Category Archives: GLBT issues

Everything Old is New Again: Resurgence of anti-LGBT

I’ve been having an ongoing chat with a gay man one generation younger than myself. That means he’s in his early 40s. I met him when he was in his early 20s. We’ve been bemoaning the insanity of our current times. I’m not sure if he meant Russia’s barbaric, unprovoked war against Ukraine, or Covid-19, or the resurgence of anti-LGBT legislation in several of the “united” states. But I took it as the latter.

This is an old script. It reminded me of the song “Everything Old is New Again,” written by Peter Allen (a gay performer/songwriter, once married to Liza, don’t you know). Not sure there’s much in this world that’s more gay than Peter Allen onstage with the Rockettes (sorry for the video quality):

Yet once again, a bully from Florida has given us a gift. Back when I was in my early 20s, that bully was Anita Bryant. Today, that bully is Ron DeSantis.

Anita’s gift to the LGBT cause in the late 1970s was called “Save Our Children.” Ron’s gift to LGBT today is nicknamed “Don’t Say Gay.”

Common to the resurgence of anti-LGBT legislation is this fetish to bully gay/trans kids and spread lies about gay people. Anita, bless her heart, wanted to roll back LGBT civil rights protections. She succeeded for awhile. Ron wants to “shore up parental rights” by eliminating references to gender and sexuality in certain grades (actually, this law makes it a crime to talk about any gender or sexuality, not just LGBT ones – expect those lawsuits to start flying soon).

Why This Is A Gift

This is a gift (and a warning) because there’s always a drift away from vigilance to complacency. I see it; I’m guilty of it too. The desire to rest on laurels is strong. After all, we’ve worked hard. We’ve been working on this for what seems like forever.

Finally, those wars for marriage equality, adoption equality, military equality, many (if not all, everywhere) civil rights have been won and enshrined in law.

Until they aren’t anymore.

It’s important to realize that, however we might dread it and want it not to be, the truth is they’re coming for us yet again.

Our enemies. The ones who hate us and lie about us. The institutional, the beyond-cynical Trumpian right wing.

They’re coming for our marriages. They’re coming for our kids. They’re coming for our rights in the dishonest guise of protecting “religious freedom.”

Disbelieve me at your peril.

Cleve Called It

Back in 2002, I made a short documentary called “Our Brothers, Our Sons.” It’s somewhat dated now, but it was comparing/contrasting safer sex messages around AIDS/HIV between Baby Boomer gay men and Gen X gay men.

One thing I’ll never forget from that film, however, is the quote from veteran gay activist Cleve Jones, who said of the younger generation then, referring to rights, that “they don’t realize it all could be taken away, just like that.”

(you can see that quote in the “Our Brother, Our Sons” trailer here on the Amazon page.)

Cleve was right. Gird up, folks. It’s not over, there’s likely dark days ahead of us and we’ll keep on fighting. We always do. We always live the Act Up slogan, Silence = Death.

We won’t be silent. We’ve been here before and we won. We will prevail again this time, I have no doubt.

One of the main reasons for that is the younger generation — of all stripes, is on our side. They’re on our side! Things really can change.

So thanks, bullies. For the warning. And one more thing: We’re not “united” with you, motherfuckers. Looking forward to seeing this resurgence of anti-LGBT legislation dying. Everything old may be new again, but that doesn’t mean that everything old is correct — or indeed ever was.

The Non-Profits I Support (and Why)

I think it’s important to give back. For much of my life I was not in any kind of position to contribute financially (or thought I wasn’t). Then I realized that giving small amounts monthly was less painful to the budget but adds up to a lot over time. I want to tell you about the non-profits I support and why.

This really isn’t for a pat on the back. Even I realize that this kind of armchair activism of writing a check still keeps the real work (which would be volunteering) at arm’s length. Still, it’s a fact that non-profits run on donations. They need money, desperately, for literal survival.

So here are the current non-profits I give to and why:

The Trevor Project

Just starting giving this morning, a direct result of ignorant, misogynistic bullies in Texas (Gov. Abbott and AG Paxton) who decided that bullying trans kids was a good thing. Also Florida and its misguided, ineffective and just really stupid “don’t say gay” bill.

I’ve been wanting to give to The Trevor Project for a long time and these idiots finally pushed me. I guess I should thank them. TTP supports LGBTQ youth with crisis intervention 24/7. I wish there had been such an organization when I was young. I’m so glad there is now and that I can help them in a really small way.

KCRW

I’ve been listening to and supporting our local NPR station for quite a while. It’s part of my everyday life here in Los Angeles. Basically the only radio station I listen to in the car and I also use their smartphone app when out and about and especially when walking.

