COMMENTARY
in M u m D ams
The IN publication for the OUT population
*
F o u n d e d 1 983 • J ay B r o w n
Vol. 19 N o . 22
and
R enee L a C
hance
Sep tem ber 2 0 , 2 0 0 2
FEATURE
BEYOND BORDERS: Homegrown activist helping
the world's poor
P 23
NEWS
NORTHWEST • Leather chafes women;
Creating Change organizers recruiting
volunteers; meet precocious genderqueer teen
Sebastian Janibor: conference educates same-sex
families about the documents they need
pp
7 -1 5
NATIONAL • Miami-Dade squeezes the life out
of orange juice queen’s legacy; Rosie
O’Donnell’s brother wins in New York
PP 1 7 - 1 9
WORLD • Chinese AIDS activist jailed;
Janet Jackson records duet with anti-gay
musician; and then there's Maude
pp 2 0 -2 1
ARTS AND CULTURE
ART • Sherrie Taha sculpts an “Angel Rising” ;
creating a disco dance club art gallery
pp 3 2 - 3 3
SPORTS • Team Oregon athlete Sue Gill’s
most daunting competitor
On the money
We deserve more from politicians than appearances at fund-raisers during election years
ike swallows returning to Capistrano, candidates and elected
officials flocked to Basic Rights Oregon’s annual fund-raising
dinner Sept. 13. From the U.S. Senate to Metro Council,
politicians and wannabes took to the stage to show their sup
port for the ongoing advancement of full civil liberties for all
gay, lesbian, hi and trans folks.
It’s great that they show up when they need our votes, hut in my
daily increasing cynicism I’m starting to question our overall ability to
attach greater value to those politicians and candidates who have histo
ries of performance and serious intent as opposed to those who sidle in
forced hy the pressures of political correctness to attend. 1 want to see
these candidates a little more often, and I’d like to see some diversity in
how they woo the sexual minorities community.
Yes, the well-dressed crowd shows up at the $100-a-plate affair, and
yes, there’s campaign money to he had. But there are also a lot of 18- to
25-year-old members of the sexual minorities community out there, most
several years away from being able to afford this fund-raiser, yet each of
them has an equally valuable vote. And with that vote comes energy,
potential long-term support and endless volunteer possibilities.
In 2004 let’s schedule a candidates day at Oaks Park, where it’s only
5 bucks to get in and you can get a hot dog and a soda while you, too,
meet the people who need your vote. Along those lines, I expect Ted
Kulongoski to show up next year at BRO’s dinner— and the Portland
Pride parade— as governor and not just appear as a candidate.
These are not unreasonable expectations. These candidates ask for,
and receive, gay votes, gay support and gay dollars. In return I want, and
expect, more than appearances at fund-raisers during election years.
p 35
BOOKS • Emma Donoghue births a winner;
Evelyn Waugh rereleased; some bad, bad
gay fiction
p 37
DIVERSIONS • Film festival changes; a tribute to
divas; Tag Back to Portland; voter outreach at
Klub Z; Poison Waters turns 34!; Ellen in the
center square
p 38
WHAT'S POPPIN'T • Swimfan: It’s worse than
you think
p 39
FILM • Carrie Brownstein talks about her role
in Givup
p 40
COLUMNS
B
RO threw quite a party this year; Portland City Council candidates min
gled and schmoozed with the crowd and each other. As you already
know, 13 of the final 15 are now left with campaign trail memories, while two
have moved forward to the general election. Randy Leonard and Serena Cruz
are the final candidates for Position 4- Serena Cruz is the endorsed candidate
of Just Out.
•
One noncandidate who 1 was pleased and surprised to see at the din
ner was African American leader and activist Bruce Broussard. As you
might or might not recall, last year he and I engaged in a little verbal
parking lot scuffle as tensions were heating up concerning Derry Jackson
and his own verbal imbroglios.
Military recruitment in the Portland Public Schools, or the lack
thereof, was also a hot button at that time, with Broussard taking the
position that “gays” were to blame for the strife and contentiousness
occurring around this issue. This month military recruiters were wel
comed into Portland Public Schools for the first time in six years, and
Bruce Broussard was at a gay rights fund-raising dinner.
MS. BEHAVIOR . I’ m pregnant, not straight! Plus,
Ms. Behavior is sarcastic with rude gay boy
P
olitics aside, another hot topic at my dinner table was Marc Acito
and his column, “The Gospel According to Marc.” In fact, all night
long all I heard was Marc Acito this, Marc Acito that, “yes, that Marc
Acito, he’s the best thing to ever happen to Just Out.” Thankfully, Acito
finally moved on to another table and the topic was allowed to change.
Acito and his column have been the topic of many a conversation the
past few weeks. There’s been a fair amount of letters written in opposition to
his stance on his weight loss, and in our last issue a reader suggested it was
time to kick him out, stating he’s “racist, fatphobic, inappropriate and totally
insensitive.” The writer went on to say he’s oppressive and unacceptable.
