The State of the Queer Press in the Twin Cities

The rumor mill has it that Travis Stanton has resigned as editor of Lavender Magazine, Minnesota's queer glossy. And several writers have also left. Just as the publication was starting to cover community events with some regularity and depth, a chunk of the good folks there are gone.

Lavender is a business so I guess I shouldn't complain about the lame story selection, the massive amount of advertising (there's so much that it greatly obscures the content), and the Twin Cities Bar Guide that only lists those that paid for advertising space and half of those aren't gay-owned or frequented.

So, let's turn to the alternatives. Remember Queue Press? Me too, barely. It had a really good 'neighborhood' paper vibe. But it quit and moved online, and now the online version hasn't seen any action in 9 months.

And there was the creatively named GLBT Press. When the publisher, editor, and main writier (all the same person) wasn't trashing community members and organizations, there was actually a story or two about the problams facing the queer community. This one is gone too. The last writing on the site appears to from before the 2004 election. They must have been REALLY depressed about the outcome.

And we currently have LivingOUT Newspaper (coming soon!) with its local insert. LivingOUT part a queer media conglomerate called Three Dollar Bill, Inc. that also owns The Source and publishes and distributes in Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego and Seattle. Not exactly local, but at least they are donating time to creating the annual Pride Guide.

That's the queer press in Minnesota. Not really all that great. We need a Washington or New York Blade, or a Seattle Stranger, or a Houston Voice. Something in the Twin Cities worth linking too.

Hopefully, someone can provide Lavender some competition in this town, we can get some good cutting edge stories, or at least some real queer press coverage in our own community.

Activism and then shopping

The Minnesota Taliban™ has decided to move the House Civil Law and Election Committee vote for the Anti-GLBT Marriage Amendment to Grand Rapids. This is a brilliant strategy. I've made a diagram that shows how this complicated strategy works using the most up to date demographic data and cutting edge cartography skills.

How does our community combat this diabolical move by the Minnesota Taliban™? Let's all take a vacation!

The vote is scheduled for Friday, March 18th at Myles Reif Performing Arts Center, 720 Conifer Drive, Grand Rapids, MN 55744. [yahoo maps] Grand Rapids isn't far from the beautiful Duluth-Superior area.

If the entire community takes Friday, March 18th off of work, we can all stay in Duluth (or Superior) have a great night Thursday night out at the Main Club or JT's, and then drive over to Grand Rapids and give the Civil Law and Elections Committee a good talking to. Then we can all go back to Duluth for some coffee and shopping!

There are many places to stay in the Duluth Superior area. Here's some of the Superior lodging. The Androy is right next to the Main Club for you drunkies that need to walk. Here's some info on staying in Duluth.

Remember if you don't go to Grand Rapids, then the Minnesota Taliban™ wins. More info after the jump.

OutFront Minnesota is coordinating the effort here. They speculate that the move is to accomodate more people:

"While we can only speculate on their reasons, holding the hearing at Grand Rapids Myles Reif Performing Arts Center will allow the hearing to be observed by a greater number of people. We believe that by scheduling the hearing in a public arena, pro-amendment legislators are trying to send the message that this is a "people’s issue" and should be up to a popular vote on the ballot in 2006."

Here's the contact info for those on the Civil Law and Elections Committee:

