COMMENTARY
id
M
a r i
'» D
avis
The IN publication for the OUT population
F ounded 1983 • J ay B rown
Vol. 2 0 N o . 5
and
R enee L a C hance
Ja n u a ry 3, 2 0 0 3
FEATURE
Portland guys get a rise
out of barebacking. Are they fucking hot,
or just fucking up?
p 20
NEWS
NORTHWEST • Metropolitan Community Church
considers pastoral candidate; Stephanie Cho
works to give the marginalized a powerful voice;
businessman shares fascinating fatherhood story
PP 7 - 1 5
NATIONAL • Student barred from gym class
because of sexual orientation; court holds
lesbian mom responsible for child support
pp
18-17
*
WORLD • Argentina passes partnership laws;
South Korean singer allowed to switch gender
PP 1 8 - 1 9
ARTS AND CU LT U RE
MUSIC • Myshkin carries a gypsy torch
but might have found a home in Portland
p 30
MUSIC • New reviews: No. 2, Ashleigh Flynn,
Being Out Rocks
P 31
ROOKS • Native Oregonian asks for advice
from the hippest in modem culture
p 32
ROOKS • New reviews: Michelle Tea's
Chelsea Whistle , Peter Manso’s Ptown
p 33
CULTURE • TechnoDyke saves and serves lesbians
on the info superhighway
p 35
DIVERSIONS • RoundsAbout Portland; Gayopoly;
more queers on TV than you can keep up with
p 36
WHAT’S POPPIN’T • Dumb romantic comedies
and one brilliant Australian indie
p 37
COLUMNS
MS. REHAVIOR • Relief After Sex Dyke vs.
Year in, year out
2003 presents challenges for our divided world
ne year ends, another begins. No respite from worry this
year. 2003 starts with all the problems and woes that we
simply couldn’t wish away with the close of 2002. Oh,
were it so easy.
On the global scene tensions increase daily. We’re
bombing Iraq— no, wait, let’s bomb North Korea instead (too?)- Now
South Korea is annoyed with us and, frankly, I’m concerned about
Canada. Has anyone checked in with them recently? 1 read once that
something like 80 percent of all Canadians live within 50 miles of the
U.S. border. This means millions of Canadians are subjected daily to
U.S. television shows. Now these are the people who have serious rea
son to be pissed at us.
On our national front we’re faced with Homeland Security, a moral
crisis in economic leadership, an ever-present recession and looming
war protests that will cause turmoil and division in our land. Happy new
year! 1 heard that the little baby new year 2003 had to be a cesarean
delivery— the kid refused to come out.
In Oregon we’re still dealing with high unemployment, untested
new leadership, a failing education system, budget crises galore and
Wal-Mart and its ilk perpetrating the ruinous cycle of small-business
destruction accompanied by a new bottom-of-the-food-chain economic
class: the minimum-wage worker. The solutions to our economic prob
lems are so much more complex than simply raising taxes or increasing
wages. You don’t treat cancer with aspirin, and you don’t stem economic
hemorrhaging with Band-Aids like increases in the minimum wage. Fix
the education system, motivate and train people. Make integrity and
honor an integral part of the workforce value system. You know, like in
the good old days.
O
K, enough gloom and dtxun. In spite of all the problems there’s good
stuff going on in this old sad world of ours. And a lot of it is hap
pening right here in our community. While we can’t totally stick our
heads in the proverbial sand and ignore the cries of a pained and injured
world, we still must take our comforts and find, build and share our
strengths where and when we can.
2002 was brought to a delightful close for the hundreds of women,
and handful of men, who joined together to celebrate at the Lesbian
Community Project’s “Give Peace a Dance” New Year’s Eve party. This
was a wondrous gathering of beautiful and powerful women.
I have nary a complaint about the evening— well, other than sore
feet— but still did not fail to notice that the evening was divided by age.
The younger women of our community were simply someplace else. And
while I hope their celebrations and festivities were joyous also, it’s too
bad that all of us from our 20s to our 70s and maybe even 80s couldn’t
have danced and laughed and started the new year together.
And to all the “girls” who were elsewhere, I have to tell you, there
are some damn fine-looking grandmas in this town who can do some
hot shakin’ and dirty dancin’. You really shoulda been there.
Mmm-hmm.
M
y memories of 2002 are vast and run the gamut of all emotions. It was
a good year. It was a bad year. Best of the good? I think that I pick the
strong leadership emergence of two of our community’s newcomers. Roey
Thorpe of Basic Rights Oregon and Tony Stroh of the Portland Gay Men’s
Chorus came to town, and we haven’t been the same since.
What a dynamic duo. Tony with his networking, his energy and his
new ideas helped bring a sense of unity to our loosely woven coalition
of groups and organizations. Roey brought to Oregon more experience,
skill and political savvy than 1 ever can hope to have. Now I suspect she
and I still are going to butt heads on methodology now and then, but by
and large our goals for the community will be the same. We’re a tad
short on strong leadership in this community, but the situation got a lot
better when Roey arrived.
