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DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 3
THECONTENTS
ON THE COVER L-R: DUKE SHOMAN, KAY SEDIA (OSCAR QUINTERO), FRIEDA LAYE (DANNY CASILLAS), CHITA PAROL (RAY GARCIA). 1984 CHEVROLET CELEBRITY CONVERTIBLE PROVIDED BY DEREK ANTHONY. DUKE’S VINTAGE OVERALLS PROVIDED BY L.A.G. VINTAGE. COVER PHOTO, TOC PHOTO AND FEATURE PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM
DEPARTMENTS
FEATURES 17 THE POWER OF HATRED 20 22 24 26 30
L.A. COUNTY’S HATE CRIME REPORT LA AUTO SHOW THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY AIDS UNDER TRUMP NATION’S HIV LEADERS RAISE ALARM BEING OF SERVICE MR. PALM SPRINGS LEATHER 2018 TOUCHED BY ANGELS THE HILARIOUS CHICO’S ANGELS ADDRESS UNKNOWN OUTREACH TO LGBTQ HOMELESS YOUTH
4 T H E F I GH T | www.thefightmag.com
32 BABY YOU CAN DRIVE MY CAR 36 38 40 44
THE BRYAN THOMPSON DESIGN SCHOLARSHIP RECOVERING FROM SEXUAL VIOLENCE BEGINNING STEPS TOWARDS HEALING BODY SHAMING DANIEL FRANZESE, BIJOU PHILLIPS THE ERECTION EXPERT JOSHUA R GONZALEZ, MD BEATING THE HOLIDAY BLUES TIPS FOR COPING
09 THE LETTERS READERS RESPOND 11 THE TALK JASON DOTTLEY 15 THE STATE SEX STING 16 THE CITY HEPATITIS ALERT 18 THE ROSTOW REPORT WES GOODMAN 28 THE TRANSACTION LIVES LOST 29 THE EPIDEMIC NEW DRUG 34 THE SHARE LOCAL RECOVERY 42 THE ART LOCAL ARTISTS 46 THE MUSIC TOVE LO 48 THE CALENDAR THINGS TO DO 50 THE FINAL FIGHT LAST WORD
DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 5
THEEDITOR
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Stanford Altamirano MANAGING EDITOR Mark Ariel ART DIRECTOR Nadeen Torio MARKETING CONSULTANTS Tom Pardoe Sean Galuszka Jacci Ybarra John Michael Gambam SOCIAL MEDIA Mark Ariel Sinan Shihabi WEBMASTER Nadeen Torio ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Sinan Shihabi EVENTS MANAGER Joseph Arellano >> IN THIS ISSUE <<
World AIDS Day takes place this month on December 1, and while advancements in eradicating the epidemic are promising—five of the nation’s leading organizations focused on ending the HIV and STD epidemics in the United States have expressed their grave concern with “the lack of focus on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Strategic Plan,” (“AIDS Under Trump,” page 22) “This lack of specificity regarding these diseases is of paramount concern… as is the failure to reference even once, the unique health needs of America’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender populations, who bear the greatest burden of the nation’s HIV and STD epidemics.” In comments submitted to HHS AIDS United, NASTAD, the National Coalition of STD Directors, NMAC, and The AIDS Institute—urged the Trump administration to adjust its approach. Also in this issue James Guay, LMFT, examines the aftermath of sexual assault (“Recovering From Sexual Violence,” page 36).
“As a community, we need to support others who have been sexually violated and not question their reality,” writes Guay. “All too often victims receive reactions from others who don’t believe them or even blame them for the assault. Others’ disbelief can compound difficulty recovering from sexual trauma and can become a secondary wounding.” “You are never at fault for being the victim of sexual violence, no matter what environment you were in, no matter if/how you knew the perpetrator, no matter if you consented to it at one point or not, no matter how much or what kind of substances might have been involved, no matter if you were naked, and no matter how you were dressed. No matter what, you do not deserve to be a victim of sexual violence. Period.” If you are a victim of sexual assault—and you are looking for support, information or advice—please visit www.rainn.org. And last, but not least, from all of us at THE FIGHT, we wish you happy holidays and all the best in the new year.
CONTRIBUTORS Dr. Ronaye Calvert Dusti Cunningham Sean Galuszka Orly Lyonne Victor Melamed Paulo Murillo Roxie Perkins Timothy Ray Ann Rostow Paul V. Vitagliano 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.
STANFORD ALTAMIRANO Editor-In-Chief
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 © 2017 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 For Display Advertising, please call (323) 297-4001
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THELETTERS >> FROM OUR READERS <<
POWER DYNAMIC Dear Editor, In the 1960s, when I was a 19-year-old college student visiting New York for the first time from California, I stayed with an older man in a townhouse in a fashionable part of the city. We had met in a bar in San Francisco. He invited me to look him up when I came to New York—and I knew that sex would be expected in return for his hospitality. What I didn’t know was that it would be sudden, violent and coerced. I subsequently learned that I was not this man’s only victim. He and his circle of influential friends regularly preyed upon young men and they proudly shared their conquests. But there was also an accepted power dynamic where those with wealth, power and influence played benefactor and provided safety to younger gay men who wanted access to that wealth, power and influence. In those days, sex between older and younger gay men was not uncommon. It was often an unspoken mutual understanding for perceived mutual benefit – between a coach and an athlete, a talent manager and an aspiring actor, or a business executive and an ambitious novice. When it was consensual, it was accepted, for good or ill, as a norm of the gay subculture. So to pretend that we are surprised, appalled or shocked today over sexual harassment allegations against celebrities is disingenuous at best and hypocritical at worst. The question should be not did it occur, but were both parties of legal age, was it consensual, and did the sexual advances stop when the attentions were no longer welcomed? Did the instigator turn from pursuer into predator? This is the key. Rape or sex with a minor is inexcusable—full stop. —Joe McCormack, via the internet
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Email: editor@thefightmag.com Fax: (213) 281-9648. Letters may be shortened due to space requirements. DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 9
TRANSGENDER & GENDER NON-CONFORMING VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR PrEP STUDY If eligible, you could receive PrEP at no cost, as well as compensation for your time. What does the study involve? • Six visits over a one-year period, during which your blood would be tested and you would answer questions about your sexual health • Routine HIV and STI testing • Referrals to care and other services (if needed)
Eligibility Requirements • 18 years or older • Identify as transgender or gender non-conforming • Sexually active and HIV-negative
By participating, you’ll help to advance important HIV prevention research.
INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING? Contact Chloe: 323-993-8919 or copalo@lalgbtcenter.org 1 0 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
THETALK >> W H AT T H E Y ’ R E S AY I N G <<
MAKE HER REALIZE
JASON DOTTLEY
“He looked at a woman standing next to me… pointed to me and said: ‘You should fuck her to make her realize she’s gay,’”
ELLEN PAGE
—Ellen Page, in a Facebook post, on how X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner outed her in a lewd, public way on set.
CELEBRATE YOU
DANICA ROEM
“Discrimination is a disqualifier… we celebrate you because of who you are, not despite it.”
—Danica Roem, the first openly transgender person to be elected to the Virginia legislature, in her victory speech, last month.
TWEETS ARE HORRIBLE
“To every single person who is hurt, offended and disappointed: I’m sorry. The tweets are horrible.”
JOSH RIVERS —Josh Rivers, former editor of Gay Times, in a tweet last month. Rivers was fired when it emerged he had previously posted a series of racist and transphobic tweets.
WORTH FIGHTING
“That voter-to-voter contact really made a difference … It was worth fighting for.” —Democrat Allison Ikley-Freeman, a 26-year-old lesbian, after winning a seat in west Tulsa, Oklahoma’s conservative Senate District 37, last month. ALLISON IKLEY-FREEMAN
COMING FORWARD
“I was emasculated, I was humiliated, and at that time, no one was coming forward…” —Sordid Lives actor Jason Dottley telling The Advocate last month that renowned TV and music manager Benny Medina attempted to rape him.
THE VERY IDEA
ACTION OF MINE
“I am deeply sorry if any action of mine was ever misinterpreted … as being sexually aggressive.” —Former Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor, after being accused of sexual harassment. Tambour left the show amid the allegations.
GEORGE TAKEI
JEFFREY TAMBOR
“Those that know me understand that non-consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices, the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful.”
—George Takei on Facebook last month denying a former model’s sexual assault claim.
DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 11
What is TRUVADA for PrEP?
Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP?
TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a prescription medicine that is used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.
Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: ® Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. ® Also take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP? Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-negative. ® Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. ® You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. ® If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. ® To further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1: ® Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. ® Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you. ® Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners. ® Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. ® If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: ® Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking TRUVADA, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.
What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP? Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: ® Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA. ® Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. ® Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. ® Bone problems, including bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.
What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP? ® All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. ® If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA. ® If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can be passed to the baby in breast milk. ® All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-thecounter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. ® If you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include certain medicines to treat hepatitis C (HCV) infection. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page. 1 2 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
I'm irresistible, not irresponsible. I know who I am. And I make choices that fit my life. TRUVADA for PrEP™ is a once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when taken every day and used together with safer sex practices. ® TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex. ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP.
Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you. Learn more at truvada.com DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 13
IMPORTANT FACTS
This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEPTM (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.
(tru-VAH-dah) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative. • Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. • You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you think you were exposed to HIV-1 or have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. • See the “How To Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information. TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.
ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA for PrEP is a prescription medicine used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. • To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health. Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. • Take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.
HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1. • Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. • Use TRUVADA for PrEP together with condoms and safer sex practices. • Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP” section. • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. • Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. • Bone problems. Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.
BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. • Have any other medical conditions. • Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. • Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can pass to the baby in breast milk. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. • Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.
HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK • Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. • Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you. • Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners. • Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.
GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about TRUVADA for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more, including how to prevent HIV infection. • Go to start.truvada.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit start.truvada.com for program information.
TRUVADA FOR PREP, the TRUVADA FOR PREP Logo, the TRUVADA Blue Pill Design, TRUVADA, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: April 2017 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. TVDC0130 07/17
1 4 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
THESTATE >> NEWS BRIEFS <<
CA ATTORNEY GENERAL XAVIER BECERRA
Trans Ban, Sex Sting, California Legislature, Porn Star Arrest CA Attorney General Xavier Becerra has joined Massachusetts and 14 other states in an amicus brief in the case Stockman v. Trump—a federal lawsuit challenging Trump’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
Five men in San Jose have filed a federal lawsuit saying that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated by an undercover gay sex sting. The charges against the men were dismissed last year, but they are now seeking damages of $1 million for the arrests. The State Board of Education has agreed to recommend ten LGBTQ-inclusive history textbooks for grades K through 8. In 2011, California passed the FAIR Education Act, which added people with disabilities and LGBT people to the list of minorities whose contributions must be included in textbooks in the state. California’s AB 1825 legislation requiring that employers with 50 or more staff members provide training to prevent sexual harassment and abusive conduct in the workplace has been amended to add “training inclusive of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.” Adult film star Ali Liam was arrested last month for the murder of his boyfriend. Kieth Harris was found stabbed to death in his San Francisco apartment. Liam, who’s real name is Othman Al-Muttalaby, worked for sites Men.com and Pride Studios. DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 15
THECITY >> BY PAULO MURILLO <<
department is offering free vaccines at its clinics to gay and bisexual men. For clinic info visit: publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/ docs/HepAVaxClinicsEandS.pdf
The city of Palm Springs elected two new city council members who happen to be members of the LGBTQ community, which makes it California’s first city with an all-LGBT city council. Palm Springs elected Lisa Middleton, a transgender woman, and Christy Holstege, a woman who identifies as bisexual. They both won about 30% of the citywide vote. They were up against four other candidates to fill two vacant seats on the council. The council currently has three gay men on the fiveperson panel. The new council will be installed this month. WEST H OLLYWOOD
SAN DIEGO
ANDREW CHRISTIAN BOUTIQUE LEAVING WEHO
CENTER GETS $2M MATCH OPPORTUNITY
AN ALL-LGBT CITY COUNCIL
L OS ANGE L E S
EFFORTS TO STOP THE SPREAD OF HEPATITIS A California health officials have stepped up their hepatitis A prevention efforts in recent days as new fronts emerge in the battle against the state’s massive outbreak, reports Los Angeles Times. L.A. County has seen 15 reported cases among those who are homeless or use recreational drugs since the outbreak began. But officials say an unrelated hepatitis A outbreak affecting the LGBT community has sickened 14 gay or bisexual men this year, compared with nine last year and one the year before. Hepatitis A is commonly transmitted through contaminated food, but also can spread through sexual activity. The county health 1 6 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
VENICE PRIDE LAUNCHES FOOTBALL VIEWING PARTIES Venice Pride received the support of the Los Angeles Chargers to launch “Gay Gridiron”—a new series of football viewing parties with the LGBTQ sports fan in mind. The 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons will be hosted at a number of locations. The first Gay Gridiron launched at The Basement Tavern in Santa Monica on October 29. It was hosted by Varsity Gay League, the largest LGBT sports organization in the country. This is the second time the Chargers have joined together with the Venice Pride. This past June—as part of Venice Pride— the Chargers sponsored the yellow “N” in the world-famous VENICE sign and became one of the first NFL teams in league history to support a Pride event. Future Gridiron events this season will be held on December 16th and 24th.
PALM PRINGS
UNDERWEAR DESIGNER ANDREW CHRISTIAN LEAVES WEHO FOR DTLA MODEL: ARAD WINWIN
VENICE
Underwear designer Andrew Christian is moving his flagship boutique out of West Hollywood and into the new “gayborhood” of Downtown Los Angeles. “Over the past few years, downtown has emerged as a diverse and energetic gay scene and we feel our demographic has moved there, and we feel we can serve them best in the new DTLA location. West Hollywood City Hall also makes it difficult to do business, which was a factor in the decision,” a spokesperson for Andrew Christian said. A specific location has not been disclosed.
The San Diego LGBT Community Center has been offered its largest gift pledged opportunity—that could add up to $2 million in donations for the Hillcrest facility. Ron Bowman and his husband Stan Zukowfsky said they would match gifts provided at a ratio of 4-to-1 for up to $400,000 until December 31, 2017. Every dollar donated to The Center SD will be matched during their end-of-year fundraising campaign. This means all 2017 holiday gifts to The Center earns a quadruple match. The funds will support the Center’s programs that assist families, seniors, youth and people living with HIV/AIDS, among other things. n
THE POWER OF
HATRED >> JOSHUA R GONZALEZ, MD <<
I
n response to the 2016 Hate Crime Report released by the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, which documented more than 149 hate crimes against the LGBT community in Los Angeles County alone, Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Director of Policy and Community Building Dave Garcia issued the following statement: “This report begins to fill in the details of what many of us already expected and feared: if you are in America and do not look, live, and worship like President Trump and his top administration officials, you are in danger.” “Even more troubling is that this report only covers the months of a candidate and President-elect Trump; we have yet to see hate crime numbers under President Trump. Still, the two-thirds increase in hate crimes involving white supremacist ideology leaves no doubt that there are not ‘good people on both sides.’” “Clearly, this administration’s constant disregard for vulnerable populations has violent consequences. As the report points out, the short post-election time period measured excludes the probable rise of hate crimes in the year since the election. Estimates in Los Angeles of hate crimes in the early half of 2017 already show an increase of more than 12%, and nationally we are seeing that one in five hate crimes reference Trump by name.” “Particularly alarming for our LGBT community is the level of violence in anti-LGBT hate crimes: 97% of anti-transgender and 81% of homophobic hate crimes were violent.” “While increases in hate crime rates may be due to an increase in the reporting of crimes, rather than an increase in actual incidents, the greatest number of hate crimes are still those that go unreported.” “Hatred is a learned behavior—but it is a behavior that can be unlearned. The LGBT community knows all too well the power of hatred and violence based on discrimination and dehumanization. We call on President Trump to condemn the rhetoric and actions that are making America more dangerous for many of its citizens and take responsibility for his own role in creating a climate in which these acts of hatred are allowed to flourish.”
“HATRED IS A LEARNED BEHAVIOR— BUT IT IS A BEHAVIOR THAT CAN BE UNLEARNED.”
If you or someone you know has been a victim of hate violence, the Center can help. Please call their Anti-Violence Project for more information at 323-993-7673.
