may 16,2ÜQ3
DIVERSIONS
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t
The finer points
hat is up with all these queer chicks
putting together one-of-a-kind killer
events lately? First there was Stacy Bias’
FatGirl Speaks on May 3, which sold
out Hollywood Theatre. That’s more than 500
people watching big ladies make music, do perfor
mance art, strip, cheer and rant against the estab
lishment. The energy nearly blew the roof off.
Now, we’ve got three women with three
new, unique events in May. All, like FatGirl,
are free or; cheap and open to the public. It’s
almost like a third wave feminist climax. All at
once. (Ooh! I made myself shiver.)
“Past feminist movements have fortunately
made great progress in striving for our equality,”
says Pam Peterson, whose Women and Their
Kick-Ass Cars Party vrooms into Hollywood
Theatre on May 17. “This has ripened many
new doors for women to start exploring the
finer points of themselves.”
Peterson’s finer point is an adoration of old
or otherwise exceptional cars and the chicks
who drive them. "M en are supposed to be into
cars and get into rebuilding, racing, e tc ,” the
1972 Buick Skylark owner asserts, "but women
just never had the opportunity to try it o u t.. .1
want to find the ones who did try it out in spite
o f it all and celebrate them.”
Peterson is collaborating with photographer
Elle McKay for the book Women and Their Kick-
Ass Cars, which will come out later this year. The
party includes a video and slide show of Last June’s
Five Dollar Soapy Hand Job Car Wash held to get
women together for mingling, washing and pho
tographs. You’ll hear interviews with women
about their cars and get a sneak preview of photos
in the book. There s also a DJ and raffle.
It helps to be into cars, but anyone can
appreciate the diversity o f women— from
Beaverton moms with souped-up Cameros to
lovely young things with cat-eye glasses and
dreamy pastel Cadillacs.
“I want to have the same opportunities.. .as
men have had,” says Peterson, “without being
hassled or hit on, teased or ignored, pushed
aside or passed up just because I’m a girl.”
Previous sex workers make sure their issues
aren’t pushed aside or passed up May 16 during
Beyond Sex Work: Voices from the Margins at
Portland State University’s Smith Memorial
Center. Organized by women’s studies student
Leslie Bull, the event includes film shorts and a*
discussion with Bull and Canadians Ariel
Lighteningchild and James Diamond, all artists
and filmmakers, all previous sex workers.
“I organized the event because [we] all come
from the streets, and our voices are rarely heard
in [the] mainstream,” says Bull.
A lot of people don’t equate lesbians with
sex work. “1 guess that’s like being surprised a
vegan would work at McDonald’s,” Bull quips.
“But it’s not all that surprising in terms of eco
nomic necessity. A job is a job. After all, a *
dyke hooker can fake it like a straight girl.”
Ltghteningchild is from dre Cree and Ojibwa
first nations and is Jewish and Roma (gypsy).
Diamond is also a multiracial artist; he was bom
homeless and since 1997 has gained internación' Í
al recognition, mostly with intensely personal
and political movies. His work is archived at the
Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian.
“We have unique perspectives,” explains Bull.
“We don’t conform to either an ‘anti’ or ’pro’
position regarding prostitution and instead com
plicare die issue by talking about.. .gender, race,
class and sexuality and how those issues play o u t”
Meanwhile, back at Hollywood Theatre on
the same night (“oh, no!” you’re saying— don’t
worry, the times are such that you can do both)
is another film event with the rather creepy
title D ecom poser. It’s the second in a three-part
W
Loosen up
those purse strings
he Sexual M inorities Youth R ecreation
C en ter is in trouble. To stop this flow of
trouble, they need to plug it up with dol
lar bills.
It seems that Woody C larke of everyone’s
favorite wine bar Crush, 1412 S.E. Morrison
St., heard about the center’s distinct lack of
funds, which could cause its demise in the
near future. He immediately called to find out
what Crush could do to make sure Portland
doesn’t lose its only organization designed for
queer kids.
T hat’s why you would he rather remiss in
not attending Crush’s benefit for SM YRC from
6 to 9 p.m. May 19. For a $5 cover you get:
fabulous atmosphere, lovely buffet, hip DJ
music and a separate cash bar with all
the money spent on Crush’s groovy
cocktails donated to the center.
