Tag Archives: Dallas

Weigh in: What do you consider “the gayborhood?”

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A straight friend of mine asked me what the actual geographic boundaries of what we call “the gayborhood” are. It’s easy to say, “near the intersection of Cedar Springs and Throckmorton,” but that’s a locus, not a boundary. It can extend in all directions for large portions, and even spike down residential streets and cross highways, depending on how you define it.

So how do you define it? Is it a two-block radius around The Crossroads? The better part of Dallas County? Your bedroom on a Saturday night?

We’d like to hear you weigh in with what you consider Dallas’ gayborhood (or gayborhoods) in the comments. There is no winner, it’s just for fun … ah, hell, let’s pick a winner or two. We have some swag to hand out to some who contribute to the conversation  — we’re looking right now through our stuff to see what we have (hmmm…Adam Lambert CDs, an American Translation DVD, some books, OK, we’re good). Why not — it’s almost the weekend.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

Oak Lawn is 8th-gayest neighborhood in the U.S.

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In honor of LGBT Pride Month, the real estate website Trulia Trends has compiled rankings of the 10 gayest and 10 most lesbian neighborhoods in the U.S., based on zip codes with the highest concentrations of male and female same-sex households, respectively, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

Oak Lawn, or zip code 75219 in Dallas, has the eighth-highest concentration of gay male couples in the U.S., Trulia found. The rankings also list the median price per square foot in the 10 neighborhoods. Although not the lowest at $160 per square foot, Oak Lawn is on the low end, especially compared to San Francisco’s Castro at $671 per square foot and Cape Cod’s Provincetown at $532.

On the ladies’ side, no neighborhood in Texas made the top 10 for highest concentration of same-sex female households, and four of the top 10 are in Massachusetts.

As we noted last summer when Census data was released, based on concentrations of same-sex households, Dallas is the 13th-gayest city in the U.S. overall — and the gayest in Texas.

But we should again note that because the Census doesn’t ask about sexual orientation, the data includes only self-identified same-sex households and not single gays and lesbians.

—  John Wright

Hey Tom Goss, where’s Dallas’ song?

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While posting Today’s Best Bet, a little bit of jealous hometown pride kicked in when I saw that out singer Tom Goss posted this ode to San Antonio on his YouTube. And he even put an exclamation mark at the end of “I Can’t Wait To Get To San Antonio” title.

Oh sure, Mr. Goss. Build up your buzz for your upcoming fancy benefit reception on Saturday to raise scholarship money for LGBT youth. And go ahead and ask for your donations for LEAGUE who has given financial aid to 93 students totaling more than $157,000.

Our Dallas hearts still hurt a little.

We love you, too, Tom Goss, but clearly you’ve chosen San Antonio. Our eyes are on you tonight to make up for it. We might even send in our own donation so nyah.

Probably what Goss will be wearing tonight.

—  Rich Lopez

EXCLUSIVE: Transgender woman ticketed for using women’s restroom at Parkland hospital

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Paula Witherspoon

Police cited a transgender woman for disorderly conduct on April 25 for using a women’s restroom at Parkland hospital.

An officer with the hospital’s police force wrote the citation for a class-C misdemeanor after a complaint was lodged by someone who saw the transgender woman, Paula Witherspoon, leaving the bathroom.

Witherspoon said she was at the hospital with her husband, who had a follow-up appointment after suffering a heart attack.

“I live full time as a woman,” Witherspoon said.

She said hospital police told her they weren’t there to decide whether she was guilty.

“Then they wrote me a ticket,” she said.

The ticket lists Witherspoon as a man and her name as Paul. But Witherspoon provided a copy of a letter from her clinical psychologist at the Dallas VA Medical Center, Gloria J. Emmert.

“As a frequent visitor to the Dallas VA Hospital, she is expected to use facilities consistent with her external presentation, which is female,” Emmert wrote. “Please assist this Veteran by supporting the application of this ethical approach in all Dallas settings.”

Ken Upton, a supervising attorney in the Dallas office of Lambda Legal, said lewd conduct is the closest thing he could find in Section 4201 of the Texas Penal Code, the statute listed on the ticket.

