¡une 19. * 1 998 » 9 just out; i * J J o
i
WHAT’S SIN GOT
TO DO WITH IT?
Washington: “Riot grrrls. Leatherdykes. A
dream come true, except for the rain.”
As for Oregon, Girlfriends notes Portland,
but only as it relates to the Emerald City:
“Portland is a lower-rent version of Seattle, with
all of the benefits and cheaper cost of living.”
Oh well.
G r a y L a d y G ets
S o m e L a v e n d e r
he New York Times ran a comprehensive
4,000-word story on June 7 entitled “The
Second Generation.”
The sensitively-written piece takes a look at
the often unexplored phenomenon of gay and
lesbian parents who have gay and lesbian chil
dren.
Reporter David Kirby supplies several per
sonal stories of gay and lesbian parents with
queer children, cites studies, and provides
quotes from therapists and others.
He writes: “It was only a couple of decades
ago that openly gay people started rearing chil
dren. Now some of those children are teen-agers
and young adults who are realizing that they,
too, are gay. In some cases, having a gay parent
has made it easier for them. But there are also
those who came out to seemingly heterosexual
parents, only to have those parents later
acknowledge their own homosexuality.”
He talks about a group founded in 1991 by
New Yorker Dan Cherubin, 33, a music librari
an who lives in the East Village and is the gay
son of a lesbian who lives with her female com
panion.
According to the Times, when Cherubin
“approached other gay organizations for support,
most were receptive but some ‘were iffy.’ ”
He told the newspaper, “They thought we
were propagating stereotypes— gay people
recruiting kids. Some wanted nothing to do
with gay children, even if we’re 30.”
The report says, “Last year, when he spoke at
a conference for gay parents at New York
University, Mr. Cherubin said a lesbian mother
who had fought for custody of her two young
children told him: ‘Nothing personal, Dan, but
you’re my worst nightmare.’ ”
But the reporter also quotes many supportive
people, including Wayne Steinman, 48, the for
mer president of the Gay and Lesbian Parents
Coalition International, who lives on Staten
Island with his partner Sal Iacullo and the 10-
year-old daughter they adopted as an infant,
Hope Steinman-Iacullo.
“Personally, I say who better to raise gay kids
than gay parents? We allow our
children
to
T
express themselves and be themselves. And
we’ve lived through the issues,” said Steinman.
O n May 31, meanwhile, the New York Times
ran an article focusing on a recently released
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force study that
finds U .S. acceptance of gay men and lesbians
has swelled significantly in recent years, but
notes a majority of the population still disap
proves of homosexuality.
“ It found that though disapproval of homo
sexuality had dropped by nearly 20 percentage
points since its peak of 75 percent in the late
1980s, it was still 56 percent in 1996, the most
recent year examined,” said the Times.
Also, gay men and lesbians remain one of
the least-liked groups in the country, the survey
found.
“I think the lesson for us out of this data is
that the strategy of education and the continued
effort we expend on public education is more
important than ever,” Urvashi Vaid, director of
task force’s think tank, told the Times. “To the
extent we’ve seen changes in public opinion
over the last 20 years, it’s been because we have
a community that’s come out of the closet.”
P laying
Lin Dunn and current and former Portland
Power players, including Lake Oswego resident
Katy Steding, Natalie Williams, Lisa Harrison,
Stacey Ford, Falisha Wright, Sheila Frost,
Jennifer Jacoby and Coquese Washington.
On a related note, Just Out photographer
Linda Kliewer has taken photos for Gogol’s
biography of Katy Steding for young readers,
which is slated for release later this summer.
Q
G
ueer
roup
AG
■<
Ju
Sara Gogol
P erk U
p
P ow er F ans
F
rom the world of publishing, Southeast
Portland resident Sara Gogol has penned a
newly-released book entitled Playing in a New
League— The Women of the American Basketball
league’s First Season. (The $14-95 paperback is
published by Masters Press.)
Y o u
wo n ’t
find any
references
to lesbian
ism here,
but you’ll
get plenty of
stats
and
data about
selected play
ers and coach
es, including
Portland
Power
coach
e d ia
abs
W atch dog
G rant
he Gill Foundation, a Colorado-based phil
anthropic organization dedicated to sup
porting organizations within the lesbian and gay
community, has awarded the Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation a $50,000 grant to
abet its ongoing work in the next year.
G L A A D is a national lesbian and gay media
advocacy organization. Its mission is to “pro
mote fair, accurate and inclusive representations
of individuals and events in the media as a
means of challenging discrimination based on
sexual orientation or identity.”
The organization makes itself available as a
resource to media professionals in the news and
entertainment industries by providing commen
tary, consultation and support; to corporations
and professional organizations through its
Sexual Orientation in the Workplace seminars;
to community activists and organizations
through its skills-building trainings; and to the
public through its mobilization campaigns and
educational outreach.
Established in 1994 by Tim Gill, the openly
gay founder of Quark Inc., a major software
company, the Gill Foundation has distributed
millions of dollars to accomplished organiza
tions in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans com
munity.
“G L A A D is extremely proud to be recog
nized by the Gill Foundation as a leading player
in the lesbian and gay rights movement,”
G L A A D Executive Director Joan M. Garry said
via a June 12 media statement. “This funding
will significantly assist us in our efforts to expand
our role as a resource to media professionals. In
addition, this grant will enable us to extend our
proactive work within our own community. We
are enormously appreciative of the G ill
Foundation’s generosity.”
T
i
M
N
Mention the word sin to a
gay man and he’s likely to turn
around
and walk away.
Religious fundamentalists have
delighted in portraying us as
hopeless reprobates addicted
to “a sinful lifestyle.” H ow
interesting that in the gospel
accounts the only hard words
uttered
by
Jesus
were
addressed to devoutly reli
gious men. In his words they
would ‘‘strain out a gnat but
swallow a camel” in their sin
gle-minded attention to the
faults of others while neglect
ing more important matters
such as “justice, mercy and
faithfulness” in their own lives.
It wasn’t that Jesus failed to
recognize the devastating
effects of sin— that self-cen
tered, self-deluding, alienating
flaw perniciously rooted in the
hearts of all of us. But rather
than judging those labeled sin
ners, he felt compassion for
them. He knew we are miser
able in our sinful state and that
self-righteous religious fervor
and narrow-minded moralistic
prattle are more a sign of the
problem than a cure.
Instead Jesus called for
repentance.The healing of our
heart begins with acknowl
edgement of our failure to live
out the promise of our cre
ation. In confession we open
ourselves to the forgiving
mercy of God. Though we are
helpless to change our own
hearts, G o d ’s gracious, healing
love can gradually liberate us
from sinful inertia.Thus we are
freed to begin turning our
lives around, moving away
from self-centeredness to
other-centeredness.
Gay men shouldn’t think of
sin as an archaic notion. It is a
fact of life.To ignore its perva
sive influence in o u r lives
means choosing to remain
stuck in the futile pursuit of
happiness so characteristic of
human nature. The hard truth
is that each of us needs to
critically examine our motives
and actions and then, trusting
G o d ’s help, seek to live lives
worthy of our best selves.
A message from
the Anawim Community.