+inside! - Daily Xtra

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#747 JUNE 13–26, 2013
T
TORONTO’S
GAY & LES
LESBIAN
SBIAN N
NEWS
E WS
ENVISIONING
WORLDPRIDE
E
+ INSIDE!
16
GAYSTONE AT
THE
GLADSTONE
E
31
BUDDIES’
QUEER PRIDE
E
32
HOME SHOPPING
ON
KING STREET
E
36
Jinkx
More at
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down at Pride E26
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2 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
j’adore
SUNDAY JUNE 23RD
WOODY’S PRIDE WEEK KICK-OFF
A BENEFIT FOR CANFAR
6PM MISS CONCEPTION
HOLLYWOODY BROADWAY SHOW PRIDE EDITION
9PM GEORGIE GIRL OLD SCHOOL PRIDE SHOW
WITH STEPHANIE STEVENS
AND KATINKA KATURE
11PM SIX SMOKING HOT PRIDE DIVAS
GEORGIE, BROOK-LYNN, CASSANDRA, DEVINE,
SCARLETT AND LEXI TELLINGS LIVE
MONDAY JUNE 24TH 11PM
MEN’S CHEST CONTEST & SHOW
HOSTED BY MISS CONCEPTION
WITH JADA HUDSON AND BUNNI LAPIN
TUESDAY JUNE 25TH 11PM
MEN’S ASS
CONTEST & SHOW
HOSTED BY
BIRTHDAY GIRL GEORGIE GIRL
WITH TYNOMI BANKS AND MICHELLE ROSS
AND TICKET GIVEAWAYS FOR PITBULL PRIDE
Photo: David Hawe
WEDNESDAY JUNE 26TH
8PM MISS CONCEPTION
BIRTHDAY SHOW BLOW-OUT
11PM MEN’S ASS
CONTEST & SHOW
BROOK-LYNN HYTES
WITH DEVINE DARLIN’
AND MAHOGANY BROWN
$300 PRIZES AND
TICKET GIVEAWAYS FOR
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XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 3
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GENDER JOURNEYS STARTS JUNE 19!
Gender Journeys is an 11-week group for people considering a gender transition. The group provides
information and community for people with gender changes across the gender spectrum.4HEGROUPWILL
RUN7EDNESDAYEVENINGS*UNE!UGUSTPM2EGISTRATIONISREQUIRED#ONTACT9EGIATYDADUI
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EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
Drasko Bogdanovic, Kyle Burton,
Rolyn Chambers, Elah Feder, Brad Fraser,
Nick Green, Matthew Hays, Serafin LaRiviere,
Michael Lyons, Darryl Mabey,
Marcus McCann, Anna Pournikova,
Drew Rowsome, Eduardo Sabate,
Rob Salerno, Julian Ward, Jeremy Willard
FAMILY PRIDE WEEKEND - JUNE 29-30
During Pride Weekend come find a child-centred oasis of music, activities, food, play respite and resources
at Church Street Public School. We’ll have the 2013 issue of Pride & Joy, our annual newsletter on site,
please stop by to say hi! HTTPWWWPRIDETORONTOCOMFESTIVALFAMILYPRIDE
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Celebrate trans and queer youth creativity and the launch of Pink Ink’s brand new zine: These Words Are
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aged 14-29. The zine launch is a FREE event for all community members, friends, family and allies. $OORS
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ALPHABET SOUP: KARAOKE PARTY ON TUESDAY, JUNE 18!
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the DVP and the Gardiner, Riverdale Farms (baby piglets!) and comes with
Parking, locker, and bragging rights to live in THIS building in Cabbagetown.
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4 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
Alex Brott, Sales Rep. Keller Williams Referred Urban Realty.
Direct: 416-669-8166 Office: 416-572-1016
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
Roundup
TORONTO’S
GAY& LESBIAN
NEWS
#747 JUNE 13–26, 2013
ABRAMIAN
BARRISTERS
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Successfully practicing law for over 15 years
family law r marriage contracts r co-habitation agreements r
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NEIGHBOURHOOD
King-sized shopping
+ INSIDE!
Toronto’s furniture strip offers
something for every type of home E36
Editorial
Elephants in the locker room
By Natasha Barsotti E6
Feedback E6
Xcetera E9
Upfront
Piecing together the story
of three missing men
Police investigate gay village
disappearances E11
National news Coalition calls
on Ontario government to
update sex ed E12
Local news Panel dismisses
QuAIA complaints, but city hall
still a wildcard E14
Hundreds gather to help
envision WorldPride E16
Read my hands Building
a deaf-hearing alliance in
Toronto E18
Out in the City
Arts roundup The faces
of Furry Creek E25
Jinkx Monsoon Fierce
of nature E26
Pride at the Gladstone A
roundup of this season’s mustsee “Gaystone” events E31
Sex and the silly Buddies ups
the drama for Pride season E32
What’s On E39
Club Scene E40
Deep Dish
By Rolyn Chambers E42
Xposed
By Anna Pournikova E43
Guidemag travel
Vancouver The gay heart of
Canada’s West Coast E44
Fraser’s Edge
Are gays more obsessed with
beauty? By Brad Fraser E20
Halifax Have the
Maritime of your life E46
History Boys
Dr James Barry: 19th-century
androgynous enigma
By Michael Lyons E22
Xtra Living E52
MORE AT XTRA.CA
Classifieds E51
Xtra Hot
By Drasko Bogdanovic E53
COVER PHOTO
JOSE A GUZMAN COLON
ONLINE at xtra.ca
Second man charged in
murder of Allan Lanteigne
Interpol hunt found Mladen
Ivezic hiding in Greece
Prince Harry to the rescue
Royal thwarts potential
bashing of openly gay
soldier at Alberta base
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 5
Comment
Natasha Barsotti is the staff reporter
at Xtra Vancouver.
The outcome that we seek is this — gay and lesbian
people daring together to set love free.
Xtra is published by Pink Triangle Press, at 2 Carlton St, Ste 1600, Toronto, M5B 1J3.
6 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
SEBASTIAN
OTTAWA, ON
While I do believe that Catholic
schools should merge with public
schools and become secularized, I
believe that everyone should educate
themselves about other cultures and
religions and be sensitive to them.
You should not be angry with the
Catholic school board as a whole, but
rather with ignorant extremists, who
by no means represent the Catholic
population as a whole. Only fanatics and fundamentalists take the
Bible word for word; modern-day
and open-minded Catholics take it
with a grain of salt.
ARIA CHAN
TORONTO, ON
Village study
Church Street needs a major facelift
[“Keep the Village Queer: Study Participants,” Xtra #746, May 30]. But
with these owners of the building
charging so much rent, they should
beautify the facades of their buildings to fully represent the gay village.
BROCK STACKHOUSE
TORONTO, ON
Trans March
Pride means different things to
different people [“City of Toronto
Flip-Flops on Trans March Decision,” xtra.ca, May 23]. The gays and
lesbians want to celebrate all their
victories, while the trans folks are
just starting to fight their battles. A
celebration doesn’t work for trans.
Trans people are here to raise education and awareness that their needs
still aren’t being met: inadequate hu-
RE: TCDSB AND GSA BAN
10
TORONTO’S
TO
ORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
#746 MAY 30–JUNE 12, 2013
If the Catholic school board wants
to actively discriminate against
LGBT students or staff, then cut
their public funding immediately
[“Toronto Catholic School Board
Rejects GSA Ban,” Xtra #746, May
30]. Public funds should not be made
available for organizations that support discrimination of any kind. It’s
utterly disgusting that these attitudes still exist in Canada in 2013.
How shameful. Leave religion to
the churches and education to the
government. There is no reason for
Catholic schools to exist.
@xtra_canada
TCDSB and GSA ban
facebook.com/xtra.ca
Gay goalie Scott Heggart
says his pre-game hockey ritual is so
intense that his high school coach gave
him an end-of-season award for it —
followed by a bang-on impression of
the routine for good measure.
Heggart’s point?
“Before a game, sex is the last thing
on your mind,” he says.
This, despite all the panicked hullaballoo in some quarters about what the
presence of openly gay players could
mean for getting changed in the locker
room, not to mention picking up the
proverbial dropped bar of soap. (As if it
would be so different from the manly
butt slaps already administered for a
game well played.)
Newly signed Oakland Raiders punter Chris Kluwe dismisses what he feels
is the false elephant in the locker room.
“What makes you think that because
all of a sudden a player is allowed to
openly be himself that he’s immediately going to start mounting every guy
in sight... despite every single norm we
are raised with?”
Basketball’s Jason Collins says he’s
glad he came out in 2013, not 2003 —
that he “baked” for 33 years.
Does it seem plausible that gay
athletes like Collins, having agonized
about the consequences for their
careers, team relationships and fan
reaction, are now going to start making passes left, right and centre at their
teammates?
Any number of people in any number of workplaces go about their business on a daily basis “without riotous
orgies,” Kluwe points outs. “Those of
you worried about a gay teammate
checking out your ass in the shower
or hitting on you in the steam room
or bringing too much attention to the
team — I have four simple words for
you: grow the fuck up. This is our job;
we are adults, so would you kindly act
like one?”
Much of the discussion about openly
gay athletes still hasn’t cracked the
level of adolescence, a dismal reminder
of our crippling discomfort with sexuality and gender.
It’s not unlike the sky-is-falling reaction that accompanied female sports
reporters’ first attempts to gain access
to locker rooms.
Back in the late 1970s, Major League
Baseball (MLB) blocked Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke’s access
to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ locker
room during the World Series — access
that her male competitors took for
granted.
The word, delivered to Ludtke by
the assistant to the baseball commissioner, was that if they allowed her into
the clubhouse, the players’ children
were going to be ridiculed in school the
next day.
Not to mention, he added, that the
players’ wives had not been consulted.
Ludtke’s crackshot rejoinder? “On
what decision has baseball ever consulted the wives?”
She consulted her lawyers, took the
MLB to court, and won.
“There were probably a dozen to 20
women reporters at that time covering
sports; I would say, conservatively, there
are now several thousand,” Ludtke says
of the implication of the court’s ruling.
Hopefully, the recent decision by
Collins and soccer’s Robbie Rogers to
step out while still on the field of play
will have a similar influence on other
closeted male athletes — and eventually drown out the fear-mongering
about what it means to have openly gay
teammates.
And really... so what if a teammate
finds your butt, package and pecs to be
all that?
Be flattered. And if you’re not on, or
partial to, that particular team, then a
clear “Thank you for noticing my vitals,
but I’m not interested” is all the defensive equipment you usually need to
stop a pass in its tracks.
As Kluwe points out, human resources personnel are there to intervene in
the (unlikely) event things get out of
hand... or to hold your hand through
the trauma of being found attractive.
Leave religion to the churches
and education to the government.
xtra.ca
EDITORIAL
NATASHA
BARSOTTI
FEEDBACK
More at
Elephants in the locker room
email comment@xtra.ca
comment xtra.ca & facebook/xtra.ca
tweet @xtra_canada
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CONDOMANIA
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STYLE LIFE
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YEARS OF
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Equal rights or
mainstream assimilation?
E16
E
16
SAM SOUKAS, TORONTO REAL
ESTATE BOARD (FACEBOOK)
TORONTO, ON
FREE
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man rights legislations, inadequate
healthcare, underemployment, discrimination with access to housing,
et cetera. We need our own events,
not necessarily because we don’t like
sexual-orientation celebrations, but
because we need our issues brought
to light.
JENNIFER MCCREATH
ST JOHN’S, NL
First, Pride Toronto (PT) submits
an application for a route that they
know is not acceptable to the trans
community and has been objected
to for many years. Then PT agrees
not to organize a march, rather than
stand up for the trans community
they were funded to represent. Now,
knowing full well, PT publishes a
false route and suggests it might be
safer for those that fear participating in an “illegal” march. The Trans
March is not illegal and will be well
marshalled. Further, for PT to use
the fears of an already marginalized
community to justify an alternative
route is irresponsible. Way to go in
supporting the trans community you
are apparently funded to support!
RACHEL LEWIS
TORONTO, ON
Leslieville
The burgeoning of Leslieville started
in 1995 [“Leslieville Charms,” Xtra
#745, May 16]. In 2006, Starbucks
arrived, changing the face of real
estate here. First-time buyers have
been forced to look further east to
just before the Beach, as far as the
eastern reaches of East York. One
of my listings on Hastings Avenue
International
gaybourhoods
I loved the article; it really is quite
a piece of research [“Around the
World,” Xtra #746, May 30]. I love
that you make the reader feel as if
they are in those places. Some of
those cities sound amazing. I knew
Canada was very broad-minded, but
seriously, after reading this, I not
only want to come back (without
family; I love them, but real party
holidays have to be with friends!),
I almost want to find a way to live
there for a while!
GABRIEL ZEPEDA
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
Bathhouses
I want to thank you for the article “A
Day and Night at the Baths,” [Xtra
#744, May 2]. As a long-time resident
of Toronto, I have visited most of
the establishments you describe —
Excess, Steamworks and Oak Leaf
(many years ago). The two I was not
familiar with were the Metro Theatre
and Video X. Thanks to your article,
I have now visited them, and both
provided very satisfactory experiences — although I wish I had taken
my pocket flashlight to the latter. You
might also have mentioned Central
Spa, the Cellar and the Loft movie
complex.
JOHN WILLIAMS
ETOBICOKE, ON
Gay blood ban
The blood donation ban for men
who have had sex with men (MSM)
makes complete sense from Health
Canada’s perspective [“Health
Canada Replaces Gay Blood Ban
with Five-Year Deferral,” Xtra #746,
May 30]. Nobody is discriminating
on the basis of identity; MSM is a
behaviour-based classification that
is applied to men regardless of how
they identify or what community
they belong to.
PAUL
VICTORIA, BC
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
,=,9@
7,9:650:
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;HSR[V`V\YKVJ[VY
MORE AT XTRA.CA
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 7
8 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
XCETERA
Sushi
A BIWEEKLY
HELPING OF
POP CULTURE,
SERVED
À LA CARTE
6
Number of Tonys
Kinky Boots won at
the 2013 awards gala.
OUT ON THE STREET BY KYLE BURTON
Cyndi Lauper
What’s your favourite thing about Pride?
First woman to win
the award for Best
Original Score, for
Kinky Boots.
Urinetown
The musical that took
home the same award
in 2002.
New!
Search MLS listings directly from my Facebook page!
Gaelen Patrick
Real Estate Sales Representative
Buying? Selling? Renting?
Thinking Pre-construction?
Proudly Serving Our Community!
Achievement in Exceptional
Sales Performance and Service
Proud Financial Supporter of the Church
St. 519 Community Centre with a donation
from every sale going to the centre!
Contact me
416.801.9265 | gaelen@gaelenpatrick.com
www.gaelenpatrick.com
Sutton Group Realty Systems Inc. Brokerage
Independently Owned and Operated | 416.762.4200 Toronto
Not intended to solicit those already under contract with another Realtor.
Maria
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PILATES INSTRUCTOR
REAL ESTATE AGENT
CHIROPRACTOR
SECURITY OFFICER
There’s usually
really great parties
and events, and I
love to see people
having a good time.
I like that you can
be yourself without
being judged.
I like just hanging
out with friends
and watching the
parade.
I love meeting
people from all over
the world. It’s just
incredible how many
people come out for
Pride Week.
He had a complete
look of bewilderment
on his face. I couldn’t
stop the tears from
welling up in my eyes.
He said, ‘Right, I’m
going to sort this shit
out once and
for all.’
— gay British soldier James
Wharton describes how
Prince Harry came to his
defence when six other
soldiers threatened
to beat him, in his
book Out in the
Army: My Life As
a Gay Soldier
MORE AT XTRA.CA
My Crazy
Beautiful Life
Title of pop star
Kesha’s reality show,
in which she recently
drank her own urine.
26
Kesha’s age.
David Karp
The 26-year-old
founder of Tumblr,
who recently sold the
company to Yahoo for
$1.1 billion.
‘Playboy
of Tech’
Details
magazine
story that
features Karp.
Charles Forman
Also featured in the
Details profile, often
pictured topless and
falsely rumoured to be
Karp’s boyfriend.
FROM THE PTP
ARCHIVES
35 YEARS AGO
BODY POLITIC #44
JUNE/JULY 1978
Principal William Shaver
fired John Argue from his
position as a lifeguard at
Glenview Senior Public School
— although in an almost
unprecedented move the
Toronto District School Board
reversed the decision. Though
it couldn’t be proved, they
believed he was fired because
he was open with students
about his sexuality.
Missile Command
A game featured on
Forman’s multiplayer
gaming website,
OMGPOP.
Air Force
Major General
Patricia Rose
Highestranking
openly
gay officer
in the
military.
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 9
Presented by
U of T’s Sexual & Gender Diversity Office
& Hart House
THURSDAY JUNE 20, 2013
HART HOUSE QUAD
U of T’s
PRIDE PUB
Your PRIDE starts here!
4 PM – 8 PM: BBQ & Community Fair
8 PM – 1 AM: Dancing under the stars
Free before 9 PM
$5 cover & 17+ after 9 PM
Everyone is invited to get Pride started early
in the beautiful Hart House Quad. This
annual highlight is the Pride kick-off event
you don’t want to miss!
Funds raised will support LGBTQ student
leadership programming at U of T.
#UofTPridePub
DJ COSMIC CAT
CHERRY BOMB
DANCE PERFORMANCE
SC SWAGG
DJ SAMMY RAWAL
YES YES Y’ALL / BUSINESS WOMEN’S SPECIAL
Hart House, University of Toronto / 7 Hart House Circle / Toronto, ON / M5S 3H3 / 416.978.2452 / www.harthouse.ca
Sexual & Gender
Diversity Office
10 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
Sponsors:
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
Upfront
We’ve been at Crews & Tangos when the lights go on and all the hearing people are
running out, but the deaf folks stay behind and chat away. Michelle Bourgeois E18
MISSING
Police investigate disappearance of men from Village
LOCAL NEWS
ANDREA HOUSTON
More details are emerging about three
missing men who vanished from the
Church-Wellesley Village.
Toronto Police Service investigators
say the three missing-persons cases are
connected through “similar ethnicities.”
Detective Deb Harris, who is leading the
investigation, says the three men were
not all openly gay. “They frequented the
Church and Wellesley area and lived
similar lifestyles.”
Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam,
40, went missing on Sept 16, 2010, after
leaving Zipperz with an unknown man.
What makes his disappearance particularly troubling for police is that he left
behind an unattended puppy, which
is unusual, says Constable Tony Vella.
Abdulbasir “Basir” Faizi, 44, went
missing on Dec 29, 2010. His vehicle was
found abandoned in the Village, which is
also where he was last seen. According
to police, his bank records show he last
used his debit card at the Hero Burger
restaurant on Church Street.
Majeed “Hamid” Kayhan was last
seen on Oct 14, 2012, and was reported
missing to police on Oct 25 by his son,
police say.
Harris says the three missing men
have probably never met, but she can’t
say for sure. “There is nothing that links
the three men to each other.”
El-Farouk Khaki is a refugee and immigration lawyer who often represents
queer people fleeing violence. He is also
the founder of Salaam, a Toronto-based
queer mosque, and a leader in the local
queer Muslim community. Khaki cautions police against ethnically profiling
the men because of the colour of their
skin or their “lifestyle.” The three men
are actually not “ethnically similar,”
he says. Rather, they share a similar
skin colour.
“By looking at their names, and seeing
MORE AT XTRA.CA
Clockwise from top right: Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, Majeed “Hamid”
Kayhan and Abdulbasir “Basir” Faizi. All three men have gone missing within
the last three years and were last seen in the gay village.
the pictures, I surmised that [Faizi and
Kayhan] are either Afghani or Pakistani,”
he says. “They are probably Muslim.”
Faizi’s Facebook page lists his hometown
as Herat, Afghanistan. Navaratnam, on
the other hand, is from Sri Lanka.
