MBLGTACC09 Blog!

Dance Party

Where: Alumni Hall, Indiana Memorial Union
When: Saturday, February 14, 10:30pm-1:30am
Cost: Free with conference badge

Start your adrenaline pumping and don’t miss the MBLGTACC 2009 Black & White Affair Dance Party! Get quaked by a special performance of Bloomington’s beloved The Ladyquakes! at 10:30pm and dance till you drop with DJ Adam Kabe remixing today’s top hits from 11:30pm-1:30am. Drag performances by the fabulous Annastacia DeMoore, Ruby Lockheart, and Chanel Cartier will take place throughout the night.

Reception at the Wandering Turtle

Where: Wandering Turtle Art Gallery & Gifts, 116 W 6th St Suite 110
When: Friday, February 13, 3pm-6pm
Cost: Free
Phone: 812-330-1990

In celebration of Bloomington’s GLBT community, Wandering Turtle Art Gallery & Gifts will be displaying photography by four artists from January 30 to February 28, 2009. These artists include James Elliott Cummings ll, J.M. Farris, Jeffrey Hammond, and Tierney C. McGuire. A reception for this exhibit will be held on Friday in honor of MBLGTACC 2009. For more information, visit http://www.wanderingturtle.com.

Lilly Library Exhibit on Gay and Lesbian Literature

Where: Lilly Library Elisabeth Ball Room, 1200 E 7th St
When: Friday, February 13, 9am-6pm; Saturday, February 14, 9am-1pm
Cost: Free
Phone: 812-855-2452

The Lilly Library is the rare books, manuscripts, and special collections library of the Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington. The Lilly Library serves as a resource for scholars throughout the world as well as a center of cultural enrichment. The Library is open to anyone interested in its collections.

A special exhibit on Gay and Lesbian Literature has been put together for MBLGTACC 2009. Please stop by the Lilly Library to become acquainted with this unique exhibit. For more information about the Lilly Library, visit http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/index.php.

Queer Shabbat with Keshet

Where: Georgian Room, Indiana Memorial Union
When: Friday, February 13, 5pm-6pm
Cost: Free

Keshet is a student group sponsored through the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center. In Hebrew, Keshet means “rainbow.” Keshet is a group for GLBT Jews and allies to come together, share experiences, and enjoy each other’s company in a fun and intellectual atmosphere. Keshet will be hosting the Queer Shabbat event on Friday. Keshet co-chairs Sarah Wilensky and Daniel Reinglass can be reached at hoosier.keshet@gmail.com.

OUT Student Union Office Open House

Where: 4th floor of the Student Activities Tower of the Indiana Memorial Student Union
When: Saturday, February 14, 10:30am-12:30pm
Cost: Free

Come tour Indiana University’s very own GLBTQA student headquarters, and speak with leaders of the IU campus. Come brainstorm and share your experience running your own GLBTQA office of your campus, and help those get one started!

Career and Vendor Fair

Where: Alumni Hall, Indiana Memorial Union
When: Saturday, February 14, 9am-2pm
Cost: Free and open to the public

The Career and Vendor Fair is an opportunity for our sponsors to exhibit promoti nal materials and to meet students and other attendees. Intended as the conference’s primary networking opportunity, previous attendees have found the Career and Vendor Fair to be most useful in learning more about job opportunities, graduate studies, and other GLBT-friendly organizations from around the country. Some sponsors will also offer select items for purchase. We encourage all MBLGTACC 2009 participants to stop by Alumni Hall at the IMU in between workshops or before heading out to lunch. This is an event not to be missed!

Tours of the Kinsey Institute

Where: Kinsey Institute, Morrison Hall 302, 1165 E 3rd St
When: Friday, February 13, 1:30pm-4:30pm
Cost: Free
Phone: 812-855-7686

The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University promotes interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the fields of human sexuality, gender, and reproduction. The Institute was founded in 1947, just before the publication of Alfred Kinsey’s Sexual Behavior in the Human Male in 1948.

Through a self-guided tour, you will be able to visit the Kinsey Institute Gallery and view its highlights, including Pre-Revolutionary Queer: Gay Art and Culture Before Stonewall. This exhibition brings together a diverse collection of artwork, photographs, newsletters, magazines, and other materials from the Kinsey Institute archives documenting the existence of a vibrant but largely underground gay culture prior to the start of the modern gay rights movement in the late 1960s. Featured artists include Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Etienne (Dom Orejudos), George Platt Lynes, Mike Miksche, and Sam Steward.

