Guest Columnist

Melanie Willingham-Jaggers Named New Executive Director of GLSEN

by
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers

GLSEN’s First Black, Nonbinary Executive Director Commits to Prioritizing Racial Justice, Gender Justice and Disability Justice

GLSEN, the leading national organization working to guarantee lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) students a supportive and empowering education, has announced Melanie Willingham-Jaggers (they/she) will be the organization’s new Executive Director.

“LGBTQ+ students across the country are facing a crisis amid attacks on their rights and the ongoing pandemic, and we need bold leadership now more than ever,” said Rocío Inclán, GLSEN Board of Directors Chair. “A true leader for their community, Melanie always looks first to the grassroots leadership of the LGBTQ+ youth of color, trans youth and youth with disabilities who are on the frontlines, and centers their experiences and needs in all GLSEN’s work. Melanie is exactly the leader our movement needs to bring our fight for LGBTQ+ justice to the next level as GLSEN’s Executive Director.”

The news of Willingham-Jaggers’ new position was welcomed by additional leaders and advocates in the LGBTQ+ and education movements, as well as those in the fight for social justice among marginalized communities, including GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings, former GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard, Antoni Porowski, Wilson Cruz, Alicia Garza, Lateefah Simon, Ryan Li Dahlstrom, Marlene Sanchez, Brian Bond, Kierra Johnson, and Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen.

GLSEN has advocated for our nation’s K-12 schools since 1990 to be safer, more affirming, and inclusive environments for all youth. Willingham-Jaggers becomes the first person of color, first nonbinary person, and first Black woman to lead the organization in its three decade existence. They joined GLSEN in 2019 as Deputy Executive Director before becoming Interim Executive Director in early 2021.

“I am thrilled to continue and accelerate the important work GLSEN started more than 30 years ago,” said Willingham-Jaggers. “Education is the cornerstone of our democracy and GLSEN’s work is rooted in the belief that education can and should be an experience that is safe, inclusive, and affirming for all students. I am committed to ensuring our organization lives up to that promise and advances work based always on GLSEN’s core strategies: anti-racism, gender justice and disability justice.”

Willingham-Jaggers brings extensive experience as a leader in the social justice movements, including in curriculum design, facilitation, organizing within and beyond various marginalized and intersecting communities, such as including those who are currently or formerly incarcerated, involved in the underground economy, LGBTQ+, youth, immigrants, people with disabilities and senior citizens. They also have a proven track record of building and running successful high-impact programming, training and developing individuals and leading teams, as well as designing effective and value-responsive infrastructure that drive high levels of performance and impact across the organization.

“The appointment of Melanie Willingham-Jaggers heralds an exciting new chapter in the organization’s history,” said Kevin Jennings (he/him), CEO, Lambda Legal and GLSEN founder. “I look forward to seeing GLSEN reach new heights under their leadership.”

“Melanie’s expertise as an organizer and deep connections across movements are invaluable for the next chapter of GLSEN’s work,” said Eliza Byard, Senior Advisor, Campaign for Our Shared Future and GLSEN former Executive Director. “The world of K-12 schools has been turned completely upside-down over the past few years, and Melanie’s vision and experience will provide the essential ingredients of new strategies for a new time.”

Before joining GLSEN, Willingham-Jaggers served as the program associate director of The Worker Institute at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. As a part of the leadership team, they worked to ensure the strategic, programmatic, and operational excellence of the Institute.

“With Melanie’s lifelong experience as an advocate and commitment to putting the voices of LGBTQ+ youth at the forefront of their work, GLSEN is ready to tackle this year’s new challenges. I’m grateful to join GLSEN and Melanie as they continue to work for LGBTQ+ equity in K-12 education for our nation’s students,” said Antoni Porowski.

From 2016-2019, Willingham-Jaggers also served as board chair of The Audre Lorde Project (ALP), the oldest center for community organizing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color, in the New York City area. Melanie’s work on the ALP board was rooted in the belief that as long as there are organizations connected to our freedom movements – those organizations must be internally safe, healthy and vibrant spaces, on which movements can rely if they so choose.

About GLSEN

GLSEN works to create safe and inclusive schools for all. GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression. Each year, GLSEN programs and resources reach millions of students and educators in K-12 schools, via action at the national, state, and local level. Since 1990, GLSEN has improved conditions for LGBTQ+ students across the United States and helped launch an international movement to address LGBTQ+ issues in education.

AIDS activist Peter Staley on his memoir ‘Never Silent’ and friend Dr. Fauci

by
Peter staley

Actions Speak Louder Than Words
AIDS activist Peter Staley on his memoir ‘Never Silent’ and friend Dr. Fauci
By Lawrence Ferber

A key member of AIDS activist group ACT UP and a named plaintiff in the ongoing lawsuit against Gilead and other pharma companies for illegally extending the patent of PrEP and HIV medication tenofovir, Peter Staley will tell you that his life is an open book. Yet it took years of nudging from friends, including Anderson Cooper, to actually write that book himself.

