SEX, DRUGS & OUT OF CONTROL
An LGBTQ+ perspective on substance abuse and recovery resources
THE LONG SHOT
The latest HIV vaccine research suggests slower administration
MONKEYPOX
What to know about the STI that could be the next pandemic
Embrace Magazine
An Italian singer and dancer with a healthy outlook and a killer career comeback in the works
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“This is simply one of the finest estates I’ve seen in my career. The backyard overlooking the pond is so beautiful that it looks like it is straight out of the movies.”
This magnificent 119 acre estate is located in Central NW Ocala’s acclaimed horse country. Wind up the paved drive to the spectacular home site sitting high on a hill overlooking the beautiful grounds. This property is recognized as one of the most prominent estates in horse country. Offered at $ 7, 900 , 000
FARM
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DESINO Offered at $ 799 , 000
This beautifully kept 6+ acre farm is just what you’ve dreamed of! Located in Central NW Ocala’s beautiful horse country, where you’ll find yourself surrounded by like-minded equestrians! It’s a great location, and just minutes to equestrian venues, including HITS, Live Oak, OBS, and less than 10 miles to the new WEC!
CHATHAM GLEN FARM BRIDAL OAKS FARM
“This property has the perfect layout and is most certainly why the 13 acres feel more like 25! Not one inch of space is wasted. And I absolutely love the master bedroom — it’s stunning!”
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Offered at $ 1 , 775 , 000
This 13 acre farm is conveniently located in Central NW Ocala’s horse country; it’s one mile to HITS, and 15 minutes to the new World Equestrian Center! There are 2 large pastures with mature shade trees, and an additional 3 paddocks with 10-foot aisles between. woodwork; it features feed and tack rooms, wash racks, bath and efficiency apt.
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This farm is located in the beautiful equestrian community of Ocala Downs in NW Ocala’s prestigious horse country. This location can’t be beat for easy access to main roads, parks and riding opportunities, and horse venues, including the new World Equestrian Center.
Embrace Magazine is the highest and most awarded LGBTQ+ magazine in Florida and the highest and most awarded startup magazine in Florida and the nation.
Best Overall: Digital Innovator
Best Special Theme or Show Issue The Advocacy Issue
Best Writing: Public Service Coverage The Advocacy Issue
Best Advertisement: Self-Promotional Embraced!
Best Writing: Feature “Finger on the Pulse”
Best Writing: Feature Headlines
“There's No Place Like Rome” “Those Were the Baes” “The Fast and the Fabulous”
Best Writing: Editorial/ Commentary/Opinion Publisher’s Letters
Best Photography: Photo Essay “Nautical Nirvana”
Best Design: Cover The Advocacy Issue
Best Design: Feature “Crisis Chronicled”
Best Digital: Podcast Embrace On-Air
Best Design: Department Fashion & Design
Best Photography: Department Image "Artist Florencia Clement de Grandprey with tapestry"
The mission of Embrace Magazine is to unite LGBTQ+ and straight communities to live, work, play, and pray together. We also wish to provide a platform for LGBTQ+ people to have a voice and share their unique artistry. Therefore, our sta consists of two-thirds LGBTQ+ persons, and one-third straight persons within our 15-member sta .
Jamie Ezra Mark Creative Director (He/Him)
Over his 25-year publishing career, Mark has amassed a vast magazine portfolio that includes national titles such as Weight Watchers, Arthritis Today, Digital South, Sensi, and Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Latitudes. His team at Em continues to design award-winning publications, as well as brand and advertising strategies, for a variety of businesses.
Conan Segrest Chief Photographer (He/Him)
Conan Segrest and his wife Yaisa have been the owners of Full Line Photography Studio for the last 10+ years. They have been in the Ocala area since graduating in 1998 and married since 2001. His wife got him his first camera that same year and he hasn't put it down since, now providing timeless wedding photography and family portraits to his clients to cherish a lifetime.
Magnus Hastings Photographer (He/Him)
Award-winning photographer Magnus Hastings is best known for his work with Drag Queens and the Queer community. Relocating from his home town of London to Los Angeles in 2011, he travelled across America photographing the best of U.S drag for his bestselling photography book Why Drag? Published in 2016 by Chronicle books, it was described by Sir Elton John as “the best fucking photography book in years.” Magnus followed this up with his second book Rainbow Revolution (2020). He has appeared as a guest photographer on RuPaul’s Drag Race and a guest judge on The Boulet Brothers Dragula. Magnus currently lives in West Hollywood.
Nile Fortner Contributing Writer (He/Him)
For various publications and online platforms, Nile Fortner has worked
as a South Florida-based community writer and multimedia journalist. Nile, who is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University, is also a writer for the Sun-Sentinel, New Pelican Newspaper, M.I.A. Media Group/Legacy, and he’s also been a writer for SFLStyle, My South Florida Today, ComicAttack, and more. He is also a podcaster for BocaFirst, Cinephellas, and he contributes with a few others too. Nile is also a fan of movies and he’s a foodie. You may also find him being active on social media @ Nile_Fortner.
Dora, Fla. She graduated from the Rollins College Paralegal Studies program and obtained her certification in 2017.
Bill Malcolm writes a syndicated LGBTQ+ value travel column which appears or has appeared in publications in Dallas, Chicago, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Charlotte, and South Florida. He was formerly the Round the Ripple columnist for the Broad Ripple Gazette and also founded All Aboard Indiana, the passenger rail newsletter of the Indiana Passenger Rail Association. He focuses on value, going local, and taking public transit, bicycling or walking as well as what’s new in cities. He resides in Indianapolis.
Steve Pa ord is an English journalist, actor and author of the acclaimed book BowieStyle. Having trained from the floor up in UK music titles Q, MOJO and Record Collector, he’s had his work featured in a wide variety of British, American and Australian media including the BBC, CNN, The Independent and the New York Times. Steve divides his time between Australia and the south of France.
Danielle Olivani Issues + Politics Editor (She/Her)
Danielle is a proud mom, community organizer/activist, and CEO of Lake County Pride Org. Corp; an LGBTQIA+ nonprofit which seeks to improve the lives of Lake County youth through advocacy, education, and acts of service to the community. She is a longtime resident of Lake County and currently lives in Mount
Rev. Catherine Dearlove Religion Editor (She/Her)
Rev Catherine Dearlove is Senior Pastor at Trinity MCC in Gainesville, Fla. Although a Christian minister, she has a strong appreciation for all journeys of faith or philosophy and wrote her Masters dissertation on Inter-religious Dialogue. She is currently the Chair of the Campus Multi-faith Cooperative at UF and coordinates the Alachua County Faith Leaders Alliance. Rev Catherine has lived in the UK, Australia and now USA and has spent most of her life as an advocate for the integration of sexuality and spirituality.
Je Sanchez Art + Culture Editor (He/Him)
Je Sanchez is a graduate of New York University and heads
an entertainment publicity firm in NYC. He lives with his partner and two sons, splitting their time between Manhattan and Charleston, SC.
Joseph Pastrana Fashion + Design and Style + Trends Editor (He/Him)
Joseph Pastrana is a New York-based fashion journalist, public relations consultant, and author of “Homespun - True Tales of Tweed”. As fashion director for trade publication MetroStyle he covered seasonal Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, and wrote profiles / reviews on designers / collections including Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Van Cleef & Arpels along with stories on Saks Fifth Ave, Sotheby’s, Louis Vuitton and more. Today, he is a iliated with Mannfolk PR in publicity and brand development projects while continuing to cover fashion, art, interior design and luxury. He is also currently working on his next book for literary imprint house Thane & Prose.
Melissa-Marie Marks Activism & Charity Editor (She/Her)
Katie McCullough Mind Health Columnist (She/Her)
Katie McCullough, graduate of Flagler College, is currently teaching English Language Arts in Saint Augustine, Fla, specializing in gifted and exceptional education. Prior to attending graduate school, Katie plans to pursue her
Melissa-Marie Marks is a freelance writer based in North-Central Florida. She specializes in writing about green business and green technology, renewable energy, conservation and sustainability, and holistic health. Melissa graduated from The Florida School of Traditional Midwifery in 2012 and practiced as a Florida licensed midwife until 2018, when she retired from private practice to focus on her writing career. She spends her leisure time camping with her kids and manifesting a life she loves by utilizing the law of attraction.
passion for writing while finding time to travel the world.
Cory Freeman Body Health Columnist
(He/Him)
Cory Freeman is a twotime first-place national bodybuilding champion, having won both of his first-place titles, The Men’s Classic Physique Master’s Over 35 at the 2019 NPC Viking Championship and at the 2019 NPC Masters USA in his rookie year. Cory works as a physical therapist in the home health industry.
Donna Davis Soul Health Columnist (She/Her)
An interfaith minister and life coach, Donna Davis utilizes her life experiences to empower other people to overcome their struggles. Together with her wife, Norma, they manage Your Phoenix is Rising, a transformation coaching service focused on helping others rise from the darkness of despair and embrace their true Light Nature. Donna and Norma raised three biological children
Justin Ayars (He/Him)
Justin Ayars is a self-described recovering healthcare trial lawyer turned serial entrepreneur. He has extensive experience in crafting compelling narratives that resonate with diverse demographics, helping businesses authentically engage new markets and cultivating communities through relationship-building and technological innovation. For five years, Justin ran a successful LGBTQ+ marketing, media and events company in the mid-Atlantic region, Q Media. Justin is now the Founder & CEO of EqualityMD, a comprehensive virtual ecosystem that provides the LGBTQ+ community with inclusive, personalized healthcare. Located in Richmond, Virginia, Ayars represents an overall POV.
Herb Sosa (He/Him)
Community activist, historian, preservationist and freelance writer, Herb Sosa is a founding member of, and currently serves as President and CEO of Unity Coalition/Coalición Unida, o ering protection and promotion of Latino/Hispanic LGBTQ+ rights— the only organization of its kind in South Florida since 2002. Sosa brings over 20 years of corporate and not-for-profit leadership experience in the community. Previously Sosa was Executive Director of Miami Design Preservation League and the Art Deco Weekend Festival in Miami Beach. Sosa also is Publisher and Editor-In-chief of AMBIENTE Magazine, the first and only LGBTQ+ publication o ered in English, Spanish and Portuguese. He and his husband reside in Miami, representing South Florida inclusion.
and served as legal guardians to several teenaged friends of their children during their time of need.
Donna is a Registered Nurse at Parralion HCA Shared Services and Performance Director at Centers for Spiritual Living Ocala. She studied RN at Rasmussen College and psychology at Florida Atlantic University.
Shane Lukas Website Designer and LGBTQ Resource Blogger (He/Him)
Shane Lukas is the feisty ginger-haired
owner and creative strategist behind A Great Idea (weareagi. com), a care and community brand communications studio. When not pushing pixels and building brands, you can find him doing grassroots organizing to advance social justice and queer liberation, studying for his MBA, or taking his puppies (and partner, of course) out to explore some mountain trails.
Matthew Skallerud (He/Him)
Matt Skallerud, president of Pink Media, has been in the LGBTQ+ digital space for over 25 years now, first with GayWired.com and ShieWired.com, and now with Pink Media and the #ILoveGay network, helping companies reach their targeted LGBTQ+ demographic. In addition, Skallerud is the former Board Chairman of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) and has served on the boards Travel Gay Canada (TGC) and the LAGLCC. He is actively involved with key national LGBTQ+ organizations including the NGLCC, Out Professionals and Lambda Legal, just to name a few. Located in Allentown, Pa., Skallerud represents an overall POV.
EDITORIAL
PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
John Sotomayor
SENIOR EDITOR
Sara Giza
DEPARTMENT
EDITORS
International News Steve Pa ord
Travel Bill Malcolm
Issues + Politics Danielle Olivani
Religion Rev. Catherine Dearlove
Art + Culture Je Sanchez
Style + Trends Joseph Pastrana
Fashion + Design Joseph Pastrana
Seen John Sotomayor
COLUMNISTS
Mind Katie McCullough
Body Cory Freeman
Soul Donna Davis
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Melissa-Marie Marks
Shane Lukas
Shane Gallagher
Noel Ho man
Alejandra Manjarrez
Fred W. Wright Jr.
ADVISORY BOARD
Justin Ayars, Founder/CEO of EqualityMD, Virginia
Matthew Skallerud, President of Pink Media, Pennsylvania
Herb Sosa, President/CEO of Unity Coalition|Coalicion Unida, Florida
ART
EM AGENCY
Creative Director Jamie Ezra Mark
Art Director Rheya Tanner
Designer Wendy Mak
Designer Josh Clark
CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Conan Segrest
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Magnus Hastings, Embrace Media
CARTOON
Simon and Bryan Steel
VIDEOS
BMW of North America with Goodby Silverstein & Partners, BELIEVE DIGITAL, Embrace Media
OPERATIONS
DIRECTOR OF LOCAL SALES AND ADVERTISING
John Sotomayor
john@sotomayormedia.com
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863, sales@rivendellmedia.com
EMBRACE MEDIA WEBSITE
Designer A Great Idea
Video Producer Alexander Sotomayor
PRINTER
Good Time Printing, Ocala
OUR MISSION To unite LGBTQ+ and straight communities to live, work, play, and pray
HELLO, MY NAME IS JOHN, and I have mental health issues. I sometimes have bouts of anxiety and depression, two of the most common types of mental illness. I also have alcoholism. I work on my issues in order to maintain a balanced life, as does everyone else in the world, whether they have a mental disorder or not. Balance takes work. It just takes more e ort for those of us who have diculty with control.
My origin story begins when I was very young, as it does for most. When I was roughly 8 years old, I had an attraction to a girl in my class, and her brother. I thought Kelly was a pretty girl and Billy was a pretty boy. I had no natural distinction for gender. To me, there was only attraction — physical attraction to both. I learned from the behavior of other boys not to show my attraction or a ection to boys. To do so meant ridicule, beatings or worse — complete isolation.
presented itself in the summer of my junior year as a social lubricant, and I took to it from my rst taste. My rst sip immediately led to my rst gulp.
My drinking really took hold while I was in college at the University of Rochester in upstate New York. I managed to keep some semblance of control by limiting my drinking to weekends. I had a secret gay life on the side, and kept my university life and gay life separate. At times, I had to make up fake identities in my gay world to keep the two worlds from colliding.
