A Touch Of Gay #66: Two Men Walk Into A Bathhouse...

Landmark Supreme Court rulings, Mr Rough Trade Gear Leather 2026, checking your intentions at the bathhouse door. Daily Inspiration: We do not bend ourselves into a pretzel to get others to like us * Pressure to belong, fit in, avoid rejection can trigger us to betray our own ideals * The more we shape and edit ourselves for others, we lose our own self identity * Being ourselves, loving ourselves is truly being free Check In: * Catching up with old friends at camping weekend * Feeling isolated with work at home job, summer heat keeps me in * “I’m worrying less about how I look in photos than how I look in X-Rays and MRIs” Shitshow 2026: Supreme Court Wins And Loses LOSS: Supreme court upholds state rights to ban transgender women and girls from sports. * The decision hands Republican-led states a major victory in their campaign to restrict transgender students’ participation in school sports. * Justice Thomas: “Men and boys with gender dysphoria are not women or girls, even if they believe that they are.” * The legal fight by those on the side of bans was never only about who gets to run a race or join a team - it’s about whether transgender people can be carved out of public life by category. WIN: Transgender troops win major ruling in their fight against Trump’s military ban * A federal judge last week certified a class of transgender service members and prospective troops challenging the Trump administration’s ban on military service in Talbott v. Trump. * Ruling expands one of the country’s most consequential transgender rights cases beyond the individual plaintiffs and setting it on a path toward trial next year. * Judge Ana Reyes’s order means the case can move beyond the named plaintiffs into a class action for transgender service members fighting to stay in uniform. * Future trial date, January 4th, 2027 WIN: Supreme Court rules against Trump in birthright citizenship case * The Supreme Court has struck down president Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship. * In a 6-3 decision, the justices upheld a 150-year-old precedent giving automatic American citizenship to babies born in the US. * In his concurring opinion, Kavanaugh laid out a potential legislative path for Congress to pursue changes to birthright citizenship. Social: Checking Yourself On Intentions * Two gay men walk into a bathhouse. Same place. Completely different reasons. * One is trying to outrun something. Anxious. Lonely. Hoping this makes the feeling stop. * One is just living. He’s good. He showed up because he wanted to. * Same room. Same night. Two completely different worlds. * When you’re regulating, you’re constantly scanning for rejection. You’re not present. You’re in your head. * When you’re full, you’re just there. Connection. Enjoyment. Pleasure for what it actually is. * You don’t get free by getting better and numbing. You get free when pleasure becomes something you enjoy, not something you need. * That’s the difference. That’s the work. * Next time, pause before you walk in. Ask yourself: Am I here because I want to be, or because I need to be? * Relief or freedom. Which one are you in right now? * Insta @ gaycoachjoey Event: Mr Rough Trade Gear Leather 2026 – 7/30-8/2 – Los Angeles, CA * Rough Trade Gear LA is holding their Mr. Rough Trade Gear Leather 2026 contest, with applications now open for contestants. * Esteemed guest judges will be on hand to name the winner during a weekend packed with events at Rough Trade Gear and our longtime friends, The Eagle LA. * Thursday, July 30th: M