Known for their innovations in music (my favorite show is Jason Bentley’s “Metropolis”) and local programming (my favorite here is Kim Masters’ “The Business”) I feel so lucky to live where they actually exist and have helped them in person with fundraising drives. Now with technology you don’t have to live in Los Angeles to listen to KCRW.

Los Angeles LGBT Center

It’s easy to take certain organizations for granted if they’ve been around awhile and an ongoing part of your gay life in a town. There’s a danger in failing to remember how unique this organization is, the largest LGBT Center in the freaking world, right here in our city.

With friends (that’s me in the straw hat!) at the opening of the Anita May Rosenstein Center at the LA LGBT Center on April 7, 2019

The Center supports the community in so many ways: health, education, housing, youth and seniors, leadership, advocacy. I’ve gone there for legal advice, movies, stage shows, 12-step meetings, cancer support groups, enrichment classes, art exhibits, parties. . . it’s beyond extraordinary and I feel blessed to live in a place that has such support for my community.

Lambda Legal

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This is the organization that works behind the scenes to make sure LGBT Rights are protected in the courts. They are a place where anyone who is LGBT can go if they’ve had their rights trod upon (which, sadly, happens all the time).

Also, one of the ways the Right is always trying to undermine LGBT people in this country is through legislation attempting to curtail our rights. Lambda Legal is there to fight, within the system, whenever and wherever this happens. They work tirelessly for LGBT equality in the US, which sadly is not guaranteed by law in every instance.

The Right’s current ploy is to take away LGBT Rights under the lying guise of “religious freedom” bills – and Lambda Legal will be there to counter this every time. But they need money! So I give a little bit every month.

Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

Income inequality in the United States, and particularly in huge cities like Los Angeles can be and is epic. This was exacerbated by the pandemic when so many people were thrown out of work all at once in the lockdowns.

There’s absolutely no reason for anyone in our enormously wealthy country to go hungry. The LA Regional Food Bank does a great job in providing sustenance to those who really need it.

ACLU

The main reason I like the American Civil Liberties Union is that it supports the little guy. And any little guy, even the ones I don’t agree with or like, such as the occasional person or entity on the far right that, let’s face it, has the same First Amendment protections we all enjoy.

Again it’s a legal organization speaking the truth to power. This is part of a piece with why I support Lambda Legal – I realize there is much value in experts, and experts need to be supported to safeguard the freedoms we have in this country. Also, don’t you want to get behind an organization that kicks ass every day of the week? I know I do.

So there you have it, these are the 6 non-profits I support. I currently give a small amount to each of these organizations every month. My eventual goal is to donate 5% of my annual income to non-profits. Not quite there yet, but getting closer.

Sex Sells, and Sells Some More

As an independent and self-published author, I’m constantly evaluating the things I do to market my books. As we all know, one of the biggest truisms of advertising is that “sex sells.” And sells some more:

Take this blog, for instance. This one, the one you’re reading. Far and away the posts most viewed are the ones that have to do with gay sex in some fashion.

Should I Get Naked in Front of the Camera?

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For instance, I was thinking about baring it all. Booking a photo shoot with any number of the great photographers in Southern California who focus on the male nude. I’m currently quite happy with my fitness level and think I look fairly good nekkid for a man about to be 67.

This idea didn’t come from nowhere. There’s a couple of people I can think of who’ve made a small cottage industry out of celebrating the mature gay male body. I think it’s great! It’s not like any of us who’ve survived past 50 just sit in our parlors all day sipping tea and listening to the clock tick. (OK, maybe that’s what we’ve done for the past two years, but heck, it was a pandemic.)

Any Publicity is Good Publicity

So why not show/do something that could be an evergreen Internet magnet? The old saying that “any publicity is good publicity” is mostly true (which I’ve determined after many years in public relations).

Then again there’s the question: Would people who like to look at sexy naked pictures of older men also be the people who buy books? My guess is that for most, probably not. But some would. There’d be a few.

It’s also a long-term proposition. It’s that spark of awareness of something which grows over time to be curiosity, and then to conversion (to use the selling term). Stranger things have happened.

Sex sells, then sells some more. The video attached is a compilation of the most popular 2021 posts on my Instagram. It’s a teaser for what might follow. As Marilyn said, “I’ll keep the radio on.”

Sexy in the Eye of the Beholder

I saw this, thought it was lovely, so I wanted to share it:

“When gay men accept their own aging bodies and learn to lust after the changing bodies of the men around them, they grow up. When gay men cast off their manufactured youth fetish and celebrate essential, healthy, and whole masculine aging (manliness in all its imperfect manifestations), they discover new sexual possibilities, new ways of imaging and creating themselves, a whole new world where gay liberation becomes a limitless journey and not a restricted destination.”

(This is from “The Ephebe is Dead – Long Live the Bear” by David Greig in The Bear Book II ed. by Les Wright, 2001.)

