and in the 2016
merchandise campaign for Beyonce's
Formation World Tour.
Signed with the IMG modeling agency,
Mercado vlogs about fashion and her own
life and is highly visible on social media. "I'm
showing that having a disability doesn't have
to be ugly, and how it should be embraced.
I wish I had that role model growing up, but
to *be* that role model is great," she says on
her IMG profile.
Getting and keeping work in their
chosen fields is a struggle for disabled
people. According to the Department of
Labor Statistics, in 2015 only 17.5 percent
of disabled Americans were employed.
Griffith, Mercado, and Wong are among the
fortunate few. Ratcliffe is currently employed
as a tech writer, but says, "I was forced out
of my dream career as a mortician due to
disability discrimination in 2015:' She finds
it difficult, due to complications of her
disability, to work a full 40-hour week.
Fighting for access and health care is
often a full-time job, Ratcliffe explains.
"So often-especially
in 2017-l've seen
myself vilified in the news as a Millennial
who needs access to medical care for my
chronic illnesses. Somehow, I'm a 'bad
person' because of my health needs-I
must have said or done something in the
past that means I deserve these illnesses,
that I deserve medical bankruptcy, that I
deserve to have to work 12-hour days with
my elbow fully dislocated. It's exhausting to
disabled people in their thinking-the same
way straight people have become LGBT
allies over the years since Stonewall. Of
the millions of disabled lesbians and queer
women, Griffith notes, "We're here. We have
a lot to say: a lot to offer, a lot we want, and
a lot you need."
Ratcliffe wants nondisabled people to
know "large portions of my life are tough.
That is inarguable. But that doesn't mean
my life isn't worth living. Excruciating pain
doesn't mean I can't wake up and appreciate
the wonder of the world, or the beauty of
art, or how amazing my dog is. It just means
my life has to revolve on managing those
things, so I can appreciate everything else.
Sometimes I definitely wish I could stop the
pain. Sometimes I even wish I were dead.
But that doesn't crawl into every aspect of
living. I want people to know that:'
While Ratcliffe was forced to accept and
address her disability early, for Griffith the
struggle took longer, but was no less harsh.
"Perhaps because my physical impairments
gained on me slowly, it took years to feel the
sting of non-disabled people's dismissal,"
she says as she echoes Ratcliffe's words. "It
took years for me to begin to understand
that I had been dismissing myself. But
more likely it's because growing up I hadn't
seen disabled queer women, in real life or
on page or screen. At all. And then when
finally I began to see disabled characters,
they were distorted: tragic cripples, angry
cripples, helpless cripples. Cripples whose
bodies, like those of queer people, were
sites of difficulty rather than delight.
Cripples written by the nondisabled who
have no fucking clue:'
Griffith's call to action seems so simple,
yet those of us who read coming out stories
as teenagers know the path to inclusion
is incredibly fraught. "We all need to see
ourselves;' she says. "We need mirrors. We
need to hear our own voices. Our strong,
beautiful, ordinary, disabled, queer voices.
We need to see and hear ourselves:'
Griffith entreats, "Let's find each other.
Let's welcome each other. Let's practice
radical hospitality. Next time you put
together an article, or a party, or an event,
reach out. Don't say, 'If you need anything,
just ask: Do the work of imagining what we
might need, and then make it happen. Don't
put the work on us. You can't anticipate
everything, but you can begin. And when
we speak-on Twitter, in person, in a
book-listen:'
"THERE
ARE
MORE
THAN
3MILLION
DISABLED
QUEER
WOMEN
INTHE
U.S.
WHERE
ARE
WE?"
know people feel that way about me, when
all I'm striving to do is make sure humans
can live their lives without focusing entirely
on their health issues. I spend at least one
full day a week dealing with phone calls to
doctors, insurance companies, pharmacies.
It's overwhelming, to have to give up so
much of your time to your illness. I don't
deserve to be a bad guy simply because my
genetics are bad."
Illumining the breadth of disability and
the ways in which non-disabled society
constricts a full 20 percent of the population
is at the forefront of the activism these
women are participating in.
Griffith wants doors opened, voices
heard, people seen. She coined the phrase
"radical hospitality," which will no doubt
resonate with many, because it articulates
the need for nondisabled people to include
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
21
Bosom
Buddy
Your approach to
beating breast cancer
will be transformed
with this new device.
BY MELANIE BARKER
Marilyn Dans
No one likes talking about breast cancer,
but let's get serious: it's a reality that can
victimize anyone in the LGBTQcommunity.
But as a disease that impacts primarily
women, we especially should not turn a
blind eye to the devastating reality that is
breast cancer-why wait until it affects us
or someone we love?
Most doctors and insurance companies
don't
recommend
mammograms
until the age of 40, which leaves
women aged 18 to 39 vulnerable
to the disease with little to no tools
for prevention. Now there's a technology to
help increase breast awareness in between
those regular, sometimes uncomfortable
mammograms.
Enter Marilyn Dans, president and
founder of SilkProUSA, the distributors of
Pink Luminous Breast, an LED-powered
hand-held device that allows you to visually
check your breast for abnormalities in
the privacy of your own home. Dans, a
single mother of 7-year-old twin boys was
troubled by the ongoing lack of awareness
around women's breast health-and the
shockingly high incidence of the disease.
"The statistics are staggering;' says
Dans. "According to the National Breast
Cancer Foundation, one in 8 women in the
U.S. are diagnosed with Breast Cancer in
their lifetime, and every 12 minutes there
is a fatality:'
Dans knows that early detection is key
to helping women fight the disease, but
few women find mammograms easy,
22
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
accessible, or affordable. Most of us fall
back on a quick breast check when taking
a shower, or we ask our partners to tell us if
they feel anything irregular. Changing this
reactive attitude means changing our view
of our bodies and adopting what Dans
calls an "awareness lifestyle."
"I'm passionate about helping women
to choose the Pink Luminous Breast
lifestyle and embrace being proactive with
breast health," she says.
And let's face it: the technology currently
available to women's health screenings is
not exactly female-friendly.
"As a young female Latin entrepreneur,
I've worked extremely hard to reach
my stature in a business world led
predominantly by men. To achieve what
you want in life you have to have a vision,
strive and take the steps you need to get
there. You need to get up when the world
knocks you down, and stay the course.
Nothing worth having is easy to get-you
must work hard and believe in what you
do, no matter what."
Dans worked on a prototype and its
design for a device that would be appealing
to all gender expressions and user-friendly.
"My staff and I, predominantly women,
have done all the leg work to get any
necessary certifications, create protocol,
market, label and exceed quality standards,
to deliver a product that improves the
lives of all people-regardless of race,
background, or sexual orientation. Pink
Luminous Breast is aimed to make being
proactive with breast self-checks hasslefree and comfortable, in your own home."
It's about the size or an electric
toothbrush or a massaging device, but
possibly unlike those, this device can be
shared with the women who are closest to
you-and it also makes a great gift.
WHAT IT IS
• Pink Luminous Breast is SilkProUSA's
innovative at home
breast health
monitoring device
• It's a compact, portable wireless device
for breast self-examination
• The FDA regulated, class 1 medical
device with Red LED light has no side
effects
HOW IT WORKS
• LED light is safely absorbed by your
red blood cells and illuminates potentially
harmful masses. Dark areas or shadows
should be followed up with your Doctor
immediately
• Works on all races, skin tones, and any
breast size regardless of any prior breast
surgeries
• Does not eliminate the need for
mammograms and should work in concert
with physician check-ups
WHERETO GET IT
Pink Luminous Breast is $199 and now
available for purchase. Curve readers get
10 percent discount with special code
Save10. (silkprousa.com)
26FOLKING UP THE BINARY
-----•
28MOTHERSHIPTAKESOFF
30GET YOURGIRL ON GIRL
I
OCT/NOV
2017
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MU31C
ASOUL
SIREN
RETURNS
Chastity Brown finds her groove
on her first album in four years.
Y DAVE STEINFELD
"It takes a broken person to write
about broken things," Chastity Brown
s ys casually. "I don't fucking know."
We're sitting in Chelsea on the West Side
of Manhattan in 90-degree heat, and
Brown is telling me about the making of
her new album, Silhouette of Sirens. It's
her first studio release over four years, a
tasty brew of folk and soul, plus other musical ingredients. When I ask her about
the gap between albums, she says, "Oh
my God, we need a drink for this! There's
a number of reasons why this has taken
so long ....We began with the whole idea
of control and framework. [But] what that
made was a really perfect-sounding [album]. It was too perfect to share with people!" She laughs. "The guys that I play with
[are] incredible badasses who are really
intuitive. I wanted to showcase what they
do live, but also what I do live. So we had
to scrap six months of recording and start
over. And within that, I realized I needed to
write some new songs."
Half the songs on Silhouette were written by Brown alone, and half were written
in collaboration with her longtime guitarist, Robert Mulrennan.
Last year was a big one for Brown. She
toured with Ani DiFranco and signed to
Red House Records, which is based in
her current hometown of Minneapolis.
But she's not from the Midwest originally;
Brown grew up in Union City, Tennessee. "I
keep my hometown at arm's [length]," she
admits. "The pace of life is definitely akin
to my own: a slow, even keel. And my sister has a beautiful farm with lots of horses
and chickens. But the life of the South-or
[at least] of Union City, Tennessee-is like
30, 40 years behind. I remember we were
playing a city high school basketball team.
The majority of the team was black, and
kids from my school threw nooses out
on the court. My high school flag was the
Confederate flag. The Confederate motherfucking flag! And I had no idea [of] its
significance until I moved away from that
town."
Brown's feelings of being an outsider
came not only from being queer but from
being a woman of color who was raised
by a doting mother and an abusive stepfather, both of whom were white. Her birth
father was black but wasn't part of the
picture. But she found a surrogate father
of sorts in the celebrated author James
Baldwin.
"It was probably when I first moved to
Knoxville [that] I read Giovanni's Room,"
she remembers. "The main character
just embodies all these complex things
and contradictions-but
at critical times
he's a coward. I've never been so pissed
off after reading a book that I wanted to
track an author down and be like, 'This is
fucked up! You should have finished this
differently!' I didn't know anything about
James Baldwin at that point, and it just
unleashed this obsession. From there, I
read every novel I could get my hands on
over the past 10 years. James served this
purpose for me, not growing up with my
black [birth] father. [My father] was from
North Carolina but he lived in New York
for a while, and up in New Hampshire, and
he was a jazz musician. So James... just
taught me about black culture in a way
that I felt like my father would have:'
And Brown's journey of identity and belonging is essential listening, especially
now. (chastitybrownmusic.com) •
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
25
THttVtRlASTIN
ANI
DIFRAN
The original Righteous Babe talks
politics, Prince, and her new album.
W en Ani DiFranco arrived on the music scene in 1990-an openly bisexual
wo, an who used a traditional genre (folk
music) to explore risky subject mattershe made an immediate impression. But
it took the music industry suits a good
half-dozen years to catch on. It was only
after she'd released extremely popular
albums like Not a Pretty Girl, Dilate, and
Little Plastic Castle (all issued between
1995 and 1998) that the majors came calling. The first time we met, in December
2007, DiFranco told me exactly what she
thought about signing with a major label:
"I determined early on that, for me, being independent was not a means to an
end ...l looked at the five-year contracts,
and whatever tiny percentage of my record sales I would actually see, and I just
thought, 'Fuck that.'" So, to her credit, DiFranco has stayed on her own label, Righteous Babe Records, to this day, and she
has continued to release CDs (by herself
and other artists) prolifically.
When I met her this time around, DiFranco was passing through NYC to promote her 20th studio album, Binary. Not
only had she barely aged physically in the
past decade, but she was still friendly,
present, and surprisingly optimistic-despite the fact that she was on a whirlwind
trip and Curve was her last interview. In
many respects, Binary is a standard DiFranco disc: percussive guitar playing accompanied by thought-provoking lyrics
that are by turns personal and political.
The album features her longtime rhythm
section, bassist Todd Sickafoose and
drummer Terence Higgins, and frequent
collaborators Jenny Scheinman on violin,
and the legendary Ivan Neville on various
26
CURVE
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REVIEWS/
instruments. Her daughter, Petah (now
10, amazingly), sings backup on the love
song "Even More."
Much like Rickie Lee Jones-who has
also drawn inspiration from the musical
potpourri that is New Orleans-DiFranco
says her own work is greatly informed
by her adopted hometown. "As a musician, it's like going to Mecca!" she says.
"There's a profound confluence of cultures and history there. I mean, it's this
huge slave port where so many people
entered America in bondage-and then
massive amounts of Europeans. You
know, the French and the Spanish influence is very heavy there. My daughter
goes to a French school. [So from the]
blending of European musical traditions
and African [traditions] this whole new
art form is created. And that's just the
beginning! There's the funk and the brass
bands-you know, there's every genre of
music. It's really a great place to live and
come home to and get inspired in. And I
live right in the thick of it."
"Play God" was the first single from Binary (released at the end of last year, actually) and is an intense pro-choice track
on which she sings:
dom for women-kind of took over. So it
took a left turn and became that. And the
spirit of the song really comes from reproductive freedom as a civil right, which
is how I think of it now ...[lt's] a necessary
step for women's emancipation and empowerment-which
is a necessary step
for peace on Earth, you know? I just feel
like it's kind of the key that will fit this lock
of patriarchy, [and] once we can unlock
that, we can go so many places."
