LESBIAN GAY

Community Service Center

OF GREATER CLEVELAND

This space has been donated to the Center by the Chronicle. What appears in this space does not reflect the views of the Chronicle staff or management.

by Bob Yun

Service

The Community Center has established a new program oriented to lesbian-gay youth. Presence and Respect for Youths in Sexual Minority (PRYSM) is a rap group operated by and for youth. Restricted to individuals under 23 years of age, the group will offer support, discussion, and a "safe space." PRYSM will meet from noon to 1:30 p.m. every Saturday at the Community Center beginning January 7. An open group discussion format is planned. Contact program coordinator Bob Boone at the Center for more information.

The second round of discussion groups for the Men in Touch program discussion exercises are geared toward men engaging in samesex risky sexual encounters. Contact Artley Edwards at 522-1998 for information.

The Center's annual membership campaign has been extended through January. With the rapid growth of Center programs, we hope to double our membership. Members receive our newsletter, notices of Center events and programs, have access to all Center services, have an opportunity to grow as individuals, and make valuable contributions to the

community. Beginning in January, members will also receive a complimentary copy of the Gay People's Chronicle. All mailings are in plain envelopes.

Even if you never use the Center, your membership is important. Grants and large donations are few and usually targeted to specific programs. Center memberships ensure our muchneeded everyday services can continue. Individual memberships start as low as $15. Business and organization memberships are also available. All contributions are tax-deductible. Give us a call and we will mail a brochure.

Please help Center Hotline operators provide the most current community information by calling us about your events and organization. Even if the event is tentative, let us know the basics so we can help you avoid conflicts with other scheduled activities. Don't forget to drop off event literature and membership information so it can be distributed through our Community Resource Center.

In cooperation with John Carroll University, an intern has begun a study of battery in lesbian relations. Center internships provide college credit and invaluable on-site experience. Other topics of study are also available. Contact Center Director Aubrey Wertheim if interested.

We are in need of two hotline coordinators. As the hotline is our most important service, this is an important volunteer position. The coordinator is responsible for scheduling volunteers, maintaining call data, and quality control. The coordinator should have previous volunteer management experience.

For more information, contact 522-1999 or stop by our office at 1418 W. 29th Street, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. ▼

The Lesbian/Gay Community Service Center

Dykes to Watch Out For

CIVIC DUTY

1988 BY ALISON BECHDEL

46

HEY MO! C'MON! IT'S LATE! TIME TO GET UP!

WHY SHOULD BE A PRODUCTIVE MEMBER OF A SOCIETY THAT THRIVES BY OPPRESSING EVERY. ONE ELSE IN THE WORLD?

Y'KNOW, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! I THINK YOU'VE HIT ON A VERY SYMBOLIC FORM OF PROTEST

HERE!

GET UP? WHAT FOR?IME NOT GETTING UP UNTIL THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS ABOLISHED AND GEORGE BUSH IS IMPEACHED!

BUT SWEETIE, YOU'LL GET BEDSORES.

YES! AS A CITIZEN OF A PRIVILEGED COUNTRY, RENOUNCE THE POWER YOU HAVE TO ACTIVELY DISSENT AND EDUCATE! JUST STAY IN BED! THAT'LL SHOW THOSE REPUBLICANS A THING OR TWO.

January, 1989 GAY PEOPLES CHRONICLE Page 13

Living with AIDS

Continued from Page 6.

sex on a woman for the "active" partner. But we do not know for certain.

However, we do know that oral sex on a woman during her period is more risky, because more HIV is present in menstrual blood.

The risk for the "active" partner in oral sex on a man has similar uncertainties. According to the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights in mid-1988, there have been no studies about the presence or absence of HIV in pre-ejaculate (precum). So we don't know if the virus is there, or if it is found in the pre-cum of every man with HIV-related conditions. Assuming the amount of HIV is low, saliva may help to reduce this risk. Nonetheless, everything we know suggests that sucking but stopping before climax is low risk, but not entirely safe for the "active" partner.

There is NO evidence that taking semen in one's mouth is low risk, much less safe. Semen and blood have high amounts of HIV. And even if saliva did "kill" the amount of HIV in an ejaculation---something we do not know---studies have shown that saliva does NOT kill other viruses in semen, such as CMV.

CMV is important, because some researchers believe it may play a role in whether a person infected with HIV develops illnesses. And in PWAS, CMV itself can cause various complications, including loss of vision.

