Male nudity, gay romance, and queer codes in movies and television, especially "The Righteous Gemstones"
Gemstones Season 3 Finale: Kelvin and Keefe married? Pontius a Dark Lord? Peter redeemed through the Redeemer? With bonus Kelvin cock
Braxton Alexander: three heterosexual boyfriends, three serial killers, one saxophone, and five bare butts
Born in 2007, actor and model Braxton Alexander had a busy child star career. Strangely, although of course he had no control over the scripts at age eight or nine, his movies and tv shows seem overwhelmingly heteronormative, if not downright homophobic.
The young Callahan in Tag (2018), about a group of friends who play an elaborate game of tag every year, while not making homophobic jokes and fielding gay panic.
In I Want You Back (2022), a dumped boyfriend and girlfriend try to sabotage their exes' new relationships and get them back. Brax plays a "middle school boyfriend."
The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022-4) features two brothers in love with a girl named Belly. Brax plays the young Conrad, falling for Belly at the age of 13.
In Black Bird (2022), not to be confused with Blackbird, Jimmy Keane (Taron Egerton, left) is given the task of befriending a suspected serial killer to get a confession out of him. No gay subtext: the guys both display an incessant interest in ladies.
Kelton''s nude photos, with new cock shots, Jak, Gavin, and a bonus fratboy
Kelton Dumont, best known as Pontius on The Righteous Gemstones, has not been forthcoming with a lot of physique photos. This shoulder and arm is about all you're going to see. But nudity is another matter: he gave us a butt and partial dick shot on the show, and a search of hookup sites reveals some other possibilities.
1. Charleston, February 2024. I think Kelton was at Bennington College during that month.
We know that Kelton went back to brunette, and they were filming Righteous Gemstones Season 4 in June 2024, so how does this one look:
2. Hair is too long, but same size cock as the other one. A possibility.
On to the canonical nudity:
More Kelton after the break
Bondage doesn't solve everything: a Kelvin/Keefe romance
"Ow!" Keefe had subbed in a lot of BDSM scenes, back in the old days when he was Baby Queef, a performance artist at the Club Sinister, but he had never been into the pain part. How about something fun, Babe, like edging me, or forcing me to do oral?
"Ow!" But Kelvin was new to BDSM, and not really good at reading his signals. He wasn't even experienced in vanilla sex. What do you expect from someone who grew up as the youngest child of world-famous megachurch pastor and televangelist Eli Gemstone, a role model (and teen idol) for millions of Christian kids? That's a lot of pressure! No wonder he was too guilt-ridden or worried about his image to do much sexual experimentation.
Kelvin unhooked his slave collar and pushed him down to his knees. Oh boy, forced oral coming up! Keefe thought. But instead he got his horse whip and started on Keefe's chest.
Is that really all I need? He asked himself. Do I really want to spend my life on my knees, looking up at Kelvin? Do I want a Master?
"This will teach you your place, Slave," Master was saying. "You'll think twice before disobeying my orders again."
Huh? What orders? This was a scene -- a game. Outside the dungeon, they were equal partners. Weren't they?
"Wait -- Kelvin, are you punishing me for starting a teen group without your permission?"
"You will address me as Sir."
"I will address you as Kelvin. Answer the question: Are you punishing me for starting a teen group without your permission? "
"Ow!" The whip came down on his back, hard. He roared with pain and rage. "Get me out of here, jackass! Now!"
"The safe word is 'green.'"
"Green, green, green!"
Kelvin put down the whip. "Ok, ok, hang on." He started untying the ropes. "What's wrong, Keefe? I thought you liked this. You're aroused"
"Kelvin, you're standing in front of me naked. Of course I'm aroused" His hands free, he removed the nipple clamps and sat down on a leather bench.
"You know that love you," he began. He had said it a hundred times before, but here, now, it felt different. "But it's not like any other love I've ever felt. It's white-hot, fierce, so intense that I lose myself. Everything I want, everything I need falls away. All I want is to look into your eyes forever."
"That's a good thing, right?" Kelvin said. "You're everything I need, too."
"And you want it to happen," Keefe continued. "I don't really have a job, with duties and a salary -- I do what you tell me to do. If I make a suggestion, you dismiss me. If I disagree with anything, you pout."
