Luke Macfarlane for Out (Photo: Greg Lotus)

Out magazine has begin to tease this years Out 100, their annual list of "gay men and women who moved culture". Their first reveal includes out actors Luke Macfarlane, John Barrowman and Sir Ian McKellen, MSNBC rising star Rachel Maddow, actor Wilson Cruz, Ugly Betty producer Silvio Horta as well as newlyweds George Takei and Brad Altman.

Photo credit: Greg Lotus

Find out more about the early revelations along with a few reactions after the break.

Steve Zahn plays gay in Happy, Texas

Radar Magazine has a piece on how gay men play a key role in child pageants — you know, the world that many people were shocked to discover after the death of JonBenét Ramsey and thanks to movies like Happy, Texas and Little Miss Sunshine. Flamboyant gay men are hard to miss in that world, appearing as coaches, judges, stylists and emcees. While the most interesting aspect of the article is how it tries to see a positive side of the child pageant circuit, it also has plenty of interesting glimpses into a world most of us haven't examined closely.

The story that sticks with me is that of Ray Smith, who dropped out of high school and eventually found work at a Louisville gay bar where he imitated male celebrities along side a troop of female impersonators. Smith never performed in drag, but working with drag performers was a major influence on his work in child pageants. That's certainly an interesting parallel, as many drag performers play up an exaggerated idea of femininity much like what you can see in child pageants — those girls certainly aren't imitating their mothers who usually are dressed far more casually than their daughters.

Many of the gay men who work in the child pageant circuit come from a similar background as Smith. Their opportunities are often limited by a lack of education (and I can't help but wonder how many of them couldn't finish high school because they were being harassed by classmates for being gay while teachers and principles looked the other way), but in the child pageant circuit they found a world where they can be their flamboyant selves and thrive. Homophobia isn't an issue these men have to face in the child pageant circuit, as all most parents care about is that they're good at their jobs and that their daughters are treated well.

Little Miss Sunshine

However, due to the negative publicity surrounding child pageants after Ramsey's murder as well as documentaries about pagenats that aired on HBO and VH1, the child pageant circuit has gone into the closet. Pagent professionals have become media-shy, with one emcee telling Radar, "I'm tired of receiving hate mail." The events are often tightly-guarded and only people involved in the pageants are allowed to watch them.

Meanwhile, as a follow-up to the Radar article, a former child pageant participant sent an e-mail to Rich at FourFour (which has devoted lots of space to child pageant doc Living Dolls) about how that world influenced her view of gays:

"By the time I came to understand what "gay" was, it wasn't even an issue for me, other than the fact that these fabulous guys would never be interested in me in "that way." A loss for me, but a gain to others ... I believe being exposed to diversity at an early age made me aware that not everyone was exactly alike, that being different is an asset not a liability, and people are just people no matter what. I think if you'd ask other women that participated in pageants during their formative years, you'd find similar sentiments."

It's a pretty fascinating glimpse into a world I haven't considered very much. I still find the images from child pageants to be discomforting but the article got me to look at the world from a different perspective from the default "OMG! How shocking!" viewpoint. Any thoughts on the article or the topic in general?

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• A former Playgirl editor asks, "How much did the perception that Playgirl was a 'gay' magazine contribute to its demise?" I don't know ... but I do know that I have a copy of the Playgirl Workout VHS pictured on the first page of the essay and it's hilaaaaaaaarious.

• John Barrowman will be hosting Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's star-studded 60th birthday gala, which gives me hope that my dreams of his hosting my 34th bar crawl and pizza jamboree may still be alive. (Free Dippin' Sticks, John!)

• Does anyone else find the suggestion that straight couples who add a message promoting marriage equality to their wedding vows are somehow being insulting to be completely ludicrous?

• Does here! TV think that running a series that profiles gay porn stars like Jason Ridge (pictured above) and Nick Capra is going to get anyone to tune in? Puh-LEEZE ... [Scrambles to find remote]

• It's amusing that of all of the nice things James Franco has said regarding his role in Milk throughout his recent Pineapple Express publicity, the headlines that keep popping up are all about how "uncomfortable" he was kissing Sean Penn. Um ... wouldn't you be? The guy scares the bejeezus out of me!

• New York Post gossip Liz Smith weighs in on Milk in the best way she knows how: with a rambling, near-coherent discussion of who she knows in the cast, led by an out-of-context quote from Keanu Reeves. Still got it!