Leading a secret double life added to my anxiety and depression. I did not enjoy keeping secrets from people I cared about. I felt I had no other choice. I had seen what happened to two classmates in high school when they were either discovered or suspected of being gay. One was a loner for four years. The other transferred months after the taunts began.
I learned to conceal my feelings and monitor my behavior. It took e ort. I thought a prolonged wayward glance or other clues might give me away. The internal struggle to stay hidden but be seen caused anxiety. It didn’t help that I was raised in the Roman Catholic church and attended Immaculate Conception Elementary then St. Francis Preparatory High School. The idea branded into my head that I would burn for eternity in hell re if I was gay did not appeal to me.
As a boy, I had nightmares. My parents were concerned to the point they considered therapy. I rallied enough so they didn’t.
While other boys led carefree years of adolescent youth chasing girls, I desperately tried to look the part while not giving myself away to either gender — the girls I hit on or dated, and the guys I really wanted to. Eventually alcohol
I completed my college degree with honors and was accepted into Howard University School of Law in Washington, DC. Maintaining schoolwork in law school was far more demanding than college. It was expected to work through the weekend to keep up. That conicted with my secret gay life and drinking, of which I had no intention to give either up.
Eventually, I could no longer keep either secret. Roommates discovered I was gay after going through my things while I was away in Chicago. Two of them threatened to out me. The other two allowed the threats to happen. I did not give in to their extortion. They told an ex-girlfriend who took it badly. I in turn felt terrible for my part in this. One night, after heavy drinking I got in my car, a BMW 325i, and aimed it at a tree in the law school parking lot. The darkness saved my life. I hit an unseen
John Sotomayor Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
parking block which caused my body to involuntarily react. I hit the brakes. Not fast enough as I hit the tree. The car was totaled but I survived with injuries.
After my body healed, I knew I had to come out to family and friends. My father asked me if I intentionally crashed the car. I said yes. He said, “Never allow anyone to make you feel like you are not good enough. We love you.”
I withdrew from law school to regroup. When I tried to return, I fell into a vicious cycle of starting a semester then withdrawing from every class only to repeat until I ran out of time. I became a law school dropout with signi cant student debt and no degree. My prospects looked dim.
I ended up working as a litigation paralegal then as a freelance writer before I became a magazine editor then publisher. All the while I had revolving door recovery for alcoholism.
In short, my recovery program did enough so I could course correct whenever I needed. I still have work to do. Recovery from alcoholism is a daily lifelong process to
clear away the wreckage. Alcoholism is a mental, physical, and spiritual illness. I am grateful for my recovery. And I am grateful for the divine intervention of a parking block in the dark. I am now 54. I was 24 when it happened. I had such a ful lling life these past 30 years, and the journey looks continually promising with each passing day. Those 30 years of a wonderful life would have been unlived had I successfully ended my journey by choice. My journey could end suddenly and prematurely if I do not continuously work on my mental health issues. I do the work because life is worth living. I deserve to live it well. I deserve to live as my true self.
john@sotomayormedia.com
emagency.com
At JPMorgan Chase, we are dedicated to advancing equity and inclusion for LGBT+ employees, clients, partners and communities worldwide. Learn more at jpmorganchase.com/lgbt.
And the NLGJA: Association of LGBTQ Journalists
award goes to:
or many of us, gay club culture centered our queer experience, creating spaces of celebration and liberation in the limelight of disco balls and dancing queens.
The dusty small-town bars and dark alley enclaves gave respite from the homophobia and transphobia experienced outside (and sometimes on the inside). Because of these factors, LGBTQIA+ people experience addiction and substance use disproportionately higher than the national average. And recovery under these conditions can bring its own unique challenges.
These include issues related to identity, stigma, and discrimination. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) statistics, LGBTQ+ people are nearly three times more likely than heterosexual people to experience a mental health condition. Our communi-
programs may not identify and assist the underlying problems faced by the LGBTQ+ community.
Chris grew up in a small farming community just outside Seattle. A friendly, happy, outgoing kid, he was liked by everyone. He was vivacious as he was gregarious and, by his own account, never had to come out of the closet because “everyone already knew.”
His parents were supportive, but were themselves drug addicts. His mother was a high functioning Xanax addict (now clean for 10 years), and his father was the kind of person who made his children afraid of everything. He made Chris feel that everyone was out to get him, that his purpose was to stay alive. “That’s it, Chris said. “No fun. No love. Nothing.”
“From my perspective, LGBTQ+ kids today have outlets…and get lots of emotional support. The safe spaces they have now — that was not my story.”
ties are also more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to family rejection or abuse, employment discrimination, economic instability, victimization or violence, and lack of legal protections or recognition.
In addition, the traditional model of recovery is often at odds with the spectrum of LGBTQ+ people, making it difcult for queer people to feel like they t into the process.
The accounts shared by Chris identify the experience (what his life used to be like through war stories of his drug and/or alcohol use), strength (what he has done to redirect his life through recovery methods that worked for him), and hope (what his life is like now and what his prospects look like now that he is on the path of recovery) as a LGBTQ drug and alcohol user now in recovery. These accounts underlie the need for LGBTQ+ speci c recovery programs that work for the speci c target demographic because mainstream methods and
Chris McFarland with his grandmother, Winnie.
Queer recovery requires a shift or innovation in focus and mindset. This might include exploring new, more inclusive recovery models that recognize the unique experiences of LGBTQ people. Queer healing aims to address these challenges by creating a more inclusive and affirming recovery process that can better meet the needs of LGBTQ people. A number of programs across the country are exploring different strategies to provide affirming recovery and care support.
What started as a Facebook group for men now sprawls across multiple countries and represents a diversity of recovery programs. Each year, they gather at NYC’s pride celebration, but programming throughout the year allows recovering community members the opportunity to connect to others with shared experience and commitment to thrive.
The Peer Bridger Model is an evidence-based program that helps people of all identities connect with peer support and mental health services that are inclusive and a irm-
While outgoing at home, he was more reserved at school. Through conversations with his therapist, Chris determined his “weakness” was being di erent. Being e eminate or sensitive. In school, Chris was picked on. Even though it wasn’t always bad, the bad experiences stay with you longer.
The rumor of having HIV/AIDS was the pinnacle of the bullying. Many people, even teachers, avoided physical contact with him. In a crowded hallway, students would back away or walk around him so as not to touch him. He felt dirty, ostracized and alone.
So when an older man began showering him with affection, Chris felt validated. His visits to that predatory apartment became frequent. “I do not want to demean the gay community or make it seem like most of the gay community were [pedophiles]. I fell into the trap of one, that’s all I am saying,” Chris said. “But from my perspective, LGBTQ+ kids today have outlets like extracur-
ricular activities and get lots of emotional support. The safe spaces they have now — that was not my story.”
Chris could not connect to his school experience. He could not focus on schoolwork like the other kids, so in the tenth grade, Chris dropped out. “It was more fun to party (than to go to school),” Chris said.
Chris went to his rst rehab at 17 years old after going missing for two weeks. He was very secretive, desperate to prevent anyone from taking it all away from him — they would say he was too young to go to that house with those “dirty old men,” too young to do drugs or drink.
“It was dangerous, fun, exciting …” Chris said. “I don’t even know how long I was gone [during one binge] with someone who I cannot even remember his name.”
In 2010, Chris purchased a house while still living with his parents and turned it into the dope house. “I did not know how to live by myself, and it was safer than doing it elsewhere,” Chris said.
“I didn’t care either way, meaning I didn’t care if I was alive or dead—at least I got to be high at that moment.”
ing. This program provides queer people with access to trained peer bridgers who can o er support, information, and referrals to mental health and recovery resources. This model also o ers workshops and training on mental health and wellness topics, including how to navigate the mental health system, find a irming resources and supports, and reduce stigma and discrimination.
Launched “as a call to organize mental health practitioners to establish a network where therapists can deepen their analysis of healing justice and where QTPoC community can connect to care,” this group was founded in 2016 to provide
access to support that meets LGBTQ and BIPOC people where they are on their recovery journey with experience and recognition of the impact on their full selves.
Mental Health America's toolkit is a resource created by and for queer and trans people of color. It provides information on a variety of mental health and wellness topics, including finding culturally competent care, dealing with stress and anxiety, and coping with trauma. The toolkit also includes information on relevant laws and policies, tips for finding a irming health care providers, and strategies for navigating the mental health system as an LGBTQIA+ person of color.
Chris’ addictions escalated when the man he was seeing suggested they include others in their sex and drug use. “You want to be my boyfriend and let me do anyone and anything I want? I felt like I hit the jackpot,” Chris said. Once he had the house, his answer to everything was yes. He wanted to snort it or smoke it. Eventually he asked, is there a better way? A more e cient way to get the best high? That answer, of course, was another “yes.”
He began to slam meth. “I would do anything to get it,” Chris said. “I would walk up to homeless people and say, ‘I have meth, do you know how to shoot up?’” As long as he brought needles, they were happy to oblige. His lifestyle soon caught up to him. He was evicted from the house and moved back into his parents’ home. And then, Chris tested positive for HIV. He was not surprised. “I knew it was coming, I mean, I did reckless stu for a long time,” he said. “It was all unprotected, risky, at parks, hopping into strangers’ cars.”
Chris recalled when he rst visited a clinic — one not exclusive to LGBTQ care — to nd out his status. A trans man, TJ, handed him a questionnaire and said, “I think I know a better place for you, but I need you to answer these questions rst.”
The rst question: “Do you want to die?” Chris remembered thinking yes. “Do you have suicidal intentions?” No, but I like to use drugs too much. “Are you depressed?” Yes. “Do you take care of yourself?” No
One day, Chris was cruising guys by a Gaybucks (Starbucks) on Denny Way when he saw a really hot guy. “He looked a little crispy, a little bit burnt out,” Chris said. “But he was a little too rough around the edges and too cute not to bat my eyes at him.”
The guy walked up to Chris and asked what he was doing. Chris replied, “waiting for you.” He asked Chris
if he wanted to hang out with him. Chris said yes. The guy said, “OK, but we need to stop somewhere with my friends rst.”
Chris was used to that sort of thing, so he agreed. “Whatever it takes, right?” Chris said.
They wound up in a nearby church parking lot. They began to talk; the guy told Chris how he used drugs at the bathhouse and used IVs in his neck. “I thought that was so hot, so badass,” Chris said. “Then he said, ‘Well, it’s about to start.’ I wondered ‘what’s about to start?’’”
They nally walked inside. “Everyone was drinking co ee and some were smoking cigarettes. I thought ‘I totally t in here.’” But what happened next was not what he expected. Everyone gave Chris hugs. Even though the place was jam packed, chairs were full, and people were leaning on the walls or sitting on the ground, someone gave Chris their chair and said, “You
look like you need this.” He was seated not along the perimeter, but within the circle.
“When the leader asked, ‘Is there anyone new or here for their rst time?’ I then realized I was in an NA meeting,” Chris said. “I just wanted to get some tail.”
He got much more. As the meeting progressed, Chris heard the speakers’ stories. “It felt like everything and nothing at the same time,” Chris said. “People shared some dark stu , and I knew I had darkness. Then they started sharing about this thing called, ‘the solution’ — how things start to get better. I just thought I had to live my life and I was just going to su er through it.”
After the meeting, Chris drove the guy to his halfway house. He told Chris he was going away to prison for ve years and asked if they could be pen pals. Chris agreed.
That man turned out to be Trenton Ducati, a porn star. Ducati is open about his drug addiction recovery,
“[The NA meeting speakers] started sharing about ‘the solution’—how things start to get better. I just thought I had to live my life and I was just going to suffer through it.”
Chris after starting rehab. His road to recovery has not been linear. But thanks to the advice of a friend who is 50 years sober, he has the strength to catch himself whenever he slips.
as he shared with GEDmagazine in March 2019. A few years later, Ducati walked into a KFC Chris worked at. Chris recognized him and told him who he was. Ducati did not remember.
“You picked me up at Starbucks and took me to my rst NA meeting,” Chris said. “Because of you, I got into recovery. It did not necessarily stick, but I kept going back.” That encounter left Chris frustrated, but did not take away from the impact of the rst one. The seed was planted.
Despite that, Chris once again went into freefall. He lost his job as a resident care manager of an assisted living facility at 25 years old. Everyone could tell from his large pupils and sweaty complexion that he was high. Usually talkative and expressive, there was an emptiness and hollowness in his interactions with patients.
He went to rehab again because his life was out of control. But when he got out, he still did not know any-
tine. If I could get high every day, I could get to a meeting every day.”
The programs in San Diego, which included the Alano Club, were much more LGBTQ+ focused. “There were LGBTQ old men that didn’t want anything from me; they wanted me to survive,” Chris said. “They became my family.”
Eventually, Chris began to pull longer intervals of time together. He would string along nine months of sobriety, then relapse for one night, but returned for another span of months. Real change began at LGBTQ+ treatment center Stepping Stones. “Stepping Stones on Central Avenue, San Diego is amazing,” Chris said. “I have been to many treatment centers, and they stand out. They o er treatment speci cally targeted to gay men.”
A coworker suggested he return to rehab, that it was noticeable at work. He was willing to give it another shot.
“[San Diego is where] my recovery started to work. It didn’t stick, but it became part of my routine. If I could get high every day, I could get to a meeting every day.”
thing about sober living, so he went back home and dove right back into the spiral he was in 30 days prior.
Ultimately, Chris went to rehab six times. He liked the structure and found it “fun.” He tried di erent forms of rehab, like native American rehab that included practices such as smudging and talking to the elders.
“I did ‘religious’ recovery in Las Vegas for a year, at The New Hope Church. People were falling on the ground having graduations, and I was jumping over them to get to the bar,” Chris admitted. “I don’t know what I believed in. It’s not that I didn’t believe in anything, it’s that nothing had surpassed my belief in drugs and alcohol. I was not even close to being done yet.”
It wasn't until Chris moved to San Diego that things started to really shift. Unlike Seattle, San Diego o ered housing for people with HIV, with drug and alcohol counselors. “That’s when my recovery started to work,” Chris said. “It didn’t stick, but it became part of my rou-
He heard of Stepping Stones and was impressed by what he saw during a visit. He tried to get inpatient care but was refused for 11 months. He was nally admitted when it became clear that outpatient care was not enough.
The facility was all-inclusive, taking in gay men with HIV, men who were so consumed with drugs and alcohol, they acquired a disease that was going to kill them, and they didn’t want to die. When it was time to die, they wanted to die clean and sober.
