June - QueeriesTV

www.GayDayton.org
Volume 9, Issue 6
June 2009
Map
Events
Articles
Calendar
Calendar of Events
May 30
Gay Men’s Chorus Presents: BraviSEAmo at the
Victoria Theatre
June 3
Greater Dayton Pride Dinner at the Pontz Center
Malcom Lazin, keynote and Poppy Champlin
June 4
Pride Night at the Neon Movies featuring the Saint
of 911 Executive Producer Malcom Lazin will do
a Q & A.
June 5
Pride Night on the Quad
June 6
Pride Fest at Courthouse and Parade kick off at
Cooper Park.
June 9
PFLAG monthly meeting at Cross Creek
June 13
Cincinnati Pride
June 20
Columbus Pride and Parade
June 28
Pride Picnic @ Irelan Park 2 - 5 pm
Gay Dayton is published monthly by Gay Dayton Press
Randy Phillips, owner
E-mail:
[email protected]
Phone:
937-623-1590
All ads must be placed by the 10th of the month prior to inclusion. For Rates
call: 937-623-1590 or check out: www.gaydayton.org/advertise.htm Inclusion in
this publication does not indicate the sexual orention of any person or business.
All advertisers welcome the business of the LGBT community. All material is
copyrighted 2009 by Gay Dayton Press.
P.O. Box 4436, Dayton, Ohio 45401-4436 All Rights Reserved.
by: Terri Schlichenmeyer
aka: “The Book Worm”
[email protected]
“Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and
Weakens America” by Nathaniel Frank
c.2009, Thomas Dunne Books
$25.95 / $28.95
Canada
342 pages, includes notes and index
Sometimes, it occurs to you that
purchasing stock in yellow ribbons
might’ve been a smart move.
Drive down any street in America, and
you’ll notice ribbons on fences, trees,
and doors. There are yellow-ribbon
magnets on cars, buttons with the loopde-loop yellow icons, t-shirts with
yellow emblems, all in support of our
troops.
But for many of the troops – those who were honest and “told” in
the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military - there won’t be any medals
or commendations, and no ribbons. In the new book “Unfriendly
Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens
America” by Nathaniel Frank, you’ll see how detrimental this
policy is and how it’s affected our national security.
On March 1, 1994, despite protests against it, the U.S. military’s
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue” policy went into effect.
The policy sounded like it a way for the military to look the other
way when it came to lesbians and gays in uniform, a sort of “we
just won’t discuss it” edict. Instead, it meant that superiors weren’t
allowed – by law – to ask about a soldier’s sexual orientation, and
soldiers weren’t supposed to admit their gayness under penalty of
being discharged.
The former wasn’t enforced. The latter happened all too frequently.
But, as Frank points out, gays and lesbians have a long history in
the military, both historically and now. He says that “An estimated
sixty-five thousand gay and lesbian Americans currently serve
in uniform…” and without them, the military would be woefully
inadequate in effectiveness.
Frank describes many cases of uniformed soldiers who have
risen through the ranks, gotten high marks from their superiors,
and become important assets to their departments, but were
unceremoniously dumped from their positions when their
homosexuality came to light. Unsurprisingly, because of “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell”, he reports of dozens of gay men and lesbian
women who were harassed, victimized, and who hastily left the
military for their own safety. Top brass claimed it was banning
gay behavior and not gays specifically, which Frank points out
is double-talk. By banning gay behavior, they were explicitly,
inherently banning gays.
But Frank also reports some emerging good news: openly gay
military personnel increasingly report rules that are relaxing or
being ignored altogether.
If nothing else, “Unfriendly Fire” is highly researched; a good
30 pages of this book is devoted to notes on the text, and author
Nathaniel Frank is extremely explicit in his definition of terms.
But therein lies the problem: it’s too thorough. Much of this book
consists of history, political minutiae, and decade-and-a-half-old
Washington and Pentagon wrangling. That will tell you how this
policy came to be and why it’s monumental, but it doesn’t give
much information on how it affects troops now. Since I was more
interested in what the sub-title promised, I was disappointed in
most of this book.
