My queer identity is constantly evolving. For too long I resisted this growth process, worrying that my inability to find a perfectly fitting label would cause others to question the validity of my sexuality. So much of my initial journey was consumed by this deep insecurity that the rest of the LGBTQ community wouldn’t find…
The revelations about Harvey Weinstein have spurred discussion about harassment and assault in the workplace. While it can happen anywhere, there are some common threads among the worst industries. The victims are often seeking employment with some level of “desperation”, either for a job at all or for a break toward advancement. This is in…
I can’t remember the first time I saw one of the drawings by Touko Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland. It’s as if they were already in my head, iconic of gayness and man-ness, when I came out in 1992. I’d been titillated by some of the drawings of superheroes in the comic books…
I am not a breakfast person. I spell breakfast C-O-F-F-E-E. With milk and sugar, thank you. If I’m in a diner eating eggs and bacon and toast, then I’m on my way home after a night at the club. But a deadline sometimes forces a person to leave their comfort zone and get the story…
San Diego was the first city to have a Harvey Milk Street, then Salt Lake City followed. Now Portland may be the third city as political trailblazer Terry Bean is heading up this city’s campaign and he tells me that already 75 percent of the current street businesses have agreed to the name change. Ric…
You felt surprisingly safe. There you were, in a place that was certainly iffy, but you were totally comfortable there. No danger, no darkness, no problems – and in the new book The Gang’s All Queer by Vanessa R. Panfil, no world you’ve ever seen before, either. Everybody knows that being a teen isn’t easy….
LGBT History Month, a once inconceivable concept, includes wrangles about teaching LGBT history in schools as “concerned parents” face the horror of their innocents becoming aware of us and our past. Yet even if details are skimmed over or omitted, there would (should) be acknowledgement of our existence and the many men and women, our…
Under the watchphrase Together Making Strides, this year’s Pride by the Beach event marked a full decade of North County LGBT civic festivity. It was rainbows, pink unicorns and flamingos, Venus and Mars gender symbols, American flags, Día de los Muertos skulls, colorful booth canopies, tie-dye shirts, face-painting, balloons and carnival food. It was also…
The only constant is change. Whether “change” is positive or negative can only be determined in retrospect. One of the things I remember most from my days at Harvard Business School is the caveat “there are no right or wrong answers,” people make the best decision based upon the information in front of them. Decisions…
LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Icons. Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video, bio, bibliography, downloadable images and other resources. Background In 1994, Rodney Wilson, a Missouri high school teacher, believed a month should be dedicated to the celebration and teaching…
