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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1997)
2 T march 21. 1007 ▼ just out just out s in c e 1 9 8 3 PUBLISHER AND EDITOR Renée LaChance steppin’ out COPY EDITOR contents VOL 14 NO. 10 MARCH 21,1997 FEATURE Kelly M. Bryan REPORTERS Inga Sorensen Bob Roehr Rex Wockner Out of Oscar’s Closet CALENDAR EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHER Now that queers are out and about in Hollywood, foreign and independent films, isn't it time we had an awards show? Linda Kliewer (p. 19) Kristine Chatwood OFFICE MANAGER Cory Murphy DEPARTMENTS ADVERTISING DIRECTOR World news Meg Grace Amnesty International report tells o f anti-gay abuses in some 60 countries worldwide ADVERTISING REPS C. Jay Wilson Jr. Marty Davis (p- 6) National news CREATIVE DIRECTOR E. Ann Hinds GRAPHIC DESIGN Rupert Kinnard FORMATTER Christopher D. Cuttone TYPESETTER Christopher D. Cuttone DISTRIBUTION Kathy Bethel Rachel Ebora Darla Moyer-Sims Donald Rogers Megan Weber CONTRIBUTORS Sasha Alyson Christopher D. Cuttone Gary Horn Raymond Murray Jeffrey L. Newman Daniel Vaillancourt Patricia Nell Warren Just out is published on the first and third Friday of each month. Copyright © 1997 by Just out No part of Just out may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher The subm ission o f written and graphic materials is welcomed. Wntten material should he typed and double spaced Just out 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 Just out consults the Associated Press Stylehook and Libel Manual on editorial decisions. l i t e r s to the editor should be limited to 500 words. Deadline for subm issions to the editonal department and for the Calendar is the Thursday before the first and thin! Friday for the next issue. 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Our e- mail address is JuMOut2 <9 aot.com. guest editorial Loose lips Queers have known for ages that whom you kiss and where you do it can make you unpopular, but maybe straights should take a lesson ▼ by Christopher D. Cuttone I t’s been said that there is a time and a place for every dominant-culture tactic of invasion and colonization. thing—a reasonable assumption, but who decides on Very often I must explain to straight friends that gay and matters of decorum, Emily Post or Lon Mabon? Nowa lesbian bars are special places. For many queers these bars are days diversity makes it difficult to formulate even the the only place where they can be themselves completely and simplest of rules governing behavior without stepping without reservation. As such, it is an affront to be in a protected on someone’s toes, and the cult of freedom makes it a crime space to and be forced to witness the sexual display of a cultural step on someone’s toes. icon—the heterosexual couple— for which every place is a Two weeks ago an incident in which a heterosexual couple welcoming one and to which every place, be it physically or was ejected from a San Francisco gay bar that had a “no hetero ideologically, is dedicated. kissing” policy gained attention from the national media, rais As a bisexual I have a lot of straight friends and sometimes ing the specter of so-called reverse discrimination. Witnesses frequent straight, or at least straight-by-default, establishments. said the pair was really going at it and making a bit of a scene— I ’ ve even been to such places with a boyfriend in tow, and have but that’s beside the point, isn’t it? The bar’s policy singles out been known to play that classic game, “shock the hets.” And a group or class of people for the purposes of limiting and while my behavior when there with a same-sex partner is not controlling their behavior. That’s discrimination, and discrimi exactly guarded, I certainly do not take off my shirt and do the nation is always wrong. humpty dance (as I might if I were in a gay bar). OK, then why in this case does it feel so right? My first Although I like to provoke (thought, hopefully), I don’t reaction to this story was, “Well it’s about damn time!” enjoy actual fighting, so when tension rises too high or when I Even the out-and-proudest queer knows that sometimes it perceive a threat to my person because I have been too open in pays to be demure, particularly if one Finds oneself in a macho displaying my sexuality, I back down. Conversely, I have seen sports bar or stumbles upon a gaggle of skinheads. It may seem straight people do the exact opposite in response to a perceived like a step back into the closet, but really it’s just what everyone threat: When they enter a gay environment, they get all touchy- the world overdoes to make getting along a little easier—isn’t it? feely and step up their sexual display to make sure everyone A Friday-night tour of Portland’s gay bars suggests that knows they’re just visiting. straight people just don’t get it—many have been spoiled by a Of course I am generalizing; of course not all heterosexuals lifetime of defining the norm and have thus lost the ability to act this way. The ones who do just stand out more than those who alter their behavior to conform to environmental conditions. try to get along. Still, it is frustrating to see that they can choose One example (without naming names): a trioof abutting bars all to get along or not—while 1 am a de facto activist simply because serve a primarily gay clientele, but the fabulous dance mix I am different, and while I can never be entirely secure that I will attracts a straight crowd to first one then another, until there are be treated fairly or that I can walk alone at night in safety. so many male-female pairs grinding away under the disco ball With intolerance lurking around every comer and filibuster that one can hardly tell it’s a queer establishment. ing at the highest levels of government, queer life is a constant Of course, it is a shame that there are not more clubs playing battle between self-expression and self-preservation, a compro the wild dance tunes that people obviously want, but that mise between staying out of the closet and choosing battles that doesn’t justify the dislocation of an already marginalized group. can be won. It may be divisive and counterproductive but, after When the queer community identifies an unmet need it rallies, a lifetime enduring both the insults of bigots and the uncon lobbies and raises funds to address the issue. When heteros need scious, institutionalized prejudice of U.S. society, I guess I something, however, they fall back upon the long-standing thought maybe the hets could use a taste of their own medicine. National black gay forum expands outreach to youth, regional communities; Megan’s Law unleashes administrative quagmire in California; study shows strong bones in postmenopausal women may indicate breast cancer risk (pp. 7-10) Local news Oregon transsexuals may lose hard-won protections; Seattle schools move to buy queer positive books; women work together to salvage LCP (pp. 12-17) COLUM NS View from here A conference o f Southeastern bi, gay and lesbian college students draws unexpected allies (P- 3) Venturing out From Eugene to Buenos Aires— it’s a world o f pride celebrations (p. 33) Last laugh Has Martha Stewart committed career suicide? (p- 34) ARTS Cinema Monte Bramer talks about Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer’s End (P- 29) Music Jazzman Fred Hersch downplays his new gig as HIV “poster hoy ” (p- 31) Entertainment Author E. Lynn Harris speaks at black culture lecture series; The Embers Avenue turns 25 (p. 32)