Lavender Magazine - Minnesota’s GLBT Magazine - Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender News - Minneapolis / Saint Paul
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Letters to our EditorConfounded by ColumnistI am writing about the column by Haven Herrin about Gay Orthodox Jews [“Confounded by Jewish Orthodoxy, Lavender, February 29]. From reading it, I got the impression she doesn’t know very much about Jews, Orthodox Jewry, or gay Jews. I am not trying to be hostile or critical, just pointing […]
In a written interview, Minneapolis attorney Jeff Dean answered Lavender’s questions about the recent acquittal of his client, a gay man caught up in last summer’s sting operation at Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Lindbergh Airport that brought Idaho Senator Larry Craig such unwanted national and worldwide notoriety.Your client was arrested during the same sting operation that caught […]
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival
Through Apr. 16
Various Venues
www.mnfilmarts.org
Now in its 23rd year, the M-SP International Film Fest’s big queer flick this year is the Ron Davis-Stewart Halpern film Pageant, an inside look at the Miss Gay America Pageant, which first screened March 24. Though more drag or trans than gay, hormones or surgical body enhancements […]
Park Square Theatre swoons to the rhythm of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, by Lanie Robertson. Set in Philadelphia, this solo piece about “Lady Day”—Billie Holiday (1915-1959), the iconic jazz singer addicted to heroin who was abused by men, racism, and show biz—has garnered raves wherever it has played. You may remember Robertson […]
Pangea World Theater’s first queer-oriented production, Ramble-Ations: A One D’Lo Show at Intermedia Arts, reflects on being born gay in a Hindu family and raised on Hip Hop. Bicoastal performer D’Lo, a Tamil-SriLankin, prefers “gay” to “lesbian,” because, as she explains, “‘gay’ is the word that encompassed and empowered everyone who wasn’t hetero under one […]
On April 25-26, Camp bar in St. Paul is hosting famed Barbra Steisand impersonator Steven Brinberg in his sensational Simply Barbra! The premier Streisand impressionist, Brinberg has performed his incredible show to international acclaim both on stage and television (twice with none other than composer Marvin Hamlisch). It pays homage to all that is Streisand. […]
It has been 10 months since Mike Gerle became International Mr. Leather (IML) 2007. I recently interviewed him by telephone from his office in West Hollywood, California. (Although he likes the way his given name, “Mikel,” is written, he prefers to be called “Mike.”)Mike Gerle. Photo by BullmanX
Before you became IML, did you have any […]
In the early 1990s, the GLBT community hailed East German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf as a queer hero, but she was revealed to be a more complex figure who made unsavory compromises to survive under two repressive regimes.Born Lothar Berfelde in the Berlin suburb of Mahlsdorf in 1928, von Mahlsdorf showed a preference for women’s […]
The other day, I came back to my office to find a note left by Hawk Stone, a nationally known FTM trans activist—his psychotherapy office just happens to be down the hall from mine. He thought perhaps we should hold a press conference to say that we’re not sleeping together. I howled.For those of you […]
National & World NewsNational NewsPentagon Balks at Gay Spouse TravelThe Pentagon balked at US Representative Tammy Baldwin’s domestic partner accompanying her on a military flight for a Congressional trip to Europe, officials said. The Politico reported that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intervened before Congress’s Easter break so the Wisconsin Democrat, the only openly lesbian member […]
In a written interview, Minneapolis attorney Jeff Dean answered Lavender’s questions about the recent acquittal of his client, a gay man caught up in last summer’s sting operation at Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Lindbergh Airport that brought Idaho Senator Larry Craig such unwanted national and worldwide notoriety.Your client was arrested during the same sting operation that caught […]
The most important thing about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), Mara Keisling told a crowd at the University of Minnesota Law School, is to change the name. “Everybody in Washington is really working very hard to get the name changed to the Marginalized Americans Rights Act, or MARA,” the Executive Director of the Washington DC-based […]
On the Runway SectionWriting a column about fashion is a daunting task. Most people’s idea of fashion is dictated by articles and images of what a chosen few oddballs deem lovely: a hodgepodge of wafer-thin, drug-addicted, prepubescent, starved-for-affection youngsters, modeling attire designed by self-indulgent fashion gurus. This column is penned by an Air Force brat, […]
On the Runway Section
Click here and download a PDF of our current fashion layout featuring Metropark at the Mall of America®.
