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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE February, 1990

DITORIAL

What the future could bring

The staff of the Chronicle sat down at the beginning of the year and made a list of what we would like to see in the lesbian and gay community of Cleveland in the 1990's. We want to share the list with you. The list is not in any particular order, and, of course, is incomplete. All staff members contributed, so no one person can be credited (or blamed) for every entry. As you will see, we were not conservative in our approach. Hang on – here we go!

WISH LIST

19908

A Lesbian and Gay Rights Ordinance in the city of Cleveland.

⚫ A full, paid staff for the Chronicle.

While we're at it, genuine offices for the Chronicle, instead of the editor's spare room. The 15th floor of the Terminal Tower would do nicely

Lesbian fashion guides.

Pride '90, (and '91, and '92. crowds that are as big or bigger than the BP Riverfest crowds.

A choice of women's bars.

An AIDS benefit in Cleveland put on by open lesbians and gays, to raise money to help gay men, and all the "A" gays and the rest of the "society" crowd shows up.

A cure for AIDS.

All people practicing safer sex, until the above happens.

An obituary in the PD that says that someone died from complications of AIDS and mentions their life partner or lover as the first survivor.

LGCSC

EXEC. DIRECTOR

An executive director of the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center.

The 1992 Democratic Convention

here in Cleveland.

A new lesbian and gay political organization forming in time for the 1992 Democratic Convention here in Cleveland. Our only such group, the Eleanor Roosevelt club, folded in 1988.

A Cleveland chapter of ACT UP. We had one for a while a few years ago, but they disappeared after one demonstration.

• A Cleveland chapter of the media watchdog group GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

• PRYSM groups in all schools in Cleveland and the suburbs.

⚫ A lesbian-gay library

• A wider choice of gay restaurants.

A women's chorus.

• A clubhouse for the lesbian and gay 12-step community of Cleveland.

The Women's Building Project really being a building.

New records at the WBP dances (we would settle for anything newer than 1987).

A lesbian-gay bookstore in the Galleria

SOOH NO! NO WAY WE CAN'T HAVE THEM

OUR KIDS!

RECRUITING ANY OF

197

PRYSM PACKET

More things to do

ZING

on Saturday night.

PD columnist Michael Heaton moving back to San Francisco with a male friend.

• WERE Radio talk show annoyance Joel Rose is that friend.

WERE replaces Joel Rose with a gay, or at least gay-sensitive, talk show.

While we're on the subject, an openly lesbianor gay-owned and run radio station.

Two Chronicles per month (dare we say four?)

Madonna and Sarah at the Nickel. More than one or two bars advertising in the Chronicle.

Out of the closet lesbian and gay police officers.

• A lesbian-gay liaison to Mayor White's office.

A flood of lesbians and gays moving back into the City, who would elect...

two.

A lesbian or gay councilmember or

GUEST EDITORIAL

HOMOPHOSTE

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS

HRUMPH

An institution in Cleveland for the study of the lesbian and gay community.

The end of disco. Live music in gay

and lesbian bars.

RIA

DISCO

Openly gay and lesbian bands playing that music.

• All of Cleveland's lesbian and gay community coming out of the closet, getting involved, and making Cleveland the place for lesbians and gay men to live. (Think how much easier it would be to get a date who hasn't already slept with your ex!)

By the way, if you have any suggestions of your own, please send them to us so we can share them with the rest of the community. Be creative dare to dream. Without dreams, there is no future. ▼

The 12 Steps of disempowerment

by Shana R. Blessing

Although the Chronicle usually does not use alternative spellings, we have retained them here to preserve the writer's entire statement. Ed.

