Did you ever wear your Mom's high heel wooden clogs while dancing in the driveway, wish Vicki from Small Wonder was your BFF or pride yourself on knowing every absurd storyline they had on Ryan's Hope and General Hospital from 1982 on? 

About six years ago I had the idea of revisiting all the missed clues from my youth that all but screamed, "I am sooooooooo gay". Originally envisioned as a documentary short, I was going to terrorize my family members and demand they talk about the most obvious and difficult fey facts (graduating from film school can do that to you) but it never came to fruition.

Instead all of you AfterElton.com readers will be tormented on a regular basis with all of the shockingly obvious signs that not only should have sent me running into the arms of a young nubile man but also sent big pink flags up in the air for my parents to recognize.

Welcome to our new blog series, "How'd I Miss My Coming Out?" The goal is to showcase not only the horrors of growing up in the 80's but also to look at those painfully obvious tell-tale signs we all missed as adolescent youth. Hopefully it will help create a forum for all of us to realize we're not alone ... while having a laugh or two.

This week I want to examine one of the most obvious and "duh" moments from my early teen years in a big whoppin' Nestea Plunge of a revelation ...

I was in crazy love with New Kids on the Block!

"Come on everybody if you wanna take a chance, just get on the floor and do the New Kids Dance" Oh I was ready to take that chance and dance alright! In 1988 I swung my legs back and forth so much that you could see the wear and tear in our dingy brown shag carpet. I was 14 and couldn't get enough of Danny, Jonathan, Donnie, Jordan and that sweet little boy Joey!

What I thought was an innocent obsession with a peer (Joey was almost the same age) was obviously one of my first crushes on another boy. When his little squeaky voice was belting out "Please Don't Go Girl" I couldn't help but sing the backup whispers that went "I love you, I love you, I guess I always will ..." What? It seemed completely natural for a 14 year old boy to be singing along to a pop song and wanting to know everything there was to know about the band.

Every weekend I would go with my Mom to the Mall and spend all of my allowance on New Kids paraphernalia. While my brother was getting his acid wash on at Chess King I was scouring the mall and snatching up every poster, magazine, Trapper Keeper folder, trading card set and lunchbox with their pimply yet adorable faces on them.

Paul James as Calvin, Greek's gay pledge  

Last week ABC Family premiered the second season of Greek, last summer's surprise hit college comedy. Greek brought the youth-targeted network a rare gay character, Calvin (played by Paul James). Calvin romanced a fella from another frat and was accidentally "outed" to his own frat by his best girlfriend, and in last season's finale decided to leave his house due to the chilly reception he got after his brothers learned about his sexuality.

Now the show is back and, unlike some shows that dispose of gay characters once they've come out or move them into the background, Calvin is back on campus and getting plenty of screentime. Was I the only one scared that they'd have him on a bus out of town by now? 

When we meet up with the kids after the winter break, Calvin is still out of the Omegas, although house leader Evan is actively trying to win him back and says that he's talking to the frat about it. In a clever bit of cross-cutting, we catch up with Heath (Calvin's fling from season one), who decides to come out to his Kappa Tau brothers as Evan is confronting the Omegas about bringing Calvin back. While Heath's bros couldn't care less that he's gay, Evan's preening preppies resist wooing back Calvin, as they feel that it wouldn't be good for the house.

Meanwhile, Calvin mulls some new extracurricular options and reconnects with Ashleigh, who accidentally outed him to the Omegas in the finale. They go shopping together and look at cute boys. Ah, youth ...

In this week's episode, Calvin entertains the idea of joining the Kappa Tau house, at Rusty's insistence. Meanwhile, Evan hasn't given up on getting Calvin back into the Omega house, gay or no. I actually started feeling like Evan's concern for Calvin was being used as a chip strictly to build sympathy for his character, but Evan reminds us in this episode that he's not just the Omega president, he's also Calvin's "big brother", which means he's also tied to him by fraternity protocol and has more than just a personal interest in the gay prodigal pledge.

Move over, Ralph Macchio and Hilary Swank: in the new movie The Sensei, there's a new put-upon teen about to put the beat down on some bullies. According to the press materials:

"THE SENSEI takes place in a small, conservative town during the rise of HIV and the AIDS panic it stirred in communities in the 1980's and early 90's. Set in 1985, in an area not too far from Laramie, Wyoming, young McClain is a gay teen that is constantly harassed and ostracized in his provincial town."

