Chattel Tortured by Fear of Losing Symbol of the Purchase of her Worth @9:00 AM
Recently, in New York City, a woman lost one of the diamond stones from her betrothal ring. It measured 4 carats. "I wake up in cold sweats dreaming that I'm going to lose my ring — and the funny thing is, I did," she told a local paper about the status symbol. Funny thing! The shiny stone, a symbol of her worth, was later found, however, by a watchful man. Now she can retire to privacy of her home, ring intact. 10
Ed White: Gay Marriage Is Radical, Dude @12:10 PM
Edmund White, in an interview today:
I believe in promiscuity. But you know people are a lot more complicated than they appear to be. I mean, right now I'm in a relationship where I am faithful because my partner wants me to be, and I respect him enough—and it lowers the level of anxiety in our relationship. He's also extraordinarily hot.In the past, when gays were very flamboyant as drag queens or as leather queens or whatever, that just amused people. And most of the people that come and watch the gay Halloween parade, where all those excesses are on display, those are straight families, and they think it's funny. But what people don't think is so funny is when two middle-aged lawyers who are married to each other move in next door to you and your wife and they have adopted a Korean girl and they want to send her to school with your children and they want to socialize with you and share a drink over the backyard fence. That creeps people out, especially Christians. So, I don't think gay marriage is a conservative issue. I think it's a radical issue.
I dunno, mostly when I think about two lawyers moving in next door, my first thought is: they're eventually going to sue me, or my dog, or my kids, or my lawn. But then I guess some kinds of bias run deeper than others. 37
"Marriage is lye poured upon the petri dish of the new relations of erotic sociality." @11:04 AM
Wow, well, here is an essay from N+1 by a straight man about the tyranny of marriage. In part, he is disappointed that the gays, on the whole, have given up striving for complicated radical relationships and have become marriage-obsessed. Is the new boringness of gays bringing us all down? Perhaps, yes. I can understand that disappointment! "Here is marriage: The division of humanity into closed couples, when modernity has given us a chance at something much better-affiliation by manifold currents of love, interest, and likeness which overflow the monogamous male-female dyad… To marry is the closest adult thing to making your eyes big, your forehead rounded, and your hands into adorable little paws. Look at hubby-wubby! It is so responsible. It says that your desire is not for pleasure or fun, it is for ï¬tting in. It is for the maintenance of what already is… Opposing gay marriage is like denying the wishes of people who want to feed your pets or take out your garbage." I don't really know what to do with this but I am fascinated. 79
Gay Marriage Trouble: What Do You Call Your Old Name? @2:20 PM
Q. "When two men get married and one takes the other's last name (rather than creating one of those hyphenated thingies), how do you refer to his former last name?" A. "Slave name." 11
Social A's: Do I Acknowledge The Plight Of Gays At My Straight Wedding? @2:14 PM
Dear Answer Lady,
At my wedding [Ed. Note: Damn, it is wedding season up in this advice column!] in fast-approaching 2010 I would like to somehow recognize those in the audience who were or are unable to marry because they are gay. A wedding ceremony inherently contains a wealth of self-aggrandizing pats-on-the-back, but I feel like it's doubly in-your-face-haha-we-are-getting-married for those who can't do the same. Our audience will have both family and friends in those shoes, spanning the Greatest Generation to Gen X. What is a tasteful way to incorporate this sentiment into our all-too-hetero ceremony?
Mr. Conflicted Vows-Taker
p.s. The ceremony is not in a religious venue, obvs.
p.p.s. I don't mean recognize like "Hey, Anne, she's out there and cannot…" but more generally. Also obvs. READ MORE 23
Social A's: When Two Men Fall In Love…. @1:00 PM
Dear Lady of Answers,
Last summer, I met the love of my life. He is entrancing, gorgeous, hilarious, unusual, and has many other good qualities. All of my friends, to a wo/man, are thoroughly, 100% approving. Lest anyone be bitterly judging me, please know that I had been dating extensively (and apparently wrongly) for TWENTY-THREE FUCKING YEARS. READ MORE 46
Why Be Boring For A Blender? @11:20 AM
"If you haven't noticed, gays make most of our culture. They write our teevee shows and Broadway musicals and even books, for those who can still read. They are the world's entertainers, designers and bloggers. And nothing threatens the creative spirit—which God gave primarily to homosexuals—more than the awful tedium of marriage." 9
A Bad Gay Day For The Country @11:04 PM
Ain't no stopping them now. Gays now will not rest until they can wed in any state they wish—even the crappy states! Reports the Times: "'It's a bad day for the country,' said Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage." That's right Brian: FUCKING UP THE COUNTRY'S DAY is gay job number one. Related! Iraq's Newly Open Gays Face Scorn and Murder. 0
