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Transcription

ninimomo

JUNE 2016
® ISSUE 150 • FREE
The Voice of Alberta’s LGBTQ Community
Interview with
MARIAH
CAREY
Manila Luzon
Unabashed Creator
Lea DeLaria
Butch Beneath Our Wings
PLUS:
Rufus Wainwright
Garrett Wang • Lena Dunham
Lethbridge Pride 2016
...and more!
Business Directory
Scan to Read on
Mobile Devices
Community Map
Calgary • Alberta • Canada
Events Calendar
Jinkx Monsoon
Making waves post Drag Race win
Tourist Information
STARTING ON PAGE 55
www.gaycalgary.com
4
GayCalgary Magazine #150, June 2016
www.gaycalgary.com
Table of Contents
JUNE 2016
®
Videography
Photography
Steve Polyak
Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino,
B&J
Sales
Steve Polyak
Videography
[email protected]
Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino
Legal Council
Courtney Aarbo,Printers
Barristers and Solicitors
North Hill News/Central Web
General Inquiries
®
GayCalgary
Magazine
Distribution
2136 17th
Avenue
SW
Calgary:
Gallant
Distribution
Calgary,GayCalgary
AB, CanadaStaff
T2T 0G3
[email protected]
Edmonton:
Clark’s Distribution
Other: Canada Post
Office Hours: By appointment ONLY
Legal403-543-6960
Council
Phone:
Courtney
and Solicitors
Toll Aarbo,
Free: Barristers
1-888-543-6960
Fax: 403-703-0685
[email protected]
& General Inquiries
E-Mail:
GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine
This Month's
Cover
2136
17th Avenue
SW
Main: MariahCalgary,
Carey, photo
by Denise Truscello.
AB, Canada
Top Right: Manila Luzon,
photo courtesy Producer
T2T 0G3
Entertainment. Mid Right: Lea DeLaria, photo by
Netflix. Bottom
Right:
Monsoon, photo
by
Office
Hours:
ByJinkx
appointment
ONLY
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403-543-6960
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E-Mail: [email protected]
This Month's Cover
Cher and Christina Aguilera courtesy of Sony
Pictures; Annie Lennox courtesy of Mike Owen;
Goudie. of:
ProudRexMembers
Proud Members of:
Words from the Publisher
150th Edition, Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo, and Pride
PAGE 12
11 Stage West’s Young Frankenstein is
Electrifying
12Lethbridge Pride
Colouring the streets in rainbow
13Garrett Wang
Live from the Lethbridge EXPO
15Monsoon Season
Iconic queen on making waves post Drag Race win
19 Discussing Community Safety
Domestic Violence
20Manila Luzon, Unabashed
Creator
e
n
zi
How food, fan art, and free drinks inspire drag’s most famous concept
queen
a
g
a
24 Deep Inside Hollywood
Alan Cumming in ‘After Louie,’ Ellen DeGeneres, Teyonah Parris, Jessica
Lange
m
26 HIV in America
Hatred and Acceptance
27The Unruly World of Rufus
Wainwright
PAGE 15
Writers and Contributors
Mercedes
BrandonAllen,
Schultz,
Chris
Chris
Azzopardi,
Azzopardi,
Dallas
Constable
Barnes,
Andy
DaveBuck,
Brousseau,
Dave Brousseau,
Sam Casselman,
Jason Jason
Clevett,Clevett,
Krista
Sylvester,
Andrew Collins,
Mikey Emily
Rox, Myles
Collins,
Helfand,
Rob Diaz-Marino,
Romeo San
Vicente,
Janine Eva
Steve
Trotta,
Polyak,
JackV.N.
Fertig,
Winnick,
Glen Hanson,
and the LGBT
Joan
Hilty,
Community
Evan Kayne,
of Calgary,
Stephen
Edmonton,
Lock, Neil
andMcMullen,
Alberta.
Allan Neuwirth, Steve Polyak, Carey Rutherford,
Romeo San Vicente,
Ed Sikov, Nick Vivian and
Photography
the GLBT Community
of Calgary,
Edmonton, and
Steve Polyak,
Jeff & Brian
Alberta.
7
PAGE 13
Publisher
Publisher:
& Editor:
SteveSteve
Polyak
Polyak
Copy
Editor:
Editor:
RobJanine
Diaz-Marino
Eva-Trotta
Sales: Steve Polyak
Design & Layout:
Rob Diaz-Marino,
Steve Polyak
Ara Shimoon
Singer-songwriter on being ‘the gay Elizabeth Taylor,’ giving up on
Björk and not jibing with the LGBT community
National Lesbian & Gay
Journalists Association
Girls creator on recognizing ‘seemingly mundane’ LGBT issues,
channeling masculinity and the influence of her sister’s queerness
Gay European Tourism
Association
PAGE 20
33Lena Dunham Mans Up
International Gay & Lesbian
Travel Association
Continued on Next Page 
www.gaycalgary.com
5
Table of Contents
 Continued From Previous Page
®
PAGE 27
37 7 Ways Social Media Has Made You a Sex
Addict
38 5 Reasons You Need to Stop Treating Your
Gym Like a Bathhouse
40The Butch Beneath Our
Wings
Lea DeLaria reflects on her landmark TV moment, talks ‘hero’ Bette
Midler and making tough lesbians cry with Orange Is the New Black
PAGE 33
44The Heroism of Mariah
Carey
Visions of love, bravery and bad hair through the lens of a longtime
‘lamb’
48 Queer Eye
51 A Couple of Guys
52 News Releases
55 Directory and Events
60 Classified Ads
a
m
PAGE 40
Scan for this Issue:
e
n
zi
ga
Scan for Latest Issue:
PAGE 44
Monthly Online Magazine
Readership:
Combined total of PDF and ISSUU
Downloads/Reads –100,000 copies
Total Readership of
PDF/ISSUU/WEB
Readers Per Copy: 4.9 (PMB)
Avg. Online Circulation: 310,000 readers
Estimated Total Readership:
>319,800 readers
Frequency: Monthly
Proof of monthly figures are
available on request.
History
Originally established in January 1992 as
Men for Men BBS by MFM Communications.
Name changed to GayCalgary in 1998.
Independent company as of January 2004.
First edition of GayCalgary.com Magazine
published November 2003. Name
adjusted in November 2006 to GayCalgary
and Edmonton Magazine. February
2012 returned to GayCalgary Magazine.
February 2013, GayCalgary® becomes a
registered trademark. December 2014/
January 2015 is the last print edition.
February 2015 is the first digital only
edition.
Disclaimer and Copyright
Opinions expressed in this magazine
are specific to the author, and do not
necessarily reflect those of GayCalgary
staff and contributors.
Those involved in the making of this
publication,
whether
advertisers,
contributors, or the subjects of articles
or photographs, are not necessarily gay,
lesbian, bisexual, or trans. This magazine
also includes straight allies and those who
are gay friendly.
No part of this publication may be reprinted
or modified without the expressed written
permission of the editor or publisher.
http://www.gaycalgary.com/RSS
Articles • Recent News • Prize Draws • Events • Travel Info
6
Magazine Figures
Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.
GayCalgary® is a registered trademark.
JULY 2016 Deadlines
Ad Booking: Tues, July 5th
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Online: Monday, July 11th
http://www.gaycalgary.com/i150
More articles and exclusive content online!
www.gaycalgary.com
Editorial
Words from the Publisher
150th Edition, Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo, and Pride
By Steve Polyak
June, 2016, GayCalgary Magazine celebrates its 150th
edition. This is a pretty big milestone when it comes to LGBT
Publications in Canada. Running the magazine for this many
editions is not easy, but it does help having some great
writers and amazing editor plus, when I am in a crunch, Rob
does help with other tasks. Sadly, all the other tasks, too
many to be named, do need to be done by me.
It surprises me still how much content has come together
to produce 150 editions. There are about 5,500 articles that
have been written, plus about 135,000 photos in the online
GayCalgary photo gallery, with about 250,000 waiting still
to go online. The magazine also has about 20,200 digital
subscribers, which is pretty impressive. We still have over
300,000 readers per month spending on average 25 minutes
on the site.
After doing 150 editions of the magazine, one would assume
that eventually it would get easier, but this one, especially,
went sideways on me. I started planning the 150th edition at
the start of the year, but just about everything changed on
me in the middle of May. It felt like a cascade of things were
creating challenges barring things coming together.
In May, even though none of my writers were directly
impacted by the fires in Fort McMurray, there was a trickle
down effect; everyone was watching the news to see what the
current status was, or going out to help friends and family
that were impacted by the fire. The planned interviews with
the mayors of Edmonton and Calgary needed to be pushed
from the 150th Edition to the July edition due to their
constantly changing schedules. Interviews with talent for
RuPaul’s Battle of the Seasons were also not coming together
easily, since it was a little hard to do interviews while they
were on tour.
The plan was to celebrate the 150th edition as part of the
Canadian International Rodeo and Music Festival weekend,
but when Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association (ARGRA)
cancelled the event, things changed. We lost all those
interviews of performers that were part of the music festival
and the exposure of the anniversary edition. More about
ARGRA later on in this article.
So our 150th edition is still something special – regardless
if it came together the way I wanted it to – but that is the
joy of being media in our ever-changing gay community. As
long as each edition makes it way out, that is something to
celebrate.
www.gaycalgary.com
Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association
In May, ARGRA announced that they were cancelling the
Canadian Rockies International Rodeo and Music Festival
2016 event. The announcement shook the gay community.
Continued on Next Page 
7
 From Previous Page
ARGRA is a unique group in Canada. With Calgary being
in cowboy country, it only made sense that Calgary would
be the home of the only gay rodeo in Canada. This year
would have marked their 23rd run, so it was a shock that a
regular summer event was no longer happening. The rodeo
and music festival was seen as the small gay version of the
Calgary Stampede.
When Pride happens, the festival, parade and dance
usually occur on one day, at several different locations. The
rodeo usually started on a Thursday or Friday and ran until
Sunday night. ARGRA had areas set up for camping/RV,
rodeo arena, dance hall, beer gardens, retail and the new
music festival area. This way people did not need to travel far
to go to different events throughout the day.
There was always the rodeo during Saturday and Sunday
starting 8:30am, and it ran until 5 or 6 in the afternoon,
depending on how many contestants and if there were any
injuries. Late at night, once everything else shut down, the
dances would start. Since people were camping just outside
the entrance to all the events, they could sit back, drink,
socialize and take part of all the ARGRA events that they
were interested in, in ease. ARGRA created something that
brought people back year after year, where you could make
new friends, and embrace a sense of family. Attendees came
from around the world so, many times, it was the only chance
you would get to see them.
Outside their rodeo weekend, members of ARGRA were
present at just about every gay event throughout the
province. You just looked for the group of people wearing
their cowboy hats and you knew that ARGRA was in the room.
They wanted to show their support in many ways, including
fundraisers, dances, sports, annual general meetings and
more. They were there to protect other nonprofit groups when
outsiders wanted to bully their way in. They were also there
Online Last Month
Creep of the Week
Ryan Anderson
Hello gay and lesbian readers. I’d like
to talk to you about your pathetic lives
devoid of friends or family. It’s hard when
the only way you know how to connect
with other humans...
http://www.gaycalgary.com/a5125
Deep Inside Hollywood
Billie Jean King, J.A. Bayona,
Elle Fanning, ‘Noah’s Arc’
How many Billie Jean King movies, again?
This is how it goes in Hollywood: a good
idea spawns copycat ideas. Sometimes,
these good ideas become competing
projects rushing to...
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Louie Gohmert
Target. It’s kind of a weird name for
a store. I mean, a target is something
you shoot at. But say the word “target”
anywhere in America and chances are
people will think,...
Hear Me Out
Rihanna, Cyndi Lauper, Margo
Price, Lukas Graham
Cyndi Lauper, Detour Girls just want
to have... a country album? If you’re
Cyndi Lauper and your repertoire is as
delightfully ADHD as hers – the American
Songbook, pop ear-candy,...
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Ted Cruz is creepy. That’s not only a
widely held opinion, it’s scientific fact.
George Washington University neurology
professor Dr. Richard E. Cytowic wrote in
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Morrissey, Gwyneth Paltrow,
Bret Easton Ellis, Quentin Lee
Steven, take a bow In news marked “It
Was Only A Matter of Time,” get ready for
Steven, the biopic about England’s most
quotable rock star, Morrissey. Did that
time...
8
www.gaycalgary.com
CANCELLED - Canadian
Rockies International Rodeo
and Music Festival 2016
ARGRA Cancels Upcoming
Event in Strathmore, Alberta
ARGRA (Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo
Association) board of directors have
cancelled the upcoming CRIR 2016 which
was to happen on June 30th to July 3rd,
2016 in Strathmore Alberta....
Queen Bey Reigns at
Commonwealth Stadium
Beyoncé’s massive show
nearly flawless
The list of performers that can sell a
stadium show is small. The list of women
that can? Barely a handful. Beyoncé’s
Formation World Tour brought the R&B
Queen to Edmonton...
Creep of the Week
Michael Brown
My 6-year-old son has two moms. For
Mothers’ Day (and, yes, that’s where we
put the apostrophe) he gave both my
wife (a.k.a. “Mommy”) and I cards with
“coupons”...
The OutField
Cheering on #EveryFan
Separated by only 11 miles – and both
proudly sporting the color blue – Duke
University and the University of North
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college athletic rivalry...
Curb Appeal – Making Your
Home Attractive to Buyers
Once a homeowner has decided to sell
their home, one of the first things they do
is start to clean up the property. Making
basic repairs to the interior of your home,
such as putting...
when other nonprofit groups stumbled and needed a strong,
helping hand and guidance.
After running as long as ARGRA has, maybe it is their
turn to get a helping hand from the community, as they
have lent to everyone else. When it was posted that the rodeo
was cancelled, it was visible on Facebook that the help and
support was there to, conceivably, bring them back.
Things have not been easy for them for several years now:
from moving the venue from inside the Calgary city limits
to the town of Strathmore, to a tornado that hit close to the
venue; to the rains that flooded Calgary the week before the
rodeo happened so volunteers and organizers were stuck
trying the put on an event and deal with friends and family
caught in the flood; to the current poor economy. It is not easy
for an outdoor event to endure something out of their control
year after year. The ARGRA board and volunteers tried to put
on a brave face, smiled, and persevered in keeping the event
running year after year.
ARGRA tried to change with the times, as most groups have
had to, making them more mainstream: adding things like a
music festival in the beer gardens, then expanding it to be a
three-day evening event. They also introduced a community
carnival to allow other nonprofit groups to fundraise using
traditional amusement park attractions like a dunk tank
or bake sale. These measures increased attendance from
people who lived in Strathmore, and made it easier to get
sponsors that would usually only sponsor gay pride events.
When GayCalgary reached out to the board for further
information about what is going on, they were unable to
comment. We did make sure they understand that the
community is here for them as ARGRA was for them. At this
point we don’t know if ARGRA will reboot as something new,
or if it will it be gone for good. The board and members are
still a strong part of what makes Alberta’s LGBTQ community.
They won’t be able to talk about any of it, so maybe give them
a hug, or buy them a drink or two, since the decision they
made was not an easy one. These people who volunteered
their time for ARGRA are instrumental to what we have as a
community.
Upcoming Events
July is a busy month in general, with Edmonton Pride
running from June 3rd to 12th. There is also Lethbridge
Pride from June 1st to June 29th. Check out the ads we
are running for the main events, plus some of the other
side events like Pure Pride, Bears in the Park BBQ, Pride
in Fashion, and more! The word is that Backwards is finally
going to open before the end of the month, so check out their
Facebook page for details.
View Bonus Pics/Videos • Share with a Friend • Post Comments
Creep of the Week
Steve King
If you’ve never listened to Caffeinated
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Being gay and an extrovert seems to go
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truth is, sometimes...
www.gaycalgary.com
9
Stage West’s Young Frankenstein is Electrifying
 photo by John Watson
By Jason Clevett
It has been a real pleasure the last few years seeing
some of the big broadway comedies come to Stage
West. Recent presentations of shows like Avenue Q
and Monty Python’s Spamalot brought new audiences
to the theatre and have been highlights of recent
seasons.
While Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein, on stage until June
26th, doesn’t have the same name recognition as the previously
listed shows, this laugh a minute over the top production is a
must see. Whether a regular patron or someone who loved the
previous comedies, there is something for everyone.
Based on the 1974 film starring Gene Wilder, the stage
musical opened on Broadway in 2007. It is the story of Dr.
Frankenstein (Kevin Dennis) arriving in Transylvania after the
death of his Grandfather Victor, the creator of the monster
that terrorized a village. The doctor meets hunchback Igor (a
brilliant portrayal by Greg Pember) and the mysterious Frau
Blucher (Jayne Lewis) – who try to convince him to join the
family business. What unfolds is a typical story – boy meets lab
sexy lab assistant, boy and girl make a giant green corpse come
to life, boy’s fiancé shows up unexpectedly, and everyone sings
Puttin On the Ritz.
It is a ridiculously fun show, and part of why it works so
well is that it is evident that the large cast of 19 is having an
absolute blast. Their enthusiasm is infectious. They take some
www.gaycalgary.com
lines and songs that should be eye-roll inducing but deliver
them in a way that delivers big laughs instead. There are a
number of Stage West regulars in the show such as Adam
Stevenson – a chameleon whose talents have been shown in
multiple Stage West music reviews as the Monster and Kevin
Rothery in multiple roles.
It’s a risqué show – an elaborate and hilarious number Roll In
The Hay had the audience in stitches while Please Don’t Touch
Me has an entire verse about boobs. It’s part burlesque show,
part homage to the musical genre, part slapstick comedy. It all
works and is a wonderful evening. You do not have to have seen
the movie to love the play. $10 from every ticket sold goes to
Fort. McMurray relief. There are a number of summer promos
on as well, so take advantage, support a good cause and have a
great meal and lots of laughs with Young Frankenstein.
Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein
Playing until June 26th, 2016
Stage West Theatre Restaurant
http://stagewestcalgary.com/
11
Lethbridge Pride
Colouring the streets in rainbow
 Lethbridge Pride 2015, photo by GayCalgary
By Krista Sylvester
It’s a first for Lethbridge and hopefully the advent of
many more to come.
The city’s first rainbow crosswalks – four of them in total,
leading to Galt Gardens – were unveiled this week as part of
the festivities for this year’s Lethbridge Pride Fest. The event
is bigger and better than ever, according to festival board vicechair, Devon Hargreaves.
“It is really exciting for us, as a community, to have the mayor
come out and paint the sidewalk with our board of directors,”
Hargreaves says.
The four rainbow-painted crosswalks were paid for by
Lethbridge Pride Fest and will serve as an entrance into Galt
Gardens for Pride in the Park on June 25th, but will be on display
for everyone to enjoy as part of the celebration this month.
“It’s a colourful and exciting time in the city,” he says.
This is a big step for a festival that began as a small barbecue
eight years ago. Lethbridge Pride has now morphed into an entire
month-long event with a variety of daily offerings for people of all
ages to enjoy.
“The organization has grown, the partnerships have grown, the
number of people attending has grown, the community support
has grown; everything is growing and I think it will continue to
grow,” Hargreaves adds.
While Hargreaves acknowledges more events mean more
work, he says it is worth it; more and more community sponsors
are jumping on board as well. This is the first time that the
organization has been able to put on events every day of the
12
month, ranging from movie nights to dance nights and everything
in between.
“I think there is something for everyone at this festival –
regardless of your orientation. Pride Fest is for everyone, and it is
a great place to come out to show support. If you’re questioning
your orientation, or just want to sit in the beer gardens and sit
in 30 above and enjoy your weekend, you can do that as well. We
are very accepting.”
J.B Johnson and her partner have been attending Lethbridge
Pride events for the last six or seven years, and say they have
watched it grow from a one day event to what is now a monthlong celebration. They couldn’t be prouder.
“It’s a really beautiful thing to watch something like this grow
from a grass-roots event, for a small group of people, to something
that is being celebrated by many people from all different types of
communities,” she says. “It feels a lot more open and accepting
and it’s just really nice to see so many people involved.”
Check out the Lethbridge Pride Fest Facebook group for a full
schedule of all of the different events.
Lethbridge Pride Fest
http://lethbridgepridefest.com/
www.gaycalgary.com
Garrett Wang
Live from the Lethbridge EXPO
 photos by Paramount Pictures
By V.N. Winnick
Back in 2014, the charming and gregarious Garrett Wang,
of Star Trek: Voyager fame, gave us a tremendous interview
covering: his experiences with Trek, both with official and fanmade productions; his geek-to-the-core nature and love of the
convention circuit; and a deep-dive into his experiences as an
Asian man acting in Hollywood – including his good-natured
lament on the fact that he wasn’t able to play Glenn on The
Walking Dead. Read on for a brief excerpt of the interview, and
check out the full video on our website. If you’re a fan of Star
Trek, geek culture in general, or just handsome, friendly guys,
you’ll love this dip into the GayCalgary vaults.
Garrett Wang: I love going to conventions and letting the fans see
the part of me that they’re not used to seeing – which is the real me,
you know? Everyone sees the very serious Ensign Kim on episodes of
Voyager, so I like to show the other side.
Gay Calgary: Compared to an Avery Brooks or a Brent Spiner, you
seem to be a lot more willing to embrace the convention circuit. Where
does that come from?
GW: Being a geek first, probably? Being a science fiction, fantasy fan,
before getting on Voyager, I think changes a lot of it. A lot of people don’t
realize that, of the 44 or 45 living actors from Star Trek, including the
cast from TOS, TNG, DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and JJ Abrams’ crew,
there are only like four of us that are fans first, and that changes it big
time. If you’re already into sci-fi, and then an actor on a TV show, going
to conventions is a no-brainer. Like, yeah, of course! If I wasn’t an actor
on a show, I would be here anyway.
www.gaycalgary.com
Watch the video online: http://gaycalgary.com/a5156 
CG: What sorts of stories and media were you into before being cast
on Voyager?
GW: First fandom would be 1977 Star Wars... and then, after that, I
watched original Battlestar Galactica, and pretty much anything… scifi or fantasy-based that would come out before I got onto Voyager. I
followed it, I watched it.
