Gossip gay Michael Ausiello is reporting that actor Connor Paolo, who plays gay teen Eric on Gossip Girl, has been offered "regular" character status by the show and has refused the contract offer.

It might amount to nothing more than an actor not wanting to be hemmed in by a role that hasn't been giving him too terribly much to do, but of course the Ghost of Gay Teens Past rears its ugly head whenever this kind of thing happens.

I for one hope that Eric isn't going anywhere regardless and that there are no Dekkerian underpinnings to the news.

 
Lance Bass and Hillary Duff

The GLSEN Awards took place over the weekend in Beverly Hills and a host of gay and gay-friendly stars came out in support of gay youth. Check 'em out!

Dirty Sexy co-stars Candis Canyne and William Baldwin
 

Jennie Garth
 

More after the jump!

This really IS "so gay" ... and I mean that as a compliment.

The Advertising Council, a group that has been creating public service ad campaigns since 1942, is launching today the first campaign in its history to speak out against defamatory speech against gays and lesbians.

The campaign specifically tackles the troublingly popular phrase "That's so gay", which has become a common slang for "That's stupid" or "That sucks". The campaign has been produced to support GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) to combat the bullying of gay teens.

There are radio, television, and print ads in the campaign featuring celebs including teen queen Hilary Duff and comic Wanda Sykes, both of whom tell teenagers using the phrase "That's so gay" in a derogatory fashion to "Knock it off!"

And the campaign's website, ThinkB4YouSpeak, features video and interactive tools to teach kids about what the homophobic words they're using actually mean. And really, when pop songs like Katy Perry's "UR So Gay" are encouraging 10-year-old girls to run around calling people "gay" for no reason other than it's apparently "funny" or "edgy" (and somehow with the support of the gay media, which boggles my mind), we need all the help we can get.

To read more about the campaign and the council, check out this story in the NY Times. And after the break, check out one of the campaign's more eye-catching ads. 

Michael Urie (Ugly Betty's Marc) at a recent PAPER style party

Following this 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.

• GLAAD just announced that in honor of National Coming Out Day this Saturday, a handful of networks will be airing PSAs from GLAAD's "Be an Ally & Friend" campaign. Fox Reality Channel, USA Network, IFC, Lifetime, The N, SCI FI Channel, Sundance Channel, and various ABC affiliates will be among the nets airing the celeb-filled spots. Very cool.

• In his first press conference since wiping up Beijing with his Speedo, out Aussie diver Matthew Mitcham noted that he was "surprised" and "sad" to be the only out gay man at this year's games but is proud to carry the responsibility.

• Queen Latifah (she of the hilarious SNL appearance) was profiled in-depth by The New York Times, and the ever-present questions about her sexuality didn't surface until the last page: "Assume whatever you want. You do it anyway." Well ... we don't have much of a choice, do we?

• Above, from 365Gay: Gay businessman Mitchell Gold speaks about his new book Crisis, in which he and 40+ others share their coming-out stories and call upon the conservative right to stop demonizing gay teens.

• Drew Barrymore says in an upcoming Bazaar interview that she cried when Barack Obama spoke up for gay couples having equal spousal hospital visitation rights, as it represents the kind of world she wants to live in.

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

 An exceptionally adorable T.R. Knight

On Saturday The Point Foundation, which gives support and scholarship to LGBT students, honored Kristin Chenoweth and raised over $300,000 at its Los Angeles Fundraiser. 

Kristin Chenoweth
 

Chenoweth in particular was honored for her unflagging support of the gay community in the face of pressure from conservative groups (which even resulted in her losing a job, reportedly), and the gay and gay-fave stars were out in full force to celebrate and draw attention to the organization's latest crop of LGBT scholars.

Check out more pics after the jump! And for more on the Foundation, check out their website.

Aaron Yoo, Rafi Gavron, and Michael Cera work on their Playlist

There's a film coming our way next month that might be worth keeping an eye on if you're a fan of screwball comedy, New York City, indie bands or gay-inclusive ensemble movies: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (based on the novel of the same name) tells the story of one crazy night out in New York as two music fans fall in love while trying to find a super-secret show by their favorite band.

