The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) articles from September 2008

The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine) archives from September 2008

Correct change.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
September 9, 2008... THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH TALK ABOUT CHANGE THIS PAST YEAR--from Barack Obama's "change we can believe in" to Lindsay Lohan's apparent shift in sexual orientation--that I'm almost loath to trumpet the transformation we're about to undergo here at...

Hair-raising.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was with much bemusement and a little dismay that I read your article "The Age of the Silver Fox" [August 12]. The implication of your cover made me think you were going to discuss that often taboo subject in gay...

Husband material.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
September 9, 2008... I am writing to both praise and contradict my close friend Austin Bunn's recent article "Husbands" [August 12]. I admire Austin's elegant, effective, and bare-boned prose as well as his willingness to identify Louisville, Ky., as "a stylish,...

Do you find gray hair sexy?(THE ADVOCATE POLL)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... "It is always sexy to see someone embrace who they truly are and not try to hide behind coloring or any other mask." "Think about it--gray hair is associated with getting old and reaching the age at which people die. Now, why would that be...

Defining virginity.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
September 9, 2008... Although I admire Christopher Mangum's determination to "remain a virgin until" he is in a "committed relationship" ["Let's Wait Awhile," August 12], his hazy definition of gay virginity is risky. Mangum said he "wouldn't partake in...

Out on the street.(FEEDBACK)
September 9, 2008... We asked a sampling of LGBT people in Miami: "Can Florida defeat the ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage?" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Chase Smith, 39 record storage manager "There's not even a gay pride in Miami--how can we...

Mile-high expectations: with people like Tammy Baldwin center stage, there's hope that the Democratic National Convention will give gay issues the spotlight.(POLITICS)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AFTER A DIVISIVE 18-month primary campaign, the Democrats aim to unify their base at their convention in Denver, August 25-28. It will be a progressive's dream with bike sharing, meals featuring organic food, and a...

A big check, a big caveat: gay men living in homophobic countries are finally getting HIV treatment--but they can't thank their own governments for it.(Forward)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... IT PROBABLY won't come as a surprise when you hear that the money the United States is sending to Third World countries to fight HIV and AIDS comes with strings attached. The Bush Administration is famous for tying its moral agenda to foreign...

Ladies, start your engines: lesbian sex lives may get a boost from Viagra.(Forward)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Viagra hit the market 10 years ago, sexologist Carol Queen just had to try it. And it sure worked: "I was feeling more clitoral sensation, a heightened sense of arousal and lubrication, abundant blood flow, and...

The he-said, he-said two step: a wrongful termination lawsuit against the DNC refuses to go away.(Forward)(Democratic National Committee)(Howard Dean )(Donald Hitchcock)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... JUST IN TIME for the general election, Howard Dean and the Democratic Party will go head-to-head with a disgruntled former employee in a trial set to begin in October in Washington, D.C. Donald Hitchcock, the Democratic National Committee's...

Gay-baiting ads get their due: writer Bob Garfield takes issue with intolerance being used as marketing.(DOSSIER)(Interview)
September 9, 2008... CLAD IN BRIGHT yellow short shorts, a speed-walker swishes down the sidewalk. Suddenly Mr. T drives up in a truck and machine-guns the walker with Snickers bars, calling him a "disgrace to the man race," then implores viewers to "get some...

By the numbers: GSAs in the USA.(Forward)(Gay-Straight Alliance Network)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... Claiming gay-straight alliances are sex clubs, officials at Florida's Okeechobee High School refused to let a GSA meet on campus, saying it would conflict with their abstinence-only curriculum. But a federal judge disagreed with that...

Larry Michael Townsend.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Larry Michael Townsend, 77, gay author and activist, of complications from pneumonia, July 29, in Los Angeles. Townsend was the author of several books, including 1972's The Leatherman's Handbook, which explored and...

Robert Calhoun.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... Robert Calhoun, 77, the longtime partner of actor Farley Granger, of lung cancer, May 24, in New York City. Calhoun--a soap opera producer who won a Daytime Emmy in 1987 for his work on As the World Turns (other credits include Guiding Light...

Estelle Getty.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Estelle Getty, 84, who played Sophia on TV's The Golden Girls, July 22, at her Los Angeles home. Getty had suffered from advanced dementia. She got the part on the long-running NBC series after a lauded New York...

