Sebastian Fortino Author

A Smiling Black dog

A Gay Man, Chasing a Dog, Sipping the First Iced Coffee of Spring

Sebastian’s first sunny spring Sunday – enjoying coffee with his new boyfriend and his dog, Taffy Davenport – goes way off the leash. The First Iced Coffee of...

Gay Voices|

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Young Man Reflected in Bus Mirror

Here Are 4 Soul-Stirring Encounters with Homeless LGBTQ Youth

Portland’s homeless population is infamous for its sheer size, but it is the homeless LGBTQ youth that always stand out to me. The People You Meet on Public Transportation As a...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices|

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crying child

A Gay Man Explains Why He’d Rather Talk to Customers than His Family

To explain why he prefers the easy interaction of retail, Sebastian remembers the more shocking things his family said to him as a child. How Retail Is like Anonymous Sex In order...

Gay Voices|

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DJ HoldMyHand at Eagle Portland

The Best Gay Bars in Portland

Longtime Metrosource correspondent Sebastian Fortino takes you to six of the best gay bars in Portland’s Albina, NoPo, Old Town Portland, Northeast Portland, and more. He...

Things to Do|

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June Whitfield at the Slapstick Festival

Why Gay “Absolutely Fabulous” Fans Will Miss June Whitfield

In the last days of 2018, die-hard fans of Absolutely Fabulous lost a dear friend: Dame June Whitfield. The veteran actor – who passed away at 93 – famously played the...

Entertainment • Screen|

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What One Gay Man Learned After Getting Dumped at Christmas

It was cold in Miami that December. Temperatures had dropped into the high 30s. For Miamians, this meant an emergency. Being cold-blooded: many an invasive iguana froze to death...

Gay Voices|

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Guys by Graffiti on Bikes

A Gay Man Remembers Taking Risks to Appear “Straight”

As I approach my 40th birthday as an out-and-proud gay man, I find myself thinking about the years I spent as a closeted teen, including some of the ridiculous things I did to fit...

Gay Voices|

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group of young people walking

He Found Me 20 Years After We Met in Gay Youth Group

Thanksgiving makes me think of the people we gain and lose along the way, in particular a long lost-friend from a gay youth group who promised to keep in touch and did – two...

Gay Voices|

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young man on a city rooftop

Did I Understand Consent as a Young Gay Man?

In light of recent high-profile allegations of sexual abuse, I can’t help but wonder if I even understood consent when I was a young gay man living in 1990s New York City. You...

Columnists and Letters • Gay Voices|

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man walking on beach

Saying Farewell to Summer at a Gay Nude Beach

As fall approaches, I can’t help but marvel at the sights, sounds and stories I experienced this summer at a local, clothing-optional stretch of the water’s edge that the...

Gay Voices|

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gnocci

Can You Throw a Big Gay Dinner Party Without the Dinner?

I decided to shake up my party-throwing routine, and the result was a culinary catastrophe. I love the feeling of being a host, but perhaps it’s easier to love when you...

Columnists and Letters|

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lake and mountains

This Gay Man Went Camping and All He Got Was Hope for the Future of America

We thought we had packed almost everything for our visit to a gay-owned campground, but one of the best moments of the trip came from something we forgot. There was an ad campaign...

Gay Voices|

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