Just out., June 15, 2001, Page 32, Image 32

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and ORGASM (Oregon Guild Activists of
S/M), both now defunct. She was also one of the
original members of the Portland chapter of the
Lesbian and Gay Immigration Rights Task
Force.
Athens has another reason for celebrating
Pride this year. "I’m partnered with a wonderful
woman, Merle Redwing. We registered our
domestic partnership in Multnomah County on
Sept. 1, 2000, the very first day that registration
was available in the county.”
So just what does she do as a leather
princess—or is it prince? “My primary thrust is
to do some fund raising for Pride Northwest and
for Hambleton Project as well as outreach to the
women’s leather community.”
Athens will be marching in the Pride parade,
so be sure to wave. She didn’t reveal what she’ll
be wearing, but you can be sure leather will be
involved.
She’ll be marching with Blackout Leather
Productions, a nonprofit organization that
bestows titles and does educational events. “Last
year during Leather Pride we did a workshop on
getting legal documents together.”
Athens notes that Leather Pride again will
be held in early August, with an erotica show at
Embers Avenue as well as the 2001 contest to
select new titleholders. "It’s really been a great
year, and I hope to see more people come out
and compete.”
You’ll have another chance to meet Athens
from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. June 23 during a
CYD ATHENS
Women’s Play Party at the Ascension Dungeon.
The event is smoke-free and accessible; the $10
eet Cyd Athens, the reigning Ms. Oregon admission benefits the Hambleton Project.
State Leather, who has a long history with
To attend the party you must be 21 or older
Pride events, although she says her feel­ and have identification. To learn more, write to
ings about them have evolved through the
Athens at eclectic@mailandnews.com.
years.
—Oriana Green
“I’m almost 44, and I came out when I was
13, the year after Stonewall,” she recalls. “I was
in Chicago at the time; when I came out it was © PATRICK "BUTTERCUPP”
just called the gay community.”
BARTLEY
Over time Athens watched as lesbians,
bisexuals, then trans and beyond were added to
t’s easy to stereotype what gay men look
the name of the increasingly inclusive event.
like. At 6-foot-4 and 295 pounds,
For her, “It’s a lot different now...it’s become so
Patrick “Buttercupp” Bartley breaks
standardized...the younger generation doesn’t those stereotypes.
have a good appreciation of how big a deal it is.”
“People always tell me: ‘You can’t be gay.
In 1971 she attended her first—and still her You’re so big.’ ”
favorite—Gay Pride celebration. “It was in Min­
Well, he is—and he’s as proud of his queer­
neapolis, not a very big crowd, and I was a ness as he is of his size. “It’s nice to be able to
minor. There were no youth groups back then,” help people realize and understand that us gay
she remembers, adding it wasn’t always easy to boys come in all shapes and sizes.”
identify other gay kids. “You did your secret sig­
Bartley moved to Portland in 1993 from
nals. . .trying not to get beat up. This isn’t some­ American Samoa, a Polynesian island about
thing to take for granted.”
5,000 miles south of Hawaii. He says the people
In the ’80s Athens was involved with Port­ there are surprisingly open and accepting of
land Power and Trust, a women’s leather group, homosexuals.
FAMILY
M
Still, he didn’t come out until Ellen
DeGeneres inspired him in 1997. “I was tired of
living a lie. Ellen came out and didn’t care about
the money, the publicity or what anyone
thought. That inspired me and made me feel
like I could be myself as well.”
Now at 26, Bartley has become more com­
fortable and confident as a young gay man. “To
me, gay pride is about being proud of who you
are, not what you are.”
Working as the head bouncer and weekend
bartender at Embers Avenue, Bartley says he
does have one problem with the gay communi­
ty. “I think that we as gay people need to edu­
cate ourselves on acceptance. We are always
yelling for acceptance from others, yet we can’t
even do it ourselves. We judge heterosexuals
and especially each other, losing sight of the fact
that we are all a big family."
Bartley says of Portland Pride festivities, “It’s
a time to celebrate those who have paved a path
for us...a day to honor those who helped to get
us to where we are today.” To do his part, he will
be volunteering for the third time at Peacock in
the Park, an annual scholarship fund-raiser.
“The first year I worked on sets. We worked
long hours and were getting a total of six hours’
sleep a week. It was so tough, and I thought I’d
never do it again. But when you see the kids get
their scholarships, it makes it all worthwhile.”
This year he will be helping out with securi­
ty for the second time. “We have a few problems
every year, but normally things run pretty
smooth.”
He says Peacock is one of his favorite events
of the year. “It’s a time to get together, be a fam­
ily and donate money for some deserving kids to
go to school.”
—Michael Wayne Keck
Raized Printing
** A 4y people!” Paul Findlay exclaimed
1*1 when he arrived at his first Gay Pride
I I celebration in 1989 in San Jose, Calif.
“Then I panicked.”
The first person Findlay spied was a co-work­
er from his uptight Republican corporate job. “It
took me a few moments to realize she was a les­
bian,” he remarks.
But moments later he’d been introduced to
all of his lesbo-rific co-workers, who in turn
introduced him to oodles of men. “1 went home
with my pockets overflowing with phone num­
bers,” he says, smiling broadly at the memory.
Surrounding himself with oodles of gay men
seems to be a theme for Findlay. If there’s a
secret formula to achieving these ends, maybe
he’s figured it out.
About 100 men surround Findlay when he
sings bass with the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus.
In addition, he volunteers about 20 hours a
week as the marketing and public relations
director for the group.
“It’s a true family—all kinds of people are
there for all kinds of reasons,” Findlay says.
“Some people go there for community, some go
as part of the coming-out process—and some
people go there looking to find a husband.”
But Findlay points out that the chorus is
more than just a social get-together. Fundamen­
talist Christian picketers sometimes try to
thwart the group’s concerts.
“We’re ambassadors for the gay community,”
Findlay says. “The chorus is important to me
because it helps move the perception of the gay
community.”
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