2021-4

VOL 21, #4

LAS VEGAS and the category is...

Season 3

MS. WORLD MS. ELEKTRA ABUNDANCE-WINTOUR AN INTERVIEW WITH

DOMINIQUE JACKSON +

1ST TRANS MISS SILVER STATE USA 1ST ‘OUT’ PANSEXUAL NV LAWMAKER

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Photo Credit: Starz

By: Chris Azzopardi

Dominique Jackson WON’T STOP SURVIVING! The ‘Pose’ star on the gender fluidity of her latest role, pushing through the pandemic and how ‘X-Men’ saved her Model and actress Dominique Jackson can’t say a thing about the third and final season of one of the most groundbreaking LGBTQ+ series ever made. It’s mid February when we connect, just weeks before it was announced that seven new episodes of “Pose,” the FX drama about New York’s drag ball subculture during the HIV/AIDS crisis, will premiere May 7. And then it will end, with a tide-changing legacy forever linked to its name.

When it debuted in 2018, the series set a record for the number of out LGBTQ+ people in its cast, especially trans women of color. At the time of our talk, Jackson said the cast was in the process of shooting. But when pushed to offer even the slightest tease of what’s to come, she remained playfully taciturn about her character: “All I can tell you is Elektra is going to be Elektra.”

Elektra Wintour, of course, is the fiercely resilient house mother, who last season formed her new house, the House of Wintour, and went full-on dominatrix. In season two’s last episode, in a leather bustier, with a whip in her hand, she ordered a client to heel. And then there’s that dead client whose body she housed in her apartment.

So no, Jackson’s life doesn’t completely mirror that of her character. But their experiences are, to some degree, shared. Like Elektra, who is the fictional protégé of ball-culture icons like Crystal LaBeija, Pepper LaBeija and Paris Dupree, Jackson also found refuge in the underground world of ballroom culture while in Baltimore and New York in the ’90s, after a period of childhood trauma she experienced while living in the dual-island nation Trinidad and Tobago. She jumped

around to several houses primarily populated by Black and Latinx trans outsiders, eventually settling into the House of Sinclair in NYC, a safe haven that helped her survive homelessness and substance abuse.

Aside from her breakout role on “Pose,” Jackson is upending gender norms on the third season of the Starz series “American Gods,” a series about the culture clashing of Old and New Gods. She embodies the latest incarnation of the shapeshifting “Mr. World” as a ferocious, bat-wielding, glam Black woman, now called “Ms. World.”

Just after giving a keynote address at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change conference, which was virtual this year, Jackson spoke about how reliving Elektra helped her survive the pandemic and why FabLasVegas.com

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CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------“Pose” actors other than Billy Porter deserve awards acknowledgement. She also explained how the superhero fantasy world of “X-Men” aided in her survival as a trans woman, even though she initially hesitated because “everyone, the people, are talking about it” on the internet. In other words, they really, really want Dominique Jackson to play Storm.

How’re you doing? How has lockdown been for you this past year?

Lockdown was kind of a push to revitalize myself, a push to really look back at myself, look back at my life, understand the things that were happening for me and start to create what I wanted. Of course, in the beginning, there was a panic, there was great fear, there were even times where I just felt like, you know, just give up.

Because during the pandemic, we were locked down and it was like, “Oh my gosh, I’m blessed with all these amazing opportunities and now I’m gonna lose them.” There was that fear.

And then George Floyd was murdered and that just pushed everything over the top. And trans women were being murdered back to back every week. I was ready to give up. I didn’t give up, but I was ready to give up. I just felt like there’s no place for us in this world.

If they were killing Black men, what are they gonna do to trans women? And there we were being murdered.

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What kept you going?

I’m the type of person that I really looked into myself first.

I tried to find out what I could do to make things better, and in speaking to people and doing little Elektra things on TikTok, it gave me hope reliving my character, to really just do something besides just sit in the house and worry.

My fiancé and I were doing challenges together. That really helped to brighten me up, pull me out a bit. And I realized that sitting there and panicking was not going to help me. It was just gonna make me sick. It was gonna keep me in that depressive mode, and I had to fight through it. I remember how I fought through not having a green card and fought through wanting to be on television, just fighting all my life, and I was like, “Now is not the time for me to stop.”

I read recently that when we’re experiencing despair it’s important for us to remember past moments of resilience in our lives. It can get you out of that spiral.

Yeah, it did.

You famously don’t do many interviews. Based on what I’ve read, you don’t like talking so much about your success, because you kind of feel like it paints a false narrative for the trans community as a whole. Is that right?

Well, yeah. I’m really selective with interviews because I feel like sometimes it’s just, “OK,

let me get the story.” And you give the story and you keep reliving your traumas. It’s just something that is put out there over and over and over again; it becomes exhausting reliving your trauma. I’m reliving trauma by some of the things that we have to do on “Pose.”

So, for me, I want interviews to be about and really for my community. I really want them to have a message that’s going to be sent to my community, and not just an article to say, “Oh, we represented the trans community; we have Dominique Jackson.”

So how do you navigate that behind the scenes? How do you know who to talk to and who not to?

I’m a person that believes in doing research, and I have a great management team. So they know exactly what I’m looking for. And the other thing is, I’m about my work, and I’m about putting that onto the screen. And I put everything that I have (into it), because I want people to understand that being trans is just a part of my journey. That doesn’t mean that I can’t be a great actor. It doesn’t mean I can’t be the best doctor there is, it doesn’t mean that I can’t mow the lawn or lay concrete.

It doesn’t limit me. And I want my community to know that hard work does pay off.

