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GLSEN works for safe schools

Advocacy organization teams with Gaga, others for LGBT students

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Lady Gaga, National Equality March, gay news, Washington Blade
Lady Gaga, National Equality March, gay news, Washington Blade

Lady Gaga (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Itā€™s been said that for social progress to occur, blood must be shed. One could spend a dissertation exploring the topic, but thereā€™s evidence to support the concept. It will be interesting to see how things play out with U.S. gun laws after the Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., massacres. But weā€™re far enough out to see some positive results come from the rash of gay teen suicides of 2010.

The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. GLSENā€™s initiatives strive to create healthy school climates by educating teachers, students and the general public about the value of respecting every individual regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Established in 1990 and now boasting 38 local chapters in the United States, GLSEN projects such as Day of Silence, ThinkB4YouSpeak and Changing the Game have grabbed national attention. Its staff has been working hard way before 2010, but those tragedies seemed to galvanize the organization with a spate of new programs and partnerships.

In November, GLSEN became a partner with Lady Gagaā€™s Born This Way Foundation to promote their shared missions by creating the Born Brave Bus tour, which includes pre-concert safe space tailgate parties.

GLSEN utilizes its own research department and national polling organizations to determine positive and negative changes in the national school climate. Its 2011 National School Climate Survey reached about 8,500 LGBT students.

Research indicators led to the creation of Changing the Game in 2011 whose mission is to assist K-12 schools in creating and maintaining an athletic and physical education climate based on the core principles of respect, safety and equal access for all.

ā€œFrom our research studies, we found that less than 50 percent of LGBT students were participating in school sports,ā€ says Robert McGarry, director of education at GLSEN. ā€œWe had been providing diversity training for educators for 20 years and found that it was time to fill the gap by providing education on managing a sports field or locker room.ā€

Most of the sports education tools, which include game plans for athletes, coaches, athletic directors, principals, physical education teachers and parents, were created by Project Director Pat Griffin.

Griffin is a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the author of the book ā€œStrong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sports.ā€

Getting the word out for a sports initiative targeted at K-12 schools is a little more difficult than for programs aimed at higher education that answer to the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) or the professional sports teams that answer to their respective commissioners.

To accomplish that task, Changing the Game reaches out to member organizations for coaches and athletic directors, attends national conferences and lends support to student alliance groups.

ā€œOur research shows that coaches and physical education teachers are the least likely adult that a student will turn to with LGBT issues,ā€ McGarry says. ā€œGetting the word out to them is important to our mission.ā€

The need for projects like Changing the Game can be seen locally in the progression of the Team D.C. College Scholarship program.

The Team D.C. scholarships are aimed at local openly gay high school student athletes. When the program was established in 2008, the group struggled to get even one applicant.

After years of interactions with local educators and coaches, the 2012 scholarship board of directors had to choose from multiple applicants to narrow the awards down to six recipients.

Coming up for the Changing the Game project is an overhaul of its website to create a more youth-centric feel including an athlete all-star list.

The future looks bright for LGBT athletes considering the dedication of the people behind projects like Changing the Game. More information is at glsen.org.

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Theater

Celebrate Valentineā€™s Day with one of these three plays

ā€˜Waitress,ā€™ ā€˜Love Birds,ā€™ ā€˜Fuenteovejunaā€™ offer differing takes on love

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MALINDA plays Jenna in ā€˜Waitressā€™ at Olney Theatre Center.

For theatergoers seeking to mark Valentineā€™s Day with live music, love, and friendship, the DMV offers some new spins on traditional themes. 

Poised to make its regional debut at Olney Theatre Center, Sara Bareillesā€™s hit musical ā€œWaitressā€ (Feb.13-March 30) may not seem like a usual love story, but itā€™s a love story nonetheless. 

ā€œItā€™s about learning to love and value yourself,ā€ says MALINDA who plays Jenna, the showā€™s titular server/baker with aspirations to bake prize-winning pies and change her life. ā€œItā€™s also about sisterhood. From the start, the women involved in the show decided to be there for each other onstage and off, and it shows. For anyone with girl group love in their lives, this is an especially good show to see.

