July Newsletter

July 2007

inside this issue WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

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JUNE UPDATE

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WORD ON THE STREET

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REVIEW: TRUE COLORS TOUR

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OPINION FROM A NEWBIE

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THANK YOU

mer ch

andi s

e

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A NEW SPIN ON AN OLD FAV

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LBT WOMEN’S HEALTH FAIR

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EVENTS

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http://www.cafepress.com/109design/2724064

tor i d e e m th o r f e m welco Hello everyone! Welcome to the July issue of the GirlSpot newsletter, and Happy Independence Day! Let’s face it: it’s hard to be an independent women in this country, especially an LBTQ woman. In addition to the inequities and stereotypes faced by all women, LBTQ women can’t get legally married and we face both legal and illegal discrimination in many aspects of our lives. On a more local level, we all know that Ohio is not the most queer friendly state; a majority of voters amended the constitution to prohibit gay marriage, and we have struggled for years to get the state to include sexual orientation in the definition of hate crimes. But on a positive note, Columbus is a great place to be gay! From bookstores to bars, restaurants to retail, gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses abound; our mayor and governor recently attended a Human

Rights Campaign dinner, and the LBTQ population is growing in numbers and in visibility every day. The gay community here is very diverse; we come from all walks of life, all races, religions, income brackets, and backgrounds. GirlSpot aims to reflect that diversity. We hold monthly game and movie nights, outdoor recreational events, and unofficial socials in a variety of settings. Come visit our myspace page, or check out the event calendar at the back of this newsletter and see what interests you and come join us! – Emily Anderson Website: www.myspace.com/girlspotcolumbus Email: [email protected] 1

Member Spotlig ht Name: Emily Anderson Age: 29 Where you live: right on the edge of Victorian Village and Harrison West Three things you love: my dog, summer, books One thing you hate: litter Favorite thing about living in Columbus: Gallery Hop, Comfest, all my friends here, GirlSpot of course Describe your perfect day: It would be sunny and hot but not too humid. I’d sleep in late, take my dog to play in Goodale Park, go to brunch at either Whole World or Northstar and have some vegan yumyums with friends, then spend a relaxing day hanging out with all my favorite people, and have some time to myself in the evening to read or write.

ate d p U e jun June was a great month for GirlSpot. We held our monthly potluck game night on June 3rd. As always, it was a great time, attended by about 40-50 women. Our movie night on June 17th was also quite an adventure. To take advantage of the great weather, we opted to hold the movie outside. Some of our more technically minded volunteers were able to set up a screen, projector, and sound outside; unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate. We held our potluck indoors and enjoyed a variety of good food, then, once the skies cleared, we took the party outside to watch Saving Face. June also included GirlSpot events at the Columbus Arts Festival, a Comets football game, a Q&A with singer-songwriter Nels before her performance at Wall Street, a barbecue, several members participating in the Run for Pride 5K, a presence in the Pride parade, a booth at the festival, and tons of unofficial fun as well. – Emily Anderson

Word on t w he S street “Game night was a blast, dancing in the rain ROCKED!!!! Can’t wait to see you all again.” - Megan

“Thanks for the movie night, even though we didn’t get to see the end. I would have liked an interpretive dance though. Hope to see you all soon. ” - Becky

“Congrats on the success of this group! I DO plan on catching an event one of these days. The outdoor films sound super.” - Nicki

