Portland, Oregon
Karen Thompson and
Sharon Kowalski
are reunited
(p. 7)
Voices
w ithin
speak
out
esbians and gay men from a
variety of ethnic, cultural and
racial backgrounds live ev
eryday with the necessity of
coalition, and coalition be
gins within. Many gay and lesbian
people of color feel more support
from their cultures of origin than they
do from other lesbians and gay men.
As Lynn Nakamoto says in her article
Yearning for Inclusiveness, “all of my
communities can benefit from more
people, more views and more sup
port.” “I am still searching for where
I feel most at home,” shares Eileen
Kaady.
For many queers who belong to an
oppressed ethnic group, dealing with
racism and anti-semitism have been
training grounds for dealing with
homophobia. “Those feelings of be
ing on the outside, not fitting into this
Christian world, made it easier to ac
cept being gay in a straight,
homophobic world,” writes Howie
Bierbaum.
Ten gay men and lesbians from a
' broader spectrum, under-represented
in Just Out and many other newspa
pers, share their feelings and their
realities. They expose themselves
once more, hopefully to support, un
derstanding and an audience willing
to listen.
L