November, 1975

HIGH GEAR

Page 13

By LEON STEVENS

I want a malty mellow man

A golden yellow man

A beer-brewed peer

A dove-tailed deer

I want a man not built but gilt

As gold, as the guilded silt

And finely furred flesh In filagreed mesh

I want a golden buttered lick

A free and fettered trick

With locks in his mane And locks on his chain And hay in his rick.

POETRY

DAVID AND JASON

Two hands reaching out;

Each touched by an honest love; Two lives joined as one;

Each enriched by a shared joy-A very natural thing.

THE

--Marc Lewis

FRONT RUNNER: A

MEMORIAL

A torch held high--

flames

leaping with pride and love

lapping at the brilliant

Montreal sky:

From one hand

the eternal spirit of man

is proudly given;

By one hand

the youthful energy of love

is taken violently;

To one hand

the future promise of hope

is given lovingly.

--Marc Lewis

Male Sex Survey

Results Next Month

Queen ANNE'S Lace

By Yer Fat

Aunt Annie

Now that we all have the sand out of our socks and the hair out of our teeth from Summer Vacations, let's get down to answering some questions.

If you have a question about drag queens, transvestism, transexualism and allied subjects, drop us a line. We'll try to answer or refer you to a better, more thoroughly informed source. Just write to Yer Fat Aunt Annie at High Gear, P.O. Box 6177, Cleveland, Ohio 44101.

One very often asked question is: "If someone is gay, why would they be attracted to a drag queen?"

or more

That's an interesting idea. In essence, a gay individual has an aversion to members of the opposite sex for one reasons in their own particular makeup and life-experience. So why WOULD they want to get involved with a person who is imitating precisely what they're trying to avoid?

The answer is no more simple than the minds of people are simple. In fact, there may BE no pat answer. But I do have a few theories, looking from the inside out. A person who has faced and admitted their gay lifestyle and no longer suffers guilt for their actions and associations may very well NOT wish to associate with a drag queen. Those who most openly and routinely frequent the bars do so in search of pleasing companionship. And if what they wish to avoid is a woman symbol then they will probably avoid the drags.

Except for one thing they may be surprised to find, if only they

talk to a few: we're people too. Sometimes quite interesting people. People with feelings, ideas, likes and dislikes. And, as such, alone; we can be just pleasant people to know and talk with. So, even for the most "confirmed" gay guys, there's a message here as old as the whole gay idea; don't knock it until you try it. You have to do SOMETHING between orgasms.

But more to the point, there's a very large half-world of people who have not or cannot admit to their gay orientation. People who cannot yet face themselves. Since these are people in transition, they're also people who are highly unstable. Any drag who has had a bedroom date with one of these dudes, had a ball, and then gotten beated up in a fit of remorse after a fun evening can testify to this.

But these are the people most attracted to drags. And probably mostly because the drag queen offers the kind of sexual association their inner gay self longs for but in a package that's still feminine on the outside... and thus "acceptable" in the eyes of society and current moral standards. A sort of "all things for all people" kind of arrangement. Or a way to have your cake and eat it too (and I wouldn't touch that line with a ten foot pole ....)

Then, there's a third group -which I think is all too often ignored. The gay girls, Just as men have turned from women associations with in favor of associations with men, the girls have turned from associations with men to associations with women.

But since the drag queen is basically feminine... in fact, often more feminine thar...many

genuine women... we represent

a group that I think ought to get more interest and sympathy from the girls than we do. When I lived in Kansas City some years ago, I worked weekends in a very nice girl's bar called The Alternate. And since, like many drags, I'm far more comfortable in the presence of females than with males, I was happy as a lark and had many close friends among the girls who visited the place. We were compatible.

We were no "threat" to each other. And, I suppose, we represented a sort of "crossing line" where the gals could get some contact with the "male" world they needed without giving up their own way of life. Some people who really don't understand the question -may call them "Fag Hags"... I called them and still call them -my friends. Even my "sisters", if they'll accept that. SO on the basis of pure sexual action, many gays will not be attracted to drag queens. But that doesn't mean they cannot be friends. And strangely enough, out of friendship comes the finest, most secure and most wonderful kind of love. I know -I'm in the middle of just such a friendship right now. And it's fantastic!

296 at 50508 002750

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