Will Gay Bathhouses Return? The I'm Gay Text; No to Gay Play in High School

Will Gay Bathhouses Return?

This article talks about the history of bathhouses, how they reached peak in the 1970's, and how they started closing down during the 90's due to health concerns about HIV. I've never been to one, but I do recall the headlines in local gay publications in the 90's when they started shutting down. Frankly, from a cultural POV, I've always found them interesting.

But will bathhouses make a comeback? This guy thinks they will.

It was a social place then. That’s what I believe our function is even today. Yeah, there was sex, of course, but the clubs we were building had swimming pools, gyms—they had a lot to offer. We have people who have been going to one of our clubs for 20 years, 30 years. It’s part of their social thing. There are plenty of people I know just by there being there so much. It’s part of their routine.

I actually agree to a certain extent that bathhouses are social places, especially for closeted gay men who are married and have kids. But I'm not sure I agree with the way they play down the sex. Let me put it this way. Would anyone bother going to a bathhouse for all that social fun if sex were prohibited? Trust me, no gay man ever went to a bathhouse to swap recipes and decorating tips. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But let's be real.

I don't think they'll ever make a huge comeback, not with the way gay men are assimilating into mainstream heteronormative society with such excitement. The other reason bathhouses were so popular was that they catered to a closeted crowd of a different generation and I don't think younger gay men are willing to put themselves in that position again...the position of hiding and being on the fringes of society.

You can read the rest here. 

The I'm Gay Text

This is interesting because I talk about passive aggressive homophobia here on the blog a lot lately...because I see so much of it happening and most gay people don't even realize it's happening. In some cases this kind of homophobia can be as simple as a straight guy saying, "I'm not gay, just so you know, but it's okay to be gay. I don't have a problem with that." That statement implies there's something wrong with being gay, and I'm not willing to deal with that anymore. Or, even closer to home, when straight people tell gay men how to write gay books. And they do...and they shoot us for mentioning it aloud. 

This next article talks about a teen who had his phone stolen and the four asswipes who stole it texted his mom from his phone with, "I'm gay, you know that." The four asswipes obviously thought this was funny and they knew it would instill shame...because you know how horrible it is to be gay. And after he was roughed up and he returned home, his mom's reaction was even more interesting:

When the 16-year-old returned home, his mother was waiting for him, her eyes filled with concern. When the teen asked what was wrong, she held up her cellphone to display the text message she had just received from him.

The victim isn't even gay. I can only imagine the conversation he had with his mom after that text. In the comment section no one even mentions this is the worst kind of homophobia out there and it's never addressed. To make this clear to all moms and teens: if someone sends a text stating someone is gay there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Go back to life and enjoy it.

You can read the rest here. 

No to Gay Play in High School

In North Carolina the principal of a high school cancelled the rehearsals and production of a play with two gay characters because of too much alleged inappropriate content. It's a play that's been done in high schools already all over the US for many years. But the principal claims this:

“As principal of Maiden High School, I have an obligation to ensure that all material, including drama performances is appropriate and educationally sound for students of all ages,” he said.

The theater department is protesting the decision on multiple grounds.

The rest is here. 

The play, Almost, Maine, isn't actually considered LGBT themed, at least not from what I can gather (I'm not familiar with it). It just has two gay characters. And, it's been one of the most produced plays in high schools for almost ten years. I found this at Wiki...

The New York Times review of the play in 2006 was mixed: "A comedy comprising almost a dozen two-character vignettes exploring the sudden thunderclap of love and the scorched earth that sometimes follows, John Cariani's play will evoke either awww's or ick's, depending on your affection for its whimsical approach to the joys and perils of romance."

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Brent Corrigan Mainstream Film Truth; Benham Bros on HGTV; North Carolina Gay Marriage Licenses

Brent Corrigan Mainstream Film Truth

The mainstream film, Truth, I posted about once before is now out on DVD. It's being classified a psychological thriller and it stars former porn star, Brent Corrigan. He's using the name Sean Paul Lockhart.

Truth, a psychological thriller starring former porn star Sean Paul Lockhart (a.k.a. Brent Corrigan), is now available on DVD. The plot follows Caleb (Lockhart) as he pursues a romance with Jeremy (Rob Moretti), whom he met online. As they begin to fall for each other, it soon becomes clear that there is more to Caleb than meets the eye. A troubled past and a mentally ill mother are among the dark secrets he tries to conceal from his new lover, who finds himself tangled in Caleb’s web of lies. Steamy and suspenseful, Truth is a cautionary tale of romance in the digital age that also features a stellar performance from Emmy-winner Blanche Baker, of Sixteen Candles fame. Watch the trailer for Truth below. — Daniel Reynolds

More here...

