Steven Petrow

Question: I know there's a lot of anger in the wake of the passage of Amendment 1 in North Carolina. For instance, one of my friends on Facebook posted this: "Gay people: Get out of the South. Boycott it. Don't give the people...

Question: The New York Times recently did a long article on a gay psychotherapist who committed suicide, ostensibly because he had trouble accepting his age as he approached 50. Ironically, he had just finished writing a book about smart strategies for aging in...

Question: I was having a hard week at work, and on top of that my girlfriend started making noises about our "slowing things down." I really needed to talk, and I called one of my (supposedly) best friends to vent. She didn't...

Question: Over the years I've gotten a number of tattoos, and they've really become a part of my identity. Most of them are not visible when I'm in work garb, but some of them are, especially when I roll up my sleeves. My boyfriend says I should cover them up...

This piece was written with Chuck Small

Washington, Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire. So far this year, the bumpy road to marriage equality has played out in four states, with wins in three, and an unsurprising veto in the Garden State by Republican Governor Chris Christie.

Next up, North Carolina's...

Question: I don't know about you, but it drives me crazy that people in our community don't dress for the theater anymore. They're just as likely to jump on a plane in their shorts and a T-shirt. What gives with that? What really irks...

Question: I've been reading that the Girl Scouts are taking some big heat from "severe" conservatives like Bob Morris, the Indiana representative, who claims the group is a "radicalized organization" that "sexualizes" young girls and promotes homosexuality. It really got my goat when...

Question: My boyfriend and I live together in Delaware, which legalized same-sex civil unions earlier this year. For years we've been talking -- on and off -- about making our relationship legal when we could. Instead of some fancy chocolates or a bouquet...

Question: In a recent column, Miss Manners wrote that "etiquette considers wedding presents to be associated only with first weddings" and that it is "blatant avarice" when couples are "permitted to exploit their friends, relatives and colleagues." I'm curious to know what you...

Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, the philanthropist who died last week in Durham, N.C., at age 91, never cut the same high-profile swath as Doris Duke, her glamorous and frequently infamous first cousin (once removed). Nor was she as wealthy,...

Question: I know that just about everybody Googles their dates before going out with them the first time. Unfortunately, when you Google me, the first search result is a photo where I'm showing, how shall I put it, way too much skin. My...

Question: My boyfriend and I recently spent some time at a really nice little inn in the Smoky Mountains. One nice touch is a blackboard in the foyer that welcomes all the guests, in alphabetical order. There were about 15 married couples...

Question: "My partner Rudy died about three months ago, and I've been in the process of handling his estate (which, since we couldn't legally marry, has been a nightmare, but that's another story). My question for you isn't about the injustice of anti-gay...

Question: "Over the holidays I was squeezed into my coach seat like thousands of jammed-in others, but unlike many others (I hope), I sat next to a straight man watching what seemed to be porn on his iPad. (I say a straight...

Question: "Since you write so often about the fact that 'language matters,' I'm curious whether it's OK to wish friends and colleagues a 'merry Christmas.' When some people say it, I sometimes feel that there's a subliminal message of evangelical...

Times have changed -- and with them, so have the rules. Just published as an original e-book, The New Gay Wedding: A Practical Primer for Brides and Grooms, Their Families and Guests is for anyone planning (or invited to) an LGBT wedding or...

Question:

"I've been in a relationship and living with my girlfriend for 18 months now. This is the second year my parents haven't addressed their holiday card to the two of us -- even though they include my brother's wife and...

Question:

"Every so often I meet a guy who tells me he just won't use a condom because (take your pick): 1) he can't stay hard; 2) he's too big; 3) he's allergic to latex; 4) he's HIV-negative; or 5) it's a mood killer. How do you suggest I handle...

Question:

"I'm so excited that the holidays are almost here. My friends call me a 'Christmas junkie' -- that is, when they don't refer to me as 'the gay Martha Stewart.' Maybe it's because I'm still trying to recreate that perfect Currier...

Question:

"I was having dinner with some friends last weekend, and of course the subject of the Penn State scandal came up. One of the straight guests was on a rant about it, and said, 'This is a perfect example of why gays...