Male Model: Nick Auger

When searching for the Hottie of the Day, we came across this amazingly hot guy. Fitness model Nick Auger, now 25, is seen on blogs, YouTube, and other websites. A lot of the information across the internet repeats the same information, though, and seems dated back to 2004 when Auger appeared on cover of The Fitness RX. Rumor has it he's still modeling in NYC, but one would think that his agent and promoters would get the guy a dedicated website.

If you have the latest scoop on Nick, post a message, we're all wondering what he's up to!

Mitt Romney: Queer and Present Danger

In the movie, Latter Days, as lead character Aaron Davis is about to be excommunicated by his Mormon leader dad for being gay, the following dialogue takes place, which we've seen powerfully quoted on other blogs, websites, etc.:

"This isn't easy for me Aaron. But in light of your abnormal and abominable state, and your refusal to see that you've been duped into some hogwash alternative lifestyle. I wish my shame was enough for the both of us. Not to mention the shame you've brought to our church, our family, our ancestors... "

"Wait a minute, our ancestors? Dad, your grandfather had at least a half dozen wives, and that goes for every single person in this room. I've say we're the original definition of 'alternative lifestyle.'"

A devout Mormon, Mitt Romney is dead-set against same-sex marriage, and a Romney administration would see little difference from that of the Bush administration on any gay-related matters.

As governor of Massachusetts, Romney did everything he could to circumvent gay marriage, and luckily enough for the gays of Mass, his circumventions were quite unsuccessful. However, he's been outspending the likes of opponent Giuliani on pre-primary spending, and is one of the front-runners for the presidential nomination. Here are just a few quotes from Romney, with comments from My Small Gay World (naturally):

"America cannot continue to lead the family of nations around the world if we suffer the collapse of the family here at home." So, with straights divorcing at 51%, families breaking up because of infidelity, and the continued escalation of children born out of wedlock, it makes perfect sense that gay marriage is the culprit...yeah, right!

"I feel very deeply about the need to respect and tolerate people of different social - or sexual orientation. But at the same time, I believe marriage should be preserved as an institution for one man and one woman." Mitt, baby, you've already shown that you don't respect us, because you don't respect our relationships. Further, don't insult us by saying you'll "tolerate" us, we're fighting for nothing short of acceptance.

"Like me, the great majority of Americans wish both to preserve the traditional definition of marriage and to oppose bias and intolerance directed towards gays and lesbians." Okay, we don't know which of Romney's speechwriters wrote this crap, but the word oxyMORONIC, certainly comes to mind.

Keep in mind this guy could be the next president. From what we've seen so far, as gay citizens, we are up against a mitt-igating danger.

Happy Father's Day

Whether through surrogate, adoption, or the old fashion way, here's to all you gay dads!

Gay Art: Steve Walker - Just Guys

Artist Steve Walker's paintings are stirring, emotionally charged, and gentle. "As a homosexual I have been moved, educated, and inspired by works that deal with a heterosexual context," says Walker. "Why would I assume that a heterosexual would be incapable of appreciating work that speaks to common themes in life, as seen through my eyes as a gay man. If the heterosexual population is unable to do this, then the loss is theirs, not mine." It would be hard to imagine anyone, straight or gay, who wouldn't be moved by Walker's treatment of male couples.

If Walker were an abstract painter or a landscape artist, he says his sexual orientation wouldn't matter. But since his paintings are about gay life, his sexual orientation becomes more important than his cultural background, age, or nationality. Lucky for us!








For more of Steve Walker's wonderful imagery, check out his website by Clicking Here.

Gay Marriage: Now on to New York!

Okay, we've won in Massachusetts, but what many folk don't realize is that within the next week and a half, it's possible that a marriage bill will be voted on in the New York Assembly. Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell (D-Manhattan, and yes, Rosie's out and proud gay brother) is spearheading the bill in the Assembly, which was initially introduced by Assemblymember Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan) who has championed it since 2002.

Says Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle, “Each day that our families are without the hundreds of protections and responsibilities that the state provides through marriage is another day our families remain vulnerable. Passing this bill in the Assembly this year will continue the momentum that has already begun to put an end to the discriminatory denial of marriage to the hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples and their families who live in New York State.”

If you're in New York, and want to let your assemblymember know you want them to co-sponsor, or at least vote affirmatively, to this legislation, the Empire State Pride Agenda's website has an easy-to-use, pre-scripted email form you can send to your assemblymember, just Click Here. You don't even have to look up who your assembly member is, it's done automatically using your zip code.

