Aaron Fricke (born January 25, 1962)

Aaron Fricke is an American gay rights activist. He was born January 25, 1962 in Cumberland Hill, Rhode Island. He is best known for the pivotal case in which he successfully sued his high school for not allowing him to bring his boyfriend, Paul Guilbert, to the senior prom at Cumberland High School in Cumberland, Rhode Island. (Picture: Aaron Fricke, Halloween 1991)

Shortly after he came out in 1980, Fricke began seeing another male student. Fricke decided to bring him as his date to the prom. When the high school informed Fricke he could not bring him to the prom, he filed suit in U.S. District court. The presiding judge, Raymond J. Pettine, ruled in Fricke's favor, ordering the school to not only allow him and his partner to attend as a couple but also to provide enough security to ensure their safety. The case received considerable media attention, and news camera crews filmed and interviewed the couple at the dance.

The case set a precedent that has been used across the United States to establish a legal right for students to bring same sex partners to school proms and other school social events.

Fricke later wrote of his experience in a book, Reflections of a Rock Lobster: A Story about Growing Up Gay. He later collaborated with his father, Walter, on Sudden Strangers: the Story of a Gay Son and his Father, a book about their relationship and of the elder Fricke's coming to terms with his son's homosexuality. That book was published shortly after Walter Fricke's death from cancer in 1989. In 2012, Boston Children's Theatre presented a play based on the book, adapted by Burgess Clark. The play received national attention for its anti-bullying message.


Aaron Fricke and Paul Gilbert the night of the prom
Aaron Fricke is an American gay rights activist (born January 25, 1962). He is best known for the pivotal case in which he successfully sued his high school for not allowing him to bring his boyfriend, Paul Guilbert, to the senior prom at Cumberland High School in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The case set a precedent that has been used across the United States to establish a legal right for students to bring same sex partners to school proms and other school social events.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Fricke

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More LGBT History at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Persistent Voices

Gerald Haxton & W. Somerset Maugham

Frederick Gerald Haxton (1892 – November 7, 1944), a native of San Francisco, was the long term secretary and lover of novelist and playwright W. Somerset Maugham.

He and Maugham met at the outbreak of World War I when they both began serving as part of a Red Cross ambulance unit in French Flanders.

Maugham, and to a lesser extent Haxton, had been affected by the trial of Oscar Wilde. Common to men who were either homosexual or in the case of Maugham who had sexual relationships with both men and women, (Maugham had had an affair with the actress Sue Jones before meeting Haxton and later had a child with Syrie Wellcome whom he married) neither spoke of their situation for fear of recrimination.

However in November 1915 Haxton and another man, John Lindsell, were arrested in a Covent Garden hotel and charged with gross indecency. Military policemen, whilst looking for deserters, had burst into the hotel room of Haxton and Lindsell to find them committing a homosexual act that was not buggery. On December 7 that same year both men were indicted under the same law that had been used to prosecute Oscar Wilde. However, unlike Wilde, when the two men appeared in the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey on December 10 they were both acquitted.


In 1914, W. Somerset Maugham met Gerald Haxton, a young American who would be his companion until his death in 1944, and in 1926, Maugham bought Villa Mauresque, at St. Jaen, Cap Ferrat, on the French Ri viera, where he would live, when not traveling, for most of the rest of his life. Haxton died in a private room in the Doctors Hospital, New York. Maugham later placed this dedication in his 1949 compilation, A Writer's Notebook: In Loving Memory of My Friend Frederick Gerald Haxton, 1892 -1944.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Haxton

Frightened by the Oscar Wilde trial, Somerset Maugham (January 25, 1874 – December 16, 1965) avoided treating homosexual themes and characters in his novels and plays.

Maugham was an extremely productive writer who both mastered and gained popular success with novels, short stories, and plays. In 1908, he had four plays running simultaneously on the London stage; before he died, his novel Of Human Bondage (1915) had sold over ten million copies; and from Orientations (1899) to Creatures of Circumstances (1947), he was regarded as a master of the well-made short story, especially for stories such as "Rain" and "The Colonel's Lady."

Nevertheless, when assessing his long career, Maugham declared that he was "in the very first row of the second-rate."

Maugham was born in Paris, the son of the solicitor and legal adviser to the British embassy. Orphaned by the age of ten, he was sent to Whitstable, Kent, to be cared for by his uncle. He was educated at King's School, Canterbury, which later received his books, some manuscripts, an endowment, and his ashes; at Heidelberg University, where he did not take a degree; and St. Thomas's Hospital, London.

