More Gather Pictures...Awe Yeah

Gather's Lesbian Identities Panel, Part Uno

Gather this weekend was absolutely fantastic, I've been pretty much speechless since then. We had over 60 people in attendance, and each of our panelists had something unique and thought-provoking to say about butch identities. Kate Roberts, Diana Cage, Emma Crandall, and A.J. Stachelek shared their thoughts on what it means to be butch, who they thought were butch "celebrities", why butch women are sexy, and discussed what they think is next up for the butch community. I learned something new from each panelists perspective, and I can only hope the folks listening did too. Here's some pix (much more to come) ....

Gather this Sunday

What Makes a Butch Woman, well, Butch?

The next Gather is approaching, and I've had a few impromptu discussions already about butch lesbians. With the news that Chastity Bono will soon be transitioning to become Chaz, it seems like it may be difficult to NOT talk about transgender men on this butch panel. It is interesting as the butch identity may arguably be the most common identity conjured when one thinks of a "lesbian," but the emergence and visibility of the transgender community may transform this thinking.

This all leads me to ask, are lesbians defined as butch based on the way they dress? How they carry themselves? Is it a state of mind? Is it a role they play with their partners? Are certain behaviors more butch than others?? OR, is a lesbian woman butch simply because she identifies herself that way??

Where to begin? How about July 12th at the LGBT Center?

BUTCH up on July 12th

Howdy. I'm pleased to announce that the next Gather is set for Sunday, July 12th from 6pm - 8pm at the LGBT Community Center (Room 410, 208 West 13th Street, New York, NY).

Gather will begin exploring lesbian identities, and first up is butch women: the soft, the stone, the tomboys, the dykes, the bois…you get the idea. This panel will address what makes a lesbian butch, myths and truths about the butch community, and will attempt to answer where all the butch women have gone. Come for the wine, good company, good conversation, and most importantly, to Gather.

Sign up for this event on our Meetup page, or simply just show up on the 12th. See you there!

My Favorite Lesbians this Week are... Cindi and Rainie

Two of the finest NYC lesbians were featured in the Weddings section of the Daily News. Cindi Creager and Rainie Cole were married on December 5th in Litchfield, Connecticut. I have had the pleasure of working with Cindi at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), where she is the Director of National News.

"Cindi and I have a tremendous bond and great love between us," said Rainie. "It was wonderful to have it publicly and legally recognized in a ceremony before friends and to realize that we finally have some legal protections."

I love both of them because, well, it's so damn hard not to! Congratulations!

Take My Breath Away

So Kelly McGillis came out of the closet a few weeks ago. Once it was official, I sent the news via email to my dad, a big Republican and long-time fan of Top Gun (and yes, I realize that God must have a reason for delivering lesbian daughters to Republican fathers).

McGillis said she was aware of her sexuality since age 12, and that identifying her sexual orientation had been a hard process.

Furthermore, she thought God was punishing her for being gay (Kelly, is your dad part of the GOP too?). Two marriages and two teenage daughters later, Kelly felt that it was safe to come out, saying: "Life is a freakin' journey, and it’s about growing and changing and coming to terms with you and what you are.” Well said...

Sappho, Revisited

At the last Gather, I read one of Sappho's poems. Why Sappho? During the first season of the L Word, Jenny said how she was inspired by writer extraordinaire Anne Carson. Carson took a stab at translating the fragments of Sappho's texts in If Not: Winter.

Sappho has come to symbolize the lesbian community both literally and figuratively. However, I feel like we don't know much about her. As Carson writes, Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos around 630 b.c. She was a musical genius, composed 9 books of lyrics, and only one of her poems has survived; all the rest are fragments. Here is one of my favorites...enjoy!

stars around the beautiful moon
hide back their luminous form
whenever all full she shines
on the earth

My Favorite Bisexual This Week is...Rebecca Hart

Name: Rebecca Hart
Why the fav: Rebecca likes Neko Case, and thus I like Rebecca (plus she has 1 Gather under her belt)
Lives in: Brooklyn
Hometown: A little town in Connecticut
Rel status: In a relationship with a pretty amazing woman
Occupation: Women's Rights Lawyer
Which state do you think is up next for legalizing same-sex marriage? Maine or New Hampshire
This week, I've been learing about the Bear community...what kind of communities do you think exist for queer women? Hmm, I can really only speak to my own community. It's filled with a lot of incredibly supportive, open friends who love me regardless of who I love. To me, that is as good as it gets.

Da Bears

I’ve always found Andrew Sullivan interesting. I used to read his blog on a daily basis, largely because he devoted time to talking about gay politics. Although, he did introduce me to The Christmas Tree, and for that I am forever grateful.

I recently read his article, I am bear, hear me roar! in Salon about one of the fastest growing subcultures in the gay community, Bears. Sullivan, a snuggly one himself, describes bears as men who do not stereotypically come off as gay: they are hairy with big round pot bellies, wear flannel, have facial hair (sometimes lots of it), and are friendly and warm in demeanor. Sullivan says "Bears at their most typical look like regular, beer-drinking, unkempt men in their 30s, 40s and 50s. They have guts. They have furry backs. They don't know what cologne is and they tend not to wear deodorant." Strangely, this sounds like all my friend's dads. And it’s not just how the look, bears are bears because of the way they carry themselves.

So this article got me thinking, what are the subcultures within the lesbian community? Beyond the butch and femme dichotomy, are we carving out new ways of being? Maybe the L Word proposed an East v. West coast lesbian…but I’m not sure what that looks like exactly. Will we create subcultures based on class? Education level? In any case, I'll keep my eyes open to the possibilities. Although, I do have a hunch that we are going to be seeing some lesbian mommy groups pop up REAL soon...betcha.