Anti-gays infiltrate Creating Change conference?

Have you seen this man? This is Jake MacAuley, aka Jake McMillian and he’s part of the anti-gay You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International ministries, a group that repeatedly calls LGBT people “criminals” and once said that Muslim countries that execute homosexuals were “more moral” than American Christians.

On his radio show on Saturday afternoon, Bradlee Dean said that his sidekick, Jake McMillian, was “playing the spy” presumably on the Creating Change conference. Dean said he’d be reporting on his spying on next weekend’s show.

“The other guy is not with us today,” Dean said. “He’s incognito, he’s playing the spy.”

Dean spent most of his Saturday evening show with Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association trying to blame “homosexuals” for committing the Holocaust.

The group often attends LGBT events in Minnesota, ambushing people with their video cameras and voice recorders and then playing it on their radio program.

Here they are at OutFront’s LGBT Lobby Day at the Capitol in April.

Ethel Merman For Equality

In 2011, if someone told you old Ethel Merman songs could have a part in positive social change, would you believe them?

After a fashion, that’s what Al Justiniano, artistic director of St Paul’s Teatro del Pueblo will be trying to do with Teatro’s annual Political Theater Festival, running this weekend and next. Alongside “Aliens, Immigrants, and Other Evildoers,” the festival will feature “¡Gaytino!,” a one-man show written and performed by Los Angeles-based actor and director Daniel Guererro, about growing up as a gay, Latino, baby boomer. Teatro is using a $7,000 grant from the PFund Foundation to produce the show.

But it’s exactly Guererro’s age and somewhat dated cultural references that Justiniano says will help spark a discussion of homophobia within the Twin Cities’ Latino community.

“[Guererro’s] generation is one of the very toughest in our community when it comes to homophobia,” Justiniano told TheColu.mn. Like most young people across the nation, Justiniano says he thinks young Latnios are more likely to be accepting, as they are growing up surrounded by many more positive portrayals of LGBT people than their parents.

“His father [Eduardo “Lalo” Guererro] was one of the most famous Mexican-American singers of his generation. I think he can touch boomers like that,” Justiniano said. “We’re trying to educated subtly, without lecturing.”

Justiniano says Guererro’s performance will be followed by structured discussion, where the actor himself will take part. To make sure the show won’t be preaching to an audience of LGBT-rights supporters, Justiniano says Teatro will be working through community organizations and using other approaches to make sure a wide swath of the community comes to the festival. He was inspired to put the show on, he says, by former gay, lesbian, and bisexual coworkers from Latin America who had to hide that part of their identity when going home to conservative parents and older family members.

“It breaks my heart,” he said.

Gaytino runs February 24th through 27th at St Paul’s Gremlin Theater.

St. Louis Park passes domestic partner registry, Richfield to pass same next week

St. Louis Park passed a domestic partner registry on Jan. 18 over the protests of some in the community who thought the ordinance would violate their religious rights. And last week, Richfield passed a similar ordinance on first reading. It will need a second reading on Feb. 8 in order to become law. St. Louis Park has become the eighth Minnesota community to pass such a registry and Richfield is poised to become the ninth.

“As OutFront Minnesota continues to advocate the cause of full marriage equality for same-sex couples, we welcome the news of communities across Minnesota taking a stand and doing what they can for their families, friends and neighbors who are wrongly discriminated against by state and federal law,” OutFront Minnesota said in a statement following St. Louis Park’s passage of the domestic partner registry. “We applaud the action of the Saint Louis Park City Council and thank the dozens of Saint Louis Park residents who voiced their support for this measure.”

The city council got several letters opposing the measure.

“We’re constantly working to expand civil rights in this country and leaning forward and being progressive,” Councilmember Phil Finkelstein told the MN Sun. “This won’t affect anyone’s personal interests. This won’t affect their rights to practice their religion. As my wife says, ‘we’re all God’s children.’”

In Richfield, two city council members voiced their opposition to the proposed ordinance, which passed it’s first reading last week.

Council Members Tom Fitzhenry and Fred Wroge want the state, not Richfield to enact domestic partnerships, according to the Richfield Patch.

