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Dan Savage
Dan Savage in 2005
Born	Daniel Keenan Savage (1964-10-07) October 7, 1964 (age 60) Chicago, Illinois, US
Other names	Keenan Hollahan
Education	BA, Theater, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Occupation(s)	Author, media pundit, journalist, newspaper editor and sex advice columnist
Spouse	Terry Miller ​(m. 2005)​
Children	D.J.

Daniel Keenan "Dan" Savage (born October 7, 1964) is a gay American author, media pundit, journalist and newspaper editor. Savage writes the internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column Savage Love. In 2010, Savage and his husband Terry Miller began the It Gets Better Project to help prevent suicide among LGBT youth. He has also worked as a theater director, sometimes credited as Keenan Hollahan.

In his writing and public appearances, Savage has clashed with social conservatives on the right and the LGBT establishment on the left. He has been particularly vocal in response to Rick Santorum's views on homosexuality.

Early life

Dan Savage was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Judith "Judy" (née Schneider), who worked at Loyola University, and William Savage, Sr. He has Irish and German ancestry. The third of four children, Savage was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary North, which he has described as "a Catholic high school in Chicago for boys thinking of becoming priests." Though Savage has stated that he is now "a wishy-washy agnostic" and an atheist, he has said that he still considers himself "culturally Catholic."

Savage attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied theater and history.

Career

Savage Love

In 1991, Savage was living in Madison, Wisconsin, and working as a manager at a local video store that specialized in independent film titles. There, Savage befriended Tim Keck, co-founder of The Onion, who announced that he was moving to Seattle to help start an alternative weekly newspaper titled The Stranger. Savage "made the offhand comment that forever altered life: 'Make sure your paper has an advice column—everybody claims to hate 'em, but everybody seems to read 'em'." Savage typed up a sample column, and to Savage's surprise Keck offered him the job.

Savage stated in a February 2006 interview in The Onion's A.V. Club (which publishes his column) that he began the column with the express purpose of providing mocking advice to heterosexuals, since most straight advice columnists were "clueless" when responding to letters from gay people. Savage wanted to call the column "Hey Faggot!" in an effort to reclaim a hate word. His editors at the time refused his choice of column name, but for the first several years of the column, he attached "Hey Faggot!" at the beginning of each printed letter as a salutation." In his February 25, 1999 column, Savage announced that he was retiring the phrase, claiming that the reclamation was successful.

He has written in a number of columns about "straight rights" concerns, such as the HPV vaccine and the morning-after pill, stating in his November 9, 2005, column that "he right-wingers and the fundies and the sex-phobes don't just have it in for the queers. They're coming for your asses too."

Theater

As a theater director, Savage (under the name Keenan Hollohan, combining his middle name and his grandmother's maiden name) was a founder of Seattle's Greek Active Theater. Much of the group's work were queer recontextualizations of classic works, such as a tragicomic Macbeth with both the title character and Lady Macbeth played by performers of the opposite sex. In March 2001, he directed his own Egguus at Consolidated Works, a parody of Peter Shaffer's 1973 play Equus which exchanged a fixation on horses for a fixation on chickens.

2003's Letters from the Earth, also at Consolidated Works, was Savage's last production. Letters was a trimmed version of Mark Twain's The Diary of Adam and Eve, which received scathing reviews, including one from his own paper, "My Boss's Show Stinks."

Media appearances

In addition to maintaining his weekly column and authoring four books, Savage has been involved in several other projects.

From 1994 until 1997, he had a weekly three-hour call-in show called Savage Love Live on Seattle's KCMU (now KEXP). From 1998 to 2000, he ran the biweekly advice column Dear Dan on the news website abcnews.com.

He is now the editorial director of the weekly Seattle newspaper The Stranger, a promotion from his former position as The Stranger's editor-in-chief. Savage currently stars in Savage U on MTV, contributes frequently to This American Life and Out magazine, and acts as a "Real Time Real Reporter" on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. He has also made multiple appearances on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 discussing LGBT political issues such as same-sex marriage and Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Podcast

The Savage Lovecast is a weekly audio podcast based on Savage's column Savage Love, available via iTunes and at the Stranger's website for free download. It features Savage doing a call-in version of his sex advice column. It is routinely rated as the top podcast in the iTunes "Health" category and in the top 20 of all podcasts overall.

