Curve articles from April 2008

Curve archives from April 2008

It's that time of year. Girl Bar Dinah Shore and The Dinah are hitting the California desert on April 2-6.(MORE TIDBITS)(Editorial)
April 1, 2008... Who would have thought last summer when we were helping MTV cast their new "lesbian reality dating show" at Peach, our Atlanta Women's Pride Party, that the show would become A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila? Under the impression that we were...

Gadgets or space?(lesbians and their cars)(Survey)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A new survey by LeaseTrader says that women want more space in their cars rather than nifty gadgets. What do you lesbians want more of?* 35% iPod-ready stereo (Take your tunes everywhere) 23% GPS navigation (I'll never be...

Bette and Tina cause a stir.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I enjoyed your interview with Jennifer Beals ["All Bettes Are Off" Vol. 18 #1]! I was so pleased to see her say that she thinks The L Word needs to tackle real issues, such as hate crimes, in the GLBTQ community more directly. I think The L...

Cool curvy CURVE chixs.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I was completely impressed with the recent layout in CURVE ["I Was a Middle-Aged Pinup," Vol. 18 #1]. Diane looked amazing. That was so cool. Seriously, so pretty! I loved it. It was... inspiring. Actually, I have such image issues so that was...

A gamer speaks.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I am a female gamer. I love CURVE. Your magazine mentions a lot of new "tech" ideas, but you are forgetting the very successful gaming market. There are girl gaming leagues that gamers can join. Just like bowling leagues, but with less of a...

Love and desire.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... I love this magazine. The photography is top notch. I enjoy the current events information pertaining to the lesbian community. It's about time we had a slick, good-looking magazine to represent our community. Keep up the good work. Yeah, go...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
April 1, 2008... The photo of late author Jane Rule [Vol. 18 #2] was taken by Sophie Verhagen. The company Tourgi [Vol. 18 #2] no longer exists.

Apparently you love pinups, too.
April 1, 2008... It's hard not to expect tons of fan mail when you have the reigning queens of America's most beloved lesbian drama on your cover, but the mail wasn't all about The L Word this month. Apparently, you like it when women go undercover, discovering...

Scene.(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... 1 L Word actor Jane Lynch (left) with Lynn-Ann Cuminotto of Helping Heroes Productions at the HRC Women's Garden Party 2 Star Sweet Baby Jai (left) with writer Dee Jae Cox at the Los Angeles opening weekend of Cox's play Prove It On Me 3 HRC...

Attorney fights for rights.(Out in Front)(Sharon Malheiro)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Ask attorney and workplace rights activist Sharon Malheiro what her vision is for successfully achieving LGBT civil rights, and her answer is simple and direct. "We still need to be our own best advocates," she says. Malheiro, who has...

Building bridges.(Out in Front)(Alice Hom)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Many consider Alice Hom to be a writer, educator and activist, and they'd be right, but Hom says she's just a bridge builder. "In whatever situation I find myself in, I tend to think about networking and how to help like-minded people get...

Homelessness to Harvard.(Out in Front)(Tanene Allison)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Growing up in an abusive household in a staunchly conservative, working-class small town in the Mojave Desert while knowing she was "the weird kid who was never interested in boys" left Tanene Allison feeling trapped. Her solution? Allison...

Kahlo hits the road.(Curvatures)(Frida Kahlo)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) would have been 100 in 2007. In celebration, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art organized a traveling exhibition featuring over 50 of her paintings and some...

Coffee with Marilyn.(Curvatures)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... The Coffee With... series--eight tiny books sold with full-size coffee mugs--imagines question-and-answer sessions with dead cultural icons. The interviews with Marilyn Monroe and Oscar Wilde will satisfy queer fans and fanatics alike. These...

Lisa Sherman was promoted to executive vice president and general manager of Logo in New York City.(MORE TIDBITS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Lisa Sherman was promoted to executive vice president and general manager of Logo in New York City. She was the senior vice president for two years, during which she led the LGBT TV network's launch.