LY O N N E B Y O R LY
DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 17
THEROSTOWREPORT >> BY ANN ROSTOW <<
GREAT VICTORIES AT THE BALLOT BOX I was watching Jeff Sessions testify before the House the other day, and I couldn’t help but picture Kate McKinnon’s Saturday Night Live version of Sessions at the same time. I saw his hairless possum tail curling up, its little tip pausing above his elbow before drifting back out of sight. He twinkled in his insufferable manner, hedging his answers like a guilty ten-year-old with crumbs down the front of his shirt. Not only was he refusing to give a direct answer, but he was deliberately meandering in an effort to use up the time of Democratic members. Oh how I hate the whole Trump cabal, the weaselly self-dealing seventy-something smug white men basking in their mastery of the world. Do I just imagine that they feel a faint unease, a sense of something rotting and failing deep within? Do they ever wonder if that something will collapse one day, out of the blue, and out of the blue everything they have done and built and bought will turn out to be worthless? Worthless, useless, empty, void of meaning, broken? Don’t worry, my rant is over. I just deleted the rest of it, because I’m making myself miserable focussing on the negative rather than the positive. And there is positive news, my friends. Last month, we saw great victories at the ballot box where at least 35 LGBT candidates won their local races ranging from the new transgender Virginia Delegate, Danica Roem, to the lesbian mayor of Seattle, Jenny Durkan. In addition to Roem, six other transgender men and women won elections, including incoming Minneapolis City Council members Philippe Cunningham and Andrea Jenkins. Talk about leading the way Minneapolis! What’s in the water up there? Pour me a glass.
Conversation Concepts pug figurine by accident although I don’t remember doing so. The ceramic pug appears on the sidebar, it pops up between paragraphs, and at times I find it side by side with a companion dog-related product, most recently the Cathedral Art Paw Print Memorial Ashes Locket. Do the people at chewy.com (apparently the vendors) know my dogs died? Do they really think I would cremate them, fill a locket with their remains and wear that around my neck? It’s creepy, don’t you think?
WES GOODMAN
THE WIZARDS OF OZ
OHIO STATE REPRESENTATIVE WES GOODMAN, A 33-YEAR-OLD FAMILY VALUES COME TO JESUS TYPE WHO WORKED FOR THE CONSERVATIVE ACTION PROJECT WAS CAUGHT HAVING GAY SEX IN HIS OFFICE… HE RESIGNED. But it wasn’t just our LGBT cohort collecting votes. In general, the experts saw the signs of an impending Democratic wave rolling in towards 2018 like a tropical storm gathering strength in the mid Atlantic. Please God, let it be so. By the way, did you know that Kate McKinnon is gay? It’s true. And I just learned that extra vote counting delivered Oklahoma’s 37th senate district to a Democratic lesbian named Allison Ikley-Freeman. That’s Tulsa! Hardly our bailiwick under normal circumstances. What’s next? A U.S. Senate seat out of Alabama?
“I WANT TO SEE A PUG”
True story. My dogs died a
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few months ago. They were both old, it’s okay. So, I suddenly missed them the other day and I typed “I want to see a pug” into Google. Sure enough, some pugs came up, including some youtube pug videos which made me feel better. Well that was two weeks ago and I now can’t go anywhere on the Internet without being hounded by a $15.99 five-inch “Conversation Concepts” ceramic pug. It’s everywhere. It even appears in the middle of a page from time to time and has to be physically clicked away. What would happen if I had typed something more provocative? “I want to see a (use your imagination here)?” I’m guessing that I must have briefly clicked on the
I didn’t mean to write a whole section on that subject. Indeed there’s big news out there, the results of the nonbinding postal vote on marriage in Australia, where the “yes” to marriage side won 61.6 percent to 38.4 percent. I have been repeatedly burned by the delays, flip flops and circular firing squads that have characterized Australia’s half-hearted efforts to deal with the pressing issue of marriage equality. I have even refused to report on “developments” Down Under after about five or six big “developments” developed into months of Aussie politicians and activists strutting for hours back and forth across the stage, full of the proverbial insignificant sound and fury. After several rides on the marrygo-round, I just had to jump off. So now they’re dancing in the streets in Sydney and Melbourne, even though nothing has changed. The country has just conducted a huge public opinion poll, and although now Parliament is supposed to run on back to Canberra and pass a marriage bill, I’ll believe it when I see it. Oh, I have no doubt that a bill will emerge. But how many loopholes will it have? How many religious exemptions? Will
> > G R E AT V I C T O R I E S • “ I WA N T T O S E E A P U G ” • T H E W I Z A R D S O F O Z • R U L E O F L A W • C O N S E R VAT I V E A C T I O N < <
it perhaps allow wedding purveyors to opt out of serving gay couples? Will it limit same-sex marriages to alternate Tuesdays in February? How much do you want to bet on this?
RULE OF LAW STILL WORKS
There’s a legal victory you probably noticed a few weeks ago. That was the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly out of the D.C. area, who ruled that Trump’s spur of the moment ban on military service by transgender men and women was likely unconstitutional and could not be enforced. So much for another one of Trump’s random acts of cruelty. I had the feeling Trump was not even aware at the time that several thousand transgender troops were already in uniform, serving openly in part thanks to Obama’s trans-
friendly executive order ending discrimination on that basis in the military. Obama had also ordered an extensive review of transgender service by the RAND Corporation, which was just winding up when Trump and company came into office. After Trump’s unexpected twitter announcement last July, the White House set a March 23, 2018, deadline for the orderly exit of transgender troops from the military. Defense Secretary Mattis seemed to buy some time, announcing that no ban would go into place before that deadline, and setting up a panel of some sort to look into the situation even though the RAND report was sitting on his desk. Faced with at least two lawsuits, the government claimed that transgender plaintiffs had no standing to sue since they had yet to in. be kicked out of the 7.375 service. Clearly, Judge KollarKetelly did not buy this line
of defense, and it’s not likely to convince a federal judge in California who heard arguments in a similar case in late November. Since the government has yet to appeal KollarKetelly’s ruling, it’s possible the whole transgender military ban will go away on its own. It’s nice to see the federal courts coming to our rescue when our hapless Chief Executive runs rampant. But if press reports are to be believed, Trump and the GOP Senate majority are ramming through federal judges at a tremendous pace. A cohort of inexperienced, untrained, far right conservative judges might be the worst aspect of the Trump legacy—assuming we get that far.
CONSERVATIVE ACTION, MAN TO MAN
Finally, did you catch Ohio
state representative Wes Goodman, a 33-year-old Come to Jesus type who worked for the Conservative Action Project and campaigned on “constitutional, fiscally responsible pro-family polices?” “Our heartland values are worth fighting for. Faith, family, service, stewardship, strong education, and investment in our local communities are what Ohioans value,” Goodman wrote a couple years ago. “My wife Bethany and I value those same things and are ready to get to work to serve you.” That was the same man who was just caught having gay sex in his office. Someone saw Goodman and his “date” in action, and reported him to higher ups. He resigned. n Ann Rostow can be reached at arostow@aol.com.
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DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 19
LA AUTO SHOW >> THE LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW <<
The future of mobility in the car culture capital of the world. BY ORLY LYONNE
O
Show is one of the most influential and bestattended auto shows globally and spans more than 870,000 square feet. Each fall, the producers gathers the who’s who of the auto industry to unveil the future of mobility in the car culture capital of the world. Whether it’s hassle-free vehicle shop-
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ne of the world’s largest auto shows returns with 1,000 vehicles on December 1-10, 2017 at the LA Convention Center at 1201 S. Figueroa St. in Downtown Los Angeles, next to LA Live and Staples Center. Founded in 1907, the Los Angeles Auto
visit us at
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ping, experiencing the latest technology or exploring an assortment of customized rides and exotics, there is something for everyone at the show. Tickets start at $5 for children, and $12-15 for adults. For more info visit laautoshow.com.
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AIDS UNDER TRUMP
>> WORLD AIDS DAY <<
BY V I C T O R M E L A M E D
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orld AIDS Day takes place this month on December 1, and while advancements in eradicating the epidemic are promising—five of the nation’s leading organizations focused on ending the HIV and STD epidemics in the United States have expressed their grave concern with “the lack of focus on HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Strategic Plan.” “Despite the crucial importance of the intersectional issues of HIV and STDs, including hepatitis, to our nation’s public health, the report is relatively silent on these issues. The document contains no mention of other STDs, mentions HIV only twice and hepatitis just once,” the organizations revealed in a joint statement. “This lack of specificity regarding these diseases is of paramount concern,” the comments go on, “as is the failure to reference even once, the unique health needs of America’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender populations, who bear the greatest burden of the nation’s HIV and STD epidemics. The report only barely mentions the health needs and disparities facing racial and ethnic minorities. At the same time, the Plan seems to prioritize faith-based approaches that have the potential to lead to discrimination against religious and sexual minorities.”
