a&e features
YEAR IN REVIEW: Top 10 pop culture stories of 2017
Epic Oscar mistake, Bette and Joan return in wild, wacky year
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10. Aaron Carter comes out, gets busted for pot
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Aaron Carter
(Screenshot via YouTube)
Pop singer Aaron Carter, at the time 29 though heās since turned 30, came out as bisexual in an open letter posted on Twitter in August.
āThereās something Iād like to say that I feel is important for myself and my identity that has been weighing on my chest for nearly half of my life,ā Carter writes. āThis doesnāt bring me shame, just a weight and burden I have held onto for a long time that I would like lifted off me.ā
The star revealed he has been attracted to both genders since he was 13. He also shared that he had a sexual experience with another man when he was 17. Carter claimed that Madison Parker, his girlfriend at the time, broke up with him when he told her he was bisexual. Parker denied his sexuality was the reason for their spilt. He also said that his older brother Nick Carter had not reached out to him since he came out.
Carter brought his struggles with drug addiction, plastic surgery and his family on a tumultuous September episode of āThe Doctors.ā On the show, Carter learned he weighed only 115 pounds at 6 feet tall. He said he feared his weight loss was due to being HIV-positive. However, he tested negative for all STDs. His drug test revealed he tested positive for marijuana,Ā Benzodiazepines (Xanax) and opiates (hydrocodone). After initially refusing to go to rehab on the show, Carter entered rehab in October and was released in December.
9. Milo Yiannopoulos goes down
![Milo Yiannopoulos, gay news, Washington Blade](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2016/07/Milo_Yiannopoulos_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
Milo Yiannopoulos (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Milo Yiannopoulosā swift descent from rising alt-right media personality to a defamed journalist shunned even from his own conservative community was peppered with controversy.
The year started out promisingly for the British political commentator who secured an autobiography book deal with Simon & Schuster and was invited as a guest on āReal Time with Bill Maher.ā He kicked off a university speaking engagement tour which drew numerous protesters to University of California, Berkley. The protest became violent as protesters refused to let Yiannopoulos, who has made racist, misogynistic, transphobic and xenophobic remarks, to speak at the university. President Donald Trump even weighed in on Twitter threatening to cut the schoolās federal funding for not allowing free speech.
Yiannopoulosā success came to a halt when an old interview clip surfaced of him saying that sexual relationships between 13-year-old boys and adult men could be positive. His comments caused him to lose his job as senior editor for Breitbart News, to have his book deal with Simon & Schuster revoked and to be disinvited from the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Despite the negative press, Yiannopoulos tried to keep his career afloat. His publishing company Dangerous Books published his book āDangerous.ā Yiannopoulos closed out the year on a personal note marrying his boyfriend, identified only as āJohn,ā in Hawaii.
8. āCall Me By Your Name,ā āTom of Finlandā among yearās best films
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A scene from ‘Call Me By Your Name.’ (Photo courtesy Sony Pictures Classic)
It was a strong year for LGBT-themed movies but two especially stand out ā āTom of Finlandā and āCall Me By Your Name.ā
āTom,ā a Finnish biographical drama directed by Dome Karukoski, stars Pekka Strang as Touko Laakosenen, better known as the titular artist who specialized in mid-century homoerotic art. The film inspired a Tom of Finland renaissance of sorts with books and an extensive line of home products like shower curtains and throw pillows featuring Tom art.
āCall Me By Your Name,ā a leisurely paced gay romance story between a 24-year-old intern (Armie Hammer) and the 17-year-old son of his employer (Timothee Chalamet) in Italy circa 1983, has drawn strong reviews for its taste and restraint.
ā(Director Luca) Guadagnino and his actors emphasize tenderness and feeling capturing the magic of first-time dalliance in a way that makes it seem, if not wholly innocent, at least wholesome,ā a Blade critic wrote.
Itās up for three Golden Globe Awards including nods for both its leads.
7.Ā Season 9 of āRuPaulās Drag Raceā makes āherstoryā
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(Image courtesy VH1)
It was a banner year for āRuPaulās Drag Raceā in several ways. Debuting in March on new home VH1, the queens went apeshit when Lady Gaga walked into the work room and was featured as the guest judge.
