THANKS FOR PROVING HIS POINT
Last week I talked about the push by the African-American GLBT community to bring their concerns over religious homophobia to the attention of religious leaders. And for a while, it looked like they were going to be heard. Reverend Louis Farrakhan agreed to allow Keith Boykin, President of the National Black Justice Coalition, to speak at last weekend’s Millions More March (MMM) in D.C. But when Keith attempted to mount the platform to speak, the Rev. Willie F. Wilson, national director for MMM, did his best George Wallace imitation and physically prevented Keith from speaking. Planeout.com has the whole story, but my favorite bit was when Rev. Wilson (famous for his fears of epidemic lesbianism) confronted Boykin with a copy of The New Joy of Gay Sex along with a bottle of sleeping pills and a G-string fabricated from, I kid you not, Pez candies. The Reverend claimed young girls used the items to lure other girls into lesbianism. Hmm, I thought they did that with Xena re-runs and comfortable shoes.

LAW AND ORDER: SVU. A VERY SPECIAL EPISODE
I always get uneasy when any show, but especially a cop show, does a “gay” episode. Cops shows don’t exactly deal with the cream of society, after all. And I was especially nervous when I read that Tuesday night’s episode of Law and Order: SVU would deal not only with methamphetamine use among the party-circuit crowd, but a new “super” strain of HIV being spread by promiscuous, meth-addicted gay men. Oh, and then there was the gay man who murders other gay men infected with the new killer HIV. Frankly, the whole thing read like one of James Dobson’s wet dreams. Imagine my surprise then when the episode instead was surprisingly well done, as it touched on homophobia, gay-bashing, as well as the nightmare that is meth, all without portraying gay men in some stereotypical fashion. It even managed to have a touching moment when the homophobic character played by Ice-T reaches out to the son he has just learned is gay. Awww, could someone bring me a puppy to cuddle?

AND SPEAKING OF VERY SPECIAL
LOGO premiered their brand new series, Noah’s Arc, on Wednesday night. I am, alas, a Luddite and do not have the modern miracle that is cable television. Therefore, I did not see the premiere and can only report what others had to say. Keith Boykin says the show is a black gay version of Sex and the City while our own AfterElton says mostly positive things. A random sampling of blog posts (including this one) gives the show a more mixed score. Given that last week there were no shows about black gay men, Noah’s Arc is definitely a step in the right direction no matter its flaws.

Speaking of Noah’s Arc, it appears Kanye West’s folks missed his little speech about hip-hop needing to get past its more homophobic aspects. In regards to discrimination against gays, Kanye recently said, “just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it.'" Well, Kanye, you can put your money where your mouth is by telling the folks who run your label to license your music for use on Noah’s Arc. SOHH.com reports that Kanye’s label is among those refusing MTV’s (the owner of LOGO) request to use his music on their show. I’m confident Kanye meant what he said and will get his house in order.

AND I THOUGHT IT WAS HARD LIVING UP TO THOSE SCANDIVIAN STEREOTYPES. I MEAN, HAVE YOU EVER TASTED LUTEFISK?
In this era of panic over Janet Jackson’s nipple exposure, Doubleday Books certainly isn’t shying away from provocative subject matter. Out next week from the publisher is HUNG: A Meditation on the Measure of Black Men in America by Scott Poulson-Bryant. New York Magazine talks with Mr. Poulson-Bryant who explains that the title doesn’t only refer to black men’s mythical endowment, but also has to do with “a time when black men were being hung from trees for being well hung—a supposed threat to white American culture during slavery, Jim Crow, and afterward.” The book chronicles Mr. Poulson-Bryant’s own experiences, as well as of those he interviewed including a man who refused to shower at the gym for fear of what others might think. Okay, I’ve heard of guys being embarrassed about their “size”, but it’s not usually because they’re packing too much. Oh, well. Live and learn! If you happen to live in New York you can catch Scott discussing the topic Nov. 3, 6-8 PM at Gay Men of African Descent Organization.

DVD’S OF NOTE
Next Tuesday brings us the release of Greg Araki’s much praised Mysterious Skin. Be sure to read the book by Scott Heim and THEN see the movie. That’s the natural order of things. Says me, that’s who.

That's it for this week! Check back next Friday for a new installment of Best. Gay. Week. Ever., or read previous installments here.

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