“THE FAILURE TO REFERENCE EVEN ONCE, THE UNIQUE HEALTH NEEDS OF AMERICA’S LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER POPULATIONS IS OF PARAMOUNT CONCERN.” In comments submitted to HHS—AIDS United, NASTAD, the National Coalition of STD Directors, NMAC, and The AIDS Institute—urged the Trump administration to adjust its approach. “At a time when STD rates have increased to their highest levels ever and four out of every 10 people living with HIV are not engaged in care, we should be refocusing our national resources on addressing these challenges, not turning our attention away from them. The HHS Strategic Plan is an opportunity to not only reinforce the national goals and priorities of the United States, but it is an opportunity for the United States to effectively plan to end the HIV epidemic and to address the worsening trends in STDs. Unfortunately, the latest version fails to accomplish either goal.” In June this year—six members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS resigned, saying that President Trump doesn’t care about HIV. They announced their resignations in a joint letter published in Newsweek titled, “Trump Doesn’t Care About HIV. We’re Outta Here.” The group said that the administration “has no strategy” to address HIV/AIDS, doesn’t consult experts when working on policy and “pushes legislation that will harm people living with HIV and halt or reverse important gains made in the fight against this disease.”
DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 23
(M) UPON WINNING THE MR. PALM SPRINGS LEATHER 2018 TITLE, LAST MONTH.
BEINGOFSERVICE Mr. Palm Springs Leather 2018 Jax Kelly: “It takes a lot of confidence to represent the leather community. And I enjoy learning from fellow leathermen.” BY JAX KELLY
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’m grateful to have been chosen as Mr. Palm Springs Leather 2018 and look forward to competing at the 40th anniversary of International Mr. Leather (IML 40) next Memorial Day weekend in Chicago. One of the most difficult aspects of being in a leather contest is the point in the competition where I have only 90 seconds to deliver a speech. On its face, that sounds pretty simple, right? Most of us can talk about our day non-stop for more than 90 seconds. At the contest I had judges I barely knew, an audience that came from all over the world, and a singular opportunity to tell everyone why I should win this contest. Or at least demonstrate what I had to say is worthier of the honor than my opponents. For weeks I drafted outlines. I included being educated at Yale (B.A.), NYU (MBA) and Fordham Law (JD). I wrote about my awards for volunteer service in the Los Angeles HIV/AIDS community. My story about having only 44 T-cells and recovering from alcoholism were in there. None of that made the final cut. I thought about writing about my move to the West Coast twenty-years ago with a partner who lived long enough to benefit from anti-retroviral medications. I wanted to
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include tales of my banking career in New York and my travels to Europe and Asia. I also wanted to discuss how I rose up from bullying as a child—homophobia and racism as an adult. Instead, I told a story about a person I met outside of a 12-step meeting in a Latino neighborhood of Los Angeles. I explained our common mixed racial heritage and our desire to stay sober and healthy as HIV-positive people. I revealed our shared interest in kink and BDSM. I expressed a desire to raise awareness about long-term survivors of HIV/AIDS, AIDS Survivor Syndrome, and age-related illnesses. I mentioned my fundraising for a local nonprofit, Let’s Kick ASS—Palm Springs, a group that addresses those issues and more. I can’t say whether my speech tipped the contest in my favor, but I felt it introduced enough about me to make a point about who I am and what I cared about. As proud as I am about my accomplishments, they are better left for a résumé. Besides, this experience is about leathermen! I am in this to celebrate that hyper-masculine, gay image that has been part of International Mr. Leather for decades. It is all about that smell, feel and
look of a hot man in leather. Don’t be mistaken about what cranks people up about leathermen. I see it even when I’m dressed head to toe in leather at the airport. The brave ones start conversations about how much did my gear cost and where can they get it. The ladies and gents flirt with lines like “aren’t you HOT in that?” full-well knowing the rhetorical nature of that question. It takes a lot of confidence to represent the leather community. And I enjoy learning from fellow leathermen. I became a member of the Leather Archives and Museum to support the preservation of our history as an important, and often over-looked, segment of the LGBT community. By the time this is published I will have led a class at Oberlin College on the impact of HIV/AIDS for people of color in the U.S. I am making travel plans to visit Cleveland, St. Louis, Dallas and Phoenix in December and Brazil in March. I look forward to being of service to the leather and LGBT communities wherever I go. You can reach Mr. Palm Springs Leather 2018, Jax Kelly at JaxKellyPSP@gmail.com and most popular social media by searching for JaxKellyPSP.
PHOTO BY ROBERT GREEN, MOTORBOOT PHOTOGRAPHY.
> > K E V I N W E I L E RJAX < <KELLY,
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> > J A M E S G U AY, L M F T < <
L-R: FRIEDA LAYE, CHITA PAROL, KAY SEDIA, DUKE SHOMAN.
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TOUCHED BY ANGELS Chico’s Angels poke fun at racial and gender stereotypes. B Y V I C T O R M E LA M ED P H O T O B Y D U S T I C U N N INGHAM
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ith their hilarious trademark spanglish banter Chico’s Angels have become Los Angeles’ best known comedy drag troupe. Featuring Oscar Quintero as Kay Sedia, Danny Casillas as Frieda Laye and Ray Garcia as Chita Parol, Chico’s Angels is currently in its 14th year—running strong! The angels define their brand of comedy as “The Three Stooges in Dresses.” “We have a great time with physical comedy and we love to mix it with humor drawn from ethnic backgrounds, racial stereotypes, gender stereotypes and never-ending references to the pop culture we love. We love to laugh at ourselves and we find, in turn, that makes us more relatable to the audience,” says Quintero in an interview with THE FIGHT. For the past few years Chico’s Angels have been working with Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Division of HIV and STD Programs on the L.A. Condom Campaign in addition to performing at various AIDS related charities. Check out upcoming performance dates at Chicosangels.com.
DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 27
THETRANSACTION >> TRANSGENDER IN AMERICA <<
A BETTER FUTURE
Transgender Day of Remembrance in West Hollywood honors trans lives lost. TEXT & PHOTOS BY PAULO MURI LLO
T
he City of West Hollywood joined its Transgender Advisory Board to host the city’s annual Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20. The day serves to honor and memorialize people who have lost their lives because of antitransgender hatred and prejudice. West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman, council members Lauren Meister, and Lindsay Horvath attended the event at the Center for Early Education. There were poetry readings, performances, a ceremonial blessing and the reading of the names of transgender people who have died as a result of transgender hate crimes. “I think Transgender Day of Remembrance is always a very sad day for many of us, but we’re not only honoring people who have passed, we are also honoring people in our future,” trans activist Bamby Salcedo with the Translatina Coalition told THE FIGHT. “We want to acknowledge and value trans lives, which is not something that happens often within our society.” According to a report by the Human Rights Campaign, 2017 has been a deadly year for trans individuals. At least 25 transgender people have been killed in violent crimes in the U.S. this year, making it the deadliest year for the trans community in recent years. n
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THEEPIDEMIC >> JULUCA <<
TWO-DRUG REGIMEN The FDA approves Juluca, the first complete treatment regimen to treat those who are virologically suppressed. BY VICTO R MELA MED
T
he U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Juluca, the first complete treatment regimen containing only two drugs to treat certain adults with HIV instead of three or more drugs included in standard HIV treatment. Juluca is a fixed-dose tablet containing two previously approved drugs (dolutegravir and rilpivirine) to treat adults with HIV-1 infections whose virus is currently suppressed on a stable regimen for at least six months, with no history of treatment failure and no known substitutions associated with resistance to the individual components of Juluca. “Limiting the number of drugs in any HIV treatment regimen can help reduce toxicity for patients,” said Debra Birnkrant, M.D., director of the Division of Antiviral Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Juluca’s safety and efficacy in adults were evaluated in two clinical trials. Results showed Juluca was effective in keeping the virus suppressed and comparable to those who continued their current anti-HIV drugs. The most common side effects in patients taking Juluca were diarrhea and headache. Serious side effects include skin rash and allergic reactions, liver problems and depression or mood changes. Juluca should not be given with other anti-HIV drugs and may have drug interactions with other commonly used medications. The FDA granted approval of Juluca to ViiV Healthcare. n DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 29 THE
>> NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION <<
ADDRESS UNKNOWN Outreach to LGBTQ homeless youth in LA. An interview with activist Rivianna Hyatt. BY RO XIE PERKIN S
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ivianna Hyatt is a queer homeless youth activist who works with the L.A. LGBTQ Center, the Youth Center on Highland, True Colors Foundation, and is an Executive Founding Member on the National Youth Forum on Homelessness. In an interview THE FIGHT Hyatt talks about the True Colors Fund—Cyndi Lauper’s LGBTQ foundation, reaching out to the trans community and experiencing homelessness herself.
