SEPTEMBER 25, 1998

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9

SPEAK OUT

If Starr wins, start practicing your missionary position

by Mubarak S. Dahir

As disgusting as President Clinton's personal behavior has been, I fear his enemies more than I fear his misdeeds. And there is no doubt that this fear is fueled by the fact that I am a gay man.

Starr and company represent a dangerous backlash against sex. You only have to read a little of Starr's 445-page, National

Enquirer-esque tome before you realize Starr and his ilk represent a resurgent form of

American Puritanism hell-bent on shaming and stigmatizing anyone who has sex other than in the missionary position, with the lights out.

That includes me, and, as far as I know, just about all gay men and lesbians. In the highly emotional debate our nation, including, our queer nation, finds itself in since the release of the report, neither Clinton nor his foes have the slimmest chance of escaping without looking like anything but bad guys. But while we are in the midst of this hot and heavy debate, gay men and lesbians should keep in mind that behind the power play of Clinton vs. Starr there is a deep debate about sex and morality.

No, I'm not pretending to paint Clinton's escapades with Monica Lewinksy as some kind of statement about sexual freedom, or Bill Clinton as some kind of modern champion of sexual liberation. His behavior was worse than boorish. But the fact remains that what Clinton is being skewered over is sex. Let's not kid ourselves-it is all about

sex.

I know, I know. Already, some of you are shaking your heads in protest: It's not just about sex, it's about lying and trust and honor, you say. Well, no, it is about

sex.

Let's say we had some kind of lie-ometer to measure deception, and we could apply it to President Clinton's misdeeds and mistruths in the Monica Lewinsky debacle. Let's say our lie-o-meter came up with a reading we'll call x.

Well, if we applied that same measure-

Sex sells, and what Ken Starr is trying to sell is the end of a presidency.

ment of a lie, x amount, to any other topic, who amongst us would read a 445page report about, say, lying about CIA agents in foreign countries, or lying about Social Security figures, or lying about the size of the national debt? Save a few public policy wonks, none of us. But talk about bare breasts and oral sex in the Oval Office and semen-stained blue dresses and cigars as a sex prop, and you've got everyone's attention.

Ken Starr knows this all too well. That's why his "report"-four years and $40 million in the making-says nothing about Whitewater, nothing about Travelgate, nothing about Vince Foster, nothing about FBI files. All it talks about-in lurid, dizzying detail—is sex, sex, and more sex. Sex sells, and what Ken Starr is trying to sell is the end of a presidency.

it.

He's using sex-successfully—to do

But Starr and company are selling more than the end of a president—they are selling a larger moral code, tied directly to their views of right and wrong, including their views on sex. And that is what scares me, and should absolutely frighten every gay man and lesbian in America.

SATURDAY & SUNDAY OCT 10-11 AT THE HIGHLAND THEATRE

FILM NIGHT '98 Saturday, October 10, 7 PM FIRE

CELEB QUEER CULOUBES

Akron

GLBT Pride Weekend 1998

KICK-OFF PRIDE RALLY WITH SPECIAL GUEST BOB HATTOY

Saturday, October 10, Noon Free Admission

A speaker at the '92 Democratic Natl. Convention, Bob is co-chair of President Clinton's HIV/AIDS Natl. Advisory Council: Bob Hattoy's appearance is made possible by PFLAG Akron Chapter. Rally organized by Stonewall Akron.

HOLY ALLIANCE?

RELIGION & THE GAY COMMUNITY Sunday, October 11, 2 PM The 1998 Out In Akron Forum welcomes REVEREND DR. MEL WHITE Bestselling author, former ghostwriter for Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, now National Justice Minister for MCC, the nation's leading gay denomination. Followed by a panel discussion with area religious leaders.

The 1998 Out In Akron Forum is

made possible in part by the

Ohio Humanities Council and the

M

National Endowment

for the Humanities.

Additional support from Temple

Israci

On the top ten list of banned films, "Fire" is

Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta's tastefully erotic exploration of

forbidden love. Filmed in English.

And the Ohio Premiere of... LIKE IT IS

Set against London's cuttingedge club culture, "Like It Is" is gritty, exuberant and sexy. Starring Roger Daltry and UK boxing champ Steve Bell in his acting debut..

Hors d'ouevres and cash bar: 7 PM Films start at 8 PM. $15 at the door. Major sponsors: Angel Falls Coffee & Babylon Niteclub

CABARET Q

Sunday, October 11, 7:30 PM

Comedienne Karen

Williams emcees a showcase of fine local talent. After the show, rock into the night with the band Silent Legacy. Free Admission Cash bar

HIGHLAND THEATRE

"Home of Out In Akron”

896 W. Market. St. (330) 849-1520

Sponsored in part by Adams

Street Bar Special thanks to Silent Legacy band

ASL interpreter for

all events except Film Night

&

Gob Pyrus CHRONICLE

Because under this code, we are as much sexual outlaws as Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinksy.