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

Neil Patrick Harris fascinates me. Hot on the heels of his biggest endorsement deal (for Old Spice, not exactly a "gay" product by any means) he's pulled his highest-profile gay media move yet in gracing the cover of next month's Out magazine (UPDATE: The full interview is now up on the mag's website). And let's not even get into the Emmy nomination, the magic shows, the Sesame Street appearance, or Harold and Kumar. NPH continues to break the rules, and we love him for it.

In the interview, NPH reportedly calls Anderson Cooper "dreamy" three times and says that gay marriage rights are important to him, though he doesn't speak to specific wedding plans for him and his longtime boyfriend David Burtka. And then he offers a bunch of pics of himself done up as the Marlboro Man in a vain attempt to make us lose track of the real important wait David who? Married what?

Huh? Dreamy...

(More pics over here)

Here's something you don't see every day: an openly gay or bisexual (he prefers the term "polyamorous") Bravo reality star-in-the-making is gracing the cover of Playgirl magazine.

Madison Hildebrand, who appeared on Million Dollar Listing last season (as "the rookie") and returns next week for Season 2 in full force, isn't your typical Playgirl coverboy. (In case you're wondering, he does "keep on his tidy whities" in the accompanying spread.) Michael Jensen had the chance to chat with Hildebrand recently at the TCA and found out why...

AfterElton.com: So how did the Playgirl cover come about?
Madison Hildebrand: Someone knew someone and they called and ... I had to digest it and ask my mom. My mom's Mormon, so I had to clear that. But it all worked out, I'm on the cover!

AE: What can you tell us about the shoot?
MH: It was fun! The theme was Risky Business and I went to the house and they actually waxed the entire wood floor and I'm running down the hallway like a hundred times, sliding into frame.

Ah, so that's where the tidy whiteys come in. Hildebrand, who is seen in the previews for the show on a date with another guy, is single for the time being ... but he has a new doberman pinscher and says she's mean! This season the show looks to have been revamped to focus on three hot young guys in the LA real estate market, and there's no sign of most of the agents from last season (most of whom were ... well, not hot young guys) in the previews. I guess we'll find out what the deal is when the show premieres on August 5th.

I've included Madison's Playgirl cover after the jump, for anyone who's interested in checking out his real estate... 

TIME is running an interesting article and podcast from the True Colors Tour, asking people to define what a "gay song" is. One of the people they ask is radio DJ J.D. Doyle, who hosts a show called "Queer Voices", and takes umbrage with a popular perception:

"I could be describing my radio show to someone who hasn't heard of it, and I'd say its purpose is to share and preserve the history of gay music," Doyle said on a show a few years ago. "They'd say, 'Oh, disco music.' No, no. And I'd climb up on my soapbox and ask why they would think disco music is gay music, since most of it is by straight artists, mostly women, and only a tiny percent is lyrically gay. Very little of it is actually about our lives. By this time their eyes are quickly glazing over, and I realize once again I've taken the purist approach. But I certainly can't deny that to most people disco or dance music is the genre most associated with gay culture."

So what is a gay song, exactly? Is it any song by a gay artist? Is it a song by a gay artist that's explicitly gay? Can it be a song by a straight artist that has a gay sensibility to it? Or is there no such thing anymore as a "gay" or "straight" song? One of the people interviewed in the podcast is a teenage girl, who says that her generation doesn't really think like that. To them, a good song is a good song, and as long as it speaks to them, it doesn't matter who the artist is, or what the intention of the song is.

Do you agree with that sentiment, or do you have a list of favorite gay songs? Feel free to use the comments section to name your favorites, or explain why you don't think in those terms. Do you think that "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilara is a gay song? What about "Secret Love" by Doris Day, or "Father Figure" by George Michael?

And what about "Sugar Walls" by Sheena Easton, is that a gay song? It certainly was when I performed it at karaoke.

Discuss!

The Advocate has an interesting interview with out newsman Thomas Roberts about his career since leaving CNN, and the difficulties openly gay newspeople have in the business.

