______________________NOVEMBER 7. 2008
justout 3
justiout
page 3
by Marty Davis
I NEWSMAGAZINE
VOL. 26 NO. 1
NOVEMBER 7, 2008
PAGE 20
Good News, Bad News
J
At the same time that our community celebrates one victory,
we carry also the burden of loss
ends meet financially. It can be hard to think about helping others when
you wonder how you’re going to take care of yourself. Money is short, time is
short. How do we kxik after each other?
Find a cause, a purpose and a position that mean something to you. In
my case it’s hunger, specifically the lack of food available for many who find
themselves in need. The organization I’ve chosen to support and to look after
is Esther’s Pantry, a food bank that serves people affected by H1V/AIDS. I can
feel that I’m doing my part by working with others to increase awareness. You
can help by making small donations of fixxl. For a hit of effort—and, yes,
a bit of your hard-earned money—you can help us kxik after each other. If
this is not a cause that resonates with you, let’s find one that will.
The work of the sexual minorities community continues. We all should
be excited about what the future holds. The election of progressive and g<xxl
men like Jeff Merkley to the U.S. Senate should give us hope and heart. At
the same time, we must also recognize that our battles are largely ours to be
fought and won.
With good allies and supporters to help, we must still look to our own
community leaders to lead the charge. And as we work to mature as a move
ment, it is crucial that we recognize that our diverse and bountiful commu
nity will never be of one mindset. We will never be of one opinion, we will
never be of one voice. We absolutely must allow ourselves the freedom to
express opinion and dissenting voice from within our own ranks. We must
demand that our leadership be open to questioning and scrutiny at all times.
We must not close ourselves off into a place where we accept only like
minded people. As a community, and as individuals, we must move beyond
acceptance of only those who validate our own beliefs. Finally, to continue
to grow and persevere, we must recognize and accept that we will not always
be in agreement and that there is value in contradiction.
ur 25th anniversary party is getting closer and closer. I now live in fear that
someone will not get invited and feel left out or ignored.
Please, everyone, you are invited to attend the Just Out 25th anniversary
party Nov. 22. Complete details are on the back cover. I really do hope to
see you all there.
Finally, as the publisher of a small newspaper, I am only too aware of
how rotten things are in the media business now. Therefore, I must give
a shout-out to a local fella who has the nerves of steel to start up a new
publication in these harsh financial times. Kudos and good luck to Cory
Murphy and Fierce.'NW, which he promotes as “the Northwest premier
monthly men’s magazine.”
Gcxxl luck, Cory and staff. Hope to see you on your 25th anniversary.
FEATURE
20 THE MILK MAN
Gus Van Sant returns with highly
anticipated portrait of an American hero
NEWS
7-17 NORTHWEST
Former nonprofit director under suspicion;
lesbian duo fight E. coli with benefit;
pioneering lawmaker gives boost to young
activists; Trans Remembrance Day is
Nov. 20; SMYRC hires new program
director; Pride Foundation groups grant
applications; SMYRC launches podcast;
HIV Day Center benefits from Give
Guide; queer photographer launches
worldwide erotic mag; election 2008
roundup; Concerned Oregonians group
plots and plans for anti-gay ballot measures
12 NATIONAL
Obama wins presidency; gay candidates
make history; Arizona, Florida voters pass
marriage bans again; Arkansas adoption
ban passes; California’s Prop 8 passes
ARTS 8 CULTURE
34-35 FILM
Gwen
Haworth
documents
her
transition
in She’s a
Boy I Knew
38
NIGHTLIFE
reflections
Ex-Sissyboy
launches
club night
for HIV
positive men
15 Years Ago In Just Out... volume 6 number 1, October 15,1993
39 BOOKS
• Veteran lesbian and gay rights activist Holly
of the 10th anniversary of Harvey
Chorus featuring guest harpist
Hart was presented with the Humanitarian
Milk's death Nov. 27. Gays and
J. Scott Grimes.
Award at the seventh annual Lucille Hart dinner
Lesbians United and others will
Oct. 1. For almost three decades, she has been
assemble at 5:30 p.m. Join peo
• Portland's Lesbian and Gay
COLUMNS
publicly involved in the struggle for equal rights
ple in cities across the country in
Pride
19 SASSY GARDENER
for gays and lesbians. In the mid-'70s, Hart
paying tribute to Milk.
the
Committee
announces
Pride
Celebration
1989
logo contest, which uses the
served as chairwoman of a state task force on
national theme "Stonewall-20,
sexual orientation during the administration of
• The
Gov. Bob Straub. Since 1980, she has been the
issue of Futurist magazine pre
A Generation
owner of Old Wives’ Tales, a popular restaurant
dicts that AIDS could claim
Oregon artist submitting the
in Portland.
50 million lives throughout the
chosen logo will receive $50.
November/December
of
Pride."
The
world in the 1990s, exceeding
• Calling all lesbians! Read Leviticus 18:22—
the toll of the Black Plague in the
you're home free.
Middle Ages.
• The Portland Lesbian Choir
Wordstock author writes about
gay Arab American
Raining Gold
32 OUT GOING
Back to the Future
33 EPIQUEEREAN
The Division of Our City
37 CORNER VIEW
Sweet Bird of (Dying) Youth
rehearses weekly and welcomes instrumen
41 JIM'S CLOSET
talists, arrangers and production people.
Back to Sch<x)l
50 MS. BEHAVIOR
• Bring a candle to the north end of the South
• The Portland Gay Men's Chorus opens its
New singing members will be accepted in
Park Blocks and walk to City Hall in remembrance
ninth season with Strike the Harp and Join the
March 1989.
Three’s a Crowd
PAGE 10
he presidential race that often seemed to he never-ending has fi
nally reached conclusion.
America voted.
John McCain and Sarah Palin will not he returning next week.
They were our bottom two.
•
Barack Obama, overcoming incredible odds, accomplished what he set
out to do. Now the eyes of the entire world are upon him. Millions upon
millions of people are now waiting to watch—and test—his decision-mak
ing mettle. What will be the defining moment of this man’s character? Ex
actly what kind of puppy will this world leader’s daughters get? The future
of America lies is this man’s hands, in his decision. Choose wisely, Obama.
Choose wisely.
America celebrates the election of a new president and turns hopeful eyes
toward a brighter future. But at the same time that our community celebrates
one victory, we carry also the burden of loss. When the final ballots were
counted, three states—Florida, Arizona and California—passed same-sex
marriage bans. The California passage seems extra punitive and harsh, as
it snatches away hard-fought-for rights—rights that were presumed to have
been finally freed from legal and societal captivity. In Arkansas—in 2008,
mind you—voters barred unmarried couples, gay or straight, from adopting
children. What kind of people vote for something like thj^?
The progress and the movement continue—victory here, loss there. Slow
ly—painfully slowly, for many—we inch our way forward.
President-elect Obama’s election night speech was eloquent and mean
ingful. I stood among a large, lively and emotional crowd at the Oregon
Convention Center and relished sharing the moment with so many people
who were so intently listening and so emotionally vested in the words.
About halfway through his message I was especially taken by this call:
“Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where
each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves,
but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything,
it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers—in
this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.”
This is where our new president spoke to me. This is where I see those of
us who aren’t political activists, leaders and organizers finding our place in the
new society. As members of the sexual minorites community, I have felt for
some time that we could and should take on the task of working harder to help
those among us who need our help.
“Work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other.” This
now becomes our call to action.
You might be asking, “What can 1 do?” Many of us are struggling to make