Events
The Advocate Turns 50! Remembering Editor-in-Chief Richard Rouilard
A groundbreaking magazine
The Advocate’s Lucas Grindley and Paul Colichman with Nancy Cohen at a 50th anniversary party on June 15, 2017. (Photo by Karen Ocamb)
The Los Angeles Advocate started in the late 1960s, as the anti-Vietnam War movement swelled and the liberation movements overwhelmed the long civil rights movement. The newsletter, produced and distributed by the Gay Liberation-inspired political activist group Personal Right in Defense and Education (PRIDE) informed the local gay community about news and events happening during that heady time. It was, after all, created in response to the LAPD raid of the Black Cat Tavern in Silver Lake on January 1, 1967 and the community needed to know when and where the next anti-LAPD demonstrations would occur. In September 1967, the newsletter became a newspaper. By 1974, The Advocate printed 40,000 copies an issue.
The Advocate has undergone tremendous changes since then, which Here Media owner Paul Colichman, editor-in-chief Lucas Grindley, Neal Broverman, Diane Anderson-Minshall and the whole team have recognized in an <ahref=”https://www.advocate.com/advocate50″>amazing tribute to the 50 year old LGBT institution they now run and protect.
I have written intermittently for The Advocate over the years, starting in 1990. My editor was Mark Thompson, for whom The Advocate stood as a “hopeful beacon, holistic in its concern for a people previously broken, adamant in its conviction that the pieces stay mended together. ‘The Advocate was for many of us the first exposure we’d had to the idea that what we are is not bad,’ says one longtime reader, speaking for many. ‘It was alight in the dark by which we could navigate,’” as I wrote in my tribute to him last year.
I was introduced to Mark in 1990 at The Advocate offices in Hollywood by editor-in-chief Richard Rouilard. We felt a responsibility to discern what stories were real, what was spin, and how to report on a controversy with both color and an ethical obligation to the larger context. It wasn’t always easy, but he took the struggle to heart, apologizing profusely when another, more senior editor changed the headline of my story on a confrontation faced by a woman author to make it more snarky: “She took a licking and kept on ticking.”
Before he left, Mark edited the exquisite Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History Of The Gay And Lesbian Movement in 1994. In it is a short essay by Rouilard on the importance of 1990, the year he took over as editor-in-chief of The Advocate.
The Advocate changed dramatically in 1990. Aggressive investigative reporting was initiated by the editorial staff,” Rouilard wrote. “Cover stories attacked corporate giants like AT&T and Bank of America for employment discrimination, unveiled AIDS-phobia and homophobia in Hollywood, on Madison Avenue, and on Seventh Avenue, and explored the gay revolution on American college campuses. The staff also instituted the annual Sissy Awards for America’s worst homophobes. The winner that year was cover boy Jesse helms, whose lips were smeared with a very unflattering shade of red lipstick. Advocate news reports and feature stories were picked up by mainstream media around the world. The Advocate, like the gay nation it reflected, entered the gay nineties with a roar.”
In his Introduction, Thompson noted how Rouilard amplified that roar. “Above all else, the colorful editor-in-chief plunged The Advocate back into the community, a place from which it had been estranged for some time. Under his leadership, the magazine achieved a new standard of excellence for gay journalism, a quality not seen since (Robert I.) McQueen’s early days as editor.”
Rouilard,” Thompson wrote, “had a genius for making the world take notice.” That’s something of an understatement.
Bob Sipchen wrote this in the Los Angeles times on June 28, 1990: “REQUIRED READING: * Webster’s Dictionary has two definitions for the word “sissy.” One is “effeminate.” The other is “cowardly.” In its July 3 issue, The Advocate, subtitled “The National Gay Newsmagazine,” adopts the second meaning and attaches it to its “First Annual Sissy Awards,” dedicated to “some of America’s biggest homophobes.” The issue, he wrote, “is worth picking up if only to see the cover shot of Sissy Award winner Jesse Helms, wearing editorially applied magenta lipstick.”
Richard Rouilard loved being editor-in-chief of The Advocate. Ideas shot out of him like fireworks on Independence Day—ideas to make the magazine better, of higher-quality, and more important with a cutting edge to get more leverage in the mainstream media, and by extension, influence the nation’s premier influencers.
Like Thompson—and most of the other reporters, editors and staff I met when I freelanced there, Richard was furious about anti-LGBT discrimination. He insightfully saw the gay activism stirring around the country and not only seized on being the first to tell the story—but virtually advocated for ACT UP and Queer Nation and the zines popping up with a stunning array of self-expression. And he didn’t stay cordoned off in his Hollywood office or in his well-appointed West Hollywood condo with his beloved partner Bob Cohen. When California Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed the gay rights bill AB 101, Richard was on the streets protesting, putting his body on the line, stopping traffic. I know. I was there. I have pictures.
Richard took the gay rights movement very seriously—and personally. Having been abandoned as a baby, he was later rejected by his adoptive parents when he became too effeminate. He turned that into being too fabulous, adopting his French mother’s maiden name and transforming himself into a gossipy American Anna Wintour with a law degree and biting sense of humor.
He co-founded the National Gay Rights Advocates, the first gay public interest law firm, in 1979, hiring Democratic honcho Jean O’Leary as executive director. Two years later, he created a society column called “Bunny Mars” for several local newspapers and magazines, though best known in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Over his career, he worked as an editor or reporter or consultant for scores of magazines and newspapers and helped co-found the Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
Richard’s Rolodex could fill a closet. But he relied on friends like LA Gay & Lesbian Community Services Center executive director Torie Osborn and entertainment manager/producer Barry Krost for help, tips and balance. He was a mentor and a mensch, a diva, a dragon and a diplomat. And he really, really cared about gay people.
