Though we may think of political leaders as being dry-witted and doggedly serious in their pursuit to effect change, trans activist Riki Wilchins demonstrates how humor can be just as important a tool for disseminating information and channeling energy on issues to other activists. Wilchins is an accomplished author, one of TIME magazine’s 100 civic innovators, and the founder and executive director of Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC), which works toward breaking others of looking at gender as a hard-coded binary structure.

Her One Trans Show, The MANgina Monologues, discusses her personal story of transition along with pop cultural and political swipes relating to the perception of the larger transgender community.

Live dating show Single Mingle gives queer Chicagoans an entertaining Valentine’s weekend

by Kevin Sparrow

Dimmed lighting; dark, oblong ottomans and booth-like sofas; the sounds of Lady Gaga and Beyoncé pounding over subdued conversation: you may think you’ve just walked into a gay man’s basement, and you would be close. Chicago’s weekly live dating show, Single Mingle, held their first Big Gay Valentine’s Day event this past Saturday, February 13 at Spybar. Although the first queer-oriented evening, this is Single Mingle’s third show since opening on January 23, and they have been winning over admirers since. “It’s fun, it’s classy, and I like that there’s good people here… it’s a good idea because sometimes it’s hard to meet people,” says audience member Karen.

The innovative program not only has fans who are voyeurs; the participants feel that the event is helping breathe some new life into the queer community. “I think Chicago could really own itself more in its queerness,” says contestant Jessica. “I used to live in Boystown, but there was something almost desperately adolescent about it… I’m really excited for Chicago to mature in its queer scene.” Not only does Single Mingle allow a reprieve from typical nightspots of the Chicago LGBT community, it also helps those who are entering that community for the first time, as contestant Keith relates with his motivations for signing up. “I just moved to the city. I don’t know anyone up here yet, so it’s a good way to meet people.”

The show is split into two sessions, this night featuring a group of lesbians followed by a group of gay men engaging in a humorous mixture of meet-cute and ribaldry. Single Mingle’s main bachelor or bachelorette learns more about the three people on the other side of an expertly placed screen through a brief Q&A, friend testimonials, and some assistance from audience applause during a blind-folded couple’s dance with each contestant. “I think it’s definitely good to break it up,” says audience member Gwen of the dance portion of the program. “You can’t just ask a lot of questions, people get flustered.” Their tied tongues were loosened by loquacious hosts Tana McFarlane and Mitchel Migliore as well as special guest host JaJa Galliano, who helped by combing the audience for friends of the contestants to provide crucial personal information.

Interspersed with the main show were an interstitial performance of “Plastic Barbie” by JaJa, a raffle for champagne and opportunities for current singles to sign up as future contestants. The final couples were provided a $75 gift certificate to Rosebud Trattoria for a romantic first date, and audience members were supplied free condoms, gift cards to SEE eyewear and a memorable show.

At the annual National Prayer Breakfast on February 4, President Obama condemned Ugandan legislation that would penalize homosexual people for engaging in homosexuality. Speaking before a room filled with sponsors of the breakfast, the Fellowship Foundation–an organization linked to efforts to pass the anti-LGBT bill–Obama called the measures “unconscionable” and “odious.”

60 members of Congress have signed a letter addressed to President Obama urging him to pass the comprehensive immigration-reform Uniting American Families Act with language that allows LGBT U.S. nationals to sponsor their partners
in binational families.

The European Parliament reaffirmed today that securing LGBT rights were an important consideration for candidate countries applying to join the European Union.

A school program for LGBT students recently opened in Los Angeles. A collaboration with Opportunities for Learning, the anti-harassment school would offer around 40 7th through 12th graders an alternative program with an independent study angle. Students meet with an instructor twice a week and spend the other weekdays completing a full day of schoolwork at home.

If you are planning on spending your Valentine’s weekend eating pints of Chubby Hubby and watching Love, Actually fourteen times, fear not! Single Mingle will be hosting their Big Gay Valentine’s Day show at Spybar (646 N. Franklin) on Saturday, February 13. Single Mingle utilizes familiar dating game elements in a live environment that allows the crowd to size each other up and pair off while three predetermined contestants vie for the hand of one lucky lonesome. Doors open at 6 PM followed by two shows separated by an intermission.

If you’re looking for something to do with a special someone this weekend, head to Chicago’s Freedom to Marry Day events, which will include a demonstration by the LGBTQA Liberation Network on Valentine’s Day outside Holy Name Cathedral (735 N. State St.) picketing Cardinal Francis George and his efforts within the Catholic church to staunch equal marriage. Meet up at 10:30 AM, just in time for mass! London will be holding a similar demonstration that day to protest a visit by the Pope, organizing for a secular Europe as well as LGBT and women’s rights.

by Jacob McPherson

British indie-powerhouses The XX and Friendly Fires are touring together.  They will be playing a sold-out show at Bottom Lounge in Chicago on Tuesday, December 1st.  Although the two produce music that differs greatly from each other, the pairing is unsurprising.  The XX debuted in August of this year and create music that shows influences of R&B and 80’s guitar.  Deep bass complemented by well-tuned vocals drives their sound.

