2 ▼ October 0 , I N S ▼ ju s t o u t just out Since 1 9 8 3 PUBLISHER AND EDITOR Renée LaChance steppin' out contents VOL 12 NO. 23 OCTOBER 6,1995 REPORTERS Bob Roehr Inga Sorensen Rex Wockner FEATURES A lesbian presence CALENDAR EDITOR Women bring the Beijing U.N. conference home to Oregon (PP- 15-19) Kristine Chatwood PHOTOGRAPHER Linda Kliewer Reader’s survey Part 2 focuses on the demographics o f our readers ( P P - 21-23) ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Meg Grace ADVERTISING REPS E. Ann Hinds C. Jay Wilson Jr. DEPARTMENTS World news CREATIVE DIRECTOR E. Ann Hinds The Philippine Congress may gain a sexual minority seat (p- 5) GRAPHIC DESIGN Rupert Kinnard COPY EDITOR National news Kelly M. Bryan Black gay men and lesbians join the Million Man March (pp. 6-9) TYPESETTER Jann Gilbert Local news DISTRIBUTION Ambling Bear Human rights leader Cipriano Ferrel dies (PP- 10-11) OFFICE MANAGER Teri Ventura CONTRIBUTORS Kristine Chatwood AI Kielwasser Risa Krivé Lee Lynch Craig Machado Andrea L.T. Peterson Steve Warren C. Jay Wilson Jr. just out ls published on the first and th ird Friday of each month. Copynght C l 995 by Just out No part of Just out may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. T he subm ission o f w ritte n an d graphic m aterials is welcomed. Written material should be typed and double spaced Just out reserves the nght to edit for gram m ar, punctuation, style, liability concerns and length. We will reject or edit articles or advertisements that ate offensive, demeaning or may result in legal action Just out consults the Associated Press Style Book and Libel Manual on editorial decisions. letters to the editor should be limited to two double-spaced typed pages. Deadline for submissions to the editorial department and for the Calendar 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 advertising deadline is the Monday after the first and third Friday for the next issue. Classified ads must be received at the Just out office by the Monday after the first and third Fnday for the next issue, along with payment Ads will not be taken over the telephone A d policy. No sexually exploitative advertising will be accepted C om p ensation for errors in. or cancellauon of. advertising will be made with credit toward future advertising S u b sc rip tio n s to Just out are available for $17.50 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 an d telephone n u m b e r for Just out are PO Box 14400. Portland. OR 97214-0400; (503) 236-1252 Our fax number is 236-1257. Our e-mail address is JustOut2<?aoi com. COLUMNS editorial Youth Officials and service providers come out for queer youth (p. 13) Flotsam and jetsam After the media hurricane has passed, a day without O.J. will be a day full of sunshine by Renée LaChance Amazon trail Write a note to your teacher (P- 36) Bear tracks Rex Wockner cruises fo r talk (p. 37) ARTS Cinema ere I am trying to write an editorial, and all 1 can think is that there are currently so many things disturbing me that I can’t clearly focus on just one of them for 500 words. Most of it has been stirred up by the O.J. Simpson trial. There are some real issues that have been raised by the trial and the verdict that need examining. Hindsight will no doubt bring adeeper analysis than is possible two days after the verdict. On the subject of racism: Racism is alive and well in the United States. The O.J. trial clearly demonstrates that. We have Mark Fuhrman. new king of the racists. Many white people will look at him and say, "He’s a racist. I’m not like him. so I’m not a racist.” Racism is a fact of life in our society. Until we each confront our own racism in all its subtleties, we will not advance on the race issue. On the subject of battering and violence against women: Now that O.J. has been found not guilty. I fear men who batter will believe they have society’s permission to continue to abuse the women in their lives. And not much has been said about how a privileged man who repeatedly batters his wife or ex-wife can get away with brutally murdering her. Many of us watched the movie To Wong Foo and sympa thized with the character played by Stockard Channing. We cheered when Patrick Swayze—doing a marvelous impression of Gunsmoke's Miss Kitty—rescued Stockard and punched out H her husband. A Hollywood version of domestic violence. The husband apparently rides off into the sunset accepting both his wife’s new-found independence and his defeat. That doesn’t happen in the real world. In the real world, the husband would likely stalk the woman and eventually murder her. Ask anyone who works at a domestic violence shelter. Ask any woman in a battering relationship who now fears for her life because of the O.J. verdict. Ask the family of the Scott Mills, Ore., woman who was murdered along with her three small children by her abusive ex-husband just last month. On the subject of sexism and misogyny: Women are still relegated to second-class status in this country and in the world (see the story on the Beijing conference on page 15). On the subject of the Just Out Reader’s Survey: Many respondents criticized Just Out's "political correctness,” our constant focus on “minority issues,” and our alleged “gay white male-bashing.” Here is another editorial that may feed that criticism. The reality is, I will never stop addressing the oppression in our society and the part each of us plays in it. Just Out welcomes your letters and guest editorials. Please limit to 500 words. Mail to PO Box 14400, Portland, OR 97214. Thanks to Kristine Chatwood, Rupert Kinnard and E. Ann Hinds fo r fo o d fo r thought. Clive Barker has no fear (p. 28) Music Janis lan sings out (p. 29) Theater Six D egrees o f Separation makes fo r a wild ride (p. 30) Comedy Marga Gomez blazes into town (P- 31) Media Letterman lays an egg (p. 32) Books AIDS comes to the heartland; stock up on winter reading (pp. 33-35)