Released in October, Staley’s “Never Silent: ACT UP And My Life In Activism” (Chicago Review Press) is a jaw-droppingly frank 269-page read boasting a foreword by Anderson and back cover blurbs by Hillary Clinton and “Angels in America” playwright Tony Kushner.
While Staley’s experiences with activism and HIV — he was diagnosed with what they called “AIDS-related complex” in 1985 — comprised part of David France’s acclaimed 2012 documentary and 2016 book “How To Survive A Plague,” “Never Silent” details firsthand his personal highs and lows, including sexual and romantic, and his transformation from a closeted Wall Street bond trader to out-and-proud full-time activist. It includes some of ACT UP’s most outrageous, effective actions, like infiltrating big pharma and government offices and covering hateful GOP Senator Jesse Helms’ house in a giant condom.
The book also delves into the infighting that led to ACT UP splintering, Staley’s later crystal meth addiction and his subsequent (and outrageous) street poster campaign to combat its use, how he stopped the Oscar-winning movie “Dallas Buyers Club” from being subverted by an AIDS denialist screenwriter (Vanity Fair recently published a gripping excerpt:), and exploits with policy power players like Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Recently, Staley, who also co-founded and serves as secretary of PrEP4All, discussed the book’s numerous revelations, things he left out, Matthew McConaughey, and X-rated bucket list accomplishments.

How did you become friends with Anderson Cooper, and how did he encourage you to write a memoir?

Well, he was blown away by [the 2012 documentary] “How To Survive A Plague” and reached out by email and said, “If you ever want to get together, I’d really love that.” I jumped on that right away of course, and we had dinner and he gave me a tour of his house, I met the boyfriend, and that’s how it started. And within a week of that dinner he sent me a text: “You should write a memoir.” That’s when I disclosed to him how much I hated writing, and he said, “It’s not that bad; you write a little bit at night before bed and by the end of the year you’ve got half a book written.” My response was: “I’m not going to end my day doing something I hate. You don’t realize how much I hate it!” And I didn’t start writing until 2017 or 2018.

What was one mistake you wanted to avoid while writing this?

The biggest was being a blowhard. Overstating my importance. I think I’ve been pretty good at self-reflection most of my life, and I’m proud of what I’ve done, but I’m incredibly conscious of the fact that none of my first five years as an activist would have been noticed by anybody or made any difference if it wasn’t for the fact [that] I was just one member of a huge movement. 99.9 percent of my power derived from the collective for a good five years.

I was surprised by your level of frankness, especially regarding your sex life. The reveal that you contracted herpes even before your HIV diagnosis seems important, given how stigmatized that virus remains even today

Before AIDS, herpes was on the cover of Time magazine and people would commit suicide when they got a herpes diagnosis. It was AIDS before AIDS. It was a really horrifying diagnosis so, yeah, it was rough. But to be honest, I didn’t consciously think of that, to fight herpes stigma. You couldn’t tell my HIV seroconversion story without mentioning that’s how I found a doctor who helped save my life, [the late] Dr. Dan William.

Is there any progress on a herpes vaccine? It feels like doctors and pharma have just thrown their hands up.

It’s true. But if I [take acyclovir] every day I never have an outbreak. Acyclovir came out after my HIV diagnosis, and I asked if I should stay on it every day and my doctor said yes, so I’ve been on it every day since and have not had an outbreak.

You discuss your relationship with the late journalist and filmmaker Robert Hilferty, whose movie “Stop The Church” famously documented ACT UP’s “die-in” at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1989. However, you don’t mention his tragic suicide in 2009. Why is that?

I also don’t mention that Jef Mittleman, the beautiful Oberlin boy, died of an overdose, possibly a suicide — we don’t know — in a hotel room in NYC in 1994. The book is episodic, and each chapter tells of one specific action or period of time in my life, and if you were central to that narrative as I’m telling it, you’re in the book. It’s 99 percent me and 1 percent the people next to me. I don’t tell the rest of their stories, because that would chop up the narrative.

But I loved Robert. That grin and laugh, there was something a little wicked about the guy, like he always had some goods on you. He was really perceptive and could read a person so quickly, and my god he was sexy, and I don’t think he’ll mind a posthumous rating: he was incredible in bed!

Is there any story you left out and would, if you ever do a follow-up, include first?

Yeah, about a failed action, hopefully with a successful second attempt. I posted on Facebook in late August this cryptic message about how I was mourning the five-year passing of an action that failed, but might be reattempted. It involved dozens of people, a substantial budget, and was all very hush-hush. We managed to extract ourselves from the situation without getting arrested, and that allows us to attempt it again in the future. The issue [it addresses] has not gone away. But if I do a memoir in my ’80s, it’ll be in that one!

I understand you were firm on not wanting ACT UP to be in the main title. What other possibilities did you consider before settling on “Never Silent”?

