One of the lesser-known heroes of the Harlem Renaissance, Richard Bruce Nugent forever changed the face of black – and queer – art.

Though growing up in tumultuous, conservative times, Nugent made no secret of his gay ways. His writing, art and dance readily employed queer themes. In fact, one of his most famous short stories, "Smoke, Lilies and Jade," counts itself as the first gay-tinged story written by a black man.

His erotic sketches and paintings, meanwhile, left no doubt where Nugent's sexual loyalty lay. Learn a little more about Nugent's wild artistic style, after the jump...

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Sure, everyone's looking forward to a new year, but let's not forget the years gone by, like the 1970s. Why not relive the decade of decadence by heading over to the Queer Cultural Center and checking out their pages on Hal Fischer? A queer artist and theorist, Fischer turned his lens on the cultural iconography of the gay 70s. Of the project, Fischer wrote:

The gay culture's new visibility has exposed a subculture developing its own myths, cultural heroes, stereotypes and sign language (semiotic). Long before the current women's journals began picturing naked men as sex objects, gay magazines were exploring aspects of male eroticism. And since gay men needed a method to communicate sexual preferences, a sexual semiotic was developed.
...
Like the straight culture, gay culture has evolved a set of public, sexual prototypes. In gay magazines men are pictured in situations which were initially inspired by established male fantasies. Within the gay community certain characteristics of the fantasy have been adopted as fashion, thereby creating a 'gay look', i.e. Gay Prototype, the cowboy; Contemporary adaptation, flannel shirts, jeans, short hair.

While we no longer wear bandanas as a code for sexual proclivity, most of these social emblems still exist today. In fact, we're wearing flannel right now. It's purple. So, what does that say about us? Well, according to Fischer, we're channeling American archetypes of pioneering masculinity. Although, we're also wearing high heels and a beehive wig. Something must have gotten lost in translation.

On the eve of World AIDS Day, we'd like to direct you to an article from The New York Times harking back to the early days of the virus, when gay bars with back rooms found themselves powerless against the mysterious disease and its legislative repercussions. Here's a taste:

The growing climate of fear surrounding AIDS, combined with a new city-state drive against establishments that permit ''high-risk sexual activities,'' has brought noticeable changes to New York City's homosexual bar and club scene, visits to some of the leading places and interviews with patrons indicate.
...
Amid the growing concern over AIDS, many clubs and bars have closed their back rooms, which afforded patrons places for sexual encounters. Consequently, many popular homosexual bars in the West Village, such as the Ramrod, Badlands, the Spike and others, solely offer a place for patrons to meet each other, but not for sex on the premises.

It's worth noting that none of the aforementioned bars still exist.

Related: The Power Issue: Gay Space

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In yesterday’s installment of The Power Issue, Brian J. Smith waxed philosophical on the transformative power of acting.

For today’s edition, we’d like to take a look at French Surrealist Claude Cahun, who - though not an actor - used performance and manipulation of gender identity to dismantle popular notions of patriarchal society.

We actually don't even know what to call Cahun. Her possible titles could choke a horse: photographer, revolutionary, performer, novelist, prisoner...the list goes on. Of course, given the message of her work, it's only appropriate she lacks concise definition.

By showing the ethereal nature of gender, Cahun highlighted the interchangeability of gendered identities, thus reducing their importance in society to mere roles, rather than dominant truths. In some pictures Cahun appears androgynous, while in others she accentuates feminine characteristics, exploiting the gendered spectrum as a means of discrediting its validity. As for sexuality, Cahun certainly didn’t adhere to popular notions of sexual classification.

My opinion about homosexuality and homosexuals is exactly the same as my opinion about heterosexuality and heterosexuals. All depends on individuals and circumstances. I claim a general freedom of behavior.

Cahun's pursuit of this elusive general freedom brought her as much fame as it did trouble.

Find out what we mean, after the jump.

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We've been so caught up in The Totally Frightful Issue that we almost forgot that October's gay history month. Almost.

