Eugene weekly., August 06, 2015, Page 16, Image 16

the
Pride issue
TICKLED PINK
Local comedian Beth Pinkerton tells Eugene how it is
B
eth Pinkerton’s first time performing standup
comedy was in March. As of June 28, she was
opening for a national act — comedian Jen
Kirkman — at Cozmic, where Pinkerton
brought down the house with her outsider views of
Eugene. It takes some serious chutzpah to tell a Chaco-
wearing, CSA-subscribing crowd of the hippie noblesse
that you buy your produce at Walmart, you eat at Taco
Bell and that you, Eugene, can go fuck yourself already.
Sure, there was a boo or two, a few gasps and clasped
hemp necklaces, but, overwhelmingly, the New York
transplant was greeted with laughs, applause and what felt
like a collective cathartic release.
Pinkerton’s shtick is the stick poking at our self-
righteous, bougie bubble of liberal values, an antidote for
politically correct lives lived too seriously.
But she also pokes at herself in her act, regaling in self-
deprecating stories of trying to come out as a lesbian to
her cigarette-dragging mother at 15 (it didn’t take at first),
her Catholic upbringing and what it’s like to follow in the
footsteps of her brother, the “golden boy,” a navy pilot,
who’s now one of her biggest advocates.
And for all her jokes, Pinkerton — who works for a
local nonprofit specializing in therapeutic foster care —
loves Eugene and its generally accepting nature. EW
caught up with Pinkerton to discuss comedy, marriage
equality — she married in December — gaydar and more.
Catch her next at the Bleepin’ Funny comedy night Aug.
29 at Sam Bond's Garage, but for now, here are some
Pinkerton musings.
ON FINDING STANDUP
I’ve actually wanted to be a standup comedian my
whole life, but it was one of those pipe-dream things —
like, "That’s never going to happen." I’m also super self-
conscious about stuff, so I was super nervous about it.
Then I was like, “Fuck it.” There’s a class through
LCC, a comedy-writing class. It’s taught by Leigh Ann
Jasheway and it was a fantastic experience, and I learned
how to write standup. The whole final for the class was, if
you chose to participate, doing standup at “Bleepin’
Funny” at Sam Bond’s. So that was my first show. I think
my opening joke was my mom had an STD in the 1980s,
and it was called an unwanted pregnancy.
ON EUGENE ELITISM
I think what you eat, where you buy things, where you
shop, who you associate with, where you stand on certain
social, political issues — it’s all very judge-y. I kind of
said it in my standup: I do; I eat Taco Bell and I do fucking
consider it Mexican. I’ve been shamed for that here. The
first time I told a joke about shopping at Walmart — that’s
where I buy my produce — people booed in the audience.
I was like, “Yeah. Suck it. You can boo if you want.” I’m
sure they were half being funny but it’s true, you look
down on that.
But I work for a nonprofit. I’m the primary breadwinner
in my family. I just bought a house. I don’t have a ton of
money and I do shop at Walmart and that’s just the way it is.
ON EVERYONE LOOKING LIKE LESBIANS
IN EUGENE AND REFINING HER “GAYDAR”
When I first moved here, my gaydar was shot because
when I look for a lesbian, I look for a dyke haircut, short
BY ALEX V. CIPOLLE
fingernails and a general angry disposition. Do you know
what happens when you put tin foil on a cat’s feet? They
can’t feel the ground so they can’t walk. That’s how I felt
when I got here around navigating the queer community
and figuring out who was gay because I had no idea.
Where I work right now, when I first started there,
everyone called their partners their partners. I was like,
“Everyone’s gay! This is the coolest thing ever.” Then I
was like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You’re just PC or
some shit.” I’m not used to that. Where I’m from
[Rochester, New York], you say partner you mean gay.
ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY
As a young lesbian, you think you’ll never see it. I
always hoped that I would see marriage equality, but
once it finally hits you — when it hit here [in Oregon], I
remember walking out of work and calling Jules, my
wife, and just crying.
ON FAMILY AND COMING OUT
My parents were super liberal. They left the Catholic
Church due in part because I came out. At this point,
they’re completely done. My mom started wearing PFLAG
[family and ally org advocating for LGBTQ community]
pins and my dad has a rainbow sticker on his car, like a
straight rainbow. I was like, “You’re going to be confused
as a gay man.” And he’s like, “I don’t care. I support my
daughter.”
Every single letter or card my dad signs, every single
one for years now, has been signed, “In
love and pride, Dad.” I have amazing
parents. ■
Edited for length and clarity. To read extended
version, visit eugeneweekly.com
And now with the
Supreme Court, it’s just
fantastic. My boss texted me at
7:15 in the morning — it was the
best thing to wake up to. We live in an
amazing time. The fact that I can now
technically go to Arkansas where the
Duggars [of 19 Kids and Counting] live and
get married and throw that in their face —
I’ll tell you what Jim Bob!
ON GAY BARS
So I was shocked when I came here and
there wasn’t a gay bar. And all the straight
people’s response — they were like, “Yeah,
but you guys don’t need gay bars. Everybody’s
welcome.”
And I was like, “No. I totally get it, but
that doesn’t mean I don’t want a space.” It’s
weird. It sounds so backwards to say a benefit
of oppression, so stay with me on this, but a
benefit to it, back home, was this whole group
of people was forced to find a community. I had a
handful of gay bars just in Rochester alone — lesbian
bars, gay bars, bear bars, leather bars, all kinds of stuff
with each little niche of the queer community because you
needed a place to go, because nobody was accepting.
What that allowed for was for you to know other
lesbians in the city. What happened here [in Eugene],
it’s bittersweet. It’s more accepting here, but I lost
that sense of community.
BETH PINKERTON
SAYS HER PARENTS
LINKED ARMS AND
SANG 'THE SUN
WILL COME OUT
TOMORROW' WHEN
SHE CAME OUT TO
HER DAD AT AGE 18
P H OTO BY T R A S K BE DO R T H A
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A ugust 6, 2015 • eugeneweekly.com