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Published on The Cornell Daily Sun (http://www.cornellsun.com):
On Saturday night, the Cornell gay community took over the Straight and hosted the fourth annual Filthy/Gorgeous Party, which aims to celebrate the LGBTQ community at Cornell.
“I like to consider it the gay Slope Day,” said Ben Lebrun ’10, president of the Gay Straight Alliance.
This year’s event drew more than 600 students, some dressed in drag, others coming with their same-sex partners. Some came wearing platform shoes and chains. The party also drew people from outside the gay community. Attendance is up from 400 last year, which did not surprise Lebrun.
“I feel that an event that cost $27,000 and took 11 months to plan speaks for itself,” Lebrun said. Approximately $7,000 of this came from SAFC funding, according to Chris Basil ’10, vice president of finance for the Student Assembly. Proceeds from the event benefitted Sylvia’s Place, a shelter for those suffering from domestic violence, and the Metropolitan Community Church of New York Homeless Youth Services.
The party was originally started back in 2006 and was the brainchild of John Connelly ’03. To make the event stand out, Connelly wanted to create a sex-positive environment. At this year’s party, a bin of condoms sat on the table for people to take as they paid the $3 entry fee. Half-naked male and female dancers, some who work at the Splash Bar in New York City, were hired to get the crowd excited by sporadically kissing one another on stage and also by kissing members of the audience — regardless of gender.
Mike Ortiz ’12 took the opportunity to dance on stage with the dancers.
“I grew up in New York City and I’ve been out since 15,” Ortiz said. “Getting on stage without a shirt on is second nature.”
This year, organizers brought back Chi Chi LaRue (PHOTO LEFT FROM LaRUE'S TWITTER), a transgender porn director and drag queen, to DJ the event and the group Whore’s Mascara to perform original songs. LaRue — who noted that this year’s party was twice as exciting as last year’s — said the crowd at the Straight was quite different from the usual audiences in his hometown Los Angeles.
“This is a happy, young, student crowd, the rest are all jaded bitches,” he said.
LaRue said that he enjoyed the mix of students, who came with different outfits and ideologies. “It’s a melting pot,” he said. “You don’t know who’s straight and who’s gay — and I guess that’s the point.”
According to Lebrun, Haven’s goal for Filthy/Gorgeous was to create a safe place for the LGBTQ community to express itself in an environment different than the Cornell Greek community. He added, “I feel like if you are surrounded by behavior that doesn’t represent you, it can make the coming out process harder.”
This celebration — quite fortuitously — was held just two weeks after the Student Assembly passed Resolution 44, extending the full rights of membership to all members of student organizations in an effort to prevent discrimination within independent student groups. The resolution’s sponsors, At-Large Rep. Andrew Brokman ’11 and LGBTQ Rep. Matt Danzer ’11, both attended the event.
Danzer said, “I think Haven itself — as well as the event Filthy/Gorgeous — highlights why Resolution 44 is so important. The LGBTQ community spans the spectrum of culture, community religion and Haven and its affiliated organizations try to encapsulate that by creating an event that welcomes everybody.”
According to John Connelly, in light of the recent approval of the non-discrimination clause, the timing of Filthy/Gorgeous was a lucky coincidence.
“This party wasn’t necessarily an intentional celebration of Resolution 44, but I’m sure it contributed to the happy vibes,” he said.
Billy Hanson of Whore’s Mascara, who performs under the stage name Lonni Bahls, said that he had been looking into some of the controversy before coming up to Ithaca from New York City.
“There really needs to be a Resolution 69,” Hanson said. “People should be afforded all rights no matter what.”
Some students in the gay community, however, were not happy with the party. Nate Treffeisen ’12 said that he did not find the in-your-face nature of the party very receptive. He had been opposed to the party as soon as the posters went up, but still attended to see what it was all about.
“I’m not here to be filthy, I’m not here to be gorgeous, I’m here to be gay,” he said. “I think in a way it reinforces [gay] stereotypes in the sense that the name Filthy/Gorgeous does not necessarily reflect the way every gay person … goes about their daily life.”
Because of Haven’s prominence on campus, Treffeisen expressed concern over the fact that the prominent LGBTQ group on campus — the face of the gay community — opted to sponsor an event with a name so prone to reinforcing certain gay stereotypes.