The Vagina Monologues

Where: Fine Arts Building Room 015, 1201 E 7th St
When: Friday, February 13, 8pm; Saturday, February 14, 3pm
Cost: Tickets are $8 with student ID, $10 without student ID

As part of the V-Day campaign, the Indiana University Women’s Student Association are proud to present a benefit production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues to raise awareness and funds for local organizations working to end violence against women and girls. Proceeds of the performances will go to the Middle Way House in Bloomington, IN.

Indiana University Art Museum Tours

Where: Indiana University Art Museum, 1133 E 7th St
When: Tours have been arranged from 2pm-4pm on Friday, February 13. A public tour is available from 2pm-3pm on Saturday, February 14.
Cost: Free
Phone: 812-855-5445

Since its establishment in 1941, the IU Art Museum has grown from a small university teaching collection into one of the foremost university art museums in the country. Today, the IU Art Museum’s internationally acclaimed collections, ranging from ancient gold jewelry and African masks to paintings by Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso, include over 38,000 objects representing nearly every art-producing culture throughout history. Art Museum tours have been arranged from 2pm-4pm on Friday, February 13. A public tour is available from 2pm-3pm on Saturday, February 14. These are hour long tours, which highlight the unique aspects of the IU Art Museum. Space is limited, so make sure to arrive early to get a spot on the tour!

If you cannot make a tour, you are free to browse the museum on your own throughout the weekend. The Museum is open from 10am-5pm on Friday-Saturday, and 12pm-5pm on Sunday. Also, if you show your conference nametag at the museum gift shop, you will receive a 20% discount on all undiscounted merchandise!

“No Dumb Questions”

Where: Whittenberger Auditorium at the IMU
When: Friday, February 13, 2pm
Cost: Free

No Dumb Questions is a 2002 Sundance award-winning documentary film about three young sisters struggling to understand why and how their Uncle Bill is becoming a woman. In addition to the original film, No Dumb Questions: Five Years Later is being released this year with new interview footage with the family. Together, the presentation runs approximately 40 minutes and follows one family’s journey in understanding a transgender loved one. The film is sure to spark dialogue with audience members and will be followed by Q&A with producer/director Melissa Regan. Melissa Regan is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and interactive media designer. For more information visit: http://www.nodumbquestions.com/.

“Kinsey”

Where: Whittenberger Auditorium at the IMU
When: Friday, February 13, 3:30pm
Cost: Free

Kinsey describes the life story of Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson), a man driven to uncover the most private secrets of the nation, and a journey into the mystery of human behavior. After being hired to teach biology at Indiana University, Kinsey meets and marries Clara McMillen (Laura Linney). In 1948 Kinsey changed American culture with his book Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Using the technique of his own famous sex interviews, Kinsey recounts the scientist’s extraordinary journey from obscurity to global fame. Length is 118 minutes. For more information visit: http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/kinsey/site/.

“Stop Kiss”

Where: Wells-Metz stage at the Lee Norvelle Theatre and Drama Center
When: Saturday, February 14, 2pm
Cost: Free to conference attendees; 75 tickets will be available at the MBLGTACC 2009 registration table on a first come, first serve basis*

Are you in love? What happens when your sincere expression of love encounters violence born of ignorance and intolerance? Meet Callie and Sara, two women who fall in love in the ferociously honest play, Stop Kiss. Sara and Callie journey down a dark alley of the human experience in a play that is simultaneously a valentine and a warning. Stop Kiss retains a poignant sense of humor while exploring issues of sexuality, the devastating results of violence, and the healing power of love. For mature audiences. MBLGTACC has reserved seats for a 2pm matinee on Saturday, February 14.

*Other performances of Stop Kiss will be shown throughout the weekend and are open to MBLGTACC 2009 conference attendees, but individuals will be responsible for their own ticket purchases. For more information visit the IU Theatre & Drama website at: http://www.indiana.edu/~thtr/productions/2008/lntdc/5kiss/index.html.

