2 ▼ 8 * p t * m b « r 1001 ▼ Just o u t
ju s t o u t
since 1983
PUBUSHER
Rened LaChance
steppin* out
EDITOR
Linda Kliewer
contents
VOL. 8 NO. 11 SEPT.. 1991
CALENDAR EDITOR
Linda Shirley
FEATURE
STAFF REPORTERS
Anndee Hochman
Inga Sorensen
Tracy Dale leads off a series
o f articles by queer youth with
an article about relationships,
being sexually active
and AIDS.
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Catherine Stauffer
ADVERTISING
Linda Shirley
Amanda .Colorado
(p- 13)
Profile
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
E. Ann Hinds
Dandi Banauch writes about
Windfire, a support group for
lesbian, gay and bisexual
youth.
PROOFREADER
Matt Bailey
TYPESETTER
Amanda Colorado
(p. 15)
FORMATTER
Meg Grace
DISTRIBUTION
Coyote Distributing
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Carol Stcincl
Chloe Dc Scgon/ac
CONTRIBUTORS
Lee Lynch
Dr. Tantalus
Matthew Nelson
Linda Carter
Sandra dc Helen
Tom Flint
Ellen Spiro
Dandi Baunach
Paula Jean O'Brien
Melissa Kilby
Tracy Dale
Kimberly Lynn Stcdman
Roxann McGlumphy
Joseph Lyons
Pamela Mullins
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each month. © 1991. No part of Just Out
m ay be reproduced w ithout written
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News
This is the Siberian delegation to the Soviet U nions first lesbian and gay pride celebration held
July 23- Aug. 3 in Moscow and Leningrad. (See page 5.)
A look at the effect o f the
arrest o f serial killer Jeffrey
Dahmer
(p. 8)
editorial
C en so rsh ip and
cu ltu ra l b ia s
his issue o f Just Out is devoted to lesbian, gay and
bisexual youth — an invisible minority. They are
out there, it was not hard for us to find them. I ’m
sure the majority of heterosexual America thinks
most homosexuals just appear after age 21— so
much for an informed public.
In May, E. Ann Hinds, creative director of Just Out, and
steering committee member o f the Task Force on Sexual M i­
nority Youth , proposed dedicating an issue of the paper to
youth. September seemed like the perfect issue.
The majority o f the articles were written by members of
Windfirc, a support group for gay, lesbian and bisexual youth
(sec profile p. 5). Anndee Hochman and I met with Windfire
members and gave them guidance when asked, otherwise the
ideas and articles belong totally to the writers.
Hopefully, this issue o f Just Out will help us all to learn
more about what young people have to say— and that what
they have to say is well worth listening to.
I believe that by not exposing a part of any culture, we help
to keep that group invisible. The straight media has kept us
invisible, or at best defined by their limited vision, for years.
The queer press keeps queer youth invisible by not giving
them a place to speak. This is a form of censorship, and can
be applied to any group that is not given a voice. It may not
be intentional, it is nonetheless censorship due to cultural bias.
Regardless, wc are responsible for our biases based upon as­
sumptions of age, sex, race, ability and sexual orientation.
Mainstream news censors us everyday, by not exposing the
fact that wc exist, by not including us in their picture. When
reporter Marsha Coffey did her "Looking for Love" series on
KOIN-TV News last spring and included a lesbian as one of
the people profiled, she was revealing gays and lesbians as a
part o f society. Coffey broke a code of censorship in the m e­
dia.
Other forms of censorship are running rampant these days.
Queer artists are constantly under scrutiny when applying for
T
grants, especially those funded by the federal government,
thanks to Jesse Helms. Books are being held at our borders
because they might offend someone. And in our own commu­
nity, we are trying to censor each other. Oh, we don’t call it
censorship. We call it good judgment.
Just Out received a letter to the Editor this month (see let­
ters) telling the queer media to make judgment calls, to come
down hard on those flaunting their sexuality publicly, accus­
ing those people of shoving their lifestyle down the throats of
straight people who would otherwise be tolerant.
The very idea that there is an "acceptable" queer behav­
ior is offensive to me. With this attitude, we don’t need main­
stream culture to censor us—we have each other.
I feel strongly about this and I am going to make a judge­
ment call and come down hard on censorship. Censorship is
exactly what he is asking for. I will encourage gays and les­
bians to be as out as they dare and then some. I will encour­
age straight people to look at their biases and educate them­
selves. I want much more than to be tolerated. I want to be
valued, appreciated, respected and celebrated.
The only way we will get the rights we deserve is to be
ourselves. To hide in a closet, even if it’s as big as a house,
is not the way to be accepted. Kissing my lover in public, no
matter how long the duration of the kiss, is acceptable behav­
ior. There may be people who are uncomfortable with my
visibility, they aren’t used to i t Obviously, we need more
public displays of affection so more people, straight and gay,
have a chance to get comfortable with what the future holds.
In this day and age of the Oregon Citizens Alliance, we
need to be more tolerant of each other and accept the fact that
our community is as diverse as the world. Picking and choos­
ing who to discard and who to keep based on "acceptability"
smacks of the very behavior that has kept us in closets for
years.
Come out, come out, whoever you are!
Linda Kliewer
DEPARTMENTS
Letters
(p. 3)
National briefs
(p.6)
World news
(p. 5)
Local briefs
(p. 10)
Religion
(p. 30)
CO LUM N S
Amazon TVail
What is in that box o f
mementos anyway?
(p.33 )
Just Dish
Money talks, bullshit walks
(p-31)
ARTS
Cinema
Young lesbian filmmaker is
making her mark and
speaking her mind
(p.27)
and more