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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1999)
ju st m i EDITORIAL by M a r t y D avis ■ P The IN publication for the OUT population V o 1. 16 No. 14 May 21, 1999 FEATURE PIONEERING QUEERS: We can’t prove we were on the Oregon Trail, but we can offer snippets of our rich history from 1969 onward up 19-25 NEWS LOCAL • Youth activism knows no boundaries; Portland police send delegate to leather confer ence; program aids low-income queer families; Deke Law’s passion for social justice; monthly column The Queer Profit pp 6 - 1 0 NATIONAL • Senate hears testimony on hate crimes legislation; lesbian rights at NOW summit; New Hampshire O Ks gay adoption PP 1 1 - 1 5 WORLD • Activists meet to form Gender Freedom International; Switzerland protects queers in new constitution P 17 ENTERTAINMENT CINEMA • Get Real is wonderfully unrealistic; Hallelujah is not for the squeamish p 33 50 is a funny thing Just Outs publisher laments hitting the half-century mark woke up the other morning and I was 5 0 .1 was not very happy with this. Other milestone birthdays hadn’t had such an effect on me. Thirty was a blur, but 40 felt fine— like maturity attained. Fifty, well, 50 has the potential to feel a little old. To borrow from a local radio station mantra, “1 don’t wanna grow up, 1 don’t wanna grow up....” I’m sure it’s not politically correct, but I don’t want to get old. I can accept growing older— but the distinction is important. Cronism, the American Association of Retired Persons, calcium sup plements, and camera and colon combinations that would make the gayest of gay boys wince— these are a few of the exciting new additions to life at 50. The membership letters from AARP actually start arriving months before the Day. This cheerfully provides a virtual ticking countdown to senior citizen discounts at Denny’s. Discounted pie, is this really any way to mark a life milestone? One of my birthday gifts was my very first— and please let it be the last— issue of Crone Chronicles. Crone, what a word. It clearly brings visions of Hansel and Gretel to my mind. While the thought of terrifying small children is not totally without appeal, I can tell you that without even understanding the concept of cronism, I don’t want to be one. Maybe at 60, maybe at 70, but for now I’m just not ready. I’m much too busy dealing with the other annoying and amusing com plexities of the aging process. Besides, anyone who has ever seen my kitchen floor can clearly see that I don’t even own a broom. Fifty brings about creaky joints, multiple pairs of glasses and a forget fulness that borders on the absurd. At 50, you get arthritis ointment to sit along side your acne medication. At 50, you watch the 10 p.m. news rather than the broadcast at 11 p.m. (It’s clear that Kim Singer isn’t get ting any younger, either.) Soon it’s bound to be the 9 p.m. news for the baby-boomer crowd. Jay Leno and David Letterman are going to have to go on without me now. Fifty means you finally really do have to get “prop er amounts of rest.” I’m already tired of being tired. It’s really kind of pissy. Physical failures aside, it’s the mental aberrations that worry me the most. Last week I went to the garden center and returned home with a cute pig decoration. Egad! Can colorful lawn ornaments be far behind? Oh please, dear Crone above, don’t let it be the fat lady in the swing! I worry also that the day will come when I’ll falter during Celebrity Jeopardy. This will truly mark the beginning of the end. Once state capi tals go, just what will be left? Do we all become candidates for the vice presidency? Fifty means craving the vibrant energy of younger friends. Fifty means cherishing the beauty of fine lines around the eyes of older lovers. Fifty means savoring the gracefulness of aging hands. Fifty means embracing without question the aging process in others, even while finding it hard to accept in myself. Fifty means looking at our rainbow symbol and viewing the colors of diversity in a new light. The soft hues of mellow maturity, the bold bright colors of youth— all are shades of diversity, all are beautiful colors. I went to sleep the other night and I was 50. It was fine. ROOK • Interview with author Jan Clausen p 34 FOUNDERS • jay Brown, Renée LaChance ENTERTAINMENT • Gag-free Furball PUBLISHER • Marty Davis p 35 NEWS EDITOR • Inga Sorensen VIDEO • Young men are focus of documentary ENTER1AINM ENT EDITOR • Will O ’Bryan p 36 COPY EDITORS • Christopher D. Cuttone, SPORTS • In this game, love is for losers p 37 MOSIC • RPM’s monthly CD reviews Will O ’Bryan S1AFF WRITERS • Gip Plaster, Holly Pruett, Rex Wockner CALENDAR EDITOR • Dehhy Morgan CONTRIRUTORS • Michael Barrett, Geoffrey ART DIRECTOR • Rupert Kinnard Bateman, Stephen Blair, Kristine Chatwood, Shona Dudley, Michael Thomas Ford, Tim Joyce, Christopher McQuain, Rosemary Morrow, Boh Roehr, Sarah Swanson, Pat Young PHOTOGRAPHS • K.H. Kimball PRODUCTION • Oriana Green ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Meg Grace ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE • Larry Lewis p 39 DISTRIBUTION • Amy Aycrigg, Kathy Bethel, Ed Carder, Mary Hauer, Lake Perriguey, Marie Price, Jill Simons, Ruth Traut, David Wardell PRODUCTION DIRECTOR • Christopher D. Cuttone ... m i p 38 SHORTS • Social change, one dildo at a time; OUT editor in chief is outta there OFFICE MANAGER • Oriana Green K ■ im SISTRATA V olume 1 No. 15, M ay 11-25, 1984 COLUMNS • Just Out is available, free of charge, after a 25-cents-per- issue price tag is dumped. Reasons for the switch? Homophobia, among others. Seems some readers didn’t feel comfy being spotted purchasing the paper. MY QUEER LIFE • Deconstructing Dr. Laura p 40 TRAVELS WITH BETTY • Road trip journal • The summer entertainment spotlight is on local talent. Sarazan James appears in Robin Lane’s Changing Matter, a production of Do Jump Dance Company. The Northwest premiere of Dos Lesbos, A Pby By, For, and About Perverts, opens June 8 at Judy’s, 1431 N.E. Broadway in Portland. The production stars Carol Steinel and the busy Sarazan James. Faith McDevitt appears in Hollandia '45 at Portland Women’s Theatre Company. p 41 OUTWQRD • Playboy = play, boy P 42 just O u t is published on the first and third Friday of each month. Copyright © 1999 by Just out. No part ot Just out may he repnxluced without written permission from the pub lisher. The submission of written and graphic materials is wel comed. Wntten material shoulJ he typed and double-spaced, just O U t reserves the right to edit for grammar, punctuation, style, liability concerns and length. We will reject or edit arti cles or advertisements that are offensive, demeaning or may result in legal action. Letters to the editor should be limited to 500 words. An nouncements regarding life transitions (births, deaths, unions, etc.) should be limited to 200 words; photos are welcome. Deadline for submissions to the editorial department and for the Calendar is the Thursday 15 days before the next publica tion date. Views expressed in letters to the editor, columns and ' features are not necessarily those of the publisher. The display advertising deadline is the Monday 12 days before the next publication date. Classified ads must be received at the JU U t M l office by J p.m. on the Monday 12 days before the next publication date, along with payment. Ads may he accepted by telephone with VISA or MastetCard payment. Ad policy. No sexually exploitative advertising will be accept«!. Compensation for emits in, or cancellation of, advertising will be made with credit toward future advertising. Subscriptions are $17.50 for 12 issues. Fine Class (in an envelope) is $30 for 12 issues. A copy of JUUt UUt is available <x*r $2. Advertising rates are available upon request. Contact JUUt UUt at PO Box 14400. Portland. OR 97293- 0400; (503) 236-1252, advertising: 236-1253, fax: 236-1257; e-mail: (ustoutO)ustout.com. • The Human Rights Campaign Fund kicks off its 1984 fund-raising drive by encouraging gay men and women nationwide to donate $19.84. • In national news, “Dear Abby” says most gay people don’t have a choice about their sexual orientation and are living their lives without apologies or guilt. • The death of Chester Brinker, a k a Esther Hoffman Howard, the 24th empress of the Imperial Rose Court, is attributed to complications from AIDS. fe a tu r in g j \ I L > S n e v e s a n a l y s i s . Just E n t e r t a i n m e n t , O u t in O r e g o n , O u t A c r o s s the N a tio n . ¿ ... „ r d e n d A H . f e « « /