Page 10 HIGH GEAR JUNE 1981
GEAR
OPINION
A Publication of the GEAR Foundation
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 7
1981 GEAR
HIGH GEAR is a publication of the Gay Educationai and Awareness Resources (GEAR) Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio. It is distributed free of charge in any establishment and with any organization that will permit distribution. It is a non-pro.it, federally tax-exempt publication.
The presence of the name or picture or other representation of an organization, place of business or person(s) in HIGH GEAR is not necessarily indicative of the sexual orientation of such organizations or persons.
All contributions of written materials, art work or photography by members of the gay community are welcome. All materials submitted for publication are subject to editorilization. The return of materials submitted for publication, whether used by HIGH GEAR or not, cannot be guaranteed unless accompanled by a self-addressed stamped envelope.
All HIGH GEAR staff members are volunteers except the advertising manager. Anyone interested in working on the staff of HIGH GEAR should contact the paper at P.O. Box 6177 Cleveland, OH., 44101 or by calling the Hotline at 621-3380.
Business or organizations wishing to advertise in HIGH GEAR may obtain advertising rate cards and other information by writing to the above address.
The deadline for HIGH GEAR publication is the 15th of the month for advertising and written material. News items accepted until the date of publication.
HIGH GEAR will not publish any material of a racist, sexist, ageist, or pornographic nature. HIGH GEAR reserves the right to apply the same standards to display advertising after notification is given the advertiser.
HIGH GEAR is copyrighted under Federal Law. Reproduction is granted to all other gay publications as long as credit is given to HIGH GEAR. Exception: Photographs copyrighted by Sally J. Mattson may not be reprinted nor reproduced in any way without the written consent and/or fee paid to the photographer. All HIGH GEAR work is original unless otherwise noted.
HIGH GEAR PICTURE POLICY
Recognizable faces will not be printed in HIGH GEAR without the consent of said faces. This is to enable the patrons and entertainers of Cleveland's fine bars, clubs, entertainments and organizations to remain relaxed without fear of their "images being stolen" when the HIGH GEAR staff photographers are at work.
Jeff Wobbecke
EDITOR-INTERIM
MANAGING EDITOR R. Woodward
PHOTO EDITOR
STAFF ARTIST
WRITERS.
COLUMNISTS
LAYOUT STAFF
DISTRIBUTION STAFF
Sally Mattson
Sally J. Mattson Photographer/Photo Editor
David Kirschenbaum
Jay Stuart, Mary Stuart,
Gordon Hathaway, David George
Alexandria Rudin, Chris Guarnieri, Jeannette, Moonshot and Rainwalker Steve Del Nero
Steve Fritch, Win Welzer, Gordon Hathaway Dianne Fishman, Mgr.
Barbara Lee, Gail Burlee, Marcia Perry, Lorie Cecelich, Tracey Ryan, Leslie Fortlage, Jody Gilbert Homan, Jerry Bores
HIGH GEAR-621-6546, AFTER FIVE
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THE CALL AND POST S
Notable quotes
Dr. Thomas Szasz, psychoanalyst and member of the American Psychoanalytic Association noted for his sharp criticism of American psychiatry, as quoted by Lawrence Mass, MD., in an article in the March/April issue of Christopher Street:
Editor's Column
Community
By Jeff Wobbecke
As HIGH GEAR continues to grow and change to meet the needs of the gay community of Ohio, I think that it is important for us to say what we are and focus in on our goals.
First, HIGH GEAR is probably the most visible arm of the GEAR Foundation. It is 'Ohio's Gay Journal' and as such carries news and features about and of interest to gay people of Ohio. We are charged with the responsibility of reporting the activities of the Board of Trustees of the GEAR Foundation.
Secondly, we are an outreach-to the gay community first; to the straight community second.
We are communication.
Communication and community come from a very similar background. Without communication, we are not going to have community. And community is something that is vital to each and every human on this planet. We have our work community, our family community, our social community, and the religious community. In short, any group of people with some common definition, regardless of size, is a community.
We are the gay community and it is our job here at HIGH GEAR to provide some communication on a statewide level to as many members of that community as possible.
It is our job to report and comment on the news; not to make it. We will be somewhat biased in that our reporting will reflect the coverage and reporting of as many items of importance to us all as is allowed by space and dollars constraints.
