june 4. 2004 • ju s t OUt 3
by
n rn
M arty D am s
The IN publication for the OUT population
Taking the initiative
Vol. 21 N o. 15
How can we convince rural Oregonians to decline to sign;
FEATURE
F ounded 1983 • J ay B rown
and
R enee L a C hance
Ju n e 4, 2 0 0 4
GOT PRfflE!: Welcome to Family Pride 2004
une 2004 marks the 35th anniversary of the Stonewall riots,
W hile it’s tempting to scoff at the logistics of obtaining such a high
considered to he the birth of the modem gay liberation move
number of signatures, let’s not lose sight of the fact that there’s a lot
ment. W hile not present at Stonewall, I can’t help but imagine
more to Oregon than the Portland metro area. W hile it’s easy to
that few of the participants, bystanders and observers of this
marginalize our world to the immediate Interstate 5 corridor, it would be
event could have dreamed that in a historical twinkling of the
highly naive o f us all to dismiss the thousands of Oregonians who live
eye same-sex marriage would be legal in one state of the union and in
in The Dalles, Pendleton, O ntario, Baker City, Bums, Klamath Falls,
the forefront of political turmoil across much of the remainder of the
Albany, Prineville, Medford, Roseburg, G rants Pass, Curry County (yes,
nation.
the whole damn county), Coos Bay and our old nemesis, Springfield.
As we enter the season of resultant celebrations now known as
These towns are populated with conservative folks who follow the dic
“Pride M onth,” it’s our time to celebrate achievements and accomplish
tates of their church and church leaders, and they will be key to the
ments while not becoming complacent about the work yet to be done.
success or failure of this petition drive.
In our own back yard little snags of worrisomeness pop up to remind
And guess what? G athering these signatures is perfectly legal. Sign
us that all is not yet well in the world. A complaint from a client at a
ing these petitions is a voter’s right. W hile we can abhor the proposed
N orth Portland state resources office has officials there in a quandary
outcome, like it or not, we have to respect the process. So what can be
about allowing the continued distribution of our
done to make our neighbors, our fellow Oregoni
publication. In 2004 a newsmagazine serving the
How can we work together ans, decline to sign?
gay, lesbian, bi and trans community is about to be
Basic Rights Oregon and the Rural Organizing
to alleviate fear?
tossed from a state office building. We have been
Project are to be given credit for acknowledging
deemed offensive.
How do we motivate people and taking initiative to increase voter awareness of
Equally offensive to a Just O ut reader was an ad
the implications of signing petitions. However,
to
shake
their
heads
no,
for a Memorial Day celebration that was spotted in
folks in Hamey County will sign the petitions
The Jewish Review. The copy for the event reads:
because they’ve never known the dedication of a
and turn away from
“W omen bring men. Men bring women. Absolutely
lesbian sch<x>lteacher from Portland. A n un
no exceptions.” W hen the reader called the paper
employed logger in Gold Beach may sign because
the petition gatherers?
to register concern about the ad, she was accused of
he’s already lost economic viability and knows
being “too sensitive.” C an we ever become “too sensitive” to concerns
nothing about his commonalities with gay couples struggling to raise
about discrimination?
their children with hate-free values. Across Oregon people will sign
As I sit and write this column I’m annoyed by phone calls and
these petitions because they d on’t know who we are. People always fear
e-mails from someone who thought it would be a funny “practical joke”
the unknown.
to subscribe to Just O ut in his friend’s name. N othing quite as amusing
So, how do we increase our visibility? How do we bring our
as attaching a gay stigma to a co-worker. Good job, fellas. W ith all that’s statewide differing worlds together? Should we purchase educational ads
going on in the world today, how refreshing to know that you find it
in rural newspapers? Would you, or someone you know, join a speakers
funny to use homophobia as a joke.
bureau and work aggressively to organize town hall meetings and
As legal same-sex marriages continue in Massachusetts, the 3,000-
fonims? C an you imagine a caravan of gay and lesbian families prepared
plus couples who obtained licenses in M ultnomah County were jolted
to attend church services away from Portland? Hell, we could even send
by the news that the Oregon Court of Appeals has temporarily halted
a softball team to Prineville— a lesbian team, if we want to win (or the
Judge Frank Bearden’s order mandating that the state of Oregon register
Bella Boys, if we want to make friends).
and validate their marriages. As a cloud of uncertainty and confusion
How can we work together to alleviate fear? How do we motivate peo
hangs over this latest ruling, opponents of same-sex marriage in Oregon,
ple to shake their heads no, and turn away from the petition gatherers?
primarily the Defense of Marriage Coalition, continue to claim that
June is our m onth, a grand time indeed to take our pride, our parade
they will meet their objective of obtaining the 100,000-plus signatures
and our politics on the road, be it across the street, across town or across
needed to qualify their ballot initiative for the November general elec
the state. T h a t’s how we stop people from signing petitions. We let
tion. If they are successful, Oregon voters will be faced with the possibil
them get to know us.
ity of writing discrimination into the state constitution.