Friendly Fires have been on the scene since September of 2008.  They create a sound that can be best described as Britpop dance-punk.  It seems appropriate that The XX are opening for them, as they will get the mood started out right for the high energy that Friendly Fires will bring.  Both artists are on the Beggars roster and are of equal caliber.

Although I will not be seeing this show, I have seen both of these acts separately.  The members of Friendly Fires are true rock stars and will have everyone dancing to tracks like “Jump in the Pool” and “Photobooth.”  The XX forces the audience to pay attention and become part of the music.  With tracks like “Crystalize” and “Islands,” a melodic journey is sure to take place.

by Jacob McPherson

Friday night, I ventured over to the Metro to experience the Peaches concert.  Amanda Blank opened, and I was a little underwhelmed with her performance, given all the hype around her.  However, she was still enjoyable and made an appropriate opener for Peaches.  Since this was my second time seeing Peaches, I knew what to expect from the performance.

I first saw Peaches at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. Drag personality Sherry Vine was in the VIP section; it is very hard to compete with that, but Peaches still delivered an incredible show.  What I enjoy most about her is that she truly is a performer.  She wears the most ridiculous outfits, walks across the crowd, and brings a third dimension to her music.

As expected, the majority of the crowd was queer.  With risqué songs like “Tent in Your Pants,” “I Feel Cream,” and of course, “Fuck the Pain Away,” it was pretty much like a Friday night at Berlin.  Although her latest album, I Feel Cream, put out by XL Recordings, has been out for a while, it is still a must for any party mix.

by Jacob McPherson

Sweden keeps producing strong musical acts.  Saturday night, I thoroughly enjoyed myself when experiencing the music of Little Dragon.  They played a free show for the fifteenth anniversary of Double Door in Chicago.  It was one of those concerts where the energy of the music was absorbed through the entire crowd, creating a surreal atmosphere.

Led by Japanese vocalist, Yukimi Nagano, the group pumped out electronic soul music that sounded retro yet modern at the same time.  Nagano’s vocal skills were well complimented by beats created by Erik Bodin, Fredrik Wallin, and Hakan Wirenstrand.  Although the group can be compared to acts such as Bjork, Miike Snow and Kate Bush, their experimental sound sets them apart.  There are traces of 80s pop and jazz, all blended into one amazing package.

If you haven’t been actively avoiding Wal-Mart like it was H1N1, now you have more justification: a gay couple was recently banned for life from the chain after being harassed by Niles, MI store security for reportedly shoplifting, claims that were quickly verified by local police as untrue. Litigation to sue the couple at ten times the amount of items claimed as stolen is underway, the rationale being they were “uncooperative” by refusing to enter a closed-off detention room with their 11-year-old twins. While the couple talked to the police, the young boys were kept in the detention room and are now experiencing nightmares and other emotional trauma. The smiley-face mascotted store that purports to be family-friendly apparently stops short of that definition when it comes to same-sex couples.

On the other side, current enemies to gay rights legislation may be seeking some unity with the LGBT community: Salt Lake City passed two bills endorsed by the Mormon Church that ban employment and housing discrimination against LGBT people, the first city in Utah to do so. Even with a predominately Church-affiliated legislature and a governor who has stated that discrimination against LGBT people should not be made illegal, things are starting to look on the progressive side for the state.

An open and affirming church in (veh-ry) conservative Orange County, CA has decided to stage a performance of the controversial play “Corpus Christi.” The play follows a narrative positing Jesus as a gay Texan man in the 1950s, which is sure to angry up the blood of more than a few Bible-thumpers in the area. Church of the Foothills state that their intention is to begin a dialogue about the intersection of sexual orientation and spirituality with what they deem a respectful handling of the issue by playwright Terrence McNally.

An Alabaman teen who was recently denied attendance to her school’s prom if she brought her girlfriend as a date may be able to attend after all. After intervention by the ACLU and a near-cancellation of the entire event, Tharptown High School officials say the will allow Cynthia Stewart to attend with her girlfriend as long as the out-of-district teen passes a screening. Stewart is part of the prom planning committee and helped raise more than $200 to fund the dance.

by Kevin Sparrow

The sad thing about film festivals is that oftentimes it can be hard to find your favorite films after they’re over. To wrap up our look forward to Reeling 2009, we are going to wallow in self-pity and discuss some of the fantastic dramas being presented this year.

