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UK Sherlock Fans Call for Gay Relationship in Series

Fans of the popular BBC series Sherlock have been lobbying show creator Mark Gatiss to write a gay relationship between Sherlock and Watson into the plot.

Gatiss said he had been inundated with plotline ideas and even explicit drawings sugeesting a relationship between Sherlock played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Watson (Martin Freeman).

Gatiss told DNA that fans had been urging him to make the dynamic crime fighting duo a couple since injecting sexual innuendo into the plot of the previous series.

Gatiss told DNA: “Oh my God. I get sent things that would make your hair turn white. It’s not just Sherlock and Watson holding hands on a park bench, I can tell you that.

“Some of them are incredibly graphic but my goodness I’ve not tried half the things they’re doing.”

It’s not the first occasion that the great detective and his sidekick have been rumoured to be gay. In the 1970s Billy Wilder film, it was joked that Sherlock and Watson were a couple.

Gatiss said this is where he and co-creator Steven Moffat took their lead.

Nonetheless Gatiss said there are no plans at this stage to turn the pair into a couple.

A fourth series of Sherlock has been commissioned by the BBC and will air later this year. The BBC has also announced plans for a special feature length episode to begin filming in January 2015.

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Christians Against Gays & Gay Marriage?

Are Christians against gays?

Gay marriages have hardly ever received religious sanction, especially never so in the realms of Christian Catholicism. The Catholic Church has time and again, raised serious protests against the legalization and public acceptance of same-sex marital unions, across several regions of the world. Such religious condemnation is one of the main impediments in the battle being fought by the gay community across the world.

The Catholic Church believes that homosexual relations are against the dictates of the Bible. God created the male and female anatomy such that they are physically complimentary to one another so that they can reproduce and procreate, producing human offspring for the progression of the species. However, same-sex relationships are not conducive to the idea of procreation, and are believed to have been condemned in some interpretations of Biblical texts. In that sense, gay unions are against the biological norms of nature and staunch Catholics consider them to be a violation of God’s establishment of a harmonious society. This is the basic argument put forward by the higher Catholic authorities as well as some followers of the religion as well.

The Catholic opposition to gay marriage also drives strength from the fact that their conduct of religion is centered upon a very high view of marriage and human sexuality. Christian Scriptures are cited to reiterate the importance and significance of marital relations and human sexuality. The Book of Genesis is known to reflect that marriage and sexuality were designed such by God to be sacred gifts to mankind.

“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Gen. 2:18).

“A man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).”

The above mentioned sections are often quoted to explain the religious sanctity of marriage as God had ordained. Male and female sexuality were to compliment one another so that they could unite in the Holy union of marriage. And since marriage for Catholics, is a Holy vocation, they hold it in reverence and thus try to defend it against “harm”, be it in terms of homosexuality or otherwise.

The Catholic Church also believes that gay marriages are a detriment to society. In their argument and protect against the acceptance of same-sex marital unions, they interweave their religious and social concerns to put forward a stronger case. Since gay unions cannot facilitate procreation, they do not play any biological function is society which is supposed to be an important element of the entire marital institution. In consequence to this, the Church believes that the sanctity of a marriage between homosexuals is thus little, if not inconsequential.

While the Catholic Church in its entirety is seen as an opposing force to gay marital union, there is a large body of Catholic Christians that does not react to the idea of same-sex marriages in the same manner. Some also argue that the Biblical references that are given to justify a Holy rejection of same-sex relations may not have been related to the question of homosexuality at all. This takes the religious debate into the arena of interpretation and reinterpretation of the Bible. However, since there is no way to judge upon the correctness of any Biblical interpretation, this debate is not expected to reach any concrete conclusion.

