July-August 2021 Volume 32 Issue 4 www.TransCentralPA.org [email protected] c/o MCC of the Spirit 2973 Jefferson Street Serving the Transgender Community of Central since 1989 Harrisburg, PA 17110 July-August Announcements The Harrisburg Meeting Our in-person meeting will be on July10th and August 14th at 8:00 pm at MCC of the Spirit, our normal meeting location. Please email us with questions at [email protected]. No signup required. July Dinner will be at the Macaroni Grill. Join us for a pre-meeting dinner. We meet at 5 pm and seat promptly at 5:30 pm. RSVPing is required, we must give the restaurant an accurate headcount. Please RSVP at [email protected]. August Dinner will be at Rubicon. Join us for a pre-meeting dinner. We meet at 5 pm and seat promptly at 5:30 pm. RSVPing is required, we Supreme court upholds Gavin Grimm's choice of bathroom facilities. must give the restaurant an accurate headcount. Please RSVP at See story on page 4 [email protected]. day, July 24th and June 28th on and support of community groups and Family Virtual Support Group Zoom! Zoom is a free, online video activities such as Common Roads, Meeting on Monday, July 19th and conferencing program that is easy to the Community Center, Central Penn- Aug. 16th use. If you would like to take part in sylvania Pride, etc. Please continue to The virtual meeting starts at 7:00 pm. this virtual meeting, please send us support our organization and efforts This group brings together parents an email and we can provide addi- by joining or renewing your member- and other adult family members seek- tional information on how to join the ship—we are making a difference! ing to better understand and support meeting. Send Us Your Input! their children of all ages dealing with 2022 Keystone Conference issues of gender identity. The group Got a Question or Announcements? operates under a policy of confidenti- The dates of the 2022 Keystone Con- Maybe you’ve seen a great article or ality in order to create a safe atmos- ference will be announced soon. We have an event to share? Photo’s are phere for open discussion. Please are waiting for the hotel to finalize the always appreciated and if you would come and join us for informal sharing contract. If you have any questions like them published in the next TCPA and mutual support! The group meets or comments, please contact us at Newsletter. E-mail us at in- online via Zoom on the third Monday [email protected]. [email protected]. of the month. For more information, Lancaster Pride Festival please email us at [email protected]. Lancaster Pride Festival will be held October 24 at Clipper Magazine Sta- York Virtual Support Group Meet- dium from 11 am to 7 pm. For more ing on Saturday, May 29th. and details, please visit page 2. June 26th. J TCPA Annual Membership Dues oin the Rainbow Rose Center and TransCentralPA as we hold the York Dues are $20. Dues are used to pay Transgender Support Group Online. for meeting space, program literature, Join us from 8:30-10:00 pm on Satur- our website and our affiliation with

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From the President

July 4th marks the date when the Second Continental Congress finally approved the US Declaration of Independence, marking the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from British colonial rule in 1776. Lancaster Pride In the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, it reads, "We hold these truths October 24, 2021 to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator Clipper Magazine Stadium with certain unalienable Rights, that among 11am to 7pm these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Hap- piness.” Lancaster Pride was created to Yet history shows us that this hasn’t always celebrate LGBTQ+ individuals been the case. For Many Americans, espe- in Lancaster County. Over cially African Americans, Native Americans, time, we have grown as a women, and other minorities, those unaliena- premier festival in Central PA Kristy Snow ble rights remain elusive. with 5,000 (and growing) at- This is certainly reflected in the LGBTQ+ com- tendees each year! As a 501(c) munity as well. We have had to fight hard and continue to fight for the rights (3) non profit organization, we many take for granted such as marriage equality and healthcare to address our specific medical needs. We’ve even had to fight for the right to serve in the US seek to engage and enrich our Armed Forces to protect those rights of those who would deny them to us. Life community, while rais- is not without irony. Yet, we continue to fight. ing awareness of issues af- What is sometimes lost in history is that July 4, 1776 was the beginning, not fecting LGBTQ+ individuals in the end, of this country’s struggle for freedom. This date marked the determi- our county. nation and commitment of a repressed people to stand and fight for them- selves. So let us all celebrate July 4th and reaffirm our commitment to continue Last year, LancPride Festival the fight of equality for all. had 100 vendors, a talented - Kristy set of Drag Performers, Musi- Thank you to Annie S. for the inspirational thoughts. cians, and a nationally re- nowned headliner. We are also proud to showcase local and regional talent at the event. This year, we are cele- brating the 12th Year of Lan- caster Pride! We are excited to see you at the 2021 Festival and we thank you for your sup- port!

