Just out., June 07, 2002, Page 26, Image 26

liiina 7. 2QQ2
26
T h e y 're h e re , th e y 're q u e e r, g e t to k n ow th e m
T obin B ritton
hen Tobin Britton moved here from Seat-
i tie about eight years ago, she immediate­
ly became familiar with the leather scene. A
member o f Portland Leather Alliance, Blackout
Leather Productions, Bad Girls and the Rose
City Discussion Club, the 31-year-old entered
the Oregon State Ms. Leather competition last
year, and darned if she didn’t win.
Now, you know how the circuit works, right?
You win at state and go straight on to nationals.
So Britton found herself in Washington, D.C.,
last April running for American Leatherwoman
2002, the only specifically gay and lesbian
leather competition in the country. And darned
if she didn’t win.
W hen they announced as first runner-up the
contestant Britton thought might win the title,
she was sure she hadn’t placed. “I had already
done that thing in my head,” she recalls. “ ‘O h,
you know, you did your best.’ And then they
called my name and 1 went, ‘W hat?!’ ”
From there, it got a little overwhelming. “Peo­
ple rushed the stage...it was crazy. I found out
what celebrities go through,” she laughs. “1 never
imagined I’d he standing on a stage with thou­
sands of bulbs going off in my face and people
shoving their hands in mine and giving me
cards.... There was a line of people waiting to
congratulate the new ‘family.’ It took me 45 min­
utes to get offstage.”
That family feeling, though, is what keeps Brit­
ton in the community. “All the people I’ve met so
far have been positive and supportive of my beliefs
and the things that I’m into...the straight world
and even some of the gay and lesbian community
have this really false idea (ahoutj the leather com­
Tobin Britton
pain
sp&incs
— Lisa B radshaw
M elissa B rown
T
j
he Portland-area queer community should
breathe a sigh of relief. Melissa Brown, stu­
dent, forensics team member, mom, sister, partner
and future lawyer is busy changing hearts and
minds one life at a time.
She has been studying political science at Mt.
Hixxi Community College and soon will transfer
to Reed. She reports being “totally stoked” about
the her acceptance and plaas to continue on to
law schcxil. “I realize lawyers are the pariahs of our
stKiety, hut I am in love with the process of law
and the ideals of the system.”
It makes sense that a woman in love with
debate would he attracted to criminal defense,
civil liberties and civil rights law. T he challenge
of preparing an argument from one’s own hank
of knowledge in a short amount of time, and on
trol over, is “inherently satisfying” to Brown.
“It’s a game of wits, and I hate to lose!”
W hen Brown isn’t stepping up to the ptxli-
um, she’s busy with her three daughters, ages 7, 9
and 11; her partner of four years; and her 19-
year-old sister, who lives with them. Lesbian par­
enting is an ongoing challenge for the couple,
who ixcasionally have to make judgment calls
_
Melissa Brow n
about how much explaining they should do to
their daughter’s friends about their relationship.
“While we have no shame or desire to hide any­
thing, you have to wonder if you will totally freak
out some kid...or their parents...and have some
inadvertent negative consequence for your own
child," Brown says. However, her children are
growing up learning important lessons about differ­
ence, acceptance and varying belief systems.
Brown grew up in a family where those mes­
sages were mixed. “My stepfather was vocally
homophobic,” she says.
Luckily, Mom was accepting. “My mother is
incredible! She has been tremendously supportive
and in fact seems to be much more approving of
the choices I’ve made in my life since coming out."
And those choices, along with family sup­
port and a strong sense of self, have made Melis­
sa Brown a valuable asset to our community. “I
realize my contribution needs to be living my
life without shame or fear and with a sense of
honesty. As a lesbian, as a mother, as a student
or at work, I need to be myself and show the
world that I am no different than anyone else.”
— Erin Sexton
YWCA CamjHHes
drive with Pride
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munity. They think it’s all about kinky sex and all
of the horrible things we do to one another,” she
smiles, “but.. .there’s a lot that goes on. We do a lot
of good for the gay and lesbian community and
even the straight world; they just don’t know it.
We’re activists— out there fighting for everybody’s
sexual preferences and identities.”
Britton will travel around now representing her
title, leading discussions and offering workshops.
So what’s left after you’re the Am erican
Leatherwoman? W ell, there’s Ms. World and
International Ms. Leather; Britton will wait
and see how she feels about tackling those later.
“If I keep going this way, I’ll have a title every
year,” she laughs. “Which would he cool.”
e all might fit under that oft-used
umbrella term “queer,” but we’re all very
different indeed. W e’d like to introduce
you to some folks who remind us of the
diversity of our happy little family.
HamnÌÌIIT
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