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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2002)
iustnn COMMENTARY by M ari ' i l) w i ^ P The IN publication for the OUT population F ounded 1983 • J ay B rown and Vol. 19 N o. 16 R enée L a C hance June 21, 2 0 0 2 FEATURE ON A QUEER DAY.. Good weather and a whole lot of stuff to do drew thousands to Portland Pride 2002 p 28 NEWS NORTHWEST • Gordon Smith’s lousy month » 7-20 NATIONAL • The Coast Guard’s double standard pp 2 3 - 2 5 WORLR • Quebec goes queer PP 2 6 - 2 7 CULTURE MUSIC • You should be dancin' p 41 DOOMS • What Would Betty Do?: fundamentalist Christianity's answer to Martha Stewart »43 CULTURE • The biggest cocktail party of the year moves in on Washington Park P 45 FILM • The Cockettes are back in this tribute to the crazy, hazy traveling road show; Mormonism and homosexuality collide in The Smith Family pp 4 6 - 4 7 PEOPLE • Local boy makes good— John Gress goes from high school student to AP photojoumalist overnight P 48 DIVERSIONS • The Amazon Dragons clean up at the Rose Festival; new Mr. and Miss Pride 2002; new Mr. Oregon Bear and Cub 2002; prom date change; finding intimacy with Tee Corinne; Just Out welcomes you to Vagina Night; LCP’s Tournament of Choice; film festivals we like p 50 WHAT'S POPPIN'T • More sucky war movies p 51 COLUMNS M S. BEHAVIOR • Boinking Betsy; dumping Sherry p 38 LIVING OUT • Queers and cats can’t be changed »52 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARC • Happy Father's Day, Dad p 53 Just out it published on the first and third Fri day of each month. Copyright © 2002 hy Just Out. N o part ot Just Out m;iy he reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The submission of written and graphic materi als Is welcomed. Written material should he typed and dou ble-spaced. Just Out reserves the n^ht to edit for grammar, punc tuation. style, liability concerns and length. We will reject or edit articles or advertisements that are offensive, demeaning or may result in legal action. Letters to the editor 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 submissions to the editorial department and for the Calendar IS the Thursday 1 5 days before the next publication date. Views expresses) in letters to the editor, columns and features are not necessarily those i>f the publisher The display advertising deadline is the Monday 12 days before the next publication date. Classified ads must be received at the Just ( )ul office by 4 p.m. on the Thursday eight days before the next publication date, along with payment. Ads may be placed by telephone or via the Internet with Visa or MasterCard payment. Ad policy: Just Out reserves the right to reject or edit any advertisement. Compensation for error» in, or cancellation of, advertising will be made with credit toward future advertising. Advertising rates ate available upon request. Distribution policy: lust Out us available free of charge, one copy per perxm. Just Out is delivered only to authorized distribu- tots. N o prison may, without prior written permission from Just Out, take more than one copy. Any person who takes more than one copy may be held liable for theft, including Nit not limited to civil damages and/or criminal prosecution. Subscriptions are $22 50 for 12 issues. First Class (in an envelope) is $40 for 12 issues. G in ta c t Just O ut at P.O. Box 14400, Portland, O R 97295-0400; 505-256-1252, advertising 505-256-1255, fax 505-256-1257; e-mail jurtoutNjirttout.com. Visit our Internet site at www.justixit.com. Tickled pink Portland Pride 2002 was a smashing success— but there’s always room for improvement F ramed by a Thursday topping out at a ghastly 97 degrees and a Monday of uncommonly hard rain, the weekend of Portland Pride 2002 shined brightly and splendidly with good weather, good nature and good times. Estimated attendance numbers at the festival and the parade vary from source to source. The Oregonian reported that 500 peo ple marched in the parade; I’m pretty sure, however, that 500 people were in the welcoming congregations contingent alone. A lot of churches sure are interested in our collective souls. The Oregonian favors downplaying the possibility that large colonies of homosexuals actually might he dwelling and breeding in the midst of their fair city. Their minimalist coverage of our weekend consisted of a few paragraphs before the fact, acknowledging Katie Potter as Grand Marshal, and a briefer few paragraphs afterward. Nary a picture was shown. Upward of 20,000 people in one place, and we still didn’t qualify as a photo op. I couldn’t begin to tell you what television coverage we received. 1 was dead to the world by the time the 11 o’clock news came along— and the 10 o'clock, too. he Portland Tribune, on the other hand, showed a yin-and-yang approach to their Pride presence. Prior to the event they advertised that they would he publishing a special “Pride” section and that potential advertisers should hasten to this opportunity to capitalize on the rising economic influence of queer money. Sure enough, their June 14 issue included an eight-page “special pub lication of the advertising department” insert. The front page features an odd, never-before-seen logo of some sort along with the fairly large words “Portland Pride.” In the bottom right are images of what appears to be a “family”— car- toonish images of two adults, two children and, of course, a dog. It’s clearly not a gay family, however, as no Subaru is present. But check this out: The little family figures are totally genderless. No faces. No identity. No nothing. OK, one child has braids; maybe it’s