Page 76 - AVN JUNE 2021

TRANS BILLBOARD GRACES ROAD NEAR MAR-
A-LAGO
Folxhealth.com, a medical site devoted to queer and
trans health, erected a huge billboard on Florida’s I-95,
conveniently located right in front of Donald Trump’s
Mar-a-Lago country club. The sign reads TRANS LIVES
MATTER. Folx features online M.D.’s who dispense
prescriptions such as PreP, testosterone, and estrogen.
Rocco Kayiatos, VP of marketing at FOLX, says, “As a
man of transgender experience who began my transition
more than two decades ago, I never imagined a future,
because I could not see one. I would not have believed
that I would make it to a time in my life, where I would
be working for a company that would allow me to run a
billboard with this messaging. Let alone that I would be
working for a healthcare company dedicated to serving
LGBTQIA+ people and prioritizing trans people first.
“For trans people, visibility is about changing, affirming
and saving our lives. More than just seeing other trans
people’s images, the value of seeing a message—from
your car while driving on a freeway in Florida—that your
life is precious is just… I honestly would likely drop my
jaw, start to cry and careen off the road.“
THE HISTORY OF THE BEST EXPRESSION EVER
The chant “We’re here, we’re queer, get over it” originated
in New York City in 1990 by HIV/AIDS activists from ACT UP,
a political group that formed to end the AIDS pandemic of
the 1980’s. The founders reacted to the escalation of anti-
gay violence on the streets and in the media, and wanted
to increase LGBT visibility. They tried to end homophobia
with protest marches and events, such as showing up at
Macy’s during Olympic swimmer Greg Louganis’ swimsuit
line promotion to protest the maker of Wheaties, who refused
to put Louganis on the box because he was gay.
The group used the word “queer,” which was shocking
at first, but has been proudly re-claimed and the meaning
reversed to the positive, much like the word “gay” that once
replaced the once disparaging word queer.
Christina Capatides, producer of the CBS documentary
The Space Between, says, “Sexuality is who you go to bed
with, and gender is who you go to bed as.”
The Gallup poll brought up the question of whether there
are more LGBT people among Gen Z or if it’s just as Gallup
says “merely reflects a greater willingness of younger people
to identify” as not being totally hetero. Either way, older Baby
Boomer and Gen X gay, queer, lesbians and ahead-of-their-
time trans people paved the way for younger people to
express their sexuality without shame or fear.