Advocates, public health experts, and healthcare providers gathered for the United States Conference on HIV/AIDS on Sept. 17 in Anaheim. 

The conference is the largest of its kind in the nation and came amid a wave of new challenges for HIV research and treatment. Since the beginning of the second Trump-Vance administration, federal spending cuts have targeted HIV/AIDS programs, including the gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development and proposed cuts to PEPFAR, which supports HIV testing and treatment globally, in 2025. 

Last year, Congress maintained funding for HIV programs after proposed cuts faced opposition from advocacy groups and bipartisan criticism. Yet, this year Congress has proposed similar cuts to many of the same programs, which would cut nearly one billion dollars in HIV funding. The majority of the cuts would impact HIV prevention and outreach, which includes ending nearly all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV prevention activities. 

“If we continue down this path,” said Jeremiah Johnson, the executive director of PrEP4ALL, an advocacy group that supports expanding access to HIV prevention, “we’re going to see more people falling off treatment. We’re going to see more wait lists. That’s going to lead to more people dying from AIDS-related complications.”

Cuts and Challenges

The funding cuts loomed over the conference and inspired protest from activists. 

On the first day of USCHA, activists with Save HIV Funding organized a mock funeral outside the convention center. Advocates living with HIV wrote eulogies for themselves, meant to show the consequences of diminished access to treatment. Then activists marched through the conference carrying fake coffins. 

Johnson, who helped organize the protest, said that “the Trump administration has eviscerated global aid … and the fears that many of us are just talking about hypothetically for ourselves at the moment are already happening [internationally]. And so we wanted to place that front and center at this conference.”

The attacks on funding for HIV research and outreach come at a complicated time for the movement to end the AIDS epidemic. While options for prevention and treatment have never been more accessible, such as PrEP and antiretroviral therapy, there have been some concerning upticks in infections, particularly among communities of color.

Southern states account for the majority of new HIV infections in the country, despite making up only 38 percent of the population. And these infections impact disproportionately Black and Latino communities. According to the CDC, even as overall HIV infections decreased from 2018 to 2022, diagnoses of HIV among Latinos grew by 17 percent, with a majority of this increase happening in the South. 

Stigma is still the biggest barrier for people seeking out HIV treatment, said Guillermo Chacón, president of the Latino Commission on AIDS. 

“The progress that we [made] in the past two years has been demolished,” he said. 

Chacón blames the federal government for stigmatizing HIV treatment by using harmful rhetoric about queer people. 

“The level of homophobia and transphobia right now is even higher because it has been used as a political message to create fear and division in our country,” he said. 

Chacón believes that research and outreach must be done to reverse the rising HIV infections among Latinos. However, this is exactly the type of research that the Trump-Vance administration is targeting most intensely. Research into “health disparities” — why some health problems impact certain communities more than others — has been heavily criticized by the White House, along with other research that it considers “woke” and claims is not supported by science. 

Impact Felt at Conference

The opening plenary for the conference addressed some of the funding challenges the movement was facing but tried to shift the focus to the victories the movement has seen over the years. Speakers highlighted historic successful activist campaigns like ACT UP, and recent improvements in medical care and access to treatment. 

Randevyn Peirre, head of U.S. external affairs at ViiV Healthcare, the sponsor of the plenary, took the stage to celebrate the success of the U = U campaign (undetectable viral load = untransmissible HIV virus), and ViiV’s investment of $33 million in HIV community organizations across the U.S. This comes as the Trump-Vance administration has made moves to end direct funding of community-based organizations, opting to give the funding to state healthcare agencies. 

The speakers at the conference discussed reducing stigma for those living with HIV and the joy of living authentically. They also emphasized the diverse groups of people that are impacted by HIV and how they can come together to fight for a cure. Longtime AIDS activist Rae Lewis Thorton exclaimed, “When they tell me there’s a cure to HIV, I’m gonna take off my 4-inch heels and put on gold slippers,” to applause from the audience. 

The opening plenary also featured song and dance from a variety of artists, many of whom spoke about how HIV has impacted their own lives and how advocacy has uplifted their spirits. However, the joyous atmosphere at the conference would not last. 

On the final day of USCHA, Geri Donenberg, the associate director of AIDS research at the National Institutes of Health, took the stage to address the conference. 

As she spoke, phones began to buzz around the room with breaking news: the Trump-Vance administration was drafting an executive order to create an external board to oversee NIH grants and screen them for political content. NMAC CEO Harold Philips took the stage after Donenberg to address the crowd. “It’s up to us,” Philips said, “to hold NIH accountable.” He added that HIV advocates “have supporters inside NIH who are struggling and working to do the right thing. We have to have their back.” 

Chants of “stand up, fight back, fight AIDS” erupted from the crowd as Philips spoke. “We do have to fight back. We do have to continue to fight,” Philips replied. 

Caleb Kaufman is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

What I am about to say will come as a shocker to some and bring a heavy sigh to many more. There are some things money can’t buy. Integrity, gratitude, and a goddam clue, just to name a  few. In a recent livestream, hetero-identifying Canadian OnlyFans performer Jake Andrich, who has garnered a sizable gay following on the platform, was asked if he supported the LGBTQ+ community. His response? “Not in particular.” Phenomenal PR, bro.

While Andrich may be 100% comfortable with benefiting from his fanbase of gooning gays, he’s clearly less than compelled to support the very community behind his success. If a straight dude can build a highly lucrative career providing gay men with material for their spank banks, what does the relationship between a performer and the subscribers paying their bills look like? 

Now, before anyone gets their brogurt-stained briefs in a bunch, let’s be clear about one thing. No one is entitled to someone else’s sexuality, political views, or values. No one should ever feel pressured into performing some identity that they don’t identify with or be made to feel uncomfortable. That said, gratitude is not an identity.

A unique phenomenon can happen when a person spends their life receiving social rewards while never having to think too hard about the systems in place that have made these rewards possible for them. It is often that when cultural visibility, acceptance, and desirability are a given, they are often processed in the mind not as privileges but as natural order. When this occurs, attention is processed as validation which, in turn, becomes entitlement.

