Mid October 2014 Issue by Jax Gay Magazine

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CONTENTS VOL. 4, ISSUE 1

PROFILE 08

I Love Jax

cityXtra Magazine Staff Publisher: David Vandygriff publisher@cityxtramagazine.com Executive Editor: Louis Suffredini editor@cityxtramagazine.com

INSIDE 3

Content

Failure of Library Straw Ballot

UNF Happenings

The HIV Shame Game

Stop Going To Church

COVER 12

Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Horror Story: Freak Story

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE

Creative Designer: Debi Johnson info@cityxtramagazine.com Director of Sales: Carlos Martinez sales@cityxtramagazine.com cityXtra News Magazine 2941 Plum Street Jacksonville, FL 32205 (904) 388-1494 Jacksonville Office www.cityxtramagazine.com

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dr. Harvey Carr, Joey Amato, OUT Reach Public Relations Dr. Doug Massengill, University of Lola Chicago Sebastion Fortino, Project Manager, Meredith Johnson

Contributing Writers David Vandygriff, Joey Amato, Meredith Johnson, Laura Riggs, Dr. Harvey Carr, Tyler Curry, Brianna Lee, cityXtra Magazine is published 12 times per year. Reprints are available. Contact of contributing advertisers does not reflect the opinions of the publisher. Advertisers have proofed respective articles, and content is assumed true and correct. cityXtra is not responsible for the business dealings of its advertisers. cityXtra is for information purposes only. cityXtra Magazine (TM). All rights reserved. The contents of this publication, including articles, may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Address changes should be submitted via e-mail to subscriptions@cityxtramagazine.com. Send story ideas and requests for article reprints to pubisher@cityxtramagazine.com or call 904.388.1494 Jacksonville Office or 321.426.0296 Orlando Office.

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JACKSONVILLE Boot Rack: 4751 Lenox Blvd. (904) 384-7090 bootrack.com

Club Jax: 1939 Hendricks Ave. (904) 398-7451 clubjax.com Hamburger Mary’s: 3333-1 Beach Blvd. (904) 551-2048 hamburgermarys.com/jax Incahoots: 711 Edison Ave. (904) 353-6316 Park Place: 931 King St. (904) 389-6616 Metro: 859 Willow Branch Ave. (904) 388-7192 metrojax.com The Norm: 2952 Roosevelt (904) 3840029

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nightlife

Bo’s Club: 201 5th Ave. N. (Jax Beach) (904) 246-9874 bosclub.com

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I love JAX PROFILE

By Jacob Massengill

For me, the River City has a gravitational pull that’s more than just a sentimental connection — it has a charm all its own. Here are seven reasons why: Water / nature/ outdoor activities — If you like water, you’ll like Jacksonville. The heart of the city is located on the St. Johns River, where you’ll find all sorts of recreational waterway traffic and activity. One of my favorite pastimes is cruising on the river near downtown Jacksonville at night and taking in the views of the illuminated cityscape. As you can imagine, the abundance of surrounding waters makes Jacksonville a fantastic fishing destination. The beaches are ranked some the best vacation spots in the USA.

Association’s Jacksonville Giants. Jacksonville also hosts two notable collegiate football events every year. The annual Florida -Georgia game is played at EverBank Field in October; the game-day revelry is known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” EverBank Field also is the site of the Gator Bowl, which is played on or around New Year’s Day. Music — While it’s certainly no New York or Nashville, Jacksonville sports a vibrant music scene. A few legends spent time or got their start here: Ray Charlestickled the ivories in the LaVilla neighborhood early in his career, Southern rock groups The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet all originated here and guitarist Derek Truckshails from Jax.

