The actor Sir Ian McKellen, like most older gay men, has a penchant for dating younger guys. In fact, all of McKellen's boyfriends have been much younger than him: his last was over 50 years younger. This follows after a McKellen mentor, the British expatriate novelist Christopher Isherwood who carried on a relationship with a boy of 18 whom he met when he was 48. Only, this is nothing new. One of my favorite gossip-partners from my days in the Castro was an elderly-queen who liked to reminisce about the days before being “out” was acceptable. From him, I learned that closeted gay men, usually married, would meet after hours at a friend's restaurant or bar, under the pretense of attending a men's club, and have sex with other like-minded guys. They would often invite younger men, fresh to the scene, and a bidding war would ensue around who got to the break-in the new boys. When I got into the gay world, I was quickly put-upon by a slobbering group of older men who were eager to score with a younger guy. Some tried to come on strong, like some over-protective daddy, others touted how they could teach you everything. Some offered a place to say and or money. For-awhile, I was a kept man. But, it was vampiristic. And soon, they started to pimp me out to friends. One of the strangest contemporary examples: has to be the designer Karl Lagerfeld, looking eerily preserved, as if he just emerged from a youth-restoring blood-bath, and his 23 year old boyfriend.