“A Marine Story” is an important movie in one respect: it humanizes the struggle of homosexual men and women in the United States military who want to serve but must keep their sexual preference secret. The film was released in 2010 and was a festival/indie hit. Even though the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy is now defunct, “A Marine Story” succeeds in dramatizing what so many men and women had to undergo all the years DADT was in effect.

The movie tells the story of Alexandra Everett, an accomplished and decorated Marine, who is discharged under murky circumstances. It seems she was drummed out of the military when allegations of homosexual behavior emerged. She returns to her rural hometown, where everyone believes she was honorably discharged. The town also believes she is married. Only near the end of the film do we learn her marriage is a sham, a cover so no one suspects her of being gay. Upon returning to the town, Alex is asked by a policeman friend to mentor a troubled girl, Saffron. The town has been overrun by ‘meth’ related crime, and a judge has given Saffron a choice: she can go to jail or join the military. Alex is tasked with preparing Saffron for boot camp. The training relationship storyline between Alex and Saffron competes with Alex’s struggle to remain closeted both in the present and –told in flashbacks– while in the military.

I do not believe “A Marine Story” was in theaters, but it is available on DVD. It is a movie that should be seen, but I’m not sure it succeeds artistically. It’s a message film and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but, as with many message films, the message can overshadow the ability to enjoy it as a work of art or entertainment. That’s why I led this review with the notion that it is “important” to see this film. It’s important to see “A Marine Story” because one gets a glimpse at the unintended consequences of DADT. But it’s as if the concept of the movie is where it ended.

The filmmakers have a difficult time with getting beyond the message to tell a truly engaging story. As such, the politics of the movies are always too close to the surface, and when the filmmakers try to veer away from politics into pure story (as when Alex tries to rescue Saffron from her meth-addled boyfriend’s drug lair or when a man Alex bests in a bar fight begins to stalk her and take clandestine photos of her with another woman) it’s hard to become truly engaged by the narrative.

“A Marine Story” could have taken a lesson from Biloxi Blues. Biloxi Blues is a comedy starring Matthew Broderick and Christopher Walken, a sentimental and humorous look back at recruit training during World War Two. It’s a two hour movie, but in one five minute segment we get all the power of the issue that it took “A Marine Story” 90 minutes to tell. One of the recruits, a kind and shy boy who always stuck up for the other guys in the platoon, is revealed to be homosexual. He’s taken away in front of the entire regiment, presumably to prison. It’s a devastating and moving moment, and it works because the character felt like a real character, not a walking rhetorical point.

In “A Marine Story,” Alex is at times a compelling character and the performance of Dreya Weber is very strong, but we never feel like we are too far away from political and social pot shots, and the movie does have some contradictory moments.

For example, Alex hoists the American flag immediately upon returning home so we are meant to see she is a patriot. But patriotic toward what? The military is generally sneered at. Her superior in Iraq wants to help her, but then it only seems to be a ploy to bed her to prove she is heterosexual. When folks in the town get wind she is gay, someone paints “Fag” on her car. She covers the graffiti with American-flag car magnets, and as she drives through the town a series of country bumpkins and other rough and tumble types blindly shout out things like “USA, woo!!!”

I think the idea is to show that even though the military has mistreated her, she is loyal to her country and loves it. But then why are fellow patriots around the town depicted as little more than mindless rubes? We don’t get any sense that she may regret sending Saffron off to a military that has treated her so callously. In fact, it’s kind of a back-handed compliment to the armed forces: boot camp is better than meth addiction or jail.

These reservations aside, “A Marine Story” does not drag even if its narrative stretches credulity at points. It’s the kind of film that is earnest and probably deserved more attention as opposed to another 4,000 screen release of some run of the mill blockbuster with a bloated budget and too many explosions to count.

The New York State Legislature voted this week to legalize gay marriage, a measure hurriedly signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo late Friday night.

The gay marriage law takes effect in 30 days.

In one of the highest profile celebrity responses, actor Neil Patrick Harris immediately and officially proposed to longtime partner David Burtka.

“It PASSED! Marriage equality in NY!! Yes!! Progress!! Thank you everyone who worked so hard on this!! A historic night!” Patrick Harris tweeted late Friday night.

The two had been planning for years to marry as soon as it was legal in New York. The couple plans a blowout wedding.

“This is going to be as traditional as it gets. We’re going to do it at the Four Seasons, a place that is like gay church to me,” he told the Associated Press.