GC: You had some really interesting perspectives on race in a
previous panel – would you tell us a bit about your experience as an
actor through that lens?
GW: [One of DW Griffiths’ early films] Broken Blossom was basically
a film about a Chinese man who falls in love with this Irish girl and,
before they can consummate their love, the father of the Irish girl finds
the Chinese man, and kills him! So that just sort of set the precedent
in Hollywood. I don’t know how to put it, other than, it has been
‘unfortunate’ that Asian-American males, specifically, have not been
portrayed as sexual beings whatsoever.
GC: So as fan of Star Trek, an actor and an Asian man, what did it
mean to you to see George Takei in the role of Sulu?
GW: It was really an eye-opener. Just a sense of pride knowing that,
look, that Asian male actor is not speaking with some crazy chop-socky
accent; he is not delivering Chinese food... and he was really the only one
at that time who was allowed. So thank God Gene Roddenberry had the
vision and the foresight and the emphasis on IDIC – infinite diversity in
infinite combinations – that was just so groundbreaking at that time.”
13
14
www.gaycalgary.com
Monsoon
Season
Iconic queen on making
waves post Drag Race win
 photo by Magnus Hastings
By Brandon Schultz
“We never knew when we started doing drag that one day
we’d be performing in huge concert venues and completely
packing the place,” says Monsoon of Battle of the Seasons, the
epic drag variety show, and its unexpected success over the
past three years. “Each year it gets a little bit bigger, and the
audiences come out in droves to see each of us perform our
specific talents. It is really amazing for us!”
It’s a golden age for drag queens, who have found themselves
exploding onto the mainstream entertainment scene due, in no
small part, to the reality TV contest that Monsoon won in 2013.
However, like all queens who aren’t new to the game, Monsoon
remembers a time when drag love wasn’t the norm.
“People are really starting to respect the art form of drag in a
way they haven’t before, and that goes particularly for our gay
audience, too. I have been doing drag for 14 years and, when I
started, there was definitely a negative stigma around being a
drag queen that I don’t think exists in the same capacity today.
Now even the butchest, most straight acting guy will watch
Drag Race and snap his fingers at the TV, you know?!”
With success comes demand, especially for a queen crowned
‘America’s next drag superstar’ and, even four years after
filming, Monsoon is not wasting the opportunities that are
presented to her.
“Drag Race took what I used to do one day a week for a little
extra cash and turned it into my career, and that’s what I’m so
thankful for. I still do legitimate acting in plays and stuff, but
whenever I don’t have a big-time project to worry about I get to
create my own work, and slap a wig and a dress on, and bring
new material anywhere that’ll take me. Or old material to be
rehashed in new places!”
On top of touring the world with Battle of the Seasons, guest
appearances as an RPDR winner, performing her one-woman
cabaret, and building her YouTube channel, Monsoon performs
as her other, lesser-known characters when she can squeeze
them in.
www.gaycalgary.com
When an interview starts with cabernet sauvignon and
ends next to the toilet, it can only be a Friday night with
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 5 champion, Jinkx Monsoon.
Between her two improv cabaret performances at New
York City’s Laurie Beechman Theatre, the tireless queen
spared a few minutes for a sit-down with GayCalgary
to discuss the RPDR Battle of the Seasons 2016
Extravaganza Tour, with comments on body shaming,
Joan Rivers, and which drag queens should be shot.
15
“I love being busy and I love creating new work, and
I got into drag to do exactly what I’m doing. The
Vaudevillians features my character Kitty Witless,
who only exists in that show. I also have a
Southern medium character (I haven’t done her
in awhile), and every year in Provincetown I do
these shows as Aunt Cassiopeia. She’s Jinkx’s
great aunt and she’s basically my rip-off of
Bette Davis – but with orange hair.”
She is mega busy – as a star should be
– but she has felt the price of fame very
personally.
“The higher they put you on that pedestal,
the more people there are watching to see
how you’ll fall,” she lamented during her
performance earlier that night.
When I asked her to elaborate
afterward, and why, specifically, she
fires back so regularly on Twitter
about her weight (even Michelle
Visage
recently
tweeted,
in
support, “WHY THE HELL DO
YOU FEEL THE NEED TO
DO THIS, JINKXY? YOU
ARE PERFECTION”) she
explained:
“It’s something
that I didn’t
used to do.
I
feel
a
certain
freedom
n o w
that
I ’ m
n o t
t h e
current
reigning
drag
race
superstar.
If people have
the right to give
their stupid horrible
opinions,
then
I
absolutely have the right
to answer them. I try not
to get in fights with
anyone, and there have
been plenty of times
where I had a little back
and forth argument
with people, but
it always ended
with both of us
at least agreeing
to
disagree.
But lately there
have been a lot
of
comments
about me gaining
weight. In the drag
community,
there
is
absolutely
no
room
for
body
shaming.
The
whole
point
of
drag is taking
whatever you are –
16
whatever you have going on – and creating the
most fully glamorized, fully realized version
of it.
“We celebrate plus-size drag queens,
but we demonize skinny queens who put
on weight, which is not okay. If you’re
gonna celebrate plus-size drag queens,
you have to celebrate all queens of all
weights; whether they are skinny, plussize, or skinny and become plus-size. It
happened to Joslyn Fox, it happened to
Adore Delano, it happened to me. It’s
absolutely 100 per cent unacceptable.
Body shaming has no place in the
world of drag.”
Taking on another hot button
issue in the drag universe, Monsoon
is equally outspoken about the
relationship between drag and
the trans community, and does
not
personally
identify
as
cisgender herself (I refer to her
in this article with the female
pronouns in reference to her
drag character).
“I think it was about
two years ago that
there were a lot
of
publicized
issues around
the
word
‘tranny’,
and drag
queens
using
t h e
word
specifically.
There
was
a lot of hate
toward drag queens
because there was this
assumption that every
drag queen is cisgender
when out of drag. People
were saying drag queens
don’t get to have an opinion
on trans issues because
they’re not trans.
“They are assuming
every
drag
queen
is
cisgender out of drag,
and that’s just not
true. There are lots of
trans women who still
participate in the drag
world. Even though they
have transitioned, they
have roots in drag,
and they have every
right to remain drag
queens if they want
to. There are plenty
of drag queens that
don’t identify as
cisgender, or male,
 photo by Tim Harmon
www.gaycalgary.com
 photo by Tim Harmon
out of drag. There’s no reason to believe that we don’t get an
opinion.
“To be a drag queen you have to have one foot in the world
of being trans. No drag queen is completely ignorant to trans
issues, and if she is she might as well be tied up and shot
to death. Because then it’s just her own fault and her own
ignorance.”
The icy fans are a very small minority in Jinkx’s world, where
it’s perennially Monsoon season. A quick glance around her
audience showed just how wide-ranging Monsoon’s reach is.
In front of me, a hot-pink-wigged 14-year-old superfan whose
Twitter is dedicated to the drag superstar (@femaleJinkx). Next
to me, a gaggle of finger-snapping lesbians, and beyond them a
gentleman too ‘overwhelmed’ by Monsoon’s starpower to “name
any musical” during a moment of audience (non)participation.
It’s no wonder her audience is a cross-section of society: her
comedy crosses an almost paradoxical span of generations and
tastes, as does her cabaret repertoire.
“I like musicals and rock. And especially rock musicals!”.
Monsoon’s insane schedule is packed to the minute, and this
night was no different. Just after ordering orecchiette to eat
between her own shows, we quickly had to clear the theater
for a different show to begin. Impossible to fluster, the queen
famous for her self-assuring catchphrase, “water off a duck’s
back”, shrugged off the eviction, grabbed her glass of wine, and
suggested we continue elsewhere.
“Let’s just finish this in the back on the toilet like we said we
wouldn’t!” As we entered what amounted to a small closet with,
indeed, a toilet in one corner, not unlike a miniature jail cell,
Monsoon quipped, “welcome to my glamorous dressing room!”
It was here that she revealed what she considered to be one
of the coolest experiences she has had as a drag queen, and
recalled a very special fan.
“When I first starting working at the Laurie Beechman, Joan
Rivers’s show would start at 7pm on Tuesdays, and my show
would start at 9:30, so that meant there was a half hour between
her show and mine where I just got to say, ‘Hey Joan, how you
doin’? How’d your show go tonight?’ And she’d be like ‘Oh, it
was wonderful. But you know, I hate all the horrible people.
You’re very funny so you keep working at it and someday you’ll
hate everyone, too.’ That was amazing. She was such a legend
and I got to share a theatre with her shortly before she passed.
“She watched my show one night and there was definitely a
joke in there about her, because she was the earlier show and
everyone knew she was doing it there weekly, so we could use
that. The characters that we do in that show (The Vaudevillians)
are characters that were frozen alive in the 1920s and just
recently thawed out, so we had this joke, like ‘Oh, and we’re
performing in such a prestigious venue with the likes of Joan
Rivers! It’s so nice to see her again!’ When she came, I was so
nervous about doing that joke, but I went through with it and
she loved it. She was the first one to stand and clap the night
she came to see it. I have gotten to meet so many people like
that – people I never in my lifetime thought I would get to meet –
and now I know them. That is really surreal to me.”
Hosted by Michelle Visage and featuring queens from across the years,
Battle of the Seasons tours worldwide and sashays through Calgary on
June 17th.
www.gaycalgary.com
Follow Brandon Schultz on Instagram @thebrandonalexandr
17
18
www.gaycalgary.com
Community
Discussing Community Safety
Domestic Violence
By Constable Andy Buck
Hello again everybody, it is always good to be able to
speak with you. Unfortunately, it is with less positive
news than normal. First, as I am sure that you are
by now already aware, is the fact that the ARGRA
rodeo in Strathmore has been cancelled. Of course,
this means that I now won’t have the opportunity
to interact with all of you wonderful people at this
event which is too bad. However, I know a number
of the board members from ARGRA, having had the
chance to form a good professional relationship with
them over the past few years, and I know that this
is not a decision that would have been taken lightly.
They all have the best interests of the community at
heart, and being responsible for making the decision
to disappoint many of you is something that weighs
heavy with them. They are all honourable people,
so please spare a thought for them. I know that
it is easy to be critical when we feel that we are
owed something, but I am convinced that the board
members of ARGRA will be working as hard as they
can to try and come up with a satisfactory resolution
to this unfortunate situation.
How can I help someone I know who is being abused?
Be there and listen, be non-judgmental, help your friend
or family member develop safety plans, help them contact
resources.
If you are a victim of domestic conflict or domestic
violence, please have the confidence to confide in somebody,
and please know that the Calgary Police Service are here
to help you. If needed, I can speak personally with you to
discuss your options and help to reduce any fears you may
have. I have lots of connections with resources and can
point you in the right direction in terms of getting the help
that you will need. It is important that you place value on
your own personal safety and recognize that it is not a sign
of weakness to ask for help.
The Calgary Stampede is only a few weeks away, so enjoy
yourselves if you partake in the festivities there. Feel free
to come and see myself or other Diversity Resource Team
members at the CPS tipi in Indian Village.
As always, look after yourselves and look out for each
other, and I will speak with you again soon.
Earlier this week we heard about the homicide unit
investigating another murder, and it would appear as though
the latest one is domestic related. I know that, on this
occasion, it is not one that is connected to the community,
but let’s not kid ourselves. Domestic conflict and domestic
violence are prevalent within the community, and we here
at the Calgary Police Service know that it is hugely under
reported. The media released information recently about
how these offences seem to be on the rise and I want to
touch on a couple of things that I feel are important.
What is domestic violence?
Domestic violence is defined as physical violence, verbal
abuse, emotional abuse, stalking and harassment between
family members or persons in a relationship or related by
virtue of children, marriage, or adoption.
What are the warning signs of domestic violence?
-
Personality changes (angry, moody, agitated etc.).
Becoming withdrawn, closed, suddenly fearful or secretive.
Difficulty sleeping or abnormally tired.
Lower self-esteem, feeling negative about themselves.
Difficulty concentrating.
Neglecting personal hygiene or personal appearance.
Physical signs of injuries like bruises, sores and cuts.
Making excuses for injuries which seem implausible.
Hiding injuries with excessive make-up, sunglasses, extra
clothing.
- Appetite changes - weight loss or weight gain.
- Starting to use substances or increasing in substance use.
- Stops attending usual activities (church, gym, family and
holiday gatherings).
www.gaycalgary.com
19
Manila Luzon, Unabashed Creator
How food, fan art, and free drinks inspire drag’s most famous concept queen
By Brandon Schultz
“I’ve been putting out crappy music ever since Ru Paul’s
Drag Race and I’m working on even more, if that’s
possible!” Manila Luzon, season three runner-up and
returning favourite on the only All Stars season to date,
quips. The star hasn’t squandered any opportunities to
create in the five years since she first exploded onto the
national scene with her elaborate looks and over-the-top
antics. She may be through accepting challenges from
Ru for now, but Luzon’s perennial challenge is topping
herself, and nothing seems to excite her more than
finding ways to do just that.
During the New York City leg of the Ru Paul’s Drag Race
Battle of the Seasons 2016 Extravaganza Tour, Luzon took a
few minutes away from the VIP Meet-and-Greet to talk to Gay
Calgary about becoming a drag queen, becoming too expensive
to afford herself, and becoming a plate of spaghetti.
20
“I just love the whole creative process from costumes to
performances to videos. I love all of it,” she says.
Famous for the attention to detail in her conceptual
ensembles, it comes as no surprise that Luzon was featured in
the recently released Why Drag?, Magnus Hastings’s new coffee
table book that includes over a decade of the photographer’s
interactions with legendary drag performers. No collection of
the drag elite would be complete without her.
“Any time Magnus Hastings asks me, ‘Wanna do a shoot?’
I’m like, ‘YES!’ We’ve done so many shoots, and I’m really, really
honoured that he chose some of my shots to be put into his
book. He shoots some of the most beautiful and fabulous drag
queens, and I’m just honoured to be part of that, in the book,
forever. History!”
The book features not only photos of the queens, but their
answers to its titular question. So what did lead Luzon down
her path to drag history?
www.gaycalgary.com
“When I first moved to New York City, I was really
young (like 21-years-old) and I’d go to the bars and
clubs, and I was just another twinky boy in line. But
when I would put on a dress I would go right up
to the front, and the door bitch would be
like, ‘Hey Manila, come on in! Here’s
drink tickets!’ So I was like, ‘Well,
I’m not leaving the house ever again
unless I’m in drag’. That’s why I do
drag. Skip the line and get some
free drink tickets.”
It wasn’t long before dresses
brought her more than just drink
tickets. Luzon cemented her standing
in drag superstardom when she
unveiled her now famous pineapple
dress in a RPDR episode, f o r
which she drew
some heavy
criticism
f r o m
her co-
contestants
for her potentially
racist
performance.
The
dress was so singular that she overcame
the shade to take home the win that week, and
high-end doll designer NiniMomo recreated the eyecatching look on a collectible Manila Luzon doll.
“I don’t think it’s true that I’m the only RPDR queen with a
doll of her – by the way, I didn’t write my fucking Wikipedia
page! I have no idea who made that claim – but that doll was
beautifully made and her dress had Swarokvski crystal beads.
She cost more than the real pineapple dress. That doll was
$700, so I don’t have one. I can’t afford me. But I have the
actual dress at home. I am the doll.”
What truly inspires her to create amazing looks isn’t
the attention of doll-makers; it is love from her fans,
and their dolls are the ones she treasures.
“I’ve gotten to travel the world and meet all
different fans of drag. I spend a lot of time in
airplanes, but it’s really cool to travel and see
different cultures and the way people live
life, especially in the gay scene. It can be
so different, and it’s really interesting. And
a lot of my fans make me little dolls of
myself that I love. I have such creative
fans!”
Luzon is quick to admit she is
another girl out there trying to get a
stocking-ed leg up in the world (“I don’t
have a cause right now – I’m just out
here makin’ some coins!”), but don’t
let her comedic self-deprecation and
jovial spirit fool you. There is nothing
 photo by Kate McLaren
www.gaycalgary.com
21
ordinary about her. Creativity is like oxygen for this queen,
who relishes the opportunity to invent the looks for which she
has become famous. When I challenged her to choose her next
theme on the spot, she surprised even herself with how quickly
she went from blank slate to show-stopping detail.
“Oh my god, how could you ask me to do this?! I love costumes
and I love a good theme to a costume, but I have this fight
with myself all the time, trying to come up with inspiration.
I really love food lately, so more food is probably coming up.
The popcorn dress is my favorite, and the pineapple, of course.
Food is always a good inspiration. You can go to Chinatown
and be inspired to do a shrimp lo mein look, or Little Italy and
do spaghetti.”
I suggested meatballs as a hair bow.
“Ooh, and two dogs sitting on my shoulders slurping a
spaghetti wig like Lady & the Tramp! And a red and white
checkerboard dress! Oh, hell yeah! Thank you so much for my
next look!”
I’m not sure whether it was the meatballs that she thanked
me for, or simply indulging her mile-a-minute extemporaneous
brainstorming sesh, but I gladly accept full credit for the
forthcoming ‘Little Italy’ look from Manila Luzon.
Hosted by Michelle Visage and featuring queens from across the years,
Battle of the Seasons tours worldwide and sashays through Calgary on
June 17th, when you will have your chance to see one of Luzon’s newest
looks in person.
Follow Brandon Schultz on Instagram @thebrandonalexandr
 photo by Andrew Werner
22
www.gaycalgary.com
www.gaycalgary.com
23
Gossip
David Drake, Justin Vivian Bond and Joey Arias. We wish them
all the Kickstarter luck in the world, but could some power-gay
producer just step in and handle this, please? You know who
you are.
Ellen DeGeneres launches Ellen Digital Network
While you weren’t paying attention, Ellen DeGeneres was
gently promoting digital content on daytime TV, making
YouTube, Vine and Snapchat understandable and accessible to
an entire population usually ignored by those platforms. Who
cares if some of it is remedial (like explaining Ryan Gosling
“Hey Girl” memes years after their inception)? The point is that
she’s basically explaining the internet to people who didn’t
know they wanted to care. And this is why her next step as an
all-powerful mogul is so potentially lucrative. She’s launching
the Ellen Digital Network, a programming slate that includes
the Damn, Daniel kids, an animated series about her own pets
called Ellen’s Pet Dish, new episodes of Dance Challenge, a usergenerated content show called #MadeByYou, the Ellen Show
game called Epic or Fail, and a content development deal with
social media star Tyler Oakley. Bottom line: Ellen is taking your
mom into the future with her, and you’ll know your own life has
jumped the shark when she makes a show out of unicycling
frog meme, “Here Come Dat Boi.”
Teyonah Parris: From Mad Men to Soldier Girl
 of Ellen DeGeneres, photo by Starfrenzy
Alan Cumming in ‘After Louie,’ Ellen DeGeneres,
Teyonah Parris, Jessica Lange
By Romeo San Vicente
After Louie wants to turn back time
LGBT film has moved past the moment when virtually all the
stories produced were about AIDS, but that doesn’t mean that
there aren’t many more stories to tell about the trauma and
devastation of the first wave of the disease. After Louie, a film
by first-time feature director Vincent Gagliostro, co-written by
Antony Johnston, will look at the perspectives of two generations
of men on either side of the timeline. Alan Cumming has been
cast as an older artist and activist, a man who survived the ’80s
and ’90s, and who now finds himself in a relationship with a
younger man (Zachary Booth) for whom the era is something
only heard about second-hand. The film is in the middle of a
Kickstarter funding campaign, but the technical team and cast
are ready to go: attached in supporting roles are Wilson Cruz,
24
Still not sure who Teyonah Parris is? Then you’re not watching
the right stuff. Already called the “Next Big Thing” by industry
trade The Hollywood Reporter, Parris made a big impression as
Dawn, the first black secretary hired on Mad Men, before moving
on to Justin Simien’s feature Dear White People and starring in
Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq. And now she’s in talks to star in Buffalo
Soldier Girl, to be directed by Christine Swanson (the upcoming
TV movie The Miki Howard Story) from an original script by
2015 Texas Writer of the Year, author Sarah Bird. Set up by the
production company Pantheon of Women, the script is based on
the true story of a woman named Cathy Williams, who, disguised
as a man, enlisted and fought with the African American postCivil-War-era Buffalo Soldiers. The film is expected to shoot in
Texas this fall for a 2017 release. Be on the lookout for this one.
Jessica Lange v. Susan Sarandon in feud
By now, if you even come close to other human beings
who have access to the internet, you’ve already heard about
this one: Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange will play Bette
Davis and Joan Crawford, respectively, in Ryan Murphy’s new
eight-part limited series, Feud. Murphy’s TV domination is an
uncontested fact these days, recently bolstered by American
Crime Story: The People Vs O.J. Simpson’s sweeping critical
approval and great ratings. And this latest effort is going to be
catnip to Baby Boomer and senior age gay men who grew up
obsessed with the very real ongoing battle between Crawford
and Davis, two stars who loved to hate each other so much that
their stunning early 1960s collaboration, Whatever Happened
to Baby Jane? felt more like real life than fiction. Our not-sosecret wish, though, is for some women on the writing staff
to have a Marcia Clark-level of empathy for these two vintage
Hollywood warriors. The last thing anyone needs is a typical gay
male wallow in comic misogyny. Look, someone has to say this