Lisa Largess, a 44-year-old lesbian, was narrowly approved for ordination in the Presbyterian Church in the San Francisco region.(MORE TIDBITS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Lisa Largess, a 44-year-old lesbian, was narrowly approved for ordination in the Presbyterian Church in the San Francisco region. Her approval is the first since a 2006 resolution by the Presbyterian General Assembly that allows gay and lesbian...

GLAAD is urging people to complain to the New York Post after it refused to change the inflammatory headline, "Evil Lesbian Mom Left Toddler to Die a Slow Death: DA" and the overuse of sensationalistic phrases such as "lesbian lovers" in the story.(MORE TIDBITS)(Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... GLAAD is urging people to complain to the New York Post after it refused to change the inflammatory headline, "Evil Lesbian Mom Left Toddler to Die a Slow Death: DA" and the overuse of sensationalistic phrases such as "lesbian lovers" in the...

A recent survey by gay-owned Community Marketing Inc.(MORE TIDBITS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... A recent survey by gay-owned Community Marketing Inc. shows that gay men and lesbians travel on cruises three times as often as their straight counterparts--and 65 percent of them took a cruise on a mainstream line, showing that there is a huge...

It's that time of year. Girl Bar Dinah Shore and The Dinah are hitting the California desert on April 2-6.(MORE TIDBITS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... It's that time of year. Girl Bar Dinah Shore and The Dinah are hitting the California desert on April 2-6. Entertainment at the competing events includes The L Word's Leisha Hailey and her band, Uh Huh Her, indie darling Colbie Caillat, Suzanne...

Former Vice President Al Gore recently announced his change of heart regarding full same-sex marriage.(MORE TIDBITS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Former Vice President Al Gore recently announced his change of heart regarding full same-sex marriage. During his 2000 run for the presidency he, like this year's Democratic presidential hopefuls Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama,...

Lesbians gather in North Carolina.(Curvatures)
April 1, 2008... Sherri Schwartz decided to leave Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., because of the weather. "It all goes back to climate change," she says. "The water is so hot, it's a fiesta for hurricanes." During her search for property elsewhere, she came upon what...

She said, she said.(Quotation)
April 1, 2008... "I have friends who have told me that if their partner gets sick, they wouldn't be allowed in the hospital room because they're not considered immediate family and they have no spousal rights. I think it's very unfortunate that a...

Zahava Sherez.(Open Studio)
April 1, 2008... "My background does not affect my art; it is my art," the sculptor Zahava Sherez says, standing in her Oakland, Calif., studio surrounded by her work, a mass of buyers and her own students. Sherez was born in Argentina, grew up in Israel,...

Women's trivia factoids.(Curvatures)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Mary, Queen of Scots was not only the first female golfer, and one of the youngest rulers of all time, but also rumored to be a lesbian. Pharmacist, chief executive and lawyer are the three occupations with the highest earnings among women....

Gay is the new black: celebrity lesbian experiences are so hot right now.(Curvatures)(Janice Dickinson, Tila Tequila, Spice Girls, Penelope Cruz, and Jodie Foster )
April 1, 2008... This month, everyone wants to be gay--straight girls, bisexual girls, and even one very special formerly closeted icon. A Bit Too Friendly Years ago, when she was still dating Mick Jagger, supermodel Janice Dickinson thawed her icy...

Coming out goes global.(Curvatures)(Hide and Speak: A Coming Out Guide )(Book review)
April 1, 2008... Perhaps second only to our first Pride parade, the one day we LGBT folks never forget is the day we come out. Whether for the first or the tenth time, coming out can be a nerve-wracking experience requiring something a bit stronger than a...

What's hot: Pinup Toilet seats.(Curvatures)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Since the release of The Notorious Bettie Page, our country has been pinup crazy. But nothing was crazier than the plethora of pinup girl toilet seats we found on the Internet. These beautiful, buxom and bedazzling ladies will be sure to help...

