ju s t o u t ▼ m ay 3 , 1 0 9 0 ▼ 3
just out
since 1983
PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
Renée LaChance
steppin’ out
contents
VOL. 13 NO. 13 MAY 3,1996
ASSISTANT PUBLISHER
Ten Ventura
FEATURES
COPY EDITORS
Grin and ballot
Kelly M. Bryan
Jeff Boswell
Just O ut’.s endorsements fo r
the May 21 primary
(P. 17)
REPORTERS
Inga Sorensen
Bob Roehr
Rex Wockner
Dishing it out
Right-wing Christian radio is
a mouse that roars
CALENDAR EDITOR
Kristine Chatwood
(p. 21)
PHOTOGRAPHER
Linda Kliewer
DEPARTMENTS
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Meg Grace
World news
ADVERTISING REPS
Iceland legalizes same-sex
registered partnerships
(P- 4)
C. Jay Wilson Jr.
Marty Davis
National news
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
E. Ann Hinds
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Rupert Kinnard
FORMATTER
Christopher Cuttone
TYPESETTER
Christopher Cuttone
Work has begun to make the home o f Rupert Kinnard, creator o f Cathartic Comics and Just O ut’s graphic designer,
accessible fo r wheelchair use. Rupert was injured in an automobile accident on April 7; he is now paralyzed from the
waist down. A team o f volunteers is constructing entry ramps and putting in wider doors prior to his return from the
hospital. Jack (the activist/radio host formerly known as Linda Shirley) wields the phone while Dan Kahn, Marygail
Sullivan, Matt Wverker, Madelyn Elder and Cynthia White take a break. Volunteer building crew members not pictured
are Ali Rice and Sumitra Red Wing.
DISTRIBUTION
Ambling Bear
Rachel Ebora
Helen Ford
CONTRIBUTORS
Kristine Chatwood
Cathay Che
Rachel Ebora
Kevin Isom
Lee Lynch
Richard Shumate
Daniel Vaillancourt
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guest editorial
Time for Reality
The FDA should approve marketing the “female condom ”
for use in male -male anal sex
1
by Bob Roehr
eality is not just a state of existence, it is also the
brand name of a “female condom.” Both have been
missing in efforts to halve the spread of HIV.
The device, approved by the Food and Drug
Administration in 1993 for vaginal use, is a poly
urethane pouch, larger and stronger than a traditional latex
condom, which is inserted by receptive partners prior to sex.
Reality was developed to empower women with the option of
taking their own precautions and not having to rely on male
partners to use condoms.
This philosophy of protective empowerment applies as well
to “bottoms” in male-male anal sex. But an FDA official
reportedly told the manufacturer that approval would never be
given for marketing the product for anal use by men because
sodomy is illegal in some states.
In fact, following the logic of that FDA official, no condom
of any sort would ever have been approved for use in male-male
sex by the agency because they all can be, and in fact are,
regularly used illegally in some states.
The FDA should be chastised for taking such a bogus stand
in opposition to approval of Reality for male-male use. But fault
also lies with the manufacturer for not challenging the simplis
tic denial of the FDA and for not pushing for those trials and
subsequent approval.
In fact, the manufacturer knew it didn’t have to incur the
additional expense because once the product was approved, so-
called “off label” use by males could and would occur. Off label
use has become an accepted part of life with many drugs,
especially those that are AIDS-related.
Additionally, the manufacturer should not have shied away
from marketing Reality for use by gay men once it gained initial
FDA approval. Both “male” and “female” condoms are ap
proved for prevention of pregnancy and disease, neither is
specifically approved for same-sex purposes. But that hasn’t
stopped manufacturers from advertising traditional condoms
in gay magazines. Reality should have been aggressively
marketed to the gay community.
But perhaps the saddest players in this tale of Reality are the
organizations set up to stop the spread of HIV infection among
gay men. They have been absent, woefully ignorant and star
tlingly silent on this tool, which could be a cornerstone of AIDS
prevention within our community.
Reality has been available since 1993. Anyone can buy and
use it. But our local prevention organizations haven’t seized the
opportunity to make it an integral part of stopping the spread of
AIDS.
Where are the baskets of free “female condoms” at the bars
and bathhouses? Or even the vending machines for them?
Where is the educational effort to inform “bottoms” how to
protect themselves?
Is that absence simply the product of massive bureaucratic
ineptitude? Or is it a bottom-line decision because “male”
condoms are cheaper? Is there some underlying macho psy
chology that values the insertive, active male, yet has a blind
spot for the receptive, passive male?
Regardless of what the underlying explanation is, the situ
ation has to change. Reality must become an immediate and
long overdue priority of HIV prevention in the gay men’s
community.
The Olympic torch will not be
run through Cobb County;
appeals court says “don 7 ask,
don 7 tell" not strong enough
(PP- 5-9)
Local news
K K EYRadio’s Love Makes a
Family may go national
(PP- 10-13)
COLUMNS
Family values
YWCA’s Family CampOUT
spells summer fun
( P - 15)
Petal pushers
April showers bring a new
gardening column
(P- 39)
Peach buzz
Kevin can 7 bear
chest-shaving
(p. 40)
Amazon trail
Some lesbians are fine with
invisibility
(p. 41)
ARTS
Cinema
A peek inside Celluloid
Closet; Cats and Dogs reigns
(pp. 31-34)
Tongue in groove
After the show with Tribe 8
(p. 35)
Books
Explore Frank Browning’s
Queer Geography
(p. 37)