The first same-sex marriages in the U.S. took place in Massachusetts on May 17, 2004. This was six months after the state's Supreme Court ruled that a ban on such unions was unconstitutional. Since then, eleven other states and Washington, D.C. have also made gay marriage legal. (The Netherlands was the first country to legalize gay unions in 2001.)
For three months in 2008, the state of California also allowed same-sex marriages, until voters narrowly voted against them later that year. However, any marriages that were performed in those months are still valid. In August 2010 a Federal District Court in San Francisco overturned Proposition 8 but resumption of marriages is on hold pending appeal. (The case was argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in March 2013.)
The latest marriage figures for Massachusetts are through 2010 and they show that more than 13,000 same-sex couples had gotten hitched, comprising 7% of all marriages in the state during that period.
The phrase "on the down low", or the DL, refers to men of color who, while not identifying themselves as being gay, have furtive sex with other men. This slang was picked up by the media about 10 years ago and it picked up steam a few years later with articles in TIME, The Village Voice and the New York Times Magazine. Then Oprah introduced it to her viewers during an episode of her show that first aired on April 14, 2004.
Of course, while the DL may be a black construct, men with wives and girlfriends who sneak off to have sex with other men is hardly limited to blacks. It's been explained that the term was coined because of an aversion many black men have to being labeled gay. (Based on the black men I've known, quite a generalization.) Apparently, in the minds of these men, having sex with a man isn't the same thing as being gay, which they equate with being effeminate. (I wonder if a similar term has been coined in Arabic for Muslim men?)
Today, thanks to online chat rooms and the iPad app Grindr, sneaking off for a quickie has never been easier or more tempting. (Fooling around in the steam room at the gym is so 20th century.) Wives and girlfriends would surely be freaked if they knew, as a result of these new means of communications, the extent to which husbands and boyfriends play around with gay guys before work, during lunch and after work.
However, it's hardly a new phenomenon. In the book Gay Manhattan, which talks of gay life in the first half of the 20th century, author George Chauncey revealed that it wasn't uncommon for a straight blue collar guy to have a gay acquaintance on the side to get him off (without reciprocation) whenever their wives weren't able to provide for all their sexual needs.
Back in 2001, in the space of just three months, two openly gay candidates were elected mayors of "world class" European cities. First, 50-year-old Bertrand Delanoe (pictured, near right) was elected mayor of Paris on March 18. This made Paris (with a population of 2.1 million) the largest city in the world with a gay mayor. Then in June voters in Berlin (population 3.4 million) took that distinction away from Paris when it elected its very own gay mayor, 47-year-old Klaus Wowereit (far right). Both Delanoe and Wowereit are presently serving second terms. (Coincidentally, the German city of Hamburg also elected a gay mayor that very same year.)
18 months after his election Delanoe was stabbed in the stomach as he walked through a street festival by a Muslim immigrant with homophobic views. After surgery he remained in the hospital nearly two weeks. (This happened a week before I arrived in Paris for my first visit.)
And then in 2009 Houston became the first U.S. city with 1 million+ residents to elect a gay mayor, lesbian Anisse Parker. Before that, the largest U.S. cities with gay mayors had been Portland, Oregon and Providence, Rhode Island.
Glenn Hughes, the Village People's furry chested, handlebar-mustachioed leatherman died on March 4, 2001 from lung cancer at the age of 50. The other five members of the original group are still alive and range in age from 55 to 65. (The group's creator, Jacques Morali, died in 1991.) The following video clip of Hughes is from the Village People's awful 1980 movie Can't Stop the Music:
I thought about Hughes when watching the 2010 World Series because Giants relief pitcher, Brian Wilson, reminded me of him - except he doesn't have a hairy chest or naturally black hair (Wilson dyes it to give him an intimidating look).
Sex and the City aired Sunday nights on HBO for six seasons and its final episode aired on February 22, 2004. And despite HBO being in fewer than 25% of U.S. households, it was nonetheless a national event. (No doubt every HBO household had at least ten friends over that night to watch.) I didn't become a regular viewer until the show's last three years when I finally subscribed to HBO. (One aspect of the show I especially liked was the many scenes shot in my West Village neighborhood.)
Two lines I best remember from this episode involved Miranda (played by Cynthia Nixon). The first was when her housekeeper, Magda, walked into the bathroom and watched Miranda gently bathing her husband Steve's addled mother (played by Anne Meara). She put her hand on Miranda's shoulder and said to her "You love" - a beautiful moment.
Later, Carrie's girls were so upset by how Carrie's fiance Petrosky (played by Mikhail Baryshnikov) was treating her in Paris that when "Big" asked them whether he should pursue her there, Miranda (who despised him) looked at him intently and said "Go get our girl".
Even before the final episode I found the whole Carrie-Petrosky relationship tedious. (Truth be told, Carrie was my least favorite character.) Instead, what I found most touching was the relationship between Samantha and Smith. Another beautiful moment in this episode occurred when Smith surprised Samantha by returning early from a business trip to be with her (she was going through chemo treatment for breast cancer).
To this day anytime I see someone walking a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the breed of dog Charlotte owned, I say to myself "Elizabeth Taylor", the name she chose for the dog. Also, every time I see a can of Green Giant Lesueur peas I think of Samantha handing a can of them to a priest she was trying to seduce (for a food drive) and saying "They're Lesueur, they're the BEST".
Five years later a SATC movie was released during the summer and was a big success. A sequel came out the following summer but wasn't as well received and grossed less than half of the first (but still more than $150 million worldwide).
