July 2007

inside this issue

mer
WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR 1 ch andi
s e
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT 2
JUNE UPDATE 2
WORD ON THE STREET 2
REVIEW: TRUE COLORS TOUR 3
OPINION FROM A NEWBIE 4
THANK YOU 5-7
A NEW SPIN ON AN OLD FAV 7
LBT WOMEN’S HEALTH FAIR 8
http://www.cafepress.com/109design/2724064
EVENTS 9

e ed i tor
e f ro m th
m
welco
Hello everyone! Welcome to the July issue of the
GirlSpot newsletter, and Happy Independence Day!
Let’s face it: it’s hard to be an independent women in
this country, especially an LBTQ woman. In addition
to the inequities and stereotypes faced by all women,
LBTQ women can’t get legally married and we face
both legal and illegal discrimination in many aspects
of our lives. On a more local level, we all know that
Ohio is not the most queer friendly state; a majority
of voters amended the constitution to prohibit gay
marriage, and we have struggled for years to get the
state to include sexual orientation in the definition of
hate crimes.
But on a positive note, Columbus is a great place
to be gay! From bookstores to bars, restaurants to
retail, gay-owned and gay-friendly businesses abound;
our mayor and governor recently attended a Human
Rights Campaign dinner, and the LBTQ population is
growing in numbers and in visibility every day. The
gay community here is very diverse; we come from all
walks of life, all races, religions, income brackets, and
backgrounds. GirlSpot aims to reflect that diversity.
We hold monthly game and movie nights, outdoor
recreational events, and unofficial socials in a variety of
settings. Come visit our myspace page, or check out
the event calendar at the back of this newsletter and
see what interests you and come join us!
– Emily Anderson
Website: www.myspace.com/girlspotcolumbus
Email: girlspotnewsletter@yahoo.com
1
 Member Spotlig
ht
Name: Emily Anderson
Age: 29
Where you live: right on the edge of Victorian Village and
Harrison West
Three things you love: my dog, summer, books
One thing you hate: litter
Favorite thing about living in Columbus: Gallery Hop,
Comfest, all my friends here, GirlSpot of course
Describe your perfect day: It would be sunny and hot
but not too humid. I’d sleep in late, take my dog to play
in Goodale Park, go to brunch at either Whole World or
Northstar and have some vegan yumyums with friends,
then spend a relaxing day hanging out with all my favorite
people, and have some time to myself in the evening to
read or write.

e U p d ate
jun Word on t
w
he S
street
June was a great month for GirlSpot. We held our
monthly potluck game night on June 3rd. As always,
it was a great time, attended by about 40-50 women.
“Game night was a blast, dancing in the rain ROCKED!!!!
Our movie night on June 17th was also quite an ad- Can’t wait to see you all again.”
venture. To take advantage of the great weather, we - Megan
opted to hold the movie outside. Some of our more
technically minded volunteers were able to set up a
screen, projector, and sound outside; unfortunately,
the weather didn’t cooperate. We held our potluck
indoors and enjoyed a variety of good food, then, “Thanks for the movie night, even though we didn’t get to
see the end. I would have liked an interpretive dance though.
once the skies cleared, we took the party outside to Hope to see you all soon. ”
watch Saving Face. June also included GirlSpot events - Becky
at the Columbus Arts Festival, a Comets football
game, a Q&A with singer-songwriter Nels before her
performance at Wall Street, a barbecue, several mem-
bers participating in the Run for Pride 5K, a presence
in the Pride parade, a booth at the festival, and tons of “Congrats on the success of this group! I DO plan on
unofficial fun as well. catching an event one of these days. The outdoor films sound
super.”
- Nicki
– Emily Anderson

“You gals are kiiiinda neat…”