Seeming to genuinely enjoy herself throughout the episode, Gaga helped series regulars Michelle Visage, Ross Matthews and Carson Kressley assess the queensā interpretations of classic Gaga looks.
It turned out to be an unusually dramatic season, though. Latina diva Valentina emerged early on as a strong contender but was sent packing on episode nine after pissing off Ru for initially declining to remove a veil during the lip-sync against Debbie Downer Nina Boānina Brown. She said later she was in shock and hadnāt bothered to learn the words to the song, which all the queens are given in advance should they land in the bottom two.
The drama continued, though, on perhaps the bitchiest reunion episode of the seriesā entire run with several queens calling out Valentina on her fake charm.
The finale, despite featuring no clear standout winner, went to Sasha Velour who bested Peppermint, Shea Coulee and Trinity Taylor for the title of Americaās Next Drag Superstar.
RuPaul won his second consecutive Emmy Award for hosting.
6. āWonder Womanā lassos boffo box office
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Gal Gadot (Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures)
Although sheād been seen in 2016ās āBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,ā Wonder Woman finally got her own film this year with a June release starring Gal Gadot as the titular character and winningly helmed by Patty Jenkins (āMonsterā) who won universal praise for her effort.
Filmed over a six-month period starting in November 2015 (development started in 1996), it set numerous box office records. It was the fifth highest-grossing superhero film in the U.S. and the 20th highest-grossing film ever stateside. It made more than $800 million internationally and is the best-ranked superhero film on Rotten Tomatoes. The American Film Institute called it one of the best 10 films of 2017.
Gadot plays the Amazon princess Diana, a highly trained fighter whoās been raised on the hidden island of Themyscira by her mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen). The islandās security is breached when American pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes his plane on the island.
The Blade said it was āpacked with gripping action sequences but also leavened with generous doses of comedy and deepened with serious considerations about the horrors of war and mankindās capacity for both love and hatred.ā
5. āFeudā revives complicated partnership of Davis, Crawford
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A scene from ‘Feud.’ (Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures)
āFeud,ā an FX series from Ryan Murphy, devoted its maiden season of eight episodes to the rivalry of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, co-stars in the 1962 cult classic āWhatever Happened to Baby Jane.ā
Jessica Lange starred as Crawford and Susan Sarandon played Davis. Both were nominated for Emmys, though the show won none of the 10 Primetime Emmys for which it was nominated (it won two Creative Arts Emmys). The series was praised for its period detail and grand, sweeping recreations of pivotal moments such as a long tracking shot showing Lange walking backstage at the 1963 Academy Awards.
Though declining somewhat in ratings after a strong start, the series fared decently overall. Its debut was the most-watched program on FX that week.
The series had an unexpected coda with Olivia de Havilland, a real-life friend of Davis who replaced Crawford in their planned follow-up āBaby Janeā movie āHush ā¦ Hush Sweet Charlotte,ā sued the creators claiming in a lawsuit filed a day before her 101st birthday that she was inaccurately portrayed and her likeness was used without her permission. Catherine Zeta-Jones played her in the series.
A second season of 10 episodes devoted to Charles and Diana will premiere in 2018.
4.Ā āWhen We Riseā draws mixed reviewsĀ
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A scene from ‘When We Rise.’ (Photo courtesy ABC)
āWhen We Rise,ā an ABC miniseries about LGBT rights that aired Feb. 27-March 3, drew so-so reviews from the mainstream press but was sharply criticized in the gay press.
Writing for the Blade, columnist Brock Thompson, said it had serious problems.
āThough I very much appreciate what āWhen We Riseā was attempting, I couldnāt see past its problems,ā Thompson said. āIts tone was preachy. Its messages about unity and strength in diversity landed like anvils. I stopped counting the clunky cliched lines like āwe are stronger together,ā or āyou donāt know how strong we are,ā or perhaps āstrength. letās get some and be strong with it together.ā All this gave way to some melodramatic moments. Beyond that, actors were switched out to play their roleās older counterparts, making the timeline rather confusing.ā
Ratings, too, were weak for the series starring Guy Pearce, Mary Louise-Parker, Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie OāDonnell as Cleve Jones, Roma Pauline Guy, Pat Norman and Del Martin, respectively. Its first episode drew 3.26 million viewers to come in last of the four major networks for its time slot. Viewership dropped sharply thereafter. Scheduling was shifted after President Trump addressed Congress live on Feb. 28.
