OUTeXpressions Newspaper: A social enterprise of Queer
West Arts Centre
October to November 2008 - News Archive Stories
Our listing are now published daily on Digital
Journal global media network and seen in 175 countries!
OUTeXpressions Newspaper. A Social Enterprise of Queer
West Arts Centre. We have been tearing up Toronto for over 10 years,
finding cool stuff, we think you'll enjoy. We mostly cover the queer west end
of Toronto (Parkdale, Brockton and Trinity Bellwoods, occassionally beyond.)
We're not an exclusive gay or lesbian publication. 2.1 Million Page Views a
Year!
Lstings are Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved.Masthead Subscribe to our monthly eNewsletter: Bent
eBlast The Editor: outexpressions@gmail.com
Ph: 416-879-7954. Outexpressions. 562 Dufferin St. Suite B1, Toronto ON M6k
2A9
TESTIMONALS:
BQueer.com : " One of the most extensive and interesting website
guides to the Toronto Gay and Lesbian scene I've come across." Girlsport.com
Montreal: 2010 OUTeXpressions listings section are excellent! "
Margaret On Dundas (2952 Dundas St. W.Junction Triangle) - "I
just wanted to drop OUTeXpressions a quick note to say thanks so much for listing
our events!! Everyone has a great time, thanks for supporting us. ".Cheers,
Brendan altnight.com
OuteXpressions News Archive
- October and November 2007:
1% of Toronto High School student now identify
as gay or lesbian
by Michael F. Paré, Inside Story Toronto. Wednesday
November 28, 2007 - The Toronto District School Board did a $750,000 survey
called the 2006 STUDENT CENSUS, GRADES 7-12: SYSTEM OVERVIEW, asking Toronto
students to among other things self-identify their sexual orientation. Ontario
students were asked to provide voluntary information on a variety of questions—for
students in grades nine to twelve, those questions will include whether they
identify as straight, gay, “lesbian, transgendered, bisexual, queer or
two-spirited (an aboriginal term).” The survey was released yesterday
Only 1% of students identified themselves as gay or lesbian, 2% as bisexual,
4% as questioning and 1% as other. Other included queer, two-spirited, transgendered,
transsexual or any combination of the other choices.
Experts in the field of children's mental health have suggested the trend in
schools toward determining child sexual orientation is dangerously misplaced.
George A. Rekers, Ph. D., research director for child and adolescent psychiatry
at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, stated that children
are particularly vulnerable to confusion in the development of their sexual
identity.
The survey was produced after concerns were raised over possibilities of racial
inequality under Ontario’s new Safe Schools Act, with the suggestion that
some schools expelled black students more frequently than white students.
The original content was expanded to more than 55 questions covering a wide
variety of areas of student interests, in order to provide a census of the province’s
student body. Sexual orientation was considered a legitimate area of interest
by the Board.
The survey also highlights the fact a large majority of students come from families
of first generation Canadians. Around 70% of students from Grades 7 to 12 have
both parents who were born outside of Canada. The main regions of origin are
East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Africa, Caribbean and south and central America.
White students remain the largest ethnic group, making up about 30% of
the high school population. Among students in Grades 7 and 8, 64 per cent
report that they "enjoy" school, while just 53 per cent of high
school students do.
But more than 80 per cent of students say they get along well with fellow
pupils and believe they are treated well by adults in their school. And
more than 90 per cent of students in Grades 7 and 8 feel safe in the classroom,
and 72 per cent on school property. Those numbers dip slightly for high
school students.
Toronto schools have seen their share of violent incidents in recent months,
including the fatal shooting of a student at one north-end high school
and sexual assault charges laid against eight youths at a middle school.
In terms of bullying, 41 per cent of younger students and 31 per cent
of secondary students say they are called names or insulted often or sometimes.
About 20 per cent of younger students have been the victims of theft or
threats of violence. Full Report PDF Formathttp://www3.thestar.com/static/PDF/2006studentcensus_overview.pdf
“Leading by Example on
World AIDS Day”
by Stephen J. Fallon, Ph.D.
