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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

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from ourselves.

The problem isn't with what others think. The problem is about what we think about ourselves. How we choose to portray ourselves, how we choose to live and how we choose not to confront our own homophobia.

Everyone knows an "emancipated" lesbian or gay man. Everyone knows this person to be lesbian or gay but no one talks about it. This person may very well be a member or leader in our community but in their "real" life they pretend no one knows. They never speak about it to their colleagues; they don't associate the word homosexual with themselves. They aren't proud of their culture and they aren't proud of themselves. These people are the most dangerous to our community.

These lesbians and gay men who think they can live a double life are only hurting the rest of us who don't really care what others think. We need to not "sell our souls" and keep quiet about who we are. We embrace our culture, we participate in our rituals, we educate our children in what it means to lesbian and gay and be proud of it. Sometimes there is a heavy price to pay but the rewards are indescribable. People who are too afraid to come out the closet are just that: too afraid. They will either come out and join the community or they will suffer in silence and eventually die never really enjoying themselves or their lives.

What do we do about these so called "community leaders” who insist on staying in their glass closets? Do we continue to elect them to the boards of our major institutions, to we continue to let them be role models and heros to the newly-out lesbian and gay man? Or do we stand up and say "I don't care if you work for the Catholic Church, (or Sohio, or with

June, 1989

Changes

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tity. Therefore, the WBP has relied on these aforementioned monies to stay alive. Such figures seem to answer the question as to why the WBP does not have an investment fund for the eventual purchase of a women's space. The answer was (at the forum) and still is: the WBP has needed every available dollar to maintain the current space. The development of a fund (or the "savings" of pledge monies) were never possible based on the realities of the fiscal situation. It was entirely predictable years ago that the WBP would be in the dilemma that it faces today. Such issues have been complicated by internal struggles among past and present WBP board members regarding how much information about money problems should be disclosed to the community and how appropriate strategizing of ongoing maintenance efforts should proceed.

From my perspective as a WBP board member for the last one and a half years, I see a lack of community support and significant blaming around the dilemmas that the WBP board has faces. Such

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troduced by Senator Cranston on January 25, 1989. Currently, this bill is pending before the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution. As a member of this Subcommittee, I will be sure to keep your views in mind should this legislation come up for a vote.

I appreciate your contacting me, and I am grateful for your views.

Howard M. Metzenbaum United States Senator

dynamics seemed most evident in the community forums that the Board tried to organize. Rather than working together to empower our community, the process appeared to be one of struggle, resulting in the eventual divisiveness (and ultimate failure) of the open forums. What happened to women working together? What is happening to Oven? Bluefish? Why don't women volunteer like they used to? Such issues reflect significant changes in our community and raise the question "Do we really need/want a women-only space anymore? It seems apparent that our community is changing-maybe we need to rethink our goals and aspirations in a way which would be consistent with such changes.

As a member of the Board, I (and some board members) feel unclear as to what this community wants. As a result of the above issues, and struggles with the collective decision making process, our Board is again, changing. Some of us (myself included) have chosen to step back-but there are remaining members

A special thank you for the coverage and support given to the Lesbian-Gay Community Center. The May editorial was particularly demonstrative of the extra effort put forth by the Center to be open to the community through sharing insight of the people and organization with "outsiders." You have unfortunately missed the point of the changes taking place.

Many of us who have worked with the Center grappled with the problems in delivering consistent services and adequate administration. Almost all the problems that led to criticism from the community, observations and opinions

children), if you cannot be gay and proud Gays in the Holocaust such as yours that "... GEAR was little

you can not represent our community!"

We need to shout that we will not allow our own people to perpetuate myths about us, such as the ones that go: 'I have something to ashamed of, that is why I deny that I am gay or lesbian'; or, 'Homosexuals are child molesters and need to stay as far away from children as possible'; or, 'All I do is have sex with another woman (man) and the rest of my relationship doesn't really matter.'

Who are we kidding? Are we kidding ourselves when we allow folks in positions to represent us to stay in the closet? Who are we kidding when we keep their secrets for them? We are really only fooling ourselves, we are only hurting ourselves, we are only killing ourselves and our culture.

This month every lesbian and gay man in Northeast Ohio will get the opportunity to celebrate their culture. They will have the opportunity to be "really out" for a day, they will be able to see what the world would be like for us if we just all cracked that closet door and were truly ourselves no matter what "they" did and said. After all "they" killed six million Jews, but Jews have not gone into the closet. Mostly, they say "you will never treat us like that again-Never Again!"

At the Pride Celebration on Saturday, June 18, make an effort to smash down your closet door, if only for the day. Come and join the many, many others who are proud to be lesbian and gay. Men and women who fight stereotypes and don't keep secrets about who they are. Try it, you might just like it.

And then next time someone sits down with you and spends time trying to convince you why they need to stay in the Closet, tell what happened June 18, tell them they are only kidding themselves, tell what it is like to love yourself no matter who you are, tell them to be proud.

And next time you are asked your opinion of who our community leaders should be, think about the 18th, think about who wants to be a role model. Don't settle for good enough, ask for the best, expect the best, and you will get the best.

