By Kimberly Moore
For Weekly Surge

Gay rights have come a long way in the United States during the past decade, slowly but surely gaining the recognition and acceptance of a society that had kept homosexuals in the proverbial closet. Locally, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community are proud of their accomplishments and contributions to the heritage of the Grand Strand, an area that is always evolving and reinventing itself in response to changing times. The inaugural Myrtle Beach Pride 2008 festival is a three-day celebration that will take place at various area venues Friday and Saturday, featuring pageants, contests, games, entertainment, and public education. Presented by The Center Project, a local non-profit that provides a supportive environment for individuals within the LGBT community, Pride is a nationwide movement, celebrating diversity and equality on local, state and national levels and commemorating the Stonewall Inn riots of June 28, 1969, widely regarded as the spark that ignited the gay rights movement in this country.

The Myrtle Beach Pride 2008 event will be in sharp contrast to a state sponsored Pride parade that was held here in 1998. The South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement chose to hold its annual march that year in downtown Myrtle Beach amidst an uproar, its propriety hotly debated in a town that promotes itself as being a family resort. Attitudes do not change as frequently or dramatically as the landscape in Myrtle Beach, and at its core, our little coastal community is still thick with Bible Belt morality. With the influx of transplants to the coastal Carolinas, the ideals of diversity and inclusion have gained increasing significance, weaving into the fabric of daily life among the businesses, churches, town halls, schools and residential areas that make up Horry County.

Myrtle Beach made waves throughout the gay community nationwide in 1997, when the opening of a new gay nightclub sparked outrage from a local city council member. During the summer of that year, the Metropolis nightclub applied for a permit to open on Chester St., at Ninth Avenue North, steps from the former Pavilion Amusement Park, on site of the Old Rivoli Theatre. Soon to be mayor, then-City Councilman Mark McBride made headlines when he spoke out against the club, being quoted in newspapers throughout the state, declaring a gay bar was not in fitting with the image Myrtle Beach sought to promote. His derogatory comments found an audience with many on the religious right, and he rode to office as mayor the following year .The hot-tempered and passionate McBride, who is still not without his supporters, took on a number of groups -gays, bikers, spring breakers, tattoo artists. City Council was not immune as he took shots at various members and had public squabbles replete with headline grabbing drama. His remarks outraged the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community both locally and throughout the state, and the S.C. Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement announced plans to hold its annual pride parade and activities in Myrtle Beach in July of 1998.

The Village People were booked by the Hard Rock Café to perform during the festival at Celebrity Square at Broadway at the Beach. Burroughs and Chapin, Co., the owners of Broadway at the Beach, took out a quarter page ad in local newspapers, stating that, "...As a private company, we have not, nor do we intend to be forced or intimidated into supporting organized activities that we believe endanger the historic values of our nation, and the cornerstone truths on which they are based." B&C, which leases space to the bars and clubs at Celebrity Square, pulled the plug on the concert and in a statement to the New York Times in 1998, Doug Wendell, the President of B&C at the time, was quoted: "We were not going to allow our company's facilities to be used to further a cause that we felt was a negative influence on our community. " (Burroughs and Chapin did not respond to requests for comments on this weekend's Pride event.) Despite Mayor McBride's disapproval (he sent his wife and children to Greenville for the weekend) city council allowed the group to use Doug Shaw Stadium for the festival. Patrick Evans, original founder and former Executive Director of The Center Project, was one of the organizers for S.C. Pride '98. He is quick to point out, "It's important to note the city was supportive, as well as the police. It was basically just McBride and his supporters who were against it. His views weren't entirely representative of Myrtle Beach. Both times he was elected, he got in on a run-off."