You work at several homeless related organizations. How do you define what you do? Basically I read, write, and talk about youth homelessness with the goal of ending it… My role at the Youth Center on Highland is outreach. I spend my days and nights driving a minivan around Hollywood and the rest of LA. I communicate and reach out to the working girls in South LA—we go to Skid Row, but we’re based in Hollywood primarily because so many young people end up on the streets there. 3 0 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
RIVIANNA HYATT
What type services are offered at the Youth Center on Highland? The Center serves 14-24 year olds… Anyone is able to access our drop in services whether or not what they need is a place to sleep. L.A. is so highly impacted by youth homelessness that getting a bed at the
> > R I V I A N N A H YAT T < <
“TO SOMEONE WHO IS AFRAID OR FEELS TOO ASHAMED TO ASK FOR HELP, I WOULD SAY THAT SERVICES EXIST AND THEY ARE OUT THERE AND THEY ARE OUT THERE FOR YOU.” Center can be difficult—we’re always at capacity. We’re an LGBTQ focused facility but anyone is welcome… Our Center is different than others because our focus is on providing safety to our trans folks and trans girls. Out of all the populations that we serve at the Center, our facility is the only safe option for that population. How did you get involved in this kind of work? Through the True Colors Fund—Cyndi Lauper’s LGBTQ foundation. They mostly do policy work and media stuff and in 2015 they put out a list called “40 of the 40”—a list of 40 LGBTQ folks who have experienced homelessness and I was on that list… I was then asked to be on a panel for the National Alliance of Homelessness—it was the first time they’d ever had young people at the conference before. Historically young folks in this [type of homelessness activism] are usually just asked to bleed out their story for a crowd—this was the first time that young people were actually asked their opinions about the system.
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What keeps you motivated to push forward? I am lucky enough to be part of a larger conversation that centers on how we manage the issue of homelessness—particularly in queer youth. I think a lot of people take it for granted that people sleeping outside has and always will exist—it’s a sign and result of the failure of community and culture, not the result of an individual’s failure. So making that difference known motivates me. What would you say to someone who is experiencing homelessness or is in need of services but is too afraid to ask for help? I experienced homelessness for seven years growing up, on and off. For me that more or less looked like my family sleeping in motels for years—I didn’t know that was homelessness. I knew it was shameful and I knew that I wasn’t supposed to talk about it with anyone but as soon as I started to talk about it I found my community in the one place I never wanted to look for it. To someone who is afraid or feels too ashamed to ask for help, I would say that services exist and they are out there and they are out there for you. To learn more about Hyatt’s work check out the L.A. LGBTQ Center at: lalgbtqcenter.org. DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 31
BABY YOU CAN DRIVE MY CAR
The Bryan Thompson Design Scholarship, created to reward exceptional talent in automotive design, will reward talented LGBT design students by helping pay for their education.
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BY BRYAN THOMPSON | PHOTO BY DUSI TI CUNNI NGHAM
couple years ago I was approached to be on a car design reality tv competition called Motor City Masters. Having already penned cars on the road for companies like Nissan, Peugeot, Citroen and others, I didn’t see the point in competing to be “America’s next great car designer.” But it occurred to me that a TV show with a prize meant I could fulfill one of my professional goals of creating a scholarship for LGBT students interested in car design. I went on the show, won second place, and was awarded a $75k Camaro
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Z28. I have been personally funding the scholarship ever since, as best I can. I think if you’re a designer, you’re one from the beginning. We are born with certain sensibilities. Long before you have the words to articulate why you see the world differently than your friends or family do, and way before you can draw what you see. You’re born straight or gay, and you’re born a designer. Once you figure those two things out, the world is an amazing place. My goal is to find that kid out there who is being told there is something wrong with him.
PHOTO BY DUSITI CUNNINGHAM
>> COVER INTERVIEW <<
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“AS OUR CAREERS MATURE, IT’S IMPORTANT TO HELP THE GENERATION THAT COMES AFTER YOU. I LEARN MORE FROM WORKING WITH STUDENTS SOMETIMES THAN THEY DO FROM ME.” BRYAN THOMPSON.
And I want him to know that he is right and everyone else is wrong. I’ve always been “out,” in the sense that there was never a big reveal to be shared. In 1979 I was only five years old but I worshipped Erik Estrada enough to tear a photo of him out of the TV Guide and tape it to my wall. Imagine my mom’s surprise when she saw the shot of a shirtless “Ponch” right there over her young son’s bed. I remember how she looked at the picture, did a double take, and then asked, “Bryan, I’m curious why you want this in your bedroom?” I grinned and replied: “It makes me feel good.” To her credit she just nodded and smiled and didn’t immediately sign me up for analysis. Much later she told me she knew I was gay even before I put up the photo. She let me keep the picture until the crush was over.
That episode stayed with me and taught me something. It’s clear my fondness for dark-haired, happy looking men goes way back... And I also realize I don’t need to be afraid of who I am or what I want. I tell that story here, because it helped me as an adult, when there was adversity about being gay. I can remember an incident at a car studio where I was designing when a visiting design director made a loudly voiced homophobic slur while reviewing a car in the viewing court. Very calmly, I waited until he finished talking, aware that my colleagues shared the uncomfortable tension he had created, and I walked over to him, firmly took hold of his coat sleeve, and asked him to take a short walk with me. I won’t go into details of the ensuing conversation, but by the time
we returned to the viewing court, he readdressed the team, and officially apologized. This is in an important story because it illustrates why you must stand up for yourself. If you don’t, then you make it okay for homophobia to persist, especially when it’s coming from a person of authority. You can handle it with tact, quietly, if that’s your way, but when you correct it, you make it known that you won’t be bullied into silence. I feel that, as our careers mature, it’s important to help the generation that comes after you. I learn more from working with students sometimes than they do from me. I hope to show young designers that they can be proud of who they are, and what they create. Partnering with celebrity photographer Gabriel Goldberg, we have shot a calendar featuring the designs and talent of successful gay industry leaders. A couple of those shots are featured here. For more info visit BryanThompsonDesignScholarship.com. DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 33
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RECREATIONAL CANNABIS
Local professionals in the recovering field on the legalization of recreational cannabis use in California, effective January 2018. KATHY WATT
IT’S HEALTHIER
“I think legalizing it will eliminate some of the sneakiness. Anytime you can take away the sneakiness around drugs or alcohol use—drug use in this case—it’s better. When you take guilt and shame from drug use, I think it’s healthier. I don’t know if it’s going to change who is and who isn’t using it, because I think anyone who wants to use pot currently is using it. If you’ve hit a bottom and you know that you are powerless over pot, whether it’s legal or illegal, if you’ve admitted you are powerless, you are going to continue to be powerless. People who got sober from alcohol during prohibition, didn’t run out to buy alcohol just because it was legal. They didn’t relapse. I think legalizing of it is going to be as successful as the legislation is consistent from city to city, county to county. And imagine if the taxing of it goes toward treatment or prevention services? That would be cool.” —Kathy Watt, Executive Director of the Van Ness Recovery House
ABOUT POLITICIANS
MANNY RODRIGUEZ
“I don’t really have a problem with the legalizing of recreational marijuana. I don’t think it’s going to have that much of an impact on the recovery community… Are we going to see more people in treatment as a result of it? I don’t know. Marijuana is one of those drugs that you can do for a long time. It’s not like meth where you lose your teeth. My concern is that it creates
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greater accessibility—especially for minors who can make really bad choices. The other thing that I’m really concerned about is the liability that can be caused, particularly with driving because right now we don’t have an instant test. We don’t have a breathalyzer version for marijuana, so we have no way of knowing whether or not you’re under the influence to the degree that you shouldn’t be driving a three ton vehicle. To be honest, I think legalization is really about politicians and about money and lobbying to make it legal.” —Manny Rodriguez, CEO and Founder of LA Fuente Hollywood Treatment Center.
