Category Archives: Gay Blog

#TinyThreads: An Insignificant Series

It was my third squeal during a figure skater’s performance to Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ that unlocked a whole new level of gay in our household.

A reassuring realization that just when you think I can’t get any more gay, I totally can.

#TinyThreads

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Special Guest Blog: Breathwork, Bondage & Sensual Touch by Chad Putman

{It’s been more than a hot minute since our last Special Guest Blog, and I’m thrilled to return the feature to the frontlines by this featured blog post by one of our previous Dazzlers of the Day, Chad Putman. He writes about his foray into tantric touch, the way it enhances intimacy and trust, and how the practice can lead to relaxation, stress relief, and self-exploration. With an inherent sex-positive message at a time when prudish hypocrisy is wreaking destruction, it’s a powerful and mind-expanding take on what is possible when we open our consciousness. Photos by Chad Putman.}

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG by CHAD PUTMAN:

I was scrolling recently on Instagram and saw a post from Burning Man highlighting an offering
for bondage and breathwork. I had not considered the literal combination, but according to the
post the available slots filled up quickly, and the feedback was positive. Although my Tantra Touch and sacred intimacy sessions with clients has incorporated both elements, I had not considered them as a packaged offering.
So, I decided to do a little research with an additional question, what if you added sensual touch
with a focus on gay men?
The outcome: below you will find three general benefits for the combined experience of
bondage, breathwork, and sensual touch for gay men. 
However, I wanted to add some of my own practice experience for additional context and steamy
content for your pleasure and personal practice. 

  1. Enhanced Intimacy and Trust: Engaging in these practices can foster deep emotional
    connections, trust, and vulnerability between partners, strengthening their bond. 
    I have personally witnessed complete strangers surrender in front of me as they engaged in
    breathwork and sensual touch. Allowing themselves to become more vulnerable as I held them
    and disrobed them with consent and sensuality. Each breath and each layer drawing them in from
    the outside, deeper into their body and sensual self.
    After some time, I would slowly shift them to the massage table introducing shifting degrees of
    sensual and erotic touch and energy. I could see them drop into their nude bodies trusting in the
    experience unfolding around and within them. Following my command for breath, awareness
    and surrender while the sensual sounds of music filled the room. Each touch, caress, and motion
    I work to gain their trust, inspired by their physical reaction and arousal.
    More times than not, I ask and encourage my clients to wear a blindfold to allow them to
    minimize the distraction of sight. Often this is the first time they have been blindfolded so I am
    consistently retaining a hand on them to assist with a sense of safety, aiding in their ability to
    ground into their bodies. 
    With tantra massage there is a focus on the four elements and related style of touch or massage.
    Earth touch being firm grip and force on the body, shifting from chest to arms, legs to feet. Water
    is a more liquid touch, often involving massage oil and rhythmic movements. Fire touch helps to
    create those peak moments and sexual stimulation. A perfect time to incorporate some lite or
    heavy bandage to focus sensation and pleasure. Lastly and often after a release some lite air
    touch or fingertips on the skin, exploring the entire body from lips to fingertips to toes. 
  2. Stress Relief and Relaxation: Breathwork and sensual touch can promote relaxation, reduce
    stress, and help improve mental well-being by engaging with the parasympathetic nervous
    system (heart, lungs, digestive system, and sexual organs).

Too often we are told to practice meditation and mindfulness with little to no experience. Too
often, ending brief attempts with frustration and miniscule benefits. 
My personal breathwork practice and work with clients has provided me with an active method
to experience and witness others in a meditative state.
Various forms of breathwork over a brief period, from 5 to 15 minutes, can be enough to increase
oxygen (prana-life force), reduce carbon dioxide in the body, and help release stored tension and
energy. 
The combination of breath, music, smells, lighting, movement, guided meditation, touch, and
stimulation creates an opportunity to surrender, ground, let go, experience the moment, and drop
into the immense amount of pleasure the body can receive and experience. 
It is during these extended moments that I engage the imagination to adventure beyond the limits
of the body and the room. Invoking sacred journeys and connections with Pachamama (earth)
and father universe, one’s higher self and spirit guides. These connections often tie back to the
original intention set by the participant. Seeking out their higher-self or inner child for direction,
insight, and impactful downloads. 
Feeling empowered, grounded and connected, the outside world and endless list of demands and
to-dos slip away, and pleasure begins to take center stage. Breathe, release, engage your throat
chakra and give voice to every cell of your body. 

