Back in Junior High and High School, admittedly Social Studies was my least favorite subject of them all. Though I had a lot of memorable teachers that went out of their way to make it fun for me, I still felt a sense of dread whenever I wrote a test - I never felt confident of my answers like I did in Math or Science. In the end I managed to scrape through with good marks, though my teachers could feel my aversion to reading up on current events, taking clippings of articles and political cartoons and interpreting their significance, and heaven forbid using the library to do historical research! Though today I still consider myself mostly a Math and Science kind of guy, I have to admit that gay issues in the news have finally awakened an interest in current events, political cartoons, and apparently even research.
A few months ago Steve stumbled across mention of a “Gay Calgary” magazine that existed back in the early 70’s, of which the Glenbow Museum had several copies archived! Our reader’s survey helped to ascertain that there was significant interest in an article about Calgary’s Gay History, and so this issue features Stephen Lock’s pilot article on this topic on page XXX.
Naturally we still had our own curiosities to satisfy, so we spent an afternoon in the Glenbow archives looking through as many of the early gay publications that we could get our hands on. Though I didn’t have much time to fully read any of the articles, it blew my mind to see ads for businesses that no longer exist – bars like the Green Room, Moosie’s, Trax, BBX, The King’s Arms, the first incarnation of the Backlot; even bathhouses like Jays and David’s. I saw an ad for an event that occurred in the Green Room on the night of my 3rd birthday, the grand opening of Victoria’s Restaurant and Beswick House, program guides for Coronation III, hand-drawn maps of the gay bars in downtown Calgary, and notes on what to do if you were caught in a bar during a Police raid. I saw a lot of headlines that involved serious misgivings with the police, far beyond anything that we’ve seen recently. Though it was only 30 years ago, it was a different time with different hot-button issues.
For us, we naturally paid closer attention to the array of gay publications that existed during the period, such as The Lavender Times, Reach, Clue, Broach, and Gay Horizons (successor to Gay Calgary). We were blown away to see that the downtown map, business listing, and events listing (ideas we ourselves had hashed out and placed in GayCalgary.com Magazine since day one) were commonplace in many of these older magazines. Call it re-inventing the wheel, but we felt oddly proud that our own magazine goes down a similar path of community support – we are inadvertently continuing their legacy.
Much of the gay and lesbian information present in the Glenbow Archives were contributed by the successors of the late Doug Young, who died in 1994. He was a founder of the original Gay Calgary magazine, and from what we could tell, a very active member of the community. We found a collection of his notes and scribblings, some of which even depicted the early conceptions of AIDS Calgary Awareness Association. Surprisingly enough, we also found his passport which contained a photo of him; a stout and kind-faced man with a full beard, long hair and glasses. I took a moment to really look at him and I was caught in a powerful emotion as I realized that we are recording tomorrow’s history the same way that he and numerous others did for us. I could see the faces of the next generation staring at our photos in exactly the same way we were staring at Mr. Young’s, and I felt humbled by this rare glimpse at the big picture. It made all of our struggles and the issues of today’s gay community seem so small and far away, and truly it reaffirmed to us that we are filling an important role in gay society.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the Glenbow Museum for being so helpful, supportive, and downright enthusiastic about our new historical articles.
Apollo Western Cup
This year’s Western Cup was a roaring success as we’ve come to expect from Apollo, the World’s longest running organized gay and lesbian sporting event. Steve and I had to split up to photograph at all 6 events: Swimming, Bowling, Curling, Badminton, Volleyball, and Running. Though there was an abundance of participants, we were surprised to see so few spectators there to cheer on their friends or their favorite team. I doubt this will be the case next year however, since big things are in the works for next Western Cup 2007, as they team up with GLISA to create the first North American Outgames! We watch the Olympics on TV, and now it’s time to take advantage of this amazing event happening in our own back yard.
Mark Tewksbury hosted his book launch in conjunction with Western Cup Weekend. He spoke at the Victory Brunch about how he had immersed himself in his sporting activities to avoid his feelings as a gay man. I’m sure this sentiment struck home as most people in the room were moved to tears. For Steve, he can identify because he did something similar with computers while growing up, becoming a “geek” to distract from his feelings and isolate himself from the people that could hurt him. For me, I was lost in composing music on the computer for several years – a hobby that I haven’t returned to since I came out of the closet. It makes me wonder if all of the exceptional gay talent so many of us possess is a result of this struggle that we go through.