A number of things had changed since
I talked to DiFranco in late 2014, after
Allergic to Water came out. A lot of wellknown musicians had died, many of them
prematurely. One of those musicians was,
of course, Prince, who passed suddenly
in April of last year. While they weren't
besties, as the kids say, DiFranco and The
Purple One were friends; he appeared on
her 1999 effort, To the Teeth, and she returned the favor by playing on his Rave
Un2 the Joy Fantastic album. The two
kept in touch periodically after that and
were big fans of each other's work. Indeed, the first thing she said when I asked
her about working with Prince, was "Talk
about intimidating!"
Now, of course, Prince was gone. And
when I asked her about him this time
around, it was the one time during our
conversation that she got misty-eyed and
her optimism wavered. "That's a tough
one," she admits. "Because my will is to
go to the positive, you know? To try to focus on the positive. [But] I still cry when I
hear his music. It just ...lt was a death that
was not meant to be. Even in that time
when he was a bit stronger and healthier, I could just feel. ..He sort of brought
out the maternal in me. I wanted to be
a safe person for him. And I think he felt
safe with me, in our sort of acquaintanceship ...! felt like he was [someone] who
never quite had the unconditional love
and safety that every person deserves.
He was like this fragile, exquisite, exotic
earthling. Barely an earthling.
"I actually was trying to get in touch
with him around that time," she continues. "[No one] I knew could get in touch
with him. Even people in his band didn't
have his number. And I was concerned
about that. He was in a lot of physical
pain the last few years, and slipping into
self-medicating. So that was an indica-
" YOU
GET
TO
RUN
THE
WORLD
INYOUR
OWN
SPECIAL
WAY
YOU
GET
MUCH
MORE,
MUCH
MORE
THAN
YOUR
SAY
GOVERNMENT,
RELIGION,
IT'S
ALL
JUST
PATRIARCHY
I MUST
INSIST
YOU
LEAVE
THIS
ONE
THING
TO
ME
...
YOU
DON'T
GET
TO
PLAY
GOD,
MAN.
IDO,,
"When I started writing ["Play God"], I
was in the headspace of 'What would it
sound like if I was writing a bragging blues
[song]?' But pretty soon, the will in me to
give voice to what I think is a really important political issue-reproductive free-
MU31C
tion, and then the news came down ...You
know, we were not bros or anything, and
still I had that feeling of 'Fuck! What could
I have done? I should have been there for
him. Somebody should have been there
for him!' Where was the world when you
needed it?"
Another change since 2014 is that, of
course, we have a new president. It's no
secret that DiFranco is an old-school liberal, a big fan of Barack Obama, and a
feminist. So I had to ask for her thoughts
on our new administration. Amazingly,
she was still optimistic. She's been encouraged by how many people have
banded together-in
her own circle, in
America, and around the world-since
Donald Trump took office, including
friends who were once apolitical.
And she was excited to take part in the
Women's March that was held in Washington, D.C., after his inauguration. "[It
was] just so uplifting," says DiFranco. "No
disrespect to the organizers, but it wasn't
a victory of organization; it was a victory
of the people. I mean, it was just a show of
force ...Everybody I've talked to who was
there experienced nothing but love and
respect-and
in difficult circumstances, you know? It was hard to breathe,
it was hard to move. You were stuck all
day, trapped in crowds, it was frustrating
physically. And yet there was nothing but
peace and togetherness and mutual support and understanding. Even the police
were kind! I've been to a bunch of demonstrations, you know, post-election. And to
me, having been an activist all through
the 1990s, the police were adversaries.
They positioned themselves [that way]
whether we were anti-war protesters or
anti-World Bank. There has been a lot of
tension and animosity between the police and activists. We've been treated like
terrorists. But not so anymore! Suddenly,
we are really united, I believe, across all
kinds of lines-[against] a much bigger
and more terrifying enemy. Nothing, unfortunately, bonds people like a common
enemy. And, I believe, in this administration we truly have one."
As I wrote after our first meeting nearly
a decade ago: It's not hard to understand
why Ani's fans love her so much. It's not
just her work; it's who she is.
(righteousbabe.com) •
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
27
?
A
WOMEN'S
FESTIVA
iFOR
EVERYON
MUSIC»
Mothership combines art,
music, and feminism in
the Coachella Valley.
In 2015, Laura Wise {pictured above)
found herself yearning for a sacred
women-only
space where attendees
could connect with one another in a festival setting filled with music, fashion,
and art.
"I was really coming into my own
feminism and felt really passionate
about it, and I felt like it was something
we weren't talking about a lot in L.A.
There wasn't a ton of political awareness around feminism at that time, not
like there was in San Francisco and New
York," Wise says.
"I really wanted to create a space for
people to talk about feminism and gender equality, and make it fun, and make
it a space where people who don't necessarily identify with that label might
come and be a little seduced by it," she
continues.
The event, now called Mothership,
28
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2017
has grown over the last two years, and
has expanded into a three-day, twonight festival and retreat in the Coachella Valley near Palm Springs, Calif. This
year, it takes place October 13 through
15, and Wise has included something for
everyone to be "a little seduced by.".
"The experience was designed specifically as a campout, because I know
when you're roughing it and camping
with other women, that really brings
people together. It was really successful last year because people left with
life-long friendships, and women met
and started collaborating.
So many
partnerships came out of that event.
We have workshops and programming
all day, then at night we have music and
it's all girls on stage. The programming
throughout the day is any wacky thing
you can think of," Wise says.
Mothership is designed to be an
LGBTQ safe haven. But is it truly inclusive of all members of our community?
"I am very adamant that it is an inclusive event. Anyone who identifies partially or wholly as a woman is welcome,
and that includes non-binary individuals, mid-transition M to F women, the
whole spectrum," Wise says.
This year, Wise partnered with the
newly established Tegan and Sara Foundation (teganandsarafoundation.org),
a
nonprofit headed up by Tegan and Sara
Quin, whose mission is "fighting for
economic justice, health, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women." A
part of all ticket proceeds will be donated to the foundation.
"They were really excited about working together with us and amplifying
their mission. Tegan and Sara will be
onsite-we're
going to do a special interactive event in which we talk about
REV1Ews1MU31C
women claiming their power, women in
media, women in music. And there will
be interactive elements for the audience to participate in, so you can come
and hang out with Tegan and Sara,"
Wise says.
Ticket prices include access to all
panels and workshops, nighttime entertainment, and a campsite. Food trucks
will be available onsite to provide fuel
in between all the female-focused fun.
"Everything is funky and fun, and the
political elements are woven into the
event in a really organic way. You're
not going to know that you're having
this intense political experience until
you leave. There's booze, there's music, there's dancing, there's camping,
and a lot of the workshops are really
fun. I want this to be a break for women, it should be fun and relaxing."
(mothershipfest.com) •
REVIEWS/
FlLMS
GIRL
MEETS
GIRL
ON
GIRL
ON BEING HOMELESS DURING THE
TIME OF FILMING:
Even though I didn't necessarily look
homeless, I often slept in my car, I took
What's it like to appear in a
lesbian documentary about
femme invisibility? Karen
Sabel Lewis shares her
experience.
ONBEINGCASTINGIRLONGIRL:
A friend called me and told me about
[director] Jodi Savitz and her film Girl On
Girl and asked me to come and meet her,
along with a few other girls. It sounded
like it was for a good cause so I decided
to check it out. Once I got there, I knew all
the other girls so I felt really comfortable.
Jodi asked us a few questions on camera.
A few days later she called me and asked
me if I wanted to be part of it. She felt my
story was important. At that time I had just
broken up with my longterm girlfriend so it
was my first time really getting to see what
the scene was about. I was feeling kind of
discouraged, however, because dating as
a femme was difficult. I never really looked
"gay" enough and felt like I wasn't really taken seriously. So when I heard about Jodi's
film I immediately thought, Yes that's me!
30
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2017
showers in public, and I struggled to eat.
Yet, I still held part-time jobs and a lot
of people around me would have never guessed my living situation. I think
we get a lot wrong about how complex
being homeless really is. Sometimes it
means sleeping on the street, sometimes
it means couch surfing and asking strangers for help. Homelessness looks different
to everyone who goes through it so it was
important to talk about the day-to-day experience and how quickly your mind can
normalize a difficult situation.
ON THE IMPACT IT HAD ON HER LIFE:
The film has really helped me process
my past. Before the film I rarely ever talked
about my experience because I thought
it was just a sad part of my life I'd rather
leave behind. I was ashamed that it even
happened. When I first auditioned for the
film I didn't really think it was going to go
too deep into it. But as we began filming
I think the process of sharing helped me
heal and forgive myself and forgive everyone involved. I really didn't expect to come
out of it with a sense of strength and pride,
but I did. And the feedback has been so
inspiring. I realize there's so many women
who have been or are going through similar situations, and it really makes me happy
that I can give them support and help them
feel less isolated.
ON WHERE SHE IS NOW IN LIFE:
Currently my main passion is ethical
fashion. I moved to New York a year ago
and got to work as a visual manager for a
big brand in Soho and 5th Avenue. Now,
I work as a stylist for an ethical fashion
brand and run my own vintage store online. I believe environmentally friendly and
ethical consumerism is the future so I'm
really invested in it.
ON WHY QUEER WOMEN SHOULD SEE
GIRLONGIRL:
Because it's a film that address a problem all women have to deal with: the fact
that masculinity is respected and femininity is doubted. Women should be able to be
respected whether they are very feminine
or very masculine or anything in between.
We shouldn't have to act like men to be
taken seriously. The film addresses femme
invisibility from a sexuality standpoint, but
it is an issue that affects all women in one
way or another. It's also worth seeing just
to break stereotypes about what it means
to be a lesbian. It also gives you a feeling of
sisterhood. Listen to women. We are capable of asserting ourselves and being solid
in our identities.•
Watch Girl on Girl on demand at
girlongirlmovie.com.
REVIEWS/
FlLMS
FILMS»
GAME
CHANGERS
Groundbreaking lesbians in sports and music-Billie
BY MERRY
Jean King and Chavela.
JO NS
BATTLE
OF
THE
SEXES
OPENS NATIONALLY ON SEPTEMBER22
If you want to know what optimal white male privilege looks like-that is, if you don't
already-Battle of the Sexes takes you back in time to when men had all the power
and decided which "little ladies" they'd throw a few crumbs to. In the late '60s, second-wave feminists created a movement only to be laughed off by males as "hairylegged feminists," "bra burners" and "Women's Libbers." The legendary 1973 tennis
match between World No. 1 Billie Jean King and ex-champ and compulsive gambler
Bobby Riggs was a historic turning point following Title IX: 'libber' against 'lobber'
in a televised tennis match watched by millions. King's demand that women tennis
players be taken seriously and awarded equal pay kicked the feminist movement
squarely into the limelight. Effectively challenged to a duel by Riggs, who wished
to prove King physically inferior, therefore less valuable, King accepted on behalf
of women's tennis and found herself faced with more opponents than Riggs: the
tennis establishment, the media, and her homophobic rival Margaret Court. The fascinating, feel-good Battle of the Sexes presents Emma Stone as a determined but
vulnerable Billie Jean King in the finest role of her career, and a hilarious Steve Carel I
as the clownish but complex Riggs. King wants to change the sport and win equality
for women-while struggling with her emerging sexuality. Riggs wants to "put the
show back into chauvinist" but alienates his family in the process. The script is right
on and the film, directed by Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton (Little Miss Sunshine), is
a must-see for anyone fighting oppression. (battleofthesexes-movie.com)
CHAVELA
OPENS NATIONALLY IN OCTOBER
·+
..
!
••n
I
..
...,
""---~;i
..
l!lnllCII
A stunning and charismatic performer with a rich, sensual voice and enviable guitar-playing skills, Chavela Vargas is a music legend in the Spanish-speaking world.
She was also a lesbian and had many lovers, including (allegedly) Frida Kahlo. Like
a Mexican Marlene Dietrich, Chavela challenged conventional mores and Catholic
traditions by dressing in trousers, drinking tequila, smoking cigars, and singing love
songs to women without changing the pronouns-in the 1950s. Born in Costa Rica
in 1919,Chavela ran away to Mexico City as a teenager to busk in the streets. From
humble beginnings not unlike Edith Piaf, by the 1950s she was a celebrated figure in
the city's club scene, and by the '60s she was a star in her adopted homeland and
Spain. She played the world's great venues, recorded 80 albums, wrote her autobiography at 81, and was awarded a Latin Grammy for Lifetime Achievement. But
Chavela also endured heartbreak, became an alcoholic, and dropped out of view
for over a decade. She was rediscovered when the Spanish director Pedro Almodovar adopted her as his muse and featured her songs in many of his films. Chavela
returned to the stage at the age of 71to reclaim her rightful place in the pantheon of
performance greats. While she passed in 2012 at age 93, she now lives on forever in
a multi-award-winning documentary directed by Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi.
Commanding, handsome and brilliant, Chavela is yours to discover through interviews, archival photos, footage, and of course, music. (musicboxfilms.com/chavela)
OCT/NOV
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31
BOOKS»
WINNING
WOMEN
Books to motivate you and make you think.
Bv MELANIE BARKER
SI I.
WAL/<.
Do,-1· 1
TALK
My Rad Life
Sit, Walk, Don't Talk
Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl
Jennifer How'd
(Penguin Random House)
(Parallax Press)
Technically, it's not a book-it's a journal. But this gorgeously
illustrated notebook is a daily reminder that women can, do,
and always have done amazing things in many fields-from
science to sports. A great gift for the budding feminist, female student, or maybe even for yourself. Women featured
inside include Stacyann Chin, Margaret Cho, Lady Gaga,
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bell Hooks, Audre Lorde, Michelle
Obama, Adrienne Rich, Susan Sontag, Alice Walker and
many more diverse and inspirational feminists.
