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THECONTENTS F E ATU RES
DE PARTM E N T S
14
08 10 12 16 30 38 42 48
THE GOOD FIGHT
AZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY & LGBTQ RIGHTS
18
DOUBLE DIGITS
20
GET TESTED!
22
MAGICK MAN
26
HAVE YOU LIVED BEFORE
28
LGBTQ RIGHTS ARE REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
LGBT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WORLD AIDS DAY JASON LOUV ON RECLAIMING SPIRITUALITY PAST LIFE REGRESSION THERAPY SUE DUNLAP, PRESIDENT & CEO PLANNED PARENTHOOD LA
32
MANAGING HOLIDAY STRESS
34
BROADWAY RINGS (AND SINGS!) IN THE HOLIDAYS
36
ALL IN THE FAMILY
BROADWAY’S CAROLS FOR A CURE
DANCING WITH BRITNEY ALEX VAN DER HOEK’S MUSICAL JOURNEY
4 T H E F I GH T | www.thefightmag.com
THE TALK THE NATION THE CITY THE ROSTOW REPORT THE SHARE THE ART THE EVENT THE CALENDAR
O N TH E COV ER DAVID BARROSO
IG: ALL_ABOUT_DAVID COVER PHOTO AND TOC PHOTO
BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM
Rauschenberg: The 1/4 Mile Through June 9, 2019
Plus Rauschenberg: In and About L.A. Through February 10, 2019
Merce Cunningham, Clouds and Screens Through March 31, 2019
^ Los Angeles County Museum of Art 5905 Wilshire Blvd., near Fairfax LACMA.org |323 857-6010 free for members and children 17 and under
Robert Rauschenberg, The 1/4 Mile or 2 Furlong Piece (detail), 1981–98, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 5
THEEDITOR
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Stanford Altamirano MANAGING EDITOR Mark Ariel ART DIRECTOR Nadeen Torio MARKETING CONSULTANTS Grey Crouch Tom Pardoe Sean Galuszka Jacci Ybarra SOCIAL MEDIA Mark Ariel Sinan Shihabi WEBMASTER Nadeen Torio >> IN THIS ISSUE <<
The first of this month marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day. “World AIDS Day is a reminder that the HIV epidemic is not over. It remains critically important for everyone to continue to work together to help educate our communities and take steps to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS,” Craig E. Thompson, CEO of APLA Health said in press release on Dec. 1. “By working with partners and communities to get more people regularly tested, using condoms and PrEP, and getting to an undetectable viral load means we have a real possibility to see an end to the HIV epidemic in our lifetime.” Find a list of HIV testing clinics on page 20 in this issue. Also in this issue—Los Angeles based journalist, author and futurist Jason Louv explains the concept of magick (Magick Man,” page 22). “Real magick (as opposed to stage magic) is a set of tools for radically changing your own consciousness,” states Louv. “I use it as a catch-all term that encompasses the entire spectrum of the world’s sacred practices, including ritual, meditation, yoga, divination, mindfulness, and lots
more. Importantly, it is the uniting of these practices into accomplishing one single and overwhelming goal: Discovering, and achieving, your True Will—your own unique reason for existing in the world, your reason for being born in this place and time.” “Magick allows queer people (and all people) to completely reclaim their spirituality on their own terms, rather than following the dictates of a church or religion that is fundamentally hostile to their very existence, no matter how tolerant it claims to be for the PR,” says Louv. “By contrast, Magick celebrates difference, it celebrates queerness— it sees it as an advantage, in many senses. it encourages and empowers people to become radically, moldbreakingly unique. It is the path of fully becoming yourself, beyond and even in opposition to the intolerance and close-mindedness of society. And we need it more than ever, because (obviously) our world seems to be getting more small-minded and medieval with every passing day.” Lastly—we would like to wish our readers and advertisers a joyous holiday season—and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Sinan Shihabi EVENTS MANAGER Joseph Arellano CONTRIBUTORS Dusti Cunningham Sue Dunlap Brent Heinze Jeremy Lucido Victor Melamed Paulo Murillo Ann Rostow Sinan Shihabi Brenden Shucart 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 © 2018 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
www.thefightmag.com 6 T H E F I GH T | www.thefi ghtmag.com
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The fun starts here. Everyone is welcome. Tour historic and current LGBT hotspots all within walking distance of our Hop-On Hop-Off stops. Arts, Culture, History, Shopping, Dining, Nightlife and more! Go to our website www.citysightseeinglosangeles.com/pages/pride and discover our special LGBT itinerary covering destinations over all routes. Enjoy our special offer with code FIGHT.
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THETALK > > W H AT T H E Y ’ R E S AY I N G < <
BROTHERS AND SISTERS
WE THE PEOPLE
“I feel a huge responsibility to protect my brothers and sisters in the LGBTQIA+ community, to protect women, to protect black folks, to protect immigrants...” JANELLE MONÁE
—Janelle Monáe in a speech at Glamour’s 2018 Women of the Year event.
FINE WITH IT
“I’m sure there’s going to be some people out there who have a negative reaction to this … and I’m fine with it.”
JEFF ROHRER
—Retired NFL linebacker Jeff Rohrer revealing he is gay to the New York Times. Rohrer married Joshua Ross, celebrity aesthetician and founder of SkinLab, last month.
—Cynthia Nixon while accepting Out magazine’s Hero of the Year award, last month.
CYNTHIA NIXON
EMBRACE DIFFERENCE
MOVING FORWARD
“We were outside, standing on a patch of lawn off to one side, out of sight of the public but with a beautiful, close-up view of the White House, lit up in pride... my feeling was we are moving forward. Change is happening.”
MICHELLE OBAMA
“We the people are learning that we can no longer leave our democracy in the hands of white male cisgender career politicians and their corporate donors and expect them to work for all of us.”
KYRSTEN SINEMA
“We can work with people who are different than us. … We can embrace difference while seeking common ground.”
—Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat who will be the first out bisexual U.S. senator and the first woman elected to the chamber from Arizona, in her victory speech, last month.
THERE WAS TALK
—Former First Lady Michelle Obama sharing with Ellen how she experienced the day the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2015.
POWERFUL MESSAGE
“It sends a pretty powerful message of how far and how fast families like mine, that have one or more LGBT parents, have come in America.” —Zach Wahls, who as a teenager campaigned for his lesbian mothers’ right to marry, after being elected to the Iowa State Senate, last month.
www.thefightmag.com 8 T H E F I GH T | www.thefi ghtmag.com
ZACH WAHLS
JUSSIE SMOLLETT
“There was talk about Jamal having a white boyfriend and I said, ’Fuck no!’”
—Actor Jussie Smollett upon learning his Empire character’s love interest was going to be white, on The Clay Cane Show. “Not for any reason except we have a responsibility and we have a such a beautiful opportunity to show two black men in a relationship together, in a healthy relationship,” he said.
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THENATION >> NEWS BRIEFS <<
FIRST GAY CA DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADER STEPS DOWN Eric Bauman, the leader of the California Democratic Party, the first gay person to lead the state’s party, has resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct—the latest politician forced to step down in the #MeToo era, reports Vox. Allegations that he had made sexually explicit comments and inappropriately touched or physically intimidated party staffers ERIC and political activists were BAUMAN first reported the Los Angeles Times last month. After being confronted with the complaints, Bauman said he would seek treatment for alcohol abuse and health issues, but did not respond directly to the allegations.
family, told The Daily Beast that her treatment in ICE custody went far beyond neglectful. The Transgender Law Center announced last month that a wrongful death lawsuit against the State of New Mexico has been filed.
TRUMP TO SUPREME COURT: ENFORCE TRANS MILITARY BAN!