I was scrambling for title ideas during the three years it took to write. A lot of memoirs use something personal that’s not obvious but you discover its meaning when reading the book. David France of all people suggested one that was like a lightbulb going off in my head: “Please Remain Calm.” You can hear me say it in “How to Survive a Plague,” and it became a funny line I would use whenever we invaded the offices of a pharmaceutical company. And it has a double meaning. I was known for not being one of ACT UP’s hotheads. I was not a screamer. My activism was always very politically driven and I rely on logic and model myself on Spock. But the publisher said no. The publisher wanted something obvious, and I’m always bad at reading the fine print in contracts, and in the publishing industry, unless you’re a Barack Obama, you have no say in the cover or title of your book!

I’m surprised that the publisher didn’t title it “Dr. Fauci’s BFF” or “Matthew McConaughey and Me”!

I met Jared Leto, but I never actually met McConaughey. “Dallas” and “Plague” came out at the same time, and we were at a couple of events together for the awards circuit and there was one moment I saw him leaving early, by the door alone waiting for his Uber, and I thought I’d go up to him and say, “Hey, Matthew, I’m the guy who caused so much trouble before you started shooting!” But I left him to his phone.

Speaking of Fauci, the final chapter is titled “Dinner With Tony,” which addresses his evolution from “tentative leader unwilling to rock the boat” during the 1980s to a good friend. Can you elaborate further on how he’s changed?

He slowly shed the widely held stubbornness of his peers in the scientific community that going slow and being methodical was sacrosanct. Without abandoning the basic tenets of high-quality scientific research, there are all sorts of inventive ways to speed things up and expand access at the same time. He applied many of those lessons to COVID-19.

Has he read the book yet?

He just got my book twice — an inscribed hardcopy for his bookshelf, and a Kindle version that’s easier on his old eyes.

What’s the biggest perk or upside of having your story told through movies and books over the past decade? Are there activist groupies?

I love the activist groupies! I wish they were a larger percentage of the community, but that’s what tipped the scales for me diving into writing. Not writing this book would be a lost opportunity, and that opportunity is inspiration because I’ve been contacted every week since 2012 by some millennial queer through social media [who] just saw “Plague” and it changed their life. A subset of them I stay in contact with and they’ve become activists, gone into medicine, or nonprofit work. That has blown my mind. They’re the ones who give me hope and I adore all of them.

Are shirtless pics welcome too?

Yes. Dick pics. And I will send one back! Another story I didn’t tell in the book was [filmmaker and artist] Gregg Bordowitz was working at GMHC [a NYC-based AIDS service organization formerly called Gay Men’s Health Crisis] and tasked with creating a series of X-rated safe sex videos that were funny and sexy and had lots of condoms and dental dams. This was 1989. He mentioned this to me and I said, “I’ll do it. I’m gonna die in a few years, I want to do porn. It was on my bucket list, what the fuck do I care? I gave up the dream of being president someday!” So I did a safe-sex short and that summer they premiered the video as part of the international AIDS conference in Montreal on a gigantic screen, and every AIDS activist in the country was there. I’m in the audience slumping down, my hands over my eyes. [Laughs.] If you dig far enough, you can find it! It was actually part of Gregg’s exhibition at MoMA PS1 this year! My erect penis was in a museum! Bucket list!

The Trevor Project Condemns Florida “Don’t Say Gay” Bill 

by
The Trevor Project Condemns Florida “Don’t Say Gay” Bill Targeting LGBTQ Students

The bill would effectively erase LGBTQ students and history by banning classroom discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.

January 20, 2022 — The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people, condemned the Florida House Education & Employment Committee for passing HB 1557/SB 1834, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which would ban classroom discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, erasing LGBTQ identity, history, and culture — as well as LGBTQ students themselves. The bill also has provisions that appear to undermine LGBTQ support in schools and include vague parental notification requirements which could effectively “out” LGBTQ-identifying students to their parents without their consent.

“The Trevor Project’s research has found that LGBTQ youth who learned about LGBTQ issues or people in classes at school had 23% lower odds of reporting a suicide attempt in the past year. This bill will  erase young LGBTQ students across Florida, forcing many back into the closet by policing their identity and silencing important discussions about the issues they face,” said Sam Ames (they/them pronouns), Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project. “LGBTQ students deserve their history and experiences to be reflected in their education, just like their peers.”

The Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that more than 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth. According to a recent poll conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of The Trevor Project, 85% of transgender and nonbinary youth—and two-thirds of all LGBTQ youth (66%) — say recent debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health. When asked about proposed legislation that would require schools to tell a student’s parent or guardian if they request to use a different name/pronoun or if they identify as LGBTQ at school, 56% of transgender and nonbinary youth said it made them feel angry, 47% felt nervous and/or scared, 45% felt stressed, and more than 1 in 3 felt sad.

If you or someone you know needs help or support, The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678. 

About The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people. The Trevor Project offers a suite of 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the world’s largest safe space social networking site for LGBTQ youth, TrevorSpace. Trevor also operates an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, an advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and a research team to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide.

