Spectrum Los Angeles

By Stevie St. John

A snapshot of LGBTQ news, features and tidbits from this week on the web:

Los Angeles & California

•  Out in the 562: Long Beach Gay Pride, celebrating 30 years, overcame City’s attempts to block the parade

• WeHoville: Christopher Street West Announces LA Pride 2013 Honorees
  Honorees include NFL linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo; U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-41st District); the June Mazer Lesbian Archives; Lisa Henson;  Richard Zaldivar, founder & CEO The Wall Las Memorias; Diane Anderson-Minshall, Executive Editor of Advocate; and Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl.The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force will be the Community Grand Marshal for the parade.

• Trans Pride L.A. has announced that Aiden Aizumi will be honored with the Alexis Rivera Trailblazer Award during the Trans Pride event in June.

Photo via the TransUnionLA Facebook page
Aiden Aizumi

This Sunday, Aizumi will be part of a panel discussion following a screening of the documentary Trans at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena.  The panel will also include one of the stars of the film, Danann Tyler, and her parents. The film’s director, Chris Arnold, will also be present and will do a  Q & A with the audience. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to benefit Gender Justice L.A. 

• Angelenos will vote for the city’s next mayor on Tuesday. Eric Garcetti and Wendy Gruel are vying for the position.

• If you attend the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s ‘An Evening with Women‘ tonight, you’ll see a video I worked on highlighting the Center’s services for young women and girls. If you aren’t going to the event, you can watch red carpet coverage live on the Center’s website, lagaycenter.org, starting at 6:30 p.m. Janora McDuffie and Peter Paige will host the red carpet show, and you can submit questions for them to ask celebs by tweeting to @lagaycenter and using the hashtag #AEWW.

• WeHoville: 9 Former Micky’s Employees Sue Gay Bar

• I’m excited to say that I’ve joined the board of the National Lesbian & Journalists Association-Los Angeles!

 Photo by Matthew Mullins

Here’s a photo from our most recent monthly mixer.

NLGJA-LA is a co-sponsor of a panel, hosted by the Society for Professional Journalists, about media coverage of the transgender community in Los Angeles. The event will take place on June 27 at the Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza.

Also, NLGJA-LA is now accepting scholarship applications from journalism students. Applications are due on May 31. Here’s the vital info.:

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Have a photo to share from an LGBTQ community organization or event?
Email it to spectrumlosangeles@gmail.com!

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Entertainment

• Last week, I mentioned that a couple of shows featuring gay and lesbian characters had been canceled. This week, the TV screen practically hemorrhaged LGBT characters. Shows that aren’t coming back include Partners, Smash, Happy Endings, 90210 and Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23. Also, SyFy has announced that Warehouse 13   is getting just a half season to wrap up and will then be canceled. That means losing not just gay agent Steve Jinx but also the subtext-rich friendship between Myka and Helena.

• If you have any doubts that visibility matters, read the AfterEllen recap of  Grey’s Anatomy, and check out the comments to see how distressed many fans are about the infidelity story line.

• Hollywood Reporter: ABC Family Releases Preview of Jennifer Lopez-Produced The Fosters

News, Features, Op-eds & Other Links

• Autostraddle: I’m A Trans Woman And I’m Not Interested In Being One of the ‘Good Ones’

• Towleroad: GLAAD President Hernon Graddick Resigns

• Bay Citizen/New York Times: From I.R.S. to Gay Couples, Headaches and Expenses

• New York Times Civil Behavior column: What Is the Right Way to Come Out as Bisexual at Work?

By Stevie St. John

A snapshot of LGBTQ news, features and tidbits from this week on the web:

Los Angeles & California

• Many local and national LGBTQ groups took part in Give Out Day, an initiative to promote giving to LGBTQ causes. According to the Give Out Day website, more than $550,000 was raised for LGBTQ nonprofits. 

  A Give Out Day thank you from the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center 

• WeHoville: Abbey’s David Cooley to Develop 10,000-Square-Foot Bar and Restaurant in WeHo

• Advocate: Girls in Wonderland Offers a Lesbian Spin on Disney’s Gay Days

• Press-Enterprise: CAL BAPTIST: Transgender student’s discrimination case advances

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Have a photo to share from an LGBTQ community organization or event?
Email it to spectrumlosangeles@gmail.com!

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Entertainment & Sports 

• NBC has canceled the Ryan Murphy sitcom The New Normal after just one season. The show, which told the story of a gay couple and the surrogate carrying their child, ended with the child’s birth. It was hit-or-miss, but the show had heart and I would have liked to see more.
  

