A&U April 2017

APRIL 2017 • ISSUE 270 • AMERICA’S AIDS MAGAZINE

BOLD VISIONS

•ACTOR STEVE HAYES •ADVOCATE MONDO GUERRA •ARTIST CARRIE MOYER

kate

SHINDLE

THE ACTRESS & ACTIVIST TAKES ON A NEW ROLE AS AMBASSADOR AT THE ELIZABETH TAYLOR AIDS FOUNDATION

WHAT IS GENVOYA®?

GENVOYA is a 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years and older and weigh at least 77 lbs. It can either be used in people who are starting HIV-1 treatment and have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements. These include having an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) for 6 months or more on their current HIV-1 treatment. GENVOYA combines 4 medicines into 1 pill taken once a day with food. GENVOYA is a complete HIV-1 treatment and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses, you must keep taking GENVOYA. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the EJCPEG QH UGZWCN EQPVCEV YKVJ DQF[ ƃ WKFU 0GXGT TGWUG QT UJCTG PGGFNGU QT QVJGT KVGOU VJCV JCXG DQF[ ƃ WKFU QP VJGO

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

medicines that should not be taken with GENVOYA. Do not start a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider.

• The herbal supplement St. John’s wort.

• Any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection.

What are the other possible side effects of GENVOYA? Serious side effects of GENVOYA may also include: • Changes in body fat, which can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines.

• Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may IGV UVTQPIGT CPF DGIKP VQ Ƃ IJV KPHGEVKQPU 6GNN [QWT JGCNVJECTG provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking GENVOYA. • Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys.

If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking GENVOYA. The most common side effect of GENVOYA is nausea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

What is the most important information I should know about GENVOYA?

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking GENVOYA?

GENVOYA may cause serious side effects:

• All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

• Build-up of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold (especially in your arms and legs), feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

• Serious liver problems. The liver may become large and fatty. Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turning yellow (jaundice); dark “tea-colored” urine; light-colored bowel movements (stools); loss of appetite; nausea; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness in the right side of your stomach area.

• You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking GENVOYA for a long time. In some cases, lactic acidosis and serious liver problems have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. GENVOYA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking GENVOYA, your HBV may suddenly get worse. &Q PQV UVQR VCMKPI )'081;# YKVJQWV Ƃ TUV VCNMKPI VQ [QWT healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

Who should not take GENVOYA? Do not take GENVOYA if you take:

• All the medicines you take, including prescription and overthe-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Other medicines may affect how GENVOYA works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Ask your healthcare provider if it is safe to take GENVOYA with all of your other medicines.

• If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take GENVOYA. • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if GENVOYA can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking GENVOYA. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about GENVOYA including Important Warnings on the following page.

• Certain prescription medicines for other conditions. It is important to ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about

Ask your healthcare provider if GENVOYA is right for you, and visit GENVOYA.com to learn more.

GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

SHOW YOUR

POWER

Take care of what matters most—you. GENVOYA is a 1-pill, once-a-day complete HIV-1 treatment for people who are either new to treatment or people whose healthcare provider determines they can replace their current HIV-1 medicines with GENVOYA.

IMPORTANT FACTS (jen-VOY-uh)

This is only a brief summary of important information about GENVOYA and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT GENVOYA

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF GENVOYA

GENVOYA® may cause serious side effects, including:

GENVOYA can cause serious side effects, including:

• Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: feeling very weak or tired, unusual muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold (especially in your arms and legs), feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

࠮ Those in the “Most Important Information About GENVOYA” section.

• Severe liver problems, which in some cases can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice); dark “tea-colored” urine; light-colored bowel movements (stools); loss of appetite; nausea; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness in the right side of your stomach area.

࠮ Changes in body fat. ࠮ Changes in your immune system. ࠮ New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

The most common side effect of GENVOYA is nausea. ;OLZL HYL UV[ HSS [OL WVZZPISL ZPKL LɈLJ[Z VM .,5=6@( ;LSS `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking GENVOYA. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with GENVOYA.

࠮ Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. GENVOYA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking GENVOYA. Do not stop taking GENVOYA ^P[OV\[ ÄYZ[ [HSRPUN [V `V\Y OLHS[OJHYL WYV]PKLY HZ [OL` ^PSS ULLK [V check your health regularly for several months.

BEFORE TAKING GENVOYA

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking GENVOYA for a long time.

࠮ Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.

Tell your healthcare provider if you:

࠮ Have any other medical condition. ࠮ Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. ࠮ Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

ABOUT GENVOYA

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: ࠮ GENVOYA is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older and weigh at least 77 lbs who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. GENVOYA can also be used to replace current HIV-1 medicines for some people who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL of virus in their blood), and have been on the same HIV-1 medicines for at least 6 months and have never failed HIV-1 treatment, and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements.

• GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

Do NOT take GENVOYA if you: ࠮ Take a medicine that contains: alfuzosin (Uroxatral®), carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®, Tegretol-XR®, Teril®), cisapride (Propulsid®, Propulsid Quicksolv®), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45®, Migranal®), ergotamine (Cafergot®, Migergot®, Ergostat®, Medihaler Ergotamine®, Wigraine ®, Wigrettes®), lovastatin (Advicor ®, Altoprev®, Mevacor ®), lurasidone (Latuda®), methylergonovine (Ergotrate ®, Methergine®), midazolam (when taken by mouth), phenobarbital (Luminal®), phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®), pimozide (Orap®), rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater ®, Rimactane ® ZPSKLUHÄS ^OLU \ZLK MVY lung problems (Revatio®), simvastatin (Simcor ®, Vytorin®, Zocor ®), or triazolam (Halcion®). ࠮ Take the herbal supplement St. John’s wort. ࠮ Take any other HIV-1 medicines at the same time.

࠮ Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. ࠮ Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with GENVOYA.

HOW TO TAKE GENVOYA ࠮ GENVOYA is a complete one pill, once a day HIV-1 medicine. ࠮ Take GENVOYA with food.

GET MORE INFORMATION ࠮ This is only a brief summary of important information about GENVOYA. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more. ࠮ Go to GENVOYA.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 ࠮ If you need help paying for your medicine, visit GENVOYA.com for program information.

GENVOYA, the GENVOYA Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, and LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: December 2016 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. GENC0126 01/17

“

We need to throw away the stigma and fear about HIV testing.

It’s time we make HIV testing a part of our health routine.

— Jay Ellis, Actor

”

I’M

DOING IT Testing for HIV

#DoingIt Testing is Fast, Free, and Confidential cdc.gov/DoingIt

c o n t e n t s April 2017

32 Cover Actress & Activist Kate Shindle Takes a Break from Touring with Fun Home to Talk to A&U’s Larry Buhl About Her New Ambassadorship with The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation

Features 28 Gallery From Agitprop Art to Paintings of Riotous Color, Carrie Moyer Works to Create Positive Change 13 Design & Dine Out for Life Spokesperson Mondo Guerra Puts a Positive Spin on Creating a Place at the Table for AIDS Fundraising 38 Legacy Tired Old Queen at the Movies’ Steve Hayes Discusses How He Joined the Fight Against AIDS Early On & Why He Still Carries the Torch 42 Pure Bliss Maitri Celebrates Thirty Years of Compassionate Service 44 Human Fabric Scott James Vanidestine Threads His Art with Oral History, Queer Consciousness & AIDS Awareness cover photo by Sean Black

Departments 6

Frontdesk

9

Mailbox

19

NewsBreak

22

Ruby’s Rap

viewfinder 16

Our Story, Our Time

24

Brave New World

26

Bright Lights, Small City

27

Just*in Time

lifeguide 46

Access to Care

48

Hep Talk

50

Destination: Cure

52

The Culture of AIDS

53

Lifelines

56

Survival Guide

A&U Frontdesk

art as activism

A

rt is unstoppable. Take away our paints and canvases, and we will use charcoal on a wall.

Take away our stage, and we will dance in the streets. In an era when the National Endowment for the Arts, PBS, and other cultural icons are being considered for closure by the current administration, the power of the arts will win out, with or without Big Bird or Downton Abbey.

How do I know? I’ve seen the power of the arts to create positive change win out before. Artists, writers, and actors have always been at the forefront of AIDS activism. Perhaps it’s because so many in the arts community died in the eighties and nineties—before the advent of the first truly successful antiretrovirals hit pharmacy shelves in 1995. It’s hard to imagine that AIDS was ever but a death sentence before the XI International AIDS Conference in 1996.

Since that historic gathering of scientists, AIDS advocates, and yes—artists and writers—A&U, one of the cultural organizations in attendance, was one of the first publications to document and archive the creative responses to the AIDS crisis.

Larry Buhl’s exclusive interview with actor, producer, and former Miss America, is a case in point about how activism is at the center of so many amazing efforts coming out of the arts community: Witness Broadway Cares and Visual AIDS, to name but a few of the national efforts to activate a national consciousness that has given credence to the arts as a venue for political change. It is a matter of putting AIDS on the cultural map that makes Kate Shindle our best hope for diplomacy as another form of activism. In her role as the newest ambassador for The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Kate is the perfect equation for never letting AIDS continue as a silent epidemic. Kate sums it up so well: “At this cultural moment, it’s important to be ambassadors of compassion and care…we need to stand up for people who are trying to make the best of what they have, whether

AMERICA’S AIDS MAGAZINE issue 270 vol. 26 no. 4 April 2017 editorial offices: (518) 426-9010 fax: (518) 436-5354

they’re trans, straight, gay, people of color or HIV-positive.” Well said.

Another example of an artistic brand of AIDS activism is this month’s interview with painter and agitprop artist Carrie Moyer, who also happens to be one of the select few included in this year’s Whitney Biennial. Carrie tells A&U’s Lester Strong that “AIDS was the main activist cause in those days. I went to a number of ACT UP events, and you could feel the energy. I was friends with Avram Finkelstein of Gran Fury [an artist collective that arose out of ACT UP in 1988; famous for many of the catch phrases and images associated with AIDS activism]. Being around people like that, with the kind of discourse they generated, was incredibly energizing, and not just about AIDS. The space they provided and their tactics provided locations and new way to talk and agitate.”

Scott James Vanidestine, interviewed by Senior Editor Sean Black, represents a new generation of artists responding to AIDS. Like those who created panels for the AIDS Memorial Quilt and many queer artists working today, Vanidestine works with fabric.

Stitch by stitch, he seeks to comfort those living with HIV/AIDS and also to create new ways to form identity. And Mondo Guerra, as A&U’s Alina Oswald finds out in her article on Dining Out for Life, continues to makes AIDS consciousness ready-to-wear by incorporating positivity into his designs.

Federal support of the arts is important, but, ultimately, defunding programs will not stop our collective creative impulses. Witness the home-crafted Pussyhats that were knitted for the recent Women’s March on Washington. A bit of yarn, some needles, and a pattern—that’s all it takes and empowerment was in the pink.

DAVID WAGGONER

Editor in Chief & Publisher David Waggoner Managing Editor: Chael Needle Senior Editors: Dann Dulin, Sean Black Editors at Large: Chip Alfred, Hank Trout Special Projects Editor: Lester Strong Literary Editor: Brent Calderwood Arts Editor: Alina Oswald Consulting Editor: Nick Steele Copy Editor: Maureen Hunter Contributing Editors: Sarah Churchill Downes, Reed Massengill, Kelly McQuain, Lesléa Newman, Robert E. Penn Contributing Writers: Tyeshia Alston, Noël Alumit, T.J. Banks, Larry Buhl, Ruby Comer, Diane Goettel, George M. Johnson, John Francis Leonard, Angela Leroux-Lindsey, Dale Reynolds, Connie Rose, David Rosenberg, Corey Saucier, Stevie St. John, Justin B. Terry-Smith, Patricia Nell Warren, Jeannie Wraight, Rob Zukowski Art Director: Timothy J. Haines Contributing Photographers: Jordan Ancel, Davidd Batalon, Mark Bennington, Tom Bianchi, Sean Black, Adam Bouska, Brian Bowen Smith, Tim Courtney, Duane Cramer, Stephen Churchill Downes, Greg Gorman, Francis Hills, Renée Jacobs, Michael Kerner, Tara Lessard, Tom McGovern, Nancy Perry, Annie Tritt National Advertising Director: Harold Burdick, Jr. Sales & Marketing: David L. Bonitatibus Advertising Sales Office: (518) 426-9010 National Advertising Representative: Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Subscription Info: (518) 426-9010 Circulation Manager: Robert Schelepanow Bookkeeper: Richard Garcia Board of Directors President: David Waggoner Vice President: Harold Burdick, Jr. Secretary: Richard Garcia Founding Board Members: Mark S. Labrecque, 1961–1992, Christopher Hewitt, 1946–2004, Mark Galbraith, 1962–2011

In Memoriam: Bill Jacobson, 1939–2005 Rhomylly B. Forbes, 1963–2011 • Chris Companik, 1957–2012 Nancy Ellegate, 1959–2015 A&U (ISSN 1074-0872) is published by Art & Understanding, Inc., 25 Monroe St., Suite 205, Albany, NY 122102743, USA. For A&U advertising information please call 518-426-9010; for subscriptions and address changes please call 518-426-9010; for letters to the editor and unsolicited manuscripts write A&U Magazine, 25 Monroe Street, Albany, New York 12210; fax 518-436-5354; or e-mail: mailbox@aumag.org. All unsolicited manuscripts that do not have a S.A.S.E. cannot be returned and will not be acknowledged. ©2017 Art & Understanding, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. A&U may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher. A&U and the graphic representations thereof are the registered trademarks of Art & Understanding, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Individual Subscription rates: $24.95 (12 issues). Institutional rates: $80.00 (12 issues). For subscriptions outside the USA and possessions, $30.95/Canada, $49.95/ international, payable in advance in U.S. currency. First North American serial rights revert to contributors upon publication. A&U retains the right to anthologize work in further issues, as well as in microform or reprinting on the Internet within the context of each issue. Statements of writers, artists and advertisers are not necessarily those of the publisher. Readers note: subjects and contributors to A&U are both HIV-positive and HIV-negative. In the absence of a specific statement herein concerning the serostatus of any individual mentioned in, or contributing material to, this publication, no inference is made with respect thereto and none should be implied. Letters written to A&U or its contributors are assumed intended for publication. Art & Understanding, Inc. assumes no responsibility or liability for unsolicited submissions and does not guarantee the return thereof.

PostMaster: Please send address corrections to A&U Magazine, 25 Monroe Street, Suite 205, Albany NY 122102743, USA

Printed in USA • Visit our Web site at www.aumag.org

Who will you fight for? What are you made of?

212.807.WALK

AIDS WALK

NEW YORK MAY 21, 2017 Presented by

RESPOND. RESIST. REGISTER! aidswalk.net PREMIER SPONSORS Benefiting GMHC and dozens of other tri-state area AIDS service organizations.