G ot pride? J H
REFLECTIONS
10 years ago in
***■
rss*<¡
• The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial
and Ceremony, a m ulticultural service honoring
those who have died o f AIDS com plications,
featured poetry by Judith Barrington and an
original musical piece by David York titled 'A ID S
Requiem ’
• The National Association of People with AIDS
called for the resignation o f Kristine Gebbie as
the national AIDS policy coordinator in a
statem ent released May 11. Gebbie said, in an
interview w ith The Associated Press, that she
has no intention of stepping down
smm*
GROUND
f *
. «rat
-TlL*
• Cathlyn Abbruzzese says Albert Odell Jones
refused to serve her because of her sexual
orientation and her gender Abbruzzese, a
Southeast Portland resident, filed the suit in
Multnomah County C ircuit Court against the
owner o f Dooley's Lounge on Southeast
I Division Street The lounge, now a nude
dancing establishment, is the site o f the
former East side bar.
Queer Night on June 13 at La Luna w ill benefit
PUBLISHER AND MANAGING EDITOR • Marty Davis
NEWS EDITOR • Jim Radosta
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR • Lisa Bradshaw
FEATURES EDITOR • Meg Daly
C0NTRBUT0RS • Marc Acito, Michael E Barren,
Kathy Beige, Stephen Blair, Meryl Cohn, Chelsea
Fine, Jodi Helmer, Rodger Larson, Thomas
Lauderdale, Andy Mangels, Christopher
McQuain, Gary Morris, Eric Plenums, J.B. Rabin,
Tivo Salazar, Floyd Sklaver, Tom Stevenson, Rex
Woeknet, Pat Young
I • Larry Lewis
ms,
p 30
NE WS
NORTHWEST • County commissioners, BRO
honored; all about the Pride Northwest board;
southern Oregonians celebrate Pride
pp
8-24
NATIONAL • FDA issues sperm donation
recommendations “based on bigotry”
pp 2 6 - 2 7
WORLD • New rules allow transsexual athletes to
compete in Olympics
pp 2 8 - 2 9
ARTS AND CULTURE
PRIDE • Women pass on a musical language that
is never written down; the official, complete and
absolutely essential Pride schedule; fetish diva
Midori revives the art of bondage—and the sexy
phone interview
pp 4 2 - 4 5
CULTURE • CampOUT redefines quality time for
queer families
P 47
WHAT'S POPPIN’? • Stupidity is brilliant
p 51
FILM • Queer composer Thomas Lauderdale
third-degrees Portland’s newest gay filmmaker
acquisition
pp 5 2 - 5 3
THEATER • Families go head to head in premiere
of dark comedy The New House
p 57
DIVERSIONS • Rhea’s rants; former Portlander
makes cover of Playgirl; current Portlander in
Out\ Fox pulls homophobic show
P 59
COLUMNS
M S . BEHAVIOR • Going Gay 101
p
41
EPIQUEEREAN • Italians do it better
p 48
V ol . 11 No. 15, J une 3,1994
the upcoming Dyke March! Take refuge from the
hopelessly tired and helplessly heterosexual Rose
Parade and indulge your queer and political
sensibilities
• Just in tim e for the 25th anniversary of the
Stonewall riots, it's Unnatural Acts, an evening of
original comedy and music and extra-special rites
featuring Carol Steinel and Howie Baggadonutz,
June 17 to 19 at Echo Theatre.
• The National Association of Black and W hite Men
Together 1994 Convention will be held July 16 to
24 in W ashington, D C The theme w ill be
“ Breaking the Chains o f Ism s."
• Women’s Herbalist Conference: A Celebration for
Women Who Love Plants w ill be held at the Lost
Valley Education Center in Dexter.
• The N orthw est’s only gay Harley-Davidson
motorcycle owners organization will hold its annual
Harley Strokers Rendezvous '94 in northern Idaho.
This is a Harleys-only event, open to all gay and
lesbian Harley owners.
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES • Kari Tate,
Ashley Austin
I • Kevin Moore
ASSISTANT • Zanne dejanvier
1 • Kristine Ashton, Allison Benn,
Ashley Conley, Darren Linder, Kelly Moe
OUT W ITH IT I • Because you can never hear
enough about the armory
p 59
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARC • To err is
human
p 61
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