sundance

Legalizing The Gays

A lot of people think the end of the world is something that will happen abruptly when no one’s expecting it, like a great flood (Katrina), or massive earthquake (there’s a big one yearly—Haiti, Virginia all the way up the east coast—but who’s counting) or even an alien race intent on genocide before plunging the planet’s natural resources. But good social conservatives, and the occasional homophobe, have been seeing the warning signs for decades. Slowly but surely equal rights have been granted to homosexuals in America. Can you believe it? They want to be like everyone else. Here are a few highlights from the past that make this eschatological theory plausible.

Naked news: the frothy mixture edition

With Santorum’s recent surge in the polls, it’s important to take time out to remind ourselves what a crazy sex-police zealot he is:

• Writing about Santorum’s “Google problem,” a New York Times writer says Dan Savage’s prank was in response merely to the senator’s opposition to gay marriage, so Dan Savage sets him straight (try Santorum’s comparison of homosexuality to bestiality and child rape); the writer corrects his mistake.
• On Funny or Die, Dan Savage comedically threatens to change the definition of the name “Rick” if Santorum doesn’t agree to stop attacking gay people during his campaign.

Wedding photos from New York’s first day of legal gay marriage

Our photographer friend David Jacobs (he took our deceptively flattering bio pic) was hired by Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, to document New York’s first day of legal gay marriage this past Monday at Manhattan’s City Hall. HRC will soon have more on their site, but for now here’s a round-up of the day’s events by their National Field Director, Marty Rouse. And below is our friend Dave’s take on events (he’s not gay, but he’s married and does rock the occasional pink shirt with flare), followed by more of his cool photos of the happy couples.

Gay self-hating re-examined in new film

Mart Crowley’s landmark play The Boys in the Band was first produced in 1968, a year before the Stonewall rebellion changed the face of modern gay movement with defiance and pride.

In its bitchy and witty portrayal of a group of friends sharing dangerous New York party games that often verge on the sadistic and self-loathing, it represents a darker moment in gay identity—one the LGBT community has long wanted to turn its back on in shame.

But enough time has passed that people are more willing to embrace the play (and the 1970 film version, directed by Wiliam Friedkin) as an important step forward in gay representation and catharsis.

In fact, Boys has engendered so much new lovin’ that it’s the subject of a documentary, Crayton Robey‘s Making The Boys, coming out this month in an attempt to put the work in its proper historical place.

As one of the talking heads in the film—along with Crowley, Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, and many more—I’m qualified to make several defenses of the original play.

Jeff Sheng, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Jeff Sheng’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is ongoing photo project which is a “series of portraits of closeted men and women currently serving in the United States military. [The artist] purposely shot each image in a way that obscures to some degree the identity of the individuals, and the final image that is released to [...]

Corduroy skirts are a sin

It is hard being a homo these days. Every time I turn on the TV I see more crimes against us and more laws passed limiting gay marriage and then, on top of all that, we have to put up with hateful protesters. One of my gay brothers, Chris Pesto, a student at Syracuse, had [...]

Let’s end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell…finally

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c The Gay After Tomorrow www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview We sure do wish Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show” would address reproductive rights more…ever. Oh, well, nobody’s perfect. At least there’s one sexual issue they tackle well…and often: [...]

UK government apologies to Alan Turing

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week issued a postmortem formal apology to Alan Turing for its “appalling” and “utterly unfair” treatment of Turing because he was gay. Turing was a brilliant English “mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst” whose work led to the breaking of World War II Germany’s Enigma codes as well as developing theories which [...]

Redesigning the gay flag

Rainbow colors were displayed everywhere in New York City (even Mother Nature got in on the celebration) this weekend, which culminated in the annual gay pride march down Fifth Avenue. Worldstudio presents some alternatives for a redesign of “the ubiquitous symbol of gay pride: the rainbow flag.” I think they’re a bit “meh,” but I [...]

Loving Day

On this day in 1967, the Supreme Court unanimously decided in Loving v. Virginia that Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law was unconstitutional and violated both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.