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TransWay, a group founded in 2008 for Male to Female (MTF) transgender persons, is in transition now that it's founding leadership has stepped down under allegations of discrimination and creating an unwelcoming atmosphere for non-passable MTF persons.

TransWay meets at the William Way Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center (WWCC).

According to the Philadelphia Weekly (PW) (July, 20, '11) newer members of the group felt that TransWay had become a "clique of trans women who became very classist, very size-ist, very discriminatory of what they think trans people are and aren't."

TransWay member Ahuviya Harel says she felt discriminated against for not presenting herself as feminine enough. "It's very insulting to be insulted in a place where you had reasonable expectation of safety and community [because] you can't get that elsewhere for most transgendered people," says Harel. "To be put down . . . because of your gender presentation . . . We have enough people outside the trans community that do that to us."

"I was a witness to a trans woman who came in who was pre-op and was given such a hard time about it," echoes Pamela Flanigan, 63. "They said, 'You don't look like a trans woman, you don't belong here. Go!'"

PW reports that formal complaints were filed regarding some incidents.

PW reported that Chris Bartlett, executive director of WWCC, said that he has "been aware for a number of months that there were issues both with things being said on Facebook and various folks not feeling as welcome as others within the group."

Bartlett told the PW that the clashes within the group are symptomatic of larger questions and sea-change shifts in the trans community and, ultimately, the gay and lesbian community at large.

TransWay was originally founded as a group for trans women only, but as the PW rightly points out the "trans community includes people who identify as genderqueer but are not interested in altering their appearance or passing as another gender. Some trans people identify as both male and female, or neither, or as a third gender."

Does that mean that MTF trans people no longer need a support/social group that specially targets there needs?  What about female to male trans people?  Do they have special needs that only an exclusive group can address?

The new vision and mission for TransWay is to be all inclusive including accepting friends and allies.

WWCC is currently seeking a new facilitator for TransWay and Bartlett correctly wonders how to have a positive and safe community center tailored to the specific needs of queer people that also welcomes everyone who walks through the door.

I know a lot of feelings have been hurt in this transition and there are a great number of allegations swirling around this group but for the good of the trans community in Philadelphia I hope that TransWay finds a purposeful course where anyone who attends feels welcomed, safe and loved.  It is the least we can do for our trans brothers and sisters, their families and friends.

Comments:james@QUEERtimes.net

Gay Blood is Not Good Blood.

In the midst of everything else that's happening in the country with the economy, unemployment, the education crisis, the downturn in real estate and depressed cities where mayors are looking at what they can sell off to create revenue just to cover their costs in order to run their government and provide services to its citizens, now we find out that we're running out of blood.

On July 28, the Red Cross "issued an emergency appeal to Americans to donate blood," reported online journalist/activist Eden James of change.org (July 29, 2011).

"Every two seconds, an American needs a blood transfusion, but blood reserves are at a dangerous low," James writes, "The Red Cross is desperately seeking donations of all blood types-unless the donor is a gay man."

Wait, let me run that by you all again. "unless the donor is a gay man." That's the current policy established by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) back in 1983, when little was understood about HIV/AIDS in the early years of the pandemic and the nation's medical community and our federal government was a little panicky and just didn't have many facts about the virus.

Despite the advancement in medical science and knowledge about HIV/AIDS, this precautionary measure by the FDA (at the time might have made perfect sense) is still in practice 30 years later.

Did you know that your gay blood is still not considered good blood?

But James points out that these days "blood banks have the ability to screen blood carefully and ensure its safety."

Now sorting out gay blood from other blood is an entirely different issue when it comes right down to it. Think about it for a minute, do the blood banks of American, including the Red Cross, asked for donor's "sexual orientation" on the application? What do think?

Evidently, not in Indiana. Where recently Aaron Pace, 22, a resident of Gary, according to James, "attempted to donate blood . . . only to be turned away because a staff member decided that he 'seemed' gay"

The staff member allegedly told Pace, who is straight, "I'm sorry, but it's the way that you act and appear to be. It's your sexuality," James repeated what Pace told the media, "I asked, 'Because I'm what?' She replied, 'Because you're gay.'"