Michael O'Laskey, who's best known for playing one of the brothers in the 3 Ninjas series of kids films, stars as McClain, who is harassed and bullied because of his sexuality (one of the bullies is played by Mark Mcgraw, brother of country singer Tim Mcgraw). After he's nearly killed in a bashing, his mother enlists the help of her own Mr. Miyogi, a character named Karen, played by the film's director, Diana Lee Inosanto (who's also a world-renowned stuntwoman).

The movie makes its world premiere at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on May 4th. You can learn more about it at the film's website, and you can see the trailer over here. It looks great ... the only thing missing is a Peter Cetera ballad.

We blogged last year about the first season of the British teen drama Skins. Set in Bristol, it focuses on the lives of eight friends between the ages of 16 and 18 – including an out gay character, Maxxie (played by Mitch Hewer). Although it was refreshing to see an out gay teen who was confident and popular, the ensemble nature of the drama meant that Maxxie didn’t get much development last season. And the plotlines he did have also seemed to revolve around other people’s reactions to him – his Muslim best friend Anwar’s struggle to accept his sexuality, for example, or his heteroflexible friend Tony’s experimental attempts to seduce him.

The first episode of the second season of Skins premiered in the U.K. on Monday night. And although the characterization overall on the show is pretty shallow, there are signs that Maxxie may get a beefed-up plotline this time around. In the season premiere, we saw him being homophobically hassled by a group of boys who live near him – one of whom fairly clearly has the hots for him. This was confirmed later on when, having been chased by the homophobes and got away, Maxxie finds himself tackled to the ground and kissed by the boy, Dale. Initially indignant, Maxxie said “Dale, you can’t just treat me like shit and then just…” before evidently deciding “what the hell” and kissing him anyway.

While storylines involving homophobic abuse and closeted homophobes might seem like earnest clichés for a gay teen character, Skins prides itself (sometimes a little too much) on being politically incorrect and “edgy”. Consequently, Maxxie seemed totally unfazed by the persecution, even when a whole group of boys were chasing him. Having easily escaped from them, he muttered below his breath “tossers”.

Similarly, when he kissed Dale, it came across as being less because of low self-esteem or a willingness to tolerate a closeted boyfriend, than as simple pragmatic sexual opportunism – of a kind in which the other characters in the show regularly indulge.

More on Maxxie and a clip after the jump...

Overall, YALSA, the Young Adult Library Services Association, has a good history of supporting books that can be or special interest to LGBT youth. James St. James' Freak Show was named on their 2008 list of the Best Books for Young Adults and their past graphic novel recommendations include titles like Young Avengers and Top 10: The Forty-Niners. However, the organization sparked a bit of controversy this year when it picked sci-fi writer Orson Scott Card for its Margaret A. Edwards Award this year.

The Margaret A. Edwards Award is given to an author who has a lifetime history of "helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world." Past winners include Ursula K. Le Guin, S.E. Hinton, Anne McCaffrey and Paul Zindel.

This year, the award has gone to science fiction writer Orson Scott Card, who is best known for Ender's Game, which won multiple awards when it was published (the short story that inspired it is also considered a classic of anti-war sci-fi). However, in recent years, Card has also become known for his political columns where he has expressed some strongly anti-gay positions.

Card's anti-gay views first came to light in a column opposing same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, where Card said that advocates for marriage equality were "guided only by the slogan of immaturity and barbarism: 'If it feels good, do it!'" Card's most damning comment came when he advocated for laws criminalizing homosexualty because, essentially, he prefers his homosexuals closeted and fearful:

David Burtka

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• AfterElton contributor Michael Portantiere chatted to out actor couple Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, who confirm that they will be performing a duet together at Broadway Backwards 3 ... but won't dish on what the song is. (Please say it's "Shipoopi"!)

• Speaking of dreamy gay Broadway and film stars ... Xanadu's Cheyenne Jackson recently did a Q&A for Variety and revealed that he would like to play Rock Hudson in a biopic. Someone get this man a production deal and a pair of high-waisted swim trunks STAT!

• Gay writer/director Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, American Beauty) was at Sundance to screen his new film, Towelhead (formerly Nothing Is Private), along with castmembers, including Peter Macdissi (whom you might recall as Claire's testy art teacher, Olivier).