When asked about this discrepancy,
Harris clarifies, “Yes, the men are of
similar complexions, not ethnicity.”
Meanwhile, at the Black Eagle on
Church Street, where Kayhan was a
regular, owner Carlos Filetti remembers seeing him often, and barfly Gary
Livingstone knew him well. Livingstone
describes Kayhan as “out-ish.”
“He was out to the gay community
in the Village, but not out to his family,
who is Afghani,” he says. “His gay life
was very compartmentalized. He came
to the Village and was able to be who he
really was, which was separate from his
responsibilities with his family.”
Livingstone says Kayhan once told him
that his family lives in Mississauga, but
he didn’t talk about them much. “He just
disappeared off the face of the Earth,” he
says, remembering that through their
chats, he came to understand that Kayhan was dealing with systemic cultural
homophobia, along with racism, that
prevented him from living a fully out
life. Those pressures forced Kayhan to
live part of his life in the closet, and that
was very difficult for him.
Livingstone also knew one of the
other missing men, Navaratnam, who
lived downtown as an openly gay man,
he says. “I’m not sure I understand the
connection between the two men that I
knew,” he says. “They were very different. They are about 10 years apart in age.
Different ethnicity. Different religion.
Different life experiences altogether.
“[Navaratnam] had a life in gay society. He knew people and was involved.
Whereas for [Kayhan], this was his
alternate identity. This is where he
came to be gay. They were the guys I
see when I go for a drink. So you know
a certain amount about them, but not
a huge amount.”
Faizi’s family situation is similar to
Kayhan’s. His sister-in-law Nijiba tells
Xtra that his family is very worried and
that she knew nothing about the connection to the Village. She says Faizi
has a wife and two daughters who live
in Mississauga. On the day he went
missing, she says, he had been at work.
He worked in a Mississauga factory, but
she didn’t know the company name or
his job at the factory.
“He usually came straight home after
because they make him work 12-hour
shifts,” she says. “He worked night and
day... That night, he called my sister,
his wife, and said, ‘I’m coming home late
tonight.’ She asked him why, and he said
he is going out with a friend from work.”
Nijiba says that Faizi’s wife called him
around midnight, but couldn’t reach him.
He never called home again. “I hope one
day we will hear good news,” she says.
Peel Regional Police Constable
Thomas Ruttan says officers in Peel are
assisting Toronto police and have conducted an extensive investigation into
Faizi’s background, which is ongoing.
Unlike the other two men, Navaratnam has a network of friends and lovers in the gay community who started
searching for him shortly after he disappeared. Signs were posted around
the Village and in Cabbagetown, where
Navaratnam lived. Friends also started a
Facebook page dedicated to finding him,
which has since been shut down. At the
time that he went missing, his friend
Jody Becker told Xtra that Navaratnam
was a regular at Zipperz, Pegasus and
the Black Eagle.
Steamworks manager John Brodhagen, who was a friend of Navaratnam’s,
says it’s possible he has gone into hiding.
“When he disappeared, it was a shock
to all of us,” he says. “I think something
probably scared him. Skanda was a political refugee in Canada from Sri Lanka.
He was brought here because he got
into some trouble with the Sri Lankan
government. It was political. I think he
was [an activist].”
Brodhagen does not know when Navaratnam came to Canada or what legal
issues surrounding his departure led
him to flee. “I know he couldn’t stay
in Sri Lanka because he would have
been killed.”
Livingstone says it was not unusual
for Navaratnam to disappear for short
periods of time, but, he says, three years
is exceptionally long.
Harris says police have done an
extensive background search on Navaratnam but have discovered no leads.
“The key connection for us is that all
three disappeared from the Church and
Wellesley area,” she says.
If these three men are indeed connected, Khaki says, it’s important for
investigators to understand the cultural
sensitivities and discrimination that
explain why men like Kayhan and Faizi
live double lives. With that in mind, it’s
possible other missing-persons cases
could be connected as well. “I don’t
think it’s problematic that police are
looking at all possibilities, but I think
they need to cast their net a little bit
wider,” he says.
A dedicated tip line has been set up
at 416-808-5110, or tips can be made
anonymously by phone at 416-222TIPS (8477).
XTRA! JUNE 13–JUNE 26, 2013 11
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ONTARIO NEWS
Coalition demands
updates to sex education
A coalition of more than 50 Ontario
education and health advocates is demanding that the government finalize
and implement a revised sex-education
curriculum to replace lessons that are
now 15 years old.
The government shelved the Health
and Physical Education curriculum,
which includes sexual health, three
years ago following complaints from
religious parents and groups. It is now
collecting dust at the Ministry of Education, said Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education, at a news
conference at Queen’s Park on June 3.
Kidder said the initial protests came
from a very small, vocal group with a
conservative political agenda. “I think
everyone was very surprised when [the
curriculum] was removed in the first
place,” she says. “It’s definitely time
for this to happen.”
A new Environics Research Group
poll indicates that 93 percent of parents
want the updated curriculum back on
the table. It is one of three new reports
from the Ontario Physical and Health
Education Association (Ophea). Another report, which compares sexual
health education in schools across Canada, shows that the 2010 curriculum
revisions in Ontario are comparable
to similar updates in other provinces.
Chris Markham, executive director
of Ophea, says Ontario’s curriculum is
the oldest in the country and makes no
mention of gay and lesbian sexuality.
He hopes the reports give the government a much-needed push to action.
NATIONAL NEWS
Quebec teens
encouraged to ‘sext’
Quebec teenagers with burning sexualhealth questions have a new resource
at their disposal — one that is centred on a staple of modern life: the
cellphone.
Organizers of the service, titled
SextEd, are encouraging teens in the
Montreal area to text in any questions they might have. Those who do
will receive a response from trained
volunteers within 24 hours.
“There’s been a push to find more
creative and effective ways to reach
youth,” says Melissa Fuller, the SextEd
project assistant. “Cellphones seemed
12 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
Coalition members, from left: Chris Markham, executive director of Ophea;
Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education; Lori Lukinuk, trustee
with Lakehead District School Board; and Kourosh Houshmand, student trustee.
ANDREA HOUSTON
“Putting this into context, this curriculum predates the iPod, it predates the
PlayStation, and it predates the camera
phone,” says Kourosh Houshmand,
vice-president of the Ontario Student
Trustees’ Association. “Students have
a fundamental right to up-to-date information about sexual health.”
The list of advocates for an updated
curriculum includes two Catholic
boards. Darryll Hancock, curriculum
chair at St Mary’s Catholic Secondary
School in Cobourg, which is part of the
Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District
School Board, says educators in publicly funded Catholic schools support
the curriculum and were involved in
the original review process.
“The pushback came from some very
conservative Christian groups outside
of publicly funded Catholic educators,”
he says. (After speaking to Xtra, Hancock called back to ask that his name
be removed from the story. He said he
had spoken “too frankly” and feared
how the story would “be spun.” Xtra
denied this request because Hancock’s
name appears on a public list of supporters who agreed to speak to media
in support of the curriculum.)
Hancock expressed support for the
curriculum update. “Who would have
heard of the term ‘sexting’ 15 years
ago? Things have changed,” he says.
“The curriculum needs to address the
evolving technologies, sexual health
and mental health.” —Andrea Houston
like a really obvious way.”
Texts arrive anonymously to the
SextEd database — an important feature for those who blush when talking
about sex. And if a question warrants
a lengthy answer, the volunteer will
link the response to the SextEd website, where the question is answered
in detail.
“[On the SextEd site] they can find
access to a reliable resource on their
topic, rather than having to Google it
and get who knows what,” Fuller says.
The SextEd initiative is part of AIDS
Community Care Montreal’s (ACCM)
Education for Prevention mandate,
which was given greater significance
in 2005 when the province scrapped
mandatory sex ed in high schools.
Recent statistics from Quebec also
highlight the importance of such edu-
cation initiatives: between 2007 and
2011, the rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia rose 40 percent and 45 percent,
respectively, among 15- to 24-yearolds, while syphilis rose a staggering
576 percent.
“Once you take [sex ed] out of any
sort of mandatory education system,
if you’re not learning it at a certain age,
you’re probably not going to learn that
much about it afterwards,” says Kimberly Wong, an HIV educator at ACCM.
“There’s very little motivation for
someone to learn about sexual health
on their own, unless they have their
own natural curiosity or they’re worried about something.” —Julian Ward
For more on these stories,
go to xtra.ca.
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
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MORE AT XTRA.CA
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 13
Panel dismisses QuAIA complaints
But city hall is
still a wildcard
PRIDE NEWS
MARCUS MCCANN
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid
(QuAIA) can march in the Toronto
Pride parade in 2013 after arbitrators
cleared the way June 6.
The decision comes two weeks before the start of the annual festival.
The arbitrators’ decision is binding
on Pride.
“There’s always a bit of relief,” says
Tim McCaskell, a member of QuAIA.
“It reconfirms that we are members
of the community, that we fall within
Pride’s mandate and that we’re welcome
to march.”
Family lawyer Martha McCarthy
chaired the panel, convened under the
Pride Toronto (PT) dispute resolution
process (DRP). In June 2012, a DRP
panel chaired by Robert Coates dis-
14 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
missed a complaint filed by League for
Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada
and Leon Kushner. In July 2012, the
panel found that QuAIA’s participation in the parade does not violate PT
policies or the City of Toronto’s antidiscrimination policy.
The McCarthy panel heard arguments May 15 but only on a preliminary
issue: could the McCarthy panel reopen the issues decided by Coates? It
found that it could not. “The exact same
issues are engaged as in the prior QuAIA
decision,” the McCarthy panel wrote in
its unanimous three-member decision.
“As a decision on this matter has already
been made, the Panel is bound by it and
dismisses this complaint.”
For PT executive director Kevin
Beaulieu, the decision shows that the
DRP will follow judicial conventions
on rehearing matters that they have
already decided. “It’s important for
us that all sides are heard,” Beaulieu
says. “It’s also important, in the end,
that we have a decision and there was
due process.”
The arbitrators’ decision does not
necessarily put an end to the QuAIA
controversy, which has dogged PT since
2010. Future complaints about QuAIA’s
participation could still be heard, Beaulieu says.
Paul Berner, whose complaint sparked
the decision, says he has “lost a lot of
respect” for Pride and the complaint
It’s important
for us that all sides
are heard.
PT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
KEVIN BEAULIEU
process. He filed his complaint shortly
after the Coates decision was released.
“Why did it take them 10 months to
convene a panel? Why did they bring
me in to make representations if they
were bound by the previous decision
and didn’t have jurisdiction?” he asks.
Although QuAIA’s participation was
at the centre of both, Berner’s and the
B’nai Brith complaint were not identical. For instance, B’nai Brith named
QuAIA as the offending party, whereas
Berner complained against PT for allowing the group to march. The crux
of Berner’s argument is that QuAIA
does not fall within the mission statement of PT, which is to “celebrate the
history, courage, diversity and future
of Toronto’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transsexual, Transgender, Intersex,
Queer/Questioning, 2 Spirited and Allies communities.”
Berner still believes that PT should
address how QuAIA fits within its mission statement. He says PT should not
“avoid dealing with the matter.”
A second complaint launched by Joe
Clark was also dismissed after Clark
failed to appear at the hearing.
Attention will undoubtedly now shift
to city hall, where council is set to vote
on funding for PT and changes to the
anti-discrimination policy.
Those amendments are so “convoluted and redundant,” McCaskell says, that
it’s hard to see what the point of them is.
He is, nonetheless, still worried. “The
downside is that they are so vague and
so broad that who knows what kind of
a truck they’ll want to drive through it.”
As for Pride funding, the executive committee passed a motion May
28 that would forbid PT from using
City of Toronto cultural funding for
the parade. But this does not change
anything for PT, since city money has
always been used for stages, performers and other elements of the festival,
not the parade.
That motion will be debated at city
hall June 11 or 12. Councillors may try
to give the motion teeth by amending
it from the floor. And for Beaulieu
and McCaskell, that means queer and
trans people should be contacting
their city councillors to tell them to
support Pride.
For more on this story,
go to xtra.ca.
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Envisioning WorldPride
Plans remain
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than a year away
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Nearly 300 community members gathered to trade ideas at the WorldPride
planning summit at Toronto City Hall
June 8, but with the event only a year
away, Pride Toronto (PT) remains
vague on details about what is being
billed as a major international human
rights conference and tourism draw.
What is clear is that PT seems to
have reduced its ambitions for WorldPride since winning the right to host
the event from the InterPride association in 2009. Back then, supported by
the province, Tourism Toronto and a
performance by Deborah Cox, PT won
over InterPride delegates with talk of a
major two-week event that would cost
more than $10 million. Now PT talks
about a 10-day festival costing $3 million, with many of the events planned
and carried out by community organizations at arm’s length from Pride.
“We’ve grown and changed a little
bit the very philosophy behind what
this event is,” says PT executive director Kevin Beaulieu. “There was this
idea that Pride Toronto was going to
take care of it all. But I think what the
community wants from us is if it’s not
so centralized. We do want the entire
city involved in producing the event.”
There’s no real template for WorldPride. Only three cities have hosted it
before: Rome in 2000, Jerusalem in
2006, and London in 2012. London’s
WorldPride almost didn’t happen after
staff and funding cuts forced planners to
drastically cut the scale of the project.
PT is hoping that a successful WorldPride in Toronto will set the template
for future WorldPride events and also
make Toronto one of the top five destinations for global queer travel.
What we do know about next year’s
events is that PT plans to include a
new opening and closing ceremony,
an international human rights conference and a gala awards ceremony. The
awards ceremony was inaugurated at
London Pride last year.
PT co-chair Francisco Alvarez says
he’d like to see Pride events decentralized across the city or GTA, so that during the 10-day festival there might be an
Etobicoke Pride or Scarborough Pride
or that other cultural communities may
Hundreds came out to hear Pride Toronto’s plan for next year’s WorldPride event.
ROB SALERNO
be involved to host their own Greektown
Pride or Chinatown Pride. He suggested
events could be themed around different communities of interest, such as
religious groups or sporting clubs, but
reiterated that these would have to come
from the community, rather than be
organized and funded by Pride.
Despite not having a fully articulated
program, Alvarez says WorldPride ads
are already appearing in Pride guides
around the world this season, inviting
revellers to plan trips to Toronto next
year. WorldPride’s marketing campaign amounts to a rainbow-coloured
roadmap of Toronto with the tagline
“Our pride is everywhere.”
There was this idea
that Pride Toronto
was going to take
care of it all.
PT DIRECTOR KEVIN
BEAULIEU
Beyond that, Pride is in discussions
with the city’s major cultural institutions to provide queer-themed programming during WorldPride and with
consul-generals in Toronto to get them
to sponsor international artists coming
to perform at the event. Speakers and
artists have been invited for the international human rights conference, but
no one has yet been publicly confirmed.
Beaulieu says he plans to make announcements about WorldPride events
after this year’s Pride festivities are over.
The assembled participants threw a
few suggestions at the Pride staff when
the floor was opened to questions, but
it seemed many were hoping Pride
itself would come forward with funds
or volunteers. Instead, Pride representatives said community members
are essentially on their own, as Pride
will need to do its own recruiting for
additional volunteers and donors for
the enhanced event.
Refugee activist Todd Ross suggested that Pride create a fund to sponsor
vulnerable or poor individuals from
around the world to come take part
in WorldPride. He noted that once
they’re here, they might be able to
claim refugee status, which would be
“a wonderful legacy of WorldPride.”
Some participants questioned whether the city would invest in beautifying
the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood
to make it more attractive to the throngs
of tourists expected. Ward 27 Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam noted that work
is set to begin on a large mural project
in the Village and a $1.5-million renovation of Cawthra Park.
Another participant asked if the city
has a plan for transporting the additional thousands of guests through
the city. A suggestion was made for
discounted or extended TTC passes
for WorldPride, similar to the “Pope
Passes” offered to World Youth Day
guests in 2000. Wong-Tam later said
she’d pass on the suggestion to the TTC.
Wong-Tam has previously expressed
frustration that the city is investing
huge resources into the 2015 Pan Am
Games but not into WorldPride. She
says she’d like to see the city get more
involved, if only because of the opportunity it presents to be a dry run
for other major events.
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XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 17
Read my hands
COMMUNITY NEWS
ELAH FEDER
When Michelle Bourgeois came out
to her parents, they suggested she get
therapy. After some discussion, they
agreed to go as a family, but it didn’t
have the intended effect.
“I didn’t understand anything that
was happening in counselling because
there was no interpreter,” Bourgeois
says, “so I just sat there and said to
myself, Let my family get the counselling, because they were the ones that
needed it, not me.” Still, being left out of a family conversation about one’s own sexuality might
strike many as tragic, comic or both,
but to Bourgeois and other deaf folks,
this kind of exclusion is not a wholly
unfamiliar experience.
Though she now communicates
most freely in American Sign Language
(ASL), Bourgeois had little exposure to
signing of any kind growing up in Montreal and Mississauga. Instead, she was
raised to speak English, reading lips and
relying on her residual hearing.
“It’s a hearing world,” her parents
liked to remind her, and she had to try
to fit in.
Ellen Hibbard’s childhood in the US
paralleled Bourgeois’s in many ways.
Her schools emphasized oral communication and signed English, a type of
“English on the hands” that is distinct
from and less intuitive than ASL. It was
only when adults weren’t looking that
the kids could use more natural forms
of signed communication. At the same
time, kids would pick on her, calling her
“deaf and dumb.”
“I had already understood that there
was something wrong with what I was
18 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
doing,” Hibbard recalls feeling. Early
on, she internalized the message that
being deaf was less-than.
Today, as active members of the deaf
queer community and board members
for the Ontario Rainbow Alliance of the
Deaf (ORAD), Bourgeois and Hibbard
reject the idea that they are in some way
lacking. They also don’t consider being
deaf a disability — though Bourgeois
identifies as disabled in other respects.
Like many deaf people, they belong to a
cultural group (they capitalize “Deaf” to
signify this, as in “Jewish” or “Italian”)
and attribute the daily frustrations they
experience to the preferential accommodation of the hearing majority. All
public phones are guaranteed to carry
sound, for example, not text or video.
Widespread lack of accessibility is
deeply isolating, especially for queer
and trans youth who are sometimes the
only deaf students at their schools. Of
course, the internet and smartphones
are helping kids get information and
find each other, but even now many
are fairly disconnected. Bourgeois, who
teaches deaf and hard-of-hearing students, says the younger kids are often
awed to discover there’s a community of
deaf adults who socialize together and
use visual language to communicate.
It took years before Bourgeois and
Hibbard themselves found the deaf
queer community. Bourgeois joined
ORAD shortly after its inception in
2001. At first ORAD was primarily a
social group, with monthly meetings
held in a Church Street café. Today the
organization has a slew of initiatives underway, including video blogging nights
and a collaboration with Springtide
Resources to prevent violence against
deaf queer women.
Building a deaf-hearing
alliance in Toronto
Hearing people
don’t need lights to
communicate, and
they find that a bit
of a mood-kill.
ELLEN HIBBARD
Michelle Bourgeois and Ellen
Hibbard are both members of
the Ontario Rainbow Alliance
of the Deaf.
ELAH FEDER
Part of ORAD’s mission is to strengthen the alliance between the hearing and
deaf queer communities, and since 2011
it’s offered queer ASL classes at the 519
Church Street Community Centre.
“Hearing queer folks need a safe space
and a curriculum that reflects everyday
life in the queer and trans community,
something they can’t access in mainstream ASL classes, where terminology
used is generally not inclusive,” Bourgeois explains.
ORAD has also encouraged bars to
be more accessible, even if that just
means having pens and paper available.
Brighter lighting would help, too, but
that’s less likely to happen. “Hearing
people don’t need lights to communicate, and they find that a bit of a moodkill,” Hibbard acknowledges, but for her,
it has just the opposite effect.
