Austin Allan: Winner: 2008 Nightlife Coverboy of the Year Proves Facial Hair is Sexy

Austin Allan: Winner 2008 Metro Weekly Nightlife Coverboy of the Year

Austin Allan says he’s not at all the same person he was 10 years ago. ”I don’t even know that person anymore,” he says with a laugh.

The 28-year-old Allan doesn’t look like him, either. During an interview in the tidily kept room he rents in a spacious and beautiful Mount Pleasant brownstone, he presents his original passport photo. The now always short-cropped, auburn-haired knockout used to let his thick, naturally curly hair grow. For his college ID, he even bleached it.

”Tragic,” he laughs.

Austin Allan: Winner: 2008 Nightlife Coverboy of the Year: Click Here to see more of Jeff Code’s photographs.

Sexualized Hazing and Bullying a “National Phenomenon” Fostered by Oppressive Environments

If you really know me, you realize I don’t really hang out with straight people. It’s not that I have a problem with them. I just don’t understand straight men much of the time, and stories like the “Sexualized Hazing” at an Arizona Cheesecake Factory show why.

I am very uncomfortable with straight men acting gay. I don’t mean putting on a lisp or something stereotypical like that. I mean straight guys making intense specific “joke” sexual moves on another guy. I guess to me a sexual move is for real. So if you are manhandling me, you better expect me to handle your man handle, if you know what I mean. But most of the time, that’s not really what is intended and a straight guy who realizes you really are gay thinks you’re a freak for actually enjoying the things he fantasizes about. I prefer to just ignore these mixed signals and hang out with gay people mostly. At least you have some clue where they stand.

I used to work in a restaurant in Philly, and quite honestly I miss the sexualized atmosphere. Yes, we all joked with one another. Half of the male waitstaff was gay. There was a bunch of teasing in the back of the house, but nothing quite like the kitchen initiation rituals going on at the Cheesecake Factory. This was insane.

“About 10-plus cooks and dishwashers shut the lights out,” Fitzpatrick recalls. “A guy grabbed me from behind and made me put my butt on top of his genitals.”

One cook grabbed Fitzpatrick’s right leg and held it up in the air. Another held his left leg. Two other men grabbed Fitzpatrick’s arms.

“A cook would stand in the middle and rub his genitals into my genitals,” Fitzpatrick said.

During his tenure at the restaurant, he suffered the attacks more than 20 times, he said. In interviews with The Arizona Republic, two other former employees of the restaurant chain described being similarly grabbed and held down by co-workers while men simulated sex with them.

Employees whom police interviewed described the incidents as “dogpile, initiation, joke, kitchen games, hazing, manhandling, horseplay and normal joking activity among Hispanic cooks.”

Hazing of a sexual nature is not uncommon. Dr. Susan Lipkins, a psychologist from Long Island, N.Y., and an expert in conflict and violence, describes “sexualized hazing,” including sodomy, as a national phenomenon. But it’s more commonly found among high school and college athletics or in fraternal organizations such as the military or law enforcement.

Annie Lyles of Prevention Institute in Oakland, CA, talks about this kind of environmental behavior and how it is easily stopped by a few choice word, or prevented by policies and culture:

AZ Central: Bystanders can deter bullying

“One of the interesting parts about this situation (at Cheesecake Factory) is the connection between bullying, male violence and bystanders,” she said. “Having an environment that has norms where people are respected in the workplace prevents things like this happening.”

Research shows that if a bystander says something, bullying generally stops within 90 seconds and doesn’t recur, she said.

“There are all sorts of amazing research about the power of the bystander and the power of supervisors to really set standards,” Lyles said. “In this case, there was a key opportunity for a bystander to support the individuals who were being persecuted, really. That’s a huge failure of the environment.”

Every culture has aspects of violence as well as aspects of respect, she said.

“It’s easy to say this was cultural, but there are plenty of people of Mexican descent who are not violent,” she said. “In terms of why would men do this, I would say when there’s an environment that allows and fosters one group to oppress another, that environment lets it grow.”

