LGBT Appreciation Thread!

[myapple]

You can post documentaries, facts, photos, unknown matters regarding this content, etc. I feel this was needed to show the diversity in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community. Keep it clean though! Lol

I'll start if off with a few bisexual celebrities:

Marlon Brando

Brando made the following comment about his sex life in an interview with Gary Carey, for his 1976 biography The Only Contender, "Homosexuality is so much in fashion it no longer makes news. Like a large number of men, I, too, have had homosexual experiences and I am not ashamed. I have never paid much attention to what people think about me. But if there is someone who is convinced that Jack Nicholson and I are lovers, may they continue to do so. I find it amusing.

Josephine Baker

No doubt some of the joy she felt at being part of the entertainment world also lay in discovering the institution of “lady lovers.” The facts are all there, if somewhat hidden in the mad whirl that was becoming Josephine’s life by the early 1920’s. Of course, the effort to hide these facts was an institution unto itself, at least to the extent that one could hide one’s sexual activities in the black performing community of the time. In his biography, Jean-Claude explains the concept of “lady lovers” through the words of Maude Russell, who first met Josephine when both worked at the Standard Theatre in Philadelphia and who later appeared with her in Shuffle Along: “Often ... we girls would share a [boardinghouse] room because of the cost. ... Well, many of us had been kind of abused by producers, directors, leading men —if they liked girls. ... And the girls needed tenderness, so we had girl friendships, the famous lady lovers, but lesbians weren’t well accepted in show business, they were called bull dykers. I guess we were bisexual, is what you would call us today.” These comments make lady lovers sound like little more than some kind of healing program for sexually abused women performers —one way of deflecting attention from the facts of what was going on. But they point to a subset of black performers, both male and female, whose sexual orientation was directed toward their own sex.

So where did Josephine Baker fit into this picture? Her love life involved several marriages and multiple lovers of both sexes, in relationships that varied from one-night and one-afternoon stands to longer-term affairs that went on concurrently both with each other and with her marriages. In the U.S., her lovers and husbands seem to have been exclusively black; in Europe, her lovers were white as well as black, and her husbands were exclusively white. More was known publicly about her male lovers than her female lovers partly because heterosexual behavior was socially acceptable, while queer behavior was not, but also because, as a sex symbol, she had much to gain professionally by the rumors —and sometimes the public acknowledgment—of her liaisons with men. As for female lovers, if Josephine had seen any career advantage to announcing them to the world, no doubt she would have done so. But because she could see no upside to it, she kept quiet about her affairs with women.

Just how many lesbian affairs Josephine engaged in, and with whom, will probably never be known with any certainty. Jean-Claude’s biography mentions six of her women lovers by name: Clara Smith, Evelyn Sheppard, Bessie Allison, and Mildred Smallwood, all of whom she met on the black performing circuit during her early years onstage in the United States; along with fellow American black expatriate Bricktop and the French novelist Colette after she relocated to Paris. Bricktop in particular served as an early mentor who showed her the ropes around Paris for the first few months after her move to Europe.

That move came about when Josephine was hired by a white American named Caroline Dudley Reagan (a confessed bisexual) to star in Reagan’s Paris extravaganza La Revue Nègre. The show premiered on October 25, 1925, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. It was an immediate hit, and Josephine herself was an instant sensation. Josephine “conquered Paris,” in Jean-Claude’s words, for two reasons: her ability to project an intense sexuality onstage, and the color of her skin. Equating blackness with sexuality is as much a form of racism in France as it is in the U.S., but in 1920’s Paris it worked completely to Josephine’s advantage. She was showered with presents and love letters, and taken out for expensive meals by admirers. She wore the skimpiest of costumes onstage each evening, but was deluged with dresses by Paris fashion designers to wear by day. Crowds followed her in the streets asking for her autograph.

Kimora Lee Simmons [Supermodel, actress, fashion designer, entrepreneur]

Kimora's ex girlfriend Keisha talks about her and Kimora's secret life



Glenn Burke

Glenn Burke was the first and only Major League Baseball player known to have been out to his teammates and team owners during his professional career. He was the first to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.

