march 19.1399 » Just out 3 steùùin out photo by L inda K liewer The IN publication for the OUT population Voi. 16 No. 10 M a r c h 19, 1999 FEATURE HAPPILY EVER AFTER: Ju st Out talks to some of queerdom’s long-term committed couples pp 1 9 - 2 3 NEWS LOCAL • Update on the uncertain future of Phoenix Rising Foundation; Portlander nabs powerful position on national stage; two sides to story of Rosebud and Thom controversy; business news with a queer bent HP 6-9 NATIONAL • Federal hate crimes legislation retintroduced; activists and policymakers continue to wrangle over HIV names reporting; legal scholars look at harassment in schools; two young men confess to hate-motivated murder of gay man in Alabama pp 1 1 - 1 5 WORLD • British television series makes waves with queer sexual content; gay Irish writer hospitalized after bias-motivated beating P 17 ENTERTAINMENT Members and leaders of S P IR IT — a group dedicated to strengthening and organizing women and girls in low-income communi­ ties and communities of color in Portland— celebrate their new space on Northeast Alberta Street GUEST EDITORIAL by B o b M en sel CINEMA • Academy Awards benefit puts star power to work for Cascade AIDS Project *3 1 TREATER • The G lass M enagerie comes to life, thanks to superb acting and directing » Breaking barriers The artistic director of the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus makes a plea for intracommunity harmony n March 20 and 21, the Portland Gay M en’s Chorus will present In Celebration o f W omen, a concert that has been in the planning for several years. 1 was originally drawn to this concept by a fascination with what a men’s chorus would sound like singing music that was originally fashioned for women’s voices. (T he two genres can utilize quite different harmonic lan­ guages.) However, as ideas evolved, I abandoned this original premise in favor of commissioning women to compose for men and invited my friend Sue Coffee and her internationally renowned women’s ensemble Sound Circle to be our guest performers. It will be a joyous concert, full of spectacular music. Despite that, 1 find myself pondering why it has been so difficult to generate interest in a concert that 1 believe is the chorus’ most important of the last two seasons. T he answer is glaringly simple and extremely eye-opening: Having adopted the music of women, we are being treated like women. I first became aware of this phenomenon at a season budget planning meeting when it was suggested that the chorus eliminate the entire mar­ keting budget for this concert since, some felt, no one was going to come to it anyway. Later, at this year’s holiday concert, my sister talked with some patrons who expressed how much they were looking forward to In Celebration o f Rodgers & Hammerstein in June, but had no interest in attending the “bor­ ing” women’s concert. F0UN0ERS • Jay Brown, Renée LaChance PUBLISHER • Marty Davis NEW S EDITOR • Inga Sorensen ENTEK1AINM ENT BUTOR • Will O ’Bryan COPY BUTORS • Christopher D. Cuttone, Will O ’Bryan S W F W RITERS • Patrick Collins, Oriana Green, Gip Plaster, Holly Pruett, Rex Wockner W hat concerns me about this attitude is that it is held by people who had no knowledge of the content of the women’s concert. Most alarming, however, is the manner in which the claim was made— as though it is per­ fectly logical and common knowledge that “women” equate with “bor­ ing.” A recent letter to the chorus further illustrates this dismissive attitude. Its author attended our Classical M atinee on Feb. 7, and commended PGM C— and specifically the men— for a “wonderful performance.” “T he only discordant notes...were the two women who performed and the drag queen,” he assessed. “Although the women’s performances were adequate, my friends and I all agreed that we don’t attend a gay male chorus performance to hear and see women.... In the future please note on the performance announcement if women will he featured, so we as your gay male supporters can choose not to attend and take our support to more appropriate arenas.” I responded that women have long been a fundamental component of PGM C— our president is a woman, as are two other board members, as well as our new development director. I also told the letter writer our mission is to “promote harmony among people.” I added that I found his “anti-woman statements no different than the anti-gay rhetoric that we constantly endure from the O C A .” (I am also aware that lesbians are not immune to a range of opinions— some equally dismissive— concerning men.) W hile reflecting upon this, I came back to an old phrase: “the enemy within.” This enemy, I believe, is comprised of our own attitudes, inhibi­ tions, prejudices and, perhaps most of all, our reluctance to fully examine our own conscience. I propose that we devote more attention to encouraging our own interpersonal growth through discussion and, when necessary, challeng­ ing each other on improving our own shortsightedness. As lesbians and gay men we stand to gain so much by our ability to work with and support each other. CALENDAR EDITOR • Debby Morgan CONTRIBUTORS • Kristine Chatwood, PHOTOGRAPHER • Linda Kliewer Beren deMotier, Rosemary Morrow, Bob Roehr, Julian South, Flora Sussely DISTRIBUTION • Amy Aycrigg, Kathy Bethel, ADVBm SM O DIRECTOR • Meg Grace ADVBm SM C REPRESENTATIVE • Patrick Collins PRODUCTION DIRECTOR • Christopher D. Cuttone GRAPHIC RESIGN • Rupert Kinnard OFFICE M ANACBI • Oriana Green Ed Carder, Mary Hauer, Lake Perriguey, Marie Price, Ruth Traut, David Warded 32 MUSIC • RPM shames Shae, hails Hedwig, and does the hustle pp 33 SHORTS • Celebrity clout carries AmFAR campaign; if you can't laugh at yourself, nominate a friend for the Dorky Dora/Darcelle Awards p 35 COLUMNS 00 TW 0 RR • Footloose and fancy-free, dancing with myself P 37 I RIO Y U N IT • The Big C is a common thread for a big community of women p 30 j M f O u t it published on (he first and third Fridav of each month. 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