The Groping Cardinal Resigns; Pope and Trans Prisoners; Russell Tovey's Sex With Straight Guys

The Groping Cardinal Resigns

This story about a Catholic cardinal who was allegedly groping priests in private while chanting anti-gay marriage slurs in public is amazing. I know I'm repeating myself, but for me it hits home because I personally knew a high ranking bishop and monsignor who lived right here in New Hope for years and lived double lives. They never told any of their gay friends they were high ranking Catholic priests working and fulfilling their job duties. And I know they never told any of their parishioners anything about their private lives. It gets even more complicated because they had a third guy...more than twenty years younger...in their relationship.

For years we wondered what they did for a living because they never actually said what they did. There always seemed to be plenty of money around. They lived well. When their home recently went up for sale and all public records were disclosed everyone found out their true identities with a simple name search. I still don't know if their parishioners or the Catholic Church knows. But there are photos of them from one end of the Internet to the other performing as priests. It's an interesting feeling, to be duped that way by people you considered very good friends. I don't recommend it.

In any event, the Cardinal who resigned is even worse than my story. I don't think the people I knew ever openly slammed gays. At least not as far as I know.

Prior to the revelation, he had launched a 'war' on same-sex marriage in the UK. He likened it to slavery, child abuse and moral degradation.

But he was exposed as a hypocrite, with several priests coming forward to say O'Brien had made unwanted sexual advances towards them in the 1980s. It was also alleged he had a long-term secret boyfriend.

When O'Brien resigned and fled to live in self-imposed exile, the UK lost one of its most homophobic voices and 'respected' leaders against same-sex marriage. Without him, same-sex marriage undoubtedly had an easier ride to becoming legal in England, Wales and Scotland.

You can read more here. No further comment from me. 

Pope and Trans Prisoners

The Pope is at it again. He's having lunch with transgendered prisoners in Naples and it's making news as if we should all expect something different from him. Don't get me wrong, I think it's wonderful that he's doing this on a certain level for humanity in general, but I by no means expect to hear him support gay marriage or equal rights on even the smallest scale. Gays are only welcomed into the church under certain conditions, at least officially anyway. I know the rules are bent often because I went to 12 years of Catholic school. I don't need any lessons on being Catholic. I have been there personally.

The head of the Catholic Church will visit a local prison in Naples, planning to break bread with 90 inmates including a contingent reserved for LGBTIs and those living with HIV and AIDS.

It is being reported the visit was not intended to include lunch, according to TV2000, but the pope apparently insisted on breaking bread with the prisoners.

You can read more here. I think what bothers me the most about this is that the Pope will do or say something that appears positive for LGBT people all over the world, it will make headlines and millions of gay people will feel so much better about themselves, and then he will slam us with the same old discrimination and shame we've been living with for years.That's good publicity for him, and mixed signals for us.

I'm not falling for it anymore. I wish him well and I do think the majority of what he does has been far better than any previous Pope we've seen. We just can't expect too much from him.

Russell Tovey's Sex With Straight Guys

Russell Tovey seems to be making interesting comments all over the place these days. Now they are talking about Russell Tovey, from Looking, having sex with straight guys for work related purposes. Although, I think we all have a sex with a straight guy story hidden somewhere. I know I have a few.

Here's how Tovey deals with it.

'It's easier doing those scenes with another gay man than it is a straight man,' he told Heat. 

''The same way I feel fine doing sex scenes with a woman.

''When I'm doing a sex scene with an actor who is straight, I feel a huge sense of responsibility not to feel like I'm taking advantage or anything.

''Like, I'll only touch their balls if it says so in the script.'

Tovey also admitted to being conscious of his appearance during his raunchy scenes for 'Looking'.

There's more here. I think he's being too gracious (or he's full of crap). The straight men I knew never seemed shy about anything. They know what they want and how to get it. Straight men are like that, and that's by no means a bad thing...for the most part.

