OREGON'S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
JUNE 12. 2009
NORTHWEST BRIEFS
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Wedding? Civil Union?
Commitment Ceremony?
It’s your day,
you can call it
whatever you want.
Let us help you
with the rest...
It’s Your Day, Do It Your Way.
experiencing from the mission.
“I didn’t think it would affect me, but it’s
hard to see children as young as 12 involved
in survival sex, drugs, a lot of violence,” said
Noble.
Operation Shine will receive a grant next
year, she added. There are high hopes to set
out in 2010 “in a slightly different way; it’s
gonna grow,” said Noble.
Advocates can follow HYPW 2009 at
pridewalk2009.org, on Twitter, Facebook,
YouthNoise and on YouTube.
Gender (Free) For All Steps
Out On Its Own
The last two years have seen the Trans
March occurring in conjunction with the
Dyke March during the cavalcade of Pride
NW events. However, citing “a need to cre
ate a space for trans folks in the community,”
Nik Wilhelm and a dedicated, community
based discussion group have organized the
2009 Trans March “Gender (Free) For
All.” The autonomous event will be held on
Saturday, August 1.
In past years, the two marches happen
ing in concert with each other posed an
uncomfortable scenario for participants, said
Wilhelm - a situation in which people felt
they were not properly represented.
“[Participants felt] that to be in the Trans
March, one must also either identify or have
a previous identification as a dyke,”explained
Wilhelm. “For those who identified as both
a dyke and trans, they were forced to choose
where in the march they would walk [and]
which identifier was more important for
them.”
The Trans March will address specific
points regarding trans/genderqueer visibil
ity, inclusion and gender versus sexual ori
entation. Each issue acknowledges a distinct
need for awareness in this year’s march.
“Gender (Free) For All is about the right
of every individual to identify however they
desire, visibly and proudly, whether it’s male,
female, other, somewhere in between, none
at all, whether a person varies in their gen
der identity from moment to moment, or
if they’ve known how they identified since
birth,” continued Wilhelm. “The march is
about the inclusion of more options than
male and female, but not to the exclusion of
any identity.”
The event will also help raise awareness
for the promotion of local sustainability over
corporate sponsorship.
“For the members of the committee,
championing sustainability means support
ing our local businesses and helping grow and
enrich our community through conscious,
compassionate activism,” said Wilhelm. “A
small business owner donating funds, goods,
or time to their community is often more
vested in the impact of the donation than
a large corporation. As such a contribution
will generally make a correspondingly larger
impression on their bottom line and the way
in which they are viewed by the community
at large.”
There is a benefit event for the Gender
(Free) For All at In Other Words (8 NE
Killingsworth St.) on Friday, June 26, 7-10
p.m. Admission runs on a J5-S20 sliding
scale. The fundraiser will feature local bands,
performers and raffle prizes from Adorn
Body Art, Babeland, Presents of Mind and
much more. Wilhelm and crew encour
age people to show up in costume (drag)
and join them and the Sisters of Perpetual
Indulgence in chipping in for a worthwhile
cause. Confirmed entertainment includes
drag king Johnny O, the music of Slim and
the Competitive Eater and Jim Strange with
the Proud and the Damned; more acts will
be announced as the event date nears.
Pending a permit, the pre-march rally,
to feature local speakers and performers,
will be held 5-7 p.m. Saturday, August 1
at Unthank Park (510 N Shaver Ave.). The
march will then head east on Failing, south
on Vancouver, west on Fremont and north
on Mississippi Ave. to end at the Q_Center
(4115 N Mississippi Ave.), where a free-luck
is planned.
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For You!
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Seott Werner,
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HRC to Host Inaugural
Basketball Tourney
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
has announced its Inaugural Women’s 3x3
Basketball Tournament for Saturday, July 25
at Irving Park (3535 NE Seventh). •
HRC is the largest gay, lesbian, bi and trans
political and civil rights organization in the
United States. The tournament’s objective is
to raise community awareness, understanding
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Recapture Your PRIDE
* in the next Just Out on July 03
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in our big PRIDE photo recap.
Until then follow the latest PRIDE coverage on biogout JUStOUt.COID