November, 1975

HIGH GEAR

Page 5

A tourist's View Of The Bicentennial Conference

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By John Nosek WASHINGTON D.C. tober 10th, at their expense, three High Gear staff members traveled to Washington D.C. to cover the Gay Bicentennial Conference. Here is their report:

The Arrival

After a haggering eight hour drive, a feeling of euphoric relief swept over us as we spotted Al! Soul's Church, our destined camp for the next two days and nights. Trudging up the stairs of the pillared, near-cathedral, we were somewhat apprensensive about our immediate housing plans. We decided to go to D.C. at the last minute with the spontaneous hope of mixing pleasure with business. What we were unprepared for was a series of blank faces when we persestently inquired about housing. Tired, dirty, and hungry, we let the gay movement temporarily fall out of our list of priorities. A bath, food, and a stiff drink became our subsequent obsessions.

were

Finally, after six futile calls to surrounding hotels, we told we could have the second to last room at the Annapolis Hotel on H Street, a real dive by anyone's standards. No toilet paper, dirty floors, and leering roaches greeted us as we entered the room. But we were thankful. At least we had a roof over our heads.

It is amazing what a shower and a change of clothes can do for one's attitude.

Suddenly

replete with the energy that seems to permeate D.C., we were ready to do the town. First stop-All Soul's Church (again) for registration and a party which featured dry wine. pleasant punch, and rare company.

Sgt. Matlovich

After a brief stay, we journeyed to The Lost and Found located at 56 L Street S.E., still Washington's most exciting and "cruisey" bar. The Lost and Found has expanded to include a large Western arena in the rear which sports a "jail" on one side of the room. It was'eeiry to gaze at people on the other side of the bars. We could have sworn we were in a zoo... After a good deal of ballyhooing, we returned to the apartment, some-

what disappointed that so many of D.C.'s residents are "married."

The Conference

The next morning we attended the panel discussions, and the forces of comradeship began immediately to make their presence felt. At the opening session, Marty Duberman emerged as the first speaker.

will not hinge on the legal or human merits of the case; job performance or character analysis. The overriding factor will be the critical assumptions about sexual behavior and erotic expression in our society. Radical change has more currency now than ever before in this country's history. I believe we are in store for selfacceptance, richness, and diver-

sity; and that someday will be soon if we don't lose the capacity for self-transformation and innovation."

First day Adjournment Playwright and historian, Duberman is presently a Professor of History at Lehman College of The City University of New York. He is currently in the process of writing a history of the sexuality in the U.S. A collection of plays on gay themes, Male Armor, is also due in 1976.

Duberman proceeded to present a fascinating, factual, and intellectural account of his impressions of the Matlovich trial. Commissioned by The N. Y. Times to write an essay on the Matlovich hearings, Duberman soon discovered it was to be one of his most difficult literary works.

Until two years ago, Duberman informed us that Matlovich was the classic son of Middle America. He believed in God, duty, competition, monogamy. and hard work. He had voted for Goldwater in 1964 and was never comfortable with any sexuality.

At age 30, however, Matlovich lost his virginity, and sinultaneously, an upheaval of his heretofore steadfast beliefs took place. Now he has accepted his homosexuality; re-evaluated his position on monogamy; and is ashamed of his previous stands against integration. Indeed, Duberman says blacks have been Matlovich's chief support group at Langley Air Force Base.

Duberman went on to say that the verdict of the Matlovich case could not be laid to the mentality of the military. Though Matlovich had a parade of wellintentioned supporters, it was not enough. What we needed, according to Duberman; were more hard facts and evidence. "Scientists do not challenge the dominant opinions of society but clarify and consolidate assumptions that already exist about how the world works."

Said Duberman: "The final round of the Matlovich hearings

Deloros Noll Duberman's speech was inspiring; but it was Deloros Noll, Professor of English Literature at Kent State University, and national lesbian/feminist activist who sounded the rallying political cry. Said Noll: "We always hear of how worried people are that we will infect their children. What they fail to realize is that we are their children! We are the people they warned us about!"