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Citation Information
Author: Higdon, David Leon
Entry Title: Maugham, William Somerset
General Editor: Claude J. Summers
Publication Name: glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture
Publication Date: 2002
Date Last Updated July 12, 2005
Web Address www.glbtq.com/literature/maugham_ws.html
Publisher glbtq, Inc.
1130 West Adams
Chicago, IL 60607
Today's Date December 16, 2012
Encyclopedia Copyright: © 2002-2006, glbtq, Inc.
Entry Copyright © 1995, 2002 New England Publishing Associates

Days of Love: Celebrating LGBT History One Story at a Time by Elisa Rolle
Paperback: 760 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (July 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1500563323
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/4910282
Amazon (Paperback): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500563323/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (Kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MZG0VHY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

Days of Love chronicles more than 700 LGBT couples throughout history, spanning 2000 years from Alexander the Great to the most recent winner of a Lambda Literary Award. Many of the contemporary couples share their stories on how they met and fell in love, as well as photos from when they married or of their families. Included are professional portraits by Robert Giard and Stathis Orphanos, paintings by John Singer Sargent and Giovanni Boldini, and photographs by Frances Benjamin Johnson, Arnold Genthe, and Carl Van Vechten among others. “It's wonderful. Laying it out chronologically is inspired, offering a solid GLBT history. I kept learning things. I love the decision to include couples broken by death. It makes clear how important love is, as well as showing what people have been through. The layout and photos look terrific.” Christopher Bram “I couldn’t resist clicking through every page. I never realized the scope of the book would cover centuries! I know that it will be hugely validating to young, newly-emerging LGBT kids and be reassured that they really can have a secure, respected place in the world as their futures unfold.” Howard Cruse “This international history-and-photo book, featuring 100s of detailed bios of some of the most forward-moving gay persons in history, is sure to be one of those bestsellers that gay folk will enjoy for years to come as reference and research that is filled with facts and fun.” Jack Fritscher

Deondray Gossett & Quincy LeNear

The DL Chronicles is a gay-themed television series that debuted on here! in 2007 for one season that consisted of four episodes. It was revived in 2012 as "The DL Chronicles Returns". The series was created by filmmakers Quincy LeNear and Deondray Gossett who also serve as the producers and directors of the series. LeNear and Gossett were one of the lucky 33 couples married by Queen Latifah during January 25, 2014's historic Grammys ceremony on national television. The couple now share the last name "Gossfield."

The show's debut season focused on the stories of men who live secret lives. From a highly successful executive to the street corner hustler, from the happily married father of two, to the college athlete's first love, each episode, featuring a different cast, delved into the different lives and experiences of men living on the "down low".

Each episode features narration from Chadwick Williams (Damian Toofek Raven), an aspiring journalist, as he pursues research while authoring a book about men who have sex with men (MSM).


The DL Chronicles, a gay-themed television series, was created by filmmakers Quincy LeNear and Deondray Gossett. LeNear and Gossett were one of the lucky 33 couples married by Queen Latifah during January 25, 2014's historic Grammys ceremony on national television. At the time Quincy LeNear and Deondray Gossett had been together for almost 20 years: "We met on an indie movie that two of our mutual friends wrote and directed. We have been together since then." The couple now share the last name "Gossfield."



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Source: loldarian.blogspot.it/2009/10/coupled-up-quincy-deondray.html

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More LGBT Couples at my website: www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Real Life Romance

Puzzle Me This by Eli Easton

This is only a novella, and if I have to find a flaw, it felt a little rushed in the end, like the author was forced on a specific length. But aside from that, I really enjoyed it, above all for the realistic devolopment of Luke's approach to a relationship with a disabled boyfriend, Alex. At first Luke was pushed towards the relationship by his attraction, both physical than mental, for Alex: Alex is clever, cute, sexy, and the fact he is in a wheelchair doesn't seem a big issue. But when the relationship develops in something serious, Luke has to consider the logistic of living with a disabled man, what he will have and what he will give up; the fact the author didn't downplay this side of the story was the main point why I recommend this novella.

This is the second story I read by Eli Easton featuring a relationship with a disabled person, the other being the Mating of Michael, and in both stories I felt there was respect for the characters, not pity. It's likely the author is experienced with this situation or that she did a good job in her prep researches for the story.

Also, and this add to not pitying Alex, even the kink aspect of the sex life between Alex and Luke contributed in my liking the story and, yes, feeling like the author had respect for Alex, not pity.

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press; 1 edition (October 1, 2013)
Amazon Kindle: Puzzle Me This

More Reviews by Author at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Reviews