 

The Way We ALMOST Were

A Gay Parody

  

 Amazon 

 

 

Offending Straight Allies; Looking Season Two; Mark Schultz and Foxcatcher

Offending Straight Allies

I think I come to this topic from a different POV because I'm so familiar with book circles and places where discussions about feminism, equality, and racism take place. I don't always participate, but I learn a great deal by lurking. Not a day goes by on Twitter where I don't learn something new about rape culture and the way women have been mistreated at the expense of those who come from a place of privilege. So with all that in mind, I found this article to which I'm linking a bit self-loathing in tone and far too apologetic in nature.

The gist of the piece revolves around whether or not LGBT people are offending or alienating their straight allies by expecting them to know everything about LGBT people and for them not being PC enough. Evidently, it's mean of us to point out that a straight person is wrong if he asks who is the man or woman in a gay dating relationship. While several of the points are valid and I do think we've become an overly PC society in many respects, as a member of the LGBT community who gets a punch in the face almost daily I don't think it's too much to ask for the same respect...and political correctness...we give all other minorities.
 
3. Remember the big picture.
Pick your battles and keep the bigger picture in mind. When discussing difficult or touchy topics, give people room to voice their opinions. Let them say their piece, and rather than formulating a retort for every problematic assertion and microaggression, step back and listen for the bigger picture. What is the most important part of this discussion?

I think that statement is way off base and it should be the other way around. I would like the same respect afforded to all other minorities as an LGBT person. And that's because it's so rare when I actually do get it. When I say that I experience a different brand of discrimination daily, even from those who considered themselves allies, I am not joking around.

You can read the rest of the article here. As you'll see, there are very different opinions on this one.

To put this into perspective, think about how Michael Sam has been treated as a pro athlete. The ridiculous questions he's been asked by "allies" about gay men in locker rooms, not to mention the idiotic conversation this topic has spawned in the news, should not be happening at all. It should not even be mentioned, not even by gay allies. And we as a community should be proud enough to make this clear to our straight allies without worrying about whether or not we offend them.

Looking Season Two

Here's a piece about the second episode of season two's, Looking. I've posted a lot about Looking since it launched and everything's been positive. I love the show. But I'm starting to wonder where the storyline is going, because at this point it looks as if cheaters are winning and infidelity is something to be proud of...because you're gay, living in SF, and can do anything you want. I'm thinking they might be making a statement about the Peter Pan Syndrome? And that's how they're going to wind it up somehow? 

See, Pat isn’t snuggling cozily with his boyfriend: he’s engaging in a little post-prandial banter with his partnered boss in a motel so sleazy that even Agustin wouldn’t touch it. The soft golden glow that they’re basking in isn’t the rising sun, but the glare of the sky during lunch break filtered through curtains that need the regret scrubbed out of them.

Of course this happens in real life. People in relationships/marriages meet other people and cheat all the time. However, I don't think I've ever seen a situation like this treated so lightly in a long time. The one issue I have about it is I can't help wondering if Patrick is really that dumb...or rather is he too old to be that dumb? He's bouncing around SF, fooling around with a man in a supposedly monogamous relationship, and he's treating it as if it's nothing...and telling his BFFs all about it as if it's prom night. I could buy into this storyline if Patrick was in his early twenties, maybe, but he's clearly old enough to know that cheating sucks, cheaters suck, and what he's doing is really up the alley of douchebaggery whether your are gay or straight. And don't tell me this is part of gay culture, because it's not part of the gay culture I know. In a gay relationship, infidelity is as serious as in a straight relationship and I've never met a gay person who didn't take this seriously.

In any event, I'll continue watching just to see where this is all going. But in their attempt to make old enough to know better Patrick appear naive what they are doing is really making him come off worse than the most horrible stereotype of the other woman. The biggest worry Patrick had last night was whether or not he got an STD or bedbugs instead of worrying about the fact that another man's partner is pounding his more than willing ass into the next month.

You can read more here.  

Mark Schultz and Foxcatcher

I posted about the movie, Foxcatcher, a short time ago here. It's a film about the misguided heir to a huge fortune, John du Pont, and his obession with pro wrestling...and hot pro wrestlers. If you're interested you can click the link to find out more. I'm curious about the movie because it happened here, locally, in the Philadelphia area. I remember the case in detail, even all these years later. And mostly because of what was NOT talked about at the time to cover up the gay angle. You know, to protect the innocent.