Personal life

Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, have one adopted son, D.J., and were married in Vancouver, Canada in 2005. Following the 2012 legalization of gay marriage in Washington, he and Miller were part of the ceremonial first group of 11 couples to receive a Washington marriage license. Savage and Miller married at Seattle City Hall on December 9, 2012.

Opinions and points of view

It Gets Better Project

On September 21, 2010, Savage started the It Gets Better Project in light of the suicide of 15-year-old Billy Lucas, who was bullied for his perceived sexual orientation. The project encourages adults, both LGBT and otherwise, to submit videos assuring gay teenagers that life can improve after bullying in early life. As of January 3, 2011, the project had over 5,000 user created testimonials.

Political advocacy

Savage has written about his interest in political matters. His political leanings are primarily liberal, with pronounced contrarian and libertarian streaks. For example, he wrote that in 2000, suffering from the flu while on an assignment for salon.com to cover the Iowa caucuses, he was so angered by televised remarks in opposition to same-sex marriage by conservative Republican presidential hopeful Gary Bauer that he abandoned his original plan "to follow one of the loopy conservative Christian candidates around—Bauer or Alan Keyes—and write something insightful and humanizing about him, his campaign, and his supporters." Instead, he volunteered for the Bauer campaign with the intent to infect the candidate with his flu. He wrote that he licked doorknobs and other objects in the campaign office, and handed Bauer a saliva-coated pen, hoping to pass the virus on to Bauer and his supporters (though he later said that much of the article had been fictitious). He also registered and participated in the caucus, which was illegal, as Savage was not an Iowa resident. He was charged and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of fraudulent voting in a caucus, and was sentenced to a year's probation, 50 hours of community service, and a $750 fine.

Savage frequently mentions political issues in his column, particularly issues that affect family planning, birth control, and sexuality. He often encourages readers to get involved and/or voice a positive or negative opinion about a politician or public official.

After Rick Santorum, then a United States senator from Pennsylvania, made comments to a reporter comparing homosexual sex to bestiality and incest in 2003, Savage assailed Santorum in his column. Later, he sponsored a contest that led to the term santorum being used to refer to "the frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes a byproduct of anal sex". Savage set up a website to spread the definition. In 2010, Savage offered to remove his website if Rick Santorum would agree to donate US$5 million to a gay rights group. The organization, Freedom to Marry, advocates on behalf of same-sex marriage in the United States. Savage told Mother Jones in 2010, "If Rick Santorum wants to make a $5 million donation to Freedom to Marry, I will take it down. Interest starts accruing now." Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, responded in a statement to Metro Weekly: "Support for Freedom to Marry's national campaign would be welcome—and a good way for Rick Santorum to start cleaning up the discriminatory mess he and his companions have made."

Savage continued the tradition in 2009 by having his readers vote to define saddlebacking as "the phenomenon of Christian teens engaging in unprotected anal sex to preserve their virginities", as a protest against the vocal support given to California Proposition 8 by Rick Warren (pastor of Saddleback Church), and President Barack Obama's invitation to Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. When Savage vowed to boycott Utah due to strong Mormon support for Proposition 8 ("Fuck you, Utah—we’re going to big, blue Colorado"), the Salt Lake City Weekly dropped Savage's column: "all Utahns aren’t to blame."

Savage strongly supported the war in Iraq in the pages of The Stranger in October 2002. By the time of the US invasion in March 2003, however, he had somewhat softened his argument.

Savage has also been a vocal opponent of state legislation proscribing the sale of sex toys. After an exposé by Kandiss Crone from WLBT (Jackson, Mississippi) precipitated the arrest and fining of an adult video store owner, Savage suggested that readers send any sex toys that they needed to dispose of to Crone.

Personal opinions

Savage initially supported the Iraq war and advocated military action against other Middle Eastern states, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying, "Islamo-fascism is a regional problem, like European fascism—and the Middle East to be remade just as Europe was remade." One week before the war began, Savage spoke against it, citing the inability of President George W. Bush to form a convincing case and sway the UN and NATO allies. By 2005 he deemed the situation "hopeless" and advocated an immediate troop withdrawal.

He describes his view toward family as "conservative", and his husband, Terry Miller, is a "stay-at-home dad" for the couple's adopted son. He has, however, expressed skepticism of "simplistic" views of monogamy.

In response to a letter asking "Is the AIDS crisis over?" Savage, in his October 22, 1997 column, answered simply, "Yes." Several weeks of columns were devoted in whole or in part to discussion of the issue.