GRAND SPONSOR

Special thanks to

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Created and produced by MZA Events. AIDS Walk Founder/Senior Organizer: Craig R. Miller. © MZA Events, 2017

x o b l i ma Music of the Heart

Siedah Garrett seems to be quite the songwriter [cover story, “Mirror Image,”

by Dann Dulin, February 2017]. I was im-

I am always happy to read about people like Siedah Garrett who help out the HIV/AIDS cause. Her creativity is much needed. Unfortunately AIDS is still with us and I fear it is not going away any time soon. I have given money in the past to APLA Health—what a great organization that always goes the extra mile for its clients. Anyway, I hope Ms. Garrett keeps hitting those high notes for the people she

FEBRUARY 2017 • ISSUE 268 • AMERICA’S AIDS MAGAZINE

BLACK HEALTH MATTERS • HRC’s Noël Gordon • Actor Maurice G. Smith • Racial Bias in Media • George M. Johnson on HIV Disparities

a true funny lady; she was top of the line in my book. Her movies were legendary: how can you top Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder? It’s sad that Gene died last year. I did not know that so many costars that Madeline worked with have also died.

The only one that keeps going strong is Mel Brooks (who of course gave us so many legendary movies). I had no idea that Madeline worked with AIDS causes. I give her credit for doing that. Well, all I can say further is that she was really funny, and I think she may have known that.

—Rod Amerling Canton, Ohio

“I am always happy to read about people like Siedah Garrett who help out the HIV/ AIDS cause. Her creativity is much needed.”

plus

Laughter Is the Best Medicine

• Tom Ammiano • Artist Bernard Perlin • Fiction by Chip Livingston • amfAR’s HIV Cure Research Institute

siedah

Garrett

photo by Sean Black

THE SINGER/SONGWRITER WANTS TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS

pressed by all the people she has worked with over the years. My favorite was the late great queen of disco, Donna Summer.

I will have to look up those songs. It was touching about her cousin who died from AIDS. She says about Cokie, “No one knew what it was, no one had ever heard of it, and there wasn’t a cure.” And sadly there is still no cure, but I think we are getting closer. I hope Siedah gets to do that song about AIDS. —Michal Grover Stillman Fort Sill, Oklahoma APRIL 2017 • A&U

writes for and continues to bless us with her voice.

—Priscilla Wainwright Los Angeles, California

Mad About Madeline Thanks for that look back at Madeline Kahn in your interview with her biographer, William Madison [Ruby’s Rap, February 2017]. I think that Madeline was

I am convinced that Tom Ammiano is a born comedian [“Connecting the Dots,” by Larry Buhl, February 2017]. Over the years I would see him and I would just start laughing, thinking about how funny he is.

He’s a natural. I think if Tom had not got into politics he would have had a big career as a stand-up comedian. We need more people to make us laugh and not more people in politics, though Tom accomplished so much in the California State Assembly over the many years he has been there. Tom is definitely a dedicated activist for AIDS and other progressive issues. He is the kind of advocate we need. Maybe he should run for President!

—Tuesday Meadows Santa Cruz, California Send e-mail to: mailbox@aumag.org Send letters to: Mailbox, A&U, 25 Monroe Street, Suite 205, Albany, NY 12210 Or click on “Mailbox” on our Web site’s home page: www.aumag.org Tweet Us @au_magazine Facebook: http://on.fb.me/AUFANPAGE All correspondence requires name, address, and daytime phone number for confirmation. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

9

YOU MATTER AND SO DOES YOUR HEALTH

That’s why starting and staying on HIV-1 treatment is so important.

What is DESCOVY ? ®

DESCOVY is a prescription medicine that is used together with other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people 12 [GCTU CPF QNFGT &'5%18; KU PQV HQT WUG VQ JGNR TGFWEG VJG TKUM QH IGVVKPI *+8 KPHGEVKQP &'5%18; EQODKPGU medicines into 1 pill taken once a day. Because DESCOVY D[ KVUGNH KU PQV C EQORNGVG VTGCVOGPV HQT *+8 KV OWUV DG used together with other HIV-1 medicines.

DESCOVY does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. 6Q EQPVTQN *+8 KPHGEVKQP CPF FGETGCUG *+8 TGNCVGF illnesses, you must keep taking DESCOVY. Ask your JGCNVJECTG RTQXKFGT KH [QW JCXG SWGUVKQPU CDQWV JQY VQ TGFWEG VJG TKUM QH RCUUKPI *+8 VQ QVJGTU #NYC[U RTCEVKEG UCHGT UGZ CPF WUG EQPFQOU VQ NQYGT VJG EJCPEG QH UGZWCN EQPVCEV YKVJ DQF[ ƃ WKFU 0GXGT TGWUG QT UJCTG PGGFNGU QT QVJGT KVGOU VJCV JCXG DQF[ ƃ WKFU QP VJGO

What are the other possible side effects of DESCOVY? Serious side effects of DESCOVY may also include: • •

•

•

Changes in body fat, which can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines.

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Bone problems, UWEJ CU DQPG RCKP UQHVGPKPI QT VJKPPKPI YJKEJ OC[ NGCF VQ HTCEVWTGU ;QWT JGCNVJECTG provider may do tests to check your bones.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

The most common side effect QH &'5%18; KU PCWUGC 6GNN [QWT JGCNVJECTG RTQXKFGT KH [QW JCXG CP[ UKFG GHHGEVU that bother you or don’t go away.

DESCOVY may cause serious side effects:

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking DESCOVY?

What is the most important information I should know about DESCOVY? •

•

•

•

Buildup of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is C UGTKQWU OGFKECN GOGTIGPE[ 5[ORVQOU QH NCEVKE CEKFQUKU KPENWFG HGGNKPI XGT[ YGCM QT VKTGF WPWUWCN OWUENG RCKP trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, HGGNKPI EQNF GURGEKCNN[ KP [QWT CTOU CPF NGIU HGGNKPI FK\\[ QT NKIJVJGCFGF CPF QT C HCUV QT KTTGIWNCT JGCTVDGCV

Serious liver problems. 6JG NKXGT OC[ DGEQOG NCTIG CPF HCVV[ 5[ORVQOU QH NKXGT RTQDNGOU KPENWFG [QWT UMKP QT VJG YJKVG RCTV QH [QWT G[GU VWTPKPI [GNNQY LCWPFKEG FCTM pVGC EQNQTGFq WTKPG NKIJV EQNQTGF DQYGN OQXGOGPVU

UVQQNU NQUU QH CRRGVKVG PCWUGC CPF QT RCKP CEJKPI QT VGPFGTPGUU QP VJG TKIJV UKFG QH [QWT UVQOCEJ CTGC You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems KH [QW CTG HGOCNG XGT[ QXGTYGKIJV QT JCXG DGGP VCMKPI &'5%18; HQT C NQPI time. In some cases, lactic acidosis and serious liver problems have led to death. Call your healthcare provider TKIJV CYC[ KH [QW JCXG CP[ U[ORVQOU QH VJGUG EQPFKVKQPU Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. DESCOVY KU PQV CRRTQXGF VQ VTGCV *$8 +H [QW JCXG DQVJ *+8 CPF HBV and stop taking DESCOVY, your HBV may suddenly IGV YQTUG &Q PQV UVQR VCMKPI &'5%18; YKVJQWV Æ‚ TUV talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

•

•

•

•

All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare RTQXKFGT KH [QW JCXG QT JCXG JCF CP[ MKFPG[ DQPG QT NKXGT RTQDNGOU KPENWFKPI JGRCVKVKU XKTWU KPHGEVKQP All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal UWRRNGOGPVU 1VJGT OGFKEKPGU OC[ CHHGEV JQY &'5%18; YQTMU -GGR C NKUV QH CNN [QWT OGFKEKPGU CPF show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Ask [QWT JGCNVJECTG RTQXKFGT KH KV KU UCHG VQ VCMG &'5%18; YKVJ CNN QH [QWT QVJGT OGFKEKPGU If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is PQV MPQYP KH &'5%18; ECP JCTO [QWT WPDQTP DCD[ 6GNN [QWT JGCNVJECTG RTQXKFGT KH [QW DGEQOG RTGIPCPV while taking DESCOVY. If you are breastfeeding PWTUKPI QT RNCP VQ DTGCUVHGGF &Q PQV DTGCUVHGGF *+8 ECP DG RCUUGF VQ VJG DCD[ KP breast milk.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/ medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about DESCOVY, including important warnings, on the following page.

Ask your healthcare provider if an HIV-1 treatment that contains DESCOVY® is right for you.

IMPORTANT FACTS (des-KOH-vee)

This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY® and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DESCOVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF DESCOVY

DESCOVY may cause serious side effects, including:

DESCOVY can cause serious side effects, including:

࠮ Buildup of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: feeling very weak or tired, unusual muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold (especially in your arms and legs), feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat.

࠮ Those in the “Most Important Information About DESCOVY” section. ࠮ Changes in body fat. ࠮ Changes in your immune system. ࠮ New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. ࠮ Bone problems.

࠮ Severe liver problems, which in some cases can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice); dark “tea-colored” urine; loss of appetite; light-colored bowel movements (stools); nausea; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area.

;OLZL HYL UV[ HSS [OL WVZZPISL ZPKL LɈ LJ[Z VM +,:*6=@ Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking DESCOVY.

࠮ Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. DESCOVY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking +,:*6=@ +V UV[ Z[VW [HRPUN +,:*6=@ ^P[OV\[ Ä YZ[ talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking DESCOVY or a similar medicine for a long time.

ABOUT DESCOVY ࠮ DESCOVY is a prescription medicine that is used together with other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older. DESCOVY is not for use to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. ࠮ DESCOVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

The most common side effect of DESCOVY is nausea.

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with DESCOVY.

BEFORE TAKING DESCOVY Tell your healthcare provider if you: ࠮ Have or had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis infection. ࠮ Have any other medical condition. ࠮ Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. ࠮ Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed.

Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: ࠮ Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-thecounter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. ࠮ Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with DESCOVY.

GET MORE INFORMATION HOW TO TAKE DESCOVY ࠮ DESCOVY is a one pill, once a day HIV-1 medicine that is taken with other HIV-1 medicines. ࠮ Take DESCOVY with or without food.

࠮ This is only a brief summary of important information about DESCOVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more. ࠮ Go to DESCOVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 ࠮ If you need help paying for your medicine, visit DESCOVY.com for program information.

DESCOVY, the DESCOVY Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, and LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. GILC0265 10/16

Design & Dine Out for Life Fashion Designer & HIV/AIDS Activist Mondo Guerra Weighs In On the Importance of Dining Out For Life

by Alina Oswald

photo by Bridget Siegfried

I

t’s April, it’s spring, and time yet again for Dining Out For Life, an event that raises money for AIDS service organizations in the U.S. and Canada.

Founded in 1991, in Philadelphia, Dining Out For Life is a restaurant-based fundraising event that, over the years, has grown to include cities from across North America, and raises $4 million on average, each year.

This year, Dining Out For Life 2017 includes some 3,000 restaurants spread across more than sixty cities in the United States and Canada. The list of participants includes Western NC AIDS Project in Asheville, North Carolina; Golden Rainbow in Las Vegas; NO AIDS Task Force in New Orleans; A Loving Spoonful located in Vancouver, BC; and Action Wellness, in Philadelphia.

The list of Dining Out For Life participating restaurants, AIDS service organizations and cities grows longer each year. For example, this year, APLA Health, in Los Angeles, is a new addition, while in 2018 newcomers will include New York City’s Alliance for Positive Change, formally known as AIDS Service Center NYC. Dining Out For Life’s idea is simple.

Each year, usually on the last Thursday of April (April 27 this year), you and your friends and loved ones can go out to dine at one or more of the Dining Out For Life participating restaurants. Proceeds from that day will be donated to participating AIDS service organizations. That’s it.

Hosted by Subaru, Dining Out For Life attracts volunteer spokespeople— celebrities like Ted Allen, host of Food Network’s Chopped, actress Pam Grier, chef Daisy Martinez from Food Network’s Viva Daisy! and designer and HIV/AIDS activist Armando “Mondo” Guerra [A&U, January 2013].

Mondo Guerra fascinated the world with his fashion designs as well as by revealing his HIV status on national TV, while on Project Runway Season 8. He then won the debut season of Project Runway All Stars.

“I came out as HIV-positive on Project Runway,” he tells me over the phone. “That really changed my life. It has given me so much more self-confidence and self-love.”

APRIL 2017 • A&U

He goes on to further describe his living with the virus. “[HIV] is a part of you,” he says, “and you have to consider it all the time.

Sometimes that can be difficult. I always say that it’s a different experience for everybody. I’ve really been treating [living with HIV] as a relationship—as an emotional relationship.”

And so, at least partly because living with HIV is a personal, emotional experience, deciding when and how and to whom to disclose should also be a personal matter. In that sense, Guerra’s experience has been a very unique one.

Revealing his status has allowed him to combine his advocacy work with his fashion work and work on creative projects that have a powerful social impact.

About his disclosing his HIV on Project Runway, he says, “After that episode aired, so many people not only appreciated the work that I was doing, but they also appreciated that I dared to speak my truth, to tell that I was HIV-positive. It inspired me to continue the conversation about HIV and AIDS. That’s why I’m doing different collaborations with different projects like Dining Out For Life.”

In 2013 Mondo Guerra became a Dining Out For Life spokesperson. “Being a spokesperson for Dining Out For Life is really about getting people involved and participating in the community,” Guerra explains. “What’s wonderful about this

program is that it is an opportunity to sit down and have a meal and help the [HIV/ AIDS] community. Proceeds made from different restaurants go to [participating AIDS service organizations]. The wonderful thing about [Dining Out For Life] is that [as part of the event] you can go have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can have all three meals at three different participating restaurants, enjoy a conversation, and participate in the wealth and health of the HIV and AIDS community.”

And having that conversation is still important, even today. The work of fundraisers such as Dining Out For Life remains as important and as necessary as it was in 1991. “For me, personally, working

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A&U • APRIL 2017

photos by Lee Shelly Photography

with Dining Out For encouraging people Life this year is just as to engage. That was important as every year really inspiring to that I’ve been doing it,” me [when creating] Guerra says, “because very personalized every year [the event] is designs, catered to an opportunity for me each of the ASOs.” not only to share my He adds, “I’ve [HIV] story, but [also always thought that to hear] other people’s it is really important stories. And I think to give back to your that’s really where the community. And the strength [of the HIV HIV community is community] comes a community that from. [Dining Out For has supported me Life] is an opportunity so much that it is to engage and have a my life’s work to be good meal and have a able to give back by conversation. And, you using my strength. know, the conversation And my strength might be different this is design. So, I’m goyear than it was last ing to continue to do year, and it might be design work, whethdifferent than the one er that’s fashion or [we will have] next year, visual or installation but that’s the beauty or video, or do a of the conversation. It fashion presentaallows us to evolve and tion during fashion grow, and to be excited week. Or [go in front about what has hapof thousands of ] pened within the past people and share my year, whether that is in story. This is the way personal life or in the that I’m truly not strength and way that only living my life the HIV community and my truth, but has [changed] during also giving back to that year.” my support system.”

