JUNE 2012
2012
Pride Portland Entrepreneur Michkael Baker
CELEBRATION
JustOut.com
ROCKIN’ FASHION
ARTS
ENTERTAINMENT
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Fashion MIND THE GAP Portland's queer-friendly band, Mattachine Social, bring (their very own) style to the stage.
26 PRIDE 2012 YOUR PRIDE It is June and it's time for Pride. It's your celebration. Nobody else's. Just yours. So enjoy.
28 Cover Profile 32 Events 33 Reflections 34
Our Stories
36 Body 38 Mind
Photo Horace Long
40 Spirit
Departments
& Columns
10 Welcome
46 Advice
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48 A&E
Editor’s Note
14 Voices
58 Opinion
16 Notebook
59 Marketplace
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Hot Topics
22 Community 4
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Our People
42 Family 44 Nightlife
Cover JUST OUT'S ART DIRECTOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER HORACE LONG SHOT ENTREPRENEUR MICHKAEL BAKER FOR THE JUNE 2012 COVER. BAKER, AN ENERGETIC AND VISIONARY ENTREPRENEUR, HAS A PAST LIFE IN MUSIC AND AS A PERFORMER. READ ABOUT BAKER ON PAGE 28. REACH HORACE AT HORACE@JUSTOUT.COM
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WELCOME
by Jonathan Kipp, publisher
REINVENTION I'll never forget it. The sun was beating down on my back. The horse beneath me was breathing hard from the climb up the vista. And as I approached the crest of this Montana outlook, the vast view quickly grew in size as we came to a halt. I was alone except for a few gay cowboys and girls who were on the same adventure and, of course, our four-legged companions. No one spoke. Pure stillness. And that was the moment. I finally felt right in my own skin. I was home. I think many of us have a moment like this in our memory. There is a time when we leap from mere acceptance to pure celebration of who we are. Pride. For some it comes early in life. And yet for others it can take a lifetime to get there. We are all on our own path. When I think of Pride, I think of that journey to Big Sky country, that ride, and how life got a little sweeter that day. We are all on a journey. Just Out is too. After nearly 30 years of consistent publishing Just Out hit a bump in the road. You probably heard about it. It was indeed a sad day for thousands of loyal readers. Many have reached out. They expressed their eagerness to fight for Just Out's return. And as you well know, things worth having are things worth fighting for. And Just Out is.
Just Out is back in production under new ownership. And there is a new vision for this endeared publication. You'll get a sense of it as you peruse the pages in our debut issue. But rest assured, Just Out has the same soul that only decades of publishing can bring to a bunch of white bound pages. Jonathan Kipp, Roscoe, MT
ATTENTION PAST ADVERTISERS As the new publisher of Just Out, we have made our best attempt contacting all past advertisers, especially those who may have prepaid for ads that didn’t run under the previous publisher. Because the records we received were not complete, there is a chance that we missed you. If we did, it was not intentional and we want to make it right. However, we need to hear from you before July 10. Please contact us at sales@JustOut.com, or by calling 503.828.3034 Ext 1. Reach Jonathan at jonathan@JustOut.com
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For nearly three decades Just Out has been there for our community through thick and thin. And readers and advertisers have been there for Just Out. We’ve celebrated together and we’ve grieved together. We’ve seen progress and we’ve been forced to reckon with setbacks. We’ve turned on one another and we’ve turned toward each other. We’ve celebrated our pride and had to face our shortcomings. And like I did so many years ago, we’ve read of people that have gone before us; during our darkest moments their stories planted a welcomed seed of hope that it gets better. We’ve been through it all. But there is more to do. There are more stories to tell. There are more minds to change, souls to touch, and the ever-alluding ideal of justice for all people to fight for. To do this, Just Out needs to be there doing its job of entertaining, informing, and being the collective mirror of our community as it has been for so long. But more importantly, Just Out needs you for the next 30 years. We are in this together whether we are sitting in an urban studio apartment alone, at a party with hundreds of our friends, or sitting speechless taking in a spectacular view — on a horse.
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EDITOR’S NOTE
by Alley Hector
just out TM
June 2012
PUBLISHERS Jonathan Kipp Eddie Glenn EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Alley Hector ART DIRECTOR Horace Long
Qpdx
Coming Full Circle
Pride. It’s one of the seven deadly sins and yet a term that has become a positive symbol of self-empowerment, a lifeblood of American culture. But as troubling as this might sound, our diverse LGBTQ community is uniquely able to embrace such a dichotomy. Three years ago the Pride Guide cover declared “Divided We Stand.” We continue to be divided on so many issues, and yet, we’re still standing.
Just Out, too, has undergone many changes over its nearly 30 years in print, and yet with new publishers and a whole new staff, we, too, intend to remain standing. And though I am merely one (gender) queer person in this alphabet soup, I intend to do my best to reflect the many voices of Oregon's queer communities, whether I personally agree or not. As much as we may feel our differences we also have so much in common, so many issues to work on together, rights to fight for, victories to celebrate. That is what Pride month is about. What began in the early 1970s as a commemoration of an important day in which gender non-conforming people fought back against New York City police has turned into a global discussion, a huge party, and a visual show of resistance against homophobic institutions. When I first attended Portland Pride in the 1990s as a high school Freshman I may not have known the history but I was certainly aware of its power. It, in turn, empowered me to come out in the pages of my local paper The Columbian and join a queer youth group that put out a zine of art and writing called Personal Deity Proxy. As one of the biggest and most interesting Pride celebrations in the world it was also part of the reason I returned to Portland and why I want to write for and about the queers of this city. As a Producer at OregonLive.com I saw that many fascinating stories were not being told, and so I started qPDX to have a place where those not being covered by mainstream or even gay mainstream media could be heard. Now, I've come full circle, my alternative voice becoming part of an ever-widening media landscape. Through it all there has been really only one thing I have valued, written about, fought for, and it is what Just Out continues to be about: people. That is what holds our community together and what will hold together the Just Out vision, the proud queers of Portland and all of Oregon sharing our stories, showcasing our talents, and engaging in dialogues that are thought-provoking, controversial, varied, hard. I am proud to be a Q, a PDXer and your new Editor for Just Out. And I'm excited to share it all with you under the banner of Portland Pride 2012.
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A&E EDITOR Ken Hoyt PROOFREADER Ellen Fiscus WRITERS Cathleen Busha Anna Deligio Catherine Hollenbeck Brad Larsen, PhD Logan Lynn Lyska Mondor Denny Richard Aaron Spencer Rev. Jennifer Yocum DIRECTOR of SALES Roy Melani just out™ P.O. Box 10609 Portland, OR 97296 editor@JustOut.com sales@JustOut.com Phone/Fax: 503.828.3034 ©Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
Published by Glenn-Kipp Publishing, Inc LLM Publications, Inc. is Just Out’s authorized advertising representative
just out™ Founded in 1983 FORMER PUBLISHERS Founders Renee LaChance & Jay Brown Marty Davis
Just Out has a long and proud history of informing and entertaining the LGBTQ community in Oregon and SW Washington, our supporters near and far, and working to build bridges that lead to justice, fairness, and equality for all people. Printed in the U.S.A.
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VOICES
by Logan Lynn
There. I said it.
In The Trenches
Forgiveness is a huge pain in the ass
My hurt is my hurt. As so many of us do, I carry it on my back, bring it with me to bed, and keep it fed and alive so it can grow alongside me as I make my way through the years. I notice more and more that there is a deep sense of my identity found in and around my own history of suffering and that I still sometimes guard those old feelings with my life even now, years after the initial infliction occurred. Much of the connection I feel to my humanity seems to have been formed during sad times, more than once having had the experience of stepping closer to my true self in moments when all had otherwise been lost. Recently, after I reviewed Lee Hirsch’s documentary “Bully” for another gig and recounted my own horror story of being tortured by my peers as a young man for being ginger, queer and different, I received a message on Facebook from a name I had not seen for nearly twenty years but instantly recognized. In a flash I was transported back in time and broke into an alltoo-familiar sweat, my hands cold and clammy with panic. The message was from one of the ringleaders of this group of mean kids I had grown up with and I have always counted him as one of my primary tormenters from back then. Suddenly I was 14 again and all alone in the world, just me and my teenage fear. As I had done many times before in locker rooms, classrooms and hallways when I spotted this particular bully, I puffed myself up and prepared for the worst. Once I had worked through the acute PTSD around even seeing his name in my inbox, I opened the message and, to my surprise, took in the following words: “Hey Logan, I read several of your stories on The Huffington Post. In short, I just wanted to say that I’m very sorry for any bullying that I did when we were younger. I know that’s not much (if any comfort), but I wanted to say it. I sincerely hope my own kids are more tolerant. Congrats on your sobriety and best of luck with your community work.”
Logan Lynn is a Portland based musician, activist and writer. He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post . Reach him at Logan@JustOut.com
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It was strangely comforting. I burst into tears. This jerk had made me cry before, no doubt but this was different.
It took me four days to work up the courage to respond to him and even then I didn’t know what to say (or if I should say anything at all). The idea that true change had come to this mean boy was unfathomable to me on some level. How could someone once so twisted and cruel have opened his eyes to the hurt he had caused? Did he deserve to be forgiven or should I just let him suffer with the memory of having tortured me, just as I have suffered from the lasting impact of the torture all these years? Was I, in fact, re-injuring myself by accepting his apology? The waterworks began again, only this time I felt something leave my body as I cried, the pain now turning from adolescent and overwhelming to grown up and irrelevant. On some level I would have preferred to remain angry at him, but that just promises to make me sick and keep me traumatized. So, I chose to open the vault; every mean thing this kid had ever said to me released, every book knocked out of my hand replaced, and every wad of snot spit in my face returned to the back of the bully’s throat from whence it came. Ultimately, forgiveness is a selfish act...at least it usually starts that way for me. In this case, I chose to reply to his note so that I could close the chapter and move on. He and I will most likely never be friends, but I can appreciate the man he has become. It takes bravery to cop to the things we are most ashamed of. This is something I’ve had to do a great deal of in my life as well, so I can relate to that struggle. I thanked him for letting me know he was sorry, told him just how hard it had been for me back then (something I had always wanted to do), and I shared how happy I was to hear that he had also turned out cool in the years since. Be yourself and honor your experience in the world every day so that others will, too. Let your pain shape you rather than shackle you, and let love and new joy replace your old anger when the time is right. As it turns out, we aren’t actually required to carry it on our backs forever. Who knew?