Michael Cera (Superbad, Juno) and Kat Dennings (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) play the titular couple, but the central straight romance isn't the only one in the mix.

It seems that Nick is the only straight member of an all-gay band, and his two best friends and bandmates are along for the ride. Tom (Aaron Yoo) and Dev (Rafi Gavron) get involved in their own misadventures, and I understand that Dev has his own love story with a guy named Lethario (Jonathan B. Wright).

A little background on the actors invovled...

Aaron Yoo and Shia Something-or-Other in Disturbia

Aaron Yoo might be best known for playing Shia LaBeouf's girl-crazy and rather annoying best friend in Disturbia, and will be appearing in the much-anticipated Friday the 13th remake due out in February.

Rafi Gavron and Juliette Binoche in Breaking and Entering

Rafi Gavron played Juliette Binoche's adorable thief son Miro in Breaking and Entering and appeared on a few episodes of Rome as Duro. If you're keeping track, that means he's now played characters named Miro, Duro, and Dev. Maybe there's a Devo biopic in the works he can be involved in? Actually, oddly enough, Mark Mothersbaugh from Devo did the score for Nick and Norah. Small world!

Jonathan B. Wright in the dark

Jonathan B. Wright is best known for playing gay Hanschen in Broadway's Spring Awakening, and this is his first feature film role. 

Director Peter Sollett proved in Raising Victor Vargas that he can pull great performances from young actors, and I hope he can do the same here. To check out the trailer and more for Nick and Norah, check out the incredibly elaborate official site.

Did you ever wear your Mom's high heel wooden clogs while dancing in the driveway, wish Vicki from Small Wonder was your BFF or pride yourself on knowing every absurd storyline they had on Ryan's Hope and General Hospital from 1982 on? 

About six years ago I had the idea of revisiting all the missed clues from my youth that all but screamed, "I am sooooooooo gay". Originally envisioned as a documentary short, I was going to terrorize my family members and demand they talk about the most obvious and difficult fey facts (graduating from film school can do that to you) but it never came to fruition.

Instead all of you AfterElton.com readers will be tormented on a regular basis with all of the shockingly obvious signs that not only should have sent me running into the arms of a young nubile man but also sent big pink flags up in the air for my parents to recognize.

Welcome to our new blog series, "How'd I Miss My Coming Out?" The goal is to showcase not only the horrors of growing up in the 80's but also to look at those painfully obvious tell-tale signs we all missed as adolescent youth. Hopefully it will help create a forum for all of us to realize we're not alone ... while having a laugh or two.

This week I want to examine one of the most obvious and "duh" moments from my early teen years in a big whoppin' Nestea Plunge of a revelation ...

I was in crazy love with New Kids on the Block!

"Come on everybody if you wanna take a chance, just get on the floor and do the New Kids Dance" Oh I was ready to take that chance and dance alright! In 1988 I swung my legs back and forth so much that you could see the wear and tear in our dingy brown shag carpet. I was 14 and couldn't get enough of Danny, Jonathan, Donnie, Jordan and that sweet little boy Joey!

What I thought was an innocent obsession with a peer (Joey was almost the same age) was obviously one of my first crushes on another boy. When his little squeaky voice was belting out "Please Don't Go Girl" I couldn't help but sing the backup whispers that went "I love you, I love you, I guess I always will ..." What? It seemed completely natural for a 14 year old boy to be singing along to a pop song and wanting to know everything there was to know about the band.

Every weekend I would go with my Mom to the Mall and spend all of my allowance on New Kids paraphernalia. While my brother was getting his acid wash on at Chess King I was scouring the mall and snatching up every poster, magazine, Trapper Keeper folder, trading card set and lunchbox with their pimply yet adorable faces on them.

Paul James as Calvin, Greek's gay pledge  

Last week ABC Family premiered the second season of Greek, last summer's surprise hit college comedy. Greek brought the youth-targeted network a rare gay character, Calvin (played by Paul James). Calvin romanced a fella from another frat and was accidentally "outed" to his own frat by his best girlfriend, and in last season's finale decided to leave his house due to the chilly reception he got after his brothers learned about his sexuality.

