Liana DeMasi

Since being crowned Miss Connecticut USA in 2024, Clarke has been a strong advocate for representation and mental health in the pageant world.

This year’s 3rd annual Queer Wine Fest hosted 20 winemakers and nearly 300 guests, volunteers, and vendors.

GO had the pleasure of sitting down the 38-year-old Macedonian-Australian filmmaker to discuss how a cis-gay man manages to portray women with such a keen eye. 

We Live Here: The Midwest unearths the stories of those who are often ignored, forgotten about, or flown right over.

“Back in the day, women didn’t have access to the service of going to a tailor and having a suit made. Fast forward to now.”

“I had a whole conversation with my captain about what it means to be trans. It opened up his world. I feel like he left that conversion a better person, which is the best part of my job. Aside from saving lives.”

“Everyone is deserving of comfort.” 

“The music of ANTIBOY represents this world that he believed in, where everyone could be free to be who they were without judgement.”

“I’ve spent my whole life trying to be in healthy non-hierarchical polyamorous relationships, and now that I am, the pandemic has me too scared to act on it.”

It seems almost obvious, especially for a laymen’s understanding of tech, that this specific realm of the world would have no qualms transitioning to a virtual space. And in many ways, that’s correct. But what do we lose in the spaces in between? 

I kiss my friends. And I’m so glad I do.

Cumming out.