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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

January 10, 1992

gay people's

HRONICLE

Editorial

Looking back--and looking forward

The New Year has always been a time for review, reflection and resolutions. How far have I come? Where do I wish to go now?

When you look back at the old year, it was filled with progress and promise for the lesbian-gay community. 1991 included some of the biggest growth our community has seen in a long time. We garnered respect and were sought out by city officials and other politicians. Our community center's budget rose to almost a quarter of million dollars. We marched down Euclid Ave. along a lavender stripe and we effectively fought back public gay bashers. And that was only a start.

We have compiled a list of events we thought significantly impacted on our community in 1991. We also added a list of those things we would like to see happen in 1992.

•TheLesbian-Gay Community Service Center hired an executive director, Leigh Robertson. It kept itself in the forefront of providing information to the mainstream media and added the Lambda Leadership Roundtable to further the community's growth.

• When aging bullies at WMJI thought they could push the lesbian-gay community around, Queer Nation, which was already beginning to make its presence felt. along with other members of our community showed people that we could, and would, push back.

• Pride '91 and the march grew despite the weather. They marched along a lavender strip and were included for the first time in the city's Summerfare calendar. The city took some heat, but stood by the community.

Through a PRYSM conference, health care workers were educated about the needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual youth.

• We were discovered by television in a more positive way.

•

Good news and bad news: The Maryann Finegan Anti-Violence Project grew as more and more people reported hate crimes against them. The good news is that the Project educated police rookies, the Community Relations Board and others to what gay bashing really is.

• Candidates for election sought us out in greater numbers. An anti-Chronicle political letter raised alarm from Lakewood Democrats and the story was covered by three other news -papers.

•

The dialogue on healing our differences (the straight community could take several lessons from us in that area) was expanded. For instance, the Women's Building Project is to be commended for the courage it took to hold off on buying a long-awaited building in deference to exploring all of the community's needs. This year's Pride theme was "Bridging the Gaps," which focused on spanning the space between the different segments of our community.

When the Center Talent Show was used to bridge gaps between men and women within the community, women reached back with a touching and gratifying response.

Kamana House, the first AIDS hospice in Cleveland, was opened by the AIDS Housing Council, with significant help from NOCI.

• Stonewall Cleveland held its firstever hearing on discrimination within the City of Cleveland. The evidence presented will be used to help pass civil rights ordinances.

All of this is encouraging. It shows a growth and maturity in our community that our oppressors can only dream of. But we still have quite a way to go in Cleveland, the nation and within our own community.So in 1992, how about:

• Civil rights legislation and a domestic partnership law that includes our needs? We must fight for these laws for the sake of our survival.

•

A health care system that recognizes not only our needs in terms of sexual orientation, but our differences as men and women, blacks and whites, economic standing and the plethora of other areas that create each individual. A novel concept: health care based on respect for all of an individual's needs.

A new building for the Center, where the location's emphasis is put on safety, rather than visibility or centrality. Maybe it can also include a permanent performance hall that will showcase the

Guest Opinion

talents of our brothers and sisters here and nationally.

A building also for the Women's Building Project. And with that the hope that more people will come to respect and understand women-only space.

•

A regional conference for lesbians of color given by Sistahparty? Despite the obvious empowerment factor for the people involved, the Cleveland lesbian-gay community deserves a chance to show off what it has to offer.

• Success for Denise Jackson in her plans to offer a catering service. Seems like a personal matter? Only if you're not aware of the tireless hours she's spent donating her considerable talents to the community. Besides, if you've sampled her food at the Talent Show, the Women's Building Project Halloween Party, or anywhere else, you definitely want more. A great big eraser to rub out that East Side-West Side division mentality. Truly, we are everywhere and we should stop pretending that this invisible geographic line has any real importance. Honestly, Virginia, there are black lesbians and gay men thriving on the West Side, and feminists are not chained to Cleveland Heights. Let's get over it.

• A place to do some serious partying in Cleveland Heights or somewhere on the East Side.

• Increasing our spending with lesbian-gay businesses. And that means advertising in the Chronicle, too. Entrepreneurship can be empowerment.

• Loosening up the old money bag when it comes to donating money to all programs having to do with lesbians and gays, not just the ones that seem safe and acceptable to straights.

• A paid staff for the Chronicle. If you think we're not bringing you all the news, support us in our efforts to do so. Openly lesbian and gay public officials.

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More than lip service from the churches who say they support lesbians and gays, but then cruelly silence their gay pastors and church officials.

• A little bit of patience, kindness and tolerance from one and all, gay and straight as we go about our daily lives.

Happy New Year to all our supporters, and may 1992 bring you all you desire and deserve.

Answering some questions about separatism

by Louise Luczak

I'm proud to be a separatist. I consciously choose to put my energy with women-personally and politically. Separatism and women-only space are necessary to the safety and attainment of power for women, women's community and feminism.

It's become awfully trendy lately for people in the gay community to publicly and critically speak out against separatism. This is a form of lesbian and women hating. Often, those speaking out do not fully understand the political and emotional nature of separatism, and they mistakenly use it as a synonym for womenonly space.

This trend is as disturbing as the current tendency to denounce feminism and for straight feminists to try to deny the existence of lesbians in the "true women's movement."

I don't want to use this space to encourage more bickering over separatism. I want to provide the information needed to create an informed dialogue. I decided to do this in interview form in the hope that I will be able to answer accurately questions about separatism and women-only space.

Q: The discussion around separatism has been around for some time, but it seems to have resurfaced in Cleveland when a man complained about not being able to attend the Women's Variety Show, and then again with speculation surrounding the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center Talent Show. Where is all of this coming from?

A: First of all, events like the Variety Show are basically social events occurring in women-only space. Simply by their existence they make a political statement: Here are women together, independent of men. That's pretty powerful stuff.

Lesbians are in the majority in women-only space. Contrary to the opinions of some, women-only space is not necessarily lesbian, not some lesbian flip side to gay life. It is a celebration of women being together and creating our own experience, free of male domination for the moment. You don't have to be a separatist to enjoy women-only space. Men, gay or straight, who want to be supportive of women need to respect women-only space, stay out of it and educate themselves on more ways to be supportive.

Q: So, what is separatism?

A: One way that any oppressed group saves itself from the danger and oppression of the dominant culture is to remove itself from that dominance and focus on its own power.

For women, that means physically and psychically getting away from male domination. Separatism means refusing to promote the harmful values of patriarchy. This includes things like hierarchy (racism, classism, ageism, etc.) violence, superiority of boys and men and heterosexism.

Separatists work hard to find out what being a lesbian can really mean.

Women are raised to value men more than themselves and to take care of them. This exists in the lesbian-gay community as well as in the straight world. Separatists make themselves and other women a priority. I see it as a form of self-love. I guess that is where the threat lies; separatists are saying to men, "No, you can't have access to us."

Q: These seem to be personal choices, so where is all the controversy coming from? Do separatists have an agenda to disrupt lesbian-gay space?

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A: I have more self-affirming things to do than disrupt lesbian-gay space. I do want to point out that a lot of women's energy and skills went into the production of the Talent Show, skills lesbians learned in women-only organizations and space.

It was ironic and predictable that no women won prizes. I felt like we were robbed. What do lesbians get from gay politics? What's going on at the Center for women?

As I see it, gay politics focuses on gay civil rights and AIDS support. Certainly these are important issues. But men mostly benefit from them.

From Feminism 101 we learn that a lesbian may win her gay civil rights-job protection, inclusion on her lover's insurance plan, the right to get legally married. However, she would still be hated

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