Gays and lesbians are on a roll across the globe, aided in no small part by the growth of the Internet. In 1999, small groups of gay activists in the most isolated and poorest of nations knew what was happening worldwide and used this information to organize and fight locally. The Internet also comes to the rescue when
In the aftermath of what became a last-minute, dead-heat mayor s race in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia lesbian and gay activists are finding themselves having to work with a mayor-elect who had received no endorsements from any of the city s leading gay political organizations and who was one of the city s m
With the holiday season now in full gear, it s a time that many people reflect on religion and the role it plays -- or doesn t play -- in their lives. For gay and lesbian people, in particular, religion and discussion on that subject tends to draw a wide range of reactions. Some have used their religions as a support s
Sarah Luthens didn t anticipate the violence she witnessed during last week s World Trade Organization (WTO) demonstrations-turned-riots in Seattle. Luthens is a member of Equality Washington/HOW, OutFront Labor/GLBT Pride at Work, and Queers Fight WTO. Like so many other protesters, she was demonstrating for more than
According to a soap commercial, there are more than 2,000 body parts to wash. Which is your favorite? Perhaps it s January, April, July or September. You can find out by picking up a copy of The Best of Mike s Body Parts, a Y2K calendar available at Boston area bookstores, gift shops, health clubs and other locations b
If the feelings of gay and lesbian activists toward the defeat of Dapper O Neil in last month s election can be summed up in two words, these two would definitely work: good riddance. Following the election that bumped Albert Dapper O Neil from the Boston City Council after 25 years, gay activists recently shared with
The nation s largest gay and lesbian legal organization issued its 1999 World AIDS Day Report Card to tie in with World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, and two leading presidential candidates received nominal or failing grades for their public policy efforts. Texas Governor George Bush, the leading Republican presidential candidat
Leading AIDS activists and physicians converged on the steps of the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Nov. 30 -- one day before the 12th Annual Worlds AIDS Day -- to call on Republican Governor Paul Cellucci to declare a public health emergency that would empower the public health commissioner to bypass local poli
If you are HIV-positive and considering changing jobs, you re forced to be more careful when planning for the transition. If you don t, you could be denied a job or lose your health coverage. Some laws protect you, but you have to know your rights and responsibilities to take advantage of them. We live in a time in whi
Leading AIDS activists and physicians converged on the steps of the Massachusetts State House in Boston on Nov. 30 -- one day before the 12th Annual Worlds AIDS Day -- to call on Republican Governor Paul Cellucci to declare a public health emergency that would empower the public health commissioner to bypass local poli
After tracing a cluster of syphilis cases amongst local gay men to the now-defunct Safari Club in Boston, public health officials and gay health advocates met last week to try and devise a mode of outreach to that club s patrons -- men whom health officials assume have moved in several directions since the club s force
In 1995, Greg Louganis stunned the world with his candid autobiography, Breaking The Surface, in which he openly discussed his sexuality and HIV status for the first time. While the book, written with the assistance of gay author Eric Marcus, shot to number one on the New York Time bestseller list, few would have expec
In an unprecedented move to reduce the number of AIDS cases in Massachusetts, a Massachusetts House-Senate Conference Committee Nov. 10 approved extending Medicaid coverage to low-income people with HIV. According to the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (AAC), the move will make nearly 2,000 low-income people wit
In an effort to slow the soaring number of new HIV and AIDS cases among African-Americans in Massachusetts, the Congressional Black Caucus developed an initiative which recently won the state more than $13 million. More than a dozen local health organizations and the city and state health departments will receive the f
An openly gay South End resident who was employed at an answering service company and a phone-sex company operating out of the same Cambridge office space filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) on Oct. 28 charging Millennium Communications Corp. and Cambridge Telephonics, Inc.
