The Mothership Got a Facelift

The sweetest spot on the net, the gay sexy healthy website LifeLube, went to Mexico "on spa" and returned looking fresher and lovelier than ever before.

You'll find fluffed and folded info on Sex & Drugs, Physical Health, Relationships & Emotional Health, Spirituality and more of the sticky stuff that keeps gay men together.

If you haven't visited the Mothership in awhile, isn't it about time you did? Tell her she looks faaaaabulous.

Homosexuality And The Indian

via LittleIndia.com

In India, except for a few people belonging to the English-speaking elite in metropolitan centers, mostly in the higher echelons of advertising, fashion, design, fine and performing arts, men (and women) with same-sex-partners neither identify themselves as homosexuals nor admit their sexual preference, often even to themselves. Many men - some married - have had or continue to have sex with other men; but only a miniscule minority are willing to recognize themselves as homosexual.

The assertion that there are hardly any homosexuals in India and yet there is considerable same-sex-involvement seems contradictory, yet simple to reconcile. Sex between men, especially among friends or within the family during adolescence and youth, is not regarded as sex, but masti, an exciting, erotic playfulness, with overtones of the mast elephant in heat.

Outside male friendship, it is a way to satisfy an urgent bodily need or, for some, to make money. Sex, on the other hand, is the serious business of procreation within marriage. Almost all men who have sex with other men will get married even if many continue to have sex with men after marriage. Sexual relations with men are not a source of conflict as long as the person believes he is not a homosexual in the sense of having an exclusive preference for men and does not compromise his masculine identity by not marrying and hrefusing to produce children.

As a recent study (Asthana & Oostvogels) tells us, "Even effeminate men who have a strong desire for receiving penetrative sex are likely to consider their role as husbands and fathers to be more important in their self-identification than their homosexual behavior."

The cultural ideology that strongly links sexual identity with the ability to marry and procreate does indeed lessen the conflict around homosexual behavior. Yet for many it also serves the function of masking their sexual orientation, of denying them the possibility of an essential aspect of self knowledge. Those with a genuine homosexual orientation subconsciously feel compelled to maintain an emotional distance in their homosexual encounters and thus struggle against the search for love and intimacy which, besides the press of sexual desire, motivated these encounters in the first place.

The "homosexual denial," as some might call it, is facilitated by Indian culture in many ways. A man's behavior has to be really flagrant, such as that of the cross-dressing hijras to excite interest or warrant comment. Some find elaborate cultural defenses to deny their homosexual orientation. The gay activist Ashok Row Kavi tells us about the dhurrati panthis, men who have sex with other men because the semen inside them makes them twice as manly and capable of really satisfying their wives. Then there are the komat panthis who like to give oral sex, but will not let themselves be touched. Some of these men are revered teachers, "gurus," in body building gymnasiums, who believe they will become exceptionally powerful by performing oral sex on younger men. Both will be horrified to be called homosexual.

Read the rest.

Mega Body Confesses

This coming Thursday, April 3, Mega Body and other black stars from the adult entertainment industry will be joining the Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus for a little din din and chit chat about porn, sexuality, risk and keeping it hot at the DuSable Museum. Check out the flyer below for more details.


LifeLube got on the horn with "underground celeb, exotic dancer and freelance nude model" Tahjaleenie Tahji, aka Mega Body (we prefer 'Mega", thanks) for a little advance babble about bisexuality, safe sex and his book, G-String Dreams - True Confessions of a Male Exotic Dancer. See more, hear more Thursday evening. J.C. Carter will be there too.





Here are a few snippets from our conversation:

"I am not going to lie. I have been penetrated by a man, and by a woman. My first experience being penetrated was with my wife. I prefer to be with a bisexual woman, and I have never penetrated a man...

...You don't know what you like until you have experienced it. What stops you, fear?...

...For me, safe sex works two ways. Either I know the person I am with is 100% STD free and we can do what we want to do, or the other way is masturbation. Truthfully, the only safe sex is masturbation, doing yourself. If you don't know someone's HIV or STD status, mastubation is the only way you're going to have sex with a clear mnd and not get a disease or hurt someone. Or, well, you could just bump and grind, hump each other. You can have an orgasm doing that. But most men gotta penetrate, they need that friction going on. But with the bumping and grinding, you gotta have a strong mental thing, and just really want to get into each other mentally. It takes a strong mind to do that...