- Colleen
2

revie
R a treat to see The Cliks perform live. As a bonus--not only
w: tr
ue co
lors
tour
In the darkness of the stadium all that could be seen
were the faint blue LCD screens of cell phones mimicking
their non-multitasking ancestors—better known as light-
ers. A familiar voice appeared through the haze of scream-
ing fans. It was our beautiful and entertaining host for the
evening, Margaret Cho.
Silence fell upon the crowd. Only the anticipation of
one thing could have demanded such obedience from the
ADD affected audience, the uttering of a few words. Some
have been waiting only for weeks, others for months, but
for me, years have passed with the need to hear the phrase
that came from our lovely host’s mouth. “And now please
welcome to the stage Cyndi Lauper.”
The crowd erupts in to applause. Spotlights slowly
open, revealing the stage. The audience grows louder with
every breath. A figure moves from behind the side curtain.
Screams, whistles, and words of admiration bounce around
the stadium. Then, we see her. Like a phantom shadow, she
appears from out of the darkness and gives the crowd its
first glimpse of what all of us know will be a stellar perfor-
mance.
All I remember thinking is “Wow!” Here, Cyndi Lauper
dances before us, with her rainbow feathered Chinese style
hat and her signature hot pink hair—revealing later that
she still has her short bleach blonde hair--and still all I can
think is, “Wow!”
I listened intently, trying to sing along--my voice crackling
from all the screaming. Her voice, on the other hand, was
perfection. It’s hard to believe that such a seasoned singer
could sound so wonderful after so many years of strain on
her vocal cords.
My only disappointments with the concert had taken
place earlier in the evening. The first was with the lack of
fans, the other with Deborah Harry, a.k.a. Blondie.
As I approached the entrance a ticket concierge in-
formed me that my friend and I would be moved up a sec-
tion due to the lack of attendance. Expecting an audience
of over 4,000, it was a heart breaking turn out of around
2,000. Considering the fact that I only heard advertisement
for the concert twice the previous month, I understand
why the crowd was so small.
That, however, never stopped the true enthusiasts from
showing their support. Though the crowd was undersized,
together, they had a voice that echoed long through the
night.
They started by showing their love for The Cliks. Ap-
plauding with every intense strum of the guitar, the audi-
ence was captivated. By bringing their all to the stage it was
for the audience, but for the gorgeous Ms. Cho—the lead
singer, Lucas Silveira, laid a long wet one on our host.
Laughing at and giving accolades to Margaret Cho
throughout the night, the fans were pumped, for the up-
coming performances.
The Dresden Dolls stole the stage from The Cliks. With
high volume enthusiasm, it was a fan fair of the ages. Brian
Viglione, the drummer, and Amanda Palmer, vocals/key-
board, rocked the stage. The audience was once again
enthralled, calming down only for the break.
After a short intermission, Deborah Harry took the
stage. I was excited to see her live, but my illusion of a
great show was soon crushed by, what turned out to be, a
disappointingly poor performance.
Though I had been looking forward to hearing the ‘80s
icon, I couldn’t help but feel left flat throughout her per-
formance. I wanted to believe that her lack of heart in the
songs was due to a bad night. However, I was informed by
my friend that that is just how she sounds now. It wasn’t
that she sang off key or missed notes. On the contrary, she
never missed a single one. She just didn’t seem to be feel-
ing the music that she was singing. It was as if she had to
be there, but would rather have been home filing her nails.
Though the audience could sense her emotionless
performance, they were kind and gave more than adequate
accolades to a woman that most of us grew up listening to
and loved. After all, she is still Debbie Harry.
As the crowd settled down and roadies rearrange the
musical instruments, Margaret Cho reentered the spot-lit
stage to tickle our funny bones once more and to intro-
duce the next band—Erasure.
What a wonderful opener for Cyndi. Andy Bell was
energetic and right on key. Vince Clark stood in the back-
ground feeding life into the assortment of instruments as
only he can. Both giving birth to new fans, and reminding
old ones of why they are still considered icons of the 80’s--
which brings me back to Cyndi.
Throughout her performance, Cyndi Lauper showed her
endearing true colors by eloquently reminded us why the
entertainers joined the Human Rights Campaign Concert.
It wasn’t to make money, but to open people’s minds, to
show the world that everyone deserves equal rights. She
went on to say, “We should all have the right to live with
the same dignity, opportunity and safety. It shouldn’t matter
what anyone’s sexual orientation is.” How can you argue
with such a lovely woman?
That night, she showed us that a loving and understand-
ing environment can bring us together, that one person can
make a difference, and that the world can change to show
its true colors.
– Juice Shipman 3

