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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 3, 2004)
4 j U S t O U t ’ december 3. 2004 Ontuiji Richard Voss, g r i abr Principal Broker / Owner Peninsula Realty 6110 N Lombard Portland. OR 97203 Business (503) 286-5826 Cell (503) 804-9424 •Full Service Real Estate Office •On site Real Estate school •Full service Property Management •Notary Services •Fax Machine Services Se habla Español •In-office closings •Buyer and seller seminars •On-site mortgage Broker PACIFIC RIM M O R T G A G E } ~— ------------ - — Wherever you go www Paciftcrimloans.com we are' richard vosst“ century21 com www century21 peninsula com each Office is Independently Owned and Operated C o m p a n io n s in A c tio n S u n d a y W o rship 10:00am 12250 S W Denney Road (at Hall Blvd ) Beaverton. OR 97008 www southmin.com I 503 644 2073 £ ä egon Camera Everything Photographic We have a know ledgeable, friendly staff helping you find the right cam era, binoculars, or photographic accessories. A ‘fam ily’ owned and operated business since 1997. SÍ2SW Maas Avene Camlis. M 97133 M 7 I3 -2 C I3 vn.arcfncaacfa.caa SpongeBob SquarePants is popular with gay men homosexuality. SpongeBob makes a much bet ter scapegoat. To the E ditor : T homas K raemer A Nov. 19 Just Out movie review relegated SpongeBob SquarePants to first-graders. How ever, many adult gay men have been watching SpongeBob in “Nielsen-popping numbers,” according to the very academic journal The Gay & lesbian Review. Adults who enjoy the classic Warner Brothers carttxms will probably also love SpongeBob. SpongeBob is so gay, in fact, that the Christ ian-Republican moral majority recently labeled him a gay terrorist like the Teletubby Tinky- Winky. The conservative Bill O ’Reilly even felt it was necessary to brag that his Fox News tele vision show had finally surpassed SpongeBob in number of viewers at 8 p.m. Even reruns were heating O ’Reillys numbers. SpongeBob was first brought out of the clos et by an Oct. 8, 2002, Wall Street Journal article. The former Just Out humorist Marc Acito tried to deny that SpongeBob was homosexual because “he’s a sponge” hut conceded that “the little guy makes Christopher Lowell lrx»k posi tively hutch" (“A Sad Day in the Neighbor- htxxJ," March 21, 2003]. SpongeBob skillfully carries on the “celluloid closet” Hollyw(xxJ tradition of slipping in sub versive gay references under the noses of clueless straight people. For example, in the episode “No Weenies Allowed,” SpongeBob comically deals with homophobia-like concerns after being rejected and banished to a “weenie bar." The ; other weenies counsel him that “you can’t hide what is inside.” But a weenie-phobic and closet ed SpongeBob repeatedly pleads, “I’m not a weenie! I»» Likewise, the voice of Sponge Bob’s neighbor Squidward mimics the style of gay comedian Paul Lynde and is reminiscent of a stereotypical gay male music teacher. SpongeBob’s close buddy Patrick the starfish talks like Bert Lahr, who played the sissy lion in The Wizard of ()?. Another close friend with a gender-neutral name is the very hutch female squirrel named Sandy. In the carttxm “SU D S,” SpongeBob humor ously dealt with the serious medical and politi cal issues of AIDS. As a person living with SU D S, SpongeBob would make a perfect celebrity spokesman for the next safe-sex cam paign. How six»n can I get a yellow and absorbent SpongeBob condom? After all, it seems like SpongeBob is already appearing on every other product. 1 do not blame Measure 36 or gay marriage for President Bush’s election. I blame Sponge Bob for making voters think he is recruiting children into the gay lifestyle by flaunting his Corvallis Thanks for community support To the E ditor : During the No on Constitutional Amend ment 36 campaign, Portland Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays w;is invited to pro vide ftxxJ for all the fabulous, dedicated canvassers who knocked on thousands upon thousands of dix>rs in Multnomah and Washington counties, educating pet »pie about mamage equality. It was my privilege to work on this project with Hillary (“Leigh”) Howitt, a straight-hut- not-narrow recent San Francisco transplant. Plowing through the ads in Just Out and Port land’s Gay and Lesbian Community Yellow Pages, we found many restaurants and caterers who threw their dtx»rs open to help us— some of them time and time again. We want to publicly thank those businesses— most of them small businesses, working hard in this difficult econo my—and individuals who ax»ked up a storm to feed OUR tnx»ps! Those with asterisks gave more than once, and sometimes on very short notice, for which we thank them all the more. In order of appear ance on our calendar, they are: *Old Wives’ Tales, *Holiday Essence Quality Cake Shop, Piece of Cake, Wild Oats, Joseph’s Dessert Com pany, John’s Catering, Cup and Saucer, Iron Horse, Hot Lips Pizza, Oasis Café, Flying Pie Pizzeria, It’s a