The subtle repercussions of Starr's notso-subtle Puritanism are already evident. At office water coolers around America, co-workers are already besting themselves with talk about how disgusting they thought the sexual acts were that were committed by Monica and Bill.

In my own office, in an editorial department that prides itself on its liberalism, as soon as the report hit the Internet, there were hoots and guffaws over Bill and Monica's sexual escapades using a cigar, and even over the fact they had phone sex. Everyone in the office disavowed ever having had either kind of sexual encounter.

I plead the Fifth and said I had to get back to work. And that's the kind of sexual oppression Ken Starr and his cohorts will succeed in imposing on the rest of the nation if a president falls because of our pre-occupation with sexual titillation.

Who wants conformity to some choirboy standard of sexual mores to be the litmus test for all politicians from hence forth, from the president down to the local city council member?

fri, sept 25-sun, oct 11 fri & sat 11 pm sun 8 pm (except sun, 10/4--7 pm) tickets $5.00

216-932-6838 for reservations dobama theatre 1846 coventry rd cleveland hts, oh with support from the George Gund Foundation City of Cleveland Hts

What we will be left with are the uptight, holier-than-thous, who will try to thrust their own suffocating definitions of moral righteousness on the rest of us.

For gay men and lesbians this would be disastrous. I'm not saying that the biggest philanderers make the best politicians. But the opposite isn't true either: Those with a Good Housekeeping seal of approval on squeaky-clean sexual behavior are not the most fit for public service. More often than not, they make the most frightening political candidates.

As gay men and lesbians, we should understand how easy it is for our enemies to use sex as the ultimate political weapon.

No one should excuse or condone Bill Clinton's reckless, good-old-boy behavior.

But particularly as gay men and lesbians, we should be smarter than to allow ourselves to impeach a president for having socially-unapproved sex. Or we all better turn out the lights and start practicing the missionary position. ✓

Mubarak Dahir is a columnist for the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He can be e-mailed at MubarakDah@aol.com.

dobama's night kitchen presents

Cole Cuts

a new musical play

by

david bell, david hansen, suzanne 1. miller & toni k. thayer music & lyrics by

cole porter directed by dan kilbane

musical direction by elaine feagler

cole porter songs hold mysterious sway over four very different & surprising couples as they play the games that forever change their relationships...

"a taste of porter"--a wine tasting event to benefit the night kitchen. sun, oct 4. $22 per person or $40 per couple includes tickets to the 7 pm performance, hors d'ouevres, and wine tasting that samples the wines of south america & the napa valley. 216-932-6838 for reservations.

THE BREWMASTER'S HOUSE

LANDMARK BED & BREAKFAST INN WHERE

COLUMBUS HISTORIC BREWERY DISTRICT MEETS GERMAN VILLAGE.

WALK TO TOP RESTAURANTS, ARCHITECTURE, ANTIQUES AND FOUR GAY BARS. STROLL to Schiller PARK. VIEW SCIOTO RIVER SUNSETS OR BICYCLE LOCAL PARK Trails. Direct ROUTE TO ALL NIGHTLIFE. EASY ACCESS FROM ROUTES 23, 70, AND 71. ROOMS SLEEP 2 AND ARE $50 PER NIGHT. A TWO-ROOM SUITE WHICH SLEEPS 4 IS $75. A BED IN THE MULTI-BED ADIRONDACKS' CAMP BARRACKS IS $25 per night. CABLE TV, VCR, FAX MACHINE. CATERING TO GAY MEN. LARGE RECEPTION ROOMS IN ORIGINAL TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY HOUSE AND EXPANSIVE LAWN

AVAILABLE FOR IMPRESSIVE FIRESIDE OR GARDEN PARTIES.

(614)449-8298 • Fax (614)449-8663

Masquerade Charity Ball

"Friends Forever"'

You are invited to attend the

for the beneft of

AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland

Cleveland, OH 44115-2412

2728 Euclid Avenue Suite 400 Hosted by

Insight

1701 East 12th Street

Embassy Suites-Cleveland

Saturday, October 17, 1998 6:30 p.m.

Cleveland's Premier Alternative Networking Organization

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Single: $50 Each single reservation Couple: $90 Each couple's reservation Call the Insight voice mail at: 216-556-0576 for your reservation Patrons: $180 Each couple's reservation, including program listing Patron: $100 Each single reservation, including program listing Patrons will be inscribed in the Masquerade Charity Ball Program RSVP by October 10, 1998 All reservations will be held at the door Dancing, Contests, 50/50 Raffle, Door Prizes, Live and Silent Auctions

Dinner Buffet at 8:00 p.m. Join us for Hors D'Oeuvres and a Cash Bar at 6:30 pm.

Costumes Encouraged Self parking in attached garage $3 Valet parking available $14