“We’ve been at Crews & Tangos when
the lights go on and all the hearing
people are running out,” Bourgeois says,
“but the deaf folks stay behind and chat
away. We end up being the last to leave.
That is without question.”
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
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XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 19
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20 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
Are gays more
obsessed with
beauty?
FRASER’S EDGE
BRAD FRASER
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San Francisco CA 94114 USA
In the early 1990s I had
an agent in LA whose
name, when mentioned, always elicited
the same reaction: every person who
knew him would say, “Isn’t he handsome?” Despite the fact he was also a
smart, cultured man and a very ambitious agent, people commented on his
perfect all-American face and hair — as
well as his Olympian proportions.
An actress friend who performed in
one of my plays in England is one of the
most stunning beings I’ve ever set eyes
on; she has honey-blonde hair, slightly
vulpine features, a sparkling smile,
dark-green eyes and a killer body. Over
drinks one night I asked her about the
best and worst things about being so
beautiful. She said, “Everyone wants
to fuck you,” making it clear that her
statement covered both questions.
I have another friend who is a particularly cantankerous type when dealing with inept sales and service staff.
During a particularly drawn-out saga
concerning the construction of a custom cabinet for his home — the kind of
experience that is filled with mistakes,
misunderstandings and endless waiting periods — I overheard one of his
phone calls with the cabinetmaker.
When he ended the call I expressed
my shock at his uncharacteristically
reasonable tone. He looked slightly
abashed and said, “You wouldn’t believe how fucking hot this guy is.”
Some suggest gay society is more
obsessed with physical beauty than
straight society, but I suspect, proportionately, it’s not much different. True
beauty — the kind that blinds people
to your other attributes, the kind that
makes anyone you meet want to partake of sexual congress, the kind that
cuts you a lot of slack and even compels
people to give you things — is widely
varied in appearance and relatively
rare. Of course, there are highly attractive people made so as much by their
personality and spirit as what they look
like, but I’m talking about pure physical beauty here. The kind that creates
movie stars and fashion models, the
physical form that demands nothing
more of itself than itself in order to
be adored.
Not all people of great beauty become famous, because we each know a
In the end, beauty is just one advantage that, on its own, might not be enough
to achieve everything one desires in life. THINKSTOCK
few of them carrying on with their everyday lives. But we also know, because
we see evidence of it at every turn, that
their beauty gives them an automatic
advantage in most situations. Almost
everyone, in some way or another,
demurs to greater beauty even as we
sometimes resent it.
The advantage of beauty is that our
eyes and brains like to linger on things
they find pleasant to behold. With beautiful people there is no need to examine
details in relation to one another; no
need to discover the unique, to reconcile
the odd, to redefine the unexpected and
then evaluate them all in order to discover an interesting person. These are
very different processes: the first akin
to viewing a painting, the second akin
to creating one. Both engage us but in
different ways and for different reasons.
Anyone who works in a business that
celebrates/exploits beautiful people
learns very quickly that, for the most
part, they’re just like anyone else. Very
few of them play into the reductive
stereotypes the media feeds us so we
can feel better about ourselves. They
have triumphs, make mistakes, fall
down, get dumped and wallow in despair just like the rest of us. In the
end beauty, like being really smart,
having an affinity for numbers or being
particularly gifted in recognizing and
dealing with the needs of others, is just
one advantage that, on its own, might
not be enough to achieve everything
one desires in life.
Beauty exacts a price. Assumptions
about intelligence and self-obsession
may be made. There are some who will
jealously hate beautiful people for the
way they look. As many beautiful members of both sexes will attest, constant
sexual advances can become tedious or
dangerous. Many beautiful women have
been defiled by men who wanted to possess them. Many of the hottest men of
the 1970s and ’80s were the first victims
of the AIDS crisis. Not everyone wants
to admire beauty. There are many who
wish to destroy it, most especially time.
Time is beauty’s greatest enemy and is
always victorious.
So if you’re one of those young men
or women out there feeling inadequate
because you’re not as beautiful as the
people everyone seems most interested in, take heart in the fact that, 20
years from now, when you’re comfortable in your body and with who you are,
no one walking by you on the street will
mutter sadly to their friend as they pass
“He/she used to be so beautiful.”
Brad Fraser is a Canadian playwright.
Fraser’s Edge appears in every second
issue of Xtra.
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
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together
the story of
three
missing
men from
Toronto’s
gay village
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XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 21
The curious case of Dr Barry
An enigmatic,
androgynous
19th-century
medical
visionary
HISTORY BOYS
MICHAEL LYONS
There are many wonderful things
about 19th-century English doctor
James Barry. He had a number of pet
dogs throughout his life, each named
Psyche. He was a vegetarian long before the diet became popular. He always took a goat on long voyages for
fresh milk. He had a life-long enmity
with Florence Nightingale, the founder
of modern nursing. He was an internationally acclaimed military doctor.
But his achievements are often overshadowed by the fact that he was born,
in about 1789, Margaret Ann Bulkley.
The Bulkleys were a formerly prosperous Irish family who had lost their
wealth; Margaret Ann’s father ended
up in prison, leaving his wife and child
destitute. Her mother pleaded for help
from her brother, painter James Barry,
who did little more than refer them to
influential friends, including Edward
Fryer, a physician; David Steuart Erskine, the 11th Earl of Buchan; and
General Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan revolutionary.
Sometime around the end of November 1809, 19-year-old Margaret Ann
became James Stuart Miranda Barry,
a name that referenced his uncle and
two patrons. Barry was admitted to
the University of Edinburgh’s prestigious medical school and completed
his thesis on “hernia in the groin”
before apprenticing in London in 1813.
Shortly thereafter, he enlisted in the
British Army’s medical service branch,
somehow evading a routine physical
examination, and was stationed in England before being posted as assistantsurgeon to the garrison in Cape Town,
South Africa, in 1816.
A practitioner of preventative medicine before it was widely adopted and a
fierce advocate for patient-care reform,
Barry’s progressive care extended to
soldiers and their families, mental
asylum patients, lepers and prisoners.
While in charge of prison inspection in
South Africa he infuriated white wardens by asking black prisoners directly
about their conditions and treatment.
Barry also had a great interest in
22 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC WILLIAMS
Dr James Barry’s
achievements are
often overshadowed
by the fact that he
was born Margaret
Ann Bulkley.
obstetrics (the field of medicine concerned with childbirth) and gynecology. In 1826 he performed the first
Caesarean section in Africa, possibly
the first in the English-speaking world,
where both the mother and child survived. The grateful parents named
their child after him.
Despite being something of a lady’s
man, tongues wagged about Barry’s
bachelorhood. It’s possible that he had
a physical relationship with Governor Lord Charles Somerset. In 1824
someone hung a sign on a Cape Town
bridge stating, “Lord Charles [had been
caught] buggering Dr Barry.” Barry was
also often in the presence of a black man
who was recorded officially as his “servant,” although the true nature of their
relationship is hidden from history.
Barry was posted to various positions in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean throughout his career before his
health began to fail sometime around
1850. He was stationed in Montreal as
inspector general of hospitals in 1857,
though he returned to England and
was forcibly retired in 1859 because
of his health. He settled into his home
in London and died of “dysentery”
(probably typhoid) on July 25, 1865,
in his mid-70s.
After Barry’s death, Major DR McKinnon, the military clinician who issued
his death certificate, was contacted by
the general registrar’s office to substantiate claims that Barry had been female.
McKinnon relayed a story of how housekeeper Sophia Bishop had attended to
Barry’s body, then come to McKinnon
claiming Barry was “a perfect female.”
McKinnon probably hadn’t examined
Barry, since an infectious epidemic
was almost certainly the cause of death.
McKinnon “informed her that it was
none of my business whether Dr Barry
was a male or female, and that I thought
that he might be neither.” McKinnon
was of the opinion his late colleague was
a hermaphrodite.
“Hermaphroditism” is an obsolete
term we’ve come to understand as
“intersex,” someone whose genitals,
gonads or hormones are ambiguous
and outside the male/female dichotomy. Some historians claim Barry was
a woman who took the guise of a man
for a career in medicine, although the
fact that he was raised female doesn’t
mean he was, as sexual characteristics
may not have manifested until puberty.
Another possibility remains: he may
have been a transgender person long
before the term existed. Fortunately,
no one felt the need to exhume his
body, preserving his status in history as
an enigmatic, eccentric, androgynous
medical visionary.
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
MORE AT XTRA.CA
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 23
Design: Jonathan Kitchen, jakcreative.com Photo by: Drasko Bogdanovic, draskobogdanovic.ca
24 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
Out in the City
People were screaming out the lines in the film. There was
definitely a Rocky Horror thing going on. Adamo Ruggiero E32
PENETRATING
PUPPETS
Faces of
Furry Creek
This summer, OUTtv is premiering
The Face of Furry Creek, created by
Canadian comedy writer/actor Mark
Kenneth Woods.
Desperate for some tourism, the
mountain town of Furry Creek holds
a competition to find “the face” of its
ad campaign. Five outrageous candidates emerge, and comedy ensues.
With a small cast of only four actors —
Woods, Michael Venus, Amy Goodmurphy and Ryan Steele — the characters
are served up with a twist of Kids in
the Hall–style genderbending. “As the
saying goes, ‘Write what you know.’ So
I make up characters that are homely,
vodka-coffee drinking, illiterate, $15
prostitutes — naturally,” Woods says.
And what better way to explore
these shining examples of humanity
than a reality-TV send-up? “The series
spoofs elements of everything from
Real Housewives to Dance Moms. I’m
fascinated by how eccentric or even
ordinary people become celebrities for
a split second. Usually for being awful.”
The Face of Furry Creek, though totally scripted, takes reality television
one step further by involving the viewer
through various social media platforms.
Dreaming of dancers
Shaping Sound made its debut last
year on Oxygen’s hit docu-series All
the Right Moves, which followed the
contemporary dance company’s formation by founding members (and Emmy
nominees) Travis Wall, Nick Lazzarini,
Teddy Forance and Kyle Robinson. Now
they’re taking the dance show on the
road in their first North American tour.
Having grown as dancers and choreographers while working on Dancing
with the Stars, So You Think You Can
Dance and in Cirque du Soleil, Shaping Sound’s founders understood the
important role that workshops play in
developing a performance. “We wanted
young dancers to experience what we
experience and to be part of the show
in some way,” Wall says.
The result is a musically driven,
MORE AT XTRA.CA
Furry Creek’s Michael Venus
and Mark Kenneth Woods.
“In the TV show, the contestants are
tasked to make digital media each week.
So you see them work on a video or
blog or photo series, but you have to
go to the website to actually see what
they made.”
The dancers of Shaping
Sound in action.
If you’re looking for a new show this
summer, check out The Face of Furry Creek and its online content.
It’s kind of like Game of Thrones,
except totally, completely different. —Nick Green
90-minute narrative about a love
story between two people told through
their dreams.
Classical pieces are played alongside
modern works of electronic, hip hop
and rock, including Queen’s “Bohemian
Rhapsody” and Our Lady J’s haunting
electronic rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I
Will Always Love You.” Fusing contemporary, jazz and classical dance forms
with hip-hop moves and even a bit of air
guitar, the large cast is not only fiercely
talented, but extremely sexy. “Our dance
company is very attractive,” Wall says.
“But it’s not just about being beautiful.
Your eyes are drawn to them, not only
because they’re beautiful, but because
they command attention, attracting
you to what they do.” —Eduardo Sabate
Shaping Sound performs Sat, June 15,
7pm, at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260
King St W. $39–89. shapingsoundco.com
The signs were always there,
for those of us who bothered
to look: two young men sharing
a bedroom (and sometimes a
bath!); a blue, bear-type binge
eater (cookies!); and of course
that tall dude walking around in a
full-body yellow feather boa. Yes,
Sesame Street was a veritable
hotbed for homosexuality, even if
they never actually got around to
showing any puppet-to-puppet
penetration.
Sadly, we may never see an
episode brought to us by the letter “A, for anal,” but the folks at
the Lower Ossington Theatre
are mounting a new production
of Avenue Q, the Muppet-esque
Broadway musical devoted to
puppets, sex and pornography.
“It’s such a hilarious show, and
it’s always a hit with audiences,”
says Graham Scott Fleming, who
will be commandeering the puppets of Rod and Princeton. The
Elmvale, Ontario, native says that
snagging the role of Rod was particularly timely at this point
in both his life and
his career. “I really
identify with him
Graham Scott
Fleming
because I’m
recently out in
the gay community, so it’s a really
expressive moment
for me when Rod comes
out. I could relate in that I was also
trying to hide from everything.”
Relocating to Toronto helped
the actor come to terms with
his identity, as did finding support from his colleagues and
peers. “I’ve been able to find
myself here in Toronto, which is
very exhilarating for me. It’s nice
to be able to just be who I am,
and to have these friends in the
theatre community who were
there for me. I’m incredibly lucky.”
— Serafin LaRiviere
Avenue Q runs Thurs, June 20–Sat,
Aug 3, and then Tues, Aug 20–Sun,
Sept 29 at the Lower Ossington
Theatre, 100 Ossington Ave. $49–
60. lowerossingtontheatre.com
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 25
PHOTO BY JOSE A GUZMAN COLON
26 JUNE 13–26 XTRA!
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
OF NATURE
Jinkx Monsoon is one storm front you’ll want to face full-on
COVER STORY
DARRYL MABEY
Drag Race queens are taking over Toronto Pride
this year. With appearances by Jiggly Caliente,
Willam, Alyssa Edwards and Shangela, drag fans
have a lot of shows to choose from. But one queen
reigns supreme, and that’s Season 5 winner Jinkx
Monsoon. She sings live, she’s a whole other kind
of fierce, and she’s performing two numbers at
The 519’s Starry Night. Xtra spoke with the newly
crowned diva about her win, her personal struggles
and interpretive dancing with newborn children.
XTRA: Congratulations on your win on
RuPaul’s Drag Race! How did you celebrate?
JINKX MONSOON: It’s surreal. Last night was
exactly one week since we found out who won,
and we had a celebration party at my hometown
bar here in Seattle. And it was packed wall-towall with people. And that was the first moment
I truly felt like I was celebrating my win. I took
until I was able to come home and celebrate with
my friends and my family and my loved ones to
really let it sink in. Now I’m just ready to take on
the world, you know?
Going into the competition, what were
your goals? What did you want to achieve
(other than the crown)?
I went on to the show trying to be very calm and focused. If I spent every day thinking about the crown
and the end result, I would’ve driven myself crazy.
So I set attainable goals along the way. If I could just
focus on one little thing at a time I could climb the
ladder rather than try to jump it. My first goal was
to make it to Snatch Game. And I wanted to portray
Little Edie [from the film Grey Gardens] on Snatch
Game. That was my whole mission for even getting
on the show. I also knew I wanted to make it a singing challenge, because when I perform I only sing
live. That’s how I do my shows. So I really wanted
to share that with America, my love of music. Once
I made it past those two challenges, then I was just
like, “Well shit, I gotta set new goals.” With every
challenge I made it my personal goal to do my very,
very best and we saw — not to toot my own horn
or anything — that I was in the top three for eight
weeks in a row, which is a record on Drag Race.
That is a huge accomplishment. Which
challenge was the most difficult for you?
The Sugar Ball. I knew that was going to be my
most difficult challenge, because with drag, everyMORE AT XTRA.CA
thing is a skill you can acquire and everyone’s
good at different things. So though I’m very confident in my skills as a performer — like a singer,
a dancer, an actor, a comedian — I became more
confident with my makeup skills and styling. But
styling — creating looks has never been my main
focus in drag. So the Sugar Bowl challenge really
tested that, and it was quite the struggle for me
because I have such a unique, to myself, kind
of style, and to try to make that accessible for
everyone was very difficult. And then to create
my own look was probably... I got away with it
in the dumpster couture challenge. I just got all
my favourite colours and braided
them together and that seemed
to work, but I couldn’t use that
trick twice.
Back to the Snatch Game.
Were you surprised that none
of your competitors knew who
Little Edie was?
Um... well... they didn’t really
show this, but it was only half
the room that didn’t know who
she was.
Oh, okay, so a little
bit of editing there ...
get any of the girls from Season 5 together, it’s
instantly a party.
Oh, I can imagine!
But the two girls I have remained the closest with
are Ivy and Alaska. And I just have so much fun
with them; I can really relate to them. We text each
other all the time. Alaska and I do duets together
now, and we have so much fun whenever we perform together. And also, Honey Mahogany I get to
see. I’ve been going to San Francisco a lot lately, so
we actually were each other’s lesbian dates to this
year’s GLAAD Awards in San Francisco.
YOU OWE IT
TO YOURSELF
TO GO FOR YOUR
DREAMS AT
LEAST ONCE.
You’re coming to Toronto
on June 27 for the annual
Starry Night event, which
is a beautiful party. Are you
excited to come here? Have
you ever been to Toronto?
I’ve never been to Toronto, and
I’ve never left America before. I
had to get a passport just for this
trip. And I’m so excited because
it’s going to be my first time ever
leaving the States, and I hear such
wonderful things about Canada.
It’s an outdoor event and it’s
going to be an extravaganza.
Yeah. Alaska, Ivy and Detox — they were all familLove it, I’m so excited. Outdoors though? I’m
iar with Little Edie. And actually, Alaska said the
going to have to dip myself in SPF 110.
funniest thing to me. I said to her, “Alaska, how
You’re prepared for us, so how can Toronto
come you and me are the only people who know
prepare for Monsoon season?
who Edie is?” and she goes, “Cause we’re draaaaag
I am entering the country doing what I love the
queeeeeens.” Which was a total read for the rest
most, which is live cabaret-style performances.
of the girls in the room, but I was surprised and
I range from doing standards to doing very,
not surprised at the same time, because it’s all
very obscure pieces. I have an act
relative. There’s plenty of people
in which I perform a séance and
I’m not familiar with. I didn’t know
STARRY NIGHT
conjure famous women, and that’s
who Tamar Braxton was. And now
Thurs, June 27, 7pm
my impersonation act. I have an
Green Space on Church
I do, and I think Roxxxy did a phe519 Church St
act where I give birth to a baby and
nomenal job being Tamar Braxton.
519.org
then I juggle it and do interpretative
Now that the show is done and
dances with that baby.
the dust has settled, who has
Go into my show with an open mind and know
become your best squirrel friend?
that it is a unique experience to Jinkx Monsoon.
First of all, I have a wonderful relationship with
I treat every show with the utmost care and imporeveryone from the show, even the people I bicktance. I refuse to get tipsy before a performance.
ered with while filming. We never ended a day
I’ll have a glass of champagne before I perform
with a fight still going. We always made sure to
and that’s about it, because what I am there to do
settle our differences and put it aside and chock
is put on a show, and I take it very seriously. If you
it up to the competition. Even Roxxxy and I are
ask my assistant, the whole day is spent planning
really close now, you know — we got each other’s
out numbers and making sure they are all going
back; we love performing together. Any time you
to be perfect. So just be ready to be entertained.
I spoke to Sharon Needles in January, and we
were talking about bucket lists and the things
that she had tackled from her list during her
year as the reigning queen. So I have to ask,
one year from now, what do you want to have
achieved from your bucket list?
I want to do an album. I am trying to put together
an album that’s more musical standards, show
tunes and torch songs. A much more lyrical album than what we’re used to from drag queens,
because normally drag queens do a lot of dance
and disco tracks. I do have a rap song that I’m
creating, but my album overall is going to be
mostly lyrical stuff. I also have some theatre
roles that involve me doing drag on big theatre
stages coming up, like Hairspray, The Vaudevillians — which is the show I created with my
music partner — so I want to do as much of that
as possible. But this year I would love, love, love
to get the chance to play Mrs Lovett in Sweeney
Todd up on a big stage. That’s my absolute alltime dream role. And then my lifelong goal is...
I used to say that I just wanted to be the first
flamboyant homosexual man to host SNL, but I
realize now, more specifically, I want to be the
first drag queen to host SNL.