Now the show is back and, unlike some shows that dispose of gay characters once they've come out or move them into the background, Calvin is back on campus and getting plenty of screentime. Was I the only one scared that they'd have him on a bus out of town by now? 

When we meet up with the kids after the winter break, Calvin is still out of the Omegas, although house leader Evan is actively trying to win him back and says that he's talking to the frat about it. In a clever bit of cross-cutting, we catch up with Heath (Calvin's fling from season one), who decides to come out to his Kappa Tau brothers as Evan is confronting the Omegas about bringing Calvin back. While Heath's bros couldn't care less that he's gay, Evan's preening preppies resist wooing back Calvin, as they feel that it wouldn't be good for the house.

Meanwhile, Calvin mulls some new extracurricular options and reconnects with Ashleigh, who accidentally outed him to the Omegas in the finale. They go shopping together and look at cute boys. Ah, youth ...

In this week's episode, Calvin entertains the idea of joining the Kappa Tau house, at Rusty's insistence. Meanwhile, Evan hasn't given up on getting Calvin back into the Omega house, gay or no. I actually started feeling like Evan's concern for Calvin was being used as a chip strictly to build sympathy for his character, but Evan reminds us in this episode that he's not just the Omega president, he's also Calvin's "big brother", which means he's also tied to him by fraternity protocol and has more than just a personal interest in the gay prodigal pledge.

Move over, Ralph Macchio and Hilary Swank: in the new movie The Sensei, there's a new put-upon teen about to put the beat down on some bullies. According to the press materials:

"THE SENSEI takes place in a small, conservative town during the rise of HIV and the AIDS panic it stirred in communities in the 1980's and early 90's. Set in 1985, in an area not too far from Laramie, Wyoming, young McClain is a gay teen that is constantly harassed and ostracized in his provincial town."

Michael O'Laskey, who's best known for playing one of the brothers in the 3 Ninjas series of kids films, stars as McClain, who is harassed and bullied because of his sexuality (one of the bullies is played by Mark Mcgraw, brother of country singer Tim Mcgraw). After he's nearly killed in a bashing, his mother enlists the help of her own Mr. Miyogi, a character named Karen, played by the film's director, Diana Lee Inosanto (who's also a world-renowned stuntwoman).

The movie makes its world premiere at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival on May 4th. You can learn more about it at the film's website, and you can see the trailer over here. It looks great ... the only thing missing is a Peter Cetera ballad.

We blogged last year about the first season of the British teen drama Skins. Set in Bristol, it focuses on the lives of eight friends between the ages of 16 and 18 – including an out gay character, Maxxie (played by Mitch Hewer). Although it was refreshing to see an out gay teen who was confident and popular, the ensemble nature of the drama meant that Maxxie didn’t get much development last season. And the plotlines he did have also seemed to revolve around other people’s reactions to him – his Muslim best friend Anwar’s struggle to accept his sexuality, for example, or his heteroflexible friend Tony’s experimental attempts to seduce him.

The first episode of the second season of Skins premiered in the U.K. on Monday night. And although the characterization overall on the show is pretty shallow, there are signs that Maxxie may get a beefed-up plotline this time around. In the season premiere, we saw him being homophobically hassled by a group of boys who live near him – one of whom fairly clearly has the hots for him. This was confirmed later on when, having been chased by the homophobes and got away, Maxxie finds himself tackled to the ground and kissed by the boy, Dale. Initially indignant, Maxxie said “Dale, you can’t just treat me like shit and then just…” before evidently deciding “what the hell” and kissing him anyway.

While storylines involving homophobic abuse and closeted homophobes might seem like earnest clichés for a gay teen character, Skins prides itself (sometimes a little too much) on being politically incorrect and “edgy”. Consequently, Maxxie seemed totally unfazed by the persecution, even when a whole group of boys were chasing him. Having easily escaped from them, he muttered below his breath “tossers”.

Similarly, when he kissed Dale, it came across as being less because of low self-esteem or a willingness to tolerate a closeted boyfriend, than as simple pragmatic sexual opportunism – of a kind in which the other characters in the show regularly indulge.

More on Maxxie and a clip after the jump...