BOOK REVIEW: China Mountain Zhang by Maureen McHugh

I have been hearing about China Mountain Zhang on Goodreads for so long that I finally decided to break down and read it. China Mountain Zhang is famous for being the debut novel of Maureen McHugh that was nominated for many of the most prestigious awards in speculative fiction: the 1992 Hugo Award, the 1993 Nebula award, the Locus Award for Best First Novel (1993), the James Tiptree, Jr. Award(1993), and the Lambda Literary Award (1993) and winning several of them (Tiptree, Locus and Lambda). China Mountain Zhang is also well-known for its unusual structure: it is a mosaic novel, i.e. a collection of intertwined stories, all set in a 22nd century United States (and world) dominated by China, and featuring a character named Zhang Zhong Shan, which contains two of the most famous names in the Chinese language, akin to being called George Washington Jones. It so happens that Zhang, the title character, is a guy with multiple secrets. He’s a closeted gay man in a culture rife with state-sanctioned deadly homophobia. Even though he appears to be ABC (American-Born Chinese), in actuality he has a Latino father, his mother named him Rafael and (illegally) provided him with spliced genes that give him his Asian appearance that aligns with his public identity as Zhang. The reader learns about the world of the twenty-second century through cleverly curated details provided in the stories. For example, we know that the United States is no longer a capitalist democracy because Zhang has to go to a special government office to obtain a new job when he loses (or leaves) the first job we see him have in an early chapter. (This indicates that even in New York City there appears to be a planned economy.) Socially and culturally, China appears to be the zenith of society in the book, and going to China is what most people we meet in the stories aspire to do. Eventually Zhang goes to spend a difficult 18 months near the North Pole in order to get credit that he can use to finance an education in China that will provide him with engineering and architectural credentials that will allow him much more job flexibility and earning potential in the future. (There are multiple references to communism and Mao Zedong but individual ownership of property does not seem to be outlawed in the United States, although collectives appear to be popular and socially favored.) In my opinion, Zhang is the most important (and frequently appearing) character in the book and his stories are the best passages; it makes sense that he’s the title character. Overall, although I’m glad that I have finally read China Mountain Zhang, I was not really that impressed with it. Having an openly gay character in 1992 (was and) is definitely ahead of its time, but being unable to realize that societal homophobia (even in a world dominated by Chinese culture) might have abated was not a possible future the author envisioned. So my overall takeaway from the book is that it produces a vision of a downbeat, if not dystopian, future. Of course, not all books need to be upbeat but my hope is that in most books I read the story will be engrossing or engaging to the reader in multiple ways, either in wanting to know how the story ends (here since the book is a mosaic there is no “plot” per se, so this is not a factor) or depicting characters or the setting in a way that cause a visceral connection with the reader (neither really worked for me here although I was curious about how exactly China came to dominate the United States but that story is not fully given). So in the end I view China Mountain Zhang as a creative but not compelling read; it’s suitable for sci-fi completists but probably not for casual aficionados of the genre.

Title: China Mountain Zhang.
Author: Maureen McHugh.
Format: Kindle.
Length: 321 pages.
Publisher: Orb Books.
Date Published:  April 15, 1997 (March 1992).
Date Read: October 17, 2021.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★★★☆  (4.5/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: B+ (3.33/4.0).

PLOT: B.
IMAGERY: B+.
IMPACT: A-
WRITING: B+

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Famous Neuroscientist Oliver Sacks Was Gay!

Noted neuroscientist Oliver Sacks died last weekend at age 82. I was unaware, and I suspect many of my readers are also, that Dr. Sacks was (sorta openly) gay. Thanks to my local NPR station (KPCC 89.3 FM) I learned not only that Dr. Sacks was gay but that as a young medical resident he spent a fair amount of time in Southern California, including at famed Muscle Beach in Venice, CA where he was known as "Dr. Squat" because he could squat lift 575 pounds!

Apparently he was very conflicted about his sexuality, as this excerpt indicates:

He had here his early struggles with his gay identity — he was celibate from his 30s until he was 75, when he met the love of his life, to whom he dedicated his last book — along with ensuing, difficult relationships. He got into a couple of biker brawls. He had a mad drive to prove himself as a body surfer in Venice (where he dislocated a shoulder and broke a few ribs) and a Muscle Beach muscle man.

