Something important

Yesterday, a reader gently chided me for ending the post about the latest encounter with my buddy Ted on a teasing, elliptical note. I will be returning to that post with more details, but I got sidelined by something else I was working on.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I've decided to try putting out some pro-j/o agitprop by submitting an editorial to DC's gay paper. I completed that yesterday and sent it off by email; we'll see what kind of response it gets from the Blade editors. In the meantime, you guys can read it for yourselves right here.

I'd also like to propose that all of you who've lamented the difficulty of finding dudes into mutual j/o and frot consider writing letters of your own to the local gay rag. As you know, gay porn rather overwhelmingly sends the message that, for men who like men, anal sex is ''home plate,'' the hottest thing around, the culmination of intimacy, and -- the worst message of all -- that learning to love fucking or getting fucked is a way to prove that you've fully embraced your identity as a gay man. I think it's important to spread the word that not all of us buy into this -- that some of us greatly prefer activities like mutual penis rubbing as a way to share intimacy and pleasure with another male.

So, the next time your local gay paper prints yet another article about the barebacking trend, with the usual bleating from a ''safe-sex educator'' who urges that the problem is best solved by throwing government-funded condoms at it, consider this as a good opening to write your own letter to the editor. It doesn't have to be eloquent; just say "You know, I personally get huge satisfaction from an activity that is inherently close to zero-risk for STD transmission, and I urge other guys to give it an open-minded try.'' Not out? Ask the paper to withhold your name. And if you are out, keep in mind that you won't only be doing a valuable educational service to the community, but that getting a letter published might just be a way to help you make contact with potential masturbation buddies in your area -- how win-win is that?