When the folks who supply this attention are folks of marginalized groups, the disconnect is more than significant. Said performer experiences queer desire as an economic gain. What they don’t experience is the discrimination and social consequences that accompany one’s queerness in society. To folks like Andrich, their queer audience is a considerable convenience while never being a commitment. 

For many folks, lust is undeniably efficient at overriding less savory aspects of a person. The mammalian brain’s reward system has a way of filing pleasurable things as important things. Arousal can quite often narrow one’s attention while making them more concerned with obtaining the reward than contemplating where or who it is coming from. Add a layer of the good ol’ parasocial attachment, and now the provider of this reward is perceived not as a grad student on the other side of the country with great abs, nine inches, and a heap of student loans, but as your secret lover. All of this neuropsychology can make it super easy to compartmentalize certain info.

Cognitive dissonance makes a guest appearance when our desires and our values clash. The mind will often find ways to minimize discomfort when pleasure is involved. We may rationalize by telling ourselves that it’s not that big of a deal-breaker, or they didn’t mean what they said, or I’m subscribing for his body, not his values. 

Although I am not arguing that we should start conducting moral deep dives on everyone we see on screen, I do believe that it’s worth looking into when pleasure consistently outweighs principle. Not too long ago, I wrote a piece on Nicki Minaj’s MAGA coming out, and her Barbz were swift to come to her defense. This made it crystal clear how easily a fanbase can allow its admiration for a coked-up pop diva to eclipse her recent getting on her knees for an administration directly attacking the rights of LGBTQ+ Barbz and non-Barbz alike. Too often, fantasy feels so much better than principle.

Let’s be real about the thirst-fueled economics at play here. The LGBTQ+ community has always had to seek out representation where they can find it. Long before the Pedro Pascals and Janelle Monaes, a random shirtless model could easily fuel an entire erotic ecosystem for a not-so-out male appreciator of men. Fast forward, and what were once xxx mags hidden in that box at the back of the closet are now fanpage subscriptions. Thank you, internet. Progress.

And of course, there’s nothing wrong with patronizing the page of some random former varsity bro from Idaho who realized he can pay rent and then some by selling wank videos and foot pics. On the flip side, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with selling wank vids and foot pics. Make that coin. But when one’s business model relies on a particular marginalized community’s consumption while dismissing said community with a “not so particular” approach in support,  it is not going to fly with pretty much anyone with self-respect.

There are plenty of hetero-identifying men who get it right. Our furry-chested Daniel Radcliffe, who fuels many gay folks’ fantasies of wizard-on-wizard action, has always shown love and support for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the T (F U, JK R). Fellow furry-chested Mark Ruffalo has also consistently lent his voice to the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and many others. Radcliffe, Ruffalo, and so many more men like these two are a testament to the fact that one doesn’t have to identify as queer to show respect and support for their queer fanbase. And, let’s be honest, nothing’s hotter than giving a sh*t.

You don’t have to be a part of a community in order to see its value. I repeat: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A PART OF A COMMUNITY IN ORDER TO SEE ITS VALUE. Straight guys, you don’t need to go full-on queer activist and advocate. A little solidarity, however, goes a long way. Gratitude, and the lack of it, do not go unseen. 

So Andrich doesn’t particularly support the gays. That’s cool. In turn, the gays can decide whether or not they’d like to keep supporting him financially. Let that bit of capitalism rest on your palate for a moment and tell me how it tastes. 

Honestly, take it or leave it. I personally think so many things are not worth our time or our energy. Full disclosure, I didn’t know who this guy was before receiving this assignment, and I’m sure I will soon forget him after submitting it. Integrity is sexy, in my humble opinion.

Despite progress in the past decade, treating drug addiction is a difficult journey that can be opaque and challenging to navigate. For Recovery Awareness Month, the Los Angeles Blade sat down with Justin Todd, Co-Founder of Addiction Resource, to talk about addiction treatment. “There are resources available, and more so than people think,” said Todd. 

Todd grew up around “family addiction and severe mental health issues,” which led him to work in addiction treatment to help people suffering from challenges similar to those his family faced. 

He co-founded Addiction Resource in 2018 to help people seeking to overcome their addictions “avoid places that are out there just for pure profit and are not necessarily treatment-first.” It was inspired largely to help people seeking addiction treatment avoid the scheme of “patient brokering.” The illegal and coercive practice involves middlemen who refer patients to addiction treatment centers in exchange for referral fees. These centers would then often max out the patients’ insurance benefits without providing proper treatment, or worse yet, they would be saturated with illicit drugs that make patients prone to relapses. 

So instead of relying on “brokers” to find treatment for substance use disorder, Todd hopes Addiction Resource can provide people with accurate information about addiction treatment. “When people make their call for help, that might be the first and only time they call,” which is why it’s so important that people are matched with centers that prioritize care, Todd said. Addiction Resource does online research and works directly with addiction treatment centers to verify the services they provide are medically proven and effective. 

The queer community is particularly vulnerable to addiction. A 2015 survey from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported that sexual minorities, which include parts of the LGBTQ community, have higher rates of substance abuse than their sexual majority counterparts. Yet, there can be additional challenges for queer people seeking treatment for their addiction because of societal stigma and discrimination towards their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

But the environment for queer people seeking addiction treatment is improving, with more programs that are created for the LGBTQ community. “There are truly programs built specifically for queer people that are exclusively for them… compared to six years ago, when there were far fewer,” Todd said. He added that these programs address “different challenges or traumas that are relatable to the [LGBTQ] community” and can often lead to better treatment outcomes for queer patients. Addiction Resource’s site has resources for people seeking out specialized care like LGBTQ specific addiction treatment. 

But more important than any specific program is a willingness to seek out treatment in the first place. “I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way for someone to go about finding treatment,” Todd said. He continued that some people can go to very highly rated rehab facilities with unsuccessful results and have a free community center program be what gets them into recovery. “It really just depends on the person, what’s necessarily right for them.” 

If you are suffering from a drug-related or mental health crisis, SAMHSA has a free 24/7 hotline at 1-800-662-4357. 

Caleb Kaufman is a California Local News Fellow placed with the Los Angeles Blade. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.

Sitting on Governor Newsom’s desk is AB 2222, the Community Newsroom Employment and Workforce Sustainability Act (Community NEWS Act). The bill seeks to put California at the forefront of national efforts to keep local newsrooms intact.