American culture in general suffers from youth worship, and American gay culture even more so, if that’s possible. Even in 2021 it’s rare to see a photo of anyone over the age of 40 (and certainly no advertising) in any LGBT publication. Life doesn’t end at 35, it never did and it’s really important to remember that, even when the larger culture screams “youth” incessantly.

One of the things about the above quote that rings most true is the notion of a “manufactured youth fetish” – we’re told, mostly by advertisers, to lust after youth and thinness/hairlessness because that’s all we’re shown. The reality is oh, so much broader. Sexy is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

So let’s celebrate our age – whatever it happens to be – as vital, masculine and sexy in its own unique expression.

Here’s some photos of the blogger, from teenage hippie to masked senior citizen. I felt sexy (well, at least a little bit!) in every photo. I hope that continues.

(Here are some great essays from Damon Jacobs on the power of aging and the wisdom that can come from that.)

1972 – his eyes were mere slits
2009 – why is the mirror crooked?
2011 – garden party
2014 – every day was hat day
2017 – fedora nation
2020 – ready for safer sex in a pandemic
2021 – one happy place (NOLA)
2021 – another happy place (Griffith Park)

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Ten Reasons to Get Over Your Jaded Self and Go to the Gay Pride Parade Anyway

Because it’s the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall Riots (and you’ve been around for the whole damn thing)
Because Haters would just love the idea of the Gay Parade becoming passe
Because the powers that be would gleefully take it away from us, if they only could
Because of countries like Russia, Israel, Poland and many others which spark homophobic violence whenever they try to put on a Gay Parade
Because you Show Up and Represent – in this case, your own generation which is so diminished in numbers because of the Plague Years, and now just because of age years
Because a cute guy(s) might still cruise you (yes, it CAN and DID happen)
Because it’s rare you can find muscles, jockstraps, drag queens, marching bands, bagpipes, gay dads, Wells Fargo, Warner Brothers, rainbow-painted dogs and (my hero) Congressman Adam Schiff all in the same location
Because you never ever want to forget that sense of wonder and amazement that there was such a thing, that first Gay Pride Parade you attended on this very same street in 1981 before WeHo was even a City
Because you have rainbow bling (see rainbow ring necklace) which, if you can’t wear it on Gay Pride Day, when are you going to wear it?
Finally, because there’s nothing more annoying than a bitter old thing who can’t abide the joy for this special once-a-year-day. Just for today, that’s not me.

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Stephen Varble’s Gutter Art – Rear Opening

Do you keep discards, trash, ephemera, with an eye to what fabulous use (perhaps as an outfit or a statement) these things might possibly have in the future? Neither do I. Especially not this year, not after a bunch of successive Tuesdays Marie Kondo-ing my stuff.

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That pretty much ensures I won’t become another Stephen Varble. Good thing he already did it, and was the original. Anyway, this event on Saturday at One Gallery on Robertson in West Hollywood was a lot of fun, and educational and entertaining as well.

Here’s the copy from their own flier about the event:

“A cadre of performing artists who uniquely defy the status quo will deliver an appropriately inappropriate tribute to the genderqueer provocateur Stephen Varble. Thanks to Greg Day’s photographs and David J. Getsy’s research and curation, Stephen Varble’s legacy of disruption for the sake of art and creatively recycled street-trash couture lives on to inspire future generations. Performers include: Multimedia artist Jason Jenn, aka the Troubadour Trixter, conjures up a spirited homage as the ferociously festooned MC (Mistress unCeremonious). Yozmit, the internationally celebrated visual artist, avant-garde party-artist, and singer/songwriter will enthrall with some of her latest original songs. Enrique Jesus Hernandez, the latinx, performance rock artist and domestic abuse activist will deliver an expressive musical tribute.

“There will be a few more surreptitious surprises to will rock the gallery. Expect the unexpected, expect trashy looks to look good, expect bad taste to be in good taste, expect to be amused—just don’t expect too much. Gutter couture encouraged.”

I didn’t have much in the way of gutter couture to wear to the event, but I was gifted (at least temporarily) with a purple skirt I put on my head (pix) by Jason (Mistress unCeremonious). Much frivolity and fun was had by all. Stephen in the ether shone on.

Entrance
Jason, Enrique
Greg Day and Jason Jenn
Jason Jenn
Jason Jenn
Blogger with purple skirt on his head; Harry W!
Enrique
Enrique
Enrique
Yozmit
Yozmit
Yozmit
Yozmit

ONE Gallery Exhibit – Colin Campbell and Lisa Steele in L.A.

Gosh. I haven’t posted anything on this blog in over a month. So, I thought the least I could do would be to post a photo of an art exhibit I went to:

One of these things is not like the other!