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Notebook (PRIDE)
Black Pride '12 Portland Black Pride 2012 begins on June 6 with Queens of the Night, a hip hop and drag show at Local Lounge (NE MLK/Femont). The official kick off the next evening will feature DJ Common Denominator at the same venue. The Portland Black Pride Summit at Portland Community College-Cascade Campus ( 75 N. Killingsworth), on June 9, will cover topics around stigma, faith, and community. The celebration wraps up on June 10 will Families of Color Day Out where
the community will gather at Kenton Park (8417 N. Brandon Ave) to play games and enjoy music and food. Portland Black Pride is sponsored by PFLAG Portland Black Chapter, Crossover, Cascade AIDS Project, Multnomah County Health Department, and Equity Foundation. For more information about additional events or to volunteer: Portlandblackpride@gmail.com
Q Center Mayoral Forum
THE CONTENDERS Mayoral candidates Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith taking questions from Q-Center Executive Director Barbara McCullough Jones at the center's meet and greet event on May 2. A few days later the primary election pushed Hales and Smith on to November's general election.
Cameron Whitten
(CANDIDATES)
Whitten & WW After 2012 Mayoral candidate Cameron Whitten, endorsed by both the Green and Progressive Parties, failed to get the endorsement of our friends at Willamette Week (they chose Charlie Hales) he took exception to the weekly's attempt to label him. Apparently WW suggested that Whitten serves as a better activist rather than a politician. Cameron responded on his Facebook with an eloquently written rebuttal.
"...it is a shame to hear that an ‘alternative’ newspaper is so willing to perpetuate a status quo mind set, in affirming that the roles of activist and politician should be or are separate," Whitten wrote. But Whitten didn't stop there.
"With the history of Willamette Week endorsements, their opinions prove to be slate grey and unimaginative. Despite their attempts to make their delivery appear outrageous and renegade, their inner-thoughts are standard and outdated. It reminds me of a rebellious teenager who doesn’t know what the hell they are doing, and really needs to move out of their mother’s basement." Ouch!
Photo Horace Long
(TECHNOLOGY)
More Notebook info:
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QR Codes What’s that funny-looking square box I see throughout Just Out? This is called a QR code and is Just Out’s attempt to help connect your printed issue of Just Out to additional information that is available on the web. Whenever you see a QR Code, scan the code with your smartphone. You’ll never know what you might find…more information about the article, additional resources, a chance to win a free prize, your chance to sound-off, or….????!!!! Don’t have a QR code reader on your smartphone? Never fear! There are free QR reader apps available for both iPhones and Android. Visit your app store today and start scanning!
June 2012
IN LAST MONTHS'S PRIMARY, NENA COOK SECURED HER SPOT IN NOVEMBER'S GENERAL ELECTION FOR A SEAT ON THE OREGON SUPREME COURT. IF ELECTED, COOK WILL BE THE THIRD OPENLY GAY JUSTICE ON THE BENCH.
(MARRIAGE)
Obama! President Obama became the first President to come out in support of same-sex marriage, when he spoke in support of of the freedom to marry on ABC's Good Morning America in May. "Today's announcement is historic and it is a pivotal moment for the freedom to marry in Oregon and the nation. We'll want to rejoice and take stock of how far we've traveled, but we still have much work to do." Jeanne Frazzini, Executive Director at Basic Rights Oregon, wrote shortly after the historic news hit Portand. Within 24 hours over 1,700 individuals signed BRO's official THANK YOU note for the President. “Growing up in a small Oregon coastal town, in Newport, Ore., I never thought in my lifetime I would ever hear a president say that he supported equal marriage,” Portland Mayor Sam Adams said to TalkingPointsMemo.com. June 2012
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Notebook (CRIME)
Paul Anthony Martinson, 39, still faces charges of assault, intimidation and criminal mischief in connection with an event on March 14 in downtown Portland outside the Silverado. Martinson is alleged to have assaulted a gay couple while making anti-gay slurs and then vandalizing their car. A few days later Martinson reached out via voice mail to Just Out asking for support, presumably for his legal bills. Just Out didn't return Martinson's call. Martinson appeared on local television news that night, pronouncing his innocence of any hate crime. According to Portland Police the case has been assigned to Deputy District Attorney Ryan Lufkin and is proceeding through the court system.
Debra Porta
Photo Horace Long
Attack Update
(PRIDE NORTHWEST)
New Events Launch Portland Pride means something different to everyone, whether it is a chance to showcase the community’s accomplishments or a chance for day-time drinking on Stark Street. But officially, in recent years, Pride has meant two things: the parade and the festival on the waterfront. That’s going to change this year. The nonprofit that runs the annual celebration, Pride Northwest, has reevaluated what the point of Pride is supposed to be. To begin the process they went back to their mission statement, which boils down to this: Pride should highlight and celebrate the talents, accomplishments and history of our community.
“Pride as a whole has this reputation for either not serving its original purpose or not having significant value to the full community,” says Debra Porta, president of Pride Northwest, “so my focus has been basically trying to define what that value is.” As a result of Porta's focus, five new official events, meant to reach out to the full spectrum of the Portland LGBT community, have been added to the 2012 calendar. See page 32 of Just Out's PRIDE section for details. www.pridenw.org
Staff Photo
Submissions for Notebook can be sent to editor@JustOut.com
K.D. LANG AND THE SISS BOOM BANG RETURNS FOR A SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR AT THE OREGON ZOO’S SUMMER CONCERT SERIES. LANG, WHO BLENDS COUNTRY-ROCK STYLINGS WITH A PLAYFULLY PUNK-LIKE ATTITUDE, WILL PERFORM SUNDAY, JULY 1 AT THE ZOO AS PART OF THE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES. 7 P.M. (IN MEMORIAM)
A Stark St. Icon Portland recently lost one of its gay community leaders. Glenn Dugger was the original owner of Scandals, the bar he opened in 1979. He started the bar, one of three that he opened, with $500. It became a place that people with no other place to go could call home, which is what he wanted it to be. Dugger died March 12. He was 76. He is survived by his partner Felipe Ramirez. 18
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A memorial was held for Dugger at Scandals March 19, 2012. Community members including his staff, customers, and other bar owners came to pay their respects. “The entire bar was full of people,” Ramirez says. “I got like a thousand hugs from people, his family and friends. “He was one of those special guys that could heal others’ broken hearts,” Ramirez says, “a very special person in my life and a special person in many people’s lives.”
June 2012
(MUSIC)
The Gossip The much-anticipated 5th studio release of dual Portlanders/Londoners The Gossip is finally here and it’s everything and more you expect from the trio behind 2006’s breakthrough release Standing in the Way of Control. A blend of soul, gospel, rock, funk, disco, and punk, Gossip is comprised of body positive vocalist Beth Ditto, guitarist Nathan Howdeshell, and drummer Hannah Blilie. Encompassing a wide array of genres, Joyful Noise manages to sample from the great parts of 40 years of rock and electronic without sounding outdated. From tracks that mock their hipster support base like “Get a Job” to the perfectly epic sounds of its first single “Perfect World” the “popular in Europe” hometown heroes are finally poised to take the country by storm. You can listen to and order the album on their website: gossipyouth.com.
(LAW)
Repair What? The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Beth Allen Law firm, of Portland, recently sent a complaint to two professional psychiatric associations urging them to investigate the unethical use of conversion therapy by a Portland psychiatrist. The SPLC also launched an online tool that informs users of conversion therapists near them and offers people a safe place to share their stories. The complaint was sent to the Oregon Psychiatric Association (OPA) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA) charging that the Portland psychiatrist unethically subjected a 22-year-old University of Oregon student to conversion therapy. www.splcenter.org June 2012
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HOT TOPICS
by Catherine Hollenbeck
Solidarity
Low Brow/ High Femme Feminist and Femme. If you catch me on a less cranky day I might be happy to use these terms as part of my identity. This wasn't always the case. During my formative feminist years I was constantly (and not academically) having intense and deeply personal conversations with other women, gender queers, and trans people about our shared experiences under patriarchy. Our sharing turned into study and reflection about our similarities. It also turned into tough conversations about our differences and privileges and how these differences affected our understanding of a very complicated world. Years later, I tongue in cheek identify as a “radical sellout”. I have a full time job in human resources, a car, a salary, business cards, and the thought of being in a 6 hour processing session around feminist politics sounds like hell on earth right now. However, I have something that keeps drawing me back to observing communities dialogs. The community I am in is a robust one, full of smart well-educated queers (academically and not) and a lot of self-identified feminists. Many of these feminists are also self-identified femmes. We’re having conversations about a lot but in particular, about femme solidarity. For those not familiar with the term, femme solidarity is a pretty amazing concept. So it goes: femininity is not valued in this world. Femininity is often seen as the weak, artificial, stupid, shallow counterpart to masculinity. Thus, as femmes and/or feminists we need to both value the feminine and each other. I am seeing a whole new generation of feminists using the term “femme solidarity” but something is ringing hollow with me. For instance, I have overheard unfortunate gross heteronormative terms like ‘butch scarcity’
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(i.e. I can't get a date because I’m femme). The thing is our narratives, our politics, our lives, our families, our identities are nuanced, complicated, contradicting, and uncomfortable. Femmes don’t just sleep with butches. Femmes aren't just coming in and stealing your girlfriends. Some of them transition genders. Some have no gender. Some have many genders. That’s part of being queer. And when straight ideals carry over into our conversations what happens is we essentially create caricatures of competitive petty lezbos fighting for masculine spectrum people. This is inaccurate at best and sexist at worst. Having dated femmes for a long time, hearing conversations about ‘femme competition’ seemed to regulate, decide, and confine my sexuality. When femme solidarity movements assume a heteronormative sexuality, is that solidarity a powerful form of activism or merely reinforcing a binary we claim to be combating? My larger political questions are around the very concepts of femme coming from assigned femininity. These terms can come with a lot of intense assumptions that, on a broader political level, can not only reinforce sexism but also perpetuate other injustices such as racism, transphobia, and class privilege. Myths of femininity have often aligned with what kind of femininity is the most valued. That most valued historically has been white womanhood. Myths of femininity have traditionally gone to those assigned and socialized as female. That has added to a culture where transwomen are the most subject to violence and the most invisible. Myths of femininity in relation to class privilege have erased working class modes of living and have also assumed that most femmes have access to housing, health care, and education. If the priority of femme solidarity is based on sexist ideas of femme competition and what we define as feminine, instead of justice and liberation, then it is something that personally I want to stay away from. Liberation starts when we start talking about our differences in a real, nuanced, and thoughtful manner. I want to see a femme politic that places destroying white supremacy and transphobia at the core. From there we can build solidarity from a place of fun, humility, care, and accountability wherein all femmes and not femmes can receive community and solidarity.
