Table of contents for January/February 2023 in The Advocate

Hi there! As CEO of equalpride, the publisher of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus magazines, and producer of the Advocate Channel, I wanted to acknowledge the whirlwind our community has experienced over the past few months. We’ve had dramatic highs, like the election of hundreds of LGBTQ+ politicians and the freeing of Brittney Griner — all covered in this issue of The Advocate. We’ve also had horrific lows, like the massacre at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Not long after that tragedy, Michael Kelley, equalpride’s chairman (above right), and I were lucky enough to be in Washington, D.C. to commiserate over and celebrate 2022, when we witnessed President Biden signing the Respect for Marriage Act, a monumental law that will protect us from right-wing incursions on our relationships.…

The 2022 midterm election didn’t bring the red (Republican) wave that was predicted, but it did bring a rainbow wave, with at least 436 out LGBTQ+ candidates, almost all Democrats, winning their races, 100 more than in 2020. Out candidates had a 60 percent win rate, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund. Despite the gains, LGBTQ+ Americans are still far from proportional representation — that would take 35,000 more being elected. “This Rainbow Wave was fueled by a record number of LGBTQ candidates who defied the odds by running — and winning — in the face of extraordinary anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and attacks,” said a statement from Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker. “Bigots underestimated our power and determination as they’ve done throughout history. While this election has given us…

One of the great things that comes along with writing for The Advocate is the opportunity to speak with some amazing people who cross many different thresholds — entertainers, politicians, health care providers, activists, religious leaders, authors, filmmakers, everyday heroes, and so many others from various walks of life. And while the hundreds of people I’ve spoken with have made a personal impact — very few of my interactions have matched the privilege of getting to know Dr. Anthony Fauci. He goes beyond being an American treasure; he’s a global influencer. His achievements and dedication to the advancement of treatments and a potential cure for HIV, and his efforts in other areas, are second to none. In 2008, way before COVID-19 made Dr. Fauci the most trusted physician in America,…

As the first few haunting notes of the title song sound and the unmistakable voice of Barbra Streisand intones “mem’ries,” most of us can’t help but settle in for yet another viewing of The Way We Were, even though we know how the turbulent romance of Katie Morosky and Hubbell Gardiner turns out. But few of us know about the beloved 1973 film’s behind-the-scenes drama or its gay origins. Now a new book, The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen, written by veteran entertainment journalist Robert Hofler, seeks to bring some light on those subjects to the corners of our minds. “I was very taken with the movie,” says Hofler, who first saw it on Christmas Eve of…

THOUGH BEAUTY PAGEANTS have become increasingly progressive within the past decade, the overarching purpose has remained consistent: beauty, of course. Gorgeous girls don sparkling gowns with hair coiffed to the nines, and makeup so flawless it might as well be airbrushed. Perfection. But unfortunately that expectation for perfection isn’t bound to beauty pageants — it’s everywhere. In fact, it’s so deeply ingrained in our society that many people have become desensitized to the artifice of it. Just look to the countless filtered faces and altered bodies that populate Instagram and TikTok. Miss England beauty pageant finalist Melisa Raouf is unsubscribing to all of it — not just on social media, but in real life, too. In fall 2022, she became the first contestant to go makeup-free during the Miss England pageant,…

I WAS IN COLORADO when a gunman opened fire in the Club Q nightclub in Colorado Springs. I was with my family north of Denver for an upcoming Thanksgiving dinner at my mother-in-law’s house, about 100 miles north of the carnage. Between editing and posting stories the day that followed the shooting, my family and I headed to Denver to visit friends at an outdoor holiday market. It was surreal watching people giggle over hot chocolate just hours after another mass shooting had riven Colorado, home to Columbine, Aurora, and so many other unnecessary scenes of domestic terrorism. For many of the people at that wholesome Christmas gathering, Club Q felt far away, literally and figuratively; I thought how many of the straight and cisgender people there don’t have to endure…

