2004: The Year End Wrap-up
We're not making any specific claims about 2004 just yet because we're leaving those decisions up to you - our readers. On Monday, January 3rd, nominations will be opened for the 2004 Queeries, our first annual awards extravaganza. In the meantime, however, others are already busy being reflective on a year that will be remembered for its ecstasy and agony, from legal gay marriage in Massachusetts and Canada to defeats at the polls it really was a year defined by the gay marriage debate. For those in the South it was a year of setbacks and even the Australians can say it was the year we got angry again and they'd be right. We have, however, certainly enjoyed all the legal sodomy - or buggery if you prefer and it was a year of progress for the transgender community. And while it was a bountiful year for queer film in general, for lesbians it was the same story, different year. The small screen delivered us a mixed bag as well with MTV announcing plans for a gay channel while gay characters vanished from network shows. For the best and worst in showbiz excellence and horror you might want to check out Michael Musto's take on the Felix Awards. It was a good year to read, and a plethora of gay titles and authors who had worked published in 2004 made choosing the best difficult.
And while New York made the news a lot this year with a marrying mayor, a gay governor, plenty of political protests and crystal conferences it was a year of struggles for Atlanta's community. We do love that Gay New Zealand is hanging their Seven Deadly Sinners out to dry - with Express Newspaper, the Anglican Church and the Human Rights Commision taking top honors - but we'll be letting you make those decisions for Queer Day soon. In the meantime, here's some tips on surviving the New Year. We certainly hope you had a queer year. We certainly did. Thank you for your incredible support in 2004 and here's to an even queerer year ahead. Be safe.
Year End Wrap-Up
At midnight tonight you might be getting messy on margaritas, but California will be granting sweeping marriagelike rights to thousands of gay and lesbian couples. The landmark legislation marks a new twist in the national landscape by bestowing hundreds of spousal duties and privileges on California couples registered as domestic partners and not calling it marriage. "We'll be celebrating it big-time, absolutely," said AB 205 pusher Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg. "It's not marriage," Goldberg said of her bill. "But it provides tremendous protection to kids and couples in same-gender families." It's true for Wendy Hill, her partner of six years, and their new baby Aidyn (shown). Hill says, "What we have is not just a domestic partnership, it's a family."
Argentinean transgendered woman María Belén Correa had not intended to make her home in the United States. Nevertheless, in a groundbreaking decision hailed as an important precedent, the U.S. granted Correa, 31, political asylum based on the grounds that, because of her gender change, she faces life-threatening oppression in her native country. Sadly, Correa’s path getting here is marked with fear and tragedy. In February 2000, Correa’s friend and fellow transgender rights activist Vanessa Lorena Ledesma died at the hands of the Buenos Aires police five days after she was arrested. “They opened the coffin and she was all tortured,” Correa said. “She had cigarette burns. They had pulled out her nails. She had been terribly tortured. In the wake of that loss, Correa, a co-founder of the Association of Transvestite, Transsexual and Transgender Argentineans (ATTTA), the first organization of its type in that nation, decided to stay and continue fighting for legal rights for transgendered people. “I still thought I could change things,” Correa said.
For the past six years, Chris Michaud, 35, a New York City advertising executive, has attended Altitude, Whistler’s annual gay ski week. From year to year, Michaud says the increase in boarders is undeniable. “Last year, the majority of our old group showed, and every single one of us was boarding,” he remembers. “I have a bunch of straight friends from college that I still ski with, but when I’m with my gay friends, we board.” Matt Micari, 31, a special education teacher from Connecticut, discovered a sporty social circle at Outboard, an annual gay snowboarding event held at different resorts each season. “I absolutely loved it,” Micari says. “There’s an elitism with skiing that just isn’t there in the boarding community,” he says. This Dallas Voice piece includes a full 2005 calendar of gay ski weeks out in the snow.
