musclestuduws

On 1/29/2023 at 7:52 PM, Marc in Calif said:

Personal anecdotes aren't verified evidence. 

If you actually read the Wikipedia article, you'll find that it quotes Bolsonaro's exact words about "homosexuals." It doesn't rely on any analysis or personal stories from "Bolsonaro supporters."

In fact, the majority of the article's sources are actually quite critical of Bolsonaro. And the word "fascist" appears numerous times.

But you still haven't provided details about Bolsonaro's specifically anti-gay policies or practices that caused so many people to cower in fear. Were there raids on gay venues? Attacks on people? Bullying in Bolsonaro's speeches or in his government's statements or policies? I'd like to know about them.

When Bolsonaro became president in 2019, he disbanded Lula's National Council to Combat Discrimination and Promote the Rights of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Travestis and Transsexuals. What else can you think of that caused gay people to be afraid for their lives? Discrimination against LGBTQ communities in Brazil LONG PRECEDED the advent of Bolsonaro. 

Sorry but I find laughable that your main source on this issue is a Wikipedia entry and that you would question me based on that. Smart and genuinely  concerned  people would instead admit their ignorance and ask questions to find out more rather than attacking someone “ad hominem.” Anyway, I guess that’s your modus operandi on this website from what I’ve seen elsewhere. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, as Alexander Pope said. My sources are not anecdotal, I happen to be friends with scholars at top Brazilian universities who publish academic articles, books, and well-researched reports on these issues. I also know gay activists who have been fighting against discrimination in Brazil for decades. Several gay political leaders and activists were killed during the Bolsonaro administration without any serious investigation from the authorities. Many more killings of trans people have gone unreported on the media. Here is just a sample of the many articles on the subject available online. In  English. I have several academic articles on file myself. There are tons more if one does a little research, which you could have done yourself.  Of course, a lot more sources and reports are in Portuguese. But just the sample included here paints a pretty devastating  picture. Anyway I’ve spent too much time already on this so it’s up to you now to be willing to be enlightened by the research. For instance, a damning report from the University of Alabama Institute for Human Rights shows that even the passing of legislation that expanded right for LGBTQ+ people, had not actual effects on their lives or even less in restraining the violence and rising number of hate crimes. It is a gross mistake to equate the passing of legislation with the reality of people on the streets. 

https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/brazil-continues-be-country-largest-number-trans-people-killed

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-lgbt-murders-trfn/reported-murders-suicides-of-trans-people-soar-in-brazil-idUSKBN25Z31O

https://www.openlynews.com/i/?id=765ed1d7-c620-48a8-ab60-2e04e16a3971

https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/05/12/i-became-scared-was-their-goal/efforts-ban-gender-and-sexuality-education-brazil

https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/02/18/brazil-trans-murders-jair-bolsonaro-175-people-murdered-2020-antra/

https://theconversation.com/amp/how-lgbtq-people-are-resisting-bolsonaros-brazil-through-art-115072

https://sites.uab.edu/humanrights/2022/09/30/lgbtq-rights-in-brazil/

On 1/20/2023 at 8:48 PM, Marc in Calif said:

I hate the guy as much as anyone else. But I think that everyone should read up on how his stance on these issues changed in the past several years. And he hasn't been in Brazil since December 30, 2022. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jair_Bolsonaro -- under the heading Views on homosexuality you'll find some interesting details you didn't know before. As far as I can tell, the Brazilian government never made new anti-gay policies during his entire presidency. Maybe others can comment on that. 

So I don't think any gay people "feared" him or his policies.
 

You are free to think what you like but I don’t think Wikipedia is a reliable source on these matters as supporters of Bolsonaro probably intervened in the editing of that entry.  I know several gay activists and professors in gender studies who lived in Brazil under Bolsonaro so I know what I’m talking about. 

42 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

You're being misleading. I don't think a single person on this string (certainly not myself) stated that sexual orientation was determined by genetics alone. There are obviously other factors involved, including well-identified maternal antibodies to which fetuses are exposed. Biological explanations go way beyond genetics. Also, you're confusing sexual orientation with "behaviors." Obviously a person can behave any way he likes, regardless of what he might prefer to do. I suppose if I lived in Iran or Saudi Arabia, I suspect I might prefer marrying a woman than risk being stoned to death and hooking up with a man (though I'd probably try to flee to the US, Europe, or other Western country to get asylum). We can all decide how we want to behave. We cannot, however, "decide" to be attracted to someone we're not attracted to, any more than we can "decide" to change our eye color or skin color. 

