Ryan Field's Blog, page 44

Monkeypox Is Not a Gay Virus Say Health Officials, Ryan Field Books

 Monkeypox Is Not a Gay Virus Say Health Officials

There are so many misguided thoughts and rumors about Monkeypox out there that I'm glad health officials are addressing this topic. First, it's not a gay virus. Don't compare it to AIDS. It's nothing like AIDS. I've seen people do that and it's so wrong. 

This is what Monkeypox is all about. 

“Anyone can get monkeypox,” Identity health director Dr. Tracey Wiese said at a virtual town hall Thursday evening. “This isn’t a virus that’s only being spre...

Catholic Group Denies Gay Worker's Husband Benefits, Ryan Field Books

 Catholic Group Denies Gay Worker's Husband Benefits

I thought after marriage became legal on a federal level gay news would slow down. But if anything, it's grown more popular. There seems to be something happening every day, good or bad. If it's not someone with a large platform coming out of the closet, it's some Catholic Group denying a gay person benefits. 

A federal judge in Maryland has ruled that a Catholic nonprofit organization illegally discriminated against a gay employee by denying sp...

Is Asking Gay Men to be Careful About Monkeypox Stigmatizing? Ryan Field Books

 Is Asking Gay Men to be Careful About Monkeypox Stigmatizing? 

As a married gay man who doesn't go to bathhouses or cruising areas to have anonymous sex with other men, I often get frustrated when I see that something as simple as Monkeypox turns into something more complicated. We've been told that the best way to avoid getting Moneypox if you are not vaxxed is to not have anonymous sex with other men. Only it's not as simple as that. If we target gay men we run the risk of stigmatizing them al...

When Don't Say Gay Bill Passed Anti-LGBTQ Grooming Comments Surged 400%, Ryan Field Books

 When Don't Say Gay Bill Passed Anti-LGBTQ Grooming Comments Surged 400%

I saw this happen firsthand. The moment the don't say gay bill passed, MAGA went after all LGBTQ people online like I've never seen before. They are still doing it, too. And they are vicious. They swarm like yellowjackets for an attack. They picked up the word "grooming" and ran with it. 

This particular surge involves rhetoric implying that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people are “grooming” children and incl...

A Call For Gay Men to Change Their Sex Habits Because of Monkeypox, Ryan Field Books

 A Call for Gay Men to Change Their Sex Habits Because of Monkeypox

So far, we don't know that much about Monkeypox other than it's mostly been hitting gay and bisexual men hard. We do know that it is contracted by skin-to-skin contact, so it's not technically a sexually transmitted disease. However, skin-to-skin means you can get it from sex with someone who's infected. It's very different from AIDS in that respect. There are very specific ways to contract HIV. 

However, the gay and bisexual comm...

DC Couple Attacked and Called Anti-Gay Slurs and Mentioned Monkeypox, A Minor League Pitcher Named Solomon Bates Just Came Out As Gay, Ryan Field Books

 DC Couple Attacked and Called Anti-Gay Slurs and Mentioned Monkeypox

I had a feeling this would soon start to happen to gay men. A Washington DC gay couple was targeted, assaulted, and they allegedly used anti-gay slurs and mentioned Monkeypox. I say "allegedly" because they haven't found the suspects yet and it's all still under investigation. 

In all their attempts to NOT stigmatize gay men all over again as they did with AIDS, the media and the CDC have done it all over again. Gay men are now ...

Annie Proulx's Two Time Cultural Appropriation, Ryan Field Books

 Annie Proulx's Two Time Cultural Appropriation

When I first learned about Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain being published in the New Yorker, I cringed a little. Even back then, at that time, I couldn't understand why any reputable publisher would accept that kind of cultural appropriation. And that's exactly what it was, and my guess is that she did it for cash. There is also a certain amount of fetishization, too. My biggest problem was that I knew, at the time, there were indeed many gay men...

CDC Estimation Is That 1.7 Million Bisexual and Gay Men Risk Getting Monkeypox, Ryan Field Books

 CDC Estimation Is That 1.7 Million Bisexual and Gay Men Risk Getting Monkeypox

I wonder how all this started with gay men. As a gay man, I'm trying hard not to stigmatize other gay men, because we all know everyone can get Monkeypox just from casual skin-to-skin contact. It's not as easy to catch as COVID. 

However, I'm linking to an article now that suggests staggering numbers from the CDC. And it seems to be centered around gay and bi men who are on PrEP. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Pre...

Was Danny Kaye Gay? Ryan Field Books

 Was Danny Kay Gay? 

Hollywood has always been notorious for hiding gay men in the closet. It happened years ago and it's still happening today. The most interesting thing is that we know. We can now turn on a TV show or film and spot a gay closeted actor within minutes. It's not that difficult. For one thing, there's no chemistry with the leading lady. And yet even though gay men can spot other closeted gay men, millions of straight women will fantasize and fetishize these closeted gay men witho...

New Orleans Looks For the Remains of 4 Victims In 1973 Gay Bar Fire,

New Orleans Looks For the Remains of 4 Victims In 1973 Gay Bar Fire

This happened before my time, but I'm glad they're at least doing something about it now. 

Apparently, there was a fire in a gay bar in New Orleans in 1973 and 31 people perished. And now the city of New Orleans is searching for the remains of 4 bodies. 

"The City's callous and deeply inadequate response ... rooted in pervasive anti-gay sentiment" made suffering worse for victims' families and friends, states the motion written by ...