Downtown — Downtown Jacksonville you’ll f i n d unique cultural f a r e , such as the First Wednesday Art Walk, a celebr aSports — tion of local artists, musicians, museums, Golf and bars and restaurants that takes place on the fishing first Wednesday of every month. You’ll also aren’t the more find more traditional fine art staples, only sports such as the Jacksonville Symphony JacksonOrchestra and the Museum of Contemporary villians are Art. Along the riverfront, the Jacksonville into. The Landing is a hub of shops, eateries and live city currently has professional and semi-professional entertainment, as well as a spot where you can board a water taxi for a relaxing jaunt on teams, including the NFL’s Jacksonville the St. Johns. At night, you can get your Jaguars, the Arena Football League’s hipster bar fix at Club TSI or Dos Gatos, rub Jacksonville Sharks and the American elbows with young professionals at the Basketball 8

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at the upscale Mark’s club/lounge, or get your Kickbacks Gastropub and line dance on at Maverick’s Rock N’ Honky The Loft, has Tonk. transformed the area into a hip, happening scene that has someRiverside thing to offer just about everyone. — Just San Marco Square — Opposite side of St. south of Downtown Johns from Riverside is the San Marco on the west Square, a pleasant district comprising side of the eateries, shops, bookstores, lounges and St. Johns is theaters. Be sure to see a movie at the Art Riverside, Deco San Marco Theatre, an old-fashioned which is film house. After the movie, you can head perhaps down to Square One, a two-story bar and Jacksonville’s edgiest locale. In 2010 the lounge that American Planning Association designated often feathe larger Riverside-Avondale area one of the tures live year’s Top 10 neighborhoods, an honor that entertainalso has been bestowed on Park Slope in ment, inBrooklyn, N.Y. and Pike Place Market in cluding the Seattle.In Riverside, you’ll find elegant occasional residential architecture, numerous parks and burlesque a distinct eclectic feel. A mix of bars, boutique performshops and cafes makes up the streets of ance. Riverside’s historic Five Points district. Visit the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. On St. Johns Saturdays, stop by the Riverside Arts Market, Town Center — The St. Johns Town Center a weekly cultural festival featuring arts, crafts, is Jacksonville’s massive outdoor retail music and food.The King Street District has mecca. This large open-air mall features such become one of the city’s premier nighttime alt big-name anchor stores as Barnes & Noble -destinations. A cluster of trendy, welland Best Buy, as well as Apple. managed establishments, including

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began cutting funding for new materials, maintenance and personnel starting in 2005. And Failure of now here we are, nine years Library Straw later – the libraries’ budget has Ballot Symptomatic been cut by 41% and weekly of Jacksonville’s hours have been reduced by 288 Failure to Reach (including the hours cut by the proposed closure of Maxville “Potential” Branch Library, approved by the By Meredith Johnson City Council Finance Committee Recently the Library Straw Ballot last month) from the peak in failed by only 1,120 votes out of 2005. 86,992 cast in the August 26 Funding for our public libraries Primary Election. A couple of comes out of what is known as days later, a friend showed me a the General Fund, where most of video on YouTube entitled “Bob the funding for city services Broward & Taylor Hardwick – comes from. So every year, City 1965 & 1992 – Downtown Council has to make hard Visionaries.” What struck me decisions around the General was the hope and vision both of Fund, which also contains public these men had for our downtown -safety funding for police and and for our city as a whole. They fire. How can libraries compete spoke of Jacksonville’s with police when Jacksonville is “potential,” a word frequently experiencing what seems to be a used by local business leaders, never-ending crime wave? It’s a community activists and elected budget system that was doomed officials. Watching that video to fail for libraries. And fail it has. made it clear to me that our city Go out to the Main Library or has been languishing in your neighborhood library on a “potential” for the last 50 years Sunday (they’re all closed) or on that has yet to attained. a Tuesday at 10:30am (closed

INSIDE

The Library Straw Ballot is the latest casualty of “potential” not realized. A cornerstone of the Better Jacksonville Plan, a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2000 and also designed to help Jacksonville reach its “potential,” was improving our libraries. Out of Better Jacksonville Plan funding came the new Main Library downtown, complete with computer labs, a map room, meeting rooms and all kinds of multimedia materials available above and beyond books. But then City Council 10