Southern Spirit: A very queer vacay in historic Savannah

by
Southern Spirit: A very queer vacay in historic Savannah

by Lawrence Ferber

The ghost of Kevin Spacey haunts this room. 

Actually, it’s the ghost of a rich, gay antiques dealer and preservationist, Jim Williams, whom Spacey portrayed in the 1997 film “Midnight In the Garden of Good And Evil,” although the latter seems somehow more likely to impart chills and cringe these days. I’m touring the Mercer-Williams House, one of Savannah, Georgia’s most famous 19th-century homes, including the actual study where Williams shot and killed his hustler boy toy, Danny Hansford (played by Jude Law in the movie, and I’m sure many queens would welcome his spectre), reportedly in self-defense.

Adapted from gay author John Berendt’s bestselling 1994 nonfiction novel, director Clint Eastwood’s movie shined a Hollywood spotlight on Savannah and its quirky denizens, including iconic transgender entertainer The Lady Chablis, who famously played herself, regularly performed at LGBTQ bar Club One and, sadly, passed away in 2016, which helped attract even more millions of tourists annually. In 2019, 14.8 million visitors came for Savannah’s mix of historic architecture, gorgeous willow-draped parks, movie locations (including the spot where Forrest Gump sat on a bench babbling inane philosophies about chocolates), a buzzing riverside entertainment zone and live-and-let-live genteel Southern attitude. Bless their hearts!

Today the lush, compact and walkable port city, hometown of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 8 queen Dax ExclamationPoint and Georgia Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock, boasts an even more progressive open queerness. There’s Halloween weekend’s vibrant Savannah Pride, the hipster Starland District, an influx of creative young energy thanks to Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD for short — fashion icon André Leon Talley sits on its Board of Trustees) and, this being one of America’s most haunted cities, an expanding population of spirits (including the drinkable type at Ghost Coast Distillery). 

Ultimately, Mercer House — once owned by the family of another iconic homegrown talent, prolific songwriter Johnny Mercer of Oscar-winning “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” ditty “Moon River” and Elvis’ “Fools Rush In” fame — proved an illuminating experience replete with photos of Williams and his parties, original antiques, paintings and furniture, especially for fans of the film and book. But the upper floor, where Williams’ sister still lives, and its working pipe organ remain off limits.

SAVANNAH STAYS

Many tourists stay around the tourist-heavy, shop-lined River Street, newly developed Plant Riverside district, and adjacent downtown, which all form Savannah’s equivalent of NOLA’s French Quarter and an active port where cargo ships routinely zip past along the city’s namesake river and hotels include an Andaz and new 416-room JW Marriott. However, my husband Matt and I opted for the neighboring, slightly inland Historic District. Its Perry Lane Hotel, which splits 167 rooms between two buildings and boasts a cheeky, upscale camp aesthetic in design, decor and property-wide collection of contemporary art, proved perfect and more chill. Just two blocks from Chippewa Square (site of the Gump bench, a temporary prop), there’s also a rooftop bar and pool where local queers regularly congregate for the gorgeous views and a kiki… but not so much for the pedestrian cocktails, one noted. “Nobody goes there for the drinks!” However, if you prefer gay B&Bs that capture the city’s historic flavor, and are allegedly haunted to boot, there’s the Foley House Inn, 

DIGGING YOUR SCENE: SAVANNAH’S TO DO’S

To get one’s bearings in Savannah, a tour is well-advised, and there are dozens listed on official tourism website Visit Savannah, from trolley to bicycle to themed walking tours. The latter include Black heritage, food, local indie boutique shopping, ghost/haunted (I’ll get to that later!), and openly gay guide Jonathan Stalcup’s engaging Architectural Tours of Savannah, which we joined and enjoyed. Stalcup juxtaposes structures and stories with photos of Savannah’s evolving cityscape since its founding in the 1730s by General James Oglethorpe and, as it turns out, some sassy queer facts if you take him aside post-tour. 

Many essential attractions are historic, educational and kid-friendly in nature, including the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, Bonaventure Cemetery, and 100-plus-year-old Leopold’s Ice Cream, which draws snaking, hours-long lines of tourists daily for old-timey frozen treats. It honestly isn’t worth hours-long waits unless you’re the 8-year-old with extremely limited travel and life experience who loudly declared “This is the best ice cream I ever ate!” as I consumed a sundae and rolled my eyes so far back the time traveled to 2015 (pro tip: there are two satellite Leopold’s locations at the airport with little to no wait). Yet some of Savannah’s most intriguing musts are surprisingly modern and edgy. 

Incorporating an antebellum railroad depot in its design, the contemporary SCAD Museum of Art hosts multidisciplinary, provocative exhibitions by international talents like queer French artist Mehryl Levisse, whose immersive “White Wig,” featuring five sculpted wigs by Parisian drag queens, will be on display through December 12, 2021. Artwork and home goods by SCAD’s own faculty, students and alumni, plus books, accessories and more, fill out sister retail space shopSCAD. 