Aaron Eckhart, Eugene Jones, Alan Ball, Summer Bishil, and Peter Macdissi

• As a part of her online Q&A feature, Hillary Clintonspoke about the increased suicide risk for LGBT teenagers, noting, "we've got to do everything we can to send a clear message that we value you." Amen.

• Don't forget to check out Michael's zesty-fresh Best.Gay.Week.Ever. column, and have a great weekend!

Great news from our Friendly Neighborhood to the North: 21-year-old actor Adamo Ruggiero, who is wrapping up a 6-year stint as beloved gay teenager Marco del Rossi on critical and fan fave Degrassi: The Next Generation, has come out as a gay man in a candid interview to a Canadian Internet video site.

Echoing the coming out of Wilson Cruz, the US's first gay primetime teen on My So Called Life, Ruggiero decided that after serving as a role model to youths for years as Marco, his going public with his sexuality was a no-brainer. 

He notes:

"I thought, you know, I was learning and I learned and what better way to kind of share my knowledge than right now."

Ruggiero also speaks about the parallels between Marco's journey and his own, whether or not he was afraid of being forcibly outed by the gossip press, and much much more in this thoughtful interview. He's also Italian, so he talks with his hands a lot, which is adorable:

We've been big fans of Ruggiero and Marco for a while now, and posted some great pics of him a while back - check 'em out! You can find more of our coverage of Degrassi's gay character over here.

Big love to Ruggiero for the courage to speak openly about his sexuality and to continuing to be an inspiration to young gay people by living his life authentically and with pride.

The Washington Post issued its list for the Best Books for Young People, and what do you know, James St. James's wonderful Freak Show (which tells the story of a budding drag legend adapting to life in a conservative new town) was mentioned as one of the three best books for teens. The piece also referred to the novel as the "funniest young-adult novel of the year -- and a profile in out-of-the-mainstream courage."

Agreed on both counts! Hats (or bonnets, or Pucci scarves) off to St. James for the mention, and if you haven't picked up Freak Show yet, definitely check it out, as well as our interview with the author. 

A new project aimed to provide positive gay role models for British teens compiles tips from Sir Ian McKellen, Doctor Who creator Russell T Davies, former NBA'er John Amaechi, The Gossip's Beth Ditto and more on topics ranging from dealing with bullies to entrepreneurship.

The pocket-sized resource guide is meant to inspire gay youths to overcome stigma and achieve personal and financial success and to embrace their sexuality as a unique trait rather than view it as a barrier to their goals. Aptly titled LGF's Inspirational Guide for Young LGB People (LGF is Manchester-based charity the Lesbian and Gay Forum), the resource will no doubt become the Bartlett's Familiar Quotations of the gay gum-snapper set.

Considering how precocious I was as a teen already, I think with this guide's added power I would have morphed into a white-hot supernova of pure moxie. Count your blessings, Mom and Dad!

A new movie hits DVD today that might appeal to fans of a few different genres: ghost stories, prison movies, teen angst films, gay coming-of-age movies, and flicks that feature a lot of shirtless guys in homoerotic situations but who don't actually touch each other.

Driftwood, a murder mystery wrapped in a rehabilitation saga with a delicious plea for tolerance as its chewy center, tells the story of David Forrester (the exceptional Raviv Ullman), a misunderstood kid whose parents (Marc McClure and Lin Shaye, yay!) book him into an "attitude adjustment camp" after his rockstar brother overdoses, fearing that some dark writing on his blog indicates that he might be a suicide risk.

The camp, Driftwood, is run by the openly sociopathic Captain Kennedy (former pro wrestler Diamond Dallas Page) and his henchman Norris (David Eigenberg, best known as Steve from Sex and the City), who clearly take more of an interest in using the wayward young men as slave labor and breaking their spirits than in actually rehabilitating them.

David is soon visited by the ghost of a dead kid from his unit named Jonathan, and before long some not-entirely-unexpected secrets come to the surface about how and why he died. As far as the ghost story goes, pretty standard stuff here.

But where Driftwood gets interesting is in how it handles a few unexpected gay storylines. Browbeaten Noah (Jeremy Lelliott) was sent to the camp to have the gay beaten out of him, which Captain Kennedy and his lackey Yates (Talan Torriero of Laguna Beach fame) seem to be more than happy to do. But the interesting thing is that with all the macho posturing and bad-boy behavior within the group of inmates, they actually stand up for Noah and tell their superiors to back off.