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LIFE IS LIKE A MOVIE
By Mike Fleming Peach ATL Co-Publisher
SUMMER WAS WEIRD. ON ALL FRONTS, I was off kilter as if life was a film co-directed by John Waters, Jim Jarmusch and David Lynch.
Cue soundtrack.
Family drama, work procedurals, a surrealist holiday, and how Las Vegas made me sick
In the office scenes, I wrote this column steadily for a few weeks, then not at all for a while, which felt strange. And my personal summer movie featured a juicy back-story that discombobulated me.
Cut to compelling cameo characters and a family tragedy.
A touch of anger, several heart-tohearts and a final resolution later, I can only say that when dramatic
scenes open, expect everyone — including yourself — to live up to his best and worst potential. I won’t hash out the details of my nearest and dearest, but what’s a little gay drama between friends and loved ones?
MEANWHILE, I WAS PUMPED BY FIRST foray to Las Vegas. For two weeks, my catch phrase was “Vegas, baby!” The kitsch factor is right up my alley, and I’m all about some shows.
Aerial shot over the Grand Canyon. Lights, camera, release the sea of extras.
It took me 24 hours to get used to Vegas’ breathtaking scale. My buddy and I wandered through a juxtaposition of stunning high-end design and eye-popping skank. It’s like if Disney World was in the French Quarter.
Turns out that I am either too young or too old to be there. We were surrounded by early 20-somethings getting their drink on and blue hairs from Iowa in puffpaint sweatshirts. It was a surrealist filmmaker’s dream. Or nightmare.
We hit the gay bars, saw a couple of concerts that were way too expensive,
snatched great seats for a Cirque extravaganza, as well as a Rat Pack-style stage show complete with showgirls.
The Liberace Museum was just sad. For all the glamour he chased in life, his memorabilia is relegated to a strip mall that chronicles a world-renowned talent who became a closeted clown. Even the freaky old ladies running the place were too pitiful to poke fun at.
THINGS PICKED UP DURING A so-bad-it’s-good lounge act. Very late at night when everyone there should have been cut off at the bar, a straight couple we decided to call Vicki and Vince took the dance floor.
They were 70 if they were a day. She was in a jet-black beehive to put the B52s to shame, working full-on hip-huggers, a flesh-revealing halter, an opaque leopard wrap and chandelier earrings. He stretched a ribbed T-shirt around his gut, pulled up his sky blue track pants too high and sported a white pompadour.
Vince’s thoroughly entertaining version of the Robot was peppered with flowing arm movements and these hilarious big
erratic kicks. Vicki fell somewhere between belly dancer and rocker slut. When it came to putting on a show, they beat the band — literally.
With Sheryl Crow’s “Leaving Las Vegas” on a loop in my brain, I thought I was safe boarding the plane back to normality.
I hit the ground running at the office with a tickle in my throat. I replaced the movie in my head with Netflix, and hacked from my couch to call the cows home. I’ll spare you the gorier visuals of my illness with just two words: not pretty.
A doctor, a chest X-ray showing “just a smudge” of walking pneumonia, and some hallucinogenic antibiotics, I’m feeling much better, thank you, but not the same again.
Like Johnny Depp in any movie after Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I’m excited about the upcoming Out on Film festival, but that makes September all about movies, too. Cut. That’s a wrap. Can we do a re-take?
ATLANTA THUNDER BEER BUST AT WOOFS
PHOTOS: Matt Hennie
PrEP TALK
PrEP is an HIV prevention option. When taken daily it can greatly reduce your risk of getting HIV. You can protect yourself even more if you use condoms and other prevention tools.
There are more HIV prevention options than ever before. Learn more about PrEP to decide if it is right for you.
PHOTOS: Matt Hennie
LGBTMMA
Photo: ESPN
How men in their underwear will end homophobia
By Scott King
PRO WRESTLING MAY NOT BE GAY, BUT I SURE AM.
