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in Their Paper...HIGH GEAR

S&M-the Last Frontier

A cry often heard during the peak of the gay movement was that homosexuals were not deviant or psychological misfits. "Qualified?" psychoanalysts in the Bieber ideological camp frequently were taunted and ridiculed by GAA members for diagnosing gays as neurotic, sexually maladjusted psychopaths in need of in-: tensive therapy. Time certainly did turn the tricks. Today, Bieber and his cohorts are viewed as perhaps the real misfits-or at least a'decreasing minority, as their fanatical devotion to Victorian psychological precepts seems to be losing ground daily with the soct ety at large. Yes, it is true that American society is slowly becoming more tolerant. And yet there is still one sphere of sexuality that many continue to consider "sick" and "pervert· ́ed"-Sand and it's suspected relative, fetishismoniya mateso.

JSurety, Kong's thitial reaction to S and N is one of horrör. Getting one's rocks off by inflicting' bain or lustfully craving it is not a typical mode of sexual expression. Boots, leather, whips, and chains...Bondage and discinfine, water sports-all seem so far out it is difficult for many of us to understand their allure-or is it?

There are more than a few days of our lives when we consciously play S, and i games with on e another... The slighted lover who tortures his other half for failing to attend to a prior commitment. The parent who physically and verbally pymi shes the young, adolescent for not „adherinë, to an established code of expectations

The momentary sense of rejection' and' hum11iation that one feels when a blunt "no" is heard from a sorbt-after individual at the hare. ¡ll of these hint a S and “play. Granted, the • ardenti cook nonetheless and an integral part of our daily interactions and not so forcier as we "normals" would like to assine,

Yone truly understands how we achieve our congrate sexual orientations. There appears to Co-ConsuS houdvor, 3mont most "sucholn riste that manlę nuimami sexual inclinations Cometric ithin the first five years of his life-Sörvern infancy and childhood. Because an infant is susceptible to a wide range of stimuli, every act he is exposed to holds significance for hin and affects his perception of the world around him. A spanking, a reprimand, ary sort of punishment are all forms of attention-receivin” devices that make an individual feel cared for. why some persons fixate

Continued on Page 12.

HIGH GEAR April, 1975 Page 3

Gay Civil Rights

On March 25, Bella Abzug and twenty-three other members of Congress introduced an amendwent to the 1964 and 1968 Civil Rights Acts that would ban discrimination based on a rerson's sexual orientation. The bill is clearly one designed to strengthen the rights of homosexuals.

Because this is the first time that gays have ever had accesibility to equality though the local process, it is imperative that we voice support for this bill to our congressperson. Only a short, one sentence statement to our representatives could prevent all of us from becoming the victims of bias in employment, housing, and other areas.

Gay unity is essential now! Please send a note supporting the ammendment to your representative today. Action on the measure is expected sometime during the Easter recess; promptness is of primary importance. Following is a list of the four representatives of Cuyahoga County and their respective addresses:

Congressman James Stanton20th District 1107 Longworth ilouse Office Building Washington, D.C.. 20515

Congressman Louis Stokes21st District 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D. C. 20515 ...

Congressman Charles Vanik-22nd District 2371 Rayburn Building Washington, D.C. 20515

Congressman Ronald Mottl23rd District 1233 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D. C., 20515...

Fellowship Metropolitan

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