George W. Bush longed to escape his daddy’s shadow, while Barack Obama has turned to shadowy preachers in his long search for a father figure.
Tag: homosexuality
Anything But Straight: Messages That Lead To Murder
This week, I attended the Commercial Closet’s Images In Advertising Awards in Manhattan, which honored corporations that produced gay affirming ads. The pro-gay plugs showed genuine progress and highlighted that many leading companies “get it.”
Anything But Straight: Exodus: ‘A Loving Call To Battle’
Sporting a fog machine for its smoke and mirrors routine and an extravagant stage that would make The Rolling Stones blush, the “ex-gay” group Exodus International held its glitzy annual conference in Asheville, North Carolina. I was in town all week to partner with regional and state organizations to oppose […]
Anything But Straight: The AIDS Blame Game
“What is it about gay sex that makes U.S. health officials want to play Chicken Little with AIDS prevention and public safety?” Tony Valenzuela writes in the latest Poz magazine, where he criticizes, “The clueless tabloid and public health hysteria over man-on-man sex.”
Anything But Straight: Choice Matters
In 2002, a large gay rights organization was hosting a luncheon that featured a transgender speaker. During the Q&A, there was discussion of the merits of adding “gender identity” to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) – which, if passed, would protect people from being fired because of their sexual orientation.
Anything But Straight: A New Stage for the Sultan of Stigma
Since 1973, the once dreaded American Psychiatric Association has become an ally of gay and lesbian equality. They have consistently withstood outside pressure from right wing organizations and instead chose to do what was in the best interest of GLBT mental health. Most notably, they endorsed same-sex civil marriage in […]
Anything But Straight: Wild Week In Review
Spitzer Sputters: Republicans, it seems, account for the majority of sleazy sex scandals, but the Democrats do the illicit affair with theatrical flare. Who will ever forget presidential hopeful Gary Hart on the yacht “Monkey Business” with Donna Rice sitting in his lap or Bill Clinton taking it too far […]
Anything But Straight: Nude Warrior Adventure
A central tenet to “ex-gay” theory is that a male turns gay because of a poor relationship with his father. Under this baseless hypothesis, a sensitive boy perceives paternal disapproval, and as a defensive measure, the child rejects his dad and all things masculine that remind him of the broken […]
Anything But Straight: Obama
The Obama campaign hit a sour note when it chose to woo African American voters in South Carolina this weekend with a gospel concert featuring virulently homophobic and “ex-gay” gospel crooner Donnie McClurkin.
Anything But Straight: The Pious Publishers Are Already In Heaven
Charlene Cothran (Venus magazine) and Michael Glatze (Young Gay America magazine editor) were gay niche publishers who discovered that peddling fiction is much juicer (and potentially more profitable) than selling straight news on gay life. The newly minted “ex-gay” stars tell us they have seen the light – unfortunately, it […]