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MonGays Tri-Cities Pride Pop-Up: The Gospel According to André

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On Monday night, a special pop-up edition of MonGays will cap off Tri-Cities Pride at Hopewell’s Guncotton Coffee with a fabulous documentary about a fashion legend.

“He’s the Nelson Mandela of couture.  He’s the Kofi Annan of what you’ve got on,” exclaimed Whoopi Goldberg as she tried to capture the person that is André Leon Talley. How did the grandson of sharecroppers who spent his childhood in segregated North Carolina rise through the ranks of New York City to become the first black man to break into the world of high fashion?  Well, as Talley himself says, “You can be aristocratic without having been born into an aristocratic family.”

This coming Monday the 16th, Virginia Pride and Diversity Richmond have teamed up to bring you the first ever MonGays pop-up: a screening of The Gospel According to André. Besides making MonGays history, this event marks an exciting new chapter for Tri-Cities Pride; this showing in Hopewell will be their first flagship event to take place outside of Petersburg. MonGays will serve as the grand finale of Tri-Cities Pride ⁠— hot on the tail of a Friday the 13th kick-off party and their (in)famous Petersburg Out & Proud festival in Old Town Petersburg on Saturday.

André Leon Talley would surely approve of the revelry. He began his career working for Andy Warhol in his studio for just $50 a week. Volunteering for famed fashion columnist Dianna Vreeland opened doors for Talley which he boldly strode through. His creativity graced the pages of Women’s Wear Daily, W Magazine, and the New York Times before Talley landed his most iconic position at Vogue, where he eventually moved from creative director to right-hand man of editor Anna Wintour.

Even though Talley’s family didn’t have much when he was growing up, he saw the luxury his grandmother created in the way she dressed for church each week. “In the South, going to church was the most important thing in life, and it was a fashion show,” explains Talley in the documentary. The intricate dresses his grandmother designed, created, and wore each week inspired him to pursue his love of fashion as a way to change the world.

The bombastic vivacity of his personality was infectious from a young age, but that’s not to say that Talley hasn’t had his detractors over the years; growing up, his joie de vivre often attracted vitriol from those who didn’t dare to live as vibrantly as he lives. “A bunch of white boys at Duke decided to throw rocks at me as I was walking on campus,” he said. “People have said many bad things about me. They used to call me Queen Kong. I was like an ape ⁠— a gay ape Queen Kong. But I had to move on. I had to get on with my career.”

Photo via Nationz Foundation

While the entertainment will be great, the cause it benefits is even better. All donations from MonGays will go to Nationz Foundation to support their work in the Tri-Cities, providing a food pantry and free HIV testing with their mobile unit. Attendees will even get the chance to see the unit for themselves. Nationz is going to have their unit parked outside Guncotton, and will provide free testing during the event.

MonGays will take place at Guncotton Coffee & Gallery (238 E Broadway) in Hopewell on September 16th at 7pm. 

Discovering the Therapeutic Properties of Drag With Melanin Monroe

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For Richmond drag performer Melanin Monroe, drag has been the key element in moving beyond her struggles and achieving her full potential.

For Richmond drag queen Melanin Monroe, drag is medicine. 

“Performing is an escape. It’s therapeutic,” Monroe said. “Drag has actually saved my life. It added so much happiness to my life. It made me comfortable being myself.”

Monroe began performing in drag almost three years ago, after she was inspired by local queens, like her drag godmother Raquel Colby, and the crowds they attracted. As a long-time dancer and musician, Monroe has always loved to entertain and connect with an audience.

“It’s a level of energy, like having three vodka Redbulls. It feels so good to be able to share that experience with somebody,” Monroe said. “When I watch a performance, or when I’m doing a good performance myself, and I see the crowd reacting, that feeling is what made me submit myself. Just thinking, we’re going to do this all the way through. This is what we are going to live on.”

Her passion and excitement for drag and performing is what keeps her dancing the night away every Thursday at Babe’s of Carytown, or at the numerous shows she books a week — even after a full day of work.

