Outside the Margins – GGG Ponders on the Vanishing “Gay Ghetto”

Calamus

When I was seeing She Kills Monsters last week (you did read my last article, didn’t you?), it was playing in Boston’s South End, an area that was very much the gay ghetto of Boston. I got to enjoy a slice of Emilio’s Pizza (so very good), but so many of the stores I used to visit there are gone. It got me thinking about the vanishing nature of what was once a big part of my life. Boston used to have two amazing gay bookstores – Glad Day Books and We Think the World of You, both of … [Read more...]

Out of the Cartoon Closet

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During my most recent stay at Disney World, I had a conversation while I was lounging at the pool with my nephew and my husband. The following day was National Coming Out Day (see my previous article on the subject), and we started discussing creating a custom T-shirt in case we happened to be at Disney World the following year, or some other year, during National Coming Out Day. Not shockingly, our idea for the shirt involved a number of Disney characters, perhaps carrying a pride flag. My … [Read more...]

Turned Inside Out – GGG Talks About Supporting Your Outed Loved One

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Hiho, Gentle Readers. Well, in my last article, I promised I’d explain why coming out was so on my mind of late. I’m here to tell you exactly why. I’m in touch with a shockingly low number of people from my high school days. I think I realized that I had little in common with many of them, other than a love of D&D and Monty Python, and that wasn’t enough to build adult friendships on. One I’m still in touch with, however, it a woman I’ll call X. She’s married to a great guy, … [Read more...]

You’d Better Get This Party Started – GGG Salutes National Coming Out Day

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Hiho, Gentle Readers. When this article appears on GDG, National Coming Out Day (NCOD) will be right around the corner on October 11. This may mean absolutely nothing to you, but it means a lot to me. The fact that it exists makes me both smile and frown…I’m glad it exists and sad that it has to. For reasons that I’ll explain next week, the subject of coming out has been much on my mind of late. I’m been as out as it gets for years, so NCOD tends to sneak up on me these days. When I … [Read more...]

Gays are Gamers Too: The Newest Convention for Geeky Queers

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Guys, I am so excited. I ran across this the other day and I am stoked. It’s not going to happen for another year (and not going to happen at all if it doesn’t get funded) but just the fact that this exists makes me happy inside. That’s right: I’m talking about Gaymer Con. Glorious Leader E has been making gaming and geek conventions friendly for straight singles for years, and this year is the first year that queer geeks will have their own space to rock out with their pride out. … [Read more...]

Welcome to the Party: Northstar’s Wedding and the Revealing of the Rainbow Lantern

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Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of this superhero, and this completely normal guy, and the ensuing media storm that followed. Right now? It’s good to be gay – that is, if you’re a superhero. Marvel’s Northstar tied the knot with his civilian boyfriend last week, and this week DC announced that as part of their New 52 reboot, the original human holder of the Green Lantern ring has been retconned queer. Which is awesome! He’s a powerful business man … [Read more...]

When the Gay Outweighs the Geek – An Unexpected Encounter with Homophobia

Homophobia

I had a sudden encounter with homophobia in the relatively recent past. It kind of came out of nowhere, and, ironically, I didn’t know about it until afterwards. Dealing with it, however, reminded me that it’s still out there, even amongst gamers, who I think of as some of the nicest and most accepting people there are. I was involved with a gaming event recently. I don’t want to cause a scene, point fingers, or have people guessing. Suffice to say it was a big game with a lot of … [Read more...]

Kings and Queens: Historical Edition

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A new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race has just started, and I, personally, am pulling for Sharon Needles and Latrice Royale – the former because I love a talented underdog, and the latter because I am too scared of her not to be. I have had a soft spot for drag queens since the Imperial Court of Halifax and Atlantic Nova Society lovingly opened their arms to a shy little backwoods baby butch like me. And drag kings? Everything that is wonderful about butches, only hairier and … [Read more...]

How Gay Is Your TV?

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Does it feel like every television show has to have their token gay character? It’s one of my mother’s common gripes about primetime TV; she feels gay plotlines and characters are overused because of their current topicality. Me, I like to see the cute boys kiss. It wasn’t all that long ago that seeing a gay character on television was groundbreaking; to see one with a functioning love life even more so. The first openly gay characters on television were almost always minor, one-shot … [Read more...]

Why It’s Awesome To Be Gay (In Toronto)

CN Tower lit up for Pride (c) QueensQuayLife

A few weeks ago, I packed up the wife and took off to her Tennessee home for a visit with the in-laws. It was my first time that far south in the States, and I was caught off-guard by how very different it was south of the Mason-Dixon Line. As a butch Canadian woman who has never had to hide my light under a bushel, if you will, I knew, intellectually, that ‘I’m here, I’m queer’ wouldn’t fly very well in small-town Tennessee, but I was unprepared for how hard that reality would hit me. … [Read more...]