4 Ju st OMt ' august 2.2002
^33713 out
A big fat lie
Elise Campbell, gri , abr
To the E ditor :
It's
th a t
S im p le !
\
C all Today!
Thank you, Elite! We loved w orking with you. Not
only did you do a great job locating houses to show us
that fit our tastes, but you were also a lot of fun to spend
a Saturday with. You m ade everything go sm oothly and
easily and all we had to do was show up where you told
us to. We couldn't be happier in our new hom e.”
503 - 296-3875
Email - Elise@Realtor.com
Web - http://EliseCampbell.Realtor.com
bender,
properties
-Sincerely, Kali and Tara
503 - 232-3600
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A arc Acito, you just don’t get it. Your latest
I V JL gospel is just another advertisement for
Madison Avenue and the whole self-loathing, cyn
ical judgment culture (‘‘Weighty Matters,” July 19j.
Weight is a complicated matter involving
genetics, food processing, labor issues (do you have
time to make and digest a healthy meal for lunch?),
our lack of leisure time (what artistic, social, con
nected time do you have to sacrifice to make it to
the gym three times a week?), our lack of holistic
approaches to life and our cultures twisted views
(including yours) of what makes people beautiful.
If you were tying weight loss to health, we
wouldn’t be quite so pissed off. You still would he
wrong, though.
Many people are fat and are as healthy as
they can he. Ivar, whose ancestors come from
the Russian steppes, might have a different-
looking healthy than Suky, whose ancestors
come from Okinawa. It’s just the way diversity
works. G et used to it.
But this isn’t your argument. Your diatribes
tie weight loss to beauty and sexiness. And this
is why bears and others are growling at you.
Attraction is an individual’s specific taste.
There are many, many people in the world who
find big men and big women sexy and exciting
and vibrant.
I find it interesting that you want to he played
by Robert Downey Jr. or Matthew Broderick and
not by Harvey Fierstein. Besides the Freudian
implications here (do you hate being gay?),
there’s the notion that Fierstein is somehow
embarrassing in his appearance. (“Look at the fat
queer! Aren’t you glad you’re not like him?”)
And it’s even more damaging coming from
you because you do not have a weight issue. You
were not fat before you lost weight.
Your self-loathing reeks o f the rant of
anorexics and bulimics who worry about their
dangly arms and big bellies. You mock people
with serious weight issues.
Worst of all is your use o f the word “normal.”
Do you fail to see the irony? W hat is a “normal
weight,” Marc?
Are you going to he the one to tell us what
normal is? Maybe you can tell us what a normal
voice sounds like. Or normal eye color, skin color
or, hey, tell us what normal sexual behavior is.
Just for a moment, think, Marc, just think what
kind of message you’re sending to young people (let
alone the rest of us) out there: That love is condi
tional on the size and shape of your body. That
acceptance is only for the “normal.” That it’s all
right to scorn someone based on what they look like.
You say, “If I can do it, anyone can.” Well,
statistically speaking, that’s a lie. A big fat lie.
And it’s time we put these lies away and start
accepting and loving ourselves no matter what
size, shape, color, gender or anything else we are.
Fat is fine. Fat is beautiful. If you can’t accept
people as they are, then you’re in the wrong
damn community.
G lenn W illiams
Portland
Bear attack?
To the E ditor :
our humorist, Marc Acito, included in part of
his column called “Weighty Matters” that
“Some bears even growled at me during Gay Pride.”
T he implication was that the bears were
heavy men and that they took offense to his
announcement o f losing 60 pounds. In my opin
ion, M arc’s vision is a hit defensive.
Perhaps this is justified in the case of the
growling hears, hut for entirely alternate reasons!
If Marc were not so wrapped up in the sheer
weight of his position, he would have realized the
hears growling at him might have been doing so
for, how shall 1 say, more carnal reasons?
First off, I notice he has a little Vandyke
grown on his face. Most hears respond favorably
to a show of facial hair.
Also, Marc is a man of a smaller build, which
some hears find very attractive in a “cub.” If he
found the growling demeanor a bit threatening,
I would like to add that some bears enjoy a little
love nip, and so this overt aggression could have
been a courtship stance.
S o yes, Marc, a defensive reaction might
have been justified, and in many experts’ opin
ions, a genuine hear attack can he averted by
assuming the fetal position. I would recommend
a big hug for the two-legged variety, though. .
Y
R andy H ogue
Oregon Bears Founder and Past Board Member
The last w ord
To the E ditor :
1
attend church to hear G o d ’s word (“Church
Bans Anim al Rights A dvocate,” July 5].
Vegetarian menus welcome all— to eat vege
tarian dishes. I haven’t ever found steak on a
pizza menu. A s a member of Metropolitan C om
munity Church o f Portland, 1 enjoy being wel
comed— to hear G o d ’s word. Everybody is wel
come— unless, of course, you don’t want to!
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Now that O regonians won’t have to battle an
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And most of my friends who are gay have had to
face physical intimidation, too. The places we turn
to for help and escape don’t have enough money to
provide (or keep providing) the resources we need
and are in danger of dying out. Queer youth are the
gay future, and we need to be able to flourish.
he focus should he turned to queer youth.
We don’t have to worry about queer kids
facing legal hatred, but the hatred is still there
(just not supported by the government).
Trust me, I’m a queer youth still in high
school. Every school day 1 hear at least one igno
rant person say, “T hat is so gay!”
n ext
How
should the sexual minorities
community respond to First Baptist
Church’s complaint about scantily
clad women at Portland Pride 2002?
Respond at www.justout.com, (Don’t
forget to include your nam e, city and
daytime telephone number.)