Pridelets for July 8

Pridelets for July 8

1909, an Assiniboine Indian legend about lesbianism is reported in a
journal of anthropological research.

"A married Assiniboine woman desired to sleep with her sister-in-law
so, one day, while her husband was hunting, they eloped together. They
disappeared so thoroughly that even after extensive searching the
husband was unable to find them and finally went into mourning over
their seeming death. His grieving covered many months for he missed
them very much. One day, in midwinter, he went hunting and chanced to
see smoke far off in the distance. He traveled until sunset and came
upon a camp where he could hear a child crying. Then it was that
he saw his wife and his sister who was nursing the child. The child
was oddly shaped with no bones in its body so in a righteous rage he
killed the child and his wife. His sister ran for help for her lover
but it was too late. He didn't kill his sister but left her alive so
that she could see that none of her relatives cared to avenge the
slayings of such a woman and child." This oral tradition was passed
down to discourage "unnatural union."

1930, the New York Daily News reports on "Le Gallienne Shadow" --
specifically the divorce case of actress Josephine Hutchinson, whose
husband complains she's spending "morning, noon, and night" with her
mentor Eva Le Gallienne. The story euphemistically mentions Le
Gallienne's lesbianism. Le Gallienne also engaged in affairs with
actress Alla Nazimova and Greta Garbo's lover Mercedes de Acosta.

1969, the first "Gay Power" meeting is held as the Mattachine Society
discusses a revolution with ... anyone who'll show up.

1977, Vincent Price makes his stage debut as Oscar Wilde in
"Diversions and Delights" in San Francisco. The play will have its
Broadway debut in nine months.

1996, architects unveil the design for the world's largest gay
cathedral. When completed, the $20-million Cathedral of Hope in
Dallas, Texas, will be longer than two football fields, taller than
Notre Dame, and have a seating capacity of 2,500. "No one has ever
given gay people any sense of status or worth," explains openly gay
architect Philip Johnson, age 90. "I think this is exactly the right
thing to be going for."

1993, Shawna Underwood and her partner Denia Davis sue the state of
Florida for the right to legally wed. They wind up dropping their suit
on advice from their counsel at the Central Florida chapter of ACLU,
since it might duplicate efforts (and expense) with the Hawaiian case
of Baehr v. Lewin.

1994, President Clinton says goodbye to the first AIDS Czar, "Kristine
Gebbie, the first National AIDS Policy Coordinator, served ably and
with dedication as a member of our Administration. With her help, the
Federal Government finally began exercising real leadership in
response to this terrible epidemic. Working together, we boosted
funding for the Ryan White Care Act, increased resources for
prevention and research, sped the research and approval process for
new drugs, and required every federal employee to receive
comprehensive workplace education. While more needs to be done - and
more will be done -- to fight AIDS, Kristine Gebbie's service as the
nation's first AIDS policy coordinator gave this vitally important
battle a lift when one was desperately needed and long overdue."
Gebbie's replacement will be Patsy Fleming.

On this day in 1999, the Dutch parliament passes a bill allowing same
sex marriages.

Group therapy leads to forbidden passion in "Bedrooms and Hallways,"
which makes its theatrical debut on this day in 1999. Leo admits he's
got feelings for a straight fellow patient, but there's more to deal
with than his private lovemaking sessions with Brendan. Leo's
ex-girlfriend from high school is interested in him, and Brendan's
wife may have a thing to say about their steamy romance as well.

BIRTHDAYS (GLBT and the occasional straights)
* 1882 - Australian composer/pianist Percy Grainger
* 1894 - Journalist Dorothy Thompson. To say she had man troubles
would be putting it mildly. Not only did she divorce Sinclair Lewis, her
critical reporting on the Nazis got her banned from Germany by Hitler.
She did find love, though, with "Madchen in Uniform" author Christa Winsloe.
* 1906 - minimalist architect Philip Johnson
* 1933 - Allen Ginsberg's ''secretary," poet Peter Orlovsky

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