Tabla de contenidos para April- May 2018 en The Advocate

ANYONE WHO DOESN’T think our culture is changing—wonderfully, necessarily, but sometimes through difficult growing pains—must not be paying attention to The Advocate. This last year, as a response to the world around us, we’ve changed not just who is behind many of our articles and videos but also the types of issues we’re covering. This magazine has been helmed by many a feminist. (In fact, you should read our former editor in chief Judy Wieder’s remarkable recent memoir, Random Events Tend To Cluster, which follows her from 1960s Greenwich Village to The Advocate and beyond, intersecting with the Civil Rights, LGBT, and Animal Rights movements.) But while Judy, and many editors before and after her (both female and male), personally identified as a feminist, I am sure they probably never…

WHEN I FIRST began writing about the HIV-positive experience, my life was filled with a barrage of sex, dating, and controversial conversations around stigma, shame, and disclosure. Whether the topic was related to physical health, love, or self-esteem, the conversation centered on whether or not you could still achieve your dreams as a newly HIVpositive person. But even though I was confident I could, I still wasn’t sure I would. Before my diagnosis, I was 28 years old and trying to get a foothold on my career. I was single, insecure, and a little aimless with a pretty strong affinity toward getting attention from all the wrong guys. I knew I wanted to be a writer and to use my education in some way that would benefit my community, but…

Last December, four black queer women were murdered in three separate incidents within one horrifically tragic week. Three children were also killed in the incidents, yet there has been very little media coverage about the tragedies in either queer or mainstream media. The three unrelated cases were a heartbreaking blow to both the LGBT and African-American communities. The first in the string of murders happened on December 26, 2017, when police found the bodies of 36-year-old SHANTA MYERS; her girlfriend, BRANDI MELLS, 22; and two of Myers’s three children: Jeremiah, 11, and Shanise, 5. (Her one surviving child was away at the time.) They had all been bound and their throats slashed, according to the New York Post. James White and Justin Mann ( a friend of Wells) have been…

AS WE LOOK for change happening in Hollywood, it’s time to shout out the brilliance of actresses Natalie Morales (the fascinating Sheriff Anne Garcia on Santa Clarita Diet) and Stephanie Beatriz (the badass Detective Rosa Diaz on Brooklyn Nine-Nine). Both are fierce out Latinas on hit TV series’ and their characters speak to TV’s evolution as well. Both actresses portray law enforcement officers (authority figures, formerly known as “The Man”) and their female cop characters haven’t been forced to sport ridiculously high heels and skirts in what once was a common Hollywood atttempt to seemingly keep women in uniform from looking like lesbians. Even as their characters have come out queer onscreen, Morales and Beatriz have been allowed to remain neither overly-masculinized nor uber-feminized. In other words, they aren’t over…

Sean Desiree is a person with a purpose. The genderqueer musician (left), who uses neutral pronouns and performs as bell’s roar (uncapitalized in honor of the name’s inspiration, feminist writer bell hooks), is on a mission to help others pursue their artistic dreams. Desiree says the motivation for creating an arts-funding program was born out of the 34-year-old’s own experiences as a young queer person of color, struggling to create music. “Starting out as an artist, there’s definitely a lot of expenses, especially for queer and trans artists of color,” they explain. “I mean, it’s just hard to survive in general, [and then] trying to create art can seem impossible.” So, Desiree created the Art Funds Art Tour, a 10-day performance tour that morphed into a blossoming nonprofit organization. “It’s…

 When Rye Young became the executive director of Third Wave Fund, it was a gamble not only for the organization, but for himself. The organization created by and for women of color and intersex, queer, and trans people under 35 had hit financial difficulties in 2012, and board members spent much of 2013 deciding whether they should close its doors. “THERE’S NO LACK OF MONEY IN PHILANTHROPY. THERE IS A LACK OF MONEY BEHIND RADICAL GRASSROOTS VISIONS AND APPROACHES TO CHANGE.” “We knew it would be difficult to attempt to jumpstart the organization again,” Young admits. “But there was so much love and hope in what could be rebuilt if given the chance. So, we decided to take the plunge and it paid off.” But he acknowledges it wasn’t easy.…

