FURROCIOUS: JUNE

I write a monthly column in Genre magazine and they've kindly allowed me to blog them a month after their release date. The column is called Furrocious--don't tell PETA! Here's my June article.

YAY, IT’S PRIDE SEASON AGAIN! Time to pour yourself into those rainbow Lycra shorts and throw on a low-cut, nipple-exposing tank top that’s three sizes too small. Yes, it’s time to primp, pluck, shave, pump up, douche, pre-lube and secure plenty of “party favors.” It’s time to get laid and get wasted—uh, I mean celebrate our gayness and renew our fight for equality. Celebrate and fight? Hmmm. Exactly what are we celebrating? The enormous setback that was Bush’s (re)election? Besides, aren’t we, quite frankly, already partying ourselves to death? How do we start celebrating when many of us never stop? I always used to think that the parade should be a day for celebration only. After all, in our quest for equality, we gays have come a lot further in a shorter time than women or blacks had in their quest. Even in the face of AIDS, bigotry and everything else we face, no one can throw a party like gays can, and hell, I’m proud of that! But let’s face facts: In today’s increasingly antigay climate, is a party more important than fighting for our right to party? Should we be more like the queens who instigated the 1969 Stonewall riot, the event which Pride festivals supposedly commemorate? I think it’s time to take to the streets afire with some of Stonewall’s sense of outrage! Let’s celebrate again when we’ve chalked up a few more victories. I won’t go into the recent setbacks in the fight for equal marriage rights, how AIDS cases are rising, the crystal meth problem and increasing media censorship. It couldn’t be clearer: Our situation is dire. And I’m sorry, but drunkenly waving a rainbow flag while cruising one day a year isn’t going to remedy it. We’ve got to become as organized as the religious right is, and push our agenda non-stop just to get back to where we were a year ago, let alone advance our goals. By all means, go to the parades. Wave those rainbow flags. Cruise. Party. Cruise some more. But after the hangover fades, why not try some easy ways to keep that feeling of Pride going all year long? 1. Make sure that you open your wallets/ purses to gay political organizations and charities—giving at least as much as you spend in a bar on a big weekend is a good guideline. Straights ain’t gonna donate to gay organizations, so if you don’t, who will? 2. Spend a fraction of the time you spend cruising or working out getting involved—whether it’s writing a senator, volunteering for a service organization or organizing your own! 3. While it’s a blast to join a huge parade in a major city and feel that intoxicating surge of gay power, there are many smaller communities where gays are still afraid to march. Maybe you could travel to one of these cities’ events. They might not be as cruisy— but then again there might be less competition! 4. Add a few worthy activist and newsy URLs to the hook-up sites on your favorites list, so you can stay informed. We are under attack, and no one is going to fight our battles for us. 5. Let’s band together and be a little more supportive of all segments of our own community. Just because someone doesn’t turn you on doesn’t mean you shouldn’t embrace them. Don’t forget who gave birth to the gay rights movement at Stonewall—it wasn’t the respectable, closeted fags who might have had the nerve to throw on a pink polo shirt once a year. It was the freaks and queens who suffered daily abuse with no closet to retreat to. Conservative gays allege that the press focuses on the more outlandish participants in the parades. Honey, get a decent look together and maybe someone will photograph you! 6. If you are a devout Christian like I am, you’ll recall that Gay Pride is a sin—I’m kidding! Now let me go write that check to some activist organization and pray that it clears before this article goes to print. Here are some worthy organizations to check out and donate to: Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org), National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (ngltf.org), Gay Men’s Health Crisis (gmhc.org), Lambda Legal Defense Fund (lambdalegal.org), American Civil Liberties Union (aclu.org), The Trevor Project (thetrevorproject.org) and, of course, your local LGBTQ groups and community centers. After this year’s Pride festivities, wouldn’t giving something back make you feel a lot prouder than a hangover?