srparedon – editorials (archive)

April 2001

Most of us have probably, at sometime, tabulated (or tried to estimate!) how many people we've had sex with. Adolescents tally conquests with buddies, sitcom characters speculate on each others totals, and some sex hounds even log each new conquest with precision.

But whenever guys gossip about numbers, a definitional problem arises: what counts as "sex"? Everyone agrees that dick-in-pussy counts. Gay guys obviously consider dick-in-ass as sex, but some hetero guys think buttfucking isn't "sex." Most, but not all, gay guys would count blowjobs, but lots of straight guys think hummers a substitute for the real… Continue reading →

March 2001

Why didn't Al Gore slam dunk George Bush in the last presidential election? As vice-president, Gore inherited a seemingly invincible political legacy: the country was enjoying unparalleled prosperity, and the new uni-polar world order signaled that the past decade of (relative) American peace could be extended indefinitely. Furthermore, Gore's opponent was a demonstrably ignorant, nationally inexperienced stooge of big money and beholden to the Religious Right.

How did the election turn out to be so close that Bush– with a little help from his brother, the governor of Florida– could actually win? And given the blatant injustice… Continue reading →

February 2001

As a presidential candidate, Bill Clinton sought political gain by flying home to Arkansas to oversee the execution of prisoners. As president, he reiterated his support for state killings, again seeking political advantage by being seen as a leader willing to throw the switch. It comes as no surprise, then, that Clinton will not be remembered as a friend of civil liberties.

President Clinton endorsed new censorship laws and enacted Draconian punishments for those who offend standards of "decency." He fought to require telecommunications manufacturers to make Internet and telephone snooping easy and to ban privacy-ensuring encryption… Continue reading →

January 2001

Many gay publications are eager to tout the upscale demographics of their supposed readership. Moneyed readers not only appeal to advertisers, but also– in some minds– confer respectability to magazines and newspapers otherwise "compromised" by their gay identity.

Here at The Guide, we value all our readers, of course. But we are particularly proud that we reach hundreds of prisoners. Some incarcerated readers simply want outside contact (for all sorts of reasons) through their pen pals ads. But many report that The Guide gets passed around to dozens of inmates and is read voraciously. Though a… Continue reading →

December 2000

Even a casual channel surfer cannot help but notice a tremendous change in television content in the last few years. Gay and lesbian people are everywhere: sitcoms, talk shows, and made-for-TV dramas now routinely feature gay characters. And no longer are such roles relegated to the quirky closeted neighbor, depraved psychopath, or tragic victim; today's television homosexuals are often appealing, witty, sympathetic central characters.

We can applaud television's more inclusive programming (what kid can now think they're "the only one"?), yet a closer look at the sexual attitudes and values projected by even the most gay-friendly shows… Continue reading →

November 2000

Given Al Gore's terrible record on sexual freedom and social justice issues, why are many gay and lesbian voters supporting him? Gore voted to retain DC's sodomy law, defended the military's "don't ask, don't tell" debacle, boasted to the Christian right that he opposes gay marriage, waffled on HIV discrimination protections, and refused to utter the "g" word at his convention.

Ralph Nader supports gay rights, universal health care, and economic justice– and opposes turning the government into the police arm of a corporate-controlled state. Why aren't more gay and lesbian voters supporting Nader's challenge to a… Continue reading →