To compare sexual orientation with eye color only exposes how dogmatic your understanding of genetic determinism is. It’s a reductio ad absurdum that reveals the contradictions in your argument.  To claim that by saying “biological” instead of “genetic” you are contemplating environmental and sociocultural factors only shows how little you know about current evolutionary and performative notions of behavior, among other things. The examples about Iran and Saudi Arabia are just ridiculous insofar as what we discussed in regards to choice but they do expose how white, racist, and Eurocentric your political views are. As I said, the defenders of genetic/biological determinism, which are btw one and the same, are themselves unaware of how close their views align with the racial eugenics of fascism. Your comments and the racially loaded examples you chose conclusively prove this point.

On 1/26/2023 at 6:55 PM, pubic_assistance said:

Ha. Thanks. I can't tell you how I wanted a time machine after that sentence ! ha

Sure..he had come to me for some advice knowing that I am actively bisexual and very experienced having identified as gay in my twenties. So, he's known that I am bisexual for years....but never offered ME a blowjob in High School...so I am going to guess he assumed I was straight. ( which technically at that juncture of life, I was ).

Yeah, I also so wish we had a time machine to go back and make good on all the opportunities for hot sex we missed because we were not out yet or just shy, or else! 😁Wouldn’t that be something?  On the other hand, I might never return to the present… haha. 

30 minutes ago, arnemgreeves said:

Yes since the environment can control how genes are expressed. I did not say otherwise. Genetics can be influenced by the environment. You mentioned determinism and every organism has a defined genome.,

But the genome by no means determines sexual orientation. Genetic determinism is precisely saying that your genome defines your orientation (and anything else). 

On 1/27/2023 at 11:53 AM, José Soplanucas said:

Let's suggest a different approach to "choice". You can choose to try to understand human sexuality. Sciences mostly do that. In the process, they impoverish the potencial of human sexuality through generalizations and categorizations (like homo, hetero, or bisexuality). I am not saying that you cannot explain human sexuality, but that you can choose a different approach.

Instead of explaining and analyzing and regulating human sexuality, you can choose exploring and describing the very diverse and always evolving field of sexual behaviors and preferences. The first think to do is moving away from sexual "identities", towards sexual behaviors. (I am not inventing nothing here, talking about reinventing the wheel)

I think it is a much more fruitful approach, at least it has worked great for me. I am much more happier and open to try new things now that I was until 10 years ago, when I was still trying to explain and analyze.

 

Thank you for your apologies in the later posting. And I am pleasantly surprised reading this one. Now we’re actually talking and having a meaningful conversation. This is exactly what I meant in positioning the issue as a philosophical and political one, above all. You captured the spirit of it very well with your examples and suggestions. That’s what I meant. Let’s explore and favor perspectives that allow us to “open up” to and embrace the endless multiplicity of individual, changing behaviors. Human nature is defined by change and constant evolution. It’s just fruitless to try to encapsulate it with definitive explanations and absolute truths based on positivist, reductive science. As the history of science shows, those hard definitive truths were always proven wrong later. I believe that our capacity to go against that which is preordained and given to us defines the human condition and ultimately, what makes life worth living. 

2 hours ago, arnemgreeves said:

We are biological beings and thus ruled by genetics. The issue is to what extent genetics rules us. Some genetic expressions are hard coded yet others are activated by experiences. We also live in a universe governed by physical laws which affects all matter, including humans. 

We’re not “ruled” by genetics. If you bother reading the massive amount of recent serious research on the subject, some of it shared on this thread, genes are only part (sometimes even a small part) within a complex, unpredictable, and highly dynamic network of multiple environmental factors, social norms, and individual behaviors, among other items. I myself shared one of the most important research reports involving the largest samples ever, you’ll find it a few pages ago in this thread. The findings are conclusive in showing how the role of genes has been grossly overestimated. Genetics certainly does NOT “rule” when it comes to human sexuality. And apparently not even in animals, as recent research also show how reductive and deterministic our understanding of their sexuality has been. 

3 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

Naw. I think is just delusional. Of course, it makes you feel great about yourself to think that you are making the options.

Thanks for dismissing my point of view and calling me delusional. That’s how great minds operate , right? The funny thing if you didn’t even bother to think through what I explained. As I said, it’s in the end a political position. By so arrogantly dismissing mine, you show how totalitarian and dogmatic yours is. Thanks for proving my point. I rest my case, your Honor. 

On 11/9/2022 at 10:49 AM, BenjaminNicholas said:

I love the score/show, but I can't stand Ben Platt.

However, I'm in the minority on this.  Encores did well with this one.

I can’t stand Ben Platt either. I’ll probably see Parade once/if he’s replaced. Otherwise I won’t bother. 

