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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 1996)
8 ▼ a u g u s t 2 , 1 9 9 6 ▼ ju s t o u t national news Checking in Deaf gay men and lesbians meet at Seattle conference to learn share and celebrate , T by Inga Sorensen ore than 120 deaf gay men and lesbians attended the 5th Bien nial Deaf Gays and Lesbians of the West (Deaf GLOW) Con ference held July 11-13 in Se attle. The event, whose theme was “Growing To gether Toward Equality,” was designed to bring together deaf, hard-of-hearing and deaf-blind sexual minorities from states west of the Mis sissippi River. “ [Participants] came to learn and celebrate their pride and their unique culture. Much of [their] focus was directed from the knowledge that there is a growing need to understand their roles and legal standing as deaf lesbigays,” explains Karen Atwood, Deaf GLOW chair woman and president of the Northwest Rain bow Alliance of the Deaf, which serves mem bers from Oregon, Washington and Vancouver, B.C. “Through sharing their knowledge and sto M According to Atwood, the duo are “two of the most outstanding gay and lesbian leaders in the deaf community.” Workshop titles included “An Introduction to the Internet,” “Deaf Leather S/M Safe Sex,” “Deaf and Hearing Gay Cultures: What is the Difference?” and “The Gay Bridge Between Deaf and Deaf-Blind People.” Portland resident Hank Stack was among the presenters, and led a workshop entitled “The Difference in Cultures: Deaf, Hearing and Gay.” Stack says he previously interviewed about 60 deaf gay men with the idea of publishing a book on the subject. He summarized the find ings from those in-depth interviews for his workshop. “In a nutshell, deaf people learn to live in two distinct cultures,” Stack tells Just Out. “Deaf gays must also do that, plus adapt to the hearing gay subculture as well as their own sub group.... We have our feet in four distinct “[Participants] came to learn and celebrate their pride and their unique culture. Much of [their] focus was directed from the knowledge that there is a grow ing need to understand their roles and legal standing as deaf lesbigays, ” explains Karen Atwood , Deaf GLOW chairwoman and president of the Northwest Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf which serves members from Oregon , Washington and Vancouver , B.C. ries of important topics like gay rights, sexual ity, health care and education, they were able to strengthen their commitment to each other as a community and to see what direction they wanted to take in the future,” she says. The gathering featured keynote speakers Rob Roth, the executive director of the Com munity Service Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Christine Buchholz, a specialist in the HIV/AIDS field. cultures.” We asked Stack to highlight some of the major differences between the respective com munities. First, he says, the vast majority of deaf people choose other deaf people for partners and spouses, while the reverse is true of the deaf/gay subculture. “Growing up deaf, you learn to be open and share details about your private life with other deaf people,” he contin ues. "As a deaf gay, you learn to withhold informa tion from others in the deaf community.” A d d itio n ally , Stack says m em bers o f the broader deaf community often learn to distrust the hearing world (prompted by oppression and a lack of power) while deaf gays learn to trust hearing gays and often “look upon them as part of their extended families rather than out siders.” Stack also says there is “very little meaningful so cialization between the deaf community and the hearing world [while] the reverse is true in the deaf/ gay subgroup.” According to Atwood, conference attendees dis cussed many topics in cluding how to become politically active, domes tic violence within the sexual minorities commu nity, gay male relation ships, and erotic safer sex for lesbians. A tribute was held in remembrance of N WR AD and Deaf GLOW member Hank Stack Allen Forbes, who died last spring of AIDS complications. A Quilt Display Room was open to participants, and included photos and mementos of loved ones lost to the disease, as well as a signature quilt for those who wanted to write a message of remembrance. “ It was a room for quietness, for prayers, for memories and for mediation,” says Atwood. The conference had its more carefree mo ments, too. “Seattle is home to many popular perform ers and actors in the deaf community,” she says. Among the performers were Nat Wilson, who toured with the National Theatre of the Deaf and now teaches in Seattle; Marilyn Smith, an actress and founder of Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services in Seattle, which recently celeb rated its 10th an n iv ersary ; and Jer Loudenback, who also toured with the National Theatre of the Deaf and Northwest Theatre of the Deaf. He currently is a teacher at the Wash ington School for the Deaf in Vancouver, Wash. Also on hand was deaf drag queen Gerry Reyes, who hails from Los Angeles. According to Atwood, Deaf GLOW sprung from its parent organization, the Rainbow Alli ance of the Deaf, which is a nationwide group serving the deaf sexual minorities community. At a RAD convention in Florida nine years ago, delegates and officers decided to divide the country into two regions and thus began Deaf GLOW. NWRAD, founded in 1981, is one of many Deaf GLOW chapters. Atwood cites the assistance of the Seattle- based Pride Foundation, AIDS Project of the Deaf, and Gay City Health Project for making the event a success. The next Deaf GLOW conference is slated for 1998 in Denver. For more information, contact NWRAD, c/o President Karen Atwood, 15405 Des Moines Memorial Drive, HB-303, Seattle WA, 98148- 2576; e-mail: KMAtwood@ aol.com; or D eaf GLOW, c/o President Billy Raby, 1561 Minardi Ave., San Jose, CA 95125; e-m ail: wer@earthlink.net. First-time home buyers, you're in for the education of a lifetime. Got a couple hours? 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