NOAH'S ARC - JUMPING THE BROOM

NOAH'S ARC - JUMPING THE BROOM continues the story of Noah, Alex, Ricky, Chance and Wade and the joys and dramas they share. Noah's Arc was a ground breaking TV show on LOGO - one of cable TV's gay networks. It had been called the black/gay SEX IN THE CITY or the gay male GIRLFRIENDS, but to me, it was much more than that. This was a truer glimpse into the lives of black gay men than we have ever seen on TV. That man that wrote THE DOWN LOW appearing on OPRAH and Cousin Peaches on GIRLFRIENDS just isn't enough. Even though the show was it's highest rated show, LOGO snatched NA off after 2 very successful seasons. This pissed me off as much as when GIRLFRIENDS and HALF & HALF were taken off TV - I am still not over that, people, but back to Noah.

Noah, the center of the bunch, is the adorable, creative, sometimes naive cutie pie with a loving heart, perfect lips and luscious...no, I won't go there. His friends are Alex, the finger snappin' sissy with a heart of gold partnered with a big ole' fine hunk of a man/baby daddy; Ricky is the hot in the panties former lover/now-best-friend of Noah who is the quintessential queen looking for love in some man's Calvins; Chance is the affluent, highly educated, married, family-man using his stability to cover the fact that he is bordering on a mid-life crisis. Throw in Wade (rhymes with trade), Noah's formerly-straight man who is just now finding his true sexual self and you know that high drama and humor will follow.

The story picks up with Noah and Wade facing their wedding day. Before anyone can unpack a Louis or break out a flute of champagne, the drama ensues. Of course, they have to traverse one another to get to the big day. From relationship drama, to former flings, to botched wedding details - these boys have their hands full. Everyone did a great job but my fave was Alex - I love someone who says FUCK YOU to the haters and firmly grasps his clutch and pushes onward. Alex is all at once hilarious, super compassionate and brave. I also loved Noah's messy fag-hag boss, Brandy. Just check out the series DVD to see how she 'cums' into their lives!

One can look at each character and you are bound to see bits of yourself and/or your friends. I was personally bits of Chance and his husband with a lil' dash of Alex for HA-HAs (watch it Micky!). I have friends who can hang with Ricky and my partner is a little Noah-esque at times. It is very powerful to identify with people in pop culture. Lots of people take this for granted when they have always seen themselves represented. I definitely identify with these folks more than I identify with the spoiled rich kids on GOSSIP GIRL or the trash bags on anything starring Flava Flav and his girl, New York (ughhh).

I commend Patrik-Ian Polk immensely for sharing these characters with his community and the world. I love the fact that NA is unabashedly gay and unabashedly black. THIS very fact is the brilliance of the show and the movie. I pray that this movie is successful - we went to see it at 11am on Saturday morn and the theater was packed with black boys, black men, Latin queens, white boys, black butches, femme lesbians and every iteration of the above. Noah speaks to everyone!!! The following show was already sold out. I hope this success leads to a return of the TV show and a sequel.

Also, GO BUY THE DVDs of NOAH'S ARC the series (seasons 1 & 2). You will be addicted like a crack ho!!! You will hole yourself up at home in your PJs, with the lights out, shades pulled, with a Big Gulp, a family sized bag of Lays, a sleeve of Oreos, phone off the hook......child, I even took my DVDs with me to Athens so that I could watch at night - honey, Noah is fierce international, too!!!

MORE "ART"

Just another day at model drawing.......ya gotta luv it, right?!!?

Well, these are the fruits of my labor. No pun intended.

BOOK REVIEW: AS NATURE MADE HIM

I just finished reading the most amazing, riveting, emotionally challenging, heart wrenching, yet full of hope book that tells the true life story of David Reimer, who in his early life was raised as 'Brenda'. At about 8 months old, identical twin brothers Bruce and Brian Reimer were taken for medically necessary circumcisions. Bruce, the oldest twin, went in 1st for the procedure which resulted in the complete burning off of his penis. Because phalloplasties were not performed during this time, the decision was subsequently made to raise him as a girl who would later receive hormone treatments and a medically constructed vagina. They castrated him to stop the development of testosterone and 'Brenda' was born.

His parents only wanted the best for him and followed the advice of Dr. John Money, the leading sex doctor of his generation. He strongly believed that 'nurture' far outweighed 'nature' in the development of a child's sexual/gender identity. Until the age of 14, Brenda always felt like a boy trapped in the body of a girl even though she never had a real vagina which she adamantly refused. At 14, in the words of Venus Extravaganza, she "...went back to being a man." She adapted the name David as a testament to her strength and fortitude to overcome the giant which was her gender issue. David would become a loving husband and father of 3 step-children.

The gross arrogance of medicine and Dr. Money who only used the Reimers to prove his theories is appalling and scary. David's case proves that for him and, ultimately most people, sexual identity and sexual preference are hardwired by nature. Not enough dresses, makeup or even the lack of a penis and testicles could make him a girl or attracted to men. Nature vs. nurture is not completely black and white - both sides are relevant and one doesn't exclude the other. There are instances of boys who were molested by men and then became unsure of their sexuality. But for the most part, kids identify with being gay are what they are from the get go, as most gay people will attest.

I hope this teaches people to listen to children, who can sometimes tell and show us the truth in the simplest of ways if we could just put ourselves and our own agendas out of the way. Brenda did for 14 years with hardly anyone paying attention. All of this was to prove a test that ultimately failed - a wasted childhood.