The film is based on the life of Mark Schultz, a retired wrestler, and he originally slammed the film because he was worried people would think he had a gay relationship with John du Pont. God forbid. You know, you can do anything but don't have a gay relationship.

Now he's changed his tune:

Schultz had previously lashed out at the film on social media: 'Leaving the audience with a feeling that somehow there could have been a sexual relationship between duPont and I is a sickening and insulting lie.' 

He said director Bennett Miller told him the scene was meant to give the audience the feeling that duPont was encroaching on his privacy and personal space. 

Since it wasn't explicit, Schultz had said he didn't have a problem with it until reviews interpreted it sexually which was 'jeopardizing my legacy.' 

He now feels badly about the public rants against the movie which was nominated for five Oscars last week - including a directing nod for Miller. 

'I apologize to you before the world Bennett. I'm sorry,' he tweeted. 'I think the problem I had was the context of the movie. It's what happened was so hard. My brother's murder. My career ruined.'

I can't comment because I haven't seen the film yet. However, I can comment on how sick and tired I am of straight men claiming that there is nothing worse than when someone accuses them of being gay. It's time to get a little PC about this one, too. I know John du Pont was CLEARLY no bargain, however, I'm not taking insults for John du Pont or anyone else anymore.

The reviews for this film have been interesting. Every single mainstream hetero publication seems to be praising it, while this one catches the main point I can't help over looking. And you won't find this review with a simple search. What's most interesting is how straight people coming from a place of privilege seem to find nothing wrong with this portrayal at all. And I mean interesting because I didn't see the film and can't comment yet. I will make of point of doing that soon.

This, in part, is what I read in OUT.

Switch the title Foxcatcher to what gays used to call “Chicken Hawk.” Miller’s homophobia is all in code—what his hypocritical admirers might call “discretion.” But as in Capote, it’s really just Miller’s suspicion of sex; his desiccated hatred of eroticism. These meaty athletes are non-sensual. Mark and Dave’s Of Mice and Men relationship seems quasi-incestuous and du Pont's claim, “I do not share my mother’s affection for horse flesh,” is surely a tortured double-entendre. For dirty talk, du Pont and Mark repeat the words “ornithologist, philatelist, philanthropist” at each other—a failed SNL skit.

New Adult Love Story

Amazon .99 

 

 

Jonathan Groff's Anal Cover; Gay Soccer Player Won't Come Out; Pastor Preyed On Women

Jonathan Groff Sex Scenes

In this article Looking star, Jonathan Groff, talks about how his sex scenes are really filmed. He wears an "anal cover" for the rimming scenes, and a "dick sock" in other scenes.

‘The intimacy on Looking is challenging because we are in nothing but like a dick sock and an anal cover and our legs are in the air,’ Groff explains.

He adds: ‘I feel like in some ways those scenes are the most challenging and easiest at the same time.’

You can read more here. Looking, in spite of some snarky reviewers who can't relate to a certain kind of gay man, has been renewed for a second season.

I know what a dick sock is, but I've never actually heard the term "anal cover" before.

Gay Soccer Player Won't Come Out

This article is particularly interesting to me because I read a commentary today about m/m romance and it sounded a little glib with regard to how much things are changing and how gay men aren't facing quite the same obstacles anymore. I don't think it meant to be glib. But that's how it sounded to a gay man. It made me wonder, as a gay man, if I had stepped into an alternate universe for a moment. I'm still debating about whether or not to post about it. Not that it would do any good. When I read these things I always feel like the only woman who has actually experienced giving birth in a room full of straight men who are talking about what it's like to give birth. It's an odd place to be. But then gay discrimination...and lack of respect for gay people...comes in many forms these days.

In any event, there's a soccer player who spoke anonymously about why he won't come out in public, and he gives an example of what happened to him when his team found out he was gay.

“By chance the team I was in found out that I was gay.

After a training session I walked into the shower and I realized all of my teammates weren’t naked,but were wearing underpants.

