Indholdsfortegnelse for February/March 2019 i The Advocate

VIC GERAMI says, “Italy’s Lake Como region is one of the most spectacular destinations I have visited—breathtaking scenery, spectacular landmarks, and LGBT friendly locals.” (Discover more on page 48.) Editor of The Blunt Post, Gerami has written for numerous publications including Frontiers Magazine, L.A. Weekly, WeHo Times, and The Pride L.A., and won the Los Angeles Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award in 2017. MILES W. GRIFFIS is a travel and adventure writer “in an open relationship with the American West.” He writes about Thailand (page 54), a place where Griffis says the “locals smile as wide as the cyan horizons of the Andaman Sea.” He’s hoping to one day trek the Skeleton Coast of Namibia and return to South America in search of the legendary Andean cock-of-the-rock.…

Last year marked the 45th anniversary of the deadly arson fire at popular New Orleans gay bar UpStairs Lounge that killed 32 people. It was the largest mass killing of gay people in U.S. history for over four decades—until the Pulse massacre that claimed 50 lives in 2016. Three victims of the 1973 fire were never positively identified and remained “unknown white males,” buried in unmarked graves at a New Orleans cemetery. Their namelessness has haunted the community for decades. I made UpStairs Inferno, the full-length documentary about the fire and its aftermath with the mission to honor the victims and give them the respect and dignity they were denied at the time. In 2018, I received a message from 54-year-old Lynette Moreland who believed her uncle was one of…

YOU MAY REMEMBER Tiffani Faison from the inaugural season of Bravo’s reality competition Top Chef. Or perhaps you have eaten at one of her three spectacular restaurants—Sweet Cheeks Q (SweetCheeksQ.com), Tiger Mama Boston (@TigerMamaBos), and Fool’s Errand (FoolsErrandBoston.com), which she runs with her wife and business partner Kelly Walsh. In 2018, Faison was a semi-finalist for a James Beard Award (for Best Chef: Northeast), which is the Oscars of the food world. Fool’s Errand, her latest venture, introduces a new kind of eatery: the adult snack bar. Culinary talent aside, the chef has morphed into a force of power, determined to eradicate the systemic misogyny plaguing professional kitchens across America. Born into a military family, Faison’s formative years were spent venturing across Europe and America. Romantic though this may sound,…

The disabled were front and center, blocking the halls of Congress with their walkers, getting dragged from wheelchairs and arrested. They were HIV-positive, physically disabled, chronically ill, neurologically diverse, or suffering from mental or psychological impairment. Few Americans have more at stake in the fight to save the Affordable Care Act than the disabled—particularly those who are also LGBTQ people of color. Without healthcare, their lives—our lives—are at risk. Since the early aughts, a new generation of “crips” and “crazies” or those “mad”—as activist Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha affectionally calls her cohort—have begun advocating for something more than equality. They want justice. “Disability justice was created by disabled black and brown and queer and trans people because of how single issue, white, male, and straight the disability rights movement has historically…

FEW PEOPLE HAVE been raised so immersed in the world of comedy as Dan Levy. As the son of actor-writer Eugene Levy (American Pie), he grew up in the shadows of his father and Levy’s hilarious collaborators, Christopher Guest and Catherine O’Hara. The three older actors, who appeared in numerous off-beat comedies, including Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, have gained a cult following over the years. Now, the younger Levy is proudly carrying on that legacy while unapologetically tapping into queer experiences seldom revealed on the screen—big or small. The out gay actor from Toronto is the cocreator, executive producer, and writer of Schitt’s Creek, sharing those credits with his father. The series, streaming on Netflix, centers on the wealthy Rose family who, after losing their fortune, are…

Some celebs come out on their own terms, in a planned and controlled way, while others are sometimes unfortunately outed against their will. And then some actors kind of inadvertently and spontaneously out themselves. Such was the case for Jake Choi, star of ABC’s raucous new hit sitcom Single Parents, when he opened up about his fluid sexuality in a recent interview with men's beauty and grooming site, Very Good Light. “He just brought it up and I literally answered the question, not planning on ‘coming out’ or making it this big thing for my own self-indulgence. That’s just what I am. And then we talked about it a little bit, and we moved on,” says Choi, reflecting on the interview. “It was something that I would say to people…

Peruvians proudly say their country is known for three things: history, sightseeing, and food. But they may be selling themselves short. Although this South American country does boast an abundance of stunning archeological sites, a multitude of museums and delightful vistas, and just about every dining possibility you can imagine—Peru is so much more. Peru is the ultimate in environmental diversity, possessing 84 of the Earth’s known 103 ecosystems in three climate zones—the coastal plateau, Andes mountains, and Amazon jungle. Its capital city, Lima, is as diverse and cosmopolitan as any major global metropolis, and the country as a whole is a true melting pot of cultures, histories, religions, and ethnicities. There are some caveats for the LGBTQ traveler, though. Peru is still making strides when it comes to issues…

CRAZY RICH ASIANS may have just been a blockbuster to some fans, but as director Jon M. Chu told an audiences of Asian-Americans in Hollywood, “We made a little movie this year and we made a big movement….” In fact, Asian-Americans were suddenly everywhere (compared to years past when the word “invisible” best described their roles in film and TV). I was struck by how Chu thanked supporters because he was “truly experiencing and understanding what pride means for the first time in my life. Thank you for showing me that community is power, and we are powerful. We don’t need to ask for permission ever again.” While the Asian-American experience has some parallels with the queer and trans experiences (around finding power in community, at the least), there’s…