On the February 20, 2005 episode of The Simpsons (titled "There's Something About Marrying") same-sex marriage was legalized in Springfield as a way to attract tourists. This results in Marge's sister, Patty Bouvier, coming out and announcing her intention to marry her partner Veronica, a pro golfer. When Homer learns how much he can earn performing same-sex ceremonies he becomes a minister and marries Patty (which is ironic since Patty, as well as her twin sister Selma, have nothing but contempt for Homer). Alas, it was later revealed that Veronica was a man.
Having same-sex marriage as a storyline on a mainstream TV show (a favorite with young men) was an important milestone in the fight for legalization of same-sex marriage. The attendant publicity brought awareness up a few more notches - anathema to the religious right, which frets whenever gay issues gain exposure.
This episode of The Simpsons aired a little more than a year after Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to legalize same-sex unions. And it just so happens that there is a city named Springfield in the state. However, the show's writers have never indicated in which state their Springfield is located (there are 38 cities, towns and townships named Springfield in the U.S.).
(For whatever reason Season 16 isn't yet available on DVD, just seasons 1 thru 13.)
Since Super Bowl XXXVIII (Feb. 1, 2004) was being played in her hometown of Houston, Beyonce Knowles was invited to sing the National Anthem. Not surprisingly, she looked beautiful and did a faaabulous job (I rank it up there with Cher's and Jennifer Hudson's renditions).
However, Beyonce's performance has been long forgotten by most because this was the Super Bowl that witnessed the infamous Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake "wardrobe malfunction" (which, nine years later, still reverberates). I may have been one of the few persons watching the game who missed this incident as I was in the kitchen washing dishes. However, I did see Beyonce make Houston proud.
Three years before Glee there was High School Musical, a wildly popular TV musical that aired on the Disney Channel on January 20, 2006. Instead of a glee club struggling with an inferiority complex, HSM revolved around a somewhat pretentious Musical Theater class. And although the subject was never broached it's all but certain that the student named Ryan (played by Lucas Grabeel, pictured with Ashley Tisdale) was gay since he had musical theater running through his veins. This "don't ask, don't tell" approach held sway for the next two HSM movies as well. Although a bit dim, Ryan was a good egg who had to put up with his diva twin sister Sharpay (pronounced like the breed of dog).
This being a candy coated Disney fantasy world filled with smiling and fresh-scrubbed faces, Ryan was never harrassed. In fact, every clique in school co-existed harmoniously. In keeping with this dream world, the most sensitive boy in school was also the most popular, basketball star Troy Bolton, played by Zac Efron (and at 5'10", probably the shortest basketball superstar in history).
I didn't catch the movie when it first aired but during the summer I rented it to see what the buzz was about - and I was captivated. I especially liked the number Stick to the Status Quo which charmingly depicted the turmoil created when kids like Troy don't follow their assigned role. Inspired by Troy's example, other kids reveal their secret passions, e.g. a jock interested in baking, the math whiz passionate for hip-hop. Ryan, however, was not part of these "outings".
In the sequel we'd discover that Ryan once played baseball and taught the jocks a thing or two (oh, I bet he did - wink, wink). The movie had lots of gay subtext ripe for exploitation (by Michael Lucas perhaps?). I think Ryan was used as a distraction to divert attention away from the bromance between Troy and his best bud Chad (pictured, left). In fact, whenever they bickered their faces would get so close it seemed that a passionate kiss was imminent. Sure, both had girlfriends, but ...
High School Musical was a smash hit as was its two sequels (the last one was a theatrical release). Besides "tween" girls it also had much to offer gay viewers (of all ages), i.e. musical numbers, intricate choreography, a host of cute boys, a kinda hot basketball coach (played by Bart Johnson, pictured), a diva and, of course, Ryan. HSM paved the way for Fox's introduction of Glee, a primetime series with musical numbers and a very out gay character. However, I was never a fan of the show (although I've purchased some of its music on iTunes) - too much angst and gay Kurt gave me the willies (as did the new female football coach).
Buoyed by the success of Queer as Folk (which debuted at the end of 2000) Showtime produced a 1-hour drama about a group of lesbian friends and lovers called The L Word. It premiered on January 18, 2004.
Except for their same-sex themes the two series were very different: 1) QAF took place in Rust Belt Pittsburgh while The L Word was set in sunny and trendy Los Angeles/West Hollywood. 2) The L Word had more "name" actresses: Jennifer Beals, Pam Grier, Marlee Matlin and Cybil Shepherd. QAF had one, Sharon Gless. 3) QAF had a lesbian couple (Lindsay and Melanie) but L Word incorporated very little about the lives of gay men into its storylines. 4) The L Word ran for six seasons, one more than Queer as Folk. However, QAF aired thirteen more episodes (83 vs. 70).
After the series concluded in March 2009 Showtime aired a reality series that came out in the summer of 2010 called The Real L Word.
Madonna's first marriage was to actor Sean Penn in 1985 and it took place on her 27th birthday (and the day before his 25th). They were married for a little more than two years. Her second marriage was to British movie director Guy Ritchie, ten years her junior, and it was held on December 22, 2000 at a castle in Scotland. It was during this time Madge fashioned a British accent which was widely ridiculed on both sides of the Atlantic.
Madonna and Ritchie divorced in 2008. Commenting on the marriage, Ritchie reportedly confided that he had "stepped into a soap opera". They had two children together: son Rocco was born four months before the wedding and son David was adopted from the African nation of Malawi. After their divorce Madonna adopted a second child from that country, daughter Mercy (both adoptions were steeped in controversy). Madonna also has a 15-year old daughter, Lourdes, fathered by her former personal trainer, Carlos Leon.
