Month: April 2022

In Conversation with KyivPride

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Ukraine Kyiv Pride Protest

What LGBTQ+ people need to know right now about the Russian invasion of Ukraine
By Ellen Shanna Knoppow

Right now, in Ukraine, transgender people are forced to go without their prescribed hormones. “Pharmacies are out of stock of pretty much everything,” said Lenny Emson, executive director of KyivPride, a non-governmental organization in Ukraine’s capital city.

Emson is bigender and uses she/he and him/his pronouns. On Saturday, March 6, day 10 of the Russian invasion, this reporter spoke with Emson via Zoom. For security reasons, Emson did not disclose his location. “I’m in a safe place,” s_he said.

The following interview has been condensed and edited.

What do LGBTQ+ people in Ukraine fear most about the Russian invasion?

First of all, we are in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, so we feel about [the] Russian invasion that it never should happen, and we will fight to the last drop of our blood. We will not ever live under Russian laws. We will never obey Russia. We will never be occupied and live as Russians do, without human rights, without any rights, and standing on [our] knees, literally.

Conditions for LGBTQ+ people in Russia are much harsher than in Ukraine. Do you see that as a coming threat right now?

I think it’s not right for us. It’s a big threat that they will really introduce some repressions towards LGBTQI people and human rights activists. That is our fear.

For now, as LGBTQI activists, we’re not thinking of “What are we going to do when Russia is going to occupy us?” Our line of thinking is different: What can we do to prevent this from happening? So our work is kind of divided in two directions. One is to evacuate the most vulnerable population. We evacuate trans people, we have evacuated people with children from [the] LGBTQI community. And those who can fight, those who can be in territorial defense or in the Army, they join…and they fight. I know, personally, trans people who are joining the military to fight against Russia, and queer people now who are joining territorial defense units to help. I just want the world to understand that LGBT people in Ukraine [are] joining the fight. We’re not running from Russia.

How can we help? There is a post on the KyivPride Facebook page with a list of organizations providing direct aid.

I would be very grateful if you could spread it and you can spread the word. These organizations right now, they are concentrating their efforts in different parts of Ukraine. So KyivPride, we work nationally. We help all people all over Ukraine. We help people with money for food and relocation, and we have transportation means organized by different organizations. [See links to additional organizations below.]

What are the conditions like for LGBTQ+ people in Ukraine right now? For example, I understand transgender people are finding that hormones are impossible to come by.

Pharmacies are out of stock of pretty much everything. We are working with our partners from abroad, and we are trying to get some medications from there and to get them to Kyiv and to other cities where people need them. It’s kind of at the very beginning; this happened within a week.

What would you like LGBTQ+ people outside Ukraine to know about the LGBTQ+ community there?

We would like you to know that we have like 30 years of fight for LGBTQ rights behind our backs. We’re fighting for these rights and freedoms for [the] LGBTQI community, and we’re not going to just let it go. Last year, in 2021, KyivPride gathered 7,000 people on the streets of Kyiv. We were marching together for LGBTQI rights, for human rights. So unlike Russia, we are really big and we really value our freedom. We are very different from Russia, and we are not going to obey Russian laws and Russian oppression towards human rights, [like] we see right now happening in Russia for the last many, many years.

Many of us here feel helpless. What can individuals do? How can our government help?

How can government help and how can individuals help, this is very much connected, ’cause we would like individuals to go to the government and to ask people that have power to use this power for good.

We need our sky closed. “Close the sky,” this is a narrative that has been around from the very beginning of the war. So “close the sky ” is literally to ban all [Russian forces] from flying above the Ukrainian territory. That means that Russia would stop bombing. And this is what we need right now…because we need to live. In order to fight for human rights, we need to be alive. This is number one. That’s why “close the sky” is a very broad LGBT demand to the American government. We need to be alive in order to be LGBT and be a community.

