ummmìnews
J ackson R ecall E ffort
U nder W ay
I I ortland Public Schools hoard member Derry
i Jackson might be on his way out of office.
Now that he is six months into his term, recall
efforts can proceed.
Portland writer Jeff Muir announced Jan. 2
that he plans to form a political action commit
tee to kick Jackson off the board. A total of
20,000 signatures are required to place a recall
initiative before voters.
In addition to widely reported anti-Semitic
and anti-gay comments Jackson made last year,
he owes $5,510 in property taxes. He also was
cited for having an open alcohol container in
his vehicle in 1994 and was charged with men
acing after his wife told police he assaulted her
in 1998.
Muir launched the Internet site www.
dumpderry.org last summer, when the controver
sy peaked. He told KGW-TV, “After he made the
anti-Semitic remarks, the focus was on him, and
we discovered all these other things, which are
more than reason enough to seek his recall.”
but to raise awareness and visibility. Similar
actions
have been held in Ann Arbor, Mich.,
û
and Boston.
“This is not just a play; this is a movement,”
Koyama says. “1 want to make sure that it accu
rately reflects intersex experience.”
Koyama’s efforts seem to be paying off:
When The Vagina Monologues plays next month
at Portland State University, she will be able to
set up an informational table and to insert the
fliers into the programs. Promoters also have
agreed to write a letter to Ensler and to donate
some of the proceeds to Intersex Initiative Port
land and the Survivor Project.
For more information visit the Internet site
www.isna.org.
S alem C ivil R ights C ode
R evisions C onsidered
ary Renfro, Salem Human Rights and Rela
tions Advisory Commission vice chairman,
received confirmation last month that changes
to the Civil Rights Code will be going to the
City Council during its meeting 6:30 p.m.
Jan. 28 at 555 Liberty St. S.E. These revisions
will add sexual orientation, gender identity and
source of income to protected classes.
The public will be able to comment on any
topic if they sign up prior to the start of the
meeting. Renfro says the council likely will
accept the revisions, send them to city staff for a
report and set a date for public hearings.
C
Emi Koyama (right) hands out fliers
Dec. 27 as people flock into the Portland
Center for the Performing Arts; playgoers
buy buttons from demonstrators (inset)
I ntersex A dvocates
E ducate P laygoers
hree intersex advocates held an education
al outreach in conjunction with opening
night of The Vagina Monologues Dec. 27 on the
sidewalk in front of the Portland Center for the
Performing Arts.
At issue is a segment of the popular play in
which writer Eve Ensler tells “a wonderful vagi
na fairy tale” she heard in Oklahoma City. The
monologue involves a father consoling his 14-
year-old daughter, who just has learned she was
l
bom without a vagina.
“We’re gonna get you
the best homemade
pussy in America,” he
tells her. “And when you
meet your husband he’s
gonna know we had it
made specially for him.”
Emi Koyama— one
of only two paid intersex
activists in the world—
calls Monologues fun and
insightful but says this
particular segment is
misleading. She helped
hand out 350 fliers ex
plaining the condition,
which is known as vagi
nal agenesis.
T
Koyama works for the Intersex Society of
North America, which seeks to end shame,
secrecy and unwanted genital surgeries on chil
dren. She notes the segment also suggests that
women’s bodies are made solely for husbands
and that they should be altered to match what
men desire.
“Many intersex people who saw the play
found this monologue— and the roomful of
laughter following it— hurtful if not outright
offensive,” Koyama says. “We went home
feeling sick or in tears, while all other women
talked to each other endlessly about how
empowered they felt.”
According to Koyama, the goal of the out
reach was not to protest The Vagina Monologues
For more information call 503-363-6036 or
503 - 588 - 6261 .
Continued on Page 9
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