My first cover story for Richard was Aug. 26, 1990. He wanted a story on fundraiser—but not just the “usual suspects,” the big dollar donors who were in many ways carrying the movement as more and more people died of AIDS. He wanted stories about fundraisers in their own communities, no matter what the “big bucks” dollar size. He wanted to give them props, in his own fashion.
I was in the office one day when he came bounding over, incredibly excited to share some news with me: the next issue would say “The Advocate: The National Gay and Lesbian Newsmagazine.” It was the Oct. 29, 1990 cover featuring two white presumably gay men giving a half hello/half-Nazi salute under the headline: “Gay Right-Wingers: Traitors to the Cause?” The top banner headline read: “The Man Who Outed John Travolta Apologizes.” I don’t know if anyone noticed the change.
My next cover story proved problematic. I had been assigned over the summer to find and interview students on college campuses who were acting up, fighting back, resisting, disrupting and being downright rude about it. They were loosely known as Queer Nation. The problem was—no one was on campus during the summer. And then, when I came in for a story conference and Richard excitedly showed me the cover art—I blanched. I had the fists, I had the middle finger. But I didn’t have the equivalent of a student’s hand holding dynamite. “Find it,” he told me. The cover was done. I had to fit the story to the cover. That was not the way I had done journalism before. Luckily, I fund students in an uproar over a cancelation of a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit at a museum in Cincinnati, Ohio that resulted in the Contemporary Arts Center and its director being put on trial for obscenity. The jury acquitted in early October, but I had my stick of dynamite in the fight for the First Amendment and to protect the arts.
He made news by publishing Michelangelo Signorile’s outing of Pete Williams who served as Pentagon spokesperson while there was a ban on gays serving openly in the military. Williams is now the Supreme Court correspondent for NBC News.
“Outing is a very nasty business,” Richard told the LA Times in 1992. “But homophobic homosexuals are a nastier business. I don’t think homosexuality is a privacy issue.”
Richard Rouilard died of AIDS on Wednesday, May 8, 1996. He had resigned from The Advocate in 1992 after getting into fights with the publishers over his enthusiastic spending of their money.
“I think he was most proud of turning The Advocate around and being on the vanguard of bringing gay rights into the mainstream,” LA Times reporter and close friend Mary McNamara told the San Francisco Chronicle. “He was able to approach very serious subjects with intense attention but also with a great sense of humor and empathy.”
Richard’s last Editor’s Note for The Advocate was in the August 13, 1992 issue with the cover story: “Eating Our Own.” It is as important today as then. Here’s what he said, as re-printed in the San Francisco Examiner.
“In a speech at a recent journalists’ conference, author Randy “And the Band Played On” Shilts referred to just about anyone who disagrees with him as a “lavender fascist.” Later he told The New York Times that the lavender fascists were nothing more than third graders whining, “Do what I want you to do, or I’ll tell on you.”
Knowing beforehand that Shilts was going to make this unusual speech, I had to respond. Someone had to defend lavender fascists, whatever they are.
As a joke, I had a dozen T- shirts made up that read LAVENDER FASCIST on the front, The Advocate on the back. The New York Times then reported that those at the conference who were in favor of all-out outing — that is, the now- defunct OutWeek’s position, certainly not The Advocate’s — were wearing “earrings and sassy T-shirts.” The anti-outers were allegedly suited.
I am no more a “lavender fascist,” and all-out outer, than Shilts is a “homocon,” a conservative homo opposed to outing under any circumstances whatsoever. This kind of reductionist thinking about the gay, lesbian and bi community is best left to the straight press, which needs to pigeonhole us because they don’t take the time to find out about the depths of diversity in this hodgepodge we call the gay community. We shouldn’t take them seriously.
But when we start seeing each other as enemies — reducing our complicated lives to black and white, left and right — we are in serious trouble. Our greatest task now is to try to understand, to tolerate, to trust each other a little.
We must. We have precious little in common. We are Republicans, Democrats, rich, poor, black, white, brown, yellow, men and women — just for starters. Our community, our few institutions are under attack from a well-financed, highly organized Right. And if a Washington Times report is accurate, the anti-gay right has the blessings of President Bush.
The backlash against us is raging unchecked across America in small towns and cities. The recent destruction of the offices of Campaign for a Hate-Free Oregon has Urvashi Vaid, the head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, worried, deeply worried. Vaid knows that the anti-gay juggernaut is being fueled by this election year’s great American grandstanding issue — family values.
We have become the Willie Hortons of ’92. Obviously, we can’t afford to be “eating our own” this year. But what is eating our own? Is any criticism, any disagreement, an example of eating our own? Shilts, referring to those with whom he disagrees as lavender fascists, and I with my sarcastic T-shirts are nothing more than two old, bitchy queens going at each other.
Marvin Liebman, a co-founder of the American conservative movement, an out gay man and an old friend of mine, called me an “idiot” in the New York Post for outing an acting chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Anne-Imelda Radice, a friend of his. Well, ditto for Marvin, and he’s older than Randy and I put together.