e
a n ewbi
n f rom
o
opini
Two months ago, I stumbled upon the GirlSpot organiza-
tion on MySpace. I was supposed to be researching volun-
teer opportunities in the area, to bolster my resume for
intended entrance into medical school. Instead, I decided to
pass some time browsing. I was extremely impressed when
I read GirlSpot’s explanation of itself. It said, “we are here
to fill the social gap between the bars and home for LGBT
women in Columbus. Have a little fun, make a little differ-
ence and create a real presence in the community…” That
struck home for me. My girlfriend and I recently moved up
here from Georgia. Each of us just having gotten out of the
military, it was strange to return to the much more seclud-
ed civilian life. We were accustomed to being surrounded
by massive amounts of people near our age and eager to
socialize. Now, however, we found ourselves hanging out
with…ourselves.
The same topics surfaced in many of our conversations.
It is disappointing that there is little to do in the LGBT
community outside of socializing at the bars. Even more
sad, in our opinion, is the fact that the community as a
whole has one very small impression of LGBT life. They see
us at the bars, and they see us annually at Pride. Beyond
that, we don’t do much in their eyes. GirlSpot seemed to
fill this large gap. I noticed that it had several standard so-
cial activities outside of the bar scene. It seemed that there
were events for every type of person. There were also vari-
ous admirable philanthropic activities and programs which
they were beginning to implement within our community.
That evening, I told my girlfriend about the group and
was surprised that she was not as excited as I was. She
tends to analyze things more thoroughly than I do, es-
pecially when I have already made up my mind about
something. She rationalized about the potential dangers of
getting involved with a group of lesbians. Circle of friends
really takes on a whole new meaning in our community.
She also brought up the fact that it would be extremely
awkward to walk in on an already established group of girls
as “the outsiders.” Nevertheless, we decided that we would
give it one shot. We would show up for coffee at MoJoe’s
one Wednesday. If we liked it, we would consider showing
up again. If we thought it was a bunch of crazies, well, we
could just happen to be getting coffee.
I had messaged the group via MySpace to laude
4
them for their efforts in creating such an organization and
to indicate our interest in joining them for coffee. Melissa
took the time to write back personally and elaborate about
the group and its goals and interests and what to expect as
an outsider. She offered to meet us outside the coffee shop
so that we would not be walking in by ourselves, which I
thought was very kind.
The evening arrived and we decided to get to MoJoe’s
earlier than the scheduled gathering, to watch people come
in and interact. We were there for perhaps thirty minutes,
and had quite talked ourselves into leaving, when a woman
came up to our table. She was on the phone and she asked
if my name was Shella. I indicated that it was and she told
me that she had Melissa on the phone and Melissa wanted
to talk to me.
Melissa told me that she was stuck out of town and
could not make it back for coffee. She knew that this was
going to be our first time and that we were fully expecting
to meet her that evening and she had no contact informa-
tion for me. So, she called one of her friends who lived
in the Short North area and implored her to get on the
computer, login to MySpace, find my picture, memorize
it, get in her car, go down to MoJoe’s, find me among the
crowd and approach me as a stranger just so that Melissa
could apologize to me directly via phone. I was floored.
That anyone would make that much effort for someone
they did not know was amazing to me. So we stayed. We
had a very comfortable evening with a group of people we
had never met before. Everybody was talkative and active
in conversation, interested to get to know others. We were
also pleased to find many other “newbies” in the crowd.
Since this first encounter, we have attended events on a
regular basis. In fact, we quickly moved into volunteer roles
because of how much we believe in what this group is do-
ing. The effort and kindness we were shown our first night
has continued. The girls are amazing, and there are new
people coming around every week. The group is growing
by leaps and bounds, and it’s a phenomenal thing to watch.
There are so many people in our LGBT community who
care to get together and have a great time and also care to
make a presence and change in the area where we live.
I am incredibly thankful for the experiences I have had
these past two months. I look forward to many more with
these girls. I look even more forward to the new faces that
are appearing daily and to the future growth of this group. I