Coronation 2006
As usual, it was an emotional step down for the former Emperor Dion and Empress Argintina. Our congratulations to Dyna Myte (featured on this month’s cover) and Wolfgang VonBearstein, our newly elected Empress and Emperor 30.
Nina Tron and backup dancers Selma Body and Jaylee made Calgary proud with their command performance of Madonna’s Vogue – snapping fans and all! They rented some killer costumes and put extra special effort into the choreography, resulting in a spine-tingling performance that received a standing ovation.
This year Steve and I did our usual job of photographing and videotaping for the over 6-hour show. My back wasn’t as sore as it has been in previous years since I finally found a comfortable set-up that didn’t require me to hunch over the camera the whole time. We saw some great numbers, flirted with some hot guys, and heard the lamest gay joke ever (sorry Michael, cute delivery but no cigar).
Camera-sick
After a month with two major events, the Coronation and Apollo Western Cup, Steve reported that he had taken over 28,000 photographs! We don’t keep everything – Steve must sort through them to find the diamonds amongst the coal. Many shots that are blurry or otherwise spoiled are deleted, but the hard task can be choosing among the good ones for the photo sections.
From close to 100 fabulous shots for our cover this month, we had to narrow it down to exactly one. Special thanks to Dyna Myte – I’m sure she set some kind of record being in drag at 9:00 in the morning. We also thank La Fleur floral boutique for lending us their space as the colorful background for the photo shoot.
Homos are Sexual
The April 13th issue of Xtra! West was appropriately titled “The Sex Issue”. The imagery used on the cover and throughout the paper was specifically chosen to push the envelope, challenging our gut response toward self-censorship in homoerotic images.
“Sex defines us” writes Matt Mills. To take the sexuality out of homosexuality is to deny our very reason for sticking together - diversity is divergent if not for that one factor that we have in common. A policeman, construction worker, cowboy, Indian, leather daddy and marine would NEVER cross paths in the straight community, yet the Village People symbolize that it is possible for us. We applaud Xtra! West for having the balls (yes, we saw them) to make a stand for our right to freedom of speech and sexual expression.
As a local publication in conservative Calgary, GayCalgary.com Magazine has been burned in the past for much less. Our former distributors refused to deliver our February 2004 issue because of a suggestive Cruiseline ad on the back cover. We were forced to go through each copy with a black pen to blot out the offending part of the picture before they would do the job we had paid them for. Next issue was the last straw however, when 3000 copies of our magazine and the money we had paid them were swallowed by the distributor for a much tamer ad showing 3 men kissing. They labeled that ad, and in fact many of our event photos, as pornography…yet they didn’t bat an eyelash when delivering equally edgy straight magazines. We have lost locations in Calgary because the word “Gay” appears on the cover, inciting complaints that children may see it…but what is stopping those same children from picking up a copy of Maxim Magazine, or the countless other virtually pornographic straight magazines the next time their parents take them to Safeway? If a child wants to see men in underwear, they need to look no further than Men’s Health, or other men’s fitness magazines. This is a huge double standard that needs to be challenged, but as a smaller magazine we are resigned to the fact that there are times we cannot afford to argue.
Sadly, the biggest opposition to expressing our sexuality is oftentimes from our own kind. Aside from these isolated complaints from straight people, we have received far more objection from our own community members, feeling that we should “tone down” our publication to avoid offending the straight community. Gay people will never be accepted by straight people if we are embarrassed to let them see who we are, even if it takes them a little getting used to. No wonder so many parents fear the possibility of their child turning out gay, they lose their son or daughter to a community that refuses to let them in too. Though we walk a fine line sometimes with GayCalgary.com Magazine, I pray that we will never forget about our gay identity.
This Month
The month of May sits right between the bustle of April with Apollo Western Cup weekend and the Coronation, and the busy months of June and July with Pride and the CRIR. Nonetheless there are still a few major events to keep you entertained, so don’t think you’re off the hook. Go and check out the details for the Fairytales Film Festival (article on page XXX) and the Herland Film Festival to make sure you don’t miss them! Aside from that, check our events listing for other community events this month.
If you’re looking rather to express your opinion, write a letter to the publisher by E-mailing Publisher@gaycalgary.com. If you’ve got something good to say about someone or something, then that’s awesome! If you’ve got something bad to say about someone or something…well, just try to keep those claws sheathed!