Yes! Let’s get the campaign started!
There is one on Facebook, apparently, but I’m
trying to go through the proper channels. Any
support from the community to show SNL
that they would watch a drag queen host the
show would be great, because I think that as
a comedian and as an actor that’s when you
know you’ve made it. I would love to just rocket
to that point.
Do you have any words of wisdom
or encouragement for our readers?
I said it a bit on the show, but I was representing
the weird, awkward kid. And I think plenty of
drag queens grew up the social outcast. I don’t
think it’s too overly unique to my experience being kind of a goofy outcast, as a kid. But I think it’s
a testament to the fact that if you have a dream,
don’t let anyone tell you not to go for it. And
even if you try at it and you fail... fail fabulously.
Give it your all. Go big or go home, because you
owe it to yourself to go for your dreams at least
once. And if you try it and it doesn’t work out, or
you find out it wasn’t what you thought, at least
you gave it a shot. Life’s too short to spend time
wondering what life would’ve been like if you
had gone for your dream.
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 27
Body
Party
4
3
1
Affordable face,
hair and skin care
just in time for Pride
STORY BY DIEGO ARMAND
PHOTOS BY MAY TRUONG
It’s the most wonderful time of the year:
Pride! By this time, you’re confirming your social calendar, shopping for
scandalous outfits, and possibly adding
an extra day at the gym. But there’s no
point looking buff and stylish when you
haven’t taken care of the body basics.
But rest easy: brands like Dove
(along with Axe and Clear) are creating lines specifically for men. Here are
some of our favourite man-friendly
products: they’re low-maintenance,
easy to use and will leave you smelling
sexy and fresh.
the shower, and rinse. It’s available in a
Scalp Comfort version, which relieves
itchiness, and Clean & Refresh, which
cleanses gently and leaves you feeling
tingly fresh.
If you have no time to waste in
the shower, check out Axe 3-in-1 6
A shampoo, conditioner and shower
gel, it will leave you more time to perfect your coif, accessorize your outfit
and maybe even fit in a quick cocktail
before heading out the door.
The days of using a green bar of soap are
over! These Dove Men+Care shower
gels 1 do double-duty as body and
face washes. They’re quick and easy to
rinse off and, because they’re gels, won’t
dry you out — because the summer sun
can be a mean girl. The scents — Aqua
Impact (with ocean minerals), Fresh
Awake, for a pick-me-up after a late
night, and Odour Guard, for boys who
like to play dirty — are long-lasting,
manly and fresh.
Let’s take it from the top (of your head).
Hairstyles can change like your moods,
so prep yourself accordingly.
Gel isn’t dead! Perfect for both a messy
or slicked-back look, this product is
alcohol-free (so it won’t dry out your
hair) and has a jolt of caffeine for added
protection and a smooth finish.
Dove Men+Care Fortifying Spray
Gel 8 If you’re worried about being
heavy-handed, this is a good way to ensure ideal distribution. Works best for
the “wet” look.
Axe Clean-Cut Look Wet Shine
Gel 9 The Axe alternative will also
give you a wet and wild coif without
looking overdone.
Axe Apollo 2-in-1 Shampoo & Conditioner 2 is all about having clean
Dove Men+Care Fortifying Styling Paste 10 For the “I don’t do my
and touchably soft hair, and its scent
will bring the boys (or girls) to the yard.
hair” guy. Great for adding texture and a
matte finish. It smells sexy, and the price
is very right.
Axe Messy Look Paste 11 Another
product that will give your ’do a matte
and messy finish.
Axe Pomade , in Clean Cut and
Smooth & Sophisticated 12 These
pomades provide a firmer hold than
gel. Use the Clean Cut for a wet look
and the Smooth & Sophisticated for
something more polished. The pomade
shows some sparkle in the jar (cute!),
but don’t worry — it applies clear on
your head.
Dove Men+Care 2-in-1 Shampoo
& Conditioner 3 comes in menthol-
scented Fresh Clean, which will give
you a deep-cleaned, refreshed head for
those intense days in the beer gardens.
Delicate boys will want to try Sensitive Scalp, 4 for a gentle cleanse — its
caffeine and tea-tree-extract formula
leaves hair calm and collected.
Dandruff is never a good look, and
those who suffer can kiss wearing dark
colours goodbye. But Clear Men Scalp
Therapy 5 will control dandruff
symptoms at the source. Formulated
with ginseng, tea tree and natural mint,
Clear Men will feed your scalp the
moisture it needs to give you a healthylooking head. Just massage it into your
wet hair, leave it in for a quick song in
28 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
FACE! FACE! FACE!
Lots of gay boys learn about skin care
by mirroring their mothers’ regimes,
but Dove Men+Care has its own threestep process for men.
Cleanse with Dove Men+
Care Face Wash 14 , available in Hy-
STEP 1 »
’DO IT RIGHT
Dove Men+Care Styling Gel 7
SHOWER POWER
for easy storage in your man cabinet.
The key to using hair products is
less-is-more. When used sparingly, they
won’t weigh down your hair or make
you look like you came from The Shore.
Axe Spiked-Up Look Putty &
Extreme Hold Spray 13 Keep out the
crunch and make your spikes soft and
touchable. For a firm hold, use the spray
on drier hair. Also, the Axe paste and putty containers are stackable, which makes
drate or Sensitive versions. And for
those of you who are still using a bar of
soap to wash your face, stop now! Use a
proper face wash that won’t leave you
looking dried out.
2
STEP 2 » Shave with Dove Men+Care
Shave Gel 15 . This shaving gel — also
available in Hydrate and Sensitive —
foams quickly and protects your skin
from the discomfort of razor burn.
Don’t feel that you have to limit it to
your face — especially during Pride!
Dove Men+Care Post Shave Balm 16
provides instant relief after shaving. It’s
alcohol-free and non-greasy and will
leave your skin smooth and soft.
14
STEP 3 » Moisturize. Seal the deal with
Dove Men+Care Face Lotion 17 . This
non-greasy moisturizer has added sun
protection (SPF 15), a must-have for
our moody weather.
DON'T SWEAT IT
Dove Men+Care anti-perspirants
18 give you powerful 24-hour protection against odour and wetness —
and during Pride, you’ll need it! And
Dove moisture technology makes them
easy on your skin. Available in Clean
Comfort, Extra Fresh, Aqua Impact
and Cool Silver — music to our ears
when looking for an anti-perspirant
or deodorant.
All products available at Shoppers Drug
Mart and Loblaws stores across Canada.
Dove Men+Care, Clear Men and Axe
are registered trademarks owned by
Unilever Canada.
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
12
5
7
8
13
10
11
9
6
15
18
16
MORE AT XTRA.CA
17
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 29
Unilever celebrates the diversity of people, believes in inclusion and respects people for who they are and what they bring.
Our PRIDE diversity network seeks to create an open workplace environment for the LGBT community and helps develop
its members by providing both business and social interaction to further personal growth. Unilever Canada supports the
Canadian LGBT community through PRIDE @ Work, Out on Bay Street, PRIDE week and Toronto AIDS Walk.
DOVE MEN+CARE is a registered mark owned by Unilever Canada.
30 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
Gaystone
roundup
Highlights from the Gladstone
Hotel’s Pride festivities
HAPPENINGS
JEREMY WILLARD
That’s So Gay 2013:
Say It to My Face
Elisha Lim, curator of the fourth annual That’s So Gay art exhibit, chose
the theme Say It to My Face because it
reflects some of the difficult issues this
year’s contributors address in their
work. Most of the art is about struggles
with such issues as racism, genocide and
transphobia.
Of the 15 artists featured this year,
Mohawk artists Kiley May Longboat
and Ange Loft are perhaps
the most striking, because
their use of the macabre
helps hammer home their
messages. Longboat, who
is trans and genderqueer
and prefers the pronoun they, has long
wanted to be a supermodel but worried
it was an impossible goal because of
prejudice. To live out this dream — and
also make a point about discrimination
— Longboat will appear periodically
at the Gladstone in a performance art
piece as a supermodel. Over the course
of the exhibit, their supermodel persona
will appear more ragged and dishevelled
to show “the effects of prejudice and
being in the public eye,” Lim says, noting that Longboat will eventually stage
a fake death.
Meanwhile, Loft reflects on her Catholic upbringing on a reserve through
her art piece, which is a figure of an
armoured, beadwork-covered nun. “In
order to make money, a lot of the women
around the reserve made souvenirs for
the Catholic pilgrims, and a lot of those
women lost their eyesight from working
with tiny beads,” Lim says.
That’s So Gay 2013: Say It to My Face
opening reception is Thurs, June 27,
7–10pm. The exhibit runs Wed, June
12–Sun, July 28 in the third- and fourthfloor galleries.
MORE AT XTRA.CA
Unapologetic Burlesque
Unapologetic Burlesque organizers
Shaunga Tagore and Kumari Giles have
worked hard to create a burlesque performance opportunity for queer people
and people of colour who feel invisible or uncomfortable performing in
mainstream burlesque. Their two-night
showcase will include more than 20 acts,
including performances by Chase Lo,
Kryptonite Kunt, Prince Deep, Scorpio
Rising (Tagore) and Vena Kava (Giles).
Tagore and Giles say that one way
they put performers at ease is by creating mechanisms that allow people
to perform on their own terms. For instance, performers can let
the audience know what
sort of response they’d
like: clapping, whistling or
even hugs, which “fosters
communication, respect
and enjoyment between audience and
performers.”
This is particularly important at Pride,
they say, where for some the celebration
is overshadowed by struggles with transphobia, ableism, misogyny and other
issues. “Many performers speak about
how there are few performance spaces
they can access like this one.”
Unapologetic Burlesque: Lost and Found:
Uncovering the Spirit of Pride is Tues,
June 18 and Wed, June 19, 7–11pm.
Shady Tea
Drag queens melt in the sun, which is
why Kaleb Robertson decided to hold
his Pride tea dance indoors. He wanted
Fay Slift and Miss Fluffy Soufflé to perform — and they need air conditioning
and shade.
While they’re there, they might as well
host, Robertson says, and if they’re going
to host you’ve got to call the event Shady
Tea since, as he puts it, “drag queens
instantly make any event shadier.”
Robertson says he’s wanted to host a
tea dance for years. “I’ve been to several
in Provincetown and had a blast, and
every year Buddies hosts Lady Oiye’s
Tea Dance. I’m eager to bring one out
to the west end.”
DJs Phil V and Vee Stun will provide
the early-evening party’s music. “It’ll
allow people to gather together in celebration, have some drinks and a great
time but [since it ends at 8pm] still be
able to work Monday morning. And it’s
all-ages, and families are welcome,”
Robertson says.
Shady Tea is Sun, June 23, 4–8pm.
Steers & Queers
When Pride rolls around, the wildly
popular Steers & Queers event takes
on an additional theme: Dolly Parton.
For six years, DJ Sigourney Beaver
has combined queers and country and
western; her Dolly-themed event has
become so popular that last year at least
400 attendees arrived in Dolly drag.
Revellers don’t just Dolly it up: Night
of a Thousand Dollys is also kind of like
a church service, a revival that conjures the spirit of Dolly. Comedian Lex
Vaughn becomes Reverend Hightower.
“She does this character of a reformed
Southern homosexual preacher who has
come to save the gays, and she leads the
church in its worship of Dolly,” Beaver
says, noting that those who dress up are
intoxicated by Dolly’s
PRIDE AT THE GAYSTONE
divine presence.
Gladstone Hotel
“If you dress up you’re
1214 Queen St W
gladstonehotel.com
more likely to drink and
have fun. There’s a certain level of commitment that comes
with dressing up,” says Beaver, who
will DJ alongside Joe Blow. The event
will also feature performances by ManChyna and The Pining, as well as an epic
look-alike contest.
From top: Steers & Queers DJs Sigourney Beaver and Joe Blow; Shady Tea's Fay
Slift, Fluffy Soufflé and DJ Phil V; and the Unapologetic Burlesque crew.
Steers & Queers: Night of a Thousand
Dollys is Thurs, June 27, 10pm–2am.
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 31
Brandon The Hypnotist presents
A slightly
naughty
comedy
hypnosis
show!
Seating is limited; buy your tickets today!
Sunday, June 16
facebook.com/BrandonHypnosis
twitter.com/BrandonHypnosis
BrandonTheHypnotist.com
32 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
7pm show 18+ only Flying Beaver Pubaret
488 Parliament St @ Carlton $10 advance, $15 door
Tickets & info: www.pubaret.com
Dinner reservations get priority seating;
heather@pubaret.com or 647-347-6567
Sex and the silly
Buddies ups
the drama for
Queer Pride
ONSTAGE
MATTHEW HAYS
Seeing as queer people have a reputation for generating lots of drama, it’s
fitting that Buddies in Bad Times is
rolling out a range of stage shows for
Queer Pride 2013. From standup to
cabaret to hip hop, the shows will run
the gamut, aiming to titillate, entertain
and provoke.
Among the highlights is Dirty Plötz,
a saucy feminist cabaret hosted by sex
columnist and performance artist extraordinaire Alex Tigchelaar, a regular
Xtra contributor.
Tigchelaar says a big
part of the inspiration for
this particular cabaret
was to celebrate female
creativity and confront
what she says is a double standard.
“When men are crazy, like Hunter S
Thompson, people love that. But when
a woman’s crazy, it’s somehow debilitating. It’s easy to discredit women when
they step out of line. We wanted to
celebrate women who step out of line.”
Tigchelaar reprises the role of Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven,
“a character I’ve been obsessed with, a
Dadaist.” Dirty Plötz is a wacky parody
of women’s roles in culture, a meditation on the way in which women are
often invited in for the sake of making institutions look diverse but then
promptly sidelined.
“There’s this idea that the city is a
place of diversity, but oftentimes gentrification means women and people
of colour are pushed out. There’s too
much diversity that’s simply window
dressing. It looks okay, but it’s not
running very deep.”
Tigchelaar says Dirty Plötz is about
shattering those assumptions and
those roles for women. “This is a totally fun show about challenging that and
about what it means to be an outsider.
Women are often expected to be mute
collaborators. Why should we remain
in that role? They want us to shut our
holes. I can’t shut my hole, I’m afraid.
That pussy’s been out of the bag for
some time now.”
Another show in the Buddies lineup
will have special appeal to fans of the
Madgester. Salvatore Antonio, Gavin
Above: Salvatore Antonio in
Truth/Dare: A Satire (With Dance)
Left: Alex Tigchelaar in Dirty Plötz
jected in the background. All this peppered with dance breaks as they appear
in the original movie.
Ruggiero says it’s precisely because
Madonna’s Truth or Dare is such an
unblinking portrait that it is so much
fun to riff on. “There are moments
when she looks like a terrible human,
really self-absorbed and not very concerned about the people around her.
Crawford, Keith Cole, Sharron Mat- When she’s told that her makeup artist
thews and Degrassi alumnus Adamo has been raped, she laughs. But in this
Ruggiero will all appear in Truth/Dare: era, when stars want to give out such
A Satire (With Dance), a show inspired polished images of themselves, I think
by the 1991 feature-length documen- it’s really interesting that she allowed
tary that followed Madonna while on these images to get out there. I mean,
tour, now a cult gay fave.
she was an executive producer on the
Ruggiero says he’s loved the film since film — she could have cut out those
he lived in “a closeted bubble. I used to images if she’d really wanted to.”
watch it with a friend who had it on tape.
Ruggiero adds that he was “really
I must have seen it about 10 or even 15 shocked” at how much the audience got
times by the time we started developing into it when they premiered Truth/Dare
this show.” And now he’s
in December at Videofag.
seen it more times than
“People were screaming
QUEER PRIDE 2013
he can count. “I had to
out the lines in the film.
Buddies in Bad Times
transcribe every word of
There was definitely
12 Alexander St
Runs until Sun, June 30
dialogue,” he says. “Now
a Rocky Horror thing gobuddiesinbadtimes.com
I can’t count the number
ing on. People were wearof times I’ve seen it, any
ing their stonewashed
more than the glasses of whisky con- jeans, putting on their best ’90s gear.
sumed while watching it.”
It was like an episode of 90210.
Truth/Dare features certain key
“The audience enthusiasm is really
scenes inspired by the original film, a crucial part of the fun. They become
with stills from the documentary pro- like another character in the show.”
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
QUEERPRIDEJUNE7-302013
COMEDY
CABARET
CLUB
Chris Tsujiuchi presents
A VERY CHRIS-TERICAL 90’S
CABARET 2013
JUNE 7 – JUNE 9
8pm | The Cabaret | Tickets $15 advance, $20 at the door
Cabaret sensation Chris Tsujiuchi takes to the stage in his 4th annual
all-90’s Cabaret. Featuring Colin Asuncion, Da-Rell Clifton, Hilary Wilson,
Matt Marcoccia, Stacey Maroske, Vaughn Harris and many other special
guests.
Lash Entertainment presents
MISS CONCEPTION:
STAGE TO SCREEN
JUNE 11 & JUNE 12
8pm | The Cabaret | Tickets $25
A wickedly entertaining evening of classic Broadway and film divas, with
your favourite lady, Miss Conception, singing all the songs that made
them famous. missconception.ca
ILL NANA/DiverseCityDance Company presents
MAKING A STAGE
FOR OUR STORIES
JUNE 13 & JUNE 14
7pm | The Chamber | Tickets PWYC
A showcase of dance and movement performances that celebrate
the resilience, empowerment, sexuality, and strength of the queer
community, including a special performance of ILL NANA’s Rhubarb
Festival hit, FIRE. Part of the first annual Making a Stage for Our Stories
conference for queer artists at The 519 Church Street Community Centre.
illnana-dcdc.com
Wog Productions presents
PAUL HUTCHESON’S PRIDE
PACKAGE III
JUNE 14 & JUNE 15
8pm | The Cabaret | Tickets $10-$15
The hilarious Paul Hutcheson brings you a deliciously eclectic playlist of
queer performers including Trixie & Beever, Sharron Nowlan, 79-yearold ukulele sensation D’yan Forest, and more. It’s like the internet, but
better.
The Queer Hip-Hop Movement presents
Idlemind Productions presents
WORK IT
JUNE 14
GAVIN CRAWFORD:
SH**TING RAINBOWS
JUNE 21 & JUNE 22
10:30pm | The Cabaret | Tickets $10
The village’s best queer hip-hop event celebrates a year of amazing
music and amazing people with a spectacular pride showcase hosted by
MC Jazz and featuring Her Royal Flyness- Catherine Legs Hernandez,
Saye Sky, Faduma aka Red Alert with DJ Nix and Cosmic Cat.
BUDDIES AFTER HOURS
JUNE 15
10:30pm | Full Facility | Cover $10
Featuring Donnarama and special guests. DJs K-Tel and Triple-X
8pm | The Cabaret | Tickets $25
Written by Gavin Crawford and Kyle Tingley
Canada’s top character comedian returns to Buddies with a collection of
oddball characters and impersonations that offer a hilariously skewed
look at queer culture. gavincrawford.com
The House of Nuance presents
THE BIZARRE BALL
JUNE 21
9pm | The Chamber | Tickets $5-$10
The Cabaret Company presents
GENDERPLAY: A READING OF
ROB SALERNO’S RAW
JUNE 16
2pm | The Cabaret | Tickets PWYC
This new play by up and coming queer playwright Rob Salerno takes
a frank look at the impact of HIV/AIDS on our romantic and sexual
relationships.
The Cabaret Company presents
FREE JANE
JUNE 16
8pm | The Cabaret | Tickets FREE
Everyone’s favourite beauty queen rebel is back with the notorious Free Jane
– featuring a new play by Jonathan Seinen and Jane’s infamous open mic.
Toronto’s newest vogueing sensation, The House of Nuance, brings
the bizarre to Buddies for Pride. Get done up and strut your stuff, or just
come and experience the wildest night this city has to offer and party
late into the night with DJ John Caffrey. houseofnuance.com
AM I RIGHT, LADIES?