His last book was published this year and titled On The Move. In it he mentions more details about his love life, including the name of his lover, Bill Hayes.

The picture at the top of this post show Sacks in 1961 (at age 28) and then later on years later. He apparently loved motorcyles his entire life as well.

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Presumed Gay GOP Rep. Aaron Schock Resigns In Scandal

Congressman Aaron Schock raised eyebrows this week (again) when he suddenly announced he was resigning from Congress at the tender age of 33. Schock has made headlines before, but usually it was for his eye-popping attire or for being outed.

Here's how the Economist reported on Schock's political demise:

Mr Schock, who is 33, was for a while the youngest member of Congress and remains the only one to appear semi-shirtless on the cover of Men’s Healthmagazine, revealing what the journal called “ripped” abs. His Instagram account showed him dancing the tango in Buenos Aires and surfing in Hawaii.
This whirl of politics, jet-set travel and donor-stroking (he was one of the top five House Republican fundraisers in 2013) began to unravel in February, after his interior designer gave the Washington Post a chatty tour of Mr Schock’s offices on Capitol Hill, revealing deep-red walls, gilded sconces with black candles and an arrangement of pheasant feathers—all inspired by the TV drama “Downton Abbey”. Reporters began to dig and the Associated Press, ingeniously, matched location data from his Instagram images with flight records and expense claims.Mr Schock soon faced questions about $90,000 in campaign funds spent on private air charters, a taxpayer-funded private flight to a football match and unreported foreign travel. He repaid over $41,000 to the government in office and travel costs. Asked if he had broken the law, he replied: “I certainly hope not.”

The question is, now that he is no longer in  Congress and a political career to defend, will Schock "live his truth'?

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Richard Chamberlain Discusses His Hollywood's Closet

80-year-old Richard Chamberlain has been in the public eye for well over a half-century, since he bewitched audiences with his appearance on Dr. Kildare in 1961 as doctor on the hit television series. However, even as Chamberlain became a Hollywood heart throb and all through the peak of his celebrity he maintained a secret: he was a gay man.

He eventually came out about a decade ago in his 2003 memoir Shattered Love but now Chamberlain is discussing his Hollywood career with the Bay Area Reporter from the perspective of looking back on it as an openly gay man.

"I knew I was gay at age 11 or 12, but I grew up in the 1930s and 40s, when being gay was not an option. I spent a lot of time trying to be someone else. My friends knew, but in Hollywood I was a romantic leading man, so I always lived in fear of being outed. When I started writing my book at age 65, I thought it would be a guide-to-life kind of thing, but my partner at the time and my publisher said, 'You've got to make it personal, and being gay is part of the story.' "While I was writing, it was almost as if an angel walked into the room and said, 'Richard, it's over. All this fear, this self-loathing is just stupid.' The message got right into my bones, and all the fear and self-loathing vanished."

Hat/tip Joe Jervis

Australian Olympic Swimmer Ian Thorpe (Finally) Says He Is Gay

There have been rumors swirling around Australian swimming phenom Ian Thorpe for years that he was a closeted gay man but his 2012 autobiography This Is Me included the sentences

"For the record, I am not gay and all of my sexual experiences have been straight. I'm attracted to women, I love children, and aspire to have a family one day." 

Thorpe represented Australia in multiple Olympics and by the time is he was 24 he had broken 22 world records  and won 9 Olympic medals (5 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze).

I guess I could make that previous excerpt today's Queer Quote, but I would rather blog about what the multiple Oylmpic medalist said yesterday:

"I'm comfortable saying I'm a gay man," he said. "And I don't want young people to feel the same way that I did. You can grow up, you can be comfortable and you can be gay."

Part of his reluctance to come out, he said, was fear of letting his family and his fans down.

"I wanted to make my family proud. I wanted to make my nation proud of me. And part of me didn't know if Australia wanted its champion to be gay," he said. "But I'm telling not only Australia, but I'm telling the world, that I am."

Thorpe added that he is looking forward to living his life openly, without the burden of carrying a secret. He wants to find a partner, he said, and start a family.

Thorpe retired from swimming in 2012 after winning five Olympic gold medals, three silvers, and one bronze, and setting 22 world records.

Hopefully, the now 31-year-old former athlete will be able to get on with his life and that the world of sports will become a little more knowledgeable about the sexual orientation of past and future sports stars. There are gay people everywhere! Anyone who thinks that  it is impossible to be gay and be whatever is just blinded by ignorance.

