Tag Archives: Anderson Cooper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lupNzpcpDRk

Gay History – June 3: 18th. Century Lesbians, William Haines Hollywood Gay-Bashing, Allen Ginsberg, and MORE.

Featured, Gay History, , , , , ,

June 3rd

1708 – Anne Horton and Alice Pickford were married in England. They were one of two female couples whose marriages were registered in the parish of Taxal,  Except for the notation in the records no other information is available on the Sapphic couple.

1926 – Birth date of poet Allen Ginsberg one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s.  Ginsberg vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism, and sexual repression. Ginsberg is best known for his epic poem “Howl”, in which he denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States.

In 1957, “Howl” attracted widespread publicity when it became the subject of an obscenity trial, as it depicted heterosexual and homosexual sex at a time when sodomy laws made homosexual acts a crime in every U.S. state. “Howl” reflected Ginsberg’s homosexuality and his relationships with several men, including Peter Orlovsky, his lifelong partner.  Judge Clayton W. Horn ruled that “Howl” was not obscene, adding, “Would there be any freedom of press or speech if one must reduce his vocabulary to vapid innocuous euphemisms? (Yes the straight judge said “vapid”.)

Ginsberg was also present at the Stonewall Riots.

Allen Ginsberg passed away on April 5, 1997.

1930 – American fantasy novelist Marion Zimmer Bradley was born on this date. Early in her career, writing as Morgan Ives, Miriam Gardner, John Dexter, and Lee Chapman, she produced several works outside the speculative fiction genre, including some gay and lesbian pulp fiction novels.

1936 – William Haines and his lover James Shield were severely beaten by members of the White Legion, a Los Angeles racist organization.

In 1930 William Haines was Hollywood’s number-one box-office draw–talented, handsome, and a romantic lead.  Off-screen however Haines was openly gay and refused to compromise or hide his sexuality which ultimately led him to being booted out of the movie business by Louis B. Mayer. Forced to give up acting, Haines went on to become a top interior designer to the stars, and by his side through it all was his lover, Jimmie Shields;  But on June 1st, 1936 members of a white supremacists group dragged both Haines and Sheilds from their El Porto, Manhattan Beach home and beat them, mercilessly because a neighbor had accused the two of propositioning his son.  The incident was widely reported at the time but Manhattan Beach police never brought charges against the couple’s attackers. The child molestation accusations against Haines and Shields were unfounded and the case was dismissed due to a lack of evidence.

The couple finally settled in the Hollywood community of Brentwood and their business prospered until their retirement in the early 1970s, except for a brief interruption when Haines served in World War II. Their clients included Betsy Bloomingdale, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and Walter and Leonore Annenberg’s “Sunnylands” estate

Haines and Shields remained together until Haines died in 1973.  Their fifty-year relationship led their best friend, Joan Crawford, to call them the “happiest married couple in Hollywood.”

1967 – Birth date of  Anderson Cooper.  WHOOP.

1969 – Police entered Greenwich Village in New York with fifteen paddy wagons and arrested anyone they suspected of being gay.  Police harassment is commonplace in the Village and tensions are on the rise and will continue to be until the end of the month when the Stonewall Riots occur

1980 – In California, gay rights measures were defeated in Davis, San Jose, and Santa Clara in referendum elections.

1981 – A Maryland court upheld the state sodomy law, including prohibitions against heterosexual sodomy. The written decision included quotes from Deuteronomy, Leviticus, and Exodus.

1984 – Harvey Fierstein won his third Tony Award for best book of a Musical for “La Cage Aux Folles”.

1989 – The United States postal service issues the first “Lesbian and Gay Pride” postage stamp.

Gay Postmark Drew Outrage in the '80s - Philadelphia Gay News

1998 – United Methodists in Central Texas voted to reject a proposal to break ties with church leaders who support same-sex unions and the ordination of homosexuals.

2007 – Several hundred gays marched in the Latvian capital city of Riga under the watchful eyes of police who in 2006 were accused of doing nothing while gays were attacked by anti-gay fascists.

CNN Trots Out Prized Show Pony Anderson Cooper To Defend Rigged Donald Trump Town Hall.

CNN Trots Out Prized Show Pony Anderson Cooper To Defend Rigged Donald Trump Town Hall.