Gay couple Bryan and David with Goldie, the surrogate who carries their baby. 

• Also axed was Go On, which I wrote about earlier this week in my post about bisexuality and the local bi group amBi. I’ll miss Ryan (Matthew Perry)’s adventures with my favorite sarcastic TV lesbian, Anne.
  Ryan with Anne, a fellow member of his grief support group.
  Both joined the group after the death of their wives.

• Neil Patrick Harris will host the Tony awards on June 9.

• USA Today: Volleyball eases transgender player’s transition

News, Features, Op-eds & Other Links

• Time: Same-Sex Couples Welcome Delaware Gay Marriage Law

• MPR News: The Minnesota same-sex marriage bill, in context

• AFER: Supreme Court to Rule on Prop. 8: Decision Timing & Possible Outcomes

• Pink News: New Yorker unveils Mothers’ Day cover art featuring lesbian parents

• ABC News:Gay-Rights Backers See Progress in Year Since President Obama Backed Gay Marriage

• Advocate Op-ed by Rep. Jared Polis: There’s No Excuse for Discrimination at Work

• Time: China’s Gays and Lesbians Join the Global Debate on Same-Sex Marriage
  

• Salon.com: Orson Scott Card’s long history of homophobia

By Stevie St. John 

When I wrote about sexual fluidity and choice, I used three fictional characters as examples: Ellen Morgan (Ellen), Willow (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Callie (Grey’s Anatomy). One reader asked why I didn’t include any bisexual male characters in the piece.

The TV story lines I referenced were all drawn from my own experience with popular culture and the media. They’re all show that I’ve watched that resonated and made an impression. Even though fluidity and bisexuality aren’t often represented on screen, these stories were told. (Notably, only one of the characters–Callie–ultimately identifies as bisexual.)

But no analogous plotlines featuring male characters are part of my own cultural experience. As stigmatized and dismissed as fluidity is in women, it seems that there is even more reluctance to recognize and accept it in men.

For example, I can’t imagine a sitcom putting a male character in the place of a widow played by Courtney Cox in a recent episode of  Go On. Her character, Talia, is introduced as a potential  love interest for Matthew Perry’s character, Ryan. But when Talia expresses an interest in both Ryan and his lesbian friend Anne, the two compete for her favor. Talia doesn’t label her sexuality but says she doesn’t know where life will take her–and Ryan and Anne try to convince her of the appeal of men versus women respectively.

This storyline isn’t perfect, but I can’t resist the friendship between
Matthew Perry’s Ryan and sardonic lesbian Anne. 

Some of the competition is amusing and some of it eyeroll-inducing, but it does depict characters who can accept (or at least comprehend) a woman showing interest in both a man and a woman. Could the storyline possibly play with a guy in the middle of the triangle while a straight woman and a gay man fight for his attention? I can’t picture it playing on a major network sitcom at this point.

Of course, the dearth of media representations–and the fact that those representations that do exist are often problematic–is a reflection of problematic cultural ideas and biases about bisexual people.. Bisexual men and women often encounter skepticism about their orientation, with gay, lesbian and straight people alike often expressing doubt that bisexuality is valid and real, even though more people identify as bisexual than as gay or lesbian.

As a result, even though visibility and isolation are common problems for bisexuals.

Building Bi Community in L.A.

Bisexual people need to have peers and know that they aren’t alone in the world, says Ian Lawrence. Lawrence himself struggled for years to come to grips with his identity. After he came out as bisexual, he connected with a bi group in San Diego, where he then lived. The group was “incredibly important” in shaping his sense of identity. 

Now, as an organizer for amBi, Lawrence plays a part in building a thriving bi community here in L.A.. I recently met with Lawrence and David Tiktin, another amBi organizer, to learn about the group.

Established in 2006, amBi has offered social events for bi people and their allies for years. More recently, amBi adopted the use of Meetup as a key tool for planning its events. Members suggest and coordinate events such as potlucks, chat groups, spa days and movie nights.

The group’s diverse membership, Lawrence and Tiktin say, includes bi people and their allies of various ages, ethnic backgrounds, gender identities and religions. And it includes people from all over the greater L.A. area. The Meetup group is now over 700 strong.

Although social ties–creating a space for bi people to connect, to know that they aren’t alone– is paramount, amBi is about visibility, too. Members don amBi T-shirts and march in Pride parades to take a stand and to be visible as part of a community that is so often erased from mainstream culture, from LGBTQ spaces and from the media. 

 For more information about amBi, visit the Meetup group.

