A
s the first issue of Just Out was just com­
ing out on the newsstands 20 years ago,
a nice, supposedly straight, married guy
was grappling with issues of his sexuality and
the thought of coming exit. The publication was
suggested to me by a concerned friend— and it
was as if someone had thrown me a lifeline.
Desperate thoughts, including brief consid­
erations of suicide, were replaced with ener­
gized plans to gather up my strength and
courage, come bursting out of the closet and
rebuild my life as a stronger and more produc­
tive person— using Just Out as part of my blue­
print for my new, better life. Through Just Out
I found my way to PFLAG, support groups and
a large, supportive community that helped me
through the growing pains I was experiencing.
Just Out was responsible for leading me to
opening night of D m H om s very first play,
resulting in an incredibly valuable friendship and
client relationship of more than 13 years. I guess,
because it got me to the play that night, Just Out
should also take some responsibility for me meet­
ing my partner of 13-plus years, Ed Cunningham.
J eff F isher
Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
ust Out is one of the most important
institutions in the LG B T community.
Not only is it a resource for local and
national news, hut it stands for so many other
things. Its a place where people connect,
decide where to shop, find out about communi­
ty activities and learn their history. Just Out is
an entry point into a thousand other things.
Where would we he without Just Out! The
closet, probably. Thank you, Just Out, for being
the best queer paper in the country, for all that
you do to support organizations like BRO and
for making our daily lives that much better.
J
Dear Just Out...
Readers write to recognize the paper's
20-year contribution to queer life in Portland
Compiled by Jim Radosta
appy 20th, Just Out, and I hope to see
20 more years of insightful, education­
al and riveting news from our favorite
queer media! It’s been wonderful watching this
publication as it has evolved to encompass
every aspect of our community.
1 applaud Just Out in also taking on the dif­
ficult task in trying to reach so many marginal­
ized sections of our community. They have
truly helped to bring us all a little closer
together, a place where we can come to a
better understanding of each other.
H
M isha R ockafeller
Rose Empress XXXVIII
W
ith the Internet at my fingers, I’ve
had the opportunity to commiserate
with drag performers all over the
world, exchanging ideas, sharing stories and
providing overall support. The biggest com­
plaint of these community activists is the lack
of support in their local queer media. Just Out
has recognized that and not put the efforts of
the drag/trans community in the shadows.
I applaud you not only for including “us”
hut for your continued dedication to our
entire community, bringing us fair, concise,
factual and often entertaining coverage of the
lives we proudly lead. Congratulations on 20
great years!
K evin C ook /P oison M arie W afers
R oey T horpe
Rose Empress XLIV
I
very much loved, and deeply miss, this:
the small Just Out map of west neighbor-
hixxl nightspots, formerly in every issue.
When we would drive up from Eugene, at
barely 21, to play in bigger-city Portland (three
to 10 friends at a time, crammed in someone’s
Chevette) we would read Just Out hy car light
(whoever wasn’t driving) and through the
gixxl news and had news, and notes and poli­
tics and opinions printed in each issue, this
inset— an aerial map detailing all the gay bars,
diners, dives, clubs and cubbyholes in down­
town— was proof for us, geographic pnxif that
more of us existed. A miracle square-mile to
young, eager eyes. To us, this space, not Pio­
neer Square, was Portland’s true living room.
L ee W illiams
Author, After Nirvarut: A Novel
appy 20th anniversary to Just Out, the
newspaper that changed my life in June
2000. That wonderful change started
with the lovely article that recognized my work as
a senior in Old Lesbians Organizing for Change
in your “Family Pride: Class of 2000" section.
In September 2001 you did another great
article, this time intrixlucing Senior Housing
and Retirement Enterprises to our G LB T com­
munity. SHARE is very grateful for all Just Out
has done for us. Evelyn, my partner of 44 years,
and 1 never miss an opportunity to tell friends
in our G LBT community how great Just Out
has been to us. Thank you for all you’ve dime.
H
Basic Rights Oregon
or me, Just Out has been a resource for
finding out the real news. The paper has
also been a resource for finding organi­
zations, whether I’m working with them as an
ally or just wanting to get involved. Being a
transgender man, I very much appreciate the
inclusion of transgender communities in Just
Out's focus. These communities must he heard.
We live in a time when mainstream media
are owned by corporations, when local voices
are not heard, especially when these local voic­
es come from gay, lesbian, hi or transgender
people. It is comforting to know that there is a
community-focused paper for these voices.
ecause of Just Out 1 have seen Peacock
in the Park grow more and more suc­
cessful each year, increased visibility in
Imperial Sovereign Rose Quirt, and I’ve even
sold more Tupperware thanks to your “Queer
Profit” outing me as a lesbian Tupperware Lady!
I am especially thrilled with the changes in
the paper since Marty Davis took the helm. I
appreciate the fact that there are so many
more local interest features in the paper rather
than pages and pages of queer politics in for­
eign lands.
Keep up the great work. You are a very spe­
cial hunch! Here’s to another 20...4 0 ...6 0 glo­
rious years!
K aelin B owers
K imberi , ee V an P atten
Basic Rights Oregon Trans Advisory Group
Peacock Productions
F
B
M ary B eth B rindley
personally am grateful for your OutReach sec­
tion, which prompted me to look into Team
Tennis, where I found a group of wonderful
people who have helped continue my interest
in tennis for a negligible cost.
1 am very proud that Just Out is a part of my
community and my life. Thank yixj for being
there, for doing such a wonderful job and most­
ly for your great work of obtaining and retain­
ing worthwhile advertisers who help to make
all this happen for us.
R ay S cott
Portlaiul
F
or several years prior to moving to
Portland I subscribed by mail to Just
Out, paying substantially more to have
it delivered in a plain brown envelope in my
conservative Midwestern city. It was my life­
line to Portland, which 1 had come to admire
on visits here.
1 would usually read Just Out cover to cover,
and when the time came to move to Portland,
its ads helped me find home and auto insur­
ance here ahead of time. It also had valuable
information about social groups that I might
like to join. (I’ve joined three.)
D avid H arris
Portland
T
wenty years ago, I was 26 years old and
had recently moved from Phix'nix (a
mecca of conservative Christianity and
gay oppression) to Portland. I remember seeing
Just Out in news boxes or sitting in piles in lob­
bies of various businesses around the city. I was
amazed that this leshian/gay newspaper was
available in mainstream places, waiting for peo­
ple like me to pick up and absorb! And after a
while, I noticed that there were nongay people
reading it, tix>. Just seeing a newspaper that
was written for me openly available around the
city made me realize 1 had come home.
Portland
V aune A lbanese
ust Out has been a valuable aid to Port­
land Metro Prime Timers in recruiting
new members. Our listing in the com­
munity resources section has yielded many
inquiries about our group, many of which have
resulted in membership. We lixik forward to
continuing our presence in Just Out.
J
P aul Z epernick .
Portland
y partner and I moved to the area
10 years ago, and we are thankful to
Just Out for enabling us to view var­
ious aspects of the gay community at a glance. I
Portlaiul
* he Just Out newspaper is a reflection of the
growth and support for the gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender community in
Portland, and is a valuable resixirce for ixir city.
The city of Portland has always worked to
create an open, diverse and safe city for all of
its citizens and we will continue to do so. It is
with great pleasure that I express my congratu­
lations and support for the 20 years of publish­
ing and building community.
M ayor V era K atz
Portland