2021-5 by Gay Vegas

VOL 21, #5

LAS VEGAS

(RE) COVER PROGRAM Bundle Media Group Inc (BMG Inc.) has established the (Re) Cover Program to provide assistance to businesses wanting to reach their local LGBTQIA+ audience. This program has been made possible through donations from Bundle Media Group Inc, grants, and donations made by the general public. This program intends to help the local business community towards recovery from COVID-19 by informing LGBTQ+ community members and their allies which businesses are safely open. Advertising credits are available to eligible businesses in Nevada. Applications are now open. Visit www.GayVegas.com/recover to apply

4 Fab Vegas

Photo Credit: HBO Max

By: Chris Azzopardi

Justice for all The out ‘Genera+ion’ star wants to be an example of Black queer joy Last summer, Justice Smith wasn’t coming out but, instead, making a statement in solidarity with the Black trans and queer community. On Instagram, the 25-year-old actor posted a video while attending a protest against white supremacy and police brutality in New Orleans. He acknowledged he’s queer, yes. And yes, he revealed he was partnered, with thenboyfriend and “Queen Sugar” star Nicholas Ashe (the two have since broken up, Smith told us). Still, he didn’t intend for the post to be about his own identity, exactly. It was more about visibility: “If your revolution does not include Black Queer voices, it is anti-Black,” he wrote. “If your revolution is OK with letting Black trans people like #TonyMcDade slip through the cracks in order to solely liberate Black cishet men, it is

anti-Black.” Nearly a year later, the “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” and “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” actor is using the power of representation to continue these conversations with his role on HBO Max’s supremely gay series “Genera+ion.” On the show, he portrays Chester, a defiantly gay Gen Z’er who struts his high school halls in nipple-exposing crop tops — dress code be damned. In many ways, the series’ commitment to LGBTQ+ storytelling is next-level teen queerness. Writing for MEL magazine, Joseph Longo described it as “post‘It Gets Better’ TV,” noting that, when it comes to queer representation on TV, “It’s good we’re finally seeing our messes splayed on screen, not excused.” Recently, Smith spoke about how Chester has emboldened

him to embrace his femininity, being a role model for young Black queer boys to channel their Black joy, and going from being “so noticeably un-hot” to a half-naked heartthrob. I think the most obvious question to start with is: How many mesh shirts has Chester inspired you to buy? (Laughs.) Um, so far zero, but I definitely am looking at the racks and being like, god, I really wish I had the confidence to get that crop top or to get that yada-yada-yada. I will say that there’s been a few hoodies in my closet that I am like, “This doesn’t need the bottom half of it,” and I just cut it into a crop. It’s liberating wearing clothes like that, you know? Has Chester been influential in not just your style evolution but how you look at your own sexuality? Chester has really done FabLasVegas.com

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------a lot for my own sense of feminine power. I think that everybody contains masculine and feminine qualities. And I think as a man, you’re taught to repress or hide your femininity, and I’ve realized by playing Chester, who is somebody who rejects labels in general and expresses himself through all means of the gender spectrum, he’s given me a sense of my own feminine power. Something that I’ve kind of ignored because of how I have internalized the messages that I have received from society. You’ve played a lot of quiet introverts, until Chester, of course. What was it like to step into someone who’s unapologetically himself and also unabashedly loud about who he is? I feel like I have that quality in my personal life; authenticity is really important to me, and I am someone who, at least within my close-knit group of friends, is bold and loud and not afraid to ask for what I want. But for some reason I was getting cast (as) a lot of these characters who were meek and insecure and quiet, which, you know, I also have those sides. I still do consider myself an introvert. But I knew that it was time to show the world that I have all of these different sides of me, and that’s what I set out to do: being an actor I set out to kind of express the multitude of my being, and I think Chester was the perfect person to show that side of me, of this, like, boldness. It’s also being in that 24/7. Like, every day I go to set being in 6 Fab Vegas

that confidence and boldness, it’s cathartic, it’s inspirational. It just juices up that selfconfidence that I felt like I already had but definitely ignored. I love hearing that. A little different than running away from Tyrannosaurus Rex. A little different, but marginally. (Laughs.) Running away from toxic masculinity and the patriarchy. (Laughs.) Yeah, exactly. They are essentially the same thing. I have been loving how much attention you’ve been getting for this role. How do you process comments on Twitter, or beyond Twitter, that are like, “I want Justice Smith” or “I can no longer ignore how hot I find Justice Smith.” There was another one that said, “Justice Smith, having a hot boyfriend. Mmmm, I wanna make it a throuple.” Oh, no. Oh, wow. I don’t ... I don’t even ... I didn’t even know that that was a thing (laughs). I’m, like, blushing. It’s so funny because you spend most of your life being so noticeably un-hot and unattractive (laughs), and you’re like, “I better develop a personality, because I don’t really got anything else going for me.” And then, I guess, as you get older, something clicks. I also do feel like a little bit is the way you hold yourself. Confident people just kind of are more attractive, so I think when they see me being confident on the show,

