British writer and journalist.
September’s Out magazine features an essay ‘Assume the position’ by yours truly defending hazing. An ancient masculine ritual that almost all respectable people now oppose. Including of course respectable gays. One out-raged reader has already described the essay as being the ‘lowest, most immoral homo-commentary I’ve ever read’. Oh, you’re just saying that. I’d… Read More »Assume the position: a queer defence of hazing
Hanes, the men’s underwear brand closest to the wedding tackle of Middle America, has gone all Sporno on us. I know. What is the world coming to? Is nothing sacred? In its unseemly lust to chase the metrodollar – and recapture some of those young male shoppers who don’t want to be… Read More »Spornographic underwear: look what we’ve got our Hanes on
Mark Simpson gets to grips with a man’s favourite bad habit “WANKER!” A bastard blue van has just cut me up, pulling out suddenly from a side-street right in front of me, forcing me to brake. Hard. So, I respond in the customary English way: winding down the window, leaning… Read More »Wanking On: How Masturbation Became Aspiration
‘One Bullet Away: the making of a Marine Officer’, Nathaniel Fick (Orion) Reviewed by Mark Simpson Why do we blokes – and it is almost always blokes – read war books, catch war movies and play twitchy first-person Second World War shooter games like Call of Duty? Why do we crave… Read More »Lashings of manly love in a Humvee – review of ‘One Bullet Away’
The Fall’s legendary front-man has some deep-fried career advice for the Arctic Monkeys and the Kaiser Chiefs (Arena Hommes Plus, Summer 2006) “’Avin’ been around the world I reckon we’re very lucky,” says Mark E Smith, pop genius and (usually) lovable curmudgeon in a moment of uncharacteristic optimism. “They don’t… Read More »The North Rises Again: Interview With Mark E Smith