“When people are given a time limit [thanks to HIV/ AIDS], they give up, and they set their hopes and dreams aside,” Chris said. “And they gave them the space to plan for the future. I did not expect to die, but my life had no purpose.”
He was there for 6 months in 2015. Life stu happened. They accepted Chris back a second time. He was there for 6 months in 2016. So combined, he stayed at Stepping Stones for one year.
Chris’s longest span of sobriety to date is two and a half years. He attributes that to the work he has done at Stepping Stones, and investing in other people. Chris has completed the 12 steps, and has worked with other alcoholics and addicts so they could follow in the footsteps of recovery for themselves. And since getting on meds for HIV, he has been undetectable.
Chris met his husband, Alex, on a dating site while he was at Stepping Stones. As they got to know each other, Chris shared his Facebook page, where he posted multiple recovery related posts, with Alex in the hopes that he would read them. Alex told Chris he wanted to support him, and Chris admitted he could not make any promises that he can remain sober — but he could promise that he would not quit trying.
Alex eventually went to Al-Anon, the program for loved ones of those in recovery, so he could better understand what Chris was going through, and how to best support him.
Chris’ personal journey is far from nished. But he has a positive outlook.
“I want to do something bigger to help other addicts,” Chris said. “I want to do it all now. I want to be a nurse and a real estate agent… a drug and alcohol counselor and a rodeo beauty queen.”
Chris’s husband, Alex, works in Chicago. They recently bought a house in Spring eld, Il. Chris’ goal is to build a safe space for LGBTQ+ addicts in his new hometown, “so that addicts do not need to trade sex for food or a place to stay, and they can have a sober environment,” he said.
A friend with 50 years’ recovery told Chris he could help others even if he slipped for one night. “To not
Alex told Chris he wanted to support him, and Chris admitted he could not make any promises to remain sober — but he could promise that he would not quit trying.
LGBTQ people who seek recovery in a queerfocused environment are better equipped for successful, long-term sobriety. Critical components of this approach include:
• Access to a irming and culturally competent care, not just for recovery, but also for mental health and wellness.
• Resources and support that are specific to the needs of LGBTQ people.
• Ways to acknowledge and overcome the unique challenges that LGBTQ people face in accessing quality care.
• E orts to reduce LGBTQ stigma and discrimination.
• An inclusive and supportive recovery process that prioritizes the needs and experiences of LGBTQ people.
do so, is to send the message to others — and yourself — that you are not worth it just because you slipped,” Chris was told. “If you get right back up and continue to do well, you work the program the way it is supposed to be worked, you live in the solution rather than let one bad night dictate the rest of your life or derail the good that you can do, then that is all that really matters.”
Even if you mess up for a short stint, your life does not end there.
“Meth eats up all of your dopamine so ultimately, you become an empty shell,” Chris said. “All you are left with is guilt and shame because you cannot produce your own natural dopamine to feel good about yourself.”
Chris had 18 months’ recovery, then slipped for one night, then achieved two and a half years of recovery.
“I put my recovery rst, and that’s what I attribute to my longevity in recovery and sobriety,” said Chris. It’s what
gave him the foundation on which to build everything else from his professional and activist life, to his personal life, which now included a husband and a home he loves.
Early in recovery, Chris wanted to start an endeavor that was not recovery-based. He collected food for down-and-out people and for their pets. “Often, homeless people would feed their animals rst, then themselves second,” Chris said. “We wanted them to feel assured their animal was fed so they place value on themselves and feed themselves properly.”
Chris and Alex are starting Never Til Now, which will be a LGBTQ+ sober living house. “We never thought we would get sober until now, hence the name,” Chris said.
It will be a sober supportive housing environment, where Chris and Alex work with the local LGBTQ+ center and other foundations speci cally for LGBTQ+ people. It will be a structured environment where the
“I want to do something bigger to help other addicts. I want to do it all now. I want to be a nurse and a real estate agent… a drug and alcohol counselor and a rodeo beauty queen.”
recovering addicts and alcoholics pay rent and prepare their own food. They have eight bedrooms in their large Victorian house. The seven extra rooms will eventually be able to help up to 14 people at a time.
Meanwhile, Chris is going back to school for an equine therapy license. He imagines one day opening a recovery center on a farm where those in recovery can work with horses and other animals in their recovery program. “Let’s change the scenery, outside of the city and outside of ourselves, onto a farm,” Chris said. “We reteach people they do not have to give up anything to others (sex, power, etc.); they relearn they have value just being who they are.”
Ultimately, that is the goal of recovery. To restore the person back to who they were but better than they were before, so they are better prepared to tackle life on life’s terms. That they will nd strength within themselves rather than reaching for despair in a bottle, pipe, or needle.
To maximize the immune system’s response to HIV vaccines, patients may need not a lower dose, but a slower dose.
BY ALEJANDRA MANJARREZ
Scientists have spent decades attempting to develop a vaccine for HIV, with limited success. Now, research published in Nature this week (September 21) suggests that the solution to achieving e ective protection may partially lie in how the vaccine is delivered. By breaking the initial dose of a vaccine into multiple, escalating doses over the course of nearly two weeks, a team of researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology was able to generate a longer-lasting immune response in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and higher levels of neutralizing antibodies following a booster dose when compared with a traditional, one-shot approach.
There are still many steps to be taken before this can be translated into HIV treatment for humans, says Elizabeth Connick, who studies HIV pathogenesis and cure strategies at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and was not involved in this study. For example, she says it’s crucial to determine whether the neutralizing antibodies observed in vitro “actually protect people.” But so far, she adds, the potential clinical implications of this study are “very exciting,” and not only for HIV; the approach holds promise for the development of vaccines against other targets, too.
That a vaccine can generate antibodies to face di erent variants is generally desirable, but this is an even more pressing matter in the case of HIV, which mutates very rapidly.
Previous research published in 2019 by the same team, led by La Jolla Institute for Immunology researcher Shane Crotty, found that rhesus monkeys that received a dose of HIV vaccine via a slow-release osmotic pump or by an initial escalating series of shots had a better immune response—for example, increased quantity and diversity of antibodies—than those that received the same dose in a single injection.
“In the end, the best vaccines are the ones that actually can mimic what an actual infection looks like without making you sick, [and] slow delivery is probably better at that,” says Henry Sutton, also at La Jolla Institute for Immunology and a coauthor of the new study. Those earlier data, in which Sutton was not involved, showed that the immune response was still quite robust at the time the study ended, eight weeks after the rst injection and six weeks after the last one. “The obvious question,” says Sutton, was what might happen if the experiment kept “going for another few months: How long would it take for that response to actually disappear?”
One of the key factors in triggering an e ective immune response is training B cells to generate antibodies that bind and neutralize the pathogen in question. Once the vaccine antigen enters the body, B cells start to evolve through a process of random
mutation and selection for cells that produce antibodies with better a nity for the antigen. This training takes place in structures called germinal centers that are transiently created in the lymph nodes nearest to the site of vaccination. Among the hypotheses derived from their earlier work, Crotty’s team wondered whether gradual antigen delivery favors the initial period of this evolution and whether it lengthens the lifespan of these training centers to give B cells more time to hone their antibodies and ultimately succeed against an elusive target such as HIV.
To test this idea, the team now decided on a longer study period. They immunized 14 monkeys against the virus’s envelope protein in both their left and right thighs using three di erent strategies: Group 1 (six monkeys) received a conventional immunization in a single dose; its formulation included a classic adjuvant used in human vaccines called Alum. Groups 2 and 3 (four individuals each) received an escalating dose every other day over a period of 12 days; instead of Alum, the formulation included a new immune-stimulating adjuvant called saponin/MPLA nanoparticle. Finally, groups 1 and 2 re-
“The best vaccines are the ones that actually can mimic what an actual infection looks like without making you sick, [and] slow delivery is probably better at that.”
—Henry Sutton, La Jolla Institute for Immunology
ceived a booster as a single dose at week 10, while group 3 did so at week 30.
The immune response of those with the slow delivery was notably successful. In week 10, before any booster had been administered, the frequency of germinal center B cells binding to the HIV protein was 186 times higher in groups 2 and 3 than in group 1. Moreover, the B cells of group 3 monkeys (which waited more than six months before getting a booster) continued to have gene expression signatures that characterize active germinal centers, also showing improved a nity towards the target—likely as a result of the extended training period. This suggests that, even without any new antigen input, the bootcamp triggered by the initial vaccine in these monkeys was still working at least 191 days after the last shot.
University of Queensland immunologist Di Yu, who did not participate in this study, says that the earlier work by Crotty’s team in a way foreshadowed some of the new results, adding that “the really exciting part” is that they now used “the technology to step-by-step analyze what is happening in the immune system, rather than just [looking] into the outcome.” The team is able to
Italian singer, dancer, entrepreneur, and LGBT advocate
Alessandro “Alex” Palmieri's take on health
is what propels his international career.
BY JOHN SOTOMAYOR
n a recent trip to Fort Lauderdale, I decided late on my departure date to stay an additional night without a reservation. As the sun began to set, I found an island-style oasis tucked away near the center of Wilton Manors called Inn on the Drive. The boutique guesthouse had a vacancy, so I booked a deluxe queen room on the second oor of building one. After a late-night carousing with the guys by the pool, I awoke needing to nd the manager. I had no idea how to locate him.
They do not operate with a traditional front desk, so I looked around for anyone to help. I noticed movement in the lanai room nearby so I knocked on the large glass French doors. I saw a muscular gure wrapped only in a towel come to the door. He opened it, and in a sexy Italian accent asked, “may I help you?”
I was lost in his deep blue eyes and handsome face, but managed to vocalize that I was looking the manager. He grabbed his phone, dialed the number (having stayed there for several weeks, he had the manager’s contact saved), and passed the phone to me. After returning his
phone I learned he was from Italy on an extended stay, and that he was returning home the next day. That was the end of it.
A few hours later, I stopped by local gay establishment, the Pub, for lunch. He was there. I didn’t know his name, so I called out, “Hey, Italy!” We began to talk and I discovered his name was Alessandro Palmieri. He goes by Alex professionally. I introduced myself as the publisher of Embrace. I then discovered that the guy I was having lunch with — the guy who only hours earlier I met wearing only a towel and rescued me from a frantic search for the inn manager — was a successful singer and former boy band performer from Milan,
Over lunch, I discovered Alex’s singing and dancing career lasted for 10 years, from 18 to 28, with one EP, three albums, and 20 singles. We exchanged information and kept in touch. Over a period of time, Alex shared more details about his stellar life.
Since the age of six, Alex has been studying dance. His rst television appearance was in 2010 on the Canale 5 program Pomeriggio Cinque, which featured Barbara D’Urso. His debut single, “Move,” was released in 2011. His performances in several discos, TV appearances (including an interview on La3), and online activities helped him gain celebrity and media recognition. He competed in the second season of the Rai 2 reality series Social King in 2011, placing himself among the top four contestants. Thanks to the collaboration with the Swedish DJ Tim Bergholm, the single “Popstar” was produced during the duration of this TV program. He later performed the song on Match Music TV as part of the promotional tour.
After releasing several other singles and giving numerous appearances in Italian nightclubs, Palmieri released “Monster Boy,” a track produced by the Ukrainian Jandy Andrey Prudnikov, at the end of 2012. In 2013, he gave a performance at the Milan Gay Pride. Additionally, this song was played on the Italian TV channel Sky Sport during the Alessandro Bonan-hosted program Calcio Mercato. He secured his rst record deal with Believe Digital in the fall of that year, and he later released his rst EP, Back
The guy I was having lunch with — the guy who only hours earlier I met wearing only a towel — was a successful singer and former boy band performer from Milan.
Alive, which was co-produced by Bergholm and Prudnikov and teased by the rst single Wasted. Later, Alex appeared as a guest at LGBT pride celebrations and went on a club tour throughout Italy. Additionally, he released additional singles from the album, always accompanied by music videos.
He released the lead single, “Maniac,” in November 2014 to promote his rst full-length album. His o cial Vevo account launched with this video. In 2015 he appeared as Ivana Spagna and Power Francers’ support act at the Verona Pride. Uncensored, an album created by Believe Digital, was released in November 2015. Prior to the album, the single “Nicholas’ Got a Secret,” produced by Luca Sala and Palmieri, was released. The subsequent tour was the rst to include dates in several parts of Europe, including Regenbogenparade in Vienna, CSD München, Warsaw Pride, and Copenhagen Pride. Two singles from the album, “Save Me” and “Single,” were released concurrently with the European tour.
In the rst gay season of Uomini e Donne on Canale 5 in September 2016, Alex appeared as one of the love interests and appeared for one month. During the same time, he renewed his contract with Believe Digital and in November, he released the single “Online.” Swiss TV RSI La 2 aired the rst preview of this song, and 2017 saw the airplay of the music video on OutTV in Belgium and the Netherlands. After that, the song was promoted throughout Italy on a national tour that began in Cagliari and stopped in a number of other towns.
The tour continued in Europe in the summer of 2017 with three dates in Germany (Konstanz, Mannheim, and Düsseldorf), then stops in Florence, Budapest, and London, the singer’s rst visit to the UK. The performance in Trafalgar Square was a part of the London Pride festival and served as support for Fleur East’s concert; Alex was also interviewed by London Live there. Along with the live performances, Alex announced that a new album was in the works. The album’s lead track, “But Nobody Knows,” was released in October 2017. The song was created by producer Johann Bach in Italy and California, and the news organization Adnkronos debuted the video clip in November.
Reset, an electro-pop album by Alex with Believe Digital that was produced in January 2018 and for which Alex once again wrote all the lyrics, was in uenced by the sound of the 2000s. The album, which featured previous singles “Online” and “But Nobody Knows,” was created with the aid of Alex’s fans, who raised money for the recording costs through a crowdfunding effort. It was recorded in Italy, Ukraine, Sweden, and California. The third song from the album, “Time Resetted,” which was created by Alex Zitelli and Livio Boccioni, was released alongside it. He then made a few TV appearances to promote the album on TG Norba 24, RSI La 2, and Rai 1 on the television program Unomattina
The rst Italian dates of the Reset Tour were revealed by Alex in March during an interview with Radio 105 Network. With
[Reset] was created with the aid of Alex’s fans, who raised money for the recording costs through a crowdfunding e ort.
performances in Germany, Poland, and Spain over the summer of 2018, live performances in Europe were expanded. In September, the fourth single from Reset—the anti-bullying song “If That Was You”—was released. The ballad received favorable media coverage in October after Eleonora Daniele, the host of the Raiuno TV program Storie Italiane (Italian Stories), introduced it. Later, the station Rete 4 aired a sneak peek of the music video.
