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.)
Please address all answers to: Just
Advisor, 923 SW 17th, Portland, OR 97205.
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Goldfarb for Senate Committee
Robb LeMarte, Treasurer, 231-5605
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