Of course I was totally shocked, and first I didn’t know why. Then I slowly realized: It’s because of me. In that moment I thought my career was over. I didn’t want to go to training anymore.

But after a week I went back to training. By the end of the season though, I was out of contention because I’d been playing badly. Nevertheless, I thought I’d played a good season.

That showed me that being gay just isn’t accepted in football. And that won’t change in the near future.”

There you are. I'm certain he's not the only gay man in professional sports, corporate America, or any other walk of life where straight men still dominate that feels this way. For most, it is still too risky to come out. You can get a great part playing gayface these days in Hollywood if you are a straight actor, which is fine. But we don't see many openly gay actors playing straight romantic roles yet.

You can read the rest here.  


Pastor Preyed on Women

This is the kind of hypocrisy that always guts me. There's a pastor in Texas who claimed transgenders were predators and he didn't want them around children. It was discovered he was actually preying on women himself.

Baker added to KHOU news sation: ‘The imagery that I have in my mind is a grown man going into the restroom with a six-year-old girl, sitting alongside behind her, using the restroom.’

 But city records have revealed Baker was placed on indefinite suspension from the city after the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reportedly found Baker had sexually harassed female employees.

There's more here.

Side note: there's a fascinating cover story this week in Time Magazine about civil rights and transgender people. I can't link to anything because I read it in the print version and Time only posts newer articles for those with online subscriptions. But when it's up online I'll look for it again.

What "We" Want to See on "Looking" Season 2

What "We" Want to See on Looking Season 2

I thought this deserved an individual post, with commentary, because I've posted so much about Looking and how much I enjoy watching it. And, because tonight is the finale of the first season. In this article to which I'm linking titled, What "We" Want to See In Looking Season 2," the author discusses, I guess, what should be covered in future storylines, and also makes the misguided assumption it's what we all want to see.

And I'd like to disabuse him of a few misconceptions...to show that "we" all don't agree on everything.

The article is set up with GIFs, with captions that I'm assuming was meant to be clever. And it would have been if the article had said "I" instead of "We."

1. More San Francisco

Frankly, I think they do a great job of showing San Francisco on Looking in season 1. What more does he want?

2. More Digital Dating Woes (Preach)

Nope. Sorry. "We" don't want a Sex in the City thing happening here with Looking. Tired. The digital dating deal is already handled well on Looking and to elaborate on this would take it over the top and make the main characters look either too needy or too pitiful.

3. Less Augustin ( By far the most annoying. His character is the definition of a fixer-upper.)

Nope again. "We" like him. He provides the perfect balance because he's so "out there" and he's like so many people we know, both gay and straight. "We" also like that he breaks a few stereotypes, and at the same time has a few fundamental flaws.

4. More Scott Bakula (If only all of us could age this well.)

I have always been a Scott Bakula fan. I love him now as much as 30 years ago. However, in this case, he's the only character I don't think is portrayed as well as he could be. As the aging gay man in the show, he often comes across as being too good and too decent to me. I have known many older gay men in my lifetime, personally. And I have never once seen one give money to a virtual stranger to open a business without at least some kind of hidden agenda. And this goes for straight men, too. It just doesn't work. I get what they are doing with the Scott Bakula character, however, I don't think it rings true in a literal sense.

And, why should age and looks be mentioned here? I don't see the point.

5. More Doris ( Because she's the best.)

Actually, I'd like to see more Mary instead of more Doris. Mary is one of my best friends and she's nothing at all like Doris. For me, Doris is expendable and I'd like to see a woman become best friends with a gay man on TV who isn't so stereotypical.

6. More Life Advice (Simple words of wisdom we could all use more of.)

I think Looking has already covered that very well. I don't know what more this dude wants. A Hallmark movie?

7. More of Dom's Musatche (It. Is. Epic)

I want less use of the word epic. It's tired, like so many other trendy words... Srsly.

8. More Kissing (The onscreen chemistry is electric)

Once again, I think Looking handles this well and they've balanced sex/love scenes with everything else so that these scenes move the storyline forward, which is what those scenes are supposed to do.

9. More Great Music

I'll give him that one. At least we agree on one thing.

