Fab Las Vegas Magazine - Volume 22 - #4

YEARS

24

VOL 22, #4

Vegas’ #1 travel site for LGBTQ+

LAS VEGAS MAGAZINE

GayVegas.com

POOL PARTY LIST

FabLasVegas.com The LGBTQ+ locals choice

PoolParty702@Gmail.com

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

New LGBTQ+ Patti Las Vegas Harrison Pool Parties SEE FULL PAGE BACK COVER Vegas Black Pride 2022

Patti Harrison on being trans

FULL ADVERTISEMENT AND DETAILS INSIDE PAUL SAN FILIPO (GIPSY & PIRANHA NIGHTCLUB) FOUND DEAD AT 58 LVMPD Open/Active Criminal Investigation

@GayVegas

@GayVegas

@GayVegas JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GayVegas

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

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

By: Chris Azzopardi

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Patti Harrison Cover Photo Credit: Paramount Photo Credit: Paramount

Patti Explains It All There still aren’t enough trans actors in Hollywood, but at least there’s Patti Harrison.

Harrison is currently starring in the big blockbuster romcom caper “The Lost City,” alongside Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, as the social media manager of Bullock’s character, Loretta Sage, a romance-adventure novelist.

In the movie, Harrison’s Allison thinks that to help Loretta appeal to a younger 4 Fab Vegas

Patti Harrison on being trans in Hollywood, her social media woes and Bowen Yang demo, it’s just a matter of hashtagging Shawn Mendes’ name at the end of every tweet.

As for Harrison, her name rose to even greater prominence in 2021 when she voiced Chief of Tale in “Raya and the Dragon,” giving her the distinction of being the first openly trans actor to lend their voice to a Disney film. Last year, she also starred in “Together Together,” a moving comedy about a single man (Ed Helms) and his

surrogate, played by Harrison, that premiered at Sundance.

But “The Lost City” could really take her career to the next level given it’s a major studio film with major star power, which can only bring more attention to Harrison’s signature brand of comedy.

Harrison’s wry deadpanning was first introduced on primetime TV, when, in 2017 on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,”

Visit www.HawksGym.com

FabLasVegas.com

5

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

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------the actor-comedian made wisecracks about thenPresident Donald Trump’s ban on trans people in the military.

Harrison, who was born in Ohio and whose father is from Detroit, starred in a recurring role on Hulu’s “Shrill” in 2020, along with smaller roles in “Bob’s Burgers,” “Broad City” and “Search Party.”

During a recent Zoom interview with the actor, Harrison joked about what the movie might have been about when its working title was “The Lost City of D,” chimed in on her own interest in reading romance novels (and reading, period), and discussed how she feels about the “overcorrection” of queer people on TV.

When you got the script for this movie, originally titled “The Lost City of D,” what exactly did you think the D stood for?

To be honest, I thought it stood for dick. Or dong.

Maybe dildo. Probably less likely [it would be] dildo. Well, I guess it would be dildos, ’cause then it would be “The Lost City of the D.” So I think “Lost City of Dildos,” if it’s pluralized, is better.

I appreciate that the movie, even now that it’s called simply “The Lost City,” did still lean into the D, as there’s a couple dick jokes in it.

Well, there’s a lot of cut scenes with a ton of dildos.

And those are all with just

Photo Credit: Paramount

6 Fab Vegas

you, or you and Channing?

Well, there was one with me [that] got cut from the movie, but my character was a master in combat with, like, tonfas.

But then there weren’t tonfas available, so she wields dildos.

And it’s really a lot of work.

I took about four months of martial arts classes to learn how to use tonfas correctly and they cut it. Because of dildos.

That’s a shame. Our society is just not ready for something as brave as that.

Doesn’t that suck?

That movie will exist 20 years from now when we’ve made even more progress than we already have.

And Elle Fanning’s

Facebook.com/FreeZoneLV

7 Fab Vegas

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

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------granddaughter is doing flips and throwing dildos, and they’re, like, going through people’s heads.

I love that Elle Fanning is your go-to.

Oh yeah. She’s always in my mind.

I don’t know how we’re going to be serious now, but I do want to ask if you read any romance novels, queer or not, when you were growing up?

Not at all. I never read a lot, and I never really read outside of what was required of me for school. I don’t think I

really... I’m learning. I used to feel really guilty about not reading books, specifically. I think there’s a culture around shaming people who don’t read books. I just don’t absorb information that way. A lot of the stories that I absorb are visual. So I love movies, video games and TV. Maybe that makes me stupid, but I watched a lot of romantic movies and TV shows. But as far as novels go, I think I remember reading “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” in school.

I think that is, like, a rapey book. It opens with a sexual assault. That’s probably the only book that comes to mind, actually.

And then no more books for you after that. You just stopped reading.

What if the only book I’ve ever read was “Tess of the d’Urbervilles”? That’s the one book. I should be studied by science if that were the case.

What if there was a romance novel based on your life?

What might it be called? And who would be your cover model for it?