“You gals are kiiiinda neat…” - Colleen

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revie R w: tr ue co lors tour In the darkness of the stadium all that could be seen were the faint blue LCD screens of cell phones mimicking their non-multitasking ancestors—better known as lighters. A familiar voice appeared through the haze of screaming fans. It was our beautiful and entertaining host for the evening, Margaret Cho. Silence fell upon the crowd. Only the anticipation of one thing could have demanded such obedience from the ADD affected audience, the uttering of a few words. Some have been waiting only for weeks, others for months, but for me, years have passed with the need to hear the phrase that came from our lovely host’s mouth. “And now please welcome to the stage Cyndi Lauper.” The crowd erupts in to applause. Spotlights slowly open, revealing the stage. The audience grows louder with every breath. A figure moves from behind the side curtain. Screams, whistles, and words of admiration bounce around the stadium. Then, we see her. Like a phantom shadow, she appears from out of the darkness and gives the crowd its first glimpse of what all of us know will be a stellar performance. All I remember thinking is “Wow!” Here, Cyndi Lauper dances before us, with her rainbow feathered Chinese style hat and her signature hot pink hair—revealing later that she still has her short bleach blonde hair--and still all I can think is, “Wow!” I listened intently, trying to sing along--my voice crackling from all the screaming. Her voice, on the other hand, was perfection. It’s hard to believe that such a seasoned singer could sound so wonderful after so many years of strain on her vocal cords. My only disappointments with the concert had taken place earlier in the evening. The first was with the lack of fans, the other with Deborah Harry, a.k.a. Blondie. As I approached the entrance a ticket concierge informed me that my friend and I would be moved up a section due to the lack of attendance. Expecting an audience of over 4,000, it was a heart breaking turn out of around 2,000. Considering the fact that I only heard advertisement for the concert twice the previous month, I understand why the crowd was so small. That, however, never stopped the true enthusiasts from showing their support. Though the crowd was undersized, together, they had a voice that echoed long through the night. They started by showing their love for The Cliks. Applauding with every intense strum of the guitar, the audi-

ence was captivated. By bringing their all to the stage it was a treat to see The Cliks perform live. As a bonus--not only for the audience, but for the gorgeous Ms. Cho—the lead singer, Lucas Silveira, laid a long wet one on our host. Laughing at and giving accolades to Margaret Cho throughout the night, the fans were pumped, for the upcoming performances. The Dresden Dolls stole the stage from The Cliks. With high volume enthusiasm, it was a fan fair of the ages. Brian Viglione, the drummer, and Amanda Palmer, vocals/keyboard, rocked the stage. The audience was once again enthralled, calming down only for the break. After a short intermission, Deborah Harry took the stage. I was excited to see her live, but my illusion of a great show was soon crushed by, what turned out to be, a disappointingly poor performance. Though I had been looking forward to hearing the ‘80s icon, I couldn’t help but feel left flat throughout her performance. I wanted to believe that her lack of heart in the songs was due to a bad night. However, I was informed by my friend that that is just how she sounds now. It wasn’t that she sang off key or missed notes. On the contrary, she never missed a single one. She just didn’t seem to be feeling the music that she was singing. It was as if she had to be there, but would rather have been home filing her nails. Though the audience could sense her emotionless performance, they were kind and gave more than adequate accolades to a woman that most of us grew up listening to and loved. After all, she is still Debbie Harry. As the crowd settled down and roadies rearrange the musical instruments, Margaret Cho reentered the spot-lit stage to tickle our funny bones once more and to introduce the next band—Erasure. What a wonderful opener for Cyndi. Andy Bell was energetic and right on key. Vince Clark stood in the background feeding life into the assortment of instruments as only he can. Both giving birth to new fans, and reminding old ones of why they are still considered icons of the 80’s-which brings me back to Cyndi. Throughout her performance, Cyndi Lauper showed her endearing true colors by eloquently reminded us why the entertainers joined the Human Rights Campaign Concert. It wasn’t to make money, but to open people’s minds, to show the world that everyone deserves equal rights. She went on to say, “We should all have the right to live with the same dignity, opportunity and safety. It shouldn’t matter what anyone’s sexual orientation is.” How can you argue with such a lovely woman? That night, she showed us that a loving and understanding environment can bring us together, that one person can make a difference, and that the world can change to show its true colors.

