Why Is Angels In America Still The Most Prominent Story Being Told About AIDS?

There is no denying that Tony Kushner’s play “Angels in America” is a profound work of art, but on the eve of yet another production (a Broadway run), Steven Thrasher raises a significant and frankly troubling question: as the play is (largely) filtered through the lens of white gay men, how many millions of experiences from gay people of color have been hidden from mainstream sight?

Source: BuzzFeed
Published: Mar 30, 2018
Length: 9 minutes (2,288 words)

Maybe I Do And Maybe I Don’t

Steven Thrasher has been named the 2012 National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association journalist of the year. After gay marriage was legalized in New York last year, he followed two same-sex couples who finally earned the right to consider whether or not they wanted to get married:

“‘We never did this saying, “We’re going to go out and marry right away,” ‘ Howard says. ‘We won the right. Now, we have the choice.’

“Besides: ‘I was waiting for Kevin to bring it up.’

“Kevin hears this and replies, ‘Really? That’s interesting,’ without adding more.

“It turns out that although same-sex couples now have 1,324 new legal benefits in New York State, there are actually some big economic incentives for Kevin and Howard not to wed. Kevin receives state insurance for his disabilities, and marrying Howard would end that. While it would allow Kevin to go onto Howard’s insurance plan, the co-payments for the drugs and procedures he needs could be prohibitive.

“This is exactly the kind of conundrum cohabitating straight couples of certain means have had to face from time to time.”

Source: Village Voice
Published: Aug 10, 2011
Length: 18 minutes (4,542 words)

America’s Top Heathen

Halloran was no garden-variety pagan. He was the “First Atheling,” or prince, of his own Theodish tribe, called New Normandy. He had “thralls” who swore their allegiance to him. He didn’t just spend weekends reconstructing the religious activities of the pre-Christian Norse and Germanic gods—he led his flock, about 100 people at its height, in their polytheistic celebration of the gods (plural). They’d gather for “blot” (sacrifice and feast), “sumble” (“boast and toast of the gods”), and play games that, to the outside eye, looked like something from Dungeons & Dragons or a Renaissance fair.

Source: Village Voice
Published: Nov 30, 2011
Length: 17 minutes (4,363 words)

Hosed: FDNY’s Black Firefighter Problem

There’s no question that there is something very wrong with how the FDNY adds new employees. For nearly 40 years, various courts have issued injunctions to correct the miserable record of non-white hiring. New York’s fire department may, in fact, be the whitest large institution run by a major city in the United States. Your chance of becoming a firefighter in New York if you aren’t white, Irish, or Italian, and come from a family of firefighters has traditionally been very slim.

Source: Village Voice
Published: Dec 15, 2010
Length: 17 minutes (4,495 words)

Bad Lieutenant, Dan Choi

Choi, 29, became the face of the movement against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” But it isn’t just getting kicked out of the military that irks him. He’s also not happy about being kicked off Grindr — four times.

Source: Village Voice
Published: Oct 27, 2010
Length: 19 minutes (4,855 words)

White America Has Lost Its Mind

The white brain, beset with worries, finally goes haywire in spectacular fashion

Source: Village Voice
Published: Sep 29, 2010
Length: 14 minutes (3,736 words)