I came out in a radical lesbian feminist community nine years ago. I learned that lesbian womyn love womyn, support and nurture womyn and womyn's culture; create safe space for womyn. We didn't hate men, but we did work vehemently against the patriarchy, which is a male model of power based upon domination and submission. Patriarchal thinking currently dominates our planet. Yet we worked to create a culturally diverse, matriarchal community in which womyn were empowered, where we trusted the choices of our sisters to be in our best interests. It was as close to a lesbian feminist utonia as is nrohahlu nossible

When I left this community and ventured into the "real world", it was harder but not impossible to find this kind of womyn-centered vision. I welcomed womyn into my life who were enspirited and who were committed to living by womyn's wisdom and womyn's power and who were working for a womyncentered ideal. It was a glorious period in womyn's reality since the beginning of Womyn's Liberation. We had raised our consciousness and had identified oppression. We then became justifiably furious with our oppressors. I came out during the time womyn were growing through our anger and were creating alternatives to oppression. We were reclaiming elements of ancient cultures which revered womyn as sacred, as well as creating contemporary forms of this culture through art, writing, music and activity. We were experiencing our own

nower

Power can be frightening to those unaccustomed to feeling powerful. Powerwithin can be even more frightening than power-over. We all have had experiences being both the victims and perpetrators of abusive power imbalances and both situations are uncomfortable and unhealthy. But, we all have been taught to participate in these roles. What we have not been taught is how to be empowered; how to live powerfully inside our own lives and how to make liberating choices for ourselves. It can be very scary to feel our own personal and collective power.

Lesbian feminist womyn, as a community, have reached a new place in our herstory. We are at a crossroads without a map, and we have to figure things out for ourselves without the benefit of someone having gone before us. We have the choice of taking the leap into the void of the unknown and beginning to ex-

gay people's

RO NIC

Vol. 5, Issue 8.

Founded by Charles Callender

1928-1986

Published by KWIR Publications Co-Owners:

Robert Downing Martha J. Pontoni

Editor-in-Chief:

Martha J. Pontoni Associate Editors:

Carlie Steen, Brian DeWitt. Copy Editors:

Jeff Wobbecke, Kevin Beaney, Barb P.

Sports Editor:

K.D. Mahnal

Reporters and Writers:

Martha J. Pontoni, K.D. Mahnal, Dora Forbes, Don S., Faith Klasek,

Robert Laycock, Douglas Braun,

Steven Hurt.

Columnists:

Antone Feo, Joe Interrante. Art Director:

Christine Hahn

Artists:

Pat Hughes, Tom Zav, Dawn Fritz,

Bob Boone, Nathan Gwirtz.

Assistants to the Editor:

Dan Postotnik, Dave Volk. Distribution Chief: Robert Downing Database Consultant: Jim Barcus

Office Manager:

Ray P. Triggs Account Executive: Steve VanGuilder Editorial Board:

Martha J. Pontoni, Robert Downing, Carlie Steen, Brian DeWitt, Christine Hahn.

The Gay People's Chronicle is dedicated to providing a space in Cleveland's lesbian-gay community for all women and men to communicate and be involved with each other. This means that every Chronicle, to the best of our ability, will be equally dedicated to both men's and women's issues, as well as issues that affect all of us. Striving for this balance will not only provide the community with a forum to air grievances and express joys, but will also help all of us achieve this balance in our lives.

Publication of the name, picture or other representation of an individual, organization or place of business in the Gay People's Chronicle is not indicative of his or her sexual orientation or character.

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The Gay People's Chronicle is copyrighted under federal law. Any reproduction of its contents is prohibited unless either written or verbal permission is obtained.

Next Chronicle comes out March 2.

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Deadlines:

Typed copy (1st Monday) February 5 Copy on disk (2nd Monday) February 12 Display ads (2nd Monday) February 12 Camera-ready ads (3rd Monday) February 19 Classifieds, Personals (1st Mon.) February 5 Obituaries (3rd Monday) February 19

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perience ourselves in strange, exciting and unfamiliar ways as womyn of power. Or, we can run from this challenge in fear and choose to assume less threatening, patriarchal ways of thinking and behaving which, through more expedient and certainly more familiar, oppress both others and ourselves.

Continued on Page 5