As for the Thorpedo, "good on ya, mate!"

College Football Star Comes Out; Likely To Become 1st Openly Gay NFL Player

Michael Sam has become the first player expected to be in the NFL draft to come out as openly gay. Sam, 24, graduated from the University of Missouri last December and was named the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He is 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds.

Sam led the SEC with 11.5 sacks, and 19 tackles for a loss. Most NFL draft projections see him as a likely mid-round pick, with some saying Sam could go as high as the third round, with a possible position switch to outside linebacker. He is rated as the 12th-best outside pass rusher in the draft by ESPN Scouts Inc.

"I just want to go to the team who drafts me," he said, "because that team knows about me, knows that I'm gay, and also knows that I work hard. That's the team I want to go to."

Sam said that despite some comments from current players, he doesn't anticipate difficulty gaining acceptance in an NFL locker room.

"Hopefully it will be the same like my locker room," he said. "It's a workplace. if you've ever been in a Division I or pro locker room, it's a business place. You want to act professional."

Sam rejects the appalling slanders that sometimes have been hurled at gay men.

"I mean, people will talk about the stereotype of gays being in the locker room ... to me, I think that it's a little stereotyped that gay people are predators. It's just very offensive."

The New York Times has a video interview with Sam:


Sam apparently came out to his teammates last year and there were no issues. This will probably become a pretty big news story in the next few days and weeks! OutSports has more coverage of the story.
Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

2014 GRAMMYS: My Predictions For The Top 4 Categories

Here are my pics for the winners in the Top 4 categories of the Grammy awards, which are being handed out at 8pm EST (5pm PST) in Los Angeles. Not only is prominent straight ally Macklemore & Lewis nominated in 3 of the top 4 categories for their marriage equality anthem "Same Love," they are going to be conducting a group marriage ceremony on stage while they perform the song, with Queen Latifah presiding and Madonna herself appearing as well. Macklemore & Lewis are an independent hip-hop act who had the #1 song of 2013 according to Billboard, the infectious "Thrift Shop."

RECORD OF THE YEAR
"Get Lucky" - Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams
"Royals" - Lorde
"Locked Out Of Heaven" - Bruno Mars
"Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons
"Blurred Lines" - Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. & Pharrell 

SHOULD WIN: "Get Lucky"
WILL WIN: Blurred Lines"

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
"The Blessed Unrest" - Sara Bareilles
"Random Access Memories" - Daft Punk
"Good Kid, M.A.A.D City" - Kendrick Lamar
"The Heist" - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
"Red" - Taylor Swift  

SHOULD WIN: "The Heist"
WILL WIN: "The Heist"

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Just Give Me A Reason" - Jeff Bhasker, Pink & Nate Ruess, songwriters
(Pink Featuring Nate Ruess)
"Locked Out Of Heaven" - Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine & Bruno Mars,
songwriters (Bruno Mars)
"Roar" - Lukasz Gottwald, Max Martin, Bonnie McKee, Katy Perry & Henry
Walter, songwriters (Katy Perry)
"Royals" - Joel Little & Ella Yelich O'Connor, songwriters (Lorde)
"Same Love" - Ben Haggerty, Mary Lambert & Ryan Lewis, songwriters
(Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Featuring Mary Lambert)  

SHOULD WIN: "Same Love"
WILL WIN: "Royals"

BEST NEW ARTIST
James Blake
Kendrick Lamar
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Kacey Musgraves
Ed Sheeran 

SHOULD WIN: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
WILL WIN: Kendrick Lamar

I don't know too much what "the kids are listening to these days" but I do know what I like and that Macklemore & Lewis album has numerous killer tracks on it.

QUEER QUOTE: Aaron Schock (R-IL) Outed (Again)

Another year, another round of gay rumors about a closeted, homophobic Republican politician. This time the politician in question is Aaron Schock, a.k.a. The Congressman With Abs, who is a Republican representative of the 18th Congressional District of Illinois. Schock has long been the subject of rumors about his sexuality, possibly because he is attractive enough that he catches attention of most gay men, and the fact that he seems more inordinately interested in his appearance than most politicians.

He is also a target because he has repeatedly expressed anti-gay positions and voted to enact those opinions as public policy.