...My book is not just about sex, it's about abuse, molestation, domestic violence, date rape, drugs, marriage – it's all about my real true life. I have experience all these things. It covers family, strength, focus, and definitely details all my sexual adventures with men, women and post op transgenders, the ups and the downs, and coming out and talking about my bisexuality...

...I am a survivor of many things that have happened in my life. I am not letting what happened stop me in my dreams. Regardless, don’t give up your dreams to no one. Keep moving, keep going, life doesn’t stop because something fell apart. "

One Fey's Tale - Installment 4

Dressing Up

by middle

only on lifelube

The gorgeous folk pictured here each Friday (Friday is for Faeries) surround me every time I enter faerie space. Their outward expression of freedom, exuberance, and possibility inspires me. Pushing myself to be free and joyful with things like clothes, makeup, and hair has helped me to shed baggage about everything from masculinity and femininity to race and class, from gender identity to fashion and life.

I never thought of myself as someone born with the “gay gene” for style. If I had any fashion sense, it was way out of sync with those around me. Who had the money for all that anyway? Resigned, I became utilitarian about clothes. Every five or ten years, I’d latch on to one uniform or another and replicate it endlessly.

For example, I spent most of the 70s and part of the 80s wearing a uniform of Levis and imprinted t-shirts. Remember those? The kind you bought in a strip mall shop that smelled like steam heat and melted plastic? You chose your shirt, browsed the airbrushed art and cartoon slogans on the wall, and waited while the clerk used a countertop press to iron it on.

In sanctuary, I wondered if I also lacked a critical “queer gene” for glamour and costumes. I certainly didn’t have a clue at my first gathering in spring of 2000. Before I knew it, the day for celebration had arrived and I had failed to plan an outfit. Panicked, I grabbed the rainbow flag hanging by my tent, tied it around my neck like a cape, and slipped on a pair of crayon plaid flannel pajama shorts.

Dancing with me after the ritual, a leather-clad faerie asked, “What are you supposed to be?” Laughing, I responded sheepishly “super fag?” I learned later that there had been not-so-complimentary laughter about the flag among a few of the more experienced faeries present.

I felt of twinge of defensiveness. None of them knew my close friend’s mother had given it to me when he died of AIDS in ‘93. His former lover’s chosen family had given it to him after his AIDS death in ‘85. When I told my faerie informant this, he simply said, “That’s different.”

So the choice was mine. I could recreate the hang-ups that weighed me down in everyday life, or I could revel in the magic of the space and dance down a new path to my own potential.

My attitudes about masculinity were all mixed up. I’d “acted straight” so long, the idea of exploring aspects of my own identity was daunting. I was sometimes attracted to feminine men, but years of living in binary American macho bullshit culture had inspired me to erect barriers and establish crazy rules about my interactions with men. I could intellectualize all day about the way things could or should be, but I failed to internalize any of it.

Did I have the balls to wear a dress? use makeup or nail polish on any day besides October 31st? cut or color my own hair? At one of my first gatherings, I started with my nails. I was uptight, but I hatched a plan.

A brick solid hairy hunk of a man who I fantasized as a lumberjack was camping on the same ridge as me. I asked him to paint my fingernails, and he obliged. Later I did my toenails. My lumberjack turned out to be a spank bottom who does renowned hag drag on the west coast (and occasionally at gatherings.) He was sexy, sweet, loves to laugh, and a hell of a nice guy.

Since then, I’ve learned a few things. I know where nicer thrift stores and some really cheap ones are. I habitually cruise the end caps in chain drugstores for blow out nail polish, temporary hair color, and makeup. I’m picky about glitter (the coarse crap you used with Elmer’s glue in grade school won’t do, dear.) I prefer multiple colors of nail polish – mostly metallic - and a glitter topcoat.

I still don’t love clothes as much as some in my tribe. I still reach for my “uniforms” as often as not. But other times I grab something I just love, without consideration of what anyone else thinks. Often I’ve made it my own with bleach, dye, scissors, sharpies, or paint.

My choices regarding both clothes and men are now infinitely broader. Dressing up has done more for my attitude than my wardrobe. The gay flag accompanied me to each gathering for a number of years until one fall when I “harvested” its energy by throwing into the evening’s fire.

