LIFE IN RECOVERY We asked these three clean and sober individuals with different lengths of recovery time, how their life has improved since they decided to get sober. MORE MINDFUL “Before I used to say sobriety has given me the car, the material things and the cash and prizes, but the more I’m sober, I…
That Poisons “You know what it’s like, Ellen… You know what it’s like to grow up and internalize homophobia and live with that shame and how much that poisons you.” —Actress Ellen Page on Ellen DeGeneres’ show, last month. DeGeneres has been criticized recently for being too forgiving of homophobia. No Place “Hate has no…
Support For SEX Workers Volunteer outreach workers will walk along Santa Monica Boulevard, from Vermont Avenue to La Brea Avenue. BY VICTOR MELAMED A total of $80,000 in funding for a program that helps transgender people who are engaging in sex work or experiencing homelessness along Santa Monica Boulevard was unanimously approved last week by the…
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. Dolly Parton and his mother were his heroes, they both wore wigs. Dusti got his…
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 Hollywood, I couldn’t help but notice that his ears almost seemed as if they were…
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 are even more surprised that the doctor they meet with actually tells them the truth…
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 1 BAR 9PM-2AM Redline Gay Bar DTLA, 131 E 6th St, Los Angeles. The New…
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 from the 1950s and 1960s. Poverty, stigma, cultural misunderstandings and other health barriers have led…
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 both Bowie and Prince in 2016, and then Aretha Franklin last year, the truly great…
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. Miracle Hill Ministries refuses to partner with any foster parents that do not share its…
On the happy side of the ledger, we have the gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, running for president, New York has banned conversion therapy, and in the most cute story, we saw photos of the adorable baby girl penguin with her gay dads Sphen and Magic at the Sydney aquarium. ANTI-TRANS RULING A BAD…
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 didn’t know how to love myself. Recovery is all about self-discovery, so until you discover…
NOW CHOOSING “I continue to support the rights of individuals to choose how they will respond to their sexual attractions and identity… With that freedom, I am now choosing to pursue life as a gay man.” —Former “gay conversion” therapist David Matheson announcing that he identifies as gay, to the LGBTQ nonprofit Truth Wins Out,…
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 out trans actor to be cast in a big budget superhero film, reports NBC News.…
ERIN BURRELL Born in Salt Lake City, Utah—Erin Burrell currently lives in Los Angeles, California, where he studied fine art at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Burrell’s work is influenced and affected by music, film, and the queer community that surrounds him in Los Angeles. He focuses on the discovery of new…
by Pickle Navigating Bodies Pickle interviews activist Bella Bathory on the fight to decriminalize sex work, the nature of kink and her love for Jayne Mansfield. I meet a lot of fabulous people in my line of work. I am, after all, in the business of being fabulous. I thought it would be keen to interview…
THROUGH JANUARY 27 MICHAEL CHILDERS: DISTORTIONS ONE Gallery, West Hollywood, 626 North Robertson Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Guest curated by Joseph Daniel Valencia. The exhibition is organized by the ONE Archives Foundation, Inc. THROUGH MARCH 17 OUTLIERS AND AMERICAN VANGUARD ART LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036. The first major exhibition to explore key…
