The Advocate, The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine

Lesbian vs. antigay mother
The lesbian daughter of Georgia Christian Coalition leader Sadie Fields is speaking out against her mother's campaign to amend the Georgia state constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Read the full story>>>

Vatican: Gay families = cockroaches
Even if every antigay statewide ballot initiative wins approval on Election Day, argues the country’s leading same-sex marriage activist, the discussion surrounding them will have moved us closer to equality in the long run. After all, we have the truth on our side.
By the Most Reverend Bruce J. Simpson, Benedictine Order of St. John the Beloved

Adjusting to life in League City
The Advocate’s high-school diarist talks about being out and fitting in at her new school in a suburb of Houston.
By Paige Palmer

Marriage equality: losing forward
Even if every antigay statewide ballot initiative wins approval on Election Day, argues the country’s leading same-sex marriage activist, the discussion surrounding them will have moved us closer to equality in the long run. After all, we have the truth on our side.
By Evan Wolfson, executive director, Freedom to Marry

Too risqué for Bush’s NEA
This nationally known theater producer, who campaigned for George Bush in 2000, says an offer to help run the National Endowment for the Arts was rescinded by the Administration because his work—including a show about “ex-gays”—was politically unacceptable.
By Gary Cole

Got costume? And you call yourself gay?
Long, long ago—in the 1990s—gay and lesbian people put glorious effort into their Halloween couture. Then the straight people came gawking and some of us got lazy. So now’s a good time to reassert the Gay Halloween Carnival Costume Rules.
By Sean Abley

Daddy's little girl
Dick and Lynne Cheney may be insulted by the mere fact that other people know that their daughter Mary is gay, but some parents—like Jasmyne Cannick’s dad, Courtleigh—know how to show pride in their children, regardless of sexual orientation.
By Jasmyne Cannick and Courtleigh D. Cannick

Kukla, Fran, and Oligarchy
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone satirize action movies, Hollywood liberals, and foreign policy in Team America: World Police. The idea is funny, and so are the puppets—the movie itself, not so much.
By Alonso Duralde

Are the Fab Five in need of a makeover?
We still love Carson, Kyan, Ted, Thom, and Jai, but for their own good, it’s time for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy to brave new territories—like Michigan and Wal-Mart.
By Michael Matson

The choir needs a new song
We need to drive home to our families and friends that if they plan to vote for President George W. Bush because of his stance on gay marriage, they may want to think again. Senator John Kerry will devote attention and resources to the larger issues that affect black Americans.
By Jasmyne Cannick, National Black Justice Coalition

Mary. Mary
Lynne Cheney gets quite contrary about John Kerry’s reference to her lesbian daughter Mary in the presidential debates, but what’s the fuss over mentioning something that everyone already knows? Could it be that Mrs. Cheney has a closet of her own she needs to come out of?
By Anne Stockwell

Stranger in a strange land
A gay New Yorker finds himself in Ohio, trying to convince voters to oust George W. Bush. He discovers that the president’s divisive policies are bringing minorities together.
By Brad O'Brien

An antigay Supreme Court: four more years or 40?
The president elected this November almost certainly will get to name two, three, or even four new Supreme Court justices. That should grab the attention of every gay and gay-supportive voter.
By Ralph G. Neas

Reaping the benefits of new HIV drugs?
As HIV treatments improve, it is time to consider a higher standard for patients—one that involves more than doing “pretty well.” It’s time to reconsider a mindset in HIV treatment that says a patient regimen shouldn’t be switched until it has completely failed.
By Howard Grossman, MD

Take Me Out...to L.A.
The acclaimed Broadway drama Take Me Out scores a hit in its Los Angeles debut at the Geffen Playhouse.
By Kevin Kumala

Just starting and starting over
Our career advice columnist offers counsel to a gay man who’s mid career and looking to shift into a completely new vocation and to a student frustrated by the poor advice college is providing.By Ed Vladich

Virtual victories
Whether it’s Moveon.org or the national parties, 21st century campaigning is all about the Internet, and the battle for gay and lesbian rights is among the issues reshaping how political battles are fought and won.
By Todd Henneman

A chorus of activism
Now launching the 25th anniversary season of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, artistic director Jeffrey Maynard talks about the group’s support of same-sex marriage and youth empowerment, and about how the music has changed with the times.
By Amy Shapiro

Guinea pigs for legal marriage
Our columnist and her family have joined a study to detemine the effects of legal marriage in Massachusetts. Her children may notice few changes, but to her they’re both profound and blessedly mundane..
By Lis Eisenbud

The long road ahead
Fifty years after Brown v. the Board of Education, people forget that most victories in the fight for racial equality came after that court decision outlawing segregation. For gays and lesbians, it's time to steel ourselves for the decades of work we still have to do to achieve equality.
By Evan Wolfson, Executive Director, Freedom to Marry

Leaving the United States of Medieval
If you ask our columnist, the October 8 gay boycott didn’t go far enough. It’s time to let antigay states form an imperfect union of the benighted and for every self-respecting gay man and lesbian to leave for more-enlightened homelands.
By Charles Karel Bouley II

Saving Massachussets marriage
To protect equal marriage rights in the state from a proposed constitutional amendment, the activist Web site SupportEquality.org is boosting the campaigns of politicians who favor equality. At least one marriage opponent has already been defeated.
By Jodi Sperber

It's gettin' hot in here
Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 comes out on DVD today—just in time for the documentary film to take one last swipe at George W. Bush before the election.
By Chad Graham

