Asian & Pacific Islander American

Bowen Yang’s First Gay Film

June 13, 2022 by Guest Columnist

Bowen on Fire (Island)
He’s here, he’s queer, and now the‘SNL’ juggernaut is the lead in his very first (very gay) film
By Chris Azzopardi

Maybe Bowen Yang will just forever live the Fire Island fantasy wherever he is. Is that what happens when you make a movie in what many consider gay paradise? Who knows, but based on Yang’s attire on Zoom — a beaded, rainbow-colored flower necklace and a casual white-and-blue checkered shirt, his white undershirt exposed — the Australian-born Chinese American actor looks ready to challenge the rich, white gays known for essentially claiming the queer party town, just off the southern shore of Long Island, New York, as their own.

But not in Hulu’s “Fire Island,” a movie that can make us believe it isn’t exclusive to any group as a boatload of intersectional queers — the main friend group is refreshingly Asian American and Black — sail away to the island for more than just wild nights and romantic seashore walks. They know what they’re getting into — drugs, drinking, and all those white gays — and they’re the kind of besties who know exactly what’s on everyone’s Fire Island agenda.

For some, obviously, that’s a little more than a snuggle. For Howie, though, that _is_ a snuggle. Yang plays Howie, and his very good friend Noah (Joel Kim Booster, who wrote the script as a modern retelling of “Pride and Prejudice”) knows that Howie won’t ever be the slut he wants him to be. That, of course, doesn’t stop him from trying to whore out Howie. After all, that’s just what good friends do! “You’re cute, you’re funny, you’re consistently the least repellent of men out of all of us,” he tells Howie, earnestly.

The same could be said of Yang, who’s gained an avid following since he started writing for “Saturday Night Live” in 2018. Just a year later, when he was promoted to featured cast member, he made history as the first-ever Chinese American cast member (and third openly gay male cast member after Terry Sweeney and John Milhiser).

In a recent conversation, Yang chatted about being a leading man for the first time, not being recognized in a West Hollywood gay bar recently, and infusing his own signature queer flavor into “Saturday Night Live.”

Every time I watch a queer movie, I just wish it existed sooner.

Is that like our lot in audience life? I think we’re just gonna think that for everything. For me, and I don’t mean to undermine this thought, but even if it’s a perfectly fine-to-bad queer movie — not saying that our movie is those things — but add it to the pile!

So the whole time I was watching “Fire Island,” I wanted to know how you got cast as Howie, the non-slutty character? Specifically the non-slutty part.

I think Joel was doing this great thing, which is to map it onto our friendship a bit while also mapping it onto the source material of “Pride and Prejudice” and having it be like Jane and Liz. But then also just outlining the ways that a lot of queer people, and maybe specifically gay men, might not share an organizing principle in that way. Like, there are some people who really go for it and just catch as many Pokémon as they can, so to speak, and there are some who choose not to.

I mean, in my 20s I was definitely a Howie.

Oh, and then that shifted?

It did shift. And it feels good.

Great. I think maybe that’s in store for me.

In 105 minutes, this film takes on body positivity, prejudiced gays, horny gays, non-horny gays, infighting… . Was there a lot of conversation about what this movie would cover?

I mean, if you create a liberated space for people, then their thoughts might kind of reach just a bit beyond the pale in a setting outside of that. And so I think Joel’s whole thesis for the movie is “what happens when gay people go to an all-gay space, and then gay people start to bring all their societal baggage onto each other and turn it inward.”

I think he did a great job of balancing all those things. I think he just recognized that Fire Island is this wonderful stew pot full of different kinds of people, and that you get all these different elements to that when everyone co-mingles in that way.

I love that there’s a group of queer people of color who are just like, “Gonna sail over, and you know? This is also our place.”

Yeah. And in my experience going there — and I go at least once a year, every summer — it is weirdly still a given that you’re gonna see that it’s a bit dominated by one kind of person.

I’m always really delighted by the people I see there who are there driven by the same sort of mission of just spending time with their queer friends. Going to the beach, just getting away from all the things that sort of bog them down on the mainland.

Did you see “Wine Country”?

I did, yes.

So was this your “Wine Country”?

Oh my god, I guess so. All “Fire Island” was missing was a Brené Brown cameo. I think the nice thing about this is that it’s like a vacation comedy, obviously, and a rom-com, but I think the way that Joel wanted to map it onto “Pride and Prejudice” is such an ingenious thing. It’s about the way people relate to each other. It’s about the ways that we stratify each other, or relate to each other based on class, wealth or, in this case, race.

With “Wine Country,” Amy Poehler had said the film was basically a trip those same girls had taken many times before. Had any of you already experienced “Fire Island” together?

Yes, yes. We have. Me, Joel and Matt Rogers had gone in the past. And the idea came out of Joel and I going the first time together. This was 2015, where he brought a copy of “Pride and Prejudice” to the island. And then he and I were reading by the pool one day, and he just turns to me and goes, “This would make a good movie. The way that people judge each other is similar. The way that there are all these social gatherings that people sort of get worked up about, it’s all there.”

In some ways, the idea predates the established dynamic that Joel, Matt and I have had there. But I feel like it’s [in] a similar vein in that it’s loosely based on these trips that we’ve taken together. It’s similar to our experiences going there in terms of like, we would go there when we could barely afford it. We [were] 18 people to a three-bedroom house, those kind of “roughing it” early experiences.

Did you, Joel and Matt also meet at a brunch like your characters in the movie did?

We did not meet at a brunch. It was at a much more boring place, honestly. And it’s hard to get more boring than brunch.

I’ve never been to Fire Island, but I think I may be more of a P-town gay.

Listen, I am about to go there for the first time this summer. And part of me is a little scared that I’m gonna be a turncoat and just fully, like, be a P-town gay for the rest of my life.

What can you say about your part in the upcoming major-studio gay summer rom-com “Bros”?

I have a really fun part in that. My character, ironically, lives in Provincetown, so not Fire Island. That might be all I can say. But I think they’ve been showing clips of it at different events, and it’s getting a really good reception. I really hope people — I’m sure people will see it. There’s such a great team behind it, and Billy [Eichner, co-writer and star] is just so wonderful. He was so great to work with. I was sort of a day player. I just popped in for a day in between shows at “SNL.” So I was a little disoriented. But it was just such a lovely experience, and I felt very lucky that I got to do that in addition to “Fire Island,” to be a little witness to all these great [LGBTQ+] movies that are being made.