Well, I did get asked this question earlier today, but I think it’s probably for a publication that wouldn’t use [my answer] and wouldn’t care what I said. Because my

Photo Credit: Paramount

8 Fab Vegas

Photo Credit: HBO

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

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------answer when asked what the title of my romance novel would be [was], “Oh, Is There Poop?” And I don’t think I would be on the cover of it, right? It would be my mom and my fourth grade teacher, who’s my mentor. And they’re just kind of doing a thumbs up through a foggy window.

They’re standing outside of a window. And then you see the crest of someone’s butt.

That’s beautiful, actually.

There would be more explained in the book. I promise.

While you were making this movie, playing a social media manager, did it hit you how ironic it is that in real life you might not cut it as a social media manager since you were banned from Twitter?

I definitely think there’s some irony there. I, every day, am waiting for my Instagram account to be deleted against my will. Probably for the best.

But now Instagram’s terms and conditions have changed and they, like, auto go through and will flag photos. Maybe once a week, I get a new photo flagged. And it’s always a post from, like, 2013. And it’ll be a photo of me being like, “I love this bitch,” and it’ll be me and my friend. And then it’ll be flagged for bullying and harassment, ’cause I called my friend a bitch. And I was like, “Well, that’s my whole Instagram page, me being like, ‘Love this stupid, ugly fucking slut.’” I guess if that’s bullying and harassment, then I’m not fated for Instagram anymore.

I think social media has 10 Fab Vegas

had a big part in my career success, which has been great.

I also think social media has evolved. So the version of it we have now is mainly a shopping platform. So I don’t think social media is intrinsically bad, but I think we’ve made it bad ’cause it’s corporatized. But I don’t remember exactly why Adam [Nee, who co-directed and cowrote the screenplay], Aaron [Nee, Adam’s brother, who codirected) or Sandy [Bullock] said they specifically wanted me for the part other than they saw me and thought I was funny. In other things I’ve been cast in, it’s usually ’cause of stupid videos or something I made on Instagram.

Or maybe it was “Together Together,” which was one of my favorite movies of last year. How major did it feel to be part of a film where you, a trans actress, is playing a surrogate? There was a lot of conversation around that and how I’m not even sure that that’s ever happened before in a movie. It all felt pretty groundbreakingly important casting-wise.

Yeah. I mean, I think I definitely thought about what that meant and the optics of it.

I had so many conversations with [writer-director] Nikole [Beckwith] about if it was stunt casting or whatever. But it really did feel like something I just never thought I was going to get to do, and I tried not to overload it in playing the role, like bring too much of that into it.

I think what was really nice is that Nikole was so present

in making sure I felt prepared and knew what was going on in each scene, like where my character was in her pregnancy. I think it helped me get out of my head and not think about the politics of what it means. You know, my whole thing when we were filming was, “Oh my gosh. Are people going to be staring at my Adam’s apple? Is this something that I’m going to deal with?

A level of TERF scrutiny or something that would be really emotionally painful to endure?” But, ultimately, it’s been an incredible gift in my life. The only thing that I’ll ever earnestly talk about is that movie because it just felt so special.

As a queer person, I try not to overthink the optics.

But oftentimes, it’s hard for me not to, just because I’m always looking for us to be represented and be visible.

Yeah. Speaking of social media, I feel like there is an overcorrection or overemphasis with development and TV, like stumbling over themselves to be inclusive in a way that I think can sometimes be minimizing to the creator or the artist or writer, whoever’s trying to make a project, if that person is marginalized in any way.

And if that marginalization is queer, then in an ideal world, that person could just make whatever they want. I think what’s stressful about it is that people who aren’t queer, who aren’t marginalized, and who are in these gatekeeping

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

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------positions, are trying to figure out a way to capitalize on queerness or the more mainstream interest in it and it can feel very minimizing when the only stories they want to tell or they want to see from you as a queer person is stuff about being queer. It’s like, my sense of humor as a comedian has really been not about that, but it has kind of pivoted into that. I’m approached about being trans so much that it’s made me a little resentful.

I’m like, “Oh, I see comedians who are peripheral to me

Photo Credit: Paramount

12 Fab Vegas

who aren’t queer, and they can make a TV show about whatever they want.” But when I take a meeting, it’s like, they don’t want to hear my idea about, you know, Elle Fanning with dildos. They want to hear about a biopic about me coming out to my mom and her struggling with it.

On that note, it’s nice to see you and Bowen Yang in “The Lost City,” where you can both just be funny.

Yeah. Bowen shot the last week I was there pretty much,

and it was the perfect little ending to the trip. We had, like, golf carts where we were staying. It was so much fun.

I wish he would have been there the whole time. It made me want to work with him on something.

On the poop book or the dildo movie?

Yeah. Where we have unsimulated sex. A lot of penetration, me and Bowen.

Really close friends just, like, really screwing for art. That’s representation.

FabLasVegas.com

13

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

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

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

By: Chris Azzopardi Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures

‘Scream’ King

Screenwriter Kevin Williamson on the real-life gay killers who inspired Stu and Billy, and what Sidney means to him If you’re still wondering about those homoerotic undertones 25 years after Billy Loomis and Stu Macher terrorized Woodsboro in Wes Craven’s “Scream,” you’ve been on the right track all along.

