September 1, 2016 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter

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A second chapter for Fable

ARTS

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15

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Fall arts

On the Tab

The

www.ebar.com

Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971

Vol. 46 • No. 35 • September 1-7, 2016

Gay poet to oversee Oakland cultural affairs

Prop 60 calls for condoms in porn by Seth Hemmelgarn

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by Seth Hemmelgarn

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akland officials have appointed Roberto Bedoya, a gay man with years of experience in the arts, to serve as the city’s first cultural affairs manager, a position that will oversee everything from Gay poet grant making to film Roberto Bedoya production permits. “Roberto is an inspiring leader who is passionate about supporting - and advocating for - local arts communities,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a news release. “He is a thought leader when it comes to ensuring equity and inclusion in the See page 11 >>

Making a splash for Pride

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Jo-Lynn Otto

he contingent for gay video dance bar Splash made for a colorful scene in the Silicon Valley Pride parade Sunday, August 28. The event brought out the South Bay’s LGBT community and its allies to the streets of San Jose for the annual celebration.

FDA considers changing gay blood ban by Liz Highleyman

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he U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking public comments, supported by scientific evidence, as it considers changes to its policy restricting blood donations by gay and bisexual men. Comments to the federal agency are due by late November. Instead of the current one-year wait after a

man has sex with another man, the agency is considering a more individualized policy that focuses on risk behavior rather than sexual orientation or self-identification. Many HIV experts agree that policy changes are overdue thanks to advances in blood safety technology and biomedical prevention. “The HIV Medicine Association has long called for the FDA’s blood donor deferral criteria to reflect the latest science and testing

Rick Gerharter

Shane da Silva adds his handprint to a poster demanding that the FDA end the ban on gay male blood donations during a 2014 blood drive Banned4Life hosted to highlight the discriminatory policy.

technology,” HIVMA board chair Dr. Carlos del Rio from Emory University School of Medicine told the Bay Area Reporter. “We will be commenting in support of ensuring the safety of the nation’s blood supply by revising donor screening criteria to be based on risk behaviors rather than sexual orientation.”

Origin of the blood ban

In 1983, after it became clear that the virus that causes AIDS is transmitted through blood, experts in charge of blood supply safety instituted a policy that men who had ever had sex with another man since 1977 should indefinitely refrain from donating blood. The same lifetime deferral rule also applied to people with a history of sex work or injection drug use. The rationale for the gay blood ban is not only that unprotected anal sex between men is an efficient route of HIV transmission - true for women who have anal sex as well - but also that the prevalence of HIV among gay men is much higher compared with other demographic groups. Although donated blood is tested for pathogens including HIV, older tests had a longer window period before the virus or its antibodies could be detected, meaning someone who was unaware they were infected could donate blood and it could be used for transfusions before testing positive. But now a combination of Western blot and nucleic acid tests, as currently recommended See page 11 >>

alifornia voters are set to decide in November whether porn actors should have to wear condoms in films made in the state. Many in the porn industry are fighting the idea. The proposal, known as Proposition 60, is Attorney being pushed by the Brad Hertz Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has spent more than $1.8 million to back the measure, according to data from the secretary of state’s office. AHF was behind a similar law that passed in Los Angeles County in 2012. Among other provisions, the measure would require porn actors to use condoms when they’re filming scenes depicting sexual intercourse. It would also allow any California resident who complains to the California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health about a suspected violation to potentially file a civil action against an actor if he has a financial interest in the film and if the agency doesn’t start an investigation within a certain time period. A performer who goes by the name Siouxsie Q and identifies as queer said, “Prop 60 would take us backward. … Incentivizing harassment of an already marginalized workforce is wrong. You wouldn’t do it for any other industry.” She said AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein hasn’t met with the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee to discuss the issues. “The proponents don’t want to talk to the people that it will actually affect, and that’s weird,” she said. Brad Hertz, an attorney representing the Prop 60 campaign, said health care is AHF’s mission, “specifically in the HIV and sexually transmitted disease area,” and the nonprofit feels “this is an important part” of the porn community, “which unfortunately has too many sexually transmitted infections.” He didn’t point to specific statistics but said the diseases are “easily preventable.” Hertz said the measure’s lawsuit provision only applies “in the limited cases where CalOSHA fails to act,” and if a private citizen sues and prevails, “75 percent of any fines would go to the state, with only 25 percent going to the plaintiff.” He also said that state and federal law already See page 9 >>

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