Former CBS Reporter Itay Hod posted the following comments to Facebook, which will work as today's Queer Quote:

people always say, no one has the right to out anyone. that coming out is a private matter. i disagree. as you can imagine, not a very popular opinion. but bear with me.  

here's a hypothetical: what if you know a certain GOP congressman, let's just say from Illinois, is gay... and you know this because one of your friends, a journalist for a reputable network, told you in no uncertain terms that he caught that GOP congressman and his male roommate in the shower... together. now they could have been good friends just trying to conserve water. but there's more. what if this congressman has also been caught by tmz cameras trolling gay bars. now what if you know that this very same guy, the darling of the gop, has also voted against repeal of don’t ask don’t tell, opposed the repeal of doma, is against gay marriage; and for the federal marriage amendment, which would add language to the us constitution banning gay marriage and would likely strike down every gay rights law and ordinance in the country? 

Are we still not allowed to out him? 

As I have said before many times, I do believe in outing people. In this case, things have become even more interesting  since Rep. Schock responded to this Facebook posting going viral and the associated increased attention to his social media posts along with by making his Instagram account private.

I do not have a problem with someone outing Aaron Schock, but I do have a problem with reporting about someone's sexuality without using the same journalistic ethics that one would use to report any other fact. Hod is not reporting any first-hand knowledge that he has of Schock's sexuality (which is obviously difficult to obtain) but he also does not have multiple identifiable sources supporting the assertion that Schock is gay.

QUEER QUOTE: Charlie Crist, Previously Outed As Gay, Apologizes For Anti-Gay Actions

Charlie Crist is the former Republican Governor of Florida who is running for Governor again, this time as a Democrat. He was a key subject of the film Outrage about closeted gay politicians.
When he was a Republican, Gov. Crist frequently expressed anti-LGBT sentiments and supported
anti-LGBT public policies.

However, he gave an interview to a Florida-based LGBT media outlet called Watermark which contains statements from Gov. Crist for today's Queer Quote. Interestingly, Crist apologizes for his previous anti-gay behavior.

You’ve recently articulated support for marriage equality, adoption rights, employment non-discrimination protections… pretty much all the acknowledged ingredients of full LGBT equality. At the same time, I think it’s legitimate for members of the LGBT community to be skeptical.

When you first ran for governor in 2006, you said that a ban on same-sex marriage was unnecessary, but then you signed a petition to place Amendment 2 [banning same-sex marriage] on the ballot…
…and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I did that. It was a mistake. I was wrong. Please forgive me.

I appreciate that, but I want to make sure I spell this out in full. After you signed the petition you said Amendment 2 wasn’t an issue that moved you, but then you ended up voting for it, saying you believed in it. Just three years ago, when you were running for the Senate as a Republican, you told CNN that you believed that “marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman.” And just three years ago, when talking about gay adoption, you expressed a belief that traditional families are best…
Tom… I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

He says he's being honest now but how can the people of Florida believe him when they can not even believe he is straight?

ABC's Robin Roberts Comes Out Via Facebook

Robin Roberts, the ABC television personality who famously interviewed President Barack Obama last year when he finally endorsed marriage equality, has come out herself as in a longtime relationship with a woman, in a public Facebook post.

Flashback 12/29/12....Hard to believe this was 1 year ago today..when I reached a critical milestone of 100 days post transplant...and KJ was finally allowed to come back home.

Reading this comforts me and I hope the same for you: "If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present."

At this moment I am at peace and filled with joy and gratitude.

I am grateful to God, my doctors and nurses for my restored good health.

I am grateful for my sister, Sally-Ann, for being my donor and giving me the gift of life.

I am grateful for my entire family, my long time girlfriend, Amber, and friends as we prepare to celebrate a glorious new year together.

I am grateful for the many prayers and well wishes for my recovery. I return every one of them to you 100 fold.

On this last Sunday of 2013 I encourage you to reflect on what you are grateful for too.

Wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year.

Peace, love, and blessings to all..XO

Gawker reported at the time that Roberts hesitated to do the Obama interview because she might be outed as a lesbian. Joe.My.God reports that Roberts girlfriend's name is Amber Laign, a massage therapist. The two have been together for around ten years.

Congratulations on coming out, Robin. Better late than never, I guess! I wonder who will be the biggest celebrity to come out in 2014? To jog your memory, here's an interesting list of the Top 50 coming out stories of 2013 from TowleRoad.