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until 11am), and watch the seniors, students and parents with young children walk up to the locked doors and watch the surprise and dismay on their faces as they tug on the doors. Some smart community leaders got together a few years ago and, after doing a ton of research including a well-known study from JCCI, Inc., came to the conclusion that an independent library district was the best solution to the problem of how to adequately fund our

libraries so they will still be around for future generations. Both Alachua and Orange Counties passed similar referenda over 20 years ago to secure stable funding to save their libraries. Our local library advocates rallied around the plan and gathered around 30,000 signatures from registered voters to place an opinion poll as a straw ballot in the August 26 primary election. It failed by a small margin. Only 17% of Duval County voters turned out to vote on that Election Day. And so our libraries will continue to be gutted year after year until there’s little left of them, and Jacksonville’s mediocrity will continue. Just like the Human Rights Ordinance, just like the Jacksonville Journey, just like so many great things that could’ve been for our city, Jacksonville came so close to succeeding, but we didn’t quite get there. Until we all take a stand together against the status quo that’s been holding us back, we’ll never quite reach that “potential.”

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COVER STORY

Florida’s Horror Story: Freak Show By David Vandygriff

Florida’s Attorney General – Pam Bondi Bondi’s definition of family is nothing short of insulting to the same-sex couples who have adopted and raised children. It also makes you wonder how she feels about heterosexual couples who marry, but don’t have children. Does the state frown upon them, too?

same-sex marriages were recog- Rick Scott has said he “supports nized. traditional marriage, consistent with the amendment approved You have to wonder whether by Florida voters in 2008, but Bondi, or Gov. Rick Scott, or does not believe that anyone anyone in state leadership read should be discriminated against the heart-wrenching story earlier for any reason.” this year in the Sun Sentinel about the end-of-life problems In recent weeks, South Florida faced by Deerfield Beach judges have called the state gay partners Chris MacLellan and marriage ban unconstitutional. Bernard Richard Schiffer. The Right-to-marry and financial and bureaucratic marriage-recognition rulings in obstacles placed in front of the Monroe, Miami-Dade and couple — as Richard faced the Broward counties have been cancer that would take his life — stayed pending appeals by showed how the marriage ban Bondi. A Palm Beach ruling has deprives gays of the legal rights not been challenged, but the afforded heterosexuals. judge ordered that it only applies in the case of a Pennsylvania Do you think Florida’s man whose husband died in twice-divorced Attorney General Boynton Beach. should be deciding who should and shouldn’t be able to marry With the November election just (or divorce)? around the corner, Gov. Rick Scott is playing it safe regarding one of the country’s thorniest political issues — gay marriage. Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a much-anticipated notice Thursday that the state will appeal a federal judge's ruling last month that overturned Florida's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. But in the lead-up to Bondi's move, Scott sidestepped questions about whether the state should appeal. "This is a constitutional matter and it is the responsibility of the attorney general to handle cases involving Florida?s Constitution," Scott spokesman John Tupps said in an e-mail before Bondi's Florida’s Governor – Rick Scott filing.

According to the AP story, Bondi believes the state’s pension and health insurance programs would face significant financial When asked where he stands on Tupps’s statement echoed what and logistical problems if gay marriage, Republican Gov. Scott told reporters this week 12

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while on the campaign trail. But it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t that simple. As part of U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle's Aug. 21 ruling, Scott and Bondi were removed as individual defendants in the case, which is a consolidation of two separate federal lawsuits and involves gay couples married in other states. The lawsuits include challenges to gay couples' inability in Florida to

get pension benefits or health insurance for spouses.

in this matter. He has all of the say."

Hinkle left standing as defendants, however, two Scott appointees â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the secretaries of the Department of Management Services and the Department of Health. Because they answer to the governor, Hinkle wrote that it was "redundant" for Scott to remain a defendant but left the door open for the governor to be added later.

The issue of gay marriage poses an electionyear challenge for Scott, who has the support of Florida Family Policy Council President John Stemberger, a lawyer responsible for getting the "Florida Marriage Protection Act" onto the ballot in 2008 and helping get it passed.

