A very large crowd formed inside and outside of the Edward A. Greer Education Center for a regular meeting of the Clark County School District Board of Trustees. Many attended to show their support for discussions and policies in regards to gender diverse students which was scheduled as Agenda Item 4.02.  

When it was time to discuss scheduled agenda item 4.02, Clark County School District Board of Trustees President, Deanna L. Wright stated, "Per our attorney, I need to take a recess for this meeting. Trustees, I need you all in the back room please."

After a 19 minute meeting, Deanna returned stating, "Thank you, everyone, for letting us consult with our attorneys. After hearing from Mary Anne Miller who is our attorney for the district attorneys office and our attorney for the school district", "We will be pulling agenda item 4.02 tonight."

The announcement was followed by many gender diverse policy supporters vocalizing their disappointment. Deanna continued, "We will have another meeting at a larger venue at another date and time."

Attorney Mary Anne Miller was overheard saying, “There’s just too many people outside.” 

Agenda Item 4.02
GENDER DIVERSE. Review and discussion of the recommendations from the gender diverse working group indicating the need for a policy, regulation, and guidelines for gender diverse students; and possible action to direct staff to create a policy, regulation, and guidelines in support of the gender diverse working group recommendations. By direction of the Board, any changes recommended at this meeting will not be implemented unless adopted by the public policy review process at a regular meeting of the Board of School Trustees. (For Possible Action) 
 

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Let us be clear: There was no violation of the open meeting law and no good reason to pull the agenda item.

Check the AG’s manual on open meeting laws. #ccsdafterdark #ccsdlgbt #ProtectTransKids @CCSD_Trustees pic.twitter.com/UstlvkH6NR

— ACLU of Nevada (@ACLUNV) February 23, 2018

Shoutout to all those who waited outside in the cold and wind to have their voice heard. Too bad @CCSD_Trustees don’t have it together #ccsdafterdark #ccsdlgbt #protecttranskids pic.twitter.com/wT8p6h4WtT

— Battle Born Progress (@BattleBornProg) February 23, 2018

You don’t have to tell Martha Stewart that gay men love her like their own mother. 

The influential entrepreneur and domestic diva’s deep-rooted connection to the LGBTQ community goes beyond special appearances on Ugly Betty and Ellen, when she appeared as herself in a 1995 episode of the groundbreaking sitcom. Stewart, throughout her half-century-long career, has long embodied a quality near and dear to the queer community: perfection. After all, before “live your best life” was a meme, it was Stewart’s honed methodology. 

Could that affinity for precision and flawlessness – for the perfect Christmas ham, the perfect vegetable garden, the perfect dating persona – be why Stewart is very clued into the fact that many gay men perceive her as a mother figure? 

It’s a relationship worth exploring, and during my tight 15 minutes with Stewart I dove into the lifestyle maven’s personal affiliations with many LGBTQ people: her nephew, Christopher Herbert, as well as her dearest gay friends, whom she hosts at her various homes. While “in a car, so any confusion, blame the cell service,” Stewart, 76, was reflective and laid-back as she served up a savory platter of gay talk: Her age-appropriate philosophy on equality, gays who host Stewart at their get-togethers (she jokes, though she can’t possibly be kidding, that it “ups their game”), and her memories of transforming, unforgettably and stunningly, into ’40s film icon Veronica Lake for late, gay makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin. 

I’ve really appreciated the inclusivity on VH1’s Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party, with guests ranging from LGBTQ icons like Patti LaBelle and Kathy Griffin to gay TV personality Ross Mathews and also Laverne Cox. How aware are you of being LGBTQ inclusive when it comes to this show and also your career as a whole? 

Oh, thank you. Well, we’re kind of in the showbiz world and being inclusive, that just sort of goes with the terrain. I don’t care who the person is; I care about what the person does, and how they do it. 

Martha Stewart Weddings magazine famously introduced same-sex couples into its pages in 2009, with Jeremy Hooper and Andrew Shulman sharing their vows with family and friends in Litchfield, Connecticut. Why was it important to be at the forefront of marriage equality in that way, and what did that moment mean to you? 

I believe in “all men are created equal.” I think I go back to the 1860s, and before! (Laughs) And I don’t think any compromise is necessary. I think it’s absolutely a fact that all men are created equal, and so I just treated people like equals my entire life. Equals in every single way, no matter what their proclivity is or what their sexuality is, or their color or their race. It doesn’t matter to me. 