– Juice Shipman

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e ewbi n a om r f n o opini Two months ago, I stumbled upon the GirlSpot organization on MySpace. I was supposed to be researching volunteer opportunities in the area, to bolster my resume for intended entrance into medical school. Instead, I decided to pass some time browsing. I was extremely impressed when I read GirlSpot’s explanation of itself. It said, “we are here to fill the social gap between the bars and home for LGBT women in Columbus. Have a little fun, make a little difference and create a real presence in the community…” That struck home for me. My girlfriend and I recently moved up here from Georgia. Each of us just having gotten out of the military, it was strange to return to the much more secluded civilian life. We were accustomed to being surrounded by massive amounts of people near our age and eager to socialize. Now, however, we found ourselves hanging out with…ourselves. The same topics surfaced in many of our conversations. It is disappointing that there is little to do in the LGBT community outside of socializing at the bars. Even more sad, in our opinion, is the fact that the community as a whole has one very small impression of LGBT life. They see us at the bars, and they see us annually at Pride. Beyond that, we don’t do much in their eyes. GirlSpot seemed to fill this large gap. I noticed that it had several standard social activities outside of the bar scene. It seemed that there were events for every type of person. There were also various admirable philanthropic activities and programs which they were beginning to implement within our community. That evening, I told my girlfriend about the group and was surprised that she was not as excited as I was. She tends to analyze things more thoroughly than I do, especially when I have already made up my mind about something. She rationalized about the potential dangers of getting involved with a group of lesbians. Circle of friends really takes on a whole new meaning in our community. She also brought up the fact that it would be extremely awkward to walk in on an already established group of girls as “the outsiders.” Nevertheless, we decided that we would give it one shot. We would show up for coffee at MoJoe’s one Wednesday. If we liked it, we would consider showing up again. If we thought it was a bunch of crazies, well, we could just happen to be getting coffee. I had messaged the group via MySpace to laude

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them for their efforts in creating such an organization and to indicate our interest in joining them for coffee. Melissa took the time to write back personally and elaborate about the group and its goals and interests and what to expect as an outsider. She offered to meet us outside the coffee shop so that we would not be walking in by ourselves, which I thought was very kind. The evening arrived and we decided to get to MoJoe’s earlier than the scheduled gathering, to watch people come in and interact. We were there for perhaps thirty minutes, and had quite talked ourselves into leaving, when a woman came up to our table. She was on the phone and she asked if my name was Shella. I indicated that it was and she told me that she had Melissa on the phone and Melissa wanted to talk to me. Melissa told me that she was stuck out of town and could not make it back for coffee. She knew that this was going to be our first time and that we were fully expecting to meet her that evening and she had no contact information for me. So, she called one of her friends who lived in the Short North area and implored her to get on the computer, login to MySpace, find my picture, memorize it, get in her car, go down to MoJoe’s, find me among the crowd and approach me as a stranger just so that Melissa could apologize to me directly via phone. I was floored. That anyone would make that much effort for someone they did not know was amazing to me. So we stayed. We had a very comfortable evening with a group of people we had never met before. Everybody was talkative and active in conversation, interested to get to know others. We were also pleased to find many other “newbies” in the crowd. Since this first encounter, we have attended events on a regular basis. In fact, we quickly moved into volunteer roles because of how much we believe in what this group is doing. The effort and kindness we were shown our first night has continued. The girls are amazing, and there are new people coming around every week. The group is growing by leaps and bounds, and it’s a phenomenal thing to watch. There are so many people in our LGBT community who care to get together and have a great time and also care to make a presence and change in the area where we live. I am incredibly thankful for the experiences I have had these past two months. I look forward to many more with these girls. I look even more forward to the new faces that are appearing daily and to the future growth of this group. I cannot imagine where Girl Spot will be one year from now, but I can assure you that I will be here to find out. – Shella Blackburn

r Recap & tha nk yo u!!

