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THECONTENTS >> MORE TO COME <<
C O V E R S T O R I E S A N D F E AT U R E S
A PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION
22 Barack Obama On LGBTQ Pride 22
26
34
HOME THE TITLE 26 BRINGING Patrick Smith Wins IML 2015
41
36
BONDS 34 BROTHERLY The Outgoing Mr. CSW Leather & PREJUDICE 36 PrEP Coming Out Of The PrEP Closet TO LA PRIDE 41 WELCOME CSW’s Patti DiLuigi, Steve Ganzell MORE YOU KNOW 42 THE The History of LA Pride PRIDE GUIDE 44 THE Events, Performances, The Parade CITY ONE PRIDE 54 ONE WeHo’s LGBTQ Arts Festival BAR 59 TOM’S Tom of Finland At The Faultline
ON THE COVER COVER MODELS (L TO R): JAMES CERNE SABEL SAMONE-LORECA LUCAS JOHN JUNKIN COVER PHOTO, MAIN TOC PHOTO AND FEATURE PHOTOS BY: DUSTI CUNNINGHAM
DEPARTMENTS
16 THE CONTRIBUTORS The Talent 18 THE TALK Aydian Dowling 24 THE CITY Assaulted In WeHo 30 THE ROSTOW REPORT Caitlyn Jenner 56 THE PROFILE Alternatives 60 THE EPIDEMIC Injectable PrEP
42
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54
59
62 THE SHARE Local Sobriety 65 THE BODY Stealth For Men
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THEEDITOR
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Stanford Altamirano MANAGING EDITOR Mark Ariel ART DIRECTOR Nadeen Torio MARKETING CONSULTANTS Michael Bishop Tom Pardoe Eric Slayton >> IN THIS ISSUE <<
We are honored to have been chosen by Christopher Street West, the organization that produces LA Pride, to provide within this issue the official CSW LA Pride Guide (pages 41-50). The LA Pride Festival and Parade take place this month in West Hollywood, June 12-14. One of the topics CSW is focusing on this year is PrEP, which stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. The goal of PrEP is to prevent HIV infection from taking hold if you are exposed to the virus. This is done by taking one pill every day. In an interview with Eric Paul Leue three community members talk about coming out of the PrEP closet (“PrEP & Prejudice,” pages 36-39). “The benefit [of PrEP] is that fewer people will seroconvert, and if there is adequate access, this will really benefit youth who might be on the wrong side of sexual power dynamics,” states Sabel SamoneLoreca, a Commissioner on the LA County Commission on HIV. When asked why some people are afraid to talk about HIV and sex, Samone-Loreca says “we’re still living in a world in which public schools won’t even allow conversations about condoms, or sex - let alone LGBT issues. So instead of normalizing a healthy sex life, it is stigmatized by its very absence from the discussion.”
PrEP has “impacted how and who I allowed myself to love. With advances in medicine (including PrEP) I can make empowered decisions based on health and safety on a level where I allow myself to live and love more freely,” reveals Lucas John Junkin, a member of West Hollywood’s Lesbian & Gay Advisory Board. “I think that you would really have to be in my shoes to understand the amount of empowerment, comfort and beauty that comes as a result of my decision to go on PrEP,” reveals Junkin. “That being said, I often worry about other STIs and for me the safest option is to use condoms with PrEP.” “When people talk about risks the conversation generally seems to quickly fall into moral arguments,” says DJ and actor James Cerne. “One group of people seems to think the threat of AIDS is helpful to keep young men from fornicating constantly and indiscriminately. On the other hand you have people who want to chalk the whole thing up to an elaborate plot by big pharmacy to keep us all dependent on an expensive pill,” says Cerne. “Public health isn’t a big James Bond style plot, if we can keep guns widely available to the public despite ALL the risks associated with firearms, why are we not giving people access to lifesaving medicine?”
SOCIAL MEDIA Paulo Murillo Michael Bishop WEBMASTER Nadeen Torio GET THE FIGHT AT HOME Sent Via First Class Mail 12 Issues: $36 6 Issues: $24 Mail check or money order to: Third Step, LLC 611 S. Catalina St. Suite 307 Los Angeles, CA 90005 PUBLISHER Third Step, LLC DISTRIBUTION Pride In Media The Fight Magazine is published monthly by Third Step, LLC. 611 South Catalina Street, Suite 307 Los Angeles, CA 90005 Telephone (323) 297-4001 Fax (213) 281-9648 Email info@TheFightMag.com THE FIGHT MAGAZINE LEGAL CAVEATS By listing in The Fight Magazine, advertisers acknowledge that they do business in the spirit of cooperation, fairness and service, maintaining a high level of integrity and responsibility. Providers of products or services are fully and solely responsible for providing same as advertised. The Fight Magazine assumes no liability for improper or negligent business practices by advertisers. Advertisers and their agencies assume responsibility and liability for the content of their advertisements in The Fight Magazine. Publisher assumes no liability for safe-keeping or return of unsolicited art, manuscripts or other materials. The Fight Magazine reserves the right to edit all material for clarity, length and content. All contents © 2015 Third Step LLC. All rights reserved. Content may be reproduced with permission. The Fight Magazine assumes no liability for any claims or representations contained anywhere in this magazine and reserves the right to cancel or refuse advertising at publisher’s discretion.
TheFightMag.com STANFORD ALTAMIRANO Editor-In-Chief
1 4 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
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THECONTRIBUTORS >> WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS <<
PAULO MURILLO West Hollywood resident Paulo Murillo has been writing for gay media for over twelve years. He got his start writing a bi-weekly column called “Luv Ya, Mean It” for FAB! Newspaper. Visit his website at thehissfit.com, or friend him on Facebook. DR. STEVE GANZELL Dr. Steve Ganzell is CoPresident of Christopher Street West (CSW), the organization that produces LA Pride. Additionally, he “works in a large federal healthcare system providing mental health services and training other providers. It has been my dream job because I have been allowed to do new and creative things and to work with fascinating people. I have often described my job is sitting on sacred ground and hearing things that no one else will ever hear.”
other gay publications across the country. For weekly LGBT News updates, visit her blog at: annrostow.blogspot.com. Ann can be reached at: arostow@aol.com.
Murillo
Rostow
Ganzell
Cunningham
Leue
DUSTI CUNNINGHAM Los Angeles based photographer Dusti Cunningham grew up in a very clean single-wide trailer home in rural Kansas. His family didn’t own television so they watched tornadoes. None of his dogs were named Toto. Dolly Parton and his mother were his
Lyonne
heroes, both wore wigs. His inspirations are gypsies, pirates, circuses, 1970s glamour, and the National Enquirer. www.dusticunningham.com. ANN ROSTOW Ann Rostow writes news analysis columns for THE FIGHT and
ORLY LYONNE Orly Lyonne is a freelance journalist, focusing on issues related to LGBT equality, culture and art. Her passions include skydiving, community theater and vegan restaurants. Orly can be reached at orlylyonne@gmail.com. ERIC PAUL LEUE Eric Paul Leue is a 28 year old native East-Berliner and a resident of Los Angeles since 2013. He is a well-known community advocate as Mr LA Leather 2014 and a Commissioner on the LA County Commission on HIV. He works as Director for Sexual Health and Advocacy for the SF-based Adult Film Production Company Kink.com.
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THETALK >> W H AT T H E Y ’ R E S AY I N G <<
MARGARET CHO
GREAT LOVE “He’s probably a Republican, which I certainly am not—I’m an extremely liberal Catholic. But I’m also a husband and a father, and a grandfather and a greatgrandfather, and I have great love and MARTIN SHEEN affection for people in the gay community.” —Martin Sheen on playing a gay character in the Netflix series “Grace and Frankie.” The comedy series stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as two women left abandoned when their husbands Robert and Sal, played by Sheen and Sam Waterston respectively, declare their love for each other.
