| Transcript |
HITS & MISSES IN
HOUSTON THEATER
From vampire lesbians to Christmas
on Mars, 2000 offered Bayou City
variety of gay productions
Page 15
ISSUE 1053 www.houstonvoice.com All THE NEWS FOR YOUR LIFE. AND YOUR STYLE. DECEMBER 29, 2000
INSIDE
Finding homes for GLBT
organizations, generating
political activism top
e·group Han-net's list of
priorities for 2001
Page 3
We've come a long way,
baby. Take a look back at
the first 1,000 years of
queer history
Page 3
Gay artists like Patricia
Barber turned to the indie
scene for more exposure in
the year 2000
Page 18
Gay milestones reached in 2000
From sodomy law rulings
to lesbian weddings,
many historic landmarks
noted in Texas this year
by WENDY K. MOHO;\/
As we prepare to herald out the year 2000
with a chorus of" Auld Lang Syne," it's appropnate
to note that this year was pivotal in the
queer history of Texas and the nation.
While the fate of the state's homosexual
conduct law rest:; in the hands of the Texas
14th Court of Appeals, the fact that the threejudge
panel of that court overturned the law m
June was a landmark occasion. Add to that the
st?ries of the state's first legal lesbian wed·
dmg, plus Vermont's first avil union and you
have a year for the history books.
The following is a month-by-month sum·
mary of some of the stories of note rovered by
the Houston Voice in 2000:
JANUARY
Radio station quiet after alleged gay
slurs: The pmducer of a local morning radio
program has come
under fire for
allegedly using anti·
gay slurs to descnbe
lesbian City
Councilmember
Annise Parker during
a broadcast last
week. Keven Dorsey,
producer of "The
Annise Parker Dean and Rog
Show" on KKRW
93.7, allegedly called Parker a "dyke" and
"carpet muncher" during the morrung drivetime
show on Jan. 21 during a discussion
about Parker's involvement with the
Westheimer Street Festival.
"While it b iru;ulting to me, it is an affmnt
to the lesbian community," Parker said.
"11wl"l' are ('quivalent terms one would use for
other minorities that no other radio station in
I louston would use. We don't live in a cit}
that tolerates those kind of remarks."
The st.ition L~suL>d a terse on-air apok1b'Y to
P.uker the following week, though station
off1c1als took no action against Dorsey for calling
Parker a "dyke" and "carpet muncher"
during a Jan. 21 bniadcast.
"They did what I asked," Parker said.
"Thq made a public apology and they
agreed that similar behavior wouldn't hap·
pen in the future."
Probe targets prescription fraud at AIDS
clinic:. A .local and federal probe into allegro
prescnphon fraud at Thomas Street Clinic has
indefinitely shut down a popular volunteer
program there and raised concerru; about a
heavy-handed investigation. A tip from a clinic
employee in December launched the investigation,
which has reulted in the arrest of a
former volunteer with the People \\ith AIDS
Coalition and the temporary closing of the
coalihon's volunteer and child care programs
at the sprawling AIDS clinic in Near
Northside in Houston's Fourth Ward.
. A. week later, the Harris County Hospital
Distnct, which operates the clinic, ordered the
PWA's volunteer program-along with it:;
child care program--!-hut do\.\'Tl during the
ongoing investigahon. Before his arrest,
Pullam volunteered in the PWA pnigram.
In March, the program was reinstated and
hospital district officials ordered clinic director
Carolyn Barrett reassigned.
In June, three people associated with the
clinic were indicted for stealing from the
state by using phony prescriptions to obtain
steroids and charge them to Medicaid,
according to authorities.
FEBRUARY
State to fight order to free condemned
killer: After 16 years on death mw, and enduring
anti-gay slurs from a
prosecutor and a defen~
attorney who slept
thmugh much ofhc.19S4
murder trial, Cah'ln
Burdine anticipated
being set free. A federal
judge ordered lus release
in Februal}~ ruling that
Calvin Burdine the state missed an earlier
deadline to either ~et
Burdine free or retry Burdine for killing his
roommate and former boyfnend.
Later, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeab
true¥;' out a lower rourt's order reqwnng
Burd me be released because the state mL.;:.ed a
dea~line for retrying him. US. District Judge
Da\·1d Hittner L'isued the order March 3 and is
the same 1udge who ruled last September that
Burdine's trial was unfair becau:.e his lawyer
slept through much of it.
The case c. still not ~ttled .
!1'e full 5th US. Circuit Court of Appeab
dooded to take up the case after a three-judge
> Continued on Page 6
2 DECEMBER 29, 2000 • HOUSTON VOICE
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HOUSTON VOICE • DECEMBER 29, 2000 NEWS 3
INSIDE
NEWS
Notional News ••......•.•••...•..... 4
Police News ••••..........•...••.•.. . 5
World News •••.•••.••.••...••.•.•. 1 0
Heohh news ....................... 11
Quote/ unquote ••..••..••.••••••••• 21
VOICES & ECHOES
Crain: Tune for gays to break the faith? .... 8
Murphy /Minicucci: Celebrate your neurosis .. 9
'Dykes to Watch Out For' .•........... . 9
OUT ON THE BAYOU
The good, bad and ugly of theater in 2000 .. 15
Out in Musi<: Queer tunes of die year .... 18
On Sueen: Quonfily, not quality in gay film . 19
Eating Out et Marrokech .•..•..... ' ... 20
Bayou Calendar •••.•••••••••.••••.• 17
( I ...................... .27·23
Occasions .•••••••••••••••••••••••• 26
My Stars! .......••............... ,27
CLASSIFIEDS ••••••••.••••••••••• ~ .•• 24-25
Issue 1053
I 1 id I r:1 td I I voice
Al. material 111 Houston Voice is prol8cted by
'9delal copyright lllw and rr.y not be reproducad
without Ille wriftln consent of Houston
Voice The sexual orlentallOn ot adwrtiHrs,
photographers, wrlterS and cartoonists pub-
Nshad herein Is neither Inferred or Implied The
appearance ot names or plCIOrlal representa·
tlon does not necessartly Indicate Iha sexual
orlenlatlon ot lh8t person Of persons
Houston \\:>ice acc:eptS unsoliciaed editorial
mmtarlal but cannot 1•1111 responsibility for Its
return The editor reserves Ille right to accept,
reject or edit any submlsst011.
AR rights r9Wll to authors upon
publlcatlon Guidelines lor freelance
contributors are 'available upon requeet.
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Han-Net establishes list of goals for 2001
Finding homes for GLBT organizations,
generating political activism top the list
by ELLA TYLER
Han-Net, the e-group for Houston's GLBT activists, recently asked
its members to vote on Community Challenges for 2001. The poll dosed
Tuesday night.
. "Focus on local and state political issues" was the top vote-getter,
with 16 votes. The Texas legislature will be meeting from January to
May of 2001, and city elections will be held in November of 2001.
- '"::---"~~~~~~~~~~_J .-,......-._. ..-.... . Finding new homes for the Houston Lesbian & Gay Community
Cent~r an~ the Gulf Coast Archives & Museum were the next highest
pnonty, with 12 votes and 10 votes respectively.
-- '--............ -..-..... ..............,. ............... .................. _. - ~ --- .... ._ .n............- ................... ........... .. ...,~-·- ....._
"Exploring options for a new home is one of our primary objectives '
for the year ahead and we will soon have a second meeting open to anyone
who wishes to participate in the process," Tun Brookover, HLGCC
president, said.
The Community Center is outgrowing it's current space, and
GCAM is temporarily housed in a portion of a warehouse east of downtown
that is used as a residence.
--· - --....-..-..-... .--.. -.... --.---......-......-......-...... .
> Continued on Page 12
Han·Net, on e-group for political activists in Houston's queer community,
was estab&shed two years ago by Brandon WoH. found at
www.egroups.com/11oup/han-net, tbe 1st is aot moderated 111d has
nearly 250 members.
Snapshots from a gay millennium
As 2001 marks the real
start of the new millennium,
the first 1,000 years show
escalating change
for gays
by LAURA BROWN
To say that life on Earth has changed in the •
last 1,000 years would be a massive understatement-
although to say that there are
some for whom things haven't changed so
much is also certainly true.
Gay history, too, shows a pattern of escalating
change with a stubborn undercurrent of
hostility toward gays, although gay history is
much more difficult to track. Most scholars, in
fact, will argue that there really is no such
thing as "gay history" before the last century
or so.
.The id7a of a separate gay identity, they
point out, L~ a very recent social phenomenon:
While individuals engaged in sexual relations
with members of their own sex in centuries
past, and even in some cases were assigned
social roles because of it, they were unlikely to
have constructed their identity around their
sexuality in the same way that many gay men
and lesbians do today.
So looking back to the beginning of the millennium,
the story of "gay history" is more
often a story of same-sex attraction, sodomy or
~ender transgression, and how the people
involved in these activities were treated by the
individuals and institutions around them.
It is also, very often, a tale of persecutionalthough
there have always been cultures,
many non-Western, that have accepted and
even celebrated such differences-and a tale of
institutions of social power and how they
affect whose story gets told, then and now.
Much more is known about male-male
relationships, especially up until the last two
centuries, as sexism and patriarchy in many
societies kept women from recording their
own stories and made them invisible or uninteresting
to the men who created much of the
bodies of Jaw and literature that have survived
until today.
Most gay historical scholarship has also
focused on Western cultures, to the exclusion
of those in Africa, Asia and other parts of the
world.
1000-1100
• In his 1051 treatise "Book of Gomorrah,"
Saint Peter Damian wrote at length about the
evil of male homosexuality, especially in the
clergy, including long and very detailed
accounts of what he implied were very common
homosexual acts.
• Though not officially condoned, homosexual
activity often was tolerated in the
Catholic clergy. Pope Urban Il, who launched
the first Crusade, declined to act on information
from church leaders who complained
about the male lover of Ralph. Archbishop of
Tours, becoming Archbishop of Orleans. John,
Ralph's lover, was elected in 1098.
And while Ralph's homosexuality was so
well known that it was described in popular
songs, in later years, crackdowns on known
adulterers among the clergy-who were
required to be celibate-left John and Ralph
alone.
11©-1200
• In 1102, the ecclesiastical Council of
London sought to inform the general citizenry
that "sodomy" was a sin that needed to be
included in confessions, although the edict
may never have been publ@led. 'This sin has
Jutherto been so public that hardly anyone is
embarrassed by it," wrote Saint Anselm,
Archbishop of Canterbury.
• In 1179, the Catholic Lateren ill council
imposed sanctions against a variety of sinners,
including those involved with homosexuality
Relative tolerC11C1 of same-sex relations in the
early part of the mlennium lllCIJ be represeated
in art from the period: T1lis sculpture from the
12th century came from 111 area known for
homosexualty; it could depict merely wrestlers,
scholar John Boswel aotes, or muda more.
in a list that also included Jews, Muslims,
heretics and moneylenders.
U©-1300
• Although the past century in Europe was
considered fairly open to same-sex relationships,
the next two showed increasing persecution,
as religion and law became increasingly
absolute. As the Crusades continued,
Christian leaders tried to rally hatred against
Muslims by alleging effeminacy and sodomy
as charactenstics of the entire ethnic group.
• The earliest and most stringent legislation
passed against gays came from Europeans
······~ .. ~> Continued on Pa_ge 12
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around the nation
Scout ban for Winter Olympics not related to gay ban, organizers say
SALT LAKE CITY-Both Salt Lake Olympic organizers and local leaders of the Boy
Scouts of America have denied charges that Scouts are not being chosen as volunteers for the
2002 Winter Olympics because of the group's anti-gay policies, the DeseretNews reported.
David M. Bresnahan, 47, a former radio talk-show host and former Utah state representative,
said that "the welcome mat was rolled up and the door slammed in its face" when a Scout
group responded to the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee's call for volunteers.
Olympic and local Scouting officials both said the boys can't be volunteers for the 2002
Winter Olympics because they don't meet the minimum age requirement of 18. "(Bresnahan's
charge] happens to be 100 percent inaccurate," SLOC President Mitt Romney said.
1\No governors ban discrimination against gay state employees
HELENA, Mont.-Montana Republican Go\'. Marc Racicot, who removed his name from
consideration to be President-elect George W. Bush's
attorney general, has issued new state guidelines barring
discriminallon against state employees based on sexual
onentation, the Billings Gazelle reported. Racicot asked
the slate's Department of Administration to rewrite the
guidelines more than a year ago, and specifically asked
that sexual orientation be included in the new policy. "We
don't want people making employment deci$ions based
on any of these factors," said John McEwen said, state personnel
division administrator. In Dover, Del., outgoing
Democratic Go\'. Thomas Carper also extended similar
protections to Delaware state employees, the Wilmington
News Journal reported .. The order applies to all state
Cabmet departments and executive agenaes that fall
under the governor's auth'ority, and will remain in effect
unless rescinded by another governor. A bill that would
have forbidden employment discrunination agarnst gays
in the public and private sector was defeated in the
Delaware House earlier this year. In January, Carper will
be replaced by Democrat Ruth Anne Minnow.
Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, at
one time a leading candidate for
U.S. Attorney General in a Bush
administration, issued guidelines
protecting gay state employees
from discrimination.
Aspen officials reject rainbow flags to celebrate Gay Ski Week
ASPEN, Colo. (AP)-The Aspen City Council denied a request to hang rainbow flags on
Main Street to mark next month's Gay Ski Week. Instead, they voted to maintain the current
policy of only allowing U.S. and Colorado flags and flags marking anniversaries of
local groups at least 25 years old. They also agreed to let non-profit groups fly a single flag
at Paepcke Park during ski week. "Aspen has the only Gay Ski Week in the United States,"
resident Greg Hughes said. "It celebrates Aspen on an international stage as being open to
• diversitr." But Councilman Tony Hershey argued that the city shouldn't allow exceptions
to its policy. "Suppose the American Nazi Party wants to have Nazi Ski WL>ek. We'd have
to have Nazi flags up and down Main Street," Hershey ~id. Mayor Rachel RiC"hards said
the real issue is the commercialization of Aspen. "It's how much and how often you want
to promote this week's marketing event for the town," she said. "Do you want flags on
Main Street 40 to 59 weeks a year?"
Gay group in N.Y. wants legislators to ban teasing based on bias
ALBA:-..:Y, N.Y.-A coalition of groups lea by the sfate's largest gay righb group is pushing
the New York Legislature to enact a measure banning teasing based on bias in New
York'~ public schools, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported. The Dignity for All
Students Act would establish statewide regulations to prevent harassment m pubhc
schools against racial religious and ethnic minorities as well as gay classmates. "There's no
uniform policy in the state that recognizes hara:.sment as a problem,'' said Matthew
Foreman, executive director of Gay Pnde Agenda, a New York gay advocacy group. Frl~
speech advocates said the proposed legislation would inhibit the way students address
each other m pubhc schools. "Whene\·er the government attempts to regulate free speech,
It's a concern to us,'' said Marina Sheriff, legislative director for the New York chapter of
the ACLU.
