Eugene weekly., July 24, 2003, Page 11, Image 11

and LCC, there are definite academic appeals
about this town. “School keeps me here,”
says Birch, who studies sociology at LCC.
“The college system is cheap compared with
other states.” Birch also says that through
school, a job at Allan Bros. Coffee, and
involvement in the Lord Leebrick Theater,
Eugene has provided her an active social life.
Sebastiane Powers, a 37-year-old artist,
and Ana Hewitt, 36-year-old co-owner (with
great relief for me.”
Like Sue Hartman, Berman heads up a
social group for Eugene lesbians, The Lesbian
Connection (TLC). TLC had its heyday in the
late ’80s, rallying against the Oregon Citizens’
Alliance and political initiatives “to put us all
on an island somewhere…,” she says. But
what started as a politically active social group
of more than 100 members has dwindled to a
dozen or fewer.
‘We’re gay,
not perverts.’
— Ana Hewitt
Powers) of Dane Security, have been togeth-
er since ’95 and married since ’97. Eugene,
says Powers, “… has been a cocoon bubble
of safety.” Homeowners in the Laurel Hill
area for a little over three years now, Powers
and Hewitt are remodeling a house they share
with four dogs and a cat. They have estab-
lished a network of friends through their
neighborhood, the Eugene music scene
(Hewitt rocks with band Station Wag) and
dog parks — “Dog park people are good peo-
ple,” says Powers.
“When we go to music shows,” she says,
“it’s so great to see the younger lesbians hold-
ing hands and kissing. It just wasn’t like that
for us when we were that age.” As for ill-con-
ceived notions that the mainstream might
have about lesbians and lesbian couples,
Hewitt simply says, “We’re gay, not per-
verts.”
Cosmic & Magical
Bonnie Berman, originally from Boston,
absolutely chose Eugene as her home. In
1987, she says, “I fell in love with the
Saturday Market. A friend took me to break-
fast at Keystone, and it felt like a time warp
back to 1967. It was wonderful. I thought
Eugene was cosmic and magical. This place
just turned me on.”
Berman came to Eugene for both its tol-
erance and accessibility She appreciated
being able to be out as a lesbian, but maybe
more importantly, she appreciated that she
could get around town — Berman suffered
severe injuries as the result of a terrible car
crash in 1971. “There were so many things
that were accessible here, and that was a
“We ask that all women come without
substance abuse, smoking or alcoholism …,”
she says. “We are definitely going down,
down, down.” But Berman remains firm in
what she believes is appropriate public
behavior for adults.
Though she hopes that TLC will see a
revival, she is actually quite fired up about
another project she’s involved with that
allows gays and lesbians to get together for a
vice-free common interest: The Rainbow
Kennel Club. “It’s a very campy group,”
Berman says. “We have a dog show once a
year.” Gays and lesbians collaborate on the
show to decide the group’s “Most Butch,”
“Most Outrageous,” “Most Femme,” “Most
Adorable.” Actually, says Berman, “Every
dog wins most adorable.”
“We used to have just lesbians do it and
we called it ‘Dykes and Dogs,’ but now
we’re open to gays and lesbians, and their
dogs. We would include cats,” Berman
explains, “but cats just aren’t into it …” (The
show this year will be Sept. 28 at the Alton
Baker off-leash park.)
Home Safe
While there’s no way to generalize the
lesbian experience, it’s safe to say that issues
of diversity and tolerance more directly
affect this segment of the population in ways
that they don’t affect the average heterosexu-
al man or woman.
The study in Population Today rated
Eugene as one of the top 10 cities where
female couples choose to settle down. And
yes, the women interviewed for this story
agreed that Eugene’s hippie-liberal reputa-
Mad
DuCkLing
Children’s
T h e a t re
With Support from the Cultural Forum,
the Summer Session Office, and the ASUO.
July 29-August 2
and August 5-9
J . and the
Beanstalk
a new play
All shows begin 11am
$4 tickets for all ages
Join us on the lawn of the Robinson Theatre on
the UO Campus! Limited free parking is
available. Discounts for groups of 10 or more.
For information
and reservations
call
346-4192
Lively Organic Farm
It’s Summertime!
Tom & Megas invite you to
come out & enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Organically Grown:
Peaches
Nectarines
Blueberries
Plums
A
Corn, carrots, cantaloupe, tomatoes,
sweet onions, beans, watermelon & more!
A
Saturday - 10 am to 5 pm
600 River Loop # 2
(3 miles North of Beltline
off River Rd)
461-2737
Todd Cooper
Ashley Birch
JULY 24, 2003 11