[to be continued]

Read previous installments of One Fey's Tale here.

Islam "recognizes homosexuality"

via The Jakarta Post

Homosexuals and homosexuality are natural and created by God, thus permissible within Islam, a discussion concluded here Thursday.

Moderate Muslim scholars said there were no reasons to reject homosexuals under Islam, and that the condemnation of homosexuals and homosexuality by mainstream ulema and many other Muslims was based on narrow-minded interpretations of Islamic teachings.

Siti Musdah Mulia of the Indonesia Conference of Religions and Peace cited the Koran's al-Hujurat (49:3) that one of the blessings for human beings was that all men and women are equal, regardless of ethnicity, wealth, social positions or even sexual orientation.

"There is no difference between lesbians and nonlesbians. In the eyes of God, people are valued based on their piety," she told the discussion organized by nongovernmental organization Arus Pelangi.

"And talking about piety is God's prerogative to judge," she added.

"The essence of the religion (Islam) is to humanize humans, respect and dignify them."
Musdah said homosexuality was from God and should be considered natural, adding it was not pushed only by passion.

Read the rest.

A Jihad for Love: Can your faith really kill you?

A film about gay Muslims will surprise a Western audience

[via Times Online]

Inevitably, Parvez Sharma filmed some moving testimonies in A Jihad for Love, a collection of real-life stories that show what it is like to be gay or lesbian and living within, or in the shadow, of Islam. The stories come from Iran, Turkey, India, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

In one of those quirks of timing, the film will be shown on Sunday at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in the wake of the controversy around the case of Mehdi Ka-zemi, the gay Iranian whose deportation back to Iran was halted recently after an indecent, indeed shaming, amount of prevarication on the part of the Home Office. An Iranian lesbian, Pegah Emambakhsh, is also seeking asylum in this country.

Read the rest.

Friday is for Harry Hay

Today's "Friday is for Faeries" is dedicated to Harry Hay

Harry Hay, father of the Radical Faeries (far right in above pic)

AIDS Activist Gregg Gonsalves Receives 100k for AMAZING Work

New John M. Lloyd AIDS Leadership Award Recognizes Visionary Advocate

LOS ANGELES - The John M. Lloyd Foundation announced today that AIDS advocate Gregg Gonsalves has been selected as the first-ever recipient of the $100,000 John M. Lloyd AIDS Leadership Award.An AIDS activist for 17 years, Gonsalves has played a major role in international efforts to accelerate AIDS research and improve access to life saving drugs. He is currently based in Cape Town, South Africa,where he coordinates a regional AIDS and TB treatment advocacy program.

"We created this award to recognize and support the 'unsung heroes' of AIDS activism, and Gregg certainly fits the bill," said Melanie Havelin, Executive Director of the John M. Lloyd Foundation. "Gregg's visionary work on behalf of people living with HIV has had a major global impact."

"This award was totally unexpected," said Gregg Gonsalves. "I am humbled by the honor. The John M. Lloyd Foundation has been a tremendous champion in the fight to defeat AIDS and promote social justice across the world, and to be honored by them in this way is special to me. But in the end, it is important to keep focused on the fact that the AIDS epidemic continues to cut a vicious swath of devastation through our communities, and each of us has to redouble our efforts if we are to beat this disease."

Gonsalves coordinates regional AIDS and TB treatment literacy and advocacy programs for the AIDS and Rights Alliance of Southern Africa, a network of African AIDS and human rights organizations. He is also a founding member of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, a network of more than 1000 people from 125 countries advocating foruniversal access to HIV/AIDS and TB treatment. Gonsalves was formerly Director of Treatment and Prevention Advocacy for Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) and co-founder of the Treatment Action Group, both in New York City. Prior to that, he was a member of the Boston and New York chapters of ACT UP.

