Columnists and Letters

Read op-eds, thoughts, reflections, and opinions on LGBT subjects and life in general.

Kevin Phinney

The Greatest Love of All Is Not Easy to Achieve

With all due respect to Whitney Houston, Kevin discovers that learning to love himself involves getting past experiences that made him feel less than proud. “Hooray, now my...

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Wade Rouse

Trip Down Memory Lane

Wade takes his dad for a visit to the past but discovers that the same scenes that bring his father comfort can also be haunting reminders of what was. Each time I visit my...

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Kevin Phinney

Discovering Your Identity: The Trek from Straight Boyfriend to Gay Daddy

Kevin traces his personal evolution from being an altar boy fantasizing about Beatles all the way to embracing being a daddy — and everything in between. looking back, I’ve...

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Wade Rouse

DIARY: Hurting My Pride?

When a book event ends up overflowing with fans of his partner Gary, Wade is left wondering: How come no one showed up to root for him? BY WADE ROUSE On a recent book tour, I...

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Paul Hagen, Editor of Metrosource

Editor Paul Hagen Wonders: Does the Cologne Make the Man?

The year is 1999. I’m at home in New Jersey after my freshman year of college, and having gotten a taste of the freedom and excitement of living in NYC, I’m climbing the...

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Paul Hagen

Editor Paul Hagen Asks: Does Anyone Ever Outgrow Childhood — Or its Artifacts?

Looking at the walls of my home today — generously sprinkled with framed photos, prints, posters and the like — it’s strange to remember a time when I didn’t own a single...

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Kevin Phinney

First on Your Travel List: Know When to Go Commando

Kevin is anxious to find time to enjoy Amsterdam’s less-family-friendly pleasures, but ends up finding a state of freedom more total than he bargained for. That Amsterdam would...

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Wade Rouse

Wade Rouse Asks: If Clothes Make the Man or Woman, Can They Unmake a Vacation?

Wade and his pal Trish spend a year planning to look fabulous on vacation, only to end up arriving without a thing for her to wear. The four of us stood in silence as the luggage...

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Paul Hagen

Lessons Learned: Visting Relatives Can Make A Gay Wedding Even More Gay

When I was a freshman in high school, my then-best-friend Pete had an older sister who was (more-or-less openly) a lesbian. It was something that he and I joked about: I suppose...

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Wade Rouse

And . . . Voilá! Wade Rouse Explains His Pen Name of Viola Shipman

When Wade begins writing fiction under a female pen name, he’s forced to consider what womanhood means to him. “What’s he doing up there? Where’s Viola? That’s a man!”...

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committee

Design by Committee

David lands on a committee to redesign a lobby, and chaos ensues. My most memorable experience working with interior designers came in the course of doing volunteer work. I’d...

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valentines mailbox

Diary: Love, Wade

Wade remembers crafting a valentine mailbox in school that attracted the attentions of a fellow student who liked him — and a bully who did not. In my grade school, it was...

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