Does Spain make the radical and historic Boston Women’s Health Collective’s Our Bodies Ourselves look tame? Granted, this article concerns the recall of this guidebook aimed at 11-18 year olds, but can you see anyone in, say, Texas, even writing a book suggesting that teenage girls massage one another? Oh you complicated Mediterranean Catholic countries…you are such a paradox and a conundrum…
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Though I am not particularly inclined to promote the websites and/or opinions of conservative bloggers, even if they do happen to be gay, quasi-conservative Andrew Sullivan’s blog has some pretty interesting things to say in general, and particularly about gay marriage. Not that these arguments are new, but hey, perhaps it will reach new audiences… I particularly like this last paragraph:
[…] Gay men may not be as nancy, nor lesbians as politically correct as our stereotypes when it comes to TV viewing. This quick little article points out some of our most watched shows and stations. Theyre all over the map from ‘Queer Eye’ to ‘South Park’ to ‘Law & Order’ and the ‘Golden Girls’ (and thats the ladies, not the men!). The stations, too, seem varied but, in general, pretty close to a list of my favs: Comedy Central, the Discovery Channel, HBO. Ah, I love consumable diversity… Because Portland culture seldom separates its queer artist/hipster from its fancifully dandy heteros, you may never know whether the work you’re looking at is from one or other. And it may not matter…But the glossy circles of queer artist and curator (and fellow OLive blogger) TJ Norris certainly resonate the feeling of the industrial spaces of the Pacific Northwest, if not a gay Oregonian caricature. These pieces, titled Nucleo, and described by the artist as both “subliminal and cerebral” would indeed sit well on the walls of any Portland hipster house or restaurant, regardless of orientation. Nucleo is on display at the Chambers Gallery (207 SW Pine) from now until November 26th.    […] I love to make fun of those Axe deodorant commercials where the ladies go crazy because the men smell so good. But ah, pheromones, I can’t say that they’ve never made sense, or never worked in my favor. And yes, I can even sniff out the subtleties of those pesky metrosexuals, such a fixture in our town. And yet, the “science of gaydar” involves not only instinct but observation social construction, of course. I guess it’s not just bar gossip anymore… So, I’m going to blatantly swipe Halloween info from JustOut, because really folks, why research twice? But I’m going to give them lots of love and links and squeal over how excited I am that they finally have (most) of their content now viewable online. And even for those odd tidbits that don’t make it onto the site (like why is there nothing on the Out & About page?) they do offer the entire paper in pdf form. Such is the unfortunate fate of the Halloween Guide, so I shall reproduce much of its content here: Friday, Oct. 28 Miracle Theatre Group’s Day of the Dead Festival celebrates its 11th year with an original work, La Noche Eterna (The Night Eternal), a bilingual folk tale of one espiritulonging for return to the land of the living through the mythical gates of Mictln. Opening night reception catered by La Calaca Comelona. The production continues through Nov. 13. (7:30 pm Thursday, 8 p Friday and Saturday, 2 p Sunday. 525 SE Stark St. $14-$18 from 503-236-7253.) The Portland Shockwave women’s football team presents the first-ever Tackling the Enemy Masquerade Ball at lesbian-owned restaurant/bar Vitis Enoteca. The event will include a variety of performers, from belly dancers to rock bands to R & B singers, followed by raffle prizes and dancing to the sounds of DJ Lauren. Proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. (9:30 p, 535 NW 16th Ave. $10.) Saturday, Oct. 29 C.C. Slaughters throws its 25th annual Halloween Party featuring costume contests, hostess Bolivia Carmichaels and music by DJ Alex Hollywood. (9 p, 219 NW Davis St. $5.) Joq’s presents Halloween strippers featuring the Boo-gie Boys! (9 p, 2512 NE Broadway.) Join the ghouls and goblins in the haunted Tomb for the Egyptian Club’s Halloween Bash. The audience-judged costume contest will begin at the