Catherine Hollenbeck lives, loves, DJ's, and works in Portland, OR. Reach her at www.JustOut.com
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Community
(PRIDE)
Queer Heroes NW has named Frank Roa of Hermiston one of its 30 heroes. Roa says there are no LGBTQ or people of color in leadership roles or community government in Morrow County. He says he and his community are not accepted and prejudice and racism are a huge issue where he lives and works in Eastern Oregon.
Bend & Beach Oregon Coast Pride, the 5th annual event in Lincoln City, is scheduled for September 6 to 9. The celebration will include a kick off drag show at BK Mulligans and continue at Chinook Winds Casino with The Big Gay Variety Show, featuring one of America's funniest lesbians Jennifer Lanier. Comedian and singer Lisa Koch is headlining the festival.
Read more about Roa on the Community page at JustOut.com
www.OregonCoastPride.com Bend hosts its 8th Annual Bend Pride June 9. Stars and Rainbows, a local queer social group, is working in collaboration with Human Dignity Coalition to plan the family friendly event at RiverBend Park.
(Q CENTER)
Heroes Northwest
The 30 queer heroes will be featured at the Q Center throughout June, as well as in Q Center’s booth at the waterfront Pride festival.
ACCORDING TO MENSHEALTH. COM, PORTLAND IS ONE OF THE TOP PORN-VIEWING CITIES IN THE COUNTRY. THE ROSE CITY CAME IN AT #16! OUR MORE PRUDISH NEIGHBOR TO THE NORTH --- SEATTLE WAS #45. SEEMS OUR TEAM MUST SHARE IN AT LEAST A PART OF THIS NOTORIETY. #1 YOU ASK? ORLANDO, FL., THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH. 22
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The portable display will be hitting the road and making the rounds all over community centers, schools, churches, and businesses.
www.humandignitycoalition.org
Frank Roa is one queer Hero. The executive director for Umatilla Morrow Alternatives (human dignity group) has lived in Eastern Oregon since he was 4. www.pdxQcenter.org
Staff Photo
The Q Center and the Gay & Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest (GLAPN) are partnering on a multi-media celebration of local LGBTQ pioneers and leaders, Queer Heroes NW. The project will be unveiled this month.
(WORDS)
Brownstein's Memoir Local musician, comedienne, writer and queer icon Carrie Brownstein might just have some interesting things to say in her upcoming memoir. The forthcoming tome from Riverhead Books has yet to have a pub date or a title but the internet is already abuzz with the news. Brownstein started her career with the Olympia-named Sleater-Kinney, an alternative rock band, and continued other musical projects forming her current band Wild Flag with fellow indie-credible members Mary Timony, Rebecca Cole and Janet Weiss. She is also a co-creator and star, along with SNL’s Fred Armisen, of the hit IFC homage/spoof on our town, Portlandia, as well as former music writer for The Believer and Monitor Mix blog for NPR.
June 2012
NEW CLASS: HEALTHY AGING WITH HIV. TWO HOURS A WEEK FOR MEN OVER 50 WHO ARE HIV POSITIVE. STARTS IN JUNE. SPONSORED BY GAY & GRAY AND OUR HOUSE. THE CLASS IS FREE BUT REQUIRES PRE-REGISTRATION. CONTACT LAUREN: 224-2640 OR GAYANDGREY@ FRIENDLYHOUSEINC.ORG
(JUST OUT)
Your Pages We want to tell the stories of the LGBTQ community members in the pages of Just Out. If you have a story to share, or you have a friend or colleague you think has something interesting to share, please contact us. Whether the story ends up on the cover of a future Just Out, in a Q&A feature, in a smaller story, or an entire photo spread, we're anxious to hear from you. Or are you involved in an queer-related organization or event? Send in your updates, announcements, press releases and newsletters to us. Every submission will be carefully considered. These are your pages LGBTQ Oregon! Send ideas to editor@JustOut.com
UNDERU4MEN'S FLAGSHIP STORE IN DOWNTOWN PORTLAND RECENTLY CELEBRATED WITH A GRAND OPENING, ATTENDED BY OVER 400 GUESTS. MORE THAN $1,200 WAS RAISED FOR THE OPERATION'S CHARITY FOR 2012, BASIC RIGHTS OREGON. THE SEXY STORE HAS OTHER LOCATIONS AT BRIDGEPORT VILLAGE AND IN SEATTLE. WWW.UNDERU4MEN.COM
IMore Community info:
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Photo Mike Burt
Community
(BRO)
Bites for Rights Volunteer art handler Jason Warne displays, S as La Skibska, a sculpture made of fused glass by the Seattle Artist, Anna Skibska. This sculpture sold for $3500 to Linda Hickey of the Ray Hickey Foundation.
(CAP)
Show Me The Money Cascade Aids Project Annual CAP Art Auction raised a whopping $570,000 in April. The extravaganza, held at the Memorial Coliseum, is a major source of funds for the organization. The event accounts for more than 10 percent of CAP's annual budget.
Mark your calendars for one of Portland's biggest see and be seen events! The 24th Annual Cap Art Auction is set for April 27, 2013. www.CapArtAuction.org
Submissions for Community can be sent to editor@JustOut.com
Restaurants, coffee shops, carts, bars and bakeries around the state will donate a generous percentage of their day’s proceeds to Basic Rights Oregon on June 21. “This is one of the most fun – and easy – fund raisers we have all year,” said Basic Rights Oregon’s development Director Juan Martinez. “How often do you get to take a stand for equality simply by going out for coffee, brunch, drinks, dinner or dessert?” Last year, nearly 100 restaurants state-wide took part in Bites for Rights, including several in Southern Oregon, the coast and the Central Willamette Valley. A long list of Portland establishments take part each year, from restaurants like Byways Café, The Gilt Club and Mother’s Bistro, to dessert spots like Cupcake Jones, bars like the Davis Street Tavern, and food carts like Big Ass Sandwiches. www.basicrights.org
(HEALTH)
Schools will be a bit safer starting July 1, 2012 for kids. Senate Bill 1555, which amends the Oregon Safe School Act, requiring school employees to report acts of harassment, intimidation and of cyber bullying, becomes law on that day. The bill passed both the Senate and the House unanimously. 24
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HIV: What's New Understanding Health Reform is an evening dedicated to looking at Health Care Reform and its impact on people living with HIV/AIDS. Do you work with clients living with HIV/AIDS? Are you living with HIV/AIDS? Do you know how the changes will impact you? Curious about what happens when the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool comes to an end? What exactly is the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange? Are there possible changes to CAREAssist? Providers, clients, and community partners are welcome to attend. RSVP to whatsnew@cascadeaids.org or 503-278-3801. Thursday, June 21, 2012, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Mercy Corps Action Center Event Space, 45 SW Ankeny St., Portland, OR 97204
June 2012
(FUN)
Sizzlin' Summer COOL OFF WITH JUST OUT’S SIZZLIN’ SUMMER 2012! Drink specials! Give-aways! Help a local LGBTQ charity! One week a month all summer, join Just Out at Boxxes, Red Cap Garage or Scandals to celebrate the return of the sun to Portland.
Just Out is partnering with these bars along with Absolut, Avion, and Malibu Red to raise money for Outside In, an organization serving local GLBTQ homeless youth. Join us June 18th -24th! For more information, see Page 7.
More Sizzlin' Summer info:
(TRANS ISSUES)
Landmark Decision AS A RESULT OF A LAWSUIT FILED BY THE TRANSGENDER LAW CENTER, THE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT COMMISSION (EEOC) IN A RECENT LANDMARK DECISION RULED THAT TRANSGENDER PEOPLE ARE PROTECTED BY A FEDERAL STATUTE’S (TITLE VII) PROHIBITION AGAINST SEX DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE. THE EEOC ISSUED A RULING THAT INTENTIONAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST A TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUAL IS DISCRIMINATION “BASED ON SEX” AND THUS VIOLATES TITLE VII. PRIOR TO THIS RULING, THE EEOC GENERALLY DECLINED TO PURSUE DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS THAT AROSE FROM TRANSGENDER STATUS OR GENDER IDENTITY ISSUES. WWW.BASICRIGHTS.ORG
June 2012
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PRIDE | CELEBRATION 2012
(Your)
PRIDE The smell of roses is in the air, the clouds are beginning to part more frequently, and our Spring Fever is giving way to pangs of a Sizzlin' Summer. Ah, it must be time for PRIDE!
