ju st out ▼ July 5, 1 0 9 0 ▼ 17
P O R T L A N D
P R ID E
’9 6
Chering our pain
t really bothers me when I see people doing
my mother in drag. I mean, just imagine if
you saw people doing that with your
Chastity Bono enjoys her new job as an HRC spokeswoman
mother,” chirps Chastity Bono, daughter
but don yt ask about her mother
of (oh no, here we go again) Cher and
Sonny, currently representing the GOP in D.C.
T
As you probably know, the baby Bono, now a
by Inga Sorensen
very adult 27, served as grand marshal for
Portland’s annual queer pride parade. Just three
weeks earlier she keynoted at Salem’s lesbian
and gay pride.
Bono had already made an appearance in Salt
Lake City, and immediately following her stint in
the Rose City she was heading to the airport so she
could make the pride bash in her native Los
Angeles.
“Aside from people repeatedly asking me
about my mother, this job is great,” says Bono,
who is touring the nation as a spokeswoman for
the Human Rights Campaign’s National Coming
Out Project, which urges lesbians and gay men to
be honest about their sexual orientation and dis­
pel the myths about their lives.
“It’s so uplifting to see so many people who
are out and proud and working toward our civil
rights. You folks here in Oregon have done such
a tremendous job with that. You are a terrific role
model,” says Bono, who until a 1995 interview
with The Advocate, a national lesbian and gay
newsmagazine, was out to some friends, but not
much more than that.
“I was in the closet,” she says more bluntly. “I
knew from a young age that I was different. It
Chastity Bono
really clicked for me when I was around 13 and
saw Personal Best. When l watched that love
has since become a columnist for the publication.
baby dyke to full-time caretaker for her partner,
scene, the light bulb went on.”
“It’s been an incredible journey. It’s all been
Joan, who was battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
It took years, however, for her to really grapple
absolutely
positive. The closet is no place for
Bono
stayed
at
the
hospital
with
Joan;
she
g with the concept of Chastity As Lesbian.
me,” says Bono, who nonetheless shares a peeve
gave Joan her medicine. When Joan died (two-
“It was 1986 and I was in New York, and I
or two regarding her more heightened profile.
and-a-half years ago) Bono prepared funeral and
: accidentally rode my bike into the Gay Pride
“People say, ‘I remember seeing you on TV
interment arrangements. Tall tasks, particularly
< Parade,” laughs Bono. “I mean, there I was on
when...
says Bono, who most of us know as that
for
someone
so
young.
i Christopher Street in the middle of all of this. I
cute little kid who popped on stage for the closing
Roughly at the same time, Bono was fending
was in complete shock. It’s one of those moments
moments of The Sonny and Cher Show.
off
nosy
journalists
who
were
eager
to
out
her.
in life that you just don’t forget.”
“I have heard that a million times,” says Bono,
Tabloid newspapers actually did out her in the
Bono did eventually become romantically in­
who
is more than a tad tired of it. “It gets old.
early
’90s,
but
it
wasn’t
until
the
Advocate
article
volved with a woman, but was soon confronted
Imagine if you had to hear that over and over and
that Bono spoke with a reporter and consensually
with life-and-death issues. Although in her mid-
over
again.”
went
public
about
her
sexual
orientation.
Bono
20s, she was forced to transform from carefree
I
,
Sometimes, she adds, people can get a little
weird. “There was a period where I was doing
some bartending for a [women’s] bar in L.A.
called Girl Bar. There was this woman once who
came up to me and said we were somehow linked
because [as a valet] she had once parked my
mom’s car,” Bono explains.
“Later on she said we were linked because
people said we looked alike when we were little.
I just wanted her to stop bothering me. A while
later an old friend dropped in and we agreed to get
together and catch up. I went to hand my friend a
piece of paper with my telephone number on it
and out of nowhere Valet Woman comes swoop­
ing down and grabs the paper.... Occasionally
odd things like that will happen. Luckily, I’ve
never seen her again.”
Bono says she pretty much waves such dis­
comforts aside. She does the same with criticisms
of her father, who is backing federal legislation
barring same-sex marriage, as well as Bill Clinton,
who has vowed to sign the measure into law.