Former HIV-positive court clerk sues after tennination earlier this year
LITTLE ROCK (AP)-A former worker who was demoted after informing supervisors
that he was infected with HIV, and later fired after missing days from work, filed a $1.2 million
federal lawsuit Dec. 20. Christopher Haynes alleges wrongful discharge, discrimination
and infliction of emotional ~tress in the ci\'il rights lawsuit. He seeks damages, rem·
statement, and back pay, and also asks that Pulaski County Clerk Carolyn Staley either be
removed from office or that the court assign an officer to monitor her employment practices.
The lawsuit said Haynes began work for the county as a deputy clerk in April 1999
and was promoted to administrative :issistant the following August It said l layncs
mfonned Staley and Janice Hay, chief deputy clerk, in October 1999 that he is HIV-positive
and that lus absences from work were due to his medical cond1t1on. Haynes was demoted
For more news, visit
www.houstonvoice.com
to deputy clerk three months J,1te and fired in
January after missing several days' work.
-From staff and wm: reports
HOUSTON VOICE • DECEMBER 29, 2000
police beat
Three Chicago cops placed on leave for alleged role in anti-gay beating
Cl IICAGO-Three pOlice officer~ have been placed on <1dmin1strahve leave for allegedly
beating ,1 man they thought was gay, the Chicago Free Press reported. Jeffrey Lyons, 39,
was hugging a man good-bye outside a b.u filled with off-duty police officers when he was
allegedly confronted by the officers. HGet that faggot shit away from my truck," one of the
olficer's shouted, according to Lyons' attorney Timothy Cavenaugh. The officer then started
hitting Lyons, and other officers allegedly joint.>d in. The beahng ended with Lyons
unconscious with a broken nose and fractured cheekbones. Cavenaugh said Lyons' long
hair may have led the officers to belie\'e he was gay. Cavenaugh said Lyons is not gay and
the son of n police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 1992.
Vt. judge rules details of lesbian affair tainted wrongful death lawsuit
BENNINCTO. , Vt. (AP)-The Vermont Supreme Court found that inflammatory testimony
about a wife's lesbian .iffair has tainted the verdict in a trial over a man's death in a 1998
ap.irtrnent fire, .ind ordered a new In.ii. The high court agreed with the family of the late
Charles Mears that a lower 'ourt judge erred when he allowed Edwin Colvin's attorney to
nttack the family's moral character. The family sought $1.75 million in damages for Mears'
death, charging that as landlord, Colvin should have installed hard-wired smoke detectors in
1e,1rs' apartment, as required by law. Colvin, a former state representative, argued that b.ittery-
powl•rcd smoke detectors were sufficient. Throughout the trial, defense attorney Marc
Heath hammered away at Mears' widow, Shirley, depicting her as an opportunist who abandoned,
her mentally ill husband for another woman and then tried to cash in on his death.
Alleged killer fit to stand trial in W.V. killing, psychologist says
FAIRMONT, W.Va.-A teen charged with killing a
gay black man last summer claims he was sexually
abused by the Victim for more than five yeilrs, s!Mting
ill age 12, the ChMleston Gillette reported. Arthur
"JR." D.wid Pilrker and Jilred Wilson, both 17 ill the
time, are being tried il~ adults for Warren's July 4 slay·
mg. u[Warrcn] would come around when 1 was drunk.
He would follow me into the basement," PMker told
forensic psychologist William Fremouw. "In a way, he
forced me." Parker does not consider himself to be gay,
although he had sex with Warren about 30 times over
five yeilrs, Frl•mouw Silid. The night of the killing,
P.1rkN said he consumed 15 beers, smoked marijuana,
snorted crushl>d tranquilizers and huffl.J gasoline. But
Parker's intox1C.ltion didn't prevent him from knowing
whnt he was doing thl• night of the murder, Fremouw
said, and the teen 1s capable of standing trial on a first·
degree murder charge. Prosecutors allegl'Cl Warren was
ktlled bt>cause he told others about his sexual n•lationsh1p
with Parker. Parker's attorney, Stephen Fitz, has
David Parker, accused of kilting a
gay West Virginia man, had sex with
the victim more than 30 times before
the July 4 slaying, authorities said.
s.1id he will argue that Warren was a "sexual predator." Also, spl'Cial pl'05Crutors have been
appointed to handle the two cases, since the current district attorney is leaving office in
January. Wilson's trial is set to begin Jan. 16, though a new judge who takes over the case next
month said the start of the tnal could be pushed back.
Hustler, transgendered partner convicted in fatal cal if. robbery
SAN JOSE, Calif.-,\ hustler and his transgendered lover were both found guilty of robbing
and fatally knifing a man last year, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Michael
Yancey, 29, and Ronnie Warren Ellard, 32, were charged with first-degree murder and rob·
bery in the April 13, 1999, killing of lighting consultant Kenneth Alexander, 47, who had
met Yancey in a 5.ln Francisco park. The pair went to a motel and engaged in drugs and
sex, police said. Alexander then in\'ited Yancey to stop by his apartment on his way home
the next day. The motive for the slaying, according to prosecutors, was money. During the
tnal, Ellard's attorney, David Hultgren, accused Yancey of the kiUing. Yancey, he said,
wanted Ellard to take the fall for the crime because Ellard, who has AIDS, "was gomg to
die anyway." Yancey testified that he was not present when Alexander was fatally knifed.
The are scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 18.
l\vo New Zealand men sentenced for vicious attack on gay waiter
AUCKLAND-Two New Zealand men were sentenced for the beahng of a gay waiter,
the New Zealand Herald reported. Andrew Andre Poki, 20, received 10 years, while Phillip
Jamt•s faylor, 26, got 7-1 /2 for the March 24 beating of Stephen Byrne, who had been lured
by the two men into a secluded place. When Byrne tried to kiss one of them, they viciously
beat him. "Mr. Byrne was the victim of a particula rly brutal attack because he was homosexual,"
Judge Nicholson said. Doctors had to n·move a blood clot in Byrne's brain, leavmg
him with short-term memory problems after the attack. "I just keep thinking they
. . stuffed up my hfe and stuffed up theirs as well,"
For more news,,v1s1t Byrne said of his attackers.
www.houstonvotee.com -From staff and wire reports
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Landmark gay cases heard during 2000
> Continued from Page 1
panel of the court ruled 2-1 in October that the
defendant's rights were not Violated. The
panel said Calvin Burdine, 47, was unable to
prow that !us lawyer, Joe Carmon, slept durmg
critical parts of the trial. Cannon is now
dead
1he court has scheduled oral arguments for
Jan. 22 in New Orleans.
AIDS Ride cuts fail to make financial difference:
Despite dramahc changes in the
Tanqueray's Texas AIDS Ride last year, final
acrounting results are expected to show that
expenses for the 1999 event consumed about
85 percent of the money rai!:.ed, matching di:;appomting
returns a year earlier that prompted
several beneficiaries to drop out. A severe
shortfall in the amount of money returned to
bt'!1eficiaries of the 1998 AIDS Ride led at least
IO agenaes to pull out of the 1999 event. Only
$.380,000 was distributed among the 40 AIDS
groups that took part in 1998, le.s than 15 percent
of the $2.8 million raised.
Organizers said in February that if more
riders will partiapate m the 2<XX) event in
October, the rule will be able to return more
money to benefiting agencies.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Low
rider turnout and poor financial returns
caused promoters of Tanqueray's Texas AIDS
Ride to disband the event. Directors of the
Resource Center of Dallas say they plan to cuntmue
an AIDS nde of some sort in 2001, but it
1.5 still uncertain 1f the ride will be state wide
and whether Houston AIDS agency would
benefit from such an event.
APRIL
Bobbi Whitacre (left) is hugged by partner Sandi
Cote after the Vennont House gave final passage
lo the civil uNon5 biD it April
Vt'nnont legislature approves historic
'civil unions' bill: A bill to recognize same-sex
"civil unions" won final passage in the
Vermont legislature and received Go\'
Howard Dean's signature a day later, brmgmg
with it the creation of a new verb: "to C.U."
1he Vermont House passed the Senate vers10n
of the bill by a nurgm of~. thn.>e votes
more than it earned on first passage.
An estun.ited 20 to 30 couples took ad\•antage
of the law on July 1. the day it took effect,
including out-of-state couples from
Massachusetts, Louisiana and Otuo.
Houston gay activist Richard Wiederholt
dies: Gay activist and bu:;ines!>man Richard
\\'iederholt, an tn.Spiring force to many members
of Houston's gay communil)j died Apnl
28 from complications related to AIDS. He was
Si.
Wiederholt was best known for Basic
Brothers, a gay clothing store he founded in
1982, and a laundry list of community groups
he volunteered with or helped establish,
including the Greater Houston Gay & Lesbian
Chamber of Commerce, the Body Positive
Wellness Center and HNI AIDS Resource
Group
As a testament to Wiederholt's community
involvement, he was selected in March as one
of four grand marshals for the Pride parade
June24.
Hundreds of thousands march for equality:
Despite protests from anti·gay religious
groups and some gay rights activists, hundreds
of thousands of participants joined
the Millennium March on Washington for
Wrth the Capitol in the
back!P'o...d. Bethany Toups
(left) and Bunnie Kramer of
Rochester, N. Y. hold a flog
whie takitg part In the
Mletium March on
Washitgton for Equafity.
Equality April
29-30, the fourth
gay rights march
on the national
capital.
Though the
numbers are
widely debated,
organizers estimated
a crowd of
700,000 to 800,000
particpated in the
April 30 march
and rally on the
National Mall.
Media reports
estimated the
crowd at 200,000
people. The march
capped a 'weekend
of gay nghts
events that also
included a gala
dinner, a mass
same-sex wedding
ceremony, a d.splay of panels from the
AIDS memonal qmlt, a rock concert and a
street festival on Pennsylvania A\ enue.
"Moments like Sunday are life-transfonnmg.
and we need those moments because we
need more people to be involved in the les
b1an, gay, bisexual lmd transgender rights
mo\ ement," said an exhausted but elated
Dianne Hardy-Garcia, MMOW executive
director.
But just a week later, MMOW organizers
asked the FBI to investigate as much as a m1lhon
dollars m money mtssmg from the
M11lenmum Festival, a street fair produced by
M1llenmum Productions that was scheduled
to donate the bulk of its proceeds to the march
In mid-December, two gay media companies,
Cay.com and Ltberahon Publications,
publishers of the Advocate and Out magaLtnes,
and the nation's largest gay political
group forga\·e hundreds of thousands of dollars
m loans to M!v10\V, Inc.
MAY
Local station gives green light to 'Dr.
Laura': KPRC Channel 2 won't stop Dr. Laura,
but the television station's managE-ment says it
will monitor the upcoming show for negative
comments about gay men and lesbians.
Steve Wasserman, KPRC general manager,
told a group of Houston activists during a pnvate
meeting May 8 that he won't pull the plug
on rontroversial talk show host Dr. Laura
Schlessmger's program set to air this fall, but
will personally review the show for inappropnate
content
The meeting came jw.t days before some
companies---1I1duding Procter & Gamble Co.,
United Airlines, Xerox Corp. and the online
branch of toy retail chain Toys "R" Us Inc.announced
that they are pulling back on
advertising support of the television or 'Dr.
Laura's' daily radio talk show.
On Dec. 4, KPRC downgraded the show to
a 3:05 a.m. time slot.
JUNE
Elizabeth Toledo, a newly out mom, takes
NGLTF helm: A le.bian mom who has been
out less than a year started on June 1 as the
new executive director of the National Gay &
Lesbian Task Force, the 27-year'{)ld group
focused on state and local organizing.
Ehabeth Toledo, the newly out and newly
appointed exe<utive di'ector of the National Gay
& Lesbian Task Force, and her children posed for a
Human Rights Campaign catalogue. a group often
pitted against NGLTf. Toledo has pledged to won
with HRC.
But Elizabeth Toledo, 38, stressed that
while she may be new to lesbian issues personally,
"I'm not new to organizing on lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgendemf pohtical
IS.5Ues."
State sodomy law overturned: In a land-
111.1rk decision on June 8,
the 14th Texas Court of
Appeals declared the
state's homosexual conduct
law unconstitutional
under the Texas Equal
Rights Amendment and
acquitted two Hou:;ton
men ronV1cted of Violating
the 120-year-old Texas Mitchel Katine
sodomy law.
Shortly thereafter, Hams County assistant
district attorney Bill Denmore asked all nine
justices of the 14th Court of Appeals to n.'<Xlnsider
the decision of a three-judge panel.
In September 2000, a two-sentence letter
sent announced that the full panel of judges of
the 14th Court of Appeals would review the
ruling.
The lettl'r read: "The Court h.1s granted the
State's Motion for Rehearing En Banc without
hearing oral argument. The Court's opinion on
reheanng will follow."
There 15 no time frame sel on the full court
review and the court has not yet issued a deciston.
Brown rides in Pride parade: For the first
time the 22-year history of Houston's Gay
Pride celebration, the city's current mayor rode
m the annual parade. Houston Mayor Lee P
Brown participated in the June 24, 9 p.m
parade down Westhctmer from Woodhead to
Whitney.
An estimated 100,000 people lined the
parade route for the annual gay pride celebration.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas Rep.
Debra Danburg and Houston c1iy-cuuncil
members Anni:;e Parker, Gordon Quan and
Cami Mims Galloway joined the mayor in the
festivities.
Protesters were there too, about 16 or so,
but they departed after Brown's cortege went
by.
Supreme Court rules Scouts can exclude
gays: In a move that sparked immediate reaction
from the gay community, the Supreme
Court ruled in June that the Boy Scouts can bar
homosexuals from serving as troop leader:..
The 54 decision said forcing the Scouts to
accept gay troop leaders would violate the
organization's rights of free expression and
free association under the Constitution's First
Amendment.
Former Eogle S<out Jomes Dale (center) ta•s to
the press at the Supreme Court it Washington it
April Wednesdoy, the court ruled that the Boy
Scouts can bar gays from serving as troop leaders.
Also pictured are Dale's attorney Evan Wolfson
and Dale's mother Daris Did.
