Likes & Dislikes of Gay Life: One Gay Man's Perspective

 

 

When I started writing this post my plan was for it to be only about those aspects of gay life that bother me.  But as I worked on it I decided I didn't want to come across as a jaded queen, especially because there is plenty I enjoy about the gay milieu.  Therefore, I chose to give both sides equal time. Originally penned in the winter of 2012, I've updated it somewhat during the spring of 2014.

 

THUMBS DOWN

• The insipid music of Katy Perry

• Bravo's Andy Cohen for inflicting the Housewives of ... series on us, a sorry celebration of misogyny and anti-social behavior if ever there was one.

 

 

• Porn stars who think they're going to have a second career as professional singers. 

• The complete lack of sexual chemistry between Modern Family's Cameron and Mitchell

 

 

• Photos of Chaz Bono bare chested

• Out Magazine's "Nipple Count" feature.  And speaking of Out, why don't they just combine it and the Advocate; after all, they're delivered together in the same polybag.

• Completely shaved armpits

 

 

• Little kids on the ferry to the Pines

• Fawning over Anderson Cooper

• Boys who sashay

• Groups of loud, straight women at gay bars.  No, you are not Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte or Miranda.

• The occupation known as a "nightlife promoter"

• Gay Republicans

 

 

• Tourists who insist on holding hands and clog Times Square are very annoying, and I feel the same about gay couples who do it in crowded bars, with one pulling the other behind him through the throng.

• Michael Lucas and his laughably silly Donald Trump pout 

• An air-brushed Ellen DeGeneres, who looks increasingly like a pre-pubescent Ricky Schroeder

• Glee

• The sad decline of Christopher St. and 8th Ave. in Chelsea

• The closing of Splash Bar after 23 years

 

 

THUMBS UP!

• Tim Gunn, Carson Kressley, Michael Musto, John Waters, Joan Rivers (RIP), Kathy Griffin - and a very honorable mention to Hugh Jackman!

 

 

 

 

• Classic Disco night at the Monster

• Lady Gaga, Madonna and Cher

• Judy Garland's 1963-64 variety show on DVD

• A tattoo on the nape of the neck, base of the tailbone or on one pec  - and nowhere else (in other words, tasteful understatement).

 

 

• Fire Island beach walks; summer afternoons lazing about Christopher St. pier

• New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Bruni (below), who replaced the highly regarded, and gay friendly, Frank Rich (who now writes for New York Magazine)

 

 

 

• Low tea at the Blue Whale

• "Broadway Bares" and "Broadway Backwards"

• Openly gay athletes, such as diver Tom Daley, gymnast Danell Leyva, basketball player Jason Collins and football player Michael Sam

 

Tom Daley

 

Danell Leyva

 

• The homo websites Towleroad, Subway Crush, JustJared, TheBackLot and MenTwoGether

• Same-sex marriage in New York state and throughout the Northeast

• Nathan Lane as Pepper Saltzman on Modern Family

 

 

• Gay men and lesbians who acknowledge their spouses/partners at awards shows

• The Tony Awards, especially when Neil Patrick Harris is the host

 

 

• Beyonce's song Love on Top (for its title alone!)

• Gay gents who follow sports (whether at Gym Bar or not)

• Next and MetroSource

• The glamour of the Supremes

 

 

• Gotham Volleyball, and other gay sports leagues (including Front Runners)

• The fact that Kylie Minogue and the Pet Shop Boys have never been embraced by the US mainstream makes them even more special.

• An appreciation of "camp"  

• HBO's gay drama Looking.

• Sunday Beer Blast at the Eagle in the summer (but for how much longer?)

 

 

So it turns out the pluses edged out the minuses, 24 to 19.  And if I failed to mention something or someone it suggests indifference, which may be the worst sentiment of all.

Comments

[PopCultureMnge]

Agree with so many of these especially these 2 thumbs down-
Kids on the ferry as the boys are getting their sashay on.