Last night was an opening celebration for the new gay & lesbian center at Octavia & Market. There were many and varied performances by luminaries such as Seeley Quest, Fairybutch, Annie Sprinkle, etc. The four-floor building has the dubious honor of resembling a big gay Christmas tree, from the street. It was packed to capacity, and many events were blocked off due to crowding, which was somewhat surprising to me since it was billed as a Bi and Trans evening.

Two things stand out in my mind about the event. One was an installation titled "Remembering Our Dead," about violence against transpeople. Statistics, some eye-opening, were posted regarding the frequency of these hate crimes. It felt good to know that this project, produced by Gwen Smith, would be available to the gay community at large. Transpeople are familiar with these issues as it applies to them. The gay community historically has not differentiated between violence against gays and violence against transpeople, yet there are legal ramifications to this assumption. This has been evidenced by the human rights campaign's one-time omission of trans-specific mention in their proposal for a hate crimes bill.

The other high point of the evening was the showing of a film by Tobaron Waxman on Jewish Orthodoxy and Queer Transgression. (I'm sure he would describe the content entirely differently, but this was my interpretation.) In the film, a Jewish Orthodox man encounters an Orthodox boy in a public toilet. The two have sex while the man sings in Hebrew. The encounter is marked by a dialogic silence and is reminiscent of some works by black British filmmaker Isaac Julien. The use of the Triptych is also a prominent feature of Julien's films. The sex appears to be somewhat impersonal since the two men refrain from displaying any affection for each other. However, the one man's singing is so beautiful and impassioned that it communicates pride in one's identity. The end result is a moving, thoughtful experiment. Although the piece is hardly explicit, it almost cost Tobaron his visa to remain in the United States. It was considered not only pornographic but also suggestive of pedophilia (even though both participants were quite obviously consenting adults.) Perhaps it should be mentioned that I was originally considered for the role of the slightly boyish-looking mensch. Although the person who accepted the part was also transgendered, I don't know if the piece communicates anything about trans identity except to reaffirm the need to accept oneself in general. Some viewers interpreted the film as having a "sad ending" because the two men separate a little stiffly. Tobaron tells me he was disappointed with this reaction.