As well, we’re asking all individuals not only just to donate to us…but be on our side. When you go on social media, and when you see posts in support of Russian propaganda, for example, posts denying that there is a war in Ukraine, posts denying that people are dying, posts supporting Putin or supporting Russia, please report. Please complain. There must be no place for Russian propaganda in social media; there must be no place for Russian lies on the Internet. Please. You can do this. This could be your big input in the fight against Russia.

Any final thoughts? 

It’s hard to say anything because nobody has expected this. I know all the warnings from [the] American government…all these reports from the intelligence services…but who could believe this could happen in the 21st century — a ground war, really? Who could believe that this man would go and bomb Ukrainian cities? Who could believe? This is not real. When you look at all this footage from bombed cities, your brain does not want to recognize it as a reality, your brain tries to switch it off. It’s such a big stress to realize that this is happening in real time, so that’s why… no words here. What can we say?

KyivPride is a Ukrainian non-governmental organization that aims at contributing to full respect for human rights for LGBT+ people in Ukraine, at encouraging an appreciation for these rights by raising LGBT+ visibility and participation in social processes. In addition to its activities throughout the year, KyivPride organizes an annual event called the KyivPride-week. KyivPride accepts donations via 24 Pay, Google Pay and credit card. 

Air Force Offers to Relocate Families Impacted by Anti-Trans Legislation

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Air Force Transgender Families

Various laws and legislation are being proposed and passed in states across America that may affect LGBTQ Airmen, Guardians, and/or their LGBTQ dependents in different ways.
 
The Department of the Air Force has assignment, medical, legal and other resources available to support Airmen, Guardians and their families.
 
“The health, care and resilience of our DAF personnel and their families is not just our top priority – it’s essential to our ability to accomplish the mission,” said Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones. “We are closely tracking state laws and legislation to ensure we prepare for and mitigate effects to our Airmen, Guardians and their families. Medical, legal resources, and various assistance are available for those who need them.”
 
If service members or their families need help with screening, treatment, or mental health support for medical concerns, they should start with DAF medical treatment facilities, according to DAF officials. The MTFs can also assist with navigating challenging life circumstances.
 
The Exceptional Family Member Program is another resource available for all active component Airmen and Guardians to assist families with special needs during the PCS process to include navigating medical, legal, and educational support for dependents during relocation.
 
“As is the case with all of our family members, if the support a family member needs becomes unavailable, commanders can work to get the service member to an assignment where their loved ones can receive the care they need,” Jones added.
 
Installation legal offices are another free source of information for personnel who need assistance navigating new and existing local laws. While installation legal personnel cannot represent Airmen, Guardians or their families in court, they can provide vital advice and counsel.
 
Service members and their families can also seek additional support through their local Airman and Family Readiness Center, the Military and Family Life Counseling Program, or Military OneSource, which can be contacted 24/7 at 800-342-9647.

Equality Caucus Welcomes Jordan Dashow as New Executive Director

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Jordan Dashow

Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus Chair David N. Cicilline (RI-01) and the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus have announced Jordan Dashow as its new Executive Director. Dashow brings to this role a wealth of knowledge on the legislative process and a proven track record of advancing LGBTQ+ rights. As Executive Director, Dashow will help steer the Caucus’s work promoting LGBTQ+ equality, supporting members of Congress, and coordinating outreach to outside organizations.

Dashow most recently served as a professional staff member for the House Committee on the Judiciary where he worked on a range of topics including LGBTQ+ rights and equality, disability rights, voting rights, reproductive rights, racial justice, unlawful evictions, campaign finance, and church-state issues. Dashow worked closely with Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) on the successful committee consideration of the Equality Act in both the 116th and 117th Congresses. Before his tenure with the House Judiciary Committee, Dashow worked for multiple years in advocacy at the Human Rights Campaign as a Policy Assistant, Policy Coordinator, and Federal Policy Manager.

