Not really sure what is going on here but is anyone else distracted by the weird tan lines on the legs of the guy in shorts? I’m sure that wasn’t what the photographer was thinking I’d fixate on but it is probably just me.
This week’s mancandy post is suitably distracting to help you forget it is Monday morning.
I’ve teamed up with Dekkoo (pronounced “DECK-koo”), the premiere subscription-based streaming service dedicated to gay men with the largest streaming collection of gay-centric entertainment available. Below is recently released content on Dekkoo, available for download and viewing with a subscription.
In addition to gay programming this month on Dekkoo, Boston’s Wicked Queer Film Festival is running through the month of April. The queer film festival is being streamed so anyone with an Internet connection can download, watch and rate featured shorts, documentaries and feature films this month.
Drawn Back Home (2020) 1 hour 47 minutes: After the death of his father and end of his marriage Eric becomes restless and rudderless. When an old friend comes to town looking to reconnect with Eric the two must navigate unresolved issues of the past and uncertainties of the future. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 1, 2021.
Marathon (2010) 1 hour 23 minutes: When famed Poet Laureate William Meredith suffers a debilitating stroke, his long-term partner Richard fights for the right to care for him. This true story is a poignant and inspiring testament to the triumph of love. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 6, 2021.
Spectrum (2019) 37 minutes: A diverse array of lives intersect over one night in Manchester’s gay village. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 7, 2021.
Complete Strangers (2020) 1 hour 45 minutes (Spain): A recovering alcoholic returns to his hometown after a hiatus, and falls in love with a man who will turn his world upside down. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 7, 2021.
Madame (2019) documentary, 1 hour 34 minutes: A grandmother and her grandson engage in an intimate conversation, exploring gender, sexuality and transmission of identity. RATING: 7.4 out of 10 on IMDB. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 13, 2021. Let People Exit Before Boarding (2018) From Mexico, 13 minute: Jesus and Pablo, two teenagers, travel around Monterrey city along one night in order to find the right place to have sex for the first time. RATING: Not rated on IMDB. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 14, 2021. Sebastian (2017) 1 hour 17 minutes: Alex and Sebastian meet one fateful evening and it's love at first sight. However, Alex has a boyfriend and Sebastian is only visiting Toronto for one week until he has to return home to Argentina. Sebastian chronicles their week-long romance and as the week ends what will they decide to do? RATING: 5.3 out of 10 on IMDB. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 15, 2021. Rialto (2019) From Ireland, 1 hour 30 minutes: Colm is happily married in Dublin, but after his father's death and the loss of his job, his emotional life cracks open. Drinking heavily, Colm finds himself drawn to Jay, a 19-year-old who dabbles in prostitution. Their sexual encounters and tentative friendship become Colm's only solace - but this recklessness puts his family-life at risk. RATING: 6.1 out of 10 on IMDB. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 20, 2021. Fall To Fame (2020) 9 minutes: Following his first Grammy nomination, a young, gay rock star is confronted with the painful price of his ambition. RATING: Not rated on IMDB. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 21, 2021. My Dead Ones (2018) 1 hour 52 minutes: Behind the looks of a shy film student, David hides an obscure past that is about to be revealed. RATING: 6.1 out of 10 on IMDB. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 22, 2021. What Women Want: Gay Romance (2020) documentary from Canada, 48 minutes: Women are the overwhelming majority of writers, publishers, readers and fans of gay male romance novels. Dive into the Gay Rom Lit convention in Albuquerque, NM to discover why. RATING: 7.2 out of 10 on IMDB. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 27, 2021. The Gust (2019) From The Netherlands 31 minutes: Weeks after Hurricane María devastated Puerto Rico, a lonely middle-aged man finds himself obsessing with his squatter neighbor, a young closeted and tormented athlete who insistently pursues his attention. RATING: Not rated on IMDB. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 28, 2021. Stone Fruit (2020) 1 hour 35 minutes: Russ and Manny have drifted apart in their marriage but have seemingly come to terms with their decision to divorce at the start of their final trip together. RATING: 6.4 out of 10 on IMDB. Available on Dekkoo, starting April 29, 2021.
