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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1984)
goals," he says. by Mike Smith P rinted first in Quarterly, W inter 1982. Mike S m ith is the ed itor o f Quarterly. The Gay press continues to slam Black people and no one seems to care. It’s not so m u ch the W hites-only message blared by the co m m e rcia l advertisers w ith th e ir W hite young m en peddling one th in g o r another — I’ve gotten used to th a t And, what the hell, you have to pay the bills, right? I’m also get tin g used to the editorial end o f things, the virtual, u h , . . . blackout o f news about Gay and Lesbian people o f color. That to o ’s been g o in g on so long I d o n ’t notice it m uch any m ore. Mo, w hat’s getting m e down is the insensitivity, the plain stupidity. Then there are the w ell-m eaning liberals. A nother local Gay publication put a Black m an on its cover. G ood, I th o u g h t to m yself as I turned to the inside. The article began pro m isin g ly enough. The publisher related how the Black m an, a supervisor’s aide at City Hall, had expressed surprise at being invited to appear on the cover o f a W hite-dom inated paper. Wow, I th o u g h t it takes guts to print som ething like th a t B ut I should have known better. Having the last w ord — as all papers do — the publisher weaseled ou t o f this one sim ply, claim in g, ‘‘E thnic m inorities have o f ten appeared i n ... [o u r paper).” Mo, I shouted to m yself, they have n o t Mot by any definition o f ‘o fte n ’ o r ‘appear.’ B ut I guess if you say they have, som ehow it’ll seem true. As I read further, thin gs g o t worse. A fter listing som e of the personal accom plishm ents o f the po liti- cally-a m bitio us B lack m an, the article added: He is also a Regional Director for the Committee o f Black Gay Men, a political organization that does both lobbying and provides an opportunity for its members to engage in introspective discussions. “The Gay com m unity needs to recognize that ethnic and racial prejudice am ong Gays is counter-productive to our Human Rights Mever m ind that there is no C om m ittee o f B lack Gay Men in San Francisco lobbying’ and ‘providing opportunities,” — and that there hasn’t been fo r tw o years (at least ac co rd in g to fo u r B lack m en I know w ho be longed)! Mever m ind that those pretty w ords a b o u t racism are ju st words, nothing m ore. (It isn ’t the first tim e a politican has padded his credentials at the expense o f those who are active in a cause, in this case, anti-racism .) W hat’s notew orthy is that the publisher who, ju s t a few sentences before espoused his paper's ethnic pedigree, doesn’t even realize th a t he’s never printed W ord One about this ‘political,’ ‘lob bying’ C om m ittee (how could he — the re’s been nothing to report!). The w hole th in g is a send-up, ju st so m uch hot air packaged to give us what they th in k we’d like to read. As fo r a sim ple jou rna listic exercise like verifying facts, why bother? If this upright. W hite-selected B lack m an says such a group exists and is engaged in all this activism , why, it m u st be true. Even if it isn’t, i t . . . helps the ‘cause,’ doesn’t it? (O ne o f them m ust have sensed they were close to the edge. S pecific in fo rm a tio n about the C om m ittee — a con ta ct phone o r address, a m eeting schedule is conveniently om itted.) U nfortunately, racism in the Gay press isn’t always th a t subtle. Take this em ploym ent ad fro m a W ashington, D.C. paper: th a t’s perfectly w illin g to help him trade on his W hiteness and the system ’s preference fo r it A nd, w ell, w hy not? Freedom o f the press and all th a t If W hites are som ehow m ore . . . em ployable — and let’s face it, they are — w ho are we to buck the system? Besides, th e re ’s no th in g illegal about describing your race w hen looking fo r a job. There’s also n o th in g relevant about i t O r is there? W hites are also m ore “ houseable.” From coast to c o a s t Morth, South, E a st and West, Gay newspapers carry hundreds o f d iscrim i natory housing