Featured, Gay News Domestic & U.S. Politics, , , , , ,

Gloria Vanderbilt would not be happy .

Gay CNN anchor Anderson Cooper went on air Thursday to defend CNN’s decision to host a town hall for former President Donald Trump.

It did not go well.

Cooper, who has anchored for CNN since the early 2000s, defended his TV home during the opening segment of “Anderson Cooper 360” Thursday.

“Many of you have expressed deep anger and disappointment. Many of you are upset that someone who attempted to destroy our democracy was invited to sit on a stage in front of a crowd of Republican voters to answer questions and predictably continued to spew lie after lie after lie,” Cooper said. “I get it. It was disturbing.”
“The man you were so disturbed to see last night, that man is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president,” Cooper said. “You have every right to be outraged today, angry and never watch this network again, but do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?”
“After last night, none of us can say: ‘I didn’t know what was out there. I didn’t know what was coming.'” – Anderson Cooper
USA Today

Cooper’s apology for the network came before the public learned that the “Town Hall” audience was hand picked Trump supporters and questions were screened ahead of time. In other words: It was rigged.

The backlash was quick to follow.

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an expert on authoritarianism, called out CNN for giving Trump a platform to rebuild his image and smear his accuser.

“CNN became a party to Trump’s need to psychologically ‘undo’ his defeat by getting the audience to applaud him *for being an assaulter,*” she tweeted. “The more approval authoritarians get, the more they feel emboldened to be even more lawless. This is why this ‘town hall’ was so dangerous.”

And as for Cooper himself?

Gay History Month – October 3: Roddy McDowell, GOP Gay Sex Scandals Ain’t Nothing New, and the Infamous Bloomie’s Tearoom

Featured, Gay History, Of Interest, , , , , ,

October 3rd…

1847: Hans Christian Andersen wrote to the Hereditary Grand-duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, “I love you as a man can only love the noblest and best. This time I felt that you were still more ardent, more affectionate to me. Every little trait is preserved in my heart.”

1872: Bloomingdale’s department store opens in Manhattan. YES, this is gay history, just ask any gay man from New York City over 40 about the ever popular men’s room in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

Well, some places just become notorious, like the Bloomingdale’s bathroom or certain train cars during rush hour. For those spots, it’s the thrill of danger that IS the appeal. It’s like a form of exhibitionism, the idea that you might get caught.  –  posted by sexyrobot at 3:53 PM on February 17, 2015

Shopping and sex all in one place?  Who could ask for anything more? (And when they were done many a shopping queen didn’t. (Tap…tap….tap.) 

1973: Dr. Howard Brown, former New York City Health Administrator, made history when he came out of the closet in a speech in front of 600 colleagues. He later became the director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force back at a time when it actually had a “task”

1980: Conservative Republican U.S. Representative Robert Bauman was arrested for soliciting sex from a 16-year-old male prostitute.  The arrest came in the midst of Bauman’s reelection campaign, occurring after the deadline for withdrawal from the contest, and thus handing the election to Democrat Roy Dyson, who hadn’t stood a chance before Bauman’s arrest. Prior to his arrest, Bauman was a member of both the Moral Majority the American Conservative Union.   Bauman said he was suffering from alcoholism and entered himself into a court-supervised rehabilitation program, which, upon successful completion, resulted in the charges being dropped.

Bauman left politics for good and now writes books about offshore banking and the creation of tax havens. He is currently the legal counsel for Sovereign Society , a group that works at creating such tax havens. And does not support same-sex marriage

1998:  Prolific actor Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude “Roddy” McDowall passes away from lung cancer at age 70 in Studio City, CA.

McDowell made his first well-known film appearance at the age of 12, playing “Huw Morgan” in How Green Was My Valley (1941), where he met and became lifelong friends with Maureen O’Hara. The film won an Academy Award for Best Picture, and made him a household name. He starred in Lassie Come Home (1943), a film that introduced a girl who would become his lifelong friend – Elizabeth Taylor.  McDowall continued his career successfully into adulthood, a rare event for any child star  and  also became a film director, photographer and voice artist. and is probably best known today for his roles in Fright Night, The Poseidon Adventure, and as Cornelius, Caesar, and Galen in the original Planet of the Apes films and television series.

