SoVo 13 Aids Issue

AIDS 2010 RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW

AUGUST 5, 2010 • SOVO.COM

RIGHT TRACK

Page 12

Four Decades of Struggle, Strife and Progression

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Lt. Dan Choi Discharged Due to DADT

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New Lesbian Parenting Study

15

Cook Tops and Protein Shakes

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On The Record civilizations.

Sarah Polley

AIDS is a judgment we have brought upon ourselves.

Mary Whitehouse 1874 Piedmont Avenue, Suite 390-C Atlanta, GA 30306 phone: 404.418.8901 fax: 404.876.2709 editor@sovo.com • www.sovo.com PUBLISHER Matt Neumann EDITORIAL Editor in Chief: David Valentine Associate Editor: Jesse Hancock CONTRIBUTORS BT Tidwell Sage Nenyue Joyce Ann Miller Billy Glover Andrew Medlin Corina Morris Andrea Kirwan ADVERTISING & SALES Sales Cooridinator: Travis Gerstman Senior Account Executive: Karisha Anderson Account Executives: Randy Ladd Jesse Hancock ADMINISTRATION Promotions: Chip O’Kelley Chief Operating Officer: Brian Sawyer Chief Finanvcial Officer: Brian Sawyer National Advertising: Rivendell Media sales@rivendellmedia.com 908.232.2021 THE EDITORIAL POSITIONS of Southern Voice are expressed in editorials and in editor’s notes as determined by

AIDS is an absolutely tragic disease. The argument about AIDS’ being some kind of divine retribution is crap.

Calvin Klein Abstinence, being faithful and correct and consistent condom use are the only ways to successfully reach everyone when discussing HIV prevention. I believe that the abstinence message alone does not solve the AIDS epidemic.

Ashley Judd African-American women account for 67 percent of all newly diagnosed female AIDS cases.

Elijah Cummings AIDS and malaria and TB are national security issues. A worldwide program to get a start on dealing with these issues would cost about $25 billion... It’s, what, a few months in Iraq.

Jared Diamond AIDS can destroy a family if you let it, but luckily for my sister and me, Mom taught us to keep going. Don’t give up, be proud of who you are, and never feel sorry for yourself.

Ryan White AIDS does not inevitably lead to death, especially if you suppress the co-factors that support the disease. It is very important to tell this to people who are infected.

Luc Montagnier AIDS is a global problem and there should be a global solution found by the entire international community. It is really scary to see and imagine our world fall into pieces because we refuse to share and put in the common vestiges of our

AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.

Jerry Falwell AIDS is such a scary thing and it’s also the kind of thing that you think won’t happen to you. It can happen to you and it’s deadly serious.

Ice T

AIDS is the biggest challenge, the major disaster facing this country and we would have wished A lot of people in my world - in the acting world - have either lost friends for something to Aids or live with HIV because its origin in our culture, in New York more specific and for instance, was in the gay community. far-reaching.

Emma Thompson Mangosuthu Buthelezi AIDS win be our first priority, but in two years’ AIDS obliges people to think of sex as having, time we don’t know where AIDS research will possibly, the direst consequences: suicide. Or stand, so we are also thinking of activity on other murder. diseases.

Susan Sontag Luc Montagnier AIDS occupies such a large part in our awareness because of what it has been taken to represent. It seems the very model of all the catastrophes privileged populations feel await them.

Susan Sontag

And so popular culture raises issues that are very important, actually, in the country I think. You get issues of the First Amendment rights and issues of drug use, issues of AIDS, and things like that all arise naturally out of pop culture.

Kurt Loder

the paper’s editors. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Southern Voice or its staff.

TO SUBMIT A LETTER OF COMMENTARY: Letters should be fewer than 400 words; commentaries should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address and phone number for verifications. Send submissions by fax to 404.876.2709 (ex 7) or by regular mail to the Southern Voice office, attn: Letters/Commentary, or by email to editor@ sovo.com

Complaint Filed to Disbar Kagan Pg. 5 Final DADT repeal vote in Senate expected in September Pg. 5 Lt. Dan Choi Discharged Due to DADT Pg. 7 Recent study claims homosexuality may be linked to childhood trauma Pg. 7 Anti-Gay Roadshow Pg. 9 Young Sex Offenders Forced to Look at Porn in B.C. Study Pg. 9 Miami ranks No.1 in AIDS cases among U.S. cities Pg. 9 New hope for a Cure Pg. 11 Circumcision Leads to HIV Prevention in Africa Pg. 11

AIDS 2010: Right Here, Right Now...Right Track Pg. 12 HIV/AIDS: Four Decades of Struggle, Strife and Progression Pg. 13 Backpacking and Trailblazing: Atlanta’s LGBT Community Gathers for a Cause Pg. 14 Calendar Boys Pose for Charity Pg. 14 Forum New Lesbian Parenting Study Makes Claims Unsupported by the Evidence Pg. 15 “Leave Obama alone! He’s like a thousand times the man you’ll ever be! You’re just jealous!” Pg. 15

Java Jive: Keeps it percolating Pg. 19 Apple Blueberry Walnut Pie with Coconut Caramel Pg. 19 People Wearing Clothes Pg. 21 Coming Out of the Coffin Pg. 23 MTV Gets GLAAD Approval Pg. 23 Superman’s Gay Encounter Pg. 25 Gay Zombie Sex Crosses the Line in Melbourne Pg. 25 The Dream Cobbler: Inception Makes Waves Pg. 25

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News

Complaint Filed to Disbar Kagan

Partial-Birth Abortion Testimony Falsified Contributed by LifeSiteNews.com The leader of a public interest law group has filed a complaint before the U.S. Supreme Court at the behest of pro-life organization Declaration Alliance, asking that the high court disbar Elena Kagan for falsifying testimony regarding the Clinton-era partial-birth abortion ban attempt.

The complaint was submitted by Larry Klayman, the founder of corruption watchdog Judicial Watch, who also called for Kagan’s actions to be investigated by the Justice Department.

Kagan has admitted that while serving as an Associate White House Counsel in the Clinton administration, she altered the wording of original testimony submitted by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) regarding the necessity of partial-birth abortion.

In that document, the ACOG had originally reported that it found that partial birth abortion was not medically necessary to save the life of a woman; however, in the final version submitted

by ACOG, Kagan had inserted language to say the procedure “may be the best or most appropriate procedure in a particular circumstance to save the life or preserve the health of a woman.” This

altered report was then relied upon by the U.S. Supreme Court in striking down legislation banning partial birth abortion.

Americans United for Life has also pointed to further documentation suggesting that Kagan also sought to manipulate similar testimony from the American Medical Association.

“Elena Kagan, a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, has defrauded the U.S. Supreme Court,” stated Klayman upon filing the complaint. “As a result, her membership to practice before the Court should be revoked and the matter referred to the Criminal Division of the Justice Department. How can Ms. Kagan be confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a seat on the high court, when in reality she should not even be allowed to practice in front of it?

“The rules of legal ethics require her disbarment and I intend to pursue it, to set an example that prospective and sitting judges, or anyone in the legal profession or otherwise, are not above the law.”

The details of Ms. Kagan’s misconduct are exhaustively detailed in a report prepared by the Americans United for Life Action.

Final DADT repeal vote in Senate expected in September

By ANDREA KIRWAN Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) reported to the Washington Blade this past Thursday that he’s “expecting the full senate to take up ’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal in September after lawmakers return from August recess.”

Anticipation of a vote on the fiscal year 2011 defense authorization bill by its advocates has been felt for two months since the Senate Armed Services Committee attached the provision to this bill on May 27. The provision, containing attached repeal language, was then reported and sent to the floor.

Levin said “the quickest possible route for passing repeal in the Senate is now reaching an agreement this month to take up the defense bill shortly after lawmakers return from August break,” and that, “What we’re hoping to do before August is to have an agreement which will pave the way for it being brought up right after the recess” Levin spokesperson, Bryan Thomas, later explained that Levin was “referring to an agreement negotiated between majority and minority leadership.”

Levin used this agreement in order to wipe out the possibility of a filibuster on a motion to take place after lawmaker’s return. Levin had originally hoped for the vote on the defense bill to occur in July.

Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Service members Legal Defense Network, said

“his organization is also urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring the defense legislation to the floor right after the Labor Day recess.”

“Yes, it would have been better if we were on the Senate floor this month, but the calendar was just too crowded,” and that, “scheduling the defense bill for a vote in early September is absolutely essential to move forward with repeal to finish legislative action before Congress goes into ‘lame-duck mode.”

“This is the bill that provides for the pay and benefits and equipment for all service members, straight and gay,” he said. “This bill and these core benefits for our [service members] should not be caught up in post election games and posturing.”

Proponents of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal are not only anxious to move forward with the defense legislation, but they have also voiced their concern about “opponents of the language filibustering the defense legislation as a whole, or stripping out the provision with a substitute amendment or a motion to strike”.

Levin was confident in saying he doesn’t feel that a filibuster or an amendment will succeed, but stated that the amendment’s odds of passing successfully may “depend on what the wording is.”

The senator claims he foresees a draft amendment relating to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” language, but has yet to see one at this point in time.

“I haven’t seen it,” Levin said. “I know there

Courtesy Photo

will be, but I haven’t seen it.”

Sarvis is in agreement with Levin’s confidence that the repeal language in the defense legislation will remain.

“The Senate votes are likely to be close, but, in the end, I think, repeal proponents will prevail,” Sarvis said.

Email the Editors jhancock@sovo.vom dvalentine@sovo.com

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Recent study claims homosexuality may be linked to childhood trauma

Lt. Dan Choi Discharged Due to DADT

By SAGE NENYUE Iraq war veteran Lt. Daniel Choi, the gay soldier and activist who received the most press for handcuffing himself to the White House fence earlier this year, was given notice that he had been honorably discharged from the Army National Guard under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” becoming a victim of the very policy that he sought to bring attention to and do away with. He called the announcement “infuriating and painful.”

His discharge was based on his coming out announcement on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC about a year ago. Choi knew action would be taken, and waited, as military officials used the time to decide whether or not he would be discharged. Choi revealed that he would have to retract his statements in order to stay in the Army National Guard, but refused to do so.

“All you can do is say, ‘That’s not me,’ or that I was lying, or say that I said that at the time, but I apologize and I’m not gay,” Choi told the Orange County Register. “The first thing I said was, ‘I’m gay, and I have a boyfriend, not a girlfriend.’ You don’t get into trouble for lying, only for telling the truth.”

He said in a statement on Thursday: “From the first moment we put on our nation’s uniform and swore our solemn oath, we committed ourselves to fight for freedom and justice; to defend our constitution and put the needs of others before our own. This is not an oath that I intend to abandon. Doing so at such a time, or remaining silent when our family and community members are fired or punished for who they truly are would be an unequivocal moral dereliction that tarnishes

the honor of the uniform and insults the meaning of America.”

Choi, ever the radical activist, was arrested along with five other gay and lesbian officers for intending to bring more light to the unjust policy that discriminates against non-heterosexual service members by cuffing himself to the White House fence. He invokes President Obama’s words at a keynote speech during the Human Rights Campaign dinner last year: “And that’s why it’s so important that you continue to speak out, that you continue to set an example, that you continue to pressure leaders—including me—and to make the case all across America.”

“Obviously, it wasn’t a direct order,” Choi said to the Washington Blade. “But it was an indirect order. I was in uniform at the HRC dinner. I was serving on active duty many times when he said those things.” It is in line with President Obama’s consistent plea to Americans to hold him and other leaders accountable for their actions—or inactions.

“We are handcuffing ourselves to the White House gates once again to demand that President Obama show leadership on repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ If the President were serious about keeping his promise to repeal this year, he would put the repeal language in his Defense Authorization budget. The President gave us an order at the Human Rights Campaign dinner to keep pressure on him and we will continue to return to the White House, in larger numbers, until the President keeps his promise to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ this year.”

“Our fight is just beginning,” Choi told his Twitter followers.

By ANDREA C. KIRWAN New Zealand’s Otago University recently conducted a study which resulted in their claim that “homosexual or bisexual individuals are more likely to have undergone a variety of traumas in childhood, including sexual assault, rape, violence, and witnessing violence in the home.”