Pride has come and gone but not without leaving behind an impression of the beautiful wonders of service and community. Girl Spot’s first pride parade and booth affairs were made possible through all the hard work of our great volunteers and generous sponsors. Teamwork and drive was the heart of all the success that was accomplished that day! Many thanks are in order. So many of you rose to the occasion and selflessly gave of yourselves wherever you were needed. Thank you! Let me began with some of the behind the scenes folks; these poor people had to work many hours with me. Juice and Lauren, thank you for putting up with my over-stated, opinionated self. Juice and Lauren really put forth a lot of hard work and displayed saint-like patience when it came to working on the banner and several other tedious booth preparations. The banner for Pride took about three to four days to complete. It started as an idea and these ladies helped me make it a reality, and I know I was unbearable at times. Muchas gracias to you both! Then of coarse there was the booth, which entailed more hard work and time from various people. There was a raffle entry that cost a dollar to enter. The volunteers who worked the raffle tickets really had their work cut out for them. Sometimes trying to get people to stop and just listen is difficult, so you can be sure that trying to get them to stop then give you money is even more of a challenge. However, the

energy and enthusiasm of these brave souls did manage to get quite a few people to try their chance with lady luck. Aside from the raffle we also offered face painting and a kid friendly game, where the kiddies could win a prize. The face painting was fun and surprising. Surprising to see how many of the “big” kids waited in line to get their faces painted. Juice definitely had her hands full trying to meet the needs of these “kids”. The cost for the face painting was between fifty cents and a dollar, depending on what artistic creation you chose. The choices varied from butterflies, lettering, to Serena’s name (Thanks Serena for offering the use of your name). Colleen and Serena also helped out with the face painting part of the booth by recruiting faces to paint. Other volunteers working “Duck Spot” matched their motivation and determination to expose as many people as possible to the G-SPOT booth. Duck Spot was a kid friendly game that allowed its participants to 5

win some neat prizes. The cost of the game was fifty cents, just enough pocket change that a kid could afford it. We had a kiddie pool with several ducks floating in the water. Each duck had either an X or an O on its belly. No duck was harmed in any way during the placement of the X’s and O’s, and in fact Lauren named all the ducks and tried to find them good homes. The object of the game was to grab a duck out of the pool that was marked with an O. If you successfully did, then you won a prize and had your choice from a range of bracelets, beads, pocket change holder, really cute sunglasses, and bumper stickers. Volunteers working this spot displayed fun and energetic attitudes to all those who showed an interest in playing. The enticed the crowd with such words as “fabulous prizes” and “win a fabulous prize” so a lot of people stopped to check us out. Each volunteer had their own way of making people interested enough to see what this Girl Spot Columbus was about. Our volunteers and sponsors are what really helped in getting the booth noticed! So many thanks are in order because without the sponsors and volunteers

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this would have just stayed an idea instead of a reality. To the volunteers who put their own personal touch and brought with them their belief in G-SPOT, thank you so much! Juice, Lauren, Anjey, Stacey (Stacey thanks for having a house full of lesbians so early in the morning, we love you, boo), Melissa, Ellen, Mekal, Heidi, Shella, Courtney, Jaymee, Tabatha, Kim, Shelly, Meagan, Wendy, and any other volunteer whom I may have not mentioned (my memory isn’t what it use to be). These volunteers really shined by working on whatever needed done. They answered questions about the group, organized corn hole games, passed out the newsletter (a big thank you to Emily, Jaymee, and Steph for putting together a special Pride issue and to Steph for printing so many copies), and helped with filling out correspondence sheets. For all the hard work and relentless efforts, I applaud and thank you. Our raffle wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the generous companies who sponsored prizes. Great appreciation and a special thank goes our to all these sponsors. These great people believed in us enough to give of themselves and their companies