With the ending of 2002 came the quiet departure of the Portland
Fire. Once again, the Rose City is without a professional women’s bas
ketball team. I don’t feel the loss as greatly as 1 did with the Portland
Power (I know, let it go) because basketball in the summer was simply
wrong. The games were always conflicting with something— i.e., good
weather— and plainly it wasn’t working. Just Out, however, was starting
to develop a relationship with Fire staff, and I think we could have done
some good things together this year.
But I also never could get past the unpleasant feeling that came with
trying to support a team that was part of the Portland Trail Blazers.
They’re thugs and scofflaws, and cheering for red and black was not a
favorite activity of mine. So, good luck to Fire staff and players. You
gave it your best, and that is appreciated.
N
ow we start a new year. 2003. Guess that Y2K thing won’t be hap
pening. What did people do with all that canned fcxxJ, anyway?
And really, do we actually need the Internet? Seriously now, is your life
better because of it?
I did a little photographic research on the old World Wide Web for
our feature in this issue, and I don’t care now if I ever go back. I can’t
believe that Bareback.com is a stellar moment in man’s progression and
evolution.
That said, our feature in this issue might not sit well with all of you.
I briefly considered a cover flag stating, “This issue contains materials
not suitable for children and lesbians over 50.” The message, however,
needs to he delivered and needs to be heard. And sometimes to he
heard you have to speak in a voice that will cause the audience to lis
ten. This is one of those times.
Happy new year to each and all. JH
mpr'r :*
Anxiety Girl
. - i
p 29
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARC • Ya gotta
have a dream
♦ Like victims and parents who cannot believe that
anyone as trusted, respected and even loved as their
parish priest could abuse a young person, the Roman
Catholic Church itse lf is struggling with denial and
delay in facing the problem of sexual abuse.
p 38
: is pu b lish ed on the first an d th ird F ri
d ay o f each m onth. Gipyrinht © 2001 hy Just ( hit No p.m
ol Just Out may tv reproduced wiihour written permission from
the publisher.
• Dallas C oors, the 75-year-old heir to the Coons»
Beer fortune, came out as a gay man in an inter
view on the Boston cable television show
Between Takes.
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Gay men and lesbians will be out in force for
B ill C linton's Inauguration. The 52nd Presidential
Inaugural Committee announced that the Gay
and Lesbian Bands of America would be part
of the preparade festivitie s. B ill and Hillary
Clinton also are expected at an inaugural eve
reception honoring David Mixner, a ]_
activist and adviser to the presidents
• The gay and lesbian community Is respond
ing sw iftly to the passage in Colorado o f anti-
gay Amendment 2. Boycott Colorado he.
has been founded as ‘ a grassroots organi
zation o f volunteers working to educate the
world about the atrocity called Amendment 2. *
EDITOR* Marty Davis
N EW ! EDITOR • Jim Radosta
A R TI AND CULTURE EDITOR • Lisa Bradshaw
EDITORIAL ASSI81ANT • Marie Fleischmann
CQNTRIOIfTORS • Marc Acito, Meryl Cohn,
Gina Daggett, Katy Davidson, Els Debbaut,
Timothy Krause, Patricia L. MacAodha,
Christopher McQuain, Gary Morris,
Natalie Shapiro, Floyd Sklaver, Cori Taratoot,
Jack Turteltaub, Rex Wockner
Larry Lewis
• Markie Acevedo
ADVERTISING ASSISTANT • Erin Sexton
• Kevin Moore
• Susan Soen can expect to spend a lot o f tim e In
court in the next few m onths. She faces three counts
of filing a false police report in a se rie s o f hate
crimes staged by her then-roommate Azalea Cooley.
Soen has retaliated by filing charges o f defamation,
intentional infliction o f emotional d istre ss and
obstruction o f justice against the Bia s Crim es U n it of
the Portland Police Bureau.
• The Oregon M inority A ID S Coalition is about to get
a new location and to sta rt a peer education program
under the direction o f its new leader. EmmaHy
W illiam s-M itchelf. Th e daughter o f state Rep. M ar
garet Carter, she is determined to get the word out
to African American fam ilies about A ID S .
• The Oregon National Organization fo r Women
invites you to Picket Packwood! at the senator's
Portland office Jan. 4 . Show that you don't want Bob
Packwood. who is scheduled to be sw orn in Jan. 5.
to represent you.
• The Portland Community Bowling A ssociation's
15th season opens Jan. 10 w ith Mayor Vera Katz to
roll out the firs t ball.
Zanne dejanvier
OFFICE MANAGER • Marie Fleischmann
DISTRIBUTION • Kristine Ashton, Jennife- Brinson,
Ian Drake, Ron Geer, Mary Hauer, Anne Ochi,
Crash Schwartz