BILLY CRYSTAL
WITHOUT FEAR “Ideally I would like one day for sexuality to be as unimportant and uninteresting as hair colour, or eye colour or even just gender in general. One day it will get to that. MATTHEW But until it is easy for sports people to come MITCHAM out without fear of persecution or fear of lost sponsorship income and stuff like that, or fear of being comfortable in the team environment, I don’t mind attention being brought to my sexuality in the hope that it might make other people feel more comfortable ... in being comfortable enough about who they are in their sporting environment.” —Australian gay diver Matthew Mitcham in an interview with Sydney Morning Herald.
DIFFERENT MEN
VALID SEXUAL
“Bisexuality gets really glossed over. There’s this suspicion within the LGBT community that we’re not actually permanent members and that bisexuality isn’t a valid sexual identity... For some reason we don’t get the same respect or attention as the rest of the LGBT community... For me it’s a way of life and it has its own identities and archetypes but in mainstream culture bisexual women are very fetishized. It’s very different for bisexual men. Bi men are essentially invisible.” —Margaret Cho, in an interview with SheWired (www. shewired.com). Her PsyCHO stand-up tour kicks off this month. For info visit www.margaretcho.com.
ROBBING HER “I came out to my mother first [as transgender], and I felt a lot of guilt with that. She had two sons already, and I felt like I was robbing her of her only daughter.” —Transgender model Aydian Dowling in an interview on “The Ellen AYDIAN DOWLING Show” last month. He went on to say that he was afraid to come out to his father, fearing that his identifying as trans would damage their relationship. It took Dowling’s marriage to his current wife for his father to fully come around. 1 8 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
“I have two boys and I cannot bring different men every day into my house.” —Singer Ricky Martin in an interview with “The Sun” about life as a single gay dad. RICKY MARTIN Although Martin, 43, is now single and ready to mingle, he says that fatherhood is his first priority.
ISRAEL CAN “I think that the state of Israel can learn from Ireland, that just recently, in a referendum, approved gay marriage. I think that in the state of Israel, given the awakening that’s RON HULDAI happening, it’s important for there to be a city that says ‘here, a person can live their life.’” —Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai coming out in support of same-sex marriage and urging Israel to do the same.
ALL IT’S EVER “In 22 years, Ireland has gone from a nation where simply being LGBT was against the law to a nation where the people resoundingly stand for equal rights... It’s about love. It’s about equality. It’s about dignity. It’s about our most cherished values. That’s what this is about—it’s all it’s ever been about. —Vice President Joe Biden in an op-ed in The Advocate, last month.
VP JOE BIDEN
JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 19
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A Presidential Proclamation
F
President Barack Obama has, again, declared the month of June to be LGBT Pride Month.
rom the moment our Nation first came together to declare the fundamental truth that all men are created equal, courageous and dedicated patriots have fought to refine our founding promise and broaden democracyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reach. Over the course of more than two centuries of striving and sacrifice, our country has expanded civil rights and enshrined equal protections into our Constitution. Through struggle and setback, we see a common trajectory toward a more free and just society. But we are also reminded that we are not truly equal until every person is afforded the same rights and opportunities -- that when one of us experiences discrimination, it affects all of us -- and that our journey is not complete until our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law. Across our Nation, tremendous progress has been won by determined individuals who stood up, spoke out, and shared their stories. Earlier this year, because of my landmark Executive Order on LGBT workplace discrimination, protections for Federal contractors went into effect, guarding against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Federal Government is now leading by example, ensuring that our employees and contractors are judged by the quality of their work, not by who they love. And I will keep calling on the Congress to pass legislation so that all Americans are covered by these protections, no matter where they work. In communities throughout the country, barriers that limit the potential of LGBT 2 22 2 TTH HE E FFIGH IGHTT || www.thefightmag.com www.thefightmag.com
Americans have been torn down, but too many individuals continue to encounter discrimination and unfair treatment. My Administration supports efforts to ban the use of conversion therapy for minors because the overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that it can cause substantial harm. We understand the unique challenges faced by sexual and gender minorities -- especially transgender and gender non-conforming individuals -- and are taking steps to address them. And we recognize that families come in many shapes and sizes. Whether biological, foster, or adoptive, family acceptance is an important protective factor against suicide and harm for LGBTQ youth, and mental health experts have created resources to support family communication and involvement. For countless young people, it is not enough to simply say it gets better; we must take action too. We continue to address bullying and harassment in our classrooms, ensuring every student has a nurturing environment in which to learn and grow. Across the Federal Government, we are working every day to unlock the opportunities all LGBT individuals deserve and the resources and care they need. Too many LGBTQ youth face homelessness and too many older individuals struggle to find welcoming and affordable housing; that is why my Administration is striving to ensure they have equal access to safe and supportive housing throughout life. We are updating our National HIV/AIDS Strategy to better address the disproportionate burden HIV has on communities of gay and bisexual men and transgender women. We
continue to extend family and spousal benefits to legally married same-sex couples. And because we know LGBT rights are human rights, we are championing protections and support for LGBT persons around the world. All people deserve to live with dignity and respect, free from fear and violence, and protected against discrimination, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, we celebrate the proud legacy LGBT individuals have woven into the fabric of our Nation, we honor those who have fought to perfect our Union, and we continue our work to build a society where every child grows up knowing that their country supports them, is proud of them, and has a place for them exactly as they are. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2015 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-ninth. Barack Obama
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THECITY >> BY PAULO MURILLO <<
lence in WeHo could alter the way the city is patrolled in the late hours of the night around the weekend.
LONG BEACH CHURCH HELPS ASYLUM SEEKERS
S
t. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Long Beach is reaching out to the public for help in resettling five Ugandan LGBT asylum seekers who have fled Christian-inspired hate resulting in the imprisonment of LGBT folks for being gay. These refugees are in need of housing, funds and employment opportunities. According to reports, anti-Gay American pastors played a major role in instigating a religious war of death towards LGBT individuals in Uganda. For more information on ways to help, contact Tom Crowe, Vestry Member, at tomcrowelb@gmail.com
for gay and transgender rights last month. The Orange County Register reports that members from the group “Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement,” ran across the intersection waving flags to protest against the incarceration of transgender immigrants and against deportations. Five transgender and immigrant community members were arrested after they chained themselves on the street.
TRANS TEEN CYBER-BULLIED BEFORE SUICIDE
M
ore than a week after her 14-year-old son, Kyler Prescott, took his own life inside their home in San Diego last month, the transgender teen’s mother opened up to local media about the bullying her son was enduring days before his death, reports The Advocate. Katherine Prescott, 47, told San Diego TV station KGTV’s KYLAR Michael Chen that her trans BROADUS son was bullied by users on social media site, Kik, who allegedly said that because Kyler was transgender, he shouldn’t be alive. The Prescott family was supportive of the 14-year-old, who reportedly came out to family and friends “a few years ago.”
GAY MEN ASSAULTED IN WEHO
LGBT PROTESTERS IN SANTA ANA
C
lose to a hundred protesters closed down Flower Street near Civic Center Drive in Santa Ana, during a demonstration
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GAY BAR OPENS IN DOWNTOWN L.A.