That wedding issue was a big deal as it was one of the first mainstream wedding magazines to have featured a gay couple’s wedding, and then there was another in 2011. 

I know! And that was my nephew. That was Christopher Herbert marrying a Native American man (Timothy Long). 

Seeing as though gay marriage wasn’t even recognized legally coast to coast then, were Martha-worshipping housewives open to displays of same-sex affection?

It was legal in Massachusetts, where they actually got married. I went to their wedding. They had a pre-wedding in Massachusetts, which was the legal wedding, and then they had the family celebration at my farm, which was another tying of the knot. The ceremony and that Celtic tying of the knot was so beautiful.

Was that the best same-sex wedding you’ve been to?

I’d say it’s one of them – I’ve been to a lot! I mean, I have a lot of gay editors, both male and female. One of our style directors at Weddings got married and he had a fantastic wedding at a nightclub in Brooklyn. That was so fun, and that was also featured in the magazine. And I’ve been to several female weddings. You know, every wedding is special to me. 

Is it intimidating for people to host Martha Stewart at their wedding? 

I don’t know if it’s intimidating, but I think it ups their game a little bit! (Laughs)

What do you look for at a same-sex wedding? 

I like to see what the couple is wearing. I like to see how they handle relatives. But I don’t differentiate a gay wedding from a straight wedding. I just don’t differentiate. I just went to Steven Gambrel’s wedding. That was so beautiful! He’s a very famous, very wealthy interior designer, and he married his longtime partner at their beautiful home in Sag Harbor, Long Island. It was an extraordinary evening. The father of Steven’s partner got up and said, “This is our family’s first gay wedding,” and he said, “It’s a momentous occasion for our family and we embrace it.” It was one of the nicest father speeches I’ve heard at a wedding. Everybody sort of wanted to cry because he was visibly uncomfortable and yet accepting at the same time. It was very moving. 

You also attended out Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld’s A-list tribute party in October.  

Oh my god, that was a fantastic party! Mariah Carey singing! She sang a couple of songs for Karl dressed in a Chanel sequined dress that was, you know, perfectly clinging. It was beautiful, and Karl was so thrilled. 

Growing up in New Jersey in the ’40s and ’50s, what was your introduction to the LGBTQ community?

In my class, I knew that several of the boys were gay. It wasn’t talked about, and nobody made fun of them. Nutley High School was a pretty liberal but also quiet school, so there were some gay boys that we knew, and I think one or two girls. But they hadn’t come out, and the boys really were not out, if you want to use that word. But they were definitely gay. 

And then in our own family, I had one cousin who was gay who lives in Buffalo and then my nephew is gay, and I think even though he didn’t come out until college, we all sort of knew he was gay. My daughter who has radar like crazy, Alexis, who I’m sure you know, she knows. And my mother didn’t have a clue. It wasn’t part of her lifestyle. She just didn’t have those friends. 

Snoop Dogg has said that you love to get him drunk. Do you have a gay friend who’s especially good at getting you drunk? 

I don’t like getting drunk, so not necessarily, no. 

Tipsy?

If I get tipsy, it’s probably because I haven’t eaten anything. I don’t get up saying, “Oh, I’m gonna get drunk today.” I just don’t do that. 

Is entertaining a group of sophisticated gay men the ultimate challenge? 

No. Again, I don’t differentiate if I have a group of gay men (over). I just don’t ever think that way. I don’t differentiate. (Artbag business owner) Christopher Moore came to my house recently with four gay friends just to look at the gardens and I gave them cappuccinos and they were happy. I actually didn’t have any food in the house, so I couldn’t give them anything to eat, but they were perfectly happy. I just don’t ever think that way. I don’t differentiate.

Wait, let’s back up, Martha. You didn’t have any food in your house?

Well, nothing except eggs. I could’ve made them scrambled eggs. I thought after, “I probably should have fed them something”... but I didn’t. (Laughs) 

Is it true that Cher was the one who convinced you to work with famous late, gay makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin when he photographed you as Veronica Lake for his 2000 book Face Forward?

No, I knew who Kevyn Aucoin was, and he was such an amazing makeup artist. And I like doing things like that. I have a face that can become other people. And I just thought, “Oh, god, what an opportunity.” He did such an amazing job. 

In the gay community and beauty world, those photos are quite legendary.

Oh, I know who it was! It was the guy who worked for me (Alex Peruzzi). He’s Linda Evangelista in the book – he was head of merchandising in my craft department. A very handsome boy. 

