Andrew Sullivan Barebacking Outing
Last week, Michelangelo Signorile wrote about a story that had sparked widespread Internet discussion over previous weeks but had been avoided by the mainstream press: the revelation that gay writer Andrew Sullivan, who has often criticized "lunatic AIDS activists" and "reckless" sexual practices among gay men, "had an assumed screen name on America Online with a profile that advertised for 'bareback' sex and which linked to two Web pages where he posted headless photos and his sexual tastes, one of which was on BarebackCity.com." Signorile's essay covers many questions raised by this story, including the question of whether Sullivan's private sexuality warrants public debate (which Signorile obviously concluded in the affirmative). Other news sources picked up the story after Signorile opened the floodgates. Andrew Sullivan responded to the stories on his personal site, accusing his critics of "Sexual McCarthyism."
LGNY | Andrew Sullivan (May 2001)
Salon has picked up the debate over Signorile's decision to write about Sullivan's sex life. Cliff Rothman attacked gay activists and writers using the revelations to smear Sullivan politically. Today, Signorile defends his decision to discuss the story in print. Joan Walsh groups Sullivan with the Bush daughters and ruminates on how much privacy public figures can expect. Salon also runs several letters about Rothman's story.
Salon (Jun 2001)
The letters page at Jim Romenesko's Media News has a spirited debate on the Sullivan story, including a defense of Sullivan by Dan Savage. Also, Plastic has a lengthy discussion thread on this story. (Links borrowed from Pursed Lips.)
Poynter.org | Plastic (Jun 2001)
Two good essays on the Andrew Sullivan outing, one by Andrew Kim in The Nation and another by Michael Bronski in the Boston Phoenix.
The Nation | Boston Phoenix (Jun 2001)
In this week's Village Voice, Richard Goldstein addresses
the real Andrew Sullivan scandal: how gay conservatives hostile to gay culture (he groups Sullivan with Camille Paglia in this category) have become the most prominent gay voices in mainstream media. "Like Sullivan, Paglia relies on gay-culture bashing to certify herself as an independent thinker. And like Sullivan, she thrives on the sexual backlash. These gayocons stand outside the tradition of queer humanism that runs from Oscar Wilde and E.M. Forster to James Baldwin, Tennessee Williams, and Allen Ginsberg. The moral core of this lineage -- its compassion, its critique of power, its respect for the sexual -- still informs queer culture. It is gay liberation. But this sensibility is barely visible in the liberal media." In a sidebar piece, Goldstein examines the ethics and politics of Michelangelo Signorile's outing of Sullivan.
Village Voice (June 2001)
Neal Pollack, America's greatest living writer, has started his own blog of sorts. Today's entry is a hilarious parody of the Michelangelo Signorile-Andrew Sullivan feud from last spring. (Sep 2002)