Ahead of the new “Scream,” openly gay screenwriter of the first “Scream,” Kevin Williamson, has confirmed that Billy (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu (Matthew Lillard), who are thought to be queer by many LGBTQ+ fan theorists, were based on infamous mass murderers Nathan Freudenthal Leopold Jr. and Richard Albert Loeb, both of whom reportedly admitted they were gay and in a relationship.

18 Fab Vegas

In May 1924, Leopold and Loeb, who’ve been called the “LGBTQ+ prototype for Bonnie and Clyde,” killed 14-year-old Bobby Franks as an act of intellectual superiority. It’s been called the “perfect crime,” one that has influenced Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rope” as well as the 2002 crime thriller “Murder by Numbers.” Both are noted for their homoeroticism.

Now, nearly three decades after “Scream” came out, theorists can officially categorize “Scream” in that same queer-coded realm.

what that means.

After calling them “pretty confused guys,” she said, “Maybe some of their anger comes from not being allowed to be who they want to be, if you wanna go there.” Was Stu more in love with Billy than Billy was with Stu? “Yeah, yeah. Yes,” Campbell answered definitively.

“One was the follower and one was the leader,” Williamson said. “And that alone sort of sets up the dynamic of a hidden relationship.”

“It’s very sort of homoerotic, in the sense that there were these two guys that killed this other person just to see if they could get away with it,” Williamson said, drawing parallels between the Leopold and Loeb case and Billy and Stu. “And one of the reasons that one could get the other one [to follow] is because I think the other one was secretly in love with him. And it was sort of a fascinating case study on double murderers.

If you Google ‘Leopold and Loeb,’ you will see. And you’ll read about it and you’ll get, OK, that’s Billy and Stu.”

“Is Stu secretly in love with Billy? Maybe. Did Billy manipulate that? Possibly,” added Williamson, who created “Dawson’s Creek” and wrote the screenplays for “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and “The Faculty.”

“It’s all left up for you to wonder, because clearly Billy’s the one who was leading.

Billy was the one who had the mother. Billy was the one who was sort of orchestrating it.

And Stu was the person who helped carry it out. So it sort of put Stu in that position of, what was his feelings toward his best friend? That we do not know. It’s just left to keep you wondering.”

This wasn’t lost on “Scream” queen Neve Campbell, who has starred as the film’s Ghostface-fighting heroine mainstay Sidney Prescott.

When I recently asked Campbell about Billy and Stu, she acknowledged a “burgeoning love relationship,” before elaborating on exactly

Not everyone wondered.

Some just knew. The 2000 comedy “Scary Movie,” which parodied scenes from “Scream,” picked up on the queer vibes between Billy and Stu. In one scene, Ray (Shawn Wayans), based on Stu, and Bobby (Jon Abrahams), based on Billy, joke about being gay,

divulging to a Sidney-like character called Cindy (Anna Faris) that, “That’s right, Cindy, I’m gay. And in case you haven’t noticed, so is Ray.” Williamson admits that when he wrote the original “Scream,” which was released in 1996, he was “very hesitant to present the gay side of me in my work,” resulting in the queerness of characters Billy and Stu being “a little coded and maybe accidental.”

Now, he said, “maybe I’d be braver. Maybe I wouldn’t be that shy little gay writer who felt like he couldn’t get away with it.”

Williamson grew up in the South in both Texas and North Carolina, places where he understood “that fight for survival that you feel, like you’re trying to hide yourself.

And then just trying to survive until you can get out of that small town and be yourself and express yourself.”

Recently, in an interview with The Independent, Williamson confessed that the “Scream” movies are “coded in gay survival,” with Sidney being, essentially, a manifestation of his struggles as a gay person.

“It’s always the survival tales that connects us,” he told me.

“And so I think that’s one of the reasons Final Girls are so important to us as a gay audience.” Before he wrote Sidney, he related to Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode in “Halloween” because, being gay, “he understands the “plight of the Final girl.”

FabLasVegas.com

19

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW “I know what it’s like,” he added. “I think gay kids everywhere understand that survival element that we have to sort of create in ourselves. And when we’re watching that Final Girl have to prove herself and rise to the challenge and save her life, I think that’s something gay kids anywhere can relate to.”

Touched by how many LGBTQ+ people have felt inspired by Sidney, Campbell told me her heroic character “gives people that confidence that they can overcome” and that she understands why “it makes sense certainly for the queer community and gay Photo HBO also just for men. Credit: But I think anyone who has struggled with bullying or challenges, and in their youth especially.”

And then, of course, there’s pushy, stubbornly pertinacious TV journalist Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) who, Williamson said, “would fit right in with the ‘Will & Grace’ crowd.”

“She represents one side of my

voice,” he said, “which is part of who I am.”

In the new installment of “Scream,” titled the same as the original that was released to massive and evergrowing fandom 25 years ago, Williamson is reveling in the fact that there’s an openly queer woman of color, Mindy (played by Jasmine SavoyBrown, a queer actor of color), among the new teen cast.