2 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

The very issue is that there is no choice. Confronting nature vs nurture does not reflect the human experience, where nature and nurture live together and interact. 

I completely disagree. But you did not get my point. It’s a philosophical one with vast political implications. And it acknowledges the historical relativity of all science against both positivism and determinism. 

Beyond anything else, I will always choose freedom over determinism, and that includes sexual orientation, sexuality, and gender. Science has being wrong many times in the past when it comes to human sexuality. So ultimately, I’d rather err on the side of choice and freedom and avoid forcing people into the neat taxonomies of  traditional natural sciences. 

On 1/23/2023 at 7:50 PM, pubic_assistance said:

I was a wrestler in High School. I wanted to fuck most of the guys on the team. But in my mind - sporty guys aren't gay...so.i never dreamed of making a move on one of them.

Many years later one of my team mates came out of the closet and declared himself  "gay" after being married to a woman for decades and raising two kids. 

I asked him how long he felt he was gay...He answered "since high school". I questioned that response saying I would have never guessed ! He said "oh yeah, I hooked up with a lot of guys in high school". Again I found this surprising and asked "with who"? He answered me and said he'd sucked off half the boys on the wrestling team !!! 😱

I hear you. So sorry for all the opportunities you missed in high school !  Did you share with this guy how much you wanted to fuck most of your teammates, maybe including him? Did he suspect you were into guys too? 

Cute but not my type. Too thin for me. 

On 5/10/2021 at 10:19 AM, JEC said:

Hammam (aka Steam). Love affair that develops between an Italian older married man and younger man, centers around Hammam culture in Turkey.

This was the first gay themed movie I ever saw. Loved it. 

On 1/18/2023 at 10:39 PM, BSR said:

Rafa goes out in the 2nd round!  Yes, he got injured (hip flexor?), but Mackie McDonald was beating Rafa for a set and a half even before the injury.  McDonald used an interesting strategy, one that no one had ever tried against Rafa:  pounding the ball hard to Rafa's forehand because he makes more errors on that side.  Mind you, that strategy will work only on a fast, low-bouncing court.  The fast court speed rushes Rafa, thereby drawing more errors, and the low bounce robs Rafa of one his big weapons, the crazy-high bounce on his own forehand.  It also helps that McDonald is lightning-quick because Rafa will hit a few booming forehands before you get an error out of him.

Honestly, I don't think this upset changes the draw that much.  Given Rafa's poor play leading up to the AO, I never thought Rafa would beat Medvedev in the quarters and Tsitsipas in the semis.

@musclestuduws, you better root for Medvedev to get to the final because he's lost to Novak only 4 matches in a row whereas Tsitsipas, the highest seed left in the top half, has lost the last 9 straight matches to Novak.  I think the best bet to stop Novak is in the bottom half, Holgar Rune in the QF.  Rune beat Novak pretty convincingly in the Paris Masters final just 2 months ago, and at 19yo Rune's playing with nothing to lose.

Well, Medvedev is out. I so wish Alcaraz were in the mix. Especially after seeing his Calvin Klein underwear ads. 😍

On 1/20/2023 at 3:25 AM, BSR said:

I was watching the Sinner-Fucsovics match as well, kinda getting my hopes up after seeing he had won the first 2 sets.  Then I saw a point where he hit a sharply angled forehand that pulled Sinner way off court, followed by a slice backhand to the opposite corner.  Any topspin backhand would have won Marton the point, but the inexplicable shot selection of a slow slice gave Sinner plenty of time to get back into the rally, which Sinner eventually won *groan*  No wonder Fucsovics's ranking has dropped so much.

Too bad Marton doesn't win more often, because his victory celebrations are hella entertaining ...

 

Let’s hope he keeps winning and celebrating shirtless! 

The entire Museum Island area is fantastic. Every museum is superb. And the Staatsoper is nearby. I love Berlin. 

7 hours ago, coriolis888 said:

Sorry, my post was so long that you missed the thrust of my message.  I tried to explain the major decline in the city based on the covid effects from the virus.  

The gay scene in Sao Paulo continues but with major changes effected by the virus that hit the world.  

Non gay venues are also effected.  Long-time stores have gone out of business.  Jobs are scarce.  These declines relate to the quarantines and the virus effect on the population.  

Although I do not care for Bolsonaro, his dislike of gays had nothing to do with the major decline of the places I mentioned in my long post.  

 

I disagree completely. Both things are related. Also, Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic was horrifying, refusing to take any serious action for months. Nobody knows the exact number of people who died. Official numbers were grossly manipulated. And several  friends of mine living in Brazil attest to the fact that many gay people and in particular the transgender community now live in constant fear. Hate crimes have multiplied exponentially and hate rhetoric is everywhere on social media. Fortunately for Brazil, this fascist clown lost the last election. You can choose to bury your head in the sand and ignore the political context but reality proves otherwise.  