"You apologized for starting that teen group without my permission," Kelvin said, "And I forgave you. Why are you still harping on it?"
"Everything I own is either a gift from you or something I bought with your money. "
"I didn't know you felt this way," Kelvin said, sarcastic. "I'm sorry that I buy you things."
"I'm one of your accessories, someone to parade around so everybody thinks you're cool." Suddenly the tears started up. "I want to share my life with you; I don't want you to be my life. I want us to walk side by side, as partners.."
"But Keefe, you are my partner," Kelvin said, paling as he realized what was happening.
"No, I'm not. I'm your boy toy." The tears started. He struggled to talk. "I have to go. Right now."
"No, don't...I love you..." and as Keefe headed to the door. "You can't go out like that. At least let me take off the slave collar."
But he couldn't wait. Kelvin followed for a few steps. "Wait..." he called, his voice cracking. He was starting to cry, too. "I love..."
Keefe ran up the stairs, across the foyer, and out of the house. Should he go back inside to change clothes and pick up some car keys? No way -- if he turned back, he would collapse into Kelvin's arms. He took one of the golf carts and drove it, tears burning in his eyes, across the estate to Judy and BJ's house.
Judy, Kelvin's older sister, answered the door. "Keefe, darlin', you're crying. What's wrong? Did that jackass Kelvin do something? Did he hit you?"
"Not like that," he managed to stammer. "I...I....think I left him."
She led him to the couch in the parlor, and sat with her arm around his shoulders. Soon BJ appeared, and sat on other side. It took a moment for him to speak. "I need somewhere else to stay tonight. And maybe...." He broke down again.
"Of course you can stay here until you get things sorted out," Judy told him. "And even if you don't. You're part of the family, with or without Kelvin. You'll always have a home here. I'm sure Daddy will be happy to give you his father's house, since Gideon doesn't want it."
"It's too early for plans like that," BJ told her sternly. "Right now we just need to get Keefe through the night. Could you go into the kitchen and make us some tea?"
"I don't know how to make tea!" Judy protested. "Emilia always makes it."
"Oh -- just microwave some water and put a Lipton's teabag in it."
"Water will be fine, Judy," Keefe said.
She vanished into the kitchen. BJ kept his arm around Keefe. "Buddy, it's hard being the partner of a celebrity. You're in their shadow so much that it feels like you're losing yourself. I know from experience."
Keefe stared. That was exactly what he said, half an hour ago.
"But you don't just let it end. You have to fight. Find some way to be your own man. Find a life that doesn't revolve around him. If he loves you, he'll accept that."
"Maybe I'll fight tomorrow," Keefe told him. "Right now I'm too tired to think,"
"Oh, of course. Stupid of me. We'll get that collar off and find some pajamas for you to wear. Will you be ok by yourself in the guest suite? I could bed down on the couch in there. "
"No, that's ok. I just want to sleep."
In the morning, the housekeeper Emilia made turkey sausage, 12-grain toast, and a fruit parfait just for Keefe, but he couldn't eat more than a few bites. At least he wasn't crying anymore, but...he had been with Kelvin almost every moment for the last three years. Even having breakfast without him seemed strange.
"Morning, Brother." Kelvin was there, right in the doorway! Judy stood quickly to block his entry.
"Can't I just talk to him?"
She looked at Keefe for validation. He shook his head.
"You heard the man. Get out!"
"Judy, I came to pick you up for the Salvation Center. We have a board meeting in half an hour."
"That's a lie and you know it! We always take separate cars..." She glanced back at Keefe again. "Oh, sorry, I forgot that I asked you to pick me up this morning." She returned to the table, kissed BJ on the cheek, and hugged Keefe. "Bye, y'all. I wish I could come along on all the fun things BJ has planned for you today!"
Then they were gone. Keefe watched for a long time, hoping that they would return for something, and he could see Kelvin again. "What fun things do you have planned for us today?" he asked.
"Oh, Judy was just trying to make Kelvin mad. In a few minutes I'll pop over to your house and get some of your stuff. Then I'm free all day , if you want to do something -- go to the beach or Splash Mountain, or to a movie. Or we can just hang out here and play video games."