The bill faced opposition from conservative and religious groups, but in the end, the right to marry rode a wave of progressiveness that has swept through New England but has not reached California.

In Arizona, Phoenix-based gay rights group Equality Arizona hopes the New York vote will help the passage of gay marriage there.

The group has a major uphill battle, as the state already voted to make gay marriage illegal in 2008, and the state is run by a conservative governor.

Outside the historically liberal New York City, more than 100 people gathered in Syracuse in upstate New York, to celebrate the vote.

“The victory we had last night was one of love and justice,” Mark Spadafore told the gathered crowd outside First English Lutheran Church, according to a report in The Post-Standard newspaper. “Enjoy today, enjoy this moment. We won! We won!…We won, but we have more work to do.”

But gay marriage is still without support at the very top of the country. President Barack Obama said he favors equal rights for gay couples, but he is not an advocate for legalizing gay marriage.

Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal bishop whose installment created a global Anglican rift, announced his early retirement on Saturday at a New Hampshire diocesan convention.

Here is the full text of his speech:

I am using this time for closing remarks to announce to you an important decision I have made regarding our common life. On January 5, 2013, I will retire as your Bishop. To that end, I am hereby calling for the election of a Bishop Coadjutor for the Diocese of New Hampshire, who will succeed me in 2013. While this is an excruciatingly long period of time – two years and two months – from now, this period of time is essential for a smooth and unhurried process of transition, for the diocese and for me.

The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, IX Bishop of New Hampshire

Photo by Chris Ellis-Hibbett

BRAINTREE — Police are investigating an alleged assault by a Charlie Baker campaigner on a lesbian who took a picture of him holding a Charlie Baker for governor sign taped to an anti-gay marriage sign.

Chris Ellis-Hibbett, 36, of Dorchester is a married lesbian. In an exclusive interview, she told Blast Magazine that, on Saturday, she was shopping with her wife, Denise Ellis-Hibbett, at Five Corners when she saw the Republican supporter holding a “let the people vote on marriage” sign. She said she approached him and argued about the sign when he yelled at her and hit her in the face.

A spokesman for the Charlie Baker campaign did not respond to requests for comment, but Baker is an open and ardent supporter of gay marriage. Baker has a gay brother, and some conservative groups oppose his candidacy for governor because of his stance on gay rights.

Richard R. Tisei, Baker’s running mate, is openly gay.

Braintree Deputy Police Chief Russ Jenkins said the incident was under investigation, but since it was not reported until Sunday, more than a day afterward, police have not been able to identify or find the man.

“We had just finished shopping for Halloween costumes,” Chris said. “When we were driving away we noticed the man standing at the intersection of Granite Street and West Street.”

The two had seen the man, who appeared to be in his 70s, closer to their home in Dorchester in prior weeks, and decided they wanted to take a picture of him to share with their friends online.

“Some people we know had stated that they like Charlie Baker and were thinking about voting for him and we wanted to show them on Facebook what we think he really stands for,” Chris said.

The couple stopped their car, and Chris asked if she could take a picture of the man. Chris said that the man said yes.

After the picture, the man asked why she wanted a picture, and Chris said she told him she disagreed with his stance on gay marriage.

Then the screaming started.

“He soon came to realize I am a married lesbian. One that happened, he unleashed the most disgusting verbal attack on gays that I’ve heard in awhile, and I’ve heard quite a few unfortunately,” Chris said. “He also promised that should Charlie Baker win the election, gay marriage will surely be repealed and my marriage will cease to exist. He also promised many other horrible things will happen to me because of who I am and who I love.”

The two women and the man yelled at each other about the morality of homosexuality, religion, and whether or not individuals should have a right to vote on the merits of gay marriage.

According to the women, the man, while holding his sunglasses, raised his hand to Chris’s face and pressed his fist against her chin. After holding his hand still for a moment, Chris said the man firmly followed through with his fist and pushed her face away from him.

Denise Ellis-Hibbett shot a video of the altercation and provided it to Blast.

Chris is seen approaching the man while the two are in the midst of a screaming match. Denise is heard asking her wife to “stop” and trying to physically pull her away from the situation. At this point the screaming comes to a nearly inaudible pitch and the image of the video is lost because Denise’s hand obstructs the lens.

But near the end of the clip, a second man’s voice is heard saying: “You can’t touch her, Joe,” to which the woman responds: “Too late he already did.”

