Barbie and Ken have a
growing gay following
Barbie and her plastic entourage have en­
thralled little girls for several generations now,
but she and her maker, the Mattel toy company,
have been mum about her fanatically loyal gay
follow ing, which has been coming out in swelling
numbers. “ It’ s like coming out o f the closet all
over again,” explains Joe Blitman, owner o f Joe’ s
Barbies in Los Angeles. “ A lot o f guys start with
Ken; they’ re trying to butch it up. After they have
about a dozen Kens, it’ s, ‘ W ell, maybe just one
Malibu Barbie.’ ” Virginia collector Bruce Wittiger
gives it a more blunt perspective: “ I admit it. It
started with Ken. I wanted him to fuck me.”
Karen Vaviale, publisher o f
a
journal for adult Barbie fans in publication since
1988, acknowledges the popularity o f Barbie
among gay men. “ I don’ t know too many men
into Barbie who are not gay, and there are a
number o f male collectors,” she notes.
itself gushes with a decidedly campy
flavor, both in its articles and letters from readers.
is faggier than
com ­
ments W ittiger. “ The editors are just too dense to
realize how nelly their stories are.” Approxi­
mately 10 percent o f the magazine’ s readers, and
a third o f its writers, are men.
Although Mattel remains silent on the dolls’
popularity among gay men, recent style changes
for Ken appear to be an appeal to gay clientele.
His latest incarnation, Earring M agic Ken, sports
blond-streaked hair, a lavender leatherette vest
and t-shirt, a gaudy ring pendant necklace, and a
pierced earring in his left ear. As one mother
pointed out, “ Look, he hangs around with women
and changes clothes all day. Y ou figure it out.”
Last year. Sun Sensation Ken was the envy o f the
beach in a gold mesh tank top and neon green
lycra shorts. Western Stampin’ Ken was butch in
his cow b oy hat and black leatherette chaps.
"B arbie had the right idea,” W ittiger comments.
“ For her, a boyfriend was just another plastic
accessory.”
Barbie Bazaar,
Bazaar
“Barbie Bazaar
Barbie
Blueboy,"
Salute to Israel parade
organizers debate inclusion
of gay synagogue
Some conservative Jewish groups are oppos­
ing the inclusion o f the gay synagogue Congrega­
tion Beth Simchat Torah in a Salute to Israel
parade, scheduled to take place in N ew York City
this month. “ W e have taken the request [to
p a rticip a te] under a d visem en t,” said Dan
Adelman, executive vice chair o f the American
Zionist Youth Foundation, which is organizing
the parade. "E very effort is being made to make
the parade as inclusive as possible. But this is a
very, very sensitive matter.”
The gay synagogue does not plan to resort to
legal means to join the Salute to Israel parade. “ A t
this point we are not pursuing a legal solution,”
said Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum. “ There has been
no formal decision on the part o f the congrega­
tion, but speaking for myself, I do not consider
this parade to be a public event. I support the
Zionist Youth Foundation’ s legal right to deny
anyone a place.” The congregation has rejected a
preliminary offer to allow them to march without
an identifying banner, although they have ex­
pressed a willingness to carry a banner that doesn’ t
affirm their gayness.
Yael Dayan, labor deputy o f the Knesset,
Israel’ s parliament, and chair o f its wom en’ s
rights and gay rights committees, conunented that
she is “ amazed and upset” that the issue is even
beingdebated. “ Israel would love to be saluted by
the American Jewish gay and lesbian commu­
nity,” she stated. “ I find it unacceptable not to
accept Zionist identification and support for rea­
son o f sexual orientation.” Typically, the parade
supporting Israel attracts approximately 100,000
participants.
Imprisonment of gay sailor
On March 18, gay and lesbian veterans partici­
pating in the bus trip,‘T o u r o f Duty,” and m em ­
bers o f the Campaign for M ilitary Service and the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, held a
press co n feren ce outside the gates o f Ft.
Leavenworth prison, near Kansas City, to protest
the inhumane and unjust imprisonment o f gay
sailor Larry Heholick. A fter serving 18 months o f
combat duty in Vietnam and earning a Bronze
Star, Heholick was charged with sodomy in 1990,
and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Since then he
has been subjected to harsh mistreatment and
harassment, including strip searches by epithet-
screaming guards, denial o f phone privileges and
contact with his lawyer, and solitary confinement.
Tanya Dom i, N G L T F M ilita ry Freedom
Project director and ‘T o u r o f Duty” spokesper­
son, condemned Heholick’ s treatment. ‘T h is is a
horrible example o f how the Armed Forces’ ban
against gay men and lesbians has ruined the lives
o f people who serve our country,” said Domi, a
former Arm y captain. “ It is a shameful display o f
how the military’ s anti-gay ban can lead to the
violation o f human rights.” ‘T o u r o f Duty,” a 32-
city, 24-state bus tour o f gay and lesbian veterans,
started in Minneapolis on March 14 and w ill end
in Washington, D.C. on April 24. It is sponsored
by the Campaign for Military Service, which was
established to secure a presidential order ending
the military ban on service by gays and lesbians.
cathartic com ics I
THOUGH 1 DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THE
BROWN BOMBER ISN’T HERE TO DO THIS
I , GAYLORD SEDEAH, HAVE VOLUNTEERE
TO SALUTE THE 1993 LESBIAN AND GAY
M A R C H ON W A SH IN G T O N !