This time last year, gay actor Eric Millegan had absolutely no plans, and that scared him. Sure, he had performed on Broadway (“Jesus Christ Superstar”), guest-starred on TV (“Law & Order: Criminal Intent”) and appeared in an independent feature film (“On Line”). He was even named “Hottest Up-and-Coming Openly Gay Actor of 2003” by Out magazine. Even so, he was convinced that no one in the industry knew his name. Now he's Harold in the Broadway production of the cult classic Harold and Maude. "It’s just about the coolest role I could have booked," says the baby-faced 30-year-old.
The queer community is responding to the Asian Quake Disaster to not only ensure that all who affected get help, but it's also part of the Rainbow World Fund's mission to show the world we care. "Much of the world still sees GLBT people as only caring about sex, drugs, and Madonna. We care about a lot more than that. RWF puts our highest beliefs and values into action. The 9.0 earthquake that struck off the coast of Sumatra Island, Indonesia, sending massive tsunamis across the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean killing over 80,000 people and leaving countless homeless. Help these queer humanitarians create a better world.
He might like dressing up as a 'lay-dee,' on the hit UK television show Little Britain, but David Walliams is still the number one babe magnet in town. The 33-year-old Little Britain hunk - who plays crossdressing Emily Howard in the award-winning show - already has an impressive number of celebrity exes under his belt, including Patsy Kensit and Lisa Snowden. He's currently linked to TV host Jayne Middlemiss. "Most women think I'm gay, so I have a really easy time with them," he says. "They are lulled into a false sense of security."
One of the radical Iraqi groups fighting against the US occupation says their battle to stop January's democratic elections is partly based on the fear that democracy could lead to passing ‘un-Islamic’ laws, such as those in the West that permit gay marriage. The Ansar al-Sunnah Army made the announcement today, and warned potential voters that “anyone who accepts to take part in this dirty farce [i.e., the elections] will not be safe.” In the wake of the threats, all 700 employees of the electoral commission in Mosul have resigned.
Has Sir Elton John married his partner David Furnish at long last? The pair was spotted leaving a Christening party at the country home of David and Victoria Beckham with a ‘Just Married’ sign on the back of their car. The December 23rd gala was to celebrate the baptism of the Beckhams' two sons, but it was Sir Elton and David who got tongues wagging. “They think it is funny to stir things up. They won't confirm or deny anything. They want to keep people guessing,” says one British gossip-monger.
Terry Graham, 53 (left) and Matt McGee, 23 (right), rendezvoused in room 145 at the Fairfield Inn in Clive, Iowa, as previously agreed when the two met earlier that night in a gay.com chatroom. Graham, a board member for a Christian ministry college and a resident of Des Moines, was on a business trip and was apparently looking for some company. He got more than he bargained far. Police found Graham dead from a stab wound to the neck and arrested John Matthew McGee in the motel room. McGee faces first-degree murder charges and his defense attorney Peter Berger said that McGee recently left the Air Force on an honorable discharge for psychological reasons. He declined to elaborate.
A German anti-chemical weapon group called the Sunshine Project claims to have received US Air Force documents that reveal suggestions for research into non-lethal weapons, one of which would “[a]ffect human behavior so that discipline and morale in enemy units is adversely [a]ffected. One distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior.” While we can’t vouch for the authenticity of the documents— we’re not CBS, after all— we would like to know when this 'horny bomb' would be available for civilian use.
A new refugee agreement between the United States and Canada is likely to make it harder for gay people to seek asylum in North America in general. The Safe Third Country pact went into effect yesterday and refugees who land in the United States will now be required to seek asylum status here, rather than using a US destination as a jumping off point to get into Canada later which has been more or less status quo. Gay-friendly immigration laws in Canada made it easier to gain asylum there and immigration activists are worried that the new rules on detention and deportation are so loose under the Patriot Act, that gay refugees will be discouraged from trying to flee countries for their lives at all.
