Pictured Cherry Jones 'Now that leather, BDSM, bear, et al all have their own pride movements, it's time for us to have Poseur Pride. That's right, it's time for all the men who want to look all tough and nasty, but are just plain vanilla underneath, to come out of the closet and stand tall and proud. Those of us who are attracted to dark and seedy leather bars, but can't handle the pain of a hangnail. Those of us who want to be slaves, until our masters order us to do something that we don't like. Those of us who want to be seen as daring and subversive, when we're really as plain and unadventurous as muzak. ... Perhaps [ our flag could depict ] a chocolate-dipped soft ice cream cone: dark and exciting on the outside, but plain, bland, and vanilla beneath the exterior.' — Toronto gay blogger bruno_bt, at www.livejournal.com/users/bruno_bt/ July 17.
'In Spain, where 90% of the population is Roman Catholic, the church came out swinging against [ marriage ] rights for gays, using the familiar line that gay marriage imperils the traditional institution of marriage. This has always been a difficult argument to follow logically. Assuming that marriage is the binding of two people in a committed relationship, possibly to create a family, gay marriage adds to the institution. Even granting most religions' insistence that the two people must be of different genders, gay marriage does nothing to discourage or belittle heterosexual unions.' — Los Angeles Times editorial, July 6.
'I honestly cannot understand why anyone would find me attractive. ... When I, with trepidation, look in the mirror I see only the flaws—the slight sag in the triceps, the overdeveloped pecs, the midsection expanding like bread dough— and I suspect that I'm not the only reasonably in-shape gay man with this problem.' — Out magazine Editor in Chief Brendan Lemon in the August issue.
'Work really extra super hard and do nothing else but work and ignore your family and spend 14 hours a day at the office and make 300 grand a year that you never have time to spend, sublimate your soul to the corporate machine and enjoy a profound drinking problem and sporadic impotence and a nice 8BR mini-mansion you never spend any time in, and you and your shiny BMW 740i will get into heaven. This is the American Puritan work ethos, still alive and screaming and sucking the world dry. Work is the answer. Work is also the question. Work is the one thing really worth doing and if you're not working you're either a slacker or a leech. ...' — SFGate.com columnist Mark Morford, July 8.
'The people of Wisconsin are being hoodwinked. Lawmakers have been using the cost excuse for years to justify denying lesbian and gay employees equal benefits, but the truth is that the costs are minimal. These legislators are hoping that if they blow enough smoke the public will lose sight of what's really at stake here. Our clients are doing the same work as their straight colleagues, but their families are forced to go without adequate insurance.' — Chris Ahmuty, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin. The American Civil Liberties Union filed legal papers urging a Madison judge to exclude the state legislature from interfering in a lawsuit seeking domestic partner benefits for lesbian and gay employees of the state.
'The unexpected magic of Doubt is the uncertainty principle. Audiences are always divided. Father Flynn has his loyal supporters, who feel Aloysius has railroaded him. Audiences are leaving the theatre talking about the play and not about us, the actors. They argue whether I'm right and about how I could think such things of a fine priest. It's even been suggested that I might want to leave with a bodyguard!' — Lesbian actor Cherry Jones to broadwaystars.com July 12, on her new role in Doubt ... A Parable in NYC.
'Not many women my age [ she's 48 ] are in the Hollywood mindset. Where I'm at, I have to specialize in nuns and FBI agents [ Oceans 12 ] ! But I love the low-pressure character parts, because I have the opportunity to watch and learn.' — Cherry Jones to broadwaystars.com .
'Want a woman who isn't bi-phobic, STUD? Then find a bisexual woman. I've been writing this column for 40-odd years now, and in that time I've gotten shitloads of mail from bisexuals. But I have never received a letter from a bisexual who counted other bisexuals among his or her potential sex partners. From the bi guys it's always, 'Boo-hoo, I'm bi and gay men won't date me and straight women are scared of me!' From the bi girls it's always, 'Boo-hoo, I'm bi and lesbians won't date me and straight men just want to watch me make out with their bi-curious girlfriends!' It never seems to occur to bis that they can avoid all the mean, clueless, insensitive gays, lesbians, and straights by dating other bis exclusively.' — Syndicated sex advice columnist Dan Savage.
'Speaking at a conference of Exodus International, the largest religious group promoting the idea that gays can can change their sexual orientation, Rev. Jerry Falwell endorsed forcing gay kids into counseling designed to change their sexual orientation. Falwell compared allowing a child to identify as gay with allowing children to play on the interstate and dismissed psychologists' claims that consent is fundamental to a healthy counseling relationship and that parents should not force their gay kids into therapy. ... This year's conference had a higher than usual profile because one of Exodus member ministries, Love in Action, is under investigation by the Tennessee Department of Health for violations of state law. Love in Action advertised therapeutic counseling to treat homosexuality as well as drug, alcohol and porn addiction. Concerns about safety and professionalism at Love in Action were raised after a 16-year-old Tennessee teen blogged that his parents were forcing him into an unconventional program intended to turn him straight.' — From the gay newspaper Southern Voice.