All the beautiful mens rolling around in their beautiful underwear, flexing and posing and talking smack about who’s going to come out on top.
Just another Saturday night at the club.
These days, if you watch any indie or mainstream pro-wrestling, or pretty much any genre of MMA fighting, the win or lose or top or bottom dynamic really seems to have nothing to do with any sort of pejoratives one might sling at gay people.
The WWE has made a (somewhat awkward) effort to include LGBT characters and storylines in its three-hour weekly primetime soap opera. And the wrestlers, especially the younger ones, wink at and embrace (literally, sometimes) the gay component of their audience.
Have you been on the Internet lately? A bro’s a bro, a narcissist’s a narcissist, and love is love.
WHICH BRINGS US TO CONOR MCGREGOR. I’M PLEASED and flattered to say that Mr. McGregor is my newest Ginger Snap celebrity doppelganger. He’s not even a butterface. He’s not as dreamy as Tim Kruger, but he makes up for it with
attitude. He talks trash like a drag queen on poppers, and you can tell he at least graduated high school.
He also dresses well. He is not metrosexual. He’s a showman, and one with style. When he and I talk on the phone and discuss all of our gingersnap queerbait issues, he tells me about how he understands that no matter what you’re doing, no matter how much of a hunter-gatherer monster truck rally you are, it is, at the end of the day, about having the stuff to backup the flash and the trash.
THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT TRAINING. YOU MAY NOT realize it, but when you go to the gym you’re not just doing it to be social. You’re doing it to train yourself to be a hottie. Or to be strong. Or a fighter.
It takes discipline to walk in there every day. It took courage to go in there for the first time when you weren’t feeling too sexy for your shirt. Remember when you didn’t feel confident peeling off your sweaty top in front of 15 sweaty men? I know, right?
I don’t mean to sound presidential, but I have a theory for which I have no proof. I think the average gay guy goes to the gym so that he can get laid and so that he can look good with his shirt off, on the dance floor or at the beach. I think the average straight guy works out in order to impress other straight guys. But it’s all good, bro. A like is a like, a bro is a bro, and Jack is jacked, bro.
SPEAKING OF BROS, HAVE YOU NOTICED MEN HUGGING lately? On talk shows, in the bars, and at the “business conventions.” I remember very distinctly from my ‘80s and ‘90s childhood that for one man to admit in any facet that another man was attractive was almost as bad as being queer itself.
I am not joking. Men did not hug. There was not even the bro hug to get us by.
But now, they hug. I’m convinced it’s because of gays and the internet. Because of the internet, we are no longer quite as afraid of gay people.
The Millennials have been brought up with the internet and so much available porn that the mysteries of gay sex are no longer a mystery. I have yet to receive one awkward furtive eye contact gay sex question from one of my young heterosexual friends. I have so many.
GAY PEOPLE TEND TO HUG EACH OTHER. WE HAVE A LOT of love to give. Because our perception and presence in pop culture and actual culture has changed and grown, I think we have become an inspiration.
The first part was the metrosexual thing, which was superficial and boring. The second part was the hug.
It’s no accident that the MMA fighters, after they beat each other’s once beautiful faces in, end it all with a hug. Sometimes a long hug.
It’s because they’re so sensitive.
Sex is violence. Violence is sex. None of this necessarily makes you gay, but if you are gay, that’s okay.
Any questions?
Labor Day in Atlanta means tons of events including Black Gay Pride. We found these two chilling on a taxi and couldn’t resist them as the perfect cover guys for the occasion. Here are a few of their other adorable shots.
Photos by Luna Vandoome
I’m doing it because my health can’t wait. Know your HIV status so that you can live a long and healthy life. Brandon “ ”
PAGE TURNERS
From picture books to factual accounts to pure fiction, these are your best bets for Labor Day Weekend reading.
By Gregg Shapiro
DRAWN TO IT
Almost everything you need to know about Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York (Bloomsbury, 2017), by beloved New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast, can be found in the title. In nine illustrated chapters, Brooklyn-native Chast celebrates Manhattan in all its glory.