The Governor has until September 30 to sign the legislation or veto it.

Authored by Assemblymember Chris Ward and co-authored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, AB 2222 would provide refundable tax credits to local newsrooms for each journalist they employ. Those credits would help ensure baseline workforce stability especially critical for smaller news outlets facing financial headwinds.

For California, with the nation’s largest immigrant population and highest concentration of Limited English Proficient (LEP) households, the bill would help sustain ethnic media outlets that serve as an essential bridge, providing crucial services ranging from translations of emergency evacuation orders to helping dispel dangerous mis- and dis-information or covering local school board meetings.

Under the bill, community-rooted newsrooms would receive credits of $20,000 for the first five full-time editorial positions (at least 30 hours per week, with annualized compensation of $35,000 or more).

Each additional full-time journalist would receive a credit of $15,000, plus an additional $15,000 incentive for each newly created reporting position, while each part-time journalist would receive $7,500.

Eligibility extends broadly to print, broadcast, digital, nonprofit, and independent family-owned news outlets.

An unprecedented coalition

The bill garnered overwhelming support in the state legislature, passing the Senate 30–10 on August 30 and the Assembly 59–15 on August 31. 

That legislative mandate is backed by an unprecedented coalition across the state and nation: 134 news organizations and press associations have jointly delivered a letter urging Governor Newsom to sign AB 2222, including 94 California-based outlets, regional publishers, and labor guilds, joined by 40 national media associations.

Fiscal Responsibility, ROI

If passed, the credits will not take effect until tax year 2027, protecting current state reserves and allowing multi-year budget planning. The bill also mandates annual Franchise Tax Board compliance reports beginning in 2029 and automatically sunsets after five years (taxable years 2027 through 2031).

Additionally, the credits are offset by federal tax limits that cap corporate deductions for executive compensation over $1 million, curbing excessive corporate write-offs.

The return on investment, meanwhile, is substantial.

Peer-reviewed research in the Journal of Financial Economics found that when a local newspaper closes, municipal bond borrowing costs rise by 5 to 11 basis points—adding an estimated $650,000 in excess interest on a typical bond issue for local schools, water systems, and infrastructure.

But the bill’s value goes well beyond basis points and bond ratings.

When community and ethnic media survive, frontline community organizations and state agencies maintain the trusted communications pipeline required to deliver essentials like public health directives, farmworker protections, and disaster relief.

An information lifeline

During the 2017 Tubbs Fire, official English-language alerts left critical gaps that put non-English speakers in immediate danger.

KBBF 89.1 FM, the nation’s first bilingual public radio station, stepped in with broadcasting around the clock in Spanish, debunking false rumors that federal immigration agents were stationed at evacuation shelters or that an undocumented resident had caused the fire.

Two years later, the 2019 Kincade Fire tested that same lifeline again. The station expanded its Indigenous language broadcasts to include Mixteco and Triqui, common among regional farmworkers.

In both instances, KBBF relied on volunteers as it lacked the revenue to sustain full-time reporting staff.

Further south along the San Diego border, Indian Voices spent years reporting on and partnering with tribal leaders to raise public awareness around the toxic Tijuana River sewage crisis, which has long impacted coastal neighborhoods and Kumeyaay ancestral lands.

In Monterey Park, following the 2023 Lunar New Year mass shooting that took 11 lives, Chinese- and Vietnamese-language journalists worked through the night to pierce an information vacuum.

With elderly Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking residents receiving no official in-language updates in the first critical hours, local reporters translated police briefings on the fly, dispelled viral rumors, and connected grieving families with victim assistance and mental health care they otherwise would never have found.

Trusted messengers

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a different kind of information gap.

In an October 2020 statewide poll, only 29% of Black Californians said they would definitely or probably get a COVID-19 vaccine once available — far below the 70% of Asian Americans, 62% of white residents, and 54% of Latinos who said the same.

This gap was rooted in generations of justified distrust from medical racism, including the Tuskegee experiments that researchers say still shape vaccine hesitancy today.

Generic public health messaging could not close that gap on its own. Independent Black media addressed the history behind the hesitancy instead of dismissing it, and connected residents to vaccination resources through messengers their own communities actually trusted.

Governor Newsom has visited these places. He has consoled grieving families, met local community leaders, and spoken with Brandon Tsay, the 26-year-old hero who disarmed the Monterey Park gunman.

The governor saw firsthand that local community journalists are often the only trusted messengers capable of connecting vulnerable populations to life-saving state resources.

A historic opportunity

Recognizing that local journalism is essential civic infrastructure, Newsom has since 2024 demonstrated national leadership by launching the public-private California Civic Media Program and supporting the Propel Initiative. (ACoM is a Propel partner.)

Both programs help secure vital investments to sustain the UC Berkeley California Local News Fellowship and build newsroom capacity for organizations including our own, as well as the Maynard Institute, California Black Media, and the Latino Media Collaborative.

Yet these short-term grant dollars cannot permanently sustain a newsroom’s daily payroll. Without baseline workforce stability, community newsrooms are unable to retain the fellows and reporters the state has helped train.

AB 2222 helps close this gap.

We respectfully urge Governor Newsom to stand with the legislative majority, the 134 media organizations, and the working reporters and sign AB 2222 before September 30.

By Julian Do

Julian Do is co-director at ACoM, where he focuses on media industry advocacy, local news capacity building, sustainability opportunities, and special campaigns including inter-ethnic relations, COVID-19 pandemic misinformation, and journalism awards events.

Every year since Sept. 11, 2001, I’ve tried to get up early to catch the reading of the names of those lost to the terror attacks at the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. I didn’t lose anyone – though a friend is suffering from serious respiratory issues 25 years after helping people on the pile. Her suffering has been compounded by the unconscionable difficulty of getting access to the federal 9/11 survivors’ fund.

This is personal. I feel a sense of moral obligation as a human, as an American, and, importantly, as an LGBTQ+ person whose core existence can be so easily erased by sheer lazy societal habit.

It happened again.