Here’s the deal. 1 know Marc Acito. We’re not best buds, but I’ve been
working with him for four years now and I’ve seen changes, awareness and,
yes, even “personal growth.” I’ve witnessed the emergence of a good writer.
And I can honestly say I’ve watched in awe as his ego spirals
upwardly, outwardly and out of control. I have visions of his super-
inflated ego lifting his now-waiflike body up and away into the air. If his
detractors arc lucky, he’ll land somewhere in Montana and end up writ
ing a weekly column for Pig ’n’ Plow.
In the meantime, Marc Acito is not racist. Marc Acito is not hate
ful, and he’s not oppressive.
Do not overempower him. He’s a gay guy with opinions and points
of view that a few others might find disagreeable and, yes, offensive.
1 do wholeheartedly agree that he can be inappropriate and insensi
tive— but not to the point where his column should be dropped. Nor
will it get to that point.
First, because of dialogue and interactions such as your letters and your
opinions, Acito will see that words affect different people in different ways.
He will learn that while words can make some howl with laughter, they can
also make others cringe with discomfort. He will grow, and he will learn.
And secondly, 1 am very aware of my duty to watch closely the con
tents of this paper. 1 take this responsibility seriously. 1 am aware that
there is no place in Just Out for words of hate.
However, Marc Acito is, as stated, not hateful. And you, as readers, also
need to keep in mind that this paper serves a wide, broad and diverse demo
graphic and that content geared toward a 35-year-old urban gay man is not
necessarily going to wann the heart of a 45-year-old lesbian mother of two.
If Marc Acito is not your cup of tea, don’t read his column. Or read
it and tell him how you feel. His e-mail address is at the end of each
column, and he will be happy to hear from you. J H
5 years ago in
P 31
• Many gay men and lesbians are inconsolable over
THE EOSPEL ACC0RDIN6 TO MARC • His own
Vagina Monologue
p 41
the death of Princess Diana, given her devotion to
people with A ID S and her outwardly fabulous
lifestyle.
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1 don’t know Broussard at all, but my guess is that no amount of
political pressure would get him to a dinner if he didn’t feel it was the
right thing to do. So there he was, extending a cordial truce, and 1, in
return, look forward to the opportunity to work together on projects
benefiting our mutual communities.
ic
7m l
• Starting in October, foreign same-sex partners of
British citizens will be welcome to settle in the Unit
ed Kingdom, the Times reports. Unmarried hetero
sexual partners will be allowed to Immigrate as
well.
• The 1998 Gay Games in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands, has banned further registration by
men because they outnumber female registrants
70 percent to 30 percent, De Gay Krant reports.
The most popular sports to date are badminton,
ice hockey and tennis.
• Sixteen Orthodox Jewish rabbis filed a lawsuit
in federal court Sept. 5 to stop the Sept. 15
opening of a new Holocaust museum in Manhat
tan. The Associated Press reports. They say the
Museum of Jewish Heritage/A Living Memorial
to the Holocaust offends the beliefs of Ortho
dox Jews because it includes an exhibit honor
ing gay men and lesbians who w ere persecuted
by the Nazis. The rabbis are angry over “the
EDITOR • Marty Davis
NEWS EDITOR • Jim Radosta
MTS AND CULTURE EDITOR • Lisa Bradshaw
• Sarah Leimert
Marc Acito, Nadia Cannon,
Meryl Cohn, Els Debbaut, Patricia L.
MacAodha, Gary Morris, Courtney Perkins,
Floyd Sklaver, Caitlin Smith, Rex Wockner
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Larry Lewis
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE • Markie Acevedo
ADVERTISING ASSISTANT • Erin Sexton
NATIONAL AIVBmSMC REPRESENTATIVE • Rivendell
Marketing Company Inc., 212-242-6863
F j Y w H b
o d * ;
elevation of homosexuals to the martyred status o f the
6 million Jew s” who died in the Holocaust, says Rabbi
Yehuda Levin, the lead plaintiff.
• Right to Pride will honor C entral Oregon activist OH
W ork and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays at the 16th annual RTP Dinner on O ct. 4.
• The head of Oregon’s largest H IV /A ID S nonmedical
service organization says while she’s encouraged by
recent reports suggesting a dramatic turnaround in
deaths from A ID S complications in the United States,
she fears such news could lead to complacency in the
battle against the disease. "The danger is that people
will think the pandemic is over,* says Susan Stoltenberg.
executive director of Cascade A ID S Project.
• Chnstian Lesbians Out holds its C LO U T Global Gath-
enng from O ct. 2 to 5 in Portland. This year’s confer
ence. "Called on the Sacred Journey: Sacred Spaces of
Our U ves." takes place at the Alton Collins Retreat
Center. Women of any (or no) denomination welcome.
• Leg Cabin Republicans gather monthly to socialize,
m eet prominent people or just enlighten a few minds in
the party.
I • Kevin Moore
PROMOTION ASSISTANT • Zanne dejanvier
Sarah Leimert
I • Ed Carder, Ian Drake, Ron Geer,
Mary Hauer, Kelly Keigwin, Merid Schwartz,
Jen Spires, Janelle Vogt, Melissa Weigand