Sense Project

We recently celebrated the 2nd anniversary of our dear queer dance party, Faggity Ass Fridays. This monthly fundraiser provides a steady flow of income for the Sense Project (yay!) and a sexy space for queers to get down (double yay!)!!

The party would not be nearly as much fun (or as lucrative!) without the help of many, many fabulous volunteers. These people pull door shifts until 3:30 am, dance around in panties and prosthetics for screaming crowds, and distribute condoms like it is going out of style. One of our most beloved volunteers is Xavier Tolentino, who has used his creative genius and dirty mind to produce almost every single poster for every single Faggity. Thank you Xavs - we love you!!

Check out some of Xavier’s amazing work here:

And here’s a nice article about FAF in a recent issue of The Link!

There is a Faggity tonight at the Playhouse (5656 av. du Parc) - check it out!

Some of you probably thought that I was crazy for asking this question. After all, HIV/AIDS is a serious issue affecting millions around the globe. However, Elizabeth Pisani, epidemiologist, journalist and author of The Wisdom of Whores, gave a talk last Thursday that really got me thinking about how HIV/AIDS is packaged and whether or not this packaging really reflects what’s going on.

For starters, Pisani argued that there is no global pandemic but rather, two separate epidemics that affect different and very specific groups of people around the globe. As many of us know already, there’s an epidemic in Eastern and Southern Africa. In the West, Pisani stated that only four key groups are at high-risk of contracting HIV; namely, male prisoners, drug injectors, people who buy and sell sex as well as gay men. Pisani warmly referred to these groups as “icky” in the sense that there’s no money or votes in relating HIV/AIDS back to them.

According to Pisani, it is precisely for this reason that HIV/AIDS has been repackaged to include everyone, with a special focus on innocent women and children. In this sense, governments are happy because they don’t have to deal with the “ick” groups, the UN and NGOs are happy because they get cash regardless of their mandate and activists are happy because HIV becomes less stigmatized. And, well, HIV is happy because it can keep on spreading.

Pisani, then, went on to show us lots of data. And, I got to say, the numbers and her explanations of them were pretty convincing. Millions of dollars are being spent every year on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment and yet, there has been no significant decrease in rates of HIV infection. Interestingly, the data, also, showed that national clean needle programs were extremely effective in controlling rates of HIV infection. So, why aren’t we doing them?!

In addition, Pisani said that HIV is at its most infectious during the 3 months following infection. And, that when there are high levels of the virus in the blood, it is at its most contagious. Thus, the four “ick” groups are at high-risk of contacting HIV because they, generally, have multiple sex partners and/or inject with multiple needles within short periods of time.

In conclusion, Pisani makes a strong argument for HIV/AIDS to be reinvented or rather, repackaged. She urged us to stop thinking about AIDS and to gear our efforts toward reconceptualizing HIV as an infectious disease. Indeed, she argued that we need to reorganize our priorities - remove the gaze from the general population and focus on HIV prevention and not AIDS; that the HIV/AIDS industry needs to respond to evidence and start spending money on the right things such as clean needle programs and condoms. Ultimately, the science does not mirror the politics and HIV prevention and treatment should be tailored to fit the particularities of the two different epidemics.

Of course, Pisani might not be taking social factors into consideration. High HIV infection rates could be caused by patterns of migration and issues related to “development” in Africa, for instance. I’m also concerned that if we start doing as Pisani suggests, we might be exacerbating other problems like homophobia. And, we cannot forget the many challenges that we already face. For example, the far right in the United-States has made it extremely difficult for prevention programs to be implemented in many communities. This, of course, is without mentioning the fact that human behaviour is extremely difficult to change. After all, the condom is an old technology that is, generally, pretty available and yet, people still don’t make use of it when they should.

So, do we live in a post-AIDS world? Well, I suppose it depends on which “world” we’re talking about and whether or not you agree with Pisani’s research and suggestions.

Faggity Ass Fridays eats out your brains:
Queer Zombies….ATTAAAAAACK!!!
Head & Hands’ Faggity dance party to support queer-positive sex ed

Would you survive a gay zombie attack? Join us and find out on Friday     October 30th at the Playhouse to celebrate the living dead and Faggity’s 2nd birthday party! It’s a dead man’…s party, and Faggity is where you’ll find zombies who want more than just your brains. These zombies want to raise money for sex education!!!

Bring your fierce. Wear your costume. Protect your brains.
Friday, October 30th 2009
10pm-3am
The Playhouse (5656 Avenue du Parc)
$10 suggested donation; all money goes to the Sense Project, Head & Hands’ holistic, queer-friendly sex education program

Dismembered DJs:
DJ witch tit, DJ fancypants

Spooky sounds:
On Bodies
Nicky Click

Deadly Drag:
Miss L’n'Q and her Drag Hoes

Haunted Hosting: Jessica Rabbit

From Faggity Ass Friday by Nora R.

FAGGITY ASS FRIDAY returns with
TOM CRUISIN’ NIGHT

Cruise on down to the Playhouse on Friday, September 25th for the much-anticipated return of Montreal’s #1 Club Night (Montreal Mirror 2009), and the best queer dance party in town! We know you’ve been cruised before, but get ready to be Tom Cruised at the back-to-school edition of Faggity Ass Fridays.

Tom Cruise themed attire encouraged. Socks and tighty whiteys, Ethan Hunt’s spy black, Top Gun leather jackets, etc… anything to take my breath away.

DRAGnolia et Perfos:
Pat McCrotch & Eddi Licious
Jacky & Lorena
The Risky Bois
Bianca Brightheart
Top Gun DJs:
DJ Fucks, DJ docroot et plus!

Hosted by:
DeAnne Smith

DeAnne Smith writes about the launch of I Like It Like That: True Stories of Gay Male Desire, a new anthology edited by Richard Labonté and Lawrence Schimel. Here’s a glimpse of the article featured on xtra.ca:

“Skip the cookie-cutter, generic porn imagery. When I Like It Like That: True Stories of Gay Male Desire launches in Montreal on Mon, Sep 28, listeners will get an earful of compelling, intimate details not often found in mainstream erotica. Hot but smart, passionate yet reflective, the collection, published this fall by Arsenal Pulp Press, presents work by both new and seasoned writers, delving deep into their erotic memories to tell true stories of sex and desire. The launch features readings and an artist’s talk by local contributors Daniel Allen Cox, Christopher DiRaddo and Mark Ambrose Harris, as well as Ottawa’s Nathan Burgoine”.

Want to check it out? Here are the details:

When: Monday, September 28^th @ 7pm

Where: Casa Del Popolo, 4873 St Laurent