JUNE 22
8PM | The Chamber | Tickets $10
The ladies bring it for a spectacularly funny pride show, featuring Heather Gold, Mariko Tamaki, Zoe Whittall, Teresa Pavlinek & Shoshana
Sperling, Kathleen Phillips, with special guest David-Benjamin
Tomlinson and headliner Sandra Shamas.
BUDDIES AFTER HOURS
JUNE 22
10:30pm | Full Facility | Cover $10
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre presents
PRIDECAB
JUNE 19
8pm | The Chamber | Tickets FREE for youth 25 and under, $10 for adults 26+ |
All advance tickets $10
Directed by Chy Ryan Spain | Co-facilitators Jonathan Seinen and
Alisha Stranges | Featuring Eloise Adams, Michiko Bown-Kai, Brian
Chang, Panthea Davoodian, Rory Jade Grey, Alejandra Huerta,
Benjie Kibblewhite, Middleton, Thompson Nguyen, Justyn Jolie
Racco and Sina
The hallmark of Buddies’ Queer Youth Arts Program, the ever-popular
PrideCan tackles what it means to be young and queer today in a series
of original stories, songs, and performances created and performed by
queer youth under the age of 25. This project is made possible, in part,
by the Youth Theatre Training Program of Theatre Ontario, funded by
the Ontario Arts Council, and by The Mukti Fund.
Education Sponsor
Featuring Donnarama and special guests.
DJs K-Tel and Triple-X
TRUTH/DARE: A SATIRE
(WITH DANCE)
JUNE 26 & JUNE 27
MORE AT XTRA.CA
Belle Jumelles and Titus Androgynous host an inclusive night of
performances and partying for butches and femmes of all stripes, with tunes
by DJ Nik Red. Partial proceeds go to support Toronto People with AIDS
Foundation.
BITCH SALAD GIVES BACK
JUNE 28
8PM | The Chamber | Tickets $25
Back for it’s 5th Pride edition, Bitch Salads unites the country’s fiercest
female comedians for one unforgiving night of laughter. This year
promises to deliver unprecedented shelarity with perennial favorites
Sara Hennessey, Emma Hunter, The Cheeto Girls and extra-special
guest headliner Julie Klausner.
BUDDIES AFTER HOURS
JUNE 28
10:30pm | Full Facility | Cover $15
Featuring Fay Slift and special guests
DJs K-Tel and Triple-X
Glam-Glam Productions presents
HOMO NIGHT IN CANADA 2013
JUNE 29
8pm | The Chamber | Tickets $25
Now in its 13th year, this Pride tradition brings the very best in queer
comedy to the stage for one hilarious night. Hosted by the infamous
B-Girlz and featuring Kristen Becker, Paul Hutcheson, Ian Lynch, Mae
Martin, Ted Morris, Richard Ryder, Vong Sundara, Alison Taylor,
Dawn Whitwell and Lindy Zucker. glam-glam.com
BUDDIES AFTER HOURS
JUNE 29
10:30pm | Full Facility | Cover $15
Created by Salvatore Antonio and Adamo Ruggiero. Starring Salvatore Antonio, Damien Atkins, Terrence Bryant, Keith Cole, Gavin
Crawford, Sebastien Heins, Sharron Matthews and Adamo Ruggiero.
A satirical, sing-and-dance-along recreation of the cult classic backstage
documentary from Madonna’s Blond Ambition World Tour, followed by a
late-night Madonna dance party.
Featuring Donnarama and special guests.
DJs K-Tel and Triple-X
THE LADY OIYE’S TEA DANCE
JUNE 30
3-10pm | The Cabaret | Tickets FREE
Operation Snatch presents
DIRTY PLÖTZ
JUNE 26
An ensemble of female performers take on the historical erasure of
women in a sexy and scandalous celebration of female creativity. Hosted
by Alex Tigchelaar and featuring Jess Dobkin, Hoa Nguyen, The
Ghost Taco, and others.
BUDDIES
AFTER HOURS
SPONSOR
8pm | The Chamber | Tickets $10 or PWYC
8pm | The Cabaret | Tickets $15 in advance, $20 at the door
8:30pm | The Chamber | Tickets $20
QUEER
MEDIA
PARTNER
BUTCH FEMME SALON
PRIDE EDITION: LEAVE IT TO
BEAVER 1950’S
JUNE 27
LEAD
CORPORATE
SPONSOR
Buddies provides cool respite for the weary and thirsty on Pride Day
afternoon, spreading out the welcome, spreading out the welcome mat
for a friendly gathering just off the parade route
BUDDIES AFTER HOURS
JUNE 30
10pm | Full Facility | Cover $10
Featuring Cassandra Moore and special guests
DJs K-Tel and Triple-X
MAINSTAGE
MEDIA
SPONSOR
Design: Jonathan Kitchen, jakcreative.com
THEATRE
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 33
34 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
MORE AT XTRA.CA
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 35
BIG SCREEN
PORN
37 GLORY HOLES
24/7
78 Wellesley St. E.
the BLACK door
King-sized
shopping
Toronto’s furniture strip offers
something for every type of home
NEIGHBOURHOOD
SERAFIN LARIVIERE
PHOTOS BY ADAM COISH
One’s sense of personal décor starts
at such an early age. For me it was
airplane wallpaper on my bedroom
ceiling and a Wonder Woman motif
that made my clueless father thrill at
his son’s early interest in half-naked
females. My sister favoured purple
wallpaper emblazoned with images
of Jimi Hendrix–style rock gods. Of
course, over time our styles progressed
— I went eclectic/minimalist, while my
sister has never found a Sears living
room set she didn’t adore.
Then, of course, there’s the inevitable Ikea phase of early adulthood,
where the amazement of finding super-
American style
Philadelphia
cheese steak
sandwiches
All sandwiches
made with
AA Ribeye
WE HAVE
3
4 5
KING E
FREDERICK
7
GEORGE
36 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
JARVIS
462 YONGE STREET, NORTH OF COLLEGE
Open ‘til 3am Fri & Sat
416.927.9090
Carol Gray and Georgia Nogas sell
Italian furnishings at Calligaris.
into one (yes, I’m a klutz). The huge
sofas range upward from $7,000, with
the look and feel of pieces that will last
the owner’s lifetime, and then some.
Where Montauk’s style is a sort of
cool, Icelandic modern, the fashionforward style of Calligaris’s 3 (170
King St E) Italian furnishings is warm
and contemporary. The colour palette
is especially interesting, with vibrant
reds, gorgeous charcoals and even a
shade of jaundiced brown that reminds
me of something my toddler produces
after eating too much pineapple (the
adorable saleswoman, Carol, likes to
call it “grellow”). Yet somehow the
shade works beautifully, particularly
when paired with one of the firm’s sleek
red chairs ($195). Carol also shows me
a condo-lover’s dream: a coffee table
that quickly and soundlessly whisks
upward into a dining surface for up to
six people ($1,350). I also covet a selection of glass-blown sculptural lamps
that are both gorgeous and functional.
There’s quite a lot of condo-scale
furniture on the King Street stretch, a
natural reflection of nearby urban development. Quite a few shops feature
space-saving and multi-use pieces, but
Positive Space Interiors 4 (167 King
St E) takes things to a whole new level.
2
1
6
SHERBOURNE
I WENT TO
PHILLY
cheap furniture is quickly consumed
by the realization that it’s engineered
to fall apart about two weeks after
the warranty expires. But when the
real search for lasting furnishings begins, there are few places better than
Toronto’s King Street.
Stretching eastward several blocks
from the St Lawrence Market, this
stretch boasts some of the chicest, largest (and frequently costliest) purveyors
of furniture, ranging from quaintly
traditional to cutting-edge modern.
Stacaro 1 has a nice blend of
both styles in its 225 King St E location. There are classic dining-room
tables and kitchen dressers built in
solid hardwood, but also a collection
of eclectic soft furnishings and accessories to spice up even the most
staid décor. My favourite is an armchair upholstered in a gorgeous fabric
adorned with the Union Jack ($690).
Stacaro’s lamps are equally unique; I’m
quite taken with a line of Elementaire
lamps with bases of bundled, reclaimed
wooden branches and sticks. They’re
not cheap ($599 for the floor lamp,
$299 for the table version), but they’re
definitely eye-catching.
Just across the road is Montauk
Sofa 2 (220 King St E), an industrialstyle showroom devoted to a futuristic
aesthetic. Some of these pieces are
definitely not for condo living (they
do have smaller scale, as well), but
they are both visually stunning and
sumptuously comfortable. Many of the
materials are reclaimed, like a massive
set of concrete coffee tables ($9,000
each) that are deadly chic — as well as
deadly painful to the shins if you run
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
Above, Stacaro sells a collection
of eclectic soft furnishings and
accessories. Right, Montauk Sofa's
industrial-style showroom has a
futuristic aesthetic.
The custom beds feature a massive
amount of storage built into their
bases, with pull-out drawers that are
reminiscent of those old-style captain’s beds so many kids grew up with
in the 1970s and ’80s. But these sleek,
attractive beds are anything but kids’
furniture, and the storage is cunningly
concealed with recessed hardware and
contemporary lines.
Many of the King Street furniture
stores are themselves decorated within an inch of their lives, each article
carefully and artfully placed to create a studied ambiance. Then there’s
the jumbly fabulousness of Office &
Shop Furniture 5 (181 King St E).
Full disclosure here: I purchased a
custom-made leather club chair from
the affable owner eight years ago, and
I have to tell you it is still like new. But
this place specializes in odd little finds
as well as classic desks, chairs and cabinets from bygone eras. I pick up a sweet
little ladybug table light ($45) and am
sorely tempted by some of the other
leaded-glass Tiffany-esque lamps. You
will always find something cool here,
and you can’t beat the affordability.
Perhaps the most outrageous lighting
on King Street can be found at Trianon
Design 6 (247 King St E). Swags, chandeliers and table lamps are crowned
with shades made entirely of ostrich,
turkey and other exotic bird feathers
MORE AT XTRA.CA
dyed in vivid pinks, greens, blues and
yellows. They’re over-the-top, slightly
impractical and utterly fantastic.
After all this modernity, it’s a little
refreshing to walk into the AGA shop
7 (150 King St E). As the owner of a
vintage 1950s AGA stove, I can tell you
that these little buggers heat a home
like nothing else, while providing the
best baking oven you’ll ever use (ambient heat rather than localized elements
prevents scorching of any kind). Most
of the models here are of the classic
variety, though with some updated
modern hardware and features. Prices
vary and the sizes range from tiny to
grandiose, but even just wandering
through this lovely shop is a balm for
the soul.
Given the proclivity for assemble-ityourself budget stores in and around
the GTA, it’s heartening to see that
beautifully crafted furniture, made for
a lifetime of use, still sells in Toronto.
And that’s the thing about higher-end
furniture, really. It may seem outrageously overpriced compared to its
Swedish cousin, but that Ikea couch is
probably going to collapse into bits of
cotton and powdered wood fibre long
before these babies’ springs just begin
to ease.
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 37
38 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
WHAT'S ON
FOR MORE EVENT LISTINGS, GO TO XTRA.CA
ARTS & PHOTOGRAPHY
Luminato Festival
The city comes alive with theatre,
film, dance, music and more. Joni
Mitchell participates in an onstage
TimesTalk on Sun, June 16, 6pm.
Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles
St W. $35. Luminato runs Fri, June
14–Sun, June 23, various locations.
luminatofestival.com
Gay Men’s Art Project
Guys of all skill levels create and
mingle in an informal environment.
Every month on the afternoon of the
first Saturday and the evening of the
third Monday. Mon, June 17, 6–8pm.
The 519 Community Centre, 519
Church St. Free. gmaptoronto.org
Some Boys
I’d Like to Know
Allen Shugar’s retrospective
explores the mystique
of the male figure,
challenging the idea that
only the female figure
should be represented
erotically. Opening
reception Thurs, June 27, 6–9pm.
Exhibit runs Tues, June 18–Sat, June
29, various times. Urban Gallery, 400
Queen St E. Free. urbangallery.ca
10x10 Photography
Project
This annual celebration of local
queer heroes features work by
Paul Dymond, Lynne Fox, Stev’nn
Hall, Jeanette Martin, Anthony
Manieri, Walter Segers and more.
Opening reception Thurs, June
27, 7pm. Exhibit runs Tues, June
18–Sun, July 14, various times. The
Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St W.
10x10photographyproject.com
HEALTH & ISSUES
The 519 Legal Clinic
A free, accessible service for lowincome people. Volunteer lawyers
provide legal advice, referrals
and help with forms and
letters. The confidential
and private visits are
first-come, first-served.
Bring any
necessary
documents. Every Thursday;
registration 6–6:30pm. The 519
Community Centre, 519 Church St.
Free. the519.org
Positive Routes
to Recovery
A peer-led support group for gay
men working on substance abuse
issues. Takes place the first and
third Tuesday of each month.
Tues, June 18, 6–8pm. The 519
Community Centre, 519 Church St.
Free. pr2r.org
AIDS Candlelight Vigil
People gather to remember and
celebrate those who have been
lost to, or are living with, HIV/AIDS.
Thurs, June 20, 9–10pm. AIDS
Memorial, Cawthra Square Park, 519
Church St. Free. the519.org
Bisexual Men of Toronto
A peer-support and discussion
group focused on community and
solidarity. Tues, June 25, 8–9:30pm.
Sherbourne Health Centre, 333
Sherbourne St. Free. torontobinet.org
LEISURE & PLEASURE
Come Out and Play Gala
The Canadian Lesbian and Gay
Archives and OutSport Toronto
present a fundraising night of
entertainment. Features a
history walk, runway show,
musical guest Shawnee She
King and a silent auction.
6:30pm. Artscape Wychwood
Barns, 76 Wychwood Ave.
$75–125. clga.ca
HypnotiXXX:
A Slightly Naughty
Comedy Hypnosis Show
Brandon the Hypnotist debuts
his new show, taking audience
volunteers on a risqué and slightly
rude journey into the subconscious.
Sun, June 16, 7pm. The Flying Beaver,
488 Parliament St. $10 advance,
$15 door. pubaret.com
Libido: Dyke
March Fundraiser
A night of queer art, performance
and music by MC Jazz, DJs Slimthick
Monroe, Rouge, Linguist, Alyssa and
more. Thurs, June 20, 10pm. The
Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St W.
$10–20 advance, $15–20 door or
PWYC. gladstonehotel.com
Queernament: For the
Love of Community
This three-on-three basketball
tournament features music by
DJs Blackcat and Cozmic Cat and
a nearby “community village,”
where various local organizations
are represented. Competitors
must register. Sat, June 22,
4–10pm. Harbourfront Community
Centre, 627 Queens Quay W. $10.
iaminthelife.com
34th Annual Dora Awards
Hosts Matt Baram and Naomi
Snieckus recognize exemplary
achievement in Toronto theatre,
dance and opera. Features 13 new
award categories. Mon, June 24,
7pm. St Lawrence Centre, 27 Front
St E. $65. tapa.ca
Sapphic Aquatica
Pride Party
In addition to the usual amenities
and icebreaker games, this month
there is a workshop on “female
pleasure seeking,” guided exercises
with lube and toys, a kissing booth
and the music of DJ Quinces. Tues,
June 25, 8pm. Oasis Aqualounge,
231 Mutual St. $20 singles, $30
couples. oasisaqualounge.com
Harbourfront to Hanlan’s
Point Sailing Adventure
City-weary folk cruise out to the
islands and back, taking part in
informal sailing lessons or just
enjoying the open water, sparkling
wine and snacks. Runs Wed, June
26–Tues, June 30, various times.
Spadina WaveDeck, 401 Queens
Quay W. $100. getoutcanada.com
Lesbian Potluck
The Bizarre
Ball —
Buddies,
Fri, June
21 DRASKO
BOGDANOVIC
Who doesn’t love lesbians and
food? Jiggly Caliente is the special
guest, and DJs Secret Agent, Casey
Mecija, Jen Markowitz and Andi
Larocca spin in celebration of Miss
Fluffy Soufflé’s birthday. Wed, June
26, 8pm–midnight. The Gladstone
Hotel, 1214 Queen St W. Free.
gladstonehotel.com
Submit your event listing
to oitc@xtra.ca.
Deadline for the
June 27–July 10 issue
is Wed, June 19.
MORE AT XTRA.CA
Queernament
— Harbourfront
Community
Centre, Sat,
June 22
COMEDY & CABARET
Pride Package III
For the third year running, Paul
Hutcheson brings together his
favourite international comedians
for a riotous evening. Features D’yan
Forest, Sharon Nowlan, Zabrina
Chevannes, Trixie & Beever and
more. Fri, June 14 and Sat, June
15, 8pm. Buddies in Bad Times,
12 Alexander St. $15, $10 artists.
buddiesinbadtimes.com
Gavin Crawford:
Sh**ting Rainbows
The prodigy of character
comedy presents a collection of
peculiar characters and singular
impersonations in a skewed look
at queer culture. Thurs, June 20
and Fri, June 21, 8pm. Buddies in
Bad Times, 12 Alexander St. $25.
buddiesinbadtimes.com
The Bizarre Ball
Toronto's newest voguing collective,
The House of Nuance, brings bizarre
to Buddies with off-the-wall runway
and dancing. DJ John Caffery spins.
Fri, June 21, 9pm. Buddies in Bad
Times, 12 Alexander St. $5–10.
buddiesinbadtimes.com
Queer Class at
Second City
Glad Day Cabaret
Troy Jackson hosts a night of
performances, featuring Dainty Box,
Bambibot, Shadrack Jackman, Jill
Andrew, Mark Thomas and Dominic
Brasset. Sat, June 22, 9pm. Glad Day
Bookshop, 598 Yonge St. PWYC, $10
suggested. gladdaybookshop.com
STAGE
Wizard of Oz
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s adaptation
of the classic film features all
the favourite characters, songs
and moments, along with a few
surprises and some fresh songs by
Tim Rice and Webber. Dorothy is
played by Danielle Wade, star of
CBC’s Over the Rainbow. Runs until
Sun, Aug 18; various showtimes.
Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St.
$34–130. mirvish.com
Confessions of
a Fairy’s Daughter
Alison Wearing’s one-woman show
is the hilarious and touching story of
how she learned at age 12 that her
father was gay. The next eight years
were filled with puff pastry, opera
and bathhouse raids. Sat, June 15,
8pm. Arts & Letters Club, 14 Elm St.
$20. alisonwearing.com
PrideCab
Paul Bellini hosts Second City’s first
ever queer-focused comedy class.
In this two-day course, participants
create characters and sketches that
transcend queer stereotypes. Sat,
June 22 and Sun, June 23, 10am–
4pm. Second City, 70 Peter St. $160.
secondcitytrainingcentre.com
Part of the Queer Youth Arts
Program, the ever-popular PrideCab
is a showcase of original stories,
songs and performances from
youth aged 25 and under. Wed, June
19, 8pm. Buddies in Bad Times, 12
Alexander St. $10, free for those 25
and under. buddiesinbadtimes.com
A Pride Comedy Show:
Am I Right, Ladies?
Avenue Q
A titillating night of lady-comedy,
with comedians Sandra Shamas,
Heather Gold, Mariko Tamaki, Zoe
Whittall, Teresa Pavlinek and more.
Sat, June 22, 8pm. Buddies in Bad
Times, 12 Alexander St. $10 advance,
$13 door. buddiesinbadtimes.com
The musical coming-of-age story
stars some puppets who inhabit
a fictional street in New York City.
Features such memorable hits as “If
You Were Gay” and “The Internet Is
for Porn.” Runs Thurs, June 20–Sun,
Oct 6, various showtimes. Lower
Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington
Ave. $49–60. avenueq.ca
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 39
CLUB SCENE
Men’s Best Ass Contest Boys
show their assets for $300 in cash
prizes, with drag performances and
DJs. Midnight. Woody’s, 465 Church
St. No cover. woodystoronto.com
Work It The first anniversary
party of the queer hip-hop bash
features performances from Her
Royal Flyness Catherine Legs
Hernandez, Saye Sky and Faduma,
aka Red Alert. DJ Nix spins. 10:30pm.
