THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

From the "We're-Everywhere" file, The New York Times ( Sept. 20 ) tells of Sunil Babu Pant, who is the first and, so far, only openly gay member of Nepal's new Constituent Assembly. Mr. Pant has a bit of a job to do in his chosen career of opening up his very conservative society to homosexuality. He refers to gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and the trans community as the "third gender." The other legislators are, so far, listening to him and his group, the Blue Diamond Society, peaceably. Nepal's politics are in a flux, but we hope Pant and his Blue Diamonds land right-side up and legal.

From the "WHERE-Are-We-Going-to-Allow-It-And-By-WHOM?" file, the Chicago Tribune ( Aug. 31 ) recounts the musings of California lawyers and prison officials to get the state prisons to comply with the state's new same-sex marriage rules. Before you envision state-sponsored inmate wedding orgies, these folks have outfoxed you and the prisoners. Yes, they can be married but only to outsiders. ( Yes, conjugal visits would be OK. ) Marrying two inside inmates involves too much possible coercion and/or blackmail—and too much fighting about who gets the big ol' dress.

From the "OK-It's-Not-Gay-But ..." file, The New York Times ( Sept. 9 ) reviews the new opera "The Fly"—made from, yes, the sci-fi book/movie about a Star Trek-like transporter in which a man becomes crossed with a fly. Why do we want to see this work, with what the reviewer says is unfortunate music? Because star Daniel Okulitch appears: 1 ) naked and 2 ) is a hunk—at least until he wanders over that eensy-teensy genetic divide. And perhaps we'd be interested in Mr. Okulitch's entrance in Act II on wires: "He enters his studio upside down, crawling along a ceiling crossbeam and then slithering head-first down a metal column, singing all the while. This is something voice students are not prepared for in conservatory training." Indeed.

From the "Ricky-Martin's-Trend?" file, The New York Times ( Sept. 7 ) informs us that the latest population group to trot over the horizon is the single adoptive father. Most of these men are gay—tho' not all—and they all feel their biological clocks ticking. The law of unintended consequences comes into play, too: Feminism has won. Sociologists say that " ...it should come as no surprise that more men are choosing to be a parent alone. They come from the generations ... who grew up believing in gender equality." The next group to appear will no doubt be multiple-birth babies fathered by the gay brother of a lesbian on her lesbian partner. Got that?