Although Roddy McDowall made no public statements about his sexual orientation during his lifetime, it was a well known fact in Hollywood that he was gay

2005: This week’s TIME cover story is titled “The Battle Over Gay Teens”. TIME’s cover story in 2005 touched on the effort to eradicate anti-gay speech in schools and to set up clubs and advocacy groups to support gay teens. But the story also underscored the ongoing tension between religion and homosexuality that still continues today.

2012: Orlando Cruz became the first out gay professional boxer when USA Today broke the news of the athlete coming out. Cruz said in a statement: “I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself. I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career. I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.”

Nutjob Las Vegas Mayor Stuns Anderson Cooper With "Open Las Vegas" (Il)Logic

Nutjob Las Vegas Mayor Stuns Anderson Cooper With “Open Las Vegas” (Il)Logic – WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Crazy Ass MoFo, Featured, Of Interest, , , , , ,

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (ran as Independent, really a Republican) perched CNN host Anderson Cooper’s last gay nerve after offering a series of befuddling batshit crazy counterfactuals to his interview questions.

Goodman’s  “Hunger Games” or survival-of-the-fittest approach to reopening the strip is leaving jaws agape to all who sees her interviews. “Assume everybody is a carrier,” the mayor told MSNBC’s Katy Tur on Tuesday. “And then you start from an even slate. And tell the people what to do. And let the businesses open and competition will destroy that business if, in fact, they become evident that they have disease, they’re closed down. It’s that simple.”

Goodman has the nerve to call the Nevada governor’s stay-at-home order — which “insanity”  but offers a truly lunatic example of how to re-open Sin City and who is responsible for visitors and locals safety. (Hint: Its not her.) She insisted that competition, not government oversight, was the answer saying that it is up to the businesses in Las Vegas to figure out social distancing. She said that her days were full, trying to help people get back to work.

At one point, Cooper showed a report from Chinese researchers that outlined how the virus spread in a restaurant.

“This isn’t China. This is Las Vegas, Nevada,” she interjected.

“Wow, that’s really ignorant,” he said.

“That’s ignorant to say?” she asked.

And on it went. At one point during the interview, Cooper took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

If you missed it you can watch the full interview below.

#CrazyB**ch

See, This Is Why People Like Alec Baldwin Is No Ally To The LGBT Community

Featured, Opinions and Rants, , , , , , , , , , ,

baldwin_alec

An ally is someone who is able to not only empathize with the oppression and plight of a group of people but also actively seeks out solutions to bring about advocacy for equal rights. Allies are instrumental in helping a group or community eliminate discrimination. And if/when said person(s) has said or done something that is insensitive or harmful against said community, they reach out to understand the error in their ways to prevent any other insult. They openly challenge those that condemn us and are a bridge to a solution, not the cause of our problems.

What allies don’t do is belittle and compare us to stereotypes that are based in hate. They do not call us toxic little queens and threaten to sodomize us with foreign objects and then fetishize how much we would enjoy the pain. And they certainly wouldn’t tell us that we use our coming out stories as a way to have credibility and popularity within the gay community.

See that is what Alec Baldwin should have done when he was confronted about his latest twitter rant by journalist Anderson Cooper. Baldwin felt it was necessary to tell a photo jornalist earlier this summer to stop being a toxic little queen this summer after his wife was reportedly tweeting during a funeral. During Baldwin’s tirade to try to defend his wife while publicly shaming the photog was weak for being gay and tried his best to demean the man by his sexuality, and not by any unethical practices. Soon after Cooper spoke out against Baldwin and his insensitive statements that were homophobic in nature.

But Baldwin had to respond to Cooper’s comments by making even more insensitive, homophobic statements on the Howard Stern radio show:

“What I realize about [Cooper] is, everybody in media, they have a job to do. Anderson Cooper has a job to do. And that job is to try to reinforce his credibility in the gay community after the fact that you couldn’t get him out of the closet for 10 years with a canister of tear gas. Now he’s the sheriff. Now he’s running around writing everybody a ticket!”

Sounds less about addressing the nature of the business and more about an actor that has an inflated appraisal of his talents going on to again attack the ibe thing he feels he has dominance and power over Cooper, his sexuality. Never mind that the process of coming out is different for all of us and takes years, sometimes decades to reconcile the constant unending judgement that you cannot (and should never be taught to) get rid of. There are still men and women that take their entire lifetimes to gain clarity in accepting something society constantly shames you for.

