Male equivalents of Agony Aunts for gay men are hard to find. The nearest we come to them is in the odd newspaper column, or gay fashion and lifestyle mags offering reassurance on health matters. Troubled teens and hesitant, closeted guys,  lacking a sensible gay friend and mentor, may want to turn to such a service.

The question being posed was put to Bet Lynch by Liz Mcdonald in a camp episode of Coronation Street. It’s always appealed to me as a funny exchange, most likely penned by a gay scriptwriter. Bet’s winning reply was:

“Well, if it does cock, I’m in ‘t bargain bucket wi’ yer.”

So here’s a gay Agony Uncle’s attempt to answer to an imaginary young crewmember’s dilemma. Read the rest of this entry »

Tattooed bad boy

As a gay man I’ve always been visually attracted to guys who might be termed the rough, the bad, and the thugly. Cinema and tv baddies, as long as they physically appealed, held my attention. Fairground guys who rode the Whip, collecting the money, tattooed heavies who lurked on street corners, teenage rebels and bad boys who sailed close to forbidden winds, sexually and emotionally transfixed me, whilst I wanted no part of their suspect and possibly violent lives.

Looking back, they’ve travelled with me, these denizens of darker subcultures, and I still crave for dominant, rougher types, though the kind who look out for me as well. So many times, when a killer or high ranking criminal has been pictured in the papers or the evening news, I’ve thought them fanciable, with a pang of guilt remembering the reality of what they had done to their victims. Read the rest of this entry »