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Glide Memorial Gay-Bi Men's Group
Debrief from August 11, 2005 ScreeningLast night was the Glide Gay and Bi Men's Group event, "Do I Look Fat?" the one hour documentary on body image and eating disorders among gay and bisexual men. Directed by Travis Mathews, the film was followed by an hour long discussion with participants from the documentary, led by group co-facilitator, John Laino. The evening was hosted my former San Francisco Empress Donna Sachet, well-known and regarded in the GLBT community for her AIDS work and community activism.
Two hundred and three people attended the screening held in the San Francisco Main Library. Stewart Shaw of the library called the event the most successful of any he had seen at Koret Auditorium which holds 230 people. In terms of number of people attending, organization and the overall crowd, he was impressed by our work.
We began with a talking wall outside the venue. Paper and pens hung on a portion of the wall outside the auditorium where people were encouraged to complete the phrase, "My body is. . ." and "I thought the film was. . ." The writings will be recorded and make for a unique evaluation tool for this seldom discussed topic which is often mentioned around HIV risk and larger health promotion issues affecting many gay and bisexual men.
After viewing the documentary, questions around these issues were fielded by Travis, the director. One of the subjects of the film whose name escapes me, and Dr. Diane Budd, who provided a medical perspective drawn from her experience with patients dealing with food and body issues. This was an important piece that had not been included in previous screenings and was provided the perfect balance of science and compassionate understanding. John Laino was an excellent facilitator; knowledgeable and succinct. There was a near-perfect balance between questions exploring the topic and individuals feeling safe enough to tell their own stories around body image and food.
At the end of the evening a pitch was made for donations to HIV/AIDS Services and our own John Laino and George Bridges generously challenged those attending that they would match what was donated up to $1000 dollars each. By the end of the evening not only had we produced a compelling evening around a topic not often discussed, but also began some important work around building future collaborations with organizations like Stop AIDS and AIDS Health Project while raising the profile of Glide Foundation and our Gay and Bi Men's Group.
The evening was a quietly powerful demonstration that we are still in the business of AIDS prevention and play well with others while raising $1500 to continue our work.
Special thanks to Travis Mathews, John Laino and George Bridges as well as Dr. Budd. Donna Sachet's participation gave us credibility and raised our profile in the community and we are thankful for her participation. Stewart Shaw and The SF Library who provided the auditorium in exchange for a sponsorship credit and the Bay Area Reporter newspaper for doing the same (exchange for an ad). Thanks to Rev. Junker for her encouragement and support from Congregational Life. And thanks to the hundreds of people and tens organizations to whom we marketed through e-mail blasts over ten days as well as the businesses throughout the city who provided us with color posters to publicize this event.
Marcel Miranda
HIV/AIDS Services Manager
Glide Health Services
330 Ellis Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415-674-6160
mmiranda@glide.org