Why is it whenever someone confronts people like Baldwin, they have a tendency to claim the person opposing their view is some politically correct zealot that is just trying to win points with a group thereby warranting them to  invalidate the truth? Was the fact that Baldwin felt he had to talk about a gay man as feminine and someone who’s prone to drama as he did in his latest twitter rant? Or how we talked about this man that accused his wife of tweeting at a funeral as someone that needs to be kicked in his rectum but would like that, because he apparently believes that we gay men love to sexualize violence.

The entire time Baldwin and his statements were about comparing homosexuality to femininity because they were implying that feminine is weak, which is the typical rhetoric of a bigot. And it is misogynist because it places not just femininity in gay men as a weakness, but all women as well. Claiming that you’ve had a long running history with helping numerous unnamed LGBT organizations does not exclude you from having a prejudice mindset or enacting in dialogue that is problematic, hypocritical and downright harmful to this community.

There is no timetable for it because we each have to accept it in our own time. But Baldwin, a straight man that never has to deal with anything other than being a mediocre sitcom actor, feels like he can postulate on the complexities of one’s coming out process. Snide remark aside, let’s go along with this assertion made by Baldwin of Cooper coming out merely to gain favor with the gay community. In a time when there are still LGBT youth that are still openly attacked, bullied, dismembered, driven to a point where they want to end their lives, then any visibility that eliminates the stigma and negative stereotypes that Baldwin promotes, then I still welcome it. Even if it is to gain some sort of status it is a whole lot more than anything Baldwin has ever done for this community.

So please tell me, how someone who can so easily trivialize the process of coming out could ever be an ally. Save the speeches and blanket apologies for someone that truly believes you give a damn, Alec Baldwin. You are no better than the bigots that openly try to oppress us. But at least they’re honest about it. We are now in a time when instead of a person admitting the error in their prejudiced ways they would rather double down on their idiocy while claiming they know the real complexities of a struggle they themselves are lucky enough to never have to experience. So they make even more insufferable, uneducated comments to try to cover up their ignorance their privilege of being a member of the majority has given them. And they look like insensitive, uncaring, completely unaware  fools while doing so.

I for one am exhausted from so called allies that deem themselves as a good guy that had a rough day who was simply using their offensive manner in a different context that we are just too simple to understand. Sorry but you aren’t that good an actor. Claiming that they can so easily discern the reasoning behind someone coming out is laughable and to refer to the process of coming out as a bargaining tool for popularity is not only insulting, it’s disgusting. It’s paramount that so called allies like Baldwin be called out so when they make their mea culpas that are supposed to make us forget their numerous transgressions.

You see the best quality about an ally is that they are willing to listen, because they know no matter how much they are made aware of the oppression and discrimination a group or community face, that they still will never know exactly what the experience feels like. So they must always be willing to accept that there will be times that they see nothing wrong with their behavior when it in fact is very problematic. And since Baldwin seems too keen on ignoring that aspect. we can not call him an ally.

More About Anderson Coopers Coming Out

Entertainment, Featured, , , ,

Anderson Cooper. Need I say more? Instead of boring you with filler I’ll just let you all read the entire article of this impeccable human being expressing that being gay is a blessing:

The award-winning CNN anchor, 45, joined Signorile’s SiriusXM OutQ programfrom Rome, where he is covering the Vatican conclave. In what was deemed as Cooper’s only full-length interview ahead of his scheduled appearance at the 2013 GLAAD Media Awards in New York on March 16, the CNN anchor spoke at length about coming out both personally and professionally, being honored with the prestigious Vito Russo Award and the pain of his brother’s suicide. (Scroll down to listen to the full interview)

I’ve always known I was gay from the time I was a little kid,” Cooper, who came out in an email to Andrew Sullivan last summer, recalled. “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t aware of it, even before I knew what it was or the name of it.”

Of receiving the Vito Russo Award, Cooper noted the honor has “tremendous meaning,” adding, “I certainly don’t think I’m worthy of it, but if it helps GLAAD and if it helps have more people know who Vito Russo is, then I think it is certainly worthwhile.”