Day Without a Gay Makes Little Impact

Really, this was predictcable. Do we really think we can shut down businesses by calling in sick? I am one in a few hundred at my job. Even if the few LGBT co-workers I have would have called off, it simply would have been no big deal, and the only person who would have seen the impact would have been the receptionist.

Surely there are better ways we can rally than taking a day off from work!

The Associated Press: Day to `call in gay’ finds few willing to strike:

In San Francisco’s gay Castro district, residents and merchants said they endorsed the message behind “Day Without a Gay” but didn’t think a work stoppage was practical given the poor economy and the strike’s organization.

“If we are going to make a huge impact and not be laughed at, then we have to take the time and make the time to communicate with all the parties. We could have shut down a lot of the hotels,” said David Lang, a gymnastics coach. “In theory it’s a great idea, but it’s being done wrong and now that it’s been done wrong, I don’t think it will be done again.”

‘Milk’ Actors and the People they Play

Here is a great quick read on the actors in “Milk,” including a text message from Madonna.

‘Milk’ actors and the people they play.

Sean Penn’s transformation into Harvey Milk may amaze moviegoers – even close associates of Milk’s, such as his former aide Cleve Jones, say the resemblance is uncanny – but “Milk” is no documentary. Here is a side-by-side chart of the actors and the people portrayed, with some fact-checking help from Jones, who served as a consultant on the film.

Sean Penn: The 48-year-old award-winning actor and sometime Chronicle contributor who lives in Marin County has not shied away from politics in his personal life, making his role as Milk a natural fit. He is rumored to have text-messaged his former wife, Madonna, after kissing actor James Franco, who told Out magazine that Penn wrote, “I just popped my cherry kissing a guy. I thought of you. I don’t know why.”

‘Day Without a Gay’ Rally in Chicago: More from Stonewall 2.0

‘Day Without a Gay’ rally pushes for gay marriage — chicagotribune.com:

School administrator Michael Wright was one of nearly 100 people who called in sick or took time off Wednesday to join the “Day Without a Gay” protest outside the Cook County Building.

Protesters carried rainbow flags or hand-lettered signs—Wright’s read “Don’t Tread on Me”—as part of the national rally day, a reaction to California’s voter-approved ban on gay marriage last month.

Supporters were asked to call in sick and not buy anything Wednesday in an attempt to demonstrate the gay community’s economic impact.

Some people scoff at celebrities when they come out of the closet, but I realize that it is a huge step for many of them, at least in their own minds. They think the public only knows this closeted persona, and are afraid they will be rejected if everyone knows who they really are. Imagine if you wanted to come out of the closet but doing so meant everyone would read about it in tabloid news and see clips on “Entertainment Tonight.” Are you willing to expose your deepest desired to the world like that?

So when George Takei came out, I was so proud of him. And he’s really gone gung-ho about it too. His old persona as a Star Trek rerun has been supplanted with one with self-depreciating humor and bold-faced LGBT activism, using his life in the entertainment spotlight as an opportunity to help make a better world for future generations. Everyone’s favorite swashbuckling Star Trekker is inspiring to people who have discovered that we still need LGBT activism from the ground up.

Rickie Magallano, 29, held a sign reading “You’re making George Takei sad, too!” that included a picture of himself—in “Star Trek” attire—with the openly gay former “Star Trek” star. He said he was inspired to fight for gay rights after meeting Takei at a convention.

Fenty Again Says Bars Open All Night Inauguration Weekend

The residents of the District are beginning to sense just what a circus this whole weekend is going to be. With the bars open all night during inauguration weekend, DC will be like Mardi Gras but without drunk people flashing body parts for plastic beads.

Mayor Fenty: I Will Sign Law to Extend Bar Hours

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) reiterated his intention to sign the legislation approved by the D.C. Council last week that would allow bars and nightclubs to serve alcohol until 5 a.m. and stay open all night from Jan. 17-21. This despite the objections of Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Bob Bennett, along with the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, who’ve sent protest letters to the mayor and other city leaders.