For that portion of the code to apply, Upton said, Witherspoon would have had to have acted “intentionally or knowingly for a lewd purpose.” But since she went into a private stall, that’s unlikely, he said.

Witherspoon said she didn’t even know whether there was anyone else in the restroom.

“I went in, did my business, washed my hands and left,” she said.

And the letter from the psychologist indicates she was following doctor’s orders rather than acting out of lewd intent. Upton said Parkland will have trouble defending the case.

“The officer doesn’t know if anyone else was in there,” Upton said, so his testimony would be hearsay. And if the complainant wasn’t in the restroom, that person was not a witness to any lewd behavior.

Upton said the officer probably figures Witherspoon will either pay the fine or it’ll be dismissed.

“And he doesn’t care,” Upton said, adding that the officer couldn’t have written a ticket for simply using the wrong bathroom.

“That’s not a crime in Dallas,” he said.

Officials at Parkland, Dallas County’s public hospital, are looking into the incident.

“We have verified that on April, 25, 2012, Parkland Police responded to a complaint from a concerned female patient regarding her allegation that there was a male in the female restroom,” Parkland spokeswoman Charise Thomason wrote. “Because of the complexity of the issue, the incident is currently under review. Parkland strives to treat patients, visitors and staff with dignity and respect, as well as provide a safe environment at all times.”

Roberto de la Cruz, an openly gay member of Parkland’s Board of Managers, said he plans to meet with Witherspoon on Wednesday at her home. He said his concern is that transgender people are welcome at Parkland and will be treated with dignity.

After the jump is a copy of the letter from Dr. Emmert, as well as Witherspoon’s ticket.

Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE: Transgender woman ticketed for using women’s restroom at Parkland hospital” »

—  David Taffet

Axiom closes Monday, Monica Greene’s upcoming Tajin to take over space

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Axiom Sushi Lounge at the ilume on Cedar Springs never fully caught on, even after the name change from Fin and despite pretty good sushi. But  it will officially close for good April 30. Monica Greene, who has been planning to open her newest restaurant, Tajin, next door to Axiom since last summer, will delay Tajin’s the opening so that she can take over the Axiom space, according to sources.

Tajin, with which Greene will reinterpret Mexican food in Dallas once again, was supposed to open in March. Opening was delayed to “late May or June” earlier this year. The renovation will like delay the opening even further, to July at the earliest.

—  Arnold Wayne Jones

Today is the 25th anniversary of ACT UP, which was predated in Dallas by activists with G*U*T*S

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Members of ACT UP hung a banner on the Cedar Springs Tollway overpass in 1991 for Pride Week.

AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP, turns 25 today. In the early days of the AIDS crisis, the group was known for civil disobedience to obtain funding for research into the epidemic and care for people with the disease. The group was created by playwright and activist Larry Kramer in New York.

In an ACT UP demonstration marking the anniversary today, JoeMyGod reports that nine members chained themselves to the entrance of the New York Stock Exchange at the opening bell.

Dallas had its own version of ACT UP prior to the formation of the national group. The Dallas version was known as G*U*T*S, or Gay Urban Truth Squad.

G*U*T*S staged a number of demonstrations including chalking outlines of bodies in front of Dallas City Hall — and outside the Convention Center as President George H.W. Bush spoke inside. An earlier protest involved staking an empty field on Carlisle Street with crosses honoring the fallen.

Another ACT UP demonstration in front of Parkland Hospital called on the facility to prescribe AZT, the only known drug at the time that helped combat the HIV virus. The hospital claimed it didn’t have enough money to give the drug to everyone who needed it.

In most cities, ACT UP demonstrators and those working with local governments to provide resources for people with AIDS were different people. Not in Dallas.

John Thomas, executive director of the AIDS Resource Center (now Resource Center Dallas), was among the ACT UP demonstrators at Parkland. He met with city and county officials and told them he thought he could call off the demonstrators if money was appropriated to get AZT to people who needed it.

When John got the money, John stopped demonstrating.

Most of the founders of G*U*T*S/ACT UP Dallas, including John Thomas, Bill Hunt, Mike Richards, Bill Nelson and Terry Tebedo, died of AIDS in the 1990s.