Kent Snyder.(DIED)(Obituary)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... Kent Snyder, 49, the chairman of congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign, of pneumonia, June 26, in Fairfax, Va. The Kansas native first worked with Paul during the Republican's 1988 bid for president and was widely credited with...

Datebook 08.26-09.09.(Forward)(Calendar)
September 9, 2008... SEPTEMBER 2-7 Girls just want to have fun, and they'll get the chance at Womenfest in Key West, Fla., a sapphic dream with poetry, outdoor sports, and a group commitment ceremony. WOMENFEST.COM [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] AUGUST...

Rants & raves.(Forward)
September 9, 2008... "This is what is going to be put on my tombstone, 'cause I said it, like, one time. But no, I will not miss it." --Fall Out Boy leader Pete Wentz, on whether he will miss making out with other men now that he's married to Ashlee Simpson,...

Paper trail.(Forward)(Dumbfounded)(Excerpt)
September 9, 2008... After his mother abandoned him as a baby for a fourth husband and a new life in Italy, Matt Rothschild moved up to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, into the Fifth Avenue apartment of his affluent grandparents. With a penchant for wearing...

The conservatives made me do it: right-wing rhetoric may have inspired one man to violence in Tennessee. Thanks, Ann Coulter!(Jim David Adkisson )(Column)
September 9, 2008... JIM DAVID ADKISSON AND I may share two names, but I'm fairly certain he's not a gay Sondheim fanatic distressed about the state of the American musical. That other Jim David is a 58-year-old man who entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian...

Ma'am, would you care for some facts with that? Judging from her congressional testimony, Elaine Donnelly may be the most strident civilian opponent of lifting "don't ask, don't tell." Too bad her reasons for keeping the policy in place aren't sound.(POLITICS)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ELAINE DONNELLY MADE quite a name for herself at the "don't ask, don't tell" hearing held by the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel on July 23. A die-hard advocate of minimizing the role of women...

A broader bully pulpit: as Congress grapples with solutions for a faltering economy, Barney Frank sits at the center of power.(POLITICS)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BY ANY MEASURE the housing relief bill that passed Congress and was signed by President Bush in late July was a remarkable achievement. The bill, which includes a program to help hundreds of thousands of families...

Everything they always wanted to know about sex: because their health class doesn't always include the safe-sex lessons that they need, some Chicago teens have taken matters (and the lessons) into their own hands--by staging a new show.(COMMUNITY)('Fast Forward' by About Face Youth Theatre)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GROWING UP THE DAUGHTER of a conservative Chicago pastor, Pookie, a 16-year-old lesbian, learned little about sex at home, where "it's all about God," she says. A student at a high school on the city's north side,...

Jon Hamm.(BIG GAY FOLLOWING)(Interview)
September 9, 2008... It's a white heterosexual man's world in the AMC series Mad Men, set in 1960s Manhattan. But that world is somehow less oppressive with a handsome star like Jon Hamm calling the shots. He has won a Golden Globe, and is nominated for a 2008...

F4M? F4F? WTF! Celeb mags are all agog: Lindsay is either lesbian, bisexual, or just another straight girl engaged in an elaborate--albeit genius--publicity stunt. But really, what difference does it make?(NEWS)(Lindsay Lohan)
September 9, 2008... IT USED TO BE SO EASY TO PSYCHOANALYZE LINDSAY LOHAN. All the trappings of young fame were right there: the box office successes, the forgettable pop music, the overbearing stage mother, the troubled father, and a revolving door of famous boy...

Dude, action sports are, like totally homophobic: founded on an image of alternative lifestyle, the counterculture world of snowboarding, skating, and surfing has become one of the most uptight scenes around.(NEWS)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] RYAN MILLER WAS SHARING A HOTEL ROOM at a Best Western In Vancouver, Canada, with his U.S. Pro Snowboard Tour teammates when his secret slipped out. The International Ski Federation s 2000-2001 race season was...

Pie-in-the-sky presidency? The prospect of the nation's first black president sparks the hope that a gay president is drawing nearer.
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FOUR YEARS AGO, few voters outside Illinois knew who Barack Obama was, let alone imagined that a virtual newcomer like him could be poised to become the nation's first African-American president. Yet, today, Obama's...