“I get home from work, I shave my beard, and get ready to perform. For me, because drag is so much fun for me and such an escape, I don’t mind having show after show after show on top of my 9 to 5, showing up to work in the morning looking dead with glitter still in my eyes,” Monroe said. “It’s hectic, but I wouldn’t have it any other way right now.”

Her busy schedule makes the unbridled and uninhibited energy that Monroe brings to each performance even more impressive. Her glamourous costumes and bouncing dance style make her hard not to love, and impossible to ignore. Inspired by Southern pageant styles of drag, Monroe often chooses glamorous gowns or spangled leotards for her performances. 

“Melanin is your rich ghetto auntie who has had one too many drinks,” said Monroe. “She’s really bougie, really high class, but she is not afraid to fight for her kids.” 

Monroe credits the Richmond drag scene for her quick progression as a queen. Constructive criticism and guidance from those around her ensure that she is always improving. Beginning in amateur competitions around the city, Monroe formed fast and deep connections with her peers and was welcomed into a close-knit drag family with queens like her drag mother, Aaliyah Michaels Ova, and close friend and drag sister, Jasmen Clitopatra. The queens Monroe surrounded herself with helped her to improve her makeup and define her dance style, which Monroe describes as “HBCU majorette band girl dancing as hard as she can.” 

 “There are some great people that help foster and grow drag entertainers in other areas, but I would not want to start out anywhere but Richmond,” Monroe said. “If you look at where I started and how far I’ve come and all I’ve done so far, I don’t think drag would have been as positive for me anywhere else. Richmond has a lot of support, a lot of love, and a lot of people who are always willing to help.”

Born and raised in Richmond, Monroe has always made giving back to her community a priority, in and out of drag. 

“Some people volunteer with their hands; they pick up trash or feed the homeless. For me, my expertise is more in event planning and performing,” she said. “Every event I put on that gives back to the community is a drag show, a ball, something entertaining where I know I can best apply my talents directly and feel like I’m getting the best outcome. That’s my whole heart. I love throwing my body on the ground for charity.”

Her reign as Nationz Closetball diva is coming to an end, after winning the title almost a full year ago at the non-profit’s annual pageant. 

“I have had the absolute time of my life with Nationz because all of the amazing things they do in our community,” said Monroe. “They have the food pantry, they do free HIV and STI testing, they provide mental health services.” Before last year’s Nationz Pageant, she had previously worked with the group doing charity events at VCU, and couldn’t wait to get more involved.

“Just to be able to be a part of an organization that gives so much back, that’s the kind of title that I always want to be a part of,” Monroe said. “I was looking for something that gives back, and they do so much for our community. Just being a part of something bigger makes me so happy, which is why I’ll be so sad when my reign is over. I’ll still volunteer with them, but being a direct representative has been everything to me.”

The Nationz Weekend pageant, which determines the community leaders of the non-profit organization, was Monroe’s first drag pageant. She was a nervous wreck, but felt she did all right during the presentation and evening gown portions of the night. However, when it came time for talent, she came alive. She went on to win the competition, much to her surprise and excitement.

“You can see it on my face, the feeling of ‘wait, me?’ I was so shocked. I was so emotional. I can’t even put it into words,” Monroe said. “Competing is everything to me. I’m not in a pageant just for the money. For me, it’s getting to compete against people, to learn from people, to form new friendship and bonds. You can’t put a monetary value on that.”

Though Monroe has always been at home in front of a crowd, doing drag has helped her extend that confidence offstage as well.

“Before I started drag, I always struggled with being fully accepting of myself,” she said. “The more I’ve gotten into doing drag and the more I’ve progressed with it, I’ve gotten a stronger level of confidence.”

Today, Monroe credits drag with helping her work through issues with toxic masculinity and internalized homophobia, and helping her achieve her full potential.

“That flip, that escape into me really accepting and loving who I am and how I get to express that really helped me put those things to bed,” she said. “Melanin unlocked a new level of happiness. I would not be the person I am today, or where I am today, without drag.”