This is however, not to say that Catholicism represents a complete an absolute boycott of the homosexual population of the world. Yes, the Catholic Church is not a proponent of homosexuality and same-sex marriages. However, a complete rejection of gay people and their lifestyle is not what the Catholic Church stands for either. The bottom line here is that Catholicism has been an opposing voice in the debate over gay marriages and their legalization. It cites religious as well as social factors as the basis for such a stance. But its view on gay marriages is not a complete reflection of the Catholic treatment of homosexuality. While the debate goes on and on, one can only wonder whether there shall ever be an effective conclusion to it, and if so, which voice shall emerge victorious.

gaymarriagesupport.com/christians-against-gays-gay-marriage – 2012

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Coming Out in the Open

In contemporary times, the gay community across the world has got a larger space for expression in society. However, this does not in any way, reflect upon the genuine attitude that a large section of the population harbor for homosexuals. In fact, in most of the less developed parts of the world, as well as more broad-minded societies, people face discrimination and social seclusion based upon their sexual orientation. Often, the fear of facing rejection and silent condemnation from their peers, family or the general populace at large, leads homosexuals to suppress their homoerotic impulses or else get involved in clandestine relationships that rely upon secrecy to be successful. Either way, living such a life is not healthy for there is a constant sense of inadequacy in this nature of existence. It is thus advised by psychologists as well as gay activists that homosexuals should not hesitate to come out of the closet and express their sexual preference without any qualms.

For homosexuals to be as unguarded about their sexual orientation as heterosexuals, they shall need the comfort of knowing that they will get part of, if not similar degree of acceptance as the latter. What gay people often do not realize is that keeping their homosexuality within wraps, they themselves are also conforming to the sexual stereotypes which they think society is burdening them with. If they are at peace with the reality of their sexual preference, the societal response should become a secondary concern. In fact, as more and more homosexuals have gone ahead and been candid about their orientation, the general public response has also undergone a change. As the active gay community becomes larger and stronger, they garner more respect and acceptance due to the very fact of being part of a more vast section of the population and not an extremely small minority.

While a large number of gay people keep their homosexuality a secret due to societal pressures and insecurities, more often than not, it is also because they are comfortable with their own reality. However, they must realize that the root cause of such discomfort also goes back to the general conditioning that one receives in regard with sexuality and preferences from their very birth. What they need t realize is that it is better to come out and face reality rather than live a lie. Studies and statistics support the fact that most homosexuals have found themselves to feel happier and more secure once they have come out of the closet and declared their orientation with no hint of embarrassment or regret.

It is important to realize that if a homosexual is fighting with their sexual impulses or keeping their orientation a secret, they are not at peace and are not probably living a very satisfactory life in that sense. It is often believed by the more vocal members of the gay community that they are better off risking undesirable societal reaction rather than living in a state of unhappiness, often even depression. The idea is that it is a fairer deal to risk unhappiness and be true to oneself, rather than be unhappy and live in denial or concealment.

Moreover, as the gay community has become more vocal and active in fighting for its rights (pro gay marriage), a large part of the formerly indifferent or disdainful population has broadened their outlook, being more aware about the reality of homosexuality and sexual preference. As the world community gets more aware about this issue, they simultaneously become more sensitized towards the idea of accepting them as one of their own.

It is therefore, a fair conclusion that homosexuals shall fare better if they are open about their sexual orientation. It shall not only help lighten their own mental burden but also contribute to the larger cause of gay activism that aims at changing the discriminatory attitude that society may harbor in regard with homosexuals. And in coming out of the closet, a gay person makes a decisive attempt to control their own life, which reflects personal growth and strength of character. For all the gay people in the world, go ahead and express yourselves, embrace your sexuality and let other’s notions of right and wrong affect your life.

gaymarriagesupport.com/coming-out-in-the-open – 2012

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Gay and Queer Books & Guides on Dating, Romance & Relationships

Looking for some more good gay oriented reading material? Here are some books with more practical gay dating tips, gay tips, guides and advice as well as some humor for gay men. Enjoy!

On Picking Fruit by Arthur Wooten

Although he was born gay, Curtis Jenkins has trouble, uh, picking fruit. He is still searching for that elusive man of his dreams.

Unfortunately, Curtis has already formed a self-destructive pattern of choosing all the wrong men, often in all the wrong places. Date after date, hell just gets that much closer. But Curtis is an optimist, and vows never to give up.

Will Curtis discover who and what he truly wants in his life? While he barely survives dates that are funny, frightening, sexy, moving, and even shocking, Curtis may just uncover the fortitude to find Mr. Right (or even Mr. Pretty Close).

