iustrm
■ V The
Vol. 19 N o . 21
September 6, 2002
FEATURE
LIGHTS! CAMERA! (LOTS OF GAY) ACTION!:
Sensory Perceptions invites you to the sixth
annual Portland LG BT Film Festival
24
NEWS
NORTHWEST • Lesbian cop alleges sexual
harassment, files For damages; Basic Rights
Oregon honors longtime volunteer
pp 9-17
NATIONAL • Two trans women brutally gunned
down in D.C.; gay students fight back; Arkansas
bases foster parenting policy on “junk science”
pp 18-21
WORLD • Australian newspaper outs member of
Parliament; Quebec bookstore closes its doors;
Amsterdam celebrates Pride
PP
22-23
ARTS AND C U L T U R E
CULTURE • Leather Week builds community
p 36
MUSIC • Sleater-Kinney rocks
p 37
CULTURE • Dinner at My House for Our House
fund-raiser series celebrates 10th anniversary
p 39
SPORTS • World Series scores a grand slam
p 41
FILM • Portland native directs The Trip
p
in T homas B ri
m u
IN publication for the OUT population
F ounded 1983 • J ay B rown and R enee L a C hance
P
GUEST COM M ENTARY
42
THEATER • The House of Cunt returns
p 43
DIVERSIONS • Friends Ride benefits foundation;
bowlers strike a pose
P 48
WHAT'S POPPIN'T • Robin Williams creeps us
out in One Hour Photo
p 47
COLUMNS
Walk of life
Are gay and bisexual people still committed to Cascade AIDS Project?
n 1983 at a Southeast Portland living room, 14 gay men and a
grandmother gathered to assess the personal and community dev
astation unfolding around them, as friends, sons and lovers got
sick and died. With virtually no services available to those suffer-
*JtL ing with fatigue, night sweats, weight loss, yeast infection, skin
lesions and a rare pneumonia, they decided to take action. The organi
zation that was to become Cascade AIDS Project was Kim.
I wasn’t in Portland in 1983 and actually did the hulk of my HIV
work in Texas until 1998, when I moved here. But the story of C A P ’s
founding and early years is not unlike hundreds of AIDS organizations
around the country— founded, staffed and funded by gay people and
focused on supporting and educating gay men.
O f the people with A ID S C A P served in those early years, virtually
all of them were gay or bisexual white men. The same was true regard
ing our prevention education outreach. Not surprisingly, the agency
often thought, acted, advocated and marketed as much as a gay commu
nity center as it did a health and human services organization.
O f course, as we knew would happen, AIDS didn’t stay exclusively a
gay issue for long. Quickly, organizations like C A P began to see others
with and at risk for HIV. And as a result, a broader base of volunteers,
staff, funders and donors followed. Others outside our community joined
gay men and women in their heroic efforts.
Fast-forward to 2002. Who does CA P reach today.7 O f the 25,000
people we educated aKiut HIV prevention last year, 50 percent were
youth, 40 percent were women, and 27 percent were people of color— a
dramatic shift from our early years. And of the almost 1,600 people with
HIV we served, 18 percent were women, 27 percent were people of
color, and 39 percent were heterosexual— another dramatic shift.
C A P is proud of the remarkable diversity and inclusiveness evi
denced by those numbers. In recent years, we’ve intentionally increased
our efforts to be the kind of AIDS organization that anyone would
think to use for either prevention information or support services. Our
mission calls for us to be everyone’s Cascade AIDS Project— not just for
people who like me who are white, gay and male.
So, in light of all this newfound diversity, is CA P still committed to
gay and bisexual men.7 Do gay people still hold an important place in
the mission of the agency.7 Or has C A P tossed gay men overKiard in a
race for more politically palatable and marketable constituencies.7 Those
are fair and important questions.
Let’s ltxik at the demographics of who CA P reaches again from a dif
ferent angle. O f the almost 1,600 people with HIV we served last year,
61 percent were gay or bisexual men— more than three out of five. In
spite of all the press aKiut the “new face” of HIV, the clear majority of
our clients are gay men.
The same is true for new HIV and A ID S cases reported in Oregon—
the clear majority continues to be gay or bisexual men. And of those
25,000 people C A P educated last year, some 40 percent were gay or
bisexual men— a large number considering our estimated incidence in
the general population. Further, gay and bisexual people are solidly rep
resented at every level of our agency— 60 percent of state hot line
callers, 45 percent of agency volunteers, 40 percent of staff, 40 percent
of Kiard members and Kith our Kiard president and executive director.
Is C A P still committed to gay and bisexual men.7 Yes. Are gay and
bisexual people still committed to CAP.7 Maybe. But if they are, I sure
couldn’t tell it from the crowd at AIDSWalk, the largest annual AIDS
fund-raiser in Oregon and Southwest Washington.
