......2 in 1 day !!! .......... Profile................. Masc Dude Writer !! .....................

Great day for 2 Cents Worth - a second profile in one day.

We've already had the great MUZO - and now being profiled today is the handsome and articulate Masc Dude Writer.

So please - make him feel welcome to the blog and enjoy yet another insight to our favourite bloggers.

(2CW) Hey MDW - thanks so much for coming onto the blog. How did your blog get started and what was the motivation behind it?

Well, Masc Dude Writer was probably my fifth or sixth attempt at keeping a regular blog. I had a straight female friend at school who was into blogging and encouraged me to get into it. Before this one I had a few weird art blogs, then one about music that I worked on for a while. But those never got anything more than 10 visitors a day. I was really shocked when this one took off.

With this one I figured I'd write some angry rants about men who'd pissed me off, put up a few pics of guys I wanted to fuck, and maybe get a couple hundred visitors a month if I was lucky. The name of the blog came from making fun of a friend's screen name on Manhunt. I'd been planning on changing it early on, but then I started getting linked and didn't want to confuse people. Since then I haven't thought of anything better.

(2CW) I like the fact that your blog is quite diverse. Some porn - some hot men - political observations - personal stuff etc. Is this by design or are you still finding your blog feet?

It's by design. I was pretty heavily influenced by Scott at Bill in Exile - who's given me a lot of advice and support - and how he's always been able to go pretty seamlessly from talking about himself to politics to porn, without having to settle on just one of them. Originally this was going to be primarily a personal blog, but I don't always feel like writing about myself. Around the time I started it, there were a lot of blogs made up of detailed posts about sex scenes the writer had been in - the bareback blogs, etc.

I never go into that much detail about specific sexual encounters I have because most of the people I sleep with read my blog or have found it on their own. As far as the pictures, I never wanted this to be a "porn blog," but I do like to show people what I like and it definitely keeps them coming back for more. Politics is important to me, which is why I put up stories from time to time.

(2CW) How is life in NY City?

Right now, I'm not there... (thanks, recession). Until I save up some more money, or get my dream job (whatever that is...), I'll be in the CT suburbs.

(2CW) Is it hard being a young guy in New York?

It's nice to not have to pay for your drinks.

(2CW) Now at one point your were exploring your leather side. How has that gone? Still exploring? Moved on?

On and off. I'm still into it and building up (earning...) my collection and I've got more to explore. I've encountered my fair share of drama with it, but of course that's to be expected in any situation where you have to deal with gay men.

(2CW) There appears to be a drought of younger guys who are into the leather scene. Why do you think that is?

Fear of being open about things like that. Most guys my age are closed-minded about sex in general (they get grossed out by things like rimming, toys) and fear of leather, kink are just an extension of that. It usually takes more time for them to get comfortable figuring out their sexuality. It's also that older guys who are into leather tend to be more visible. It's more rare to see a twink wearing leather than a 39 year old muscle bear.

A lot of guys my age are very nervous about having sex or being in a relationship with a guy more than two years older than them - I've always been the opposite... Also for guys who buy into the Old Guard idea of leather, that's got a cross-generation component that is sure to scare off any twink.

(2CW) Now as an out and proud porn lover, I do love the stuff you show on your site (Blu Kennedy ANYTIME please) - why do you think that Porn appears to be out there in the public conciousness much more than it used to be? Are we more open about it?

There are probably a lot of complicated legal and social reasons for it. Historically, people have always loved porn and erotic stories - some of the sickest, most perverted shit I've read is from France and England in the nineteenth century. But now where living in an intensely visual consumer culture where people have instant access to images, video of things they want to have. I think porn also has a really unique function for gay men, that doesn't work the same way for straight people and lesbians. When a gay guy watches porn, he's not just paying attention to the one who's getting nailed, like straight men do. He's also thinking about the top (assuming he is a top) and getting off on this idealized vision of himself.

