Contestant #8: Zack Rosen

Zack is editor-in-chief of thenewgay.net. To vote for Zack, click here. 

Blog Post #1: How I Got DPd

Originally posted at thenewgay.net:

If you want to annoy me at a family reunion, ask me when I’m getting married. If you want to super, double, steam-coming-out-of-my-ears annoy me, append that question with “You can now, you know,” as if I A) never read the news and b) will treat my boyfriend like some sort of tolerable roommate until the state declares that we can fuck and argue about china patterns.

As every queer blogger is obligated to point at least once, making your relationship official and eternal is extremely separate from any ceremony that happens in a church. And now I’m the millionth person to type that sentence. Do I win a free carwash? Unoriginal as it may be, the subject is on my mind because I recently came face to face with the difference between a loving, sustained union and the way such a union is codified by the government.

 Read the full post here.  

Blog Post #2: The Indie Rock Fag: 8 Wedding Songs That Don't Suck Ass 

Originally posted at thenewgay.net:

I know that my relationship still lies largely outside the conventions of society and so my eventual wedding should do the same. I don’t (necessarily) mean that I will coast down the aisle naked on a KY slip n slide, but I will make damn sure that my wedding both has my own tastes reflected and will not bore my guests to the point of hanging themselves in the bathroom with a lacy “Zack’s getting married” gift bag.

I think the easiest way to do this is to make sure that they aren’t bombarded with four hours of “We are Family” and “I Feel Good” in lieu of actual personal musical choices. At the same time, there will be older relatives in attendance and a first dance to the likes of Crystal Castles or Battles might send dentures and pacemakers a-flying. So, below, are my suggestions for romantic songs that one can slow dance to at a wedding while not feeling like you’re stuck in the preview for a Nora Ephron movie.

Read the full post here. 

Question #1: How will you help advance the freedom to marry?

I believe strongly that marriage is a well-deserved linchpin issue in gay life for one reason. It is not because everyone wants to get married or because we are trying to squeeze ourselves into the narrow heterosexual mold. Instead, marriage is a right that is available to straight people and not to gay people. An inequality this glaring and hurtful needs to be addressed. As long as it is not, a clear message is sent to the world that queer people are somehow "less" than everyone else.

Keeping this in mind, I believe the best that I can do is simply talk about marriage in a non-confrontational and deeply personal way. Writing essays about marriage and its effects on my life are a way to remind everyone out there that marriage should be as important (or not) in their life as they want it to be, but it is still a right that we as a group should not be robbed of.

Question #2: How would you benefit from going to Netroots Nation? 

As Editor-in-Chief of TheNewGay.net, an alternative queer resource, the success of my job depends on two factors: recruiting passionate and talented queer writers to be involved in the website, and doing an almost inhuman(e) level of networking to ensure that I and my cause are on the forefront of people's awareness. A large-scale event such as Netroots Nation would provide me an invaluable outlet for the realization of both aims.