Gay Today: Quote

Quotes & Quips

Compiled By Jack Nichols

The San Francisco
Archdiocese Asks Too Much

Tom Ammiano

Asking for change in the date of the (Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence) celebration sidesteps the real issue here, that of the separation of church and state. The board's vote is not an endorsement of the sisters. It's an endorsement of the process that allows the sisters or any group to apply for a permit and be granted due process. The fact that the actions of one group are not popular with another group is no reason to deny anyone their rights.

Tom Ammiano--President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors—"Troupe Irks San Francisco Catholics"—New York Times, March 26

Time Flies

Meanwhile, in all the confusion, I aged.

BEK, The New Yorker, cartoon, March 29

Push Push—Away from Bush!

For all the talk of a moderate George W. Bush, Jr., this (his recent anti-gay commentary) shows his eagerness to accommodate the prejudice of the radical right wing of his party.

Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass)

Gov. Bush

Mormonism: Is There Sex After Death?

I think it should be noted that although the Salt Lake City 'Temple Square' brand of Mormonism does not practice polygamy, it certainly preaches it loudly from the pulpit for 'worthy male church members' in the afterlife. Mormon men are taught that part of the reward that awaits them in the afterlife, if they lead a 'pious' Mormon earth life, is the opportunity to take on more than one wife after death so that they may become head of their own expansive patriarchies.

K.L. Johnson, "Letters"—The New York Times Magazine, March 21

A Scary Stepford Wife?

Elizabeth Dole

There's not a wrinkle
in her dress.

Her hairdo makes
Lott's look a mess.

So will some
human adversary

Say Mrs. Dole
is sort of scary?

Calvin Trillin—"Enter Mrs. Dole"—The Nation, April 5/12

Peter Tatchell: Direct Action's Zealot

Does this generation of gay men and lesbians – who seem to worship DJ's more than activists – appreciate the sacrifices he's made?

'Some may, some may not. I didn't do it to win approval or appreciation, I did it because I believed it was right and necessary."

So for how long can the Mount Waverley zealot maintain the rage?

"Another thirty years I hope."

Peter Tatchell to Ron Bell, "Storming the Pulpits"—Melbourne Star Observer, March 26

Will The Autonomous Self Raise Its Hand?

When San Francisco State University English professor Jo Keroes analyzed student essays on personal dilemmas they had faced, she expected men to focus on self-determination and women on relationships. To her surprise, "autonomous" themes prevailed for both sexes.

Cathy Young—"Sex and Sensibility"—Reason magazine, March

Marcus Schenkenberg as Gianni Versace Saw Him

It's not often that one sees a man like Marcus…He is so comfortable with his body and with himself that he transcends the limits of culture. In this sense, he is free, and by looking at him, you also feel free.

Marcus Schenkenburg (left) in a Calvin Klein ad

Gianni Versace on Marcus Schenkenberg quoted in The Best of the Superstars 1999 (StarBooks Press)

Academics in PornLand

It's a little weird to contemplate Ph.D. candidates fanning out across the aisles in porn emporia with their Bic pens and spiral notebooks like Claude Levi-Strauss among the Nambikwara, but it has a certain logic—perhaps, even, a certain inevitability. Cross-dressing as a literary theme, queer theory, and S&M studies have displaced deconstruction and postcolonialism as the cutting-edge mode of discourse.

James Atlas—"The Loose Cannon—Why Higher Learning Has Embraced Pornography"—The New Yorker, March 29

The President's Goals

Alec Baldwin

I don't consider Clinton a progressive, but I think some credit should be given to the fact that when he came into the White House, he did try a relatively progressive agenda in the work he was doing on healthcare and gays in the military, and got smacked down pretty quickly for it. A lot of people are saying that he then ran off and co-opted the Republicans' agenda. I don't think that's wholly true. Clinton is somebody who said, Listen, if I can't accomplish what I want to do, let's go and accomplish those things they want to do that I think are worthwhile.

Alec Baldwin-- "On Movies, Money and Politics"—The Nation, April 5/12