Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun–
By Sister Dana Van Iquity–
Sister Dana sez, “Happy HARVEY MILK DAY (May 22), a hero upon whose shoulders we stand for the fight for LGBTQ EQUALITY!”
Join Castro Merchants, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, the Castro Community Benefit District, and the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza as they celebrate Harvey Milk Day May 22, 12–5 pm with speakers, DJs, music special guests in Jane Warner Plaza, and a screening of The Times of Harvey Milk at the Castro Theatre.
OPENHOUSE’s SPRING FLING Brunch & Tea Dance is on HARVEY MILK DAY, Sunday, May 22, 11 am–2 pm, The Ritz-Carlton, 600 Stockton Street with Tea Dance to follow. Founded in 1998, Openhouse works to center the voices and experiences of LGBTQ older adults by providing opportunities to make social connections, building community, and bridging the generations together to support lifesaving programs and services. https://www.openhousesf.org/
Five Bay Area mural artists are creating a new work at 298 11th Street on the exterior of the OASIS nightclub. The official unveiling will happen at the beginning of SF PRIDE MONTH on Thursday, June 2, 3 pm, with a celebration later that evening at Oasis from 9 pm–2 am, hosted by the artists and supporters. Designed by Serge Gay Jr., Elliott C. Nathan, J Manuel Carmona, Simon Malvaez, and Christopher McCutcheon, the mural, titled “SHOWTIME,” will incorporate aspects of Oasis, SOMA, and the queer SF community at large; including LGBTQ nightlife, cabaret, disco, theater, drag, and leather culture. The mural is supported by the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District, us Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the San Francisco Arts Commission, and Oasis Arts.
In 1969, The Cockettes debuted at the Palace Theater in San Francisco with their midnight sensation the NOCTURNAL DREAM SHOW starring a gender-bending, glitter-encrusted, drug-induced theater troupe who took drag and old Hollywood musicals and turned them inside out and upside down. Now, DJ Dank is bringing a colorful, multimedia, musical revue, COCKETTES: ETERNAL EMISSIONS, to Oasis, 298 11th Street, June 2–4. Musical director and original Cockette, Scrumbly Koldewyn helped create this revue. Featured performers include Lisa Shepard Appleyard, Andy Arcade, Vanta Black, Bruxa, John Flaw, Noah Haydon, Kitten on the Keys, Scrumbly Koldewyn, Carl Linkhart, Steven Satyricon, Maya Songbird, Sunshine, Jef Valentine, Jason Wade, Birdie Bob Watt, Diogo Zavadzki, and more. https://www.sfoasis.com/
The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark 1973 ROE V. WADE decision, according to an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court and leaked. Sister Dana sez, “We knew this was coming. And same-sex marriage is next on the chopping block!” And Senator Scott Wiener says, “California unequivocally stands for the right to an abortion, no matter what the right-wing zealots on the Supreme Court say. We will fight hard to expand abortion access, here and in other states!”
President Joe Biden warned that “this MAGA crowd” is “the most extreme political organization … in recent American history” and could be planning to keep LGBTQ students out of classrooms. “What happens,” he said, if “a state changes the law saying that children who are LGBTQ can’t be in classrooms with other children? Is that legit under the way the decision is written?”
Sister Dana sez, “Senator Josh Hawley wants to force women to have babies and make adoption easier … just not for gay people!”
Congress has yet to successfully take meaningful action to enact safeguards to protect abortion when Roe falls. The House of Representatives passed the WOMEN’S HEALTH PROTECTION ACT on September 24, 2021, which would codify Roe and strike down insidious barriers to care; but it did not pass in the Senate. On May 11, voting again for WHPA failed in the Senate. Every Republican senator voted against it; Every Democrat senator but one voted for it. And once again Democrat Senator Manchin voted against it! We will not forget this act of betrayal!
Sister Dana sez, “Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin have previously hinted that they will NOT vote to abolish the filibuster. But now that the Supreme Court is voting to overturn Roe v. Wade, we have to fight even harder to make sure our agenda is passed!”
A mind-boggling POP UP ART SHOW & STAGED READING was held at Spark Arts Gallery in the Castro on May 6 and 7. The May 7 evening featured excerpts from Dr. Sé Sullivan’s shocking childhood medical transcripts at UCLA Gender Identity Clinic 1970, “Blood on the Page,” that shed light on their unique traumatic journey with transgender conversion therapy including reparative therapy of self-loathing. Dramatically reading from these “blood-stained” papers were Glodean Champion, Emer Martin, Susan Stryker, Sister MaryMae Hymn, and Sullivan. These will be filmed for a documentary entitled, “WE JUST WANT TO BE.” Special host/emcee was Sister Roma of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Displayed in the gallery were photos of Sullivan as a child, a small closet that one could go in and come out from, as well as dozens of Sullivan’s t-shirts with activism themes boldly emblazoned hung from a clothesline. I proudly wore my shirt from the “SF AIDS Candlelight Vigil, Sunday May 16, 1999”—which we Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence co-sponsored with ACT UP/Golden Gate.
