The wonderful folks at Laughing Squid bring our attention to this handy flowchart created by comic Sam Killermann (of It's Pronounced Metrosexual) that lets you know when it's appropriate to use "gay." He notes, "Gay isn’t a bad word, folks. But it gets used that way so often people feel uncomfortable using it correctly. As much as it’d be wonderful to say that homophobia is an issue of the past, it’s not. Let’s continue reteaching our society what it means to be gay." more ›

Down in the land of flip flops and fish tacos, Harvey Milk's legacy will be honored via a new street name. San Diego will rename a street in honor of the slain gay rights leader and former San Francisco supervisor, making the southern California city the first to name an avenue after Milk. Why San Diego? According to the BAR, San Diego's queer community thinks of Milk as one of their own. "He was stationed in San Diego in the 1950s when he served in the U.S. Navy, leading local activists to recently launch a campaign urging Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to name a naval vessel the USS Harvey Milk." more ›

In light of this week's announcement that Barack Obama supports gay marriage, making him the first-ever sitting U.S. President to make such a profound statement, response to the news has been mostly positive. Even noted conservative and Hunky Jesus hater Andrew Sullivan described himself as "uncharacteristically at a loss for words," adding, "Obama did more than make a logical step. He let go of fear. He is clearly prepared to let the political chips fall as they may. That's why we elected him. That's the change we believed in." Following are other reactions to Obama's "evolved" stance on same-sex marriage. more ›

Before a winner is crowned next week on RuPaul's Drag Race, we implore you to a) you personally see to it that Sharon Needles wins the pageant, and b) buy tickets now (not tomorrow, now) for Miss Needles upcoming July 28th appearance at the Castro Theatre with icon and noted filmmaker Peaches Christ. The two will host a screening of Silence of the Lambs, the Academy Award-winning portrait of a young lesbian FBI agent who befriends an elderly British cannibal who hungers for liver and springtime beans. more ›

(By D. Hanousek) What's sexier than a good-looking, stylish gay with great hair walking down Castro pushing a stroller? I actually don't feel qualified to answer, but my gay BFF banks on this notion every chance he can get. As the most prevalent adult in my children's lives, what Charlie (the gay in question) does with my kids when he's gracious enough to babysit (as long as he's not exposing them to sex, drugs, or Divisadero dive bars) is entirely up to him. So yeah. I let my gay BFF cruise the Castro with my kids. more ›

This being San Francisco, we have a lot of gay bars — and clubs where go-go boys dance in tiny underwear, and drag shows that straight women like to go to, etc. Increasingly, gay bars have become a place that straight people accompany their gay friends to, and there are plenty of gay-owned establishments in and around the Castro (Blackbird, Qbar, Lime to name a few) that play host to a consistently mixed crowd of lesbigay and straight clientele. So, today, some important words of advice for both male and female heterosexuals who find themselves in gay bars, either by accident or on purpose. more ›

The Human Rights Campaign released financial documents today from the National Organization for Marriage (AKA NOM, the organization partially responsible for Proposition 8, California's same-sex marriage ban) that show a staggering $10,000 donation from Governor Mitt Romney's PAC prior the November election in 2008. While Romney's views on civil rights and gay marriage are not terribly surprising (as you can have surmise, the GOP presidential hopeful is staunchly against two dudes getting married), how he went about making the donation should give voters pause for concern. more ›

Two men traveling aboard a gay cruise ship in Dominica were arrested by local authorities on Saturday for participating in sultry acts of homosexuality up to and including indecent exposure and "buggery," the term used for sodomy on the island. John Robert Hart, 41, and Dennis Jay Mayer, 43, were pinched by the local fuzz after someone on the dock spotted the duo going at it on the Celebrity Summit cruise ship. more ›

Not to get all NPR pledge drive on you, but... listen up: It's safe to say that Veronica Klaus' stints at The Rrazz Room have proved to be some of the most searing, humorous and all-around tight shows we've seen on the cabaret scene. That's putting it lightly. SFist even had the pleasure of interviewing her last year before becoming a rabid fan of her work. And with that, Klaus, an award-winning R&B singer, plans to go back into the studio to record her first album of new material in seven years... with a little help from you. more ›

Sing-song voiced Stanley Roberts met his match recently during a segment for KRON 4's addictive People Behaving Badly. Filming law enforcement ticketing titularly bad drivers, one sassy law breaker sporting an Elmo t-shirt goes off on Roberts, calling him a "fat, lazy, non-relevant, non-factor ass." Among other things. He also threatens to break the camera and suggests "1-800-GET-THIN, cubby butt." more ›

A brutal gay bashing inside an Ohio high school classroom was captured on video last week. more ›

Mission Mission reports that on Friday, October 14, an alleged gay bashing incident occurred near Mission and 19th Streets. Eight men apparently jumped out of a truck and attacked four men outside of Taqueria Cancun, seriously injuring one. Via Missed Connections, here's what went down: more ›