Chris was unharmed. The couple got into their car and left after the alleged assault.

Last night, at ROCCA Kitchen & Bar in the South End, a group of individuals from Boston’s restaurant, political, and education communities rallied together to put a stop to the bullying of LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning) youth.

Organized by ROCCA’s co-owners Michela Larson and Gary Sullivan, and the restaurant’s Executive Chef Tiffani Faison, the event’s goal was to spread the message of “It Gets Better” to the young members of the LGBTQ community and raise funds for The Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth.

Katherine Patrick, Governor Deval Patrick’s daughter and Community Relations Director for his reelection committee, and Matthew F. Wilder, Director of Media Relations for Boston Public Schools, co-hosted the event. Attendees packed the restaurant and were treated to hors d’oeuvres and desserts prepared by Faison and her kitchen staff.

Statistics state that lesbian, gay and bisexual young people are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers, and they are commonly the targets of bullying. Further increasing risk for LGBTQ youth is that the chance a young person will attempt suicide more than doubles if they are bullied. Recently, much of the bullying has been done via the internet.

To combat online bullying there was a confessional video booth set up in the back of the restaurant by Good Life Productions, where attendees were encouraged to share their experience as LGBTQ youths and straight allies to give insight into how young people can overcome bullying and how their lives can improve over time. The videos will be posted on YouTube to serve as inspiration to the many youths struggling with bullying, lack of family support, and many other problems that affect them as a result of being a part of the LGBTQ community. “As much damage as the internet does, it can do good as well”, said Faison.

The overwhelming theme of the night was to spread the message of “It Gets Better”. “Our goal tonight was to raise money and raise awareness to stop this epidemic of teenage suicides”, said Michela Larson, Co-Owner of ROCCA. A video was shown to the attendees highlighting a gay couple who shared their struggles as young men and talked about how much better their lives got when they went away to college, found friends who were similar to them, and spoke about how they eventually got married and adopted children.

“It is important to know that every LGBTQ youth has a family”, said Katherine Patrick during the event, “I am happy to be here to support the Trevor Project”. Every day, The Trevor Project saves young lives through its free and confidential lifeline, in-school workshops, educational materials, online resources and advocacy. Attendees were encouraged to donate $25 at the door and asked to spread the word by telling friends to text message “TREVOR” to 85944 to donate $5.

The event was the brainchild of Faison who was inspired to do something significant after a number of young people across the country that identified as LGBTQ lost their lives to suicide as a result of bullying. She feels that communities need to support these youths who feel bullied and feel alone. “We,” Faison said with a fire in her eye “have the chance to make a cultural shift”.

Those interested in donating can go to thetrevorproject.org.

Is “don’t ask, don’t tell” dead?

According to USA Today, Cynthia Smith, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the suspension of “don’t ask, don’t tell” is in response to the October 12 decision of a central California federal judge that ruled the law implemented under President Clinton in 1993 was unconstitutional.

Judge Virginia Phillips on Tuesday denied a government request to delay her order. The Justice Department said the Obama administration will appeal to the appellate court in San Francisco.

A Pentagon memo signed by Clifford Stanley, undersecretary for Personnel and Readiness, said gay recruits can begin the process to join but should be told what could happen later because “a certain amount of uncertainty now exists about the future of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law. During the process, they (recruiters) will say, ‘You have to be mindful that this could be overturned.’” he told the paper.

The Marine Corps also weighed in, issuing a directive to recruiters Tuesday that said, “Homosexual conduct, by itself, is not currently considered a bar to accession.”

Advocates for repealing the policy warned gays interested in serving to be careful. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network commented, “If you come out now, it can be used against you in the future by the Pentagon.”

General James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, has said most Marines oppose reversing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which permits gays to serve as long as they are not open about their homosexuality.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a task force to investigate the consequences of repealing the policy. Results are due December 1.

Ricky Martin, the Puerto Rican pop star with the big hit "Livin’ La Vida Loca," confessed in a statement on his website he was "proud to say" he was "a fortunate homosexual man."

He also said that he had kept his sexuality hidden because advisers had told him coming out could hurt his career.

Martin, who fathered two children with a surrogate mother two years ago, commented that his decision to write his memoirs had helped him to free "things that were too heavy to keep inside." "Not sharing with the world my entire truth" about his sexuality had become "a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage."

When he fathered two children two years ago, the event had convinced him "enough (was) enough" and that things "had to change."

