THE FIGHT CALIFORNIA'S LGBTQ MONTHLY MAGAZINE MAY 2020
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<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 1
COVID-19 INFORMATION FOR<br />
PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV<br />
The basics for protecting yourself from COVID-19 are almost the same as for everyone.<br />
1<br />
STAY IN PLACE<br />
You are safest at home. Only leave your house for essentials such as a<br />
trip to the grocery store or pharmacy.<br />
YOUR SPACE<br />
MAINTAIN<br />
Avoid close contact with others and maintain at least 6 feet of space.<br />
2<br />
3<br />
YOUR FACE<br />
COVER<br />
When out in the public, cover your face with a bandana, neck gaiter or<br />
homemade mask. Leave N95 and surgical masks for the medical<br />
professionals.<br />
4<br />
YOUR MEDICATION<br />
CONTINUE<br />
Continue your HIV medications to keep your immune system as healthy<br />
as possible, establish a plan for clinical care or talk to your provider<br />
about the use of telemedicine.<br />
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT<br />
WWW.RIVCOPH.ORG/CORONAVIRUS<br />
2 <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> | www.thefightmag.com<br />
951.358.5307
TOGE<strong>THE</strong>R,<br />
WE CAN<br />
BEAT 19<br />
JOIN THIS ONLINE STUDY VITAL TO<br />
ALL OUR DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.<br />
YOU CAN PARTICIPATE WHE<strong>THE</strong>R YOU ARE WELL<br />
OR INFECTED WWW.BEAT19.ORG/<strong>THE</strong><strong>FIGHT</strong><br />
<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 3
<strong>THE</strong>CONTENTS<br />
ON <strong>THE</strong> COVER<br />
& ON THIS PAGE<br />
JASON WIMBERLY<br />
COVER PHOTO, CONTENTS PHOTO<br />
& FEATURE PHOTO<br />
BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM<br />
MASK & SKIRT BY SHOKRA<br />
WWW.SHOPSHOKRA.COM<br />
COVER FEATURE<br />
MASK & CAFTAN BY SHOKRA<br />
WWW.SHOPSHOKRA.COM<br />
FEATURES<br />
11 IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT<br />
WEHO CITY ON<br />
PARTNER ABUSE<br />
12 LOVE, VIRTUALLY<br />
FOLSOM STREET FAIR<br />
GOES ONLINE<br />
16 JUST DO IT<br />
CELEBRITY PERSONAL<br />
TRAINER JASON WIMBERLY<br />
18 PROTECTING YOUR PETS<br />
LA’S METROPOLITAN<br />
ANIMAL HOSPITAL<br />
22 HONORING DOMONIQUE<br />
“HOLLYWOOD HOUSEBOYS”<br />
CREATOR RYAN HOPE<br />
24 A HEARTFELT THANK YOU<br />
MESSAGE FROM TOM OF<br />
FINLAND FOUNDATION<br />
29 SAYING GOODBYE<br />
OUT SINGER WILS<br />
ON HIS NEW ALBUM<br />
DEPARTMENTS<br />
08 <strong>THE</strong> TALK<br />
10 <strong>THE</strong> CITY<br />
14 <strong>THE</strong> ROSTOW REPORT<br />
20 <strong>THE</strong> SHARE<br />
28 <strong>THE</strong> SCREEN<br />
30 <strong>THE</strong> FINAL <strong>FIGHT</strong><br />
4 <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> | www.thefightmag.com
HIV can't pass from one<br />
person to another through<br />
sex when it's well controlled<br />
with medication.<br />
It's called Undetectable Equals Untransmittable, or U=U.<br />
Find out more at GetProtectedLA.com<br />
Share Truth, Not Stigma<br />
<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 5
<strong>THE</strong>EDITOR<br />
In this issue of <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> personal<br />
trainer Jason Wimberly talks to<br />
Mark Ariel about his new reality<br />
show “Working Out Is A Drag,”<br />
where he coaches RuPaul’s Drag<br />
Race queens through step-by-step<br />
workouts that are equal parts fun and<br />
fitness (“Just Do It,” pages 16-17).<br />
The miniseries premieres this month<br />
on www.wowpresentsplus.com.<br />
“While my entire life has been<br />
about mastering my body for a sport<br />
or performance, it really was about<br />
loving myself enough to be the best I<br />
can be,” says Wimberly.<br />
“Fitness allows us to take control<br />
of our reality, to literally change and<br />
shape our experience of how we<br />
walk through life. It allows you to feel<br />
better, sleep better, have sex better,<br />
just LIVE better… For me, working<br />
out isn’t about how we look, it’s<br />
about how we feel.”<br />
Also in the issue—Dr. Adam<br />
Strom from LA’s Metropolitan Animal<br />
Hospital (MASH) answers questions<br />
about your pets during COVID-19<br />
(“Protecting Your Pets,” page 18).<br />
“It is recommended that those<br />
>> IN THIS ISSUE
<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 7
<strong>THE</strong>TALK<br />
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<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 9
<strong>THE</strong>CITY<br />
>> BY PAULO MURILLO
PARTNER ABUSE
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The Fight ad.indd 1<br />
2/18/<strong>2020</strong> 4:20:52 PM<br />
<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 13
<strong>THE</strong>ROSTOWREPORT<br />
>> BY ANN ROSTOW
PUG POSITIVE! • DEAD COMMUNITY WALKING • JOE WE KNEW YE
JASON WIMBERLY
COVER FEATURE
SCOTTY BOWERS
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<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 19
<strong>THE</strong>SHARE<br />
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<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 21
“Hollywood Houseboys”<br />
creator Ryan Hope on making<br />
a gay reality series, misgendering<br />
in the <strong>LGBTQ</strong> community and<br />
dealing with a tragedy<br />
BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY REESE SHERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
