"The Epidemic of Gay Loneliness"

This interesting essay by Michael Hobbes has just been published online in the HuffPo's new Highline series. It argues, with stories and studies, that gay men have never been more isolated! Partly that's the bedrock matter of spending time in the Closet and having to Come Out of It (or to Stay In It). Partly, however, it's about the increased fetishization of the male body and its widespread imprinting in us from our easy access to pornography. Plus, the depersonalizingly efficient hook-up apps like Grindr.

Puzzlingly absent from his discussion are his friends, his buddies, the guys you hang with when you go to the bar or wherever. Even Millenials who watched Queer As Folk know about that, at least "about" that. The public space has become vacant. Friends need to be made there, even if they can be kept in private.