According to artist Tom Neely, Henry & Glenn Forever + Ever (Microcosm Publishing/IWDY Comics, 2017) by Tom Neely & Friends, with a foreword by gay Judas Priest front-man Rob Halford, is the result of one of his Igloo Tornado “art fraternity” pals suggesting they create “Something like Tom of Finland art, but with Henry Rollins and Glenn Danzig”.
Enrique Garcia’s The Hernandez Brothers: Love, Rockets and Alternative Comics (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017) takes a thorough and academic look at the work of graphic novelist brothers Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, known for their Love and Rockets series, who have often included LGBTQ characters in their creations.
TRUTH TELLING
Now available in paperback, Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality (William Morrow, 2016/2017) by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Debbie Cenziper and Jim Obergefell, the “definitive account…of the dramatic and previously unreported events” leading up to Obergefell v Hodges, the milestone case regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage, is scheduled to be made into a movie from Fox 2000.
Music and cultural critic Ann Powers, who can be heard regularly on NPR, gives the LGBTQ community a lot of love in her new book Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black & White, Body and Soul in American Music (Dey Street, 2017), citing artists including Sylvester, Klaus Nomi, Cris Williamson, Laura Nyro, Nona Hendryx and Jobriath, and touching on queercore, lesbian visibility, Paradise Garage, bisexuality and the AIDS epidemic.
In Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies (Atria, 2017), TV personality Michael Ausiello’s “memoir of love, loss and other four-letter words”, the writer recounts the deeply personal story of his “un-
conventional” 13 year relationship with his husband, the late Kit Cowan, who battled a rare form of cancer and passed away in 2015.
PURE FICTION
Lewis DeSimone’s new novel Channeling Morgan (Beautiful Dreamer Press, 2017) is about what happens when ghostwriter Derick Sweetwater agrees to help “studly movie star” Clive Morgan’s autobiography, and his literary life goes on a collision course with “Hollywood, drag queens, and the occasional ghost”.
Gay literary publicist and Y/A novelist Martin Wilson is back with his second book We Now Return To Regular Life (Dial, 2017), described as “part literary thriller, part comingof-age-drama”, tells the story of what happens when a boy who is kidnapped returns home after three years.
Posing the question, “What is a family?”, gay, award-winning journalist Scot T. O’Hara turns his attention to fiction with his debut novel Tarantella (OhBoy Books, 2017), in which main character Anthony seeks healing and understanding for himself and his family.
What is TRUVADA for PrEP?
TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a prescription medicine that is used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.
Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP?
Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP:
® Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners.
® Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.
® If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.
® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-negative.
® Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin.
While taking TRUVADA for PrEP:
TRUVADA can cause serious side effects:
® Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking TRUVADA, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.
Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP?
Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you:
® Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.
® You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1.
® You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP:
® Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months.
® If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away.
® To further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1:
® Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners.
® Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you.
® Also take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.
What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP?
Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include:
® Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA.
® Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.
® Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.
Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page.
I’m passionate, not impulsive.
I know who I am. And I make choices that fit my life.
TRUVADA for PrEP™ is a once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when taken every day and used together with safer sex practices.
® TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex.
® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP.
Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you.
® Bone problems, including bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.
Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.
What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP?
® All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis.
® If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA.
® If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can be passed to the baby in breast milk.
® All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.
® If you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include certain medicines to treat hepatitis C (HCV) infection.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
(tru-VAH-dah)
IMPORTANT FACTS
This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEPTM (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.
Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP:
• You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative.
• Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP.
While taking TRUVADA for PrEP:
• You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1.
• Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months. MOST
ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP
TRUVADA for PrEP is a prescription medicine used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1.
• To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.
HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP
• Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1.
• Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.
• Use TRUVADA for PrEP together with condoms and safer sex practices.
• You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you think you were exposed to HIV-1 or have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP.
• If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.
• See the “How to Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information.
TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including:
Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you:
• Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status.
• Take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.
• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP
TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including:
• Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP" section.
• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.
• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.
BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP
Tell your healthcare provider if you:
• Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis.
• Have any other medical conditions.
• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can pass to the baby in breast milk.
HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK
• Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners.
• Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you.
GET MORE INFORMATION
• This is only a brief summary of important information about TRUVADA for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more, including how to prevent HIV infection.
• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.
• Bone problems.
Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight.
These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP.
Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:
• Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.
• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.
• Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners.
• Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.
• Go to start.truvada.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5
• If you need help paying for your medicine, visit start.truvada.com for program information.
TRUVADA FOR PREP, the TRUVADA FOR PREP Logo, the TRUVADA Blue Pill Design,TRUVADA, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: April 2017 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. TVDC0180 08/17
LABOR DAY IN THE GAY-TL
Even if you’re not going to Black Gay Pride, Labor Day Weekend puts the gay in holi-gay with LGBT-inclusive Atlanta events
By Mike Fleming
Labor Day in gay Atlanta is something you can count on like the sun and the moon. Some of you will take the long holi-gay to leave town, others will chill with friends at house parties, and thousands will descend on our fare city to celebrate and commemorate Black Gay Pride.
For the rest of you, there’s still more to do than you can possibly get done, though you will have a blast trying. After checking out our Black Gay Pride preview in this issue, see what else you can get into in our annual rundown.
DRAGON*CON
This year marks the 31st anniversary of the geeky goodness of the internationally acclaimed convention. It encompasses everything we love about science fiction, fantasy, comics, gaming, entertainment and over-the-top cosplay. As almost a bonus attraction of its own, there are thousands of fun loving patrons in painstakingly recreated costumes from your favorite TV shows and movies.
This year’s festivities move between the Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton and Westin hotels, plus AmericasMart buildings 1 and 2. Events, panels, workshops and parties start as early as 9 a.m. then run through the night and into the early hours of the morning.
With over 70,000 members, 5,000 hours of programming and 2,200 volunteers, the magnitude of Dragon Con can be overwhelming. If you’re going to own the weekend as a
‘Con’ man, you need to plan accordingly.
SEPT. 1-4
Downtown Hyatt and surrounding hotels dragoncon.org
PEACH TENNIS TOURNAMENT
Atlanta Team Tennis hosts the annual convergence of gay servers and volleyers in this official circuit event of the Gay & Lesbian Tennis Association. Four days of parties and play make for fun and prizes in singles, doubles, mixed doubles, plus social events, dinners, and more.
SEPT. 2 - 5
Dekalb Tennis Center atta.org
DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL
One of the biggest events in town over the holiday weekend is this celebration of literature. And where would any event be without its gays? Nowhere, that’s where.
Look for a slew of gay and allied authors in a Who’s Who lineup of literati, in venues
In and around Decatur Square. decaturbookfestival.com
‘Love In The Air’ or ‘Static’?
As thousands hit Atlanta, African-American artists Inaya Day and Music Bear weigh in with opposing views
By Tom Corliss
Before you get to the Black Guy Pride Atlanta lineup on the next page, we wanted to have a discussion he black LGBT Pride movement began as house parties in pockets across the country to stand up against the rejection and marginalization they were feeling from both sides of their identities in the African-American and gay communities.
Of course now the annual events, including the world’s largest in Atlanta over Labor Day Weekend, have metamorphosed into large slates of events that unite black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to celebrate both their African heritage and sexual orientation.
Two popular artists have very different views on the state of African-American LGBT life in the U.S. First up, Inaya Day.
Situation: ‘Love’
According to dance diva Inaya Day, out now with her new dance single, “Love Is In the Air,” the gay black community has a lot to celebrate this year.
Situation: Static
On the other end of the spectrum, out rapper Music Bear Tony Banks counts himself as a fan of Inaya Day and appreciates her optimism, but admits to feeling more pessimistic about the community’s progress toward equality this Pride.
Out this month with his new single, “Static,” Music Bear feels the struggle for the gay black community persists, possibly even more now than ever.