On 7/19/2022 at 11:43 PM, coriolis888 said:

Sao Paulo was one of my favorites cities in the world. 

In addition to the fabulous rent-boy saunas, there was the Praca da Republica that had hustlers galore.  And, there were many "cines" (theatres that showed sex movies) where one could meet some gorgeous hustlers.

I decided to return to Sao Paulo last week and I noticed a major and depressing scene.

The only thing still in tact from my prior visits is the sauna Lagoa that was moved and downsized a few years ago.  The replaced Lagoa was busy each night I went there.  There were many handsome garotos available.

Today, I went to the Praca da Republica.  It is now filled with hustling drag queens instead of garotos.  There was not one male hustler in the park like in prior years.  

I then went to a former "cine" that had been very popular and where numerous garotos were available for a fee.  After I paid my entrance fee and went inside, I was shocked to see the place was empty.

I went to another formerly popular "cine" and it was boarded shut.

I then decided to walk over to a restaurant that I had known and liked.  I knew that the restaurant had been closed during the virus pandemic.  I entered the restaurant but there were only a few customers using the restaurant.  I looked around the restaurant and saw that much of it has been torn down and the cooking area was reduced to a fraction of its prior size.  I decided not to eat there. I also walked to a few other places I formerly enjoyed but those places were boarded shut.  

If anyone who formerly knew Sao Paulo well, expect a big shock if you visit there at the present time.

I plan to check out the sauna that supposedly replaced the old sauna, Fragata.  Last time I was there in January of this year, the place had few customes and garotos.

Also, two new saunas started up earlier this year but they are no longer in existence.

If the Fragata replacement is doing well, I will report back, hopefully, with good news.

The guys I knew from the site vivalocal.com no longer advertise.

Bottom line?  Lagoa sauna is the only remaining fun place that withstood the virus.  Those going to Sao Paulo and using Lagoa, will have a spledid time.

 

Nothing lasts forever.

I understand that Bolsonaro’s politics have made it difficult and scary for gay guys to live their lives openly. I am sure his fascist rhetoric and life threats against leaders of the gay movements in Brazil have had a chilling effect on most gay people. 

17 hours ago, BSR said:

It was actually 4 sets against Draper, but yeah, Rafa's form was awfully unconvincing.  Rafa should have an easier match next up against Mackie McDonald, who had to fight tooth & nail for 4h6m in his first match.  If Rafa struggles against McDonald, uh oh.

Yes 4 sets but still, Rafa has a long way to go before fully recovering. I read what he said after the game and he is aware of the steep challenges he is facing after being plagued by injuries last year. It’s a miracle he’s already playing. Let’s see how he evolves. I just don’t like Djokovic as a person, even more so after the whole scandal last year when he refused to get vaccinated against COVID. I’d prefer that Rafa keeps the record of most Gran Slam titles for himself. Time will tell. 

1 hour ago, Marc in Calif said:

Can you tell us why so many of Michael's photos show an expression of surprise on his face? Is he practicing his most frequent greeting?

Sir, I've never seen one that long and thick!

I think he’s looking at the cucumbers in the posted photo. 🤣

4 hours ago, Redwine56 said:

The cucumbers are meant to evoke feelings of a raging hard on which will be handled very nicely during yur massage with Michael.  I can vouch for Michael.  He worked at a neighborhood spa in Brooklyn and he took good care of me during the pandemic.  I haven't seen him at this location on East 75th Street as yet but intend to get there.  It sounds like a private apt.

That’s exactly what I thought he wanted to suggest. Quite a subtle allusion, isn’t it? Very clever of me to catch it! 🤣

On 1/12/2023 at 8:17 PM, azdr0710 said:

Just two dudes messing around. Kissing would be too gay!    (sarcasm!)

Check out the 1996 classic "Why Marines Don't Kiss"

Im guessing it’s because marines can’t handle the truth? 🤣

45 minutes ago, Harryinny said:

It reads as translated by Google... and if one is to understand that the place is clean and serene, the cucumbers kind of throw that feeling away 🤣

Well, I know that several friends of mine find “cucumbers” to be their main source of pleasure and relaxation. And I can tell they’re very serene afterwards! 🤣

On 1/12/2023 at 12:54 PM, WilliamM said:

Nadal faces Draper, a Brit, in his first defense of  his 2022 title

I hope Rafa has fully recovered from his injuries. I’d love to see him win a final against Djokovic.