Chubby Tuesday

If you were home at your local restaurant or bar and someone offered you a string of $1 beads in exchange to see your breasts or genitals, how many of you would oblige? Probably not nearly as many as might oblige at Mardi Gras.

Several years ago, some scientists studied sexual behavior in the context of Mardi Gras.

They found that about half of men in their study expected to have a new vaginal or oral sex partner while at Mardi Gras and about 20% expected to have anal sex with a new partner. Fewer women had such expectations. More women had new partners than they planned to - and, as you might guess, some of the men overestimated their chances of hooking up at Mardi Gras.

Macho Macho Men

After years of lagging behind, gay rights movements in Latin America are coming out into the mainstream.

Most analysts haven't noticed, but a major social revolution is taking place in Latin America. The region is becoming gayer. It's not that there are more gays and lesbians living in Latin America (we would never know). Rather, the region is becoming more gay-friendly. A generation ago, Latin America was the land of the closet and the home of the macho. Today, movements fighting for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are taking advantage of the region's more globalized, open regimes. They are promoting their cause through smart, mainstream political and economic alliances. So, though closets and machos are still ubiquitous, Latin America is now the site of some of the most pro-gay legislation in the developing world.

Change hasn't simply come on paper. Latin American cities are also becoming increasingly gay-friendly. The number of gay-owned or gay-friendly establishments (e.g., bars, support groups, services) per capita in Latin American cities is on the rise, with some cities outperforming even the most liberal Western capitals. Nobody really ever thought the region was a gay desert, but there is plenty of evidence now that Latin America -- at least legally and in urban centers -- is coming out.