Was “Fire Island” a loose shoot? You are all so naturally funny, so were there moments of improvisation, and did any of those make the final cut?

Plenty of moments of improv made it into the final cut. From, like, Matt specifically. From me, from everybody. I think everybody [added] a little sprinkling in there. Overall, what’s remarkable about that set was that there wasn’t too much breaking. We weren’t out to make each other laugh or crack up. I think we were all there to hit our marks and do the job well. Because it was a very intense situation. A lot of us, you know, [this was] one of our early jobs doing a feature. And I think we all just were kind of focused on delivering. So maybe in the future, if we all work together again, it’ll be a little bit looser. But it was pretty regimented. We were all very good students, I would say.

Your film career is really taking off, which is exciting. And you got to really create a character for this.

I know. This is one of my first experiences doing that.

What was that like for you?

Really nice. I learned so much. And I think this is one of those jobs that I think will carry into future projects, if I’m so lucky to have them. I mean, James Scully, who plays Charlie, and I… this is my first time having a love interest in something. And he’s someone who is experienced enough as an actor to know how to make that believable onscreen. So we just had a lot of discussions about how to portray that and what these characters would be like after they left the island and what that journey is.

James had the idea to make a playlist. He was like, “Let’s make the playlist the character would make for the other character.” And that was perfect tone-setting. Like, these are two very sweet people who are sweet despite everything around them telling them there’s no place for sweetness. That this is about debauchery only. And even at the end of the movie, there’s an open-ended question about whether or not these people will even end up together after they leave the island. And what happens then? But these are two characters who aren’t concerned with that, who aren’t really worried about what’s gonna happen afterwards. Whether it ends badly or well, they just are very present in their connection to each other.

I’m glad you say that because those trips to me often feel like they’re suited for that sort of experience — for a little weekend romance.

I think the movie does that very well in the end where, again, it’s that open-ended thing. And I don’t think a lot of rom-coms in general do that. It’s a very realistic, authentic sort of representation of that concept. Like, “Maybe this is just a vacation boyfriend. But it’s OK. I’ll still enjoy it.” It’s still a love story, you know? There’s something really powerful about acknowledging that reality for a lot of people. I think there’s a subtextual thing there in the movie where it’s like, “This is how gay people live, and this is why they come to the island, to experience that, to have the possibility of experiencing that.” And then if they do, then what happens?

Whose idea was it to sneak in the reference to the “Gays in Space” sketch, which aired on “Saturday Night Live” in 2015?

That was Joel. I promise it wasn’t me. I just never pushed back. It was in every draft of the script, and I never pushed back on it. And I was like, it’s so on the nose of me as Bowen saying to a character that he loves “SNL.”

But that was a Joel line. And we just kept it in there. But then it got me thinking, like, OK, if Howie and I are similar, in what ways are we similar? Howie doesn’t work at “SNL,” but if I didn’t work at “SNL,” I would probably bring that up, too, at a party, if I was getting to know someone. And there was something somewhat authentic about that. I think Joel was going for that sort of authenticity. It was just, What would Bowen say through the lens of this character?

While we’re on the topic of “SNL,” I have you to thank, in part, at least, for making a show I grew up with and loved a much queerer experience for me.

Oh, that’s very nice. But yes, there are so many other people to thank. It’s people like James Anderson who wrote “Gays in Space,” who left somewhat recently. Kate McKinnon, obviously, Chris Kelly, who made “The Other Two.” Paula Pell of “Wine Country.” There’s been this pretty rich lineage of queer people at “SNL.” I think now there are more things to index and reference, and I’m just very happy to be a small part of it.

Historically, yes, there are other skits that were queer. But it definitely feels like it’s become much queerer in more recent years.

I think we talk about how “SNL” has always been this variety show in the truest sense. There’s something for everyone, or at least there’s something different in every sketch. And certainly, with Kate being there, it’s given people a model for how you infuse queerness into a sketch.

Julio Torres working there around the same time I did was just such a fortuitous thing for me because I was able to understand, “Oh, I can write something.” When I first started writing there, I was trying to fit into the mold of an “SNL” sketch. I was trying to write a game show sketch or a commercial parody. And then, when Julio and I started working together, he was like, “No, you can do whatever you want. You can make something that’s from your point of view. That makes the show better.”

Do you have an example of something you wrote from your own POV because of Julio’s influence on you?

One of the first sketches I wrote for the show was called “Cheques.” It was a commercial for checks, like these dramatic, soap operatic women just signing checks for misdeeds. That was something Julio and I co-wrote together. We co-wrote this sketch called “Sara Lee” with Harry Styles, who’s this social media manager who writes all these thirsty gay captions for Instagram. That was Julio’s idea, and it wouldn’t have happened without Julio’s assuredness in his own point of view. And it kind of gave me this example to follow, so that by the time he left, I was like, “I guess I can do that on my own, right?”

So yeah, you think all the way back to Terry Sweeney in the ’80s who was doing stuff at a time when gay men were completely stigmatized at every level [in] society. I think there’s been a queer sort of helix in the show for as long as it’s been on.

What about the “Pride Month Song” sketch from last year? What’s the story behind that?

I co-wrote that with Sudi Green and Celeste Yim. Just really funny writers. Queer writers. And we just were talking about how there is this pretty widely acknowledged reality now that I just don’t think we’ve seen on TV of how Pride is kind of exhausting. And it’s kind of not what you expect it to be: You think it’s gonna be this amazing thing and it actually ends up being really stressful and logistically a nightmare and someone has a meltdown at some point. You know, those are the realities of Pride. And there’s still something joyful about that, even so. And maybe that’s the thing that we kind of look forward to every year. So yeah, that’s where it came out of. And I was, like, listening to Charli XCX’s “Girls Night Out,” and I was like, “Let’s just map it onto this beat.”

Well, that’s your POV, right?

My POV! Yeah. She counts.

It seems you’ve become a big name in such a short amount of time. How have you processed what I think is a relatively meteoric rise to notoriety these last few years?

