Reader forum.

I can't blame you for putting Jordan Brower and Jesse Bradford on the cover of your Summer Movie Preview issue ["Speedway to Stardom," June 5]. They're cute and sexy and have names that sound like gay porn stars. Throw in the phrase "do the hustle" and, sure, you have a sizzling cover! But the story itself bugs me big-time. Here's another feature on cute little straight boys shaking their ta-tas at the gay community--only, mind you, to stretch their acting muscle and always, of course, reiterating their heterosexuality. I mean, isn't that an interview we have all read so many times before?

-- Mark Vande Wiele, Lansing, Mich.

I have no qualms about talented straight actors portraying gay characters as long as they play the role completely and uncompromisingly. Jordan Brower was quoted as saying, "I thought, As long as I don't have to kiss any guys, then I'll be OK. Because I have too many friends in Texas." Brower had no business playing his character, then. If an actor chooses to play a role that involves gay activities, he must be willing to play the role without any reservations. It does the character no justice nor does it compliment the actor's credibility if he can't play the role completely because he's scared of what friends back home will think.

James Harcup, Floral Park, N.Y.

True, an actor is an artist who can transform him/herself into all sorts of personalities. But when we continually cast straight actors in gay roles, are we not creating a chasm to accepting ourselves as we really are? Gay people, however much we would like to believe otherwise, are not the same as straights. We dance to the beat of a different drummer. We should stop trying to deny who we truly are or want to be. It is time for film to define the line between "gay" and "straight."

Kevin Bednoviek, Manton, Mich.

Industrial revolution Kudos on your article "Equal Opportunity?" [June 5]. As a new Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment employee, I found Fritz Friedman's words inspiring. My ex, an executive director at Fox on the board of directors of GLAAD, happens to be both African-American and gay. I have seen many a tear shed at the plight of gay minorities in the industry: his and I'm sure many of those quoted in the article. One thing I've observed is that minority communities already have so much to cope with that they tend to estrange their own gay members. It's great to see that so many people are striving to change this.

Kulani Jackson, West Hollywood, Calif.

Paulk's journey

As a gay male who has had many friends who got married to please the family, I find John Paulk's interview humorous, if it weren't so pathetic ["Ex-gay Pride,' June 5]. My advice to Paulk: Just because you reproduce doesn't mean you are heterosexual. My guess is, you were out looking for the same thing many real straight men look for when they "accidentally" enter a gay bar. Get real, Paulk: Once a queer, always a queer, no matter how many kids you have.

Sam Forsythe, Estero,

Thanks for your article on John Paulk. After all of the turmoil I have heard about this man, I was both surprised and pleased by your interview and his comments. I round him both sensitive to his gay brothers and sisters and very dedicated to his journey of becoming closer with God. It seems to me that Paulk is doing the best he can with what he has to work with. Does God truly ask any more of any person?

Terry Comella, Trenton, N.J.

I am convinced that all "ex-gays" are sailing up that river in Egypt. Ex-gay equals gay abstinence, not heterosexuality!

Richard Leonardo, North Attleboro, Mass.

I just read the Paulk interview with mixed feelings--mixed not only because of his guarded tone but also because of my own experiences with Exodus International. I have found that leaders in Exodus hold a wide range of views, from the tiny minority who believe a person will burn in hell for not fighting to control every hint of homosexual fantasy to the group that wants to provide a safe place for gay men and women to pursue their relationship with God. My own encounter with Exodus has moved me from a focus on trying to change myself from gay to straight to an acceptance of myself as a gay man who is free to pursue God, uncondemned for my sexual orientation.

Even though my overall experience with Exodus has been good for me personally, I have seen things in Exodus that disturb me. Many Exodus leaders provide what seems to be a simplistic solution by their technically correct vocabulary, I've seen many young gay Christians who hear from their church leaders that Exodus can make them straight Exodus's public statements foster this hope and in doing so con lead to major disappointments and bitterness toward God and the church. This was not my experience, but I got involved with some very wise, loving people when I got involved with Exodus.

Randal Fry, Houston, Tex.

Yep, Jesus loves her I read in The Advocate [From the Archives of The Advocate, June 5] that one of these "ex-gay" ministries sells an audiotape that asks "What would Jesus say to Ellen?" Well, I guess I know Ellen better than just about anybody, and I'm pretty certain I know what he'd say. He'd say she's living her life honestly and courageously, that since she was a little girl she has been caring and compassionate. He would know that she hungers and thirsts after righteousness and that she always tries to live up to her highest sense of right. He would call her blessed. He would not denounce her or banish her to hell because her desire for a significant other is with a person of her own sex. He would see her love as worthy and as pure as anyone's love for another.

How sad that some of us heterosexuals feel so threatened. How dare we be so arrogant. We live our lives with dignity, and our romantic attachments are celebrated. Can't we allow the same for our loved ones whose sexual orientation happens to be different than ours? I suggest that these fundamentalist groups end their useless "ex-gay" ministries and start "We welcome you to worship with us; we're sorry we put you through hell" ministries. Jesus would love it.

Betty DeGeneres, Ojai, Calif.

Rage or revelation? What is the point of Urvashi Vaid's making deliberately histrionic remarks about Nazi cremation ovens and the president wearing a Klan hood [Last Word, June 5]? And why does she feel entitled to characterize gay people as complacent, uncaring slugs who aren't worthy of her commitment and carefully nurtured rage? Ms. Vaid, the situation in Washington's serious. We need intelligent leaders to help us deal with it. If all you can offer us are hyperbolic tantrums, verbal abuse, and a few choruses of "hey-hey, ho-ho," then step aside and let someone else fight for the people who you feel have disappointed you so badly.

Nick Halthul, Washington, D.C.

I am so glad someone finally said something substantive about the present condition of gay politics. When I was young I was an activist, and I'm glad I made a contribution to the advancement of gay rights. But today, things are very different. I never liked accepting crumbs off the politicians' tables, but the scrambling for the scraps has never been so blatant. Desperate for any recognition, activists are prostituting themselves at the altar of Bush and his religion of corporate greed. It isn't just amnesia, incoherence, denial, indifference, and hypocrisy. It may not even be as complicated as the narcissism of conservatism, the cowardice of centrism, or the insularity of progressivism. No, it may actually be due to an attack of simple ignorance. Unless some of the values that were once part of gay awareness are restored to their rightful place in gay society, that "mad cow disease" will possibly range large and rampant over the American and global political pastures.

Laurence D.M. Marshall, Fresno, Calif.

For the record

In our June 5 story "Ricky's Rhapsodies," composer Ricky Ian Gordon was credited with writing The Wild Party. In fact, it was Michael John LaChiusa who composed songs for the Broadway production of that play. The Advocate regrets the error.