There's this weird thing where gay men learn to be objectifiers and also to be objectified, and that works into their self-esteem. I'm rambling here, but the point is that gay pornstars sort of represent who men wanna be - the same way that straight men might think about athletes, and because of this gay pornstars take on a similar role as being almost like community figures and role models and a much larger part of "gay culture" and community than their straight counterparts play in "straight culture" and communities. Still follow? - Yup I actually do :)

(2CW) When you go out to a bar, what sort of social scene do you like to be in?

I get along fine in most social scenes; gay or straight. Anything goes pretty much. Except karaoke bars, those can be trouble...

(2CW) How is life now that you are a college graduate?

It's pretty weird not having anyone on hand in walking distance for drunken, late-night arguments about queer identity, or curious straight boys... Takes some getting used to.

(2CW) How are you coping during this recession?

The absence of a job market has gotten in the way of some of my plans. The way I've had to cope with it is to go back to the suburbs, where I have a job, and make some money for a little while. I'm planning on riding out the rest of the recession until I can get something back in the city, or else I'll just apply to grad school.

(2CW) What is on the horizon for you career wise now young man?

That's something I'm trying to figure out at the moment... I might be a published novelist someday.

(2CW) Now when are we going to get an insight into the Writer part of MDW :) ?

When it comes out in print. :-)

(2CW) Who are some of your favourite fiction writers?

Here's where I can show off the pretentiousness my readers don't get to see too often... As far as writers who are canon now, I like Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Ernest Hemingway, Henry James, William Faulkner, Richard Yates.


Some more recent writers I like are Andrew Holleran, Bret Easton Ellis, Toni Morrison, Sigrid Nunez.

(2CW) Who are some of your favourite non-fiction writers?

I don't really read much non-fiction that isn't academic. I can throw out some names like John D'Emilio, Gayle Rubin, Esther Newton. Also, James Baldwin, again, and probably any autobiography you can think of written by a black nationalist.

(2CW) Do you prefer non-fiction or fiction?

Fiction. It's what I'm good at.

(2CW) What sort of music do you get into?

Too many different kinds. Grew up mostly on rock, metal, and pop. I like some hip-hop, r&b, house, trance, but techno not so much. My two favorite bands are probably Depeche Mode and Alice in Chains.

(2CW) How is your personal life at the moment?

Not much to report romantically, but I've got some good friends/fuck buds to fall back on.

(2CW) Is there anyone in your life right now? (Can I ask that ?:))

Nothing too serious, but we'll see. College was never a good time to fall in love, or pursue a healthy relationship. That's over now, so we'll see.

(2CW) What's next for the blog?

I'm sure there'll be some exciting changes coming around soon...

(2CW) Now for the 2 Cents Worth Quickies......

Favourite Drink...

Vodka Soda with Lime

Favourite Breakfast Dish...

Mimosas

Red or White Wine...

White

Mayo or Mustard...

Neither

Favourite Television Show...

Hardball with Chris Matthews

Classical or Modern and why...

I'm more of a post-modern kind of guy...

Favourite Book...

Very tough call, this changes by the day. I just read Nights in Aruba by Andrew Holleran and liked that a lot. Also, this is kind of a cliché by now, but I've always liked Less Than Zero a lot.

Recent Film you enjoyed...

I'm also a film history nerd, so I'm gonna say the last film I saw - Gregg Araki's Nowhere. Weird movie, probably not one of his best, but it's queer and there's something about the aesthetic I like, probably because I grew up in the 90s. I've gotten to be a big fan of his work.

Favourite Sunday activity....

Hangovers. Or morning sex. That's always good.

If someone wants to impress you when you're out they should......

...not act like a bitch.

(2CW) It's been great having you on the blog mate. Would you be interested in a part 2?

Definitely, man. Any time you want!

Thanks again to MDW for his time here - surf on over and check him out at his blog and dont forget to tell him that Damien sent you :)