193 Reasons to Have Pride: Part 3

  Because
MICHAEL STIPE IS ONLY 80% GAY
It used to be that language limited the options we had when describing ourselves. But why stop at words? The R.E.M. lead singer prefers a numerical designation for himself.

 Because
THE FEELING IS MUTUAL
No big surprise that Brooklyn-based, gender-bending gay performance artist Kalup Linzy is one of James Franco’s best buds. The two men, who worked together on General Hospital, have already recorded a number of songs as the music-based performance art duo Kalup and Franco.

 Because
ST. VINCENT’S HIV CLINIC LIVES ON
St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village was one of the first institutions to address and treat HIV and AIDS in the early 1980s. Though the hospital closed in 2010 after more than 160 years, patients in the HIV clinic have continued to receive services in space that was part of St. Vincent’s, primarily under the auspices of Mount Sinai Medical Center. With the property now sold and slated for redevelopment, Mount Sinai is looking for a new location in the neighborhood and promises no interruption in care.

Because
MORE SAME-SEX COUPLES ARE RAISING CHILDREN IN THE SOUTH THAN ANY OTHER U.S. REGION
As often happens, reality utterly defied expectation when U.S. Census data from 2010 showed that same-sex couples in Southern states are more likely to be raising children than their counterparts on either coast. African-American and Latino couples are twice as likely as white couples to be raising children, but unfortunately, they are also more likely to be struggling economically.

Because
STEVEN PETROW IS TEACHING US ALL TO HAVE BETTER MANNERS
Steven Petrow knows a thing or two about manners. A former editor at Life and Time Inc., in 1995 he penned The Essential Book of Gay Manners and Etiquette, his first attempt at getting gay men to stop behaving badly. Sixteen years and multiple columns on manners for Out, The Advocate, and The Huffington Post later, Mr. Manners is back with what promises to be the quintessential guide for gays and lesbians who want to smooth out their rough edges. With Steven Petrow’s Complete Gay and Lesbian Manners For Every Occasion: The Definitive Guide to LGBT Life, the author hits everything from sex and dating to coming out. If you thought proper etiquette was just about folding napkins, you’re in for a real surprise.