"To keep living as I did… would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where born with," he said in a posting.

Yesterday, I was browsing through some Twitter pages. I was watching How I Met Your Mother at the same time, so, naturally, I went on to Neil Patrick Harris’ page to see what he’s been talking about/been up to/see if he’s said anything about Glee.

This was the first tweet I saw. I’ve anonymized the Twitter handle of the person NPH was talking to for reasons that will soon become apparent. “@anonymous No trouble at all, actually. Those who aren’t understanding have more to learn.”

Now, I don’t know the Tweeter in question, and I’m sure you don’t either. But I’m a nosy person, and I wanted to know what they were talking about. That’s why I love Twitter; it let’s me be a creep without anyone knowing (unless I write a blog post about it ).

So, I read the next tweet, also addressed to the same person: “@anonymous Stand tall. Be proud of who you are. Don’t break promises. Want to learn. Represent well. But more than anything, be safe.”

This one was even more intriguing than the first. So, I clicked on it and scrolled down the Tweeter’s profile to see what NPH was helping him with.

Here’s what I found, across three tweets: “@actuallynph hey do you have any advice for someone coming out as gay? my family wouldnt understand and im a musician in australia, so theyve been pretty proud of me so far. I’m nearly 18, i know im young i dont know who to go to everyone i seem to know is either fake or full of shit and i admire you so much that i thought i’d ask you.”

Got to love NPH. Legen…wait for it…dary role model.

A stream of homophobia has hit Williams College, in Williamstown on the quiet northwest corner of Massachusetts.

On November 28, a “junior advisor” in a dorm notified security that his common room was vandalized, and paint and condiments were smeared all over the floors. Phalluses and sexist slurs including the word "fag" were drawn all over the walls. No one has been held responsible, but the college’s Queer Student Union has been working with the Dean and the college co-council presidents to address the situation.

"Campus security cannot figure out if this was a targeted attack," said student activist Tracey Vichers, "but it was waved off as an act by a drunken group of kids. No one has been held responsible."

This incident has been the focus of a week-long series of forums and luncheons discussing homophobia and sexism. A building on campus called The Hardy House recently became the new Gender and Sexuality Resource Center, where students lead their peers in conversations about LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) life.

"There have been unexpected people coming to meetings and forums," said Chelsea Luptre, a student in the Hardy House. "They have been able to understand more about why homophobic slurs are hurtful."

The college says it’s working on the matter.

"I’ve been addressing these issues head on," said Justin Adkins, the college’s queer life coordinator, "I’ve been holding staff LGBT diversity training, department by department.”

But Williams College has had issues with homophobia before. It saw a rise in homophobic incidents in the 90s, students said. Then in these past few years there was an increase, Luptre said. And she experienced this first hand.

"Freshman year, this student living across from me would yell things like homo or dyke at me all the time,” Luptre said. “It really made me scared."

When a student is accused of this kind of conduct, the consequences can get serious. The school’s administrators can suspend the student or even expel them. But Vichers said most disciplinary actions never make it that far.

"Most things like that don’t even get reported," said Vichers, "In fact, most incidents don’t make it on a record."

Vichers said that sexist and homophobic incidents spike during the last few weeks before finals. This pattern occurs every year, and little is done to stop it, the student leader said. Some students think its because of the school’s “junior advisors” — similar to Resident Assistants, except they don’t answer to or work for the school. “JA’s” are elected by the students to supervise their dorms. They are given light responsibility training, but they have never been mandated to take diversity training for sexual orientations until this year. Even then, the optional lesson offered is only 45 minutes long, the students said.

Despite the recent issues, students said that they have enjoyed their time at Williams.

"It’s a very positive and accepting community," said openly gay student, Michael Semensi. “Williams draws people from all over the world, and depending on where they are from, some students might never have met a queer person before."

The Queer Student Union is trying to show that Williams College is an LGTBQ-friendly school. Now they are communicating with other schools such as Amherst College and Wellesley College to draft new measures to combat homophobia.

"With this," said Semensi, "we can expand these measures to even more schools, and create a movement to openly discuss these issues.”

I’m sick of being winked at.

Not so much in person, but online. Almost on a daily basis, I’m winked at on adam4adam, a gay dating and hookup website. On there, winking is the equivalent of "poking" someone on Facebook except ten times worse. Instead of actually sending a message, users have the option to merely express an interest. Let me rephrase that — a sexual interest.