In response to Pace's case and the national attention it attracted, the FDA "announced they would review the ban again, but that process could take up to two years," reports James.

But, according to James," the American Association of Blood Banks, the Red Cross, and other blood centers have already stated that the ban is medically and scientifically unwarranted . . . and pushed repeatedly for a review of the anti-gay ban." But the FDA could take, some experts predict, even more two years to review and make a decision, not necessarily to reverse the policy."

Back in Washington, D. C., James found that "Senator John Kerry and others are confident that HHS [Health and Human Services] will overturn the ban-eventually."

But the blood shortage is now. And blood donors across the country are down in numbers.

Unwillingly to wait, openly gay health care worker Eric Couto, James announces, "started a Change.org petition urging the FDA to stop discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and allow the Red Cross to accept much-needed donations.

I urge all of you to help the cause, sign Couto's petition that is also being supported by Change.org.

To join us at Qt with this "Call to Action", visit change.org/petitions/fda-stop-preventing-gay-men-from-donation-blood

comments@QUEERtimes.net 

It's cool off time in August at none other than the world-class Le Bec-Fin , 1523 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, when legendary executive chef/owner Georges Perrier hosts three special refreshing summer wine events.

Chilled Summery White Wines will be featured and paired with a delicious selection of cheeses from DiBruno Bros. , 6 p. m., August 10, for $35 per person.

On August 15, the Hot Chefs Series will continue with Top Chef "Superstar" Kevin Sbraga, preparing a fabulous six course dinner in the Le Bec-Fin kitchen, starting with 5:30 p. m. seatings, for $95 per person, and your own choice of wines at this BYOB special summer event.

Sommelier Cristine Bruno and the U. S. Ambassador Jean Baptiste Ancelot, both representing "Chapoutier," one of the major wineries in the Rhone Valley, will host a wine tasting of their label, 6:30 p. m., August 16, that will be paired with a select choice of complimentary hors d'oeuvres from Le Bec-Fin's kitchen, for $35 per person.

Who can resist the highlight of this series of special food and wine events at Le Bec-Fin in August? Foodies take note-a five course summer truffle dinner will be hosted by Perrier with his executive chef Nicholas Elmi, starting at 5:30 p. m., August 29, for $95 per person. The special menu featuring truffle will also be paired with select wine pairings for each course for an additional fee to diners.

The grand finale for the month of August will be the "Sparkling Wine & Peaches Dinner," 6 p. m., August 31, with a special summer five course menu featuring the freshest fruits and bounty of the season, peaches and lavender, from house made peach jam to a cool peach specialty cocktail, for $95 per person with limited seating.

The full menu selections for these special events are all available online.

For more information, call 215.567.1000; or visit lebecfin.com

Wednesdays are definitely the night to go out for after-work drinks as the ever-popular Center City District (CCD) Sips Happy Hour continues through August 31.

It's simple and uniform: all of the 85 participating restaurants, bars and lounges throughout Center City offer cocktails at $4, wine by the glass at $3, beer at $2 and half-priced appetizers. Many of them also have a "meal deal" with a 15% discount off your dinner bill on the evening of Sips.

For the full listing of all Sips specials and the complete list of participating venues visit the CCD's web site.

Area foodies-mark your fall calendar. The not-to-be-missed second annual FESTIVAL, hosted by Stephen Starr, Michael Solomov and Audrey Claire Taichman, and featuring the city's leading chefs in a benefit for the Philadelphia Live Arts and Philly Fringe, will return to Pier 9, 121 North Columbus Blvd., Philadelphia, 6 to 9 p. m., September 14.

This year's premier food event will feature more than 78 chefs from 10 Arts Bistro & Lounge by Eric Ripert to Zama (the complete listing of participating restaurants and chefs are available online).

