As A Picnic Basket: April 2012

April 28, 2012

A First!: Gay Vet Proposes To Returning Marine On Base

"Balloons, signs, tears, and joy may not be unusual sights on military bases when family and friends await their returning veteran’s safe return home from a long deployment, but a wedding proposal by a boyfriend to his Marine boyfriend is. That’s what happened Tuesday at Camp Pendleton, when San Diego resident, Cory Huston, himself a Navy veteran once assigned to the Marines as a hospital corpsman asked Marine Avarice Guerrero to marry him. It is believed to be the first proposal of marriage and engagement between two gay men – not to mention two war vets – on a US military base. In an exclusive, San Diego LGBT Weekly was there to photograph the historic proposal.

April 24, under a bright Southern California sky at Camp Pendleton’s Camp Del Mar near Oceanside, Calif., a full two hours before his boyfriend’s return from the badlands of Afghanistan, Cory Huston waited nervously. Huston, who was discharged under the former Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, chain smoked as he rehearsed the simple proposal he would deliver when Guerrero would arrive.

He told LGBT Weekly that by popping the question, and assuming Guerrero would say yes, he would not only be changing his and his beau’s lives forever, but also the landscape of marriage among gay servicemembers."

C/O LGBT Weekly.

Love How Big Companies Use A Homo-Friendly Ad Campaign

Cheesy But Charming: Weho Queens Ham For The Camera

I'd Hit It: This Unbelievable Man Rolling Around In Underwear

April 18, 2012

Diva Experts, Your Expertise & Wisdom Is Kindly Requested

Over on Make Major Moves, I've whipping up a nasty Diva Brawl. But I'm confused about what makes a good diva and who can outdo the Queen Bey. My friend also pointed me to The Awl's resolution of this question. WE LOVE DIVAS.

A Look At The Story Of A Black Gay Athlete's Coming Out

Here's the first couple paragraphs, but check out the whole story on the HuffPost:

"Trying to examine my own internalized racism and how it relates to my current relationship is complicated, because I am afraid to confront my truth sometimes. Being a formerly closeted gay athlete, I learned how to lie. To be a convincing liar, one must vehemently believe in one's own lies. And although I've dated a black man, I had to finally own the fact that I prefer white men. I can't explain it, but I own it. I don't apologize for it. Many people ask me about the one black man I dated, in an attempt to formulate reasons why I became interested in him. Well, he was a Harvard graduate and a medical student. Maybe subconsciously, this particular black man, with his impressive résumé, attracted me because I thought that he would allow me the same access as a white suitor.

Growing up poor in Louisiana, access and privilege seemed to be mutually inclusive. I had neither. But when you're a child, you don't have the language or the understanding to comprehend what you do and don't have, and you definitely don't understand why. As I went through the stages of adolescence, I began to understand the world around me and how to move within the world in order to gain privilege and access. So I formulated my "cool pose," which, for me, was a learned habit of crafting a persona and image to dictate how people perceived me. My performance, including my dress, speech, and attitude, was geared toward gaining access to a world I believed would be denied to me if I didn't conform."

Give A Listen To This New Mac DeMarco Track; It's Quite Good

If you're interested in reading about the record, here's a PITCHFORK link. The guy's Canadian and a bit of a whack job. LOVE IT.

Thanks, Spencer. My friend's blog, Mandatory Leisure is a great gay-gaze blog that you should check out, as well.