Battling Ghostface alongside the new teens is the legacy cast, which includes Campbell, Cox and, returning as deputy sheriff Dewey Riley, David Arquette.

Of course Mindy is a result of a shift in LGBTQ+ representation — now, to queer-code characters would be an embarrassing step backwards — but Williamson also attributes the character to a shift in his own growth as a gay man. That growth, he said, led him to write the character of Jack McPhee, an openly gay teen who appeared as a “Dawson’s Creek” series regular starting in 1998.

“I felt empowered,” he said. “I felt like, OK, now I can start expressing myself and really write that part of me that I really want to write.”

With Mindy in “Scream,” he feels great affection for the character who he says “just exists.”

“We’re in a place now where she’s just part of the group,” he added. “And it’s just part of life. I think that was beautiful.”

Campbell, too, agreed it was “a beautiful thing.”

When Williamson received the director’s cut of the new “Scream,” which he executive produced but didn’t write, he watched it with his partner.

His affection for Sidney runs so deep that, as he watched her appear for the first time onscreen, jogging down the boardwalk with her baby carriage, turning to the camera to answer a call from Dewey, he cried.

“I did,” he said. “I teared up.”

Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures 20 Fab Vegas

21 Fab Vegas

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

LGBTQ+ VEGAS NEWS

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Photo Credit: Facebook.com

Photo Credit: Instagram.com

Jason “J.Son” Dinant announces that VegasGayPoolParty.com will no longer be doing Sunday pool parties On April 2, 2022 pool party host and promoter Jason Dinant aka J.Son announced that VegasGayPoolParty.com will no longer be doing Sunday pool parties in Las Vegas.

The announcement made on his various social media accounts including Facebook.com left many community members asking questions.

As of yet, Jason Dinant of NakedBoyNews.com and VegasGayPoolParty.com did not provide an explanation as to why the relationship had ended.

22 Fab Vegas

For years MGM Resorts marketed J.Son as the host of Temptation Sundays, an LGBTQ+ pool party located at the Luxor Hotel and Casino.

It appears not much else has changed in the marketing since the pool party started.

Advertisement designs feature mostly shirtless male models, which attract a very specific demographic eack week.

Community members have long been critical at the lack of diversity and representation in advertisements to the LGBTQ+ community especially in regard to people of color, body image and gender diversity.

Additional to issues of representation, the seemingly outdated name Temptation Sundays with messages like, “Don’t Resist” awkwardly seem to give a nod back to a time when the popular vote in America would consider homosexuality a wrongful desire.

As of late, Temptation Sundays has announced it will continue Sunday parties in partnership with Bud Light beer and Bubly sparkling water with a replacement host.

Photo Credit: Dirty Sugar Photography

Randy Rainbow brings show to Las Vegas Are you tired, rundown, listless? Do you poop out at parties? Are you unpopular?

Does GOP Nevada Senate Candidate Adam Laxalt scare the heck out of you knowing that he embraces ‘Don’t Say Gay’ laws? Does his anti-LGBTQ+ record make you want to reach out to EqualityNevada.org ... like yesterday?

You’re not alone sweetie!!!

24 Fab Vegas

You can’t solve all these problems without VOTING but sometimes you have to laugh at the insanity!

Grab your best friends and HEY your favorite LGBTQ+ allies Sentor Catherine Cortez Masto and Senator Jacky Rosen while you’re at it and go see Randy Rainbow. Please don’t forget to VOTE!!!

Nothing can help you cope through crazy news and politics like LGBTQ+ American comedian and singer Randy Rainbow.

Yes! Three-time EMMY®nominated comedian, producer, actor, singer, writer and satirist Randy Rainbow will perform at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian® Resort Las Vegas, Friday, May 6, 2022.

The show, part of The Pink Glasses Tour, is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $45, plus applicable fees.

Tickets are avaliable at venetianlasvegas.com or any box office at The Venetian Resort or by calling 702.414.9000 or 866.641.7469.

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

LGBTQ+ VEGAS EVENTS

-----------------------------------------------------------------------SEE FULL PAGE BACK COVER

POOL PARTY LIST

PoolParty702@Gmail.com

New LGBTQ+ Pool Parties Coming to Vegas Newly released marketing material reveals plans for new LGBTQ+ pool parties coming to Las Vegas.

They intend to bring on the FUN while including universal equality, love, and body positivity.

The Freedom Pool Party LGBTQ+ Las Vegas Takeover describes itself as an inclusive pool party as diverse as you.

Freedom is advertising their pool parties to the entire LGBTQ+ community responsibly by including a diversity of genders, body types, ages representative of all the letters in the LGBTQ+ initialism.

Freedom is working with various partners to bring Las Vegas experiences that give LGBTQ+ community members a place to see themselves and be themselves at the Las Vegas pools.

25 Fab Vegas

With a primary focus on the future, the pool parties recognize that the LGBTQ+ community does not fit into a small box and want to make sure these events include everyone.

Freedom pool parties emphasize it is for all LGBTQ+ people and allies.

