This the one-and-only, authorized web home for the work of Gip Plaster, an independent journalist who writes for lesbian and gay publications around the country.

Scroll down this page for great articles and book reviews written by Gip. These pieces have appeared in gay and lesbian publications around the country, and now they're available here.

Read a little more about Gip and how his work can appear in your publication.

Faboo is also pleased to be the exclusive Web home of Gip's Unmasking OURstory column. Each brief column takes a look inside the life of a well-known lesbian or gay person from years past and looks for the lessons we can learn from that person's life.

It's More Than History or Herstory -- It's OURstory

There’s more to being a gay man than AIDS and coming out. But those issues are the primary focus of many gay men’s self-help books. Christopher Alexander’s Growth and Intimacy for Gay Men: A Workbook is just what it says it is. It contains text accompanied by over forty exercises aimed at helping gay men deal with gay life.

We’re familiar with being different, but our financial situations are also different from the ones we modeled by the straight community. Gay Money, a new book by Per Larson, takes a look at how our lives vary financially from the so-called norm, something with which we may not be familiar. It looks at the financial advantages and disadvantages of being gay or lesbian.

Susan Raffo has worked as a park ranger, a waitress, a taxi driver, a writer and a salesperson, so she knows something about differences in class. In this question-and-answer style interview, Gip talks with her about class issues -- including her new book.

Amid the shout of joy as lesbian and gay people slowly gain the rights and freedoms others have had for years, there is a small, witty voice asking us to take notice of what we are losing. Daniel Harris says in The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture that as we go mainstream, we lose many of the things that make us unique. Harris is controversial and entertaining as he analyzes the community of which he is a part.

Rainbow flags are everywhere and pink triangles and lambdas can be seen on bumpers and clothes. Where did these and other symbols of our pride come from? One carries the baggage of death; another would have been more colorful if a manufacturer hadn't changed the design. And what does a lavender rhinoceros have to do with lesbian and gay pride? Read the article.

For a long time, gay men and lesbian women have struggled to find just the right term to describe the love of their life. This article takes a look at what some prominent people within the community call their partners -- well, you know, the people they love. A few statistics and lots of quotes make this an easy to read piece. It may not offer any concrete solutions to the language problem, but it offers some great (and sometimes funny) opinions.

Author Ken Hanes researched gay love and came up with 500 tips and techniques that can help gay men prepare for love, find love, make love and live in love. The book is well done and fun to read -- and Hanes gave me a great interview!

William Leap's job is to study people. He says for gay youth to learn how to be a part of their community, they need to learn gay language. How can they learn it? And what is it? Well, those are good questions. Leap's suggestions and comments will make you think.