Now that the 49ers have made a Gloria Swanson-like comeback, hordes of folks have Ped Egg'd their crusty feet in order to jump on the bandwagon. Take, for example, the gays. Many have now urged the local NFL team to create an 'It Gets Better' video for anti-gay bullying efforts. Sean Chapin, a native San Franciscan and lifelong 49ers fan, jumpstarted the petitioned. (Chapin, if you recall, got the Giants to release an "It Gets Better" earlier this year, which sparked seven more Major League Baseball teams to follow suit.) more ›

Guy Fieri (née Guy Ferry) hosts Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. It is (in)famous as one of the most unpleasant shows in Food Network history. (The Two and a Half Men of FN, if you will.) So it should come as no great shock that, according to David Page, a former producer of DDD, Ferry isn't too keen on the gays and the Jews. Allegedly. more ›

Gay? Need a job? Want a tough job that requires patience, handling weaponry, and dealing with the public at large? Well, the San Francisco Police Department will accept Q2-Entry-Level Police Officer applications beginning this Friday, August 26. If you're interested in law enforcement, head over to www.jobaps.com/sf to create an applicant account to apply for a position. The city of San Francisco will only accepting 2,500 applications. You can turn yours in as early as 8 a.m. on Friday. more ›

On Saturday night, three white males described as being in their "mid-teens" attacked a 52-year-old Santa Barbara man with a baseball bat near Market and Sanchez in the Duboce Triangle. The teens, who yelled homophobic slurs at the victim during the attack, fled with the man's keys and had not been found as of Monday evening. more ›

The weather might just be nice enough down in El Rio's lovely backyard (3158 Mission Street) just in time for the monthly Eagle in Exile Beerbust, which starts at 3 p.m. Today's event benefits Homobiles, the fabulous donation-based LGBT-friendly car service -- "Moes Gettin' Hoes Where They Need to Goes!" more ›

As the list of companies continues to climb, Cupertino-based Apple decided to yank its precious iTunes music service from noted hate group "Christian Values Network" (CVN). It all started after Western Washington University student Ben Crowthe's started a petition on Change.org going after the Stephen Baldwin- and Michael Lohan-backed group for exploiting Christianity for dastardly anti-gay and anti-woman schemes. more ›

As a friend succulently pointed out just now, "Obama just ended 'don't ask don't tell.' So much for staying in tonight." Indeed. President Barack Obama today signed a certification of Congress' repeal of the United States' antiquated ban on gay men and women from serving openly in the military. The 18-year-old Clinton-era law will officially be squashed on September 20 more ›

The future school kids of California will soon learn the valuable contributions to history by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community by reading about them in their textbooks. Yesterday, the Assembly approved a bill okaying the addition of the info to our state's textbooks, and that bill lands on the desk of Governor Jerry Brown today. more ›

On Sunday morning, thousands of people converged on Market Street to celebrate Gay Pride 2011. New York, of course, was showered with lots of West Coast love this afternoon -- if you recall, the New York GOP-controlled Senate approved same-sex marriage on Friday -- but today was all about San Francisco queer appreciation. Everyone from Mayor Ed Lee to Sen. Mark Leno to almost every mayoral candidate to a smattering of celebrities (Olympia Dukakis!) and noted scribes (Susie Bright!) to cash-hungry corporations made contingent appearances at today's big parade. more ›

Barry Zito, Sergio Romo, and Matt Cain are just a few of the San Francisco Giants who took part in the "It Gets Better" campaign, a LGBT anti-suicide project spearheaded by Dan Savage. Here's the video they shot to tell young queer teens that, in fact, being gay does get better as you grow up. more ›

San Francisco-based writer Armistead Maupin, creator of the iconic Tales of the City series, was in Australia last week for a book tour when he visited Alice Springs with his husband Chris Turner. (They were there to promote Mary Ann In Autumn, by the way.) When he and his spouse decided to take a break and hit Bojangles, billed as an "'80s saloon and dining room," things took a turn for the horrifying. more ›

Organizers of the annual Dyke March are putting out the (probably empty) threat that they might have to cancel the parade/rally this year unless someone coughs up $30,000. The march traditionally happens the Saturday evening before Pride Sunday, shortly before Pink Saturday festivities in the Castro, and it's the one occasion of the gay calendar when the ladies get to rule the roost and overtake Dolores Park, bared breasteses and all. It's been going on since the early 90s and draws a good 10,000 to 20,000 people. more ›

Members of the Lower Polk Neighbors association put the kibosh on a proposed LGBT history mural that might've brightened up some of the gray concrete near Hemlock and Polk. Reason being? The mural was too gay. According to the Bay Area Reporter, last fall local artists Helen Bayly and Aaron Bo Heimlich were tasked by the SF Arts Commission and Lower Polk Neighbors to "design a mural depicting the influence of Polk Street's Beat poet community on the LGBT movement." more ›

Yesterday, Facebook added more options to their relationship status updates. Namely, the ability to add either "in a domestic partnership" or the more separate-but-equal "in a civil union" to your personal profile. more ›

City Attorney and mayoral candidate Dennis Herrera made a "major" mistake on his campaign website. According to the BAR, the city's most fully-clothed queer print publication, here's what went down: "Rather than use the term sexual orientation, the website erred and had used the phrase 'sexual preference.' " Oops. (Unless, of course, he was referring to sex positioning preferences, in which case: kudos to you, Dennis.) more ›