T
W
EHOville reports that two gay men were assaulted in WeHo’s Boystown district last month, near the car wash located on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Palms Ave. This appears to be the latest in a series of attacks in what are possibly three assaults in the area over Memorial Day Weekend. No reports yet on whether these attacks were hate crime related, but the reports on vio-
said that Caitlyn Jenner has not earned the keys to the city by simply coming out as transgender. WEHOville reports that Duran feels Jenner may be worthy of a key to the city if she was willing to take his celebrity status and use it for something other than being a member of the Kardashian family. “The real question for Jenner is, ‘now that you’re out, what will you do?’ Duran said at a city council meeting last month, after someone in attendance suggested Jenner be bestowed with the honor of a key to the city.
DURAN: JENNER MUST EARN KEY
W
est Hollywood councilmember John Duran
he historic core of Downtown Los Angeles witnessed the debut of new gay bar Precinct, at 357 S. Broadway. The bar dubs itself as a “rock and roll gay bar.” Precinct offers a menu of cocktails and beers on tap, as well as live music. The Boulet Brothers hosted the grand opening with music by Chris Bowen and Victor Rodriguez. Bar hours are from 4pm-2am on weekdays and 11am-2am on weekends. Precinct is currently the only gay bar in the Historic Core of DTLA.
JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 25
Bringing Home
The Title
Mr. LA Leather Patrick Smith wins International Mr. Leather 2015. “I believe title holders should do something for their community. For me—it’s the opportunity to have my voice heard on an international stage.”
Photo courtesy of International Mr. Leather, Inc. IMRL.com
2 6 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
P
atrick Smith, Mr. Los Angeles Leather 2015, was named International Mr. Leather 2015 at the 37th annual IML Competition in Chicago last month. Smith’s big win makes him the third LA Mr. Leather to bring the IML title home to Los Angeles after eight years (Mikel Gerle won in 2007 and Guy Baldwin in 1989). Smith, who won the Mr. Los Angeles Leather 2015 title this past March, says that the “Mr. LA Leather contest does an incredible job preparing you for IML, because they are on a similar level in terms of production, value and intensity, so fortunately for me, it did feel very familiar.” In an interview with THE FIGHT the Canadian native and current Los Angeles resident discusses what the title means to him, how his mom is his biggest cheerleader and his plans for the future. What was it like hearing your name being called as the IML winner? I can’t believe it, I’m still in shock! ... You can never prepare for it. It’s something that you imagine and hope will happen. I can’t even put it into words—especially for an international title. It was completely surreal. I remember gasping and putting my hands over my mouth and I somehow managed to walk over and step up to that podium and the rest is just a blur. Was there anything that you found particularly grueling about the competition? I guess the most challenging part of the weekend was just overcoming your nerves... Everybody has that voice in their heads that makes you second-guess yourself sometimes, but you just have to do the best you can to keep on going. I really needed support and all the messages that I got—they powered me through and helped me shine on stage. Did you end up taking your mom to IML? Yes. She was a huge hit. I actually mentioned her in my speech. She was there
BY PAULO MURI LLO
in the audience cheering me on. I actually heard her voice while I was on stage and it was quite encouraging. Right after I won, they brought her up on to the podium and there’s a picture of us on the podium together. She got to meet the judges and they just fell in love with her.
porter and I have no secrets from my mom. So no, it felt great. I think if I had to filter myself I don’t think I would have won. You need to go up there and you need to expose yourself and bare your soul and I think the judges want to see you up there being yourself.
Patrick Smith, with his mom. Photo courtesy of International Mr. Leather, Inc. IMRL.com
“The title doesn’t belong to just me. It belongs to everybody who helped get me here. It was truly a group effort and I think the entire Los Angeles leather community should take pride in this because they all had something to do with it.” Was it uncomfortable at all having your mother at this type of competition? You might think so, but not at all. She and I have been very close my entire life. She’s my number one biggest sup-
What does winning the title mean to you? It comes with an enormous sense of honor... I believe title holders should do something for their community. For me—it’s the opportunity to have my voice heard on an international stage. I plan on traveling the world. I plan on doing a lot of writing on gay issues that I’m passionate about. It’s an enormous responsibility and I look forward to that.
Where do you go from here? At the moment there are a few issues I want to tackle, such as the impact that censorship has had on a global level in our communities. Measure B [law requiring adult film actors to wear condoms] for example, is a form of censorship—it is censoring porn. In the UK they actually recently banned BDSM in porn, so basically it is actually illegal to show spanking in porn. That’s censorship. If you want to take it to the worst extreme, look at somewhere like Russia where you can’t even speak favorably about gay rights, or else you’ll get thrown in jail. It’s a huge problem. There is a lot of censorship that is affecting our community and I want to fight it all over the world. Any final words to all the fans that supported you? I can’t reiterate enough that there are many people responsible for getting me here. I had an entire community behind me. The title doesn’t belong to just me. It belongs to everybody who helped get me here. It was truly a group effort and I think the entire Los Angeles leather community should take pride in this because they all had something to do with it. JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 27
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THEROSTOWREPORT >> BY ANN ROSTOW <<
why a strong Supreme Court opinion is critical.
SUPPORTING CAITLYN
C
aitlyn Jenner, nee Bruce, looks sensational on the cover of the July Vanity Fair. I suppose it helps if you can get a houseful of makeup artists to do their magic and Annie Leibovitz to snap the pictures, but still. At 65? After transitioning? As a typical baby boomer lesbian, I’ve never been into high fashion or tried to achieve knockout status. But still, I am irritated! Thanks for showing the rest of us up, Caitlyn. Meanwhile, Buzz Bissinger, the author of Friday Night Lights, has an excellent article on the trials and tribulations of Bruce Jenner’s previous life. Unremitting gender dysphoria is nothing I’d wish on my worst enemy, but Jenner’s indifference to his children as they grew up is unforgivable—-even as these children now forgive Bruce and support Caitlyn with open arms. I like these kids even more based on the fact that they have declined to appear on the latest Jenner reality show, even though Caitlyn desperately wants them to join the circus. Please Caitlyn! Give them a break! These reality show people are frightening.
WHY A STRONG SUPREME COURT OPINION IS CRITICAL
B
y this time next month, we should know the outcome of our decades long fight for the freedom to marry. I'm watching, not just the verdict, which barring a trip to the Twilight Zone should be in our favor, but the nature of the decision. Will we get a strong gay rights precedent? Will we see a patchwork of conflicting essays from the justices? Will we see a narrow compromise? Who knows?
VIKINGS R US
T
Caitlyn Jenner, nee Bruce, looks sensational on the cover of the July Vanity Fair. I suppose it helps if you can get a houseful of makeup artists to do their magic and Annie Leibovitz to snap the pictures, but still. At 65? After transitioning? As a typical baby boomer lesbian, I’ve never been into high fashion or tried to achieve knockout status. But still, I am irritated! Thanks for showing the rest of us up, Caitlyn. Meanwhile, I just read a column by law professor and expert commentator Art Leonard, who notes that marriage equality doesn't necessarily translate to full parental rights. Leonard outlined several cases where married same-sex couples were not automatically assumed to share legal parenting rights. If you're a married woman and you have a kid, your husband is automatically
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considered the legal father (even if Baby bears a startling resemblance to the postman). Not so in some cases for lesbian women, who still have to jump through hoops to get both names on a birth certificate or win shared custody. These types of legal claims were ubiquitous a few years back, but you would think that the right to marry would have ended the confusion around parenting, right? Not completely, which is
here's other American marriage news, but it's all going to be a moot point after the High Court rules. Ergo, let's not worry about peevish polls in Texas and jerk justices in Alabama. As for international news, you've all read about our extraordinary 62 percent majority vote in favor of equality in Ireland. But did you know that marriage is now legal in Greenland as well? Yes, the parliament of the ice-bound minicontinent voted unanimously to fall in line with their erstwhile colonial masters in Denmark, bringing equality to our brothers and sisters on top of the world. There's an argument to be made as well that Greenland's underpinnings form a shelf that extends to cover the North Pole, which would mean that marriage equality has also arrived for the denizens of the mythical toy factory. Oh, it's true that we can't prove Santa and his elves actually exist. But then again, we can't prove that anyone in Greenland exists either. It costs a fortune to go there, and the whole territory might just turn out to be an Internet scam. Greenland, as you might remember from grade school, was given its name by Eric the Red, who thought a pleasant sounding designation might draw settlers to a desolate frozen wasteland. Considering that a thousand years later the (alleged) population still hasn't cracked 60,000, I'd say his marketing strategy failed. On the other hand, 60,000 could be considered a lot for a place like Greenland. By the way, I just read about a survey of the happiest gay men in the world, conducted with 115,000 people by Amsterdam based Planet Romeo. Turns out the happiest country in the
>> SUPREME COURT OPINION, VIKINGS R US, TENDER LOVING CARE <<
world for gay men is, wait for it, Iceland! Good old Eric the Red's home base if I'm not mistaken. The U.S. ranks 26.
