From a letter to the Chicago Sun-Times ( 1/12 ) , Margaret M. Sampson calls for a boycott of the Grammys because of singer ( sic ) Eminem's nomination. She says " ... imagine a 12-year-old-boy trying to deal with the fact that he might be gay while trying to fit in with friends and embracing lyrics that remind him that if someone finds out, he may be slashed, have his hands cut off ... ." Surely there are enough lesbigay people in the music industry to raise a bigger stink than the feeble protests so far produced regarding what Mr. Sampson writes of. Are there no groups associated with the Grammys who would do like Reform Jewish leaders are doing vis-a-vis the Boy Scouts of America ( New York Times 1/10 ) and urging their followers to end their sponsorship of Scout troops? The Reform movement represents about 1000 congregations. The tactic described here might be described as taking a moral issue and translating it into economic terms. ( "It's still the economy, stupid" ) Gays did, and are doing it, to Dr. Laura's sponsors, are beginning to do it to the Boy Scouts sponsors. Now do it to the Grammys' sponsors.
From the editorial page of The New York Times ( 1/6 ) an essay about growing old and gay in America. Ruth Ellis, 101, of Detroit, recently died and was the most out older lesbian in the USA. The essay points out that the approximately 7,000 100-year-old gays in that group grew up before the American gay-rights movement began to free people. The essay mentions many ( now ) elderly gay pioneers. Harry Hay, Phyllis Lyon, Del Martin, Dr. Franklin Kameny, John Burnside, and makes a case for gay retirement communities.
From the one-picture-is-worth-1,000-words department: from an article ( New York Times 1/5 ) about permanent collections of art museums and what is often stored and not shown, this description, but no illustration, from the Whitney Museum: "... truly coming out of left field is Martin Wong's "Big Heat ( 1988 ) , a rhapsodic painting of two firemen kissing under a gilded city sky."
A new one-man show, reports The New York Times ( 1/12 ) , and the subject barely dead: Bette Bourne, a self-described member of the drag troupe Bloolips, is doing "Resident Alien" author Tim Fountain's play about Quentin Crisp. Crisp might've ben amused: an effeminate wit who had not much use for the butcher parts of the gay community ( tho he never would've bluntly said so ) , who had been mistaken for a woman at times ( but not because he wanted to be ) , is now being played by a drag queen ( which Crisp never did ) . Crisp was a perfectly delightful, totally respectful, totally out, perfectly selfish ( he and Ayn Rand had remarkably similar views, tho' stated differently ) human being. If you never saw him live, go see the show when it comes here. Truly a sui generi's life.
Speaking of crossing sexual boundaries, The New York Times ( 1/12 ) in an article about lesbian Marjorie Garber, a tenured dean at Harvard, mentions her articles, books, and lectures about culture/sexual/cross-dressing matters. She's written Vested Interests: Cross-Dressing and Cultural Anxiety, and Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Every-Day Life. ( The last is a "gossipy" account of famous people who've moved back and forth between hereto- and homo-sexuality ) . She has an outspoken critic in ex-lover Camille Paglia.
Gay-rights groups are joining with other groups to oppose John Ashcroft as Attorney General with good reason. According to The New York Times ( 1/9 ) , Ashcroft has made his opinions on gay behavior well known: he says he agrees with the Bible, which states homosexuality is a sin, supported the Defense of Marriage Act ( to deny federal benefits to married gays ) while in the Senate, and blocked ( with Jesse Helms ) James Hormel's ambassadorship to Luxembourg ( because Hormel was gay ) . To turn Ashcroft's words against him, he was quoted ( re Hormel ) : "his conduct and the way in which he would represent the United States is probably not up to the standard I would expect." One hopes the senators who vote to confirm Ashcroft—or not—say the same thing.
Sukie's Hot Pick
of the Week
by Sukie de la Croix
Back in England I co-wrote, with Diesel Balaam, a book of short stories called Black Confetti: New Fairy Tales for an Old Country, which was exactly what the title implies: New fairy tales. It was while researching the origins of the stories by the brothers Grimm—and they are GRIM!—and also Hans Christian Anderson ( Suspected of being a fairy himself ) , that I became fascinated by how sexually perverse the old fairy tales were. In the 9th century Chinese version of Cinderella she was having an incestuous relationship with her father—Disney left that part out. For the true fairy tales I recommend the works of Angela Carter, Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods, and my hot pick this week: White As Snow by Tanith Lee, a dark re-telling of the Snow White story.
Internet Sites of the Week
by Andrew Davis
While channel-surfing during the recent holidays, I discovered that some things never change. For example, it's nice to know that over the past 20 years soaps still have the same props: snarling villains, high camp ( What's up with that talking doll, anyway? ) , and Susan Lucci on All My Children. Fortunately, there are also beautiful men everywhere. Exhibit A is hunky Irish actor Thorsten Kaye, who currently stars in Port Charles. When checking him out on www.thorstenkaye.com, you'll either read his impressive career credentials or look at his impressive physical credentials. Exhibit B is David Fumero ( <geocities.com/Hollywood/ Agency/1870/index.html> geocities.com/Hollywood/Agency/1870/index.html, www.bossmodels.com/davidfumero.html ) , a Cuban-born former Boss model who plays Christian on One Life to Live. ( I tell you, I had some very un-Christian thoughts the first time I saw this guy.
I'm at turn_it_up@hotmail.com .