Dan Brandhorst, 42, a lawyer and partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Ronald Gamboa, 33, who managed three Gap stores in Santa Monica, had been together for 14 years. They co-founded the Pop Luck Club in West Hollywood to help prospective gay dads become parents and experience the joy they felt with their adopted son David. I met the family briefly when they stopped as part of the Pop Luck contingent during the annual Christopher Street West Pride Parade.

David was three years old when their United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

They were returning home after a visit with family in Cape Cod. At 8:15 A.M. (Eastern) their plane took off from Logan Airport in Boston, headed to Los Angeles with 76,000 pounds of fuel. Dan, Ron, and David are three of the 51 passengers, 9 crew members, and 5 hijackers on board.

They were probably unaware of the first attack at 8:46 A.M. at 1 World Trade Center. Observers initially thought a small plane accidentally hit the North Tower until massive fire spilled out of the gash between floors 93 and 99. Five hijackers, 76 passengers, and 11 crew members on American Airlines Flight 11 were killed instantly, as were hundreds inside the building, trapped above the 91st floor as firefighters and police mobilized to evacuate and rescue who they could save.

At about 8:55 A.M., a Port Authority fire safety employee used the South Tower’s public address system to say the tower was secure.

“Your attention, please, ladies and gentlemen. Building Two is secure. There is no need to evacuate Building Two. If you are in the midst of evacuation, you may use the reentry doors and the elevators to return to your office. Repeat, Building Two is secure,” the Port Authority employee said, according to 911 Memorial timeline.

Four minutes later, at 8:59 A.M., an emergency order to evacuate both towers was issued.

Meanwhile, at 8:52 a.m., a flight attendant aboard United Airlines Flight 175 (likely Robert John Fangman) reported a hijacking in progress to a United Airlines operator in San Francisco, California.

At 9:03 A.M., according to the 911 Memorial Timeline, five hijackers crashed United Flight 175 into floors 77 through 85 of the South Tower, killing the 51 passengers and crew members onboard the aircraft and an unknown number of people inside the building. Two of the three emergency stairwells are blocked, and many are trapped in elevator cars.

For more than 10 minutes, everyone aboard United Flight 175 knew they could die. Passengers Garnet Ace Bailey, Peter Burton Hanson, and Brian David Sweeney got to call their families.

Imagine what that must have been like for Dan, Ron, and David. Did passengers scream in terror after the hijackers announced themselves? Had they found out about the crash in the North Tower and feared the same fate as the plane turned? Could they see the fire?

I imagine Dan Brandhorst and Ronald Gamboa – as terrified as they might have been – trying their best to comfort their terrified 3-year-old son. I imagine tall Dan on the aisle, Ron at the window, reaching over David in the middle, crying, saying, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

The memorial this morning included the reading of the names of families who I imagine huddled and cried and loved together at the end.

But even though the 9/11 Memorial & Museum reports that David Reed Gamboa Brandhorst “was one of the youngest victims of the 2001 terror attacks” and identifies Dan and Ron as David’s “fathers” – they didn’t read their three names together as a family.

At 6:07 A.M. (Pacific), the names of Daniel Brandhorst and David Brandhorst were read off a prepared list. Ronald Gamboa’s name was read at 7:05 A.M. (Pacific). This may be 9/11 wishful thinking, but I thought I heard “David Reed Gamboa” called before Ronald Gamboa.

While the precious reading of names did not identify them as a family, they are grouped together on the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero, with a moving tribute on the 9/11 Memorial website honoring David. “Today would have been his 18th birthday,” they report.

“Ten years later and it’s still difficult to comprehend,” Rich Valenza, co-President of the Pop Luck Club, told me for a Sept. 13, 2011 story in the now-defunct Frontiers Magazine (that Pop Luck Club co-President posted on their website). “Things were different ten years ago and very different for prospective gay fathers.”

Gamboa and Brandhorst were mentors. “Creating our families is revolutionary,” Valenza said. “What each of us does seems everyday, but the fact is it remains difficult for us.”

Dr. Karen Rogers of Project Heal from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles was also at that 2011 memorial to help explain to the kids “what happened that day.”

“The men who hijacked those planes were bullies” who were trying to make new rules based on their beliefs about how people should behave, she said. But in this country, “we believe everybody has a right to believe differently. It takes courage to stand up and say what you believe in,” praising the honesty and courage of gay dads.

“You are standing up to those bullies by being yourselves and fighting for your country and your families,” Rogers said. “So long as there are families like yours, our country will be free.”

The Pop Luck Club was renamed Raise A Child, growing into a national organization helping LGBT people foster and adopt children.

Amid the heroes, victims, and survivors of 9/11 are also the invisible ones suddenly deprived of love, mentorship, and the kind of “revolutionary” thinking who were making America a better, more inclusive country.

Remembering them is also a revolutionary act of conscience and, for me, a moving exercise in morality.

This is a cross-post from Karen’s LGBTQ+ Freedom Fighters Substack.

I’m no stranger to and am an advocate for a little group release every now and again. That said, I of course am all for San Diego repealing its antiquated bathhouse ordinance. Despite the likely anti-queer motivations of the time, the ordinance also came during a time when, unfortunately, the casual connections that many folks take for granted today came at a potentially deadly cost. This repeal is a small yet significant testament to the early and darkest ties of the HIV/AIDS crisis. 

This ordinance dates back to 1988 and subjected bathhouses to regulations rooted in their stated concern that bathhouses facilitated sex practices that were a legitimate risk to the plague of HIV/AIDS transmission at the time. Now, almost 40 years later, the City Council of San Diego unanimously decided to repeal it – great move for queer tourism, and can’t wait to see how these spaces flourish as a result. If Black’s Beach wasn’t enough of a reason to go to San Diego…

Bathhouses have, historically, been a place that, dare I say therapeutic balance of community and anonymity. At different points in history and in cultures, they have served as a home base of refuge and solidarity as well. When identifying as gay, queer, trans, or any other letter of our god blessed rainbow could cost your reputation, your job, your family, or even your life, these and other queer spaces encompassed the duality of places for both recreation just as much as they were for resistance. 

Our dearly queer elders quite literally fought to exist openly so that we pole smokers and clam connoisseurs today can eat at our hearts’ content. They were the pioneers who threw bricks and were arrested at Stonewall in order for us to perform fellatio in those very bathrooms today with next to zero concern of, well, anything. 