Keefe frowned. "Don't go to any trouble on my account. If you have somewhere to be..."
More after the break
Gemstones Episode 3.9, Continued: Five plot resolutions and a funeral. With collegiate jock cocks
Previous: Episode 3.9: Baby Billy is bi, Peter plots revenge, and Kelvin and Keefe cuddle. With a Josh O'Connor bonus
A swarm of locusts!
Locusts are not unheard-of in South Carolina. In fact, every 13 years, a swarm of the similar cicadas emerges. Ecologists consider them beneficial, since many animals and birds eat them. And they do not sting or bite.
But these are not ordinary locusts. The swarm flies directly through the service entrance and into the tv studio, crashing and smashing everything. They may not sting or bite, but having dozens of buzzing, crawling things splat into your body, hitting your hair and face, must be disorienting and painful. People stumble in every direction, crashing into each other. Some are hit by falling lights and sound equipment. A round image of Baby Billy smashes someone's head.
Why locusts? In Exodus 10, God sends a plague of locusts to convince Pharaoh to let the Jews leave Egypt. The prophets Joel, Amos, and Nahum use them as symbols of Divine Judgement. They appear as one of the end time tribulations in the Book of Revelation, rising from the Abyss to torment unbelievers. None of those seem relevant here. Maybe God is trying to get everyone out of the church before it blows up?
You can tell who actually cares about their family by who runs away (the Simpkins) and who looks for them (the Gemstones). Jesse saves not only his family, but Eli and Dusty. The Montgomerys and BJ/Judy save each other.
Intimacy alert: Keefe holds on to Kelvin's hand and thigh.
Green is Kelvin's preferred color, but the Attico with the long green fringes was chosen deliberately to look like grass. The guys are dead and buried. Keefe has a symbolic death and resurrection in every season, but this is the first for Kelvin. Maybe this is his final expiation, burning away the last of his guilt and shame over being gay.
The family stumbles out onto the loading dock. Everyone else has scattered.
Femme alert: look at Keefe. Hour glass figure, large pearl necklace. past-shoulder length hair: with a different face, you would mistake him for a lady. This is the second time that he has dressed as a minister's wife. So, Mrs. Lincoln, other than that, how did you like the show?
Resolution 1: Uncle Peter. Uh-oh, one of the locusts has crashed into Peter's fitbit trigger, destroying it, so the van will blow up in one minute. Run away!
Intimacy alert: Keefe now has his arm around Kelvin, a parallel to BJ with his arm around Judy.
Left: Since some of the Gemstone kids are off to college in this episode, I'm including some college jock cocks.
More plot resolutions after the break
Gemstones Episode 3.8, Continued: Kelvin's tender bits, Peter's van, Chuck's butt, and coming out to the world.
Previous: Episode 3.8: Is Peter a woman? Are Kelvin and Keefe lovers? Does Jesse dye his sideburns?
More Militia Squabbles: Under the highway overpass, the militia men get more chicken, this time from Fancy Nancy's, but the portions are still too small. Plus they've accomplished none of their goals due to Peter's mismanagement. Instead of Brotherhood of Tomorrow's Fires, referring to an Apocalypse that isn't happening, they're going to call themselves the Keepers of Yesterday's Monuments, to key into their interest in (Confederate) monuments.
They kick Uncle Peter and Chuck out of the group, taking all of their money, but letting them keep the truck full of explosives.
Top photo: The tender bits of Steve Zahn, who plays Uncle Peter.
Hating on Eli: In the Executive Board Room, the siblings speak to Eli only through Baby Billy, expressing anger that he refused to pay the ransom.
Judy: "You left us to die! Uncle Peter would have killed any one of us, or all three, or he'd just mutilate us and send you our body parts."
Kelvin specifies: "Nipples, penis, butthole shavings -- all our tender bits." Interesting --the three body parts he finds erotic. We can also divide it up by sibling: Judy's nipples, Jesse's penis, Kelvin's butthole. We all know that Kelvin is a bottom, so he's concerned about that.
Jesse states that he's always known that Eli doesn't love him, but he figured that it was all about the church. But he was wrong -- it's all about the money.
Eli protests: it's not about the money. It's always been about his children.
Hah! They're not buying it.