Gay marriage is happening, it's coming, and our opponents are frightened, and it's causing them to be even more active, we need to be just as active.

Note: Okay, guys, because we've been a bit on the political side yesterday and today, here's a New York hottie for you, he needs your support, so if you're a NY resident, go to the Empire State Pride Agenda's website by clicking the hottie.

Eventful Day for Gay Marriage in Massachusetts

Keep your fingers crossed, guys, as the Massachusetts State Legislature votes today on putting forth an amendment doing away with gay marriage. It must first be approved by 25% of the legislators, and then next year it would go to the voters.

What's wrong here, democratically speaking, is that one of the tenets of most constitutions, regardless of what country or state you're in, is the protection of a minority from the wills, prejudices, and follies of a majority. Certainly what we have in the case of putting the "gay marriage" question to voters is placing the right to the pursuit of happiness of a minority in the hands of the majority. It's just wrong.

We'll report to you later, when we here how the vote went. Until then, keep you fingers crossed that the bill fails.

News Flash!
An amazing change in expected votes from Massachusetts has squelched the anti-gay move to bring the issue to the voters. Even down to the last hour, nobody knew which way the vote would go. What was needed by our adversaries was only 50 votes, but they failed by five. Unless there is some legal ground for opposing organizations to use, the process to try againmeans it couldn't get to voters (even if it passed) until 2012.

Congratulations you gays of Mass, you've worked hard to divert this attack, and you won!!! Happy Pride!

Gay Bomb: Make the Enemy Play

You gotta hand it to those crazy guys within the US Military. It's now been proven that they had requested over 7 million dollars in research funding for a pheromone bomb that would make opposing forces turn gay and screw each other silly and, well, how to put this succinctly, thus opening themselves wide for US Forces penetration.

Pentagon officials on Friday confirmed to CBS station KPIX-TV in San Francisco that military leaders had considered, albeit for a short time, building the so-called gay bomb. This all came about when Edward Hammond of Berkeley's Sunshine Project, a group dedicated to routing waste in government spending, used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the proposal from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio.

The proposal suggested, "One distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior," and suggested asking for $7.5 million to develop such a chemical weapon. Okay, did they really have to use the word "distasteful?"

Frankly, a "gay bomb" attack on an opposing force that included enough "friendly fire" on our own guys could end war forever!

Gay Haters are Angry

Oh, the gay-haters at Americans for Truth are really pissed off, and a tad afraid, because gays have enough power to prevent a gay-hating Surgeon General from being appointed! Here are some quotes from Americans for Truth's gay-hating president, Peter LaBarbera:

"Folks, anti-Christian homosexual activists and their liberal allies are out again in force to take down another good man — Dr. James Holsinger, Jr., President Bush's nominee for U.S. Surgeon General — who happens to agree with the ancient Judeo-Christian moral understanding of homosexual practice as unnatural, unhealthy and wrong."

When mentioning that gay-hating Surgeon General nominee Holsinger also believes homosexuality can be "cured," LaBarbera, ever the "expert" on things gay, says...

"The fact is, thousands of men's and women's lives have been changed through ex-"gay" ministries and church outreaches to bringing healing to people with unwanted homosexual attractions. So the Left is now calling for “investigations” into Christian nominees’ churches?"

You'll also note that LaBarbera always uses quotes around the word "gay," because it's the "gay-haters" way.

So, guys, if you're reading this in the good ole USA, and want to further piss off the likes of LaBarbera, then send an easy pre-written email to your senators, courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign, telling them you think gay-hating Dr. James Holsinger shouldn't be the next Surgeon General:

Click Here to piss off the "Christian" fanatics!

Thank you for your activism!

Gay Politicians

Pride continues here at My Small Gay World during June, and today we're talking gay politics. This past weekend I was at a Pride event where I had the pleasure of running into a key staffer at the Log Cabin Republicans, himself a politician, and we discussed a number of things that I'll probably go into in another post, but for this more liberal leaning blogger, it was a very agreeable discussion (we also learned we live in the same village...and I thought I knew all the gays in town!). However, it got me thinking about gay politicians, and how bold one must be to be an openly gay politician in the world today.

For instance, the mayors of both Berlin and Paris are gay, and the next in line for the mayoral position in New York is lesbian Christine Quinn. But, that's only three, there are many out, gay politicians around the world, like Spain's Pedro Zerolo, or maybe Volker Beck of Germany, or even Israel's Uzi Even. The list is very impressive, and we should be proud that in many countries we are well represented by our gay brethren in congresses, parliaments, and caucuses around this Small Gay World.