[Lilitu]

Oh my god I never knew that side of Marlon Brando. X3

[monk]

Oh my god I never knew that side of Marlon Brando. X3

You've obviously never seen that photo! :eek:

[Lilitu]

>.> Which photo. Is it appropriate for my age.

[dfiant]

Ian Roberts (born 31 July 1965) is an Australian actor, model and former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward, he played club football with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, and North Queensland Cowboys. In 1995 Roberts became the first high-profile Australian sports person and first rugby footballer in the world to come out to the public as gay.

Roberts came out publicly in 1995, discussing his sexuality in magazines and on television over the following year. The rugby league world was generally very supportive, with other players commenting that it was important to be "true to yourself". The NRL Footy Show principals Paul Vautin, Peter Sterling, and Steve Roach appeared in a poster campaign against homophobia conducted by the Lesbian and Gay Anti-Violence Project. He was praised for helping to question prevailing myths about gays and sport. Paul Freeman wrote a book on Roberts, Ian Roberts - Finding Out, which was published in 1997.
In 1999 Roberts was taken to court by Garry Jack over an on-field brawl that occurred in 1991.[7] Jack stated he was taking a stand against a beating he received from several Manly players. He attempted to sue Roberts for $100,000 in damages, alleging he suffered shock, traumatic injuries to his face and eyes, cuts, headaches, and numbness, and was embarrassed by scarring to his face. Jack and Roberts eventually settled the dispute out of court with Roberts handing over more than $50,000.
Roberts gave evidence to the State Coroner of New South Wales in regard to the murder of Arron Light, a street prostitute who was set to give evidence against a paedophile syndicate. Light disappeared in 1997, and his remains were recovered in 2002. This story was the subject of an episode of the Australian TV program Australian Story, entitled "The Lost Boy", which first aired on 26 September 2005.
Early in 2005, Roberts appeared in the second series of the Australian television series Dancing With The Stars, dancing with Natalie Lowe. He was runner up in the competition, losing out to Tom Williams.
Roberts appeared on the 17 April 2007 cover of The Advocate magazine in an exclusive interview with Canadian author and journalist Michael Rowe, along with a photo layout by celebrity photographer Eric Schwabel.
In September 2010 Roberts publicly criticised Australian swimming star Stephanie Rice for calling the South African rugby union team "faggots" on Twitter, branding her "a complete idiot."[/url]

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Roberts_%28rugby_league%29]Ian Roberts Wikipedia

[monk]

>.> Which photo. Is it appropriate for my age.

I couldn't post it here, I'd be banned.

Let's just say that he was polite enough not to speak with his mouth full!

[myapple]

Amber Rose [proud bisexual and was once a fixture in the LGBT ballroom community has become a household name, rising from being a stripper in Philly.]

"I've always been attracted to girls ever since I was little, and I like boys too. But as I got older in my teenage years a lot of the you know, freaky girls who were doing all kind of nasty stuff would say they were bisexual, so I never wanted to because I wasn't into those things."

"It was a weird moment in my life when I didn't know how to explain to myself I wasn't gay, but I wasn't straight and I just wasn't like some freak ― that you know, was just having threesomes all day. For me if I was in a relationship with a woman then I was just with her and vice versa."

"When I had my first girlfriend, me and my mom are best friends ― I just told her and my mom was like whatever makes you happy girl. Whatever you like that's your business I don't care. It was really easy for me."

Shaun T - famous fitness trainer for Insanity & Hip Hop Abs Workout.


Shaun and his newly wedded husband





Isis King - the first trans woman to compete on the show America's Next Top Model, and became one of the most visible transgender people on television.


Great film that includes Kerry Washington playing the role of a transgender

[myapple]

Genders (not to be confused with SEX)


Agender: Agendered individuals do not have or identify with a gender. (Also known as “non-gender.”)

Androgyne: Androgynes identify as simultaneously feminine and masculine, or neither.

Bigender: Bigendered individuals have two separate genders in one body, usually a fully feminine and a fully masculine persona. Depending on situation or feeling, a bigender individual may switch between their genders, or identify as both or neither.

