2 ▼ m ay 16. 1997 ▼ ju s t o u t
just out
since 1 983
PUBLISHER A N D EDITOR
Renée LaChanee
steppin' out
contents
VOL 14 NO. 14 MAY 16, 1997
COPY EDITOR
Kelly M. Bryan
FEATURES
REPORTERS
Inga Sorensen
Boh Roehr
Rex Wockner
Spring rite back!
Just Out joins the throng
gathered to send twins llanya
and Ina, a lesbian and a bisexual,
and their dates o ff to the prom
CALENDAR EDITOR
Kristine Chatwood
PHOTOGRAPHER
Linda Kliewer
(p. 18)
OFFICE M A N A G E R
Will O’Bryan
The gift of
parenthood
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Meg Grace
ADVERTISING REP
Marty Davis
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
take on special importance
when children come to those
who’ve waited, dreamed
or never dared hope
(P- 21)
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
E. Ann Hinds
DEPARTMENTS
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Rupert Kinnard
FORMATTER
Christopher D. Cuttone
TYPESETTER
Christopher D. Cuttone
DISTRIBUTION
Kathy Bethel
Rachel Ebora
Donald Rogers
Deborah Sundholm
Megan Weber
CONTRIBUTORS
Buffy Adams
Howie Baggadonutz
Bonnie Ruth Beebe
Kelly M. Bryan
Christopher D. Cuttone
Rachel Ebora
E. Ann Hinds
Will O’Bryan
J u s t o u t is published on the first and
third Friday o f each month. Copyright
© 1997 by J u s t o u t No pari of J u s t o u t
may be reproduced without written permission
from the publisher
The submission of written and graphic
materials is welcomed. Written material should
be typed and double-spaced Ju st o u t reserves
the right to edit for grammar, punctuation, style,
liability concerns and length We will reject or
edit articles or adverttsements that are offensive,
demeaning or may result in legal action Ju st
o u t consults the Associated Press Stvlehook
and Libel Manual on editorial decisions
letters to the editor should he limited to 500
words. Deadline for subm issions to the
editonal department and for the Calendar is the
Thursday before the first and thud 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 (he first and third Friday for the
next issue.
Classified ads must be received at the Ju st
o u t office by 3 pm the Monday after the first
anti third Friday for the next issue, along with
payment Ads will not be taken over the
telephone
Ad 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 Just o u t are available for
$17.50 for 12 issues First Class (in an envelope)
is $30 for 12 issues
A copy of J u s t o u t is available for $2.
Advertising rates are available on request
The mailing address and telephone
numbers foi J u s t o u t ire PO Box 14400,
Portland. OR 97293-0400; (503) 236-1252. The
phone number for the advertising department is
236-1253. Our fax number is 236-1257 Our e-
mail address is JustOut2(¿tool com.
World news
Berlin marks 100th anniversary
o f gay rights movement
Fans, worshipers and the merely curious filled brew Sisters pub, 53 NW First Ave., to overflowing on Wednesday,
April 30, to watch Ellen, as Ellen, come out on El len. Cheering got so loud that the police were called in to restore order.
(Well, not really, but it was pretty loud.)
guest editorial
Merely human
Identity-based community is too limiting when your place
is in the whole wide world
▼
by Beth
he cover article on Ellen DeGeneres in the April 18
issue of Just Out was the final straw that compels
me to break my silence.
I have been open about my orientation for 10
years. In that time I have wandered through the
sticky morass of the lesbian and gay community, trying on
various roles and trying out various activities to figure out
where I belong. In the end, I have decided that my place is in
the whole wide world. Out there with absolutely everyone else,
living a human and humane existence.
As I went from one interest to another over this 10-ycar
period, I attended Lesbian Forums, worked as a bouncer at
Cafe Mocha, marched in the Rose City Gay Freedom Band
(which I helped found in 1990), attended drag shows at the
Embers Avenue and celebrated at Lesbian and Gay Pride each
year. I met many people and learned a great deal about the gay
and lesbian community throughout my explorations, and I
wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything.
In recent years something has become apparent to me,
however, an observation that has disturbed me greatly since it
came to my consciousness. My desire to create “community”
in the place where I live seemed to be more and more at odds
with the way community was being modeled in the gay and
lesbian world. I finally realized why. There is community by
geography, where people who live in a neighborhood can learn
how to get along, and then there is community by identity,
where people who share a common identifying trait can claim
a sort of community-without-walls.
The more I examined the idea of community by identity, the
more I saw walls being put up. not tom down. Due to our very
human nature, we seek distinctions by which we form discrimi
Ham on
nating attitudes about how we live from day to day, and with
whom. Community by identity always seems to be about
differentiation, about “us” and “them.” If I choose to become an
“us” in one group, I will automatically become a “them”
somewhere else. As a result, heightened attitudes of fear are
created, along with the need to protect oneself from someone
else.
I have really found myself at a loss for determining “where”
I belong, and I can no longer embrace a vision of identity-based
community. To me, it is a false and extremely limiting vision.
Rather, I see myself as merely human, no greater or lesser than
anyone else. I do not need any other label in life than the one my
parents gave me at birth.
I know people will accuse me of being naive, but my
perceptions are so rooted in experience that I cannot take such
accusations seriously. I know that I am here on earth to experi
ence life. I do so from the place of being human, and identities
based on sexual orientation, skin color or religious history no
longer carry the same weight they once did for me.
That is why I found the cover article on the coming out of a
character on a television show to be so anticlimactic. The
article’s very existence—indeed, the existence of this and other
identity-based publications—only served to remind me of how
“somewhere else” I feel these days. In the end, I can only register
a quiet sadness.
Beth Hamon lives in Portland. Submissions for
guest editorials should be typed, double-spaced and
no longer than 600 words. Fax to 236-1257,
e-mail to JustOut2@aol.com, or mail to
PO Box 14400, Portland, OR 97293-0400.
(P- 4)
National news
A transsexual woman fights fo r
visitation rights to the sons she
has not seen in four years;
Hawaii Legislature grants rights
for domestic partners, balks at
recognizing same-sex marriages
(pp. 5-11)
Local news
Carpenter, Hill and House
Democrats vow another
showdown fo r Oregon END A;
is Oregon DOMA
doomed to succeed?;
HRC director Elizabeth Birch
will speak at MCC Portland
(pp. 13-17)
ARTS
Cinema
The life and death o f
porn star Alan Lambert;
Female Perversions skillfully
portrays the twists o f sisters;
Love! Valour! Compassion!
brings a gaggle o f gay guys
to the screen
(pp. 31-33)
Books
Lesbian artists get their due in
Damn Fine Art; Gabriel Roteilo
points a finger in Sexual Ecology
(pp. 34-35)
Music
Bridges Vocal Ensemble has got
a "Seven-Year Itch ” to sing
(p. 36)
Entertainment
Amazon Dragons hosts a fund
raiser at the Egyptian Room
(p. 37)
Tongue in groove
Jeru the Damaja takes no prisoners;
Lamb will follow you anywhere
(p. 38)