“I am excited to welcome Jordan Dashow as the next Executive Director of the Equality Caucus. I have had the pleasure of working with Jordan in his previous role with the House Judiciary Committee where he was instrumental in the successful House passage of the Equality Act in both the 116th and 117th Congresses. Jordan’s experience both on the Hill and in advocacy make him the perfect fit to guide the Equality Caucus as we confront the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation from conservative state legislatures across the country. I am looking forward to working with him in this new role to advance LGBTQ+ equality here in the United States and abroad,” said Congressman David N. Cicilline, Chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.

“I also want to acknowledge our outgoing Executive Director, Shawn Gaylord, for his dedicated service to the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus over the last 3 years. We thank Shawn for bringing his expertise on LGBTQ+ issues and advocacy to the Hill while navigating the Caucus through the peak of the COVID pandemic. With Shawn’s leadership, we welcomed the largest-ever class of membership and advanced some of the most pro-LGBTQ+ legislation in history, including the Pulse Nightclub Memorial Bill, which was signed into law by President Biden last year. We wish him all the best in his new role off the Hill.”

Founded in 2008, the mission of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus is to promote equality for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Caucus, which is led by the nine openly LGBTQ+ members of the House of Representatives, is strongly committed to achieving the full enjoyment of human rights for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. and around the world.

San Francisco Hosts Largest Display of AIDS Memorial Quilt in a Decade

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AIDS Memorial Quilt

The National AIDS Memorial will mark the 35th anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt with an historic outdoor display in Golden Gate Park that will feature nearly 3,000 hand-stitched panels of the Quilt.

The free public event will take place on June 11 & 12 from 10 am – 5 pm each day in Robin Williams Meadow and in the National AIDS Memorial Grove. Expected to draw thousands of people, the display will be the largest display of the Quilt in over a decade and the largest-ever in San Francisco history.

“This year’s historic community display will be a beautiful celebration of life and a recognition of the power of the Quilt today as a teaching tool for health and social justice,” said National AIDS Memorial CEO John Cunningham. “The Quilt is an important reminder that the HIV/AIDS crisis is still not over and there is much work to be done, particularly in communities of color, where HIV is on the rise in many parts of the country.” 

The two-day 35th Anniversary event, presented by Gilead Sciences, will feature 350 12’x12′ blocks of the Quilt laid out on the ground, each consisting of eight 3’x 6′ individually sewn panels that honor and remember the names and stories of loved ones lost to AIDS. Visitors will be able to walk through the display to experience each panel, remember the names, and see first-hand the stories sewn into each of them. Featured Quilt blocks will include many of the original panels made during the darkest days of the pandemic and panels made in recent years, a solemn reminder that the AIDS crisis is still not over.

“The Quilt remains an important symbol of hope, activism and remembrance that reaches millions of people each year, opening hearts and minds,” said Alex Kalomparis, Senior Vice President, Gilead Sciences, a long-time partner of the Quilt and its programs. The company provided a $2.4 million grant to the National AIDS Memorial in 2019 to relocate the Quilt from Atlanta back to San Francisco. “Through community displays such as this, the Quilt is connecting the story of HIV/AIDS to the issues faced by many people today, touching their lives in a very personal, compelling way.”

An opening ceremony and traditional Quilt unfolding will start at 9:30 am on the 11th, followed by the continuous reading of names of lives lost to AIDS aloud by volunteers, dignitaries, and the public on both days. There will be panel-making workshops, community information booths, stories behind the Quilt, displays of memorabilia, and the ability for the public to share their personal Quilt stories. Volunteer opportunities and community/corporate partnerships are available. The public is also invited to bring new panels that can be displayed in a special area to become part of the Quilt.  

More than 100 new panels will be seen for the first time at the San Francisco display. Many of them were made through the Memorial’s Call My Name panel-making program, which helps raise greater awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS in communities of color, particularly in the South, where HIV rates are on the rise today. Panel-making workshops are organized around the country, working with church groups, quilting guilds and AIDS service organizations to continue the Quilt’s 35-year legacy of bringing people together and to serve as a catalyst for education and action by pulling the thread from then to now for justice. 