TENDER LOVING CARE, INDEED
S
o, what do you think of the Duggar scandal? (Sidetrack: I was just investigating "quivering," the cultish Christian notion of having as many children as possible, and I fell into a cyberhole, emerging at the Huffpo to learn that a lesbian web survey has discovered that 40 percent of (presumably lesbian) responders indulge in "scissoring" on a routine basis. I can hear you gay guys out there. You're not precisely sure what "scissoring" is, although you think you can guess, but the bottom line is you don't want to think about it. La la la la la la...
News flash! We lesbians also aren't quite sure what it is, but if it is what we think it is, we've tried it, it doesn't work, so we won't be wasting any more of our precious sex time fooling with it. Well, it might work for some people of course. But 40 percent? No way, Jose!) But back to the Duggars, the reality TV family with 19 children, of which one of them seems to have molested a few of his sisters back in the day. I'd vaguely heard of these Duggars, but having now done some research, I was stunned to learn that they've been on TV for years and years, and that all those children were actually born to one couple. I assumed they were foster parents or something. At any rate, I find all of this profoundly disturbing. There's nothing really warm and fuzzy about having so many children that you probably can't remem-
ber their names and you're too distracted to notice that a bunch of them are playing doctor every night, not necessarily by choice. Elder son Josh, who was 14 during his "incest phase," is now in his late twenties and was forced to resign his post at the Family Research Council once word of his youthful transgressions emerged. Not only did this guy mess around with a bunch of unwilling girls, but his parents found out and swept it under the rug. Network bosses at TLC have suspended the Duggar's reality show, but they've also drawn the wrath of "Mama June," a horrible sounding woman who lost her own TLC reality show (Here Comes Honey Boo Boo) after dating a sex offender who served time for molesting Mama June's daughter, Anna. Got that? Anyway, Mama June was annoyed that her show
was axed, while the Duggars are merely on hold. At one point, she was threatening to sue TLC for one million dollars because of the discrepancy, although it's not clear what legal basis she would have been able to construct for such a claim. I gather from a piece in the New York Post that the TLC lineup includes: "My Big Fat Fabulous Life," "The Little Couple," "Sister Wives," "My 600-Lb. Life," "My Strange Addiction," "Sex Sent Me to the ER," "Abby & Brittany" (conjoined-at-the-head twins) and "My Five Wives." Sure, we can just laugh about it from a distance. No one's forcing us to watch. But there's a part of me that feels diminished, Donne-style, because I am involved in mankind and mankind is involved in "My 600-lb Life" and "Sex Sent Me to the ER." n
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Mention THE FIGHT For A Free Consultation! JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 31
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JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 33
>> CHRISTOPHER PAUL <<
Brotherly Bonds A chat with the outgoing Mr. CSW Leather, Christopher Paul. BY STEVE G A N ZELL
W
ith the upcoming Mr. Christopher Street West (CSW) Leather Contest—at the Bullet Bar in North Hollywood—Sat., June 6 at 9pm—I sat down with the outgoing Mr. CSW Leather, Christopher Paul, for a brief chat on his year holding the title. “This year has been a whirlwind,” reveals Paul. “I’ve met lots of great people. I’ve made great friends along the way, especially my LAL brothers.” Paul is referring to the men he competed with at the Mr. Los Angeles Leather (LAL) contest. “The LAL experience is a contest that happens once a year,” explains Paul. “It is
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composed of 10 gentlemen who have won a feeder contest. Of course mine is CSW and you create a great bond with these men... We shared an experience together. It was a great time, so stepping down— after a year of glory and fun times, well, it’s sad to come to an end, but it was a life lesson. I’m truly grateful for it.” Looking back on his title year Paul talks about his involvement with The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. “My second month after winning the title, I went to Florida for a benefit to raise money for The Trevor Project... since then
I’ve participated in five other benefits in the Los Angeles area, raising money for the organization. I was honored to be of service to The Trevor Project and that connection was, for me, one of the highlights of this past year as Mr. CSW Leather.”
JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 35
> > C O V E R F E AT U R E < <
PrEP& Prejudice
Pride 2015: A pill to prevent HIV, coming out of the PrEP closet and how “we the people have the power to make a better world.” BY ERIC PA U L LEUE | PHOTOS BY DUSTI CUNNI NGHAM
”Early on the morning of Saturday June 28, 1969, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning persons rioted following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn [a gay bar] in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City.” —Wikipedia entry.
the homeless, HIV and prevention. James Cerne is a Boston native and has been in LA for about three years now. He dabbles in a lot of creative projects as DJ for parties on the Eastside and downtown, host of warehouse parties, clothes designer, dancer and actor.
46
HIV has made a big comeback in the media since our last LA Pride, why do you think that is? Sabel: “I feel that HIV has always been a part of the discussion at LA Pride. Many of the booths offer lube, condoms and some even sell sex toys; my collection gets bigger every year. It’s intended both as prevention and to make safer sex more interesting and sexy.” Lucas: “For the last 30 years, there’s a battle being fought for HIV awareness and acceptance, and hence, a line was somehow drawn between positive and negative men. I think the line is being blurred and is quickly dissipating due to new terms like undetectable, PEP & PrEP. Today we have people of power fighting to keep the population off PrEP. The WEHO Lesbian & Gay Advisory Board has requested that the city council pass an item that would require all HIV testing facilities in the city to give information about PrEP to patients whose test results are negative. There’s no reason for people to be contracting HIV in 2015.” James: “For such a long time we’ve been told there is only one way to protect yourself: condoms, condoms, condoms. Now out of the blue, it seems, a lot of us are hearing about a new treatment that could throw condoms out the window.