stuff out loud, you know?
Romeo San Vicente never feuds, he merely triumphs quietly in all ways.
www.gaycalgary.com
www.gaycalgary.com
25
Lifestyle
HIV in America
Hatred and Acceptance
By Myles Helfand
“If you have a deadly disease, it is only proper that
other people be warned against getting infected by
you,” the comment began. It went quickly downhill
from there.
“The HIV infected should be placed on a mandatory tracking
list and be tattooed with the BIOHAZARD symbol, just above
the genitals, as fair warning,” it continued.
“They should also have a distinctive license and license plate
for the protection of LEO’s [law enforcement officials] they
encounter,” it concluded, just for good measure.
All of this, ironically, was recently posted on an article on
TheBody.com entitled, “What Does HIV/AIDS Stigma Look Like
in Your Life?”
I deleted the comment, of course; TheBody.com isn’t a
place for people to beat each other down. But in a twisted
way, I appreciated the commenter’s inadvertently perfect
crystallization of what HIV stigma looks like in the U.S. today
– more than a generation after we learned what the virus is,
how it works, and how dangerous it can be for all of humanity
when we ignorantly condemn a broad swath of society for living
with it.
There’s so much about the comment that we could unpack
and dissect, but the one that really sticks with me is the feeling
it holds at its core that HIV somehow renders a person nonhuman. That it makes them a thing: one of “the HIV infected.”
An object to be isolated, tagged as toxic, and cordoned off from
the uncorrupted.
I mean, I suppose I could try to address the comment by
mentioning pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria,
hepatitis B or C, infectious diarrhea and the vast, varied
constellation of microbes that have attempted to use the
human body as an incubator for as long as human bodies have
existed on Earth – and which the commenter is likely exposed
to (or may even expose others to) on a near-daily basis. In some
cases, exposure to that microbe occurs through the biologically
imperative action of having sex. In others, it’s through the
biologically imperative action of breathing air.
Or I could try to explain why it’s kind of unlikely that a person
with HIV who’s driving down a highway will have condomless
sex with the police officer who stops them for speeding. Or that,
even if a porn video broke out in the middle of that traffic stop,
the officer still wouldn’t be at risk if the person was on HIV
treatment and had an undetectable viral load.
Or I could ask what additional personal characteristics
should warrant such a high level of warning for others who
might encounter those people in the world. What level of
abstract theoretical risk should trigger a tattoo- or license
plate-level notice? Just HIV? Maybe syphilis, too? All infectious
diseases, for good measure? How about mental illness?
Epilepsy? Unstable blood sugar levels due to diabetes? Texting
while driving?
A part of me feels there’s not much point in responding,
because any reply I make would be a rational response to a
completely irrational train of thought. For more than 30 years,
the global HIV community has tried to use research, science
and education to counter presumption, ignorance and silence.
Yet we still find ourselves surrounded by people who believe
26
that HIV stigma and discrimination isn’t just acceptable, but
that it’s necessary.
It’s exhausting. It’s demoralizing. It can make resistance feel
pointless.
And, I’m sorry to say, I don’t have any answers.
Look, I realize I’m not remotely the first person to write about
how much HIV stigma sucks, and I unfortunately won’t be
remotely the last person who’ll write about it either. I also don’t
pretend I’ve got a magic solution to the problem; if anything, I
think it’s dangerous for us to pretend there is one out there,
just waiting to be discovered. Doing so ignores the reality of
how wide a turning radius we often have as a society.
We may be more interconnected as a species today than
we’ve ever been, but in many ways we’ve also become more
fragmented, more easily distracted and more forcefully isolated
(both online and off). We’re also more closed off from points
of view that might change our minds – as well as from people
whose minds we might be able to change.
I don’t think there’s an ideal way to counter stigma and
bigotry. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to acceptance. I’m
not even writing this article to offer advice; there’s plenty of that
already out there, on my website and those run by the other
writers who share this column (among many other people).
I’m just writing this article to say that I know. I hear the
stigma, I see it, and I accept that it exists – and I hate that it
does. I can wipe away a single destructive comment, but I can’t
make the stigma go away. Instead I acknowledge it.
I’m just one person. But if you feel this way, too, then there’s
two of us in this boat. If you know another person who does,
then we’ve got three. Maybe it’s not unreasonable to suspect
there are a whole lot more, even though this fragmented world
of ours can often make it feel like there aren’t.
Maybe, just maybe, if enough of us acknowledge HIV stigma,
and make the world aware that we acknowledge it, we’ll find
there are enough of us on this boat to help humanity slowly
turn away from it.
Or maybe it’s enough, for some of us, just to know we’re not
alone. That try as some might to label and judge, they can’t take
away our humanity.
Myles Helfand is the editorial director of TheBody.com and TheBodyPRO.
com. Find him on Twitter @MylesatTheBody. This column is a project
of Plus, Positively Aware, POZ, TheBody.com and Q Syndicate, the
LGBT wire service. Visit their websites — http://hivplusmag.com, http://
positivelyaware.com, http://poz.com and http://thebody.com — for the
latest updates on HIV/AIDS.
www.gaycalgary.com
Interview
The Unruly World of
Rufus Wainwright
Singer-songwriter on being ‘the gay
Elizabeth Taylor,’ giving up on Björk and
not jibing with the LGBT community
By Chris Azzopardi
“I’m not at the psychiatrist’s office.”
Rufus Wainwright realizes that now, years later. There was a
time, he acknowledges, amused by the notion, that interviews
such as the one we’re engaged in passed as therapy. For that
reason, the singer and composer is transparent, a book that
never closes. That frankness has long marked his raw musings,
windows into his life as a gay man, as a former drug addict, as a
son, as a father. The personal catharsis of his latest work is less
discernible.
Featuring guest collaborators Helena Bonham Carter,
Carrie Fisher, William Shatner, Florence Welch and sister
Martha Wainwright, Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets
adapts the Bard’s work within noticeably non-traditional sonic
structures, because this is a Rufus Wainwright album.
Before we launch into a wide-ranging conversation –
encompassing issues he sorted through while recording the
Shakespearian project, how his “very wry” personality rubs
gay people the wrong way and the Benedict Cumberbatch
conundrum – Wainwright says “don’t worry,” reassuring me that
even though this isn’t quite psychiatry, “I’m still pretty open.”
GC: Just when I think you’ve reached peaked ambition, you
release an album of Shakespeare sonnets set to music. Where
do you think your desire to be so outside of the box comes from?
RW: Well, I was never in the closet, I was never in the box… I
was never in my right mind! I don’t know. This album, in a lot of
ways, is kind of a miracle in the sense that it’s nothing that I ever
really planned on or was working toward; it sort of made itself,
and all in conjunction, of course, with the 400-year anniversary
of Shakespeare’s death.
It just so happens that many years ago I was working on a
project of the sonnets (Five Shakespeare Sonnets, in 2010) and
somehow the work that I was doing with these poems really
resonated with all sorts of people, whether it was the San
Francisco Symphony wanting arrangements of them or Songs
for Lulu (his 2010 album grieving the loss of his mother, Kate
McGarrigle) or other singers performing them. In fact, there are a
few dance choreographers now who have started to choreograph
pieces to the work, so it’s just something that happened, and lo
and behold it fell right in line with this 400th anniversary. I just
had to facilitate that as much as I could. What a lot of people
think is outside of my box is really just me following my brute
instincts and going with that fully. I’ve never been able to work
otherwise, so I suppose that will continue to be the case.
GC: Yes, you seem a bit artistically restless.
RW: Yes. Also, for me, music is where I really – I mean,
speaking about being in a psychiatrist’s office – exorcise a lot of
my demons and emotionally confront issues, and in order to do
that I can’t really coast now. I have to crack the ice a little bit.
That’s the way it is.
GC: With this piece in particular, what issues are you
confronting?
RW: I think a lot of this is centered around my mother’s illness
and death (in 2010), and also aging is in here. I think one of the
reasons “A Woman’s Face” is repeated several times – it’s really
about an older man kind of fawning over a younger man and
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 photo by Matthew Welch
that’s a tradition that now I’m on both sides of (laughs). I’ve been
a younger man and I am that older man now, and so I see it from
both sides. To have a woman (Anna Prohaska) sing it is very
interesting, because that takes it into a whole other mirrored
image, which is what’s amazing about Shakespeare – how many
reflections (we) can illustrate depending on how old one is or how
young one is or what gender one is relating to at that moment.
It’s a vortex of possibilities.
GC: When it comes to aging, what has been your experience as
a middle-aged gay man who’s a public figure?
RW: The catch-22 is that in 20 years – I’m 42 now – I’ll
probably look back at this period as really my zenith, when I was
probably the most attractive I’ve ever been. But now that I’m in
the middle of it, I’m looking backwards to when I was 22... and
when I was 22 I was really miserable! (Laughs) So it’s, “You don’t
know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” as Joni Mitchell said. But I
think artistically in one’s 40s you do feel the joint rapture of both
experience and still a sense of youth that can combine and really
make you feel like you’re in the present.
GC: Your cross-genre collaborations are constantly surprising
people, and there are some unexpected ones on this album. Who
is someone you want to work with that we wouldn’t expect?
RW: The other day my sister Martha had her 40th birthday
and we had some people up to the house. One of them was
Sufjan Stevens, who I’ve admired for a long time and, yeah, he’d
be fun to write a song with. I’ve given up on Björk. She’s not
taken my lead. (Laughs) I’m like, “Hey Björk, let’s do this” and
she’s, like, hanging out with aliens or something.
GC: I saw you in Toronto in 2014 for If I Loved You: Gentlemen
Prefer Broadway, which was wonderful.
RW: Thank you.
GC: And I’ve seen you many times before, but not in that
dynamic, with a bunch of men, many of whom were straight. So
I was watching you and, of course, admiring the performances,
but I was also noticing the way you interacted with the other
fellas on stage and I’m like, “Rufus is such a shameless flirt.”
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 photo by Matthew Welch
RW: (Laughs) I know! I’m terrible!
GC: Have you always been that way?
RW: I have. I’m just built that way. I’m sort of a gay Elizabeth
Taylor.
GC: When you’re singing a love song with Josh Groban, I can’t
blame you.
RW: Yes, yes. He’s a handsome man.
GC: Did you get a chance to meet Benedict Cumberbatch
while recording the BBC’s The Shakespeare Show: Recorded Live
from the Royal Shakespeare Company?
RW: Yeah! I’ve hung out with Benedict a couple of times. He’s...
he’s quite the figure. Most amazing thing is, I can’t tell if he’s
gorgeous or incredibly ugly. (Laughs) It’s a weird combination. At
certain angles he looks like my aunt, and then at certain angles
he looks the man who’s gonna ruin my marriage.
GC: A couple of years ago, I was surprised to hear you say you
didn’t think you had a big gay following. I’ve been following you
since “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk” and I’m definitely gay.
RW: Aww! Well, thank you. I guess I just feel with the gay
community my kind of very wry and frank opinion on things can
be misinterpreted. Us queers are kind of a sensitive bunch, so
sometimes there’s a bit of a tempest in a teapot (reaction) when I
put out certain concepts. Some people enjoy the dialectic of that
and other people shy from it and, well, the gay community... it
can get a little insular.
GC: You never had to make a coming out announcement,
so I wonder: How do you feel about famous people coming out
making headlines in 2016?
RW: Yeah, well… I mean, it’s good that they’re doing it.
(Hesitates) I don’t know. I just... it’s still to be applauded because
the sad truth is we are living in reactionary times now and whether
it’s Donald Trump or ISIS, there is this kind of tremendous
backlash to a lot of the advancements that have been made in
the last 20 years, and so I think it’s probably harder in certain
places to be gay now than it was a while ago. The pendulum has
started to swing the other way. So, as long as people are coming
out and continuing the battle, then I think it’s good.
GC: I know you have a lot of opinions on today’s pop divas. So
Lady Gaga, Adele and Beyoncé: Which would you fuck, marry,
kill?
RW: Fuck, marry, kill – oh boy. Dangerous. I guess I would
marry Adele. Ahh, I would, you know, fuck Gaga and kill Beyoncé.
GC: Did you not like Lemonade?
RW: I just, ahhh...whatever. I was only given a few choices, so
it’s not my fault. (Laughs)
GC: You don’t have any tour stops in North Carolina, but
what’s your take on how artists are handling the situation
regarding House Bill 2, the “bathroom bill”? And if you did have
a date there, what would you do?
RW: This relates back to what I said before: I think that
any kind of pushback against this rising wave of right-wing
extremism coming from large sectors in the world is a positive
act. What’s good about the North Carolina thing is, I mean, I
think the artists are doing their part, which is great, but I think
it’s also the business leaders who are really pulling the money
out of the state that’s gonna really make a huge difference. It’s
all people working in conjunction from all different fields that’s
important. And yeah, I’d probably pull out.
GC: So, no North Carolina shows anytime soon?
RW: No, and I don’t have any gigs there. I’ll go to the ladies
room one time in protest and scare everybody. (Laughs)
GC: You’re restaging Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall on
June 16-17 in New York and June 23-24 in Toronto. How will
the music and the show reflect the way the world’s changed in
the last 10 years since you first performed it?
RW: The main reason I’m doing the show again is to see what
condition my voice is in. I mean, I have an inkling that it’s at the
top if its game, and the only way to really prove that is to sing
that material, so it’s more of a practical exercise for me to do this
show again. I’ve been working very hard on my singing over the
years and I want to show that off, but on a more philosophical
level: I originally did this show because of my broken feelings
toward the Iraq War. I needed something to remind me of how
great America could be when it wanted to be, and sadly we’re
in the same predicament with Donald Trump and this racist,
sexist blowback. I don’t know, it just seems to be something that
occurs every 10 years in the United States and I’m happy that
the Judy show is gonna be back out there again because it is all
the good that this country can represent.
GC: Regarding your voice: Haven’t you already proven yourself
as a singer?
RW: Well, I’m a big opera fan and in the world of opera, you
don’t really hit your stride until you’re in your 40s vocally. That’s
when you get all the big roles, so it’s just more of a personal
thing. I’m not trying to prove it to anybody; I’m just proving
it to myself, and also just to be really on top of the material. I
loved doing Judy the first time because it was this kind of mad
rollercoaster ride that I just attached myself to with handcuffs
(laughs) and went along with, but this time I feel like I can hold
onto the reigns a little better and just really nail it.
GC: You’ve done Judy and Shakespeare. Which other legendary
figures intrigue you enough to make you want to dedicate an
entire album’s worth of material to their work?
RW: The figure that’s kind of looming all of a sudden – I’m just
hearing little squeaks of this in my psyche, but I’m a big (William)
Blake fan. I love Blake. Who knows. Maybe something like that.
I’d also like to do a French record at some point to just sort of,
you know, loosen it in up a bit. (Laughs) And of course there are
my own songs from my own life, so there are a lot of possibilities.
GC: And the Shakespeare character you call your spirit
animal?
RW: Oh, gee. I would say I’ve always wanted to be Titania from
a Midsummer Night’s Dream, because I’m a sad queen, really.
(Laughs)
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Lena Dunham Mans Up
Girls creator on recognizing ‘seemingly mundane’ LGBT issues, channeling masculinity
and the influence of her sister’s queerness
 photo by HBO
By Chris Azzopardi
Producer of the thought-provoking documentary about the
powerful relationship between fashion and identity, Dunham
knows firsthand that bending the gender rules by wearing a
suit can be a transformative experience. During this year’s
annual Met Gala, the multi-hyphenate – actor, author, director,
social activist, feminist, out and proud proponent of the word
“no” – rocked an androgynous look, sporting black-tie attire and
slicked-back hair as if she were a GQ cover model. The masc
moment was classic Dunham – meaning, yet another strong
statement. Known for her Emmy Award-winning HBO series
Girls, the 30-year-old has made it her life’s mission to tear down
societal standards.
Backing Suited only seemed natural, then. During Jason
Benjamin’s directorial debut, airing on HBO beginning June
20 (the film initially premiered in January at Sundance),
transgender and genderfluid suit-buyers uncover a deeper
sense of self as they find garments that speak to their identity
at Bindle & Keep, a Brooklyn-based bespoke men and
womenswear company.
Dunham’s genderqueer sister, Grace, appears in the
documentary while on a quest for a “dark wool suit … to run
around in.”
Dunham recently phoned for a candid conversation about
how Grace’s gender subversions have influenced her to
challenge Hollywood norms. During the interview, the actor
also elaborated on the “strength” she gained from wearing her
own tailored suit, seeking to break stereotypes with her zeitgeist
coming-of-age dramedy Girls, and being so gay adjacent she
calls her significant other, fun.’s lead guitarist Jack Antonoff,
her “partner.”
GC: I’m gonna try not to cry again just thinking about one
of the doc’s subjects, 12-year-old Aidan Star Jones. I’m not
transgender, but I felt like I was watching a version of myself.
LD: That makes me so happy! And by the way, I’ve seen the
movie a million times and I still weep every time I watch it. I
weep every time my sister comes on screen. I just weep because
I love that it’s kind of a feel-good movie. People are expecting
this gritty documentary and I’m like, yes, there are moments
of that, but really it’s the family movie I would want to watch
if I thought that queerness was more accepted in the world of
family movies, which I hope it will be soon.
GC: In what ways did you find yourself empathizing with
some of the people who visited Bindle & Keep?
LD: I don’t identify as queer in my sexuality, but I have a lot of
really close relationships with queer people, and queer culture
has been hugely influential. Like so many disenfranchised
women, queer culture has been a huge part of my coming of
age.
Like I said, I’m a straight girl, but what I really empathized
with was the need to find yourself in fashion when there aren’t
representations of you. I know that when I entered high school
and became a chubby girl – I’d always been a little skinny kid
and then suddenly I gained 40 pounds in four months and
didn’t know what to do with my body and didn’t feel like there
was a place (for me). I could either walk into a Lane Bryant
and sheath myself in something that didn’t make me feel like
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Suited is the perfect fit for Lena Dunham.
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 photo by Mark Schafer/HBO
myself at all or I could continue to wear my too-tight hot pink
sweatpants. I didn’t feel like there was a place for my body to be
seen or known or understood.
So, for me, what’s been really powerful as an adult has been
having my clothes tailored, which is something I only started
doing once I started going to red-carpet events, and even though
I’ve had that experience, I actually had a Bindle & Keep suit
made for our Sundance premiere. The experience of putting on
something that just fucking fit was so remarkable, and I looked
in the mirror and there was this strength that came from not
trying to hide any part of myself. So, I think we can all relate to
that feeling of trying to find the look – of fashion being a way to
try and express yourself, and not feeling like there’s any place
to turn in the commercial marketplace where your identity’s
being accepted. In that way, fashion turns from something that
is very superficial to something that is extremely emotional.
GC: Recently, I finally fit into a shirt that I’d been wanting to
fit into for a long time, so I get it.
LD: It’s amazing. It’s so subtle but it’s so important. My dad
has always been into tailoring. He’s a real suit guy. My friends
will be like, “I saw your dad and I knew it was him from far
away because he was wearing this super sharp suit at 10 a.m.
on a Wednesday heading to the grocery store,” and this made
me really understand that part of the reason my dad does
that is because it makes him feel that he can own his identity.
Something that I love in our family is, my dad has all these
suits and then my sibling, Grace, who’s in the movie, will take
his old suits and tailor them to her body.
It’s funny, when we were little girls my dad always wanted
to dress us in a super androgynous way. If we were alone with
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 Still from Bindle & Keep. Courtesy of HBO
him for the day, it was a plaid shirt, jeans, sneakers; he just
thinks androgynous fashion on women is super cool. One of
the first presents that he bought each of us: He got me a suit in
eighth grade; he got my sister a suit in high school. He would
really push the-ladies-in-suits angle. My mom came up in New
York in the ’80s wearing a power suit, so the idea of suiting as
something that kind of already defies gender lines, I already felt
like I had an understanding of. This (movie) obviously takes it
to a whole new level.
GC: How do you hope the stories that you are a part of telling,
such as Suited and your work as creator of Girls, can enrich
and embolden the lives of the LGBTQ community?
LD: I think my biggest hope – and my (creative) partner Jenni
Konner’s definitely coming from the same place – is just that
these stories make people feel seen. That was always our goal
with Girls. I went into HBO and said, “Hey, I don’t see any
shows that represent my friends.” And then when we put it on,
and we got our own critiques about what we were representing,
we were going, “Wait, a bunch of other people feel that way too,”
because I didn’t see kind of my weirdo, anxious chubby self
on television. Other women didn’t see complex women of color
represented on television; other women went, “Hey, I’m Asian