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court last month to take up three cases challenging the administration’s repeated efforts to bar transgender people from serving in the military, reports BuzzFeed News. The effort to reverse Obama-era policies allowing for open transgender military service began when President Donald Trump tweeted out news of the ban in July 2017 and has been met with heavy skepticism from courts around the country. Last month’s filings are the administration’s attempt to get the issue before the justices during the current Supreme Court term, which would mean a decision would be expected by June 2019—if the justices agree to take one or more of the cases. TED HICKMAN
ROXSANA HERNÁNDEZ RODRIGUEZ
HOMOPHOBIC VICE MAYOR VOTED OUT OF OFFICE
TRANS WOMAN WAS BEATEN IN ICE CUSTODY BEFORE DEATH A transgender woman who died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after being held in a privately operated detention center was likely physically abused there, according an autopsy report released last month, and died after several days of severe, untreated dehydration, reports The Daily Beast. Roxsana Hernández Rodriguez, a 33-year-old transgender woman from Honduras, died on May 25, nine days after being transferred to a dedicated unit for transgender women at the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico, which is operated under contract by CoreCivic, the second-largest private prison company in the United States. Andrew Free, an attorney representing her 1 0 T H E F IIGH www.thefightmag.com 10 GH T | www.thefi ghtmag.com
CONSERVATIVES BOYCOTT MACY’S OVER SAME-SEX KISS Linda Harvey, the anti-LGBTQ activist who leads the group Mission America, called for a boycott of Macy’s after it allowed a same-sex kiss in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Caitlin Kinnunen and Isabelle McCalla, lead actors in Broadway’s The Prom musical, made Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade history last month by sharing its first same-sex kiss, broadcast to millions of viewers across the U.S.
A Northern California vice mayor who was heavily criticized earlier this year after writing a newspaper column that many people viewed as homophobic lost his city council seat by a landslide last month, reports The Sacramento Bee. Ted Hickman was defeated for Dixon City Council District 2 by the city’s planning commissioner, Jim Ernest, who picked up 72 percent of the vote with all ballots counted. Hickman faced widespread backlash starting in late June after publication of a controversial column he penned for Dixon’s Independent Voice newspaper. In the June 29 column, Hickman called for July to be known as “Straight Pride American Month,” referred to gay men as “faries,” (sic) and said gay people have an “inferior complex.” ■
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THECITY >> BY PAULO MURILLO <<
RICARDO LARA
for almost 60 years. Karen Mason, who owns the store with her husband Barry Mason, told Weho Times that Circus of Books will shut down in mid-January, 2019. The gay space will be replaced with a business dealing in cannabis. There are three potential tenants with cannabis experience in line to rent the space. Which tenant will win the bid, depends on which one is able to obtain a cannabis license from the city of West Hollywood.
S A N D IEGO
NORTH PARK TOYLAND PARADE CANCELED
LON G B E AC H
RICARDO LARA MAKES HISTORY
California Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) made history last month—winning the race to become California’s next State Insurance Commissioner, making him the state’s first openly LGBTQ statewide elected official. “Ricardo has been a champion for California’s LGBTQ and immigrant communities throughout his career, working to tear down barriers, ensure equality for all and now break through California’s rainbow glass ceiling,” said Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur. “In an already historic year for LGBTQ candidates across California and the nation, Ricardo has proven that an openly gay son of a factory worker and seamstress who immigrated from Mexico can grow up to represent 40 million people in the world’s fifth largest economy. We look forward to working with Ricardo in this new role and wish him continued success as he fights to improve the lives of all Californians.”
LOS A N G E LE S
NO CUT BACKS AT LA LGBT CENTER FOR STD SERVICES
The Los Angeles LGBT Center will not have to cut back on the free services it offers for treatment of sexually transmitted infections, thanks to a decision last month by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to allocate an additional $5 million for those services over the next two years, reported WeHoVille.com. The decision came in a vote on a proposal by 3rd District Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and 2nd District Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. Kuehl’s district includes
West Hollywood, where the LGBT Center operates a small health clinic on Santa Monica Boulevard that provides free STI tests and treatments.
W E ST H OLLY WOOD
CIRCUS OF BOOKS OFFICIALLY CLOSING NEXT MONTH
The owners of the infamous Circus of Books in West Hollywood have announced that the iconic adult book store, located on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and N. La Jolla Avenue, is finally closing its doors after operating
This year’s North Park Toyland Parade has been canceled due to lack of funds, according to an email obtained by San Diego Gay and Lesbian News. A longtime sponsor backed out at the last minute, which started a domino effect that caused other sponsors to also withdraw. The North Park Toyland Parade Board of Directors tried to save the event by asking for donations via social media in the hopes to raise enough funds to produce the event, which is a half-century old tradition, but lack of support from the North Park community solidified the final outcome. LGBT organizations like San Diego Pride, The San Diego LGBT Community Center and PFLAG are known to march in the Toyland Parade. The LGBT-inclusive Saint Paul’s Cathedral was slated to join the parade, which was to happen on Saturday, December, 1.
PA LM S PR INGS
SAN BERNARDINO DEPUTIES MARCH AT PRIDE
San Bernardino Deputies and employees from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department marched in full uniform at Palm Springs Pride on Sunday, November 4—a first in the 162-year history. San Bernardino marched in their uniforms for the first time at LA Pride, but this was their first time participating in the largest Inland Empire pride celebration. Up to 40 uniformed deputies and administrative employees—both gay and straight, marched at the parade. Sheriff John McMahon approved the march to send a positive messages to the public and to employees. n
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THE GOOD FIGHT
LGBTQ students fight for acceptance at Azusa Pacific University, after board reinstates its ban on same-sex relationships. BY MARK ARIEL
An
effort to accommodate LGBTQ students on the evangelical Christian Azusa Pacific University (APU) campus was derailed last October when its board reversed an administration decision to lift the ban on LGBTQ relationships, reported the Los Angeles Daily News. In time for the start of the fall semester—and following months of discussions between students and university leaders—Azusa Pacific had removed a section from its student conduct policy that outlawed LGBTQ relationships on campus. The altered language referenced a standing ban on pre-marital sex but without mentioning orientation. When the APU student newspaper published an article about the move, the 119-year-old university received some kudos but significantly more criticism, especially from Christian media outlets and pundits. In response, the university announced that because the policy change was never approved by its Board of Trustees, it was reinstating the ban. In an interview with THE FIGHT Nolan Croce, 21, a queer senior at APU, majoring in film production, revealed that “a group of students (including myself) were so fed up with the lack of acknowledgement and support for the LGBTQ student community on 14 4 TTH HEE FFIGH IGHTT || www.thefightmag.com www.thefightmag.com 1
“WITH MORE CONVERSATIONS AND MORE POSITIVE EXAMPLES OF LGBT STUDENTS WHO ARE STRONG IN THEIR FAITH I BELIEVE THE PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION WILL DISSIPATE.” campus that we began to initiate conversations with the administration.” “We had been meeting in a secret, underground club called Haven but it was clear this group was not meeting the needs of the students,” confides Croce. “Only about five people attended regularly and there was no concrete infrastructure to sustain a safe, positive environment at the meetings. Something had to change… I believe that if you’re not happy with the way things are then you should do something about it. We all have the power within ourselves to be change-makers.” Before it reinstated the ban—the university allegedly “allowed romance without sex for gay and lesbian couples.” When asked how he felt about the “no sex” caveat—Croce says that he was “ecstatic about the change in policy! I have always held a ‘waiting until marriage’ stance, so the ‘allowed romance without sex’ part didn’t bother me at all. Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I have a stronger desire to have sex than a straight person. The change in policy showed a respect for equality that the school had not seen before.” Even though the board reinstated the ban after the backlash, Croce remains optimistic. “I know many LGBTQ students who are refusing to change their beliefs and behaviors based on the Board’s restrictions. This gives me hope that the future is bright for LGBTQ students at APU. With more conversations and more positive examples of LGBT students who are strong in their faith I believe the prejudice and discrimination will dissipate. It’ll take a lot of work and a lot of persistence, but it can be done. I hate that this fight needs to be fought but I will continue to fight.”