(Exclusive to The Inside Story Toronto)
There’s
something sort of overwhelming about World AIDS Day, December 1st. How can any of us wrap our minds around a disease that infects 4 million
people worldwide each year, and threatens the health of 47 million—
mostly untreated—who are living with the virus today, according
to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS?
The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 is “Leadership.” Yet the
average gay American does not have the means to make a significant contribution
to the fight against HIV/AIDS in sub Saharan Africa, or the Caribbean.
HIV/AIDS also impacts our own communities here at home. A recent Centers
for Disease Control study found that one-in-five gay or bisexual white
men in major cities is living with HIV; among minority men who have sex
with men, nearly half were infected.
What can you do to make a difference? Think globally but act locally.
World AIDS Day Global Steering Committee member Linda Hartke said, “Leadership
can imply the power and authority to make a difference, to lead by action
and example.” Here are some actions you can take to make a difference
here at home.
If you’re HIV negative:
Double-check your HIV status with a new HIV test. Three-quarters of younger
gay/bisexual men who were HIV infected had not known their status; and
59 percent had expected their risk was low, according to another large
CDC study.
In many areas, today’s HIV tests come in a simple oral swab that
delivers preliminary results in just 20 minutes.
If you’re living with HIV:
Go to a qualified HIV-specializing physician to track how well your body
is holding the virus at bay. When the time is right to start taking HIV
treatments, don’t skip doses. People who take most of their doses
on time are three-to-four times more likely to keep their virus under
control than are inconsistent patients. Successful treatment also lowers
the odds of your passing HIV if a condom ever breaks.
Your physician can also talk to you about new classes of treatments (CCR5
antagonists and integrase inhibitors), along with newer boosted protease
inhibitors and non-nucleosides for those whose virus has developed resistance
to these types of medicines.
If you’re having sex:
Hook ups, real time action, playing, no strings attached fun? You can
still be a leader for World AIDS Day. Last week I gave a seminar at a
clinic in Kentucky. One of the participants described how he and his partner
had visited a bathhouse in Ft. Lauderdale on a vacation. A group of guys
were lined up in the steam room for anonymous sex when one called out,
“Hey, does anyone have any more condoms?”
That comment stuck with him enough for him to repeat the story these years
later. And maybe it made a difference to any guys there that day who might
have been planning to have unprotected sex in the bathhouse that day.
Lead by busting myths:
A new study of younger African American men who have sex with men found
that nearly one-third of the times that guys used condoms, they had made
mistakes that could have allowed HIV to transmit. The most common mistakes
were putting the condom on too late (after first entering someone during
foreplay), taking it off too soon, or not pinching air out of the tip
of the condom.
These mistakes are common for all races and ages of gay and bisexual men
according to the larger POLARIS HIV seroconversion study. Up to 12 percent
of men had bottomed without having their partners use condoms, or when
condom were used incorrectly.
Despite leading the way for better access to care, fairer laws, and more
aggressive research to combat HIV/AIDS, the gay community still harbors
many myths that lead guys to perceive their own risks to be lower than
they are. In the POLARIS study, some of the guys said that they skipped
condoms because they believed HIV can’t transmit through pre-cum,
or that HIV can only get in when there’s rectal tearing.
HIV has been found in two-thirds of samples of pre-cum drawn from HIV
positive men. Meanwhile, the epithelial lining of the rectum can absorb
the virus even without any trauma present.
So for this World AIDS Day, you can be a leader by debunking myths and
adopting safer habits to stop HIV’s spread through our gay community,
or to control HIV in your own body.
Stephen Fallon is the President of Skills4, Inc., a healthcare and disease-prevention consulting firm that specializes in
gay lifestyle and health issues by providing treatment education workshops,
prevention programming assistance, and grant writing services to community
organizations and health departments. Visit his website at www.skills4.orgIf
you need sources for any medical information cited in his columns, e-mail
him atsfallon@skills4.org.