We are all for honoring the past, supporting the officially sanctioned events of Pride Northwest, and partying our butts off into the wee hours of the morning if that is what floats your boat. But we also know that PRIDE comes in all shapes and sizes. Here you'll read a recent coming out story, about a man seeking redemption, a woman finding a new way to live, and about a visionary entrepreneur. Just Out's moms-to-be wonder aloud if parenting won't be a form of activism after all, and lastly our resident shrink (sorry doc!) will give us all some encouragement as we seek a more meaningful version of PRIDE this year. But don't let others define PRIDE for you. Do it yourself. Take in the parade and go have a coffee. Go to Powell's and buy a book. Take a hike through Forest Park. Take your kids to the waterfront festival and play. Tap your toe to some good music. Dance in the street. Call your dad (it is Father's Day after all). Peck your partner on the cheek. Wink at a stranger as you walk down the street. Smile. It is YOUR PRIDE, after all. Nobody else's. Just yours. So enjoy. 26
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June 2012
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PRIDE | COVER PROFILE
by Logan Lynn | photography by Horace Long
Michkael BAKER
LOCAL VISIONARY TALKS ABOUT ALGORITHMS, CURRENCY, AND WHAT MAKES HIM TICK. TICK. TICK. Pacific Northwest native Michkael Baker is a self-described visionary. With a history in the old school Portland music scene, a nutritional education center up and running, a global media company under construction, and a new economic paradigm of his own creation on the horizon, he seems braced to take flight. Born in Seattle, Baker grew up in Vancouver, Washington and has lived in the area ever since. He is a longtime singer and performer. In the 80’s and 90’s he performed with Body & Soul, Linda Hornbuckle, Nu Shoes, Dan Reed, and other local musicians who were well-known at the time and were influential in creating the now thriving Portland music scene. By the late 90’s Michkael had become disillusioned with the music industry and decided to exit the rat race, shifting his focus toward internet-based business concepts instead. After yet another major life change in 2007 (which he refers to as “the integration”), his company Blue Voice Enterprises was born. The endeavor he’s currently best known for is The Open Kitchen, a community center which brings young entrepreneurs, chefs, and farmers together in an effort to break the barriers between food production, preparation, and consumption. Blue Voice Enterprises is currently shifting focus to two new endeavors, the Creative Action Center Of Online Open source Networks (CACOON) and Showcase Networks, an online television network. CACOON is a social media network created to bring together social entrepreneurs, innovators, and creative types to solve social problems and issues by connecting them to resources, finances, ideas, and products. Even in a recession, Michkael believes the algorithm he has invented will hold up and draw investors to the project. “The system I’ve created, Use Value-Based Economics, has a built-in alternative currency called Community Credits. It’s a platform to build a new economic system and shows you that money is not the only exchangeable currency. It places value on people instead.” Continues on pg. 31
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PRIDE
VISIONARY: one having unusual foresight and imagination, one who sees visions, and one whose ideas or projects are impractical. Webster’s Dictionary
BAKER: ON RACISM “I recognize racism here but I don’t let it in or I would be angry all the time. I come from a mixed family. My great grandmother is white. I had to let go of racism a long time ago." "There was tension with certain members of my extended family who would say ‘You talk white’ or ‘You walk like a girl’ because I grew up around all the ‘white people’. It was painful. I had a very difficult, challenging childhood in many ways, but it is true that if you don’t fall underneath it, you can really land on top of it.”
ON MARRIAGE “I believe that we as human beings should be allowed to experience life with whoever we choose to but I don’t give my attention to fighting things. I don’t need to have a piece of paper tell me who I can marry, so for me, it has no relevance. I know that it does for other people, so I support that.” Baker has no interest in committing to any particular identity when it comes to sexual orientation or the queer community, either. “I have never been a person to be a part of a group or label. I don’t identify as any particular class or orientation. I’m just me.”
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Michkael says he is “about to start engaging the local community and sharing my vision. It’s difficult for people to find a job here. I think Portland is primed for big change. If it can just change focus, we can become one of the most influential cities in the world.” “Creativity abounds here, but people tend to be really cliquey. This needs to be opened up. When you have a clique, the energy flow gets cut off." Baker wants to bring together the Occupy Movement, the black community, the LGBT community, the spiritualists, and the entrepreneurs to help them find common ground. "I truly desire people to remember who they are; that they are amazing, magnificent beings of light that can do anything when they know who they are. Now more than ever we all need to love each other.” TheOpenKitchenPDX.com
June 2012
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Pride 2012
Celebration 9 OFFICIAL EVENTS OF PRIDE NORTHWEST. FOR MORE INFORMATION: WWW.PRIDENW.ORG
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th SCREENING OF GEN SILENT. This documentary tells the stories of six LGBT seniors asked to go back into the closet in order to survive the assisted living system. Wednesday, June 13, 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the Academy Theater (7818 SE Stark Street, Portland) Tickets are $5
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th COMEDY NIGHT. Pride Northwest is working with comedienne Belinda Carroll.
www.Pridenw.org
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th FESTIVAL OPENS People-watching heaven at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. FRIDAY, June 15, 2012 from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. (Main Stage & food vendors ONLY) SATURDAY, June 16, 2012 from Noon until 6 p.m. SUNDAY, June 17, 2012 from Noon until 6 p.m.
PULSE Waterfront Dance Party. Featuring DJ TONY MORAN, top-ranked DJand Grammy™ nominated producer and remixer for artists such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Rihanna, Mary J Blige, Janet Jackson and Jennifer Lopez. Details: www.pride.nw.org
DYKE MARCH Begin at Waterfront Park and follow the Pride Parade Route in reverse. The March will gather inside the Pride Festival site and leave through the Pine Street exit (north end) 6 p.m. www.dykemarchportland.com
HOT FLASH: INFERNO. Organized by Hot Flash Dance Parties, Inferno will be the only official Saturday night Pride Northwest party. Featuring dancers, burlesque, hoopers, good beats and its delectable clitty glitter cupcakes. Saturday, June 16, 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., Refuge, 116 S.E. Yamhill St. www.infernodances.com PORTLAND GAY MEN'S CHORUS PRIDE CONCERT PGMC presents SUMMER OF LOVE, the music of the Beatles, June 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Hall, PCPA. www.pdxgmc.org
PARADE! PRIDE PARADE SUNDAY, JUNE 17TH 11:30 A.M. DOWN W. BURNSIDE, THROUGH CHINA/OLD TOWN AND HEADS SOUTH ON NAITO PARKWAY, ENDING AT THE WATERFRONT .
GAYLABRATION. You remember it from last year. Proceeds will go to benefit Basic Rights Oregon and Pride Northwest. 9:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Left Bank Annex, 101 North Weidler, $25 - $100.
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HISTORY | PRIDE
by Aaron Spencer
Reflections
Q&A: Bar Owners Roxy Darcelle XV Showplace
Tommy Breazeale Silverado
What was being gay in Portland like in the ‘60s?
You’re from Mississippi. Was being gay in Portland in the 1980s easier than being gay in the South?
Roxy: We didn’t know about gay rights back then. People were just being rebels in society, but even some of those rebels got very ambiguous about a gay person – it was OK for them to be rebels and oppose societal norms, but if you were gay, they still didn’t appreciate the idea that you were gay.
Breazeale: Gay people would walk around holding hands here, and you couldn’t do that in the South.
What was the status of gay rights in the ‘80s?
Were people openly gay? Roxy: We used code words. If you were a gay person and talking to another gay person, there were certain code words you would use to conceal your gayness – like “gay” for instance. To other people gay meant happy. To call someone queer was fighting words for most gay people, but that term has graduated, and now it’s perfectly acceptable to be queer. Darcelle Darcelle XV Showplace
What was Portland like after Stonewall? Darcelle: We didn’t have any parades, but we didn’t have any trouble with the police in Portland. The bars here were rather low key. At that time, it was more like a news thing – in New York they stood up and marched. But for us here, that happened in New York, thousands of miles away.
Was it difficult to be gay in Portland? Darcelle: We were never harassed, but we also were very careful of where we went. I mean, I would not walk from here to another bar in drag; we would drive there. We didn’t give it a chance to be a problem.
June 2012
Breazeale: You couldn’t even mention that you were gay, much less have a boyfriend. And then you want insurance for him too? Please. You didn’t even have a job. Don Sexton Silverado
Did you find Portland to be hostile to gay people in the ‘80s? Sexton: I didn’t find that at all. I would almost bet it’s worse now than it was then.
What was living through the AIDS crisis like? Sexton: You got afraid to ask about somebody you hadn’t seen in a week or two because in the beginning, people died rather quickly from AIDS. AIDS permeated everything in the bar business in Portland for three or four years. You had to drink to get away from it, and that sounds strange to me now, but it’s true. Interested in local gay history? A group of community-based historians started Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest (GLAPN) in October 1994. GLAPN members are involved in many activities that promote a greater awareness and understanding of our long history - including processing collections and doing independent research. One of the best ways to gather our history is to interview members of the community and record their stories. GLAPN material is stored at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland. www.glapn.org
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PRIDE | OUR STORIES
Photo Horace Long
by Aaron Spencer
S
ome coming out experiences are easy. David Hastings’ experience was not one of those.
At 44, Hastings was married with children. He lived in Salem and was active in his church. But he was unhappy. He was tired of pretending to be someone he wasn’t. During two years of soul searching, he finally decided to come out as a gay man. He spoke with his family first. His wife already knew and the two got a quick divorce. He then came out to friends, many of whom went to church with him. They turned their backs and shut him out, he says. One friend he had known for eight years said hanging out with him would ruin his reputation. “Coming out was painful and tumultuous for me,” Hastings says. “It was hard, but it was really healthy for me.”
Coming Out
The Magic of Music
Hastings decided to move to Portland. He had already visited a few times and had lined up some work – an experienced producer and musical director, he teaches piano and voice lessons. Hastings, originally from California, conducted his first musical theater show, Man of La Mancha, when he was 19. Since then he’s produced more than 120 shows. On one of those trips, two years ago during Pride, he found the booth for the Rose City Gay Freedom Band. He left behind his contact information and was invited to become a band member a month later.