MBLGTACC 2009 Professionals Luncheon

Where: FARMbloomington, 108 E Kirkwood Ave
Date: Saturday, February 14, 12pm
Cost: Pay on your own
Phone: 812-323-0002 or 877-440-FARM

FARMbloomington will be hosting the MBLGTACC 2009 Professionals Lunch. This is an opportunity for individuals in the field of BLGTA Advocacy, Outreach, and Education to get together and schmooze! At this lunch, Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and former mayor of Tempe, Arizona, will be presenting “The State of the Movement for LGBT Equality in the United States.” Learn the results of a national Harris poll on LGBT issues following the 2009 election. Professionals luncheon seating will be limited to 45 people, so please sign up at the MBLGTACC 2009 registration table by 9pm on Friday, February 13 to experience the enjoyable FARM atmosphere with fellow GLBTA colleagues.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jan. 27, 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—The Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference (MBLGTACC) will hold its 17th annual conference Feb. 13-15, 2009 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.  http://www.mblgtacc.org

Bloomington, home of the world-renowned Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, was recently ranked by The Advocate as the nation’s No. 1 gay-friendly small town vacation destination.  Indiana University was included in The Advocate’s top 20 list of schools for LGBT students nationwide.

MBLGTACC keynote speakers are ESPN columnist LZ Granderson, ISU Professor Kand McQueen, and The L Word Writer/Director/Producer Rose Troche.

LZ Granderson is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com, as well as a regular contributor for ESPN’s Sports Center, Outside the Lines and First Take.  Perhaps the most visible openly gay sports journalist in the nation, Granderson broke the Sheryl Swoopes coming out story in 2005 and has been at the forefront of discussion surrounding gays in sports for much of his 13-year career, ruffling the feathers of liberals and conservatives alike with his matter-of-fact approach. 

Kand McQueen holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University and currently teaches at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana.  McQueen’s research interests include assessing attitudes toward the atypically gendered and deconstructing the two gender paradigm. 

Rose Troche is an award winning writer, director, producer of both film and television.  Troche’s first feature, Go Fish was released to wide acclaim and has become a seminal film in the history of queer cinema.  The Safety of Objects received stellar reviews and went on to open the San Sebastian International Film Festival, and win best feature and best actress (Patricia Clarkson) at the Deuville Film Festival.  In 2004 Troche completed the pilot for Showtime’s The L Word and went on to direct, write and produce for the show’s six seasons.  Troche also directed the pilot for the popular teen series, “South of Nowhere” and has gone on to direct several episodes.  Most recently Troche completed an episode of the award winning series, Ugly Betty.

Featured conference entertainment will be provided by OUTmedia’s Queer Riot! featuring comedians Julie Goldman, Marga Gomez, Vidur Kapur, & Jason Stuart and dragapella beautyshop quartet The Kinsey Sicks.

Be prepared to belly laugh ’til it hurts, and celebrate our diverse community with some of the very top queer US comedy acts.  Catch a riotous Latina, South Asian, and two Jews as they launch a major national tour, destined for international venues in late 2009!  The show features an all-star diverse and absolutely no-holds-barred riotous cast.  They’re a little bit comedy, a little bit rock and roll—they’re Queer Riot!

The Kinsey Sicks have incorporated award winning a cappella singing, sharp satire, and over-the-top drag for over a decade.  The group has been profiled numerous times on national television, including on 20/20 and CBS Early Show with Bryant Gumbel, and were the subjects of a lengthy cover feature in the arts section of the New York Times.  They have a couple of DVDs as well as six CDs: Dragapella, Boyz 2 Girlz, Sicks in the City, I Wanna Be a Republican, Oy Vey in a Manger: Christmas Carols and Other Jewish Music, and Sicks! Sicks! Sicks!. 

MBLGTACC hosts workshops led by students, faculty, and professionals to educate and motivate students to action.  Participants will attend five sessions from a list of over 90 workshops concerning topics such as safe sex, activism basics, creating change on your campus, and ally community building.  Featured workshop presenters are Hiding in Hip Hop author Terrance Dean, GLAAD President Neil Giuliano, and filmmaker Beverly Seckinger.

Terrance Dean is an author, speaker, educator, and hip hop head.  Dean has worked in the entertainment industry for over 10 years with companies such as B.E.T., Savoy Television, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers Pictures, Buena Vista Television, Sony Pictures, and most recently MTV Networks.  Dean’s memoir Hiding in Hip Hop:  On The Down Low in the Entertainment Industry—from Music to Hollywood was released last year.