Should I follow my bliss?(Advice)
April 1, 2008... Dear Lipstick and Dipstick: I've been dating my girlfriend for a year, and I think she's really wonderful, but whenever I try to bring up the future she changes the subject. She's said things to me when we're in bed like, "Wouldn't it be nice...

I like girls like that.(Advice)
April 1, 2008... Dear Fairy Butch: I'm having a problem with girls. See, I'm butch. I've gotten a number of offers, as it seems that butches are in high demand. Most of the girls that go after me are sweet, pretty and nice, but they're femmes and I'm all about...

A career in bloom.(Advice)
April 1, 2008... Aries (March 21-April 20) Sex: You won't have to do anything except be your adorable self, and the ladies will flock to you. Rams know how to control the herd this April! Career: You are bold, brash and beautiful at work. Or maybe we are...

M M M my Corona: trying to solve the mystery of automobiles and bisexual girls.(Dyke Drama)
April 1, 2008... When we kissed that first time, I was glad I wasn't standing because I couldn't have stayed on my feet. Every part of me was involved in that kiss. Every fiber of me was devoted to that experience. Swooning had seemed like a ridiculous concept...

Time for renewal: bring back the feminist revolution.(Politics)(Essay)
April 1, 2008... Spring gets me hopeful--I am a sucker for the budding trees and the hosts of golden daffodils. Spring makes me think of new beginnings, even out of the barrenness of winter. Spring makes me think we can remake the world. I am a feminist....

Hitting cruise control: lesbian visitors will find a Detroit that's shifted gears into the 21st century.(Travel narrative)
April 1, 2008... In the '80s and '90s, T-shirts in my hometown welcomed visitors with the words "Detroit: Where the Weak Are Killed and Eaten." Not the warm, fuzzy greeting visitors come to expect when they're on vacation, but the message fit Detroit's image of...

Another shot at love: sure, MTV's newest superstar is America's first lesbian girl next door, but that doesn't mean she isn't also a smokin' hot mack daddy.(Tila Tequila)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... America loves reality television, but when MTV's Shot at Love premiered, giving viewers the first bisexual reality dating show, well, shock and awe was a more apt description of their response. Each week as Tila Tequila, a woman whose claim to...

Tila's girls: where are they now?(Tila Tequila)
April 1, 2008... Brandi Ryan, who left the show in a firestorm of emotions, may have a second chance at reality TV. The 23-year-old from Costa Mesa, Calif., has proposed a new show to MTV that centers around helping teenagers deal with some of the issues Ryan...

Fighting words: boxer Lucia Rijker, Helena's prison lover on The L Word, is still famous for beating Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby.(Interview)
April 1, 2008... The cheerfully patriotic red, white and blue motif does little to distract from the lack of air conditioning in the hot and sticky boxing gym. Lucia Rijker, however, breezes in through the back door, looking fresh and focused on this...

No bevy of bridezillas: but still dreaming of a dress.(wedding bells)
April 1, 2008... I never got to be a bridezilla. But I consider myself lucky to have been a bride at all, even if there was nary a dress in sight. My road to marriage was more an amazing race than a stately journey. It was pouring rain as my spouse-to-be...

A victory for gays in Oregon.(wedding bells)(Oregon Equality Act and Oregon Family Fairness Act)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... In spring 2007, Oregon state legislators passed two landmark bills: the Oregon Equality Act, which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the Oregon Family Fairness Act, which would legally recognize...

Picking the wedding locale: know your rights in your state before you say "I do.".(wedding bells)
April 1, 2008... Passed in 1996, the federal Defense of Marriage Act defined marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman for purposes of all federal laws, and says that states need not recognize a marriage from another state if it is between persons...

I thee wed.(wedding bells)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... There's a great new trend by jewelry designers to market to lesbian and gay couples, even some like Udi Behr's Love and Pride lines created by openly queer artists themselves. It's a boon for dykes like me who always want to aim their buying...

The fight is on: and how you can make a difference.(wedding bells)
April 1, 2008... From the courthouses of California to the halls of Capitol Hill, these women and the organizations they run are litigating, lobbying and leading the fight for marriage equality. Kate Kendell, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian...

