When I tried to kill myself (yeah, I'm bringing that one out of the bag -- just check out this issue of Xtra's Blitz & Shitz), my mother was in New York City. When she returned, and I came back to life (after three days of wildly traumatizing anti-psychotic overdose-induced hallucinations), she gave me a souvenir -- a drawing of Madonna by a street artist outside Central Park. It's a picture from Madonna's Ray of Light album. The look in her eyes evokes independence. I often look at it to motivate myself. I have taken it with me everywhere I've lived, from my bedroom growing up in the Prairies, to every rat- and cockroach-infested hell hole I inhabited in New York, to here on the West Coast. It's one of my most cherished possessions because it represents my rebirth. When I was a confused and angst-ridden 15-year-old, Madonna made me feel there was hope. She was this scrawny little bitch from nowhere, yet she made her dreams come true, helping me believe I could too.

Her entire life Madonna has been a part of the gay community. Her first mentor was her gay ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, who inspired her to move to New York in the late '70s. The new issue of The Advocate celebrates her legacy as a part of our culture. We're the ones sacrificing those $300 dollar handbags (or in my case, food) to see her perform live (because she's worth it).

On the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in '80s New York: "I was extremely affected by it. I remember lying on a bed with a friend of mine who was a musician, and he had been diagnosed with this kind of cancer, but nobody knew what it was. He was this beautiful man, and I watched him kind of waste away, and then another gay friend, and then another gay friend, and then another gay friend. They were all artists and truly special and dear to me."

On her gay fans feeling abandoned: "I never left them. When you're single, you certainly have more time to socialize and hang out with your gay friends, but then you get married and you have a husband and you have children, and your husband wants you to spend time with him. I'm not married anymore, but I have four kids, and I don't have a lot of time for socializing. I hope nobody's taking that personally. It certainly was not a conscious decision. As it stands, most of my friends in England are gay. But I'm back. Never fear."

An image in the latest Macy's catalogue mailed to consumers (and unavailable online) includes a wedding cake with two grooms on top in the back of a car with a licence plate that reads "I Do." A group affiliated with the American Family Association has called for the retailer to remove the image, saying it's "an irresponsible choice that is highly offensive and not family-friendly advertising. Just because gay marriage is legal in a few states does not mean that it's appropriate marketing."

But Macy's isn't backing down and told Fox News, "Macy's proudly serves a large and diverse marketplace, including customers with a wide range of needs and preferences. We strive to embrace customers of all ethnic backgrounds, ages, races, faith traditions, genders and lifestyles through the products we sell and the content of our marketing. Our goal is to be inclusive. Not everything we sell or do will appeal to everyone, but that is the nature of a free society where consumers can make choices of their own."

Good to know that unlike the American Family Associations and its affiliates, Macy's has some class.

A coming-out story . . . with a twist. I know a few fag-hags who are so going to be this mother in 20 years.

Cynthia Nixon created quite a bit of buzz after giving a New York Times interview where she professed that her sexuality is a choice, and fuck anyone who tells her it's not because "no one gets to define my gayness." She insisted it was a choice because she refused to invalidate her previous relationships with men before finding love with her current partner, Christine Marinoni. She also refused to call herself bisexual (despite being a living example of bisexuality), because "nobody likes bisexuals" and they "get no respect."

She has now released a statement to The Advocate, clearing all this shit up:

"While I don't often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have 'chosen' is to be in a gay relationship. As I said in the Times and will say again here, I do, however, believe that most members of our community — as well as the majority of heterosexuals — cannot and do not choose the gender of the persons with whom they seek to have intimate relationships because, unlike me, they are only attracted to one sex. Our community is not a monolith, thank goodness, any more than America itself is. I look forward to and will continue to work toward the day when America recognizes all of us as full and equal citizens."

If she had just said that in the original Times interview, there would've been no media firestorm/backlash. Then again, had she just said that in the original interview, her new Broadway play Wit, in which she stars as a cancer patient, wouldn't have had the good fortune of all this publicity.

Maybe the joke's on us and she's one very smart straight lesbian bisexual woman! 

I love animals because, as a gay man, I relate to them. They're often misunderstood and mistreated by society. Every time I think about an animal caged in a zoo or forced to perform tricks at a circus, I think of all the gay people trapped inside themselves and the many who feel forced to "perform" for the world as something other than who they truly are. That's why I think it's important to be a voice for animals, because like our community for so long, their needs have gone unheard.

The Canadian seal hunt is a barbaric and embarrassing stain on Canada's legacy. A hugely controversial event where thousands of baby and adult seals are beaten to death by clubs, it is an outdated tradition that is viewed as a disgrace by most countries around the world. Recently Russia, the biggest buyer of seal skins, has closed their border to the pelts, threatening the future of the once-lucrative industry. Last year's seal hunt grossed only $1 million. A member of Canada's Parliament recently said:

"Part of our history is also whaling, for example, and the day came when the whaling industry stopped. Now, is that day coming for the seal hunt? It just may be. We cannot hide behind the debate and pretend the market for seals is not in trouble. Facing this reality head-on is the only way to address the situation."

If you want to help make the seal hunt history, sign the petition. Quick and easy.

If we don't support the voiceless, why do we deserve to be heard?