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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1999)
g Ju st out * march 19. 1999 Pet of the Week Angel is a male young adult medi um haired cat. In the course of his short young life Angel has not seen the good things that life has to offer. Angel was brought in as a stray. He needs a loving environ ment as an “ inside kitty” because he has been declawed. He needs to feel safe and loved. Please help Angel find a home. [TïTiJÎTï ’ A)*' ir » ,AV X O r e g o n H u m a n e S o c ie t y 1067 N E C o lu m b ia B lv d ., P D X 2 8 5 -7 7 2 2 justnin X X V -^ X V X ------------- A V / W , \v"*N eViV'.’ no® -tC-O*'- »¿A V ''t - . tv«*** e»' Q a > ,v ^.. tv»® k *> & ' ortg age L oans • P urchase or R efinance • S elf E mployed • I nvestment P roperties • VA L oans • S econd H omes • 100% P urchase • I mprovement L oans • F irst T ime B uyers V N O R T H W E ST 5 0 3 /4 9 3 -3 3 0 0 2 1 4 9 N E B roadway , S uite 1 K aren O bluck , Mortgage Broker I Don’t B uy a C a r from Some Straight G uy! You have family in the car business Featuring the best deals on • Expeditions • Explorers • Rangers **• I F O R D Christopher Webster COLISEUM FORD • Full Size Trucks • New Ford Cars • Used vehicles for every budget 955-4608 H IT U II 4 11 a W N E B R O A O W A Y AT F I R S T . RM M HW M I am pleased to announce my affiliation with The Hasson Company Realtors This association enhances my continued commitment to providing you and your referrals outstanding representation and real estate marketing services. Donald Falk, on A s s o c ia t e B r o k e r Office (503) 335-9898 ext. 107 Voice Mail (503)241-8945 2173 NE Broadway, Portland OR 97232 criminating against the community as a whole is the fact that community (especially ours) is built through a unified group of diverse people utilizing survival skills,” it reads. The letter also accuses the pageant of class- ism: “Many youth who aren’t homeless still struggle to survive and sometimes turn tricks to make ends meet. In effect, this club is being classist in its policies and attitudes towards our community. We don’t like it.” Ryan, meanwhile, admits to being down on sex work. “As a whole, I don’t think our community approves of kids going out and turning tricks,” he says, explaining that in the past when he’s been in financial straits he’s taken on additional jobs—like washing dishes—to make rent. “I don’t believe in this business of breaking the law to survive, and I’m not sure that I want people who are admittedly breaking the law to be representing the club,” he says candidly. Craig Hollywood, Mr. Gay Portland XXIII, sat on the screening panel and agrees with Ryan about the two contestants who were eliminated. “I don’t recall anyone saying they turned tricks, hut it was a bad presentation they gave,” he says. “What if they were talking to a journal ist or a publicist T Hollywood is also the pageant coordinator for Rosebud and Thom, as well as the show coordinator at Misfits. He says a more stringent screening process for the pageant is an idea that is long overdue. “Every candidate had to go through the same process,” he says. “We asked them questions such as what they planned to do with the title, and how they would represent the community. These are very fair questions.” Maria, a community mainstay, says the screening process makes plenty of sense. Five years ago, Maria (who opts for the singular moniker) was crowned the first female Rose Empress. Now, at 35, she produces Peacock in the Park, the annual drag festival. “I’m in agreement with the idea of a screen ing process,” she says, admitting she can swear with the best of them but that she knows when to watch her mouth. “In the past it’s been very lax and people could say and do whatever they wanted. It’s good to know who’s applying to rep resent the underage community, and it’s good for the contestants to know what their duties and responsibilities are.” She says that she too would be turned off by hearing profanity during an interview. Maria posits: “If you have someone who doesn't know how to hold themselves in public, do you really want them representing the club and the community? 1 don’t.” he missive, circulated through downtown Portland a few weeks ago, makes itself perfectly clear: “We are queer youth,” it states. The letter’s author—who could not he reached for comment despite several attempts—then blasts new criteria regarding moral character that have been added to Rose bud and Thom, a nearly quarter-century-old pageant for queer youth. Simply signed “Angry Queer Youth,” the let ter spells out the deal: “Moral character and being a positive role model is defined as one who is not currently or has been in the past involved with sex work.” Two contestants were eliminated from this year’s pageant, slated for March 20, after their initial interviews, prompting the circulation of the letter, which urges readers to contact pageant officials. “I’ve felt a lot of pressure to clean things up,” says Pete Ryan, who purchased what is now known as Misfits Discoteque last summer from the oft-controversial Lanny Swerdlow. Swerdlow, who operated the Rage and the legendary City Nightclub, bequeathed not only the queer youth club but the Rosebud and Thom pageant—a heralded tradition in the queer youth community—as well. “Up until now the pageant hasn’t had any structure,” Ryan explains. “The club has been threatened in the past, and all I’m trying to do is organize things.” The letter writer paints a more ominous pic ture: “Our community would not exist in the organized...fashion we currently reside in, if when times were rough we didn’t do what we have to do to survive. Sex work is a very com mon survival mechanism in the queer commu nity, especially in the youth community.” For his part, Ryan contends it was not the alleged sex worker status that caused the contes tants to be eliminated. “These two people used the word fuck throughout their interviews,” he says. “It hit everyone on the panel wrong. We’re trying to get the young people back into the community, and they will represent our club. It didn’t feel right, the way they talked during the interview.” Ryan assembled a screening panel composed of Misfits staff, queer youth and a representative from the Imperial Sovereign Rose Court. According to the letter, the panel’s tactics ■ The R osebud and T horn pageant will be held were more harmful than anything else. at 10 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at Misfits, “One reason we feel this is extremely dis- 333 S.W. Park Ave. m Portland. Admission is $9. T F irst M ortgage falkd@hasson.com I *\ nf!' Mortgage Broker Your Community F ir s t & S e c o n d M y» w judging criteria for this year's Rosebud and Thorn pageant New s some fuming while others applaud by Patrick Collins . t T h is ad c p u rte s y of * 4 m ntiñ >v> V L ^