In the latest installment of the Right’s culture war, Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas is demanding changes to television ratings to warn parents about LGBTQ representation in shows. The current guidelines address sexual situations, as well as violence and coarse language. Marshall’s proposed change would put the very existence of queer people on par with these categories. The letter was co-signed by fellow GOP Senators Steve Daines (Montana), Mike Braun (Indiana), Mike Lee (Utah), and Kevin Cramer (North Dakota), and asks the TV PARENTAL GUIDELINES MONITORING BOARD for an in-person meeting to discuss changing its guidelines.
As more states criminalize gender-affirming care for transgender youth, LGBTQ lawmakers in 19 states are working to establish their states as safe harbors for transgender kids and families persecuted by such laws. THE LGBTQ VICTORY INSTITUTE—an organization that supports LGBTQ political candidates—announced a plan that will have LGBTQ lawmakers in 19 states introduce legislation that explicitly protects trans youth’s right to access medical care, such as puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and medical procedures. The legislation would be modeled after a bill proposed in March by our California State Senator Scott Wiener, whose bill would block any out-of-state efforts to investigate, prosecute, or apprehend individuals who help trans youth access gender-affirming care in refuge states.
Sister Dana sez, “I can’t wait for the January 6th Committee Hearings to begin in June. Let’s just hope this isn’t a re-run of the twice-failed Impeachment Hearings! Although those should have received an Emmy or two for the dramatic plot twists!”
Mayor London Breed has appointed Matt Dorsey to serve on the SF BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, making him the first self-identified member of the substance use disorder recovery community to serve on the Board in a generation. The appointment comes at a time when San Francisco is experiencing an addiction and overdose crisis that is impacting many neighborhoods, including District 6. Dorsey is an out gay man living with AIDS who will join Supervisor Rafael Mandelman as the Board’s second LGBTQ member.
Sister Dana sez, “Senator Joe Manchin says he is ‘particularly concerned’ about attacks on voting rights, but it’s Joe who’s standing in the way of a new voting rights bill because he refuses to consider changes to the filibuster. Bust the filibuster, Joe!”
HARVEY MILK PHOTO CENTER, 50 Scott Street, is now exhibiting TERRA CIBUS, the photography of Caren Alpert. She has combined her three favorite topics: food, technology, and art—by shooting with an electron microscope. These extreme close-up photos reveal the hidden landscapes of ordinary foods, from salt to coffee bean; but my faves are shrimp tail (looking like a bunch of feathers), celery leaf (with its deep shades of green), and cake sprinkles (a rainbow color of round shapes). https://www.harveymilkphotocenter.org/
Join KREWE DE KINQUE Mardi Gras club for our monthly benefit at the Midnight Sun, 4067 18th Street (every 3rd Saturday.) This month we present ALL THINGS UNIFORM! Memorial Day is just around the corner, so we’re gearing up and hosting an Open Show & Uniform Contest from 4–7 pm. May 21. Unlimited beer/soda bust for $10.
SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS presents its two ensembles in FABULOUS & FORBIDDEN BROADWAY. This hilarious and heart-stopping Broadway-themed concert is performed by the Chorus’ beloved HomoPhonics and The Lollipop Guild. Enjoy Broadway classics including Les Misérables, The Lion King, Wicked, Avenue Q, Dear Evan Hansen, and many more. Saturday, May 21, 7 pm, Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore Street. https://sfgmc.org/
We joined the GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM on May 14, as Catherine Martin TD, Ireland’s Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, officially launched OUT IN THE WORLD, an exhibition that currently showcases the untold history of Ireland’s LGBTQ+ Diaspora. Created by historian Dr. Maurice Casey, who studies social movements in modern Ireland and abroad, “Out in the World” weaves twelve compelling stories from the vast history of Ireland’s queer Diaspora. Standing out to this particularly proud Irish nun was John O’Brien, Irish participant in the STONEWALL REBELLION, who was born in New York 1949 and raised by Irish parents. Already active in the Civil Rights Movement of the Summer of ‘69, O’Brien was present on the first night of the riot at the Stonewall Inn. Speakers at Saturday’s launch were GLBTHS Interim Co-Executive Director Andrew Shaffer, Senator Scott Wiener, Consul General of Ireland Robert O’Driscoll, and Catherin Martin. https://www.glbthistory.org/
Sister Dana sez, “After nearly a year and a half as White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki is stepping down, and history is being made with congratulations to Karine Jean-Pierre taking over that title as the first ever Black and openly LGBTQ person to do so!”
Published on May 19, 2022
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