2020-9

VOLUME 20,

ISSUE 9

BILLY PORTER Pose powerhouse on his Black queer experience, upcoming memoir and finally feeling like he’s made it

Photo Credit: Netflix

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By: Chris Azzopardi

Billy Porter Pose powerhouse on his Black queer experience, upcoming memoir and finally feeling like he’s made it “Now that I have a massive platform, and now that the people want to listen to the Black sissy, I’m gonna talk,” Billy Porter says, fired up, leaning into the camera. On Zoom, Porter commands a computer screen like he does a red carpet.

In this particular moment, his fiery passion stems from a call he received from screenwriteractress Lena Waithe, who raised an eyebrow after Porter made history as Essence’s first openly gay man to grace the magazine’s cover. Porter says Waithe got him on the phone to talk about the anonymous letter written by current and former Essence staffers calling themselves “Black Female Anonymous.”

The letter was published on Medium on June 28 and called out the magazine for its toxic work environment, just before Porter’s cover story hit newsstands. “I had to stop her,” he says. “I said, ‘I hear you, I see you, I feel you.’”

But Porter simply didn’t know about the letter, he says. Until she called, he hadn’t even seen it. “I don’t give a fuck about social media,” he scoffs, talking about his refusal to be

engaged on social platforms.

“I don’t adjudicate my life or humanity in sound bites on social media. I don’t fight with nobody, I don’t have Twitter fights.”

The reason, he says, is “I’m 50 years old. Everybody has to remember that I built a career before social media.”

Porter’s mainstream breakthrough, playing ball emcee Pray Tell on FX’s trans-centric series Pose, is an accumulation of dedication to his craft as a singer and actor that began in his 20s in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

He released solo albums that weren’t widely known. He met music industry standards for Black artists (you had to be R&B). And then, later, he dismantled those standards (he could sing show tunes, and did). In 2013, he originated the role of Lola in Kinky Boots, which led to both a Tony and Grammy award.

In September 2019, Porter made history as the first openly Black gay man to win in any lead acting category at the Emmys for his role on Pose. Though winners won’t be announced until Sept.

20, Porter recently received another nomination for his portrayal of Pray Tell.

Despite the pandemic, Porter is remaining prolific. He recorded an updated version of the 1966 protest song “For What It’s Worth,” which he performed on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, to address our current political landscape; he’s also featured on The Shapeshifters’ disco number “Finally Ready,” which reflects, in part, his decades-long journey living through the AIDS crisis. He’s writing two books, his memoir and a children’s picture book. He also has starring roles in two upcoming films: a live-action Cinderella remake, as the Fairy Godmother, and in out Love, Simon director Greg Berlanti’s big-screen take on Little Shop of Horrors.

My recent interview with Porter was scheduled as an audio-only Zoom call, but because not even Porter’s handlers can stop Porter from setting his own rules, he appears on video in a caftan, casually eating in a rented beach house. A bag with “Vote Betches” written on it FabLasVegas.com

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Stay safe, Southern Nevada.

You can help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Southern Nevada.

• Wear a cloth face mask or covering when out in public.

• Wash your hands with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer.

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with tissue.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Find testing locations at www.snhd.info/covid-19-testing-sites

Follow us on: SNHD.info and GetHealthyClarkCounty.org Instagram.com/SouthernNevadaHealthDistrict Facebook.com/SouthernNevadaHealthDistrict Facebook.com/ez2stop Twitter.com/SNHDinfo Twitter.com/ez2stop 9 Fab Vegas

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CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------is propped up in back of him.

Expecting to see none of this, I’m in the clothes I went to bed in: a tank top and sweat shorts, with a hat I threw on.

I tell Porter that I thought this was an audio-only interview.

Porter responds incredulously; he can’t understand why anyone in their right mind would not use the video feature. “We have Zoom! Why are we not doing Zoom?”

I leap out of my computer chair and run to the closet in back of me, throwing on the first shirt I see. I realize in that moment that Emmy winner Billy Porter is watching me get dressed. “There is no need for you to put a shirt on for me,” he says with a playful smirk.