"The Boy Scouts asserts that homosexual
conduct IS mconslStent with the values ti seeks
to instill," Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
wrote for the court. Requiring them to accept a
gay smutmaster "would significantly burden
the organization's right to oppose or disfavor
homosexual conduct."
The ruling reversed a New Jersey Supreme
Court holding that the Scouts wmngly ousted
assistant scoutmaster }ltmes Dale when the
organi7.ation learned he is gay. Th~state court
had said the scouts' action violated a New
Jersey law bannmg discnminatton in public
accommodation.
Dale, who was an Eagle Scuut, had sued
the Scouts under the New Jersey law. But the
Supreme Court said Wednesday that law must
yield to the Scout organization's right of
"expressive association" under the
Constitution's First Amendment.
]ULY
'GVO' leaves legacy of action: Longti.me
gay activtSt Gary Van Ooteghem, 58, died July
6, at Twelve Oaks hospital. He had been in the
hospital with pneumonia and had a heart
,.... Continued on Page 7
HOUSTON VOICE • DECEMBER 29, 2000 7
First legal lesbian wedding held in Texas
_. Continued from Page 6
attack following surgery to treat blood dots.
Van Ooteghem was
a leader in the Houston
and national gay mm·
munity for 25 years. In
1975, he was the first
president of the (then)
Gay Political Caucus,
and at the hrne of his
death was the retiring
chair of the Ryan White
Planning Council,
Gary Ven Ooteghein which distributes more
than 515 million annu·
ally to HIV I AIDS service providers in the
Harris County area. He also was serving as
chair of the Scholarship Committee of the
Houston Area Teen Coalition of Homosexuals
and the PFLAG/H.A.T.C.H. Youth
Scholarship Foundahon.
Van Ooteghrm's name is on an important
gay ovil rights case. In 1975, while working for
Harris County as its Comptroller of the
Treasury and Assbtant Treasurer, he
addressed County Commissioners Court and
said he was gay. His employer, Harns County
Treasurer Hartsell Grey, fired him, saying he
h.1d told Van Ootl>ghem not to make the
speech. Following many years of litigation and
appeals, the Fifth Circuit said that Van
Ootl~hem's firing was illegal because it viola I·
ed his Fin;t Amendment right to free speech.
He was awarded back pay.
AUGUST
Gay guide closes its Texas·wide doors:
Saddled with debt and strapped with a dwindling
advertising base, This Week in Texas
dosed its dlx>n; after 26 years of publishing the
only weekly gay statewide entertainment
guide, acairding to publisher Alan Gellman.
The final issue of the 22,()00-circulation
magazine appe.1red Aug. 10, nearly half-way
through its 26th year of publication.
Gellman attributed the magazine's demise
to his p<x)r health, which has kept him from
closely oversL-eing the publication's editorial
and financial operatioru; for more than two
years and kd to "frx1lish mistakes," he said.
"Our staff meant well and were glxid at
what they did, but they had so many extra
duties out on them. There was nobody steering
that bus," he s.1id.
Openly gay player, Richard Hatch, wins
'Survivor': He was taunted for his penchant
for nudity, condemned as manipulative and
even mlled a snake by a fellow castaway.
Richard Hatch earned another label: millionaire.
And he said that he has no regrets.
The 39·year-old corporate trainer took
home the cash prize and a new car on the final
episode of CBS' hugely popular "Survivor,"
confounding those certain his scheming
would cost him in the end.
"I wouldn't change anything that I did,"
Rich told the Jury in a final statement.
Heche hospitalized hours after split with
DeGeneres: Actress Anne Heche was hospitilized
after wandering up to a rural home
appearing shaken and ronfused, hours after
her breakup with Ellen DeGeneres became
public, authorities said.
Heche apparently parked her rar along a
highway Saturday and then walked al:xiut a
mile to the house in Cantua Creek, where she
knocked on the front door at about 4:30 p.m.
and m.1de strange statements to the occupants,
said Fresno County Sheriff's Lt. Memll
Wright.
SEPTEMBER
State Supreme Court to review exec order
case: In a move that brings gays and lesbiaru;
in Houston closer to knowing whether Mayor
Lee Brown's executive order banning sexual
orientation discrimination in city government
is legal, the Texas Supreme Court agreed to
hear aq,'Uments about whether the city councilman
and the busines.~man who sued to stop
the order from tiking effect had a right to do
so.
Days after the executive order was issued
in 1998, businessman Richard Hotze and City
Councilman Rob Todd sued the mayor and the
city to try to stop the order from taking effect.
Later in 1998, District Judge Patrick Mizell
stopped the order until the case could be
decided and said that Hotze had no legal
standing in the case-that is, he had no right to
sue.
The Texas Supreme Court heard argu·
ments in October in the case and a ruling from
the court is shll pending.
Lesbian wedding held in San Antonio:
When a Texas appellate court 1SSued a ruling
last year that essentially said people who are
born male remam legally male even if they
have surgery to change their sex, it opened the
.door for Jessica Wicks of Houston-who was
born male-to marry her girlfriend.
Jessica and Robin Wicks
And in September, amid a throng of
reporters, Wicks, 53, and her partner Robin, 44,
got their marriage license in San Antonio.
'They were cooperative," Wicks said of the
county clerk's office. "Of course, probably the
fact that there were lots of television cameras
there helpt.>d."
They were denied a marriage license in
Barris County, but the Bexar County clerk
agreed to issue the license based on birth certificates
that show Jessica was born male and
Robm was born female.
Etheridge splits from girlfriend: Rocker
MelL-.sa Etheridge and her girlfriend, director
Julie Cypher, announced they were ending
their relationship after 12 years. The couple
has two small children together.
''With the utmost of love and respect for
one another, we have decided to separate," the
couple announced in a statement released by
Etheridge' s label, Island Records.
Etheridge and Cypher, together for 12
years, were one of Hollywood's most famous
lesbian couples, after Ellen DeGeneres and
Ann Heche, who announced their breakup in
August.
Ex-gay leader confronted in gay bar. A
prominent ex-gay leader once featured as
"going straight" on the cover of Newsweek
magazine was confronted and photographed
by activists Tuesday night patronizing a gay
bar in Washington, D.C.
John Paulk, board chair for the umbrella
ex-gay group Exodus International, admitted
in an interview with the Voice that he was in
Mr. P's, a gay bar in Washington's DuPont
Circle neighborhood, but said his only inten·
hon was to use the bathroom.
OCTOBER
Trans teen kicked out of Covenant House:
Jn February of this year, Jeff Loftin cht.'<'.ked
into Covenant House Houston and was
allowed to stay. He left in March.
In September, Loftin checked into
Covenant House as Chanel Dita, and she was
ousted in no uncertain terms, even though she
had nowhere to stay. And Covenant House
knew it, says Dita.
Dita is a 19-year-old homeless transgender.
She was thrown out of her home in Pasadena,
after she told her mother she was transsexual.
\'\/hen Dita checked into Covenant House
on Sept. 16 as a female, she says she was told
she could not dress as a woman. She v. as also
told she must submit to a physical within 48
hour.; of admission. The physical exam IS stan·
dard practice.
By the first of December, Dita was back at
Covenant House, allowed to stay as long as
she adhen.'CI to a few house rules.
ThL~ time, Dita underwent the required
physical and she sap she has been told to
wear unisex clothing ("jeans and stuff," says
Dita) and forego the makeup while there.
Though she landed a job at Burger King in
the Montrose, she has since quit and as- of
presstime had left Covenant House as well.
Happy birthday, Ray Hill: On Friday, Oct.
13, 2000, one of Houston's bold, brazen, and at
times brash, queers celebrated his sixtieth
birthday.
..........,.-4.
•'· . ; ' . ..
I
For most of those 60
years, Ray Hill's life has
been spent, in one way
or another, for better or
for worse, standing up
for social iustice for
queer folk or for folks
who simply had been
too beaten down to
stand up for them-
•;;;.·~"·:.~ .. 4 . . :.'
(' ill
selves. Ray H1
Hill admits that his way has always been
"years ahead of my time." He backs that statement
up by reminiscing about attending
Tulane College in 1966. He enrolled in the ..
graduate program there and submitted his
the.is topic, "A Sissy is a Sissy, is a Sissy."
NOVEMBER
Houston's Black lie draws 1,200: For the
second year m a
row, the George R
Brown Convention
Center was traru;formed
from its
sh1p·like appearance
into an elegant
dining room
with subdued
light mg and
muted music
played by the
Ricky Diaz
Orcht>!>tra for the
Houston Black lie Steve May
Dinner, the stylish fund-raising event that
draws who's who in the city's LGBT commu·
ruty.
Houston City Councilwoman, Annise
Parker, introduced the keynote speaker, Steve
May, as one of only 200 openly gay or lesbian
politiaaru; nationwide, and as a good friend of
hers. Pointing out May's abilities as a leader in
the LGBT community, Parker said, "We cannot
afford mediocrity."
May, the only openly gay Republican in the
Arizona House of Representatives spoke
aJ:x,ut his expenence as a First Lieutenant in
the U.S Amly Re:.erve and about his road to
politics.
Deaths of transgendered commemorated
in solemn ceremony outside City Hall: Two
dozen transgender actJ\ists assembled on the
City Hall steps in Nm•. 28 for a candlelight
memorial for the 18 gender vanant people
who died as a result of violence smre last
year's memorial
The Day of Remembrance was set aside to
memorialize those who were killed due to
antHransgender hatred or prejudice. The
event is held on Nov. 28 to honor Rita He;ter,
whose murder kicked off the "Remembenng
Our Dead" project
DECEMBER
'AIDS: Men Make a Difference':
Candlelight vigils, toy and food drives, art
shows and help for those with HIV I AIDS
marked Houston's LGBT observation of the
13th World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.
The event is a da}~ when people around the
world join to commemorate public awareness
about the disease that does not discrinunate.
The united theme for this year is, "AIDS: Men
Make a Difference."
With nL"IY infectioru; of H1V I AIDS rising at
an alarming rate worldwide, it is time for all to
make a difference. According to figures from
AIDS Foundation Houston (AFH), 1t is esti·
mated that within the Houston/Hams
County area alone, one in 90 individuals is
H1V positive.
8
l\J~i~~I
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VOICES & ECHOES DECEMBER 29, 2000 • HOUSTON VOICE
VIEWPOINT
Time for gays to break the faith?
by CHRIS CRAii\
The media frenzy this
year may have focused
on presidential politics
and pregnant chads, but the story
that most impacted gay and lesbian
lives was unfolding at church, of all
places.
One after the other, mainstream
Christian and Jewish faiths debated
whether to perform weddings, or
some second-tier alternative, for
same-sex couples, and whether to
ordain openly gay ministers or even
permit the election of out lay leaders.
The results were often evenly split,
and in all case reflected deep divisions
that sometimes threatened schism, or
at least significant splintering of mainline
denominations.
The most important development
was also the most promising: Reform
Jewish rabbis overwhelmingly
approved a resolution allowing ind1-
v1dual congregations to perform WL-dding
ceremonies for gay couples. The
1.8 million-member branch of
Judaism-the country's largest-was
by far the largest yet to embrace gay
relationships as the moral equivalent
of straight married couples.
Conservative and orthodox Jews
maintained their adamant opposition
to approval of gays, joined by their
more vocal brethren from Roman
Catholic and Evangelical Protestant
traditions, who threw their financial
and political weight behind anti-gay
efforts in the secular world as well.
The Mormon Church, which considers
itself Christian even as
Evangelicals balk at the idea, contributed
heavily toward passage of
the Knight Initiative, a ballot measure
that added California to the list of
states refusing to recognize gay marriages.
But it was the mainline Protestants
where the culture wars waged the
most furiously. At each successive
denomination's annual convention,
voices were raised and protest:. disrupted
the proceedings. And at each
gathering, the traditional church hostility
toward gay relationships and
leaders was reaffirmed in one way or
another.
At issue isn't just the resolution of
liturgical issues like gay weddings
and ordinations, but the underlying
moral questions about homosexuality.
Most lay Christians and plenty of
religious leaders start with their own
discomfort about homosexuality and
work their way backward looking for
;ocnptural support. Of course, many
gay and gay-friendly Christians follow
a remarkably similar path.
For many fair-minded Christians
in the mushy middle, the question of
homo,exuality raises basic theological
issues: How literally should the Bible
be taken, in its proscriptions against
homosexuality and on other subiects
as well?
Gay Christian apologists are too
quick to dismiss this dilemma as a
false one, unwilling to face the
uncomfortable reality that, even
under the most liberal and loose interpretation,
the Bible is at best neutral
and at worst, disapproving, of gay sex
acts.
Of course the Bible is a product of
its historical times, and as our snapshot
history of the last millennium
suggests, gay people-much less gay
"relationships"-<lidn't even exist in a
form that could be judged fairly thousands
of years ago.
White and his Soulforce troops
have done a tremendous job of rallying
support for better treatment of gay
congregants, but his call is off the
mark. At this critical juncture, it is
more important than ever that gays
remain in their mainstream faith
groups, so long as they come out and
join m the struggle.
Too many gays sit comfortably in
church pews, pretending their significant
others are only friends, following
the unspoken rules of the polite
Christian closet-that's especially
true in the South.
Every congregation, even conservative
and evangelical ones, can claim
some fair-minded members. Gay
Gay Christian apologists are too quick to dismiss this
dilemma as a false one, unwilling to face the uncomfortable
reality that, even under the most liberal and loose
interpretation, the Bible is at best neutral and at worst,
disapproving, of gay sex acts.
Like most divisive social issues, the
church's position on homosexuality
also doesn't admit easily of compromise
or middle ground.
The U.S. Catholic Conference of
Bishops took a stab at finding the center:
approving homosexuality as a
morally neutral orientation difficult to
change. But wedded to the Bib!ical
condemnation of gay sex acts, the
bishops insisted gay sex acts were sinful.
· That left the bishops to conclude
gay people could stay in good graces
with God so long as they remain celibate,
something the Vatican isn't particularly
successful at demanding of
its own priests, despite their greater
spiritual motivation to remain
chaste.
Don't expect real progress to
emerge from the Catholic Church,
which only recently rescinded
Galileo's 15th century ex-communication
for insisting the earth revolved
around the sun. Or from the Southern
Baptists, who only months ago finally
apologized to African-Americans for
supporting slavery and Jim Crow as
Biblically permissible.
But the sleepy mainline Protestant
denominations have been awakened
by this debate over homosexuality
and appear to be sincerely struggling
with the issues.
Weary with the struggle and frustrated
by the continued retrenchment,
gay spiritual leader Rev. Mel White
has urged gay Christians to withdraw
from mainstream faiths, especially
mainline Protestant denominations,
until they forgo their history of "spiritual
violence" against us.
parishioners should be open about
their lives with those members, even
if full-throated activism is not a role
they feel comfortable playing.