By Stevie St. John

Looking for ways to connect with your community? Here’s a roundup of upcoming LGBTQ and other fun local events:

• “I’m Just Saying!” Comedy Show
  Tuesday, May 7  - Hamburger Mary’s West Hollywood 
  

• SoCal Social Club Mixer 
  Wednesday, May 8 – SUR Lounge

From the event Facebook page:

This evening we’re hosting the launch of SmartPartner – the emblem of integrity for sexually active adults. A membership to SmartPartner provides you with an innovative way to stay aware of your sexual health plus share your 3rd party verified STD status with anyone you choose in the most private and sensitive methods possible.

Register at http://www.smartpartner.com/AffiliateSignup.aspx to become a SmartPartner today and receive free admission to the mixer, two complimentary cocktails and a chance to win an iPad mini! 

Admission: $10 online / $20 at the door
21 and over

Complimentary light appetizers until 8pm, cash bar, drink specials and raffle drawing. 

• Give Out Day 
  Thursday, May 9 
  
  From the Give Out Day website:Give OUT Day is a new national initiative that will engage hundreds of organizations and mobilize thousands of people on a single day across the country to give in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & queer community. It is a chance for LGBTQ groups large and small, to work across the wide range of issues and activities that matter to the LGBTQ community from sports to policy change, families to the arts. It is a chance for members of the LGBTQ community and our many allies to stand up and show our support for our community together on one day. It is a chance to make history, we hope you’ll join us! Donate online through GiveOUTDay.org to support the LGBTQ community.

• Long Beach Dyke March 
  Friday, May 17 – Bixby Park 

• An Evening with Women – L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
  Saturday, May 18 – Beverly Hilton Hotel 

  From the event website:

  An Evening With Women for dinner, drinks and an incredible night of live performances
  hosted by KATHY GRIFFIN and featuring NATASHA BEDINGFIELD, SIA and OZZY OSBOURNE.
  All proceeds from the event, produced by LINDA PERRY, benefit the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s services for women and girls.

• An Intimate Evening with Julie Budd 
  Saturday, May 18 – L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza 

• The Voice Awards – Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA)Sunday, May 19- Globe Theatre

  

• Screening of documentary Trans
  Sunday, May 19 – Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church

  From the event Facebook page:“TRANS” is an extraordinary documentary about men and women… and all the variations in between. Inspired by the incredible story of Dr. Christine McGinn and her work as an SRS surgeon, TRANS provides an up-close and personal view of the lives, loves, and challenges of a remarkable cast of characters of all ages and from all walks of life.

• Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride 
  May 18-19 – Shoreline Drive

For more events, visit the Spectrum Los Angeles calendar. To suggest an event for the calendar, email spectrumlosangeles@gmail.com.

By Stevie St. John

A snapshot of LGBTQ news, features and tidbits from this week on the web:

Los Angeles & California

• Thousands took part in a May Day march to rally for the reform of immigration laws. The march included a queer contingent. Here are some photos of the queer contingent, taken by SPortillo:

•  The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has released this video clip from drag star Coco Peru’s recent interview of Jane Fonda at the Center. Fonda, who fought against the Briggs initiative along side Harvey Milk, talks about the LGBT rights pioneer in the clip. Fonda also donated a photo of herself with Harvey Milk to be auctioned off in support of the Center. The online auction runs through May 22 (Harvey Milk Day), and Fonda will sign the photo for the winning bidder.

• LA Transgender Film Festival Call For Submissions

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Have a photo to share from an LGBTQ community organization or event?
Email it to spectrumlosangeles@gmail.com!

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Entertainment & Sports 

• L.A. Times: Openly gay athlete Jason Collins is what ‘we’ve all been waiting for’

• NY Mag: When Lesbian Athletes Come Out, We Hardly Notice

• The Atlantic: Actually, Jason Collins Isn’t the First Openly Gay Man in a Major Pro Sport

• Salt Lake Tribune: Gay athletes have come out while active or retired

• Huff Post Gay Voices:LGBT Athletes: 27 Players Who Have Come Out Of The Closet

News, Features, Op-eds & Other Links

• Associated Press: Rhode Island becomes 10th state with gay marriage

• L.A. Times: Landlord must uphold transgender tenant’s rights

• Frontiers: Men Having Babies Seminar on May 5 at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center

• AfterEllen: Linda Perry teases Sara Gilbert: ‘There were others before you’

• L.A. Times: A level playing field for transgender students

• Lambda Legal blog: Beyond Marriage: What’s Next for the LGBT and HIV Rights Movement

• Marie Claire: I’m a Woman with Male Chromosomes

• Reuters: Task force calls for routine HIV testing for all adults

By Stevie St. John

In my post about Gender Justice Los Angeles specifically and trans* issues more generally, I mentioned that I recently had the opportunity to write about the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Transgender Health Program for an issue of the Center’s Vanguard newsletter.