I got really lucky in terms of an incremental, segmented ramp-up, maybe? For me, so far, it’s been manageable at every level. Starting out doing stuff in New York, you kind of are putting yourself out there more and more with every show and every year that you do it. And then Matt and I started this podcast [“Las Culturistas”] together. That kind of got people who didn’t live in New York knowing who we were and connecting with what we were doing. And then going on “SNL,” obviously, kind of broke that open. But I think I’ve gotten some sort of training wheel taken off and there’s multiple sets of training wheels, I guess, in this metaphor. But I think I’ve gotten really nicely acculturated to that. And I’m very grateful.

Can you step into a gay bar in West Hollywood without being conscious of, “I know that there will be eyes on me because I’m Bowen Yang”?

It occurs to me that that might be the case, but I went to Hi Tops recently in LA, in West Hollywood, and was ignored at the bar. And I was like, “This is great.” Not that this was great but I was like, “See, there’s something very democratizing about going to a queer space like that where you’re like, ‘That’s why I go: to feel like a part of something.’” There hasn’t been anything fundamentally different about my reality, which I think is really nice, actually.

What do you want the future of your film career to look like?

I hope I get to just do a nice variety of things, across different genres probably. I feel like we’re about to get hit with a bunch of rom-coms, and I wouldn’t mind just staying in that lane for as long as possible.

I’m keeping an open mind because people have been asking me if I expected to be leading a rom-com ever. I was like, “No, no way.” And so I think me sort of keeping my expectations pretty sparse is kind of setting myself up for some delightful stuff in the future. I don’t really have a vision for what that is yet. And I think that’s OK.

Chris Azzopardi is the Editorial Director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate, the national LGBTQ+ wire service. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.

More than Moana

May 26, 2022 by Guest Columnist

More Than Moana
Auli’i Cravalho on her new bisexual role, her first Pride and coming out on TikTok
By Chris Azzopardi

It’s still open to interpretation whether Moana is on the queer spectrum, but Auli’i Cravalho, who voiced the Disney princess, can assure you of one thing — she’s a proud bisexual. The 21-year-old actress portrays her first openly LGBTQ+ character in “Crush,” a Hulu Original Film with lesbian love at its center. Cravalho, as track-team runner AJ, plays an instrumental part — saying anything else would give too much away — in the teen rom-com about the unexpected twists and turns in high school romance. Donning a plaid Coach coat, which she was wearing “proudly for the rest of the day on this couch” since it wasn’t hers, Cravalho talked on video about inspiring LGBTQ+ youth to be themselves, her message to major corporations like Disney when it comes to queer issues, and what about her first Pride event she’s most looking forward to.

As somebody older than you, I can say how proud it makes me to see people in the queer community be part of these movies. These movies did not exist when I was a teenager, so I can only imagine what it means to queer youth when they see not only themselves in these characters but people who are queer playing them.

Thank you. It felt really important to me, as well. I remember reading the script, and I was, for one, honored because I haven’t really played a queer role before. I do identify as bisexual, so it felt important, also, that my character was written in that way. It was really nice to have a rom-com that focused on teens that was positive and sex-positive. And also, not being focused on a coming out story, because we are so much more than just sexuality. It felt really refreshing. I was very happy to play AJ.

You’ve answered my next question, which was: What appealed to you most about this movie when you got the script?

I was just happy that it was a good script, first and foremost. But also, then I learned that the writers, Kirsten King and Casey Rackham, are also queer. And then, to top it off, our director, Sammi Cohen, is also queer. It felt so good, and after reading the script, it made sense. I was, like, “Oh, see, this is why the jokes land. And this is why the Gen Z humor is so on the nose, because we’re making fun of ourselves, and it’s funny!”

Working with so many people from the LGBTQ+ community, did you feel at home?

Yeah. It’s really fun. I mean, just to know that we are making something that I’ve learned affects how people are treated in real life. So, to show films that are more diverse, inclusive, sex-positive — it broadens our audience’s minds, and I think we all knew that.But then, also, we’re all young. It’s a young cast, and we all got to, somewhat, [hang out] during a pandemic, because this is a pandemic film. I was skateboarding with some people because that’s what my character does, and I fell down a lot. It was just fun to be included in a cast that knew the importance of the film.

AJ is into girls, but do we know how she identifies?

Yes, we do. AJ is a proud bisexual just like me.

How do you relate to her?

I, for this role, practiced running, which is strange to say, but I did have to practice how to run. [Laughs.] I also took a few skateboarding lessons and drove myself to the skate park, and I fell down a lot. Like, truthfully, that really bruised my pride. It was important for me to do that, because that connected me more so to AJ, as someone who is a perfectionist. She wants to be on her A-game, always, in school, as far as grades are concerned, as well as with the track team. She is co-head of the track team.Then what we come to find out is she has this really strong inclination to art, and she draws. To be a perfectionist in your art is so common, but also so damaging because, at least for myself, when I make art, I’m like, “It’s not ready yet. It’s not ready to be seen.” Sometimes I wonder if it will ever be ready to be seen. These were traits that, suddenly, I understood, because I am also a perfectionist.

In 2020, you came out on TikTok as bisexual. Did you expect that news to make the splash that it did?

It was crazy! It was in the beginning of the pandemic, when no one had anything else to talk about. And I was like, “I’m gonna lip sync this Eminem song on TikTok at 3 a.m. with my mom literally snoring in the background.” It blew up. So, that was strange [laughs]. But I never felt the need to come out. Like, you don’t have to make a really big announcement to know who you are. And, for me, that’s how it was. I’ve always known that I like girls. Girls smell good, and they are soft, and I know how to talk to girls; that’s just something that comes naturally to me. So, if anyone relates to that, that’s your coming out story to yourself. When you have that conversation with yourself, that’s all it has to be.

Do your queer fans still come up to you or reach out to you on Twitter and talk about it, and what do they say?

Yeah! They said they’re impacted that I did that. I didn’t realize the impact, but now I do. Because it’s representation, and that’s what it comes down to. It’s seeing yourself on screen and more than it was important for myself, it was important for others to know that it was OK.

Sometimes we’re just in our bubbles. For me, I’m surrounded by queer people all the time. But we have to keep in mind that some 12-year-old boy in small-town Kansas City might not have any queer friends, so the only people he has is someone like you.

Yeah, well said. And it truly is that, and I forget. I forget I’m 21, you know what I mean? To have an impact like that, it makes my heart swell. I’m truly so grateful.

What did you make of the “Moana is bisexual” headlines after you came out?

I also find that amusing. What is written and how it is portrayed, and then how the public takes it or how one person interprets it, is entirely their own. That’s what’s super special about it. A lot of movies are queer coded. A lot of characters are camp.