“People who either identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual, or have had a same-sex encounter or relationship, tend to come from more disturbed backgrounds,” said Research Associate Professor Elisabeth Wells.

The University’s study attributed the results from a New Zealand Mental Health study that surveyed 13,000 people between 2003 and 2004.

Dr. Mark Henrickson, the lead researcher on this first national study of gay, lesbian and bisexual New Zealanders shared that the study “begins with the assumption that heterosexuality is both statistically normative and normal, and then seeks to explain non-heterosexuality”.

The study’s outcome concluded that, “Ninetyeight (98) percent of the participants in the study identified themselves as heterosexual; 0.8 percent identified as homosexual; 0.6 percent identified as bisexual; and 0.3 percent identified as ‘something else.’ Of people who reported certain traumatic childhood events, 15 percent were not heterosexual; of those without such experiences, only 5 percent were not heterosexual, suggesting that such experiences tripled the chance of later professing homosexual or bisexual inclinations.”

Some leaders, however, such as Tony Simpson, chairman of the national homosexualist group Rainbow Wellington, said that, “The research should not be taken to mean that homosexuals are not born that way. I have no doubt that the

religious right will leap to the conclusion that this goes to show conclusively that homosexuals are made rather than born,” he said. Professor Wells responded by trying to mollify fear over the conclusions of the study.

“I suspect there might be some gay and lesbian people who will be indignant, but it is not my intention to anger them,” she said. “You could say that if someone was sexually abused as a child, chooses to live as a homosexual and lives life well, then that is not a bad thing. But if they are living a homosexual life and regretting it, that is another matter.”

Although the study reported that the surveyed results showed a correlation between sexual or physical childhood abuse and adult homosexuality, other childhood trauma, such as the sudden death of a family member or a traumatic childhood illness or accident, produced very little correlation when comparing non-heterosexuality and behavior.

Philadelphia newspaper, The Bulletin, reported that, “Of females who self-identified as homosexual, more than 40 percent had been married and had children, whereas 13 percent of male homosexuals had done so. Over 80 percent of those who identified as bisexual were women.”

Otago University’s study was not the first to postulate the idea of an association existing between childhood abuse and later homosexual identification.

In 1992, one study discovered that 37 percent of homosexual and bisexual men who were visiting sexually transmitted disease clinics had been “encouraged or forced to have sexual contact before age 19 with an older more powerful partner. The median age of first contact was 10 years old.”

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Young Sex Offenders Forced to Look at Porn in B.C. Study

National Organization for Marriage Goes on Tour

Anti-Gay Roadshow National Organization for Marriage Goes on Tour

By B.T. TIDWELL On August 7, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) will arrive on the Georgia Capitol steps for their Atlanta gay marriage protest rally, where they will “educate” local citizens on reasons why same sex couples are a threat to the institute of marriage.

NOM first announced it’s “Summer of Marriage Tour 2010” last month and is currently half way through this east coast, twenty stop Anti-Gay Road show. From the talking points on their official website, their entire argument is that heterosexuals somehow have the inalienable right to define the legal recognition of marriage in terms that are comfortable for them.

“We’re excited to get on the road and meet people face-to-face, sharing with them the importance of marriage and how critical the future of marriage is to our country,” said Brian Brown, NOM’s president, said at the rally to kick off the tour. “Marriage will be a key national issue once the California Prop 8 battle gets to the Supreme Court. We need Americans to rally behind marriage as the union of one man and one woman and tell the Courts and state legislatures that marriage matters.”

In the past two weeks of the rally, which began on July 14, NOM has been met with vigorous opposition that equaled, and sometimes exceeded attendance by their supporters. At the tours first stop, in Augusta, Maine, where NOM succeeded in blocking same sex marriage legislation last year the state governor actually attended the anti-NOM counter protest offering praise and support for those who had worked for passage of a same sex marriage amendment.

On the NOM website, they have tried hard to portray LGBT activists as out of control mobs terrorizing their event. In one NOM produced “documentary” video a womans voice ominously describes “protesters with rainbow colored umbrellas silently gathering behind the NOM speaker on the platform,” although in their blog the same protest is described as “silly.” At another rally, protestors “shook plastic bottles… with rocks in them!”

NOM did succeed in having a freelance videographer ejected from their rally in Annapolis,

Maryland. The reason for this might be found in their own report of the rally which confessed that “Although Wednesday’s turnout was lighter than previous rallies, with about 50 supporters in attendance, the smaller group gave the rally a more intimate atmosphere.”

Intimacy might easily be mistaken for lack of support for NOM in a city that has recently approved same sex marriage. One where the only argument against that freedom is that its opponents were not granted their inalienable right to homophobia by being given a chance to vote it down.

“The major civil right, for those of us who went through the civil rights movement, is the right to vote . . .” said Bishop Harry Jackson, who’s own rights as an African American man were not approved by popular vote in during the Civil Rights movement.

Even according to their own statistics, which other observers contradict as over-inflated, attendance at NOM rallies has steadily diminished over the last few weeks with the Lima Ohio gathering, held in the parking lot of a vacant store front at 20-30, compared to an alleged turn out of 200 at the first rally in Maine. Although other observers claim the Maine turnout was well under 100. Gayapolis News put the head count in Columbus Ohio, July 23, at maybe 20 NOM supporters, many of whom apparently came on the bus, along with close to 70 protesters.

So far reports from stops on the tour reveal this to be a non-event.It has often been completely ignored by local mainstream newspapers. However, those who choose to attend the protest in Atlanta should be on their best behavior. NOM has gone all out twist any incident, or lack of such to their favor, even going so far as to accuse protesters standing between a woman behind the crowd and the podium, thus blocking her view, as having intimidated and threatened her, and her toddlers, with their presence.to keep pressure on him and we will continue to return to the White House, in larger numbers, until the President keeps his promise to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ this year.”

“Our fight is just beginning,” Choi told his Twitter followers.

Contribute By lifesitenews.com A British Columbia government research program at the Youth Forensic Psychiatric Service subjected sex offenders as young as 13 to videos of adult pornography or pictures of children in various states of nudity, accompanied by audio descriptions of violent, coercive or forced sexual activity, while sensors attached to their genitals measured their state of arousal.

The “penile plethysmograph” test is meant to measure whether corrective treatments such as psychotherapy and behavior modification are effective in helping sex offenders.

The little-known program, which has been running for 25 years under the auspices of the Ministry of Children and Family Development, made the news recently when one of the medical technicians working with the youth was charged this month with sexual assault, though it was reported that the alleged offense is not related to the government program.

Robert Holmes, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, responded to the news, saying the testing is a violation of human rights.

He suggested that it is a primitive remnant of the 1950s when the test was used on men claiming to be homosexual in order to avoid military service.

“Male children, often abuse victims themselves, are subjected to this treatment by a government responsible for their care and wellbeing,” Holmes said in a news release. “In our view, serious rights issues are involved with this. That is particularly so given that the individuals involved are vulnerable

youth. The public is entitled to a full explanation and an assurance that it will stop.”

“Although they talk about it as treatment, it’s really not about treatment at all,” Holmes added.

“And when you’re talking about young people and the kinds of things you’re showing them, it raises a bunch of questions about whether it’s proper to be doing that.”

Subsequently, B.C.’s Minister of Children and Family Development Mary Polak ordered a stop to the use of the tests on youth incarcerated for sex offenses.

“Like most British Columbians, I was immediately concerned to learn of the testing being conducted involving young offenders, which is hard to fathom,” Polak told the media.

“I asked staff to examine the use of this procedure and, based on the information provided, I have instructed ministry staff to permanently stop any use of this procedure on youth in provincial facilities in British Columbia.”

“The safety and well-being of youth is always the top priority of myself and this ministry, and I believe most citizens would agree that the questionable nature of this procedure outweighs any possible medical benefits. I am told that plans for the young people who receive such testing are not compromised by this decision,” Polak said. we will continue to return to the White House, in larger numbers, until the President keeps his promise to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ this year.”

“Our fight is just beginning,” Choi told his Twitter followers.

Miami ranks No.1 in AIDS cases among U.S. cities Contribute By lifesitenews.com The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released information based upon a 2008 statistical report that state the Miami metropolitan area ranks No.1 in the United States in AIDS case rates. Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana were ranked second and third according to the same 2008 report.

Number 4 is Batimore, followed by: Jacksonville; Washington D.C.; Columbia, South Carolina; Atlanta; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and New York City.

CDC surveillance systems refer to two groups of gay and bisexual men that they categorize as men who have sex with men, or MSM, as being among the highest group of persons affected by the AIDS virus.

The report states: “This is the only risk group in the U.S. in which the annual number of new HIV infections is increasing. There is an urgent need to expand access to proven HIV prevention interventions for gay and bisexual men, as well as to develop new approaches to fight HIV in this population.”

Although new infections in heterosexual and injection drug users have decreased, the number of new MSM HIV infections has consistently grown since the early 1990s.

South Florida Gay News reported that, “MSM accounts for nearly half of the more than one million people living with HIV in the United

States.” Despite this report, however, the CDC states that MSM only make up 4 percent of the U.S. male population among those that are aged 13 and older. The explanation for the startling contrast in reports is that “the rate of new HIV diagnoses among MSM in the U.S. is more than 44 times that of other men.”

According to Spencer Lieb, senior epidemiologist for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS, Miami area has been in the top five for a long time. “The tri-county area has had one of the highest morbidity rates since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic,” he says. “So it’s not surprising to find them ranking high.” Lieb told SFGN, “that the increasingly high number of persons living with HIV will result in a greater chance of onward transmission.”

In addition, there have been more individuals tested for HIV in Florida than any other state in the U.S. “If we test more people, then we are most likely to discover more cases,” Lieb says.

A contributor to the high results the state is experiencing are the recent testing methods implemented by the Florida Department of Health , the viral load and CD4 testing methods, both of which were proven to be more successful testing methods than that of the previous.

Adding to further concern, Jacksonville, Florida was ranked fifth in the report, leading to the concern that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Florida

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Lieb continues, “If a person’s sexual network includes a high density of people who are infected by the virus, the chances are greater that the person may contract the disease.”

South Florida News stated that, “Florida has implemented many programs in the last decade to help those affected by the virus. The Miami area alone has over a dozen programs or organizations including Care Resource, Empower-U, Union Positiva, Village South and ALERT Health. The

July 30, 2010 | SOUTHERN VOICE NEWS | 11 University of Miami has also created a program to help those worried about contracting the virus.”

“In total, Miami has more interventions than any other city in the state,” Lieb said.

Particularly alarming were the results of those who were unaware that they had contracted HIV. Among the most concerning were black MSM and young MSM. Almost 80 percent of those aged 1824 were unaware of their infection, and two-thirds of black MSM were unaware, as well.

New hope for a Cure The long absent “C” Word Returns to HIV Research

By B.T. TIDWELL At one time a cure for HIV was the Holy Grail of both AIDS activists and medical researchers. The “C’ word has been used less and less frequently in recent years.

The more or less positive reason for this is because treatments for people with HIV have improved to the point that many patients on antiretroviral cocktails almost feel as if they have been cured. For many the side effects are minimal, viral loads are undetectable, and aside from the daily pills and frequent check ups, life is normal.

Unfortunately, aside from those successes, the other reason why a cure is mentioned less frequently is a growing pessimism in the medical community.

For years, slowly increasing knowledge of the HIV virus has only revealed in increasing detail just how difficult it will be to eradicate.

HIV, like all viruses replicates by invading cells in the host body and using those cell’s ability to replicate in order to replicate the virus itself. There are a few viruses, HIV among them, that have the ability to lie dormant in various parts of the body.

While all viruses are a challenge to prevent, or treat, those that can hide out ion inactive cells are the most difficult.

Current HIV medications kill active cells in the blood stream, however, this is like killing ants with a fly swatter. There will always be and endless supply coming from the hive, or in the case of HIV, emerging from lymph nodes and other parts of the body. Some studies have indicated these latent reservoirs could persist for as long as 60 years, or far longer than the remaining life span of the infected individuals.

