LGBTQ+ Indepth With… Kathy Amendola

 

 

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photo courtesy of Kathy Amendola

KB: Who is Kathy Amendola and what are your hobbies and plans?

Hello! I’m Kathy Amendola, sole owner and operator of Cruisin’ the Castro Walking Tours in San Francisco. My company was started by lesbian Trevor Hailey, in 1989. I purchased the business in 2005 when she retired. Cruisin’ the Castro Walking Tours is San Francisco’s first Legacy Business Tour Company for consecutively operating for over 34 years. It offers an award-winning cultural journey thru the largest and most politically active LGBTQ community in the world, the Castro.

I enjoy fabulous dinner parties, wine tasting and gardening. Future plans include more traveling, more wine and definitely more gardening.

KB: Where were you born?

I originate from the East Coast however, I moved to San Francisco from Maui in 1999.

KB: How old were you when you realized you were gay and when did you come out?

To be honest, I was a very happy heterosexual woman, but magical things happened to me along the way! In my 20’s and 30’s I was practicing Bisexuality however; I didn’t come out as a full fledge lesbian until I was 39.

KB: How did your family and friends react?

By time I really come out, they suspected it for years. Although my straight and dear friends didn’t understand it as again, I was a very active heterosexual woman, they wholeheartedly accepted me and my lovers. My parents struggled with it as most parents do. They often blame themselves and couldn’t understand how it happened as it was nothing that they taught me. Never though, did they stop loving me. So, I’m lucky and grateful for my friends and family.

KB: You do a LGBTQ walking tour through The Castro in San Francisco: Cruising the Castro. When did you start this, what is it about and why should people join the tour?

In 1999, I had transferred hotel jobs from Hawaii to San Francisco. Then several years later the dot.com crash came and I was unemployed but living in the Castro. One day I saw this lady on the corner giving tours and the next day at a community meeting, she announced her retirement and was seeking to sell her tour business. At that moment, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, (besides a lesbian). And since I’ve escorted groups around the world in my career, the Castro is exactly where I needed to be.

Over the years, my job went from being a tour guide to a LGBTQ civil rights activist. I utilize my tours as a platform to advocate for LGBTQ rights and equality. Customers can expect to visit the many queer and historical Castro sites; however, they’ll also find the tour inclusive of inspiration to make positive social changes.

Since 2017 when hatred became a “norm” in America (and beyond), our country has been at a civil war in protecting the very core of democracy. All Americans do NOT have equal rights. It’s America’s “Big White Lie”. Only white, heterosexual, Christian men in America do. As a woman, I certainly don’t and as a lesbian, I have even less rights. By educating people on the true nature of this horrendous reality, as well as the power of their voice and mostly, vote, we can and shall overcome white supremacy and even, fascism in America.

I can personally talk about this as I spent the first 36 years of my life as a proud, gun shooting Republican. I supported the supremacy as after all, where would women be without their man? In a much better place indeed! Here’s the plain truth, white men do not want to be replaced. So therefore, they take away rights and power from women, people of color and queers. If you think that Roe vs Wade couldn’t’ be overturned, what do you think they’re going after next? Same-sex marriage. No one is trying to replace white men, we just all want an equal voice, which is in-fact the very core of our democracy and country.

Let’s talk about fascism, my grandparents luckily left Italy before the height of Mussolini wrath. Yet here we are 100 years later and the majority of Republican Americans, still support what Donald Trump unleashed. Here is the definition of fascism below. Sound familiar?

“a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition”

This is real people. Doing nothing in times of injustice means you are siding with the oppressor. Get involved, advocate and vote Democratic!

KB: What do you think of all the religions out there who still see being gay as a sin?

As a “recovering Catholic”, I can tell you this much, money is not the root of all evil, religion is. Most wars in human history were started over religion, especially by the Catholic Church. The Vatican personally started the Spanish Inquisition to kill the Jews and the Crusades to wipe out any non-Chistian person and/or organization who didn’t reform. They even supported Hitler and the Nazis during WWII. So much to the point that they created a ratline to get high ranking German war criminals out of Europe to South America during and after the war. Where do you think Hitler went? He certainly didn’t commit suicide in a bunker. No body, but lots of proof of the 4th Reich installed in South America. I can go on and on about the genocide and slaughter in the name of God and the Catholic Church that bestowed humanity. And what the armies didn’t destroy, the missionaries were sent out to desecrate and enslave indigenous tribes throughout the Americas, Hawaii, South Pacific, Australia and the Caribbean. They did irrevocable harm to again, humanity in the name of God.

The biggest sin is religious people who condone acts while enjoying it themselves on the downlow. I had a Catholic nun on my tour, she shared with the tour group that in her professional opinion that 90% of nuns and priests are gay. 90%! She was very sexually active in the convent for 12 years and claims everyone was. This is one of many stories of nuns and priests, my own friend had sex with a nun in the back of a small plane! All the organization wants is force people to “breed” to produce more Catholics. Shame of them for being such hypocritical liars. Persecuting others to protect themselves. Evil organization.

Several years ago, I conducted a group tour for a Presbyterian college from the conservative state of Georgia (USA). They came to the Castro to discuss God and diversity. When I looked, I found diversity all around me. Take the plants and trees, 50% are “self-pollinating”, earth worms are true hermaphrodites with one end female and the other male. In addition to this, many fish and reptiles change genders and reproduce. Diversity IS normal in the natural world as well as, spirituality. Religion is not.

KB: Did you ever have hate experiences or accidents?

The only bad experience came from a 25-year-old gay man from Canada. He was in town with friends celebrating his birthday and was shocked when I was taking about how San Francisco’s queer community started with the Goldminers in 1849 and the men would color code themselves with bandanas to show who was top and bottom. Apparently, this upset him so much and towards the end of the two hours he and his friends left early because of this. They even wanted their money back which I refunded 4 people. His own homophobia got the best of him. Hope he found his way.

KB: Homosexuality is still a crime in many countries around the world. How do you feel about this?

A big part of my LGBTQ Castro Walking Tour addresses the lack of in addition to the disparity of LGBTQ rights in America. Currently over 531 Anti-LGBTQ Bills seeking to be implemented into laws in 41 United States. I also address other countries in the world where its illegal or a death sentence like Dubai. This makes me advocate even harder to fight supremacy and oppression on a global basis.

KB: What would you like to say to all the homophobes out there?

I can relate as it’s not easy finding and/or loving oneself, especially when society and religions condone it. When I was Bi-sexual, I too was very homophobic. I had big hair, long nails, wore dresses and heels yet it bothered me if someone thought I was a lesbian. For 16 years, I considered myself a Bi-sexual, Homophobic Lesbian. It was tough.

Only when one embraces themselves and love who they are, can they truly accept themselves. I feel very fortunate to be gay and would never want to go back to being straight. We have more fun!

As for the straight homophobic people, get a grip!

KB: What would you say in support to all the LGBTQ people out there?

As Harvey Milk once said, “You gotta have hope. Hope will never be silent.”

Check out Kathy’s Cruisin’ the Castro website: HERE