Gay Haiku

Joel Derfner wrote these poems after one too many bad dates. I should note that Joel himself doesn’t consider these poems to be true haiku.

It is however a book of one hundred and ten witty and wicked short poems that captures the many dating disasters that he’s experienced. But he doesn’t stop there…

Joel also covers such topics as gay pop culture, politics, family, sex, shopping and home decorating.

Mondohomo

My partner got me Mondohomo for a Christmas present…Was he trying to queer me up? Regardless, I really enjoyed reading it. *grin*

Richard Andreoli, who’s writing appears in a lot of gay magazines, gathered together about eight other gay writers and produced this wonderful compilation of gay culture; where it’s been, where it’s at and to a degree where it’s headed.

The book covers a wide range of topics and is presented by a different author for each chapter. Together they combine essays, best-of lists, and how-to advice; all designed to give you a guided tour of contemporary queer culture.

Mondohomo is both a thought provoking and amusing look at the gay world. I highly recommend it.

How To Get Laid: The Gay Man’s Essential Guide To Hot Sex

From the coauthor of Going Down: The Instinct Guide to Oral Sex, comes the first and only guide for gay men on how to make sure that when they go out looking to hook up, they don’t come home disappointed. Jonathan Bass, (aka Parker Ray) breaks it all down so that any guy can be getting more than he’s getting now.

You’ll learn about the pros and cons of where to hunt: bars, clubs, sex clubs, gay resorts, vacation spots. And because this is the online age, there’s also a chat room guide: what certain phrases mean and what to look out for-because we all know men don’t lie, right?

You’ll get tips on the importance of self-assuredness and knowing how to flirt; how to convince a guy to try something new (like you!); how to send the right signals; how to make the other guys he’s checking out look bad; and how to use your friends to help you get laid.

You will also learn how to navigate the gray area between one-night stands and dating, and finally you’ll learn sleeping-around etiquette along the lines of how not to be rude when you’re being a naughty boy.

The Mandates: 25 Real Rules For Successful Gay Dating

After many years of serial monogamy, Dave Singleton went to the front lines to find out, how to win the dating game when you’re a gay man. He found himself exploring the lives of other gay men who found themselves on the dating fast track with guys they’d met from work, at the gym or bars, and increasingly, on the Internet. Thus, The Mandates was born.

The Mandates is a laugh-out-loud but completely true set of rules about the making, (or breaking) of men’s romantic relationships. (I’ll attest to this as I was giggling in the aisle of a local book store when I checked this book out.)

Gay and Lesbian Weddings : Planning the Perfect Same-Sex Ceremony

Comprehensive, fresh, and funny, Gay and Lesbian Weddings covers everything you need to know to plan the wedding of your dreams. Unlike other wedding planners, this one tackles the issues your heterosexual friends never had to consider. For instance, do you come out to Aunt Gloria before she receives the invitation and the shock of her life?

Gay and LesbianWeddings includes advice on the changing laws regarding gay marriage in the United States and abroad; the differences among domestic partnerships, civil unions, and marriage.

You’ll also get information on budget concerns: choosing your ideal wedding size and style.

There’s tips on keeping the honey in the honeymoon; sex tips—including how to keep the heat after the wedding night.

Plus, there’s a handy Wedding Countdown Calendar, website resources, and true stories from same-sex couples who’ve gotten hitched without a hitch.

Gay Sex: A Manual for Men Who Love Men

Gay Sex by Jack Hart is an all-purpose guide to living a sexually energetic and fulfilling life. Gay Sex gives gay men all they need to know, from tips on how to meet men to negotiating safe sex to dealing with relationships.

There are also discussions on the mental-health aspects of masturbation, fantasy, dating, bondage, S/M, recreational drugs, role-playing, and general physical well-being.

Hart’s writing is clear, concise, and informative; he never overloads the reader with too much scientific information or confusing detail and never adopts a patronizing or moralizing tone.

By treating sex as a vital and exhilarating aspect of everyday life, he manages to both introduce these topics to the novice in unthreatening and helpful ways and inform and enlighten those who have been out and about for years.