Chair: Jeff Johnson (R)
(651) 296-5511
rep.jeff.johnson@house.mn

Vice Chair: Chris DeLaForest (R)
(651) 296-4231
rep.chris.delaforest@house.mn

Lead-DFL: Nora Slawik (DFL)
(651) 296-7807
rep.nora.slawik@house.mn

Laura Brod (R)
(651) 296-4229
rep.laura.brod@house.mn

Matt Dean (R)
(651) 296-3018
rep.matt.dean@house.mn

Keith Ellison (DFL)
(651) 296-8659
rep.keith.ellison@house.mn

Tom Emmer (R)
(651) 296-4336
rep.tom.emmer@house.mn

Bill Hilty (DFL)
(651) 296-4308
rep.bill.hilty@house.mn

John Lesch (DFL)
(651) 296-4224
rep.john.lesch@house.mn

Peter Nelson (R)
(651) 296-5377
rep.peter.nelson@house.mn

Steve Simon (DFL)
(651) 296-9889
rep.steve.simon@house.mn

Torrey Westrom (R)
(651) 296-4929
rep.torrey.westrom@house.mn

Closet blogging

I am continually amazed and shocked at how much this blogging thing has proliferated. I'm adding new queer Minnesota blogs to the list now on a weekly basis, the stories coming out of it are amazing, and people are even have wet dreams over little ol' me!

And blogs are important emotional outlets for some people. Before you click the link, keep in mind that some people are bearing their soul on the internet (because now anyone can!). Simon is a closeted man trying to muster the courage to come out to his wife and family. Before you judge, think about how you would handle the situation. We're not all lucky enough to have our sense of identity established at 15 or 18 or even 27. Our world is still hostile to being queer.

Simon is a victim of Jerry Falwell, Rick Santorum, and Michele Bachmann, just like you and me... and so is his family. I'd advise words of encouragement instead of admonishment. We've all been there at some stage in our lives. And don't forget, Ellen says we get a toaster when we recruit another one! [via WandaWisdom]

New Queer Club

Minneapolis' newest gay bar opened last night. Euphoria occupies the space that formerly housed the massive failure, Empire, which opened in late 2003 and closed in early 2004. Word is, Euphoria has different ownership, and that they have experience running gay bars in Las Vegas.

They are hosting Twilight, the queer women's night that rotates Twin Cities clubs every month. It seems to have found a permanent home at Euphoria, which is awesome because there really isn't a space for queer women in Minneapolis.

I didn't go to the opening, and I didn't hear about the new club until Monday of this week. Anybody go, or know anything about this place?

Update: From Skyway News: "A new nightclub, Euphoria, has opened in the space formerly occupied by the Empire Club at 319 1st Ave. N. The City Council approved a Class "A" liquor license application request by the new club Dec. 23. The license prohibits adult entertainment. The new club will be geared to the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) community like its predecessor, Empire, which closed last winter after less than a year in business. Annette Tracy, a partner in the new club owned by her husband Steve Tracy, said Euphoria won't be an exclusively GLBT venue. "Everyone is welcome," she said. Euphoria will feature live music, drag queen shows and karaoke. The four-bar club has two levels. The first level will be open to club goers 18 and older. The club is open seven nights a week, 8 p.m.-2 a.m."

Another hetero-owned gay club? Tell me this won't be a mini-Gay 90s.

From the comments:
a) the male partner is gay
b) the owners have experience turning around clubs in several cities
c) they intentionally kept a low profile to avoid empires over exposure

Also, I had a few friends go down there for Twilight. They really liked the space and the crowd. I trust their opinion.

Gay Road

Who would not want to live on Gay Road? The people of Marquette Heights, Illinois, that's who. Personally, I think this story is really amusing. It feels like a 4th Grade joke. Don't forget to take the poll!

I grew up in Bartonville, across the Illinois River from Marquette Heights. Of course, Pekin is the big city and Marquette Heights is like a northern 'suburb.' And Pekin has always been a hot-bed of intolerance.

Pekin itself is really white (95.8% white). Pekin's claim to fame arises in discussions of sports teams' mascots, and the cultural appropriation debate that continues in America with the Redskins, Illini, etc. The 'Pekin Chinks' was the actual mascot for Pekin High School well into the 1980s. ArmsControlWonk has a great history of the infamous controversy.