and I’ve never seen a character who doesn’t just have her nose
in a book and is playing the violin.” We’re always just trying to
push back against stereotypical representation or play with it
in an intelligent way.
And what I loved about Suited: This is about an aspect of
queer life – we spend so much time thinking about, and
rightfully so, these huge issues like marriage equality, raising
families, job discrimination; this is a much more seemingly
mundane issue. For the queer community and members of
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the gender nonconforming community, it actually ripples to
every part of their life. Because you see, if (doc subject) Everett
(Arthur) doesn’t get a suit then Everett doesn’t feel confident
and Everett’s not gonna get a job and Everett’s not gonna show
that, hey, a gender nonconforming trans lawyer is an option in
the South. It goes so far. I just hope people see it and go, “I’m
seeing myself represented whether I’m queer or not in these
characters, and this is a version of the queer story that I haven’t
seen before.”
GC: How has having a sister who identifies as a gender
nonconforming person changed your perspective on yourself
and your sexuality?
LD: This is an overused word, but Grace is a really brave
person. Grace very much came into the world – age 3 – being
like, “I don’t wanna wear a dress and I’m being myself.” Grace
always makes a joke that she was briefly straight from the
ages of 7 to 10. She very much came into the world with this
radicalized approach to being a woman. She did an interview
recently in the New York Times in which she was having a
conversation with her friend Nicole Eisenman, who is also a
queer woman, and they asked Grace about her pronouns and
Grace was like, I’m a gender nonconforming person but I’m
OK with being called “she” because I like to really push the
boundaries of what “she” can be, and that really resonated with
me. Because even though I consider myself female and I have
a more binary approach to my sexuality, I think that Grace’s
idea about expanding the definition of what “she” can mean has
really opened me up.
Before Grace became so deeply embedded in her identity, I
think that I was still thinking of the world as… I accepted the
idea of transness but I felt like I didn’t understand the idea of
a person whose gender and sexuality could contain elements
of everything that they’d seen. It’s funny: You know, I wore a
tuxedo to the Met Ball this year and it was such a great feeling
to go to a big fashion event where you’re surrounded by girls
in gowns and feel this kind of strength that comes from being
feminine while owning some masculine attributes.
GC: How did it feel to be the odd man out, so to speak?
LD: It’s this very ineffable thing where you’re like, “I feel cool,
I feel sexy, I feel like myself.” I felt a little bit at the Met Ball – I’d
go up to ladies and be like (deepens voice to resemble a man),
“You look great!” (Laughs) I was owning these kind of masculine
clothes I had on and it felt really good, and I feel without Grace
in my life I wouldn’t. I think, especially when you’re working in
Hollywood, there’s a real pressure to conform to femininity in
a traditional way, especially if you don’t look like what people
think a TV star should look like. When I was first getting styled
I’d go, “I just wanna wear a really pretty dress and really pretty
makeup, so when I go to an event people think, ‘Oh, she’s way
prettier in person than I thought she would be.’” That’s all I
wanted. And now, Grace has made me feel like I can go in with
a fucking suit with my hair messed up because the rules have
changed.
GC: I love that you’ve taken her lead. Speaking of people
who’ve influenced your world, I talked to Jack a few years ago.
LD: Mmm! My partner.
GC: Yes, your partner. Is that what you call him?
LD: (Laughs) I use partner because I like it. We’re not married,
but also, he’s not my boyfriend. I feel like it’s another one where
I’m like, I’m kind of down with the queer community. I have my
partner! He’s my partner!
GC: Your refusal to marry until your sister could was
admirable, and you wrote a wonderful essay after the Supreme
Court ruling last June. It’s been a year since the ruling. Have
you thought about what you might have the queer people in
your wedding party wear?
LD: That’s an amazing question, and actually, Jack and I
have talked about it and we’ve always said that when we get
married we want our wedding party to just be our two sisters
in tuxedos. Jack has a straight sister, I have a queer sister;
they’d be our best men / women and we’ll call it a day. That’s
our dream.
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 photo by Craig Blankenhorn/HBO
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Lifestyle
7 Ways Social Media Has
Made You a Sex Addict
by Mikey Rox
Ten years ago, when Facebook was in its infancy and
iPhones were but a glimmer in Steve Jobs’ eyes, you had
to work hard to be a perv. Now, fulfilling your friskiness
is just a flick away, and that’s not exactly a good thing.
Social media has taken over our lives, both personally
and professionally, and the dark underbelly of our online
world is as dank and seedy as a dimly lit bathhouse. As
a result, you may very well be a sex addict; here are
seven ways to find out.
1. DM on Twitter and Facebook Has Gotten You in Trouble
With Your Boo
What starts out as innocent “likes” and flirty comments
on Facebook and Twitter soon evolves into a deep-see-diving
expedition into the object of your burgeoning affection’s profile,
left-swiping on the family and milestone photos but holding
steady on the shirtless-vacay jackpot. Eventually one DMs the
other in an attempt to push the boundaries of social-stranger
etiquette – even though you know you shouldn’t – until a sordid
relationship of sexts and sweet-nothings arises. Which is all
well and good if it’s as innocuous as you say it is, but your
partner doesn’t believe you when you get caught (as well he
shouldn’t since you’re being dishonest), and therein lies your
problem – likely one of many.
2. You Spend Way Too Much Time on Grindr
Thanks to social media – and very specifically Grindr with
regards to our gay community – most of us have developed not
only a need but, more dastardly, an affinity for 375-feet-away
validation and instant gratification. You open the app every 15
minutes to see if someone new has pinged you or, hopefully, that
brick-bodied bro you’ve got your eye on has finally responded to
your “Sup?” Friday and Saturday nights? Forget about it. What
were once bastions of freedom and nightlife exploration have
devolved into afternoon-to-evening-long sessions of sitting on
the couch surfing headless thumbnails while Netflix plays in
the background as you consistently turn down the so-sos and
frequently get rejected or ignored by the more-sos. It’s cyclical,
and you can’t quit it – until you hit it, that is (and you’re almost
always compromising, which makes the whole situation even
sadder), ultimately ushering in a brief respite before ending up
back at square one a few hours later.
3. When There’s a Grindr Outage You Turn to Scruff
Gay Twitter loses it collective mind when Grindr experiences
an outage, like it did recently – at least on the West Coast
(and during the Palm Springs White Party, no less) – driving
hordes of Grindr loyalists to other apps like Scruff to fulfill their
insatiable desires. If you find yourself in a cold sweat, clamoring
to connect nakedly with somebody – anybody! – nearby when
the Grindr gods throw down the gauntlet, it’s probably hightime for reflection… and confession.
5. You Bookmark YouPorn More Than Any Other Website
We all have a handful of super-hot vids saved that are our
go-tos. But if you’ve got them bookmarked on your phone or
computer so you can have them at the ready whenever you’re
ready – and they outnumber the more relevant and G-rated
content you have stored – it’s time to pull up your pants, put
the devices away and introduce yourself to the real world again.
6. We Can All Agree That Snapchat Exists to Share Dick
Pics
A friend of mine asked me a few months ago if I’m on
Snapchat. My response? No, because I’m not a 17-year-old
kid trying to sext undercover. I’m grown, and when I send you
my dick pic you get to keep it forever – because I’m confident
like that. But I digress. My point that Snapchat is strictly for
younger Millennials and high-schoolers to trade nudies with
no cyber trail (even though that’s inaccurate) is proven by
this appropriately worded statistic from research firm MartinWilbourn Partners: “Snapchat is now the third most popular
social app among Millennials, with a 32.9 percent penetration
on the demographic’s mobile phones, trailing only Instagram
(43.1 percent) and Facebook (75.6 percent).”
7. You Visit Tumblr For Celeb Nudes and Homemade Sex
Tapes
Does anybody even understand Tumblr? I don’t – except
when I’m googling a celebrity’s junk or looking for amateur porn
(because watching normal people do it as awkwardly as I do is
comforting). That’s really all Tumblr is good for. Anybody who
tries to tell you differently is either a liar or a 13-year-old girl,
or probably both.
Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose
work has been published in more than 100 outlets across the world. He
splits his time between homes in New York City and the Jersey Shore with
his dog Jaxon. Connect with Mikey on Twitter @mikeyrox.
4. You’re Really on Instagram for the Man-Butts
You’re kidding yourself if you think you’re on Instagram for
the sweeping views and vistas of other people’s getaways, pics
of kittens and your BFF’s brunch plate. Real talk, you’re there
to scroll through the endless images of the buffed-out, swole-up
models and meatheads you daydream about tossing you around
like a rag doll. If you follow @seductionboys, @themuscleleague
or @datbubblebutt, you might be a sex addict.
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Lifestyle
about with their junk hanging out. Rather, it’s the older crowd
that likes to walk around naked, stand at their locker for an
extended period of time in the buff (sending minutes-long
emails, no less), and generally move at a glacial pace drying off
every nook and cranny of their bodies. Certainly that’s not a
definitive statement – there are men of all ages trying to entice
the rippling mass of man-flesh next to them with an ample
showing of their own skin – but from my experience there’s
consistently an age gap between those of us who from go from
soaking wet post-shower to dry and draped in clothing in less
than 60 seconds and those who could’ve had a three-martini
lunch in the time it takes them to put on a pair of underwear.
3. Likewise, Most Guys Came to Workout and Relax – Not
Hookup
5 Reasons You Need to
Stop Treating Your Gym
Like a Bathhouse
by Mikey Rox
Visit a gym in any major city and you’ll quickly pick up
on the local “culture.” You know what I’m talking about.
New York and Los Angeles, specifically, are notorious
for the goings-on in its gyms showers, steam rooms and
saunas. It’s become such a huge problem in certain
places that there are signs posted warning guests about
lascivious behavior, and a handful of locations have
removed the locker-room relaxation stations altogether
to discourage such activities. While I contend that
exercising your demons to completion can be exciting
and fun and – probably, the most appealing part of it –
anonymous, it can make other gym-goers uncomfortable.
Thus, five reasons you need to stop treating your gym
like a bathhouse – if you know what’s good for you.
1. You’re Making Other People Uncomfortable With All
That Cruising
Although it may seem like everybody came to the gym to get
a “full body” workout – from your perspective, anyway – not
every guy in the joint is looking for play. Believe it or not, the
majority of dudes are there to get their lift on and go about their
day. Staring bros down with come-hither glances may work on
some patrons, but there are a high percentage of people who
aren’t into it – at all. Of course, as gay men we think every hot
bloke pumping iron must be at least a little bit homo, but that’s
rarely the case. Do what you came to the gym to do – stay active
and healthy – and save the cruising for the bars and bedroom
apps where they belong, lest you become a homophobe’s new
punching bag.
2. Most Guys Prefer Discretion in the Locker Room
It must be a generational thing, because when I’m in the
locker room I rarely see guys my age – I’m 35 years old – milling
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Your gym’s saunas and steam rooms exist to serve its
customers with a place to unwind and loosen tight muscles after
an intense workout. They were not installed for anybody to have
sex inside them, despite popular opinion. But thanks to the
bathhouse culture that’s deeply rooted within our community,
we’ve come to regard any heated, clothing-optional area as a
destination of desire. Sure, these spaces and situations can be
sexy – exposed private parts have a way of getting a rise out
of people, after all – but not all occupants are up for getting
down. That’s not to say that two consenting adults can’t make
a go of it, but you shouldn’t put anyone else out, run them off,
or otherwise make them uncomfortable because you want to
act out a fantasy. You have a bedroom for that. And if your
boyfriend is home – making a one-on-one tryst with a gym trick
a no-go – that’s your problem and nobody else’s.
4. What You’re Doing in the ‘Facilities’ is Unsanitary
All that grimy sweat pooling on the benches and floors of
steam rooms and saunas aside, the fact remains that not
everyone showers before they enter; that’s issue number one,
and it’s pretty disgusting if you’ve just come from a five-mile
run on the treadmill. Secondly, if you’re having sexual contact
with another person in these rooms, you’re introducing a
whole host of other bacteria to the scenario that, personally, I’d
rather do without – and I’m not alone. I’ve witnessed plenty of
questionable activities happen here – from making out to oral
sex to full-on penetration – and I’m never more disgusted (or
run out of a room quicker) than when a guy blows his load all
over the wood or tile structures instead of his towel and quickly
exits without a second thought about cleaning it up. This is
how things like death get spread, and it needs to stop.
5. Performing Lewd Acts in Public Is Illegal
While the after-exercise facilities at your gym seem like private
places – low lights and condensation-covered doors have a way
of suggesting to your subconscious that they are – they’re still
very much public. As such, if you get caught performing lewd
acts in public, you’re subject to the codes of conduct that help
keep our world free from sexual predators – and that’s exactly
how you’ll be defined, perhaps forever if you’re charged with a
criminal act. Now, most gyms will simply ask you to leave and
revoke your membership in this case, but if you’ve offended or
touched someone else without their consent, it could mean big
trouble, and in the end that’s just not worth it. Which brings
me back to the bathhouse: If you’re feeling frisky, head over
there. Otherwise, keep your love muscle to yourself at the gym
and nobody gets hurt.
Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBT lifestyle expert whose
work has been published in more than 100 outlets across the world. He
splits his time between homes in New York City and the Jersey Shore with
his dog Jaxon. Connect with Mikey on Twitter @mikeyrox.
www.gaycalgary.com
www.gaycalgary.com
39
The Butch
Beneath Our
Wings
Lea DeLaria reflects on her
landmark TV moment, talks
‘hero’ Bette Midler and making
tough lesbians cry with Orange
Is the New Black
 photos by Netflix
By Chris Azzopardi
First the screwdriver, then the peanut butter.
But Lea DeLaria’s love for Orange Is the New Black goes
beyond the craftiness of her shenanigans with both a hand tool
and a classic sandwich spread as a regular on TV’s Emmywinning prison drama. Sure, Netflix has afforded the veteran
actress a deep cargo-pocket of outrageous antics, but Orange
isn’t only here for your amusement. More importantly, the
series and DeLaria’s riotous, randy character, Big Boo, are part
of the show’s heralded inclusivity.
Breaking ground as the first openly gay comic to perform on
American television, in 1993 on The Arsenio Hall Show, DeLaria
is still carrying the torch on TV two decades later, representing
a deeply unsung subset in the queer community on Orange: the
butch lesbian.
As the show embarks on its icy fourth season, the 58-yearold called in for a tell-all interview about the “lesser known”
controversy surrounding her historical TV debut: How the Fox
network was not fond of the actress’ lavish gayness and wanted
to put the brakes on her groundbreaking Arsenio appearance.
Who stepped in to fight Fox’s resistance to the landmark stint?
Why has the actress turned down so many gay roles since
then? And why does she think we should drop the community’s
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longtime collective acronym, LGBT? Read on as DeLaria reveals
all.
GC: Orange Is the New Black is now in its fourth season. Is
that hard to believe?
LD: It’s really shocking for me to believe it’s our fourth
season. I thought I’d have way more money by now!
GC: What about this fourth season stands out from the past
three?
LD: I think what people are going to find about the fourth
season is that it’s darker than the other seasons. They really
explore some of the shitty things about being in prison. There’s
a lot I can’t talk about. I think it’s going to be much darker
than you’ve seen in the past. Still funny, but there’s definitely a
darkness involved. But Boo is going to be Boo as Boo always is.
GC: You get to do some crazy stuff on this show. What’s your
relationship like with peanut butter at this point?
LD: Yeah, I can’t eat peanut butter at all, as a matter of fact.
(Laughs)
GC: Seriously?
LD: Yeah, I don’t really eat peanut butter. But yeah, I believe
that the writers sit around and go, “What’s the fucking most
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insane thing we can think of? Let’s give it to DeLaria!” They know I’ll do anything for a
laugh.
GC: When it comes to acting, you’ve been at it longer than most people know. An
eternity, right?
LD: It feels like an eternity.
GC: You don’t look like an eternity.
LD: Good genes, I can assure you. It’s certainly not from taking care of myself, as anyone
who’s seen me in the West Village, drunk on my butt at 4 in the morning, knows.
GC: How is post-Orange life different from pre-Orange life? Are you recognized more
often on the streets?
LD: Oh yeah, I’m recognized nonstop. Before – first of all, not everybody was
carrying their camera with them like they do now, so I would get stopped… I’d
get stopped enough. I wouldn’t say frequently, and I wouldn’t say infrequently;
it was somewhere in the middle. Generally, it’s “Hey, you’re Lea DeLaria; can
I have your autograph?” Now I can’t even walk out of my front doorstep. It’s
like, “Oh my god! Orange is the New Black!” It just goes on all day.
GC: Can you still even go to gay bars?
LD: All the time. I could never go to a gay bar before! I mean, before
Orange that would be the one place everyone knew who I was. I made
the decision very early on in my life that I’m going to live my life, and if
people come up to me, I’m going to be friendly and charming the way
I am. I don’t want to lock myself in my room. I just don’t want to do
that, so I’m out all the time.
GC: How does the treatment of LGBT characters and sexuality on
Orange compare to your previous lesbian roles, both big and small?
LD: What’s different about it more than anything else in the
world is that it’s real. Believe me, as you’ve said, I played a lot of
them, big and small, and I can assure you I’ve said “no” more than
I’ve said “yes” to these roles. A lot of roles I say no to are because
they’re just so completely stereotyped and bullshit that I won’t
play them anymore.
GC: You say “anymore.” What changed?
LD: When I started out in the business, I played them
because it was work. And then it just got to be ridiculous. I
just said, “This is it. I can’t do this anymore unless someone is
going to give me a real character.” Like the chick I played on
Californication! If you’re going to give me a real character,
I’m going to knock it out of the park for you. If you’re just
gonna make it the same ol’ stereotypical bullshit butch,
I’m not interested.
But that’s what’s great about our show, and not just
with the queer characters but with what it does with
women, what it does for trans people – what it does
for everybody. We’re real. We’re three dimensional.
We’re honest. We cry. We laugh. We talk about
life, you know? That’s the biggest difference. And
not to mention the very warm, friendly, threedimensional
positive
portrayal of a butch
dyke that is incredibly
unique and unusual,
and so I’m loving
doing that.
GC: As a butch
lesbian
yourself,
how do you think
Boo is opening doors
for the butch lesbian
community?
LD:
I know that
she is because I get
direct messages on
Instagram. I get, like,
150 of them a day
from all over the world,
from all these different
women saying, “Thank
god for Orange Is the
New Black, thank god
for Big Boo. I now know
that it is OK for me to be
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who I am,” and they’re not just talking about being gay; they’re
talking about being a butch. I get constant messages about it.
Constant! And then people come up to me on the street. I’ve had
really hard-ass butches cry when they talk to me, which is…
trust me, it’s hard for us to cry. So finally somebody is putting
out there who we actually are. I feel like Season 3, episode
four, which is the Boo backstory episode – I believe that’s done
as much for butches as Season 1, episode three, did for the
transgender community.
GC: Do lesbians send you letters from jail?
LD: I don’t get letters from people in jail. What I do get are the
conversations with them after they’re out. I hear from guards,
from COs, from wardens, from assistant wardens and from exprisoners on the street telling me how much our show hits the
nail on the head. It’s very real. It’s very much like that. I think
that’s a really intense compliment. I’m not that kind of actor.
Like Taylor (Schilling), who is an amazing actor, she went to a
women’s prison. Kate Mulgrew went to a women’s prison. To
look at, to get the feel, to get the backbone of their character. I
watched Lockup. (Laughs)
GC: What’s your earliest memory of subverting gender
norms? Were you a tomboy?
LD: Yeah, I was what we called a tomboy back then. It’s very
interesting… when I went to a thrift store and got my first suit
and put it on for the first time, it was like putting on my own
skin. I was 17.
GC: When did you get the “butch” tattoo on your forearm?
LD: It must’ve been the ’90s.
GC: What’s the story behind it?
LD: I like tattoos! I’ve got a lot of ’em. I just wanted it to say
“butch,” and I went in and told (the tattoo artist) what I wanted.
After we got done, I couldn’t see it because of the angle, and he
goes, “It’s fantastic! It says ‘bitch’ perfectly!” And I went insane.
“YOU PUT BITCH ON THERE?” And he laughed – he got me so
good. He laughed soooo hard at me. He totally got me. But he
was just messing with me – he knew better than to put bitch
on my arm.
GC: So 1993 comes around and you’re the first openly gay
comic to break through the late night talk-show circuit with an
appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show.
LD: It was more than that – I was the first openly gay comic
to perform on television, period, in America. I mean, it was latenight, which was really huge, but yeah. Nobody. It was me.
GC: What were you feeling in that moment?
LD: Scared as shit! Terrified, just terrified. All I could think
was, “What if I bomb?” And I had 20/20 following me. So I
wasn’t just doing The Arsenio Hall Show – I was also doing
fucking 20/20. It was craziness because it was such a big deal.