I’m curious to know what some of the questions are about being a trans woman that you don’t want to answer anymore.

And do you feel like it’s a tricky

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CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------situation that you’re in given the fact that you’ve become this accidental activist?

Well, yes, and you see that’s why I’m selective with my interviews. Because I am, kind of, and that’s what I’ve been deemed. It was not what I was trying to do. It just happened.

I realized I was getting so many responses on Instagram of how I inspire people, and I was looking at myself going, “Who, me?” For me, it’s not about, “Oh, look at me, I’m an activist.” It’s just that I know that I want what I want, and I know that I’m going to have to work hard to get to it.

And questions — it depends. If I’m speaking at a college or I’m speaking to my community, it’s a different story. But when it comes to my surgeries, some people ask some really stupid questions like, “What made you want to do that?” And I also have a book. So I feel like, you know, sometimes people can just read the book. I mean, it’s as raw as possible. And you know, you can get that information.

I’d like to shift gears to “American Gods.” From what I understand, you didn’t even have to audition for the show; the role was offered to you.

Before, you had to really fight for roles. So what did it mean to you to just be offered a role like this?

It was beyond phenomenal.

It was just a thing of like, I’m validated, I’m seen, they see me as an actor. And that’s what this is all about: It’s about the visibilities, about being seen, it’s about being acknowledged, 8 Fab Vegas

and being acknowledged so that people don’t fear you. This is not about acknowledgement and validity to say, “Oh, look, I’m a queen.” This is about: I am here, I am a human being just like you, so see me, allow me the comfort and allow me the ability to fail, if that’s how you see it. But don’t judge me just based on my journey as a woman.

Do you find that you are now being offered more roles in general?

(Laughs.) Well, I’ve only really been offered two. (The other was in the movie) “Chick Fight,” and still, of course, I did a little reading for them. It feels great. It’s just a phenomenal feeling, and to know that at times I felt ashamed that I didn’t go to school for this. But it just goes to show that sometimes, some things are just in you.

Working at (Bronx LGBTQ Community Center) Destination Tomorrow and raising kids in the past, I always say, “You have to guide kids,” because if someone was there to say to me, “Look, I see you like to build characters and act, I see you love the stage” instead of limiting me from the stage by saying to me, “Look, only girls do that” or making it about gender — it was limiting to me. And so, when I danced and I did ballet, I was laughed at, and I was like, “Listen, I wasn’t even doing this for anything but for the art, for the love of being able to escape normality for a second and bring something else to life and see people

enjoy it.” I loved when I danced and people just sat in awe. It made me feel like I had purpose.

Is that the same feeling you get when people watch you as Elektra and they tell you how much they love you in that role?

Sometimes that can be a bit overwhelming, because, again, I wasn’t receiving love like that before. So it’s like, “Wow.” It’s comforting to the heart, it makes me feel like I’m a part of the human race. It makes me feel like I belong.

Regarding your role as Ms. World on “American Gods,” what do you think that we can learn from her?

Well… (laughs), that’s a really, um, kind of difficult question to answer since this lady is walking around busting heads open with bats. So, I don’t recommend that you walk around, bashing people in the head with bats for having an opinion. But Ms. World, again, it’s about a woman, and people don’t understand, when you are marginalized, anything that you get makes you feel like you are coming out of that when you have faced oppression.

So, as a Caribbean woman, as an immigrant, as a Black woman, as a trans woman — as all these women combined to make my whole — I see strings, I see power, I see now we’re not looking to those that are in power. When we create Loki, it’s usually this male thing. So therefore, when we

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------see Ms. World, we see that a God can transform, a God can change, and Mr. World now is of the world. And being of the world, you should be inclusive of everyone.

How have superhuman fantasy roles been helpful to you in navigating your own identity?

Well, OK, I don’t want to really say this, but I have to. Because I really don’t wanna talk about it, because everyone, the people, are talking about it. For me, I’m just honored by them talking about this: But growing up the X-Men was very dear to my heart.

Because, at that time, I was basically homeless, and couchsurfing at times. A group of us were staying at one of our friend’s grandmother’s houses; she was in the hospital at the time. And so we were all gathered there because that was our place to stay for the moment. I didn’t have to pay for a hotel for the night; it meant that I didn’t have to go to the street. So when we found comfort and warmth, we kind of gathered there.

And there was the “X-Men” saga, “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” that was playing at that time, and we were just so enthralled.

And while growing up, of course, I watched the “X-Men” and I loved them. I loved them, but it was in that moment, and again in meeting my children’s family in Baltimore, and then coming to New York, we all watched the “X-Men” because the “X-Men” represented us. We would go to the grocery store and help 10 Fab Vegas

someone carry groceries.

We would do everything for someone, and they would still turn around and talk down to us and curse at us and throw things at us. Imagine you helped someone to their car with their groceries and they turn on the light and they realize that you’re different and then they take their fruit and throw it at you and tell you to get away from them.

You just helped them.

For me, Storm had an accent; I’m Caribbean. So Storm was just my girl, my go-to.

I love her character. I love everything about her. And it was the resilience, the beauty of her, the resilience of where she came from as Ororo Munroe, from her origin stories of being in her village, of even having a nephew and going back wanting to help her village but yet she protects her village even when they called her the Weather Witch. But she still protects them. And I see that in a lot of the trans community. We are so pushed to the side, but yet we’re there to be mothers, we’re there to be fathers. We’re there to protect people. We have kids of our own. So the superhero fantasy, for me, was always her, because it not only helped us escape, but it let me know that people saw and would realize that at some point in time that being different or strange from what society deemed to be the norm didn’t make us bad people.