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You can read all about it here. Upshot is that it’s two Canadians coming to L.A. in the 1970s and making some video art – the weirdness of Los Angeles, freeways, violence, all of that. Still this is early enough so that the concept is not tedious. We forget how compelling it can be to slap on some makeup, a blonde wig and sunglasses and just start talking. A lot of the improv I did find hypnotic. It’s not for everyone but it was for me.

Los Angeles Gay Pride 2018

It really was Chamber of Commerce kind of weather, yesterday June 10, around 80 degrees, slight breeze, clear as a bell. Reminded me so much of what I love about living in LA: strong, involved Thus, for super viagra active a wholesome remedy to erectile dysfunction, you should avoid drinking grapefruit juice. They are the Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH), and the Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and the Luteinizing Hormone (LH). tadalafil online india Lovegra is scientifically formulated to provide intense cialis rx sexual satisfaction for women seeking ultimate pleasure. Urad dal is useful in treating sunburn, removing tan and lightening skin, treating buy levitra in usa visit for more info acne, and reducing dark spots and patches. LGBT community; wonderful friends, fellowship, a sense I belong — which I don’t have every day but just for once I “got LA back.” Here’s some photos of the parade et al —

blogger

Arthur Shafer with blogger

zany.

The Parade, waiting.

What is Pride without some Drag?

Nearly naked boys dancing, of course.

Disney pride balloons.

Parting Shot, World AIDS Day 2017: Remembering

Parting shot for today, World AIDS Day. December 1. I linked to my “list” earlier (originally a Facebook post). Lists have power, showing the enormity of a thing like a plague. But on those lists are individual lives, of course. So I wanted to talk about one of them and the Basic Instinct scarf, the Hermes scarf that murderous femme fatale Catherine Trammell (Sharon Stone) uses to tie up her BF for a little kinky sex in that movie.

I have one, not an actual Hermes, but a knockoff, a gag souvenir (although it is a real scarf) which was given to video reporter Marc Berman for the press event on the VHS launch of that movie, probably sometime in 1992.

He gave it to me at a lunch we had; I think it was Farfalla on La Brea. Perhaps he’d just come from the event. He obviously thought I required a white BDSM scarf.

The job I had at the time was corporate PR for a movie studio, and we were encouraged to go out to lunch with reporters from the trades. Marc worked for Daily Variety and he was my favorite reporter to eat with. Why? Because he was my age, he was gay, he was brilliant and cute and flirty and fun. We had much more fun telling stories about this person or that person than anything substantive about video business.

He was also a playwright; also an activist. He was one of the founders of the Entertainment AIDS Alliance, and was on the Board of APLA and worked with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Most of all, he was that kind of a person who just lit up a room when he walked in.

So all these years since, I’ve kept the white scarf in my drawer, occasionally taking it out. Perhaps I’ll wear it someday. Perhaps I’ll tie somebody up with it one day. Perhaps I’ll just always keep it to remind myself of the gentle soul who made so many lives a little bit brighter.
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From the LA Times in 1993:

Marc Berman, 39, playwright, Variety columnist and AIDS activist. A native of Ohio who was educated at Boston University, Berman began his career as an actor in regional theater and went on to write such critically acclaimed plays as “The Wolf Patrol,” “River Downs” and “The Day Andy Warhol Got Shot.” He moved to Los Angeles in 1986 as West Coast bureau chief for TWICE magazine, an acronym for This Week in Consumer Electronics. In 1990, he joined Video Business and then became a staff writer for Daily Variety, doing reviews and covering home video and film and AIDS in the entertainment industry. For the past year, he also wrote a column for the weekly Variety. In 1989, Berman co-founded the fund-raising Video Industry AIDS Action Committee. He also served on the board of AIDS Project Los Angeles and was active in the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. On Nov. 6 in Sherman Oaks of AIDS.

Blogger with “Hermes” scarf

Marc Berman

Los Angeles Gay Pride #ResistMarch 2017

I need a new phone!

I was going to bring my camera to this event but I forgot it, what with the sign and all. So, my apologies, the phone ran out of juice about halfway through. I couldn’t even call a Lyft to go back to the subway once it was over. Yes, I know, #Firstworldproblems. I have failed today.

I did love that the Pride Celebration in LA returned to its protest roots. Energizing and energetic, it was great to see the 100,000 people come out to march in the streets in resistance to the “not normal in any way” times we find ourselves in, to reaffirm our equal rights as gay, lesbian, trans, bi, queer, unsure, whatever. We’ve fought very hard for a very long time and honey, we’re not giving an inch. Not. one. inch.

Enjoy the photos and the one video I did manage to take.

this was my sign.

the flip side of my sign.

Early arrival.

49 Balloons to remember the 49 victims at #Pulse

Another selfie.

Recruiting for protesters that day.

Blogger selfie. Like my #ITMFA hat?

And a video snippet:

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