America Online (AOL), the nation s leading Internet service provider, has been accused of censoring gay subscribers while ignoring gay-bashing remarks made by other subscribers. The allegations raise First Amendment issues and question whether the company, which has 18 million subscribers, is using a double standard an
HIV intervention and outreach has never been more critical in communities of color, particularly among African-American men who have sex with other men (MSM), health officials say. While deaths from AIDS in the United States have plunged since 1995, they have been slow to decline in communities of color, particularly a
In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Fenway Community Health Center (FCHC) on Oct. 30 will host Collective Voices for Life: A Brunch for Women s Cancer Awareness at Simmons College. After losing her partner to breast cancer last year and witnessing scores of other women become stricken with the disease,
An Oct. 6 inspection by the Boston Inspectional Services Department (BISD) and the Boston Police Department (BPD) resulted with the Safari Club, a gay health club on the outside edge of Boston s South End, being temporarily closed down after being cited on numerous alleged code violations. The inspection was conducted
Insisting he s not doing anything unethical, the sheriff of Lee County, Fla., is using an Internet web site, paid for with tax dollars, to voice his religious-driven anti-gay views. Calling gays, feminists, abortion providers and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the diabolical forces of moral corruption, She
Despite a booming economy, AIDS service agencies throughout the nation are experiencing tough times. Because the epidemic is thought by many to be over, or at least in remission, they ve reduced contributions or stopped them altogether. Because jobs are plentiful, volunteers, particularly those available during the day
Tennis great Billie Jean King will deliver the 5th annual Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund s Bon Foster Memorial Civil Rights Lecture in Chicago on October 20, organizers announced last week. Calling King a pioneer in the fight for equal opportunities for women in sports, Lambda chose the tennis champion for her
The merger and relocation of a Rhode Island agency serving people with HIV that was an informal gay and lesbian community center has left clients without an essential safety net, at least temporarily, and activists scrambling for new office and meeting space. The move has upset HIV-positive clients and their families a
A Newton school committee candidate believed by some gay activists to be part of the religious Right is one of two people who won a Sept. 14 run-off election for the school committee s Ward 4 seat — but with a very poor showing that doesn t bode well for his chances in November. Richard Freedman — who is aligned with a
They had trained an estimated 1,275,000 hours to prepare for the 275-mile Boston-N.Y. AIDS Ride 5 that was held Sept. 16-18 to raise money for Boston s Fenway Community Health Center (FCHC) and New York-based AIDS service providers But none of the estimated 2,550 riders (including about 1,300 Boston riders) nor the tho
Embroiled in the midst of a legal battle over its refusal to grant employees domestic-partnership benefits, the University of Pittsburgh s chancellor last week distanced himself from the chairman of the board of trustees, after learning Chairman J. Wray Connolly s remarks on gays working in child care. In a deposition
In a scene that continues to be repeated with a frequency that is alarming health experts, yet another person has been found dead after ingesting a colorless, nearly tasteless drug popular with gay and straights alike. Harry Bartel, general manager of the popular New York City dance bar Splash, died Sept. 5 at his home
Thanks to a year-round effort of paid staff and volunteers, the Boston-N.Y. AIDS Ride 5 is expected to draw 2,500 riders for a fund-raising event that is scheduled to kick off at Boston s Northeastern University on Sept. 16. The 275-mile trek is scheduled for Sept. 16-18 and expected to raise an estimated $3.5 million
Sometimes it s easy, even for gay men, to forget that HIV and AIDS still has such a strong presence among us. In many ways, that is good. For so long, it seemed, gay identity and gay life were so defined -- too defined, really -- by AIDS. Anyone over 30 remembers the days when friends and acquaintances were getting mys
Squabbling within the ex-gay movement continued this week, once again prompted by the actions of former Bostonian and prominent ex-gay activist Anthony Falzarano, who staged a Sept. 1 press conference slamming the religious Right for its alleged lack of commitment and financing of ex-gay organizations. But national gay
AIDS educators say many gay men need to re-evaluate their attitudes on HIV and sex By Peter Cassels Bay Windows staff Improvements in AIDS treatments are giving gay men a false sense of security, with potentially dire consequences. The more confidence they have that the drugs can prolong the lives of people with AIDS a
Several recent developments have drawn suspicions among gay activists that there may be an increasing rift in the alliance between the Ex-Gay Movement with religious-Right organizations, one that some say is about to erupt into a possible permanent division of the two groups. Most notably, one of the nation s prominent
(This is the second of a series of occasional articles about the upcoming 2000 presidential election.) Before President Bill Clinton s sex-and-lies scandal with Monica Lewinsky, Vice President Al Gore was nearly a shoe-in winner of the next Democratic presidential primary election. But after more than one year s dosage
Newton elections bring a diverse array of candidates By Scott A. Giordano Bay Windows staff Consider this: a publisher of an adult alternative magazine running for the School Committee in your city and allegedly receiving the support of a conservative group that is against alternative lifestyles. Or this: A man who fai