If you’re a military historian or have had experience with the “gay
ban”, you might like “Unfriendly Fire”. For casual and mildly
curious readers, though, don’t burn up your time with it.
Pride Picnic 2009 to Celebrate 40th Anniversary
Stonewall Riots
June 28, 2009, is the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall
Riots. Wrap up Pride Month this year by celebrating this
important day with members of the local LGBT community
and allies from Dayton-area welcoming and affirming faith
communities.
The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent
demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the
early morning hours of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, in
the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. They
are frequently cited as the first instance in American history
when gays and lesbians fought back against a governmentsponsored system that persecuted homosexuals, and they
have become the defining event that marked the start of
the gay rights movement in the United States and around
the world.
The commemorative picnic will be held on
Sunday, June 28, from 2:00 to 5:00 (lunch at
3:00). The location is Irelan Park (4532 Marshall
Road at East David Road). Additional parking
is available on Marstead Drive. The hosting
organizations will provide burgers and hot dogs.
Bring a side dish or dessert to share.
There is a grass volleyball court nearby, along with
playground equipment. Games will be provided as well.
So far, the sponsoring organizations include the following
members of Woven Branches, an interfaith GLBT advocacy
group: St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Grace United
Methodist, Cross Creek Community Church, and the Miami
Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. If you are part of a
welcoming faith community that would like to join in hosting
this event, please contact Joe Law ([email protected]).
elmont
hysicians
Barry S. McCorkle, M.D.
Compassionate care for our community delivered
in a warm and welcoming environment!
Convenient Access
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Same Day Appointments Available
Providing Medical Care to Adults such as:
Physicals, Chronic Disease
Management, Routine GYN Care,
HIV Management
Belmont Physicians Internal Medicine
2451 Wayne Avenue, Dayton, OH 45420
www.BelmontPhysicians.com
(937) 208-7374
The Rubi Girls to Lead PRIDE Parade
During this year’s LGBT PRIDE events, Dayton’s Pride
Partnership will pay tribute to the 25th Anniversary
of AIDS Resource Center Ohio. As part of that
history, the Rubi Girls will be honored.
The Rubi Girls, a local troupe of drag performers, began putting
on shows for one another in the mid
1980’s. Initially, it was all in fun.
When the AIDS crisis hit, they made
the transition to public performances
in order to help raise funds for those
in the community living with HIV.
Their presence has been in demand
at fundraising efforts around Dayton
and across Ohio for over a decade,
and the Pride Partnership has now
named them “Grand Marshalls” of this year’s PRIDE Parade.
The PRIDE Parade will step off from Cooper Park on Saturday,
June 6 at Noon. It will end at Courthouse Square where the
“Girls” will be honored at the start of PRIDEFest - which will go
until 6:00.
In addition to the Parade & PrideFest, AIDS Resource Center Ohio
and The Rubi Girls will also be honored at the PRIDE Dinner
Celebration at the Ponitz Center. This annual dinner will take
place on Wednesday June 3, 2009 at 6 PM. The event will begin
with cocktails and hor d’oeuvres and will be followed by a dinner
and special guests at 7 PM . To purchase the $45.00 tickets go to
Q-Gifts at 1904 North Main or 464 on 5th in the Oregon District.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.pridedayton.com or www.
daytonlgbtcenter.com. On top of the local tributes, Malcolm Lazin,
the Executive Director of the Equality Forum in Philadelphia,
will address the attendees on this year’s theme “United in Pride,
Many Faces, One Community”. Following his presentation,
nationally acclaimed Comedienne Poppy Champlin, will entertain
the audience.
Line up for Dayton PrideFest ’09
Dayton PrideFest ’09 United in Pride! Many Faces, One
Community! starts on May 30 and continues through June 28,
2009. BraviSEAmo, the annual spring concert by the Dayton Gay
Men’s Chorus, will kick off the events on May 30th at the Victoria
Theatre.
