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Nominations Are Open: 2012 Readers' Choice Awards

About.com 2012 Readers' Choice Awards

Nominations are open for the 2012 About.com Gay Life Readers' Choice Awards. This year the categories have been expanded to include more of the people, places and things you love. Get more information and write-in your favorites.

2011 Winners
Gay Life Spotlight10

A Nasty STD You Didn't Know About

Thursday January 26, 2012
A man gets advice from his doctor.There's a new risk of cancer in men from a virus mostly associated with women. HPV is a growing concern for gay men and can lead to anal cancer. New research suggests that what's being called oral HPV can lead to higher risks of throat, neck and head cancers as well. Here's what you should know about oral HPV prevention.

Why You Never Forget A Guy's Face

Monday January 23, 2012
A young man's face.New research suggests that there's more to what you see than you think. Good memory or bad, your ability to recognize a face in a crowd has something to do with who you are (for instance, left-brained or right-brained), but more so where you've been. Read more...

The Shy Guy, The Gay Loner: If You're Not In, You're Out (Exactly Where You Want To Be)

Thursday January 19, 2012
gay lonerYou're out!

These are dreaded words in most social circles and group environments, but for the gay loner or shy guy sometimes that's exactly where they want to be.

Our lives are becoming increasingly social, where even a trip to the grocery store warrants a status update. Much of our gay lives are defined by social scenes: prides, parties, dating sites, hobby groups, etc. Group implies just that—more than one.

So what of the gay guy, the shy one, the loner, that prefers small groups over mass hysteria? Are they outcasts, social morons or freaks? Or are are they as happy as can be? Read more...

Remembering Bayard Rustin

Monday January 16, 2012
Bayard RustinI'd like to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a tribute to one of his closest confidants, Bayard Rustin.

In 1937, at the age of 25, Bayard Rustin—an openly gay man—started training at the American Friends Service Committee. By 1963 he was one of the most important figures in African-American and glbt history.

Bayard Rustin was recruited by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington where King gave his famed "I Have A Dream" speech. Both King and Rustin saw an injustice in this country and the world and worked in peace to create change.

On this MLK Day, I think back to the contributions these great men made for me, my family, and this country; and the brevity of Mr. Rustin, who served with our greatest leader at a time when being an openly gay man was met with the same hostility as being a person of color.

The magnitude of injustices in the world can be overwhelming, and our individual contributions can often seem insignificant. But like us, Dr. King and Mr. Rustin had no special powers or abilities. They had dreams and an undying commitment to creating change. They then used their strengths of speech and mobilization toward a common cause, efforts that we will forever be greatful for.

More about Dr. King's colleague and friend Bayard Rustin after the jump.

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Notable Gay Men in History

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