Renowned AIDS Leaders Commend Gonsalves

Zackie Achmat, founder and chairman of the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa, said, "Gregg Gonsalves is one of the most remarkable leaders and activists I have met in the HIV epidemic. Gregg is extremely knowledgeable, humble, and a good speaker who always relies on data. He is comfortable speaking to presidents, international agencies,and community leaders. Gregg assisted the Treatment Action Campaign in conceptualizing our national treatment literacy campaign and continues to support its work together with major advocacy efforts in the Southern African region. This is an exemplary choice by the John M. Lloyd Foundation."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said, "Gregg Gonsalves is a most distinguished HIV/AIDS and human rights activist. His impact on the HIV research and public policy agenda in the United States has been profound. He has combined a burning passion for social justice within the context of the AIDS pandemic with a scholarly approach to achieving his goals. A true leader, he is equally at home on the streets of Greenwich Village, in the corridors of scientific and political influence of Washington, D.C., and in the clinics of South Africa."

Larry Kramer, celebrated author and AIDS activist, said, "How splendid that you have chosen Gregg Gonsalves for your first leadership award. You have picked the absolutely best person in this world to exemplify leadership and activism and brains and talent and expertise, certainly in the field of HIV/AIDS but in anything. I don't think they come any better than Gregg. It has been a great pleasure for me to watch him arrive in the big city, take root, and grow into the magnificent young leader he is."

The John M. Lloyd AIDS Leadership Award was established to recognize, support and develop effective leaders in AIDS advocacy who have not yet been extensively recognized. There is no application process for the award - the selection is made by the board of the John M. Lloyd Foundation. The $100,000 award will be paid directly to Gregg Gonsalves as an unrestricted gift to help build his leadership capacity.

CDC Release Report Showing Large Spike in Reported HIV

READER ALERT: Please see the comments section for more background on CDC terminology and the limitations of these data.

On Monday, March 24 the CDC released the 2006 HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report: Cases of HIV infection and AIDS in the United States and Dependent Areas. In this report, CDC states that the number of reported cases of HIV infection in 2006 based on 45 states and 5 U.S. dependent areas with confidential name-based HIV infection reported was 52,878.

The five states not included in this number are Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, and Vermont. In 2005, the comparable number of reported HIV cases was 35,537 based on 38 states. For the first time the 2006 data includes the following seven newly reporting states: California, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.

CDC has released this new surveillance report with seemingly no explanation of the dramatically increased figure or the differences in their reporting regarding the number of states from which the figure is based.

2006 Reported HIV/AIDS cases can be found on page 38. Thanks to AIDS Action for this. They plan on doing a further analysis and inquiry and will keep us - and you - informed.

"Do whatever you want, but do it with a condom"

[LOVE IT]

This new ad campaign directed at gay men was just launched by the government, yep, the GOVERNMENT, in Brazil. It says, "Do whatever you want, but do it with a condom."

Thanks to Made in Brazil for putting this on our gaydar.

CDC's "Heightened National Response" - Chaotic and Underfunded

Contact: Kenyon Farrow

A YEAR LATER, A RESPONSE DEFERRED:CDC’S “HEIGHTENED NATIONAL RESPONSE” TO HIV/AIDS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMMUNITY IS CHAOTIC, UNDERFUNDED, AND FAR FROM ITS GOALS

As CDC quietly releases figures revealing 80% boost in HIV in Black gay youth, advocates call for national AIDS strategy, adequate funding, and political leadership

Launched with much fanfare in March 2007, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) A Heightened National Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis Among African-Americans called for “expanding the reach of prevention services; increasing opportunities for diagnosing and treating HIV; developing new, effective prevention interventions, and; mobilizing broader community action.”

One year later, the Heightened National Response (HNR) effort has been marked by shifting leadership, lack of communication to local leaders and community organizations, and no new funding for any initiatives that are not restricted to HIV testing. It is now widely believed that Madeline Sutton, MD, MPH, CDC Acting Director of Partnerships in the Department of HIV/AIDS Prevention, the latest in a series of individuals responsible for HNR, will once again restructure the initiative in an attempt to address its significant shortfalls.

In response to the failure of the HNR, leaders of the 13,000-person CHAMP Network are calling for a comprehensive, results-oriented and measurable national AIDS strategy, rather than piecemeal, under-funded initiatives that have not resulted in concrete change.

“The CDC released this report last March, and the only change we’ve seen is more HIV for African Americans, not less,” says Kenyon Farrow, Director of Communication at Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP). “This seems like yet another grand vision outlined in a glossy document that is, in fact, ill-equipped to make any real dent in new infections. We need real leadership, real funding and a comprehensive strategy at the federal level if we’re going to do more than give lip service to HIV prevention in our country.”

