Category: Memphis Gaydar

“The next time we hear somebody say, you’re not fit to serve [in the military] because you’re gay or lesbian, what are we going to do?” shouted Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) director Will Batts to the crowd gathered in the worship hall at First Congregational Church for Sunday’s equality rally.

“Raise our voice!” yelled the crowd of about 250 gay rights advocates. They gathered in response to last week’s destruction of a pro-gay billboard on Poplar Avenue at High Street. The billboard, one of five National Coming Out Day billboards paid for by donations to MGLCC, featured local gay former Marine Tim Smith and the words “I’m gay and I protected your freedom.” The billboard was replaced last week.

Despite Sunday’s heavy rain, nearly every chair inside the worship hall was filled. The rally was originally planned to be held outside the church.

“The act of tearing down [Smith]’s billboard was an act of hate,” speaker Jennifer Warren told the crowd. Warren appeared on another Coming Out Day billboard featuring straight supporters of the gay community.

Smith was greeted with a standing ovation upon approaching the podium after Warren’s speech. The son of conservative parents in a small Mississippi town, Smith joined the Marines in 2001. He said it was the Marine code of “honor, courage, and commitment” that helped him find his voice and become honest with himself and others about his sexuality.

• Tim Smith addresses the anti-hate rally

Smith came out to his friends and his church. When a military chaplain found out, Smith told the man he believed God loved him despite his sexuality.

“The chaplain had nothing else left to do but follow the rules,” Smith said. He was discharged from the military under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy.

Regarding the destruction of the billboard bearing his image, Smith says the vandals actually galvinized his commitment.

“They will not rob me of my honor by making me run and hide,” Smith said. “If anything, they’ve galvinized my commitment to this community.”

After the rally, county commissioner Steve Mulroy agreed: “My message to the billboard vandals is thank you for galvinizing the community and symbolizing what we’re up against in Memphis.”

A pro-gay billboard at Poplar Avenue and High Street was replaced Thursday, almost a week after vandals destroyed the original message. But the folks at the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) aren’t stopping there.

On Sunday at 1 p.m., MGLCC members and gay rights advocates will gather in front of First Congregational Church to rally against hate in response to the destruction MGLCC’s Coming Out Day billboard. One of five different pro-gay billboards across the city, the Poplar Avenue sign features gay former Marine Tim Smith with the words “I’m gay and I protected your freedom.”

The rally will be followed by the final planning meeting for the local delegation going to the National Equality March in Washington DC on October 11th. That meeting will take place at 3 p.m. at MGLCC (892 S. Cooper).

Queer/trans cult heroes Lynnee Breedlove and Silas Howard (both formerly of the punk band Tribe 8) will be stopping in Memphis Friday night on their Mighty Real Tour. The night promises a couple of comedic dueling solo shows tackling gender issues, as well as performances by local artists. The event will be held in the Memphian Room at Playhouse on the Square, and it begins at 10:30 p.m.

Breedlove will perform “Confessions of a Poser: The Mystery of the Purple Dick, How Queers and Transmen Can Exploit Lesbian Legacies, and How to Be Both a Buddhist and a Man at the Same Time.”

Howard will perform “Thank You For Being Urgent: A Textured Tale of a Queer Punk Spilling Into the Crappy and Exalted Glitter of Hollywood’s Desire and Shame, True Tales of Fierce Outsiders, American Dream Loopholes, Burlesque Dancers with Dementia, and Tranny Jazzmen.”

Backstreet drag performer Demonica will MC the event, which will also feature a cello performance by Tamar Moten, a belly dance by Chris Reeder, a drag king show by Will Ryder, sexy hula-hooping by Miss Provino, and burlesque routine by Memphis Belle Miss Lola Vee.

For more, check out the Mighty Real Tour Facebook page.

Several years before I moved to Memphis in 2002, my friends and I made monthly pilgrimages to the Bluff City to hang out at Amnesia, the popular gay club housed at 2866 Poplar (now home to Senses).

• Senses is going gay!

Memories are fuzzy, but a few things stand out. One time, when the club hosted an amateur strip night, I recognized a guy from my high school baring it all. I also have fond memories of the pool, located where Senses’ patio is now. And I was once stranded outside the club after closing time when one of my best buds took off for a one-night stand with a hot lawyer. I waited and waited on the club’s front steps after everyone else had cleared out. Eventually, an off-the-clock drag queen exited the club and warned me that the area wasn’t safe after dark. Thankfully my friend returned within the hour, and I made it back to Arkansas in one piece.

Senses, which has primarily been a straight club for years, is bringing the old gay club back with Retro Amnesia Nights on Thursdays and Saturdays. With Backstreet temporarily closed, the club saw a massive turnout last weekend. And though the pool won’t be making a comeback, a few things have changed for the better — clean bathrooms and mod, funky decor beat Amnesia’s crusty old interior any day.

Thursdays are Beer Bust Nights from 10 p.m. to midnight with a $5 cover. Saturdays feature plenty of dancing and a drag revue for a $10 cover ($15 for those under 21). For more, check out Senses‘ website.

A billboard depicting a U.S. Marine that read “I’m gay and I protected your freedom” was ripped to shreds Friday night. The ad, located at Poplar Avenue and High Street downtown, was one of five billboards paid for by the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) in conjunction with National Coming Out Day.

• Nothing remains of the MGLCC’s original message

The billboard, situated close to the ground, was likely an easy target for vandals. The MGLCC has asked the Memphis Police Department to open an investigation into the vandalism.

