November 28, 2003 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 19

Internet dating isn't any safer that the regular kind

by L. Michael Gipson

Stop the presses! Internet dating has finally hit Cleveland's black gay community.

Some of the city's older black gay readers may be thinking that they've been Internet dating for several years, so what's the big deal? Well, these days the news is how young the average black gay Internet dater has become. Most web profiles for e-personals indicate that many of Cleveland's black gay men on the web are high school to collegeaged youth. Another difference is that young black gay men are using the Internet as their primary source for socializing and meeting men as alternative social spaces in Cleveland for them have diminished.

Back in the day, there was Numbers, Porky's, Keys and a few other hot spots. Guys would come from all over the region to party in Cleveland. A man could use three or four options a week to socialize with other black gay people.

"When I left Cleveland, a few years later, there were almost none," said Larry Webb, co-founder of Blackout Unlimited.

Unfortunately for Cleveland's men in the life, the one party exclusively earmarked for the black LGBT community-Club 727's Saturday night party--is primarily devoted to black lesbian and bisexual women. With

the city's recent export of its black gay Pied Piper, DJ Robbie Rob, 727 loses the one draw it had for the few black gay men who would trickle into the party. All of these circumstances collude to leave the young black gay man with fewer spaces to socialize.

A lot of white gay clubs don't want black men there, and 727 is the only black club. But let's stop playing: 727 is only one night a week and that night is really for women. That leaves black gay men with almost no safe places to meet each other. So they hang out at friends' houses or meet guys on the chat lines and Internet, says 24-year-old Mario, a youth leader.

While the city's party promoters may have forgotten this niche market, the web community boasts of several sites devoted to the dating, social, political and, of course, sexual needs of black gay men privileged with Internet access. Ebony Male, Hot Boyz, Street Thugz, Cleveland Thugz, Chocolate City USA, Da Brotherhood, and many other dotcoms all serve Cleveland's black LGBT market. Telephone chat lines like Interactive Male and Mega Phone bridge the gap for those men not able to afford Internet access, all supplying men with endless aural or visual stimulation and possible sexual hookups with other black men.

Straight black web sites may be the most

Taskforce honors five 'Voices Against the Silence'

by Judy Price

Cleveland-Four individuals and one group have been honored with the AIDS Taskforce of Cleveland's "Voices Against the Silence" award for their work in the HIV and AIDS community.

The annual award is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of compassionate individuals and organizations that take the time to make a difference in the HIV and AIDS community. They are co-workers, friends, and families-heroes. Their voices help to end the silence of HIV and AIDS.

The agency distributed hundreds of nomination forms, which resulted in dozens of strong recommendations for the Voices award. A committee including non-Taskforce community leaders and advisors helped select the recipients.

The five honorees will be invited as special guests by the agency to attend the Voices Against the Silence Awards Ceremony on Sunday, November 30 at Windows on the River in Cleveland's Flats.

The Voices Against the Silence award recipients for 2003 are:

Michael Goldberg, an attorney with Goldberg & O'Shea, who has volunteered many hours of legal services advocating for people adversely affected by HIV and AIDS discrimination-both in the courtroom and in the media—and is now assisting in the establishment of a legal services program to the needs of HIV-positive

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people in the community.

Junior Nationals Performing Group "A" of Spotlight Dance Studio, an inspiring group of young dancers from the Cleveland suburb of Willoughby Hills, aged 11 to 13, who raised $22,000 this spring for Dancers Responding to AIDS, and served as the dynamic co-chairs of the 2003 Dr. John T. Carey Memorial AIDS Walk.

Chico Lewis, an impassioned and tireless counselor and mentor to injection drug users at risk of HIV infection, an outreach worker for the Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland's Syringe Exchange Program, who has played a key role in reducing HIV rates in Greater Cleveland.

Robert W. Toth, an openly HIV-positive activist, educator, volunteer and member of the Ryan White Title I Planning Council, has fostered awareness of the AIDS epidemic through a wide range of activities, including educating legislators, writing dozens of pieces on the topic of AIDS, and serving as a panel member of the Capacity Building Initiative of the AIDS Taskforce.

Ted Wammes is a member of the Ohio AIDS Coalition Board of Trustees and Cleveland's Community Relations Board. He has spearheaded the planning of OAC conferences, led workshops regarding the civil rights and legal responsibilities of people with HIV, and advocated for fair and appropriate HIV funding at state and federal levels. ✓

Judy Price is the development director for the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland.

progressive institutions in the black community when it comes to black gay men. Each of the major black sites with personals, including Black Planet and Black Voices, provide cruising spaces for black gay and bisexual

men.

It's the bisexual part that gives some female E. Lynn Harris readers pause, since it is their sexual partners creating Black Planet's and Black Voices' rows of pictureless profiles requesting discreet inquires only, an insider's notice to potential male partners that respect for duplicity is required.

However, none of these sites boasts more social and sexual traffic than the big guns: 'America Online's men for men chat rooms and Yahoo personals and groups. The latter literally hosts hundreds of e-groups for black gay men to exchange porn, home numbers, and conversation about everything from R&B divas to erotic wrestling.

Still, what does all of this virtual access mean for these black men? Is meeting anonymous men through the computer safer than meeting them under the influence of drugs and alcohol in a bar or club? One could assume that it's safer than meeting men in public sex environments like Edgewater Park or the adult bookstores, but is it really?

Internet dating, like any type of dating, is inherently risky. However, Internet dating may be even more dangerous because of the anonymity. People can hide behind keyboards and say anything. Since the majority of Internet users are youth, that leaves young people more vulnerable to predators, according to Jon Everett, interim executive director of Blackout Unlimited.

Safety certainly is a concern for youth programs that are trying to keep young black men who have sex with men from contracting HIV or becoming the victim of an Internet psycho. Programs like the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland's Brother2 Brother YMSM program and Club 1722 Youth Project target young men of color with HIV testing, prevention workshops, and social marketing campaigns aimed at keeping these men HIV-free.

Throughout 2003, these programs threw a virtual social calendar of events at young

black gay men in an attempt to reach a population that would otherwise be invisible in Cleveland. At program-coordinated basketball games, talent shows, the nation's first known Blatino LGBT Homecoming, and vogue ball after vogue ball, three this year alone, young men found safe environments to be themselves.

In addition, with an estimated one in three black men under 25 coping with HIV, these programs structure each function to drive home the message to young black men that the AIDS epidemic is still stalking them.

To expand their reach, the Brother2 Brother program recently increased their programming to include a three-day drop-in center for LGBT youth of color to create more social and safety outlets for the population. However, even at these programs, young men sit in the computer labs perusing websites that cater to them and their desires. The fascination with Internet dating leaves some program staff justifiably nervous.

"I have deep concerns about the way that young kids can be taken advantage of by older men," says Tracy Jones, associate executive director of the AIDS Taskforce of Cleveland. "We've seen too many examples of kids getting into situations that are downright dangerous."

Dangerous or not, as long as young black gay and bisexual men have few options, Internet dating seems here to stay. So what should Internet dating youth do to increase their safety? Jon Everett offers these timeless words of advice.

"I suggest that people never, never ever meet people alone or somewhere where others are not present. Don't meet him at your home until after you get to know him. Bring a friend on your first meeting to make sure that someone else can identify him in case an emergency occurs. Be cautious about posting your picture, address, or telephone number. Use the same common sense you'd use when meeting a stranger on the street: just be careful!"

L. Michael Gipson consults with northeast Ohio AIDS service organizations on public outreach.

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