Written by an out and certified mindfulness practitioner, this
book is about a revelatory experience: Howd went on her first
ever nine-day silent meditation retreat, but was not prepared
for the reality of the situation, or what it unleashed. In this her
debut memoir, she details what happens to her internally at the
retreat-such as competing inner voices that emerge from the
void of silence in this boot camp for the soul. Funny, painful,
surprising and true, this is a book for women embarking on a
quest for enlightenment, but unsure of what to expect.
Spinning
Women In Sports
Tillie Walden
Rachel lgnotofsky
(Macmillan)
(Penguin Random House)
This debut book is an autobiographical coming-of-age graphic
memoir about competitive figure skating, coming out, and finding a path to happiness while you're still trying to discover your
true identity, and without changing who you really are. Walden
started creating the book when she was just 19, and it's an emotional and powerful journey as she deals with bullies, coaches,
and other skaters. It captures the mood of adolescence well and
would make a perfect gift to any girl or young woman struggling
to be herself in a hostile and pressured environment.
This is a colorful and creative books of illustrated profiles featuring leading female athletes such as Nicola Adams, Mia Hamm,
Violet Palmer, Billie Jean King as well as many lesser known but
important figures, and in often overlooked sports, such as pingping. The book also addresses issues such as the gender pay
gap and media coverage inequity. Currently, Title IX is under
threat and this serves as a friendly reminder that going backwards would be a tragic setback for the next generation of
physical female achievers.
32
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2017
40FASHION FIT FOR EVERYONE
44PUREBEAUTYPRODUCTS
OCT/NOV
2017
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33
This
past
Charlotte
summer,
(aka
international
Curve
CB) Glasser
sent
of
the
LGBTQ event production
company Hot Rabbit for a barber salon
experience
at New York City's Hairrari
Barber Shop, located
at 34 East 1st
Street in the East Village.
CB
is
known
fashion-forward
for
her
versatile,
queer cut and sassy
hair flips. So, we were excited to see if
Hairrari could deliver a style that would
effortlessly
take this communications
strategist,
speaker, community
and event producer
leader,
from day to play
while maintaining CB's unique look.
Hairrari Barber Salon was founded
by Magda Ryczko, a queer immigrant
woman
from
trained
most
Poland. She personally
of
the
Hairrari
staff.
Hairrari, which has three New York City
locations-in
and
the
Williamsburg,
Bushwick,
East Village-specializes
in
queer cuts and curates a welcoming,
relaxing,
and fun experience
for all
genders and gender presentations.
OCT/NOV
2017
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35
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"It feels good to create a space where
Char on her experience:
"The vibe
my hair. "I self-trained after having my
everyone is treated as a unique canvas
was East Village chic, yet welcoming.
license for a few years," Magda told me.
and we try to accommodate
Upon
"In that time, I was assisting at salons but
the best
entering,
Magda
immediately
we can," shares owner Magda Rydzko
offered me a choice of cocktail,
beer,
not really learning much since we got to
states.
or water. After getting settled in, Magda
do a haircut a week, if that, and sweep
and anyone that comes in knows that
began my consultation. Unliketraditional
and shampoo in the meantime. It was
everyone
'men's' barbers, Magda understood the
difficult to get a job that trains well, that
"Our
clientele
is very
mixed
and anyone are welcome."
Many of Hairrari's staff members and
hair artists
are part of the LGBTQ+
communities,
and
experiences
from
barber
help
their
separate
mainstream,
shops.
celebrity
Mccloskey
of
Hairrari
hyper-masculine
Some
clientele
personal
of
includes
Hunter
Hairrari's
Kiyomi
Valentine
and
aesthetic
I was trying to achieve, but
is why my process of training [Hairarri
I was anxious not to
staff] has a different model." Magda uses
lose the length of my top bun, and it was
YouTube videos to train her staff, which
an absolute
now includes a team of 15 at all three
without judgement.
must that my side shave
be even, high, and tight. I was in good
locations. Ultimately, I loved my haircut
hands.
from
For the
consultation,
Magda
Magda
and
would
absolutely
recommends you bring photos! 'It's the
recommend
fastest and most thorough
anyone seeking a wel-coming
way to ex-
the shop and their staff to
styling
Camille Perri, author of The Assistants,
plain what you're looking for.' Magda
experience
among
and I had an opportunity
queer cut that reflects their identity."
other
community
38
CURVE
high
profile
members.
OCT/NOV
LGBTQ
her background
2017
to chat about
while she was cutting
and also wanting a quality
(hai rra ri .com)
Katya was born
in Moscow
but
moved to Atlanta, Ga. when she was
a baby. She played soccer at Florida
Lightweight sapphire blue sport suit designed by Leon Wu and Antonio
State University, her team ranking in the
Soto of Sharpe Suiting. Katya's suit was measured and made virtually
national top 5 as well as the 2014 NCAA
for her while she was in Serbia, using Sharpe Suiting's body metric
National Champions.
prediction software or virtual tailor.
A Golden Torch
Award Winner at Florida State, Katya
majored in sociology
Communications.
and minored
After
college,
in
Katya
played professionally in Russia, Finland,
Iceland,
Cyprus,
and
Serbia.
She
played Serbian football club FK Spartak
Subotica's three matches in the 2016-17
UEFA
Women's
qualifying
Champions
League
round in August 2016 and
continues to play professionally in Central
Europe. She also competed against the
U.S. Women's National Team with the
Russian Women's National Team.
"When Leon Wu first told me about
Sharpe
Suiting's
Virtual
tailoring
software, I was curious about how this
could
possibly
work, and anxious to
see how well the suit might fit. My first
impression when putting on the suit was
'Wow, this is spot on!' We only needed to
make a few stylistic alterations and boom,
the suit was ready to go. I would definitely
recommend trying Sharpe's virtual tailor.
Most of us have pretty busy schedules, so
to be able to save some time and get the
sizing down within 5 or 10 minutes online
instead of coming in to get measured for
sizing is awesome." (sharpesuiting.com)
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2017
Excelling in gymnastics at an early age,
Kiralee's love for physical performance
provided a smooth transition to a career
as a stunt performer, actor, filmmakerand scientist.
Kiralee attended
UCLA where
she
was a gymnast. One of the most highly
recruited
year,
freshmen
she
garnered
her
graduating
two
National
Championship titles and 9 All-American
titles (both first and second team). She
was a Pac-10 gymnast of the year and
a Pac-10 Conference Medalist. She was
a finalist for the AAI American Award,
which is given annually to the nation's
most
outstanding
all-around
senior
gymnast.
Kiralee graduated from UCLA with a
B.S. in Neuroscience
authored
articles
and she has co-
in over a hundred
publications
based on brain mapping
techniques
to analyze changes in the
brain. Fun fact! Based on her career
W AT SHE'S WEARING:
in both the film industry and science,
Sharpe Suiting 4-way stretch
Kiralee has an Erdos-Bacon
cuffed high waistband slacks, designed by Leon Wu and Hai Hyunh.
which
measures
the
number
"collaborative
distance" in authoring academic papers
between
that
person
mathematician
and Hungarian
Paul Erdos-and
one's
Bacon number or degrees connection
to actor Kevin Bacon. It reflects a small
world
phenomenon
entertainment
in academia
and
of which Kiralee has one
of the lowest numbers.
As a stuntwoman Kiralee has doubled
numerous leading actresses and worked
on many films and TV series including
Preacher,
Twin
Peaks, Transformers,
Twilight: Breaking Dawn, NCIS: LA, to
name just a few.
"About a year ago, Leon had imagined
making an elastic suit that even I could
wear on-the-job.
By that, he meant that
I would be able to actually do stunts
wearing it. I was amazed! After trying
the suit out in action, it didn't inhibit any
of my movement. I didn't even feel like I
was wearing a suit." (sharpesuiting.com)
42
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2017
black wool suit with pleated and
FEATURES/
BEAU y
Why did an urban lesbian create a luxury line
of vegan skin care products? Rachel Winard
shares her startup success, Soapwalla.
WHAT
LED
YOU
TOCREATE
SOAPWALLA?
It was out of necessity, really. I have systemic lupus erythemato-
sus, an auto-immune illness that can manifest itself in a number
of ways. I get terrible skin rashes, hives, and irritated skin patches.
When it was at its worst, I could barely use water on my skin
without irritation. I tried everything on the market that said it was
'hypoaller-genic' or 'natural' and found that those products exacerbated my sensitivities. Late one night in 2002, and desperate for
something I could use, I went into my tiny NYC kitchen, opened
my cabinets, and thought, "If these ingredients are safe in my
body, they'll probably be safe to use on my body." I threw myself
headfirst into a 7-year long study of chemistry, herbology, aromatherapy, basic medical understanding of common medical issues.
The line grew slowly over 7 years as I developed my skills, and as I
needed products. I premiered Soapwalla in December 2009, and
we'll be celebrating our 8th birthday this holiday season!
WHAT
ARE
THE
BENEFITS
OFPURE
INGREDIENTS?
When my skin was at its worst, the simplest, purest ingredients
were the only ones I could use. I took this as a sign. Also, my years
of research really instilled in me a deep respect for whole plant
materials and the potency of carrier/essential oils. Our skin is
incredibly intuitive. When we bombard it with dozens of products
on a daily basis, we create confusion and imbalance. Less is truly
more in skincare. I approach skin care the way I approach food.
We focus on utilizing natural ingredients (we don't use synthetic
ingredients like petrochemical by-products, parabens, phthalates,
etc.) because I've found them to be more effective at treating
underlying skin conditions, as well as being better for the environment and more pleasant to work with.
WHAT
BACKGROUND
BROUGHT
YOU
TOTHE
BUSINESS?
I started playing the violin when I was 4 years old, turned profes-
sional at the age of 12, graduated high school early, went to Juilliard,
and then realized that the business of music wasn't a perfect a fit for
me. I got an undergraduate degree in political theory, and ended up
at Columbia Law School. During my first year, I was diagnosed with
lupus. In 20061 was on chemotherapy to try to get my illness under
control, with little success-and left for India to see an Ayurvedic
doctor. We worked together every day for 4 months and he got me
feeling better than I had in years. When I returned to NYC,the stress
OCT/NOV
2017
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43
2oa/Slml
was just too much for my immune system and I left the law, and struggled to figure
out what I was going to do next. During this time, friends and family gently prodded
me to sell my beloved skincare products to the public.
I formulate Soapwalla's products the way I compose pieces-I can't not see the
world in musical terms. Law school and practice were invaluable for teaching me
how to think about things analytically, and to be able to read and execute basic
contracts. I'm still friends with my old bosses at my last law firm, and they were so
supportive during my transition and throughout Soapwalla's successes.
ISYOUR
PRODUCT
MORE
EFFECTIVE
THAN
COMMERCIAL
BRANDS?
Many people are skeptical of natural products' efficacy, with reason. I want Soap-
walla products to be even more effective than commercial versions, so I go through
an intensely rigorous testing process before I release a product. For the jet-black
Activated Charcoal and Petitgrain Facial Soap Bar, no other ingredients came close
in performance to the superfine charcoal and tea tree essential oil duo regarding
balancing skin and alleviating breakouts. Also, our line is unisex by choice.
HOW
DOES
YOUR
IDENTITY
FACTOR
INTO
THE
BRAND?
I am an out, proud lesbian-both
personally and professionally. I think it's important
for me to be out and visible. Soapwalla is political by its very nature: lesbian-owned
and 100 percent women-run. My partner Stacey handles wholesale and retail
accounts, and all matters related to shipping and inventory. We're lucky-we work
incredibly well together and our business strengths complement each other nicely.
We have an amazing community in Brooklyn, especially in our neighborhood. I have
close friends who own small businesses throughout the neighborhood. We bounce
ideas off each other, support each other, pool and share resources. We use our platform to spread love and highlight organizations that do good in our communities.
SO,WHAT'S
SOSPECIAL
ABOUT
SOAPWALLA?
Curve road-tested 5 products: Activated Charcoal and Petitgrain Facial Soap Bar,
Phosphorescence Facial Mask, Balancing Facial Toning Mist, and Luxurious Body Oil.
The verdict? We found the products to be both hydrating and healiing: blemishes,
dryness, rosacea, and sensitivity were combatted, and the clarity and elasticity of
our skin improved. Plus the products felt fresh and healthy, due to their natural foodgrade and certified organic ingredients. Recommended! (soapwallakitchen.com)
44
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2017
46THE LEGENDSOF THE WNBA
50
MEETTHE SUPERCOACH
52DERBYDARLINGS
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
45
SPORTING
HOOPS
&DREAMS:
THE
BY CARRIE LYELL
The year is 1997, and on a cloudy June
evening the New York Liberty and the
Los Angeles Sparks are anxiously preparing to tip off inside the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, Calif., in the
first-ever game of the WNBA.
"We were nervous as hell," says Teresa
"T-Spoon" Weatherspoon, who was on
the court as a player that night and is
now the Liberty's director of Player Development.
Despite being hobbled with a knee injury, Teresa is reminiscing about that first
game all those years ago as she helps
me work on my jump shot. "Keep that
elbow in. That's it...You got it!" she says
with a big grin. She's so encouraging
that I start to think I could actually make
it as a basketball player. When the conversation swings back to that first game
at the Forum, I ask her, "Did you win?"
She flashes me another smile. "We went
46
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
in that building and got 'em."