As a black gay man, he feels it’s still hard to feel accepted for multiple reasons.
“The community, as a whole, limits your visibility and your voice,” he says. “Also, as a gay black man of size, that visibility and voice is even more limited. So sadly, no, I don’t feel like a part of the community.
“You don’t see many people like me in magazines, videos, and articles. It’s almost as if large, gay black men should be ashamed of who we are. Luckily,
“Things are getting better every day,” she contends. “[My gay friends] go wherever they want to go and hang with whomever they want to hang with.”
As a straight ally, she thinks it is important that more African American allies stand up in support of the gay community.
“In unity, there is strength. When more people shout, more people get the message.”
She believes the line between the white and black gay communities is blurring, too. As a regular Pride performer, she’s noticed more races, creeds and colors in her crowds and feels the different faces reflect the symbolic rainbow. Her message to all of them?
“Continue to love yourself, do what’s right, and fight,” she says. “You can dig a tunnel with a spoon.”
I’ve always created my own lane in the gay community, and so far it’s been a pretty smooth ride.”
He says black gay people must continue to be their own voice and champion their own movement, and that Black Gay Pride events can sometimes get it wrong in that regard.
“It so bothers me that during gay pride weekends, mega-parties with homophobic celebrities over shadow all the community outreach, events and services that are happening during the weekend,” he says. “The black gay community has to take care of our own better if we want to begin to look to others for anything.”
As far as white LGBT people go, they need to listen more and talk less, he says.
“The white gay community needs to understand that their experience with race is not our experience with race,” he asserts. “Understand that, embrace and accept it. … Everyone plays a part in creating a stronger community. Just because you have no experience with it doesn’t make it fantasy or less valid. Don’t dismiss our reality.”
So what is he most proud of, then, as a black gay man?
“I’m happy that I’m able to represent my community through my music and my voice in a positive way. So many others have been silenced by a number of obstacles but I’ve built a platform, and I plan to continue to make my voice heard with every chance I get.”
Oh, and one more thing:
“Happy Pride, ya’ll!”
Visit InayaDay.com and musicbearonline.com, and check out our Black Gay Pride Atlanta preview on the following page.
SAY IT LOUD: BLACK AND PROUD.
Annual Black Gay Pride Atlanta brings reverence and revelry to venues all over town
By Mike Fleming
When you’re the black gay Mecca of the Southeast, it’s only natural that you host the largest celebration of LGBTs of color in the nation.
That’s how you rack up more than 30 years of clubs, performance venues and hotel ballrooms filling up with you can look celebrity guests galore. Look for Big Freedia, Cardi B, and Keyshia Cole, and even ATL favorite Todrick Hall (photo, this page) is expected at the Pure Heat Festival in Piedmont Park on Sunday.
The real stars of Black Gay Pride, though, are the people. Out in force and loud and proud, they are living the life that makes the event worthwhile and relevant. Here are our Best-Bet highlights of places to find them.