 

M.B. Pride 2008 hopes to avoid the kind of controversy that surrounded the S.C. Pride '98 event. More than 8,000 people attended the parade and festival in 1998, which was widely publicized throughout the state by the South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Pride Movement and its website. The controversy surrounding the event, specifically McBride's comments, helped to mobilize the gay community into action. With no headline grabbing drama to propel it, this year's event is not about protest as much as it is inclusion. Brad Woodbury, Hospitality Manager at Hard Rock Park (a major contributor to Pride '08), and a native of Myrtle Beach, has seen first hand the struggle the local gay community has gone through as it has sought acceptance and acknowledgement from the local population. "This is not about confrontation. We love ourselves and we love our city. We just want to be part of this community," he says. This weekend's events kick off Friday night with a Mr.and Miss Myrtle Beach Pageant to be held at Time Out!, a local landmark, having provided an outlet for friendship and entertainment for the gay community since 1989. A daylong celebration at the Myrtle Beach Train Depot will be held Saturday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., with local bands performing outside, along with food vendors and information booths from local and state advocacy and awareness groups. (See A Gay in the Life Column on page 14 for more details).

Though the SCGLPM will be represented throughout the weekend with other groups and organizations, this Pride is a local event, with all proceeds benefiting The Center Project, a local community center that describes itself on its website (thecenterproject.com) as being "a safe place to freely talk and learn about sexual orientation issues." "In 2007, over 2,000 people came to the center," says Chris Stevens, president of the board of directors for the non-profit organization, located at 307 Highway 15, near the intersection of Third Avenue South and Broadway Street in Myrtle Beach. "So many who come to The Center Project have no one to talk to. This is a space for them to receive confirmation and knowledge."

 

With established ties to regional and national organizations such as Care team, Step-Up! Community Volunteer Network and the South Carolina Equality Coalition, the center hosts monthly meetings, speakers, holiday parties and picnics and provides a home for independent groups such as CLAWS (Coastal Leather Allegiance to Wisdom and Service) and the Red Ribbon Campaign. The building itself boasts a media center, conference room, lending library and cyber center, and offers confidential AIDS testing and other support services. The center offers support for people coming out of the closet publically, something Stephens says is "very scary, first coming to that realization within yourself, then dealing with the animosity you can encounter from others. It's so easy and commonplace for people to turn to alcohol and drugs, or to struggle with anxiety and depression." Stephens speaks from experience, having battled his own demons on the path to self-acceptance. He asserts, "It's important to be able to meet people who are genuine, who are successfully living their lives. People come out in their own time, and having to keep that secret can tear you apart."

J.R. Crawford, an organizer of Myrtle Beach Pride 2008, has the looks and the demeanor of a military man, which he is. Crawford has served two tours of duty in Iraq, and he comes from a long line of military men.

 

"Being gay just wasn't an option," he says. He spent many years in denial, marrying and starting a family despite the truth that was dying to come out. Eventually it did. "I remember calling my dad, I was overseas at the time, and I called him right from the military base. I didn't know if I would ever make it back home, and I wanted him to know. I said, 'Dad, I'm gay.' He hung up on me." For many years, his family would not accept his visits and showed no interest in visiting him. The fall-out from the divorce and subsequent battles over child visitation rights were devastating, but the pain of his parents' rejection was the worst. "I remember they would go visit my brother on base, but they wouldn't visit me. That just killed me."

Spaz Gladney, 23, the son of military parents himself, is the youth director for The Center Project, and he agrees that, "sometimes, telling family can be the worst. They - kids in the youth group who are struggling with coming out - need to be prepared." His enthusiasm comes across as he talks about the youth group and the money they hope to raise through concessions at the Train Depot on Saturday where they will be grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers. "Participants range in age from 13-24. The young ones look up to older members, most of whom are in college and sort of represent the 'been there, done that' mentality,'' says Gladney. "I hear very much of the same things I went through in high school. I tell them when coming out, there will always be a dissenting voice, and facing adversity is almost certain. You have to think carefully before coming out, or you could seriously endanger yourself at school. That is what is good about the center. It provides a safe place for individuals to be themselves, to find a secure and safe group of peers to be involved with. Plus, there's safety in numbers."

