Gay Life in Canadian Cities

[SignalHillHiker]

A few recent pictures of some of my favourite drag queens in town.

Betty Boo Kakke is the Drag Mother of St. John's for our generation. She's the one everyone grew up with, the one who mentors all the other queens, the one who did all the trial and error work for everyone else.

Here she is performing at Family Fun Day in Bannerman Park:



Chloe Aguilera (who is dating Jessica Lopez) is another awesome one. We profiled the couple (as men, and drag queens) for The 'Out'port before. They've been hit on by RNC officers and everything. Two interesting things: they're both crazy hot as guys AND Chloe's mother looks and acts JUST LIKE Chloe. lol It's like his drag persona is an homage to her.



And another couple, Amanda Twerks and Veruca Vagabond. Amanda is probably the rising household name, as far as drag goes, in St. John's. And Veruca always looks cool - and completely different every time.



And my favourite, as I mentioned before, Penny Dreadful. This girl is amazing. She doesn't do any schtick, anything funny. She really is Marilyn Manson meets Dita von Teese. And her dancing is amazing.

[Gerrard]

Ugh. 40 years of activism, a rich cultural heritage stretching back to the beginnings of civilization; AIDS comes along in the 80s, basically decimates the gay community and all we're left with is diva-worship, gay clique identities and drag queens.

I weep.

[Chadillaccc]

I wouldn't say that. Not all gay men are in cliques, not all are bitches, and not all worship useless drug addict celebrities. Also, the large percentage that are into those things, it's not so much a side-effect of being gay, but a tragic consequence of where western civilization in general has gone, especially the younger generations. This occurs in both gay and straight populations on a massive and horrifying scale.

[SignalHillHiker]

Meh, I think there's very little new under the sun. What we have now, they had then, and vice versa.

It's important to be able to have fun, to balance out that sullen, underfed intellectual with a rowdy drag queen once in a while.

There's still plenty of substance and seriousness to go around.

[Gerrard]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I wouldn't say that. Not all gay men are in cliques, not all are bitches, and not all worship useless drug addict celebrities. Also, the large percentage that are into those things, it's not so much a side-effect of being gay, but a tragic consequence of where western civilization in general has gone, especially the younger generations. This occurs in both gay and straight populations on a massive and horrifying scale.

Oh I know. But well, we used to be immune. We used to drive taste and when we didn't our counter culture meant something.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Originally Posted by Gerrard

Oh I know. But well, we used to be immune. We used to drive taste and when we didn't our counter culture meant something.

"We"? And how old are you? I sure as hell never "drove" culture. And I came out in 1982.

[SignalHillHiker]

Tommy Sexton's mother was recently awarded the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador:

Sara Rita Sexton
Sara Sexton epitomizes the spirit of Newfoundland and Labrador through her strength and courage, her ability to lead by example and her determination to overcome tragedy and do great things in the face of dire circumstances. As the mother of the late entertainer Tommy Sexton, Mrs. Sexton spoke publicly about gay rights and HIV/AIDS. She became the face of the disease in this province through her work as an HIV/AIDS speaker, providing education in high schools, social clubs and churches. She continues to deliver the same message of hope through her community volunteerism today.

The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador is the highest honour of the province. It recognizes individuals who have shown excellence and achievement in any field of endeavour benefitting the province and its residents in an outstanding manner. The investiture ceremony will take place at Government House in early February.

[Gerrard]

Originally Posted by Rusty van Reddick

"We"? And how old are you? I sure as hell never "drove" culture. And I came out in 1982.

Drove it in the same way youth used to drive culture rather than culture driving youth.

It doesn't happen anymore, that often. It's not surprising there haven't been that many youth movements since the early 90s. Because so often they are now tied to marketing and the ability to make money. There's been a loss of authenticity in everything. It's also a lot harder now to be a "bum" in your 20s and just basically "happen" as it were.

Basically what Chad said.

But my point was: drag queens = ugh & yawn.

[SignalHillHiker]

How can someone not like drag queens? It's like hating kittens or puppies. And drag - or deconstructing the gender binary to any degree - has always been one of the cornerstones of the LGBT subculture.

******

And a look at CBC's coverage tonight of our rainbow flag campaign - bravo, all involved! I filmed it with my camera, sorry, because I didn't want to wait for CBC to get it up. Just aired a couple of minutes ago...

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EDIT: I love how people here our age all sit down to watch the news with a cup of tea. This just aired, and Facebook exploded. Not a single person older than 35, all were watching anyway.

[ssiguy]

I tend to agree with Gerrard.