“There are many fair-minded people out there
who still have difficulty with the concept of same-
sex marriage,” says Bono. “It may not be easy for
us to support Clinton, but we have to be realistic
and look at the other option. We also have to keep
educating the public.”
Bono plans to play her part via her HRC tour
and Advocate writings. But she also intends to—
at least occasionally— kick back with partner
Laura LaMastro. The couple, who live in San
Francisco, have been together two years.
“Our life has changed somewhat since I went
public,” says Bono, who describes herself as a
“very domestic sort of person.”
For example, Bono says that in the past if she
were going away for a couple of days she would
make some meals in advance that LaMastro could
warm up.
“She fixes things,” laughs Bono. “She’s not
the cook.”
But her busy schedule has thrown a wrench
into the Bono-LaMastro meal plan. “I don’t get a
chance to do that anymore, so Laura’s like, ‘Hey,
where’s my turkey and potatoes?’ But it’s fun and
it’s worth it,” says Bono. “We have an incredible
opportunity to make positive changes in society.”
_______
Chavez sham
É
.
,-x
Who was that tattooed man?
Those of you who hung around for the latter
portion of Portland’s Pride Rally were subjected
to a compelling mea culpa from a man claiming
to be the brother o f deceased United Farm Work­
ers founder Cesar Chavez, who for decades fought
for the rights of impoverished laborers.
Problem is, the supposed sibling was a fake.
“He looked like a man who was having noth­
ing less than a religious experience,” says Susan
Leo, chair of Pride Northwest Inc., which or­
chestrated this year’s queer pride festivities.
Leo, the introducer o f rally speakers, says she
was approached by a “very, very nice person”
declaring himself to be Damian Chavez, brother
o f Cesar, and the UFW’s current head of security.
“He asked if he could make a statement,”
explains Leo. “I was so swamped with every­
thing and he had just enough detailed informa­
tion about UFW to seem authentic. Looking back
on it, I probably should have asked for ID, but
who thought anything like this would happen?”
In a graciously spontaneous gesture, Leo es­
corted the phony Chavez onto the stage, and the
impersonator proceeded to launch into a riveting
tale about how the UFW had fired two women for
being lesbians.
“I feci so much shame,” he told the highly
attentive audience.
The trickster went on to say he was so moved
by the love and unity he felt (hiring Lesbian and
■
The faux Chavez with Susan Leo
Gay Pride that he was immediately reinstating
the women at a salary four times the amount they
had been earning prior to their dismissal.
He also pledged that UFW would no longer
discriminate based on sexual orientation and
would stand proudly with queer people.
Mr. Masquerader’ssoliloquy received a stand­
ing ovation.
“Lots of people went up to him afterwards to
express their appreciation. He bought a T-shirt.
He even went out that night with people he met
at Pride and drank a couple o f botties of tequila,”
“But it was all a scam.”
Leo says she began to sense something was
awry after she telephoned the Hilton— where the
man said he was lodged for the weekend—and
was informed no Damian Chavez was staying
there.
‘He also left me a couple o f California num-
which I called, and they led to nowhere,”
Leo.
A lingering discomfort prompted her to call
United Farm Workers of America a few days
later. To her dismay (though not necessarily her
surprise by this point), Leo was told there was no
Damian Chavez, at least not one who is Cesar’s
brother or works for UFW.
“And we certainly don’t discriminate. What
did Cesar stand for? I mean really,” says UFW
spokeswoman Jocelyn Sherman, who says she
has no idea who the impostor is.
“What l do know is that we are extremely
upset that someone is going around misrepre­
senting UFW. It’s outrageous,” she says.
According to Leo, the man has four tattooed
teardrops near his left eye. “He also had oodles of
cash, and spent a lot of it on beer,” she says. “He
also said something like the UFW was control­
ling Latino gangs.”
Leo is sending the duper’s photograph to
UFW. Anyone with information about the man’s
true identity is encouraged to call Pride North­
west at 295-9788 and leave a message for Leo.
Reported by Inga Sorensen >