cannot imagine where Girl Spot will be one year from now,
but I can assure you that I will be here to find out.
– Shella Blackburn
 r
Recap
& tha
nk yo
u!!
Pride has come and gone but not without leaving
behind an impression of the beautiful wonders of ser-
vice and community. Girl Spot’s first pride parade and
booth affairs were made possible through all the hard
work of our great volunteers and generous sponsors.
Teamwork and drive was the heart of all the success
that was accomplished that day! Many thanks are in
order. So many of you rose to the occasion and self-
lessly gave of yourselves wherever you were needed.
Thank you!
Let me began with some of the behind the scenes
folks; these poor people had to work many hours
with me. Juice and Lauren, thank you for putting up
with my over-stated, opinionated self. Juice and Lau-
ren really put forth a lot of hard work and displayed
saint-like patience when it came to working on the
banner and several other tedious booth preparations.
The banner for Pride took about three to four days
to complete. It started as an idea and these ladies
helped me make it a reality, and I know I was unbear-
able at times. Muchas gracias to you both!
Then of coarse there was the booth, which en-
tailed more hard work and time from various people.
There was a raffle entry that cost a dollar to enter.
The volunteers who worked the raffle tickets really
had their work cut out for them. Sometimes trying
to get people to stop and just listen is difficult, so you
can be sure that trying to get them to stop then give
you money is even more of a challenge. However, the
energy and enthusiasm of these brave souls did man-
age to get quite a few people to try their chance with
lady luck.
Aside from the raffle we also offered face paint-
ing and a kid friendly game, where the kiddies could
win a prize. The face painting was fun and surprising.
Surprising to see how many of the “big” kids waited
in line to get their faces painted. Juice definitely had
her hands full trying to meet the needs of these “kids”.
The cost for the face painting was between fifty cents
and a dollar, depending on what artistic creation you
chose. The choices varied from butterflies, lettering, to
Serena’s name (Thanks Serena for offering the use of
your name). Colleen and Serena also helped out with
the face painting part of the booth by recruiting faces
to paint.
Other volunteers working “Duck Spot” matched
their motivation and determination to expose as many
people as possible to the G-SPOT booth. Duck Spot
was a kid friendly game that allowed its participants to
5
win some neat prizes. The cost of the game was fifty
cents, just enough pocket change that a kid could af-
ford it. We had a kiddie pool with several ducks float-
ing in the water. Each duck had either an X or an O
on its belly. No duck was harmed in any way during
the placement of the X’s and O’s, and in fact Lauren
named all the ducks and tried to find them good
homes. The object of the game was to grab a duck
out of the pool that was marked with an O. If you
successfully did, then you won a prize and had your
choice from a range of bracelets, beads, pocket change
holder, really cute sunglasses, and bumper stickers.
Volunteers working this spot displayed fun and ener-
getic attitudes to all those who showed an interest
in playing. The enticed the crowd with such words as
“fabulous prizes” and “win a fabulous prize” so a lot of
people stopped to check us out. Each volunteer had
their own way of making people interested enough to this would have just stayed an idea instead of a reality.
see what this Girl Spot Columbus was about. To the volunteers who put their own personal
Our volunteers and sponsors are what really helped touch and brought with them their belief in G-SPOT,
in getting the booth noticed! So many thanks are in thank you so much! Juice, Lauren, Anjey, Stacey (Sta-
order because without the sponsors and volunteers cey thanks for having a house full of lesbians so early
in the morning, we love you, boo), Melissa, Ellen, Mekal,
Heidi, Shella, Courtney, Jaymee, Tabatha, Kim, Shelly,
Meagan, Wendy, and any other volunteer whom I may
have not mentioned (my memory isn’t what it use
to be). These volunteers really shined by working on
whatever needed done. They answered questions
about the group, organized corn hole games, passed
out the newsletter (a big thank you to Emily, Jaymee,
and Steph for putting together a special Pride issue
and to Steph for printing so many copies), and helped
with filling out correspondence sheets. For all the hard
work and relentless efforts, I applaud and thank you.
Our raffle wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t
for the generous companies who sponsored prizes.
Great appreciation and a special thank goes our to
all these sponsors. These great people believed in us
6 enough to give of themselves and their companies