Only open Thursday through Sundays, Graveface Museum is destination-worthy for those obsessed with serial killers, cults, sideshows and pinball machines, with a permanent collection of artifacts related to the above, including a pair of underwear worn by lesbian serial killer Aileen Wuornos and artwork by John Wayne Gacy (shockingly, John Waters hasn’t been by yet!), plus a horror-movie-themed arcade and shop. 

And Chocolat by Adam Turoni is one of Savannah’s retail musts. A queer chocolatier who channels Southern culture and flavors through his sophisticated, high-quality, artful creations, Turoni’s Historic District Bull Street boutique is designed like a home library, its shelves displaying trays of Red Velvet, Mint Julep and Georgia Peach truffles plus gold-dusted honeycomb bars and much more. To the rear, a glass-enclosed kitchen provides views of chocolate-making in action, while Turoni himself often works the register and can be chatted up. Another Chocolat location, on Broughton Street, is dubbed the “Dining Room,” while a third can be found in nearby Charleston, South Carolina (there’s a lot of brand crossover between the two sibling-esque destinations, including Savannah Bee Company, Byrd’s Famous Cookies and the trailblazing Husk restaurant). Private chocolate-making classes with Turoni can also be arranged via the Perry Lane Hotel.

COFFEE AND CUISINE

Being a coffee snob and caffeine junkie, a priority was finding Savannah’s best cold brew. Conveniently, a branch of popular local cafe Franklin’s was a few blocks from my hotel offering a solid cold brew and yummy pastries. Downtown’s queer-owned Blends roasts its own beans, as does Perc, whose owner Philip Brown, a hipster-bear literal daddy, staffs his flagship warehouse-cafe with LGBTQs and is himself the proud father of a trans child. Perc also sells a killer dehydrated instant version, plus excellent bagged beans (Perc expanded to Atlanta in 2020 and opened its second location there in 2021, so this could well become the Southeast’s Stumptown!).

Hungry, we had our first breakfast at local and tourist fave B. Matthews, where reservations are highly recommended during peak hours. Passing numerous rainbow flags, I noticed its listing as both “LGBTQ friendly” and a “transgender safe space” on Google Maps, while the lowcountry Southern-tinged food was excellent. I savored a cheesy, decadent shrimp and grits bowl I would happily return for, plus fried green tomatoes. Another brekkie-must with outdoor seating to boot, The Collins Quarter serves brunch daily and its “Swine Time Beni” — bacon and hollandaise-topped poached eggs over pulled pork and French toast — is bar none the most decadent, heart-clogging eggs Benedict iteration I’ve encountered. And if you’re hungry and hunty, once a month the Moon River Brewing Company and Club One collaborate for a family-friendly Sunday drag brunch. 

Savannah has upped its culinary game substantially in recent years with enterprising young chefs bringing color, presentation and locavore ethos to plates. As a foodie I was psyched to try Husk, and while the interior design proved stunning, drinks lovely, and a bonus to be greeted by a seemingly nonbinary host, the food was hit-and-miss (my boneless heirloom pork entree was shockingly tough, but its side dishes sublime and brightly flavored). 

Happily, 2021 arrival Common Thread and Savannah native Zach Shultz’s Cotton & Rye proved high points, with outstanding, fresh, memorable cuisine; request a table with view of the kitchen at the former, and do not sit outdoors during summertime at the latter lest you risk being tormented by hangry flies while eating. As for supporting LGBTQ-owned restaurants, the traditional French Circa 1875 and Italian La Scala Ristorante are the work of gay couple Jeffrey Downey and Donald Lubowicki.

NIGHTLIFE IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL

If you’re a natural at networking, befriending queer locals is well-advised, since even before COVID hit private house parties became Savannah’s dominant form of local socializing and nightlife for LGBTQs (Grindr and Scruff, we’re giving you stink eye). Only one LGBTQ+ bar, the multi-level dancing and drag queen destination Club One, still stands — there are 18+ nights, a plus for SCAD students — since the delightfully divey Chuck’s Bar closed in 2019. 

As with many cities, drag shows have become a magnet for godforsaken decidedly un-gay bachelorette parties and rowdy (albeit ally-ish) heterosexuals. This certainly proved true with Savannah’s Yes Queen! Pub Crawl. My hubby and I were the sole queers participating besides the delightful Venezuela-born queen and aspiring fashion designer leading the tour, Marie Con, and her lowkey boyfriend. It basically entailed Marie creating a loud public spectacle while we searched for her fictitious sugar daddy, Richard, aka “Dick”; stopped at non-gay bars for drink specials; and, at her insistence, grabbed each other’s butts to form human centipedes while crossing the street. It was a bit #MeToo and I really wished #TimesUp, but I did cull valuable intel from Marie about the scene and local drag collective, House of Gunt, before fleeing early. 

We didn’t flee early from another popular and quintessential Savannah after-dark activity: a ghost tour. Although hoping for the guide known as “Prince,” who styles himself like the iconic late musician, our adults-only Sixth Sense haunted tour was led by the black-clad “Lady Ravenwood,” whose ensemble included an LGBTQ+ rainbow and a shiny pair of steampunk glasses (not sure how steampunk figures in here, but OK). 

