Who's the daddy payin' for all this?
-- Gregory (Lesson #1: The Boss Doesn't Love You)

Importance: At the outset of the novel, Newson utilizes this quotation to explore gay culture in New York City during the 1980s. Gregory survives by attaching himself to older white men who pay his bills and buy him clothing in exchange for sex. By having a daddy, Gregory is able to live without pursuing a typical career. His assumption that Trey is also a sex worker serves to demonstrate the widespread practice of such relationships during the time, fostered by homophobic laws that limited open expression of sexuality.

Positioned correctly, pawns can checkmate kings.
-- Narrator (Lesson #1: The Boss Doesn't Love You)

Importance: At the close of Lesson #1: The Boss Doesn’t Love You, the author enacts this moment to introduce his thematic inspection of activism. At the inception of the Gay Rights Movement, LGBTQ individuals were not given the same civil rights as other American citizens and homosexuality was criminalized under U...