aprii 16.2004
rrm io u t
ju st hHN I ill I
As reflected in the 2 0 0 3 reader survey, are Just
Out readers an adequate and indicative reflection
of the greater sexual m inorities community?
I
n general, your results are likely to represent the
portion of the sexual minorities community
that is least closeted, better educated, more afflu
ent and more politically active. This phenomenon
is similar to the results of a survey conducted by
Senior Housing and Retirement Enterprises:
A GLBT Coalition that will be published soon.
It is also similar to a survey distributed at Black
Pride events in nine cities that was published by
the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (Say It
Loud: I'm Black and I’m Proud, 2000). The report
discusses whether the survey results are represen
tative of all black GLBTs and concludes that
events like Black Pride tend to attract a distinct
segment that is not representative, is more “out,”
is better educated and is more affluent.
The SH A RE written questionnaire was dis
tributed to more than 900 people during the
past two years at Pride and other community
events; there were 713 responses. Our survey
was aimed at older members of the G L B T com
munity, so the median age was 53 years, with
more older respondents and fewer younger
respondents than your Just Out survey.
The racial/ethnic distribution in the
SH A RE survey was similar to your survey: 90
percent white, 3 percent Hispanic, 3 percent
Native American and 1 percent for black, Asian
and mixed-race respondents. Also similar to
your survey, SH A RE found more than half (53
percent) were partnered, and half of these had
been together 10 years or longer, some as long as
50 years! In the SH A RE survey, 60 percent had
a four-year degree or advance degree. Household
income was higher in the SH A RE survey; 74
percent had household incomes above $45,000.
W endy W oods
Monmouth
# • •
N
o. I only say this because I know that WAY
more than 1 percent of queers are black! I
am white and so are a lot of my queer friends,
but there are a lot who are black, Hispanic,
Asian, etc. WAY, WAY more than 1 percent!
To the E ditor :
• • •
I
believe that readers of Just Out are indeed an
indicative reflection of the greater communi
ty because the people who read it are so diverse
in their own views and lives.
D evon R osa
Newberg
the incum bent. Who do you support and why? (P lease see related items on
Pages 5 and 1 9 .) Respond at ww w.justout.com . (D on’t forget to include your
nam e, city and daytime telephone num ber.)
D aniel R esnic
Beverly Hills, Calif.
Think before you print
To the E ditor :
hanks for the reviews of places to eat
vegan [“Don’t Have a C ow !” ^4arch 19J.
Since we read it, we are looking forward to try
ing Calendula.
However, we expected much more accuracy
from Just Out. Your publication prides itself on
recognizing diversity, speaking out against
stereotyping (to some degree) and exposing
details about current events that may be missed
in the mainstream. Because we believed that
about your paper, we were disheartened to read
Meg Daly’s review of our favorite Portland
restaurant.
While Nicholas’ has gone through many
cycles of discovery by different sections of soci
ety in its 18 years of operation, one thing has
remained a constant for the restaurant: It is
owned by a wonderful Portland family who
moved here from Lebanon in the ’70s. Period.
While running their business they’ve never
let their religious beliefs enter into preparing
and serving great fcxxi. Are they Muslim? That’s
not the point of the article, so why mention it?
Daly did not reveal the religious leanings of the
other restaurant owners in her review. Why did
she single out Nicholas’ ?
The restaurant’s choice to not offer alcohol
has nothing to do with religion and everything
T
to do with keeping ct>sts down and overhead
low. A better-researched review from your Fea
tures Editor would have revealed that fact and
probably several others that are far more inter
esting. For example, over the years the folks at
Nicholas’ have catered weddings, bar mitzvahs,
confirmations and some spectacular grand open
ings. Many people come to the restaurant to cel
ebrate birthdays, quinceaneras and anniver
saries. Some may have wanted to consume alco
hol with a meal— but their love of good fcxxi
ovemxle the need to drink. Clearly, Daly made
assumptions and chose to include misinforma
tion that was in no way germane to a restaurant
review.
Please, in your many roles— as a platform, as
a forum, as a voice for not assuming things about
people— we ask Just Out to think before you
print. Get a real story. Talk to individuals. In
commenting on our community we all expect
JO to "get it straight.”
A .G . F lynn
Portland
Identity clarity
To the E ditor :
I
T ara M. T aylor
Portland
Nothing has changed
S taci P atterson
Vancouver, Wash.
I I P Y # I f >-T >4 I f -1 Two openly gay men are opposing Portland City
I b h l , L r i Com missioner Randy Leonard; Just Out is endorsing
ica a balanced budget or health care or an
America without assault weapons. Work with
America, not against us. Be a uniter, not a
divider.
See what you can do with a short list until
December. There’s not much time left.
defines as “extremely feminine gay men,” or
“autogynephilic transsexuals,” whpm he says
have an “erotic obsession with the image of
themselves as women.” Bailey made his conclu
sions after interviewing nine transsexual women
he met in gay bars.
His book created a firestorm within the trans
community when the Lambda Literary Founda
tion nominated it for a 2003 award. This
sparked an outcry from the trans community
and an online petition that garnered more than
1,000 signatures in 12 days.
The foundation subsequently removed The
Man Who Would Be Queen from its nominee list.
“The specific issue was whether the book was
transphobic,” executive director Jim Marks said.
“The judges looked at the book more closely and
decided it was.”
n the recent survey of your readers, in the sec
tion on sexual orientation, “trans” was
included [“ The State of the Community,”
April 2J.
Just to clarify a common misconception:
Being transsexual is gender identity, not sexual
orientation. These two are often mixed togeth
er but are separate and distinct. A trans woman
isn’t necessarily attracted to men and visa versa.
This confusion was illustrated in Michael
Bailey’s book The Man Who Would Be Queen,
wherein he lumped all trans women into two
categories: “homosexual transsexuals,” whom he
1
attended April 4’s inspiring rally organized by
the Coalition of Black Men and am outraged
over the unjustifiable killing of James 'Jahar
Perez.
Ten months ago it was Kendra James; before
that it was Jose Santos Mejia Poot, a Mexican
immigrant. Obviously nothing has changed. If
you are brown, immigran^or African American,
things have gotten worse with respect to police
use of deadly force. But I believe things can
improve, which compels me to speak out and
get involved.
We need to defend ourselves from a police
institution that maims or even kills us because
we are a threat to Portland’s wealthy. We are a
threat because we demand economic and politi
cal justice. Demands such as a well-funded and
quality education, a living wage, health care and
that big business pays up so we aren’t taxed to
starvation. We demand not to be racially pro
filed every time we drive our cars. We demand
jobs, the right to organize, the right to reproduc
tive choice and the right to marry if we are les
bian or gay. As a socialist feminist, I think the
only kind of system that can support anything
different is a socialist economy, where human
needs and equality, not profits, are what matter.
The Freedom Socialist Party has long advo
cated an independent elected civilian police
review board with the authority to discipline
police. This board should be publicly funded but
not connected to corrupt city government and
big business interests. In the meantime, Mult
nomah County officials should open the grand
jury process to the public so justice can be
brought to the murderers of James Jahar Perez.
Hair Cut
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E duardo M artinez Z apata
Freedom Socialist Party
correction
he April 2 article “Ya Gotta Have Art”
incorrectly attributed the painting “Ship
yard” to Lucinda Miller. The artist’s name is
Lucinda Parker. Just Out regrets the error.
T
justflUH
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