Each year when the District of Columbia s Appropriations Bill is voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives, D.C. also becomes an annual target of anti-gay amendments. This year was no different. The House defeated an anti-gay amendment on July 29 that was aimed at limiting gay and lesbian couples from adopting in t
Vice President Al Gore announced on July 19 that the Clinton-Gore Administration is seeking $100 million to fight the global AIDS epidemic — specifically in Africa, where the findings of a new report say that sub-Saharan Africa is one the largest health crises in the world s history and that millions of children will b
It was like a scene from Torch Song Trilogy, on Sept. 29, 1991, the day when off-duty cop Albert Toney was shot by an intoxicated 18-year-old, and his lover Robert died in his arms after taking a second bullet that was meant for Toney. Although he survived that incident, a bullet went through Toney s lung and chest and
They come from throughout New England and range from age 17-30. Outreach workers say that up to 60 percent of them are either gay, bisexual or questioning their sexual orientation. Social care providers estimate that between 5-20 percent of them are HIV-positive. Many have been kicked out of their homes because they ar
As current treatments help more people with HIV/AIDS to live longer and lead many to falsely believe the AIDS epidemic has passed, AIDS-service organizations are offering their services to more people yet finding less contributors to pay for these services. Boston s largest peer-led organization for people living with
After a small band of extremists last week targeted a safer-sex brochure aimed at gay men and distributed by the Fenway Community Health Center (FCHC), FCHC officials said this week that the sexually-explicit brochure would remain in circulation. Dr. Stephen Boswell, director of the FCHC, said the carefully designed b
NEW YORK -- Michael Denneny has been one of the most important figures in American gay publishing in the past 20 years. This handsome, boyish-looking, chain smoker in his early 50s has published some of the most important books by gay authors in the recent past. Today he is Senior Editor at St. Martin s Press, the comp
The U.S. Senate by a 99-to-0 vote June 16 passed a bill that would allow disabled people to retain Medicaid insurance even if they return to work. The bill marks a huge step forward for people afflicted with AIDS and other debilitating illnesses, advocates say. The Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 is being haile
Perhaps it was the harsh anti-gay rhetoric of Pat Buchanan and others during the 1992 National Republican Convention, and how the national Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) chose to respond. Perhaps it was in 1995, when Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin became the first Republican U.S. congressman to openly reveal his sexual orie
For more than five years, AIDS educator Marc Paige has taken his message to college and high school classrooms in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. In the process of telling hundreds of young people about the dangers of unprotected sex, he very likely has saved lives. Yet, there is still one school district that continue
SAN FRANCISCO — To the chagrin of San Francisco health director Dr. Mitch Katz — and, perhaps, the befuddlement of the Chronicle and Examiner editorial boards — the HIV Prevention Planning Council, officially charged with advising the Department of Public Health about the best ways to minimize HIV transmission in San F
Can city governments reduce the spread of HIV by regulating gay men s sexual behavior? Does this kind of regulation work? And even if it does, is the government overstepping the bounds of personal privacy when it makes such regulations? These are some of the questions at the heart of the debate over how bathhouses shou
Just months after the well-publicized layoff of one-fifth of its staff, and at a time of an overall decline in donations to AIDS agencies, the AIDS Action Committee (AAC) of Boston faces the challenge of persuading participants and contributors that its 14th annual AIDS Walk is more important than ever. The 6.2-mile pl
HIV/AIDS isn t the only health issue that should concern gay men, say gay men s health advocates. And that is why several of them have planned a national Gay Men s Summit, to be held July 29-Aug. 1 at the Regal Harvest House in Boulder, Color. Without trying to diminish the importance of fighting HIV/AIDS in the gay me
At Home in Amsterdam: A Multicultural Mosaic of Europe s Gay Capital, portraits of men from all over the world by Lutz van Dijk. Verlag rosa Winkel, Berlin, paper, 77 pages, no price given. At Home was first a photography exhibit at the 1998 Gay Games. The 120 black and white photos show thirty gay men from around the
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) that Jim Gilbert purports to know (BayWindows, A Love-Hate Relationship With HRC, April 22 issue) does not resemble the organization that we support, and on whose Board we both serve. There were so many inaccurate and uninformed cheap shots that we would begin by suggesting that he check
More than 500 people gathered at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Dorchester April 24 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Bayard Rustin Community Breakfast. The event, which brings together gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of color and their friends, commemorates the work of the openly gay 19
God came and took our flesh and bones and took on the greatest pain and suffering in the world, and the church is called to respond to that. The church, unfortunately, has missed the mark so much of the time. Those words may sound like they are part of a religious sermon. Not quite, but they are the words of former Bos
A national media advocacy organization for the gay and lesbian community has signed onto a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that seeks to prevent future shipments of the Intel Pentium III computer microprocessor chip with a special Processor Serial Number (PSN) which allows computer users to be i