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Same Sex Gay Marriage Diversity

Diversity means difference or unlikeness or the opposite of same. Men and women are perfect examples of diversity. In fact, men and women are called opposites. Sexism and racism are examples of zero gender or zero race diversity, respectively.

The US constitution codifies a requirement for equal treatment (equality) of certain classes of people. Men and women are two such classes of people. Diversity of classes must exist for there to be equal treatment of those classes (equality). Equality, in this context, does not mean without any differences. Equality means treating diverse kinds (classes) without partiality when there is no purpose for partiality.

Homosexuality is the opposite of diversity. ‘Gay marriage‘ is called same-sex. Same (i.e. homo) is the opposite of diverse. In fact, homosexuality is diversity-intolerant, by definition. The opposite sex is always rejected by a homosexual person, when it comes to ‘love’, without regard to the individual merit of that person, just because they are of a different gender! Homosexuality is genetic gender-bias or preference. Since there is zero gender diversity in any same-sex union, same-sex unions also contain zero gender equality. As a result genders are sex-segregated into male and female dominated institutions. “Separate is seldom, if ever, equal”.

On the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, that outlawed race-segregation, sex-segregation was instituted via same-sex marriage by the Massachusetts SJC!

Even though gay folks might be nice people, they are twisting the meaning of diversity beyond recognition apparently because it makes society feel more accepting of homosexuality. The ‘Goodridge’ same-sex couple seem like nice people, but they unabashedly say on public television: we do not need a man. Imagine two white people saying: we do not need blacks! There would be an unimaginable uproar in society.

 

same-sex-gay-marriage.com/diversity/diversity.html – 2004

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Queer Gay Sports Eye for the Hopeless Homo

As I was watching “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” the Bravo reality series where five fabulous gay guys transform a straight, uncultured slob, I was struck by a moment where I identified more with the hetero than the homo.

It was a scene where Carson, the fashion maven, was going through the closet of Slob ‘O The Week, and came across his collection of replica NHL jerseys. Carson picked one up that said “Gretzky” across the back and remarked with puzzlement, “Gretzky? What country is that?”

C’mon, dude, I said to the TV. How can you not know who Wayne Gretzky is, maybe the greatest hockey player ever? At least you should know he’s married to B-movie actress Janet Jones; it was in all the tabloids. I’m certainly no fashion poster boy, but even I know about Prada and Tom Ford.

The Fab Five’s apparent lack of sports knowledge led me to an idea: teaching sports-impaired gay men the basics about the world of bats, balls and pucks. Call it “Queer Sports Eye for the Hopeless Homo.” This information can be very useful in those awkward social settings where you have to interact with your ultra-straight brother-in-law, or maybe break the ice with the dad of your new boyfriend. Or even, pray tell, if your significant other would rather watch “SportsCenter” than “Trading Spaces.” I consulted our Fab Five (no, not the Michigan basketball team from the 1990s) and we came up with these following helpful hints, tips and facts about the world of sports.

Culture

–Super Bowl Sunday is a rotten day to throw a surprise birthday party for your football-loving boyfriend. It’d be like him asking you to go bowling the night of the Oscars.

–Contrary to what you may think, “Fantasy Football” is not a shower scene between you and the Green Bay Packers starting offense. It’s a game where you “draft” your own team of NFL players to compete against similar teams of your friends. But don’t be like our friend who picked his entire 2002 team based on which players were the hottest. Talent and looks do not always go hand in hand. Just ask Warren Sapp.

–“The Big Dance” is not the Palm Springs White Party. It’s the nickname for the NCAA men’s college basketball championship, a three-week hoops extravaganza featuring hot, young, sweaty jocks slapping each other on the butt while wearing tank tops and shorts and drinking lots of water. Oh, sorry, it is the White Party.

–You need to get down with the nicknames. “Shaq” is Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal; “Kobe” is fellow Laker Kobe Bryant; “A-Rod” is Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez. “Tight end” signifies a football player positioned to the outside of the offensive line eligible to catch passes, not the headline of that hot guy you saw on Gay .com.

–Gary Glitter’s addictive “Rock and Roll Part 2” (aka the Hey! Song) is the sports national anthem, heard in every arena across the land year-round. Here are the complete lyrics, sung for three minutes: “Hey!”
Even Texas A&M alums can memorize it.