I find this interesting and I'm going to follow it just to see how...and if...he makes the full transition to mainstream films. I'm not sure it's ever been done before, and with a gay porn star at that. Evidently, he's landed a few other small mainstream roles, too.

Since his indie gay film debut as Sean Paul Lockhart in the Charlie David mystery-drama, Judas Kiss, adult favorite Brent Corrigan has managed to make a new name for himself as a legit actor in a mixed bag of indie features including Sister Mary, Triple Crossed and now, the new romantic chiller, Truth. From the film’s trailer it looks like Lockhart gives a pretty convincing performance. He’s the apparently sweet, yet truly Jekyll-and-Hyde kind of guy who anyone might fall for — in this case writer-director-star Rob Moretti.

There's more here. I've often wondered if it's possible for an author of over 100 gay erotic romance novels and various short stories to make the transition into mainstream fiction. I'm not sure it can be done, but I've been aching to try it out. And this might be the year.


Benham Bros on HGTV

I knew this was coming when I first posted about it last week. The Benham brothers who had a show canceled on HGTV for being closely associated with anti-gay organizations are now claiming that HGTV was bullied by the gay agenda. I guess they fail to realize that there are straight people with gay family members watching HGTV, or straight people with gay friends and co-workers watching, too. Or for that matter, gay people who own or are connected to HGTV. That lack of reality always surprises me even though it shouldn't at this point. Are these guys living in such a hooded environment they don't know any gay people themselves? It's actually hard to imagine this anywhere in the US.

In any event, here's what the two Christians are saying now:

"We love all people. I love homosexuals. I love Islam, Muslims, and my brother and I would never discriminate. Never have we -- never would we," David Benham said in the above clip. "Never have I ever spoken against homosexuals, as individuals, and gone against them. I speak about an agenda. And that's really what the point of this is -- is that there is an agenda that is seeking to silence the voices of men and women of faith."

I'm not even going to comment. There are numerous articles out that show the anti-gay beliefs...among many other "anti" beliefs that surprised even me. I just wonder how these "Christians" go to sleep at night after dealing with all that hate. And I'm not joking about that.

There's a lot out about this one. You can read more here...and here...and here... The last link will show you how David Benham is the co-founder of a hugely twisted, unhealthy coalition that causes more damage to gays than school yard bullying with their approach to being gay and Christian.

 Flip Benham’s eldest son, David Benham, is a co-founder of the Coalition and serves as its strategic coordinator.

And they are still crying bully.

North Carolina Gay Marriage Licenses

If Mark Chilton of North Carolina becomes the next Register of Deeds in Orange County, N.C, he's promised to start issuing same sex marriage licenses even though same sex marriage is illegal in NC.

"I'm a legal scholar as well as a real-estate attorney," said Chilton Thursday. "And after reading all of the cases that are involved with same-sex marriage that have come down from the federal courts, it seems very clear to me that North Carolina's state constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage is definitely contrary to the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution."

It should be interesting to see what happens if he does get elected and does issue the licenses. I've read the legal argument he mentions above before, right here in Pennsylvania. However, Mayor Nutter of Philadelphia, and the Mayor of New Hope flatly refused to perform same sex marriage because it's illegal in Pennsylvania. Both mayors support same sex marriage publicly. I've also posted about the Montgomery County, PA, clerk, Bruce Hanes, who started issuing same sex marriage licenses even though it's illegal in PA. And a judge ruled against him and ordered he stop issuing the licenses.

At least Hanes went down on the right side of history and he was willing to stand up for something he believed in.

You can read more here about Mark Chilton.

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Lesbian Couple Humiliated and Degraded in North Carolina Restaurant

When a good friend in Brooklyn e-mailed this to me earlier today, I have to say I was shocked to see that something like this would happen in North Carolina. I know a few gay couples who've left New Hope to move to NC, and they've never complained about anti-gay attitudes...or anything like getting handed an anti-gay letter in a restaurant. I love the Outer Banks. Ashville is not only one of my favorite cities in the US, it's the home of my all time favorite author, Tom Wolfe, who wrote "Look Homeward Angel."

But according to this article, that's exactly what happened to a lesbian couple recently in a NC restaurant.

