DECEMBER 1976
DUMB AND GAY?
the
By LEON STEVENS Recently, had opportunity to see the play The Law of Silence performed by the Cleveland Theatre of the Deaf at the Fairmount Center for Creating and Performing Arts in
Cleveland Hts. This is the second dramatic event I have seen executed by a talented team of hearing-impaired and hearing individuals.
As a gay person, I can readily identify with the plight of the deaf. Like the deaf, gays are a misunderstood minority, cruelly persecuted in times past. In my personal life and as an activist I consistently oppose discrimination against the deaf.
As a result of my pro-deaf and pro-gay convictions, I was appalled and disappointed to witness a villainous caricature of a male homosexual in the drama directed by Charles St. Clair. The stereotyped
character, replete with lipstick, polished fingernails, pink brocade, jewels, feathers and effeminate, cowardly mannerisms tasteless!
was tragic and
The Law of Silence portrays the wholesale and inhumane
LUTHERANS CONCERNED
FOR GAY PEOPLE
Invites inquiry from sincerely interested Ohioans gay and non-gay, male and female, black and white, clergy and lalty.
For details write
LUTHERANS CONCERNED, P.O. Box 134
Dayton, OH 45401
HIGH GEAR
massacre of deaf people who were believed to be evil and mindless in medieval Europe. In the final act, a heroic deaf youth (skillfully portrayed by Brian Kilpatrick), raised and educated by sympathetic monks, had been captured and burned alive at the stake, not unlike anyone discovered to be homosexual during the Middle Ages. In fact, So common were public immolations of gays that they came to be known by the slang term, "faggots" (meaning small sticks used for kindling).
to
The martyr, Adam (Kilpatrick) preferred death apprenticeship as a court fool. Gays are no fools either!
The theme of The Law of Silence is "tolerance of people who are different," and this moral is cultivated with intense, Stanislavskyan didacticism. It is sadly ironic that the play solicits compassion for an unfamiliar minority, while it, itself, ridicules another group of pariahs.
The actor's depiction of a wicked "fag" is also grossly sexist. The "feminine"
paraphernalia he wears is used for the purpose of mockery, underscoring our society's notion that men and women live in separate castes: a supreme male caste and an inferior female one. Although it is honorable for "Joan of Arc" to don male battle array (so long as too many "Joans" do not
GAY RAP GROUP
FRIDAYS 8-10 PM
The Free Clinic, 12201 Euclid
(across From the 120th Rapid Station) Individual Counseling Thursdays 6-10 pm call 721-4010 For Information
Page 17 threaten male supremacy), it is considered degrading for a man to attire himself as a female! Why the seemingly macho reiteration, "I am a man?" What about hearing-impaired women? Why not declare simply, "I am human?"
The role of the ruling governor must be especially discomforting for deaf gays (of whom there are many in Cleveland) who are doubly isolated due to their alienating hearing loss and unpopular sexual orientation.
Brian Kilpatrick's acting was accomplished, as was that of most of the performers. It is unfortunate that the direction and script could not have been more insightful. In any case, The Law of Silence teaches an important lesson; not that deaf people are fine human beings, I already know that, but that perhaps some things never change!
Something Exciting...
Something NEW!
a superbath Opening Soon in
Ft. Lauderale
2650 E. OAKLAND PARK BLVD (305) 566-6750
WHERE THE
ACTION
Free Tourists Membership
299 S.W 8th St Rear Entrance)
Mon
CHICKEN NIGHT Locker for $1.00
Tues Wed MOVIES 9 PM
Thurs.
FREE to all who come in leather.
Fri Sat
Action at it's best
Sun
1 PM
Dogs & Suds
OPEN 24 HOURS
FREE! BEER BUST
9 PM 11 PM
1 AM 3 AM
7 NIGHTS WEEK
Room Reservation Special 3 Days or more Mon Thurs $8.00 Daily Fri, Sat & Sun $10.00 Daily Whirlpool Roman Steam Room Bunk Room TV. Lounge Outside Patio
36 Private Rooms with Lockers Central Air & Heat
Youth Rates $3.00
854-0365
1976 DAVID
AWARDS WINNER
HEALTH CLUB OF THE YEAR
JAY BIRD TOY BOX NOW
HERE
HEART
OF DOWNTOWN MIAMI 33130
(305)854-0365
IN
AND OUT
PRIVILEGES