I’m not sure how it happened but the universe aligned and the
planets aligned perfectly and I killed. It was nine and a half
minutes of television gold, so yeah, I was lucky. Could’ve gone
either way. The audience could have hated me. I was not lightly
gay, if you know what I mean. I wasn’t gay-lite. I was as queer
as it gets.
They did an article in The Advocate right after it happened.
They taped it and apparently I said the words “dyke,” “fag” and
“queer” 47 times. I mean, it was the second sentence I uttered:
“Hello everybody, I’m Lea DeLaria. It’s the 1990s, it’s hip to be
queer and I’m a big dyke.”
GC: We needed somebody to be that person.
LD: I think that was probably right. It was the early part of
the ’90s, so we were having that rift about the words queer and
dyke and fag. The lesser known story is that they almost didn’t
air it because I said queer and dyke and fag. The lawyers called
Arsenio in and said, “We don’t think you should let this go out.”
They were trying to pull it and Arsenio – again this is the lesser
story that people don’t know – had a fit and said, “She’s a dyke.
If she wants to call herself a dyke then it’s none of your fucking
business.” He fought for it and got me on the air. The lawyers at
Fox were saying, “Noooo.”
42
It was a big deal at the time; now it’s ho-hum. But back then
it was huge. You gotta remember, Ellen (DeGeneres) wasn’t out
yet. Rosie (O’Donnell) wasn’t out yet. None of these guys were
out yet.
GC: Shifting gears: Let’s talk about your cameo in one of the
gayest classics of all time, First Wives Club. What’s an onscreen
scolding from Bette Midler like?
LD: Just like an offscreen scolding! (Laughs)
GC: Wait wait, there’s a story there.
LD: I gotta say, you must be about my fiancée’s age because
everybody of her generation – she’s 31 – loves that movie. That’s
her favorite movie. I’m like, mine’s Rebecca. I’m just saying,
First Wives Club is your favorite movie?!
The best thing about First Wives Club, though, beyond the
fact that I got to be in it and beyond the fact that Paul Rudnick
wrote that for me, which was very cool, was getting to work with
Bette, who is my hero and one of the reasons I went into show
business. But more than that was becoming friends with Goldie
Hawn. Goldie is just an absolute unbelievable doll. Talented.
Brilliant. Charming. Just a lovely human being. I had a blast
doing First Wives Club.
GC: More recently, you called out a preacher while on the
New York subway.
LD: That guy? It’s an insult to preachers to call him a
preacher. He’s just a homophobic asshole.
GC: It went viral.
LD: It went viral so fast I couldn’t believe it, in fact. I was
on TMZ within a half hour. That was the thing: I was on a
subway on my way to the studio – we were filming – so what had
happened, I got out of the subway and I called my manager. I
said, “Look, I had a confrontation. Somebody pulled out their
phone and they videotaped it soooo there might be something
on social media.” Twenty minutes later, he called me and said,
“You’re on TMZ.” It was hilarious! It just went nuts.
GC: You famously dropped out of Michigan Womyn’s
Music Festival in 2014 because of their womyn-born-womyn
stipulation, which discourages transgender people from
attending. And you’ve spoken many times on the topic of
“infighting,” saying once, “We queers need to find a way to stop
this fighting and work together towards our common goal.” In
the years since canceling your MichFest appearance, have you
seen any noticeable change regarding the unification of the
queer community?
LD: Absolutely not. I speak at universities now because
apparently I’m a role model (laughs). It just makes me laugh.
Like, honey, if I’m a role model, queers are in a lot of fucking
trouble. I speak about it a lot, but when we come together and
don’t infight we get a lot done. That’s how we defeated DOMA,
that’s how we defeated Prop 8, that’s why the SCOTUS decision
happened.
But in the midst of all that I still find myself constantly dealing
with the more conservative queers and the more radical queers
like myself, and as I said in the statement when I pulled out of
MichFest: How fucked up is it when I’m the voice of reason?
You’ve got to be kidding me that you guys can’t see this. When
Lea DeLaria and Larry Kramer are the voices of reasons, people
are fucked. ’Cause we’re the two biggest bitches on the planet!
We’re little brats. We scream and yell until people listen to us,
that’s who we are.
This is the biggest issue we have in the queer community to
date and will continue to be the biggest issue until we learn
to accept our differences, and that’s the issue. And part of
me believes that this inclusivity of calling us the LGBTQQTYwhatever-LMNOP tends to stress our differences. And that’s
why I refuse to do it. I say queer. Queer is everybody.
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43
The Heroism of
Mariah Carey
Visions of love, bravery and bad hair
through the lens of a longtime ‘lamb’
 photos by Denise Truscello
By Chris Azzopardi
I told my mom I interviewed Mariah Carey and she
cried. “I know how much this means to you,” she said,
verklempt.
She knows Mariah saved my life. I was 10 and confused and gay
when I first heard her voice. It was one of those meant-to-be moments:
A friend eagerly, and thankfully, played me the cassette single of
“Emotions.” That voice, all seven octaves, captivated me, changed me.
Years later, when I heard the curly-haired, hand-wavey songstress
singing pick-me-ups like “Hero,” “Make It Happen” and “Can’t Take
That Away (Mariah’s Theme),” I was lifted beyond those signature high
notes.
In 1997, I was 15 and still confused, on the brink of self-discovery,
without a role model. The parallel wasn’t lost on me – Mariah was
coming into her authentic self, channeling the artist she never could
be on the triumphant confessional Butterfly, a metaphorical nod to
the newfound freedom she was feeling after years of professional and
personal captivity. The album, which turns 20 next year, ended on a
deeply intimate note with “Outside,” where she referenced the inferior
feelings she harbored as a biracial child.
As a gay adolescent internalizing the “feeling there’s no one
completely the same,” as the song goes, my already-strong bond to
the chart-topper, the diva, the survivor – my musical salvation, my
“it gets better” – was strengthened. It was more than music. It is
44
and has always been a palpable affinity to Mariah’s courageous and
encouraging life story.
The story of an emancipated 27-year-old woman asserting
independence. The story of a broken-winged 31-year-old woman who,
a decade into her illustrious career, hit rock bottom, entered rehab for
“exhaustion” and more than made it through the rain – four years later,
in 2005, “We Belong Together,” the second single off The Emancipation
of Mimi, held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks. For
Mariah’s ever-faithful “lambs” who, too, have experienced, or are still
experiencing the outside, it’s her inspirational narrative they’ve clung
to with undying devotion.
Nearly 25 years after first hearing her voice on cassette, my phone
rings. It’s Mariah Carey, the sales-crushing icon with a whopping 18
No. 1 singles, the five-time Grammy winner, my childhood lifeline,
our ally. As we speak, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge the roots of
our connection, so I do. We also, of course, talk about Vegas, where
she’s headlining The Colosseum at Caesars Palace with her hits show,
Mariah #1 to Infinity, now armed with more “confidence,” she says,
to go on vocal “tangents.” Naturally, her lingerie collection comes up.
Furthermore, Mariah elaborates on the “unconditional love” she’s
experienced from the LGBT community, which she emphasized when
GLAAD recently recognized her with an Ally Award for all the lives
she’s changed. An honor she received, in part, and most admirably, by
changing her own.
GC: You can’t see me right now but I’m bowing down.
MC: Awww! I’m bowing down right back.
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GC: I’m going to start with the GLAAD Media Awards because what
a big moment for me, too, as a gay man to finally see you honored
for being an ally. You acknowledged the “unconditional love” from the
LGBTQ community, and it’s true: I’ve never had anything less than
that for you. To be completely honest, you and your music were why I
followed my dream of being a writer who one day wanted to interview
you. And here we are. Anyway, Lamb 4 Life right here; not even kidding.
MC: Oh, wow; that’s amazing! L4L! Seriously – that’s such a great
thing to hear; thank you for telling me that.
GC: What did you mean when you said you haven’t experienced
much unconditional love outside of the gay community? And why do
you think the gay community in particular has stuck by you through
thick and thin?
You know! It’s just like different moments. Even a friend of mine when
I was growing up, her mom was in a relationship with another woman
and they lived together and the whole thing, but she didn’t know – she
didn’t understand it. But because I had such an open-minded mother
who explained that kind of stuff to me, I wasn’t gonna out her mother
to her. I was just like, “OK, fine.”
GC: You’ve been a lifeline for many of your LGBT fans, including
myself, because you’ve showed us that even an outsider can find his
or her place. When was the first time in your life you were exactly the
person you wanted to be?
MC: What I was trying to express – and it was all so fast and it
wasn’t the world’s greatest speech ’cause I just wanted to try and speak
from my heart and, you know, sometimes there’s so much going on and
it’s not the best representation of what I really wanted to say, which
would’ve been simpler. Which is basically: Some of the songs that I
have written, like I have a song called “Outside” that a lot of people from
the gay community have always said they grew up listening to and were
like, “That helped me come out to my family.” Different things.
And so, as a songwriter, I wrote that song about me feeling like an
outsider, about being biracial and a lot of other things in my life. I like
to leave it open so people can relate it to their own lives, and a lot of
my fans tell me, “This song helped me get through having to talk about
being gay with my family and with my friends,” and stuff like that.
There are other songs, too, because I kind of come from that place of
feeling different or not accepted, and so that’s what I meant.
GC: For me, as a teenager, “Outside” really resonated. Those lyrics
– “ambiguous, without a sense of belonging to touch” – are ingrained
in my head, and they had a big influence on my own life. “Looking In”
as well. When were you first aware that you were kindred spirits with
the gay community?
MC: The whole thing in terms of me feeling really comfortable
around all different types of people, including different races, religions,
gay, straight, whatever, started as a kid. Most kids that I grew up
around had never even met anyone gay, but my mom was always very
theatrical and she had a lot of gay friends, so I grew up with her two
best friends who were guncles before people knew what that was. And
yeah, they were great to me. They really treated me well as a little girl.
Obviously gay marriage wasn’t, you know, like it is now – it wasn’t
legal – so they weren’t married. But they lived together and they were
my example of a really great couple. They stayed together for as long
as I knew them, and so to me, that was just normal. I wasn’t like, “Oh,
wow, this is weird; my mom’s friend is gay.”
I guess I was just always comfortable because they were kind to
me, and cool. And so then when I grew up I would always naturally
gravitate toward the fun gay guy in school, you know what I mean?
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45
MC: Wow. The first time I can think of, and this is a great thing
that actually incorporated work and fun and being free and music,
was when I made the video for “Honey” (in 1997), and I went swimming
in the shoes. It was just… I always wanted to have the freedom to be
myself and I wasn’t in a situation where that was OK; I wasn’t allowed to
because of that, uhh, first relationship (to ex-husband and then-Sony
Music head Tommy Mottola). I had to overcome a lot to get through
that, but that video – prior to that, I always had to settle for less than
I wanted to be, and I wasn’t allowed to be who I was. And it really took
a lot of courage. It wasn’t just like, “I’m gonna make a video.” It was, “I
am moving on with my life, and I have to for my own self because I’m
trapped in a situation.”
GC: I know what you’re saying – I’ve been there. I mean, I’ve not
made a music video...
MC: (Laughs) Treat the music video as “I had a great time
somewhere!” But it included me doing work and making a video, which
for me, that’s not really work if it’s fun. And then also just all the
elements that I love: the beach, the water, the freedom, the whole
narrative of the thing. But yeah, it took a while to get there.
GC: You’re doing some of your earliest songs during your Vegas
residency. How has your voice and your approach to singing these
songs, some of which are over 20 years old, changed?
MC: You know what, certain days I’m like, “Oh, this is a really good
day for me; I had a lot of vocal rest today and blah, blah, blah,” and
some days for me I have to be a little bit more experimental and play
around on stage because maybe it’s not as strong for that minute.
Really, I just think I’ve become more confident and more experimental
in a good way, if you know what I mean, in using different parts of my
voice and things. I always did it, but I was more “stick to the script” and
“don’t go off on a tangent.” You know, I think that people kind of like
the tangents that I have! (Laughs) Singing tangents. Breaking a high
heel on stage tangents; whatever the case may be.
GC: You in your lingerie making pizza tangents – all of it.
MC: (Laughs uproariously) It was real! That’s what I walk around in!
I barely own any clothes! All I have is friggin’ lingerie.
GC: How have you made yourself feel at home in Vegas?
MC: I just bought a lot of lingerie! (Laughs)
GC: What do you think 1990 Mariah would think of 2016 Mariah?
MC: (Ponders; tongue sputters) Ah, I don’t knoooow! I was such a
kid, just in over my head, but I knew that I was gonna do this for my
life and soooo: I probably would’ve been like, “Who does your hair and
makeup?” (Laughs) ’Cause they had me with some people who didn’t
know what they were doing and I knew it wasn’t really good and I’d just
be like, “Who does your lighting, hair and makeup?” is what I’d ask her.
GC: They liked to put you in a lot of black.
MC: They diiiiid. It was just like, ahhh, such a long story. You don’t
even wanna know.
46
GC: We’ve seen a lot of greats pass away in the last several years:
Prince, Whitney and David Bowie. In what ways do their untimely
deaths have you reflecting on your own legacy and what you want that
to be?
MC: It’s really interesting: I loved Prince and I still do. I love his
music, and I’ll always have it, and I grew up listening to Prince, ya
know what I mean? I was lucky enough to get to know him, but before
I knew him I was listening to his music as an adolescent, as a kid, so
his passing was very… I really felt like he was one of those people who
would be around for a really long time because he just was kind of
ageless in a lot of ways.
But in terms of me reflecting on my legacy? I’m not at that place right
now. I’m still very much doing fun, creative things that, you know, I
don’t want to go into a long, drawn out thing about, but a lot of different
projects. Some movie things. I’m getting ready to go back in the studio
really soon, and obviously I’m doing this residency in Vegas. It’s really
fun, but I’m not trapped there. I can do other things. We just got back
from the European tour, which was amazing audiences, and then we
went to Africa, so it’s like, all that stuff is great.
But what do I think my legacy will be? It’s really hard for me to
answer that. I just hope the fans who’ve been so supportive of me
throughout my whole career will have my music and it’ll make
a difference in people’s lives as you told me it did for you, which is
amazing, because not everyone knows songs like “Outside” or “Looking
In” or “Close My Eyes.”
GC: “I was a wayward child”… trust me, I know those words by
heart.
MC: Trust me, I do too. “...with the weight of the world that I held
deep inside.”
GC: Is the weight lifted?
MC: You know what – is the weight lifted? Ahhh, I think that it’s
different now. It’s just different. ... I don’t want that to be misinterpreted;
I don’t want you to misinterpret that. I just mean like, in a lot of ways
there are other things that are the “weight of the world” to me. Like my
life now, I have other responsibilities. I was really writing that about
the child version of me; I really did have the weight of the world on my
shoulders as a kid, that’s how deep it felt for me.
GC: Thanks for clarifying so nobody takes that out of context.
MC: (Groans dramatically) I knooooow.
GC: Mariah, I so deeply appreciate this moment and it means more
than you’ll ever know. I hope our paths will cross again at some point
soon.
MC: I really thank you so much. I thank you for talking about the
music. Really – I appreciate that. I adore you, daaahhhling!
www.gaycalgary.com
www.gaycalgary.com
47
Photography
48
ISCWR - School’s Out at Evolution, Edmonton
ISCWR - Let’s Duet at Woodys, Edmonton
photos by B&J
photos by B&J
www.gaycalgary.com
Photography
ISCWR - Draggin’ Dizney at the Unitarian Church, Edmonton
36th Annual Sandy Page Campout, Wayne Alberta
photos by B&J
http://gaycalgary.com/pa1162
Fairytales Film Festival, Calgary
http://gaycalgary.com/pa1163
www.gaycalgary.com
49
50
www.gaycalgary.com
www.gaycalgary.com
51
News Releases
NSFW - Steam Room Stories:
Your cat is dead!
The last thing you want to hear when you return
from your honeymoon is bad news about your
pet isn’t it? In the latest episode...
http://www.gaycalgary.com/n2186
Raphael Releases Debut
Full-Length Album “The
Dark of My Mind”
Raphael’s 10-song debut album, “The Dark of
My Mind”, is a journey through modern love set
to sexy, moody trip-hop and...
Michael Lucas’ Israeli
Documentary To Be Available
for Free Viewing
Xyrena Resurrects the VHS as Pop
Art Fragrance Packaging: Industry
1st Commercial w/ Trans Model
TESA supports government
introduction of federal
trans equality bill
The Internet’s Favorite Queer
TV Network Celebrates A Very
‘Sherry’ PRIDE Month
Calgary Pride applauds
introduction of federal
trans rights bill
Trans Trans: Transgender
Histories Between Germany
& the USA, 1882-1966 Exhibition at UofC
Filmmaker, entrepreneur and columnist Michael
Lucas will release his 2013 documentary,
Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised...
The Trans Equality Society of Alberta (TESA)
strongly supports the Government of Canada’s
anticipated tabling of legislation to...
Calgary Pride applauds the Government of
Canada’s anticipated bill explicitly recognizing
the rights of transgender and gender...
Vegan Fragrance House Continues to Disrupt
the Beauty Industry with Innovation, Inclusion,
and Social Responsibility LA fragrance...
The web’s favorite queer network celebrates
Pride month with even more LGBT content
including three brand new original series....
Exhibition Nickel Galleries, University of
Calgary May 27 – June 10, 2016 DANCE
PERFORMANCE: June 1, 12:30 and 1:30 pm
Big...
DJ Pornstar Plays Hard - On
Screen and In Booth: Performing
at Vancouver Pride July 28
Dozens of adult entertainers have followed his
footsteps and have even tried to mimic his work,
but there is only one DJ Pornstar. Dominic...
Spring/ Summer 2016
Alexander COBB® Underwear
Collection is on-line
It’s official now, the new SS 2016 collection can
be purchased online and in all brand’s sales
points! Under the thematic name...
Weekly Text Message to
Young Women in Kenya
Greatly Improved Likelihood
of Seeking HIV Test
Canadian Government-Funded Researchers
Text Weekly Sex Health Information to 300
Female Students; 67% Get HIV Test Within Six...
Montréal Pride travels to India
on a humanitarian mission
Montréal Pride has been committed to the fight
against injustice around the globe since 2010.
This year, the chosen destination...
52
www.gaycalgary.com
News Releases
Puerto Vallarta Becomes
First “Gay Travel Approved”
City in Mexico
NSFW - NEW Andrew Christian
VIDEO: Rock, Paper, Scissors
Naked Strip Challenge
Royal Caribbean is “Coming
Out” for Equality
VIDEO: Marvel Vs. DCNaked Strip Challenge
WOW air names new
aircraft TF-GAY in support
of LGBT community
VIDEO: Balloon Shaving Challenge
For years, Puerto Vallarta has been celebrated
as the premiere vacation destination for the
LGBT community in Mexico. Now, Puerto...
MODELS: Ryan Rose, Jacob Ford, Jon Pastor
Rock, Paper, Scissors SHOOT! Watch Jacob
Ford, Ryan Rose, and Jon Pastor battle it...
MODELS: Topher DiMaggio, Arad Choose your
favorite hero with our super-sexy AC Trophy
Boys! Director/Editor: Erica Dorsey...
Royal Caribbean is embracing the LGBT
community in a big way in 2016 by appointing
its first Director of Diversity and Inclusion,...
MODELS: Cory Zwierzynski, Asher Join this
handsome duo as they duke it out over who gets
splattered with a ball(oon) full of...
WOW air, Iceland’s ultra-low-cost transatlantic
airline, has named their newest aircraft TF-GAY
in a show of support to the LGBT...
Calgary based filmmaker
announces Season 2 of
The Girls Guide to be
produced in August 2016
Toronto Pride at the
Gaystone 2016
As one of Toronto’s key LGBTQ landmarks, the
Gladstone Hotel has been a creative hub...
Justine Stevens, writer and director of the award
winning 8 episode series The Girls Guide, along
with creative collaborator Kara...
NSFW - Steam Room Stories:
What’s your fetish?
Strong Support for Transgender
Students in Alberta
Everyone’s tastes are different and a turn on for
one person can be a turn off for another. The
latest episode of Steam Room...
In a new Leger poll conducted in the latter half
of May of 2016, 67% of Albertans said they
support “initiatives to protect...
Inaya Day Celebrates 20
Years in Club Music with
“One Night In Heaven”
VIDEO: Breaking Free PRIDE 2016
A Re-Make of the 90’s Dance Classic Produced
by Powerhouse DJs Toy Armada and DJ Grind
Inaya Day celebrates twenty years in...
MODELS: Cory Zwierzynski, Uriel Ramirez, Cory
Lee, Austin Watie, Jon Pastor Join us as our
models open up, and share their...
VIDEO - Nadkins, The Original
Male Refresher Towelettes
All Natural and Scientifically Formulated to
Keep Men Feeling Fresh, Clean, Confident and
Happy. Manager, Inc. today announces...
www.gaycalgary.com
53
54
www.gaycalgary.com
Directory & Events
DOWNTOWN CALGARY
11
10
12
2
6
3
7
15
1
8
4 5
13
1
2
3
4
Calgary Outlink---------- Community Groups
HIV Community Link---- Community Groups
Backlot------------------------Bars and Clubs
Texas Lounge-----------------Bars and Clubs
5
6
7
8
Goliath’s--------------------------Bathhouses
Twisted Element--------------Bars and Clubs
Broken City-------------------Bars and Clubs
Cowboys Nightclub-----------Bars and Clubs
FIND OUT!
GayCalgary Magazine is the go-to source for information about
Alberta LGBT businesses and community groups—the most
extensive and accurate resource of its kind! This print supplement
contains a subset of active community groups and venues, with
premium business listings of paid advertisers.
..........Wheelchair Accessible
Spot something inaccurate or outdated? Want your business or
organization listed? We welcome you to contact us!
 403-543-6960
 1-888-543-6960
 [email protected]
http://www.gaycalgary.com/CalgaryTravelRSS
http://www.gaycalgary.com/EdmontonTravelRSS
Local Bars, Restaurants, and Accommodations info on the go!
http://www.gaycalgary.com/Directory
Browse our complete directory of over 750 gay-frieindly listings!
Bars & Clubs (Gay)
3 Backlot-------------------------------------
209 - 10th Ave SW
 403-265-5211
Open 7 days a week, 2pm-close
4 Texas Lounge