Neil Giuliano currently acts as president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).  Giuliano has appeared on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, ABC World News Tonight, Showbiz Tonight, and Access Hollywood, and has been quoted by the Associated Press, and in the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsweek, and USA Today, and numerous state and regional media outlets discussing LGBT images in the media and issues.  Giuliano is considered among the nation’s most visible and effective leaders of the movement for LGBT equality.  Prior to working with GLAAD, Giuliano served for ten years as the mayor of Tempe, Arizona and also had a 25-year career as a senior administrator at Arizona State University.  Additionally, Giuliano served as lead organizer and co-chair for the final 2004 Presidential Debate held at ASU, which was viewed by over 57 million people nationwide and around the world.

Beverly Seckinger is an independent producer based in Tucson, Arizona.  Seckinger, Professor and Interim Director of the School of Media Arts at the University of Arizona, teaches courses in media production, documentary studies, and LGBT Studies.  Seckinger’s work has been screened at international festivals in the US, Europe, Canada, Australia and Latin America.  Some of Seckinger’s titles include Mommie Queerest, Laramie Inside Out, and Bottoms Up.

Additional MBLGTACC events and activities include:  dance party with local band The Ladyquakes!, live DJ, & drag performances, Queer Shabbat, tours of The Kinsey Institute and IU Art Museum, Lilly Library exhibit on Gay and Lesbian literature, Wandering Turtle Art Gallery GLBT exhibit and reception, screenings of Kinsey and No Dumb Questions, and productions of The Vagina Monologues and Stop Kiss.  Meet featured presenters Dean, Giuliano, & Seckinger, network with schools and organizations, purchase treats and queer comics, and much, much more at the resource fair.

Complete conference registration is $60 for all and can be completed online until FRIDAY, FEB. 6.  Onsite registration will be available for $75.  Tickets for entertainment and keynote speakers only can be purchased at Ticketmaster and the IU Box Office starting Friday Jan. 30.  $35 for Fri.-Sun. pass, $25 for Fri.-Sat. pass, and $15 for Sun. only pass.

This conference will be wheelchair accessible and will have ASL interpreters at main events.

Learn more about the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference at http://www.mblgtacc.org.  Contact: Solomon Hursey or Julia Napolitano, MBLGTACC Executive Co-Chairs, at mblgta09@indiana.edu or call 812-855-4252.

Print off posters here:  http://www.indiana.edu/~mblgta09/images/mblgtacc_miniposter_bw.pdf

MBLGTACC 2009 Workshop Titles Include:

• 32 Flavors and Then Some: Performing Queer Identities in Popular and Independent Music
• A New Brand of Kink
• A Voice of Many Colors: Empowering the Queer Youth of Color and Recognizing our Multiple Selves
• Acting Locally, Organizing Nationally, Thinking Globally
• Advocacy, Activism, and the Rest of Your Life
• Advocating for Justice: Past and Current Perspectives on Inclusion of Gender Identity and Expression in Higher Education Non-Discrimination Policies
• And He Ran Screaming
• Asexuality, Demisexuality, and General Orientation
• Battle of the (Same) Sexes: Communication and Power within Same-Sex Couples
• Being an Affective Ally
• Believing in God and Being Gay
• Bisexuality: Is There a Definition To Be Found?
• Civil and Uncivil Rights in the 21st Century
• Coming Face to Face: Changing Hearts and Minds
• Coming Out of the Cyber Closet: A Look into the Role of the Internet in the Lives of Gay Youth
• Coming Out to Family: Risks, Challenges and Protective Factors
• Coming to a Campus Near You: Gender Neutral Housing
• Counseling Skills for Student Leaders
• Cumulative Privilege: Implications for the LGBT Community and Allies
• Define Normal: Thomas Beatie’s Pregnancy and the (New?) Possibilities of Gender
• Developing and Sustaining a Campus Safe Zone Program: Triumphs, Challenges, and Visions for the Future
• Digital Storytelling for Social Change
• Does God Hate Fags? What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality
• Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: An Inconvenient Truth for the Military and Veterans
• Eliminate Bullying: Creating and Using Your Story to Influence Social Policy
• Everything You Have Always Wanted to Know about Presenting Sexuality Panels but Didn’t Know Who or What to Ask: 20 Years of Experience Mostly Getting it Right
• Facebook Activism: Oxymoron or Vehicle for Change?
• Faeries of the New Millennium: A Non-Hetero Guide to Living Happily and Thankfully
• Financial Choices That Matter Most
• Finding Family: Love, Struggle and Humor in Making Our “Village”
• FREEHELD: Oscar Winning Film and Discussion
• From LGBT Latino/a Identity Formation to the Creation of el Barrio
• Gay Life and Activism Before Stonewall
• Gender This! Facing Trans: Inclusion, Advocacy, and Empowerment
• GenderQueerism 101: Breaking Down the Gender Binary
• Getting Into It: Exploring the Agents of and Against Consent in Intimate Relationships
• Hip Hop and Homophobia
• Historical GLBT Images in the Media: From Boys in the Band and Ellen to Brokeback Mountain and All My Children *with featured presenter Neil Giuliano
• How “Here” is Queer?: Mediated Identities in the 21st Century
• How Queer is Your College Library? Advocating for Inclusive Library Services and Collections for GLBT Students
• How to Support the Support Group: Skills for Student Leaders in the GLBT Community
• Implementing a Gender Neutral Campus Culture: Reports from the Field
• Into the Streets: A Proud History of Queer Advocacy and Activism
• Introduction to Polyamory with Panel Discussion/Q&A
• ISM: Racism, Sexism and Homophobia – Recognizing and Understanding the Connections
• Issues, Protocols, and Sex/Gender Dichotomies: Understanding the Medical Treatment and Management of Intersexuality/DSD
• IYG: 21 Years and Going Strong: How We Did It and How You CAN Do It Too
• Just Rescue
• Laramie Inside Out * with featured presenter Beverly Seckinger
• Laws, Lives, and Loves: Queer Histories and Identities
• LGBTQ Advisor Roundtable
• LGBTQ Literature and Life Within Academia
• Life Was a Cabaret: The Fall of Camp in Cinema, the Media, and Beyond
• Lost with a Moral Compass
• Lully, Corelli, and Handel: The Music and Cultures of Three Gay Composers
• Magnetic Couples: The Ins and Outs of Poz/Neg Relationships
• Making Our Voice Heard: Strategizing for Change on Faith-Based Campuses
• Male Bisexuality and Body Dissatisfaction: A Psychological Perspective
• Methamphetamine Abuse Among Men Who Have Sex with Other Men
• National Trends: The State of Higher Education for LGBT People
• One Class at a Time: Changing Your Campus Climate through Peer-Led Classroom Panel Discussions
• Open Admissions: Western Illinois University’s Official LGBT Student Orientation
• Organizing a Campus LGBTQ Film Series
• Organizing Queer Christianity: Reforming Protestant Churches
• Out and Active in the Residence Halls
• OUT and Open in the Workplace: Tools and Resources to Help You Find a Part-Time Job, Internship, or Career
• Out of the Closet and Living Out Loud Wearing My Combat Boots
• Putting the “T” in SupporT
• Queer Representations in a Post Gay World: Assimilation or Evolution?
• Queer Scholarship in the Straight School: Working Toward a Revolutionary Pedagogy
• Queerendipity: How to Be Out, Happy, and Secure in the Workplace
• Queering the Curriculum at Columbia College Chicago
• Queer-Positive Spirituality: Issues in Queer History and a Proposed Trajectory
• Responding to Bias-Motivated Incidents on Campus
• Rocking the Ship of State: How Student Activism Can Affect State Law and Government Policy
• Sex Education: What America Doesn’t Want You to Know
• Sex Pre-Op or Not
• Sex-Positive Responses to Anti -GLBT Attacks
• So you want to have a Queer Film Festival?
• Social Support and Career Self-Efficacy Among Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Persons
• Speakers’ Panels: Creating Open Forums in Classrooms
• Speaking Out Loud Against Violence
• Stop Being a Fag: Gender Performance and School Harassment
• Stories of Hope: Christian Stories that Demand Inclusion
• Student Leadership Roundtable-Open Discussion
• Surviving the Hot Seat: Protect Yourself and Share Your Story
• The Celluloid Cartridge: An Examination of Homosexuality in Video Games
• The Countertenor (1959-2009): Recordings, Personalities, and Their Reception
• The HIV/AIDS Epidemic: How Did We Get Here and Where Do We Go Now?
• The Impact of Bias and Hate
• The Pornographic is Political: An Examination of Pornography’s Relevance for Lesbians and Transgender Individuals in the Web 2.0 Era
• The Rest is Still Unwritten: Knowing and Owning Our LGBTQ History
• Theorizing Queerness: An Introduction to Queer, Gender, and Sexuality Theories
• Transgender Film and Video, Representing Multiplicity
• U + Me = Eternity: Building Healthy Relationships in the LGBT Community
• Vampires as “The Other”
• Visibility, Creative Activism and Everyday Openness
• We Up In Here…Swagger Like Us! The Cultural Phenomenon of Hip Hop - Its Affect on Society in the 21st Century, and How LGBT Persons are Positively Affecting the Entertainment Industry *with featured presenter Terrance Dean
• What I Learned at Camp
• Whips, Nipple Clips & Candle Wax Part 1: Power Play and the Relationship Between Violence and Sex
• Whips, Nipple Clips & Candle Wax Part 2: A Beginner’s Guide to Power Play, BDSM, and Aggressive Sex
• Whose Rights Are We Fighting For? Making the Case for an Anti-Racist Queer Movement
• “You look like a Freak”: Influences of Gender on Societal Recognition