THURSDAY, AUG. 31
OFFICIAL BGP WELCOME PARTY Center for Civil & Human Rights, 6pm Labor Day Rock, 10pm atlantaprideweekend.com
ROCKSTARS WELCOME RECEPTION Alibi Club, 6pm rockstarsproduction.com
BAD & BOUJEE
Opium Club, 10pm rockstarsproduction.com
FRIDAY, SEPT. 1
VENDOR MARKETS EVERY DAY Georgian Terrace Hotel atlantaprideweekend.com
100 MEN STRONG DINNER Georgian Terrace Hotel, 7pm atlantaprideweekend.com
ROCKSTARS PREGAME Einstein’s, 5pm rockstarsproduction.com
HOTLANTA PARTY Revel, 1778 Ellsworth Industrial, 10pm rockstarsproduction.com
MEN’S MEGA PARTY with Big Freedia Jungle, 10pm facebook.com/WassupNATL/
SATURDAY, SEPT. 2
ULTIMATE DAY PARTY Georgian Terrace, 5pm rockstarsproduction.com
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE MEGA PARTY with Keyshia Cole Museum Bar, 10pm rockstarsproduction.com
WET N WILD POOL PARTY Holiday Inn Northlake, 4pm facebook.com/WassupNATL/
FREAKNIK FOR MEN
“If You’re Not Freaking, We’re Not Speaking” Kompass, 2520 Piedmont, 10pm facebook.com/WassupNATL/
SUNDAY, SEPT. 3
MEN WHO BRUNCH Georgian Terrace, 12 noon rockstarsproduction.com
PURE HEAT COMMUNITY FESTIVAL Piedmont Park, 12 noon atlantaprideweekend.com
LEGENDARY MAIN EVENT Georgian Terrace, 10pm atlantaprideweekend.com
MAIN EVENT WITH CARDI B Opium Club, 10pm rockstarsproduction.com
MONDAY, SEPT. 5
BBQ DAY PARTY Georgian Terrace, 4pm atlantaprideweekend.com
MEN IN WHITE PARTY 3112 Piedmont Road NE, 10pm rockstarsproduction.com
SOUTHEAST BLACK & BLUE AT EAGLE
PHOTOS: James Hicks
Aug 31 - Sept 6
Dragon*Con
Whether you’re in it for the open-to-the-public parade, or you’re down to plunge deep into sci-fi, fantasy and comics, the gay-inclusive Dragon*Con is for you. Head downtown for the costumes, panels and general merriment, or check out the site for more specifics.
SEPT. 1 - SEPT. 4
IN & AROUND DOWNTOWN HYATT dragoncon.org
STAFF
Mean Girls
Before Lindsay Lohan was, well, Lindsay Lohan, she was hilariously the new girl being first harassed, then made over, by the bitches at school in this camp classic. Dress the part, and relive trying to make ‘fetch’ happen with a theater full of queers and queens.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 6
PLAZA ATLANTA
1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE | plazaatlanta.com
Black Gay Pride
The biggest and best is right here in the ATL. Coming at you with three decades of tradition, thousands hit town for big-name celebrities, panel discussions, vendors, and parties all day, every day. Check out our preview in this issue of Peach ATL.
AUG. 30 - SEPT. 5
MIDTOWN & DOWNTOWN atlantaprideweekend.com
NSA: Brains & Booty
That’s right: No Strings Attached is the monthly party theme from the ever-creative minds coming up with Wussy events for the alternative arts queer set. Hosts and queens and DJs galore welcome you to dress the part of this sex-positive party experience.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 1
HERETIC
2069 Cheshire Bridge Road | hereticatlanta.com
Decatur Book Festival
Literary luminaries and all their bookworm fans rejoice extra this time of year. That’s because Labor Day Weekend brings this annual LGBT-inclusive celebration of books and authors for discussions and meet-and-greets to hold you all the way to next year.
SEPT. 1-3
IN & AROUND DECATUR SQUARE decaturbookfestival.com
Bars & Clubs
MIDTOWN
AMSTERDAM
amsterdamatlanta.com
502 Amsterdam Ave. NE
ATLANTA EAGLE atlantaeagle.com
306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
BLAKE’S ON THE PARK blakesontheparkatlanta.com
227 10th St NE
BULLDOGS
893 Peachtree St NE
FRIENDS NEIGHBORHOOD BAR friendsonponce-atl.com
736 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
MODEL T
modeltatlanta.com
699 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
MY SISTER’S ROOM
mysistersroom.com
66 12th St NE
TEN ATLANTA
tenatlanta.com
990 Piedmont Ave NE
CHESHIRE
HERETIC
hereticatlanta.com
2069 Cheshire Bridge Road
JUNGLE
jungleatl.com
2115 Faulkner Road
BJ ROOSTERS
bjroosters.com
2043 Cheshire Bridge Road NE
OPUS 1
1086 Alco St NE
TRIPPS
1931 Piedmont Circle N
WOOFS
woofsatlanta.com
2425 Piedmont Road NE
ANSLEY
BURKHART’S
burkharts.com
1492 Piedmont Ave NE
FELIX’S
1510 Piedmont Ave NE
THE HIDEAWAY
1544 Piedmont Ave NE
A snapshot of Gay Atlanta’s favorite destinations. View their ads in Peach ATL & visit their websites for weekly event listings.