This year marks a milestone for the annual Bayard Rustin Community Breakfast for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of color and their friends. It is the 10th anniversary of the event, which takes place April 24. It is also the outgoing year for longtime event chair Philip Robinson, who has headed the breakf
As a result of a $1 million budget shortfall, 19 of 107 full-time AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts staff members--one-fifth of the staff --were laid off last week in the biggest layoff in the service organization s 16-year history. Citing less successful fund-raisers and more successful drug therapies as the driv
A report issued March 15 criticizes the Pentagon for not enforcing its don t ask, don t tell, don t pursue policy by stating that harassment of gays and lesbians in the military more than doubled in 1998. According to their own records, the armed forces last year discharged the highest number of personnel for homosexua
(The author is a freelance AIDS writer living in San Francisco.) Our community -- and gay men in particular -- urgently need to have a searching, nuanced discussion about AIDS prevention in the context of a rapidly evolving epidemic. Instead, in the wake of media hype about barebacking and reports of higher rates of un
The Sixth Annual Fenway Community Health Center s Men s Event drew about 735 people to the Boston Marriot at Copley Place on March 6 and raised more than $100,000 for the health center s general services. Titled La Noche de Caballeros, the fund-raising event was hosted for the second consecutive year by former radio ta
I m no prude. I love sex and I have a lot of it. I think a good sex life is healthy for everyone. Just because someone advocates responsible sex -- using a condom with anal sex -- does not mean he is a sell-out on gay sexual liberation. I would argue quite the contrary. And yet a growing number of pseudo-liberal reacti
Ultimately, I understand the AIDS epidemic as the most perplexing, yet edifying event of my life. I am part of the second generation of HIV, the one that came of age with AIDS, the one that knows better, the one whose losses cannot be counted on tombstones, but whose history has still been haunted by the virus. I am al
After the Massachusetts state Board of Education last week deadlocked on its decision to appoint a new Commissioner of Education, Board Chairman John Silber resigned from his post on March 2. The resignation was a compromise to allow interim Commissioner David Driscoll to be appointed permanently to that position, and
Boston domestic-partners case heads to court April 8 - A case that will provide the long-awaited answer to whether municipalities in Massachusetts have the authority to pass domestic-partnership (DP) measures without seeking legislative approval will be heard in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) on April 8
From the mid-1980s forward, those trying to control the spread of HIV through gay-male communities counted on a variety of facts about AIDS to shift gay men s sexual practices. Because we knew few gay men who survived more than a year or two after diagnosis, we discussed HIV infection as lethal and considered each frie
Community Research Initiative (CRI) of New England may have reached its tenth anniversary, but it is doing anything but celebrating. Instead, the non- profit agency that sponsors community-based research on HIV and AIDS strives to create new treatments and assist patients in the adherence of existing ones. The work has
Activists decry Intel s new smart chip Intel Corporation, the world s largest computer chipmaker, recently announced it would begin to include a unique Processing Serial Number (PSN) in every one of its new Pentium III computer chips that indirectly could out lesbian and gay people surfing on the World Wide Web. The ne
For the last three or four decades we have been told repeatedly that it is wrong to blame the victim. What happens to a victim is not his fault and if we blame him we just make him feel worse, adding to his sense of victimhood. This is false. Some victims clearly should be blamed for what happens to them: for their imp
Religious Right initiates dramatic new Mass. Effort A 28-page anti-gay in-depth feature story was mailed to 15,000 homes, churches and schools in the Greater Boston town of Sherborn last week - and gay activists say the mailing is yet another sign of a growing movement by the religious Right in Massachusetts. Some acti
Now that the 106th Congress has been sworn in, gay activists are preparing to reintroduce several pieces of gay-related legislation. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) would ban employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) would enhance penalties for crimes comm
In mid-November, members of the Sex Summit collective handed out hundreds of flyers to participants at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force s Creating Change conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The group held a day-long summit and a series of workshops during the weekend. An oft-heard question from someone takin
The largest and most advanced anti-HIV study in the United States came to Boston s Fenway Community Health Center (FCHC) on Oct. 15, when the first two of an expected 100 HIV-negative individuals from the health center received their first of seven inoculations for the national study. Boston residents Michael Chick
Less than one year after the U.S. Supreme Court tightened a federal law prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities, including those with HIV, the court last week ruled in three separate decisions that a disability must be considered regardless of any medications or treatments which control or alleviate
A historic case that resulted in the United States Supreme Court ruling last summer that asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals are protected from discrimination under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ended with another victory on Dec. 29 for the plaintiff in the case, Sidney Abbot. Abbot won her la
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