IT WAS AWE* IN S P IR IN G BEING A
PART OF THE GREATEST GATHERING
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN H IST O R Y /
10th International AIDS
Candlelight march
scheduled for May 23
M obilization Against A ID S has announced
that the 10th Annual International A ID S Candle­
light Memorial and M obilization w ill take place
this year on Sunday, M ay 23. The event is the
w orld’ s largest annual community-based A ID S
event, observed in 370cities in 55 nations. Obser­
vances range from small gatherings to huge
marches through major urban centers. The largest
and oldest, in San Francisco, attracts over 10,000
participants a year and was first observed in 1983.
M A A ’ s successful outreach program has re­
sulted in ever-increasing participation in the in­
ternational commemoration. The candlelight vigil
is often the first AIDS-related public event to
occur in a town or city. “ A single person, without
previous experience, can bring the Candlelight to
his or her town with our guidance and support,”
said M A A Executive Director Paul Boneberg.
“ A ll that’s needed is a little time and a lot o f
dedication. W e ’ve given birth to many AID S
activists this way.” M A A assists by sending
posters, press releases, banners, public service
announcements, and samples o f invitation letters
for public officials and dignitaries. For more
information, call M A A at (800) 245-6229.
Survey finds soldiers
at risk for AIDS
A survey o f soldiers at 30 Arm y bases in the
U.S. and Europe indicates that over half the sol­
diers questioned continue to indulge in frequent,
unsafe, and indiscriminate sexual behavior. Last
year, 556 Arm y soldiers were found to have
contracted H IV while on active duty, and other
branches o f the military report similar figures.
The majority o f these infections occurred through
heterosexual contact “ W e are looking at the
future o f the epidemic,” said Lydia Temoshok,
director o f behavioral medicine research at the
Henry M. Jackson Foundation, the federal re­
search institute that conducted the survey.
Scientists were especially confounded by in­
dications that young blacks in the military are
being infected at rates up to 4 times that o f young
whites, according to ongoing data collected since
1985 from infected active-duty personnel. Cur­
rently, HIV-infected members o f the military are
allowed to remain on the jo b unless their units are
deployed overseas, or they serve in sensitive jobs,
such as health care. They are given medical
discharges and disability benefits when they be­
come too ill to continue working.
MCC dedicates $1.5 million
center in Washington, D.C.
On March 27, amid trumpet fanfares and a
bank o f rainbow flags, almost 600 people ce l­
ebrated the opening o f the new, $1.5 million
Ministry Center o f the Metropolitan Community
Church o f Washington. "This culminates 20 years
o f effort,” noted Councilmember Jack Evans,
who represents the Shaw neighborhood where the
church is located. He likened it to “ a new birth in
the community, where all gays and lesbians can
come and worship and bring together all the
diverse aspects o f this community in one estab­
lishment.”
M C C ’ s pastor, the Rev. Larry Uhrig, drew
particular attention to the sanctuary’ s cross, which
was pieced together from wood discarded during
a renovation project at the congregation’ s previ­
ous location. “ It is a fitting symbol because those
pieces o f wood had spent literally decades in
hiding, supporting the building, but not visible to
anyone,” he said. “ But in a moment o f grace they
became something new. And we put them to­
gether and it became a symbol o f our life and a
symbol o f G o d ’ s light in us.”
HRCF names head of
mail canvass program
The Human Rights Campaign Fund has named
California gay activist Tony Cheek to head the
W est Coast operation o f its Speak Out program,
which generates constituent mail to Congress,
and has become the most successful grassroots
m o b iliza tio n to o l in the lesbian and gay
community’ s lobbying efforts. “ I ’m excited ateut
building on the energy in the lesbian and gay
community from the election,” said Cheek. "T h e
military issue is an incredibly important battle
this year. The right wing has their network in
place. Our network. Speak Out, w ill have to
become stronger on the West Coast if we are to
win. I ’m excited about the challenge.”
Cheek worked on the fundraising campaign
for the Democratic Party in California and the
Clinton Campaign before joining the Human
Rights Campaign Fund. He also served as the first
Special Events Coordinator for the Los Angeles
Gay and Lesbian Community Center.
The three-year-old Speak Out program has
generated hundreds o f thousands o f letters to
Capitol Hill in support o f civil rights, A ID S fund­
ing and other issues o f concern to the lesbian and
gay communities.
compiled by Jim Hunger
featuring The Brown Bomber and Diva Touché Flambé
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