Additional details will become available as it is released. Email PoolParty702@Gmail.com to reach Freedom Pool Parties and be sure to check out their back cover advertisement.

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

LGBTQ+ VEGAS EVENTS

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

Vegas Black Pride Returns April 14-17 Vegas Black Pride will officially kick off Easter weekend with many planned events.

Vegas Black Pride is a 4-day weekend lined up with parties, fashion, entertainment, celebrities, and their annual charity basketball game.

The festivities begin Thursday, April 14th, and run through Sunday, April 17th.

Vegas Black Pride is committed to creating an experience Las Vegas locals and travelers can enjoy during pride.

26 Fab Vegas

The weekend lineup plans to include returning and new event themes with on and off-the-strip experiences from pool parties, a fashion show, brunch, and their well-attended All Black Party located on the Las Vegas strip at the Hard Rock Cafe with host and Vegas eye candy Melissa Benz!

Celebrities are scheduled for appearances throughout the weekend, including Love & Hip Hop’s AD Diggs and international guest Lil June Afro Punta.

To end the weekend, Vegas Black Pride will host, The Aids Healthcare Foundation

presents Drop The Guns Pick Up A Ball Celebrity Charity Basketball game with special guest players.

“We are so excited to bring back Vegas Black Pride after a 2-year hiatus. I grew up in Las Vegas and we have connected with the pride community from different states to invite them to enjoy Las Vegas for a fun weekend celebrating pride and inclusion in our city.” Johanna Perez, Founder of Vegas Black Pride For more information visit VegasBlackPride.net

FabLasVegas.com

27

What You Can do if You are at Higher Risk of Severe Illness from COVID-19 Are you at higher risk for severe illness?

Here’s what you can do to help protect yourself: Get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Limit contact with other people as much as possible.

Based on what we know now, people who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 include: • Older adults

People of any age with the following:

Wash your hands often.

• Cancer • Chronic kidney disease • COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) • Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies • Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant • Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2) • Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)

Avoid close contact (6 feet, which is about 2 arm lengths) with others outside your household.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

• Pregnancy • Sickle cell disease • Smoking

Avoid all unnecessary travel.

• Type 2 diabetes mellitus

Call your healthcare professional if you are sick.

For more information on steps you can take to protect yourself, see CDC’s How to Protect Yourself.

cdc.gov/coronavirus 316216A October 20, 2021 2:32 PM

FabLasVegas.com

28

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

LGBTQIA+ BOOK CLUB

By: Terri Schlichenmeyer

-----------------------------------------------------------------------add fireworks: “Manhunt” is not a novel for everyone.

“Manhunt” by

Gretchen FelkerMartin. $17.99 / 304 pages c.2022, Macmillan Nightfire

It’s not for anyone who can’t stand gruesomeness, or who hates having their heart sieze due to explicit sex, surprises, cringey scenes, or jumpy scares. Don’t hand it off to anyone who can’t tolerate feminism or a happily-neverafter.

It’s just a little stick in the arm.

Just a poke, a tiny jab, a brief ouch, and you have your opinions about it. On one hand, you hate getting sick; on the other, well, it’s complicated. You don’t even like to see needles on TV but it’s obvious that viruses have a way of upsetting everything. And in the new book “Manhunt” by Gretchen Felker-Martin, this virus will make you howl...

Beth sometimes wondered where it came from.

Spreading the t. rex virus would have been easy, just a matter of leaving an open cannister by a heating vent somewhere or sprinkling it in a crowd. Who would do that, though? Who would release a virus that turned every postpubescent male into a crazed, deformed, wolf-like killing machine?

Beth idly thought about it, as she and Fran tried to get back to their healer, and safety.

Answers might never be knowable but no matter: they were too busy harvesting as many testicles they could get from the men-creatures they eliminated, so their healer could make the estrogen they needed. They had to stay safe 30 Fab Vegas

and alive. Kill or be killed.

Sometimes, Fran couldn’t help but feel sorry for Beth... and for herself, for that matter. Fran’s transition was almost complete when the virus began spreading, when husbands, sons, and brothers suddenly became monsters.

There was no time for bottom surgery but she was almost there, and at least she looked feminine. She might fool a TERF, but Beth never would.

Beth was big, blocky, and still boy-muscled; there was no way she’d ever be a girl.

Robbie always felt that he was better off on his own. He had supplies and was selfsufficient, as long as the TERFs - cisgender women who’d created a fierce army – didn’t catch him. Though he was still menstruating, a trans man was a man.

And to the TERFs, a man, any kind of male no matter what, had to die.

You can take this as a siren,

What this book is, though, is for someone with a deep, affectionate fondness for all of the above plus pockets of plotbrilliance, dark humor in a blow-them-all-to-pieces vein, buckets of blood and gore, moments that might make you *urp* a little, and monsters that live among us. Some tolerance for plot-holes is also needed for full enjoyment; author Gretchen FelkerMartin leaves readers with a few big WHY?s hanging over her smoking Armageddon, and while they’re mostly forgivable, they may still nag.