ROSE CITY GAY FREEDOM BAND RCGFB is comprised of a symphonic wind ensemble, a sixteen-piece swing band (Rose City Swing), a marching band, and several smaller performing groups. www.rcgfb.org
Now Hastings is the conductor of the swing band Rose City Swing, one of three bands under the Rose City Gay Freedom Band umbrella.
Aaron Spencer is a professional writer and editor. Reach him at aaron@JustOut.com
“The swing band was my first connection to Portland and my first connection to the gay com-
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munity,” Hastings says. “I was looking for some ways to meet some people, and the band showed up early on my radar. I started hanging out with them, and they were just incredibly warm and gracious. They were really glad to have me and I was really glad to be with them.” “The swing band is very small, so it’s much more like family,” he says. “They’ve been so welcoming to me and such an encouragement.” While the decision to come out was difficult, Hastings says, it was the best decision he ever made. He says the feeling he has now is a feeling of lightness. He compares it to a beach ball being submerged beneath the water and being released to float to the surface. “I love being able to be me,” he says. “I love being able to be who I am. I had a friend, who said ‘I knew straight Dave the liar, and now I know gay Dave the truth teller – and he’s a lot more fun to be around.’” To Hastings, being in the band is not about being gay (the band is not exclusively for gays and lesbians) but is about being able to do music with people who understand who he is. “There’s a freedom to be honest with each other that I really enjoy,” he says. “We enjoy making music together, and we have a lot of fun with that.” Today, when Hastings sits at his piano and looks out his window to Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, the view reminds him of his recent journey. “The view out my window is always entertaining,” he says. “There’s so much light here in my studio space, so many windows. It’s a good metaphor for me being out of the closet and living in the light, how my life has changed in the past year.”
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PRIDE | BODY
by Denny RIchard
An addict: In His Own Words
Just Today I WAS VERY SCARED THAT I COULD SOMEDAY DIE FROM DOING DRUGS, BUT AGAIN METH CONTROLLED MY THINKING SO ALL THE CONSEQUENCES DIDN'T SEEM TO MATTER.
I'm happy because today I am getting control of my life... meth controlled me for so many years. I feel like I got a second chance on life, and I am going to make the most of it.
John Brown was hurting. And scared. Ten years of addiction ended up with him looking in a mirror and not recognizing himself. AFTER YEARS OF DOING (METH) I REALIZED IT HAS GOTTEN ME NOWHERE. But then he did the unexpected. He got clean. “It gets better,” says John, a Lake Oswego native and former crystal meth user who just turned 32. John is now 18 months into recovery from crystal meth use and abuse. During his using, John says he didn’t accomplish much of anything. He dropped out of culinary school and had no real ambition to accomplish anything. He felt mentally and emotionally lost. And he was lonely. YOU KNOW IT’S A FRIDAY AND SATURDAY THING AND I’M TELLING MYSELF I’M JUST GOING TO DO IT ON WEEKENDS. BUT WEEKENDS TURNED INTO WEEKDAYS. AND THEN EVERY DAY. John acknowledges that he has done things he otherwise would not have, like participating in risky sexual activities, which has resulted with him contracting HIV. He also admitted to lying and stealing and even spent a day in jail when he was 25 years old. But since he was high, it didn’t make a difference. “I did not really learn a lesson,” says John. “I did not care about the consequences and I was using again the next day.”
In John’s recovery, he has come to terms with his past and is now happily enjoying life. “I never thought being clean would be so much fun, and I’m so happy now. My friends and I actually do things.” John is also happy that he can be present with his family and participate in their lives. He has reconnected with friends he lost while he was using. He can actually say that he is proud of himself. He feels blessed that he is getting help with medication to help regulate the HIV virus in his system and John recognizes that staying clean is directly related to his overall health as well. I AM LEARNING HOW TO DEAL WITH PROBLEMS WITHOUT DRUGS, AND IT’S NOT EASY, BUT IT’S NICE TO BE ABLE TO FACE PROBLEMS. John plans to enroll in Portland Community College's program for Drug and Alcohol Counseling and hopes to reach out to those who are using that want to make a change. He's currently taking prerequisites. “If only one person can hear what I am saying, and is ready to be free of this kind of life, then I have done what I set out to do,” he says about sharing his story. ...BEING CLEAN IS AMAZING. THE RELATIONSHIPS I HAVE MADE TODAY ARE AMAZING, “The recovery community was the biggest thing that has helped me. There are a lot of different 12 step meetings and there are also ones for just gay people as well,” John says. Believe in yourself once again, John advises. “Just give it a try. Just today. Just one day,” John says.
Denny Richard is an author and health and yoga expert. Reach him at www.JustOut.com
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I THOUGHT BEING CLEAN WOULD BE SO BORING. BUT I HAVE SO MUCH FUN NOW
Photo Horace Long
But today is much different. The Quest Center for Integrated Health www.quest-center.org
June 2012
So many times I looked in the mirror and got so scared because I was so skinny and didn’t look healthy at all. But getting high makes you not care about all that shit. That is, until the comedown. And that’s why you always want to be getting high again. It’s a short term solution to all your problems. John Brown June 2012
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PRIDE | MIND
by Brad Larsen, PhD
As We Are
Breathing In New Life I’m the first to admit that living with pride is sometimes a challenge for me as a gay man. But the way I see it, the alternatives are not compelling enough to choose otherwise. By living proud as queer people we display the brilliance, creativity and love that only we can offer to the world. Living fully as we are is consistent with mental well-being and it is something about which we can be fundamentally proud. But as we know, this hasn’t always been the case. I’ve heard many variations of the following homophobic and misogynist themes. "Little girls who like to dress like boys and little boys who like to play with dolls will grow up to become lesbian or gay." "Homosexuals experience mental illness and use alcohol and drugs at a significantly higher rate than do heterosexuals." "Homosexuality is an illness from which individuals should seek to recover." Do these sound familiar? As a boy, I had a fondness for Cabbage Patch dolls. Did Abbey Madison and her golden yarn hair cause me to be gay? Even if she had that power, who cares?
Photo Horace Long
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As a psychologist resident, I think about these types of statements in the context of my chosen profession. These unfounded beliefs about the origins, conditions and cures for homosexuality were canonized by the fields of psychiatry and psychology when homosexuality was classified as a mental disorder with the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1952. As the story goes, even gay identified members of the Ameri-
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can Psychiatric Association at the time believed that homosexuality was a mental illness. Thankfully, the fields of psychiatry and psychology have long since become champions for the rights of queer people. But the causes made in the 1950s continue to impact our lives in ways that astonish me. The truth is that the basis for homophobia today is founded in the outdated and shaming conclusion that homosexual people are mentally ill. The shame experienced by so many youth who are committing suicide over sexual orientation; a father’s belief that he has failed because his son is gay; a religious leader’s council to a confused family to engage in reparative therapy; and legislative campaigns that have kept gay men and women from being treated equally under the law can all be traced back, in part, to the homophobic belief that we are fundamentally ill. Homophobia is the force that makes us feel that we should be ashamed of our love for same gender others and that we should tuck away the unacceptable parts of who we are. Understandably, as children we learned to hide unacceptable aspects of who we are in order to keep family, community and friends from rejecting us. This ability to hide parts of ourselves is essential to our survival, but it can be essential to our downfall. When we disavow parts of ourselves in response to homophobia, what we’re doing is depressing that which we’ve been told by family, religion, media and society, is unacceptable. We use drugs, alcohol, sex, work, unhealthy relationships; you name it, to soothe the shame in our hearts. These parts that we’ve hidden away become deadened by our attempts to resolve the dissonance. This depressive process is at the root of a kind of psychological depression, not at all an illness, but a natural response to an oppressive environment. Our work, mine too, as the healthy human beings that we are, is to breathe new life into our whole being; we must awaken those parts that have been hidden away away and invite them to the party. As queer people, we must strive to be open, fully endowed and revived, exactly as we are. Living fully absolves depression of its function and allows us to quite naturally live with pride. Dr. Brad Larsen is a clinical psychologist resident in private practice. His clinical supervisor is Dr. Sharon Chatkupt Lee (Oregon License Number 1599) Reach Dr. Larsen at brad@bradlarsenpsyd.com www.bradlarsenpsyd.com
June 2012
From Celebration to Ceremony We proudly welcome all couples looking to celebrate their love and commitment with the passage of the marriage equality bill.
Chapel seats 100 9 rooms, 1 suite Full kitchen Banquet seating Please visit our website or give us a call to discuss how we can make your day a perfect one. 120 Williams Ave, Ilwaco, WA 98624 360-642-0087
June 2012
Park-like setting
www.innatharbourvillage.com JustOut.com
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by Rev. Jennifer Yocum
PRIDE | SPIRIT
It had been almost a year since I’d seen her when the phone call came. “Hi,” she said, “I don’t know if you remember me, but I came to see you a couple of times last year.” I did remember her. We’d met during the Coffee Shop ministry now called “The Pastor’s Pint” where I plant myself in a local pub or coffeehouse on Wednesday afternoons to talk to whomever comes by. She’d come at my invitation to talk about faith, which is to say “trust in the presence of a loving God.”
The Gift of Faith
Two strangers, One short chat
Churched folk see faith as a gift. Christian faith gets shared through stories that happen in the Bible and in life; faith gets sung into hymns and rock and roll; faith gets seen in the goodness of creation, but some people add a dark side. “Faith,” they say, “is incompatible with certain lifestyles.” So she’d been taught. And because “certain lifestyles” included her sexual orientation, she’d suffered for it. Yet she still yearned for relationship with the Holy. We talked. I spoke about the Bible’s social and historical context. The Bible as a whole says very little about what we would call “homosexuality.” Most of what it does say is rooted in cultural practice that was either non-Jewish (in the time of Leviticus) or exploitative (in the time of Paul.) I talked about our church being a place where, no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here. She spoke about being kicked out of her church and being shunned by her family. She talked about hoping to reclaim her trust in a loving God, but thinking that God could not love her because of who she was. She also talked about drinking, drinking a lot, to hide the pain of her Godforsaken-ness.