Domestic partner registries have been passed in Minneapolis, Duluth, St. Paul, Rochester, Golden Valley, Maplewood, Edina, and now St. Louis Park.

Twin Cities native competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race, premieres tonight

RuPaul’s Drag Race premieres tonight on LOGO and one contestant, Manila Luzon, hails from the Twin Cities. It’s not the first time a Minnesotan has made good on the campy drag queen reality show. In its first season, the show crowned Minneapolis resident Bebe Zahara Benet as America’s Drag Superstar.

In an interview with Seattle’s Gay Scene, Luzon recounts her beginnings as a Minnesota drag queen:

Manila Luzon, where are you from?
I’m half Filipino and half German/Swedish born and raised in the Twin Cities of Minnesota! But the second I graduated from college, I packed my good wig and a pair of stilettos and moved to New York City to become an artist!

When was your first time in drag and what did it feel like?
I honestly cannot remember – I’ve been sneaking into my mother’s and my sister closets on since I was a child! But the first time I became Manila Luzon was the summer I came out in college. I thought, if I’m going to be coming out as gay, I might as well go ALL THE WAY and be a drag queen!!!

Benet, the shows first queen from Minnesota, will host a party for the show in New York on Friday.

Celebrity judges for the upcoming season are Margaret Cho, Eliza Dushku, Carmen Electra, Susan Powter, Amber Rose, Rita Rudner, Sara Rue, Chloë Sevigny, Cheryl Tiegs, Lily Tomlin, Alessandra Torresani, Aisha Tyler, Jody Watley, and Vanessa Williams.

Unfortunately for Twin Citians, there doesn’t appear to be any viewing parties for the show.

Arrest made in murder of Krissy Bates

The Minneapolis Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Krissy Bates, a transgender woman who was found dead in her apartment on Jan. 10. Police have arrested Bates’ boyfriend in the crime.

“We are deeply saddened by the murder of Krissy Bates,” OutFront Minnesota Anti-Violence Program Director Rebecca Waggoner said in a statement. “But we are heartened that the city’s police department, through their tireless commitment to community safety, took
quick action to solve the crime and arrest a suspect. Where violence occurs, justice must follow.”

Waggoner says that LGBT relationships have the same rate of domestic violence as heterosexual relationships — about 1 in 4.

“Regardless of whether the violence that affects our community comes at the hands of an intimate partner or a total stranger, it’s a reminder that safety is one of the primary concerns of LGBT community members,” said Outfront’s executive director Monica Meyer.

OutFront is planning a vigil for Bates on Jan. 21 at MCTC.

“Each and every victim of violence deserves to be honored and supported as they seek justice, no matter who they are, no exceptions. This vigil is our way of honoring a life cut tragically short as a result of domestic violence.” Waggoner added.

Vigil, ‘Tranny Jam’ planned to remember murdered trans woman

A vigil and “Tranny Jam” have been planned to honor and remember Krissy Bates, a Minneapolis transgender woman who was found murdered in her home on Jan. 10. OutFront Minnesota will host a vigil on Friday, Jan. 21 at the MCTC Library in the General Mills Room, and a jam will follow the vigil at the Queer Collective Space on Chicago Ave.

According to OutFront:

Please join us for a vigil Friday, January 21 at 6pm at the MCTC Library (General Mills Room) to honor and remember the life of Krissy Bates, a member of our community whose life was cut short by a terrible act of violence.

Violence threatens all LGBTQ communities, and national reports show that transgender women like Krissy are targeted for violence with terrible frequency. As long as members of our community are singled out for… harassment and violence, our work is unfinished. Please join us in solidarity to raise one united voice to demand an end to this horrible violence.

After a short program at the library we will march to Krissy’s apartment building a few blocks away. Please bring candles, flowers and signs displaying positive messages of hope that our community can embrace to push back the darkness of fear and create a safer city.

Minnesota Trans Health Coalition’s Shot Clinic will be hosting a community event at the Queer Colllective Space at 3405 Chicago after the march.http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186271414736384 for more information.

