4 JUStlOUt
JANUARY 6. 2006
just out
J
NEWSMAGAZINE
letters
Condensed Font Unreadable
To
the
E ditor :
I’d enjoy the new look of Just Out a lot more if I
Founded 1983 • Jay Brown and Renée LaChance
could read it without needing a magnifying glass!
graveyard and give him to someone who deserves him.
Write another ending, Annie, a better one. Write an
ending for gay men instead of straight America. It does
not need to be happy. But write an ending that allows
two men to move beyond the endless first date and,
PUBLISHER & MANAGING EDITOR
Marty Davis
NEWS EDITOR
Sarah Dougher
ARTS AND CULTURE EDITOR
Kimberly Shute
Team Manager
Marvin Salles
Licensed Assistant
Rex Buchanan
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get snuffed to save society from witnessing men enjoy­
Condense a Font, Lose a Reader
ing each other. It is time for a different ending. Give
To the E ditor :
them the nails to build their cabin.
I completely agree with the letter writer from
DESIGN DIRECTOR
in the redesigned version oijust Out |“New Font Size
Hoquiam, Wash.
Anabel Ramirez
Is Too Small,” Dec. 16].
AD DESIGNER
As much as I enjoy reading your publication, I may
Cat Cheng
have to accept the fact that I just won’t be able to do
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
so much longer.
Larry Lewis
1 am in my mid-50s and periodically have to deal
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES
with issues surrounding CMV retinitis. Each time I
Michael McDuffey, Kari Tate, Cshea Walker
have eye surgery, my vision is a bit less clear.
CONTRIBUTORS
Yvonne P. Behrens, Ka’hy Beige, Stephen
Too bad you folks don’t realize that many of your
readers are not 25 years old with perfect vision.
Blair, Meryl Cohn, Timothy Krause, Andy
Mangels, Gary Morris, Jenny Nguyen, Joshua
Allison Benn, Lisa Benson, Youme Inhofe, Pat
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Roseburg who complained about the size of the font
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DISTRIBUTION
Kilmer-Cramer, Chance Schwartz
Just Out is published on the first and
third Friday of each month. Copyright
© 2006 by Just Out. No part of Just Out
may be reproduced without written
permission from the publisher.
Editorial guidelines: Letters to the editor
should be limited to 500 words.
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Visit us on the web at www.justout.com.
Ray Southwick, 1946-2005
Ray Southwick, a significant gay businessman and
activist in Portland since the late 1960s, passed away
Dec. 2,3. He was 59.
Southwick
came to Portland in
1968 to work for
IBM. His involve­
J im G ianakis
ment with the gay
Portland
community brought
him into contact
Brokeback Mountain
Gives Me Nothing
with
To the E ditor :
lar in the city: Dahl
Were I to write Annie Proulx, here’s what I would say.
Dear Annie:
Tell me, what does Brokeback Mountain offer me?
the
various
taverns then popu­
& Penne’s, Embers,
Flossies
and
Derek’s. With his
Once again, man-to-man love lurches along via anger
partner, John Phillips, he opened a popular gay bar
and confusion until put to death for defying culture.
and eatery, JR’s East, in 1979 on Southeast Hawthorne
There is little uncertainty about where the story is
Boulevard at what had been the Raven’s Nest. This ven­
headed. We know, sure as shit, that someone must die
ture was so successful, they opened a second location,
and that probably the better of the two men will be
JR’s West, at Northwest 10th Avenue and Everett Street
killed (which he is). The only real uncertainty is what
at what had been The Long Goodbye and is today
weapon will be used. The tire iron is imaginative—
Jimmy Mak’s.
and applied to the head, apparently attacking the
JR’s West also featured a lower space known as
problem where it resides. I do, however, appreciate
JR’s Cell. Although owned by Southwick, it was man­
you not allowing his assailants to fuck him with the tire
aged by “Raunchy” Robert Dunn, arguably Portland’s
iron before killing him. That is an improvement, I sup­
leather master. Activity at the Cell equaled or exceed­
pose—killing rather than torturing and killing.
ed that of any bathhouse in Portland and even, some
I would also like to ask why you, as a woman,
believe yourself qualified to write about gay sex and
said, San Francisco. Because of hard times and AIDS,
both businesses closed in 1984.
what gay men feel. Some details in the story are accu­
Southwick’s second major involvement in the com­
rate. Leather, sweat, muscular bodies, hard work, for
munity was his successful newspaper, The Alternative
example—these pair with gay men like butter and
Connection, which he began in 1991 and published
bread. But butt fucking, particularly the first time, is
until 1994, carrying news, advice and advertising for
not so easy, as you imply, and spit doesn’t help much.
the gay community.
The story’s early remarks on Ennis' pleasant mem­
In the mid-1980s, he became the partner, then the
ories about Jack also seem off the mark emotionally.
consort, of Woody Johnson, better known as Lady
Isn’t Ennis at the center of Jack’s death? Jack and Ennis
Elaine Peacock, Empress XXIX of the Imperial Sovereign
also know the fate of gay men in Wyoming, yet there
Rose Court. His loyalty and service to Peacock during
they are kissing, on the porch and going at it in broad
her 1988 reign and through the years until her death at
daylight. This just forces Jack’s death.
age 33 in 1993 is well-remembered by his friends and
Discretion is survival out here in small towns. But
members of the court. Noted for his sense of humor
society wouldn ’t quite be satisfied if Jack and Ennis
and hearty laugh, Southwick gladly played the support­
lived happily ever after, would it? Society knows gay
ing role as Peacock in die Park became a Portland insti­
relationships are poisonous. Just look how they
tution. Peacock s intention was to expose the greater
destroy marriage. Jack also has to go because he
population to the charms, character and talenLs of drag
wants more than sex. Jack says: “We could’ve had a
queens. It was an unqualified success for 19 years, end­
good life together, a fuckin’ real good life. You
ing in 2004. Together, Peacock and Southwick estab­
wouldn’t do it, Ennis." Yeah, Ennis, you got Jack’s ass,
lished the Audria M. Edwards Scholarship Fund, hon­
so why take more risk? Limited options is shit, ain't it,
oring Peacock's mother. Today, die fund is administered
Jack? If gay men weren’t so screwed up and sexually
through Equity Foundation.
obsessed, we could film our own stories about finding
Southwick was a good friend, a loyal companion
each other. But it’s not that simple, is it? Society won’t
and a positive influence on all he knew. He will be
leave us alone, even if we re sweet.
sorely missed.
Jack doesn’t ask much—to build a cabin and to be
Remembrances can be made to the Audria M.
safe. Let’s not make him wait 20 years for happiness,
Edwards Scholarship Fund, c/o Equity Foundation,
then bash in his head. Let’s instead pull him out of that
P.O. Box 5674, Portland, OR 97228.