Staff Photo
I told her that God loved her, no matter what. I also told her that I was worried about her drinking. I recommended books, groups, and AA. Then she left town.
Rev. Jennifer Yocum is pastor of the Forest Grove United Church of Christ-. No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey you are welcome here. www.fgucc.org
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“I don’t know if you remember me,” she’d said on the phone. But I did remember her thin shoulders, hunched over her tea cup as though anticipating a blow. I remember her looking so lost and scared and beaten up in her soul. I remember praying for her to find her way to new life. “I don’t know if you remember me,” she said, “but I’ve thought about you a few times since I moved and I just found your phone number. I wanted to tell you that I’ve been sober for six months and that I’ve found a spiritual group that I meet with every month. And my life is going well, so I thought you’d want to know.” This is a story of resurrection, redemption and release. A story of light overcoming the darkness and a new life of truth overwhelming the pain and lies of the past. I think maybe I’ll remember that. I think that I won’t ever forget. Amen.
June 2012
June 2012
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PRIDE | FAMILY
Staff Photo
by Cathy Busha & Anna Deligio
In The Family Way
Tending the roots of a Revolution It's Pride month – a time we gather as a community to remember and celebrate the Stonewall Riots in June 1969. For several days and nights, LGBTQ bar-patrons-turned-revolutionaries fought back against police harassment and brutality, igniting what many consider to be the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement in the United States. But on our mind this year is this. Does that movement continue with our choice to parent?
Cathy: For fifteen years, as I worked in the LGBTQ movement, I resisted assimilationist frameworks that claimed LGBTQ people are just like everyone else. I avoided any ‘homosexual agenda‘ that simply mimicked what the late Adrianne Rich called, “compulsive heterosexuality.” I had questions about LGBTQ people parenting -- it just seemed so straight. I had my own work to do. As feminists insist, “The personal is political.” When I came out as a lesbian at the age of 25 in conservative Lancaster, PA I didn’t know any ‘out’ lesbians, and certainly not out lesbians with children. Therefore, despite loving children, I put away ideas and desires I had around parenthood. It just didn’t seem to be what lesbians did. I’m happy to say that I have not only changed my mind, but I’m looking forward to changing the diapers of our first baby, due this July. Choosing to parent feels likes one of the most profoundly radical acts I have ever done. LGBTQ parents disrupt conventional and outdated images of ‘family.’ Recently, while shopping the local baby resale store, the cashier asked, “Are you expecting?” I responded, “Yes – my partner is due in July.” Her brow furrowed making room for a new paradigm. She then smiled and said, “Congratulations!” The baby isn’t even here yet and already I’m engaging in daily activism. Do these individual acts rise to the level of Stonewall? There was a time my activist self would have said, “No.” However, I now imagine the collective, quiet power of queer parents at PTA meetings, pediatrician visits and preschool field trips. I think of the etymology of the word radical – “of or having roots from” and think that, perhaps, this revolution can take root in those places. Anna?
Ana: Perhaps it’s because I have a fiercely independent streak that tends to grimace when the populace declares something to be so, but I prefer to put my focus on what it is I want to do and not worry about how that may be read by others. Is it radical to you that I want to parent a child with my female partner? Oh, ok. Is it radical we bought sperm online? Fine. We made this decision as a couple and I’m 42
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happy to give you a moment to catch up and find some joy in your heart, but whether you find that joy or not, this is what we’re doing. Big words, no? That’s my stance on queer parenting when I’m feeling strong. Other times, as a visibly pregnant, not-so-visibly-lesbian birth worker in a profession that often reflects the mainstream, I find myself operating from an If You Ask, I Will Tell place. I often hope they don’t ask, that they don’t verbalize their assumption, because it doesn’t feel safe to tell. Sometimes the weight of the assumptions foisted on me as I move through the day is heavier than I want to hold. So, are we honoring the legacy of Stonewall by choosing to parent? Sometimes I have ideas that surely we have bigger fish to fry as a society than whether two queers want to parent, making this a very non-radical act. When I accept where we are as a people, though, I accept that what Cathy, I, and all parents who step out of the mother-father dyad are doing is fiercely radical. To bring up a generation who has bigger frameworks in which to move about is very much the stuff of revolutions.
Cathy Busha and Anna Deligio are expecting their first child Summer 2012. Reach them at www.JustOut.com
June 2012
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Pride Weekend
NightLife
QUEER NIGHTLIFE THAT REALLY PACKS A PUNCH OF MULTIPLE CHOICES FOR ALMOST EVERY KIND OF QUEER. -A. HECTOR
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BLOW PONY’S QUEER MUTINY Blow Pony may have started out underground (quite literally when it took over the basement at Casey’s, it’s former venue) but the word has been out for awhile now so expect long lines and others’ sweat all over your own sweaty body by the end of the night (lucky for you the outdoor patio will be open to grab a little air). Alterna-go-gos will be accompanied by wide ranging varieties of queer performance including Boy Funk, Magic Mouth, Christine, and Pink Slips.
GAYCATION Portland’s longest currently running queer monthly takes a Friday slot for a sort of all-star Gaycay DJ reunion featuring BoyJoy (formerly DJ Girlfriends) and Equestrian up from LA, Chelsea Starr and residents Mr. Charming and Snowtiger. The ladies from new Tumblr dedicated to showcasing local lezzies, LIPDX, will be running the photo booth so expect some really great portraits to come out of your drunken snapshots. Helluva deal so get there early. $5 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. at Holocene (1001 SE Morrison)
$10 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. at Rotture/Branx (315 SE 3rd Ave)
Vockah Redu
HOTT New to the scene for the ladies, Hott will host a night of free appetizers, girlie go go’s, and DJ Danny D. Hopefully they can also capitalize on the departure of much missed lady party, Crave, which was also at Crush. $8 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. at Crush (1400 SE Morrison)
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HEY, GIRL, HEY DJ Roy-G-Biv, the powerhouse behind NoPo’s successful Bent party, has put together an epic lineup of performers and DJs for Pride’s biggest night out. The biggest draw for this indoor/outdoor party will be New Orleans bounce legend Vockah Redu (Javocca Davis). Being dubbed the “crown prince” of sissy bounce (second only to “Queen” Freedia I imagine) Davis traces his roots to Magnolia Housing Projects, considered birthplace of that ass-shaking, ground-breaking genre. In a place at once so alternative and yet so reserved as Portland can be, bounce has quickly caught on as a way to infuse the scene with some flavor and diversity we sorely lack while keeping in mind the need for an all-inclusive queer space that is still all about dancing and fun. Backed up by soul, funk, bounce pusher DJ BeyondaDoubt, who is almost always behind the turntables when Nola comes to town, Hey Girl promises to be all about the sweat and the moves. Add in DJs LA Kendall (Seattle), Freddie Says Relax, Mr. Charming and Roy-G-Biv and a photo booth by Bloodhound Photography you’ve got yourself a perfect down and dirty storm. $10 9 p.m. – 2:30 a.m. at Plan B Bar (1305 SE 8th Ave)
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BLOCK PARTY
Sharon Needles
(ALL WEEKEND) TAKING PRIDE IN STARK STREET Scandals has been part of making Stark St. gay since 1979 so their 3 day block party is an institution as well as being a benefit for Peacock Productions and CAP. The 3 day affair includes Acoustic Minds on Friday, Saturday Night Orphans on Saturday, and Funcaucus All Stars on Sunday. $5 Friday, $7 Saturday, Free Sunday, hours vary at Scandals (1125 SW Stark St.)
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CIRCUS UNDER THE BIG TOP - Not technically a nighttime affair, Sunday’s block party in front of the Red Cap complex is sure to be just as crazy as any after hours party with acts such as hip hop spectacle Lisa Dank, aerial artists Pendulum and Little Tommy Bang Bang and the Drag Mansion sharing the stage with RuPaul’s Drag Race winner and drag provocateur Sharon Needles. Plus there’s always the scantily clad lads in the men's underwear fashion show to really complete your Pride weekend experience. 1 p.m. at Boxxes/Red Cap Garage (1035 SW Stark) June 2012
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Advice Dirty Words
Sex & Relationships I’m bi. I only tell people whom I trust, and only if and when I think they can handle it. The problem is the gay community sees me as a “fauxbian”. I love women, and don’t feel my sexuality grants me wiggle room. Also, I dedicate myself entirely to whomever I am with. My situation is that women, who are interested in me, use me as their first experience. I can’t have fulfilling relationship with a woman because of a stigma? That is sad. How can I overcome such a seemingly daunting social cast? - sigh- Never Maybe Getting what you want always starts with an act of bravery. In this case, it’s coming out. Telling people that you’re bisexual puts the ball in their court. People that love you don’t get to choose the things they like about you, and leave the rest behind. When I came out, I was afraid it was an instant commitment to starting a relationship with another woman. That’s ridiculous. Even if you went your whole life only dating men, it wouldn’t invalidate your identity. Tell people. Eventually, your friends will start doing the work for you. It becomes part of your social being, like your eye color, but way more interesting. Be brave, “Never Maybe”. The naysayers bore me to tears. I’ve been with my girlfriend for almost a year now. I came into our relationship with a few minor STDs. I should have told her right away, but since we’ve always had safe sex, I decided it wasn’t important. We’re on the rocks now, and I’m wondering if I should tell her, or let it go?
- Nervous and Sad Wow. What a great kicker to the end of your relationship. That was sarcasm. I feel that I should say it’s sarcasm, because you and I don’t adhere to the same kind of reality. I don’t know what “minor” STDs are, but maybe you meant “nonlethal”? STDs that don’t
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b kill you, do not make you stronger. They can lead to cancer, infertility, agonizing pain, psychological trauma, and with complications… death. Tell her immediately, NS, and brace yourself. I hope you become up front with your sexual health issues, because people need to know before they drink the water.