Recent ly, however, there has been reason for cautious optimism. In 2006, an HIV positive man known only as the Berlin Patient, was given a stem cell transplant to cure leukemia. In this highly risky process, the patients own cancerous blood cells are entirely d e s t r oy e d a n d replaced with new b l o o d -

producing marrow cells from a healthy donor.

In this particular case it was discovered that the donor cells were resistant to infection from any reservoir HIV in the man’s body, all the active HIV cells having been destroyed along with his blood.

Almost four years later, the patient remains HIV negative and the only person to have been actively cured by a medical treatment.

While researchers understand how the cure occurred, the challenge now is to apply that knowledge to genetically engineering a process that will allow this particular genetic mutation into a healthy body without the extreme risk associated with blood replacement.

Advances in the ability to detect minute traces of HIV genetic material in tissue samples are making research into both the behavior of the virus and a genetic cure possible. If this is to be a permanent solution, 100% of the HIV cells in the body must be destroyed, otherwise it will eventually come back.

Another challenge with HIV has been it’s rapid mutation rate. Like many viruses, HIV periodically changes its characteristics. Treatments such as vaccines work by targeting very specific trigger points on the surface of the cell with specific antibodies produced by the patient. This is why it is necessary to get a new flu vaccine every year.

Scientists understand the influenza virus well enough to make new vaccines, but the mutations in the virus make it necessary to do so. Recently, scientists have discovered three very powerful new antibodies; the most effective of these will target 91% of the HIV variations.

This antibody was found naturally occurring in the blood of an HIV+ African American man known as Donor 45. The challenge for researchers will be to find a way to encourage the production of this antibody in other people.

If any person’s body could be provoked into producing this antibody it would provide 90% immunity to the HIV virus in healthy people and might also provide a natural alternative to HAART medication in positive individuals. While those already infected with HIV would still have latent reservoirs of the virus in their body, these antibodies would immediately kill the virus when it entered the blood.

A practical cure is still many years away from being available to the general population, but at least hope is returning. Research on a cure is still woefully under funded, with the vast majority of research dollars devoted to yet newer generations of maintenance therapies. If research into a cure is once again showing promise of actual results, there is hope that funding agencies might once again look on this research as a worthy investment.

Circumcision Leads to HIV Prevention in Africa

By CORINA MORRIS What if doctors and scientists conducted a study on the habits that make men susceptible to contracting the HIV virus and told you basic circumcision could prevent contagion up to sixty percent? Would you not, then, forge a campaign within the world’s hardest hit areas of the virus, and charge them to circumcise the entirety of their male population? If you would, then you have something in common with former President Bill Clinton and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Both men, alongside US global AIDS coordinator, Eric Goosby and World Health Organization member David Okello, recently threw their backs into a campaign promoting male circumcision “as a proven, costeffective method” in preventing the spread of HIV among men who engage in heterosexual intercourse in Africa (Horn, AIDSmeds.com).

Three separate studies were conducted in South Africa, Kenya and Uganda, pooling together 11,000 uncircumcised males. Of these males, half were chosen to undergo circumcision, the other half remained uncircumcised. The constants of the experiment took the form of sexual habits among the chosen men as well as HIV prevention education administered to the group from the study’s creators (Circumcision and HIV, avert.org).

The results were encouraging. In South Africa, of the 3274 men who participated, HIV infections decreased by 60%; in Kenya, of the 2784 men who participated, infections decreased by 53%; in Uganda, of the 4996 men who participated, infections decreased by 51%. The study’s findings were released in July 2005 and February 2007 respectively. Removal of the penis’ foreskin aids in this drastic reduction in viral transmission. The foreskin, as explained by the reporters on advert. org, is a moist environment where HIV can live

for a prolonged period of time as opposed to other areas of the penis. Without the foreskin, the penis is “tougher and more resistant to infection.”

However, this procedure only helps prevent transmission to men who engage in heterosexual intercourse or assume the dominant, “insertive… role in anal intercourse.” The same cannot be said for women nor men who engage in the receptive position. Despite this fact, statistics claim that HIV transmission “could be averted for every 5-15 men who are newly circumcised.” In the broader scope, 3 million deaths and 6 million diagnoses are avoidable through this procedure.

Still, Dr. Catherine Hankins, Chief Scientific Advisor of UNAIDS, explained point-blankly that “a number of thorny issues arise…We…have to ensure that men and women are aware that male circumcision is not a ‘magic bullet’”. This did not stop World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS from supporting the move to fund healthy circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa.

But they did describe process as one of many “important strateg(ies)” for HIV prevention.

When this same study was conducted among men in San Francisco by Dr.Johnathan Fuchs, his smaller-scale model proved that of the 65,700 eligible men, only 500 would benefit from circumcision as a means of protection against the HIV virus (Horn, Aidsmeds.com). In other words, the prospect of a drastic decline in the spread of HIV in countries better equipped to monitor the virus does not seem likely. More testing would have to be done to determine the procedure’s effects in well-developed cities. However, based on the results of the studies conducted in subSaharan Africa, look forward to more in depth and well-funded experiments regarding the removal of foreskin in the future.

12 | SOUTHERN VOICE NEWS | July 30, 2010

SOVO.COM

AIDS 2010: Right Here, Right Now...Right Track

By HEALTHY LIVING NEWS

After a busy week in Vienna of meetings, presentations and discussions, many attendees of the 2010 World AIDS Conference headed home feeling optimistic about the future of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. AIDS 2010 presented data revealing new potential advances in prevention, treatment, and vaccines that could, at some point, significantly contain the pandemic. But there are also economic challenges to overcome.

The most celebrated presentation (which earned a rare medical conference standing ovation) was the CAPRISA study on the tenofovir gel spermicide.

Although just 39% effective in preventing vaginal transmission, it could be an important new line of defense as the first spermicide that can significantly prevent HIV transmission. An effective spermicide would also help women who in many parts of the world have had few options they can use to protect themselves against HIV. Should the gel continue to test well in studies, pressure will be needed to assure it becomes affordable and available worldwide and not just in the West.

Another hot conference topic was test-andtreat as a public health method for curtailing the pandemic. A British Columbia study revealed the viability of well organized, wide-scale community HIV testing used in conjunction with antivirals.

Based on studies showing that when people know they are HIV positive they are more careful not to infect others and that antivirals can make one less infectious, the Canadians showed that testand-treat reduced the rate of new infections in half (by establishing “AIDS free” or “undetectable” zones, one activist called them). Using economic modeling covering a period of 30 years, the Canadians also showed that, in British Columbia at least, test-and-treat is also cost-effective Dr. Julio Montaner, AIDS 2010 President, noted that testand-treat, along with the other advances presented at the conference, all could usher in a potential new era of innovation in fighting the virus.

Discussions on the worldwide practicality of

using treatment as a sort of vaccine to minimize HIV transmission were vocal however. Computermodel laden researchers like Reuben Granich of the World Health Organization and Brian Williams of South Africa, projected rosy scenarios of containing the African epidemic within decades if test-and-treat was implemented there.

The “realists”, such as Dr. Bernard Hirschel of the Infectious Diseases Service, said that by simply identifying and treating everyone infected, the epidemic would wither and die away, was a “pipe dream” and more research was needed. A yet unpublished Harvard study on doing testand-treat in Washington, DC backed up the skeptics by showing that some people will always fall through the cracks and not test or treat. The study did project, however, that although no panacea, test-and-treat would save lives and slow down new infections. Test-and-treat community “pocket” studies are ongoing in South African and throughout the = world.

Although a truly effective vaccine is still not available, there have been some recent advances in vaccine research, including an arguably successful vaccine trial and the recent discovery of a new human-antibody possibly much more effective in controlling HIV. The Thai RV144 vaccine trial did somewhat protect 3 out of 10 people (30%) which was a modest breakthrough.

Another new vaccine must be created to test the new antibody, however, and in theory there are other ways to use it including as a possible therapy.

Once an effective vaccine is found other challenges do await. According to a University of Toronto study, only 74% of the population would bother take a fully protective vaccine and even fewer (40%) would take a partially protective one. That reluctance could also affect vaccines being studied that, although they would not prevent HIV infection, might still provide enough immune protection to keep the virus from making people sick.

Although this conference’s theme was “Right here, Right now,” it will still take time to determine the efficacy of much what was presented. Many researchers seemed optimistic that many of these tools against the virus could be improved over time and even a partially effective vaccine and spermicide, the test and treat approach, combined with old fashioned safe sex and condoms, could combine to produce a powerfully synergistic public health package against HIV significant enough to turn the tide against the pandemic.

AIDS in Recession

Unfortunately, at the AIDS 2010 conference, it became apparent that more than ever the big issue was money. A pre-conference demonstration banner boldly proclaimed “AIDS Is Not In Recession.” Yet the current economic climate, along with policy and guideline changes, make it more difficult for the world to fund an all-out offensive against the virus. G8 nations are stepping away from commitments to the Global AIDS Fund while the U.S. is altering its commitments to the Bush era Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Few countries, according to a new report by the Global HIV Prevention Working Group, seemed to have mustered a passing grade in their AIDS prevention efforts (the U.S. the single largest source of funding worldwide got higher grade, while ironically, ungenerous Austria, the wealthy host country of AIDS 2010, got an embarrassing F).

Despite this, the U.S. was on the defensive about the U.S. “Dismantling” of its AIDS funding pipeline to favor funding of new, broader world health goals the Obama administration believes HIV ravaged countries can better build upon on their own. Eric Goosby, U.S. global AIDS coordinator, noted it was important to eliminate funding inconsistencies and better “construct a rational, ground-up delivery system that requires that populations using the services are in a

dialogue with those providing the resources.”

The bottom line for many in Vienna was the U.S.’s new, holistic approach to world health could mean less direct funding to fight the pandemic.

This as the World Health Organization’s new treatment guidelines recommend an additional 5 million people receive antivirals, a potential doubling of the world-wide cost of HIV treatment.

All as countries throughout the world face new financial constraints and in the U.S., waiting lists grow for the vital Ryan White/HDAP HIV treatment program that the federal government is struggling to fund.

Rolake Odetoyinbo, an activist from Nigeria, best expressed the anger and frustration over the back-pedaling of world donors from more fully funding HIV treatment. Calling the issue of treatment access non-negotiable, she said that “treatment really is prevention and it should be early, accessible, and universal.”

South Africa seemed to have gotten the message.

Despite its once notorious reputation as the African hub of AIDS denialism, it’s now attempting to become a model on how a developing nation can persevere through a downturn and even take ownership of a crisis. South Africa already pays more than for 4/5th of its HIV related costs and Deputy President Motlanthe reiterated his governments’ commitment to increase its budgets to make antivirals available to all South Africans needing them.

Some countries were called to account for their continuing inaction, however. One conference presentation opened with slides of limousines and jet planes, the perks and property of out of touch, or just callous and indifferent developing-world leaders and dignitaries. The point being, money could be better spent funding lifesaving prevention and treatment for their people.

SOVO.COM

July 30, 2010 | SOUTHERN VOICE NEWS | 13

HIV/AIDS: Four Decades of Struggle, Strife and Progression 1959 Scientists isolate what is believed to be

the earliest known case of AIDS. The discovery suggests that the multitude of global AIDS viruses all shared a common African ancestor within the past 40 to 50 years.

1981

Following reports that a number of young gay men in the US had been inexplicably dying from rare illnesses, a 49 year-old man was admitted to Brompton Hospital in London suffering from PCP (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia), an uncommon infection that almost always occurs in individuals with a weakened immune system.

1982 In

September, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first used the term Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) to describe the new illness that was by now affecting not only large numbers of gay men, but also haemophiliacs, drug users and other Americans.

1983

By June, epidemiological studies in the US had led researchers to conclude that AIDS was “most likely to be caused by an agent transmitted by intimate sexual contact, through contaminated needles, or, less commonly, by percutaneous inoculation of infectious blood or blood products.

No evidence suggests transmission of AIDS by airborne spread.” They also suggested that AIDS may be transmitted from mother to child before, during, or shortly after birth.