Cisgender: A cisgendered individual has a gender identity that matches their gender assigned at birth.

Gender fluid: Those who are gender fluid identify as male, female, in between, both, or neither at different times or in different situations.

Genderqueer: A genderqueer individual is anyone of a non-binary gender, or a gender which does not fall into a rigid “man” or “woman” category.

Intersex: An intersexed individual has biological anatomy and sex which is a combination of or is non-distinct to that of medical ideals of male or female.

Neutrois: A neutrois is a neutral-gendered individual. Unlike agendered individuals, neutrois do have a gender identity; a neutral identity. Often a neutrois will transition through subtraction of distinctive masculine or feminine qualities.

Transgender: A transgendered individual is anyone assigned at birth a gender which does not match their gender identity.

Transsexual: A individual who is transsexual has undergone or is undergoing surgery to change their physical sex to match their gender identity.

1800s
The earliest published studies of lesbian activity were written in the early 19th century.

1856
The first known reference to lesbians in Mormon history occurred in 1856, when a Salt Lake man noted in his diary that a Mormon woman was "trying to seduce a young girl."

1897
Scientific-Humanitarian Committee — first gay rights organization

1912
The first explicit reference to lesbianism in a Mormon magazine occurred when the "Young Woman's Journal" paid tribute to "Sappho of Lesbos."

1923
Lesbian Elsa Gidlow, born in England, published the first volume of openly lesbian love poetry in the United States, titled "On A Grey Thread."

1924
Society for Human Rights — First gay rights organization in the United States. Published Friendship and Freedom, the first American gay publication.

1936
Mona's 440 Club, the first lesbian bar in America, opened in San Francisco in 1936. Mona's waitresses and female performers wore tuxedos and patrons dressed their roles.

1939
Frances V. Rummell, an educator and a teacher of French at Stephens College, published an autobiography under the title Diana: A Strange Autobiography; it was the first explicitly lesbian autobiography in which two women end up happily together. This autobiography was published with a note saying, "The publishers wish it expressly understood that this is a true story, the first of its kind ever offered to the general reading public".


1947
Vice Versa — First lesbian-interest publication in the United States.

1952
Christine Jorgensen (born in 1926 named George William Jorgensen, Jr.) a Euro-American became the first widely known person to have sex reassignment surgery.

"Spring Fire," the first lesbian paperback novel, and the beginning of the lesbian pulp fiction genre, was published in 1952 and sold 1.5 million copies. It was written by lesbian Marijane Meaker under the false name Vin Packer,and ended unhappily.

1955
The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) was founded in San Francisco in 1955 by four lesbian couples (including Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon) and was the first national lesbian political and social organization in the United States.

1960
Liverpool born April Ashley became Britain's first person to undergo sexual reassignment surgery.

1961
José Sarria — first openly gay person to run for public office in the United States (San Francisco city supervisor).

1964
The first photograph of lesbians on the cover of lesbian magazine The Ladder appeared in September 1964, showing two women from the back, on a beach looking out to sea.

In 1966 the first case to consider transsexualism in the US was heard, Mtr. of Anonymous v. Weiner, 50 Misc. 2d 380, 270 N.Y.S.2d 319 (1966). The case concerned a transsexual person from New York City who had undergone sex reassignment surgery and wanted a change of name and sex on their birth certificate. The New York City Health Department refused to grant the request, and the court ruled that the New York City and New Jersey Health Code only permitted a change of sex on the birth certificate if an error was made recording it at birth, so the Health Department acted correctly. The decision of the court in Weiner was affirmed in Mtr. of Hartin v. Dir. of Bur. of Recs., 75 Misc. 2d 229, 232, 347 N.Y.S.2d 515 (1973) and Anonymous v. Mellon, 91 Misc. 2d 375, 383, 398 N.Y.S.2d 99 (1977).

1967
Craig Rodwell opens the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookstore, the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors.

1968
In the aftermath of the Compton's Cafeteria Riot, a network of transgender social, psychological, and medical support services was established, which culminated in 1968 with the creation of the National Transsexual Counseling Unit [NTCU], the first such peer-run support and advocacy organization in the world.

