This commentary originally aired on WAMU, American University Radio in Washington, D.C.

By Joel Carela

I've always been put off by TV shows and movies that glorify casual sex. Like the "American Pie" movies, whose main characters are always in search of a quick and easy hook-up. They make the guys who can separate sex and emotions seem normal and emasculate the ones who develop feelings beyond the mattress.

As an emotional person, I never liked that message -- but I guess somehow it seeped into my brain.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which are being commemorated this coming Sunday, Youth Radio is featuring a week of original reporting on the LGBT community, gay rights, and other issues of import to queer youth.

The stories range from the political to the very personal.

Monday: State of the Unions- a review of the state of Gay Marriage rights in California and the rest of the United States.