Helmed by multiple directors including writer Dustin Lance Black and Gus Van Sant, the eight-episode arc was framed as an epic, 45-year survey of the entire gay rights movement.
3. Chelsea Manning makes glam debutĀ
![Chelsea Manning, gay news, Washington Blade](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2017/05/Chelsea_Manning_insert_courtesy_Instagram.jpg)
Chelsea Manning (Photo courtesy Instagram)
After being released from prison at Fort Leavenworth on May 17 after nearly seven years in prison for leaking 750,000 documents (some classified) to WikiLeaks, many were curious to see how Chelsea Manning would segue into civilian life.
Manning, 29, made her glam debut in the September issue of Vogue in a red Norma Kamall swimsuit and other high-fashion outfits with low-key styling by Phyllis Posnick and was praised for not being as sexualized and in-your-face as Caitlyn Jenner was when she made her debut in Vanity Fair in 2015.
āThis is a far cry from the haughty, hyper-feminine Hollywood unveiling of Caitlyn Jenner,ā wrote Robin Givhan in the Washington Post. She called Manningās photos a āmessage of ā¦ accessibility, normalcy, calm.ā
2. āWill & Graceā and āDynastyā return
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(Photo courtesy NBC)
After 11 years off the air, āWill & Graceā returned to NBC Thursday nights in September to launch a new, 16-episode run and ninth season.
The original cast ā Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally ā were back after a planned one-off mini-episode that ran last fall timed to the presidential election.
The first new episodes of the show since 2006 found the familiar gang at the White House, navigating middle-aged gay dating, Jack discovering heās a grandfather (with a gay grandson), Will making senior partner, an appearance by Beverley Leslie (Leslie Jordan) and many more hijinks.
Ratings have been solid ā averaging more than 10 million viewers per episode ā and reviews have been mostly positive.
A 10th season has already been approved.
Much less successful, however, has been the āDynastyā reboot, which debuted in October on the CW with an all-new cast featuring James Mackay as Steven Carrington, Fallonās (Elizabeth Gillies) gay environmentalist brother. Now his being gay is no big issue to dad Blake and gold digger Sammy Jo is now a gay man. Oh, and the Colbys are black this time.
Reviews have been highly mixed with Variety saying it ābarely gets out of the gate before it begins to lose steam.ā Ratings have been anemic, averaging less than a million viewers per episode.
1. āMoonlightā wins Best Picture in shocking envelope mistake
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(Photo courtesy AMPAS)
It was supposed to be one of those nice little Oscar moments longtime fans of the Academy Awards cherish ā beloved stars of yesteryear stride onstage reunited to give an award. Many stars have done it over the years ā Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor. This year it was Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, stars of 1967ās āBonnie and Clyde.ā
On the 50th anniversary of their cinematic classic, they came on stage at the Dolby Theatre on Feb. 26 to hand out the top prize of the evening. āLa La Landā was announced as the winner but it quickly became apparent as its producers were giving their acceptance speeches that a mistake had been made and gay-themed āMoonlightā was the true winner.
Beatty and Dunaway had been handed the wrong envelope, a duplicate of the Best Actress envelope (āLa La Landāsā Emma Stone had won that award). Upon seeing its contents, Beatty was flummoxed; Dunaway, thinking he was joshing for suspense, saw āLa La Landā and announced it as the winner.
Dubbed the biggest gaffe in Oscar history, it turned out to be the mistake of PricewaterhouseCoopersā managing partner Brian Cullinan whoād been Tweeting backstage. He and Martha Ruiz, who each had copies of the eveningās envelopes, were later relieved of any future Oscar duties though they kept their jobs.
āMoonlightā became the first LGBT-themed film and first film with an all-black cast to win Best Picture.
a&e features
Queer TV anchors in Md. use their platform āto fight for whatās rightā
Salisburyās Hannah Cechini, Rob Petree are out and proud in Delmarva
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Identity can be a tricky thing for journalists to navigate. The goal of the job is to inform the public with no bias, but this is difficult, if not impossible, to do in practice. Everything from your upbringing to the books you read can impact how you view and cover the world. But sometimes these factors can help shine a light on an underrepresented community or issue.
Two broadcast journalists in Salisbury, Md., are using the subtle, yet impactful choice of sharing their queer identities to strengthen their reporting and connection to the community.