The Liberty's 67-57 win against the
Sparks that night set the WNBA in motion, and from its inception the league
has continued to give women the opportunity to make sports history. This
year, the WNBA is celebrating 20 years
of "moving the ball forward," but in the
beginning its future was never certain."Everybody said that this was not
even going to last for five years," Te-resa says, throwing another ball my way.
"They said, 'You won't get 5,000 people
in the stands, no way possible.' Radio
stations, TV stations were saying, 'This
is not going to work, this is a summer
league, they can't fight with the NBA.'"
It wasn't the first time Teresa had been
told no. "When I was an eighth-grader, I
was told I would never be great at playing this game of basketball.'' But that just
served as motivation for the tenacious
Texan, who in a playing career spanning
more than 20 years has won countless
awards and honors, and scored possibly the most memorable basket in
WNBA history. Look it up on YouTube;
it's incredible.
After I try (and fail spectacularly) to
recreate "The Shot," T-Spoon tells me
about standing on the podium in Seoul
at the 1988 Olympics with a gold medal
around her neck. "When I got that gold
medal, my mind went straight back to
being an eighth-grader. I was standing
there, every-body's crying, and I'm jumping for joy. I couldn't wait to get home.
When I did, I told my mom, 'Ma, I know
I told you this is yours, but I just need it
for one second.' I ran to this house, beat
the door down. This man took a minute
to come to the door. He opened it, and
I said, 'Remember this eighth-grader?'
I took that gold medal out, put it in his
face, and said, 'Only 12 of the best get
this."
Back in 1988, Olympic success was all
there was for college basketball players
like Te-resa. But it was medal success
in 1988, '92, and '96 that paved the way
for the WNBA, and gave women players
the chance to go pro. "Our young ladies
in our 1996 Olympic team did a heck of
a job of representing us," Teresa says.
"They knocked down doors. Every door
that closed? lmma knock this one down.
And that's what we did until, boom, the
door fell open. One door is going to
open, but you can't give up once one has
closed. That could be your best door, the
one that closed. That could be your best
no, the one that said no. That could be
your best if, the one that said if. Because
that's motivation. It pushes you to go
knock down that door, to go get your
yes, and stop that if. When you have that
mentality, things change."
And change they did. The WNBA finished the 2016 season with an increase
in live at-tendance and double the TV
viewership that it had the year before.
Players like Tina Charles, Elena Delle Donne, and Brittney Griner are household
names. But the road to success has not
been easy. All but three of the franchises
from the WNBA's inaugural season have
folded, the league has struggled to get
the kind of media coverage it deserves,
and though the WNBA is miles ahead of
many other women's sports, it has some
way to go before its women achieve equity with the stars of the NBA.
The best players in the women's
league, for example, take home around
$107,000 a year, while the top-paid
NBA player, LeBron James, makes an
eye-watering $36 million. That disparity
in wages means that the majority of the
WNBA players go overseas to play in the
off-season in order to supplement their
income.
I went to the NBA headquarters on
Fifth Avenue to meet WNBA President
Lisa Borders and find out more. "Salaries are not as high as we would like for
them to be," she says frankly. "That's no
secret. Salaries in the U.S. are driven by
the revenue that's generated in the U.S.,
so if the revenue doesn't exist, you can't
give it to people. Our challenge is driving revenue to the point that you can
match the salaries or exceed the salaries
that players might get in other plac-es.
Do we need to grow the revenue so the
salaries can increase? Absolutely. Are we
focused on that? Absolutely."
The players I met were pragmatic
about the wage issue, and pointed out
that the inequali-ty on the court is simply
a reflection of the inequality off it. And
while comparisons with the NBA are nat48
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ural and something that the players are
used to, there's a definite sense of frustration that instead of focusing on their
skill and athleticism, people are more interested in how much money they earn
and why they don't wear "more flattering
uniforms."
Comparing the NBA with the WNBA
is like comparing apples and oranges,
says Teresa, pointing out that the NBA
has a 50-year head start on the women's
league. "We're happy with our league,"
she says. "Of course, there are things
that we want to change, but it's not
about being equal to them all the time,
because we already know it's almost impossible."
But there are many ways in which the
NBA could learn from the WNBA-take,
for in-stance, the women's approach to
LGBT issues. In 2007, John Amaechi was
the first NBA player to speak publicly
about his sexuality, and no active players have come out since Jason Collins in
2013. Last August, former college basketball player Derrick Gordon said that
the reason he didn't make it to the NBA
is because the league is "not ready for
another openly gay player right now." Yet
in that same month, when Chicago Sky
supremo Elena Delle Donne came out in
an interview with Vogue, revealing her
engagement to a woman, the news did
not even headline the piece. And underscoring the WNBA's commitment to inclusiveness, Delle Donne was one of four
openly gay players on the U.S. women's
Olympic basketball team. Together, they
won gold in Rio.
Stefanie Dolson of the Washington
Mystics went public with her sexuality, to
little or no fanfare, in May. She told ESPN,
"Not everyone in the WNBA needs to be
out, but I feel called to lead an authentic
life in the open. I know who I am, and I
don't care if people judge me. I am 6 feet
5, I dye my hair purple, and I experiment
a lot with fashion. My motto is: If they're
going to stare, they might as well stare at
something fun."
When I met Dolson on the terrace of
a hotel overlooking Madison Square Garden, before the Mystics' game against
the Liberty, she told me that she didn't
think twice about coming out-she knew
she had the backing of her family, her
teammates, and, most importantly, the
league. "The WNBA is ahead of the game
when it comes to athletes coming out,"
the 24-year-old center told me. "Like,
they support you in such a way that it
makes you feel comfortable to come
out, or to say who you are as a person, in
any way, shape, or form."
It hasn't always been like that. Just 11
years ago, Sheryl Swoopes came out
when she was the biggest name in the
league.he WNBA "turned their backs on
me," she says, a claim that is refuted by
the president of the league, who issued
a statement saying that Swoopes's "lifestyle choice" was a "non-issue" for them.
Though the phrase "lifestyle choice" was
perhaps a giveaway as to the league's
true feelings.
Swoopes has since talked openly about how she feared she'd have a
negative impact on the league by going public, and several former players
and coaches claim that at one point
the WNBA was so worried about being
branded a "lesbian organization" that it
pressured lesbian and bisexual players
to stay in the closet. Was that something that weighed on Dolson's mind?
"No," she says emphatically. "A lot has
changed. I understand that it could have
had a negative impact, but honestly, I
didn't think about it."
Righting those past wrongs might
go some way to explaining why the
WNBA today puts such emphasis on its
LGBT-friendly credentials. I asked Lisa
Borders why embracing the LGBT community is so important to the league.
"When we think about basketball, people often talk about demographics. Is it
a women's game? Is it a men's game? Is
it for gay people? Straight people? My
thinking is it's for everybody," she tells
me.
Of course, that makes sense from a
marketing point of view. But what are
her personal views on diversity and
inclusion? "The LGBT community has
long been one that has been disen-franchised, much like the African American
community. Much like women, quite
frankly. I'm a woman, and I'm African
American. I've been underestimated. I've
been judged. It hurts. It's not constructive. So I'm not going to re-enact that
behavior. It's important, not just for our
game but for life."
Indeed, under principled leadership
from Lisa Bordets, the WNBA has taken
a strong stance on equality, launching
WNBA Pride this summer and raising
money for victims of the Pulse nightclub
shooting in Orlando, a cause close to the
hearts of many players, including Liberty guard and Orlando native Shavonte
Zellous. Her sister had planned to go
to Pulse that evening, but changed her
mind at the last minute when her boss
called and asked her to work early the
next morning. Two of the friends she was
going to meet were among the 49 dead.
The WNBA's support has been really
important to her, she says. "To see that
and to see people supporting what you
may represent is key, not only for me but
for everyone. It plays a major role, and
it's a good thing we have a league like
the WNBA that supports it. Just having
that recognition, to know that you're not
alone, is a plus for not only me but every
family in Orlando that lost someone or
had someone that's been injured."
uring the Liberty-Mystics game, Zellous was wearing her rainbow sneakers,
and from our courtside seats I could see
that she'd etched the words "Orlando
Strong" and "Orlando United" on them
with a Sharpie, a small sign of just how
much the league has moved on since
Swoopes came out in 2005. While not
perfect by any stretch, the WNBA is
learning to accept and embrace not only
lesbian and bi players, but lesbian and
bi fans too. At halftime, I spotted lots of
queer fans, including Betty singer Amy
Ziff, and everyone I spoke with said they
felt welcomed and appreciated. Nevertheless, the WNBA is stigmatized in a
way that's hard to eradicate. According
to L.A. Sparks player Essence Carson, it's
a commonly held belief that the majority
of the players and coaches in the league
are lesbian or bi, and Liberty's Swin Cash
also spoke about a friend who wouldn't
let her daughter play basketball because
she feared it would make her a lesbian.
Tackling these misconceptions is going to take a lot of effort. The future is not
a given. Securing the long-term growth
of women's pro basketball won't be easy.
But if the last 20 years of the WNBA have
proved anything, it's that these women
like a challenge. I'm confident that players like Dolson, Griner, Zellous, and Delle
Donne will keep moving the ball forward
for a long time to come. In the words of
T-Spoon, "We're 20 years deep, but we're
not gonna stop pushing." (wnba.com) •
STEPHANIE
WHITE:
BY LYNDSEY D'ARCANGELO
Stephanie White grew up in a small
Indiana town with no stoplights and only
one school. Luckily, basketball was in her
blood. The Hoosiers-like script of her life
began to unfold at age 9, when her father
first let her play ball with the big boys, and
those early days eventually led to a dazzling career in basketball.
"My dad and all his buddies would pay
a dollar to open up the old West Lebanon
gym and play every week," White says.
"I'd go and watch, and then they finally let
me play. Those guys really taught me the
game, like how to use a screen and how to
make a pass in transition. I loved it."
White, 39, describes her upbringing
as a "typical Indiana story," where the
entire community comes together to lift
up one of its own. They held fundraisers
and events to help send White to basketball camps and tournaments, where
with good coaching and endless hours
of practice she learned to hone her skills.
White repaid the town's kindness by becoming one of the best women's basketball players in the country.
In 1995, White was named Miss Basketball Indiana and Gatorade National Player
of the Year. She went on to play college
basketball for Purdue University and was
drafted in 1999 by the now-defunct Charlotte Sting of the WNBA. A year later, she
returned to Indiana to play for the Fever
in the team's inaugural season. Fittingly,
that's where White retired.
"I tore my ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] after a couple of seasons with the
Fever," she says. "I still wanted to keep
playing. But Tracy Roller, the coach at Ball
State, contacted me. She had an opening
on her staff and she wanted to know if I
was interested. I told her that I still wanted
to play and she said I could do both. Ball
State was just up the road, so I decided to
try it out, and the moment I stepped onto
the floor as a coach, I knew that's what I
wanted to do."
After pulling double duty as a player
and a coach for one season, White decided to hang up her basketball sneakers
in 2004 and became an assistant coach
at Kansas State. From there, she went to
Toledo University for two years before
heading to the WNBA as a coach for the
Chicago Sky. Three years later, her former
coach and mentor Lin Dunn, who had recruited White to Purdue, offered her an
assistant coaching spot back home with
the Indiana Fever.
Dunn retired at the end of 2014 season
and White took over as head coach. The
Fever made the WNBA Finals in White's
first season at the helm, and made the
Playoffs again the next year. Regardless of
the team's success, she ultimately decided to return to the college ranks in 2016 as
head coach at Vanderbilt University.
"I knew that I wanted to get back into
college athletics eventually, because you
have an opportunity to make an impact on
a different level than you do at the pros,"
White explains. "In terms of not just the
game, but more so with the players-helping them understand the value of their
dreams and what they should demand
from society, and being able to help them
find their voice. There's also something
about the spirit of college sports that I
love and missed. But it was going to take
a special place to get me to make that
jump. And Vanderbilt was one of those
schools."
White describes her first season at Vanderbilt as rebuilding, where the players are
adjusting to a new system and a new way
of doing things. "Our team works incredibly hard and they are so open to change.
It's a process, sure. But we're growing and
getting better every day."
When White took over at Vanderbilt,
she became the only out lesbian coach
in all of women's basketball. Jennifer Azzi
held that title until she stepped down as
the head coach at the University of San
Francisco last season. White inadvertently
filled her shoes.
"Anyone who knows me knows my relationship with my wife has never been
a secret. Being open about it is for my
family, and there are a lot of people who
know me and if they know about my relationship, maybe it will sway them one way
or another. It's not like I set out to be the
only [out lesbian coach]. I just live my life
and I want the best for my family, just like
everyone wants."
White is the mother of three boys, a
5-year-old and 3-year-old twins. She and
her wife do their best to accommodate a
family life and a life in basketball equally.
"It's not so much juggling as it is compartmentalizing," White laughs. "Our boys
love sports and the team loves our boys,
so it makes it easier. My oldest comes to
practice and shoots around. I think it's
important for them to see that I love my
job and that I work really hard, and to see
strong women and the way that we balance everything, and also to understand
that they are equally as important."
As her boys get older, White says she
sees them getting involved in basketball
at some level. Her oldest is so used to being around all-women's teams that when
he finally saw men play, he said, "Boys
play basketball, too?" Having a mom who
coaches a sport is the kind of thing kids
brag about at school. And White plans on
coaching for a long time. "I want to coach
as long as I feel I can give it everything I
have, and continue to impact the lives of
young people, and continue to help grow
our game. When it comes time for me to
stop coaching, I hope I can stay involved
in basketball in some way."•
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DERBY
DUO:
DREW
FLOWERS
&NICOLE
WILLIAMS
BY THOMAS GERBASI
For those who compete in flat track roller derby, the first question that comes up
is usually about time management. There
are several practices a week, games to be
traveled to, a day job to manage, and, if
you're lucky, a personal life.
