The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) articles from March 2009

The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) archives from March 2009

Editor's letter.
March 1, 2009... PARTLY BECAUSE IT TOOK what I thought, at the time, was a Herculean effort to come clean with my very pro-gay family about my sexual orientation, I'm the first to acknowledge that coming out of the closet can feel like an act of heroism. ...

The new Advocate.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... I am a big fan of The Advocate. I look forward to its arrival with great anticipation, and I have to tell you that the February issue was fabulous (to be gay about it). The "Back to the Future" JetBlue terminal article spoke positive...

Obama's promises.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... I think that we as a gay community should band together to make our voice known to Obama and to other politicians that we do count, not just at the voting booth but while they're in office, to gain the rights they have promised ["When a Nod's...

Not gay enough?(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... I agreed with Michelangelo Signorile's article "Wither Maddow?" [February] in that Rachel Maddow has become too complacent in addressing GLBT issues on her show. Her silence during the Proposition 8 campaign was deafening. It wasn't until after...

Defending the condom.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... After reading "The Next Condom Conundrum" in the February issue, I was left with conflicted emotions. First, as a sexual health educator with a primary interest in HIV and men who have sex with men, I am excited at the prospect of yet another...

Thank you, Barney.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... Thank you for paying tribute to Barney Frank, a tireless leader for our community ["Harrumph!" January 13]. Since your article on Frank appeared, he has been an outspoken critic of President-elect Obama's choice of the homophobic Reverend Rick...

The new Mormon right.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... Your article "The New Religious Right" [January 13] about the Mormon Church was dead-on. I was a member for 20 years and quit in August. I refused to join the witch hunt against gays, and for that was refused help with food when I was...

Should Prop. 8 be overturned through the courts or at the polls?(ONLINE POLL)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... How readers responded to the Advocate.com poll question featured in the January 13 issue of The Advocate Through the courts 83% At the polls 13% Undecided 4% "Rights are not within the purview of the...

Frank's new face: barely over a year since transgender activists labeled Barney Frank a turncoat, he's hired the first openly transgender legislative staff member on Capitol Hill.(ADVANCE)(Diego Sanchez)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BEFORE DIEGO SANCHEZ CAME TO WASHINGTON, D.C., he was a PR executive for Fortune 100 companies. "I introduced Diet Coke, which was an elation," he says, "and then I introduced 'new Coke,' which wasn't so hot."...

Battling the military ban: in a bracing new account, historian Nathaniel Frank shows how "don't ask, don't tell" has utterly failed.(ADVANCE)(Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN JULY 1993, when President Clinton unveiled "don't ask, don't tell," Nathaniel Frank was in a tent in Wyoming. He'd just graduated from college and was spending the summer road-tripping through the West in his...

Gaydar.(ADVANCE)(Kenneth Starr on Proposition 8)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... "We will not mince words. The attorney general is inviting this court to declare a constitutional revolution." KENNETH STARR, who will lead Yes on 8's legal team in the California supreme court, blasting state attorney general Jerry...

12.(BY THE NUMBERS)(black California voters that supported Proposition 8)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... 12 The percentage-point difference between the National Exit Poll's estimate that 70% of black California voters supported Proposition 8, and 58%, the figure reported in a more recent study released by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force...

A woman of her own mind: not even her daughter's death could change Christine Maggiore's attitude about HIV and AIDS.(ADVANCE)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TO SOME, SHE WAS A HERO who took on the medical establishment. To others, she was dangerous, akin to a criminal: an HIV-positive mother of two who promoted the belief that HIV doesn't cause AIDS, refused to take...

Drawn out: Tintin's been outed. Jinkies! Could Velma be next?(ADVANCE)(cartoons and gays)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Is it a happy accident that the popular cartoon character Tintin, who first appeared in European newspapers in 1929 and is set to star in a series of upcoming Steven Spielberg films, has a tidy blond coil, a tiny dog for a pet, and counts a...

Gaydar.(ADVANCE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... "And to my roommate, Portia, thank you very much as well." ELLEN DEGENERES, accepting her People's Choice Award and making a very sarcastic point about Prop. 8 when she thanked her wife, Portia de Rossi, January 7

Confessions about a dance floor.(ADVANCE: Civil Survey)(people's take on Dancing With The Stars)
March 1, 2009... ABC'S DANCING WITH THE STARS WILL BE A LAUGHABLE RELIC IN A FEW YEARS (Circus of the Stars, anyone?), but for now it remains a bona fide, albeit campy, hit. The DWTS tour also has a devoted following. We attempted to query some fans about their...

