2 ▼ July 1 3 . 1 0 0 4 ▼ jus« o u t
just out
since 1 9 8 3
steppin’ out
PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
Renée LaChance
EDITOR-AT-LARGE
Ariel Waterwoman
contents
VOL. 11 NO. 18
JULY 15,1994
CALENDAR EDITOR
Jann Gilbert
FEATURES
PHOTOGRAPHER
Linda Kliewer
Gay Games IV
“So many gaymes,
so little time. ”
(PP- 12-13)
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Meg Grace
Stonewall 25
ADVERTISING REPS
Fred Allemann
E. Ann Hinds
Jewel Robinson
The celebration o f a
revolution
( p p - 14-15)
PDX Pride
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
E. Ann Hinds
Parade and festival draw
thousands of marchers,
spectators and revelers
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Rupert Kinnard
(pp. 16-17)
CO PY EDITOR
Kelly M. Bryan
FORMATTER
Fred Allemann
DEPARTMENTS
TYPESETTER
Dee StarDancer Fultz
World news
The ILGA votes to expel
NAMBLA; Polish queer group
gains legal status
DISTRIBUTION
Up Front Distribution
(p. 4)
OFFICE M ANAGER
Aaron Bong
National news
Justice Department relaxes
immigration policy
CONTRIBUTORS
Martha Allen
Jann Gilbert
Dale Reynolds
Steve Warren
Geoffrey Wren
Rex Wockner
Mlt is published on the first and
th ird F rid a y o f each m o n th . Copyright
01994 by Just out No part of JlBSt out
may be reproduced without w ritten per
mission from the publisher.
The subm ission o f w ritten and graphic
m a te ria ls is w elcom ed. W ritten material
should be typed and double-spaced. Just
out reserves the right to edit for grammar,
punctuation, style, liability concerns and
length We will reject or edit articles or
advertisements that are offensive, demeaning
or may result in legal action, ju s t out
consults the Associated Press Style Book and
Libel M anual on editorial decisions
letters to the editor should be limited to two
double-spaced typed pages. D eadline for
submissions to the editorial department and for
the C alendar is the Thursday before the first
and third Friday for the next issue. Views
expressed in letters to the editor, columns and
features are not necessarily those of the
publisher.
The display ad v ertisin g deadline is the
Monday after the first and third Friday for the
next issue
C lassified a d s m ust be received at the
office of fuot out by the Monday after the
first and third Friday for the next issue, along
with payment Ads will not be taken over the
telephone
Ad policy No sexually exploitive
advertising will be accepted Compensation
for errors in, or cancellation of, advertising
will be made with credit tow ard future
advertising
Subscriptions to Just out are available
for S I7 50 for 12 issues First Class (in an
envelope) is $30 for 12 issues
A copy of just out is available for $1
and/or advertising rates are available on
request
The m ailing ad d ress and telephone
num ber for ju s t OUt are PO Box 14400.
Portland. OR 97214-0400; (503) 236-1251 Our
fax number is 236-1257
guest editorial
Local news
Portland City Club proposes
ways to reduce divisiveness
(PP- 10-11)
Force-led images
COLUMNS
Unfortunately, queer culture can be just as oppressive as straight culture
Youth
▼
by A a ro n Bong
efore I came out. while still in high school, I had a
severe eating disorder. I would literally eat at every
chance I could. I remember one specific day after
being viciously taunted and called a "fag,” I went
home and ate a container of Cool Whip with syrup
on it. What I ate didn’t matter.
I stuffed myself until I finally began to deal with my
queemess, instead of trying to push it deeper into my body.
Since I came out. without the aid of diets. I have lost 75 pounds.
1 lost my eating disorder, but 1 continue to hang on to a contempt
for my body. I am not alone.
Micah (not his real name) is seventeen. He is gay, and,
occasionally, he does drag. Micah has been in and out of the
hospital in the four years I have known him. He constantly deals
with an addiction to diet pills. Micah weighs maybe 120 pounds
and is at least six feet tall. One of the last times that I saw him.
he was complaining about how fat he was, that he would never
fit into the dress he was planning to wear. He commented once
that he was "too fat to be gay.”
Recently I went dancing with some friends of mine. Sue and
Julie (not their real names) have been together for about three
months. We went to a club, and Julie's bag was searched before
we went in. I thought it was quite odd that she had a spoon in her
purse. Julie said she had brought yogurt to work that day. That
weekend, when Sue and 1 were alone, she confided in me that
she believed Julie was bulimic, that she used the spoon to help
herself throw up.
I began to watch Julie more closely than before. I began to
look at the pattern of her behavior. I noticed whenever she ate
B
(p. 5)
with me she made a trip to the bathroom afterward, and always
returned looking flushed. Soon after, she would complain of
dizziness and nausea. I couldn’t believe it was true, that she
could be bulimic.
So many times, looking at the tangible objects of our
culture, I have tried to picture where I fit in. All of the men in
the magazines have perfect hair, cut just the right way. Their
bodies are all gym-toned and muscular, and their teeth seem to
have some unearthly glow to them. Nothing less than what is
thought to be beautiful. I wonder what Micah and Julie think
about the images they are force-fed.
I am very upset and angry at the culture we have created,
where we allow young people to kill themselves— literally__
over what they look like. These people I speak of have all been
very brave to come out so young.
I don’t see anorexia or bulimia as isolated problems. I
believe they are only manifestations of much larger and more
complex issues that we, as a community, are not yet prepared
to face. These issues are also manifested as drug and alcohol
abuse, spousal abuse (within our community), homelessness
and sex work among queer youth, and the sexual exploitation
of youths by adults.
What I had hoped for when I came out was to find an
embracing culture that wanted to love me— not conditionally,
based on how I looked, but no matter what. What I found out
instead is that we are at times just as vicious toward our own as
some heterosexuals are toward all of us.
What I have learned is that no matter how we wish that we
were difterent from “them," in many ways we are just the same.
OSMYN takes part in
Freedom Summer ’94
(p.9)
Law review
A case against a right to life
group could affect queers
(P- 6)
ARTS
Entertainment
A hot new season at Triangle
Productions
(p. 28)
Profile
Rose Troche, director o f Go
Fish, speaks up
(p. 24)
Profile
Alexis Arquette follows in a
tradition o f acting families
(pp. 26-27)