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THEROSTOWREPORT >> BY ANN ROSTOW <<
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS We took a break from nonstop MSNBC to head down to the Gulf Coast over Thanksgiving only to return to a head spinning array of developments. I know that if I were forced, I might be able to follow the machinations of pig-faced conspiracy dealer Jerome Corsi, who lied to Mueller about whether or not he communicated with Assange on behalf of odious oddball Roger Stone, he of the spread collar (hint: Stone is too old to pull that off). But no one’s forcing me so I choose to remain slightly confused about these tendrils of the investigation. Then we have the shameless grifter, Paul Manafort, who seems to believe he’s smarter than God. The Democrats are poised to hit the ground running come January, sending out for tax returns, blocked phone numbers, dirty bank accounts and what have you. I read that the Trump legal team is understaffed and the man himself is descending further into madness by the day. We have a month or two before the 2020 presidential campaign starts humming with a dozen or more Democrats announcing their candidacies. I used to believe that celebrities and business people should leave the hustings to politicians and lawyers, but now it’s clear that anyone can manage the presidency. Indeed, I’d vote for the Democratic cable guy if he or she had a college degree and could locate Iraq on a map. My charismatic Senate candidate, Beto O’Rourke, has just a couple of terms in Congress under his belt and hasn’t hit fifty, but thanks to Trump, he looks amply qualified to sit behind the Resolute Desk. I’m just saying, if we think our politics are crazy now, just wait for next year.
BETO O’ROURKE
the lower courts have had a chance to rule on the merits. The Supreme Court does not intervene in ongoing appellate litigation unless there’s some kind of pressing emergency. The notion that a few thousand patriotic transgender men and women in uniform, most of whom have been serving for years, now constitute an imminent threat to national security is absurd. We know of course that the Court majority is no friend to the transgender community in principle, but if four justices decide to buck the system in this extraordinary manner, it will signal that we face actual nutcases on the Supreme Court bench. (It takes four to agree to hear a case.) Even if the Court rebuffs this latest maneuver, we can expect a damaging session. So we can add that to the drama coming up next year.
HOLIDAY CHEER!
MY CHARISMATIC SENATE CANDIDATE, BETO O’ROURKE, HAS JUST A COUPLE OF TERMS IN CONGRESS UNDER HIS BELT AND HASN’T HIT FIFTY, BUT THANKS TO TRUMP, HE LOOKS AMPLY QUALIFIED TO SIT BEHIND THE RESOLUTE DESK. COURTING DISASTER There’s no reason to torture ourselves by rehashing all the gay rights cases that may or may not arrive before the unfriendly High Court this session. But let’s add the four lawsuits against Trump’s ban on transgender troops to the mix. Our side has
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won injunctions against the pointless, offhand anti-trans decision, released in a tweet out of the blue last year. Now, even though those lawsuits are still pending in the federal appellate courts, Trump and company have asked the High Court to consolidate these cases and bring them prematurely to the top bench before
Have you noticed that we’re now well into the Christmas commercials on TV, even as November grinds to a close? I’m not anti-Christmas, but there’s a limit to my tolerance for sentimental saccharine. The happy families, the cute kids, the stockings, Santa in his cars. Since when, by the way, are new cars considered “Christmas gifts?” What happened to scarves, toys and ties? Now, it seems as if every item up for sale is being marketed as a gift, including rubber floor mats and six packs of beer. What’s next? Gift certificates to the dentist? A box of dish detergent? I’ve complained about this in the past but I see no reason not to belabor the subject on an annual basis. I have yet to encounter another pet peeve, commercials for brown colored diamonds, but I’m ready to pounce if it hap-
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pens. Diamonds are meant to sparkle and shine with clarity. Why would anyone settle instead for a turbid piece of ugly like that?
HIDE YOUR JUNK I have the sound off MSNBC, but I still caught a glimpse of Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. My wife thinks she looks like a hardened meth user. What a repellent creature she turned out to be. In general, we did well in the election, as you know by now. We have a gay Governor in Colorado to go along with our existing bisexual Governor in Oregon and we have a bisexual Senator out of Arizona to go along with our re-elected lesbian Senator from Wisconsin. A host of other community candidates won races including the Native American
kickboxer from the Kansas City area, lesbian Sharice Davids. And our nemesis from Rowan County, Kentucky, Kim Davis, lost her clerkship to a Democrat after just one term in office. We hear that Kim, who famously refused to marry gay couples after the 2015 High Court ruling, will now wait to see what the Lord has in store for her. Here’s hoping it’s a sales job at the brown diamond store. Finally, the town of Groves, Texas, said goodbye to its youthful councilman, Cross Coburn, who was elected last year at the age of 19. The gay teen posted his family jewels on Grindr, where surprise surprise, someone hostile to his nascent political career went public with the revealing images. Actually, I’m not sure if the screen shots themselves were publicized or simply described in public, but Coburn
was recalled and lost. “I do not believe that me having consensual conversations with another adult has any merit to how I can perform my duties,” Cross complained. But “conversations” were not the problem. Guys, if you hold elected office, you can’t put your junk on the Internet for all to see. Gay or straight, its politics 101. I’d give the same opinion to women, but, um, it’s just not necessary.
TWO BOZOS I do love the gay men in my life, but most of them are hound dogs. Beloved hound dogs. That said, I’m glad I am not friends with the two bozos we read about in the New York Times, Democrats from Manhattan who once gave generously to Obama and Hillary. Bill White and Bryan Eure got depressed at the
Hillary Clinton election night bash, so they hopped over to Trump’s victory party and joined the winning team. They have since thrown their weight behind the president, and will throw a $5 million fund-raiser for their man this winter. The boys, a middle-aged white, rich, married couple, explain that they don’t like identity politics, that Trump seems “authentic,” and that the Clintons did not pay attention to them, while the Trumps have been really nice to them. They even went to Mar-a-Lago! You know what? Trump can keep people like White and Eure, who have lost many friends thanks to their flakey turnabout. Now they might move to Atlanta to be closer to their people. Good riddance and stay off the coasts. n arostow@aol.com
DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 17
>> LGBT CONGRESS <<
SEAN PATRICK MALONEY
MARK TAKANO
ANGIE CRAIG
There will be at least ten LGBT members of Congress next year. BY VICTOR MELAMED
After CHRIS PAPPAS
DAVID CICILLINE
KATIE HILL
JARED POLIS
KYRSTEN SINEMA
MARK POCAN
DoubleDigits SHARICE DAVIDS
TAMMY BALDWIN
18 8 TTH HEE FFIGH IGHTT || www.thefi www.thefightmag.com 1 ghtmag.com
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who is openly bisexual, was officially declared the next Democratic senator of Arizona last month, the amount of LGBT members of Congress next year will reach double digits, reported CBS News. The ten LGBT members are Democrats. There will now be two LGBT senators: Sinema and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, of Wisconsin. The other eight LGBT House members are: Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island is running for Democratic leadership; From California, Rep. Mark Takano could be the next chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee; Rep. Mark Pocan, of Wisconsin, is currently the chair of the Progressive Caucus; Incumbent Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, is the first openly gay member of Congress elected by New York. He ran for New York attorney general earlier this year and lost in the Democratic primary; Minnesota’s Angie Craig will be the first lesbian mother; Kansas’ Rep.-elect Sharice Davids is also the first Native American congresswoman. Katie Hill, of California joins the freshman class of House members in 2019, as does New Hampshire’s Chris Pappas; Democratic Rep. Jared Polis will be trading his Colorado U.S. House seat for the governor’s mansion in Colorado in January.
DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 19
>> WORLD AIDS DAY <<
MORE HIV TESTING CLINICS BLACK AIDS INSTITUTE 1833 W 8th St # 200, Los Angeles, CA 90057 Phone: (213) 353-3610 Website: www.blackaids.org THE WALL LAS MEMORIAS PROJECT 5619 Monte Vista St., Los Angeles, CA 90042 800 W. 6th St., Los Angeles, CA 90017 Website: www.thewalllasmemorias.org LOS ANGELES LGBT CENTER West Hollywood
8745 San Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069 Website: www.LALGBTcenter.org Hollywood
Address: 1625 Schrader Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 Phone: (323) 993-7500 Website: www.LALGBTcenter.org HOLLYWOOD SUNSET FREE CLINIC 3324 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026 Phone: (323) 660-7959 Website: www.hsfreeclinic.org BIENESTAR East LA
Get Tested! In Los Angeles County, an estimated 60,000 people are living with HIV, of which an estimated 1 in 7 people are unaware of their status.
