unleash your inner gay

When I lived in Australia, I had the opportunity to take part in the most flaming & fabulous party in the whole world. That is The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras. Costumes, wild partying, flamboyance, debauchery. I mean what's not to love? You don't have to be gay to appreciate the show (I'm not). It's all one love after all, right? And what a celebration of that love, in all its diverse & colorful glory.

I was recruiting men to complete the Sydney Gay Community Periodic Survey, which served to track trends in perceptions & risk behaviors associated with HIV/AIDS. The data was used to inform health education & prevention campaigns. HIV/AIDS has been inextricably linked to the gay community for as long as it's been known to exist. This is mainly because when the disease first started rearing its ugly head (around 1981), it was concentrated within the gay community, leading many to prematurely & incorrectly label it the "gay disease." Fast forward years later, & while we still can't shake some of these misguided perceptions, we now know with absolute certainty that HIV/AIDS is not prejudiced or elitist in any way- it is an equal opportunity killer.

I was working, but wow, what a spectacle.



(I wish I took these. But no, I jacked them from other parts of the web).

This year marks the festival's 30th anniversary, so it's bound to be even more fantabulous. And Conde Nast Traveler has even named it amongst the top ten costume parades in the world. The partay starts today, February 9, so if you find yourself in that part of the world this month, sashay shante & go go go! Send me a postcard.