they’re like, “Oh, he’s hot,” but I’m like, “Nah.” (Laughs.) In real life, no, ’cause that’s like an energy thing that I’m doing. There’s something to be said about who you are on the show, you know, baring your midriff in almost every scene. I guess that’s not you in real life, is what you’re saying. No, no, no, no. But this show has made me, at first, very insecure, but now very secure in my body, because it’s like I have to work out all the time because Chester’s an athlete, and I am nothing of the sort. But also, I remember when we first started out, I wore that crop top and I was just like, “Don’t you fucking breathe, tense all your muscles, act like you’re, like, chilled but actually, inside, you’re freaking the fuck out.” And now I tell our costume designer, Shirley Kurata, “This needs to be sluttier; we need to show more skin.” (Laughs.) In the pilot, I was not breathing. When I do that strip-tease thing, I didn’t breathe for one second. I was like, “Suck in, tense all of your abs.” (Laughs.) It was intense. I was so nervous. But now it’s like, “I am so used to being naked on set.” Because I do it all the time. While spending your teen years in Orange County, were you surrounded by as many queer people as Chester is in “Genera+ion”? Yeah, because I went to an art school in Orange County, I got — maybe that’s a stereotype that, you know, “artists are just queer, they are fluid.” That’s

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Photo Credit: Mike Ruiz

CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------why I love artists. There’s a lot of artists that are not queer, but sometimes young queer people are drawn to art schools. Like at my high school, all the popular kids were queer kids and it was predominantly female, and there were a lot of straight people too, but it just was not uncommon for people to embrace who they were. It was a little bit of a bubble, which I am grateful for in some ways, because it shielded me from the way the world thought about queerness, and when I got out into the real world, I was like, “Oh shit, that’s not good.” But I had a lot of strength from being surrounded by queerness all (during) my upbringing.

is what I’ve always set out to do, and I just happen to exist in a Black queer body. And while I am very invested in social issues, it’s unfair that as a Black queer person I am almost forced to speak out about social issues, when people of the majority are not necessarily inclined to do so or obligated to do so. I hope that paradigm shifts, in that white, straight, cis people are obligated to talk about social issues just as often as BIPOC or queer people have to when they exist in the public zeitgeist. But until that happens, I’m so cool with just being like, “This is my face, this is who I love.” Like, “Kids, see yourself in me. I am here; you can do this too.”

Do you have a specific idea in mind of what you hope to accomplish in an industry that has been predominantly white and straight? I was just talking to my little brother about this today: I find that the most radical protest is unapologetic self-love and self-acceptance, and that there is so much leading I can do by example, by putting my face on screen so that young Black and biracial boys can see themselves represented. It’s unfortunately radical, but also, it shouldn’t be a radical thing, just my existence, but it is. And the fact that I can utilize it and be like, “Well, then I am going to represent myself, and people who look like me and people who love like me, and make them feel less alone.” That I realize is my greatest power in all of this. I am just doing what I love; acting is what I love to do, it

I know that a part of that is you putting your relationship out there. I mean, that is also making a statement saying, “Well, queer love is love.” I wonder how conscious you are of making that kind of statement by making your relationship public, but also: Do you draw a line somewhere? It’s interesting, because I have thought about this. That relationship was incredibly expansive to me. We’re no longer together, but it really opened me up as a person. I don’t wanna go into it too much, which is ironic ’cause that is exactly what we are talking about — how much I revealed about my relationship — but I think, moreover, there’s so much Black boy, Black queer joy in my life, and there is so much Black pain in the zeitgeist, and I want to make sure that people know

8 Fab Vegas

that I am aligned with this pain, and I am feeling this pain intimately, because I am a part of this community. But moreover, I want people to see the example of Black queer joy. I was just talking to my little brother about this too: When you surround yourself (with) images of pain and tragedy and solitude constantly, or you internalize those messages that society gives you, it starts to manifest in your life. The minute you start to surround yourself with just images of joy, specifically of people of your community experiencing joy, it also shapes your brain, and it’s like, “Oh, no, no, no, no; there is happiness for me out there. There is love out there for me, there is success out there for me, because I can see it. I see someone like me doing it.” And so that was really important to me to just be like, I have all this Black boy joy, all this Black love, this Black queer love, and I want people to see it, so that other Black queers are like, “No, in all this pain there is light. There is love. There is happiness. There is joy.” But I do want to say, to answer your question, which I didn’t (laughs), is that I am really private about my relationships. But I think that was more of a statement to my community, just to remind them of the good in all of this. Your single “Bed” just came out. Can you tell me a bit about the song and how it came about? Also, are we going to get a full album at some point? Yeah, the song I wrote about three or four years ago, about

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Photo Credit: Mike Ruiz

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----------------------------------------------------------------------a relationship I was in, and I was really just in love with this person. I realized how much a relationship exists in the framing of a bedroom. Not just in a sexual way, but how the bedroom is a place where you share intimacy, where you share conciliation, where you can be lazy with one another, where you can laugh with one another, you can sit around watching TV. You can argue, you can cry. It’s the most private, pure form of

a relationship when you are with your partner in bed. And an album — yes! I would love to make an album. I have all these songs written. So I am just so honored that we get to share (this) with the world now, because it’s something I never thought I would really do. But here I am.