MATTHEW BIANCHI
TELLTALE SIGNS
“There is not enough information to support legalizing it. There is not enough evidence supporting the effects of marijuana on mental health. It effects everybody differently, so it’s hard to measure what the effects are. How I interpret that is that it’s ridiculous to legalize it when there hasn’t been enough research on it… There is no regular symptomatology of anybody that’s coming into treatment that’s THC dependent. You can have an individual coming into treatment who is demonstrating withdrawal from opiates, but they’ve also been smoking two blunts a day, so when they come off of the opiates and they’re demonstrating these other behaviors, there are no consistent telltale signs across the population that that’s what’s going on because it effects everybody differently. It also kind of changes the general census on marijuana, because it’s legal, so it’s more accessible and it can be seen differently—especially for future generations after it’s legalized.” —Matthew Bianchi, Admissions and Community Outreach Coordinator at Pride Recovery Los Angeles
ALTERNATIVE ADDICTION TREATMENT
ZEN RECOVERY PATH seamlessly weaves traditional Eastern Philosophy (martial arts/healing arts/ Chinese Medicine) and Western Philosophy (clinical addiction therapy, counseling, psychotherapy) into a cohesive pattern of healing that is unique to every student we serve. Human suffering comes in so many varieties. Thus, the methods we utilize reach back in time to ancient ways as well to the future for modern ways to live serenely. Through spiritual guidance, friendship, holistic methods, innovative clinical treatment interventions and transitional services, we guide both men and women of all ages, races, colors and creeds on their personalized path to recovery. IOP | PHP | MOST PPO INSURANCE ACCEPTED | PRIVATE
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11/17/17 9:31 PM
> > J A M E S G U AY, L M F T < <
RECOVERING FROM
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
Shame too often grabs hold of us in the shadows but when we bring it to the light of day with trustworthy people, it dissipates. B Y J A M E S G U AY, LM FT
I
n the past several weeks, multiple victims of sexual violence have highlighted the prevalence of their experiences in the entertainment industry as well as in politics. Too often the media has focused on the perpetrators of these acts, their denials, their minimizations, and their lack of responding with an adequate apology. But what about the victims? What happens after? What does re3 6 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
covery from sexual assault look like? Is it different for the LGBTQ Community? The lack of representation of LGBTQ individuals in media and research is an issue that can make it especially challenging to find help. It’s only within the past seven years that nationally representative surveys were conducted with a focused lens on the LGBTQ population’s experiences with violent acts of
various types. Here are some thought-provoking survey results: • Bisexual women have substantially higher reported rates (46.1%) of rape in their lifetime than do lesbian (13.1%) and heterosexual (17.4%) women according to The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS, 2010).
> > W H AT A B O U T T H E V I C T I M S ? < <
• Lesbian women and gay men reported experiencing sexual violence at the same or higher rates of those who are straight (NISVS, 2010). • Almost half (47%) of transgender and gender nonconforming respondents reported being sexually assaulted in their lifetime based on the 2015 US Transgender Survey. • The rates for being sexually assaulted exponentially increases for LGBTQ people of color. What are the beginning steps towards healing? 1. Being aware of what happened 2. Naming it for what it is 3. Understanding how it’s impacted you And remember that sexual violence includes sexual abuse, rape, being made to penetrate someone else, sexual coercion/threats, unwanted sexual contact, and non-consensual sexual experiences that don’t involve physical contact. Whatever your own personal experience is, you get to call it what it is for you and the impact that it has had on you. No one else gets to determine your experience or your truth. As a community, we need to support others who have been sexually violated and not question their reality. All too often victims receive reactions from others who don’t believe them or even blame them for the assault. Others’ disbelief can compound difficulty recovering from sexual trauma and can become a secondary wounding. You are never at fault for being the victim of sexual violence, no matter what environment you were in, no matter if/ how you knew the perpetrator, no matter if you consented to it at one point or not, no matter how much or what kind of substances might have been involved, no matter if you were naked, and no matter how you were dressed. No matter what, you do not deserve to be a victim of sexual violence. Period. Understanding how trauma works creates more space for awareness and compassion. While most people experience some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after a sexual trauma, not everyone does. PTSD includes the following symptoms, lasting longer than 30 days: 1. Re-experiencing: intrusive thoughts, memories, dreams, and flashbacks;
YOU ARE NEVER AT FAULT FOR BEING THE VICTIM OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE, NO MATTER WHAT ENVIRONMENT YOU WERE IN, NO MATTER IF/HOW YOU KNEW THE PERPETRATOR, NO MATTER IF YOU CONSENTED TO IT AT ONE POINT OR NOT. 2. Avoidance: avoiding thoughts, feelings, people or situations that are connected to the traumatic event; 3. Negative Cognition or Mood: difficulty remembering certain aspects of the trauma, negative thoughts/ feelings about oneself or the world, distorted blame of self/others related to the event, stuck in intense emotions, disinterest in activities you used to enjoy before the trauma, and feeling detached, isolated or disconnected from other people; 4. Increased Reactivity: difficulty concentrating, increased irritability/ anger, difficulty falling or staying asleep, hypervigilance and being easily startled. Others may experience some form of dissociation like feeling disconnected from yourself or a sense that your environment isn’t real. Some have PTSD for a short amount of time while others have it for extended periods of time, and with varying severity. This is due to several factors, including getting treatment sooner rather than later, but it is NOT an indication of someone’s inherent brokenness, strength or value. There is no one right way to be after experiencing sexual trauma but kindness and compassion with yourself are essential ingredients to recovery. Self-care is essential in recovering from sexual violence. If the sexual trauma just occurred and you have physical injuries, it’s important to visit a medical facility to treat them. You can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673 to find a local
medical facility that’s prepared to treat survivors and can offer a sexual assault forensic exam if you request it. If you’re in an ongoing abusive relationship with the perpetrator, you may need to develop a safety plan for how to leave as safely as possible. The decision to report to law enforcement is up to you. For more information about how to navigate these environments, visit www.rainn.org. Self-care also includes adequate nutrition, sleep, exercise and social support. When we’re taking good care of our body and our emotional welfare, we’re better able to cope with and heal from sexual violence. It helps to regulate our mood and energy levels so that we’re operating at a better baseline with which to respond to our internal and external environments. The challenge in recovering is how to be with our own thoughts, feelings, and sensations when they’re disturbing to us or when we’re completely unaware of what they are. Recent research on trauma highlights how healing takes place in a “window of tolerance” where we’re neither re-traumatizing ourselves from overactivation or dissociation. Emotional intensity and expression is often necessary and helpful but when it gets to the point where we leave our body or are in fear for our safety, as if the violence is happening right now, we need to stop, come back to the present moment and find a place of resource within. Finally, recovery can’t happen in isolation. Shame too often grabs hold of us in the shadows but when we bring it to the light of day with trustworthy people, it dissipates. Sharing our experience and getting support from people who get it, creates healing. This may mean joining a support/therapy group of survivors or seeking an experienced therapist who has been trained in how to work with PTSD. Whatever path you choose, know that you are not alone and that regardless of what’s happened to you, you have inherent worth and value. James Guay, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#39252), has provided individual and couples counseling in private practice since 1999. A former elite gymnast and life-long lover of nature, Guay focuses his social justice activism for the LGBTQ population. www.livingmorefully.com. DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 37
>> DANIEL FRANZESE <<
about my sexuality and physically assaulted me. I was scared and closeted and feared for my job.” “It started with a lot of eye-rolling whenever we spoke but escalated when we did a cast shoot for the poster. As we were shooting, she kept loudly saying, ‘Are you gay?!’ and laughing while the producers and photographer did nothing to stop her, but some of my cast—like Michael Pitt and Brad Renfro—kept telling her to shut up but she continued to say ‘Are You Gay?!’ like 10 times, making sure to be loud enough for everyone to hear,” Franzese wrote. “I reluctantly told her i was bi, which at the time was how I was DANIEL FRANZESE choosing to identify as … She cackled and said “Ha! He’s bi!” And then when I showed up to work the next day in front of the crew she was screaming, ‘Oh look! The bi guy is here!’” “I was playing straight in the film, and in life, and was so fearful of my job because it was my first movie,” Franzese explains. “Later on in the production I had a scene where my character had to take his shirt off. It was an extremely vulnerable moment for me because I was not at all the type of guy comfortable with taking my
BODY SHAMING
Daniel Franzese reveals constant homophobic harassment, ironically on the set of the movie “Bully.” Co-star Bijou Phillips apologizes.