Lesbian who lunches: who knew Jada Pinkett Smith--with all her yoga, child-raising, rock 'n' rolling, and world-changing--would have the time to put a sapphic twist on October's remake of the 1939 camp classic The Women?(FILM)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] JADA PINKETT SMITH has too much going on. Never mind all the schedule-juggling that comes with being married to America's reigning box office champ, Will Smith; with film credits including The Nutty Professor,...

People in your neighborhood: the gay characters we'll be watching on TV this season.(TV)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] (1) Marco on CW's Privileged (Premieres September 9) INDUSTRY INSIDERS have been calling CW's Privileged a Gossip Girl spin-off, but Allan Louis (Stomp the Yard) says it's much more Gilmore Girls. Louis...

Will the real JT Leroy please stand up? Two years after The New York Times discovered the truth behind fictitious writer JT LeRoy, Savannah Knoop reveals how she became the face of a literary scandal.(BOOKS)(Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT WAS 2003, JT LeRoy's international book tour for The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things was winding down, and Savannah Knoop remembers sitting in a London hotel bathtub and staring at her body, not sure who or...

A comic of errors: writer Jonathan Ames breaks into graphic novels with The Alcoholic, in which a young man's affair with his best friend haunts him for years.(BOOKS)
September 9, 2008... "NOT TO BE A PAIN IN THE ASS, but I do want to make a clarification--The Alcoholic is a work of fiction," Jonathan Ames tells me after I've called his new graphic novel "a memoir." It's a fairly easy mistake to make, given the similarities...

Not a tomboy in a dress: after walking away from a contract at Island Records, lesbian rocker L.P. returns to her androgynous roots with her anticipated third album.(MUSIC)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE FIRST THING most people notice when they see New York singer L.P. perform is that her girly, poppy voice doesn't match her rugged rock-'n'-roll look. The second? She couldn't care less. "I'm all about...

The five must-have albums for fall.(MUSIC)(Sound recording review)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YO! MAJESTY Futuristically Speaking... Never Be Afraid DOMINO Toss all your assumptions about modern hip-hop out the window. Tampa, Fla., duo Shunda K and Jwl B--better known as Yo! Majesty--savage the...

Soul-searching: instead of demonizing "ex-gay" ministries, Save Me takes the more difficult path and examines the reasons some people seek treatment in the first place.(FILM)(Movie review)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IN A WORLD WHERE PREJUDICE is often preached from the pulpit, it isn't easy to be both religious and gay. For centuries holy leaders from all corners of the world have condemned homosexuality--and yet, many gays and...

Bareback.(THEATER)(Equus)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Equus BY PETER SHAFFER Previews begin September 5; opens September 28 and runs through February 8 at the Broadhurst Theater, New York City THE REVIVAL OF GAY BRITISH PLAYWRIGHT Peter Shaffer's 1973 drama about a...

Editor's letter.(OUT TRAVELERS)(Editorial)
September 9, 2008... You hold in your hands the fifth anniversary issue of this magazine. The Out Traveler brand started life in 2003 as a print publication emphasizing bold design, gorgeous imagery, and the world's best gay travel content. Like a proud dad, I...

Top 5 in 5: a half decade of model covers.(OUT TRAVELERS)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] ISTANBUL: WHERE EUROPE MEETS ASIA Spring 2006 We are especially proud of this award-winning issue, which received a Maggie, a prestigious mainstream honor. For me, the cover depicts both modernity and...

Ed live!(OUT TRAVELERS)
September 9, 2008... Listen to Ed on XM Satellite Radio's The Agenda With Joe Solmonese (HRC.org/theagenda; Monday, March 24, 6-8 P.M. Eastern, on channel 120), on Proud FM (ProudFM.com; Wednesday, July 2, 9:10 A.M. Eastern), on Sirius Satellite Radio's Sirius OutQ...

Your questions our answers.(OUT TRAVELERS)
September 9, 2008... I'm a 24-year-old professional who loves to dance and go out at night, lie on the beach during the day, and eat great food. I like to shop and experience a city's sights and culture in the meantime. Last July, I visited Lisbon and absolutely...