“I’m so glad to be working with
SM Y R C , and I challenge my peers
in the community to extend their
help to SM Y R C
as well,” says
Clarke. C an ’t
do better than
that.
T
PBS airs the documentary Daddy & P apa June 3
Soldier's Girl
premieres on Showtime
howtime premieres S old ier’s Q irl, based on
the real-life murder o f Pfc. Barry Winchell,
at 9 p.ro. May 31.
A soldier ar Fort Campbell, Ky., Winchell
fell in love with Tennessee transsexual night
club performer Calpemia Addams in 1999.
Rumors flew among his fellow soldiers,
followed by severe harassment until
W inchell’s roommate and another
private heat him to death on a
Fourth of July weekend when
Addams was winning Miss Ten
nessee Entertainer of the Year.
T h e film showed at this year’s
Sundance Film Festival to a sold-
out crowd, which, according to The
Advocate, “gasped with fear, sympa
thy, revulsion, anger.” Addams
laskan dyke musi
announced via her Web site:
cian Kim Acuna is
“Opening up to the makers of the
coming all the way
film was cathartic, and their
to Darcelle XV,
telling of the story is going to be
208 N.W. Third Ave., to
absofutely beautiful. I am very
play a benefit concert for
proud
of the team I got to know
for lesbians in
the Lesbian Community
Portland on June 3 and the finished film.”
Project. Portland’s own lesbo
Also in queer movies, PBS will show the
duo Pirate Jane opens the
heartfelt documentary D addy & P ap a at
show at 7 p.m. June 3, and it’s only $5.
11 p.m. June 3. A selection of last year’s Port
Acuna peppers her alt-pop with jazz, blues
land queer film festival, the movie follows a
and a hint of Latin. Her debut release, Shadows,
year in the lives of several gay dads who decide
came out last fall to popular acclaim.
to adopt.
“I want to bring the listener into that spe
Although Daddy & Papa asks more ques
cial place where it’s just my guitar and me
tions than it can possibly answer in its short 57
alone in a room having a new song pour
minutes, it does question the ability of affluent
through me,” Acuna says of her perfor
white parents to effectively raise African
mances. “This is the most vulnerable, most
American and Hispanic babies.
wonderful place.”
S
Kim Acuna
in Portland
A
C ar maven Pam Peterson (above) and former
sex worker Leslie Bull organize two of May’s
many killer events
film and music series (the last m e is May 23)
that “re-themes soundtracks for forgotten films.”
Portland filmmaker Vanessa Renwick put the
event together as a fund-raiser far her new movie
about wolves coming back into the West. She’s
made more than 20 films and says “fond raising is
a last straw.... I need to make this film— the
most important of my life— and people are com
ing together to support me in my efforts.”
The ultxacool-sounding events put live musi
cians on stage to play to bizarre little movies you
have no doubt not seen before. For example:
Daniel Menche will play through a 1940s box
ing movie, Hans Grusel’s Krankenkabinet scores
1928’s The Fall o f the House o f Usher, and Quasi
presents its original composition for The Streets
Belong to the People— footage shot at the 1968
Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
On May 23 it’s much the same with Black Cat
Orchestra, The Sensualists and The Topiary Kings,
who, according to Renwick, will play through “a
hideous/hilarious and unrelenting Oscar Mayer
lunch meat promotional film, which The Topiary
Kings have not seen and will be improvising to.”
So many events. So little time.
"We have passion in our messages, our
ideas,” concludes Kick-Ass Car gal Peterson.
“It drives us to create these events to find other
women who feel the same, to open the doors
and let everyone in .. .and start, hopefully, the
beginnings of another movement.”
Right on, sister. P
Details on all these events can be found m the Out
& About calendar.
Hairspray
sweeps
Tony
nominations
A
s if there was ever
any doubt, the John
Waters-classic-
come-Broadway-musi-
cal-smash Hairspray has
swept Tony nomina
tions with a total of 13,
including Best Musical,
Best Actress in a Musi
cal (Marissa Jaret
Winokur as Tracy Tum-
blad) and Best Original
Score. Most exciting is
the nomination of Har
vey Fierstein, who plays
distraught mother Edna,
for Best Actor in a
Musical.
C B S will broadcast
The 57th Annual Tony
Awards at 8 p.m. June 8 .
Marissa Jaret Winokur (left) and Harvey Fierstein snagged Tony
nominations for H airspray
Com piled by
L isa B radshaw j n