And Guerra This April Mondo believes that it is imGuerra will be dining portant that this HIV out for life, as he’s conversation continbeen doing for ues to take place even years, even before he after a cure becomes became a Dining Out available, because, he For Life spokesperTop: Participants at Alma de Cuba, Philadelphia says, “it’s important to Bottom: Red ribbon place setting for Dining Out for Life at Alma de Cuba son. “I don’t know not forget what hapexactly what city I’m ter hope and inspiration for those affected pened. Because HIV is going to be in [during this year’s Dining Out

by HIV/AIDS and it includes a black-anda big part of everybody’s life. I always say For Life event], but I’m definitely going to white version of Guerra’s original purplethat you might not be infected with HIV, be in one of the participating cities,” he says. and-gold Pozitivity design created while but everyone is affected by HIV. And it’s “There are so many amazing participating on Project Runway Season 8, where he really important [not only] to know your restaurants where you can have really good disclosed his HIV status.” status, but also to go out there and educate meals and meaningful conversations, and When he started working on the yourself about HIV and AIDS.” for a really great cause.” project, he began by visiting each of the For this year’s Dining Out For Life AIDS service organizations’ websites. event, Guerra created specific designs to Find out more about Dining Out For Life at www.

“And I realized that I’ve met a lot of honor and represent each of the particidiningoutforlife.com. Check out Mondo Guerra’s these people,” he says. “I realize that I pating ASOs. Last year, on World AIDS designs for Dining Out For Life 2017 at http:// knew a lot of people from these ASOs on Day, he revealed these designs in a unique bit.ly/2mN4wWs. a personal level. And so when I visited 360-degree video. their websites, I learned more about what He calls the project “a continuation of Find out more about Mondo Guerra at www. they were doing in their community and all the ideas that I’ve had up to this point.” mondoguerra.com. the programs they had and what kind of It is Guerra’s “second generation #Pozitivity project for World AIDS Day 2016 to fos- events they were doing, and how they were Alina Oswald is Arts Editor for A&U.

WE’RE LOOKING FOR NYC PARTICIPANTS! We are seeking New York City residents who are heterosexual couples (including those who self-identify as man/woman) and are of “mixed” HIV status—one member of the couple is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative.

If you are in a “Magnetic” relationship like this, we’d like to talk with you and your partner.

We’d like to learn about your experiences as part of a Magnetic couple.

Each partner will receive $75 ($150 total), plus round trip metro fare, for each visit.

You and your partner may be eligible for follow-up study visits, in which case each of you may receive up to $525 ($1,050 per couple) for complete participation.

FIND OUT MORE

Call or text: Robert (646) 599-5799 or Leilani (646) 588-8449 facebook.com/magneticcouples

Robert@magneticcouples.org Leilani@magneticcouples.org Twitter: @magneticcouples Email:

www.magneticcouples.org

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My Struggle with Self Pleasure self-care is an act of becoming

16

body could arouse others, and again there were plenty of others, I was unable to see what they saw and get those same feelings.

It’s funny how we are often taught to love others before we are ever taught what self-love and self-care looks like. We wander, looking for our better halfs, not filling the voids ourselves. Although that is not necessarily a bad thing—to have someone help you on the journey—but it is a problem when you take that trip never addressing the problems yourself. My refusal to do so made my sexual life quite interesting.

I could easily go weeks without sexual intercourse nor masturbating, which in turn made me a bitch to be around. As testosterone is made in the testes, my refusal to release often made me more aggressive and quick-tempered and I noticed it, as did my friends. I would literally say, “I need to have sex or I’m going to hurt someone,” knowing that blocking the natural bodily function of ejaculation was driving me nuts. It was finally about two years ago or more when I decided to really address the issue head-on.

It was during that time I took an assessment of my self, and decided to work on the things that would make me attracted to me. I started a new job and a new career, which made me a much happier person in my work life. I began taking the

gym much more seriously, which helped build confidence, my health, and pushed me toward the body I always wanted to have. I changed the way I dressed, got the tattoos I always wanted, and started to live life with purpose. I noticed that when I looked in the mirror I began seeing a different person. One that I was attracted to and could smile at and be sexually turned on by. The things I saw in others, I was finally able to start seeing in myself. The erection issues I had when indulging in self-pleasure slowly began fading over time.

Now, at thirty-one years old, I have learned to love and appreciate the things I once saw as flaws within myself. Not only because of the changes that I made to the person and physical being, but to the circumstances around me that blocked me from being who I was supposed to be. Something to take away is to always remember that we are more than your status, body shape, and attractiveness to the opposite sex. It is important to remember that the first person we need to love is the one we look at every day in the mirror.

George M Johnson is a black queer journalist and activist. He has written for Ebony, TheGrio, JET, Teen Vogue, Huffington Post, Black Youth Project, and several HIV publications. Follow him on Twitter @iamgmjohnson.

A&U • APRIL 2017

illustration by Timothy J. Haines

E

arlier this year I wrote a story disclosing my HIV status to the world in effort to release a weight I had been carrying for over five years. It was during that time I realized that we often suffer in silence with personal issues we are going through, never realizing that many others may be experiencing the same type of thing. For that reason, I have found it important to be as transparent as possible when discussing any of my struggles, knowing that I may not be going through it alone and could be helping someone else who is suffering. So, with that said, I struggled for many years to pleasure myself.

It was around 2011 when I first started noticing this struggle. It didn’t matter whether I was using a visual aid, i.e., porn, or my imagination, I struggled to get an erection or if I could get one I couldn’t keep it up long enough for it to be enjoyable. I remember often hearing stories from other dudes about how often they would masturbate and think to myself, “What the hell is wrong with me?”

From that time on, the times I would even attempt to pleasure myself decreased at a rapid rate until I reached a point of hating masturbating at all.

Oddly enough, I never experienced this issue during sexual intercourse with someone else, and, trust me, I have had a lot of sex with no issues to prove it.

This often led me to wondering what the problem was, to the point that I almost asked my doctor about it. Then I realized there was no need for me to waste money speaking to a doctor when I truly knew the issue the entire time. See, I had never really dealt with my diagnosis properly. I was also never happy with the body that I had, toned but on the lean side of things.

These two problems created a place that when I looked in the mirror, the reflection I saw was not one I would ever want to be with. There was nothing about myself that I found sexually attractive. As much as my

SOMETIMES, OUR HIGHEST HEIGHTS HAPPEN

LONG BEFORE TAKEOFF. Proud Partner of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

NEWSBREAK

photos by Sean Black

Beauty in La La Land (and Beyond) Whether cis or trans, young or old, women can often tap into a level of nurturing, compassion and selflessness that makes our chaotic world a safer and happier place. They soften sharp edges, emote kindly, gently uplift, and patiently wait and sacrifice. Rarely do women think of themselves; they forget about their own self-care tending to the needs of others first. Noting this, celebrity stylist Eric Leonardos, winner of LogoTV’s gay-themed bachelor quest Finding Prince Charming, was inspired to help women living with HIV get a boost by organizing and donating his time and talents to an inaugural Beauty Day. Last Monday, February 27, a freshly made-up woman smiling behind electric pink lipstick, who I will call Audra, made a pinky-swear with me just before I took her portrait. Feeling good about herself under newly woven braids she agreed to adhere to her antiretroviral regimen if I adhered to mine after disclosing to each other our CD4 counts and viral loads. Audra is undetectable with a T-cell count above 700, which gave us both cause for celebration and some imagined dancing in the streets.

Every day, however is not a blockbuster musical for most, especially if you are one of the estimated 230,000 women living with diagnosed HIV in the U.S. (according to 2013 data). Managing life with HIV and achieving better health outcomes is possible, but there is still work to be done. Though concerted efforts to increase access to HIV testing, prevention, and treatment have led to a forty percent decline in new diagnoses over the past decade, 8,300 women were newly diagnosed with HIV in the U.S. in 2014.

Realizing and living up to our best selves takes a lot of effort. It’s an arduous chore but Leonardos, who is also positive, was confident he could help. “I believe beauty is truly within,” he attests. “The inner beauty of these women shined even brighter than their makeovers. I am not sure who benefited more—these women or me.”

Audra was just one of twelve formerly homeless clients of Los Angeles’ Alliance for Housing and Healing (AHH) who are living with HIV and benefitting from some TLC and pampering, including hair and makeup transformations arranged by Leonardos at his Public Service Salon, part of an upscale West Hollywood beauty enclave owned and operated by Chris Bair of Shorty’s Barbershop.

Public service coincidentally is what Leonardos is all about today. “Seeing the reaction of these women when they saw their final looks was priceless. I am so grateful for this opportunity to share this experience with these extraordinary women who have overcome so much adversity.”

Data continues to show that low rates of ARV adherence among HIV-positive individuals indicate significant risk for HIV transmission, resistances to treatments over poor adherence and coinfection with other viral strains. Stable housing and integrated care through agencies such as AHH are critically important to ensuring positive health outcomes for the infected as well as for those who are vulnerable within at-risk communities. Furthermore, data suggests that PrEP and other HIV prevention services are poorly accessed among the homeless population. Stable housing intervention like that provided by Alliance for Housing and Healing dramatically improves the health of formerly homeless HIV-positive people.

Alliance for Housing and Healing was formed when Aids for AIDS (AFA), founded in 1983, and The Serra Project, founded in 1987, merged in 2009 to create one entity that provides a full continuum of care for men, women, children, and families living with HIV/ AIDS. The Serra Project began under the sponsorship of seven major Los Angeles County hospitals and the Catholic Archdiocese in response to the growing number of people left homeless by their battle with acute HIV and AIDS. Drawing on the decades of experience from AFA and Serra, the unified non-profit, AHH has an annual budget of $10 million and is the leading provider of housing and directly related support services for people living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County.

“I cannot tell you how much this event means to our clients,” said Terry Goddard II, Executive Director of Alliance for Housing and HealAPRIL 2017 • A&U

19

newsbreak ing. “Their joy and gratitude are immeasurable. This kind of activity helps to build self-esteem and pride. When our clients look in the mirror they see themselves in a whole new and wonderful light. We are grateful to Eric, Public Service Salon and M•A•C Cosmetics for providing our clients with their services and instilling happiness back into their lives.”

Beaming through her joy on that day is Desiree Whitney, another one of the eleven women plus one man.

“After three and a half years of being homeless, literally living on the streets of Hollywood, I was depressed, exhausted, disillusioned and hopeless. I am fifty-seven but felt eighty. Through Alliance for Housing and Healing and Hollywood Community Housing I finally moved into a wonderful apartment in October 2016. Two weeks ago, Jack Lorenz, Director of Development and Communications for Alliance for Housing and Healing, invited me to be a part of ‘a day of beauty’ held at Public Service Salon. That’s where the magic happened for me. Eric Leonardos and his team performed miracles. My hair and make-up were expertly and lovingly done and the transformation is amazing! I look better than I have in many years, but what they did for my soul was truly a miracle. I feel forty, excited about my new life and BEAUTIFUL inside and out.”

For more information, log on to: https://alliancehh.org.

—Reporting by Sean Black

U=U Drawing on scientific evidence that individuals living with HIV who persist in having an undetectable viral load for at least six months cannot sexually transmit the virus (the risk of transmisssion has been adjudged as negligible to non-existent), more and more organizations, both here in the U.S. and abroad, are supporting Prevention Access Campaign’s consensus statement that declares “Undetectable = Untransmittable.” The AIDS United Public Policy Committee, the largest and longest-running national coalition of community-based HIV/AIDS organizations, recently released a policy and programmatic statement in support of U = U, and reiterated its support of increased access to antiretroviral medications and engagement in ongoing care as essential for achieving optimal health outcomes and suppressing viral loads for individuals living with HIV. “This is a landmark development in the response to HIV and too many people are not hearing this message and receiving its full benefit,” stated AIDS United President and CEO Jesse Milan, Jr., in a prepared release. “A person living with HIV with a sustained suppressed viral load poses no risk of transmitting HIV. This is a game changer because it makes achieving viral suppression bigger than people living with HIV taking care of their own health, it is also about taking care of others too. This development puts each one of us living with HIV at the forefront of stopping new infections, and gives everyone strong, clear and direct language to stop the stigma and move all communities faster towards ending the epidemic.”

The AIDS United Public Policy Committee also recommended: 1. That providers and educators consistently share the message that new evidence demonstrates that a person living with HIV who has a sustained, undetectable viral load cannot sexually transmit HIV to another person.

2. That the Department of Health and Human Services Antiretroviral Guidelines Committee examine this issue further and consider updating Guidelines language.

3. That HIV criminal laws and policies in the United States be modernized to reflect the science related to viral suppression and HIV transmission risk.

For more information about AIDS United, log on to www.aidsunited.org. For more information about Prevention Access Campaign and other signatories of the Consensus Statement, log on to: www.preventionaccess.org.

Let’s set aside the argument that individuals need to choose between purchasing a smart phone and securing healthcare coverage, as Rep. Jason Chaffetz thinks. We need both, especially in a burgeoning era of telehealth. Connecting to the world and connecting to care are both needed, and neither are luxuries. It doesn’t need to be an iPhone, but Apple does have a longstanding commitment to the fight against AIDS. Recently, the company introduced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition to mark a decade of partnership between Apple and (RED), which has raised more than $465 million (including $130 million from Apple alone) for the Global Fund. All procceds from (RED), which partners with (PRODUCT)RED via the Global Fund supconsumer product brands, are directed to the Global ports programs across sub-Saharan Africa.

Fund HIV/AIDS grants, which provide support for programs across sub-Saharan Africa dedicated to testing, counseling, treatment, and prevention, including mother-to-child transmission.

“Since we began working with (RED) 10 years ago, our customers have made a significant impact in fighting the spread of AIDS through the purchase of our products, from the original iPod nano (PRODUCT)RED Special Edition all the way to today’s lineup of Beats products and accessories for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch,” stated Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a prepared release. “The introduction of this special edition iPhone in a gorgeous red finish is our biggest (PRODUCT)RED offering to date in celebration of our partnership with (RED), and we can’t wait to get it into customers’ hands.”

For more information about (RED), log on to: www.red.org.

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A&U • APRIL 2017

photos courtesy Apple

(RED) Apple

by Ruby Comer

“I

love spilling my guts,” remarked Brian Jordan Alvarez, character actor and impressionist, when we met at an AIDS fundraiser last year. Well, c’mon now. That’s mother’s milk for this drama queen!

I’m intrigued that Brian revealed at that time he was seeing an HIV-positive person—and that he was on PrEP. Born in Manhattan and raised in the “sticks of Tennessee,” his father named him Brian. Jordan is his father’s last name and Alvarez is his mother’s last name. Brian is proud that he’s of Colombian descent (he frequently travels to the country) and he speaks fluent Spanish.