The HIV/AIDS crisis was just yesterday for so many of our community. In the US alone, more than 100,000 died from AIDS by 1990. To spare the details ( that I implore every last one of you to look up the next time you’re tempted to doom scroll), eventually the advocacy and outrage paid off (TAKE NOTE!). The implementation of proper medical intervention coupled with sex education in the virus paid tf off. 

Fast forward to today, treatment can suppress HIV to the point that it is not sexually transmittable. In 2024, over 68% of folks age thirteen and older living with HIV had reached viral suppression. If this isn’t progress, I don’t know what is. 

At the same time, progress has a way of making folks forget about what it took to get us here. Before receiving this assignment from my publisher, I had already been made aware of the San Diego repeal. A friend’s husband had mentioned it with gusto in the same conversation in which he was deflecting a comment about refugees worldwide. I could not help but find myself taken aback by the juxtaposition between his enthusiasm for the right to simultaneously steam and blow with his dismissal of crises abroad. These are the politics that get you to raise your voice? 

I had a similar thought the night the Knicks won the World Series or Super Bowl or whichever they do. A friend and I had made the mistake of going to catch a flick that evening – thank you, AMC A-List, thank you, Nicole Kidman. We found ourselves at a theatre around the corner from Madison Square Garden, and what a mistake that was. I won’t go into detail on the chaos we were witness to, as I assume you have Instagram.

At the time, I couldn’t help but think: where was this energy during Black Lives Matter?  Where is even a fraction of this uproar when very real people are being displaced, persecuted, starved, and killed? I love New York City, but I love basic human rights even more. 

Many of us become passionate about injustice once it is at our stoop, then suddenly become preoccupied once it is absent from our immediate line of vision. When it affects our healthcare, our relationships, and our right to raw-dog in a sauna, suddenly we are activists. But when it’s happening to someone whose life looks a little different from our own or who happens to be somewhere else on the planet… blind eye turned. Indifference. Active ignorance.

There are queer folks around the world at this very moment whose safety and lives would be at risk if they were to live their true identities openly and authentically. There are so many members of our LGBTQ+ community whose families, communities, governments, and religions would persecute them for doing exactly what many of us consider to be a regular Thursday night. And yet so many of us exist in extraordinary comfort, basking in the rights that queer folks fifty years ago fought, protested, and sometimes died for, while remaining almost entirely disengaged from those who are still waiting for their own liberation. This should upset us. 

I was reminded about a year ago on a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with a childhood friend. We were making our way through the fairly new and long overdue native American wing, taking in these breathtakingly vibrant patterns and aesthetics. At some point, I turned to him and commented something along the lines of, “Can you imagine how spectacular this country might look like today if these populations had never been displaced and decimated?”

His response: a casual and dismissive shrug. “Well, it’s happened thousands of times, so what are we supposed to do about it?” And with that, he walked to the next piece. I have a feeling that I won’t soon forget this response. There is something deeply and dangerously dismissive about becoming so very comfortable inside one’s own worldview that one is unable to imagine another one. Or worse, becomes upset or confrontational when challenged to.

We don’t have to agree on everything. We don’t have to care about the same things. But what I know is possible is that we are capable of developing the basic human capacity to recognize suffering outside of our immediate line of vision. 

So yes, let us celebrate San Diego on repealing the bathhouse ordinance. Let gay men gather. Let consenting adults have consensual sex in consensual places. Let queer spaces exist without the government treating our sexual identities as shameful or dangerous. And let us never forget our queer forefathers and foremothers who fought to make it all possible for us today.

But maybe, just maybe, we can redirect some of that queer political vigor to Sudan. To Palestine. To Iran. To Western Sahara. To refugees. To indigenous communities worldwide. To all of the LGBTQ+ folks living under governments where authenticity is straight up dangerous. And don’t get me wrong – I’m not suggesting that we stop caring about d*ck, I am suggesting that we care about more than just d*ck.

I challenge everyone who has made it this far to step that much further outside our likely comfortable worldview and embrace getting a little uncomfortable questioning what you think you already know. I do fear, however, that all of you who have made it this far in my article are likely not the folks that most need to hear this. I guess, for all of them, we can always put the world news on in their bathhouses. They can sweat out their toxins as well as their political apathy. And with their mouths likely full, perhaps they’ll finally open their ears.

As queer men, we lead different lives, which means we have different medical needs. Whether it’s more therapy for the lack of Grindr etiquette, understanding douching basics, or our unique sexual health risks, we have unique and nuanced medical needs, and there are some things we should know and understand. 

Here’s a list of some health facts for queer men to ensure that you’re taking good care of your health and keeping an eye on unique health risks for men who sleep with men. Now keep in mind, none of this should be considered medical advice, and you’ll also want to run things by your primary care doctor, but here are a few facts you may not know. 

Don’t Lie Down on DoxyPEP

DoxyPEP is a godsend. It’s a low dose of doxycycline that you can take after sexual exposure that can cut your risk of developing an STI like gonorrhea, chlamydia, and even syphilis. One warning you may ignore when popping your doxy after a hookup is lying down within an hour or two of taking it. 

That sounds like a random drug warning that you can ignore, like don’t operate heavy machinery. However, doxycycline is highly acidic, so if you lie down within an hour of taking it, it can cause damage to the esophagus, causing small burns or lesions or even a major condition. 

Do’s and Don’ts When Douching 

Some hardcore bottoms love a squeaky clean workspace. Are there perils of too much douching? Yes! Excessive douching can cause damage to the membranes of your rectum, which can increase your risk of bleeding and increase your exposure risk for STIs and other infections.

Excessive douching can also wreak havoc on your gut microbiome. Rather than living wild and then just blowing your guts to oblivion, consider a regular regimen of fiber supplements and probiotics to help replenish the natural bacteria you’re flooding out so the water runs clear. 

Regular fiber intake can make you more regular and give you a clearer picture of when you’re clear for take off. 

Kidney Care 

This goes out to all my gym bunnies out there. Are you bulking so you’re eating a ton of protein, combined with a lot of pre-workout or a few Celsius a day? Not to mention, are you drinking or doing drugs? This can all impact your kidneys. 