Eating our own and political disagreements are two very different animals. But past disagreements that are left unattended can, on occasion and frighteningly quickly, turn into the frenzied phenomenon we recognize as eating our own. Two of our most prominent organizations, National Gay Rights Advocates (NGRA) and the Fund for Human Dignity, were eaten alive recently by vast differences of opinion. The parties at odds refused to deal with each other. The disputes became public. Fund-raising abilities collapsed. The organizations folded.
I was the board chair of NGRA during this period. I could not get the two sides to deal with each other as anything but enemies. The animosities were overwhelming. There were voracious beasts on the sidelines — oppression, sickness, internalized homophobia, anti and pro-establishment agenda-ism anti-authority forces and God knows what else; I don’t. Two years later, I still can’t say which one of the beasts was more prominent.
The beast is at the doorstep again. This year’s gay pride parade and festival in Los Angeles was marred by a public dispute between Queer Nation and event organizers Christopher Street West. QN claimed that the entrance fees at the festival and CSW’s attitude towards minorities and drag queens were not conducive to creating a fully diversified ambience. CSW protested.
In an essay in the event program, activist Torie Osborn suggested that QN was involved in eating our own. No. Not quite. Not yet. Nonetheless, Osborn’s call for unity must be heeded because this fracas could easily become a cannibalistic frenzy if it continues.
The differences of opinion here — angry ads were placed in the local gay press by QN — are too dramatic. The drama, a natural result of our diversity, is the signal that discussion is imperative. But how to get these two sides to sit down with each other is the problem.
Where is the meeting ground when some multiculti-queers suggest that one of our finest leaders, Vaid, should be tried for treason? What happens when Tom Stoddard has committed Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund to a fund-raiser in New York at a performance of “Miss Saigon,” a show being boycotted by Asian-American groups? Should Stoddard have canceled the benefit, thereby threatening Lambda’s fund-raising base for the year? Is Stoddard the enemy?
On the other hand, just how long must women and minorities wait for recognition of their needs, acknowledgement of their absolute right to participate in decisions that intimately affect their lives, decisions that are sometimes made by white-male-run organizations?
There are no easy answers. Seemingly, there are no answers. I think I’ll give that bitch Randy Shilts a call.”
Events
City of WeHo to host Rainbow Key Awards
Celebration will honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the LGBTQ+ community
The City of West Hollywood and its LGBTQ+ Commission will host the annual Rainbow Key Awards to recognize nominees who have made outstanding contributions to the LGBTQ+ community.
This year’s Rainbow Key Awards Ceremony will be free and held in-person on Sunday, April 6, at 6PM at the city’s Council Chambers and Public Meeting Room, located at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard.
This year’s awards will honor the awardees who were selected by the LGBTQ+ Commission listed below.
- Dapper Dyke Vivian Escalante is a leader in lesbian activism who established Dykes on Bikes in West Hollywood and Long Beach. In a time of limited representation, her work toward the visibility and empowerment of the lesbian community stood out above others.
- Rebecca Gitlin Ph.D served as the first LGBTQ+ Services Specialist at the LA County Department of Mental Health’s Anti-Racism, Inclusion, Solidarity and Empowerment Division. She now serves as a clinical supervisor at the LACDMH Hollywood Mental Health Cooperative. Gitlin has been instrumental in ensuring that both identity and gender-affirming are included in all of the services provided by LACDMH.
- LZ Love is a legendary African American transfeminine singer who has entertained for decades with her blues, gospel, and dance music. She started her career at age 16 and served as a background vocalist for the great disco diva Sylvester. She has performed at Pride events across the nation and has performed at the City of West Hollywood’s annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.
- Brian Sonia-Wallace founded Pride Poets, the band of LGBTQ+ typewriter poets who have collectively written thousands of free custom poems at West Hollywood Pride events and beyond since 2019, giving the community a chance to have their stories of love, loss, and celebration honored through poetry. He served as West Hollywood’s 4th Poet Laureate from 2020-2023, creating space for hundreds of LGBTQ+ writers to express themselves and build community through the APLA Writers’ Workshop, The Mic @ Micky’s, and the West Hollywood Slam Team.
- Jackie Beat is a drag superstar who has been entertaining audiences across the U.S. and Europe for over three decades. Beat is known for her razor-sharp comedy and hysterical song parodies. Apart from her live tours, Beat has also worked in the film and television industry and has often used her talents to raise money for HIV and AIDS charities and other organizations supporting the LGBTQ+ community.The awards ceremony will be immediately followed by a reception and afterparty on the Respite Deck at the West Hollywood Park Aquatic and Recreation Center, adjacent to West Hollywood Library.
Additional information for this free event, including registration details, is available at the city’s website or by RSVP at Eventbrite. For those unable to attend, the event will also be live-streamed and recorded on the city’s WeHoTV channel on YouTube.
Events
Win tickets to share an evening with RuPaul in Los Angeles!
Global drag sensation RuPaul Charles personally invites you to a one-of-a-kind night filled with spiritual wisdom!
Mama Ru is coming to Los Angeles on March 18th, 2025 to the The Ricardo Montalban Theatre on his House of Hidden Meanings Book Tour, and we have the ticket hookup for you!
Head to our Instagram @LosAngelesBlade and send us a one minute or less video telling us why you just HAVE to see RuPaul for this evening of spilling the tea and spiritual wisdom.
Global drag sensation RuPaul Charles personally invites you to a one-of-a-kind night filled with spiritual wisdom! As always, it’ll be fabulous, but this time it’s raw and vulnerable. Celebrating his highly-anticipated memoir and guide to life, The House of Hidden Meanings, this is an intimate and unscripted exploration of the mind, body and soul, telling RuPaul’s extraordinary story that goes far beyond glamour and fame.