1984

The health service was still ill-informed and ill-equipped to deal with AIDS. Patients were isolated in hospitals and faced the dehumanising experience of ‘barrier’ nursing, where everyone who came into contact with them had to wear hats, gloves, masks, gowns and aprons.

1985

US President Ronald Reagan mentions the word “AIDS” in public for the first time in response to a reporter’s questions on September 17, 1985.

1987

On April 2nd, with virtually no mention made in the interim, President Reagan appeared before the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, to deliver his first “major speech” on AIDS, calling it “public enemy number one.” Vice President George Bush is heckled when he calls for mandatory HIV testing.

1988

US bans discrimination against federal workers with HIV

1990

Ronald Reagan apologizes for his neglect of the epidemic while he was president (US).

• Number of known deaths in US during 1990 -- 18,447.

• Halston, American fashion designer.

• Keith Haring, artist.

1991

• Professional basketball player Magic Johnson tells the world he has HIV. • Kimberly Bergalis, who apparently got HIV from her dentist asks the US congress to force health care workers to be tested for HIV. 1993 • The so-called “female condom” is approved. In the US, the FDA refused to allow

testing for anal sex, saying sodomy is illegal in too many states.

• Four French blood bank officials sent to prison for allowing HIV-tainted blood into French blood banks.

1995

Saquinavir (Invirase) -- Roche -- is approved for use in the US. This is the first antiHIV drug in the protease inhibitor class.

US admits it was the Institut Pasteur (France), not Robert Gallo (NIH, US) who discovered the virus that causes AIDS. 1996 The FDA approves a series of drugs called protease inhibitors that, taken alone or in combination with others, prompt a new type of chemical attack on the HIV virus. The multipledrug treatments make AIDS patients live longer, though they don’t rid the body of the disease.

The first AIDS hospice in San Francisco closes because fewer people are dying The Joint Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS reports that the disease is more widespread than previously thought, estimating 30 million people may be living with HIV/AIDS and that 16,000 new infections are spawned each day

1997

For the first time since the AIDS epidemic began in 1981, the number of U.S. deaths from the disease has dropped dramatically

1998 The U.S. Supreme Court, in Bragdon v.

Abbott, rules 5-4 that HIV-infected people are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act Researchers report drug-resistant strains of HIV can be transmitted from person to person The CDC reports in October that the number of U.S. AIDS deaths fell 45.8 percent in 1997 and that the disease fell out of the top 10 causes of death for the first time since 1990

1999

According to the annual World Health Report, AIDS is the fourth biggest cause of deaths worldwide, only twenty years after the epidemic began

2000

The Clinton Administration formally declares that HIV/AIDS is a threat to U.S. national security. It is the first time the National Security Council is involved in fighting an infectious disease

2001 President George Bush appoints an openly gay man, Scott Evertz, as Director of the Office of National AIDS policy. AIDS was the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa

2002

Swiss researchers report the first fully documented case of an HIV-positive man who was additionally infected with a second strain of HIV through unprotected sex more than two years after he was first infected. For the first time, it is reported that women account for about half of all HIV-infected adults. It is estimated that 40 million people worldwide, including 2.5 million children, are living with HIV/AIDS

2003 Swaziland is believed to have the world’s highest rate of HIV with almost four out of 10 adults infected with HIV. In his State of the Union address, US president George W. Bush proposes spending $15 billion in combating AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean over the next 5 years

2004 The Chinese government announces that 2008 it is offering free HIV tests.

The U.S. porn industry is hit by fears of an HIV outbreak among its stars. By May, five actors have been found to be HIV-positive

2005

FDA begins approving generic AIDS drugs, enabling U.S.-funded programs to provide more cost-effective treatment to poorer nations Several African nations insist on medication approved by WHO; in response, FDA and WHO agree to share information on generic drugs to expedite their approval Russian president Putin promised to increase AIDS funding from $5 million in 2005 to at least $100 million in 2006 AZT’s patent expires, and FDA approves several generic versions The number of people living with HIV in 2005 reached its highest level ever—an estimated 40.3 million people, nearly half of them women

2006 June 5 marks the 25th anniversary of the

first journal article (in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) about what would become identified as AIDS, reporting on a set of unusual pneumonia-related deaths among five homosexual men A UN report issued the week before has both good news and bad news Many countries have achieved targets set in 2001, reducing the number of new infections and providing antiretroviral therapy to more victims.

HIV testing, counseling, and education are all up. In many sub-Saharan countries, more young teens are staying abstinent, and condom use is increasing. And with 126 nations reporting, investigators have more data than ever Goals for youth education and prevention services aren’t being met, those most at risk for AIDS are often not reached, many countries fell far short of all goals, and social issues underlying the spread of AIDS are being ignored The FDA approves the first single-pill, once-aday AIDS treatment, thereby allowing patients to manage their disease without a complicated regimen of drugs that must be strictly followed to be effective. The pill, called Atripla, is considered an enormous breakthrough in AIDS treatment, and will help prevent the disease from mutating into drug-resistant strains, which occurs when drugs are not taken regularly. Two rival drug companies cooperated in creating the drug AIDS Drug Assistance programs (ADAPS) are funded by states that provide lower income people diagnosed as HIV/AIDS-positive with medication that have little or no insurance coverage and are “the payer of last resort.” The assistance program is funded by the federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act of 2006

2007 The World Health Organization revises

their figures of the number of people living with AIDS worldwide. In their December 2007 report, the WHO says the number has fallen from 39.5 million to 33.2 million in one year, suggesting that the biggest reason for the 16% decline was improved data collection and more accurate estimates in India and five sub-Saharan African countries

An international team of researchers announced that new evidence shows the earliest cases of HIV/AIDS circulating between humans occurred between 1884 and 1924 in sub-Saharan Africa. Tracking the origin of the virus will help in understanding how it jumped from chimpanzees to humans, as well as increasing our knowledge of the conditions that help viruses spread and how to be better prepared for other epidemics A man in Berlin, Germany seems to be cured of AIDS after doctors gave him transplanted blood stem cells from a person naturally resistant to the virus. Such a treatment is difficult, the patient’s immune system must essentially be shut down and restarted with the new stem cells, but first a donor must be found who is a good tissue match for the patient and has a rare genetic mutation, called Delta 32, which is resistant to H.I.V. People who have Delta 32 produce white blood cells in the bone marrow which lack the surface receptors that allow H.I.V. to invade the immune system. Doctors hope this case helps in developing therapies that artificially induce the Delta 32 mutation

2009 12/1/2009 marks the 21st anniversary of

World AIDS Day 33 million people are infected with the virus worldwide, including 2.31 million in India alone According to the World AIDS Campaign, new figures have been released by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS estimating that the number of new HIV infections have declined each year by about 17% from 2001 to 2008, but for every five people infected, only two start treatment On October 30, 2009, President Barack Obama signed an extension of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS bill. The legislation provides care, treatment and support services to half a million people infected with the virus, most of whom are low-income.

2010 A doctor in South Africa is pushing a

radical new idea that he believes will wipe out the AIDS epidemic in 40 years Brian Williams of the South African Centre for Epidemiological Modeling and Analysis believes that by testing every person at risk of HIV/AIDS and prescribing anti-retroviral treatment (ART) for all patients with HIV will stop the spread of new infections in five years The Mississippi Department of Corrections agreed to end the segregation of prisoners with HIV, a longstanding discriminatory policy that prevented prisoners from accessing key resources that facilitate their successful transition back into the community Doctors are forced to turn away people with HIV/AIDS – meaning they will fall ill and almost certainly die – in eight African countries due to donors cutting funds amid the global economic meltdown White House reveals a national HIV/AIDS strategy which intends to reduce the number of new cases by 25 percent and will direct more resources toward four high-risk groups: African Americans, gay and bisexual men, Latinos, and substance abusers The new HIV/AIDS policy was summarized in a 60-page report that credits the Bush administration for its efforts to address the disease but also laments that Americans’ concern about HIV seems to have declined.

SOVO.COM

14 | SOUTHERN VOICE | July 30, 2010

Community Backpacking and Trailblazing: Atlanta’s LGBT Community Gathers for a Cause

By B.T. TIDWELL “[This] is an example of what friends can do. I hope others will follow this model,” Councilman Alex Wan explained as he gestured to the growing crowd of supporters around him. “It is all possible!”

Atlanta’s fifth annual Backpack in the Park took place Sunday, August 1st in the spacious Greystone Hall between 4 and 8pm. Patrons were required to donate a backpack filled with school supplies equaling $30 in value to gain access to the carnival fun and Zest Atlanta’s complimentary barbeque spread complemented with cupcakes, ice cream assortments and a frozen drinks bar. The new back-to-school supplies go to help the academic starts of Kindergarten and First Grade children who cannot afford the luxury of purchasing their own.

Current President-Elect of For the Kid in All of Us, Jorge Esteban, willingly took the time to share the details of this back-to-school extravaganza. Over the past 5 years, For the Kid in All of Us has held this summertime event to allow underprivileged children to have an equal, fresh start with their schoolmates. For the first two years, the event was held in Magnolia hall before relocating to its current home in Greystone Hall.

Summer of 2009, due to the immense drought, Backpack in the Park took place in Grant Park.

They welcomed the return to Piedmont this year.

“The community is supporting more because the need is greater this year,” Esteban continued. “Corporations around the city such as Newell Rubbermaid, AT&T and IHC—the intercontinental hotels company—actually held contests among their employees to see which floor and departments could raise the highest number of backpacks and school supplies. They then bring them here for us to collect. We then take the supplies to a warehouse where our beneficiary agencies pick them up and distribute them.”

Beth Keller, Development Director of CHRISKids, one many of the beneficiaries of Backpack in the Park, explained how this seemingly small gesture, transforms the academic outlook for children at the working class or poverty level. “This is a really, really big deal for the kids,” she told me.

“We [CHRISKids] can’t do what we do without

support from them [For the Kid in All of Us].

There are a lot more families that need backpacks this year. We serve about 1200 individuals a year.

Of those, about 80% are families below the poverty line. The remaining 20% are kids who are on their own, either homeless, in foster care or simply without help.”

Councilman Alex Wan, proud founder and former president of For the Kid in All of Us, was happy to share how something so essential to the community evolved out of a simple holiday gathering among friends. Dressed in a dapper white polo sporting his organization’s name, he revealed how the concept of Backpack in the Park emerged from a Christmas Holiday party in December 2003. “It began from this idea that we [Councilman’s friends] wanted to make a difference for underprivileged children.” He decided to host a toy party where guests had to bring one new toy to be donated to a child in need.

Since LGBT singles and couples do not always have kids, the desire to supply toys and school needs to deserving children is always great. Following the success of Toy Party, For the Kid in All of Us decided to host a different seasonal event, one to help with school preparation. The first Backpack in the Park took place Summer of 2006. “We have collected 3.700 backpacks and managed to donate $450,000 to schools through this event,” the Councilman beamed.

The goodwill fun elegantly combined a kidfriendly carnival with an adult undertone. Parents could sip on their frozen cosmopolitans while their kids played in a large inflatable ‘boxing’ ring, shot hoops through a simulated basketball game, and tested their strength against ‘alien attacks.’ Colorful balloons filled the venue while a talented DJ mixed the newest dancehall tunes from his sound system. Backpack in the Park proved itself to be—once again—nothing short of an utter success, a grand kick start to the new school year. For those who missed out on the fun, do not worry! Look-out for 2010’s Toy Party, to be held the first Sunday in December. For more information regarding donations and events, visit the organization’s website: www.forthekid.org.

Calendar Boys Pose for Charity

By B.T. TIDWELL The Café at OutWrite Bookstore was filled to overflowing Friday night for the launch party of the Body Beautiful Calendar. This 14-month calendar of beautiful Atlanta men was photographed and published by up and coming photographer Laurie Edward Mathews as a fundraiser for the Atlanta Pet Rescue and Jerusalem House.

Mathews and many of the models for the calendar greeted their fans and autographed their pictures at a reception hosted by local drag celeb Nicole Paige Brooks. Trader Joe’s Chardonnay accompanied a generous buffet of snacks provided

by Los Margaritas Cafe. Brooks gave away 15 pairs of tickets to Cyndi Lauper’s Chastain Park concert this week.