This book has the feel of a video game your mother wouldn’t let you have because it might give you nightmares.

In this case, she was right: this truly is a keeps-you-upall-night story with streaks of modern-day. Indeed, “Manhunt” is worth a shot.

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

LGBTQ+ VEGAS NEWS

-----------------------------------------------------------------------is where Piranha Nightclub is located, shows ownership information as Wild Dunes Inc with a recorded date of December 17, 2021.

Information on a memorial or an official obituary has not yet been provided to our LGBTQ+ publications.

Paul San Filipo (Piranha & Gipsy Nightclub) found dead at 58 The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received information Tuesday, April 5 at about 11:05 am from the 0 block of Sawgrass Ct in the affluent community of Spanish Trails regarding the discovery of a dead body.

The body was identified as 58-year-old Paul San Filipo, well-known for his highly successful LGBTQ+ nightlife ventures Gipsy and Piranha Nightclub.

Paul also had a starring role in an episode of the TV reality series Bar Rescue co-starring American entrepreneur Jon Taffer.

LVMPD indicated an open/ active criminal investigation and the Clark County Office of the Coroner / Medical Examiner is also investigating the death.

Paul purchased Gipsy Nightclub from Chuck Melfi 31 Fab Vegas

in 1994, once Las Vegas’ most popular LGBTQ+ nightclub.

Gipsy nightclub became a family business with Paul’s mother, Marilyn ‘Mother’ San Filipo, helping to manage the Gipsy Nightclub until her retirement.

His mother Marilyn passing in 2001 at the age of 66 was extremely difficult for Paul.

Paul is survived by his brother Peter San Filipo and nephew Nicholas San Filipo.

The Business License Detail Information on the ClarkCountyNV.gov website shows Piranha Nite Club is owned by Nite Owl, LLC. The address 512 E. Naples Dr. is now where the former Gipsy Nightclub building was demolished and is still recorded as being owned by Gipsy LLC. Parcel 162-22-304-009, which

Paul was born on March 5, 1964, at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, CA. This is a developing story.

Publication Disclosure: Fab Las Vegas Magazine / FabLasVegas.com and Gay Vegas ® / GayVegas.com are owned by Bundle Media Group Inc. or BMG Inc. BMG Inc. and its assets were founded by John Bacon.

John officially signed on with 8 1/2 Ultra Lounge - Piranha Nightclub in June of 2006 and remained until 2009.

Bacon has been credited for moving the LGBTQ+ community patrons to Piranha Nightclub in 2006 among various achievements from 2006 to 2009 creating lasting success for these LGBTQ+ nightlife venues.

Before John’s involvement, the venues had several “rocky” grand openings as originally reported by Las Vegas CityLife.

Any information in this article is in no way influenced by this prior business relationship.

Pooling Pooli ng Around

SPLASHY MEN’S SWIM STYLES FOR SPRING AND SUMMER Slap some style where the sun don’t shine - if clothing is mandatory, that is - in our broad spectrum swim picks gunning for a dive in the deep end.

(All images provided are from the brand)

32 Fab Vegas

By: Mikey Rox

Le Club Original MB Towers Keep your shorts on for a change at Miami’s Haulover Beach in Le Club Original’s limited-edition William Lane collection, featuring an every-day-of-the-week selection of suits celebrating South Florida’s iconic, burst-of-color lifeguard stations. $99-$105, lecluboriginal.com

Vast Tropical Elements Vast’s street-style swimwear - like its five-inch Tropical Elements shorts with dualsided pockets and two-way stretch - makes just as big a splash on a boat day as they do a backyard BBQ. $60, vastlife.com

Vast Artist Volley Ready for a Donna summer?

Legendary graphic artist CJ Dunn draws inspiration from the burnt-orange ’70s on Vast’s all-over logo-print volley shorts with max-comfort drawcord waistband for your work-in-progress beach bod. $40, vastlife.com

Dandy Del Mar Belize Briefs Leave a little (but not too little) to the imagination in the California-born Belize swim briefs from Dandy Del Mar, designed for those seeking maximum leisure in minimum coverage. $79, dandydelmar. com asos.com

ASOS Day Social Reduce your carbon footprint in these mid-length, colorblocked man-about-towns (made from recycled plastic bottles and textile waste), ideal for all manner of outdoor activities, like cruising the bike trails or cruzing the boardwalks. $20, asos.com

FabLasVegas.com

34

Phineas Cole 2022 Paired with a lightweight top and pool-side slides, Phineas Cole’s 2022 collection - replete with ocean-going prints and patterns transitions seamlessly from running errands to schmoozing at The Standard rooftop. $195, paulstuart.com

aussieBum Banana PartyOn! Fruit by the foot?

