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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 1996)
2 ▼ a u g u s t 1 0 . 1 9 9 6 ▼ ju s t o u t just out since 1 983 steppin' out PUBLISHER AND EDITOR contents VOL. 13 NO. 20 AUGUST 16,1996 Renée LaChance ASSISTANT PUBUSHER Ten Ventura FEATURE COPY EDITOR Kelly M. Bryan The dog days of summer REPORTERS Inga Sorensen Bob Roehr Rex Wockner Human and canine friends of people with AIDS turn out for a benefit event at Laurelhurst Park (p. 19) CALENDAR EDITOR Kristine Chatwood PHOTOGRAPHER Linda Kliewer ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Meg Grace ADVERTISING REPS DEPARTMENTS C. Jay Wilson Jr. Marty Davis World news South African Airways tells gays: When your husband flies, you fly for free (P- 5) CREATIVE DIRECTOR E. Ann Hinds GRAPHIC DESIGN Rupert Kinnard FORMATTER Christopher Cuttone TYPESETTER Christopher Cuttone DISTRIBUTION Kathy Bethel Rachel Ebora Darla Meyer-Sims Donald Rogers Megan Weber CONTRIBUTORS Bonnie Ruth Beebe Kristine Chatwood Cathay Che Richard Shumate Daniel Vaillancourt ju s t o u t is published on the first and th ird Friday of each m onth. Copyright © 19% by ju s t o u t No part of ju s t o u t may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher The submission of w ritten and graphic m a te ria ls is w elcom ed. W ritten material should be typed and double-spaced ju s t o u t reserves the right to edit for grammar, punctuation, style, liability concerns and length. We will reject or edit articles or advertisements that are offensive, demeaning or may result in legal action j u s t o u t consults the Associated Press Stylebook and Lihel Manual on editorial decisions. Letters to the editor should be limited to 500 words. Deadline for subm issions 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. C lassified a d s must be received at the ju s t o u t office by 3 pm the Monday after the first and third Friday 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 Compensation for errors in, or cancellation of, advertising will be made with credit toward future advertising Subscriptions to ju s t o u t are available for $17.50 for 12 issues First Class (in an envelope) is $30 for 12 issues A copy of ju s t o u t is available for $2. Advertising rates are available on request T he m ailing a d d re ss a n d telephone num bers for ju s t o u t are PO Box 14400, Portland. OR 97293-0400; (503) 236-1252. The phone num ber for the advertising department is 236-1253. Our fax number is 236-1257. Our e-m ail address is JustOut2@aol com. The Lesbian Community Project’s 11th annual softball competition, Tournament o f Choice, held Aug. 3-4, had winners in four divisions. "Northend Madness "from Olympia, Wash., took the Blue Division; "Jo M ama’s Girls "from Seattle took the Green Division; "Thirteen Nice Girls” from Olympia won the Red Division; and the "Just Out-Circle Healthcare Adjusters" from Portland took the Purple Division. "The Furies” are shown here playing fo r second place in the Red Division. Terry Gruvelle o f Portland’s "CHAOS" won the Barbara Martin Sports Award. guest editorial The politics of outing We as a country are obsessed with the either/or, the starkness o f a dichotomy that admits no gray continuum between polarities by Bob Roehr he current flurry of “outing” activities raises anew that perennial question of who is gay and who is not. Is it biology? Is it acts? Is it a social construct? Is it the opinion of others? Or is it self-identity and affirmation? U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) was recently pressed out of the closet, and now Republican vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp is being reported in mainstream and gay media as “rumored” to be gay. Adolph Hitler believed that having a Jewish maternal grand mother made a peson Jewish, even if he or she never practiced that faith. It was enough to get a person sent to the gas chamber. A single assertion of same-sex activity can erase decades of marriage and the presence of children—which logically would suggest, at most, the label of bisexual. We as a country are obsessed with the either/or, the starkness of a dichotomy that admits no gray continuum between polarities. The recent spate of outing of members of Congress asserts a number of things. First that the person has committed homo sexual acts, second that he or she is a member of the gay community, and third that he or she must therefore adhere to a specific dogma on particular legislation. I may be titillated by accusations of acts, but that is grist for entertainment, not public policy. Nor is it identity. And acts certainly are not the definition of community. That is a lie of small-minded opponents who slander our community in an attempt to reduce it to nothing more than acts—and then outlaw those acts. Community is based upon free association, not the labeling of another. The third leap is the longest: that all members of the gay community must categorically believe certain things. In this T case, they must oppose the Defense of Marriage Act regardless of other views or perceived obligations. To do anything less is deemed hypocritical and worthy of the sanction of outing. That belies one of the most prevalent mantras of the gay and lesbian community, our claim of diversity. It also ignores the debatable question of whether elected officials represent and vote their consciences or their constituencies. It seems ironic, but perhaps the Pentagon got it right with “don’t ask, don’t tell” when it said that people who utter the words “I am gay” are gay, and all others are subject to some element of suspicion. Under the policy people can go to gay clubs, march in gay parades, even engage in homosexual sex and still not be gay. But people who say “I am gay” are held to be so, even if they are virgins bereft of a single homosexual act. Perhaps that is the right standard to hold. Perhaps what matters most is how people think of themselves. I hold no desire to publicly expose elected officials who are carnal homosexuals but who run from the community. What I dearly do want is more openly gay public officials, ones who acknowledge the community, draw strength from it and give back to it. Such relationships do not grow out of abuse and disrespect, they are built over time, through positive effort. Gay is a word of pride, not of shame. It can be claimed and proclaimed but not imposed. To force the label upon another is to besmirch the word and its namer; it says little about the one to whom it is attached. Bob Roehr is a freelance journalist based in Washington, D C. He contributes to many lesbian and gay newsmagazines including Just Out. National news The gay and lesbian visitors center got a 9.9 at the Olympics, but the organizers are left will a big tab; another Republican congressman is out; new federal laws bring cheers and fears (PP- 6-11) Local news Judge orders the state and OHSU to offer health benefits to gay and lesbian domestic partners; the Oregonian will now print same-sex wedding announcements; do feminist and gay-rights supporters in Lane County share common ground with Promise Keepers? (PP- 12-17) ARTS Media Actor-playwright David Drake talks about his new role as editor o f POZ (p. 27) Cinema Jenny Shimizu stokes the blaze of Foxfire (p. 28) Books Emma Donoghue 's second novel, Hood, proves that lesbian literature is alive (p- 29)