GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE MAY 14, 1993

EDITORIAL

Better blatant than latent

Three weeks ago the most historic march in the history of the United States took place. More people marched on the Capitol than in recorded history. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgenders along with their friends and family took center stage while the nation watched and learned what our community is all about.

Yet with all that wonder and history, some folks still just don't get it. Seven hours of programming, and people are complaining about one sentence from one comedienne. Lea DeLaria was crude, wonderful and courageous enough to say she wants to fuck the First Lady, which was broadcast on C-SPAN, and people are in an outrage.

What is going on here?

Why would a local radio station, interviewing a March participant on Monday morning, ask, "We saw same-sex kissing, men in high heels and people in leather at the March. Why does the gay community think that using sensationalism will get its point across?" He even went so far as to ask the interviewee to prove that lesbians and gays get discriminated against!

Why is our culture so embarrassing to everyone? Do we get embarrassed by samesex kissing, men in high heels and people in leather? There are those of us who felt that our more flamboyant members should have stayed in their closet for the March.

That is buying into the shame that society uses to keep all of us under control. That is playing their game and helping them win.

There is nothing patently shameful about men in high heels, people in leather, and

explicit sexual talk. We might not like it, and choose not to listen or participate, but when we use it as an excuse to keep people quiet or censored we are helping to oppress us all.

Shame, embarrassment, "being less than," are all tools that society has used to keep lesbians and gays invisible. We as a community have now finally figured out that there is no shame in being who we are, but the larger society still tries to divide and cripple us with these tactics.

Remember, we are all in this together. The fundamentalists don't want to just stop the drag queens, leather folks and barebreasted women: they want to stop all of us.

We as a community owe a debt to our most blatant members, for when many of us were shaking in our closets, they were out on the front lines. They made it possible for usto enjoy our lives today as out lesbians or gay men.

One example is the late Linus Herrell. Linus owned Body Language, was into S&M, and was pierced in more places than we care to think about. But he was out. He was, for a long time, the only local person who would appear on TV as a gay man. Sure, he had a bone in his nose, but he was on, and he made it clear he was gay and proud.

The sight of Linus and Fred Griffith on Morning Exchange talking about some of the products found at Body Language is a sight that anyone who saw it will never forget. It may not have been the image of the kind of gay person most of us are, but he was a gay Clevelander on TV when nobody else would go on.

Linus was one of our local heroes whom we saw succumb to AIDS. Linus showed up at one of the first Cleveland Pride festivals in 1990, frail and near death. As he watched the thousands of lesbians and gay men frolic in the sunshine, his comment was, "I feel like Moses. I can see the Promised Land, but I can't enter it."

Blatant people like Linus Herrell, and the drag queens that fought the police at the Stonewall Inn 25 years ago, literally gave their lives to allow us to March on Washington. Their legacy should be honored, not torn down. Not used to shame us and be the excuse as to why we don't deserve equal rights.

As a community we need to stand tall together. We don't always have to agree with each other but we also don't have to help those who are trying to wipe us out.

If you don't like the flamboyancy, realize your boundaries: you are a different part of our community. Don't wag your finger and force others back into the closet just because you don't understand or agree with them. Don't take on the shame and selfloathing that is used to keep us "in our place" and non-functional.

Be proud. Be proud of yourself. Be proud of your culture. Be proud of your friends. Be proud of your history. Create and maintain our community by carving out your own space and by generously allowing a space for all those who want theirs. If it matters to you how society sees gays and lesbians then let them also see you. Be visible, be out. We are all part of the same family. ♡

COMMUNITY FORUM

Balance between zeal and common sense

To the Editors:

The Gay Agenda, an anti-gay-lesbian propaganda video, was shown at a Gay Town Hall Meeting on April 5 at Cleveland State University. Before the video began, Jerry Bunge, Out Voice chair, asked us to keep in mind "mainstream America's" possible reaction to the film as we were watching it, the purpose being to imagine the effect the film might have on people who are not educated about gays and lesbi-

ans.

An extended sequence in the video

showed Pride Parade participants being pulled down the street in "slave-cages;" they were close to naked, and were being "whipped" by "slave-masters." Dozens of FUCK Signs were being carried by marchers. Bare-breasted women were proudly strutting their stuff. At one point during the film, a "converted" gay man described in lurid detail the goings-on at bath houses, bars, and public parks.

