LGBTQ news and entertainment
One of my colleagues at Instinct Magazine began a chat about gay bars and the discussion eventually turned to the first time we ever went to a gay bar. Several of us wrote down our memories of that ever-so-fateful day in our lives when we crossed over into fully-formed gays. Continue reading “Flashback Friday: My First Visit To A Gay Bar”
In his latest short film, funny guy Michael Henry asks his audience to ponder: Is a man’s natural scent a turn-on or a turn-off? Continue reading “Funny: Is A Man’s Natural Scent A Turn-On Or Turn-Off?”
Michael Henry (screen capture)During a perfectly socially-distanced afternoon in the park, funny guy Michael Henry has a question for John Hartman about the men he’s attracted to.
Before Henry can get to the question, though, we find out Hartman has an ‘issue’ with oversharing on a range of topics including erectile dysfunction, never tipping bartenders, and flatulence in libraries.
Anyway…
Henry is specifically curious to know if men’s confidence is a turn on for Hartman.
“The reason why I ask is because a good friend of mine told me his number one turn-on when it comes to men is confidence,” explains Henry. “And I thought, ’No, no, no, no, no, no.’”
But Hartman lands on the other side of this spectrum: “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, dummy. Who doesn’t love a confident man?”
Apparently, not Henry. Which leads Hartman to flip the script and ask, “What do you like then? Insecure, emotionally damaged men…like you?”
Ouch…
The discussion quickly turns into a pros and cons comparison of confidence vs. vulnerability. Henry finds men who are sure of themselves in work and life just fine, but really digs guys who are insecure about those things, too.
John Hartman (screen capture)“Weirdo – I don’t want to hear about his insecurities,” says Hartman. “Don’t tell me you’re uncomfortable with your bald spot or your weight gain. Own it!”
“Nothing makes my d*ck more limp than a guy whining about his misfortunes,” he adds.
Hartman admits he’s drawn to a more stereotypic kind of guy as he rattles off qualities like “assertive,” “sturdy,” an achiever of “big things” with a deep voice, a beard and a three-piece suit…although now the conversation is more about masculinity and not confidence.
Obviously, attraction is more than a simple ‘this’ or ‘that’ equation. But Henry raises a valid question about how and what gay men find to be a turn-on. I have to admit I’ve said for years confidence (not cockiness) is a definite turn-on for me. Let me know in the comment section, readers – where does confidence land on your dating spectrum? You can find more coverage of Michael Henry’s short queries on queer life here.
L-R Michael Henry, Chris Renfro, Michael Fariss
“It’s gross and it’s showy,” says Fariss. Renfro agrees chiming in, “Yeah, I don’t need to see someone sucking face or holding hands at a Jamba.” But when Henry shares that he’s gone so far as having actual “sex” in front of people, our naysayers are totally down with THAT. “Oh, I’m ok with public sex,” agrees Fariss which seems to short-circuit Henry. So, holding hands is bad, but performing oral sex in public is cool? Apparently, these guys view holding hands or a public peck as “inappropriate,” “desperate,” and “phony.” Says Renfro, “That kind of behavior is for private.” 
After running down a series of scenarios that are either full-on womp-womp or merely affectionate, Henry shares that he likes letting the world know “this is my guy.” “But WHY do you have to let everyone know?” Fariss asks. “I don’t have an answer for you,” adds Renfro. “I just know that when a man holds my hand – it makes me uncomfortable. When I see a couple making out in front of me at the store – I’m uncomfortable.” Like all of his videos, Henry brings up some great questions regarding how the LGBTQ community views itself. One commenter on the YouTube page writes, “‘Public sex is okay but PDA isn’t’ is just a sign of the gay community being overly sexualized but not being okay with love and feeling something in a relationship.” Another responded, “Because we grew up seeing us represented only in adult entertainment.” What do you think readers? Is this a generational issue? Is it a safety issue? Is there pride or shame in the PDA game? Who likes holding hands in public? Who can’t handle it? Let us know in the comment section below.