years later and still inspired by the Stonewall Riots, we celebrate the 45th annual Los Angeles Pride weekend to advocate for human rights, education, and better understanding of our community. With 12 of 15 unlawful transgender killings in the US since our last Pride Parade in 2014, the ongoing struggle for marriage equality, and homelessness and health disparities soaring in our community; in many ways it seems that when reading the above statement not much has happened for us in that past half-century. The last year however has brought much change to what we call “our community.” But what is our community, what do we really have in common, and what does it mean to share our pride? In an interview with THE FIGHT three community activists talk sex, HIV, PrEP, and what they want to see in the coming year. Lucas John Junkin is a member of West Hollywood’s Lesbian & Gay Advisory Board, where he moved to from West Covina after his dad once told him “If you’re gay, you aren’t my kid.” Sabel Samone-Loreca is a Commissioner on the LA County Commission on HIV, and a ceaseless advocate for youth, trans people,
6 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com 38
People care about their health and the health of the community, and when game changing developments like this occur, people are going to talk, people are going to ask questions. It’s controversial.” How does HIV affect you, those close to you, and your sex-life? Sabel: “Thirty years have passed yet we—and by ‘we’ I mean transwomen of color, specifically—still face many problems and challenges around HIV. One of the things that make it so hard is the stigma and secrecy around HIV. Funding for transgender-focused prevention; more competent healthcare; nutrition and other health-enhancing things just doesn’t exist. We hear about the high percentage of transwomen who have HIV and are sex workers, but do we hear about how many go hungry every day, or can’t find a place to sleep, or work? The thing that ties all of this together is STIGMA.” Lucas: “It has impacted how and who I allowed myself to love. With advances in medicine (including PrEP) I can make empowered decisions based on health and safety on a level where I allow myself to live and love more freely.” James: “I have many friends and loved ones who are HIV positive, and I see the levels of complication that it adds to their lives: Doctor visits, medication, etc. But management of HIV is not a death sentence or a trip to prison. Most of my HIV positive friends are on treatment that keeps their viral levels undetectable. The most important thing is to be open and honest about the subject with your lovers.”
>> DAVID REST <<
37 JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 39
> > C O V E R F E AT U R E < <
LUCAS JOHN JUNKIN “I think that you would really have to be in my shoes to understand the amount of empowerment, comfort and beauty that comes as a result of my decision to go on PrEP. That being said, I often worry about other STIs and for me the safest option is to use condoms with PrEP.”
What do you think about PrEP? Sabel: “I’m very pro-PrEP. However I have issues around who has access to it, and how it is used as a tool of control by physicians. A friend of mine, another transwoman of color, was told by her physician that she would not be provided hormone therapy anymore because she had come in twice asking for PrEP. I don’t believe that this is an isolated incident, which is why I don’t want to see transwomen use Truvada instead of condoms. Lucas: “I have heard about PrEP, but so many people haven’t. By taking one pill a day, I can avoid contracting HIV. It’s a beautiful thing, really. I don’t tend to justify my personal decisions to the public; it’s really easy to talk about sex when you’re being silly with your friends, but it’s extremely difficult to strip for a magazine cover and divulge your personal business with the masses.” James: “Everything I have heard about PrEP leads me to believe that it is highly effective at controlling the spread of HIV and should be widely available to those who are at most risk for contracting it. Because I am not yet on PrEP I have to take more precautions.” What do you feel are the benefits / risks of PrEP? Sabel: “The benefit, obviously, is that fewer people will seroconvert, and if there is adequate access, this will really benefit youth who might be on the wrong side of sexual power dynamics. Some of the 30 8 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com 4
risks I am concerned about are: forgetting to take the medication; using it in place of condoms (and, with so much of the focus on PrEP, not really learning how to properly use a condom); incorrectly thinking about it like the morning-after pill (confusing PEP and PrEP). We really need to think about this from the perspective of young people, because they are going to have to carry this forward, especially if we really want to believe in an ‘AIDS Free Generation.’” Lucas: “Obviously, I’m under the impression that I’m benefiting by protecting myself from contracting HIV, but I can also see a difference in my personal life, and how I choose to express my love and sexuality. I think that you would really have to be in my shoes to understand the amount of empowerment, comfort and beauty that comes as a result of my decision to go on PrEP. That being said, I often worry about other STIs and for me the safest option is to use condoms with PrEP. It’s not a black and white situation. Having a real conversation with my partner prior to intercourse may influence our joint decision to use a condom or not. I wouldn’t condemn anyone who is taking or using PrEP for HIV and relying on testing for the other STIs if they already don’t use condoms. A step forward is a step forward.” James: “The benefits are that it keeps people from contracting an incurable and potentially fatal disease. When people talk about risks the conversation generally
SABEL SAMONE-LORECA “Funding for transgender-focused prevention... just doesn’t exist. We hear about the high percentage of transwomen who have HIV and are sex workers, but do we hear about how many go hungry every day, or can’t find a place to sleep, or work? The thing that ties all of this together is stigma.”
seems to quickly fall into moral arguments. One group of people seems to think the threat of AIDS is helpful to keep young men from fornicating constantly and indiscriminately. On the other hand you have people who want to chalk the whole thing up to an elaborate plot by big pharmacy to keep us all dependent on an expensive pill. Public health isn’t a big James Bond style plot, if we can keep guns widely available to the public despite ALL the risks associated with firearms, why are we not giving people access to lifesaving medicine, when the associated risks are so much less serious?” Have you thought about taking PrEP, or helping others to get access to it? Sabel: “I am very interested in helping people gain access to PrEP. That is one of the reasons I sit on the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV. But on a more personal note, I have a young gay male friend. He is 25, and he is homeless. He engages in very risky sex with many people because that’s what he needs to do to keep a place to stay. He did manage to get PrEP without a problem. He got it through the L.A. LGBT Center. But having adequate housing, access to proper nutrition, help with depression—these are things that people need to give their medications an environment in which they can work properly. He seroconverted and
>> LUCAN JOHN JUNKIN, SABEL SAMONE-LORECA, JAMES CERNE <<
was afraid to tell me. For him, though, his concerns were not so much about HIV as they were about simple survival day-to-day.” Lucas: “I am pretty vocal about being on it. I field a lot of questions from friends about access and cost, I work with others to document our experiences and to share information online. I’m not an expert on this stuff but I’m trying my best to help everyone I can. My friends have actually
and more about ignorance. We’re still living in a world in which public schools won’t even allow conversations about condoms, or sex—let alone LGBT issues. So instead of normalizing a healthy sex life, it is stigmatized by its very absence from the discussion. And that’s how young people start off their sexual lives: already learning shame and remaining in ignorance before they even become sexually active.
those two incompatible ideas, and HIV/ AIDS as well as sex in general is one of the areas where that ideological conflict really reveals itself. It’s much easier to talk about the Kardashians.” What are your hopes for the coming year and our LGBTQQI family? Sabel: “My mom has been my biggest supporter throughout my entire transition. All along my journey, from starting to transition to my most recent health challenge with hepatitis C, she has encouraged me
JAMES CERNE “I would like to see greater celebration and appreciation of the tremendous diversity within our community, in terms of age, gender, color, size, body shape and financial status. We have a tendency to self-segregate which is natural to an extent, but not always helpful. It allows us to continue carrying ideas about people who aren’t like us that aren’t necessarily true.”
