September, 1975
Plain Dealer Opens To Gays
The news media in Cleveland has opened up to the gay community, with an interview conducted by the Plain Dealer. Coming in the next few weeks will be an article about the Metropolitan Community Church in Cleveland, and associated Community services in the gay community. Until now, the Plain Dealer and the Cleveland Press have remained mute in response to the news
releases issued by the MCC; and the GEAR Foundation, with the exception of an article entitled "NO SEX PERVERTS IN OUR PULPITS," which dealt with homsexuals in the church, MCC, and Dignity/Cleveland were mentioned briefly in the article. The Plain Dealer article on the MCC will be printed within the next two weeks, in the Sunday Edition, under the Urban Affairs section.
ODDS AND ENDS
By JERRY JUS CZYK
The feature on gays in Times has caused quite a stir. A secretary in Student Life at Cleveland State University reports calls from four concerned mothers of prospective CSU students, all inquiring if there are "any of those kind of people" on campus. Little do they know, we're everywhere. The article itself seemed fairly objective; didn't care for the ending though.
The family may be the foundation of civilization; but it's also responsible for most of society's problems....
Just picked up a copy of the GPU News from Milwaukee, Wisconsin; quite impressive. Best way to describe GPU is to say it's the Atlantic Monthly of gay publications....
Excellent portrayal of the trials of a transexual on last week's Medical Center, Part II of this entertaining, educational feature can be seen on Monday, 10 p.m. September 15th on Channel 8. The CBS series treats the condition of transexuals compassionately and objectively. Catch it....
The September 1st issue of Harper's Weekly presented an extensive layout on same-sex marriages. Boulder, Colorado had been a mecca for gay people seeking to legally tie their commitments until Colorado attorney, J.D. MacFarlance declared gay marriages illegal.
Gay marriage partners are fighting that ruling in the district courts, and it seems that the whole issue will boil down to what, by law constitutes a marriage...
Ah, sweet fall and the droppings of politics. Now that Pinkney and Bresnehan have given us a stand on gay rights, let's hope CGF and additional local gay groups can squeeze statements out of other mayoral candidates. Dickerson's
publicized plans to clean Edgewater Park up of the "perverts" smacks of sexism.
Sweeney's busy playing the softshoe of neat avoidance, and we all know how supportive Mayor Perk has been (sic)...
Heard on John Chancellor's NBC news that Billy Graham's statement on admitting sinless gays into the ministry was misconstrued. What he meant to say was any individual who repudiated his homosexuality and subsequently repented would be welcome...
The latest issue of Exit features a story on "The Confessions of A Male Go-Go Dancer" and mentions gays throughout. The bullwhipcarrying dancer credits gays for starting discos and says he sees little need for go-go boys in gay clubs; because every person in a gay bar is a great dancer...
Well, enough media-jiving this month, folks. Until we meet again, remember what Labelle says: "Good intentions are never good enough."
GAY HOT LINE
HIGH GEAR
BAR HOPPING THROUGH THE MIDWEST
Recently, two members of the GEAR staff traversed to Chicago and Detroit to compare those cities' gay scene with that of Cleveland's. First, we visited Chicago. Since Chicago is at least twice as large as Cleveland, our researchers expected to find Cleveland's gay grandeur doubled; but were amazed to discover that the Chicago scene is quite comparable to Cleveland's.
It seemed that every bar and disco has an equivilant here. For example, Chicago's largest gay disco, The Bistro, located in the heart of the city, is not unlike Cleveland's Bayou Landing. In fact, if the Bayou increases in local popularity, as it expects to, it may well have a decided edge over The Bistro.
Not more than a block from The Bistro is a smaller disco called! Three Coins, which in terms of decor and patronage is very much like Rikki's and Twiggy's. Chicago's quasileather bar, The Gold Coast, while superior to the Leather Stallion, could not compete with both The Stallion and the 620 combined. This club can only be fairly compared with both the 620 and The Leather Stallion since its frequenters promote the general atmosphere of both of these bars. As for Chicago's more "conservative" bar called
Le Pub, Cleveland's Shaker Club clearly excells.
Our reporters were not so much disappointed with Chicago as they were proud of Cleveland. To be sure, Chicago, like any other metropolis offers new faces, new personalities, and new gimmicks.
A visitor from Cleveland might be inclined to be impressed by Chicago merely for these 'reasons; however even with a modicum of modesty
Cleveland's gay entertainment environment competes successfully with The Windy City's.
As for Detroit, we can safely acknowledge that there is no comparisonbetweenit, the larger city, and Cleveland. Detroit's most frequented disco, called Menjo's, is definitely in league with the Bayou. It's decor is flashy and it is well-managed,; yet, unfortunately, Detroit's gay disco scene is confined almost entirely to this bar.
Detroit's first runner-up. The Escape Lounge, though sporting. many younger collegiate gays, seems to be faddish and temporary. It appears to be a hastily re-constituted movie theatre and its thin decor fails to conceal its probable origin.
Like Chicago, Detroit is a change of pace; and therefore, novel; but is hardly unique or impressive, and defninitely a
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trailing second to Cleveland. It is altogether possible that Cleveland is undergoing a "golden age" of gay entertainment, and its current splendor. shows signs of acceleration rather than decline. Live stage performances are breaking into this city's gay night life, gradually ranking it with this country's most acclaimed gay meccas.
The advent of male go-go dancers at Rikki's, The Bayou, and The Rainbow, though not in themselves a momentous change, signal the aspiration of Cleveland's bars to the plush and polish of the finest gay national hot-spots.
It is easy for us native Clevelanders to blame Cleveland's gay scene for our personal frustrations and. an. noyances, or to permit our disenchantment with Cleveland as a city to taint our attitude toward our available gay social activities.
Where some of the rest of this city's straight entertainment en. terprises fail to compete with their counterparts in other cities, Cleveland's gay entertainment scene is right up front with the top challengers. The best things in life may not all be here, but there is certainly plenty of life in the best things that are here.
IRS Says "No" To PGN
The Internal Revenue Service recently refused tax-exempt status to Pittsburgh Gay News, Incorporated. The publishing firm, based in Pittsburgh, Pa.,
was incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania as a non-profit, educational corporation, in 1974, and currently publishes the Pittsburgh gay news, and
the Ohio East Gay News. An appeal is being considered at this time, although the reasons for the refusal are not clear at this point.
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