We all know how differently people
view gay issues when they know
that someone close to them is gay.
That's especially true of most
Christians, if they remain true to
Jesus' central message of love and
hope.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said
that Sundays are the most segregated
day of the week. It's just as true that
so many gays venture "out" as far as
possible when socializing Saturday
night, only to return to the familiar
confines of the closet on Sunday
morning.
Even if you don't consider yourself
a religious person, this spiritual
debate has an important impact on
your life. As more and more mainstream
religious faiths permit gay
marriage and alter their view on the
morality of homosexuality, our
.Christian-dominated culture will
move accordingly.
And just as important, the political
and legal debate over gay civil rights
will be drawn in even sharper relief.
Even Americans uncomfortable with
homosexuality don't like the idea of
government picking and choosing
among religious beliefs to enshrine
into law.
As the consensus over the
immorality of homosexuality crumbles,
so does the fat;ade that unfair
laws are anything more than the
establishment of a particular religious
belief, in violation of the separation
between church and state.
VIEWPOINT
Celebrate the New Year and your own personal foibles
by D.L. MURPHY and MARIA MINICUCCI
Phew' Congratulations are in order for
everyone whose Christmas survival kit
kicked in. Regardless of whether you
went home for the holidays or not, you
are sane, sober and any emotional scarring
is becoming a distant memory.
Enjoy the moment, yet another holiday
hurdle is sneaking up ready to snatch
away your hard-won victory.
Yes, New Year's Eve is another one of
those double-edged holidays. Below are
our suggestions for those of us who are single,
even if its just temporary because your
beloved went home to his/her family.
For everyone:
Go to a late movie. You won't even
notice midnight. If you are really lucky,
that cute number in the seat next to you
will notice midnight, and you'll get one
very illicit kiss. •
Go to a firewo rks display. I don't care
how depressed you are; it will do you
good. Pretend the fireworks are a
metaphor for your life. Hell, understand
that the fireworks are celebrating your
hfe. Construct Voodoo dolls of all your
exes. This should keep you very busy.
For Hedonis ts:
Make all your favorite goodies and
indulge wi thout having to share. Or, better
yet, have all your favorite goodies
delivered. Sharing them with the delivery
person after sex is optional.
Turn the evening over to your alter
ego. Go wherever s/he takes you. Invite
your imaginary playmate. You may want
to discuss this with your therapist later
Go to bed before midnight. Take your
imaginary playmate with you.
For Type A personalities:
Take this opportunity to catch up on
your work (and steal a march on that guy
in the next cubicle).
Catch up on your coworkers' work. Be
prepared to explain exactly why you
thought that was a good idea.
Beep your tax accountant so you can
start obsessing about your tax return
now.
Fill out your Franklin-Covey planner
for the next year.
Do your spring-cleaning.
Spend the evening browsing catalogs
for your 2001 business wardrobe.
Go to bed before midnight. Dream
about spending your new budget.
For Type B personalities:
Do what you usually do. Don't do
what you usually don't do. Don't care
about it.
Don't put it off, this year lose your
new planner early.
Shovel a path to the bed. Go to bed
before midnight. Vow to actually change
the sheets tomorrow.
For introverts:
Pretend your are an extrovert in your
favorite chat room. Spend the evening
initiating cybersex.
Read your journal. Try to get your
journal published.
Beep your therapist.
Go to bed before midnight.
For extroverts:
Howl at the moon. Make sure there are
witnesses.
I lave pizza delivered to all of your
enemies.
Have a pity party, invite everyone you
know who is single, even if they are single-
for-the-moment.
Invite everyone for a birthday party. It
doesn't matter if it's your birthday, so
long as you get to celebrate you.
Crank up the music so everyone
thinks you are having a grand party.
Go to bed before midnight. Celebrate
yourself.
For cat people:
Buy your cat's favorite treat and serve
it in the new dish s/he got for Christmas.
Spend the evening playing an intoxicating
game of catnip mousey. Note: it
should be intoxicating for the cat, not
you. Other substances should be required
for your intoxication.
Be smug about not having to take the
cat out for a walk.
Go to bed before midnight (take your
lllE
Y2KBU6
favorite pussy with you).
For dog people:
Buy you dog's favorite treat and serve
it in the new dish s/he got for Christmas.
Spend the e\·ening watching your
companion chew up all of your Christmas
presents.
Be smug that you have an excuse to
get out of the house, even if it is cold,
raining and windy.
Go to bed before midnight (take a dog
with you)
But really folks, there are some options
for you Enjoy yourself.
Happy New Year!
THIS VEAR •..
10
The AIDS Clinical Trials Unit is seeking HIV+ volunteers for a
clinical research trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness
of an experimental extended release formulation of Zerit®
(d4T) versus the approved formulation. Study treatment
(Zerit~, Epivir, and Sustiva) is provided for 56 weeks.
To be eligible for this study, you must meet these basic requirements:
•Viral load is 2,000 copies or more
• CD4 cell count is 7 5 or more
• Antiretroviral naive (30 days or less of any prior anti-HIV drug therapy)
To find out more about study participation, please contact
Bill Silkowski, RN .a t 409-747-0200 or toll free: 1-877-324-2288
UTMB
The University of Texas Medical Branch al Galveston
/; e/u1 ...
eke 1/ut;w yoa're in.7
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... lt S ONAL TRAINING STUDIO
713.523.5330
aY A .. rO I NTMKNT. CALL NOW.
617 Rich.,,ond .Aven1<e in Montrose.
CALENDAR
Friday • Dec 29
Morning Prayer 1 Oom
Monday • Jan 8
Eucharist 7 30pm
Friday • Jan 12
e-mail: info@kolbeproject.or~
or visit our web. ite at
www.kolbeproject.org
Monday • Jan 1
Happy New Year
Office Closed
Morning Prayer 1 Oom
Movie Night 7pm
•Midnight tn the Gorden
Good & Evil"
Friday • Jan S
Morning Prayer 1 Oom
S~turday • Jan 13
Breakfast 9.30om
PH (7131861-1800 • I030 Heights Blvd. '--------------------'
Houston,~ 77008 -~"-'~"--..,..•·-~-~~~---~,~~-=--~~~--~
DECEMBER 29, 2000 • HOUSTON VOICE
around the world
Lesbians make better parents than heterosexuals, Australian researcher says
MELBOURi\iE-An Australian pioneer in in \1tro fertilization technology has published a
study suggesting that lesbians make better parents than heterosexuals, the Melbourne Herald Sun
reported. Carl Wood's paper, publli.hed an the ioumal Australian Med1ane, uses American
research which found that the children of lesbian couples are more tolerant of diversity and more
socially skilled. Children of lesbians were also found to suffer far less parental sexual and physical
abuse and mcest than their peers. "Women are more verbally fluent than males, so with two
women bringing up a child, it has a greater chance of developing better conversation skills," Wood
said. "The children of lesbians in the studies al-a had a broader view of life." Australian Family
Association national secretary Bill Muehlenberg disagreed with Wood, saying that the great weight
of studies suggested any combination other than a man and woman-preferably marriedharmed
the child. "These children will do less well on almost every social indicator-school performance,
suicide rates, drug involvement and criminal involvement," Muehlenberg said.
Gays could benefit as U.K. looks to liberalize adoption guidelines
LONDON-Tony Blair's Labor government has announced plans to liberalize adoption
rules, including easing restrictions on adoptions by gay men and lesbians, in hopes of
increasing the number of adoptions by 50 percent, the London Times reported "In far too
many parts of the system there is .i lack of clarity, consistency and fairness. Most pressingly,
children in an already vulnerable position are bemg badly let down," says a report the
government plans to release this week. The Times reported that the changes will not hkely
give gay couples full parity with married couples. Other changes in eligibility for adoption
include allowing couples over 35 to adopt, allowing couples who are overweight or who
smoke to adopt, and easing adoption procedures for mixed-race couples. Government offioals
hope to increase adoptions by nearly a third, to 3,000 a year, and ease the backlog of
2,000 children who are transferred between foster homes every year.
Number of gays seeking asylum in U.S. grows as qualifications broadened
Ff LAUDERDALE-The number of gay men and lesbians seeking polittcal asylum is growing
rapidly, espeaa!Jy in the South Florida region, the South Florida Sw1 Sentinel reported. The
increase U1Spired South Florida 1mm1grabon attorneys to create a chapter of the New York-based
Lesbian & Gay Immigration Rights Task Force to help gays dealing with immigration matters.
"These people have just been showing up on our doorsteps," said Clark Reynolds, executive
dm.>ctor of the Dade Human Rights Foundation. "We had no idea this was such a huge problem."
In 1990 Congress quietly removed sexual orientation as a disqualification for U.S. admiss10n.
In 1994, Attorney General Janet Reno clarified that pcri>t'CUhon based on sexual orientation
can be considered grounds for asylum, and in August, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
overturned a ruling by the Board of Imnugration Appeal that had denied asylum to Mexican
transsexual Gco\'JruU Hernandez-Montie!. But U.S. immigration law still prohibits HIV-positive
murugrants from entering the country.
BBC relaxes ban on discussing that former minister's sexual orientation
The BBC's poli<y on not broad<asting reports
that Peter Mandelson, a former government
minister, is gay has been revised to account
for 'changed circumstances.' _
LONDC>. -The BBC has relaxed ats ban on
mentiorung the sexual onentahon of a former
government minister who was outed, the
Guardian reported. BBC 1ournalists were outraged
when Ann Sloman, the agency's cluef
political adnser, told editorial i;taff in a
September 1998 memo that "the allegation" that
Peter Mandelson is gay should not be repeated
dunng broadcasts. Mandelson, who was serv·
mg as Northern Ireland secretary when he was
outed, was openly living with a partner at the
time Journalists and politicians had accused
the BBC of caving in to Mandelson's demands
and affording him special treatment. The
revised policy says that basic guidelines-that
public figures are ma special position but retain
theJI right to a pnvate life-remains the same.
But "sellSlble editorial 1udgments should be applied in the light of changed circumstances."
African AIDS vaccine tests delayed pending government approval
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP}--Trials of the first AIDS vaccine specifically designed for Afnca,
slated to begtn this week, ha\'C been delayed until early next year Kenya's Health Minister
Sam Ongen said the go\·ernment approval process 1s not complete, and that the trials will not
begin until early next year. The International AIDS Vacane lnitiattve, which has _been working
on two vaccines it hopes will immunize people against I !IV, is currently testing the vaccines
on a small number of volunteers an England. None of the volunteers have displayed
adverse effocts from the \'accines, said Andrew McM1chael of the Medical Research Council.
In primates, the two vaccines combined have boosted the immune response. But it will take
up to five years before at is known whether vaccines actually work on humans, and several
more to reach the general population, McMichael
For more news, visit said. "There is tremendous urgency in getting the
www.houstonvoice.com. vaccine trials to go forward," he said_·~--...
-From sfiiff aiia wire rqiorts
HOUSTON VOICE • DECEMBER 29, 2000
health nevvs
Health concerns, lack of knowledge highlight 2000
Party-goers drmk to health at the dawn of the New Year, but in a review of the year's
most notable health-related news, lifestyle concerns marched to the forefront of debate
about the health of gay men and lesbians.
From smoking to body image, from oral sex to barebacking, debates about the root of
AIDS and the federal government's "Healthy People 2010" report reveal a surprising lack
of conclusive evidence about health concerns specific to gay men, and especially lesbians.
A smoking gun. Gay men smoke at rates nearly twice that of the general U.S. male population,
and researchers offered explanations ranging from tobacco prevention measures that
fail gay men, to tobacco ad campaigns that have been successful in attracting them. A tendency
to drink heavily and socialize frequently in bars is also believed to be a factor for gay
male smokers.
A lesbian health study released last year also indicated that lesbians have similar
habits, including much higher rates of alcohol consumption and tobacco use for lesbians
than for all women. In response, the American Legacy Foundation will spend $300 million
a year over the next four years on public health education on the dangers of tobacco use,
and a portion of these funds will be earmarked for gays.
The gay male image. Recent studies show that gay men experience greater body-dissatisfaction
than heterosexual men, which in tum contributes to higher rates of eating disorders
among gay men. Barriers to healthy self-image m gay men have been shown to
resemble those faced bv heterosexual women.
In addition to contributing to the onset of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia, distorted
body image can also lead to steroid use and sexual anxiety. Internalized homophobia
also greatly contributes to lower self-esteem and body image, as gay men and lesbians aggressively
act out sooety's negative messages about homosexuality upon their 0\\11 bodies.
The safety in barebacking? Some sex-positive activists insist barebacking is safe when
both men are seroconcordant, or have the ~ame HIV status. But medical experts beg to differ,
arguing that not only can HIV-positive individuals become "re-infected" through exposure
to a more virulent strain, but that resistance to drugs may be affocted. Better-understood
risks of engaging in unprotected sex include the transmission of sexually transmitted
diseases like gonorrhea, herpes, hepatitis and syphilis which activate the immune system
and allow the HIV virus to become more active.
An African solution to AIDS. The HIV I AIDS epidemic's
epicenter, South Africa, hosted the 13th
International AIDS Conference this year. Figures indicate
that at least IO percent, possibly up to20 percent, of South
Africa's 44 million people are HIV-positive, and the vast
maionty don't know they're infected
South African President Thabo Mbeki backed away
from his stand that HIV didn't cause AIDS after an international
round of condemnation from researchers and
healthcare officials. Mbeki insisted that he's looking for
"an African Solution" to the question of whether AIDS is
caused by'HIV or simple, extreme poverty. Some 5,000
sc1ept1sts, doctors and AIDS professionals released the
"Ddrban Declaration." an unprecedented statement
claiming the link between HIV and AIDS is "clear-cut,
exhaustive and unamb1guou~."
Judge Edwin Cameron, a gay,
HIV positive high court judge in
South Africa, said during an
International AIDS conference
that he wishes more people with
HIV would be public about it, but
the stigma in Africa is too great.
U.S. health officials include gays. For the first time,
the nation's long-range health plannmg document mentions
sexual orientation. But gay health advocates say gay
concerns dt•serve more attention than thev receive m
"Healthy People 2010." The ways in which health data
has been gathered in the past 10 years limits the soundness
of conclusions and projections that can be made about the health of gays, some
achv1sts argue.
In response, the Department of Health and Human Service's Health Resources and
Sen•1ces Administration awarded the San Francisco-based Gay &: Lesbian Medical
Association a $25,000 grant to publish a separate paper on gay and le!-bian issue~, the
release of which will coincide with the Janu.1ry release of the government's "Healthy
Peoplt•" report.