Yeah, that’s true. That’s very true. But that’s always where the most growth happens: when you do the things that you thought you would never do. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

You’re going to have a lot of moments in your career when you are going to say that to yourself.

Photo Credit: HBO Max FabLasVegas.com

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LOVE IS LOVE

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12 Fab Vegas

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COVID-19 RECOVERY

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(Re) Cover Program to provide assistance to businesses Bundle Media Group Inc (BMG Inc.) has established the (Re) Cover Program to provide assistance to businesses wanting to reach their local LGBTQIA+ audience.

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Business directory listings

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SMS campaigns

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E-mail campaigns and more

This program has been made possible through donations from Bundle Media Group Inc, grants, and donations made by the general public.

Advertising credits are available to eligible businesses in Nevada.

This program intends to help the local business community towards recovery from COVID-19 by informing LGBTQ+ community members and their allies which businesses are safely open. Advertising credits are available to eligible businesses in Nevada. This may include one of or a combination of; •

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Applications are now open. Visit GayVegas.com/recover to apply. Bundle Media Group Inc (BMG Inc.) has been very careful in keeping the safety and well-being of our readers a top priority. According to WebMD, some strains of COVID-19 can live on paper for up to 5 days. We have been very careful about the handling of printed material, activating direct mailings, and continuing the growth of our digital platform. In short, COVID-19 has changed the way we do things.

In these changing times, it is critical to help our local community succeed and to ensure our local economy thrives while creating more jobs for our LGBTQ+ community. The (Re) Cover Program is a way to support businesses that are part of our community or want to support/cater to the LGBTQ+ community in Southern Nevada. We must come together as a community to lift each other up in order to successfully recover from the impact of COVID-19.BMG, Inc. will continue to follow the guidelines of the CDC while supporting our local LGBTQ+ community and we hope you will join us in our efforts and urge your favorite business to apply for the (Re) Cover Program. Visit GayVegas.com/recover to apply. FabLasVegas.com

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LGBTQ+ VEGAS BOOK REVIEWS

By: Terri Schlichenmeyer

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Raising Them: Our Adventure in Gender Creative Parenting BY: KYL MYERS c.2020, Brilliance Audio $34.99, 7:18 in length

Pink or blue? When you’re pregnant, everybody asks that question. What kind of clothing or toys will you require: dolls or trucks, pink or blue? They’ll want to know about the gender reveal party, and what kind of names you’re considering. Do you want a boy or girl or, as in the new audiobook “Raising Them” by Kyl Myers, do you mind not knowing for a few years? Long before she ever became a mother, even before she met and married her husband, Brent, Kyl Myers had thought about what she calls “gender creative parenting.” Myers identifies as queer and she was somewhat of an activist, so she was pretty well-versed on a subject that 14 Fab Vegas

asks why we, as a society, place emphasis on the chromosomes of an infant when physical, often intimate, body parts have nothing to do with simply being a child. Once Myers was pregnant, this became more than just something to think about, and she and her husband decided to raise their child gender-free. They weren’t the first to do so: in years past, other parents around the world went public with successful gender creative parenting. Still, it took plenty of determined pre-planning: Myers would deny knowledge of the baby’s gender to anyone who didn’t absolutely, genuinely need to know. That meant restricting diaper-duty, and it meant four grandparents who wouldn’t know their grandchild’s gender until the child was several months old. Once Zoomer Coyote entered the world, there would be no pink or blue bassinet cards in the hospital nursery. Myers had to learn to find nongendered infant and toddler clothing for her child, genderneutral-hued toys for them to play with, and items that didn’t scream “Boy!” or “Girl!”. Later, Zoomer’s daycare was “cool” with the neutrality, but strangers and even other parents were a challenge, and were nonetheless challenged to open their minds. “Raising Them” will bring out a lot of emotions that will likely be dependent on which side of parenting you stand. It’s intriguing, but exhausting, too chirpy, and too, too sunny. It’s

also too precious by half, and the cute-Zoomer tales wear thin after a (very, very short) while. And yet, the idea of giving your child time to know themself is intriguing. Still, author Kyl Myers should be commended for not throwing in the towel with hurricane force. Indeed, her struggles were exactly what you might expect. Although... particularly if you’re expecting a baby, Myers may inspire you. Clearly, gender creative parenting involves work, vigilance, and forethought, and while it’s not for everyone, it’s a compelling enough idea to stick in your mind like glue. You’ll be convinced that it’s worth a try, even if only sometimes. And this: if you can’t rest without knowing, Myers drops hints to soothe your boy-or-girl curiosity, but that’s not the end of this story. No, this is a website-supported, mind-opening, ongoing tale for parents-to-be, or for anyone who wishes they’d been reared in a similar kind of household. That you? Read “Raising Them,” or you’ll be blue.

