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1981 Mid-Michigan Lesbian-Gay Pride Week:

A Report from Rick Rapaport

LANSING/EAST LANSING How do you measure the success of a Lesbian-Gay Pride Week? By how much fun people have? By the amount of information relayed to the non-gay community? By the number of closeted lesbians and gay men who come to feel better about themselves? By how closely the week conforms to the organizers' expectations?

All these are valid yardsticks and by any measure, I think 1981 Mid-Michigan Lesbian-Gay Pride Week was a success.

The week kicked off Saturday, May 9, at Trammpps Dico in Lansing with the premier showing of the four-part TV documentary LESBIANS AND GAY MEN: THE EIGHTIES. The TV mini-series, which showed on public access cable during Pride Week, was created by the Lansing area gay community.

Over 50 people, including many non-gay supporters, participated. What resulted, according to the countless comment's I've received, was a high-quality, heartfelt representation of what it's like to be a gay man or lesbian in a medium-sized midwestern city.

Sunday evening, author Mary Borhek joined in the weekly rap group sponsored by Michigan State University's Lesbian-Gay Council. Mary wrote the book, "My Son Eric," about how she reconciled her staunch religious background with her discovery of her son's homosexuality. Sunday evening she talked about how to come out' to parents. She stressed careful choice of time, place and method.

Monday night, Lesbian-Gay Council sponsored a symposium on religious issues of importance to lesbians and gay men. Borhek spoke first, and said she had come to understand that there are many ways to interpret the bible. Those readings which condemn homosexuality, she explained, are based on faulty translations. Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed because of homosexuality. According to Borhek, they were destroyed because the inhabitants condoned gang rape. The second half of Monday evening was intended to be a debate between pro-gay and anti-gay clerics. However, despite an arduous search, we were unable to locate anyone willing to take the negative side of the question: "Can lesbians and gay men lead religious lives?" So, we went ahead with the 'debate' despite the fact that only one side was represented.

Episcopal Deacon Dr. Ann Garrison took up Borhek's rape discussion. She contended that the rape being perpetrated today is the "psychic rape" of the gay community by non-gay people who would deny us our sexual expression.

Father Richard Preston went on to make the connection between sexual oppression and the maintenance of a power structure which leads to international exploitation and war.

Tuesday night, the Lansing Association for Human Rights sponsored an organizing workshop. A local political activist stressed the necessity of aiming toward achievable goals and of knowing where power lies, and who the people are who wield it.

Wednesday night was "An Evening in Lesbian and Gay Culture." For four hours, talented gay men and lesbians sang, played music, read poetry and displayed their art in a rennovated mansion owned by the city of Lansing.

Thursday night, the classic gay documentary film, "The Word Is Out'' was shown on the MSU campus.

Friday night, the Cocktail Players performed Joe Orton's farce "What the Butler Saw." There was some negative reaction to the content of the play particularly that the play was sexist. It's true that the play did represent women in a less than favorable light but it also represented men negatively.

Several participants, in retrospect, agreed that a more positive play would have been better suited to the overall theme of Lesbian-Gay Pride Week.

After the play, Dignity-East Lansing sponsored a well-attended and festive dance.

Saturday was a day of seminars. Included were a regional meeting of the Michigan Organization for Human Rights, a discussion of lesbian and gay health issues, an inspection of gender roles, a look at marriage, a discussion on organizing, and a discourse on what gay people have to be proud of during Pride Week.

Saturday night, singer-songwriter-composer Teresa Tull and jazz pianist Julie Homi entertained a near-sellout crowd of enthusiastic