ju st o u t ▼ sop ta m b e r 10, 1 9 9 4 T 3
letters
Set the record straight
To the Editor:
This is in response to your note to the letter
about Bigot Busters [Just Out, Aug. 5,1994], To
set the record straight (our use of the English
language is full of amusement and irony): Bigot
Busters was a project that came out of the No on
Hate Political Action Committee community
meetings. One person did put an extraordinary
amount of time and energy and heart into keeping
Bigot Busters functioning, but he is not its “cre­
ator” nor is it “his organization.” The name
“Bigot Busters” is not legally patented, and no
one can keep or give away use of that name. 1
think Bigot Busters is a good and catchy name for
an action we all understand (people who shadow
Oregon Citizens Alliance petitioners, talking to
potential signers) and have a stake in. I welcome
its continued use.
Marguerite Brodie
Portland
A historical view
To the Editor:
Your discussion of age-of-consent laws, such
as it is, seems rather ill-informed and is certainly
lacking in historical perspective.
The term “man/boy love” is derived from a
word that, for many centuries, was used to de­
scribe all gay men in Europe. This word took into
consideration the key role gay men played in
society. We were the artists, poets, philosophers,
and, yes, the spiritual leaders of our communi­
ties, literally keeping the culture alive. In these
roles, gay men doubled as educators and social­
iz e s, particularly of boys with special aptitudes
and/or family troubles. This changed with the
industrial and technological revolutions. Eco­
nomic forces removed adolescents from their
traditional place (pre-factory) beside working
adults and forced them into schools and involun­
tary childhood, where, even now, they are kept
until the last possible moment and then unleashed
on the world unprepared and unsocialized. The
extended family and working community were
replaced by the factory, the nuclear family, and
the family physician. Advocates of the industrial
system quickly identified gay men as a problem,
since they were prone to treat adolescents as
something more than future employees and pro­
ducers of offspring. The gay community was
targeted, divided, and viciously attacked by doc­
tors (as were women who identified as anything
but baby factories, and youth who challenged the
system in any way). This sent many gay men
running from their traditional identity as boy-
lovers, redefining themselves according to the
dictates of the common oppressors of women,
gay men and youth.
The common history of gay men and youth
continues today. Although age-of-consent laws
are often justified as “protection” for "children,”
they are most often (and most harshly) enforced
against consenting and demonstrably harmless
relationships between adolescent males and older
gay lovers. Meanwhile, the traumatic abuse of
young girls by their fathers, and the rape of teens
by young men, are seldom prosecuted. The fight
against rape in the ’60s began with the demand
that judgments should not be based on whether
sex took place, but whether someone’s will was
violated. Some of the most active women in the
struggle against rape have supported the sexual
rights of youth and strongly criticized age-of-
consent laws, suggesting more effective ap­
proaches to end abuse.
We must not lose control of our movement by
allowing doctors, politicians and fundamental­
ists to frame our issues; and we must not concede
the debate on familial abuse and the oppression of
youth to the extreme right by allowing them to
equate principled opposition to age-of-consent
laws and advocacy of the rights of youth with
“child molesting.”
A1 Douglas
San Francisco, Calif.
Jf
T ravel A gents
PI I nternational
917 S.W. W ashington St.
Portland, O R
503 223-1100 800-357-3194
Clarifying a position
To the Editor:
In his letter [Just Out, Aug. 5, 1994], Bryan
Moore tried “not to misconstrue” my comments
about mixed queer couples who brought children
toGay and Lesbian Day at Disney World [“Debbie
does Disney,” Just Out, July 1, 1994], but he
failed. I’m not concerned with defending myself,
but with clarifying my position.
There were several children on the Metropoli­
tan Community Church bus my lover and I rode
to Disney World, and I had no problem with them
or their parents, natural or adoptive. My scorn
was directed at the people who spent their day at
the park acting like Ozzie and Harriet, wanting to
be with us without being with us. We could tell
who they were, but they weren’t flying their
queer colors.
Many of the adults accompanied by children
that day didn’t let it cramp their style, whether
they were single, in same-sex or mixed couples,
or in groups. I felt as much pity as contempt for
the few exceptions who turned a gay-friendly
theme park into the world’s biggest closet. I hope
they’ll be ready to “take the next step” on Na­
tional Coming Out Day.
While my lover and I don’t care to parent, I’m
as much pro-choice for other gay men and lesbi­
ans in this matter as I am for women in general.
Steve Warren
Miami, Fla.
§
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