Hat/tip to LGBT Think Progress

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: Brian Boitano, Olympic Figure Skater, Comes Out As Gay

Brian Boitano is a former Olympic figure skater who won the 1988 Gold medal in Men's Figure Saking and was named this week by President Obama to a delegation to the Winter  Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The Sochi Olympics are becoming a media controversy because they are being held in a notoriously homophobic country so it was notable that the American delegation did not include any high-ranking elected or appointed officials but did include two openly LGBT individuals: tennis great Billie Jean King  and hockey player Caitlin Cahow.

Boitano, 50, was also named to the Sochi delegation and although his sexuality had long been gossiped about, Boitano made it official that he is a gay man by releasing this statement:

I am currently skating in Europe but want to provide a statement regarding my appointment to the Olympic delegation. I have been fortunate to represent the United States of America in three different Olympics, and now I am honored to be part of the presidential delegation to the Olympics in Sochi. It has been my experience from competing around the world and in Russia that Olympic athletes can come together in friendship, peace and mutual respect regardless of their individual country's practices. 

 

It is my desire to be defined by my achievements and my contributions. While I am proud to play a public role in representing the American Olympic Delegation as a former Olympic athlete, I have always reserved my private life for my family and friends and will continue to do so. I am many things: a son, a brother, and uncle, a friend, an athlete, a cook, an author, and being gay is just one part of who I am. First and foremost I am an American athlete and I am proud to live in a country that encourages diversity, openness and tolerance. As an athlete, I hope we can remain focused on the Olympic spirit which celebrates achievement in sport by peoples of all nations.

So, now there are three openly gay members of the delegation to the Sochi Olympics. This should get interesting!

TENNIS TUESDAY: Casey Dellacqua Comes Out, World Shrugs

Australian doubles specialist Casey Dellacqua came out of the closet when her partner Amanda delivered her son Blake last summer. Dellacqua teamed up with fellow Aussie Ashleigh Barty to reach the finals of three of the four Grand Slam tournaments (Australian, Wimbledon and US Open) in 2013 but there was almost no media reaction to the fact that this elite sports figure is openly gay.

Dellacqua is quoted about the (lack of) press reaction by Sports Illustrated:

“It’s not news for the majority of people in our lives,” Dellacqua told Fairfax Media. “We’ve got a lot of great family and friends, a lot of lovely people around us. It hasn’t been too much of an issue to be honest with you, I haven’t had too much reaction or interest. I’m not sure what to say because I haven’t been asked until now. I’ve done a couple of interviews and it hasn’t been much of a big issue.” Nor should it, Dellacqua believes. “I feel so. I don’t feel like I’m any different,” she said.

[...]

“No, it’s not like it’s been a big secret or anything,” she said. “I’ve just gone about my life and am very proud of my family. Someone had asked me why I hadn’t played and that was the reason. There wasn’t much more too it, it is the way it is. Like everyone else’s relationships, it’s not too much of a big deal, to be honest.”

Hopefully, Casey will serve as a role model for other players on the WTA tour to feel comfortable enough to come out proudly about their sexual orientation. I'm talking to YOU, Samantha Stosur!

CELEBRITY FRIDAY: "Boy Genius" Ronan Farrow Is Gay

Ronan Farrow is Mia Farrow's son, and is either the son of Frank Sinatra or Woody Allen. He is 25-years-old and has already graduated from Yale Law School (4 years ago!), won a Rhode Scholarship and served in the Obama administration. And apparently he is gay, according to Vice, although you wouldn't know that from recent media articles:

It's not as obvious to me that Farrow's sexuality needed to be mentioned in the Times profile, though again there's a dog-whistle issue: "When he wasn’t busy navigating world events, [Farrow] was adding some panache to the Washington social scene, often appearing at political fetes with Jon Lovett, a former Obama speechwriter”; and "he is guarded about his private life, suggesting a persona more carefully calibrated than he lets on." OK, maybe that's a little louder than a dog-whistle. It’s possible that the piece’s author, Michael Schulman, who often writes about gay celebrities, couldn't get anyone to verify Farrow's sexuality on the record. 

[...] 

As a gay man, I find Farrow's sexuality highly relevant—he's literally the gay Mia Farrow! It’s only by accepting a homophobic logic that we can perform the mental acrobatics required to decide sexuality should be off the table. It’s just as interesting as any other detail, and no more embarrassing. As a New York court ruled last year, outing is a banality—identifying someone as a homosexual never qualifies as defamation, even if it isn’t true.