Hannah Cechini, who is non-binary, and Rob Petree, who is gay, co-host the 5:30-6:30 p.m. newscast for WMDT 47. They are the only known anchor team that are not only both queer, but also open out about their identities on air and, as Petree put it, āalways use [their] platform and power that [we] have to fight for what’s right.ā
Cechiniās passion for journalism played an important role in the discovery of their gender identity. They knew they were meant to be in the newsroom before they figured out they were non-binary.
āI was doing this job before I started to identify as non-binary,ā Cechini told the Blade. āI’d always watch the evening news with my dad growing up and thought it was the coolest thing. And throughout high school, I worked on the school paper.ā
After graduating from Suffolk University in Boston, Cechiniās passion for journalism only grew as they began to work in the world of news media, eventually ending up in Salisbury. As they honed their writing, editing, and anchoring skills at WMDT, Cechini also started to take an introspective look into their gender identity.
A little more than two years ago Cechini came out as non-binary to their coworkers in the newsroom and was met with support all around. āIt was definitely smoother than I anticipated,ā they said.
āIt is very freeing to be able to do this job as a non-binary person because I haven’t really seen much of that representation myself.ā
Petree, on the other hand, knew he was gay right around the same time he became interested in news media, at age 14. He started working for his high school news show and used it as a way to be open about his sexuality rather than hide it.
āI broke into broadcasting doing the morning announcements,ā he said. āI did the weather and started doing a segment called issues and insights,ā Petree said, explaining his introduction to the news. Eventually, students would ask him questions about his sexuality after seeing him on the school TV. āIt had gotten to the point in school, that if you’re going to come up and ask me if I’m gay, well shit, I’m going to tell you!ā
To him, this was the exact reason he had come out. Petree wanted to motivate others to live honestly.
āThere are a lot of people who will spend most of their lives not being out so if they can see someone like me, who’s out and proud doing his thing, so to speak, then maybe that’s the inspiration for them,ā Petree said. āTo search their own soul, find out who they are, and live their full life.ā
Petree explained that he got his start in a space that was not always welcoming to his queerness. This tested the delicate balance between being a journalist and holding your identity close.
āI’ve always been out and it was a challenge because I got my start in conservative talk radio,ā Petree said. āI’m going to be honest, some of the things I heard from people I’ve worked with, from the callers to the radio stations were absolutely abhorrent. But I never let it discourage me. It made me work that much harder.ā
Cechini highlighted the same sentiment when explaining why itās important to have out LGBTQ figures in news media. They want to show everyone that it is possible to be openly queer and successful.
āI just think that representation matters because if āJoe,ā who’s never seen a transgender person before, sees a transgender person or a non-binary person, doing a job that they’ve only ever seen straight cis people doing before, it kind of creates that understanding or bridges that gap,ā Cechini said. āIt’s like, āOK, maybe they’re not that different from me.ā And that facilitates being able to connect among different communities.ā
Both Cechini and Petree agree that having a queer coworker has made their bond stronger.
āIt’s great to have someone else next to me who I can relate to and work alongside,ā Petree said. āAnd they’re a joy to work with, they really are. There is a tremendous amount of things that we relate to together ā like we both share and have the same affinity for Lady Gaga,ā he said laughing. āAlthough they’re more of a Lady Gaga fan than I am.ā
āHannah is a tremendous journalist who really goes out of their way to make sure that the stories that they do are on point 100% of the time,ā he added. āThey’ve been great to work with and to learn from and to grow alongside. I’m very happy to have them as my co-anchor.ā
Cechini explained that the relationship between two co-anchors can make or break a newscast, and having Petree as their partner on air is a major part of the showās success.
āCo-anchoring is not just the relationship that you have on camera,ā Cechini said. āIt’s really, really important to have a good relationship with your co-anchor off-camera as well because you have to have a level of trust between you.ā
Cechini continued, saying that this relationship is crucial to working together, especially when things donāt go as planned.
āNot everything always goes to script,ā they said. āSometimes you have to be able to work together without even really talking to each other and just kind of know what to do. When you have a relationship like that with someone who identifies similarly to you or has had similar life experience, I think that just only strengthens that [relationship].ā
Although they have had similar experiences being from the LGBTQ community, Petree said it was a change for him to use āthey/themā pronouns on air.
