GLR January-February 2025

W HEREAS this is basically a humor column, or at least one that cherishes irony; and whereas the November election sucked all the oxygen out of the cybersphere and left little to laugh about… We bring you a few reruns from past issues that seem apropos for this political moment. Busted! We knew the jig was up for the National Organiza tion for Marriage (NOM), the major backer of anti-gay mar riage initiatives across the USA, when a secret internal document surfaced that began: “The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks.” On it went to outline a grandiose media campaign featuring artic ulate black spokesmodels and celebrities to carry the anti-gay message. (They also had a plan for Hispanics.) This was be fore President Obama came out in favor of marriage equality, and before this document was exposed, both of which could throw a small wrench into the plan. July-August 2012 Outside of Convention The Republican National Conven tion seemed equally divided between vitriol and wrath, but at least some of the delegates were having a good time, and the result was a huge upsurge in business for Cleveland’s male sex workers. One hustler reported that his income surged six-fold during the four-day event; another took in an unheard-of $800 per day. The great thing was, they didn’t need to travel all over the city but could remain right around the Quicken Loans Arena. Commenting on the delegates who hired them, escorts reported that most were married, many were in their forties, a lot came from Texas, and most were first-timers. Trying to account for the large number of clos eted Republicans, one escort mused: “When it comes to any thing people aren’t supposed to be doing, they like to do it”—a nice précis of a conclusion that it took many pages for Freud to reach. Once you make something taboo, it’s all peo ple can think about; it takes on a life of its own. Curiously, fe male prostitutes reported a downturn and even a collapse in demand during the Republicans’ big week. The best expla nation is that most of the delegates, unlike the usual conven tioneers who come to Cleveland, brought their wives along and couldn’t get away—except for those who could. September-October 2016 Karma Time Among the Democratic victories on election day in November was that of Danica Roem, who became the first transgender legislator in Virginia (anywhere?) by de feating Republican incumbent Bob Marshall for a seat in the House of Delegates. The poetic justice of it all! Marshall wasn’t just anti-gay; he described himself as Virginia’s “ho mophobe in chief.” Nor was this an idle claim: it was Mar shall who introduced an anti-transgender “bathroom bill” into the House. His aggressively transphobic campaign in BTW

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