Beswick House Benefits from Luck of the Irish
The 3rd Annual St. Patricks Day Irish Auction earlier this month at the Texas Lounge was a resounding success. The auction consisted of close to 50 items donated from nearly 30 different businesses, for patrons to bid on – including artwork and posters from former Calgary gay bars Cha Cha Palace and the Green Room. The event raised a grand total of $3400 for Beswick House, a non-profit AIDS hospice run by SHARP Foundation.
Priape Reschedules Mr. Priape Wear Competition
Last month GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine talked about the Mr. Priape Wear competition, originally scheduled for April the 5th. However, due to a last minute cancellation by the original venue, Priape has rescheduled the Mr. Priape Wear component to occur now at the Calgary Eagle on Friday June 6th in conjunction with Calgary’s Gay Pride Month.
The Mr. Rubber Calgary competition is unaffected by the cancellation, and will occur as originally scheduled on Saturday April 5th at the Calgary Eagle.
ISCCA Juggles Coronation Week Venues
Due to cancellations across the board by one of the original venues, the ISCCA has needed to relocate a number of events: the In-Town show will now be happening at Money Pennies; the Out of Town show will be happening at the Calgary Eagle; the Victory Brunch will be happening at Money Pennies. All three events are still occurring on the same dates and at the same times as originally scheduled. Visit www.iscca.ca for more event information.
Backlot Hosts First Drag Show
Many said that it couldn’t be done, but with the help of a little technology the Backlot was able to host its first Drag Show (in recent memory) as part of the AFQOL Awards Gala. The stage was nestled in the front fireplace area but live video footage was broadcast to the televisions throughout the rest of the establishment. The upstairs audience participated by stomping on the floor when called on by hosts on stage below. Though stage space was tight for the performers, patrons still responded well to the performance.
Miscellaneous Youth Applies for Non-Profit Status
Earlier in March, the Miscellaneous Youth Network (MYN) applied for a second time to the government to receive official Non-Profit status, and group founder Kaitlin Hatch estimates that word could come as soon as April 1st. The MYN is a youth-for-youth group that strives to create safe spaces for GLBTTQQA youth to congregate, and receiving non-profit status could potentially open up exciting new possibilities for the group in their efforts.
Controversy Over Pregnant Man
In the March issue of The Advocate, Thomas Beatie discusses his pregnancy, an event that some are likening to the news of Christine Jorgenson’s GRS surgery. Beatie, a transsexual who transitioned from female to male over ten years ago, had originally had chest reconstruction and hormone therapy, but did not have his reproductive organs removed. Because his wife is unable to bear children, the couple decided that he should discontinue testosterone treatment, and they’ve conceived by artificial insemination. He is five months pregnant (a first try ended in miscarriage).
Beatie is not the first transman to become pregnant, but is perhaps the first to manage this far along, and to appear to have a good prognosis for giving birth. This did not come easy – in total, they’ve consulted nine doctors, often enduring several trials in order to acquire treatment, only to later be dropped from the physician’s patient list because they or their staff were “uncomfortable.” Beatie has been off hormones for two years now, alleviating some of the concern that arises from the potential damage that androgens can have on a fetus (although some scientists are debating potential long-term effects). More recently, the State of Oregon has taken notice of this news and is reassessing whether Beatie’s gender change is considered legitimate and how a legal change of sex is defined. And predictably, right wing activists are questioning the couple’s fitness to be parents.
Discussion has spread to all points of the media and blogosphere. GaySocialites.com featured a commentary which pointed out that it is shocking “how upset people were to find out that Beatie was born a woman. In a strange-sort-of-way, everyone seemed to want Beatie to defy the laws of anatomy by getting pregnant as a man.” Among the commentaries made thus far are Rev. Albert Mohler’s radio-show assertion that “culture and media apparently lack the moral categories and language to account for the story,” and the commentary of McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law director Margaret Somerville, who caused a furor when saying, “You’ve artificially made yourself a man. You’re not a man, you’re a woman and you’re having a baby…. Just because you put on a clown suit, doesn’t mean that you don’t still exist underneath….” At press time, Beatie will be a guest of Oprah, so many expect the controversy to mushroom.
Whether a birth will take place remains to be seen – the due date is early July of 2008. But in either case, the event is sparking debates around the world about gender definition, about family and marriage, and about morality and marginalization. Says Donna Rose, “This discussion cannot simply be about Mr. Beatie’s right to be pregnant, or anyone’s right to judge it. It’s got to be about respect for his right to live his life and have a family. I’m afraid that somehow that will get lost in the din to come.”
Bash’d Receives GLAAD Media Award
On March 17th, 2008, the BASH’d boys (Nathan Cuckow, Chris Craddock, Aaron Macri and Ron Jenkins) were thrilled to discover that they had been honoured with a GLAAD Media Award. The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives. BASH’d was recognized in the category of New York Theatre - Off-Off-Broadway. Other winners from the ceremony included Barbara Walters, Anderson Cooper, Rufus Wainwright and Terry Moore, putting the Edmonton boys in good company!