Life in the Twitters. Gus Kenworthy commented on a video posted on Twitter by YouTube star Tyler Oakley where a hot guy in the subway riffed on the current “Finish the lyric…” trend. Said Kenworthy, “‘Oh damn he cute’ and then I realized that I’ve hooked up with him and if that is not gay culture I don’t know what is…” #gaylife
I thought, “oh damn he cute” and then I realized that I’ve hooked up with him and if that is not gay culture I don’t know what is…
— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) February 21, 2020
Matt Wilkas and Michael Henry in ‘The Gay Hello’
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| Clint Keller in ‘Wow, You Have a Beard!’ |
Comedian Michael Henry loves to hold up his magic mirror to the gay community to show us how ridiculous we can sometimes be.
In his new video short, “Wow, You Have a Beard,” Henry bumps into his buddy Daniel (played by Clint Keller) and is immediately aware that Daniel is somehow ‘different.’
Could it be the new wardrobe? (No.)
Maybe the new Pilates workout routine? (No.)
Perhaps it’s the peace Daniel’s found from meditating? (No.)
Henry zeroes in on the issue: Daniel’s new manly facial hair.
Henry immediately feels betrayed saying, “I thought you were one of us – I thought you were femme!”
Clutching his pearls, Daniel assures Henry he’s still a member of the bottom bunk club.
But it’s too late.
As Henry points out, “They’ve already found you – the gay bottom mafia!” Cut to a shot scanning the park with several gay men (“the hungry, hungry bottoms”) in beckoning positions.
“They can smell your exhuming testosterone now,” says Henry.
Even though Daniel doesn’t think he’s that “masc,” Henry quickly runs down the checklist: hairy chest, deep voice and an ability to curse like a sailor.
Check, check and check!
Worse yet, the ‘TopFinder’ app has found Daniel (“Top located – has beard!”).
Be that as it may, Daniel is flummoxed by his situation.
“What am I to do?,” asks Daniel. “I can’t top all of these men, I have errands to run.”
While Daniel is amazed a beard could hold so much virile power, Henry explains, “It’s your entire sexual persona now – you’re straight-passing.”
How could this be? Daniel is a proud bottom, a Bravo TV watcher, and a ballet instructor.
Finally, though, Daniel does find the one way to defuse his new macho status.
Hit the play button to find out how Daniel gets out of this hirsute headache.
Henry does raise a good question about how gay men label and identify based on choices like dress and grooming.
Do beards really make us more appealing? And do gay men assume fur automatically makes us more ‘masculine?’
You can find more of my coverage of funnyman Michael Henry here.
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| Public – salad dressing on the side. Private – pepperoni pizza |
Buzzfeed’s waaaay cute gay couple is back with their latest installment of “Weird Things Gay Couples Do.”
This time – what they do in public versus the private. As the clip description reads: “A gentleman in the streets who at home hogs the sheets.”
Hubby Michael and I are guilty of several of these LOL
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| Public: complicated cocktail. Private: Bottled beer versus canned |
Chuck Holmes founded a gay porn empire, then tried to use his fortune to help propel the gay rights movement forward — only to find that while his money was welcome, he sometimes wasn’t. SEED MONEY is a feature-length documentary about one of gay cultures most unlikely heroes.
From Gay.net:
For nearly 30 years, Chuck Holmes’ Falcon Studios was the world’s largest producer of gay pornography, altering the way a generation of gay men saw themselves and their sexuality.
“Porn is an important part of the gay community,” says director Mike Stabile, whose documentary film Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story will screen at San Francisco’s Frameline Film Festival on June 21, and at L.A.’s Outfest Film Festival on July 13.
The film turns a unique lens on gay history as it tells a tragic hero story. Holmes was something of a gay Gatsby — the self-made man who grew to be admired for his great influence and fortune, yet was privately shunned for the source of that fortune.
But reflecting Holmes’ vision, the early Falcon films featured handsome, athletic, masculine young men, who evolved from the lean, mustachioed clone look of the 1970s to the smooth, preppy, boy-next-door look of the 1980s. Where did gay men of the time discover their personal style? In a large part, from Falcon films.
Created in collaboration with Kenneth Cole and the news folks at RYOT, check out this series of highly-stylized mini-docs that shed light on the hardships their subjects faced when growing up gay.
In the video below, Shawn & Thomas talk on their two very distinct experiences dealing with being gay and in the military. They were the ‘First Kiss’ in Navy history.
Well done and thoughtful.
RYOT works on the philosophy that people are empowered through information and that no matter who you are, you can inspire change by choosing action over passive consumption.