  1. Self-Exploration and Sensory Awareness: These practices encourage greater self-awareness,
    body positivity, and exploration of desires, leading to improved self-acceptance and sexual
    confidence.
    We do not often communicate our boundaries, desires, and health practices at the time of
    engaging with a sexual partner. This can limit our sexual experience, lead to undesired outcomes,
    and increase anxiety about exposure to sexually transmitted infections. 
    Each of my Tantra Touch and intimacy practice sessions starts with a structured discussion that
    allows for an opportunity to share on these topics helping to create greater self-confidence and
    shared awareness. 
    The combination of all these elements, practices and shared openness leads to an environment in
    support of exploration, increased sensitivity, and appreciation of what our bodies are capable of
    experiencing. 
    These sessions are a perfect opportunity to welcome new experiences, challenge limitations with
    consent and introduce new sensations. The intentional combination of bondage, breathwork and
    sensual touch is an invitation to surrender, ground and release. 
    Every session takes on a life of its own. I never know when we begin, where we will end. I am
    profoundly grateful for the trust of my clients and their willingness to embrace the experience. 

After a 60-, 90- or 120-minute session the peace and tranquility in the room is palatable.
Butterflies circling and landing on the beautiful naked soul, grounded and at peace on the table
under a light sheet to assist with grounding and integration. 
Whether your pleasure practice is solo, partnered, group or part of your regular self-care, consider including breathwork, bondage and sensual touch for an enhanced intimate and erotic
experience. Allow me to guide you or connect with someone you trust. Your body is waiting, are
you ready?
For your own pleasure practice, I have noted some steps you can take to create your own tantra,
personal pleasure practice or to engage with another for some steamy, sensual, full body
pleasure. 
Your practice: start with setting the stage. Set aside some time, pick a space, create a vibe, and
think about what you want your personal or shared experience to entail. 
Do you need a moment of surrender and passion? Are you feeling dominant and particularly
kinky? 
Incorporate mood lighting and music, essential oils, and toys (ropes, ice cubes, blindfold, silk,
nipple claps, massage oil candles, get creative).
Having set the stage, start with some grounding breathwork and music to help you drop out of
your head and into your body. An effective practice includes belly breaths, taking deep breaths
through your nose, filling up your belly, and releasing out of your mouth through pursed lips.
You can count to four on the inhale and six on the exhale to help with focus. Do this for 3-5
minutes, then hold for 30-60 seconds at the top or after the exhale. Then repeat for 2-3 cycles. 
You can also increase the speed and focus of your breath. Inhale through your nose expanding
your chest, exhaling fully through your mouth. Or take short, quick (fire) breaths in and out of
your nose for 60 to 90 seconds. Making sure to take breaks, sitting, or lying down or doing so in
unison with your partner. Added benefit with eye gazing, interlocking lower body and legs and
being nude. 
You can also use this time to concentrate your breath and energy in different parts of your body
from your belly, heart, throat to the soles of your feet, sit bones, top of your head and most
importantly your root chakra at the base of your spine. Activating your sexual, Kundalini energy
and getting the juices flowing. 
Tantra Touch is about conducting sensation with intuition and allowing your body to be the
instrument. Giving a well needed break to your conscious mind and ego. Allow your sensual,
erotic, and animalistic self to lead the way. If it helps, wear blindfolds, including oils and ice for
sensual touch and sensation play. Do not be shy, include touch and massage of your nipples, lips,
cock, balls, and hole. Either laying down, tied up or cuddling with your partner. 