Treffeisen said, “[The event’s name] was definitely a controversial issue because it does definitely represent the entire gay community at Cornell and I think it’s personally offensive … to a lot of the gay community.”
Having discussed the issue with other members of the Cornell gay community, Treffeisen observed, “Not a lot of people are speaking out … but there really is a lot of unrest. No one is particularly happy with the way the event represents them.”
Danzer did not share Treffeisen’s concerns.
“I think it’s important to remember that Filthy/Gorgeous isn’t the only even that the LGBTQ community puts on at Cornell,"” Danzer said. “It’s one of a number of events that are put on throughout the year. … If Filthy/Gorgeous were the only event they were putting on I could see where those comments were coming from … but given that it’s not I think it’s wrong to say that [the name of] the event is stereotyping.”
Danzer did not see the event’s portrayal of the University’s gay community as problematic enough to interfere with the party-friendly atmosphere. “I was at the event and people were just focusing on having fun not on how it portrayed the community,” he said.
"I am honored to raise awareness and money for this cause and all these outstanding organizations. Organizations like these are in the trenches every day working on behalf of all of us, gay or straight" "Equal and full civil rights are supposed to be for all of us.”Couldn't agree more, Lady G.
In 2000, June was officially dedicated as “Pride” month by the LGBT community. June marks the anniversary of the “Stonewall Riots” which is the event most commonly associated with the modern gay rights movement. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Stonewall which makes it a landmark year for the struggle towards equality. It also marks a rare event in political history with President Obama making the proclaimation that June is the Official LGBT Month.
We have all seen a great deal of change in so many aspects of life, that it would belabor me to even start a list of all we’ve seen evolve over the past 40 years.
You may keep up to date on gay pride events across the country with our all new WHAT'S HAPPENING section here on Just One Hot Minute. Be sure to check it out and if you find something that interests you just click the event and we take you DIRECTLY to all the key information about the event.
Be sure to join Team GorgeousBoys this weekend in our Nation's captial of Washington, DC for Capital Pride.
Why not weigh in on our comment board below and let us know how you plan to celebrate your PRIDE in the official Gay Pride Month of June 2009 !
Happy Pride !
Hundreds turned out Sunday for a gay pride event at the Wickham Pavilion in Melbourne, Florida. The Space Coast Pride ’09 event was the second festival organized by The Living Room of Brevard, Inc., a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender support group in Brevard County.
Organizers said the event is a time for them to come together in a safe environment and be seen in the community.
“We work with you. We are your neighbors, we’re your friends, your family members,” said organizer Kevin Kappes. “This just allows us to show a very positive outlook for everyone.”The event included vendors, food and lots of music. Businesses sold makeup, jewelry and all kinds of different items and services. Only 30 vendors showed up at the event in 2008, but the number jumped to 70 this year.
Check Out The Video Of The Event Here
story by: Channel 13 CBS News Affiliate
White Party shows some signs of lower attendance. Hotel tax revenue is down 20% in Palm Springs. In a previous interview the promoter, Jeffery Sanker said he expected to sell more than 3000 tickets to the Saturday night music event featuring Lady Gaga. Starting as an underground sensation, Lady GaGa has increased her fan base with dance beats and an unusual style and is the big hit tonight at White Party 2009 in Palm Springs.
White Party Palm Springs, the crown jewel of gay getaways, pulls out all the stops as the hottest boys in the world descend on the desert in celebration of its twentieth anniversary April 10-13, 2009.
Now planned annually on the second week in April, White Party Palm Springs continues its twenty year tradition, bringing the picturesque desert oasis alive with the mightiest events of men, music and muscle. For the latest schedule and performance information, visit: www.jeffreysanker.com.
Get out your beads and call your dealer: it has begun. Las Vegas already had theirs, like, two weeks ago and May 18th marked the beginning of the non-Nevada gay pride season, which starts in Long Beach and doesn't end until fucking November when Palm Springs has theirs. We swear we are proud, sometimes. And we know it's important for all you suburban and rural gays to strap on those Camel Baks full of vodka and descend on your nearest metropolis to drink and dance amongst throngs of your own for the first time since last year. We totally can't wait.