You’ve heard the phrase We’re all born naked, and the rest is drag,’ but this is RuPaul stripped bare. RuPaul offers more than just a memoir; it’s a manual for living, a personal philosophy waiting to be shared that explores chosen family, celebrating your individuality, and the fearless power of self-discovery.
The pop culture icon shares life lessons that will uplift your spirits and foster a sense of belonging – because if you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?
Get tickets here!
Arts & Entertainment
Bob the Drag Queen To Host the 13th Annual Queerties Awards in Los Angeles
The Award Show That Celebrates the Best in LGBTQ+ Entertainment and Pop Culture
The Los Angeles Blade will be on the scene as The Queerties Awards return for their 13th year, shining a spotlight on the most impactful moments in LGBTQ+ entertainment and culture. The big affair will take place on Tuesday, March 11, at The Avalon in Hollywood.
The event promises a night of celebration, recognition, and community. Non-local fans of Queerty can watch the awards on WOW Presents Plus starting March 18, joining the platform’s diverse library of LGBTQ+ content, which includes original series, World of Wonder-produced documentaries and the global Drag Race franchise.
The Queerties, produced by Queerty and its parent company Q.Digital, honor excellence across music, television, film, literature, and more. The awards uniquely focus on LGBTQ+ creators, tastemakers, and storytellers who often go unrecognized by mainstream award shows.
“The Queerties gives voice to the LGBTQ+ community,” said Scott Gatz, CEO of Q.Digital. “It’s the pop culture awards show where queer people honor the best of the best, voting for the talent and creatives who inspire and pave the way for the next generation of queer youth.”
Headlining this year’s ceremony will be the queen of entertainment, Bob the Drag Queen, known for winning RuPaul’s Drag Race, competing on The Traitors, hosting HBO’s We’re Here, and authoring the novel Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert. As usual, Bob brings charisma, humor and activism to the role, making them the perfect emcee for the evening.
“It’s important to devote more focus to LGBTQ+ artists and content due to the attacks coming from the current administration that attempt to not only minimize but essentially erase the existence of people,” said Bob the Drag Queen. “Which is not possible, but they’re trying to make people feel unacknowledged.”
Bob emphasizes the deeper significance of LGBTQ+ representation in media. “Engaging with queer content builds community. It does more than you could imagine,” they added. The Queerties stand as a testament to that mission, highlighting the creative achievements and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community.
This year’s Queerties includes an impressive nominee list, reflecting a groundbreaking year of LGBTQ+ representation and success. Check out the “Badass” category, which honors the year’s top LGBTQ+ newsmakers and includes pop sensation Chappell Roan and trans Latina filmmaker and actress Nava Mau, leading the nominations.
Representing the world of fashion, the “Style Icon” category celebrates individuals whose personal style transcends trends and makes a cultural impact. This year’s nominees include Emmy-winning actress Laverne Cox (Clean Slate) and visionary Filipino-American fashion designer Zaldy Goco, known for his avant-garde creations that have graced stages and red carpets worldwide.
The “Coming Out for Good” category, which recognizes individuals who shared powerful coming-out stories in 2025, features an inspirational lineup. This year’s nominees include chart-topping singer Khalid for his heartfelt public revelation, country star Maren Morris for her advocacy and visibility within the LGBTQ+ community, and Drag Race alum Detox, who continues to use their platform to champion queer causes.
Outstanding performances in film and television are also celebrated. Elliot Page earns a nomination in the “Film Performance” category for his role in Close to You, while Justice Smith is recognized for his work in the psychological thriller I Saw the TV Glow. In the television categories, Cooper Koch (Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story), Yasmin Finney (Heartstopper), and Aubrey Plaza (Agatha All Along) are honored for their dynamic and memorable performances. Film and television continue to bring our stories to the forefront.
The music world sees its own share of rising LGBTQ+ stars in the “Breakout Musical Artist” category. Young Miko, Joy Oladokun, and Drag Race alum Luxx Noir London are all vying for the title, each bringing their unique sounds and stories to the forefront of the industry.
This year’s Queerties also shine a spotlight on LGBTQ+ literature at a time when book bans and censorship efforts are on the rise. The “Best Queer Read” category includes American Teenager by Nico Lang, Rebel Girl by Kathleen Hanna, and The T in LGBT by Jamie Raines, all of which offer profound insights into queer identities and experiences.
The voting process is completely community-driven. Nominees are selected by Queerty’s editorial team, but the winners are chosen by the readers themselves, ensuring that the awards truly reflect the voices and opinions of the LGBTQ+ community.
As the entertainment landscape continues to evolve, the Queerties stand as a beacon of inclusivity and recognition. In a world where LGBTQ+ representation still faces significant challenges, the awards offer a moment to celebrate resilience, creativity, and the power of queer storytelling.
Don’t miss the 13th Annual Queerties Awards on March 11 at The Avalon in Hollywood, or catch the nationwide stream on WOW Presents Plus starting March 18. For more information, visit www.queerty.com/Queerties and subscribe to WOW Presents Plus at www.wowpresentsplus.com to explore their extensive library of LGBTQ+ content.
Arts & Entertainment
Murray Hill comes to Los Angeles for one night only
‘Murray Hill As Himself’ set to go down at The Lodge Room tonight at 7PM
Murray Hill stars in ‘Murray Hill As Himself,’ tonight in Los Angeles at The Lodge Room and in Palm Springs on Sunday, Feb. 23. Tickets are available through Hill’s website for $40 general admission, with an option for VIP tickets that include a meet and greet and special merch item.