You have no idea, if you sit back and listen to the things that people would say about us, I would even be afraid of myself. Before I even

understood who I was, I would hear people speak, and the way in which they spoke about people like myself, I was like, “Oh my god, I need to kill myself because I know I’m different.”

I feel like every young person needs a role model like that, because oftentimes we don’t have ones in real life to look to, so we have to look to imaginary characters.

She-Ra: Princess of Power was another one. I love She-Ra. Regarding “Pose,” what are your thoughts on the response from the LGBTQ+ community who think it’s time for other actors from the series to be recognized for their roles and their accomplishments on the show?

Well, yes, I do believe that my castmates should be recognized for their work, especially Angelica Ross and Mj Rodriguez. Billy has been given his flowers, and I am extremely ecstatic for him for that. As far as Indya (Moore) and the rest of the girls, I do believe that they should have been nominated at least for some of the awards. Because we’re not just telling a true story or doing research to tell a true story — we’re telling our own lives.

We are reliving our trauma, we are being triggered constantly by things that we overcame in life, and constantly giving it back and giving all our energy just to be able to show people what we go through and those

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------that are going through it that they’re not alone. So, I believe that recognition should be there for my castmates. For myself, I really, really want to be undeniably everything. I really want to go into fantasy roles. I believe that there’s a lot more I have to learn and I have to give before I start receiving awards. (Laughs.)

I’m so serious because I just feel like, you know, Elektra is me. She’s dear to my heart.

She is the woman that I said I

would never become, but the woman that I was surrounded by all my life. I want the opportunity to show that I can play outside myself, like with “American Gods.” Give me a vampire role and I am there.

When it comes to trans representation, what is the next frontier? Where do we go from “Pose,” which has been so groundbreaking, obviously.

Yeah, “Pose” has been

extremely groundbreaking, but we have other things that have come about. We have “Legendary” on HBO Max. Hollywood is opening their eyes and realizing that this is not just a cash cow. These stories need to be told, and especially in this time. I feel like we are gathering all these stories, telling the truth of everything, removing the blinders from people’s faces, so that we can move forward and really, really get to equality.

Photo Credit: Starz FabLasVegas.com

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LGBTQ+ VEGAS NEWS

Photo Credit: Youtube MissSilverState / Out.com / Instagram: @alloraportraits

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Nevada’s First Transgender Beauty Pageant Winner Kataluna Enriquez made history for Nevada as the first transgender beauty pageant winner in the state.

Enriquez won the title of Miss Silver State USA, the largest preliminary competition leading up to Miss Nevada USA. According to KVVU-TV, Kataluna has faced many obstacles on her journey to the crown. At another pageant outside of Nevada, Kataluna describes ‘invasive’ requirements once organizers found out she was trans.

The pageant required her to 12 Fab Vegas

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Kataluna was asked to describe an obstacle she had faced and overcame at the competition.

of the obstacles I encounter every day is just being true to myself. Today I am a proud transgender woman of color. Personally, I’ve learned that my differences do not make me less than, it makes me more than. And my differences is what makes me unique, and I know that my uniqueness will take me to all my destinations, and whatever I need to go through in life,” she answered.

“Growing up, I was often told that I was not allowed to be myself, or to be in spaces that I was not welcome. One

The Miss Nevada USA pageant will be held in June and Enriquez is looking forward to the stage.

provide private documents including a letter from a doctor.

The 27-year-old fashion designer is hopeful, “I have a great feeling about Nevada …

I am looking forward to it,” she told KVVU-TV.

LGBTQ+ VEGAS NEWS

Ann Hurley

Nevada Assemblywoman Comes Out as Pansexual Nevada State Assemblywoman Sarah Peters came out as pansexual on March 25 during National LGBT health awareness week at an assembly floor session raising awareness of LGBTQ+ health in Nevada.

She said the following in her alotted time, “In the past decade, Nevada has made unprecedented progress in being a more equitable home for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.

In fact, Nevada was recently recognized by USA Today as the best state in America for people who are LGBTQ+ and yesterday this body passed the Equal Rights Amendment, that if passed by voters would enshrine in our state’s constitution equal rights for all Nevadans.

However, LGBTQ+ people continue to encounter barriers and face discrimination

based on their orientation or gender identity in daily life. Homophobia stigmas and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community continue to exist in the United States and can adversely impact health outcomes.

In fact, the Center for American Progress has found that LGBTQ+ individuals are twice as likely to be uninsured or choose to forego care due to concerns of how they are treated.

These issues will continue to persist without continued intervention and all people including those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer deserve access to quality health care.

I applaud the work of our Department of Health and Human Services for continued advocacy for LGBTQ+ health including aligning prevention

and care delivery with existing evidence-based culturally sensitive standards of care for LGBTQ+ patients.

We were one of the first states to begin collecting sexual orientation and gender identity data as part of COVID-19 contact tracing to better understand the impact of the pandemic on the LGBTQ+ community.

We’ve also identified LGBTQ+ as an important factor in datadriven policy development across all health care issues.

Today, as a pansexual cisgendered woman I stand out for equity and remind us to be inclusive in our LGBTQ+ community while we work to make Nevada a more equitable place for all.”

The assemblywomans statement and coming out was followed by applause of others attending the session.

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LGBTQ+ VEGAS BOOK REVIEWS

By: Terri Schlichenmeyer

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Gay Bar: Why We Went Out BY: JEREMY ATHERTON LIN c.2021, Little, Brown and Company $28.00, 320 pages

The stool over by the window is all yours.

