stehhin I o u t
«00«. J—
photo by L inda K liewer
fust out
The IN publication for the O U T population
Vol. 15 No. 20 August 21, 1998
FEA TU RE
With a new
owner and a new name, Portland’s embattled
underage queer nightclub endeavors to walk
the fine line between patrons’ expectations and
community-imposed standards
CAN MISFITS ASSUAGE THE RAGEY:
PP 1 9 - 2 1
DEPARTM ENTS
RTP and BRO elect not to join;
Sen. Gordon Smith lobbies for gay
ambassador; youth activist profile; claims of
discrimination at Princeton Athletic Club; Gay
Games results are in
LOCAL N EW S *
pp 7 - 1 1
NATIONAL NEWS • House vote to ban adoption
by unmarried couples in D.C.; problematic
protease inhibitor; Hclfley amendment
defeated
pp 1 2 - 1 5
Gay former soldier sues
Croatian military; Fiji’s new constitution
protects queers from discrimination
WORLD N EW S *
Pl7
CO LU M N S
EDITORIAL
by M arty D avis
OOTWORO
* Gay men and a baby
P 34
I HID Y IO NOT
animals are
Size sensitivity
p 35
Being overweight is no picnic, even in a community that claims to celebrate diversity’
ARTS
wejgfrt js back.
This time was supposed to be different from the time
before—which was going to be different from the time
before that. But it has happened again. The weight is back.
With the weight gain come all the old familiar feelings
of self-doubt, low self-esteem and concerns about acceptance.
1 know there are overweight people who accept their size, even rel
ish and delight in their personal power and positive self-image. There
are people who embrace the notion that who you are and how you live
your life is more important than what size you are. I envy them. 1 want
to be like them, but instead I fall prey to the daily onslaught of
reminders that being overweight is undesirable, unhealthy and unac
ceptable.
I know there will be some who will read these words without under
standing how anything so trivial as body size could be worth this space.
There will be those who say, “Stop whining, find something important
to worry about.”
But I know there also will be many others who know exactly how I
feel. Each day we come face to face with reminders there is something
wrong and unacceptable about being overweight.
Each day we strive to balance the obvious health benefits associated
with weight loss against concerns about falling into the trap of trying to
meet unrealistic and unattainable standards and expectations.
Some time ago a close friend, in a moment of her own anguish, con
fided that she would rather be dead than fat. These are the most stun
ning words 1 have ever heard. Even though I understand she meant only
herself, I still reel at the notion that such pain could be caused by the
THEATER
• Renée LaChance
ASSISTANT PUBLISHER • Marty Davis
NEW S EflfTOB • Inga Sorensen
ENTERTAINM ENT EDITOR • Will O’Bryan
COPY BUTORS • Christopher D. Cuttone,
Will O’Bryan
REPORTERS • Bob Roehr, Rex Wockner
PUBLISHER
• Home is where the
perceived, or actual, unwillingness of our own community to accept
overweight people. She was not willing to deal ever again with the
rejection and unkindness she felt when she was overweight.
Conversations with both male and female friends show clearly that
no one completely recovers from the trauma of being overweight as a
child. There is nothing quite equal to the unkindness shown overweight
children. People with these scars, added to the confusion around sexu
al identity, become insecure adults, no matter how strong the facade.
Often it takes only a few careless words to cause the inner crumbling of
a strong-appearing exterior wall.
Political correctness deems we never knowingly make a sexist, racist
or deliberately unkind remark. Yet so often, and so easily we mow down
someone’s self-esteem with a thoughtless remark directed towards size
and appearance.
1 once heard a woman make an embarrassed explanation to her
friends: “She wasn’t heavy when I dated her.” She felt her friends would
think less of her for dating an overweight woman. In our “height and
weight proportionate” world, she was being teased for having stepped
outside the standards.
How often have you heard or spoken the phrase “I can’t eat that, I’ll
get fat”? Do you think about the feelings of the person listening? Being
healthy is not an unworthy goal, yet these words fall hard on the ears of
the overweight listener.
Even though the George Bush years are behind us, I would favor the
concept of becoming a “kinder and gentler nation.” Wouldn’t it be a
fine thing if different sizes and shapes were celebrated as part of the
diversity that our community claims to hold so dear?
• Debby Morgan
• Beren deMotier, Paul Harris,
Grace Pastine, Julian South, Flora Sussely
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Meg Grace
ADVBITISINC REPRESENTATIVE • Marty Davis
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR • Christopher D. Cuttone
CREATIVE DIRECTOR • E. Ann Hinds
GRAPHIC DESIGN • Rupert Kinnard
CALENDAR BUTOR
CONTRIBUTORS
• Linda Kliewer
OFFICE MANAGER • Michelle R. Knox
DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR • Linda Williams
DISTRIBUTION • Debbie Bcrgendahl,
Kathy Bethel, Mary Hauer, Michelle R. Knox,
Deb Meadows-West, Lake Perriguey, Teri Price,
Marie Price, Renée Skrzypchak
PHOTOGRAPHER
• Rent delivers
p 31
• Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss
doesn’t set off any fireworks
CINEMA
p 32
ENTERTAINMENT • Queer cruise shoves off
soon; Tongues Untied shows at Film Center
p 33
Juat O U l is published on the first and third Friday of
each month. Copyright © 1998 by Jo st out No part of
jM t mat may be reproduced without written permission
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