Organizers of Gay Days in Orlando, Florida arrived at their offices yesterday morning to find their storefront riddled with bullet-holes, dripping with the remains of broken eggs and defaced by paintball pellets. It’s the second time in a month the office has been vandalized. So far, the incidents have taken place when the office sat empty, but organizer Chris Alexander-Manly says, while "I'm glad it was after hours... it's a shame someone might take the next step and confront one of us out in the parking lot.” Police are investigating both incidents as hate crimes.
It just wouldn’t be New Year’s in Key West, Florida if there weren’t strange things dropping from the sky. Outside the landmark Sloppy Joe’s Bar, a giant conch shell will descend to count down the last seconds of 2004 in the Conch Republic. Over at the Schooner Wharf Bar, they’ll lower a real, live pirate wench to meet the cheering crowd. But by far the gayest celebration will be in front of a bar called Sushi, where a drag queen will gently drift down from the heavens in a huge red, stiletto-heeled shoe.
Lawyers for Arizona State University will troop to court Monday to argue against a lawsuit brought by a Christian group that wants official University recognition. The Christian Legal Society wants to form a chapter at ASU, but they insist on discriminating against gay people, and that policy is against University rules. School recognition brings with it several perks: free use of university space, school funding for part of the group’s operating budget and cut-rate postage for mass mailings. ASU argues that as a state school, taxpayer dollars can’t be used for organizations that exclude certain groups. The Legal Society counters that student group leaders ought to be able to pick their own members— and they only want Christian, straight people.
In Spain, a bill to legalize gay marriage has taken another step toward passage. Today, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's (shown) 
A Georgia state legislator has plans to inject himself into the argument between the city of Atlanta and a local country club that refuses to give spousal benefits to the partners of gay members. Republican Earl Ehrhart (shown) says he’s ready to introduce legislation that would bar the city from enforcing its anti-discrimination ordinance. This week, Atlanta’s mayor ordered a $500 a day fine against the Druid Hills Country Club because of its policy. Ehrhart says he wants a law to stop "any political subdivision" from levying "any penalty on or withhold any benefit from any private social organization engaged in lawful expressive association." The language is lifted directly from the US Supreme Court's 2000 ruling that gave the Boy Scouts the right to kick out gay scouts and leaders.
A new film adaptation of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice shows Antonio and Bassanio being a little more passionate than one might have seen in previous productions. Joseph Fiennes, shown, who plays Bassanio, is comfortable with the idea that the two men may be lovers. Shakespeare's "not saying they're gay or they're straight, he's leaving it up to his actors. I feel there has to be a great love between the two characters ... there's great attraction. I don't think they have slept together but that's for the audience to decide." Jeremy Irons, who plays Antonio, was less convinced. "Be very careful if you see two men kissing each other that you don't jump to the wrong conclusions," Irons said.
Yes, what about that disciple Jesus loved? Noted Methodist theologian Rev. Theodore Jennings Jr. and Dr Morton Smith, a world renowned Bible scholar, say there is irrefutable evidence that Jesus was at least bisexual. Dr. Rollan McCleary of the University of Queensland, in Australia, says he has discovered through his research that three of the disciples were gay. McCleary spent three years researching gay spirituality for his book, "Signs for a Messiah." Is he biased in thinking Jesus was gay because he is? McCleary says it's more likely that other straight theologians can't see the possibility because of their orientation. The usual suspects are outraged, of course.
A federal appeals court ruled yesterday against a woman who was fired for refusing to wear make-up at her job as a bartender at Harrah’s Casino in Reno, Nevada. The court said that Darlene Jesperson (shown) was not discriminated against under the casino’s ‘Personal Best’ policy that required female employees to apply foundation, blush, lipstick and mascara. Her Lambda Legal lawyers had argued that Jesperson was “unjustly forced to adhere to rigid gender-based stereotypes as a condition of her job.” Jesperson had worked at the casino for 21 years prior to her termination.
