The Pridelets Files for June 22-30

June 22

On this day in 1966, The Chicago Daily News reports that police are
arresting 150 homosexuals a month, most of them for "tearoom" sex.

June 23

On this day in 1923, Daily Variety reports that the proprietor Eve's Tea
Room in Greenwich Village is selling (gasp) 'dirty' books : "Eve's Tea Room
Boss Ran Into Policewoman: Result Arrest on Two Charges -- Had Immoral Book
Called 'Lesbian Love.'" She'll be sentenced to one year in prison and
deportation.

June 24

On this day in 1973, arson injures twelve and kills twenty-nine members of
Metropolitan Community Church New Orleans, including their pastor, who are
celebrating gay pride at The UpStairs bar.

June 25

On this day in 1998, in the case of Bragdon Vs. Abbot, the US Supreme Court
rules that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects those who are HIV
positive, regardless of exhibiting any symptoms. The case was filed after a
dentist refused to fill a cavity of an HIV+ woman in his office, though he
would perform the treatment at a local hospital. It's viewed as a victory
for the Justice Department and its view that HIV infection and "full blown"
AIDS are equal under discrimination law.

June 26

On this day in 2005, author Terry McMillan reveals she's divorcing the man
who inspired her book "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" for having "fooled"
her for six years with his homosexuality.

June 27

On this day in 1969, Dorothy goes home as Judy Garland is laid to rest at
Ferncliff Mausoleum in Westchester, New York. Later that evening, nine
plainclothes policeman enter the Stonewall Inn at 53 Christopher Street
intending to shut down the bar for operating without a liquor license. They
arrest a bartender, doorman, and three transvestites and then try to leave.
The key word here being "try." An angered crowd begins throwing bricks,
bottles and even coins at the officers who retreat into the Stonewall. The
mob breaks down the door, screaming "PIGS!" and "FAGGOT COPS!" One terrified
officer tells them "We'll shoot the first motherf---er that comes through."
Protesters then try and set the bar ablaze, while the cops bash one
protester in the head a dozen times. Things finally calm down after about
forty-five minutes, but the gay rights movement will never be the same.

June 28

On this day in 1935, Germany's anti-gay Paragraph 175 is new and improved:
the blasted sodomites will henceforth now no longer be allowed to kiss,
offer lewd glances, or have fantasies. (Certainly not about german
officials, at any rate.)

June 29

On this day in 1973, Stephen Donaldson founds "The Committee of Friends of
Bisexuality," America's first bisexual religious organization, in Ithaca,
New York.

June 30

On this day in 1979, gay pride goes awry in Cincinnati Ohio as the
celebration at a public pool turns violent. Three dozen gays and lesbians
had reserved the facility, but they're outnumbered by a crowd of local
residents who toss bottles and rocks at the group. While police do show up,
all they do is watch for a few minutes then return to headquarters, refusing
to return and help. Fortunately, a local news crew does pitch in, rescuing
one of the men under attack.

BIRTHGAYS

June 22

* 1910 - English tenor Pete Pears, companion of composer Benjamin Britten

* 1961 - Bronski Beat singer Jimmy Somerville

* 1979 - actor / "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy's" "Culture Vulture" Jai
Rodriguez

* 1910 - Vocalist Peter Pears

June 23

* 1894 - Sexologist Alfred C. Kinsey

* 1894 - Duke of Windsor Edward VIII

* 1912 - British computer scientist and "Enigma" coder Alan M. Turing, who
committed suicide at 43 after his homosexuality got him declared to be "a
security risk."

* 1927 - Choreographer Bob Fosse

* 1961 - Author David Leavitt

June 24

* 1519 - French theologian Theodore Beza

* 1813 - American churchman and reformer Henry Ward Beecher

* 1850 - British Field Marshall "Lord Kitchener" Horatio Herbert, Earl of
Kitchener Khartoum

* 1894 - Prescott Townsend, organizer of the first documented public
discussion of homosexuality

June 25

* 1875 - Irish "The Garden God" author Forrest Reid

* 1935 - Firebrand author, activist, and icon Larry Kramer

* 1963 - singer / controversialist George Michael

* 1942 - Canadian writer Michel Tremblay

June 26

* 1550 - French king Charles IX

* 1869 - Anarchist / feminist / writer / "dancer" Emma Goldman

* 1941 - Virginia Apuzzo -- As an openly gay lesbian delegate to the
Democratic National Convention, Apuzzo co-authored the first gay and lesbian
civil rights plank of a major political party.

