justont • • • • • c o n t e n t s S te p p in ' O u t Letters ............................... 3 Between the Lines ........... 4 AIDS 1 0 1 ............................. 5 Just B r i e f s .......................... 6 Just News .......................... 8 Voters G u id e ........................ 12 Just Y o u th ............................. 13 P ro file .....................................15 Out About Town ................ 18 Just Entertainment ..............22 M u s ic .....................................24 B o o k s.....................................25 Amazon T r a i l ........................ 26 Counsel ................................27 Classifieds............................. 28 Publisher Renée LaC hanct Acting Editor A nnder H ixhm ar Calendar Editor Littlejohn Keogh Entertainment Editor Sandra De H elen Staff Reporter Anndee H ot hman Advertising Director Yvonne Mammarrlh Advertising Representative lutilejohn Keogh Production Director Carla Jean Looney Typesetting Em Space. Im paci Presentations Ì5R>;,V Proofreader M elissa Calhscm Graphic Inspiration ■ $ » ¡g Rupert Kinnard. E. Ann H inds -H Distribution ■ D um a Cohen * K & ‘¿ y ¡g |§ p Contributors Jeffrey Zur linden Lee Lync h Dr. Tantalus Jack Riley B ro d ln J W oodworth E d Sc hiffer Rex W(Miner Sandra D e Helen Carolyn G age Adrienne EUit A llen SmalUng Mixed messages from the Arts Commission Lesbian playwright questions bias in funding Printed on recycled paper. Just Out u published oa the first day of cacti muotti Copyright 1990 No part of Just Out may be reproduced without written perm» kmc * o i the publishers , Wr and double spaced Graphic i Mack ink on while paper should be typed I should be in >fari O h About Tosru is compiled as a courtesy to our readers Performerv clubs, individuals or groups wishing to list events in (he calendar should mad notices to Just Out by the 15th of the month preceding publication UaUuga wH not be tak es over the ; will be accepted up <8 the |7th of each month Chuoified ads must be received at the office of Just Out by the 17th o f each month, along with payment A di w fl aot be taken enter the telephone. E ditorial poftcfca allow the rejection or the editing of an article or advertisement that is offensive, demeaning or may result in legal aebon Just Out consults the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual on editorial decisions Views expressed in letters to the editor, columns and features are not necessarily those of the publishers Subscriptions to Just Out are available for $17.50 for 12 issues First class (in an envelope) is $30 for 12 issues A free copy of Just Out and/or advertising rales are available upon request Just Out are: POBox 15117 Portland. OR 97215 (503)236-1252 B Y C A R O L Y N G A G E just received a letter from the Oregon A its Commission (OAC) asking that I protest the Congressional attempts to axe the National Endowment for the Arts. These attem pts are a hom ophobic backlash from right-w ingers who protested NEA funding of a gay artist. I am especially concerned with this backlash, because I am a lesbian playwright/ producer who is heavily censored and physically threatened for the work I do. In 19881 won the Oregon Book Award for my lesbian one-woman play. I began to talk about funding for women with a number of women writers. I expressed my concern that too often the OAC panels that judge the proposal* are top-hpavy with men. Although a proportionate num ber of women were receiving fellowships, our issue was what kind of “wom en’s art“ m ale judges were rewarding. I know lesbian women with grants from the OAC, but not for work about lesbians. This would be as oppressive as black or Native American artists having to write proposals for projects that did not touch on their experiences in their own cultures. My own work addresses vehemently the violence o f men and how it affects women’s I lives. I also write about lesbians. My work is heavily censored by mainstream theaters. I receive threats when I produce my own work. Recently I was subjected to an eviction because of my outspoken defense of my theater, and the m anager from the hall I rent was threatened with loss of business for renting tom e. My experience is that men do not respond favorably to my work. I resent that my last proposal, a musical adaptation of an interna­ tional feminist bestseller by a Norwegian writer, was rejected by an all male panel. The word “lesbian” had been highlighted in the text, although I had already written it in under the categories for cultural minorities. Several distinguished women writers and I met with a member of the OAC to discuss this situation. At the lunch, this member politely informed me that perhaps I was looking for an excuse because I was rejected. Would he have told this to four Mack writers whose work was being judged by white panels? In a telephone discussion later with a different member of the OAC. I asked if he knew of any lesbian or gay art projects that had been funded by the commission. He couldn’t name any. Then he said that there had been a film proposal by the man who C arolyn G age made "Mala Noche" and that it had been rejected solely on the basis o f homosexual contenL In closing, this OAC staff m em ber told me that the passage o f M easure 8 was a mandate from the people o f Oregon for the OAC not to fund any gay a rt In light o f these experiences a year ago, I protest the fact that the OAC is publicly posturing to those on their m ailing list as a commission fighting hom ophobic legislation when in fact, according to at least one staff member and the com m ission's record of not funding lesbian/gay projects, the OAC itself is implementing policies that discrim inate against gays. (This article is adapted from a letter written by Gage to Leslie Tuomi, executive director of the Oregon Arts Commission. The commission includes "sexual preference" in its statement ofnon-discrimination).