a girl. The parental units, however, are simply molded plastic caricatures. How safe, how neutral. And get this: Nowhere does the words “gay” or “lesbian” appear on the cover. Could it be Polish Pride? Perhaps Pickle Pride or— my guess, as evidenced by the artificial figures— it’s “Plastic Pride.” The Portland Tribune is struggling to find a market share. This paper needs advertiser dollars as well as the goodwill of our community, hut they won’t say “gay” or “lesbian.” This faux acceptance of our community by a mainstream paper is nothing more than greed. There’s no goodwill here— and there’s no celebration of our Pride. Just an accounting of dollars. Don’t buy into this crap. This is not a message of diversity. It’s a mes sage of marketing. efore I go further with my Pride review, let me tell you how we did with the fund raising for Georgena s Journey: A Community Con fronts Multiple Sclerosis. First, math never has been my strong point. 1 overestimated the attendance numbers, I overestimated how many peo ple would make it to our booth, and I greatly underestimated the chaos, confusion and clatter of so many people crowding into the festival area all at once. It can be really dam difficult to stand out and draw atten tion to your booth, your cause, your need, no matter how important, no matter how dire, no matter how hard you try. T B The bottom line is that throughout the weekend we raised $4,222.13 for Georgena Moran. That’s a lot less than I was hoping for, but you know, it’s also $4,222.13 more than we had when we started. Many, many thanks to all of you who stopped by, many thanks to all who contributed. A special thank-you goes to Marc Acito, who really worked that crowd for us and repeatedly passed over handfuls of dollars from his admiring hordes. Thank you, also, to his admiring hordes. I t’s always easier to review an event than it is to plan it. And I’ll admit that when the concept of fencing in the festival area first was pro posed, I wasn’t too enthusiastic about it. But as it turned out, once you were inside, the fence wasn’t even that noticeable. The gates were broad and accessible, and I saw no logjams of incoming festivalgoers. My remaining concern about the fence is simply that it not only keeps queers in but that it keeps others— i.e., nonqueers— out. In past years it’s always been apparent when “the others” strolling through Saturday Market or along the river would wander in. I still want those people to be there. This is, after all, our “Pride.” This is where we showcase our groups, our organizations, our best. We need to be able to present ourselves, proudly, to all who might come hy. This is my concern about the future of the fence. The entertainment was great this year. Margo Tufo brought down the house Saturday night and brought "headliner” quality to the schedule. But the most positive thing I observed about the entertainment was the fact that there were audiences. People sat and listened and appreci ated and responded to the music and the acts. The canopy, table and chairs for the Triangle Stage area were a great improvement and invited people to linger and enjoy. Surely the performers appreciated this. his was my first year to experience the parade route, and my sore and tired feet see definite need for change. The current route is way too long, and large sections have no specta tors— a scene decidedly disheartening to the revved-up parade participant. I understand the reason for the Old Town loop, hut with insufficient vol unteers and monitors to control speed, pace and timing, it’s gotta go. Old Town gay-owned merchants should not feel slighted. It’s not personal. It’s simply not practical to make the route that long. And again, next year we need more spectators. While it’s great that everyone and their dog is in the parade, it’s no fun with no one watch ing. Spectators wanted. Let that be a prevailing theme of promotions for next year. And while I’m making suggestions, could someone please take responsibility for setting up pet-comfort stations along the route? Our furry friends need water— and lots of it. This could be a great marketing opportunity for someone in the pet business. T astly, let’s give credit where credit is due. Congratulations to the Pride Northwest hoard for managing to pull it off another year. My office was the recipient of many an angry phone call from people frus trated about their interactions, or lack thereof, with the organizers. But when all is said and done, a rather amazing feat was accomplished—once again. While praise and thanks are in order, I also ask the board to listen to the community and respond to their needs and wishes. Pride 2002 went off well; now let’s think about how much better 2003 could be if we all just could learn to work together. JP1 L PUBLISHER AND MANAGING D ITO R • Marty Davis NEW S EDITOR • Jim Radosta CULTURE EDITOR • Lisa Bradshaw CONTRIBUTORS • Marc Acito, Kronda Adair, Meryl Cohn, Cheyne Cumming, Rawley Grau, Page Jordan, Michael Wayne Keck, Karen Kudej, Patricia L. MacAodha, Andy Mangels, Christopher McQuain, Gary Morris, Sally Sheklow, Floyd Sklaver, Tom Stevenson, Rex Wockner ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Larry Lewis ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE • Markie Acevedo NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE • Rivendell Marketing Company Inc., 212-242-6863 GRAPHIC DIRECTOR • Kevin Moore PRODUCTION ASSISTANT • Melissa Sayler OFFICE MANAGER • Erin Sexton INTERN • Nadia Cannon DISTRIBUTION • Ed Carder, lan Drake, Ron Geer, Lisa Katona, Kelly Keigwin, Becky Sawyer, Merid Schwartz, Melissa Weigand Pet Comfort Station