Might be because you’ve spent a lot of time there. It’s the right height, you can easily watch the door from there, and the bartender knows your favorites, so why not? As in the new book “Gay Bar” by Jeremy Atherton Lin, it’s one of the best places to be.

Long before it was legal for him to go there, Jeremy Atherton Lin, like most teenage boys, imagined going to the bar – though in his case, Lin imagined what it was like in a gay bar. Ironically, he says, “I can’t remember my first.”

As someone with a foot in each of two continents, he does have favorites, places that are now closed, re-named, or been moved. He’s danced 14 Fab Vegas

in them, had sex in them, drank and moved through gay bars with his “companion, the Famous Blue Raincoat,” and anonymously, and with friends-not-friends.Some bars were carved out of a back room or basement, or a place that used to be something else, maybe another bar. They’re cavernous; or they’re small and packed with men dancing or doing drugs; or they’re thick with bachelorette parties and tourists, to the annoyance of the gay men who’ve claimed that bar. Those usurpers don’t know the legacy of feeling gay, but “[I]t goes pretty deep.”

Some bars have opened just for the night. Others were raided once upon a time, or will close before a month has passed. Overall, they’re an important part of being a gay man, pre-Stonewall, pre-AIDS, post-epidemic, and now.And yet, says Lin, “... there does remain something embarrassing about a gay bar.”

Still, try to stop him from fondly remembering nights in the Castro or Los Angeles or London...

Absolutely, you could be forgiven for wondering what you got yourself into while reading the first couple dozen pages of “Gay Bar.” Unabashedly, without preamble, author Jeremy Atherton Lin leaps right into a hazy description of a night out or two, in a chapter that seems fragmented, like a broken strobe light. Clarity comes, but later, and it’s fragile.Part of the haze might be due to the autobiographical nature of Lin’s story: there are bars

in his tales, but the focus here is more going to bars, with the implied assumption that readers are familiar with those he mentions or others exactly like them. This, of course, may not be true; still, Lin’s sex-and-booze-filled tales of drag, dance, and la dolce vita are compelling, woven with gay history, interesting then-and-now comparisons, and blisteringly-explicit tales of being a young gay man.And then again, while these stories take readers through the doors of a gay bar, once we’ve literarily entered, there are times when we’re abandoned, the music’s too loud, and we want to just go.Like a song you don’t particularly like, though, that won’t last long. Really, the surreality of “Gay Bar” is not insurmountable; in fact, if you wait it out, you’ll be mostly glad you did. So look for it – and take a seat.

Author Photo Credit: Jamie Atherton

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CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Fortune Feimster

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Fortune Feimster

The comedian on her pandemic success, going hard on the wine and getting closer to an even bigger break Fortune Feimster’s mouth has been going and going and going. “I talk a lot right now,” says the Southern comedian who hails from North Carolina, coughing and clearing her throat as we – that’s right – talk on Zoom.

In addition to a daily radio show and her weekly podcast, Feimster, who rose to fame as The Person You See Everywhere in Bit Parts (including “Chelsea Lately,” “The Mindy Project” and “The L Word: Generation Q”), has been doing press to talk about the projects she’s a part of that have all come out during the pandemic to satiate our need for existential relief. Aside from her own Netflix comedy special “Sweet and Salty,” she can be seen hamming it up in 16 Fab Vegas

a steady flow of films: “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” “Chick Fight,” “Friendsgiving” and “Yes Day,” a Jennifer Garner-led family comedy also for Netflix. On TV, she stars in Kenan Thompson’s NBC sitcom “Kenan” and voices multiple characters on the Fox animated series “Bless the Harts.”

The pandemic has been good to her booming acting career, but also to her love life: Feimster married wife Jacquelyn Smith in a small ceremony in October. She says it’s made her an even bigger fan of Michigan given that Jax, as she calls her, is from the Mitten State. “We try to spend at least one holiday — or weekend or two — out there in either Detroit or East

Lansing or Grand Rapids. We like it all.”

During our conversation, Feimster, yes, talked some more — this time about how her character in “Yes Day” might actually be gay, being drawn to the insanity of “Barb and Star,” and feeling like, at last, Hollywood might be ready for her to go from bit part to big part.

How are you doing? I feel like, finally, there’s some light at the end of the COVID tunnel.

I’m doing a lot better. It does feel a lot more hopeful, thank goodness. I mean, it’s been a doozy. I can’t believe it’s been a year. I think we’re all thinking back to, you know, where were you when Tom Hanks got COVID? (Laughs.)

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------Shit got real at that point.

It got real. I don’t know why it took that. That first half … you know, I was supposed to go on this big tour, and my first tour date was actually going to be Grand Rapids on March 15, and they canceled it the night before I was supposed to leave.

We were so excited to go to Michigan, ‘cause all (Jax’s) family was coming in. But then it just kept going and kept going. (Laughs.) And everybody had to kind of make the most of it. But no one was, like, having a great year, so you have to think and realize the whole world is going through this really hard time. And I think we’re getting through it, so I’m feeling optimistic.

A year ago, here in Michigan, at least, it was like, “OK, 14 days.

Just stay in your apartment.

Don’t leave. And then it’s gonna be over.”

Yeah, we were so naive. We were rescheduling shows for May of last year, which seems laughable now because we’re still trying to figure it out for fall of 2021. I was lucky I got to hunker down with my lady Jax and my dogs. My pets — that’s who got us through this time, for sure.

Are you still on the bottle-ofwine-every-other-day regimen?

I got better. That was definitely the first, like, four months.