Representation has changed so much in the last few years, and what I love about “Crush” is that it is just casually queer. Are those the sort of queer characters that appeal to you?

I think this ties back into: I am bisexual. I identify as queer. And every character that I play, moving forward, is an extension of me. And so my vibrancy and my experiences shape how I play a certain character. So, in the future, I absolutely want to play characters that are outwardly queer. But, even if they aren’t, I think the way that I interpret scripts will always be my own. And all my characters are gonna be a little bit like this, because I’m a little bit like this. I don’t know how to say it in words.

That all your roles get filtered through a queer lens?Yes! I think filtered through a queer lens is such a better way of putting it. Beautiful words.

There’s been talk about Disney for years and LGBTQ+ representation within Disney films, about them falling behind and not keeping up with the times. What’s your take on that as somebody who has worked for Disney?

I think it’s really important to stand on the right side of history, now. It’s important to support people, regardless of sexuality. And support people for their sexuality, as well. And, in times such as these, when corporations are tied so directly to bills and laws, I think it is imperative that people speak up. And I applaud individuals for standing up for what is right — for walking out, for striking when it’s necessary. Because it is. Because, sometimes, we need to take matters into our own hands in order to be listened to.

So, I believe representation is very important, but also the work on the ground is just as important, and staying up-to-date and staying informed. This is the world that we live in now. And if we’re fighting for our diverse and inclusive future, then be inclusive. Put your money where your mouth is.

We’re nearing Pride, and I don’t know if you’ve ever gone to a Pride event, but, this year, how do you plan on celebrating?

I’m so excited. I’ve never been to a Pride event. But I lived in Hell’s Kitchen for a while.

Always Pride there.

Always Pride! [Laughs.] I suppose my first Pride event… I live in Los Angeles, so I’ll be there. I’ll be taking to the streets. I will find someone to give a little gay flag. One of the great things about wearing a mask is nobody knows who you are. So, I’ll be there. I don’t know if you’ll see me, but I will be there. It’s so joyful to walk around and to scream Lady Gaga at the top of your lungs and to know that your community is surrounding you. And to watch “RuPaul’s Drag Race” on a TV in West Hollywood because it’s Pride. Like, everyone’s just playing things that are gay.

How fun to exist in that world for a period of time. And then to take that energy and throw it everywhere that you can, for the rest of the year. I feel like that’s Pride.

A Day in the Queer Life of Asian Pacific America

August 16, 2021August 15, 2021 by David Mariner

A digital exhibition “A Day in the Queer Life of Asian Pacific America” is now available at smithsonianapa.org. The exhibition, which will be updated with new material through August, is a collaboration of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, AARP and Kundiman.

The past 50 years have witnessed huge strides in visibility for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, but with little attention focused on Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences. Featuring solicited and crowd-sourced media, including short film, photography, boomerangs, video poems and a long-form essays, this virtual exhibition explores queer life in Asian American and Pacific Islander communities throughout the country.

Featured sections of the exhibition include:

Queer Elders: a series of four video shorts of queer elders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and sites in the South and Midwest U.S., curated by archivist, photographer and filmmaker Mia Nakano
Queer Check-ins: a series of 12 video poem “check ins” by queer diasporic poets throughout the U.S. and beyond, curated by poet Franny Choi
Queer Youth: crowd-sourced photography and short video by queer youth
Queer Motion: crowd-sourced boomerangs exploring queer survival, heartbreak and joy set to motion
Queer Time: a long-form essay on queer experience of time by poet Rajiv Mohabir

“As an extension of our 2014 digital exhibition ‘A Day in the Life of Asian Pacific America,’ this project examines everyday life all across Asian Pacific America in order to illuminate the vast and complex nature of the Asian Pacific American identity,” said Lisa Sasaki, the director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. “Most importantly, it brings much-needed visibility to the Asian American and Pacific Islander LGBTQ community by sharing the stories of elders, youth and—through calls for crowd-sourced material—any community member.”

“A Day in the Queer Life of Asian Pacific America” uses the designation “queer” to understand sexual and gender identity as often fluid and complex, while recognizing the term’s histories of derogatory usage.

“The 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall uprising feels like a good time to take stock of how far we’ve come and how far we must go to ensure that all LGBT older adults are free to be their whole selves, in every community under the rainbow, without fear of any kind of discrimination,” said Nii-Quartelai Quartey, AARP senior advisor and national LGBT liaison. “AARP is proud to do our part to advance and maintain the dignity of all of our members.”

Leyna Bloom: In Full Bloom

August 12, 2021August 7, 2021 by David Mariner

In Full Bloom
This Trans Actress and Sports Illustrated Model Is Changing the Game for Trans Women of Color
By Chris Azzopardi

Leyna Bloom made a splash this year for being the first Black and Asian openly trans woman to be featured in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, out in July. But even before reaching that historical milestone, the 27-year-old Chicago native was changing the game both on the runway and on the screen.

In 2019, Bloom was the only transgender woman of color to walk Paris Fashion Week in 2019 at the Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya fashion show as part of an all-Black female runway. Then there’s her drama “Port Authority,” which features Bloom making her major movie debut in a prominent role, positioning the model, actress and activist as the first trans woman of color to lead a feature film at the Cannes Film Festival in the festival’s 72-year history. After first premiering at Cannes in 2019, “Port Authority” will expand to VOD on June 1.

In writer-director Danielle Lessovitz’s romantic drama, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Bloom plays Wye, a trans woman of color and “femme queen” who encounters Paul (Fionn Whitehead) after he’s kicked out of his home in central Pennsylvania. Set against the backdrop of New York’s vogue houses and kiki ballrooms is their blossoming love. Bloom’s next film, “Asking For It,” a film focused on sexism that stars Kiersey Clemons, Ezra Miller, Vanessa Hudgens and Gabourey Sidibe, will premiere this summer at the Tribeca Film Festival. The actress can also be seen as ballroom figure Pretentia Khan in the third and (allegedly) final season of Ryan Murphy’s “Pose.”

During our recent conversation, the rising trans vanguard got emotional reflecting on making Cannes Film Festival history with “Port Authority.” Bloom also talked about drawing on legendary house mother Carmen Xtravaganza for her role on “Pose,” her dashed dreams of being in the Navy like her father, and being celebrated for her groundbreaking Sports Illustrated shoot.