Tee Franklin made a name for herself in the comic book world before she ever wrote one of her own. She launched #BlackComicsMonth in February 2015 to draw attention to talented indie black comic creators as well as the diverse comic book characters and superheroes that already exist, but are not well know. Then, Franklin raised almost $60,000 from Kickstarter and launched her own publishing company, Inclusive Press, to produce her graphic novel, Bingo Love—which later won Prism Comics’s 2017 Queer Press Grant. The book is a story about two queer women of color who fall in love as teens, but are torn apart by their parents only to be reunited decades later. Their relationship must overcome the ensuing years, heterosexual marriages, and children. The story of Hazel and Mari…

Boys Keep Swinging by Jake Shears. In this well-crafted and entertaining memoir, the lead singer of glam rock band Scissor Sisters (who also adapted Tales of the City into a musical) shares his rise from bullied boy to a rock star who ruled New York and rubbed elbows with queer icons including David Bowie and Elton John. (Atria Books) Seven Suspects by Renee James. In the latest Bobbi Logan mystery, the intrepid transgender sleuth must solve a cold case (her best friend’s murder)—before it’s pinned on her. But her muddled dating history, poor choice in men, self-doubt and the inexplicable difficulty of being a middle-aged femme complicate the matter. (Oceanview Publishing) People Like Us by Dana Mele. This psychological thriller stars Kay Donovan, a soccor player within a group of…

Compared to heterosexual women, lesbian and bi women and pre-op transgender men who have sex with women may be at greater risk for HPV and cervical cancer due to several health and lifestyle factors, as noted by Cancer-Network.org. Women (and trans men) who have sex with women can contract the virus from a partner with HPV in the same ways hetero women can—including through skin to skin contact, genital contact, touching the genitals of a partner and then one’s own, or sharing sex toys that have not been properly cleaned in between partners. Also, many lesbians, trans men, and bisexual women have experienced penis-vagina sex at some point, thus increasing their risk for HPV. Part of the problem is that, statistically, lesbian and bi women and trans men are all…

IN THE MID-1990S, I was editor and co-founder of the lesbian magazine, Girlfriends, and my indefatigable art director, Robin Lowey, was a young lesbian with a wife, two very young sons, and a love of surfing. I remember many an early morning when Robin came in bleary-eyed from an all-nighter with a crying baby (who often only went to sleep after a ride in the car) but still kicked ass at her job. We haven’t seen much of each other as her boys grew (they’re grown men now) except for an Olivia Cruise we wound up on together unexpectedly a few years ago. But Robin—who later founded and now edits and publishes the online lesbian site, Epochalips—flatteringly included me along with some of my idols (Jewelle Gomez) and friends (France…

There’s a giant many-tentacled, multi-eyed monster standing between Wendy Watson and a square-jawed Golden Era comic book hero called The Middleman. As he marvels at Watson’s snarky, cynical, and rather unperturbed manner, TV fans watching the first episode of The Middleman fell for the actress playing Watson: Natalie Morales. Creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach’s short-lived ABC Family series became a cult classic (and Comic-Con hit) thanks to the smart, rapid-fire dialog and energetic characters, but its biggest accomplishment was introducing the world to Morales. The 2008 series wasn’t Morales’s first TV role (she guest starred on 2006’s CSI: Miami as Anya, the survivor of a serial killer and the little sister of Latina DNA expert Natalia Boa Vista). But The Middleman introduced Hollywood to the Cuban-American actress, and casting directors took note.…

 Matteo Lane is one of only a handful of gay male stand-up comedians in the U.S. who has garnered in-demand spots on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and Late Night With Seth Meyers. He’s also appeared on Comedy Central’s The Comedy Jam and Adam Devine’s House Party, and is part of Netflix’s comedy specials featuring rising stand-ups. “WHEN I SAW JOAN RIVERS, THAT WAS IT. I TRULY BELIEVE THAT SHE MIGHT BE THE BIGGEST INSPIRATION IN MY LIFE. SOMETIMES BEFORE I GO ONSTAGE I SAY, ‘OK, THIS IS FOR JOAN.’” Now, he’s picking up even more steam hosting Ghost Hunt, an eight-episode unscripted comedy series that debuted on Snapchat’s Shows platform. Each episode, Lane helps a real person track down someone from their romantic past who ghosted them (suddenly…

Academy - action series coming to Netflix and his stint helming DC Comics’ Doom Patrol breaking sales records, former My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way may have found the formula to happiness. When he first considered taking on Doom Patrol, DC Comics’ misfit band of superheroes, Way says he “wasn’t sure if I was willing to tackle it, especially following what Grant [Morrison] had done.” Morrison’s tenure (which was then followed by trans writer Rachel Pollack’s) remains legendary for introducing a plethora of acid-trip-induced characters like Danny the Street—a cross-dressing, sentient city street whose dialogue emulated what Way describes as “a gay slang code language used when homosexuality was illegal in the British Empire.” “Danny was something so specific to Grant, and I knew I couldn’t do it the…