stroke of midnight, with the winner taking home either $100 cash or a portable DVD player with a few horror movies. The clocks will be set back at 2:15 am, so you will have an extra hour for dancing, drinking and playing Lollipop Karaoke for spooky prizes! (9 p, 3701 SE Division St. $5.) Gay-owned Chameleon throws its ninth annual Halloween Costume Party featuring complimentary hors d’oeuvres, go-go dancers, DJ Gino Mari of The Gentry, a special performance by radical drag troupe Sissyboy and other surprises all night long! Invitations are available any evening before the event at the restaurant. (11 p, 2000 NE 40th Ave. $5 with invitation, $10 without.) Sunday, Oct. 30 Stark Raving Theatre presents its second annual Halloween fund-raising party, Horror on Hawthorne, at Sabala’s. Bring your fellow ghouls and join the actors and staff for a night of appetizers, karaoke, casino games and a costume contest for “wicked” prizes. (7 p, 4811 SE Hawthorne Blvd. $12 at the door, $10 in advance from 503-232-7072 or www.starkravingtheatre.org.) Win a $250 cash prize and other giveaways during the Sexiest Halloween Costume Contest at the Rose Citys newest bathhouse, Steam Portland. Come in for a trick or a treator both! (10 p judging. 2885 NE Sandy Blvd.) Monday, Oct. 31 Portland’s punk drag troupe presents The Voluptuous Horror of Sissyboy featuring The Divided, The Cancer Fags and DJs Jimme Jamma, Bitemark and Sitandspin at the Doug Fir Lounge. (9 pm. 830 E Burnside St. $5.) Lesbian-owned Middle Eastern bar Zaytoon screens John Carpenter’s Halloween as part of its October Horror Festival. (9:30 pm. 2236 NE Alberta St.) Plus: Courtesy the Merc, Friday will feature members of Fireballs of Freedom, Team Dresch, and others dressing up as Wipers, Misfits, the Gits, and MC5 cover bands at Liberty Hall (311 N Ivy St). And Halloween itself will burst in at the Nopo seams at the 70s trucker extravaganza that is Sloan’s Tavern (NE Williams and Russell). These folks are gonna be there: Emily Herring 9 p, $5 or so. The bright Pepto pink of pre-operative transexxual Bree’s world, set against a grainy video, is a stark and somewhat unsettling intro to the journey of director Duncan Tucker’s Transamerica. Felicity Huffman’s tremulous gender presentation is amazingly convincing as the timid and conservative Bree, who is traversing the medical world in the final steps before her surgery. Her therapist, Margaret (Elizabeth Pena), is about to hand over all the necessary forms to the surgeon when she finds out that Bree has just been contacted by the NYPD to bail out a son she never knew she had from, a brief (“tragically lesbian”) heterosexual encounter nearly 20 years before. Before Margaret will consent to the procedure Bree must meet her son, Toby (Kevin Zegers), and explore that portion of her past. As each sits, guarded, next to each other over the miles truths emerge throughout the length of both the road and the film. Transamerica is full of silly quips, such as Toby’s queer reading of Lord of the Rings, his misuse of the word degradable when he means degrading, or Brees sister Sydney exclamation that Bree seems the same as always but “…put through a strainer that got rid of all the boy pulp.” At first I the placement and effectiveness of these one-liners felt unsteady. But the juxtaposition of humor with serious themes involving abuse, identity, drugs and survival, make these situations not only more bearable but more real. Both Toby and Bree lead lives that can be difficult, uncomfortable and at times downright dangerous, but they live them with, if not joy, at least occasional moments of smiles and happiness. Tucker manages to paint a portrait of 2 individuals, a family, who are funny and real without being melodramatically tragic. In this almost anti-filmic way, Transamerica feels decidedly un-epic for a movie that deals with such intense subject matter. It is this very concept, however, brings the film closer to the audience, as if this is, indeed, our America. Transamerica winds down along this same path, with an uneasy happy ending that makes no promises, and yet does not embrace the quintessential death or destruction patterns that have historically plagued movies about transgendered people or complicated families. Transamerica is a refreshing step into the life of a transsexual parent, and out of the trap of contemporary independent cinematic rules. Transamerica shows tonight at 7p at Cinema 21 as part of the Portland Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