Hill’s performance about almost making it in show biz, his chronic middle-aged crisis, showbiz trials and tribulations, failed love affairs, comebacks, accompanied by the swinging band Jordan Katz (Middle-Aged Dad Jam Band) & The Stiff Gimlets and LA burlesque star Jessabelle Thunder and singer-comedian Natasha Estrada.
“It’s the first time I’m bringing my full comedy show, with a band, to LA. It’s a real throwback show, kind of an homage to old-school Vegas legends like Shecky Greene, Totie Fields, Don Rickles, but it’s not an impersonation, it’s in my bones,” said Hill. “I must have been a Vegas lounge comedian in a previous life, because I don’t know why anybody would do this…you know, this is camp. This is humor that nobody does anymore–but I do.”
Hill says tonight’s show will turn heads as Jessabelle Thunder who has headlined many festivals, performed with Miss Dita Von Teese herself as part of her Strip Strip Hooray show and her Von Follies Show, and was featured on television shows–to name a few–will make an appearance.
Hill says that this performance is to take up space as trans people and bring positive light to the marginalized identity.
“I am touring so trans people continue to be out there to take up space and to be a positive light, even to the haters. People are being fed fear and hatred, and they have no idea what’s what. The real issue is, because they don’t know trans people. They don’t sit with them. They’re not in their families. They’re so removed from an actual person that has a heart, has feelings, is somebody’s kid, somebody’s neighbor, somebody’s parent,” said Hill.
“I’m going to continue, through my act and my persona, to show the humanity of not just trans people but of queer people, of all people. That’s something that my show, and even [the characters] I play on TV have; they’re about heart and humanity and laughter. If you have those things happening, it’s really hard to hate at the same time.”
Hill is an NYC-based legend, comedian, MC, international entertainer, TV host and historical figure in the world of Drag. Hill is best known as a drag performer, but also for his most recent role in the HBO TV series Somebody Somewhere. Hill’s breakout role on the Bridget Everett-led dramedy series, is as Fred Rococo, who is directly inspired by Hill. All three seasons are now available on Max.
Hill is now on his Big Mini Murray West Coast Tour, stopping first in Los Angeles, then Palm Springs and finally, Las Vegas.
Catch Hill’s larger-than-life personality on stage in Los Angeles tonight! Hill will also soon be releasing his new book Showbiz! My Life as a Middle-Aged Man, which will chronicle the life and origins of the beloved drag icon that we have come to know as Murray Hill.
Events
LGBTQ+ community will gather to celebrate life of beloved publisher
Join us for a celebration in honor of Troy Masters, founder and publisher of Los Angeles Blade
On Monday, Feb. 10 from 7pm to 9pm, friends and colleagues of Troy Masters will gather at The Abbey in West Hollywood to celebrate his life and legacy as founder of the Los Angeles Blade.
Masters was a resident of WeHo and he was a deeply respected and well-known person for his work in the LGBTQ+ community and coverage of queer issues in Los Angeles and New York City. In the years he was a journalist, he built a network of people that truly stood behind the work he felt passionately about.
The celebration will feature guest speakers who worked closely with Masters s Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath, senior contributing writer for the LA Blade Karen Ocamb, CEO of the Trans Latin@ Coalition Bamby Salcedo and co-owner of the Washington Blade Kevin Naff.
Master’s work and legacy go as far back as the late 1980s where he got his first taste of activism working as an ad representative for the gay and lesbian activism publication, Outweek.
According to the obituary written by his close colleague Ocamb, the publication only lasted 18 months before founder, record producer and ACT UP supporter Bill Chafin passed away due to AIDS. The magazine was the first glossy gay and lesbian magazine published in New York City featuring news, culture, and events during a time where the AIDS Second Wave was peaking and Masters felt like he had to step in to speak up for the issues that were not only affecting his community, but also contributing to a higher death toll during the epidemic.
He successfully launched the bi-weekly newspaper Lesbian and Gay New York, which ran from 1994 to 2002 and then re-launched it as Gay City News. After many other career moves and a move across the country to Los Angeles in 2015, he found himself at a work place that included voices who were openly supportive of Trump and his policies.
This gave him the kick he needed and he gathered the tools to establish what is now the Los Angeles Blade, SoCal’s LGBTQ+ News Source. In short, Masters was a caring advocate for his communities and his tireless work brought together many LGBTQ+ community members.
Now is the time to celebrate not only his life-worth of accomplishments, but to honor and more importantly, carry on his legacy.
The Abbey will be providing small bites and the Trans Corus of L.A will honor Masters with a performance.
Please join us on Monday, Feb. 10 from 7pm to 9pm to honor Troy Masters. RSVP at the Eventbrite link here.
Community Services - PSA
Heal in community at these upcoming mutual aid events
These upcoming events will donate proceeds to fire relief funds and directly impacted community members
If you are in need of resources, services or just a distraction from the onslaught of devastating news, we’ve compiled a list of upcoming events and organizers who are helping heal the community.
Stud Country will be hosting an event at Club Bahia on Jan. 20, where they will make matched donations for dance lessons at 8:30 pm and 10 pm, in financial support of those affected by the LA fires. Stud Country is an event organizing brand aimed at preserving and celebrating the legacy of queer dance spaces and honoring the rich history of LGBTQ+ cowboy culture. They host regular events and dance lessons across San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles.
