Arts & Entertainment
Of a certain age
Witty gay author blurs fact and fiction in new sex memoir
‘The Beauty of Men Never Dies’
By David Leddick
Terrace Books
$24.95
135 pages
Does wisdom come with age? Is it something else? Or, in the new book “The Beauty of Men Never Dies: An Autobiographical Novel” by David Leddick, could it be both? (courtesy Terrance Books)
You never thought you’d get this old.
When you were 5, for instance, 12 was a big age.
At 12, you thought 21 was the height of maturity.
At 21, 80 seems unattainable. Yet somewhere along the line, you learn what it takes to use the years well.
Does wisdom come with age? Is it something else? Or, in the new book “The Beauty of Men Never Dies: An Autobiographical Novel” by David Leddick, could it be both?
Somewhere in his seventh decade, David Leddick still has a sex life.
He wants to have a sex life until he’s 90.
“If I can achieve that,” he says, “then I feel I can say my life was a success.” There’s a good chance he’ll do it, too, because Leddick falls in love on a regular basis, though he only counts four men from his past as significant. He might’ve only imagined an attraction, however. And there was one he would’ve married, even though they never slept together.
“When I am with someone,” he says, “I belong to him.”
The man he writes about most, though, was the one he met in Uruguay: Fenil (sounds like “fennel”) was a 21-year-old policeman who had supplemented his salary by having sex with men and women. Leddick loved him, but it was doomed to be a chaste relationship because Fenil was young enough to be Leddick’s grandson and perhaps because Fenil claimed to be more attracted to women.
Leddick himself was an older man when he came out as gay. He wishes now that he’d taken “a stronger stand on admitting my gayness.” He also wishes he’d admitted deception when he denied spending years in the closet. He grew up in the middle of a large-ish family in Michigan. Could that have anything to do with it?
Today, Leddick travels often and lived in Paris for a time. He talks to God now and then, and he knows that, at 70-something, there will be times when he must “go forward alone.” And yet, “The life I am living now is as interesting, perhaps more so, than any other period of my life.”
So. Fiction or non-fiction?
The answer is both. This book is a little of this, a smidge of that and a lot of fun.
Leddick admits he made up some of what’s inside “The Beauty of Men Never Dies” and while some of the stories are easy to spot as such, readers are left wondering what part of this book is more than just imagination. In that respect, Leddick almost teases us, and since he has a droll wit that’s as dry as Death Valley and a keen eye for human foibles, we can happily go along with the joke.
And if that’s what you need this week (along with a few tears and some things that will make you think), “The Beauty of Men Never Dies” is a good choice. When it comes to essays, stuff like this never grows old.
Drag
Pattie Gonia calls out Hegseth’s anti-LGBTQ policies — while doing better pull-ups
Drag queen Pattie Gonia uses a viral instagram video to call out Hegseth’s exclusionary policies while doubling down on activism for LGBTQ rights and the environment.
Drag queen and environmental activist Pattie Gonia has gone viral after posting a video last week calling out Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — and doing so while knocking out a set of pull-ups with cleaner form than his own, all while in full drag. The clip is a direct response to a separate viral video Hegseth himself posted days earlier, in which he performed less-than-perfect pull-ups that drew widespread mockery online.
“Hi Pete Hegseth, Pattie Gonia here, while you’re busy trying to take away the rights of queer people, I’m over here advocating for the rights of all people, including my right to do better pull-ups than you all with my balls tucked inside of me,” she declares in the now-viral Instagram clip, delivering the message in full drag garb with the theatricality she’s known for.
The video lands at a moment when Hegseth’s record on LGBTQ rights continues to draw scrutiny. Since being appointed by President Trump to lead the Pentagon, the Defense Secretary has pushed the twice impeached president toward a series of exclusionary shifts inside the department.
Hegseth’s efforts have included pressing for the rollback of DEI measures, pausing all gender-affirming care for service members, and blocking promotions for personnel with “a history of gender dysphoria.” He has also openly stated that transgender people should not serve in the military and drew controversy for formally renaming a ship previously dedicated to Navy veteran and LGBTQ icon Harvey Milk to USNS Oscar V. Peterson. Hegseth has long criticized the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” framing the policy change as harmful to the armed forces. And in October, he courted further backlash after suggesting women could be barred from military service altogether, arguing that the government would hold personnel to the “highest male standard.”
Pattie’s viral moment is only the latest in her growing portfolio of environmental and queer activism. In August, she joined a team of climbers in Yosemite, helping raise a massive 66-foot-wide trans flag across the iconic El Capitan wall — a striking symbol of trans visibility in one of the most storied national parks in the country. Her drag name even riffs on Patagonia, the famed South American mountain range, blending outdoor culture with camp.
Last week, Pattie Gonia also made a bold statement at the Out 100 award celebration in Los Angeles, wearing a dress crafted from the same trans flag flown at El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. She attended the event alongside non-binary NSP agent SJ Joslin who was fired for her role in helping put up the flag.
Since the beginning of her drag career, Pattie has steadily expanded her influence beyond the stage. She co-founded the Outdoorist Oath, a nonprofit dedicated to helping BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ people and femmes build community in the outdoors through education and shared stewardship. She also launched the Queer Outdoor and Environmental Job Board, a free resource that supports queer people seeking work in environmental and nature-based industries, with the aim of diversifying fields where LGBTQ representation remains limited. Her fundraising efforts have generated over $2.7 million for LGBTQIA+, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and environmental nonprofits, underscoring her ability to mobilize huge audiences toward collective action.
Her recent projects also include a national tour of her environmental drag show, “SAVE HER!”, which blends performance art with climate messaging, and the release of a documentary TV series, “Go Gently,” co-created with Harry Potter’s Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley). The series follows their journey from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon, where they explore sustainable living and meet with communities protecting the Earth in innovative ways.
Photos
PHOTOS: Remove the Regime rally and march
Dropkick Murphys, Earth to Eve perform on steps of Lincoln Memorial
The Remove the Regime rally and march was held on Saturday, Nov. 22.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Transgender Day of Remembrance was observed at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Nov. 20. The event was emceed by Rayceen Pendarvis and Dwight Venson. Musical selections were provided by Agape Praise and Dynamic Praise. Proclamations from the D.C. Council and the D.C. Office of the Mayor were presented. The Pouring of the Libation was conducted by Rev. Elder Akousa McCray and Rev. Paul Fulton-Woods of Unity Fellowship Church.
Remarks were given by trans survivors of violence. Family members of slain trans woman Dream Johnson were featured speakers. Prayers were given by Rev. Cathy Alexander and Rev. Dwayne Johnson of Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C. Yael Shafritz gave a Jewish prayer through a video presentation. Closing remarks were given by community leader, Earline Budd.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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