Not that the controversy led to any critical thinking about respecting people's differences: "It was in the early 1990s when [Alicia] Washington, an African-American member of the Peoria High School volleyball team, visited Pekin High School and was ushered into a different locker room from her white teammates." [Peoria Journal-Star]

Oh yeah, and Pekin has been a breeding ground for murderous racists such as Matt Hale:

"An admitted racist since the age of 12, Matt Hale has been one of the most effective and best-known leaders on the far right since he took over the helm of the World Church of the Creator in 1996. A weekly telephone hot line, monthly newsletter, public meetings, regular messages to his online mailing lists, numerous Web sites and occasional interviews with the media are some of the ways Hale offers his views of white supremacy to what he calls the "befuddled masses." The 1999 decision by the State of Illinois to reject his application for a law license, due to his past "conduct," is widely thought to have helped trigger a murderous shooting spree by his follower, Benjamin Smith, in which two people were killed and nine injured - all of them members of racial or religious minority groups." [Anti-Defamation League]

It's not suprising that there's a move to change Gay Road, given the lovely white-bread atmosphere. I mean, those poor residents have been mistakenly associated with homosexuals because of their road. People probably think they are gay and make jokes about their sexuality! Can you imagine?

Well, welcome to homophobia assholes. It's what I dealt with as a gay man in Central Illinois for years. These residents might want to think just a little harder about why they feel the need to change the road signs in the first place, because they are victims of the homophobia they are perpetuating.

Danny Wolf, Gay Road resident, non-gay homeowner had this to say: "The word 'gay' in our modern society has taken on new meaning.... While I do not believe in the gay lifestyle, I do not wish them harm or ill will." [Pekin Times] The gay lifestyle does indeed exist, whether Danny believes in it or not, but his comments are actually kinder than I would have expected from the hate-breeding-grounds of Central Illinois.

Support James Barnett

Expulsion Wasn't End for Gay Student in Texas: "A homosexual student who was expelled last month from Trinity Christian Academy High School in Dallas, Texas, is now facing additional problems at home and says he may be kicked out of his house by his parents due to the media fallout from the incident."

His parents are also threatening to without any financial assistance for college unless he goes to their college choice in Texas. One way to support James is through paypal on his site, www.my-boi.com. [via towleroad]

Gay Marriage Fun in the New Year

Michele Bachmann, Minnesota's favorite Christian extremist aside from former State Rep. Arlon Lindner, plans to advance her cause to move American society closer to a Christian Taliban with the re-introduction of the Defense of Marriage Amendment in the 2005 legislative session.

That, and she's so pretty.

History of the Anti-Gay Movement

If you've wondered how these anti-gay organizations and foundations started, Mitch Gore has a brief history at DailyKos. The connections between white supremecists and current anti-gay outfits like the Heritage Foundation and Coors Brewing are pretty fascinating. I think it would change a lot of people's minds if, say, a major newspaper or magazine were to tell this story...I won't be holding my breath.

Salvation Army

Right-wing Christians are getting pissed about the flack that the Salvation Army has been getting over their discrimination of GLBT people. In the Twin Cities, a group called Celebration Army attempted to raise funds with buckets and bells for Open Arms of Minnesota. Open Arms provides meals for people living with HIV/AIDS. The Salvation Army sued on copyright infringement grounds and Celebration Army volunteered to back down.

A website called GayDC called for a boycott of Safeway and Giant Food because they allow Salvation Army bell-ringers. As an alternative to the Salvation Army, GayDC added this banner to their website: "This holiday season, all proceeds as a result of shopping at Target thru GayDC.Net links until December 31, 2004 will be donated to Food and Friends!"

Food and Friends "prepares, packages and delivers meals and groceries to nearly 1,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and other life-challenging illnesses such as breast, lung and colon cancer throughout Washington, DC and 14 counties of Maryland and Virginia."

Concerned Women for America, a radical anti-gay Christian fringe group based in Washington, DC, voiced their outrage over the Celebration Army, and several other boycott's of the Salvation Army.

Robert Knight, director of Concerned Women for America's Culture and Family Institute had this to say: "Needy families are not even on the radar screen of these homosexual activist groups, who are more interested in promoting acceptance of sodomy than in the Salvation Army's ongoing charity efforts to keep poor people fed and clothed."