Food

— While watching a game, angel hair pasta tossed in olive oil and roasted garlic is a no-no. Doritos with a side of melted cheese product and a box of Krispy Kremes is as gourmet as it gets. We had a friend’s boyfriend come to a football party last year bearing oranges (it gets worse–they were seedless mandarins called “cuties.”) “You do not bring citrus fruit to a football party,” the boyfriend was told by his partner in a tone that resembled John Madden channeling Martha Stewart.

–Beer is the beverage of choice and it should to be a good, old, red-blooded American mass-produced brew like Bud or Miller. If you go micro, avoid foo-foo names like “Sweet Lavender Ale,” and choose “Snarling Pit Bull Malt” instead.

Interior Design

–A satellite dish with Tivo that can pick up the NFL Sunday Ticket and ESPN Classic Sports is de rigueur.

–You need a couch that’s functional, great to lounge on and the right color to hide beer and grease stains. Brushed leather won’t do.

–The kitchen should be within good hearing distance of the TV so you can’t miss a play. Better yet, go for a TV in the kitchen. And the bedroom. One fanatic we know (an ex-NFL player) has TV speakers in his bathroom so as not to miss a thing (how weird to listen to the Steelers going for 2 when you’re doing the same.)

–Contrary to what one friend’s partner thinks, a football trophy is a proper coffee table addition. Talk about a conversation piece!

Fashion/Grooming

–Avoid inappropriate combinations. A Yankees hat with a Red Sox sweatshirt; a Florida State visor with a Florida T-shirt; anything with “Los Angeles Clippers” on it. Would you wear your dad’s leisure suit to happy hour at the Boom-Boom Room? We didn’t think so.

–It is OK to go shirtless to a sporting event. But you first must be willing to paint “Hi mom! Go Huskers!” on your chest. Please do us a favor, though–before you bare all, at least have seen the inside of a gym in the past year.

–Tattoos are cool but must be appropriate. We have a good friend who’s a huge Minnesota Vikings fan, and he has a tat of the fierce Viking mascot on his behind. In the old days (before he found Mr. Right), he would go up to a prospective trick and if the guy knew anything about football, would say the Pickup Line That Never Failed: “Would you like to go somewhere private and see my royal Viking ass?” Try that with a tat of Madonna.

–Yes, many athletes wear jockstraps during competition, hence their name. And yes, people notice. Denver Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey (all 6-5, 215 pounds of him) and his wife were once interviewed. The questioner noted that Ed wears undersized shoulder pads and mentioned he must also wear a jock strap. The wife said the jock “is a very large one. That’s why the shoulder pads look so small.” And this was on ESPN, not the Spice Channel.

By J. Buzinski Out Sports – 2003

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A Gay Track Coach Tells His Story

In the spring of 1993, Eric “Gumby” Anderson was scared.

He was a closeted gay man behind the “Orange Curtain” – the term commonly used to refer to the politically ultra-conservative Orange County in California. He didn’t know a single other gay man. And, he was also in the homophobic world of high school sports-track in particular, where no coach had ever come out in America.

Later that year, that changed.

Gumby-a childhood nickname that everyone knows him by-became the first openly gay high school track coach in America when he told the administration and members of his team at Huntington Beach High School that he was gay.

“I just couldn’t lie and hide anymore to anybody,” he says.

Today, he is anything but hiding. Still living in Orange County, he has a jumbo-sized rainbow flag flying from the front of his house. He has a rainbow flag on his car. He even has a rainbow flag on the screen door to his back patio. The license plate on his Avalon is “GAYRNNR.” And, he’s had a very high-profile part of the campaign to end discrimination against gays at the high school level for years.

“The only thing I’ve ever really kicked myself in the ass for was not coming out sooner,” he says.

His closeted past long behind him, Gumby has chronicled his long struggle to bridge the gap between sports and being gay.

In his new book, “Trailblazing: The True Story of America’s First Openly Gay Track Coach,” he tells an intense tale of the first four years of coaching as an openly gay man.

