An interesting article in light of the Maine vote

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http://www.365gay.com/opinion/corvino-on-not-being-like-other-boys/

It’s November, which means bookstores have next year’s calendars on display.

When I was a teenager, this annual occurrence unnerved me. The “male interest” calendars”—think “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model of the Month”—held no appeal for me. Instead, I would nervously reach for a Chippendales calendar, hiding it behind something innocuously themed (race cars, puppies, whatever) so that I could stare admiringly at half-naked men.

As soon as I noticed anyone approaching, I would throw both calendars back on the shelf and dart out of the store.

I noticed a calendar display in a bookstore the other day just shortly after receiving an e-mail from a reader complaining that I waste too much time trying to win over straight society’s approval. “When are you going to stop seeking other people’s acceptance?” he asks.

My answer? I’ll stop seeking it once we get it.

end of quote

It goes on to relate this to current events. Had to stop quoting due to five paragraph rule.

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1. A good friend of mine always tells me of his life experiences like this one....

..... of going into the magazine section and picking up Playgirl or someother magazine featuring nude men, sticking it into another magazine like Sports Illustrated, then finding a corner to go read it in.

So I'd ask him, "Why would you be so ashamed of picking up an adult magazine? Hell, I pick up a copy of Playboy at Borders and think nothing of it."

And he would say, "Because everyone thinks that's what you're supposed to do."

That hit me in the head like a load of bricks. It's something I'd never even had to think about. Even something so seemingly non-eventful as scanning an adult magazine becomes a clandestine activity for gays and lesbians, purely as a survival mechanism.

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2. yeah it was a weird feeling the first time I actually openly looked at one of those

I used to hide them all the time.