Author: johncorvino

Luther Vandross’s Glass Closet

First published July 7, 2005, in Between the Lines. Luther Vandross was the avatar of romance. Other people’s. The famed R&B singer, who died last week at 54, zealously declined to discuss his personal life, telling reporters that it was “none of your damn business.” Indeed, when his biographer Craig Seymour tried repeatedly to broach… Continue reading Luther Vandross’s Glass Closet

The New Pope: Wrong on Relativism

First published April 28, 2005, in Between the Lines. Although some people would describe me as a fallen Catholic, they’re wrong: I didn’t fall; I leapt. Still, after John Paul II’s death, I followed the papal candidates with an enthusiasm normally reserved for American Idol contestants. Eagerly I scrutinized their biographies on interactive websites, trying… Continue reading The New Pope: Wrong on Relativism

Civil Discourse on Civil Unions

First published January 20, 2005, in Between the Lines Some of the nastiest mail I receive is not from right-wing homophobes, or even bitter ex-boyfriends, but from members of our own community who think I’m not progressive enough. For example, shortly after I argued in Second Thoughts on Civil Unions that we ought to fight… Continue reading Civil Discourse on Civil Unions

It Was a Good Bad Year

First published January 6, 2005, in Between the Lines. New Year’s is a time for looking at where we’ve been and where we’re going. It’s a time for resolutions, such as “I resolve not to eat so much and spend so much during next year’s holiday season.” (Yeah, sure.) As a college professor, I tend… Continue reading It Was a Good Bad Year

Similar Unions

First published in “Between the lines” in December of 2004. On December 17 my current state of residence (Michigan) will amend its constitution to declare that “the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.” Same-sex marriage is already… Continue reading Similar Unions

Second Thoughts on Civil Unions

First published November 18, 2004, in Between the Lines. Given our losses in the last election — all eleven states with same-sex marriage bans passed them, some by a wide margin — is it time to put aside the marriage fight? You’re probably expecting me to say, “No, of course not!” But I won’t. Let… Continue reading Second Thoughts on Civil Unions

200 Million Americans Can Be Wrong

First published September 9, 2004, in Between the Lines. Gay-rights opponents are fond of noting that the majority of Americans are against same-sex marriage. This is a reasonable claim for them to make. For one thing, it’s true (although by increasingly narrow margins). Furthermore, it’s rhetorically effective. America is, in spirit if not always in… Continue reading 200 Million Americans Can Be Wrong

Nature? Nurture? It Doesn’t Matter

First published August 12, 2004, in Between the Lines One of the most persistent debates surrounding homosexuality regards whether gays are “born that way” or whether homosexuality is a “chosen lifestyle.” The debate is ill-formed from the start, in that it conflates two separate questions: 1. How did you become what you are? (By genetics?… Continue reading Nature? Nurture? It Doesn’t Matter

Is Homosexuality Harmful — and So What?

First published June 17, 2004, in Between the Lines The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or so it seems as gay-rights opponents, in a desperate last-ditch effort to win their cultural war against homosexuality, trot out arguments that have been discredited for decades. Many of these focus on the alleged harms… Continue reading Is Homosexuality Harmful — and So What?