GI.MA has also successfully lobbied to have questions regarding sexual orientation
added to the individual academic and government research projects whose results eventually
m.1ke up large documents like "Healthy People 2010."
HIV and oral sex. Almost eight percent of newly infected gay men contracted HIV
through oral sex, according to the Centers for Oi~ease Control & Prevention. The r~>eeptive
partner m oral sex is at the most rbk, and simply abstaining from ejaculating into the
mouth is not sufficient to prevent transmission because pre-ejaculate also contains HIV,
the CDC reported The agency did not have data confirmmg transmission of HIV through
cunnilingus, though experts acknowledged that
HIV can be present in vaginal secretions and
menstrual blood, making transmission theoreti- ,:.
cally possible.
~1{'JJ KINETIC SPORTS CLINIC
~ AN HIV Life Enhancement Center -
Ed Kinser,
Progressive Resistance
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12
Han-Net users aim to politically
activate community in 2001
,.. Continued from Page 3
"Roust the politically apathetic into
action" was the third-runner-up, with 9
votes, followed by "Begin a community dialogue
about filling the needs of elder GLBTs,"
with 6 votes.
Thirteen choices, nominated by Han-Net
members in November and December, were
presented to the membership last week. Each
voter was asked to chose the three highest
priorities for the upcoming year. Unlike ordinary
elections, "something other than the
above" was offered as a choice, but did not
get any votes.
Other topics receiving votes were "Create
and publicize a community volunteer clearinghouse,"
"Support HIV education and prevention,"
and "Create an Internet presence
(Web site) for the Houston Gay & Lesbian
Political Caucus" each with 4 votes.
After establishing a volunteer clearinghouse
was suggested in 'ovember, Sally
Huffer established one in the Han-Net database
at http://www.egroups.com/database/
han-net.
Community projects that need vohmteers
are listed there.
Other issues that received some votes
were "Assist the Emergency Aid Coalition in
their food/clothing/sundries pantry efforts,"
"Establish a community shelter, \\-ith a counselor,
job coach, and outreach program (such
asProjectTAlLfor transgenders)" and "Bring
Brandon Wolf established Han-Net, 111 e-group
for politi<al activists in Houston's GllT
community, two years ago. T1ie unmoderated
forum now has nearly 250 members.
R.MCC and Bering Memorial UMC into the
GLBT Rights dialogue within the religious
commuruty."
Han-Net was established two years ago
by Brandon Wolf for political activists.
Members of at least three political parties are
active in the group, and often engage in lively
discussion about current events. The list is
not moderated and has nearly 250 members.
Han-Net
www.egroups.com/grouplhan-net
DECEMBER 29, 2000 • HOUSTON VOICE
First-century gays often punished
> Continued from Page 3
in Jerusalem trying to create an outpost in
the Middle East, which was Muslim. The
legislation, clearly referring to male homosexuality,
called for burning at the stake for
the sin of sodomy.
• From 1250-1300, same-sex sexual
Renaissance genius Midielanrlo wrote
love sonnets and created sculptures to
honor Ro11111n nobleman Tommaso de'
Cavatieri (above).
activity went from being legal in almost all
of Europe to being punishable by death
under most legal codes.
1300-1400
• Lesbian sexuality is included in a list
of nine classifications of lustful sins formulated
by Saint Antonius (1363-1451), who
differentiated lust between women from
"lusts against nature," which involved acts
between men and women "outside of the
natural place where children are made."
• F.clward II, ruler of England from 1307-
1327, was the father of four children with
Isabella of Spain. His true love, however, wa~
Piers Gaveston, who was exiled by
Parliament in an attempt to end the relationship
and was later murdered by barons.
14~1500
• In China, after 1429 when the Xuande
emperor called for an end to sexual activities
with female courtesans, male government
officials began turning to boys and
young men, according to Ming writer Shen
Ddu.
• In the Middle F.ast, surgical removal of the
clitoris was used as punishment for women having
sexual relations with other women.
> Continued on Page 13
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HOUSTON VOICE • DECEMBER 29, 2000 13
Early gay history: Tales of persecution
::-- Continued from Page 12
• Several hundrl>d men a year were proSt.'cull>
d for homosexuality in Florence, Italy, during
this century.
• Despite frequent persecution, male beauty
is frequently celebrated by male
RcnaJSSance artists. Michelangelo's dedication
of lo\'e sonnets and sculptures to Roman
nobleman Tommaso de' Cavalieri is only one
notable example.
1500-1600
England's King Edward II (ruler, 1307-1327)
(above), fathered four with Isabella of Spain,.
but his true love was Piers Gaveston.
• While lesbian relationships usually
attracted less attention from men in power, in
the Plymouth colony in America, two women
were charged with "lewd behavior each with
the other upon a bed."
• In 1578, a Roman church celebrated several
"marriages" between Portuguese men,
but the couples are later arrest~ and execuk'<I.
1600-1700
• In 1640, Anglican bishop John Atherton is
execull>d by hanging for sodomy, incest and
Burning was the common punishment for
' sodomites' In Europe for several centuries.
This manuscrif t illustration from 1483 depicts
the burning o Richard Puller and his page,
Zurich, the year before.
adultery; pamphlets distributed at the time
feature drawings of Atherton and his male
lover, John Otilde.
1800-1900
• As physicians increase their study of
mental illnesses, the medicahzation of homosexuality
in Western society began in earnest,
as those engaged in same-sex activities were
labeled sick in:;tead of simply sinners-a belief
that persists until the present day, although the
American Psychiatric Association removed
homosexuality from its official list of mental
disorders in 1973.
1~2CXX)
The explosion in gay culture in the last 100
years is, of course, too much to condense into
a few brief words, as gays became more and
more organized into distinct communities,
that then began to direct their energies back
outward to fight for inclusion and equality in
larger society.
• Dunng World War Il, gay men and lesbians
joined Jews, Gypsies and others on the
German hit list as Adolf Hitler attempted to
control the world through a mix of military
might and social cleansing. During the
Holocaust, gay men were forced to wear pink
triangles in the concentration camps, lt!Sbians,
grouped with other "undesirables," wore
black triangles.
A Center for
CFS&
Fibromyalgia
=
• In 1969, patrons at the StonewaJJ Inn, a
l\Jew York Gty gay bar, fought back against an
all too common police raid, in what would
come to be seen a:; the start of the modem gay
rights mowment
• By the late 1970s and the 1980s, gay
activist:. found their work, and their lives, cut
short by AIDS, which rapidly claimed thousands.
But the swtft organizing to fight the disea.-.
e and care for the dying, often in the face of
indifference or hostility from mainstream institutions,
helped build the community groups
and organizing structures that would contribute
to major gay rights victories for the rest
of the century.
• In 2CXX>, the Netherlands became the first
country in the world to extend full, IL>gal marriage
to gay couples
In J- 1969, _,-y patrons fought badt after a
routine porKe rcid at the Stonewal Inn,. a New
York City gay bar, in what many consider the
begiming of the modem gay rights movement.
14
•
GAY MEN1S CHORUS OF
HOUSTON SEEKING
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
The Gay Men's Chorus of
Houston is now accepting
applications for the salaried
part-time position of
Artistic Director.
To request an application
packet, please visit
www.gmch.org/adsearch
Or call 713-927-3129
•
•
•
Mail Boxes Etc.
c:=!J?,ice ?»itta~e
2476 B
(7
Division of Brooks Ballud
DECEMBER 29, 2000 • HOUSTON VOICE
Maranatha Fellowship MCC
1311 Holman
(across from HCC-Downtown Campus)
meets In the home of Central Congregational Church
6:30pm Sunday Evenings
WISHING YOU AND YOURS A
PROSPEROUS &. HAPPY NE.WYE.AR!
Please Join Us For a Special New Year's Eve Service
December 31'1 "Unswerving Hope" Rev. Janet Parker
Please Join Us For E~·eni11g Services And Experience
The Lo~·e That Maranatha Fellowship MCC Jlas To Offer! ...................................................................................
Church Service begins at 6:30pm and
nursery is available for small children.
Mid-week "Home Group" services on
Tuesdays and Wednesdays
For more Info ...
713-528-6756 or emall
maranatha@ev1.net
lh>/?
~~~ Maranatha ~~ t!
Fellowship
lhfTopolltM
Community Church 'A-...,-. ...... -...GM..
Our Church Can Become Your Home! Give Us A Try!
We Would Love To Have You Vi>it Anytime•
HOUSTON VOICE • DECEMBER 29, 2000
by D.L GROOVER
The rainbow flag flew high and proud over
Houston's theaters this past year. We were
blessed with a surfeit of gay plays and musicals.
Mercifully, it was fairly free of outright stinkers,
and many productions found enthusiastic new
audiences. The diversity extended to two new
theater compani~vho highlighted gay-theme
plays making 2CXXJ a year of thriving gay theter.
~Hill and Love
On Valentine's day, Stages gave us
that thorny bouquet, "Ray Hill and
Love."
Described by fnencb and foes as
irascible, tactless, PQSky and generous,
1 lill s.1ys he's a "cantankerous
old fart." Whatever, he's a Houston
institution and our own gay
Foghorn Leghom preaching, hector-ing,
and off(Slding.
With story-telling verve, this
gay Al~op spun personal
fabll>s that detailed his life of
love and his love of life.
Along the twisted path lay
shards of Houston's !;C!Y his-tory
and six fonner lovers.
For all his bluster, Hill'sabigol'
marshmallow when it comes to love.
He chases it with the passion of a union
organizer, wrasslin' it to the ground and
celebrating its mysteries, pains and joys
with p.igan abandon.
One,sided in the telling, the ornery
Hill's longevity has earned him the
right to tell hIS fascinating stories any
way he pleases.
V~re Lesbians of Sodom
and Sleeping Beauty
Blazing into the ultra-hip Commerce Street
Artists Warehouse as if on a Bedlam Halloween
float, came two one-act plays by Charles Busch,
the master high dramatist of c~: "Sleepmg
Beauty" and "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom "
These delirious, amphetamine-induced
comedies were given a spectaCularly cheesy
chanri in the ~sy hands of the chicas production
team. th pricked the conventionsanema,
theater, society, sex-with Surgical precision.
They were whacked-out, loVJng versions of
Republic B-pictures overlaid with a slimy sheen
of sexual perversion and gender-bending.
Although Anne Zimmerman, who did
quadruple duty as director, costume designer
and actor in two leading roles, outdid herself
while wearing all four hats, the eye-opener was
Walt Zipprian, as the woman-i!ating Succubus.
With foghorn voice and dcidic stage presence,
Zipprian overlaid the bizarre witfi comic relief.
He was over the top and under control at the
same time. It was perfect B1L.<rll: a gourmet cannibal
who has Julia Clilld for dinner.
Nabucco
Houston Grand Opera roared m during the
spring with a soaring production of Verdi's first
big hit, "Nabucco," which more than any other
work of tis time gave a ruce big kick to the fat
posterior of "be! canto." Thanks to Verdi, Italian
opera was never the same again.
Verdi supplies the bombastic plot with
incredibly p.rofound music, and sets it all in the
dazzling theatrical splendor of
Nebuchadriezzar's ancient court It's quite a
shov.~ and GO's superlative treabnent never
flagged. Conducted in fever pitch by Patrick
Summers, the Houston Symphony raised the
melodrama mto the heavens. The Opera OlOl'US
never sounded so beautifull} alive v. hether
pravmg softly for deh\'erance or thundering out
condemnation
Maria Guleghina, as Abigaille, seeker of
vengeance, could be heard over an earthquake
Though her volume control was set a.t templeshattering,
her velvet soprano, agile enough to
leap around Verdi's vocal gymnaspcs was a
furce of nature, as was the consummate ~
of Samuel Rame .and Segei l.eiferJ.ius.
''• 'abucco" may not be!;feat but it's certain-;
ly grand. With HGO, you couldn't have heard a
finer ~uction of Verdi's stu~dous translation
of this Bible story. Even the mans were
smiling.
As Bees In Honey Drown
Uke a spring breeze,
Douglas Carter Beane's
"As Bees m Honey
Drown" wafted in durmg
late Ma). In the
Alley' polished production,
•Bees" was a
bright, frothy boulevard
comedy, whose
intersecting streets are
Melrose Place, Rodeo
Drive and the Yellow
Brick Road. It told the fairy tale nse (and rise) of
the consummate con artist, the mysterious Alexa
\'ere de Vere, international glitterati priestess.
Lighter than a fine souffle and as insubstantial as
cotton candy, melting in your mind as soon as it
was over, this comedy of manners was 5lick and
enormously entertaining.
Carol Linnea Johnson portrayed Alexa with
lacquered sophistication. In her helmet ot je!black
hair, tailored suits, jungle red fingemailS,
> Continued on Page 16
16 DECEMBER 29, 2000 • HOUSTON VOICE
Mostly hits, Jew misses marked Houston theater in 2000
> Continued from Page 15
studied hyper atttude, and a pronunciation
gwde stolen from past d vas, Alexa's velvet
spider ensnared up-and-coming wanna-bes
behind her entiang. seductive smoke screen.
Her latest conquest is a hot gay writer on
the nse. With his dark matinee idol looks and
four-star physique, Ty Mayberry was the per·
feet naive fly caught in Alexa's seducti\·e web
"Bees" pncked the balloon of "sticky
sweet success" with sass, and the Alley
mounted it in a setting of flashy rhinestones.
A genuine theatrical cubic zirconium.
Zombies From The Beyond
Silly and inane, this cheesy re-nux of '50s
sa-fi B-movies made you laugh out loud. Part
homage, part vaudeville, Theater LaB's parody
was wonderfully goofy.
In James Valcq's loving satire, the surprise
was the addition of a musical score that's a
clever parody of times past. The death ray of
the evil Zombina, the alien aVJatrtx, earth's
pneumatic nemeSlS, IS her voice Like a
demented Norma, her stratospheric coloratura
drives men mad.
The septet of talented performers handled
thru stock characters with infectious high
jinks, over-the-top zaniness, and rumble high·
kicking supplied in spades by director and
choreographer Jun Phillips.
ThlS was the type of show that can't be
played straJght, not when the young loveIS
whistle their love song, or the illustnous sky·
line of downtown Milwaukee IS knocked
senseless by the malevolent alien. Earthhngs,
beware!
Fat Men In Skirts
icky Silver s "Fat Men m Skirts," wntten
m sulfunc aad, was a mordant, blacker than
black, comedy. You were likely to gag on your
laughter, as if gargl.:ng blood.