Recently, a user  named gloryhole333 "winked," "smiled," and then "unlocked" his pictures for me after I refused to respond. If John Keats or Jane Austen were alive today, I’m sure they would have never dreamed of Internet dating or the concept of "unlocking" pictures. They were too busy writing love letters to each other. I don’t think Jane Austen could have handled seeing gloryhole333′s twelve-inch penis. I know I couldn’t.

In the gay online dating world, communication has become increasingly limited to these technological forms of intimacy. Not all gay men live in metropolitan areas, and those who don’t are reduced to using such methods for conversation, sex or even a long term relationship. But there has to be a better way for gay men to communicate with one another than digital reach-arounds.

Websites like manhunt.net and adam4adam.com offer these extra features on their websites to help users connect with each other and find the perfect mate. But these digital forms of intimacy have hurt and not helped gay men establish bonds of intimacy with one another in the online dating community.

Of course gay men could use the for-pay dating website match.com where users are able to send email-type messages back and forth to one another for a nominal fee each month. But most gay men don’t have that kind of patience. They want instant feedback. They want an instant reassurance of their intentions. They want instant sex.

A poke or a wink can avoid a tiresome conversation. You know, one that might include what the man’s job is, where he went to school, or even his name. Many gay men who use adam4adam.com and manhunt.net on a daily basis view these technological forms of intimacy as simply a means to an end. And while the online dating world is not going away anytime soon, it is frightening how this form of communication is becoming more and more acceptable in the gay dating community.

But there are the few remaining romantics left out there who do send actual messages on adam4adam.com and manhunt.net. These messages usually consist of the following lines:

"You lookin’?"

"Wanna hookup?"

"Would love to fuck you right now!"

Keats couldn’t have said it more plainly.

Ever since the existence of the "poke," this form of communication has become socially acceptable between gay men. It’s useless to get rid of websites like manhunt.net and adam4adam.com. Men will always be horny. They will always want sex. But for God’s sake guys, quit poking. Quit unlocking pictures of your dicks. I don’t care how long it is. It says nothing about who you are as a person. Send a message with substance. Be a man. Without that, we’re simply animals.

Have you found the perfect online dating site yet? Let us know in the comments section.

You may have seen the blockbuster “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.” The movie “Humpday” is nothing like that.‚ 

Both share some of the basic characteristics, however: two friends come together to make a porn movie. Both are dialogue-heavy comedies.‚  However, the gold is in the difference.‚  In “Humpday,” instead of the friends being played by two opposite sex buddies, they are played by two very heterosexual male chums.‚  Also, as much as the heavy dialogue succeeds in Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Humpday just gets bogged down in it.

The film opens at 2 a.m. when Ben (Mark Duplass) and his wife Anna (Alycia Delmore), are woken up by Ben’s bohemian, wild-man college friend Andrew (Joshua Leonard).‚ After the friends are reunited, Ben immediately loosens up his white picket fence demeanor to party hardy with Andrew.‚  Fancying themselves free-spirited and artistic, they decide to enter a film contest that is “so weird it pushes boundaries.”‚  They run with this idea, for better or worse, and decide that they should star in their own movie as two straight men that have sex together.‚  This boundary-pushing piece of art would be “beyond gay.”

With so much happening at the beginning of the film, Director Lynn Shelton leaves little of the characters to be developed as the film progresses.‚  She uses most of the good lines and events within the first 40 minutes, leaving the audience waiting for the last part of the movie.‚  This is rough particularly in a dialogue-centric movie, where the audience is not learning new things about the characters, nor does it have the events to move the plot through.

As a gay man, usually homoerotic subtexts will get me through any movie.‚  Humpday, for a movie about man-on-man porn, is charming in that is lacks any of this.‚  It is like the drunk, overweight fraternity guy, who always stands too close to you when he is talking with his shirt off.‚  In the current world of Bromance movies, (see “I Love You Man”) this movie is refreshing in that it balances the relationship between Ben and Andrew with Ben’s relationship with his wife.

Delmore, who plays wife Anna, gave the strongest acting performance in the movie. This may be due to the fact that she is given most of the best lines throughout the movie. Anna, although not directly involved in the relationship between the two men seems to be what holds the movie together, and makes it last its short 92 minutes.