We would like to give great thanks to all of Krissy’s friends, our volunteers, and community partners who are uniting in the wake of this week’s terrible events to create these events of remembrance to honor Krissy’s life including: TYSN, Barbara Satin of NGLTF, Spirit of the Lakes, and MCTC.

Event details can be viewed here.

Following the vigil and march will be a jam in remembrance of Bates: “After the vigil our new queer collective is hosting a Tranny Jam. This will be a chance for the community to eat tasty treats, dance, hang out, and enjoy each other.”

Details of that event can be viewed here.

Pfund responded to the murder this week:

“We were shocked to learn of Chrissie Bates’ senseless murder,” says Susan Raffo, PFund executive director. “Our offices are just blocks from where the crime took place. Chrissie is not a nameless victim, she was a member of our community – a living, breathing human being.

“We know violence directed towards transgender people continues to be disproportionately high. At PFund, we are committed to supporting the organizations in our community that work against the roots of this violence while also empowering those most affected. However, this responsibility cannot lie solely at the feet of community organizations. We implore our community members and allies to heighten their efforts in working to end this violence and the environment that lets it grow.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Chrissie’s family and friends,” says Lupe Castillo, PFund board president. “May Chrissie rest in peace and may we honor her memory by opposing hatred and violence, including when it is directed against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. ”

From The Archives: “Counterculture Queens” Making History at Gay House

In the early 1970s, the American Psychological Association defined homosexuality as a character disorder in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.   Though attitudes amongst psychologists varied (indeed, many vocally disagreed with the designation), the Association’s official stance made professional mental healthcare an unhelpful obstacle to young people struggling with their sexual orientation. Thus, and unlike their heterosexual counterparts, young queer people frequently began their sexual and romantic lives without the guidance of older mentors of professional therapists.   Few positive representations of queer people existed, and these were not reinforced by mental health institutions.

Young activists, political radicals, and University of Minnesota graduates took over a rundown single-family home on Ridgewood Avenue (now demolished)  in 1971 to create a first in the state.  Gay House was literally a house of, by, and for gay people—selected for its close proximity to the former nucleus of Minneapolis’ “gay ghetto,” the structure served as an office building, meeting space, and crash pad for young people in need of help as they struggled to come to terms with their identity. Led by Jim Frost, a group of volunteers set up a telephone hotline to counsel troubled youth in the Twin Cities.

The Gay House hotline and its positively gay volunteers became immeasurably successful; the center received 50,000 phone calls and provided counseling services to well over 5,000 by 1975.[i] Thematic similarities in the callers’ problems surfaced; clients frequently desired basic information about sexuality, and they sought perspectives from others who shared their pain.  With the help of Michael McConnell, a librarian fired by the University of Minnesota for gay activism—Gay House offered the first-community-run queer library in the Upper Midwest.  Organizers reached out to new gay and lesbian publications in larger cities, including The Los Angeles Advocate, and contacted librarians for bibliographies. Barbara Gittings—founder of the New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis and editor of its magazine, The Ladder—sent Gay house a bibliography and a message to “keep on gay-ning.”[ii]

To Steve Endean, the future founder of the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., Gay House was a brave first step towards self-acceptance:

“…I was straightlaced and was somewhat taken aback by the ‘early Salvation Army’ look of the drop-in center.  Inside, I met several outrageous counterculture queens who seemed to personify every stereotype I’d heard about.  But since it was basically clear that my sexuality wasn’t just a phase but a reality, I was incredibly anxious to meet people that might assist in helping me develop a positive self-image as a gay man.”[iii]

The differing personalities of “counterculture queens,” straight-laced activists, and troubled youth often produced conflict. Gay house’s “rap sessions” inspired everything from genuine synergy to complete dissension. Meetings occasionally devolved into a series of “loud, angry, and seemingly pointed requests…for participation in some activities.”[iv] One anonymous participant complained “the house was basically run by kids above 18 for kids below 18.”[v] Four years and a move to south Minneapolis later, these and other interpersonal issues forced the center to close in 1979.

Ultimately, the legacy of our first community center offsets its negative end.  Some of our most important institutions, such as OutFront Minnesota, the Twin Cities Pride Committee, and the All God’s Children MCC have roots in Gay Houses’ seat-of-the-pants activism.  Without it, the Twin Cities would have likely been much less livable.