Divide and conquer: the Episcopal Church may have just lost 100,000 members because of its pro-gay stance, but Bishop V. Gene Robinson says the denomination isn't about to waver in its support.(ADVANCE)
March 1, 2009... IT WAS A SIGNIFICANT turning point in the Episcopal Church's holy war over gays when four U.S. dioceses and dozens of individual parishes--accounting for as many as 100,000 members--split from the denomination in December. But according to the...

Pics and tricks.(QUEERIES)(Brief article)(Column)
March 1, 2009... Where's the trust when neither of you were supposed to be cruising online? Ethical expert STEPHEN MILIOTI explains. Q: My boyfriend posted nude pictures of himself on a hookup site. We don't have an open arrangement, but if I tell him I saw...

The lost manuscript: Oscar Wilde's ode to a grande dame is unearthed after 50 years.(ADVANCE: Exhibit A)(poem for Lillie Langtry entitled "Roses and Rue")(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A SCANDALOUS, GLAMOROUS ACTRESS more notorious than she was celebrated, Lillie Langtry was the Lindsay Lohan of the late 19th century. Admirers of the British thespian included her friend Oscar Wilde, who wrote her...

It hurts when I click here: consulting the Net rather than your doc can be dangerous.(HEALTH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN AN AGE WHEN DATING AND SHOPPING ARE A MERE MOUSE CLICK AWAY, it would seem plausible that diagnosing and treating oneself via the Internet could be just as easy. But with the advent of easily accessible medical...

HIV and the law.(HEALTH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Recent criminal cases in Georgia, Colorado, and Texas highlight the variations in state laws concerning nondisclosure of HIV-positive status to one's sexual partners. Pennsylvania's statute is particularly severe-calling for the same punishment...

Plumbing the depths.(HEALTH)(urinary tract infections )(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Typically, urinary tract infections occur more frequently in women than in men. But in my own practice I have found that gay men are especially prone to UTI, particularly if they engage in unprotected sex. (I advise that nonmonogamous partners...

(U)Topia Inn: covering your carbon footprints in the Berkshires.(TRAVEL)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "ECO-FRIENDLY" ISN'T JUST A TRENDY CATCHPHRASE at lesbian-owned Topia Inn, a serene, smoke-free, 10-room Berkshires retreat in arts-minded Adams, Mass.: The inn is powered with solar panels and biodiesel fuel. Nana...

Jet green.(TRAVEL)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Q: It seems impossible to take an entirely green trip, especially by air. Is there any way to travel with less jet-fuel pollution? Consider the equipment. The brand-new Qantas A380, produced by European company Airbus, is up to 10% more...

Hot list: snag these earth-friendly products for a greener trip.(TRAVEL)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... SOLAR AND WIND CHARGER Harnessing the power of the wind, the sun, or a conventional wall plug, this nifty universal charger fits in the palm of your hand. The battery-stored energy powers anything from your phone and MP3 player to a...

Museum city: Canada's largest city exhibits a stunning new skyline of architectural marvels, including some of the continent's most intriguing museums.(adventure)(Art Gallery of Ontario )
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TORONTO IS PROBABLY not one of the first cities that comes to mind when thinking of great architecture destinations. But it should be. Ever since 1976, when the 1,815-foot CN Tower became...

Doing business German-style: whether you're a corporate traveler or casual visitor, Berlin's infectious unkonventionalitat tempts you to skip a commitment or two and have an adventure or three.(UNCONVENTIONAL TRAVEL)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BERLIN'S FAMOUS UNCONVENTIONALITY pervades its multiethnic cuisines and vibrant all-night, every-night nightlife, its high-design hotels and art scenes, and even its city government, headed by out mayor Klaus...

Eco-homo: city slicker Adam H. Graham travels all the way from the Galapagos Islands to Alaska to find an eco-oriented vacation that fits him just right.(VANTAGE POINT)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE WORD ECOTOURISM has been bandied about in a variety of ways, with many hotels, properties, and packages green-washing themselves in an attempt to come across as ecologically friendly. But what exactly is an...

Matt's next act: Olympic diver Matthew Mitcham wowed the world with his come-from-behind win last August, but half a year later--and with no major endorsements to his name yet--he is ready to prove that he's one gay boy whose gold medal is much more than a flash in the pan.(Cover story)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] That's a pretty lofty accomplishment to ascribe to just anyone, especially a gentle, smile-prone 20-year-old who looks less like a world-class Olympian and more like the little brother whose head is always ripe for a...