“The theme is Body Beautiful,” said Mathews, “the idea is not to showcase my Photoshop skills but to show that the body is beautiful in it’s natural state.” Twenty five models were photographed for the calendar; most of them men who had not posed for a professional photographer before. They run the gamut of body types and ethnicity, with a common theme of being very handsome and shirtless.

A panel of Mathew’s friends helped narrow the choices down from twenty-five to fourteen. The models, recruited from FaceBook and referrals from Mathew’s social contact’s, all reported a very pleasant experience. Not being professional models, they were very modest about the experience.

The calendar has just been released, though, so doubtless their notoriety and popularity will be growing in coming months. However, as good looking as they are, none of them can be unfamiliar with being the object of considerable attention.

The calendar was produced with the help of a number of local gay owned, or friendly businesses and all profits from the sale of the calendar are being donated to two local charities. Sponsors

are given credit in small banner ads beneath each months date grid.

The Atlanta Pet Rescue, saves animals from local Humane Societies before they are euthanized and places them in adoptive homes. The Rescue specializes in small dogs (under 25 lbs.), with that limit set because of the greater ease in placing them. Many landlords set weight limits for pets, and there are fewer owners interested in taking responsibility for larger dogs. There is an interview process before adoption to insure a happy owner and a secure home for the pets. More information about adopting, as well as volunteering, or making donations, can be found at their website, www. atlantapetrescue.org.

Jerusalem House is one of the largest non profit programs in the country addressing housing needs for people with HIV and their families. The original Jerusalem house was a residence in Virginia Highlands that opened in 1989, providing a home for 5 homeless people with AIDS. At that time, the debilitating nature of the disease, cost of treatment, and social ostracism made homelessness a prevalent threat for those afflicted with AIDS. The word “Jerusalem” means “Dwelling of peace,” expressing the founders hopes for this institution. Today, that facility has been expanded to accommodate 23 individuals. Another facility near Emory University is comprised of 12 apartment units for HIV+ mothers and their children. In addition to these a “Scattered Site” program offers outreach and assistance to various HIV+ people in need in a variety of private housing options across the metro area. More information about volunteering or seeking assistance can be found at their website, www.jerusalemhouse.org.

In the interest of disclosure, SOVO/David Magazine are calendar sponsors and this author won a pair of concert tickets at the event.

SOVO.COM

July 30, 2010 | SOUTHERN VOICE FORUM | 15

Forum

d

g

New Lesbian Parenting Study Makes t gClaims Unsupported by the Evidence

.

e By A. DEAN BYRD, PHD, MBA,MPH aOF LIFESITENEWS.COM e The National Longitudinal Lesbian Family eStudy (NLLFS) published by American Academy ,of Pediatrics (AAP) offers the following conclusion: t“Adolescents who have been reared in lesbianmother families since birth demonstrate healthy fpsychological adjustment (p. 28).” s Authors Gartrell and Bos generalize their dfindings to the lesbian population at large, claiming rtheir research offers “implications for - same-sex fparenting” (p. 28). Making an enormous scientific rleap, they conclude that their study provides ”scientific proof that there is “no justification for srestricting access to reproductive technologies or gchild custody on the basis of the sexual orientation nof the parents” (p. 34-35). e Implied, though not stated, is the notion that fathers are not necessary or important for the dhealthy development of children. This implication is ra throwback to an article published in the American Psychologist in 1999 titled “Deconstructing the Essential Father.” Like the authors of the American Psychologist article, Gartrell and Bos are on record as activists seeking public support for homosexual parenting.

However, a cursory review of this study (funded by the Gill Foundation and the Lesbian Health Fund of the Gay, Lesbian Medical Association) demonstrates significant flaws that most first-year graduate students would quickly recognize. Any reasonable observer would easily conclude that the authors overstated their findings and that in this instance, whatever external review process was utilized, was inadequate. Consider the following: 1. The problems inherent in any self-report study. The lesbian mothers’ own reports that their children were well-adjusted were accepted by the study’s authors uncritically. The authors should have clarified the limitation and usefulness of such qualitative, self-reported data in light of the fact that the lesbian parents knew that the study would be used to further their political cause; in contrast, the control group had no idea how their reports would be used. In addition, most mothers, lesbian or not,

would likely report their children’s adjustment in a favorable light. Outside observers such as the child’s teachers or counselors, if consulted, could have offered a different perspective.

2. The lesbian parents were hardly typical parents: 93% were Caucasian. Most were collegeeducated (67%). Most were middle/upper class (82%). Eighty-five per cent were in professional or managerial roles. The control sample, however, had significantly more minorities; many more children from the South; they were very different in race composition and socioeconomic status; and the educational level of these mothers was unclear. A statistical adjustment for these differences could have been easily addressed. Had these differences been controlled, they might have been reduced, been proven negligible, or perhaps reversed.

3. The sample was far from random. Participants were recruited from gay and lesbian venues (i.e., lesbian pride events and lesbian newspapers in three major metropolitan areas - Boston, Washington.

D.C. and San Francisco). Although the authors acknowledge the non-randomness of their subject pool and the potential problems this situation could pose, this limitation did not seem to limit their conclusions. As a result, a very strong case could be made for selection bias having invalidated the findings.

Despite the obvious study flaws, the authors offer the following generalization: “The NLLFS adolescents are well-adjusted, demonstrating more competencies and fewer behavioral problems than their peers in the normative American population (p.34).”

Notably absent was data about the sexual orientation of the adolescents or the preferences or expectations for the adolescents’ sexual orientation (some of this data was, in fact, collected for the 10-year study). Was this data collected and simply dismissed?

Remarkably, the authors report that the relationship-dissolution rate for the lesbian couples was 48% at the 10-year mark and 56% at the 17-year mark. (The average duration of the relationship prior to dissolution was 12 years.) When compared

6

“Leave Obama alone! He’s like a thousand times the man you’ll ever be!

You’re just jealous!”

End scene.

While Youtube sensation Chris Crocker children are not going to be subjected to the might have the corner market on amazing fanaticism when it comes to Brittany Spears (and brilliantly so), the rest of us tend to keep our feelings a little more low-key. But, low-key is not what opinion columns are for—that’s right; like the bad boy I am, I just broke the forth wall by acknowledging the audience.

Anyhoozle, I have a few things to say about President Barack Obama, one of the few men to earn my respect without having shaken my hand (I can be a little bit old fashioned like that).

Many people are just blowing up on him for his political methodologies. “He’s doing it too slow,” they say. “He’s doesn’t support gay marriage so he hates us all,” they say. “Calm down!” I say. (Actually, I say something far worse, but I figure that all the little asterisks denoting swear words are ugly.)

Barack Obama holds the most powerful political office in the United States, many would say the world. He has to clean up after the last eight-year circus act and still find a way to continue moving the country forward.

The nation was in a hole and digging itself ever-deeper before this man came along. It’s like being in a plummeting plane and the pilot jumps ship, forcing you to keep the thing on track. Inheriting debt and bad relations from around the world, President Obama did more than anyone will give him credit for—cleaning up our image around the world and handling our financial crisis so that investors can take a step away from the window before following in the footsteps of their 1930’s suicidal predecessors.

I feel like the reason he’s taking so much hard criticism is because people expect him to be a mix of Superman, Jesus, Batman, The Rock from the old WWF and James Earl Jones’ voice. Arguably, it’s his own fault for having a brilliant campaign that mobilized the entire country and becoming synonymous with the words hope and change. It worked so well that people would Barack for better days and counted their Obama when coming out of the store. Because they couldn’t turn their heads without seeing the man for most of 2008, people have actually created a personality cult around him.

The man is not a god, and yet people let their emotions get the better of them so much that they actually have the nerve to complain that he’s not hurling lightning bolts at the conservative right from Mount White House.

Now onto the stuff that really matters: Gay rights. Obama has openly done ten thousand times more for the LGBT community than anybody in his position, and yet, people are complaining. He’s a straight man with a billion things on his hands. Not to insinuate that straight allies are unnecessary, because nothing could be farther from the truth. What I am saying is that he has no personal stock invested in whether or not LGBT people get their rights. His livelihood is not at risk. His marriage will not be called into question. His

idea that they are somehow abnormal because their parents are of the same gender. And yet, he is going out of his way to see that gay rights are taken care of, as he promised during his campaign trail. And he continuously asks everyone to keep pressuring him and holding him accountable. I would say that we are doing a great job of that—but can we tone down on the hate and dividing of the democratic party?

Kay, thanks.

I remember when I was a child once. One Christmas, my mother went out of her way to see our entire floor covered with presents. The presents stretched from the tree and probably in a ten foot radius so much so that there were presents piled up against the wall for maybe three feet. At that point in time, we had just gotten a sense of stability after being homeless for a year. After my brother and I opened our presents and played for a bit, she told us to leave them alone and get ourselves cleaned up to go to our cousin’s holiday party. Under my breath, I called her a bad name. Like most Black mothers, she heard it before it even entirely left my lips. I should have had my hiney whipped, but she only barred me from playing with my toys for three days. I was being, what we call, ungrateful.

I excuse myself because I was 8. I wish I could say I excused a lot of people these days.

Barack Obama does not register in the minds of most Americans as white. Even if he is half white and even if race doesn’t exist, history, society, and the one-drop rule all say he’s Black, and he has to work twice as hard for half the credit. The reason I have faith in him is because he is a First and a smart one at that.

This is his First term in office as America’s First Black president and he is trying to make sure that it isn’t his Last.

America is not post-racial like we like to pretend. Racism exists like a storm cloud over our nation. President Obama is Black and he totally shattered the glass ceiling that would seek to keep him from getting as far as he did.

He took the White House, but he has to work smarter to stay there.

I mean, geez—the guy passed a proclamation to make June LGBT Pride Month. Officially. I just really think that the people who supported him need to have faith. If you voted for him, it was for a reason. There’s a difference between supportive criticism and destructive tongue lashing.

And in the unlikely event you’re reading this, Mr. Obama, you should totally come to my house for coffee. Your secret service should be able to get my address. I mean, the government knows everything, right?

SAGE NENYUE

Freelance writer for Southern Voice

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18 | SOUTHERN VOICE FORUM | July 30, 2010 to the relationship-dissolution rates of the biological heterosexual sisters of the lesbians, the rate of relationship breakup is nearly double for the lesbians.

Is the reader to conclude that dissolution of the parents’ relationship has no effect upon the adjustment of the adolescents? This conclusion hardly fits the existing research.

Other research, perhaps even more interesting, was released about the same time as the NLLFS study - research conducted by Marquardt, Glenn and Clark, titled, “My Daddy’s Name is ‘Donor’: A New Study of Young Adults Conceived Through Sperm Donation.” The authors’ conclusions included the following troubling negative factors: on average, young adults conceived through artificial insemination were more confused, felt more isolated from their families, were experiencing more psychic pain, and fared worse than a matched group of children who were conceived naturally in areas such as depression, delinquency and substance abuse. And the list goes on.

No research was cited in the Gartrell and Bos study regarding the outcomes of children conceived through sperm donation, when compared to children conceived through the natural union of a man and a woman. The authors address the issue of donor status in a very cursory fashion, almost dismissively.

It seems an interesting coincidence that earlier this year, another paper authored by Biblarz and

Stacey (2010) offered a similar conclusion to that of Gartrell and Bos: “In fact, based strictly on the published science, one could argue that two women parent better on average than a woman and a man, or at least than a woman and a man with a traditional division of labor (p.17).”

Based on these two papers, could one really conclude that a double dose of mothering is superior to a mother and a father? If a double dose of mothering is superior to mother and a father, would it follow that a double dose of mothering is vastly superior to and actually contraindicates the placement of children in homes where mothering is absent (i.e., gay men)?

Nowhere do Gartrell and Bos cite the extensive research demonstrating the importance of gender complementarity to the healthy development of children. Nowhere do these authors cite the extensive, peer-reviewed literature on the importance of both mothering and fathering for the healthy development of children.