Out travelers of the past.(OUT TRAVELERS)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Venice is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs in one go."--Truman Capote (1924-1984)

Your e-mails.(OUT TRAVELERS)(Letter to the editor)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THANK YOU FOR ALEC MAPA'S "ODYSSEY TO CAMBODIA" [SUMMER 2008]. My partner and I visited Siem Reap and Angkor Wat in December 2007. While Mapa is quite correct in stating that over 50% of the population is under the...

Poll results.(OUT TRAVELERS)(Table)
September 9, 2008... Presented by: Expedia [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Online we asked: Which of these life-changing trips most interests you? You voted: KAYAK IN ANTARCTICA 9% CLIMB MOUNT KILIMANJARO ...

Your snapshots.(OUT TRAVELERS)(Photograph)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Every so often I need to get away, and I find the best place to get some space is in our national parks. I took this photo of myself in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colo., in early fall. Just a day's hike takes you...

Your tips.(OUT TRAVELERS)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST A GREAT GAY-FRIENDLY SPOT IN BRAZIL FOR THE HOLIDAYS: the island of Florianopolis. It has hosted people from all over the world, especially from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Europe during its summers. It has also...

Artful accommodations: there's no room for cookie-cutter paintings at these hip hotels where LGBT artists add to the colorful mix.(ORIENTATION: HOTELS WE LOVE)(Gladstone Hotel)(Lancaster Arts Hotel)(21C Museum Hotel)(Hotel review)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GLADSTONE HOTEL Toronto Using an 1889 stone-and-brick Richardsonian Romanesque-style property as the backdrop and local artists as collaborators, lesbian film-video artist Christina Zeidler developed the...

Beyond the core: get off the beaten path in the Big Apple's lesser-known gay hoods. Adapted from The Out Traveler: New York City guidebook.(ORIENTATION)
September 9, 2008... UPPER MANHATTAN Gayest Enclaves: Harlem & Washington Heights Home to the famed Harlem Renaissance that spawned groundbreaking gay works by such black artists as Langston Hughes and Bessie Smith in the 1920s and '30s, Harlem has...

Hawaii's polysexual past: cross-dressers, queer concubines, and the Sin of Onan--the Hawaii of pre-European contact had it all.(ORIENTATION: OUR HISTORY)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MOST LGBT travelers to Hawaii think of the islands as a languid society, a "hang loose" place of tolerant politics where cultural differences are easily celebrated. But few tourists realize just how queer Hawaii...

Queer studies: college towns in Heartland, USA, can be positively gay.(ORIENTATION: PERFECT TEN)
September 9, 2008... Deep in America's belly of ranches, farmland, and amber waves of grain lie intellectual refuges that call to gay travelers like blue beacons through conservative fog. Bastions of education endowed with sterling performing and visual arts...

Short North: the toast of Columbus' arts scene.(ORIENTATION: GAYBORHOOD WATCH)
September 9, 2008... Named by The Advocate In 2007 as one of the 10 best off-the-beaten-path U.S. cities for LGBT folks to live, Columbus has become the gay mecca of Ohio-maybe even the Midwest. Its center: the Short North, a quirky, bohemian arts district that's...

Voodoo? I do! Couples looking to tie the knot--with a machete dance--head to New Orleans for the latest in alternative commitment ceremonies.(ORIENTATION)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] THE searing delight of hot sauce-laced gumbo, Creole cottages painted up like drag queens, triumphant trombone riffs spilling from open doorways--there's nowhere like New Orleans. Now, for gay couples seeking a...

The horror, the fabulous horror: just in time for Halloween, Matthew Link takes us on a tour of our favorite "Queer Horror" movie locales, where gay sensibilities and the dark unknown campily converge ...(ORIENTATION)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PSYCHO Notable quotable: "Mother, please!" The most famous trans horror movie ever made, this low-budget thriller was shot primarily on Universal Studios' Los Angeles back lot (the shower scene was filmed in...

Most memorable meals: we asked acclaimed LGBT chefs, TV foodies, and restaurateurs to tempt our taste buds with their all-time favorite dining experiences from across the globe.(ORIENTATION: TASTE)
September 9, 2008... A bazillion-course, bazillion-dollar dinner at Guy Savoy in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. Among many memorable dishes: young chicken roasted inside an inflated pig's bladder, popped tableside.--Ted Allen, food writer and TV personality ...