Your kidneys filter the blood. Your body breaks up proteins, keeping a pool available in the kidneys. If you’re going heavy on the protein as well as toxins like alcohol or caffeine, this can cause damage to your body’s kidney function. Keep an eye on these and try to use a regular amount of protein your body will use. After all, any protein your body doesn’t use will only turn into fat anyway. 

Totally Normal Genital “Irregularities”

Penises are snowflakes; they’re all unique and can become wet. Given the fact that male sexual health is not often talked about, there are a myriad of things that can happen to your penis and genital region that you may not realize are totally normal. 

To spare you a neurotic bout of hypochondria, here are a few things that you may see or notice yourself or another man that are completely normal:

Pearly papules- On uncircumcised men, there can be small, painless bumps that develop around the head of your penis. These are natural growths and aren’t that noticeable, these can be completely natural. 

Speaking of uncircumcised men, did you know they have a hymen too? There’s a small piece of skin called the balano-preputial lamina. As boys, their foreskin may not pull all the way back. This can wear away over time, but there also is a chance that an uncircumcised man could have a rip or rupture when having sex as his penis reaches full maturity. 

Not all lumps in the groin area are cancerous. You can get epididymitis, which is a small growth in the epididymis, or varicoceles, which are varicose veins in your scrotum. These should always be checked out by a doctor, but don’t immediately freak out; just be sure to get checked. 

Narcan Is Harmless if Unnecessary

Sadly, a lot of people in our culture can overdo it. For some it’s puking in the street, for others it’s the risk of a major, perhaps lethal overdose. Narcan (Naloxone) can be used on someone who is unconscious or you think is overdosing. This can be lifesaving if someone is exposed to fentanyl or other opioids. 

The best part is that it is harmless if someone has had too much alcohol or other drugs. Sometimes people will administer Narcan regardless to cover all bases. 

It’s Not Just STIs

Thanks to Doxy and Prep, many of your bases are covered, so many people are living wild and fancy free. However, there are a few things out there and ways to be careful. Prime example, HPV can be transmitted via touch and is a virus. It’s best to get the HPV vaccine before you’re sexually active. For safety, try using one hand for your partner and one for yourself to avoid cross-contamination, which could expose you to the risk of genital warts, which can be painful to remove when inside your body. 

Speaking of cross-contamination, it’s important to be wary of a lot of exposure to rectal fluids. This can put you at risk of parasitic infections. Everyone’s gut microbiome is different, and they don’t always play well together. Excessive or intense introduction to the inner workings of someone’s anus can give you a bad stomach interaction that may require treatment. 

These are just a few things that you may not know that uniquely affect you. As queer men, we are all different, but thanks to the sex we have and the lives we lead, we may have unique medical needs. It’s important to have a doctor who understands this so you can have frank conversations about your sex habits, drug and alcohol use, and lifestyle. Transparency and education are vital to keep you healthy.

The human form is a beautiful thing, with so much of West Hollywood being dedicated to celebrating the bodies of its many inhabitants. 

Well…mostly. Because while WeHo is filled with go-go boys, scintillating billboards, and half-naked men in clubs, the gay community doesn’t have the best record when it comes to physical positivity. This culture still struggles with constant body shaming, a harmful, pervasive rhetoric that has led to gay men facing high rates of disordered eating and dysmorphia. This is particularly painful to see when there are countless people in this country already telling our community that we’re wrong, with so many of our own folks perpetuating this shame within their own minds. That’s why it’s more important than ever for queer men to appreciate and love their bodies, with West Hollywood’s Naked Warrior Yoga (NWY) working every day to help them do just that.

Situated in the heart of West Hollywood, this studio has served local yoga-lovers for years as an offshoot of the national brand that has spent two decades teaching LGBTQ+ people across the U.S. Even in a health-obsessed Los Angeles, it stands out for being a thoroughly queer space with amazing classes and a great ambience…and because of the fact that it’s completely clothing optional. 

Featuring both nude and clothed classes, Naked Warrior Yoga strives to empower its students by showing them the beautiful capabilities bodies have in their most natural forms. The studio offers a variety of classes — both sexual and non-sexual — centered around using yoga to help people appreciate their physical selves. It’s become a mainstay for many gay men across West Hollywood, which is why this community was so devastated when NWY recently announced it may just be a few weeks from shutting down. 

“It’s a way for guys to do yoga…but also to have a space where they can be vulnerable,” said Christoph Girard, one of Naked Warrior Yoga’s teachers. “Just the honesty through nakedness of being with their body and being present with other people.” 

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A post shared by Christoph Teaches Tantra (@chrisgirard)

Whether it’s sensual sound baths or sessions focused on rebuilding strength after injury, Girard personally sees how much each class impacts the many folks who attend them. He raved, “People have made friends, people have made connections, people feel more positive in their bodies!” It’s an effect he’s seen for the many years he’s been with the studio; Christoph joined Naked Warrior Yoga in the midst of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic when the business pivoted to online classes. He fondly remembered how, even in the midst of so much fear, these classes offered folks a way to feel connected to others, helping them build a supportive online community that persisted long after lockdown and continues to grow today. 

It’s why he’s so worried about what will happen if Naked Warrior Yoga ends up losing its space in West Hollywood. He described how the past year has seen their previous owner face numerous grievous health issues that forced him to relinquish his hold on the business and its physical space. This led to NWY having to cancel days of classes, with the studio only recently bringing back its full calendar due to interest from a prospective buyer. 

Unable to delve too deeply into details, Christoph explained, “We had one person who was interested in purchasing the studio, and then it fell through. A second person is interested in purchasing it, so there’s [hopefully] going to be a transfer of ownership.” The teacher explained how much he loves the current space, which is settled in the heart of West Hollywood (right in front of the infamous Vaseline Alley, in fact). He hopes a move wouldn’t affect the many students he teaches on a daily basis — and that’s only as long as there’s an actual buyer and NWY gets to stay open! It’s a stressful situation that has left him, Naked Warrior Yoga’s other teachers, and their many students in the lurch. But no matter what happens, Girard wanted to make it clear: Naked Warrior Yoga as an affirming space for gay men is not going anywhere. 

