Were you the best little kid in the world? Don’t wanna make any waves? Maybe rebelled from an early age and now don’t take any shit? Either way, pacifying or aggressing are two sides of the same defensive coin that stem from our own underlying fear that we’re not really worth caring about.
In a world where we learn both emotional needs and queerness are wrong, trying to find a nondefensive but strong voice to use for ourselves can seem impossible. Watch my new video, “Why Gays Should Be Needy,” to see not only how but why we should speak up when are needs are going unmet.
Trump’s Disinformation Campaign, Razzies, Parasite the TV Series, Roger Stone, Sam Smith, Lori Lightfoot, Garrett Clayton: HOT LINKS
DEATH STAR. The billion-dollar disinformation campaign to reelect Trump: “Both parties will rely on micro-targeted ads this year, but the president is likely to have a distinct advantage. The Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign have reportedly compiled an average of 3,000 data points on every voter in America. They have spent years experimenting with ways to tweak their messages based not just on gender and geography, but on whether the recipient owns a gun or watches the Golf Channel.”
CORRUPT TO THE CORE. DOJ to reduce Roger Stone sentencing recommendation after Trump calls it unfair: ‘In a stunning rebuke of career prosecutors that will surely raise questions about political meddling in the case, a senior Justice Department official said the department “was shocked to see the sentencing recommendation in the Roger Stone case last night.”’
MICHELLE CARUSO-CABRERA. Former CNBC anchor to primary freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. ‘According to a filing late Monday, she will run as a Democrat in that party’s primary in the 14th District. Caruso-Cabrera is known to be a skeptic of government and a proponent of free markets. In 2010, she published a book called “You Know I’m Right: More Prosperity, Less Government.” She has been a registered Democrat for several years.’
IMRAN ALIEV. Anti-Putin blogger found dead, throat slit. ‘French police believe that the killing of a blogger from the disputed Russian region of Chechnya in a French hotel room last week was “politically motivated,” a French police official briefed on the case said.’
TRAILER OF THE DAY. Sean Hayes in Lazy Susan.
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Fab The Duo “No Prince Charming”.
Writes Clayton: “Attention please: I’ve been getting comments on promotional shots for “Brolesque” that concern me and want to address this… I believe there are many types of beauty in this world. And I’m sure most of you would agree. My issues are the concerning comments regarding me in my costumes for “Brolesque.” Sure, they’re more feminine compared to past postings of mine. But I feel just as attractive in this basic, instaboy flexing shot as I do in that corset. My job as an actor is to explore all different types of roles, to explore all different types of life. I’ve been so fortunate so far in my career to play vastly different roles. I will never limit myself in that regard, because I see the value in variations in beauty, and I plan to explore them all. I don’t care if you’re skinny, plus size, feminine, masculine, tall, short, or anything in between or anything outside of that. I think a person is beautiful for all the different sides that make them up… To my point, I will continue to feel the same about myself. I feel just as attractive/beautiful being a sweaty, fit, flexing man as I do being all done up in my corset with a full face of makeup and dripping in pearls. If you’re only here for me to be shirtless, pushing some false, one-sided image of myself all the time on Instagram… you’re going to be sorely disappointed. In the last six months I’ve been everything from Pennywise the Clown, the Huntsman in Snow White, to now being a Tim Curry-type Xtina in “Brolesque.” Whether it’s on stage or in TV/film, in future jobs I hope I get to explore an even wider variety of characters, be it short, tall, wide, thin, masc., or fem… THEY ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL; THEY ARE ALL WORTHY. I will never limit myself, and I hope you don’t either. ”
Naked yoga is the latest fitness trend among queer men. More and more guys are getting into it. Including writer Zachary Zane.
Zane first heard about the all-malenaked yoga classes being offered at MMX Studio in Manhattan through a friend. Having attended countless sex parties and nudist resorts, he figured he’d give it a shot, even though yoga has never really been his thing.
“I hate yoga,” he writes in an essay published by Men’s Health. “As someone who lifts weights five days a week and derives joy from being at the gym, yoga has never been a thing for me. I’ve tried it countless times on dates, with friends, and family members, but I’ve never liked it.”
Zane admits that when he first arrived at MMX, he was a little nervous:
I also get anxiety boners when I’m naked in public. It’s not because I’m getting aroused by the other naked people there, though there surely were enough hot dudes at MMX to get me hard at the studio. It’s because I know I shouldn’t be getting hard, and for some reason, that gets me hard. Every time I do a nude photo shoot, I get an erection. There’s just too much excitement going on.
Much to his relief, that didn’t happen. He managed to make it through the first 45 minutes of class without any, ahem, issue.
Zane explains that he was paired off with a man who he had never met before. Together, they went through a series of guided poses included one where “one person bends forward while the other stands behind him, like in a standing doggy style position.”
He recalls, “The bent-over person then twists his body, looking back at the ‘top’ person, who stabilizes the bent-over person by grabbing his butt and chest.”
He writes:
This is when I got hard, and it was no anxiety boner: This partner pose was extremely sexual and arousing. Then, he got hard. After we finished the pose, we hugged, looked each other in the eyes…and kissed. It just felt like the thing to do. I looked around afterward to see that other men, although not all, were kissing their partners, too. Then I switched partners, per Phillips directions. After two more tender partner poses, the class ended with everyone linking up in a circle, crossing arms, and doing a backbend together as a unit. Everyone was supported by the person next to them.
In the end, Zane says the experience was “slightly awkward” and “I still hate yoga,” but he’s glad he gave it a try.
“By the collective backbend, I felt like I’d become best friends with everyone in the room,” he concludes. “And maybe I even loved them all? Is that possible? Like, what just happened?”
Anthony Rapp Shared His Engagement Photo Shoot and it’s Romantic AF
Star Trek: Discovery star Anthony Rapp, who announced his engagement to leadership coach and researcher Ken Ithiphol last November, just shared a very romantic shot from and engagement shoot the couple had done.
Colagrossi & Co, their photographers, shared an entire set of intimate photos on its Instagram page.
“As you know, I’m marrying this wonderful, beautiful man,” said Rapp, in a caption beside their photo. That wedding will take place, according to Rapp, about seven months from now.
Rapp and Ithiphol have been together for four years.
Rapp has been an outspoken voice against sexual abuse and harassment since accusing actor Kevin Spacey in 2017 of sexually assaulting him when he was 14. Rapp has since warned fellow entertainment industry professionals about director Bryan Singer, telling them, “Any actor who agrees to work on this film is complicit in keeping a predator in power and will be put on blast.”