To the Editor:

We were very interested in the May issue, Bits and Pieces section article from Jewish Lesbian Daughters of Holocaust Survivors. Many of us did not know they existed but they held their eighth gathering in May. This is yet another women's organization devoting themselves to serious issues.

While 5 million Jews died during the Holocaust, more than 50,000 gay men also perished (exact figures have never been established.) Only 8 women have been documented as arrested for being Lesbians. However thousands of other Lesbians were interned in camps with prostitutes and forced to wear black triangles.

At Chevrei Tikva we have been honoring those Gay men along with the Jews who died in our annual Holocaust Memorial. This took place as part of our regular Sabbath service this past May 5. Next year more research will be devoted to include Lesbian suffering during that time.

Each year we invite the entire Gay and Lesbian community to share in this memory. However, there is little response from non-Jews. When you ignore history, history is bound to repeat itself.

Hopefully, next year there will be more interest in this observance.

A. Paul President Chevrei Tikva

GEAR served us well

To the Editor:

I want to commend the Chronicle staff for attempting to provide news to our community. The information is usually accurate, often poignant and at least a voice in the seal of silence that surrounds us. Congratulations and heart-felt thank you for trying.

more than a private club filled with big egos," and real failures were directly attributable to the fact that administration was always the responsibility of the volunteers.

I concur that Aubrey Wertheim should be full-time; more importantly, the position of director of services must be full-time plus. That does not change the need for adequate competent staff administration to ensure that those services continue to be delivered forever! This community has been served with love and care by volunteers, and will continue to receive that help. But, it is time to stand up and be counted. We need professionals whose responsibility it is to ensure we receive full measure from society. We deserve it!

It is time for the Chronicle to quit sniping with unsubstantiated, cutting remarks. For every person you can name, those of us who have been active in the community can name ten who served with honesty, integrity and love. Their egos then and now were the only salvation since few received more than an occasional thank you from their fellow "club" members. Much more often they got remarks of criticism and if none could be found, a comment about how someone else "failed" the community in the past.

The Center has been a place of refuge for people to "come out", sometimes act out their frustrations, grow, and become secure in their being. They usually moved on to a new life with hope. Sometimes, they just burned out, wondering why they subjected themselves to the abuse an insecure community leveled at their efforts to make Cleveland a better place to live. In the future, weigh your words carefully. I am proud to have been a member for ten years and a trustee and officer of the Gay Educational Awareness Resource Foundation (now known as the Center) for over 5 years and more proud to count its members, trustees and officers as friends today.

Bob Reynolds

who want to work towards attain ment of a new women's space. No surprisingly, our board has struggle with how much information to disclose t the community. Speaking only for mysel I have felt that it has been a mistake not share with the community th desperate shape the Building Project ha been in. Currently, the WBP bank ad count contains just enough money make it through the next month. Suffic it to say. The Women's Building Proje desperately needs your financial suppo Without a contribution from you, it highly unlikely that the dream of women's space can be realized. Wha must become apparent is that the long range future of the Women's Buildin Project will ultimately be determined b the level of this community's commi ment, vision and support.

Benita Chernyk recently resigned a chairperson of the Women's Buildi Project board. She wrote this on behalf the board. This also appeared in Wh She Wants.▼

No women allowed

To the Editor:

On April 29, 1989 four of us Lesbia wanted to have after-dinner drinks an dance at Numbers Gay bar. Upon arri ing there, the greeter at the door quested that we show two identification that had not only our birth dates, but al our pictures on the ID's! Since no o else was showing ID's and we were mid-forties, we thought it was a joke request ID's with pictures and bir dates. Two of us were able to dig de and found our work badges that had pi tures on them (plus our driver's license however, the work badges did not ha our birth dates on them. The greeter w not satisfied with what we coul produce.

One of us frequents Numbers oft with her Gay male friends. She w turned away, stating he never saw h before (she replied that she had new seen him before either). At this point, were ordered out of the bar and we followed by him to make sure we clear the bar's entranceway. Since some of o male friends were waiting inside for o arrival, we stood on the sidewalk tryi to decide how to get a message to the that we were barred from entering. T greeter continuously came outside a harassed us to go away.

Finally, we gathered some supporti male friends who helped us locate t friends inside and alert them of o dilemma. Our friends came to our reso to escort us inside. To no avail, t greeter refused the male friends to enter with us.

We should like to comment that the three of us, Cleveland Gay bars ar new experience for us (we are fro Akron), and it has left a very negat mark on us. It makes us wonder if G men want the Cleveland Gay bars remain male-only places. Akron's Que and Interbelt are equally frequented both Lesbians and Gay men. We never, again, attempt to come Cleveland and go to Numbers.

Lesbians-Be aware We are not w comed at Numbers!

Sue

Jean

Kathy Mickey

Support the Gym

To the Editor:

With all the changes happening at Women's Building Project, many ganizations have been affected. One these is the Women's Fitness Center ( Gym). The Gym has been housed in Continued on Page