Size queens can only hope that’s what you’re packin’ in this self-referential banana hammock that’s meta its match. $27, aussiebum.com

Infamous Swim Khaki Kaos You don’t have to be a capital-K Kardashian to get wet and wild in these leopard-print board shorts in a maskuline army-green colorway. $79, infamousswim.com

Sluggers Cottesloe Sunset Briefs Gather the boys and breathe new life into Brooks & Dunn’s “Neon Moon” with a synchronized swim of the TikTok trend in a group set of Sluggers’ when-the-sun-goes-down budgie smugglers. $53, sluggers.com.au

HOMOCO Red Bottles Don’t wait ’til June to show your pride in HOMOCO’s Power Bottoms, like its red lube-bottle logo trunks, themselves an homage to the depression-era Homes Oil Company, the gay founder’s family business. $69, homoco.co

Vacúnese.

Tome su teléfono inteligente.

Empiece a usar v-safe.

10:18 AM

10:18 AM

Use su teléfono inteligente para decirles a los CDC si presenta algún efecto secundario después de vacunarse contra el COVID-19.

También recibirá recordatorios si necesita una segunda dosis de la vacuna.

Inscríbase usando el navegador de su teléfono inteligente en

vsafe.cdc.gov O Apunte la cámara de su teléfono inteligente a este código

Infórmese más sobre v-safe www.cdc.gov/vsafe 12/21/20

U. He Ce Co

Get vaccinated.

Get your smartphone.

Get started with v-safe.

10:18 AM

10:18 AM

Use your smartphone to tell CDC about any side effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

You’ll also get reminders if you need a second vaccine dose.