---

[i] “Gay House Starts Fifth Years of Service.” Gay House Newsletter, 7/14/75.

[ii] Barbara Gittings Letter, OutFront Minnesota Collection, Box 1. Tretter Collection in GLBT Studies, University of Minnesota Libraries.

[iii] Steve Endean and Vicki Lynn Eaklor, Bringin Lesbian and Gay Rights Into the Mainstream: Twenty Years of Progress (New York: Harrington Park Press, 2006), 11

[iv] Sic.

[v] “Open House-Meeting at Gayhouse [sic]” Hundred Flowers, 10/1/71. Page 11.

Trans woman murdered in Minneapolis, vigil planned for Jan. 21

Krissy Bates, a transgender woman who lived in downtown Minneapolis, was found murdered in her apartment on Monday in what police are calling a homicide. Police say she appeared to have been stabbed. Details are still sketchy, but CityPages notes that Bates had feared for her safety in her building.

Bates had recently been sexually assaulted, according to her neighbor, and someone had broken out one of her windows. “She told me that she was concerned for her safety,” the neighbor told CityPages. “Management said, that’s really not our problem, call the police.”

OutFront Minnesota’s Anti-Violence Program Director Rebecca Waggoner said they don’t have many details at this point but that they are setting up a vigil on Jan. 21 at 6 pm in Bates’ neighborhood which is near MCTC. A firm location will be set over the next few days.

“In Minnesota and nationally there are high rates of anti-transgender violence,” said Waggoner. The details of the murder including whether or not it was anti-trans motivated are still unclear, but Waggoner said OutFront will be watching the investigation closely.

“The Minneapolis Police Department has assured us that they are investigating fully,” she said. “We are encouraging anybody with any information to contact the Minneapolis police.”

Minneapolis School Board to vote on LGBT curriculum resolution

The Minneapolis School Board is scheduled to vote on a resolution supporting LGBT program in the district’s schools on Tuesday night and there will be opportunity for community input. The resolution, titled, “In Support that the Minneapolis Public School District Strengthen the Office of Equity and Diversity‘s Out4Good Program in Order to Effect a Healthier Learning Environment for Lesbian
Gay Bisexual Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) Students,” would beef up anti-bullying programs, formalize much of the already cutting edge efforts of the district in regards to LGBT students, establish permanent LGBT programs and establish optional courses reflecting LGBT individuals’ contributions to history.

The resolution was first proposed by outgoing school board member Chris Stewart in December.

Here’s the full resolution:

WHEREAS: Minnesota is regarded as having the broadest coverage for sexual orientation rights against discrimination of any state in the nation, as well as the best definition through the MN Human Rights Law; and

WHEREAS: The non discrimination provisions in the Minnesota Human Rights Law make it illegal for schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students or allow the school climate to get so hostile that LGBTQ students lack equal access to education; and

WHEREAS: MPS has Board Policy protecting the rights of all students regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity; and

WHEREAS: The Minneapolis Public School District is comprised of a diverse community of students, staff and families of many races, abilities, cultures, religions, sexual orientations, and gender identities; and

WHEREAS: LGBTQ students are verbally, physically, and emotionally harassed at school because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity (actual or perceived) and therefore report feeling unsafe at school; and

WHEREAS: Such remarks run contrary to the MPS Anti-Harassment, Anti-Discrimination, and Anti-Bullying policies; and

WHEREAS: By creating the Out4Good program in 1996; MPS became one of only six known public school districts in the country to have developed a comprehensive program to ensure the safety and inclusion of LGBTQ students, staff and families;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That in the service of effecting a healthier learning environment for our LGBTQ students, the Board of Education of the Minneapolis Public School District requests that the Superintendent of Schools create an LGBTQ sub-committee to ensure the inclusion of LGBTQ students staff and families in all aspects of the school district, including curriculum and activities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That school support professionals, teachers, and administrators receive LGBTQ cultural sensitivity training every other year through an approved training mechanism; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED: That Gay/Straight Alliances be fully acknowledged as co- curricular activities and GSA Staff Advisors be fully acknowledged and compensated as co- curricular assignments