The dance/pop song “In the Backstage,” the nal single from Reset, was released in January 2019. He played it live on Unomattina. and in February he revealed a second leg of the Reset Tour with an additional 7 shows in Italy. With its last concerts in Germany (Munich and Hamburg), the Czech Republic (Prague), and Austria, where Alex was the rst Italian singer to perform on the
stage of EuroPride 2019 in Wien, the Reset Tour returned to Europe that summer. In the interim, he acknowledged that work on a new musical endeavor was underway, and in December, Palmieri revealed that the new album Wrong would be released in 2020 in an interview with TG Norba 24.
The rst track, “Fake News,” from the new album Wrong, released in January 2020, served as an introduction (which had come out the previous October). The album’s pop sound, which was created in collaboration with artists from Italy, Ukraine, California, and the Philippines, was described by Alex as “less commercial and more personal than prior discographic work.” It debuted on the Eleonora Daniele-hosted Raiuno TV program Storie Italiane (Italian Stories), which featured a sneak peek from the second single Room 05’s music video.
Alex announced the Wrong Tour dates commenced in Munich after the music video’s premiere, but after the rst one, more stages were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was interviewed by Radio Rai and Rai 3 while under quarantine, and the third single, the ballad “Beatrice,” was released in September. That song, which honors women and the emancipation of women, was played on BBC Radio in the UK in the fall. In October, Tg3 on Rai 3 and Raiuno in the program Unomat-
A year has passed, and Alex hopes to have a huge comeback. In the meantime, the entrepreneur started an
OnlyFans page to fund his next move in the music industry.
tina conducted interviews with Alex, and both programs aired a sneak peek of the Beatrice music video.
In December, Alex made his television debut in Albania with a number of appearances, including an interview on RTSH and a 10-minute live performance on Christmas Eve on Televizioni Klan as a guest of Ornella Muti. “Dangerous Scandalous,” the fourth single from Wrong, was released at the beginning of 2021 and received positive reviews in Albania. It was selected for the television festival Knga Magjike in March 2021. By then, Alex was exhausted, so he announced in May that he would take a break from the music industry.
A year has passed, and Alex hopes to have a huge comeback. In the meantime, the entrepreneur started an OnlyFans page to fund his next move in the music industry.
“My position is quite good, I’ve always been in the top two since I started,” said Alex. “You can nd me on onlyfans.com/alexpalmieri with hot and exclusive content.”
He was in Fort Lauderdale after a modeling shoot in Miami. Earlier in his worldwide travels, he had photoshoots done in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Livigno, Italy. He shared some of those photos with us to include with this exclusive interview. The outlook for Alex’s comeback looks good.
TO THE POPWRAPPED TEAM, ON HAVING OVER 100-MILLION VIEWS ON THEIR PLAYLIST LIVE 2020 COVERAGE! FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT SOTOMAYER MEDIA.
The LGBTQ Caregiver Center, an initiative of the new nonprofit, Caregiver Wellness Collective Inc., provides resources, education, and services to empower LGBTQ Caregivers and those who care for LGBTQ people to improve their health and well-being.
By Fred W. Wright Jr.
Inthe vast universe of healthcare, one question consistently arises: who will take care of the caregivers? The people who are tasked, often unexpectedly, with caring for a loved one frequently need support and resources on short notice. In the LGBTQ community, fortunately, a new e ort, launched last year, has begun to provide these very resources – thanks to two Florida social workers who bring professional skills and personal experience to the problem.
Jennifer Henius, who lives in the Tampa Bay area, and Zander Keig, in Orlando, found each other on LinkedIn. Both are experienced LCSW healthcare professionals. They found they had been on similar journeys in their personal lives of caregiving. Both had fathers who were military veterans; both had fathers who developed dementia and needed home care as their children tried to maintain their careers.
The initiative started last year when Henius looked for a virtual, online program aimed at improving caregiver health and wellness based (resource). “I launched an initiative under my nonprofit aimed at supporting LGBTQ caregivers and raising awareness of their unique needs and challenges with a social work colleague Zander Keig,” said Henius.
Henius’ role of supporting LGBTQ veterans and their caregivers started early. As a grad student, she worked with Bay Pines veterans “who often were afraid to come out to their healthcare providers.” For the next 30 years, Henius perfected her skills and passion for working with LGBTQ caregivers, first for 20 years with the Department of Veterans A airs at Bay Pines and then 10 more working at the VA Central O ice in Washington, D.C.
“I am really passionate about caregiver support, social justice and health equity. LGBTQ caregivers and those who care for LGBTQ people are often overlooked in the broader caregiver community and they lack culturally competent services,” Henius ob-
served. “That said, they are also more diverse than non-LGBTQ caregivers as they tend to be younger and more racially diverse with high intensity caregiving responsibilities and stress. Most are also working full-time while trying to care for someone.” Keig, 56, is a first-generation American of Mexican heritage (Latino) and a post-transition transsexual man. He is also a U.S. Coast Guard veteran. His outreach includes several books and a documentary, Zanderology. The titles (all available on Amazon.com), include “Manning Up: Transsexual Men on Finding Brotherhood, Family, and Themselves,” which explores 27 men who underwent gender transition talk on their responsibilities as dads, sons, brothers, husbands, partners, friends, and mentors in the male community.
Nonfiction hasn't seen such thorough and empathetic examinations of manhood, masculinity, and masculine embodiment since Max Wolf Valerio's The Testosterone Files and Jamison Green's "Becoming a Visible Man," and never in a book with such a diversity of voices. The diversity of the contributors' cultural, social class, racial, spiritual, and generational backgrounds is astounding. Their writings include a variety of subjects, such as giving birth and raising children, homosexual male sexuality, overcoming racism, and finding comfort in firmly held religious convictions. A number of well-known authors, including Valerio, Aaron Devor (author of FTM: Female-to-Male Transsexuals in Society), and Ryan Sallans, have contributed (author of Second Son), according to the summary on Amazon.
Keig also was contributing co-editor for two other LGBTQ-focused works:
“Letters for my Brothers,” an anthology of essays “from esteemed transmentors who impart the knowledge they wish they had at the start of their journey,,” according to Amazon, and “Manifest: Transitional Wisdom on Male Privilege,” a "diverse collection of writings about male privilege from a transmale per-
spective. Evocative, provocative and informative, this book provides a new lens to explore feminism, gender and transgender advocacy.”
The serendipitous connection that both social workers found online was symbolic of what thousands of caregivers are experiencing each day. “I was trying to find someone to help with paperwork,” Keig recalled, when his father was diagnosed. “I was looking for sources for aging LGBTQ caregivers.”
Once linked through social media, the two launched the LGBTQ Caregivers website to provide such resources and networking for others while using the website to also “o er self-care, wellness (and) resources like breathing exercises and meditation.” The website, a virtual center rather than a brick-and-mortar venue, allows visitors to connect “with academes doing research on LGBTQ caregivers for partners and parents with dementia and Alzheimer’s. We’re connecting with caregivers with cancer,” Keig explained.
“What we want to do is create a virtual hub where people can find resources and activities and connect with other people who are also caregivers. I’m an only child. When my father developed dementia, it was me. I was the family,” Keig said. “It fell on me to provide care for him in my home and, ultimately, to find di erent levels of care in the community.
“It takes a lot of energy, if you’re working in a caregiving kind of industry and on top of that have a parent or partner at home also needing caregiving. It’s pretty exhausting.”
Keig added: “I was able to connect with caregiver support early on. I was very proactive in finding support for myself because I knew what I needed.”
This very process helped Keig and Henius to shape the LGBTQ Caregivers website – to o er a quick and much easier path to resources and networking for the LGBTQ community.
“We’re creating a resource directory that is going to provide people with local and virtual networks,” Keig said. “For example, several di erent organizations around the country have caregiver support networks. No sense in us inventing something; these things exist — where they are and how to find them. The Red Cross has a whole network for caregivers of vets. We just make sure people know about them."
This is obviously not a problem unique to the LGBTQ community. “Many of the stressors, challenges and demands caregivers face are universal, but in the LGBTQ community, some people may have strained relationships with their families of origin and are not able to rely on them for care and support as they age and become less independent,” Henius said. “Some people are providing care for someone in their social network or ‘family of choice’ and are not always recognized as a family caregiver or care partner and may experience di iculty with access to services, let alone culturally competent services and resources that meet their needs.”
“LGBTQ CAREGIVERS AND THOSE WHO CARE FOR LGBTQ PEOPLE ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED IN THE BROADER CAREGIVER COMMUNITY AND THEY LACK CULTURALLY COMPETENT SERVICES” —JENNIFER HENIUS
At a time of increased imperial intentions, a law restricting the dissemination of LGBTQ+ affirming information — or, in their words, “propaganda” — is set to be expanded across Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
BY STEVE PAFFORD
With its concerted attempts to drag its citizens and the wider world kicking and screaming back to the 19th century, Russia has announced its government’s expansion of an anti-LGBTQ+ “propaganda” law widely condemned as a hateful and classic example of political homophobia that targets vulnerable sexual and gender minorities for short-term political gain.
Formally, the 2013 law “aimed at protecting children from information promoting the denial of traditional family values,” it bans the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” among minors – a reference universally understood to mean a ban on providing children and adults with access to information about the lives of LGBT people, i.e. that we even exist.
Respected global watch dogs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have condemned the law. The non-governmental organizations have repeatedly called on Russian authorities to abolish the hateful code, arguing it is having a deeply damaging e ect on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth by intensifying the hostility minorities in Russia have long su ered, which has also resulted in sti ing and curtailing access to important LGBT-inclusive education and support services.
According to Kyle Knight, a researcher at the New York-based Human Rights Watch, the “blatantly discriminatory” act has contributed to an intensi cation of harassment and violence against LGBT people in Russia. “The law has been used to shut down online information
and mental health referral services for children and has discouraged support groups and mental health professionals from working with children,” Knight explained.
It has had the “complete opposite e ect of what the proponents of the law suggested it would have. The evidence we have in our report shows the law actually ruined some children’s lives,” Knight added. HRW interviewed dozens of LGBT youth and mental health professionals across Russia, to examine the everyday experiences of the children in schools, home, and in public.
Diana F., a lesbian from the Khabarovsk region, told HRW that she felt as if the law “literally makes homophobes have free rein in our country.” According to HRW, one high-level church o cial even said that same-sex relations should be “completely eliminated” from Russian society, preferably through “moral persuasion” but, if necessary, through a public referendum on re-criminalizing homosexuality.
The approved expansion of the penal code is set to double nes for anyone “promoting” homosexuality. Under proposed legislation, the penalty would be increased to 2 million roubles ($33,000) for entities, with the ne increasing to up to 5 million roubles if the o ense took place online or in the media.
The amendment will also prohibit any positive LGBTQ+ representation across all Russian media, e ectively making it a crime to mention that gay people exist in a country where you can be slung in jail for calling the brutal invasion of neighboring Ukraine by the “motherland” a war. Mikhail Gorbachev, the recently deceased nal leader of the Soviet Union who did much to bring about an end to the Cold War, must be
spinning in his grave at the blatant attempts by Vlad the Invader to regress Russia back to a land-grabbing totalitarian regime that wants to be as feared as it is admired.
The contrasts between the two men are striking.
Domestically, Gorbachev’s reformist policy of glasnost (“openness”) allowed for hitherto levels of freedom of speech and an enhanced press while his perestroika (“restructuring”) sought to decentralize economic decision-making across the Soviet republics to improve its e ciency, effectively undermining the one-party state that had brought him and predecessors such as Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin unparalleled power over the individual. Weighted heavily in favor of the former throughout Russian history, which shifted ten-fold under Gorbachev.
It may have been socialist in name, but it was social democracy in action, and led to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.
“Gorbachev rejected enormous power, dismantled a totalitarian government, and gave our country’s freedom,” wrote Fyodor Velembovsky, a former opposition politician and activist with the now-banned Memorial human-rights group — which was created under Gorby’s liberalization and managed to preserve hundreds of rst-hand accounts of Stalin’s USSR-era crimes before being unceremoniously banned by Putin, on Twitter.
“Gorbachev placed the interests of people above the interests of the state,” Kirill Martynov, a journalist with Novaya Gazeta Europe — which was created by Gorbachev using money from his 1990 Nobel Peace Prize — told the Radio Free Europe network. “The signi cance of Gorbachev has yet to be appreciated.”
Aleksei Tabalov, a former sta er for opposition politician Aleksei Navalny from the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, wrote on Facebook that Gorbachev wanted to save the Soviet Union, but failed: “He failed because the Soviet Union was built from the beginning upon fear,” he wrote. “But under Gorbachev, fear left the Soviet Union. And that, most likely, was his greatest achievement.”
I visited Moscow and Saint Petersburg in 1996 as Boris Yeltsin, Gorby’s successor and the sole truly democratically elected Russian president, was campaigning for a second term in o ce.
“Gorbachev rejected enormous power, dismantled a totalitarian government, and gave our country’s freedom,”
And while there were obvious problems in the transition to a free market economy — including a poverty level even Americans would gasp at, and even a lack of clean running water in some areas —there, at the very least, was a degree of hope as the country emerged from the shadows of Communism.
I’ve pointedly refused to go back under the tyrannical poison-heavy Putin regime, and until despots are removed, wars are ended and gays are treated as equals, frankly my dear, that’s never going to change.
STEVE PAFFORD is an English journalist, actor and author of the acclaimed book BowieStyle. Having trained from the floor up in UK music titles Q, MOJO and Record Collector, he’s had his work featured in a wide variety of British, American and Australian media including the BBC, CNN, The Independent and the New York Times. Steve divides his time between Australia and the south of France.
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Your weekend in the Paris on the Prairie: Architecture tour is a must on your visit to the Windy City.
BY BILL MALCOLM
Fall and even winter are great for a visit to the Windy City. I nally got around to taking the Chicago Architecture Foundation Center river cruise aboard Chicago’s First Lady to learn about the amazing and varied styles of Chicago’s high rises – and the history of this young city which was totally rebuilt after the re of 1871.
