WandaVision, It’s A Sin Debuts on HBO Max, Dan Slott, Perseverance Lands on Mars, Chasten Glezman Buttigieg, Dylan Geick’s Poetry, and More: #GAYNRD DAILY
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IN DECLINE Gay Men’s mental health has been severely in decline since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine and self isolating became prevalent. Study: Sixty-three percent of men who participated in a new UCLA-led study reported only leaving their home for essentials amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The research suggests being in isolation has contributed to feelings of anxiety and loneliness, and dissatisfaction with their sex life.
The study, by the Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, was published in the Journal of Homosexuality. It focuses on a group that historically has been disproportionately affected by poor health outcomes. The results are based on responses from more than 10,000 men in 20 countries via a survey conducted in April and May 2020 on Hornet, a social networking app, which also participated in the research.
he paper’s lead author, Ian Holloway, is faculty director of UCLA’s Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative, which is dedicated to understanding the complexities of gay male sexuality. Other authors are from UC San Francisco and the LGBT Foundation in San Francisco.
Participants were asked 58 questions about the impact of stay-at-home orders on their lives. Those who reported not going out or only going out for essentials were categorized as staying in. Everyone else, including essential workers and those who said they continued to go out socially amid the pandemic, were categorized as not staying in.
The study found that those who have stayed in during the pandemic were:
- 37% more likely to feel anxious than those who haven’t stayed in.
- 36% more likely to feel lonely.
- 28% more likely to use text messaging to stay connected with others.
- 54% more likely to use video calls to connect with others.
“We know that all people are affected by the isolation that can result from physical distancing,” said Holloway, a UCLA associate professor of social welfare. “Our concern is that the harm may be more severe among gay and bisexual men, who face disproportionate rates of poor mental health and sexual health outcomes. COVID-19 has exacerbated stress, anxiety and social isolation within our communities.”
Most of the survey participants were between the ages of 18 and 34 (55.5%), identified as gay (78.6%), were currently employed (67.7%) and had health care coverage (85.4%). In addition, most lived in a large urban center (69.8%) and were not in a relationship at the time of the survey (67.4%).
Social networking apps like Hornet provide an opportunity for people around the world “to connect with one another and cultivate a sense of community,” said Alex Garner, one of the study’s co-authors and senior health innovation strategist at Hornet. “We must invest in interventions that include harm reduction approaches and leverage technology where possible to increase access to necessary health services and strengthen community connections.”
DIFFERENT STROKES and the different eras each episode of WandaVision cribbed from pop-culture.
And what will happen on episode seven tomorrow?!
32 PICTURES OF HOW BAD IT IS IN TEXAS right now. Courtesy of Buzzfeed.
Don’t walk on the highway. It is too dangerous. Drivers could lose control and hit you. #ATXtraffic #txdotwx pic.twitter.com/3XDSWCd0XM
— TxDOT Austin (@TxDOTAustin) February 16, 2021
TWEET OF THE DAY
If you like piña coladas
and getting caught on a plane— Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) February 18, 2021
LANDING GEAR NASA’s Perseverance Rover, with a mission to seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth, landed in an exhilarating show on the red planet on Thursday afternoon.
“NASA’s Perseverance rover, with the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter attached to its belly, is on track to land on the Red Planet tomorrow, Feb. 18, 2021. Since launch, it has traveled over 291 million miles (468 million kilometers), and has about 1,260,000 miles (2,035,000 kilometers) left on its journey to Mars. Mission controllers expect to receive confirmation on Feb. 18 that it has hit the top of the Martian atmosphere at around 3:48 p.m. EST (12:48 p.m. PST) and touched down gently on the surface at around 3:55 p.m. EST (12:55 p.m. PST).”
TWEET OF THE DAY TOO
If I got to create a @StarTrek show:
One of the bridge crew would be an alien from the episode “DARMOK”, and he could only speak in Star Trek episode metaphors.“Kirk, with the Iotians, teaching Fizbin.”
“Geordie when he soured the milk.”
“Tuvix his pleas ignored.”
— Dan Slott (@DanSlott) February 18, 2021
A GAY BARTENDER reads you from afar.
WE AGREE “The genius selection of well-placed pop music helps immerse us in the era of course too, with LGBTQ+ artists well-represented, including Divine, Sylvester, Bronski Beat, Freddie Mercury as part of Queen, George Michael as part of Wham!, and as you might expect given the title, the Pet Shop Boys. They are music choices that often comment on, amplify or enrich the storytelling, and there’s a blast of a great track over every end credits. It’s A Sin: It’s A Masterpiece. Exquisitely written, beautifully acted. Heartbreaking, but healing, a tribute to those we lost and those who stood by them, and a defiant, joyous rejection of shame. It’s beautifully gay.”
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POET AT HEART Dylan Geick gave us a sample of what to expect when his collection drops later this year.
Gently, he takes my shirt over my head and places it with his./
I pull away again as he runs his finger along the laminate tear,/
wincing and pushing back but his grip is sure./
You cannot go on like this. You must protect yourself. You know this./
Welling tears, I shake my head./
I want to feel it. I want to feel all of it. I’ve only just taken them off./
This is no place for that./
.
Excerpt of “Heroic Cuirass” from an upcoming collection of poetry.
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IPA what?
THIRSTY THURSDAY Pop Qiz: How do you define progress? It comes down to each individuals perspective, that being said it can only be relative to you and where you are, compared to where you’re headed. Take it one day at a time, control what you can control, and keep progressing!
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PARTING SHOT post game.