Don’t get me wrong. I love babies, straight families with toddlers,
heterosexual co-eds from Portland State University and the like. But I
also know that when 1 scan the crowd, it looks amazingly straight to me.
It’s not aKiut not appreciating who’s there— 1 do. It’s about wondering
where the rest of you are.
I know some of you were burned or disappointed during C A P ’s
sometimes messy, tumultuous history through the mid-’90s. That was
also almost eight years ago now, and by any standard, our organizational
turnaround has been widely hailed as impressive.
I know some of you see C A P as a fat-cat agency, with a big budget,
lots of staff and an administrative cost rate rumored to be huge. In fact,
our administrative and fund-raising costs combined are less than 18 per
cent of our total budget— below nonprofit industry standards.
I know our aggressive marketing to communities other than gay or
bisexual men has irritated some of you. But compassion isn’t a limited com
modity, as if caring for one group means having to care less for another. Our
arms at CAP have gotten bigger in recent years, more inclusive— not less.
I want to reach our $220,000 goal for AIDSWalk02 as much as any
one does. But whether you raise tons, a little or no money, I want you to
be there with us Sept. 21. In addition to money, AIDSW alk is about
reminding our community that this issue still matters, that gay and
bisexual men are still being diagnosed every day and that for all the
progress we’ve made we still have lots of work to do.
While C A P has a responsibility to make sure that message gets
heard, so do you. It takes both of us.
Stay with us. It’s not over. JH 1
Join honorary chairman Danny Glover for AIDSW alk 02 on Sept. 21 in
Pioneer Courthouse Square. Register at 503-223-WALK or
mvw.casecadeaids.org.
THOMAS B ru n er is the executive director of Cascade AIDS Project.
M S. BEHAVIOR . Summer bummer
p 35
LIVING OUT • Auntie Sally Kinds with kids
48
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARC • Marc
becomes an athletic supporter
P
49
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ust Out endorses Serena Cruz for Portland
city commissioner and recommends “yes”
votes on Measure 19, which would transfer
education funding, and Measure 20, which
would increase the cigarette tax and use die
revenue for the Oregon Health Plan and other
programs. Mail-in ballots are due Sept- 17-
J
P
• Gays and Friends for Animal Rights, also known
as Queers for Steers, protested San Francisco's
first gay rodeo, although it was promoted as “ a
gentler sport than its straight counterpart."
• Los Angeles Police Chief Willie Williams met for
an hour Aug. 5 with members of the city's lesbian
and gay community, sharply distinguishing himself
from his bigoted predecessor, Daryl Gates.
• At least 40 people were assaulted June 28 in
St. Louis' Forest Park after the annual Gay and
Lesbian Pride Festival Hundreds of youths
mobbed people who were attempting to return
to their cars at the conclusion of the event.
• "B y participating in 'From All Walks o f Life,'
we come together to walk for care and com
passion. We walk hand in hand for justice and
equality and against the forces of bigotry and
hatred." declares the Rev. Rodney I. Page.
Ecumenical Ministries o f Oregon executive
director. He and Oregonian columnist Sara
Perry will serve as honorary chairpersons for
the sixth annual pledge walk.
• The Nobody for President Campaign '92
lands in Portland on Sept. 10 with legendary
W oodstock master of ceremonies Wavy
Gravy and northern California eco-rockers Clan Dyken.
• The Portland Lesbian Choir will be performing during
Artquake at 6:30 p m Sept. 5 on the Cabaret Stage,
Southwest Madison Street and Broadway It will be
joined by the Portland Gay Men's Chorus.
PUBLISHER AND MANAGING O fTO R • Marty Davis
NEW S BNT0R • Jim Radosta
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR • Lisa Bradshaw
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT • Sarah Leimert
CONTRIBUTORS • Marc Acito, Thomas Bruner,
Meryl Cohn, Cheyne Cumming, Darklady,
Els Debbaut, Liz Highleyman, Timothy Krause,
Christopher McQuain, Gary Morris,
Courtney Perkins, Robert Raketty,
Sally Sheklow, Floyd Sklaver, Rex Wockner
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Larry Lewis
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE • Markte Acevedo
ADVERTISING ASSISTANT • Erin Sexton
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE • Rivendell
Marketing Company Inc., 212-242-6863
GRAPHIC DIRECTOR • Kevin Moore
PR00UCTNM ASSISTANT • Zanne dejanvier
OFFICE MANAGER • Sarah Leimert
M S TlIR IfTlIN • Ed Carder, Ian Drake, Ron Geer,
Mary Hauer, Kelly Keigwin, Merid Schwartz,
Jen Spires, Melissa Weigand