He brings the reader time and time again into the principal’s office to face unfounded allegations of sexual harassment and illegal recruiting. He gives us the vivid details of the brutal beating of one of the runners on his “Fag Team.” He also shows the incredible powers of winning, overcoming tremendous adversity, and sportsmanship.

oach Gumby, now 32, knows the role of coach well. A PhD candidate at University of California Irvine, Gumby has spent years researching the psychology of sports. He has published two books on the subject of distance running, delving into the subject at every level from motivation and enthusiasm to nutrition and injuries.

It should be no surprise that one of the areas he has spent the most time researching is homosexuality in sports. He has written various articles and academic pieces on the subject including his Master’s thesis, “Gays In Sport: Is It As Bad As They Say?”

“Trailblazing” stands out from the rest of his works. This isn’t a training program or an analysis of statistics or facts. It’s a very personal story that the author hopes will have a very different effect than his non-narrative works.

Gumby began writing the book as a research project-a possible chronicle of two Olympic runners, from high school until, hopefully, Olympic gold. After four years, he realized he didn’t have two Olympic-caliber runners on his hand; but he did have a gripping story of a team and a coach dealing with what it is to be gay in sports.

“I realized that what was going on in [my runners’] lives had to do with what was going on in my life, as I was coming out of the closet as an openly gay coach,” he says.

It is very hard to find an openly gay coach at any level, as most choose to stay in the closet. In fact, Gumby is one of only two known openly gay high school coaches, the other being Dan Woog of Connecticut, the author of “Jocks,” a book about gay athletes.

When you hear Gumby’s story, it’s easy to understand why so many coaches fear what could happen to them if they are outed.

Within days of coming out, Gumby came under fire from the school administration. On a daily basis he got notes in his mailbox to “please see the principal.” He was asked about his reasons for coming out and accused of making sexual advances on his runners, illegally recruiting other runners, holding illegal practices, or any of a number of other missteps. Often these were “anonymous.” They were always unfounded.

As if that were not enough, while Gumby was being attacked by the administration, his team was being attacked by their classmates. Labeled “The Fag Team” both in their school and by other cross-country teams around the county, the Huntington Beach runners were assaulted verbally on a daily basis. Their cars were keyed. They were forced to change in the bathroom rather than the locker room. Sometimes they were even physically attacked.

“I’m not the hero,” says Gumby. “The heroes are the kids who chose to fight this fight.”

The situation totally consumed Gumby.

“With all the crap that was going on,” Gumby says, “I was running around putting out little fires, and trying to prevent big ones from happening non-stop, so I had absolutely no social life. Zero.”

Of course, that was the particular situation he had to deal with. In much of Orange County, being openly gay carries risks. And, to make matters worse, he was coaching boys, which helped feed into the hateful stereotypes. Being the first and feeling isolated meant added pressure.

“24 hours a day I lived, breathed, ate Huntington Beach High coach. I had something to prove to the world about gay coaches or gay athletes. There was a period when I had to win. It was the proof. So, that attitude and love just didn’t seem to go hand-in-hand.”

And win he did, bringing national attention to a perennial loser in Orange County, winning the County Championship in back-to-back seasons, sending various runners to Division I colleges and sending a team to the California State Meet for the first time in school history.

uickly, track began to be less and less a part of Gumby’s life and started to become his life.

“I wasn’t just going out there coaching, and the kids racing on the weekends,” he says “There was so much more involved; so much more going on.”

All of this also led to a non-existent love-life for Gumby in those days. “Love and track don’t seem to mix,” he says in his book after a short section on his first boyfriend.

Despite all of the meetings with the principal, hearing “fag” every day, and having to constantly take a larger role in the lives of his runners, for Gumby, coming out was an important part of his coaching.

“I didn’t come out until I was 25, and one of the reasons I didn’t come out is because I didn’t know anybody [who was gay]. I knew I had gay runners out there, there’s no question about it, and I knew that me being out would give them a breath of hope-that they’d think, `Yeah, there are other people out there, I’m not the only one.’ ”

Certainly not. Since coming out, Gumby has had seven of his own runners come out to him.

“I really am a lousy recruiter,” he says. “They ought to take my toaster back, because, for all the athletes that I’ve had, I certainly didn’t get many out of the closet.”