ā€œJenna doesnā€™t get a lot of satisfaction out of her primary partnership. Along with self-love she explores the antithesis of that ā€” partner violence. Our director [Marcia Milgrom Dodge] took the lesson of community support and community love to heart.ā€

Prior to coming out as bisexual in 2022, MALINDA considered herself more of a “quiet queer.ā€ However, the inspiration derived from Irish music (“music of the oppressedā€), which sheā€™s famed for singing on TikTok, compelled her to go public. 

She didnā€™t always believe her queerness to be special: ā€œFor me,ā€ MALINDA says, ā€œit was like saying my eyes are hazel. There wasnā€™t much to celebrate. But then I realized there were missing voices in my community. Felt like the right thing to do, and itā€™s been one of the great blessings of my life.ā€

Six years ago, after her Helen Hayes Award-winning turn in ā€œOnce,ā€ MALINDA took a break from musical theater. She needed time to age into dream parts, and one of those roles was Jenna. She recalls, ā€œGoing back to theater was prominently featured on my vision board, so when Marcia asked me to commit to ā€˜Waitress,ā€™ I happily agreed.ā€ 

For her, Valentineā€™s Day is an opportunity to reach out and tell friends, family, and, of course, romantic partners, just how much you love them. 

And she adds ā€œthatā€™s exactly how I plan to celebrate.ā€ 

D.C.ā€™s delightful Holly Twyford is spending Valentineā€™s Day working at the Folger on Capitol Hill. Sheā€™ll be on stage, her wife will be in the audience, and depending on the length of the program, theyā€™ll go out to dinner afterward.

For four performances, the multi-Helen Hayes award-winning actor is serving as narrator for ā€œThe Love Birdsā€ (Feb. 14-16), a new Folger Consort work that blends medieval music with a world-premiere composition by acclaimed composer Juri Seo and readings from Geoffrey Chaucerā€™s ā€œA Parlement of Foulesā€ by Twyford. 

Standing behind a podium, sheā€™ll read Chaucerā€™s words (translated from Middle English and backed by projected slides in the original language), alternating with music played on old and new instruments.  

ā€œThe new music is kind of dissonant with the sounds of birdcalls and nature sounds, painting a picture of whatā€™s going on in Chaucerā€™s poem thatā€™s beautiful and funny. Chaucer describes the male eagles pleading for the hand of the female eagle. Chaucer seems almost unwittingly feminist when he has the female eagle ask her eagle suitors to give her a year to think about it.ā€

GALA Hispanic Theatre in Columbia Heights presents ā€œFuenteovejunaā€ (through March 2), a timely production staged by out director JosĆ© Luis Arelleno. Penned in 1613, this work from the Spanish Golden Age ranks among playwright Lope de Vega’s most performed plays.

Itā€™s about tyranny and love, Arellano explains. Within Lope de Vegaā€™s timely tale of brutish power lies an intense love story. In fact, at the top of the show, four characters, two males and two females play a game. What is love? One of the players asserts that love doesnā€™t exist, while the others disagree. Itā€™s a charming way to kick off the play.

The celebrated director isnā€™t one to telegraph messages, preferring audiences think for themselves. That said, he does, of course, make strong directorial choices: ā€œIf I have to choose between love or war, itā€™s more important to talk about love. For me, itā€™s a revolution.ā€ 

And apropos of a Valentineā€™s Day date, GALAā€™s production of ā€œFuenteovejunaā€ (performed in Spanish with English surtitles) is imbued with live music and verse, an important part of any romantic experience, adds David Peralto, the productionā€™s poetry and verse consultant as well as Arellanoā€™s longtime partner. 

The busy Spain-based couple will celebrate Valentineā€™s Day in Seville and couldnā€™t be happier. Arellano describes Seville as the most romantic city in the world.

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Photos

PHOTOS: SMYAL for the New Year

LGBTQ youth services organization holds fundraiser at Shakers

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SMYAL for the New Year was held at Shakers on Jan. 30. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The LGBTQ youth services organization SMYAL held the “SMYAL for the New Year” fundraiser at Shakers on Thursday, Jan. 30.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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a&e features

Valentineā€™s gifts for the queers you love

Fragrances, X-rated sweet treats, candles, and more

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Put a little love in your heart. Thatā€™s what Jackie DeShannon encouraged with her 1969 hit song of the same name, and itā€™s never been more appropriate than in the context of our current state of affairs. Mute the vitriol this Valentineā€™s Day and concentrate on what really matters ā€“ those you love and who love you back. 