A lesbian couple dining at a North Carolina cafe was handed a letter that decried homosexuality as being against God's will.

Arielle and Shawnee McPhail went to The Sting Ray Cafe in New Bern on Dec. 4, according to WCTI 12. On their way out, restaurant owner Ed McGovern approached the couple and handed them a letter asking them to reevaluate their lives.

This is what the letter said:

[...] Please, look at your life. See how it hurt[s] everyone around you. And ask the Lord to open your eye[s] before it [is] to[o] late.
The Love of Christ
P.S. my daughter also was gay. It destroy[ed] her life and my grandson.

And, the article gets even worse in a general sense.

Joel Diaz, the chief development officer for the AIDS Resource Center Ohio, recently wrote a blog for The Huffington Post describing a recent experience during which he and a friend were berated for "gay shit" while holding hands outside Mikey's Late Night Slice pizza truck in Columbus, Ohio. Fortunately, everyone in line defended the pair.

You can follow the link above to read the entire article, and read the entire letter.

My lesbian friend in Brooklyn said this in the e-mail:

nope. not vacationing in north carolina anytime soon.

I personally wouldn't take it that far, and I don't think we can blame an entire state for what happened to the couple. This is the sort of thing that can happen in any state, from New Jersey to California. The good thing is that we're talking about it now, and when things like this happen they are being reported. For too long, things like this were ignored.

I actually feel a little guilty about this because I should have caught this story and I didn't. And when I think of the fact that I posted about Amazon bestseller lists yesterday, which is such a trivial, superficial thing compared to what happened to these two decent women, I realize I need to step it up a little and focus on the more important things going on within the LGBT community. I grew a little discouraged after the last general election when I didn't see any huge support for the first openly gay man to ever run for President. It was as if he didn't even exist. And he was the only candidate to my knowledge who actually came out and stated that he would, indeed, fight for marriage equality.

In any event, a post to follow soon on gay divorce. I know it's not the most pleasant topic to get into, which is why I've been putting it off for a long time, but as long as same sex marriage is not recognized on a federal level, it's something all gay couples have to pay attention to.

North Carolina Ban on Same Sex Marriage...

This morning I turned on the TV while having coffee and Fox News came on. Gretchen Carlson said something to the effect of this: "North Carolina votes to protect the sanctity of marriage."

I looked at Tony and smiled. "So she's talking about the same 'sanctity of marriage' that applies to all the straight couples we know. You know, the couples who have been divorced two and three times. She's not talking about the gay couples we know who have been together for twenty and thirty years and plan to be together for the rest of their lives. I just want to get this right so I can process it."

Tony changed the channel. We both know and understand it's more complicated than this...but this is how the mainstream discusses it.

Since high school, almost every single person I went to high school with has gone through two or three divorces by now. I witnessed a family member go through a divorce three years ago that devastated three children. And, for those who think they know it all, the forty year old *husband* fought to save the marriage, not the forty year old wife. She just didn't want to be married anymore. She wanted to be single and continue to date her twenty-five year old boyfriend. She said, and I quote her directly, "The kids will get over it. Everyone's divorced nowadays." So far, the kids are in therapy, all are having problems in school they didn't have before the divorce, and they spend their time traveling back and forth between their mom and dad's house because the husband fought tooth and nail to get 50% custody. He would have fought for 100% but didn't want to make it harder on the kids.

So when Gretchen Carlson is talking about the "sanctity of marriage," I can only assume she, and those at Fox News, are living in a world with which I'm not familiar. A world where all straight couples fall in love, get married, go to church on Sunday, and live their lives focused on protecting the "sanctity of marriage." But more than that, she clearly doesn't know any gay people at ALL if she thinks they are trying to harm the "sanctity of marriage."

But we've been through this before and we'll go through it again. Clearly, North Carolina spoke yesterday and that's all that matters. And it wasn't just about marriage. They don't even want civil unions.

It also strengthens the state's position against same-sex civil unions, often considered a precursor to the marriage issue, Bradley said.

Here's a link to more about the vote in North Carolina. It gives a good overview of what happened yesterday, with quotes from people who are on both sides of the issue. Even President Obama said he was "disappointed" in the vote, which doesn't happen often. The good thing is that we're not ready to give up yet in North Carolina, or anywhere else for that matter.

Any comments that don't agree with this post will be deleted. This is my blog, not a democracy, and if you're not for same sex marriage I really don't care what you have to say.