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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1999)
stehbin ______ march 5, 1909 « J— out p h o t o by out L i n d a K l ie w e r Vol. 16 No. 9 March 5, 1999 FEATURE LEADING EDGE: The gay rights movement has come a long way since Stonewall. Organizations and activists have both flourished and failed. There’s still important work to be done. It’s 1999, do you know who your leaders are? pp 1 9 - 2 3 NEWS LOCAL • Activists prepare for Oregon’s first statewide conference for and by queer youth; Team Quest aims for summit of Mount Rainier; sex change surgery excluded from Oregon Health Plan pp 6 -9 NATIONAL • GOP moderates speak out against right-wing influence; researcher focuses on lesbian alcohol consumption; viatical settlement industry under scrutiny pp 1 1 - 1 5 WORLD • Best Gay Erotica 1999 seized by Canadian customs officials; New Zealand lesbian ordered to pay child support to ex partner P 17 ENTERTAINMENT Outside In’s Gorilla Theater troupe sponsored a Teen Condom March on Feb. 12, National Condom Day OANCE • James Canfield prepares to rock the GUEST EDITORIAL by J e a n H a r r is award-winning author Barbara Wilson pp 3 1 - 3 3 A community leader says we all must play a part in the continuing struggle against homophobia T FOUNOERS • Jay Brown, Renée LaChance PUBLISHER • Marty Davis NEWS EDITOR • Inga Sorensen ENTERDUNM ENT EDITOR • W ill O ’Bryan p 30 BOONS • Joan Nestle recounts the parabola of her life in A Fragile Union ; interview with We all have a role he media spend a lot of time on conflict at all levels, espe cially perceived tensions between national and state movements. Local groups’ struggles to survive are cata logued each step of the way. But the real story and the real struggle remains: homophobia. This struggle started long ago, long before the public display of homophobic violence that marked Harvey Milk’s death. But for me, Harvey’s death 20 years ago was the beginning because his murder was such a strong statement of how far the religious right wing would go to keep queers from obtaining the same basic rights as other citizens. Today in Oregon, ballot measures and legislation in Salem remind us that homophobia is alive and well. Each of us takes in that attack in deep and hurtful ways. We struggle to maintain our pride and self esteem. Sometimes we direct our fear and anger at our enemies, hut it is hard not to internalize our pain and allow the homophobia to he aimed at our own. W hen Harvey Milk was killed, a shy young man named Harry Britt stepped into Harveys seat. Harry served for 14-plus years on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He never cared if his name was in the paper. He didn’t care if he was overshadowed by the issues he hacked, such as boycotting South African businesses during apartheid, local government grape boycotts, political sanctuary, or domestic partner benefits. ballet world yet again 1 learned from Harry that leadership is more than getting elected to office to further a career. It’s about being diligent wherever we are needed to rid the world of homophobia, both in the straight world and in ourselves. We all bring different experiences to the cause. The communities within our community are vast and complicated. We commit our selves to different tactics. Yet they are all about exposing and ridding the world of homophobia and oppression. The straight world wants us to agree on a single agenda. But that way we will spend all of our time fighting with each other. And we may never get around to fighting homophobia, if we continue to heat up on ourselves. Struggling with our differences makes us stronger, hut internalized homophobia continues to eat away at too many of us. Maybe we should spend less time making judgments about each other and who should represent the community and what they should look like. We must continue—each in our own way— to do great work: nationally, statewide, locally and personally. If we all keep up the good work and remain productive, brave and strong, we might just he able to have a world without homophobia. ■ JEAN H arris is executive director o f Basic Rights Oregon; she served as chief o f staff to San Francisco Supervisin' Harry Britt /or six years. CALENDAR EDITOR • Dehhy Morgan CONTRIBUTORS • Kristine Chatwood, Shona Dudley, Jean Harris, Lee Lynch, D. Richm ond, Bob Roehr, Suzanne Sigmund ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Meg Grace COPY EDITORS • Christopher D. C uttone, W ill O ’Bryan ADVERTISING R B U ES B fW IV E • Patrick Collins S W F WRITERS • G ip Plaster, H olly Pruett, Rex W ockner GRAPHIC DESIGN • Rupert Kinnard PRODUCTION DIRECTOR • Christopher D. Cuttone PHOTOGRAPHER • Linda Kliewer OFFICE MANAGER • Oriana Green DISTRIBUTION • Amy Aycrigg, Kathy Bethel, Ed Carder, Mary Hauer, Lakt Perriguey, Marie Price, Jill Simons, Ruth Traut, David Wardell SHORTS • Mr. Oregon State Leather brings buzzcuts— and a benefit to boot— to Eagle PDX; Christian group proposes “Homosexual Content” rating for television programs p 35 COLUMNS AMAZON TRAIL • The answer to all your butch/femme shopping needs is just a mouse click away P 37 STONEWALL BABY • One man’s search for the lesbian party central p 38 |m t out is published on the find and third Friday of each month. Copyright © I9V9 by post Out No part of Just out may he reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The submission of written and graphic materials is welcomed. 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