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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2002)
march 15. 2002 » justrnn COMMENTARY by M a r t y D a v is i ^ P The IN publication for the OUT population F o u n d e d 1 9 8 3 • J ay B r o w n Vol. 19 N o. 10 and R enee L a C hance March 15, 2 0 0 2 FEATURE THE ABCS OF B /O /S /M l Everything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask. P 24 N E WS NORTHWEST • New faces at Basic Rights Oregon pp 7-19 NATIONAL • Gay murder in California pp 20-21 WORLD • Trans activists mobilize in Venezuela PP 22-23 CULTURE THEATER • The good, the bad and the ugly p 34 CROUPS • The Portland Lesbian Choir celebrates 15 years p 35 BOOKS • Dusty Springfield biography confirms she was a total dyke P 37 THEATER • Hate opera? Read this p 38 SPORTS • Portland lesbian kicks butt on the raquethall court P 39 FILM • Lots of pretty pictures this month pp 40-41 DIVERSIONS • Trouble at Clinton Street Theater; Dante’s cabaret; Dyke Night Portland; gender- bending at the Closet Ball; John Trudell is good for the soul; free food in Hood River pp 44-45 COLUMNS M S . BEHAVIOR . Do not process! Ms. Behavior warns p 44 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO M ARC • The Great Boinking Boycott revisited P 45 SPECIAL EATING OUT • Let someone else cook tonight A tale of unrequited luve Eugene, are you there? he first signs of spring have arrived in the Pacific North west. Daffodils are in full bloom, hail and thunderstorms abound, and the voice personal ad lines busily are hum ming to the tunes of “Let’s Get Together”— or whatever that thing is people have on their mind in the spring. Soft- ball jocks happily take to muddy fields and rained-out practices, and les bians and dogs abound at Kelley Point Park. As the seasonally unpredictable storm fronts approach, business own ers across our region also are assessing and taking stock of the damage caused by the effect of harsh activities of the similarly punitive econom ic fronts. Like evaluating damage after a windstorm, many small-busi ness owners arc pondering where they are, where they would rather he and what it will take to stay afloat. Just Out is no exception to those businesses that struggle to provide jobs for employees, pay hills in a timely fashion and, in our specific case, offer a valuable asset for the community. Although we have managed to hold out fairly well during the past six months of turbulent times in the advertising industry, daily decisions still must he made as to how to achieve and maintain viability as a business. How do we best serve our readers and our advertisers while observing at least the most minimal rules of common sense in good business practices? Which brings me right smack dab to the question of Eugene, that fair city 100 or so miles south of Portland. Eugene, Eugene, Eugene, the enigmatic city— Eugene, are you there? In a nutshell, here is my dilemma. Just Out spends in excess o f $15,000 a year to distribute a free paper to Eugene. In business parlance, my return on investment in this venture is zero. Zero as in nada, none, zilch. Just Out has no advertising base in Eugene. We receive no support from businesses, presumably some of which are gay-owned or gay- friendly. After the Register-Guard and Eugene Weekly, my guess is that Just Out is the third most distributed paper in the Eugene area— hut to what avail? We have worked diligently to increase distribution and make our publication available. We are aware Eugene has no other gay paper. We are attempting to fill this void. But are you reading Just Out in Eugene? We receive no letters to the editor. We can’t get anyone there to submit a voice personal ad. Are there no single people in Eugene? Doesn’t anyone sell houses, rent rooms, look for dates, organize events, plan meetings or hire employees? Is there a gay, lesbian, hi and trans community in Eugene? In January, Eugene Weekly columnist Jerry Harris compared Eugene to San Francisco: “Even the gays and lesbians are different from our community. In Eugene they seem to he afraid of parading it— but not in San Francisco. I sat in a gay bar in Castro Valley and they were the most open people I met in the Gay City. Here? They seem like Mormons.” Eugene, are you cloistered like Mormons, or even more puzzling, how do you justify calling yourself “Provincetown of the West” (as noted on a recent e-mail notice from Soromundi, the Lesbian Chorus of Eugene)? Where’s your energy, your vibrancy, your organization, your heart, your soul— and why are you keeping it hidden from Just Out ? Are we dismissed as being “Portland’s paper” ? Are we being ignored without even effort on your part to work together? In the past few months Just Out has made a concerted effort to increase our coverage of Willamette Valley events, leaders, groups and organizations. We haven’t received one iota of acknowledgment that this has been appreciated or even noticed by Eugenians. So, why am I spending my money to haul a free paper clear down to the other end of the damn val ley? For the money I spend on printing and delivery I could hire a part-time reporter and increase my depth of coverage in Portland. For that same amount of money I could sponsor more events and activities and increase efforts to be a positive force in the community. For that money I could invest in a sustained and viable future for Just Out. Portlanders, this affects you, too. What do you think about this dilemma of mine? It’s Portland advertisers who are subsidizing the costs of distributing Just Out in Eugene. Do you see value in reading about people and events outside our immediate area? Is Just Out on the right track in trying to be “all things to all people” statewide, or would Portland advertisers and readers be better served by maintaining focus on the Rose City? This is our “Just Asking" question for this issue, and I really would like to hear what you