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A post shared by Naked Warrior Yoga Studio (@nakedwarrioryoga)

He stressed that, even if the current building can no longer host NWY, there are already plans to move some classes online and host certain ones in temporary studios across the city. He and the other teachers have committed to not leaving their students without the important resource this has become for them. It’s a commitment that is extremely vital, but immensely difficult, and when it comes to how locals can support them as they prep for this possible transition, Girard had a very simple ask: “Take classes, and just try it out.”

“You don’t have to be completely naked!” The teacher laughed, knowing that this is what holds many folks back from trying out NWY today. “There is something for everyone, and it would be really nice for people to try it and understand what we’re doing here.” 

It’s unclear what the future holds for Naked Warrior Yoga. But if it’s up to Christoph Girard and the hundreds of folks who make up this studio’s bustling, minimally-clothed community, there will always be a place in this city where gay men can bare it all and learn to love their bodies better today.

Follow Naked Warrior Yoga on IG.

The gym can be an intimidating place for many of us. For those who’ve never been to one, it can feel like everyone already knows what they’re doing. However, that’s not true, and whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or tone up, we all start somewhere.

I was a very skinny guy in my teens, about 145 lbs at 6’0”. My upper body strength was so weak that I couldn’t even bench the bar by itself without a spot. It was like watching a newborn fawn walk for the first time. Eventually, I built up that strength, but it took time, consistency, and dedication. 

There’s a reason why it’s dubbed a “fitness journey;” and that journey begins with the first “active” step. What they don’t tell you is that after that first step, you won’t want to stop – and you shouldn’t. We should always maintain some degree of physical activity throughout our lives. Humans were never meant to be sedentary beings, and being active prolongs life and prevents many illnesses and diseases. 

With the gym being such a daunting place it’s hard for many of us to take that first step. Los Angeles Blade asked our readers to send in their questions on everything fitness and here’s a few top questions I’ve answered for you to encourage you to begin that journey. 

Form, first and foremost.

Many newcomers ask what the first thing they should think about when they start weightlifting. And the answer to that is form. You always want to make sure that, with whatever exercise you’re doing, your positioning is correct. Improper form can lead to diminished results or injury. So it’s important that when you start weightlifting to lift lightly. Many think that lifting heavy is essential to solid muscle gains. That is true to an extent; however, lifting too heavy too soon can compromise form and range of motion, making it counterproductive to muscle gains. Lifting too heavy can also lead to overcompensation from other muscles and can lead to injury. Lifting injuries can take weeks to recover, so it’s important to maintain correct form. If you’re unfamiliar with an exercise’s proper form, most gyms offer personal training assistance. A few sessions to familiarize yourself with the various machines and exercises will help jump-start your fitness journey and prevent injury throughout. 

A strong core is essential.

Okay. So your form is down, and you’ve been working out for a few weeks. You start to feel some muscle gain, but you feel that you’re not improving. It could be that you’re not focusing on your core enough. Think of the middle of your torso as the foundation of your body. A strong foundation ensures everything else is working at their capacity. Strengthening your core improves the overall efficiency of your workouts. Your core consists of your abs, obliques, and lower back. Unlike most muscle groups, you can work out your core daily. You’ll find that with a strengthened core, you’ll feel more grounded in your exercises, leading to better workouts and better gains. 

Order of operations: stretching/core, then weightlifting, followed by cardio. 

Many people who’ve just started their fitness journey are unaware that there is a proper order to working out. Depending on what your goals are, whether it’s losing weight, gaining muscle, or toning, there is an order that’s most efficient in achieving those goals. We learned earlier that your core is the foundation of your body. Therefore, it’s important to begin your workouts with exercising your core. You shouldn’t need longer than 10 minutes since you’ll be working it out almost daily. It’s a good way to warm your muscles up and provide your body with better strength during your workouts. It’s also a good time to stretch to further loosen your muscles. 

You should follow your core routine with your weightlifting routine. Now that your body is warmed up and core strengthened you’re ready for the main workout routine. You’ll have a better workout overall and feel stronger throughout.

Lastly, end the session with cardio, whether it’s the resistance stairmaster, running on the treadmill, etc. You tend to expend more energy during cardio, so it’s best to end the session with it to avoid overexertion before lifting weights, which can make the routine less efficient. 

How long should I work out?

A common misconception is that the longer you workout the more results you’ll get. Overall, the length of your workout depends on what you want to do. Earlier, I spoke about how core exercises shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes. This takes into account that core exercises should be higher intensity with less rest time between sets to get the blood pumping. Generally, with weightlifting, a good rule of thumb is to not exceed an hour. Your body produces lactic acid as you weight lift. It’s a natural occurrence as we lift due to micro-tears in our muscles (that we later fill with protein that we consume). However, lifting weights for too long can lead to an overproduction of lactic acid, which causes additional soreness and longer recovery time. Lastly, if you choose to include cardio in your workout session, about 20-30 minutes is enough. Some people like to dedicate a whole session to cardio. In that case, cardio sessions can be longer. In general, you don’t need longer than 30 minutes following a 45 min to an hour weightlifting session. In total, your workouts shouldn’t exceed 1 hour and 45 minutes if you’re including cardio in your session. Most people don’t have that kind of time for a single session. For me, my workouts include core and weightlifting. I keep that at about an hour total, and then I dedicate a separate session for cardio. 

How often should I workout and what time is best? 

Lastly, how often you work out depends on the goals you want to achieve. The main thing to keep in mind is consistency. You can achieve the goals you want if you remain consistent, whether you’re working out three days a week or five days a week. It’s important to stick to a schedule and routine. As far as when you should workout it really depends on the individual and their own schedule. Some people enjoy early morning workouts because they get their day started and set the tone for the rest of the day, while others feel sluggish and weak from morning routines. It’s best to find a time that works best for both your life’s schedule and personal preference for your body. It also comes down to your mindset. In the end, the real determining factor on whether you’ll have a good workout or not is you and what you choose to put into it. 

Steven Dehler is ISSA certified and a bodybuilding specialist. Follow him on IG: @onlystevendehler.