Photos courtesy Melanin Monroe

This Summer, Doing It RVA Wants To Make Sure You Get Tested

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Doing It RVA is working to ensure that Richmond stays healthy in the sack by providing free HIV and STI testing.

Usually when someone says something is “free,” there’s some sort of stipulation or drawback — but Doing It RVA is the real deal when it comes to free HIV and STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) testing. 

Doing It RVA is a coalition of nonprofit, government, and private sector partners with the same collaborative efforts and goal: to coordinate prevention and treatment of HIV and other STI’s in Richmond. Some of the many partners that make up the coalition are Richmond City Health District, Nationz Foundation, Health Brigade, Minority Health Consortium, and Planned Parenthood. 

Wyatt Johnson, the social network strategies coordinator at Doing It RVA, said the coalition has been around since May 2017. 

“A part of my role was working with the coalition to work in sync, and provide better health outcomes by organizing our efforts together,” Johnson said. “Last year around April, we started diving heavily into social media, and feeling out what our space should look like in Richmond to carve a niche for sexual health education and free testing.” 

According to Johnson, last year was their first National HIV Testing Day event. Planned Parenthood attended and dispensed Narcan, a nasal spray that can help treat or prevent narcotic overdose. 

National HIV Testing Day just passed on June 27, and Doing It RVA had an event on June 28 at multiple locations, conducting tests for several days along with the other nonprofits in the coalition. The organizations handed out free condoms and raffle prizes like Bowtie Cinema movie tickets. 

Doing It RVA isn’t just a one-stop-shop, either — they offer a multitude of different services and resources among the many nonprofits within the coalition. Along with free Narcan, the Richmond City Health District also offered, and continues to offer, information on how to properly use Narcan. 

“Our testing is a segue for a variety of other resources,” Johnson said. “Nationz has a food pantry and works heavily with the LGBT community. As a coalition, if I know Nationz offers these services or they are the closest option for somebody to get there, I can coordinate with Nationz to have them go over there. That’s the power of the coalition.” 

Just because National HIV Testing Day has passed doesn’t mean you can’t still go get tested. Every Tuesday from 5 until 6:30 pm, the coalition offers free STI testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV at the Richmond City Health District building, located at 400 E. Cary St. All you need for the free testing is a photo ID.

Don’t be concerned about the hours listed on Google, either. There is a security guard inside the office that will buzz you inside (and sometimes it takes a few minutes to be buzzed in, so patience is key). 

When you arrive inside the office, you’ll find a small window, just like you’re at your local doctor or dentist. Check your name in with the clerk, and you’ll be given a very brief form to fill out about sexual history as well as personal information. At this point, it’s important to know that if you haven’t seen the signs already, no cellphones are allowed — even if you’re in the lobby waiting for your number to be called. 

The clinic is very cautious about verifying identity, information, and making sure that you, the patient, understand what is going on. Once you’re called, you’ll be seen by a clinic employee in a private room, where they verify most of the information you filled out. Your doctor will ask what testing you’d like to receive, inform you a bit about the methods of testing, and provide suggestions if needed. 

Several of the tests can be done with a simple urinalysis, while others require a throat swab, which is sort of like brushing your teeth too far back on your tongue. Some, however, will require blood to be drawn. 

Don’t fret. You’ll have some time to sit and muster up the courage before you proceed to the room, where you’ll be pricked with a needle and have blood drawn; all in only 2-3 minutes. The employees taking blood are very friendly and gentle, and will confirm your identity to ensure there is no mixup between test tubes. 

When you’re all done, you’ll head back to the initial window where you started, and the clinic will provide you with an important piece of paper: one with both the date your results will be available, and a vital code that you must present to receive your results over the phone. If you wish to head back in person, that’s alright, too — you can swing back by on any other Tuesday to see them in person. 

The brief wait and blood draw are a small price to pay to get ahead of potential health concerns that may help you and/or your partner. Feel free to pick up some free condoms if you need at the front desk, and enjoy the rest of your day knowing you’ve taken the next step in preventing and treating HIV and STI’s. 