This evening, USA Film Festival screens How To Survive A Plague that includes the story of ACT UP. Arnold Wayne Jones moderates a discussion after the film.

—  David Taffet

‘Mama’s Party’ cabaret at Tucker’s Blues

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Get your cabaret fix to start off the week

Even if it is the beginning of the work week or the new year, Monday nights are a Dallas must thanks to Amy Stevenson who hosts Mama’s Party. Every Monday, local musicians and actors come together for a night of song and for a mere pittance. Where else could you get an array of major stage talents performing an ample night of music for cheap? Oh, oh, we know the answer!

DEETS: Tucker’s Blues, 2617 Commerce St. 7 p.m. $5. MamasParty.com or look them up on Facebook.

—  Rich Lopez

Couple to marry at Easter in the Park

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Sharon Dominguez and David Pierce (Courtesy of their small, insane, redheaded, 7-year-old grandson Rory Croker, whom they hope is gay)

Jennifer Dominguez contacted Dallas Voice to invite the city of Dallas to her parents’ wedding at Easter in the Park.

She said that her parents, Sharon Dominguez and David Pierce, have been living in sin for 23 years and dated five years before that.

The wedding will take place at 1:30 p.m. on the lawn at Lee Park between Arlington Hall and Turtle Creek Boulevard.

“It’ll take place early before they get too sloshed,” Jennifer said.

The gay, Internet-ordained minister Terry Loftis will officiate.

Many people know the couple from JR.’s Bar & Grill, where they hang out on Wednesday and Thursday evenings with their bartender, Stewie.

Jennifer, an Oak Lawn hairdresser, said, “They were hoping for gay children but are holding out now for gay grandchildren.”

Blushing bride Sharon is president of Cross/Talk Communication and groom David is the company’s managing director.

—  David Taffet

Dallas Animal Services releases new gay-friendly pet adoption ad

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Dallas Animal Services has a simple message: “Adopt a shelter pet.” The inclusive ad depicts a couple of LGBT families adopting dogs and cats.

The modern, new shelter is located on the northeast corner of Westmoreland Road and I-30. From downtown, exit Hampton Road and remain on the service road to Westmoreland, then turn right. This shelter replaced the old ones in Oak Cliff near the zoo and in Pleasant Grove.

—  David Taffet

Dallas makes top 20 list for its sugar daddy population, but No. 1 for gay men

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Earlier this week, I learned that Dallas ranks in the top 20 of cities with the most Sugar Daddies per capita. Number 16 to be exact. This news came from Brandon Wade, the founder and CEO of SeekingArrangement.com which touts itself as the largest sugar daddy dating site. On Wednesday, he released a statistical study based on five years of data from this website profiling where the generous rich men are. You can read the entire study after the jump.

While Dallas did make the top 20, number 16 really just didn’t come off as an impressive number, right? That is until I asked about stats on same-sex/bisexual breakdowns. That turned out to be quite interesting, at least for gay men. Public relations manager Jenn Gwynn told me that the site is open to same-sex arrangements and that there are active profiles on the site for those seeking from both sides of the equation.

Our site does cater to same sex relationships, both Sugar Daddy-(Male) Sugar Baby and Sugar Mommy-(Female) Sugar Baby. There are also many instances where profiles identify as “seeking” either sex.

On average, nationwide, his sugar preferences, 95.6% are heterosexual, 3.8% are homosexual, and 0.6% are bisexual. But in Dallas, it is: 94.1% heterosexual, 5.2% homosexual, 0.7% bisexual. So Dallas as a whole, has more gay sugar daddies than the average sugar daddy in America. There are 12.1 male sugar babies in Dallas for every 1 sugar daddy.

So it would appear Dallas is actually no. 1 — in our eyes. Wade added that “In the Dallas Metropolitan area, approximately 1.54 out of every 1000 adult men are Sugar Daddies.  A typical Dallas sugar daddy has an average income of $268,911, is worth about $5.5 million, and spends approximately $3,969 a month on his sugar addiction.”

Which really begs the question: Who needs MegaMillions?

Continue reading “Dallas makes top 20 list for its sugar daddy population, but No. 1 for gay men” »

—  Rich Lopez