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Gay Peoples Chronicle

LGSU CONFERENCE

May 1986

N.O.C.I. Pres. Gene Witts (1), gives Jeff Levi $1000 donation

WORKSHOP REPORTS

The following reports are limited to those workshops attended by members of the Chronicle staff for which a report seemed appropriate.

Out From Under

By MARTHA PONTONI

Despite a late announcement of a change in the time this workshop was to be presented, Out From Under, a workshop on chemicaland co-dependency, was well attended. The 40 participants were enlightened about the issues of alcoholism and its effect on the family and friends of the alcoholic.

Tim Thomas, educational consultant for the Regional Council on Alcoholism, first talked about the stages of alcoholism. Mr. Thomas showed that dependency on drugs and alcohol sets in when a person takes a chemical to be rid of some emotional pain. What usually happens is that more pain is created by the consequences. The person suffers because of his/her drinking.

They

Most people do not start out in this stage. drink when they are feeling good, to feel more relaxed, or a little "high."

Interestingly enough, many gay/lesbian alcoholics do not experience this first stage of "social" drinking, but immediately have ful, painful consequences from alcohol use.

harm-

The national average in the United States is that one out of every ten persons

is an alcoholic. the gay/lesbian community, one out of every three is alcoholic.

Marty Webb, certified alcoholism counselor, spoke on the issue of co-dependency. Ms. Webb described the codependent as someone who cares for and about the alcoholic.

Co-dependency is more fatal than alcoholism, and results in the largest users of third-party payments of insurance for stress-related health issues. Ms. Webb also talked about the alcoholic family and the roles each member plays.

A film, Gay, Proud, and Sober,

From page 1 common interest in a topic rather than as a show of being politically correct. It was there, too, in the discovery by those taking part in the Couples Workshop that, in spite of the myths, lesbian and gay male couples are much alike.

I think it was also shown by the young lesbian, newly aware of her sexual orienta tion, who left the Take Back the Night workshop when its members refused to let a man take part.

Grahn Enchants

In a fascinating talk dealing with what she called "the warm, soft, wet facts of cultural history," Judy Grahn used a technique rem iniscent of another poet, Robert Graves, even to using her "poet's ear" in a manner paralleling his reliance on his little finger.

Grahn integrated a mass of material into an overall cultural myth for gay people, accounting for our existence, constructing our history, engendering pride, and showing that the world needs us because we continually reveal that there is another way of looking at everything.

Grahn resembles Graves in another respect. Although many pieces of her argument could be faulted by scholars, she bulds them up into a whole that is dazzling: so satisfying, intellectually as well as emotionally and esthetically, that we accept it as poetic truth.

Gittings, Frank Kameny, Barculture heroes as Barbara bara Grier, and Harry Hay. If Rita Mae Brown's narration seemed to lack emotional conviction, why complain? Even in its trivia, the film satisfied. (It's been years since I heard "I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo." Come to think of it, it's been years since I saw a demonstration going on while Grace Slick sang "Somebody to Love.") And Mabel Hampton was even more delightful in the flesh than on film.

Levi Finds Hope

Jeff Levi ended the Conference on a generally upbeat note. Perhaps his optimism was further stimulated by the presentation of a $1,000 check for NGLTF by N.O.C.I. president Gene Witts.

In spite of the grim facts of AIDS, the sharp rise in violent assaults on gay people, and the battles that lie ahead, Levi sees this time as a period of growth for our community. The threat of AIDS in itself promotes community sentiment. Increasing numbers of lesbians and gay men are not only coming out, but in the process are overcoming their own internalized homophobia. Workshops Improve

This year's workshops showed the fine hand of Marty Webb and her colleagues in the Gay and Lesbian Institute. People generally agreed that they covered a wider range of issues than in previous years and overshowed improved

quality. her

Concert Overwhelms

all was also shown. It describes the beginnings of G.A.A. (Gay Alcoholics Anonymous). This is the only film addressing the problem of alcoholism in the gay/lesbian community.

Participants also shared personal stories about the effect of alcoholism and codependency on their lives.

This workshop could have continued for many more hours, as shown by the number of unanswered questions. It became obvious that the gay/lesbian community needs much more information about this disease.

If you or a loved one have questions about alcoholism or co-dependency, you are encouraged to call the number listed under Recovery Groups in the Chronicle's Resource Directory.

Coping with Parents By MARTHA PONTONI

One of the high points of the All-Ohio Lesbian/Gay/Feminist Conference for anyone having problems with his/her parents over the issue of homosexuality was the "Understanding and Coping with Parents" workshop.

The facilitators, Lou and Bruce Kriedy, had the entire audience of over 50 people silently wishing to be adopted.

Mr. and Mrs Kriedy were representatives of P-FLAG, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. They spoke of their own personal experiences and then offered some guidelines for the gay man or lesbin who wishes to dis-

Grahn ended her talk, in an equally satisfying way, by reading severl of poems. "Before Stonewall" Instructs In a very different way, "Before Stonewall" reconstructed a small but very important segment of our history, presenting such

What can I possibly say about the Oven concert, which spoke--or rather sangfor itself?

Romanovsky and Phillips repeated some of the numbers they did the last time they

Buck Harris leading his popular "Save Sex" Workshop