Category: gay issues

Yusaf Mack Book: Gay Porn ; Gay Issues, Girl Scouts, and Philanthropy; Certain Stories of Gay Life Global

Yusaf Mack Book: Gay Porn Scandal

There’s a boxer named Yusaf Mack who’s in this firestorm about allegedly making a gay porn film, but claims he can’t remember anything….because he says he was drugged. 

Mack, a boxer out of Philly, made headlines last week when he accused producers of drugging him with a mysterious pill and a shot of vodka. He reached out to us through a crisis manager, saying he had more to say about what went down. 

The weird thing is that even though Mack says he can’t remember a thing he’s still going to write a book about shooting the film. The film producers deny they drugged him, they claim he knew it was gay porn, and they might wind up suing.

You can read the rest here at TMZ. There’s a photo of Mack without his shirt.

Gay Issues, Girl Scouts, and Philanthropy

Here’s a piece that discusses the Girl Scouts, transgender inclusion, and how people donate money in large sums…with certain stipulations. Evidently, one huge donor wanted a promise that her money would never be used to help support trans issues and if she couldn’t get that promise she wanted her money back.

“I will characterize the letter as saying essentially that they had seen news coverage of the Girl Scouts allowing transgender girls to participate in their programs,” says Ms. Ferland, who declined to identify the donor. “They wanted assurance that their funds would not help support transgender girls participating and if I couldn’t give that assurance they wanted the money returned.” Before she even finished reading the letter, “I thought to myself, ‘The money’s going back.’”
After the money was returned they made an announcement about what happened, did crowdfunding at Indiegogo, and wound up raising more than twice the amount they had to return. I don’t know much about fundraising, but I do hope that people donate as much to cancer research as they did this.
It’s an interesting piece on how the Girl Scouts prides itself on inclusion, and gay philanthropy in general.  You can check the rest out here.
Certain Stories of Gay Life Global
The Gay Life Project by photographer, Kevin Truong, was originally an art school project that’s turned into a series about gay men all over the world. Or, certain gay men.

Through his work, Truong has tapped into the global diversity of the gay male experience, giving men a platform to tell and share their stories with the world. He has gained international acclaim through his vivid photography and intimate interviews, garnering the attention of political figures and even royalty. 

The New York-based photographer will exhibit his work in New York City from Nov. 2 through Nov. 4. 

If you’re in NY this week you might want to check that out. Unfortunately, I won’t be and I wish I’d seen this earlier. The rest is here.  

I’m not sure whether or not Truong is gay. But they let you know his passion is coconut cream pie. Here’s a link to his web site.

The only thing I found unfortunate about what I saw at the link provided was that there was not one single gay man in a photo with whom I could personally identify. That’s why I’d love to see the entire project…to see if I missed something and if I’m wrong. Maybe Truong didn’t leave out a huge number of us. You know, those of us who don’t go to pride events and ride on floats, the ones who don’t hang rainbow flags outside their homes, but also the ones who fight just as hard for equality but don’t live outrageous lives worthy of “artsy” photos. Because at a glance it looks like more left-wing elitist propaganda designed to dismiss and silence the gay men who aren’t the most outrageous. 

Yes, I get to say that without caring about what the PC police thinks. I’m gay, too 🙂

Fangsters: Book 2

Gang Bang Fangsters



Gay Film "I Do;" Marriage; David W. Ross

We used to have a fantastic indie video store in New Hope that always had plenty of gay indie films that closed about four years ago, so when I spotted the gay film, “I Do,” with David W. Ross on Verizon on demand last night I rented it without even looking at the previews.

And I wasn’t disappointed this time. The basic plot revolves around a nice looking British guy, David W. Ross, who has been living and working in New York since he was seventeen years old. The only family he has left are his brother and sister-in-law. I’ll stop there, because I don’t want to give out any spoilers. But as the film progresses the British guy finds himself fighting the INS in order to remain in the US. He ultimately decides to marry his best lesbian friend in order to get a green card. Then when he least expects it, he falls in love with a guy he meets at a party…who happens to be a legal US citizen but is also from Spain.