Beautiful Pizza, Laurelwtxxl Public House ¿x Brewery, Divine Café, Rose éx Rain drop, Russell Street Barbecue, Holocene, *Vista Spring Café, Chameleon Restaurant, Pastini Pastaría, A Place to Talk— Ruth Parvin, Augus- tana Lutheran Church, Forest Grove United Church of Christ, Southminstcr Presbyterian Church, *Bau Nguyen, Frank Vanek, Sir Robin R. Hixson and Ginny Laferricrc, her mother, Dm na Harrison, and her son, Elliott Laferriere. We hope that as you plan your meals out, you will support the businesses who went out of their way to help us bring the truth to doorsteps in the greater Portland metropolitan area. There are likely other wonderful donors among our readers whose support of our trix»ps slipped under our radar. Please stand up and let all of us know who you are, so we can celebrate and thank you, ttx»! Especially in light of our defeat Nov. 2, Port land PFLAG heartily invites all members of our G LBTQ community, and your parents, siblings and friends, to join us the second Tuesday of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Fireside Room at First United Methodist Church, 1838 S.W. Jefferson St. Our Dec. 14 meeting will he our annual holiday potluck. We’d love to have you join us for great holiday cheer and live music. We will he meeting in Collins Hall that night. Please RSVP by calling 503-232-7676 so PFLAG hoard members will know how much ham and turkey to provide. S usie S hepherd Ptrrtland You can’t legislate love To the E ditor : As the dust settles, some last thixights on the pas sage of Measure 36: As citizens, we shtxild he alarmed with this outcome. One gnxip of Americans finds itself disenfranchised from equality under the laws that others take for granted— this being the rights and privileges of mamage and all the benefits derived therefrom. What right Ls more inalienable than to love whom you chtxise? What truth is more self- evident than that all people, no matter what their sexual orientation, are created EQUAL? What commandment, no matter your religion, Ls more important than “love one another” ? How does den igrating one group of people support that most important of commandments? How drxis promot ing fidelity and commitment between two people weaken the institution of marriage? Why should a law legislate whom we love or whom we chtxtse to marry? Gays and lesbians are very real human beings. They fall in love and want to celebrate their love with family and friends in a religious ceremony, if they ch(x»se. Why should their marriage not he rec- ognized leg-ally the same as heterosexual marriage? No law can legislate whom we love. As a stx:i- ety, we need to promote and support committed, loving relationships that build a stable, caring fam ily and community. At die very le;tst, srxriety’s laws should not interfere with anything this deeply per sonal. I sincerely hope that this period of time will he Imked Kick on as we now lcx»k back on segrega tion—as a period of deep IGNORANCE from which we evolved. We need to stand shoulder to shoulder to protect the rights of all citizens for equality under the law, no matter the sexual orien tation. D esiree H uber Portland c o r r e c t io n The Nov. 19 newshrief “PFLAG Cleans Up” misidentified the Portland chapter president as Ann Blair. Her name is actually Anne Bliss. Just Out regrets the error. V___________________________________ / t r a n s it io n s IN OTHI ER ■Pili H i W O R WOMEN’S DOOKS D AND RESOURCES C J 3734 SE Hawthorne • (503) 232-6003 www.lnotherwords.org W illie M . 'nicker, 1 9 3 7 - 2 0 0 4 Willie M. Tucker died Nov. 20. He was 66. He was bom on Christmas Eve 1937 to Rachel Tucker Glasper, who survives him in death. He was a licensed cosmetologist, trained at the Phagan Schtx»l of Hair Design. He worked at and managed various salons in the Portland area, spending the past 20 years of his career with Gary Lucky Hair Salon on Broadway and Fremont. Tucker was active in many community or ganizations including the Peoples Fund, Ebony Kingdom and Imperial Sovereign Rose Court. Tucker loved the theater and held season tickets to many local companies. In a 1999 Pride feature in Just Out, Tucker described himself as “cantankerous, grouchy, grumpy, irascible.” Tucker came out as a gay man when he was 19, long before Stonewall. He moved to Portland in 1968, where he became a fixture in the early court system and drag show circuit. He served as a hoard member for PeactKk in the Park; every year, the day of performance would find him working behind the scenes as “troublesh(x»ter" and backstage coordinator. In addition to bis family, Tucker is survived by many community members who loved and admired him, especially his best and dearest friend, Irving Lambert. Tucker was a true family patrician who t<x»k pride and joy in his responsi bilities for rearing his many nieces and nephews. Well-attended services were held Nov. 24 at Skyline Memorial Gardens Chapel. Tucker’s ashes will he scattered at the Oregon coast.