without any hesitation. A great big thanks goes out to the following businesses for their support and sense of service to a community they knew little about: Damon’s Grill: 4645 Executive Drive, Columbus, OH 43220. They donated two $25.00 gift cards. (Thanks,Vicky, for getting these for us). Cloud Nine: Piedmont, Columbus, OH 43224. This business donated some great shirts to be raffled off. The incredible Mr. Chris Sprouse, an artist for a comic book superhero named Midnighter. Mr. Sprouse donated series one thru five autographed comic books for the raffle. Also Mr. Nate Tansky of Tansky Toyota, 6300 Sawmill Road, Dublin, OH 43017 donated three oil/filter changes to Girl Spot Columbus’ raffle. To all our sponsors we thank you for your generosity!!! Our first Pride was an adventure and definitely proved that with some dedicated people and a whole lot of ideas anything is possible. Once again a gigantic MUCHAS GRACIAS to everyone who helped out with the booth, volunteers and sponsors alike! – Bel Martinez

fav d l o n an o n i p new s aN A The same but different…This might be the first thing that crosses your mind when you enter the new East Village Restaurant and Bar (formerly Union Station). East Village is the latest addition to the Roy G Biv family (Union Café, Havana and Axis). Primarily billed as a “girl bar”, East Village is taking some of the features of Union Station and putting a new spin on them. The layout is much the same, and the video screen is still there with a variety of music videos and skits playing. Gone are the rotating art displays on the crumbling yet quaint exposed brick wall, replaced with a long bench for seating and improved lighting. The menu has been revamped and is similar to the new Union Café menu albeit slightly more casual, meaning, they actually have Ranch dressing! Anyone who’s tried to order Ranch at the new U will understand what a feat this is. They have some of the favorite appetizers that were previously on the menu at Union Station such as Quesadilla Rolls, Fried Macaroni & Cheese and Italian style Chicken Wings, which come highly recommended! Another new feature is the expanded stage. There are several live performances lined up to play at East Village and it’s exciting to finally have a venue to bring these performers in! Of course there is also Karaoke on Thursday nights and “What a Drag” Wednesdays that will also utilize that enhanced space. If you haven’t had a chance to go check it out, do so! There is happy hour M-F that offers select appetizers for only $5 and drinks specials (1.50 domestics, 2.50 well drinks and regular or strawberry margaritas that are a steal at only $3). For the girls on our Girl Spot softball team, East Village offers a discount if you come in wearing your softball shirt, since they are our sponsor. So let’s support our team sponsor and stop by and visit the lovely ladies at East Village! – Stephanie Powell

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fair h t l a e en’s h m o w t g lb LESBIAN AND

BISE ANSGEN XUAL WOMEN ’S DER HEA SEPTEM L T H FAIR BER, 200 7 ( T BA) OSU CA MPUS

AND TR

This is the first large scale community event that Girl Spot is organizing, and we are very excited about it. After a preliminary date in July, the health fair has been rescheduled for September on the campus of Ohio State University. Stay tuned to the newsletter and the website for more specific details as the event gets closer, but we’re very excited about this new larger venue and all the opportunities it will provide. I sat down with Jeanne Decker, one of the key members of the health fair committee, to get the scoop to share with all the newsletter readers. Jeanne is one of the older Girl Spot members, and her contacts, experience, and maturity have been invaluable in planning this huge event. Unfortunately, I did not have a tape recorder during our conversation, so this is only excerpts. Emily:

First of all, can you tell me how you got involved with Girl Spot initially? Jeanne: I’m on the monthly email list for Stonewall, and I saw it in the email. I emailed Melissa about it, and then went to the first volunteer meeting. For me, it was just really important to have a community, a way of meeting other women outside of the bar scene. Emily:

And what motivated you to work on the women’s health fair project? Jeanne: I work in health care, actually in two different ways. I have a mental health practice and do therapy, and I also work in OB at Riverside, so I’ve always had an interest in health care. When I sat down to brainstorm for the health fair, I came up with two pages worth of contact people I knew. Emily:

That’s awesome. How has the response been from Girl Spot and from the community? Jeanne: The Girl Spot people have been very excited about it. We have a really strong committee of at least ten solid people at every meeting, and there’s a great blend of talents, from public relations to art, and we’re really energized by the different aspects of the project. In the community at large, almost everyone has been very quickly on board. I’ve hardly had any trouble getting volunteers to do booths, tables, presentations. People seem excited that this isn’t

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something that’s been done before, and are very willing to donate their time, bring their own tables, all sorts of things. Emily:

So, how is the planning going? What can you tell us about the event? Jeanne: We want to address a broad spectrum of health issues, so we’ll have experts on hand to talk about everything from Alternative Medicine, Family Planning, Preventative Health Care, Transgender/Intersex Issues, Nutrition, Mental Health/Support, Spiritual Health, Self Defense, and many other aspects of concern to LBT women. Although we have a lot planned already, there are many more details to confirm. We want the event to be fun, as well as informative, so we’re talking about having food, raffles or a silent auction, a drag king emceeing the event, an art auction to benefit breast cancer research, and lots of other fun things. Emily:

That’s great, it sounds like things are going well. But what kind of help do you still need? How should people get in touch with the committee if they’d like to volunteer? Jeanne: Well, anyone is welcome to help out and there is a lot we still have to do. People can just show up at a meeting, or they can email me. We’re still open to more contacts, if people have ideas of groups we should include. And we will definitely need help setting up and tearing down on the day of the health fair, as well as volunteers to make sure everything runs smoothly during the day, just to take care of any last minute needs, so any volunteers would be great. Emily:

Any final thoughts you’d like to share with the newsletter readers? Jeanne: I just really can’t say enough fun it is to be involved in this. The committee has such a neat energy together, we have lots of inside jokes, and it’s just such a great group of people. We’re all very excited to be part of the Health Fair.

ents july ev

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Hit the G-Spot Game Night Movie Night 5-7

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Softball Game 3:30pm Berliner field 20

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Softball Game 1:00pm Berliner Field 19 Hit the G-Spot Potluck & Movie Night 5-7

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Softball Games 3:30pm & 4:45 Berliner Field 19 Rib Festival Downtown Riverfront

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Softball Tournaments Start

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WICKED Cabaret benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Columbus AIDS Task Force. Axis @ 8:00 pm

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Red, White and Boom Downtown Riverfront

Doo Dah Parade Short North Unofficial Social 8pm MoJoe Lounge in the Short North

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6 First Friday 9pm Wall Street Nightclub

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Unofficial Social 8pm MoJoe Lounge in the Short North

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18 Unofficial Social 8pm MoJoe Lounge in the Short North

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Lancaster Festival (through 7/28)

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Gallery Hop 5-9 Ohio Roller Derby Lausche Building @ Ohio Expo Center

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North Market Food & Ohio Wine Festival 7/14 - 7/15 Westerville Music & Arts Festival 7/14 – 7/15

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Jazz & Rib Festival Downtown Riverfront

Jazz & Rib Festival Downtown Riverfront GSpot Beach Day Delaware State Park Meet @ Stonewall 4:00 pm

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Unofficial Social 8pm MoJoe Lounge in the Short North

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newsletter staff

Upcoming even Events 8/3 – 8/5 – Dublin Irish Festival 8/8 - 8/12 – Ohio State Fair 8/11 - GSpot Rec Event - Hiking @ Hocking Hills 8/25 - Gspot Rec Event - Daytrip to Yellow Springs 8/31 – 9/3 – Greek Festival

Editor: Emily Anderson Writers: Stephanie Powell, Juice Shipman, Shella Blackburn, Bel Martinez Photos: Cindi Sherman, John Schumacher, Lauren Toups Layout: Jaymee Miller Email us at [email protected]

* We need volunteers to work the Girl Spot Table at Gallery Hop!

Check out www.myspace.com/girlspotcolumbus for more details on events.

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