Indholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2022 i The Advocate

RUNNING. ACTIVISM. TEACHING. Poetry. Cal Calamia isn’t exactly sure what their one thing is, but the 26-year-old high school Spanish and health teacher knows that whatever it might be, it must combine social engagement and athleticism. “I have become a sports activist, and I love writing,” Calamia says. When they won the San Francisco Bay to Breakers 12K footrace in May, they made history by being the first to win the nonbinary category. “I didn’t care if I had won a bag of M&Ms or a medal,” Calamia says, adding that the win was “sweet” because they had to rally allies in the media and the community to pressure the race’s owner, Capstone Event Group — whose founder has donated to farright political candidates — to offer an award in the…

HUNTER REYNOLDS Hunter Reynolds, a gay artist who appeared in elaborate gowns of his own design to raise awareness of HIV and fight homophobia, died July 12 at his Manhattan home of squamous cell carcinoma. He was 62. He began appearing as an alter ego named Patina du Prey around New York City in the late 1980s, shortly after he was diagnosed with HIV. One of his greatest creations was a gown inscribed with the names of 25,000 people who had died of AIDS complications, which he first wore at a Boston gallery in 1993. Reynolds created other types of art as well and was involved in ACT UP. He received numerous honors, including a Guggenheim fellowship. JEFFREY ESCOFFIER Jeffrey Escoffier, a longtime activist, author of works on gay identity,…

Nonbinary actor Lachlan Watson first cast a spell on the world with their portrayal of trans teen Theo Putnam in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Now they’re poised to slash their way into audiences’ hearts again in the dual roles of Glen and Glenda — the twin children of the titular killer doll and his murderous paramour, Tiffany — in the second season of super-queer TV series Chucky. It’s a role, or rather roles, that the lifelong horror fan was thrilled to take on. Watson’s fascination with the horror genre began as a child when they watched old black-and-white monster movies with their mother. Growing up queer and trans, Watson connected with the genre. “Horror makes you root for the societal outcasts. And that story is inherently queer. And it’s a…

One of the milestones on your journey of living with any disability or chronic condition is learning how to disclose your status to friends, family members, potential romantic partners, and other people in your life whom you want or need to know. Disclosing is an endless series of milestones, because each disclosure is a unique experience. Because of that, it’s hard not to get caught up in asking yourself questions like: How will they react? Will they be supportive or reject me? Here are some strategies to help you deal with that uncertainty and get started. Take a need-to-know approach Decide what you want to tell each person about your illness or condition. Most likely, you will feel comfortable giving some people additional information, such as how you contracted it.…

Beyond Stonewall, the first Pride march, the beginnings of queer liberation, marriage equality, and other queer historical events, there’s so much more LGBTQ+ history to be discovered or told, and some of that is by those who are still with us. Those chronicling the lives of queer people like Frank Kameny and legendary drag queens preserve the LGBTQ+ history that conservatives are trying to deny and erase. In these pages, we look to our queer past while honoring luminaries who’ve made history and still shine bright today. After all, today’s queer present is tomorrow’s history. Let’s record and celebrate it.…

When he was an undergrad at Harvard, author and historian Eric Cervini’s first encounter with queer history surprisingly did not come from a book. “I watched the film Milk about Harvey Milk, and I was shocked that I knew nothing about this story,” Cervini says. “That’s where my interest in queer history began.” Cervini earned his Ph.D. in history at Cambridge, and before he was 30, he wrote what is fast becoming a seminal read for the LGBTQ+ community. The Deviant’s War:The Homosexual vs. The United States of America is the first in-depth book about Frank Kameny, a rising and talented astronomer at the U.S. Defense Department who was fired for being gay. Cervini’s book was a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in history and a New York Times…

These images from Walter Reuben Inc.’s collection depict same-sex couples and groups expressing affection, friendship, and other forms of intimacy. Many are from the earliest days of photography, and the bulk of the collection consists of images from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. “In the images one has the sense that the subjects are very informal and intimate with each other,” says a statement from Reuben, the curator. “Their body language, dress, and positioning display indications of intimacy of coupling in most cases. As many are from a period in which photography was not common, that these people choose to be photographed together for formal photos and for real-life postcards indicates that they are couples wishing to celebrate their union.” Some of the postcards are addressed to family…