Suddenly Eli is happy because the siblings are working together, cooperating, not competing. If it takes hating on him for them to work as a team, fine.
Showtime: The Sunday of the siblings' return to the church. Crowds waiting to greet them. A woman holds a sign: "The Gemstone 3 -- we missed you." The ticket booth announces: "The return of the Gemstone children -- praise be!" At the ministers' meeting earlier in the season, the siblings tried the "We Three and Thee" catchphrase, with disastrous results. Now the congregation is embracing The Three.
In the hallway outside their dressing rooms, the siblings say goodbye to their partners. Jesse/Amber and BJ/Judy kiss. Keefe moves in for a kiss, but Kelvin blocks him with a forehead press. Keefe looks very amorous, as if still caught up in the afterglow from whatever they did last night. Kelvin looks apologetic: "Sorry, dude, not in front of my family and the gossipy church staff."
This scene received a lot of misdirection in the trailers. First you didn't see who Kelvin was saying goodbye to, so you would think it might be Taryn. Then the lighting makes a square white patch appear on Keefe's face, as if he was injured during the rescue attempt.
Jesse signals "Showtime!", and the siblings join him to walk down the hall to the stage. Amber at the other end of the hallway, waiting for the partners to join her in the sanctuary. Keefe and BJ stand there, watching.
Suddenly Kelvin backs up, then turns around and walks quickly back to Keefe. What's going on? He's holding his dressing room key -- maybe he forgot something? He wraps his arm around Kelvin's shoulders, slams him forcefully against the wall, and kisses him. We cut to BJ grinning, and Judy grabbing at Jesse's arm in surprise.
In the second take, or maybe a second kiss, the dressing room key is gone, and Kelvin has moved his hand to Keefe's face.
They break, and Kelvin walks back to the siblings, grinning, pleased with himself. Keefe looks proud of him, too. Jesse and Judy give him congratulatory grins. He adjusts his glasses, as if to say "Well, that's that."
More after the break
Gemstones Episode 3.6 Continued: Kelvin and Keefe fight, BJ and Stephen fight, and nobody likes hologram Aimee-Leigh
Previous: Episode 3.6: BJ swallows a lot, Keefe learns about hard wood, and Kelvin gets a girlfriend
The Second Reconciliation Attempt: Keefe enters with a rocking chair carved with Kelvin's name on a tree. This is way too much for a "let's stay friends" gift: he is attempting a reconciliation. You're the one who left, dude. You could just ask to get back together.
Angry at the implication, maybe feeling guilty because he was planning to start a relationship, Kelvin plays along: he asks Taryn to give them a moment alone, touching her affectionately on the back to usher her out, exactly as you would ask your girlfriend to give you a moment to talk to your ex.
Gemstones Episode 3.4: Wieners, betrayals, a burning a-hole, and Kelvin at his jerkiest. With nude Steve Zahn bonus.
Previous: Episode 3.3 Continued: a fire dance, a limp wrist, a phallic sword, and Balkan sex gods
Some premium fuck dolls: Keefe and Taryn are leading a Teen and Parents Together "ice cream and wieners" party. Keefe has apparently never done any ministry without Kelvin, so he is very nervous. He is not wearing his "wedding ring," maybe worried that it would out him.
The background song is about your lover finding someone new, but:
I say it's misinterpretation, a case of your infatuation
I know it's me who's on your mind, I know you're only killing time
You'll be back eventually, you'll be back permanently. You're still in love with me.
Wait -- has Keefe broken up with Kelvin to date Taryn? Or is this a precursor of another break-up, coming later?
The parents point out that they know very little about Keefe, even though he is a youth minister, in charge of nurturing their children. Before Keefe has a chance to answer any questions, Biker Clarence, the owner of the store that he bought out, drops by to praise him for buying "every last butt buzzer I had in stock!" He invites Keefe to check out the new merchandise coming in: "We got some premium fuck dolls!" Inappropriate, dude! You're in an ice cream shop. Don't you notice the kids around?
Top photo: Biker Clarence is played by George Paez, who doesn't have any nude photos online, so I substituted Steve Zahn in Saving Silverman
Taryn and Keefe assure the parents that "it's not what you think." That is, Keefe isn't actually gay, he bought the toys for a project "we did with your kids." Even worse! But didn't the parents know about Smut Busters? You have to get permission slips every time you take the kids off church property.
