See The Super Gay Penis Doodle Uncovered In Leonardo Da Vinci’s Notebook

See The Super Gay Penis Doodle Uncovered In Leonardo Da Vinci’s Notebook

Besides the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and the Vitruvian Man, it seems we also have Leonardo da Vinci to thank for this penis doodle.

Yes, the same genius who is credited as the archetype of the “Renaissance man” also seems to have had a thing for the men of the Renaissance.

Here’s the drawing that was uncovered in Leonardos’s notebook, which was actually drawn by his apprentice Salai (who was very likely also his lover):

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The drawing shows two crudely drawn penises marching towards a mysterious hole. The hole, consequently, is labeled “Salai.” So either he picked an interesting place to sign his masterpiece, or there is much to be read from this historic piece of art.

If you have kids and ever find questionable doodles among their schoolwork, rest assured that some of history’s greatest minds operated the same way.

Leonardo's drawing of Salai.

Leonardo’s drawing of Salai.

Here’s some background on Leonardo’s sexuality from author and historian Ross King’s Leonardo and the Last Supper:

According to Lomazzo’s account, Leonardo’s passion for the beautiful Salai therefore reached its peak at about the time work began on The Last Supper in Santa Maria delle Grazie.
In the fifteenth century, Florentines were so well-known for homosexuality that the German word for sodomite was Florenzer. By 1415 the sexual behavior of young Florentine men had caused the city fathers such concern that “desiring to eliminate a worse evil by means of a lesser one” they licensed two more public brothels to go with the one they had opened with similar aspirations a dozen years earlier.

When these establishments failed to produce the desired results, and still “desiring to extirpate that vice of Sodom and Gomorrah, so contrary to nature,” the city fathers took further action. In 1432, a special authority, the Ufficiali di Notte e Conservatori dei Monasteri, or Officers of the Night and Preservers of Morality in the Monasteries, was formed to catch and prosecute sodomites. Over the next seven decades, more than ten thousand men were apprehended by this night watch.

According to Vasari, Salai was “a very attractive youth of unusual grace and looks, with very beautiful hair which he wore curled in ringlets and which delighted his master.” Giacomo seems to have served as a model for Leonardo. No definitive image of him exists, but art historians refer to a distinctive face that appears repeatedly in his drawings—that of a beautiful youth with a Greek nose, a mass of curls and a dreamy pout—as a “Salai-type profile.”

Leonardo was almost certainly homosexual by the standards of later centuries. Freud was no doubt correct when he stated that it was doubtful whether Leonardo ever embraced a woman in passion. Two years after the Saltarelli affair, Leonardo wrote a partially legible declaration in his notebook: “Fioravante di Domenico at Florence is my most beloved friend, as though he were my….” A nineteenth-century editor of Leonardo’s writings hopefully filled in “brother,” but the relationship may well have been more intimate.

Here is a video of King discussing the matter more:

via Dangerous Minds

Dan Tracer

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Virginia House of Delegates Approves Resolution Hiring Lawyers to Defend State's Gay Marriage Ban

Virginia House of Delegates Approves Resolution Hiring Lawyers to Defend State's Gay Marriage Ban

Virginia

Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates passed a resolution Thursday that would authorize the chamber to hire legal counsel to defend the sate’s gay marriage ban. 

In January, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced he would not be defending the state’s discriminatory ban in court. 

GayRVA reports:

HerringHR 566 started as a move to allow the branch to hire a lawyer to “represent the House of Delegates to halt any attempt by the Governor to expand the Medicaid program without the explicit approval of the General Assembly.”

But in language added in a reprinting of the bill today, a clause was added which would allow the republican dominated house to hire private council to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

Specifically, it would allow the Speaker of the House, William J. Howell R-53 to hire counsel to represent the legislative body in state courts and gain the power to remove the AG for his “improper role in challenging Virginia’s marriage laws.”

The employed counsel would then be able to “represent the position of the Commonwealth in pending litigation involving the challenge to the constitutionality of Virginia’s marriage laws”

Responded Herring’s Director of Communication Michael Kelly:

“Every court that has reviewed Virginia’s marriage ban has agreed with Attorney General Herring’s analysis and the author of Virginia’s modern constitution has said the Attorney General acted within his authority and duty. This is just an anti-equality measure wrapped up in the guise of the law.”


Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2014/09/virginia-house-of-delegates-approves-resolution-to-hire-lawyers-to-defend-states-gay-marriage-ban.html

Harassment, Abuse, And Extortion: The Everyday Struggles Of Gay Mexicans Revealed

Harassment, Abuse, And Extortion: The Everyday Struggles Of Gay Mexicans Revealed

20140903_130118The state of Coahuila in Mexico recently legalized same-sex marriage, becoming the first of the country’s 31 states to do so through the legislative process. But the fight for equality for gay people living in south of the border is far from over.

“The police here are very coercive and manipulative,” says 36-year-old Cesar Salazar (pictured). “They are not on our side. They see gay people as targets.”

Salazar is a professional actor and musician. He lives with his family in Mexico City, where he was born and raised. In an exclusive interview with Queerty, he spoke about his experiences living in a country where being gay is still often considered taboo and where homophobia and police extortion are constant threats in the everyday lives of gays and lesbians.

In general, what is the attitude towards gay people in Mexico, specifically in Mexico City, where you live?

In general, it’s still very difficult here. It’s politically correct to say that you favor gay rights and accept gay people, but the actual act of doing so doesn’t happen. For a lot of gay men, it’s very hard for them to express themselves openly.

It’s a little different for me, personally, because I’m what people in Mexico would call a “chacal.” I tend to have more masculine mannerisms. I have a beard. So people don’t suspect I’m gay. When they find out, they’re often surprised.

And when they do find out, do they ever harass you?

Yes. I was in Guadalajara with a friend one time. We were crossing the street when some guys passing in a car rolled down the window and called us “putos” (faggots). I yelled back at them. They got out of the vehicle, intending to fight us. I told them to take it easy, that we didn’t want any problems, and that’d we’d just get out of there. Next, one of the guys started kicking my friend. I had to break it up. Afterwards, my friend was upset with me. He thought I had provoked the guys by yelling back at them. But they had started it. I was just sticking up for the two of us.

cesarCouldn’t you go to the police for help?

The police here are very coercive and manipulative. They are not on our side. They see gay people as targets. For instance, there are many locations within Mexico City where gay people are known to get together — parks, forests, public places, etc. — to hang out and have sexual encounters. Police are aware of this and will often go there just to harass them.

There’s a park close to where I live. It’s very beautiful. There’s a water reserve and a lot of trees and wildlife. One night, I rode my bike there. Another guy noticed me. So we started chatting. That’s all we were doing at that point. Just chatting. All of a sudden a policeman shined his flashlight on us. “I see what you’re doing,” he said. And I replied: “What are you talking about? We’re not doing anything. We’re just talking.”

He called for backup, then he took my bicycle and said we would have to go with him to the station. I knew we hadn’t done anything wrong, and that he couldn’t make us go with him, so I looked at the other guy and I told him he could either leave or stay with the cop. He was very scared and chose to stay. I left.

What about your bike?

I never got it back. It was easier to surrender it than deal with going down to the station.

What would have happened if you had gone down to the station?

They cops probably would have extorted me. A lot of gay men will just pay an officer on the spot rather than be taken to the station. It’s easier. You give them all the cash in your wallet and they let you go.

zonarosaWith so much scrutiny, are there any safe places where gay men can go to meet?

The “Zona Rosa” (Pink Zone) is Mexico City’s gay neighborhood. It’s the one spot where it’s okay for two men to hold hands or kiss. There are a lot of bars and shops there. It’s very nice.

Throughout the city, there are also more discreet gay sex clubs. You usually pay about $100 pesos ($7.50 U.S.) entry. There’s a bar and an area for socializing, plus several individual rooms. One of the most popular clubs is called “La Casita” (The Little House).

It’s very common for closeted men — especially older men — to be married with a family and have a gay sex life on the side. Because of family, religion, tradition, their jobs, and other various reasons, they can’t be sexually liberated. So they express their sexuality in secret. There is this ongoing bisexuality. And it often happens in places like La Casita.

Do you see a hopeful future for gay people in Mexico?

For younger generations under 30, they have no problem with being gay and expressing themselves. They’re much more free. What they are experiencing right now is a sexual liberation that is very, very grand.

I’m optimistic, but I also believe that much of what happens next depends on our leaders. They must use their influence to change things. Kind of like what’s happened in Coahuila — with gay marriage being made legal — only on an even larger scale. That will lead to a better future where gay Mexicans are able to express themselves openly and in a free way.

Related stories:

Here’s What Goes On Inside The All-Male “Akharas” Of India

PHOTOS: The Secret Homoerotic Lives Of Cuban Men

A Close Look at Mexico City’s Naked Man Exhibition

Graham Gremore

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