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  DJ Freddie Fagula holds a feminist icon sculpture in support of Planned Parenthood Planned Parenthood has been in the news a lot lately, fighting for there very existence. But even when PP is “completely” funded, there scope is technically limited to the prevention of baby-making. Lots of women take advantage of their medical services, contraceptives and other resources. But not every woman needs the meds or paps because she has sex with men, and while plenty of us fudge the truth in order to get services local PP workers knew that this policy was unfair and wanted to do something about it. That’s why they created the Equal Access Fund.
The Equal Access Fund, established by PPCW, gives low-income lesbians, bisexual women and trans people the same access to affordable annual exams and Pap tests as low-income heterosexual women, and increases access to health care to an underserved population. The fund removes the requirement of seeking contraception to access no-cost annual exams.
I a recent survey in three Portland health centers, front-line staff members estimated that in a single month, six lesbians decided not to access services because they could not afford them and were not eligible for CCare. We estimate that annually 150-175 women in our service area decide not to access services because they cannot afford it.
We also suspect that man more low-income lesbian, bisexual and trans patients at PPCW request and take home contraception they don’t require because they need help from FPEP to pay for their services This subterfuge puts up additional barriers between patients and their health care providers, making an honest discussion about relationships, sexual behavior and risk factors even more difficult for women who may be already hesitant to speak freely.
Consistently facing financial woes, the completely donor funded EAF is holding a trivia night benefit tomorrow night at Crush (1400 SE Morrison). We got a chance to sit down with some of the organizers on the eve of their big fundraiser to ask a little bit more about the program.
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 Punk roots rock and insurgent country musician Shawna Virago. Photo by CROD
This Friday the Tranny Roadshow was in town and new qPDX photo contributor Clara Rodriguez was there to catch all the action in photos, in case you missed it.
Meanwhile I was around the bend at Crave‘s Purple Rain party which was a royal success. And the Prince-themed party has plenty of photos courtesy OSI […]
 your chance for a quiet night in.. A grab bag of important/not so important stuff…first, a brief afternoon update on the happenings tonight. Just so you know it is NOT doubledown tonight @ holocene (we had it on the calendar and it were wrong, so, apologies, holocene is closed for a private party tonight. I want to have a private party at holocene, damnit!) I also have family in town all the way from Planet Urop, so i’m not getting as much blogging in as I usually do.
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 It's Portland Gay Pride - Parade Time! We’re nearing the end now folks! But there are still a few opportunities to get down and dirty and maybe even shake your tailfeather…
Sunday is of course the day of the Pride Parade, which starts *around* 11:15 – Sunday corner of Broadway and Davis and goes down to the waterfront/Tom McCall Park. Watch for float no #94, that’s us, yours truly! And we have some amazing, stunning news for you- the elusive SuperGay has contacted us via a sekrit communication channel and announced that they will be supporting us by being part of our Pride Float!! We’re super excited for SuperGay – I, Perry, have to go see a man about a dog on Sunday, so I’m very glad SuperGay will sup-port us, geddit? OK, enough puns, y’all know the parade and afterparty at the park are the highlights of Sunday…stay hydrated!
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The Red Dress Party is an annual charity event whose proceeds go towards supporting gay youth, and helps friends, neighbors and family members living with HIV/AIDS and other serious diseases.
 Oprah was there too (image courtesy of byronbeck.com) It’s an annual event here in Portland, and in 2009 over 2000 people attended (according to their website) Sadly, No one from QPDX.com could make it, but in tried-and-true Portland DIY style, I decided to quiz one of my favourite barmen, the lovely Steve from Crush, about his experiences at this year’s Red Dress Party, and luckily he obliged me!
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Last weekend was intense. I went to FAME on wednesday, the RedCap for RuPaul’s drag race on Thursday, Crave and Portland is Burning on Friday, and Gaycation @ Holocene on Saturday.
 G-SPOT @ Crush Bar on Thursdays No wonder my eyes (lots of cute people around), legs (dancing!!), arms (a boy’s gotta drink, no), and wallet are feeling pretty tired. And I know some of you (Hi Max! Hi Alley!) did part of that circuit with me, so you’re probably feeling the same way.So the good news is that this weekend seems to be a slow one, with only Fruitcake and a benefit for Rock Camp on our radar so far. That gives us all plenty of time to withdraw and regroup…
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This past weekend saw a stretch of intense partying for at least 2/3rds of your QPDX crew, so pardon us while we recover momentarily and start summing all of this weekend’s great events for you! Starting off the night on Friday was Portland’s newest lesbian dance night-CRAVE.
 Crave - Monthly lesbian dance party at Crush I had a chance to stop by on Friday and speak with some of the organizers, dancers and partiers in attendance, and if the clubgoers satisfaction is the best gauge of a party, then Crave is already a hit. Held at one of my favourite bars in Portland, Crush, Crave is a “stylish, fashionable, hip, themed dance party with lovely, sexy ladies, geared towards the 21-40 crowd who appreciate beautiful women”, according to organizer Mirage. And while the stated upper age limit of 40 is a bit high (I barely saw anybody into their 30’s), Crave delivers on the promise of themed nights, pumping dance music and enthusiastic dancers. “It’s a great party,” dancer Piper told me outside, “everyone is having fun, getting down. I love the vibe, it’s awesome”, and party attendees I spoke to echoed the same sentiments. “The music is pumpin,” my friend Byz said, ” The girls are hot, the drinks keep coming, it’s awesome.”
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There’s a lot going on tomorrow night! But there’s also lube wrestling. Wrestling drunk people all lubed up might be a little messy, but the owner of the bar assures me that the wrestling pit will be in a contained area. You will still be able to dance if wrestling isn’t your thing.
Crave, the monthly queer ladies dance party at Crush will feature three things dear to my […]
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