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Searching for Pride in My Life
22 June 2022
Searching for Pride in My Life
I spent nearly three decades of my life sexually involved with other guys, and even longer than that attracted to them, and in all that time I never once considered Pride Month or attending any Pride parades or events. Part of that thinking is because I was raised in the South in the 60's and 70's, and in the Black community particularly acting like a homosexual was strictly taboo. Gay men would either stay on the down-low or be total flamers because they didn't care what people thought. I was the former, someone on the
by Michael Jeremiah Black
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The Pride of Surviving My Youth
16 June 2022
The Pride of Surviving My Youth
Who was it that said Pride is a celebration of having survived? I can certainly relate to that. I don't know who said it before Ryan did, but I'm processing Pride with new eyes and new appreciation this year, and hopefully for the rest of my life. Recognizing the blessing, even the miracle, that I'm still alive. Indeed, I could have died years ago because of my
by Thomas Mark Zuniga
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Did Internalized Homophobia Block Me from Brotherly Love?
8 June 2022
Did Internalized Homophobia Block Me from Brotherly Love?
Phillip Henry died yesterday at 29 years of age. That was the short, somber text message on my phone. No! Not Phillip! I thought. He was such a close friend. That last thought was only a half-truth. My friendship with Phillip had only just begun, and I'd had such hopes for it. Now, he was
by Guest Author
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Your Other Sisters: Will it be a Thing?
1 June 2022
Your Other Sisters: Will it be a Thing?
As shared on our most recent YOBcast, we are indeed exploring the possibility of birthing a literal sister site – Your Other Sisters. Like YOB, YOS would be a storytelling community of Jesus-followers committed to a traditional sexual ethic, just geared more toward women. A place to navigate matters of femininity along with faith and
by YOB
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Living on the Rainbow Spectrum: A Queer History Poem
25 May 2022
Living on the Rainbow Spectrum: A Queer History Poem
Though we hold certain theological convictions as queer or "Side B" Christians, I was recently reminded we share much history and experience with the greater LGBTQ+ community – which shapes and influences our own lives and experiences. Things are better now than they were sixty years ago, but abuse by religious and secular societies still exist. There is more work to be
by Ben Rutkowski
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Loved by God – Even When I Can't Relate
18 May 2022
Loved by God – Even When I Can’t Relate
Who am I? This could be a question for self-edification or self-deprecation. A question answered with set shoulders and proud confidence, or a rhetorical question asked to oneself at the depths of loneliness and despair. The best way I have determined to answer that question is I am...loved by
by Guest Author
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The First Guy I Fell In Love With, and the Path Forward with Touch
12 May 2022
The First Guy I Fell In Love With, and the Path Forward with Touch
He's the guy who has clarified my boundaries with cuddling and physical touch more than any other. The guy from whom I've sought comfort in touch more than any other. The guy who has made me feel seen and warm and laugh and cry like no other. He's the first (and to this point, only) guy I've fallen in love
by Thomas Mark Zuniga
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Adrift as a Child or a Man
6 April 2022
Adrift as a Child or a Man
I still have that Link costume somewhere in my closet. Perhaps it's the wandering through the woods that I love, the isolation, the music; or, perhaps it's something deeper that has stuck with me after all these years. Perhaps it's that I feel like the protagonist: adrift in time, unsure whether I'm a child or a man. This is how I feel as I move back into my childhood bedroom – the place where my sexual trauma
by Christopher
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Gay vs. SSA: The Ultimate Sexuality Label Debate
30 March 2022
Gay vs. SSA: The Ultimate Sexuality Label Debate
You're probably reading this thinking, "Oh boy, Eugene is going to settle this debate once and for all on which label is the right one to use!" Nope, that's not the case at all. The simple fact is that both sexuality labels have their benefits, but both are simultaneously problematic. I want to look at both labels and weigh the pros and cons of
by Eugene Heffron
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Cast Out of the Church for Being Gay
4 March 2022
Cast Out of the Church for Being Gay
That was the third church to turn me away for being gay, even though I had never done anything inappropriate with anyone in the church. At that point, I was done! Done with God, done with Christians, done with church, done with praying, and done with the Bible. I threw every Bible I owned into a dumpster and decided to embrace a gay life even more than I had done previously. For four years, I had sex with as many guys as I could and didn't care. In my mind, since God and the church didn't care about me, why should
by Michael Jeremiah Black
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