Please help us pass around our latest poster.  It can be found here:  http://www.indiana.edu/~mblgta09/images/mblgtacc_miniposter_bw.pdf

Members of the public who are not attending the rest of the conference may purchase a ticket from the IU Box Office or Ticketmaster for the lectures and entertainment acts separately.

Those who have registered for the full conference do NOT have to pay extra–your tickets will be tucked into the conference badges you will receive at registration.

• A one-night Friday pass (begins at 7 p.m., includes Opening Remarks, Keynote 1 Kand McQueen and Queer Riot!) is $25.
• A one-night Saturday pass (begins at 6:15 p.m., includes Keynote 2 LZ Granderson and The Kinsey Sicks) is $25.
• A Sunday morning pass (begins at 10 a.m., includes Keynote 3 Rose Troche and Closing Remarks) is $10.
• A three-night pass which includes all of the above (all three keynote speakers, Queer Riot!, and The Kinsey Sicks) is $35.

Bloomington, which in recent years has garnered widespread attention as the country’s No. 1 party school, has now grabbed a new honor.

“The Advocate,” a news magazine for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender community, has ranked Bloomington the nation’s No. 1 small town gay vacation destination on its online Web site.

The site says the reason Bloomington registers so high on its “gaydar” is because it’s “an accepting, forward-thinking, progressive college town.”

“Filled with hip cafes and funky stores, Bloomington markets its many merits to lesbian and gay travelers,” the Web site says.

“We’re thrilled,” said Rob DeCleene, director of tourism at the Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau, which has made a concerted effort in recent years to market Bloomington as a community friendly to gays and lesbians. “It’s another affirmation that our efforts to attract the gay travel market are paying off.”

DeCleene said in 2005, the bureau promoted Bloomington as a gay-friendly community by launching a Web site — www.visitgaybloomington.com — and printing 3,000 GLBT visitor guides, which it distributed throughout the region.

“The guides and Web site not only point out the same attractions we market to everyone — things like wineries, museums, art galleries and restaurants — but point out that they will feel comfortable and accepted if they visit here,” he said.

The Web site says Bloomington has the nation’s fifth largest per capita population of same-sex couples, adding that “whether you’re gay, straight or somewhere in between, Bloomington offers something rarely found in this country — a small town with a bold history of openness and acceptance.”

“It’s obvious that gay and lesbians enjoy living here,” he said. “So it would stand to reason that other members of the gay and lesbian community would enjoy visiting here — and spending money here.”

Supplementing the Web site and guides, DeCleene said, have been a number of gay-friendly events and conferences on the IU campus — most notably the annual Pride Film Festival at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, a three-day event feature GLBT-themed films.

“Bloomington gets a lot of national attention because it’s one of the few small Midwestern towns going after this market,” DeCleene said. “There have been many magazine and newspaper articles pointing this out, and Tina Fey mentioned Bloomington being gay friendly a couple years ago on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update.”

Doug Bauder, coordinator of IU’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services office, said the ranking “speaks very well to the commitment to diversity at all levels in this community.”

He lauded the Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s efforts to capture a larger share of the gay travel market, and said his office also has helped enhance Bloomington’s attractiveness to the gay and lesbian community.

“We’ve been able to include sexual diversity in the diversity dialogue on campus,” he said. “Many people don’t think beyond color when it comes to diversity, and I think we’ve been able to expand their thinking to include sexual diversity.”