World AIDS Day
is held on the 1st of December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide
to unite in the fight against HIV. “World AIDS Day is a reminder that the HIV epidemic is not over. It remains critically important for everyone to continue to work together to help educate our communities and take steps to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS,” Craig E. Thompson, CEO of APLA Health said in press release on December 1st. “By working with partners and communities to get more people regularly tested, using condoms and PrEP, and getting to an undetectable viral load means we have a real possibility to see an end to the HIV epidemic in our lifetime.” In Los Angeles County, an estimated 60,000 people are living with HIV, of which an estimated 1 in 7 people are unaware of their status. APLA Health offers HIV Testing at: • Gleicher/Chen Health Center, 3743 S. La Brea Ave.. Los Angeles, CA 90016. Tel: 323.329.9900 • Long Beach Health Center, 1043 Elm Ave., Suite 302, Long Beach, CA 90813. Tel: 562.247.7740. • APLA Health—Olympic, 5901 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 500, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Tel: 323.215.1725 • APLA Health at Tarzana Treatment Center, 907 W. Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster, CA 93534. Tel: 661.729.9070
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5326 E Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90022 Phone: (866) 590-6411 Website: www.bienestar.org Long Beach
1464 Cherry Ave, Long Beach, CA 90813 Phone: (562) 438-5800 Hollywood
4955 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027 Phone: (323) 727-7896 Pomona
180 E Mission Blvd, Pomona, CA 91766 Phone: (909) 397-7660 San Fernando Valley
8134 Van Nuys Blvd, Ste 200, Panorama City, CA 91402 South LA
130 W Manchester Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90003 Phone: (818) 908-3820 CHARLES R. DREW UNIVERSITY/ OASIS CLINIC Address: 1807 E 120th St, Los Angeles, CA90059 Phone: (310) 668-5033 & (310) 668-4213 Website: www.cdrewu.edu AIDS HEALTH FOUNDATION AHF Wellness Center—Western 1811 N Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027 Phone: (855) 783-2434 Out of The Closet—Hollywood (HIV Testing) 6210 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 Phone: (323) 467-6811 AHF Wellness Center—West Adams 2146 W Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90018 Phone: (855) 783-2434 Out of The Closet—West Hollywood (HIV Testing) 8224 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046 Phone: (323) 848-9760 Out of The Closet—Long Beach (HIV Testing) 3500 E Pacific Coast Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90804 Phone: (562) 949-0340 SMARTHEALTH LA 6801 Coldwater Canyon Ave, North Hollywood, CA 91605 Phone: (818) 301-6314
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Supportive Supportive therapy therapy for for people people living living with HIV with HIV
What is the study about? This study is being done to learn if Egrifta may improve brain function in HIV positive people with abdominal obesity, which increases the risk for impaired thinking.
What will be done? + You will be assigned to immediate versus deferred treatment with tesamorelin (Egrifta) for 6 months. There is no placebo. + Your memory and ability to solve problems will be tested. + You will have special MRI images of your abdomen and brain before and at the completion of the 6 months period.
Is there compensation? YES, for study visits and MRI testing.
Who may be eligible? + HIV positive people who are at least 40 years of age; and + Have a waist circumference of 38 inches or greater
Did you know that if you are living with HIV, it is important to take care of not only your physical health but also your mental health?
To learn more and whether you might want to be screened for this study, call: Rod Hagan at 760.507.3321 or email at rhagan@borregohealth.org. (IRB#151568)
Julia Schwab, MS
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For the past 5 years, Toby and Julia have been providing therapy to those impacted by HIV. Our therapy approach incorporates a nonjudgemental, LGBTQ+ affirmative, intersectional lens. We serve clients 18+ COUPLES WELCOME Evening and weekend hours available for both our Westside and San Fernando Valley locations. Populations served: HIV, Hepatitis C, PreP, PeP, LGBTQ+ relationships, trans*, gender non-conforming, cisgender men and women
DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 21
>> JASON LOUV <<
Author Jason Louv on discovering your own unique reason for existing in the world and your reason for being born in this place and time. BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY DEVI BRULE os Angeles based journalist, author and futurist Jason Louv teaches courses on magick and spirituality at magick.me. As a journalist, he has covered surveillance, international trade and the dark side of technology for VICE News, Boing Boing, Motherboard and many other media outlets. As a futurist and strategist, Louv has worked on Buzz Aldrin’s international campaign to colonize Mars, Google’s artificial intelligence program and in many more strange and wonderful places. Counterculture publishing legend R. U. Sirius calls him “One of humanity’s best mutant scouts on the frontiers of human experience.” In an interview with THE FIGHT Louv talks about celebrating queerness and “the path of fully becoming yourself, beyond and even in opposition to the intolerance and close-mindedness of society.” For those who are unfamiliar—what is magick—as opposed to magic. Real magick (as opposed to stage magic) is a set of tools for radically changing your own consciousness. I use it as a catch-all term that encompasses the entire spectrum of the world’s sacred practices, including ritual, meditation, yoga, divination, mindfulness, and lots more. Importantly, it is the uniting of these practices into accomplishing one single and overwhelming goal: Discovering, and achieving, your True Will— your own unique reason for existing in the world, your reason for being born in this place and time. By contrast, religion (and pop New Age spirituality, which is kind of its own religion at this point) tends to give people one-size-fits-all statements about how everybody should supposedly live. Magick is very, very different. It’s the DIY ap2 2 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
proach. It’s a set of tools and practices to use in an experimental, individual way. Anybody who tries these experiments will likely have vastly mindexpanding and consciousness-shifting things occur to them. But there’s no dogma attached. You have the direct experience of the sacred and numinous yourself, and then you get to decide what it all means. I just provide the toolkit. How did you get involved in this field? I became fascinated with magick and the occult in the usual way; I was an alienated, sensitive and creative teenager who wanted more from life than what I was being told was possible. I was looking for a vehicle to get me out of Dodge. Some kids start bands, but I found magick, beginning with the book The Occult, which I discovered in my local library, read cover to cover and then returned, at which point it vanished from the shelves, never to be seen again. This was a great, scholarly, wooly-turtleneck 1970s examination of magick by the great English existentialist writer Colin Wilson, who had been lauded in the 1950s as England’s homegrown answer to, Jean-Paul Sartre. As time went on, however, Wilson began to move from existentialism into mysticism, which lost him the accolades of the English literary establishment, and by the opiated incense cloud of 1969 rolled around he was asking questions like Is there some kind of hidden psychic faculty in individuals that can be systematically trained and awakened, making them fully alive and even more-than-human? You can imagine that this was a rather appealing idea to a sixteen-year-old, and it still is to me now. That was the beginning of my serious foray into the occult, and it wasn’t long before I started attempting my own rituals,
>> QUEERNESS <<
“MAGICK ALLOWS QUEER PEOPLE (AND ALL PEOPLE) TO COMPLETELY RECLAIM THEIR SPIRITUALITY ON THEIR OWN TERMS, RATHER THAN FOLLOWING THE DICTATES OF A CHURCH OR RELIGION THAT IS FUNDAMENTALLY HOSTILE TO THEIR VERY EXISTENCE.”
DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 23
>> JASON LOUV <<
both from books and my own self-created ones—and getting results. Then it was off to the races. Twenty years later, I’ve been doing nothing but traveling around the world to learn more, from every spiritual tradition I could find, and writing down and teaching what I’ve discovered along the way. In a recent interview you said that “In my life, I’ve noticed that queer or queer-identifying people seem to be more in tune with the spiritual side of things.” Can you elaborate on that? Why do you think that is the case? It’s just been my observed experience. There is absolutely, for some reason, something otherworldly or “fae-like” about many queer people, in that they are slightly at an angle to mainstream straight society, and freed from it in some ways. Many of my teachers were or are gay, queer or trans; my primary mentor, starting from my early twenties onward, was Genesis P-Orridge, who was at the time initiating the Pandrogyny project to break down gender categories and sexuality completely. Gen’s teachers were William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin, both queer artists and Magi who saw homosexuality as a chance to split from and escape the control structure of society, which is largely made up of reproductive forces. Gysin specifically saw homosexuality as a “cut-up,” a way to short-circuit the reproductive imperative that completely defines the lives of most people in an unconscious way. I also think that, practically speaking, magick is not judgmental. I’ve met so many people, particularly here in the US, who grew up in repressive and intolerant religious climates, where they were told that they weren’t okay in so many overt or covert ways, and have ended up with all
kinds of trauma as a result. Magick allows queer people (and all people) to completely reclaim their spirituality on their own terms, rather than following the dictates of a church or religion that is fundamentally hostile to their very existence, no matter how tolerant it claims to be for the PR. By contrast, Magick celebrates difference, it celebrates queerness—it sees it as an advantage, in many senses. it encourages and empowers people to become radically, mold-breakingly unique. It is the path of fully becoming yourself, beyond and even in opposition to the intolerance and close-mindedness of society. And we need it more than ever, because (obviously) our world seems to be getting more small-minded and medieval with every passing day. Oh right, there’s also all the gay sex magick. That helps. Tell us about your new book John Dee and the Empire of Angels John Dee and the Empire of Angels is my magnum opus. It’s a biography of John Dee, one of the most critical and central figures in the history of magick, as well as his psychic assistant Edward Kelly and their mind-bending sessions summoning and conversing with angels. These are the sessions from which the core of modern magick originated— and the core of modern history itself. Along the way, I cover over 500 years of the secret occult history of the world. We explore the birth of Qabalistic magick in the Medici city states 500 years ago, the 20th century ritual experiments of Aleister Crowley and Jack Parsons, how magick has shaped our present world, and what the Apocalypse truly is. This is the definitive book on the occult—the best possible book I could write, uncovering layers upon layers of reality, revealing the shocking plans
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of the Enochian angels, and showing you the big picture of what Western magick actually is. It, frankly, explains everything! What do students learn at your online school for magick and witchcraft— Magick.me? At Magick.Me, I present a gigantic and comprehensive range of techniques drawn from the Western occult tradition—chaos magick, Hermeticism, Tarot and I Ching, meditation, yoga, astral projection, using occult techniques for artistic inspiration, finding your True Will, and lots, lots more. I’ve completely removed, as much as possible, the superstition, New Age woo, and Goth silliness it has previously been associ-
ated with. It’s organized into bite-sized 5-minute units so that you can learn step by step on even the busiest schedule (or binge it if you want to really go for it). There’s no dogma you have to believe or group you have to join—it’s all there on the site. It’s just the pure techniques—practically, clearly, and safely taught, and structured into concise units, so that you can learn and apply the material as you see fit. My goal is to make Magick accessible to all. Have at it! You can follow Jason Louv at his podcast, Ultraculture With Jason Louv, which you can find on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere else. You can find this and all of his other projects at jasonlouv.com. His Twitter is @jasonlouv, and the school is Magick.Me.
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> > R E I N C A R N AT I O N < <
Carol Bowman, past life therapist: “Reincarnation is not an abstract religious concept or a philosophy. It’s a natural phenomenon.” BY VICTOR MELAMED he Orlando vigil for victims of the mass shooting at the gay club Pulse was attended by thousands of people. A bell tolled for each of the 49 victims killed when a man opened fire at the club Pulse on June 12, 2016. As the names were being read, a photographer snapped a picture of a flock of exactly 49 birds flying overhead. The birds had not been released and were either an apparent freak occurrence—or something of a divine nature— depending on your belief system. In any case the crowd at the vigil were stunned. When contacted at the time by CNN— the photographer said she would like to remain anonymous, because she would rather people be focused on the victims of the tragedy. “Who took the photo is not as important as what is in it,” she said. “May everyone find healing and peace.” She posted the photo on her Facebook page, where it was quickly shared thousands of times. In her post, she wrote: “There were 49 birds, my friends. The fallen were with us tonight.”
A CHILD’S STORY
According to a recent Psychology Today report - some young children tell their parents that they were someone else, someone who had died. Research at the University of Virginia has found www.thefightmag.com 2 6 T H E F IGH T | www.thefi ghtmag.com
remarkable correlations between the details reported by these children and deceased people. One of these cases, documented by Jim B. Tucker, MD, a psychiatry professor at the University of Virginia, involved two-year-old James Leininger, a Louisiana boy who loved toy planes. The boy started to have repeated nightmares of a horrible plane crash. He would kick his legs up in the air, screaming “Airplane crash on fire, little man can’t get out.” Then during the day, he would slam his toy plans into the family’s coffee table while yelling ‘“airplane crash on fire,” to the extent that there were dozens of scratches and dents in the table. James talked about the crash, relating that “he” had been a pilot and that “he” had flown off a boat. His father asked him the name of the boat and he said “Natoma.” When his father remarked, “That sounds Japanese to me,” James replied “No, it’s American.” James went on to say that “he” had piloted a type of plane called a Corsair, that “his” nickname was Little Man, and that “he” had a friend on the boat named Jack Larson. After years of painstaking research, James’ father learned that an American aircraft carrier, the USS Natoma Bay, had supported operations at Iwo Jima during that World War II battle—and that it had lost one pilot there, a young man from Pennsylvania named James
Huston. His plane crashed almost exactly as described: hit in the engine, exploding, crashing into the water and quickly sinking. And the pilot in the plane next to his when this happened was named Jack Larson. Some feel that it’s nearly impossible to conceive how children so young should have such vivid ‘memories’ or how they (or anyone connected with them, for that matter) could have known anything about such obscure figures from the past.
PAST LIFE REGRESSION
Carol Bowman, M.S. an internationally known author, lecturer, counselor, past life regression therapist, believes that “reincarnation is not an abstract religious concept or a philosophy. It’s a natural phenomenon. Understanding the connection between past lives and present reality leads to profound personal benefits, both spiritual and practical.” “Past life memories are the autobiography of your eternal soul-—personal stories that explain who you are now and why you’re here on Earth,” states Bowman. “Past life regression is a therapeutic technique for accessing and re-experiencing your past lives directly. A branch of hypnotherapy, past life regression therapy has grown over the last 50 years to be an important addition to the healing arts.” To learn more on this topic—visit www.carolbowman.com.
DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 27
>> COVER INTERVIEW <<
When
LGBTQ RIGHTS ARE REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS Sue Dunlap, President & CEO Planned Parenthood LA, on how shame and stigma can affect all of us in both subtle and significant ways. 2 8 T H E F IGH T | www.thefightmag.com
I walk into the office each day, I know I have an important job to do. I have the honor of leading a team that cares for nearly 1,000 people each day at Planned Parenthood health centers in Los Angeles County. Staying focused on that while under constant political attack is not always easy, but for patients who rely on us, it is our responsibility. Before serving as the CEO and President of Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, I worked as a political strategist and a lobbyist, advocating for women’s health. I gained insight into how the levers of power work behind the curtain, but my current role gives me a much more profound appreciation for what “politics” can really mean for people. For the student struggling financially, insurance coverage for birth control means she doesn’t need to choose between her contraception and her school books. For the young man afraid he may have an STD, confidentiality laws mean he has a safe place to talk to someone and get the care he needs. And for the woman who learns she is unexpectedly pregnant, access to safe and legal abortion means she has a choice. LGBTQ rights and reproductive rights are deeply intertwined; each is fundamentally about the ability to decide what to do with one’s own body. While immense progress has been made in both arenas— often represented by landmark victories in the courts—relentless attempts to undermine the strides of the last half century persist. States are mandating non-medically necessary ultrasounds prior to an abortion; the Administration has unveiled plans to gut federal civil rights protections for transgender people. Laws like these, and the rhetoric they inspire, cultivate a climate in which people feel ashamed to ask for what they need. Stigma, discrimination, and fear often cause people to avoid the doctor’s office. This has both personal and public health consequences. While enormous progress has been made, HIV continues to be an urgent public health crisis: in the United States, an estimated 1.1 million people are living with HIV, and one in seven don’t know it. An important part of Planned Parenthood’s work is tackling the stigma/ fear… encouraging people to get tested on a regular basis. Last year, our health centers around the country conducted more than 700,000 HIV tests—just a
> > SUE DUNLAP < <
swab inside the mouth and people can get results in just 20 minutes. Like many STDs, HIV is treatable and can be managed the sooner one knows their status. Many people who are living with HIV and on effective treatment pose no transmission risk, and HIV-positive individuals can live long, healthy lives if they know their status, get care, and stick with treatment. In addition to HIV testing and education, many Planned Parenthood health centers also offer pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a daily pill that reduces the risk of contracting HIV through sex for people who may be at high risk of transmission. The sooner someone knows their status, the better they can protect their own health and the health of their partner(s). It can be uncomfortable for anyone to talk about their sexual history with a stranger. This can be compounded for LGBTQ people. In a 2016 study by the Center for American Progress, almost 70% of LGBTQ people reported that discrimination in health care at least somewhat negatively affected their psychological well-being. Trans people
“YOU DESERVE TO BE TREATED WITH DIGNITY, TO HAVE YOUR PERSONAL CHOICES RESPECTED, AND TO RECEIVE HIGH-QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE THAT AFFIRMS YOUR IDENTITY AND YOUR FAMILY.” report experiences of intake forms not reflecting their identities, or providers who are ill-equipped to address the patient’s concerns. Planned Parenthood is working to provide better support for trans
patients. This means creating a space that affirms gender identity and understands the kinds of care needed, and using inclusive language that acknowledges the full spectrum of gender identities. Planned Parenthood health centers now provide hormone therapy in 28 states, as well as sex education that includes transgender people’s identities and experiences. Shame and stigma can affect all of us in both subtle and significant ways. Many women who have turned to Planned Parenthood for abortion have shared what it felt like to make this very personal decision in the midst of national rhetoric accusing them of doing something shameful. LGBTQ people are hearing similar messages: that what you choose to do with your body is wrong. To each of you reading this: you deserve to be treated with dignity, to have your personal choices respected, and to receive high-quality, affordable health care that affirms your identity and your family. To make an appointment at Planned Parenthood, visit plannedparenthood.org or call: 1-800-230-PLAN.