I would like to include more gay programming. If you have any suggestions, let me know how I can improve this monthly post.
I like pickling vegetables because it is easy to do and tastes great. You can pickle pretty much any vegetable, but some of my favorites are cauliflower, carrots, peppers, onions and mushrooms. In addition to the ingredients shared below, you will need a jar (above I’m holding a repurposed Teddy’s Peanut Butter jar).
INGREDIENTS: vegetables (your choice), 2 cups of water, 1 cup of white vineagar, 4-5 peeled garlic cloves, 6 tsp of sea salt, 1 tsp each of: black peppercorn, coriandor seed, mustard seed, celery seed and fresh dill (optional).
PREP: Select and chop your vegetables. Be sure they will fit in the jar! I chop a few more veggies than I think I’ll need because you have to pack the jar tightly. Add 1 tsp of black peppercorn, coriandor seed, mustard seed and celery seed to the jar and set aside until the cooking is done.
COOKING: In a medium sized pan add two cups of water and bring it to a boil then turn down the heat so the water simmers and add the 4-5 peeled garlic cloves. Simmer for 5 minutes then add 1 cup of white vineagar and 6 tsp of salt. Stir until salt dissolves (this happens quickly) and bring back to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the stove and remove the pan from the heat source to cool. You don’t want the liquid to be too hot when you pour it into the jar. There should be more liquid than necessary. This is intentional – it’s better to have a little extra than not enough.
PACKING: Add the garlic cloves and fresh dill (as much or as little as you like) to the jar then begin packing your chopped veggies. Pack tightly (see photo below). I add in a few sprigs of dill as I go. Once done, pour the liquid to the top of the jar. Keep uncovered for ~30 minutes so it cools then seal, give a good shake to mix the seasonings (this will make the jar look murky – see my photo above). Put in the refrigerator overnight. The vegetables will be ready to enjoy the next day.
This week’s coffee post looks pretty dapper.
ADAM & ANDY is set in the fictional New England town of Woodfield, CT. You can learn more about Adam and Andy and purchase a copy of “the definitive collection of Adam and Andy” by visiting, adamandandy.com.
Click on this week’s comic strip to enlarge
Click here if you would like to see the previous Adam & Andy
Last week, The Gallup Podcast with host Mohamed Younis invited leading LGBT demographer, Dr. Gary Gates, to help unpack Gallup’s 2021 update on the growing U.S. LGBT community and to discuss why these numbers make a big difference for public policy, visibility and increasing social acceptance.
The 20+ minute podcast is worth listening to if you find this sort of discussion interesting. The podcast opens with the host asking Dr. Gates why this research even matters? Gates points out that long before the LGBT community was being counted, it was the subect of a lot of public debate and laws despite very little being known about these people in an empircal sense.
Due to laws that were passed, harrassment by police and the general public, few were comfortable identifying as LGBT when demographers started asking people questions about their sexuality. Over time, people became more inclined to self-identify in pockets. Men and women who lived in more accepting places self-identified in greater percentages and numbers first but this took time for demographers to realize and explains why larger percentages of the population initially were found in enclaves like San Francisco.
When the LGBT community first started being counted in the early 2000s a little more than 3% of the population self-identified as such, but as laws that discriminated against the LGBT community were overturned or found unconstitutional, growing public acceptance followed and more came forward. In Gallup’s most recent poll, 5.6% of the US population now identifies as LGBT (up from 4.5% in 2017).
Based on what Dr. Gates shared, it seems likely that the LGBT community is going to continue to grow. In the Gallup survey one of the most striking data points shared was that 1 in 6 members of Gen Z (those born between 1997 – 2015) self-identify as LGBT. Members of Gen Z range in age between 6 – 24 and are 68 million strong, representing 21% of the total United States population.
The fastest growing portion of the LGBT community is those identifying as bisexual and this is largely being driven by young women. The bisexual community now accounts for more than half of the LGBT community and is likely to continue to grow when you consider Gen Y and Gen Z’s views towards sexuality and gender identification.
If you find this subject of interest, you can listen to the 23 minute podcast here, ‘Debated but Not Counted’: Measuring the LGBT Community. You can also read the findings published by Gallup here.
