Just out., February 20, 1998, Page 9, Image 9

O n
the
B efore Y ou I nvest Y our M oney ,
I nvest I n A P hone C all .
S tick
Lesbian Avengers take action against queer invisibility and the plight
of sexual minority youth in our schools by Inga Sorensen
For the first time in 16 years, a great number of taxpayers can
benefit directly from the major Taxpayer Reform Act of 1997.
It s important to start planning now to take full advantage
n explosion of Tootsie Pops tum­
bled across Lisa Goddards din­
ing-room table.
A
n preparation for the lollipop action, the
Avengers have scoured resources that provid­
ed them with the names of famous people
believed to be queer—a fact usually omitted
from students’ lessons.
“I checked out every book in the public
library,” says Avenger Nerissa Ediza, 24.
Lollipop
committee
head
Alison
Cashman, 28, herself a teacher for a suburban
school district, gleaned other data from the
Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
Web page.
About $130 in Tootsie Pops were pur­
chased—a lofty expenditure for the Avengers.
Ten schools have been chosen for the
actions, which should last about 20 minutes
each. Some will occur as school is about to
begin, the others right after.
According to Ediza, the action hit list was
crafted after the Avengers called a slew of
I
Dozens upon dozens of the
multi-colored suckers waited to
be adorned with fortune-cookie-like tags that
shouted
“Lick
Lesbophobia!”
“Lick
Homophobia!” “Lick Transphobia!”
And it didn’t stop there.
“Florence Nightingale was ‘so gay’; she
founded modem nursing & she loved women.”
“Emperor Wu was ‘so gay’; he ruled China &
he loved men.”
Leonardo da Vinci, Julius Caesar, Virginia
Woolf, Chief Crazy Horse, they all got men­
tions, as did a potpourri of other historical fig­
ures thought to have an intimate connection to
queerdom.
Directly below these mini-history lessons
were contact numbers for the Women’s Crisis
Line and queer resources.
Welcome to the world
of the Portland Lesbian
Avengers, who on Feb. 20
will kick off several days of
lollipopping actions at
public high schools in the
Portland
metropolitan
area.
If all goes as planned,
an
estimated
2,000
Tootsie Pops—and their
queer-ffiendly messages—
will wind up in the hands
of students heading in and
out of school.
Avengers (from left) Cortney Harding, Lisa Goddard, Alison
Cashman, Nerissa Ediza and Linnea Johnson
en days before the
first action, a handful
schools to inquire about the queer-friendliness
of Avengers have collect­
of each. Some Avengers said they had young
ed at Goddard’s Southeast Portland home to
queer relatives moving to town and wanted to
finish stickering their Tootsie Pops and discuss
know whether the school would be a safe place
strategies.
for them.
Pressing questions like “Do we want to have
The schools deemed less friendly made the
a [Lesbian Avengers] banner with us?” inter­
list.
mingle with the less-formidable “Where did the
“We’re just going to stand out there as kids
humus go?”
come and go and say, ‘Hey, have a lollipop,’ ”
The humus is quickly found; the banner
explains Ediza.
issue, however, is not so easily resolved.
An informational packet will also be
And it’s no small matter. After all,
dropped at the principal’s office. It will include
Avengers—with their bomb-like logo and “We
a letter that states: “The Lesbian Avengers’
Recruit” slogan, not to mention the name
goal is to ensure the survival of queer youth
alone—have a tendency to make some people
and we want to support the efforts of your
pretty nervous.
school to do the same. You are in a position to
"We scare people,” Goddard says bluntly. At
educate your staff on how to interrupt anti-gay
32, she is the eldest Avenger among this partic­
harassment and on how to include the lives of
ular group. Most are in their mid-20s, though
lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in the
one is still a teen.
curriculum.”
According to their handbook, Avengers
The missive then offers tips about ways
employ “grass-roots activism to fight for the sur­
administrators can “increase the well-being of
vival and visibility of lesbians, bi women and
queer students,” including instructing staff how
trans dykes.”
to intervene when homophobic comments are
With chapters nationwide, Avengers utilize
made in school, developing policies for report­
dyke power and vision to ignite bold, sexy, flam­
ing and prosecuting students and staff for
boyant actions. In Portland, Avengers, among
homophobic harassment and violence, and
other tasks, lollipop, protest the likes of the
establishing confidential support groups for
Portland Fellowship and Promise Keepers, and
queer youth as well as gay/straight alliances to
orchestrate the feisty Dyke March held annual­
open the lines of communication between
ly on the eve of the Pride parade.
straight and queer students and staff.
“Avenger Philosophy 101” instructs us that
“We’re not there to make a scene," says
direct action, humor and theatrics, girl gangs
Goddard, “it’s about making a difference.”
and flamboyance are “in." Making things hap­
pen—rather than simply griping—is what these
■ To learn more, call the PORTLAND LESBIAN
girls are about.
A vengers hot ¡meat 452'5408.
The “out” list, meanwhile, includes endless
discussion, processing, “nice girls don’t...” and
getting permission.
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