He opposes the tactics of the War on Drugs, and opposes the prohibition of certain controlled substances.

Views on outing

Savage stated in a column that he favors outing in some cases, specifically mentioning anti-gay activist Tyler Whitney. However, in the same column he noted that "I recently talked someone out of outing a public figure. A Savage Love reader was contemplating outing an innocuous celebrity back in April. I advised him against it because, as I wrote to him privately, outing is brutal and it should be reserved for brutes."

Local issues

Savage's editorship of The Stranger has established him as a voice in local Seattle politics. His most high-profile commentary has been as an outspoken critic of the Teen Dance Ordinance and other crackdowns on all-ages events.

Savage argues that closing down supervised all-ages dance venues drives teens to boredom and reckless activities: "Places like Ground Zero and the Kirkland Teen Center are invaluable from a law enforcement point of view. They keep kids out of, say, 7-Eleven parking lots or the homes of friends whose parents are away."

Controversies

In a 2006 interview with the Daily Pennsylvanian, Savage stated that then-Green Party Senate candidate Carl Romanelli, who Savage claimed was partially funded by state Republicans for a spoiler effect against Democrat Bob Casey, "should be dragged behind a pickup truck until there's nothing left but the rope". In the same interview, he stated, "Mr. Romanelli should go fuck himself." Immediately after the interview, Savage wrote, "I regret using that truck metaphor, and didn't mean it literally, and it was in poor taste, and I regret it."

On HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher July 15, 2011, during a panel discussion of the debt limit increase negotiations between the US Congress and President Barack Obama, Savage said in a stand-alone remark, "I wish the Republicans were all fucking dead." He apologized for his remarks on his blog later the same night saying in part, "I don't feel that way. My dad is a Republican. (Well, he says he's an independent, but he hasn't voted for a Democrat since JFK. My dad is a Republican.)"

Savage has been glitter bombed three times, twice in 2011 and once in 2012, by protesters who alleged that Savage is transphobic, among other accusations.

Savage also came under scrutiny for an April 13, 2012, anti-bullying speech in which he encouraged high school students to "learn to ignore the bullshit in the Bible about gay people", prompting some students to leave the auditorium. Savage apologized on April 29 for calling the walkout "a pansy-assed move", saying, "I wasn't calling the handful of students who left pansies (2,800+ students, most of them Christian, stayed and listened), just the walkout itself." Savage stood by the central point of his speech.

Works

In addition to his advice column, Savage has written four books, edited one book, and authored various op-ed pieces in The New York Times.