10. More Fitness Classes (Dom loves him some Zumba.)

Ugh! I want to see a gay man who runs every single morning like I do, in all kinds of weather.

And speaking of the Dom character, I like him, but if I had to say one character annoys me the most it would be Dom. Just that scene where he says he wants to set up the tables in his new restaurant with community seating, where everyone sits together at one long table, bothered me. I've left restaurants for that. I'm not joking. I don't want to sit with a bunch of strangers while I'm dining out. I want to sit with Tony and enjoy private conversation. It was a big fail for me. But I don't think it hurt the storyline. There should be a few characters that annoy us.

11. A Return to the Folsom Street Fair (Another reason for Jonathan Groff to break out this leather vest!)

And yet again, I can definitely live without THAT one.

12. More of This Friendship (It's nice to see friends who are always there for one another like Patrick, Dom and Augustin are.)

The friendships they have are already excellent. So I'm stumped this time, too. What more does this guy want? For them to go shoe shopping like the women in Sex in the City?

You can view the entire article in full here.

If I sound a little snarky, it's meant with good intentions. I respect his opinions and I love that he posted about a TV show I enjoy so much. And the fact that I don't agree with him on anything he wrote just shows how different we all are as gay men and you can't place us all in the same little box.

And, if you read the comment thread you'll see how differently we all think about this. I'm not the only one.

"Looking" is Renewed; Paula Deen on Michael Sam; Eric Himan on Arizona Gay Hate Law

Looking is Renewed

HBO gay TV show, Looking, was recently renewed, according to this article. As the show has progressed, the ratings have continued to rise...in spite of some negative reviews I'll never understand. Sometimes viewers make the strongest statement, and in this case it's with higher ratings. In my own small way I've posted positive things, and I've tried to pass it on to all the readers I know who love to read m/m romance. (I'm not sure how, but you can watch online, too.)

Nick Hall, the HBO executive behind the show, told GSN at the same event: 'Each of our shows that we do are kind of designed to meet certain expectations. Of course you always want your show to be seen by as many people as possible but I do think it's been really critically revered and it's a show that people are talking about in a good way.'

You can read more here. It's been critically welcomed by all the people I know. And I know I've said this before. But last week's episode turned out to be another story with which I could personally relate in more than one way. They talk about engagement and marriage so casually now. It's refreshing.


Paula Deen on Michael Sam

In what sounds like it's coming from an alternate universe because it's hard to parse at a glance, Paula Deen is trying to make a comeback by comparing herself to Michael Sam. Sam is an openly gay football player who recently came out. Deen was involved in a scandal last summer where it was disclosed she used the N word. She doesn't refer to Michael Sam by name, at least not according to this article.

Deen tells People magazine in a story out today: 'I feel like "embattled" or "disgraced" will always follow my name. It’s like that black football player who recently came out.'

There's something convoluted about this. Michael Sam never used racist language or did anything wrong, at least not that I've heard. Michael Sam is not embattled or disgraced. If anything Michael Sam has become a hero to many. So how Deen could even compare her situation with his doesn't even make sense. (Too much butter.)

You can read more here, where they go into more detail about the comparison.

Maybe Deen could make her comeback and change the negatives associated with her name if she became a gay activist.


Eric Himan on Arizona Gay Hate Law

Gay singer, Eric Himan, wrote a song about the discriminatory bill in Arizona that will allow business owners to refuse business to gay customers based on the owner's religious beliefs.

 He quickly wrote a song called Not Going Anywhere Tonight, made a video and posted it on YouTube.

 'I couldn't take it,' he writes on the YouTube page. 'I had to write this song and put it out there. I urge everyone to take it seriously. Bills like this could easily find its way across our country.'

'In just a few short hours I wrote Not Going Anywhere Tonight, a soulful musical message to the Arizona Legislature.'

You can read more here, with links to where you can listen to the song.

The people affected by this law in Arizona are infinite.

Update: The Governor of Arizona vetoed the bill last night.

