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‘HUMP!’ Fest offers porn by the people, for the people

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Image courtesy HUMP! Film Festival

Dan Savage’s HUMP! Film Festival is on the road again, bringing a carefully curated collection of porn to a city near you.

Yes, that’s right, porn.

Now in its 15th year, the HUMP! Festival brings audiences “a new kind of porn,” according to its website. The films it screens are submitted, on condition of anonymity and limited viewership, by sexually adventurous couples and friends, “people who aren’t porn stars but want to be one for a weekend.”

The best of the crop, selected by Savage and a 12-person jury, then go on a tour across the country, screened in theaters for a short, limited run and then never to be seen again. The movies are short – each less than five minutes – and they offer proof that, when it comes to sex, it’s all a question of taste. The HUMP Fest’s entries feature “whatever their amateur filmmakers and stars think is hot and sexy, creative and kinky, their ultimate turn-ons and their craziest fantasies […] a cornucopia of body types, shapes, ages, colors, sexualities, genders, kinks, and fetishes, united by a shared spirit of sex-positivity.”

The official line from its creators:

“HUMP! is a celebration of creative sexual expression. You will see films at HUMP! that shock you. You will see films at HUMP! that make you laugh. And you will see films at HUMP! that turn you on. You will also be touched by the sincerity and vulnerability with which these films are lovingly made. HUMP!’s main mission is to change the way America sees—and makes and shares—porn.”

Savage, the out journalist and activist behind the “Savage Love” sex advice column and the “It Gets Better Project,” started the festival back in 2005. He told BuzzFeed in a 2015 interview, “We are reviving old-school, artisanal pornography.”

He explained the purpose of the festival by offering an example from the many films submitted for consideration.

“A couple years ago, there was a film called “Go Ahead and Pee.” It was just a normal, average-looking woman jumping on a trampoline with a leotard, saying, ‘Go ahead, pee.’ Eventually, she’s jumping on the trampoline, and you begin to see that she is urinating. She’s peeing herself. Her leotard is changing color as she pees down her own legs. That was the video. That’s all that happened. And we were like, ‘That’s someone’s kink. That’s somebody’s porn. That’s something we want in the festival.’ Juxtaposed with the other films, I thought it worked really well. It was beautiful.”

He summed it up by saying, “It makes people better humans to be comfortable with and down with what other people are doing, what other people are into. To witness it and cheer for it.

“Under the plumbing, under the kinks, under the gender identity, everything is the same: the desire, the lust, the passion, the humor, the vulnerability. All of those things, the more important things, are the same. That’s the cake, and the differences are the frosting. We are all the fucking cake.”

If you’re interested in seeing some of the many flavors of frosting on display at this year’s HUMP! Film Festival, it’s here in Los Angeles from February 20 – 29. You can find schedule and ticket info, along with a full listing and description of the selected films, at their website.

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Movies

Previewing queer movie and TV highlights for spring

New options coming despite recent Hollywood strikes

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Andrew Scott stars in ‘Ripley’ on Netflix. (Image courtesy of Netflix)

The Hollywood awards season has come to an end at last, which means we can finally look forward to some fresh new movies hitting screens over the next few weeks. And although the actors’ strike of 2023 has led to inevitable delays in bringing new content to our televisions for the spring, there are a few titles to watch for there, as well.

Girls 5Eva: Season 3 (March 14, Netflix)

The under-the-radar cult hit musical comedy series from Peacock, following a Y2K-era girl group that reunites to take advantage of a wave of millennial nostalgia, returns for a third season after being resurrected by Netflix. Lauded for its sharp and funny skewering of pop culture and the music industry and cut from the same zany, absurd cloth as “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (much of its creative team are veterans of that hit show), it’s the kind of giddy-but-smart, rapid-fire comedy that begs to be binged. Starring Sara Bareilles, Busy Philipps, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Paula Pell as a divorced lesbian dentist, fans will surely be logging on to watch as soon as it drops, but new viewers are encouraged to jump on board for this one, too.

Love Lies Bleeding (March 15, theaters)

Rumbling into theaters after an auspicious premiere at this year’s Sundance Festival, this pulpy 1980s-set lesbian-themed thriller from director Rose Glass (“Saint Maud”) is touted as “an electric new love story” and promises to take viewers on a wild ride with its story of a reclusive gym manager (Kristen Stewart) from a criminal family who falls in love with an aspiring bodybuilder (Katy O’Brian) on her way to Las Vegas to follow her dreams; unfortunately, their romance sparks unexpected violence, dragging the new lovers deep into a dangerous web of crime and intrigue. Though it was given limited release in New York and Los Angeles on March 8, it expands wide on March 15. Also starringJena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, and Dave Franco, with Ed Harris as Stewart’s crime boss father. Consider it a must-see.

Femme (March 22/29, limited theaters with national expansion to follow)

From the UK comes this taut noir-ish thriller about a prominent London drag artist (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) who, while stepping out one night after a show to buy cigarettes, is brutally attacked by a man (George MacKay) and his gang of friends. Left traumatized by the experience, he retreats into isolation – but when he recognizes his attacker in a chance meeting at a gay sauna, he begins an affair with the closeted bully, hoping to enact a plan of revenge. Co-writer/directors Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping developed the film as an expansion of their award-winning 2021 short film of the same name, and the resulting debut feature premiered to enthusiastic acclaim at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival. Also starring Aaron Heffernan, John McCrea, and Asha Reid.

Ripley (April 4, Netflix)

This long-awaited eight-episode limited series adapts lesbian literary icon Patricia Highsmith’s novel “The Talented Mr. Ripley” for yet another screen incarnation – there have been at least four so far, most famously the 1999 feature film version starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow – and stars queer Irish actor Andrew Scott (BBC’s “Sherlock”, “Pride”, “All of Us Strangers”) as the title character, who is sent by a wealthy man to persuade his son to return home from an extended trip to Italy. Once there, however, the ambitious Ripley finds himself irresistibly drawn into the privileged life of leisure led by young Dickie (Johnny Flynn) and his girlfriend Marge (Dakota Fanning), and he embarks into “a complex life of deceit, fraud and murder.” Shot in an elegant black and white that evokes its early 1960s setting, show creator/writer/director Steve Zaillian says his adaptation was crafted to provide an interpretation  more faithful to the story and closer in tone to Highsmith’s novel than has been seen before, which is great news for fans of the original Ripley, whose adventures were continued by the late author throughout three further books after the success of the first, perhaps paving the way for follow-ups to this adaptation should it live up to the high expectations that accompany it. Eliot Sumner, Maurizio Lombardi, and John Malkovich also star.

Housekeeping for Beginners (April 5, limited theaters)

Another festival darling, this Macedonian film won the Queer Lion prize at Venice in 2023, and was submitted as an official selection for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards. While it didn’t make the cut for Oscar, it’s hitting US screens for a limited release next month – no doubt on the strength of writer/director Goran Stolevski’s previous feature, “Of An Age”, an Australian coming-of-age romance between two young men that made multiple “Best of the year” lists (including ours) in 2023. Revolving around a woman finds herself raising her girlfriend’s two troublemaking daughters despite having no interest in being a mother, the synopsis describes it as an exploration of “the universal truths of family,” framed in a “heartwarming story” of clashing wills “about an unlikely family’s struggle to stay together.” The pedigree alone is enough for us to suggest catching this one, if you can, when it hits theaters. Starring Anamaria Marinca, Alina Șerban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor, Mia Mustafa, Džada Selim, Sara Klimoska, Rozafë Çelaj, Ajse Useini.

Glitter & Doom (April 9, digital)

Billed as “a fantastical queer romance set to the hit music of the Indigo Girls,” this indie oddball made a theatrical debut earlier this month, but heads to digital and VOD on April 9. It’s the “love at first sight journey” of its title characters, two young dreamers – an aspiring circus performer (Alex Diaz) and a struggling musician (Alan Cammish) – who embark on “an epic summer romance” until they find their love threatened by “the realities of pursuing their dreams.” Though we haven’t yet seen it ourselves, the buzz promises a campy yet uplifting and exuberant good time, and a star-studded queer-centric cast that includes Tig Notaro, Missi Pyle, Ming Na-Wen, Lea DeLaria, B-52s diva Kate Pierson, “Drag Race” alum Peppermint, Broadway star Beth Malone, and yes, even the Indigo Girls themselves.

Challengers (April 26, theaters)

From “Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino comes this buzzy romantic triangle starring “Euphoria” and “Dune” star Zendaya as a former tennis prodigy turned coach whose husband – a champion on a losing streak (Mike Faist, “West Side Story”) – must face off against a washed-up former best friend (Josh O’Connor, “The Crown,” “God’s Own Country”) that also happens to be his wife’s former boyfriend. According to the synopsis, “pasts and presents collide and tensions run high,” and though details are scarce beyond the basics we’ve already shared, rumors (as well as a few not-so-subtle hints in the trailers) suggest that things might take a decidedly bisexual turn. Whether or not that should turn out to be true, Guadagnino’s name on the credits is enough reason to make this a queer must-see – especially with a cast as vibrant and talented as the one he has assembled.

I Saw the TV Glow (May 5, limited theaters)

Also coming from Sundance is this horror thriller from writer/director Jane Schoenbrun, produced by recent Oscar-winner Emma Stone (with husband Dave McCary) and starring queer actor Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine as two troubled teens who bond over a fantasy TV series and find their realities starting to blur after its cancellation. Praised by reviewers for its surreal style and its exploration of queer and trans themes within its mind-bending, darkly disorienting framework, it’s likely not the kind of movie that will resonate with all viewers – but it’s probably a great match for those who enjoy their horror on the abstract side. 

In addition to all these, though their premiere dates are still not set, three much-loved  TV series are set to return this spring. Streaming network Max will debut the third seasons of both Hacks and The Sex Lives of College Girls, two popular shows with heavy queer appeal. The former, starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, is a multi-award-winning comedy about the unlikely creative partnership between an old-school stand-up legend and an edgy young comedy writer who loathe each other – or at least did in the beginning. After two seasons of alternately awkward, bittersweet, and hilarious misadventures together, they might have warmed up to each other a bit, but we’re betting that won’t keep them from locking horns. 

The latter, starring Renée Rapp, Pauline Chalamet, Alyah Chanelle, and Amrit Kaur, is also a comedy, following four freshman roommates at a fictional college as they explore love and friendship, financial stability and personal independence, and – of course – sex. It would have a draw for queer audiences even without the sapphic subplots, and for its enthusiastic fans, queer or otherwise, it will surely be a must watch.

Finally, the venerable UK sci-fi adventure series Dr. Who is set to return to the BBC sometime in May, when out queer actor of color Ncuti Gutwa (“Sex Education”, “Barbie”) officially becomes the 15th incarnation of the shape-shifting titular time lord – a role he already previewed to much fan approval in a Christmas special late last year. While the charms of this long-running fan franchise may escape viewers without an appreciation for the kind of campy intellectual fantasy that is its trademark appeal, Gutwa’s charmingly fabulous persona might be just the thing to bring a whole new army of queer converts into the fandom.

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Books

Upcoming books offer something for every reader

From a history of the gay right to a look at queer women’s spaces

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(Book cover images courtesy of the publishers)

Daylight Savings Time has arrived, giving you more sunlight in the evening and more time to read. So why not look for these great books this spring?

If your taste runs to historical novels, you’re in luck. When Yorick spots his name on the list of the missing after the Titanic sinks, he believes this to be an omen: nobody’s looking for him, so maybe this is his opportunity to move to Paris and open that bookstore he’s been dreaming about. In The Titanic Survivors Book Club” by Timothy Schaffert (Doubleday, $29.00) his decision leads to more than a bucolic little business. Out April 2.

If you’re looking for something a little on the lighter side, discover Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball by Jason June (HarperTeen, $19.99). Young adult books are perfect light reading for adults, and this one is full of high-school drama, romance, comedy, and more drama. What fun! Out May 23.

Can’t get enough of graphic novels? Then look for Escape from St. Hell: A Graphic Novel by Lewis Hancox (Graphix, $14.99). It’s the continuing story of Lew, who just wants to live his life as a guy, which he started doing in the last novel (“Welcome to St. Hell”) but you know what they say about one door closing, one door opening. In this new installment, Lew grapples with the changes he’s made and how his friends and family see things, too. This book is fresh and honest and great for someone who’s just transitioned. Out May 7.

For the mystery lover, you can’t go wrong with Clean Kill: A Nicky Sullivan Mystery by Anne Laughlin (Bold Strokes, $18.95). As the manager of a sober living home in Chicago, Nicky Sullivan has her hands full with 10 other residents of the home. But when one of them is murdered, Sullivan reaches back into her past as an investigator to find the killer by calling on her old partner. Fortunately, he’s still working. Also fortunately, he’s got a new partner and she catches Sullivan’s eye. Can love and murder mix? Out May 14.

Can’t get enough of politics? Then you’ll be happy to find Coming out Republican: A History of the Gay Right by Neil J. Young (University of Chicago Press, $30). In the fractious political atmosphere we have now, it’s essential to understand how gay conservatives have influenced politics through the decades. Find this book before November. It may be one of the most eye-opening books you’ll read. Out April 3.

The reader who loves her “space” will want to take A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces That Shaped Queer Women’s Culture by June Thomas (Seal Press, $30) there to read. It’s a book about historically safe places for queer women to be themselves – and some are surprisingly very public. Interviews with iconic feminists and lesbians round out a great look at the locales that queer women have claimed for their own. Out May 28.

And now the housekeeping: Release dates can change and titles can be altered at the last minute, so check with your favorite bookseller or librarian. They’ll also have more recommendations if you need them because there’s a lot of time for reading now.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

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a&e features

‘Tiger’ burning bright: an interview with Mary Timony

Today’s female-driven music scene wouldn’t be the same without her

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Mary Timony is back with a new album. (Photo by Chris Grady)

It’s hard to imagine what the current female-driven music scene would be like without Mary Timony. From Sleater-Kinney to Haim, from Angel Olsen to Mitski, the influence of Mary Timony is in every note being played, every word being sung. On her new solo album, “Untame The Tiger” (Merge), with its sly nod to Joni Mitchell, Timony has brought her many years of musical experience to the fore, resulting in what is easily her most accessible release. Beginning with the incredible six-plus minute opener “No Thirds” and continuing through the first single, “Dominoes,” and gorgeous numbers including “The Guest,” “The Dream,” and “Not The Only One,” Timony is assured to keep listeners purring along. Timony made time for an interview shortly before the album was released.

BLADE: Mary, I’d like to begin by talking to you about your musical lives in D.C. and Boston. I went to college in Boston in the early 1980s and was constantly amazed by the bands of the era such as Mission of Burma, Human Sexual Response, and ‘Til Tuesday. I moved to D.C. in the mid-1980s to go to grad school, and at the time, the music scene there was dominated by go-go music, and a smaller indie music featuring BETTY and the late Tommy Keene, among others. What do you remember about the music in D.C. as someone who grew up there?

MARY TIMONY: That’s interesting. We kind of did a switcheroo. I’m from D.C. and I moved to Boston. (In D.C.) I learned, as a teenager, about rock shows and rock music from being involved in the punk scene, the post-hardcore scene of kids here. Those are the shows I went to in high school. Basically, the Dischord (Records) bands and stuff. I saw every single Fugazi show from when they started in ’87. Before that, whatever was happening in 1985, hardcore shows by Swiz and Soulside and Kingface and I loved Ignition. Other than that, I would go see bluegrass out in Virginia and I loved go-go. I would go to see (go-go bands) Rare Essence and Trouble Funk. I was very into that stuff; that was really exciting. I think I liked go-go the most out of all of it, actually [laughs]. I would go to DC Space and 9:30 (Club), mostly for local (acts). I don’t think I ever saw BETTY, but I was a teenager then.

BLADE: Was the active music scene in Boston in the early 1990s part of the appeal for you when it came to relocating to Boston to attend Boston University?

TIMONY: The reason why I went there was because I wanted to go to a music program that was in a big university, in case I didn’t wanna study music the whole time, which is exactly what happened. I studied classical guitar for a year and then I didn’t really like the program much, so I transferred to study English. I found out about the (Boston) music scene from friends. We went to The Middle East (nightclub) and TT’s (T.T. The Bear’s nightclub). Then after college, I ended up living right down the street from The Middle East and I was there constantly.

BLADE: Good old Central Square! As a performer playing in bands including Autoclave, Helium, and Ex Hex, and as a solo artist with her own band, it’s not unreasonable to say that Mary, you are someone who plays well with others. 

TIMONY: [Big laugh.]

BLADE: What makes you such a good team player?

TIMONY: I didn’t know I was [laughs]. I’ve gone back and forth between doing solo stuff and being in bands. Mostly, I’ve done projects where I’ve written a bunch of songs and I’m trying to…I haven’t done a ton of collaborative stuff really. Ex Hex was fun because it was more collaborative. Wild Flag, the same thing, totally 100% collaborative in every way. But Helium was really my thing, but I got some great people that totally influenced it. I’ve always been doing my own thing but tried to find really good people. Music really is about connection. It’s never as good if it’s only one person’s vision. Usually, if it’s good it’s good because of the connection between the musicians. Music is a social art form, I think.

BLADE: “Untame The Tiger” is the title of your new album. In 1999, Joni Mitchell titled her album “Taming The Tiger.” Are you, in any way, making a nod to Joni?

TIMONY: A little bit because I am a huge fan. I have been since I was 18. But, it sort of came to me because I have a song called that on the record and I’m sure that probably came from ripping off Joni Mitchell. Then I just thought that’s a cool name for a record. Then I thought, “Oh, shit!” [Laughs] It’s already been taken! Then I thought about it and then I forgot about it. Then I thought about it again and finally, I was like, “It’s OK. It’s a little bit different.” And I love her!

BLADE: I’m currently reading Ann Powers’ book “Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell,” which comes out in June.

TIMONY: Oh, I’m definitely going to have to read.

BLADE: Yes, please add that to your reading list. “Untame The Tiger” is your first new solo studio album in 15 years. Are there things you write and sing about on your solo records that might be out of place on an album you would record with another one of your musical outfits?

TIMONY: Yes. That’s why this ended up being a solo record. I guess it was because of the tuning of my guitar. They were more or less finished songs. I wanted the songs to sound kind of acoustic. I also wanted to play with a bunch of musicians who I really love. All those things just made it seem like a solo record. If I’m writing for a band, like Ex Hex, which is basically the other band that I do right now, they’re not finished. I bring them in (to the band members) with that band in mind.

BLADE: I love the lush instrumental section on “Thirds” and the psychedelic sounds of “Looking For The Sun” and “The Guest.” Were there things you were listening to while writing the songs for “Untame The Tiger” that were inspiring to you?

TIMONY: I was listening to a lot of music, a ton of stuff. I don’t ever try to purposely emulate anything very often, but I can’t help it. I’d rather be influenced by stuff without really thinking about it too consciously. I always have loved listening to The Left Banke’s instrumentation and The Moody Blues’ string parts. Most of the string parts come from trying to emulate The Moody Blues [laughs] or The Left Banke. I’m obsessed with The Left Banke.

BLADE: “Walk Away Renée,” right?

TIMONY: Yes. This guy, Michael Brown, was such a genius. He wrote so much stuff as a teenager. His dad was a string arranger. Anyway, I love those string parts. I was listening to this prog-rock band The Strawbs and this early (Ronnie) Dio band Elf. (The Flying) Burrito Brothers and The Byrds, too. I love Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. Richard Thompson and I was really obsessed with Gerry Rafferty’s early solo record called “Can I Have My Money Back?” I love that record. I was listening to it a ton when I was arranging the songs.

BLADE: Why was the song “Dominoes” selected as the first single from “Untame The Tiger?”

TIMONY: I don’t know. I let other people tell me [laughs]. I really hate sequencing records and I hate choosing singles. I’m just too close to it. I can’t tell what people are going to like or not. A lot of times, the ones that I like are not the ones that other people like. I asked (the people at) the label and they suggested that. I think it’s more poppy sounding. Dave Fridmann mixed that one and “Don’t Disappear” and he’s a genius mixer. and these mixers are always very pleasing and accessible sounding. I think that has something to do with it, too.

BLADE: Earlier, we talked about your long history of playing music with others, which reminded me of your guest spot singing “All Dressed Up In Dreams,” written by gay singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt for his band The 6ths’ “Wasps’ Nest” album. 

TIMONY: He’s such a genius!

BLADE: How did that come about?

TIMONY: When I moved to Boston, for a year I lived with Claudia (Gonson of Merritt’s band The Magnetic Fields), who is his drummer. I lived in a group house in Cambridge. I was friends with Claudia, and Stephin lived a few blocks away. She told me he was making this record with guest singers they wanted to go over and sing on it. I went over there one day and he taught me the song and I sang on it.  I think he’s one of the best songwriters of the last 50 years or whatever.

BLADE: I completely agree. As someone who has collaborated with Stephin, are you aware of an LGBTQ+ following for your own music?

TIMONY: I don’t know. I think maybe a little bit. I’d love that. I love everybody who can connect with it, because all I’m trying to do is connect with people.

Mary Timony (Photo by Chris Grady)
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Events

Unveiling “Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects” at the Hammer Museum

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 7:30 PM, as the Hammer Museum hosts a groundbreaking event

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Museum of Trans Hirstory & Art/Los Angeles Blade graphic

LOS ANGELES – Mark your calendars for Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 7:30 PM, as the Hammer Museum hosts a groundbreaking event centered around the launch of “Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects.”

This project, curated by artist Chris E. Vargas as part of the Museum of Trans Hirstory & Art (MOTHA), redefines conventional narratives by exploring trans art, activism, and resistance across more than four centuries.

Joining Vargas are a dynamic group of contributors and artists who have played integral roles in shaping the narrative of trans history.

Zackary Drucker is an American multimedia artist, director, and producer who has dedicated her work to telling stories that expand our cultural understanding of difference. Her credits include directing the Hulu Original documentary Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl; and co-directing the Sundance award-winning HBO original documentary film The Stroll and the HBO documentary series The Lady and the Dale. She has performed and exhibited her work internationally in museums, galleries, and film festivals including the Whitney Biennial 2014, MoMA PS1, Hammer Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario, MCA San Diego, and SF MoMA, among others.

Edgar Fabián Frías works in installation, photography, video art, sound, sculpture, printed textiles, GIFs, performance, social practice, and community organizing, among other forms. Their art addresses historical legacies and acts of resistance, resiliency, and radical imagination within the context of Indigenous Futurism, spirituality, play, pedagogy, animism, and queer aesthetics.

Raquel Gutiérrez is an award-winning critic, essayist, poet, and educator based in Southern Arizona. Gutiérrez’s first book Brown Neon (Coffee House Press) was named one of the best books of 2022 by The New Yorker and listed in the Best Art Books of 2022 by Hyperallergic.

Amos Mac is an out trans artist, writer, and co-founder of Original Plumbingmagazine. Amos has written and produced for television on shows including Gossip GirlClean Slate, and Gaycation and co-wrote No Ordinary Man, a documentary about the complicated jazz man and trans icon Billy Tipton.

Uri McMillan is a writer based in Los Angeles. He has published essays in Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theoryGLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay StudiesASAP/Journal, and museum/gallery-based publications for the Studio Museum in Harlem, Aperture Foundation, MCA Chicago, and the Brooklyn Museum.

Chris E. Vargas is a video maker & interdisciplinary artist, an artist, the founder of the Museum of Trans Hirstory and Art, and co-editor of Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects. His work deploys humor and performance to explore the complex ways that queer and trans people negotiate spaces for themselves within historical and institutional memory and popular culture. He is a recipient of a 2016 Creative Capital award and a 2020 John S. Guggenheim fellowship.

Together, these visionary artists and thinkers will celebrate, discuss, and perform trans and non-binary magic, exploring themes of celebrity, activism, and trans-masculine histories. Through their collective efforts, they aim to challenge existing narratives, inspire dialogue, and foster a greater appreciation for the diverse experiences within the trans community.

Admission to the event is free, with seats assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Hammer Museum members enjoy priority ticketing and preferred seating. Valet parking is available on Lindbrook Drive, while self-parking is available under the museum.

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Online/Digital Streaming Media

Pornhub blocks Texans accessing site over age verification law

The Fifth Circuit Court of appeals partially vacated the original injunction ruling that the age verification requirements are constitutional

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Los Angeles Blade graphic

MONTREAL, Canada – Aylo (formerly MindGeek) the largest global adult online entertainment conglomerate, owned by Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners, has restricted access to its platforms including its flagship Pornhub in Texas after a court battle forces the state’s age verification law to take effect.

Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton had appealed a U.S. District Court decision that enjoined him from enforcing HB 1181. Paxton and others argued that purveyors of obscene materials online needed to institute reasonable age-verification measures to safeguard children from pornography. 

A week ago the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit partially vacated the original injunction, ruling that the age verification requirements are constitutional. 

“Applying rational-basis review, the age-verification requirement is rationally related to the government’s legitimate interest in preventing minors’ access to pornography,” the 3 judge-panel of the Fifth Circuit Court explained. “Therefore, the age-verification requirement does not violate the First Amendment.”

While the court vacated the injunction against the age-verification requirement of the statute, it upheld the lower court’s injunction against a separate section of the law that would require pornography websites to display a health warning on their landing page and all advertisements. 

Texas users are greeted with this notice.

The Houston Chronicle reported people who go to the site are now greeted with a long message from the company railing against the legal change as “ineffective, haphazard, and dangerous.” The company calls for age verification by the makers of devices that let people on the internet, instead of individual websites.

Age verification legislation was enacted in several states in 2023 in addition to Texas, including North Carolina, Montana, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Utah, and Virginia.

The new laws require users to provide digital confirmation via a certified approved third party vendor like London-based digital identity company Yoti. The other possibility would be a state approved digital ID such as the California DMV’s Wallet app, which contains a mobile driver’s license.

Users accessing Pornhub from within Louisiana are presented with a different webpage that directs them to verify their age with the state’s digital ID system, known as LA Wallet. The law passed in 2022 subjects adult websites to damage lawsuits and state civil penalties as high as $5,000 a day if they fail to verify that users are at least 18 years old by requiring the use of digitized, state-issued driver’s licenses or other methods.

The Associated Press reported this past October that an adult entertainment group’s lawsuit against a Louisiana law requiring sexually explicit websites to verify the ages of their viewers was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan in New Orleans.

Texas users are greeted with this notice.

Potential or existing Pornhub users in North Carolina and Montana are directed to a video that features adult film star Cherie DeVille, who recites a message also written under the video.

“As you may know, your elected officials in your state are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website. While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.”

“Mandating age verification without proper enforcement gives platforms the opportunity to choose whether or not to comply,” the statement continues. “As we’ve seen in other states, this just drives traffic to sites with far fewer safety measures in place.”

“Until a real solution is offered, we have made the difficult decision to completely disable access to our website in [the aforementioned locales]” the message ends with.

The company previously blocked Utah on May 7, 2023. CNN reported at the time:

Affected users are shown a message expressing opposition to SB287, the Utah law signed by Gov. Spencer Cox in March that creates liability for porn sites that make their content available to people below the age of 18.

“As you may know, your elected officials in Utah are requiring us to verify your age before allowing you access to our website,” the message said. “While safety and compliance are at the forefront of our mission, giving your ID card every time you want to visit an adult platform is not the most effective solution for protecting our users, and in fact, will put children and your privacy at risk.”

Courthouse News reported that after Virginia’s bill was passed in June, Virginia Senator L. Louise Lucas, a Democrat, criticized the state for not creating a system for age verification, and instead leaving it up to websites to manage the process, citing security risks.  

“We passed a bill during this session to protect children from online porn. However the executive branch had an obligation to create a system for age verification,” Lucas said on X, formerly Twitter. “We will continue our work to keep pornography out of the hands of minors…but we will also work to ensure that this Governor’s error does not put the privacy of Virginians at further risk.”

Beyond the U.S. in the European Union, Pornhub and two more of the world’s biggest porn websites face new requirements in the European Union that include verifying the ages of users, under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

According to a December 20 report from the Associated Press, Pornhub, XVideos and Stripchat have now been classed as “very large online platforms” subject to more stringent controls under the Digital Services Act because they each have 45 million average monthly users, according to the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch.

They are the first porn sites to be targeted by the sweeping Digital Services Act, which imposes tough obligations to keep users safe from illegal content and dodgy products, the Associated Press reported last month.

In addition to the adult entertainment websites, any violations are punishable by fines of up to 6% of global revenue or even a ban on operating in the EU. Some 19 online platforms and search engines have already been identified for stricter scrutiny under the DSA, including TikTok, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, Google and more.

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GLAAD Media Awards

Oprah Winfrey to receive GLAAD Lifetime Achievement Award

Winfrey prepares to accept this prestigious GLAAD award on March 14, 2024, for her unwavering commitment to LGBTQ equality

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Oprah Winfrey on CBS News program Person to Person with Norah O’Donnell last Fall. O’Donnell spoke with Winfrey about life lessons, the road to happiness and the new book Winfrey co-authored. (Screenshot/YouTube CBS News)

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – To the pantheon of LGBTQ allies honored by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) with the Lifetime Achievement Award, luminaries such as Barbra Streisand, Cher, and Liza Minnelli enter Oprah Winfrey.

The global media icon, philanthropist, and longtime advocate for LGBTQ rights will be honored with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on March 14, 2024. The Award honors Winfrey’s unwavering commitment to promoting equality, acceptance, and understanding for the LGBTQ community throughout her remarkable career, cementing her place among the most influential and dedicated allies in the fight for Equality.

Born in rural Mississippi and raised in Milwaukee and Nashville, Winfrey’s journey to becoming a media mogul and cultural influencer began when she was just a teenager. At the age of 19, she landed her first job in media as a young intern at WLAC-TV (now WTVF-TV), the CBS affiliate in Nashville. Her natural talent and charisma quickly earned her a position as the first African American female news anchor at the station, setting the stage for a groundbreaking career that would span decades.

In 1984, Winfrey relocated to Chicago to host WLS-TV’s morning talk show, “AM Chicago.” Little did she know that this move would be the catalyst for her meteoric rise to fame. The show, later renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” became a cultural phenomenon, attracting millions of viewers across the United States and in more than 100 countries worldwide. Winfrey’s unique blend of empathy, wisdom, and storytelling resonated with audiences, making her one of the most beloved and influential figures in media history.

A pivotal moment in Winfrey’s career came in 1986 when she negotiated a groundbreaking contract with King World Productions, the company founded by legendary boxing promoter Don King. The contract gave Winfrey full ownership of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and allowed her to produce the show through her own production company, Harpo Productions. This unprecedented deal demonstrated Winfrey’s business acumen and laid the foundation for her future success, paving the way for her to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in the world.

Throughout her career, Winfrey has consistently used her platform to shine a light on important social issues, including LGBTQ rights, racial equality, and women’s empowerment. Her compassionate and empathetic approach to storytelling has helped to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and promote understanding and acceptance of marginalized communities.

In 1997, Winfrey featured Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show, providing a platform for the comedian to publicly come out as gay. This groundbreaking episode helped to normalize LGBTQ visibility in mainstream media and paved the way for greater acceptance and understanding of the community.

Winfrey’s dedication to LGBTQ equality is further evident in her portrayal of strong, complex characters like Sofia in the acclaimed 1985 film “The Color Purple,” which featured one of the first same-sex kisses in a mainstream Hollywood production.

In addition to her work in television and film, Winfrey has built a vast media empire that includes the creation of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), a partnership with Discovery Communications, and the publication of O, The Oprah Magazine. Her business savvy and entrepreneurial spirit have made her one of the most successful and influential figures in the entertainment industry, with a net worth estimated at $2.6 billion as of 2023.

But Winfrey’s impact extends far beyond her financial success. She has also been a tireless advocate for education and philanthropy, donating millions of dollars to charitable causes and establishing the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, which provides education and support for underprivileged girls. Winfrey’s commitment to giving back to the communities that have supported her throughout her journey is a testament to her character and her belief in the power of education to transform lives.

In her personal life, Winfrey is known for her love of reading, her commitment to personal growth and self-improvement, and her close friendships with celebrities like Gayle King and Tyler Perry. Despite years of speculation and rumors surrounding the nature of her relationship with King, Winfrey has always maintained a dignified silence, emphasizing the importance of love, acceptance, and the right to privacy. Her unwavering support for the LGBTQ community, both in her professional and personal life, has made her a role model and a beacon of hope for millions of people around the world.

Winfrey’s fierce determination to fight discrimination and promote equality has been a constant throughout her career. In 1987, she confronted racism head-on by taking her show to the predominantly white community of Forsyth County, Georgia. During a heated town hall meeting, one audience member expressed his fear of racial integration, stating, “I’m afraid of [Black people] coming to Forsyth County.” Winfrey responded with her signature grace and wisdom, saying, “I hear your fear. When I look at your face, I see the fear. But how are you going to get past it if you don’t allow yourself the opportunity to get to know other people?” This powerful exchange demonstrated Winfrey’s unique ability to facilitate difficult conversations and promote understanding across racial divides.

From her willingness to confront white segregationists in Georgia to her ongoing efforts to elevate diverse voices and stories through her work in television, film, and theater, Winfrey has always been a champion for social justice. Her legacy as a trailblazer and an advocate for the marginalized will continue to inspire generations to come.

In the words of GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, “Oprah Winfrey has been a beacon of hope and inspiration for the LGBTQ community for decades. Her groundbreaking work in media has not only entertained and informed millions of people around the world, but it has also helped to change hearts and minds and promote greater understanding and acceptance for our community.”

Maya Angelou, one of Winfrey’s most important influences, put it best;  “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” As Winfrey accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award, her legacy of compassion, empathy, and unwavering commitment to equality serves as a powerful reminder of the enduring impact of a life well-lived.

The GLAAD Media Awards, which have been held annually since 1990, recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of the LGBTQ community. As As Winfrey prepares to accept this prestigious award on March 14, 2024, her extraordinary journey and unwavering commitment to LGBTQ equality serve as a powerful reminder of the impact that one person can have on the world.

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Notables

Iconic LGBTQ & AIDS activist David Mixner dies at 77

Mixner was a formidable presence in both Democratic progressive political circles and within his beloved LGBTQ+ community

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David Mixner addresses the crowd at the National Equality March (NEM) Rally at the US Capitol West Lawn in Washington DC on Sunday afternoon, 11 October 2009 by Elvert Barnes Photography

NEW YORK – One of the most influential LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS activists and political strategists in the LGBTQ movement has died. David Benjamin Mixner, 77, was a longtime formidable presence in both Democratic progressive political circles and within his beloved LGBTQ community.

In a Facebook post on his personal page late Monday a simple statement read: “It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of David’s passing today.” News of Mixner’s death quickly spread as friends, longtime political acquaintances, and people whose lives he had impacted commenced to populate his page and others with reflections on his impact.

Neil Giuliano, the first directly elected openly gay mayor of a large city in the U.S. as mayor of Tempe, Ariz., who then went on to serve as president of GLAAD and later headed the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, was a longtime friend of Mixner. He wrote:

“We said goodbye in NYC on Feb 19, knowing time was short. Today my dear friend, confidant, and father figure for the last 28 years (though only 11 years my senior) has passed on from his earthly presence with us. He will absolutely “rest in power, for the cause of peace”.

Neil Giuliano & David Mixner in Provincetown, Massachusetts, August 2021.
(Photo via Giuliano/Facebook)

David Mixner contributed to my 1994 campaign for mayor even before we met. When I asked a local gay activist why this monumental LGBT figure was interested in donating to the closeted candidate in AZ, because I hadn’t done anything for gay rights, I was told “he knows you will.”

And boy, I don’t know how, but he knew me better than I knew myself; back then, and to this day.

[…] The two and half hours we shared on Feb 19th will forever remain among the most profound and powerful of my life, we covered it all. While preparing for death, David, one final time, taught and inspired me forward in life. ❤️❤️❤️

Biographical write-ups on Mixner, including the archives of the LGBTQ history publication Outwords, show he was born and raised in the small town of Elmer, N.J.

While in high school he first became involved in social justice causes by supporting the civil rights movement and joining local protest rallies in support of racial justice.

After graduating from high school, he went to Mississippi to join civil rights protests organized by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other southern civil rights activists. In 1964, he enrolled as a student at Arizona State University, where he became involved in local union organizing before leaving Arizona to enroll in the University of Maryland, according to Outwords.

In 1968, he went to Chicago to join anti-Vietnam War protesters outside the Democratic National Convention, and according to his own account, was beaten by police that led to a leg injury that required his use of a cane for many years.

“He fought to end the War in Vietnam, and eventually landed in Los Angeles, where he helped to form Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles (MECLA), the nation’s first gay and lesbian political action committee,” Outwords reported. “Soon after, David helped defeat California’s potentially disastrous Proposition 6, which would have made it illegal for homosexuals to teach in public schools, by getting then-Governor Ronald Reagan to come out publicly against the measure,” which voters defeated by a wide margin.

The Washington Blade reported on Mixner’s support for Bill Clinton’s election as president in 1992 in his role as a friend of Clinton during the days when the two planned protests against the Vietnam War. Mixner, who raised money for the Clinton campaign and helped line up support for the then Arkansas governor from LGBTQ organizations throughout the country, was named by the Clinton campaign to serve on the campaign’s leadership committee.

But soon after Clinton’s election, Mixner spoke out against the new president’s decision to break his promise to issue an executive order to lift the ban on gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from serving in the U.S. military. Many LGBTQ activists, while disappointed, said Clinton was forced to support the controversial compromise of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ after military leaders, including the popular Army Gen. Collin Powell, came out against lifting the ban, with both Democratic and Republican members of Congress also speaking out against a full lifting of the ban.

Mixner drew national attention when he helped organize a protest against ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ outside the White House in which he was among those arrested after denouncing his onetime friend Clinton for backing the policy. News of Mixner’s public break with the president resulted in the downfall of his once thriving political consulting firm.

“David’s political consulting career was over, and by the end of the Clinton presidency, he was pawning his watches to pay rent,” Outwords reported.

But Outwords and other publications and LGBTQ advocates have said Mixner re-invented himself many times, as a champion LGBTQ rights advocate, an author, performer, and organizer of the 2009 Equality March on Washington for LGBTQ rights that drew more than 200,000 participants from across the country. 

His 2017 play, entitled 1969, was staged at a popular theater in New York City and received positive reviews. His one-man play in 2018 called ‘Who Fell into The Outhouse’ also received positive reviews and raised $175,000 for homeless LGBTQ youth, Outwords reported.

Mixner has also been praised for his longtime role as an AIDS activist who for many years helped raise funds for organizations supporting people with HIV/AIDS. In 1987, he joined one of the first HIV/AIDS protests outside the White House during the Reagan administration and was among more than 60 of the protesters arrested.

Among his many LGBTQ rights endeavors, Mixner is also credited with co-founding in 1991 the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, now called the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, which became the nation’s first organization to devote all of its efforts to help elect LGBTQ people to public office.

“With support for candidates underway, his vision of a government and democracy representative of its people expanded beyond elections, and moved to ensure we were represented in political parties and presidential administrations as well,” said Victory Fund President and CEO Annise Parker in a statement responding to Mixner’s passing.

“Today, we lost David Mixner, a founding father of LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and our movement for equality,” Parker said. “David was a courageous, resilient, and unyielding force for social change at a time when our community faced widespread discrimination and an HIV/AIDS crisis ignored by the political class in Washington, D.C.,” Parker’s statement says.

“David gave his time, energy and money to building a new political reality in America – having the foresight and dedication to see it through in the most difficult times,” Parker states. “David embodied the spirit of activism and resistance in everything he did – and always with humor and a smile. He has changed not just America, but the world.” 

Jeremy Bernard, a prominent Democratic fundraiser and gay rights advocate who served for eight years on the Democratic National Committee and served in the Obama-Biden administration as the White House social secretary wrote in his tribute to his friend with a photo on March 4:

“My dear friend has always been there for me and so many others! Love ya David!”

“1992 …. David Mixner and me in San Francisco 34 years ago.”
(Jeremy Bernard/Facebook)

In September of 2023, Mixner traveled from his home in New York City to Rehoboth Beach, Del., to attend an event in which he was honored for lending his name to an LGBTQ student scholarship created by CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ community services center.

CAMP Rehoboth officials said they wanted to honor Mixner’s legacy with the David Mixner LGBTQ+ Student Scholarship, an endowed fund that supports students as interns at CAMP Rehoboth, where they do important work for the LGBTQ community.

“David changed the world forever and equality would not be where it is today without his leadership, passion, and immense heart and humor,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “David was a beloved mentor to me and so many other LGBTQ leaders, always pushing for more for our community. He dedicated his life to our community and now we must strive to live up to his legacy.”

On Tuesday, the Ali Forney Center, a New York City-based organization that provides services and support for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced it has created the David Mixner Memorial Fund “to honor the life and legacy of this legendary fighter.”

Javi Morgado, a member of the Ali Forney Center board and a longtime friend of Mixner, said in a statement that Mixner raised more than $1 million for the organization since its founding in 2002. 

“David’s final wish was that donations be made in his honor to this fund to support and protect LGBTQ+ youth from the harms of homelessness,” Morgado said. “I can think of no better way to honor the impact of our friend David than through activism and philanthropy,” he said, adding that donations can be made at aliforneycenter.org.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on March 25 at Church of St. Paul the Apostle, 405 W. 59th St., New York.

Addition reporting from Lou Chibbaro Jr. 

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Sports

Banned trans golfer Hailey Davidson: ‘Hate & bigotry will never win’

The NXXT Women’s Pro Golf Tour announced a policy banning any competitor who is not “a biological female at birth”

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Out transgender pro golfer Hailey Davidson being interviewed by Good Morning Britain. (Screenshot/YouTube Good Morning Britain)

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Out transgender pro golfer Hailey Davidson is pushing back against a policy change announced Friday by the Florida-based mini-tour, NXXT. From now on, competitors must be “a biological female at birth” in order to participate. 

“Effective immediately, I have been removed (banned) from the next 3 NXXT tournaments that I had already signed up for and been approved to play,” said Davidson in a post on Instagram. “They changed their policy mid season, after signing me up already and being 2nd in the Player of the Year race.” 

The three-time winner from Scotland has played nine times on the tour this season.

According to a statement by the tour’s CEO, Stuart McKinnon, the change underscores the organization’s commitment to “maintaining the integrity of women’s professional golf and ensuring fair competition.” NXXT Golf issued that statement on International Women’s Day.

“As we navigate through the evolving landscape of sports, it is crucial to uphold the competitive integrity that is the cornerstone of women’s sports,” said McKinnon in the statement. “Our revised policy is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to celebrating and protecting the achievements and opportunities of female athletes. Protected categories are a fundamental aspect of sports at all levels, and it is essential for our Tour to uphold these categories for biological females, ensuring a level playing field.”

Davidson said the policy change in her social media post was discrimination, adding that the decision denigrates cisgender female athletes as well as trans athletes. 

“You know what really bugs me is that people think I win just by showing up,” she wrote. “This is such a slap in the face to ALL female athletes being told that any male can transition and beat them regardless of the life of hard work those women put in.

“You think you’re attacking me, but you’re actually attacking and putting down ALL other female athletes.”

She concluded with a vow: “You can scream at me, threaten me, throw insults at me, and even ban me BUT I will ALWAYS get back up and keep fighting to the very end. Hate and bigotry will never win.”

Davidson also posted a message for the women she had planned to compete against: “I hope those NXXT players who are now in the top 5 are still able to earn those Epson Tour exemptions they were promised and continue to be reminded of in the previous couple of tournaments.” 

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Movies

No problem with ‘Problemista’

Julio Torres’s debut film hints at greater achievements to come

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Julio Torres and Tilda Swinton in ‘Problemista.’ (Photo courtesy of A24)

Confronted with the title of queer SNL alumnus Julio Torres’s debut feature film, the first question that comes to mind for many people might be, “What’s a ‘Problemista’?”

For the millions of retail workers, reception staffers, and hospitality clerks, however,  or anyone else whose job it is to interface with the public, the label – coined by Torres to describe the particular kind of driven personality embodied in his movie by headliner Tilda Swinton – may be, if not familiar, at least evocative enough to convey its meaning. 

We’ve all encountered them, actually; entitled, self-righteous, demanding, aggressively impatient, and unwilling to accept anything less than complete capitulation for an answer, they are the people every cashier dreads to see (and every customer loathes to be behind) in line. They seem to thrive on drama, and they don’t care how much it inconveniences or disturbs anyone in their radius. In fact, they seem at times to relish doing so, as if they were striking a blow against social injustice by bullying a grocery clerk into honoring an expired coupon. In short, they might be described as a sort of contemporary urban warrior whose response to a problem is to become a problem until they get the solution they want. But by legions of waiters and customer service reps, they are typically just described as “the customer from hell.”

The central character in Torres’s stylish, smart, and surrealistically infused contemporary New York fairy tale – Alejandro (played by Torres himself) – is not such a person, at least not when we meet him. His creative imagination nurtured by his artist mother (Catalina Saavedra) in El Salvador, he’s now a young immigrant on a work visa in the U.S., getting by in his daily life by making as few waves as possible while dreaming of being a toy designer for Hasbro. But when a minor flub gets him fired from the cryogenic company where he works, he inadvertently finds himself drawn into the never-peaceful orbit of the titular “problemista” herself: Elizabeth (Swinton), an outcast art-world maven and wife of a terminally ill eccentric painter (Wu Tang Clan founder RZA) that has frozen himself in hope of being revived when a cure is available to save his life. 