The boys at the Citadel: Next, Jesse and Amber complain to their teenage son Pontius that he has too many tattoos, he shouldn't be having sex with his girlfriend, and he's been rejected by every college he applied to.Come on, he's a world-famous Gemstone. Christian colleges will fight to get him in.
Jesse wants to send him to the Citadel, the South Carolina military college: the boys there "would split your ass like a pair of damn Chinese chopsticks." He means that the boys would harass Pontius, but the threat of anal sex hangs in the air.
Sunday morning: after "getting ready for church" scenes, the Gemstones and Montgomerys walk down a hallway the Salvation Center. The shots in the trailer caused considerable fan speculation: why do Kelvin and Keefe look so angry? I still don't know.
Their hands stay under the table until Peter threatens Judy, and Eli steps in, telling him to leave or he'll be shot. Everyone in the family except Gideon, Kelvin, and Keefe pulls out a gun. A gun expert on the fan board pointed out that only Amber and BJ are holding them properly.
Then Kelvin, frightened (of his family's guns?), says something indecipherable to Keefe, who moves his hand back to the table top and makes a finger-gun. Kelvin looks around for a weapon, and brandishes a fork. His left hand is still under the table, and stays there, holding Keefe, until Peter circles the table again.
Now the "wedding rings" are fully visible, matching men's silver wedding bands with black diamond inlay (the real thing sells for over $4000), on the ring finger of Kelvin's left and Keefe's right hand.
They will be emphasized several times during the season, especially when Kelvin is thinking about or talking about Keefe. They are symbols of the relationship, which means that the guys exchanged them deliberately. They have a permanent commitment. Kelvin can't say that they are lovers, but he can show it.
For a little while, anyway.
Things get worse after the break.
Stephen Schneider: Heterosexual love interest, heterosexual bottom, hung sleazoid, diversity dad
Here he and his Dad study for his Bar Mitzvah.
He graduated from Emory University in Atlanta, started a sketch comedy website, and wrote, produced, and starred in some short films, including "Not Gay," 2006.
Soon Stephen found his niche in comedy, playing quirky boyfriends.
Ray Stark, the Love Interest of one of the Best Friends Forever, 2012.
Ben in the relationship comedy, Things You Shouldn't Say Past Midnight, 2014.
You're the Worst, 2014-17, follows the romance of two horrible people, Jimmy and Gretchen. Stephen plays Gretchen's ex, who is still in love with her. They eventually hookup, of course.
Stephen is on the IMBD list of Hung Actors, along with Derek Yates,John Cena, and Ben Affleck -- #32, but I don't think it's organized by size. He gets naked here, but no frontal.
Broad City, 2014-2017, follows two female best friends looking for love and sex in contemporary New York. Stephen plays Abbi's hunky next door neighbor, whom she is crushing on. When they finally hook up, she discovers that he's a heterosexual anal bottom. Not a problem, but then she tries to wash his favorite dildo in the dishwasher, ruining it, ending the relationship.
For someone who gets placed on the Hung List, Stephen is rather stingy about showing his dick. In Broad City, all we get are underwear shots.
More Stephen after the break. Caution: arousal.
Gemstones Episode 3.3, Continued: A fire dance, a limp wrist, a phallic sword, and Balkan sex gods
Previous: Episode 3.3: Baby Billy sings forever, Kelvin can't say the word, BJ poses nude, and I'm depressed
Cousins' Afternoon: The Gemstone siblings and their partners sit on cabana chairs, insulting their cousins, the Montgomery boys, while they swim in the trout pond. Kelvin lays on the femme stereotyping, even flashing a limp wrist. This will be important later.
Keefe, who of course looks at men's crotches a lot, points out that Cousin Karl has a lot of pubic hair. Kelvin quips "Looks like he's got a chinchilla up there!" It sounds like he is making a mean joke to draw attention away from his interest in what men really have up there.
The Fire Dance: For their entertainment, Keefe performs a highly erotic fire dance in the waning light, near a path lit by a thousand fires. I am reminded of Coleridge's "Kublai Khan":
Keefe here is the demon lover, pure erotic energy, offering his mouth, butt, and penis simultaneously. He is the new Messiah of Muscle, rejecting cozy, tepid phileo, friendship, for the eros, erotic desire, that promises ecstasy or damnation.
