SESTA-FOSTA and its implications on stigma in gay culture. BY STEPHAN FERRIS SESTA-FOSTA stands for Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act. The two pieces melded together to become law on April 11, 2018. Both purport to halt sex trafficking, but in reality, are a tool for censorship. Censorship through costly…
Sales of sex toys are up. “People are looking for ways to relieve stress.” BY ORLY LYONNE According to Mr. Hankey of mrhankeystoys.com, the recent political upheaval may have been bad for the country but good for sales in the sex industry. “Our sales are up 200% over last year—however I’m not really sure that…
An interview with Derek Young, administrative manager at Bad Dragon, a company specializing in custom, handmade fantasy sex toys. BY VICTOR MELAMED In dealing with the LGBTQ community—what are the most common questions you are asked about your products? It may come as a surprise, but questions that the LGBTQ community have regarding are products…
Tops, bottoms, sides, and versatile? Navigating gay sex with Bradley Birkholz. Watch:
Campaign showing clothed women and nude men—a statement about how women are often presented as disembodied sex objects in clothing ads. Women’s clothing brand Suistudio USA has a series of ads that reverse common gender roles, reports LGBTQ Nation at lgbtqnation.com. The “Not Dressing Men” campaign shows women clothed and looking at the camera, while…
Without an easy check-in-the-box to apply, many substance abuse facilities simply don’t know what to with a transitioning individual. BY DR. RONAYE CALVERT Picture it: West Hollywood, California, 2016. It was a hot day, white petals fallen from nearby trees lined the pavement and the smell of a freshly lit cigarette filled the air. A teary-eyed…
In addition to being forbidden fruit, these books also marked a period in time that was finite: the golden era of narrative porn. BY VICTOR MELAMED In a recent profile in Rolling Stone publisher and film scholar Maitland McDonagh explained why she launched 120 Days Books, a press dedicated to republishing unjustly forgotten gay adults-only…
Corey Saucier PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM AGE: 40 HOMETOWN: Los Angeles, Ensenada, and Bay St. Louise, Mississippi (we moved a lot). SELF IDENTIFY AS: Cis, queer, bottom. CURRENT AND PAST OCCUPATIONS: I don’t believe in work. CHILDHOOD CRUSH: River Phoenix RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single PET PEEVE: The continued destruction and subjugation of black bodies, and…
“Glee” Star Comes Out As Transgender The official debut of Jake Zyrus. The singer comes out on social media, thanks his fans. BY ORLY LYONNE The singer formerly known as Charice Pempengco announced on Twitter last month that his new name is Jake Zyrus and he identifies as a man. Before transitioning, Zyrus was out as…
Web cam performers have slowly become recognized as a force to be recognized in the adult entertainment industry. One of the largest live cam websites in the world, CAM4, offers many different types of performers and are dedicated to ensuring those performers get the support they need in order to succeed and grow. They are…
The City of West Hollywood is going blue! This week the WeHo City Hall building will be lit up in blue lights in support of F*ck W/out Fear, a PSA campaign promoting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) the once daily pill which, if taken as directed by an HIV-negative negative individual is more than 99 percent effective in preventing…
Over at VICE there is a great little video profile of one of our favorite activists, Josh Robbins, an advocate for people living with HIV and video blogger who has been documenting his experience with the virus since his diagnosis.
Sexual RACISM Cecilio Asuncion, the star of Strut, Oxygen’s reality show about transgendered fashion models, on stereotypes about masculinity. BY JOHN STEIN At the start of a new year, the gay community still faces discrimination and marginalization by mainstream society. So it may come as a surprise to learn that within a community fighting for equality,…
MR. SISTER LEATHER 2017 The Sisters’ new titleholder, David Sanford, on sobriety, kink and living your life out loud. BY MARK ARIEL PHOTO BY ROBERT GREEN, MOTORBOOT PHOTOGRAPHY The results of The Los Angeles Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence contest are in – David Sanford is the new Mr. Sister Leather 2017. The Sisters’ first…
Ali Mushtaq: Mr. Long Beach Leather 2016 THE FIGHT Interview Ali – congratulations on winning the title of Mr. Long Beach Leather 2016! What motivated you to enter the contest? There were two main reasons. Long Beach was one of the first leather communities I was introduced to when I moved back to Southern California. Since joining the…
A new study suggests that open relationships among gay couples could bring a couple closer together. BY VICTOR MELAMED While open relationships are much more prevalent among gay couples compared to heterosexual couples, there is often still stigma attached to such relationships. And some continue to wonder whether sex and love can ever be separated, reports…
HEALTH OFFICIALS: GET MENINGITIS VACCINE Los Angeles and Orange County health officials are calling for all gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (MSM) to get meningitis vaccinations, amid an outbreak of the potentially fatal disease in Southern California areas. The vaccine was previously recommended for people with HIV and others who were…
