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Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
I don't care for rap music, but who in 1991 wasn't paying attention to rapper Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, whose "Good Vibration" reached #1 on the US Pop Charts? We really weren't paying attention...
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My Terrible Year in Philadelphia
In 2005, when I moved into the straight world after twenty years in gay neighborhoods, I swore that I would soon be back home again. But gay neighborhoods tend to be in the heart of fabulous big cities...
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A Nude Party with the Golden Boy and His Buddies
Rock Island, June 30, 1978.Exactly one week ago, I figured "it" out. My elation at finally solving the mystery, understanding who I am, has given way to depression. There are no books on gay topics...
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Even Stevens: Shia Labeouf's Gay Subtext Teencom
Today Shia LaBeouf stars in quirky independent movies, but in the early 2000s, he was the Disney Channel's Next Big Thing, given as much screen time as Simon and Milo music videos. He starred in two...
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I Find Out about Sex in the Church Parking Lot
You're probably wondering, when I had my first sexual experience with Todd at music camp, the summer after my sophomore year in high school, how did I know what to do? After all, this was an era of...
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Gay Fan Art 1: Max Goof
Go to deviantart.com or one of the x-rated yaoi sites and do a keyword search for "Max Goof slash."You'll find dozens of fan-produced pictures of the Disney character kissing a guy, hanging out in his...
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My Date with the Teen Mayor
[Names and places in this story have been changed.]In 1995 my parents and sister moved from Rock Island to a small town in southern Indiana. Outside of Indianapolis and Bloomington, southern Indiana is...
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Summer 1988: A Preacher, a Porn Star, and Two Cute Young Things
Alan the ex-porn star returned to West Hollywood in late May 1988, having failed to start gay Pentecostal churches in Japan and Thailand. Always optimistic, he planned to try again -- this time in...
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Chrononauts: Sometimes Buddy-Bonding Is Not Enough
This is why I don't read science fiction anymore.Amazon was aggressively pushing the graphic novel Chrononauts at me. It's about a big, buffed, square-jawed scientist named Corbin Quinn, who gets...
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What the Butler Saw: Crossdressing, Nudity, and Churchill's Penis
Your high school drama club won't be performing What the Butler Saw (1969) anytime soon. 45 years after it opened, the play by gay playwright Joe Orton is still scandalous, homoerotic, and very...
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I Hook Up with a Dakota Boy, Sort of
Sioux City, South Dakota, August 2014I have always been attracted to Native American men, but I rarely meet any. So, when I moved to the Plains, home to some of the biggest tribes in the U.S., I...
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Spring 1997: How Matt Started Renting Himself Out
One night in the spring of 1997, around 11:00 pm, I got a phone call out of nowhere."It's Matt -- I'm at the Castro Street Muni Station. Come pick me up!"Matt the Cute Young Thing?Nine years before,...
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The Homophobic Gay Ally of "The War at Home"
All in the Family hit the heights of television glory in the 1970s with bigot Archie Bunker. He hated blacks, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Italians, Poles, women's libbers, gays, and just about everyone else,...
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My Date with the Nickelodeon Star
Fort Lauderdale, April 2002I dragged Barney to the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale to see The Tempest. the Shakespeare play about an aging magician on a desert island. Playing Stefano, the King's...
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Charles in Charge: The First Teencom
Fresh from his tenure on Happy Days, Scott Baio made a dent in the"servant saves dysfunctional family" genre with Charles in Charge (1984-85), about a college student who works as a male nanny, a...
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The Shield: TV From the 2000s, Homophobia from the 1960s
You already know the most homophobic contemporary movie -- Chuck and Buck, the savagely homophobic "comedy" by Mike White.Outside of Fox's animated sitcoms, TV series tend to go for erasing gay people...
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Alan's Arrests: The Vice Cop, the Gay Basher, or the High School Boy?
West Hollywood, July 1988"Ok, do you guys want to pick at ice cream like little sissy girls, or do you want to EAT?" Alan asks.If you say EAT, you get six scoops "for starters."We're at a barbecue at...
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Gregory Harrison: Not For Ladies Only
While Magnum and Buck Rogers were grunting and posing, Gregory Harrison was quietly making a name for himself on Trapper John, MD (1979-86) as Gonzo Gates, the irreverent surgeon who lived in a trailer...
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The Beach Boy and the "Fag"
Wilton Manors, June 2004"I've found him!" Kelly exclaimed over the telephone. "The One! We've only had one date, but that's enough to know!"Kelly was one of the fitness trainers Barney's Gym: in his...
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12 Forgotten Beefcake Boys of the 1980s
When I was living in West Hollywood during the 1980s, we didn't go to movies much, due to the rampant homophobia. Nearly every movie featured a discussion of how much the main characters hated gay...
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