XXX-Men
Chicago journalist Owen Keenhen, former writer for Penthouse Forum, has written "STARZ" (StarBooks Press), containing a collection of sixty interviews he conducted with gay porn stars. "I used to work in a bookstore and people would always come in searching for reading material focusing on the industry and gay literature in general. Soon I realized that there was a demand for it, so I wrote a proposal, found an audience and the rest is history." After being introduced to a few industry celebrities at the IML (International Mr. Leather) in Chicago, Keenhen began his research. "I talked to a few big names who were very helpful and provided a lot of insight about the business and personal experiences. Once other stars saw that I was not judging or criticizing, but just providing an outlet for them to tell their story and inform, then they became less resistant," says Keenhen. He continues, "A lot of these stars are paying a college debt, saving for a house, or paying child support. This profession is about much more than sex: I wanted to show that these guys do work in an industry were it is all about projecting a fantasy on them but they are regular people, and that the stereotype of gay porn stars needs to be lifted."

Bathhouse Benefit
Steamworks, 3246 North Halsted, has just announced that it is the first and only bathhouse in the U.S. to offer free genotype testing for men who test positive for HIV. "This is a pretty big breakthrough," says Jeff Kant, director of Steamworks' Health Information and Education Programs, of the Center for Disease Control's decision to underwrite such a program for CALOR, an HIV/AIDS prevention and care agency that targets Latino men, and with whom Steamworks is collaborating on this project. Genotype testing is a process by which doctors can isolate what drugs will work on a specific virus, significantly cutting down on the trial-and-error method of prescribing a suitable treatment that doctors--and more important, HIV patients--would otherwise have to deal with. "It's a snapshot of where your virus is at--where your resistance is--and it eliminates a lot of the guesswork," says Kant. "I want to stress the importance of this. People in a low-income situation can now have this test without having to push and shove and beg and borrow to be able to benefit from this extremely expensive technology."

(2006-02-07)

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