SHANNON PRICE MINTER is the legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. In 2009, he was lead counsel in the landmark California marriage equality case. One of the best-known transgender lawyers in America, Minter fights for equality for all LGBT folks, and played a lead role—with Jennifer Levi (right)—in stopping Trump’s planned ban on trans people in the military. JENNIFER LEVI is the director of GLAD’s Transgender Rights Project. A law professor at Western New England University, Levi continues to serve as counsel in high-profile cases that have secured basic rights for trans people, including tax deductions for gender-confirmation surgeries as well as medical care policies in federal prisons. REGGIE SHUFORD is the executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. In his storied career, his cases have spawned…

Hotel restaurants were once only good for breakfast and room service. Fast-forward to 2018, and some of the best restaurants in the world are now inside top hotels around the globe. The islands of Hawaii are witnessing this hotel restaurant revolution, with Maui leading the way. Here are some of our favorite food finds in paradise: HUMUHUMU Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, recently announced the completion of a renovation to its signature restaurant, the 25-year-old Humuhumunukunukuapua’a (Humuhumu, for short, named after Hawaii’s colorful triggerfish). Representing the latest phase of a $70 million resort refresh, Humuhumu now delights a whole new generation of guests with star chef Mike Lofaro’s signature modern Hawaii seasonal cuisine. Recently named “Man of the Moment” by Modern Luxury: Hawaii, Lofaro has earned his reputation as…

Ezili’s Mirrors: Imagining Black Queer Genders is Omise’eke Natasha Tinsley’s complex, multi-voice exploration of how LGBT African-Americans view gender in ways that reference the queered genders in the pantheon of Voodou spiritual practice. Tinsley finds Voodou references in everything from the Harlem ball scene, documentaries on Haitian women union organizers, and the complicated gender performances of drag king MilDred Gerestant, to singers like Whitney Houston and Nicki Minaj. It’s an often complex analysis with historical citations, spiritual explorations, and gender expressions. It will have you ruminating for days about the queerness of Marie Laveau; bisexual southern gentlemen in the French Quarter; odd ways that slavery—and strange Jim Crow laws—defeminized black women; the garbage that clogs Haitian waterways; and how work is a critical element of black fem(me)inine genders. (Duke University…

And Breathe: The Complete Guide to Conscious Breathing for Health and Happiness by Rebecca Dennis. It seems ridiculous but most of us don’t know how to breathe right. We take short shallow breaths that don’t engage our diaphragms. Dennis, a British “transformational breath” facilitator offers a variety of different breathing exercises that promise to fight stress, provide energy, aid digestion, or help you sleep. And you can practice them anywhere—even in rush hour traffic. (Lifelong Books) Bliss More: How to Succeed in Meditation Without Really Trying by Light Watkins. A plethora of studies have proven the value of meditation, so it goes without saying that a daily meditation routine would help us all be a little healthier. You might actually make that goal a reality with this popular African-American meditation…

The best part of being a journalist is being surrounded by writers—since one of them has a new book out nearly every month. This time, I’m shouting out about the new literary work by a fellow editor to whom I just happen to be married. (27 years!) Our transgender deputy editor, Jacob Anderson-Minshall, previously co-wrote four books with me including the award-winning memoir (Queerly Beloved: A Love Story Across Genders, which detailed our transition from lesbian couple to husband and wife 13 years ago) and the Blind Eye Detectives mystery series (Blind Curves, Blind Faith, andBlind Leap) from Bold Strokes Books. I’m not exaggerating when I say that his new book, Swimming Upstream(TransgressPress.org) may outshine all of those works. Swimming Upstreamtackles complexly interwoven genealogies of kinship, war, belonging, and nature…

The Los Angeles Police Department has arrested and charged a suspect in the murder of 33-year-old Viccky Gutierrez, the second transgender woman killed in 2018. The LAPD-FBI Fugitive Task Force detained 29-year-old Kevyn Ramirez, who, LAPD lieutenant John Radtke told reporters, “confessed to investigative detectives that he stabbed the victim intentionally and then intentionally set a fire after [a] dispute.” However, in court, Ramirez entered a plea of not guilty. According to Latina.com, prosecutors are still determining whether to file hate crime charges or seek the death penalty in the case. Initially classified as suspicious, Gutierrez’s death was later ruled a murder. Although the coroner could not immediately confirm her identity, trans activist Bamby Salcedo and friends were sure it was Gutierrez. The fire was in her apartment and she…