been using the hashtag #boysonprep, and I think that it’s a small but significant trend on social media that is slowly catching fire amongst our peers between the ages of 25-35. The aim of all of this is to cause a dialogue and start a movement.” James: “I’m currently in the process of applying to a study that will provide me with the medication for free, because even with insurance the cost is prohibitive for me.” James, are the costs you are talking about high copays? There is a copay card by Gilead that covers up to $300 per month. There is also the Gilead Financial Assistance that helps cover the medication if you earn less than $58,500 per year, or there is Patient Assistance Network that helps with laboratory costs and all else. James: “Yes, I would have a $100 copay, but wasn’t aware of the copay assistance. That would help me!” Why do you think so many people are afraid to talk about HIV and sex? Sabel: “You asked why people are afraid, but I think that it is less about fear
At some point parents are going to have to learn how to discuss sex with their kids. The message that their kids should get is that they are worth protecting, whether they are gay, bi, straight and/or trans. We also need more common sense when it comes to HIV. The stigma is real and until we can break through it we will continue to fight a losing battle—especially in my community, which faces so many stigmas from so many directions (gender, race, etc).” Lucas: “Truthfully, I was afraid to talk about HIV and sex until fairly recently. I think that we’re afraid of the truth because of the shaming that goes on in the LGBTQ community. I hope that shaming is a thing of the past, and that we can all begin to relate to each other without prejudice. HIV doesn’t have to be the elephant in the room anymore, and it certainly doesn’t have to factor in to how we interact with each other.” James: “We live in a culture that was founded on the idea of freedom (do whatever you want) by Puritans (everything you want to do is bad) and we still haven’t entirely gotten beyond those contradictory values. We still wrestle with
to take my medication, even when it felt horrible. She has listened to me, and continued to love and support me. So I hope that everyone is blessed with a supportive family upon whom they can lean when they have to—even when they are grown. I hope that the access issues—for PrEP, or Harvoni or Sovaldi or whatever comes down the pipeline next—are resolved and that folks are able to access treatment, free of bias, discrimination and prejudice.” Lucas: “I hope that we start to see each other as a family, and to realize that together we can accomplish anything. It’s time to drop the bitchy attitude and see ourselves as a group more united than any church or religion and more powerful than any government. We are family, and we’ve evolved into leaders of thought and peace, and we can change the world. Ultimately, we the people have the power to make a better world.” James: “I would like to see greater celebration and appreciation of the tremendous diversity within our community, in terms of age, gender, color, size, body shape and financial status. We have a tendency to self-segregate which is natural to an extent, but not always helpful. It allows us to continue carrying ideas about people who aren’t like us that aren’t necessarily true.” 39 JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 41
4 0 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
THE OFFICIAL CSW LA PRIDE GUIDE
CSW Co-Presidents Patti DiLuigi (L) and Steve Ganzell.
WELCOME TO LA PRIDE 2015
PHOTO BY JON VISCOTT
CSW Co-Presidents Patti DiLuigi and Steve Ganzell on how Pride has changed over the years, the struggles facing the transgender community and “putting the sex back in homosexual.”
I
BY MA RK A RIEL
n 1969, our brothers and sisters in New York City stood up for equality at the infamous Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street. This passionate outburst launched the larger movement celebrating the LGBTQ community and prompted local leaders Morris Kight and Reverends Troy Perry and Bob Humphries to unite the LA community and produce LA PRIDE, in 1970, the first LGBTQ Pride Parade in the world, thereby creating Christopher Street West (CSW). CSW is the nonprofit organization that produces the LA PRIDE celebration and is governed by an unpaid, professional volunteer Board of Directors, assisted by volunteer committee members, numerous administrative and event volunteers, and a few paid seasonal consultants and staff.
Over the years the nature of the celebration has changed, says Co-President Patti DiLuigi in an interview with THE FIGHT. “In the beginning it was more of a statement, the TLGB community came together to seek other people in their community,” states DiLuigi. “Now it is more of a celebration. While our struggle for rights and against hatred is not over—it definitely has come a long way.” On a personal level, reveals DiLuigi, her involvement with the organization has broadened her community horizons. “I never had any interaction with the transgender community and the leather community. I never really knew anything about their way of life, the everyday struggles and prejudice they faced. I have gotten to know more about these two communities and I feel I am a better person because of it.” One of the topics CSW is focusing on this year is PrEP, which stands for PreExposure Prophylaxis. The goal of PrEP is to prevent HIV infection from taking hold if you are exposed to the virus. This is done by taking one pill every day. “The idea that we might just be living in a time when sero-conversion would end is really significant. It certainly is cause for a celebration and we just happen to be having one,” says Co-President Steve Ganzell in an interview with THE FIGHT. “It is also an opportunity to provide folks with information so that they can understand some of the things that are being said about this issue... I have some really strong feelings about this but overriding all the other feelings is the feeling of hope,” says Ganzell. When asked if there is any part of Pride this year that he is particularly passionate about Ganzell reveals that he is looking forward to “Erotic City.” “I am a proud leatherman and that’s were my tribe celebrates at the festival,” says Ganzell. “We have gone through a lot of changes over the years. We realized that Erotic City is not about lecturing to people, and conducting ‘demos.’ We were there to play and to meet other folks who wanted to play as well.” “We are the part of PRIDE that celebrates the dark, kinky erotic part of our gay identity,” states Ganzell. “I always say we’re the folks putting the sex back in homosexual.” This year, reveals Ganzell, the event has been renamed “Erotic City UNDERGROUND,” as it will take place in the underground parking garage. If you’re not familiar with the area— check the banners throughout the festival to find the location. FEB R JUNE UAR Y 2015 | THE F I GH T 41
THE OFFICIAL CSW LA PRIDE GUIDE
THE MORE YOU KNOW C
The first parade traveled east on Hollywood Boulevard starting from McCadden Place.
hristopher Street West (CSW) is named after New York City’s famed Christopher Street, the June 1969 site of the Stonewall Rebellion.
The CSW parade was started in June 1970 the year following the Stonewall Riot, by a number of Los Angeles’ gay activists, prominent among them Morris Kight,
Reverend Troy Perry, and Bob Humphries. The first parade traveled east on Hollywood Boulevard starting from McCadden Place in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Although one of several gay pride parades that took place that day around the United States, this was the only “street closing” gay pride parade held in 1970—something emulated by the other parades the following year. After several troubled years (no parade was held in 1973), the CSW parade returned in 1974, and originated yet another feature of the modern gay pride movement by adding a festival to its annual event. There was always a tense relationship between CSW, the businesses on Hollywood Boulevard and the LAPD, so in 1979 the parade and festival were moved to the more friendly environs of Santa Monica Boulevard, in the soon-to-be-incorporated (1984) City of West Hollywood. The parade now moves west on Santa Monica Boulevard from the corner of Crescent Heights Boulevard, and the festival is held in West Hollywood Park and the adjacent section of San Vicente Boulevard. For more info visit: lapride.org
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JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 43
UNDEN REIGN
THE OFFICIAL CSW LA PRIDE GUIDE
2015 LA PRIDE ENTERTAINMENT LINEUP
TAMAR BRAXTON
TY HERNDON FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 5pm-12am
LATINO CARNIVALE
Lex Tosh Nvida Tamar Braxton
Saturday, June 13, 5pm through Sunday, June 14 at midnight
Trans Party, 7pm-12am
Dina Nina Martinez Jazzman Jakob G. Aubrey Lunden Reign Reki Sissy Debut Angel Bonilla Jason Taylorson SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 12pm-1am
Beauty In The Breakdown Michael Mercury Wilson Phillips Tinashe Wrabel Kesha Latino Carnivale Carmen Rios Sonora Tropicana Thea Austin Crystal Waters SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 11am-12am
Maceo Paisley Sean Van Der Wilt Luciana Dina Nina Martinez Becky G* Peter Paige Ty Herndon Who Is Fancy Eden Xo Fifth Harmony Latino Carnivale 5 Senti 2 Sonora Tropicana Wild Style Becky G Ana Barbara Flava Dj Kidd Madonny
4 4 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
LAVENDER MENACE Friday, June 12, 5pm to midnight This year, LA PRIDE brings back its free Friday night celebration ‘Lavender Menace’ which combines a community celebration of women with activism honoring Lesbians who have paved the way for today’s TLGB community and celebrating with the ones who will change tomorrow. Tamar Braxton will headline the Lavender Menace main stage. Before the show kicks into full gear, LA PRIDE is proud to present the WeHo Dyke March in conjunction with the City Of West Hollywood and the Lesbian Visibility Committee, where attendees can honor, march and then celebrate the accomplishments of the Lesbian community. The annual Dyke March starts inside the Festival and moves its way into the streets of West Hollywood, down Santa Monica Blvd and then returns back to the Festival to celebrate. For more info visit: lapride.org.
