out
stayed overnight. Not only did we feel secure in
our safety on-site, everyone we came into con
tact with was just plain nice. This was my first
pride event, and I am grateful to have come into
contact with such great people.
1 especially want to thank Dana Rosenlund
and the security crew, as well as the Just Out
folks for lending a hand with our set up. We real
ly appreciate the positive reception we had and
a great experience. Thanks again.
D ebra P orta
Portland
Olympian gratitude
To the E ditor :
Thank you for seeing that Olympia receives
Just Out. we can’t get the Seattle gay paper in
Olympia.
As the result of a story in Just Out about The
M ost Fabulous Story Ever Told {“The Gay-den of
Eden,” June 2J, a friend of mine from Tacoma
and I are coming to Portland to see the play.
I just wanted to let you know it pays to get
your papers to Olympia.
O lynude
Olympia, W ash.
Had a permit
To the E ditor :
I want to make a correction to Katy David
son’s recent story about the Lesbian Avengers
organizing the Dyke March {“Avengers in
A ction,’’ June 2J.
As the coordinator for this year’s Dyke
March, 1 can say that the Lesbian Avengers did,
indeed, have a permit for this march. 1 have
been involved in the last four D/ke Marches,
and we have had permits for all of them. We also
plan on having permits for future years.
Why is this? Are we not as badass as our
Avenger sisters in New York, Boston, D.C. or
San Francisco? Well, my personal opinion is
that in Portland— with a gun-and-baton-happy
police force that loves to go nuts on peaceful
protesters— it is our responsibility to keep dykes
safe from this kind of brutality during the Dyke
March. Rest assured, the Lesbian Avengers do
enough fun, illegal activities the rest of the year
to keep us busy.
It is especially important for me to make this
july 7. 2000 ' J u s t m at. 5
correction after being notified that our alleged
lack of a permit was brought up at a Sexual
Minorities Roundtable meeting, by none other
than a board member of Pride Northwest. Is
there a connection between this rumor and the
Dyke March being left out of the Pride NW pro
gram for pride weekend? W hile I regret that this
misinformation was spread this year, I don’t
seem to recall any year in which the Dyke
March was printed in Pride Northwest’s sched
ule. Although I am not sure whether this is
because it is not sponsored by Pride Northwest
(strange, exclusive policy!) or if the Dyke March
is too political (what are you angry dykes yelling
about now? You should he at the waterfront
dancing!), it saddens me that queer women
missed the march because of a fear of being
arrested or worse.
S arah B arnard
Portland
Bitching about ‘Barbie 9
To the E ditor :
The recent cover article “Bigger Than Bar
bie, Stronger Than Ken” {June 2], was one of the
more biased articles that I have ever read in Just
Out. The author, rather than actually analyzing
body image issues in the queer female commu
nity, managed to build more stereotypes.
I am a queer woman and a femme. I enjoy
wearing lipstick and dresses, and I shave my legs.
In fact, I know many queer women like me and
I also know many women who love to date
femmes. However, I don’t wear lipstick because
someday 1 will run off with a man, and butch
women don’t date me because men look at me.
I know that there are women who, like Andy
and Theresa, think I’m “still catering to men.”
Thankfully, they are only a small segment of our
community.
Because of the pressures of the queer com
munity, I tried to be butch when I first came out.
It didn’t kx>k at all natural, and through a lot of
struggle I accepted that I look and am more
comfortable as a femme. Yes, I do lcxtk like your
average straight girl. But, because of that, I feel
that it is my responsibility to be as out as I can.
So I am out at work and to my family, my part
ner is on my health insurance, I have rainbow
stickers all over my car and I’m active in the
queer community. I am not trying to pass.
Where was my voice in this article? Where
were the voices of other femmes and lovers of
femmes? By chtx'jsing the quotes that she did,
the author effectively silenced the other side of
the story. This is not how I want my communi
ty to operate.
M anya S horr
Portlarui
To the E ditor :
Gay women of Portland, LIGHTEN UP! I
was stunned to read “Bigger than Barbie.” Why,
oh why, are we still discussing makeup, hair
length, shaving issues and, most offensive of all,
this whole notion of “passing"?
I’m a 28-year-old gay woman who’s been out
for about seven years, and frankly I can’t believe
that women out of high school are even strug
gling with these issues. What happened to the
goal of just being yourself? We don’t have to
“pass” for anything, and we don’t have to make
statements about our sexuality every time we
step out of the door. Guess what? No one cares.
Not everything we do has to he a reaction to
straight or male “culture.”
Aren’t we supposed to be trying to live
happy, well-adjusted and (forgive me here) nor
mal lives? Why is it so horrible to be women, to
be different than men, to be pretty? I don’t get
it. The article reads like a long teen-age letter to
a parent explicitly pointing out that “you’re not
the boss of me!”
I’m so tired of hearing that I’m not a real les
bian unless I stop fussing over my appearance,
drop the lipstick, and put on a comfier pair of
sandals. And I’m tired of being pressured to
make every footstep a giant leap for lesbian-
kind. Sometimes it’s OK to relax and just be.
C arrie C ole
Portland
In praise of ‘Barbie 9
To the E ditor :
The “Bigger than Barbie” article helped me
iO re-evaluate some of my attitudes and to look
at potential partners in a more open-minded
manner. Thanks for writing about this subject
matter.
G ilda R osen
Portland
Capital concurrence
~|r?"]nr)C'n ^■ee^nS from the harsh blow of a personal
¿J
betrayal, Just Out’s reporter set out in
search of honest answers to life’s tough questions. (Whatever!) Play along at
home now: “Have you ever said, *1 love you,’ without really meaning it?”
N ancy A shman
Portland
Social rebel
“At the time that 1
said 1 love you, 1
mean it.... But I
might not mean it
later...”
B ecky B ilyeu
Portland
Owner, Touchstone
C offee House
"No, love is not a
word I take lightly.”
To the E ditor :
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! to Jeff Cook for writing about the sad
state of our so called “community” (Speak Out,
June 2]. All I have to say is “I AGREE, I
AGREE, I A G REE.” If gay men were any shal
lower, they’d be urinals.
M. B igai
Portland
Commentary comments
To the E ditor :
D eborah N.
Portland
Brutally honest person
A my M c I ntosh
Portland
New to Portland
“No. I’ve never
faked an orgasm
either.”
“I’ve always meant
it. It’s a powerful
phrase. I do, however,
love different people
at different levels.”
I just read your editorial (“No Rainbow Flags
Here,” June 16] and was touched by your sincer
ity around wanting to discuss and understand
economic issues.
I missed the last editorial where you put your
foot in your mouth, hut I’ll find a copy and read
it. I also read the letter from the reader that ttxtk
issue with your previous article.
Rage is such a small word to describe what I
feel around race and class (economic) issues.
Powerlessness, sadness, exclusion, frustration,
righteous superiority because I “get it.” Each one
of these emotions are walls between us.
1 am Samoan, I was raised by my Anglo
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TO R E Í R E s h
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M EM ORy