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In Memory of Our Friend Katie Ward

We are sad to announce the passing back. of our beloved friend and sister Katie She actively participated in many Ward. community organizations such as the She passed on Monday, June 14th in Keystone Business Alliance whom a care facility after finding out less she helped plan their annual awards than a month ago she had stage 4 banquet for a couple of years. brain cancer which had metastasized Her favorite event though was the to her kidneys. The prognosis was one she helped grow into one of the short, but she underwent a few treat- largest events in the country--The ments of radiation so she could have Keystone Conference, A Celebration a little more time with her daughter of Gender Diversity. Katie took on and granddaughters. Although tired a many roles at Keystone; she was the lot in her last days, she said she had volunteer coordinator, the off-site no pain. event coordinator, the security coor- Katie dedicated much of her life in dinator, the Registrar and many oth- service to others. She served our ers for several years. country honorably, first in the Navy, At the Saturday Night Gala of the last and then in the Air National Guard Keystone, Katie received a much- which she retired from after 20+ deserved standing ovation for her years of military service. contributions to Keystone and the She was an officer of TransCen- Central Pennsylvania community. tralPA for over five years and a vol- With her passing, Katie leaves be- unteer/member for twice that amount hind a legacy of generosity, kindness of time. She would consistently host and compassion. We will miss you dinners around Harrisburg before our Katie--thank you for being our friend. support group meetings to give peo- ple a chance to forge friendships both A memorial service is planned for within and outside the group and Saturday, September 11th. More de- build confidence in themselves. She tails about the service will be provid- enjoyed helping people and giving ed at a later date. Katie at Keystone

Veterans Affairs to Offer Gender Confirming Surgery to Trans Vets Alex Cooper, The Advocate

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs steps to expand VA's care to include simple as displaying V.A.-specific Denis McDonough announced on gender confirmation surgery — there- rainbow magnets has proven to make Saturday that the V.A. will offer gen- by allowing transgender vets to go our hospitals more welcoming,” der confirmation surgery to trans vet- through the full gender confirmation McDonough explained. erans. process with VA at their side," McDonough said that the depart- McDonough cautioned that the McDonough said, reported CNN. ment’s change came from consulta- change would take time, according to The announcement is just the latest tion with medical experts, according The Times. pro-LGBTQ+ step the Biden admin- to NBC News. “This process will require changing istration has taken. President Joe “We’re making these changes not Biden has not only signed an execu- V.A.’s regulations and establishing only because they are the right thing policy that will ensure the equitable tive order to protect LGBTQ+ from to do, but because they can save discrimination, but his administration treatment and safety of transgender lives,” he said. veterans,” McDonough said at a has come out against recent anti- Pride event at the Orlando Vet Cen- trans laws that have emerged across ter. the country targeting trans youth. Internal estimates have shown that Biden repealed Donald Trump’s ban fewer than 4,000 veterans would be on trans service members on his fifth interested, reported the outlet. day in office. There are over 134,000 trans veter- “The vestiges of bigotry remain,” ans according to figures from the Na- McDonough said on Saturday. He tional Center for Transgender Equali- also announced that the V.A. was ty. changing the name of the LGBTQ Health Program to the LGBTQ+ “We are taking the first necessary Health Program. “Even something as

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Supreme Court Declines to Hear Virginia School Board's Transgender Bathroom Case John Fritze, USA TODAY