Awards

References

1. "Contemporary Authors Online". Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale. July 29, 2003.
2. Savage, Dan (2000). The Kid. Plume. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-452-28176-9. One day in July 1979, when I was fourteen years old {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
3. Fefer, Mark D. (May 26, 2004). "Buzz: Media". Seattle Weekly. Village Voice Media. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
4. "i [sic] was 16 ... We were anti-draft-registration activites [sic] in 1981." Savage Love, the Comic, p. 3. (Seattle, WA:Bear Bones Press, 1994), located at Michigan State University Libraries, Special Collections Division, Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collection and independent comics website; see also "1994: Gay newspaper advice columnist Dan Savage produces two issues of the comic book SAVAGE LOVE (Bear Bones Press, 1994), found at LGBT COMICS TIMELINE. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
5. ^ "GLBTQ Literature: Dan Savage". GLBTQ.com.
6. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-04-06/news/0804050661_1_laura-savage-dan-savage-cousin
7. Savage, Dan (1998). Savage Love: Straight Answers From America's Most Popular Sex Columnist. New York: Plume Publishing Group. pp. 1–16. ISBN 978-0-452-27815-8.
9. ^ Walsh, Jeff (October 1, 1999). "Savage Dan". Oasis magazine.
10. "If Osama bin Laden were in charge, he would slit my throat; my God, I'm an atheist, a hedonist, and a faggot." Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America Dan Savage, Plume, 2002, p. 258.
11. ^ Anderson-Minshall, Diane (September 13, 2005). "Interview with Dan Savage". AfterElton.com.
12. Dan Savage, Introduction, Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist (New York: Plume, 1998), p. 2.
13. ^ Dan Savage interviewed by Tasha Robinson, The A.V. Club, February 8, 2006.
14. Dan Savage, Introduction, Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist, op. cit., pp. 1–5.
15. ^ Dan Savage, Savage Love: Farewell, Faggot, The Stranger, February 25, 1999.
16. Kittenpants interview with Dan Savage, Kittenpants, 04.10.01 Issue 9.
17. Kiley, Brendan (Mar 20–26, 2003 issue). "On Stage Killer Dickens, Trite Twain, Nifty Neel, Limp Lonergan". The Stranger. Retrieved September 4, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
18. On Stage – Seattle Theater – The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper. Thestranger.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-04.
19. Regina Hackett (September 18, 2007). "The Stranger In Charge". Blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
20. Apple, iTunes. "Top Health Podcast Episodes". Apple. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
21. "Dan Savage: For Gay Teens, Life 'Gets Better'". NPR. March 23, 2011.
22. Wyatt Buchanan (October 21, 2005). "Marriage can be right for us all, says Dan Savage. But let's not get carried away with monogamy". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 30, 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
23. Dan Savage, Same-Sex Marriage Wins by Losing, New York Times, July 30, 2006. Accessed online September 23, 2008.
24. County Executive Dow Constantine issues first King County marriage licenses to same-sex couples: History made at 12:01 a.m. as marriage equality became law in Washington state at King County Executive News; published December 6, 2012; retrieved December 6, 2012
25. Dan Savage Makes Terry Miller An Honest Man | Advocate.com
26. Parker, Tara. (September 22, 2010) Showing Gay Teenagers a Happy Future. Well.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-04.
27. About page of. Itgetsbetter.org. Retrieved on 2011-06-04.
28. Buchanan, Wyatt (October 21, 2005). "Marriage Can Be Right For Us All, says Dan Savage. But Let's Not Get Carried Away With Monogamy". The San Francisco Chronicle.
29. Salon.com's editorial, "The firestorm over 'Stalking Gary Bauer'". Salon.com (January 29, 2000). Retrieved on 2011-06-04.
30. Savage, Dan (January 25, 2000). "Stalking Gary Bauer". Salon.com. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
31. Des Moines Register article.
32. NewsWrap for the week ending November 11, 2000, This Way Out program #659, November 13, 2000.
33. Dan Savage on NNDB.
34. Dan Savage, Germ Warfare, The Stranger, January 27 – February 2, 2000.
35. uma, Anal Sex Byproduct Named for Senator Santorum, Indymedia.org, December 11, 2003.
36. Brewer, Paul Ryan (2007). Value War: Public Opinion and the Politics of Gay Rights. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. pp. 82–86. ISBN 978-0-7425-6211-0.
37. "Rick Santorum ha un problema con Google". Il Post (in Italian). www.ilpost.it. September 8, 2010. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
38. ^ Mencimer, Stephanie (February 17, 2011). "Santorum Acknowledges Anal Sex Problem". Mother Jones. motherjones.com. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
39. Fisher, Max (September 7, 2010). "Rick Santorum vs. Google". The Atlantic Wire. www.theatlanticwire.com. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
40. Mencimer, Stephanie (September 2010). "Rick Santorum's Anal Sex Problem". Mother Jones. motherjones.com. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
41. Geidner, Chris (September 7, 2010). "Wolfson Wants Santorum "To Start Cleaning Up" His "Mess"". Metro Weekly. www.metroweekly.com. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
42. www.saddlebacking.com, Dan Savage,
43. Edroso, Roy (2008) "Salt Lake Weekly Fires Dan Savage for Utah Boycott; Voice Protests." Village Voice Blogs, accessed 2010-01-17.
44. Dan Savage, Say "YES" to War on Iraq, The Stranger, October 17–23, 2002. Accessed online November 6, 2006.