Sign up with your smartphone’s browser at

vsafe.cdc.gov OR Aim your smartphone’s camera at this code

Learn more about v-safe www.cdc.gov/vsafe 12/01/20

U. He Ce Co

South Torrey Pines Dr

Upland Boulevard

Alta Dr

iv e

West Charleston Boulevard

West Charleston Boulevard

Valley Vi ew Boulevard

Buffalo

South Cimarron Road

South Durango Drive

rd

va

ard

South Decatur Boulevard

lev

South Rampa

u Bo

rt B ou le

nd

Charleston Heights

Alta Drive

South Jones Boulevard

ridge

r

la Up

ive

w Boulevard

a Dr

Ramparet Boulevard

A lt

Alta Driv e

FLEX

WEST CHAR

Hills R

oa d

Buffalo Drive

THE PHOENIX

ve Dri

Sout hR anc ho

W es t Flamingo Road

15

West Tropicana Avenu e

CHARLIES

Raphael Rivera Way Roy Horn Way

Dean Martin Dr

West Sunset Road

Sunset Rd

West Sunset

South Fort Apache Road

d West Warm Spring s Roa

South Decatur Boulevard

South Decatur Blvd

S El Capitan Way

Mountain's Edge

Jones Boulevard

Buffalo Drive

South Durango Drive

West Wigwam Avenue

West Pebble Road

42 Fab Vegas

Enterprise

Dean Martin Dr

West Windmill Lane

West Robindale Road

Rainbow Boulevard

South Buffalo Drive

West Robindale Road

South Jones Boulevard

West Warm Springs Road

Warm Spri ngs Road

Rd

215

Raphael Rivera Way Roy Horn Way

Dean Martin Drive

Raphael Rivera Way Roy Horn Way

Raphael Rivera Way Roy Horn Way

Way

South Jones Boulevard

Brent Thurman Way

a el Riv era Way

orn

Dr

Raph

yH

West Sunset Rd

Sunset Road

South Rainbow Boulevard

Ro

rtin

15

West Sunse t Road

Road

Russell Roa

Dean Ma

South Decatur Boulevard

South Buffalo Drive

South Rainbow Boulevard

Tar kanian W Jerry ay

West Hacienda Avenue

West Russell Road

Rue de

Dean Martin Drive

ay Brent Thur man W

e

West Harmon A ve n u

Dr ive

West Tropicana Avenue

Spanish Trail

Spanish Hills

Sinat ra Dr

De Mar an tin Dr

West Flamingo Road

South Decatur Boulevard

West Tropicana Ave

in A ve

Dean Martin Dr

Spring Valley

Flamingo Heights

Tw a

Frank Sinatra Dr

West Flamingo Road

South el Capitan Way

We st

West Twain Avenue

Buffalo Ranch

Bridgeport

Spring Mou

Arville Street

Peace Way

Chinatown

Frank Sinatra

South Durango Drive

West Twain Av enue

South Jones Boulevard

South Cimarron Road

South El Capitan Way

Spring Mountain Road

South Lindell Road

st Twain Avenue

South Torrey Pines Drive

West Desert Inn Road

Polaris Avenue

th Drive

Rainbow Boulevard

Buffalo Drive

as t Dri ve eE ak

Lake Sou

West Pennwood Ave

Edna A venue

Decatur Boulevard

South Fort Apache Road

L

Valley View Boulevard

The Lakes

Frank

West Sahara Avenue

Road

Lake North Drive

Arville Street

South Cimarron

Canyon Gate

West Oakey Boulevard Lindell Road

anch

West W

Av e

Pecos Road

Ro ad

lark

Pe co

s Ve

Av e

East Stewart Avenue

BACKDOOR

th La

ville

EC

Eastern Ave

rd leva Bou

ne

gas

St

Av e

Bo n

s

La St

4th

th C Bou asino leva Cen rd ter

ue

Sou

S Cen outh tral Grand Par kway

Ma in

South Rancho Drive

So uth Martin L King Boulevard

ss

CENTER

rk A ven

Boulevard

Cla

Ga

Marion Dr

515

ndhill Road

Downtown

North Mojave Road

West Ave Bonneville

Eastern Ave

Alta Drive

d

Sou

on e tre

d ise R

Par ad

HE

HAWKS GYM

Sand Rd hill

LAS VEGAS LOUNGE SPOTLIGHT LOUNGE

East Desert Inn Road

Swenson Street

Maryland Parkway

UNLV

EASTERN AVE

Koval Lane

ne

515 East Flamingo Rd

EAST HARMON AVE

e Monte Carlo

East Harm Ave

515

THE EAGLE

East Tropica na Ave

Parad

East Hacienda Avenue

EASTERN AVE

East Hacienda Ave

Ru ss

Russell Road

ell

Ro

ad

North Green Valley Parkway

East Patrick Lane

Sunset Road

Sunset Road

Sunset Road

Sandhill Road

N

oa

R et

ns Su

South Las Ve gas Boulevard

MCCARRAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Ru s Rd sell

South Pecos Road

Departing Flights

East Hacienda Avenue

East Hacienda Avenue

oad ise R Russell Road

ad

East Tropican a Avenue

EAST TROPICANA AVE

Mountain Vista Street

Giles St

Swenson Street

EAST TROPICANA AVE

Mandalay Bay Rd

East Flamingo Road

Sandhill Rd

RD

Swenson St

DISE

THE GARAGE

NAPLES DR

on

EAST FLAMINGO RD

PARA

The Loop

rc

ct

Spencer Street

In

MARYS

East Flamingo Road

te

Sandhill Road

od

e cL

Koval Lane

FUN HOG

South Nellis Boulevard

s-M

PARADISE RD

EAST DESERT INN RD

East Twain Ave

FREEZONE GET BOOKED PIRANHA QUADZ

Veg as Valley D rive

o Pec

Sands Ave

EASTERN AVE

Paradise Rd

EG SV LA

my

BADLANDS SALOON ENTOURAGE

d

Sa m

C

“T

VD BL AS

rD riv e nio

Da vis

Ju

e

HAWKS GYM

Convention Center Dr

d

Karen Avenue

Center / Square

R ill

ve

Karen Avenue

Karen Avenue

E

East Sahara Avenue

dh

lley Pa rk

Eastern Av enue

East Windmill Lane

Windmill Lane

Green Valley

le Val N o rth e Dr V erd

East Windmill Lane

East Windmill Lane

North Pecos Road

Paradise Road

South Las Vegas Boulevard

East Robindale Road

North Valle Verde Dr

East Warm Springs Road

North Arroyo Grande Boulevard

Road

W

Va ll e Verde Drive

wa

y

or th

East Warm Springs

East Warm Springs Rd

East Warm Springs Road

South Pecos Rd

East Windmill Parkway North Vall e V er de

Pecos Road

Wigwam Parkway

Pebble Roa

d

Pebble Road

Paseo Verde

oV er

de

P ark

wa y

e Drive

FabLasVegas.com ut h

Green Valley

So

eo Verde Par kwa y

Pa se

Pa se

P as

V alle Verd

oV e rd

Serene Ave nue Serene Avenue

de

eP a

ay rkw

n Gra South A rroyo ar d B oulev

Eastern Avenue

Bermuda Road

Pebble Road

ive

East Pebble Road

Dr

Wigwam Park way

South Maryland Parkway

Warm Springs R d

215

d

Hidden We ll Road

George Cro ckett Road

North Green Va

Dri

East Sahara Avenue

n Sa

nd

East Saint Louis Avenue

EAST SAHARA AVE

McLeod Drive

hla

East St Louis Ave

East Saint Louis Avenue

East St Louis Ave

North Lamb Boulevard

ST RIP ”

t

Hig

East Wyoming Avenue

tS

South Bridge Lane

e

515

em Fr

15

d

EAST CHARLESTON BLVD

South Main St

18b Arts District West Wyoming Ave

untain Roa

EAST CHARLESTON BLVD

South

RLESTON BLVD

43

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

44 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

45

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

46 Fab Vegas

STD TESTING RESOURCE SOUTHERN NEVADA HEALTH DISTRICT ADDRESS 1: 280 S. Decatur Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89107 HOURS: Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (closed 12 – 1 p.m.)

ADDRESS 2: 4201 W. Washington Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89107 HOURS: Monday – Wednesday 9 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

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.

Hepatitis screening, diagnosis and treatment

5.

High-risk behavior counseling

6.

HIV Nursing Case Management

7.

Injection series for syphilis medication

8.

Partner notification

9.

Referrals by private physicians

10. Sexual assault follow-up 11. 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.

FabLasVegas.com

47

PRIDE FLAGS

PRIDE FLAGS

COMMUNITY RESOURCES 52 Fab Vegas

FabLasVegas.com

53

WWW.IRSCDEI.ORG

WWW.IRSCDEI.ORG

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.