For a list of openly gay politicians and their backgrounds and rise to power, Click Here!

When You Care Enough to Send the Very Offensive

You're in a Hallmark store, browsing for a Father's Day card. You find one that features a photo of an idyllic, upscale picnic spread: plaid blanket, wicker basket, a bottle of wine and two glasses, a round of bread, a fruit plate. Above the photo, the card read, "Dad, how about a Father's Day picnic?" The punch line inside: "Too queer? Yeah, I thought so too."

Well, it happened to one person, who then reported the card to The Advocate, who called Hallmark on the offensive card. According to Hallmark’s media liaison, Deidre Parkes, the company would pull the cards from shelves immediately. Parkes told the Advocate, “[Hallmark’s business unit] reviewed it today and did all agree that it was in poor judgment to include the card in the line,” Parkes said in an e-mail Thursday. “We are stopping the shipping of the card, and we will not produce it again. Hallmark's intent is never to offend, and we're truly sorry if that is the case here.”

That's all well and good, but the question remains, how in hell did a card like this get past editors, reviewers, and "business units" to even be on store shelves in the first place?

Gay Art: Johan Ekkel - Dutch Treat

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Art and Design in Den Bosch in the Netherlands, Johan Ekkel has worked as an illustrator for advertising agencies and book and magazine publishers for well over 20 years. After an early retirement, he went back to his true love, painting naked men.

Ekkel's almost painterly quality, mixed with a fantasised reality, yields images that are provoking and emotional.

For more information on Ekkel, his work, and the opportunity to purchase Ekkel's art, Click Here!

Gay Pride: Milking It

"Milk's body lay in state alongside that of Mayor George Moscone in the City Hall Rotunda where a memorial service took place on November 29, 1978. Later the same day, a special memorial service was held at temple Emmanue-El, the first time an openly gay rabbi was permitted to officiate at that temple." Harvey Milk, Second Sight, by Bob Kelly.

In our continued Pride postings this month, we're taking a short pictorial look at photos of and by a young Harvey Milk, gaydom's first martyr. American politician and gay rights activist, Milk was the first openly gay city supervisor of San Francisco, California. He and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated in 1978. Milk's assassin, Dan White, was sentenced to seven years in prison. Outrage over the verdict led to widespread rioting in San Francisco by enraged homosexuals and others. Milk lived openly at a time when doing so could severely restrict one's rise to success, in many it contributed to their failure. Not Milk, who rose to become one of the first openly gay politicians in gay history.

Harvey Milk, circa 1957

Harvey Milk and friends in New York, 1965

Joe Campbell, Milk's long-term companion

Milk, Miami Beach, 1965

Milk, circa 1963

For more information on Harvey Milk, check out Wikipedia's listing, and for more on the Harvey Milk pictorial, check out Bob Kelly's "Harvey Milk, Second Sight" display.

Gay Lives, HIV, and Searching for Love

Leave it to the French! This is one of the best gayest videos. Although getting its HIV and condom messages across, it does so by demonstrating the life of a gay dude, his many affairs to find love, and the dead-ends in which many lead. After a gay-bashing, he finally hooks up with Mr. Right, or in this case, Dr. Right. Again, leave it to the French! Dieu aime le français!

(Note, however, that this video is well more than PG related. What more would you expect from My Small Gay World?)

Choosing a Bathing Suit: Not an Easy Task

Now that summer is here for those in the northern hemispheres, many of you will be looking for a new bathing suit. It never fails to surprise me that despite being more fashion conscious than our straight brethren, I often see gay guys in bathing suits that are most unflattering. It's really not a pattern issue (though trust me, that always needs to be kept in mind), but more the style and cut as determined by our body shape.

For Skinny Guys or Thinly Built Guys: For those of you on the skinny side, you'll be glad to know that you are one of the few who can get away wearing anything thongish, or stringy, or bikini-esque...these are not a problem for you. However, do try to stay away from those bathing suits that are too revealing, and do nothing more than cover your genitalia. If you're wearing these, you're probably in a place that is clothing optional anyway, and should just be naked.

For Medium Built Guys: You're built, and carry a muscular frame, and your strong, square shape is accentuated by a medium, or mid-level cut.

