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
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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