Buddies, 12 Alexander St. $10.
buddiesinbadtimes.com
Sat, June 15
Diamond Divas DJs Sara Simms,
Foxxtrot and ViVi Diamond on
decks. 9pm. Slack’s, 562 Church St.
No cover. slacks.ca
Go West Lakeshore’s first Pride
kickoff dance party, with a
performance by Heaven Lee Hytes.
10pm. Jay Jay’s Inn, 2847 Lake Shore
Blvd W. $10. jayjaysinn.com
The Lost Boys DJs Josh Karmin and
Shawn Riker on decks, with Pride
preview performance by Sofonda
Cox. 10pm. Fly, 8 Gloucester St.
Cover TBA. flynightclub.com
Remington's 20th
anniversary party
— Remington's,
Thurs, June 13
Fit: Pre-Pride Rainbow Party
DJs Kris Steeves and Phil V spin
house in a room covered in rainbow
everything. Major colour couture
is encouraged. Hosted by Jacob.
10:30pm. The Beaver, 1192 Queen St
W. $5. beavertoronto.com
Go Deep DJs The Robotic Kid and
John Caffery launch a new eastend party celebrating the sounds
of deep house. Bassy, moody, sexy.
10pm. WAYLA, Queen St E. $5.
waylabar.com
Thurs, June 13
Fri, June 14
Making a Stage for Our Stories Ill
Nana/DiverseCity Dance Company
presents two nights of queer
performance. Runs until Fri, June 14.
8–10pm. Buddies, 12 Alexander St.
PWYC. illnana-dcdc.com
Fly Pop Friday DJ Sumation on the
main floor and VJ Gary White in the
Pop Lounge. 10pm. Fly, 8 Gloucester
St. $10. flynightclub.com
Remington’s 20th Anniversary
Party DJs Woodwork and Ben
on decks, with Sofonda, the Dirty
Sexy boys and a Roman XX theme.
Appearances by pornstars of Men
of Montreal. 8pm. Remington’s, 379
Yonge St. $7. remingtons.com
Random Play DJs play their favourite
tracks, from rock and ’80s, to disco
and house. 10pm. WAYLA, 996 Queen
St E. No cover. waylabar.com
Her: The Him Edition DJs Denise
Benson, Kevin Ritchie and DKTO
spin disco, house and dance, hosted
by Cassandra Moore. The second
Friday of every month. 10:30pm.
La Perla, 783 Queen St W. $5.
herherher.com
Rockstars DJ Geoff Kelleway rocks
the decks with jacking house music.
Hosted by Karl and Rommel. 11pm–
3am. Byzantium, 499 Church St. No
cover. byz.ca
TORN The Toronto Rubbermen
Network joins forces with Toronto
Leather Pride to host this night for
rubber fetishists and friends. 10pm.
The Black Eagle, 457 Church St. No
cover. blackeagletoronto.com
Sun, June 16
Daddy’s Day Mr Spearhead
Ambassador 2012 Dwayne
Bryk presents a party for daddies
and those who love them. Hosted
by Randy, Mr Spearhead 2013, with
lots of prizes to be won. 3–9pm.
The Black Eagle, 457 Church St.
No cover. blackeagletoronto.com
Second Annual First Lady’s Ball:
Who Runs This Motha DJ Blackcat
spins house and strike-a-pose
music for voguing, ballroom and
runway divas. 8pm–1am. Club120,
120 Church St. $10. club120.ca
Zipperz/Cellblock, 72 Carlton St. No
cover. facebook.com/zipperz
Best Ass Contest Miss Carlotta
Carlisle judges hot butts and gives
away $200 in cash and prizes and
a chance to come back for $500.
10pm. Flash, 463 Church St. $5.
flashonchurch.com
Yes Yes Y’all The June edition
of this hip-hop and dancehall
bash features Montreal’s Poirier
and a night market. 10pm. Annex
WreckRoom, 794 Bathurst St. $6.
theannexwreckroom.com
Mon, June 17
Sat, June 22
Singular Sensation Jennifer Walls
hosts this music-theatre open mic
every Monday. 10pm–1am. Statlers,
487 Church St. No cover. statlers.ca
Night of All Colours Naked
Dance The TNTmen celebrate
Pride au naturel. 4–9pm. Club120,
120 Church St. $8, $5 members, $4
students. tntmen.org
Tues, June 18
Varsity Tuesday Sofonda Cox
hosts the amateur So You Think You
Can Strip? competition, with $100
in cash at stake. 11pm. Remington’s,
379 Yonge St. $5, no cover with
student ID before 11pm, $2 after.
remingtons.com
Hart House Pride Pub
Outdoor barbecue, followed by
an al fresco dance party featuring
DJs Cozmic Cat and Sammy
Rawal, spinning from 8pm, plus a
performance by SC Swagg. 4pm.
Hart House Quad, 7 Hart House
Circle. No cover before 9pm, $5 after
(age 17+ after 9pm). harthouse.ca
Village Stage Live music and open
mic after 11pm every Thursday,
hosted by Melissa Bel, Courtney
Lynn, Kim Koren, Azalea and Anna
Sudac. 9pm. Slack’s, 562 Church St.
No cover. slacks.ca
Crews & Tangos Thursday
Ultimate Thursday, with DJ
Craig Dominic, and Vocal
Rehab karaoke. 10pm. Crews
& Tangos, 508 Church St. No
cover. crewsandtangos.com
Fri, June 21
NO COVER!
$14 DAY
$17 NIGHT
BIG JUGS
465-467 CHURCH ST.
416-972-0887
40 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
The Bizarre Ball Toronto’s
new voguing house, The House
of Nuance, is all twisted looks
and sickening runway. DJ John
Caffery spins. 9:30pm. Buddies,
12 Alexander St. $10, $5 if you’re
walking. See buddiesinbadtimes.
com for a list of dress categories.
Bearcode DJs Cory Activate and
Alain Plamondon spin for muscle
bears, otters, jocks, daddies and
boys every Friday. 10pm–3am.
Mon, June 24
Zipperz/Cellblock Monday
Toronto Wranglers country and
western dancing at 7pm; Mama
Roxxie’s Cabaret, with Roxxie
Terrain, at 10pm. Zipperz/Cellblock,
72 Carlton St. No cover. facebook.
com/zipperz
Tues, June 25
Punkrock Bingo Daddy-O hosts
a fundraiser for the Friends for Life
Bike Rally, with performances by
Jenna Syde and Connie Lingua.
Free Nicorette for everyone. 7–11pm.
Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St W. No
cover. henhousetoronto.com
Thurs, June 20
Sh!t Show Sunday Industry night,
with a live band on the main stage
at 9pm and the DJ spinning in the
Loft at 11pm. Statlers, 487 Church
St. No cover. statlers.ca
Dirty Monday Devine Darlin and
Nikki Chin perform on the drag
stage. 11pm. Crews & Tangos,
508 Church St. No cover.
crewsandtangos.com
Wed, June 19
Come Out and Play Steve Roberts
hosts a night of live auction,
photography and dance to support
queer athletes. 7pm. Artspace
Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St.
$75. chariotevents.eventbrite.ca
Toronto Drag Kings
Tyler Uptight, Cameron, Kenny
and Chase Manning perform in
the weekly drag-king show. Every
Wednesday. 11pm–2am. Zipperz/
Cellblock, 72 Carlton St. No cover.
facebook.com/zipperz
underground ballroom culture
aboveground, in The 519 ballroom.
The theme is Show Us Your Pride.
6:30–10pm. 519 Community Centre,
519 Church St. $5. the519.org
Alphabet Soup An afternoon
drop-in for queer youth under 20.
Every Tuesday, 4–6pm. Sherbourne
Health Centre, 333 Sherbourne St.
No cover. soytoronto.org
Punkrock Bingo —
Henhouse, Wed, June 19
JAMES HUCTWITH
Fooftastic Karaoke with Foofer;
thousands of songs to choose from.
10pm. WAYLA, 996 Queen St E. No
cover. waylabar.com
Wed, June 26
Beef Ball Pre-Pride
Pride Prana 2: The White Edition
Dress in white for this celebration
of Pride 2013 and the Human
Rights Campaign: anything from
traditional sportswear to tighty
whities. Includes a yoga workshop
by Tyler Gledhill (no experience
necessary), followed by cocktails,
music and an erotic art exhibit.
7pm. The Extension Room, 30
Eastern Ave. $20 advance, $25 door.
extensionroom.com
Never-Nudes: An Arrested
Development Burlesque
Performances by 8-Bit Pinup, Ab
Horrence, Boy Joystick, Charlie
Quinn: The Quintessential Player,
Rubie LaFramboise and more,
hosted by Dick Dastardly. 9:30pm.
Club120, 120 Church St. $10
advance, $15 door. nevernudes.
eventbrite.com
Bears, muscle Marys and their admirers
start the Pride party in the bathhouse,
with giveaways, prizes and draws.
7–10pm. Spa Excess, 105 Carlton St.
Regular rates. spaexcess.com
Mr Leather Pride Contest
The Eagle’s annual contest is
hosted by Dwayne Bryk and sees
leathermen vying for this year’s
title with their knowledge of BDSM,
their outfits and their ability to
dominate the crowd. 7pm. The
Black Eagle, 457
Church St. No cover.
blackeagletoronto.
com
Evening Shade
DJs Regina and
Miss Margot spin
unexpected tunes;
hosted by Pegzilla.
10pm. Henhouse, 1532 Dundas St
W. No cover. henhousetoronto.com
Sultry Saturday DJ Cajjmere
Wray spins hot house beats. 11pm.
Byzantium, 499 Church St. No cover.
byz.ca
Sun, June 23
Pride Prana
2 — The
Extension
Room, Sat,
June 22
Sunday at Woody’s Hollywoody
Broadway Show, with Miss Conception.
6pm. Woody’s, 465 Church St. No
cover. woodystoronto.com
2013 Pride Ball Toronto Kiki
Ballroom Alliance presents its
third Pride Ball: a night celebrating
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
TORONTO’S LOCAL
Honor. Remember. Celebrate.
The AIDS Memorial
Cawthra Square Park, Toronto
BIG SCREEN
PORN
Thursday, June 20, 2013 - 9:00 PM
Hosted by Claudia Medina and Dr. Alan Li
F
ET O
37 GLORY HOLES
F
24/7
E E O
Ontario AIDS
Network
June 21-23 | Gananoque, Ontario
78 Wellesley St. E.
the BLACK door
For more informaton | 416.392.6878 Ext 4012 | www.the519.org
Summer Solstice
LGBT Event
1000islandstourism.com/events
WIN a Private Island
in the 1000 Islands for a Week
win an island.ca
Gananoque
Boat Line
MORE AT XTRA.CA
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 41
DEEP DISH
1
2
ROLYN
CHAMBERS
Bud Light Sensation
Power Ball
SAT, JUNE 1 AT ROGERS CENTRE
THURS, JUNE 6
AT THE POWER PLANT
Trending right now on Deep Dish
online: “The kitchen floor; your new
weekend bed. Make it more comfortable the next time you pass out.” This
would have been perfect after attending the massive Bud Light Sensation
party at the Rogers Centre. Although
it ends at 3am, which is usually when
I’m really getting going, everything
that happens between the official
countdown at 8pm until that moment
is exhaustingly, brilliantly executed.
From the media box perched high
above the field, we watch as currents
of men and women, all dressed in
white, converge on the oval stadium
floor like wriggling sperm eagerly
seeking an egg in a giant pulsating
ovary. With huge, squidlike pendant
lights floating up and down above the
30,000 attendees, the Ocean of White
theme comes alive. The dancefloor
field, divided in two by a three-metrehigh, 35-metre-long stage, plays host
to not only the five DJs, including
crowd favourite Fedde Le Grand, but
200 major pyrotechnics effects, powerful green lasers, 18 huge fountains
synched to the music, pyro wheels,
pyro waves, flame jets and a runway
for scantily clad choreographed ladies
who seductively blow bubbles into the
crowd. Small schools of shirtless gays
are spied swimming with the streams
of straight, fist-pumping hammerhead
sharks. Perhaps next year more queer
fish will take the bait. Imagine the
ripples that would create. Or am I just
dreaming... on my kitchen floor?
Trending right now on Deep Dish
online: “Celebrity Twitter beefs; it’s
only 140 cocky characters, why that
blonde bitch be trippin?! #angryface.” The infamous Andy Warhol
famously said that in the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.
It is the future, and with the advent
of Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and
Twitter, it seems everyone thinks
they are. Fame, the theme of this
year’s Power Ball: 15 Minutes, at the
Power Plant art gallery, comes alive
with a Kobo photo wall, a Toronto
Life photo booth, a Now magazine
speakers’ corner, a shimmery metallic photo hall, private headphones
whispering the words of some mysterious woman, and an MMVAish stage,
complete with hot girl straddling a
futuristic motorbike. From room to
room we roam. From vodka bar to
wine bar to beer bar to bathroom we
skip, trip and fall. Along the way we
bump shoulders, swap stories and
fawn over the likes of model Stacey
McKenzie, TVs Glen Baxter, celebrity
hairstylist Jie Matar, blogger turned
DJ Jay Strut, designers Stephen
Wong and Kirk Pickersgill, artist Luis
Jacob, designer Jeremy Laing, singer
Cedric, performance artist Keith
Cole and others. Some are famous;
some sip famous drinks. The hot new
drink? Johnnie Walker and coconut
water, dubbed The New Black. Apparently, I’m the old black. Fame is fleeting. #sadface.
1E Marky & Mark 2E Short shorts 3E
White boys 4E Danny & Derek
5E Keith Cole 6E Kirk, Michael & Stephen 7E Jie, Gaetane & Jay Strut
8E Cedric & Sheldon
3
4
5
6
7
42 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
8
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
XPOSED
2
1E Peaches is looking off the chain these
days. I really hope that she and Riff Raff
get together and make the most insane
disco baby this world has ever seen. If
Santa could bring me that on Christmas
morning, I’d be one happy little beaver. In this picture, she’s sweaty, she’s
grilled up, she’s posing like an Adidas
leather-shoulder-pad wet dream with
the always platinum and always beautiful Regina (or Gentleman Reg, as she’s
known by day). Wrongbar did right for
this Inside Out afterparty.
1
3
4
2E William, Morgan and Rachel have so
much going on in this picture. William
has the most amazing T-shirt on, from
one of my favourite neighbourhoods
in Toronto; Morgan is wearing quite
the cheeky tank; and Rachel’s west-end
uniform is on point. The Inside Out
afterparty is one of the few parties that
really brings together people from all
over the community. Queer west meets
Church meets corporate meets casual.
Perfect warm-up for Pride.
5
8
3E Karen is one of the best Toronto
personalities. I’ve felt that way since
she showed up dressed as Robert
Smith for a Cure-themed night she
DJed. And it’s not like she changed
there: she took the TTC with her hair
like a giant bird’s nest and red lipstick
smeared across her face like it was
any old day of the week. I love this
pic from the Inside Out afterparty of
Karen looking at her main squeeze
Samara. Warms my little black heart.
4E I get no pants. I really do. But I don’t
6
7
get the array of bad fashion choices
that come with it. At the No Pants No
Problem party at The Garrison, it’s like
people took their pants off (and a lot
more in some cases) and then decided
to be crazy, over-the-hill raver meth
addicts or something. Like really, it
was an assault on my senses. But then
ANNA
POURNIKOVA
PHOTOS BY
BECCA LEMIRE
I got into it. And I realized that part of
the fun is dressing like a crazed methhead 20 years after the lights went on
at the party. Having said that, we’re
only showing the better ensembles
here, so don’t worry — your face is safe.
To start it off, Jessica and David are
looking cute as pantless wonders.
5E Tristan’s gold necklace is totally on
trend for the season, and I love how he
paired it with yellow tighty-whities.
The necklace stays butch because it’s
balanced with well-kept beard scruff
and zero sparkles.
6E Julie went all out in a hot seethrough number, which must have
been the obstacle course from hell to
try to remove in order to use the loo.
But that aside, I’m actually floored
with how she has managed to pull
off sexy and cute in this one-piece.
Seriously, people, that is no easy feat.
This is one of my all-time faves of this
column. Ever.
7E Roy and Andrea have two very different approaches to the No Pants No
Problem dress code. Roy’s outfit is
mind-blowing. The orange socks and
boxer briefs are already a standout,
but the kitten-print shirt under a
motorcross cut jacket? Becca almost
had a heart attack. She could barely
take the pic, she was shaking with joy
so bad. Andrea, on the other hand,
has dodged the pants problem with a
skirt. Smarty-pants is what that is.
8E Brittany, Travis and Meaghan are
a lovely pantless trio. I’m really loving
the whole punk resurgence in hair,
piercings and colour that’s been happening lately. Travis in the middle
really embodies it, but Brittany is repping with her septum piercing, and
Meaghan is wearing a DIY top with
rips and all. I’m into all of this big time.
EXPRESS YOURSELF
TATTOOS, PIERCINGS & STREETWEAR | 239 QUEEN ST W TORONTO ON | ADRENALINETORONTO.COM
MORE AT XTRA.CA
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 43
A World of Gay Adventure
Vancouver
The gay heart of Canada’s West Coast
DREW ROWSOME
The southeast end of Vancouver’s gay
village’s main drag, Davie Street, is
anchored by a community garden overflowing with flowers and vegetables.
Several blocks past the bars, stores
and restaurants, with their obligatory
rainbow flags, at the other end of the
Davie Village, a hill slopes down to the
ocean, a beach and the edge of Stanley
Park. The mountains rise to the north
and Sunset Beach is always just a block
or two away; Vancouver is a stunningly
beautiful city and natural wonders are
always close at hand.
The sea-kissed climate accelerates
the growth of vegetation — greenery
is everywhere and mostly gigantic —
and seems to add a certain sparkle
to the men. Natural wonders, indeed
— with surfer dudes in board shorts,
and little else, strolling the streets
and long-haired post-hippie hunks in
abundance. The new-age influence on
the city cannot be underestimated and,
fortunately, seems to extend to sexual
freedom as well. A flight attendant
friend confides that he loves stopovers
in Vancouver because of the large numbers of horny men.
The weather in Vancouver encourages people to experience the outdoors.
44 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
When the sun shines — and despite the
city’s damp reputation, I experienced
five warm and wonderful days in a row
— the beaches are packed; when the
rain arrives, Davie Street remains full
and the bars even more so. There are
not 50 shades of grey; there are thousands, a Vancouver native explains.
“One has to learn to embrace the grey
and enjoy all the colours within it.”
The surrounding mountains are ideal
for hiking, and Out and About Vancouver organizes many outings that
involve lots of walking and socializing.
The Grouse Grind — a 2.9 kilometre,
hour-and-a-half trek up Grouse Mountain on a trail dubbed The Grind — is a
popular, if strenuous, adventure. I can’t
vouch for the hike, but the cable car
and chairlift to the top of the mountain
are spectacular rides, with the city of
Vancouver gleaming like a retreating
jewel as one sails into the sky. At the top
are various tourist attractions: Grinder
and Coco, the grizzly bears; the Eye of
the Wind turbine, with a viewing tour;
paragliding; restaurants; yoga classes
to stretch out the kinks for those who
actually hiked; and a five-line zipline.
Adjacent to the Davie Village is the
large and sprawling Stanley Park. I
naively decided to stroll its perimeter
before dinner and, having woefully
underestimated the distance involved,
became completely lost while trying
to take a shortcut. Within minutes a
helpful park ranger noticed my puzzled
expression and pulled up with concise
instructions and a much more detailed
map. Perhaps that is the most astonishing thing about Vancouver: everyone,
from bus drivers to restaurant servers,
is incredibly friendly. There is no need
to worry about getting lost — the next
person along will be glad to help out.