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That a sexual orientation and gender identity curriculum be developed by the Out4Good program in partnership with the MN Department of Health and be recognized and implemented as a core component of the MPS-wide sexual health curriculum; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED: That educational materials discussing the issues of sexuality, gender identity, and safety for staff, students and families be funded and prepared and distributed annually

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That MPS post on its website—and the website of its various divisions and departments, resources and contacts for students who have experienced homophobic and transphobic harassment, as well as their parents/guardians; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED: That students, parents/guardians and school staff be made aware of which staff member is responsible for reporting and investigating incidences of discrimination through school-wide postings and distribution of handouts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That MPS establish a District-wide procedure for recording, tracking, reporting, and responding to incidences of harassment and discrimination as they are relevant to LGBTQ students, and any other group enumerated in MPS Board Policy, and that the procedure include responsive measures ranging from counseling and education to
suspension, expulsion or restorative justice practices, depending upon severity of the action; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED: That MPS institute an interdisciplinary course on LGBTQ history and literature with enrollment open to students from any MPS high school and for which participating students would receive credit; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That each year, the LGBTQ Sub-Committee be responsible for reporting to both the MPS Board of Education on the progress of each the policy directives outlined in all of the foregoing resolved clauses; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED: That the components of this resolution that have budget implications will be re-evaluated including the results of outside fundraising as part of the budget development process.

Movies of 2010: The Year in Queer

I am having a really hard time deciding if 2010 was a great year for queer characters in movies or if it was a typically dismal year.  On one hand, I cannot remember the last time queer characters seemed so prolific; of the near-eighty movies I spent money to see, almost a quarter of them contained at least one distinctly non-hetero character.  On the other hand, most of these characters were white gay men.

Lesbians had their share of representation in the year’s most commercially popular LGBT-themed movie (The Kids are All Right), but many people rejected and problematized its characters.  Some documentaries (Stonewall Uprising) tried to bring important historical milestones to the limelight, but failed to bring anything new to the table.

And let’s not even talk about the prominently released movies featuring any bisexual or trans-identified characters or queer people of color, mostly because there were none.

However, if you looked hard enough in 2010 – and I mean really hard – you could find movies trying to represent other facets of the queer community.  They were out there, but they were hardly accessible.  Now that it is 2011 and many of last year’s movies are now easily available on Netflix, perhaps you can tell me whether or not it 2010 was a year worth remembering for queer folks.

I have compiled a list of some of 2010’s more noteworthy titles – good and bad – and have assessed exactly how “queer” they are, based both on how prominently queer characters are featured and on the sophistication of the filmmakers’ tackling of gender and sexual politics. Then, I awarded each movie with a ranking on my patented “Queer-O-Meter,” which ranks a film on a scale of 1 (Michele Bachmann) to 10 (Todd Haynes).

So, without further ado, let’s talk about some of 2010’s movies:

Black Swan (Dir. Darren Aronofsky)
What’s the Deal: The journey of an infantilized ballet dancer’s descent into madness as she allows her sanity to be consumed by the lead role she takes in Swan Lake.
Is it any Good? Directed with the sort of raw, uninhibited brushstrokes you might see in a Jackson Pollock, Aronofsky’s latest is a ludicrous mixture of the horrifying and the downright silly.  Yet the approach – coupled with Natalie Portman’s incredible performance – adds an element of lunacy that is glorious, visceral and tragic.  It is the best film of the year.
Queer-o-Meter: 4. I fretted over the much-ballyhooed sex scene between Portman and her co-star Mila Kunis, as it very well could have encapsulated the male-fantasy cliché that overshadows most “lesbian” sex scenes in movies.  But their entanglement, while undoubtedly erotic, is really more about the transposition of Portman’s basest physical sensations to the lead role that ultimately dooms her.  The scene works, but not for the reasons you might believe.