Build the energy and then take a step back to breath, move the energy around the body with lite
touch and breath. Then stir the pot allowing the vibe of the room and music to stimulate and
accentuate the feeling. 
When it is time we welcome the release with your entire body. Breath into your orgasm and
allow your throat to expand with moans and groans of pleasure. Let the universe know your
orgasm is profound, magical, and primal. Burst with the spark of life that transcends time,
galaxies, and gravity. 
But do not stop there. Allow yourself to remain in the moment. Resist the old training that forced
us to clean up and shy away from our body’s potential. Allow your drip, your cum to breathe, to
taste the air you breath. Lay still, relax and release. 
The angles and butterflies are on their way. Resist the temptation to check back in with your ego
and conscious mind. Drift away into a timeless experience of meditation brought on by the full
body experience of pleasure. 
These moments, these experiences are equally as important as the countless other moments that
take up so much of our time. I am of the opinion that our new opportunity in this age of Aquarius
is to spend more time experiencing the pleasures of our body solo and with others. Just maybe,
with more practice, more awareness, and more intention the peace and joy we all seek will be
less illusive and more palatable in the world around us. ~ Chad Putman

————————————————-

Chad Putman, MSW has been practicing tantra for the past two-and-a-half-years. Having studied under seasoned tantra and energy practioners in Costa Rica & Tampa, FL. His mid-life crisis, turned opportunity, lead him to San Juan, Puerto in 2022 in search of a fresh start and renewed zest for life. 

Today his practice of tantra is a spiritual way of life. He has developed his own intuitive services for gay, bi and queer men grounded in breath, embodiment and transformation. He offers tantra touch, intimacy coaching, small group sensual experiences, workshops and international retreats. His celebration of the male body, intimacy and sexuality has empowered clients to reconnect with their bodies, pleasure and intuitive self.

If you would like to connect with him please visit makeyourithappen.com, Instagram @chadputman75, YouTube @chadputman and Onlyfans @Rearontogo or Text 518-225-0957 or chadputman1@gmail.com

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A Birthday Suit Post

At what age should one gracefully and demurely retire from baring one’s ass for all the internet to see? Surely by fifty, no?

Hell no.

It wouldn’t be ALANILAGAN.com if there weren’t a birthday suit post on this day, so here you go, along with a look back at previous birthday posts below. Scroll for me, baby…

Birthday #49: The silver wolf hair was in full effect by last year’s birthday – the last one of my 40’s, and I was definitely starting to feel the wear and tear on the body.

Birthday #48: A somber and serious fade to black, my 48th year was informed by Dad’s death and this look back (way wordier than this one if you don’t want repetition).

Birthday #47: This was a traditional birthday suit post followed by a moody midnight dip post.

Birthday #46: A proper skinny-dipping post fronted birthday #46, which was otherwise celebrated in relatively quiet fashion.

Birthday #45: Forty-five years young feels quaint now, as does this vintage birthday suit pictorial.

Birthday #44: A different kind of birthday suit rang in my 44th but my ass gave good face before the day ended.

Birthday #43 and #42: The summers of 2017 and 2018 were ones that I took off from blogging, but this night-swimming birthday suit post still made it up.

Birthday #41: Bad hair began my forty-first year apparently, followed by a blatant butt-shot, and later some birthday suit mayhem.

Birthday #40: A milestone of sorts, forty found me in a philosophical mood, and also entirely out of clothing.

Birthday #39: Birthday cake by Andy cloud out my thirties here, while other men doffed their attire for a twist on the birthday suit post.

Birthday #38: This looked like a quieter birthday, backed by a basic birthday suit post, or two.

Birthday #37: A family-oriented throwback, and not much else for #37.

Birthday #36: The merry-go-round of life spins around… with some help from a best birthday friend.

This blog doesn’t go back any further than #36… and that’s probably for the best.

Thank God this shit-show is over for another year. Good night.