“The AIDS Quilt has always been an important part of Glide Memorial Church and many Black churches around the country. Throughout the years, we have made panels and displayed them from the pulpit as a backdrop to worship, with parishioners calling, singing, and preaching their names,” said Marvin White, Minister of Celebration at Glide. “We are honored to be a community partner of this historic display, to celebrate their lives and to share their stories so future generations always remember.” 

According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, while new HIV infections in the U.S. fell about 8% from 2015 to 2019, Black and Latino communities — particularly gay and bisexual men within those groups — continue to be disproportionately affected. In 2019, 26% of new HIV infections were among Black gay and bisexual men, 23% among Latino gay and bisexual men, and 45% among gay and bisexual men under the age of 35. African American and Hispanics/Latinos account for the largest increases in new HIV diagnoses, 42% and 27% respectively. Disparities also persist among women. Black women’s HIV infection rate is 11 times that of white women and four times that of Latina women. Racism, HIV stigma, homophobia, poverty, and barriers to health care continue to drive these disparities.

The first panels of the Quilt were created in June of 1987 when a group of strangers, led by gay rights activist Cleve Jones, gathered in a San Francisco storefront to document the lives they feared history would forget. This meeting of devoted friends, lovers and activists would serve as the foundation for The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.  Each panel made was the size of a human grave and they saw the Quilt as an activist tool to push the government into taking action to end the epidemic.

“What started as a protest to demand action turned into a national movement that served as a wake-up call to the nation that thousands upon thousands of people were dying,” said Jones.  “Today, the Quilt is just as relevant and even more important, particularly in the wake of Covid-19, and the fact that the struggles we face today that result from health and social inequities are the issues we will face again in the future if we don’t learn from the lessons of the past.”

That year, the nearly 2,000 panels of the Quilt traveled to Washington, D.C. for its first display on the National Mall.  It then traveled to several cities, including a large display at the Moscone Center in San Francisco to raise funds for AIDS service organizations.

Today, the Quilt, considered the largest community arts project in the world, is under the stewardship of the National AIDS Memorial and has surpassed 50,000 individually sewn panels with more than 110,000 names stitched into its 54 tons of fabric. The Quilt continues to connect the history of the AIDS pandemic to the ongoing fight against stigma and prejudice through hundreds of community displays around the country and educational programs that reach millions of people each year. In 2021, an outdoor Quilt display system was constructed in the National AIDS Memorial Grove, located in Golden Gate Park, which allows for regular outdoor displays.

“Golden Gate Park has long been a place where history is made and where people come together for change, to heal and express themselves,” said Phil Ginsburg, general manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. “The National AIDS Memorial is an important part of that history, and we are honored to be part of this event that will bring thousands of people to our beloved park to honor a national treasure.”

A special web page at www.aidsmemorial.org has been created for the public to plan their visit to see the display that will be updated regularly with the latest details and information about this historic event.

SOURCE The National AIDS Memorial

Patti Harrison on being trans in Hollywood

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Patti Harrison

The Lost City of P
Patti Harrison on being trans in Hollywood, her social media woes and Bowen Yang
By Chris Azzopardi

There still aren’t enough trans actors in Hollywood, but at least there’s Patti Harrison. Harrison is currently starring in the big blockbuster rom-com caper “The Lost City,” alongside Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, as the social media manager of Bullock’s character, Loretta Sage, a romance-adventure novelist. In the movie, Harrison’s Allison thinks that to help Loretta appeal to a younger demo, it’s just a matter of hashtagging Shawn Mendes’ name at the end of every tweet. 