Flawlessly acted at Ashland St. Theatre
Co., 1t docwnented the dulling fall of Bishop
Hogan, plane crash survivor and ultimate
psycho, whose insatiable taste for human
sushi matches his unholv desire for his moth·
er. There was no redeemmg SOC1al value in
this saline amoral tale, whose progerutors are
Jonathan Swift, John Webster and John
Waters.
The play took the human condition and
whacked the stuffing out of it. Veering wildly
between biting satire and homd melodrama,
it was like a highway accident: fascinated, we
had to look.
TraVIS Ammons inhabited the mad Bishop
Hogan Lke a second skin. Blood-drenched
from d.:nner, he sank deeper into psychosis
and resembled a dangerous medieval icon.
Hannibal Lector meets Norman Bates.
Therese Katara, as BLshop's out-of-touch
mother, matched his intensity every mad step.
This sit-com from Hell was laced with
enough tasty laughs to make it potable. On a
shoestring budget, director Chris Jimmerson
managed this bitter comedy with imagina·
tion, keeping us sated all the way to its bloody
conclusion.
Fairy Tales
As the inaugural production of Houston's
newest theater venture, Theatre New West,
"Fairy Tales" was a jubilant, radiant, enlight·
erung gay mUSJcal revue. With mUSJc and
lyrics by Eric Lane Barnes, 11 was required
viewing for anyone who adored theater,
musicals, or just an exceptional evening out
on the town.
With wit and great charm, this bedtimestory-
for-adults revue celebrated the ordinary
life and times of a gay man who grows up in
a dysfunctional conservative family, comes
out, meets a lover, and eventually succumbs
to AIDS.
Although solemnity runs under the story
like a riptide, this production rejoiced in the
delicious diversity of gay life. It reveled in
camp, yet glorified remembrance and human·
1ty.
Alex Stutler, firm of voice and body, made
a strtkmgly good :Matthew, all wide-eyed
comic innocence, longing for the complacency
and normal ex!Stence of his favonte TV fanu·
ly, the Partndges. Keith Caldwell as
Matthew's lover had the best voice of the five,
and his twang rendition of "Illinois Fred"
gave a wcll-heeled boot to the conventions of
masculine role playing.
With its sublime mix of laughter and tears,
"Fairy Tales" gave us a needed boost of
humaruty and pride, ending m a stirring message
of empowerment and hope.
Rent
Jonathan Larson's exuberant rock paean to
life has become a pop culture phenomenon. In
a decade or so of really egregious muS1cal the-ater,
"Rent" deserved all its awards. Spinning
its "Boheme"-inspired tale in contemporary
hues of AIDS, sexual nonconformity, drug
addiction, and multiculturalism, the musical
took the verities of poverty, homelessness,
and illness and transformed them with splen·
d.d affirmation.
Larson's heartfelt empathy for his altema·
tive commuruty could be as sappy as a
Hallmark card (a chorus line of homeless
JUnldes seemed just as imreal as a conwnt of
singing nuns) but his passion packed a
mighty wallop. His pop and rock score, a
melange oi styles borrowing tangos, blues,
gospel, reggae, funk, and MTY, is still rooted
on firm Broadway stock. The love ballads are
haunting, and the up-tempo pieces, feisty and
energetic, are filled with sophisticated
rhythms that keep us off balance. His dramatic
lyrics, agile and propulsive, shift m off-kilter
ways, too; sometimes comic, sometimes
heartbreaking, yet always right.
Bar none, this was the finest touring prod
uction of a Broadway musical last year. An
amazingly theatrical show, it used all the
high-tech smoke and mirrors that money
could buy. Grunge never looked so high gloss.
Bruiser
When Houston Ballet opened its 2000-2001
season m September, it did so with a knockout:
Stanton Welch's "Brwser."
With a company of eighteen, "Bruiser''
was a tongue-in-cheek, v..;tty look at modem
relationships, using all manner of sports refer·
ences.
Wearing skin-tight abbreVJated shorts and
midriff revealing tops, the danccrs-Wr1Sts
bandaged and cheeks blackened-feinted
and jabbed, performed tac bo, jumped hur·
dies, skipped imaginary rope, power walked,
even egged us on to fight. One of the guys
flexed like a muscleman upstage m silhouette
The women, all on pointe and just as seasoned
and strong as the men, fought back • a
contemporary Gen·X take that was Jrughty
refreslung. The guys were butch; the girls
were butch.
A perpetual mobile of off-kilter clas.s1cal
steps, big sweeping arabesques m hfts, sexy
duets, expressive solos, "Brwscr" was mod·
em ballet with vengeance and a laugh.
As the preeminent tomboy, Britain
Werkhe!SCr exuded stage presence with a
feisty powerhouse performance The intense
and razor sharp Joel Prouty was a perfect f01I
to the leggy and athletic Lauren Anderson;
while the very blond and beefed-up Ian
Casady complemented Sarah Webb's bcauti·
ful !me At the end of their pas de deux, he
pinned her down, but not for long
There's no entry in the Olympics for ballet,
but 1f there were, Mr Welch and his brill ant
danceIS would've shared top spot: gold.
Naked Boys Singing
The title said it all Unfortunately, there
wasn't much else to this musical presented by
Bienvenue Theatre Once the revelatory shock
of being up close and personal faded, our
gazes glazed over.
This was a musical revue wntten by com·
mittee: 24 hands to be precise. Too many
cooks and no chef. This gay mUSJcal mean-dered
without much thought in its head. It
was well-scrubbed and sex-free, non-prurient
and G-rated. Why did they bother to remove
their clothes?
For a musical that paraded its gmmuck in
our face, it's troruc that the best number, the
most erotically charged, was the love song
where Augustin Paz slowly donned his
clothes, until by song's end he was fully
dressed. If only the rest of the show would've
been so charged. This was a sex musical v.1thout
a nse.
Jeff Stryker Does Hard Time
In his first venture into live theatrical per·
formance, the world's most famous male porn
star had the savvy to fashion himseU a vanity
production. For what it was, this star vehicle
served him well. Everyone else got the shaft.
He and his un-credited co-writers crafted a
soft-core showcase, where Stryker is swathed
in '40s film noir glamour with inky shadows
and wet reflections. On display, his body
became his own fetish.
To be fair, you didn't go to this expecting
"Hamlet." But after scores of performances in
!YC and San Francisco, the eponymous star
and his tailor-made "hilanous, erotic comedy"
should have had more pi1.z.iiz and pol:sh
than this lumbering, limp effort.
As a live porn movie, this sad little affair
moved with the speed of a lump of Crisco. For
all its X·rated trash sex talk, the porn was
JruSSmg. Discreet and hidmg belund veils, the
play cried out for Viagra.
The evening ended with a mim·scx show,
as Stryker doused himself with baby oil and
danced nude among the audience. It's one
exotic dance where he brought his own pole.
The curtain call had him patting his large
fnend m appreo.ition of a 1ob well done. It's
the only part of him that could act.
Kiki and Herb
If you d.dn't experience this demonic dysfunctional
duo at Theater LaB, you nussed
one of the truly theatncal events of the season.
Frightening and funny, this psychotic
lounge act was post-modem drag and per·
formance art mixed with a full fist of barbiturates.
Kiki Uustin Bond) IS a washed-up, neverhas
·been boozy cabaret singer whose
grotesque life story is the patter that drives the
rock and alternative grunge song cycle Herb
(Kenny Mell man) is her .iutistic co-dependent
pianist who bangs out the ;iccomparument
and adds his wails to Kiki's vodka-tinged
> Continued on Page 17
HOUSTON VOICE • DECEMBER 29, 2000
Plentiful gay productions in 2000
> Continued from Page 16
song stylings. Between the laughs, they made
you weep with their neurotic showbiz longing.
After thrashing herself into a frenzy with
Butt Trumpet's "You're Ugly.'' Kiki lay
sprawled on the floor. "Mommy's all right.
We just get a little weird sometimes."
Then it was off on a Shakepearean soWoquy
or a scorching rendition of Patti Smith's
"Horses." Scary and fascinating. And unforgettable.
Christmas On Mars
To say that a staging of a Harry Kondoloon
drama is rare would be an understatement, so
we were exceedingly grateful for Ashland St.
Theatre Co.'s winter mounting of this blistering
play. That this production was a riveting,
sterling powerhouse account was also something
for which to be grateful.
"Christmas" is, at all times, unreal yet
truthful, perverse yet sane, sadistic yet tender.
Distinctive in its bending of theatrical conventions,
the spellbinding characters held us
enthralled throughout. It veered from searing
dramatic outburst to luminous insight to
laugh-out-loud comedy schtick, thoroughly
engrossing, or grossing us out. It was a bizarre
human comedy of ill manners.
Forcefully directed by Travis Ammons,
this dark and poignant tale of four interconnected
poople who can't really connect is afire
with humanity: the egotistic bisexual male
model manque (Tim Wrobel); his fiercely neurotic
gay lover (Byron Norton); the pregnant
wife-to-be (Adrianne Kipp}; and her mother
(Cheryl Croix) whose unending search for
low unravels her life.
At the end, the stage i:; littered with v.Tapping
paper, a beat-up Christmas tree, the lover
who finds solace inside a baby's crib, selfdeluded
Mother weeping and laughing on
the floor, a headless doll, and a puddle of
amniotic fluid. How the detritus got there represents
Kondoleon's brilliant map of the
human heart. All we had to do was follow his
trail of blood, tears, and laughter.
This is a
"must check
ti/ ou venue ...
-Mark Goebel,
Eclipse Magazine
924 Congress
Downtown Houston
Reservations: 713.227.2200
FATIER TUESDAYS
$3.50 HURRICANES
$2.50 SHINER BOCK
WYLDE WEDNESDAYS
$2.50 MARGARITAS & CORONAS
7PM TO l lPM
GOSPEL SUNDAY BRUNCH
Sl .00 VODKA DRINKS
Sl 0.00 BOTIOMLESS BLOODY MARY'S
$2.50 MIMOSAS, $2.50 BELLINIS
HAPPY HOUR 4PM TO 7PM MON-FRI
S2.50 DOMfmCS/$2.50 Wfll DRIJIKS • $1.00 on PlflUUM Alt au DRlllKS
The Nutty Nutcracker
Houston Ballet's take-off on its own classic
holiday production has become one of the
hottest tickets during the post-Christmas season.
It's everything you'd wish the
"Nutcracker' would be if someone only had
the nerve to do it. Well, the comic zanies at
the Ballet do it rightl Past shows have been
set on the Titanic (with dancing penguins for
the Snow Scene) or in the West Wing (with
Monica and Bill cavorting under the executive
desk in the Land of the Sweeties). Ribald and
exceedingly funny, this R-rated retelling ends
the year with smirking glee. The day after, you
will be sore from laughing so hard.
Dec. 30
Wortham Theater Center
713·227-ARTS
Dirty Little Showtunes
If you think gay life is a "Cabaret' or a
Broadway musical with better lyrics, then Tom
Orr's delicious parody 1s a must-see Using
tunes we can hum in our sleep from Sondheim,
""'.,ebber, Richard Rodgers. Gilbert & Sullivan,
Harold Ar1en, et al., this wicked spoof skewers
GLBT living with delightful zest cm irreverence
by supplying new lyrics to Broadway standards.
Funny, movihg, it might even make you think.
Now that's a novel concept for a musical.
Jan. 5 through Feb. 24
Theatre New West
1415 California
713-394-0464
A Tuna Chrlsbnas
17
Without the help of digital effects, Joe Sears
and Jaston Williams portray all the loony
beloved characters ofTuna, Texas. the secondsmallest
town m state, in this warm and cozy
parody of contemporary American life.
Consummate actors. these two will make you
believe that the entire stage is ablaze with life.
lt is, JUst not at the same time. A memorable
night m the theater for any season.
Jan. 9 through 14
The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galvestbn
409-765-1894
Walker Evans: A Retrospective
In a magnificent oew exhibition, MFAH salutes
and glorifies the artistry of photographer
Walker Evans. Quintessentially American, his
black and white eye focused on hard truths
with unflinching documentary-like detail, such
as the Great Depression, tenant farmers in
Alabama or New York City subway nders. By
re1ectlng artifice and artiness in his spare,
elegantly framed pictures, he nevertheless
created photography as an art form. He was
the ultimate photographer: he makes the viewer
see anew.
Continuing through March 4
MFAH, 1001 Bissonnet
r. · 1· . &._ ~~nc.•-tOMOR~
.... "': !! Clf directed by PiRTY ~ ~~~c~!f!.
LiTTLe <UARLf 5 &AJ(fR
Jan. 5 - Feb. 24
8HOWIUll88!
~·--~
Frt. & s.t 8 p.m.
11t£ATRE NEW WEST
1415 Callfomla st.
('--'9donthe~ftocwef
the Sarau R81tMarMt ...... )
RMel i'lltlolis: 713-394-0464
11dl.ets: $20.00
18
A queer year in music
With big name labels
practically void of queer
music-gay and lesbian
artists turned to the
indie scene
by MARGARET COBLE
Y2k was not a big year for queer music,
at least not 1f you're looking at the major
record labels. The trend of coming out as a
promotional boost seems to have faded (the
exception being Sinead O'Connor, who
amid a whJrlwind of publicity came out a~
both a lesbian and a pnest upon the release
of the cnllcally praised Faith and Courage).
1 cw, live, and greatest hits albums by
out artists like k.d lang, Elton John, and the
Indigo Girb, respectively, plea~ed their diehard
fans but were not particularly noteworthy
additions to their oeuvres, and gayba1tmg
artists hke Ricky Martin, the
BJckstrcet Boys Jnd other boy-bands were
happy to take their queer fans' money, but
'g.ive them httle but something pleasant to
look at m return
The real story of gay and lesbian music
in the year 2000 came from the independent
labels, where a new crop of talented oulqueer
artists directed their own career
paths and expressed themselves honestly
without the fear of homophobic consequence
associated with a major record label
contract.
Though these artists often struggle for
recognition beyond their own geographic
region, due to lack of resources available to
their often self-run labels, the quality and
importance of their work should not be
overlooked.
That having been said, here's the best of
20001
VARIOUS ARTISTS Forever Dusty (R&:D
Records)
Truly one of the
most under-apprecial·
ed compilations of the
year, this 17-track tribute
to Dusty
Springfield featured a
ventable who's-who of out-queer female
performers donating their efforts to a breast
cancer benefit CD.
From The Butchies, Indigo Girls, Jill
Sobulc, ;md Zrazy to Michelle Malone,
DECEMBER 29, 2000 • HOUSTON VOICE
Sonia Rutstein, and Gretchen Phillips, the
track listing is a star-studded lesbian affair,
and the material covered is simply stunning.