TRANS PARTY Friday, June 12, 7pm to midnight Trans Party will also make a return to the Free Friday night experience with a fun collection of entertainment celebrating the ‘T’ in TLGB. This year’s social is even bigger and better and will be taking place on the FOX Pride Latino Carnival area of the Festival. The Transgender Social boasts an amazing lineup of performers including comedians, dancers, DJs and the cast of the TV show “Transparent.” For more info visit: lapride.org.
LA PRIDE’s signature Music & Arts Festival will see the return of the massively successful festival party, FOX Pride LATINO CARNIVALE Presented by LA PRIDE & Club Papi. The high-energy, non-stop party celebrating Latino heritage and the TLGB community will feature a dynamic list of Latin powerhouse performers along with top club DJ’s from around Southern California. Mexican singing sensation, and this year’s Latino Carnivale headliner, Ana Barbara will make her LA PRIDE debut along with other weekend highlights including Becky G, Crystal Waters, Thea Austin, power vocalist Carmen Rios, 5Senti2, Sonora Tropicana, DJ Kidd Madonny and a special appearance by Chiquis For more info visit: lapride.org
ROLLER RINK & DISCO: THUNDER GROUND Saturday, June 13, 5pm through Sunday, June 14 at midnight Thunder Ground will once again bring its signature high-energy outdoor roller skating rink with live entertainment along with other VIP perks from fast-pass festival entry to a private and up-close Main Stage Delta Air Lines Viewing Deck along with specialty bars and food vendors and other upgraded amenities. VIP tickets are limited and are now on sale at www.LAPRIDE.org. Throughout the weekend THUNDER GROUND is a 21+ experience but on Saturday afternoon, LA PRIDE will open up THUNDER GROUND to all ages for Family Skate on June 13th from 12pm - 2pm. Kids under 12 years of age are free, entry for children over 12 and adults is $20 in advance. All children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Skates will be available onsite and the rentals will be included in the general ticket price.
ST MARY IN PALMS CONGRATULATES LA PRIDE ON THEIR 45TH ANNIVERSARY! “. . .let ours be inclusive communities, welcoming and embracing, refusing to exclude people on the basis of culture, ethnicity, faith, gender or sexual orientation. . .” —Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1995
Come, worship with us and help explore • An LGBT ministry • Reggae Worship Service Contact: The Rev. Vincent Shamo stmaryinpalms@yahoo.com / cell: 310-946-9328 The Parish of St. Mary in Palms | 3647 Watseka Avenue | Los Angeles, 90034 | (310) 558-4124 www.stmarypalms.org | On Facebook and Twitter JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 45
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ARTS & HERITAGE EXHIBITION: RIOT II Saturday, June 13, 12pm through Sunday, June 14 at midnight Christopher Street West will host its 3rd Annual Arts & Heritage Exhibition: RIOT II, at LA Pride. 2015 marks the 45th Anniversary of the pride marches in the United States, as well as, the 30th Anniversary of the incorporation of the City of West Hollywood. During this historically-charged celebration, RIOT II will examine the founding struggles and principles of the queer civil rights movement, re-contextualizing our shared experience into a large-scale playground of installations, performances, music and dance! The exhibit is located below the festival grounds, in the underground Library parking lot and features works by Slather, Unlucky Pierre, The Studio Haus, Dani Dodge, Ruben Esparza, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives and Colors of Compassion. A full service bar and lounge will be available on site.
EROTIC CITY UNDERGROUND Saturday, June 13, 11am through Sunday, June 14 at midnight Erotic City is the part of the festival that celebrates the dark, the passionate, the erotic, and the fun aspects of our LGBT life. This is where the
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folks who describe themselves as a little bit kinky come to hang out, and they welcome you to join them. Heard of puppy play but don’t know much about it? Now’s your chance to see what the fuss is all about. Have a favorite porn actor? Well they might just be playing strip-pong, signing autographs, or visiting with their fans. Heard rumors about the kinds of kinky play that goes on in Erotic City? It’s all probably true and you’re welcome to come observe or maybe you’d like to try something new. This year the intensity is turned up to high with “Erotic City Underground,” powered by THE FIGHT. Erotic City Underground will be in the underground WeHo Library parking lot.
THE LOS ANGELES GAY PRIDE PARADE Sunday, June 14 at 11am Hundreds of thousands of LGBT people and their allies flood the streets of West Hollywood for the Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade, L.A. PRIDE’s centerpiece event. Featuring floats, music and a celebrity Grand Marshal, recognized for his or her contributions to LGBT rights and culture, the Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade is southern California’s largest LGBT event. The parade runs along Santa Monica Blvd. from
LA PRIDE’s VIP Festival full-access experience rolls out the red carpet on June 13th & 14th to its 10,000 square foot outdoor VIP experience within the LA PRIDE Festival in West Hollywood Park. Avoid lines with advanced discounted VIP Tickets at $50/day or $100/weekend (prices will increase for tickets purchased at the gate) and are available at: www.LAPRIDE.org The VIP Ticket will include exclusive access to Thunder Ground’s outdoor roller rink, VIP bars & lounges, food vendors, upgraded VIP bathrooms and a main stage viewing area with surprises throughout the weekend. Roller skate rentals are also included with the ticket, but roller divas are encouraged to bring their own.
#SIZZLE ALCOHOL-FREE EVENT Saturday, June 13, 5pm through Sunday, June 14 at midnight DJ Walter Delmar returns to the alcohol-free zone #SIZZLE - A Carnival of Attraction - at LA Pride this year. His music sets are a journey into old school hip hop, rap and dance tracks, mixed with the current music from those genres to create a non-stop dance party. “I’m honored to be able to perform for a community event that is here to connect people,” Delmar tells THE FIGHT. “The attendees of these events are always open and full of amazing energy! I was astounded by the reception of the people who were there to dance and have a great time.” Follow Delmar on Instagram, twitter and Facebook. #SIZZLE takes place on Melrose, the corner of San Vicente.
We are proud to be a Supporter of the 2015 LA Pride Celebration in the City of West Hollywood Hollywood Tow has served the community for over 50 years and we salute everyone involved with this wonderful event.
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ONE CITY ONE PRIDE
West Hollywood’s annual LGBTQ Arts Festival, Transpride, Rainbow Key Awards and more.
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ach year, the City of West Hollywood celebrates Pride month through the artistic contributions of our community with the One City One Pride LGBTQ Arts Festival. For 2015, One City One Pride will run through the end of June. In celebration of West Hollywood’s 30th anniversary of Cityhood, One City One Pride takes a look at what it means to turn 30 with the theme “WeHo@30, Life@30.” When West Hollywood was founded 30 years ago, it was the first city in the nation with a predominantly LGBTQ City Council. As the LGBTQ community has become less marginalized, what does this mean for both the community and the City? For many individuals, the big ‘30’ looms large as a modern rite of passage into full adulthood, something not everyone is ready for judging by the scores of online profiles seemingly stuck at “forever 29.” The AIDS movement is now in its 30s, and a major component of One City One Pride will be a look back at the impact AIDS has had on art with ‘WeHo@30: Art AIDS WeHo’, which continues through September with extended exhibits and performances. Of course the biggest event happening during Pride is the LA Pride Parade and Festival produced by the City of West Hollywood’s community partner Christopher Street West on June 12, 13 and 14.
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One City One Pride is sponsoring art installation within the festival grounds that are visible for free to the public during the free day on Friday. Outside of the LA Pride celebration here are some of WeHo’s One City One Pride events.