āPrior to working with Hannah, I’ve never worked with a non-binary individual who went by the pronouns āthey/them,āā Petree said. āIt was new for me to not use traditional pronouns on air, but I can say that I have never misgendered them on air and never will. You get conditioned to using traditional pronouns and it’s easy to make that mistake, but I never have.ā
At the end of the day, they both explained, it is about doing the job right. For the duo, a part of that is understanding the diversity of people and issues in the community.
āWhen you come from a more marginalized community, I think that kind of helps to inform you a little better as a journalist because you have a better understanding of what it’s like to be āthe other guy,āā Cechini said.
āOur talent and our drive for journalism speaks for itself,ā Petree said. āAnd that resonates with people. Have we shown ourselves to be an inspiration to the LGBTQ+ community here in Delmarva? Yes, we have. And that’s something that I’m proud of.ā
The primetime nightly newscast with Hannah Cechini and Rob Petree airs weeknights from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on ABC affiliate WMDT 47.
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2024/06/Rob_Petree_and_Hannah_Cechini_insert_courtesy_WMDT.jpg)
a&e features
āQueering Rehoboth Beachā features love, loss, murder, and more
An interview with gay writer and historian James T. Sears
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James T. Sears book talk
Saturday, June 29, 5 p.m.
Politics & Prose
5015 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
When it comes to LGBTQ summer destinations in the Eastern time zone, almost everyone knows about Provincetown, Mass., Fire Island, N.Y., and Key West, Fla. There are also slightly lesser known, but no less wonderful places, such as Ogunquit, Maine, Saugatuck, Mich., and New Hope, Pa. Sandwiched in between is Rehoboth Beach, Del., a location that is popular with queer folks from D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The dramatic and inspiring story of how Rehoboth Beach came to be what it is today can be found in gay historian James T. Searsās revealing new book āQueering Rehoboth Beach: Beyond the Boardwalkā (Temple University Press, 2024). As educational as it is dishy, āQueering Rehoboth Beachā provides readers with everything they need to know (and possibly didnāt realize they needed to know) about this fabulous locality. Sears was kind enough to make time to answer a few questions about the book.
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WASHINGTON BLADE: James, itās been a few years since Iāve interviewed you. The last time was in 1997 about your book āFrom Lonely Hunters to Lonely Hearts: An Oral History of Lesbian and Gay Southern Life.ā At the time, you were living in Columbia, S.C. Where are you currently based, and how long have you been there?
JAMES T. SEARS: It has been great reconnecting with you. After that book, we moved to Charleston, S.C. There I wrote several more books. One was about the Mattachine group, focusing on one largely misunderstood leader, Hal Call. Another book shared reminisces of a 90-year-old gentleman, the late John Zeigler, interweaving his diaries, letters, and poetry to chronicle growing up gay in the South at the turn of the last century. From there I moved to Central America where I chronicled everyday queer life and learned Spanish. We returned several years ago and then washed up on Rehoboth Beach.
BLADE: In the introduction to your new book āQueering Rehoboth Beach: Beyond the Boardwalkā (Temple University Press, 2024), you write about how a ārestaurant incidentā in Rehoboth, which you describe in detail in the prologue, became a kind of inspiration for the book project. Please say something about how as a historian, the personal can also be political and motivational.
SEARS: I want to capture readerās interest by personalizing this book more than I have others. The restaurant anecdote is the bookās backstory. It explains, in part, my motivation for writing it, and more crucially, introduces one meaning of āqueering Rehoboth.ā That is, in order to judge this āincidentāāand the book itselfāwe need to engage in multiple readings of history, or at least be comfortable with this approach. I underscore that what is accepted as āhistoryāāabout an individual, a community, or a societyāis simply a reflection of that eraās accepted view. Queering history challenges that consensus.
BLADE: Who do you see as the target audience for āQueering Rehoboth Beach?ā
SEARS: Well, certainly if you have been to Rehoboth or reside there, this book provides a history of the townāand its queeringāgiving details that I doubt even locals know! Also, for those interested in the evolution of other East Coast queer resorts (Ptown, Fire Island, Key West) this book adds to that set of histories. My book will also be of interest to students of social change and community organizing. Most importantly, though, it is just a good summer read.