Of course, a lot of what is covered was already thoroughly examined in our own two-part, GLAAD award-winning article from a year ago, "Gay Newsmen - A Clearer Picture". But there are some new insights from Thomas, who since leaving CNN was hired and then let go from the tabloid show The Insider. He also had to endure his own scandal when nude pictures surfaced that were allegedly of the former Headline News anchor. After intensely examining said photos, I still can't say conclusively that they are of him, but for the record, he denies it:

“I never put inappropriate pictures of myself on a public website,” he says by way of explanation. “For me it was really hurtful, for Patrick (his boyfriend) and I it was terribly painful, and I’m sure anyone reading this will realize that what happened was something that we needed to deal with on a personal level. And we’ve dealt with it -- we’ve closed the book on that issue and moved on.”

He also talks about his own coming out process, and the lengths that he had to go to keep his sexuality hidden when he was trying to establish himself in the news business:

Roberts too was skittish early in his career. For one thing, he wasn’t out at all. “I didn’t know how best to deal with that professionally, or personally for that matter,” he says, as flies buzz around us and the occasional dog trots by. “I thought it would be a roadblock -- or a brick wall -- to advancement.” So whenever he arrived in a new market, like San Diego or Lincoln, Neb., “I would automatically date a girl and have everyone at the station see it. We’d date for a little while and then I’d break up with them or do something to make them break up with me.” Later, when his friends would offer to set him up with another girl, Roberts would say he was “too hurt.” “That would get me out of the whole meet-my-sister thing.”

The article also looks at other out newspeople (most of who whom were profiled in our article), including newly out Jane Velez Mitchell, who regularly goes toe to toe with Nancy Grace, and most interestingly, a closeted anchor named "Jake" who talks about taking the first small steps toward coming out.

By the way, if you were thinking of perhaps including Roberts in your Hot 100 votes, we've included a beefcakier shot of the handsome newsman after the jump. 

Let's hope that doesn't mean what we think it means...
(Cheyenne Jackson in Paper magazine's "Beautiful People" issue)

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Paper magazine has released their annual "Beautiful People" issue, and out Broadway wonderhunk Cheyenne Jackson is among those honored. Everyone cool with that? Yeah, I thought so.

• The Queerty boys chatted up gay author Scott Heim (Mysterious Skin), whose new novel, We Disappear, is a return to dark, quasi-autobiographical territory.

• Lifetime is going Project Runway crazy, with a makeover series called Project Pygmalion and another as-yet-unnamed series about the Runway models (America's Next Top Coathanger?) in the works for November.

• Decorating duo Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan (we profiled them back yonder) have gotten hitched in their native UK after 22 years of being together. Congrats, fellas! I guess our invite got lost somewhere in the Atlantic ... :(

• Gay Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Queer as Folk mastermind Russell T Davies laughed off being named the "most influential" gay person in the UK, and then called the designation "slightly demeaning". (He'd been hoping for "Best Dressed", maybe?)

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

While nothing can bring gay teen Lawrence “Larry” King back to life, his murder at the hands of a fellow junior high student brought to light the mostly ignored subject of the violent bullying often endured by kids who don’t fit in at school. Given that gender expression and sexual orientation were key elements that made Larry different from his peers, it makes perfect sense for The Advocate to address the story at length, which it does in its April 8 cover story by Neal Broverman, "Who’s to Blame?”

What at first seems like a broad rhetorical question on the cover unfortunately takes a literal turn as the writer searches high and low for scapegoats other than Larry's murderer, including the group home where Larry lived, LGBT advocates, “society,” and even Larry himself.

Casa Pacifica, the group home for abused, neglected, and emotionally troubled children where Larry lived, is blamed for somehow being a safe haven where he was “encouraged to dress as he pleased and live as the person he wanted to be.”

Broverman states that ”(i)t may be beyond the capacity of kids to reconcile a tolerant atmosphere like Casa Pacifica with the xenophobic, conformist nature of school.”

LGBT advocates, particularly the National Center for Lesbian Rights, are also blamed for their “Know Your Rights Guide” and “Queer and Trans Youth in California Foster Care Have Rights!” pamphlet, provided to all LGBT children at the Larry’s foster care facility. The author highlights many of these rights, like safe bathrooms and “the right for kids to wear clothes and hairstyles that fit their gender identity.”

These rights, and even “an illustration of a teenager in overalls and high heels” (pictured above) in one of the guides, are presented as dangerous freedoms taken “to heart in the last weeks of (Larry’s) life.”

Does anyone believe that an illustration and exposure to legal rights are responsible for Larry’s death?