When were you first interested in acting and modeling?

My great-grandmother was a model. My grandmother and my auntie, her daughters were both models. And my auntie was a dancer; she danced for Sammy Davis Jr. So dance and performing have always been in my blood. I come from two backgrounds, Nigerian and Filipino, which has a very rich background full of dance. So my ancestry and my creativity is all inside my body asking to be released constantly.

Acting has kind of always been kind of part of the plan, just like, “When am I gonna get there, and what script and what project will be the best project for that opportunity?” When “Port Authority” arrived, it was right on time because it was just a dream opportunity to play that character because it is literally the voice and the story of so many trans bodies. So, I’m glad that that was the first opportunity given to me to show the world the future.

“Port Authority” is the first film in Cannes Film Festival’s 72-year history to feature a trans woman of color in a lead role. How do you feel knowing that?

To be able to do something like this, which is my ancestors’ wildest dreams, is truly monumental. Why has it taken so long? And what can we do with this moment to make sure that it doesn’t take that long for the next person? That’s where my mind is always going to be wrapped up in. Because I may be the first, but I will not be the last. I think it’s just powerful because just 72 years ago, Black and brown bodies and queer bodies were nonexistent in this space. I think it’s just… I don’t know. I’m getting so emotional thinking about this.

Who are some of the people who paved the way for you to feel comfortable to be who you are?

A lot of beautiful women. Carmen Xtravaganza. Halle Berry. Tyra Banks. Tracey “Africa” (Norman). You know, Tyra Banks was the first woman of color to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, so I’m standing on her shoulders. It’s very powerful and I’m so happy that (“Port Authority,” a story about) love was the first reason why we made history. It wasn’t about war, it wasn’t about pain. It was about love. It was a love story that made history about two people, (featuring a) trans woman, that has been missing in society. That is why it is so important, and that is why we need to continue having more moments like this.

How much of your own ballroom experience is the experience of your character, Wye, in “Port Authority”?

My experience is very similar. Wye’s character comes from a ballroom family where she is getting ready for balls and she is helping her family get ready for balls. Paul’s character is actually helping her get ready for balls, so that is very familiar to my lifestyle over the years. I’ve been (doing) ballroom since I was 15 years old, so I’ve gotten ready for many balls and prepared myself for many different competitions through the circuit. It’s very real, it’s very raw, and I love that Danielle wanted to just bring that authenticity to the film.

I chuckled at the line, “I mean, you could be a model or something,” which Paul says to Wye after she tells him that she was in the Navy. Was that based on your own real-life experience?

My dad was actually in the military. He was a Marine. I was raised in that environment, I was raised around my dad and us living on base, and us traveling to many different bases around the world, and officially being a Marine brat. That was something that we wanted to add to the character. I also wanted to be in the Navy at one point in my life, but because I am trans and because the system is not set up for me to serve my country, I could not do that. So I thought that was a beautiful little piece of nuance.

How did ballroom culture shape who you are today?

Ballroom just allowed me to see myself in my rawest state and understand that if I wanted to change, it’s up to me; it’s not up to anyone else. Ballroom is a place where you can find harmony in yourself, in your community. Where you can feel the vibrations of the people that are feeling the pain that you’re feeling and can heal together because of that. So ballroom holds lots of raw energy and power that the world has been exploring at a very small rate. But now ballroom is going to homes around the world, and people are redefining the ideas about themselves and what’s around them.

As for “Pose,” were you a fan of the series before you starred in it?

I actually auditioned for “Pose,” and a lot of my friends on the show auditioned and got the part. I was a huge fan of any project that was about Black and brown trans women being the centerpiece of the glory of television. So, I’m a huge fan of that show, and I’m so happy I got a chance to be a part of (this) last season.

How would you describe your character, Pretentia, and what was it like embodying her?

I have so many ideas about her character. Pretentia is kind of like Carmen Xtravaganza, this amazing ballroom icon woman that is Spanish and Black African, and she just inspired me growing up. I wanted to just really bring Carmen back to life through Pretentia. She’s just a combination of a lot of different strong women that I just grew up loving. She reminds me a lot of Sharon Stone. She had a lot of really strong alpha characters, and I wanted to bring that to Pretentia.

Tyra Banks has been such a huge supporter of yours. How important is it to have prominent cis people, like Tyra Banks, lift up the trans community? And what does it mean for you to have people like Tyra in your corner?

Honestly, it’s full circle for me. I was that kid that was watching “America’s Next Top Model” first season, jotting notes to use in my everyday life. Tyra was this woman that was giving us access to free information about her lived experience. And, to one day be aligned in some way, shape or form — aligned to what she has created — is truly powerful. And for her to acknowledge that is even more powerful.

I grew up reading Sports Illustrated, and knowing that Tyra was on the cover many times was truly powerful for me as a young trans woman. Seeing a beautiful Black woman that was full bust — big smile, beautiful personality, in tune with her femininity — was really powerful for me to see. When I did Sports Illustrated and it was announced, I immediately hit her up to acknowledge her as like, “I would not be here if it wasn’t for you,” like I did when I did “Pose.” I hit up those women that I told you (about): Carmen, Tracey “Africa.” I hit up these women to acknowledge that, “I’m doing this because you allowed me to see something that changed my life, that now I can be a part of, and I would not be able to do it if it wasn’t for you.” And (Tyra) acknowledged me. We’re texting here and there, and she’s sending me words of affirmation, and I’m moving to Paris soon. She’s like, “Oh, that’s where I was at; my career started in Paris.” So she’s a huge inspiration of mine, but she’s also a mentor, and you know, like a mommy also. I’m one of her babies. (Laughs.)

Who else reached out to you acknowledging how big of a deal your Sports Illustrated shoot was?

So many people hit me up. People from all different walks of life. A lot of white men reached out to me, and not fetishizing or sexualizing me but acknowledging the fact that the world is changing and the decisions that Sports Illustrated is making allow me to not only just be a part of Sports Illustrated but to tell my story through them. (It) was truly monumental for them. They acknowledge that the world needs to change, and why has it taken so long? A huge, prominent person in sports, (NBA star Dwyane) Wade, who is also from Chicago, reached out to me and congratulated me, sent me some bottles of wine — shout out to D-Wade! He’s raising a young trans daughter, and it was just truly powerful to know that the world is really changing in this moment.