Being a skeptical Scully to my hubby’s I-want-to-believe Mulder, I rolled my eyes as Ravenwood told us of murder victim ghosts and flashed images of blue orbs hovering on her phone, and I begged for a spirit or demon to attach itself to us to spice things up (“Burn sage!” my hubby’s fellow true believer friend texted in a panic). Alas, no blue orbs or demons followed us home, but darned if glowing happy memories of Savannah don’t frequently haunt and beckon us back.

NY-raised entertainment and travel journalist Lawrence Ferber has contributed to publications including Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, The Advocate, NewNowNext, The NY Post and TripSavvy. He also co-wrote/co-created the 2010 gay romcom “BearCity” and authored its 2013 novelization.

Decriminalization of sex work is good public health policy

by
Scott Schoettes

By Scott Schoettes

Sex work needs to be decriminalized in the United States. My desire to see this come to pass is not (completely) self-interested. It is a matter of human rights and personal autonomy, and a natural extension of Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark 2003 Supreme Court case that established the constitutional right to engage in same-sex sexual activity. Just as importantly, however, decriminalization of sex work is an HIV prevention and public health strategy.

First, criminalization drives sex work underground and impedes public health efforts to reach sex workers and their clients with HIV prevention, treatment, care and support programs. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has documented that, in large part due to the criminalization of sex work, sex workers frequently have insufficient access to adequate health services, male and female condoms, water-based lubricants, post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) following condomless sex or rape, management of STIs, drug treatment and other harm reduction services, protection from violence and abusive work conditions, and social and legal support.

Due in part to the illegal nature of the work, sex workers often face discrimination and rejection in accessing healthcare, with damaging health results. Occupational stigma of criminalized work increases vulnerability to stress and diseases, compounding health care needs while simultaneously acting as a barrier to healthcare services essential to prevention. When sex workers do seek out healthcare services, they often are regarded in ways that reinforce criminal stigma, which can deter sex workers from seeking care at all and from disclosing their occupation for fear of discrimination by their healthcare provider and disclosure of their identity and activities to law enforcement. For sex workers living with HIV, these concerns are compounded.

Second, the use of condoms as evidence undermines prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, as well as other public health goals. Though a few jurisdictions have reformed their practices in recent years, many jurisdictions still view the mere possession of condoms as evidence of the intent to engage in prostitution or other prostitution-related crimes. Arresting and prosecuting people who carry condoms reduces use of an extremely effective and affordable prevention tool, particularly for people engaged in (or profiled as likely to engage in) “street level” sex work. And using condoms as evidence makes managing sexual health more difficult because it forces individuals to weigh the risk of prosecution for a prostitution-related crime against the risk of transmitting or acquiring HIV and other STIs.

Third, criminalization increases violence against sex workers. Where sex work is criminalized, there are alarmingly high rates of physical and sexual violence against sex workers by clients, individuals posing as clients, police, exploitative “pimps,” and others. Abuse is fueled when perpetrators recognize the barriers criminalized sex workers face in seeking justice, perpetuating physical and sexual violence with impunity. Furthermore, abusive intimate partners can exploit the illegality of sex work and may threaten to expose their partners to police as tactics of control.

To avoid police detection, criminalized sex workers often displace themselves to isolated (and more dangerous) settings, effectively forcing them to trade away their safety and well-being. When criminalization prompts sex workers and their customers to move their encounters off main streets and into less trafficked areas, they are exposed to greater risk of violence, more pressure to engage in unprotected sex, and other hazards.

Violence against sex workers is often not registered as an offense by the police and in some cases is perpetrated by police. Sex workers report severe sexual violence, including forced unprotected sex by police officers, both at the time of arrest for prostitution-related crimes and while in custody on those criminal charges. And the criminalization of sex work means the violence that occurs in the context of sex work has been largely unmonitored, resulting in few to no legal protections afforded to sex workers by police and judicial systems.

In countries where sex work has been decriminalized, access to care improves, STI rates decrease, and safer sex practices increase. Though the UN has identified sex workers as a “key population” in the global fight against HIV for many years, the current National HIV/AIDS Strategy fails to include them among the “priority populations” in the United States. Here’s hoping sex workers are identified as a priority population in the next iteration of the NHAS and that the barriers to prevention, care and treatment identified above are addressed while progress is made toward full decriminalization.

Scott Schoettes is an attorney and advocate who lives openly with HIV. He engages in impact litigation, public policy work, and education to protect, enhance, and advance the rights of everyone living with HIV. This column is a project of TheBody, Plus, Positively Aware, POZ and Q Syndicate, the LGBTQ+ wire service. Visit their websites – http://thebody.com, http://hivplusmag.com, http://positivelyaware.com and http://poz.com – for the latest updates on HIV/AIDS.

