Beam on Fire

A reader sends along one of the best columns I've read in awhile: "Gay people, give me back my stuff." The article is by Alex Beam, a fine writer and reader of Gilbert Magazine who interviewed me back when I edited that esteemed publication of cigars, wine, and early twentieth century English letters. Excerpt from column:

First they came for Judy Garland, and I understood that. She was a beautiful talent, and, like gay men and women in the day, she was perceived to be a victim of societal oppression, corruption, and indifference. Then gay people claimed Dinah Shore, and Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive," and , of course , ABBA. That still didn't bother me much, although it's hard not to sway your hips just a little when you hear "Dancing Queen" in the supermarket aisle. . . .

Yes, I know that Superman, suitor to Lois Lane and the hero of my youth, has become a gay icon. You have to admit that wearing your underwear outside your pants is going to attract a certain kind of attention. But St. Sebastian? The always-reliable online encyclopedia Wikipedia comments: "The earliest gay icon was St. Sebastian. The combination of his strong, shirtless physique, the symbolism of the arrows penetrating his body, and the look on his face of rapturous pain have intrigued artists both gay and straight for centuries, and began the first explicitly gay cult in the 19th century."