308 - 17 Ave SW
 403-229-0911

Open 7 days a week, 11am-close
www.gaycalgary.com
6 Twisted Element

1006 - 11th Ave SW
 403-802-0230

http:.//www.twistedelement.ca
Bars & Clubs (Mixed)
These venues regularly host LGBT events.
Bodega

318A 10th Street NW

[email protected]

http://www.labodega.ca
Dickens Pub------------------Bars and Clubs
Flames Central---------------Bars and Clubs
Local 522---------------------Bars and Clubs
Ten Nightclub-----------------Bars and Clubs
7 Broken City

613 11th Ave SW

[email protected]

http://www.brokencity.ca
LGBT Community Directory
CALGARY
9
10
11
12
 403-262-9976
 403-233-7550
11 Local 522----------------------------------

522 6 Ave SW
 403-244-6773

http://www.localtavern.ca
 403-457-4464
15 The Blind Monk---------------------------

918 12th Ave SW
 403-265-6200

[email protected]

http://www.blindmonk.ca

Mon-Sun: 11am-2am
 403-384-9777
14 Vinyl & Hyde (CLOSED)

213 10 Ave SW

http://www.vinylandhyde.com
 587-224-5200
Community Groups
• Badminton (Absolutely Smashing)

6020 - 4 Avenue NE

[email protected]
• Boot Camp

Platoon FX, 1351 Aviation Park NE

[email protected]
• Bowling (Rainbow Riders League)

Let’s Bowl (2916 5th Avenue NE)

[email protected]
• Curling

North Hill Curling Club (1201 - 2 Street NW)

