S
E
Praise for Shepherd story
Be real, Ronnie
To the Editor:
JU ST OUT has a following of readers. Ad
mittedly, I am not one of them.
Last night at the Dirty Duck I picked up a
copy of the December issue. Your cover story
featured two of my most favorite people in
Portland.
Your cover story “ Bill & Ann Shepherd, Pro
Family/Pro Gay” by Rodger Larson & Andy
Simon was superb.
It was very professionally written and re
searched. The fact that one can be “ pro family”
and “ pm gay” was made beautifully.
My compliments to you and to Larson &
Simon. You did good! Real good!
Sincerely,
Paula Neilsen
P.S.: The overall layout of JUST OUT was
excellent, except for the small print of the
articles. Older people would have to
strain to read it.
However, I am sure that you find that
necessary for economic reasons, which is
understandable.
Just Out received a copy of the following
letter. It is addressed to Ronald Reagan.
I am writing to you concerning your speeches
and your subsequent remarks and writings on
the subject of abortion.
You have compared abortion rights to the evil
institution of slavery, and you have said that we
cannot survive as a free nation unless the con
stitutional right to abortion is overturned.
While we believe that you have every right to
your personal beliefs, these opinions do not
reflect the beliefs of the majority of Americans.
Poll after poll has consistently shown that most
o f our citizens support a woman’s right to make
a private decision about abortion.
Further, you have called for a constitutional
amendment outlawing abortion. This is just the
kind o f governmental interference in the private
lives o f Americans which you have deplored so
often.
The constitutional history of our nation
makes clear that our founding fathers intended
that amendments to the Constitution should en
large the rights of our citizens — not restrict
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their rights or impose federal intervention in the
most personal aspects of their lives.
I respectfully ask you, Mr. President, to sup
port the majority opinion of American citizens
who favor the constituional right to make deci
sions about their child-bearing without govern
ment interference.
Faye Wattleton, President
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
New York, N.Y.
Roseburg PWA
seeks pen pals
To the Editor:
I have been waiting for some great inspira
tion to write something down that would convey
how I feel. I was stricken in July with this
disease called AIDS. I say stricken because it
happened so fast, and because it cut me down so
completely.
I woke up in the hospital with my head
shaved, a hole in the side of it, down to 135 from
155 pounds, and everyone telling me how great
I looked. But what else could they say?
I won’t go into all the details of my hospital
stay and recovery, but without my friends and
relatives to support me, I doubt if I would have
made it.
So now I am back home in Roseburg with my
lover, Jeff; my hair has all grown back and I’m
feeling stronger all the time. My lover is great;
my friends are all still there to support me.
Everything is just peachy, right?
Wrong. Since all this has happened, except
for a short conversation with a man from the
Cascade AIDS Project, I have not spoken to
another person with AIDS. I feel like I am on an
island here in Roseburg. I just wish I had some
one to write to, or better yet, to talk to, who
really understands what is happening to me.
No matter what medical terms you use, you
can ’t know what this disease is like until you
experience it. So if anyone with AIDS will drop
me a line. I’ll do my best to answer and say,
“ Hi.” I’m 35 and have had toxoplasmosis and
pneumocystis.
Love to all,
J. Smirl
1243 NE Klamath
Roseburg, OR 97470
'Sexism" clarified
I am writing in response to your item about
Barbara Wilson’s reading at A Woman’s Place,
headed "W hen is sexism OK?” Since I was
present, I would like to correct your report that,
“ Wilson stopped reading and asked a man in
the audience to leave.” I am disturbed that you
apparently made no attempt to verify the facts.
Wilson read at the scheduled time of 7 p.m.
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to an audience o f about fifteen women. After
the reading was over, she invited discussion on
some o f the issues raised by her book. A smaller
group talked about prostitution, which eventu
ally led to informal discussion of female sexual
ity, during which some women began to express
quite personal feelings.
At this point — about 8:30 p.m. — a man
wandered up to the small circle o f women
(which was clearly not a reading) and sat down.
Wilson very politely explained that she did not
feel comfortable continuing the discussion with
him joining the group at that stage. He left
without comment and the discussion continued.
This man clearly had no intention of attend
ing W ilson’s public reading, since he arrived an
hour and a half late. The request that he not join
a sensitive discussion which was well under
way, was entirely reasonable: it in no conceiv
able way “ denied him access to feminist
books,” as you reported. There is a bookstore
full o f feminist books at his disposal; there are
public readings by feminist authors he can at
tend, the times o f which are clearly advertised.
He would have been welcome at W ilson’s read
ing and could also have participated in discus
sion afterwards.
Nearly every week I read a newspaper article
by some white man about “ reverse discrimina
tion,” accusing women and people o f color of
discriminating against him. “ Sexism” and
“ racism,” in this context, of couse, lose their
true meaning. This public whining is a part of
the current backlash against feminism which
seems so absurd as to hardly bear comment. Yet
it is eagerly perpetuated by the media —
including Just Out it seems, judging by your
headline: “ sexism” is not the polite request by
a woman that a man respect and support us —
sometimes by taking a back seat. Sexism is,
rather, the anger or other complaints with which
some men (and even sometimes some women,
acting on m en’s “ b e h a lf’) respond to such
requests.
Sincerely,
Judith Barrington
Lesbian and G ay Pride '87
planning begins
To the Editor:
This is an open letter to the lesbian, gay and
gay-supportive community of Portland con
cerning Lesbian and Gay Pride ’87. In this com
munity we have come to expect bigger and
better Lesbian and Gay Pride celebrations each
year. So far, this expectation has been recog
nized and met. LGP is at a turning point as
currently there are three committed participants
in the process o f incorporation and planning for
LGP in ’87. Obviously, there is a great need for
organizations and individuals to participate.
Your energy, input and expertise is crucial in
the goal o f a satisfying Lesbian and Gay Pride
’87. Please plan to attend the LGP Community
Forum on Wednesday, January 14. See this
issue’s calendar for time and place. For more
information, call 236-4386.
Sincerely,
Lesbian and Gay Pride, Inc.
Barbie Research continues
Dear Just Out Readers:
Thank you for responding to my request for
feedback on Barbie and other fashion dolls as
part of a photographic/writing project I have
undertaken. Although your letters have been
helpful, I can always use additional comment
on the effect fashion dolls have had on the lives
o f children and adults (yourself included).
Please feel free to write to me at P. O. Box 1774,
Pawtucket, R I 02862. Once again, thank you
for your help and I hope to keep hearing from
you.
Sincerely,
Linda R. Collette