(www.ladyslipper.org)
MARK WEIGLE All That Matters (Pet-Aluma
Music)
California-based, out-gay singer songwriter
Mark Weigle is the queer indie
underground's best kept secret-though
not too much of a secret, as Weigle has consistently
lopped the charts for two years at
Outvoice.com, a website and mailing list
which celebrates out-queer music and the
artists who make it. With his acoustic-pop
sophomore album All That Matters, Weigle
matched the critical success of his 1997
debut Trμth Is while continuing to broaden
jus fanbase and commercial appeal.
(http:/ /songs.com/markwe1gle/)
~ELISSA FERRICK Freedom (WAR.)
With her aggressive
blend of confessional
and political
lyrics, this altfolk-
rock smgersongwriter
has
become the new
Am Difranco. 2000
was a year of much momentum for the fast·
nsing lesbian star, with a hectic tour schedule
which included a remarkable performance
at this year':; Michigan Women's
Music Festival, the release of Freedom in
the spnng and more recently Skinruer and
Faster Lh·e (Right On Records).
(www.melissafcmck.com)
LARRY LEVAN Live At The Paradise
Garage {West End/Strut UK)
This posthumously released 1979 mix·
tape by the New York DJ who st;irted it all
1s an essential disc for anyone who loves
dance music. The deluxe liner notes of this
two disc box set, and an accompanying
book by West End Record chief Mel Cheren
Keep On Dancin': My Life and the Paradise
Garage, serve as some of the best gay-perspective
documentation of the early days of
disco. (wv.wwestendrecords.com)
SLEATER-KINNEY All Hands on the Bad
BU!AT One(Kill Rock Stars)
These Pacific
northwest dyke
punk rockers continued
lo maintain
their widespread
popularity both
within and outside
the queer community with thcu fifth full
length release, a full throttled party record
full of three chord fun and smart lyrics.
(WW\\ .k11lrockstars.com)
MADOSNA \fosic (Maverick Records)
Though the degree of her queerness
MUSIC REVIEWS
may be debatable, her widespread appeal
in both the gay male and lesbian communities
is not. The title track of the long-awaited
Music was a global radio and club phenomenon,
·with its stylish retro-electro beats
and sexy lesbian-tinged video, and now,
thanks to some clever remixes, the second
single "Don't Tell Me" looks to keep Music
throbbmg well into 2001.
VARIOUS ARTISTS Queer As Folk
Soundtrack (Nettwerk)
Whether it's the
two-disc import
version from the
UK h1 t sen es or the
newly released single-
disc American
compilation, the
hiNRG-filled
Queer As Folk
soundtrack has created almost as much of a
stir as its TV counterpart. (wwwnet·
twerk.com)
PATRICIA BARBER
(Premonition/Blue Note)
This eccentric
jazz pianist has
proven to the
notoriously
homophobic jazz
world that being
openly queer
won't rum your
career; in fact,
hers has only soared. This 12-track collection
of vocal standards will no doubt show
up on countless critics' year-end lists.
(www.patnaabarbercom)
TRACY CHAP~AN Telling Stones
{Elektra Entertainment)
TELLING
, STORIES;.
~-~. ·~. , ......·,.,. , ~,. ·~.·- ~-.'
The ever-e
n i gm at 1 c
Chapman had
somewhat of a.
comeback with
this 11-track
release. Though
criticallv laud·
ed, it was rather
under-appreciated,
commercfally, but if her tour performances
were any indication, she still has a lot
of fans, both m and out of the queer community.
THE 6THS Hyacinths and Thistles (Merge)
Stephin .\1emtt is the openly gay gem us
behind The 6th:;, The Magnetic Fields,
Future Bible Heroes, and The Gothic
Archies. One of the pop music world's most
prolific and iconoclastic of composers, this
latest offering from hiin only served to
drive home that point, with its odd assortment
of guest vocalists and bubblegum pop
lyncs. (www.houseoftomorrow.com)
HOUSTON VOICE • DECEMBER 29, 2000 19
On·Screen MOVIE REVIEWS
The state of qUeer film in 2000
Quantity-not qualitywas
the key word for
films with gay and
lesbian content th is year
by STEVE WARREN
At this time last year much of the
awards buzz was focused on films with
strong queer components: AMERICAN
BEAUTY, BOYS DON'T CRY, BEING
JOHN MALKOVICH, ELECTION and
THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY.
This year's counterparts are fewer and
weaker-witness BEFORE NIGHT FALLS,
BEST IN SHOW, BILLY ELLIOT and
WONDER BOYS. They're clearly not as
queer.
For example-GLADIATOR, where the
mam kink is brother-:;1ster incest, QUILLS,
m which the Marquis De Sade will screw
anything but has a strong hetero preference
and SHADOW OF A VAMPIRE, with F.W.
Murnau implied to be bisexual, but his only
identified sexual partner is a woman.
It':; not that there weren't plenty of
queer and near-queer films out there, just
that they weren't as good this year. But neither
were the straight ones.
The o\·erall output of the movie industry
may have reached an all-time low in
quality, or at least in the lack of really highquality
films-including queer ones. We
wanted equality and we got it, damn it!
The queerer the movie the fewer screens
it opens on, as a general rule. We got
crumbs in a few wide releases: a gay male
cheerleader in BRING IT ON; Kip Pardue
(who was way out m "But I'm a
Cheerleader") letting hlS teammates think
he's gay alter kissing one of them in
REMEMBER THE TITANS; and Ashton
Kutcher and Scann William Scott wrestling
shirtless rind locking lips in DUDE,
WHERE'S MY CAR?
Queer directors working in the main·
stream also made us settle for less. Don
Roos put a gay supporting character
Oohnny Galecki) in BOUNCE, as did
Stephen Daldry m BILLY ELLIOT. Gus Van
Sant savs Sean Connery's character in
FINDING FORRESTER is a closet case, if
you read between the lines. (Why else b he
watching those boys through binoculars?)
Joel Schumacher threw some nice butt
shots into TIGERLAND, and if Terrence
Davies stayed faithful to Edith Wharton
there's naught but a gay sensibility in THE
HOUSE OF MIRTH.
That left John Waters to carry the rainbow
flag in the disappointing CECIL B.
DEMENTED, in which a diverse group of
radicals kidnapped a fading movie queen
to strike a blow for independent cinema.
Before you get too depressed let me give
you the good news.
Four queer filmmakers got at least
mixed-to-good reviews for their debut features,
which received decent distrtbution
and did some crosso,·er business: GREG
BERLANTI for THE BROKEN HEARTS
CLUB, JAMIE BABBIT for BUT I'M A
CHEERLEADER, JON SHEAR for URBAN
IA and NISHA GANATRA for CHUTNEY
POPCORN.
Overseas our newest greatest hope is
FRANCOIS OZON, who had two good
films in limited U.S. release this year, the
twisted fairy tale CRIMINAL LOVERS
and the filmed Fassbinder play WATER
DROPS ON BURNING ROCKS. He's
building quite a body of work but not much
of an American following.
Gay Canadian JEREMY PODESWA followed
ECLIPSE with THE FIVE SENSES,.
in which the character representing smell
was gay.
Longtime favorite documentarians ROB
EPSTEIN and JEFFREY FRIEDMAN had a
fine new entry, PARAGRAPH 175, about
queers m the Holocaust.
Another personal-and-professional couple,
FENTON BAILEY and RANDY BARBATO
scored a one-two punch with THE
EYES OF TAMMY FAYE and 101 RENT
BOYS.
Our favorite fag hag. MARGARET
CHO scored with her San Francisco-filmed
concert, I'M THE ONE THAT I WANT.
If you've never heard of, let alone seen
some of the films I mention it may be
because they haven't been shown here,
or have had a festival or campus
screening or an unpublicized we<>k at
an art house.
Many will yet show
up-in a theater, on cable
or in the video store.
As usual there wasn't
much for ksbians, besides
CHUTNEY POPCORN and
BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER.
The German docudrama
AIMEE & JAGUAR was tops in
that limited field, and then? was
cause for at least some rejoicing
in DR. T AND THE WOMEN
when (spoiler ahead, if you
haven't seen it) KATE HUDSON
ended up with
LIV TYLER. There's a lesbian moment in
REQUIEM FOR A DREA\1 but it's
degrading. not romantic
Mike Figgis' failed experiment TIME
CODE gave us JEANNE TRIPPLEHORN
("Basic Instinct") and SALMA HAYEK as
lovers, but Hayek was having an affair with
a man-the slut!
JULIANNA MARGULIES and KYRA
SEDGWICK were happier together in
WHAT'S COOKING? as they endured a
family dinner. Yet another lesbian couple,
CALISTA FLOCKHART and VALERIA
GOLINA, didn't make it to theaters this
year because MGM stupidly sold THINGS
YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT
HER to Showtime instead. Watch for 11 next
spring.
Stage fare didn't translate too well to the
screen. David Drake's THE NIGHT
LARRY KRAMER KISSED ME, directed
by Tim Kirkman ("Dear Jessen), though
well done was too late to be topical and too
early for nostalgia. Charles Busch's PSYCHO
BEACH PARTY, as directed by
Robert I .ee King, was a thorough disappointment.
How about novels? Marcel Proust's life
and work got an interesting going-over by
Raul Ruiz in TIME REGAINED. Julian
Schnabel took ·an alme:>t equally oblique
approach to the autobiography of gay
Cuban poet-novelist Reinaldo Arenas in
''Before Night Falls."
Peter Cameron's THE WEEKEND
was poorly adapted by drrector Bnan
Skeet, despite some bright
moments m the mother-daughter
bitch fights between GENA
ROWLANDS and BROOKE
SHIELDS.
Shields also turned up a' a
beard for ROBERT
DOWNEY, JR. in James
Toback's BLACK AND
WHITE. Downey abo played gay
m WONDER BOYS, where he
(here's another spoiler) brought
out "Spider-Man"-elect TOBEY
MAGUIRE.
MICHAEL CAINE was gay in
M"'S CCNe!!Nlm;
.MICHAEL MCKEAN and JOHN
MICHAEL HIGGINS in BEST Ir\' SHOW,
which abo finally got JENNIFER
COOLIDGE and JANE LYNCH to act on
their ob\'ious mutual attraction.
CRAIG FERGUSON wasn't very funny
as a gay Scottish hairdresser in THE BIG
TEASE. HAROLD PERRINEAU, JR. was
more entertaining as the drag comic relief
m WOMAN ON TOP, certainly better than
WING CHEN as the transgendered butt of
questionable humor m CATFISH IN
BLACK BEAN SAUCE.
Some highly anticipated films were
early-year di!>appointments. Just the idea or
NATHAN LANE playing BETIE
MIDLER's (as Jacqueline Suo;ann) husband
should ha\•e been enough to make ISN'T
SHE GREAT funny, but nothing could
Bette bombed .igam a few weeks later m
DROW!':ING \10NA. which opened the
same day as the ~tADONNA muddle THE
NEXT BEST THING. m which she had a
baby with best fnend RUPERT EVERElT
No wonder he's gomg back to Oscar Wilde'
Two queer fantasies about gays in the
military came from different parts or the
world. Each received some praise from
knee-jerkers who cream over subtitles, but I
didn't like Oaire Denis' BEAU TRAVAIL
or agisa Osh1ma's TABOO
Less arty but guiltily pleasurable was
BURLESK KING, the latest "macho
dancer" mO\'le from the Pluhppmcs. Even
more dreadful by onematic standards but a
big crowd-pleaser m its native Thailand
was THE IRON LADIES, the fact-based
story of a queer team that won the national
volleyball champmnship
It could attract fans of feel good movies
if 1t reaches our shores next year GUINEVERE
TURNER (~ Go fohn) co-wrote
MARY HARRO~'s adaptation of AMERICAN
PSYCHO, gm.ng herself a sex scene
with Christian Bale and another woman.
Other edgy films v.1th more queer con·
tent were Miguel Arleta's CHUCK &
BUCK. wntten by and starrmg Mel White's
son, MIKE WHITE, as the childlike gay
protagorust; BE:-.;JAMI1'.'. SMOKE. a documentary
about a queer (in more ways than
one) Atlanta poet/ musician, and
Constantine Giannans' FR0\1 THE EDGE
OF THE CITY, ~howcasmg the body (and
incidentally the actmg ability) of STATHIS
PAPADOPOULOS as a Greek hustler of
Russian descent.
At the end of the year Strand released
another terrific package of shorts, BOYS
LIFE 3. One of tho~e shorts, Lane ]anger's
comedy JUST o:-;E TIME, has already
been expanded into a feature, which began
lutting theaters a few weeks earlier.
All mall-and that's far from all-there
was nothing on theater screens this year as
good as QUEER AS FOLK-either version,
even though Showbme betrayed us by cut-
I
Experience the
Art of Dining
"If my husband would ever meet a woman on the street who
looked like the women in his paintings, he would fall over in a
dead faint" -Mrs. Pablo Picasso
Mon-Thu
Friday
Saturday
Hours
lunch 11 :00am until 2 OOpm Dinner 5.00pm untll 1000pm
lunch 11 OOam until 2 OOpm Dinner 5.00pm until 11·00pm
Dinner 5 30pm until 11.00pm
Sunday Brunch Buffet 10 30am unt112 30pm
905 TAFT
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77019-2613
713.523.5FOX
Proudly serving all hur)gry Houstonians!
Crad Duren, M.D.
Internal medical practice offering discreet
confidental care to the community, including
HIV/AIDS diagnostics & therapeutics
Healthcare from the Heart
Anonymous Testing and Counseling
Ma1or Credit Cards Accepted· Personal checks Accepted
Insurance with Qualificat1011 ·Medicare
...
Eating Out RESTAURANT REVIEW
Sinfully good
Marrakech offers delectable
food, lush atmosphere,
entertaining 'eye candy'
by KATHREEN LEE
Stepping into the traditional dining
room at MARRAKECH is like being
sucked into a magical Gerue bottle where
one leaves the plain and ordinary "real
world" to a richly and lavishly decorated
fantasy where you have suddenly become
the master (or mistress).
Plush sofas with luxurious pillows, velvety
carpeted walls with exquisite designs
and silken sheets billowing out from the
ce1hng create a hedonistic atmosphere
reserved for only the most self-indulgent
and decadent of dmers.
On Friday and Saturday evenings,
Marrakech only opens their traditional din·
ing room where diners can lounge in the
lavish setting and choose from several dif·
ferent mulhple-course meals. While one
cannot order a la carte, the diversity m their
multi-course offerings should satfsfy even
the pickiest of eaters.