The movie is believable.‚  After Ben and Andrew make the drunken, high decision to make porn, they immediately regret it the next morning.‚  However, neither of them wants to chicken out, so they both keep going along with the plan.‚  The film is great at depicting masculinity and male bonding in a humorous way, but seemed to let the audience down in terms of it being funny.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I assisted in the preparation of a fake vagina.

Specifically, I helped to cram the forty-five feet of pink and magenta fabric in the butt of a leotard so that when pulled through the legs, the “interior scroll” could then make its way out of the polka-dotted orifice and into the waiting crowd.

From there, the scroll was passed around like a beach ball at a baseball game, with the audience members laughing as they continued the circuit, making a full loop of the crowd with more fabric yet to emerge from the bespeckled birth canal of the drag queen onstage.

This is the story of Becca D’Bus, also known as Eugene Tan. This could be a superhero story “" mild-mannered Eugene ducks into a telephone booth, quickly changes outfit, and becomes invincible in his green and blue leotard. Or perhaps it could be a stage actor’s story, with the makeup and costume giving Eugene an entirely different persona. Instead, it’s a little of both. By crawling into the jungle-flavored outfit with the over-sized false vagina and 45 feet of extra fabric in the caboose, Eugene becomes Becca, drag queen and performance artist.

“It’s not about gender” Tan said of his craft. “It’s about “Ëœlet’s wear something stupid’.”

Assuming the throne

It wasn’t always about impersonating a woman for Tan “" there was a day when he was working toward a career that in comparison seems boring. There was a time when Tan was on his way to becoming an advertising copywriter.

“I had an internship in Hong Kong” Tan said, “and some ads I wrote were actually sold.” Tan, who is from Singapore originally, came to the United States for college in 2001, and September 11 was his second day of classes at Emerson College.

After he graduated in 2004 with a degree in Marketing Communications and Theater Studies, Tan began work at The Theater Offensive, a queer theater company based in Cambridge, directing a production of “A Street Theater Named Desire.” Tan, now the community engagement director, says that his drag queen beginnings resulted from trying to increase public awareness of HIV/AIDS. “It’s important that we present a diverse face of queerness, that queerness doesn’t equal gayness, and gayness doesn’t equal gay-white-maleness,” Tan said.

“I don’t think I ever grew up wanting to be a drag queen,” Tan said. “I won’t say I fell into it accidentally. I think we landed in drag quite deliberately. We landed in drag as an extension of HIV/AIDS outreach. We were trying to find a more successful way to hand out condoms.”

Tan, by his own assertion, joined the drag-iverse in a “nontraditional” way. He says that many drag queens grew up in and around the scene, going to drag nights, and finding mentors within the arena. It takes a long time for a drag queen to garner street cred.

“It seemed like the older queens showed me a lot of respect before I deserved it,” Tan said of his quick entry into the realm. “The Theater Offensive bought me some respect in that scene.” Tan got his start through Wreckage, a monthly amateur drag night at Jacque’s Cabaret in the South End. Wreckage was an offshoot drag night from Traniwreck, an all-gender drag show also held at Jacque’s.

From there, the Becca D’Bus persona expanded in 2006 to several regular drag nights, including Perestroika, and the Jaded Lounge, which she hosted. In 2008, the Jaded Lounge became Cherry, Becca’s regular fixture at Jacque’s.

Regardless of whether it’s Tan or Becca, though, there’s one rule that remains constant.

“[My parents] have seen me in person in drag. The only thing my mom could say was, ‘don’t get glitter everywhere’.”

“Becca has no skin.”

It’s a running joke among the drag queens Tan works and performs with “" Becca D’Bus has no skin. For a long time, Tan said, beneath each of Becca’s outfits was a leotard of one outrageous color or another. Becca has become more exposed lately, but flamboyance is still the status quo for her outward appearance.

Although his hair is already only a small fraction of an inch long, Tan insists he needs to shave the rest of it off “" the eye makeup he applies extends far onto his forehead, and a smooth surface makes for more even coverage.

The first step in the hour-long makeup process is to break out the hairdryer. Remember, he doesn’t have any hair to dry, but the foundation that Tan uses as the first layer in his makeup is so thick it needs to be melted before it can be applied. Dermablend Corrective Cosmetics are designed to cover up scars, birthmarks, and tattoos, and it doesn’t come off easily.

“The market is burn victims and drag queens” Tan said. “It’s thick enough that (your skin) could believably be another shade.”