MIXX
mixxatlanta.com
1492 Piedmont Ave NE
OSCAR’S
oscarsatlanta.com
1510 Piedmont Ave NE
EAST ATLANTA, GRANT PARK & EDGEWOOD
THE COCKPIT
thecockpit-atlanta.blogspot.com
465 Boulevard SE
MARY’S
marysatlanta.com
1287 Glenwood Ave SE
SISTER LOUISA’S CHURCH
sisterlouisaschurch.com
466 Edgewood Ave SE
SWINGING RICHARDS
swingingrichards.com
1400 Northside Dr NW
Dining
MIDTOWN
10TH & PIEDMONT
communitashospitality.com
991 Piedmont Ave NE
EINSTEIN’S
einsteinsatlanta.com
1077 Juniper St NE
FROGS CANTINA
frogsmidtown.com 931 Monroe Dr
G’S communitashospitality.com
219 10th St NE
HENRY’S henrysatl.com
132 10th St NE
JOE’S ON JUNIPER joesonjuniper.com
1049 Juniper St NE
LA HACIENDA
lahaciendamidtown.com
900 Monroe Dr NE
CHESHIRE
LAS MARGARITAS
lasmargaritasmidtown.com
1842 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
ROXX
1824 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
ANSLEY
COWTIPPERS
cowtippersatlanta.com 1600 Piedmont Ave NE
DEKALB
LIPS ATLANTA atldragshow.com 3011 Buford Hwy NE Retail
MIDTOWN
BARKING LEATHER AFTER DARK barkingleather.com
306 Ponce De Leon Ave NE
CHESHIRE
BARKING LEATHER barkingleather.com 805 Lambert Dr NE
SOUTHERN NIGHTS VIDEO 2205 Cheshire Bridge Rd NE
ANSLEY
BOY NEXT DOOR MENSWEAR boynextdoormenswear.com 1447 Piedmont Ave NE
GCB & PLEASURES brushstrokesatlanta.com 1510 Piedmont Ave. NE
Fitness
MIDTOWN
URBAN BODY FITNESS urbanbodyfitness.com 500 Amsterdam Ave NE
CHESHIRE
GRAVITEE FITNESS graviteeatl.com 2201 Faulkner Rd NE
MIDTOWN
FLEX SPA flexspas.com 76 4th St NW
CHESHIRE
MANIFEST 4U manifest4u.org 2103 Faulkner Rd NE
THE DEN thedenatlanta.com 2135 Liddell Drive NE
SAY THAT MAKE US THINK THEY’RE GAY
I blame you for what you put me through; I blame me for letting you do it twice.
I reward loyalty with loyalty, and disloyalty with distance.
Let’s see… I can’t on Tuesday. I’m scheduled to dominate. In fact, I’m booked solid for dominating all week.
The mistake was needing you when you didn’t need me. Loving travel right now, but the best trip was the distance I put between me and your negativity.
We all get the same 24 hours and seven days, so I’ma crush mine until I rise up out of here.
ARIES (Mar. 21 - Apr. 19)
When people disagree with you, it’s not about you! That can be hard to remember at work, especially. Efforts to charm will probably backfire. Just keep your nose to the grindstone and do your own work the best you can.
TAURUS (Apr. 20 - May 20)
You want to make big changes at home, but are there others to consider? “Brilliant” surprises will not be appreciated. New recipes are a safer bet. Treat your creative efforts as experiments: There are no failures, only lessons.
