For the 25th year in a row, New York is set to be the subject of a naval invasion this month, when Fleet Week hits town, from May 23-30. The arrival of thousands of sailors on our shore has always been filled with secret gay sexy times and lots occasionally adorable missed connections. But with the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, one has to wonder: is this year going to be the gayest Fleet Week ever? Because it is already shaping up to be a doozy.
Will This Year's Fleet Week Be The Gayest Ever?
Gay Cop Sues NYPD For Taking His Scholarship Away
A probationary police sergeant was so upset over a poor evaluation he received from a lieutenant that he went and sued the NYPD. According to Michael J. Fox (yes, that is his name) an unnecessarily negative review by Platoon Commander Lieutenant Roger Lurch led him to lose a year-long paid leave of absence and a scholarship to Hunter College—and so sued to get both back [PDF]. Maybe the fact that Fox is gay and Lurch is not could help his case?
Science Imitates Cliche: Homophobes Probably Just Closeted
And for today's report of science setting out to prove cliches true, a new study has arrived that argues that the most aggressive homophobes are probably like that because of their own latent homosexual tendencies (see: Ted Haggard). "Individuals who identify as straight but in psychological tests show a strong attraction to the same sex may be threatened by gays and lesbians because homosexuals remind them of similar tendencies within themselves," explains study author Netta Weinstein.
Photos: Art, Sex And Sunbathing On The West Side Piers
Once upon a time the piers on the West Side of Manhattan weren't filled with trees, kids, bicyclists and joggers. In the good old days they were a hotbed of homosexual activity—remember this video? Still, for further evidence the Leslie/Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art this month is hosting an exhibit called THE PIERS: Art and Sex along the New York Waterfront. It is, they say, the first show to "focus exclusively on the uses of the Hudson River docks by artists and a newly emerging gay subculture." Times have really, really changed.
Dead Married French University Prez Into Gay Sex, Tabloid Sez
The death of prominent French scholar Richard Descoings in the Michelangelo hotel Tuesday doesn't, on first blush, appear to be foul play, but that doesn't mean it hasn't gotten a bit of intrigue in the latest news cycle. The NYPD says the initial autopsy requires further study and is awaiting a toxicology report, so of course the Post today has gone and added a homosexual twist to the sad story. Oh la la!
Tyler Clementi's Guest Testifies: "There Was A Camera Lens... Directly At Me"
This past week, numerous witnesses testified in the first week of the trial of Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student accused of spying on his gay roommate's intimate encounters via a webcam. The roommate, Tyler Clementi, killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge, and his death galvanized LGBT activists and prompted national discussion about bullying. Many of the witnesses have been Rutgers students (including his resident advisor), but yesterday, Clementi's guest during the encounters finally came forward to give him version of what happened.
NYC (And America's) First Gay Senior Center Has Opened
Finally, older gay men and lesbians have a place in the city just for them. The SAGE Center, possibly the nation's first gay senior center, officially opened its doors at 305 Seventh Avenue yesterday. The center gives older gays a place of their own to do everything including eating, socializing, take classes, see nurses, dance and even do yoga, without feeling stigmatized.
Video: Cruising The West Side Piers In The 1970s
In the years between Stonewall and the AIDS crisis, New York City was something of a hotbed of homosexual activity. Especially in the West Village and on the piers lining the Hudson. The piers especially were regularly used for sunbathing, cruising and more. So what did that look like? On a sunny day, something like this:
XL, A Giant Gay Club In The Out NYC Gaytel, Opens Tonight
After years of work, New York's gay hotel/resort/nightclub The Out NYC is almost ready. But before they start letting gay (and, presumably, straight or at least curious) guests grind in their bedrooms, the massive venture is doing something lowkey flamboyant and opening its enormous zombie club, XL. There will be gay.
Gays And Lesbians Love Visiting NYC For Sex, Community
No doubt about it, the gays just think New York City is fabulous. Lesbians do too, though they're reasons for coming can be a little more staid. Community Marketing has released its 16th annual Gay & Lesbian tourism report [PDF] and when it comes to leisure and business travel, American homosexuals choose New York City hands down. No wonder we're pushing out another gay tourism campaign!