As for Harrison, her name rose to even greater prominence in 2021 when she voiced Chief of Tale in “Raya and the Dragon,” giving her the distinction of being the first openly trans actor to lend their voice to a Disney film. Last year, she also starred in “Together Together,” a moving comedy about a single man (Ed Helms) and his surrogate, played by Harrison, that premiered at Sundance. But “The Lost City” could really take her career to the next level given it’s a major studio film with major star power, which can only bring more attention to Harrison’s signature brand of comedy.

Harrison’s wry deadpanning was first introduced on primetime TV, when, in 2017 on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” the actor-comedian made wisecracks about then-President Donald Trump’s ban on trans people in the military. Harrison, who was born in Ohio and whose father is from Detroit, starred in a recurring role on Hulu’s “Shrill” in 2020, along with smaller roles in “Bob’s Burgers,” “Broad City” and “Search Party.” 

During a recent Zoom interview with the actor, Harrison joked about what the movie might have been about when its working title was “The Lost City of D,” chimed in on her own interest in reading romance novels (and reading, period), and discussed how she feels about the “overcorrection” of queer people on TV. 

When you got the script for this movie, originally titled “The Lost City of D,” what exactly did you think the D stood for?

To be honest, I thought it stood for dick. Or dong. Maybe dildo. Probably less likely [it would be] dildo. Well, I guess it would be _dildos_, ’cause then it would be “The Lost City of the D.” So I think “Lost City of Dildos,” if it’s pluralized, is better.

I appreciate that the movie, even now that it’s called simply “The Lost City,” did still lean into the D, as there’s a couple dick jokes in it.

Well, there’s a lot of cut scenes with a ton of dildos.

And those are all with just you, or you and Channing?

Well, there was one with me [that] got cut from the movie, but my character was a master in combat with, like, tonfas. But then there weren’t tonfas available, so she wields dildos. And it’s really a lot of work. I took about four months of martial arts classes to learn how to use tonfas correctly and they cut it. Because of dildos.

That’s a shame. Our society is just not ready for something as brave as that.

Doesn’t that suck?

That movie will exist 20 years from now when we’ve made even more progress than we already have.

And Elle Fanning’s granddaughter is doing flips and throwing dildos, and they’re, like, going through people’s heads.

I love that Elle Fanning is your go-to. 

Oh yeah. She’s always in my mind.

I don’t know how we’re going to be serious now, but I do want to ask if you read any romance novels, queer or not, when you were growing up?

Not at all. I never read a lot, and I never really read outside of what was required of me for school. I don’t think I really… I’m learning. I used to feel really guilty about not reading books, specifically. I think there’s a culture around shaming people who don’t read books. I just don’t absorb information that way. A lot of the stories that I absorb are visual. So I love movies, video games and TV. Maybe that makes me stupid, but I watched a lot of romantic movies and TV shows. But as far as novels go, I think I remember reading “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” in school. I think that is, like, a rapey book. It opens with a sexual assault. That’s probably the only book that comes to mind, actually.

And then no more books for you after that. You just stopped reading.

What if the only book I’ve ever read was “Tess of the d’Urbervilles”? That’s the one book. I should be studied by science if that were the case.

What if there was a romance novel based on your life? What might it be called? And who would be your cover model for it?

Well, I did get asked this question earlier today, but I think it’s probably for a publication that wouldn’t use [my answer] and wouldn’t care what I said. Because my answer when asked what the title of my romance novel would be [was], “Oh, Is There Poop?” And I don’t think I would be on the cover of it, right? It would be my mom and my fourth grade teacher, who’s my mentor. And they’re just kind of doing a thumbs up through a foggy window. They’re standing outside of a window. And then you see the crest of someone’s butt.

That’s beautiful, actually.

There would be more explained in the book. I promise.

While you were making this movie, playing a social media manager, did it hit you how ironic it is that in real life you might not cut it as a social media manager since you were banned from Twitter? 