Last weekend I walked into the men’s bathroom at a popular gay bar. I opened the door to find my boyfriend having oral sex with another man. We’re supposed to be monogamous, but this is the second time I’ve caught him in the act of cheating on me. I wanted to go to couples counseling, but he refuses, and says we don’t have a problem. I don’t know how to fix this, or if it’s fixable at all. - Broken and Confused When someone breaks your trust, in any fashion, it is very important to figure out if you will ever forgive him or her. There isn’t an effective therapy or punishment that doesn’t end in forgiveness. BC, if you’ve had enough, I suggest you end this before it gets more ugly than it already is. Your boyfriend may be trying very hard to be monogamous, but his resolve was destroyed in a room full of toilets, 50 feet away from you. I’d worry about his ability to resist temptation. Try to have a discussion about capability. Are you capable of forgiveness? Is he capable of commitment? I also think therapy sounds like a great idea. Making a promise in front of a third party can clarify. BC, this might not be fixable. Only you two can answer that question. Try to decide before you both jump back into the mud.
Just Out’s Guide to Bars, Food, and Nightlife SW
Boxes/Red Cap Garage
1035 SW Stark St • 503-226-4171 www.boxxes.com
Fez Ballroom
316 SW 11th Ave • 503.221.7262 www.fezballroom.com
Scandal’s
1125 SW Stark St • 503-227-5887 www.scandalspdx.com
Silverado
318 SW Third Ave • 503-224-4493 www.silveradopdx.com
NW
Casey’s
610 NW Couch St • 503-224-9062 www.caseyspdx.net
C.C. Slaughters
219 NW Davis St • 503-248-9135 www. ccslaughterspdx.com
Darcelle XV Showplace
208 NW Third Ave • 503-222-5338 www.darcellexv.com
Embers Avenue
110 NW Broadway • 503-222-3082
Fox & Hounds
217 NW Second Ave • 503-243-5530
Hamburger Mary’s Submit your anonymous questions to Dirty Words at editor@JustOut.com
June 2012
19 NW Fifth Ave • 503-688-1200 www.hamburgermarys.com/pdx
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Hobo’s
120 NW Third Ave • 503-224-3285 www. hobospdx.com
SE
Crush
1400 SE Morrison St • 503-235-8150 www. crushbar.com
Holocene
1001 S.E. Morrison St • 503.239.7639 www.holocene.org
Starky’s
2913 SE Stark St • 503-230-7980 www. starkys.com
Hawk PDX
234 SE Grand Ave • 503-946-8659 www. hawkspdx.com
NE
Joq’s
2512 NE Broadway • 503-287-4210
Local Lounge
3536 NE MLK • 503-282-1833 www.local-lounge.com
Steam PDX
2885 NE Sandy Blvd • 503-736-9999 www.steamportland.com
North
The Eagle Portland
835 N Lombard St • 503-283-9734 www.eagleportland.com
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
by Ken Hoyt
Culture Club
No Tin Soldiers. No toy guns.
L
ive theatrical productions offer a special kind of illusion not found in other forms of entertainment. While film images are often enhanced and manipulated electronically, live performance requires real, tangible, yet seemingly magical skills to convey mood, character and subtext.
Costumer and professor Darrin Pufall started early. “Some kids take their bedspreads and make forts; I would drape mine into period bustle skirts! When we would go on family vacations, I wouldn’t bring home tin soldiers and toy guns from historical museums. No, I brought home period dress pattern books!” Pufall began college focusing on musical theatre performance. His trajectory changed when many of the small productions he worked with couldn’t afford a costumer. He would step in to save them. He says, “For a few years I was performing and designing simultaneously and slowly began to appreciate the rewards of simply being a costume designer.” It’s a decision for which he has no regrets, “I love the collaboration process with the production team and the actors. I feel I am very fortunate to offer the first glimpse of a character, through my sketches, to both a director and an actor.” Pufall was a resident of Portland for just a few years, but continues to have strong professional and personal ties that bring him back several times annually. This summer he’ll be designing the costumes for The Mock’s Crest production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers. Later this year he’ll be producing costumes and puppets for Triangle Productions staging of Avenue Q. Though Pufall has designed many shows throughout his career his start was in musical theatre. His early mentor, Paul Favini, felt that he needed to step beyond the glamour and sparkle. He suggested Waiting for Godot. “Suddenly all that glitz and sequins turned into existentialist dirt and grime. I really had to dig deep into Beckett’s text to find the meaning and pathos behind these characters. It is a seemingly simple play, but so much happens. It pretty much changed the way I approached the design process from then on.”
Photo Orin Zyvan
Arts & Entertainment Editor Ken Hoyt is a media regular in Portland. Reach him at ken@justout.com.
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That doesn’t mean designing an operetta is easy. “I think Gilbert and Sullivan can be tricky, especially those [shows] in the well-known cannon (The Mikado, The Gondoliers, The Pirates of Penzance). Audiences have a certain expectation with those productions. Because of the comic nature of G&S I hardly become a slave to a particular clothing period. I will often mix periods to create a world specific to the production.” That world will be in place at the Mago Hunt Theatre at University of Portland throughout most of June.
June 2012
Photo Larry Larson
Mock’s Crest has been producing light operas, most often Gilbert & Sullivan, since it began in 1990. It operates with the support of University of Portland and the university’s Department of Performing and Fine Arts. Over the years the productions have become a local treasure as they import professional talent to create polished productions. This year’s offering, The Gondoliers, runs weekends June 1 through 24. Tickets and more information are available through the box office, 503-943-7287 or email: magohuntboxoffice@up.edu
LEFT: Pufall mixes costume periods and palettes to create “a specific world” for Mock’s Crest’s 2010 production of The Mikado. ABOVE: Pufall’s renderings for Mock’s Crest’s 2012 production of The Gondoliers.
FASHION
MIND THE GAP
photography by Horace Long | wardrobe by Justin Warner | hair & makeup by Sylvia Bueno, www.sylviabueno.com | text by Alley Hector
Portland’s QUEER-friendly band Mattachine Social bring (their very own) style to the stage DYNAMIC AND ENERGETIC, I MET THE FOUR MEMBERS OF MATTACHINE SOCIAL ON A SUNNY SUNDAY IN NORTH PORTLAND. SUMMER IN OUR TOWN INCREASES THE ARTISTIC DRIVE AND ENERGY BUT CREATES AN ODD SORT OF TONED DOWN PDX STYLE THAT MEMBERS ANDREW KLAUS, JUSTIN WARNER, BEN JANSEN AND TAMMY WHYNOT WELL EXPRESS BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN CASUAL NONCHALANCE AND EYE-POPPING GLITTER BRILLIANCE. THE QUARTET TALK EXCITEDLY ABOUT PLAYING PRIDE AND OTHER FESTIVALS, THEIR FORTHCOMING EP AND THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING A QUEER-FRIENDLY BAND IN AN UNFRIENDLY WORLD.
Q: How did Mattachine Social get started? What kinds of musical backgrounds do you each have?
Andrew Klaus: This was all my accidental fault. Justin Warner: Andy contacted me because we both had pieces in Hump Fest. Tammy Whynot: Did you guys say porn? I didn’t know it was going to get dirty this fast. AK: [Justin] came to my Hanukkah party and I asked him to sing it because I didn’t like the way I sounded. We thought that was all it would be, an electroclash joke. We were wrong. But we got drunk one night at Crush and booked a show. We went and got Ben to play the guitar. Continues on pg. 56
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"I’m very influenced by all the glam rock that came out of the 70s and also the New Wave from 80s London. I kind of try to make everyone wear what I want." Justin Warner
Mattachine Social Interview Continues from pg. 50 JW: I’ve known Tammy forever. We kinda grew up together in Vancouver. At first she was just emceeing. Then we discovered she was musically inclined. TW: They just gave me a tambourine and told me to shake it real hard. AK: She’s our Neko. Ben Jansen: I grew up playing in punk rock bands. [Andrew] didn’t know if I was any good. TW: Girl, lemme tell you, he is magically delicious. And he sounds good too. AK: I had done electro-folk stuff, opened for the Butchies, on the east coast. But I was really out of practice. Our fourth show was as a local headliner for Pride. That was Tammy’s first official show. A mic, a big dress, and a triangle. Q: That was last year? AK: Yeah. Electronic music during the day in the rain. Ben’s first Pride. BJ: I got free underwear. TW: It was a visual feast. Q: Are you playing Pride this year? JW: We are. And we just got confirmed to play the 2nd Annual Queer Music Festival [in July] with Imperial Teen, which we played last year. AK: We’ve also applied to play Seattle Pride. JW: We applied for HempFest and the Capitol Hill Block party as well. TW: Heavens to Murgatroid what am I going to wear to that? An all hemp tinsel dress? Justin will design it. Q: What do you each bring to the table in terms of musical and fashion influences? JW: I’m very influenced by all the glam rock that came out of the 70s and also the New Wave from 80s London. I kind of try to make everyone wear what I want. Q: Fashion Police? JW: We like to have a cohesive look. AK: Color coordinate. Musically, I grew up on post-punk like Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen...riot-grrl, college rock. JW: Me too, but I’m also influenced by 20s/30s music. AK: I also like difficult listening music like Sigur Ros. Fashion wise it’s between a schoolboy gone wrong and a corrupt professor. I don’t look good in jeans and a t-shirt. I like dress clothes. JW: We like to sparkle on stage. Q: You all have very different aesthetics that you like to bring together by theme or color on stage. JW: Exactly. But I don’t push anyone to wear something they don’t want to.