Bauder said his office’s efforts have been made easier in a community “where the Kinsey Institute has a noble history of valuing sexual diversity.”

Bauder said his office, which he’s directed since its inception in 1994, has helped transform sexual diversity from a clinical issue into a practical reality.

“We’ve helped people realize this is not just an issue to be studied but a reality in peoples’ lives that needs to be incorporated into the life of the community,” he said.

From the Herald Times: http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2008/11/04/news.qp-6454798.sto

1. Bloomington, Ind.
Why it’s on our gaydar… This accepting, forward-thinking, progressive college town (population 70,000) is home to Indiana University and the famed Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (itself home to one of the world’s largest porn collections). Filled with hip cafés and funky stores, Bloomington markets its many merits to lesbian and gay travelers. For more information on Bloomington, visit www.visitgaybloomington.com.

From The Advocate: http://advocate.com/travel_detail_ektid64146.asp

For well over a decade, The Kinsey Sicks, America’s Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet, have served up a feast of music and comedy to audiences across the United States. Combining award winning a cappella singing, sharp satire and over-the-top drag, The Kinsey Sicks have developed a large and loyal following.

The Kinsey Sicks began in 1993 as a group of friends who went to a Bette Midler concert in San Francisco, dressed as the Andrews Sisters. Assuming they’d be among many drag queens, they found themselves to be the only ones (other than Bette, of course). They were approached that night to perform at an upcoming event. Their reply — “we don’t sing” — was quickly disproved when they realized that all of them had musical backgrounds. They began singing and harmonizing that night, and the seed for The Kinsey Sicks was planted.

In July 1994, The Kinsey Sicks drew a large and enthusiastic crowd at their first public performance on a street corner in San Francisco’s Castro District. Since then, The Kinsey Sicks have produced and performed full-length theatrical productions around the country in such prestigious venues as the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, the Nordstrom Recital Hall in Seattle, the Ogden Theatre in Denver, the Colony Theatre in South Beach, and the Wheeler Opera Hall in Aspen. They have packed the houses with shows such as The Balled Sopranos, Motel Sicks: A Dragapella Summer Vacation, Everything But the Kitsch ‘n’Synch and GreatesTits, all of which premiered at San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theatre Center. In 2001, the girls produced and starred in their critically acclaimed Off-Broadway hit, DRAGAPELLA! Starring the Kinsey Sicks” at New York’s legendary Studio 54. That production received a nomination for a Lucille Lortel award (the Off-Broadway Tony) as Best Musical of 2001 and a Drama Desk Award nomination for Best Lyrics.

The Kinseys Sicks have been profiled on national television, including on 20/20 and CBS Early Show with Bryant Gumbel, and were the subjects of a lengthy cover feature in the arts section of the New York Times. (That article is posted on their website) They have won numerous a cappella awards and have recorded five CDs: Dragapella, Boyz 2 Girlz, Sicks in the City, I Wanna Be a Republican, and Oy Vey in a Manger: Christmas Carols and Other Jewish Music.

In 2006, the Kinsey Sicks performed an extended engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton. In addition, their first feature film, “Kinsey Sicks: I Wanna Be a Republican,” premiered at the 30th San Francisco International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Another documentary, ALMOST INFAMOUS! On the Road with the Kinsey Sicks following the Kinsey Sicks backstage on tour is due for release late in 2006.

The Boys Behind the Girlz: When THE KINSEY SICKS began in 1993, its founders were a group of refugees from successful careers as professionals and activists. Original member Ben Schatz (”Rachel”) is a Harvard- trained civil rights lawyer, former Director of the national Gay and Lesbian Medical Association. Schatz created the first national AIDS legal project and authored Clinton’s HIV policy during the 1992 presidential campaign. Irwin Keller (”Winnie”) is a University of Chicago-trained lawyer and linguist and former director of the AIDS Legal Referral Panel of the San Francisco Bay Area. Keller authored Chicago’s gay rights ordinance, passed into law in 1989. The KINSEY SICKS sound was sweetened in 1998 by the addition of the golden pipes of actor/singer/theatre educator Chris Dilley (”Trampolina”). Since 2004, the KINSEY SICKS have been joined by actor/singer Jeff Manabat (”Trixie”), a veteran San Francisco performer, previously seen in “When Pigs Fly” at the New Conservatory Theatre Center.

http://www.outmedia.org/music/thekinseysicks.htm