just out ▼ juno 21, I M S ▼ 3
just out
sin ce
1 983
PUBUSHER AND EDITOR
Renée LaChance
steppin’ out
contents
VOL. 13 NO. 16 JUNE 21, 1996
ASSISTANT PUBUSHER
Ten Ventura
FEATURES
CO PY EDITORS
Kelly M. Bryan
Karen Kantor
Pride Roundup
Four days’ worth o f events
makes fo r a smorgasbord o f
celebrations
REPORTERS
Inga Sorensen
Bob Roehr
Rex Wockner
(P- 21)
Sequins in the sun
CALENDAR EDITOR
Kristine Chatwood
The feathers, the flash, the
sheer flamboyance!
I t’s Peacock in the Park!
PHOTOGRAPHER
Linda Kliewer
(P- 23)
Transformation
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Meg Grace
Photographer Linda Kliewer
captures the metamorphosis
o f Kevin Cook into
drag diva Poison Waters
ADVERTISING REPS
C. Jay Wilson Jr.
Marty Davis
(p. 30)
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
E. Ann Hinds
DEPARTMENTS
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Rupert Kinnard
World news
FORMATTER
Christopher Cuttone
TYPESETTER
Christopher Cuttone
DISTRIBUTION
Ambling Bear
Rachel Ebora
Helen Ford
The island state o f Malta
hosts its first gay pride
celebration
guest editorial
National news
The FDA approves
nevirapine, a new AIDS drug;
the Washington state
Supreme Court hears the
Sandy Nelson case
A letter to my
community(ies)
CONTRIBUTORS
Kristine Chatwood
Cathay Che
Will O’Bryan
Daniel Vaillancourt
C. Jay Wilson Jr.
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(P- 6)
(PP- 7-12)
Local news
The misfortune o f a life-changing accident has given me a rare opportunity
to truly experience the power o f love
by R u p e rt K in n a rd
The only measure of your words and deeds will be the love
you leave behind when you’re gone...
—The Flirtations, from “Everything Possible”
ven before the accident this past spring that crushed
a portion of my spinal column and left me paralyzed
from mid-waist down, I had contemplated what it
meant to be a part of a community. I was pretty
much aware of being a member of two specific
groups— the African American and the queer community.
Working for Willamette Week, buying a brick in Pioneer
Courthouse Square, designing flyers for organizations like
Oregonians Against the Death Penalty and the National Abor
tion Rights Action League in the early ’80s made me feel like
a part of the community-at-large. Being a part of the formation
of Just Out and sharing the adventures of The Brown Bomber
and Diva Touché Flambé with its readers, joining the Portland
Town Council (one of Oregon’s first lesbian and gay rights
organizations) and as a board member creating a sub-group
called the Diversity Alliance made me feel connected with the
queer community. Involvement with Brother to Brother-Port-
land and working as art director of The Portland Skanner
allowed me to feel more in touch with communities of color.
In 1992, having returned to Portland after seven fruitful
years in the Bay area, I found a comfort here that was bom out
of knowing I had truly returned home. My partner, Scott
Stapley, and 1 immediately started throwing house parties,
partly in hopes of entertaining friends and tireless community
workers. The farewell party for Donna Red Wing when she
E
moved to New York and the party to help send 13-year-old
Portlander Jessie Clay to the United Nations Fourth World
Conference on Women are just two examples. During the past
three years I’ve had the opportunity to serve as DJ for the No
on 13 Campaign, Queer Night at LaLuna and the Hotel Work
ers Organizing Committee. Even serving juice and cookies, as
part of the Boy’s Auxiliary, to participants of Portland’s first
Dyke March two years ago is one of the many activities that
reflects a desire to remain involved my community. But I was
unprepared to accept the intensity of what can happen when
that same community decides to focus its energy toward one of
its own. I found that I couldn’t understand—could barely
accept—the outpouring of love from such a wide variety of
people since my accident.
Even in the midst of trying to define my own community—
which includes people of color, queer folk, older folks, younger
people, neighbors, family and extended family— I have been
overwhelmed by support. From the cards, flowers and visits I
received while I was at Providence Hospital to the trust fund
established by friends to the volunteers who worked on making
my home wheelchair accessible, I have felt blessed. From the
incredibly entertaining benefit recently at the Echo Theatre to
being a recipient of this year’s Spirit of Pride Award, I have
gained strength to work through this most recent life challenge.
And the upshot of it all is that 1 think we owe it to ourselves
to embrace our community, however we wish to define it.
Because I have learned that there is nothing quite like a love
reciprocated, and I am grateful that I have been able to experi
ence it.
■ ! 1 l
5
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) I i t* •
The OCA resorts to attacking
reproductive rights; gay
Portland cop Mike Garvey is
removed from his post under
a cloud o f allegations
(pp. 14-19)
ARTS
Books
An interview with novelist
Fenton Johnson; Suzanne
Pharr’s new book offers
insights on resisting the right
(pp. 33-34)
Theater
Larry Kramer’s
The Destiny o f Me comes to
life in an ART production
(p. 35)
Cinema
I Shot Andy W arhol is right
on target; W elcom e to the
D ollhouse plays nice
(P- 36)
Music
Meet the gay pantheon o f
contemporary music
composers
(p. 37)