* 1970 - Publicly asexual over-actor Sean Hayes

June 27

1926 - Poet, curator and art critic Frank O'Hara

June 28

* 1503 - Poet Monsignor Giovanni della Casa

* 1814 - British hymn-writer and theologian Frederick William Faber

* 1893 - Photographer Florence Henri

* 1940 - Poet Hunce Voelcker

* 1943 - Former San Francisco Forty-Niner, Detroit Lion, Washington Redskin,
New Orleans Saint, and the Green Bay Packer Dave Kopay

June 29

* 1855 - French Journalist, poet and novelist of the Symbolist school, Jean
Lorrain (born Paul Duval)

* 1948 - Austrian fashion designer Prince Eduard Egon von und zu Furstenberg

* 1962 - (Straight) actress Amanda Donohoe, portrayer of "LA Law's" bisexual
C.J. Lamb

June 30

* 1852 - Reginald Brett, Second Viscount Esher, leader of an amazing
bisexual double life in Edwardian England

* 1929 - Swedish textile artist Hans Krondahl

Q.UOTES from Gerard P. Donelan

"Do you think we'll ever be rich enough to have disposable income?"

"Of course I know what a 'date' is ... that's the two or three hours prior
to sex ... right?"

"If your mother refers to me just once as your 'little phase,' I'm outta
here."

"He's got an imagination in the kitchen -- he thinks he can cook."

"Because we're not the same size! And let's face it. Why take a lover it it
won't double your wardrobe?"

"They're straight, but they're very nice people."

"Face it, love. You weren't a raving beauty in the first place, so growing
old isn't doing you any great harm."

"You know I'm faithful to you babe, except on weekends of course."

"I don't like to generalize, but, of course all gays have great taste in
design, fashion, cuisine, and the latest latex toys."

THE BEDSIDE TABLE

"Cast Out : Queer Lives in Theater" by Robin Bernstein

http://tinyurl.com/pakoz

"Cast Out" is a collection of memoirs and interviews by twenty-two leading
performers, playwrights, technicians, producers, critics, educators, and
passionate spectators. "Cast Out" also offers a backstage pass to the
personal and creative lives of some of the most important and influential
theater artists of the past fifty years: Edward Albee discusses the
homophobic critical attacks he endured in the 50s and 60s; Cherry Jones
talks about the first time she accepted a Tony Award-and her decision, in
that moment, to come out; Peggy Shaw speaks of the drag queen who first
inspired her stage career; Craig Lucas issues an impassioned call for
theater practitioners and other artists to unite for the sake of art,
creativity, and social change. Also included are memoirs by and interviews
with Kate Bornstein, Lisa Kron, Tim Miller, and George C. Wolfe, among
others. These diverse voices dispel the cliché of theater as a "safe haven"
and replace the stereotype with a nuanced group portrait of the ways in
which theater and queerness intersect. Featuring writing by: Edward Albee,
Kate Bornstein, Richard Bracho, Bree Coven, Terry Galloway, Karleen
Pendleton Jiménez, Cherry Jones, Lisa Kron, Craig Lucas, Tim Miller, Jim
Provenzano, Peggy Shaw, and George C. Wolfe

"The Little Butch Book"

http://tinyurl.com/opwu2/

From the author of such classics as A Letter to Harvey Milk, and Heather Has
Two Mommies, a collection of sexy, witty, luscious love poems to butches as
only femme author Leslea Newman could write them. Newman's enchanting verse
sings the wonders of the butch, mixing the sparkle of romance with the
thrill of the erotic.

"The Boy Who Cried Fabulous" by Leslea Newman

http://tinyurl.com/l76lq

Roger is a boy who simply can't stop smelling the roses. Can you blame him?
Through his eyes the world is a wonder not to be rushed by. But his parents
have an entirely different view, and they expect Roger to see things the way
they do. Paired with vibrant illustrations, this cheerful tale will have
children rejoicing along with Roger at all the fabulous things that await
him when he steps outside.