The 95-year-old head of the Mormon church, Gordon Hinckley (shown), wants everyone to know that his church isn’t against gay people— just their civil rights. In a Sunday interview, he said, “[W]e're not anti-gay. We are pro-family. Let me put it that way... And we love these people [gay people,that is] and try to work with them and help them. We know they have a problem. We want to help them solve that problem. ...I don't pretend to be an expert on these things. The fact is, they have a problem. ...[W]e want to be very careful about [civil unions], because that— whatever may lead to gay marriage, we're not in favor of.” Now, isn’t that a heartening Christmas message?
Nate Berkus, Chicago interior designer and Oprah Winfrey Show regular survived the world's worst earthquake in 40 years and the tsunami wall of water that followed by hanging on to a telephone pole. Berkus was vacationing in Sri Lanka with his friend, photographer Fernando Bengoechea, when the devastation occurred. Bengoechea, was torn away from the same pole and Berkus hasn't heard from him since. Sunday's massive quake of 9.0 magnitude off the Indonesian island of Sumatra's northern tip sent 500-mph waves surging across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal in the deadliest known tsunami since 1883. Berkus told CNN, "All of a sudden the roof was ripped off the cottage, and my friend and I were taken out to sea. We were able to hang on to a telephone pole with a mattress wedged between us for literally 30 seconds. There was a calm in the storm, and then another wave hit. Both of us were torn away from the phone pole." Berkus said he climbed to safety on the roof of a home.
One of the pair of lesbian couples that originally brought the legal case to force Newfoundland, Canada to allow gay marriages was the first to married after the province’s Supreme Court cleared the way earlier this month. Jacqueline Pottle (shown, left) and Noelle French (right) said ‘We do’ on Christmas Eve in a ceremony at St. John's City Hall—the city’s mayor presided. Pottle and French brought the lawsuit last November. After the ceremony, Pottle remarked, “[I feel] just complete satisfaction and contentment and joy. I just feel like everything is just the way it should be right now.”
A popular gay nightclub in New Zealand was hit with a fire bomb Monday night, sending about 20 people running for the exits. Witnesses outside say they saw an explosion of glass and flames erupt from the Auckland club, called Flesh, about 11:15 pm. All of those inside the building got out safely. The blaze was intense enough to melt the door of a car parked across the street. There’s some question as to what might have prompted the arson attack. New Zealand has recently been engaged in an angry public debate over civil unions, so police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. The bar owner isn’t sure: he says it’s just as likely the bomber was someone who was denied entry to the club earlier in the evening. Despite substantial damage, managers vow to reopen the bar for New Year’s Eve.
Both gay and heterosexual men are equally likely to aspire to an unattainable body type, or to harbor a distorted image of their actual bodies, new research indicates. Study author Dr. Armand Hausmann told Reuters Health that this finding contradicts the conventional wisdom that gay men have more "hang ups" about their appearance, explaining that this assumption stems from a wide range of stereotypes that research has not been able to adequately substantiate. During the study, Hausmann and his team asked 37 gay men, 49 heterosexual men and 24 heterosexual men with eating disorders to complete a computerized test about body image.
Yesterday we told you that Elizabeth Stroud is appealing the decision of the Methodist Church to defrock her as a minister because she's a lesbian. It's good timing, considering a documentary will air this week on most PBS stations exploring the two years of the controversy leading up to her defrocking. Filmmakers Alan and Susan Raymond spent two years at the church during the period of upheaval and the film shows how although members of the congregation were mostly supportive, Stroud was at odds with the United Methodist Book of Discipline, which forbids self-avowed practicing homosexuals from being ordained or appointed as clergy to its churches. The two-hour film was completed before the 13-member jury of her peers voted to revoke her ministerial credentials.