The acting bug stung Brian when he was a teen performing in community theatre. He also shot movies on his iMac Handicam. Graduating from North Carolina School of the Arts high school drama program, he headed West and attended USC (University of Southern California) where he received his BFA in Acting. He established a fan base on the Internet

with his video sketches and currently has an acclaimed show, The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo, which screened at Tribeca last year to glowing reviews. Logo channel made him a series regular on Gay Skit Happens and he’s appeared on Jane the Virgin and Hot in Cleveland. He has two features in postproduction.

On a chilly Spring day here in La La Land, Brian and I assemble at an empty Hollywood Bowl for a picnic. It’s a bit eerie to be here without an audience—it seats over 17,000—but in another way it’s quite majestic and peaceful to be at an iconic landmark.

Ruby Comer: Thank you KFC! [I let out several chuckles as we place our food on the built in tables in the seating area.] May not be the healthiest food, but in a pinch, every once in a while, it works. [Brian grins.] I’m curious, what was your first acting gig?

Brian Jordan Alvarez: Playing the lead in my sixth grade production of Charlotte’s Web. Well for corn’s sake. Outstanding. When did you first hear about the epidemic?

At school. Well, maybe it was before that. I think it was in the movie Kids, which I saw when I was quite young. [He blurts]—“But I only had sex with Telly!” I remember that line. [Brian chuckles.]

Alvarez with the cast of The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallow

Gee, I never saw that film. What impact has the epidemic had on you?

Fortunately, very little. I grew up hearing stories from older men and women.

I feel that my generation has just been taught to be very, very afraid, and to wear condoms and get tested almost obsessively.

I was in group therapy with this gorgeous guy who after a while told us he was HIV positive. I asked him what regimen he was on and he said he just stays healthy with diet and exercise. That was a moment I realized that HIV didn’t have to be a death sentence. [He pauses and takes a sip of bottled water.] Unfortunately, AIDS stigma is still strong. I would still feel panic, Ruby, if a doctor told me I had contracted HIV. I understand. Hmmmm, this guy in your group was on no medication. Interesting.

So what comes to mind when you think of the epidemic?

Fear…then jokes.

Ever the comic. Tell me about the first time you were tested. continued on page 53

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A&U • APRIL 2017

Ruby illustration by Davidd Batalon; cast photo by Zack DeZon; portrait by Emma Mead

BRIAN JORDAN ALVAREZ

BOSTON TO NEW YORK September 8 – 10, 2017 brakingaidsride.org 866-858-6877 Benefiting

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Ice Cream Diets

and other life choices that are good for your health

24

vanilla ice cream. I mean he really likes it!

He likes it so much he will take a scoop of vanilla ice cream from anyone. And in a year he takes so many scoops of vanilla ice cream it’s kind of unbelievable. And he says that in the whole year of taking ice cream scoops from thousands of generous strangers, he didn’t catch chlamydia once.

Which is understandable because you can’t get chlamydia from ice cream.

But I love vanilla ice cream too!! I’m cute, but I’m no porn star, so the amount of vanilla cream I get from strangers is embarrassingly low.... But I’ve had more than three STIs in the last calendar year. So either he is really really lucky, or perhaps he really is just eating ice cream.... Either way, I need to change my life.

Perhaps mapping my life after the exploits of a porn star was not the best idea.

Oprah, T.D. Jakes, and Bryan Yummies… these are my three spirit animals!

So now the responsible thing to do is to contact my partners....

First is my favorite regular top, who always stops by in the mornings….

“Hey, buddy, heads up. I’ve been put in a chlamydia time-out. You might want to go get tested.” You know, trying to keep it casual and nonchalant. (Because if you have sex there is always a risk that you may

catch a little something….)

“What’s chlamydia?!” Was his response.

WHAT’S CHLAMYDIA?!!

WHAT’S CHLAMYDIA?!!

If you ever get this response in a text, your life has taken a turn in the wrong direction.

I need to go back to church. I need to pray to Oprah, I need to watch more Black revolutionary documentaries. I need to go see Get Out! I need to stop lionizing Porn Stars. And probably most of all, I need to stop accepting vanilla ice cream scoops from strangers on the Internet. (Two years ago I was such a goody two shoes—Go back. Check. It’s true.) Though I’lll probably never be that square again, chlamydia every three months is not a cute look. I may need those antibiotics some day!

Bye to all the free ice cream...

I’m going on a diet for a while.

What on Earth will I do with all the extra free time?

Corey Saucier is an artist and writer living in Los Angeles. He is a Lambda Literary Fellow in Fiction and Non-Fiction and is currently penning his first novel. His musings and wanderings on Love, Life, and Nonsense can be found at www. justwords.tumblr.com.

A&U • APRIL 2017

illustration by Timothy J. Haines

I

keep strange hours lately. Trying to get something out of my system I guess….

It is 2 a.m. in my favorite part of the morning…. I am watching “Birth of a Movement” on PBS. I am catching up on my African-American History and eating sour gummy bears in my oversized, unsexy plain-colored underwear. I have watched The 13th twice…and am trying trying to find a bootleg copy of I Am Not Your Negro, because black is beautiful, Black Lives Matter, and because we cannot change the future without more completely understanding the past. So I’m hanging out at home in my not-cute-not-pink underwear, doing my best to be a progressive Black revolutionary; you know, because RightNowThisVerySecond the world needs more Black revolutionaries. But despite being so intellectual, and political, and sexy (in my not-bright-not-pink-not-bikini cut underwear), I can’t have (actual) sex for three days…because I have chlamydia.

I don’t know how you feel about chlamydia, but I am not a fan!

I have made peace with my HIV; in fact I am often proud of my status (even more so now that it has been proven that being HIV-positive and Undetectable is the safest status one can have). So it’s not that I’m anti-STI! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pro-STI either! But I am okay with some STIs…. I’m comfortable with herpes, (even though I technically don’t have it), I’m on speaking terms with HPV: I’ve had my backside refurbished several times because of it, so we are not best friends but we are polite in public—but gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis still bother me. Maybe I’m still fighting against our culture’s anti-sex campaigns in the eighties, but the minor infections still squeak me out! Gonorrhea is gross!

So yeah, I have chlamydia. And this five-day “time out” has me thinking that perhaps I need to make some lifestyle changes.

Lately I’ve been really inspired by a very specific porn star. Let’s for the sake of anonymity say his name is Bryan Yummies. And let’s say for the sake of chastity that Bryan Yummies really likes

Bringing hearts together since 1998

P zMatch.c m

viewfinder

The Question

we may be having sex, but are we getting the sex we want?

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chance before things proceeded the way they tend to do in the bedroom.

Penetration was off the table for the moment; we were both in agreement that it wasn’t everything and could wait.

I am clear about one thing; I am fine with wearing a condom for the time being. Although I’d rather not, I do feel that that is his choice to make. This is yet another question I need to ask, a discussion we need to have.

Another thing didn’t happen when we had sex, one I’m less inclined to leave by the wayside. I performed oral sex on him, which I do love, but the favor was not returned. In fact, I had the feeling it was being avoided for a reason. Perhaps out of fear? I’m not certain. I need to ask. The facts are on my side. Even before we knew that Undetectable = Untransmittable, oral sex was largely considered safe. There’s really nothing to be afraid of and we need to talk about it. It’s come up before in my sexual encounters but this time is different. Before, I’d resented the need to educate a grown gay man on the specifics of what’s safe. This time is different.

Without getting ahead of myself, which I am often wont to do, I’m hopeful that this

fledgling relationship will move forward.

It’s worth the effort.

But, we still haven’t talked about it.

The questions have not been asked and answered. What I did do was approach it rather obliquely. Last night we were texting and things took a decidedly sexual turn. I took the opportunity, in the context of what we wanted to do to each other, to introduce the topic. Texting about it, he wasn’t shy about his desire to go down on me at all, so I’m hopeful.

But, before we find ourselves having sex again I should, no, I must, take a direct approach. There are two things I was brought up to never discuss, as many of us were. Those two things are sex and money. But, these conversations must happen, especially when it comes to sex, especially when you’re HIV-positive and your partner is not.

John Francis Leonard is an advocate and writer, as well as a voracious reader of literature, which helps to feed his love of the English language. He has been living with HIV for thirteen years and he is currently at work on his first novel, Fools Rush In. Follow him on Twitter @JohnFrancisleo2.

A&U • APRIL 2017

illustration by Timothy J. Haines

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ell, I’ve finally managed to do it. After several years of prospective partners I’ve met online, I’ve finally connected with a viable, for me and my high standards, man who lives locally. Fresh off of waiting almost two years for a reluctant, in the end, overworked and stressed executive in Canada whose favorite sport was to make promises he never kept, someone else turned up seemingly out of the blue.

He possesses all the qualities I’ve found wanting in my small city’s even smaller cache of men, at least the ones I’ve come up against. He’s sophisticated, urbane, and educated. He has a great job that he loves and seems to be really taking it to the next level. An unexpected turn, his age. He’s twentysix-years-old to my forty-eight but his last partner was fifty-six, so I’m definitely his type. And, admittedly, when I was his age and younger, most of my partners, both casual and longterm, were my age now. So, this is not a new concept for me; I just find myself on the other end of the equation. And did I mention that he’s very cute? Not the most important thing, but it definitely works in his already considerable favor.

Where did we meet? Online of course. Both his photograph and his thoughtful profile captured my interest quickly. We texted back and forth for a couple of weeks before our first date.

It wasn’t long before I felt it necessary to divulge the two things that are sometimes roadblocks in my potential liaisons. First and foremost, I divulged the fact that I was positive, including that one detail that is still new to many of us, that undetectable equals untransmittable. He thanked me for being forthright, and we left it at that. I did expect there to be further dialogue about this forthcoming, but we had gotten beyond it successfully for the moment. Secondly, I informed him that, although stable and under effective treatment, I am in fact bipolar as well. Not a bump in the road.

I knew that we should talk more about my HIV status and what it means for us sexually, but didn’t take the

Justin B. Terry-Smith, MPH, has been fighting the good fight since 1999. He’s garnered recognition and awards for his work, but he’s more concerned about looking for new ways to transform society for the better than resting on his laurels. He started up in gay rights and HIV activism in 2005, published an HIV-themed children’s book, I Have A Secret (Creative House Press) in 2011, and created his own award-winning video blog called, “Justin’s HIV Journal”: justinshivjournal. blogspot.com. Presently, he is working toward his doctorate in public health. Visit his main Web site at www.justinbsmith.com. He welcomes your questions at justinterrysmith@gmail.com.

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henever we divulge our HIV status we never can predict what reaction we get. But we all know that there are common questions that people ask. Sometimes, those questions can be personal, uncouth, and/or downright rude. I have several friends that I’ve known for years that don’t even recognize their own ignorance and assumptions when posing their questions to me about HIV. But this is not about what is “right.” This is about educating people on HIV (and maybe throwing a little bit of “shade” in there, too!).

So this month we are going to delve into the top seven questions people have asked when revealing your HIV status and the answers that an HIV positive could use as a retort.

Question: How long do you have to live?

Answer: I don’t know, how long do you have to live?

Now, this question was asked by a relative and I thought it was revealing how uneducated he was. Please keep in mind that nobody knows when they are going to die. When my relative asked me this question I was about twenty-six and this was the best way I knew how to answer this question at the time.

Question: Is the reason why you are skinny because of HIV? Answer: No, my parents just have the body of gods—what’s your excuse?

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Society has made it socially acceptable to be slender but that, by no means, should justify someone using the word “skinny” to describe another person.

The word “fat” is used to describe someone that is outside of society’s norm of what a body should look like—well, so is skinny. The word “fat” is usually used in a derogatory manner to describe someone’s body, and, well, so is skinny.

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone describe another as “that skinny bitch” or “that fat bitch.” All in all it’s wrong.

Question: Do you tell everyone you have sex with that you have HIV? Answer: Do you tell everyone you have sex with that you don’t have HIV? I find it interesting that people are more concerned with your sex life when you are HIV-positive. But, honestly, if we want a world to have full disclosure with our sexual activities, proclivities, and natures then it must be all the way around. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

Question: Do you still have sex?

Answer: I don’t know—am I still alive? (You should answer this question while giving a side eye for effect.)

HIV-positive persons have the same sexual desires as everyone else. When I see a hot guy/lady, yes, I might get wet on both ends and my mouth might start to water, as well. Of course, sex is and will always be thought of when I see a

hot person walk by. We are still alive and we still have sexual needs.

Question: Is you partner HIV-positive, too?

Answer: That is a question you should be asking them.

I’ve encountered this question more often than not. But, luckily, you can throw the ball in someone else’s court and keep it moving.

Question: You’re going to tell the new person you’re dating that you’re HIV-positive, right?

Answer: When I’m ready and when the moment is appropriate to discuss with them, which this is not.

Though I concur that honesty is the best policy, everyone who is HIV-positive has their own time in which they would like to divulge their HIV status to a potential sexual partner. It’s nobody’s business when you plan on revealing your HIV status to anyone.

Question: There is a cure for HIV— did you hear about it?

Answer: Obviously not, because I would not be HIV-positive right now.

You may get people telling you that there is a currently affordable cure that is accessible to the general population.

I have gotten many e-mails stating that there is a witch doctor in Africa claiming they have a cure. I suggest deleting that conversation as fast as I delete those emails. ◊

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Authentic Voice As She Preps for Her Inclusion in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, Carrie Moyer Reflects on Her Agitprop Activist Projects & the Power of Color in Visual Arts

by Lester Strong

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ainter, activist, teacher, occasional curator—New York Citybased Carrie Moyer wears several hats, professionally speaking, with one of the peaks of her artistic career certainly being her inclusion in the current 2017 Biennial exhibition of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Interviewed recently about her work, Moyer described the sources of her art and activism, her many professional roles, and how AIDS has affected her activism and painting.

Moyer traces her activist impulses back to her parents. “They did a lot of activism when I was a child,” she said. “Mostly it was around anti-war issues, but it also had a more local flavor. For example, we didn’t eat grapes for my entire childhood because of Cesar Chavez and the California farm workers.” She also traces her artistic impulses back to her upbringing, commenting: “I had parents who—particularly my mother—were very interested in my sister and me learning about art. Eventually one of us became an artist.”

It was when Moyer moved to New York City in the early 1980s to study art, however, that she began to discover her own personal activist causes. During the interview, she pinpointed that discovery very precisely: “I’m a woman, and I’ve known I’m gay since high school. But I really started to feel the effects of sexism and homophobia in art school.” Asked to expand on this, she said: “Let’s start with sexism. At my school in the early 1980s, there were grants and fellowships open to male students only. I’m sure those restrictions don’t exist any more, but I felt the unfairness of it back then. There would also be strange comments from male professors, like ‘There are holes in your paintings because you’re a woman.’

“As for homophobia, there was an incident with my first partner when I was in art school. Someone broke into our apartment because he knew we were lesbians and tried to rape her. In the 1980s, New York could feel dangerous for young women in

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general, and it just got heightened for us by being visible together as lesbians.”