FabLasVegas.com

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Dodie Building an Understanding of Herself

Photo Credit: Parri Thomas

After feeling rushed to come out to find community, the YouTuber’s debut LP had the bisexual artist reexamining her sexuality To know dodie is to really know her. Since 2011, the British singer-songwriter’s diary-wide-open authenticity has drawn millions of fans to her YouTube channel doddleoddle and its sister channel, doddlevloggle. Those faithful fans — she once considered calling them “doddlers” — were with her in 2016, when, after establishing an online presence, she released her first EP. The result was the intimate “Intertwined,” a collection of songs tackling mental health, sexuality and friendship. Another EP, “You,” followed in 2017. Her third, “Human,” was released in 2019. “Build a Problem,” though, is dodie’s full-length debut, written over a two-year 16 Fab Vegas

span during a period of selfdiscovery after she came out in 2017 as bisexual with a song and video called “I’m bisexual – a coming out song!” (the video has amassed six million views on YouTube). After being pushed back three times, she’s eager for the album to come out on May 7, she tells me over Zoom from her studio flat in London. But first things first: all the stuff strewn across her floor that she thought she hid. “Excuse my room,” she says, after rushing home from a walk to get on the call. “I didn’t realize how messy it was, and that it was gonna show.” When the album finally comes out, how do you

anticipate that you will feel? (Laughs.) Relieved, released. Free. And yeah, I mean, I have no idea. It’s why I gritted my teeth when I heard that you listened to it, because I just have no idea how people will respond. I’ve already spoken to a lot of people who have listened to it, like my friends and also some fans, and that’s been nice. From what I hear, they all really like it. And that, honestly, is enough for me. If I could just share the Dropbox link around to everyone and get their feedback, that’s enough to keep me going. It must feel weird to create a piece of work that is so close to you and so intimate and not know how anyone will respond to it.

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------Yeah. I’m just so ready to move on. I feel like I’m holding onto this album and to all of these feelings associated with it. And like, obviously, my life has moved on. I’ve grown up and grown since writing (it), but I feel like I can’t properly move on until I’ve released it, which I don’t know if it’s healthy or not. But it definitely feels like a part of my life. How would you compare the songwriter you were when you first started writing songs to the songwriter you are on this album? I think I’ve always been very dramatic in my songwriting. Not, like, in an overt way. I think what I mean is: I love building tension and release in my songs. I love over-soaring melodies. I love creating dynamics, like such a range in my songs. So I think that’s similar. The difference is that I’m better. (Laughs.) I honestly just think the way in which I look at life has changed. I look at life in a more nuanced way now, whereas when I was younger I wrote more black and white, obviously, because that’s how I saw the world. So, if anything, the meanings of my art have gotten more mature. Probably the sound of my music as well. In terms of writing style, I really don’t know, to be honest. That’s a good question. I have to think about it. Did the pandemic open up this creative well for you? And did you write the album, or any of it, in the pandemic? I wrote half of the album in the pandemic. The deluxe

side, and all of those songs, I was uploading them in the first wave, as it were. And I felt, yeah, definitely creatively inspired. It gave me all of the time I needed and the space I needed to start writing and finishing all of these little snippets of songs and tweak them and form them into demos. Then the next wave of the pandemic was the complete opposite and I just sort of fell into a slump. A lot of this music, from what I read, brought you closer to the person that you are right now. Did any of it help inform your sexuality or the discovery of new parts of your sexuality? Yes! Great question. I think it took me a while to really understand what it meant to come out as bi. I think when I was younger I was so excited to (come out) because, firstly, it felt like a very exciting thing and I wanted to rush out and say it, like get in with the crowd because I felt very kind of lonely and weird in it. I wanted to immediately be a part of this community. And it felt good. And then I grew up. (Laughs.) I realized that all of those sort of inner biphobic workings of growing up where I did, and the family that I had, caught up with me, and I realized it was a bit more difficult than I thought and that I had a lot more to work through and a lot more to understand about it. And I’m still working through it; I’m still trying to understand. And, yes, everyone always says that sexuality is complex — as is gender, as is everything in