Dr. Steven Ganzell, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist Over 25 years of experience in the clinical practice of psychotherapy. Specializing in depth psychology and neuropsychology. Flexible scheduling and free initial consultations available. (323) 717 0002 6115 Selma Ave, Suite 200 Hollywood, CA 90028 (CA PSY 12321)
DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 29
THIS PAGE IS SPONSORED BY
THESHARE >> BY PAULO MURILLO <<
LIVING IN GRATITUDE
With the holiday season upon us—we asked these three clean and sober individuals how they factor gratitude into their recovery.
ENJOY FRIENDSHIPS
MIKE COSTA
“Gratitude smashes my ego. It’s keeps me out of self. I can swim in self-pity. I can swim in ‘I want more’. For me, sobriety has to be enough. If I start to swim into other things, that’s what takes me out. I have a lot to be grateful for. I’m grateful that I’m almost two years sober and I’m also so grateful that I’m more aware of what the cash and prizes are. I used to think the cash and prizes were a car and materialistic things, but now the prize is I get to enjoy friendships, I get to enjoy watching my brother get sober and go through the same journey that I’m going through. I’m able to be of service to my family. I’m also grateful I have a sponsor that I can tell everything to and my best friend Fernando. I’m grateful that people want me around.” —Mike Costa, sober since December 14, 2016.
BEING HUMBLE “Gratitude was one of the first tools I was told to add to my spiritual toolbox. When I get to thinking of how my life should be or the things that are not going my way, I automatically or at least try to go to MJ BROWN being grateful for AKA MISS the things in my BARBIE Q life. The life I have now is so much full of depth, love, and understanding. More than I could have ever wanted or asked for. When it comes to gratitude, I know a lot of people get tired of being told to have www.thefightmag.com 3 0 T H E F IGH T | www.thefi ghtmag.com
gratitude, but it is the foundation of the things that can make us restless, irritable and discontent. Not taking people, places or things for granted. ‘Cos my mama always told me tomorrow isn’t promised to anybody. I am now learning the difference between being humble and hiding my gifts. I have been around for a while now. I have been a called a low key legend, but I have noticed that I can show greater gratitude for the things I have done and the people I have touched by putting my art and myself as an artist even more out in the public and share my truth.” —MJ Brown aka Miss Barbie Q, sober since September 25, 2015.
SCOTT THOMAS
MY JOB
“Gratitude helps me stay out of my head. When I’m grateful I don’t have resentments. I don’t compare myself to others, and I have contentment, really and truly. When I’m in gratitude, I want what I have. Before gratitude, I wasn’t enough and I was always afraid that I wasn’t going to get what I wanted and if I got it, I’d worry about when I was going to lose it. I was never happy. When I’m grateful, I’m not troubled by those things. I don’t do it perfectly, but I’m really grateful my family, both my blood family and my sober family. They keep me from feeling lonely. I’m really grateful for my job. It’s really satisfying. I work at the LA LGBT Center helping LGBTQ people. I love coming to my job every day. I’ve never been able to say that in my life.” —Scott Thomas, sober since October 1, 2008.
Depression-Anxiety-Trauma-Addiction-Grief-Life Challenges
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Lotus Place Recovery is a gender diverse conscious organization whose goal is to help clients grow into their authentic selves as they work towards self-acceptance and sobriety. Utilizing our team of experienced professionals, we provide a vast array of therapeutic modalities unique to each client’s journey towards healing. Clients explore multiple components of Self and Safety in Gender Expression, Emotional Intelligence, Self-Acceptance, Grief and Loss, Deconstruction of the Critical/Negative Self and the Impact of Trauma on the Self Experience while learning to live a substance-free lifestyle. Lotus Place Recovery’s core foundation is the SelfAcceptance ProgramÓ uniquely designed by Heidi Wells, Clinical Director and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, whose extensive background in diversity and trauma recovery contributed to the formulation of a program tailored to address the needs of the LGBTQIA? Community. The SelfAcceptance Program seeks to increase client awareness of the Self (strengths and challenges) while decreasing negative belief systems that mediate the daily functioning experience and contribute to chronic relapse and selfdestructive behaviors. This is accomplished by facilitating trauma resolution; deconstructing negative self-concepts and helping clients discover their unique journey to healing the Self while maintaining long-term sobriety.
