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Getting in the game

It’s never to late to join one of the local LGBT sports leagues

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The D.C. Gay Flag Football League, one of dozens of LGBT sports outfits in the region. (Photo courtesy Kevin Majoros)

Last month at the Capital Pride festival, I was enjoying the sights of the day and eventually made my way over to the LGBT sports teams that were all lined up in a row at the center of the causeway.

After visiting with several of the teams, I ran into a friend who felt compelled to give me his impression of what he felt the LGBT sports teams were all about.

He ran a few steps on his tiptoes and pretended to throw a ball with a limp wrist.

Over the past decade, I have been at local LGBT volleyball tournaments, soccer matches, rowing regattas, flag football games, basketball tournaments, swim meets and the list goes on.

I have never seen anyone who resembled the twinkle toes that my friend portrayed.

The 30+ LGBT sports teams in the D.C. area are made up of over 2,500 athletes with varying degrees of ability.  Some are just beginning in their chosen sport, and some are world record holders.

One thing that they do have in common is that they are all part of a team and part of a community.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that by just taking that first step towards one of the local LGBT sports groups can lead to a lot of positive changes in their lives.

I recently spoke to a woman who decided to take that step four years ago by signing up for a local Learn to Row program.  Upon completion of the program, she decided to try competitive rowing.

The competitive rowing led to ergometer training (stationary rowing), strength training and eventually cycling.  She recently completed a 100 mile bike ride for charity.

All these accomplishments came from a 40 year old woman who had never participated in sports up to that point.  “You’re an athlete now,” I said.  She just blushed with pride.

Although I have been in sports my whole life, it was just a few short years ago that I experienced a moment that defined what sports could feel like for someone trying it for the first time.

After four days of competition, I had completed my swimming races at the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatic (IGLA) Championships and volunteered to be a timer for the rest of the meet.

Up on the blocks came a heat of swimmers competing in the 200 Medley Relay which consists of four people on each team swimming 50 meters of the four strokes.  Up first is the backstroke followed by breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.

The swimmers in my lane were somewhat older and obvious beginners.  The race started with all the backstrokers heading out to the first turn.  As they came back towards the wall, the breastrokers all adjusted their goggles and prepared to begin their leg of the relay.

After the breaststroker in my lane made the turn 25 meters away and began heading back to the blocks, we all saw it; his goggles had come down and planted themselves squarely in his mouth.

Not only was his vision impaired by not having the goggles over his eyes, his breathing was also being impaired by the obstruction.  While everyone around the blocks was mumbling about his misfortune, I happened upon the look in his eyes.

They were huge and filled with the fierce determination that can only come from having three other swimmers depending on you.  He was going to finish that race, no matter what obstacle, and he was going to finish it to the best of his ability.

I had goose bumps and even got a little teary.  This guy was truly a hero and truly an athlete.

So what are you waiting for?  Put yourself out there.  Find the athlete that lives inside of all of us.

Most of the local LGBT sports teams can be found at teamdc.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Books

From genteel British wealth to trans biker

Memoir ‘Frighten the Horses’ a long but essential read

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(Book cover image courtesy of Roxane Books/Grove Atlantic)

‘Frighten the Horses: A Memoir’
By Oliver Radclyffe
c.2024, Roxane Books/Grove Atlantic
$28/352 pages

Finding your own way.

It’s a rite of passage for every young person, a necessity on the path to adulthood. You might have had help with it. You might have listened to your heart alone on the quest to find your own way. And sometimes, as in the new memoir, “Frighten the Horses” by Oliver Radclyffe, you may have to find yourself first.

If you had observed Oliver Radclyffe in a random diner a few years ago, you’d have seen a blonde, bubbly, but harried mother with four active children under age seven and a distracted husband. You probably wouldn’t have seen trouble, but it was there.

“Nicky,” as Radclyffe was known then, was simmering with something that was just coming to the forefront.

As a young child, Nicky’d been raised in comfort in a family steeped in genteel British wealth, attended a private all-girl’s school, and never wanted for anything. She left all that behind as a young adult, and embraced the biker lifestyle and everything it entailed. The problem now wasn’t that she missed her old ways; it was that she hated life as a wife and mother. Her dreams were filled with fantasies of “exactly who I was: a man on a motorbike, in love with a woman.”

But being a man? No, that wasn’t quite right.

It took every bit of courage she had to say she was gay, that she thought constantly about women, that she hated sex with men. When she told her husband, he was hurt but mostly unbothered, insisting that she tell absolutely no one. They could remain married and just go forward. Nothing had to change.

But everything had already changed for Nicky.

Once she decided finally to come out, she learned that friends had already suspected. Family was supportive. It would be OK. But as Nicky began to experiment with a newfound freedom to be with women, one thing became clear: having sex with a woman was better when she imagined doing it as a man.

In his opening chapter, author Oliver Radclyffe shares an anecdote about the confusion the father of Radclyffe’s son’s friend had when picking up the friend. Readers may feel the same sentiment.