How do you reflect on that shoot? 

I didn’t know that Kevyn was suffering from a pretty hideous disease, but I did remark on the size of his hands. He had that disease that enlarged appendages. His hands, his feet, everything was oversized. And I couldn’t believe that someone with such monster hands – these big hands – could do such delicate makeup work, but he did. He did amazing, amazing work. It was an art form of his to see a structure of a face and turn it into another face. 

Looking back, have any gay people influenced your fondness for decadence or even your path to becoming a lifestyle icon? 

No, not really. Although when I was catering (Stewart launched a catering business in the ’70s) many of the young men who were my waiters were gay, and they still are. The gay community works a lot in the catering business in New York; they are either actors or artists and they need to make money, so they make money in catering. But they were all chosen on skill and aptitude for the kind of job they were doing, and they were all great. But my daughter and I both have lots of gay friends. My closest friend is Kevin Sharkey and he’s also like the surrogate uncle to Alexis (and her family) and he lives in their same building, and he’s Tio Kevin to them. I even introduce him playfully to friends as my gay son. 

I want to be Martha Stewart’s gay son.

Lots of his friends would like to be Martha’s gay son!  

How does one achieve Martha Stewart “gay son” status?

He’s worked for (me for) 18 years, that’s how! He worked his way up!

As Giles, Richard Jenkins exudes a great deal of warmth playing a closeted ’60s-era gay man longing for a romantic connection in Guillermo del Toro’s timely cautionary tale The Shape of Water. But cordiality comes natural to the Six Feet Under alum, who unforgettably portrayed the Fishers’ apparitional patriarch, Nathaniel, on HBO’s life-affirming dramedy about death from 2001-2005.  

In conversation, Jenkins, 70, expresses genuine gratitude and curiosity about my deeply felt connection to another brilliant turn of his – this time in del Toro’s enchanting, illusion-shattering tale of queerness, a story that gripped the Emmy-winning actor for that very detail. 

In this awards-worthy spectacle, a mute janitor named Elisa (Sally Hawkins) and an imperiled merman (Doug Jones) fall hard for each other in a world where existing in the human form, especially if you’re black or gay as the socially aware allegory acknowledges, is already a heavy burden. Though the director’s whimsical yarn is set during the Cold War, its political commentary on queer and minority acceptance is a response to present-day disunity and the toxicity of white, male rulers.  

“If you could title it Love Is Love, that’s what it is,” proclaims Jenkins, who discussed the film’s ability to break down walls that currently divide our nation, as well as the “invisible” gay actor he referenced while playing Giles and still, like the gay fans who continue to express their appreciation for the preeminent HBO show when they meet him, frequently contemplating the meaning of Six Feet Under. 

You just know how to choose roles, or the roles know how to choose you.

Luck has something to do with it, if you wanna know the truth.

Was part of the appeal of Shape of Water the “love is love” element?

Yes, absolutely – absolutely! These are invisible people who at that time, 1962, lived in the shadows, lived in their own world, a lonely world. And yeah, it was fascinating because I grew up in 1962. I was in high school. It was great for me. But there was nobody gay in my high school until our 35th reunion. 

Right. Nobody could be out at that time, right?

Nobody was out. Nobody! You didn’t talk about it. It wasn’t even on the radar. And so if you were a straight white guy, life was great. But if you were anything else, it wasn’t so good. 

And here we are, 50, 60 years later, and the same could be said. 

Absolutely. And, well, that’s why (Guillermo) wrote it, for today. 

I understand Guillermo writes a biography for all of his actors and puts a secret in the biography that you are not to reveal to the rest of the cast. What was your secret for Giles? 

I don’t know! (Laughs)

Ha! You didn’t read the bio, did you?

I did read the bio! But I don’t remember what the secret was. (Laughs)

He did say you didn’t use anything from the bio for the role. 

Well, here’s my take on it: If it’s not on the page, then it doesn’t matter. The life of this character is on the page, that’s where all of the clues are. If you were writing a novel and you had the backstory, that’s one thing; but it can be confusing to add something that nobody knows (about), so I just scour the script. That’s where I look for all of the clues to his life: who he is, what he likes, what he’s been. I mean, I read in the script that he and his boss at the ad agency were partners, and (Giles) would say, “I want to come back.” Now, does he mean to the agency? That’s not what it meant to me. 

