The British paper, The Independent (10/14), quotes former (conservative) prime minister, John Major, after he has been asked ‘Do you think ‘I’m gay and Tory’ [conservative] is a contradiction?’ His answer: ‘No, many people who are gay vote conservative and over our long history many who are gay have risen to prominence within the party.’ Contrast this with the comments over gayness in either large political party in this country.
The Chicago Reader (10/15) spotlights the drag troupe, the Chicago Kings. In the center of the story’s spotlight is Michelle Campbell (AKA ‘Mick Mounter’), the group’s only straight member, who is doing an autoethnographic dissertation on the Kings. (This means the researcher is studying the group she belongs to.) The article also gives a short history of the group founded as ‘a place for butch women to feel appreciated.’ Campbell says her boyfriend has no problem with her impression of a guy and the lesbians of the troupe have no problem with her heterosexuality.
The Chicago Sun-Times (10/11) reports (gossips) that ‘Joey’ star Matt LeBlanc has been accused by his driver of asking to be driven into the arms of other men, specifically hustlers. LeBlanc insists he is neither bisexual or gay even though he has plenty of gay friends.
From the ‘You-Mean-There’s-More-To-That-Relationship?’ file Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times (10/6) pokes fun at himself for not realizing that Las Vegas stars Siegfried and Roy (whose home had shots fired at it) shared a home for more than rent-sharing purposes.
Under the headline ‘The Reluctant Queen’ the Chicago Tribune (10/11) tells us of Florencia de la V. V., formerly Roberto Carlos Trinidad, one of the biggest stars of that extremely macho (and anti-gay) country, Argentina. The famous (from much self-promotion) transvestite appears nightly as Laisa Roldan in a telenovela (TV soap opera) watched by virtually all of Argentina. Singing and dancing on the show, Florencia is not playing a straight woman—she is portraying (here comes the concept) a transvestite. Not at all popular with street transvestites who are much disliked by the Argentine public—they link them with crime and violence—Florencia is extremely popular with children who sing her signature song ‘La Gata’ on playgrounds.
Paul Harvey (10/13) on WGN radio had a little item about the sudden increase of breast implants in China. Among men. Apparently this is to impress their bosses and wives. One wonders just how their impression is expressed. Harvey said only ‘My, my.’