Moyer did meet feminists on the faculty of her school, and women who were connected to Heresies, a groundbreaking feminist journal of art and politics founded in the 1970s, where she became an intern. So she discovered a way to express her upset at the sexism she encountered in school and to feel the support of sympathetic women faculty members. But it was still frustrating as a woman artist. Even though the feminist art movement had been around since the 1970s, it was not yet recognized as important by the mainstream art world, which was still steeped in “neo-expressionism and certain kinds of really macho artwork” (Moyer’s words) that notoriously marginalized women artists.

Her activist impulses in New York, curiously enough, were first stimulated by her awareness of ACT UP. “At the time I didn’t have any close friends affected by AIDS, and I was never a member,” she said. “But AIDS was the main activist cause in those days. I went to a number of ACT UP events, and you could feel the energy. I was—and still am—friends with Avram Finkelstein [A&U, December 2015] of Gran Fury [an artist collective that arose out of ACT UP in 1988; famous for many of the catch phrases and images associated with AIDS activism]. Being around people like that, with the kind of discourse they generated, was incredibly energizing, and not just about AIDS. The space they provided and their tactics provided locations and new ways to talk and agitate about two issues that affected me directly—homophobia and the lack of lesbian visibility in the arts and mainstream culture generally.” (It should be noted that Moyer did one project directly related to AIDS: In 2005 she produced a “safe sex postcard sticker” titled “Follow Your Nose But Cover Your Johnson” for Visual AIDS to be distributed for free at LGBT Pride events in June.)

Over the years, Moyer worked with a number of organizations involved with lesbian and gay issues: Queer Nation, the Lesbian A&U • APRIL 2017

A&U Gallery

The Green Lantern, 2015, acrylic and glitter on canvas, 72 by 60 inches. Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York.

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Maiden Voyage, 2015, acrylic and flashe on canvas, 36 by 24 inches. Private Collection. Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York

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A&U • APRIL 2017

A&U Gallery Avengers, the New York City Anti-Violence Project, and the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization. But in 1991, she and photographer Sue Schaffner founded their signature activist group Dyke Action Machine!

(DAM!), which from 1991 into 2008 dissected and critiqued mainstream culture from a lesbian point of view by inserting lesbian images into mainstream cultural contexts. A very public form of art, it usually involved wheat-plastering around 5,000 posters in New York neighborhoods known for their high-density and diverse pedestrian populations.

Aside from what Moyer calls her “Agitprop” art, there is also her painting. In an Artforum review of Moyer’s 2016 exhibition “Sirens” at DC Moore Gallery in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, Rachel Churner wrote: “Since the early 2000s, Moyer has been making paintings with stains and pours that evoke…the work of female painters from Georgia O’Keeffe and Helen Frankenthaler to Elizabeth Murray.” Indeed, like the work of those three, her paintings are vivid explosions of color that dazzle the eye. And while they may fit the category of abstract art, the often biomorphic shapes they embody also caress the eye in a way that can feel at one and the same time sensual yet very mysterious.

Asked during the interview to discuss her relation to color, she said, “I feel like color is basically a kind of joy. It’s magical.

the color becomes a kind of illumination that can trigger all kinds of emotional and psychological responses in the viewer.”

Also asked during the interview to expand on the quality of mystery they embody, Moyer said, “I really believe in the power of visual communication. I feel like visual art gets to something that’s not accessible by text or speaking. What I’m interested in is how you

follow your nose but cover your johnson, 2005, postcard size (safe sex poster sticker created to support gay pride, queer politics, and the fight against AIDS).Courtesy Visual AIDS And because a lot of my paintings are poured, it feels like I’m pouring liquid color onto this surface that is white, so that APRIL 2017 • A&U

can use something visual to get people to have a feeling or thought they may not have had before. I want to slow viewers down so

Intergalactic Emoji Factory, 2015, acrylic and glitter on canvas, 72 by 96 inches.

Private Collection. Courtesy of DC Moore Gallery, New York they pause before the work and feel invited to enter a space—the space of the painting—that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”

Moyer commented in the course of the interview that she feels “this really strong desire to make something that will effect change.” This is clearly one of the impulses behind both her Agitprop work and her paintings. And clearly it lies at the heart of her teaching as well. During the interview she stated: “I was just made a full professor of art at Hunter College [part of the City University of New York system]. I like teaching, and feel like I represent a different point of view in academia than much of the kind of education I had myself. What I try to elicit from all my students is how to make art based on their own authentic voice. In that sense, I view my teaching as a form of activism.”

And so it is. It should be added that Carrie Moyer brings her own authentic voice to everything she does. It’s not the only value of her work. But it truly is at the heart of everything she does as an activist, an artist, a teacher.

For more information about the artist, visit: www.carriemoyer.com. The Whitney Biennial is on view through June 11 in New York’s Greenwich Village.

Lester Strong is Special Projects Editor of A&U.

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Care Ambassador of

Actor, activist & union boss Kate Shindle uses a new platform to speak out on HIV

by Larry Buhl Photographed Exclusively for A&U by Sean Black

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t was a too-warm nearly-spring day in Los Angeles when I met Kate Shindle at her temporary digs downtown. It was midway through the L.A. run of Fun Home, the musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir of the same name. Shindle plays adult Bechdel in a touring production of the show that won a slew of Tony Awards in 2015, including Best Musical.

Shindle has been an HIV/AIDS activist almost as long as she’s been acting and singing. Traveling from city to city with the cast of Fun Home has been giving her a platform to talk about HIV/AIDS, (I’ll get to that) just as she did as Miss America (I’ll get to that, too).

I wanted to talk about her two decades of HIV/AIDS work, her new role as ambassador for The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and her leadership in Actors’ Equity, the theatrical actors union. And we did cover all that. But as a theater geek, I kept coming back to the show.

A “beautiful heartbreaker” Fun Home is a challenging and true coming-of-age story—not Shindle’s—of a young lesbian growing up in central Pennsylvania in the 1970s, and the un-closeting and unraveling of a compartmentalized and ultimately unknowable father. Ben Brantley of the New York Times called it a “beautiful heartbreaker of a musical.”

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The “fun” is short for funeral. In addition to teaching high school English, the father, Bruce, also managed a funeral home, which provides the setting for a showstopper song, “Come to the Fun Home,” performed by the three Bechdel kids decked out in their groovy 70s bell bottoms.

Daddy!

Come here! Hey, right here! Right now!

You’re making me mad.

Listen to me.

Listen to me.

Listen to me....

—Nine-year old Alison, Fun Home Shindle plays forty-three-year-old Alison Bechdel, a successful artist and cartoonist who’s trying to understand her younger self and her parents, particularly her father. As she watches the show’s events with the audience, the adult Alison narrates, presenting a scene with a caption, as if in one of her cartoon panels. Sometimes she speaks directly to the characters, though they can’t see or hear her.

Shindle, as Alison, explains how her father was obsessed with appearances, including their museum-like home decorated to an inch of its life with antiques, and the proper look of his family. His angry insistence on making young tomboyish Alison dress like other girls can strike the audience as somewhat cruel.

Bruce is also meticulous about his appearance as a straight man though he’s been sleeping with men, and possibly underage boys, for decades. His façade cracks after Alison comes out to him, inadvertently showing him the freedom he could never hope to enjoy for himself.

It’s a twist on the typical coming-ofage LGBT story. While eighteen-year-old Alison thinks this is her coming out story, she later suspects she’s a catalyst for her father’s non-coming out tragedy.

“The LGBT and coming out themes are central in Fun Home but it appeals to anyone whose family looks perfect on the outside but on the inside doesn’t talk about a lot of things that they probably should be talking about,” Shindle says.

Toward the end of Fun Home, Shindle replaces college-age Alison on a car ride with her father. She knows this will be her last chance to see her father alive, her last chance to connect with him and say “I know who you are and it’s all right.” Through her heartbreaking song, “Telephone Wire,” we suspect that there won’t be a warm and cuddly father-daughter understanding.

This car ride, This is where it has to happen!

There must be some other chances.

There’s a moment I’m forgetting Where you tell me you see me.

—Adult Alison, Fun Home A&U • APRIL 2017

In an ironic echo throughout the musical Bruce muses to himself that he “might still break a heart or two.” He’s talking about breaking young men’s hearts, but the audience knows the hearts he’s breaking belong to his family.

The car ride scene is good example of point of entry for people who don’t have a closeted gay parent, Shindle explains. “A lot of people approached me after the show and said, ‘I haven’t had that issue but I’ve definitely taken that car ride.’”

Shindle was drawn to the character despite having a very different background than Bechdel. At first she assumed the show’s subject matter—a lesbian lead character and a “shut up and kiss me” girl-girl scene—could be a difficult sell in some states.

Especially North Carolina, in the era of HB2 (the state’s transgender bathroom bill), she said. What she found was a very warm welcome in every city since it opened in Cleveland in October.

“There are progressive thinkers and people who love good theater everywhere, to be challenged and not only entertained. This show gives people credit for being able to think.”

Given the amount of outrage Shindle expressed at the statements of Senator Ted Cruz, R-TX, she very well may speak out about LGBT issues when the show comes to his state later this year.

She says the “red herring arguments” that Cruz and other culture warriors give about transgender people is “reductive.” “[Cruz says] trans people won’t use the bathroom of their birth gender because they’re either pedophiles or pretending to be trans to abuse people. It’s red meat and plays into the misinformation and fear people already have about what it means to be trans. Cruz

paints himself as a constitutional expert and yet he uses these ridiculous and specious arguments.”

There’s one slight drawback to playing Alison Bechdel. She needed to cut her hair short. “At first I thought I could do it with a wig but ultimately that wasn’t going to work. On the other hand, the show is a really good reason to cut it.”

Have tiara, will advocate The journey of Fun Home is a quest for an answer to the question: How did this family get here? For Kate Shindle, the journey from Miss America to the star of a highly acclaimed musical— and two decades of HIV/AIDS advocacy—was not exactly linear.

Shindle doesn’t talk much about the year she spent with “the crown,” partly because it was well chronicled in her 2014 book, Being Miss America, Behind the Rhinestone Curtain, and partly because her career has moved so far from it.

She’s been a working actor since she graduated from college in 1999. In addition to TV and film roles, she’s played Sally Bowles in a touring production of Cabaret, and was a member of the original Broadway cast of Legally Blonde, which is where she met the producers of Fun Home.

Shindle grew up in New Jersey and during her senior year in high school she enrolled in America’s Junior Miss, which is technically not a beauty pageant (no swimsuit competition, and you got a medal not a crown).

She enrolled at Northwestern University in 1994 with a plan to study theater. But she also entered the Miss Illinois pageant during her junior year, and won. The following year she was crowned Miss America. She took a year off from college, and in that time she traveled the country talking about HIV/AIDS.

“There are progressive thinkers and people who love good theater everywhere, to be challenged and not only entertained. This show gives people credit for being able to think.”

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Shindle says the most fulfilling part about being Miss America was the ability to make a difference, as a twenty-year-old college student who suddenly had a national platform to talk about HIV/AIDS. “It was amazing in ways I hadn’t anticipated,” Shindle tells me. “The platform was an opportunity that hadn’t been part of Miss America I followed as a kid, and it turned out to be the most appealing part.”

Most of her duties involved advocating HIV/AIDS prevention and education, through educating students, lobbying legislators, and helping nonprofits raise funds. “At the time there was the launch of a home access HIV test so you could test yourself, so I promoted the importance of knowing your status,” she said.

And she shared the importance of needle exchange, a concept that’s still controversial considering how many states and municipalities still outlaw it or restrict it. Shindle didn’t get the concept either, at first. “[Needle exchange] didn’t make sense to me and I think that is often the case with people who don’t know about it, because you feel like you are complicit in someone’s drug addiction. Then I understood that it encourages people to get treatment even if treatment isn’t a condition in participating in these programs.”

During her reign, Shindle urged the Clinton administration to legalize needle exchange nationwide, to no avail. But she says that she felt her efforts helped the issue reach critical mass as a harm reduction strategy.

On de-criminalizing HIV Though she entered college not knowing anyone who had HIV or AIDS, she left college knowing many. Over the years many theater friends, and even an uncle, contracted the virus. She remained an outspoken HIV/AIDS activist years after her reign and raised tens of millions of dollars for various organizations. She also chaired a conference session at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

Her knowledge and passion about the issue made Managing Director of The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Joel Goldman [A&U, May 2016], think of her for an ambassador position. Last month Goldman, a friend from way back, announced Shindle’s ambassadorship as well as her mission: to advocate for reforming outdated HIV criminal statutes.

HIV criminal laws add penalties, sometimes very harsh penalties, for those who don’t disclose their HIV status before having sex. Sometimes the laws tack on APRIL 2017 • A&U

penalties to those who are HIV-positive for engaging in criminal behaviors that don’t spread HIV, or for activities that don’t have anything to do with HIV. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two dozen states criminalize one or more behaviors that pose a “low or negligible risk for HIV transmission.”

Back in the 1980s and ’90s these laws, all at the state level, were passed ostensibly to keep people safe, but they were largely based on misinformation and ignorance about how HIV is transmitted. And then, they were forgotten.

Many of the criminal codes are still on the books and some are still enforced. In some cases a person with HIV can get a felony conviction and decades in prison for a crime that someone without HIV would get a misdemeanor for.

Some lawmakers are paying attention.

In February a group of Democratic state lawmakers in California introduced Senate Bill 239, which would update California’s 1988 HIV law to state that intentionally transmitting any infectious disease, including HIV, would be a misdemeanor, not a felony. If SB 239 passes into law, it will no longer be a felony for an HIV-positive person to donate blood, organs, semen, or breast milk. That’s because existing law ensures all donors of any bodily substance are screened for HIV and other diseases before any bodily fluids are donated.

Other states, however, are still far behind the times.

Shindle calls the laws “draconian and archaic.”

“They are a remnant of another time, when a lot of people were scared. They pushed through legislations to keep constituents safe or to appease constituents who wanted to feel safer.”

She adds that the laws are not only harsh and not based on science, they discourage people from getting tested. “We don’t need any incentives for people not to get tested.”

Press Club. Her message: the NEA is a “good deal” and its elimination would be a job killer.

“There is so much irrefutable evidence that the arts serve as an economic engine, even and especially in cities and towns whose factories or industry jobs have disappeared,” she said. “All together, the arts are a $700 billion industry employing directly 4.7 million Americans and millions more indirectly.”

Whether Shindle’s words are heard by the President—or, more importantly, Congress—remains to be seen.

Shindle admits she was pro-union long before she got involved in Actors’ Equity.

“We performers are conditioned to be grateful for jobs and feel lucky when we do work that it can translate into willingness to work just for exposure. But actors are essential to the art and the commerce of theater and Actors’ Equity is at the juncture of art and commerce. We recognize the value of performing but at the same time we say it’s important to get a wage for it.”

In other words, performers’ unions are about standing up, speaking out, and being recognized. Which brings us back to Fun Home.

Shindle says one of the important messages from the show is that people need to be free to recognize and embrace and live their identities. “And when they can’t do that, bad things happen like with Bruce Bechdel,” she says.

