Pride should be “come as you are” — not only if you meet certain standards of acceptability. — Each year, in the lead up to June, social media is flooded with gay men’s discussions of what they are doing to slim down and shape up for Pride. Gay men dieting for Pride is not unique; however, the push seems especially prevalent this year due to the cultural pressure…

Talk Queerly: an occasional column on LGBTQ culture & politics — I’m issuing a challenge to gay men in 2020: stop posting pictures of your body online. The exception is if you are actively working to disrupt the dominant narrative, because we need more representation of queer men of color, trans men, gay men who live in larger bodies, gay men with disabilities, and anyone who doesn’t align with the gay community’s current standards of appearance. Gay…

Talk Queerly: an occasional column on LGBTQ culture & politics — On December 19th of 2019, beloved author J.K. Rowling came under fire when she tweeted her support for Maya Forstater. Forstater, a tax expert, was fired from global think tank Center for Global Development (CGD) after issuing tweets critical of the U.K. government’s proposed plan to allow individuals to self-identify…

Talk Queerly: an occasional column on LGBTQ culture & politics — Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, launched his presidential campaign on January 23rd of 2019. Buttigieg is the first openly gay candidate to run for the Democratic presidential nomination (Fred Karger ran for the Republican nomination in 2012). “Mayor Pete,” as his constituents — and now the American public…

Talk Queerly: a bi-weekly column on LGBTQ culture & politics — Exercise is not an activity that brings me much joy or peace of mind. My relationship to physical activity is complicated at best. Growing up, my body was perpetually a problem. The message I received from my family was that I was too big and needed to lose weight in…

Gay organizing in Buffalo, New York shows Stonewall was not the sole genesis of gay liberation. — In December of 1969, Buffalo gays and lesbians gathered in the cramped and dimly-lit back room of a gay juice and coffee bar called The Avenue, located in a dilapidated building at 70 Delaware Avenue, to begin organizing for their liberation. The meeting was called by James “Jim” Garrow, a…

Talk Queerly: a bi-weekly column on LGBTQ culture & politics — “I’m doing Keto for Pride,” an acquaintance recently told me. “If my body looks better,” he explained, “I can make enough tips bartending to cover several months of rent.” Gay men dieting for Pride is not unique. I share this anecdote not to criticize someone for dieting — people can…

Talk Queerly: a bi-weekly column on LGBTQ culture & politics — The Stonewall Inn Riots of 1969, alternatively referred to as a rebellion or uprising, are often described as the beginning of the modern Gay (now LGBTQ) Rights Movement and the most significant event in LGBTQ history. Stonewall is not solely an historical event, but has taken on a mythological status…

Talk Queerly: a bi-weekly column on LGBTQ culture & politics — Veteran AIDS activist Peter Staley has recently been in the news for his role as the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed on May 14th of 2019. The suit, Peter Staley, et al. v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., et al., filed in a San Francisco federal court, alleges that four large…