Have you filed your taxes yet? If not, you don’t have much time. If you did, which relationship status box were you able to check? Despite being in long-term committed relationships, Minnesota same-sex couples have only one option: “Single.”Checking “Single” is degrading to each and every same-sex couple who have made a life-long commitment to […]
“Is society ready for this pregnant husband?” the article “Labor of Love” in a recent The Advocate asks. Probably not, my money says, because society rarely is ready for anything new, especially something that has to do with human sexuality or reproduction.The Advocate story has a mix of everything button-pushing for the reader/voyeur. The Beaties, […]
MAP Leads AIDS Action Day at the Capitol
(From left) Beth Larson, Lorraine Teel, and Rob Kacheroski. Photo by Sophia Hantzes
On March 18, Minnesota AIDS Project (MAP), a source of HIV information and services in Minnesota since 1983, brought together people from around the state to convey their concerns about HIV prevention and policies to state […]
This ADE (attention deficit eating) excursion was planned for months. I invited best friend Dan Kenward, partner Chad, and friend and director of The Chef’s Gallery cooking school Stephanie Jameson. Our goal: Walk Main Street, Stillwater, Minnesota, and discover its gastronomic contributions.Meeting at The Chef’s Gallery, we browsed through the finest selection of kitchen utensils, […]
Hank Weintraub is a gay athlete. He kicks, scratches, elbows, and grabs opponents’ balls. That makes him no different than any straight athlete playing water polo. In that game, anything goes, so long as officials don’t see it. What happens underwater stays underwater.“It’s hard to explain why I love water polo,” Weintraub, a junior at […]
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion at the University of Minnesota on the topic of gay athletes. An undergraduate course, “Gay Men and Homophobia in American Culture,” taught by Professor Tom Haakenson, took an in-depth look at how gay and straight athletes perceive each other and their […]
If you want to buy or sell a home in today’s market, you already have enough worries. Your real estate agent shouldn’t be one of them. Unfortunately, many realtors don’t want to take the time to show enough properties, have open houses, or even work with clients who aren’t looking at properties within a certain […]
ElsworthElsworth, Downtown Minneapolis’s most recent retail venue, gives new life to the dwindling selection of urban men’s fashion outlets. After working for Dayton’s/Macy’s for the past 21 years, owner Keith Borset uses his expertise to combine designer label recognition with local talent and flavor to create a space with international chic and local flair.In the […]
Horoscope for Apr. 11-24 Mars trines Uranus this period. Not only are we on the mark, but also we are ready and set to go, go, go. Aim your arrow high, and see how close to the target you get.ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 20)If spring-cleaning is on your personal agenda, Mars trine Uranus is the time […]
Dear Ms. Behavior:Thank you for so much good advice. My question relates to dating and age. I lived in Chicago in the ’90s, and had a toxic relationship that lasted for seven years. I am now much happier back in my hometown.After nearly 12 years of celibacy, I am ready and looking at potential friends/partners. […]
Welcome to the second lesson of Lesbian 101. This lesson, and each subsequent one, will be posted at www.jenniferparello.com/les101.html.Before we begin this lesson, I must tell you a true story.The day after I officially came out, by sheer happenstance, I flew to San Francisco. Before I boarded the plane, I had been up all night […]
I’m all for changing the things that have held me back in life—as long as it doesn’t take a lot of effort on my part. That’s why a recent article extolling the virtue of herbs caught my attention. If simply getting in touch with my “roots” was the answer to a longer and more fruitful […]
The End of the World Book by Alistair McCartneyTerrace Books314 pages$26.95 hardcoverThere’s nothing linear about McCartney’s debut novel. There’s not much narrative to it, either. It’s not really a novel by any rational definition, actually. But its giddily unconventional structure delivers a glorious literary experience. From chapter A to chapter Z, this is an irreverent […]
Across1 The bottom line5 Exited the closet, with “out”9 Colette’s coffee servings14 Beginning of 35-Down15 Type of stimulation16 In-your-face17 Make a hole bigger18 Oz setting19 Put a condiment on it20 Tai and Randy’s area23 St. of Sheriff Lupe Valdez24 Kissing Jessica Stein, and others25 Haughty response27 Stuff a crack30 Screwing up33 BenGay target36 Where a […]
Among cities in Eastern Europe, few have developed a more spirited gay and lesbian following than the sophisticated, photogenic Czech Republic capital of Prague. This remarkably well-preserved and relatively compact city of 1.2 million straddles the Vltava River and buzzes with gay-friendly cafes, bars, and shops.
Photo by Andrew Collins
Prague’s greatest attributes are its rich history, […]
Amid rising HIV/AIDS statistics locally, the 14th annual Dining Out for Life on April 24 offers a glimpse of hope. The event is the main fund-raiser for The Aliveness Project—a Minneapolis-based organization that provides services and resources for persons living with HIV/AIDS—which has seen a rise in its facility’s usage. It documented more than 1,400 […]
Margaret Cho is back, bitches! And better than ever. Fresh off the Australian leg of her hilarious new tour, Beautiful, the controversial comedienne gabs about her latest gig, why her heart belongs to homos, her passion for Perez Hilton, and when she’s returning to a TV near you. It may be a lot sooner than […]
Chanhassen Dinner Theatre’s 42nd Street is like champagne on the stage—not the superdry, uberexpensive stuff from France that requires slow, respectful sipping, but the bubbly issuing from California, to be gulped down with exuberance as it overflows the bottle. And that’s fitting, for 42nd Street was born as a Hollywood movie in 1933, giving edgy […]
One is expected to sacrifice certain pleasures living in the landlocked North. Our climate is seldom mild, so we revel in those few and precious late-summer days. Our heritage of arts and culture, while prodigious and diverse, is less likely to draw the world’s eye, so we compensate by doubling our pride when a native […]
On the Runway Section
Hot picks from MOA® Trend Specialist Sara Rogers
Your style doesn’t have to get soaked just because it’s raining outside. From patterned umbrellas to gorgeous galoshes, this season’s chic rain gear will have you jumping in puddles.
Trench Coat
Nordstrom
Trenches are hot this season, and no one does this classic coat style better than Burberry!
Nylon […]
Girls will be boys, the old song says, and boys will be girls. That’s certainly true of transgendered people, folks who identify with a gender other than their original biological sex. Some transpeople go no further than dressing in the clothes of the “opposite” sex, while others take a medical route, using hormones and usually […]