“At this cultural moment, it’s important to be ambassadors of compassion and care,” she adds. “We need to stand up for people who are trying to make the best of what they have, whether they’re trans, straight, gay, people of color or HIV positive. The more I can encourage and catalyze conversation and openness and dignity and respect, the more successful I feel this adventure will have been.”

Union Boss Shindle has another topic to speak on as Fun Home travels from city to city. As the President of Actors’ Equity Association since May of 2015, she’s been looking for ways to improve pay and benefits for more than 50,000 actors and stage managers across the United States.

Wearing her union boss hat, Shindle recently called out Trump administration’s proposal to defund the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The day after we met, she took a night off from the show and flew to D.C. to address the National

Hair and makeup by Eric Leonardos.

Follow Kate Shindle on Twitter @kateshindle.

For more information about The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, log on to www.elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org.

Sean Black, a Senior Editor of A&U, photographed Alexandra Billings for the March cover story.

Larry Buhl is a radio news reporter, screenwriter, and novelist living in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @LarryBuhl.

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LEGACY

Actor and comedian Steve Hayes talks about Tired Old Queen at the Movies, movies, & New York City before and after the early days of the epidemic Text and Photos by Alina Oswald

S

tepping inside Steve Hayes’ Manhattan apartment is like escaping into a bygone world of Hollywood glory and glamour, defined by beauty, passion, love, and melodrama. Dramatic, mostly film noir portraits of actors from the forties and fifties—the likes of Vivien Leigh, Greta Garbo, Alain Delon and Rock Hudson—cover the walls.

On the shelves, tucked in between books and more photographs, dolls designed by Hayes’ friend, Mel Odom, offer three-dimensional replicas of some of these actors, thus completing the backdrop for Hayes’ show, STEVE HAYES: Tired Old Queen At The Movies, now in its eighth season.

The charismatic, charming and kind actor and comedian shows me around, introducing me to the place where magic happens, where TOQ at the Movies is taped. Over iced tea and snacks, we chitchat about the show, Rock Hudson, Hollywood glamour days, and also HIV and AIDS. “My great passion in life has been old movies,” Hayes begins. “I’ve loved them since I was a little boy.” He pauses, as if to ponder how to best explain it. “I knew I was gay at a very early age, and I felt left out. My generation was the first generation where the parents used TV to babysit the children. And my mother would say ‘you’re getting on my nerves, sit down and watch this.’ And inevitably it would be some old movie on. And the melodramas of the forties and the fifties kind of matched what was going on in my house.

So they felt real to me.”

Then, when getting together with friends, Hayes would start re-enacting these movies to entertain his friends. Years

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later, he went on to entertain audiences across the country.

He explains that, like many other gay men at the time, he would be in particular attracted to the classic movie women stars and the characters they played. “They knew how to handle men,” he says. “And, as gay men, we always try to figure out how to handle [gay] men, and it isn’t always easy.” He further explains about the women characters, “They were dynamic, and often put down because they were [considered] the weaker sex.

The men didn’t have to fight. They would fist fight, but they didn’t have to fight like the women had to fight for everything.”

Women in Hayes’ family were also a strong influence. He grew up in Central New York. Both his parents had sisters.

“They were all funny,” he recalls. “My humor comes from women.” At parties and family reunions, he’d hang out in the kitchen because “that’s where you find out [everything]. The kitchen is the place where you pick at the leftovers and you talk.”

And his attraction to strong, legendary women followed him to New York. He came to the city in the seventies, before the AIDS crisis. “New York was wonderful and fun in the seventies,” he recalls. Older and younger gay men would mingle more in those days. “And these wonderful older gay men would pass on this tradition of all these people that I’d been watching [on TV] for years. And all these drag queens would come into town and do these [movie] legends. And they were so brilliant at it, [at keeping these legends] alive. It was all part of our culture.”

As a performer, Hayes came out of cabaret. To this day he believes that that experience taught him everything. While doing

cabaret, he had to perform and be funny and do his act in a room full of people.

Steve Hayes might be best known for his role in the movie Trick (1999), a film directed by Jim Fall, about “the misadventures of two young gay men, trying to find a place to be alone, one night in Manhattan.” In Trick Hayes plays “a kind gay priest, who’s kind of funny.”

Over the years Hayes did stand-up comedy, but not in the traditional way.

There had to be characters in his stand-up performances. “I knew I could do anything, because, in my head, I’d watched all these old movies, and I’d been playing these roles for years,” he comments, “so I created a comedy act where I could just be whoever I wanted to be.”

He also appeared in Off-Broadway shows directed by Vincent Cardinal. “We became friends,” Hayes says. “And he said to me, ‘Steve Hayes, I think you should be a household name, and I think I know how to do it. Let’s come in to your crazy apartment and let’s hand you a DVD and have you talk off the top of your head like you do at every dinner party and every chance that you get about that movie.

And we’ll shoot them, and we’ll do one a month. What do you want to call it?’ And without missing a beat, I said, Tired Old Queen at the Movies.” He laughs, and his laughter fills the room. “I think you have to get comfortable getting old,” he explains about the title of his show. “In the gay culture you’re [considered] old at forty. And so when you get to be my age, which is in my mid-sixties, you got to get comfortable.

And that’s what I try to do, accepting who I am. And it’s okay.”

TOQ at the Movies is taped in Hayes’ A&U • APRIL 2017

FEBRUARY 2017 • A&U

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photo by John Jackson Photography

apartment. He has a team of five people— Thomas Meacham is photographer and editor; Dale Edwards handles publicity; Vincent Cardinal is the director; and John Bixler is a young actor who introduces Hayes at the beginning of each episode.

Once the lights are set up, it’s “Lights, camera, action!” time. Cardinal hands Hayes a DVD, and the actor starts talking about the movie on that particular DVD. They usually shoot nine episodes at a time, in one day. Nothing is scripted. Everything is off the top of Hayes’ head. And it offers a brand new glimpse at older movies, especially those shot through the seventies

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and into the eighties, and especially for a younger audience.

“I always have Vince [Cardinal] and John [Bixler] here, because they make me laugh,” Hayes explains. “And the comedy is important. I want to laugh and keep it light. I want to go back to why movies were made. They were made to entertain us.”

And that’s exactly why TOQ at the Movies is such a success.

For his show, he always tries to choose holiday movies—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s—and also something for Pride Month. He tries to do comedies and often chooses movies that

are not well known.

One cannot talk about Hollywood glamour days and movies from the forties and fifties without mentioning Rock Hudson. I ask Hayes to tell me more about Rock Hudson. I find out that Hudson had not only the looks, but also the talent. He appeared in movies like Giant, Written on the Wind, The Tarnished Angels, Pillow Talk, to mention only a few. “Rock Hudson came from nothing,” Hayes says. “And he was this great big huge guy. He looked like Mount Rushmore. You looked at Rock Hudson and you wanted to start climbing.”

Although I’ve seen Rock Hudson in a A&U • APRIL 2017

handful of movies, the image burned into my memory is one I saw in a 1986 Paris Match Magazine, a two-page spread showing two portraits of the same actor—an image of a smiling and handsome Rock Hudson next to a portrait of the actor, aged almost beyond recognition, barely resembling the star the public had grown to love.

“It’s the disease,” Hayes says, when I mention it to him. “The thing about [AIDS] was that [doctors] couldn’t pinpoint it to anything. It masquerades as so many different diseases—pneumonia, Kaposi sarcoma, the one that eats the brain, toxoplasmosis. And in the beginning everyone was so scared. I would go to visit friends up at the hospital, and the nurses would put the food on the tray and push the tray with the foot through the door, on the floor. And not change their bedding. Not even go in the room.”

The joy in his voice is suddenly gone when he talks about the early days of the AIDS epidemic, and his bubbly laughter, vanished.

“Did you see Dallas Buyers Club?” Hayes asks. During those days he had to take many of his sick friends to a lot of places like the one portrayed in the movie. They would be dirty warehouses, because they were illegal, where poor, emaciated dying guys would sit in chaise lounges, with intravenous tubes in their arms, getting infusions.

“It was terrible,” Hayes says. “And you couldn’t get anybody [from] outside [the community], to understand what you were going through.”

The AIDS epidemic arrived in New York City at the beginning of the eighties, only a few years after Hayes. The epidemic forever changed the city scene, as it did APRIL 2017 • A&U

Hayes’ life, taking away too many of his friends. “All the people I wanted to get old with died,” he says. “I never went to Vietnam—that was the war of my era—but I didn’t miss the war, because the [early] AIDS years were like a war. So I did everything that I could to help.”

For about seven years, from 1987 right

up to the mid-nineties, he worked with an organization called The Holiday Project.

“I spent all my holidays in AIDS hospices and wards. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, New Year’s, I would go in and sing,” he says, his voice breaking with emotion.

He’s been doing HIV benefits ever since. He is a member and on several committees at Episcopal Actors Guild, and often does HIV benefits for the organization. EAG was founded in 1923 to help actors in need. During the nineties, the organization created programs such as HIV/AIDS Relief Program to help actors living with the virus. As mentioned on EAG’s website, “twenty percent of the annual EARP [Emergency Aid and Relief Program] budget is earmarked for this program.”

“AIDS united the gay community,” Hayes says, reflecting on the early days

of the epidemic. He continues, offering a timeline of the epidemic, a then-and-now image of where we were and where we are now in terms of winning the war against the virus. He talks about the people who, although sick, fought, some until their last breath, trying to do something about the AIDS crisis of that time. He talks about the progress we’ve made over the last three decades in terms of care, prevention, even finding a cure. And then he adds, “Like so many of us, the thing I worry about now is this generation.

Young people today [don’t see HIV as a threat anymore and are often careless].

They’re playing with so much fire.”

Some, especially some young individuals, might find it unnecessary to listen to stories about the AIDS crisis. And yet, these same stories have inspired movies like Longtime Companion, An Early Frost, Parting Glances, and the more recent Angels in America and Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart, and maybe they will find them on TV, as Steve did with women’s movies as a kid, and be inspired. Question is: are these stories they tell still relevant? If young individuals, today, become unaware of what happened during the eighties, how are they to prevent future catastrophes and crises such as AIDS was only a short time ago?

“You can’t get lax about this. You have to keep fighting,” Hayes concludes. “I think more young people have to climb up the wagon and get involved, because my generation, who went through that initial Big Bang of it, we’re getting old, and right before your eyes. Am I making sense?”

Find out more about Steve Hayes and his show, Tired Old Queen at the Movies, by visiting www. youtube.com/user/STEVEHAYESTOQ. Follow Steve Hayes on Twitter @SteveHayesTOQ. Alina Oswald is Arts Editor of A&U.

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PURE BLISS

Maitri Commemorates Its 30th Anniversary with a Star-Studded Gala & Auction

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n Sunday, May 7, Maitri Compassionate Care will commemorate its thirtieth anniversary with Bliss 2017, a celebratory gala and auction at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio in San Francisco.

Bliss is Maitri’s signature annual gala and fundraiser. This year’s gala, with host/emcee Marga Gomez, promises to be a memorable one indeed. The variety gala will feature performances by jazz musicians Jonathan Bautista and Justin Rock, the acclaimed ManDance Company, the Lesbian & Gay Chorus of San Francisco, and classically trained vocalist Lawrence Beamen, in addition to the inimitable comedy of host/MC Gomez.

Pronounced “MY-tree”, a Sanskrit word meaning “compassionate friendship,” Maitri is the only AIDS-specific residential care facility in California focused on the underserved community of those dying of or severely debilitated by AIDS. The seeds of Maitri were first planted in 1987 when Zen teacher Issan (“Tommy”) Dorsey of the Hartford Street Zen Center took in a homeless student dying of AIDS. Dorsey’s act of generosity soon led to the formation of Maitri, a model eight-bed hospice for end-of-life hospice care for members of the community ravaged by AIDS, located in the Castro, ground zero of the epidemic in San Francisco. Issan himself died at Maitri of AIDS-related

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lymphoma in 1990. As Maitri’s website puts it, “From drug-addled drag queen to Zen master, Issan’s life reflected his innate ability to ‘charm people senseless.’” He cultivated a group of followers devoted to dealing with whatever came to the door. “We started the hospice,” their website continues, “because death came to the door.”

Beginning in 1996, with the advent of the first successful combination of antiretroviral medications, the needs of the community changed. By enabling AIDS patients to live longer, the new medications reduced the number of patients needing end-of-life care but increased the number of patients living with severe debilitations and needing intensive, 24-hour nursing care—care that is dignified,

non-judgmental, unconditional. In response, Maitri doubled its capacity and extended care to non-hospice patients debilitated by AIDS. As part of the expansion of services, Maitri relocated to a state-licensed, custom-designed facility on Duboce Avenue, still in the Castro, in late 1997.

“The folks we serve need us more than I can elaborate,” said newly appointed executive director Michael Sorensen. Sorensen, with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Portland State University’s Hatfield School of Government, comes to Maitri from the National University of Medicine in Portland, Oregon, where he oversaw the business and community affairs of its twenty academic health centers, which offer integrative primary care and classical Chinese medicine. Reflecting Maitri’s mission statement—“No one should have to suffer or die alone”—Sorensen went on to say, “Maitri serves the most vulnerable, the least resourced, and does this with the greatest care and greatest respect, believing all are worthy.”

When I asked Sorensen what drew him to Maitri and what he hopes to contribute, he elaborated, “I am attracted to the work at Maitri for the opportunity to make the last days for some imperfectly peaceful and to see a near-death prognosis be reversed. I like to think I bring a commitment to the mission, hope for a cure, a voice for those in our care, and a commitA&U • APRIL 2017

photos by Jim Norrena/California College of the Arts

by Hank Trout

ment to raise the funds needed to continue the legacy of high quality care and compassion that Maitri is known for.”

One of Sorensen’s responsibilities is fundraising. Maitri is funded through contracts with the government (sixty-five percent of funds); earned income from offering one of its resident rooms (as available) for non-AIDS hospice applicants on a private-pay basis (ten percent); and gifts from the community (twenty-five percent). Maitri has enjoyed a twenty-year community partnership with the Academy of Friends as one of the beneficiaries of the Friends’ Academy Awards Night Charity Gala.

The Academy of Friends has donated a total of more than $209,000 since 1997 to Maitri (not counting the amount raised on Oscar night this year, unavailable at press time). This year’s Bliss event is expected to raise nearly $300,000 and to open doors to new friends to Maitri.

Marga Gomez, one of the first openly lesbian comedians in the business, will host and MC Bliss 2017. Once described by Robin Williams as “amazing… a lesbian Lenny Bruce,” Gomez is a San Francisco local who shares comedic roots with Lea DeLaria [A&U, November 1999], Karen Ripley, and others who pretty much invented gay comedy in San Francisco’s comedy clubs in the 1980s and ’90s. She tours nationally with her stand-up shows and has starred in comedy specials on LOGO, HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central. Her one-woman plays have garnered praise from The New York Times (“Hilariously skewed”), the San Francisco Chronicle (“Salaciously surreal”), and the Village Voice (“Charmingly raunchy!”).

