Palm Springs Pride headliner Wrabel on finding your own voice, a painful breakup and the “bully in his head.” BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY MATHEW TUCCIARONE With his first single “Sideways” featured on iTunes and downloaded nearly half a million times—and his song “Ten Feet Tall,” featured in a Bud Light commercial during the…
There are not enough parents to care for all of the children in the foster care system. You can make a difference. BY ORLY LYONNE RaiseAChild.US is a national nonprofit that promotes family building to a broad spectrum of prospective parents to solve the U.S. foster care crisis. They do not discriminate based on sexual orientation,…
How one gay man’s guardian angels saved the day. BY ERIC SLAYTON I was a six-year-old child raising my two-year-old and infant brothers. My mother was a drug addict and my father was no where to be seen. I remember my childhood being a merry go-round of insecurity and change, not understanding what I was witnessing.…
Drag correspondent Pickle on “Le Bal” at Ace Hotel DTLA last month: “The whole evening could be described as relentless orgasmaticness.” BY PICKLE | PHOTOS BY SARA TOLLEFSON It almost looks like there should be mummies hanging from the ceiling,” remarked the gorgeous Candis Cayne, appropriately calling attention to the fact that a drag extravaganza…
An interview with Dr. Sam Najmabadi, the medical director of the Center for Reproductive Health & Gynecology, on LGBT family building. Dr. Najmabadi, what options are currently available for a gay couple interested in having their own children? Same sex male couples have to use an egg donor and a surrogate. The egg donor and…
Los Angeles LGBT Center’s student safety program goes nationwide. BY VICTOR MELAMED A pilot program developed and launched two years ago by the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) with community partners to help make schools safer for LGBTQ students, has proven so successful—with students, teachers and administrators—that it’s being…
Is the queer community on the edge of assimilation, or a sexual revolution? BY BRENDEN SHUCART 2015 has been a monumental year for the queer communities. The admittance of gays into the military and the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage represent the culmination of the long fought equality agenda that has dominated the LGBTQ political…
“The National Coalition of Rent Boys & Allies” advocates for the legal rights of male escort workers. BY VICTOR MELAMED An association of rent boys and their supporters has organized a national advocacy group in response to the Homeland Security and NYPD raid on Rentboy.com in New York city, August 25, 2015. The National Coalition…
Los Angeles LGBT Center opens new West Hollywood facility to promote, protect sexual health. HIV/STD testing capacity triples; PrEP and PEP services expanded. BY ORLY LYONNE | PHOTOS BY LISALISA PHOTOGRAPHY Hundreds of people turned out last month to celebrate the opening of the new Los Angeles LGBT Center-WeHo. Located just above Gym Sportsbar and…
Report on intimate partner violence in LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities: transgender people face increased risk of violence. BY VICTOR MELAMED The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) has released its report “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Intimate Partner Violence in 2014.” Key findings in the report include the following: • For a fourth…
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 PALM SPRINGS PRIDE FESTIVAL Downtown Palm Springs, Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 7-8. On Palm Canyon Dr. from Amado to Baristo Rd. and on Arenas Rd from Belardo to Calle Encilia. For more info visit pspride.org. Palm Canyon Drive will be closed to traffic and transformed into a vibrant, pedestrian friendly Pride Festival, unique to Southern California.…
Archbishop Gets HIV/AIDS Advocacy Award Archbishop Rev. Carl Bean will receive an award of distinction from the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation (SDHDF) at the upcoming Aston-Brooks Gala on November 7. Archbishop Bean is the third and final honoree who has been selected to receive the Sunshine Brooks HIV/AIDS Advocacy Award. “Archbishop Bean has taken…
A World Without AIDS Engineered protein awakens resting immune cells infected with HIV and facilitates their destruction. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have created a protein that awakens resting immune cells infected with HIV and facilitates their destruction in laboratory studies, reports sciencedaily.com The protein potentially could contribute to a cure for HIV infection…
Project Nunway L.A. Organized by the legendary Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the third annual Project Nunway L.A. exploded last month at The Mayan Theatre with over 25 designers showcasing their designs inspired by the “Tarot” theme. An extravagant celebration of design, art, fashion, and music, the event raised over $20,000, for two local…
Radical Muslims & Double Standards Where is the outrage when Muslims publicly murder Muslim men for being gay? BY MICHAEL LUCAS The relatively modest amount of news coverage and the surprising absence of protest over the executions of men suspected of being gay by Islamic extremists in Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere in the Muslim…
Star Wars: Battlefront The game is being recognized to be the most detailed Star Wars title to date. Releases November 17. BY JOSEPH ARELLANO Luke… I am your father. Those five words became movie history when the amazing and jaw dropping “Empire Strikes Back” hit theaters right after “A New Hope.” “Star Wars” is a movie…
Lenny Dykstra, the Met’s right fielder back in the 1990s, paid private eyes to investigate umpires. He discovered a few gay ones, and blackmailed them into calling a narrow strike zone, which in turn allowed him to lead the national league in bases on balls. SMARMY MODERATORS & SELF-IMPORTANT PARTICIPANTS Here’s a little…
Being Grateful With Thanksgiving in mind, we asked a few local sober folks with various lengths of sobriety, why staying grateful is an important part of their recovery. BY PAULO MURILLO Happy Again “It’s important to be grateful. I’ve been doing this for 26 years and it’s the first time I ever reached a year and…
DIANA JOY PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM Photo Shoot Location: RETRO FITNESS Age 34 Occupation Costume Designer, Wardrobe Stylist, Fitness Instructor, Performer. Hometown Vermont. “I grew up out in the woods in a house my parents built.” Relationship status Single by choice. Something no one knows about you “I lost my virginity to a Blue Man…
Transgender In Prison: California’s New Guidelines California became the first state in the nation last month to agree to pay for transgender prison inmates to receive sexual reassignment surgery. Prison officials released specific guidelines in the wake of several lawsuits. Mattheus Stephens, a partner at Progressive Law Group, said the law says it must be…