What do you think it will feel like when you get your hands on a physical copy of the magazine?

I just… I honestly, oh my… even seeing a billboard of me anywhere just gives me chills. Because that was part of my vision board, you know? I would go to these places and see these billboards and just dream that one day that could be me. So the idea that there’s a magazine that’s on the level of Sports Illustrated that is acknowledging my life and what I do in this world with my life, wants me to be something, or sees something inside of me, that’s just truly powerful to me. This new generation of people, you ask them the names, you tell them the stories, and it doesn’t really click with them. But for me, who comes from that era of understanding before social media how powerful these spaces are, it’s just out of this world. I just pinch myself every time.

When it comes to trans women of color leveling the playing field both in and out of Hollywood, what’s next? What do you want to see leveled up next for trans women of color?

I want to see education level up. I think it’s important for me to pass on information just like information was passed onto me. Since we are in a time when education is always going to be a powerful tool, I definitely want to see how I can work in that environment, whether it’s me opening my own school or building a curriculum in a school to develop some type of information and data so people like me can have resources that I didn’t have when I was growing up.

What’s next for you?

One of my mentors, Carmen Xtravaganza, I’m writing her story. That was one thing she wants to leave on this Earth: just information and ideas and wisdom, and I want to put it in a book. After I write her book, I’m going to be writing my own book.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Chris Azzopardi is the Editorial Director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate, the national LGBTQ wire service. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.

Victory Fund Endorses Alex Wan in Race for Georgia House District 57

August 26, 2021February 1, 2020 by David Mariner

Former Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan, a long-time Morningside homeowner and civic leader, has been endorsed by Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund in the race for Georgia State House District 57. Victory Fund (www.VictoryFund.org) is the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ people to public office.

“LGBTQ Victory Fund endorsed Alex in his previous races and is pleased to endorse his bid to continue serving Georgians, this time under the Gold Dome,” says Mayor Annise Parker, Victory Fund President & CEO. “During his 8 years on Atlanta City Council and since, Alex has worked with friends and neighbors across the district, tackling the community’s shared challenges. He is well-positioned at this critical juncture in our history to continue fighting for those issues in the State Legislature.”

Wan announced his bid to represent Georgia State House District 57, following the December announcement by State Rep. Pat Gardner that she will retire after the 2020 General Assembly. This endorsement signals Victory Fund’s confidence that Wan is ideally suited to represent District 57 and will be a strong voice for equity and equality in the Legislature.

“I am honored by the support of Victory Fund,” says Wan, who has called District 57 home for more than 25 years. “As I have said before, Victory Fund’s candidate training and support played an important part in my public service journey. As I continue fighting for the progressive, inclusive values we share as Atlantans, I am proud to do so with the support of the LGBTQ Victory Fund.”

Wan served as an Atlanta City Council member for Council District 6, which overlays much of House District 57, for 8 years. Wan was the first Asian American and first openly gay man elected to the Atlanta City Council. Since that time, he continues his community service as the Fulton/Atlanta citizen representative on the Atlanta Regional Commission Board and as a member of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board.

“I hope that my service to our district since I moved here over 25 years ago has demonstrated the kind of representative I will be,” Wan says. “Voters know my values. They know my commitment to service. They know that I’m accessible. And voters know that my experience on the Atlanta City Council and relationships I have developed with state and national elected officials will be invaluable.”

His professional experience includes the private, public, non-profit and higher-education sectors. He is Executive Director of Horizons Atlanta, a nonprofit that provides tuition-free summer enrichment programs for children from traditionally underserved communities. Wan holds a Bachelor’s in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Finance MBA from Wharton Business School and has completed educational programs at Dartmouth and Harvard.

Members of the Georgia House are elected for two-year terms, with the election to be held in November 2020, taking office in January 2021. Wan notes that redistricting that results from the 2020 Census will take place in the Fall of 2021, and that we need legislators in place who will approach that process fairly.

For more information about Wan and his campaign: www.AlexWanForAtlanta.com.

DesiQ Diaspora Call For Proposals

August 20, 2019 by David Mariner

NQAPIA is currently accepting proposals for Desi Queer Diaspora (DQD) 2020, to be held in Austin, Texas from May 15-17, 2020. Proposals will be accepted from August 12, 2019 until December 1st, 2019 at 11:59pm EST. Late proposals may be considered at the discretion of the DQD planning committee.

The term proposals references everything from discussion circles, movie showings, workshops, presentations, classes, panels and much more. Proposals may address a wide variety of topics, and we welcome proposals from anyone who identifies as queer and/or tgnc and traces their family ancestry to South Asia and the diaspora. As you develop your proposal, please keep in mind that sessions will be 90 minutes.

Proposals will be reviewed by a team of DQD steering committee members and members of the conference proposal review committee. As we review proposals, we are committed to developing a conference schedule that covers a wide variety of interest to the community, as reflected in our community survey as well as session presenters that are representative of our community across class, caste, country of origin, religion, gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics, and sexual orientation. NQAPIA also plan to organize specific panels to represent and reflect on the diversity of our community.

NQAPIA will let you know whether your proposal was accepted (or not) by February 1st, 2020. We will be accepting 27 workshops total. We ask that you accept the offer to present at the conference by February 15th, 2020. If you present at the conference, we will offer free registration. Note that for each session, there is a maximum of two presenters. If your proposal is not initially accepted, you may be placed on a waitlist and eventually be asked to present if other presenters drop out.

Find out more at: desiqdiaspora.org

At the Crossroads of Islam and Homosexuality

March 28, 2019February 6, 2019 by Guest Columnist

The following piece was written by a good friend who wants to remain anonymous for the time being. You may remember that a couple years back he wrote Young, Muslim, & Halfway Out of the Closet

Stop and think for a second about how many gay people you know. Now, of those people count on your hands how many would also call themselves Muslim? I would be surprised If you could hold more than one finger up. I am a gay cisgender man who comes from a Muslim background and I’m here to try to explain why we almost cease to exist in society.

I was born and raised in a fairly moderate Muslim household in the UK. I went to Arabic school every Saturday for the best part of a decade in an attempt to learn the language and hear the whimsical fables of the many prophets. As a child, I developed an irrational fear of death after hearing stories of heaven and hell foretold by my mother. This fear and the fact that I hadn’t yet developed critical thinking skills to question what I was doing meant I continued to keep up appearances of being faithful. Praying tended to feel more like a chore and I would rarely complete my ‘5 a day’. With the hormones of puberty came my sexual awakening. Pornography was bittersweet at first as it came with a lot of guilt. However, as I began to tepidly explore my sexuality further through chatting to likeminded people on social media, the guilt waned whilst the questions arose.