“We choose not to be stopped by fear. Instead, our community unites in solidarity and with the belief that we too deserve equality,” said MGLCC director Will Batts in a statement released on Saturday. “Although we are saddened by yesterday’s hateful expression of intolerance, we are proud of the local Memphian that chose to be the face on the billboard.”

That Memphian — Tim Smith — was ejected from the Marines under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy 20 days before he was set to deploy to Iraq.

The community center is planning a rally for this coming weekend to protest the billboard’s destruction. Check Memphis Gaydar later in the week for details.

Four other Coming Out Day billboards, located across the city, remain intact. For more on the MGLCC’s billboard campaign, read the Memphis Flyer story.

In November 2006, over 80 percent of Tennesseans voted for an amendment to the state constitution banning gay marriage. The final outcome of that election, paired with the massive amounts of campaigning by gay rights activists against the amendment, led to overwhelming stress and anxiety, according to two studies by University of Memphis professors Sharon Horne and Heidi Levitt.

With the passage of that amendment, LGBT people who may have gotten married in Tennessee were denied 1,138 benefits that come along with legal matrimony. Among those were benefits linked to Social Security, immigration, taxes, medical care, military and veteran benefits, and employee benefits.

Levitt’s study, which looked at 13 LGBT people living in Memphis, found that participants viewed the amendment as stamp of approval for discrimination, leading to fears of being harassed or hurt by others who didn’t favor equality for gays and lesbians. Some felt their sense of security was threatened.

Levitt also found that some participants felt guilty that they weren’t doing enough to fight against the amendment. Others felt that fighting wouldn’t amount to change. Some fought so hard against the amendment that they experienced activist burnout. Some even expressed that fighting against the amendment gave them a sense of personal empowerment and helped to build leadership skills.

Horne’s study, which looked at 1,152 people living in nine states with anti-marriage amendments on the ballot in 2006, found that gay people in those areas experienced greater levels of stress and depression.

Horne’s study also found that straight family members of LGBT people living in states with anti-marriage amendments were just as stressed, even though they weren’t directly targeted. The family members expressed worry for their loved ones’ safety and felt frustration from trying to convince other straight family and friends to vote against the amendments.

The Human Rights Campaign released its 2010 Corporate Equality Index last week, and several locally-based companies received less-than-perfect scores for their lack of LGBT inclusive policies.

AutoZone scored a 25 out of 100 points due to the company not having a gender identity policy or domestic partner benefits.

International Paper (IP) scored 65 out of 100 because it lacks a gender identity policy.

FedEx holds a score of 70 this year, an improvement from last year’s 55. That’s due to the company adding gender identity to its nondiscrimination policy earlier this year. The company still lacks domestic partner benefits, except where required by law in California and at FedEx Kinko’s locations.

Finally, local law firm Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz LLC scored a 70 due to the firm’s lack of a gender identity policy.

To see the full 2010 Corporate Equality Index, go here.

What do a former Marine, several peace activists, a handful of ministers, an interracial lesbian couple, and an average Joe have in common?

By week’s end, their faces will grace five billboards posted throughout the city in conjunction with National Coming Out Day, an internationally observed event promoting discussion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) issues held on October 11th.

The billboards, paid for by the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC), also advertise the center’s website.

“The community center needs to come out and say two things: We’re not afraid of being honest about who we are, and we’re not ashamed of who we are,” said Will Batts, director of the MGLCC. “We are beyond the point where we’re going to let other people tell us to be quiet or ashamed or fearful because they might fire us or kick us out of church.”

To read the full story from this week’s Flyer, click here.

Following Shelby County’s lead, Nashville/Davidson County’s metro council passed an ordinance Tuesday night banning discrimination of metro government employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The ordinance passed with 24 council members in favor and 15 votes against it. One member was absent during the vote. The ordinance was sponsored by councilwoman Megan Barry who told the Tennessean that the fight for passage was worth the effort.

• Megan Barry

The Tennessean reported that the council chambers were packed with people on both sides of the issue. One audience member, who opposed the ordinance, actually drove from Bartlett to attend the meeting. Liese Thomas told the paper, “I believe that one man and one woman’s marriage is the stabilizing force of all healthy civilizations, and where there are any deviations, the civilizations start to crumble.”

Reported the Tennessean: “Even though the bill didn’t address the issue of marriage, Thomas said her argument applied because approval of any ‘deviant behavior’ inevitably leads to destruction of values.”

The Tennessee Equality Project, who backed the Nashville ordinance, plans to introduce a similar ordinance to the Memphis City Council after the October special mayoral election.

Though the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center has been around for 20 years, director Will Batts says he still hears from people who didn’t know the city had such a gathering place for LGBT people.

• Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center

“We have a lot of people walk in here and say, ‘I’ve lived in Memphis all my life and I didn’t know you guys were here. Are you new?’,” says Batts. “I’m frustrated that more people don’t know where we are because we’re 20 years old.”

The center has been at its current location at 892 S. Cooper for six years. Before settling in Cooper-Young, the center had several other homes throughout Midtown. Each month, the center hosts support group meetings, workshops, free HIV testing, potlucks, and more.

Today (September 15th) marks National LGBT Center Awareness Day, a first-ever event highlighting the vital services provided by gay and lesbian community centers across the country. The event is sponsored by CenterLink: The Community of Centers, and in honor of their first LGBT Center Awareness Day, CenterLink is hosting a vacation giveaway for folks who spread the word about local LGBT community centers. Head over to their website for details.