So how do the sport's power coupleDrew Flowers and Nicole Williams-manage to do it?
Silence. Then laughter.
"We work well under stress," says Williams, who is known to the sports world
as Bonnie Thunders. Flowers, whose derby name is OMG WTF, agrees, noting that
it's all about giving each other space in
the midst of the daily chaos.
"We make an effort to allow each other
to have time to do other things outside of
derby," Flowers says. "It's a relationship.
There's give and take and compromise
and making sure that the other person's
happy by giving them the space to be
happy."
As longtime members of the Gotham
Girls Roller Derby league, whose All-Star
team has won five Women's Flat Track
Derby Association world titles, and as
the owners of the Five Stride Skate Shop
in Brooklyn, there was never much time
for that personal space, but they've
made it work since 2008, and they expect to continue to do so in their new
home in the Pacific Northwest, where
they opened their second Five Stride location in Portland, a place Williams will
continue to skate in as a member of the
defending WFTDA champion Rose City
Rollers.
About the only thing the couple won't
do these days is play against each other,
a regular occurrence when they were on
opposing teams a few years back.
"For me, it was definitely a conscious
decision to not skate against her," Flowers says. "On my team, it was always an
ongoing joke: 'Hey OMG, do you want to
stay at our house this week?' [Laughs]
We are so competitive, and tension ran
high those weeks leading up to a game."
That competition has only fueled the
pair, and in a sport that has finally become legitimate and put a comfortable
distance between itself and its pro-wrestling-esque,
staged-outcome
past,
they've become innovators and educators: Thunders is the scoring machine
and OMG the blocker and defensive
force, as well as the coach of Team USA
in the 2017 Roller Derby World Cup.
To some, this duo is almost seen as a
single entity-BOMG-but
that's certainly not the case in reality.
"There's an illusion that we have the
same opinions and that we're the same
person," says Williams, 33. "But we're actually very different."
"I think we have similar character traits
but pretty different personalities that
complement each other," adds Flowers,
38. "And with any relationship, you can't
be an exact carbon copy of a person. It's
just not going to work out. You'll drive
each other crazy."
There were signs that the two were a
perfect pair. Flowers was a former Division I soccer player for Cal State Fullerton, Williams a synchronized ice skater
for Syracuse University, and they hit it
off immediately when Flowers arrived in
New York City as a member of the Montreal derby team she was coaching, even
if there was a hiccup at first.
"When I first talked to Bonnie, I asked
her if she was gay and she said no," Flow-
ers laughs. "So that sort of put a damper on things for a minute. But I thought,
Well, she keeps talking to me, so I guess
that even though she's not 'gay; she
might actually be gay."
"I didn't think of myself as gay at that
time," Williams counters. "I was definitely bisexual, and I dated women, but not
seriously up until that point. OMG is my
first long-term girlfriend. But at that time
I was figuring a lot of things out about
myself and was very intimidated by that
ques-tion, I guess."
"Let alone in a cab with three other
people," Flowers laughs.
"In my head, I didn't say no, but apparently that's what came out of my mouth,"
Williams said.
This interplay makes it clear why the
relationship works. Plus, it didn't hurt
that, unlike many gay athletes, Flowers
and Williams are fortunate to now compete on a playing field that is truly level.
"The queer athletes in roller derby, we
take it for granted how good we have it,"
Flowers says. "I don't think people realize
how awful it is in other sports. I grew up
playing soccer, and I was in college feeling like I was the only gay person on my
team. But it wasn't looked upon as being an awesome thing. So you learn to
live within these boxes and be quiet and
not really be com-pletely comfortable in
this environment that you're spending all
your time in. Because you have to. It's a
survival thing."
Flowers and Williams aren't surviving
anymore. Instead, they're thriving in all
aspects of their lives, which could use a
little more free time but probably won't
get it anytime soon. That's a price they're
willing to pay.•
OCT/NOV
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When Nicola Adams walks into the
room, it's hard not to take notice. Despite
her size-just 5 feet 5 and 112 poundsthe flyweight world amateur boxing
champion has a cut physique, an intensity, and a megawatt smile that demand
attention. She admits she gets mobbed
in her home city. Do hopeful women try
to pass her their phone numbers when
she's out on the town? "Yeah, yeah," she
answers in her Yorkshire drawl, cool as
you please. "It's something that I've got
used to, you know."
Her first Olympic boxing triumph, at
the 2012 games in London, made her
not only the first female boxer ever to
represent Great Britain, but also the first
out LGBT person to win Olympic boxing
gold. After she competed in the 2016
Olympics in Rio, Adams was the first out
bi woman to win Olympic gold twice, and
the first British boxer to win back-to-back
gold.
Outside the ring, she's collecting a
handsome bevy of UK awards, too, including an MBE, awarded by the Queen
in 2013, in recognition of her services to
boxing and her unprecedented achievements in sports. "I actually wasn't expecting that," she admits. At 33, is she too
young to be considered a national-if not
global-treasure?
Becoming a role model both for women boxers and for women in the LGBT
community is something else Adams has
grown used to, and a task she takes seriously. "It makes me really honored and
proud. It's a nice thing for people to look
up to me so highly. I'd just like to keep on
inspiring." That shouldn't be too much
of a stretch, as a cursory glance at her
social media channels attests. There, as
well as on the street, young women tell
the champ several times a day how much
she's inspired them to take up a sport, especially boxing. "That's really, really nice
to hear," she says, coming as it does at a
time when the world might just about be
ready to watch women's boxing on TV.
Before 2012 some people didn't even
know that women's boxing existed,"
she tells me. "It's taken off quite well. I
guess they just need a big name to be
able to take it forward, in the women's
professional ranks as well." Could that
"big name" be Nicola? If it is, she's not
giving anything away. In fact, rather like
her cool game in the ring, Adams is a pro
at ducking and dodging the questions
she's not ready to answer. When I ask
about her plans for the future, she hints
at her chance to become a triple Olympic
champion. "We've never had that," she
observes, with a smile so wide it looks
like her whole head is grinning. "There's
always some history to be made, so I have
a lot to think about."
She's keeping quiet about her love life,
which is hardly surprising, given the media's obsession with the private lives of
famous women and their "gal pals." It's no
secret, however, that Adams's girlfriend
is 27-year-old American boxer Marlen Esparza, winner of the bronze medal in the
women's flyweight division at the 2012
games in London. The couple recently attended the London premiere of the new
Bridget Jones movie, and Esparza sometimes accompanies Adams to matches.
Nicola Adams was born in 1982. Growing up in east Leeds, she first developed
her love of boxing while watching Muhammad Ali on film as he beat the undefeated heavyweight champion George
Foreman (yes, he of the Grill fame) in the
historic 1974 boxing match dubbed The
Rumble in the Jungle.
Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard are still important guides to Adams. "They are my
heroes, past, present, and future. [It was
Ali's] character, in and outside the ring.
His ability in the ring, his speed, his footwork. He was a wicked boxer. He did so
much as a person. He was a boxer, civil
rights [activist]-everything.
All round,
just did the most."
At 12 years old, Adams found herself at
a boxing class when her mother couldn't
find a babysitter to look after her and her
younger brother Kurtis while she went to
the gym. The coach, who told her that
she'd be a champion if she followed his
instructions to the letter, didn't mind
that she was a girl. She must have been
listening hard, even then. "Before it was
an Olympic sport. I was 12 years old and
I was like, 'Yeah, I'm going to be a boxer
and I'm going to be in the Olympics one
day.' I just always had that dream," she remembers.
It was that dream that lead Adams to
fight her first match and win it when she
was 13, but because there were so few
young women in boxing at that time, it
OCT/NOV
2017
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55
"'+
would be four years before she found a
second opponent.
In 2001, she became the first woman
boxer ever to represent Great Britain,
winning gold and subsequently European gold, and world championship silver
twice. The following year she had to abstain from the sport for several months
due to a badly damaged vertebra. Despite
doctors and trainers thinking she might
never box again, she returned to success
at the 2010 World Championships, where
she took silver again, competing now at
flyweight (120 pounds). In the run-up to
the London 2012 Olympics, Adams won
a string of championships, eventually defeating Chinese boxer and world number
one Ren Cancan in the final to claim gold
in the first-ever Olympic women's boxing
competition.
Fast-forward to this year and the European qualifiers in April. Adams bagged
the gold there, ensuring her place in the
World Championships. Five weeks later,
she won the World Championships, also
a qualifying event and a tough one. Nabbing gold again won Adams the grand
slam-European,
Olympic, World, and
Commonwealth
Championship
titles,
making her the first British boxer ever to
56
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2017
achieve that, male or female.
Experts in the sports world say it's Adams's unique combination of skills that
give her the edge over her opponents.
She's fast, furious, and honed like a classical Greek statue. Her killer smile and
deadly boxing style are unparalleled.
"When she's in the ring, she just doesn't
let up," BBC sports correspondent Natalie Pirks notes, adding, "The fact that
she spars with men is really interesting."
Nicola also seeks out and takes all the
help she can, working with nutritionists,
physiologists, and trainers to prepare
her body and mind for all her tournaments, and living-as Ali did-by motivational maxims such as this one: "Tell me I
can't and that's why I will."
"Everything that you put in is what you
get out of the sport," she explains. "So
the harder you work, the more time you
dedicate yourself, the better you will be."
She may be known as the Baby-Faced
Assassin, but few boxers are more disciplined in the ring. "You can't get angry in
the ring. If you [do] and you lose control,
you'll get caught. Everybody thinks that
you get in there, you're angry, and you
start swinging away. But it doesn't work
like that. You always have to be under
control and thinking, all the time. It's like
a game of chess. You're trying to make
your opponent do things, to make mistakes, so that then you can capitalize on
them."
Is that what she did when she beat
Sarah Ourahmoune in Rio? Speaking on
British radio, she said her French opponent in the final was "really fierce, really
game; I knew she would give 110 percent
and she did." What kept her so focused
throughout the bout? "Just the thought
of winning, really, and wanting to become a double Olympic champion."
I wonder whether it is this sense of
purpose and self-belief that has been
the driving force throughout her life.
Shortly after her parents separated, her
mother, Dee, was ill for a time and young
Nicola bravely carried on, getting herself and Kurtis to school, cooking their
meals, and taking care of Kurtis at home,
as well as visiting her mom in the hospital. "We were a family who said, 'We'll
get through this,"' she says. It's this persevering spirit, I suspect, that has got
her through the hard times.
Now at the peak of her game, Adams
has no shortage of sponsors to choose
from. But I wonder if she feels that she,
like other women in sports, may have
missed opportunities as a result of being open about her sexual identity. "No,
no. Definitely not. I think my sponsors
and money's coming in quite well," she
counters.
Has she ever come across any biphobia within the profession? "No, luckily
I've never come up against anything like
that. I've always been quite well looked
after, and I think my friends and family, and my team that I have around me,
have always been really supportive."
What advice would she give to readers who want to work their way up in
boxing? "I would say, just be who you
are. Be comfortable. If you don't want to
come out, you don't have to come out. I
didn't actually come out. I was just who
I was. So I didn't do a whole announcement or anything. That's what worked
for me, just being myself. If you're a boxer or any sports person, how well you
do will be determined on how good you
are in the ring. So if you're good at your
sport, good at what you do, if you're
winning medals, gold medals speak for
themselves." •
0
GOLDEN
GIRLS:
KATE&HELE
RICHARDSONBY ROXY BOURDILLON
Your lives would make a great film," I
tell Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh.
Their story has serious blockbuster appeal. The pair met playing field hockey as
teenagers, fell in love as adults, and overcame career-threatening injuries and major sporting setbacks to win Olympic gold
for England. It's a heartwarming saga with
a strong emotional arc and queer women wielding giant wooden sticks. Who
wouldn't want to stuff their face full of
popcorn while watching that on the silver
screen?
They seem keen on the idea so I ask
who would play them in this sapphic double-biopic? Team captain Kate doesn't
need long to decide. "Jennifer Lawrence.
She's ballsy. She's like, 'This is who I am'."
What about her wife and teammate
Helen? While she's brilliant at hockey,
she's not so hot at naming celebrities.
After much deliberation she exclaims, "I
know! Whatshername out of Charlie's Angels!"
"Drew Barrymore?" offers Kate. "I knew
you were going to say her!"
The go-getting starlets are the perfect choice to portray these two women
whose resilience, dedication and ability
to kick ass spurred them on to take Rio
by storm.
After winning gold at the 2016 Summer
Olympics in Rio, Kate had the "massive
honor" of being the British flag bearer in
the closing ceremony and they've since
become national heroes, being interviewed by the likes of the BBC, the Guardian and Woman's Hour. Has it all sunk in
yet? Helen's "not sure it ever will" and her
wife agrees: "As a little girl watching the
Olympics you remember Sally Gunnell
standing on top of the podium, singing
the national anthem with tears coming
down her face, and you think that's amazing. It's certainly what we've always wanted even though sometimes it's seemed
quite far away."
Helen in particular has had to deal with
some overwhelming challenges on her
journey to Olympic gold. After the team
won bronze at London 2012, Helen had
two back surgeries within two years. She
trained as hard as she could but missed
out on selection for the 2014 World Cup.
"That was the lowest point of my career.