At the Crossroads of Islam and Homosexuality

by
At the crossroads of Islam and homosexuality

The following piece was written by a good friend who wants to remain anonymous for the time being. You may remember that a couple years back he wrote Young, Muslim, & Halfway Out of the Closet

Stop and think for a second about how many gay people you know. Now, of those people count on your hands how many would also call themselves Muslim? I would be surprised If you could hold more than one finger up. I am a gay cisgender man who comes from a Muslim background and I’m here to try to explain why we almost cease to exist in society.

I was born and raised in a fairly moderate Muslim household in the UK. I went to Arabic school every Saturday for the best part of a decade in an attempt to learn the language and hear the whimsical fables of the many prophets. As a child, I developed an irrational fear of death after hearing stories of heaven and hell foretold by my mother. This fear and the fact that I hadn’t yet developed critical thinking skills to question what I was doing meant I continued to keep up appearances of being faithful. Praying tended to feel more like a chore and I would rarely complete my ‘5 a day’.  With the hormones of puberty came my sexual awakening. Pornography was bittersweet at first as it came with a lot of guilt. However, as I began to tepidly explore my sexuality further through chatting to likeminded people on social media, the guilt waned whilst the questions arose.

In the summer before I started university I came out to my sisters and friends who all took it well and with the dawn of university came a number of different ‘sinful’ experiences including drinking – even if it was very weak cider. I had held out until university to be free and I didn’t even feel guilty anymore. I mean why should I feel guilty about being myself? At the freshers’ fair I remember sheepishly signing up to the LGBT+ society after the guy on the stand spotted that glimmer in my eye and I’m proud to say that 2 years on I have represented my society as the BAME representative, despite not being out to my parents!

Homosexuality in Islam is very much still a taboo subject, we are elephants in the room, seen but not heard. This is why I wanted to take on the role to provide us, and other queer people of colour with a voice – think ‘The Little Mermaid’. Since, the subject is rarely discussed, many backwards beliefs remain. For example, many including my father still believe it is a ‘choice’ and you are allowed to be gay as long as you’re essentially celibate your whole life – because we all want to be monks right? In some Muslim countries you can be killed for ‘practising’ your sexuality and honour killings within British Asian communities are not uncommon. This fear has driven an increase in marriages of convenience between gay men and women or arranged marriages where the spouse is being deceived in plain sight.

Our university recently had its annual ‘Islam awareness week’ where the Islamic society held a marquee on campus containing a myriad of information about the religion, beautiful Arabic calligraphy and free samosas. Anyone would be a fool not to at least be curious. The more I have discovered my sexuality, the more I have lost touch with my faith so stepping into this space felt strange yet familiar. After exchanging my coupon for some free food I sat down and began chatting with some friendly hijabi girls. I surprised myself as I began to open up to them about why I had lost faith. None of them reacted badly to my confession and I left questioning whether I was doing the right thing again. However, ultimately they retorted the same celibacy spiel that airs from the mouths of the majority of imams (mosque leaders) in this country.

There is also a severe lack of media representation when it comes to queer Muslims. Once in a blue moon there will be a low-profile documentary putting us under the microscope but this can lead people to believe that we are just that, a microscopic problem that is hidden away. Putting us side by side with major characters in films, books and television is how we can truly become visible as invisibility in popular culture means invisibility in real life.

At the start of the year the roles reversed and I became the guy on the LGBT stand at the freshers fair seeking out shy baby gays. One of them being a wee Scottish girl who told me she, ‘can either be a proud, out lesbian or a happy Pakistani Muslim girl but cannot ever be both’. Over the year I have watched this once timid girl disprove her own beliefs by discovering the pride in her sexuality whilst maintaining her religious sobriety in gay clubs and she has now succeeded my role as BAME and Faith and Belief rep for the LGBT+ society. If a girl who struggles to make 5 foot can make herself seen, so can you! If you ever want to see you parents smile rather than tut when a gay couple comes on ‘First Dates’ you have to show yourself. It will not be easy but change in them will only come from a change within you…

Be brave,

from someone like you.

Help Gay Russian Asylum Seeker Pursue His Art

by
Support Andrey Nasanov

Please read this message from my friend and Russian Asylum seeker Andrey Nasonov.  Visit his gofundme page to read the complete story and support his dream of becoming an artist.

As many of you already know, three years ago I moved to the US. Political asylum. You can read about it here Beaten for Being Gay in Russia – Andrey’s Story , here Gay asylum seeker flees violence in Putin’s Russia or here Escape from Russia: My Independence Day

Now I look back and try to examine the first three years that I’ve spent in the USA. Certainly, these were some of the most difficult and interesting years in my life. I can talk about them a lot … But I’ll go straight to the main point.