• Take the Chicago Architecture Foundation Center river cruise (aboard Chicago’s First Lady boat) and visit their museum (the Chicago Architecture Center at 111 E. Wacker). You will learn about Chicago’s history and its varied and incredible skyscraper styles. The skyscrapers old and new are amazing. The Wrigley Building was built in 1927 and features terra cotta. The London House was built in 1923 in the Beaux Arts style. The Civic Opera Building is an art deco gem with its narrow tall windows. The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) opened in 1974. The Carbide and Carbon building with its gold roof is a 1929 Gem. Boat tours run through November 20. Details at architecture.org. My favorite new building is the St. Regis Chicago which is the 11th tallest in the United States and the tallest designed by a woman.
• Visit the many museums (Field Museum, The Art Institute, Shedd Aquarium, and Museum of Science and Industry). Buy a City Pass and save on admission.
• Shop ‘til you drop along the Magni cent Mile (Michigan Avenue) just north of the loop (downtown).
• Visit Andersonville, the other LGBTQ hood (besides Boystown, now known as Northalsted).
There is something happening every night at Sidetrack, the iconic video bar on Halsted. This includes showtunes, drag bingo, trivia, and more. Try the champagne for $7 or the ice burg cocktail made with Stoli Vodka, club soda, and their red slushy drink. See ads for all the bars at www.GRABChicago.com which also has a map.
I always stay at the Hotel Versey in Lakeview East (north of downtown near the Northalsted neighborhood formerly known as Boystown). Validated parking is just $20 for 72 hours in the nearby Century Shopping Center garage (2828 N. Clark) and they provide free use of the LA Fitness
there too. They are near the Diversey stop on the Brown Line. Other local favorites are The Willows, the Best Western Hawthorne Terrace, and the Majestic. The new Inn at Old Chicago also is in the neighborhood. (Avoid the Michigan Avenue and Loop Hotels and enjoy this vibrant neighborhood.) Rates have gone up so shop around. And never stay anywhere that charges a resort fee.
If you stay at the Hotel Versey or other hotels in Lakeview East, stop by Dom’s Kitchen and Market (2730 N. Halsted) for some gourmet delights. I liked the grilled salmon oreganata meal, the Italian sandwiches, and co ees. They have tables so you can eat there or take it back to your room. Also nearby is the more a ordable Trader Joe’s (667 W. Diversey Parkway) if you want to take a sandwich back to your room. Café Deko (800 W. Diversey) has great co ee. Renaldi’s Pizza (2827 N. Broadway) has the best pizza including slices to go. Stan’s Donuts at Clark and Diversey is another local favorite. The Foxtrot Market (2801 N. Broadway) has great co ee as well as breakfast tacos. Just up the street on Broadway is Mariano’s, another gourmet grocery store with a hot
BILL MALCOLM is America’s only LGBTQ syndicated value travel columnist. His syndicated LGBTQ+ value travel column appears or has appeared in publications in Dallas, Chicago, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Charlotte, and South Florida. He focuses on value, going local, and taking public transit, bicycling or walking as well as what’s new in cities. He resides in Indianapolis.
food bar as well as a wine bar. All are within steps of the Hotel Versey. You will have to diet after a trip to Chicago, a city known for its great pizza and ketchup-less hot dogs.
Walk or take the CTA bus or subway. You won’t need a car. The 152 bus from Sheridan and Diversey will take you to Michigan Avenue, the Loop, and Union Station. Metra (the commuter rail) will bring you in from the suburbs. The city has great Amtrak service and is a hub for both American and United.
Chicago has two airports: Midway (closer in, mainly Southwest ights) and O’Hare. Both have CTA trains to the City. I like Midway because it is closer. (Canadian friends can take Porter for Toronto’s City Airport right into Midway.) O’Hare has the other international ights.
Cashiers will ask you if you want a bag. What they mean is if you want to pay for one. They charge 7 cents in Chicago.
If driving, beware of red light cameras. Never try to run the yellow as you will get a ticket from
their camera system. Best of all, avoid driving and take the CTA. Or walk.
As Mark Twain said in 1883: “It is hopeless for the occasional visitor to try to keep up with Chicago. She outgrows his prophecies faster than he can make them.” As the city notes (see Chicago.org), “Chicago was only 46 years old when Mark Twain wrote those words, but it had already grown more than 100-fold, from a small trading post at the mouth of the Chicago River into one of the nation’s largest cities, and it wasn’t about to stop. Over the next 20 years, it would quadruple in population, amazing the rest of the world with its ability to repeatedly reinvent itself.” And it is arguably one of the best run and most LGBTQ friendly city in the country from Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot on down. It combines big city NYC-style o erings with Midwestern aw shucks friendliness.
Visit the Choose Chicago website or pick up a copy of GRAB Chicago Magazine (GrabChicago. com), the only remaining in print LGBTQ publication. They carry my column.
TO TYLER SCHRAGE ON 1-MILLION FOLLOWERS! FROM YOUR TEAM AT POPWRAPPED & TIKTOK
VACAYA completely reinvents the all-gay cruise and all-inclusive gay resort concepts by opening up the experiences to lesbians, bisexuals, trans persons, queer men/women, those questioning their sexuality, intersex, asexual, pansexual, and polyamorous individuals, as well as gay men who’ve enjoyed the typical gay cruise experience.
By Fred W. Wright Jr.
What if you gave a party and everybody came?
That’s the sense of success savored by Patrick Gunn, co-founder and CMO of VACAYA, a niche travel company in Miami that creates cruise and resort packages for the LGBTQ community.
For nearly five years, VACAYA has built its brand by catering to the LGBTQ community with luxury cruises and all-inclusive resort packages. They have been so successful that its November cruise to Antarctica sold out its 200 vacancies in just 10 days.
That Antarctica cruise, scheduled for Dec. 6-17, is typical of VACAYA’s packages. The guests and crew will sail aboard Le Boreal, a 413-foot French-owned luxury cruise ship designed for royalty and sailings to the southernmost continent and other destinations.
“With a maximum capacity of 200 passengers, Le Boreal will allow us to explore this virtually untouched land rich in wildlife in small, intimate groups, all in an atmosphere of undeniable luxury and casual elegance,” according to VACAYA.
The next o ering will be a Caribbean cruise Feb. 12-19. Since this will be the o icial celebration of the company’s fifth year, details are being kept close by management at this point, Gunn said.
Gunn promises, though, there will be “lots of entertainment opportunities and surprises I can’t reveal at this moment.
Most people who know these cruises, when we celebrate a big milestone like this, we pull out all the stops – commemorative merchandise (and) high level of star-studded entertainment.”
How was VACAYA born? The co-founders had an idea “how we might be able to o er the LGBTQ community something that’s never happened before,” Gunn said in an interview with Embrace Magazine. “The key di erence between ourselves and our competitors [is] we buy out the entire ship or entire resort and sta and entertainment and invite the LGBTQ community to come and enjoy that space with like-minded people in a space that’s very safe for them.”
It’s a financial gamble that has, so far, paid o for VACAYA. The company is hoping to book to destinations never visited by a LGBTQ group of any size, whether it be Africa, the Seychelles or, now, Antarctica in November. The Antarctica cruise sellout “was a shock to us. It was one of the biggest risks in our company history,” Gunn said.
“We founded our company on di erences we wanted to o er,” Gunn said. We
are welcoming to all LGBTQ members, no matter where you stand in the spectrum. We’re inclusive of all body types. Some competitors have historically focused on one letter – gay men, lesbian women. We are really for all types of people who want to travel in our space.
“That includes straight friends. We’re very welcoming to any straight allies who believe love is love,” Gunn noted.
Coming up with VACAYA as the company’s name took some research. “When we were going to name our company, we wanted a word that looked beautiful and has sentiment in the LGBTQ world,” Gunn said.
A search through an English language dictionary proved futile, he said. But then a lexicon of street slang and code language used by members of the LGBTQ communi-
ty in London in the 18th and 19th centuries turned up Polari. Since homosexuality was illegal in Britain for centuries, this relatively secret language developed its own highly descriptive words.
The result was VACAYA. “It’s a beautiful word in writing but its actual definition is ‘melodious instrument,’” Gun explained. The company adopted the word and put it in all capital letters as its very distinctive brand.
A key factor for the company’s success so far, Gunn said, is its approach to the entertainment provided on its cruises. VACAYA selects its own entertainers and celebrity headliners tailored to its audience.
“We bring on our own...superior level of LGBTQ entertainers – comedians, Broadway, cabaret, and drag acts.” Some examples from the past – Leslie Jordan, Katha-
calls “our Godmother.”
There are two other distinctions that Gunn feels separates VACAYA from other companies that package LGBTQ travel.
“First, we believe in balance,” he said. Many cruises invite guests to party until they drop – or at least until the wee hours – often leading to late mornings and ports not enjoyed. “We love a good party,” Gunn said, “but we also believe in making sure our guests [are able] to get up in the morning and get into the port and not miss out on any of the culture.”
Gunn’s company is also an advocate of guests giving back to the culture of the people their tours visit. “We are philan-
thropic-minded; our guests share that with us. We’ll give back to communities we visit in two ways,” he said.
Guests have the opportunity on vacation to give back with sweat equity or they can donate financially. On a VACAYA trip to a Mexican resort, “We adopted an orphanage. Our guests (brought) backpacks full of school supplies and donated to the orphanage,” Gunn said.
VACAYA prices naturally vary with the package. They can range from $99 per person for a resort to $2,000 and up for a luxury cruise, Gunn said, all the way up to $20,000 for a single suite.
What’s ahead for VACAYA? “We have major goals that we set for ourselves around diversifying our audience,” Gunn said. “Lesser-served community members like Blacks, bisexuals, trans. They are welcome (and) they are part of our existence –a utopia for the entire LGBTQ community.”
“WE ARE WELCOMING TO ALL LGBTQ MEMBERS, NO MATTER WHERE YOU STAND IN THE SPECTRUM.”
—PATRICK GUNN, CO-FOUNDER AND CMO OF VACAYA
Beauty. The Weather. The Fun. The Love.
What to know about Monkeypox, a disease that the AIDS Healthcare Foundation says should be classified as an STI.
COMPILED BY JOHN SOTOMAYOR
Ina recent Medium essay as reported by Business Wire, two reputable researchers and medical professionals make a compelling argument for monkeypox to be o cially recognized as a sexually transmitted infection (STI). According to AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), labeling the virus as a STI will enable for a better, more precise response to the spreading outbreak and more properly re ect how the new clade or strain of the virus, which mostly a ects homosexual men, is transmitted.
“Following the initial and abysmal global, federal, state and local responses to monkeypox, we simply have NO time to waste, we must consider and respond to monkeypox as an STI or STD if we are ever going to get a handle on this virus,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “Thinking of and treating monkeypox as an STD is the best way forward for our collective public health response.”
In the article, the two authors, Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, MD, Chief Resident Physician, Global Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital and Je rey D. Klausner, MD, MPH, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Infectious Disease, Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, note that “…whether human
monkeypox constitutes a sexually transmitted infection, and why that would be important, are subject to ongoing debate.” However, they then make a strong case for treating monkeypox as an STI, concluding: “The transmission dynamics of human monkeypox, at least across the United States and Europe, appears to be highly consistent with a sexually transmitted infection. Our public health response, therefore, should incorporate sexual health into its response to the current outbreak, including frank discussion of speci c sexual behaviors like condomless anal sex that increase the risk for transmission. At the same time, we must destigmatize both the disease and its route of transmission. Targeted screening among populations with high risk for other sexually transmitted infections may be important strategies for case identi cation. Finally, further work should evaluate formally the transmissibility of human monkeypox from di erent bodily uids through experimental studies and careful epidemiologic analyses with particular attention to the possibility of di ering transmission dynamics in di erent regions of the globe.” Monkeypox is currently not recognized as a STI, despite the virus having been discovered in the seminal uid of a few patients in Europe. However, the virus may be passed from person to person through sexual activity via skin-toskin contact.
ABOUT THE AHF
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), is the largest global AIDS organization, currently providing medical care and services to over 1.6 million people in 45 countries across North America, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. Learn more online or check out their podcast, “AHFter Hours.” (ahf. org/ahfter-hours)
aidshealth.org @aidshealth @aidshealthcare
Embrace Magazine has compiled the most important data to help you watch for and guard against this rapidly developing virus.
The CDC describes monkeypox (MPOX) as “a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus.” It is a relative to the virus that causes smallpox, variola virus, but is not related to chickenpox.
Prior to 2022, the vast majority of MPOX cases were associated with international travel. There are two known variants, Clade I and Clade II; the 2022 outbreak is Clade II, the less severe variant. It presents as a milder form of smallpox and is rarely fatal.
Symptoms can appear five days to three weeks after exposure, and last up to four weeks. They can include:
• An unusual, painful rash or sores. Often starts on the face, or pelvic regions, then spreads to other parts of the body.
• Fever
• Headache, muscle aches, and/or back ache
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Chills
• Exhaustion (fatigue)
Contagiousness begins with the onset of symptoms. The most telltale symptom—rashes and sores—is typically the last to present, meaning many who have contracted MPOX don’t yet know they are contagious.
MPOX is highly contagious, and can be transmitted in a variety of ways, including:
• Skin-to-skin contact, either direct (i.e. touching an infected person’s rash), or indirect (i.e. sharing bedding or towels).
• Respiratory droplets shared through kissing, sharing food or drinks, coughing, sneezing, etc.
• Sex and intimacy, both due to extended periods of close contact, and because common areas for the rash to start are the mouth, groin, genital region, or in and around the anus.
Condoms are not su icient to prevent MPOX transmission. Condoms may help reduce the likelihood of developing genital sores will not guard against other close-contact forms of transmission.
If you have unusual sores or a rash within a month of last sexual activity, seek immediate medical attention. You may need to isolate for up to 21 days to prevent passing the virus on to others.
Those with a detectable HIV viral load, immunocompromised individuals, or those with preexisting skin conditions like eczema, symptoms can last longer and be more severe. You also might also be contagious for a longer period of time.
At this time, people living with HIV who are undetectable are not considered at higher risk. Immunocompromised people may benefit from treatment. Talk to your healthcare provider about any potential drug interactions.
At this time, there are no specific monkeypox treatments, but an antiviral drug called tecovirimat (TPOXX), developed as a treatment for smallpox, may be e ective thanks to the similarity of the two viruses.
TPOXX is not FDA approved to treat monkeypox. It is currently only used to treat severe cases or high-risk individuals to minimize severity and short- and long-term e ects. Research to test the e icacy of TPOXX for all monkeypox cases is currently underway.