Another "Looking" Article; Small Rant

Another Looking Article; Small Rant

Yes, another know-it-all critic, Bobby Hankinson, posted an article about HBO's Looking and he finally gave his grand approval. Get my smelling salts. But his praise is only based on the most recent episode, while slamming previous episodes as if he's the authority on gay television.

 For many viewers, it may just be too little, too late. That's a shame, because I think tonight's episode finally struck the right balance between the show's much-touted realism (some might call it "overly-touted") and some really nice storytelling.

Comments like that often pass me by because when I talk to friends and I read comments on threads and forums about Looking I see gay men who are thrilled to see a TV show with which they can finally identify, and one that gives a voice to the most silent majority within the gay community: the gay male who breaks most of the traditional gay stereotypes. In other words, he's not the wedding planner, the florist, the hairdresser, or the interior decorator. There's nothing wrong with any of those careers or the gay men who perform them. It's just nice to see another part of gay culture portrayed once in the show Looking.

You can read more here.

And here's a comment from a web site that monitors TV ratings.

HBO is taking chances on niche markets. They are starting to represent characters who are NOT in the 98% majority of heterosexual, white, middle class men aged 18+ because that demographic is NOT the 98% majority of people in the world. Bravo to the network for taking chances on things out of the ordinary. The shows, while not unproblematic, are fresh and foraging new ground for silent, oppressed voices to be heard.

I'm with this guy. Very few in the history of the world have been more oppressed than the gay male who is NOT the stereotype of effeminate Truman Capote. And I'd like to think the days of the amusing swishy gay male, much like the days of black men who tap danced, are coming to an end very soon.

Whether or not Looking will survive another season I don't know. I hope it does. But I'm also finding that TV in itself is a dying medium and most people I know under the age of fifty are watching shows online and I'm not sure if those ratings count. If you do a simple search for Looking and read some of the reviews and comments from gay men who've seen the show online you'll get something much different than you'll see from critics.

If you go to this youtube link you'll be able to read a variety of comments. Some are the standard gay hate comments for all things LGBTI. Others are written by younger gay men who love the show and hope it continues. I think that's important to grasp being that so many younger people are NOT subscribing to cable or Direct TV anymore and they are getting all their entertainment and information online. We're thinking of doing that ourselves in the near future.

I think if Looking were to add at least one gay couple who have been together at least ten or twenty years it would gain in ratings. And I'm not talking about a gay couple like the one on Modern Family. I'm talking about a real gay couple.

Jonathan Groff to Critics; He Hates Condoms; Vintage Gay Art

Jonathan Groff to Critics

I posted my thoughts in a review of a review about the new LGBTI show, Looking, last week and most of my readers seemed to agree with me. It's all subjective, which is important to take into consideration. But in this case what the critics of Looking who call it boring don't seem to understand is that gay men like me and thousands of others aren't sitting back anymore while only a handful get to voice their opinions.

In other words, the gay community is highly diverse and those select few in the gay community who have represented us in the past often find themselves being challenged now in ways that wouldn't have happened ten or twenty years ago. No one challenged Truman Capote because no one ever admitted to being gay back then. In this case, though small when you think about all the issues we still face, it's with the TV show Looking.

The star of Looking, Jonathan Groff, isn't sitting back either, and he's responded to a few comments about Looking that I think are highly significant with respect to many gay men and situations these gay men often find themselves in these days.

“The way that, potentially, this show is moving in the next direction, [is that] while all of the characters are gay, nobody’s sort of grappling with the fact that they’re gay,” he explained. “This show is about a group of gay men where their sexuality is kind of the least of their worries. Their problems are more their work environment or their love relationships or their friendships. Or they’re moving out of town, or you know, it’s about many other things in addition to being gay. Hopefully, its a reflection of where we’re at, which is where being gay is a huge part of who you are but it’s not the definitive thing about who you are.”

I think Looking, in a way, is a lot like Sex in the City, but with gay characters, and without the bad gay stereotypes Hollywood has been cramming down our throats since the beginning of film.

You can read the full article here, where there are vocal excerpts from the interview.

He Hates Condoms

The condom topic always creates highly charged discussion in any forum, but this article is a little different because the author, Matthew Ebert, discloses his HIV poz status in the first line.