Bar Flores LA will be hosting their weekly event, The World Is Our Oyster this Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7 pm, geared at uniting the queer community through drag, dancing, DJ sets, tarot readings and eating oysters. On their Instagram post, they stated that a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the California fire relief efforts.
BabyGay, a nonprofit aimed at building inclusive community spaces, issued a statement through their newsletter saying that they had to evacuate from their home during the peak of the fires, unsure if they would ever be able to return.
“In times of crisis like this, our strength lies in our unity and ability to support one another,” said the statement.
BabyGay LA is hosting a LA Queer Events Coalition at Center Silverlake on Jan. 25 from 1pm to 3 pm. The event will be moderated by Carla Ibarra from the LA Civil Rights Department and hosted by Chanel and The Circus, as well as Miss Marquez from Empowerment in Heels. Together, they will guide the community through an afternoon focused on support and immediate assistance. They will also be offering support from on-site therapists by the Open Space Therapy Collective, grounding yoga led by With Love Projects, direct access to essential resources and services, and more.
Trans Dudes of LA, Yes Ma’am Club, Whxremones LA and The Gay Agenda LA are co-hosting a benefit fund called Back On Our Feet, at Sassafras Salon on Jan. 25 from 7 pm to 1am. On their Instagram, they posted that ‘100% of the sales will be donated to the organizations supporting victims of the current fires in Los Angeles.’The suggested donation is $5 for tickets that can be purchased through Eventbrite. According to their post, the night will feature drag, DJs and dancing.
Butchona will be bringing back their event to Little Joy Cocktails in Echo Park on Jan. 26 from 4 pm to 9 pm, featuring the OG DJ’s that brought this event to the queer Latin American community of LA, playing corridos, quebraditas, banda and more. They will also be featuring special guest DJ Todo Trankiloski, who’s part of the Chulita Vinyl Club – a DJ group who plays vinyl sets and recently celebrated 10 years of building their brand and QTBIPOC support system. Though the event is always free, they will be accepting donations for 2 families directly impacted by the Eaton Canyon fire, as well as CHIRLA, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, supporting the immigrant communities of LA.
Mariposx Healing will lead a Somatic Soothing Zoom event in collaboration with Liberatory Wellness Network and Pat.Radical.Therapist, for people affected by the L.A fires on Jan. 28 at 6pm.
“This session is for people affected by the Los Angeles fires. Azul of Mariposx Healing will hold space for expression of emotions through somatic practices, movement, chanting and drum medicine,” reads the IG post.
Perverse4Verse will host their next event on Jan. 30 at the Heavy Manners Library, with a $10 suggested donation and all proceeds going toward a fire relief fund for the community. The theme of the event is collective healing, as they will be featuring community organizers and poets who will be gathering to celebrate leather love and collective care through poetry, togetherness and education. This event is hosted by Karla Lamb, a well-known community organizer in queer literary spaces.
Butch Monthly LA is hosting a donation-based event on Jan. 31, from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Rediscover Center Mid City. They will be hosting a Zine-making night in collaboration with Rebuild, to fundraise for LA Fire relief which will be ‘open to butches and those who love them,’ according to their IG post.
Lesbian Goth Night postponed their monthly event set for Saturday Jan. 11, in light of the fires and devastation felt by many community members and their loved ones. They will now be holding the event on Feb. 7 at 9:30 pm to celebrate Valentine’s Day, honoring the tickets from January’s cancelled event and opening up sales to welcome more people.
“We understand that the weeks have been heavy, as we are too still processing the devastation surrounding the fires,” reads an Instagram post by Lesbian Goth Night. “We were very much looking forward to our January event and seeing all the new and familiar faces\, but throwing the event during that time didn’t feel right on many levels.
Events
Queer Latin Dance LA celebrates decade of inclusive lessons
How this small dance class turned into a decade-long organization
Queer Latin Dance L.A. hosted their Holiday Social on Saturday, celebrating their 10-year anniversary. Beginner and experienced dancers were welcomed to the night-long party that went from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. The evening featured music by D.J. K Bunny and special performances.
Arlene Santos, one of the cofounders of Queer Latin Dance L.A., said the group started when a friend who had visited Santos’ own studio invited her to teach at a meetup in North Hollywood. Through word of mouth, about 80 people showed up to the first meetup of what they called a ‘same-sex dance class.’ Chairs and tables had to be shuffled around to make space for dancing in the small, smoky dive bar.
Santos told CALÓ News that people had driven to North Hollywood all the way from Diamond Bar and Orange County. When she suggested salsa studios closer to those travelers, they told her they didn’t feel welcome in other dance spaces. One of the reasons was that gender was more strictly enforced; attending men didn’t want to dance with other men and women weren’t welcome to try and lead. Same-sex dancing couples received uncomfortable stares from others and teachers used unnecessarily gendered language to refer to class members.
“That’s something that I was guilty of 20 years ago when I was teaching,” Santos said. “I’d say, ‘okay, take the ladies and rotate.’ And now it’s something I would never even dream of saying because it doesn’t even make sense to me anymore. It’s not about ladies and gentlemen, [dancing] is about leaders and followers.”
The queer-specific dance scene has grown over the past 10 years, according to Santos, who said Queer Latin Dance L.A. cross-promotes with other groups and sends students with different schedules to places that are a better fit. The company has grown in their own ways as well. Now, a few former students have become instructors who lead the group’s very own competitive dance team.
Santos said she’s hopeful about the years to come.
