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june 16. 2 0 0 0 '
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“T h e people that refuse to behave and look
the way society expects them to are what creat
ed this movement. 1 think we end up dismiss
ing these folks a lot,” she says. "(Pride] is still
about that for me. 1 don’t know if it’s reflected
in the way we celebrate pride as a city.”
Greg Look and G ene Bunting have been
making a home here since their commitment
ceremony 20 months ago.
T he couple played a “cat and mouse game”
of sorts for several months before their
romance blossomed. Little by little they found
they have a lot in common. Among other
things, both men love animals and living close
to the land.
They say they enjoy city life too and regu
larly visit Portland to see friends, kick up their
heels at country western dances and enjoy
good food. But Look and Bunting can’t wait to
get home to their little comer of the
W illamette Valley whenever they go out of
town.
"1 enjoy being in ‘gay culture,’ but I get
gayed out,” Look explains with a laugh.
T he two men feel that gay guys in cities
sometimes have a narrow view of what life is
about and have little to talk about. For them,
life is full of many things: family (Look has a
daughter), cattle and horses, careers, projects
on their property, travel, and pets.
“Being gay men is not 95 percent of our
life,” Look says.
Both men were once married and have
struggled through divorces and lost dreams;
their similar histories bond them as well. Com
ing out has been a process of small steps for
both, but new dreams are beginning to emerge.
“You earn your place,” Look explains about
how he’s gotten more and more comfortable
being himself.
Anderson grew up in Portland and Boise.
Six years ago, she took a self-defense class that
changed her life, she says, and made her want
to teach one herself. This desire eventually led
to her involvem ent at Bradley-Angle House, a
resource for domestic abuse survivors.
Anderson recently resigned after devoting
four and a half years to the organization, chalk
ing her resignation up to a case of burnout.
Now, with the help of two other women, she
has organized a six-week self-defense course for
plus-sized women.
“Body image is so confusing,” she says. “In a
lot of ways it’s like being queer.”
— KD
G reg L ook and
G ene B unting
pending time at this couple’s small “gen
tlem an’s farm” near Albany is like going
home. It is the kind of place where so
many of us wish we had grown up: ducks in the
yard, horses grazing in the pasture and a basset
puppy waddling up to say hello.
S
TV
r*
/
L L
I
I I V
X I le #
,
garden essentials
f you’re looking for the pride in gay pride,
you need look no further than Portlander
Terri Treat. W hen asked how she feels
about the subject, this woman radi
ates energy, excitement, enthusiasm
and intelligence as she articulately
explains her feelings toward the topic
at hand.
Simply put, Treat loves pride
weekend. Specifically, she feels a
major sense of pride in being part of a
massive group of people— people with
major differences who yet manage to
come together for this celebration of
diversity, accomplishment and
achievement.
This self-described “sentimental
romantic” says pride “is all about
love.” Treat looks forward to hugging
and kissing all day long: old friends,
new friends, people seen all the time,
people seen only now and then.
Treat is especially effusive about
the Dyke March. She attended the
first such event in the ’80s in W ash
ington, D.C., and still relishes the
power of the experience. She is
. ..
The Class of 2000
Jtsl Dii unni Ibr nut (airs ari Hays »( lifr ii u r pnri i ta iiiili
"I love being queer.
It's so easy for
it's all about the lo v e -
love for each other, no
m atter who we a re."
— Terri Trent
Coventry
Cycle ( 1 \ W orks
Tbi Mediation Plot Prograu
wm M
H u to lulp.
W e 're available to help
resolve conflicts o r problem s
at work, in housing,
or public
accom m odation.
Unique garden gifts
and one-of-a-kind art
Confidential consultation
and mediation services are
free of charge.
The City of Portland w ants to help
resolve discrim ination problems.
For more information,
Kyogen and Gyokuko Carlson,
resident teachers
.
T erri T reat
DO YOU THINK YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS
BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY BECAUSE OF BEING
GAY/LESBIAN/BISEXUAL OR TRANSGENOERED?
www.Dharma-Rain.Org
Dharma Rain Zen Center is a Soto Zen
Temple for Lay practice, bringing people
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practice, DRZC offers retreats, classes, intro
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space is shared with groups in the Vipassana.
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* *
FAWHLY
P R IT) F.
I Wmm
Continued on Page 33
zen c e n te r
2539 SE Madison Portland, Oregon 97214
503-239-4846 Fax: 503-239-5217
E-mail. Staff@Dharma-Rain.Org
He first noticed that h e’d progressed when
he met other men still struggling to come to
terms with being gay.
“The more you come out, you work your
way up,” Look says. “And you get healthier and
are around healthier people.”
Bunting and Look are involved in many
activities, including the Human Rights C am
paign. They once hosted a fund-raiser, attended
by Betty DeGeneres, on their hom e’s deck and
invited all their straight neighbors.
They say they often have straight people in
their lives over for dinner. “O ur home is open
to all regardless of orientation. We treat every
one the same,” they say.
“It’s the subtlety that shows our pride,”
Bunting says. “We live a normal life like any
one else.”
The couple say they sometimes show affec
tion to one another out in the yard. They for
get, they say, that they are different and that
someone might have a problem with two men
holding hands on their porch.
“Part of pride is that you forget you’re gay,”
Look says.
-JK
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