M
BY VICTO R MELA MED
otivated by Ellen Page’s recent account of homophobic abuse on the set of X-Men: The Last Stand by director Brett Ratner, actor and LGBT activist Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls) posted on his Facebook page last month a horrific account of harassment and bullying at the hands of actress Bijou Phillips, ironically during the shooting of the film Bully. Bully, a 2001 psychological crime drama, featured Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips, Rachel Miner, Michael Pitt, Leo Fitzpatrick, Kelli Garner, and Nick Stahl. Based on the 1993 murder of Bobby Kent, the plot follows several young adults in South Florida who enact a murder plot against a mutual friend who has emotionally, physically and sexually abused them for years. “On my first film Bully I was harassed by Bijou Phillips the entire shoot,” Franzese reveals. “She body shamed me and ridiculed me
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clothes off in front of anyone at that point in my life. I was the chubby kid who wore his shirt in the pool.” “So I take my shirt off in the scene and she breaks character and she pointed at my body and at the top of her lungs yelled ‘Ewwww gross!!!’ She laughed and pointed at me and continued to berate me. They call cut and I had to walk off-set to collect myself. Brad Renfro (RIP) started crying and he followed me offset, grabbed my face and kissed me. He told me not to listen to her, that I was beautiful and such a great actor, etc., and I loved him and respected him so much for that moment. “When we shot one of our last scenes in a courtroom, she was walking around barefoot and the bottom of her feet were black with dirt. She was sitting behind me and kept rubbing her dirty feet on my neck. I kept swiveling the chair to move away from her and she kicked me as hard as she could in the back of the head. To this day I’m not even sure if she gave me a concussion, because I was lightheaded and dizzy for a while,” Franzese wrote. After Francese’s post was picked up by the media— Phillips apologized. She told TMZ that she was “mortified” by the account, explaining that she was “a teenager and reckless in my behavior,” and that she has “contacted Daniel and apologized to him privately.”
BIJOU PHILLIPS
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>> JOSHUA R GONZALEZ, MD <<
JOSHUA R GONZALEZ, MD
THE ERECTION EXPERT An interview with Joshua R Gonzalez, MD, an L.A. based urologic surgeon, on erectile dysfunction. BY VICTOR MELAMED
Dr. Gonzales—let’s get right to it—what causes erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction (ED) can be caused be by a number of different issues. Erections are dependent on four factors working together: hormones, blood flow, nerves, and psychology. It is my job to figure out which of those four factors may be problematic and contributing to your particular ED. Once we have diagnosed the problem, then we can begin to talk about appropriate treatments. 4 0 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR ED DEPENDING ON THE CAUSE AND SEVERITY. IT’S MY JOB TO FIND THE TREATMENT OPTION THAT IS BEST SUITED FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL PATIENT. Can erectile dysfunction be prevented? Men can prevent erectile dysfunction as much as possible by leading healthy lives. In general, we say that what’s good for the heart is good for the penis. That means eating healthy and regularly exercising. Smoking cigarettes is also a sure way to kill your erections. One of the first things I suggest is smoking cessation in patients who smoke and are starting to have erection problems. There is evidence to suggest that you can regain erectile function simply by quitting. Is erectile dysfunction a normal part of aging? There is definitely a correlation between age and ED, meaning ED is more common as men get older. But it is in no way normal! Older men experience ED more than younger men not simply because they are older but because generally they have more risk factors, such as high blood pressure, depression, and obesity, than younger men. ED is never normal, but is usually the sum of multiple other medical conditions. It’s not something
you simply have to accept as part of getting older. How is erectile dysfunction treated? There are a number of treatment options for ED depending on the cause and severity. It’s my job to find the treatment option that is best suited for each individual patient. There are medical treatments such as pills and injections. There are hormonal options that can sometimes help. And there is even surgery, which has the highest satisfaction rate of any of the ED treatments out there. Does insurance cover ED treatment? Insurance covers some ED treatments. When the oral medications are covered, there is usually a limit on the number of pills you can get per month. Insurance companies limiting the number of times you can have sex in a month just seems ridiculous. But it’s because the cost of these drugs has become so outrageous. When men pay out of pocket sometimes they are spending $40-50 per pill! Thankfully penile implant surgery, which is the oldest treatment we have for ED, is covered by Medicare and most commercial insurance plans. Is there anything we haven’t asked that you would like to share with our readers? If there’s one thing I think every guy needs to know it’s that ED is common. You’re definitely not alone. There’s an estimated 30 million American men experiencing the very same thing. We just don’t do a great job talking about it. There’s nothing to be ashamed of so say something. Seek out help as soon as possible. Because when it comes to erections, if you don’t use ‘em you lose ‘em. To learn more about this topic visit Dr. Gonzalez’s website: joshuagonzalezmd.com or call (323) 607-2895.
DECEMB ER 2017 | TH E F I GH T 41
THEART >>
LGBTQ ARTISTS
<<
BLAKE ARMSTRONG
BLAKE ARMSTRONG Specializing in 2D mixed media.
O
riginally from Texas, Blake Armstrong is a multi disciplined artist specializing in 2D mixed media as well as makeup and makeup fx. Armstrong currently resides in Los Angeles, translating his different disciplines in galleries and Editorial/TV/ Film.â&#x20AC;? n Link: Instagram.com/blkarmstron
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>> TIPS FOR COPING WITH THE HOLIDAYS <<
LEARN TO SAY NO. SAYING YES WHEN YOU SHOULD SAY NO CAN LEAVE YOU FEELING RESENTFUL AND OVERWHELMED. depression, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic at mayoclinic.org.
BEATING THE HOLIDAY BLUES Stress, depression and the holidays: tips for coping.
S
BY VICTO R MELA MED
tress and depression can ruin your holidays and be detrimental to your health. Being realistic, planning ahead and seeking support can help ward off the holiday blues. Here are a few tips to prevent holiday stress and
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Acknowledge your feelings. If someone close to you has recently died or you can’t be with loved ones, realize that it’s normal to feel sadness and grief. It’s okay to take time to cry or express your feelings. You can’t force yourself to be happy just because it’s the holiday season. Reach out. If you feel lonely or isolated, seek out community, religious or other social events. They can offer support and companionship. Volunteering your time to help others also is a good way to lift your spirits and broaden your friendships. Be realistic. The holidays don’t have to be perfect or just like last year. As families change and grow, traditions and rituals often change as well. Choose a few to hold on to, and be open to creating new ones. Set aside differences. Try to accept family members and friends as they are, even if they don’t live up to all of your expectations. Set aside grievances until a more appropriate time for discussion. And be understanding if others get upset or distressed when something goes awry. Chances are they’re feeling
the effects of holiday stress and depression, too. Stick to a budget. Before you go gift and food shopping, decide how much money you can afford to spend. Then stick to your budget. Don’t try to buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts. Plan ahead. Set aside specific days for shopping, baking, visiting friends and other activities. Plan your menus and then make your shopping list. That’ll help prevent last-minute scrambling to buy forgotten ingredients. And make sure to line up help for party prep and cleanup. Learn to say no. Saying yes when you should say no can leave you feeling resentful and overwhelmed. Friends and colleagues will understand if you can’t participate in every project or activity. If it’s not possible to say no when your boss asks you to work overtime, try to remove something else from your agenda to make up for the lost time. Don’t abandon healthy habits. Don’t let the holidays become a free-for-all. Overindulgence only adds to your stress and guilt. Have a healthy snack before holiday parties so that you don’t go overboard on sweets, cheese or drinks. Take a breather. Make some time for yourself. Spending just 15 minutes alone, without distractions, may refresh you enough to handle everything you need to do. Find something that reduces stress by clearing your mind, slowing your breathing and restoring inner calm. Seek professional help if you need it. Despite your best efforts, you may find yourself feeling persistently sad or anxious, plagued by physical complaints, unable to sleep, irritable and hopeless, and unable to face routine chores. If these feelings last for a while, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional.
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THEMUSIC >>
TOVE LO
<<
BLUE LIPS [LADY WOOD PHASE II]
Her story began a decade ago in Sweden, where the grunge-loving upstart attended Rytmus Musikergymnasiet, the prestigious Stockholm school that counts Robyn in its alumni. Blue Lips is the companion to her second album Lady Wood where the complete story is told across each album’s two chapters—“Fairy Dust” and “Fire Fade” from Part I, and “Light Beams” and “Pitch Black” here on Part II. The first half features sharply conceived electro-pop like “shedontknowbutsheknows” (yes, that’s exactly the way it’s spelled) and “Shivering Gold,” while the second half shifts into more raw and reflective tracks like “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and “Romantics,” which serve as sketchy comedowns to even more uninhibited, drug-fueled encounters. Lo’s indulgent, hedonistic and idiosyncratic mix of sweet and tender yet explicit is always matter of fact, and never borders on patronizing. And in a world where the floodgates of sexual assault charges have burst open, Tove Lo is exactly the sex-positive and shameless empowerment statement the world needs to hear. Right now. n
Tove Lo’s indulgent, hedonistic and idiosyncratic mix of sweet and tender yet explicit is always matter of fact, and never borders on patronizing. BY PA U L V. VITA G LIA N O
O
ne look at the cover image for Tove Lo’s new album, and you get the idea this girl ain’t f#cking around! Or is she? After scoring a #3 hit off her debut with a song about trolling sex clubs and selfmedicating herself—“Habits (Stay High)”—and following that up with a new single called “Disco Tits”—she’s setting the tone as a songwriter who’s not interested in sugar-coating her experiences or chasing chart numbers.
