Vol. 2
August, 1985
No. 10
STAFF
Graphic Arts Director
Rupert Kinnard
Co-publishers
Jay Brown
Renee LaChance
Advertising Director
Roger Hall
Editor
Jay Brown
Advertising Associate
Eve Sicular
Ed Hickey
Alicia Cash
Contributors
Eve Sicular
Lee Lynch
B illy Russo
Jim A nctil
W .CMcCrae
Sandra DeHelen
Eleanor Malin
if
Production Director
Bev La Belle
Proofreader
Anita Q uiton
W ritten and graphic materials are welcomed for
subm ission. All written material should be typed
and double-spaced. All graphic material should be
black ink on white paper.
Deadline for submissions is the 15th of each
month.
O ut A bout Town is a courtesy to.our readers.
Items must be received by the 15th of each month.
Display advertising will be accepted up to five
days before publication date, if camera ready, if
not. then seven days prior.
Classified ads must be received at the office of
Ju st O ut ten days prior to publication date, along
with paym ent
Editorial policies allow the rejection or the edit
ing o f an article or advertisement that is offensive,
dem eaning or may result in legal action. Just O ut
consults the Associated Press Style book and Libel
Manual on editorial decisions.
Views expressed in letters to the editor, columns,
and features may not necessarily be those of the
editorial staff of Just O u t
Subscriptions to Ju st O ut are available for
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advertising rates are available upon request
The mailing address and telephone number for
Ju st O ut are:
P.O .Box 15117
Portland. OR 9 7 215
236-1252
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Refreshing
To the E ditor:
Having ju st recently ‘‘com e out o f the
closet” I fin d your news magazine very re
freshing and full o f interesting news about the
hom osexual lifestyle.
It is nice to know that 1 can read about the
latest news in the gay com m unity ju st as my
heterosexual friends can read about their
“straight” lifestyle.
It certainly is nice to know there are people
o u t there w ho feel and understand the way
that I do.
Thanks again,
R. Johnson
Thank you,
Barbara Grier
To the Editor:
I thank the universe fo r giving us Barbara
Grier. I thank Barbara G rier for editing The
Ladder back when 1 had nothing and no one
else to tell me I was okay, sane and not alone.
T his w om an, who encouraged me and many
others to write, published us then and now.
T his w om en’s-m ovem ent-battered wom an
has had the vision and the guts to do what
she m ust to make Naiad, whatever its or her
faults, successful so that other wom en, in the
position I was in twenty years ago, can have a
chance to grab at that lifeline.
I thank Nancy Manahan and Rosemary
C urb fo r their w ork and vision in creating
Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, because it
is responsible fo r breaking through so many
barriers to reach wom en who never ever
w ould have had access to lesbian culture
otherwise. I thank the w om en who wrote their
stories dow n and let them go despite the pain
it m ig h t have brought som e o f them , so that
countless w om en and m en could be touched
by the beauty and sincerity o f their words. I
thank the m edia, gay and straight, fo r pu bli
cizing the book, fo r pushing those words
farther and farther into the w orld, to find
those buried deeper and deeper inside their
closets.
I thank you, the readers, fo r sharing my
gratitude, fo r being am ong those who op
pose fear and even unw ittingly risk damage
to your spirits, by believing in your gay selves
enough to stand tall, in your words, in a
parade, in the sim ple act o f reading this paper.
Lee Lynch
Just Out. August. 1985
Just O ut is published the first of each month.
Copyright 1985. No part of Just O ut may be re
produced without the written permission of the
publishers.
Those missing
children
To the E ditor:
Public concern about m issing children
reached a new peak recently, after a nation
w ide n ight telecast o f “A dam ” — a real-life
story o f the kidnap and m urder o f a Florida
boy. The netw ork showed pictures o f several
m issing children and appealed to the public
to help find them .
Photos o f m issing children show up every
where: on billboards, shopping bags, m ilk
cartons and m atchbooks, even in som e o f
o u r utility bills. Now 82 (JS Senators have
signed a letter asking the three m ajor TV
netw orks to broadcast these pictures regu
larly in prim e-tim e slots (S.F. Chronicle, May
17,1985).
B ut the ugliest tru th is now appearing: al
m ost all o f the children "discovered” after
these pictures are shown were kidnapped by
one o f their own parents. Barbara Chap
m an, m edia director fo r the National Center
fo r M issing and Exploited C hildren in Wash
ington, D.C. has now adm itted that 94% o f the
cases they’ve handled are parental abduc
tions (S.F. Chronicle, May 2,1985).
C hapm an also acknowledged that the an
nual abductions, including the m any parental
kidnappings, m ay be less than 25,000. Yet
m ost experts on m issing children estim ate
th a t about 2 m illion disappear each yean
about half o f them run away, because the
h o rro r at hom e is worse than the horror o f the
streets, while the other half are "throw n away"
(abandoned o r forced out) by the ir own
parents. Nearly all o f these young people
reappear, sooner o r later, w ithout the aid o f a
nationw ide dragn et
O n this basis, only about 1 % o f all m issing
childre n actually are abducted. Less than one
in a thousand m issing children are taken by
anyone other than a pa ren t So the child-
savers’ own statistics point to a m ultitude of
urgent problem s within fam ilies, and not to
any unusual external menace.