The plot is actually much more complicated than what I’m stating now, and as I said I don’t want to give out any spoilers. But the issue of gay marriage comes into play because the gay British guy falls in love with a guy he wants to marry, who happens to be a legal US citizen and a legal citizen of Spain, but he can’t marry him because gay marriage is not legal in the US.

They mention gay marriage being legal in New York, and I think they did this on purpose. The fact that gay marriage is legal in the state of New York is absolutely worthless in this case, just as it is worthless in many other aspects in all states where gay marriage is legal. It’s great on an emotional level, but when it comes down to the pragmatic issues in life we all face eventually it leaves gay couples with very little protection. Because the US government will not recognize a same sex marriage, the character in the film is unable to get a green card if he married a man he loved anywhere in the US. The key word here is federal.

This is just one reason why I say I’m happy but I’m not jumping up and down whenever gay marriage is passed on a state level. Until same sex marriage is legal on a federal level gay men like the guys in the film, “I Do,” are still going to face the challenges of inequality on life changing levels. I actually know a couple in Florida where something exactly like this happened to them. They now reside in Germany.

In this film, even though I won’t say what happens, the British guy is left with two options. He can remain in the US and marry a woman and pretend to love her so he can get his green card. Or he can leave the country, go to Spain with the man he loves, and live there where gay marriage is supposedly legal.

It’s an interesting film to view, especially right now with SCOTUS ready to hand down rulings this week on same sex marriage. I have no idea what to predict at this point.

As a side note, David W. Ross is excellent in the film…he starred in it and he wrote it. And, this is a film about gay men, written by a gay man, starring a gay man for those who are interested in the details. I’ll watch it again many times.

You can follow Ross on facebook, here.

David W. Ross is an English musician and actor. After moving to London at the age of 17 and seeking work as a film extra, his photo was spotted by Ian Levine, a boy band producer, and Ross was signed to A&M Records U.K., as one of the four members of Bad Boys Inc. The group released one self-titled album, which spawned five hit singles, including the Top 10 smash “More to This World”.

Photo attribution here

Freedom to Marry

I like to post these things for those who aren’t familiar with the organization, “Freedom to Marry,” and for those who are but aren’t on the mailing list. The beginning is a nice thank you, and the rest I’m posting below talks more about the future.

Here’s a link to the homepage of their web site, where you’ll find all the lastest information out there on marriage equality.

From my inbox:

Because of your decision to be on the right side of history, 2012 was a triumphant year for Freedom to Marry — and, with your support, we hope to have an even stronger 2013. We’ve already hit the ground running: We are investing heavily in smart campaigns to win marriage in battleground states and create the climate that encourages the Supreme Court to do the right thing in the marriage cases it is now considering.

Freedom to Marry is leading the way on every track of our winning “Roadmap to Victory” national strategy. And with you on our side, I know we will have the volunteers, partners, and allies that we need to get the job done.

We did huge, historic things together in 2012, Ryan. And together, we’re going to wow them in 2013.

Thank you for all you do,

Evan Wolfson
Founder and President, Freedom to Marry

Stonewall CYMRU Covering Gay Issues Across Wales

A regular blog reader and friend sent me a link the other day to a web site he thought I might find interesting. He’s a university student in Wales and he keeps me up to date with what’s happening in the UK.

I took one look at the link and decided to post about it. It’s not only well organized, it’s informative and seems to cover all the relevant issues younger gay people are facing these days. And while I tend to focus on the lighter side of being young and gay in my books because I think escapism is as important as facing reality, I do think web sites and organizations like this play an important part within the global LGBT community. After all, we’re more linked together than ever before.

The site is based in Wales and the title is Stonewall CYMRU – the lesbian, gay and bisexual charity.

Established in 2003 with support from the Welsh Government and Stonewall GB, our work is tailored to the needs of LGB people across Wales and draws upon a wealth of research from Stonewall across Britain.

They have links for things like hate crimes and housing. One in particular is legal advice that I know can be very valuable for people with HIV/AIDS from dealing with one in Philadelphia for a friend of mine.

This section covers the local authorities of: Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Swansea. It offers information about LGB groups as well as some mainstream organisations that support LGB people listed under the categories below.