After touching on a number of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) relevant stories he’s covered throughout his career, Cooper also opened up about his brother Carter’s 1988 suicide, saying it influenced his own decision to pursue journalism as a profession.

“If you feel like an outsider, you tend to observe things a lot more,” he said. “Early on I felt very much like an observer, because I knew I was gay, I knew I was somehow different.”

He continued, “If you learn the language of loss early, I think you seek out others who have experienced the same thing, who speak that same language of loss.”

See? you didn’t want to hear a lot of fluff from me. I will say that it does help when people of this stature not only embrace their sexuality but to an extent cite it as a source of strength. It does help. So whenever possible willing to share need to vocalize those stories after we come out. And look at this baby sloth pick!!!! Ugh, this man is with my favorite animal. Told you he’s perfect.

Just So You Know, There Is No Criteria To Coming Out

Opinions and Rants, , , , , , , , , ,

gaygay

As of late, there has been so much discussion to coming out of the closet. It started off as a reaction to Jodie Foster’s speech at the Golden Globes and progressed into a heated, bitter debate. In the mist of all this, a notion that there is some sort of criteria you have to meet in order to live up to everyone else’s standards. Imagine that, the LGBT community setting another set of standards we have to meet in order to have an adequate coming out story.

Never mind the fact that these criteria negate the entire process of others looking to come out. Because when you have finally reached the point and admit to yourself that you’re gay, there’s a breadth of emotion to the process. Because it is a process.

I vividly remember my process. It began with…

…wondering first and foremost would those that I love most would support me. Petrified to discover if their love is conditional on you being a certain way. …beginning to speculate how everyone else in this world will treat you because of it. …it’s a process…with each person you tell, it feels freeing and terrifying at the same time because they know something about you so meaningful that they can try to use that against you. …I’m beginning to wonder if this was even worth it.

…Fear the fact that I will always have to be aware of my surroundings because of either my race or because I’m gay because someone may try to harm me because of it. I can be fired for being gay. I should just suppress and not talk about it to anyone when I get a job  …constantly asking myself if/when people are going to stop talking about this. …it’s a process …Was coming out really important. Maybe, just maybe I was wrong to come out in the first place. …becoming so sick and tired of every damn thought and action feeling like it is a result of me being gay.

…so sick of my straight friends asking if I’m checking them out. There’s so much hassle to this. I’m still Sly …it’s a process…I keep staring off into the distance wondering why God made me this way and if this notion of him believing that I am a sinner for being gay will make him take out his vengeful wrath upon me to bring this cure through prayer or strike me down as a result of questioning his infinite way. …surprised by how you deal with the same feelings when you come out are the same as when you’re in the closet…. always angry. …deeply sad. …feeling so alone. …scared. …I cannot and will not give up no matter what.

..just keep going because this is a process…learning about a friend going through the same process of coming out and heard he ended his life because he was too afraid to face it. have to do everything in my power to ensure I do not share the same fate …I am more determined than ever to embrace this no matter what. I don’t care what anyone else says because I’m not living for them. there is nothing wrong with being gay. Gay. …I’ve accepted this in due part to me being an African American. because I have had to accept the persecution of others because I’m an African American male, looked down upon no matter how smart I am, no matter how helpful and kind I treat others. But that is not my fault because there is nothing wrong with being an African American or being gay. One of the biggest reasons that I am so thankful to be an African American is that it helped me not only accept, but also love being gay. I love being gay. I love me.  

Everything you see that’s italicized was my process as it was written down in my journal entries over eight years ago.  Not everyone’s experiences, thoughts, or anything else associated with this process are the same. There’s most likely things and emotions you recognize from my experience and some others that you don’t. No two people are the same and we don’t process any situation or event is the same. But we all went through this life changing event that profoundly affected us. I’m not famous and probably will never reach that status. I’m not trying to be so I do not know all the pros and cons to having money and being privileged. Money can’t make everything go away.

But I do know that money will not take away this process from happening. Why? Because of my race. Because even though  growing up in a -multi-ethnic, multi-religion multi-everything else military town I still face racism. I still face homophobia. Throwing money at race didn’t make those issues go away from James Earl Jones or Denzel Washington and why would it? People will still judge them and me based solely on the color of my skin. When you’re gay, you’re presented with the similar discriminatory issues. I’m not asking them to pick up and campaign against these issues. If I want those changes to happen, I have to do more to make it happen.