SOURCES: CDC.GOV, BHOCPARTNERS.ORG, FLORIDAHEALTH.GOV
153
The number of new cases reported in Florida this week. (AS OF SEPT. 15, 2022)
7%
The increase in the number of case reports week over week. That’s a decrease from the previous week's 11%, and a drastic decrease from over the summer when the new infection rate was around 40%.
(AS OF SEPT. 15, 2022)
3rd
Florida's rank in the quantity of Monkeypox cases. First and second in reports are California and New York, respectively. (AS OF SEPT. 15, 2022)
782
The number of cases in Miami-Dade County, still the No. 1 County in the state for Monkeypox cases.
The school system has become the battleground for political power on freedom of speech and expression, particularly on the war between LGBTQ+ inclusion and exclusion.
BY DANIELLE OLIVANI
Asof late, all across the country, libraries, and schools, once thought of as bastions for freedom of speech, thought, and ideas, have become a hotbed of controversy because of censorship. Censorship can be de ned as suppression, deletion, controlling of the press and mass media, or thought control. In the state of Florida, Governor of Florida Ron Desantis seems to have made his entire legislative objective to distort and employ revisionist history through enacting haphazard, dangerous, and awed Bills like “The Stop Woke Act,” which prohibits workplace diversity training and ceasing discussion of race and Critical Race Theory. It is essential to note the legal concept of “CRT” or Critical Race Theory has never been taught in K thru 12th grade. In fact, it is taught to upper-level law students to understand the nuances of how social and political institutions intersect with the concept of race throughout societal structures and constructs.
Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality Florida, Florida’s preeminent LGBTQIA+ advocacy organization, expounds on the unlawful act of performative censorship by stating, “There is a legislative war on education in America. At the heart of this war are educational gag orders—state legislative attempts to restrict teaching, training, and learning in K–12 schools and higher education. These bills, which generally target discussions of race, gender, sexuality, and US history, began to appear during the 2021 legislative session and quickly spread to statehouses throughout the country. By the year’s end, 54 bills had been led in 22 states, of which 12 became law. In 2022, these battles have intensi ed.”
LGBTQIA+ community. Faculty are being directed to restrict any and all speech related to the queer community; this includes discussing themselves and their families and prohibiting LGBTQIA+ discussion and gender expression among their peers. This prohibition of their rst amendment rights also apply to trusted faculty members; they might need to seek help, guidance, or safety.
“There is a legislative war on education in America. At the heart of this war are educational gag orders—state and legislative attempt to restrict teaching, training, and learning…”
—Nadine Smith, Executive Director, Equality Florida
Two diametrically opposed organizations ghting on behalf of students here in Florida and across the country are Families for Safe Schools and Moms for Liberty. In addition to supporting public education and protecting it from politically motivated attacks, Families for Safe Schools believes that our elected o cials and K-12 public schools are responsible for ensuring that all children have a safe and inclusive learning environment. The central tenets of Families for Safe Schools are ghting against banning books, violating students’ rights to self-expression, and protecting schools from becoming weaponized and victims of political divisiveness. In contrast, Moms for Liberty is an openly and unapologetically politically conservative organization based on Judeo-Christian principles which completely dominates and drives its platform. Moms for Liberty like to propagate their transparent bias against the LGBTQIA+ community, and gatekeeping of the diversity of ideas and thoughts are entirely justied because it is seen solely from a conservative Christian lens. The false narrative that students in public schools are being subjected to religious persecution and immoral or ideologically questionable reading and learning material are harmful and detrimental. Moms for Liberty, under the guise of protecting students, stress the importance of parents’ and caregivers’ commitment to parental rights.
Much of the impact of these unlawful attempts to censor people, especially students, is happening in Florida. The state’s teachers and administrators have been told to take down any/ all content that is LGBTQIA+ related, as well as books and other informational material about the
The founders of Moms for Liberty, Ti any and Tina are former school board members and claim they witnessed how short-sighted and destructive policies directly hurt children and families. Moms for Liberty assert that they are using their rsthand knowledge and experience to unite parents ready to ght those who stand in the way of Lib-
DANIELLE OLIVANI is a proud mom, community organizer/activist, and CEO of Lake County Pride Org. Corp; an LGBTQIA+ nonprofit which seeks to improve the lives of Lake County youth through advocacy, education, and acts of service to the community. She is a longtime resident of Lake County and currently lives in Mount Dora, Fla. She graduated from the Rollins College Paralegal Studies program and obtained her certification in 2017.
erty, but at what cost to those students and individuals who are being silenced because of their bias and intolerance?
The assault on free speech in every sector of society, but especially institutions of learning like schools and libraries, is sure to intensify and continue into 2023 and beyond; more gag order bills will likely be led in states where they failed this year. Many predict and speculate that other legislative attacks on education, including “curriculum transparency” bills, anti-LGBTQIA+ bills, and book banning measures, will increase as current trends continue.
Moms for Liberty assert that they are ght against those who stand in the way of liberty, but at what cost to those students and individuals who are being silenced?
Many of us are asking what can be done to end this fascist-like trend of authoritarianism and attempt to rewrite history to make those
in power more comfortable with those who have been systematically and permissibly persecuted and marginalized in our society, this way eliminating accountability and cause for genuine and sustainable change, like the black and brown, immigrant, and LGBTQIA+ communities?
One sure way of changing the trajectory is for everyone to get out there, perform their civic duty, and vote these dangerous individuals out of public o ce. With the 2024 election looming, there can be no room for duplicity or uncertainty regarding free press or children’s freedom to be their authentic selves without fear of shunning, retribution or retaliation; we must continue to ght, if not for us, for them.
Our Mission is to help all members of the local small business community to grow, network, learn, support, engage, and advocate for each other and the community at large.
Our Vision is to foster and develop relationships between the local small businesses and the community which will result in long term sustainable economic development, growth of entrepreneurship, and creation of strategic partnerships while giving back to the community.
The United Methodist Church remains undecided over LGBTQ+ roles of leadership in the church.
BY REV. CATHERINE DEARLOVE
29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
EPHESIANS 4:29, 31-32 (NIV)
Faith Groups and Christian Denominations have continuously battled with di erent theologies over the years, leading to divisions over and over.
In the news over the past year or so we have seen the United Methodist Church (UMC) battle and divide over the role of people in the LGBQIA community. A church which has at its core an honoring of the sacredness of each person, did not seem to come to an agreement that LGBTQIA people should be allowed to hold positions of leadership, nor can the leadership honor these relationships with same sex marriage. This has not been a brief battle or conversation.
The UMC a rms that sexuality is “God’s good gift to all persons” however this did not include homosexuality. At their General Conference in 1972 homosexuality was discussed for the rst time, it was agreed and made doctrine that homosexual people were sacred, however homosexuality was not condoned. People from di erent parts of the Globe have continuously brought up this subject over and over, and 2022 has seen the largest change for this denomination.
In 2020 when the General Conference was due to be held, the place of LGTBQIA people was to be discussed again, however the Pandemic led to the delay of this conference. Though, this did not delay the fervent need for an answer to the question of whether LGBTQIA people have worth in the UMC. In 2022 the Wesleyan Covenant Association decided that it could not condone the LGBTQIA ‘lifestyle’ and decided to start the Global Methodist Church (GMC) and is seeking congregations who have the same theology to join them.
Sara Nussell, a former musical director for a UMC that decided to disa liate, battled with this decision as she felt that all are welcome in God’s house. She took the decision to disa liate from this church and become an evangelical ‘eco warrior.’ For Sara, she had a plan, but so many others now must choose whether to divide or conquer. Many LGBTQIA members and their allies have stayed in their local churches to try to call for change from within, however this latest decision of some churches to disa liate has hit hard at the core of the faith of some.
In parallel to these discussions at the Global General Conferences, was another discussion
REV. CATHERINE DEARLOVE is Senior Pastor at Trinity MCC in Gainesville, Florida. Although a Christian minister, she has a strong appreciation for all journeys of faith or philosophy and wrote her Masters dissertation on Inter-religious Dialogue. She is currently the Chair of the Campus Multi-faith Cooperative at UF and coordinates the Alachua County Faith Leaders Alliance. Rev Catherine has lived in the UK, Australia and now USA and has spent most of her life as a social justice warrior and advocate for the integration of sexuality and spirituality. Rev Catherine believes faith is a journey and should never be static.
that has now landed on the name Reconciling Ministries. This is a ministry whose concept started in 1982 and is now called Reconciling Ministries. Churches can opt into this ministry whose mission is, as seen in rmnetwork.org/history, “Living into our shared baptismal covenant, Reconciling Ministries Network equips and mobilizes United Methodists to resist evil, injustice, and oppression as we seek justice for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.”
There are many whose churches have chosen to be a reconciling church. This in turn, although a breath of fresh air for the LGBTQIA community, has been a dilemma for those who cannot condone the LGTBQIA community. Leading to a di erent group of people being disenfranchised. In 2022 in Florida, candidates for ordination were unable to be ordained because the vote did not meet the threshold because two of those seeking ordination were gay. Rev Steve Price from Trinity UMC in Gainesville said “I lament the harm that this result has caused the candidates, their families, their congregations, and other LGBTQ+ persons who are called to ministry in the church and in the world.
And…
I stand with the 230 clergy who said YES to their commissioning, who mourn this loss with them, who a rm their calling and sacred worth, and who will also press on with them toward the day when this will not happen again in the United Methodist Church.”
Whenever faith groups cannot agree on theologies, it is di cult to remain in one accord. Hearts can be broken, lives can be changed, and faith journeys can be tested. As churches who follow the Bible will often read the passage from Ephesians and try earnestly to build other people up, however nd themselves caught in a division, causing the exact harm they speak out against.
For the LGBTQIA community there are some options with reconciling ministries or other denominations, especially in large areas. However, in more rural counties, their faith journey sometimes has to be lived out in a lonelier way, or through electronic means, rather than being part of a community of faith. This is the choice that has to be made - being authentic to themselves or staying with a church that loves them as long as they don’t express their sexuality.
Wherever there are people, there will be disagreement. The UMC and GMC have divided and maybe in doing so, will conquer. With two denominations, people from either group can be authentic to their theology around the LGBTQIA community. Does this mean that the LGBTQIA have to live back in the closet? I don’t think so, however to continue their authentic journey, some changes may need to be made.
TheUnitedMethodist Churchhasdivided and,maybeindoing so,willconquer. WiththenewGlobal MethodistChurch, peoplefromeither groupcanbeauthentic totheirtheology.
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“RuPaul’s Drag Race” finalist and “Celebrity Big Brother UK” Winner Courtney Act spills the tea in new memoir
BY SHANE GALLAGHER
BY
Inher memoir, Courtney Act writes about growing up in the ’80s and ’90s and how her adolescent unconventional angst was pitted against the love of her traditionally wholesome parents. She shares tales of the thrill in discovering the drag scene and then un inchingly recounts her adventures into its seedier side, lled with drugs and sex. There’s lots of Drag Race tea spilled, too, including her shaky introduction to Adore Delano and oh, the time RuPaul blocked her on Twitter. Told with Courtney’s trademark candor and wit, Caught in the Act is a hilarious, often scandalous, and at times heartbreaking, peek into the beloved drag queen’s journey from RuPaul’s Drag Race nalist to winning Celebrity Big Brother UK and how she learned about gender, sexuality and identity along the way. We spoke with Courtney from her home in Sydney.
Did you always know that you were destined for stardom?
From a very early age, I always loved being on stage and performing. I think I always dreamed of being a star. They say fame is 51% luck and 49% hard work.
From reading your book, it seems like we have your sister Kim to thank for Courtney Act. Ah, yes. My sister would dress me up for Halloween and that was always fun. Halloween is get-
ting bigger in Australia now, but it wasn’t in the early 90s when I grew up. We would knock on doors and houses for tricks or treats and no one knew what we were doing!
You also recount the tall, handsome, blond senior that stopped the high school kids from bullying you.
I didn’t realize the impact that moment had on my life until writing the book! His standing up for me in my time of need was always a memory that circled around in my brain and only popped up every once in a while.
Why did you decide to tell your story now?
After Big Brother, people, especially in the UK, were interested in hearing more of my story, which was so nice. I share my stories in my cabaret but a book is longer and complex and I thought I thought it would give me an opportunity to expand on my stories. So, I spoke with a lot of publishers and found the right one. We would meet on zoom calls twice a week and I’d share everything I had been writing and we would then edit it down to only the good stu . So much of it ended on the cutting room oor! I wrote 220 thousand words and only 80 thousand made it into the book.
What did you learn from re ecting on the past?
When re ecting on my memories, I really immersed myself and considered details that I had only glossed over in my mind before. So, like in the memory of kissing my rst boy, it was more than a
SHANE GALLAGHER is a Los Angelesbased digital media producer, author and freelance journalist for the Daily Collegian, ElectriCITY and the Los Angeles Times. In another lifetime, he was also an actor, singer and teacher, but today, much of his time is consumed with being a single gay dad of two young children.
kiss. It was me on the second level of the dance bar, sitting with the boy on a pleather, cigarette-punctured couch, and suddenly I was remembering the noises and the smells and the incredible feeling I felt inside, realizing that sexuality was no longer denied to me. The process was so healing.
Did you uncover any regrets?
Not really. I know that’s a terrible answer, but in truth, even with all of the shoulda coulda wouldas, life nds a way of rolling on.
Proudest accomplishment?
This sounds lame and vain, but winning Celebrity Big Brother was really cool. Also, my talk show in Australia, One Plus One. I get to interview people who I think are interesting and wonderful. It’s always a lovely conversation and I nd it is an honor to share other people’s stories.
What is important to you now that maybe wasn’t so important to you when you were rst launching your career?
In the beginning, I focused on me. I was intoxicated by the idea of fame and notoriety. It lled a void for my insecurity and shame and my unexamined feelings of gender, sexuality and identity. As I have matured, I have turned more outward and have begun to focus on how I can be of service to the world and improve the lives of others. I want to be that handsome blonde senior that stood up for me. I have to come to learn that real allyship is caring for people outside of your bubble.
The tall, handsome, blond senior made an impact!
I suppose he did. Empathy does not come from understanding someone else’s story and experience. It comes from not being able to understand but still believing what they tell you. When I was younger, I viewed everyone’s experience through my own lens. As I’ve gotten older, I realize I can’t understand everyone’s experiences; I just have to believe what they tell me.
