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May-June 2011

This45: RM Vaughan on the late art impresario Will Munro

RM VaughanWebsite

It is impossible to speak of Will Munro. It is easy to talk about Will Munro(s). Will Munro, the artist/activist/social wizard/impresario and all around wunderkind, passed away one lovely, clear-as-a-bell summer morning in 2010. He was 36. In that too-short time, Will produced an enormous amount of highly influential, DIY-infused art, reinvigorated the Toronto, and […] More »
July-August 2011

Interview: Chester Brown on sex, love, and Paying For It

Paul McLaughlinWebsite

His illustrated memoir tells all about being a john. Why did he abandon relationships? Chester Brown, 51, is an accomplished graphic novelist whose new book, Paying for It, depicts his decision in 1999 to abandon romantic relationships in favour of paying prostitutes for sex. Along the way, however, he still seemed to find a version, […] More »
March-April 2011

This45: Sky Gilbert on sex workers’ rights group Big Susie’s

Sky GilbertWebsite

I moved to downtown Hamilton, Ontario, in 2005. We bought our three-storey Victorian home near Copps Coliseum at a price that would have been unheard of in Toronto. The corner we lived on had been labelled “the most dangerous corner in Hamilton.” But my shaved head and tattoos stood out less here than in the […] More »

Three real reasons the "Carson Affair" is scandalous (none of which involve escorting)

victoria salvas

So there’s this scandal: Bruce Carson, a former adviser to Stephen Harper’s prime minister’s office, allegedly claimed ties to the PMO in order to move forward a deal with an Ottawa company that would provide water filtration systems to First Nations communities. This deal would mean a handsome payout to an employee of that company—who […] More »
March-April 2011

Interview: Silicone Diaries playwright-performer Nina Arsenault

Paul McLaughlinWebsite

Nina Arsenault has spent a fortune changing her appearance from male to female. The 37-year-old used to work in the sex trade, but now supports herself as a playwright, performer, and motivational speaker to queer youth. Her one-woman show, The Silicone Diaries, recently had a second highly successful run in Toronto, was later performed in […] More »
September-October 2009

How the University of Manitoba revolutionized HIV care in Nairobi

Siena AnstisWebsite

Blended into the colourful storefronts of Nairobi’s River Road area is the Sex Workers Outreach Program (SWOP), a discreet but accessible clinic offering HIV and STD testing and treatment to the estimated 7,000 prostitutes who work in the central business sector of Kenya’s capital city. While the clinic was created in close consultation with Nairobi’s […] More »

In the shadows too long, one of Kenya's gay male prostitutes speaks out for change

Siena AnstisWebsite

John Mathenke was once arrested for being gay but, after failing to pay the customary bribe, was forced to have sex with the policeman. He had an orgy with a priest who publicly excoriates homosexuality, along with five other Masaai boys. And his Arab trader clients curse him during the day, but come back looking […] More »