Happy Leather Pride Week The
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Vol. 44 • No. 38 • September 18-24, 2014
Facebook meets with drag queens
Richmond officials curb hate speech
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by Sean Piverger
an Francisco drag queens were expected to meet with Facebook executives this week as a war of words has intensified over the social media service’s policy on using real names instead of Rick Gerharter stage names on FaceSister Roma book pages. The policy not only affects performers but others who use stage names, like drag queens, who are up in arms because in recent days they were locked out of their accounts. In order for the users to gain access to their accounts, they must provide their real names for identification. Facebook, the world’s most popular social media service, has long had a policy of people using their legal names, unlike Twitter, where people can use whatever name they want. By Monday, a protest scheduled for Facebook’s Menlo Park campus had been postponed after gay San Francisco Supervisor David Campos arranged a meeting with company executives and drag queens Sister Roma, whose real name is Michael Williams, and Heklina, whose real name is Stefan Grygelko. Sister Roma, a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, was forced to make changes when Facebook locked her out of her account. “This issue is way bigger than a bunch of drag queens complaining because we can’t use our stage names,” Roma said in a news release. “This policy is discriminatory and potentially dangerous to a variety of Facebook users, including abused and battered women, bullied teens, political activists, sex workers, and especially members of the transgender community; all examples of people who use pseudonyms to ensure their safety and privacy.” In the same statement Campos said that Facebook agreed to meet with him and members of San Francisco’s drag community to discuss the policy. That meeting was scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, after the print edition of the Bay Area Reporter went to press. “I am glad that Facebook has accepted our invitation to engage in a meaningful public dialogue with the drag queens and members of the transgender community who have been affected by the profile name policy,” said Campos. See page 13 >>
by Heather Cassell
SF Leather Week arrives D esmond Perrotto, front, carries the leather flag down Market Street during the annual LeatherWalk Sunday, September 14. He was joined by nearly 100 leatherfolk and their admirers on the walk, which
Rick Gerharter
started at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro and ended South of Market. The walk is a benefit for the AIDS and Breast Cancer Emergency Funds. For more on Leather Week and Sunday’s Folsom Street Fair, see the BARtab section.
ollowing years of anti-gay hate speech directed at Richmond’s only out city councilwoman, the City Council voted Tuesday to revise a report addressing rules and procedures for handling disruptions Jane Philomen Cleland during public meetings. The 6-1 vote fol- Vice Mayor lowed nearly two hours Jovanka Beckles of discussion. Vice Mayor Jovanka Beckles, 51, a black Latina lesbian, has been the target of ongoing anti-gay verbal attacks for the past four years – since she became Richmond’s first out LGBT elected city official in 2010. She is running for re-election this November. See page 14 >>
SF sizes up its free condom program by Matthew S. Bajko
T
he number of free condoms distributed by San Francisco’s health department has sizably increased over the years, with nearly 2.3 million given out to various community-based organizations and local businesses last year. That is an increase from the 1.5 million condoms distributed in 2011. “It appears there is an increased demand for condoms from what the data indicates. We know that condoms are an important tool in our HIV prevention toolkit,” said Tracey Packer, the director of community health equity and promotion at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “There are other tools as well. Our job is to make sure people have as much access to as many tools as they can have so people can meet their own needs.” The health department now spends roughly $270,000 a year on condoms – it does not receive any donated prophylactics – that are then handed out through three different programs. “We get a good bulk rate; it is about 11 cents per condom,” said Packer. Packer’s section provides condoms to entities that are not HIV-specific service providers, such as neighborhood stores and community groups. Merchants and others that participate in the program receive a monthly shipment of condoms. It also provides condoms to all of the agencies it funds directly, with a line item set
Rick Gerharter
Steve Kavanuagh, who’s advocating for more size selection of condoms, stands outside the 440 Castro bar, one of many San Francisco gay bars that distributes condoms.
aside for condoms written into each contract. Within the city’s gay community, the department purchases the condoms given out through plastic canisters found in gay bars, clubs, and other entertainment venues. The Stop AIDS Project, which is now part of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, had long overseen the program. SFAF estimates it hands
out nearly 1.2 million condoms a year at 90 locations across the city and at special events, like Sunday’s Folsom Street Fair. But Steve Kavanaugh, 56, a gay man and registered nurse, has long complained that the city’s free condom program does not hand out enough different-sized prophylactics. It is an issue he has raised since the launch of the program in 1998, when he evaluated it while earning a master’s degree in nursing. “I found that effort well intended if very late but noticed only one size condoms were distributed,” he recalled. “One size does not fit all!” Today, the city purchases a variety of condom sizes based on what is requested from the various distribution points. Most places request an assortment of condom sizes and types, said Packer. “There is a variety of different condoms we purchase. At our branch, we ask each agency what kind of condoms they prefer,” she said. “If their clients ask for a certain size, we will order that size. We provide different sizes, colors, types and brands, etc.” Packer said there has been a recent uptick in requests for condoms sized extra large. “The San Francisco AIDS Foundation, in particular, includes extra large in their distribution,” she said. Kavanaugh, who continues to monitor the types of condoms the agency hands out, told the Bay Area Reporter that he often finds few conSee page 14 >>
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