Tasked with tending to her not-quite-late husband’s legacy and estate, she is harried from her efforts to enforce her husband’s wishes via a campaign of unreasonable requests and non-negotiable demands, and sorely in need of someone to help manage the burden — and with his future in America now hanging by a thread, Alejandro takes on the challenge, hoping this terrifying woman whose path he has crossed can keep him from deportation until he can land the career opportunity he’s been waiting for.

It’s at once a familiar and an oddball conceit, a tale of toxic mentorship with shades of “The Devil Wears Prada” that weaves a strangely heartwarming sense of unexpected but perfectly matched kinship into the mix and takes us past tropes and cliché to discover a perspective that illuminates the extremes instead of reinforcing the bland status quo of our lives. While most audiences may not have experience within the elite cultural circle in which Swinton’s Elizabeth asserts her presence, the core essence of her persona is instantly recognizable to us all. And although Torres’s screenplay gets a lot of mileage – and indeed, the movie gets a lot of its appeal, thanks to Swinton’s masterful performance – out of parodying that “high-maintenance” image, it also takes us slyly past our easy judgments to reveal all the easily relatable human qualities behind the stereotype. By the time it’s over, we might still see her as a “monster,” but perhaps no more so than any of the rest of us. We might even, like Alejandro, start to see her seemingly insufferable approach to life as something a little less clueless and a lot more justifiable than we want to assume – and recognize that, even if it makes people cringe when they see her, it might sometimes be the only way to get by in a world bent on maintaining a veneer of calm banality. It might even be the only appropriate response to – and best rebellion against – the indifference of a system whose first priority is always the preservation of a placid status quo.

That, of course, is the joy of “Problemista,” a movie that successfully gets a load of intelligent laughs from the eccentricities of both its unorthodox lead characters – a non-specifically but unmistakably queer protagonist and a ferociously uncompromising “difficult woman” – yet somehow manages to turn them both into aspirational figures. It successfully pokes a savvy kind of fun at the rarified cultural niche in which it takes place – as well as at the not-so-subtly delusional constructs which govern the lives of anyone who fits within its boundaries – without diminishing or degrading its characters or making their individual pursuits feel foolish; it accomplishes this because, even in its unabashedly satirical milieu, it places the greatest emphasis on the humanity of its characters. Alejandro and Elizabeth, in almost any other film, would be supporting players – comic relief, perhaps – in a story about people whose lives were more comfortably mainstream; here, they take center stage, allowing us to laugh at their eccentricities but never letting us lose sight of the real human impulses behind them.

For that, we can thank the deeply committed performances of Swinton, an actress of legendary caliber whose background in underground and counter-cultural theater and film brings a considerable layer of stature to Torres’ freshman effort, and Torres himself, who comes across as a fully confident and seasoned performer capable of holding his own onscreen with someone of his co-star’s stature. RZA’s amusing but somehow sweet performance in flashbacks as Elizabeth’s husband also has a humanizing effect, and acclaimed Chilean actress Saavedra casts a luminous glow in her limited screen time that nevertheless seems like a keystone element of the film’s delicate balance of magical realism and absurdist comedy.

To be fair, defining “Problemista” within a label is a problematic undertaking from the start; neither comedy nor drama, fantasy nor surrealist ephemera, it combines all these elements to approach something more profound, perhaps, or at least more useful for audiences looking for a new perspective on the sometimes-soul-crushing sea of obstacles that seems to govern our daily lives. At any rate, far more important than any of these esoteric themes, it confronts – gently, if with considerable cynicism – the existential rattlesnake of navigating the immigration system of the US, straddling multiple agendas and managing to succeed with all of them.

Torres, whose stint on “SNL” led to a successful stand-up special and a gig as the creator and star of HBO’s critically acclaimed Spanish-language series “Los Espookys,” has managed an impressive debut as a filmmaker; it’s the kind of movie that hints at greater achievements to come, and we are eagerly on board to watch them unfold in years to come. No small feat for a first-time filmmaker, especially considering the number of ambitious sociocritical comedies that have tried and failed to pull off the same delicate balancing act – and even more especially because it’s also a lot of fun.

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Sports

UFC star targets Bud Light in latest obscene anti-LGBTQ rant

UFC President Dana White defends Sean Strickland’s right to publicly say: “They force feed your kids fucking pride flags”

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ean Strickland goes off on reporter questioning his past anti-LGBTQ+ comments: 'Go Fuck Yourself' (Screenshot/YouTube MMA Junkie)

LAS VEGAS — For the second time this year, mixed martial artist and UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland is attacking the LGBTQ+ community, this time in a social media post aimed at criticizing the UFC’s newest sponsor, Bud Light. 

The last time was January 17 in Toronto, ahead of a championship fight, as the Los Angeles Blade reported. Strickland launched a vulgar tirade in response to a reporter’s question about the fighter’s public homophobic comments.

“The world’s not buying your fucking bullshit you’re fucking peddling,” Strickland told Canadian sports journalist Alexander K. Lee. “The world is not saying, ‘You know what? You’re right. Fucking chicks have dicks.’ The world’s not saying that. The world’s saying, ‘No, there are two genders. I don’t want my kids being taught about who they could fuck in school. I don’t want my kids being taught about their sexual preference.’”

On Monday, Strickland went back to the well and posted a new transphobic and homophobic message on X, the platform that was once Twitter. 

“I’m so sick of these cunts,” Strickland said. “Even budlight. I’m the definition of America… yet I’m the bad guy because I believe in two genders? I am the majority.

“They force feed your kids fucking pride flags. 

“I just wanna fight back a little…”

It wasn’t clear what might have sparked Strickland’s latest rant, or his subsequent retweet of a graphic image, showing a woman with male genitalia reaching for a pack of Bud Light.

UFC announced a sponsorship deal worth more than $100 million to make Bud Light its official beer four months ago, as Mediaite reported. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, UFC President Dana White claimed Bud Light was “way more aligned” with its critics than they think.

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White has so far maintained his stance that his fighters are free to say whatever they want. 

Despite his acknowledgement that he previously embraced neo-Nazi ideology, the 32-year-old fighter has received support from conservatives, including former President Donald Trump. Strickland posed with the GOP frontrunner in Nevada following his primary victory last month.

Although the vast majority of responses to Strickland’s rant were supportive, he also received some criticism. 

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