NOVEMBER 21, 2008
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by Marty Davis
VOL. 26 NO. 2
NOVEMBER 21, 2008
Happy Anniversary
Just Out celebrates a marvelous partnership
with our readers, advertisers and community
hese
col
umns are never
easy for me to write.
I am not, by nature,
a communicative person.
This column that you’re reading
now, marking tht 25th anniversary of
Just Out, is proving, by the very nature
of its importance, to be even more dif
ficult than usual.
I’ve stopped and started several
times, headed off in one direction,
and then turned in another. One early
thought was that I’d “interview myself.”
People often remark that they don’t feel
as they know me, as a person. They see
me everywhere; they know what I do, but
not really who I am. I am aware that there
is curiosity about my background and how
I came to own Just Out. These are valid
questions and interests, all of which 1 will
diligently set about addressing. Some other
time, that is.
Today the story of Just Out is much big
ger and more important than that of the
publisher. With this issue we celebrate 25 years
of publishing and community partnership. In this
day and age this is quite a remarkable achieve
ment, one to be celebrated by all of us. We are
not an entity unto ourselves. We are a part of a
marvelous partnership—a partnership consisting
of Just Out, our readers, our advertisers and our
broad, diverse, complex and difficult community.
I have not been at Just Out throughout the 25
years of her history. There is no one person who
can lay claim to that. I am, however, the most se
nior person on staff. I arrived at the paper, as a
salesperson, late in 1995, at the 12th anniversary
mark. I assumed ceremonial ownership of the pa
per on the 15th anniversary, in November 1998,
and then legally took the helm in January 1999.
There are some who have been waiting for the
ship to sink ever since.
It’s not going to happen. Just Out will be around
for many more anniversaries past the 25th.
hat said, I admit that the coming months,
year, who-knows-how-long, will not be easy.
Surviving the current economic crisis will be a
challenge for Just Out, a challenge I have every
intention of taking on victoriously. This paper,
like many other small local businesses, is caught
in the landslide of the failing economy. It is the
nature of the national crisis that affects us, not
the nature of our business. Yes, you are reading,
and hearing, over and over that newspapers are
failing. The end is in sight, the Internet wins.
Newspapers are gone.
There is some truth to this. Yes, indeed, the
traditional daily newspapers are in trouble. Like the
major automakers, many daily papers did not re
spond with needed quickness to the changing needs
and demands of their market. Now they-face dwin-
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dling revenues, staff cutbacks and
a declining readership. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that alternative media, such
as Just Out, will step in, step up and fill the void
that daily papers might no longer supply. In these
changing and troubled times for the newspaper
industry, well-run and well-cared-for gay and
lesbian publications will not only continue, we
will thrive. We will step up to fill the void left
by minimized dailies with coverage for and about
our specific community. People are always going
to read. There will always be a place for papers,
albeit“flbt so many of them. There will always be
a need for education, for entertainment and for
realizing a sense of community. There will be a
need for Just Out.
There will be some belt-tightening here.
There will be innovation in utilizing resources.
That is a given. Our advertisers are feeling the
pinch. Business doors are closing, money is scarce.
Just Out will ride it out. We’ll get smaller, for a
while; that won’t impact quality. We’ll expand
coverage to our Web site and our blog. As we go
into the first quarter of the new year, always a tra
ditionally slow time, we’ll seize the opportunity of
available time to reinvent and redesign ourselves.
We have plans, we have vision, we have goals.
We are aware that that which has brought us to
our 25th anniversary will not necessarily get us to
the 30th. We are ready to grow, respond and meet
the changes of an evolving readership.
As noted, I’ve not been here the entire 25
years of Just Out. But 1 do study my paper, and I
have a feel for the history. We are definitely not
the same community that Just Out reported on in
1983. Publisher Jay Brown noted in the editorial
of the first issue, “Just Out has no ax to grind other
than the eradication of oppression.” Today Just
Out still proudly carries the mantle of fighting
oppression, but we also celebrate victory,
accomplishment and achievement. Our
community is rich and representative
of all walks of life. We are more than
the voice of oppression; we are also the
chorus of victory.
In 25 years we have seen the AIDS
crisis played front and center in our
pages. We have seen the pandemic go
from the unknown, to the deadly, to
the now-even-more-frightening stage:
the accepted. AIDS destroyed much
of our community, and then it moved
on. AIDS is not over; it is now sitting
next door, on the steps of the com
munities of color, the women and
the underserved. AIDS is not over.
We’ve simply let it become some
one else’s problem.
In 25 years we have seen the
rise and fall, and now possibly the
re-emergence, of grassnxits politi
cal activism. Once we took to the
streets, then were taught to sit back
quietly and send in our checks. Is it time for us to
now reclaim the streets? Is the new gay activism
the story for the start of the 26th year of Just Out!
We’ve seen the growth of families, of gay dads
and lesbian moms. We’ve seen a cultural media
presence and acceptance that would never have
been thought possible in 1983. We’ve got Ellen,
for God’s sake.
And then, of course, there’s Oregon’s Ballot
Measure 36 and California’s Prop 8. We take two
steps forward, one step back. It’s still progress.
There is one constant over the course of the'
25 years: our need for, and our relationship with,
our advertisers. It can’t be more simple. Just Out
does not exist without advertisers. Advertisers do
not exist without your business. We need, and
must support, each other.
I am proud to be able to say we have advertis
ers with us today who have been with us from the
beginning. Deborah Betron from Bridgetown Re
alty was in the very first issue of this paper. Her ad
appears in this very issue, 25 years later. Also pres
ent were Hobo’s, Diana Plunkett, Karen Zumwalt
and Escential Lotions and Oils. We thank them
and celebrate their 25-plus years of business.
As I run out of r<x>m with much left unsaid,
1 send out a sincere thank-you to Ron Mitchell of
Aura, Boxxes and Red Cap. He is throwing Just
Out the best 25th anniversary party anyone could
ever hope for. If we don’t see you there, you’ll find
all the details on the blog and in the Dec. 5 issue.
Finally, you will note that this is not a typical
Just Out issue. Much of what you’d expect to find
isn’t there. For newsbriefs, breaking news and cal
endar updates, we direct you to www.justout.com.
We’ll only be turning 25 once, and we wanted to
make this a very special issue.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for being here.
We appreciate you and kx>k forward to year 26. ©
FEATURE
10 JUST OUT f\T 25
A quarter-century of our history
NEWS
9-31 Person of the year; 25 years of
AIDS; a roundup of anti-gay foes; straight
allies make their mark; reflecting on
community groups that have come and
gone; deceased leaders are gone but not
forgotten; Just Out writers obtain national
acclaim; a hat tip to honorable mentions
ARTS & CULTURE
42-43 MUSIC
Women’s music, gay
choruses raise spirits
during tough times
44-45 DANCE
Portland’s vibrant
contemporary dance
scene developed
over decades
48 NIGHTLIFE
Bear bar encourages
NoPo nudity
51 -56 FILM
Two Indian women in 1950s South
Africa fall in love against a background
of pervasive police brutality and racism
in The World Unseen; Tru Loved is both a
convincing message
movie about living
authentically
and a diverting
entertainment;
for a burg of its
relatively petite
size and stature,
Portland is a haven
for queer cinephiles
of all stripes; Milk
reaffirms Gus
Van Sant’s gifts
as a filmmaker
COLUMNS
41 EPIQUEEREAN
All in the Family
65 MS. BEHAVIOR
“You Are My Life”