BLADE: āQueering Rehoboth Beachā features numerous interviews. What was involved in the selection process of interview subjects?
SEARS: I interviewed dozens of people. They are listed in the book as the āCast of Narrators.ā Before these interviews, I engaged in a systematic review of local and state newspapers, going back to Rehobothās founding as a Methodist Church Camp in 1873. I also read anecdotal stories penned by lesbians and gay men. These appeared in local or regional queer publications, such as Letters from CAMP Rehoboth and the Washington Blade. Within a year, I had compiled a list of key individuals to interview. However, I also interviewed lesbians, gay men, transgender individuals, and heterosexuals who lived or worked in Rehoboth sometime during the bookās main timeframe (1970s-2000s). I sought diversity in background and perspective. To facilitate their memories, I provided a set of questions before we met. I often had photos, letters, or other memorabilia to prime their memories during our conversation.
BLADE: Under the heading of the more things change, the more they stay the same, the act of making homosexuality an issue in politics continues to this day. What do you think it will take for that to change?
SEARS: You pose a key question. Those who effectuated change in Rehoboth ā queers and progressive straights ā sought common ground. Their goal was to integrate into the town. As such, rather than primarily focus on sexual and gender differences, they stressed values held in common. Rather than proselytize or agitate, they opened up businesses, restored houses, joined houses of worship, and engaged in the townās civic life.
To foster and sustain change, however, those in power and those who supported them also had to have a willingness to listen, to bracket their presuppositions, and to engage in genuine dialogue. Violent incidents, especially one on the boardwalk, and the multi-year imbroglio of The Strand nightclub, gradually caused people to seek common ground.
That did not, however, come without its costs. For some ā long separated from straight society ā and for others ā unchallenged in their heteronormativity ā it was too great of a cost to bear. Further, minorities within the queer ācommunity,ā such as people of color, those with limited income, and transgender individuals, never entered or were never invited into this enlarging public square.
The troubles chronicled in my book occurred during the era of the āMoral Majorityā and āGay Cancer.ā Nevertheless, it didnāt approach the degree of polarization, acrimony, fake news, and demagoguery of today. So, whether this approach would even be viable as a strategy for social change is debatable.
BLADE: In recent years, there has been a proliferation of books about LGBTQ bars, a subject that is prominent in āQueering Rehoboth Beach.ā Was this something of which you were aware while writing the book, and how do you see your bookās place on the shelf alongside these other books?
SEARS: Queering heterosexual space has been a survival strategy for generations of queer folks. These spaces ā under-used softball fields, desolate beaches, darkened parks, and out-of-the-way bars ā are detailed in many LGBTQ+ books, from the classic, āBoots of Leather, Slippers of Gold,ā to the recently published āA Place of Our Ownā and āThe Bars Are Ours.ā Of course, these spaces did not encompass the kaleidoscope of queer life, but they provide us a historical gateway into various segments of a queer community and culture.
This was certainly true for my book. Unsurprisingly, until The Strand controversy, which began in 1988, all of Rehobothās queer bars were beyond the town limits. There were, however, homosexual watering holes in the liminal sexual space. For instance, you had the Pink Pony on the boardwalk during the 1950s and the Back Porch CafĆ© during the 1970s. So, in this sense, I think āQueering Rehoboth Beachā fits well in this ever-enlarging canon of queer history.
BLADE: As one of the most pro-LGBTQ presidents in U.S. history, how much, if it all, did the Biden Delaware connection have to do with your desire to write āQueering Rehoboth Beach?ā
SEARS: It is just a coincidence. Interestingly, as I was researching this book, I came across a 1973 news story about Sen. Joe Biden speaking at a civic association meeting. One of the 30 or so residents attending was James Robert Vane. The paper reported the senator being āstartledā when Vane questioned him about the ban on homosexuals serving in the U.S. civil service and military. Uttering the familiar trope about being āsecurity risks,ā he then added, āI admit I havenāt given it much thought.ā In Bidenesque manner, he paused and then exclaimed, āIāll be darned!ā
Biden was a frequent diner at the Back Porch CafĆ©, often using the restaurantās kitchen phone for political calls. Like the progressives I spoke about earlier, he had lived in a heteronormative bubbleāa Catholic one at that! Yet, like many in Rehoboth, he eventually changed his view, strongly advocating for queer rights as Vice President during the Obama administration.