“I just want the scene to keep growing and for these spaces to be around so that anyone can come and dance and feel like they’re in a safe space,” she said.
Saturday night featured a salsa class at 8 p.m., bachata lesson at 8:40 p.m., and dance performances at 10 p.m. more information can be found on their site
Arts & Entertainment
GMCLA to perform concert filled with holiday magic and sugar
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles heads to the Saban Theatre on 14th and 15th December
When it comes to all-sing-and-dance musical productions, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles never fails to pull out all the stops. The festive shows make the Top Twenty LA Holiday Events List annually and 2024 looks to be no exception.
The SugarPlum Fairies Holiday Concert is set to feature “some of the most magical music ever written, filled with sugar plums, rich chocolate, and pure fantasy.”
Audiences can expect the 200-strong chorus to perform 25 songs ranging from iconic Christmas classics to a modern twist on the festive ballet. The Nutcracker’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’s Pure Imagination are among the musical repertoire, while Dolly Parton’s Hard Candy Christmas and Sia’s Candy Cane Lane represent the new holiday cohort.
“You’re going to hear some Christina Aguilera, you’re going to hear some old school [songs] from the 60s about candy, and you’re also going to hear some traditional music,” said choreographer, Ray Leeper. “Wonka is really hot right now, so you’re going to hear some of the the old Wonka and from the new movie.”
This year’s Christmas show promises to be a particularly special one, with the group celebrating its 45th anniversary of service and community.
“Everything we do is because of the incredible support we get from our singing members, who have been giving their time, energy, commitment, and activism for over 45 years,” GMCLA Executive Director, Lou Spisto explained.
The chorus continues to garner acclaim for artistic excellence while remaining deeply rooted in its service. For those who don’t know, GMCLA was founded in 1979 in the midst of the country’s gay rights movement.
Members spread a message of love and acceptance, with programs like SugarPlum focusing just as much on social justice as they do show tunes.
“The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles is well known for great music, great artistry, and great concerts that we do in these major venues around town–but it’s far more than that,” Spisto added.“Each year, we do around 43 events in high schools, community centers, and hospitals to be with our communities and support them… those who look like us and those who don’t. I’m so proud to say we’ve grown these projects over the last six years.”
Its award-winning school program Alive Music Project has served over 90,000 young people since its inception. AMP also offers an opportunity to enrich each school’s music education program, with Choral students invited to perform with GMCLA at the presentations.
Their Arts for Healing & Justice program provides introductory music classes for incarcerated youth in Los Angeles County’s juvenile correctional system. They join an interdisciplinary collaboration of outstanding organizations, providing exceptional arts programming to build resiliency and wellness, eliminate recidivism, and transform the juvenile justice system.
Concerts such as SugarPlum are helping to raise funds for this vital work on an annual basis. When the chorus isn’t working on ticketed events like their Christmas concert, their yearly free events help to expand community access even further. Past venues include the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
As for the immediate future, GMCLA’s hope is triumphing over hate. The result of this year’s presidential election is likely to affect California’s LGBTQ+ community in some way, but Spisto is only seeing upsides, not downsides.
One such upside? Using SugarPlum as the perfect opportunity to celebrate Los Angeles’ vibrant queer community for the loud and proud individuals they are.
“It’s an interesting time in our world today. GMCLA has been speaking loudly, singing loudly, and standing up for this community and others for decades, and we’re going to continue to do that,” said Spisto.
SugarPlum Fairies will be at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills on December 14 at 8pm and December 15 at 3:30pm. Buy tickets now at https://www.gmcla.org/sugarplumfairies. Prices range from $45-$125. If you want to support the Chorus’ ongoing educational work, you can make a donation at GMCLA.org/holidaygiving. Eligible donations of $120 or more–or new monthly donations of $10 or more–will receive an official GMCLA Holiday Sweatshirt as a thank-you gift. Donations must be made by December 31st to be eligible.
Arts & Entertainment
Comedian Adam Sank knows he’s just as damaged as his ‘Bad Dates’
In his “one-man show about many men” Adam Sank comes to terms with a lifetime spent searching for ‘the one’
At 54 and single, comedian Adam Sank is as much a veteran of the gay dating scene and of the stage, so when he was challenged to put together his new show, he did what came natural: he mined his lifetime of hookups and dates gone wrong, for an hour of laughs.
Now he’s bringing that award-winning show, Bad Dates: A One-Man Show About Many Men, to Southern California for a pair of dates in Los Angeles and San Diego Dec 6-7.
“The show opens with me saying, ‘I’m 53 years old and single,’ and fortunately, I haven’t had to change the script in the last year and a half that I’ve been performing this,” Sank said with a wry smile over a Zoom call from his New York apartment.
If that sounds like a hint of bitterness about the single life coming through, Sank is quick to dismiss it.
“I think there’s this notion in our culture, it’s sort of ingrained in us that if you’re not married, if you don’t find your person, you’re somehow lesser. You’re somehow leading a less full life,” Sank said. “It’s taken me a long time to be able to say I truly believe that’s bullshit.”
“Finding your person does not equal happiness and being single does not equal sadness,” he continued.
Sank has been rising through the comedy trenches for twenty years. He says he got a late start in stand-up at age 32, after getting burned out working as a television news producer. Over the years, he’s competed on Last Comic Standing and appeared as a commentator on shows like I Love the 2000s and Best Week Ever.
Bad Dates marks something of a departure, with a stronger focus on long-form narrative as Sank goes deeper into what a life spent single means. And it’s a departure that’s won him many plaudits from critics such as two Broadway World Cabaret Awards for the show’s original run at the Stonewall Inn in New York last summer.