ads. In Denver; Responsible rom m ate(s) to share large 3-bedroom Victorian. Quiet area near City Park. Must be GWM. neat, clean, with stable em ploym ent.... In Seattle: GW M couple seek gwm couple or single to share 3-bedroom Capitol Hill hom e___ C hicago: Responsible GWM 21 -35 to share my Des Plaines apt. $ 170/m o___ A nd W ashington, D.C. — w ith a twist: GWM/F to share HW townhouse w/3 M and pets: must be stable, neat___ T his last one in a city where the population is 70% B lack! (There were twenty such ads in the one issue o f this paper I looked a t Just w hat kind o f message do you th in k they’re tryin g to convey?) W ait a m inute, you say? There’s a d iffe r ence between refusing to rent to Blacks — F air H ousng and all that — and refusing to live w ith one. Sure there is. One is overt racism , the oth er’s subtle. S ubtle to o is this: GWM. prof, quiet, clean, seeking apt for Sept. 1___ S om eone else out to trade on a system w hich favors W hites. The Boston paper w hich printed that one advises ironically: Dear Advertiser, if race is not a crucial issue for you. w h ypu titin your ad? It is not a required formula: GWM. GWF are not necessary. GM. G F would do as well, un less you really want it otherwise. I’m tem pted to respond: D ear E ditor, it’s your fuckin g newspaper. If race is not a cru cia l issue fo r you, why run the a d ? . . . Gnless you really want it otherwise. D o we really want it otherwise? Is it our in te n tio n to continue p rom o ting W hiteness by sh u ttin g o u t people o f color? Well, maybe not. Maybe we want them to have the same freedom and privileges we have. Maybe it’s ju s t th a t we d o n ’t th in k about it Maybe. Help Wanted: GWM (Gay White male) for 3-4 days job. helper, hom e fix-up___Exp pref but not nec if good worker. Must be clean, dependable___ O r th is fo rm a San Francisco paper: Jobs: Bartender, conservative GWM to work in straight establishment. Work into partnership. Ho exp required___ It w orks in reverse too. In Philadelphia: Jobs Wanted: GWM painting student seeks iveekend position in art gallery. Seri ously interested in learning the gallery bus iness— O u r GW M artists at least knows his colors. W hite is so m uch m o r e . . . preferable fo r this kin d o f job . O r this kind (from a national pu b lica tio n ): Prof pilot — White male, 30. straight look ing — seeks flight crew position___ Or, fo r that m atter, ju st about any kind. F ro m M em phis: GW M seeking any type o f employment___ A ll offers considered. He sounds desperate, doesn’t he? B ut he does have one th in g going fo r him and he know s i t He has another too. A Gay press The regular writers for Just Advice are on vacation this week. However, we present the fo llo w in g advertisem ent D ear Readers: Are you stuck in a low paying, dead end job ? Are you tired o f the rush-rush pace o f nine to five work? Are you sick o f people saying “ M ind your own business!” Then per haps you are one o f the m any w ho could becom e an advice colu m n writer. Yes, enter the exciting w orld o f jou rna lism . Lay around all day and w ait fo r the m ail. Sit in the jacuzzi o r answ er the telephone fro m your very own Rolls Royce. Earn the rig h t to stick your nose in to anybody’s busness. Meet Ann Landers. Here at the Just Advice Fam ous School o f A dvice C olum n W riters we have the skilled instructors needed to train you to becom e a real pro. So take the Just Advice Fam ous S chool o f Advice C olum n W riters A ptitude T e st Maybe you have got w hat it takes. The Just Advice Fam ous S chool o f Advice C olum n W riters S chool A ptitude T e st How w ould you answer the follo w in g letter? D ear J u st Advisor: My lover and I have diffe ren t sexual appe tites. S /h e is always on and I, it seems, am always off. W hat should we do? S /h e is fru s tra te d and I am insecure. Please answer soon. — G naroused in Aloha C heck one. A Cheat B. Lo ck h e r/h im up in the bathroom w ith a plastic blow up do ll C. Take horm ones D. O ther (Please write your own answer here.) 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