He must have missed this part about the Celebration Army "funds would go to Open Arms of Minnesota to provide meals to those with HIV-AIDS," or perhaps he missed "Food and Friends prepares, packages and delivers meals and groceries to nearly 1,000 people living with HIV/AIDS and other life-challenging illnesses such as breast, lung and colon cancer."

Knight is more concerned with the sexual activity of others than he is in helping those with life-challeging illnesses. Doesn't sound very Christian to me.

District 202 in Danger of Closing

Now that I'm feeling more caught up with work and school, I thought I'd share some news about HIV/AIDS locally. Even if World AIDS Day was last week, I'll try and follow this theme for this week.

District 202 may close as soon as next year. This bad news comes during a difficult time for the youth of District 202, as one of them was shot 5 times recently as a result of transphobia. [Google cache of Lavender Magazine. I really wish they'd add archives for the bloggers]

District 202 Executive Director Laura Ayers: "We are an amazing organization, and the positive impact of this community center in young GLBT people's lives is tremendous. We are changing the way the center operates so we have a stronger chance of weathering the new economic realities. If we don't change, and if the community does not support us, then we would face having to close late next year."

For those who don't know what District 202 does:

"Founded twelve years ago by activist GLBT youth and adults, District 202 provides meeting space, peer counseling, mental health and housing referrals, safer sex education and other services to GLBT youth 21 and under. Located above GLBT-friendly Nicollet Village Video, District 202 is a large space with a rainbow-colored floor, quietly humming with activity during the day and occasionally pulsing with dance music at night. The nonprofit has seen a steady rise in demand for its services over the years. About 2000 youth have visited District 202 so far this year, with a large percentage of those being first-time visits."

And here's the World AIDS Day tie-in: "These are life and death matters," says District 202 Executive Director Laura Ayers, referring to funding cuts to her organization's HIV and STD prevention program. "Three years ago, we had an application to the Minnesota Department of Health approved, but state funding comes from the federal level and this year [the state] ran out of money before they reached us," Ayers said. The program can no longer afford to purchase condoms, lube, or dental dams for its safer sex education programs.

Via Pulse of the Twin Cities. It's a great article about the fate of the Minnesota non-profit sector.

Choices

You know how the scary bible-reading people are always saying that being gay is a choice, gays can 'go straight', and gays don't need 'special rights' since it's just a 'behavior' that you choose?

Well, I think that fundamentalist churches should have to pay taxes just like everyone else, since being a fundamentalist christian is a CHOICE and being a member of that church is a CHOICE. If they want my support, they can make the CHOICE to convert to Unitarian Universalists.

Oh, I know that little first amendment to the Constitution says otherwise, but why don't those of us who don't like that amendment, come up with our own amendment saying something like fundamentalist christians or evangelicals undermine the true and historical meanings of religion?

Hey, what's good for the gays is good for the bigots.

The gays did it...

I've seen comments on liberal blogs blaming the gay marriages in San Francisco and other cities for Bush winning the election by rallying the fundamentalist base. Indeed, more fundies voted in this election than ever before. Some people also say that it incited a response from libertarians against 'activist judges' and what-not.

I guess I don't understand. If the majority of a population decides it's ok to discriminate, or deny rights, (or wherever marriage benefits fall in the spectrum of things-that-most-people-get), that's ok? What if the majority said people whose last name starts with Y cannot get a driver's license? The majority of a population can be wrong, you know.

I think it's despicable for any liberal to blame the very group of people who have lost the most here. All we are trying to gain the is the same government benefits. And, you know, not get the shit kicked out of us.

If your not pissed off enough, hear the words of gays who did vote for Bush. Meet gaypatriot and right side of the rainbow. They don't like gays either, I think. Well, mostly just "the radical gay leftist agenda." I'm suprised they aren't just calling themselves 'homosexuals' engaging in 'sodomy.' I'm sure I'm not being fair, but honestly, I don't care.

