75 posts categorized "BLOGS"

Nov 07 2018
Boy Culture Turns 13 Comments (0)

6a00d8341c2ca253ef019b00b67803970d-550wiWelcome to the (Boy) Culture wars!

It blows my mind to realize that Boy Culture is now 13 years old — it turned 13 on November 6.

I am naturally technophobic; I avoided the computer classes that started just as I was entering high school, preferring to focus on more useful fare like British Tradition. (So glad I at least forced myself to sweat through my O.P. tops in the somewhat related typing class, which proved to be the most useful course I ever took.) Therefore, when I decided I should launch a blog to keep my writing skills from rusting over and to add my voice to the world, it was a challenge for me to figure out how to create one, and what it should or could be.

The first blogs I remember seeing were Towleroad and Page Six Six Six aka Perez Hilton, and I didn't even totally grasp how to read them at first. Visually, it was confusing. Content-wise, I of course cottoned to Towleroad, but Perez made me queasy — how were so many typos okay? (How are so many typos okay to this day for TMZ?)

I can still remember the joy I felt when I figured out how to post, how to upload an image and how to embed a video. I remember every time a post blew up, bringing in hits and new readers. I remember the longtime commenters, the trolls, the (not-exaggerating) stalkers, the anti-gay gays, the friends I met in person after they discovered my blog, the spam and the never-ending (and validating!) pitches and free tickets and photographers' snaps of half- or all-naked male models that I was sent and told to use at my discretion.

I've used Boy Culture to express myself, to help express others and to connect to people internationally. Have I built a brand? Maybe a very small one.

I've used it to show off my humor (both high and low), to flaunt my obsessions, to reality-test my sexual diversions and perversions, to laud the art I love, to lash out against the enemies of gay people and to broadcast my admiration for Madonna. Unfortunately, I've also had to spend time debating a long list of pathetically time-worn topics, everything from what free speech is, whether gay people should be expected to be liberal, why people who do not identify as racists can still do racist things, why it's okay to take photographs of people in public without their permission, why flamboyant gay people are not why homophobes hate us and many more. It gets exhausting, and I think it's a microcosm of why people get very concerned about their lawns as they age — they're sick and tired of engaging in the same debates over and over with new cycles of citizens.

I've used my blog to help me gather Kickstarter funds for my Encyclopedia Madonnica: 20th Anniversary Edition, and I will also shortly be announcing how to order my next book, MLVC60. It was very helpful in raising money for Boy Culture: The Series (which is shot and will soon be edited).

In spite of all these things, positive and negative, the blog has faced and continues to face some serious existential challenges. I was once part of a blogging network, earning a small but worthwhile amount of money each month from Google and other ads. Because I've always kept things on the verge of racy, this led to my expulsion from that network, and to a ridiculously unfair banning by Google AdSense that was, in part, the fault of my not being forwarded the exact image Google objected to, resulting in the image staying up for over a year. By the time I'd removed it, Google AdSense had apparently lifetime-banned me — and there is no way to get any representative to explain why or to offer any insight as to whether making changes could lead to my being welcomed back. Losing that sum of money every month year after year has been a drain, and it doesn't help that I still encounter people who earnestly believe this blog is my day job and primary means of support.

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Nov 20 2017
WOW! Boy Culture Nominated For A WOWIE! Comments (0)

WOWIES-1I'm so grateful to James St. James and everyone at World of Wonder for nominating Boy Culture in the category of Best Blog or Website AKA The Dear Electronic Diary Award.

Please Vote for Boy Culture Now!

I'm very proud to be in such esteemed company. NewNewNext is a fully staffed, fully functioning LGBTQ blog, Paper and Paste and Billboard are also legit sites attached to imposing brands. Huffington Post is one of the top news sources on the planet. Teen Vogue has been killing it this year with incisive political coverage. Hello Giggles I'd never heard of until now, but it's an elaborate blog with many contributors.

I'm. One. Guy.

So I'm extra-grateful for the good company!

 
Nov 06 2017
YouTube & I: Boy Culture's Greatest Video Hits Comments (0)

6a00d8341c2ca253ef01b7c77ba47c970b-550wi-1(Image by Matthew Rettenmund)

My YouTube account is waiting for you to subscribe!

In honor of Boy Culture's 12th anniversary, check out my Top 10 best-performing YouTube videos ...

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Aug 11 2017
Please Support Your Local Blogger Comments (0)

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Click here to support me — every pledge helps as we get closer to 50%!

 
Aug 10 2017
BoyCulture.com Now MUCH Easier To Navigate On Mobile! Comments (0)

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Just letting you know — changes I've made on the site should be resulting in a smoother experience for you, especially on mobile. Always feel free to let me know your thoughts!

 
Aug 07 2017
Check Out Flagrant, A New Gay Blog Comments (0)

Screen Shot 2017-08-07 at 11.40.52 AM(Image via Facebook)

New gay blog alert: Flagrant. They generously supported Boy Culture: The Series!

 
Jun 08 2017
Happy 10! Comments (0)

Unnamed(Image by Sergio Cyrillo/Cia 11 Estúdio for pop ao cubo)

Brazilian blog pop ao cubo is turning 10 with this shoot of model Samuel Oliveira. More here.

Congrats!

 
Feb 28 2017
Comfy Culture: Queerty Offers 10 Queer Movies To Get You Through The Trump Years Comments (0)

TblNUYn(GIF via NeoFight Film)

Lovely that David Reddish, writing for Queerty, has included Boy Culture (2006) in his list of “10 comforting queer flicks to soothe the soul in a discomforting time.”

Many people don't realize I wrote a novel called Boy Culture that later became a movie, a movie I helped promote by launching this blog.

Reddish writes:

Q. Alan Brocka directed this adaptation of Matthew Rettenmund’s novel about a hooker with a heart of gold. Boy Culture doesn’t play like the gay version of Pretty Woman, however. In fact, it smashes the Cinderella nonsense of that film precisely by introducing a set of realistic characters, led by X. As played by Derek Magyar, X makes no apology for his questionable line of work. On the contrary, he seems to feel more shame for being part of a love triangle with his two hottie roommates, Andrew and Gregory. With a multi-racial cast and a melancholy backdrop of Seattle, Boy Culture unfolds less as a gay film about sex than a thoughtful drama about finding love in an oversexed world. For a queer audience, Boy Culture surpasses the fairytale silliness of most romantic comedies—gay or straight themed—with believable characters and some real introspection.

Time for a sequel.