We had to finally be like, “OK, maybe not every night. Maybe once every couple days.”

Thank god Hollywood started trying to get back rolling (in) I want to say October or so.

So I’ve been really lucky the

last few months to be working again. And so, I feel some normalcy when I go to work, even though it’s very different at work. Everyone’s masked up and (in) face shields. It’s a different environment, but whatever it takes to get to do it.

What kind of projects are you working on right now?

I just wrapped the sitcom “Kenan” for NBC. I have a recurring role. I did not foresee that one coming, so that was a nice little cherry on top. I’ve been doing “The Netflix Afterparty,” which is really cool, with David Spade and London Hughes. And then I had all these movies — I think I’ve had five movies — come out in the last six months. (Laughs.) Which is crazy, but it’s because I filmed all of them before the pandemic and they all got held up, the release dates got pushed. They were supposed to originally come out at different times and then, all of a sudden, it was just like, release the movies! (Laughs.)

People are like, “You’re everywhere.”

You seem to pop up in the most random of places. You’ve played janitors, grave diggers, a fairy gay mother...

Now I need Hollywood to let me do more than be the fun pop-up that brings some laughs. I’m ready to really sink my teeth into some bigger roles. So hopefully that’s coming.

Is that what you’ve been working toward?

Yeah, I do a lot of

development, I do a lot of writing, and I’ve sold a couple movies to Amblin (Entertainment). In the past I’ve sold TV shows to ABC. So I’m trying to get one of those movies off the ground that we’ve written. We wrote another movie in quarantine that we hope to pitch around.

I created those TV shows because I was trying to give myself an opportunity to, like I said, be a bigger part of a show.

And I got to film my pilot for ABC, which is really cool, even though that didn’t move forward. It eventually led to me doing “The Mindy Project.” So now with movies, I’ve been kind of focused on writing movies, because I’ve been lucky to be in a lot of movies, especially lately.

Sometimes in Hollywood you just have to write that yourself.

So I have, in honor of “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” this special little “Barb and Star” cup.

I love it. That was one of my favorite movies to do. That was such a treat, seeing that come out. The only bummer is: that’s a movie you want to see with a house full of people in a theater. It’s one of those movies, I think, that is infectious, ’cause people are laughing (and) it makes other people start laughing and you’re all laughing together.

So I’m glad it came out (so) people can enjoy something silly during quarantine. But hopefully — I don’t know if you can, like, release the movie online and then also put it back in the theater. (Laughs.)

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------The movie’s gonna live on in gay cult film culture anyways, so every year, actually, it should get a theatrical release.

Talking Club.

I hope so. It does seem that gay men in particular really took to that movie, which makes me so happy.

People either loved it and are obsessed with it, or they were like, “I hated it. I turned it off after 20 minutes.” And I just wanted to be like, “Well, maybe you aren’t the target audience.”

Oh, gosh. I mean, I’ve hung out with plenty. I’m from the South, so those outfits are certainly, uh, not foreign to me. We’re all like, “These outfits are hysterical.” And people from home were like, “That’s what I wear.”

Did you know what you were getting yourself into when you signed up for that movie?

I knew that my part was pretty subdued. Like, we were the Talking Club and that we were sitting around, talking about ridiculous stuff. I was on a plane and I read (the script), and I was cry-laughing reading this. Most scripts you’re just kind of going through like, “Yeah, that’s cute.

That’s cute.” You know? But this had me crying. So I knew the movie was insane, and I was like, “God, how are they going to pull this off?” And I was like, “If they’re asking me to be in this movie, I’m being in this movie. It’s the best thing I’ve read in so long.”

Why Pinky? Is there a story behind your character’s name?

There’s no backstory. There’s very little backstory on the Talking Club, which makes me want Kristen (Wiig) and Annie (Mumolo) to write a sequel, which also involves the Talking Club. I want the sequel to be them coming back from their trip, telling the 18 Fab Vegas

Do you know any women like Barb and Star, or Pinky? Are you friends with any?

In addition to “Barb and Star,” of course, you’re in “Yes Day.” You play Jean, the paramedic.

Is it safe to say that you probably shouldn’t be, um, driving an ambulance?

One-hundred percent, I should not be. Yeah, Jean (owns a) fleet of ambulances, even though she sucks at driving that one. It’s always fun to pop in as these characters, like you said, that kind of just are a little off.

That’s kind of my brand of humor.

And I love this movie, ‘cause, well, first off, Jennifer Garner.

I’ve been a fan of hers for so long. And I was nervous to meet her just because she’s done so many projects and is still in my category of “movie star,” which you don’t have as many these days. And she was so lovely. In my very first scene with her I had to drive the ambulance. And I felt like Jean because I was ... I didn’t know. I mean, they teach you how to work everything and they make sure you’re comfortable, but I’m trying to do my scene and, like, pull the air brakes and do the siren and it was just like walking and trying to rub your head

and your stomach at the same time. It was a lot to sort of figure out, having just met Jennifer Garner. (Laughs.)

I feel like in the last year because of the pandemic every day has been a “no day.”

I mean, even for the adults, right? What will be your “yes day” when you can finally say yes to the things that you’ve been saying no to?

Oh, man, just hugging people.

My friends, especially. A lot of hugs. I mean, every day is a yes day for me when it comes to like, “Are we gonna order out or have wine?” I’m always like, “Yes.” So I probably need to reel in my yeses. But I will just be excited to get to travel again and see my family. And so, I’ll be saying yes to a lot more social activities, whereas before I was like, “I just wanna go home and sit on my couch.”

What’s the history between you and the other ambulance driver, Karen, in the movie?