without any hesitation. A great big thanks goes out to
the following businesses for their support and sense of
service to a community they knew little about:
Damon’s Grill: 4645 Executive Drive, Colum-
bus, OH 43220. They donated two $25.00 gift cards.
(Thanks,Vicky, for getting these for us).
Cloud Nine: Piedmont, Columbus, OH 43224.
This business donated some great shirts to be raffled
off.
The incredible Mr. Chris Sprouse, an artist for a
comic book superhero named Midnighter. Mr. Sprouse
donated series one thru five autographed comic
books for the raffle.
Also Mr. Nate Tansky of Tansky Toyota, 6300
Sawmill Road, Dublin, OH 43017 donated three oil/fil-
ter changes to Girl Spot Columbus’ raffle.
To all our sponsors we thank you for your generos-
ity!!!
Our first Pride was an adventure and definitely
proved that with some dedicated people and a whole
lot of ideas anything is possible. Once again a gigantic
MUCHAS GRACIAS to everyone who helped out
with the booth, volunteers and sponsors alike!
– Bel Martinez
o l d fav
i n o n an
p
aN
A new s
The same but different…This might be the first thing
that crosses your mind when you enter the new East Village
Restaurant and Bar (formerly Union Station). East Village
is the latest addition to the Roy G Biv family (Union Café,
Havana and Axis). Primarily billed as a “girl bar”, East Village
is taking some of the features of Union Station and putting
a new spin on them.
The layout is much the same, and the video screen is still
there with a variety of music videos and skits playing. Gone
are the rotating art displays on the crumbling yet quaint
exposed brick wall, replaced with a long bench for seating
and improved lighting. The menu has been revamped and
is similar to the new Union Café menu albeit slightly more
casual, meaning, they actually have Ranch dressing! Anyone
who’s tried to order Ranch at the new U will understand
what a feat this is. They have some of the favorite appetiz-
ers that were previously on the menu at Union Station
such as Quesadilla Rolls, Fried Macaroni & Cheese and Ital-
ian style Chicken Wings, which come highly recommended!
Another new feature is the expanded stage. There are
several live performances lined up to play at East Village and
it’s exciting to finally have a venue to bring these perform-
ers in! Of course there is also Karaoke on Thursday nights
and “What a Drag” Wednesdays that will also utilize that
enhanced space.
If you haven’t had a chance to go check it out, do so!
There is happy hour M-F that offers select appetizers for
only $5 and drinks specials (1.50 domestics, 2.50 well
drinks and regular or strawberry margaritas that are a steal
at only $3). For the girls on our Girl Spot softball team,
East Village offers a discount if you come in wearing your
softball shirt, since they are our sponsor. So let’s support
our team sponsor and stop by and visit the lovely ladies at
East Village!
– Stephanie Powell
7
 ea lt h fair
t wom en’s h
g
lb LESBIAN
AND
AND TR
This is the first large scale community event that Girl Spot is
organizing, and we are very excited about it. After a preliminary
date in July, the health fair has been rescheduled for September
on the campus of Ohio State University. Stay tuned to the news-
letter and the website for more specific details as the event gets
closer, but we’re very excited about this new larger venue and all
the opportunities it will provide. I sat down with Jeanne Decker,
one of the key members of the health fair committee, to get the
scoop to share with all the newsletter readers. Jeanne is one of
the older Girl Spot members, and her contacts, experience, and
maturity have been invaluable in planning this huge event. Unfor-
tunately, I did not have a tape recorder during our conversation,
so this is only excerpts.
Emily: First of all, can you tell me how you got involved with
Girl Spot initially?
Jeanne: I’m on the monthly email list for Stonewall, and I saw it
in the email. I emailed Melissa about it, and then went to
the first volunteer meeting. For me, it was just really
important to have a community, a way of meeting other
women outside of the bar scene.
Emily: And what motivated you to work on the
women’s health fair project?
Jeanne: I work in health care, actually in two different ways. I have
a mental health practice and do therapy, and I also work in
OB at Riverside, so I’ve always had an interest in health
care. When I sat down to brainstorm for the health fair, I
came up with two pages worth of contact people I knew.
Emily: That’s awesome. How has the response been from
Girl Spot and from the community?
Jeanne: The Girl Spot people have been very excited about it. We
have a really strong committee of at least ten solid people
at every meeting, and there’s a great blend of talents, from
public relations to art, and we’re really energized by the
different aspects of the project. In the community at large,
almost everyone has been very quickly on board. I’ve
hardly had any trouble getting volunteers to do booths,
tables, presentations. People seem excited that this isn’t
8
BISE
ANSGEN XUAL WOMEN
DER HEA ’S
SEPTEM LT H FAIR
BER, 200
OSU CA 7 ( T BA)
MPUS
something that’s been done before, and are very
willing to donate their time, bring their own tables, all sorts
of things.
Emily: So, how is the planning going? What can you tell us about
the event?
Jeanne: We want to address a broad spectrum of health issues,
so we’ll have experts on hand to talk about everything
from Alternative Medicine, Family Planning, Preventative
Health Care, Transgender/Intersex Issues, Nutrition,
Mental Health/Support, Spiritual Health, Self Defense,
and many other aspects of concern to LBT women.
Although we have a lot planned already, there are many
more details to confirm. We want the event to be fun,
as well as informative, so we’re talking about having food,
raffles or a silent auction, a drag king emceeing the event,
an art auction to benefit breast cancer research, and lots of
other fun things.
Emily: That’s great, it sounds like things are going well. But what
kind of help do you still need? How should people get in
touch with the committee if they’d like to volunteer?
Jeanne: Well, anyone is welcome to help out and there is a lot
we still have to do. People can just show up at a meeting,
or they can email me. We’re still open to more contacts,
if people have ideas of groups we should include. And we
will definitely need help setting up and tearing down on the
day of the health fair, as well as volunteers to make sure
everything runs smoothly during the day, just to take care
of any last minute needs, so any volunteers would be great.
Emily: Any final thoughts you’d like to share with the
newsletter readers?
Jeanne: I just really can’t say enough fun it is to be involved in this.
The committee has such a neat energy together, we have
lots of inside jokes, and it’s just such a great group of
people. We’re all very excited to be part of the Health Fair.
 ents
july ev