Fortunately, “Frighten the Horses” gets better — and it gets worse. Radclyffe’s story is riveting, told with a voice that’s distinct, sometimes poker-faced, but compelling; you’ll find yourself agreeing with every bit of his outrage and befuddlement with coming out in a way that feels right. When everything falls into place, it’s a relief for both author and reader.

And yet, it’s hard to get to this point because this memoir is just too long. It lags where you’ll wish it didn’t. It feels like being burrito-wrapped in a heavy-weighted blanket: You don’t necessarily want out, but you might get tired of being in it.

Still, it remains that this peek at transitioning, however painful, is essential reading for anyone who needs to understand how someone figures things out. If that’s you, then consider “Frighten the Horses” and find it.

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Celebrity News

Is Karla Sofía Gascón’s apology too little, too late?

Netflix has removed transgender actress from Oscars campaign

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Karla Sofía Gascón speaks to Juan Carlos Arciniegas on CNN en Español. (Screengrab of CNN en Español/Youtube)

The latest in the scandal involving “Emilia Peréz”’s trans star and Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón is Netflix deciding to part ways with her even after her public apology and statement regarding not withdrawing from the nomination. 

“I have been labeled a racist and I need to be clear that I am not. I feel like I’ve been judged, sentenced, crucified, and stoned without a fair trial and without an option to defend myself,” said Gascón in an interview with CNN en Español. 

According to Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has cut Gascón out of the campaign for the Oscars. This move comes even after Gascón issued an apology through a statement on her social media and in an interview with CNN en Español. On Thursday she was set to be seated with co-star Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña and the film’s writer-director, Jacques Audiard for the AFI Awards luncheon — a gathering at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. On Friday, she was set to attend the Critics Choice Awards. On Saturday, she was set to serve as presenter at the Producers Guild Awards, which happen to be going on at the same time as the Directors Guild Awards. According to THR, she will not be attending the events. 

The Spaniard actress found herself at the center of controversy surrounding the Netflix original being nominated for 13 Oscars after freelance culture writer Sarah Hagi uncovered the actress’s stream of consciousness on display on X, formerly Twitter. Hagi found tweets from as far back as 2020, revealing Gascón’s views on Muslims, George Floyd, China, and vaccines.

In her hour-long interview with CNN en Español, she defended her position on the issue stating that she feels that she was unfairly targeted, while not being given the opportunity to defend the position she stood behind while writing those tweets. 

She goes on to say that she “supports the Black Lives Matter movement obviously” and that the tweets about George Floyd “were taken out of context.” In the interview, she goes on to say she was highlighting the hypocrisy of humanity in that moment in history. According to Gascón, what she noticed during that time was that only after Floyd’s death did people care about him, but prior to his death, they did not help him or care about his struggles. 

“I do not identify with any political party and I have my own opinions about issues that might have been one thing in the past, but have now shifted because I have learned many things about respect, love and with the spiritual practice of Buddhism,” said Gascón. 

In the interview, she also pulls the I have a friend who’s Black, so I’m not racist,” card by saying she has a very close family friend who is Muslim, in response to the line of questioning about her being Islamophobic and only through very heavy discussions with her, has Gascón truly come to understand the implications of her words against the culture and religion, as well as the differences between the cultures. 

“Emilia Peréz” was already facing an upward battle to gain popularity, as it was a French production about México. Audiences criticized the film for various reasons and yet, it was still nominated for Best Picture, Critics Choice Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Directing, and many others. 

Gascón deleted her X account shortly after the tweets were discovered and is now facing the cold shoulder from Netflix. Variety and THR, reported that the streaming giant is no longer directly communicating with Gascón – only through representatives. 

Whether or not this is a witch hunt for a trans actress at the height of her career, Gascón now has first-hand experience in dealing with what it means to misuse a platform by sharing her views on issues she said herself, she did not understand. 

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Out & About

Camp Rehoboth Theatre Company kicks off new season

Poetry jam to be followed by ‘5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche’

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(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

CAMP Rehoboth Theatre Company will kick off its 2025 season with its first-ever poetry jam followed by a full-stage production of “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” on Friday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. at CAMP Rehoboth’s Elkins-Archibald Atrium.

CAMP Rehoboth Poetry Jam Poets / Performers include: Debbie Bricker, Kari Ebert, Shelley Blue Grabel, Lavance John, Vanita Leatherwood, Syd Linders, Ellie Maher, Jane Miller, Gwen Osborne, Coco Silveira, Guillermo Silverira, Laura Unruh, Paul Unruh, and Sherri Wright.

“5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche,” which will run from March 7-9 debuted at CAMP Rehoboth in fall of 2022, and features returning cast members Karen Laitman, Kelly Sheridan, Gwen Osborne, Darcy Vollero, and Shelley Kingsbury, and is directed by Teri Seaton. The absurdist comedy follows the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein having their annual quiche breakfast in 1956. Winner of the 2012 NYC International Fringe Festival as Best Overall Production, “5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche” is a tasty recipe of hysterical laughs, sexual innuendos, unsuccessful repressions, and delicious discoveries. For more information, visit CAMP Rehoboth’s website

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