The spectre o f strangers who snatch one’s
childre n is nothing new, o f course. T hrough
o u t history, oppressed m inorities have been
accused o f child-stealing and child-m urder.
In another era, Gypsies were thought to be
child-snatchers. Today, the evil role is played
by others. W hat the networks falsely imply,
the Falwells proclaim : Adults w ithout children
pose a m enace to the family.
C hildren, naturally, are terrified by these
shows. T heir horrified parents rush to have
them fingerprinted, in the m istaken belief that
law enforcem ent agencies alone, if given
m ore m oney and public support, can save
th e ir children from a terrible fate.
It w on’t help to continue scaring children
and parents with right-w ing propaganda. In
stead, let’s tell the truth: nearly all child disap
pearance can be traced to real parental prob
lem s, pow er struggles, and the widespread
abuse and neglect o f young people w ithin
contem porary fam ilies.
Floyd Conaway
Chorus says
“Thanks, Portland"
To the E ditor:
O n behalf o f the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus
I w ant to thank you and the staff o f Just Out
fo r all your support this past season. We
sincerely appreciate your ongoing efforts to
publicize and prom ote events that serve to
strengthen and solidify the Lesbian and Gay
C om m unity.
Due to widespread com m unity support
this past year, the C horus has been able to
m ake som e large strides. Last fall we com -
m isisoned an original w ork by black co m
poser Terry Snowden and in the springtim e
an entire m usical satire (“ Zillions” ) by Tom
S im onds.
We were honored to sing in the Rotunda o f
the State C apitol at Christm as fo r Barbara
R oberts’ inauguration as Secretary o f State
and at the opening o f the legislative sessions
in Salem . We received our first grant from the
M etropolitan Arts C om m ission and were in
vited to jo in the Choral C onsortium , an al
liance o f the five m ajor Portland choruses
form ed to further Portland’s stature as a
center fo r fine choral m usic.
Recently we were thrille d to perform at the
Arlene Schnitzer C oncert Hall with the Gay
M en’s C horus o f Los Angeles to a warm ly
enthusiastic crowd. S inging in the Opera
House in Seattle the next night with the Van
couver, Seattle and Los Angeles Choruses,
we were accused o f prolonging the show
because we were interrupted so often by
applause!
As your chorus we are proud to represent
P ortland's Lesbian and Gay C om m unity in
Salem, in the Choral C onsortium , at Schnitzer
Hall, in Seattle and anywhere we have the
honor o f an audience.
Thank you Portland fo r your unwavering
support. We w ill continue to w ork very hard to
earn your love and affection throug h our
m usic.
Steve Mount
Portland Gay Men s Chorus
Thanks City Nights
Dear C ity N ights G roup:
C ongratulations on creating a truly fantastic
evening. The Sylvester S um m er Party was o f
benefit to everyone associated w ith it!
O n behalf o f the Board and all o f us as
sociated w ith CHSS/PAL Project, I’d like to
thank all o f you fo r your astonishing effort on
behalf o f persons challenged by Acquired
Im m une D eficiency Syndrom e. Your w ork
has dem onstrated that it is possible to make
a difference in the fig h t against devastating
disease w ithout being m orose o r desperate.
Truly you have shown the potential o f joy in
the face o f grief, and the power o f resolve in
the face o f fear. You have given m any in
Portland the sure knowledge that everyone
can m ake a difference in the fig h t against
AIDS.
Thank you for all your hard w ork. Your
organization reflected long hours o f prepara
tio n. Everyone that I have spoken w ith was
stunned that such an incredible party could
be fou nd in Portland.
B ut m ost im pressive o f all is the sim ple fact
th a t you stepped forw ard w ithout being
asked — purely o u t o f your own sense o f
concern and com passion fo r others. As you
already know, the funds you raised are des
perately needed, now, in ou r ow n co m m u n
ity. A ll o f us in PAL Project hope that you take
a great deal o f satisfaction in know ing that
these m oneys w ill directly sup port m any
people, m ost o f w hom you w ill never know.
Those o f us w ho are w orking on behalf o f
persons challenged by life-threatening illnes
ses, are buoyed by the know ledge that others
share o u r concern and are w illin g to make
sacrifices as necessary to support others who
are less fortunate.
It seems insufficient to sim p ly say, “ Thank
you fo r being there fo r us,” bu t we hope that it
w ill add to the pride w hich you m u st feel after
creating such a rousing success. Thank you
fo r dem onstrating that life can be rich with
fu n and e n te rta in m e n t and m eaningful at the
sam e tim e!
We wish all o f you and yours the very best
o f health.
„
_ ,
Steve Fulmer
CHSS Board Chair
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