"When God's People Have HIV/AIDS: An Approach to Ethics"

by Maria Cimperman

http://tinyurl.com/eko6h

To help the church community respond adequately and affirmatively to
HIV/AIDS, Cimperman proposes integrating spirituality and morality by
developing the Christian virtues of fidelity, prudence, hope, and solidarity
to overcome the ravages of the AIDS epidemic on both body and soul. Two case
studies-one from Uganda and the second, the story of Dr. Paul Farmer, in
Haiti-demonstrate what is possible when people of God exercise discipleship.

Each chapter concludes with questions for reflection and discussion. While
written from the Roman Catholic tradition, this exploration of the wealth of
virtue ethics will be useful and informative to all faith traditions.

Maria Cimperman, an Ursuline sister, teaches moral theology and social
ethics at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas.

"George Michael: In His Own Words"

http://tinyurl.com/js26q

"The Tragedy of Today's Gays" by Larry Kramer

http://tinyurl.com/hryjh

With equal parts eloquence and urgency, common sense and patriotism, Kramer
writes a concise history of AIDS and despairs that gays have become a tragic
people: A lack of civic and political involvement even when faced with an
increasingly powerful and hateful opposition. A sexual abandon so reckless
that "we are murdering each other." A growing addiction to crystal-meth that
defies logic. But Kramer offers gays a survival plan...

"Anarchism And Other Essays" by Emma Goldman

http://tinyurl.com/fcqm6

Beyond the title essay, Goldman's impassioned calls for equality, individual
freedom, and social justice encompass: . Minorities versus Majorities . The
Psychology of Political Violence . Prisons: A Social Crime and Failure .
Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty . The Hypocrisy of Puritanism . The Traffic
in Women . The Tragedy of Women's Emancipation . Marriage and Love . The
Drama: A Powerful Disseminator of Radical Thought . and more.

They were prophetic when they were first published in 1910, but these essays
demonstrate that even today Goldman, a thinker of profound wisdom, has not
yet seen her time come.

"The World's Most Dangerous Woman: A New Biography of Emma Goldman"

by Theresa & Albert Moritz

http://tinyurl.com/ehm2n

Until now, biographies of the feminist and anarchist Emma Goldman
(1869-1940) have paid scant attention to her three periods of residence in
Canada (1926-28, 1933-35 and 1939-40), even though these were some of her
most productive years as an activist, speaker and organizer. In the United
States, Goldman was notorious as "Red Emma" and "the most dangerous woman in
America" because of her advanced anti-authoritarian views. In fact, she was
"the world's most dangerous woman" in the sense that she immersed herself in
local issues wherever she was exiled, and was accepted as a public
personality to a degree that would seem astounding in today's mainstream
press.

In researching this new biography of Emma Goldman, Theresa and Albert Moritz
have scoured previously ignored private papers in Europe and the United
States, and a wealth of indigenous resources long unknown to, or undervalued
by, anarchists and feminists. The result is virtually a fresh interpretation
of Goldman's influential and troubled life, and a valuable piece of social
history as well.

"The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara"

http://tinyurl.com/lput5

This first paperback edition charts the writer's career from his New York
School poetry of the early 1940s until his untimely death in 1966.

"All for Jesus: Or the Easy Ways of Divine Love" by Frederick William Faber

http://tinyurl.com/zqzuz

"Giovanni della Casa's Poem Book"

http://tinyurl.com/ecmhd

"Logan" by Hunce Voelcker

http://tinyurl.com/ejw85

"The David Kopay Story"

http://tinyurl.com/e5cql

Originally published in 1977, The David Kopay Story was an earth-shattering
event. It has never been duplicated. Twenty-three years after publishing his
story, David Kopay remains the only NFL player who has publicly acknowledged
his homosexuality. After a ten-year career as a running back for the San
Francisco 49ers, the Detroit Lions, the Washington Redskins, the New Orleans
Saints and the Green Bay Packers, and exhausted by the agony of living a
double life, Kopay bravely talked to the Washington Star and took his place
in history as the first prominent male athlete to come out of the closet. In
The David Kopay Story, he reveals the conflicting emotional states that both
prevented him from living openly and finally drove him to a place of total
honesty. From psychotherapy to hypnosis to heartbreaking family
confrontations to finally surprising acceptance from former teammates and
coaches, this is a story of denial leading to acceptance, and finally to
pride. As inspiring today as it was upon publication, Advocate Books is
proud to make The David Kopay Story available to a new generation of
readers.

"Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation" by Eli Clare

http://tinyurl.com/jsmct

In these interconnected essays, Eli Clare vibrantly describes the "rednecks"
and clearcuts she grew up among, the "freak shows" of the nineteenth
century, and the "transgender warriors" of today. Her intelligence and wit
illuminate her ruminations on cerebral palsy, child abuse, nature,
pornography, sexuality, and class.

Exile and Pride is grounded by Clare's childhood memories of playing in the
Oregon mountains and of her increasing realization of the environmental
destruction caused by the logging and fisheries industries that employed her
neighbors. This disillusionment with trusted sources of safety and belonging
echoes with the prejudice she experiences due to her cerebral palsy and with
the terror of sexual abuse that filled her childhood. Her self-imposed exile
from her hometown remains a tangle of grief and relief, but Clare highlights
the pride she has built through participating in the liberation movements of
disabled people and queers of all stripes.

In Exile and Pride, Eli Clare uses her own multiple loyalties as a lens to
examine identity politics and political agency in the face of systemic
oppression and interpersonal abuse. Imaginative and engaging, Exile and
Pride will appeal to a wide array of readers.

"I Can't Even Drive Straight: A Gay Pride Bumper Sticker Postcard Book" by
Herter Studio

http://tinyurl.com/fa2d9

Do your part to piss off the radical right. Proclaim your right to civil
liberties with these 10 hilarious, tongue-in-cheek bumper sticker postcards.
Send one to a friend or slap one on your bumper and let everyone know you're
proud by choice.

Includes:

- Same Sex/Same Rights

- I Feel Pretty, and Witty, and Gay

- Honk If You're a Homo

- I Can't Even Drive Straight

- Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

- If God Didn't Make Homosexuals, There Wouldn't Be Any

- A Closed Mind is a Wonderful Thing to Lose

- The Closet Is Now Open

- Do Ask, Do Tell

PRI-DVD

"Paragraph 175" starring Rupert Everett

http://tinyurl.com/gpza9

By the 1920's, Berlin had become known as a homosexual eden, where gay men
and lesbians lived relatively open lives amidst an exciting subculture of
artists and intellectuals. With the coming to power of the Nazis, all this
changed. Between 1933 and 1945 100,000 men were arrested for homosexuality
under Paragraph 175, the sodomy provision of the German penal code dating
back to 1871. Some were imprisoned, others were sent to concentration camps.
Of the latter, only about 4,000 survived. Today, fewer than ten of these men
are known to be living. Five of them have now come forward to tell their
stories for the first time in this powerful new film. The Nazi persecution
of homosexuals may be the last untold story of the Third Reich. Paragraph
175 fills a crucial gap in the historical record, and reveals the lasting
consequences of this hidden chapter of 20th century history, as told through
personal stories of men and women who lived through it: the half Jewish gay
resistance fighter who spent the war helping refugees in Berlin; the Jewish
lesbian who escaped to England with the help of a woman she had a crush on;
the German Christian photographer who was arrested and imprisoned for
homosexuality, then joined the army on his release because he "wanted to be
with men"; the French Alsatian teenager who watched as his lover was
tortured and murdered in the camps. These are stories of survivors --
sometimes bitter, but just as often filled with irony and humor; tortured by
their memories, yet infused with a powerful will to endure. Their moving
testimonies, rendered with evocative images of their lives and times, tell a
haunting, compelling story of human resilience in the face of unspeakable
cruelty. Intimate in its portrayals, sweeping in its implications, Paragraph
175 raises provocative questions about memory, history, and identity.

This work is copyright© 2006 Thomas Allen Heald, all rights reserved.
Contact the author at tomalhe@.... Archives and the latest column
are always available at Pridelets.com.