The overwhelming majority find drag queens to be an embarassement yet somehow many "gay leaders' think they are worthy of the attention they are given.

[Chadillaccc]

I don't find drag queens embarassing. What I find embarassing is the (somewhat true) stereotype that all gay men idolize stupid drunk useless bitches like Kesha and Britney Spears and scumbags like that.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

I tend to agree with Gerrard.

The overwhelming majority find drag queens to be an embarassement yet somehow many "gay leaders' think they are worthy of the attention they are given.

I find it fascinating, especially in terms of why it's done.

There's a sports bar here that airs Ru Paul's Drag Race the same way they would a hockey game. And at Pride we're going to have a drag workshop where the queens will show men and women how the make-up is done, the contouring, etc.

But the part that intrigues me most is how people's personalities change. Jessica Lopez is a masculine guy with no intention of changing his everyday gender identity, but he said he feels more himself in drag, lives for it. Sometimes he and his boyfriend do it just to go shopping at the mall.

Androbox, in daily life, goes about as everything from a hot woman to a convincing man. She's just fascinated by gender. There's a lot of that in St. John's. Our trans community, of course, includes people who have had gender-reassignment surgery. Unusually, the number of men who born women seems to greatly exceed the number of women who were born men. Statistically, it's supposed to be overwhelmingly the opposite. And there are lots who do the hormones, but have no intention of ever having the surgery. It just... fascinates me.

But the trans community here also has a LOT of people who just don't want to associate with either gender. For some I'm sure it's just a passing university fad, but for many it is clearly and deeply genuine. It's fascinating.

It's confusing trying to remember all of the individuals you're supposed to reference using "they", "them", etc. That's actually a thing here.

Androbox explored it a little in explaining her attraction to drag:

[SignalHillHiker]

HOLY SHIT!



We've now crossed the entire island. Come on, Big Land, don't let us down. Let's get this on the go in Lab West!

Jeddy1989 is being bombarded with responses to his requests since this aired.

[SignalHillHiker]

And it's done!

Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, is on board. Council unanimously approved the request.

We've got the Island and the Big Land raising the rainbow flag for the entirety of the Olympic Games. This is province-wide.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Gerrard

Oh I know. But well, we used to be immune. We used to drive taste and when we didn't our counter culture meant something.

We used to be fabulous. And then that effing virus came along and ruined everything!

[SignalHillHiker]

Radio Canada in Quebec just interviewed us for jeddy1989's flag raising campaign.

One of our friends, Robyn, is fluent in French and so was able to do the interview on jeddy1989's behalf.

It's going national.

Also, LOVE that Quebec was first to call. *Fist bump bros*

[SignalHillHiker]

Radio Canada's coverage is up! This is only a small sample of what they talked about on the radio. There, they stressed the point it's not a protest and also mentioned how it's province wide, with numerous communities raising the flag.

Le drapeau gai va flotter à Terre-Neuve durant les Jeux de Sotchi

Le drapeau arc-en-ciel de la communauté gaie va flotter sur l'hôtel de ville de Saint-Jean, à Terre-Neuve, pendant que les athlètes vont se disputer les honneurs à Sotchi, en Russie.

Cette initiative s'inscrit dans une campagne menée à l'échelle locale et qui dénonce une loi adoptée l'an dernier en Russie. La loi contre la « propagande homosexuelle » interdit la promotion « de relations sexuelles non traditionnelles » devant des mineurs.

Le maire de Saint-Jean, Dennis O'Keefe, explique que le fait de hisser le drapeau gai illustrera la prise de position du conseil municipal, qui estime que certains droits sont universels.

La militante Peg Norman, qui offre dans son magasin des drapeaux arc-en-ciel à prix réduit, s'oppose à la discrimination. Elle dit qu'il est tout à fait approprié d'exprimer cette prise de position durant les Jeux olympiques de Sotchi.

Josh Eddy, éditeur d'un magazine de la communauté gaie, avait lancé un appel à la solidarité. Il explique qu'il ne s'agit pas d'attaquer les Jeux ou les Russes, mais bien d'appuyer des personnes qui connaissent des difficultés en raison de leur orientation sexuelle.

http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/a...labrador.shtml

[kw5150]

Someone show this on the news!! This makes me sick. I secretly want to tie up a homophobe and make him beg. I dont have the heart to do such a thing but this video shows the people who really want to hurt.


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[north 42]

OMG, this is fucking horrid!! I fucking hate Russia and their politics! That's what makes this ok there!

[SpongeG]

drag queens love em or hate em were at the forefront of gay activisim in the 60's

after i watched that stonewall movie i gained a whole new perspective and respect for drag queens