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10 States Where Being Gay was a Felony
In 1970, sexual acts other than heterosexual intercourse were illegal in every state of the U.S. except Illinois. Sometimes specific sex acts, sometimes just "sodomy" or "the crime against nature."...
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Behind the Iron Curtain: A Radio Free Europe Commercial from the 1970s
During the early 1970s, when fear of the Soviet Union was rampant, a tv commercial appeared depicting a boy with rusty chains wrapped around his head, being brainwashed by Soviet propaganda. A...
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50 States, 50 Naked Men, Part 1
I've been to 48 of the 50 U.S. states, and met men in most of them. Here are my favorite naked men in each state (guys I've seen naked, not including locker rooms, bathhouses, bear parties, and...
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Tiny Toon Adventures
Everyone misunderstands the Tiny Toons. They weren't kid versions of classic Warner Brothers characters -- Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and so on. They weren't the offspring of the classic Warner Brothers...
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The Gaithers: The Gay Connection in Christian Gospel Music
When I was growing up in the Nazarene Church, I hated the hymns even more than the screaming, Bible-pounding sermons: we sang three during every service, nine per week, all chosen from the same 40 or...
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The Glory Hole at the Rest Stop in Arkansas
Forestville, Arkansas, May 1985In 1984, just after getting my M.A. from Indiana University, I took a job in Hell-fer-Sartain, Texas. I hated every minute of it, except for my Italian class and the few...
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The Phallic Art of sub-Saharan Africa
If you're interested in African or African-American men, you should take a look at the traditional art of sub-Saharan Africa. There are hundreds of cultural groups with a variety of artistic styles,...
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50 States, 50 Naked Men, Part 2
This is the Part 2 of my list of men I dated, hooked up with, or saw naked in each of th 50 states. They have to be guys who lived there, not tourists.West27. Alaska. Flew up to Anchorage for a job...
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Abs: A Man's Third Best Feature
Big pecs and biceps are the stars of the male physique, but abs are a close third. They're much harder to develop, not about size but about definition, so they're the signature of the well-developed...
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In Search of the Lapp Penis
Paris, July 7, 1991My partner Lane and I arrived in Paris yesterday, on the first of the Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam jaunts that would become an annual tradition. He'd never been to Paris before, and I...
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Can't Stop the Music
My brother, who is heterosexual, was a big fan of The Village People (also Barbara Streisand, Liza with a Z, and Olivia Newton-John). During the winter after Grease, when their "Y.M.C.A." hit #1 on...
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How to Survive Gym Class
During the six years of Junior High and High School, I was in gym class every day -- that's about a thousand days. And I still have no idea what it was for. It was technically called "physical...
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Zits: A Comic Strip for Anyone Dating Twinks
He's big, awkward, clumsy, and gawky, with weird tattoos and piercings. He's still asleep at noon. He is constantly texting, tweeting, and posting on social media, but he refuses to hold a face-to-face...
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The Wizards of Waverly Place
Even Stevens, Hannah Montana, and The Suite Life of Zack and Codyare not unique. American tv programs aimed at a juvenile audience are strictly forbidden from mentioning gay people or ever suggesting...
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Classroom Beefcake and Bulges
Plains, February 2017I don't stand behind a podium during my lectures; I walk up and down the aisles. In a giant lecture hall, I walk more than 2 miles in an hour-long class.Glancing down to ask...
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Growing Pains
The homophobic rants of Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron may lead you to believe that the TGIF sitcom (1985-92) was exceptionally homophobic. But it wasn't.It aired next to programs I liked -- Who's...
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Spring 1983: T.S. Eliot. Oh, Swallow, Swallow!
When I was studying for my M.A. in English at Indiana University (1982-84), my professors and most of my classmates agreed that Literature consisted of:1. Ulysses, by James Joyce2. The Waste Land, by...
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A Sausage Fondle on My Way Home from Hell-fer-Sartain
St. Louis, May 9th, 19857:00 amAfter 210 execrable days of teaching bonehead English to redneckes in Hell-fer-Sartain, Texas, I finally managed to escape. I've been driving all night, except for a...
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Davy Crockett and the Coonskin Cap Craze
During the mid-1950s, there was a craze for "coonskin caps" among the first generation of Baby Boomer boys: a faux-fur cap, round and furry, with a long tail, striped like a raccoon.The next generation...
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The Penis Sheaths of New Guinea
In tropical regions where nudity is the rule, men still find ways to draw attention to their best feature. Among the Highland tribes of New Guinea, koteka or penis sheaths are commonly worn.Most cover...
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