I do not regret that I chose this path. But I still look at the years I’ve spent in the United States with a serious amount of regret. I have not lived these three years as I could have. I did not do what I could have done. Life difficulties forced me to include a “self-preservation regime”, which was based solely on my fear. On a fear of being without money, on a fear of being without a roof over my head or a piece of bread, on a fear of being without friends or even without my husband. On a fear of losing myself or losing my life. I found a job, which was extremely hard for me, for a very small amount of money (by American standards). I could not find other options. Of course, because of that, I was very unhappy. And, slowly but surely, it was killing me. For a year and a half, I lived in an endless cycle of “work-house-tears at night and fatigue”.

At some point, I realized that this work almost broke me. And now I am in the process of making perhaps one of the most important decisions of recent years. The kinds of decisions that turn life into a different direction. I hope that it will not be a mistake and that in due time I will remember this time with a pleasant smile on my face.

I love to draw. I really love to draw. Moreover, almost everything I’ve drawn in the US over these three years has already been sold. I will not be too modest now. I finally realized that my drawings are something that people really like, that can be sold. They give me not only moral satisfaction but also money. And this really can become my life’s work.

I’ve had enough of living with the permanent feeling of «I hope very soon everything will change!». It will not happen until I do something about it. My strengths and my ambitions for this are quite enough. I know.

I’m quitting my job. This is a very serious decision, despite all the emotionality of the text you read now. And despite all the sadness in my life now. In August of this year, I will open my business and will start working as a full-time artist.

I have an incredible opportunity to open my own art studio. Yes, I will be the happiest person in the world. I will finally start doing what I really like. I will become an independent and confident person.

Why am I writing to you about this? I want to ask you for support. Informational or financial. I ask you to tell your friends about the Artist Who Dreams. I ask you to support me at this initial stage of my work. The opening of the art studio is a very costly undertaking both in terms of the efforts made and financially. Any $5 of yours brings me closer to my dream. To everyone that makes a donation, I promise a personal surprise – something very, very interesting! Yes, yes, it’s certainly about my drawings 😉

Click here to make a donation and support Andrey’s Dreams







Click here to make a donation and support Andrey’s Dream.

 

 

Young, Muslim, & Halfway Out of the Closet

by
Halfway Out of the Closet

Coming out. Diana Ross, emotional YouTube videos and dusty old closets are just some of the things that spring to mind, but the truth is everybody’s definition is unique. For me the process began long before I opened the closet door. Coming from a Muslim background I used to pray to God to straighten me out and so naturally I avoided pornography and all the sin that comes with it for longer than most horny teens. When I finally had my sexual awakening I felt guilty at first, but the more exposure I had to this strange yet familiar gay world and the more people I spoke to, the more I began to accept myself and think maybe I don’t have to marry a woman and have kids in a dark closet. The first step is coming out to yourself because if you can’t come out to yourself, how in the hell you gonna come out to anyone else?!

My sisters were always going to be the first people I told – at the ripe old age of 19 in a Wahaca restaurant. I was fairly certain they would take it well but you always have that doubt in the back of your mind. Everyone always talks about the feeling of a weight being lifted off your shoulders but I felt more nervous and weirded out by the whole situation. Like I said everyone’s experience is different and you should never compare yourself to others. Nevertheless, it has allowed us to grow closer and I hope this continues. Meeting up with my oblivious parents the next day, after deep chats with my sister was bizarre to say the least, but having someone to talk to is always better than no one.

Over that summer I told everyone close to me who I thought would take it well and thankfully they all did. At first it all seems very serious and formal so it can be difficult to know how to approach the reveal. However, I found that the more open I was the easier it became to casually drop the bombshell, or not feel the need to make a point of it because it’s already obvious and they clearly don’t give two shits. It’s 2017, I’ve told more than one person over Snapchat for God’s sake.

University is liberating for everyone but it can be especially important for LGBT+ people to grow their often-suppressed personality, away from potential pressures and glaring eyes at home. This was undoubtedly the case for me. For the first time, I could meet people and be realer than I ever had before. I’m still working on finding my authentic self but that is what coming out is all about. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would be attending drag shows with gay friends, becoming the BAME representative for the LGBT+ society or marching in a pride parade, but this and so much more is what you have to look forward to. All you have to do is turn that key.

I am speaking to you a year on from first opening that closet door, with one foot in and one foot out. Primarily due to unanswered questions about how my religion can reconcile with my sexuality and the fact that my parents are still in the dark. It’s not easy for me to enlighten them because they are practicing Muslims who are against homosexuality. This has created a barrier which prevents us from growing close as I have to act straight in front of them, or rather just exist. For this reason I have considered switching that light on as early as the end of this summer. I know it will not be easy at first and it may even drive us further apart, but I live for the chance that we could have a better relationship. I can’t see them die having lived a lie.

Being stuck in the closet for so long has forced me to suppress my personality to the extent that I don’t even know who the real me is. But I like to think that a year from now I could be finding myself to the tune of RuPaul’s latest gay anthem, as far away as possible from that dark closet I used to call home, along with many of you.

Peace and love,

Someone like you x

Support is available.  The Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD) works to support, empower and connect LGBTQ Muslims.  Find out more at www.muslimalliance.org. 

Halfway Out of the Closet
Halfway Out of the Closet