It can often feel like joy and optimism went on sabbatical around 2015 and have yet to reappear. Counter that despair with Black Trans Femmes in the Arts, a young organization building community and mobilizing resources for artists and creatives. Since its founding in 2019 by Jordan Jay, the grassroots organization has raised over a million dollars to support Black trans artists. Members of the collective have appeared on HBO Max’s Legendary, staged exhibitions at Los Angeles’s Armand Hammer Museum, and performed on Broadway. Jay says their organization is necessary because disparities in funding and safe spaces, and the general inaccessibility of art education, contribute to a lack of representation for Black trans women in the arts. Jay states that, “Today, BTFA addresses all of those concerns by providing funding…

LESLIE JORDAN Beloved actor and comedian Leslie Jordan died October 24 after crashing his car into a building in Los Angeles. Witnesses suspected he may have become ill before the accident, possibly having a cardiac episode, but the Los Angeles County coroner had yet to release a cause of death as of press time. Jordan was 67. He was well known for his roles as Beverley Leslie on Will & Grace and Brother Boy in the film and TV series Sordid Lives, and he amassed many other movie and TV credits. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he gained even more popularity with his Instagram videos, in which he told humorous and heartwarming stories. His last TV role was on the sitcom Call Me Kat. CAROL LEIGH Carol Leigh, a.k.a. Scarlot Harlot,…

Suppose you are 31 years old, in the prime of your life. You have won two gold medals at the Olympics and been a seven-time WNBA All-Star. You’re married to Cherelle, the woman you love and the one you envision a happy future with. The opportunity arises for you to showcase your talent abroad, so you pack your bags and board a plane. But when you land, instead of gaining attention for your on-the-court plays, you’re wrongfully detained in a country that’s just started a war that your home nation is on the other side of. You’re also a gay woman of color in a less than tolerant society. Now what? But let me be very clear. Vladimir Putin is inhumane. He’s inhumane against people of color. He’s inhumane against…

Richard M. Fierro says he’s not a hero. In interviews, he says his actions on November 19, 2022, at the Club Q queer nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., were just to protect his family. But not many people would grab a gunman by the back of their body armor and pull them down to the ground, then take their gun and pistol whip them with it, ending an assault in minutes. Along with the help of a few other patrons, the army veteran, who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, held the suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, down while police arrived. Fierro and his wife, Jessica, and daughter, Kassandra, were not only witnesses to the attack — his daughter’s boyfriend, Raymond Green Vance, was one of the five people killed. Now…

The end of the year or the start of a new one is typically called the “annual physical” season as most are trying to take advantage of the benefit of no-cost physicals provided by most insurance coverage. The good news for most of us is that if you are insured, it’s very likely your annual physical is 100 percent covered by insurance. The better news is that many types of diseases and cancers can be caught early in the annual physical with many treatment options that will not impact your life too drastically. However, many men don’t actually undergo an annual physical or have one done properly, especially if they have a history or exclusively have sex with men (MSM). HIV-positive or HIV-negative, every human should be availing themselves to…

She’s “another mother,” Sally Field says, explaining her character Marilyn in Spoiler Alert, the film based on TVLine founder Michael Ausiello’s memoir about loving and losing his husband Kit Cowan to a rare form of cancer in 2015. It’s true that double Oscar and three-time Emmy winner Field has played a slate of moms in her 50-plus-year career, but she’s never been just another mother — not on screen and not in life. On the big screen, she’s starred as the fierce mother to Julia Roberts’s terminal Shelby in Steel Magnolias, the loving, supportive mother to Tom Hanks’s Forrest in Forrest Gump, and as an avenging mom in Not Without My Daughter and the thriller An Eye for an Eye. On TV, she won an Emmy for her portrayal of…

Quarry British alt-pop artist Quarry, aka Ash Carveli, only realized that he was pansexual a few years ago, and then shortly after, realized he is also polyamorous. His new single, “Everybody Wants Somebody,” explores these identities and what it takes to realize that what’s right for you might not be what’s normal. With his androgynously sexy voice and an earworm hook, Quarry sings about growth, moving on, and doing your best. “I make music for people that feel different — who are searching for a little bit of magic in the world or anticipate something better just around the corner,” he says. “It’s for the people that feel like they have something to say, but sometimes they can’t; for the people who need something more than what’s just in front…