Senator Gillibrand Leading Push To Lift Gay Adoption Ban
In the wake of same-sex marriage passing in NY, as well as the federal repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, legislators are now turning their attention toward a federal bill to lift the last bans on gay couples and individuals adopting children. "This legislation would open thousands of new foster and adoptive homes to children ensuring they are raised in loving families," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said of her "Every Child Deserves a Family Act."
America's First Gay Senior Center Opens In NYC In January
New York City is really getting gay these days. We've got the gays getting gay married all over the place, a gay "urban resort" in the works and now comes word that we'll soon be home to the nation's first LGBT senior center. Because gay people get old and want to complain about how nobody visits them to their gay friends, too!
Anti-Gay Teacher Firing Ignites Intense School Board Battle
Vicki Knox, the Union Township high school teacher who ignited a serious firestorm over the anti-gay messages she allegedly posted all over her school's Facebook, is at the center of an increasingly intense School Board battle over whether or not she should be allowed to keep her job. And while Knox herself has yet to publicly comment on the issue, pretty much everyone else is.
Everyone Wants To Fire NJ Teacher Who Posted Anti-Gay Facebook Messages
Viki Knox, the Union Township, New Jersey teacher who referred to homosexuality as "a perverted spirit that has existed from the beginning of creation," and a "sin" that "breeds like cancer" on a Facebook thread about her school's LGBT pride month, is at the center of a serious battle over free speech.
After Driving Gay Teen To Suicide, Bullies Cheer His Death
Last week, a 14-year-old boy who was bullied because of his sexuality was found dead of an apparent suicide. The death of Jamey Rodemeyer, who had recorded a striking "It Gets Better" video months before, has provoked an outpouring of sympathy for the family, and support for anti-bullying laws. But according to Jamey's parents, the bullies who allegedly drove Jamey to suicide are still harassing the family and defiling Jamey's memory.
Lady Gaga Wants To Meet With Obama To Talk Bullying
This week, a 14-year-old boy who recorded an "It Gets Better" video earlier this year was found dead of an apparent suicide. Jamey Rodemeyer dedicated one of his final messages to his hero, Lady Gaga: "Thank you Lady Gaga. For everything you have done for me. Paws up forever." Gaga has now responded to Jamey's tragic death by vowing to meet with President Obama to discuss bullying laws: "I am meeting with our President. I will not stop fighting. This must end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it #MakeALawForJamey."
Teen Who Recorded "It Gets Better" Video Found Dead Of Apparent Suicide
A 14-year-old boy from Buffalo who recorded an "It Gets Better" video earlier this year was found dead of an apparent suicide. Jamey Rodemeyer had written extensively online about being bullied at school. "I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens. What do I have to do so people will listen to me?" he wrote on his Tumblr on September 9th. You can watch his tragic "It Gets Better" video below:
Murakami's Publisher Sticks Up For Book Banned Over Gay Sex
Yesterday came the disheartening news that a New Jersey school was booting two books, Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood and Nic Sheff's Tweak, off their summer reading list after parents complained about the (limited) gay sex scenes in the books. Today, Wood's publisher, Knopf, sticks up for their author, calling out the district for succumbing to the pressures of a small handful of parents.
NJ School Bans Murakami Book With Gay Sex, But Drugs, Suicide Are Okay
A New Jersey school has dropped two popular books with—gasp! Gay sex scenes!—from their required reading lists, and apologized to parents for exposing their children to such a morally reprehensible act. The books? Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood and Nic Sheff's Tweak: Growing Up On Methamphetamines . The meth and mental instability and suicide that make up the other major themes in the books? Those are apparently just fine.
The Internet Wants Bert And Ernie To Get Gay Married
Poor Bert and Ernie. The internet will just not leave the two best friend/ roommates/ ambiguous sleepover pals alone—once again, the duo's sexuality is being questioned, as a new petition circulates calling for the two to tie the knot. Were the Avenue Q puppets not enough?