Albuquerque, NM (Albuquerque Pride 2008)
June 13 - 14
Amsterdam, Netherlands (Amsterdam Pride 2008)
Aug 1 - Aug 3
Atlanta, GA* (Atlanta Pride Festival 2008)
July 4 - 6
Austin, TX (Austin Pride Parade 2008)
June 14
Baltimore, MD * (Baltimore Pride 2008)
June 21 - 22
Bangkok, Thailand (Bangkok Together 2008)
Nov 1 - Nov 9
Barcelona, Spain (Barcelona Pride 2008)
March 19 - 24
Berlin, Germany (Christopher Street Day Berlin)
June 28
Boise, ID (Boise Idaho Pride)
June 6 - 8
Boston, MA* (Boston Pride 2008)
June 6 - 15
Charlotte, NC * (Pride Charlotte 2008)
July 26
Chicago, IL* (PRIDEChicago 2008)
June 29
Cologne, Germany (ColognePride 2008)
June 21 - July 6
Copenhagen, Denmark (Copenhagen Pride 2008)
August 11 - 16
Dallas, TX* (Dallas Pride 2008)
Sept 21
Denver, CO (Denver Pridefest 2008)
June 21 - 22
Detroit, MI (Motor City Pride)
June 1
Dublin, Ireland (Dublin Pride 2008)
June 13 - 22
El Paso, TX (El Paso Sun City Pride)
June 5 - 8
EuroPride 08 (in Stockholm)
July 25 - Aug 3
Frankfurt, Germany (Christopher Street Day 2008)
July 18 - 20
Harrisburg, PA (Harrisburg PrideFest 2008)
July 26
Hartford, CT (2008 Connecticut LGBTI Pride Festival)
June 7
Houston, TX (Pride Houston)
June 28
Iowa City, IA (Iowa City LGBT Pride)
June 16
Indianapolis, IN (IndyPride!)
June 13 - 15
Jacksonville, FL (First Coast Pride)
July 26 - Aug 26
Kansas City, MO (Kansas City Gay Pride)
May 30 - June 1
Lincoln, NE (Pride on the Prairie) -- Editor's Note: could someone please send us pictures of this?
June 20 - 22
London, England (Pride London)
July 5
Los Angeles, CA* (LA Pride)
June 6 - 8
Madrid, Spain (Madrid Pride)
July 3 - July 6
Manchester, England (Manchester Pride)
Aug 15 - 25
Mexico City, Mexico (Mexico City Pride)
June 26 - 30
Milwaukee, WI (Milwaukee PrideFest)
June 6 - 8
Minneapolis, MN (Twin Cities Pride)
June 28 - 29
Montreal, Canada (Divers/Cite)
July 27 - Aug 3
Nashville, TN (Nashville Pride Fest)
June 1
New Haven, CT (Connecticut Pride)
June 7
New Hope, PA (New Hope Celebrates)
May 16 - 18
New Orleans, LA* (Southern Decadence)
Aug 27 - Sept 1
New York City, NY* (Heritage of Pride)
June 22 - 29
Orlando, FL (Come Out With Pride)
Oct 12
Oslo, Norway (Nebraska Pride Parade)
June 20 - 22
Palm Springs, CA (Greater Palm Springs Pride)
November 1 - 2
Paris, France (Paris Pride)
May 17 - June 5
Philadelphia, PA* (Philly Pride)
June 8
Pittsburgh, PA (Pittsburgh Pride)
June 16 - 22
Portland, OR (Portland Pride)
June 14 - 15
Porto, Portugal (Porto Pride)
July 12
Providence, RI (Rhode Island Pride)
June 21
Reno, NV (Power of Pride)
Aug 19
Salt Lake City, UT (Utah Pride)
June 6 - 8
San Diego, CA* (San Diego LGBT Pride)
July 19 - 20
San Francisco, CA* (San Francisco)
June 28 - 29
Seattle, WA (Seattle Pride)
June 28 - 29
St. Louis, MO (Pride St. Louis)
June 23- 24
Stockholm, Sweden (EuroPride 2008)
July 25 - Aug 3
Toronto, Ont, Canada (Pride Toronto)
June 20 - 29
Vancouver, BC, Canada (Vancouver Pride)
Aug 3
Washington D.C* (Capital Pride 2008)
June 6 - 15
Zurich, Switzerland (Verein Gay Pride)
May 30 - June 8
For A Complete Listing Of Pride Events Visit THIS LINK BY CLICKING HERE
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