Gay movie star Rupert Everett wants Sir Elton John to give up his newest pastime: slagging other celebs, especially Rupert’s pal Madonna. Everett says, “I think Elton has lost it completely. He loves to tell you how he overcame addictions - drugs, bulimia... He did not overcome addictions. He went from one to another. All these shopping sprees, and not controlling his mouth.” Sir Elton has been a bit outspoken this year including accusing Madonna of lip-syncing and carrying on a nasty argument with George Michael in the celebrity press.
Former construction worker and part-time boxing coach Penny Port, 40, was found at the home shown lying on the stairs in a pool of blood dying from multiple stab wounds. The transgender Port died while in the hospital in spite of attempts to save her. In her life as Neil Port she trained world title contender Clinton Woods and she was on a waiting list for sex reassignment surgery. Two young men were arrested at the scene and were questioned by police, but they were later released. Boxing promoter Dennis Hobson said, "I have known Neil for 20 years. Myself, Clinton Woods and he were inseparable. He told me about his plans about eight weeks ago and has had to live with a secret for a long time. He had a lot of good friends who loved him. I saw him a few hours before he died. He was dressed as Penny. He told me he had lived a lie for 20 years. It was the hardest thing he has ever done to admit he wanted to be a woman, but once he had done (it) he was a happier person for it."
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin has ordered that Druid Hills Country Club be fined for refusing to obey a local domestic partners law. Officials at the club refuse to extend benefits - like golfing privileges - to the partners of gay club members. Instead, the club wants partners to pony up an extra $40,000 for a separate membership. Mayor Shirley Franklin said the club is violating an Atlanta law that requires businesses to recognize domestic partners. Franklin said she is ordering the city solicitor to fine the club $500 a day for up to six months - a total of $90,000 - unless the rule is changed.
Two years ago, at age 15 and living in his 15th Miami, Florida-area foster home, Steven Alicea came out of the closet. His foster parents at the time, both pastors, said he would go to hell. "I thought of suicide -- just taking my life. That it was worthless," Steven says. "Thank God I didn't." Today, instead of wanting to end his life, Steven is beginning to live it. He's in a stable home with two loving foster mothers and he plans to study dance at Florida International University. It's true, we're suckers for a story with a happy ending.
Portia De Rossi is said to be consulting with a doctor to get a 
The proposed federal Constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriage nationwide has stalled in Congress, according to its sponsors. That is, at least for now. In theory, Republican Congressional gains from last month's election make the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) more likely to pass next year, but even its boosters say that they probably don't have the votes to press the issue. Gay marriage foe Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas admits, “We're going to have to see additional court cases come down,” before they gain new supporters for the FMA. There are several state cases in the courts now. The FMA failed to pass either the House or the Senate when it was brought up for a largely symbolic vote earlier this year.
Two gay men who were among the first to be married in Canada often get recognized on the street in Montreal now, but they don’t hear many slurs— by and large they hear jokes about ‘the old ball and chain’ and the horrors of mothers-in-law. Michael Hendricks (shown, right) and Rene LeBoeuf have been partners for 32 years, and they fought to be married for 8 of those years. Hendricks explains, “There is a whole culture of marriage that heterosexuals share that we were never included in. Now we're automatically included and people think it's very funny.” Recalling their long struggle, and the dire predictions made by gay-marriage opponents, LeBoeuf says, “We really didn't think it would happen in our lifetime.... The day we were married, the sky didn't fall. Nothing happened. We went back to work. Life went on.”
In Japan, researchers are noticing lots of gay and lesbian penguins at the zoos - 20 pairs at 16 facilities. A research group led by Keisuke Ueda, professor of behavioral ecology at Rikkyo University in Tokyo, blame an imbalance in the sexes of available penguin partners as the likely culprit, although animals in the wild also sometimes choose same-sex mates. They don't know if this is more gay penguins than there are in the wild or not, because ... it's really hard to tell penguins apart. Many of the gay male pairs and two of the female pairs were seen performing "mounting behavior."