The Filipino film Boy splits its focus between the innocence of first love and the eroticism of desire. The Boy in this case is a thoughtful poet who, when he’s not using his allowance to buy exotic fish to fill his room, spends it at the local male dancer club. He meets Aries there, and as things progress toward New Year’s, The Boy decides to blow his load and take Aries home for the night. There are some very heartfelt and specific character interactions mixed with some standard cliches, especially in the portrayal of the transgender members of the club and shallowness in having such an uncomplicated relationship build. Madeleine Nicolas as Mother brings a lot of credence to her role of a scattershot near-divorcee who has a child with a secret and a husband with another family, and she affects some good performances from the younger cast. The movie is beautifully shot and attempts to overcome its flaws in story with symbolic imagery. (Boy screens at the Landmark Cinema Friday, November 6 at 7:15 PM).

Family is writer-director-actor Faith Trimel’s exploration of the many difficulties faced by women of color in coming out, from trying to keep a career in entertainment and athletics to remaining a vital part of one’s family and community. The lowered quality of certain production values actually highlights much of what is potent about the film, the double discrimination felt by black SGL women. Trimel stars as Felicia, a moderately successful actress who tries to keep her girlfriend in the closet–literally–when her traditional Jamaican mother comes to visit. Felicia’s long-suffering lover tells her they’re through, and Felicia is forced to realize she has to come out. But not without her friends. Felicia dares her five best friends to come out with her within 30 days. Melanie wants to get back the daughter she had been raising with another women who walked out on her, Tonya proposes to her white girlfriend only to be dropped in on with a surprise visit by her judgmental sister, Sabrina is a doctor whose strong ties to her faith keep her from even accepting herself, Idrice is a WNBA star who is worried her career outside the court will not take off if she’s out, and Monifa outs herself only to find that she may not be as over men as she thinks. These six women work together and separately to understand themselves, their lives and their relationships, some rebuilding and some breaking down. (Family screens at Columbia College’s Film Row Cinema on Saturday, November 14 at 2 PM).

Finally, Mein Freund Aus Faro (My Friend From Faro) features Melanie, a 22-year-old still figuring out her place in the world, even if she tries to be someone else in it. After hitting Jenny with her car, Melanie offers to take the teen and her friend to a club and is mistaken for a Portuguese boy (she calls herself Miguel) due to her close-cropped hair, small chest and masculine frame. Melanie and Jenny bond at the club, and Melanie begins hitting up the new guy at work, Nuno, to learn more about Portuguese culture. Meanwhile, Melanie’s brother and father are pressuring her about not having a boyfriend, so Melanie pays Nuno to stop by and pretend to be her new boyfriend, Miguel. In a not-so-subtle Shakepearean way, Melanie’s secret lives begin to converge, and when she finds out that Jenny is only 14, things really take a turn for the worse. The film features many grounded performances, particularly from such a young cast, and Melanie’s anguish over not having anything to identify herself as is heartrending. (Mein Freund Aus Faro screens at the Landmark Cinema on Sunday, November 8 at 7:15 PM).

by Kevin Sparrow

The opening night of Reeling 28 will feature the film The Big Gay Musical at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre, which promises to be an outrageous pastiche of musical tropes, camp and heartfelt reverence for one of queerdom’s favorite genre’s. Two other comedy films playing during the festival match the exuberance set forth by this first night.

The Baby Formula is a Canadian mockumentary by director Alison Reid (who also co-stars as the director of the documentary) that posits what would happen if two women decided to make their own biological baby. Lilith and Athena are a happily married Toronto couple who have found a way to have their own kids: genetic testing with stem cells in mice has proven effective in utilizing eggs from one female to create a zygote with an egg from another female. As the first human subject, Athena is excited to become a new mommy, focusing on her own burgeoning belly and needs, leading Lilith to make the decision to be impregnated in the same way without informing her partner. The two reconcile and begin planning for the birth of their daughters, but it’s none too easy with an overly religious mom on Athena’s side, two alcoholic gay fathers on Lilith’s, and a secret to keep about how these babies were conceived. The documentary style creates compellingly natural characters with very distinct personalities and great performances by leads Angela Vint and Megan Fahlenbock and Rosemary Dunsmore as Athena’s mother. The humor is laced in surprising ways, but there are startling moments of poignancy throughout and some tough issues about what it means to accept one’s role as a parent. (The Baby Formula screens at the Landmark Cinema on Friday, November 6 at 9:15 PM).