 

Joseph Drennen, is an openly gay man who remembers the S.C. Pride event here in 1998 and what it was like to be gay in Myrtle Beach at that time. "I like to go to neighborhood bars. Ten years ago, I would have never gone to a place like Jimmigans or Melons and been able to be open about who I am," he says. "Back then, there were a lot of places you couldn't get me to go, and my straight friends couldn't understand why." Reactions from people often range from staring, to shouting words like "faggot" or "queer," to physical assault. Gladney talks about the frequency of verbal attacks, and how they tear at a person's self-esteem. "I remember reading a quote:' it's not a death by a violent crime, but a death by a billion little paper cuts. " Drennen agrees, adding, "It is getting a little bit more progressive. Looking for apartments in the 1990s, if it was another guy and myself, we'd have to go see it one at a time, so as not to raise concerns. I don't feel I would have to do that now. I can go to the flower shop, and fill out the card to another man without getting an arched eyebrow."

The Rainbow House, a popular spot among the LGBT community, is located in Nance Plaza just around the corner from Time Out! Evans, who helped organize S.C. Pride '98, tends bar there. He has lived in Myrtle Beach all his life, and has a long history of championing gay rights in the area. "We're your doctors, your lawyers, your mechanic," he says. Kristen Hardin, an attractive young woman in her mid-twenties, takes over the bar from Evans at the end of his shift. As Katy Perry's song "I Kissed a Girl" plays over the jukebox, Hardin mixes drinks and greets new customers. "I'm a Southern Baptist preacher's daughter. I only came out as a lesbian to my parents three years ago, " she explains, adding, "though by high school, I had already had my first girlfriend."

The crowd swells at Rainbow House in anticipation of the 10:30 p.m. performance by female impersonator Morgan Richards. Richards is a popular area performer whose impersonation of Diana Ross will be featured Saturday night at the Train Depot. "My show has a lot of energy and people really enjoy themselves. Seeing a female impersonator is something everyone should do at least once," Richards says. A crowd favorite at Time Out! and Rainbow House, she performs several nights a week at each venue. "Most people think that a guy who dresses like a woman wants to be a woman, and that's not it. I do this for entertainment, "she explains. Tansgendered is a term referring to those whose gender expression differs from their biological gender. The term is broadly defined, and can include cross-dressers as well as pre- and post- operative individuals. David Bennet, board member for The Center Project, relates a story of a particularly macho, working stiff type guy who came through the center doors one day. "He came in and said, 'I like to dress as a woman, and I need to know what to do about that,'' recalls Bennett. The center does not provide formal counseling (instead making referrals

for professional counseling) as much as a sympathetic and understanding ear. As far as masculine and feminine identities, Bennett acknowledges it can get confusing. "We don't always know how to address that. It is totally an individual thing. The best way to handle it is to ask the person." Case in point, Richards, though a man, prefers to be referred to as "she.'' Bennett admits, "There's still so much as a gay community we need to learn about ourselves."

 

The organizers of Myrtle Beach Pride 2008 hope to raise enough money to meet the operating costs of The Center Project. Bennett is the secretary/treasurer for the group and relates, "It costs $2,500 a month to keep the center open, and most of that is rent." The group has raised money through its Gala by the Sea fundraisers, which are held in the spring and fall, and is planning a masked ball for later this year. It receives no federal, state, or corporate funding, instead relying on individuals and businesses within the community. Stephens, President of the Board of The Center Project, admits it is a struggle keeping up with expenses. "As with any non-profit, funding is always a problem," but it is worth the effort, he says. "There were groups who met at Time Out! or other venues, and now they meet at the center. We have a lot of new groups that have formed, and we have a lot of great activities." He hopes to have a sizeable turnout for this weekend, and invites everyone along the Grand Strand to come out and support the center. "Sometimes straight people ask, 'what does the center do for me?'" Stephens says. "We support the community - your friends, your family members, people you encounter conducting business, going throughout your day."

With an estimated 117,003 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals living in South Carolina, everyone is sure to know someone - a son or daughter, an uncle, a friend or co-worker - who is gay. Those within the gay community want the public to know that discrimination exists, and to support laws and public policies that do not discriminate against anyone, regardless of race, sex, age, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation. "The big thing is educating people to their full potential," says Stephens. "We are educated, successful members of the community, and we want the same things any man or woman wants - equality."

 

 

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