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Dazzler of the Day: Justinian Huang

Writer Justinian Huang earns his first Dazzler of the Day crowning thanks to two books that have mesmerized readers for the past couple of years, especially those of us interested in intersectional LGBTQ+ themes and characters: ‘Lucky Seed’ and ‘The Emperor and the Endless Palace’ (the latter of which was recently named as a Stonewall Honor Book in Literature). Check out Justinian’s enchanting website here for further evidence of his brilliance.

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Mr. Sassy Pants Looks Fiercely Back

What am I even doing in this photo?!

Coquettishly covering my mouth like some coy geisha?

Channeling Bette Davis ferociously puffing away on some cigarette?

Blowing a kiss to an imaginary arena of adoring fans?

Preparing the world for the sassy express about to depart from Track F as in Fabulous?

Who fucking knows.

I will say that I would still wear this outfit if it came in my size, and I would rock it just as hard as I rocked it way back then. Despite a world that seems intent on destroying one’s inherent spirit, I ended up living my life in surprisingly unabashed ways, often because my own sense of fabulousness eclipsed the whispers and derogatory remarks that floated around me. Sometimes they got through, and sometimes they stung, but every attack built me up in some way. 

When I look at this picture, it fills me with pride, because it took guts to be who I was when the world was telling me to be someone – anyone – else. Sometimes it still does – and on those days I just put on my sassiest pair of pants and keep marching. 

Air kisses!

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A Proudly-Gay Recap

My friend Chris – straight, white, cis male friend Chris – wished me a Happy Pride yesterday, and without thinking I snapped/texted back, ‘Pride is dead.’ (In my defense it had also just started raining a-fucking-gain and my mood was decidedly homocidal in a fabulously homosexual way.) I followed it up with a more lengthy explanation of how, after 49 years of fighting (because when you’re gay every day can be a fight when you are being raised in a hetero-centric social world construction and always out of your element) I was simply worn out and exhausted. In the face of the regression that this country seems to be embracing, I am genuinely too disheartened to do any sort of pride stuff.

I realize this is exactly what oppression is, and what it wants, and why it works – I just don’t care at the moment. Someone else will have to take up that mantle – for my own mental health, and my own happiness and well-being, I can’t do much more than try to live this pretty little life with Andy and my friends and family, and hope that the bulk of America does something to make things better. (Voting for Republicans, or not voting at all, is clearly destroying this country.)

But as these pictures will attest, just because my pride isn’t blatantly apparent or on parade all the time doesn’t mean it’s not there. It’s in me always, in every single way I live my life – openly and unabashedly, defiantly or acceptingly, loudly or quietly. I don’t need a sanctioned month of token allyship or corporate posing to make me feel worthy or whole. That said, Pride month still matters, perhaps now more than ever, so keep celebrating, keep parading, keep doing what we’ve been doing for decades in the hope of something better happening. My denim-clad rainbow ass will always have your back. On with the weekly blog recap (and one more subtle pride pic below…)

In the name of comfort, a pink doughnut. 

Objects for every room.

For those who need a little pump and bump.

Scented by spiced tea.

Four male celebrities in white briefs.

Let’s go TACO!

Three decades ago I met my tribe.

Let’s get popping.

A brief pubic pause in the name of divinity.

This is Wicked Fabulous!

A scent on the verge of summer – this is Tilia.

A midnight post to share with you.

Our Ogunquit Adventures began in the rain

and ended quite happily in the sun.

Dazzlers of the Day included Chris Colfer, Vincent Chong, and Ricky A. Schroeder.

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Bring Back The Cheesecake Boys!

Right when the world needs some delectable escapist entertainment and activity, along comes artist Paul Richmond to save the day. Arriving with not one but two books of adult coloring brilliance, Richmond brings back his popular Cheesecake Boys for another round of scintillating and cheeky fun. This time around he expands the original conceit into a second volume, while adding to the body and age positivity that has been a hallmark of his work for years in ‘Cheesecake Daddies’. 