People who argue for the

Existence

Continued from Page 8.

users, and the poor---society continued to do less than it would have had mainstream heterosexuals been the primary target of the AIDS epidemic.

I wish it weren't so, but gay men are the primary group afflicted with AIDS. To deny this is cruel. To try to hide the fact is something I've never tolerated from the media and find appalling when perpetrated by the NAMES Project. No one can turn AIDS into a disease of the masses by leaving gay men out of literature and programs, no matter how lofty their motives. Every afflicted group should be included. Especially gay men.

Gay men are people with AIDS. Nothing can ever change that fact. We must stand together, we must continue to stand proud. We must hold dear our loved ones lost to AIDS, and do it privately as well as publicly. In fact, it is our moral duty to continue to remind America that we will not be forgotten. If you choose not to include gay men in your presentations, how can we ever hope to overcome the homophobia that has aggravated the AIDS epidemic? It seems clear to me that the only way to destroy homophobia is to confront it.

I and nearly everyone I've spoken with who attended the Lincoln Memorial presentation was offended and hurt by its lack of gay representation. I welcome your response to these issues.

I'M NOT GETTING UP TIL ISRAEL AND PALESTINE FIND A TWOSTATE SOLUTION, AND APARTHEID IS COMPLETELY OVERTHROWN.

YOU'RE JUST GONNA LIE THERE? MAYBE A HUNGER STRIKE WOULD ATTRACT MORE MEDIA ATTENTION!

WHAT A MEANINGFUL WAY TO EXPRESS YOUR SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SLEEPING FIVE TO A MATTRESS IN REFUGEE CAMPS AND SHANTY TOWNS AND PRISONS! CAN I GET YOU ANOTHER BLANKET BEFORE I LEAVE?

ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT! I'M UP ALREADY!

safety of oral sex do so by a process of elimination. To date, four studies of gay men have found that none of the men who claimed to practice only oral sex have gotten the virus. (For obvious reasons, the number of these men is quite small.) On the other hand, a recent French study claims to have found some men who only practiced oral sex who did become infected. Assuming the accuracy of these studies, the evidence remains mixed on the safety of taking semen in one's mouth.

One final point: If IgA is indeed the agent in saliva that neutralizes HIV, as the Harvard study suggests, that study also found that some (1 in 450) people don't have enough IgA in their saliva to "kill" the virus. They also found that HIV-related immune deficiencies reduce the amount of IgA in saliva.

Sometimes sorting through all the conflicting data on sexual risk can make you a little crazy. The point of this column is not to trigger a stampede to doctors' offices for IgA tests. Rather, this discussion illustrates how risk depends upon the situation. And only you can decide how risky a particular situation may be, and how much risk you're willing to take. Don't be taken in by vague and misleading statements that "oral sex is safe" or "saliva kills the virus." Get the facts. Pick up one of the Taskforce brochures for lesbians or gay and bisexual men. And preserve your sexuality in a safe, sane and responsible way.

Memorial

Continued from Page 9.

munities that have been touched by AIDS. The one unifying element throughout the weekend was the Quilt, and one cannot walk on the Quilt and say that the gay community is being shunted aside or forgotten. Or that the NAMES Project would have it so.

The NAMES Project began in the gay community, our community. In the midst of horror and anguish and the threat of decimation, we helped create something beautiful and strong. When no one would listen, we helped create something that no one could ignore.

The Quilt is the most visible tribute ever created to the love that gay men have for each other. And that doesn't need speeches or candlelight services to be seen. That's there forever. But other people have added their panels too, and now the Quilt belongs to a larger audience. It belongs to that ever-increasing AIDS community.

Human beings divide themselves with many artificial boundaries: divisions of ideology, race, class, sexuality, and others. But the AIDS virus is not limited by these boundaries, and the NAMES Project must not be constrained by them either as we continue to touch the hearts of Americans and draw them into the fight against AIDS. ▼

I'M SERIOUS, HARRIET! I JUST CAN'T DO IT ANY MORE. I CAN'T GET UP ONE MORE DAY AND GO OUT INTO A WORLD WHERE ATROCITIES ARE BEING COMMITTED EVERY MINUTE WITH THE TAXES I'M WORKING TO PAY!

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BRIBING YOUR LOVER OUT OF BED WITH HOT BLUEBERRY MUFFINS ?

SMAK!