Here’s a photo from the story, which is the cover story for the May issue:

Photo by Jesse Finley Reed

Dr. Maddie Deutsch with Gina Bigham. 

Here’s an excerpt from the story:

Widespread discrimination & ignorance among doctors is a bitter pill to swallow for trans people seeking care. That’s why the Center is dedicated to offering topquality care for trans patients.

Living in a body that’s out of sync with one’s gender identity can be extremely distressing; in some cases it contributes to crippling depression and an elevated risk of suicide.

Not every person who is trans* wants to physically transition to the other gender, but for those who do, the need for medical support is often desperate. Medical treatments for those transitioning from male-to-female or from female-to-male can include hormone therapy as well as surgery on the face, chest and/or genitals.

You can read the full story here, or go to http://lagaycenter.tumblr.com/ to read the entire issue online.

By Stevie St. John

Looking for ways to connect with your community? Here’s a roundup of upcoming LGBTQ and other fun local events:

• May Day Queer Contingent
  Wednesday, May 1 

• Kathy Griffin 
  Saturday, May 4 – Dolby Theatre

• Gay Day & May Day at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire
  Saturday, May 4 – Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area
  Faire open through May 19You can find info. about Gay Day and other special faire events here.

• Cinco de Mayo Tequila Tasting & Appreciation Event 
  Saturday, May 4 – L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza 
  From the event website:During this fun and informative event you will learn everything you need to know about some of the worlds best tequila’s as well as how to savor the luxury of their delicious flavors. Though this is first and foremost a class, the celebration begins as soon as you arrive with your first stop, the margartia bar where you will pick up our signature, all natural margaritas made from scratch.

• An Evening with Women – L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
  Saturday, May 18 – Beverly Hilton Hotel From the event website:An Evening With Women for dinner, drinks and an incredible night of live performances
  hosted by KATHY GRIFFIN and featuring NATASHA BEDINGFIELD, SIA and OZZY OSBOURNE.
  All proceeds from the event, produced by LINDA PERRY, benefit the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s services for women and girls.

• An Intimate Evening with Julie Budd 
  Saturday, May 18 – L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza 

• Screening of documentary Trans
  Sunday, May 19 – Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist ChurchFrom the event Facebook page:“TRANS” is an extraordinary documentary about men and women… and all the variations in between. Inspired by the incredible story of Dr. Christine McGinn and her work as an SRS surgeon, TRANS provides an up-close and personal view of the lives, loves, and challenges of a remarkable cast of characters of all ages and from all walks of life.

• Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride 
  May 18-19 – Shoreline Drive

For more events, visit the Spectrum Los Angeles calendar. To suggest an event for the calendar, email spectrumlosangeles@gmail.com.

By Stevie St. John

A snapshot of LGBTQ news, features and tidbits from this week on the web:

Los Angeles & California

• Lots of stars were in the crowd at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles, hosted by Drew Barrymore, on April 20.

  
  Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for GLAAD

  Former President Bill Clinton with daughter Chelsea Clinton, who presented her father with GLAAD’s Advocate for Change Award. Honoring Clinton was a controversial decision because he signed the Defense of Marriage Act into law; LGBT POV‘s Karen Ocamb reflects on this here.

  
  

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for GLAAD

Wilson Cruz, a spokesperson for GLAAD.

Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for GLAAD

Sara Gilbert (The Talk).

Greg in Hollywood has coverage, and you can see more photos on GLAAD’s Facebook album.

•  The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center presented”Conversations with Coco” featuring Jane Fonda. The event was the latest in a Center series featuring drag star Coco Peru interviewing celebs on stage at the Center’s Renberg Theatre.

Photo by Thomas Mikusz

Jane Fonda and Coco Peru.

You can see more pics in the Center’s Facebook album.

• The Los Angeles County Health Department found no link between L.A. meningitis cases and cases in New York.

• Out in the 562: West Hollywood lesbian bar The Palms to close

________________________________________________________________________________________

Have a photo to share from an LGBTQ community organization or event?
Email it to spectrumlosangeles@gmail.com!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

News, Features, Op-eds & Other Links

• Huff Post Gay Voices: A Day in a Queer Life in the U.S.: A Trans Man on Love and Marriage

• Time Magazine: France Legalizes Gay Marriage Despite Vocal and Angry Opposition

• Salon.com: Boy Scouts: Still wrong on LGBT rights

• Towleroad: Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) Introduced in Congress

• New York Times: Yes, I Really Am Bisexual. Deal With It

• Video: What Old People Think About Gay Sex

By Stevie St. John

From the outside, the Willoughby building looks like a West Hollywood apartment complex. But once you’re buzzed in, you cross the threshold of a building that houses a motley mix of offices.