Because I get the impression that they could have been a couple. I mean, you took her life savings.

I know. I feel like they were alluding to ... I mean, they never told me what their actual relationship was: if it was a relationship, if it was best friends, if I was her best friend and took her life savings. Uh, then that’s a really bad friend. If it’s her partner, then that’s OK. (Laughs.) I’m gonna assume that Karen’s probably my partner and my lady.

You’re also featured in the upcoming FX docu-feature “Hysterical.” Can you talk a bit

------------------------------------------------------------------------

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------about your involvement and what it seeks to examine about you and other queer women comedians?

It was spearheaded by Jessica Kirson, who’s a very hilarious, respected comedian out of New York, who is also gay. She and the producers just picked what women they wanted to highlight, and we were lucky enough to be included and just share experiences about being a woman in comedy and what that means. They filmed us each at our house and then a little bit on stage. It’s definitely not easy being a woman in comedy. And so, it just sort of highlights our journey.

Before you go, I want to wish you congratulations on your Netflix special, “Sweet and Salty,” which received a Critics’ Choice nomination.

Oh, thank you. Appreciate it. Yeah, it was my first hour special. I had done a half hour with Netflix, and this was a big jump for me to get to do an hour. I was so ready for it.

I was working this material a ton. I was really proud of it.

And to get to share my story and my journey about coming

out and figuring out who I was, and being representation for people and having it be on this worldwide platform, where people who might live in places where they don’t know a lot of gay people or they don’t see themselves in another person — it was really special to me to be able to do that, and make people laugh at the same time.

I got so much love from it and it was incredible, but I didn’t know if the industry was paying attention at all.

That they are watching and that they saw something in it was really special. Just really made me feel, finally, after all these years of being out in LA and putting in this work, that people noticed, and it meant a lot to me. And now I’ve got to work toward the next one.

Photo Credit: Lionsgate

It’s a journey that isn’t talked about as much. You see tons of things on standup, and it’s usually very male-dominated.

So this is just coming at

it from a very different perspective, a very inclusive perspective, as far as LGBT and women of color. People with different backgrounds, people with different voices, women with different experiences and what they talk about on stage. I’m happy to be a little part of it.

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Handwashing

at Home, at Play, and Out and About Germs are everywhere! They can get onto your hands and items you touch throughout the day. Washing hands at key times with soap and water is one of the most important steps you can take to get rid of germs and avoid spreading germs to those around you.

How can washing your hands keep you healthy?

Germs can get into the body through our eyes, nose, and mouth and make us sick. Handwashing with soap removes germs from hands and helps prevent sickness. Studies have shown that handwashing can prevent 1 in 3 diarrhea-related sicknesses and 1 in 5 respiratory infections, such as a cold or the flu.

Handwashing helps prevent infections for these reasons: People often touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without realizing it, introducing germs into their bodies.

Germs from unwashed hands may get into foods and drinks when people prepare or consume them. Germs can grow in some types of foods or drinks and make people sick.

Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, such as door knobs, tables, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hands.

What is the right way to wash your hands?

1. Wet your hands with clean running water (warm or cold) and apply soap.

2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap.

3. Scrub all surfaces of your hands, including the palms, backs, fingers, between your fingers, and under your nails. Keep scrubbing for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song twice.

4. Rinse your hands under clean, running water.

5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

CS 280522A

When should you wash your hands?

Handwashing at any time of the day can help get rid of germs, but there are key times when it’s most important to wash your hands.

• Before, during, and after preparing food • Before eating food • Before and after caring for someone who is sick • Before and after treating a cut or wound • After using the bathroom, changing diapers, or cleaning up a child who has used the bathroom • After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing • After touching an animal, animal food or treats, animal cages, or animal feces (poop) • After touching garbage • If your hands are visibly dirty or greasy

What type of soap should you use?

You can use bar soap or liquid soap to wash your hands. Many public places provide liquid soap because it’s easier and cleaner to share with others. Studies have not found any added health benefit from using soaps containing antibacterial ingredients when compared with plain soap. Both are equally effective in getting rid of germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

How does handwashing help fight antibiotic resistance?

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria resist the effects of an antibiotic – that is, germs are not killed and they continue to grow.

Sicknesses caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be harder to treat. Simply using antibiotics creates resistance, so avoiding infections in the first place reduces the amount of antibiotics that have to be used and reduces the likelihood that resistance will develop during treatment. Handwashing helps prevent many sicknesses, meaning less use of antibiotics.

Studies have shown that handwashing can prevent

1 in 3 diarrhea-related sicknesses and

1 in 5 respiratory infections, such as a cold or the flu.

For more information and a video demonstration of how to wash your hands, visit the CDC handwashing website:

www.cdc.gov/handwashing

SÍNTOMAS DE LA ENFERMEDAD DEL CORONAVIRUS 2019 Los pacientes con COVID-19 han presentado enfermedad respiratoria de leve a grave.

Los síntomas* pueden incluir

TOS

Consulte a un médico si presenta síntomas y ha estado en contacto cercano con una persona que se sepa que tiene el COVID-19, o si usted vive o ha estado recientemente en un área en la que haya propagación en curso del COVID-19.

FIEBRE

*Los síntomas pueden aparecer de 2 a 14 días después de la exposición.

DIFICULTAD *Symptoms may PARA RESPIRAR appear 2-14 days after exposure.

cdc.gov/COVID19-es CS 315252-B March 16, 2020, 1:35PM

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SYMPTOMS OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 Patients with COVID-19 have experienced mild to severe respiratory illness.