Top photo: the real Fire Dancer
Why would anyone perform a highly erotic dance for his boyfriend's family? What does Keefe hope to accomplish? I think he is showing the family -- and Kelvin himself -- that he is a sexual being, Kelvin's lover, not a "good buddy."
Early in the episode, Kelvin couldn't admit that they were lovers. Now Demon Keefe shows him that they are. He has never been sure if his desire for Keefe will lead him to heaven or hell. Now he knows -- both.
Background note: The dark, disturbing music playing is "Balkan Sex God" from A Serbian Film, 2010, which regularly appears on lists of "the most disturbing films of all time." It features Srđan Todorović as a retired porn actor drawn into starring in a snuff film.
Todorovic dickCousins' Evening: A huge dining hall, with the family and cousins using just one table, Keefe and Kelvin sitting across from each other instead of side by side! Why does the staging back off from depicting them as a couple?
Uncle Baby Billy pretends he's the host of his Bible Bonkers game show, where families compete at Bible trivia. He goes around the table and asks each of the "contestants" their name and what they do for a living. The Montgomery boys work in landscaping. Then it's Keefe's turn. He is ready to speak, but Baby Billy skips him with a rude "nuh-huh," angering him. But it's not a homophobic snub: Baby Billy skips over BJ, too: "You ain't family." Only born Gemstones count.
Next it's "the weirdo boy with the puffy muscles," the second and last reference to Kelvin's physique this season, and maybe a euphemism for "gay." But Kelvin refuses to participate.
More Balkan sex gods after the break
Gemstones Episode 3.2: Kelvin's butt buddies, gay Percy, two toxic families, and some military dicks
Previous: Episode 3.1, Continued: Kelvin withholds sex, Judy cheats and Jesse fights, with some random butts
Kelvin's Butt Buddies: Jesse and Amber's adult son Gideon, who moved to California to become a stuntman, is back, lying on the veranda in a bathrobe, smoking a cigarette, holding a box of Lucky Charms cereal, and sulking. The background song by Buddy Knox tells us: "I think I'm going to kill myself." He injured his neck, and may never do stunt work, tumbling, or martial arts again. At least he's displaying a nice chest.
Judy: "That's why I'm surprised you weren't butt buddies with them."
He gets annoyed, not because she alludes to him being gay but because she implied that he's also "dumb and strange," and therefore perfect for the Montgomerys.
Not the God Squad: Bizarre signs like "Now we will see" greet the family, along with multiple armed guards. They pass Jacob (Stephen Louis Grush) cutting up a deer. Kelvin smiles at him -- think he's hot, buddy?. Then a military-style obstacle course; guys practicing martial arts; a guy taking a shower outdoors (no beefcake); and finally the mess hall, where about thirty militia men are having lunch.
Uncle Peter rejects the siblings' offer. They are "phony fakers," entertainers, interested in making money rather than saving souls.
More military guys after the break
Robert Oberst and the World's Strongest Men. Yes, some of them are naked
Robert Oberst, whose motto is "Strong and Pretty," grew up in Aptos, California, graduated from Western Oregon University in 2008 with a degree in history. He moved to San Francisco, and like most history majors, found work as a bouncer in gay bars.
In 2022, after placing in nearly 20 competitions, Robert retired from strength competitions, just in time to break into an acting career. He stars in Season 3 of The Righteous Gemstones as Chuck Montgomery, one of the backwoods cousins of the mega-rich Judy, Jesse, and Kelvin Gemstone.
Bodybuilders are drawn from the elite class, who can afford to spend thousands of dollars on protein supplements and fancy gym equipment. Strongmen are drawn from the working class, so their feats of strength often involve everyday objects: lifting boulders, logs, and tires; pulling or flipping over cars; tossing beer kegs. Here Oleg Novikov, the World's Strongest Man in 2020, lifts a barbell made of tires.
Strength competitions are super-macho, drawing a lot of heterosexual alpha males. Although Robert likes to hint that he is gay, he has never made a public statement. Besides, I think he might have a wife.