It’s early July when we speak, and our interview knows no bounds: from Buddhism, which Porter practices now, to how, even with notoriety, Porter still experiences racism in his everyday life, especially from those within the LGBTQ community. He laid bare his beliefs and opinions, and went off on a variety of other topics too because talking about them, he says, with a rip-roaring laugh, “helps me stay sane.”

I read that you’ve gotten into Buddhism.

Lightly. I’m still learning.

What have you learned, and what drew you to the practice?

What has drawn me to the practice is that it’s a revolt against religion. Religion is man-made. Spirituality is divine. All of the wars that

have existed in this world, all of the bullshit that we go through, is in the name of somebody’s man-made God. And I’m over it. I’m just over it.

I grew up in the Pentecostal Church. They systematically taught parishioners how to hate, disguising it through Bible verses. We’re living in a country right now that is being run by people who say they’re Christians and believe in Jesus and God, and they’re letting people die in the streets. That is not God. That is not Jesus. Y’all can take your Bibles and your religion and shove it. I am so done.

I had people actually say to me back in the day that they were voting for Trump because of his religious values. That motherfucker has been in the church three times, for his three marriages. That’s it. And yet we still sit here every single day and talk about morals. I can’t do it anymore.

Buddhism says life is suffering.

That’s useful to me. You’re not going to get out of life without suffering. That takes me to radical acceptance, that takes me to radical compassion, which allows for me to have a foundation where I can feel what I feel and simultaneously be empowered to be a part of a movement for something different. Otherwise, I am useless.

You’re a success story. And despite your success and the fact that you are an openly gay leading man and you’ve won major awards and shattered the

glass ceiling for queer Black people, you’re still a gay Black man in America right now.

I’m Black first. Which I have to remind my own people of, by the by. But keep going. Ask me the question.

What experiences of yours as a Black gay man might surprise people who look at you and think, “He’s famous, he’s good, he doesn’t have anything to worry about”?

We were out on Long Island and we were meeting some friends of ours for a socialdistance walk at this place called the Hog Farm. I pulled in with my husband (Adam Smith). It looked like private property to me. No signs, no real parking lot. There was a farm stand. It looked like a farmer’s market, and there was no one there. And my friends weren’t there and they texted and said they were late. So we sat there for a minute. Then out of nowhere a little white girl comes flouncing out, and she looks around and sees the car, and then she goes back to wherever she came from.

I don’t know where it was. I didn’t see any doors. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was immediately filled with anxiety because: Where is she going? Where is this little white girl going? And who is she telling that there’s a Black man sitting out front on our property in a BMW? Never mind my white husband beside me. There’s a Black man. That’s where I live. Every day, all day. That’s before the gay. So I deal with that, and then I turn around and my FabLasVegas.com

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----------------------------------------------------------------------own people are just as violent toward me.

So, I’ve never had anywhere to go. I’ve never really had a place where I have felt comfortable and embraced fully by any community.

The racism that exists in the LGBTQ community is at the top of the list. They’re fucking racists just like everybody else. Inside that community, there’s racism. And inside the Black community, there’s homophobia.

didn’t care about us. (They thought) we deserved to die simply because of who we are. Something about this coronavirus is mirroring it, mirroring that, giving me a lot of anxiety, a lot of PTSD. The last time we spoke, you told me you were working on a contemporary gospel-musical about your experience of surviving the AIDS epidemic.

I am still.

Where are you going now as far as music? What do you listen to get you through the moment and help you recharge?

As you work on that while living through another pandemic, what is that experience like for you?

I’m in the middle of trying to figure out what that is.

Music was and still is very healing to me. As I reenter the mainstream music market, I’m going back to disco, back to house, back to ’70s funk.

I am just trying to get a handle on the full landscape. This time it’s different. And first of all, the reason why we’re in the position that we’re in in terms of this pandemic is due to whiteness. It’s due to white supremacy. It’s due to the fact that everybody knew going in that Orangina 45 was not the choice. But whiteness overrode any consequences – that’s not quite the word. It overrode anything, because, “It’s still Republican, it’s still white, and whatever he’s doing, he’s doing what we want to get done so it’s not so bad. We’ll just deal with him for four years, get all of this shit we want to get done, done: appointing the courts, taking away healthcare from citizens, rolling back all of the work that we’ve fought for the last 400 years. Let’s just roll all of that back. Because we know we can’t stop it, but we can roll it back enough that it will take another 40 years to get back to where we’ve

Sylvester?