Privilege continues to come up in these conversations yet many fail to see the advantages provided to them each and every day because of their race. Do you know what it’s like to have to deal with both racism and homophobia at the same time? I could argue quite effectively how that gives gay Caucasian men privilege over me or any other ethnic minority LGBT member of this community.  So let’s talk about that privilege.

Should we talk about the both covert and blatant racism in the LGBT community, especially among gay men that makes it harder to come out and be welcomed in this community? That when you try to discuss this with certain LGBT leaders that they have the gall to say you’re playing a race card? The very ignorant belief that  you can’t be racist because you’re gay is a sad, yet common belief. You see, this notion of privilege is subjective at best. Formed by our own opinion and experiences, but not always based in fact. So maybe when you talk about other’s privilege you should think about your own and consider how that ideology is a part of the problem.

I’ve been ranting against this idea of privilege and that there’s a right/wrong way to come out nonstop. When I first began writing this two days ago it was filled with evidence of how many of these activists and bloggers are so hypocritical on this topic (and I may still write it as it needs to be addressed) because I am furious that this standard of coming out is expected instead of welcoming everyone no matter what. We all know what that’s like to be treated differently so why are we trying to employ this elitist, homogeneous ideal?

Would I love to see everyone that comes out be an activist as it helps promote and advance the cause? Of course but I don’t see these people that are condemning Jodie Foster doing the same to Matt Dallas. Frank Ocean, Victor Garber, Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto or Anderson Cooper for the way they came out. When will they be scrutinized and asked what they are doing or not doing for the LGBT community? You don’t have to be an example for everyone else. You only have to be you. So these people saying how they want things done should get busy doing the things they want to see in others themselves.

Be more of the instrument that fosters (pun intended) in what you want to see instead of wasting all this time trying to prove that you’re right and that there’s some ridiculous code of conduct to coming out. I have literally argued about this for three days now. I was so ready to get down in the mud and get mean, but then something amazing happened. I began to receive messages from all walks of life telling me of their process. I was so deeply moved by it and am forever thankful for their stories. Amazingly complex but different stories of processing coming out. That solidified even further my belief that this process of coming out is unique to each of us but we still have a process. It changes our perspective on everything.

So I began to write this the way I had always intended. To hope that my experience relates enough to the topic so we can discuss it . I will not always get it right nor will I always agree but always treat everyone with respect. And do my best to make this a community in which EVERYONE is welcome. So no, there is no criteria to coming out because we all went through something powerful and unique. No matter how a person comes out, we should welcome them. I only hope that everyone else in this community begins to do the same.

 

Catholic League’s Bill Donohue: Kathy Griffin Helps Promote STD’s and AIDS

Featured, Religious Morons and Anti-Gay Idiots, , , , , , , , ,

Kathy Griffin bowjob

“Perhaps the biggest story related to Kathy Griffin’s salacious stunt on CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast with Anderson Cooper was the almost deadening silence it engendered from any quarter. Does it matter what Griffin did? To put it more generally, does what we see and hear have any effect on our behavior, particularly the behavior of young people? Does it matter? According to the Centers for Disease Control, even though the risk of transmitting HIV through oral sex is much lower than from other forms of sexual behavior, ‘numerous studies have demonstrated that oral sex can result in the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).’ In other words, people can get chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, genital human papillomavirus, syphilis, and other STDs by having oral sex. This is important because numerous studies have shown that many young people still think they cannot get an STD this way.” – The Catholic League’s  Bill Donohue, on Griffin’s pretend blowjob on CNN New Years Eve.

Lets go out on a limb here and say that you CANNOT get a STD or AIDS from simulating oral sex
on a gay man while fully clothed on live TV.

The Catholic church has worked so long and hard to prevent any actual sex education or contraception that even a hint of sex throws them into a tizzy.

In my best Kathy impersonation of her mother, “Jesus Christ, Kathleen! Why do have to go & pick on the goddamned Catholics all time for Christ’s sake?”

Silver Fox Anderson Cooper Sets The Record Straight About Coming Out

Featured, Gay News From Around The Globe, , , , , ,

Today, reporter, journalist and tv talkshow host (and silver Anderson Cooper cleared the air on his show Anderson Live. During the discussion segment of the program, Cooper, along with guest host Andy Cohen, talked about his open letter to Andrew Sullivan in which Cooper confirmed that he is gay.