INGREDIENTS 3 quarts plain Greek yogurt 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2 tablespoons onion powder 8 tablespoons sour cream 2 tablespoons salt ¼ cups chopped chive and dill. DIRECTIONS Mix all ingredients and put it in cheese cloth to hang overnight in a refrigerator. Place a container underneath to catch the liquid that will drip. Take it out of the cheese cloth the next day and mix again. Serve chilled with fresh vegetables. Garnish with chopped chives and fresh dill.…

Transgender women can now feel confident taking PrEP without fear that it might impact their hormone levels. That’s the news that came out of the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam this past summer, as a recent study proves the pre-exposure prophylaxis HIV-prevention strategy does not impact feminizing hormone levels in trans women. “These results provide reassurance that you can use PrEP without fear that it will decrease hormones to a suboptimal level,” said Akarin Hiransuthikul of the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center during a conference press briefing. The new iFACT study was jointly conducted by several major world health organizations in Thailand, and was prompted when prior research showed blood concentrations of PrEP drugs in trans women were lower than expected. Another previous study, presented at last year’s…

Mollee Gray, the multi-talented star recognized for her role in Disney’s Teen Beach and Teen Beach 2 and becoming a finalist on season six of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, was in the final stages of planning her September 2017 wedding when she remembered one small but critical detail: she needed to come out. Before officially tying the knot with her “hersband,” dancer and choreographer Jeka Jane, Gray felt like she had to go public. Even though she and Jane had been together for four years, only Gray’s family and close friends knew. “I kept it hidden,” Gray acknowledges now. “I was so scared what it would do to my career… A few years ago, it wasn’t as easy to just come out, and I was just so…

As the smash hit rom-com Crazy Rich Asians heads into award season (at press time it’s nominated for a best picture Golden Globe), Nico Santos, the actor behind the sharply dressed Oliver T’sien, says he’s gotten criticism that the gay character was tacked on as comic relief. But Santos (and plenty of fans) disagree, arguing Oliver is “essential to the plot.” After all, it’s his outsider-insider status as a gay member of the über-wealthy Chinese family that enables him to shepherd the film’s protagonist, Rachel (a true outsider), into the fold. “I think it might be lost on some people,” Santos says about Oliver’s pivotal role. “They would like to brush Oliver aside. It’s like, ‘Oh, he’s just like this comic relief, whatever, small gay character.’ … [But] Oliver has…

FEBRUARY 22-MARCH 3: Cape Town Pride (CapeTownPride.org), the nation’s largest. MAY: Pink Loerie Mardi Gras & Arts Festival (PinkLoerieFoundation.com) in the charming town of Knysna in the southern Cape that hosts the annual Mr. World Gay competition. JUNE: Durban Pride (DurbanPride.org.za), on the warm sub-tropical east coast of South Africa, attracts a diverse influx from across the country for the mild weather. Durban also plays host to the annual Durban Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (DGLFF.org.za) every September. OCTOBER: Pretoria Pride, in the capital city and Johannesburg Pride (JohannesburgPride.co.za) in that sprawling commercial hub. NOVEMBER: LGBTQ events return to Cape Town with Gay Day, a Mardi Gras-type event. DECEMBER: The world-famous MCQP (formerly Mother City Queer Project, mcqp.co.za), a mega-party that brings thousands of revelers out to Cape Town mid-month.…

The mid-term election saw a shake down of the heteropatriarchy with a record-breaking 117 women and over 150 LGBTQidentified candidates winning offices across the country. Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema (left) beat out opponent Martha McSally, making history by becoming the first out bisexual elected to the U.S. Senate. She also became the state’s first female senator. Jared Polis also made history, becoming the first out gay man to be elected governor in America. People of color won big too: Democrats Sharice Davids (Kansas) and Deb Haaland (New Mexico) became the first Native American women elected to Congress (Davids is also a lesbian), while Rashida Tlaib (Michigan) and Ilhan Omar (Minnesota) have become the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Nevada’s Kelvin Atkinson also made history becoming the first black LGBTQ state…

Lena Waithe made history at the 2017 Emmy Awards by becoming the first black woman ever to win in the category of writing for a comedy series, with Master of None. Waithe, 34, who played Denise in the Netflix series, cowrote the “Thanksgiving” episode with cocreator Aziz Ansari. Her recognition also marked the first time a black woman was nominated for a comedy writing Emmy. In The Chi, the new series Waithe created for Showtime, the out lesbian and Chicago native focuses on the nuances of black life by pulling inspiration from her hometown. She’s currently developing a semi-autobiographical TBS pilot, Twenties, a story about a black queer woman and her two straight best friends working to make their dreams come true. She’s also cocreator of BET’s Boomerang, an adaption…

While in his dressing room during the 2013 off-Broadway production of Here Lies Love, actor Vincent Rodriguez received a voicemail from Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna, co-creators of CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which would change his life forever. “If you get a chance, I want to talk to you about your audition for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” McKenna said. Minutes before the actor had to go on stage for the theater production's finale, he contemplated whether to call them back or wait until later. He chose to call. “Hey Vince,” Rodriguez recalls McKenna saying, like it was yesterday. “‘We just wanted to call and tell you that you got it. You’re Josh Chen. You’re going to be a TV star.’ I just started to cry. I ugly cried. I clutched my pearls…