Sylvester. I’m trying to pick up the torch from where he left off when he passed way too soon. Because there’s something healing inside of that energy, inside of that space as a 50-year-old Black man who came out in the ’80s. We went to the clubs to find fellowship, we went to the clubs to heal collectively, we went to the clubs to party on the weekends so that we could shake the terror and the anxiety and the pain of just having gone to five memorials that week for friends who passed away in their 20s, in a world where nobody cared about you. The government

already gotten, or more. So let’s just roll everything back.”

He represented that to white people.

It was at the expense of anyone who’s not a white straight man in this country.

Right. So he can look at this administration and have the anemic response that he had and allow this country to continue to sink because in the sinking, whatever it was, whatever this bitch does, was never gonna affect him.

Now we’re 50 million unemployed, motherfuckers are in the street every day, 60,000 cases of the virus that could have been contained, and in an economy that’s tanking but we’re still, in our whiteness, talking about books on the news that are written about him by his niece.

In 2014, I asked you if you were the kind of artist you want to be. You said, “I’m not sure that there is ever a scenario where I will feel like I have arrived or like I’ve made it.” Can you answer that more definitively now?

Yeah. I have made it. I’m leaning into that, with as much grace and humility as I can. And I’m trying to use the space that I’ve created for myself to re-enter the music industry in the mainstream on my terms. That’s what I’m working on. And the two singles that I have out right now, which may seem diametrically opposed, are exactly who I am.

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“For What It’s Worth” was written in 1966, but is obviously still relevant today.

What memory do you have of hearing Buffalo Springfield’s version for the first time?

It’s so ubiquitous, I don’t have a memory of the first time. It’s everywhere, it’s always been everywhere. Any war movie you watch, that’s what they play. It’s just been that for the whole time. So I don’t have a first time, but I do know when my manager suggested it I had to look at it and look at the lyrics and figure out, because I hadn’t really listened to the lyrics: What does this mean to me today? How do we take this song and make sure we’re speaking in the present? And not just as an observer, because it’s a very observational lyric, but how do we ignite the spirit of engagement and change with this song? And so that was the goal for that one. I recorded that the day after the Emmys, before all of this mess was happening. So my goal was to always have this ready for this political season.

The time seems ripe for an entire Billy Porter protest album. Have you considered recording one?

There is no music from Billy Porter without hope and without protest. It all is that. And I’m working on that new album right now.

I’m signing a new deal right now. And I have some shit to say. It’ll be protest, it’ll be dance, it’ll be love, it’ll be all of it. Because those are all the things that I am. I no longer

have to compartmentalize the wholeness and the fullness of myself anymore. I don’t have to do that anymore.

What advice do you have for Black LGBTQ people who are still pushing against an oppressive society that doesn’t allow them to be exactly who they want to be?

Don’t wait for anybody to give you permission to be who you are. Just be it. Just be it and let those motherfuckers catch up.

I said, “When you catch up, you’ll figure it out.” But that’s not my journey. Y’all need to catch up. I’m not the problem.

We have to stop thinking that we’re the problem. We’re made to feel like we’re the problem and we need to be fixed. No. Y’all are the problem. If you have a problem with my authenticity, that’s your stuff that I will no longer take on or receive, and I’m going to make sure that I sit in the fullness of myself and give that 100 percent, no matter where the chips may fall.

And I’m living proof that that actually works out. It’s not fast.

It’s not always fast. And I think that’s a lot of the problem: that we have gotten more and more microwavable in the way we live, in our expectations.

We live this microwaved life; everything is instantaneous.

It’s like, I’m 50 fucking years old, y’all. I’ve been doing this since 1985.

Do people realize that you had to put that time in before you became Emmy winner Billy Porter?

