j 4 Ju st o u t • december 19. 2003
mTTTTWnTSneio.s
Multnomah Antiques
For The Holidays
Dining Tables ¿c Chairs
China ~ Silver ~ Class ~ Table Linens
Mon.-Sal. 10:00am - 5:30pm • Sun. Noon-4:00pm
In Multnomah Village • 7764 SW Capitol Hwy. . 503.245.8283
Gay £r Lesbian Couples Welcome
Tl
Dec. 24 Christmas Eve
10:30pm Caroling and 11:00pm Service
11: IX >\V N T ( )\V N I P A R I S H #
Dec. 25 Christmas 10:00am Service
Sunday Services • 7:45 and 10:00 am
Sunday School & Childcare at 10:00 am
Rev. Lawrence Falkowski, Ph D. rector
1432 SW 13th Avenue • Portland, Oregon 97201
(503) 223-6424
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ruth
F a e r ie s
Queer men use erotic spirituality, creativity and bad drag
to subvert the dominant paradigm by B art C h u rc h
fter more than 20 years of
gender-bending,
erotic
spirituality, heart-centered
community building and
outrageous fun, the N orth
west Radical Faeries convened a regional
conference this m onth to envision a
queer future Faerie-style.
Probably the largest and most organized
hand of Faeries in the world, they facilitated
the Faeries Living in Gimmumty Gxincil
from Dec. 4 to 7 at Breitenhush Hot Springs
near l \ ‘troit. The gathering helped Faeries
from throughout Cascadia (the northern
coast of North America, including people
from as tar away as San Francisco and Van
couver, British Gilumbia) envision how
they individually and collectively want to
live in community for the next 10 years.
The Radical Faeries were founded in
1979 by queer men who were tired of beg
ging straight culture for rights and permis
sion to lx* just like them. They sought to
explore fundamental questions of who
queer men are, where they come from,
what they really want and how they can
create their own spirituality and culture
free of the dominant patriarchal, capital-
ist/consumerist, sexist, ageist, racist, look-
ist and homophobic paradigms.
In 1981, the first Pacific Northwest Rad
ical Faerie gathering was held at Breiten
hush. Since then, the Northwest Radical
Faeries have developed into a kx>se network
of more than 1,200 people interconnected
through rural retreats, coffee klatches, full
rruxm rituals, potlucks, e-mail lists, resource
directories, Gay Pride floats, parties, service ------
projects and even a carefully maintained database.
So what were the core visions discussed at the
conference, in the words of some elders? (It should
he noted that no one speaks for the Radical Faeries
and that it is impossible to delineate or fix the val
ues of such a loose confederation.)
• Spirituality. “Many Faeries believe spirit
can best lx understood and engaged through our
bodies, their pleasures and experiences and
through the earth and the seasons that give life
to the body," says Jack Harvey, who has Ixen a
Faerie for more than 15 years. “1 would say
Faeries have no set spirituality because they cel
ebrate each individual discovering his own
unique path to spirit. The Faeries don’t care
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"The Faeries let people play at the
edge of who they really are. It's not
just about drag, it's about expressing
what is really true and alive in you.
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what religion you belong to, they want to know
what is true for you in your heart— right now.”
• Creativity. “T he Faeries have been an
incredibly open, generous and inspiring place for
me to explore my creativity without boundaries
or judgments," says Allison/Michael Kurnat, a
renowned perform ance/weaving artist who
sewed a sacred shawl that is worn hy Faeries at
gatherings throughout the world. “The Faeries
let people play at the edge of who they really are.
It’s not just about drag, it’s about expressing
what is really true and alive in you."
• Unconditional love. "W hen Faeries have
gone through really dark times in their lives—got
ten really sick or injured, gone to prison, become
the perfect holiday gift.
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