Photos: Doing It RVA/via Facebook

MonGays Week Two: Tangerine

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Every Monday throughout June, The Byrd Theatre will celebrate Pride Month with #MonGays, a series spotlighting the LGBTQ community. This week, Tangerine masterfully depicts the lives of black transgender sex workers on the big screen. 

Have you ever sacrificed yourself for someone else to make a relationship work?  After Sin-dee Rella took the fall for her drug dealing boyfriend and spent the past twenty-eight days in jail she expected some loyalty.  When her best friend reveals that her boyfriend has been cheating on her with another woman while she was locked up, Sin-dee loses it and sets off on a comical quest for revenge across Los Angeles.

The plot sounds so classic and relatable it could be a beloved 1990s comedy. The genius behind Tangerine, Sean Baker’s breakaway success from 2015, is that it builds such a familiar storyline around a demographic we rarely see onscreen: black transgender sex workers.

Sin-dee and her best friend Alexandra aren’t treated as exotic or different. Their blackness, their transness, and their livelihoods earned from sex work are never presented as things to separate the characters or audience from one another.  

On the contrary, the themes that stitch this diverse cast of characters together — friendship, sacrifice, and a yearning for love — are so timeless and universal that anyone who watches Tangerine will forget all of the markers society would typically evoke to prevent our connecting with characters like Sin-dee and Alexandra. As one movie critic put it: “Finally, a film with transgender main characters that doesn’t focus on the fact that they’re transgendered.”

Over eighty-eight minutes Tangerine allows the humanity of its two protagonists to naturally shine. From the intimate way in which they know each other’s best and worst tendencies to their choice of a simple donut shop as their favorite hangout spot to plan their shenanigans, Sin-dee and Alexandra are afforded a level of personification and richness normally denied trans characters.

Zakia McKensey, the Executive Director of Nationz Foundation, says she was “captivated by the trailer for the film, because the experiences of the characters are reflective of the lived experiences of transgender women in America.”

Society often judges those who engage in sex work to make a living; however, the isolation and prejudice that face many trans people often mean they are shut out from the formal economy. Tangerine “shows a perspective of the survival mode that some transgender women have to resort to, due to discrimination, oppression, unemployment, and being disowned by their families,” explained McKensey.

After the victories of LGBTQ rights under the Obama administration and the broader sea change of American public opinion from grudging tolerance to acceptance, it can be all too easy to believe that homophobia and transphobia is declining. Although that may be true at the societal level, the policies of the current administration don’t reflect this.

The Trump regime’s allowance of doctors to refuse to treat trans patients, adoption agencies to turn away potential LGBTQ parents, and homeless shelters to shut out trans people prove that the rainbow sheen of our modern era only goes so deep. This is why McKensey sees screening Tangerine at the Byrd as “an amazing opportunity to bring awareness to the transgender community and unite folks to understand that Transgender Women of Color are being murdered daily, denied so many rights, have no protections, and only want to live, exist, and be their best selves.”

The hostility of the moment only increases the importance of helping a broader swath of American society to identify with black trans people. So when Nationz Foundation was approached by Virginia Pride to sponsor week two of MonGays, McKensey made her decision in the blink of an eye. “I wanted to participate in MonGays because we’re excited to be an African American, trans-led organization afforded the opportunity to be a part of a monumental moment in Pride history here in Richmond.”

For those less interested in representation and queer politics than in pure filmmaking, Tangerine offers attendees the chance to watch a movie filmed entirely using three iPhone 5S devices. As the first phone-shot film to win at Sundance, Baker’s film earned him wide notoriety as a director pushing the envelope of technique in order to tell the poignant stories of the downtrodden. The simplicity of his cinematography will offer Richmonders an unfettered look at the humanity of black trans characters — one we seldom see on the silver screen.

Tangerine will kick off the second week of MonGays — a queer film series celebrating the LGBTQ+ community every Monday during Pride Month — tonight at 7pm at the Byrd Theatre.