The Supreme Court on Monday de- clined to wade into a dispute over whether schools may bar transgender students from using a bathroom that reflects their gender identity, permitting a lower court rul- ing against those prohibitions to stand. At issue in the case was whether fed- eral anti-discrimination law applied to LGBTQ students. Gloucester County School Board in Virginia argued its policy of requiring transgender stu- dents to use unisex bathrooms was permitted under a 50-year-old law that prohibits discrimination at schools that receive federal funding. By not taking the case, the Supreme tion and gender identity. Grimm said the mandate made him Court without comment let stand a The Supreme Court agreed to hear feel "stigmatized and isolated." The unisex bathrooms were unavailable ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals the case once before, in 2016, for the 4th Circuit that found the based on guidance from the Obama when he attended football games and school’s policy discriminated against administration that nudged schools to afterschool activities. Grimm would often "hold it," leading to urinary tract Gavin Grimm, a transgender man adopt policies favoring transgender who was denied access to the boys’ students. But the court dropped the infections. He sued in 2015, claiming the board’s policy violated Title IX bathroom years ago when he was a case months later, wiping out a lower high school student. court ruling for Grimm, when the and the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. "I am glad that my years-long fight to Trump administration withdrew the have my school see me for who I am guidance. Biden’s administration rein- Though the ACLU and LGBTQ advo- is over," Grimm said in a statement stated the Obama-era guidance earlier cates applauded the court's decision released by the American Civil Liber- this month. as a victory, the legal ramification ties Union, which represented him in Grimm's case, meanwhile, continued was less clear. Appeals courts in Chicago and Atlanta, as well as the the case. "Trans youth deserve to to wind its way back through the feder- use the bathroom in peace without al courts, even as he graduated from 4th Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, being humiliated and stigmatized by high school and moved to California have held that schools violate federal law when they prohibit transgender their own school boards and elected for college. officials." boys from using the same restrooms In the meantime, the Supreme Court as cisgender boys. But that legal Neither the school district nor its at- held last year that prohibitions on question remains unsettled at the torneys responded to a request for workplace discrimination on the basis national level. comment. of "sex" also extended protections to LGBTQ Americans. The legal fight "The Supreme Court's decision to not Associate Justices Clarence Thomas hear the Grimm case is a victory for between LGBTQ advocates and their and Samuel Alito said they would trans students and it might influence have taken the case, though they did opponents has since shifted to wheth- er other laws that bar “sex” discrimina- how some lower courts view similar not elaborate on their position. The cases," said Jami Taylor, political Supreme Court did not rule on the tion similarly protect people in other settings based on their sexual orienta- science professor at The University underlying legal questions and ex- of Toledo and an expert on LGBTQ tion or gender identity. perts say more cases involving policies. "However, it does not set transgender rights will arrive at the That debate featured prominently in national precedent." high court as conservative states Grimm's case. pass a bevy of laws restricting those That lack of clarity comes amid an rights. Grimm was a rising sophomore when onslaught of state laws attempting to he changed his first name to Gavin limit transgender rights. Those in- The case returned to the court at a and began using male pronouns. Offi- clude a Tennessee law requiring time when the Biden administration is cials at Gloucester High School were transgender students to compete in seeking to expand legal protections supportive, but blowback from parents school sports according to their sex for transgender students. In one of prompted the school board to bar assigned at birth. Arkansas this year his first executive orders, President Grimm from the boys’ bathroom, di- became the first state to ban gender- Joe Biden said the federal govern- recting him instead to unisex bath- affirming treatments for transgender ment would seek to prohibit discrimi- rooms – three of which were built in minors. nation on the basis of sexual orienta- response to the controversy.

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Is ’s Anheuser-Busch ‘Pour Out’ a Moment or a New Movement? Frank Pizzoli, The Village Voice