I have always struggled with condoms. They remind me of something I hate, my HIV-positive status. My bad, you say? Nope. I just love barebacking. But I will not have anal sex without condoms. Which means I have not had intercourse in 18 years. But recently I met a younger guy who is HIV-negative, and I don't want to risk transmission, so I decided to start loving the condom and learned to stop dropping those mind bombs that kept me down on the farm.

I can't tell you how much I love this entire article.

You can read more here. It's the first thing I think I've ever read that not only gets into the reality of condom phobia but also the reality that it doesn't have to rule your life.

 Vintage Gay Art

During the ten years I owned my art gallery in New Hope I carried a number of newer artists who focused on gay art, but my favorite pieces...and those that usually sold the best...were always vintage. And this next article gets into not only gay vintage art, but magazine art.

In the 1950s, art admirers were hard-pressed to find images of gay male life adorning the walls of major galleries and museums. Instead, the beautiful work of photographers and illustrators like Bob Mizer and Tom of Finland were often exhibited within the pages of gay magazines. Diverse depictions of private male life -- particularly erotic life -- were thus made available only to the people who knew where to find it.

Knowing where to find it was an important phrase up until recently. For those gay men who were in the closet and had little access to large cities it was almost impossible to find anything even related to gay art.

You can read more here. There are also visual examples.


Photo attribution here.

Second Chance: His Only Choice; Ryan Field; Gay Sex in Films

Second Chance: His Only Choice, Ryan Field

Tonight, Second Chance: His Only Choice, was released on smashwords.com and will be released at all other venues where e-books are sold very soon. I'll continue to update as I get links.

I've posted about it many times, here, with detailed explanations that include the book description and word count. Feel free to e-mail with questions as usual. This is the third book in the series and I had a blast writing it.

You can check it out here on Smashwords.

Gay Sex in Films

According to this article about gay sex in films, the video was spawned as a result of a comment made by the new TV show "Looking" starring, Jonathan Groff.

Jonathan Groff, one of the stars of HBO's new show "Looking," about a group of gay men living in San Francisco, recently told Out magazine, "I hope that our sex scenes are sexy -- and I think that they are -- but I think even more than that what we’re trying to display is a reality of gay sex as opposed to the salaciousness of gay sex."

You can view a video here of sex in gay films. It's supposedly NSFW, so you've been forewarned :)

 

Anal Cavity Searches; 2 New Gay Shows on TV

Anal Cavity Searches

When I read this one I blinked a few times. Evidently, in some places you can be stopped for a moving vehicle violation and they can order a search of your anal cavity.

The Fourth Amendment protects all citizens from unreasonable search and seizure by the government. It requires that the greater the intrusion upon the person, the greater must be the reason for conducting a search. Is there ever a good reason for this kind of search?

 

You can read more here. It's a fascinating piece by CNN contributor, Danny Cevallos, whom I've posted about here once before.

 

2 New Gay Shows on TV

 

There will be two new gay shows on TV soon, one on HBO, the other on FX. The HBO show will be titled, Looking, and the FX show will be Chozen. Both are different in distinct ways.

 

HBO's sounds more like Queer as Folk:

 

Some of our sex scenes are very emotional and very beautiful. Some of our sex scenes are awkward. We’re trying to get as close to reality as we possibly can.’

‘Hopefully, when people watch it, you’ll think, “Oh, I’ve had that exact experience. I know what it feels like to be intimate with someone in that way.”

 

FX's sounds more like a comedy. And the person who wrote the article to which I'm linking doesn't sound thrilled:

 

Since I am a middle aged straight woman, not easily amused by rauch, I hesitate to offer an opinion on the merits of Chozen. I have the feeling I am not the intended audience, so I will let you watch the trailer and make your own evaluation.

 

You can read more here. As a gay man I think it looks like fun, not raunch. And I've never been a big fan of *anything* animated. But then again, anything with gay content is worth watching since there isn't much of it in the first place. And I've found that what middle aged straight women consider raunch is often cultural to gay men.

 

Why do I make that point? Because she started it first and I'm tired of THEM getting the last word.