I recently returned from Provincetown with a sinus infection as my souvenir, thank you very much. So much for the clean sea air—it's tainted with the toxic pollen of sea grass. But aside from my misery with allergens, my biggest news to report is that Commercial Street in late August was filled with Grade A lesbians. Not only did I run into my chiropractor—whose touch is
magical—and not only did I run into an old friend and met some new ones,
but I also witnessed a
"Free Feminist Classics Reading" with comic
Kate Clinton, activist
Urvashi Vaid, and some young cuties in plaid shirts. These photos were not taken at the event (nor were they taken by me, for that matter), but they capture the nighttime spirit of the scene. The feminist reading took place in front of the ATM next to Spiritus Pizza, which has truly excellent pizza in addition to being a great place from which to watch the drag queens sail by. (For hours of enjoyment, view the
Spiritus cam online.) At first, the choice of the ATM location was a mystery, but I soon could see the advantages. There is a bench, on which the lesbians could stand and be heard while they read some Audre Lourde, some Judith Butler. And I assume there was no cost for the, ah, space. Plus, a personal advantage for me was that during the reading I could remain seated and enjoy my slice and my root beer (served in a nice little dixie cup), while seated on the Spiritus bench near the ATM machine.
From my perch I also had a great view of the crowd that gathered—which included, to my delight,
Elizabeth Streb! I spotted her standing near the back, but she soon came closer and sat down near the Spiritus steps. She was carrying a bag from Map, a very cool clothing store in Ptown (so cool that I feel slightly not cool when I'm in there), and she was working on a little project while she listened: She was tying and untying knots in a small white rope. Streb uses a lot of ropes in her choreography, so I assume she needs to be good at tying knots, right? She was with her spouse, Laura Flanders, who was similarly multi-tasking: She was reading something on her Kindle. Despite my efforts, I could not see what Laura Flanders was reading. But I could see that she was wearing a fantastic pin-striped jacket with raw seams. Streb was wearing knickers with white piping and black combat boots. (I'd like to post a fashion trend alert: Knickers will soon be big.)
I'm a little embarrassed to say that I had not known Kate Clinton and Urvashi Vaid were a couple. Did you know that? Good looking couple. They are evidently committed to being together, but have no plans to marry. Kate explained her view in a
blog post in 2008: "Despite the flagrant flaunting and taunting from CA friends, 'Sooooo, when are you two getting married?' my galpal and I recently reconfirmed our own vows not to marry. We do however, vigorously support the freedom of others to marry." While my personal experience of being married has been magnificent, I think Kate Clinton and Urvashi Vaid should do as they please. However, Kate really should vow never to refer to Urvashi as her "galpal."
I recently returned from Provincetown with a sinus infection as my souvenir, thank you very much. So much for the clean sea air—it's tainted with the toxic pollen of sea grass. But aside from my misery with allergens, my biggest news to report is that Commercial Street in late August was filled with Grade A lesbians. Not only did I run into my chiropractor—whose touch is magical—and not only did I run into an old friend and met some new ones, 
but I also witnessed a "Free Feminist Classics Reading" with comic Kate Clinton, activist Urvashi Vaid, and some young cuties in plaid shirts. These photos were not taken at the event (nor were they taken by me, for that matter), but they capture the nighttime spirit of the scene. The feminist reading took place in front of the ATM next to Spiritus Pizza, which has truly excellent pizza in addition to being a great place from which to watch the drag queens sail by. (For hours of enjoyment, view the Spiritus cam online.) At first, the choice of the ATM location was a mystery, but I soon could see the advantages. There is a bench, on which the lesbians could stand and be heard while they read some Audre Lourde, some Judith Butler. And I assume there was no cost for the, ah, space. Plus, a personal advantage for me was that during the reading I could remain seated and enjoy my slice and my root beer (served in a nice little dixie cup), while seated on the Spiritus bench near the ATM machine. 
From my perch I also had a great view of the crowd that gathered—which included, to my delight, Elizabeth Streb! I spotted her standing near the back, but she soon came closer and sat down near the Spiritus steps. She was carrying a bag from Map, a very cool clothing store in Ptown (so cool that I feel slightly not cool when I'm in there), and she was working on a little project while she listened: She was tying and untying knots in a small white rope. Streb uses a lot of ropes in her choreography, so I assume she needs to be good at tying knots, right? She was with her spouse, Laura Flanders, who was similarly multi-tasking: She was reading something on her Kindle. Despite my efforts, I could not see what Laura Flanders was reading. But I could see that she was wearing a fantastic pin-striped jacket with raw seams. Streb was wearing knickers with white piping and black combat boots. (I'd like to post a fashion trend alert: Knickers will soon be big.)
I'm a little embarrassed to say that I had not known Kate Clinton and Urvashi Vaid were a couple. Did you know that? Good looking couple. They are evidently committed to being together, but have no plans to marry. Kate explained her view in a blog post in 2008: "Despite the flagrant flaunting and taunting from CA friends, 'Sooooo, when are you two getting married?' my galpal and I recently reconfirmed our own vows not to marry. We do however, vigorously support the freedom of others to marry." While my personal experience of being married has been magnificent, I think Kate Clinton and Urvashi Vaid should do as they please. However, Kate really should vow never to refer to Urvashi as her "galpal."