From there, Tan adds contouring makeup and eyeshadow from his eyelids several inches up onto his scalp. He adds eyebrows above that, and painted-on eyelashes beneath his eyes. The lipstick is a blue and white mix for this performance, with lip liner accentuating the lips even more.

“When I started, I always did way over-sized makeup” Tan said. “I would just line my eyes and wear a half-moon of glitter. Then I started thinking of shapes.”

Becca’s outfits are a homemade effort as well. In one corner of the cluttered drag room in Tan’s North End Boston apartment hang outfits from shows past, waiting for reuse. In another corner, from the floor to the ceiling, lay bolts upon bolts of gaudy fabric, waiting to be transformed into Becca’s next leotard.

“Often I start with fabric only, but just as often it’s a specific costume (I’m designing) and then I go buy fabric” Tan said. Frequently, people tip him off about fabric sales in the Boston area, and Tan picks up whatever’s on sale. From there, he sews just about all of his outfits himself at a sewing machine perched on a crowded table.

His wigs, however, are held together more precariously. Many of the Becca D’Bus hairpieces, which rest on shelves above the door to the drag room, are composites of other wigs, held together with safety pins. One wig, a blue and green piece, is composed of seven smaller wigs.

“I try to look spectacular” he said.

An exaggeration of femininity

The performance art piece was simple. Carolee Schneeman, a feminist artist, would climb, naked, on a table, slowly extract a scroll from her vagina, and read aloud from it as she continued to pull. “Interior Scroll”, the performance was called. (This photo equals 1,000 not safe for work words.)

Tan sought to turn this familiar event in feminist history into a drag spectacle.

“If a drag queen is an exaggeration of what it means to be feminine, then what is the drag queen interpretation of the Scroll?” he wondered aloud. And the result was to make everything that much bigger and bolder.

Schneeman’s scroll was 36 inches. Becca’s was 45 feet. Schneeman got naked and up on a table. Becca shed a bathrobe and climbed atop a chair to expose her speckled fabric vagina. Schneeman read poetry aloud. Becca performed to “Material Girl.”

“I’m interested in the way a lot of pop in the last 20-30 years is written with a lot of metaphor” Tan said of his song choice. “Hollaback Girl has all this imagery… I don’t get it.” Becca D’Bus takes everything literally, though. During a performance called “Rain”, Becca sprayed the audience repeatedly with a squirt bottle.

“It’s really colorful and it’s super, super literal” he said.

Not everybody quite understood the costume, though.

“He looks like Superman, doesn’t he?” asked a cab driver as Becca loaded her gear into the back of the taxi.

“Hello, nice paint. I’m Joey” ventured one nerdy-looking MassArt student when Becca arrived at the performance hall.

Following the performance, Kate Bovitch, a friend of Tan’s from The Theater Offensive, summed up the dual personalities of Tan and Becca.

“Eugene can break into Becca when he’s not in drag. Right now he’s dressed but not playing” she said. “I think that Becca is part of Eugene. I don’t think Becca can live on her own.”

This past February 19 was the International Day of Pink, a day where people all over the world stood up to bullying, prejudice, discrimination and homophobia.

The day started a few years ago, at a Nova Scotia high school, when a teen wore a pink shirt to school. A few of his schoolmates, who assumed his choice of clothing branded him as a homosexual, ridiculed the child.

Soon after the teen’s fellow peers decided to stand up to this prejudice, and all wore pink shirts to school, in a stand against the bullies.

The day is of much importance to students especially, since many gay teens are the subject of prejudice and discrimination in both high school and university.

Outside of high school and university, there is a lot of prejudice against gays in Canadian society. For example, a big story right now is Health Canada’s strict rules that make it near impossible for gay men to donate organs.

And now, since the rules were imposed, organ donations have dropped. Health Canada claims there is no evidence that the decline is in direct relation to the rules against gay men, which many protesters refer to as the “homophobic rule.”

The rules were imposed in December of 2007, quietly, when Health Canada, without any announcements, decided that any man who had had sex once with another man in the last five years would be banned from donating organs. The board already has a rule in place that prevents a man who has had sex with another man, even only once since 1979, from donating blood.

Gary Levy, the director of Canada’s largest organ transplant program at the Toronto University Health Network said that the drop in organ donations caused deaths in Canada, up to “150″ he said.

He also said that he worked with the federal government trying to prevent the ruling, specifically telling them that it did nothing to ensure safety.

