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What's Gay about "The Afternoon of a Faun"
My friend Mickey the Russian Major, who I met at the Iowa Gay Pride March in 1981, told me about the Ballet Ruses, founded by Sergei Diaghilev to showcase the muscular bodies of male dancers, and his...
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The Naked Goldenboys at Football Try-Outs
Rock Island, August 1975"All entering sophomores invited to try out for junior varsity football," Dad reads from a brochure that came in the mail."That's nice," I say, immersed in a course catalog....
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The 10 Hunks of "Fuller House"
I've never seen a single episode of the TGIF warmedy Full House (1987-1995). I was usually busy on Friday nights, and when I wasn't, who wanted to see an aggressively gay-free series set in the gay...
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David and Goliath: From King James Bible to Gay Men's Bedrooms
The Philistine warrior Goliath was BIG: nine feet nine inches (enough about the nine feet, let's hear about the six inches). His suit of armor weighted 125 pounds. He challenged King Saul and the...
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Gambling, Drinking, and Shooting Guns: My Grandpa Prater's Gay Connection
It was easy to find the gay connection in my father's parents, Grace and Lloyd Davis and Frank Jackson. There were anecdotes, photographs of men in swimsuits, newspaper articles, and the geneology...
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Uncle Tom Award #8: Chris Colfer's Land of Stories
You probably remember Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel, the gay kid on Glee. He is still acting (in 2015 he played the young Noel Coward), and producing, but arguably his main claim to fame today is the...
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Eli's Dispatches from Amsterdam, Mostly About Arab, Pakistani, Greek, and...
Plains, July 2013My email to my friend Eli in Amsterdam contained only one word: "WTF????"He had just told me that he was taking a job in Oman.That's right, Oman, the sultanate just south of Saudi...
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He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
I disliked He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983-85), the cartoon based on the Mattel toys.First of all, the term "he-man" roiled me. Whether you measure it by chromosomes, hormones, a penis,...
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Erotic Story about Me and My Grandpa #1: Judo Moves
My Grandpa Prater, my mother's father, was a big man, towering over my father and uncles, and rugged even in his mid-60s, with thick arms and shoulders and huge hands. He wore overalls, sometimes with...
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Little Lulu's Gay Kiss
In 2011, Archie comics made history by introducing Kevin Keller, the first gay character (with the term "gay" used) in children's comics. Kevin is now a regular part of the gang, but his sexual...
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Jacob Wrestles the Angel
When I was a kid, our Sunday school classes went over all the great Old Testament stories of skullduggery, betrayal, abandonment, and murder (and those were the heroes). In junior high, they were...
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I Meet the Boy with a Bratwurst from My Dream Last Night
Plains, July 2016I was delayed, and didn't eat dinner until 9:00 pm. At 10:00 pm, the dream began.I was at a party in West Hollywood: 20 or more guys sitting on couches and divans in a vast living...
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The Pajama Game: 1950s Beefcake
There once was a man who loved a womanShe was the one he slew a dragon for.The American musical has traditionally been a vehicle for unvarnished heterosexism, two interspliced boy-meets-girl plotlines...
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Erotic Story about Grandpa Prater #2: Stealing the Banjo
This is the second erotic story about my Grandpa Prater.Garrett, December 1972It's the day after Christmas in seventh grade. We're visiting my parents' relatives in Indiana. Today we drive out to the...
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David Cassidy: Man Undercover
Teen idol careers are painfully short, 3 or 4 years. The 12 year olds who discover your picture in Teen Beat and moon over your bubblegum pop will eventually turn into teenagers, start dating boys of...
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Absolutely Fabulous
Absolutely Fabulous (1992-1995, and many specials afterwards) was Thelma and Louise on steroids. And lots of stoli. It starred Jennifer Saunders as "Eddy" Edina Monsoon, a self-centered,...
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Summertime Car Washes
One of the joys of summer is the car wash fundraiser. Check your local event calendar, and you'll find one or two per week: a club, class, team, or church group is raising money by washing cars. The...
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The One Thing Kerry Wants in Guy
West Hollywood, December 29th, 1998I'm back in West Hollywood for New Year's Eve. Lane and I are having breakfast at the French Quarter, catching up on the gossip of who dated who, who moved in, who...
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Doug McClure: From Physique Pictorial to The Simpsons
One of the supporting characters in the "my secret" teencom Out of This World(1987-91), about a teenage alien, was Kyle X. Applegate (Doug McClure): a bumbling, dimwitted has-been tv star. In 1991, a...
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Street Cruising in San Francisco: 15 Gimmicks that Landed Me or My Friends
When I lived in San Francisco, street cruising was common: you happened to see an attractive guy on the street, and after minimal conversation, at most a drink in the nearest bar, invited him into your...
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