HIGH GEAR

EDITORIAL

July, 1975

The following is an editorial by a member of the HIGH GEAR staff, and is intended to reflect the editorial policies of the HIGH GEAR Newspaper.

A.G. Madigan

This month marks the opening of a new gay business in Cleveland, and hopefully, the beginning of a new era for the gay community of Cleveland. While many people have said many things about the Bayou "putting the other bars out of business" that is definitely not the intent of the management of the Bayou.

The purpose is, rather, to instill an aura of competitive activity in the gay businesses here. For too long, the gay community has had to be satisfied with the less than terrific clubs in Cleveland. This is not a matter of opinion, but rather one of observation. If the bars in Cleveland were as great as they should be, the people that frequent them would not be going to smaller cities such as Akron and Toledo for a good, enjoyable evening. Hopefully, the Bayou will bring these people back into the business community of Cleveland, and will stimulate the other bars to improve themselves, in a competitive structure.

There are, it is true, many smaller clubs that are cuite enjoyable, and the finger is not pointing at them. Rather, the references are being made to the larger clubs in Cleveland that have, in the past, refused to support the community that they live off of, or have been ambivalent towards the gay communtiy. Perhaps the difference in most cases is the ownership of the current clubs being from the heterosexual community, and the Bayou being owned and managed by gay businessmen, who make it their business to SERVE the community.

Let us hope that the rest of the businessmen that own/ manage the other clubs, straight or gay, will observe the Bayou Landing, and follow suit.

Dear Readers;

WOMEN

My name is Lynn, and I am currently working with the staff of HIGH GEAR. Í shall be commenting on gay women's events and hope to discuss some of the problems we gay women must f face. I welcome comments and suggestions from all who are seeking alternatives to our common oppression. The existence of our women's point of view in print depends upon the efforts of all of us together. So write in with your ideas, and help to make HIGH GEAR a newspaper for the complete community.

Thanks, Lynn Malloy

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Page 17

Homosexuals Superior (Continued From Page 4)

have lead some Gays to oppose the values and institutions of the dominant society. Thus, Gays are not merely alienated as many other Americans, but quite conscious of it, a consciousness that can naturally lead to creative responses.

Besides "centering," Freedman continues, there are other ways in which Gays function better than non-Gays: sex roles may be more egalitarian and sexuality more expressive. 'he cultivated wisdom of the Gay world is that two men or wo women living together quickly see the limitations of stereotyped sex roles. Breadwinner/ homemaker/ and dominant/ submissive trips are just not as important to Gays as they are to most other people. This, of course, Freedman warns, is not always the rule but can lead to a fuller recognition of certain fundamental values, and perhaps better-thanaverage functioning in our society.

Sexually, Friedman's arguments also meet the test of logical analysis. A Gay man knows a man's body. He knows where the most stimulating erogenous zones are and is familair with the various sexual options available to his physique. A study by Martin Weinberg and Colin Williams of the Kinsey Institute reported last year that 55% of 1,057 Gay males had engaged in several sexual practices mutual masturbation, giving and receiving fellatio, and anal intercourse. It is apparent that experimentation abounds in homosexual contacts. Conversely, two non-Gay people need a good deal more instruction and practice before the act is mutually satisfying. Inhibited by initial embarrassments, they may not exchange the knowledge of sensitive areas to each other, making their encounter a hit-and-miss affair. So far as experimentation is concerned, not surprisingly, there are more than a few non-Gays who are stuck in the missionary position.

Is it then possible that homosexuality is in reality more natural than its counterpart? Perhaps not. But the evidence is convincing that non-closet Gays have a much healthier attitude toward sex than many heterosexuals. In the Gay world, sex is a good deal more casual than in the straight. Lacking any cultural taboo, sex for sex's sake is the rule rather than the exception, leaving many Gays greater flexibility to choose their friends and compatriots. A prominent myth concerning Gays is that they are especially creative and gifted. Scientifically, of couse, there is no method to prove or disprove this belief: yet major figures like "chaikovsky, Handel, E.M. Forester, "ennessee Williams, Noel Coward, Kate Millet, James Paldwin, Gertrude Stein, ruman Capote, and Michelangelo lend some credence to the theory's continued existence.

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It is said proportionately that there are more Gays in literature, music, painting, philosophy, dance, and the theatre than in other occupations. Why? "he reasons are complex and objectively can only appear as speculation. An individual's homosexuality may itself be a source of emotional struggle or joy. Self-acceptance or the lack of it is crucial to the course of one's behavior. Since people have different ways of dealing with their emotions, some may express it creatively. Ārt can also be an affirmation of personal worth, a source of self-respect. Regardless of how harshly one is judged by society, one can assert his validity through creativity. A work of art, becomes something outside of the creator and is evaluated on its own merits. Art work also has a permanence, a life that transcends mortality and can offer the same satisfaction as children do for heterosexuals.

The problem with such explanations, however, is that hey may be just as easily applied to heterosexuals as to Gays. Upon deeper analysis, we discover that in our cultural traditions certain roles have been prescribed for the minorities within them. For centuries, it has been more acceptable for indivduals in arts and entertainment to be homosexual han for others. Indeed, some artistic professions have been viewed as the almost exclusive province of homosexuals. hi, in part, is largely due to the Western notions of masculine and feminine prescriptions. The artist is evnected to be imagina ive, intuitive, and usually subjective. By definition, men were purportedly not like this, so creativity emerged as a "feminine" trait. As such, while Gays were encouraged in the arts, non-Gays were not. Again, the social structure presents Gays with a blessing in disguise an open market to develop our inner potentials. Increasingly, old myths about homosexuality are being laid to rest. The more we learn of the reality of each other's life styles, the more proud we genuinely feel. Are homosexuals superior to non-Gays? Objectively, c.e might have to answer no: but subjectively, I can say that I am just a little sharper than a comparable straight. In the long run, when people of all sexual orientations feel free to enjoy their full scope of sexuality, the notion of one type of sex being better than another will probably vanish, as will the rigid distinction between heterosexual and homosexual behavior. For a future ideal goal, this is what we must allGay and non-Gay alikestrive for. In the meantime, Gays can unabashadly emphasize the positive characteristics of their life styles: for surely, they are innumerable.