“It’s time for corporations to walk their talk,” Maeve Coyle, spokesperson for the “Keep Your Pride” campaign run by global charity Corporate Account- ability Action, told the Voice. Stonewall Inn co-owners Stacy Lentz and Kurt Kelly couldn’t agree more. The Stonewall Inn coordinated with “Keep Your Pride” to ban Anheuser- Busch products from the bar during NYC Pride weekend, June 25 to 27. Stonewall is regarded worldwide as the birthplace of the U.S. LGBTQ rights movement. Yesterday, to bring awareness to what observers are calling the “corporatization of Pride,” Lentz and Kelly and about 50 participants held a beverage “pour out” in front of the storied establishment. Beverages were poured out in the exact location where on June 28, 1969, gay, lesbi- an, transgender, and other bar pa- businesses supportive of their commu- man Rights Campaign, there were a trons resisted NYC police in what is nities. The problem, say activists and total of 79 anti-trans bills introduced now referred to alternately as a riot, advocates like Lentz and Kelly and across the country. In just the first an uprising, and a rebellion. campaigns such as “Keep Your Pride,” half of this year there have been is that many of those same businesses more than 100, according to PBS Why Anheuser-Busch? are not loyal in return when they con- News Hour Weekend. Since 2015, Anheuser-Busch, ac- tribute to anti-queer elected officials. There are publicly available re- cording to “Keep Your Pride,” has Instead of contributing to politicians sources for corporations to research made 48 donations totaling $35,350 who thwart progress toward full LGBTQ before writing PAC checks. “We need to 29 anti-LGBTQ legislators behind civil rights, “We’d like to see those to change the rules. It’s a pretty easy recent bills attacking trans youth. same corporations use their lobbying thing for folks to check on elected Lentz and Kelly are “walking their muscle to support the Equality Act,” officials’ positions and votes on queer talk.” The suite of beverages banned Kelly says. The act was passed by the issues,” Coyle says. She suggests on Pride weekend, the bar’s biggest House on February 25 but now lan- checking Freedom for All Americans weekend, will have an economic ef- guishes in the Senate, where it is not as a credible source for PAC contri- fect on their bottom line. In turn, how expected to pass. butions regarding LGBTQ issues; can Anheuser-Busch and other Pride In defense of their donations, Anheuser another source is Popular Infor- sponsor corporations and businesses -Busch told the Associated Press, “We mation. walk their talk? support candidates for public office Complicating the landscape is the “It’s important that we do this aware- whose policy positions and objectives dissonance created by corporations ness event during Pride week and support investments in our communi- that receive high marks on the Hu- really call out corporations and peo- ties, job creation, and industry growth.” man Rights Campaign’s Corporate ple out there that aren’t showing their The statement also read, “Together, Index while simultaneously donating true colors,” Lentz told the Voice. with our brands, we have a clear role to to elected officials whose bills and “We’re asking corporations who tradi- play in bringing real change and creat- votes are at odds with the goal of tionally sponsor Pride events around ing an inclusive and equitable world comprehensive civil rights for the en- the country to change their criteria for where we cherish and celebrate one tire LGBTQ community. making political donations,” Kelly another.” But there’s no gray area when it added. Coyle’s assessment of the situation is comes to equality, Coyle posits. A growing part of the queer narrative different than what is described in An- “There are not two sides to this issue. is how corporations want access to heuser-Busch’s formal statement. “This When companies donate to an elect- queer markets while simultaneously isn’t difficult. This is a really low bar. ed official who supports discrimina- contributing to elected officials who We’re calling on corporations to stop tion it really shows you where their sponsor anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ donating to lawmakers who are trying priorities lie. It’s not with supporting legislation. In marketing terms, queer to legalize discrimination,” Coyle ex- markets are presented as loyal to plains. In 2020, according to the Hu- See ‘Beer’ on Page 6...

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...‘Beer’ from Page 5 the LGBTQ community; it’s with their own bottom line,” she underscores. After the Stonewall “pour out” event, the bottom line for the LGBTQ com- munity may involve deciding if they’ll go back to buying Anheuser-Busch beverages, or goods and services from other corporations making dona- tions to anti-queer politicians. No stranger to controversy, Ann Northrop, principal organizer with Reclaim Pride, stresses the im- portance of people making the con- nections between all of the corporate- sponsored Pride logos and rainbows and to whom those same businesses make political contributions. “With the right information people can ask for corporate accountability,” Northrop told the Voice. Right now, wall channeled not only 1969 but also Also involved with Reclaim Pride is Northrop says, there are hundreds of much more recent history. In 2018, Re- ACT UP’s Brandon Cuicchi, who thousands, if not millions, of dollars claim Pride, a then-new organization, says, “At a minimum, we need to going into campaigns to elect Repub- got this particular social justice ball roll- eliminate the corporatization of Pride. lican politicians. ing when their first salvo involved deliv- We need to find new ways to make ering “a list of demands to city officials, ourselves attractive as a market.” “I understand that corporations have including Mayor de Blasio, New York a pet agenda of particular legislation Moving forward, the burning question Police Department Commissioner about taxes or where they locate fac- for the queer community during 2021 James O’ Neill, and tories or outlets. Those are real con- Pride season appears to be deciding regarding the 2018 New York City Pride cerns for them. And they want elect- if it’s a movement or a market, or March.” Heritage of Pride was included ed officials to do their bidding,” she both. How does the community honor because it is the organizer of the annual says. “But their contributions, like what took place in 1969 at The NYC Pride March. Anheuser-Busch and so many oth- Stonewall Inn and what took place on ers, are not good for us. And we’re Essentially, Reclaim Pride’s demands the sidewalk outside its front door allowed to say, don’t expect us to have not changed much from their origi- yesterday? support your business when the nal statement, which focused on elected officials you contribute to reg- “working towards our vision of an NYC ularly work against our achieving full Pride that reflects our community’s herit- civil rights.” She notes that research age of activism as opposed to the Pride has revealed more than two dozen March’s current state of commercial rainbow-flag-waving corporations that saturation.” have donated millions to anti-gay Will efforts by Stonewall Inn owners, the pols in the last two years. “Keep Your Pride” campaign, and the Does this year’s Pride season — with Reclaim Pride Coalition create change? its focus on the relationships between “Moving forward, Pride means that we queer venues and corporations and are reclaiming our spaces,” Reclaim who does what to whom with rain- Pride’s Jason Rosenberg told the Voice. bows and PAC dollars — signal a “Elected officials need to stop voting new movement? “I believe it’s possi- against our interests. Our community ble, hoping it’s possible,” Northrop needs to do this. Only we can keep our- concludes. selves safe in order to survive. We liber- Yesterday’s street theater at Stone- ate ourselves and each other,” he says.