I definitely think there’s some irony there. I, every day, am waiting for my Instagram account to be deleted against my will. Probably for the best. But now Instagram’s terms and conditions have changed and they, like, auto go through and will flag photos. Maybe once a week, I get a new photo flagged. And it’s always a post from, like, 2013. And it’ll be a photo of me being like, “I love this bitch,” and it’ll be me and my friend. And then it’ll be flagged for bullying and harassment, ’cause I called my friend a bitch. And I was like, “Well, that’s my whole Instagram page, me being like, ‘Love this stupid, ugly fucking slut.’” I guess if that’s bullying and harassment, then I’m not fated for Instagram anymore.

I think social media has had a big part in my career success, which has been great. I also think social media has evolved. So the version of it we have now is mainly a shopping platform. So I don’t think social media is intrinsically bad, but I think we’ve made it bad ’cause it’s corporatized. But I don’t remember exactly why Adam [Nee, who co-directed and co-wrote the screenplay], Aaron [Nee, Adam’s brother, who co-directed) or Sandy [Bullock] said they specifically wanted me for the part other than they saw me and thought I was funny. In other things I’ve been cast in, it’s usually ’cause of stupid videos or something I made on Instagram.

Or maybe it was “Together Together,” which was one of my favorite movies of last year. How major did it feel to be part of a film where you, a trans actress, is playing a surrogate? There was a lot of conversation around that and how I’m not even sure that that’s ever happened before in a movie. It all felt pretty groundbreakingly important casting-wise. 

Yeah. I mean, I think I definitely thought about what that meant and the optics of it. I had so many conversations with [writer-director] Nikole [Beckwith] about if it was stunt casting or whatever. But it really did feel like something I just never thought I was going to get to do, and I tried not to overload it in playing the role, like bring too much of that into it. 

I think what was really nice is that Nikole was so present in making sure I felt prepared and knew what was going on in each scene, like where my character was in her pregnancy. I think it helped me get out of my head and not think about the politics of what it means. You know, my whole thing when we were filming was, “Oh my gosh. Are people going to be staring at my Adam’s apple? Is this something that I’m going to deal with? A level of TERF scrutiny or something that would be really emotionally painful to endure?” But, ultimately, it’s been an incredible gift in my life. The only thing that I’ll ever earnestly talk about is that movie because it just felt so special. 

As a queer person, I try not to overthink the optics. But oftentimes, it’s hard for me not to, just because I’m always looking for us to be represented and be visible. 

Yeah. Speaking of social media, I feel like there is an overcorrection or overemphasis with development and TV, like stumbling over themselves to be inclusive in a way that I think can sometimes be minimizing to the creator or the artist or writer, whoever’s trying to make a project, if that person is marginalized in any way.

And if that marginalization is queer, then in an ideal world, that person could just make whatever they want. I think what’s stressful about it is that people who aren’t queer, who aren’t marginalized, and who are in these gatekeeping positions, are trying to figure out a way to capitalize on queerness or the more mainstream interest in it and it can feel very minimizing when the only stories they want to tell or they want to see from you as a queer person is stuff about being queer. It’s like, my sense of humor as a comedian has really been not about that, but it has kind of pivoted into that. I’m approached about being trans so much that it’s made me a little resentful. I’m like, “Oh, I see comedians who are peripheral to me who aren’t queer, and they can make a TV show about whatever they want.” But when I take a meeting, it’s like, they don’t want to hear my idea about, you know, Elle Fanning with dildos. They want to hear about a biopic about me coming out to my mom and her struggling with it.

On that note, it’s nice to see you and Bowen Yang in “The Lost City,” where you can both just be funny. 

Yeah. Bowen shot the last week I was there pretty much, and it was the perfect little ending to the trip. We had, like, golf carts where we were staying. It was so much fun. I wish he would have been there the whole time. It made me want to work with him on something.

On the poop book or the dildo movie? 

Yeah. Where we have unsimulated sex. A lot of penetration, me and Bowen. Really close friends just, like, really screwing for art. That’s representation.

Chris Azzopardi is the Editorial Director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate, the national LGBTQ+ wire service. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.