On Friday put the Gamblers Anonymous meeting on hold to challenge BRO’s Roy Thorpe to a showdown at Texas Holdem. Its always good to loose your shirt to a good cause. It’s at the Hotel Vintage Plaza (422 SW Broadway) from 7-11p. Pre-registration required. Also, the Portland Gay and Lesbian Film Festival marches on. Be on the lookout tomorrow for a review of Transamerica. While the website could use some lessons in navigation and what not, I’m pretty excited about the concept of GBLT friendly Tango lessons. I was roped into some square dancing not too long ago and did become quite confused, as I continually forgot I was the female partner. But I think it should be simpler as there doesnt seem to be partner switching in Tango. Or maybe they use color coding, or shirts and skins like sports teams. One can only wish. The other link today focuses on succinct and punchy Portland Theater reviews of followspot. While the reviews are not centered only on queer performance, Mr./Ms. followspot emailed me personally, attaching a queer label to the blog, and it’s a great resource, especially for those of us with short attention spans. According to PlanetOut, li’l ol’ P-town ranks fourth in lezzie living, behind NYC, LA, SanFran. It beats out the unlikely fifth, Phoenix. And while I am happy to be named by the gay megalith I must disagree on the complete list. Los Angeles, while it seemed promising in so many ways, was really a girly wasteland when I lived there. Granted, this was a few years ago and it could have seemed this way more because anything that the ladies ventured to was 1-2 hours away from, well, anything really. This is the nature of LA, but it does make bar hopping difficult when one dyke punk show is in North Hollywood and the dance club is in Long Beach. The only lesbian anything that existed in LA proper (if there is such a thing) was this caf that was continually closing and re-opening. Then again, this was in the days before The L Word, so perhaps the population has boomed. Keep in mind though, Los Angeles lesbians are still Angelinos, so I wouldnt pack by bags just yet. I must say, also, that despite the lack of a truly alluring nightlife, Northampton, Massachusetts really should continually make this list. Though Noho may not cater to the 20-something, party lifestyle, there are two groups which it serves oh-so-well. Smith College provides baby dyke college kids with more than enough lesbian culture. So much that it can be overwhelming. So much that no one goes to the campus LBTA because it is almost a given. These ladies then move away to NYC for said 20s and return to the sleepy New England town (if theyre still gay that is) to get married (now literally!) and raise babies that they can put in private school. PlanetOut seemed to get a few things right but it does beg a revision. Although having lived in both LA and Northampton, I remain proud to call PDX home. And I wouldnt trade it, although SF and NYC might be fun with a hefty wallet. At first I was disappointed that PlanetOut didnt catch some of our more underground queer spots but, after all, this was a lesbian list, not a queer one. And as a Portlander, I can be possessive. Its not such a bad thing to keep our favorites to ourselves is it? |
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Thursday, Oct. 27
Andaz (Portlands longest-running monthly dance party dedicated to new music) presents Bollywood Horror III hosted by DJs Anjali and The Incredible Kid at Fez Ballroom. Cash and prizes for best costumes! (9 p-3 a, 316 SW 11th Ave. $10 with costume.)
When Bree finds Toby he is living as a hustler in New York and Bree figures that it must be her duty, and that it will be enough, to return him to his step-father in Kentucky. Under the false pretense that she is a Christian missionary who is taking him back to Los Angeles with her so that he can pursue a career in the adult film industry, the 2 embark on a cross-country road trip in a dilapidated station wagon. 
Couple things to book up your hump day include