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Gallery Hop
Hit the G-Spot WICKED Cabaret Red, White and Doo Dah Parade First Friday
Game Night benefits Broad- Boom Short North 5-9
9pm
Movie Night way Cares/Equity Downtown Unofficial Social Ohio Roller Derby
Wall Street
5-7 Fights AIDS and Riverfront 8pm Lausche Building
Nightclub
Columbus AIDS MoJoe Lounge in @ Ohio Expo
Task Force. the Short North Center
Axis @ 8:00 pm

8
Softball Game
9 10 11 12 13 14
North Market
3:30pm Unofficial Social Food & Ohio Wine
Berliner field 20 8pm Festival
MoJoe Lounge in 7/14 - 7/15
the Short North Westerville Music
& Arts Festival
7/14 – 7/15

15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Softball Game Lancaster Festival Jazz & Rib Festival Jazz & Rib Festival
1:00pm Unofficial Social (through 7/28) Downtown Downtown
Berliner Field 19 8pm Riverfront Riverfront
Hit the G-Spot MoJoe Lounge in GSpot Beach Day
Potluck & Movie the Short North Delaware State Park
Night Meet @ Stonewall
5-7 4:00 pm

22 23 24 25 26 27 28
Softball Games
Unofficial Social
3:30pm & 4:45
8pm
Berliner Field 19
MoJoe Lounge in
Rib Festival
the Short North
Downtown
Riverfront

29 30 31
Softball
Tournaments
Start
newsletter staff

Upcoming even
Events Editor: Emily Anderson
Writers: Stephanie Powell, Juice Shipman,
8/3 – 8/5 – Dublin Irish Festival Shella Blackburn, Bel Martinez
8/8 - 8/12 – Ohio State Fair Photos: Cindi Sherman, John Schumacher,
8/11 - GSpot Rec Event - Hiking @ Hocking Hills Lauren Toups
8/25 - Gspot Rec Event - Daytrip to Yellow Springs Layout: Jaymee Miller
8/31 – 9/3 – Greek Festival
Email us at girlspotnewsletter@yahoo.com
* We need volunteers to work the Girl Spot Table at Gallery Hop!
9
Check out www.myspace.com/girlspotcolumbus for more details on events.