Burlesque (Dir. Steve Antin)
What’s the Deal: An aspiring singer (Christina Aguliera) moves to L.A. and finds herself the lead performer at a neo-burlesque club, which happens to be run by a woman who looks an awful lot like Cher.
Is it any Good? Disappointingly middling, it’s certainly not the campy train-wreck I was hoping for.  I wanted the movie to be “Showgirls” bad, but it is far too earnest to be taken either seriously or with irony. Rewatch Cabaret to see this material done with some real passion.
Queer-o-Meter: 5. There are some sassy gay characters in this movie, and they are mostly left on the sidelines to say and do sassy gay things.  But Cher’s first screen appearance in years (she sings too!) is bound to make Burlesque worthwhile for some.

Chloë (Dir. Atom Egoyan)
What’s the Deal: Catherine (Julianne Moore), convinced her husband is cheating on her, hires a prostitute named Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to seduce him and subsequently recount their sexual escapades.  Catherine is surprised to find herself both repelled to hear these stories as well as aroused.
Is it any Good? I’m no film historian, but something tells me that when you make an erotic thriller, it’s probably best to ensure your movie actually contains erotic elements. The story is plagued with red herrings and Seyfried posed a more threatening screen presence in Mama Mia! than she does here.
Queer-o-Meter: 6. Moore’s increased sexual awakening in light of her husband’s infidelity results in her sharing with Seyfried the movie’s steamiest sex scene.  It’s a shame we are almost asleep by the time the movie reaches that point

Easy A (Dir. Will Gluck)
What’s the Deal: A high-school student takes payment from her male classmates, agreeing to say she had sex with them.  Unsurprisingly, her reputation at the school quickly turns sour, branding her as a social pariah.
Is it any Good? You can’t fault a movie like this for its ambition; it touches on teenage sexuality, the hypocrisy of those extolling “moral values,” and the importance of family and community when talking about sex.  If the movie handles all this material a bit clumsily at times, I can forgive it thanks to Emma Stone’s terrific lead performance.
Queer-o-Meter: 8. Based loosely – with considerable self-awareness – on The Scarlet Letter, there are not too many PG-13 movies out there dealing with sexuality so frankly and honestly.  Some gay characters are featured, but Easy A more broadly touches on how easily our bodies, when perceived as instruments of sexuality, are policed by forces who would rather restrict our erotic expression.  Mainstream movies with this kind of truth are true rarities.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Dir. Niels Arden Oplev)
What’s the Deal: Based on the Stieg Larsson über-hit, the movie follows a soon-to-be incarcerated journalist spending his remaining days of freedom to investigate the years-old disappearance of a wealthy Swedish entrepreneur’s niece.  He gets help from a mysterious computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander.
Is it any Good? Much of the pleasure to be had from this movie is its pulpy, sinewy approach to the police procedural.  Pulpy and unapologetically brutal at times, this Swedish film is as much fun as any other Hollywood flick you were likely to see last year.  The sequels are not as great, but they have a terrific character at the center.
Queer-o-Meter: 9. Lisbeth Salander, as played by Noomi Rapace, is quite simply one of the most fascinating movie characters in recent memory.  So much of her identity manages to transcend the labels we use in life to compartmentalize others.  Lisbeth is also an ideological force of nature, taking her own feminist brand of revenge on the villains and misogynists who see her as less than nothing.

I Killed My Mother (Dir. Xavier Dolan)
What’s the Deal: A semi-autobiographical tale of a gay teenage boy as he deals with the chaotic relationship he has with his mother.
Is it any Good? Think of it as some kind of cross between The 400 Blows and Mommie Dearest.  I swear I mean that as a compliment.  The tumult between mother and son in this movie can be a touch overblown at times, but the 20-year-old Dolan’s eye is impeccable.  Practically every frame of this festival hit is breathtaking.
Queer-o-Meter: 9. The imagery of Almodòvar clearly inspires Dolan in this movie.  I also love the thin veil the son uses to mask his sexuality from his mother.  When he is finally outed, the truth shocks his mother.  But we truly wonder whether her ignorance is a result of being shut out, or if she never really bothered to reach out to her son at all.

