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2 ▼ Ja n u a ry 5 1996 ▼ ju a t o u t
just out
since 1 983
PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
steppin’ out
contents
VOL. 13 NO. 5 JANUARY 5,1996
Renée LaChance
COPY EDITORS
Kelly M. Bryan
Jeff Boswell
FEATURE
REPORTERS
Cheers for a
queer year
Inga Sorensen
Bob Roehr
Rex Wockner
Out of the closet and on to the
big screen— 1995 was a
record year for homo-cinema
(p. 17)
CALENDAR EDITOR
Kristine Chatwood
PHOTOGRAPHER
Linda Kliewer
DEPARTMENTS
OFFICE MANAGER
Teri Ventura
World news
Cuba releases some HIV
positive detainees from
quarantine
(P- 4)
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Meg Grace
ADVERTISING REPS
E. Ann Hinds
C. Jay Wilson Jr.
National news
Perspectives differ on the
White House HIV/AIDS
conference; Lavender
Predictions for 1996
(PP 5-9)
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
E. Ann Hinds
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Rupert Kinnard
FORMATTER
Metropolitan Community Church o f Portland, at 2400 NE Broadway, sports a new coat o f paint just in time fo r its 20th
anni versary celebration, slated fo r the weekend ofJan. 19. The paint job was phase one o f the building’s planned $450,000
renovation.
Rachel Ebora
TYPESETTER
Jann Gilbert
DISTRIBUTION
Ambling Bear
guest editorial
CONTRIBUTORS
Kristine Chatwood
Rachel Ebora
Kevin Isom
Rupert Kinnard
Lee Lynch
C. Jay Wilson Jr.
A w ake-up call
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V»V» ’»V»V*»V»V» I
»Vi
I've been hearing stories of violence, and its been keeping me awake at night
▼
by Teri Ventura
ecently, while spending a casual, social evening
with some friends, someone said of another woman
we know, “How can everyone just let her get
away with beating her lover?”
I was shocked, not so much by the saddening
reminder that battering occurs in the lesbian community, but
rather, that everyone else present knew about it and knew of
others who knew about it. And each of them spoke of other
cases they knew about. According to many people I’ve spoken
with since, these instances are “open secrets” in our commu
nity.
I haven’t been able to sleep well since that evening. I get into
bed, lay my head on the pillow and close my eyes. I try to relax.
I can’t. I try to resist the image that forces itself on me through
tightly closed lids, but my closed eyes can’t stop the picture
from materializing. It crystallizes— I see a woman’s sweet face,
bruised, cut, bloody and broken; her left eye is swollen closed
from the latest beating by another woman. One who loves her—
her lover.
I don’t know the woman who lives behind that face, but I am
haunted by her image.
I know that many, probably most, other lesbians care deeply
about battering and want it to end. We work in women’s
shelters. We know. We care. We work hard to end violence
against women. But I’m noticing that somehow, when we are
confronted with it face to bruised face, as it is practiced against
women we know, by women we know—our neighbors, our
friends, our leaders—oftentimes we do not intervene effec
tively to interrupt and stop the abuse.
I want to make it very clear here that I am not in any way
minimizing men’s violence against women. Nor do I mean to
discount the very real and ugly problem of gay men battering
gay men. I am, however, specifically focused in this discussion
on lesbians beating lesbians, and the particular challenges and
barriers that that issue poses in the lesbian community which
may be inhibiting our ability to think clearly and act decisively.
Women are being hurt by other women, and we aren’t doing
everything we can to help them. Is it because their batterers are
well known to us? Is it because we mistakenly believe that all
woman-on-woman violence is mutual? Are we keeping a secret
in a misguided attempt to protect ourselves from a seemingly
greater evil— the police, the radical right? How is it that so
many of us know of instances of lesbian abuse and do nothing
about it? I am not being judgmental of those of us, myself
included, who have failed to act. This is a difficult, ugly issue
to deal with in a world that seems to offer far too many difficult,
ugly issues for my attention. I have decided to make this issue
a priority. I don’t claim to have all the answers. I do hope this
will open a community dialogue about lesbian battering and
lead to a comprehensive plan to end battering.
Get involved. Contact Bradley-Angle House at
(503) 282-9940, TTY 281-3540. I f you have been beaten or
abused by your lover, or think you may be, call now.
I f you have beaten or abused your lover, do whatever
you have to do to stop it. Get help.
Bradley-Angle House is sponsoring a workshop, to be
held from 2 to 5 pm Sunday, Jan. 7, at Portland State
University, that is designed to give participants a chance to
collaborate in formulating a community response to
domestic violence. See related article on page 12.
Local news
A student bucks attempts to
squelch coverage of sexual
minority youth in her school
paper; triangle productions!
and Stark Raving Theater set
up shop together
(pp. 10-13)
COLUMNS
Civil rights
Tacoma reporter Sandy
Nelson fights fo r the right to
espouse her own beliefs
(p. 15)
The view from here
Willamette Week
just doesn 't get it
(p. 24)
Peach buzz
For a young gay boy, two TV
heroines had special appeal
(p. 28)
Amazon trail
Michelle Abdill and Roxie
Ellis left a legacy o f love
(p. 30)
ARTS
Theater
PICA brings Something
Recklessly Gay to Portland
(P- 25)
Tongue in groove
Local violinist Ritsu prefers
Jimi to Ludwig
(p- 27)