Author Archives: Justin Shaddix

The 5 Types of People I Celebrated With After SCOTUS Struck Down DOMA (and more or less eliminated Prop 8)

This gallery contains 5 photos.

1. The Overjoyed Gay!Cheers, Tears, Lots of hugs.  TODAY EQUALITY AND LOVE PREVAIL! 2. The Grumpy Gay Myopic, Self-centered, Lonely.  Today isn’t all about you! 3. The Straight Ally Who’s Almost Happier Than Me   Supportive, Enthusiastic, Congratulatory. We’re all … Continue reading

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Rally for Peace

Hundreds already fill 13th Street outside the LGBT Center when I arrive for the rally.  The expected rainbow flags and posters stick up above the crowd with messages calling for action, calling for peace, and honoring Marc Carson who was … Continue reading

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Shorn: My Beardless Exile

I know before I start that what I’m about to do is a mistake.  Staring at my face in the mirror, I know that shaving off my beard is going decrease my subjective attractiveness and potentially lower my social capital.  … Continue reading

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Men of the City: Robert Valin, Leader of Bears

A painting of the burly character Bluto appropriately adorns the wall of Robert Valin’s Chelsea apartment where his dog, Benny, sniffs and paws at my bag.  “Do you have food in your bag?” Robert asks.  “Benny gets into a zone … Continue reading

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Fate of Equality: Waiting on the Supreme Court

The future of American society is on the edge of change.  For years proponents of marriage equality have been fighting to extend the rights and honors of government-recognized unions to queers and in the next 2 days some big decisions … Continue reading

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My Biggest Mistake

In the four years I’ve been in NYC, I’ve been through about three cycles of friends.  Not because I’m some drama queen who’s always cutting fools outta my life, but simply because in this town people come and go as … Continue reading

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The Bearded Era

Gentlemen, we are living in a glorious age of facial hair. You see beards everywhere from hip BK boys to sophisticated midtown men to the daring Harlem pioneers*.  Handsome, alluring beards of all colors and lengths adorning the chins and … Continue reading

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New Title, New Direction

After a lot of thought and consideration, I’m relaunching my blog as something a bit different than what it started out as three and a half years ago.  A lot has happened in my life, in the life of the … Continue reading

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Leathermen In The Dark

Walking southward down 8th Ave I can see the sudden darkness resting below 23rd street. My walk from parts of town farther north started in the familiar brightness and activity found in NYC streets, but as the street numbers decreased, … Continue reading

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The Shockingly Common Case of Barebacking

For most urban gay men, HIV is an omnipresent factor in life.  Between the 52% of gay men who are positive in NYC and the slew of benefits/fundraisers/message points that fill social calendars and Facebook feeds, even the casual observer … Continue reading

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