For more information about Lotus Place Recovery in Orange County, California please contact our staff 24/7 at (888) 735-3832. DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 31
>> FOLSOM STREET FAIR <<
MANAGING
HOLIDAY
STRESS www.thefightmag.com 3 2 T H E F IGH T | www.thefi ghtmag.com
>> RUN TOWARDS THE LIGHT <<
Focus on the fact that after we get through these potentially volatile exchanges with family, we get to return to our amazing queer lives. BY BRENT HEINZE
During
the holiday season we often share time with people that we may not get to see frequently. For some, this is our biological families with extended groups of other relatives. While some of us grew up with a relatively good home life full of hugs and support from our parents, siblings, and
other family members—others came out of an environment that was more difficult, making being around family during the holidays emotionally and psychologically challenging. Let’s face it—very few of us grew up in a household where being gay was actively embraced. Most of us have at least one relative who makes us cringe when speaking to them. When we get around our family, some individuals may be trying to “make America great again” and discuss topics focused on “those people.” To say these people and situations are tough can be a severe understatement, but there are ways to better cope with these encounters so you can survive them and return to your fabulous life full of open-mindedness, love, and acceptance. Although we may not be able to avoid these uncomfortable, tense, and stressful family situations, there are some things we can do to reduce our anxiety and desire to either run away or flip over a dining room table like one of the Jersey housewives. We always hope that people would have the common sense to not bring up polarizing topics like politics, religion, or sexuality in mixed company, but we all know that it is not necessarily the case with some groups. Try to remember that the holiday season is more about love than aggression. It is difficult or impossible to change the minds of those people who have rigid viewpoints that generally go against our efforts to create a society of equality while embracing diversity. There is nothing wrong with standing your ground or having a healthy debate. Realize that ignorance and
bigotry are rarely changed by logical arguments. Try not to cause World War III before, during, or after a family meal. Hopefully there will be other family members that will jump in before conversations get too heated to help drop the temperature before it boils over. You can absolutely request that certain topics may want to be avoided to maintain a light-hearted family exchange. If you feel that tensions will run high, you may want to consider staying in a hotel or with friends instead of with family. There may be opportunities to get away for some recuperation in between family sessions to regain your composure or sanity. Most importantly, focus on the fact that after we get through these potentially volatile exchanges with family, we get to return to our amazing queer lives. Although family stress can be uncomfortable, overwhelming, or just plain annoying, it is only temporary. When we return home, we can re-engage with people who will not judge us for our “lifestyle choices,” but may still question our fashion sense or taste in friends. Thankfully it is common in our culture to create a chosen family, hopefully full of dynamic people with quirky personalities. They offer love and support beyond where our family of origin may have failed us. They can also provide different types of friendship and care in our lives. Regardless of who you are around for the holidays, hopefully these times are shared with people you love and you find many things to feel grateful for during your celebrations. Brent Heinze has a master’s degree in clinical psychology and works as a life coach in Southern California (Brent@BeginTheShift.org). DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 33
>> LGBT CONGRESS <<
THE CAST OF ALADDIN
Broadway’s Carols For a Cure is full of spirited holiday favorites sung by stars from musicals including Mean Girls, Dear Evan Hansen, AND Hamilton. BY SKIP SHEFFIELD
For twenty years,
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ holiday CD, Broadway’s Carols for a Cure, has been a staple of every theatre-lover’s wish list. The beloved series pairs casts from award-winning Broadway musicals with seasonal songs that are both classic and new. This year’s 2-CD compilation, available now for $25 in the Broadway Cares store, features 28 tracks from the companies of Mean Girls, Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, My Fair Lady, Pretty Woman, and more! “This year’s special 20th anniversary edition features eighteen original, newly recorded singles, creatively arranged and performed by the incredibly talented performers and musicians from the 2018 Broadway season, along with ten bonus classics from past year’s albums,” explains producer Lynn Pinto. Once again, she has collaborated with engineer Andros Rodriguez on the album. After twenty years of creating Broadway’s Carols for a Cure, Pinto has developed a recipe that works. She allows each company a great deal of freedom in choosing the material and the style of their arrangement. She also works with their demanding Broadway schedules. “We record the musicians and singers in layers, utilizing isolation booths for a higher quality recording,” she says. “It gives our holiday album a unique sound from most cast albums and allows us to properly showcase these amazing voices and instrumentalists.” The first Broadway’s Carols for a Cure album debuted in 1999. Recorded at St. John’s Church in Greenwich Village, it featured carols from the casts of Cabaret, Fosse, and Swing!, as well as from Chicago and Phantom of the Opera who also appear on the special 20th anniversary edition. Fans of today’s Great White Way will be overjoyed to hear original recordings from other current top produc3 4 TTHHEE FFIIGH www.thefightmag.com 34 GH TT || www.thefightmag.com
tions, too, including the cast of Mean Girls singing an all-new, frolicking version of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and the cast of Head Over Heels performing an original holiday number, “Head Over Holidays.” Additionally, the cast of My Fair Lady presents a sweeping rendition of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and the cast of Pretty Woman caps off the year in grand style with their beautiful adaptation of “Auld Lang Syne.” Also featured in the special 20th anniversary edition of Broadway’s Carols for a Cure is a stirring tribute of “Over the Rainbow” to Jan Maxwell, the beloved five-time Tony Award nominee who passed away earlier this year. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is a nonprofit organization that helps individuals with serious illnesses including AIDS receive the health care and support they need. In addition, they provide financial support in the form of grants to AIDS and family service organizations throughout the country. 2018 Broadway’s Carols for a Cure Volume 20 exclusively benefits Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Volumes 1 through 20 can be purchased in the web store at BroadwayCares.org.
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wing up o r g , y e n r u jo n his musical hanged everything. o k e o H r e D Alex Van ney Spears c it r B w o h d n a in the South Y M AT T LY N N B EL | PH O TO B Y M A RK A RI
T
o be perfectly honest (if that’s even remotely possible), I must admit I had a few deeply shameful stereotypical misconceptions about writer, dancer, singer and actor Alex Van Der Hoek. Aside from the interesting last name (a Dutch toponymic surname meaning “from the corner”—thank you Wikipedia) I thought to myself, oh Jesus, another starry eyed kid from out of town looking to make it big in Hollywood, a dime a dozen. Probably not all that talented, but cocky, arrogant and self-absorbed—good luck with that! And then we met. And despite my haughty know-it-all attitude—I found him quite the opposite of what I was expecting. Humble, gracious and sincere—Van Der Hoek is thoughtful, introspective and quite talented. His most recent music video—Dead Without Dancing—inspired by a quote from Britney Spear’s 2008 documentary For the Record—is entertaining, with a catchy beat and professionally done. 28 years old, originally from Alpharetta, Georgia, Van Der Hoek moved to Los Angeles ten years ago “the same age that I came out of the closet.” “I’ve had to unlearn a lot of the conservative values of the South that prevent you from being your authentic self,” he reveals. “Down there it’s about being polite and not being too loud or standing out too much or being different. You walk around and most everybody looks the same. As a kid, everyone knew I was different and I was targeted a lot despite my efforts to conform. But I also wouldn’t be here today without all of the allies, teachers, family, and friends who stuck up for me and defended me
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from the all of the insults and bullying I received back then. The people who cared about me always told me that I was meant to live in California so I always had it as my dream to live here. There was always this idea of ‘you’ll be safer there’ when I was growing up.” Van Der Hoek’s passion for music stems from his parents reluctance to allow him to take dance lessons when he was a teen. “My parents were already semi cognizant of how much I was being bullied at school so they didn’t want me taking dance classes and getting picked on even more. So before school every morning, I would wake up extra early and dance along to the music videos of Beyoncé, Shakira, Madonna, and Britney. They became my unofficial dance teachers and my best friends … if that doesn’t make me sound like too much of a loser. But I mean I kind of was!” That was then. Nowadays—with four songs and two music videos under his belt—Van Der Hoek says that the underlying message in all of his work is “to make people feel less alone, to reclaim God for everyone, and to put on one hell of a show while doing so. I feel like the psychological impact of being told as a queer child that God is not for you is something that doesn’t get talked about enough. When a community reveres an all-loving God and then we’re told by that same God ‘you can’t sit with us,’ it causes severe cognitive dissonance for a child. When that God is suddenly taken away, what does that do to the child in how they view themselves and their sexuality?” “I’m lucky in that I’ve always felt unconditional love and support from my parents which in turn helped me believe
in the unconditional love from God,” confides Van Der Hoek. “This privilege is something I at times feel incredibly guilty about, but in seeing how many of my friends are STILL rejected by their families has made me see that it is my responsibility to share this love and to return the idea that you are perfect just the way you are especially if you’re LGBT and you like sex. So if your God and your parents don’t love you for who you are, fuck them (or as we say in the South, bless their hearts) because my God loves you and you can come hang with me.” Van Der Hoek’s most recent video Dead Without Dancing premiered last month at THE FIGHT’s November Issue launch party at The Abbey in West Hollywood. It is “about living out that childhood fantasy of dancing with Britney which got me through so many days of middle school hell.” “I’m finding that most of my songs deal with personal legends and wrestling with your own purpose of what you’re designed to do,” reveals Van Der Hoek. Even Georgia Summer Dream, which is largely about the rise and demise of a former relationship of mine is about how we weren’t destined for each other, but we learned what we needed to in order to continue on our own personal journeys. The central messages for my cover of Nature Boy, Ocelot, and even Dead Without Dancing are about coming to grips with ‘this is who I am’ and ‘this is what I want’ and learning not to be afraid of that.” Check out Alex Van Der Hoek’s music vids on Youtube. IG: @alexvanderhoek, www.facebook.com/AlexvanderHoek
DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 37
THEART >>
LGBTQ ARTISTS
<<
JACK FOSTER
GUN,
the comic created by artist Jack Foster, follows Trevor Werner, the super villain known as Mr. Twist, as he makes his crooked way through the super criminal underworld. The comic is “hand painted, watercolor, very old school,” reveals Foster. “There aren’t a ton of artists working analog anymore in comics, but I think it gives thebook a really distinctive look.” n Print & digital copies of back issues are available at www.GUNcomic.com. Contact info: www.Facebook.com/recklesseyeballs; Twitter: @jackfoster74 & Instagram: @recklesseyeballs. Contact info: Instagram: williamfschultz. Etsy: etsy.com/shop/willfschultz
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THEEVENT >> PHOTOS BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM <<
The 23rd annual Toy Box Gift Party presented by APLA Health took place at West Hollywoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kimpton La Peer Hotel last month. This toy drive collects toys and gifts for Southern California families affected by HIV/AIDS. Toys will be distributed at APLA Health sites throughout Los Angeles County in December.