CELEBRATION THEATRE: NEW WORKS SERIES Tuesday, 6/16/2015, 7:30pm This monthly reading series debuts a new LGBTQ work, “The Irreversible Decline of Eddie Socket” based on the novel by John Weir and adapted by Michael Sheppard. Free admission. West Hollywood City Council Chambers, 625 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood. Free validated parking will be provided for the 5-story Public/Park Parking Structure on El Tovar Pl.
RAINBOW KEY AWARDS Thursday, 6/18/2015, 6pm These annual awards honor those who have made a significant contribution to the LGBTQ community. This year’s honorees are Jon W. Davidson (Lambda Legal); Mikel Gerle and Brendan Rome (TRIBE); Our Lady J (musician and writer); Jimmy Palmieri (Tweakers Project); and Elaine Suranie (actress/director). Free admission. RSVP at www.weho.org. Plummer Park, Fiesta Hall, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.
MIKE GERLE
TRANSPRIDE AND TRANSPRIDE EXHIBIT Friday, 6/19/2015 through 7/18/2015 The annual TransPride festival will take place on June 20 with entertainment, food, drinks, workshops and resources. A TransPride Exhibit featuring work by Sandy Stone and others will be on display in the Advocate & Gochis Galleries at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza from June 19 - July 18. There will be a free opening reception Friday, June 19 in conjunction with Big Queer Convo featuring a conversation with Sandy Stone and Kate Bornstein. Big Queer Convo in Renberg Theatre at 8pm, reception in gallery to follow. Free. www. facebook.com/TransPrideLA. Exhibit open: M-F 6-10pm, Saturdays 9am-5pm. The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, Los Angeles LGBT Center, 1125 N McCadden Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90038.
APLA RED CIRCLE PROJECT POW WOW Saturday, 6/20/15, 10am to 6pm The fifth annual ‘Celebrating All Life & Creation’ Pow Wow promotes HIV awareness and prevention among the Native communities and features Native American traditional drum groups, dancing and food along with STI testing and resources. Free admission. www.apla.org
A DAY OF THEATRE Saturday, June 27 One City One Pride presents a free day of theatrical performances in Plummer Park featuring various staged readings and productions. For more info visit www.weho.org.
JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 55
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THE ALTERNATIVES SOLUTION Bio-Affective Management™ is a system unique to Alternatives. It utilizes individual and mini-group work across the following domains: • Individual and group therapy for core-issues resolution. • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) sessions addressing past & present issues contributing to addiction problem.
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TOM’S BAR The 24th annual commemoration of the artist Tom of Finland.
T
his year’s TOM’s Bar will be held Sunday, June 21st, from 2pm to 7 pm at the Faultline bar in Los Angeles. The event will be the Foundation’s 24th annual commemoration of the artist Tom of Finland, whose real name was Touko Laaksonen; he died in Finland in 1991. The “Daddy’s Day” parking lot party for TOM is celebrated with artists showing their work, bawdy contests and prizes, a silent auction, food and drink, and general tomfoolery! All to benefit the Foundation that Laaksonen cofounded in 1984. TOM’s Bar 2014 is presented by Los Angeles Band of Brothers and marks the 21 anniversary of Tom of Finland events sponsored by Faultline. n TOM's BAR, Sunday, June 21, 2-7 pm at Faultline Bar, 4216 Melrose Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90029. For more information on Tom of Finland visi tomoffinlandfoundation.org.
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Maintaining RECOVERY
With Pride season upon us, we asked a few local clean and sober folks what it is like to be part of the LGBTQ recovering community. OPEN ARMS
I RESPECT “I’m learning how to be friends with men instead of seeing them in a sexual way. My biggest struggle and the most rewarding aspect of my sobriety is learning to have healthy relationships with gay men without a sexual interest. This is my fourth time trying to get sober. At first I tried to go to ANDREW GASTON straight meetings to distance TRAEGER myself from gay men, but moving to L.A. from Atlanta has been the first time I’m actually immersing myself with gay sobriety. Like any other groups, there are cliques, but I find that as long as I’m being true to who I am, and as long as I respect everyone else, I will be respected.” —Andrew Gaston Traeger, sober since September 2014.
VERY CLIQUEY “I had major internalized homophobia when I was out there drinking. I couldn’t even hang out with gay people, but my experience being sober in the gay community has been very positive. You can definitely find major support because we’re dealing with two taboos, we are gay and we OSCAR GILL are sober. There are some negative things like everything else; the [12-step] meetings that can be very cliquey and feel like being at the Abbey without the liquor, but I try to focus on the positive. I have found some truly honest and open-minded individuals in the gay sober community who want nothing but for me to maintain my sobriety.” —Oscar Gill, sober since May 2014. 6 2 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
“Being a transgender woman, I thought people were not going to be accepting, but I was wrong. Being in the recovering LGBT community has been quite amazing. People have been gracious from the very beginning. Of course, DESIREÉ MARTINEZ SALES not everybody is going to be accepting - even in our community we have transphobia, but for the most part, I have been welcomed with open arms. In the beginning of my recovery, I wanted everyone to like me, but today, because I love myself and I have self-esteem, all that stuff doesn’t really matter. Recovery changed my life for the better. I’m really grateful I’m clean and sober today.” —Desireé Martinez Sales, sober since January 2009.
FIGURING OUT “I didn’t really know who I was as a gay man before getting sober. I didn’t know where I fit in. I tried to be many different people. In sobriety I got to know who was as an individual and what I had to bring to the table. I have been with my partner for four and half years and it’s been a completely new process for me figuring out who I am and who I am in a relationship. If I wasn’t I wasn’t sober today, I wouldn’t know who I am as a person, but most importantly as a gay man.” —Rocco Fasone, sober since July, 2009.
ROCCO FASONE
SOCIAL SKILLS “Being gay and being sober in the recovery community is a totally different experience, compared to what it was like when I was using. I was such a loner. I had no life, I had no social skills, and that is why I used crystal meth. I was pathologically shy. I thought being sober and having fun were an oxymoron. In recovery you get to do things in a much deeper level. The things that I do with my friends today - it’s more natural. Now my friends are all clean and sober.” —Glenn Librodo, sober since May 5, 2009.
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JUNE 2015 | THE F I GH T 63
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hen the guys at THE FIGHT office decided to give "Stealth For Men" a shot I was kind of hesitant because I don't necessarily have any endowment issues but I thought to myself, what the heck, I'll give it a go to see what all the hype was about. In a few days my package for my package arrived. I decided that I would start the next morning to commit to a full day. I began my morning early and read the simple instructions and accessorized my shaft. Looking in my full length mirror I immediately knew what all the fuss was about. I was pleasantly surprised at how confident I felt staring at my enhanced manhood. It must have been psychological but my posture seemed straighter too. I headed out to "Gay Starbucks" on Santa Monica Blvd. in weHo and ordered my Doppio Espresso Con Panna. As I waited for my drink I began to notice the stares. I even got a wink from a cute boy. Was it the added confidence or my boosted bulge? I couldn't decide but I went about my day after exchanging numbers. I would most certainly recommend Stealth For Men to anyone who could use some extra confidence. I would compare the experience to something women must feel while wearing Spanks or a push up bra. Thanks Stealth For Men! For more info visit stealthformen.com. For a 10% discount enter coupon code FIGHTMAG when ordering.
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When You Need A Lawyer Have You Been Hurt? Discriminated Against? Arrested? David Hakimfar is a Partner at Hakimfar Law in West Hollywood and a member of Pride Legal
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© 2015 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. UNBC2018 05/15