"Meltdown". That's one word a friend used when describing the trans-centric squabbling over the ENDA. Politicians, lobbyists and journalists have been debating over whether or not transgendered people should be included under ENDA, which could forbid discrimination based on perceived or actual sexual orientation and gender identity. A test vote showed that the majority of politicians objected to the trans-inclusion. Under such pressure, openly gay Representative Barney Frank, who co-sponsored the inclusive ENDA draft, slipped into acquiescence. To keep the bill above water, Frank effectively split ENDA in two: one version protecting gays and another for trans folk. They're now floating alone in an ocean of inequality.

Our government - and much of our culture - deny transgenders their rights because, quite frankly, they can't understand the trans's existence. Our culture does not have mechanisms to deal with "gender deviants." Trannies are a threat to our nation's very foundations. The Alliance Defense Fund's Doug Napier said the law will "strike at the very heart of our American liberties." He must be using the word "liberties" liberally. Napier's not alone, of course. Millions of people - gay and straight - simply cannot muster the imagination to consider trans folk equal. What's more, we have no use for trans people. And, as contributor Dan Avery and editor Andrew Belonsky assert, the American stonewall against trans rights goes much further than 1974 - and even our borders. "Trans" populations exist all over the world and crop up in seemingly unlikely locales, like Iran.

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A recent issue of gay monthly Out pondered whether or not we live in a post-gay world. In that issue, which featured sexually ambiguous Mika on the cover, editor Aaron Hicklin lamented the gentrification of formerly gay ghettos like Fire Island's pines:

It would be a horrible irony if the communities and beach resorts that once subverted society's mores and pieties ended up feeling as privileged and alienating as the culture they were reacting against.

From there, the issue as a whole examined the relevance of sexuality in a fairly gay friendly popular culture. Do we need to be here and queer? The answered seemed to be no. In our discussion of that issue, we wrote, "Gay may not be the war cry it once was; in fact, there may be no war cry." Sexuality in America seems to be more malleable, hence a post-gay world.

New Genre EIC Neal Boulton unabashedly borrows Hicklin's idea in his editorial for the revamped glossy.

Labels aside, like any American, I like what Americans like. I like a hot car…I want to have a hot body… and I want a walk-in closet full of hot clothes… And sex. Can anyone really ever get enough? Sorta sounds like everyone else on the planet, doesn't it?

Boulton goes on to chide unnamed men's magazines that cater to gays, but refuse to acknowledge their queer readers. He concludes:

…A lot of these magazines just need to come out. Until then there is Genre, the new magazines for every man - proud of being gay. The magazine for the American - who isn't ashamed of anything - G, L, B, or T.

Gentlemen mark your calendars and join me in ringing in a post gay America.

Boulton's proclamation may come three months after Hicklin's, but the idea remains the same: American gays have entered a new era. The men and their magazines, however, have very different opinions on that era's landscape.

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Sweden's rapidly making up for ABBA and other lackluster musical acts. The Nordic country's brought us many an aural favorite, such as soft-voiced El Perro del Mar, the playful Suburban Kids With Biblical Names and, yes, lovesick Jens Lekman.

Above you'll see Lekman singing "I'm Lost," which happens to have been written by Arthur Russell, who we featured last week.

Of course, Lekman's more than a cover artist - and he's got a new album to prove it. In celebration of the 25-year old's fresh full-length, Night Falls Over Kortedala: A Collection of Recordings from 2004-2007, we dispatched Queerty contributor Joey Hood for a little heart-to-heart. Read the results, after the jump…

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As part of The New Issue, we've asked a handful of homos to list their last five purchases. We've already seen what artist Tobaron Waxman's been buying, so now we're taking a look at another queer mover and shaker: Mark Simpson's (pictured familiarly).

No doubt journo Simpson has left an indelible mark on popular culture. Who hasn't used the now-tired term "metrosexual," or it's younger, spunkier brother, "sporno"?

Considering his impact, we figured Simpson spent his dough on diamonds, furs and other fabulous rich bitch baubles. We were wrong.

Simpson's purchases are far more practical. And his explanations teach us an important lesson: Simpson's a slut.

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Eliot Schrefer may be one of America's next great writers. Only 28-year old, the Harvard graduate just released his second novel, The New Kid.

An exploration of estrangement, elation, sex and sin, The New Kid offers the reader two half-siblings: Humphrey and Gretchen. The bulk of the novel revolves around their respective struggles - Humphrey's attempts to adapt in his new Floridian town and the last gasps of Gretchen's relationship. The final third brings them together in a surprisingly suspenseful climax. As a whole, Schrefer's stark prose delves into the perils of universal alienation.

Our editor recent caught up with Schrefer for a chat. See what the boys had to say about teenage objectification, S&M and why Schrefer thinks it's alright to be bored.

After the jump, of course…

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Former Queerty feature subject Robert Richards sketched this lovely original piece to raise money for charity.

After much consideration and conversation, Mr. Richards decided that he'd like all the proceeds to go to Visual AIDS, a non-profit that uses art to raise HIV/AIDS awareness. We think that's a swell idea, so we've just posted the 14" x 17" piece on eBay, started bidding at a measly $50.00 and are asking you guys to bid like lives depend on it.

Because, quite frankly, they do.

An unsung hero of aural innovation, Arthur Russell began making musical waves in the early 1970s. Fresh to New York from Iowa, by way of San Francisco, Russell threw himself into the burgeoning downtown music scene. Collaborating with the likes of Phillip Glass, Allen Ginsberg and David Byrne, Russell collapsed the barriers between classic and dance. His cello and synthesizer made beautiful music. No matter how experimental and heady, however, Russell's sound remains remarkable accessible. It's as fit for the disco queen as for the theorist.

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The seasons they are a changin'. Time to put that old summer fling on the shelf and find a new love for the fall. We're not good at that sort of thing, so we thought we'd ask the rapping ladies of Northern State - Spero, Sprout and Hesta Prynn (pictured above with Murray Hill) - for a little romantic advice. And, miraculously, they agreed.

We sent special correspondent Joey Hood out on the town with the lyrical ladies to get some game. Hood suggested Therapy's weekly Psycho Babble where he planned to "drown" his "singledom sorrows in a couple glasses of raspberry vodka spiked with a splash of Coke". Poor thing.

Prynn, Sprout and Spero had a better idea, “We should meet at the Rodeo Bar, because what’s gayer than a bunch of Brokeback cowboys?” There are gayer things, but we're totally down.

In addition to dispensing invaluable advice, the ladies gave us an exclusive remix of "Iluvitwhenya".

Check it out - and read what Hood wrote - after the jump!

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Dark Alley Media's first foray into controversial cinema brought us Gaytanamo, a gleeful mockery of the government's war on terror and the Guantanamo prisons.

Now the mischievous movie makers are dipping their toes into the wild world of religion. And, not surprisingly, they're going to get some shocks, gasps and, hopefully, moans.

James Withers chats with director Matthias Von Fistenberg to get to the bottom of the newly released video, after the jump…

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It all started a few weeks back, when we wrote on Sydney's Drag Industry Variety Awards. Always curious about the queers, our straight pal Cord Jefferson of Mollygood mused, "I've always wondered what I'd look like as a woman." We made his dreams come true…

We're not good with makeup, so we called living legend Miss Understood and old (old!) friend Adrian L. Acosta to transform Cord Jefferson into Princess Cordless.

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Gay author Rupert Smith got his journalistic start interviewing celebrities and writing about show business. Unsatisfied - and somewhat disgusted - with the glitz, glamor and lies, Smith retreated from the celluloid circuit.

He may have given up chopping up bigwigs, but the author didn't leave it all behind. In his novel, I Must Confess, Smith offers a hilarious send-up of celebrity memoirs, homosexuality in Hollywood and inflated egos.

Though publishing in Britain back in 1998, I Must Confess has just made its US debut. We dispatched Paul Florez to pick Smith's brain.

Read what Smith had to say about celebrity culture, coming out, Jodie Foster and why the main character's voice came so easily…

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"I was wearing a cowboy shirt in the right place at the right time," says Mollygood editor Cord "This Guy" Jefferson of his Men's Vogue shout out. We think Amanda Brooks called him out because he's such a sexy man (this picture doesn't do him justice). We also think he'd make a beautiful woman. That's why we've enlisted some fabulous help and will be turning him into a lady for a forthcoming installment of The New Issue.

Keep those peepers peeled, readers!

Raised in London and living in New York, Kirsten Price and her soulful voice seem poised to take the independent music scene by storm. Above you see the brand spanking new video for Price's "Freedom".

We recently dispatched editor Andrew Belonsky to chat with Price about this video, her unquantifiable influences and why people need to stop talking "gay".

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As part of "The New Issue," we've asked a few queer cultural movers and shakers to share a list of the last five things they bought.

See what queer artist and chazzan Tobaron Waxman's been collecting, after the jump…

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David Hardt made history earlier this summer when he became the first openly gay activist to be elected president of the Young Democrats of America. Pretty amazing, huh?

That said, there's no way we couldn't feature Hardt in The New Issue. So, how does Hardt feel about his monumental election? This:

I am very proud that I campaigned as and was elected with a fairly high margin as an openly gay man. It shows that there really is a shift in the mind set of people my age, especially in the Democratic party. It really isn't much of an issue to be openly gay anymore.

See what else he had to say to our editor, Andrew Belonsky, including some critiques of the national party, after the jump…

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