“Lousy recruiter” or not, Coach Gumby could never have been called just an “ordinary” coach.

“The average perception of a coach is somebody who goes out there, blows a whistle, tells athletes what to do, and goes home. That’s not the kind of coach I am. Coach and friend go hand and hand.”

Which is a big part of why his runners continue to stay in close touch with him, and continue to call him “Coach” long after they’ve graduated.

At a recent book signing at his house, most of the major characters of “Trailblazing,” including UCLA National Indoors 800 Champ Jess Strutzel, were there to offer their support and “hang at Coach’s place.”

Gumby’s new “in-laws” were also there, a sign that he has even managed to make the bridge between love and track. He has had a boyfriend, Grant-Tyler Peterson (right), 20, for two years. Grant-Tyler is a senior at UCLA and just starred in the school’s production of “Fahrenheit 451.”

Though he presently doesn’t have to balance his personal life with coaching runners on the track, Gumby continues to coach gay teen athletes in life. Many of them are scared and confused, wondering how they can be an athlete and be gay at the same time.

Gumby say the environment has changed a lot for the better in the seven years since he’s come out. His doctoral thesis is on the 42 openly gay high school and college athletes he has found. He hopes a more accepting society translates into more athletes feeling comfortable being open about their sexuality.

Many young gay athletes find him through his Website, coachgumby.com, which features his e-publication for gay teens, The Gumby Gazet. They contact him looking for advice and someone to confide in. They come from all over the country from all different sports. The word on the Web is, if you’re a gay teen athlete, you’ve got to track down Coach Gumby.

“I saw my book in Barnes & Noble on the shelf and I thought, ‘Some 16-year-old kid is going to pick this book up and is going to get a lot of inspiration out of it.’ And so, what this all means is that this is going to help somebody, this is going to help a lot of people. At least, that’s my goal.”

That 16-year-old couldn’t find a better coach. While he’s anxious to get back to coaching runners, right now Gumby’s just focused on changing the world.

By C. Zeigler, Jr. Out sports – 2000

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What Are Young Gay Men’s HIV Prevention Needs?

Are young gay men at risk?

Unfortunately, yes. Accumulating research shows alarmingly high HIV prevalence rates among young gay men and high rates of sexual risk-taking, suggesting that young gay men in their 20’s are forging a “second wave” of the AIDS epidemic. During the 1980s, the median age at HIV infection was older than 30 years. It dropped to 25 years during the period from 1987 to 1991. From 1987 to 1991, one in every four newly infected individuals in the US was age 22 or under.

A recent study of 425 gay men aged 18-29 in San Francisco, CA found that 18% were already infected with HIV, with a seroincidence rate of 2.6% per year: among the 27-29 year olds, 29% were HIV+. Another study which sampled young gay men aged 17-22 from public venues such as bars, street corners, dance clubs and parks found 9% of the men to be HIV positive. Young African-American men were found to have especially high HIV seroprevalence (21%). A study of gay men aged 18-24 in New York City found 9% HIV positive.

What places young gay men at risk?

In contrast to studies with older gay men which demonstrate dramatic reductions in HIV risk-taking behaviors, a variety of studies show that young gay men are engaging in high rates of unsafe sex. In a survey of gay men aged 18-25 in three medium-sized West Coast communities, 43% of the sample reported having engaged in unprotected anal intercourse during the previous 6 months.(7) A study of gay and bisexual adolescent males in Minnesota found that 63% were at “extreme risk” due to unprotected anal intercourse or intravenous drug use. A San Francisco telephone survey showed that 44% of gay men under the age of 30 had engaged in unprotected anal intercourse during the previous year, compared to 18% of the men over age 30.

What contributes to risk taking?

A complex array of factors – at individual, interpersonal and community levels – contributes to the high sexual risk-taking of young gay men. Since the bulk of AIDS cases among gay men is among men aged 30-40, many young gay men perceive AIDS as a disease of older men and feel it is safe to have unprotected sex with other young men. Most young men know how HIV is transmitted and men who engage in unprotected sex do label their behavior as putting themselves at risk for AIDS. Nonetheless, with their feelings of invulnerability typical of youth, young men may feel the negative consequences “won’t happen to me”.