So you read their relationship as being romantic?

Yes, yes. And it wasn’t explained, but I got it from the script. 

To play Giles, did you reference any real-life LGBT people who were also living closeted lives during the ’60s? 

I thought of a man named Howard London, who is dead now. He was an actor and he was the kindest man I ever knew, and he was invisible at the time. I knew him in the early ’70s until he died in the early 2000s. But I thought of Howard. He was alone his whole life. When he died he gave my wife and I his record collection, this incredible record collection. And I thought of Howard and I thought of how he wanted love in his life, and he had it for a while and then he didn’t. I just … it just reminded me of him.

What did you love most about the dynamic between Elisa, who is literally voiceless, and Giles, who is, in a sense, also voiceless as a closeted gay man? 

I loved every second of it. Guillermo said to me, “I couldn’t do this film with anybody else, and wouldn’t do it with anybody else but Sally.” We rehearsed for two weeks and we used the time to become friends. It took about 10 minutes to become her friend. We have a lot of mutual friends, and I just loved her immediately and we just became really good friends, and it shows onscreen. I mean, I think that’s there, and it was important that we and Guillermo did hang out together. So, it was very free on the screen with her, and it was very relaxed. And you can’t hide that. You can’t fake that. That’s what you try to do as an actor – live your life as it’s happening. And it’s hard when you don’t have somebody who you trust or love, and I do both of those with her. 

One of the real turning points hinges on Giles and his interaction with that diner server. Could you talk about Giles’ motivation after that scene and how he ends up being instrumental in helping Elisa fulfill her wish of being with the merman? 

It starts with the realization after the diner and after being turned down by his boss, which again, I played as they were together at one time, like, “I bet these two had a relationship.” So after both of those things fall off, I say to her, “You’re my only friend and I don’t even know what this thing is, but it’s important to you, so I’ll do whatever you want.” I love the fact that he gets there from living these pipe dreams, that somehow this boy in the pie shop is gonna be interested in him (laughs). But we’ve all had that! I thought Hayley Mills, if she ever met me, would fall for me! (Laughs) I don’t know what it is – you just live in this… it’s just odd. But I love the fact that he goes from thinking of it as a fish in a tank to her fiancé, basically. And he says to her, “He’s an interesting guy.”

You also memorably played a gay character, Josh Brolin’s life partner, in 1996’s Flirting with Disaster. How do you reflect on that role? 

I love that role! (Laughs) Oh my gosh – and he carried his gun everywhere he went! I loved it. I just loved the whole project. I just loved playing him, this guy who happened to be gay. And, I mean, he seemed conservative in some ways. 

Yeah, he didn’t seem into anal sex in the way you might expect. 

He just wasn’t into it! 

Was that your first gay role?

Yes, yes, it was. It was great fun. 

How aware have you become of your gay following?

Do I have a gay following?

You will after this movie, if you didn’t already. 

Well, then I’ll be aware of it, and that’ll be good. 

Six Feet Under has an immense legacy in the LGBT community because it was so groundbreaking in that it featured realistic portrayals of LGBT people, including your son David, played by Michael C. Hall. That show has stuck with me in ways that I never thought a TV show could. Does it still sit with you? Do you think about that show every now and again? 

I do. I think about it a lot. I think about … part of it makes me sad, when I think about it. 

I mean, that series finale. Those last 10 minutes. 

The last 10 minutes were amazing, but what makes me sad is that – you never knew who my character was, because you only saw me when somebody thought of me. It was their recollection, their image, their impression of me that you saw. There was so much that wasn’t said between the children and Nathaniel, both of the sons. I mean, David had no idea that I was proud of him and then somebody said once that your father was proud of you and he said, “My father was proud of me?” They never talked about anything. Same with (my other son) Nate. And it just… it made me sad. I remember thinking, “God, I hope my kids and I don’t do this.” 

There is an important lesson to be learned there: Say what you need to say now. 

There is. And I’ll tell people if they’re not getting along with their parents, “Just stop. You don’t want them to die with things unspoken. You just don’t.” But, you know, (creator) Alan Ball – this is what interested him, that kind of true relationship with his children and family and each other. And it’s a very personal show, and it was an honor to be a part of it.

Do you hear from gay fans who have a deep connection to the show? 

I do. I hear from people who say, “I’m gay and that show was just so important to me.” 

That show went deeper for people than most shows. How do you as an actor process being a part of something that can emotionally resonate with someone as strongly as Six Feet Under did? 