In the summer before I started university I came out to my sisters and friends who all took it well and with the dawn of university came a number of different ‘sinful’ experiences including drinking – even if it was very weak cider. I had held out until university to be free and I didn’t even feel guilty anymore. I mean why should I feel guilty about being myself? At the freshers’ fair I remember sheepishly signing up to the LGBT+ society after the guy on the stand spotted that glimmer in my eye and I’m proud to say that 2 years on I have represented my society as the BAME representative, despite not being out to my parents!

Homosexuality in Islam is very much still a taboo subject, we are elephants in the room, seen but not heard. This is why I wanted to take on the role to provide us, and other queer people of colour with a voice – think ‘The Little Mermaid’. Since, the subject is rarely discussed, many backwards beliefs remain. For example, many including my father still believe it is a ‘choice’ and you are allowed to be gay as long as you’re essentially celibate your whole life – because we all want to be monks right? In some Muslim countries you can be killed for ‘practising’ your sexuality and honour killings within British Asian communities are not uncommon. This fear has driven an increase in marriages of convenience between gay men and women or arranged marriages where the spouse is being deceived in plain sight.

Our university recently had its annual ‘Islam awareness week’ where the Islamic society held a marquee on campus containing a myriad of information about the religion, beautiful Arabic calligraphy and free samosas. Anyone would be a fool not to at least be curious. The more I have discovered my sexuality, the more I have lost touch with my faith so stepping into this space felt strange yet familiar. After exchanging my coupon for some free food I sat down and began chatting with some friendly hijabi girls. I surprised myself as I began to open up to them about why I had lost faith. None of them reacted badly to my confession and I left questioning whether I was doing the right thing again. However, ultimately they retorted the same celibacy spiel that airs from the mouths of the majority of imams (mosque leaders) in this country.

There is also a severe lack of media representation when it comes to queer Muslims. Once in a blue moon there will be a low-profile documentary putting us under the microscope but this can lead people to believe that we are just that, a microscopic problem that is hidden away. Putting us side by side with major characters in films, books and television is how we can truly become visible as invisibility in popular culture means invisibility in real life.

At the start of the year the roles reversed and I became the guy on the LGBT stand at the freshers fair seeking out shy baby gays. One of them being a wee Scottish girl who told me she, ‘can either be a proud, out lesbian or a happy Pakistani Muslim girl but cannot ever be both’. Over the year I have watched this once timid girl disprove her own beliefs by discovering the pride in her sexuality whilst maintaining her religious sobriety in gay clubs and she has now succeeded my role as BAME and Faith and Belief rep for the LGBT+ society. If a girl who struggles to make 5 foot can make herself seen, so can you! If you ever want to see you parents smile rather than tut when a gay couple comes on ‘First Dates’ you have to show yourself. It will not be easy but change in them will only come from a change within you…

Be brave,

from someone like you.

Young, Muslim, & Halfway Out of the Closet

September 10, 2017July 18, 2017 by Guest Columnist

Coming out. Diana Ross, emotional YouTube videos and dusty old closets are just some of the things that spring to mind, but the truth is everybody’s definition is unique. For me the process began long before I opened the closet door. Coming from a Muslim background I used to pray to God to straighten me out and so naturally I avoided pornography and all the sin that comes with it for longer than most horny teens. When I finally had my sexual awakening I felt guilty at first, but the more exposure I had to this strange yet familiar gay world and the more people I spoke to, the more I began to accept myself and think maybe I don’t have to marry a woman and have kids in a dark closet. The first step is coming out to yourself because if you can’t come out to yourself, how in the hell you gonna come out to anyone else?!

My sisters were always going to be the first people I told – at the ripe old age of 19 in a Wahaca restaurant. I was fairly certain they would take it well but you always have that doubt in the back of your mind. Everyone always talks about the feeling of a weight being lifted off your shoulders but I felt more nervous and weirded out by the whole situation. Like I said everyone’s experience is different and you should never compare yourself to others. Nevertheless, it has allowed us to grow closer and I hope this continues. Meeting up with my oblivious parents the next day, after deep chats with my sister was bizarre to say the least, but having someone to talk to is always better than no one.

Over that summer I told everyone close to me who I thought would take it well and thankfully they all did. At first it all seems very serious and formal so it can be difficult to know how to approach the reveal. However, I found that the more open I was the easier it became to casually drop the bombshell, or not feel the need to make a point of it because it’s already obvious and they clearly don’t give two shits. It’s 2017, I’ve told more than one person over Snapchat for God’s sake.

University is liberating for everyone but it can be especially important for LGBT+ people to grow their often-suppressed personality, away from potential pressures and glaring eyes at home. This was undoubtedly the case for me. For the first time, I could meet people and be realer than I ever had before. I’m still working on finding my authentic self but that is what coming out is all about. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would be attending drag shows with gay friends, becoming the BAME representative for the LGBT+ society or marching in a pride parade, but this and so much more is what you have to look forward to. All you have to do is turn that key.

I am speaking to you a year on from first opening that closet door, with one foot in and one foot out. Primarily due to unanswered questions about how my religion can reconcile with my sexuality and the fact that my parents are still in the dark. It’s not easy for me to enlighten them because they are practicing Muslims who are against homosexuality. This has created a barrier which prevents us from growing close as I have to act straight in front of them, or rather just exist. For this reason I have considered switching that light on as early as the end of this summer. I know it will not be easy at first and it may even drive us further apart, but I live for the chance that we could have a better relationship. I can’t see them die having lived a lie.

Being stuck in the closet for so long has forced me to suppress my personality to the extent that I don’t even know who the real me is. But I like to think that a year from now I could be finding myself to the tune of RuPaul’s latest gay anthem, as far away as possible from that dark closet I used to call home, along with many of you.

Peace and love,

Someone like you x

Support is available. The Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD) works to support, empower and connect LGBTQ Muslims. Find out more at www.muslimalliance.org.