Stephanie Beatriz sounds nothing like Detective Rosa Diaz—the tough, no-nonsense, jeans-and-leather-jacket-wearing character she’s played for five seasons on FOX’s progressive, award-winning hit cop comedy, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Beatriz’s naturally warm and light speaking voice is miles from Detective Diaz’s deep, humorless, deadpan style of talking. “I do have a weirdly strange range of voices,” Beatriz admits with a laugh, a skill she has utilized in various voice acting roles (including on the queer-friendly kid’s cartoon, Danger & Eggs). Despite the vocal differences between them, the actress and her character have more in common than not. For one thing, both have come out recently. In possibly the shortest ever coming-out statement, Beatriz responded to a tweet by fellow actress Aubrey Plaza (who announced in July 2016, “I fall in love with girls…

“LIFE BEGINS WHEN YOU WALK IN YOUR PURPOSE. WHEN YOU FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS, YOU ENCOURAGE OTHER PEOPLE TO FOLLOW THEIRS.” This January, history was made when Nafessa Williams slipped into the role of Anissa Pierce, aka Thunder, in The CW’s Black Lightning. The groundbreaking show features the first black superhero family on network TV. Set in New Orleans, the show centers on family patriarch Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), a charter school principal who is struggling with a long-held secret. Nine years ago, he was gifted the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, which he used to keep his town safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. Fearing that violence might spill over and impact his family, Jefferson left his superhero days behind to settle into a more stable life…

While working as a librarian by day and living with her wife and dog in New England at night, Jane C. Esther penned her brilliant debut lesbian sci-fi novel, The Universe Between Us. Set in a both brighter (gay is normal) and bleaker (environmentally, Earth has fallen to shit) future, the story really centers on an evolving love between two women—one of whom is about to embark on a covert mission to colonize Mars. “Visiting Nebraska inspired me to write a story about what I saw happening there, which was river beds dusty from drought, and farmland that won’t be there by the end of the century,” Esther admits. “It got me thinking, in the next few decades, how will our planet change, which desperate measures will we take, and…

LENA WAITHE made history as the first black woman to win an Emmy award for outstanding writing for a comedy series (on Master of None). Waithe thanked her longtime girlfriend, Alana Mayo, in her acceptance speech. Her Showtime series, The Chi, was renewed for a second season earlier this year. MUNROE BERGDORF gained global recognition as L’Oreal’s first transgender model to front a campaign for the brand in the U.K. Later fired for sharing her views on white complicity in the wake of Charlottesville, the model wrote on Facebook, “Most big brands did not want to sell to black women. Most big brands did not want to acknowledge that there was a huge demographic that was being ignored.” AMANDLA STENBERG Best known for playing Rue in Hunger Games, the non-binary…

Staying true to their optimism-in-the-face-of-adversity name, Boston-bred indie rock group Happy Little Clouds gives us a fresh take on the struggle to accept one’s true gender identity with their new video, “Beneath.” The video begins in a dark landscape punctuated by abandoned and dilapidated pools. The sky is gray. The mood is bleak and lonely. Lead singer and band founder Jac Masel—whose identity is in flux, recently shifting from genderqueer to trans, and from using feminine to gender neutral pronouns — is seen in the music video receiving disapproving sneers for their masculine attire. Eventually, Masel’s character caves to pressure, donning a red dress and heels in a desperate attempt to fit in. But their “inner child” appears and guides them through the woods (and a life-changing haircut) to a…

The hip-hop world lost one of its rising stars last fall when Lil Peep (born Gustav Ahr) died at the age of 21 in Tucson, Ariz., where he was to appear in concert for his debut album, Come Over When You’re Sober (Part One). According to a toxicology report, the rapper’s cause of death was the “combined toxic effects of fentanyl and alprazolam,” the latter a generic form of Xanax. The medical examiner ruled the death an accidental overdose. When news of the young talent’s death reached the media, it ignited a wider conversation about mental health and the opioid epidemic in the United States. His short but impactful career coined the term “emo-trap,” which his fans used to describe his low-fi rap and rock aesthetic, Fuse.tv experts noted. Like…