I Love You Phillip Morris (Dir. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa )
What’s the Deal: Based on the true story of Steven Russell (Jim Carrey), a man who comes out to his family as gay, follows the life of a con-man in order to maintain both his affluent lifestyle and his relationship with the love of his life, the titular Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor).
Is it any Good? Dark, but never mean-spirited, there is an undeniable sweetness at the core of this movie.  As often as Steven’s criminal acts appalled me, his romance with Phillip is quite moving.  This movie works because this central love feels so right.
Queer-o-Meter: 7. When rationalizing his life as a con-man, Steven asserts that “being gay is expensive!”  Such a generalization might have irritated me, but such stereotypes are oddly fitting in the pitch-black comedy of Phillip Morris.  The movie’s final con, rather brilliantly staged, counts on the internalized homophobia of an entire criminal punishment system in order to work.  Commentary on heterosexism in film is rarely pulled off so subversively.

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (Dir. Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg)
What’s the Deal: A year in the life of the 75-year-old comic legend as she moves from job to job in order to maintain her lifestyle and her relevance in popular culture.
Is it any Good? If you have money, Joan Rivers will whore out her talents for you.  She does not think that is a bad thing, and I ‘m not sure I do either.  Her journey in this documentary is terrifically compelling, and she earns through her work ethic an entirely new level of respect from me.
Queer-o-Meter: 4. Joan has been a gay icon for years and years, and she loves her gays right back.

The Kids are All Right (Dir. Lisa Cholodenko)
What’s the Deal: Two children track down the man who provided sperm for their two lesbian parents twenty years ago.  The biological father (Mark Ruffalo) begins a relationship with the kids, much to the moms’ chagrin.
Is it any Good? You might expect to find a plot like this in a second-rate sitcom, but Cholodenko and her cast do wonders with the magnificent people they create.  The characters, at once loving and flawed, are written and performed with enormous complexity.  There are no villains to be seen here, and no character comes out of the movie emotionally unscathed.
Queer-o-Meter: 3. This is a really tough call, because the central lesbian relationship here is about as white-bread heteronormative as you can get.  That’s caused a lot of progressive critics to laud the film’s “gays are just like us” sexual politics, but it’s also caught a great deal of flack from queer groups for celebrating what they see as the movie portraying same-sex couples as almost offensively inoffensive.  That argument is valid, but I think for it to hold water the case would need to be made that the movie celebrates its own whiteness and ostensible non-queerness.  I would counter, given the painful journey these characters ultimately take, that the movie is a deceptively nuanced critique of those same values Cholodenko’s critics blast her for apparently promoting.

La Mission (Dir. Peter Bratt)
What’s the Deal: Set in San Fransisco’s Mission District, a traditional, latino widower reacts angrily upon learning his son is gay.
Is it any Good? The film sheds light on a community rarely given any attention in the movies, and the world Bratt creates feels truly lived-in.  Unfortunately, he handles the coming-out story with less elegance; the dialog in those scenes feels as if it was pulled directly from a “Coming Out to Your Family” pamphlet.
Queer-o-Meter: 7. Maybe a viable market for movies like La Mission has not yet been defined, or maybe I simply did not peruse the theater listings rigorously enough.  Regardless, I am dismayed that this is the only film on my list featuring queer people of color. Perhaps that is what makes the perspective taken in La Mission more refreshing than it should be.  I appreciated seeing the issue of coming out tackled in a non-white setting, and the deconstruction of the father’s masculinity and homophobia feels genuine.

Patrik, Age 1.5 (Dir. Ella Lemhagen)
What’s the Deal: A happy gay couple eagerly awaits the arrival of their new adopted son, but a clerical error results in their unwitting agreement to adopt a homophobic fifteen year old boy.
Is it any Good? Like The Kids are All Right, the plot behind Patrik feels lifted from the most hackneyed sitcom.  Unlike Kids, Patrik never transcends its plot contrivances to establish characters worth our investment.  Every emotion, every lesson and every tear feels like a cog in a machine meant solely to get the characters to the happy ending the writers always intended.
Queer-o-Meter: 3. The movie’s message, above all else, affirms the notion that gay couples are capable of doing everything straight couples can do.  Nothing about Patrik’s sexual politics feels radical, but the movie does score some points for exploring the underlying conflict between the two dads honestly.  How the movie actually chooses to resolve those conflicts is a completely different discussion.