Presented by Audi, PECO and Philadelphia Magazine, what has been billed as "the party of the year" will also include such highlights as breathtaking performances, culinary samplings galore, a charity auction, and a truly magical evening, honoring former governor and mayor Ed Rendell, with co-chairs Tony Forte and Martha McGeary Snider.

There will be a VIP cocktail hour at 5 p. m. before the event. Tickets are $350 for VIP and $250 per person.

For more information, call 215.413.9006, ext. 15.

 

Here's some good news-queer theater is quite alive and well and, indeed, thriving these days in Philadelphia.

Theater lovers pay attention-there are, in fact, several different choices for enjoying a number of evenings sharing the communal theater experience with fellow queers who appreciate live entertainment.

This month is no exception with several options for indulging one's passion for queer theater.

The much-anticipated, award-winning, "The Twentieth-Century Way" written by Tom Jacobson and directed by Karen Case Cook, and starring Philadelphia's own Peter Andrew Danzig and Thomas Raniszewski who also serves as producer, and assistant director writer/producer Don Scime as assistant director, will premiere at Walking Fish Theatre, 2509 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, August 10-20.

The play, based upon a real life episode in Long Beach, California, in 1914, in which the police "entrapped more than 30 homosexuals engaged in illicit acts" relates the story of two actors, hired by the authorities, "to bait gay men in public restrooms and private parties." The production includes explicit scenes incorporating strong sexual situations and nudity and is recommended for mature audiences.

Raniszewski will be bringing the critically-acclaimed two-man play to Philadelphia audiences after a successful run at the New York City 2010 Fringe Festival where it won the Overall Excellence Production.

"The Twentieth-Century Way" was described as "One of the most intelligent and sobering plays in the short history of gay theatre," by "Stage and Cinema," And BroadwayStars.com said that the play garnered "a lot of buzz" during the festival in the Big Apple.

Of Jacobson's play, Danzig told Broadway Stars' Michael Portantiere that it was "the most intense" theatrical piece he'd ever read. He said that it's "full of intricacies and nuances . . . [Jacobson] writes these little secrets . . . and you don't really get them until you delve into the process."+

Danzig's impressive resume includes performances in Shubin Theater's "Just Say Love," Philadelphia Theater Workshop's "Loved Ones," television daytime drama, "One Life to live," and "Romeo and His Juliet," a film to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2012.

Raniszewski pointed out to Portantiere that "The Twentieth-Century Way" is "about the dark side of human nature" and resonates with relevancy today because it shows "how far we would go in betraying someone like us [queers] to save our own hide."

Tickets are $18 per person and also available at Giovanni's Room, 345 South 12^th Street. at Pine, in Center City Philadelphia.

For more information, call 215.427.WALK (9255).

Quince Productions  is presenting a series of four independent queer plays under the umbrella of what they're promoting as Philadelphia's New Gay/Lesbian Theater Festival, August 11-28.

The lineup of four all-Philadelphia premieres will include: "The Last Sunday in June," written by Jonathan Tolins and directed by Josh Hitchens about a group of Greenwich Village hotties; "Devel Boys From Boyhood," written by Buddy Thomas and Kenneth Elliott and directed by Dave Eberole about studs from Pluto; "The Beebo Brinker Chronicles" written by Kate Ryan and Linda S, chapman and directed by Allison Heishman about lesbians living in the 1950's; and "Slipping" written by Daniel Talbot and directed by Rich Rubin about gay teens.

All four productions will be staged at the Subin Theatre, 407 Bainbridge Street, in the South Street/Queen Village area of Philadelphia.

Tickets are available for single performances, and special two and four show passes.

Festival sponsors will include: Artists' House Gallery, Charlie Salon, Tabu, Tria, 12^th St. Gym and Uprinting.com.

For more information, call 215.627.1088.