The organs aren’t officially banned, since men who haven’t had sex with another man in five years are free to donate. But that means all sexually active gay men, regardless of their HIV status, are not allowed to donate. That is certainly discrimination, especially if the director of the largest organ transplant program in Canada says these rules to nothing to ensure safety or increase it.

Standing Against Queer Discrimination, a grassroots anti-prejudice organization has taken a real issue with this ruling.

Health Canada issued a statement saying that the measures were taken to “reassure the public.”

SAQD takes particular issue with this statement, taking it as referring to gay men as a dangerous societal group.

Ridiculous rule.

Valentine’s Day is an age-old tradition; a day set aside for exchanging love with your partner via gifts or cards. ‚ Some may argue it’s another heterosexual “Hallmark” invention but according to a current poll on lesbian dating and community site PinkSofa.com, 93 percent of lesbians embrace it.

So how do most lesbians like to celebrate Valentine’s Day and what should you bestow upon your sweetheart to keep those flames burning? According to a third of the 1,700 lesbian respondents, the number one most wanted gift was a romantic weekend getaway.

If that’s out of the budget you could always consider the next two most popular wishes. Simply some loving kisses or, for something more rigorous, a full body massage with essential oils. ‚ For those more inclined in the kitchen she’d probably be content with a home-cooked candlelight dinner, an option more favored than taking her out for a meal.

If none of the above appeal your lover, you are starting to get into dangerous waters.‚  The rest of the preferences were chosen by 5 percent or less, although it seems hard to argue with their choice, ‚ who said they would love to receive a poem written just for them.

Surprisingly a dozen red roses, a champagne bubble bath or a box of chocolates are just not going to cut it. Forget the practical approach such as a hardware store gift certificate too, that will get you nowhere. And‚ don’t even surprise her with a ring, only 2 percent of women chose that option.

So, all things considered, it seems you need to save your pennies, pack the lip balm and candles, and get your maps out to start planning that weekend trip. If you combine the top four most popular Valentine desires you will be golden.

SYDNEY, Australia — Lesbian relationships in Australia received welcome recognition this November after two bills enforcing equality were passed through the Senate.‚ The amendments expanded the terms “de facto relationship”, “parent”, “step-parent” and “relative” to include same-sex couples giving them equal rights on a number of issues.

Australian Social Security entitlements, Medicare health care, tax, and employment benefits were some of the areas where gay and lesbian couples would receive equal rights.

Openly gay Labor Senator Penny Wong said her government had followed through on last year’s election promises to remove discrimination from Australian Commonwealth laws.

“They deliver, on an important day for us, on a very important election commitment”, she said.‚ ”More importantly, they will deliver the sort of equality before the law that same-sex couples have never previously experienced.”

Liberal opposition Senator George Brandis acknowledged the significance of the bills saying they would complete law reform in the area of same-sex relationships which began 40 years ago when homosexual relationships were decriminalized.‚ Senator Bob Brown, leader of the Australian Greens party and also openly gay, was not so commending.‚ While he commended the ‚ recognition of rights, he was scathing for the ‚ lack of leadership to include equality in same-sex marriage.

“Both the older parties have a task to undertake: to communicate better with the Australian community and to understand that the pressure coming from sectional groups, minority groups, to sanction marriage for all couples regardless has great public support”,‚ Brown‚ said.

A poll taken by Australasia’s largest online lesbian dating and community site Pink Sofa supported Senator Brown’s sentiments with 88 per cent of the more than 4000 respondents wanting same sex marriages legalized. Website‚ member Jenny Ball was thrilled with the outcome but also wanted more.

“This really is a milestone for the Australian Gay and Lesbian Community and is something that has been long-awaited and now brings us in line with a number of other forward-thinking countries,”‚ Ball‚ said. ‚ ”The next key step is for the government to ratify the laws that currently prevent same-sex marriage, thereby removing the final piece of discrimination and marginalization against the community”.

Marriage for same-sex couples remains on the horizon however with the Labour Government as well as the opposition parties refusing to be swayed by public opinion.

Like this is a friggin surprise.

Lindsay Lohan has officially confirmed that she is dating Samantha Ronson‚ and has been for‚ ”a very long time.”

Lohan, 22‚ told the host of syndicated radio show “Loveline” that she’s been dating she 31-year-old DJ for years.

“You guys, you and Samantha, have been going out for how long now?” the co-host, DJ Ted Stryker asked. “Like two years, one year, five months, two months?”

“For a very long time,” Lohan said after laughing.