Kimberley Locke: Aiding in the Fight Will Supreme Court Resolve Marriage Debate? How HIV Stigma Is Damaging the Gay Community W RLD AIDS DAY
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‘Idol’ Kimberley Locke: Aiding In The Fight Will Supreme Court Resolve Marriage Debate? How HIV Stigma Is Damaging The Gay Community W RLD AIDS DAY WWW.PRIDESOURCE.COM NOV. 27, 2014 | VOL. 2248 | FREE COVER Illustration: Rachel Harper Even before ‘Hideaway,’ when ‘Idol’ Kimberley Locke: Aiding In The Fight Will Supreme Court Resolve Marriage Debate? I was doing other projects, the How HIV Stigma Is Damaging The Gay Community gay community was always the W RLD AIDS community that supported me as a DAY brand new artist. – Kiesza, page 28 FREE NOV. 27, 2014 | VOL. 2248 | WWW.PRIDESOURCE.COM NEWS Cool Cities 4 Amber’s journey Lansing 5 Grand Rapids’ The Network sees GIFT GUIDE ENTER TO WIN COOL CITIES advocacy facelift 11 Transgender services in Michigan 12 Will U.S. Supreme Court resolve same-sex marriage debate? 14 A doctor’s journey working with HIV/A IDs over 30 years 16 Tainted love: how HIV stigma is damaging the gay community... OPINION 10 Parting Glances 10 Turning remembrance into action 11 Creep of the Week LIFE Access The HoliGay Gift Guide And More Online Win Two Tickets To SeeYOUR NEIGHBORHOODLearn More About •This YOUR MARKET 21 Kimberley Locke: Aiding in the Paula Poundstone Week’s Cool City: Lansing fight Pinpoint your ad dollars where 21 World AIDS Day Calendar Enter to win two tickets to see This holiday season, use BTL’s Holiday Gift Guide to get the perfect Paula Poundstone, Dec. 13 at theyAccess will dothe the online most Coolgood City. 22 Mr. LA Leather 2014 to promote gifts! Find out who’s family at Pridesource.com via the Pride Source the Royal Oak Music Theatre .Advertise pages inat thePridesource.com next Cool Cities PrEP in Michigan Yellow Pages. Enter only at www.pridesource.TO PLACEto learn AN AD about CALL 734.293.7200upcoming 28 No hiding from Kiesza com/tickets_contest.html events, featured advertisers 31 Variety is the spice of ‘Caroled!’ and community news. 32 Happenings 33 Don we now our gay apparel 34 The Frivolist 36 Puzzle VOL. 2248 • NOV. 27, 2014 • ISSUE 891 EDITORIAL CREATIVE ADVERTISING & SALES ONLINE AT Editor in Chief Art Director Director of Sales PRIDE SOURCE MEDIA GROUP Susan Horowitz, 734.293.7200 x 12 Benjamin Jenkins, [email protected] Jan Stevenson, 734.293.7200 x 22 “Between The Lines Newspaper” 20222 Farmington Rd., Livonia, Michigan 48152 [email protected] [email protected] Phone 734.293.7200 Webmaster & MIS Director Entertainment Editor Kevin Bryant, [email protected] Sales Representatives Follow us @YourBTL PUBLISHERS Chris Azzopardi, 734.293.7200 x 24 Ed Bohach, 734.293.7200 x 15 Susan Horowitz & Jan Stevenson [email protected] Contributing Writers [email protected] Charles Alexander, Michelle E. 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Between The Lines is supported by many fine advertisers, but we cannot accept responsibility for claims Staff Writers made by our advertisers, nor can we accept responsibility for Copyright 2014 Pride Source Media Group, LLC AJ Trager, [email protected] materials provided by advertisers or their agents. www.PrideSource.com Nov. 27, 2014 | BTL 7 Amber’s Journey Freedom And Anxiety In Shadow Of Legislature Debate On Nondiscrimination BY TODD HEYWOOD LANSING – Amber is looking forward to the new year, but she is also fearful of what 2015 will bring her. She plans to transition to living her life as she was meant – as a woman. But the ongoing debates at the state capital about adding gender identity to the state’s civil rights law makes such a move terrifying. “The big thing I am worried about is losing my job,” the 23-year-old told BTL. “Say I lose my job, I might have to move back to my parents’ house and my transition would be put on hold.” Between The Lines has agreed not to use Amber’s last name or the exact location of her anxiety,” she notes. hometown in order to give her some protection Amber plans to transition to living her life as she was meant – as a She says the current debate at the state level and the ability to come out to people at her is “dehumanizing.” own pace. woman. But the ongoing debates at the state capital about adding gender “It’s crazy to me people would like to think Amber hails from conservative west identity to the state’s civil rights law makes such a move terrifying. it’s