In one sun-dappled former apartment is the headquarters of Gender Justice Los Angeles (GJLA, formerly FTM Alliance), an organization that works “build the power” of the transgender community in Los Angeles.

“There’s something about local work that feels powerful,” says Rodrigo Lehtinen, the organization’s membership director. Lehtinen initially moved to Los Angeles to work with a national organization, but said he “really wanted to do local work with my people.” In 2011, he joined GJLA’s staff.

In addition to offering support groups for trans* people and their loved ones, GJLA does trans advocacy work. For example, several GJLA members were among activists who signed and delivered a petition to the L.A. Times to protest its coverage of Cassidy Vickers’ death. (GLAAD and some trans community members met with Times staff member earlier this month to discuss the Times story.)

L.A.’s trans community has won some important victories with regard to how trans people are treated by law enforcement officers. Previously, trans people who were arrested were housed based on their genitals, which Lehtinen says led to “drastically unsafe conditions.” Last year, L.A. became the first city in the country to allocate a pod of cells for people who self-identify as trans.

GJLA also offers “Theatre of the Oppressed” workshops that help trans people and their allies build leadership and advocacy skills. During these interactive Sunday afternoon workshops, people can discuss things that have happened to them. Then participants are assigned parts in a role playing exercise to explore possible strategies.

For example, a student might share that she is having trouble with a teacher who refuses to call her by female pronouns. The student hasn’t yet been able to legally change her name and gender markers, and the teacher insists on using the name listed on the school’s official paperwork.

In a Theatre of the Oppressed session, one person will take on the role of the student. Another will be the teacher. And others will be the trans woman’s classmates. They’ll act out a scenario, periodically stopping with “freeze frames” for the group to discuss options. What could the trans woman say to advocate for herself? How could her classmates show their support for her?

Lehtinen said the idea of the workshops is to “be real and honest about emotions and what you can do to advocate for yourself.” It’s about finding ways to speak up for yourself and your friends. Lehtinen stresses that, while allies are welcome, participants should already be knowledgeable about trans issues.

Beyond 101

The idea of going beyond a “Trans 101” understanding has been on my mind lately. Working alongside trans activists at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center (including GJLA board president Drian Juarez), I learned a lot about the issues that affect trans people’s lives, such as rampant employment discrimination and alarming rates of hate violence. I got a grip on terminology, such as the difference between sex and gender.

But as I recently read Julia Serano’s Whipping Girl A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, in which she talks about the complexity of her own experience with gender, I thought about the fact that my education on trans issues still has gaps that I should strive to fill.

For example, I recently spent time learning about the Center’s Transgender Health Program. I knew that some trans people take hormones as part of their transitioning process, but until I watched the Center videos with Dr. Maddie Deutsch explaining the effects of hormones on trans women and trans men, I didn’t know much about how the “second puberty” patients experience and the specific effects of the hormones. (Serano also talks about her experience with hormones in Whipping Girl.)

Another recent read for me was Two Spirits, One Heart. Author Marsha Aizumi (whose Spectrum Q&A you can read here) kindly presented me with a review copy. I can’t exactly give an objective take–not only is the book is by and about folks I know, I’m actually mentioned in it. But I will say that reading it gave me insight into a family member’s perspective as Aizumi shares the journey she and her family experienced when her son, Aiden, transitioned to male.

I’m excited that the visibility of trans issues seems to be increasing. Chaz Bono’s transition (as well as his book, documentary and his turn on Dancing with the Stars) is one example of an activist raising public awareness. But I am wary of one media story after another–many with incorrect pronoun use–focused on trans people using bathrooms and locker rooms.

I hope we’re headed for a deeper social understanding of  trans issues. And I hope that Lehtinen, who penned this Guardian item, is correct when he assesses trans rights as “the next big political movement.”

For more information about GJLA, visit the organization’s website or follow GJLA on Facebook. For more information about GJLA’s Theatre of the Oppressed workshops, email gjlatheatreoftheoppressed@gmail.com.

*I’m using the term trans in an effort to refer as inclusively as possible to those who are transsexual, transgender, gender-nonconforming or otherwise identify as part of the trans community.