It may be a bit unfair to label mining mogul and imperialist Cecil John Rhodes a homo. While there's no direct evidence he ever partook in sex of the homosexual variety, he did forego marriage and kept a bevy of exclusively attractive male servants and companions. The men, of course, were forbidden to marry and went with Rhodes everywhere.

Though it may all be conjecture, Rhodes' sexuality has been questioned by many historians. Also, we think colonization is just so gay.

Born to a priest in England in 1853, Rhodes had a weak constitution. Thus, as a teenager, his parents sent him to live in the warm-climated Natal region of South Africa, where Rhodes would help his brother grow cotton. Little did they know they'd change the the world forever.

Find out more about Rhodes and his dastardly ways, after the jump.

(As a side note, on of the Queerty boys spent some time studying at University of Cape Town. There's a memorial of Rhodes near the mountain campus. He's staring out across the land below with more the most evil eyes ever captured in stone. It's pretty fucking scary.)

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We certainly hope you haven't forgotten that October's gay history month. If you have, well, look alive because we've got another gay blast from the past. Hoorah!

Born in Alexandria, Egypt to Greek parents Constantine Cavafy used his poetry to explore issues of individual identity, nationality, and cultural progression, particularly with regard to homosexuality. While he spent much of his life in Arabic speaking lands, Cavafy turned away from his enviornmental influences to laud his Greek origins.

Drawing heavily on mythological nostalgia and with a definite fatalistic attitude, some of his work reads like a premature eulogy for gays and others who don't fit into the social mold of the era. Others celebrate male beauty and the shadowy world of gays at the time. Of course, considering that Cavafy lives from 1863-1933, this comes as no surprise.

We've posted one poem, Trojans, which both memorializes and condemns gays. Despite it's dreary outcome, it's a beautiful piece of work, but we can't help but wonder what Cavafy would write if he knew of all the advancements made for the homo way over the past few decades.

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Faithful readers know that of all our obsessions, two stand out more than some: our historical hard-on and cartoon curiosity. Our friend Andy Georgiou, who pens the clever homo comic strips, Mr. Gisby's Totally Gay Pet Shop, suggested we post a feature on historic, ambiguously gay cartoon sidekicks. Boo Boo, Yogi Bear's suspiciously loyal mate, stands out as the most famous, but according to Georgiou, there's an entire slew of similiarly homo-esque partners.

Since Georgiou proved his Queerty love, we're proving our reciprocal emotions by posting his entire explanation after the jump. See, we're not entirely heartless! (Oh, and we take no responsibility for any characters who are outed inaccurately)

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Loyal readers know we've got as much of a hard on for art as we do for history, so why not celebrate the beginning of Gay History Month by celebrating a historic artist? Yeah, we thought it was pretty clever, too.

This is George Platt Lynes, a gay photographer who made a living with fashion photography, but satisfied his artistic soul with sexy shots of nude men. Born in New Jersey, Lynes traveled to Massachusetts for a bit of education and from there to Paris, where he hung in some of the most talented and glamorous circles. Upon his American return, Lynes opened a book store, from which he expected to start a literary career. Little did he know that his photographic hobby would lead to a successful career shooting for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and The American Ballet.

Of course, we suspect that you're a little more interested in his nudie work. Working from the 1920s into the 1950s, it's no surprise that Lynes kept much of his work concealed, lest his homosexual ways draw too much negative attention. Despite his trepidation, Lynes couldn't shake his deep interest in human sexuality and worked with Dr. Alfred Kinsey, the legendary doctor whose pioneering studies changed the way we look at sexuality forever.

Lynes destroyed many of his prints and negatives, fearing a gay legacy in the wake of his death. Like some fabulous cockroach, some of his work survived and continues to astonish viewers with their provocative poses and deliciously gay subtext. It's a shame poor Lynes never knew how much later generations would enjoy his work, no?

See a few select images after the jump. And check out the George Platt Lynes site to learn more about this extraordinary artist and his homo ways. Or, you can just remain philistines until the end of time. The choice is yours, really.