Symptoms* can include

COUGH

Seek medical advice if you develop symptoms, and have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19 or if you live in or have recently been in an area with ongoing spread of COVID-19.

FEVER

*Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.

SHORTNESS OF BREATH

cdc.gov/COVID19-symptoms CS 315252-A March 20, 2020, 12:51PM

23 Fab Vegas

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25

Information for Teens: Staying Healthy and Preventing STDs If you choose to have sex, know how to protect yourself against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

What are sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)?

STDs are diseases that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact. These include chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, human papillomavirus (HPV), syphilis, and HIV. Many of these STDs do not show symptoms for a long time. Even without symptoms, they can still be harmful and passed on during sex.

consider before having sex. It’s okay to say “no” if you don’t want to have sex.

•

If you do decide to have sex, you and your partner should get tested for STDs beforehand. Make sure that you and your partner use a condom from start to finish every time you have oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Know where to get condoms and how to use them correctly. It is not safe to stop using condoms unless you’ve both been tested for STDs, know your results, and are in a mutually monogamous relationship.

•

Mutual monogamy means that you and your partner both agree to only have sexual contact with each other. This can help protect against STDs, as long as you’ve both been tested and know you’re STD-free.

•

Before you have sex, talk with your partner about how you will prevent STDs and pregnancy. If you think you’re ready to have sex, you need to be ready to protect your body. You should also talk to your partner ahead of time about what you will and will not do sexually. Your partner should always respect your right to say no to anything that doesn’t feel right.

•

Make sure you get the health care you need. Ask a doctor or nurse about STD testing and about vaccines against HPV and hepatitis B.

•

Girls and young women may have extra needs to protect their reproductive health.

Talk to your doctor or nurse about regular cervical cancer screening, and chlamydia and gonorrhea testing. You may also want to discuss unintended pregnancy and birth control.

•

Avoid mixing alcohol and/or recreational drugs with sex. If you use alcohol and drugs, you are more likely to take risks, like not using a condom or having sex with someone you normally wouldn’t have sex with.

How are STDs spread?

You can get an STD by having vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who has an STD. Anyone who is sexually active can get an STD. You don’t even have to “go all the way” (have anal or vaginal sex) to get an STD. This is because some STDs, like herpes and HPV, are spread by skinto-skin contact.

How common are STDs? STDs are common, especially among young people. There are about 20 million new cases of STDs each year in the United States. About half of these infections are in people between the ages of 15 and 24. Young people are at greater risk of getting an STD for several reasons: •

Young women’s bodies are biologically more prone to STDs.

•

Some young people do not get the recommended STD tests.

•

Many young people are hesitant to talk openly and honestly with a doctor or nurse about their sex lives.

•

Not having insurance or transportation can make it more difficult for young people to access STD testing.

•

Some young people have more than one sex partner.

What can I do to protect myself?

•

The surest way to protect yourself against STDs is to not have sex. That means not having any vaginal, anal, or oral sex (“abstinence”). There are many things to

26 Fab Vegas

against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

If Iare getsexually an STD, how will Idiseases know? (STDs)?

What transmitted STDs are diseases that are passed from one person to another Many STDs don’t cause any symptoms that you through sexual contact. These include chlamydia, gonorrhea, would notice. only way(HPV), to know for sure genital herpes, humanThe papillomavirus syphilis, and HIV. if you haveSTDs an STD to get tested.forYou can get an Many of these do notis show symptoms a long time.

Even without they can stillwith be harmful and passed STDsymptoms, from having sex someone whoonhas no during sex. symptoms.

Just like you, that person might not

even he or she has an STD. How are know STDs spread?

You can get an STD by having vaginal, anal or oral sex with Where can I get tested? someone who has an STD. Anyone who is sexually active can get an STD.There You don’t have that to “gooffer all theteen-friendly, way” (have anal or vaginal areeven places sex) to get an STD. This is because some STDs, like herpes and HPV, confidential, and free STD tests. This means that are spread by skin-to-skin contact.

no one has to find out you’ve been tested. Visit

How common to arefind STDs? GetTested an STD testing location near

STDs are common, especially among young people. There are you. about 20 million new cases of STDs each year in the United States.

About halfSTDs of thesebe infections are in people between the ages of Can treated?

15 and 24. Young people are at greater risk of getting an STD for Your doctor can prescribe medicine to cure several reasons:

some STDs, like chlamydia and gonorrhea.

• Young women’s bodies are biologically more prone Other STDs, like herpes, can’t be cured, but you to STDs.

can take medicine to help with the symptoms.

• Some young people do not get the recommended If STD youtests. are ever treated for an STD, be sure to

•finish Manyall young peoplemedicine, are hesitanteven to talkifopenly and better of your you feel honestly with a doctor or nurse about their sex before you finish it all.

Ask the doctor orlives. nurse

testing and treatment for your partner, •about Not having insurance or transportation can make it more difficult young people to access STD avoid testing.having too.

Youfor and your partner should until you’ve both been •sex Some young people have moretreated. than one Otherwise, sex partner you may continue to pass the STD back and forth. It is possible to get an STD again (after

What can I do to protect myself?

• The surest way to protect yourself against STDs is to not you’ve been you have sex with have sex.

Thattreated), means notifhaving any vaginal, anal, or someone who has anThere STD. oral sex (“abstinence”). are many things to consider before having sex. It’s okay to say “no” if you don’t want to What happens if I don’t treat an STD? have sex.

Some curable STDs can be dangerous if they aren’t treated. For example, if left untreated, CS287360A chlamydia and gonorrhea can make it difficult— or even impossible—for a woman to get pregnant. You also increase your chances of getting HIV if you have an untreated STD. Some STDs, like HIV, can be fatal if left untreated.