life — but I think I’m only just beginning to understand what that means and still understand myself more. So when it comes to identity, are you still using the bisexual label? I think it’s easier to say bisexual because that’s what I am. It’s hard to even talk about what love is for me and what attraction is for me because it just keeps shifting. I still don’t really know myself very well when it comes to relationships. So, I just don’t think I can land solidly on talking about any of that. All I know is that I’m bisexual and that means something to me. It’s pretty incredible to think that six million people watched you come out on YouTube in 2017 with “I’m bisexual — a coming out song!” That’s a lot of people. How do you reflect on that moment and coming out in such a big way? I think it’s very sweet. I think I have a lot of queer fans. A lot of young queer fans, right? At least I definitely did at that time, probably following a song that I put out when I was even younger than that called “She,” which was about liking a friend of mine who was not bi or gay in any way. Also, before I even knew that I was, it was just this vague, flirty song about really finding someone attractive and kind of knowing what it was, but not really sticking a pin (on) it. It just makes the whole feeling so much softer when I understand that so many have gone through that feeling and FabLasVegas.com

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CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------are now going through that feeling. Bisexuality still seems to be taboo. Do you think we’re past that? What is your personal experience with that? I think we’re past it in a way, but I still think there’s so much stigma inside that label even. To be fair, I see it talked about on TikTok a lot in a very nice way, in a comforting way, where people explore how you can be bisexual but still be in a “straight” relationship. Just all of the complexities. Basically, your history doesn’t have to align with your orientation. It’s just a very confusing mess that I think people still don’t understand because the world looks at things in a very strict putting-in-boxes way when really, of course, everything is more nuanced than that. When I think of boxes now, the boxes are even less so than the boxes that I had to put myself in. I would have lost my mind. I don’t know what I would have done. I mean, I still am because the inner bi-phobia (is) still there. Sometimes I lie in the bath and I’m like, “Oh, fuck! I think I’m gay.” Like, “Oh fuck, I’ve been lying to everyone, I’ve been lying to myself.” And I’ll be like, “Shit, I must be completely straight, I just love girls, like everyone else, oh god.” I still flip back and forth because we’ve all been brought up in this “either-or” world and then as soon as I find the word bi again and I really understand what that means, I’m like, “OK, everything’s better now.” 18 Fab Vegas

I’m interested in knowing a little more about your queer fans, because you have such a following. What kind of fans are they? Yeah, they’re very sweet. I mean, I haven’t really come into contact with them for a while. You know, for at least a year or so. (Laughs.) But I’ve seen so many grow up, kind of, with me. I get really emotional when I think about how weird I felt as a teenager, or a kid even, just like a complete outsider, and very dramatic and deep-feeling. And yeah, OK, I’ll say it: I have a friend called Elle Mills. She’s a YouTuber and she’s really cool. You can tell her fans apart from mine because hers are all the cool kids in school, and mine are all of the arty-farty fairies who are a bit weird. And like, I felt … I don’t know … slow in the hierarchy of school. And now I understand there wasn’t a hierarchy at all; it’s just kind of people. And I feel like I’ve collected a community of them and that makes me feel really good. That’s really sweet. Do you have a name for these fans? You know, like Mariah has her “lambs” and Gaga has her “little monsters.” (Laughs.) I toyed around with “doddlers,” but I didn’t want to imply that we’re an army or anything like that. I didn’t want to be like, you know, the leader of this army or whatever. I think that’s strange. And yet you kind of are that

leader. It’s you who brings these people together, right? Kind of. I don’t know. I like it when I become a very separate thing. There’s a sort of fandom that I’m not even really a part of. I really love that. I think that’s so sweet.

What do you hope your queer fans take away from your example in living so openly in regards to your sexuality? I would love for them to feel better about the complexity and the guilt of it all, I think. I don’t really know how many (songs) exactly are about being queer; I’m sure it floats in and out of all of my writing. But in “She” and a song called “Rainbow,” there’s a lot of struggle. As much as it is a celebration, there’s a lot of pain and shame in there. I would hope in sharing that it lightens their load a bit, because I know that it’s a really heavy thing to carry around. And I would love for us to share that and feel better together. Celebrities were once people who seemed so unattainable. But you’ve built an entire career on being your most authentic self. Do you think it’s important for people in the LGBTQ+ community to be able to relate to the artists that they listen to and that they love? I don’t think it’s necessary. I wouldn’t want to enforce a breaking of boundaries on anyone. I grew up seeing, yeah, you’re right, celebrities as these like unreachable aliens that I didn’t really understand existed. And

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CELEBRITY INTERVIEW

-----------------------------------------------------------------------so when I kind of became someone that people knew about, that I probably would have deemed to be famous when I was younger, I wanted to break that and almost reach into my younger self and shake her and be like, “Look! These people are human and everyone is human. You walk this earth with these people.” Yeah, I’m not sure if it’s necessary or incredibly important, but I do find it interesting and I like that I am someone who can do that.

