About the Site

ADULT CONTENT: Access to this blog RESTRICTED to 18 years of age or older! NSFW photos and videos published here are carefully selected to assure that no model is under 18 years of age. The blogger makes no claim to ownership of any photo, video, or text published here. If you have a copyright claim or other concern I should honor, please contact me by e-mail: aomm.tumblr@gmail.com OR click "Ask me anything" and let me know. The blog began on February 5th, 2011 as an educational-entertainment site with the following principal objectives:

FIRST, to be sure we not only feel good about who we are—gay, straight or bi, but also are proud of our orientation and identity. This was the subject of our first post and thus worth putting first in this list.

SECOND, that we treat masturbation as a sacred part of our natural selves—something virtually all of us do (or have done)—a time to communicate with ourselves and enjoy the deep physical pleasures that are also part of our humanity. In doing so we counter guilt, shame, and fear that have been used to defile this sacred part of the human experience.

THIRD, that we value love in same-sex relationships much as we do loving relationships between men and women. When we feel good about and love ourselves, we are better able to love others. We celebrate same-sex relationships—men loving men—in our Loving Couples Series. The photography captures the beauty of this expression of love whether just holding hands, kissing, frotting, and the like or deeply in manly embrace. Our passion is also directed toward safer expressions of these loving relationships.  

FOURTH, that we celebrate the artistry, poetry, literature, drama, cinema, and other great contributions gay and bisexual men have made and, of course, still do.

FIFTH, that we unpack the (mis)interpretations that underlie the war between religion and sexuality that are at the root of the guilt, shame and fear that cause so much harm. For those of us who are religious to a greater or lesser degree, we can take comfort in knowing that God made us the way we are. For those of us who are secular, we see who we are simply as part of nature.

In this the blog’s second year, there is still so much to do. Please help by sending your inputs to: aomm.tumblr@gmail.com

4. St. Sebastian: A Gay or Bi Icon (or our Protective Patron)?

The blogger’s favorite depiction of St. Sebastian found on the web. Source is David Vance Studio. For more of Vance’s superb photo-artistry: http://www.davidvanceprints.com http://www.modelmayhem.com/178805 and http://www.davidvance.com

Whatever the historical truth may be, we symbolically adopt Sebastian as protective patron of all the gay and bi brothers (and sisters) this blog reaches. May they live in security, peace and love….

Probably the best collection of Sebastian images is by one of our fellow tumblr bloggers:

http://sintsebastiaan.tumblr.com this blogger

For photos of Sebastian in the art world, see the February 15, 2011 posting on this blog and check some some of the sources listed below. You can find it easily by searching for Sebastian in the RSS link (right sidebar).

The story of this saint is shrouded in legend and myth, but his identity over time has grown, depicting him as a gay (or bi) man who gave his life for his faith, thus becoming a martyr (and automatically a saint).

Sebastian (d. 288 A.D.) served as a captain, an archer in Emperor Diocletian’s Roman Praetorian Guard. According to tradition, Sebastian was known as one of the emperor’s favorites, suggesting they had an intimate relationship. Diocletian (244-311 A.D.) turned on Sebastian when he discovered that his consort was a Christian, outed for that when he came to the defense of fellows he had converted to the new faith.

What interests us here, however, is the standing he has acquired as an iconic figure underscoring the sacred nature of our sexual orientations or identities as men: straight, gay or, for bisexuals like this blogger, men with a gay side. This sacredness is part of our humanity regardless of any religious or cultural identity we use to define ourselves.

Given the ongoing interest in this subject, we’ll add more to this page.

Additional sources worth checking re: the impact of this gay/bi icon on fine arts:

http://www.jkkfinearts.com/events/SaintSebastian.pdf

http://thewildreed.blogspot.com/2009/07/allure-of-st-sebastian.html

http://thewildreed.blogspot.com/search?q=Sebastian (scroll down to the story)

http://ageofbeauty.blogspot.com/2005/12/st-sebastian-d-287-gay-saint.html

Fine Art & Craft of Masturbation By and For Men

Developing a Craft into a Fine Art

4. St. Sebastian: A Gay or Bi Icon (or our Protective Patron)?