To Gartrell and Bos’s credit, they do identify some of the reasons for what appears to be politicallymotivated conclusions: “The study has implications - for the expert testimony provided by pediatricians on lesbian mother custody, and for public policies concerning same-sex parenting. (p. 34).”

What seems clear is that the flaws in this study render it unsuitable for anything other than the following brief description: “interesting.” Gartrell and Blos’ conclusions don’t rise to the level of

SOVO.COM support for lesbian parenting that they would like.

Certainly, this study does not merit inclusion in any expert witness testimony nor does it rise to the level of policy implications. Until such limitations are addressed and more rigorous research conducted, the sought after conclusions stated by the authors are without substantial scientific support.

Perhaps the study would be better titled, “Preconceived Conclusions Seeking Research Support” or “Activism Masquerading as Science: A Study Suitable for Scrutiny by Beginning Graduate Students.”

Silverstein and Auerbach, authors of the

“Deconstructing Fathers” article, offered the following disclaimer: “We acknowledge that our reading of the scientific literature supports our political agenda. Our goal is to generate public-policy initiatives that support men in their fathering role, without discriminating against women and samesex couples. We are also interested in encouraging public policy that supports the legitimacy of diverse family structures, rather than privileging the twoparent, heterosexual, married family.” (p. 399).

The same could be said of this study. Gartrell and Bos should have offered the same disclaimer as Silverstein and Auerbach. But they did not.

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Life&Style Apple Blueberry Walnut Pie with Coconut Caramel

Java Jive: Keeps it percolating There’s something comforting and familiar in the retro kitsch and furnishings of Java Jive in Poncey-Highlands. The old colorful chairs and Formica diner tables topped with their trappings of flowers, sugar, cream and syrup get you in the mood for the delicious breakfast offerings of Java Jive. The restaurant is husband and wife team, Shira Levetan and Steven Horowitz, have run this quirky little shop for over a decade now and if the lines that normally greet you on a weekend morning are any indication, their popularity is still high in the neighborhood.

We hit up Java Jive on a Sunday morning, arriving around 10:30. The place was hopping and there were a few tables-worth of folks in line ahead of us, so we had a seat over by the collection of porcelain-clad vintage stove ranges and the guys grabbed a couple cups of Java Jive’s renowned coffee to sip on while we waited. The coffee is sublime. Nothing like the big corporate box overly roasted bitter brews that folks are used to. This had a hint of acidity and mellowed out to quite the addictive cup with the addition of a little cream and sugar.

After being seated by our server and told of the day’s special (blueberry pancakes topped with even more of the plump little berries), we took a look through the menu. Our friends Matt and Cathy pointed out their favorites on the menu, the Santa Fe Scramble and the Mediterranean Scramble. I chose the Santa Fe Scrambler (chorizo sausage, eggs, potatoes, onions, red peppers, cheddar and a touch of salsa), my sweetheart picked the PB&J goes to France (peanut butter and jelly on challah bread, dipped into French toast batter, lightly browned and sprinkled with powdered sugar), Cathy ordered the Mediterranean Scramble (eggs, portabella mushrooms, red peppers, spinach, sundried

tomatoes and feta) and Matt chose the blueberry pancake special. A glass of their fresh squeezed orange juice was worth the $2.00 price tag; like sunshine in a glass!

After a short wait, our food arrived – the egg dishes coming with either biscuit or toast (we chose the light fluffy biscuits) – and we dug in. The Santa Fe might be a little off-putting in demeanor, but it more than made up for it in taste. Sweet with a little heat, the potatoes adding some rib-sticking power to the whole ensemble. The Mediterranean was delicious – a much lighter choice than the Santa Fe and a great meld of flavors. The PB&J goes to France was definitely eclectic, but my peanut butter loving honey wolfed it down and deemed it perfect. The blueberry pancakes were golden and fluffy, with a generous amount of berries in and on top of them.

While we dined, the servers, and even the owner, swung by checking up on us and topping off coffees.

We finished up our meal and headed out…our sparkly Formica table and chairs ready to be filled by the next hungry customer.

NOTE: Java Jive does not take credit or debit cards; cash only. Lucky for us, they’ve got an ATM in the back of the shop just in case you forget your money. Parking is behind the restaurant – steep drive up and limited spacing, but easy egress out on the street behind, quick right and first right and you’re back on Ponce.

Java Jive 790 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30306 404-876-6161 Tue-Fri 8 am - 2 pm Sat-Sun 9 am - 2 pm

As someone with the double-whammy of gluten intolerance and allergy to casein (milk protein), when the craving for something sweet hits, it can present a dilemma – do you take your chances on eating something you shouldn’t and end up feeling poorly, or do you take the problem into your own hands and work with what you can eat and create something wonderfully tasty and safe? The second option is the way to go with this wonderfully appleblueberry-walnut pie with a dairy-free caramel sauce. With many people eliminating gluten and dairy from their diets, the need to rethink and reinvent recipes is important. One of the guys I work with shared the bounty from his dwarf apple tree, so I spent some time peeling teeny tasty little green apples for this pie – talk about a labor of love! The addition of lemon zest and juice are dual purpose – they brighten the flavors of the fruit and keep the apples from turning brown. The use of coconut milk creates a rich caramel in place of heavy cream, but doesn’t push a distinct coconut flavor that might interfere with the other flavors in the pie. If you have caramel left over, it is lovely drizzled over ice cream, stirred into your morning latte, or if you are feeling really naughty: spooned right out of the container into your mouth!

Coconut Caramel Ingredients ¼ cup of agave nectar 2 cups white sugar ½ cup water ½ cup of coconut milk (in a can, NOT the “lite” version) 2 T. of dairy-free margarine Pinch of sea salt Directions In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the agave nectar, sugar and water to a boil – stir until the sugar is dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, you can swirl the pan to ensure that the mixture cooks evenly. Pay close attention, as the sugar can caramelize quickly after hitting boiling point – it may take 10-12 minutes to get to the dark amber color you are looking for. Remove the pan from the heat and very carefully stir in the margarine, salt and coconut milk. It will bubble and rise up, so be careful! Once the mixture is stirred smooth, let cool before drizzling on the pie.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

Pie Ingredients

3 cups peeled and diced apples (Granny Smith would be a great choice) 1 cup blueberries Zest from one lemon Juice from one lemon (approximately 2 T) ¾ cup sugar 3 T. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit & Baking Mix .5 tsp cinnamon Pinch of salt ¼ cup walnuts (optional) Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit & Baking Mix for pie crust Preheat oven to 425⁰ Fahrenheit.

Mix, diced apples, blueberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice, 3 Tablespoons of the biscuit and baking mix, the cinnamon and a pinch of salt in a bowl and set aside while making the pie crust.

Using slightly chilled unrefined coconut oil in place of butter (3/4 cup of coconut oil to 1 cup of butter), mix crust according to the directions on the Biscuit & Baking Mix package. Instead of rolling it out, take the slightly kneaded ball of dough and fit into the bottom of the pie pan. Work up the sides of the pan, ensuring the depth is even on the sides and bottom.

Pour pie filling into the crust and place onto a baking sheet. Cook at 425⁰ F for 40 minutes, turning halfway through. Reduce heat to 350⁰ F, top with the walnuts and cook for an additional 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving & topping with the caramel sauce. The addition of a dollop of vanilla ice cream would be lovely too!

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People Wearing Clothes

Breakin’ Down A-Town, Chapter 2

By ANDREW MEDLIN In our second installment of BTA-T we examine the two most common and tiresome sub sects of the Atlantis-Homomundis population, the ubiquitous Fraternitus Typicallus, and his sprightly companion, Submissivus Minimus. WARNING: As a result of dangerous and irresponsible over-breeding, if these twin varieties of Homomundi continue to grow unchecked, they very well may threaten the biodiversity of our urban habitat. Check out next week’s BTA-T for further analysis on who’s who, and what it has to do with you.

Classification: Fraternitus Typicallus.

Diet: Having grown accustomed to a life of mediocrity, Fraternitus has adapted to a wide range of middle-rate food sources including, but not limited to, bottled beer, junk food, bar food, fast food, and anything of the pre-packaged variety. He enjoys eating out particularly, and engages in communal dining/drinking whenever possible.

Habitat: Blakes, Joes on Juniper, Burkhart’s, The Boy Next Door, Jungle, LA Fitness Ansley, Ansley Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, Nikimotos, Gilberts, Piedmont Park, Cow Tippers, The Flying Biscuit Midtown, Abercrombie, American Eagle, The Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Perimeter Mall, Atlantic Station Cinema, The Tuscany, 1010, and a suburb near you.

Visible Markings: Like other breeds governed by pack mentality, Fraternitus has trouble thinking for himself. Fraternitai are noted for their remarkable ability to dress exactly alike one another at all times. Flip Flops, cargo shorts, and logo-dominated polo and t-shirts are clearly mandatory, with baseball caps, and faded, ripped, bootcut, blue jeans as a coldweather alternative. It should be noted that Flip-Flops are worn all year round, indicating the possible involvement of toes in their mating ritual. Some scientists believe that there may be a Fraternitus Majorus, or Queen Typicallus, subliminally controlling/dictating the actions of the mindless Fraternitus, as there is no other logical explanation for the awkward and derisory raiment by the multitude of drones.

Others believe that this collective uniform is a glaring and pitiable facsimile modeled after the Heteromungus population: This theory is largely discounted however, as experts question why anyone would ever elect to look so oblivious.

Know Predators: Fraternitus tends to be overlooked as a viable food source by much of the urban jungle due to his bland aroma and dunduckytimur plumage; however, in times of famine desperate members of the other sub factions may offer a temporary threat. Beardadus Furripilosis is, as usual, a bumbling adversary, futilely attempting to devour all that cross his path. Unfortunately for Atlanta, Beardadus is

a bumbling adversary, claiming only weak or sickly Fraternai, causing a dangerous population spike, bordering. On occasion, the primarily cannibalistic Gym-Bunnicus Prognathous will become befuddled while hunting his own kind and inadvertently devour the all-too-eager Fraternitus, only to purge him later. Submissivus Minimus has been known to use Fraternitus as a source of nutrients from time to time, but is usually observed occupying a lower position on the food chain.

Classification: Submissivus Minimus.

Diet: N/A Habitat: Blakes, Jungle, Outwrite Books, Café Intermezzo, “The Mall,” Abercrombie, American Eagle, Express, Opera, The Boy Next Door, Caribou Coffee, Piedmont Park, High School, on the arm of one of some unsuspecting tool.

Visible Markings: Earning his name from his diminutive physique, Submissivus is most readily identifiable by his petite figure, mimping dialect, and florid gesticulation. A parasitic creature, Submissivus has no authentic style of his own due to his inability to find adult clothes in the wild. Instead, he latches onto a carrier from whom he reaps a hodgepodge wardrobe of ill-fitted cast-offs. Not known for his selfcontrol or sense of moderation, Submissivus can is often observed wearing a heavily painted face and a surplus of vulgar accessories, all worn as primitive badges of rank. Belts are vital to Submissivus, as even his brazenly-low-rise ladies pants are prone to drop to his ankles when startled/aroused. Optical sensitivity is common among the Submissivai, making the donning of oversized sunglasses a necessity at all hours of the day or night. Anthropologists believe that all forms of body hair are considered sacrilegious for Submissivus, and must be ritualistically removed (and perhaps preserved) on the regular. Tweezed brows, tan lines, and flagrant highlights are other forms of body modification indicative of a Submissivus.

Know Predators: Were it not for his overwhelming numbers; Submissivus would have been hunted to extinction long ago. Like the American Bison, were they not being constantly bred for consumption, they would likely not be here today. For reasons unknown, the fresh, supple flesh of Submissivus is in high demand by a variety of subspecies in our urban jungle. They can be spotted roaming in packs around the city, taunting would-be-predators with provocative mating dances. Don’t be fooled by their size, once lured into their web of seduction, their siren-like voices have been known to induce madness. Thanks to an almost insatiable need to breed coupled with a bountiful annual turnover; Submissivus is one of the most renewable (and expendable) recourses in the Atlantis-Homomundis society.