First, Cooper reflected on how coming out should not have negative connotations or implications on one’s future success:

“I was really pleased with the response–it’s nice. I think it’s important to send a message to, especially young people, there’s nothing to be ashamed of and you can be successful and you can have a life and you can have many interests and this is one part of your life.“

Cooper also took this opportunity to clear the air from the recent reports he heard from celebrity muckraker Star Jones, who claimed that Cooper only came out to help boost his daytime talkshow ratings (with a dash of snark):

“I haven’t thought about Star Jones in I don’t know how long. I was unaware she was even on TV still but she apparently shows up on a morning show . . .out of the blue Star Jones said after I sent this email Star Jones said this was a ratings ploy by me to boost ratings,”

Cooper makes note that his coming out WAS NOT on the air and IF that had been the avenue he wanted to take, he would’ve done so on his show. Cooper also explained that he had previously invited the show but declined. Jokingly, Cooper and Cohen state that if she were to come on, Cohen, a Bravo tv personality and host, could be the host.

*Sigh* I could stare at those eyes of his forever…oh and good for you Anderson standing up for yourself!

Are Gay Men Incapable of Monogamy? Conventional Norms Questioned

Entertainment, Gay News From Around The Globe, , , , ,

Does sexuality determine promiscuity and monogamy? Are us gay men and women more likely to have a mutual understanding while still being in an open and honest relationship? Today monogamy in gay relationships were examined resulting from an article from the Huffington Post discussing the beautiful and majestic silver haired reporter Anderson Cooper and the suspected but not confirmed cheating rumors.

After several photos were discovered showing Anderson’s boyfriend, Ben Maisani, kissing and holding hands with another man in a park over the weekend, this sparked a conversation of monogamy in gay relationships. The writer then leads into the assertion that in most gay relationships ” in the queer community, which has fewer hangups and restrictions on sex and less rigid parameters on with whom and how we love and lust, open relationships have long provided the stability of partnership with the excitement of being able to meet and sleep with other people.”

The writer feels this factor of gay relationships is unknown outside the community and  that most of  America is “barely ready for gay marriage (and, in most states, entirely unprepared for it). Right wingers are quick to argue that if they give their blessing to gay marriages, other unthinkable terrors, like polygamy and polyamory, won’t be far behind.” So what if the religious right has problems with gay marriage. Does that mean we should stop striving for that right because we have variation in our relationships JUST like straight couples? Absolutely not.

The article suggests a liberation of close minded thinking and “it’s time to start breaking down our antiquated ideas about romance and relationships, many of which are largely based on ideas of control and fear, and start talking openly and honestly about what really works best for each of us”

A couple of years ago, The New York Times suggested in an article that in gay male relationships, monogamy isn’t a huge issue and is not a “central feature for many”. The research also suggested that “gay men and lesbians argue that, as a result, they have stronger, longer-lasting and more honest relationships“but with gay people it does not have such negative connotations.” I don’t agree with this notion that monogamy is absent in same sex relationships so much as it’s what each person in the relationship defines as acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

Another article supported this claim that gay men are less likely to have monogamous relationships but did note that men do “desire and appreciate long-term loving relationships.” 

The one thing I wish these studies had covered that seems paramount in my none too important opinion is the age groups used in their studies. Were these all gay men in their early 20s to mid 30s because there’s such an ambiguous timetable for when men settle down.

Also it would’ve been nice had the studies compared when/if these men came out as that also may have contributed to these results. I’m not making excuses, but if you’re going to make such a strong declarations, all of these variables may have contributed to the results.

I think my only issue with the Huffington Post article is that to me is not that it insinuates that most gay couples have this arrangement. There’s just as much variation in relationships of gay couples as there are in straight ones and everyone needs to understand what monogamy means to themselves and their partner. And it’s about preference too of what type of relationship you want and what’s acceptable to you. Regardless of whether it’s an open or monogamous relationship, in my none too important opinion communication is key.

So do you think gay men are less likely or incapable of monogamy? Are open relationships happy and last longer? What does it take to make it work? Whether it is about cheating or an open relationship I just hope Anderson is happy.