Gay Puppets Win The Lottery, Tying The Knot On Sunday
With so many couples itching to get married on Sunday, the first day that gay marriage will be legal in NY, the state held a lottery to decided which of the 2,500+ applications would be given one of the 764 available marriage slots across the five boroughs. The lottery was closed to new entries as of noon today, and winners will be notified tomorrow—but one couple already knows they'll be walking down the aisle with no strings attached.
Dozens Of Judges Volunteering To Officiate Gay Marriages Next Sunday
There's a reason that God rested on the seventh day—nobody wants to work on Sundays! And judging by this NY Times article today, you know who particularly loathes working on Sundays? Judges. But several dozen judges across the state are voluntarily putting their golf clubs in storage in order to work Sunday July 24, the day that same-sex marriage becomes legal. “I’m a Family Court judge — I’m a judge for families — and I saw this as a way for me to do my job," said Judge Joan S. Kohout.
TOMS Shoe Founder Apologizes For Speaking At Anti-Gay Christian Group Event
Last week, we reported that TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie spoke at a California event sponsored by Focus On The Family, a right-wing evangelical Christian group with a strong anti-homosexuality agenda, and we weren't the only ones who noticed. Now, following criticism from multiple parties, Mycoskie responds.
Not All Pastors Are Against Harlem Gay Pride Event
Last week, there was a tad bit of controversy (and a dollop of confusion) over the Harlem Pride event scheduled for the last weekend in June. The weekend-long celebration of gay pride in Harlem left some local pastors frothing at the mouth that "the homosexual agenda will do nothing but harm the community." But not everyone is intimidated by the rainbow: "My church will be there in full force," said openly gay Pastor Joseph Tolton.
Queens LBGT Pride Parade Tomorrow
Recently, President Obama officially declared June the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, and events are going on across the five boroughs all month. Today, a few hundred members of Staten Island's LGBT community came out for their march, culminating with a festival in Tompkinsville Park at 4 p.m. later this afternoon. And tomorrow, there is the 19th Annual Queens Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Parade and Festival taking place in Jackson Heights.
Snooki Says The Situation Is Definitely The Gayest
Out magazine, "the world’s leading gay fashion and lifestyle brand," has just added pint-sized Cheetoh Snooki to their official Hot List, but before giving her the honor, they grilled her on Pressing Life Issues, most notably, "Which Jersey Shore guy is the gayest?" (All of them?)
Long Island Catholic School Bans Gay Couples From Prom
While a gay student was voted Prom King in Pennsylvania last weekend, some NYC-area schools are still uncomfortable with allowing same-sex couples to attend prom together. St. Anthony's Catholic High School in Long Island has barred a lesbian student from bringing her ex-girlfriend to prom as her date. "We thought it would send a mixed message to OK her request," Brother Gary Cregan, principal of the school, told MSNBC.
Gay Firefighter Files Lawsuit Alleging Boss Outed Him
Chief Richard Houlihan, who advised him not to tell anyone, but then blabbed about it to the other firefighters, who did not receive the news in a particularly enlightened manner. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges:
Tyler Clementi Case: Molly Wei Accepted Into Pre-Trial Intervention Program
Molly Wei, one of the former Rutgers University first year students accused of invasion of privacy for watching Tyler Clementi's same-sex encounter online that later led to Clementi killing himself, was accepted into a pre-trial intervention program that might eventually lead all charges against being dismissed. However, the Star-Ledger points out, "One of the conditions of the agreement, however, will require Wei to testify against her co-defendant," Dharun Ravi, who was Clementi's roommate.
Woman Suing Non-Gay Man For Full Body Massage
It's the oldest trick in the book for certain guys: a dude pretends to be gay to get close to a girl, or in the sleazier cases, to convince a girl to let him touch her and/or see her naked. There have been whole genres of movies based on this ploy. But one NJ masseur is finding out it doesn't make for comedic gold when it happens in real life, even if you didn't necessarily intend for it to happen.