It sounds like you’ve had some new thoughts about sexuality in the last several years, so maybe it’s time for a follow-up to “I’m bisexual.” Yeah. Though I don’t know if I’m ready to share them yet, because I don’t even know what they are. I still don’t understand myself, really. Maybe I’ll just say that. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Photo Credit: Parri Thomas

What will you be doing to celebrate Pride this summer? I haven’t even thought about it. Isn’t that so weird? I think probably just connecting with people online. I don’t know. Maybe I should work on that. Maybe Pride is something I should partake a little bit more

in.

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Handwashing

at Home, at Play, and Out and About Germs are everywhere! They can get onto your hands and items you touch throughout the day. Washing hands at key times with soap and water is one of the most important steps you can take to get rid of germs and avoid spreading germs to those around you.

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Handwashing helps prevent infections for these reasons: People often touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without realizing it, introducing germs into their bodies. Germs from unwashed hands may get into foods and drinks when people prepare or consume them. Germs can grow in some types of foods or drinks and make people sick. Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, such as door knobs, tables, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hands.

What is the right way to wash your hands? 1. Wet your hands with clean running water (warm or cold) and apply soap. 2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. 3. Scrub all surfaces of your hands, including the palms, backs, fingers, between your fingers, and under your nails. Keep scrubbing for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song twice. 4. Rinse your hands under clean, running water. 5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them. CS 280522A

When should you wash your hands? Handwashing at any time of the day can help get rid of germs, but there are key times when it’s most important to wash your hands. • Before, during, and after preparing food • Before eating food • Before and after caring for someone who is sick • Before and after treating a cut or wound • After using the bathroom, changing diapers, or cleaning up a child who has used the bathroom • After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing • After touching an animal, animal food or treats, animal cages, or animal feces (poop) • After touching garbage • If your hands are visibly dirty or greasy

What type of soap should you use? You can use bar soap or liquid soap to wash your hands. Many public places provide liquid soap because it’s easier and cleaner to share with others. Studies have not found any added health benefit from using soaps containing antibacterial ingredients when compared with plain soap. Both are equally effective in getting rid of germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

How does handwashing help fight antibiotic resistance? Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria resist the effects of an antibiotic – that is, germs are not killed and they continue to grow. Sicknesses caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be harder to treat. Simply using antibiotics creates resistance, so avoiding infections in the first place reduces the amount of antibiotics that have to be used and reduces the likelihood that resistance will develop during treatment. Handwashing helps prevent many sicknesses, meaning less use of antibiotics.

Studies have shown that handwashing can prevent

1 in 3 diarrhea-related sicknesses and

1 in 5 respiratory infections, such as a cold or the flu.

For more information and a video demonstration of how to wash your hands, visit the CDC handwashing website:

www.cdc.gov/handwashing

SÍNTOMAS DE LA ENFERMEDAD DEL CORONAVIRUS 2019 Los pacientes con COVID-19 han presentado enfermedad respiratoria de leve a grave. Los síntomas* pueden incluir

TOS

Consulte a un médico si presenta síntomas y ha estado en contacto cercano con una persona que se sepa que tiene el COVID-19, o si usted vive o ha estado recientemente en un área en la que haya propagación en curso del COVID-19.

FIEBRE

*Los síntomas pueden aparecer de 2 a 14 días después de la exposición.

DIFICULTAD *Symptoms may PARA RESPIRAR appear 2-14 days after exposure.

cdc.gov/COVID19-es CS 315252-B March 16, 2020, 1:35PM

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SYMPTOMS OF CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 Patients with COVID-19 have experienced mild to severe respiratory illness. Symptoms* can include

COUGH

Seek medical advice if you develop symptoms, and have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19 or if you live in or have recently been in an area with ongoing spread of COVID-19.

FEVER

*Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.

SHORTNESS OF BREATH

cdc.gov/COVID19-symptoms CS 315252-A March 20, 2020, 12:51PM

23 Fab Vegas

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Information for Teens: Staying Healthy and Preventing STDs If you choose to have sex, know how to protect yourself against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). What are sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)? STDs are diseases that are passed from one person to another through sexual contact. These include chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, human papillomavirus (HPV), syphilis, and HIV. Many of these STDs do not show symptoms for a long time. Even without symptoms, they can still be harmful and passed on during sex.

consider before having sex. It’s okay to say “no” if you don’t want to have sex. •

If you do decide to have sex, you and your partner should get tested for STDs beforehand. Make sure that you and your partner use a condom from start to finish every time you have oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Know where to get condoms and how to use them correctly. It is not safe to stop using condoms unless you’ve both been tested for STDs, know your results, and are in a mutually monogamous relationship.

•

Mutual monogamy means that you and your partner both agree to only have sexual contact with each other. This can help protect against STDs, as long as you’ve both been tested and know you’re STD-free.

•

Before you have sex, talk with your partner about how you will prevent STDs and pregnancy. If you think you’re ready to have sex, you need to be ready to protect your body. You should also talk to your partner ahead of time about what you will and will not do sexually. Your partner should always respect your right to say no to anything that doesn’t feel right.

