' gay
a cl coming-of*age
assic story told
Gay parenting, Savage style
with the utmost perception,
sensitivity and humor”
- Kevin Thomas. LOS MKHiS IMIS
Not to w orry, becoming a dad
hasn’t dulled Dan’s tongue
by
C sh ea W a lk er
have to admit I’m not an avid reader of Dan
Savage. I’ve only read his sex advice column
a few times, but I do appreciate his brazen
candor. So, while I was eager to read The
Kid (What Happened After My Boyfriend and I
Decided to G o G et Pregnant), I was also worried
that, like many well-intentioned parents before
him, Savage would lapse into sentimental,
over-emotional, our-kid-is-better-than-all-the-
other-kids bullshit.
But early on he allayed my fears: “W hen
you write about kids, convention dictates that
you go all mushy and magical: miracle-of-birth,
new-life-created-out-of-love, proof-of-God’s-
existence, blah blah blah.”
Savage retains all of the brashness and hon­
esty his fans love, while at the same time
revealing his somewhat softer side. “We walked
around a Baby Gap in downtown Seattle later
the same day, admiring cute and inexpensive
kiddie duds probably made by cheap child labor
in far-off sweatshops,” he writes.
A warning for lesbian readers: O ne detour
Savage takes on the road to adoption is his
exploration of shared parenting with lesbian
mothers. In relating this part of his story, Sav­
age accurately and succinctly, yet humorously,
portrays the obvious differences between the
sexes. The rigidly politically correct are likely
to be offended— or entertained in spite of
themselves.
As someone who contemplates future par­
enthood, I eagerly devoured this book and vic­
ariously experienced his emotions. I could also
relate to familiar vignettes of gay life, including
the “younger sibling syndrome” and the ubiqui­
tous question o f what to call your partner.
Whether or not you are a once or future
parent, this book is packed with Savage’s trade­
mark wit and will not disappoint his many
tans. The chapter to
I
M C C PORTLAND PRESENTS
“ D IR E C T F R O M B R O A D W A Y AND
his unborn son is especially a hoot, when he
advises him to “put the book down and slowly
back away from it.” Later he warns his son
what he might learn if he reads on: “how your
other father once looked like Kate Moss with a
dick.”
One of the more interesting ways this kid
has changed the lives of Savage and his partner
is how much explaining and continual coming
out they have to do in order to respond to the
oddity of two men out in public with a baby
and no discernible mother. Questions typically
asked of their preverbal son include: “Are your
baby sitters taking good care of you for
Mommy.7”
As you can tell by the title and the photo
on the cover, the outcome of this story is no
surprise, but the journey to parenthood pro­
vides more than enough to keep those pages
turning.
O T H E R S T R E E T S IN O U R C IT Y !**
Music
CoiviEdy
D rama
D ance
„umipa is wonaerrenp
- Stephen H o i ®
NEW YORK TIMES
’the wisest,
ANd M O R E ...
most thoughtful American film
about queer youth to come along
in a g e s
...erotically charged.
best of all
- Ernest Hardy. L A W EEKLY
DESERT & COFFEE
Saturday, Oct. 9, 1999
Two Fabulous shows:
7:00 & 9:30 pm
ince much of The Kid takes place in Port­
land, Just Out recently spoke to Dan Sav­
age about the book and his upcoming read­
ing here.
Though his partner is quoted in the book as
hating Portland, it is all connected to the fact
that his father died here several years back.
Savage is adamant that he has no ill feelings
about the city: “I love Portland, and we’re
thinking about moving to Portland,” he says.
He is rather less enthusiastic about his deal­
ings with “those dipfucks at Willamette W eek,”
who, Savage claims, dropped his column just
because he questioned the existence of God.
He says he got his revenge at a newspaper con­
vention by stealing a blue ribbon they won for
their promotional ads for his column. The pur­
loined ribbon is now on display in his home.
So, are the dads ready to go
through this again? “DJ is such a
mellow, perfect kid that we’re afraid
if we got a normal baby who cried
all night that we’d smother it,”
Savage confesses. “We feel like our
tolerance for normal humans is
low.”
Yet, when pressed, he admits
they will probably adopt another
child, if only so their son will
have someone to discuss his
weird life with.
When asked how the parent
gig has impacted his relation­
ship with his partner, he offers:
"W e have a lot less sex and we
scream at each other a lot
more— and it’s eliminated
blow jobs from our lives.”
But still, the highs are
higher, and he wouldn’t
return to his previous life
even if he could. He adds: “I
would take the lowest lows of
parenthood any day over
another case of scabies."
S
■ For more heartwarming
observations on fatherhood,
check out D an S avage at
Powell’s Books on Haw-
thorne, 3723 S.E. Haw'
thome Blvd. in Portland, at
7 :3 0 p.m. Sept. 23. For
information, call
(503) 238-1668.
at St. David Episcopal
S.E. Harrison at S.E. 28th Ave.
Portland, OR
Tickets $10 advance
$15 at the door
Priceless if you miss it!
STARTS FRIDAY, SEPT. 17™!
Call (503) 281-8868 for tickets
@ CINEMA 21 ,,lS £ i " t
The most magnificent opera music ever written.
Ravishing costumes and towering sets. An elephant live on stage.
The dramatic sound of 100 voices. The ultimate theatrical experience
5 Performance Already Added! • Ask about special MILLENNIUM MONDAYS
October
2, 4, 6, 8 , 9
Portland Civic Auditorium • 7:30 pm sharp!
FOR TICKETS CALL
(5 0 3 ) 2 4 1 -1 8 0 2 or (5 0 3 ) 7 9 0 -A R T S
T ic ke ts fro m $ 2 5
Tickets also available at all
outlets including GI Joe’s, Meier & Frank, the PCPA
and Portland Opera Box Offices. • www.ticketmaster.com/Oregon
Groups of 10 or More SAVE up to 20% • Cali 241-1407
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