Playing The Gay Card

Why I think Mayor Sam Adams lied.

Queer Window Sam Adams is my mayor. He is also a friend. When I saw that both The Oregonian and Just Out asked for his resignation and reported that many in the gay community wanted him out of office, too, I knew ... More

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Byron Beck

Homos, Heal Thyselves

Queer Window The election of a black man as president has proven one thing: If you believe in something that seems impossible, it can and will happen. That’s a timely lesson in the wake of several defeats la ... More

Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Byron Beck

Letter of “Tolerance”

And my pithy comments in the margins.

Queer Window Craig Myers is a surprising pen pal for me. Myers is executive director of Concerned Oregonians, the group that tried—and failed—to get a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot that would have asked ... More

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Byron Beck

Smells Like Teen Angst

Duncan Sheik talks Spring Awakening & Ma Palin.

Queer Window Duncan Sheik is the gayest straight man I’ve ever met. I grasped that the night I took the singer-songwriter on a tour of local titty bars back in February 2006. As he sat in the back of my rus ... More

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 Byron Beck

The Fairies’ Godfather

Unassuming hero raises funds for new Q Center.

Queer Window Q Center Executive Director Kendall Clawson got two things in June: a donor willing to match up to $200,000 that she could raise toward a long-overdue new home for the gay center—and a new reaso ... More

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 Byron Beck

Members Only

Unzipping the mysteries of The Big Penis Book.

Queer Window Back in the ’80s, my first encounter with a really big penis nearly made me faint. That’s actually a good thing, considering one needs to be barely conscious, or Zen-like relaxed, when dea ... More

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 Byron Beck

The Bare-ass Bartender

No shoes. No shirt. No clothes? No problem.

Queer Window Oh. My. God. I just saw Pat’s penis. The Eagle Portland, a NoPo pub that once catered to working stiffs (when it was called Porky’s) but is now home to a group of hefty, hirsute homos call ... More

Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Byron Beck

Living on Their Prayers

A Jihad for Love unveils “invisible” gay Muslims.

Queer Window For seven years, filmmaker Parvez Sharma followed a dozen devout gay and lesbian Muslims around the world. The result is A Jihad for Love, a documentary that screens at Portland’s Lesbian and Ga ... More

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 Byron Beck

Heir Waves

Making fun of Martha Stewart? It’s a good thing.

Queer Window “I hate Michael Phelps because he’s ugly,” says Alexis Stewart. “I’d hate him more if he were handsome.” The last frontier of the airwaves—satellite radio&mda ... More

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 Byron Beck

Whole Lotta La Femme

Backstage at a big-time “female” Beauty pageant.

Queer Window At 5 pm last Sunday, the Oregon Convention Center’s vast Portland Ballroom was virtually empty — except for a smallish meeting room next to it bustling with activity. That space had been t ... More

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Byron Beck