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TOVE LO
DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T SETTLE FOR LESS!
MrHankeysToys.com
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THECALENDAR >> THINGS TO DO <<
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3
TTF BRUNCH AT HAMBURGER MARY’S
SEE SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31.
Hamburger Marys, 8288 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA, 11am–2pm. A delicious brunch menu, bottomless Mimosas, and a fabulous drag show!
Join the Los Angeles Band Of Brothers as they kick off the holiday celebrations with their annual Holiday Party at the Bullet Bar.
CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF JD DISALVATORE
MR/MS SANCTUARY LEATHER 2018 CONTEST
The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N McCadden Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90038, 12pm–4pm. Remembering and celebrating the life of filmmaker, activist, animal lover, and good friend JD Disalvatore. In her short life, she worked tirelessly to make the world a better place. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6
GAYS R US
Hollywood Improv Comedy Club, 8162 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, 8pm. Tickets & Info: www.ticketweb. com/fb/7663065/hollyimprov THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7
LAWN HOLIDAY PARTY
Los Angeles Women’s Network, 1625 Schrader Blvd, Los Angeles, 7pm–10pm. Gather in a welcoming space and set some magical, queer lady intentions for 2018. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8
LABB HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
Bullet Bar, 10522 Burbank Blvd, North Hollywood, 9pm–2am.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9
Sanctuary LAX Studios, 10914 S La Cienega Blvd, Lennox, CA, 90304, 9am–1am. Find out who will be the next Sanctuary Leather titleholders. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10
FRUITCAKE: A QUEER HOLIDAY SHOPPING POP-UP
736 Crocker St, Los Angeles, CA 90021, 11am–6pm. Lockwood51 and Mario Diaz present 14 local queer artists in Downtown LA for a holiday craft fair pop up. This is a rare opportunity to browse a diverse selection of mugs, enamel pins, apparel, art, and more—all in the same place! DEBBIE’S BEST: AN ECHO PARK DRAG COMPETITION
Lot 1, 1533 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026, 9pm. An eastside drag competition featuring Queens & Kings! Who will win the crown? Bring your dollar bills and come support our artists. HER LOS ANGELES HOLIDAY PARTY
Boomtown Brewery, 700 Jackson St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, 2pm–8pm.
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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17
WINTERTRAMP
HER, The App for LGBTQ Women come back with all the holiday cheer and loads and loads of delicious craft beer. With tons of fun activities, games, contests and more!
Pershing Square, 532 South Olive Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013, 2pm–10pm. Tickets & Info: www.SummerTramp.com. Enjoy some of the hottest DJs, food trucks and get trampy with some of the hottest men.
ONYX: BAD SANTA’S TOY DRIVE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30
Eagle LA, 4219 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, 4pm–8pm. Party with the men of ONYX SoCal-Southwest SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16
KINKY XXXMAS!
The Bullet Bar, 10522 Burbank Blvd. North Hollywood, 9pm–2am. Green Mirror Entertainment & Bullet Bar present a holiday party for leathermen, puppies, kinksters and those who love them. PUTERÍA
Precinct DTLA, 357 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90013, 9pm–2am. Las Comadres del Barrio— Ricardo-Sebastian y Nabor Arias giving us the best of latin dance music, con bailarines calientes, super sexy Shawn Morales your host, and cool drinks all night long. BOOTIE LA: STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL!
Los Globos, 3040 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026, 10pm–2am. The Empire strikes Bootie, as we celebrate “The Last Jedi” with holiday treats and Star Wars mashups and remixes.
DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR
West Hollywood Library Community Meeting Room, 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard, 11am– 12pm. weho.org/arts Join a special New Year’s/Holiday Drag Queen Story Hour with Frida Laye from Chico’s Angels. For children of all ages. SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31
#BOOM! ALCOHOL FREE NYE PARTY
West Hollywood Park, 647 N San Vicente Blvd., 8pm—2am. Visit weho.org for more information. Ring in the New Year clean and sober. Join new and old friends at WeHo’s free New Year’s celebration. The alcohol and drug free costume party with DJ, dancing, free food and non-alcoholic drinks helps you party your way into a fun-filled, safer 2018. Enjoy a photo booth, costume contest, balloon drop with help from some of West Hollywood’s most colorful characters. A favorite of the LGBT and sober community, this 5th annual #BOOM! is a safe space welcoming everyone 18 and over—especially anyone who’s ever felt marginalized.
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THEFINALFIGHT >>
ANTI-OUTING
<<
KEVIN SPACEY
THE HOLLYWOOD CLOSET
Excerpts from Michelangelo Signorile’s excellent Huffington Post op-ed on how the media’s “anti-outing” policies causes harm. BY MICH ELA N G ELO SIG N O RILE
[Last month’s]
death of 94-year-old Liz Smith, the queen of gossip columnists, brought some frank assessments of her complicated relationship with the closet, including in the New York Times, Vanity Fair and a detailed, personal piece by Michael Musto in the fashion bible, W magazine. I wrote angry columns as an editor and columnist at OutWeek from 1989 through 1991, referenced in some of these current assessments, excoriating Smith for her role in helping to keep the queer closet in pop culture tightly closed at a time when visibility was literally a life or death issue. As the AIDS plague escalated, Smith, in her New York Daily News column, syndicated to dozens of newspapers nationally in those days before the Internet, was helping to cover for people like Calvin Klein, Jodie Foster, Hollywood mogul David Geffen, Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, Malcolm Forbes, photographer Annie Liebovitz and many, many more all of whom have since come out, no doubt due to the pressure and the exhaustion of keeping the closet door tightly closed. Smith not only “respected” the closets of Hollywood celebrities and other public figures, but she also actively promoted lies and distortions, running items about false heterosexual affairs that their publicists fed her, though she knew the truth full well, since she traveled in these celebrities’ circles. That was the epitome of Fake News, way back in 1989. When it came to heterosexual public figures and their affairs, divorces and other romantic interests, Smith and other celebrity and political chroniclers not only had to get their details correct per proper journalism but they knew the public saw this as glamor5 0 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
ous and exciting. Homosexuality, on the other hand, was something that revolted many in that profoundly homophobic era, so these scribes hid behind the notion of protecting “privacy” as an excuse for hiding information or outright lying. This was of course hypocritical not caring about the privacy of heterosexual public figures but suddenly having more ironclad ethics when it came to the privacy of homosexuals, even when reporting on their sexual orientation was relevant to a larger, important story as the only thing they were protecting was often the industry that they, too, built their careers within. And worse off, many or most of the columnists like Liz Smith were closeted and queer themselves. What better system for the powers-that-be than than to have queer people who have their own vested career and financial interests in the closet guarding the secrets of other closeted prominent and powerful people? So much of that has broken down, thankfully as LGBTQ activists pushed forward, pointing out the hypocrisies and homophobia even among those claiming to be our friends, and as the Internet took the gatekeeper role away from the traditional media. Secrets are much harder to keep today, and in this case that is a good thing. What we’ve learned is that when celebrities feel pressured by both the LGBTQ community and the media to come out from Melissa Etheridge and Rosie O’Donnell to Neil Patrick Harris and Demi Lovato rather than being hurt they actually thrive, both personally and in their careers. We’re also able to look back now on the dangers of the closet and protecting it at all costs with zealous anti-“outing” policies with regard to public figures, and rethink just what “outing” means. As I wrote recently regarding Kevin Spacey, protecting his closet was dangerous because some, even in the gay press, who knew of his sexual harassment of an underage actor refused to report it, wrongly equating his abuse of a male minor with being gay itself and thus afraid they were going to “out” him… n Read this commentary in its entirety at www.huffingtonpost.com. Follow Michelangelo Signorile on Twitter: www.twitter.com/msignorile.
ONLINE NOW!
Prty SEXY
Looking for a good time, but it’s harder to find…
New to the scene, and the site. I’m a weekend warrior, but PNP anytime. HIV STATUS: ASK ME
CALL: 323-463-7001
VISIT: friendsgettingoff.org
Friends Getting Off provides free drug counseling for gay and bisexual men who use methamphetamine. The program combines group counseling with an intervention that gives rewards for negative urine samples. Participation is 8 weeks followed by a 16 week support group and one follow-up assessment.
1419 North La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90028 A clinic of Friends Community Center, a division of Friends Research Institute, Inc. This project is supported by funds received from the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs and the City of West Hollywood.
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