For self-identified “Disney Gays,” there’s no happier place than within the comfortable confines of a Disney theme park. Donning sequinemblazoned mouse ears while being surrounded by nostalgic sounds and the inviting smell of warm churros (plus underappreciated Mickey pretzels) is heaven for fun-loving queer folks who want to forget life’s troubles in the lands of “yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy.” But as with things in recent years, a rising tide of antigay and anti-trans sentiment (and legislation) has crept between the cracks of even these most hallowed grounds. It’s reached the point where we have to ask the question: What does it mean to be a Disney Gay in 2022? That’s a particularly tricky question to answer this year following the passage of Florida’s “don’t say gay” law and what many…

There continues to be an epidemic of violence against transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming Americans. Fourteen members of this community are known to have died by violent means so far in 2022, after a record 57 such deaths were reported in 2021. Both figures are based on just the number of recognized victims, as many more go unrecognized because of deadnaming, misgendering, or overall lack of reporting. Here are those we’ve lost most recently: Sasha Mason, a 45-year-old Latina, was shot to death May 13 during a robbery at her home in Zebulon, N.C. Police have arrested two men, Ali Tariq Khabir Wiggins and Julius Antwan Smith. They are both charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, and additional charges are likely, according to police, who told…

COROOK After being with her current girlfriend for four years, Corook, the self-described queer AF chubby dork from Pennsylvania, is ready for some exploration on her new song “BDSM.” Corook says that the song feels to her like a natural extension of her recent EP Achoo!, which highlights her unique sense of humor and creative take on songwriting and multi-instrumental altpop. “I feel more safe and loved for who I am than any relationship before this. However, I found out that when you spend an extended amount of time with someone, no matter how much you love them, your relationship naturally becomes more predictable and less exciting,” she said of the new song. “I wanted to make a love song that shed light on that complex but relatable feeling. There’s…

National Coming Out Day is on October 11. I’m sorry that you have to watch people’s videos, posts, and announcements from the closet. Coming out has now become, like everything, a public spectacle due to social media. This isn’t inherently a bad thing, and I actually came out on social media several years ago, but it is rather exclusionary to those who have to remain closeted. Not everybody comes from a family who will hug them and tell them they love them. Not everybody has a group of friends that will automatically start crying with joy and asking if they can hook them up with another LGBTQ+ person in their life. Not everybody works in an environment where they know they’ll still have a job if they come out. Not…

In the 1960s, a legend was on the rise in Los Angeles. An exotic dancer, singer, comedian, drag performer, and Black trans woman by the name of Sir Lady Java was a star of the L.A. nightclub scene, performing with people like Redd Foxx, Sammy Davis Jr., Richard Pryor, and Don Rickles. But she was also a revolutionary who challenged the city’s Rule Number 9, which banned “impersonation” of the “opposite sex.” The law was eventually struck down as unconstitutional. For their new book, Legends of Drag: Queens of a Certain Age, authors Harry James Hanson and Devin Antheus traveled across America photographing and interviewing living legends of the drag community. For the most part, Hanson and Antheus sought to spotlight local legends rather than the most famous and recognizable…

There are more than 1,000 LGBTQ+ Americans running for political office in 2022, a record number. But we’ve been here and queer for a long time, with out and proud candidates winning elections since the 1970s. Here are some of the trailblazers who’ve won elected or appointed office over the years. KATHY KOZACHENKO, a lesbian, was the first out member of the LGBTQ+ community elected to any political office in the U.S., winning a City Council seat in Ann Arbor, Mich., in April 1974. There were two gay men on the council in the liberal college town (home to the University of Michigan), but they didn’t come out until after they were elected. Kozachenko served one two-year term, then moved away, but she remained an activist, volunteering in political campaigns…

To rev up Pride Month, The Advocate and its sibling publication Out magazine teamed with GLAAD and Google Pixel to celebrate the #SeenOnPixel program. PRIDE: A Night with Google Pixel + GLAAD + Out + The Advocate featured queer luminaries, tastemakers, terrific food, and outstanding music. The event kicked off June 9 in West Hollywood at The London Hotel’s rooftop venue that afforded attendees panoramic vistas of the Los Angeles skyline. Among the notable guests were: Nick Adams, Christine Chiu, Shea Diamond, Braunwyn Windham-Burke, Raquel Willis, Mollee Gray, Jeka Jane, Kent Boyd, Wils, Robinick Fernandez, Howin Wong, Jacob Tobia, Vincint, Billie Lee, Greg Mathis Jr., Elliott Cooper, Bunny Barbie, Kodye Elyse, Anna Shumate, Kelsi Davies, Daisy Egan, Daniel Franzese, Gregory Zarian, and more. Lining the gathering were Zoom Out covers…