Lesbian wedding etiquette: fun advice to get you through that special day.(wedding bells)
April 1, 2008... 1 My mother is obsessed with my wedding. She is obnoxious and annoying. What do I do? Congratulations. This means you are finally being treated like everyone else. 2 I always learned that the parents of the bride pay for the wedding....

Midnight nuptials: New Hampshire celebrates New Year's civil unions.(wedding bells)
April 1, 2008... "I am so, I am so happy..." cried the graying, pleasantly plump woman. She struggled to blot tears from her cheek as one hand held a bouquet of cream-colored calla lilies, and the other, a certificate of civil union. Her partner, tall and...

Hitched in 'Hampshire.(wedding bells)
April 1, 2008... "We were thrilled that two New Hampshire couples wanted to have their civil unions at the inn at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, the very moment the law went into effect," said Grace Newman, owner, innkeeper and nurturing spirit of The...

The need for speed: estrogen-driven engines rule the racetrack.(WOMEN + WHEELS)
April 1, 2008... I love speed. Not the white, powdery kind. The vroom-vroom, racing down the fast lane at 98 mph as I white-knuckle the wheel and pray for no po-po kind. I thought I was badass, but 98 is nothin' compared to the 220-plus speeds reached by...

Ladies, start your engines: speed demons cut loose at this racing school.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(Bridgestone Racing Academy)
April 1, 2008... Looking for an activity to make your palms sweaty, your heart pound and your breath heavy? Sign up for racing school. "There is nothing quite like driving around a race track," says Brett Goodman, president and owner of the Bridgestone...

Pimp your ride.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... You want to personalize your wheels to impress the girls, but you have no idea where to begin? We suggest a few cool items to get you started. CUSTOMIZE THE MATS Design your own Hers and Hers custom car mats by GG Bailey. Choose your...

A new kind of girl gang: San Francisco Scooter Girls are making their mark on this scooter-crazed town.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(Organization overview)
April 1, 2008... If you live in San Francisco or a European city, chances are you've thought about getting a scooter yourself. And if the quick dismount, humming vibrations and ease of parking aren't reasons enough to straddle a scooter, the San Francisco...

Dress your ride.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Like Europe, the U.S. is being taken by storm with the explosion of the zippy, flashy and easy to park scooter. Whether in response to a demand for low-cost transportation, or simply a lifestyle and cultural choice, scooters are making quite...

Is your car gay?(WOMEN + WHEELS)
April 1, 2008... Nobody likes a stereotype, but sometimes we admit, they ring a little true. No more so than when it comes to our habits and buying decisions. Why? Lesbians vote with our pocket-books, and in the past 20 years we've culturally agreed upon a...

How to buy a motorcycle: tips to finding that perfect fit.(WOMEN + WHEELS)
April 1, 2008... If you're ready to rumble, be ready to do some research on the best bike for you. I interviewed several dykes on bikes (and femmes with pipes) and found some very different strategies in the search for the right hog. Whether it's a Harley, a...

Adrenayne junkie.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(Gail Bowen)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... Fifty-year-old former police major Gail Bowen left the force nearly a decade ago to care for her terminally ill mother. The years away from the force left her reassessing her profession. Intrigued by stories of the difficulties women endure as...

Taxicab confessions: driving a cab in the Big Apple.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(New York City)
April 1, 2008... Melissa Plaut is regularly honked at, yelled at and spit on. One time, a man exposed his penis to her at a busy intersection. Another time, someone smashed her car window while she was in the car. And this is all just part of the job--a job she...

Driving without owning: get around in green style.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(Zipcar)
April 1, 2008... There are cities where owning a car simply does not make sense: New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco immediately come to mind. To such questions as, where do you put the car? Where do you park it? Do you really need to own one?...

Get your motor running: one lost, lonely night on a motorcycle in China.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(Travel narrative)
April 1, 2008... Our wheels scatter a blanket of golden aspen leaves across the road as we crest the mountain pass and see a long stretch of the Great Wall of China. It's lit by a cold, stark sunlight, and the big, round watchtowers loom over an endless sea of...