As Michael Musto put it, “Gomez delivers!”

Ms. Gomez’s connection with Maitri began in 2000 when her mentor, Donald Montwill, a major influence in the LGBT performance scene in San Francisco in the ’80s and ’90s with his stewardship of Josie’s Cabaret and The Valencia Rose, was a resident. “I got to meet his Maitri family of residents and caregivers,” Ms. Gomez told me. “Even in the late stages of his illness, everyone at Maitri recognized his humor and power. That meant the world to all of us who visited. I have performed at the Maitri residence in the past, and it is with gratitude that I am hosting this upcoming gala for an organization that deserves all our support.”

Among the other entertainment for the Bliss 2017 gala, ManDance Company bills itself as “America’s Premiere LGBTQ Dance Company.” Founded in San Francisco in 2008, the all-male MDC showcases professional dancers who express their athleticism, sexuality, and compassion free of restraint, focusing on LGBT-related issues. Their performances often feature guest stars and apprentices. Vocalist Lawrence Beamen is a veteran of NBC’S hit TV show America’s Got Talent; his rendition of “Ol’ Man River,” showcasing his baritone voice, APRIL 2017 • A&U

Michael Sorensen, Maitri’s executive director placed him in the top-five contestants. Justin Rock is a composer, guitarist, and vocalist with various Bay Area jazz bands; Jonathan Bautista is a jazz saxophonist familiar to Bay Area jazz festival goers. Finally, the Lesbian & Gay Chorus of San Francisco, founded in 1980 and the first choral organization to use both “lesbian” and “gay” in its name, has performed all over the country with great success.

Even if you cannot attend Bliss 2017 on May 7, you can still help to ensure that Maitri continues to provide world-recognized model care to AIDS patients. Maitri is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, meaning that your donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Less than twenty percent of Maitri’s annual operating budget is ear-marked for administrative and fundraising expenses, so the bulk of your gift goes directly toward providing compassionate care for residents. Donations large and small are helpful.

If you would prefer to assist Maitri in a more hands-on way, volunteers are always welcome. Volunteers provide practical and emotional support to Maitri’s residents, assist by the bedside, help with household chores, and perform various administrative and development functions. If you are interested in the next volunteer training session, you can down-

load the Maitri Volunteer Application from their website (see below). The facility offers three volunteer training sessions per year. The sessions typically begin on a Friday evening and continue all day Saturday and Sunday.

No prior health care or volunteer experience is necessary to join Maitri’s volunteer team.

There are also many special event opportunities at which volunteers can donate time and energy, such as Dinner at Maitri, the annual Holiday Open House, the annual Academy of Friends Oscar Gala, the Folsom Street Fair and of course the annual Bliss gala.

The folks at Maitri Compassionate Care provide the kind of care that each of us would like to receive at the end of our lives, cultivating the deepest respect and love for life among its residents and caregivers. You can help ensure their continued success by attending Bliss 2017, the 30th Anniversary Gala and Auction on Sunday, May 7.

For information on tickets, volunteering for the event, and other ways to support Maitri Compassionate Care’s services, visit: www.maitrisf.org. More information about Marga Gomez can be found on her website, www.margagomez.com.

Hank Troutvvv interviewed Phoenix-based advocate Peter Rodriguez for the March issue.

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Human Fabric

Entwining feelings related to HIV seroconversion, remembrance and longing into swatches of decorative materials and textiles, San Diego-based artist Scott James Vanidestine stiches together an evocative queer vernacular making his “gay” experience and that of his oral history contributors more visibly potent and universal Text & Photos by Sean Black

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rowing up in Oklahoma and the hopes of reaching others, particularly part of a generation glued those of color to spare them his disease. to MTV’s The Real World: “I felt like Pedro was my friend,” reSan Francisco, artist Scott calls Vanidestine from his City Heights James Vanidestine, suburb home, which he shares with husband Andrew and a boxer-mix thirty-seven, remembers vivdly rescue named Wrigley on the outPedro Zamora, one of televiskirts of San Diego. sion’s first openly HIV-posiBut it was a real-world friend tive personalities. he met years later who provoked a It has been nearly direct response to HIV. twenty-three years since When Scott was nearing Zamora’s death from completion of his MFA at the AIDS, just a little more University of Illinois–Chamtime than his life of pagne, he reconnected with twenty-two years, yet a friend who was struggling he is still rememwith life yet being very secretive bered passionately today. Not about with what exactly he was just for Scott but for scores of dealing. He youngsters, Pedro became the worked in film face of his peers—the paradoxical and was stapersonification of vitality and despair tioned at the time in the pre-cocktail years of AIDS. In in India. Although 1994, after the show’s last broadcast, working with a big Pedro succumbed to a rare brain disorcompany, he felt very der, but he will always be remembered alone. One day he reas a vibrant Latino activist, educator and a humanitarian Clown, 2016, beaded clown applique, sequin who many times set clown applique, sequin trim, sequin flower aside his own basic applique, and silk thread on felt panel, 34 by needs during his last 34 by 1 inches. Photos courtesy the artist struggling years in

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vealed his truth and said, “Look, I just found out that I am HIV-positive and I have been dealing with this for about six or seven months.”

Scott, who was struggling in his own ways with the direction of his work, decided the best way he could empathize was through art. “I came up with this idea of asking some silly questions like, ‘what is your favorite color and favorite animal?’ and juxtapose them with some questions that were really heavy.

“I posed those questions to my friend in the hopes that it would help him to help me understand his situation as well as to help him verbalize and pinpoint how he was feeling. I am an artist—I wanted to use the responses of my friend in India to make him something beautiful because I empathized with his feelings of devastation and loneliness—like it was the end of his world.”

He continues: “I wanted to make him something to help him emerge from this. I was A&U • APRIL 2017

working on these fabric panels and while they were stuck up on the walls I started thinking about how do we talk about things visually without using words—as gay people I think we do this a lot or we pick up on the cues. A lot of my research in grad school was about hanky codes, naval flags and underground railroad quilting—where fabric is used as a base then through color and arrangement visually communicate something.”

Scott constructed a draping panel in creamy white, sourcing from eBay a collection of Indian-made appliques from a bride auctioning off remnants of her scrapped wedding. “White is about APRIL 2017 • A&U

being alone and in hanky code it symbolizes something definitive— either all in or all out.”

His creation, 3 Weeks After Exposure (2016) was recently included along with work of eleven other artists working with preconceptions and signifiers of masculinity. Artists included Cassils, Badly Licked Bear, and Ryan James Caruthers, among others.

Wignall Museum Curator Roman

Stollenwerk chose to include Scott’s piece in his well-received exhibition “Man Up!” moving from the Chaffey College Camcontinued on page 54

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Preparing for the Worst

hiv/aids advocates say PrEP access would be a casualty of aca replacement

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he GOP replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was introduced in early March to near universal boos, appears to be dead for the time being. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office predicted the Republican bill, the American Health Care Act, would lead to twenty-four million more uninsured people by 2026. But it’s not a moot point to explore what any Republican replacement of the ACA, or Obamacare, will mean to those with HIV/AIDS and for those trying to prevent HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS policy experts say there is no good news to report in any Republican replacement, because all of the players on Capitol Hill are gunning for a phase-out of Medicaid expansion.

That part of the ACA was a game-changer in health insurance access, at least for thirty-one states that opted for the expansion.

And the rollout of the ACA coincided with Gilead Science’s drug Truvada approved by the FDA in 2012 as an HIV pre-exposure prophylactic, or PrEP. PrEP can reduce the risk of HIV infection by more than ninety percent (and some say ninety-nine percent) when taken as recommended. There are no statistics yet on how many cases of HIV have been prevented by using PrEP.

After a slow start, PrEP’s use has increased dramatically among MSMs. Part of the reason is access. The average price of a thirty-day supply of Truvada was $1,700 in 2015, according to the Treatment Action Group (TAG). For those with health insurance, including

pocket cost for Truvada had been $30/ month until this year when it doubled to $60. That’s in New York state.

Because of the patchwork quilt of state assistance and regional insurance plans in certain markets, the cost of Truvada and wraparound medical services of PrEP vary widely. People are already scrambling to pay for PrEP if they live in states opting not to take Medicaid expansion dollars, and don’t offer PrEP access programs, and don’t aggressively negotiate a lower statewide price for Truvada.

Farrow is especially critical of block granting Medicaid, a centerpiece of the ACA overhaul proposed by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price. “[Block granting] means that states control the funding for Medicaid any way they want. They can use federal dollars to fill in holes in the budget instead of helping people if they choose.”

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many single young men who could not afford coverage before the ACA, the price is often under $100/month.

“The untold story of the ACA is that it closed the coverage gap for single gay men, MSMs, and trans women who would not have qualified for Medicaid previously,” says Kenyon Farrow, U.S. and global health policy director for TAG. Farrow shared that his own out-of-

A&U • APRIL 2017

illustration by Timothy J. Haines

“The untold story of the ACA is that it closed the coverage gap for single gay men, MSMs, and trans women who would not have qualified for Medicaid previously....”

Gilead’s drug assistance program could pick up some of the slack, to a point. The program helps people in paying for the drug, but generally it’s used to cover the co-pays and for undocumented people, according to Phil Curtis, director for government affairs at APLA Health in Los Angeles. Curtis says that Gilead isn’t likely to pick up the cost for everyone who can’t afford Truvada.

“The bottom line is, the current [GOP replacement plan] means lower income people without employer-based insurance will be paying much, much more out of pocket for PrEP,” Curtis tells A&U. And likely, many people would be forgoing PrEP under a GOP-written ACA replacement.

There have been other, less tangible benefits from affordable access to PrEP, according to Ramon Gardenhire, vice president of policy and advocacy for AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

“People who access PrEP through the marketplace also go in for STD

testing and other services,” Gardenhire tells A&U. “PrEP gets many of these young ‘invincibles’ through the door to start using the health care system for preventative services.”

“People with HIV/AIDS would have faced major challenges under the GOP bill that died in March.”

Having far fewer people able to access PrEP would delay the ambitious plan of eliminating new HIV infections, something known as “getting to zero,” Gardenhire adds.

People with HIV/AIDS would have faced major challenges under the GOP

bill that died in March.

In California, thousands of people with HIV who made too much money to qualify for MediCal, the state version of Medicaid, but are not on the health care exchanges, will lose access to comprehensive coverage according to Curtis.

“Prior to 2014, people with HIV who were able to access MediCal were generally disabled,” Curtis says.

“With ACA and Medicaid expansion, non-disabled, lower income people without employer insurance suddenly had access to affordable and comprehensive health coverage. Most of those people won’t afford coverage without the exchanges and the subsidies [under the ACA].”

Curtis added that every idea coming out of D.C. for replacement of the ACA is “a disaster” for people with HIV and those who want to prevent HIV. Larry Buhl writes the column, Hep Talk, for A&U. Follow him on Twitter @LarryBuhl.

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Appointment Viewing

can videoconferencing improve outcomes for hep c patients who use iv drugs?

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were able to see them at the methadone clinics, the theory goes, hepatitis treatment would be much easier.

Unfortunately, these specialists have lots of patients to see and they aren’t fond of venturing from their domains.

“The good news is that technology has developed to the point where specialists can be brought in remotely, and don’t have to see patients at the center,” Talal said.

The five-year SUNY project will use a videoconference platform to connect a doctor and an addict who doesn’t want to be in a doctor’s office. The idea is that a video visit with a specialist arranged at the methadone clinic would improve patients’ level of trust, and boost patient adherence to a care management plan.

A small pilot project last year showed that HCV patients who use drugs can have a greater adherence through the telehealth model. At the European Liver Conference in Barcelona last April, Talal shared the results of a group of eighteen drug users with HCV who were getting treatment for their addiction at a methadone clinic in New York City. Those patients received HCV medication while participating in biweekly telemedicine conferences with Dr. Talal, who was 400 miles away, in Buffalo.

“Among the many positive findings was that methadone users with HCV do want to see a specialist to manage their care, but they prefer not to see that specialist in a traditional setting,” Talal said.

That project is being expanded to twelve methadone clinics throughout New York state, and will compare a standard regimen of in-person care with treatment by video visits.

Talal and his team will measure the rate of virus eradication twelve weeks after completing HCV treatment, as well as patient satisfaction, treatment completion rates and treatment adherence rates. Recruitment for more than 600 subjects began in February.

Talal added that, eventually, methadone clinics could diversify and offer more medical services. If that happens, they could be a patients’ primary care facility.

“If we show that this [telehealth] model is effective, then why not use it to treat HIV, or any chronic disease that requires the intervention of a specialist?” Talal said.

Telehealth, the general term of using videoconferencing and web-based applications to connect patients and doctors—and general practitioners to specialists—has shown promise in reducing costs and improving outcomes throughout the continuum of care. For hep C, Project ECHO, which stands for Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, has been helping rural doctors understand hepatitis better by linking them to hepatologists and gastroenterologists.

Larry Buhl is a radio news reporter, screenwriter, and novelist living in Los Angeles. Follow him on Twitter @LarryBuhl.

illustration by Timothy J. Haines

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hanks to a $7 million grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the State University of New York (SUNY) will be testing to see whether video consultations with liver specialists can improve the recovery rate for drug users with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

“By funding such patient-centered CER, PCORI seeks to build the evidence base that will help patients, clinicians, healthcare systems, and payers optimally detect and manage this challenging chronic condition,” Steve Clauser, PhD, MD and PCORI Program Director told A&U. PCORI is an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress in 2010 to conduct evidence-based research to identify the most effective health care approaches.

Groundbreaking therapies are now available for the treatment of HCV, but if patients can’t adhere to the regimens, and if they don’t even make the appointments to see the specialists, they won’t be able to benefit from the meds. Adherence is an even bigger issue for those who inject drugs. It’s estimated that five million people in the U.S. are infected

by HCV, as many as 70 percent classified as chronically infected. And patients who inject drugs are at a high risk of contracting and spreading the infection.

The SUNY project aims to provide a model to improve upon current approaches for treating patients with HCV who are also recovering from addiction, according to the study leader, Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for Clinical Care and Research in Liver Disease at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo.

“One big issue is that patients on methadone face stigma and usually don’t feel welcomed in conventional health care settings,” Talal told A&U. The current standard of treatment for drug users with HCV involves a visit to a methadone clinic, followed by a referral to a liver specialist for continued care. But few patients follow through on those referrals and fewer still follow a prescribed care plan.

But because methadone is highly regulated, patients come to the clinic for it on a weekly basis, and many of these patients have untreated hepatitis C. If liver specialists

A&U • APRIL 2017

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Step by Step

at croi 2017, hiv remission studies focus on early antiretroviral therapy initiation

50

woman) initiated therapy during acute infection. They remained on ARVs for a median of 2.8 years before treatment was discontinued. None of the study participants was able to achieve viral remission longer than those seen in people who started ARVs months or years after HIV infection, despite a much smaller viral reservoir.