Producer, director, writer, dancer<br />
and actor Ryan Hope (creator<br />
of the gay reality series<br />
“Hollywood Houseboys”)<br />
reveals, in an interview with<br />
<strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong>, that he was drawn<br />
to filmmaking after being stereotyped for<br />
years as a dancer and an actor.<br />
“The industry reinforced the heteronormative<br />
narrative by constantly asking<br />
me to ‘tone it down,’ ‘butch it up’ or be<br />
‘less over the top.’ These were all code for<br />
‘girl, you’re too gay!’ So I started seeking<br />
out gay characters and roles. Most of them<br />
were in independent projects. Independent<br />
projects might have less funding and lower<br />
to little to no pay but I was happy and honored<br />
to be booked and included.”<br />
Hope, born in Los Angles and raised in<br />
the Inland Empire, says that he grew tired<br />
of struggling.<br />
“I decided that if I wanted longevity<br />
in this business and a real chance at<br />
having a successful career I was going to<br />
have to go places that I’ve never been to<br />
and do things that I never did. So I took<br />
a chance on myself and enrolled into<br />
film school… I wanted to be in control<br />
and create content that is more aligned<br />
and with the stories and values of my<br />
<strong>LGBTQ</strong>IA community.”<br />
“A couple of years into film school<br />
I was awarded my with my associates<br />
degree. I was itching to create something<br />
with my childhood best friend<br />
Domonique Newburn—a transgender<br />
female of color,” reveals Hope.<br />
“At the time we were looking at the<br />
programming that was being aired on cable,<br />
broadcast, and network and didn’t really see<br />
anything that we could identify with in terms<br />
of what we we’re going through in our lives.<br />
At the same time Domonique was embarking<br />
on her transition while navigating the<br />
dating, and all the milestones, obstacles,<br />
and drama that was deriving from it…”<br />
“We saw the ‘Real Housewives’ franchises<br />
hit the small screen and that just sent us<br />
over the top! Forget these housewives that<br />
live in these million dollar homes married to<br />
these million dollar moguls!What about the<br />
‘Houseboys’ (since we weren’t allowed to<br />
legally marry during that time)? Gay people<br />
of color are trying to manage their relationships,<br />
their friendships and their career. The<br />
Housewives seem to already have it made—<br />
but us? It was all new to us. We weren’t rich<br />
and married to millionaires (yet).”<br />
“We were broke but trying to figure our<br />
lives out. Lives that we had not seen fully<br />
play out in a positive, honest portrayal<br />
on television. We were Hungry for Fame,<br />
Hustling for Money but Hopeful to Make-it!<br />
We were ‘Hollywood Houseboys!’”<br />
“In hindsight,” says Hope, “the title of<br />
our show complicates and misgenders<br />
the transition that Domonique embarked<br />
on at the onset of filming to align her<br />
female gender identity. I want to publicly<br />
apologize to Domonique and the Trans<br />
Community as this is not something that I<br />
want to perpetuate.”<br />
“Misgendering is a significant issue<br />
within the community and I’m trying to<br />
be a better ally by recognizing my mistake<br />
and better educating myself and others<br />
on the right way to address these types<br />
of issues going forward. When this show<br />
was first conceived—and I’m being 100<br />
% honest—I was unsophisticated with<br />
knowing all of the proper terms that are<br />
becoming more streamlined now…”<br />
“Domonique and I would always joke<br />
about ‘Hollywood Houseboys’ being<br />
docu-reality television with a TWIST (and<br />
she would be the twist). So I wrote the<br />
treatment and set out to land some pitch<br />
meetings. Originally we just wanted to<br />
sell the idea and then produce the show<br />
in a Creator/Executive Producer(s) capacities.<br />
Our management team advised to<br />
shoot a sizzle reel to give a better overview<br />
of the content and types of characters. So<br />
Domonique and I gathered a few more our<br />
friends that fit the bill as cast members:<br />
Curtis J, and his longtime partner Vince.<br />
And Antwaun Hoskin who is single but<br />
looking for love—rounded our the cast.”<br />
“When the sizzle dropped it went viral!<br />
Mainstream blogs picked up on us and<br />
22 <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> | www.thefightmag.com
COVER FEATURE
TOM OF FINLAND
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<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 25
WILS
<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 27
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<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 29
<strong>THE</strong>FINAL<strong>FIGHT</strong><br />
NO<br />
GENDER<br />
“Love has no gender—<br />
compassion has no religion—<br />
character has no race.”<br />
—Abhijit Naskar, “Either Civilized or<br />
Phobic: A Treatise on Homosexuality”<br />
30 <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> | www.thefightmag.com
<strong>MAY</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> 31
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32 <strong>THE</strong> <strong>FIGHT</strong> | www.thefightmag.com
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