just out ▼ m arch 2 1 , 1997 ▼ 5
quandary. Senate Bill 577 is labeled, as you say,
the Defense o f M arriage Act. But deep beneath
the surface it reinforces the defense of a whole
system. A system of inequality that rewards—
through acceptance, discounts, resources and ben
efits— a particular form o f behavior (i.e., hetero
sexual unions and/or breeding).
So imagine, if you can, a world o f total equal
ity. Not just one form o f marriage or another, with
or without children. But equality o f all people—
all ages, genders, races, creeds, ethnic back
grounds, sexual orientations and economic con
ditions. D on’t you think there could be more time
spent on, and more fulfillment in, helping each
other, including children already bom , to deal
with the problems o f this complex world? If you
look at the big picture, maybe the whole system
needs an overhaul.
All too often I see people with attitudes like
the editor’s, who are so concerned about coveting
the rights, rewards and safety nets o f one group or
another. Then the real thinking and reasoning
about the rights themselves is lost in the shuffle.
State Sen. Marylin Shannon may not have much
choice: Heterosexual family values are capitalist
values, however self-important, oppressive and
unequal they seem. It is just a way of thinking— one
that is more prone to conquering and taking than it
is to equal sacrifice for the good o f all.
Mark Rulon Fairbanks
Portland
Visibility is crucial
To the Editor:
Thank you for publishing the photo of our
Gorilla Theater event for National Condom Day
as the Steppin’ Out photo in the Feb. 21 issue. It is
so important for our youth to see themselves
accurately portrayed by the media. The youth
involved in the Valentine’s Day condom (and
dental dam) distribution event conceived the idea
and worked on every part of the production them
selves— creating their costumes, their backdrop,
the greeting cards and taking the pictures. Dozens
of street youth were involved in this safer-sex
event.
A much larger percentage o f the youth who
participate in programs here at Outside In are
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and question
ing than the numbers found in mainstream youth
programs. It is a priority for us to provide safer-
sex and HIV-prevention messages for our clients
who find themselves at higher risk for STD infec
tion due to homelessness, survival and addiction
issues, insufficient access to hygiene, and other
factors associated with street life.
Despite the closure of our allopathic clinic,
Outside In continues to offer naturopathic and
chiropractic clinics as well as acupuncture treat
ments for those who could not otherwise afford
them. We have a drop-in center and offer case
management, transitional housing and emergency
services, employment education, and other services
to support homeless youth. We have support ser
vices and a housing program for HIV-positive young
people, and we provide clean syringes in exchange
for used ones to injection drug users 18 and older.
We also provide two peer-education programs for
HIV prevention and health awareness, and a support
group for sexual minority youth.
Visibility is a crucial part of providing these
services— letting the kids and the community at
large know we are available and we care. Thank
you for helping make us more accessible.
Zarod Rominski, Assistant Director
Outside In
Not dead yet
To the Editor:
“Reports o f my death,” Mark Twain once
wrote, “are greatly exaggerated.” After reading
Diana Courvant’s guest editorial [“I can’t hear
you,” Just Out, March 7, 1997] accusing me of
having fallen silent, I think I know how Twain
must have felt.
L et’s take a look at the record, shall we?
The last week of January, I met with 13 Oregon
senators and representatives to specifically dis
cuss civil rights protection for transsexuals. So
much for Courvant’s claim that I would prefer the
Oregon Legislature to remain ignorant of the state
of civil rights protection for transsexuals.
On Feb. 20, Metropolitan Human Rights Com
mission Chairman Lowen Berman assigned me
the task of drafting a chapter of the M HRC’s
amended fact-finding report on discrimination
against transsexuals. On Feb. 25, the Olympia
City Council, at my request, specifically added
transsexuals, transvestites and transgenders to
that city’s unfair housing practices ordinance.
And on March 6 , 1 was one o f four transsexuals on
a panel at Lewis & Clark C ollege’s 16th annual
Gender Studies Symposium.
If I am slowing down, as Courvant claims, God
help the transphobic should the pace of my activ
ism ever pick up.
O f far more concern to me is C ourvant’s claim
that Oregon transsexuals do not have civil rights
protection in the areas of housing and public
accommodations. I would hate to think a trans
sexual misled by Courvant would fail to file a
complaint with the Bureau o f Labor and Indus
tries should he or she be discriminated against.
The fact of the matter is that transsexuals are
protected from discrimination in housing and pub
lic accommodations, as well as employment. (If
you believe yourself discriminated against for
being transsexual, file a complaint with BOLI!)
I also disagree with C ourvant’s assessment of
the activism in Portland: transsexuals [here] are
far more active today than at any time in the three
and a half years I’ve called Portland home.
If Courvant is concerned at the level of Port
land activism in general, then a call to action—
rather than a eulogy— would have been in order.
Community organizing is best accomplished by
engendering enthusiasm and a sense o f pride—
not by whining about how no one seems to be
doing anything. D on’t just sit there, Diana, do
something! It might just bring you into contact
with those activists whose demise you are prema
turely lamenting.
Margaret Deirdre O ’Hartigan
Portland
CORRECTION
Due to an editing error, the subhead accompa
nying our March 7 cover story on the Portland
Power stated that the American Basketball League
was the first national women’s basketball league.
There have been four previous attempts in the
United States at establishing a wom en’s profes
sional basketball league. Just Out regrets the error.
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