Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1987)
Feature V7e eouloM keep -them out of the race-) but some o? us made sure they got a Late sfaet I Inside the minority looking out is ‘tough and scary’ by Lyn Marie Thompson Photo Editor This is a story of what it’s like to be on the inside of a minority community looking out on the majority. Most of the names have been changed to protect the privacy of all those involved. “It is rather unfair to make any kind of generalization about gay people as a whole by inter viewing a few people because we are as diverse as any other culture or subculture^” states Natalie, a member of the gay and lesbian support group here on campus. How very right she is. In interviewing four members of the group, I found that although there were similarities between them, they each had run into very individualized problems as members of the homosexual minority. Natalie, age 29, and mother of two, realized that she was a les bian around the age of 13. At that time, homosexuality was considered a mental illness and was treated accordingly. She spent seven years of her life in treatment for her “problem.” “I pretty much blocked it out of my mind and went about hav ing babies and getting married at 16 and 17 years old. I followed all the prescribed programs, and failed each and every one of them horribly and miserably until I, finally was> able to come out totally to myself.” Natalie now lives a gay lifestyle with her eight year old daughter and her daughter’s “cd-parent.” Natalie’s main problem in liv ing a gay lifestyle is dealing with her daughter’s school. “It’s hard to make them understand about her co-parent. She has the same, and sometimes more authority than I do. She has the same rights and responsibilites as I do, as far as I’m concerned. But when you get into the legal aspect, she has no legal leg to stand on. It’s hard to make the school understand that when they call my house and get her, her answer is just as good as if it had been mine. It’s hard for them to accept, but they are coming to accept that.” When speaking of herself, Natalie states, “I am not just a lesbian. I’m a mother. I’m a nurse. I’m a very good nurse. I’m actually a very nice person.” Due to his religious background, Dave, 39, has only recently come to terms with his being gay. He “came out” in September, and through the sup port group is learning to accept his sexuality as a part of himself and to “learn more about living a gay lifestyle.” Dave realized that he was gay when he was around 18 years old, “but I tried to change because I was taught that it was wrong. Sometimes I still struggle with guilt feelings.” Dave felt ashamed of his sex uality until he talked to one of his dosest friends in the religious community who revealed that he, himself was gay. “I just wanted to talk to somebody about it. I viewed it as a problem at the time.” Dave joined the group on cam pus around the third week of its existence. “It’s nice to know now '...J don’t like playing games. I don’t like hiding. I hold back because I don’t want to be misunderstood." that I have a few people to talk to. I still find myself divided within. Part of me is very secretive. I’m afraid to be friend ly with men. Sometimes I think, ‘Oh, they’ll get the wrong idea and think I’m after them.’ It’s very frustrating because I don’t like playing games. I don’t like hiding. I hold back because I don’t want to be misunderstood.” When discussing anti-gay at titudes, Dave replies, “I can understand ‘their’ point of view. For years I thought that way. But even during that time, I was somewhat sympathetic for those people, even though I knew that it was wrong. I always felt like it was one thing to believe it’s wrong, but does that mean you have to be down on people?” For Mike, 30, the problem is society’s stigma of publicly ex pressing affection. “You don’t show too many signs of public af fection, which is something our society allows for heterosexual relationships. There are a lot of times I see couples holding hands, walking in the park and I think ‘Oh, I wish I could do that.’ I guess it makes me jealous.” “It’s hard to find somebody else in the ‘straight’ society that you can talk to about a problem with your mate or lover,” says Mike. “In the rap group, we’ve got the framework of different students and you can get their views and ideas and they’re not ‘Oh no! You’re one of THOSE!’ They’ll talk to you instead of be ing shocked by what you say.” Meagan, who has realized that she was a lesbian since she was about six, “came out” when she was 14. Now 21, Meagan’s main problem in liv ing a gay lifestyle is acceptance. “It’s tough, and it’s scary. There must be some support out there somewhere, I just wish they’d vocalize it a little bit.” Even though she’s been “out” for so long, her family members have yet to fully ac cept her sexuality. “They know and they’re supportive, an they’re not. They are becaus I’m their child, but they sti think that getting married an having kids is the number on priority. My mom and stepda know and acknowledge it, bi they don’t accept my lover a much as they would a guy. M father just ignores that part o me entirely.” Her desire for acceptance i clear. “Overall I’d rather see I large acceptance. People accepl us as people. I don’t care if they, really accept us as being gay qI lesbians, but that we all arl human beings and we do haul rights. I’ve seen some thing and heard some things on can pus that have put dow homosexuals because they’i not ‘normal’ and that’s n< true. They’re one of you an one of me. They can b anybody and everybody.” Each of these people is vei unique and separate from eat other in some way. Natalie final comment sums it up in nutshell; “The only way yc can really generalize us is by tl sexuality, and that’s such minute portion of our lives. An yet, that is how society classifi us immediately.” CONFIDENTIAL AFFORDABLE BIRTH CONTROL from the coring professionals... Call today and find out how you can qualify for a $2000 Cash Bonus and the new G.l. Bill Benefits! CALL: SGT MCADAMS 657-6803 ¿ejwrl^ofAmencaatitsbest Page 4 ^7 Planned Parenthood PORTLAND 775-0861 BEAVERTON 646-8222 VANCOUVER 694-1188 CALL TODAY! please We would like t welcome any respons ¡from student or facult pertaining to article published in this, past, o future issues of Th Print. Clackamas Community Colle!