Out against David Dreier
Democratic challenger Cynthia Matthews, an out lesbian, is taking on U.S. representative David Dreier as the conservative Southern California Republican and favorite of the Bush administration continues to duck questions about his own sexuality
By Christopher Lisotta

Same-sex marriage's Fahrenheit 9/11
A new documentary inspires audiences to tears and anger with the stories of two families torn apart by the lack of marriage equality. To help the movie change hearts and minds about same-sex marriage, says the filmmaker, the first step is to make sure people see it.
By Kevin Kumala

Merci, but no thanks
Despite an amazing cast that includes Dianne Wiest and a Vanessa Redgrave cameo, the limp French farce Merci Docteur Rey never delivers on its promise.
By Stephen Rebello

Why I love Friday the 13th, or What I Did on My Summer Vacation
With the five-DVD box set of the Friday the 13th movies arriving October 5, out TV writer-producer Sean Abley shares his love for Jason, nubile campers, and one of the most successful horror franchises in Hollywood history.
By Sean Abley

Horror and heartbreak
A journey inside the mind of a murderer and child-rapist is doubly chilling because it’s based on a true story.
By Dave White

Nauseated in New York
Our reporter, in business drag, mingled with many charming Bush supporters at the Republicans’ recent convention. Then the night of the president’s speech arrived, and the truth of what these friendly, sincere people stand for could no longer be ignored. It’s a good thing he brought the barf bag.
By Paul VanDeCarr

Malaysia's long sodomy battle
Gay sex between men remains illegal and can be harshly punished in this predominantly Muslim nation, but one victory was achieved this month: The sodomy conviction of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was overturned, and he was released from prison after six years. By Kevin Kumala

Coming out...as Cuban
Why aren't there more Latino men visible in the gay rights movement? Maybe because telling Mom you're gay is a little different for a man whose family values masculinity above all else. By Will J. Castillo

Me and the 'tweens
A single lesbian in the suburbs can start feeling a little lonely—and exposed. So when two fifth-graders approach outside a discount store, how honest should she be?. By Jenni Spinner

Lesbian, Republican, and angry
What’s a nice Jewish lesbian doing in a political party with a platform that’s antigay and antichoice? Trying to win it back from the far-right activists who have steered it away from one its core values: freedom. By Carol L. Newman

Hamm brothers: Thanks, gay fans
Olympic champs Paul and Morgan Hamm talk about their gay fans—and relatives—as they make their way across the country in a post-Athens gymnastics tour. By Cyd Zeigler Jr.

Hedwig grows up
John Cameron Mitchell, writer-director and star of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, is now a mentor to fellow filmmaker Jonathan Caouette. In an Advocate.com exclusive interview, he talks about how he discovered Caouette’s Tarnation. By Bruce C. Steele

Sixteen and ready to change the world
The Advocate’s third annual high school diary begins as our diarist enters a new school—her third in Texas in three years—and shares her ambitious plans to increase queer visibility in her conservative community, a suburb of Houston. By Paige Palmer

Still swooning over Swoon
Recording a DVD commentary track for the film Swoon, in which he starred, Craig Chester rediscovered things he didn't want to know about himself and something about the importance of the New Queer Cinema, back when it was actually still new. By Craig Chester

Learning begins in bed
This month’s questions elicit advice on oral sex, what constitutes an orgasm, overcoming muscle cramps, and how to avoid the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. By Dr. Susan C. Ball

Archives for previous online reports, news stories, and commentaries are listed here.

FEATURED STORY:
The auto repair closet
Advocate associate news editor John Caldwell is ready to admit that he once donned overalls and wielded a socket wrench, though his passion for the engine was short-lived.

CONTENTS OF THE CURRENT ISSUE
LINKS TO SITES RELATED TO THIS ISSUE

Rupert’s return
Coming back to The Advocate after a nearly seven-year absence, Rupert Everett talks about playing Stage Beauty’s king in drag, trying to make a gay James Bond movie, and killing John Schlesinger. By Michael Giltz

Life after Iraq
Brian Hughes helped rescue Jessica Lynch from her Iraqi captors—then he rescued himself from the military’s antigay policy. By Jay Blotcher

The Truman show
With the first collection of his letters, a complete volume of his short stories, and a fresh edition of his first novel, Truman Capote is hot again. By David Ehrenstein
Unsigned on the dotted line
Six great new CDs from unsigned queer performers that belong in your heavy rotation. By Mark Davis
Leslie Jordan’s wise sass
The hilarious Leslie Jordan, foil of Will & Grace’s Karen Walker, hits the stage with Like a Dog on Linoleum, his latest one-man show. By Adam B. Vary

BOOK REVIEW ARCHIVES
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VIDEO/DVD REVIEW ARCHIVES

Does my mom hate me?
My Perspective guest columnist J. Graigory chronicles his estrangement from his mother, Oregon state representative Donna G. Nelson, because of her support of an amendment to the state constitution banning gay marriage.
More than coffee and sex
Generation Q guest columnist Kevin Cates on the wisdom gleaned from being in relationships based solely on physical attraction.
The auto repair closet
Advocate associate news editor John Caldwell is ready to admit that he once donned overalls and wielded a socket wrench, though his passion for the engine was short-lived.
Boo! We’re gay!
Notes From a Blond columnist Bruce Vilanch on the gay national holiday—Halloween.
Gay men on the pill
Against the Current columnist Andrew Sullivan asks why using daily doses of Viread isn’t being explored as a possible way of reducing transmission of HIV among those in serodiscordant relationships.

Family and politics
Has discussion of this election and the related issues of GLBT equality caused tension in your extended family?

Election 2004 Web Archive Collection

Election 2004 Web Archive Collection