Skip to main content

Photo Shoot & a Sexy Bear

Earlier this week when I was in Denver, I sat for a photo shoot. Along with fellow ex-gay survivor Daniel Gonzales, I will be featured in a national article that explores the ex-gay movement. (I am not at liberty to give any more details about the article at this time).

The photographer really did a fine job of calming us down and getting us to act natural. Christine Bakke, who sadly was not interviewed for the piece (seems many reporters are just interested in hearing from former ex-gay men), asked me to take a photo of the studio which with the late afternoon light gave it an other-worldly feel.

Then Christine, Daniel and I joined Eugene for Ethiopian food, which since first having it with Mike Airhart and Steve Boese in DC some years ago, has turned into the official cuisine of former ex-gays and critics of the ex-gay movement.

I returned to Hartford to work on Transfigurations, (which is going soooo well) and expected to stay home, but I found out about S. Bear Bergman, a butch trans man leading a writing workshop at the Stonewall Center at UMASS (thank you Elliot for the heads up). Being a person without a car, I frantically called and e-mailed friends and quickly heard back from blogger and recently fully out trans woman Diana, (one of my queer blogger spawns, whose poetry has been featured on this blog here).

The workshop consisted of instructing us about Gender Neutral Pronouns (GNPs) like Ze for he & she and Hir for his and her. We then each wrote a short story using these GNPs and read a few aloud to see if we could note the gender clues in the stories. Even with GNPs, we have been programmed to assume certain activities and ways of behaving belong to either males or females. The workshop was fine and interesting, but I wanted to hear more from Bear. Bear spoke in such an artistic manner with words filled with meaning and dripping with humor, irony and an edge. Kinda sexy. But then trans guys are hot!

In case you were interested, I am still stuck in my sweet brown rice food loop. I do limit myself to one bowl of it (a large ONE) per day and my current garnish of choice is chopped dandelion greens. Yum!

Oh and this is too good. The Onion's video report on Gays Too Precious to Risk In Combat.

'Gays Too Precious To Risk In Combat,' Says General
Labels:

Comments

Allyson Dylan Robinson said…
That photo studio looks like something from the X-Files. Are you sure that dome thing wasn't some sort of extraterrestrial communication device? You didn't sit on it, I hope.

So jealous you got to be with S. Bear Bergman. And with Diana, who I know (virtually) from the My Husband Betty community. (Hi Diana!)

LBNL, so glad to formally have my preciousness confirmed and affirmed by the Department of Defense, even if it is ten years after I left the military. Better late than never.
2:07 PM
Peterson Toscano said…
Ally, I LOVE the photo! No worries, I did not sit on the dome but Christine seemed strangely drawn to it (but she refrained from sitting on it)

So, Ally, when ya gonna write something for bXg? Just asking.
2:29 PM
Elliot Coale said…
The workshop was really awesome. Though, Bear says he still wishes he'd had more time to finish the workshop the way he'd originally hoped to.

And I agree, transguys are hot. :)
2:38 PM
Anonymous said…
I can't wait to read the post that proclaims you're (FINALLY) an "ex"-media whore, honey.

You know I love you?

Right?
4:04 PM
Anonymous said…
Ha. We were going for Ethiopian food that day my favourite place to eat was being used for some random celebrations and so wasn't serving some food. Ethiopian food definatly must be the food of critics of the ex-gay movmement. Esther
2:38 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Gay Husband--A Spouse Speaks Out

The other day I received the following e-mail from Susanne, a woman who found out her some years ago that her husband has same-sex attractions. I felt so moved by her words that I asked her permission to share them with you on the blog. I (recently) saw your Doin Time... and I was the one who asked about your wife during the discussion period that followed. I just read your thoughts on What About the Spouse ....and I can say, most women who find out their husbands are gay feel ALL of those things you wondered about....some in more degrees than others... When my husband was dragged out of the closet because of his irreverent, immoral, and amoral behavior that our, then, 14 and 16 year old sons had to find on our home computer, I went into the closet. I didn't know what to pray for.... Do I pray that this will go away? Do I pray that he could go back to the way things were in our family before we knew about him,? Do I pray that I could go back to the way things were? After all ,...
122 comments
Read more

The False Image of LIA

John Smid and me-Graduation 1998 (above) & John Smid today (left) By now many have heard that Tennessee's Department of Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities determined that the "ex-gay" program, Love in Action, is operating two “unlicensed mental health supportive living facilities”. LIA has until Friday, September 23 to respond. If LIA statements in Eartha Jane Melzer's article are indicative to how the "change" program might respond, we may see LIA change right before our eyes from a clinical mental health compound into a house of praise and worship. Gerard Wellman, business administrator for Love in Action, and a former Love in Action client, said Sept. 13 that the organization has been in contact with the state but would not comment further. “As a church, we operate under a different set of rules,” Wellman said. Curious, and what rules might these be? What is even more curious is that according to LIA's site only one staff member ...
158 comments
Read more

Puzzled

Last night I performed Transfigurations-Transgressing Gender in the Bible at Imago Dei Metropolitan Community Church in Glen Mills, PA (about 15 miles outside of Philly). I had a diverse audience of about 45 people -- college students, Quakers, straight, bi, trans and lesbian, young and old. I took my time with the piece maintaining a gentle meditative pace. For the ending when I reveal the identity of the narrator, I had instructed the light tech to dim the lights. Then as the closing music swelled, I asked her to raise the lights to their brigthest intensity. With the music playing, I exited. Always (up until last night) at this point the audience applauds, I wait 5 seconds then come out to take a bow. Last night I exited and then nothing. No one clapped. They sat quietly as the music played. I stood back stage puzzled, baffled. Now what do I do? Wait? Go out anyway? And I wondered for a moment, Did they hate it? Did I confuse them? Offend them? Bore them into a coma? After what ...
18 comments
Read more