After pointing me in the right direction, the ranger spotted two teenaged
boys rolling joints on a public bench.
No arrests or even admonitions, just a
“Please do that out of sight.”
Out of sight is easy in Stanley Park,
which is undoubtedly why it is a famous, albeit dangerous, cruising area.
Trails wind everywhere, but during
the day it is packed with tourists and
nosy children. Aside from the greenery
and meandering men, the park boasts
a collection of totem poles and the
Vancouver Aquarium. After the tranquility and spaciousness of the park,
the aquarium feels a bit cramped, but
the dapper penguins are amusing and
the ghostly albino beluga whales are
haunting, especially when seen from
the below-the-waterline viewing decks.
Vancouver’s most famous beach is
GUIDEMAG TRAVEL SECTION
COURTESY OF VANCOUVER BOARD OF TOURISM
Wreck Beach, notorious for its nudity
but actually more memorable for its
relaxed vibe and tranquility. The stairs
are steep (especially when climbing
back up) but well worth the lengthy
descent.
Ostensibly divided into family,
straight and gay — travelling right to
left when facing the ocean — the space
is small enough that all spill together,
and with the great social leveller of
nakedness it works just fine.
Not all of Vancouver is as tranquil.
Commercial Drive seems to have a
female singer/songwriter strumming
a guitar and spilling angst on every
block, which nicely complements the
secondhand and vintage stores, head
shops, organic everything stores and
cafés. Once an Italian immigrant enclave, the area has been colonized by
lesbians, and the two groups mingle
easily, with espresso tables divided
equally between elderly men soaking
in the scenery and dykes displaying
their tats. Grandview Park sits midcentre, and Havana, directly across
Commercial Drive, is a popular brunch
patio. Nuevo Latino cuisine and mojitos
nourish the noshers while a rotating
gallery displaying predominantly gay
artists fills the spacious indoors.
Perusing the art I notice what becomes a Vancouver motif. More often
than statistically predictable, the men
I encounter express a desire to find
the right man, settle down and have
children. While there is a hedonistic
quality to the city — there are three
busy bathhouses — it seems to vanish
at the sight of an attractive gay male
couple with a newborn. The sight of a
gurgling pudgeball cradled in a bulging,
inked bicep brings a bustling room to
a standstill and seems to inspire envy
and admiration.
The buskers on lower Granville
Street — upper Granville is part of the
upscale shopping district, where designers and purveyors of luxury goods
can be found — play electric, and the
Led Zeppelin licks complement the
mix of theatres, hostels, tattoo parlours,
head shops (found on almost every
street — Vancouverites do enjoy their
pot), and rock- and goth-wear stores.
F212 bathhouse, which aims at the
collegiate and business types (the midday Dip & Dash is a deal, a social occasion and a stress-releaser), is in the
heart of the Village but accessible only
from the back alley below Davie Street.
Steamworks is farther away, on the
edge of Chinatown and close enough
to the sketchy Downtown Eastside to
provide an illicit thrill.
The bars lining Davie are eclectic
and have something for every taste.
Celebrities is a vast dance club that
plays the hits and packs in a mixed
crowd, including a fair proportion of
“allies” (the Vancouver word for heteros) in the dressed-to-impress lineup
that forms early. Numbers is also huge,
with multiple levels and rooms belying
the understated entrance. Dancefloors, cruising cubbyholes, multiple
bars and a mercifully glassed-in karaoke room are all features of this
one-stop entertainment destination.
Across the street, the Fountainhead
Pub has a great patio for watching
the street, a great selection of beers,
occasional drag shows and hearty food.
Here again the patience of Vancouverites astonishes me, as the gently
wisecracking waitress takes a lunch
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
ALL-MALE GAY CAMPING
90 MINS FROM PEACE BRIDGE
#!
# # #
#"
!
For event details, reservations, maps & more, visit:
JonesPond.com
order for many — each with specific
dietary requirements — and delivers
separate bills without being asked or
losing her composure.
The Junction Pub is a large space
with a constant stream of theme nights,
drag shows and DJs. PumpJack Pub is
a meat-and-potatoes bar, with a backroom and a distinctly masculine aura. In
the absence of a dedicated leather bar,
the chaps park here. Oasis Ultra Lounge
is up a flight of stairs and has rotating
theme nights, dinner shows, talent
contests and dancing. The 1181 lounge
is dimly lit and perfect for cruising for
that well-dressed man of your dreams.
Also on Davie Street are the wellstocked underwear and sex-toy shop
Priape and Little Sister’s, which has
morphed from the brave bookstore that
fought back against Canada Customs
into a gay literary hub, ticket outlet and
community gathering place packed with
shelves containing every dildo, brand of
lube and sexual enjoyment enhancer
known to man or woman.
As is their wont, the Vancouver avantgarde are busy colonizing less gay and
well-travelled parts of the city. The
Cobalt — a self-consciously grotty hotel
bar that wears its stains and patina of
broken dreams with pride — is at the
base of Main Street. The door guardian
at the Cobalt party of the year blithely
exhales attitude and denies entry to all
but those adhering stringently to the
hipster dress code. Apparently, she is
unaware of the fresh bloodstains on
the sidewalk and doesn’t realize that
the trans men in harnesses and their
genderfuck drag companions across the
street at the Electric Owl have trumped
her party’s place-to-be-seen factor.
Live theatre is one of the draws on
Granville Island, with a cluster of warehouses converted into showplaces for
musicals, experiments and many gaythemed entertainments. The island is
also home to multiple artisans, galleries,
funky boutiques, a huge farmers’ marMORE AT XTRA.CA
ket and numerous
restaurants. Edible at the Market is devoted to
locally sourced
foods, so the menu
changes constantly, but every dish
that our table of
jaded journalists
tests is a taste bonanza. The maple syrup and bacon
caesar is a constant and a must-try. And
if eating locally sourced isn’t outdoorsy
enough, there is a boat rental, where for
$10 — after passing a written test — you
can be licensed to set sail and harvest
your own crabs fresh from the ocean.
The 2010 Winter Olympics have left
Vancouver with a legacy of great public
transit. The SkyTrain whisks one from
the airport to downtown in fewer than
20 minutes and for well under $10.
The Aquabus is a fun way to travel to
Granville Island or around the edges
of downtown. Service is friendly but
adheres to no discernible schedule,
so speed is not guaranteed, which fits
nicely with Vancouver’s laissez-faire
approach to time; meetings are usually
scheduled at “insert time here”-ish,
which allows for fluctuations and frustrations. Buses criss-cross the city, and
TransLink’s website gives detailed and
clear instructions on travelling from
any destination to another. Or you can
stroll the serpentine streets that seem
to have something exciting over every
hill — gourmet food trucks in the financial district, giant sparrow statues in the
Olympic Village, the Dr Seuss-esque
Erickson condo building tilting amusingly amidst the glass towers that scar
the waterfront.
Or, like many a Vancouverite, relax
with a coffee in the beautiful surroundings — Vancouver has more Starbucks
per square inch than seems plausible
— because whatever is next will happen
at insert time here-ish.
585-567-8100
Above left, lining up for Celebrities.
Top, the seawall at English Bay.
Above, the Aquabus is a fun way to
get to Granville Island. DREW ROWSOME
Trip Planner
Accommodations
Barclay House B&B
Quality Hotel Vancouver
Bars & Clubs
Celebrities
PumpJack
Saunas
Fahrenheit 212
Steamworks
Restaurants & Cafés
Pizzalita
Services
So Many Reasons to Stay: Close to English Bay & Stanley Park | City, ocean
& mountain views | In-suite washer/dryer units | Complimentary high-speed
Internet | Outdoor pool (seasonal) | Meeting & banquet facilities | Business
centre | Fitness facilities | pHresh Spa & Wellness Club | Gated, underground
parking | Moxie’s Grill & Bar with room service
Vancouver Trolley Company
Shopping
Little Sister’s
Priape
On the Web
Tourism Vancouver
QUOTE ‘XTRA’
WHEN MAKING
YOUR RESERVATION
AND RECEIVE 10%
OFF OUR BEST
AVAILABLE RATE*
tourismvancouver.com
Vancouver Pride
July 29–Aug 4
vancouverpride.ca
Transit info
translink.ca
Grouse Mountain
grousemountain.com
Wreck Beach
wreckbeach.org
Find information on more
than 100 places of interest
in Vancouver at guidemag.com.
GUIDEMAG TRAVEL SECTION
Panel dismisses QuAIA
complaints, but city
hall still a wildcard
On xtra.ca.
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 45
Halifax
JEAN GAGNON
Have the Maritime of your life
ROB SALERNO
Canada’s charming colonial city by the sea
holds a secret: despite its small size, it’s
home to a thriving gay community fuelled
by a large and diverse student population,
the city’s status as Maritime Canada’s
regional hub and, ahem, the city’s largest
employer, the Canadian Navy. There’s
plenty here for the gay traveller to enjoy,
and the welcoming Maritime attitude will
make you feel at home right away.
HEY, SAILOR
On a summer day, Halifax’s bustling port is
where the action is. The pleasant boardwalk
features the usual touristy shopping and
buskers, but it is a great starting point for a
trip into Halifax’s seafaring history. Historic ships line the harbour, and guided tours
can be arranged at the Maritime Museum of
the Atlantic. Down the harbour, you’ll find
the Canadian Museum of Immigration at
Pier 21, the port through which more than
a million immigrants entered Canada in
the 20th century.
Hali-fact: Along the stroll, you’re sure to
spot some of Canada’s finest uniformed
men.
GET WET
Some of the best views of the city are from
the water. The cheapest option is to take
46 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
On the
web
a ride on the ferry to Dartmouth, a part of
the public transit network. Several boat
tour operators offer minicruises around the
harbour and into the ocean, with routes focused on historical vistas, whale watching,
deep-sea fishing, dinner cruises and even
tall-ship sailing. If you’re more adventurous, you can rent canoes from St Mary’s
Boat Club and paddle around the harbour
by yourself.
Gay tourism info
rainbowhalifax.com
Wayves
wayves.ca
Tourism info
novascotiatourism.com
Event
planner
Hali-fact: Before buying your whale-
watching ticket, ask the attendants if you’re
likely to see whales on that day — certain
morning weather conditions cause the
whales to hide, which can make for a disappointing cruise
OUTeast Film
Festival
June 20–June 23
outeastfilmfest.com
Queer Acts
Theatre Festival
PARTY HARD
For a city of its size, Halifax boasts an enviable gay scene. The annual Pride celebration
has evolved into a week-long cultural festival (July 18–28), welcoming up to 50,000
visitors from all over Maritime Canada.
The queer-friendly sex shop Venus Envy
(venusenvy.ca) is a local institution, as is
the nautical-themed bathhouse SeaDog’s;
there’s no sign on the street — look for
the anchors painted on the entrance
(seadogs.ca). There’s even a respected queer
theatre company, Plutonium Playhouse.
Queer nightlife is found at Reflections, for a
younger dance crowd; Menz Bar (menzbar.
ca), for a more casual atmosphere; and The
Company House, for ladies.
MONEYWAGON
Top, one of the best views of the city is from Dartmouth, just across the harbour. Above,
the Citadel Hill fortress has been a popular gay cruising area for more than 70 years.
Hali-fact: The monthly queer mag Wayves
recently ceased publication but maintains
a website (wayves.ca) with up-to-date local
listings.
FOOD AND DRINK
Don’t pass up a chance for fresh-fromthe-ocean lobster. Seafood is ubiquitous
in Halifax, and the halibut, cod and clams
are among the best you’ll taste. Splurge
on a nice restaurant like The Press Gang
or The Five Fishermen. The pub scene is
centred on the pedestrian mall on Granville
Street, and many pubs feature live local
musicians, including traditional fiddlers
and bagpipers. Beer fans will enjoy a tour
of the Alexander Keith’s brewery, which is
capped off with a couple of free pints. The
traditional late-night snack in Halifax is the
donair — you’ll see shops everywhere — and
they are delicious.
July 18–21
Halifax Pride
July 18–28
halifaxpride.com
Hali-fact: In the summer, McDonald’s of-
fers up a monstrosity called the McLobster.
Avoid.
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
is Red.
It’s the rosy cheeks of sun-kissed children playing
in the surf at Crane Beach. It’s a fresh-steamed lobster
served with melted butter. It’s the well-trod bricks
of Boston’s Freedom Trail, each one steeped in history.
It’s vivid sunsets over Cape Cod, the leaves falling
on the back roads of the Berkshires or on shoppers
along famed Newbury Street, and a pair of Red Sox
that captivate a nation.
For help planning the perfect colourful holiday in one of the most
welcoming states in America, visit massvacation.ca or tweet your
questions to @VisitMA with #AskVisitMA
MORE AT XTRA.CA
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 47
A World of Gay Adventure
The Beach Party is the main
event at Sand Blast. BARNETT
Artist's rendering
of the new Pavilion.
FIRE ISLAND’S
FAMOUS PAVILION
Destroyed in 2011 by a devastating fire,
the Pavilion nightclub on New York’s
Fire Island is reopening this summer,
once again giving the Pines a central
hub for culture and nightlife.
Originally opened in 1980, the Pavilion instantly became the social heart of
the community. Its reopening coincides
with the 60th anniversary of the Pines
resort, which each year welcomes more
than 800,000 visitors.
“Although the new building has the
same envelope and mix of uses as its
predecessor, the similarities end there,”
says Matthew Blesso, of FIP Ventures,
the development company that owns the
property. “The new structure is modern
and casual, bold and iconic. It is the first
thing visitors see when getting off the
ferry, and we envision it to once again
be the heart of the Pines community.”
The Pavilion’s first level offers a “welcome bar” that will serve as a meeting
place for residents and visitors. The
dance club will encompass the building’s second level, with a 2,000-square-
foot dancefloor and a 2,760-square-foot
outdoor terrace where high tea will be
served.
“Aside from designing a building with
personality, our primary focus was to
recreate the social engine that was so
unique to the famed Pavilion of the ’90s,”
says Matthias Hollwich, of Hollwich
Kushner, which designed the building.
Waterford Crystal has donated a
chandelier to be installed over the welcome bar — an homage to the trademark
chandeliers that were installed in 1989.
New England’s gay playground
Once a sleepy Portuguese fishing village
and Yankee whaling centre, Provincetown, Massachusetts, is famous as
New England’s queer playground. It’s a
favourite destination for gays from all
across North America and around the
world and is included on top-10 travel
lists by Smithsonian magazine and renowned travel guide Fodor’s.
Situated at the tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown is only five kilometres long
and just a few streets wide. Beckoning
nearby are 4,000 acres of rolling sand
dunes, pine forest, freshwater ponds
and 50 kilometres of beach, including
Herring Cove, one of the most famous
gay beaches in the world. The Huffington Post outlines a
100-kilometre “Cape Cod Scenic Drive,”
describing it as one of the “most relaxing
48 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
Cape Cod sand dunes. M SENSELESS
coastal drives in the US and Canada.” It
ends just outside Ptown near the Province Lands Visitor Center — well worth
a visit, with its observation decks that
offer spectacular views of Race Point
and the sand dunes.
Provincetown shifts into gear at the
end of May, when the crowds arrive
for Memorial Day weekend, then picks
up the pace at the beginning of July.
The height of the season is Carnival, an
anything-goes festival in mid-August.
The pace slackens after Labour Day,
but the lineup of special weekends and
bargain shopping draw visitors into the
fall season. And for those who seek peace
and quiet, winter in Ptown, with its stark
landscapes and dramatic weather (not to
mention the relaxed locals, who relish
having the town mostly to themselves),
holds a charm all its own.
For more on Provincetown,
visit guidemag.com.
Jersey
Shore’s big
gay weekend
Thousands will converge on the Jersey
Shore in mid-July for Sand Blast, an
annual queer party held in the seaside
town of Asbury Park.
More than two dozen activities are
packed into the July 19 to 21 weekend, from surfing to guided bike rides,
beach dodge ball, a burlesque show, a
downtown art gallery walk, two pool
parties and various nighttime dance
extravaganzas. The Beach Party, the
weekend’s main event, will feature
DJs Tony Moran and Hector Fonseca.
“Bringing the legendary Tony Moran to headline Saturday afternoon’s
Beach Party has been a goal of ours for
years,” says Brad Hurtado, Sand Blast’s
founder and executive producer. “Securing the super-hot Hector Fonseca
to spin the first three hours is a double
whammy.”
The gay community began making
pilgrimages to Asbury Park in significant numbers in 1999 and 2000, when
the city was in terrible condition.
Undeterred by the vacant downtown
storefronts and abandoned mile-long
boardwalk, New York gays were drawn
to the town’s turn-of-the-century
Victorian houses, many in fallingdown condition and selling for less
than $100,000, and started buying up
properties for summer homes. Someone came up with the idea of starting
a summer party to lure their friends
from the city, and Sand Blast was born.
It’s been a runaway success: more
than 4,000 people attended in 2012,
drawn by its unique mix of high-
energy dance parties and relaxing
seaside activities.
“Sand Blast is about discovering
Asbury Park as a gay-friendly resort
community and making it your own,”
Hurtado says. “We want our guests to
go off and explore the entire town and
boardwalk and enjoy all that this jewel
on the Jersey Shore has to offer. It’s
not just a place to come once a year; it’s
a destination we hope guests return to
again and again.”
Dancing boys abound at Sand Blast.
BARNETT
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
MORE AT XTRA.CA
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 49
Checking in with
Chris: Week 11
The all new
BODY WERQ
WITH
It’s pre-Pride season, and thanks
to his Evolution Fitness training,
Chris feels more ready for the big
week than ever. “This year I’m
heading into Pride with confidence,” he says.
“Boylesque TO has been a big
part of me learning to love myself,”
he says. “When I got off the stage
at one of our first gigs in 2008,
some cute, scruffy guys came up to
me and said, ‘I never thought I’d
see someone like me being sexy
onstage.’ This was one of the first
times I realized that I could be sexy
on my own terms. It also reminds
me how body image is often developed from what we see.”
The Evolution Fitness team is
helping Chris, body and mind. “I’m
really happy with the changes I’ve
made,” he says. “In fact, I think
this Pride might be more laid-back
for me.”
See his assets
before you
hookup.
Look for Chris’s official Pride
check-up in the next issue of Xtra.
For more information on Evolution
Fitness and its team of experts, visit
personaltrainerstoronto.com.
Scan this
QR code
for full
uncensored
image.
By scanning this code you confirm you are 18+
squirt.org
Hot ’n uncensored.
50 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
The definitive online source for
gay & lesbian media, including:
q#SFBLJOHOFXTq%BJMZCMPHT
7JEFPJOUFSWJFXT
q&OHBHJOHDPNNFOUT
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q'BDFCPPLUXJUUFS
BOETPNVDINPSF
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
Classifieds
NEXT BOOKING DEADLINE: WED, JUNE 19 @ 1PM
To place an ad, call 416-925-6665 xt 0
or book your line classified at xtra.ca
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
NOTICES
PAINTING
Married, Separated or
Divorced Gay Father?
Newbright Painting
IN MEMORIAM
TRAVEL
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL
PROUD LIFE
Ed Riel
March 6, 1966—
Nov. 24, 2011
You will always
be in my heart.
I will miss you forever.
Love always.
PUERTO
VALLARTA
MEXICO
BOANA-TORRE MALIBU
Condo Hotel. Largest pool in
gay Vallarta. Located by gay
beach.
boana@pvnet.com.mx
Call 011-52-(322)222-099-9
Direct line Montreal: 514-8007690
BOANA.NET
Sean 416.985.8639 newbrightpainting@gmail.com
COUNSELLING
25 years in the business
PSYCHOTHERAPIST
www.scottrivers.biz
416-993-7970
...helping you become the person
you have always wanted to be
droutledge@rogers.com
www.dwroutledge.com (416) 944-1291
ARRESTED?
CHARGED?