•

Make sure you get the health care you need. Ask a doctor or nurse about STD testing and about vaccines against HPV and hepatitis B.

•

Girls and young women may have extra needs to protect their reproductive health. Talk to your doctor or nurse about regular cervical cancer screening, and chlamydia and gonorrhea testing. You may also want to discuss unintended pregnancy and birth control.

•

Avoid mixing alcohol and/or recreational drugs with sex. If you use alcohol and drugs, you are more likely to take risks, like not using a condom or having sex with someone you normally wouldn’t have sex with.

How are STDs spread? You can get an STD by having vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone who has an STD. Anyone who is sexually active can get an STD. You don’t even have to “go all the way” (have anal or vaginal sex) to get an STD. This is because some STDs, like herpes and HPV, are spread by skinto-skin contact. How common are STDs? STDs are common, especially among young people. There are about 20 million new cases of STDs each year in the United States. About half of these infections are in people between the ages of 15 and 24. Young people are at greater risk of getting an STD for several reasons: •

Young women’s bodies are biologically more prone to STDs.

•

Some young people do not get the recommended STD tests.

•

Many young people are hesitant to talk openly and honestly with a doctor or nurse about their sex lives.

•

Not having insurance or transportation can make it more difficult for young people to access STD testing.

•

Some young people have more than one sex partner.

What can I do to protect myself? •

The surest way to protect yourself against STDs is to not have sex. That means not having any vaginal, anal, or oral sex (“abstinence”). There are many things to

26 Fab Vegas

against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

If Iare getsexually an STD, how will Idiseases know? (STDs)? What transmitted STDs are diseases that are passed from one person to another Many STDs don’t cause any symptoms that you through sexual contact. These include chlamydia, gonorrhea, would notice. only way(HPV), to know for sure genital herpes, humanThe papillomavirus syphilis, and HIV. if you haveSTDs an STD to get tested.forYou can get an Many of these do notis show symptoms a long time. Even without they can stillwith be harmful and passed STDsymptoms, from having sex someone whoonhas no during sex. symptoms. Just like you, that person might not

even he or she has an STD. How are know STDs spread?

You can get an STD by having vaginal, anal or oral sex with Where can I get tested? someone who has an STD. Anyone who is sexually active can get an STD.There You don’t have that to “gooffer all theteen-friendly, way” (have anal or vaginal areeven places sex) to get an STD. This is because some STDs, like herpes and HPV, confidential, and free STD tests. This means that are spread by skin-to-skin contact.

no one has to find out you’ve been tested. Visit

How common to arefind STDs? GetTested an STD testing location near

STDs are common, especially among young people. There are you. about 20 million new cases of STDs each year in the United States. About halfSTDs of thesebe infections are in people between the ages of Can treated? 15 and 24. Young people are at greater risk of getting an STD for Your doctor can prescribe medicine to cure several reasons:

some STDs, like chlamydia and gonorrhea.

• Young women’s bodies are biologically more prone Other STDs, like herpes, can’t be cured, but you to STDs.

can take medicine to help with the symptoms.

• Some young people do not get the recommended If STD youtests. are ever treated for an STD, be sure to

•finish Manyall young peoplemedicine, are hesitanteven to talkifopenly and better of your you feel honestly with a doctor or nurse about their sex before you finish it all. Ask the doctor orlives. nurse

testing and treatment for your partner, •about Not having insurance or transportation can make it more difficult young people to access STD avoid testing.having too. Youfor and your partner should until you’ve both been •sex Some young people have moretreated. than one Otherwise, sex partner you may continue to pass the STD back and forth. It is possible to get an STD again (after

What can I do to protect myself?

• The surest way to protect yourself against STDs is to not you’ve been you have sex with have sex. Thattreated), means notifhaving any vaginal, anal, or someone who has anThere STD. oral sex (“abstinence”). are many things to consider before having sex. It’s okay to say “no” if you don’t want to What happens if I don’t treat an STD? have sex.

Some curable STDs can be dangerous if they aren’t treated. For example, if left untreated, CS287360A chlamydia and gonorrhea can make it difficult— or even impossible—for a woman to get pregnant. You also increase your chances of getting HIV if you have an untreated STD. Some STDs, like HIV, can be fatal if left untreated. What if my partner or I have an incurable STD? Some STDs, like herpes and HIV, aren’t curable, but a doctor can prescribe medicine to treat the symptoms. If you are living with an STD, it’s important to

tell partner before youyouhave sex. partner Although • Ifyour you do decide to have sex, and your should get tested for STDs beforehand. Make sure that you and it may be uncomfortable to talk about your your partner usehonest a condom from start to finish every STD, open and conversation can help time you have oral, anal, or vaginal sex. Know where to your partner make informed decisions to get condoms and how to use them correctly. It is not protect his or her health. safe to stop using condoms unless you’ve both been STDs, knowwho your results, and are them? in a mutually If Itested havefor questions, can answer monogamous relationship.