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>> TOY BOX GIFT PARTY <<
DECEMB ER 2018 | TH E F I GH T 43 DECEMBER THE FIGHT
THEEVENT >> PHOTOS BY JEREMY LUCIDO <<
The 3rd annual contest for the new Mr. Precinct Leather took place last month at Precinct DTLA. The new Mr Precinct Leather 2019 is transmasculine Elliot Lysle. The runner-up is Jack Dyer. The contest was hosted by Sister Bearonce Knows with six guest titleholder judges.
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THECALENDAR >> THINGS TO DO << FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7
North Hollywood, CA 91610 A Green Mirror Entertainment and Bullet bar Presentation, a holiday party for leathermen, puppies, kinksters and those who love them.
DIRTY LOOKS: HOLIDAY BAZAAR 8PM-12AM Faultline, 4216 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029. The annual festive gathering, a messy Holiday Bazaar to queer the necessary seasonal pull of late-stage capitalism. Ten vendors, a photo booth, the caroling shenanigans of Tammie Brown and Trap Girl will resound with joy throughout our ears and hearts.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16
LABB CHRISTMAS BEER BUST! 3PM-7PM Eagle LA, 4219 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, 90029. Join the Los Angeles Band Of Brothers for fun, camarderie and beer! Come meet our members and find out what the LABB is all about! $5.00 donation at door. $2.00 draft domestic beer at the bar. Raffle Prizes and Raffle Tickets sold by our very own Mr. LA Leather and Eagle LA Leather 2017 Jeff Wilcox.
GLOW ME: SNOWFLAKES 9PM-2AM Bullet Bar, 10522 Burbank Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91610 If there has to be a cool winter theme for glow me, it’s gotta be snowflakes. Snowflakes and tinsel and fake snow and things that glow. $7 Cover.
PIGSKIN UNDERWEAR BEER BUST ANNUAL SOCK DRIVE 3PM-7PM Eagle562, 2020 E Artesia Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90805. Be naughty and nice at the same time. Donate a pair of socks and sit on a sexy Santa’s lap. Featuring Mr. Long Beach Leather 2018 Louie Ramrod, Mr. CMEN 2017 mark Simonds, and his “Mr. Clause” Jim Angus.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8
A WELL-STRUNG CHRISTMAS 8PM-9:30PM Renberg Theatre, 1125 N McCadden Pl, Los AngelesCA, 90028 The Singing String Quartet return to put their unique pop-classical spin on holiday hits in A Well-Strung Christmas. L.A. TROOP BEVERLY HEELS STARRING TRIXIE MATTEL & PEACHES CHRIST 4PM-10PM Ricardo Montalban Theatre, 1615 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90028. Drag superstar Trixie Mattel is hitting the road with an all-new theatrical parody of the beloved 80s classic Troop Beverly Hills. Created by and co-starring midnight movie icon Peaches Christ.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29
GPS: NEW YEARS WEEKEND MAIN EVENT 9PM-4AM The Globe Theatre, 740 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90014. A Paul Nicholls & Justin David presentation. “Our biggest GPS ever with 3 floors of fun!”
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9
MONDAY, DECEMBER 31
CALIFORNIA MEN‘S GATHERINGS PRESENTS: ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY POTLUCK & COLLECTION FOR YOUTH CENTER ON HIGHLAND—5:30PM-8PM Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, 90046. Each holiday season, the CMG shows its appreciation and love to all its members by hosting a fabulous and fun holiday event! They are also collecting for a charity.
MASTERBEAT CLASS OF 2019: NEW YEAR’S LOS ANGELES 9PM-4AM The Mayan, 1038 Hill Street Los Angeles, CA 90015. Check www. masterbeat.com for details.
The Resources
UNINSTRUCTED NUDE FIGURE DRAWING AND PAINTING 1PM-4PM Tom of Finland Foundation, 1421 Laveta Terrace, Los Angeles, CA 90026. Each month the Foundation offers a friendly and positive environment to practice your skills. Please bring your own materials. Spinning the tunes: DJ RocketManLA, with over 100,000 songs! Light refreshments will be served.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15
MOVIE CLUB AT MI CENTRO!—MI CENTRO LGBTQ BOYLE HEIGHTS 2PM-4PM Mi Centro, 553 S. Clarence Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033. Join Senior Service staff for a different movie every month! Mi Centro is a partnership between the Los Angeles LGBT Center and Latino Equality Alliance.
FRUITCAKE: A QUEER HOLIDAY SHOPPING POP-UP 12PM-7PM 2234 W Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90027. There’s no better way to start your holiday shopping that by supporting independent queer artists.
LAGLCC DECEMBER 2018 NETWORKING MIXER 6:30PM-9PM Wolfgang Puck at L.A. Live, 800 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90015. December holiday networking joint mixer with DTLA Mixer. Live, the traditional “bar and grill” concept with approachable fine dining in a dynamic and energetic atmosphere.
AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES 611 S. Kingsley Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90010. www.apla.org. (213) 201-1600.
91411. www.childrenofthenight. org. 800) 551-1300 . Shelter for sexually exploited LGBT youth ages up to 17 yrs old.
ASIAN PACIFIC AIDS INTERVENTION TEAM 605 West Olympic Boulevard Suite 610, Los Angeles, CA 90025. www. apaitonline.org. (213) 553-1830. Provides services to all Asian and Pacific Islanders.
COVENANT HOUSE 1325 North Western Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90027. www.covenanthousecalifornia.org. (323) 461-3131. Shelter for youth ages 14-24 yrs old, HIV support, employment assistance, counseling.
BIENESTAR AIDS PROJECT 4955 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027. www.bienestar.org. CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT 14530 Sylvan Street, Van Nuys, CA
GAY AND LESBIAN CENTER OF LONG BEACH 2017 East 4th Street, Long Beach, CA 90814. www.centerlb.org.
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GMCLA HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR— CALLING ALL ANGELS 2PM-4PM Alex Theatre, 216 N Brand Blvd, Glendale, 91203 An eclectic mix of holiday treats sweeter than Santa’s cookies. What could be more heavenly than celebrating the holidays with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles? KINKY XXXMAS! 9PM-2AM Bullet Bar, 10522 Burbank Blvd, GAY AND LESBIAN CENTER OF LOS ANGELES 1625 Schrader Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028. www.laglc.org. Supports groups, legal help, counseling, HIV+ services, substance abuse treatment and more. GENDER WELLNESS OF LOS ANGELES 116 North Robertson Boulevard, Suite 702, Los Angeles, CA 90048. www.genwell.org Counseling for individuals, couples, families coping with gender identity issues. JEFFREY GRIFFITH YOUTH CENTER 7051 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90038.
EAGLE LA NYE BASH Eagle LA, 4219 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA. Check www.eaglela.com for details. NEWS YEAR’S EVE AT THE BULLET BAR 9PM Bullet Bar, 10522 Burbank Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601 Music by DJ CANDY, champagne toast at midnight, free rides home within 2 miles of The Bullet 10pm-2am. PRECINCT NEW YEAR‘S BASH 2019 Precinct, 357 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA. Celebrate the New Year with your downtown LA queer family with no cover! www.laglc.org. (323) 461-8163. Drop-in services, support for at risk, homeless trans youth. LOS ANGELES FREE CLINIC 8405 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048. www.sabancommunityclinic.org. (323) 653-1990. LOS ANGELES GENDER CENTER 1923 1/2 Westwood Boulevard #2, Westwood, CA 90025. www.lagendercenter.com. (310) 475-8880. Sliding scale clinic. ORANGE COUNTY THE CENTER 12832 Garden Grove Boulevard, Suite A, Garden Grove, CA 92843. www.thecenteroc.org.
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