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by Leon Stevens

Ever since the rabble-rousing of the sixties, lesbians have increasingly gravitated toward a philosophy of lesbian-feminist separatism. Many lesbian thinkers felt that separatism was. neccesary both to rid gay women of oppression by male supremacists in the Gay Movement and to permit them to raise their own consciousnesses in an environment which was not distorted by the gay male experience.

In the few years in which feminist separatism has flourished both of these goals have been partially achieved (We say partially because we expect lesbian feminist separatism to have a significant future). In addition to the ideological success of lesbian separatism, gay women have netted a rebirth of lesbian culture which has dominated the lesbian community and heavily influenced the entire Women's Movement.

Lesbian separatism has produced two major cultural feats. First, lesbians have enjoyed incredible success in eliminating sexism. Most open gay women are independent of Madison Avenue sexploitation. Even lesbians who are not directly involved in feminist politics still ascribe to the feminist rejection of cosmetics, impractical jewelry and clothing and other conventions imposed on other women. Secondly, lesbians have achieved a sizable pool of musical and poetic works as well as accomplishments of theatre, film, graphic arts and more.

None of these cultural advances would have been possible without SEPARATISM. There can be no doubting that separatism works to elevate consciousness, and there is no reason gay men should not take advantage of this technique to rid themselves of straight male myopia.

It seems that the major achievements of gay male culture lie in the past in stupendous works with subtle, hidden gay themes. Yet now when gay politics has come up front in the Western hemisphere, gay male culture has taken a seat even further back. What contemporary gay culture we have, particularly on a mass level has been a lapdog to larger straight "civilization.

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Outside of Chris Robinson, Paul Wagner's and Steven Grossman's three pathos-laden, non-representative record albums, we have no open gay mass recorded music, much less music which is cheery and inspiring. David Bowie's vague: "neutral" or even closety lyrics cannot compare to Lavender Jane's robust and forthright LESBIANISM.

Outside of chunky, pornographic advertising sketches (and Kenn Duncan's nudes?) we have no mass circulated or mass identifiable gay art. Nothing to match even one frieze by Michaelangelo or one homoromantic fragment from the Parthenon.

HIGH GEAR

GAY MALE SEPARATISM

FK

OCTOBER 1976

In the past few years Lesbians have manufactured untold tonage of feminist verses. Poetry readings are a familiar feature of lesbian gatherings. Gay male poetry has been forthcoming, but slowly.

Gay male expression tends to be so subjective and individuali ized that it frequently lacks universal appeal and even alienates other gay males. Solo attention to the hedonistic pursuit of the almighty Cock has desensitized us to the worth of our own brothers.

TIME TO STRIKE OUT ON OUR OWN GUYS!! First prize> goes to the man who can write a song about the man he loves who hasn't just "stabbed him in the back." Does anybody dare sculpt two men interacting WITH THEIR CLOTHES ON AND THEIR COCKS IN THEIR PANTS? A laurel wreath to the first male martyr who is stoned to death reading a poem in a bar!

To be sure, we get our cut of male privilege by kissing ass to the straight male establishment, but what a price! Faust could sell his soul to the devil and still attain divine grace in the end. Do we expect to get the same from the National Football League?

Male privilege may buy us antiques and theatre tickets; but it doesn't buy us class. We are at our best when we are who we are! Muhammad Ali made Howard Cosell famous and we made Marty Hartman, Mary Hartman a hit. But the fact remains Muhammad Ali doesn't need Howard Cosell and we don't need Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Gentlemen's Quarterly does not dress us. We dress gentlemen. We do not need cultural hand-me-downs from our great white male brothers. We should and have provided culture to them. They can take it or leave it and since we've been their cultural babysitters for the last five thousand years, at least, there's no reason to believe they will not continue to receive THEIR culture from US, even if they know who we are.

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The exclusively gay sector of our covertly gay overtly straight civilization is ready now for inventive communally "internalized" life-styles. We can do without the pathetic procession of jealous spouses clutching their lovers' shirt tails for dear life as they wind their way through the bar crowd struggling all along the route to beat back the gazes of admirers with lips curled back over their ferocious canines, ready to stab any challenger with a broken: bottle.

Hell with funeral chants like, "When will I see you again?" pouring out of the orchestra pits for countless one-night, one-act tragedies! No man should be labeled a "strumpet" for sharing his intimacy freely. 'WHORE' IS NOT A GAY WORD!

Why tolerate the monotony of icons of gigantic penises with tiny growths on them called "men?" If we think maxims like,

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