www.AlderHealth.org Improving the Health of All

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Nellis Air Force Base Hosts First-Ever Show David Roza, Task & Purpose

Nellis Air Force Base made history last week for hosting its first ever drag show, where guests from the local Las Vegas drag scene performed and took attendees through the history and significance of drag within the LGBT+ community. The event was planned by the Nellis Air Force Base Pride committee, which is composed of volunteers from across the base focused on diversity and inclusion initiatives, said Nellis spokesman Lt. Col. Bryon McGarry. It was sponsored by the Nellis Top 3, a private group meant to “enhance the response to questions from two Re- More recently, Joshua Kelley, a yeo- morale, esprit de corps, of all enlisted publican lawmakers about the teach- man 3rd class in the Navy, made a personnel assigned to the [99th Air ing of critical race theory at West name for himself performing as Harpy Base] Wing and to facilitate coopera- Point. Daniels in drag in front of excited tion between members of the top crowds. three enlisted grades,” according to “What is wrong with understanding — the group’s Facebook page. having some situational understanding “I’ve been accepted everywhere I go,” about the country that we are here to he told Navy Times in 2018. “Those “Ensuring our ranks reflect and are defend?” Milley asked. outside my command don’t know I’m inclusive of the American people is Rather than being a national security the drag queen who slayed on the essential to the morale, cohesion, and ship. To most sailors, I’m just YN2 risk, drag is a broad term for readiness of the military,” McGarry Kelley. Once they find out I’m Harpy said. “Nellis Air Force Base is commit- “ostentatiously exaggerated” cross- dressing, “ironically playing up imita- Daniels, I’m praised as an inspiration ted to providing and championing an and see so much joy in their reactions tions of the opposite sex,” according environment that is characterized by for simply being who I am.” equal opportunity, diversity and inclu- to the Routledge International Ency- sion.” clopedia of Queer Culture. Now, in 2021, Nellis Air Force Base While the practice dates back to at seemed to have a positive reaction to The event sent some ripples among the drag show: about 180 members of social media commenters who saw least the Elizabethan era in , it really took off in the 1920s with per- the Nellis community attended the the drag show as a fatal flaw in Ameri- event, McGarry said. While there formers like Judy Garland and Mar- ca’s national security program. The aren’t currently plans to hold another right-wing news site Breitbart covered lene Dietrich, women who popularized male dress for women, according to drag show, base leaders are support- the promotion of the event, kicking off ive of events that “reinforce the Air anguish from commenters. the encyclopedia. Drag took on a polit- ical connotation after the Stonewall Force’s emphasis on diversity and inclusion toward recognizing the value “Trinity [sic] and Tobago could proba- rebellion in New York City in 1969, bly take us over at this point,” said which was led by cross-dressers and every one of our Airmen bring to the one commenter on Twitter, reacting to drag queens and is considered the team,” he added. a flyer promoting the event, which start of the modern gay rights move- One person in particular who seemed was held on June 17. ment. to appreciate the show was Coco Montrese, who was one of the special “On a global stage we are being Drag is essentially action, not identity,” laughed at,” said another. the encyclopedia writes. “It shakes up guests at Nellis last week. Montrese was the 2010 Miss Gay America, and The concerns echo similar voices who all rigid definitions for gender and sex- uality, parodying the stereotypes of she has also appeared on the reality have raised doubts over the Navy’s TV Show RuPaul’s Drag Race. inclusion of the book How To Be an femininity and masculinity.” Antiracist on its reading list and West And while Thursday’s show was the “Y’all we just did the first drag show on Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas. Point teaching a seminar called first ever to be hosted by Nellis Air “Understanding Whiteness and White Force Base, drag is not new to the How freakin amazing is that?” Mon- Rage.” Gen. Mark Milley, the Chair- military. Just check out this photo- trese told her fans on Instagram after- wards. “And the men are lovely on this man of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ad- graph taken in Germany just 10 days dressed those doubters in a hearing after World War II ended in Europe, Air Force base.” at the House of Representatives on where about 60 soldiers put on a drag The feeling was mutual. Wednesday. show all on their own. “Thank you dahhlin!” wrote one Insta- “I’ve read Mao Zedong, I’ve read Karl “These are all GI’s. There aren’t any gram user. “The show was amazing.” Marx, I’ve read Lenin, that doesn’t girls in the show,” wrote the original make me a communist,” Milley said in owner on the back of the photo.