I think it’s why we do it. It’s why I became an actor. I can’t paint, I can’t dance, I don’t sing, and so I became an actor. That’s my art, whether I’m any good at it, or not. It’s an interpretive art, but it is an art, I think. And you believe when you do it that there’s a common understanding between all people, whether they’re conservative or liberal or French or German, and that human connection is your job to try to make. When you do it’s incredibly gratifying because that’s why you’re there. 

So something like Six Feet Under – it’s funny with TV because in the theater you know immediately, but in television and movies you don’t until people stop you at an airport or on the street or write something about it, so it’s incredibly gratifying because it’s why we do what we do. We all are alike in so many ways that we try to fight constantly. We just try to fight it – “I’m not like this; I’m this, I’m this” and (sighs)... that’s why art can break that down. If you go see a movie like this and you’re a conservative who is against gay marriage and you like this movie, that is in your subconscious from now on. You’ve actually walked in somebody else’s shoes. 

While I watched the film, the word “empathy” kept coming to mind. 

Empathy – you are absolutely right. (Guillermo) wrote it for this time. “It’s an adult fairy tale,” he said, “that I wrote for this time.” While we were shooting it, Guillermo would say, “You think it’s working?” I’d say, “I have no idea!” (Laughs) He said, “By the time they get to the dance number in black and white, they’re either gonna laugh me out of the theater or they’re gonna understand.” And I said, “That’s why it’s art, man. Because you’re taking a chance.” And they do understand. 

I don’t usually think about movies this way, and usually if somebody doesn’t like a movie that I’m in, I think, “Well, OK, maybe it’s me.” But if you don’t like this movie, there’s part of me that thinks it’s your problem, it’s not my problem (laughs), because it is a beautiful, beautiful film.

As a kid, what was your favorite toy?

You can probably remember it instantly: the thing you couldn’t bear to leave at home, the doll you spent hours with, the toy truck that road-tripped your imagination. Just thinking of it gives you a warm feeling and a wistful smile but in “You Don’t Own Me” by Orly Lobel, you’ll read about two toy companies that weren’t playin’.

Years after it happened, Carter Bryant couldn’t tell you what spurred him to think the way he did that sunny afternoon.

Maybe it was dissatisfaction with his on-again-off-again job at Mattel. Maybe it was a recent, nasty break-up with his on-again-off-again boyfriend. Or maybe it was a quirk in his impressively creative mind that made him notice three teenagers as they left their small-town-Missouri school, and that made Bryant think of his huge idea.

All his life, he’d been an artist and he’d dreamed of designing clothes. After graduating from fashion school, he landed a job at Mattel to work with Barbie but Mattel had no tolerance for spontaneous creativity, says Lobel, and that was something Bryant couldn’t abide. And so, as he moved from Los Angeles to his parents’ home in Missouri then back to Mattel a few times, Bryant obsessed about three hip teenage dolls, drawing and re-drawing, putting them away and revisiting them, creating their fictitious lives, rounding them out and making them real.

In August 2000, a friend and former Mattel co-worker introduced Bryant to two people who would change his life; both were executives at Mattel rival MGA. And both were excited to see what Bryant had been calling his “Bratz.”

For many years, Isaac Larian, a Jewish-Iranian immigrant and the owner-founder of toy company MGA, had been looking for a blockbuster toy. He wanted to own it, not just distribute it, and he was “no stranger to litigation.” That was a good thing because, after many attempts to get Barbie back on her molded feet to fight against Larian and MGA’s newly-purchased Bratz fashion-doll line, Mattel got mad.

And in 2004, it filed the first lawsuit…

Do you own the ideas you concoct on your own time?  Or can your employer take them for free? Those are just two of the intriguing questions inside “You Don’t Own Me. ” 

Of course, in the case of Mattel vs. MGA, many arguments were made, and author Orly Lobel recounts them here. While there’s some lean in the narrative, and well-considered author opinion, Lobel also presents a nice full background of both companies, as well as biographies, to allow for better understanding before she launches her subtle argument-starters. Mixed with the story, Lobel looks at gender and the nature of play, which lends a nostalgic tone to a book that’s highly readable, even if you’re not in business.

This book – and the story – ends on an uneasy note; absolutely, it’ll give inventors pause and businesspeople a reason for eagle-eyed vigilance. For sure, “You Don’t Own Me” shows that the ownership of ideas is nothing to toy with.