1960s (year unknown)
In the late 1960s in New York, Mario Martino founded the Labyrinth Foundation Counseling Service, which was the first transgender community-based organization that specifically addressed the needs of female-to-male transsexuals.


1970
The Greek letter lambda was selected as a symbol by the Gay Activists Alliance of New York in 1970.

The first lesbian/feminist bookstore in the U.S. was the Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, which opened in Minneapolis in 1970. It later became True Colors bookstore (with a labrys acting as the "T,") but has since closed.

On June 28, 1970, the first gay and lesbian pride parade in the world was held in Los Angeles to commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots [16]. Today such parades are held annually throughout the world.


1971
The University of Michigan became the first college in America to establish an LGBT office.

1972
Nancy Wechsler became the first openly gay or lesbian person in political office in America; she was elected to the Ann Arbor City Council in 1972 as a member of the Human Rights Party and came out as a lesbian during her only term there.

Camille Mitchell became the first open lesbian to be awarded custody of her children in a divorce case, although the judge restricted the arrangement by precluding Ms. Mitchell's lover from moving in with her and the children.
Freda Smith became the first openly lesbian minister in the Metropolitan Community Church (she was also their first female minister).

Madeline Davis became the first openly lesbian delegate elected to a major political convention when she was elected to the Democratic National Convention in Miami, Florida. She addressed the convention in support of the inclusion of a gay rights plank in the Democratic Party platform. In 1972 she also, along with Margaret Small, taught the first course on lesbianism in the United States (Lesbianism 101 at the University at Buffalo.) That year she also wrote and recorded "Stonewall Nation," the first gay pride anthem, which was produced on 45 rpm record by the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier.

Jobriath Boone became the first openly gay rock musician to be signed to a major record label, Elektra Records.


1973
Sally Miller Gearhart became the first open lesbian to obtain a tenure-track faculty position when she was hired by San Francisco State University, where she helped establish one of the first women and gender study programs in the country.

1974
Kathy Kozachenko — first openly gay or lesbian candidate to win public office in the United States (won a seat on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, city council)

Elaine Noble became the first openly gay or lesbian candidate ever elected to a state-level office in America when she was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives.[24] She had come out as a lesbian during her campaign.
Allan Spear - served almost thirty years in the Minnesota Senate, including nearly a decade as President of the Senate.

Gay activists in Boston chose the purple rhinoceros as a symbol of the gay movement after conducting a media campaign in 1974. They selected this animal because, although it is sometimes misunderstood, it is docile and intelligent – but when a rhinoceros is angered, it fights ferociously. Lavender was used because it was a widely recognized gay pride color; the heart was added to represent love and the "common humanity of all people."[this quote needs a citation]
In December 1974, the lambda was officially declared the international symbol for gay and lesbian rights by the International Gay Rights Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland.

[myapple]

1975
Elaine Noble — first openly gay or lesbian candidate elected to a state legislature in the United States (Massachusetts commonwealth legislature)
Minneapolis became the first city in the United States to pass trans-inclusive civil rights protection legislation.

1976
In 1976 the first case in the United States which found that post-operative transsexuals could marry in their post-operative sex was decided. It was the New Jersey case M.T. v. J.T., 140 N.J. Super. 77, 355 A.2d 204, cert. denied 71 N.J. 345 (1976). Here the court expressly considered the English Corbett v. Corbett decision, but rejected its reasoning.

1977
Anne Holmes became the first openly lesbian minister ordained by the United Church of Christ.

Ellen Barrett became the first openly lesbian priest ordained by the Episcopal Church of the United States (serving the Diocese of New York).

The first lesbian mystery novel in America was published; it was Angel Dance, by Mary F. Beal.

1978

Harvey Milk — first openly gay or lesbian candidate elected to political office in California; first openly gay man elected to public office in the United States.


San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corp — world's first openly-gay musical group[dubious – discuss]

Samois, the first lesbian S/M group in the United States, was founded.