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‘Football is Gay’ NFL Vocalizes Support of LGBTQ+ Community in New Ad Brody Levesque, Washington Blade

Lake Erie Gala Courtyard by Marriott - Erie Bayfront Las Vegas Raiders Carl Nassib Pennsylvania November 17-21, 2021 The re- porting what our players care about If you haven't made your hotel room leased an advert this past weekend and what they stand for.” as Pride month ends that articulates reservation for the Lake Erie Gala, It’s the league’s support of the LGBTQ+ Zeigler pointed out, “‘Imperative.’ highly recommend you do, NOW. The community following the announce- Think about that. The NFL’s chief Lake Erie Gala is really surprised at how ment last week by Las Vegas Raid- marketing officer called it “imperative” fast the block is filling up. The hotels ers’ Defensive end Carl Nassib that to make sure LGBTQ athletes and have a 100% refund policy if you cancel he is gay. fans are accepted in the league. before November 14, 2021, so what are Please, stop telling me the NFL and you waiting for? Nassib became the first openly gay America aren’t ready for a gay foot- The Gala is receiving a lot of positive player who is active on an NFL team ball player- Stop,” Zeigler wrote. franchise roster. feedback so far about the new venues. “For the league to release a video Our block for $90 per night is almost The 30-second spot begins with the saying “football is gay” is revolution- sold out and time is running out on this line, “Football is gay” as light cheer- ary. For far too long people have held AWESOME rate. After July 17, 2021 the ing plays in the background. the belief that the NFL and the sport room rates will go up to $109 per night of football are anti-gay. They have “Football is lesbian. Football is beau- and after that the room rates will contin- been wrong for years. That the NFL tiful. Football is queer. Football is life. ue to rise until the hotel is completely would release this video knowing well Football is exciting. Football is cul- sold out. ture. Football is transgender. Football that it will anger a segment of its is queer. Football is heart. Football is fanbase is a huge societal statement. When booking a room please use the power. Football is tough. Football is The NFL is the most powerful cultural designated hotel link for our group locat- bisexual. Football is strong. Football institution in America. This statement ed on the new Gala Website. Just a is freedom. Football is American. of support and inclusion will resonate heads up. Football is accepting. Football is eve- deeply,” he added. All reservations must be accompanied rything. Football is for everyone.” View Video by a first night room deposit guaranteed “I am proud of the clear message this with a major credit card. If you are hav- spot sends to the NFL’s LGBTQ+ ing problems securing a room, PLEASE fans: This game is unquestionably for email us directly at in- you,” NFL senior director of diversity, [email protected]. We know people equity and inclusion, Sam Rapoport, and can help! told Outsports magazine’s Cyd Zei- Attendee registration will open Septem- gler. “I will be playing its first line over ber 1st and more information about and over in my head all season.” package options and pricing can be The League’s chief marketing of- found under the Websites’s Registration ficer Tim Ellis noted in a statement, tab. “This spot is about celebrating Pride, and the importance of inclusion. It’s imperative that we use our voice and leverage the NFL platform to drive positive change, which includes sup- Page 8

The Incredible Journey of Soulful Trans Comic Julia Scotti Trudy Ring, The Advocate