Bush is a versatile top

President Bush reversed his position on civil unions yesterday. Some would call him a flip-flopper. Jon Stewart says he's a "versatile top."

Down-low

Remember when I wrote about HIV at traditionally black colleges and universities?

Oprah is concerned. Straight black women are contracting HIV from their nasty. lying, 'down-low' husbands and boyfriends; black men who have sex with men, but identify as 'straight'.

Oprah's guest, JL King, came off sounding a little homophobic and unrealistic in talking about what amounted to allowing for open relationships between down-low men and their female partners.

Instead of talking about why these men remain in the closet, or about why they aren't taking precautions during sex, or why they don't or can't identify with other same-gender loving men, Oprah wants to talk about how awful the lying is and how women are the victims. They are victims of these men's dishonesty and of a deadly virus. These men are also victims: of a deadly virus, of homophobia perpetrated by those closest to them, of racism in prevention services and GLBT communities, and of unfair media representation.

Keith Boykin has a great response to the media hype over down-low men:

There are many problems with the down low story, but the major problem is that it's based on the principle of vilifying the very people we need to reach. Demonizing people who have already been stigmatized into silence will not end their silence. Instead, we will drive these men further and further into their closets of shame and denial.

I realize JL King realizes that homophobia, heterosexism, and gender rigidity is at play here, but why miss the opportunity to be outspoken about it? This conversation needs to start with the closet, they very place that the dishonesty starts. And where is the attention to the down-low men who are contracting HIV? There's plenty of focus on the women partners of down-low men, but not on the fact that these men are contracting the virus too.

Homophobia Fuels Increase in HIV Rates at Southern Colleges

The media has paid some attention to the recent surge in HIV infections at southern colleges in Universities. Digging into the trend, I only found one article that even began to address how homophobia and racism are implicated in the production of a 'down-low' culture where HIV prevention isn't given any thought.

Homophobia at these traditionally black colleges is one factor contributing to this new epidemic. Many aspects of the African American community are centered around the church, and homosexuality is discussed negatively when it is discussed at all. Additionally, a high regard for traditional masculinity within the community contributes further to a cultural norm of homophobia. An entire book could be written about the causes and social aspects of homophobia in the African American community, but the sure thing is that it exists.

And the GLBT community has a lot of work to do if we are going to pretend to be the inclusive community we keep saying we are. Living in the great white north, I've seen many gay.com chatters looking for 'white guys only' or the covert racism exhibited in many of the Twin Cities gay social venues. Racism or 'otherness' in our community is as much a problem as the homophobia in the African American community.

Lonnie Payne of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation writes this article about racism, homophobia, and black gay men:

As a whole, black gay men have been invisible in American society. We have been scorned within the black community, which often denies our existence as gay men or views us with open hostility. In the general society as well as in the wider gay community, where racism is as prevalent as it is in society as a whole, we often encounter rejection and marginalization due to the color of our skin. The effects have been devastating, contributing to rates of HIV infection among men of color that far exceed those among other groups.

Indeed the CDC cites homophobia as a major factor in accessing services:

Race/ethnicity itself is not a risk factor for HIV infection; however, among racial/ethnic minority MSM, social and economic factors including homophobia...may serve as [a] barrier to receiving HIV prevention information or accessing HIV testing, diagnosis, and treatment.

Coretta Scott King, widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoke out against homophobia in 1999.

"I have no doubt that homophobia has worsened and prolonged the AIDS crisis. It is sad to me when I hear black people, including some in leadership positions, making homophobic comments and attacking the human rights of gay and lesbian people. African Americans," she said, "have suffered for too long because of prejudice and bigotry to be parroting the rhetoric of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups who bash people because of their sexual orientation."

Our two communities need to make some real strides in communicating with each other and addressing these issues. The people caught in the middle are at risk because neither community has had a real dialogue about their own shortcomings.