These are darkly dizzying times, and Richmond is a breath of fresh air, optimism, and the fierce ongoing fight for equality and freedom, all done with a sexy veneer of eye candy and colorful inspiration. He invites us to color within the lines, while celebrating those who push the boundaries and challenge hate and homophobia. The artist as healer, the artist as social changer, the artist as a hero and champion for the marginalized – all of it falls within the talented touch of Richmond’s work. Sharing that and inviting engagement is an extra step in his artistic expression, and possibly the most important and profound of what he’s done in his career. It’s what sets him apart from other artists, and informs his work in truly egalitarian form. 

{Check out Richmond’s website here for further evidence of his brilliance.}

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Bringing Back the Beefcake

Chris Salvatore has been a favorite of these parts for as many years as we’ve been going (I won’t insult anyone by revealing just how long that has been). From his singing and acting endeavors, to his underwear enterprise to his OnlyFans stardom, Salvatore has proven a remarkably resilient entertainer and performer, who is selling out of his calendar for next year. Move fast to get yours at his website here

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The Summer of John Duff

Forget Taylor Swift.

Forget Chappell Roan.

Forget Kesha’s damnably catchy ‘Joyride’

This summer’s greatest guilty pleasure in my happily-cloistered world was John Duff, who started the season off with the glorious ‘Be Your Girl’, kept things hot with follow-up ‘Forgotten How To F@ck‘ and is now coasting through the end of the season with ‘Hoe Is Life’ featuring the legendary Lillias White. He spent the summer traveling and performing, from Pride shows in Chicago and New York to a celebrated residency in Provincetown, and his music has made an ideal soundtrack to the sunny season. Stay tuned for his upcoming ‘Clothes Back On’ to see how he enters the fall. 

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Dazzler of the Day: Rene Farias

Rene Farias is an artist who has managed to turn the quiet and seemingly insignificant turns of a day into an erotic expiration of beauty and inspiration. Living out his creative endeavors across social media, he produces work that is as scintillating in its finished state as it is in the process of being made. While Farias has the power and talent to make something beautiful of the smaller moments, his work also explores other-worldly creatures and fantasies, letting loose with images of wild hybrids merging man and beast, minotaur and mermaids, and fabled fairies. In some pieces he treats the human body like an architectural structure – a train runs through the tunnels of two human cavities – while in others trios of embracing men with wings find their legs morphing into multiple squid-like arms. A surreal gorgeousness imbues many of his pieces, bending the mind of the viewer as they try to navigate whether what they are in fact seeing is what they think they are seeing. It’s the greatest trick an artist can conjure, and the trickiest display of talent a human can execute. Farias earns his first Dazzler of the Day thanks to a consistent outpouring of work that makes us think and feel and marvel. Check out his website here.

“I’m cuban artist living in MiamiI like to explore the human eroticism and break taboos and stereotypes. There is no better way to assert ideas than through art. Mermaids, minotaurs, fairies, snakes, butterflies; recurring elements in my work that serve to accentuate the contrast between masculine strength and the fragility and delicacy that nature and mythology offer us. I really hope you enjoy my little piece of the world.” ~ Rene Farias

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Dazzler of the Day: John Duff

If anyone is still looking for a Pride anthem at this late date, check out ‘Be Your Girl’ by John Duff, which takes us back to the gloriously melodic whirling days of carefree disco and delicious pop hookery. Duff has made a few of these bops, and several eye-popping videos to go along with them, easily earning this Dazzler of the Day crowning just in time to end Pride Month on a high note.

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Why Pride Month Still Matters

A few people I know make a habit of reading the obituaries. I’ve never done that. I don’t even like reading the obituaries of loved ones I’ve known. Even the better renditions that artfully weave words and stories as more of a tribute than documentation of someone’s death are often difficult to read. I think I’ve always been rather commonly afraid of death, up until last year when I had no choice but to face it and confront it.