I wasn't sure whether I would make it
back."
Their thorough training paid off and
both Helen and teammate Hollie Webb
scored their all-important penalties. I ask
what it's like to realize you've won Olympic gold.
"Everyone goes mad," recalls Helen.
"You sprint the fastest you've ever
sprinted," adds Kate. "Then you start to
hug people. You look at them and you
see everything they've been through-I
mean, I'm crying now-every emotion is
right up there on the surface."
Was it extra special experiencing such
an emotional supernova with your wife by
your side?
"We know each other better than anybody else in the team," explains Kate.
"When we look at each other we see all
the ups and downs in minute detail. I
burst out crying when I hugged Helen. It
was so momentous to have gone through
all that. It was almost like it flashed before
my eyes."
Helen elaborates, "We've seen literally
every struggle that we've been through
as an individual and we've known that
each of us has wanted to become an
Olympic champion for so long. To finally
realize that and to do it together is really
special".
As the first same-sex married couple to
win gold at the Olympics, I ask if it's important to them to be part of LGBT history
as well as sporting history.
"It is," confirms Kate. "Before this we
were quite keen to keep our professional
lives and our home lives separate. But we
do understand that [being LGBT] is still
not acceptable everywhere. If sport is a
place where you can go and be yourself,
then we should absolutely promote that
as much as possible."
Since Rio, they've been inundated with
letters, emails and social media posts
from fans thanking them for their openness, saying that it's helped them to feel
more comfortable with their own sexuality. "That's so nice to hear," admits Helen.
"It's great that we can help just one person, let alone hopefully a few more."
Kate describes hockey as a wonderful
sport to be out in: "Being around teams
where there are lot of women of different
sexualities just made it more open and
more on the table. Some players have
actually been able to come out and feel
more comfortable in the team because
two of the older, more senior, players are
being open and talking about it."
It's clear from watching the squad
play that they're a close-knit group and
Helen sums it up perfectly: "What we've
achieved is fantastic but what will live
with me forever is how I felt within that
team. Not necessarily winning the gold
medal, but being around people who
want to achieve and strive to be the best
they can be. That's definitely the most
special thing."•
OCT/NOV
2017
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FEATURES/
THE L-LI
ut lesbian Scout Durwood is many
Javina Magness, a move that caught the
song for me to write because it was me
things:
eye of producer
voicing literal frustration," Durwood says.
comedian,
burlesque
dancer, singer, and actor-just
to
Dave Darling (Queen
Latifah, Tom Waits, Def Leppard).
The creation of Take One Thing Off
name a few. After years of divvying
"Dave came up to me after a show, and
involved many people, from the LGBTQ
up her time between these artistic
from there we sat down and were like,
endeavors, she has found that on
'What do we want to do?' I've always been
"So much of the world around this album
her debut album, Take One Thing Off,
a comedian who does a lot of music, or
is queer. The amount of queer people that
community, to Durwood's delight.
many of her passions intersect. Arriving
a musician who does a lot of comedy, so
have worked on the album, on promoting
at making an album wasn't exactly a
to put everything in one room was really
the album, on the videos, has been such a
straight line for the entertainer.
"I
got
nightlife
super-involved
with
queer
in New York and was go-go
dancing and living kind of a Studio 54
incredible, and it has been wonderful to
love fest. It has been very genderqueer, very
watch it take shape," she says.
girly;' she says.
Take One Thing Off is a combination
of Durwood's
talents.
Short
When asked if she has a favorite talent,
comedic
Durwood would prefer not to choose. "I'm
backed by a catchy beat
going to say I love them all, but I definitely
wild ride of an existence, and that threw
monologues
me into burlesque, and I was also doing
("The
mixed
with
have opinions. The thing I love is getting all
stand-up," Durwood says of her dizzying
ballads ("Fallin' in Love"), topped
with
the things I love into a room. Like, my dream
start in the entertainment business.
Wedding
Song"),
the eponymous pop show-stopper "Take
is to do Take One Thing Off as a burlesque
"Then I hit an age, and I was like, 'It's
One Thing Off," the album is truly a
show that turns into an hour-long comedy
now or never,' and I moved to Los Angeles.
showcase of all Durwood has to offer as
show. That's the dream:'
For me, it's kind of always happened all at
an entertainer.
once. I had an MTV show last year [Mary
In addition to entertainment, Durwood
"We knew we wanted to come in telling
recently started playing on a basketball
+ Jane] and that's what I did for three
the story of my life in burlesque, and I
team. The mentality that keeps her in the
months, and when that was done I did a
knew I wanted to do a parody of a song,
game often translates to life outside the
short film while we were waiting for the
so that became 'Go Go,' and I wanted
court. "I'm really proud of not giving up. It
album to come out. The trick for
is a brutal world and the reward
me is to always be focused and
system is not linear,so just waking
always be working on something.
It's the only way you can do all
these things," she says.
executive
MTV stoner comedy
produced
by rapper
Snoop Dogg, was a dip in the
waters of scripted television for
Durwood
who
played
Jordan,
one-half of a pair aiming to be
the most in-demand
up and staying in the game feels
great;' she says. "I joke that the
reason basketball is so fun is
Mary + Jane, the hysterical but
short-lived
"IWANT
TO
BE
AQUEER
ADVOCATEANDIWANTTO
MAKE
STORIES,
SO
THAT
OTHER
QUEER
PEOPLE
CAN
SEE
THEMSELVES
ON
TV"
marijuana
dealers in the Los Angeles area. It
that it doesn't really matter when
you have a good game. You can
just be proud of it. Whereas if so
much of your heart and soul in
life gets tied up in your craft, it's
harder to be proud of it. But if you
have a good game, you can just
be proud:'
As for being an out public
figure in a tumultuous time in the
was an experience she loved.
"That Mary + Jane family is still such a
to do a love song to alcohol, so that
United States, Durwood wants her art to
family, and the show is still so great. That
became 'All the Pretty Bottles.' So some
speak for itself.
show is done, but the family around it is
of it clicked into place, whereas 'Take
"I want to both be a queer advocate and
still alive," she says. "I'm rarely starstruck,
One Thing Off,' which is the first song we
march and wave my rainbow flag, and I
also just want to make stories, so that other
because, you know, we're all just a deck
wrote on the album, just fell out, so we
of cards, we all just get shuffled together,
decided to frame the album around that,"
queer people can watch them and see
but Snoop took my breath away a couple
she says.
themselves on TV, because I think that is
of times. You just couldn't not be 8 years
old. You're like, 'Oh my god, it's Snoop.' "
When Mary + Jane ended, Durwood
Durwood's
really undervalued. I forget until something
experience being queer, however, didn't
comes out that stars a queer woman how
come out so easily. "Dave was like, 'You
much it stirs you, and it's like, 'It's me! It's
Writing
a
song
about
hit a crossroads. After years working as
need to do a song about being queer,
me!' so I don't think we can be voiceless;'
a comedian, she started to miss singing.
about being gay,' and I was like, 'No, I'm
she says.
She got a role starring in the musical
good.' And he kept pushing it, and we
Original, about the life of blues singer
ended up with 'Here We Are,' the hardest
"My thing is, be visible. Tell your story,
sing your song." (scoutdurwood.com)
OCT/NOV
2017
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•
61
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FEATUREstCOVER
ST
On August 8, looking tired, Sue Bird sat down outside the visiting team's locker room after the Seattle Storm endured a lopsided 81-74 loss to the Connecticut Sun. The mood outside the Storm
locker room was subdued and unusually quiet. After all, the team
was struggling through a season that they should have been dominating, given their talented roster. They'd won only one game since
the All-Star break. Two days later, in a late-season push to make the
playoffs, the Seattle Storm fired their head coach, Jenny Boucek, after her two-plus mediocre seasons at the helm. On this night, if Bird
was frustrated with her team or soon-to-be-fired coach, she didn't
show it. She is, as always, the consummate professional.
At 36 years old, Bird is the oldest player in the WNBA and has seen
her fair share of head coaches and losses. But she's also seen more
than her fair share of wins, championships, and accolades, in large
part because she's considered by many to be the best point guard in
the history of the women's game. After a storied high school career
at basketball powerhouse Christ the King Regional High School in
Queens, N.Y.,Bird went on to UConn, where she led her Huskies to
a four-year overall record of 114-4, capturing two National Championships, a Wade Trophy, and a Naismith Award in the process. She
was drafted by the Seattle Storm in 2002 and won two WNBA Championships (2004, 2010). She won four Olympic gold medals (2004,
2008, 2012, 2016). She's one of only nine other women ever to
win an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, and a WNBA
Championship.
Yet even as her team's playoff future hung in the balance in what
might be her final season in the league (she laughs off questions
about her possible retirement), Bird was still acutely aware that the
luxury of doing what she loves at the highest level is granted to her
because of Title IX. And while she and her WNBA league-mates battle one another for the coveted WNBA title, off the court, Title IX is in
its own battle for survival.
Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in federally
funded education, including athletics, is under assault by the Trump
administration on its 45th anniversary. Trump's budget proposal recommends a 7 percent budget reduction for the Office of Civil Rights
BASKETBALL
DEMIGODDESS
SUE BIRDONTITLE
IX, THE WNBA,
ACTIVISM,AND
COMINGOUT.
BY LUCY J. MADISON
(OCR), which would force the department to slash approximately
27 jobs at a time when Title IX complaints are on the rise. Of the
current Title IX complaints, 80 percent focus on equality in sports,
which means that the proposed budget cuts would directly impact
the OCR's ability to investigate athletic discrimination.
When asked about the effect of Title IX on her, personally, Bird
settles into her folding chair and thinks for a moment. She says,
"Growing up, I played every sport. In my town, there was no girls'
soccer team, so I had to play on the boys' team. My code name was
Tail, because of my ponytail. Back then, I never realized how Title IX
impacted my life. Aside from having no girls' team to play on, sports
was always there. Now I understand it."
She knows it's not just about her generation any longer, that
younger generations are still benefiting from Title IX. "While it
seems easy to cut the funding, while it seems easy for people to ask
'What do we need it for now?' clearly, there is a trickle-down effect.
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FEATUREstCOVER
ST
We still need to push it and keep it in the forefront."
Speaking of being at the forefront, Bird also believes that the
WNBA has been leading the charge on many social issues for women since its inception in 1996, and the growth of social media has
given each individual player more of a voice than she ever had before. Bird believes that the younger players in the league bring more
of an awareness and confidence with them, in large part because of
how connected everyone is, thanks to today's technology.
"That progression is definitely something I've seen in my time
with the league, and not just with LGBTQ+issues. In Seattle, we celebrate Pride, we have a Go Green initiative, focus on breast cancer
awareness, and so many other issues. Players also support their own
charities and foundations."
It's often been said that politics and sports don't mix, but actually
they do. All the time. Back in 1967, Katherine Switzer became the
first female to compete in the Boston Marathon, even as the race
director tried to rip off her race number. And who can forget the
image of Jesse Owens on the podium saluting the American flag
during the long jump ceremony at the 1936 Berlin Olympics?
Bird understands now that having a voice on social issues is part
of her identity as a professional athlete. "Particularly as women, we
can use our league, our play, and our voices to talk about things
that women deal with on a daily basis. I do think there is something
special about a female having that power."
With female empowerment also come issues of sexism and homophobia. Bird has stated publicly that homophobia hurts the
league, while she adamantly shoots down any rumors that homophobia somehow exists within the league player-to-player. Instead, she asserts that the league is hurt by those people who assert
their homophobia by refusing to watch the WNBA, but will actively
disparage the league and its players.
"Back in the day when the NBA was looked upon as all black, the
racists in the world would not watch it. Our league is looked at as
predominantly gay." The parallels Bird draws between the NBA's
growing pains and the WNBA's are clear: The NBA weathered that
storm, and the WNBA will do the same.
Present homophobia notwithstanding, Bird made headlines recently for coming out as a lesbian in an ESPNWarticle, although the
headlines were noticeably less intense than when other professional
athletes had publicly announced their sexuality in the past. "It hasn't
made a ripple in terms of overall coverage, which is great," she says.
Bird is unassuming and humble about standing atop a platform for
social issues.
"There is a subtle difference between a public figure, which I
don't really identify with but in some regards I am, and Jane Doe
down the street in terms of coming out. Jane Doe just tells people
in her life. She's out, that's it. A public figure has to go public to be
out. By every other definition, I was out. It wasn't something I was
hiding."
The decision to announce her sexuality, and her relationship with
fellow Olympian and professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe,
was not premeditated. ESPNWsimply asked the question and she
OCT/NOV
2017
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65
MARKtTPlACt
answered it. "That wasn't my coming out article. I didn't contact
them to do that. It's not my personality to be like, 'Hey, look at me.'
It happened naturally and organically. Afterwards, I had to call my
agent and Megan to say, 'FYI, this is happening.'"
Bird is also confident and at ease in her own skin. "Coming out
was not uncomfortable because it's not something I am uncomfortable about. If it was something that I felt ashamed about, it would
probably have been harder. I'm sure it would be harder for somebody if they felt that way, but I don't.''
"This is a blanket statement for my whole life: I've always lived
my life, done my thing. I think the best parallel is me as a basketball
player. That's something people can see. I don't care about points or
personal accolades. I do my job. People see that. That's how I am off
the court. I just go about my business. I try to act a certain way and
be good to people. But it's not necessarily my personality to be at
the forefront. I'm actually a pretty shy person."