Robin Tyler became the first out lesbian on U.S. national television, appearing on a Showtime comedy special hosted by Phyllis Diller. The same year she released her comedy album, Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Groom, the first comedy album by an out lesbian.

Gilbert Baker raised the first Rainbow Flag at San Francisco Pride on June 25th, 1978.

1979
Stephen Lachs — first openly gay judge appointed in the United States (Los Angeles County Superior Court)

The first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was held in Washington, D.C. on October 14, 1979.

1970s (year unknown)
Angela Douglas founded TAO (Transsexual/Transvestite Action Organization), which published the Moonshadow and Mirage newsletters. TAO moved to Miami in 1972, where it came to include several Puerto Rican and Cuban members, and soon grew into the first international transgender community organization.


1980
David McReynolds — first openly gay man to run for president of the United States

1981
Mary C. Morgan became the first openly gay or lesbian judge when she was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to the San Francisco Municipal Court.

Ien Dales - first lesbian member of the cabinet of the Netherlands

Tennis player Billie Jean King became the first prominent professional athlete to come out as a lesbian, when her relationship with her secretary Marilyn Barnett became public in a May 1981 "palimony" lawsuit filed by Barnett.Due to this she lost all of her endorsements.

1983
Gerry Studds — first openly gay member of the United States House of Representatives. Admitted a past relationship with a page when confronted in Congress.

Sally Ride first went into space this year. In 2012 she died, and her obituary revealed that Ride's partner of 27 years was a woman, Tam O'Shaughnessy, a professor emerita of school psychology at San Diego State University and childhood friend, who met Ride when both were aspiring tennis players. Ride had also been married to a man previously. Ride is thus the first known LGBT astronaut.

1984
Chris Smith — first openly gay MP in the United Kingdom.

Reconstructionist Judaism became the first Jewish denomination to allow openly lesbian rabbis and cantors.

1985
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College ordained Deborah Brin as the first openly gay or lesbian rabbi in Judaism.

Liverpool based soap opera, Brookside, featured the first openly gay character on a British TV series.

1986

Becky Smith and Annie Afleck became the first openly lesbian couple in America granted legal, joint adoption of a child.

1987
Barney Frank — first U.S. congressman to come out as gay of his own volition.

David Norris — first openly gay elected senator in the Republic of Ireland.

1988
Svend Robinson — first Canadian Member of Parliament to come out.

Stacy Offner became the first openly lesbian rabbi hired by a mainstream Jewish congregation, Shir Tikvah Congregation of Minneapolis (a Reform Jewish congregation).


1989
Glen Murray — first out gay man elected to a City Council in Canada having not previously held office. Fort Rouge Ward Winnipeg, Canada

Denmark — first country to legally recognize same-sex registered partnership.


1990
Justin Fashanu — first professional Football (Soccer) player ever to identify himself publicly as gay (Swedish footballer Anton Hysén recently [2011] became the second).

1991
An episode of Fox's Roc (TV series) airing on October 20 ("Can't Help Loving That Man") depicted the first same-sex marriage on U.S. prime time television.

Dale McCormick became the first open lesbian elected to a state Senate (she was elected to the Maine Senate).

Sherry Harris was elected to the City Council in Seattle, Washington, making her the first openly lesbian African-American elected official.

The first lesbian kiss on television occurred; it was on L.A. Law between the fictional characters of C.J. Lamb (played by Amanda Donohoe) and Abby (Michele Greene).

The first Southern Comfort Conference was held. The Southern Comfort Conference is a major transgender conference that takes place annually in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the largest, most famous, and pre-eminent such conference in the United States.

1992

Althea Garrison was elected as the first transgender state legislator in America, and served one term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives; however, it was not publicly known she was transgender when she was elected.

The first Dyke March (a march for lesbians and their straight female allies, planned by the Lesbian Avengers) was held in Washington, D.C., with 20,000 women marching.

The Triangle Ball was held; it was the first inaugural ball in America to ever be held in honor of gays and lesbians.

Roberta Achtenberg became the first openly gay or lesbian person to be nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate when she was appointed to the position of Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity by President Bill Clinton.