Love and care for ALL children, even those that have gender and sexual identity issues - they deserve acceptance for who they ARE, not for our expectations. Gender identity and sexual identity are not always concurrent which accounts for the vast range of multi layered gender and sexual expressions (IE straight cross dressers, ultra butch gay men, sissy straight men, butch straight women, etc). It is the ignorance of this fact that allow people to easily discriminate, to hate and to demonize people who challenge 'the norm' yet are completely natural and true to themselves. Accept people for who they are.

THE ANTI-VOGUE

......or, WHEN VOGUE GOES WRONG. Youtube star Jayon22 (DaddyYoutubes) is the Christiane Amanpour of the Ballroom scene - he is the roving reporter on the frontlines documenting the fiercest, bloodiest battles that the kids serve up in Boston, Atlanta, NYC and beyond. He captured these unfortunate yet hilarious performances that will have you cacklin':

STARS OF VOGUE - and I don't mean Anna

One of my absolute favorite forms of artistic expression is the Art of Vogue. When I am in NYC, I brave the late start times, the dragging out of the evening, the unfairness of some judging and the super late ending times of Balls because the amount of creativity is astounding. I am not a participant in the Ballroom community because the thought of me voguing or doing drag is both hilarious and scary all at the same time - I am much more of a sponge on the sidelines soaking it all up. I am all for trying new things, but me trying to walk Butch Queen up in Drags - Banjee Girl Realness (a boy in drag trying to look like a home-girl) would incite a stampede to the exit. Equally frightening would be me trying to contort my body while voguing - child, I would end up in a body cast in traction somewhere.

But, I have a profound respect for the people who have mastered the many different expressions of the ballroom. The amazing talent of some of the participants absolutely rival those of professional dancers, rappers, models, designers, entertainers, makeup artists and comedians. As far as Vogue goes, two of my favorites happen to be from the same house - The House of Ninja. These clips are not the most recent, but explain why these two are at the top of their game.

Danielle Ninja is one of the most popular and most talented natural women in the ballroom scene. She is a professional dancer as well, having performed with Janet Jackson, Beyonce, Omarion and many other stars. But in the ballroom, Danielle is a big star in her own right.

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Javier Ninja is an absolutely amazing performer. He is most noted for his 'Hand Performance' and 'New Way Vogue'. His inventiveness, precision and flexibility are in a class unto themselves and he keeps the legacy of the legendary Willi Ninja very much alive.

THE CRUSH

As most gay people will attest, I too grew up having purely natural crushes like everyone else - it just so happened that my crushes were generally on men. Seeing that I was such a TV fanatic (a quality inherited from my mama), my crushes were usually on the TV stars from my favorite TV shows. The crushes that stand out the most in my memory are of the following:

One of my first big crushes was on Dwayne Nelson (played by Haywood Nelson), one of the main characters from one of my all-time favorite TV shows, WHAT'S HAPPENING!. That big, goofy smile, those dimples and the way he filled out those bell bottomed jeans was just too much for me!

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OK, I loved me some Lee Majors, star of another favorite show, THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. Steve Austin was just so handsome and macho - really the epitome of 'good-looking' in the 70's (well, he and Billy Dee). I also lived for CHARLIE'S ANGELS, one of the most glamorous TV shows ever (Kelly was my favorite - just divine). But when I learned he was married to Farrah Fawcett, I actually felt jealous at age 6!!!

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One of my biggest and longest lasting crushes was on James Evans, Sr., the father from one of the most influential shows of my life, GOOD TIMES. John Amos, on GOOD TIMES and ROOTS, represented the epitome of black manhood to me as a child. His strong Afro features, strapping body, winning smile, those tight, tan corduroys and his paternal strength had me absolutely smitten.

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But, alas, my all-time huge crush was on a woman! Lynda Carter single handedly shaped one of my biggest tastes in beauty - the sexy, raven-haired, ultra-curvy, super vixen with strength to save the world. When WONDER WOMAN came on TV, I was beyond transfixed. That spin and star burst transformation still sends chills down my spine! But what would send me careening over the edge was when she spun into her motorcycle, scuba or skateboard outfit - somebody fan me, please!!!!!!

The show was originally set in the 1940's, but because of high costs of a period production, they updated it to the 1970's. Well hot damn, because when they did that, Ms. Carter was regularly laid up in Diane von Furstenberg and Halston while toting around Vuitton bags. This was one of the influences that set me on my current career path. It is one of the reasons that the 70's play such an important part in my own creative aesthetic - Diana Prince could wear the hell out of a 3-piece, flare legged suit! So, I salute Ms. Lynda Carter as one of the biggest influences on my early life as a little fat, black, gay kid who loved fashion, glamour, buxom women and super heroes.

This sexually suggestive commercial is still stunning as ever. This woman had face and body to stop traffic.

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Pure pop culture genius!!!!!

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WORDS OF WISDOM

The first entry in my ongoing WORDS OF WISDOM series come from the iconic Dorian Corey, star of the classic documentary PARIS IS BURNING. Dorian Corey - drag Diva, house mother, showgirl extraordinaire, NYC legend, alleged murderess, designer and seamstress - was the griot and font of wisdom of the ballroom scene. Her words and spirit will forever be remembered. May she rest in peace. The clip where she is applying her showgirl makeup is at once hopeful and heartbreaking - hopeful because we have a shot; heartbreaking because she is no longer here and because some people never give themselves a chance. I hope she left this world knowing that she made her mark and inspired others. The READING clip is just plain ole' funny! Her delivery is classic - she was a born STAR.