Israel at 60: as the Jewish state celebrates its diamond anniversary, its progressive policies continue to shine like a gay jewel in the Middle Eastern rough.(ORIENTATION: INVESTIGATION)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This summer marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel, the first modern Jewish nation, the Middle East's first parliamentary democracy, and perhaps the only country in the region where a...

World's best antique fairs: who says antiquing is for little old ladies? Upscale international shows are booming in popularity, luring the creme de la creme of the art, furniture, and fashion worlds--and some regular people too.(ORIENTATION)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PARIS Biennale des Antiques September, in even-numbered years True to French form, this antique fair is all about quality, not quantity. French and continental furniture, art, and antiques (especially from...

Handle with care: travel tips for toting toto.(ORIENTATION)(taking care of your pet when traveling)(Brief article)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On board or on the road, make traveling a breeze with these quick tips from Jonathan David, celebrity pet stylist, dog expert, and out star of Animal Planet's Groomer Has It. * In the worst-case scenario that...

[Pride.sup.2].(List)
September 9, 2008... Post-June party lull got you down? Buck up! For a few lucky cities--and countless travelers--one festival just doesn't cut it. Dig into this list of burgs that dish up two full alphabet soup-type Prides a year! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Remains of the day: luxe archaeological tours indulge your Indiana Jones fantasies without sending your fedora flying.(ORIENTATION: UPGRADE)(Calendar)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Israel and Jordan: Pride and Heritage, A Walk Throuqh History Hanns Ebensten Travel; 305-294-8174; HETravel.com; August 31-September 8; gay men, lesbians, and friends; from 52,595 Explore King David's Tomb in...

Divine providence: welcome to the friendliest, most artistic city in New England--which happens to have its own gay mayor.(ORIENTATION: THREE GAY DAYS)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Providence's historic image--downtrodden, corrupt, and desolate--radically shifted in 2003. That was the year Mayor David Cicilline took office, and that he was openly gay didn't stop him from getting 84% of the...

Carson's Parisian shopping spree: we recently sent the indomitable TV star of How to Look Good Naked on a shopping bender in Paris. His notes from the French fashion front.(ORIENTATION)
September 9, 2008... TODAY I conquered Paris! I came, I saw, I shopped--with Napoleonic force! Everything from the corner pharmacie to the Hermes flagship store on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore (the original Rodeo Drive or Madison Avenue) is so utterly refined....

The map of Asia.(ORIENTATION)
September 9, 2008... Much of the Far East has long recognized and even celebrated homosexuality, and its dominant Buddhist religion is markedly tolerant of same-sex love. In many larger cities, visible transsexual populations promote acceptance of gender variance....

The Grand Canyon: a spiritual journey to Arizona's desert heart: nation hopping: the most awe-inspiring geological wonders of Arizona reside in the most culturally rich corner of the state. The Grand Canyon and the Navajo and Hopi Nations--a journey that's transporting in more ways than one.(TRANSPORT)(Travel narrative)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] It had been 20 years since I had last laid eyes on the chasm, and it involuntarily took my breath away, just as it did when I was young. I stood on the concrete pathway lining the edge of the Grand Canyon's South...

10 trips that will change your life: the transformative nature of journeys can be subtle or profound, but these ten adventures may change the way you feel about travel altogether, with itineraries that provoke, challenge, ant dare you to come back a different person.
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] PERU Take part in a shaman ritual amid the towering ruins of Machu Picchu DETAILS: Machu Picchu is one of the truly great spiritual sites in the world. The "Lost City of the Incas," which sits atop a peak...

... and four great pilgrimages: classic mass experiences to expand your spiritual worldview without skimping on style.
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] 1. VARANASI, INDIA The most sacred city in India, Hindu pilgrims come here from across the subcontinent to shave their heads, pray, and bathe in the holy Ganges River. This crumbling, hectic maze of a city (the...

Posh happenings.(gay gatherings)
September 9, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1. LOS ANGELES Anniversary Gala & Auction October 18 LAGayCenter.org L.A.'s Gay and Lesbian Center toasts its 37th anniversary with a gala cocktail reception, silent auction, and dinner in the...

The universal language.(THE MEANING OF TRAVEL)
September 9, 2008... ON the final Sunday of our 2003 trip to the Czech Republic, my partner, Michael, and I were strolling along one of Prague's cobblestone streets when we saw a hand-lettered sign on a cathedral door. We'd studied enough pages in our guidebook to...