Where are you now on your journey to understanding gender, sexuality and identity? Initially, the labels I adopted helped me to nd a place that felt most right for me. However, those labels began to feel limiting. It turns out labels can’t describe every human experience. Whichever way my gender, sexuality and identity chooses to express itself at a particular time is me at that moment and it’s correct.
Has being a celebrity helped or made the process more di cult?
Being in the public eye is not something I would wish on anyone unless they have a dream of being something bigger than themselves. Like, I want a band and sequenced costumes and dancers and all that cost a lot of money! You need a
big auditorium lled with people to pay for that shit. So, the loss of anonymity is worth it for me. But whenever I see someone going on one of the reality shows with no purpose except to be famous, I always want to tell them ‘don’t do it! It’s not worth it!’ There are better ways than fame to nd happiness and contentment. Invest in friends and family and nd real purpose.
There is a beautiful quote in the book about how the task of all queer adults is to nd their true selves and release those parts that were created as a means of protection. What have you released?
I’ve released shame about who I am and all of the pretenses and heteronormative masculine ideals of what someone born with a penis is supposed to be.
Last question: has RuPaul unblocked you yet?
Yes, RuPaul has unblocked me.
Caught in the Act: A Memoir by Shane Jenek AKA Courtney Act is available now, wherever books are sold, through Pantera Press.
BY NOEL HOFFMAN
Sisu, a beauty clinic with fourteen locations across the UK, recently opened their second location in Florida, at Brickell City Centre in Miami. The company is growing in popularity among men seeking advanced non-surgical beauty treatments from Botox to dermal llers and skin boosters, as well as procedures for permanent fat reduction.
“As the stigma of cosmetic treatment continues to diminish, we’re seeing more and more men seeking tweakments; natural-looking enhancements,” says Dr. Brian Cotter of Sisu Clinic.
For most men, aesthetic care is less about anti-aging and more about having their outward appearance re ect the health and vitality they feel inside. Non-surgical treatments appeal because they are quick, accessible, convenient and require less down time. At Sisu, the top treatments they see among men are Botox, dermal llers for jaw lines and under-eye treatments, Kybella®, and Sculptra®.
Botox – or as it commonly called, “Brotox”is by far the number one treatment sought by men over thirty. Botox helps address ne lines and wrinkles, creating a more refreshed and energized appearance. The procedure generally requires a series of injections to the desired treatment area with each injection taking approximately ninety seconds. The number of injections varies by the needs of the individual patient. While pain is generally very minimal, tolerance can vary from someone receiving Botox for the rst-time verse someone seeking routine maintenance. It typically takes 4-5 days for results to begin and two weeks until the full results come into e ect. They can last for three months.
In addition to erasing wrinkles, Botox can also
NOEL
HOFFMAN is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. His celeb interviews have appeared in Palm Springs’ Standard Magazine and Desert Life Magazine. In his spare time, he enjoys whacking on the tambourine to old Monkeys songs and catching waves at Huntington Beach.
be used to achieve neck and brow lifts and there are even treatments to help prevent migraines, teeth grinding and excessive sweating.
Another procedure gaining in popularity among men are dermal llers. Who doesn’t want a rugged, angular jawline? To achieve it, clinicians place dermal llers strategically along the jawline and chin, resulting in a more chiseled and de ned facial pro le. It typically takes one or two days for results to show, and there may be some slight bruising or swelling during the rst few days, but the e ects can last 9-12 months or longer.
Fillers can also correct the hallowing or darkness under the eye area that plague some men. The hyaluronic acid dermal ller restores volume loss in the undereye region, making eyes look more energized and youthful.
For men battling submental fat below the chin – what’s commonly referred to as a double chin – there is Kybella®. It is a deoxycholic acid injectable treatment that permanently removes fat cells from the face. It can also be used in the abdomen, back, thighs and arms.
Then there is Sculptra®, a biostimulator that works within the deep dermis layers of a man’s skin to increase the cells’ production of elastin and collagen. It revitalizes a body’s natural collagen production to diminish ne lines, creases, and folds for a fuller, more youthful appear-
ance. Interestingly, Sculptra® was initially used to treat lipoatrophy (severe fat loss) in the face, before becoming FDA-approved for cosmetic use to improve skin tone, texture and over time, restore facial volume. It’s a bit pricey at $1000 a vial with three treatments, over the course of 3 to 4 months, typically required –although the number can vary based on the patient’s skin status and fat volume.
“At Sisu, we take a principled approach to patient care tailored to the unique needs of each individual patient,” Dr. Brian Cotter continues. “Every patient who visits us books a free consultation prior to having treatment administered so that clinicians can learn more about them and the results they are looking to achieve. In many cases, treatment can be administered on the same day as a consultation.”
While there is no precise age for when men should consider beginning non-surgical aesthetic treatments, Dr. Brian Cotter nds truth in the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound to cure. “We generally begin to see a loss of mid-face volume emerge for men in their thirties. Getting preventative treatments like Botox in your late twenties and early thirties can ensure that deep lines are less visible as you age,” he says.
Visit Sisuclinic.com.
Javier Suarez joins Paul Stuart brand as new shoes and belts creative director.
BY JOSEPH PASTRANA
Ofall the accessories in menswear, only one item is able to stand apart from an ensemble. A tie or pocket square, for instance, can serve as the perfect nishing touch or provide an unexpected splash of color. But depending on the suit or out t, it may otherwise simply blend in unnoticed. Footwear, on the other hand, conveys style all on its own. And it has the power to just as easily make or break any look. This simple fact was precisely what everyone at Paul Stuart realized when they decided it was time to upgrade its accessories division with exceptional footwear. In late 2021, the company found the right person for the job when it appointed Javier Suarez as shoes and belts creative director for the brand.
Among only a handful of American menswear labels truly respected by discriminating gentlemen, Paul Stuart was established just prior to WWII with a store that today still stands at the same corner of Madison Avenue it has occupied for over eighty years. Its array of signature custom tailored, made-to-measure, or readyto-wear clothing, sportswear, as well as the “younger” Phineas Cole” collection is overseen by creative director Ralph Auriemma. He has set the tone for his collections by combining Savile Row, Old Hollywood and a distinct New York vibe to create timeless American classics with contemporary sophistication. The brand takes pride in crafting each item with utmost precision from the nest of materials to truly re ect the lifestyles of the modern men.
Suarez is a perfect t in this rare ed environment, having started out at Bally of Switzerland and working close to three decades launching and developing the men’s shoe business for Salvatore Ferragamo. According to Suarez, his career in footwear was, “Perhaps both by chance and design. My appetite for style and fashion may directly be attributed to my parents who had the resources, eye, and taste for design and quality in their lives. In particular, my dad, who died very young, left behind trunks of custom-made suits, shirts, and shoes, which I would rummage through to admire and imagine wearing. Years later as my own fashion taste evolved, shoes always played a key role.
I had landed work in a luxury shoes and leather goods store on East 54th and Park Avenue. But my
JOSEPH PASTRANA is a New York-based fashion journalist, public relations consultant, and the author of the nonfiction fashion must-read “Homespun - True Tales of Tweed”. His extensive professional experience encompasses working with a wide range of fashion, beauty and luxury lifestyle brands. He was previously fashion director for trade publication MetroStyle for which he covered seasonal Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan, and has written profiles and reviews on designers and collections including Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Bill Blass, Van Cleef & Arpels along with stories on Saks Fifth Ave, Sotheby’s, Louis Vuitton, Patek Philippe and many others. Today, he is a iliated with Mannfolk PR in publicity and brand development projects while continuing to cover fashion, art, interior design and luxury. He is also currently working on his next book for literary imprint house Thane & Prose.
mother sensed I had not yet formed a clear career path and advised me to ‘specialize in something’. I did! Once I stepped into that shop I just never looked back. As I advanced my career in merchandising, creation, and product development; footwear fed my natural interests in design, engineering, and business.”
After leaving Ferragamo, he continued, “I became a bit bored and restless. I searched for an opportunity to utilize my creative and production skills closer to home.” And he found his new home at Paul Stuart. Suarez explains further, “Throughout my career, I have focused on capturing the essence of the lifestyle of my customers. Being a New Yorker, I knew and shopped Paul Stuart. It has such an iconic and personal familiarity to me. The fresh, impeccable quality, and prestige of the brand was to me a source of inspiration. My aim was to create a wardrobe of exclusive shoes that would carry the customer from workday to weekend to any formal occasion.”
To accomplish this, his designs are coordinated with the menswear. He says, “Ralph does a fantastic job with seasonal storyboards, color cards, and materials that from day one served as a perfect roadmap to the brand. He sets the mood and image of the clothing. But it’s not a matter of simply matching the footwear with the garments. As a crucial and distinctive accessory, footwear holds a feature role in any look perhaps beyond just compatibility. Shoes are many times the protagonists, for better or for worse, that can either enhance or serve as a counterpoint.”
The new loafer collection epitomizes ne craftsmanship and comfort in suedes and leathers to complement trousers or relaxed pants for business casual environments such as meeting with colleagues or a night out with friends. “It’s a very adaptable, casual dress shoe,” says Suarez. The Penny with a beef roll in handsewn leather comes in brown and navy leather and camel suede retails for $675. The Mason, available in coral suede along with the traditional black, brown, and tan tumbled leather with contrast stitching on a leather sole, is $595. And no footwear wardrobe is complete without a truly standout pair of sneakers. This season the slip-on takes over and the new styles are reimagined in blue tumbled calfskin and tan suede. Made in Italy, they retail for $350. Traditional lace-ups come in pine green and Bordeaux suede for $325 while classic lace-up sneakers in orange, teal green, white leather, and blue denim retail for $495.
Suarez contends that the direction in today’s men’s wear surrounds the idea of innovation.
“This season, fashionably relaxed footwear styles are important additions to a well-dressed men’s footwear wardrobe. Our collection delivers luxurious leathers, suedes, ra as, and shearlings
paired with comfort details like an ergonomic footbed in the sandals. It’s a true feel-good collection that exempli es what we are known for at Paul Stuart.” And unlike larger footwear companies that rely on factory machines, Javier prefers the artisanal families in Italy to turn his designs into reality. He says, “The strength of Italian production is the revered tradition of craftsmanship that individual craftsmen and even entire families have been practicing for generations!”
Suarez concludes, “We’re so thrilled that as a destination for ne tailoring Paul Stuart now provides footwear in these sumptuous antique calf, grain leathers, and sophisticated suede colors that make them truly the ideal match with the lavishly textured materials and colors of our tailored clothing and sportswear.”
Art Jones, founder of non-profit Florida springs cleanup group, saves manatees, otters, and the world One Rake At A Time
BY MELISSA-MARIE MARKS
Onthe sunny gulf coast of Florida, the quaint picturesque town of Crystal River is known for being the only place in the world where people can legally swim with manatees. People travel from all over to swim, snorkel, and sh in Crystal River’s pristine waterways.
There’s just one problem. Many of Florida’s beautiful spring-fed waterways, including those found in Crystal River, are being invaded by an invasive escaped aquarium plant called hydrilla, along with a toxic alga called Lyngbya.
For the past 30+ years, the state of Florida has sprayed the hydrilla twice per year, leaving behind the dead, decomposing plant matter to settle on the bottom of the waterway. With the hydrilla gone, opportunistic Lyngbya algae takes over, growing on rocks and plants along the bottom of fresh waterways and then oating in dense mats to the surface, preventing sunlight from shining through the water. The oating mats of smelly algae then su ocate the native eelgrass, which is a primary food source for manatees and a natural habitat for many other Florida wildlife species.
Art Jones is working hard to change that.
Jones is a long-time resident of Crystal River and an enthusiastic nature lover. He has a background in organic, sustainable farming and believes strongly in leaving the earth in better shape than he found it in.
“When I rst saw the algae covering the water, I couldn’t believe no one was cleaning it up,” Jones said. “So I decided to do something about it.”
In 2009, Jones got into the water and went to work, using his rake to scrape the Lyngbya up o the bottom of Hunter Springs, an easily accessible
swimming beach and popular manatee-viewing destination located in downtown Crystal River.
“I remember some people mentioning to me that they thought the only reason I was cleaning up Hunter Springs was so my children could swim in clean water. But for me, from the perspective of a gay man who doesn’t have any children, I see all the children as my children. We need to treat everybody’s kids equally and respect them all. I started cleaning Hunter Springs for everybody’s kids. All kids deserve clean water.”
As time went on, Jones and his rake became regular sightings in Crystal River’s freshwater springs. Local residents became curious about the work Jones was doing, but some expressed doubt that his raking would actually make a di erence.
“People weren’t sure that what I was doing was going to work. So I announced to the mayor of Crystal River that I was going to clean up not just Hunter Springs, but all of King’s Bay. He didn’t believe that it was possible.”
But Jones kept raking, word continued to spread, and soon people from all over the country were calling and volunteering to help clean up King’s Bay. It was then, in 2015, that Jones founded One Rake At A Time, Inc., a non-pro t springs-cleaning organization determined to bring life and beauty back to Florida’s fresh waterways.
“A professor called and said there were students in Pennsylvania who wanted to come clean up King’s Bay for a service project. It just started snowballing from there and the next thing I knew, the then-state senator, Charlie Deane--who is retired now--called and said that he wanted to help, and then we received a $100,000 grant.”
Jones and his organization used the grant money to hire people from the local homeless shelter to rake di erent parts of King’s Bay.
“We would pay out $3 per cubic foot of Lyngbya algae that they brought to us. So we used the whole $100,000 grant on that project.”
Duke Energy donated another $50,000 and then the state of Florida awarded Jones and One Rake At A Time with $1.4 million to pay for divers to use special equipment to vacuum the oor of King’s Bay. After the vacuuming is nished and the oor of King’s Bay is clean of Lyngbya, Jones and his volunteers will plant native eelgrass and regularly monitor its growth, and then that phase of the project will be complete.
Now Jones would like to use the same tried-andtested method to clean up the Rainbow River, another spring-fed waterway located in west central Florida and a popular tubing and swimming spot
MELISSA-MARIE MARKS is a freelance writer based in NorthCentral Florida. She specializes in writing about green business, green technology, renewable energy, conservation and sustainability, and holistic health. Melissa graduated from The Florida School of Traditional Midwifery in 2012 and practiced as a Florida licensed midwife until 2018, when she retired from private practice to focus on her writing career. She spends her leisure time camping with her kids and manifesting a life she loves by utilizing the law of attraction.
enjoyed by both locals and tourists. “It’s a beautiful river, but it’s in decline. This is a habitat for otters, turtles, birds, and more. We want to save it.”