For Larger Guys: Fear not, there are actually more options for larger guys. In your case, it's best to go for a longer cut bathing suit that goes to just above the knees. The length adds a slimmer effect, as long as you don't wear the waist up to your chest, you'll do fine.

Bathing Suite Tips: Unless you're heading to the Fire Island Pines Meat Rack, stay away from dental floss bathing suites or those new bathing suits that actually come with a cock ring, because the beach or pool is not the place for an inflated over-ego...or member!
Even if you're in shape, but might have a bit of a belly, remember to get a bathing suit that comes as close, if not right up, to that line between lower flatter abdomen and tummy. The waist of your swimsuit should be right at that line; an inch above or an inch below, and you're just highlighting your belly.

All white bathing suits can get comments like, "Nice underwear!"

Gay Couples Split by Immigration Laws

Gay news site 365gay.com reports today of the arrest of Eric Affholter, the head of the St. Louis office of the Missouri public defender's office. It appears Affholter allegedly arranged a sham marriage to keep his foreign gay partner in the country by having his partner marry a female subordinate within the public defender's office. Following his arrest, Affholter was released on $50,000 bond and has resigned his position.

Sadly, events like this are not uncommon, and gay US citizens and their foreign-born partners are constantly having to jump through hoops to keep their loved ones in the country. The straights have it easy, because all they have to do is marry their partners, but gays do not have this option because under the federal Defense of Marriage Act, immigration law does not recognize same-sex unions--hell, it doesn't even allow for sponsorships of a same-sex partner.

This means that same sex couples that have been legally married in Massachusetts, Canada, the Netherlands, or Belgium, will not be able to immigrate based on their marriage. Worse off are those partnerships where the partner facing deportation is about to be returned to a country that persecutes gays. Who can blame anyone for arranging sham marriages with female pals to keep ones partner from getting kicked out of the country.

However, things might be looking brighter, as the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), a bill sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), will allow citizens and legal residents in same-sex relationships to sponsor their partners for immigration purposes. The UAFA applies the same standards to same-sex couples that the United States applies to opposite-sex couples where one member is seeking to bring a foreign partner into the country.

For more information on how you can support bi-national gay couples, check out Immigration Equality's website. Also, if you'd like to send a quick and easy email to your congressperson in support of the Uniting American Families Act, Click Here to go to HRC's online Congressional Connection emailer.

Paris Hilton: In Jail

Well, it's official. Today, Paris Hilton, only hours after attending the MTV Movie Awards, surrendered herself to the L.A. County Jail, where she'll serve her 23-day sentence. Hilton made a statement through her attorney before entering the jail, "This is an important point in my life and I need to take responsibility for my actions. In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make." Hmmm, like she didn't take an active role in the decision to drive drunk, thus causing the situation she now finds herself?

Capping things off, Hilton's record company, Warner Bros., has allegedly dropped her, claiming they're 'not expecting any new Paris Hilton material in the foreseeable future.'

Beatitudes or Gay Attitudes

"The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals, it's just that they need more supervision." - Lynn Lavner, Lesbian Comic.

As today is Sunday, let's keep things biblical, but with a gay twist. Today's lesson is on the Beatitudes, directives from Jesus to the Gays:

• Fabulous are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• Fabulicious are the mourners, for they will be comforted.
• Faboo are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.
• Fabulous are those persecuted for seeking righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• Fabuliciousness are the meek, they will inherit the earth.
• Fabulous are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy.
• Fab are the pure of heart, for they will see God.
• Fabumungous are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

Gay Art: Michael Breyette

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This Day in Gay History: Henry Gerber

On June 1st, 1924, Henry Gerber had an article published in Modern Thinker that attacked the view that homosexuality is a neurosis. Gerber, a postal worker in Chicago, started the Society for Human Rights, which is America's first known gay rights organization. According to the society's mission statement, "The Society for Human Rights is formed to promote and protect the interests of people who are abused and hindered in the legal pursuit of happiness which is guaranteed them by the Declaration of Independence, and to combat the public prejudices against them."

Gerber went on to distribute a newsletter called "Friends and Freedom," for which he was arrested and held for three days without a warrant or being charged with any infractions. Upon release, he lost his job for "conduct unbecoming a postal worker." For a more complete profile of Gerber, Click Here.

As June is traditionally filled with Pride festivals, parades, marches, and more, My Small Gay World will celebrate along with you. We'll note historical figures, brave people who've paved the way and upon whose shoulders we stand, and events that have shaped where we are today. Take pride, be gay!