Next, the Pride Dinner will
be held on Wednesday June
3 at Sinclair Community
College featuring nationally
acclaimed comedienne
Poppy Champlin and
keynote speaker Malcolm
Lazin of the Equality Forum
in Philadelphia.
Pride Night at the Neon will follow on Thursday June 4, 2009 with
a screening of “Saint of 9/11.
Friday June 5th is Pride Nite on the Quad at the New LGBT
Center. Pride Nite on the Quad features a Car show, a cocktail
party to honor AIDS
Resource Center Ohio and
the Pride Partners and is
followed by a Gala Monte
Carlo.
The week will end with the
regular Dayton PrideFest
Parade and Rally on
Saturday June 6th beginning
with an 11 AM line up at
Cooper Park and the rally which follows at Courthouse Square.
At the end of the month, there will be a Pride Picnic with food and
games at Irelan Park in Kettering. Go to
www.pridedayton.com for more details and the read the full
articles in this newsletter about Dayton PrideFest ’09
United in Pride! Many Faces, One Community!
History of Gay Flag
May 30th is the 30th anniversary of the first appearance of the
rainbow flag at a gay pride event. Gilbert Baker designed the
flag which was used for the 1978 Gay Freedom Parade in San
Francisco.
Baker’s original design can be seen
below, with the stripes signifying
(from top to bottom) sexuality, life,
healing, sunlight, nature, magic,
serenity and spirit. Subsequent
changes dropped sexuality and
magic to give us the more familiar
arrangement seen in the photo
above but it seems Baker would
prefer everyone to revert to his original design.
I wouldn’t mind seeing the original design returned to in order to
distinguish it from the many other rainbow flags. But it may well
be too late for that now, the six stripe flag is firmly embedded in
gay culture. It has the advantage of being highly visible, which is
the point of course.
Get Yourself
Noticed
Place your
Advertising
Message Today!
Call Randy at
937-623-1590
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David R. Morse
12 S. Central Ave
Fairborn, OH 45324
937.318.1100 vox
937.318.1111 fax
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Grand Pride Marshals
Squealin’ with Pride in ‘09
June 13 – 14, 2009
Greater Cincinnati & NKy
Pride Festival & Parade
John A. Maddux
Cheryl Eagleson
John A. Maddux: Professor, Poet, and Political Activist
John Maddux earned his Doctorate of Education at the University
of Cincinnati in 1988, and has taught there since 1987. He is now
an associate professor of English and Rhetoric in the College of
Arts and Sciences and has an appointment in the University Honors Scholars Program where he teachers a course on civil disobedience and political protest. Maddux has written extensively,
with publications including a book of poetry, a collection of queer
themed essays, numerous poems in literary journals and small
magazines, and a Star Trek trivia book.
Cheryl Eagleson: Business Leader, Organizer & Advocate
Cheryl is a regional business leader who has been active in the
GLBT community for twenty years. She holds an M Ed. from
Xavier University and a BA and BS Ed. from the University of
Cincinnati.
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M Men
Y Young
1. Argo’s 301 Mabel Street - 252-2976 (M-L)
3. Aquarus: 131 E. Second St - 223-1723 - (M-L-S-D-C-18+)
6. LadyHawks: 2600 Valley Pike - 233-5879 (W)
7. Masque: 34 N. Jefferson St - 228-2582 ( Y-D-DG-S-V-K-E-AH-A-G/S-18+M-W)
8. The Right Corner: 105 E. Third St - 228-1285 (M-NH)
9. The Stage Door: 44 N. Jefferson St - 223-7418 (C-L-M)
10. Up On Main: 1919 N. Main Street - 278-3650 (W-DG-E-K-D)
11. Q-gift: 1904 N. Main St. - 274-4400
12. 464 on Fifth: 464 Fifth St. - 228-3584
13. Mj’s Café: 119 E. Third St - http://www.mjscafedayton.com (F-M-D-S-K-AH)