October 21.2005
We
are
family
The jury
S ummer C learance S ale
at Paradise Video
ALE ENO
14712 S.E. Stark St. Portiand^Z^MM
SOON
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is still out on marriage equality
. (including new releases) ,
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M
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5
arc and I had our day in court last
month. Marion County Circuit Court,
that is, where Basics Rights Oregon
attorney Mark Johnson eloquently
argued that the only way to define marriage
without violating the constitution’s equal pro
tection clause is to open marriage to everyone.
(Go, Mark!)
Sitting with us in the front row of the pan
eled courtrixim were our co-plaintiffs Kent
Colby and Tim Smith of Eugene, lead plaintiff
Juan Martinez and his partner, Willamette
Week columnist Byron Beck. Defense of Mar
riage Coalition attorney Kelly Clark (h<x>!)
and Assistant Attorney General Charles
Fletcher (hiss!) made the dangerous claim that
voters have the right to expand liberties and to
constrict them.
off the coast of Venezuela in Curacao (or,
I also went to BRO’s annual dinner, Studio
should I say, Queeracao.7). [Turing the past nine
BRO, where many attendees rummaged
years, Diving for Life has raised more than
through their closets (or thrift shops) for just
$300,000 for AIDS-related charities.
the right disco attire to match the theme. John
Or imagine a space dedicated to queer
Jerkovich showed up in a vintage ’70s flowered
artists. Sure, plenty of queer artists regularly
Qiana top, K.D. Parman showed off in lilac
show their work (in fact, Froelick Gallery
hell bottoms, and Heather Mole’s Nancy Sina
owner Charlie Froelick had a number of very
tra hxits were definitely made for walking.
phallic mixed-media pieces by Paul
Filmmaker Gus Van Sant and Oregon Ballet
Arensmeyer at Affair at the Jupiter Hotel),
Theatre’s Christopher Stowell joined the after
but no gallery dedicates itself to using queer art
party at Wonder Ballroom, as did luscious lip
to teach about our culture. (Although Port
stick lezzies Heather Ward and JoAnn Miller,
land Art Museum curator Bruce Guenther has
who let me feel their breasts.
begun the conversation by including two sexu
Speaking of costumes, Portland Institute
ally charged Tom of Finland drawings in the
for Contemporary Art brought back the Dada
new Juhitz Center for Modem and Contempo
Ball this year to celebrate the conclusion of
rary Art. Check them out on the third floor.)
the Time-Based Art Festival. As usual,
1 thought about all of this listening to the
outrageous costumes abounded, most of them
Q Center presentation and was so inspired
on straight people. This is a terrific event, and
that, without even consulting Marc, I pledged
1 don’t understand why more of us gay creative
$25,000 to be a founder.
types weren’t represented. But Dave Heater
But the center won’t happen unless others
heated things up in a bikini made entirely of
step up to join us at the plate. Q Center needs
Barbie dolls.
your time, your ideas and your money. As exec
Bluehour served up sumptuous starters to
utive director Susan Remitters says, “This is an
start up Portland’s Q Center, with City Com
amalgamation of everyone’s dreams, and it’s
missioner Sam Adams and Gwenn Baldwin
going to depend on how much we can raise.”
presenting months of research to a gaggle of
Think about that the next time you’re Out
gays including Celia Lyon, Bob Ball and Bill
Going. jn
Dickey. If you ever doubted that Portland
needs a queer center, just thumb through this
F loyd S ki . aver wants to know about your event.
issue of Just Out and marvel at the breadth of
E-mail him at floydsklaver@comcast.net.
our community. There are hundreds of
organizations and activities listed. And
that’s just for two weeks. So why don’t we
feel like a cohesive community?
Part of the answer lies in the fact that
we have no center. We rarely mix outside
our mixers.
For instance, I’ve attended every
Salon Q event since its inception in
March. These monthly gatherings at the
hyper-trendy Aura (sponsored by the
Human Rights Campaign) act as a magnet
for white, g<xxl-kx>king, middle-class men
with nice shoes. Men like Brian Johnson,
Tom Barreto and the founder of the
event, Portland Center Stage artistic
director Chris Coleman. But few men of
color attend, fewer blue-collar boys and
even fewer females.
I’m not criticizing Salon Q, the organ
izers or Aura’s magnetic manager. Ron
Mitchell, who (thankfully) insists on a no
smoking policy. I’m just pointing out that,
besides Pride Weekend, there aren’t times
and places for all of us to mix and mingle.
Now imagine a gathering ground for
queer groups like Ruby Red Flippers, the
IiKal chapter of Diving for Life, an organi
zation of gay and lesbian scuba divers. At
David Krause’s loftwarming party, Jim
Mike Doolittle (left) and Dave Heater got all dolled up
for the Dada Ball.
McVittie told me the group recently dove
;■
TIM GUNTHER PHOTOGI
34 just out