1994
Deborah Batts — first openly gay or lesbian United States federal judge (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York)

Liverpool based soap opera, Brookside, broadcasted the UK's first pre-watershed lesbian kiss

1995
Georgina Beyer — world's first transgender mayor (Carterton District, New Zealand)

Rachel Maddow — first openly gay or lesbian American to win an international Rhodes scholarship.

Harvey Brownstone — first openly gay or lesbian judge appointed in Canada (Ontario Court of Justice)

Ian Roberts became the first high-profile Australian sports person and first rugby footballer in the world to come out to the public as gay.

Maria Zoe Dunning became the first and only openly gay person allowed to remain on active duty in the U.S. military prior to the end of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

The International Bear Brotherhood Flag was designed in 1995 by Craig Byrnes. Bear is an affectionate gay slang term for those in the bear communities, a subculture in the gay male community with its own events, codes, and culture-specific identity.

1996
Michael Kirby — first openly gay judge of the High Court of Australia (appointed February 1996; named his male partner in his 1999 entry in "Who's Who in Australia")

Bob Brown — first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia (elected March, his term started July)

South Africa — first country to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution.

The first lesbian wedding on television occurred, held for fictional characters Carol (played by Jane Sibbett) and Susan (played by Jessica Hecht) on the TV show Friends.

1997
Ellen DeGeneres was the star of the situation comedy Ellen. In 1997, she came out as a lesbian on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, still in 1997, her TV series character Ellen Morgan also came out as gay in the fourth-season episode "The Puppy Episode", thus making Ellen DeGeneres the first openly lesbian actress to play an openly lesbian character on television.

Angela Eagle, MP for Wallasey (Merseyside), became Britain's first 'out' lesbian MP


1998
Dana International — first transsexual to win the Eurovision Song Contest.[dubious – discuss]

Glen Murray — first out gay man to be elected mayor of a major city in the world. Winnipeg 700,000 people capital of Manitoba.

Gender identity was added to the mission of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays after a vote at their annual meeting in San Francisco. Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is the first national LGBT organization to officially adopt a transgender-inclusion policy for its work.

Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay or lesbian non-incumbent ever elected to United States Congress, and the first open lesbian ever elected to Congress, winning Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district seat over Josephine Musser.


First unveiled on 5 December 1998, the bisexual pride flag was designed by Michael Page to represent bisexuals.


1999
Georgina Beyer — first transsexual Member of Parliament (elected in 27 November New Zealand general election; representing the Wairarapa electorate)

Stephen Brady and his partner Peter Stephens – world's first openly gay ambassadorial couple; accompanied by Stephens, Brady presented his credentials as Australian Ambassador to Denmark, to Queen Margrethe II on 15 February 1999.

James Hormel — first openly gay United States ambassador (sworn in June 1999)
List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender firsts by year - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[myapple]

Legendary Ballroom Beauties, just a few

Tanay Pendavis - She was like a "Naomi Campbell" beauty fixture in the ballroom scene in the late 80s and early 90s, for her natural beauty. She's now in her late 40s. She modeled for Jean Paul Gaultier.

Onjanae Milan - She was Tanay's biggest rival, like a "Tyra Banks" fixture, she was recognized as big beauty in the scene but always lost in battles to Tanay. She also modeled for Jean Paul Gaultier and Issac Mizrahi.

Moldavia LaBeija - She's now extremely religious and went into hiding/seclusion but at one time she was one of the top beauties of the ballroom scene.

Sidney Starr aka Alicia Keys Escada - Most people know Sidney as the desperate for fame groupie/ attention whore/hoax, but she has been known for the longest as Alicia Keys Escada and has had a successful run the ballroom scene. She's a dancer and aspiring actress. She was named Alicia Keys Escada because of her resemblance to the singer Alicia Keys.

Amiyah Scott - a model. Some people know her from the rumored affair she had with Trey Songz. She was popular in the ballroom scene and eventually left.

Carmen Xtravaganza - She was in Paris Is Burning. She was the mother of House of Xtravaganza for two decades.