The classic method used to silence a woman: question her mental health and then drag her through what you fondly imagine is the mud of her sex life.
Category: Feminism
Dawn Turner Trice’s recent Chicago Tribune article, “Gay rights battle puts strain on parties,” has created a stir. Trice noted that Geno Zaharakis of Cocktail, a gay bar at 3359 N. Halsted, does not allow bachelorette parties. Neither does the popular nightspot Sidetrack (next door at 3349 N. Halsted) , co-owned by Art Johnston, who was quoted in the article. The story disrupts the popular mythology about the bond between gay men and straight women, and it shines a new spotlight on the gay-marriage movement, which has seen significant advances. Is the ban a sign of things to come, and what does it tell us about the historical relationship of gay bars to their neighborhoods and their clientele? Windy City Times spoke to the principal people involved and a historian of gay political life.
Nikki Patin is a Chicago-born performance artist and activist, who has appeared on HBO’s Def Jam. Her work combines burlesque, spoken word and music to address the themes of body image, race and class. Patin will be touring New Zealand and Australia from the end of February through April, and is hosting a series of fundraisers in town to pay for the upcoming trip. She will be signing copies of her book “The Phat Grrrl Diaries” at these events. Windy City Times spoke to Patin.
