Howdy Partner 2004

Directed by Christie Herring

The term partner has become the convention for describing committed gay and lesbian relationships. But what does this word mean? Even the longhand -- Domestic Partner -- has a different legal meaning depending on country, state, and city. Praised for its parity and criticized for its ambiguity, the word partner can be liberating for some but remains frustrating for others. During a time when defining gay and lesbian relationships, through words or legislation, frames a national debate, Howdy Partner is a spirited visual meditation on how one slippery word means more -- and, consequently, less -- than we may think.