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]
Bathhouses/Saunas
Alberta Society for Kink

http://www.westerncup.com
• Lawn Bowling
5 Goliaths

308 - 17 Ave SW
 403-229-0911

www.goliaths.ca

Open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day

403-398-9968

[email protected]

http://www.apollocalgary.com

http://www.myapollo.com
A volunteer operated, non-profit organization serving
primarily members of the LGBT communities but open to all
members of all communities. Primary focus is to provide
members with well-organized and fun sporting events and
other activities.
• Golf
13 The Pint

1428 17th Ave SW

[email protected]

http://www.thepint.ca/calgary
 403-475-9227

http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/
group.albertasocietyforkink
• Western Cup 31
10 Flames Central----------------------------

219 8th Ave SW
 403-935-2637

http://www.flamescentral.com
12 Ten Nightclub (closed)

1140 10th Ave SW
13 The Pint-----------------------Bars and Clubs
15 The Blind Monk--------------Bars and Clubs
Apollo Calgary - Friends in Sports
8 Cowboys Nightclub------------------------

421 12th Avenue SE
 403-265-0699

http://www.cowboysnightclub.com
9 Dickens Pub

1000 9th Ave SW

[email protected]

http://www.dickenspub.ca
N
• Outdoor Pursuits
[email protected]
If it’s done outdoors, we do it. Volunteer led events all
summer and winter. Hiking, camping, biking, skiing, snow
shoeing, etc. Sign up at myapollo.org to get updates on
the sport you like. We’re always looking for people to
lead events.
• Running (Calgary Frontrunners)
YMCA Eau Claire (4th St, 1st Ave SW)

[email protected]
East Doors (directly off the Bow river pathway). Distances
vary from 8 km - 15 km. Runners from 6 minutes/mile to
9+ minute miles.
• Slow Pitch

[email protected]
55
Directory & Events
Fetish Slosh----------------------------  Evening
Calgary Events
At 3 Backlot
Mondays
 2nd
Alcoholics Anonymous--------------------  8pm

Hillhurst United Church (Gym Entrance)
1227 Kensington Close NW
Saturdays
Coffee------------------------------------ 10am
By Prime Timers Calgary

Midtown Co-op (1130 - 11th Ave SW)
Karaoke-----------------------------------  7pm
At 5 Goliaths

ASK Meet and Greet----------------  7-9:30pm
Wednesdays
Fridays
Communion Service-----------------  12:10pm
Inside Out Youth Group---------------- 7-9pm
See
ISCCA BBQs--------------------------------Dinner
Student Night------------------------  6pm-6am
Worship Time---------------------------- 10am
At 5 Goliaths
Illusions-------------------------------  7-10pm
Tuesdays
Calgary Networking Club-------------- 5-7pm
Mosaic Youth Group--------------------  7-9pm
Womynspace---------------------------- 7-9pm
Worship------------------------------  10:30am
Beers for Queers--------------------------  6pm
Thursdays
New Directions-------------------------- 7-9pm
Sunday Services---------------------  10:45am
Student Night------------------------  6pm-6am

Kerby Center, Sunshine Room
1133 7th Ave SW
Heading Out----------------------- 8pm-10pm
Worship Services------------------------- 11am
Church Service----------------------------  4pm
Buddy Night-------------------------  6pm-6am

Bonasera (1204 Edmonton Tr. NE)
See 1 Calgary Outlink
By
 1st
YYC Badboys at 13 The Pint
At 5 Goliaths
At 3 Backlot
Knox United Church
 Old Y Centre (223 12th Ave SW)
Lesbian Seniors---------------------------  2pm
 3rd
Between Men--------------------------- 7-9pm
Karaoke-------------------------  8pm-12:30am
Lesbian Meetup Group-------------  7:30-9pm
 2nd, 4th
At 4 Texas Lounge
ISCCA at 3 Backlot
Mount Royal University Recreation

[email protected]
All skill levels welcome.
• Tennis

[email protected]
• Yoga

Robin: 403-618-9642
Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association (ARGRA)

www.argra.org
• Monthly Dances

Arrata Opera Centre (1315 - 7 Street SW)
Calgary Expo

http://www.calgaryexpo.com
Calgary Gay Fathers

[email protected]

http://www.calgarygayfathers.ca
Peer support group for gay, bisexual and questioning
fathers. Meeting twice a month.
Calgary Men’s Chorus

http://www.calgarymenschorus.org
• Rehearsals

Temple B’Nai Tikvah, 900 - 47 Avenue SW
Calgary Sexual Health Centre

304, 301 14th Street NW
403-283-5580

http://www.calgarysexualhealth.ca
A pro-choice organization that believes all people have the
right and ability to make their own choices regarding their
sexual and reproductive health.
1 Calgary Outlink
Old Y Centre (303 – 223, 12 Ave SW)

403-234-8973

http://www.calgaryoutlink.com
 1st
 2nd
At 5 Goliaths
 3rd
At 1 Calgary Outlink
 4th

 1st
Sundays
See
See
See
See
See
Deer Park United Church
Scarboro United Church
Hillhurst United Church
Knox United Church
Rainbow Community Church
Flashlight Night---------------------  6pm-6am
Legend:  = Monthly Reoccurrance,  = Date (Range/Future),  = Sponsored Event
• Peer Support and Crisis Line
1-877-OUT-IS-OK (1-877-688-4765)
Front-line help service for GLBT individuals and their family
and friends, or anyone questioning their sexuality.
• Calgary Lesbian Ladies Meet up Group
• Between Men and Between Men Online
• Heading Out
• Illusions Calgary
• Inside Out
• New Directions
• Womynspace

Weeds Cafe (1903 20 Ave NW)
Deer Park United Church/Wholeness Centre
 403-278-8263
Different Strokes

http://www.differentstrokescalgary.org
FairyTales Presentation Society

403-244-1956

http://www.fairytalesfilmfest.com
Alberta Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
• DVD Resource Library
Over a hundred titles to choose from. Annual membership
is $10.
Gay Friends in Calgary

http://www.gayfriendsincalgary.ca
Organizes and hosts social activities catered to the LGBT
people and friends.
Girl Friends

[email protected]

members.shaw.ca/girlfriends
Girlsgroove

http://www.girlsgroove.ca
• Telephone Support

M-F, 8:30am - 12:30pm + 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Hillhurst United Church


(403) 283-1539

[email protected]

http://www.hillhurstunited.com
HIV Peer Support Group

403-230-5832

[email protected]
Calgary Queer Book Club

77 Deerpoint Road SE

http://www.dpuc.ca
2 HIV Community Link----------------------

110, 1603 10th Avenue SW

403-508-2500
 1-877-440-2437

http://www.hivcl.org
ISCCA Social Association

http://www.iscca.ca
Imperial Sovereign Court of the Chinook Arch. Charity
fundraising group..
Knox United Church

506 - 4th Street SW
 403-269-8382

http://www.knoxunited.ab.ca
Knox United Church is an all-inclusive church located in
downtown Calgary. A variety of facility rentals are also
available for meetings, events and concerts.
Lesbian Meetup Group

http://www.meetup.com/CalgaryLesbian
Monthly events planned for Queer women over 18+ such
as book clubs, games nights, movie nights, dinners out,
and volunteering events.
Miscellaneous Youth Network

http://www.miscyouth.com
• Fake Mustache
• Mosaic Youth Group

The Old Y Centre (223 12th Ave SW)
For queer and trans youth and their allies.
Mystique

[email protected]
Mystique is primarily a Lesbian group for women 30 and
up but all are welcome.
• Coffee Night

Good Earth Cafe (1502 - 11th Street SW)
NETWORKS

[email protected]
A social, cultural, and service organization for the mature
minded and “Plus 40” LGBT individuals seeking to meet
others at age-appropriate activities within a positive, safe
environment.
56

At 5 Goliaths
 Calgary Contd.
• Squash
 2nd
Uniform Night-----------------------  6pm-6am
By
Parents for Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

Sean: 403-695-5791

http://www.pflagcanada.ca
A registered charitable organization that provides
support, education and resources to parents, families and
individuals who have questions or concerns about sexual
orientation or gender identity.
Positive Space Committee

4825 Mount Royal Gate SW

403-440-6383

http://www.mtroyal.ca/positivespace
Works to raise awareness and challenge the patterns of
silence that continue to marginalize LGBTTQ individuals.
Pride Calgary Planning Committee

403-797-6564
 www.pridecalgary.ca
Primetimers Calgary

[email protected]

http://www.primetimerscalgary.com
Designed to foster social interaction for its members
through a variety of social, educational and recreational
activities. Open to all gay and bisexual men of any age,
respects whatever degree of anonymity that each member
desires.
Queers on Campus-------------------------

279R Student Union Club Spaces, U of C
403-220-6394

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~glass
Formerly GLASS - Gay/Lesbian Association of Students
and Staff.
• Coffee Night

2nd Cup, Kensington
Safety Under the Rainbow
 www.sutr.ca
A collaborative effort dedicated to building capacity
and acting as a voice for the LGBTQ community, service
providers, organizations and the community at large
to address violence. For same-sex domestic violence
information, resources and a link to our survey please see
our website.
Scarboro United Church

134 Scarboro Avenue SW

403-244-1161
 www.scarborounited.ab.ca
An affirming congregation—the full inclusion of LGBT
people is essential to our mission and purpose.
Sharp Foundation

403-272-2912

[email protected]

http://www.thesharpfoundation.com
www.gaycalgary.com
Directory & Events
 Calgary Contd.
Spectrum Volleyball Calgary

http://www.spectrumvolleyball.ca

[email protected]
Join us for recreational, competitive or beach volleyball.
Unity Bowling

Let’s Bowl (2916 - 5th Ave NE)

[email protected]
DevaDave Salon & Boutique (closed)

1317-1st Street NW
Restaurants & Pubs
Bodega
See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).
10 Flames Central----------------------------See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).
13 The Pint
See Calgary - Bars & Clubs (Mixed).
Retail Stores
Adult Depot (CLOSED)
Adult Source--------------------------------

10210 Macleod Tr S  403-271-7848

#102 2323 32nd Ave NE  403-769-6177

1536 16th Ave NW  403-289-4203

4310 17th Ave SE  403-273-2710

http://www.adultsourcecalgary.ca
Best Health

206A 2525 Woodview Dr SW  403-281-5582

[email protected]

http://www.besthealthcalgary.com
La Fleur (closed)
403-266-1707
Florist and Flower Shop.
Ellen Embury

403-750-1128
 www.DBBlaw.com
Fellow, American Academy of Reproductive Technology
Attorneys
Hardline

Calgary: 403-770-0776

Edmonton: 780-665-6666
Other Cities: 1-877-628-9696
 http://www.hardlinechat.com
Telephone classifieds and chat - 18+ ONLY.

2145 Summerfield Blvd
 403-912-2045

http://www.hotwaterpoolsandspas.ca

#4 - 1126 Kensington Rd NW  403-283-3555

http://www.thenakedleaf.ca
Organic teas and tea ware.
Pushing Petals

1209 5th Ave NW
 403-263-3070

http://www.pushingpetals.com
Services & Products
6th and Tenth - Sales Centre

633 10th Ave SW
 403-239-5511

http://www.6thandtenth.com

M-W: 12-6pm, R: 2-7pm, S-N: 12-5pm
Barry Hollowell
Calgary Civil Marriage Centre
 403-246-4134 (Rork Hilford)
Marriage Commissioner for Alberta (aka Justice of the Peace
- JP), Marriage Officiant, Commissioner for Oaths.
Christopher T. Tahn (Thornborough Smeltz)
 403-808-7147
Courtney Aarbo (Barristers & Solicitors)

3rd Floor, 1131 Kensington Road NW

403-571-5120

http://www.courtneyaarbo.ca
GLBT legal services.
www.gaycalgary.com

#3 306 20th Ave SW

http://www.thirdstreet.ca
MFM Communications

403-543-6970

1-877-543-6970

http://www.mfmcommunications.com
Web site hosting and development. Computer hardware
and software.

Suite 27, Building B1, 2451 Dieppe Ave SW
403-471-0204
 780-922-3347

[email protected]

http://www.nrgsupportservices.com
SafeWorks
 403-703-4750
Vertigo Mystery Theatre--------------------

161, 115 - 9 Ave SE
 403-221-3708

http://www.vertigomysterytheatre.com
Webster Galleries Inc.

812 11 Ave SW
 403-263-6500

http://www.webstergalleries.com

T-S: 10am-6pm, N: 1-4pm
EDMONTON
Lorne Doucette (CIR Realtors)

403-461-9195

http://www.lornedoucette.com
Bars & Clubs (Gay)
3 Buddy’s Nite Club (CLOSED)

11725 Jasper Ave
 780-488-6636
6 Evolution Wonder Lounge

10220 - 103 St
 780-424-0077

http://www.yourgaybar.com
FLASH (CLOSED)

10018 105 Street

[email protected]
 780-938-2941
UpStares Ultralounge (CLOSED)

4th Floor, Jasper Ave and 107th Street
4 Woody’s

11725 Jasper Ave
 780-488-6557
Bars & Clubs (Mixed)
• Calgary Drop-in Centre

Room 117, 423 - 4th Ave SE

403-699-8216

Mon-Fri: 9am-12pm, Sat: 12:15pm-3:15pm
These venues regularly host LGBT events.
Hooliganz Pub (CLOSED)
Buck Naked Boys Club

780-471-6993

http://www.bucknakedboys.ca
Naturism club for men—being social while everyone is
naked, and it does not include sexual activity. Participants do
not need to be gay, only male.
Camp fYrefly

7-104 Dept. of Educational Policy Studies
Faculty of Education, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G5

http://www.fyrefly.ualberta.ca
Edmonton Expo

http://www.edmontonexpo.com
Edmonton Pride Festival Society (EPFS)

http://www.edmontonpride.ca
Edmonton Prime Timers

[email protected]

www.primetimersww.org/edmonton
Group of older gay men and their admirers who come from
diverse backgrounds but have common social interests.
Affiliated with Prime Timers World Wide.
Edmonton Rainbow Business Association

3379, 11215 Jasper Ave
 780-429-5014

http://www.edmontonrba.org
Primary focus is the provision of networking opportunities
for LGBT owned or operated and LGBT-friendly businesses
in the Edmonton region.
Edmonton Illusions Social Club

780-387-3343

groups.yahoo.com/group/edmonton_illusions
2 Edmonton STD

11111 Jasper Ave
Edmonton Vocal Minority

780-479-2038
 www.evmchoir.com
Fellowship of Alberta Bears

www.beefbearbash.com
GLBTQ Sage Bowling Club

780-474-8240
HIV Network Of Edmonton Society--------
9702 111 Ave NW
780-488-5742
 www.hivedmonton.com
Provides healthy sexuality education for Edmonton’s LGBT
community and support for those infected or affected
by HIV.
• Centre of Hope

10704 124 St NW

[email protected]
Student-run GLBTQ Alliance at MacEwan University.
• Sheldon M. Chumir Health Centre
7 The Starlite Room

10030 102 St

http://www.starliteroom.ca
8 Yellowhead Brewing Co.

10229 105 St

[email protected]

http://www.yellowheadbrewery.com

http://www.iscwr.ca

Room 201, 420 - 9th Ave SE

403-410-1180
 Mon-Fri: 1pm-5pm

1213 - 4th Str SW
 403-955-6014

Sat-Thu: 4:15pm-7:45pm, Fri: Closed
• Safeworks Van

403-850-3755

Sat-Thu: 8pm-12am, Fri: 4pm-12am
Wheel Pro’s
 403-819-5219

http://www.bcbhcounselling.com
Third Street Theatre
Interactive Male
Free and confidential HIV/AIDS and STI testing.
Priape Calgary (CLOSED)

1322 - 17 Ave SW
 403-215-1800

http://www.priape.com
Clothing and accessories. Adult toys, leather wear, movies
and magazines. Gifts.