OK to exclude a group of people from a Michigan. Her parents and three brothers are nondiscrimination law,” she said. unaware that she is preparing to transition. As for the lawmakers talking about They will learn of her life change through a transpeople, but not with them, she has a letter crafted by Amber with the assistance of message. her therapist. That letter will be delivered after like five years down the road, and I couldn’t,” partners that they must adhere to LCC “I’d talk to them about how many trans the holidays. she said. policies, including nondiscrimination rules. people are losing jobs,” she said. “It’s crazy we The revelation may not come as a surprise. She moved to Lansing in June and began Spring Arbor bowed out of the running for a are already so discriminated against.” Amber says she fought with her parents about the process of transitioning. That includes partnership as a result. her gender when she was a child. counseling. She has a letter to begin hormone Amber still has not discussed her transition “I really thought I was a female when I was therapy and has fixed her transition date in with the bio-engineering company where she TAKE ACTION 4 or 5 and I ended up getting into an argument the beginning of 2015. Despite feeling more works. She is terrified that her new life will be with my parents,” she says. “It ended with confident in her gender, and being excited to cut short by an economic dagger in her back; them saying I was male, and me crying.” begin life fully as Amber, her apprehension she worries she will be fired for her transition. Freedom Michigan She did what she could to fit herself to her grows as her transition date comes closer. Amber is more than a little aware of the >> www.freedommichigan.org gender assigned at birth – including playing Lansing has a nondiscrimination law which economic struggles of many transgender football in high school. She studied criminal includes gender identity and expression. The women in America. She rattles off the Freedom Michigan is a coalition of business justice in college and has worked a series of ordinance has been on the books since 2006, statistics related to unemployment and leaders, lawmakers, faith leaders, grassroots warehouse type jobs usually associated with but it has never been tested. It has, however, underemployment as well as homelessness. activists, members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and men. been used in negotiations between Lansing She know she faces a potentially hostile world. transgender community and concerned residents “I was trying to prove to myself something,” Community College and Spring Arbor Among her ten transgender friends, two who have come together across party lines for one goal: To update the landmark Elliott-Larsen Civil she says of her masculine choices in her teen University as the community college prepared are unemployed. Neither can find a job. The Rights Act (ELCRA) to protect LGBT Michiganders years. “I never felt the same. I felt like an to open a university center, sharing publicly gender markers on their identifications out from discrimination. outcast.” financed space with some of the state’s private them as trans, leading to a bias in hiring, The state legislators are scheduled to vote on this When she was 18, she began dreaming and public universities. she says. Amending Elliott-Larsen might of herself as a woman. Then the moment of right after Thanksgiving. Contact them and tell them Spring Arbor had come under fire for firing ease her fears. “It would make me feel more to support a fully inclusive amendment. revelation happened. Julie Nemecek when she transitioned; LCC comfortable, it would ease a little bit of that “I was trying to picture myself as a male also reminded all the potential university 8 BTL | Nov. 27, 2014 www.PrideSource.com Grand Rapids’ The Network Sees Advocacy Facelift BY AJ TRAGER GRAND RAPIDS – As announced in mid- October, the Network, the LGBT community People ask me, ‘Are you crazy?’ center in Grand Rapids, has undergone an ambitious restructuring. As a trans person I am in a very unique The structure and progress of LGBT rights “ in the state has done everything but slow position. Coming out as transgender, you down. The DeBoer v Snyder case may see can’t go back in the closet. ...It means the Supreme Court of the United States and Michigan may have a bill pass this fall to I am free to be an advocate.