Literary Bathhouse
I attended my first writers’ conference this weekend and was surprised by how similar it felt to a trip to the bathhouse, just with more small talk. About a hundred aspiring novelists were at an airport hotel t...
The Perilous Mirage of Monogamy
The last thing I wanted to be doing at five o’clock on a Monday morning was escorting a member of one of Atlanta’s royal couples out of my apartment. The bemusing scene became more unsettling a day later when I...
Proud Trailblazer or Political Catfish?
The Victory Fund has played an instrumental role in electing the first out lesbian U.S. senator, as well as openly lesbian mayors in two of the nation’s largest cities, Houston and Chicago. In the special elect...
How to Lose Love at First Sight
As the stranger stared into my eyes and pulled my body against his body, my face close to his face, and my lips inches away from his lips, I remembered how I’ve always thought it was tacky when people kiss in a...
Methodist Madness
There is a superficiality to American spirituality that makes me doubt the average Methodist could explain what differentiates his or her denomination from Lutheranism, Presbyterianism or even Catholicism. Lent...
What Would You Do?
Our society is turning into an episode of ABC’s “What Would You Do?” Of all of the possibilities in this golden age of television, we’ve decided to emulate a hidden-camera morality farce. My long-s...
Leveraging a Lack of Secrets
It was adorable to hear my 92-year-old grandma talking about the gentleman friend she recently met, but for the past week, I’ve been wondering whether I should have checked her cell phone to make sure the guy d...
Cheers for Two ‘Super’ Men
Super Bowl activities are taking place across the street from my apartment complex this week, and one of my transgender friends has dreams of being the mistress in a sex scandal with one of the athletes on the ...
Opening a ‘Box’ of Stigma
I was close to succumbing to the “Bird Box” craze until I saw Sandra Bullock in the opening scene and decided sitting through another of her movies would be more horrifying than any plot. Despite m...
Sometimes “Y”: Trading in a Closet for a Bubble?
In 2018, I received an apology I wasn't expecting, as well as a kiss I can't remember. Both instances were reminders of what happens when you come out to a large group of people, whether it's family, co-workers...
‘Flaccid Monday’ and Other Overreactions
December 3, 2018 may go down in history as “Flaccid Monday,” with Tumblr announcing its corporate suicide via an upcoming prohibition against all sexual-related content on its blogging platform. The bereavement...