Where have all the
politics gone?
by W.C. McRae
The goal o f these interviews is to introduce
gay Portland to those people who are, in one
way or another, its leaders and friends, and to
present the history o f the m ovem ents that
affect us now. And into the bargain, hope that
if there is m ore awareness o f ourselves as a
com m unity, then we m ight be interested in
becom ing involved in a m ovem ent, and with
people, that have been made m ore fam iliar.
M ore interviews forthcom ing in future is
sues o f
Just Out.
Tia Plympton
Tia Plym pton, presently vice president of
the Portland chapter o f the National O rg a n i-y
zation fo r W omen, has been working with
NOW for seven years, years that have seen
m any changes for wom en and for fem inist
social m ovem ents in this country. Many carry
a perception o f NOW from the past — a
strident arch-fem inism that seemed so radi
cal and d ifficu lt ten years ago. That NOW
today doesn’t make the headlines and cause
the astonishm ent that it did a decade ago
doesn’t mean it has softened or becom e
m ore m ainstream . Instead, according to
Plympton, the mainstream, at least in fem inist
issues, has m oved leftward.
In the Portland m etro area, there are four
chapters o f NOW with about 400 m em bers •
in the Poprtland chapter alone. The m onthly
m eetings are a forum for speakers, programs,
mx,
n
X
,'s J /
o r discussions o f action. For NOW nationally
— and fo r each chapter — there are four
priorities: reproductive rights (rights to one's
body); the passage o f the ERA; the struggle
against racism ; and advocacy o f gay and les
bian rights.
This last priority indicates, says Plympton,
“that NOW has not m oved into the m ain
stream " and that it has also internally healed
the rift that threatened NOW in its earlier days
when the lesbian left was seen by m ore con
servative m em bers as a highly visible, vocally
dangerous faction o f the wom en's move
m e n t But gay and lesbian rights are "on the
agenda." NOW is "am iably involved" with
other w om en's groups, and NOW passed a
resolution fo r all chapters to attend Gay Pride
Day.
Even though Plym pton gave testim ony at
the original hearings when the County C om
m ission recently passed a gay rights o rdi
nance, the entire situation was “ very unfortu
nate." The radical right is very well organized,
and even if a City gay and lesbian rights bill
were proposed, passed, and won the inevit
able referendum , Plym pton wonders if it
w ould be w orth it As sym bolic legislation, a
gay rights bill at the city or county level would
be a very positive statem ent both for the gay
and straight com m unities. But there are other
concerns. A referendum , even if it upheld gay
civil liberties, would aid the radical right in the
com m un ity by enabling it to organize. M inori
ties respond strongest when the enemy is
stro n g e st and that goes for the right as well
as fo r the le ft An “ even m ore m obilized" right
w ould probably be the inevitable outcom e of
any referendum .
•
Plym pton also rem inds that the costs —
and not m erely m onetary — are very high:
T N H E1GH
E
V*
1 r ^ l I V.
RHOOD
Massnge for women nml men
Cfi.
there is a large price to pay in hum an costs. In
term s o f hum an resources, an electoral battle
depletes people's energy to such a degree that
those involved tend to bum out and disas
sociate themselves from the m ovem ent And
when "rig h ts" becom e the sole issue of im
portance to a m ovem ent and to a com
m unity, then other, equally im portant issues
are forgotten.
Plym pton is one o f many women active in
C om m unity Health S upport Service (CHSS),
and in Personal Active Listener (PAL), groups
that have been form ed in response to the
AIDS epidem ic. Plym pton emphasizes that
w om en are concerned about and involved
with AIDS. As is becom ing apparent AIDS is
not exclusively a gay problem , for one out of
three new cases involves a straight person.
And, ironically and tragically, AIDS, by
becom ing a public health crisis, m ight well
break down the barriers between straights
and gays. Remember, says Plympton, gays
did not cause AIDS. It did surface am ong gay
m en but it could have surfaced anywhere,
and once in the straight com m unity, it will
spread ju st as quickly. And in fa c t Plympton
speculates, a tragedy like AIDS could streng
then civil rights by exposing, in light o f the
hum an suffering involved, "the ludicrousness
o f the counter-m ovem ent” Perhaps som e
thing as horrible as AIDS could be the catalyst
to cod ify inform ed opinion against ignorant
m oralizing opportunists.