AGGRESSIVE
CRIMINAL
DEFENCE
Communication — Relationship — Life Skills
Gay Men — Male Couples
$ZDNHQ6WXGLR
416-557-7312 — phillip@phillipcoupal.ca
www.phillipcoupal.ca
CLEANERS
DONNA REIST, Ph.D., C.Psych.
Registered Psychologist.
Counselling & Psychotherapy,
Psychoeducational & Diagnostic Assessments, Crisis
Intervention. Yonge & St.Clair ~
drdonnareist.com
416-750-9400
look outside to dream
look inside to awaken
TORONTO’S
GAY & LESBIAN
NEWS
NEW THOUGHT THERAPY
Personalized Effective
Conversations.
Depression, Anxiety, Gender,
Sexuality, Life/Executive
Coaching
Todd Kaufman, MDiv
647-230-2068
Genesissquared.com. See our
ad in this issue of Xtra
ROB PEACH, MSW, RSW*
||Psychotherapy|| Treatment
for difficulties with the management of problem sexual
thoughts, urges and
behaviours. Downtown location. Saturday appointments.
Individuals and couples. |
www.robpeach.ca
| treatment@robpeach.ca|
416- 795-7299 |
El-Farouk
Khaki
Barrister & Solicitor
Refugee & Immigration Law
5FMt'BY
FMöO!SPHFSTDPNtFMGBSPVL@MBX!ZBIPPDB
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
HAIR/SKIN & BEAUTY
WWW.GANYMEDE.CA
Professional hair removal by
certified specialist. Waxing,
electrolysis and laser. Clean,
private,
downtown location. By
appointment only. Call Darcy at
416-979-8801.
MOVERS
BE BOLD!
Best WayToMove.Com
Professional movers, good
rates.
Accurate and reliable since
1991. Visa/MC accepted.
Please call
416-875-MOVE(6683)
Bold your line
classified.
MOVERS
MORE AT XTRA.CA
Manhattan Moving Services
Toronto's Award Winning Gay Owned Moving Company
PLEASE
RECYCLE
THIS PAPER!
HELMETS
& VESTS
FROM $89
LUCKY 13
FROM $29
JACKETS
PANTS
& CHAPS
FROM
$99
416.410.2266
Matthew Kelly, M.A.,
psychotherapist
416.694.0015 (ex 225)
www.depththerapy.ca
WANTED
CraigPenney.com
depth therapy
PICK UP guide 2013
YOUR COPY
TODAY!
MOTORCYCLE &
SCOOTER GEAR
LEGAL SERVICES
Counselling + Coaching + Bodywork
CONDOFRESH. Two handsome
guys Sean and
Jamie provide cleaning, organizing
and staging services for your home
whether you’re selling or happy
where you are. We take pride in our
work and will make you
feel welcome and respected in your
home. Condofresh.ca. info@condofresh.ca.
Call/text 647-448-5213.
DOC’S
A
downtown location - affordable rates
COUNSELLING
IN THIS
ISSUE!
Great Scott!
Painting
DAVID W. ROUTLEDGE
MSW, RSW
HOME, CONDO & OFFICE
CLEANERS
call Tomas - 416.878.9527
email: info@ecoscleaning.com
FULLY BONDED AND INSURED
visit: www.ecoscleaning.com
Ultimate
NO MESS, NO FUSS, JUST SUPERIOR WORKMANSHIP
Commercial/Residential, Interior/Exterior Painting l Design & colour consultation
Light Reno’s and Repairs l Window Cleaning l Better Business Bureau
Celebrating 13 years in Xtra l References provided on request l Fully insured
We’re here to support you
on your journey.
Our meetings are informal,
FRQÀGHQWLDODQGKHOSIXO
Gay Fathers meet the second
and fourth Thursday of every
month at 8pm
at the 519 Church Street
Community Centre.
www.gayfathers-toronto.com
LEATHER
manhattanmovingservice.ca
416.259.2181
FOR CRIMINALLY
INSANE PRICES
NEW
& OLD
BOUGHT
& SOLD
docsleathers.com
726 Queen St. West
A Toronto Tradition
416-504-8888
BOOK
YOUR LINE
CLASSIFIED
ONLINE!
Visit xtra.ca
for more
information.
XTRA! JUNE 13–26, 2013 51
REAL ESTATE
HEALTH & FITNESS
HOMES FOR RENT
Full Service
Real Estate
Brokerage for the
Yucatan Peninsula
Make living
in a tropical
Paradise your reality
REGISTERED MASSAGE
MASSAGE CERTIFIED
HEADtoFITA MASSAGE
THERAPIES Frank Fita RMT
offering Swedish, La-stone
hot-stone, Thai-yoga
massages. Specializing in
treatments for work-related
and sports injuries.
headtofita.com
Across from Wellesley subway.
For appointment or info
call 416-473-0065.
SHOW YOUR PRIDE! Drop trou
and experience top notch M4M
services. Be prepared for the
unexpected! Convenient to
Dundas Square. Private, quiet
studio. Outcalls to hotels.
Extended hours. Cash/credit
cards.
m4mmassage toronto.com.
416-697-3408
NEW YOU MASSAGE & HEALTH
CTR Joseph Alves RMT, Michael O’Brien RMT, Vincent Warcop PT, Dagny
Jackman RMT. Offering Swedish
massage, Physiotherapy, Shiatsu and
Acupuncture. 40 Wellesley St E, Suite
408, 416-929-4052 or visit
newyoumassage.ca . All services are
eligible for health insurance coverage.
Japanese
Male RMT
Mexico Office +(52) 999 920 7644
Cell Phone +(52) 1 999 128 7779
US Office 619-226-4563
Email carol@whitecityproperties.com
Calle 37 # 519 xv62 y 62 A, Colonia
Centro, Merida, Yucatan C.P. 97000
416-804-9248
Deep tissue to relaxation massage by a
professionally trained RMT. Covered by
extended health plans.
Sanji Masunaga, Wellesley + Jarvis area
COTTAGES
email: sanjism@yahoo.com
PR ED COUNTY
LOGHM - WFT
BEAUTIFUL WATERFRONT
LOG home just 15 min out of
Picton - 1350 sq ft -3 br - 2.5
bath - full fin’d bsmt Rustic but
modern! ONLY $399,900
Motivated Sellers - OPEN
HOUSE June 15 Lorie Brown
Royal LePage MLS 2133086
613-966-6060 or email
loriebrown@royallepage.ca
EMPLOYMENT
HELP WANTED
BUDDIES IS HIRING
Buddies is hiring part-time,
licensed security staff for our
club nights. Contact
mat@buddiesinbadtimes.com
BE BOLD!
BOLD YOUR LINE
CLASSIFIEDS
XTRA
OFFERS
FREQUENCY
DISCOUNTS.
Contact us
to learn more!
MASSAGE CERTIFIED
KEVIN SHORTT MASSAGE
and Yoga Therapy: sensual,
intimate bodywork with
stretching. $15 off First Time
Clients! Check out my
website:
www3.sympatico.ca/kshortt
416-961-8064
ONE ON ONE
10 years experience:
acupuncture, shiatsu, reflexology, sports massage &
personal training. Specialized
combination of relaxing &
deep-tissue massage.
Downtown: 416-910-7778.
Wiliam(By appointment only)
RELAXATION
Massage Buffet
Massage: traditional,
anal/prostate, & Taoist Erotic.
Breath orgasms. Sex and Life
Coach. Paul Barber
647-821-3131
canadian bodyworker.com
34%
of Xtra readers
plan to purchase
a memberships
to fitness
centres or
gyms this year.
BEAUTY CARE
Visit us for a full body
treatment ! Male
aesthetician offering
waxing, skin care treatments. IPL, nail care , in a
professional environment.
Call Sorin at 416-924-2557
www.aestheticsbysorin.com. RMT offering deep
tissue Swedish massage for
relaxation or chronic pain
treatment. Call Shin at 416578-0414
www.shintorontormt.com
We are located at 40
Wellesley St E, Suite 301,
next to Wellesley Station
PHYSICAL FITNESS
GET FIT FAST! Certified Personal Trainer with 15+ yrs
experience. www.millarfit.com.
Call Jason 647-223-5585
PERSONAL
EROTIC MASSAGE
MAGIC FINGERS
GET A MASSAGE from me and
feel fantastic for days. My hard
smooth body and warm sensuous hands will soothe and delight.
Clint 416-469-8144.
EXPERIENTIAL
EMBODIED
EROTIC EXPLORATIONS
for Men
Weekend Touch Explorations
Full-Day Erotic Experiments
Afternoon Touch Exchanges
Explore & Experience
Erotic Sensual Touch
Group or Individual
Sessions
phillip@phillipcoupal.ca
www.phillipcoupal.ca
FRIENDS MALE
HOUSE HUSBAND MATERIAL?
SEEKING a man that can relocate to London. You should
be comfortable looking after
the home, and pleasing your
husband. Seeking forever.
lastrelichunter@gmail.com
MODELS & ESCORTS
BOYS R US
A SMALL BUT superb selection
of young, fresh, honest faces
for your erotic pleasures. Try us
first and you won’t be disappointed.
416-469-8144.
52 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
THE BEST OF GAY & LESBIAN TORONTO
Parents, Families
& Friends of
Lesbians and Gays
(Toronto PFLAG)
416-406-6378
(Support Line)
Dog & Cat
Grooming
Computer Sales
& Service
The Reading Salon
thereadingsalon.ca
Yoannou &
Associates,
Chartered
Accountants
416-487-3273 x24
Contemporary
Computers
877-724-9000
Fashion
Accessories
— Men
As You Wish
Concierge
647-208-2884
Accountants
Ms Hema
Murdock, CA
416-696-6653
Susan Calverley,
MBA, MSc, CMA
416-605-1553
MensMarket.com
mensmarket.com
Adult
Stag Shop – The
Adult Fun Store
416-323-0772
AIDS/HIV
Resources
Gay Men’s Sexual
Health Alliance
1-800-686-7544
Alternative
Health
My Canna-Meds
mycm.ca
Automotive
Sales & Leasing
Ken Shaw Lexus
415-766-0055
AARON LEE
Asian High-Class
Masseur for Men
Therapeutic
Massage &
Sensational Touch.
Call or text me
416-831-3238
incall 90/hrout call 120/hr
AVAILABLE FOR
INCALLS/OUTCALLS.
Great with first-timers, fetishes
and unusual requests. Great body,
boyish good looks, big thick cock.
90% Repeat rate. Satisfaction
guaranteed. Pics at :
www.squirt.org/devon80
Devon: 416-208-3531
devonescort@gmail.com
QUIT STARVING YOURSELF!
Call me if are hungry. providing
all fetishes and fantasies you
desire. In or out calls available
24/7
Chad 416-838-3440
Concrete –
Contractors
G J MacRae
Foundation Repair
Service–Since 1975
905-824-2557
Concrete –
Contractors
G J MacRae
Foundation Repair
Service–Since 1975
905-824-2557
Construction
G J MacRae
Foundation
Repair Service
– Since 1975
905-824-2557
Bars & Clubs
(Toronto)
Fly Nightclub
416-410-5426
Contracting
& Renovations
Business &
Professional
Organizations
G J MacRae
Foundation
Repair Service
– Since 1975
905-824-2557
Church Wellesley
Village Business
Improvement Area
416-393-6363
Butchers
St Jamestown
Steak & Chops
416-925-7665
Jones Pond
Campground
585-567-8100
Cheese Shops
Leslieville
Cheese Market
416-465-7143
Chiropractors
gesund
416-913-5170
Churches
CHOOSE WISELY
Concierge
Services
Newbright
Construction
416-985-8639
Campgrounds
MODELS & ESCORTS
RELAX FOR AN HOUR
while your body is massaged
from head to toe. Let your
thoughts wander as you release all your stress and
anxieties. Extra time and
services canbe provided with
this five star service. Chad
416-838-3440
E indexdirectory.ca
Metropolitan
Community Church
of Toronto
416-406-6228
Coffee Shops
Fuel+
647-352-8807
Community
Groups &
Services
Enterprise Toronto
416-392-6646
Cosmetics
Rosense
416-216-6999
Counselling
Change4U2
416-827-7578
David Moulton,
MEd, Canadian
Certified
Counsellor
647-525-8268
David W Routledge
(MSW, RSW),
Psychotherapist
416-944-1291
Tailspin Dog Spa
416-920-7387
Entertainment
Take a Walk on
the Wild Side™
416-921-6112
Florists
Astra Florists
astraflorists.com
Davis Floral
Creations
davisfloral
creations.com
Foundation
Repairs
G J MacRae
Foundation
Repair Service
– Since 1975
905-824-2557
Jewellery
& Jewellers
Pet Stores
& Supplies
The Fair Trade
Jewellery Company
647-430-8741
Helmutt’s Pet
Supply
416-504-1265
Juice Bars
Pharmacies
Juice Box
416-924-4671
Pace Pharmacy
& Compounding
Experts
416-515-7223
Renovations
& Restorations
The Village
Pharmacy
416-967-9221
Newbright
Construction
416-985-8639
Zaillan Pharmacy
416-216-6999
Restaurants
& Cafés
Printing
C’est What? Brew/
Vin Pub Restaurant
416-867-9499
Lawyers
Harvey L Hamburg
416-968-9054
Ivan Steele
Law Office
647-342-0568
Law Office of
El-Farouk Khaki
416-925-7227
Paul T Willis
– Barrister
& Solicitor,
Notary Public
416-926-9806
Robert G Coates
416-925-6490
Legal Services
Craig Penney,
Toronto Criminal
Defence Lawyer
416-410-2266
Lighting
Living Lighting
on King
416-364-9099
Massage –
Certified/
Registered
Furniture –
Leather
gesund
416-913-5170
Wilson Furniture
1-800-323-6705
Japanese
Male RMT
416-804-9248
Gardening
Davenport
Garden Centre
416-929-7222
The Power of Touch
647-330-ALEX(2539)
Hair Removal
Meats &
Delicatessens
LJ’s Laser Hair
Removal Clinic
laserbylj.com
St Jamestown
Steak & Chops
416-925-7665
Hair Stylists
& Barbers
Men’s
Accessories
Ragga Hair and
Beauty Salon
416-368-8113
MensMarket.com
mensmarket.com
Health Foods
& Nutrition
The Big Carrot
416-466-2129
Home
Improvement
& Repairs
Bryant Renovations
416-260-0818
G J MacRae
Foundation Repair
Service –Since 1975
905-824-2557
Mortgages
Investors Group
Financial Services
–Kenton Waterman
416-860-1668
Linda Rudolph
at The Mortgage
Centre
416-282-1677
Moving & Storage
Agility Moving
& Storage Ltd
416-654-5029
Lewco Chandelier
416-439-4999
Avery Moving
& Storage
416-239-9565
Phillip Coupal
Counselling
416-557-7312
Newbright
Construction
416-985-8639
Marsh Movers
416-823-7512
Dental Services
Insurance
Adelaide Dental
416-429-0150
Kenton Waterman
Investors Group
Financial Services
416-860-1668
Dr Iudita Costache–
Galleria Dental
416-534-9991
Dr Kevin Russelo
& Associates
416-966-0117
Galleria Dental,
Dr Iudita Costache
416-534-9991
Internet
Distributel Canada
1-877-700-7854
Investment
Services
Kenton Waterman
Investors Group
Financial Services
416-860-1668
Naturopathy
gesund
416-913-5170
Painting
CM Painting &
Decorating
647-588-1774
Newbright Painting
416-985-8639
Pet Care
Tailspin Dog Spa
416-920-7387
The UPS Store
473 Church St
416-966-3008
112 Elizabeth St,
Ste 5
416-971-5001
Psychotherapy
Bruce M
Small, MSc,
Psychotherapist
416-598-4888
Roy Runions, Sales
Representative,
RE/MAX Hallmark
Realty Ltd,
Brokerage
royrunions.com
Bryant Renovations
416-260-0818
Cora Breakfast
& Lunch
27 Carlton St
416-340-1350
277 Wellington St
416-598-2672
Fire on the
East Side
416-960-3473
Coming into Life
416-391-4986 x2
Hair of the Dog
416-964-2708
depth therapy
416-694-0015 x225
I Went to Philly
416-927-9090
Nick Mulé,
PhD, RSW,
Psychotherapist
416-926-9135
The Blake House
416-975-1867
Psychotherapy Depth Therapy
The Churchmouse
& Firkin
416-927-1735
Sex
Matthew Kelly, M.A.
Psychotherapist
Depth Therapy
416-694-0015 x225
Squirt.org
squirt.org
Publications
Bed Time Toys
bedtimetoys.ca
Pink Triangle Press
416-925-6665
pinktrianglepress.ca
Xtra (Toronto
& Ottawa)
416-925-6665
xtra.ca
Xtra (Vancouver)
604-684-9696
xtra.ca
Radio Stations
Proud FM
416-213-1035
Real Estate
Great Gulf Homes
– Yonge + Rich
416-499-8883
Nicholas Bohr RE/
MAX Hallmark
Realty Ltd,
Brokerage
str8up.ca
Philip Kocev
– Sales
Representative
416-364-2036
RE/MAX Baywatch
Ltd, Brokerage
705-756-7629
Theresa
Forget, Sales
Representative,
RE/MAX First
Realty, Brokerage
905-686-3800
Real Estate
Agents
Gaelen Patrick
– Sutton Group
Realty Systems Inc
416-801-9265
Sex Shops
Condom Shack
416-596-7515
Shipping
The UPS Store
473 Church St
416-966-3008
112 Elizabeth St,
Ste 5
416-971-5001
Spa Services
LJ’s Laser Hair
Removal Clinic
Toronto, Hamilton
1-800-506-5920
Tax Services
CJH Tax Services
647-270-8057
Yoannou &
Associates,
Chartered
Accountants
416-487-3273 x24
Telecommunications
Acanac
416-849-8530
Theatre
Buddies in Bad
Times Theatre
416-975-8555
Veterinarians
Blue Cross
Animal Hospital
416-469-1121
Waterproofing
G J MacRae
Foundation Repair
Service–Since 1975
905-824-2557
Websites
Squirt.org
squirt.org
Xtra.ca
xtra.ca
TORONTO’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
XTRA HOT
DRASKO
BOGDANOVIC
Xtra brings you the chance to win a pair of
tickets to see FUN. & Tegan and Sara
NAME: FILIP JEREMIC
AGE: 24 SIGN: VIRGO
Saturday July 6th at Downsview Park.
Filip likes to do fun activities on a date, like making cheese from scratch.
He wishes for the return of McPizzas and in his dream house would like to
have one of those paintings where you spy on people through the eye holes.
He often gets mistaken for a young Annie Lennox, his favourite bar is the
Hyatt rooftop bar, and his quote of choice is “Treat me like a lady; fuck me like
a whore.” Filip has a monthly show at Comedy Bar with his sketch duo British
Teeth and sometimes does zany character standup.
To enter, send your name and phone number to contest@xtra.ca before June 28.
Some restrictions apply. Only winners will be contacted.
THE BEST OF
GAY & LESBIAN
TORONTO
@mister_filip | Instagram: misterfilip | britishteethcomedy.com
SPRING /SUMM
ER
2013
To comment on or become an Xtra Hot guy or gal, email Drasko at xtrahot@dailyxtra.com.
XTRA HOT is sponsored
by Stag Shop
Exploring
Leslieville ›10
Summer
skin care ›16
Highlights of
The Junction ›32
Summer patio
guide ›39
THE BEST OF GAY & LESBIAN TORONTO
Book before Sept 1 and
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54 JUNE 13–26, 2013 XTRA!
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Exploring:
never stop
Single Tablet Regimens
(one pill, once a day) are a
step forward in HIV treatment.
Explore more at exploreHIV.ca
While they’re not a cure, these treatment options are designed
to be effective and convenient. If you’ve been exploring different
HIV treatments, talk to your doctor about Single Tablet Regimens
too. It’s good to know what is out there.