Advocates note that the HNR anniversary has coincided with CDC’s quiet release of new data revealing that Black gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) ages 13-24 had a nearly 80% increase in new HIV infections from 2001-2005. Another new study documents that fully half of all African American girls have had a sexually-transmitted infection (STI), which has been shown to increase the likelihood of HIV infection. HIV/AIDS is the number one cause of death for African-American women ages 25-34.

One year ago, CDC gathered leaders from around the country to announce the HNR, asking them to make specific commitments on pledge cards to amplifying their efforts. Now, leaders from around the country – including those in cities where CDC promoted HIV testing as a part of HNR – say that their pledges were never organized into significant efforts. In fact, many of the existing HIV prevention programs serving Black Americans through federal funds are in danger of losing funding under the Bush Administration’s 2009 budget proposal.

“The US requires countries applying for our global AIDS funding to have a national AIDS strategy, yet we don’t even have one of our own. Instead, we’ve got a chaotic and under-funded CDC dog-and-pony show passing out pledge cards that then get tossed between transient program heads,” says Waheedah Shabazz-El of CHAMP. “Perhaps the CDC should be up front about its own challenges to help Congress and the President recognize the need for a comprehensive national AIDS strategy, rather than rallying hardworking Black community leaders around grandiose plans almost guaranteed to fall short due to lack of resources and coordination.”

# # #

Woof Wednesday

La Pequeña Hillary Clinton

How much risk is acceptable?

Click the image to join LifeLube and Project CRYSP for a forum at the Center on Halsted, April 17, to talk about sex and gay men.

"Tal Como Somos" Premieres at Chicago Latino Film Fest

[click to enlarge]

Friday, April 11, 8:30pm

Instituto Cervantes

Chicago

In a culture celebrated for its rich traditions, close-knit families, and strong faith, being Latino and gay, bi-sexual, or transgender is often unmentionable—and frequently unforgivable.

Tal Como Somos (Just as we are) shares the realities of living within a culture where daily life means being torn between love as son, brother, father, friend and stigma, or even exclusion, for being different. This feature length documentary candidly examines the lives of six Latino men, one transgender woman, and the ties that bind them: their families and friends, their culture, religion, education/upbringing, and their experiences as adults. The film showcases their ordinariness and uniqueness while revealing their human-ness as individuals who live and love, wanting to live and be loved for who they are.

Click here for the trailer.

Landlord Shutters Nepal AIDS Hospice

(Katmandu) Katmandu's only hospice for gay men with HIV/AIDS has closed after neighbors mounted a campaign against its landlord for allowing the hospice to open in the area.

Twelve patients, four of whom are terminally ill and unable to walk, were evacuated from the building on only a few hour notice.

The hospice was funded by the Elton John Foundation and operated by Blue Diamond Society, Nepal’s only LGBT rights organization.

The patients were moved to Blue Diamond's tiny office. Beds were set up in a hallway and Blue Diamond said that it does not know how long they will be allowed to stay there because the office is not designed for patient needs.

Sunil Pant, the organization's founder, said it was the fourth time the hospice has been forced to move in its two-and-a-half year existence.

"Though we are prompt in paying the rent, the landlord comes under pressure from his neighbours to throw us out once it becomes known that there are AIDS patients in the hospice," Pant told the Indo-Asian News Service.

Gays and people working in the areas of HIV prevention are regularly harassed by police.

Homosexual acts are punishable in Hindu-majority Nepal by up to two years in prison.

Last December Nepal's Supreme Court ruled that the government must create new laws to protect gay rights and change current ones that might be tantamount to discrimination. (story)

So far the government has resisted the court's directive.

Members of Nepal's LGBT community are arbitrarily arrested, held without a hearing and beaten and tortured by prison guards.

In 2006 police arrested 26 transsexuals in one raid. According to Blue Diamond they were taken to the Hanuman Dhoka central police station in Kathmandu where they were held for weeks without being allowed to contact anyone.

Nepal was one of several countries named in the State Department report on human rights violators in 2006. (story)

In April last year, two young lesbians captured by Maoist guerrillas in southern Nepal in March were been released after promising to join the rebels. (story)

Nepal holds general elections next month. It will be the country's first general election since 1999.