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Scene Coming Out of the Coffin

By CORINA MORRIS What with True Blood, The Vampire Diaries and Twilight, American audiences cannot help but cleave to the notion of the undead and over-sexed. The allure of fluid sexuality coupled with immortality reeks havoc with the human imagination, unlocking endless possibilities, positions and sexual encounters. As well as my favorite topic, lesbian and bisexual vampirism.

Why is it whenever mainstream America decides to blow-up the realm of vampires, lesbians unapologetically ooze and drip over most frames?

Also, how is it that Americans readily accept the notion of lesbian vampirism yet still have a difficult time with casting black vampires, much less black lesbian vampires, in lead roles?

While pondering this phenomenon, I had the privilege of asking Atlanta’s own Fiona Zedde about the topics of homosexuality and race in the context of her book, Every Dark Desire, and pop culture.

SOVO: Hello Fiona and thank you for agreeing to do this interview. Could you start off by first doing a shameless plug for your book?

Fiona Zedde: Sure. The book that I’ve written is titled “Every Dark Desire.” It came out in 2007. It’s a vampire novel set in Jamaica and Alaska. It follows a woman newly turned (vampire) who’s sort of in the closet. When she’s turned, she lets her lesbian nature come out as well as her vampire nature. Her vampirism is also a metaphor for being lesbian.

I’ve always had a Jewel Gomez and Anne Rice craze. But while I’d be reading these books, I always thought there had to be something else to the vampire world that could be created. I like the Anne Rice universe, but there wasn’t room for people of color in the universe. With Gomez, I love the consciousness and the human nature (of the vampires), but I wanted her vampires to be more animal, more primal while still being in touch with their human side SOVO: Is that primal yet human touch unique to your vampires? Could you tell us a little more about your journey in creating your lead character?

FZ: Typically, you sit there at the computer and the persons or character emerges. I really wanted to have a character that was human and repressed in all these ways as a human. And when she becomes vampire, I wanted her to release all these oppressions. When a human is infected (with vampirism), all of her inhibitions disappear because their fear disappears.

SOVO: In the context as a metaphor for homosexuality, do you think a vampire’s lifestyle is what a queer lifestyle could be without fear?

FZ: Maybe. If there weren’t inhibitions, this could be how gays could live. They [the characters in my book] form family units, they take care of each other, look out for each other, everything is done with purpose and intensity, there’s no halfway doing anything. They live passionately, and that’s what I love about them. But I do not condone the massive killings they do! Haha. It’s a good plot advancing technique but definitely not for real life.

SOVO: Why do you think America is going through a vampire resurgence? We had the Anne Rice craze and now we have this.

FZ: Not sure. Everything goes in cycles. Whenever people want to talk about issues that are pertinent or hotbed in our society, they use metaphors like vampires and werewolves. Publishing industry is currently publicizing sex, one way of pushing the envelope is paranormal beings having sex. They can have all these crazy things that would make a normal human go “oh, this is too much for me”. They’re not human so they can do all these super freaky things.

Right now sex is really in your face again, and this is a way to push sex more. With the novel, Charlene’s books get more and more sexual. Twilight is about chastity and desire and sex and wanting. It’s about wanting this things that’s extreme.

SOVO: Why is there always a lesbian vamp in these stories?

FZ: Straight men have a thing about women together, they love to see lesbians and they explore that desire. But, one thing about the vampire is, whether you’re talking about my vampires or others’, they no longer have the societal restrictions or the conscious that tells them they can’t do this or that. They’re living forever; they’re beautiful forever.

Their whole existence is rooted in being powerful and passionate. Existing like that, there’s nothing you can’t do. The whole vampire persona is about sex with creatures who are really young but old and experienced, and they want to suck your blood. Tell me, what isn’t sexual about that?

When someone trots out the vamp as a metaphor, this creature is about sex and squeezing everything out of life and living. It seems ridiculous for them to live as vampires and not try everything under the sun. Why would you just have hetero sex when the morays of that society you were born into is no longer your society. So, you can do whatever you want. Everything is about sensation and squeezing pleasure out of life. For someone who has an infinite capacity for pleasure and being, it would seem silly to stick to one gender. That would be prudish and vamps are never prudes. It makes no sense to have a straight vampire.

SOVO: What are your thoughts on True Blood?

FZ: The series is based on the books by Charlene Harris, so it’s still literature. They have taken a few detours from her plotline; in her book, it is much more gay. The Eric character has a gay relationship with his maker. I think that Alan Ball is straddling the line between queerness and what will keep the straight universal audience. He’s in an awkward position but pushing the envelope as much as he can.

No matter what Alan does, there’s always queerness there. He presents this normal American façade and you see the queerness that’s there that not everyone sees, and it’s normalized.

I like the show, it’s campy and you can’t take the characters too seriously. Whatever will visually stimulate and keep the audience, that’s what’ll be up there and that’s what makes them different from the books. The books can go more in depth into the

psyches of the vampires, but with television and movies, it also has to be hetero palatable.

SOVO: Do you think dressing up alternative lifestyles as a supernatural creature is mainstream society’s way of accepting or demonizing a lifestyle?

FZ: I don’t. You have to accept all of us as we are.

When I saw the True Blood episode where vampire Bill tells Sookie that he’s trying to “mainstream”, I had just read an article on gay’s mainstreaming, mimicking straight culture as a way of being accepted by straight culture. Some people just want to be who they are. The world should accept us as we are, not only if we make ourselves look and act more like you. Because, it’s not really going to happen. I mean, there are even straight people in society who are swingers. How is they are allowed to live their lifestyle but lesbians and gays aren’t?

SOVO: Quite! In closing, why do you think there

are so few black vampires?

FZ: The vampire legend traditionally came out of Anglo culture, and one of the key characteristics of vampires was pale white skin and looking anemic.

Writers who create black vamps stay away from describing their vampires as such. I think there are other supernatural creatures that the African American culture is more interested in exploring.

For example there is this Jamaican tale of people who remove their skin to commit other wild acts at night and then return back to their skin before day. In one story, a creature like this would go off and commit unspeakable crimes when outside of his skin. Someone caught him and waited for him to shed his skin. Then the person put pepper in the skin. When the creature returned, it was burned.

SOVO: Sounds interesting. Thank you for speaking with Southern Voice.

MTV Gets GLAAD Approval

By CORINA MORRIS GLAAD released its fourth annual television broadcast rankings for the portrayal of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people on television.

The study monitored nearly 5,000 hours of TV programming, sampling the top broadcast networks and most popular cable shows for their depiction of queer characters and reality show participants. The ledger for such—beyond the obvious measured frequency of LGBT persons— consisted of investigating how LGBT people were portrayed through a character’s importance to the ensemble and racial make-up.

It comes as no shock that MTV scored the highest, actually winning the unprecedented ranking of “excellent” making GLAAD television ranking history (Matea Gold, LA Times). The youth-centered network earned this high honor as a result of possessing the highest number of LGBT characters and people on their prime time shows. A whopping 42% of the network’s programs portrayed real-life LGBT people on shows like “The Real World: Washington D.C.” and “America’s Best Dance Crew.”

Overall, most networks improved this year including the CW, with 35% of its prime programming depicting LGBT frankness in shows such as “Gossip Girl” and “Melrose Place.” FOX— yes, FOX—got off the ‘no-fly zone’ and into the “adequate” sphere thanks to “Glee” and for signing Ellen DeGeneres as a key adjudicator on the top ranking “American Idol.” ABC managed to earn a

“good” nod for dedicating 37% of its programming to lesbians and gays, although trailing a far cry from “excellent” due to its curtailing of this olive-branch extension during prime time. Still, the network scored as high as it did for having the most number of hours depicting gay people than any of its other broadcast bedfellows. How can you go wrong with “Modern Family’s” Mitch and Cameron? NBC improved its report card and went from a dismal “failing” grade to a nice “adequate supplied by the 13% of its programming dedicated to gay characters (Andreeva, The Deadline).

Success was not the case for all. CBS bombed miserably for portraying virtually no gay characters outside of the obligatory 7% scattered within TV reality shows such as “Big Brother” and “The Amazing Race.” Keeping CBS company, USA, A&E and TBS, each scored a 4%, 3%, and 2% respectively (Andreeva, The Deadline). Those who maintained their good-standing with the LGBT community came as no surprise; TNT, Showtime, Lifetime and HBO—networks routinely relied on to bring forth the gritty truth in characters and class—each qualified for a decent ranking.

Does this bode well for the future of LGBT representation on television? The networks that beat their previous years’ ranks did so by leaps and bounds. The CW jumped from last year’s rating of 15% to 35%, and FOX made the surprising leap from 19% to 30%. Hopefully, such transformations will encourage other networks to be more in tune with their more modern audiences.

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Gay Zombie Sex Crosses the Line in Melbourne

Superman’s Gay Encounter

By B.T. TIDWELL If you’ve had fantasies of an intimate interlude with Christopher Reeve, then you are now entitled to the legitimate satisfaction, or envy, of knowing that he did take a walk on the wild side at least once.

The revelation that Reeve had more man sex experience than his infamous gay kiss with Michael Cain in the 1982 movie Deathtrap, is courtesy of the newly released book, Hollywood Babylon Strikes Again.

In a 1987 interview gay porn star Cal Culver, better known as Casey Donovan, claims to have had an “affair” with Reeve. Culver describes Reeve as a passionate lover and an open-minded guy willing to try anything once but concedes that Reeve was primarily straight. That assessment is backed up by Reeves long term relationships with several women, his fathering of three children, and no other evidence of gay relationships.

The Hollywood Babylon series was started by author/film maker Kenneth Anger with Hollywood Babylon, first published in 1965 and again in 1975. Despite being widely criticized for

its lose handling of facts and completely unproven inflammatory allegations, the book was followed by a second volume, also by Anger, in 1984, which was criticized for the same faults.

Anger is still living and has reportedly written another volume that he is afraid to publish, but the theme has been picked up by the authors Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince in “Hollywood Babylon- It’s Back!” from 2008, and their latest offering Hollywood Babylon- Strikes Again!”

While these books continue the tradition of dishing scandal about the big names in celebritydom, they also continue the tradition of offering little proof to back up their rumors.

In this instance, Culver died of AIDS shortly after the interview in 1987 and Christopher Reeve died in 2004 of a heart attack, after spending 9 years paralyzed from a horse ridding accident.

Conveniently for the books authors there is no way to check the veracity of Culvers claims, or discover what the relationship might have meant to Reeve. We can only hope he will smile kindly on fans who are thinking “I wish it had been me!”

By B.T. TIDWELL If you’ve had fantasies of an intimate interlude with Christopher Reeve, then you are now entitled to the legitimate satisfaction, or envy, of knowing that he did take a walk on the wild side at least once.

The revelation that Reeve had more man sex experience than his infamous gay kiss with Michael Cain in the 1982 movie Deathtrap, is courtesy of the newly released book, Hollywood Babylon Strikes Again.

In a 1987 interview gay porn star Cal Culver, better known as Casey Donovan, claims to have had an “affair” with Reeve. Culver describes Reeve as a passionate lover and an open-minded guy willing to try anything once but concedes that Reeve was primarily straight. That assessment is backed up by Reeves long term relationships with several women, his fathering of three children, and no other evidence of gay relationships.

The Hollywood Babylon series was started by author/film maker Kenneth Anger with Hollywood Babylon, first published in 1965 and again in 1975. Despite being widely criticized for

its lose handling of facts and completely unproven inflammatory allegations, the book was followed by a second volume, also by Anger, in 1984, which was criticized for the same faults.

Anger is still living and has reportedly written another volume that he is afraid to publish, but the theme has been picked up by the authors Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince in “Hollywood Babylon- It’s Back!” from 2008, and their latest offering Hollywood Babylon- Strikes Again!”

While these books continue the tradition of dishing scandal about the big names in celebritydom, they also continue the tradition of offering little proof to back up their rumors.

In this instance, Culver died of AIDS shortly after the interview in 1987 and Christopher Reeve died in 2004 of a heart attack, after spending 9 years paralyzed from a horse ridding accident.

