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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1987)
Lesbian Community Project Update April is the kick-off month for LCP’s membership drive, i t ’s official. The by-laws (rules governing and structuring the organization) have been approved. he process for developing the by-laws involved many open com munity meetings at which a wide variety of women contributed their ideas. The goal of this process was to design an organization that will be responsive to as many women’s needs and visions as possi ble. Heartfelt thanks go to everyone who participated. It’s easy to become a member. After paying a modest fee you’ll be eligible to vote and run for the board of directors. Campaigning and elections will happen throughout May. As a member, you'll re ceive the newsletter, special discounts, and invitations to member-only events. For more information call 233-9079. LCP has attracted the participation and enegy of many Lesbians. Women from very different backgrounds and perspec tives are joining together to create a truly broad-based, multi-cultural organization that is representative of many segments in the Lesbian Community. Every woman finds her own reason for getting involved; below, three LCP’ers share their answer to the question, “ Why did you get involved in LCP?” T I became involved with LCP as a direct consequence of the first Lesbian con ference. I moved out here from NYC four years ago and settled in the SW suburbs. I had been very active in NY’s political com munity for several years and our move out here was a welcome quiet change at first. As time went on, both I and my lover felt the disquieting absence of political aware ness among our new friends. I think I’m homesick the most during Lesbian/Gay Pride Week as none of our friends here have been interested in “ go ing to the parade” and I often remember all of my friends back in NY saying, “ See yaat the march.” Lesbian Pride Week was always an uplifting, energizing experience. The week was packed with evening ac tivities all over the city, with a huge Les bian dance held the night before the march. At any rate, we sort of settled into non political activity over the last two years and suddenly there was news of a lesbian conference in Portland (we read about it in Just Out). We were so impressed with all of the work that was put into it, the women involved, the speakers and those who at tended. it was just what we both needed and at the right time. So here I am! (RGj Hi, my name’s Sallee Huber, and I'm one of LCP’s token perverts. Originally an almost innocent refugee from Montana, I am now heavily involved in both the politi cal and social aspects of the leather com munity, as well as many other Lesbian/ Gay activities and organizations. I’m an almost 29-year-old pagan/Jewish Aries who sometimes wishes that about half of what is attributed to my reputation was actually true and that the other half would get grounded in some reality. I initially became involved with the LCP on an informal basis as a writer for the Gay/Lesbian press, and a facilitator for the S/M workshop held during the LCP’s first Lesbian conference in November. 1 entered with some amount of hesitation and suspicion as I’d felt disenfranchised and ostracized by the “ politically correct” feminist communty for a long time. Though there are still some occasional attitude problems, I found to my pleasant surprise that this particular group was truly willing to work with Lesbians of widely diverse backgrounds and beliefs. After feeling cut off from mainstream feminist efforts for so long, I found that I really missed working with other Lesbians on our own issues and concerns. Doing it by ourselves, for ourselves, was a special feeling and I was glad to be involved again. (Sallee Huber) As a woman of color and a lesbian in ' Portland’s community for the last ten years, I had often felt a disconnection from “ mainstream” lesbian-feminist politics and organizations. I began to feel 1 didn’t “ belong” or “ fit in” and conformity was necessary if I wanted to belong. Struggles around racism in the “ com munity” (communty is a term I use loosely because no real community existed; it was so fragmented) had been divisive, explo sive — resulting in regressive behavior. My sporadic involvement in the commun ity was unsatisfying and unfulfilling and eventually I became totally uninvolved and moved to a little house in far Northeast Portland with my cats. I was burned out. I put my Sappho Slugger tee shirts away, retired my mitt and felt I was saved from ever having to reach consensus again. Well, 1 was “ fired up” again at the Lesbian Community Conference in Nov ember of '8 6 and felt that the potential fora multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, truly diverse community actually existed. A woman of color caucus formed at the conference and for the first time in years I felt a strong connection with other lesbian women of color who supported and respected one another. We have collectively and indi vidually taken an active role in LCP com mittees and activities. It’s exciting, exhausting and ultimately satisfying for me — we are making history and I want to be a part of it. I feel LCP is an organization that is taking form, shape and direction and I want to use my talents, abilities and energies to help make it hap pen. 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