"You'd be amazed the people that didn't understand [ the gay sex messages of 'YMCA,' 'In the Navy' and 'Go West' ] , you'd be absolutely amazed. Were they designed that way? Well, that's the brilliance of it. If it was point blank, it might have played a few gay clubs and that would have been it. But that was the genius behind it, that it could be read so many different ways. It was like with The Beatles—people said if you played their albums backwards you could hear all these strange messages. We had this image of people playing our music and looking for all these double entendres and stuff. We actually had a manager who said, 'Oh come on! 'In the Navy' was full of them.' We said 'Tell us one.' And he said 'Signing up the seamen fast.' And we said 'You're really working hard for that one.' People were trying to give the music a lot more savvy than it had. A lot of it wasn't written with that much skill." — Village People construction worker David Hodo to London's Gay Times, February issue.
"I did have one gay boy, about 17 or 18, who came up and said, 'I had such a hard time, I'd just come out to my parents, and then they watched your programme and they think my life is like that.' And actually your heart bleeds, and I was saying, 'I am so sorry if I caused you any difficulties.' But when you're in front of a keyboard being honest about a story, the moment you start to take other people's considerations into account it becomes a blander piece of work. This kid's parents—it's their problem if they watch a piece of television and blame him for that." — Russell T. Davies, author of the groundbreaking British TV series Queer As Folk, to London's Gay Times, February issue.
"Have you seen Queer As Folk? It's really amazing. That rimming scene about made me faint. Not because I haven't seen that sort of thing before, just the thought that it was on motherfucking TV, not cable, in 'repressed' Great Britain. Amazing. And it didn't hurt that the rimmee looked like every boy I was in love with in high school, either. Nice butt." — E— mail to this column from syndicated sex— advice columnist Dan Savage, Feb. 8.
"If the religious right really wanted to stop gay sex, they should get behind gay people adopting, because nothing puts a stop to gay sex faster." — Syndicated sex— advice columnist and gay dad Dan Savage as quoted by the AP, Feb. 9.
"Marriage as an institution is on its last gasp. Its death will come from the charges of homophobia used to block meaningful public policy discourse. There are public policy issues aplenty when it comes to marriage and children, but they will be sacrificed at the altar of the homophobia accusation we fear and worship by remaining mute." — Columnist Marianne M. Jennings writing in Salt Lake City's Deseret News, Feb. 7. Jennings is a professor of legal and ethical studies at Arizona State University.
"Don't get me started. I was married before, so I know what it means, legally and psychologically. I'm just annoyed beyond belief that we don't get the same rights." — Julie Cypher, lover of rocker Melissa Etheridge, to The Advocate Feb. 29.
"We're moving ahead [ as gays and lesbians ] —we're on TV, in movies, our lives are being portrayed with realism, and then, oops, a bunch of people vote on something [ California's Prop. 22, which will ban gay marriage ] that says you have no rights. If it's not defeated, it would feel like we went a few steps backward." — Rocker Melissa Etheridge to The Advocate, Feb. 29.
"The only thing we're trying to force down people's throats is comedy." — Will & Grace executive Producer Max Mutchnick to TV Guide, Feb 12.
"I want to get back to just being funny. You can't be both political and funny. It's hard for people to separate the two. The political stuff started to be more important to me. Now I feel: enough of that." — Ellen DeGeneres to The New York Times, Feb. 20.
"The gay couples I know have been together longer than most of the married couples I know. I don't think you can do this show with the commitment that we do and suddenly get afraid of making those statements." — Will & Grace star Eric McCormack explaining why the show's cast taped TV ads against California's anti— gay— marriage initiative, Proposition 22, to TV Guide, Feb. 12.
"I started getting e— mails from foot fetishists because Will sometimes walks around his apartment without shoes." — McCormack.
" [ She went to make tea. ] It was the classic English response. You know it's bad when they make tea." — Gay writer Andrew Sullivan on his mother's reaction to being told he is gay, as reported by the Eau Claire ( Wisconsin ) Leader— Telegram, Feb. 4. Sullivan addressed students at the University of Wisconsin— Eau Claire Feb. 3.
