OREGON S GAY/LESBlAN/Bl/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
AUGUST 7. 2009 ü
PAGE 3
by M arty Davis
August and Everything After
A M arch. Memories. A D ifferent M ayoral H e a d lin e -A n d W ine
igh five, Portland, we made it through
the heat wave o f ‘09. It was a tad too
warm for many, sleeping hours were
pared down to a sad few, and certain peeps,
none to be named, became a tad testy toward
the end o f the seeming 143 days o f over 100-
degree weather. On a fun note, as with the
December snowy frigidness, the heat gave
the city hours o f Facebook entertainment
as friends competed for creative ways to
whine and complain. The weather was again
another community-bonding event.
A non-virtual and very well organized
community event o f a political and cultural
nature launched itself on Saturday night, Au
gust l.This was the evening o f Portlands first
Gender Free for All March. Several hundred
people gathered together in Unthank Park to
voice desire for enhanced visibility and un
derstanding within our community.
To capture the feeling o f the evening I’m
going to share the words o f organizer/emcee
Jessamyn D. Rae, who spoke eloquently as
the crowd prepared to march from the shady
park, led in cadence by the Last Regiment of
Syncopated Drummers.
“This march is the first stand-alone
Trans March in Portland. But I look
around and 1 know that I do not stand
alone. I see transfolks, genderqueer
folk, gender conforming and gender
non-conforming folk. I see folk who
refuse or even CONfuse the very idea
of a defining label. I’m proud to call us
all allies.
Today, we march for the freedom
o f every individual to express in dress
and behavior however they see fit.
We are marching for the freedom
to live and play within a duality o f
gender even as we demand the free
dom to live and play outside o f a strict
either/or choice.
We are marching in solidarity with
and as people who have struggled
tearfully and joyfully through meta
H
morphoses o f their bodies.
We are marching in solidarity with
and as people who have struggled tear
fully and joyfully to love what Is.
We are marching as people who
have struggled to know who we are, in
a world constantly telling us who and
what we should be.
We are marching as people who
have struggled to be seen for who we
know we are.
We are marching to raise awareness
that these struggles take place.
The bottom line is: We are march
ing to celebrate the amazing truth o f
being human— and we are proof that
there are as many ways to be trans as
there are people.”
Staying much longer in Unthank Park
than I had expected that evening, I became
caught up in the peaceful, friendly energy
o f the crowd. I was happy to see new faces
and hear new voices. These are the faces and
voices that have not been seen and heard
enough in Just Out. I look forward to the
opportunity to change that. One evening,
one march did not leave me with complete
understanding o f the gender queer, gender
free movement. But one evening certainly
left me looking for more.
attended the recent Silverton Town
Council meeting where Mayor Stu Ras
mussen faced a formal complaint about
dress code violations. Rasmussen, as you’ve
likely heard, is the self-identified hetero
sexual male who often dresses in women’s
clothing. The complaint was not that he
cross-dresses, but rather that he cross-
dresses poorly.
Is this all just a cover-up for raging trans
phobia lurking in the hearts o f Silvertonites?
I don’t think so. I think that most o f these
people simply want their mayor to dress in
professional women’s clothing and represent
their city well while on official business.
I
iVesl&ide/
It’s easy to jump to conclusions. Not ev
eryone with a differing set o f opinions from
yours, or mine, is, by virtue of difference, ho
mophobic, transphobic, racist, ageist, sexist, or
whatever else causes one to froth and foam.
Sometimes, for the good o f the whole,
you might be called upon to set aside a part
o f yourself. Stu Rasmussen might want to
consider, at least now and then, stepping out
o f the media spotlight and putting his com
munity first. Isn’t that a reasonable expecta
tion o f a leader?
et’s hear it for Hip Chicks D o Wine.
On August 15 Laurie Lewis and
Renee Neely will celebrate the 10th
anniversary o f their winemaking business.
Hip Chicks has grown into a viable, visible
business in our community and this celebra
tion is well earned and deserved.
The first time I went looking for them I
left shaking my head at the location, wonder
ing how in the world people would find them.
You know what? Find them, they did, and it’s
all good now. Ten years seems like yesterday.
Check out their Web site (www.hipchicks-
dowine.com) and visit them soon, please.
L
I
VOL. 26 NO. 19
AUGUST 7. 2009
INSIDE»
» FEATURE
16
SUMMER KIND OF
WONDERFUL
Hitting the roads more and less traveled
18
19
VANCOUVER. BC X 3: A
QUEER FAMILY VACATION
HEY. EUGENE!
» NEWS
5
LETTERS
6
12
NORTHWEST BRIEFS
TAKING NAMES. STARTING
CONVERSATIONS. AND
CHANGING MINDS
The fight for marriage equality in Oregon
kicks off
» ARTS 8 CULTURE
21
28
OUT 8 ABOUT
LIFE'S A FRIENDLY
GARDEN...
D ig it at the left coast Eisteddfod with
Welsh Super Celeb Chris Needs.
REVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Legendary Portland Production
The Circuit Returns
31
THE ELEPHANT IN THE
ROOM
Portland Filmmaker Andy Blubaughs
Feature Debut Intersects with Headlines
34
NWDP CELEBRATES NEW
HOME WITH PACKED
SCHEDULE
» COLUMNISTS
14
15
26
35
41
SASSY GARDENER
OUT GOING
LIVING OUT LOUD
REMEMBER TO BREATHE
MS. BEHAVIOR
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:
'just out
30
t’s with much sadness that I again close
this column with news o f the passing of
a friend and colleague. Paul Scott Tucker,
P. Scott as we’d often see the name, died on
July 20 from renal cancer. Scott had become
ill in 2008 and worked hard to maintain his
business, Super Realty Group, while strug
gling with his health. Scott was a strong
advocate for gay business and social organi
zations. He gave a lot and cared more.
Our thoughts go out to his partner o f 12
years, John Bunn, as well as his family and
friends. A complete obituary will be pub
lished in our August 21 issue.
Scott always had that ever so slightly
mischievous grin. Looking at his picture
now makes me smile. Thanks, Scott, for all
you did.
«
Mt Carmel Lutheran
SW Portland, www.mtcarmellutheran.com
Redeemer Lutheran
NE 20th Ave, Portland, www.redeemerlutheranpdx.org
St. James Lutheran
Park Blocks, Downtown Portland, www.stiamespdx.orq