Jones explained that he won’t know how much money it will take to clean up all 125 acres of the Rainbow River until after the river is professionally surveyed and mapped out, identifying all the stands of overgrown hydrilla and Lyngbya algae. The survey alone will cost around $150,000, an amount that Jones is hoping to raise via donations. Once the surveying is complete, Jones and his organization will take the project specs to their local state senator in Tallahassee.
“We’ll go to Tallahassee this November with a ‘shovel ready’ project and ask them to sponsor legislative appropriation. The project is very doable. The state allocates $50 million per year for springs cleanup.”
Jones believes cleaning up the Rainbow River will likely take $10 to $20 million in total and about ve years to complete.
“The best way to help us clean the river is to get on our mailing list and become a friend of One Rake At A Time for $25. We need donations. If people want to donate their time, we’ll nd other ways for them to help.”
Jones also expressed a need for help with social media and outreach.
“We want to start a blog and make videos from the river, showing things that are happening in real time, but we need more tra c to our website. We need others to help spread the word.”
Those interested in supporting One Rake At A Time are encouraged to visit Jones’ website atonerakeatatime.org. Monetary donations can be made directly through the website. One Rake At A Time, Inc. is an all-inclusive, volunteer-run organization. “My organization is great because it integrates the whole community. Gay, straight, LGBTQ—it’s never an issue because everybody is here to work and we all have so much to o er.”
Art Jones has no intentions of slowing down after the Rainbow River is restored. His future plans include more water cleanups and possibly writing a screenplay and children’s book.
“I’ve always been the kind of person who wants to do their part to save the world,” Jones said. “I want to be a positive role model, even after I’m gone. I want others to know that by putting service before self, by helping others and giving back, you yourself will be happier and more in harmony with the earth.”
IPW 2022 Pride Reception + Red Party
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JOHN SOTOMAYOR
The International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) held the IPW 2022 Pride Reception + Red Party on Saturday, June 4th at House of Blues Orlando as a networking event for those in the LGBTQ tourism industry. One Magic Kingdom hosted the Red Party, which included a RuPaul’s Drag Race special guest performance, electronic dance music by DJ Paulo, and a “red athletic spirit” dress code.
The IGLTA is the world’s leading network of LGBTQ-welcoming tourism businesses. They provide free resources and information for LGBTQ+ travelers including a list of global gay pride events. IGLTA’s members include LGBTQ+ and LGBTQ-friendly accommodations, destinations, service providers, Travel Advisors, tour operators, events and travel media in more than 80 countries.
1 Denise Zyuzin & Marc Graser
2 Uwerin Jong of Out There, Michael Martin & Glenn Reimer, both from US Travel Association
3 Sherri Mikus, Justice Roes & Meg Ten Eyck of EveryQueer, & Christine Diaz & Kirstie Pike of On Airplane Mode
4 Miriam Vazquez of Visit Florida & Bill Huelsman of One Magical Weekend
5 DJ JB Burgos
6 Alen Beck of Fun Travel Guide, Al Ferguson of Hotspots Magazine, Matt Skallerud of Pink Media & Ray Mack of Fun Travel Guide
7 Joey Amato of Pride Journeys & Mindi Hertzog
1 Gathering for the IPW 2022 Pride Reception
2 House of Blues sta er 3 Tom Kiely of West Hollywood Travel, Tourism Board & Nick Wyland 4 IGLTA sta 5 John Sotomayor of Embrace Magazine with Pony Charvet of Key West Tourism Council
6 Peter Hopwood of Sta Travel & Ruben Gonzalez of Magic Village
7 Nicole Keeler & Josh Kedley
8 Danielle Suarez & Liz Vinson
9 Matt Schlinz, Casey Schlinz, Victor Collazo (Volunteer Coordinator) & Kelly Heuss
10 Julie Gurley & Barbara Christ
11 Tom Kiely & Fraid Taheri, both from Visit West Hollywood 12 Joseph Emde, Caroline Christ, Lauren Christ, Matthew Glose & Chris Hightower 13 Dirk Zielinski of Cruising Reise Gmbh & Hans Gesk of Visit USA Committee, Germany 14 Sorin Dutu & Monica Bogodai
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Embrace publisher, John Sotomayor, elected onto the Florida Magazine Association board during the FMA 2022 Charlie Awards at the Florida Media Conference
OnFriday, August 5th, at the start of the Florida Magazine Association 2022 Charlie Awards Gala, the FMA elected the new board, which included Embrace Magazine publisher John Sotomayor as a director at-large. The Gala also honored the best in writing, design, photography, and digital within the Florida magazine industry. Boca Magazine was honored with Magazine of the Year. Embrace Magazine was honored with 13 awards, including three Charlies for Best Public Service Writing, Best Special Theme or Show Issue, and Best Overall Digital Innovator.
The lovely Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra hosted the 2022 Florida Media Conference on August 4-5.
The Florida Media Conference, organized by the Florida Press Foundation, brings together leading Florida Media executives every year for two days of knowledge-sharing, cutting-edge vendor ideas, and networking opportunities for media executives and media workers. The Florida Press Association, Florida Newspaper Advertising and Marketing Executives, Florida Magazine Association, and the Florida Society of News Editors are some of the organizations that support the conference.
1 Brad Rogers, Penny Miller, Philip Glassman, Jessi Miller & Carlton Reese
2 Avery Lotz (scholarship winner) & Corvin Ketchum
3 Wendy Mak, David Toothman, Jamie Mark, Fred & Ingrid Lopez
4 Mary Waller, Marcia Albert & Kathleen Buell
5 John Sotomayor, Shannon Ste ee, Julie Capps & Raquel Filipek
6 Ian Jones, Kauley Claypool, John Sotomayor, Brooke Walker, and Florida Press Association President, Jim Fogler
7 Boca Magazine Editor in Chief Marie Speed & FMA President Karla MonterrosaYancey
8 Jody Maekenzie, Ellen Patch & Jamie Rich
9 Piotr Marek & Dave Woods
10 EM Agency
TO THE BOYS OF POPWRAPPED ON 25-BILLION SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS! FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT SOTOMAYER MEDIA CONGRATS
Print, television, radio, and digital media journalists throughout Florida gathered in Fort Lauderdale to honor the best of 2022.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY
JOHN SOTOMAYOR
The winners of the 2022 Sunshine State Awards were announced Aug. 27 during a ceremony at the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. The event was presented in partnership with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists – South Florida Chapter, the National Association of Black Journalists – South Florida Chapter, and NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists.
The ceremony honored the best in print media — newspaper and magazines; television; radio; digital media; Spanish language media; college media; and the high school Journalist of the Year, within the Florida media industry. Embrace Magazine, Business Wire, and Duree & Company were the three principal sponsors of the ceremony. Embrace Magazine was honored with nine awards, including four rst place for Trade or Special Interest Publication, Public Service Reporting, Trend Reporting, and Inside Design.
1 Alexis & Dave Bohman, WPTV
NBC West Palm
2 Nataly PietriLaRoche, Natalie & Javier LaRoche
3 Ric Katz, Steve Rothaus, Angela Hernandez, and board member of both NAHJ South FL & SPJ South FL Pilar Portela
4 John Sotomayor & Nile Fortner
5 Desiree Wyath, Jenna Reed, Joelah Rodriguez, Abbie Lipton & Caroline Williams
6 SPJ President and Past President Christiana Lilly & Jason Parsley
7 Terri Temple & Bobby Block
8 Sally & Adam Walser, ABC News Tampa
9 Eunice Bedminster, Virgin Islands Daily News
Mental wellness can be achieved through imaginative outlets. One only needs to define what works for them, then connect and commit to it.
BY KATIE MCCULLOUGH
ecently, I overheard a stranger telling her Tinder date how it feeds her soul to wake up in the morning and pee in her garden. She explained this to be a comforting practice of communication between her and Mother Earth. Apparently, by peeing in her garden, the Earth now knows how she is doing mentally and physically and is now better able to help her out. While I found this conversation to be a rather bizarre choice of ice breakers, I admire her ability to do what feels right for her. It sounds a bit silly to equate peeing in a garden to mental wellbeing, but why not? Becoming one with nature is certainly therapeutic (but maybe start by looking out the window instead? Or going for a walk?). Anyway, I bring this up to write about mental wellness that does not come from pharmaceuticals. Do not get me wrong – modern medicine is a beautiful gift that undoubtedly has its place in maintaining one’s health both physically and mentally but
Rlearning healthy habits and putting in the real work of nding what is right for us and our own well-being is so important.
As we know, the LGBTQ+ community faces challenges unique to us, including a higher risk of mental health struggles and substance abuse as a result. As a young queer person, my girlfriend at the time turned to alcohol to numb the pain of confronting her sexuality. Growing up in a conservative Christian town, it was hard to see the silver lining while keeping your true self a secret. After a nearly fatal level of consumption, she began taking small steps toward pulling herself toward wellness.
In situations like this it is helpful to – as my therapist calls it – exterminate hope. Using violent language on purpose, in a world where being accepted and loved by certain groups is not likely…it is time to exterminate any prayer of change from them. By taking a amethrower to any hope left in that situation, there is an opportunity to mourn and rebuild. So, let us rebuild with wellness practices that serve us and keep us checking in with ourselves. When I feel anxious, I like to go outside and look up. It gives me some much-needed perspective. Ultimately, don’t forget to rebuild and be kind to yourself. Whether that is taking a nap or peeing in your garden.
KATIE
MCCULLOUGH, graduate of Flagler College, is currently teaching English Language Arts in Saint Augustine, FL, specializing in gifted and exceptional education. Prior to attending graduate school, Katie plans to pursue her passion for writing while finding time to travel the world.
BY REV. DONNA DAVIS, RN (YPIR)
ave you ever found yourself feeling like something is missing in your life? Have you ever labeled yourself broken? I did everything a devote Christian would do, but I was still subject to the trials of sexual and physical abuse as a child, teen, and young adult. Why did it seem to always happen to me? When I was a stripper in the clubs, I noticed that others would “self-medicate” to numb the pain of life. I tried alcohol and even dove into hard drugs, but nothing seemed to ll the hole that seemed to get larger with each numbing drink. I felt that I was lost in a whirlwind that seemed to suck me down deeper and deeper.
HThe Bible says, “let not your heart be troubled”. That is hard especially when it is our own family, who are drowning us in judgment and shame. The very neighbors who should be protecting us are traumatizing us. The family who should hold us safe, that throws us into the street when we come out of the closet. How do we rise above when we are drowning in the same thing that was supposed to be our safety net?
I had a near drowning experience when I was 17 that ended up being the analogy for my life. The more I ght the current of adversity, the more it throws me about like a rag doll. I stopped ghting and decided to just let the water carry me away. Once I stopped ghting and faced the pain of life with determination, I started to oat above the currents and went with the rush of water. That rush of water carried me to safety.
The journey of self-discovery is rough and sometimes knocks us around in the currents. We cannot know who we are if we keep running away from ourselves! If we are willing to stand, not cloud our pain with drugs or alcohol, not blame or shame ourselves, just breathe into the moment. The current of that moment may surprise us. We may be at our growing edge. We need to dive in deeper even when it looks rough. Get professional help if you need it. Keep your mentors and therapist on speed dial. Have your bestie available by phone. Dive into life, be you, all of you! Namaste!
An interfaith minister and life coach, DONNA DAVIS utilizes her life experiences to empower other people to overcome their struggles. Together with her wife, Norma, they manage Your Phoenix is Rising, a transformation coaching service focused on helping others rise from the darkness of despair and embrace their true Light Nature. Donna and Norma raised three biological children and served as legal guardians to several teenaged friends of their children during their time of need. Donna is a Registered Nurse at Parralion HCA Shared Services and Performance Director at Centers for Spiritual Living Ocala. She studied RN at Rasmussen College and psychology at Florida Atlantic University.
LIFE | HEALTH | SPIRITUAL PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT COACHING
MIND | BODY | SPIRIT DAY-SPA WITH MASSAGE, FACIALS, WAXING, REIKI AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LIFE COACHING
REV DONNA DAVIS RN, RScP Reiki Master 352-816-3661
NORMA ANDERSON LMT, RScP Reiki Master 352-282-8151
BY CORY FREEMAN
uring the summer of 2015, I lived in a suburb in southern Connecticut, near New York City. I joined a gym close to the house. I remember walking into that gym and saw many big muscular guys all in one space. I knew this was where I wanted to work out so I could get big like all of these men.
DAs time went on and my results seemed lackluster in comparison, I asked questions to the guys in the gym. I found out; anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use was prevalent there.
No wonder I wasn’t gaining size like these guys, they were using substances that enhance muscle development beyond what occurs naturally with resistance training.
This piqued my curiosity, so I began asking more friends and acquaintances, of whom mostly were other gay men, if they had used or are using AAS. I was shocked to learn that the vast majority of gay men I had spoken to had, or were at that time, using AAS.
Some of these men were prescribed AAS by their doctor. Some of them were using without prescription, but still receiving blood checks and input from their doctor despite
strong discouragement. I also discovered many of these men purchased from black market sources and were not consulting any health care providers.
I found it very concerning the number of gay men in the latter group since they were most likely to haphazardly abuse these substances based on information on Internet blogs and what “gym bros” suggested.
The results one can achieve with AAS when used in conjunction with appropriate training and diet are quite remarkable. However, this comes with a cost to our health and wellbeing. There are many unfortunate adverse e ects to using enhancing drugs. They include cardiovascular, sexual/reproductive, psychiatric, hormonal, liver, skin, and kidney adverse e ects.
It is ironic how we work hard to build and maintain healthy bodies, and we look to these substances to take us to the next level, yet they themselves put our health at risk.
If you choose to use these types of substances then it is strongly encouraged that you talk with your doctor openly and honestly about what you are taking so they can help you do so in the least dangerous way. This should also be a time to re ect on your motivation behind using performance enhancing substances in order to weigh out the risk to bene t ratio.
CORY FREEMAN is a two-time first-place national bodybuilding champion, having won both of his first-place titles, The Men’s Classic Physique Master’s Over 35 at the 2019 NPC Viking Championship and at the 2019 NPC Masters USA in his rookie year. Cory works as a physical therapist in the home health industry.