Gucci Guilty Love Edition

Sniffies? Youā€™ll put the site on hold after a whiff of Gucci Guilty Love Edition on the nape of his neck ā€“ featuring captivating notes of juniper oil, orange flower absolute and aphrodisiatic Ambrofix ā€“ which one review claims to ā€œmake your brain sparkle like a fine Champagne.ā€ Cheers to that. $25-$133, FragranceNet.com

Hunky Burning Love Pillow

Sweet dreams are on the docket when you rest your head on the Hunky Burning Love faux-suede square pillow printed with illustrations of shirtless himbos pining for your affection. An exercise in fantasy more than reality, but it beats sitting alone at a bar getting no attention at all. $30, ThePillowTopShop.com

Love Deck

Whatā€™s in the cards for your love life in 2025? Fuck around and find out with astrologist Lisa Stardustā€™s 70-card Love Deck, a tarot set of short spells, meditations and rituals designed to conjure enough love, passion, clarity and confidence to make Potion No. 9 jealous. $13, Amazon.com 

ā€˜Making the Case for Equalityā€™

Weā€™ll continue to fight the good fight over the next four years and beyond ā€“ perhaps harder than ever ā€“ and Lambda Legalā€™s ā€œMaking the Case for Equality,ā€ a detailed half-century history of our hard-won judicial victories, is a solid reminder of how far weā€™ve come in the war for LGBTQ+ rights. $45, Amazon.com

Lola Blankets

Schedule an at-home streaming marathon of this yearā€™s Best Picture noms before the big night ā€“ thereā€™s a lot to love in 2024ā€™s Oscar picks ā€“ and the coziest way to settle in is all snuggled up in the squishiest Lola blankets, reminiscent of the adorable ripples of the cutest Shar Pei. Pick up a couple for the cuddle puddle. $109-$299, LolaBlankets.com

Asa Akira x Cake Life Cookies

Cue the collaboration you didnā€™t see coming: Adult film star Asa Akira teams up with award-winning trans-owned bakery Cake Life Bake Shop for its sweet-and-spicy Conversation Heart Sugar Cookies, featuring Akiraā€™s XXX-tra special curated box decorated with NFSW phrases like ā€œCowgirl,ā€ ā€œCream Pie,ā€ and the ever-subtle ā€œAnalā€ ā€“ that are sure to leave mouths agog at your Gaylentineā€™s get-together. $19-$21, CakeLifeBakeShop.square.site

Mind Games Candles

Since the late 1990s, the Backstreet Boys have implored us to quit playinā€™ games with our loversā€™ hearts, which is probably why we play mind games instead ā€“ and now they come in luxury scents like Jasmine Milk, Tobacco Tonka Bean and Cherry Sandalwood, so you can enjoy mood lighting with your gaslighting. $135, MindGamesFragrance.com

Delysia Chocolates

Inspired by Greek Goddess-of-Love Aphrodite, Delysia Chocolatierā€™s 16-piece, limited-edition truffle collection includes four each of symbolic Passion (almond-honey-fig), Adoration (raspberry-rose petal-hibiscus), Unity (pomegranate-strawberry), and Love (spiced wine-berry) bite-size chocolates rich enough for savoring and abundant enough for sharing. $60, Delysia.com

DIY Whiskey Hot Sauce

Variety is the spice of life in Thoughtfully Gourmetā€™s Whiskey-Infused DIY Hot Sauce Kit that combines your favorite cereal spirit with high-quality global ingredients, like Mexican hot peppers, to create sophisticated flavor experiences of varying Scoville heat levels, handsomely housed in fancy decanters. Recipe book, spices and seasonings included; alcohol and antacids are not. $20, Amazon.com

Mikey Rox is an award-winning journalist and LGBTQ lifestyle expert whose work has been published in more than 100 outlets around the world. Connect with Mikey on Instagram @mikeyroxtravels.

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