On the issue of closets, Nolls observed, "For some, the closet is very spacious with pictures on the wall. Yet it is still closed, limited, and limiting. To lie and be hypocritical about oneself erodes a person's integrity. This is oppression. Coming out of the closet is essential to personal and political liberation."

"We will not accept secondclass citizenship. We are not asking for tolerance, but repentance and compensation for the past wrongs directed at us."

"All discrimination must be banished on a federal level; sodomy laws eradicated; and free-flow funding for gay community services offered to our people. As we become more evident, the chances of an ensuing backlash are greater. When it comes, we must be clear-eyed, hard-headed, and tenacious!"

"The silence of our past sisters and brothers speaks poignantly for the suffering they endured. We submit we have been denied the right to liberty, to the pursuit of happiness, and the right to life itself. We will not rest until we participate wholly in our rightful inheritance."

Lunch In Georgetown

With those stimulating comments, a break for lunch was called, and general mingling followed. Unfortunately, since we were late arrivals, we had no access to food tickets. So instead, the three of us sped to Georgetown to take in the sights. Desiring to do in Washington what the D.C.'ers do, we first went to The Georgetown Grill which is located in the heart of the people-watching district on Wisconsin Avenue. The Grill, to those of you who are unfamilair with D.C. is a low-cost restaurant-bar for gay males to gather in during the day. Though the food is lousy, the cruising is great. From there, we went up the street to Henry's, a higher class gay restaurant which serves good sandwiches and reasonably priced drinks.

After lunch, enchanted with the street crowd, we couldn't resist strolling through the shopping area and basking in what in Cleveland would have been a summer sun. One of us finally took note of the time, and we rushed back to the co..ference in a rapid frenzy.

Gay Community Services

We re-appeared at the conference barely in time for The Federal Funding For Community Services Panel which was of to particular interest us as GEAR Foundation members. Actively planning in providing Greater Cleveland-Akron with a free comprehensive community service facility, we took copious

Tourists

notes on who to contact for various funds.

Gary Rees and Ken Bartley, respectively from San Diego and L.A. Centers, and Aaron Fineman of a Grants Management Program in D.C. informed the group that it was first necessary to decide what we wanted to do, and then calculate both the

Photos by John Kline short and long range price tags. The panelists emphasized that gay community services have greater difficulty maintaining funding than struggling to obtain it.

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The Gay Media Next on the agenda was a panel presentation munication within the gay movement. Loretta Lotman, Media Director of the National Gay Task Force spoke on the benefits of radio broadcasting. Lotman pointed out that radio is anonymous and unlike most gay publications reaches people in the closet who don't yet realize gay is good. "A weekly radio program would give such people a periodic re-assurance which could allow them the opportunity to build their own images and strength." Lotman said all local area programs should exchange cassettes with each other on a national level.

Allen Young, co-editor of Out of the Closets Voices of Gay Liberation spoke on gay written communiques, expressing the fact that most gay publications are done in isolation and lack important exchanges of news and ideas. Young said that a number of questions presently divide gay journalists... The question of feminism verses sexism as applied to eroticism was cited as a major concern:

"I don't mind looking at nude men; but the problem lies in that all of the photographed men are young, pretty, and have big cocks. This results in a negative socialization effect which is harmful."

Young also commented on the recent gay article in Time magazine: "Most gays probably thought it was wonderful. Although it had some positive thrust, the theme was around acceptance. We don't want acceptance; we want freedom. The article omitted the crucial aspects of gay liberation like the obliteration of sex-role stereotypes, the notion of bisexuality, and feminism and the movement.'

Saturday Night Out

As it was getting late, and prurient interests were taking over the desires of one of our group, we left the conference and headed for our seedy hotel room, only to find that we still didn't have any toilet paper! Disgruntled but not dissuaded, we showered quickly and once again immersed ourselves in the whirlpool of D.C. night life. Our destination this time was Washington Square D.C.'s newest gay extravaganza. As we entered, it appeared that the crowd was composed primarily of 18-22 years old, and a goodly number of them were dancing a modification of the Hustle on a shiny, circular dance floor. The bar included a sparkling, spiral staircase. The largest clock I've ever seen in an enclosed room smiled down at the patrons from

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