Group Travel, Mykonos - 1990 Style
STORY: 1989 to mid-1990s—My husband, Ron Oyer, had a travel business in the 1990s that catered to gay men, geographically mostly from...
- Mar 13, 2021
- 2 min
Porn Star Turned Therapist
BAMMER47: When I met Stu Fenton at a Fire Island pool party in August 1999, he didn’t divulge much about his life. But, when we...
- Jan 26, 2021
- 5 min
Madonna Didn’t Call
STORY" I grew up in South Africa. In 1994, we were promised a new constitution with protected rights and social acceptance for gays. I...
- Dec 20, 2020
- 2 min
The 1993 March on Washington
STORY: I attended the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation on April 25, 1993, with a group of...
- Dec 20, 2020
- 6 min
What I Learned
STORY: It was one of those days I will never forget. It was the Spring of 1999, probably in late March, just after my birthday. It was on...
- Jul 11, 2020
- 4 min
Catharsis
STORY: In the mid-nineties, I was a naive 21 y.o. young man, full of fear about my budding homosexual orientation. Coming out was not an...
- Jul 1, 2020
- 10 min
For Dougie
STORY: I grew up in a family of “eccentrics.” I’m a direct result of their quirks and quips, attenuated somewhat by the many years I...
- Mar 1, 2020
- 2 min
Looking Back
STORY: Two recent developments refocused my attention on all the friends I lost to AIDS in the 80s and 90s. Recently, Peter Gorobetz, a...
- Jan 19, 2020
- 3 min
Remembering Workouts and Worries
STORY: It was once the epicenter of the gayest neighborhood in New York City. Today, any traces of the infamous Chelsea Gym are nearly...
- Jan 3, 2020
- 9 min
Busted!
STORY: In The Fall of 1996, I was twenty years old and had just moved into my own apartment in LA. I was going to school, working full...
- Nov 13, 2019
- 1 min
BAMMER and Me: Confessions of a Male Escort turned Addiction Counselor (Part 1)
PODCAST—EPISODE 9: Stu Fenton has had quite the life! In his early twenties, Stu was a Colt model and a male escort. That high life led...
- Nov 11, 2019
- 6 min
The Dead, The Living, and The Inheritance
STORY: Fall is a time of sad anniversaries for me. When I tested positive for HIV in the fall of 1988, it was hardly surprising. Many sex...
- Aug 8, 2019
- 6 min
Angels and Demons
STORY: We five were an unusual gang—“the famous five”—as we liked to call ourselves. It was comprised of me, my best friend Mark, his...
- Jul 19, 2018
- 5 min
Marcus
STORY: 1989—I met Marcus Lutsky at Uncle Charlie’s Downtown Bar in NYC in the Spring of 1989. It was a Saturday night and I was on the...
- Jun 9, 2018
- 5 min
Making My Grandmother Cry
STORY: I make my grandmother cry. I come out to her and her fists close and her eyes fill up. She is silent for the longest moment and...
- Jun 8, 2018
- 1 min
At the Gay Games IV
STORY: In June 1994, the world gathered in New York for Gay Games IV as well as for a massive march outside the United Nations marking...
- Jun 8, 2018
- 1 min
Fire Island Weekends
STORY: In all my years at the Pines, my housemates were always fellow worker bees who toiled hard for our time at the beach. Our delight...
- Jun 8, 2018
- 1 min
Me and Michael
STORY: A few pictures of Michael Dowell and me in the early-to-mid-90s. We lost Michael in 1995. This next shot is a self-portrait he...
- Jun 7, 2018
- 2 min
Luis
NOTE: Viktor Carrasquero, a young Venezuelan emigre in Hong Kong, authorized us to share the following story from his early life. Back in...
- Jun 7, 2018
- 1 min
Project Runway: Water Island Edition
STORY: Circa 1997: While Cherry Grove and The Pines were the centers of gay life on Fire Island, another small enclave of gay culture...