A breakaway group of Christian and secular therapists claims to be able to convert homosexuals into heterosexuals—if they’ll just get with the program. So what exactly is the program? And does it work? Originally published in Psychology Today. IT’S A SUNDAY MORNING in Lecanto, Florida, and Faith Chapel is filled with the Holy Spirit. Tambourines shaking, guitar […]
Mixed Blessings
The lives of two men in neighboring Southern cities illustrate the news—good and bad—from the World AIDS Conference in Geneva. The good news is that mortality from AIDS complications continues to drop and that many people on combination therapy are healthier than they have been in years. The bad news is that the advances in […]
Art and States’ Rights
Originally published in The Nation. OF ALL THE FAN LETTERS OUT NORTH Contemporary Art House has ever received, the most surprising has come from a former adversary. Shannon McDade, a member of the Alaska State Council on the Arts, had visited the theater to see June Bride, a one-woman show by Sara Felder about an old-fashioned lesbian Jewish […]
Embraced in Spain
The author, stuttering in Spanish with a group of 20-year-old street kids. An all-time favorite.
Southern Discomfort
Gays in Charlotte, N.C., strive for community cohesion as they struggle to get back on track after a virulent 1997. Originally published in The Advocate. CHARLOTTE, N.C., PRIDES ITSELF on being the best of the New South. The nation’s second-largest banking center, it’s a booming city of 60-story skyscrapers, historic neighborhoods, and suburbs that stretch to the […]
Rain of Nails
When an anti-gay bomb shattered the peace in Atlanta, was the far Right’s new “leaderless resistance to blame? Originally published in Out. EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ONLY 9:45 P.M., early for a Friday night in Atlanta, the Otherside Lounge was already cranking up February 21. One hundred and fifty women and men had settled into […]
Murder on the Mountain
The double slaying of lesbian hikers along the Appalachian Trail remains unsolved. Beyond the murder mystery is the tragic story of two women in love. Originally published in Out. THE FOREST TRAIL THAT BEGINS at the highest point on Virginia’s Skyline Drive and drops quickly away from civilization seems an unlikely site for a double murder. As […]
No, Jesse, No
Is Senator Helms Gay Public Enemy No. 1? Originally published in Out. IT’S EARLY ON A TUESDAY afternoon, and a pack of reporters has clustered on the second floor of the U.S. Capitol building. With the Balkan conflict reaching a critical juncture, the national media are looking for some punchy sound bites from the top Republican senators […]
The Marines Face a New Fight
Meet a few good men—some of whom are gay. Originally published in The Boston Globe and Indy Week. JACKSONVILLE, N.C.—I WALK UP to the bar at the Lucky Lady Night Club and order a Bud Light. Immediately, the woman on the next stool drops her hand, landing it square on my thigh. Early 40s, Filipina, nearly […]
Faerie Culture
Originally published in Southern Exposure. For a PDF of the pages, click here. THE NEW EMPRESS OF SHORT MOUNTAIN wore royal purple to the coronation: a billowing ankle-length dress made from yards and yards and yards of polyester. On his head he wore a wig of rainbow-colored shredded tinfoil; on his feet, brown sandals. (“I […]