What if my partner or I have an incurable STD? Some STDs, like herpes and HIV, aren’t curable, but a doctor can prescribe medicine to treat the symptoms.

If you are living with an STD, it’s important to

tell partner before youyouhave sex. partner Although • Ifyour you do decide to have sex, and your should get tested for STDs beforehand.

Make sure that you and it may be uncomfortable to talk about your your partner usehonest a condom from start to finish every STD, open and conversation can help time you have oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Know where to your partner make informed decisions to get condoms and how to use them correctly. It is not protect his or her health. safe to stop using condoms unless you’ve both been STDs, knowwho your results, and are them? in a mutually If Itested havefor questions, can answer monogamous relationship.

If• you have questions, talk to a parent or other Mutual monogamy means that you and your partner both trusted be afraid be each openother. andThis agreeadult. to only Don’t have sexual contactto with honest with themagainst aboutSTDs, yourasconcerns.

If both you’re can help protect long as you’ve been and know evertested confused or you’re need STD-free. advice, they’re the first place to start.

After were young once, • Before you have sex, all, talk they with your partner about how too.you will prevent STDs and pregnancy. If you think you’re ready to have sex, you need to be ready to protect your

Talking about sexalso with parent or another body. You should talkato your partner ahead of time adult doesn’t need bewill a one-time about what you willto and not do sexually. Your partner conversation. bestyour to leave the forthat should alwaysIt’s respect right to saydoor no to open anything doesn’t feel right. conversations in the future.

• Make sure you get the health care you need. Ask a doctor It’s also important to talk honestly with a doctor or nurse about STD testing and about vaccines against or nurse.

Ask which STD tests and vaccines HPV and hepatitis B. they recommend for you.

• Girls and young women may have extra needs to protect

their reproductive health.information?

Talk to your doctor or nurse Where can I get more

about regular cervical cancer screening, and chlamydia

CDC and gonorrhea testing. You may also want to discuss

unintended birth control.

How You Canpregnancy Preventand Sexually Transmitted • Avoid mixing alcohol and/or recreational drugs with sex.

Diseases If you use alcohol and drugs, you are more likely to take www.cdc.gov/std/prevention/

risks, like not using a condom or having sex with someone

Teen youPregnancy normally wouldn’t have sex with. https://www.cdc.gov/ teenpregnancy/teens/ index.htm

CDC-INFO Contact Center 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) Contact wwwn.cdc.gov/dcs/ ContactUs/Form HealthFinder.gov STD Testing: Conversation Starters https://healthfinder.gov/ HealthTopics/ Category/health-conditions-and-diseases/ hiv-and-other-stds/std-testing-conversationstarters American Sexual Health Association Sexual Health and You http://www.iwannaknow.org/ teens/ sexualhealth.html FabLasVegas.com

27

STD (SEXUALLY TRASMITTED DISEASES) INFO SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES INFO, TESTING & RESOURCES WHAT IS A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE? Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), are infections that are commonly spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex and oral sex.

WHAT IS HIV? HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system.It is usually spread by anal or vaginal sex or sharing syringes with a person who has HIV. The only way to know you have HIV is to be tested.

Everyone aged 13-64 should be tested at least once, and people at high risk should be tested at least once a year. Ask your doctor, or visit gettested.cdc.gov to find a testing site. Without treatment, HIV can make a person very sick or may even cause death. If you have HIV, start treatment as soon as possible to stay healthy and help protect your partners.

Nevada is the fifth highest state in the United States for rates of new HIV diagnoses and is #1 in Syphillis *According to CDC HIV Surveillance Report, 2017 and the CDC Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report, 2017 released in 2018

28 Fab Vegas

STD TESTING RESOURCE SOUTHERN NEVADA HEALTH DISTRICT ADDRESS: 280 S. Decatur Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89107 HOURS: Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.* *The clinic opens at 9:00 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month.

The following services are offered at the Sexual Health Clinic: 1.

Diagnosis and treatment of active or suspected cases of:

•

Chlamydia

•

Gonorrhea

•

Syphilis

•

HIV

•

Trichomonas (females only)

•

Bacterial Vaginosis (females only)

2.

Free condoms and instruction on how to safely use them (both male and female condom)

3.

Follow-up bloodwork

4.

High-risk behavior counseling

5.

HIV Nursing Case Management

6.

Injection series for syphilis medication

7.

Partner notification

8.

Referrals by private physicians

9.

Sexual assault follow-up

10. Test results and couseling Clients seeking treatment at the Sexual Health Clinic should know that the Health District is required to report cases involving assault or abuse to appropriate agencies.

HIV Testing: HIV antibody testing is a simple blood test performed by a trained professional. This procedure is strictly confidential. Counseling regarding the meaning of the test and its result take place before the actual testing to ensure you understand HIV infection and the testing procedure.

HIV testing procedure: Blood Test – Blood drawn from a vein is tested for HIV antibodies. This test is available at the Sexual Health Clinic (280 S. Decatur Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89107 ), Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Please call (702) 759-0702 for more information.

If you have questions, contact the clinic by phone at (702) 759-0702 or by email at SexualHealth@snhd.org.

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PRIDE FLAGS

PRIDE FLAGS

COMMUNITY RESOURCES 34 Fab Vegas

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www.afanlv.org Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN) provides support and advocacy for adults and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Southern Nevada.

AFAN works to reduce HIV infection through prevention and education to eliminate fear, prejudice and the stigma associated with the disease.