Steven Petrow Launches New Advice Column

Steven Petrow Has A New Advice Column
This undated photo provided by Workman Publishing shows Steven Petrow, a leading gay etiquette expert, journalist and the author of ?Steven Petrow?s Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners,? (Workman, 2011) among other books. Petrow writes the "Civil Behavior" column for The New York Times and frequently speaks on matters of etiquette. (AP Photo/Workman Publishing, Bryan Regan)
This undated photo provided by Workman Publishing shows Steven Petrow, a leading gay etiquette expert, journalist and the author of ?Steven Petrow?s Complete Gay & Lesbian Manners,? (Workman, 2011) among other books. Petrow writes the "Civil Behavior" column for The New York Times and frequently speaks on matters of etiquette. (AP Photo/Workman Publishing, Bryan Regan)

What a difference five years makes. When I first started writing an advice column that focused on LGBT etiquette in 2009, only two states allowed same-sex marriage; Californians had recently passed Prop 8 banning it; and “don’t ask, don’t tell” still prohibited openly gay men and women from serving in the military.

I set up my shingle as a sounding board for all manner of questions, and the queries that poured into my e-mail reflected both the confusion of the social landscape and the hurt and anger caused by bullying and discrimination. My job was “simple:” To be a guide for both LGBT and straight people as they faced one novel (and anxiety-producing) situation after another.

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