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• Fashion and Parasites Merge at Ralph Lauren. Fitting, we think. [Jossip]

• Gay History in Phillie Schools? Not if some parents have a say. [365 Gay]

• PM Blair pats himself on back for gay rights. At least he got something right. Sort of. [Pink News UK]

• Banned Book Author, Brent Hartinger mulls it over, urges you to act. Yes, you. [AfterElton]

• Want a liberal perspective on religion? Now you've got it. [Disciples from The Left]

• We know Pete Doherty can't sing, but can Kate? Well, it doesn't look good... [Daily Mail]

• More sentencings in San Diego Pride attacks. Hoorah! [The Advocate]

We know the we'd be nowhere without the gays of yore, so from time to time we take a look back at our forefathers. Today we're taking a look at John Addington Symonds. A Brit born in 1840, Symonds used his writing to critique the injustice of economic and sexual divisions. He explored homosexuality before homosexuality even existed as a concept, arguing for a deeper understanding of man-on-man action.

Not surprisingly, Symonds loved a little homo action himself and used his memoirs as a platform for his own tortorous coming out saga. We're particularly intrigued by his love for a lad named Willie Dyer. While obviously this ardour roused more than a few arched eyebrows, it came under even more fire due to Dyer's lower social standing. Some of the most vocal criticisms came from Symonds' father. Symonds writes:

When my father learned the truth about my romantic affection for Willie Dyer, he thought it right to recommend a cautious withdrawal from the intimacy... At that important moment of my life, I could not understand, and I've never been able to understand, why people belonging to different strata in society — if they love each other — could not enter into comradeship. But my father made me see that, under the existing conditions of English manners, an ardent friendship between me (a young man, gently born, bred at Harrow, advancing to the highest academical honours at Balliol) and Willie (a Bristol chorister, the son of a Dissenting tailor), would injure not my prospects only but his reputation.

Though heartbroken, Symonds did, in fact, end things with Dyer. While he went on to have more lovers, the most notable details of his life come from his work in furthering societal acceptance of gay.

We can't help but wonder how Symonds would react to the controversies surrounding gays today. While we've increased our standing, there's still so far to go. Still, had it not been for pioneers such as Symonds, you wouldn't be reading this and we'd be out of a job. And nobody wants that.

Follow the links for more on Symonds, his work, and his life.

Even though humans are much taller than their ancestors in the Ice Age, there is now evidence that another frequently-measured body part has not changed so much since ancient times. Either that or the cave men were prone to exaggeration.

Or masturbation. An eight-inch stone phallus has been reassembled and is unmistakably an effigy of the male organ. The smooth surface of the shaft also suggests it had other uses, maybe for the women during a long, cold night in the cave while their mates were out hunting wild beasts. Or maybe the men used it to help tame their own woolly mammoth?

Hot times in the Ice Age [Blade Blog]

With all the gay marriages happening nationwide, we love to celebrate Canada and its progressive values, but even our neighbor to the north has some ugly moments in its past. In November of 1967, George Klippert, a mechanic from the Northwest Territories in Canada, was put in jail indefinitely as a "dangerous sexual offender." His crime: Having gay sex with a consenting adult. The charges against him were upheld by the territorial Court of Appeals and then again by the Canadian Supreme Court.

His Member of Parliament provided the following robust defense:

I think it's absolutely ridiculous for any man in our society today to be put in jail because they are affected by a social disease ... I think that when two male adults wish to engage in an act which to me is a most repulsive act, but is something that they themselves want to consent to, I think it's their private business.

There are undoubtedly many foes of the gay rights movement today who would still happily lock us up, so it is important to keep our eyes open and loudly remind them: socially diseased is our favorite way to be.

UPDATE: That very same year, Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau introduced an Omnibus bill that not only decriminalized homosexuality, but also abortion and lotteries. (Thanks to Canadian reader Jason for the tip)

NWT Man Jailed for Being Gay [CBC Archives]
'There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation' [CBC Archives]