OREGON S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2. 2011 Considering the baggage that comes with being a publisher “I'm a bit behind in my summer reading, so I've ju st gotten to the August 5 th issue. I ’m angered and disgusted by the Portland Lug­ gage ad on page 7 - the one that opens w ith “Nobody likes an O LD Bag!” accompanied by a photo o f a scowling grey-haired woman wearing glasses (who ap­ pears to be anywhere fro m 55 to 95 years old). For the store, there's no excuse - you folks obviously think your ad is funny and compelling. One result o f your bad judgment, bad taste and bad attitude, however, is that I (a customer for almost 16 years who has bought a variety o f excellent products at the downtown store and hap­ pily referred other shoppers) won't w ill be telling my friends about this - angrily. I'm guessing you don't care, given your use o f this ageist/sexist ad copy, but I do want you to know. For the paper, there may be an excuse - be­ cause PL is a regular advertiser/supporter, you may not check their ad content carefully, i f at all. So I hope you w ill consider this a serious request from a regular reader who often goes out o f her way to shop at JO advertisers: You have to do that checking - to help educate such advertisers as well as save your readers from sudden disgust as we turn the pages o f the pa­ per. JO should not be accepting ads that delib­ erately ojfend/insult any o f us (eg, Old Lesbians Organizing fo r Change) - or anybody else, fo r that matter (except maybe well-known bad guys; it's probably ok to insult people who are vicious, violent queer-haters). I know the paper needs money, but accepting ads without vetting them - simply printing whatever your advertisers choose - is, as this case illustrates, bad practice. ” Now do you see why we’re talking about this, the publisher asks wearily? Just Out's advertising policy, as published, is basic and simple. Just Out reserves the right to reject or edit any advertisement. T hat’s it, th a t’s the entire policy. Historically any problems encountered with ads, from the perspective o f the publisher, the adver­ tiser or the reader has been due to sexual content. There is no written policy that ex­ plicitly states w hat will and what won’t he accepted. T hat’s my call. By and large, I will not accept nudity o f a sexual nature and/or ads depicting real or simulated sex acts. This is not— not, I repeat— because I’m a h it­ ter old fat m an-hating lesbian who thinks no one should ever have sex, as generally spewed at me in the course o f any disagree­ ment. O t greatest importance to me is keep­ ing distribution locations strong and viable. Having the paper kicked out o f distribution locations because someone finds an ad of­ fensive has no reward. I value our locations in libraries, schools and retail outlets. To lose this accessibility for a glimpse o f pubic hair serves no one. This does not mean, however, that I whimper, whine and beg forgiveness each and every time a distributor objects to the content o f the paper. In June the Jolly Roger Tavern in John’s Landing said “no” to further distribution after they found a cover objectionable. My reaction to that decision was, pretty much, “Screw it.” W. just ou t Putting The “Ad” In Adverse Today we re going to be discussing Just O ut’s advertising policies. After you read the following letter I received on August 19 you’ll see why. 3 The basic fact is that nowhere in America is anyone ever guaranteed the right to not be offended. From our national politics right on down to the smallest LGBTQ_ newspaper, people will spout, express, preach, talk, write, sell, advertise and opine endlessly. Not all o f this information overload will land on a receptive audience. Simply put, I am not going through the paper, page by page, ad by ad, word by word to clean up every possible circumstance that someone might find objectionable. I’m not distributing twice a m onth a shrink-wrapped lifeless publication that has been censored and parboiled to the point where it neither offends nor projects meaningful purpose for anyone. I’m a publisher, not a distribu­ tor o f blank note pages. That said, we, I, will attem pt to pay closer attention to having conversations with advertisers if/when we see content that might be overly troublesome to a segment o f our community. Ib is will not be for the express purpose o f refusing ads but rather to give the advertiser the opportunity to make a more educated decision as to the possible impact o f the ad. The advertiser, the business owner is re­ sponsible for choices made in bringing people to— or driving them away from— his business. By not caving in to the demands o f the above letter writer, I have likely alienated one, if not many more readers. I want to make it very clear, however, that this is not a situation where I am choosing ad dollars over reader sensibilities. I respect the letter writer for feeling strongly about the image in the ad. I appreciate the fact that she put action to her feelings. I get that she sees the ad as more than failed humor. I differ, though, with the approach to immedi­ ately be punitive toward the advertiser, and the paper publishing the ad. W hat if, what if, she and her group o f older women had gone in with humor and jest to meet with the owner and bring the topic to the table with clarity and the supposed wisdom that comes with the age indicated in the letter? W hat if they’d baked some cookies and gone in to win an ally and make a friend? W hat if? W hat if they hadn’t set out to become the exact stereotype that they found objection­ able in the ad in the first place? W hat if?J«S VOL. 28. NO. 19 SEPTEMBER 2 .2 0* * INSIDE: » NEWS & COMMUNITY 5 TRA N SITIO N S 5 N O RTHW EST NEW S IN BRIEF 10 MAKING CO NN EC TIO N S (la y Fair and LGBTQ_Fxpo bring community resources together 12 YO UTH UPRISING Alazar Manning wants vou to give big for CAP's A ID S Walk 2011 16 HOLY HO M O S, BATMAN! Iris Pride Festival calls on superhero support » LIFE & CULTURE 18 STOP, COLLABORATE & LISTEN Second Annual N ot Enough! festival gives new art real legs 21 O U T & ABOUT 26 YO U BETTA (NOT) W ORK WerqForce celebrates “Labor Gav ’with eight parties in eight hours 28 MAKE TIM E FOR TBA:11 In its ninth year,Time- Based Art Festival ups the ante 30 C R O W D -E S Q U E Portland s burlesque scene is bursting at the scams » COLUMNISTS 15 THE SASSY GARDENER 25 LADY ABOUT TOW N 32 LIVING O U T LOUD 34 ASK A GAY 35 REM EM BER TO BREATHE ON THE COVER: "Like a Virgin was Released in 1984” by Stephen Scott Smith Smith, who considers Portland his creative home, uses a wide range of media including video, photography, painting, drawing, sculpture,performance and installation to explore the intersection o f nature with narcissism and identity in modern America. Turn to p. 21 or visit stephenscottsmith.com for more on this artist. I-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSISTING OUR COMMUNITY WITH PROBATE AND OTHER END-OF-LIFE ISSUES URELHURST ENTISTRY GENERAL & COSMETIC DENTISTRY Offering the latest in advanced dental technoloy: Adoptions Surrogacy Divorce, Custody Wills/Estate Planning Probate Employment Business Law 503 . 241.3103 www.bethallenlaw.com + Low radiation digital x-rays ♦ Porcelain veneers and crowns Beth Allen Law + Cerec single-appointment porcelain crowns + Invisalign 25 20 EAST BURNSIDE, PORTLAND, OR 97214 PH: (5 0 3 ) 2 3 3 - 3 6 2 2 FX: (5 0 3 ) 2 3 3 - 5 8 8 2 W W W .L A U R E L H U R S T D E N T IS T R Y .C O M left to right Corinne Anderson, DM P Sheila Bennett, DMP Adrienne Fischl, DM P Beth A. Allen, founding partner: winner of the Oregon Gay & Lesbian Law Association (OGALLA) Silver Jubilee Award; OGALLA Award of Merit; and the Basic Rights Oregon Superhero Award. Selected as a 2010 Oregon Super Lawyer. Founding member of the BRO Legal Group; author of Same-Sex Marriage: a Conflicts of Law Analysis for Oregon; frequent local, state and national speaker on marriage equality.