Young men are often in an exploratory phase with regard to sexuality which may entail high numbers of partners and a willingness to try a variety of activities. Due to inexperience, young men may be less competent in negotiating low-risk sex and less knowledgeable about making safe sex activities enjoyable. Coming out as gay can also be a period of great emotional turbulence, resulting in low self-esteem and depression which may reduce their feelings of self-efficacy and motivation for safe sex.

Further, protecting one’s health is not necessarily a young gay man’s top concern. Interpersonal motivations may be more pressing – wanting to fit in, to find companionship and intimacy. However, interpersonal issues can also contribute to unsafe sex. For young gay men, unsafe sex is most likely to occur with a boyfriend – someone whose affection is very important to them.(7)

The social structure and norms of the young gay subculture may not be entirely conducive to safer sex. In many communities, gay bars and public cruising settings provide the main opportunities for young gay men to meet and socialize. Yet each is highly sex-charged and the bar scene’s emphasis on alcohol sets the stage for engaging in sex while high – consistently found to contribute to unsafe sex.

What works for young gay men?

Despite enormous need, only a handful of programs specifically targeting young gay men have been designed and evaluated. Individualized risk-reduction counseling followed by peer education and referrals to drug, counseling and health services were reported to be an effective strategy for decreasing unprotected anal intercourse among gay male adolescents in Minneapolis, MN. In New York City, an intensive, multi-session small group intervention was offered to gay youth aged 14-19 seeking services at a community-based agency for gay youth; the more sessions youth attended, the more dramatic the changes in risk behavior.

Community-level programs can reach large numbers of young men. One successful program promoted a norm for safer sex among young gay men through a variety of social, outreach and small group activities designed and run by young men themselves. Rates of unprotected anal intercourse dropped from 40% to 31% after the intervention. The program found that young men engaging in unsafe sex who were unlikely to attend workshops were more likely to be reached through outreach activities – such as dances, movie nights, picnics, gay rap groups, and volleyball games.(13) STOP AIDS’s Q Action, in San Francisco, CA, is a community organizing model that promotes HIVprvention by putting the power for designing and implementing interventions directly into the hands of young gay men.

Youth-oriented media can also be used creatively to reach large numbers of young gay men. In Australia, ads promoting HIV prevention peer support groups appeared in popular youth magazines across the country. Over 1,300 young men responded. Follow-up questionnaires showed that 73% had not told a family member about being gay, and 48% had told no one. Direct mail was also found to be highly successful for sending AIDS and sexuality information to gay adolescents in rural, isolated, or culturally difficult environments who would otherwise not access support.(14)

What needs to be done?

Since there are multiple factors that contribute to HIV risk-taking among young gay men, multi-level prevention programs are necessary – programs that impact variables at individual, interpersonal and social system levels. Funding, designing, implementing and evaluating HIV prevention programs for young gay men must be a high priority to halt the AIDS epidemic.

The myth that the gay community has been saturated with AIDS prevention services is in serious need of debunking. New young men will come out each year who have not been exposed to prevention campaigns of previous years, thus HIV prevention for young gay men must be ongoing and dynamic.

Engaging, creative programs are needed that address HIV prevention within the contexts of young gay men’s lives, incorporating issues of self-esteem, coming out, substance use and interpersonal and social needs. Community-level and peer outreach programs are especially promising, and services for young gay men of color are particularly needed. Since previous sexual history is a strong predictor of current risk-taking behavior, intervention at an early point in a young man’s sexual initiation will be maximally effective.

Societal homophobia may impede implementing effective prevention programs for gay youth and may discourage young gay men from accessing prevention services.Political concerns must not interfere with HIV prevention services for young gay men. A comprehensive HIV prevention strategy uses multiple elements to protect as many of those at risk of HIV infection as possible. Targeting young gay men with AIDS prevention messages and services is not “condoning” or “promoting” homosexuality, it is acting responsibly in the face of a grave public health threat. Unless action is taken quickly, we will lose a new generation of gay men.

 

caps.ucsf.edu/YGMtext.html – 2000