Shyness aside, Bird realizes that her actions, and the way in which
she chooses to live her life, can impact others who are struggling
with their own sexuality. "A nice byproduct is that I've been able to
help others just by living my life and being open about it. People
who were scared to come out now have some courage to do so. As
much as I didn't do it for that reason, it's nice to know I'm having that
positive impact for people." (suebirdonline.com) •
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72VOLUNTEERINGON VACATION
74VAGABONDGIRLS LIVETHE DREAM
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Denver is in a sweet spot these days.
The Mile-High City has undergone a
cultural and economic renaissance over
the past decade or so, and a recent visit
there revealed a metropolis teeming with
charisma.
There are new restaurants, shopping
strips, and bars cropping up everywhere.
Burgeoning neighborhoods
like RiNo
and Uptown are adding to the arts and
dining mix. And plenty of old-school
favorite spots are still going strong, some
of them restored to their former glory.
To top
it off, Denver's
LGBT
community is stronger than ever, with
an unforgettable PrideFest taking over
the city each June, a thriving Community
Center (glbtcolorado.org),
and yearround events like the CinemaQ queer
film festival (denverfilm.org).
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And to all this add great weather and
progressive thinking, plus the Rocky
Mountains and other incredible natural
landscapes, and Denver starts to seem
like a dream city.
Here's the catch: Locals know how
great they have it, and they're a little
wary of newcomers. Transplants from
cities across America are moving in,
eager to join the booming recreationalcannabis industry and shore up jobs in
every industry, from tech to culinary to
real estate.
During my visit, I asked lots of
Denverites about how their town has
evolved. Over and over I heard such
positive responses, so many bursts of
civic pride. But curiously, nearly every
native Coloradan followed this optimism
with a single sentiment: "Don't move
here." It was comically
consistent,
especially for a Brooklynite like me to
hear, since my own home borough has
undergone a similar influx of savvy urban
dwellers-and there's not a thing we can
do about it. It's just the nature of a great
city.
But for most of us, our travels are
simply holidays, not scouting trips. We're
just hoping to enjoy all that our getaway
destination has to offer. So Denverites,
please know that I proclaim your city to
be as much fun to visit as it probably is
to live there, and I hope you won't mind
sharing.
The first big thing to note about Denver
is the gastronomy. Colorado farmland
makes for crazy-good local ingredients,
and chefs here know how to use them.
Also, locals love to eat out. Right on
FEATURES/
trend, two stellar food halls have joined
the scene and are perfect ways to sample
a mix of restaurants. At the two-story
"collective eatery" that is Avanti Food &
Beverage (avantifandb.com) in Highland
Park, you'll find seven food vendors-like
Bamboo Sushi, Quiero Arepas, and The
Regional's American comfort food-plus
an upstairs craft-cocktail bar and lots of
open-air seating.
Over in the burgeoning River North
Art District, or "RiNo," The Source is
(thesourcedenver.com)
a
centuryold foundry building that has been
converted into a food market and retail/
gallery space. The industrial-meetsartisanal style works well, with lofty
ceilings, outdoor seating, and welldesigned enclaves for about 15 different
merchants, including a Mexican eatery, a
bakery, cheese and spice markets, and a
big island of a bar in the middle.
The Crooked Stave Artisan Beer
Project (csartisans.com) has an outpost
in The Source to sell its specialty sour
and otherwise
unusual brews-and
represents the kind of Denver quirkiness
that blends flavor, adventure, and
occasional inebriation. Not to mention
that anything in the craft-brewery domain
is welcome here, and you can get a map
of the Denver Beer Trail (denver.org) to
sample the city's suds.
RiNo is home to one of Denver's longrunning weekends-only LGBT nightclubs,
Tracks (tracksdenver.com), with a huge
dance floor and a friendly mixed crowd
that comes for theme parties, drag
shows, and even a monthly roller-skating
party.
But Capitol Hill is the main gayborhood
here, and you can roam Colfax Avenue
for your pick of flirty watering holes. Join
the local cowgirl/boy scene at Charlie's
(charliesdenver.com), where needing a
two-step partner is a perfect reason to
meet ladies-maybe
you'll even learn
something about the Colorado Gay
Rodeo Association. X Bar (xbardenver.
com) is an easygoing lounge with good
happy hours, karaoke nights, and a
Sunday beer bust that turns up the club
volume late on weekends.
Don't miss cocktails at Blush & Blu
(blushbludenver.com),
Denver's
last
official lesbian bar and cafe. Strong
drinks, friendly women, and events like
TRA
--
weekly comedy shows will give you a
taste of how the local lezzos do things
in the Queen City of the West (Denver's
fabulous other nickname).
You can walk or check out a B-Cycle
(denverbcycle.com)
and ride down
the hill to the Golden Triangle Creative
District, home to the city's major art
institutions. The Denver Art Museum
(denverartmuseum.org)
is huge but
manageable and well worth a visit for
its permanent and temporary exhibits.
Around the corner, the Clyfford Still
Museum (clyffordstillmuseum.org) is one
of the only art museums built especially
to complement
and illuminate
an
individual artist's style.
Around
the corner,
the brand70
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2017
new, super-cool
Kirkland
Museum
(kirklandmuseum.org) opens in spring
2018; it's designed as a series of salonstyle rooms that house different periods
of art and decor, including Bauhaus, Art
Nouveau, Art Deco, and more, as well as
Colorado regional art.
Round out your cultural immersion
by checking in atThe ART, a Hotel
(thearthotel.com),
where
every
marvelous piece of visual, sculptural,
and multimedia artworks were curated
especially for the property, many of them
created by world-renowned artists.
No place exhibits civic pride better than
Union Station
(unionstationindenver.
com), which wrapped up a $54 million
renovation in 2014 that made the still-
active train station one of the best
downtown hubs. You can have brunch
at the queer-friendly local chain Snooze,
browse indie shops like Tattered Cover
Book Store, and even spend the night
at the small luxury Crawford Hotel
(thecrawfordhotel.com).
Denver's investment in itself is clear
in the way it values and preserves its
local architecture,
balances culture
and commerce,
and celebrates its
own history and diversity. It's a fun
town that knows when to get down to
business. It's as if Colorado knew all
along that Denver would be its own
heavenly little capital, and the rest
of the world is finally catching on.
(denver.org/about-denver/lgbt)
•
FEATURES/
Jeannette Candau and Suzy Schutz's
common interests-food,
wine, travel,
and the outdoors-led
them not only to
marriage but to owning the European
walking vacations company, The Blue
Walk. Candau and Schutz enjoy learning
about new places and discovering the
paths less traveled-and
sharing them
with like-minded travelers in their guided
tours through picturesque regions of
France, Italy, Greece, and England. It's an
approach they learned through their own
adventures-such
as the time they took
a wrong turn down a country road in
Campania, Italy and ended up lost amid
vineyards. A passing farmer gave them
directions and invited them to meet his
family. "His wife brought out a spread
of wonderful cheese and meats, and of
course their house-made wine, while we
swapped stories of their home and our
travels. It was amazing," says Candau.
You won't get lost on a Blue Walk tour
but you will access what Schutz calls
"the golden part of travel-meeting
locals that allow us to crack open a
different culture and experience more
deeply what it really is to live there."
The tours consist of leisurely strolls or
hikes along stunning coastlines, open
countryside, down cobblestone streets,
through charming village squares, all
the while enjoying the great outdoors
and local culture. Hiking boots and
backpacks are optional, as all routes are
"people friendly." Art, wine, and yogathemed itineraries are also available.
Do they each have a favorite tour? "My
first tour was Greece, so it has a special
place for me," says Schutz. "Being out
on the ferry, traveling to the islands is
magical; peaceful, quiet and pristine."
But she's equally mesmerized by the
charm of Northern Italy, and the beauty
TRA
of the French Riviera.
Candau agrees. "A nice thing about
our French Riviera tour is that we stay in
Nice the entire time, and then walk or use
the local rail to move to these incredible
locations along the coast. You only
unpack once and still get to see a variety
of these iconic destinations."
They are both excited about a custom
trip they are creating for a group of
women to Italy's Emilia Romagna region,
best known for its incredible food
such as Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese,
prosciutto
di Parma, and balsamic
vinegar-plus plentiful wine. This region
is less traveled, but with a countryside
just as stunning as Tuscany, and the trip
will highlight many of the great culinary
offerings for which Italy is famous. "It's
coming together so well," says Schutz,
"we see adding this to our public tours
in the near future." (thebluewalk.com) •
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Just imagine! Mae-Dell Lacy, 87, has
been to every single place in the world
that has piqued her interest. "I have
always made sure to go all the places I
have wanted to go," says Lacy, about her
lifetime of world travel.
Now, people young and old can see
the remote corners of the world together,
bridgetheagegap, and help communities
in need, thanks to a new program forged
by two great organizations-SAGE and
Global Volunteers. SAGE is the nation's
largest organization providing advocacy
72
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2017
and services to LGBT elders.
Global Volunteers has pioneered shortterm international service programs
since 1984, waging peace by engaging
volunteers in meaningful projects in
developing communities
around the
world.
"Global Volunteers is the perfect
partner, as SAGE works to build ties
between younger and older people in
the LGBT community," says Susan Herr,
SAGE's chief engagement officer. "The
opportunity offered by Global Volunteers,
not only to serve people around the world
but to create meaningful connections
with a group of like-minded LGBT folks,
is invaluable."
But when Mae-Dell Lacy began
her globetrotting,
neither of these
organizations existed. In the early 1960s,
Lacy took a year and a half off from
teaching English in Los Angeles to travel
the world on cargo ships, hitting ports of
call in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Borneo,
Singapore, India, Yemen, Sudan, and
Lebanon, not to mention Europe.
FEATURES/
"Oh, we had lots of adventures," says
Lacy, who now lives in Berkeley, Calif.
"We almost got kidnapped in the Sudan."
For all the exotic corners of the world
she had ticked off her bucket list by the
time she was in her 30s, China was the
one place she still longed to see. Travel
restrictions kept her from adding the
country to her worldwide itinerary in the
1960s, but when the doors to tourism
opened in the early '80s, Lacy and her
mother were among the first to book a
trip.
In 1997, Linda Schlapp, now LGBT
program director for Global Volunteers,
was in her second year as a Global
Volunteer team leader in Xi'an, China.
But during that year, she received news
that her father was seriously ill.
"My father
was the one who
encouraged me to travel," Schlapp says,
"but he wasn't able to travel as much as
he would have liked. Even so, he had a
global spirit that he instilled in me."
Schlapp, who was in her early 30s
at the time, was seriously questioning
whether she should stay with her group
or return to the United States. Then she
met a woman three decades older, who
would become a friend for life: MaeDell Lacy. In her 60s at the time, Lacy
was a Global Volunteer teaching English
to Chinese students at a community
college.
"I had a big, bulky video camera, so
I suggested to Linda that she take the
camera and make a video that she could
send back home to her father," Lacy says.
Over the course of three weeks, Schlapp
used Lacy's camera to record the
wonders of China, including its massive
traffic jams, all interspersed with footage
of more than 100 well-wishers. When
Lacy returned to Los Angeles, she mailed
the video to Schlapp's father, so he could
get a taste of his daughter's experiences.
He cried with joy when he watched the
video. He died three months later.
Schlapp and Lacy probably would
never have formed their friendship had
it not been for their experience together
at Global Volunteers. "We wouldn't have
had this extraordinary opportunity to
share such a powerful moment in time.
And my family, especially my father and
I, would never have received such an
amazing gift that I still cherish to this
day," Schlapp recalls.
This is the beauty of Global Volunteers.
"It allows us to take down walls that keep
us apart and build friendships-like
the
one I built with Mae-Dell," says Schlapp.
"We shouldn't limit ourselves because
of our experiences, and we certainly
shouldn't limit our experiences because
of our age. Each generation has so much
to offer."
In addition
to making
life-long
friendships
with people across the
age spectrum, there are many other
tangible benefits in participating
in
a Global Volunteer trip. Participants
have the opportunity to help in-need
communities around the world, and to
provide hands-on help with important
development
projects,
which
can
TRA
range from infrastructure support and
education to nutrition and health care.
And while doing good, participants are
able to see the world, build relationships,
and deduct all their travel expenses from
their taxes.
Global Volunteers has several trips
on the horizon. Two Vietnam tours are
in the works: one from October 14,
2017, to October 27, 2017, and another
from October 13, 2018, to October 27,
2018. All the programs in Vietnam offer
opportunities to meet with the local
LGBT community in Hanoi.
Two trips to Cuba are also planned.
One to Sancti Spiritus will be from
November 4, 2017, to November 18, 2017.
The other will take place in Havana from
May 5, 2018, to May 19, 2018, and will
correspond with Havana Pride, which is
celebrated around the International Day
Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and
Biphobia, on May 17,2018.
Schlapp adds that Global Volunteers
are welcome to create their own groups
or join any of its general teams going
to locations that have been thoroughly
vetted and approved to be welcoming to
members of the LGBT population. Those
destinations include the Cook Islands,
Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Italy, Greece,
Mexico, the Blackfeet Nation in Montana,
Peru, and Vietnam.
"The
best
thing
about
Global
Volunteers is meeting people," says
Lacy. "And you're helping people. It's
a really good way to see the world."
(lgbt.globalvolunteers.org) •
Most of us have gazed up at a brilliant
night sky or across an infinite sea, feeling
the deep, longing pull of wanderlust. We
sigh, then return to jobs and bills and
responsibilities.
Yet some hear that siren call and turn
not away, but toward it.
Nashville couple Sunny Eaton and
Karin Balsley chose a path less traveled
nearly two years ago, and found it's no
coincidence that "wander" is so very
close to "wonder."