My friends and I ordered the Family Style
Dinner ($29.50 per person), a seven-course
meal rl•commended for parties of four or
more. Each main course is presented in traditional
large platters with a wide variety of
offenng5. The first course was Harrira
Soup-a tomato and lentil soup rich in tex·
ture and very mildly spicy. After thls initial
tantalizing offering, the anticipation for the
next ~1x courses was almost unbearable
The second course was a Moroccan
Salad with the three main ingredients of
eggplant garnished with cumin and garlic,
chopped cucumbers flavored with rosewater
(water in which the petals of roses have
been steeped) and a mixture of cooked carrots,
tomatoes and bell peppers.
The third course was Bastilla, which
Marrakech touts as its house specialty.
Similar to the samosa often found in Indian
cuisine, a Bastilla is phyllo dough filled
with diced chicken, almonds and egg custard.
For those vegetarians out there,
Marrakech can substitute the chicken with
eggplant The stuffed dough IS then baked
until it's a cnspy brown carapace and then
dusted with powdered cinnamon and
sugar. Your mouth watenng, yet?
The fourth course was Corrush hen
served on a bed of couscous mixed with
duck peas, raisms and vanety of vegetables.
The incredibly tender meat slid effortlessly
off of the bones and the sweet couscous nuxture
perfectly enhanced its savory fl,wor
The fifth course combrned a variety of
lamb dishes, includIDg lamb kabobs, Taime of
Lamb and Lamb ~1rouzia. The tender meat of
the grilled lamb chucks rn the laibob were
served on a bed of saffron rice, wluch was a
perfect complement to the succulent lamb.
The Lamb Mrouzia are chunks of lamb
deliciously caramelized in a sweet honey
~ ) .
sauce and further seasoned with a sprinkle
of saffron, sliced almonds and sesame
seeds. Unlike the other Jamb dishes, the
Taiine lamb was stewed with an assortment
of carrots, sweet peas and artichokes. Each
delectable bite of the stew diffused to every
comer of your mouth and stirred every
remaining dormant taste bud.
Baklava, vour standard Middle Eastern
nch dessert "was offered as a sixth course
and our gluttonous endeavor was capped
off with a Moroccan Hot Mint Tea which
served to cleanse our insatiable palates.
As if th is seven-course gastronomical
gratification is not
enough to serve your decadent
desires, a tra ined belly dancer
sashays around the dining
lounge and jiggles her exposed
abdomen for your viewing and
donating pleasure.
As if this seven-course gastronomical
gratification is not enough to serve your
decadent desires, a trained belly dancer
sashays around the dining lounge and jiggles
her exposed abdomen for your viewing
and donating pleasure. Enchanting her
audience with the rhythmic striking of her
zills-a form of wooden castanets-and the
flourishing of her vivid and diaphanous
robes, the belly dancer's sensual dance
added yet another layer of debauchery
onto the already self-indulgent evening.
Marrakcch's orgy of food and entertainment
is best when relished with a group of
friends who are in the mood for a gluttony
of mouth-watering cuisine, conversation
and eye-candy entertainment.
"Sinful" would be the best description
of such an evening and I encourage everyone
to partake in the sensory delights that
Marrakech has to offer
MARRAKECH
416 Main Street
713.228.7222, 713.228.7224
Food: S> S> S> S> S>
Service: '!;:> S> ~ S> t
Value:S>S>S>~
Scene:SS>~~~
Opt for bread, water at home
~ S-oK, 1f you really must
&8-t:> Worth the dn_.., so live a little
B>S>S>t.,; As good as rt gets
t
HOUSTON VOICE • DECEMBER 29, 2000
january
"I didn't know if [the scene] was going to be appropriate or not, but
it turned out to be so beautifully done."
-Actress Sharon Stone on her nude love scene with Ellen DeGeneres in HBO's
"If These Walls Could Talk II," which was directed by DeGeneres' partner Anne
Heche, as reported in the New York Post on Jan. 20
"Am I anti-gay? ... I've spoken out against gay marriage, am on
record as describing homosexuality as a deviant sexual orientation and
have spoken favorably about reparative therapy
for gays who wish to change their sexual orientation.
Well, the truth is, I'm not [anti-gay].
What I am is a serious Jew who has consistently
stated my belief that same-sex sexual activity is
incompatible with Biblical scripture and, in the
same breath, that homosexuals are as entitled
to love and respect as all other human beings."
-Dr Laura Schlessinger writing in the Los Angeles Times, Jan. 17.
february
''I've gone out with some nuts. When I first met them, they seemed
decent and regular and said they weren't big fans, but then they turn
out to be crazy-mad, insane Madonna fans. Looking back, it's pretty
funny. Nobody's ever caused any harm. Let's just say it was bad judgment
on my part."
-Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone to the Advocate, Feb. 15
march
"His legacy lives on through our movie to remind us to
always be ourselves, to follow our hearts, to not conform. I
pray for the day when we not only accept our differences but
we actually celebrate our diversity."
-Hilary Swank, in her Oscar acceptance speech for Best Adress. thanking
Brandon Teena, who passed as a man and was murdered in 1996
"Thank you so much for giving me the
opportunity to express, the rumors. But,
Barbara, for some reason, I just don't feel like
it. You know, it's, it's something so mine. I give
it all when I'm on stage. I give it all in interviews,
but you've got to keep something for
yourself sometimes, and that's for me."
-Singer Ricky Martin when asked if he's gay by
Barbara Walters on her March 26 Oscar night special
april
"Who are now the most square people on Earth? Who are the only
people left who want to go into the Army and get married?
Homosexuals."
-Humorist Fran Lebowitz
"A sports stadium full of queers-how fuckin' brilliant!"
-Singer George Michael at the Equality Rocks concert during the Millennium
March festivities in Washington, D.C .. Apn 29.
"The best thing that's happened about it [my coming out] is nothing.
The world didn't end, my career didn't come to a complete halt, I didn't get
ridiculed, I didn't get yelled at. Life went on just as I'd hoped it would."
-Actor B:!I Brochtrup of TV's • "Slue," to Portland, Oregon's Just Out. April 7
21
may
"I had no trouble kissing Valeria [Galina in the movie 'Things You Can
Tell Just By Looking at Her']. We had chemistry. And I've kissed Courtney
[Thorne-Smith], Jane [Krakowski] and Lucy Liu on 'Ally McBeal.' It's more
about whether they have bad breath or not. There are guys who come
on Ally McBeal whom I have to kiss, and I'd rather kiss my dog."
-Actress Calista Flockhart to the New York Post, May 15
june
"I'm a lesbian ... although I haven't been
very open about that and throughout most of
my life I've gone out with blokes because I
haven't necessarily been terribly comfortable
about being a lesbian. But I actually am a lesbian."
-Singer Smead O'Connor in an interview with
Curve magazine in the June 27 issue
"I've cried more at times than I would like to admit because to see
my name, my character, my person come under attack. It's astonishing
to have your name smeared with such vitriol. I wouldn't wish it on
people I dislike. It's been agonizing."
- "Dr. Laura" Schlessinger, m an interview with Time magazine, June 24 issue
"What a fucking idiot!"
-Bryant Gumbel, host of CBS' ·Early Show,· after mterv1ewmg
Robert Knight of the Family Research Council, who defended the
Boy Scouts' ban on gays. The FRC demanded Gumbel's res1gnat1on
after the remark was picked up by a studio microphone and
b·oadcast
"Hundreds of my friends have died before their time [of AIDS]. The
most profound effect it's had on me is that when I heard that someone
had died from a heart attack it was almost like an elation. I was
like, 'Oh, okay.' Because you just got to the point where you couldn't
take one more [death]. Couldn't take one more."
-Actress Whoop1 Goldberg to the AIDS magazines A&U, June issue
july
"I'm not aware of myself as a sex symbol-I wouldn't object if I
were. It's one of the functions of actors to let people fantasize."
-Actor Sir Ian McKellen, who is openly gay, to Chicago's Outlines, July 19
august
"My goal is to be in a committed relationship in
the future with the right man .... The prize may
complicate that." l:'..lr:!ll..._
-"Survivor" winner Richard Hatch in an Aug. 24
september
conference call with reporters
"Everyone says to me, 'Your mother being who
she is, it must have been easy [coming out to her].'
But she had more difficulty with it than my dad."
-Christopher Rice, 22, son of novelist Anne Rice, to the
Advocate, Aug. 29
"[My lover Jim Bridges and I] never made a fuss about being gay,
but we never hid anything. Maybe I was naive, but I never felt oppression."
-Jack Larson, who played Jimmy Olsen on the classic "Superman· TV series, to
the Advocate, Sept. 12
novernber
"Anne Heche has signed a deal to write
her autobiography. It'll be the classic tale
of a small-town girl who goes to
Hollywood and becomes a lesbian to help
her career."
22
Mirror, mirror, on the wall.
Who's the funnest matchmaker of all?
Not listings,
but a real online
dating service!
"Fun'' • The Advocate
"Cool Site" • Yahoo
"Best online matchmaker"
• HX Magazine
J_ESUl~J_ECTION
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH
~ St!tiptuUJ fart 'Pa..;itwe.faith
wor~hop Led b!f Rev. !J r. Rem\Jert Tr~Lt1ck, cu\thor of
~tepg to Recover~ from r.3ible .A\Jtige
Jctntl0.1"!1 ~. 2~~1. l~o.m-~pm in the seminar room
HM OMigUm. f~?
semino.r presented b!:f !Jr. TrHL«ck
1i1esdo.!f.elo.n«o.r!f '3. 2~~1. 7pm in the seminctrroom
Or. Truluck's workshop and seminar will kick off a year long program designed lo heal our spirits
and help us become tfie free people God has created us lo tie. II you can't attend the workshop or
seminar, please join us for any or all of the following programs:
Slep oae to red•ation:
Hove YM Beet Htr1 ly Reigioa?
Tuesday, Februcry 6, 2001
7pm-UOpm
Step two to redtmatioa:
Tim To God As Yo.r Glide
Tuesday, Mach 6. 2001
7pm-8:30pm
Step three lo redtmalion:
h•ile YMr Faith
Tuesday, Ap~ 3, 2001
7pm-UOpm
2025 W. 11th St.
713-861-9149 ~ www.resurrectionmcc.org
DECEMBER 29, 2000 • HOUSTON VOICE
community
saturday, december 30
Aher Houn. KPfT 90.1 FM- 12 un to 3 a.m. 713-526-5731
()-Patrol w• h the ltrtets 145 pm 713-52&-SAFE
Oigt1lty"""' IJO pm for gay C.11\o ocs. 713.U0-2172.
St Stephen's Epucapal Chutch. Rosary & o.m 1805 W Alaboma
71J.52U665
Houston Cha n Ging Bocyde Oub. C. for ride lo<abons 713·
863-•800
Certif><d Amtncan Heart Anoe at•on CPI! ci.sses. noon /1].607
noo
Houston \"/Ttltl ng Oub Pra<Uct I 30 p.m. /l~SJ.7406
ll>inbcw fishing Oub flee~ng 7'3-526-7070
Houston F1tne Circlo Meet ng 2 p.m 713 533-0150
Northwoods ArOS Coa 1t1on food Pantry Southwest Center. 10
am to2p'11 211·63J.2555&Conroe936-441·16,.
Houston G1y & Lnbian Community Cent~ Oro~1n hours noon
to • p m. • Montro .. Wnton ProJtCI. 3 to HO p.m • I03
~ ... 713-521-31"&
sunday, december 31
Common Group (formerly New Hope Chmtian Center) Wonh1p
Strvitt. 11 am. I03 Hawthorne. 7•3-524-38'8
Houston Aru Teen Coaht1on of Homosex~ts meeb. 71 J-942·
7002
Rainbow Riden. A bicycle dub for women. 713-169-1686.
St Stephen'S Episcapal Churm Holy Rite Eucharist I NS 1 m;
Holy Rte Eucti.ru.t a & 55 a.m. Education hour 10 am.; Choral
Eucl..rist 'I am. 713-528-6665.
~ranatlw Fellow1h p Metropolitan Church. SeMct 6 30 p.m.
7'3-521-6756.
Rewrrt<tion MCC. S.mcts. 9 a.m. ind 11 a.m. Adult Sunday
School 10 a.m. Youth Sunday School 11.15 a.m. HM.d~H Choir
rehearsal 1.30 p.m. 713-86' 9149.
Gra<t Lutheran Church. Sundoy school for an ages 9 a m SeMce
10:30 a.m. 713-521-3269
Community Gospel s.r.ict 1t 11 a.m. & 7 p.m. Sun<Uy School for
childron 10 a m. 713-881).92 35 or www.communltyljospel.org
Houston M ss•on Church. Servlce 10:30 am 713-529-8225
eo .. nam Church, Ecumtniul, Liberal Baptist. Service !l'JO a m. &
educlbon hour II 1 m. 7 H-663-8830
:"~o1o~·.:;~;=·~~~n,,::~~2~~0~~ at I 30 1.m.
Th< Women's Group. Mett•ng & DoSCUSSion. 10:45 a.m. 713-529-
157•
Unitarian fellowshop of Galvtston County. S02 Church St StM<t
10 30 • m 409·76S.8ll0 .
• First Congregati.enal Church (Memonal). Service at 11 1 m.
Chriruan EducabOn. 11:30 pm. 71l-468-9S43 or fee houston org
Urutarlan ftllow-sh1p .. f Houston Adult forum 10 a.m. Service- 11
1 m 713-616-5176
Thoreau Unttanan Unrver~!rst Congregation: Ad1.tlt d1scuss1on
9451 m. 5eMCe 111 m. 281·277·8812. www.tuuc.org.
f rst Umur .. n Unrwsal st Church. Services at 9:30 & 11 lO 1 m.
Brune~ 1va bble 10:30 am. 713-526-5200. churchttf1ntuu org
Houston TenrMS Oub 9 un Memonat P,u1t at the leMn Center
713-692-2703
Houston Gay & .. ntmn Commun ty Ctnter Drop-in houn 2 to 4
pm 803 H•wthome. 713-524-34 '8.
monday, january 1
Gay Fathers/1•thers First. Suppcrt group. g pm.
wwwGoyfathers-Hou>ton.org or 21' 50>1788
Frost Eye 01n1t. frtt eye txams for people with HIV 713-130-
3000.
Hr!/ testing STD Exams & tre-atmtnt Free. AVES. 1 p.m to 6:'5
p.m. 713-626-2137,
Kolbe PrQJe<t. Eucharist 7 30pm.713·861·1800
Northwood• AIDS eoar.tion Food Pantry Open. 10 a.m. to 6 pm.
936-44 |
