Executive Director of PhillyGayCalendar
Actor/writer James Ijames has a busy year. The out Philadelphia transplant and Temple University grad appeared in a number of regional theater productions, including a celebrated staging of Tony Kushner’s epic Angels in America, in which Ijames played Belize. Later in the year Maukingbird Theater Company premiered The Threshing Floor, his one-man show about out writer James Baldwin. In August, he was announced as one of 5 finalists for the F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Theater Artist. The recipient will be announced on October 4 at the Barrymore Awards. He was gracious enough to talk with me about his year, his play and what being gay and a person of color means to his art.
Dear Timaree, I have a problem that I think other men might have as well. I like hand jobs and blow jobs, sometimes in the same session. Is there a really good, slick lubricant I can put on myself that doesn’t taste like diesel fuel to my partner? Keep up the fabulous work.
Everyone is angry over the recent suicide of the young gay man at Rutgers – but yelling isn’t helping!
How many of us took Boyfriend 101 in school? I bet the number is low. (Drunken, late nights experimenting with other boys don’t count). We plan for our education and prepare for our careers, yet when it comes to relationships some of us give more conscious thought to buying a new pair of jeans. I often meet men who say they want a relationship and yet have few skills and limited awareness about how to create it. It seems many of us gay men know little about emotional exchange, vulnerable disclosure, or power struggles. If we want good relationships, then we have to ask ourselves, what is healthy relating and how do we nurture it in our lives?
There’s a 400 sq ft restaurant on the corner of Camac and Locust that will change your life. I love this fact because the prior tenant of this tiny little corner space was another life changing phenomenon.
I’m in the process of coming out as lesbian and need some help. I’m in my early thirties and have never even approached being involved in the gay scene. I started to realize my orientation a few years ago, but was very traditional-minded and never thought I would be able to live any other way. But it’s important to me that I not waste any more time and begin living the life I want. I found stuff online about how to come out to your friends and family and while the conversations have not always been easy, I feel good about being able to be honest. What remains for me is finding lesbian and gay friends and learning how to approach women. I don’t know any gay people my age in my social network, other than a couple acquaintances. How do I go to a lesbian bar and meet people?
The power lesbians of 13th Street (Valerie and Marcie) who also own Lolita, Grocery, Bindi, Open House, Verde, and Marcie Blaine Chocolates debuted their latest home run – BARBUZZO! Honestly, these women have the Midas touch! One might be tempted to call them overachievers. Personally, I think they passed that when they opened their 4th business on 13th Street! I think after a 7th business we need to admit, they’re on a quest to rule the world, or at the very least the gayborhood!
I met most of my best friends on OKCupid.com. True, it’s ostensibly a dating website, but there’s such a thin line between friends and more than friends, it seems as good a place as any. It’s full of guys I like and who are like me, plus as an added benefit it’s one of those reputable dating sites where you won’t see someone’s junk before learning their name.
Last Saturday night I witnessed an act of violence that shook me to the core. A transwoman approached us dripping in blood after having been attacked in the gayborhood.
’54: All Together Equal’ opened this week at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, showing the talent of young Temple University students. The play is a series of 17 vignettes inspired by the hit musical, “Show Boat” addressing the theme of equality.
Lesbian
Trans
People of Color
Drag Queen/King