The same variation in results has been seen in infants. Mixed results were seen in a study of infants at a South African hospital. ARVs were initiated up to fourteen days after birth. Researchers witnessed

varying degrees of viral clearance. Study results found that “54% had declined to LOD [limit of detection] or TND [target not detected] of the assay.” Of the infants who achieved viral suppression by 6 months, thirty percent then tested HIV-negative by HIV PCR during follow-up.

The more studies that are performed on early ART followed by analytical treatment interruption, the more evident it becomes that the big question is: Why are some people able to achieve a prolonged viral remission and others aren’t?

One study looked at various biomarkers that may predict time to viral rebound in post-treatment viral control. In a study of forty-five participants in Amsterdam who stopped therapy after twenty-four or sixty weeks, cell-associated HIV-1 US RNA was found to correlate with duration of time to viral rebound. This may help to gain a better understanding of the potential for viral remission. It was also found that another biomarker, MS (multiply spliced) RNA, was a predictor of CD4 loss.

Therapeutic vaccines have been studied since the 1990s as a potential means of controlling HIV. Researchers are now looking at therapeutic vaccines as one part of a potential cure regimen. After HIV is

suppressed in the blood with ARVs, a drug would be given to “awaken” latent HIV, hiding in viral reservoirs activating the latent virus. A therapeutic vaccine would “prime” the immune system to better control and eliminate HIV by eliciting stronger and more effective immune responses.

Fifteen individuals participated in an early ARV, treatment interruption study of a therapeutic vaccine known as “the Spanish Vaccine.” The participants had been rolled over from a previous study that began them on ARVs within three months after HIV infection and where they were given a single dose of the MVA.HIVconsv vaccine.

They remained virally suppressed on ARVs for three to four years, at which time they were given another dose of the vaccine, one dose a week for three weeks of romidepsin, and a second shot of the MVA.HIVconsv vaccination. ARV treatment was discontinued in thirteen of the fifteen participants.

Thirteen participated in treatment interruption, seven of which had to resume ART within four weeks due to viral rebound. Five participants remain off ART after seven, twelve, fourteen, and twenty-two weeks. The study is ongoing.

Researchers had originally hoped that the bursts of virus from romidespin would decrease the size of the reservoir, but that was not the case. However, activation of the latent virus appears to have helped to strengthen the CD8 responses of the vaccine.

Although these studies focus on just one group of HIV- positive people—newly infected—they are important to our overall understanding of HIV reservoirs and immune responses.

Jeannie Wraight is the former editor-in-chief and co-founder of HIV and HCV Haven (www.hivhaven.com) and a blogger and writer for TheBody. com. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Health People, a community-based organization in the South Bronx and an advisor to TRW (Teach me to Read and Write), a community-based organization in Kampala, Uganda. She lives with her husband in New York City.

A&U • APRIL 2017

illustration by Timothy J. Haines

T

his year marked the 24th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI).

HIV “cure” and remission had a significant presence at this year’s conference with many abstracts and presentations focused on studies that are edging us closer, step by step, to the necessary knowledge and advances to end the HIV pandemic.

Several presentations and abstracts focused on HIV remission after cessation of antiretroviral therapy (ART). There have been several previously reported cases where individuals have started antiretroviral therapy, stopped therapy and did not experience a viral rebound for an extended period of time. Examples of this are the Visconti cohort [A&U, August 2015] and the participants of the SPAREC study [A&U, April 2016]. There have also been several cases in babies and children such as the Mississippi baby and the French teenager.

All of these were cases where treatment was started very early after initial infection.

Researchers believe that for some, initiation of ARVs during acute infection, may prevent the seeding of viral reservoirs.

There is also the case of the Argentinian woman [A&U, December 2014] who had been HIV-positive for several years before starting treatment, and who (as far as we currently know) remains in remission after stopping therapy nearly twenty years ago.

The Argentinian woman appears to be a very unique case of spontaneous remission and even a possible functional cure with no known reason. As such, results would be very difficult to purposely replicate through a clinical trial. However, research continues into early initiation of ARVs in hopes of reproducing the results seen in these other cases.

One such attempt was described in a study presented at this year’s CROI, which followed a cohort of eight individuals in Thailand. All eight (seven men and one

WELCOME TO MONTREAL EVERY OCTOBER!

CANADIAN THANKSGIVING AND COLUMBUS DAY WEEKEND

B B CM .O RG

BBCM_WPF_FullP.indd 1

17-01-30 15:38

E R U T L U C S THE

AID OF

BOOKS Keith Haring: The Boy Who Just Kept Drawing

by Kay A. Haring, text; Robert Neubecker, illustrations Penguin Young Readers Group

K

ay A. Haring, Keith Haring’s younger sister, has written a biography of the world-renowned artist for young readers (ages five to eight) that will, I’m sure, enrich many an adult’s library as well. It has enriched mine.

Haring’s father taught him how to draw. Together, they drew images that would reverberate throughout Haring’s career: dogs, fish, funny-looking characters. The young Haring never stopped drawing. In elementary school, he doodled in the margins of test papers; he had a clubhouse in his backyard where he often invited his friends to draw with him. When his mother admonished the teenaged Haring to go outside to ride his bicycle, he had to admit that he had sold his bike to buy art supplies.

After graduating high school in 1976, Haring entered the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but quickly realized he had no interest in becoming a commercial illustrator. It was in Pittsburgh, though, that Haring first saw young kids break-dancing in the streets, which gave shape and form to many of his drawings of twisted human forms. From Pittsburgh he moved to New York City and attended the School of Visual Arts. New York became not only his inspiration but his canvas—he drew on subway walls, on paper taped to telephone poles, on nearly any flat surface he could find. He graduated to large-scale murals, museum and gallery shows, and a reputation as one of the most beloved and most prolific artists of

52

JULY 2016 • A&U

the late twentieth century, creating iconic images (the “radiant” baby; the dancing figures; the barking dogs) that remain as fresh and vibrant as when they were new.

Nearly forty of those images are scattered throughout the book, woven into the colorful, exuberant illustrations by Mr. Neubecker.

The main text does not mention Haring’s death from AIDS-related complications. However, an extended author’s note at the end of the book does.

It also details the work of the Keith Haring Foundation, set up to benefit AIDS organizations and children’s groups. The book was released on February 14, 2017, almost twenty-seven years to the date after Haring died on February 16, 1990. This boldly illustrated book will serve as an excellent child’s introduction to the iconic pop artist, the boy who, no matter what, just kept drawing.

—Hank Trout

The Dahlia Field: Stories

by Henry Alley Chelsea Station Editions

E

very American city and town, every region, every state possesses its own unique beauty and character both in its surroundings and in its people. In this exceptional collection of stories, Henry Alley delineates an endearing picture of the Pacific Northwest as well as some points beyond. In his precise yet vivid prose he gets to the heart of both a physical setting and the emotions of its inhabitants. These inhabitants, more often than not, are gay men of a certain age who are still at the height of their sexuality and draw. Many of them are just

coming to terms with their orientation, and they have wives, ex-wives, girlfriends and children who are very much still in their lives.

This new awareness may have its struggles but Henry deftly avoids the cliché of shame; some of them may be reluctant, but more often than not they are embracing their newly born selves. They are house painters, failed professionals, baseball umpires, musicians, actors in regional theater, athletes, and long distance runners.

Their experiences are typically American yet wholly unique.

Alley writes of the gay men outside of the New York City or San Francisco diaspora. He says, “Gay men did not live, most of them, in isolation out in the country but amongst one another in the cities—amongst their own proneness—if you will—and that made them crazy, because they tried to protect themselves by practicing distances on one another.”

But the men Alley writes of are of the smaller cities and towns—they don’t have that luxury. They crave communion and closeness and often actively seek it. They find it in unexpected places. The men he writes of are waking up to the possibilities of their sexuality and striving to break free of society’s limitations. But the problems of those cities, especially the scourge of AIDS—the very fear of it—still touch their everyday lives.

In some of these stories, especially the eponymous “The Dahlia Field,” AIDS is a central theme that Alley writes of beautifully. The loss wrought by the plague ended up visiting every corner of this country and Alley reminds us of that here to great effect. In other stories, it’s merely in the background, never far from the minds of these modern-day American gay men.

—John Francis Leonard Hank Trout writes the column For the Long Run for A&U. John Francis Leonard writes the column Bright Lights, Small City for A&U. A&U • APRIL 2017

A Calendar of Events

I photo by John Colombo

n late April, Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force (PATF), southwestern Pennsylvania’s oldest and largest HIV/AIDS service organization, is holding its 31st Annual Benefit with a bit of French flair.

The springtime benefit will offer attendees A Moulin Twist, along with hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and entertainment courtesy of New York City’s Bindlestiff’s Family Cirkus, painted live models, and musical numbers by Broadway performers Constantine Rousouli and Ginifer King.

PATF will also honor Larry Leahy, DMD, with its Kerry Stoner Award,

named after a PATF founder and the nonprofit’s first executive director and highlighting dedicated service to PATF and the HIV/AIDS community that continues his legacy. As the first dentist in southwestern Pennsylvania to knowingly see HIV-positive patients, and one who often helped HIV-positive patients access dental care if they could not afford it, Dr. Leahy has shown a steadfast commitment to individuals living with HIV/AIDS as well as PATF for over twenty-five years. Councilman Dan Gilman will recognize Dr. Leahy’s award by presenting him with a proclamation at City Hall during the City Council meeting, one day before the benefit event.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will help PATF continue to provide gold-standard testing, prevention outreach, and support and medical services.

Date: April 26; time: 6–10 p.m.; location: J Verno Studios, 3030 Jane Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; tickets: starting at $150.

For more information or to make reservations, log on to: www.patf.org.

Have you always played safe?

Nope. But I’ve been lucky enough to stay negative.

continued from page 22

So tell me about this “super hot guy” who was HIV-positive….

Well, we did use a condom.

[He nods with buoyancy.]

Super. You’re currently taking PrEP….

I am! I think it’s great.

photo by Emma Mead

Ruby’s Rap

Several months ago, the Los Angeles LGBT Center announced a bold campaign, “F*ck W/out Fear.” I assume you support this….

Yes, indeed. Did I tell you I’ve been dating Ian, a guy I met several months ago?

I believe it was in high school. My boyfriend and I went together. I remember being nervous.

Nice you had the support from someone.

APRIL 2017 • A&U

No. Good for you. When you and Ian met, how did you bring up the topic of STIs? Well we started talking about PrEP pretty early on. I got on PrEP soon after we started dating, just to play it safe, since we weren’t sure if we wanted to be fully monogamous.

What is your secret to having a healthy relationship?

We are very communicative with each other, especially about what we’re feeling!

He’s in a lot of therapy too, like me. [He pauses as a thunderous plane passes by.] We like to talk and share love together.

That is a beautiful thing. What do you do in your downtime?

I jog and meditate almost every day.

Kudos to you. Anyone in particular you look up to in the epidemic?

Michael Kearns [A&U, September 2013] is a hero to me.

Michael is a doll. Final thoughts?

I’m glad I was born when I was born. I feel lucky that I didn’t grow up having my friends die suddenly. It can be shitty enough growing up gay. I can’t imagine what that time was like for the community....

And you don’t want to know, Brian. [His eyes are watery.] What is your advice to others about HIV? Take PrEP! Have a laugh or two on Brian at youtube.com/ brianjordanalvarez.

Ruby Comer is an independent journalist from the Midwest who is happy to call Hollywood her home away from home. Reach her by e-mail at MsRubyComer@aol.com.

53

Scott Vanidestine

continued from page 45

pus in Rancho Cucamonga, California, to Cerritos College, also in the Golden State. Stollenwerk chose his work based on his interest in Scott’s ability to promote discourse around gay culture, masculinity, and the codes, signs, and 3 Weeks After Exposure, 2016, beaded paisley applique, beaded/sequin bodice applique (9 piece bridal party), embroidery thread, glass beads, metallic gold thread, pearl paisley applique, plastic beads, sequins, sequin flower trim, and sequin swirl trim on canvas panel, 52 by 52 inches signifiers that express and shape identity the mission of Scott’s work. “It really ties in to the exhibition in terms of the performance of masculinity and identity, and the abstract language of identity,” shares Stollenwerk. “Scott discusses these things with materials and processes that are an unexpected and engaging addition to the exhibition.”

Stollenwerk continues, “For me, this particular project of Scott’s is about intimacy, vulnerability and communication.

One problem with traditional notions of masculinity is the negative attitude toward discussing feelings and emotions, and revealing anything that could be interpreted as vulnerability or softness. Scott’s conversations act against this masculine characteristic, but the content is then recoded in an object that contains hidden expressions and doesn’t readily state its meaning.”

Scott’s aim to challenge the viewer to decode objects that straddle between the known and unknown. “Most of my works draw on a family history of working with our hands through quilting, sewing and carpentry. Oftentimes the materials, I use carry a deeper connection to place, symbolism, or symbolism through storytelling.”

Since 2013, Scott has been collecting the oral histories of HIV-positive men, a project inaugurated by the confidence shared by his close friend. The series titled “UNTITLED (7 POZ QUESTIONS), Oral Histories Project” is told through a series of responses to a seven-part questionnaire posed to the

54

subject. The responses drive his processes of making.

1. Favorite color?

2. Favorite animal?

3. First (MM) kiss?

4. Greatest moment?

5. The moment you found out you

were POZ? 6. Do you know who exposed you?

7. Do you remember the experience?

For more about the artist, log on to: http:// scottjamesvanidestine.squarespace.com.

Sean Black is a Senior Editor of A&U. A&U • APRIL 2017

APRIL 2017 • A&U

55

Survival Guide

[a portrait by sean black]

“Due to a series of unfortunate events, I have spent the last three and a half years being homeless, literally living on the streets of Hollywood. I was depressed, exhausted, disillusioned, and hopeless.

I am fifty-seven, but felt eighty. Through Alliance for Housing and Healing and Hollywood Community Housing, I finally moved into a wonderful apartment in October 2016. I am excited about my new life and thanks to Eric Leonardos and his team, who recently offered a Beauty Day at Alliance, I now feel as BEAUTIFUL on the outside as I feel on the inside.”

Desiree Whitney

Desiree Whitney is an HIV advocate living in Los Angeles.

Sean Black is a Senior Editor of A&U. 56

A&U • APRIL 2017

HIV TREATMENT CAN GET YOUR VIRAL LOAD SO LOW, IT’S UNDETECTABLE. GO FOR UNDETECTABLE.

There is no cure for HIV, but being undetectable helps protect your health. See how. Watch “The Goal of Undetectable” at HelpStopTheVirus.com © 2015 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. UNBC1853 03/15

The world is my stage, and this is just Act 1.

Let’s Grow Old Together See what life with HIV looks like from diagnosis through grandkids with a little help from Walgreens. Explore Kecia’s HIV journey at Walgreens.com/LetsGrowOldTogether. ©2017 Walgreen Co. All rights reserved.

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