Tyne Firmin and Charles Sanchez (Photo: Mark S. King) Something struck me, maybe halfway through the uproarious screening of the new, second season of the musical comedy web series, Merce. I surveyed the packed room at the LGBT Center in New York City, the audience laughing, clapping, cheering on the characters and growing [...]
The gay men online who get off on seeking HIV infection (“bug chasers”) aren’t exactly known for their thoughtful introspection. After all, they are eroticizing something that works exactly once -- and has life-long consequences. So, a tweet posted a few weeks ago from a self-titled bug chaser stunned me with its honestly and vulnerability. [...]
Charles Sanchez has audacity, you have to give him that. Not only did he create a web series, Merce, drawn from his own life as a gay New Yorker living with HIV, he made it a musical comedy, people. With original music and a cast of lively singers and dancers. Oh, and then he stuffed [...]
Mark S. King (center) during a protest at the IAC in Durban, South Africa in 2016. Today is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. A great way to show support is to encourage members of Congress to co-sponsor and support the Safe Sex Workers Study Act, introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna [...]
With KOMOS, the LGBTQ choir of Bologna, Italy, as I bear witness to the HIV epidemic during their World AIDS Day event on November 30th, 2019. What a distinct pleasure to be in the company of spirited Italians for the week of World AIDS Day in early December. I was honored to be [...]
The Positive Women’s Network (USA) has always stood up for gender expression and equality, and that is especially true of their unyielding support of trans women, a population heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS. Today, for Trans Day of Remembrance, PWN has released a statement and information about their vision for trans rights, safety, and justice. Please [...]
The fact that sex worker Jacen Zhu is a fiercely intelligent and community-minded young man shouldn’t really come as a surprise, despite our habit of keeping porn stars in their porny boxes. The advent of online opportunities like "Just for Fans" pages on Twitter, which make oodles of money for sex workers while giving us [...]
The Queer Angel paying respects at the Atlanta AIDS Walk. (Photo by Russ Bowen-Youngblood) When the photo appeared on social media only hours after the Atlanta AIDS Walk last week, it produced gasps and tears. There, standing pensively among the panels of the NAMES Project Quilt display, is a gloriously dressed man in [...]
“I’m sorry to objectify you,” I said sheepishly to bodybuilder Raif Derrazi. For our videotaped interview, Raif was naked down to the nether regions of his sculpted abs, at my request. “Not at all!” Raif happily responded. “There’s a time and place for everything, and this is it.” Raif’s sunny disposition is disarming, because as [...]
AIDS United, the national HIV/AIDS policy, lobbying, and funding consortium of organizational leaders, has issued an apology and promised to review their policies and procedures after the posting of my (can I say bombshell? Humble bloggers never get to use that word, so please) article last week, “Gilead Duped Me into Being Their Mouthpiece. Here’s [...]