BLADE: How do you think Rehoboth residents will respond to your depiction of their town?
SEARS: Well, if recent events are predictive of future ones, then I think it will be generally positive. My first book signing at the locally owned bookstore resulted in it selling out. The manager did tell me that a gentleman stepped to the counter asking, āWhy is this queer book here?āā pointing to the front table of āBeach Reads.ā That singular objection notwithstanding, his plan is to keep multiple boxes in stock throughout the summer.
BLADE: Over the years, many non-fiction and fiction books have been written about places such as Provincetown, Fire Island, and Key West. Is it your hope that more books will be written about Rehoboth Beach?
SEARS: My hope is that writers and researchers continue to queer our stories. Focusing on persons, events, and communities, particularly micro-histories, provides a richer narrative of queer lives. It also allows us to queer the first generation of macro-histories which too often glossed over everyday activists. So, as the saying goes, let a thousand flowers bloom.
BLADE: Do you think that āQueering Rehoboth Beachā would make for a good documentary film subject?
SEARS: Absolutely, although probably not on the Hallmark Channel [laughs]! It would make an incredible film ā a documentary or a drama ā even a mini-series. Because it focuses on people: their lives and dreams, their long-running feuds and abbreviated love affairs, their darker secrets, and lighter moments within a larger context of the countryās social transformation. āQueering Rehoboth Beachā details the townās first gay murder, the transformation of a once homophobic mayor, burned-out bars, and vigilante assaults on queers, the octogenarian lesbian couple, living for decades in Rehoboth never speaking the āL word,ā who die within months of one another. It, too, is a story of how the sinewy arms of Jim Crow affected white Rehoboth ā gay and straight. In short, āQueering Rehoboth Beachā is about a small beach town, transformed generation over generation like shifting sands yet retaining undercurrents of what are the best and worst in American life and culture.
BLADE: Have you started thinking about or working on your next book?
SEARS: The manuscript for this book was submitted to the publisher more than a year ago. During that time, Iāve been working on my first book of fiction. It is a queer novel set in early nineteenth century Wales against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars and industrialization. I want to transport the reader into an era before the construction of homosexuality and at the inception of the womenās movement. How does one make meaning of sexual feelings toward the same gender or about being in the wrong gender? In the process of this murder mystery, I integrate Celtic culture and mythology and interrogate how todayās choices and those we made in the past (and in past lives) affect our future and those of others.
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D.C. Latinx Pride seeks to help heal the community
Much history lost to generations of colonialism
![](https://www.washingtonblade.com/content/files/2022/06/Latinx_Pride_at_2019_Capital_Pride_Parade_insert_c_Washington_Blade_by_Michael_Key.jpg)
The Latinx History Project will host its 18th annual Latinx Pride with a series of 11 events this year.
Latinx History Project, or LHP, was founded in 2000 to collect, preserve and share Latinx LGBTQ+ History. Six years later, they began hosting DC Latinx Pride.
Board member Dee Tum-Monge said organizers saw a need for the event that centered Latinx community members.
“LHP knows our queer history as Latinx folks has most often been lost to generations of colonialism and imperialism,ā they said. āWhich is why we focus on documenting and highlighting the impact our community has in D.C. and beyond.ā
According to UCLA School of Law, there are more than two million Latinx LGBTQ adults that live in the U.S.
āEvents specifically for the Latinx community are important not only to make our experience visible but also to create spaces where we can grow closer with other groups and each other,ā said Tum-Monge.
This year they kicked off DC Latinx Pride with a crowning ceremony for their royal court on May 31.
Their three-part series, āLa SanaciĆ³nā, is underway with part two planned for June 16.
āSanaciĆ³n in Spanish means āhealingā which is a big part of what we want to bring to Pride,ā said Tum-Monge. āOur communities go through a lot of trauma and hate, but we know thereās more to us. Our goal is to foster connection with ourselves, nature, community, and spirituality.ā
In conjunction with the series there is a slate of other events; tickets can be purchased at latinxhistoryproject.org/pride.
In addition, Latinx Pride will march in the Capital Pride Parade on Saturday and participate in the festival on Sunday. To stay involved with Latinx History Project after Pride and hear more about future events visit latinxhistoryproject.org.
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