B ut what o f m ore positive ways to organize
the left? “ Young women today just aren't
political. We d o n 't have enough social en
gineering skills to rally the youth." There is a
sm all, though vocal, group o f people on the
far rig h t w ho are able to be organized and
m obilized by lies and scare tactics. But it
rem ains a question o f how to organize the
center and le ft One can’t fo r instance, use
scare tactics: there is a large group o f indi
vidualistic and educated people whom one
ca n 't reach or organize by lies and fear m on-
gering. It’s easy to move the ig n o ra n t but not
so the educated.
One o f the priorities o f NOW is the prom o
tion o f gay and lesbian rights. But it is clear,
when talking to Plym pton that gay civil
liberties cannot be the only issue, especially
fo r wom en. Lesbians are not subjected to
discrim ination solely, or even prim arily, be
cause o f their choice o f sexual partners, but
rather because they are female.
Robert Smith
Even though he has lived in Portland since
1961, Robert S m ith still thinks o f him self as a
“ H oosier" from Indiana. B ut since com ing to
Portland he has earned an im pressive set of
political credentials. Besides w orking at pre
sent as controller at the N orth/N orthw est
C om m unity Mental Health Center, Sm ith is
treasurer o f the D em ocratic Central C om m it
tee in M ultnom ah County, and is vice-chair
person o f the state D em ocratic Party. He is
active in the Society o f Friends, and is a
m em ber-at-large o f the Friends Com m ittee
fo r N ational Legislation — its only openly gay
m em ber. He was treasurer o f PTC for two
years; in 1983 he was regional vice-chair
person o f the Gay and Lesbian Caucus o f the
D em ocratic Party. A lthough he was not a de
legate to the San Francisco convention last
year, he was on the flo o r and participated in
the gay and lesbian m arch during the con
vention.
Despite others’ feelings to the contrary, he
doesn't feel that the D em ocratic Party has
reneged on gay issues. It is true that no
openly gay delegates were elected to last
year’s convention, but that is as m uch due to
the rallied determ ination o f organized labor
to have as m any delegates as possible as to
the alleged desire o f Hart and Mondale to
keep gays o u t Also, the lack o f high profile
gays in the party is, at least in part, due to gays
2nd ANNUAL
WOMEN A WOODS
Valerie Lyon, M .S ., L.M .T.
Neo-Reichiatt &
Shiatsu
Barbara J. Torelle, L.M .T.
C O U N S E LIN G FOR W O M EN
A N D FR IEN D S OF W O M EN
Tracer Psychophysica l
IntegrationSM & Massage
777-6653
1903 S E ANKENY
PORTLAND. OR 97214
M ^S
r or an a p p o in tm e n t c a ll: 2 3 + ' Ô 5 5 7
M ens R e so u rce C e n te r C ou n selin g S e rv ice
GAY TH E R A P IS TS
•
•
•
•
•
Professional Counseling
Low Fees — Sliding Scale
Individuals, Couples, Groups
Hypnotherapy
Evening & Weekend
235-3433
Problems ..............w< c u
é
work it o»ti
at BREITENBUSH HOT SPRINGS
August 9th, 10th & 11th, 1985
Three-day weekend retreat for lesbian women
held at historic Breitenbush Hot Springs Resort,
located adjacent to Mt Jefferson (60 miles east of
Salem. Oregon) Come and enjoy the natural
setting, therapeutic hot springs, pools, steam
sauna, hiking trails, rustir cabins, old mountain
lodge ovo-lactic vegetarian meals (included) and
powerful energy of women together
Time available for healing workshops, play,
relaxation, music your choice Sliding fee scale
from S65 to S125 (set your ow n fee) Register
early, spac^ limited Send S25 deposit (refundable
until June I ) to PHOENIX RISING FOUNDATION
408 SW 2nd ROOM 407, PORTLAND. OR 97204
(S03) 223 8299 Carpnoling available from
Portland or Salem
Just O ut, June. 1985