In 2011, a new face burst on to the she says. One of her first inspira- stand-up comedy scene, a woman tions, she says, was Lou Costello; he named Julia Scotti. She was brash and Bud Abbott were one of the top and hilarious, and five years later she comedy teams of the 1940s and ’50s, wowed the judges on America’s Got starring in films and television. “He Talent, even the notoriously tough was a seminal influence on me,” she Simon Cowell, and finished as a says. She recalls walking home from quarterfinalist. During her first ap- kindergarten, at age 5, and passing pearance, the judges asked why an Italian bakery that displayed a Scotti, who was well into middle age, signed photo of Abbott and Costello. hadn’t become a comedian earlier in “It was like a brush with fame,” she her life. The answer was that she had says. — under the name of Rick Scotti. Now Scotti has achieved fame her- Rick Scotti had toured with Jerry self, and while the road there has Seinfeld and Chris Rock, had opened been difficult at times, she’s philo- for musicians including Lou Rawls, sophical about it. “I don’t think I could Chicago, and Frankie Valli and the have turned out this way if I hadn’t Four Seasons, and was married with lived the life I lived,” she says. two children. Despite what appeared And she’s keeping busy. In addition to be a successful career and per- Julia Scotti to her comedy and speaking gigs, sonal life, something didn’t feel right she’s planning to record her second deep inside. So in 2000, after 48 interested in a career in comedy, and album this fall, and she’s written a years of identifying as Rick Scotti, the daughter Emma, an appreciator of play that she hopes to get produced. performer took a hiatus from comedy, comedy. It introduces audiences to oth- It’s about an Italian-American family underwent gender-confirmation sur- er people who are important in Scotti’s in the 1960s, and it deals with gery, and eventually returned to the life as well, such as manager Cathy LGBTQ+ and racial issues. She’d stage as Julia, now one of the best- Caldwell. And mostly it shows Scotti also like to do some acting. known and funniest transgender co- being out, proud, and funny while per- medians in the U.S. She enthuses about everyone who forming at comedy clubs, speaking at helped get her life story to the Scotti is telling her story in the new LGBTQ+ events, and hanging out with screen, particularly Sandler, who she documentary film Julia Scotti: Funny family and friends. says “worked tirelessly” to bring the That Way, produced and directed by Between 2000 and 2011, Scotti worked film to fruition. Sandler, the playwright Susan Sandler. It has screened at as a teacher and was for a time self- and screenwriter of Crossing Delanc- several festivals and is now available employed. There were challenges in ey, says in a director’s statement that on a variety of streaming platforms. returning to stand-up comedy that went she became enraptured by Scotti It chronicles Scotti’s life from the be- beyond the issue of gender identity. after seeing her perform an ginning of her career to the present “The business had changed so much,” “explosively funny and moving set” in day, when she’s still on road from she says. Social media had come on to 2015. “Julia’s story deepens our un- one gig to another; her transition and the scene, , as had a new generation of derstanding of not only the the estrangement it caused from the club owners. “I was kind of a newbie transgender experience, but the hu- women she loved and from her son again,” she notes. man experience of longing to be who and daughter; her reunion with those we truly are, individuated from the But she forged on, and the people be- offspring; and her commitment to voices telling us to be someone dif- hind America’s Got Talent found her on making a better world for trans peo- ferent, someone more known, some- the internet and asked her to audition. ple. one who ‘fits in,’” Sandler says. “And Her appearance on that show made by that example, she invites us to be That commitment was what led her to her the first out trans comedian on na- free.” do the film. “There are so many kids tional television. Not that she was clos- out there and adults too who are terri- eted previously; she has been open That’s the effect Scotti hopes the film bly suffering and feel so alone,” she about her trans identity ever since she will have on audiences — for trans says. She experienced that suffering returned to stand-up, and in 2013, The people, making them feel seen and and loneliness herself, bringing her Advocate named her one of the five supported, and, she says, “if you’re a close to suicide, and she hopes that hottest trans comics in the nation. Last cisgender person, maybe you’ll walk by telling her story, she’ll help some year she received more national expo- away with a little more understand- of those kids and adults feel less sure on the Showtime comedy special ing.” alone. More Funny Women of a Certain Age. The film is hopeful and inspiring. It Scotti, a native of New Jersey, knew shows Scotti’s renewed relationship early in her life that she wanted to be a with her children, son Dan, who’s comedian. “I think it’s almost a calling,”

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