Black and gay like me: after Wanda Sykes stood up in front of a crowd of thousands and declared that she's a lesbian, she became a poster girl foe black and gay America, whether she likes it or not.
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHEN WANDA SYKES STROLLED ONSTAGE at the Trevor Project's annual Cracked Xmas fund-raiser last December in Los Angeles, the crowd leapt to its feet in a standing ovation. After the applause and whoops subsided the...

Stonewall 3.0: as protesters continue to hit the street in favor of marriage equality, they're struck by a realization that could be the key to their strength: this could be the first generation of gay activists that doesn't have to fight a backlash from the people who came before them.
March 1, 2009... WHEN THE GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENT first burst into the streets of New York City's Greenwich Village in 1969, older gay folks reacted with horror. To all those who'd spent their lives thinking that the closet was essential to their survival,...

The Iraqi who took Manhattan: dressed in jeans and a zip-up sweater and with his phone buzzing with text messages, Leo is like any 25-year-old New Yorker. Except he's a refugee, spirited out of Baghdad this winter.
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "IF THAT BUILDING IS BOMBED, I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED," Leo says, pointing across New York City's Eighth Avenue at an old bank building, now a grocery store, where he's about to have lunch. It's late December, and...

Woman on fire: Concha Buika doesn't think she is a musician, but you'd never know it. The arresting bisexual and bicultural beauty has wowed critics and audiences with her flamenco sound. Now she's coming to the U.S. and getting married-to herself.(SPECTATOR: Music)
March 1, 2009... CONCHA BUIKA IS ALONE ONSTAGE in Paris, and the crowd is roaring for more. She gathers herself, heavy tendrils of hair framing her strong African face, and begins the traditional Spanish lament "Aquellos Ojos Verdes," attacking the melody...

Sticky and sweet: when a teen lesbian falls for her closest friend, is it love, lust, or obsession?(SPECTATOR: Television)(Sugar Rush)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THAT FIRST HIGH-SCHOOL CRUSH can be a real bitch: sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath--all over someone who might not even know you're alive. While American TV shows have addressed adolescent amour fou...

The poet and the painter: author David Francis finds surprising familiarity in the relationship between painter Salvador Dali and poet Federico Garcia Lorca, brought to life in the new film Little Ashes.(SPECTATOR: Viewpoint)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO I was in Paris on a writing fellowship. I was searching for inspiration when I discovered a poem by the celebrated and gay Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. It was his "Ode to Salvador Dali":...

The many faces of Toni.(SPECTATOR: A-List)(Toni Collette )(Interview)
March 1, 2009... SHE SMOOCHED JULIANNE MOORE IN THE HOURS, supported her suicidal gay brother in Little Miss Sunshine, and pretended to be a drag queen in Connie and Carla. Now Toni Collette finds herself prowling "titty bars" as a suburban housewife with...

... Gay and lesbian alliance against defamation.(I Advocate ...)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Here's what actress and nightclub performer CANDIS CAYNE is passionate about this month [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "I have been through a lot in my life. I've seen things that probably a lot of people haven't seen. I think it's really...

... My show on Monday nights at the Abbey in West Hollywood.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... In L.A., Monday is usually a sleepy night, But this is early enough--10 P.M.--that you can go and enjoy the show and still get to bed at a decent hour. Marco, my fiance, is the DJ, and we just have a good time.

... Perez Hilton's red carpet suicide.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)
March 1, 2009... Perez is a friend of mine, and you just know that anything he writes is going to be juicy and scandalous and fun. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

... The at-home spa.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ultimately it would be nice to go out and get a fancy massage and facial somewhere, but you can do it at home and don't have to spend the money. Set aside an hour or so, do a mask, light candles, listen to music,...

... Doing something nice and little for a stranger every day.(I Also Advocate ...)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Especially in L.A., this can be as small as letting someone ahead of you in traffic. There are moments when you're like, Why can't they just give me a break? Then you get that one person who smiles and waves and you actually think, That was...

... Watching nip/tuck.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... I just shot a couple of episodes. I meet Christian and we have a little affair. Then I come back and ask him for surgery. The madness ensues from there. It all makes me realize that I'm doing exactly what I want to do. I love waking up at 4 in...

... Throwing dinner parties.(I ALSO ADVOCATE ...)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Twice a month on a Sunday night, I'll invite between six and 10 friends over (any bigger and you can't have a group conversation). Everybody has a bunch of friends who they either want to get to know better or just...