I also find Farrow's sexuality relevant. And I support "outing," although I prefer the term Michelangelo Signorile used at the time: "equalization." To me the point is to equalize the treatment of celebrities' homosexuality with their heterosexuality by the media. The notion that homosexuality is some horribly shameful secret while tabloids will reveal every other piece of information about a person is just simply wrong in my opinion. One can argue that nobody's private sexual behavior should be discussed in tabloids, but if you're going to talk about it when straight people do it, I insist you give LGBT people the same treatment.

BREAKING! U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud (ME-2) Comes Out As Gay

Mike Michaud is a Democratic congressman from Maine and candidate
for Governor.  He publicly confirmed he is gay on Monday November 4.

Mike Michaud is a 6-term Democratic Congressman representing the 2nd Congressional District of Maine who is also running for the Democratic Nomination for Governor of Maine (and has been the leading contender in most polls). In articles published on Monday Michaud revealed that he is gay.

Growing up in a large Franco-American Catholic family, it’s never been in my nature to talk about myself. I write this now merely to let my opponents and the outside interests who fund them know that I am not ashamed of who I am. And if seeing someone from my background, in my position, openly acknowledge the fact that he’s gay makes it a little bit easier for future generations to live their lives openly and without fear, all the better. 

I don’t plan to make my personal life or my opponents’ personal lives an issue in this campaign. We’ve had enough negativity in our politics and too many personal attacks over the last few years. We owe it to the people of Maine to focus on how we get our state back on track.

Michaud has a reputation as one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress, with a 10% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and is a card-carrying member of the Blue Dog caucus in the U.S. House. Wow, a 58-year-old, openly gay, pro-life Democratic candidate for Governor of Maine.

Michaud's announcement means there are now 7 openly LGBT members of the U.S. House of Representatives, with Michaud having the most seniority.

It should be an interesting to watch how various political constituencies react to Michaud's announcement!

Hat/tip to Chris Geidner

QUEER QUOTE: Janelle Monae Avoids Defining Her Sexuality

Janelle Monae appeared on Saturday Night Live this weekend, reflecting the avant garde musician's increasingly heightened profile in  the popular zeitgeist. However Joe.My.God describes her answers to questions about her sexuality as "Latifah-esque" (referring to Queen Latifah who has moved from being only known as rap musician to appearing in Oscar award-winning movies to hosting her own daily daytime television  talk show). Latifah, who is also now know by her name Dana Owens is widely believed to be a closeted lesbian.

This is what Monae said recently in response to "The Question":

“Women are amazing€ and so are guys. There’™s nothing wrong with being bisexual, there’s nothing wrong with being lesbian or gay. I am an advocate. I have friends who are in same sex relationships and I feel love has no sexual orientation. Love has no religious belief. Love is the purest and most important thing we can possess for ourselves and for others. €œI keep my personal life very much to myself. I want everybody to focus on my music. I also don’t want to let anybody down. I want women to still be attracted to me. Go get my album! I want men to still be attracted to me so I have to be political in this. So I can’€™t really tell y'all.”

If someone has an example of a straight celebrity who went through a stage of refusing to define their sexuality in public and then was revealed to actually be completely heterosexual, I would be happy to hear that. It just seems like there are numerous examples of celebrities who claimed they did not want to reveal their sexuality and when it eventually is revealed (celebrities really just need to acknowledge that the price of fame is their loss of privacy in this area) it has always been because they are a member of the LGBT community. Names like Sean Hayes, George Michael, and Ricky Martin all come to mind immediately.

We'll see if Monae follows that trajectory or if she follows Latifah's cowardly path.

Today is National Coming Out Day!

Today is National Coming Out Day, which has been celebrated since 1988, on the first anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. HRC has put together a lovely video that highlights the many celebrities who have come out over the last 25 years, including one I have characterized as the most memorable to me, Ellen Degeneres. It also includes a diverse list of celebrities who are now out of the closet such as George Takei, Jason Collins, Jason Lambert, Wanda Sykes, Chaz Bono and Ricky Martin.

