‘Jesse’s Journal’ Archives
Argentina: Same-Sex Marriage Among the Carnivores
The Argentine Republic’s legalization of same-sex marriage July 15 came as a complete surprise to those of us who think of Argentina as the land of machismo, meat-eaters – Argentines are the world's biggest carnivores, consuming 70 kilos (154 lbs.) of beef per person – and military coups. According to “Completely Queer: The Gay and [...]
Gay Sex Among the Animals
A few years ago the Zurich Zoo in Switzerland conducted guided tours that centered around homosexual behavior among the zoo animals. Unfortunately, the one hour tours were held in the early evenings, at a time when most animals were asleep. But this did not stop the gay zoo tours from being a success. Though there was no same-sex activity in [...]
Gays by the Sea
As a South Floridian, I am blessed by this region’s warm climate and proximity to some of our best beaches. Sadly, most of my LGBT sisters and brothers are not as fortunate. Therefore, it is not surprising that during the summer months many lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people vacation by the sea. “Some of the most popular [...]
Hospital Visitation: A Daily Struggle for LGBT Couples
Every day, same-sex couples must fight for the basic rights that straight married couples take for granted. One of those basic rights is the right to visit your partner in the hospital. Michael and I are fortunate to live in Broward County, a progressive county in the mostly conservative state of Florida. Broward has a Domestic Partners [...]
The “Dems” and We: Stop taking us for granted.
The Dolphin Democrats are South Florida’s oldest, largest and most successful LGBT political organization. Founded in 1982 by Karl Clark, Tom Bradshaw, Jamie Bloodworth and other activists, the Dolphins have made Broward County the most gay-friendly county in a still-homophobic state. Thanks to Dolphin leadership, Broward has both an [...]
Gay Resistance: The Lessons of History
Resistance takes many forms. For some of us, it means staging a demonstration or starting a political action group. For others, it means being defiantly different in a society that hates difference. As John Rechy and Charley Shively noted more than three decades ago, queer sexual activity was in itself subversive in states that (pre-Lawrence) [...]
Gay Pulp Fiction
One of the most important gay books of the 20th century was Richard Amory's Song of the Loon: A Gay Pastoral in Five Books and an Interlude (Greenleaf Classics). While of doubtful literary value, Song of the Loon made gay literary history with its explicit depictions of gay male sex, its positive portrayal of male love and its poetic, almost [...]
Gay Bookstores: A Dying Breed
Like many lesbians, gay men, bisexuals or transgender people, I came out of the closet with the help of gay books and gay bookstores. Though we didn’t have a gay bookstore in Miami when I came out in the early 1970s, I took advantage of the mail order services provided by the newly-established bookshops. My first visit to the Oscar Wilde [...]
Living Life to the Fullest
The most memorable person I ever met was my cousin by marriage, Roger Alan Weinstein. Roger never had much money, was never elected to public office, never won a major award, never appeared on People magazine or reality TV and never had any children (a mark of success in our society). And he died at a relatively young age, before his 50th [...]
Kevin Jennings and the antigay witch hunt
In May 2009 President Barack Obama appointed Kevin Jennings to the post of Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education and Director of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education (the so-called “safe schools czar.”) The openly gay Jennings (b. 1963) is uniquely qualified for this job. After years of distinguished [...]
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