Blue Diamond has fielded a slate of 12 candidates, all running for the Nepal Communist Party, a junior partner in the coalition government.

Source

Want to check out more of the LifeLube crew's pics from Nepal?
They're real perty....
Click here.

CBGMC goes to the candy shop

In Chicago - Thursday, April 3


[click to enlarge, and put it in your calendar!]

Sexy Swiss Bus Stop

Third Sex Launches Election Campaign in East Nepal

KATHMANDU: Sexual minorities of an eastern Nepal town, Itahari kicked off their first election rally wearing colourful dresses and playing music bands to canvass for three gay candidates.

Dipak Rai and Shrawan Chaudhari, both gay, are contesting the election under the banner of Nepal Communist Party (United) and while the third, Suryanarayan Chaudhari is contesting as an independent candidate.

The campaign jointly organized by Blue Diamond Society and Human Welfare Society with a dancing group has helped in warming up election climate in the district, a participant said.

Hundreds of demonstrators participated in the rally carrying placard with the slogan "rights to sexual minorities," "gay freedom" and "equal status to third sex in the constitution."

The three candidates are representing some 4,000 lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-sexual communities residing in the district.

A landmark ruling of Nepal Supreme Court in favour of third sex, which includes lesbians, gays, bisexuals and intersexuals, in December last year granted them recognition and directed the government to promulgate a new act or amend the existing ones to ensure rights of the third sex.

Source.

[As loyal LifeLuber's know, some of our crew just got back from Kathmandu and want to share some of their lovely pics from that incredible place. We thought this item on Nepal made a snug fit...]

Study: Health care use among gay, lesbian and bisexual Canadians 2003 and 2005

A new study published today in Health Reports provides the first national picture of health care use by sexual orientation. It shows that the use of health care services differs depending on self- identified sexual preference.

The study examined whether self-identified sexual preference was a factor in the use of various aspects of health care, such as consulting health care providers, having a regular doctor, and using preventive procedures, such as Pap tests.

The study was based on combined 2003 and 2005 data from the Canadian Community Health Survey for adults aged 18 to 59. It found that gay men were much more likely than heterosexual men to have consulted a medical specialist or mental health service providers, such as social workers or counselors, in the year prior to the survey.

Click here to read the full report.

Gay Men's Health Leadership Academy Begins Today

The next Gay Men's Health Leadership Academy is just getting underway today (March 21-24, 2008) in the lovely gay haven of Guerneville, CA, otherwise known as the Russian River.

32 gay men and allies will be visiting the Wildwood Retreat Center to participate in the lively and invigorating atmosphere of the GMHLA.

Once again, the academy will be blogging participants' experiences at their sassy blog . You can also follow Chris Bartlett's tweats as he twitters his experiences from the academy at this twitter link.


The Leadership Academy was founded by Eric Rofes and Chris Bartlett, and provides twice-yearly academies that explore the following areas:

1. Ways of expanding gay men's health work beyond HIV and STI prevention to health and wellness writ-large.

2. Challenging views of gay men that are based in deficits, and insisting on an assets-based model of our health.

3. Transforming models of gay men's health based on pathology to ones based upon wellness.

If you are interested in attending the next academy, contact Bartlett at bartlett.cd@gmail.com .

Friday is for Faeries

[We are an established and growing circle of gay and queer men centred on The Land aka Amber Fox. We gather to explore gay spirit, nature, ritual, sexuality, to work in fellowship, and to party. We enjoy the unexpected things when we bring together our energy, creativity, talents, and magick. Join us in celebrating and giving to the land that sustains and nurtures our spirits and our lives.]

“Good” sex? “Bad”sex?

[click image to enlarge]
Just what do gay men want anyway?

On Thursday, April 17, a community forum on gay men’s health featuring author Dr. David Halperin will be held at the Center on Halsted in Chicago.

In addition to Dr. Halperin, panel experts include Dr. Gary Harper of DePaul University and Northwestern’s Dr. Michele Morales. The award-winning Feast of Fools podcasters Fausto Fernos and Marc Felion will host and moderate.

The event begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Irving Harris Family Foundation Reception Hall at the Center on Halsted – 3656 N. Halsted. Light refreshments will be served. A book signing with Dr. Halperin will take place at the conclusion of the forum.

RSVP here.