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) Outed As Gay

The number of conservative Republican politicians who vote against LGBT equality yet are outed as members of the LGBT community has increased by one. John Barrasso, the Republican U.S. Senator from Wyoming has been outed as a gay man by Mike Rogers, who has an impeccable record of being correct.

This weekend Rogers posted this tweet:

Curiously, when contacted by media outlets and blogs Rogers just says "my tweets stand on their own."

New Civil Rights Project provides a brief profile of Sen. Barrasso:

Barrasso, who earned a zero percent rating from HRC, voted against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. He also voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women this year, which includes protection not only for women, but for “underserved populations” including sexual minorities and Native Americans. And he voted against the bipartisan expanded background checks bill that 91 percent of all Americans support.

Sen. Barrasso is also the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, which pretends to be a legislative think tank, publishing policy papers like “Obamacare Exchange Opens Door to Fraud and Identity Theft,” and “Democrats Target Family Farms for Death Taxes.”

Senator Barrasso, 61, is a Presbyterian, divorced, remarried, and has three children. He is up for re-election in 2016. He is on Facebook and Twitter.

Sheesh. With the presence of openly lesbian Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, barely closeted Barbara Mikulski and previously outed Mark Kirk could LGBT people be actually over-represented in the United States Senate?

Queer Quote: Famous NYC DJ "Mr. Cee" Comes Out

Mr. Cee is a very famous dee-jay on one of New York City's hit radio stations, HOT-97. There have been rumors about his sexuality because he had been repeatedly arrested for soliciting transgender prostitutes.

Last week the story came to a head when he resigned suddenly from his position and then rescinded that resignation the next day. Then this week he came out as a gay man (although he never actually says those words in the video) by recording a PSA for AIDS Healthcare Foundation.


In it he says:

“The decision I made this week to open up about my sexuality has definitely been the most difficult thing that I have ever had to do in my life. But I felt like this was the time for me to do it personally and professionally. For me, I felt worried about how my family would be affected, how my coworkers and my friends and even my fans would be affected by this decision because in this hip-hop community of ours, it’s not cool to be gay.”

This excerpt is today's Queer Quote and the Mr. Cee episode is a fascinating check in on the evolution of hip-hop's treatment of homosexuality. Combined with Macklemore & Lewis's hit music video "Same Love" (which literally has tens of millions of views on YouTube) it shows that the notion that homosexuality and hip-hop are antithetical to each other is changing, and that is a good thing!

hat/tip to TowleRoad

Queer Quote: Ex-Gay Org Head Alan Chambers Apologizes

Alan Chambers is the longtime head of Exodus International, the oldest and largest "ex-gay" organization which for decades has insisted on a promoting a "religious ministry" that it could heal homosexual and turn them straight. Yesterday, at the annual conference of Exodus, Chambers issued an astonishing apology for his actions harming the LGBT community and later announced that Exodus itself would shut down.

An excerpt from Chambers' (somewhat long) apology for three decades of preaching "gay=sin" is today's Queer Quote:

Please know that I am deeply sorry. I am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced. I am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn’t stand up to people publicly “on my side” who called you names like sodomite—or worse. I am sorry that I, knowing some of you so well, failed to share publicly that the gay and lesbian people I know were every bit as capable of being amazing parents as the straight people that I know. I am sorry that when I celebrated a person coming to Christ and surrendering their sexuality to Him that I callously celebrated the end of relationships that broke your heart. I am sorry that I have communicated that you and your families are less than me and mine.

It occurs to me that it is interesting that just as we wait to see if the expected advances in LGBT equality materialize at the Supreme Court, one of the key bulwarks of the anti-gay movement impeding that progress is going to be going away.

Queer Quote: Margaret Cho Totally Outs JohnTravolta

Not like it hasn't happened before, but John Travolta has been outed again, apparently this time by comedian Margaret Cho. While on tour in Australia, Cho is quoted as having said this:

"I’m going to get in trouble, but I’ll just tell you. He is so gay. John Travolta is so gay. He’s not just gay. He doesn’t just like men. He is like Oscar Wilde gay. Like Lord Byron gay. That kind of crazy, incredibly flamboyant gay. I know him well because I did a movie with him and worked with him for a year. I feel bad for him; because I know he would be much happier if he could just come out. But he can’t."

Rumors about Travolta have circulated for literally decades. However, he is a prominent member of the Church of Scientology and they are well-known for controlling the public and private lives of their celebrity members.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God