This week, our heart goes out to the friends and family of adult performer Zachary Christian Jaghab, better known by his stage name Christian Styles. At the age of 29, there is no question that Jaghab was taken too soon. His death and the recent deaths of several other gay adult film stars raise many questions. One question that sits at the front of my mind is, for so many, why these deaths touch us so deeply. 

Jaghab’s passing is just the most recent in the gay adult industry community. Seth Peterson, born Adam Daniel Aguirre, died March 19. Dale Savage, born James Francis Gilligan, left us on June 19 due to a stroke. Just before the new year, Blake Mitchell, born Lane Vincent Rogers, lost his life in a motorcycle accident. Four deaths, all in just under eight months. For us folks who have found ourselves in, around, or adjacent to the industry, the number is hard not to take alarm at.

Unsurprisingly, there isn’t much reliable research when it comes to premature mortality rates in the gay adult industry. One of the more relevant studies touching on this topic, Gruzden and colleagues’ Pathways to Health Risk Exposure in Adult Film Performers, specifically stated that its research could not establish whether performers experience greater overall health risks than folks in other professions. 

There is research, however, that documents occupational hazards of the industry, including mental health concerns, financial insecurity, stigma, lack of access to sufficient health care, and more. There has also been research that aimed to examine HIV and STI transmission, specifically amongst gay male performers, but none of which directly points to disproportionate premature mortality rates amongst this population. 

I’d be remiss not to take the opportunity to give a shoutout to resources like Pineapple Support and Callen-Lorde’s COIN Clinic as well as practices like Inclusive Insight Psychotherapy and Overleaf  Therapy, all of which provide members of the sex working community with accessible mental health services and more. It is vital to provide care before crises occur, not just after they do. Anyway, I digress… 

Although this distinction between these lanes of research is undoubtedly significant, it does not lighten the feeling that many of us have of seeing this as a pattern. This said, the psychology of why these deaths stand out to so many of us is arguably much more relevant than the data (and lack thereof) itself.

Pornography has the power to create and foster a unique parasocial form of intimacy. A consumer of the craft may develop an appreciation for a particular performer and take in the work consistently over time. They become strongly familiar with the way they look, speak, move, and f*ck. They may have first taken an appreciation at pivotal or transitional moments in their lives like adolescence, coming out, a breakup, or times of loss or loneliness. This, in the nature of any parasocial relationship, is a one-way street. They may feel closely connected to said performer, that they know them even. 

There is a paradoxical nature to this. To hold the feeling of knowing someone so personally and intimately, perhaps more than anyone in one’s actual life, while not knowing them at all.  And this can hold true for any appreciation for someone in the public eye, yet it hits a bit differently for adult film performers. Zendaya or Tom Holland may portray the archetype of a lover onscreen, but an adult performer delivers on the carnal dynamic constructed around the remote experience of sexual intimacy.

Sexual stimulation boosts brain activity that relates to pain, our emotional state, and our neurological reward system. Many researchers find this stimulation comparable to the high one can achieve through drugs or alcohol. When one can associate a specific person or performer to such a state of ecstasy while ever so temporarily numbing themselves of the existential woes and realities of life, a one-sided connection forms. 

When a celeb passes (rest in Power, Dolly Parton and Tim Curry), the grief that their fans feel is no less real despite them never having met. Research that looked into parasocial grief has shown us that such an emotional response is substantial, and that the perception of closeness outweighs whether the relationship was real or not. 

Porn adds another dimension to this concept. Although the intimacy is an illusion, the body of the person creating it is very real. When an adult performer passes, the fantasy one may hold clashes with one’s own perception of mortality. The actual body that once was their representation of vitality and virility is now a testament to our unavoidable impermanence.

Maybe this is why the passing of our favorite performers hits a little different. What once represented desire, youth, health, and pleasure now reminds us of our finite nature. And this is where mortality salience comes in. Reminders of death most often shake or disturb our perceived sense of safety and prompt us to involuntarily confront something that most of us prefer not to – the fact that so much will happen after we die; we just won’t be there to see it.

Another psychological phenomenon to consider is the availability heuristic. When a memory – in this case, the memory of a loss – is emotionally clear and vibrant, our minds have the tendency to overestimate the frequency at which they occur. In this instance, four performers have died over the course of eight months. With each additional death, those that came before refresh in our minds as though they were just last week, and a narrative forms. This does not diminish the grief that each brings. It is simply testament to the fact that our minds are quite keen to identify patterns, particularly when it comes to emotionally salient occurrences.

There is a world of difference between an observation and a claim. To voice one’s notice of several deaths of gay porn stars within a year would be the former. Making the jump to stating that gay porn stars have a disproportionately higher mortality rate without being able to cite research or evidence to back it up would be a claim. Maybe one day, we will have research and the resulting data to shed more clarity on the topic so as to better serve this particular population. Time will tell.

I can’t help but think about James Dean and Marilyn Monroe as I write this piece. Dean passed away at the age of 24. Monroe at 36.  Both were essentially frozen at their respective ages for the rest of time. The world never got to see where their careers could have taken them and never had the privilege of watching them grow old. Their cultural identities are forever attached to the very young celebrities that they were at the times of their far too premature passings. 

Dolly Parton – who even at the age of 80 was also tragically taken too soon – is testament to almost the opposite. Her adoring public had the opportunity to see her and her career grow, evolve, and flourish over the decades. Over her time in the public light, her ongoing existence gifted the world with the opportunity to integrate aging into our concept of her and, in turn, ourselves.

One thing that Dean, Dolly, and all of our queerly and dearly departed is that their work lives on even when they cease to. For decades to come, we can put on a Dolly vinyl, stream Rebel Without a Cause, and, well, so on. 

Everybody we see on screen is mortal, as is each and every one of us. And maybe this is the core reason why the loss of a person that we never actually knew can sometimes feel like the loss of somebody that we did. Although they may have never known you, they still impacted you and your life, sometimes in a more significant way than those you see every day. 

Rest in Power, Zachary Christian Jaghab.

Rest in Power, Adam Daniel Aguirre.

Rest in Power, James Francis Gilligan.

Rest in Power,  Lane Vincent Rogers.

Rest in Power, Timothy James Curry.

Rest in Power, Dolly Rebecca Parton.