If• you have questions, talk to a parent or other Mutual monogamy means that you and your partner both trusted be afraid be each openother. andThis agreeadult. to only Don’t have sexual contactto with honest with themagainst aboutSTDs, yourasconcerns. If both you’re can help protect long as you’ve been and know evertested confused or you’re need STD-free. advice, they’re the first place to start. After were young once, • Before you have sex, all, talk they with your partner about how too.you will prevent STDs and pregnancy. If you think you’re ready to have sex, you need to be ready to protect your

Talking about sexalso with parent or another body. You should talkato your partner ahead of time adult doesn’t need bewill a one-time about what you willto and not do sexually. Your partner conversation. bestyour to leave the forthat should alwaysIt’s respect right to saydoor no to open anything doesn’t feel right. conversations in the future. • Make sure you get the health care you need. Ask a doctor It’s also important to talk honestly with a doctor or nurse about STD testing and about vaccines against or nurse. Ask which STD tests and vaccines HPV and hepatitis B. they recommend for you. • Girls and young women may have extra needs to protect

their reproductive health.information? Talk to your doctor or nurse Where can I get more

about regular cervical cancer screening, and chlamydia

CDC and gonorrhea testing. You may also want to discuss

unintended birth control. How You Canpregnancy Preventand Sexually Transmitted • Avoid mixing alcohol and/or recreational drugs with sex. Diseases If you use alcohol and drugs, you are more likely to take www.cdc.gov/std/prevention/

risks, like not using a condom or having sex with someone

Teen youPregnancy normally wouldn’t have sex with. https://www.cdc.gov/ teenpregnancy/teens/ index.htm

CDC-INFO Contact Center 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) Contact wwwn.cdc.gov/dcs/ ContactUs/Form HealthFinder.gov STD Testing: Conversation Starters https://healthfinder.gov/ HealthTopics/ Category/health-conditions-and-diseases/ hiv-and-other-stds/std-testing-conversationstarters American Sexual Health Association Sexual Health and You http://www.iwannaknow.org/ teens/ sexualhealth.html FabLasVegas.com

STD (SEXUALLY TRASMITTED DISEASES) INFO SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES INFO, TESTING & RESOURCES WHAT IS A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE? Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), are infections that are commonly spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex and oral sex.

WHAT IS HIV? HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system.It is usually spread by anal or vaginal sex or sharing syringes with a person who has HIV. The only way to know you have HIV is to be tested. Everyone aged 13-64 should be tested at least once, and people at high risk should be tested at least once a year. Ask your doctor, or visit gettested.cdc.gov to find a testing site. Without treatment, HIV can make a person very sick or may even cause death. If you have HIV, start treatment as soon as possible to stay healthy and help protect your partners.

Nevada is the fifth highest state in the United States for rates of new HIV diagnoses and is #1 in Syphillis *According to CDC HIV Surveillance Report, 2017 and the CDC Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report, 2017 released in 2018

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STD TESTING RESOURCE SOUTHERN NEVADA HEALTH DISTRICT ADDRESS: 280 S. Decatur Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89107 HOURS: Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.* *The clinic opens at 9:00 a.m. on the first Thursday of every month. The following services are offered at the Sexual Health Clinic: 1.

Diagnosis and treatment of active or suspected cases of:

•

Chlamydia

•

Gonorrhea

•

Syphilis

•

HIV

•

Trichomonas (females only)

•

Bacterial Vaginosis (females only)

Free condoms and instruction on how to safely use them (both male and female condom)

Follow-up bloodwork

High-risk behavior counseling

HIV Nursing Case Management

Injection series for syphilis medication

Partner notification

Referrals by private physicians

Sexual assault follow-up

10. Test results and couseling Clients seeking treatment at the Sexual Health Clinic should know that the Health District is required to report cases involving assault or abuse to appropriate agencies. HIV Testing: HIV antibody testing is a simple blood test performed by a trained professional. This procedure is strictly confidential. Counseling regarding the meaning of the test and its result take place before the actual testing to ensure you understand HIV infection and the testing procedure. HIV testing procedure: Blood Test – Blood drawn from a vein is tested for HIV antibodies. This test is available at the Sexual Health Clinic (280 S. Decatur Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89107 ), Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please call (702) 759-0702 for more information. If you have questions, contact the clinic by phone at (702) 759-0702 or by email at SexualHealth@snhd.org.

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PRIDE FLAGS

COMMUNITY RESOURCES 34 Fab Vegas

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www.afanlv.org Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN) provides support and advocacy for adults and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS in Southern Nevada. AFAN works to reduce HIV infection through prevention and education to eliminate fear, prejudice and the stigma associated with the disease.