Theatre Junction GRAND, 608 1st St. SW

403-205-2922

[email protected]

http://www.theatrejunction.com

403-355-3335

http://www.interactivemale.com
NRG Support Services
The Naked Leaf----------------------------
Stagewest-----------------------------------

727 - 42 Avenue SE
 403-243-6642

http://www.stagewestcalgary.com
Theatre Junction----------------------------
Hot Water Pools & Spas

140, 58th Ave SW  403-258-2777
Gay, bi, straight video rentals and sex toys.
Pumphouse Theatre------------------------

2140 Pumphouse Avenue SW

403-263-0079

http://www.pumphousetheatres.ca

810 Edmonton Trail NE
403-290-1973
Cuts, Colour, Hilights.
Wild Rose United Church

11650 Elbow Dr SW

http://www.thornsmeltz.com
Cruiseline

Calgary: 403-777-9494

Edmonton: 780-413-7122
Other Cities: 1-877-882-2010
 http://www.cruiseline.ca

4143- Edmonton Trail NE

403-226-7278

http://www.wheelpros.ca
“Experts in Everything for Wheels”
Bathhouses/Saunas
5 Steamworks

11745 Jasper Ave
 780-451-5554

http://www.steamworksedmonton.com
Community Groups
Theatre & Fine Arts
ATP, Alberta Theatre Projects

403-294-7402
 http://www.ATPlive.com
Fairytales
See Calgary - Community Groups.
AltView Foundation
#44, 48 Brentwood Blvd, Sherwood Park, AB

403-398-9968

[email protected]
http://ww.altview.ca
For gender variant and sexual minorities.
One Yellow Rabbit--------------------------

Big Secret Theatre - EPCOR CENTRE

403-299-8888
 www.oyr.org
InQueeries
Book Worm’s Book Club

Howard McBride Chapel of Chimes
10179 - 108 Street

[email protected]
Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose
Living Positive Society of Alberta
#50, 9912 - 106 Street
780-424-2214

[email protected]
 http://www.facebook.com/LivingPoz
Living Positive through Positive Living.
• HIV Support Group

[email protected], [email protected]
Support and discussion group for gay men.
Men’s Games Nights

Unitarian Church (10804 119th Street)

780-474-8240
OUTreach

University of Alberta, basement of SUB

[email protected]

http://www.ualberta.ca/~outreach
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender/transsexual, Queer,
Questioning and Straight-but-not-Narrow student group.
Pride Centre of Edmonton-----------------

10608 - 105 Ave
 780-488-3234

[email protected]

http://www.pridecentreofedmonton.org

Tue-Fri 12pm-9pm, Sat 2pm-6:30pm
57
Directory & Events
DOWNTOWN EDMONTON
1
6
8
5 4 3
1 Pride Centre of Edm.---- Community Groups
2 Edmonton STD---------- Community Groups
Edmonton Events
Boot Camp------------------------------ 7-8pm
See
Team Edmonton
TTIQ------------------------------------- 7-9pm
See 1 Pride Centre of Edmonton
 3rd
HIV Support Group--------------------- 7-9pm
 2nd
QH Youth Drop-in---------------------- 3-8pm
Martial Arts---------------------  7:30-8:30pm
Team Edmonton
7
3 Buddy’s-----------------------Bars and Clubs
4 Woody’s-----------------------Bars and Clubs
5 Steamworks----------------------Bathhouses
6 Evolution----------------------Bars and Clubs
7 The Starlite Room------------Bars and Clubs
8 Yellowhead Brewing Co.-----Bars and Clubs
Youth Sports/Recreation-----------------  4pm
Women’s Social Circle------------------ 6-9pm
QH Youth Drop-in------------------  2-6:30pm
Counseling----------------------  5:30-8:30pm
Book Club-----------------------------  7:30pm
Monthly Meeting----------------------  2:30pm
Knotty Knitters-------------------------- 6-8pm
Martial Arts---------------------  7:30-8:30pm
QH Craft Night-------------------------- 6-8pm
Intermediate Volleyball--------  7:30-9:30pm
Cycling---------------------------  6:30-7:30pm
Fridays
See
Tuesdays
See
2
See 1 Youth Understanding Youth
Mondays
N
Team Edmonton
Yoga---------------------------------  7:30-8pm
See
Team Edmonton
Thursdays
See
See
See
 2nd, 4th
BookWorm’s Book Club
 3rd
Team Edmonton
Team Edmonton
QH Anime Night------------------------ 6-8pm
Movie Night----------------------------- 6-9pm
Men’s Games Nights--------------  7-10:30pm
GLBTQ Bowling------------------  1:30-3:30pm
QH Game Night------------------------ 6-8pm
Swim Practice--------------------------- 7-8pm
Saturdays
See
Team Edmonton
See
Wednesdays
See
GLBTQ Sage Bowling Club
Youth Understanding Youth
See
Team Edmonton
See
See
Men’s Games Nights
• TTIQ
• Counselling
• Women’s Social Circle
Come knit and socialize in a safe and accepting
environment - all skill levels are welcome.
• Men Talking with Pride

[email protected]
Support & social group for gay & bisexual men to discuss
current issues.
• Movie Night
Movie Night is open to everyone! Come over and sit back,
relax, and watch a movie with us.
• Queer HangOUT: Game Night
Come OUT with your game face on and meet some
awesome people through board game fun.
• Queer HangOUT: Craft Night
Come OUT and embrace your creative side in a safe space.
• Queer HangOUT: Anime Night
Come and watch ALL the anime until your heart is content.
58
See
Team Edmonton
Sundays
See
Team Edmonton
Yoga---------------------------------  2-3:30pm
See
Team Edmonton
Men Talking with Pride---------------- 7-9pm
Ballroom Dancing--------------  7:30-8:30pm
See
Team Edmonton
Soul Outing-------------------------------  7pm

Robertson-Wesley United (10209 123 St)
 2nd
Monthly Meetings---------------------  2:30pm
 2nd
 2nd
Legend:  = Monthly Reoccurrance,  = Date (Range),  = Sponsored Event
We provide a safe, welcoming, and non-judgemental
drop-in space, and offer support programs and resources
for members of the GLBTQ community and for their families
and friends.
• Knotty Knitters
 2nd
Bowling-----------------------------------  5pm
Unitarian Church (10804 119th Street)
See Edmonton Primetimers
Buck Naked Boys Club
 Edmonton Contd.

780.488.3234
Free, short-term counselling provided by registered
counsellors.
 2nd, Last
Naturalist Gettogether
See
By Edmonton Primetimers

Unitarian Church, 10804 - 119th Street
Running------------------------------  10-11am
Swim Practice-------------------  7:30-8:30pm
A support and information group for all those who fall
under the transgender umbrella and their family or
supporters.

[email protected]
Women’s Social Circle: A social support group for all
female-identified persons over 18 years of age in the GLBT
community - new members are always welcome.
Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton
780-474-8240

[email protected]
Team Edmonton

[email protected]

http://www.teamedmonton.ca
Members are invited to attend and help determine the
board for the next term. If you are interested in running for
the board or getting involved in some of the committees,
please contact us.
• Badminton (Mixed)
St. Thomas Moore School, 9610 165 Street

[email protected]
New group seeking male & female players.
• Badminton (Women’s)

Oliver School, 10227 - 118 Street

780-465-3620

[email protected]
Women’s Drop-In Recreational Badminton. $40.00 season
or $5.00 per drop in.
• Gymnastics, Drop-in
•Ballroom Dancing

Foot Notes Dance Studio, 9708-45 Avenue NW

Cynthia: 780-469-3281

Ortona Gymnastics Club, 8755 - 50 Avenue

[email protected]
Have the whole gym to yourselves and an instructor to
help you achieve your individual goals. Cost is $5.00
per session.
• Blazin’ Bootcamp
• Hockey

Garneau Elementary School
10925 - 87 Ave

[email protected]

[email protected]
• Martial Arts

Ed’s Rec Room (West Edmonton Mall)

[email protected]
$15.00 per person.

15450 - 105 Ave (daycare entrance)
780-328-6414

[email protected]

[email protected]
Drop-ins welcome.
• Cross Country Skiing
• Outdoor Pursuits
• Bowling (Northern Titans)

[email protected]
• Curling with Pride

Granite Curling Club, 8620 107 Street NW

[email protected]
• Cycling (Edmonton Prideriders)

Dawson Park, picnic shelter

[email protected]
• Dragon Boat (Flaming Dragons)

[email protected]
• Golf

[email protected]
• Running (Arctic Frontrunners)

Kinsmen Sports Centre

[email protected]
All genders and levels of runners and walkers are invited to
join this free activity.
• Slo Pitch

Parkallen Field, 111 st and 68 ave

[email protected]
Season fee is $30.00 per person. $10 discount for players
from the 2008 season.

[email protected]
www.gaycalgary.com
Directory & Events
Red Deer Events
Wednesdays
LGBT Coffee Night------------------------  7pm
See
CAANS
 1st
Friday, August 15th
 Edmonton Contd.
• Snowballs V

January 27-29, 2012

[email protected]
Skiing and Snowboarding Weekend.
• Soccer

[email protected]
• Spin

MacEwan Centre for Sport and Wellness
109 St. and 104 Ave

Wednesdays, 5:45-6:45pm
Season has ended.

[email protected]
7 classes, $28.00 per registrant.
• Swimming (Making Waves)

NAIT Pool (11762 - 106 Street)

[email protected]
http://www.makingwavesswimclub.ca
• Tennis

Kinsmen Sports Centre

Sundays, 12pm-3pm

[email protected]
• Ultimate Frisbee

Sundays
Summer Season starts July 12th

[email protected]
E-mail if interested.
• Volleyball, Intermediate

Amiskiwacy Academy (101 Airport Road)

[email protected]
• Volleyball, Recreational

Mother Teresa School (9008 - 105 Ave)

[email protected]
• Women’s Lacrosse

Sharon: 780-461-0017

Pam: 780-436-7374
Open to women 21+, experienced or not, all are welcome.
Call for info.
• Yoga

Lion's Breath Yoga Studio (10350-124 Street)

[email protected]
Womonspace

780-482-1794

[email protected]

http://www.womonspace.ca
Women’s social group, but all welcome at events.

780-248-1971
 www.yuyedm.ca
A support and social group for queer youth 12-25.
• Sports and Recreation

Brendan: 780-488-3234

[email protected]
Restaurants & Pubs
12 Woody’s
See Edmonton - Bars & Clubs (Gay).
Retail Stores
Passion Vault

15239 - 111 Ave

780-930-1169

[email protected]
“Edmonton’s Classiest Adult Store”
Products & Services
Cruiseline
LETHBRIDGE

780-413-7122 trial code 3500

http://www.cruiseline.ca
Robertson-Wesley United Church

10209 - 123 St. NW
 780-482-1587

[email protected]
 www.rwuc.org

Worship: Sunday mornings at 10:30am
People of all sexual orientations welcome. Other LGBT
events include a monthly book club and a bi-monthly film
night. As a caring spiritual community, we’d love to have
you join us!
• Soul OUTing

Second Sunday every month, 7pm
An LGBT-focused alternative worship.
• Film Night

Bi-monthly, contact us for exact dates.
• Book Club

Monthly, contact us for exact dates.
Theatre & Fine Arts
Community Groups
GALA/LA
356 - 2 Street SE, Medicine Hat, AB

403-527-5882
 1-877-440-2437
• Monthly Dances

M-F, 8:30am - 12:30pm + 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Henotic (402 - 2 Ave S)
Bring your membership card and photo ID.
• Monthly Potluck Dinners

McKillop United Church, 2329 - 15 Ave S
GALA/LA will provide the turkey...you bring the rest. Please
bring a dish to share that will serve 4-6 people, and your
own beverage.
• Support Line

403-308-2893

Monday OR Wednesday, 7pm-11pm
Leave a message any other time.
• Friday Mixer
Exposure Festival
The Roxy Theatre (closed)

University of Lethbridge
GBLTTQQ club on campus.

10708 124th Street, Edmonton AB

780-453-2440

http://www.theatrenetwork.ca
BANFF
Community Groups
HIV Community Link
102 Spray Ave

PO Box 3160, Banff, AB T1L 1C8

403-762-0690
JASPER
Accommodations
Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge

Old Lodge Road
 1-866-540-4454

http://www.fairmont.com/jasper
Community Groups
Jasper Pride Festival

PO Box 98, 409 Patricia St., T0E 1E0

[email protected]

http://www.jasperpride.ca
• Telephone Support
ALBERTA
Community Groups
Alberta Trans Support/Activities Group

http://www.albertatrans.org
A nexus for transgendered persons, regardless of where they
may be on the continuum.
Theatre & Fine Arts
Alberta Ballet

http://www.albertaballet.com
Frequent productions in Calgary and Edmonton.
Gay & Lesbian Integrity Assoc. (GALIA)
• Movie Night

Room C610, University of Lethbridge
Gay Youth Alliance Group

Betty, 403-381-5260

Every second Wednesday, 3:30pm-5pm
Lethbridge Expo

http://www.lethbridgeexpo.com
Lethbridge HIV Connection

1206 - 6 Ave S
PFLAG Canada

1-888-530-6777

[email protected]

www.pflagcanada.ca
Pride Lethbridge

[email protected]
RED DEER
Community Groups
Whistlers Inn

105 Miette Ave
 1-800-282-9919

[email protected]

http://www.whistlersinn.com
Community Groups
HIV Community Link

403-308-2893

http://www.galalethbridge.ca
Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Lethbridge and Area.

The Mix (green water tower)
103 Mayor Magrath Dr S

Every Friday at 10pm

http://www.exposurefestival.ca
Edmonton’s Queer Arts and Culture Festival.
MEDICINE HAT
Central Alberta AIDS Network Society

4611-50 Avenue, Red Deer, AB

http://www.caans.org
The Central Alberta AIDS Network Society is the local
charity responsible for HIV prevention and support in
Central Alberta.
CANADA
Community Groups
Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition

P..O. Box 3043, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 3S9

(306) 955-5135

1-800-955-5129

http://www.rainbowhealth.ca
Egale Canada

8 Wellington St E, Third Floor
Toronto, Ontario, M5E 1C5

1-888-204-7777
 www.egale.ca
Egale Canada is the national advocacy and lobby
organization for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transidentified people and our families.
Products & Services
Squirt

http://www.squirt.org
Website for dating and hook-ups. 18+ ONLY!
Theatre & Fine Arts
Broadway Across Canada

http://www.broadwayacrosscanada.ca
OUTtv

http://www.outtv.ca
GLBT Television Station.
LGBTQ Education

[email protected]

http://LGBTQeducation.webs.com
Red Deer (and area) now has a website designed to bring
various LGBTQ friendly groups/individuals together for fun,
and to promote acceptance in our communities.
Pride on Campus

[email protected]
A group of LGBTQ persons and Allies at Red Deer College.
www.gaycalgary.com
59
Classifieds
Event
140
The Fetish Slosh at the Backlot!
Come on down to the Backlot the 2nd Tuesday of
every month for a no-cover Fetish party. Upcoming
dates are November 13, December 11th, etc. You
can dress up in Leather, Latex, cuffs, collars, or
just your skivvies. Have the conversation you like
without offending a vanilla in sight. The Backlot
supports and promotes the alternative lifestyles of
Calgary so feel free to express your KINK!
Wedding/Union
190
Rork Hilford MC
OFFICIANT
MARRIAGE COMMISSIONER
COMMISSIONER FOR OATHS IN
ALBERTA
WEDDINGS AND MARRIAGES at your venue or
in my home studio starting at $150
Destination Location Style • Elopement Style
• Quick and Legal • Formal or Stylish •
Immediate or in the Future • Religion Free •
Standard or Customized Ceremonies • Cross
Cultural • Opposite Sex • Same Sex LGBT-TTQ
[email protected] • 403-246-4134
Furniture
335
Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co.
Safe Step Walk-In Tub Alert for Seniors.
Bathroom falls can be fatal. Approved by
Arthritis Foundation. Therapeutic Jets. Less
Than 4 Inch Step-In. Wide Door. Anti-Slip
Floors. American Made. Installation Included.
Call 1-800-594-9682 for $750 Off.
Home for Rent
347
VICTIMS OF RENTAL SCAM IN
NEED OF HELP!
Hello, we are a couple that recently moved
to Calgary from Vancouver only to find out 2
days after moving in that we got scammed. We
had to move out that night, NO QUESTIONS
ASKED. This situation put us out $4000 and
we are going to have to borrow to move into
another place. Luckily we had a friend here
who graciously helped us out with a place to
stay but she has a family and we don’t want
to overstay our welcome. If there is ANYONE
out there with a big heart that can help us out
with a place to rent, we would appreciate it
ten fold. We are a respectable and responsible,
trustworthy and hardworking couple that has
had far too much bad luck lately and need a
little help. If you own or know of someone who
has a place downtown or close to PLEASE GIVE
US A SHOUT! 587-774-1978 TEXT ONLY
Sleep in my bed, an adjustable bed. Spend a
night/week/month. Very private. Close to the
PLC and not far from the Airport. SuperSuite
VRBO 842294
Magical Music DJs
Home to Share
350
Furnished Room For Rent in
West Springs SW
Specializing in LGBT Weddings and Unions.
Everyone deserves the wedding they’ve always
dreamed of with the person they love! Call us
for a quote today 403.254.9754
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.magicalmusicdjs.com
Help Wanted
240
Seeking a clean/tidy, responsible, single,
mature working person for quiet, clean,
secure, furnished bedroom to rent in working
MALE COUPLED household in modern
home; 10 minute bus ride to amenities;
beautiful location, house has 3 cats, rent
includes utilities; bedroom located in walkout
basement, private bathroom ; street parking;
references required + proof of steady income.
403-660-6300
Dating Service
415
GUYSPY
ALL MALE HOT GAY HOOKUPS! Call FREE!
800-913-8509 only 18 and over
Cleaning
517
GET A LIFE!
Commercial Cleaning
INTERACTIVE MALE
Interested in guys? You aren’t the only curious
one. It’s just a phone call. Sexy. Discreet. Free.
Why not try? 1-800-913-8509
LIVELINKS
Meet singles right now! No paid operators,
just real people like you. Browse greetings,
exchange messages and connect live. Try it free.
Call now: 1-800-692-5415
Erotic Massage
420
UltimateMaleMassage.com
Does your business need a professional cleaner?
Steve is bonded/Insured. Flexible prices and
brings all his own supplies. Steve is a part of
the LGBT Community and has been cleaning for
over 5 years in Calgary. (403)200-7384
[email protected]
www.getalifecleaner.com
www.facebook.com/getalifecleaner
Private House Cleaner
Will clean for the gay community. Very
detailed. Includes vacuuming, dusting, cleaning
floors, kitchens and bathrooms. Cute clean
appearance. Must have own cleaning supplies.
Call for rates. Kevin 403-797-6336
Consulting
Best Erotic Male Massage In Calgary.
Studio with free parking. Deep Tissue
and Relaxation. Licensed, Professional.
Video on website. 403-680-0533
527
Want to attract the LGBT local
or traveler to your business?
[email protected]
Products/Services 500
Certified Personal Trainer
Upcoming wedding/event/trip/class reunion?
If you want to look/feel better, increase your
strength/endurance/flexibility, I CAN HELP
YOU! call/text me 4038263305 or email me
[email protected]
It’s not about special treatment. You can’t
assume the LGBT person, or the straight
person will follow the pack anymore. The LGBT
market is becoming more and more aware of
what organizations support them, and which
ones don’t, ultimately sending them away
from businesses and communities that do not
recognize them or their lifestyle. Does your
staff need LGBT sensitivity training? Want to
attract the market but unsure how to proceed?
Local, Domestic, International, We can assist.
Check us out at http://blueflameventures.ca,
Email us at [email protected], Call
us at 604-369-1472. Based in Alberta.
GayCalgary Magazine is looking for
salespeople, graphic designers, and writers in
Alberta. For more info, contact:
[email protected]
403-543-6960
Ads starting at $10/mo. for the first 20 words. Submit yours at http://www.gaycalgary.com/classifieds
60
www.gaycalgary.com
Legal
557
Award Winning One Stop Paralegal,
Immigration & Business Services since
1999. Gay Friendly Staff. Call 403-590-3818
http://www.ActiveProfessionals.com Active
Professionals #200, 2705 Centre Street N.W.
Calgary T2E 2V5
Travel
680
Puerto Vallarta Condos for Rent
2 x 2 Bdrm for Rent. Ocean views. daily maid
service included. Wi-fi , high speed internet.
Secure Quiet 9 suite building. 1/2 block to
Blue Chairs Beach. On site English speaking
Manager. Contact Rob - [email protected]
Retirement Homes 580
A PLACE FOR MOM
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