 

Philadelphia's own iconic drag queen, Ian Morrison aka Brittany Lynn, was recently profiled in "King of Queens" in the cover series, "Faces," along with the likes of Lisa Nutter, the city's first lady and wife of Mayor Michael Nutter, in Philadelphia Weekly (July 20-26). A native son, growing up in Northeast Philly, he didn't play women's dress up or anything like that but was enrolled in the "gifted program" in high school, fulfilled all his graduation requirements early so he had time to pursue a lot of theater classes and choir rehearsals. "My voice didn't change until senior year so I could sing the high notes of Mariah Carey no problem," he recalls. "I can still hit those notes, even with all the cigarettes," he admitted to journalist Michael Alan Goldberg. The 37-year-old multi-talented performer who majored in journalism at Temple hadn't so much planned the drag thing but it seems to have been inevitable. A whim turned into a life-altering experience when he was cast in a stage adaptation of "Rocky Horror Show" called "Dr Frank-n-Furter" staged at the TLA on South Street. "It was my first thing in drag," Morrison admitted, "and it completely changed my life. Everyone there was in their mid-20's (he was only 18 at the time) and so artsy and cool, and they showed me the ropes." The six-foot-two, body of a linebacker, has no problems these days finding gigs in his hometown, Manhattan, Atlantic City and Washington, D. C. Though the club scene has changed, Morrison keeps busy hosting private parties and special events of all kinds, from gay pageants to Mummers shows. He even served as then-Governor Ed Rendell's "date" for a fundraiser at Shampoo Nightclub. "It's pretty amazing how much gay culture is accepted in Philly compared to 20 years ago when I started," concluded Morrison.

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Queer-friendly rugby player Nick Youngquest is what male fantasies are about. Handsome, rugged, tattooed, athletic and with penetrating blue eyes, the professional player for the Australian National Rugby League is also known for dropping his draws for causes (he first posed in the Naked Rugby League calendar in 2006 to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia). In his profile in OUT (August 2011), he admitted enjoying the attention that gay male fans give him. "If they like what they see, it's all good," he said. But with all the notoriety, even controversy about posing in the all-together in DNA, the widespread gay male magazine in Australia, Youngquest didn't become aware of the issues of gay rights and homophobia in sports until he was befriended by out rugby teammate, Gareth Thomas, where they both play for the Wales-based club, the Crusaders Rugby League. While he supports gay marriage and other equality issues facing the queer community, he's adamant that his sport of choice, rugby "is ready for more openly gay players." He claims: "Anyone in our sport who came out would be accepted. The next day would be much like every other day. It wouldn't change that much."

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Why can be said about the tragic death of Grammy Award winning pop superstar Amy Winehouse last week? Of course, it was almost too easy to make fun of her as a person, even as a performer, despite the fact she was incredibly talented, uniquely gifted. One of her more famous song, "Rehab," "mirrored her life in its defiant lyrics," wrote Terence McArdle in The Washington Post (July 24, 2011). The song almost screams for parody a la Saturday Night Live "but the bouncy song, styled after the early Motown sound and the 1960s girl groups, became a hit in 2007," McArdle reminds us. But her struggles with addictions from alcoholism to serious drug abuse in addition to her mishaps with marriage to heroin addict Blake Fielder-Civil who is currently serving prison time for burglary and firearm possession just added more to our watching of a real life train wreck. The British-born singer-songwriter Winehouse musical references and influences were varied and wide ranging, from Frank Sinatra to Donny Hathaway to Ray Charles. She loved blues, jazz, Motown and contemporary talents like Mary J. Blige. McArdle observed: "Her reckless life often called to mind doomed pop stars of earlier generations, including Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain-all of whom also died at 27." Winehouse has left her mark on the history of pop music. In her death, she may reach the status of icon. Only time will tell. But it is more about the music and the voice that Winehouse should be appreciated and remembered. Tributes like Clay Cane in The Root (July 23, 2011) tell it all: "[Winehouse] was praised for her soul, and while we sometimes give white singers the side eye who get that 'soulful' label, [she] deserved it."