By this means can we best serve our community and help to mold that group into a more cohesive community (a la San Francisco or D.C.).
To reach this noble and lofty goal we will be instituting series and columns-not all designed to reach nor to please every segment of the community. Hopefully, you will find them of interest and pass them on to a friend or lover; or a family member.
Continuing in this issue is the 'Up Your Rights' column by AlexanRudin and Chris Guarnieri. Wrap up of the discussion of the Family Protection Act appears in this issue.
New with this issue is the 'Ass-Troll-Ogy' feature by Moonshot and Rainwalker. Meant to be a light and lively touch, their bit of camp as it goes over your future is a pleasant change.
"I am trying to take a Mark Twainian attitude toward the madness-mongering of the psy-dria chiatric inquisition. The narcissistic, borderline, and anti-social personality disorders are simply the latest shins in psychiatric semantics, invented to justify a psychiatric industry imbued with insatiable ambition. There's no clear definition of "narcissism," for example. But I can give you one. That's the mental illness that afflicts patients who love themselves too much... and their analysts too little."
"The evidence is overwhelming that Freud was antihomosexual, and homosexuals-and their born-again psychiatric defenders--are kidding themselves by quoting a scrap here and there from Freud to support their position.
"Let's get Freud straight, if I may use a pun, once and for all. He considered homosexuals to be perverts--and indeed, not just homosexuals!"
"In 1916-17, in his classic Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis," Freud wrote:
'On the other hand, the abandonment of the reproductive function is the common feature of all perversions. We actually describe a sexual activity as perverse if it has given up the aim of reproduction and pursues the attainment of pleasure as an aim independent to it.'
"I think that we should not forget this opinion of Freud's, and should not forgive him for it. And I think we should hold it against all the psychiatrists who have failed to repudiate it."
"Anyone who believes that the advocates of 'mental health' value and support individual liberty and responsibility--and advocate sexual liberty and responsibility--well, such a person, as Sam Goldwyn put it, 'should have his head examined'."
an
Coming in the July issue are a slew of things-again, space and money permitting. Travel will be covered by a local gentleman of our community who has traveled extensively and continues to do so in his profession. He will be giving us the "low-down" from all around. Gay cooking will be a highlight for those of you who really want to know how to boil water without burning it and yourself. A wonderful chef who has over the past few years done terrible things to my much-watched waistline will be sharing some of his culinary secrets. From the airwaves we are talking with an individual on the inside of the broadcast industry on a potential column covering the broadcast media.
Plants are mushrooming, pardon the pun, in popularity and no home or business is really complete without the requisite greenery. take little care and how to plant outside-reader tips always welcome. We will be talking about some tips on those easy to grow items that Sports coverage will be increasing, too, as we try to round out our coverage of the gay community. Softball is a major sport, especially in the women's community; and volleyball has a large following. Lambda Runners has taken off here in Cleveland after the inspiration set by our brothers and sisters in the San Francisco based Front Runners.
Politics, a somewhat controversial area, will be addressed via coverage of the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club in Cuyahoga County.
Coverage of women's events will be increasing as we endeavor to live up to our commitment to serve the entire community.
Lee Robinson, a Cleveland poet, will be combining her talents and those of other gay poets with the photography of Sally Mattson in a poetry page.
Letters from our readers are welcome, for publication or not, as suits your whim and our space.
Exciting? Daring? We think so and hope that you will, too. Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Akron, Toledo, Lima-wherever you are we want to hear from you. What is happening, poetry submissions, ad sales--all are welcome and needed if we're to serve you better. HIGH GEAR is your community paper. We will serve all of you to the best of our ability. Your help, comments, and contributions are wel-. come and encouraged, for a better future.
"It is one of the few 'laws' of human relations that not only those who suffer from arbitrary authority, but also those who wield it, become alienated from others and thus dehumanized. The oppressed tends to become a passive, thinglike object, and the oppressor a megalomaniacal, godlike figure. When the former realizes that he is but a oft erwoy
mockery of man, and the latter that he is but a mockery of God, the result is often explosive violence, the victim seeking revenge in murder, the victimizer oblivion in suicide. I surmise that such considerations account, at least in part, for the fact that, in the United States, the highest incidence of suicide is among psychiatrists."
Thomas Szasz, M.D.