THE SUPREME COURT overturned Roe v. Wade in June, allowing states to ban abortion. A concurring opinion in the case released a flood of concern that marriage equality is also in the court’s crosshairs. The 6-3 ruling came in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which revolves around a draconian Mississippi law. A draft opinion for that case, written by Justice Samuel Alito, was leaked to the press in May. For many LGBTQ+ people, the loss of rights to bodily autonomy was devastating, but Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion was even more chilling. Thomas wrote that the court should revisit decisions that struck down state restrictions on contraception, gay sex, and marriage equality, saying they are “demonstrably erroneous.” “Either the mass of the majority’s opinion is hypocrisy, or additional constitutional rights…

IN MARCH 2018, Bob the Drag Queen and Monét X Change started the Sibling Rivalry podcast, the first podcast series from RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants. As Bob makes sure to note, Sibling Rivalry preceded Alaska and Willam’s Race Chaser, Trixie Mattel and Katya’s The Bald and the Beautiful, and the dozens of other podcasts that have since been hosted by Drag Race stars. Now they are finally taking it on the road. “Race Chaser can kiss our asses. Bald and Beautiful can kiss our asses. And me and Monét have a lot of ass to kiss. Mostly Monét, but I’m up in there too,” Bob jokes. With Monét becoming one of the doublecrowned winners of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 in 2019, Sibling Rivalry also suddenly became the first…

In May, the viral infection monkeypox — MPV — grabbed the attention of LGBTQ+ people in the United States when a Massachusetts resident who had traveled to Canada tested positive. In Europe, the virus had started spreading among men who have sex with men. Authorities expected it to appear in the United States as well. MPV was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization July 23, and the U.S. government is trying to control the outbreak, as vaccine supplies and testing are limited. MPV is one of the more than 10 nonillion viruses in the world — that’s 10 with 30 zeros — all invisible to the naked eye. Discovered in 1958 when monkeys contracted it at a Danish research facility, scientists believe it originated in African…

That she, as a bi woman, was able to still find her way to telling stories about the Black experience in ways that the world could receive them.about A Raisin in the Sun author Lorraine Hansberry Avintage typewriter, a protest sign, a string of pearls, a disco ball — these are a few of the props arranged to evoke a queer past on set for a photo shoot in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City with photographer MaryV photographing exclusively on the Google Pixel 6a. The objects pay homage to LGBTQ+ people who were never given their due—unseen in history — but whose contributions to queer life are immeasurable. Those who have never had a major motion picture made of their lives the way Oscar Wilde, Truman Capote, Harvey…

1 KHNUMHOTEP AND NIANKHKHNUM One of the earliest same-sex couples to be identified, these men were royal servants in Egypt around 2400 B.C. When their tomb was excavated in 1964, archeologists found their bodies intertwined and their faces nose-to-nose — the way married couples were buried. 2. ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND HEPHAESTION Alexander, king of Macedonia (in present-day Greece) and conqueror of many lands, considered cavalry commander Hephaestion his most trusted confidant, and some historians believe they were lovers. Aristotle called them “one soul abiding in two bodies,” and after Hephaestion died in 324 B.C., Alexander lost his will to live. 3. MICHELANGELO AND TOMMASO DEI CAVALIERI When they met in 1532, Michelangelo was 57 and dei Cavalieri 23. The artist found the young Italian nobleman to be the epitome…

A League of Their Own is all about peoplefinding their team, and for Max Chapman (Chanté Adams), a Black woman who dreams of being a professional pitcher, that journey involves a surprising family member: the trans uncle she never knew she had. Early in the series, the audience hears about Max’s estranged “Auntie” Bertie, but when Max finally gets to meet Bertie for the first time since she was little, she finds out he’s a trans man and he’s living his best life. Bertie — played by trans actor Lea (pronounced “Lee”) Robinson (he/they) — is happily married, owns a home, and hosts queer parties with his friends from around the country. Contrast that with Max, who is closeted, afraid of people seeing the real her, and unsure of what…