Conveniently for the books authors there is no way to check the veracity of Culvers claims, or discover what the relationship might have meant to Reeve. We can only hope he will smile kindly on fans who are thinking “I wish it had been me!”

The Dream Cobbler: Inception Makes Waves

By CORINA MORRIS Director Christopher Nolan, who brought us The Dark Knight and Momento, stunned audiences this month with his telling thriller/ action/drama movie, Inception. The film opens with a dream within a dream sequence with our protagonist, Dom Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), washed ashore on what appears to be a remote island. Facedown and barely inhaling the ocean’s foam, his weary head rises when he hears giggling children playing nearby; he looks after them in a delusional gaze and fights to maintain his consciousness. A voice starts, “You’re waiting for a train, a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you can’t be sure.” Before audience members can wrap their minds around the simple yet unsettling riddle, the camera pans wide, revealing the front barrel of a soldier’s rifle poking Cobb’s back while he calls to others an intruder has arrived.

Consistent with a dreamlike sequence of events, we watch the soldiers drag Cobb’s body through an ornate hall into an even larger grand dining room. An ancient man sits at the head of the table, bowed over his resting hands. Everything appears entirely surreal. The soldiers slam a plate of rice gruel before their captive who eats like a

disoriented mongrel while the older man removes what appears to have been Cobb’s only possession: a small, metal spinning top. “You remind me of someone…a man I met in a half-remembered dream….” the relic raises his gaze to read the prisoner’s face, both blindly search for any familiar remnant, any answer at all.

In that moment, the film switches frames, same grand dining hall, same two men. This time, however, the ancient lord is younger and regards the now well-dressed Cobb and his partner, Arthur (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), with revered skepticism. A cocky Cobb sternly enjoins his client, Saito (played by Ken Watanabe), to use his services for protection against thought theft.

Yes, thought theft, otherwise called extraction: when someone hijacks your deepest secrets from the corners of your unguarded subconscious. In Saito’s subconscious, this secret lies in a safe within his dining hall. An opening chase sequence takes flight as Cobb, to prove his superiority in the business of extraction protection, desperately eludes attackers, flooding and a collapsing building to break into Saito’s proverbial safe and unlock his secrets.

Inception explodes with stylistic grace and mind-bending, multi-dimensional play. Scene

after scene offers new textures, lighting and color palates as we watch Cobb put together his team of “Subconscious Security” specialists to infiltrate a young mogul’s mind and plant an idea in his deep subconscious that would favor his competitor’s (Saito) monopoly. If all goes according to Cobb’s plans, the young mogul will assume he manufactured the concept and hopefully dismantle his business. This venture sets a course through uncharted waters with a large pay-off awaiting our protagonist if he succeeds.

His expert team includes Arthur, Ariadne (played

by Ellen Page), Eames (played by Tom Hardy), Yusuf (played by Dileep Rao) and Saito, who tags along to ensure the risky project’s success, funding the entire venture as most corporate CEOs do.

Yet, Cobb has an uncontrollable weakness, a potentially lethal defect that manages to slip its way into the team’s mission, putting them at a high risk of failure.

A well-crafted, smart endeavor, the film seems perfect for counseling scholars who enjoy a little bear-baiting, if you will, sprinkled amidst their psycho-analysis. Innovative special effects, drastic fight scenes and mind-bending plot twists make every frame in this film worth your full attention.

Audience members could potentially sit with a

book on the meaning of dreams in one hand and soda in the other without missing a beat.

Still, Inception shares many qualities with the bimbo movies of the past year: pretty on the outside, dull on the inside. Certain aspects of the film lag while other portions are drawn so scantily with obvious omissions that you are left anticipating some non-existent resolution. While the characters earn cool points for being tough, intelligent and humorous, the audience never gets the opportunity to bond or relate to them as they are preoccupied with their ambitious mission. Whether navigating through a vicious subconscious or defying the odds with high-tech gadgets and sheer moxie, they translate through the screen as sterile automatons. Cobb does most of the weeping—and a lot of it—while everyone else efficiently carries on, emotionless, bloodless.

If you are attracted to Jungian archetypes, Freudian analysis, thrilling fight scenes or stunning cinematography, Inception will not disappoint. Let Nolan’s shape-shifting world pleasantly alter your understanding of the laws of the universe and the mind amidst a swirling reality. One which exposes that the deeper we delve into someone else’s subconscious, the more we are at the mercy of our own.

26 | SOUTHERN VOICE | July 30, 2010

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Views Cook Tops and Protein Shakes

By ANDREW MEDLIN I’m an idiot. Earlier this week I was… baking bread…with this adorable, little, hipster-trick who, I’ll admit, is way too young for me. To be honest, the poor thing is as dumb as a bag of hammers but, in my defense, he has a tattoo on his chest and eyes that shine like the sun; so don’t judge me, okay?

So, we’re in the midst of a rather noisy baking session when, to my extreme dismay, his roommate walks in. Had we been thoughtful, we might have heard him enter, but in our haste to begin our bread making, we somehow neglected to latch the door. Ipso facto, there we were, caught red-handed, covered in batter, with the smell of fresh-baked bread in the air, and here I am with my hand in the cookie jar… well, not my hand exactly, but you get the point.

Not being the most seasoned of chefs, and certainly not being used to having an audience while I cook, my immediately instinct was to bumble around, ineffectually trying to save whatever dignity I may have by (literally) finding an apron to hide behind.

As my luck would have it, there was no apron nor, for that matter, dignity to be found in the kitchen that day (for, we were actually in the kitchen), only a tattered dishrag, mocking me from out of arms reach.

At this point in the game, as I lay sprawled on the cold, tile counter-top, I wondered how to best detach from this particular situation, considering my cooking utensils were only being covered by the body of my remarkably focused sous-chef who, technically speaking, was still baking.

I remember thinking many things at that moment, but what really struck me as odd was why mon petite

hipster was so intent on staying in the kitchen when, clearly, his roommate had just come home. Now, I had always heard revenge is best served cold, but little did I know, we were cookin’ up a hot stack of payback.

It wasn’t his roommate that had walked in, but his (larger, and much more macho) boyfriend. Needless to say, he did not appreciate our culinary efforts.

In retrospect, I should have been suspicious when he kept checking his timer the whole time. I had wondered why he tried to take us to from a 30-minute meal to a microwave dinner as soon as we walked in the door. I’m generally the kind of guy who appreciates a little more food prep, but when the dough’s a’risin’, you put it in the oven, n’est-ce pas? But it all made sense now; it was clear from the look in his eyes, this had been on the menu for a long time coming – I was only an available ingredient.

So anyway, without dropping his gym bag, big, burly, boyfriend grabs his lover around the chest and, with one arm, lifts his angrily gyrating carcass off of mine. This is when shitake got real: My mellow, little, hipster flipps-the-freak-out. He starts kicking, and screaming, and crying as his (dangerously calm) lover hauls him over to the front door, opens it, and chucks him (fully nude) into the hallway.

He locks the door. Naturally, I’m thinking, “This is it.” My throat feels unusually dry and I find myself wondering where they keep the glasses, and if I can sneak a cup of water without garnishing much attention. The room erupts with shrieking and pounding from outside. Why hadn’t I just stayed home and baked alone, as usual?

The boyfriend turns away from the door, pretending

to ignore the maelstrom on it’s other side. He turns his attention to me. I freeze, still naked on the counter-top, trying desperately to remember what to do when you encounter a bear in the wild, but somehow getting it all mixed up with Shark Week and, to my chagrin, images from Jurassic Park. Glad to know I’m so cool under pressure.” I’m [BLANK],” he says, extending his hand. “Andrew,” I say, extending mine, still frozen in shock. He lifts me by my hand from the counter, and steadies me on my feet.

He puts his gym bag down, and goes to the cupboard, extracting a blender. I suddenly become very aware of my genitalia. “Excuse me,” he says, as he reaches around me to open up the fridge. I dispose of something in the trash, and begin a mortified hunt for my underwear as he assembles a variety of fruits and jars on the counter. The sounds of banging and crying are dulled by that of the blender, as I mercifully locate my clothes, and begin to dress.

“Protein shake?” He offers me, as stand in his kitchen, awkwardly try to put on my shoes while standing. “No thanks,” I say, but he insists, handing me a glass of burgundy slop that tasted like vanilla and regret. I need to wash my hands.

He asks me to stay a bit, saying that the second I opened the door to leave he’d have to deal with his boyfriend who, at this point had stopped his aural assault on the apartment. He explained that there was infidelity, on both sides, and that they had determined to have an ‘open’ relationship. They loved each other, he said, “but once you open that can of worms… it’s hard to go back; I just can’t help but get jealous.”

Mixed metaphors aside, I felt for the guy. I ended

up staying for an hour or so. We talked, mainly about their relationship, but also about other stuff. I learned that we both played hockey as kids, and that neither of us really ‘gets’ the fascination with drag shows. I also learned that he wasn’t mad about the baking, not at me or at his boyfriend. He just said his BF needed a little time to cool off out there; that he had been gunnin’ for a fight ever since some photo he had seen from Joining Hearts, and that, “it wouldn’t be pretty.” He said it was only fair, per the terms of their agreement. Apparently, he (the big, burly, boyfriend) had taken the same lover more than once – which was against their rules. So, as a part of his punishment, his boyfriend (the naked one in the hallway) was trying to teach him a lesson by having as many cooks in the kitchen as he could manage.

That revelation really made me feel cheap, as you can imagine, but also strangely inspired. I mean, if they could deal with all this craziness, and still chose to be with one another, then couldn’t anyone?

After a hug, and yet another apology on my part, we decided it was finally time to part ways. As I cautiously opened the door, fearful of what I might find outside, I thought to myself, “Is this what love is like?”

Then I saw my answer. Still naked, crouched in the hallway, and all cried out, the tattooed boy with the shining eyes looked past me into the eyes of the man he loved. They both were flawed, both hurt; but they both looked past those things. Without saying a word, I crept down the stairway. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the one reach down and take his boyfriends hand. He lifted him up and they walked together, back through their front door.

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Q Puzzle

Q Scopes ARIES (March 20 – April 19):

Stand your ground this week. You may not feel right if you’re not moving forward all the time, but right now, you need to just hang tough and make sure you don’t end up moving backward.

TAURUS (April 20 – May 20):

You’ve got good friends, and that counts for more than you can imagine. It’s a really good time for you to give them the thanks and props they deserve -- life is too short to put off the important stuff!

GEMINI (May 21- June 20):

You need to find new ways to handle frustration -- or you could boil over and explode at whomever is handy, which could also work. Your maturity is being tested, but you don’t know who’s grading.

CANCER (June 21- July 22):

Avoid the temptation to force yourself into repetitive or detail-oriented tasks -- daydreaming and brainstorming are much more appealing and worthwhile this week!

LEO (July 23 – August 22):

Don’t fall into the trap of going along with a too-big plan just because your business or romantic partner is on board. In fact, that’s exactly the kind of thing you need to avoid at a time like this!

VIRGO (August 23 – September 22):

Your most important relationships need attention right now. That’s not to say that you’re in big trouble or that you need to walk away, but that you’ve just got to spend extra time and energy building bridges.

LIBRA (September 23 – October 22):

CAPRICORN (December 21 – January 19):

SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21):

AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18):

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 20):

PISCES

You can see every side of every issue -- but that very positive trait can sometimes lead to unfortunate side effects! Make sure you avoid the paralysis that is staring you in the face.

You need to harness your imagination now -- and it’s much easier to access it! You should be able to get your friends or coworkers to follow along as you lead them to awesome new heights.

It’s time for you to stop thinking and start acting -you’ve got plenty of material to work with. Your own life is a canvas, and you’re an artist with a deep well of inspiration to draw from.

All that good energy has to be put to some good use -- so go for it! You may be able to push forward in a new direction, but no matter what happens, you’re likely to feel quite good about it.

You’ve got to make a conscious effort to lend a hand when friends or colleagues need you this week -- but it’s worth it! Even if you’re emotionally overdrawn, you can still expect some good karmic interest in the future.

(February 19 – March 19):

It’s a long way off from your birthday, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give yourself a little present anyway. Find something you’d never think to buy for yourself and then force yourself to get it.