Their story has the makings of a great
country song: They sold everything,
bought a 1997 Toyota Landcruiser,
packed up their dog Gracie, and headed
off on an ambitious overland trek down
the PanAmerican Highway toward Tierra
del Fuego, the southernmost tip of South
America.
74
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
"When you look back at a year in your
life and can't distinguish one day from
the next, it's time to make a change,"
Sunny says. "We weren't happy with our
lives' trajectory. Now, every day is new,
exciting, challenging and meaningful."
So far, they've explored the U.S.,
Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize,
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and
Panama.
As the wheels turn and they unfurl
their rooftop tent on deserted vistas,
thousands accompany them via their
captivating,
self-deprecating
blog,
"Vagabroads: An Overland Journey from
Nashville to the End of the World."
Together since 2012, Sunny, a criminal
defense attorney, and Karin, a systems
engineer, had everything we all work for:
a house, nice cars, close friends, loving
families, health insurance.
So why would a glamorous couple
ditch it all for car wheels on a gravel
road and a rooftop tent? It started with a
series of obstacles, capped by a year and
a half of treatment and recovery from a
rare disease called Eagle's Syndrome for
Karin.
"It's such a cliche, but life smacked
us in the face and reminded us of its
fragility," says Sunny. "We didn't want to
waste another second."
The couple did some serious soulsearching, usually over a glass or two of
cabernet. Key themes crystallized: travel,
exploration, healthy living, creativity,
time together. Soon, the decision was
made. Life would change, dramatically.
With the what and the why decided,
that left only the how.
FEATURES/
"We researched backpacking, then
realized we're maybe a little too highmaintenance for that," Karin says.
"Then we discovered this community
of people driving all over the world
in their cars, to places we didn't even
know you could drive. It was a way of life
that deeply resonated with us. It was ...
freedom."
While successful, they didn't have
a trust fund. There was no lottery win,
no big windfall or inheritance. They cut
back on nights in Nashville bars listening
to songwriter friends. They sold off
everything they owned, down to their
shoes and dishes.
"We gave upa lot-not just possessions
and dinners out, but security, career
growth, our nest egg," Sunny says.
Friends were skeptical, worried about
them traveling through countries with
reputations for violence and misogyny.
And the couple is honest enough to
admit they also bought into those fears.
"We knew nothing!" Sunny says.
"Our stereotypes
were of violence
and robberies and murders. It was so
ridiculous. Within a few days of arriving
in Mexico, I realized that I'm a fucking
idiot. We had to drop those fears of
shadows around every corner. No one is
after us. They're warm, loving, modest,
smart people, and we're not as important
as we thought we were."
Traveling as a lesbian couple hasn't
been a problem, either.
"It seems like Latin American men
go out of their way to make us feel
comfortable," Karin says. "Mexico was
very welcoming, and Costa Rica was
progressive. We were more careful in
Belize, because it's still not a safe place
for gay people. But the more we tried to
act like friends, not spouses, the more
obvious we were. It's unnatural not to
just be who we are."
While everything is different, not
everything gets coated with romantic
fairy dust.
"Your problems and responsibilities
don't disappear when you hit the road,"
Sunny says. "The 'we sold everything?!'
fear still skyrockets, just as you're
watching
a glittering
lightshow
of
shooting stars under a perfect sky."
One difficult time came on news
from home.
After the election in November, the
LGBT community
reeled, afraid that
hard-earned rights would be lost under
a Trump administration.
Via dodgy Wi-Fi, Sunny immediately
launched the LGBT Legal Relief Fund,
drafting fellow attorneys to help gay and
trans people complete legal documents
to protect themselves. The Fund so far
has helped 126 people, from formalizing
adoptions to estate planning.
"No matter where I am, I'm always
two things: a lawyer and a gay woman,"
Sunny explains. "That means doing
everything I can to protect my gay
brothers and sisters, to help us achieve
equality and protect our love. I have to
do whatever I can to that end, or nothing
TRA
else I do matters."
But by far the most heartbreaking
days involved Gracie. The beloved pup
became sick a year into the trip. Karin
and Sunny spent countless hours finding
qualified veterinarians and consulting
with experts in the U.S.
When the diagnosis came, it was
devastating. Gracie had cancer, and
it was terminal. They sobbed in each
other's arms, cursed more than a bit, and
decided that Gracie's last months would
be doggie heaven on earth, laced with
favorite meals and unlimited time on the
beaches she adored.
After weeks of extra love, brave, strong
Gracie left their side in March, and a
shattered Sunny wrote perhaps the most
heartrending Facebook obituary ever
penned for a pup. Later, they donated
her leftover veterinary supplies to
WorldVets in Nicaragua, because Gracie
would have wanted it that way.
"Losing Gracie was one of the most
difficult things we've ever gone through,"
a still-grieving Sunny says. "We feel so
lucky that in her last months, we were
able to be with her 24/7, exploring the
world, climbing mountains and running
on beaches."
The velvet along this overlanding path
has far overshadowed the pain of her
loss, the fears, the political outrage.
Karin expertly gunning the Landcruiser
through rivers, up the sides of volcanos
and over roads best described as
suggestions. A random meetup with
Daniela Sea ("Max" on The L Word) in
Antigua. Having breakfast with the Mayor
of La Libertad in El Salvador.
"We've nearly slid off the side of a
mountain," Sunny says. "We've sunk
axle-deep in sand on a deserted Mexican
beach. We've been lost in the mountains
of Guatemala with no GPS. We've come
face-to-face
with the world's most
venomous snake and one of its deadliest
spiders. No matter what we face, we now
know that we can handle it."
And along the way, in generous
service to their fellow sisters, they've
taken copious notes to create a new blog
post of the best lesbian bars in the world
at: vagabroads.com/blog/best-lesbianbars-worldwide.
Then there are the new lifelong
friendships, forged in shared community.
The couple's drive for connection led
them to start a private Facebook group
just for overlanding women-and within
three weeks, it had nearly 400 members.
They share support, tips, photos and
stories. There's even a book in the works.
Karin even took advantage of the
Facebook page to ask a very important
question: "Hey ladies! Has anyone run
across any Paul Mitchell hair products
at a reasonable price in El Salvador,
Guatemala or Mexico?"
"It's hard being 'girlie' on the road,"
she says with a laugh. "I used to own
every product out there, but now I've
been relegated to one small bathroom
bag. Sunny and I have gotten to see
each other in every scenario possible,
and thankfully our love has proven to be
more than skin deep."
This life isn't for everyone, they
know. It has changed them, deeply and
profoundly.
" 'Finishing' the trip is no longer the
goal," Sunny says simply. "Our time on
the road is priceless. Our days are so
rich, so layered, so vibrant, and we've
grown so much as individuals and as
a couple. Now, we revel in what we've
missed before. The woven colors of life,
vibrant skies, robust smells, enchanting
people. We'll never be the same."
In fact, as they head back to Nashville
this month to recharge before continuing
their journey, the couple worries how
they'll fit back into their old world, seeing
life as they do through new lenses.
"As soon as we get there, we'll start
putting things together so we can hit the
road again," Sunny says. "That's where
our home is now.
"We don't want to check off an
accomplishment. We've truly found a
new life, one much more extraordinary."
(vagabroads.com) •
Follow the Vagabroads
lnstagram: @thevagabroads
Facebook.com/vagabroads/
Twitter: @vagabroads
TLOOK/
CROSSWORD
THE
L-OUIZ
Test your
lesbian knowledge
with our queer crossword.
BY MYLES MELLOR
ACROSS
1. Trans hero with Seal
Team Six, 2 words
8. Popular lesbian talk
show host
9. Founder of Aids Walk
San Diego and legendary
caregiver, Susan
10. Semiannual, for short
11. Goal for many lesbian
heroines (fair treatment)
13. Asian-American lesbian
activist and biologist,_
Chan
14. Boston locale
15. American lesbian
activist who cofounded
Daughters of Bilitis, 2
words
18. Stole
19. Listener
20. Night gear, for short
78
CURVE
OCT/NOV
2017
21. Veteran of the Stonewall
Riots, Silvia_
24. Tennis star who was one
of the first openly gay
athletes, Martina
26. More in Spanish
27. Romantic flowers
28. L Word star, Jennifer_
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
DOWN
Someone to hold onto
Malicious
Got all excited
Turn down
Famous fruit picker
Hobby shop buy
"Black lesbian, feminist
mother, warrior, poet" in
her own words, Audre_
9. Blue bird
10. Vogue
12.
13.
14.
16.
17.
18.
20.
22.
23.
25.
Wedding
Pickle container
Lily with tulip-like flowers
Damage
and dearest
Foremother of the LGBTQ
movement, Tamara_
Juliette_,
CEO of Pink
Lobster Dating
Tests
Arm or a leg
Bugs for example, abbr.
LAST LOOK/
ST
Falling
ForHer
Give a little boo to you-know-who this autumn as Mars
and Venus glide from earthy Virgo into flirty Libra.
BY CHARLENE LICHTENSTEIN
ARIES
(MARCH
21-APRIL
20)
BATTLEOF THE SEXESSTAR
EMMA STONE
was born on November 8, 1988.
SCORPIO
(OCT24-NOV
22)
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Charlene
Lichtenstein
istheauthor 1/,
1/,
of HerScopes:
A Guide
toAstrology1/,
(Simon
& Schuster)1/,
ForLesbians
1/,
nowavailable
asanebook. 1/,
1/,
Sapphic Scorps are virile
gals who can withstand
ongoing torture and even
the occasional cold and flu.
They tend to have strong
constitutions, even if they
are not particularly active or
athletic. While other water
signs (Pisces and Cancer)
are generally thought of as
less robust and prone to
bouts of depression, nervous conditions and general
nagging ailments, Scorpio
dykes are about as frail as
a driving steamroller or a
falling anvil.
If you can get yourself ship
shape, you find that cruise
season extends well into
autumn. Aries can navigate
any social stew and gather up
bosom buddies to launch a
flotilla. But be choosey when it
comes to the one lovergrrl who
can really float your boat. You
may be in over your head.
LEO
(JULY
24-AUG
23)
Put your money where your
mouth is this autumn. If you
want circumstances to change,
fund it and move it along.
Become a powerbroker who
makes things happen. Impress
the ladies with your financial
acumen and generosity. Where
will you spend your energies?
Oh, let's guess, Leo.
SAGITTARIUS
(NOV
23-DEC
22)
TAURUS
(APRIL
21-MAY
21)
VIRGO
(AUG
24-SEPT
23)
Virgos become super-focused
this autumn, as anything they
can envision, they can achieve.
Don't hang around the house
and wait for the front doorbell
to ring. Get Out and about,
meet influential power elites
who can help you along. Make
small thoughts become big
movements. Make the earth
move for you-know-who.
CAPRICORN
(DEC
23-JAN
20)
Caps may have the urge to
travel and cast their net far and
wide. Explore the world before
time and money become tight.
You will have the opportunity
to hook up with an exotic and
passionate travel companion
on your journey. She can
become your own personal
grand adventure.
GEMINI
(MAY
22-JUNE
21)
LIBRA
(SEPT
24-OCT
23)
Your temperature is rising as
autumn gets underway. What
is turning you on, Aqueerius?
It seems almost everyone
and everything can get you
excited. You have boundless
sexual energy that demands to
be sated. Find your hotspots
at the 'meet' market and see
who gets on your wavelength.
Whew! Overload!
Expect to have a frenetic
and exciting autumn as your
personal projects rev into
overdrive. But try to conserve
your energies and dole out
your efforts carefully so that
you can go the distance. And
that goes for the romantic
possibilities that will be pulled
into your magnetic orbit. You
are a force, Taurus.
Plan more at home activities,
Gemini. They will add fun,
flirtation and frolic to your life,
which seems to be too sedate
recently. Loosen the bonds
of your creativity and take
flight. Who knows who you will
attract when the leash is off. Of
course, there are some ladies
who prefer the leash. Give
them what they want.
There are so many interesting
things swirling around in the
background that you may not
be totally aware of the effect
you have on others. Libras are
especially sexy now and charm
the hearts of so many women
that, for some, heartbreak is
inevitable. Be kind, diplomatic
and practical in the fall party
season.
CANCER
UUNE
22-JULY
23)
SCORPIO
(OCT
24-NOV
22)
Cancers seem to know just
what to say to get exactly what
they want. The big question is,
do you really know what you
want? Give consideration to
improving relationships with
long-lost relatives or estranged
family members. You may be
surprised at how the tables
have turned. Then you can eat
(tinyurl.com/HerScopes) their dinner.
Gal pals vie for your attention
and you are happy to let the
crowd carry you for-ward. But
a wise Scorpio will hold back
from the groupthink and spring
a few festive surprises later
in autumn. Who knows, you
may turn a few girlfriends into
lovergrrls. Will you find a few
gems in the trash? Of course
some of us are into trash.
Sagittarians may not know
how to channel their corporate
influence now, but don't
worry. Not only do you have
personal oil to spare, you
will find that bosom buddies
offer you advice on how to
spread it around. You may find
yourself sliding up the ladder
to success. Don't slip off!
AQUARIUS
UAN
21-FEB
19)
PISCES
(FEB
2O-MARCH
20)
Guppies find themselves
embroiled in a range of
relationship issues. What
you will need to decide this
autumn is whether a certain
partnership gives you everything that you need. Does it
have the passion and intensity
that will hold your interest? If
not, have a heart to heart with
her and see if you can start a
raging fire.
OCT/NOV
2017
CURVE
79
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