Hat tip to Kenneth in the 212 for sharing this on his blog last week.
Much thanks to the Twitter handle @oldmasc, which recently shared this as a Fleet. I’m fairly certain these guys are not gay, but the expression on the guy facing the camera makes me laugh and captures a moment in time – probably one of very few lighthearted moments these men were able to enjoy. I assume this was taken during WWII, but I welcome anyone who can shed more light on either this military social or the uniforms that might help date the photo.
I dedicate this weekly post, featuring vintage gay photographs, to the men and women who lived in a more critical time where being true to yourself and loving who you want wasn’t always an option and came at a great price. Do you have a photo you would like to share? Email me at bosguymail@gmail.com.
Emanuele Mariotti is a photographer and model who lives in Rome. I had featured him in this January Furry Friday post, and based on the comments and email I received I thought it worth sharing his Instagram.
The photos I’ve shared are fairly typical of the images he posts on his account but you’ll also see a number of photos of Emanuele with Francesco Rellini who I believe is his partner / boyfriend / significant other but I am not 100% certain since I cannot read Italian. There are also many photos of Rome in the background of his photographs, which only make me want to hop on a plane and visit Italy.
You can follow this week’s featured account on Instagram here, and you can check out previously featured IG accounts here.
Hopefully the caption I’ve shared below inspires you to offer up one or two of your own. Leave a funny caption as a comment, and I’ll approve it for readers to enjoy.
“Hey Buddy I’m doing a load of whites. Do you have anything you need washed?”
Hard by Wayne Hoffman, first published in 2006, is set in the mid- to late-1990s and centers on two men Frank DeSoto and Moe Pearlman and their respective circle of friends.
The novel takes place when Giuliani (although he is never mentioned by name) was mayor of New York City and intent upon “cleaning up” NYC. In many cases this was code for closing may gay establishments. The mayor (unknowingly) had the support of Frank DeSoto, the publisher of NYC’s only gay newspaper. Frank’s past promiscuous behavior had resulted in his losing most of his friends and the love of his life to AIDS. Determined to save the next generation from the same fate, Frank uses his self-funded gay newspaper as a bullypulpit to chastise gay men for what he viewed as reckless sexual behavior and ignoring the lessons of the previous generation.
Moe Pearlman is a Jewish man in his mid- to late 20s who moved from Washington, D.C. to NYC for graduate school the previous year and fell in love with the gay scene. Led by his libido and a political activism born out of Act Up and other sex-positive grassroots organizations in NYC, Moe is determined to live his life as he sees fit and bristles at the paternal postulations from Frank and the conservative mayor seeking to make a name for himself in an otherwise liberal city.
I really enjoyed the 300-page novel, which centers on gay sexual liberation, relationships and gay life in New York City. Hoffman captures the times beautifully as the gay community’s political activism born out of a public health crisis (AIDS) was slowly gaining acceptance and increasingly becoming commercialized. While Moe is the main character and his wrangling with Frank constitute much of the storyline, Hoffman enriches the story by delving into key relationships both men have which makes the characters more human and relatable. This includes the loving dynamic between Frank and his in-laws long after their son has passed. Moe’s relationship with his family, former lover and best friend.
For any gay man who was sexually active in the 1990s, the relationship dynamics and tensions in the gay community on what it meant to be “sexually responsible” will resonate. It is one of the few books I’ve read about that time which grapples with the issue of AIDS and sexaulity that had me turning pages late into the night and not filled with dread or depressed. The book is sexually explicit but not at the expense of the narrative, which makes the story all the more compelling and enjoyable to read.
If you’re interested in purchasing this book and open to supporting local bookstores, try one of the links I’ve shared. The links below will take you right to the book so you can order it online in just a couple of clicks.
Brookline Booksmith in Coolidge Corner
Harvard Bookstore in Harvard Square
Porter Square Bookstore in Porter Square
Trident Bookseller’s & Cafe in Back Bay
This model’s photo reminds me of the 1980s ZZ Top song “Sharp Dressed Man” except it’s not just the girls who are crazy ’bout a sharp-dressed man – at least that’s the case on this blog.
