James Baldwin Very Gay Author, and “I Am Not Your Negro”

I’ve posted about James Baldwin as the author of one of my favorite books of all time, Giovanni’s Room, several times over the years. He’s a huge part of gay culture.

Now there’s a new documentary out about James Baldwin titled, I Am Not Your Negro, and I can’t help but wonder if they are trying to play down the fact that he was gay. Or maybe they don’t think it’s important enough to mention, with respect to gay culture. Very few mainstream articles and reviews even mention that he was gay.

In any event, I went all over the Internet to find this article in The Advocate that actually does mention the fact that Baldwin was gay. And, it’s in the title.

James Baldwin (1924-1987) was prolific author and social critic. His works include novels (“Another Country” and “Giovanni’s Room”), poems, plays (“The Amen Corner”) and essays (“The Fire Next Time,” “The Devil Finds Work” and “Notes of a Native Son”). He was also a passionate and eloquent public speaker, appearing frequently on televised debates and on talk shows like “The Dick Cavett Show.”

“He was probably one of the biggest authors of his generation, black or white” Peck says. “He was an important witness to the Civil Rights movement. He was gay. He was an intellectual. He had an immense celebrity. He was friends with people like Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne and Nina Simone.”

You can read the rest here. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing it for many reasons, and one of those reasons has to do with the fact that Baldwin is a huge part of gay culture and that he influenced millions of gay readers.

The Milo Yiannopoulos Berkeley Speech

Here’s a part of recent gay culture that I’m tempted to ignore, but won’t. It’s happening right now, and it’s news. Please forgive me if I spell his name wrong sometimes.

This article is all about what happened at Berkeley, and Milo. I’d rather not go into detail. I’m just not personally fond of pundits who exploit for attention or personal gain, gay or straight.

32-year-old Yiannopoulos goes to great lengths to brand himself as a sort of “free-speech fundamentalist” locked in fierce battle with “political correctness.”

On Facebook, he touts himself as “the most fabulous supervillain on the Internet.”

You can can read more about this here. I think the discussion in the comment section is as interesting as anything I’ve seen so far. You’ll want to check that out, too.

Rob Mallard From Coronation Street Is Gay

It seems another male celebrity, Rob Mallard, recently came out as gay. I’m not playing that down either. I think it’s wonderful. Here’s part of what he said…

“I never planned to keep it quiet that I was gay. The only concern I had at first was if I’m with a female character, will an audience who knows I’m gay in real life believe it? But that was just my own fears because I do believe they will,” the 25-year-old actor said.

He’s adorable and it’s a great article, and you can find it here. And there’s a place where you can follow him on Twitter to show support. I just did.