GEMINI (May 21 - Jun. 20)
Glib charm will not go down well. Make your words matter. Use your charm to convey challenging notions. Being nice helps get the message across, but by itself it’s no message at all.
CANCER (Jun. 21 - Jul. 22)
You need to take care of yourself and get back to basics to care effectively for others. Reconsider your recent accomplishments and talk them over with a close friend. The new moon on the 15th will bring new ideas to explore.
LEO (Jul. 23 - Aug. 22)
No matter how much charm you pour on your efforts to help others, they may not be much appreciated. Self-improvement is always a worthwhile effort. Working on yourself can open opportunities to play with others.
VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sep. 22)
Trust your creative and erotic instincts. Some rational discernment is necessary, but you should know within the count of 10 whether you are hearing the call of passionate brilliance or a sirens’ song.
LIBRA (Sep. 23 - Oct. 22)
Even without malicious intent, gossip can be very damaging. Your friends mean well, but do you need sloppy blabbermouths complicating your life? Trust your partner’s advice on who your friends really are.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21)
Challenges at work can bring out your best. It will take hard work, creativity and shrewd thinking, but you can win accolades. Your innovative instincts are good. It will take subtle persuasion to get others to go along.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21)
Kindness and charity can take considerable effort. Some poor annoying fool probably has no idea that he or she is hitting your sensitive points. You don’t have to put up with it, but you can be kind and gentle when stopping it.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19)
As in a bad romantic comedy, a misunderstanding could lead to a passionate affair. More than that? Probably not, but it could still change your life. New ideas at work need some polish, but will help you push forward.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18)
News from your partner could knock you for a loop and change the relationship. If you think of it as a battle, you will lose the war. Pay attention and adapt. Necessary changes won’t be easy but will make things a lot better in the long run.
PISCES
(Feb. 19 - Mar. 20)
Confusion can lead you to friends for advice. Listen, but consider carefully how their suggestions conflict with your own values. Out of that clash of ideas you’ll come up with something very useful. If your partner is being annoying, he or she really needs your support now.
WITH GAY FRIENDS LIKE THESE…
Hey, Daddy!
It’s been five years since a friend in our tightknit little gay circle committed suicide. Apparently, it takes a tragedy to show who your real friends are.
It took a long time for many of us to work through what happened, much less move on. During that time, two friends consoled each other, grew closer and got married.
At the wedding, one of the grooms said he owed his happiness to the dead friend. Without him, they wouldn’t have gotten together.
I was floored. I can’t believe he would think that, much less say it out loud. What kind of person takes happiness on the back of a suicide?
He should apologize, or at least stop going around letting everyone know what a horrible person he is.
Didn’t Realize A Monster Awaited
Dear DRAMA:
The helplessness and hurt after suicide is a hell all its own. It says a lot about your love for each other that, five years later, you guys are still thinking about your lost buddy. You probably always will.
You and the groom were both talking to the wrong person. Were you the wrong person to tell about his awkward realization? Based on your reaction, obviously. Is he the one who needs to hear about your pain? A professional might be better suited.
Start with the assumption that he’s not a monster. People are capable of holding two conflicting feelings: The pain of the lost friend, the joy of the marriage, and the clumsy coincidence of it being born from tragedy.
What he felt comfortable enough with you to share his awkward, vulnerable thought process out loud? If you’re ready to help him as much as yourself, open your heart and talk it out.
Hey, Daddy!
A drunken friend called me at 3 a.m. from jail. I left him there until morning because it was the seventh time in two years. Now he hates me.
Sorry Embarrassing Lush Forsaken
Dear SELF:
Responding immediately to a late night call from jail is called being a friend. Waiting the seventh time until you’re awake to call the bondsman is also called being a friend. He’s got a lot going on right now. Let him stew on it.
DADDY LOVES HIS BOYS
He knows the answers you need, and you’re going to get them. Reach out to him with your burning questions via our editor, Mike@PeachATL.com.
Warning: Advice given in this column is intended for entertainment and novelty purposes. Please proceed at your own risk.