Prodigal Sons (Dir. Kimberly Reed)

What’s the Deal: An autobiographical documentary from transgender filmmaker Kimberly Reed, who returns to her hometown with her new identity.  Reed also follows her mentally unstable adopted brother, who learns his grandparents are Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles.
Is it any Good? Quite.  The film may be an autobiography, but it is hardly a vanity project.  Reed trudges deeply into her family’s painful history and she comes out no less transformed by the experience than any of her other family members.  It’s a tough sit, but it’s a redeeming one.
Queer-o-Meter: 8. Working with her brother, who still loves her as much as he challenges her, Reed ultimately realizes that while she spent her entire adult life reclaiming her identity, her past remains a part of her that cannot be forgotten.  You will not find a more personal story of a queer protagonist this year.

The Runaways (Dir. Floria Sigismondi)
What’s the Deal: A biopic of the all-girl teenage rock group the Runaways, centered principally around Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) and Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart).
Is it any Good? If you have seen one musical biopic, you really have seen them all.  But you aren’t likely to have seen one shot quite like The Runaways.  Sigismondi’s music-video style of filmmaking actually lifts this somewhat dry material, giving it a distinctive look all its own.  Stewart and Fanning are also particularly well-cast in the lead roles.
Queer-o-Meter: 9. There is a lot of girl-on-girl action to be had from the two leads, whose relationship defies any sort of easy explanation.  I appreciated the near-ancillary approach to their sexual bond, as it feels consistent with the cultural revolution the Runaways were hoping to incite as a group.

Sex and the City 2 (Dir. Michael Patrick King)
What’s the Deal: Do you really need me to tell you?
Is it any Good? A third-grader’s diorama would be more successful in recapturing the spirit of the TV show than this movie is.  This franchise is almost unrecognizable at this point; a shallow, insufferable love-letter to consumerism and ethnocentrism.
Queer-o-Meter: 2. SatC2 opens with a gay wedding, and we get to see some of the show’s peripheral gay characters.  It’s a nice gesture, but it cannot obscure the fact that Michael Patrick King actually gave a very uncomfortable-looking Liza Minelli a cameo, forcing her to bellow out not a showtune, but Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies.”  Hasn’t Liza been through enough?!

Scott Pilgrim Versus the World (Dir. Edgar Wright)
What’s the Deal: Scott Pilgrim falls in love with the enchanting Ramona, but in order to win her heart, he must defeat her seven evil exes.  Note I did not say “seven evil ex-boyfriends.”
Is it any Good? Very good.  Wright, who directed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, is a true master of genre deconstruction, and his talents are beautifully suited to this material.  The film feels like a video game in the best possible way, and its ode to geek culture is as affectionate as it is accurate.  If a better screenwriter was around to flesh out the romantic leads, this movie might have been great.
Queer-o-Meter: 8. One of Ramona’s seven evil exes also happens to be her evil ex-girlfriend.  She comes and goes just like every other boss battle in this movie, but the movie’s strongest supporting performance comes from Kieran Culkin as Wallace, Scott’s gay roommate.  Unafraid to express himself sexually, Wallace changes boyfriends more frequently than he changes socks.  His character is a far cry from the cartoonishly effeminate sexual eunuchs passing for gay best friends in most Hollywood flicks.

Stonewall Uprising (Dir. Kate Davis and David Heilbroner)
What’s the Deal: A painstaking recount of the raid that inspired the legendary Stonewall Riots, as told by those who were actually there: drag queens, barflies, bystanders and even some police officers who participated in the raid.
Is it any Good? Years from now, when schools will finally allow the likes of Harvey Milk and the LGBT rights movement to be considered a part of American history, Stonewall Uprising will make for a terrific historical chronicle.  For those of us who already know the story, however, the movie offers nothing new.
Queer-o-Meter: 5. This watershed moment in queer liberation is portrayed in an entirely positive light, but there is nothing in the filmmaking here that brings any interesting context to the queer liberation movement we are a part of today.