“There’s a cost to spending your entire adult life searching for the one, the perfect love story, when we expend so much energy and time and resources into that one thing we neglect everything else,” he said.
But Bad Dates at least proves there’s one benefit to trudging through the dating trenches across decades: the stories. And boy, does Sank have stories. Twinks, injuries, being invited to orgies, not being invited to orgies–Sank’s dating life has proven a goldmine of hilarious material.
“We like hearing about any misfortune because we identify with so much of it and it makes us feel less alone. You know, I think a lot of people out there–especially people who are not necessarily young and single–relate to this show because they’re like, ‘Oh my God, I’m not the only one who has been through these situations,’” he said.
Which isn’t to say Sank doesn’t have those romantic notions. He’s just maybe become a bit more realistic about the pursuit of partnership.
“When I was younger, I don’t think I was ready. I think I had so much work I needed to do on myself, and I had this very false idea about what a relationship should look like and what it would do for me. I basically bought into the whole rom-com idea that you would meet your person and you would live happily ever after. And that’s just not true for anyone. Even if you have the world’s greatest relationship, you have to constantly be doing work on yourself and on your relationship to keep it going,” he said.
If Sank reveals any regret, it’s that he didn’t figure all that out sooner.
“I really need a guy in my age range who’s single and they’re almost always really damaged–which is why they’re still single at my age,” he said. “I’m sure I’m just as damaged as they are, but the point is, it’s a lot harder.”
Adam Sank’s solo show Bad Dates goes on at The Broadwater Main Stage, 1078 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, on Friday, December 6 at 9pm, and at the Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Boulevard #101, San Diego, on Saturday, December 7 at 7:30pm. Tickets here.
Events
Botitas World: the business brand aimed at building community
Cafécito and Comunidad, the event to gather in QTBIPOC community
Zizi Bandera and Ty Curiel, came together to form what is now Botitas–a small business brand and organizing space for Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and People of Color to celebrate and embrace identity, ethnicity and community.
The co-founders of Saturday’s Botitas event Cafécito and Comunidad, say they had to close the RSVP’s because they reached capacity and were afraid of having issues with the Parks and Recreation Department that issues parking permits and sets a limit for the number of people allowed to gather at Elysian Park in Los Angeles.
“It’s our first event here and it’s an amazing turnout,” said Bandera. “TikTok blew us up.”
Bandera referenced the TikTok video they posted announcing the event and says that they woke up the next morning to see that they had well over a hundred RSVP’s for the event that they expected would only have a couple dozen people.
“We had someone who is part of our community call up the councilmember for this district and was able to talk to whoever is in charge of Parks and Rec to OK more capacity,” said Bandera. “[Eunisses Hernandez, Councilmember CD-1] also got us the tables and permits.”
Bandera stresses that the amount of people who reserved a spot for the event comes to show the need for space like Botitas.
“I thought it was going to be maybe fifteen, twenty people,” said Bandera.
The space is held intentionally for the BIPOC community within the broader LGBTQ+ community, with the intention of centering BIPOC voices that can otherwise be erased, marginalized, sidelined or silenced in broader community conversations.
“Our focus is to have these community spaces and to serve our trans Latine community in Los Angeles and beyond,” continued Bandera. “We thought about making this project a nonprofit, but we wanted to really have full agency and control over, in terms of the needs of our community.”
Bandera says that going the nonprofit route has its own challenges and obstacles because of different stakeholders. They stress the importance of their community being the stakeholders in this business journey.
Though the day was a bit gloomy with some light rain, many people gathered to mingle, chat and yap, along with some coffee at Elysian Park in Los Angeles this past Saturday (Photo Credit Gisselle Palomera).
“I’ve been working in community organizing, mobilizing around LGBTQ and immigrant issues for almost fifteen years now and I’ve always wanted to create something that was for us, led by us–queer, trans, Latine and intergenerational.”
Bandera says that they were inspired to create this space for QTBIPOC because of a report released earlier this year pointing to a loneliness epidemic that disproportionately affects LGBTQ+ people over their heterosexual peers.
The report states that ”…LGBTQ+ youth exhibit higher rates of loneliness, social isolation, and depressive symptoms than their heterosexual peers. Moreover, LGBTQ+ youth grappling with loneliness are less likely to reach out for help regarding their mental health concerns.’
The other co-founder of Botitas has different reasons to have started this business journey.
“Botitas is one day today and another thing tomorrow,” Curiel said. “Our idea came from wanting to create a brand–something that you can wear when you’re out and about in the city. A brand that is backed by people who resonate with you as Latine folks, queer, trans and that’s what we are.”
Curiel also states that the current state of politics also plays a major role in his idea to create Botitas. “We want to [create these spaces], especially in this time and age where there’s a rhetoric of people spreading hate.”
This event is in a public space, encouraging people who show up, to gather in a space that supports sobriety. The offerings included cafécito, pastries and games.
Earlier this year during pride month, Curiel says he and Bandera were looking at historic news articles and photographs of LGBTQ+ life in Los Angeles during the 1950s and 60s, from an exhibit at the Central Library in DTLA, and that’s when it hit them both that none of the people in the photos looked like them. They did not feel represented.
This moment urged them to reconsider what it means to them to feel represented, heard and seen–thus bringing about the idea for Botitas.
Follow @Botitas.World on Instagram and TikTok to get more information on upcoming events.
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