Follow Friday: Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ Voices

January 13, 2017 by David Mariner

Asian and Pacific Islander Americans are the fastest growing minority group in the nation (NQAPIA). According to a Williams Institute 2013 report, an estimated 325,000 or 2.8% of all Asian and Pacific Islander (API) adults in the United States identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). This #FollowFriday we highlight just a few of the many LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (and one Canadian) who are a part of our movement.

Gregory Cendana

twitter.com/gregorycendana

Strategist, politico and coalition builder Gregory Cendana is the first openly gay and youngest-ever Executive Director of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance and Institute for Asian Pacific American Leadership & Advancement. He is the immediate past Chair of National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, co-founder of the diversity initiative Inclusv, Treasurer for the Labor Coalition for Community Action and is the youngest General Board member of the AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions representing 12 million workers.

He also co-authored Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) Behind Bars: Exposing the School to Prison to Deportation Pipeline, a first of its kind report on the impact mass incarceration and mass criminalization in the AAPI community.

Elisha Lim

twitter.com/elisha_c_lim

Elisha Lim is a graphic novelist and claymation animator who can’t ever leave Toronto, although they have tried, with Singapore, Berlin, London, the east coast of Australia and Montreal. They have 100 Crushes but they always come home. They decorate their most heartfelt stories with embellished frames and intimately detailed portraits. They also curate, lecture, jury and direct festivals to promote themes close their heart: radical inclusion and respect around race and gender.

Jose Antonio Vargas

twitter.com/joseiswriting

Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, filmmaker, and media entrepreneur whose work centers on the changing American identity. He is the founder and CEO of Define American, a non-profit media and culture organization that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration and citizenship in America; and the founder of #EmergingUS, a media start-up that lives at the intersection of race, immigration, and identity in a multicultural America. #EmergingUS is the first-ever media property owned by an undocumented immigrant.

In June 2011, the New York Times Magazine published a groundbreaking essay he wrote in which he revealed and chronicled his life in America as an undocumented immigrant.

Urooj Arshad

twitter.com/roojielicious

Urooj Arshad is the Associate director of International Youth Health and Rights at Advocates for Youth. She manages a project of the International Division that builds the capacity of youth-driven organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean to empower young people as strong advocates within their own countries and at international forums on reproductive and sexual health and rights of youth, especially young women and LGBTQ youth.

Urooj is serves on the Board of Directors for the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and is a steering committee member of the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD)

Ben de Guzman

twitter.com/bdeguzman94

Ben de Guzman has been a leading voice for over a dozen years both locally and nationally on a range of issues in the AAPI and LGBT communities, including: civil rights, veterans and immigration policy; leadership training and development; and advocacy and organizing.

Ben has worked for LGBT advocacy organizations including SAGE and NQAPIA. Ben also previously served as the National Coordinator for the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity (NAFVE), where he ran the successful legislative campaign to achieve payments for and recognize the military service of Filipinos who fought under the United States during World War II

He serves on the Executive Committee for the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project.

Farzana Doctor

twitter.com/farzanadoctor

Farzana Doctor is a Canadian novelist and social worker. She has published two novels to date, and won the 2011 Dayne Ogilvie Grant from the Writers’ Trust of Canada for an emerging lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender writer.

Her second novel, Six Metres of Pavement, was also a nominee for the 2012 Lambda Literary Awards in the category of Lesbian Fiction, and was announced as the winner of the award on June 4, 2012.

Born in Zambia to Dawoodi Bohra Muslim expatriate parents from India, she immigrated to Canada with her family in the early 1970s. In addition to her writing career, Doctor works as a psychotherapist, coordinates a regular reading series in Toronto’s Brockton Village neighbourhood, and coproduced Rewriting The Script: A Loveletter to Our Families, a documentary film about the family relationships of LGBT people in Toronto’s South Asian immigrant communities

Andy Marra

twitter.com/andy_marra

Andy Marra is the Communications Manager for the Arcus Foundation. Prior to Arcus, she was the Public Relations Manager for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Previously, she was Co-Director of Nodutdol for Korean Community Development and Senior Media Strategist for GLAAD. Andy has also served on boards and advisory councils, including Chinese for Affirmative Action, Funding Exchange, Human Rights Campaign, the National Campaign to End the Korean War, and the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Andy has been honored by the White House for her contributions to the LGBT movement, profiled in The Advocate’s “Forty Under 40″ and the inaugural Trans 100, and listed as one of The Huffington Post’s “Most Compelling LGBT People.” She is also the past recipient of the GLSEN Pathfinder Award, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Creating Change Award, the Colin Higgins Foundation Courage Award, and was honored by the City of New York for her work in the community.

Jes Tom

twitter.com/jestom

Born & raised in San Francisco and now established in New York, Jes Tom is a fresh voice in stand up comedy.

Their first 30 minute comedy special, Cold Brew, was recorded live in August 2016 at Astoria’s QED: A Place to Show and Tell. Cold Brew is an elegy for the Fuckboi. It’s a cautionary lamentation about being Queer and getting your heart broken in the age of “Love is Love is Love.” Through stand up, storytelling, and uncomfortably public vulnerability, COLD BREW tackles “falling in love,” astrology, interracial relationships, Pokémon, gay porn, and the inevitable fall of society as we know it

Jes Tom holds a BA in Theatre from Smith College. They have completed the Meisner Acting program at Maggie Flanigan Studio.

Queer Asian Voices — Asian American GLBT Voices

New Campaign Puts AAPI LGBT Community in the Spotlight

April 22, 2018November 1, 2015 by David Mariner

A new visibility campaign in the District of Columbia aims to highlight our local Asian American and Pacific Islander community. The DC AAPI Visibility Project is a partnership between the D.C. Maryors office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, (MOAPIA), API Queers United for Action (AQUA DC) and KhushDC. It is a celebration of the intersectionality of AAPI ethnicities and sexual orientation or gender identity.

The District residents featured in the campaign, many of whom are activists in the community, put a name and face on the diversity within our movement.

As the Project states: “We want to let people in the greater D.C. area know that we exist, and that we are not ashamed of who we are. For those who are still struggling to reconcile their identity as both LGBTQ and AAPI, we hope this project will be a resource and support for them. This collection of portraits will also showcase to our neighbors in both the LGBTQ and AAPI community at large that we are an integral part of the community.”

Check out the campaign photos below and visit their website at: www.thedcaapiproject.com.

Campbell: I am a transgender queer-identified Korean-American and D.C. is my home.