DARKER ELEMENTS

Dragula’s Israel Zamora on coming out, his work on television and the process of creation. BY VICTOR MELAMED  |  PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM Dancer, actor, model and jewelry designer Israel Zamora reveals, in an interview with THE FIGHT, that people Read more

Empire starJussie Smollett’s violent attackers yelled racial and homophobic slurs, shouting “this is MAGA country.”  BY VICTOR MELAMED Surveillance video has captured potential persons of interest in the homophobic, racist attack on Empire actor Jussie Smollett in Chicago last month, Read more

Adventures Of The Heart

“We were letting the ideal of staying together take precedence over our personal growth and happiness as individuals.” BY LEON FOX When my husband and I started dating, we agreed that we didn’t want a heteronormative relationship with standards and Read more

ELECTRIC SOUL

Helix Model Joey Mills will be in Santa Monica next month to present his coming-of-age novel that chronicles his life before he was famous.  BY JOHN STEIN Written by  Taylor Saracen and being released through 13 Red Media, Electric Soul Read more

Love Makes A Family

Randal and Scott Martin-Black, a gay couple with two adopted kids, on finding the right agency, entering a lifelong duty and answering silly questions some straight people ask BY SEAN WOLF GALUSZKA A while back, gay adoption and “gaybies” seemed all the rage. Baby Read more

Remembering Nacho Nava

“Nacho was an inspiration to many, and his spirit will live on in our hearts and memories forever.” BY VICTOR MELAMED Nacho Nava, founder of the weekly queer party Mustache Mondays—which ran for more a decade in downtown Los Angeles—died last Read more

SHAMEFUL

Not A single LGBT Chechen has received asylum in the United States amidst deadly anti-gay purge. BY VICTOR MELAMED A violent crackdown on LGBT people in the Russian region of Chechnya has resulted in the arrest and torture of dozens Read more

Sustaining Your Relationship

Healthy relationships help us experience ourselves more fully, integrating all the various parts of who we are. BY JAMES GUAY, LMFT Relationships are potent forces that bring out our best and worst selves. They challenge us to face our wounds Read more

The Art

DUSTI CUNNINGHAM Dusti Cunningham is a Los Angeles based photographer who grew up in a very clean single-wide trailer home in rural Kansas. He didn’t own a television so he watched tornadoes. None of his dogs were ever named Toto. Read more

The Big Dill

BEING CHESTER Pickle breaks bread with internet personality, actor, singer, dancer and musician Chester Lockhart at Paley Hollywood. BY PICKLE Chester Lockhart’s ears shimmer. I mean that literally. When we settled in to our booth at the beautiful Paley in Read more

The Body

NHI MEDICAL A Different Approach to Hair Restoration Patients often leave NHI Medical in happy disbelief. They are pleasantly surprised that their scheduled consultation is with the doctor that will be performing their hair restoration procedure, versus a salesperson. They Read more

The Calendar

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7 INTERNATIONAL BEAR CONVERGENCE 2019—IBC Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs, 150 South Indian Canyon Drive.Tickets & Info: www.ibc-ps.com. Runs through Monday, February 11. The International Bear Convergence (IBC) – the premier event for Bears and Admirers.  3 GIRLS Read more

The City

ORANGE COUNTY RADIANT HEALTH CENTERS HOST 35TH ANNUAL RADIANT ROYAL GALA  Radiant Health Centers hosted their 35th annual Radiant Royal Gala last month at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana.  The non-profit fundraiser celebrated the golden age of Las Vegas Read more

The Music

HELLO HAPPINESS Chaka Khan returns with a renewed sense of purpose BY PAUL V. VITAGLIANO We’ve been losing so many of our musical icons and heroes the past few years, it’s been like a shock to the system. To lose Read more

The Nation

TRUMP ADMIN: AGENCY CAN TURN AWAY JEWS AND GAYS The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a waiver to a South Carolina foster care agency, granting it a blanket license to discriminate based on its religious beliefs. Read more

The Share

DATING SOBER We asked a few local clean and sober folks, with various lengths of recovery time, how they navigate through dating in sobriety. DISCOVER YOURSELF “I find it way easier to date in sobriety. Before I was sober, I Read more

The Transaction

HOLLYWOOD EVOLVING First out trans actor cast in big budget superhero film. Zach Barack, a 23-year-old transgender actor from the suburbs of Chicago, will appear in Marvel’s upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home movie. He is believed to be the first Read more