■J
. T.»“”
ZU* ► .F"
y.-
just out V January 16. 1998 ▼ 3
just out
since 1983
PUBUSHER AND EDITOR
Renée LaChance
steppin’ out
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Kelly M. Bryan
contents
VOL. 15 NO. 6 JANUARY 16. 1998
FEATURE
NEWS EDITOR
Inga Sorensen
Uniforms on parade
REPORTERS
Bob Roehr
Rex Wockner
Firefighters, sailors and cops
take the city by storm for
Portland Uniform Weekend VI,
Jan. 16-18
(p. 19)
EDITORIAL ASSOCIATES
Christopher D. Cuttone
Will O’Bryan
CALENDAR EDITOR
Kristine Chatwood
PHOTOGRAPHER
Linda Kliewer
DEPARTMENTS
World news
OFFICE MANAGER
Will O’Bryan
The African National Congress
calls for legalization of
same-sex marriage;
Chinese queers hold an
international conference
in Hong Kong
(P- 6)
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Meg Grace
ADVERTISING REP
Marty Davis
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
E. Ann Hinds
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Rupert Kinnard
National news
American Airlines backs out of
‘circuit party’ sponsorship;
are genotypic HIV tests
a boon or a boondoggle?
(pp. 7-11)
Natalie Williams of the Portland Power
PRODUCTION
Christopher D. Cuttone
DISTRIBUTION
Kathy Bethel
Marcia Cook
James Galluzzo
Clancy Johnston
Valerie Lutz
Retta Offinga
Jeminie Shell
CONTRIBUTORS
Patrick Collins
Beren deMotier
Dale Reynolds
Local news
Trans position
As others have fought for us,
it now may be our turn to fight for others
What’s Next? gives people
with AIDS a place to sort out
the challenges of surviving;
OHD puts HIV names
reporting on the back burner;
Vancouver gears up to offer
domestic partner benefits
(pp. 12-17)
V
Just out is published on the first and
third Friday of each month. Copyright
© 1998 by Just out. No part of Just out
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. 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.
Letters to the editor should be limited to
500 words. Deadline for submissions 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.
Classified ads must be received at the Just
out office by 3 pm the Monday after the first
and third Friday for the next issue, along with
payment. Ads may be accepted by telephone
with VISA or MasterCard payment.
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 are $17.50 for 12 issues.
First Class (in an envelope) is $30 for 12
issues.
A copy of Just out is available for $2.
Advertising rates are available upon request.
Contact Just out at PO Box 14400,
Portland, OR 97293-0400; (503) 236-1252,
advertising: 236-1253, fax: 236-1257, e-mail:
justoutfri’j uslout.com.
by Will O’Bryan
perspective I’ve never been privy to is the one that
floats in the heads of queer-positive straight people.
I’ve often wondered if I’d be as enlightened if I had
been born into their shoes.
It’s easy to fight for gay rights when you are
gay. As a matter of fact, it’s downright indulgent. Being
lesbian or gay or bisexual can also lead a person to be more
progressive regarding a bucket of social issues. How many of
us might have chosen far more conservative paths had we
inherited hetero-privilege?
At civil-rights marches, you see the “Straight But Not
Narrow” banners. The Gay-Straight Student Alliance contin
gent is there too. “What motivates these people?” I’d find
myself asking.
I think I’ve finally gotten an answer.
Recently, Oregonians have been faced with the prospect
that the Oregon Health Plan, one of the most effective public
health care systems in the country, may finance sex-change
operations. The merits (or shortcomings) of the proposal are
not being debated by physicians, psychiatrists and state comp
trollers in tasteful meeting rooms in Salem. The (largely ill-
informed) debate, about very clinical procedures, is taking
place quite publicly in a tone more fitting for 10-year-olds on
the playground.
The Oregonian employs editorial page cartoons by an
otherwise clever Jack Ohman to mock the proposal as on a par
with wacky, laff-riot brain transplants. Lon Mabon and Co. is
circulating a petition to deny post-operative transsexuals their
new genders. The OHP proposal, instead of pointing health
services in a direction that would provide a necessary medical
treatment to Oregon residents, seems to have signaled open
season on transsexuals.
Because of this shameful treatment of transsexuals, I now
have the insight 1 wanted into the mind of the straight-not-
narrow rabble-rouser.
Like a lot of people, I’m a little uncomfortable thinking
about gender-reassignment surgery. Probably as uncomfortable
as not-narrow Suzie Hetero is when she imagines two men
enjoying sex together. But that doesn’t mean that Suzie and I
can’t spot small-minded fear and inequity when we see it. And
in the case of the arrogant attitudes currently being leveled
against Oregon transsexuals, you can’t miss it. It slaps any fair-
minded person in the face. Hard.
Transsexualism, like homosexuality, is something an unaf
fected person probably won’t know much about. But certainly,
being uninformed has never kept anyone from forming an
opinion—even a dangerous one.
The crux of the public debate, despite the sane packaging
about budget issues and medical propriety, is really just the
reaction of people thinking about something largely alien to
their little worlds.
In my little world, transsexualism is mostly alien. I don’t
have any transsexual friends or relatives (that I’m aware of). I
am familiar with bigotry, though. If I can’t get beyond my
childish squirming at the thought of surgically constructed
penises, I’m not letting that bigotry stop with me.
Depending on who you talk to, the queer community and the
transsexual community are: one and the same, at odds or
somewhere in between. Right now, that link is irrelevant. What
is relevant is that people are being crucified in the name of
gender and sexual norms by repressed people. Sound familiar?
It’s time for me to follow Suzie Hetero’s lead and carry the
“Native Gender Trans Defender” banner.
ARTS
Cinema
Deepa Mehta’s Fire has lit
a match under conservative
Indian society
(p-27)
Books
Plays Well with Others
presents a loving portrait of
innocence lost
(p. 29)
Entertainment
The Jewish Film Festival
unreels at the
Northwest Film Center;
Charles Ludlum 's Camille
comes to the Portland stage;
start working on your
costume now for
NLA’s Mardi Gras Ball
(p. 30)