might have to say on this topic. Financial implications aside, I know the from-my-heart-and-not-the- balance-sheet answer to my own question. The answer lies within those like the young student who spent an afternoon recently job shadowing with us. A high school senior whose parents rejected her upon learning she was gay. A young woman who now lives away from home and family because she had the courage to be honest. This teen-ager and others like her must always know they can find help, friends and support in the pages of Just Out — and that’s why we continue to take the paper to Eugene. It’s for all those who are hurting and searching and questioning. And although it might sometimes seem many others don’t care about or need us, we want to be there for those who do. j n Where's your energy, your vibrancy, your organization, your heart, your soul— and why are T you keeping it hidden from Just O ut? PLEASE NOTE: March has five Fridays, so the next issue of Just Out uxm’t hit the streets until April 5— an interval of three weeks rather than two. pp 36-37 .... '.......— .. ^ JUST FRIENDS • Free voice personal ads vol * pp 45-46 Ju st ou t ii pu b lish ed on the first an d th ird F ri day of each m onth. Copyright © 2002 by Just Out. N o p m • An effort is under way to breathe life back into the foundenng Lesbian Community Project, a Portland- based organization saddled with a $25.000 debt. Com e April 1, longtime activist and author Suzanne Pharr will become a staff member. nt /iot ( )nt m.iy lx- reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The su b m ission o f w ritten an d g rap h ic m ateri a l* i* w elcom ed. Written tnnteml should be typed mid dou ble-spiced. Just C bit reserves the right to edit for gr.imm.ir, portc- tuntion. style, liuhility concerns ,ind length. We will reject or edit .micles or advertisements that are offensive, demeaning or may result in legal action. Letter* to the ed ito r should be limited to 500 words. A n nouncements regarding life transitions (births, deaths, unions, etc.) should be limited to 200 words; photos are welcome. Dead line for *u b m i**io n * to the editorial department and for the C alendar is the Thursday 15 days before the next publication date. Views expressed in letters to the editor, columns and features are not necessarily those of the publisher, Tlie d isp la y a d v e rtisin g d ead lin e is the Monday 12 days before the next publication date. C lassified a d s must be received at the Just C hit office by 4 p m. on the Thursday eight days before the next piblication slate, along with payment. Ails may be placed by telephone or via the Internet with Visa or M astetGttd payment. Ad policy: lust Out reserves the right to reject or edit any ash-ertisement. Compensation for errors in, or cancellation of, advertising will be made with credit towanl future advertising. Ailvertising rates are available u p in request. D istribution policy: fust ( >ut is available free of charge, one- copy p-r p-rson. fust Out is delivered only to authorized distribu tors N o jx-tson may, without prior written p-rmission from Just Out, take more than one copy. Any p-rson who takes more than one copy may be held liable for theft, including but not limited to civil ikimagn ansl/or criminal pmsecution. Subscriptions ire $22.50 for 12 issues. Fust Class (in an envelop-) is $40 for 12 issues. C o n ta ct Just O ut at P.O. Box 14400, Portland, O R ^72^1 0400, 501-216-1252, advertising 501-2)6-1255, fax 401 2 )6-1257; e-mail iiM ixit6 jtM n u t.co m . V isit ix ir Internet site at www justixit.com. • Longtime activist Jean Hams has been named the new executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, the succes sor organization to the No on 13 Campaign. Citing a need for more “balance“ in her life, former head Julie Davis officially stepped down from the post Dec. 31 and since has moved to San Francisco. • Oregon Sen Marylin Shannon, R-Salem, has intro duced a second measure designed to prohibit equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. The legislation, Senate Joint Resolution 17, is a proposed state con stitutional amendment defining mamage as the union between a man and woman. It also says same-sex mamages performed elsewhere will not be recog nized in Oregon. PUBLISHER ANO MANAGING EDITOR! • Marty Davis NEWS BUTOR • Jim Radosta CULTURE EDITOR • Lisa Bradshaw CONTRIBUTORS • Marc Acito, Kronda Adair, Meryl Cohn, Darklady, Susan Detroy, Shanna Germain, Timothy Krause, Sarah Leimert, Patricia L. MacAodha, Christopher McQuain, 14 no . 10, M arch 21,1997 « • Donations for Cabbage Lane Land Trust needed to make the final land payment to secure Cabbage Lane, 80 acres of forested wilderness near Wolf Creek in southern O re gon, the Land Trust needs 100 women to donate at least $13 each. The end is in sight! • The Portland G ay Men s Chorus performs Prayers for Bobby at its spring concert March 21 featuring soloist Margie Boule. • Portland Bisexual Alliance m eets March 28 to plan Bi 2000. a project to bring together 2,000 bisexuals in the year 2000. • First Tuesday Coffeehouse on April 1 features Portland favorites Gwen Thomas and Terri Grayum plus Karen Harding. • A series of three Portland gatherings titled "Community Convocations" kicked off March 4 with a presentation by Yale law professor Harion Dalton, author of Radical Heal ing:• Confronting the Fear Betw een Blacks and Whites. Gary Morris, Hadley Scott, Glenn Williams, Rex Wockner ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Meg Grace ADVERTISING REPRESBUIXTIVES • Markte Acevedo, Larry Lewis NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE • Rivendei! Marketing Company Inc., 212-242-6863 GRAPHIC DIRECTOR • Kevin Moore PRODUCTION ASSISTANT • Melissa Sayler OFFICE MANAGBI • Melissa Sayler DISTRIBUTION • Ian Drake, Ron Geer, Rick Geiger, Kelly Keigwin, Becky Sawyer, Merid Schwartz, Melissa Weigand, Carla Wright 3