"Rick Scott has been throwing Pam Bondi under the bus for a long time on this issue. He is continuing to hide behind the attorney general but he can't hide any more," said Daniel Tilley, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida representing SAVE Foundation, a Miami-based nonprofit whose members include couples involved in the case. Tilley added: "The fact is he is in effect the client and the client decides how the litigation proceeds. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bizarre to suggest as the client that he has no say

Stemberger said Scott has been "solid and consistent" in his opposition to gay marriage. The governor, who has been saddled by low approval numbers, may not want to alienate Christian conservatives like Stemberger, especially in what is expected to be a tight race against Democratic challenger Charlie Crist. Crist is unabashedly seeking the support of gay activists, however. The former Republican apologized to the gay community last year for previously throwing his support behind the constitutional ban on gay marriage.

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attend our Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony. The candlelit vigil is held to memorialize of all of those who were killed because of By Jake Moore anti-transgender prejudice. The ceremony will include the acknowledgement of many The University of North Florida self-identified transgender and LGBT Resource Center is gender variant individuals who gearing up for Transgender have been killed over the past Awareness Month. Join us year due to their gender identity. Tuesday November 4th for a The ceremony raises public stand-up comedy show by awareness of hate crimes Transgender funnyman Ian against transgender people, Harvie. Harvie, who has been which is often left out by the noted as “the most unique media. After the ceremony, we stand-up comic in the country” will have a celebration of life by Frontiers Magazine, pokes where hot cocoa and cookies will fun about topics that everyone be served. This event will take can relate to while providing a queer edge. The event is located place in the University of North at the University of North Florida, Florida’s Student Union Plaza, Building 57. Building 58 West, Room 2704. Along with the comedy show and Further we welcome you to Transgender

U.N.F

UNF Happenings

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Day of Remembrance, the University of North Florida’s LGBT Resource Center will be hosting many other events including Living Out Loud, a student centered conversation series spotlighting topics within LGBTQA culture, identity-specific weekly support and discussion groups for students, as well as a Thanksgiving potluck for students who may not have a safe and loving home to go home to over the break.

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conversation of sex and HIV.

community where they are

is that? Well, because there expected stay. How do we RELIGIOUSWhy CORNER: Unwrapping thetoGift

is still an unsettling association between gay sex and the pesky virus. And when shame is involved, we are always looking By Tyler Cutry for someone else to blame. Throughout the modern history Naturally, it is easiest to pinpoint those who outwardly identify themselves as HIV positive as the ones to blame for the continuation of this stain on our community. It is easy to forget that these individuals were also HIV negative at one point in time and, most likely, consumed with the same fears of transmission as the rest of the HIV negative demographic. Now, they must assimilate to the HIV positive ranks and be constantly berated with stereotypes of behavior and health fallacies, which plague a population that should know better. It can be a difficult road for some, depending on how privileged they were before discovering their new identity. As it turns out, those who dish the of homosexual dating and most shame aren't very good at fornicating, there has always taking it. been an undeniable and resilient link between sex and shame. Of course, the shaming of those The gay movement has made with HIV doesn't occur in a much progress in relinquishing blatantly obtuse fashion. We some of the guilt associated with have come a long way since the our innate attraction to the same AIDS virus was discovered 32 sex, but shame still lingers within years ago. Then, the viral divide our ranks. Sure, we now can be was like a gaping crevice within seen holding hands in Texas and the gay community that had kissing in Georgia, but there is people plummeting to their still a healthy amount of these death. Now, depths of the guilty thoughts among gay men crevice are much more shallow. when it comes to their sex life. People who are diagnosed as And there is no place where HIV positive are no longer shame is more apparent then plummeting, but rather cast when it comes to the down into a lower rung in the

The HIV Shame Game

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keep them in their place? Through shame in the form of stigmatization and judgment. Just like any prejudice born out of fear, we must eliminate the ominous stereotypes and prerequisite judgments that perpetuate HIV stigma within the gay community. But where do we start? The answer is simple. We assess the language of the HIV culture and remove the words that inherently cast shades of shame. Coming from a community that just recently removed the 'F' word from America's common vernacular, we know that words â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whether intentional or not -are sometimes all it takes to keep a second class firmly in their place. Whether it is the way we address HIV education or the terminology we assign to our status, the HIV language is littered with dirty little innuendos that HIV negative people would never notice and which HIV positive people can't seem to forget. Speaking of dirty, what could be dirtier than the opposite of clean? Any single gay man navigating the gay social media apps is bombarded by the stigmatizing sentiment of associating a person's HIV negative status with being "clean." When asked what he thought about the use of the word "clean" in regard to a person being HIV