Every once in a while, however, an obituary comes along to capture my heart, and remind me of the importance of honoring those we have lost, especially when it comes with a posthumous revelation that may make a difference for certain ones going through similar struggles. In this case, the end of Edward Thomas Ryan’s obituary did what he felt he couldn’t do for all his lived days:

Edward wanted to share the following: “I must tell you one more thing. I was Gay all my life: thru grade school, thru High School, thru College, thru Life. I was in a loving and caring relationship with Paul Cavagnaro of North Greenbush. He was the love of my life. We had 25 great years together. Paul died in 1994 from a medical Procedure gone wrong. I’ll be buried next to Paul. I’m sorry for not having the courage to come out as Gay. I was afraid of being ostracized: by Family, Friends, and Co-Workers. Seeing how people like me were treated, I just could not do it. Now that my secret is known, I’ll forever Rest in Peace.”

Read the entire piece here.

At first it was heartbreaking to read. I’ve known men like Edward. They carry a hollowed-out, haunted desperation to some of their days and actions, while somehow managing to be braver and stronger than I could ever imagine having to be. I wonder at an entire life lived within the proverbial confines of the closet, a life lived with subterfuge and secrets, and what moments of freedom men like Edward might have known, grasped at, lived for… It always crushes the soul a little to dwell upon what kind of world would allow for such an existence – and what kind of people would want to suppress or force someone to be something other than what they truly are. 

And then I feel grateful. Grateful for having had the fortune and privilege and fortitude to come out when I was young, when I was still finding my way and growing into the person I was born to be. Grateful for the existence of Pride Month, for others who paved the way without such fortune and privilege. Grateful for being able to surround myself with people who would never think of suppressing or forcing anyone to be someone they weren’t. And grateful for the Edwards of the world – especially Edward Thomas Ryan – who did in death what he felt he could not do in life, becoming at last the person he was born to be, and reminding us of our own history. 

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Dazzler of the Day: Daniel W. Green

As the problematic world of AI artwork swirls around us, it’s good to re-enforce the idea that I and so many others hold, which is that the artwork produced by human hands and our greatest living artists will never be successfully duplicated by any program, no matter how advanced. Human passion cannot and will not be reproduced by artificial intelligence; it will always ring hollow, because humans innately recognize and resonate with the work of another human. That brings us to this Dazzler of the Day, which goes to Daniel W. Green, an artist whose work bleeds with the fiery passion and exuberance that can only be produced by a real person invigorated and inspired by real life. Green specializes in oil paintings, many of which focus on the male form. Witness his work progress as seen in one example below (there are many, as Green is wondrously prolific). Check out more on the Dan Green Male Art page as well as his eBay page to purchase his work

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A Shirtless Gay Brigade

Much like this gratuitously-shirtless post of male celebrities, this post narrows in on those shirtless male celebs who happen to identify as LGBTQ+. The gays came to slay, starting with Jim Verraros, whose recent renaissance has been sparked by the anthemic dance club knock-out ‘Take My Bow’ – a welcome return to the musical landscape by the ‘Do Not Disturb’ singer. 

Tom Daley’s armpits get an airing in this very knowing photo he released, proving he knows exactly what he’s doing.

 

Gus Kenworthy knows what he’s doing too, as this auto strip-tease reveals. Kenworthy bares even more here and here

Matt Bomer in shirtless motion could be a post unto itself and perhaps it will be again, as it was in the beginning. 

LGBTQ+ trailblazer and heart-throb Wilson Cruz has a body matched only by his winning smile. 

The preferred wardrobe of Luke Evans should be the Speedo (when it isn’t total bare-ass nudity), as he has illustrated time and happy time again

Matthew Camp knows how to give good face, and even better body

With vocals as appealing as his visuals, Tom Goss presents a perfect package yet again. 

Josh Sabarra dazzles with his good looks as much as for his witty way with words

Finally, Olympian Adam Rippon has put his physically-honed body to good use on this blog, here and here and here

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