The lively debate will explore gay men’s relation to sex and risk in the age of barebacking—or condomless sex—and will confront the inaccurate and damaging psychological concepts that are used to describe gay men.

Headliner Dr. Halperin is the author of What Do Gay Men Want?, a provocative essay that exposes the overwrought clichés about gay men’s alleged low self-esteem, lack of self-control, and various psychological “deficits.” Halperin offers a unique, fresh understanding of gay men’s inner lives and challenges the common moral assumptions about “good” and “bad” sex.

“We are living in dangerous times,” says Halperin. “The old rule of ‘use a condom every time’ is losing its force, but new strategies for limiting the spread of HIV infection are still in their infancy, and we have yet to work out another set of communal standards for sexual behavior that balance our desires for pleasure, affirmation, and human contact against the degrees of risk we are collectively willing to accept. We have a lot to talk about.”

RSVP here.

Click image to enlarge.

Download the flyer here.

Hope to see you all there!

Now on the streets of NYC...

Too FABULOUS....

Athleticism, Artistry and Sexuality - oh my

Figure Skating Rivalry Pits Athleticism Against Artistry

One stands 6 feet 2 inches, wears panther black and dates ESPN’s Hottest Female Athlete. The other weighs an avian 125 pounds, favors sequined swan outfits and coyly brushes off patter about his sexuality.

One skates with precision and adrenalized power, wants figure skating in the X Games and wears several days of stubble during competitions. The other adores skating’s operatic performances, is asked if his eyelashes are real and announces that they are.

One is accused of being robotic and rehearsed. The other is the one doing the accusing — saying “I just don’t like him,” before buttoning his fur coat and grabbing his Louis Vuitton bag.

Evan Lysacek (lower right) and Johnny Weir (left) share nothing — except their status as the top two figure skaters in the United States. The closest they ever hope to be is on a medal podium.

Lysacek, who fashions himself a hard-core athlete, has won the last two United States national titles. Weir, an athlete into hard-core fashion, won the previous three. Lysacek favors skating’s jumps and stunts and can do without all the pomp, while Weir is one of the most hypnotically graceful male skaters.

Yet the two are so close in overall talent that at the national championships in January they finished tied, with 244.77 points apiece, before the title went to Lysacek on a tie breaker.

Lysacek and Weir were set to face off again this weekend at the annual world championships in Goteborg, Sweden, but Lysacek had to withdraw after injuring his arm in a fall last week. They remain on a collision course for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver — accompanied by growing gaggles of fans who believe that loving one means hating the other, giving figure skating a rivalry of uncommon passion and depth.

In the normally placid enclave of figure skating, supporting either Evan Lysacek the Athlete or Johnny Weir the Artist has become a virtual referendum on matters from skating style and personal style to sexuality itself.

“If he doesn’t want to skate to music that’s pretty and wear a pretty costume, then go rollerblade or skateboard or do one of those extreme sports,” Weir said of Lysacek.

Used to the outspoken Weir needling him from afar, Lysacek did not take the bait, and kept driving his truck down a Los Angeles highway.

“It’s a distraction,” he said, “but Johnny doesn’t affect how I skate and how I push myself. If this is what it takes for figure skating to attract some attention, I can live with that.”

Read the rest in the New York Times.

Victory Fund Training Seeks Gay Candidates of Color

The Victory Fund's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute is partnering with the Democratic National Committee and the National Black Justice Coalition on a first ever Candidate & Campaign Training for candidates of color.

The training will be held April 23-26 in Baltimore, MD and will coincide with NBJC's national conference. At the training participants will learn the skills needed to run an effective campaign for public office so that they can join GLBT leaders of color like Joe Angelo, city commissioner in Wilton Manors, FL, Kecia Cunningham, city council member in Decatur, GA and Dana Rone, school board member in Newark, NJ.

Read more, and apply, via Bilerico.

Thanks to our pal, activist Michael Crawford for putting this on our radar!

How 'gay' became children's insult of choice

The word "gay" is now the most frequently used term of abuse in schools, says a report released in the UK. How did it get to be so prevalent and why do children use homophobic insults to get at each other?

Gay lobby group Stonewall says 65% of young gay people experience homophobic bullying. And many who aren't gay also get labelled as such.

Read the rest at BBC.