No, they don’t. Because I’m

Black and Black don’t crack.

It’s all good. But like, no, I’m 50. And as a result of that I have no more time to give any fucks about what other people think about what I’m doing. I don’t have time. I am middle-aged! Ha! I have to say exactly what I want to say and do exactly what I want to do.

Period.

Reflecting on Kinky Boots and Pose, how do you think those projects changed the conversation when it comes to LGBTQ communities of color?

Well, there are Black people in these spaces. When the LGBTQ stories started being told in the mainstream, it was all about white people. Always.

I’m still waiting for my guest spot on Will & Grace. Still.

Have you auditioned?

Never a call, never a thought.

Never anything. I’m not saying this because I’m angry about it or I’m trying to call them out or anything. We write what we know, and what those white people knew was white people and that’s what they wrote about. So now, I’m in a position of power and I’m gonna write about my people.

I’m going to do it about myself.

You wrote a TV pilot.

I’ve written several things, but yes, most recently I’ve written a pilot. I’m writing my memoir. It’s in my hands.

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me. I can’t wait to be invited to the table. I’m at the table. I crashed the party. I’m at the table. Here I am.

(Sarcastically.) Oh, it was easier to deal with it until you have brought it up three times today.

That’s how you got to where you are – you kept crashing the table.

That’s fair.

I crashed the party. I crashed the dinner party. And I’ma keep doing that.

I think the deadline for the memoir is in October, right?

You really do your research.

What can you share about it with me at this point?

It’s in transition. What’s really interesting is that, because of COVID, because of the lockdown, because of the work that I’ve been doing in lockdown on myself, it’s not a memoir just about recounting my disappointments and my successes. It’s deeper than that. And I’m trying to figure out what that is. And I’m just trying to allow myself to let it come and not be so Virgo about it, so planned about it. It’s like, yeah, I wrote the proposal; but what I’m feeling in my spirit is connected to that but also much deeper and much different than what it originally started out to be.

So I’m literally in the space of trying to just let it come.

Is it tough to keep up with what’s happening internally at this moment while working to meet your October deadline, as we move through the Black Lives Matter movement?

I was actually doin’ all right until the three times you brought it up today.

I’ve triggered you is what you’re saying.

Yes, you have! No, it’s all good. I’m just trying to be compassionate with myself and give myself the space to be wherever I am emotionally – to be wherever I am spiritually, to be wherever I am creatively and move through it, not compartmentalize it, not put the pain away, not ignore it. None of that. Move right directly through all of it. That’s what I’m trying to do.

You recently got some backlash for telling Black people to stop killing Black trans people. How do you respond to those who have an issue with what you said?

The African American community’s relationship to the LGBTQ community is horrible. It always has been. The Black community is the most homophobic, in my experience, and so the backlash was not a surprise to me. And I was called out by some friends – some really lovely friends – who said in this moment of heightened sensitivity the specificity of language is very important.

I said “Black people.” I didn’t say homophobic Black people.

I didn’t say homophobic, transphobic and xenophobic Black people. So I actually recorded an addendum to my message so that I could deal with the semantics of that.

Even though y’all know what I’m talking about, I will deal with the semantics of it in this moment.

Please understand: I hear you, I will be more specific on who I’m calling out. I’m calling out homophobic, transphobic and xenophobic Black people who are in the streets killing their own. That’s who I’m calling out. And I meant it.

I am comparing it to white supremacy. I am because it is. Everybody has to look in the mirror at themselves.

We all have to do it. We all have blind spots. The blind spot in the African American community, one of them, is that. It is. I created a simple do-unto-others metaphor that people had problems with. If you have a problem with it, you need to look at yourself and ask yourself why you have a problem with that.

One of the things my friend told me – because I don’t read comments – was that with all of the pushback, there was pushback to the pushback, (people) saying, “But did he lie?” That was a phrase that I heard that kept coming up in these comments when people were trying to drag me. I’m not lying. Deal with it however you want to. But this is the truth. And I’m a truth-teller.

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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

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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

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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

25

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

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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 32 Fab Vegas

33 Fab Vegas

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.