Biodiesel babes.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(Michelle Swiggers and Robin Gold of Dogpatch Biofuels)
April 1, 2008... "The only way to make a living is to work for yourself," Michelle Swiggers heard from her father as she was growing up. At 29, she's decided to take the plunge, but not alone. Swiggers' partner, Robin Gold, has driven a biodiesel car for more...

How to change a flat tire: even you girly girls can do it.(WOMEN + WHEELS)
April 1, 2008... OK, ladies, it's going to happen to you sooner or later... pop, thwakety, thwakety, thwakety... you're on the freeway and your tire blows. Or maybe your bitter ex slashes your tires at the club while you're inside dancing. Either way, you've...

A new kind of monster mash: nothing is sexier than a woman who drives a monster truck.(WOMEN + WHEELS)(Candice Jolly)
April 1, 2008... Twenty-eight-year-old Candice Jolly can crush Cadillacs. She can pop a sky-wheelie and burn one mean donut. The adorable 5-foot-3-inch brunette makes it all look easy in her 10,000 pound, 10-foot high, black-and-white monster truck,...

All aboard the crazy train: you don't have to be insane to drive a train. But it helps.(WOMEN + WHEELS)
April 1, 2008... Bay Area Rapid Transit opened its groundbreaking electric doors for business on Sept. 11, 1972. Sarah Cadwallader and Kelly Beardsley hadn't even been walking very long at that time, but since then they have just about written the metaphorical...

Flaws and all: the Hottie and Butch Jamie find love right under their noses.(The Hottie and the Nottie)(Movie review)
April 1, 2008... The newest Paris Hilton vehicle has something in common with Michelle Ehlen's indie Tootsie for dykes: Both comedies skewer cultural ideas about the importance of physical appearance. The Hottie and the Nottie (Regent Releasing): The very...

Samara Halperin.(Q+A)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... A filmmaker since the late 1980s, Samara Halperin is the director of the short gems Tumbleweed Town, a stop-action film featuring gay toy cowboys, and Sorry, Brenda, which brings to the fore the homoerotics of Brandon and Dylan's relationship...

Diane Meholick.(Q+A)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... What do a recovering alcoholic, obsessive-compulsive disorder and the city of Buffalo all have in common? For fans of Diane Meholick, the answer lies in her recently released third book, Buffalo Stories, which is a definite departure from what...

Quirky queer Indy rock: a look at some of the more interesting indie rockers out there.(Sound recording review)
April 1, 2008... This month, let's take a look at some of the more interesting independent queer/dyke rock bands whose albums have come in recently--from the political DIY punk of Brooklyn's the Shondes and the classic rock riffs of Buffalo's Alison Pipitone...

Suede.(Q+A)(Interview)
April 1, 2008... Haven't heard of Suede yet? Well, fasten your safety belt, this self-proclaimed diva is ready for liftoff. Take one part Ella Fitzgerald, toss in some Bette Midler and Rosemary Clooney and top with some Louis Armstrong, and you've got Suede,...

It's time to get your game on: it's hard not to love all the new games coming our way.(Buyers guide)
April 1, 2008... Scores of lesbians have been gamer girls for years and even more women and girls are joining in on the new revolution every day, especially with the introduction of game consoles like the Nintendo Wii, rental programs (like Gamefly) that make...

There's something in the water: aquatic therapy is more than a sink-or-swim proposition.(I Tried It)
April 1, 2008... I've done a great deal in the name of lesbian journalism. Once, when I was 22, I got a Brazilian wax that involved me in a doggie-style position sporting paper panties while an octogenarian drag queen named Ginger ever so gently tore my pubic...

Top ten: reasons we love Alexandra Billings.
April 1, 2008... Ever since lesbian actor Alexandra Billings starred in Chicago's rendition of Charles Busch's Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, she's been winning awards for her roles. Currently starring in Twist, Billings has had a turn on ER and Karen Sisco and...