Dan Savage on Levi Johnston (LOL!)

[SallyMander]

However much Playgirl paid Levi Johnston for that photo shoot, it wasn't enough. Most people thought Playgirl—which ceased publishing in print a while ago—was dead and gone forever. Prior to this photo shoot with Johnston, who even knew that Playgirl had a website? Or that Playgirl had a publicist? A publicist who had this to say after the shoot: "We were talking in the greenroom about gay categories—bear, cubs—and Levi asked what his type would be. We decided a twink, but older, so we anointed him a 'twunk.'"

I love the idea of a twunk—an older twink—but Levi Johnston is 19 years old. How old is a twink supposed to be if a 19-year-old is already an aged twunk? No, no: Johnston was never a twink. He is a high-school jock—the hockey variety, to the delight of gear fetishists everywhere—gone slightly to seed. But what's more interesting than sorting Johnston into his exact gay etymological category is watching Johnston, once a major homophobe, become increasingly comfortable with teh gays. Celebrity—that's what he is now—means having to hang out and work with (and work for) a certain number of out homos. Homophobia is a luxury that Levi can't afford anymore.

And, psst, Levi? If you did that Playgirl shoot only to drive your former future mother-in-law crazy—and if that was your plan, kiddo, it worked—imagine how much crazier she'll get if you do a little gay-for-pay porn. Just sayin'.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=2873069

(Link is NSFW if you have nosy coworkers reading over your shoulder :D )

[Blue_In_AK]

1. Whatever else Rex and Tank have done for Levi,

the part I appreciate most is that they seem to be giving him some good liberal education, and he seems to be a willing student. Not bad for a redneck kid from the Valley.

Tank was on Shannyn Moore's TV show last weekend, and when asked if Levi was aware that his nude photos are being appreciated by the gay community, Tank said, yes, Levi is aware and he doesn't have a problem with it.

Like Dan says, this must drive Sarah absolutely nuts. :evilgrin:

[SallyMander]

2. That's really interesting

that he knows/doesn't care that his Playgirl audience includes gay men. I think that someone who was truly homophobic would be horrified about that. I've often thought that much of the problem of intolerance in this country could be solved if we could just randomly shuffle people around. It's harder to be irrationally hateful when you've actually left Corn Junction, Ohio, and met the people you "hate."

:hi: