acni 2.2004
by
M a r t y D a v is
The IN publication for the
The state of the community
V oi. 21 N o . 11
Just Out reader survey provides useful information
FEATURE
t started a month ago. The phone
began ringing early in the day. First
came the questions, then later the
rumors and the speculations. N o one
was really sure what was happening, hut
one thing was clear: Something big was about
to go down. And then about 4 p m. March 2,
clarity came in the form of e-mails and press
releases. On March 3, Multnomah County
would begin issuing marriage licenses to
same-sex couples.
And then the commotion began. C o m
motion that continued up though and
including April 1, an odd irony indeed,
when the Multnomah County Board of
Commissioners resolved, by a vote o f 4-1, to
support Chair Diane Linn’s decision whereby
she directed the Tax Collection and Records
Management Division o f Business and C o m
munity Services to issue marriage licenses to
all qualified persons regardless of their gen
der or sexual orientation.
In the past month same-sex marriage has
seldom left the forefront of public scrutiny.
There have been countless articles, inter
views, letters, meetings, rallies and rants and
raves. The Oregonian, which historically could
scarcely bring itself to use the words gay and
lesbian, has been spewing forth a gay lexicon
almost as frequently as their ads for a Meier
&. Frank sale.
With all the attention, all the spotlight,
many questions still remain unanswered
about the gay and lesbian community in
Portland. M isconceptions abound. Em o
tions override logic, and anger mistakenly
confuses people and families with process
and government.
Who are we, this group suddenly in every
one’s faces? Where do we live? Where do we
work? How many of us are there, anyway?
Does our agenda really include world domi
nance, or are we more likely to he concerned
about just how we’re going to pay the new
Multnomah County income tax that’s due in
two weeks?
Just Out can help provide useful informa
tion and answers to many of these questions.
As you may recall, last fall we solicited feed
back and data for our 2003 readers survey. By
sharing with you now a portion of the results,
we can start to piece together the answers to
some of the questions above.
Just how many gays and lesbians are there
in Oregon? Well, that question we cannot
answer. No one knows exattly. Even if we all
picked a day and agreed to stand up and
count off, the number would he different the
next day. People come and go daily; we are
not a static community. The 2004 Oregon
Blue Book lists an estimated Oregon popula
tion, for 2002, at 3,504,700. Using the old
tried-and-untrue 1 -in-10 theory, an estimate
of the gay and lesbian population in Oregon
would put our number in excess of 350,000.
What an amazing number. What powerful
potential we have as an political and eco
nomic force.
Just Out distributed mail-in surveys in two
issues of the paper and posted the questions on
our Web site. By the closing date we had
F ounded 1983 • J ay B rown
amassed 548 entries, from which we compiled
the following data. Many more entries were
ultimately received hut well past the closing
date of Dec. 1.
The question will be asked, “Are Just Out
readers an adequate and indicative reflection
of the greater sexual minorities community?”
The answer is “yes” and “no.” I’ll come back to
this question later. First, some facts and figures
for your consideration.
H ow do readers o f J u s t O ut
s e lf-id e n tify ? W hat is the c o m p o s itio n
o f o u r c o m m u n ity ?
Male
Female
Trans
Other/multiple
No answer
47%
48%
2%
2%
1%
White/European American
Multiracial
Other
Hispanic/Latino American
Native American
Asian American
Black/African American
Other
88%
4%
3%
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
Gay
Lesbian
Bisexual
Queer
Straight
Trans
Otber/muitiple/questioning
42%
35%
7%
7%
5%
1%
3%
Younger than 21
21 to 34 years old
35 to 45 years old
46 to 55 years old
Older than 55
No answer
1%
26%
31%
25%
8%
8%
Single
In a committed relationship
Other
43%
48%
9%
Own their own home
Rent their home
Other living arrangements
57%
41%
2%
F o llo w in g are the fig u re s co m p ile d fo r
th e a n nu a l h o u s e h o ld in com e ; note
th a t h o u s e h o ld im p lie s dual incom es
in p a rtn e re d h o u s e h o ld s .
Less than $15,000
$15,000 to $30,000
$30,000 to $50,000
$50,000 to $75,000
$75,000 to $100,000
More than $100,000
No answer
12%
21%
25%
19%
12%
6%
5%
In addition to the above statistics, here are
more facts reported by our readership.
The average number of children in house
holds in 2003 was zero. The average number
of pets in gay and lesbian households in 2003
was two. What can we conclude from this?
Gays and lesbians raising children probably
have little time for completing long news
paper surveys.
About 98 percent of Just Out readers
graduated from high school, and 84 percent
hold a post-secondary degree. This breaks
down to 17 percent with a two-year degree,
36 percent with a bachelor’s degree and 21
percent with a master’s degree. About 9 per- '
cent of Just Out readers have received a doc
torate or similar professional degree.
About 78 percent of respondents indicated
they are employed, with the remaining 22 per
cent including students and retirees. About 30
percent of readers say they work in profession-
al/managerial roles, with 14 percent employed in
the service and/or technical sector. Health care
employs 10 percent of readers, and 8 percent
more say they are teachers or professors. About 4
percent toil in sales, and 4 percent did not
answer the question.
A great deal of additional data were
obtained from the surveys, much of which
will be presented to you at a later time. But
in context to the same-sex marriage debate,
it should be noted that when asked what
topic readers would like to see most frequent
ly in Just Out, the highest category recorded
was “relationships.” Clearly our partners,
spouses, children, families, friends and myri
ad others in our lives are so often first and
foremost in our minds. So what is it about
our relationships that is so very threatening
to so many people?
I asked earlier the question, “Are Just Out
readers an adequate and indicative reflection of
the greater sexual minorities community ?”
Does this survey reflect our greater community
as a whole? Again, “yes” and “no.”
Clearly our readership is not representative
of the under-21 demographic. There are two
things I know for sure. First, indeed there is a
large, vibrant and energetic queer youth
crowd in Portland. Second, I’m well aware
that this age group does not read Just Out . In
this specific example, our survey is N O T rep
resentative. Do I fuss and fret about this? Yes,
but mostly to the point where I have to
accept and realize that Just Out cannot and
will not ever he all things to all people. Short
of a cover-to-cover reworking of the entire
paper, it’s not likely that we’ll ever be able to
capture this demographic. What we hope for
is that in a few years our paths will cross and
our new young 21 - to 34-year-old readers and
Just Out will continue on together in converg
ing parallel lives.
As far as racial representation goes, even
while acknowledging that the sexual minori
ties community in Portland is predominantly
white, we cannot overl(x>k that we’re not
doing a good job in bringing a racially diverse
our former Features Editor and the person
who did all the work on this survey, summed
it up well with: “Just Out readership remains
skewered towards white/European Americans
when compared with Oregon’s population. If
compared with Multnomah County census
data the disparity would be greater. Just Out
should consider how to better target and serve
the Asian American, African American and
Hispanic/Latino American populations, in
particular.”
So as we work and struggle together to
find our place at the table of the community
at large, Just Out will also not lose sight of
the fact that there’s plenty of work and
improvement to be done right here ir\our
own house. jn
GRAPHIC 0IRECT0R • Kevin Mcxire
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR • Lisa Bradshaw
Darby, Els Debbaut, Kobe Kemple, Andy Mangels,
Christopher McQuain, JB Rabin, Bob Roehr,
Andy Simon, Floyd Sklaver, Rex Wockner
FEATURES EDITOR • Meg Daly
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Larry Lewis
CONTRIBUTORS • Marc Acito, Michael E Barrett,
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES • Kan Tate, Ashley
Ed Carder, Ashley Conley, Darren Linder,
S & E Distributors
Kathy Beige, Meryl Cohn, Gina Daggett, Jodi
Austin
PUBLISHER AND M ANAGING EDITOR • Marty Davis
NEW S EDITOR • Jim Radosta
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT • Zanne dejanvier
DISTRIBUTION • Kristine Ashton, Allison Benn,
OUT population
and
R enée L a C hance
A p ril 2 , 2 0 0 4
Why dykes should fight for
reproductive rights
'28
NEWS
Former police chief (and
outspoken PFLAG dad) runs for mayor
» 8 19
NATIONAL • Amendment amended
pp 20-25
W IR LI • Quebec legalizes same-sex marriage
pp 26-27
ARTS AND CULTURE
MHSIC • The Rose City Gay Freedom Band hosts
a tri-city party
p 39
DIVERSIONS. Oregon joins gay rodeo
association; Jeff Stryker action figure; Spank!
picks winners
'41
ART • Tips for enjoying and being enjoyed at
Cascade AIDS Project fund-raiser
'4 3
CBLTRRE . 2 Girls Travel opens up a world of
possibility for women
'4 5
CRUBRI • New Portland-based magazine gives
women and children a voice
pp 46-47
FILM • Come out, come out, wherever you are
for Sing-a-Long Wizard o f Oz
'49
WHAT'S POPPIN'T • Dawn o f the Dead lively
'5 1
RANGE • Think you have no dance ability?
p 53
COLUMNS
MS. REHAVIOR . Here come the brides
'3 7
BBT WITH IT! Dreams do come true for little gay
boys
'4 1
EPIRBEEREAN • Paris a Portland
'4 2
THE C U P EL ACCORDING TB MARC . Heaven
help us
'5 4
•M t la pu blish ed on the firs t and th ird F ri
day o f each I l f lift! (jipynght © 2004 by Just Out. N o putt
if Just Out may be reproduced without written permission from
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