For fans of early Peter Jackson, you may have found a good ringer in Kevin Hamedani’s ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction. Like all good horror, ZMD bills itself as “a political zomedy” and follows a few liberal-leaning protagonists in a small New England town that just happens to fall under attack by zombies. Frida Abbas has returned home after quitting Princeton, her excuse being to help her father run his restaurant, but all she encounters are neighbors mistaking her for every other identity but Iranian, which ends up even worse when a very Fox News-style channel purports that Muslim terrorists are behind the zombie outbreak. Tom has returned with his partner Lance to finally come out to his mother, only to find her already bitten and becoming zombie. They team up with Cheryl Banks, the ultra-liberal teacher who has put in her bid to run for mayor. Unfortunately, zombies alone aren’t their problem; the close-minded townspeople keep blaming and trying to get these “outsiders” to conform to conservative values. The one-liners are endless, the gore fantastic, and Frida’s theme song will stick with you for weeks. The film’s politics are evident throughout, but it slyly puts into context what it means to be a minority in America today. (ZMD screens at Columbia College’s Film Row Cinema on Friday, November 13 at 9 PM).

by Kevin Sparrow

Our regular weekly news briefs are being replaced by a different look at the world around us: we’re anticipating the opening of the 28th Reeling Film Festival here in Chicago this Thursday, November 5 with a preview of some of the films that will be playing on screens throughout Chicago, from The Music Box to the Landmark to hosts Chicago Filmmakers. Cul de sac’s three-day pre-play begins with a nod to a handful of documentaries that will be screening this year.

City of Borders inundates us in the lives of Palestinian, Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli LGBTs and their struggles with acceptance, especially in proximity to the holy land of Jerusalem. Those taking part in the documentary have found their own having in Shushan, an LGBT bar owned and operated by the first openly gay Israeli council member Sa’ar Netanel. The engaging ensemble story features Palestinian Samira and Israeli Ravit, a lesbian couple who struggle not only with typical problems such as deciding to have children and how working together affects their relationship, but with the present feeling they are sleeping with the enemy; flamboyant Boody is a sometimes drag queen whose mother wants to marry him off to his cousin from America and who is constantly receiving death threats; and Adam and Amit are working to live in the settlement in which Adam grew up and rebuild after a hate crime in which Adam was stabbed during a Pride ceremony. The unquestioning acceptance shown between members of the Palestinian and Israeli LGBT community highlights the doubly compounded hatred they receive from the outside world as identifying as both queer and culturally other. (City of Borders screens at the Landmark Cinema on Tuesday, November 10 at 9 PM).

Two short documentaries focus on the strides made by the LGBT community in the U.S. Out in the Silence is filmmaker Joe Wilson’s response to growing up silently queer in small-town Pennsylvania. After running the announcement of his marriage to another man in his hometown paper and receiving an expected backlash, Wilson is sent a letter by a distraught mother whose son came out and is facing violence and discrimination at school. Wilson takes his camera to Oil Town, PA and connects with 16-year-old C.J., trying to provide him guidance about being out and revisiting his own fears from when he was a teenager. Wilson also interviews Rox and her partner Linda who are battling against zealous Focus on the Family radio host Diane to keep their business restoring an old theater afloat. Wilson captures a good deal of the socioeconomic factors that can lead to a community rejecting LGBT members or denying their existence outright. (Out in the Silence screens at Chicago Filmmakers on Friday, November 13 at 7 PM).

Conversely, Switch: A Community in Transition, focuses much of its attention on the smaller community of family, both blood and chosen. Filmmaker Brooks Nelson’s transition from female-identifying to more masculine is the topic of conversation among his friends and his partner Jeannie’s family, and for good reason: Brooks has asked them to talk about it for the camera. Although it mostly focuses on dialogue and can be a little too intimate to connect to at times, this film is a great conversation starter on why we hold gender identity so close to us and having trouble identifying people gender-neutrally. Even Brooks and Jeannie’s friends, who are predominately butch lesbians, have some discomfort with Brooks’ transition, and a great dialogue about privilege unfolds over the shift in perception of Brooks as a white woman to Brooks as a white man and Brooks’ friend who transitioned from black woman to black man. The film does a great deal to show that people going through transition should not be characterized as “changing;” the perspectives of the people around them should be. (Switch screens at Chicago Filmmakers on Saturday, November 14).

Finally, Fig Trees uses mixed modes to tell the tale of AIDS activists Zackie Achmat of South Africa and Tim McCaskell of Canada. A blend of opera, parody, palindromes and live footage–not always successfully combined but often enthralling–showcases the symbolism of HIV both as a commodity and a commonality between people. You’ll probably never see a better Gertrude Stein impression, and the refreshing perspective that AIDS is something one learns to live beyond rather than learns to accept as a death sentence is especially resonant. (Fig Trees screens at the Landmark Cinema on Wednesday, November 11 at 9 PM).