negative, HIV activist and second viral class among the acclaimed blogger Mark S. King, gay community. had this to say: Of course, the burden of change "I don't mind people who are rests on the shoulders of those simply disclosing their status and affected the most by the shame want to know mine. But 'clean?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; game. It may seem easier for There are ways to get this HIV positive men to retreat into information without making me the shadows when friends and feel like one of the great unstrangers alike unknowingly use washed." language that make them feel like a pariah in dignitaries' After all, what could be more clothing. However, many of shameful than being inadvertently labeled as "dirty?â&#x20AC;? these accidental offenders are Who knows whether anyone has victims of the same phenomenon that was the basis of so much ever consciously made the prejudice against gay men and outright connection between an women. They simply don't have HIV positive person being dirty, a personal connection to the but you can only imagine the impact this word can have on the disease. HIV positive men owe it to themselves to speak out positive community. against language that demeans According to the Centers for their worth. They also owe it to Disease Control, 44 percent of their HIV negative friends to people who are HIV positive are educate them on the reality so unaware of their status. that they don't continue to Unfortunately, the people who proliferate stigma or believe that may be perpetuating the shame they are removed from risk. game may soon find that it is HIV positive men aren't victims, they who need the bath. This is vampires, zombies or martyrs. where the real danger lies. The social and psychological Allowing language like this to permeate our culture only serves factors surrounding infection are complex, difficult and impossible to promote the continuation of the HIV epidemic and enforce a to simplify into one category.

Of course, the language we use and terminology we've chosen to isolate one another is just the one element of the shaming that goes on within the gay community. Combating HIV stigma is a multifarious problem that will require numerous endeavors and will take time before we start seeing measurable change. Until then, we must remain prudent in our efforts to erasing the divide that only serves to hinder our community and proliferate HIV infection. The next chapter in the fight against HIV begins with learning from our own history and removing words that place shame on some and keep others in the risk pool. Like I said before, it starts with those who are HIV positive to speak out against hurtful terminology and naĂŻve generalizations that pervade their surroundings. So I'll start. My name is Tyler Curry. I am HIV positive and there ain't no shame in my game

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while gathered together, but living our lives is putting that theory into practice.

Stop Going To Church

By Dr. Harvey Carr A Letter to the Editor of a local newspaper read, “I’ve gone for 30 years now and in that time I have heard something like 203,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.” Church is not to remember the sermons, because the sermons are not the subject. The subject is God and our relationship with Him. Sermons are meant to be digested, internalized, and incorporated into life, not just something to recall 30 years later. Going to church to listen to sermons is a total waste of time. Going to hear the music is a total waste of time. Going to church to see and be seen is a total waste of time and worse. Going to church because it’s the “thing to

do” on Sunday is even worse. Going to church because my parents did is preposterous. Going to church for any of these reasons… total waste of time. I would recommend that this person stop going to church immediately. It’s all useless and pointless. Sleeping in on Sunday is better for you than any of those things. If you wanted to learn how to perform surgery, would you take a correspondence course or stay at home and try to do it yourself? If you want to learn how to live according to what God wants you to be, you need to go where you can do that. We learn theory

Being part of a church to explore God’s Word and put it into practice is life-sustaining. Being part of a church where the faithful gather to sing songs and hymns and psalms to the God who made everything is a joyful and wonderful way to live. Being part of a church where ALL are welcome to love God and love each other as a real authentic community is part of God’s mission in the world. Being part of a church where, if your life turns into junk suddenly, there will be people around you who will lift you up, share God’s love in tangible ways, and when you’re on your feet you can do the same for someone else is the best. Being part of a church where people’s lives are really and truly being changed and transformed is totally worth every bit of time you spend at it. Being in a true friendship, ongoing and two-way, with the God who is there is what life is all about.

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