Tag Archives: Gay New York

Gay New York

Sunday Screening: the last days of the Starlite Lounge by

In New York, change is part of the landscape. Cherished stores, theaters and bars close and neighborhoods are always in flux. Case in point: The Starlite Lounge, Brooklyn’s oldest African-American-owned bar for gay people of color, was founded in 1959, the same year as Brown vs. Board of Education and ten years prior to the Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Mackie Harris, one of New York’s first gay black business owners, wanted to create a safe, non-discriminating establishment for his community in Crown Heights and it remained open for over 50 years. But all of that came to an end last summer when the Starlite Lounge received notice to vacate. Filmmakers Kate Kunath and Sasha Wortzel were intrigued by the story of a beloved neighborhood bar and cultural institution forced to shut its doors. Their new full-length documentary The Starlite Project asks the questions: “How does an institution like the Stonewall survive, but the Starlite cannot? Who decides what cultural and historic landmarks are preserved and what memories can be erased?”

This Sunday, catch a sneak preview of a rough cut of the film with Kunath and Wortzel, followed by a discussion with owners of the Starlite, Gay New York author George Chauncey and other special guests. The screening will take place 6-9pm at the Guggenheim Lab First Park (Houston at 2nd Avenue). For more on the project, visit the site here.

Tell Your Story

The Bisexual Blues by

Desiree and her partner (photo courtesy of Sarah Deragon)

It was a year ago this week that I told my parents I was in love with a woman. Dan Savage always advises callers in the process of coming out to give their parents a year for them to get over the initial shock. I think I mistook this to mean that by the time 12 months had passed they would have magically come to terms with my sexuality. This hasn’t been the case.

My parents emigrated to America from Iran in the early 80s. As result, they’re hard to pin down: quite progressive and open when it comes to certain issues, but also traditional and stuck in time when it comes to others. Growing up, I related more to the upbringing of my friends’ parents than my friends. In the year since I’ve come out to my parents, there have been screaming matches, silent treatment, one very public four-hour tear-fest at MoMA, and very little progress has been made. My father refuses to meet my girlfriend. “You don’t understand what it’s like” my mother says. “We were raised differently.” This argument is hard for me to swallow because didn’t they raise me? Weren’t they there for that entire period of time that my beliefs morals were formed? How can we differ so drastically when it comes to this one issue? More…

Tell Your Story

The Train by

I was sitting next to the window on the train into the city late one morning. It was one of those seats where someone can sit facing you on the other side, but I was alone. My headphones were on to wash out the noise and chatter around me. The first stop after mine came up and this silver daddy type gets on. He stops, scopes out the area and then picks the seat diagonal from me. We quickly looked at each other, smiled, nodded and went on with our business.

I kept scoping him out to see if there was anything that would light up the gaydar, but nothing stuck out in particular. He looked like a typical IT guy: company polo, jeans, brown shoes and glasses. Someone would text him on his Blackberry every few minutes and he would respond. It rang at one point and he picked it up to speak to whoever it was on the line. The ride continued and he pulled out a New York Times. He held it up high, which gave me the chance to check him out. This went on for some time and I figured it was crazy to pursue anything. Still, I took off my headphones and pulled out a book to increase my chances at conversation. More…

Gay New York

The funniest “superficial, homophobic lesbians” on the planet by

Desiree Akhavan and Ingrid Jungermann have started the first ever comic web-based narrative series about a lesbian couple in Park Slope. In the first episode “Miserable Animals,” The Slope introduces us to Desiree and Ingrid, “superficial, homophobic lesbians.” Like Jonathan Lisecki’s Gayby, Akhavan and Jungermann repurpose the style of deadpan comedy seen in shows like The Office, Parks & Recreation and Curbs Your Enthusiasm with their unique strand of queer humor.

The second episode, in which Desiree and Ingrid compete over who is better looking, will premiere on The Slope’s website on August 15th.

Gay New York

The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History by

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Most of us are familiar with philosopher George Santayana’s famous quote that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to fulfill it.” But what do we do as gay people when so much of our history is written out of the record books, whether by others or in the case of many of our greatest artists and public figures, by themselves? This Saturday night, at the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation in New York, the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History will attempt to remedy the situation. More than forty artists are contributing to over twenty different exhibits, focused on subjects like the same-sex marriage debate in Argentina, the “Lady King” Christina of Sweden (who inspired the Greta Garbo classic Queen Christina), lesbian lives from the 1950′s, and late 1800′s responses to trans identity. Participating artists include Rodney Evans, Vaginal Davis, Kate Huh, Jonathan Ned Katz, Sasha Wortzel, Al Belkin, Boris Torres (who’s work is featured in Keep The Lights On), and many more. The opening begins at 6:30PM, and there’ll be a very special “Judy” after party at The Hose immediately afterwards. Don’t miss it – after all, don’t you want to be able to tell people “I was there,” in ten years when a permanent Queer History Museum is finally built? The show runs through August 25th.

Gay New York

The Stonewall Evolution by

In the first of a series of films documenting moments from LGBT New Yorker’s lives, director Onur Karoaglu chronicles the evening of Friday, June 24th, 2011, the night that the landmark marriage equality bill passed the state senate. A crowd of revelers had gathered in front of the legendary Stonewall bar after the annual Drag March through the streets of the village. When the news about the bill’s came across, there was much reason to celebrate. We’re eager to hear from you about how your life has changed since that night, a little over a month ago. Have you gotten married? Bought your friends wedding gifts? Or remain steadfastly single and ready to mingle? Leave a comment below!

Gay New York

Leaving Our Keys at the Pink Teacup by

in a photo booth

We used to leave our keys with the Pink Teacup, just under the Coconut Cream Pie, in case friends needed to get in. You could also call from a payphone and we would lower the keys down on a string. This was 42 Grove Street and we had all moved there in 1992—fags and dykes and in-betweeners—and there were four of us in a two-level apartment with a spiral staircase and mice. We came with our ACT-UP t-shirts and Doc Martens and we sneered at Gay Pride, though we marched in it. We wanted to be part of gay history. More…