BEEFCAKE: The Ripped Congressman's Men's Health COVER!

Aaron Schock, of Illinois

SEX: Northwestern Drops Live Orgasm Demo Class!

You can forget about applying to Northwestern now. University officials have decided to drop the school's class on sexuality in the wake of the brouhaha that erupted after students watched a naked woman enjoying a vibrator, reports the Chicago Tribune. The demonstration was presented after class, and attendance was optional. Northwestern president Morton Shapiro said that after 32 years in academia "I thought I had seen everything. I hadn't." He emphasized that while professors have academic freedom, they must also act responsibly.


"You don't have a right without a responsibility," he said. "Where is the line? We have all been considering that." Teacher J. Michael Bailey, who had taught the sexuality class since 1994, has expressed regret for the "effect that this has had on Northwestern University's reputation." But he still insists the demonstration was "relevant" to his course. It might be too soon for Northwestern officials to relax. Bailey will next be teaching a class entitled "Dangerous Ideas."

HEALTH: Aging LGBT People face increased risk of mental illness!

Wallie Hall was essentially alone in the world after his partner died about seven years ago. He and his partner hadn’t gone out much, so he didn’t have any acquaintances to spend time with in Chicago, he said. He also wasn’t in the best physical shape. He felt isolated,  according to Northwestern University.

“I was considerably overweight,” Hall said. “I had no friends.”

The 69-year-old Lakeview resident has since lost about 100 pounds and formed friendships that have improved his mood.

The problems Hall faced are a significant concern for aging LGBT adults. Getting older can be difficult, especially for people who are isolated. Aging members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are especially at risk for mental health issues, due to the impact of societal stigma and a greater likelihood of living alone.

POLITICS: Did Chicago LGBT leaders help fuel Rahm’s win?

The 2011 citywide elections are a signpost of evolution in Chicago’s powerful arena of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender politics. There is a rift in that community, exposed by the firing of gay activist Rick Garcia, the longtime public policy director for Equality Illinois, writes Laura Washington in Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago’s LGBT leadership went all out for Rahm Emanuel, angering some veteran grass-roots activists such as Garcia, who relishes a political street fight. They argue the LGBT establishment is in the bag for the mayor-elect, and suggest that once in office, Emanuel may not return the favor. The rabble rousers, however, are a vocal minority.

The LGBT establishment players and their cash helped fuel Rahm Emanuel’s Feb. 22 victory. And their vote surely spurred the election of James Cappleman in last week’s 46th Ward runoff election, adding a second openly gay alderman to the Chicago City Council.

In the 44th, 46th and 48th wards, Emanuel racked up about 74 percent, 70 percent and 68 percent of the vote respectively. Those three North lakefront areas are home to most of the city’s LGBT voters.

OUTscene AMERICA: Gay Cabaret gives affirmative voice to Chicago LGBT youth!

Jerry Miller seriously contemplated suicide when he was 15 years old. "I was filled with shame, guilt and self-hate for being gay," said the Minister of Fine Arts at Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church in Oak Park. Miller's life was saved by a compassionate youth minister. Forty-five years later, he saved the life of another teen in the same situation.

The recent rash of suicides by gay teens has Miller alarmed. He doesn't want other young people to be ashamed of their sexual orientation. That is why Passion Theatre, which he founded at his church, is presenting "Darkest Before the Dawn: A Gay Cabaret."

"I wanted an affirming word to be said about LGBT people," Miller said. The 17 performers in the show include gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and straight people. "Most chose their own material," he said. "Basically, it's a showcase of their talent."

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John D'Emilio on pleasure and danger in Chicago!

Out gay historian and professor John D'Emilio recently presented a talk on his prospective new book. The event, titled "Love and Sex, Pleasures and Dangers in the Windy City," took place at the Institute for the Humanities of the University of Illinois at Chicago March 2, Windy City Reports.


Speaking to an room overflowing with attendees, D'Emilio began by noting that this project is a significant departure for him because his previous work has focused on social movements (Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America) or activists with a global reach (Lost Prophet: Bayard Rustin and the Quest for Peace and Justice in America), whereas this one will take up a very local topic by focusing on Chicago. He said that he was drawn to this project while trying to come up with a short survey text for students four years ago and looking for material from which to draw examples of Chicago history to illustrate larger points about the gay and lesbian movement in the United States.

Instead, he said he "kept seeing things about gay and lesbian history in Chicago that looked different from what people were writing when they wrote about San Francisco or New York or L.A. I kept finding things beyond 1950-2000 [the time period he had limited himself to] that were too fascinating to ignore." For instance, he found that Chicago declared war against syphilis in 1937. He also discovered a trove of material in the pages of the historically Black newspaper, The Chicago Defender, about female impersonators on the South Side in the 1930s. To his surprise, he said, their stories were not presented as those of "exotic, underground, illicit phenomenon," as might be expected given the time period. Instead, the paper reported on these men as figures of which the larger community could be proud.