45. ^ Dan Savage, Against the War—For Now March 13–19, 2003. Accessed online November 6, 2006.
46. Dan Savage, 'What is good sex-toy etiquette?', Thursday, February 14, 2008. Accessed online February 17, 2008.
47. Kandiss Crone, 'Adult Store Caught Selling Illegal Sex Toys', January 30, 2008. Accessed Online February 17, 2008.
48. Savage, Dan (August 18, 2005). "It's over, over there". The Stranger.
49. Savage, Dan (September 23, 1999). Savage Love: I, Monogamous. The Stranger.
50. Savage, Dan (1998). Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist. pp. 291–98.
51. Savage, Dan (November 19, 1997). "Savage Love" (column), SF Weekly.
52. New York Advice Column. Village Voice. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
53. Dan Savage, Savage Love (column), The A.V. Club, June 20, 2007.
54. Josh Feit and Dan Savage, "Raving Mad", The Stranger, March 30 – April 5, 2006. Accessed April 6, 2006.
55. Morse, Stephen (October 12, 2006). "Columnist says candidate should be 'dragged behind a pickup truck". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Archived from the original on February 19, 2008.
56. "Five Minutes with Dan", October 12, 2006. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
57. "Dan Savage Says of Congressional Republicans 'I Wish They All Were F**kin' Dead' On Real Time". Mediaite. July 16, 2011. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
58. Savage, Dan (July 15, 2011). "An Apology". The Stranger. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
59. Hill-Meyer, Tobi (November 2, 2011). "Dan Savage Gets Glitter Bombed for Being Transphobic". The Bilerico Project. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
60. Hill-Meyer, Tobi (November 14, 2011). "Dan Savage Glittered Again, Student Arrested". The Bilerico Project. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
61. Oommen, Isaac (January 21, 2012). "Dan Savage Glitterbombed". Vancouver Media Co-op. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
62. Lowder, J. Bryan (November 4, 2011). "Did Dan Savage Deserve to be Glitter-Bombed?". Slate. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
63. Gilgoff, Dan (April 30, 2012). "Columnist Dan Savage stands by comments on 'bulls**t in the Bible'". CNN. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
64. Raftery, Isolde (April 30, 2012), "Dan Savage apologizes for criticizing students who walked out of lecture", msnbc.com, retrieved May 7, 2012
65. Savage, Dan (April 29, 2012), "On "Bullshit" and "Pansy-Assed"", The Stranger (newspaper), retrieved May 7, 2012
66. ^ Rapp, Linda (2006). "Savage, Dan (b. 1964)". glbtq. Chicago, Illinois: glbtq, Inc. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
67. "Columnist Dan Savage to read at Lucy's Books". The Daily Astorian. Astoria, Oregon. October 31, 2002.
68. Pories, Kathy (2004). The "M" Word: Writers on Same-Sex Marriage. Algonquin Books. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-56512-454-7.
69. Inawat, Ron Matthew (January 25, 2003). "Lambda Literary Award Finalists Announced". ChicagoPride.com News. Chicago, Illinois: chicago.gopride.com. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
70. Pories, Kathy (2004). The "M" Word: Writers on Same-Sex Marriage. Algonquin Books. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-56512-454-7.
71. O'Connor, Daniel (2004). The Best American Sex Writing 2004. Running Press. p. 187. ISBN 1-56025-598-6.
72. "IBM's Watson named 'person' of the year". The Pantagraph. www.pantagraph.com. Associated Press. June 2, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
73. "Robot Watson wins Webby: Should a computer be 'Person of the Year'?". CBC News. www.cbc.ca. June 2, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
74. Bishop, Todd (June 9, 2011). "Dan Savage, Starbucks honored for 'digital disruption' by UW program". GeekWire. www.geekwire.com. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
75. University of Washington's Master of Communication in Digital Media program (June 9, 2011). "Seattle's Dan Savage, Starbucks Win "Make The Change" Digital Disruption Award". PRNewswire. Seattle, Washington: United Business Media. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
76. Greene, Aislyn (June 9, 2011). "Award: Dan Savage, Starbucks win UW digital disruption award". TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News Source. Seattle, Washington: Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
77. "Mark S Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies Announces 2013 Award Recipients – Stephen Lewis, Dan Savage, and Bent-on-Change".
78. "Queerty, Dan Savage Named Humanist Of The Year".
79. "Pink is the New Blog, Dan Savage Named The 2013 'Humanist Of The Year' By The American Humanist Association".

External links

• Savage U – Savage's MTV show
• Savage Love – Savage's weekly sex advice column
  • Savage's podcasts
• It Gets Better Project
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Dan Savage at IMDb
• Template:Worldcat id
• Interview with Kittenpants.org

Template:Persondata

• Dan Savage
• 1964 births
• 20th-century American writers
• 21st-century American writers
• American advice columnists
• American agnostics
• American atheists
• American former Christians
• American people of Irish descent
• American relationships and sexuality writers
• Anti-bullying activists
• Gay writers
• Lambda Literary Award winners
• LGBT journalists from the United States
• LGBT rights activists from the United States
• LGBT writers from the United States
• Living people
• Sex columnists
• University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign alumni
• Writers from Chicago, Illinois
• Writers from Seattle, Washington
• Drug policy reform activists
• Former Roman Catholics
• Washington (state) Democrats
• Webby Award winners