After the video, someone in the audience suggested that the gay community consider "toning down" its public displays in the future. Bunge quickly downplayed the suggestion, arguing that we shouldn't "lie" about ourselves by excluding or suppressing the more radical elements of our culture. Another audience member strongly agreed with Bunge, and the subject was dropped.

I found Bunge's lack of openness concerning this complex public relations issue to be shortsighted, glib, and rather duplicitous given his request that we watch the video from mainstream America's point of view. If we were in a position to enact pro-gay-lesbian legislation in this country without mainstream America's help, I'd say, "Who cares what they think." But the fact is, we do need mainstream America to

accomplish our goals. And so the au

must be asked: does it make political sense to unnecessarily alienate the very constituency we're trying to win over? Is this behavior counterproductive? A friend of mine put it like this-too often the gay community acts like a bunch of self-indulgent, spoiled children, then turns around and asks to be rewarded for bad behavior.

Somehow we've got to strike a better balance between zeal and common sense, between freedom and responsibility. There are no easy answers, but brushing aside valid questions about the image we present to straight society is certainly not the an-

swer.

David A. Debick

Never been a better time to come out

To the Editors:

Having just skimmed the current Gay People's Chronicle [April 16], I just had to

say how proud I am of my Cleveland homosexual brothers and sisters!

While my home is the mecca, I continue to be interested in the remarkable progress of the gay people of my former hometown.

My struggle, that is, the coming out process, was painful, nearly fatal but worth it in every way. There is no freedom without the coming out process as we heard over and over again in the March on Washington this past weekend. Yet, in spite of all of the evidence to the contrary, many of our brothers and sisters will continue their selfimposed imprisonment wasting, as I did, so many precious moments, opportunities, joys and sorrows. Growing up in any sense is tough and it doesn't get any easier as one ages.

I will reflect on Cleveland's prideful gay community in mid-June and, as we continue our celebration here in San Francisco, I will feel a oneness with you strength.

Asa

ested expatriate, I hope someday to meet some of you and to express my gratitude to you in person.

There has never been a better time to become active as openly-gay contributing members of our society. I know that some of you might retort that it's easy for me to say, living in San Francisco. I assure you that homophobia is very alive and very well in San Francisco! It is institutionalized here in the very same way as in Cleveland. I might add that homosexuals themselves are no less homophobic than some in Cleveland. The numbers may vary in either direction but the dynamic is very much the same. In the final analysis the struggle is within each of us. Mine continues. It is, after all, progress not perfection. Homosexually yours,

Franklin D. Jasko San Francisco

No support for disabled gays

To the Editors:

As someone who is gay and disabled, I'm writing to you out of utter frustration. It seems unconscionable that there are no programs or support groups for the physi-

cally challenged. After several months of

calling the agencies, and sending out written appeals, I seem no further along in the process. It's hard to understand the indifference that surrounds this issue. Perhaps it has to hit closer to home before most people can see the importance of it.

Since I'm fighting my way back from spinal arthritis, I haven't come this far to be told that no programs are in action, and none are being planned. There's a subtle message here that disabled gays and lesbians have no place in a public forum. On this level, then, who does exist in gay society: the young and attractive, and the cultural

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Volume 8, Issue 11

Publisher: Martha J. Pontoni

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of us left to carry on the gay agenda.

There's much to be said for equal representation for all people within the gay community. It will not be achieved by clinging desperately to the status quo by our leaders; it takes courage and determination to effect change. This is where the disabled need to make their presence known. We can step out of the darkness of isolation and despair, and into the light of activism and involvement.

The first positive step the disabled public can make is to call the Community Center and request to be placed on a waiting list for future programs. Mr. Wertheim has given me verbal approval on this action. Anyone who has an idea or concern about this topic can reach me at the address given below. I hope this letter finds its way into your publication; it would mean a great deal to a segment of us who've had little voice in setting policy for the community.

Dave Kurtz 40 Cambridge Ave. Elyria, OH 44035

Don't give ammo to our enemies

To the Editors:

The March on Washington became a wonderful, empowering reality through a phenomenal amount of planning, networking and tireless effort of countless lesbians and gay men across the nation over and extended period of time.

It took but a few seconds for certain "entertainers on the March stage to under-

Continued

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