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AK: Gold lame cowboy shirt last time. Never doing that again. It was cooking me on stage. But it looked great. BJ: Musically, I was into punk and 90s rock, Smashing Pumpkins, and some southern hip hop and rap. Now prog rock and jazz. Independent hip hop. David Bowie. TW: I have a weakness for the tender mom hits. Everything you used to get a contact high in the back seat of your mom’s station wagon. Plus I like bad girls and Motown. Q: Is it as much about the spectacle as the music? AK: It went from being two of us and a laptop to four of us and video screens, and glitter canons and projectors... JW: We like to put on a show but the music is most important. Q: Tell me about your new album coming out. AK: In June we’re putting out an EP with 3 new songs and 3 remixes but we also have a new album coming out in the Fall. JW: Somewhat all recorded we just need a producer, although we sort of have one. AK: ...Jesse Holt up in Seattle, who has worked with a lot of amazing people. Q: And what will the new EP be called? AK: Nice is the new punk rock. BJ: We’ll probably have videos for download. AK: Holly Andres might be at the helm of one of them. She actually did the photoshoot for our album cover. Q: You have a sort of neo-gothic/old-timey aesthetic to your videos. One even delves into the zombie craze. Where does that come from? JW: “Risers” [their zombie video] was about a different subject entirely and we went literal with it. But it’s really about how culture has gone downhill... AK:...clone culture. JW: A comment on shallowness. Q: So is Portland queer culture less mainstream? More interesting? TW: I think the gay community here...they don’t think “I’m gay” initially. “I’m just here.” Everyone is more accepting and tolerant as long as it’s consensual. JW: Every bar in Portland is gay friendly. AK: The problem here is that all Portlanders look the same. Q: And how do you feel being the token straight, Ben?
June 2012
BJ: Just happy to play. TW: We support minorities. Especially cute ones. Q: Do you think it’s important to be seen as a queer band? On some level it must be as your name references one of the first gay rights organizations. JW: A lot of our songs have to do with gay historical figures or those rumored to be gay. BJ: Richard Nixon? JW: [People] don’t know the history of our community.We won’t preach about it but we will write songs about it. BJ: Because it’s not taught in school. TW: Conservatives act like we’re in end times because there are all these “deviants” but we’ve always been here. BJ: Every culture has had [queer and gender variant] people. AK: Most of my educational background is film or feminist and queer theory and being in classes with young people who don’t know this history, the post-Ellen kids. They think Pride is just a party and Stonewall is just a movie. Q: What are some other projects you each work on? JW: We do a lot of video work. AK: I’m wrapping up a 2 year feature film (I’ll have some Mattachine Social songs in there) called Spark and in July I’m directing a film adaptation of Tanna Hall’s play Leaving. And we’re going to make a 3D stop-motion porno, probably for Hump in October. We have a production company, TimeOut Films. BJ: I just do weird experimental stuff for myself. AK: I do weird Lebanese dance music for myself.
JOEL HAMLEY Principal Broker, ABR
The Real in Realtor
Q: Does that ever find its way into Mattachine? Is your music danceable? BJ: We’re trying to move toward a pop sensibility. AK: You can definitely dance to it. TW: People have danced. JW: Formed a conga line. BJ: But people have also shuffled their feet and looked at the floor because its Portland. AK: Our producer, Jesse Holt, was saying he could produce it to make it radio friendly even if that’s an ugly word, but we were all for it. Our stuff on the radio would be the most subversive and punk rock thing in the world.
Buy Curious? OFFICE: 503.238.1700, EXT. 630 MOBILE: 971.506.9499 1902 SE MORRISON ST. PORTLAND, OR 97214 LICENSED IN OREGON 2012 DIAMOND-PLATINUM MEMBER, THE MASTERS CIRCLE TOP 10% PRODUCER FOR PORTLAND METRO
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5/10/12 4:29 PM
by Lyska Mondor
(IN MY HUMBLE) OPINION
A LESBIAN BAR
STOP HOLDING OUR BREATH? First off, if you are the proud owner or customer of a lesbian bar in Portland, and it’s so ironic that I don’t know it exists, I’m sorry. One of the first things I did before writing this, was do a fairly extensive search for anything that may be openly, secretly, or unknown to the owner or clientele, a lesbian bar. If you ask around town whether anyone knows where one is, you get some really funny answers… but I’ll get into that in a moment. Many of us remember the “E-Room”, or later named “Weird Bar”, that closed its doors for the final time last year. It was a notorious place of local gay history, with maybe too much room for the customers, and not enough space for the drama. Many of us either loved it, or loved to hate it, but I think we can agree that its closing left a hole in the community, both figuratively and literally, as it was sadly torn down. At the time, I genuinely thought a new space would open quickly to fill the obvious gap in the queer bar scene, but it never really happened. When I ask friends and polite strangers why nobody jumped on the wagon, I got an array of very entertaining answers. Why isn’t there a new lesbian bar in Portland? “There is! It’s called Crush. It’s in SE, and they have a few awesome dance nights.” Okay, yes, I’ve been to Crush for “Crave”, and it is really fun, but the bar really only feels that way during that specific night. Otherwise, you kind of can’t tell what it is. “Have you been to the Florida Room? That’s a lesbian bar.” Strangely, If the Florida Room was a person, I think it would be a surly lesbian. I love it there. It’s all-inclusive, and in its atmosphere of excess, a catalyst for good times. We need more places where the straight, queer, and especially the trans communities can all come together in drunken harmony. “Eww, I don’t like the word LESBIAN. I’m just queer. Please, just call me queer!” Alright, you big lesbo… I’m just kidding. Actually, I’ve identified as “queer” for a long time now, and it’s nice to have a word with more gender wiggle room, but it doesn’t answer the question. What we’re really talking about is a place that serves cocktails, provides recreation, and comes from a unique feminist perspective. Let’s not have double standards. Some of us are perfectly fine embracing the stereotype of a gay male bar, ‘CC Slaughters’ is a good example of this, but get really negative when you talk about girl bars. I just want a jukebox with Bikini Kill in it, is that so bad? Photo Horace Long
“I don’t like lesbian bars, I want an all-inclusive space.” Great, lets start an all-inclusive feminist bar. None of these things are mutually exclusive. You can have your cake, and eat it with the hot person of your choice.
Lyska Mondor is a published poet and aspiring sci-fi author. Reach her at www.JustOut.com
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Basically, this seems to be confusing for everyone. Most people seem to want cheap drinks with no labels attached. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that when you’re drinking, you’re making a political decision with each dollar that you spend. We still are subjugated to bashings, and a lack of equality. It is possible to drink cheap beer in a place that empowers you. I think in Portland, from a feminist perspective, we’ve forgotten what it feels like.
June 2012
Marketplace
COUNSELING
PEOPLE
HOME
EATS
June 2012
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OUR PEOPLE
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photo by Ashley Reather
June 2012
REAL ESTATE
Marketplace
Q+A Anthony Hudson
Q: How do you identify? A: I identify as an interdisciplinary artist and human mortal, except when my body is occupied by the immortal demon clown Carla Rossi.
Q: What do you do for a living? A: I’m my own employer, manager, and agent and have shown my work in galleries, film festivals, movie theaters, and gay bars. The gays just tip better. I’m also the spokesclown and hostess for the Genderfucking Takeover parties I throw with Ash Kenazi and Samuel Thomas.
INSURANCE
Q: How long have you been in Portland? What do you love/hate about it? A: I’ve been in Portland for five years now. I love all my hard-working and passionate friends who put in so much time building a crazy creative culture here. But I really hate my inability to find good Chinese food. Oh, and the Timbers Army. Somebody really needs to re-design those Harry Potter outfits.
Q: What’s your most embarrassing moment or a passion you have that no one would guess?
LEGAL
I’ve watched The Princess Diaries about 5,000 times. (It was research.)
Q: Who do you look up to or revere in the gay community or historically? A: I really admire John Waters and his Dreamland players, The Cockettes. Be a part of Q&A. Send a short note to editor@justout.com and tell us about yourself or a friend.
June 2012
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OUR PEOPLE
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photo by Horace Long
June 2012
Q+A
GARDEN/YARD
Marketplace PETS
MJ Day
Q; How do you identify? A: I identify as a dorky sexy friendly gross femme queer momma.
Q: What do you do for a living?
HEALTH
A: I do a drillion things really. I am a full-time PSU graduate student (adding more endorsements to teach more things), while also teaching high school German and chemistry.
Q; How long have you been in Portland/Oregon? What do you love/hate about it? A: On June 4th, it will be (“was”) my ten-year anniversary with Portland. There are too many things for me to list about what I love about Portland. To name a few: my community, bicycling, performance art, dorky dancing, social art experimentation, food, the art, coffee, and those moments in spring when random people begin to smile when they walk down the street versus being covered in rain and the fashion of being grumpy.
LIC MASSAGE
Q: Who do you look up to or revere in the gay community or historically? A: Harvey Milk. When I learned about him as a 19-year-old, I was instantly inspired to learn about him. So, I packed my bags and took the Green Tortoise to San Francisco and went to all the places I knew he could have been hanging out in the 70s.
ART
Q: What's an important topic that the LGBTQ community should be talking about and isn't? A: The queer hierarchy, an idea that one is “more” queer, gay, lesbian, trans, because they have only been with queer-gay-lesbian-trans-identified people. June 2012
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These businesses support you. Please support them. ADULT
Hawks Gym.........................................45 Mr. Peeps/The Peephole.....................46 Spartacus..............................................21 Taboo Video........................................45
ART
Love Art! Gallery................................63
ATTORNEYS
Beth Allen Law PC.............................17 Legacy Preservation Law...................57 Northwest Debt Relief Law Firm......................................61 Redden & Findling LLP.....................61 Herzog-Meier......................................13 Wentworth Subaru City....................... 2
BARS
Boxxes/Red Cap Garage...................... 9 Scandals................................................. 8
COMMUNITY
CAP Celebrates Gay Pride................15 Portland Q-Center..............................41 TriMet..................................................19 United Way of the Columbia-Willamette...................23
COUNSELING/HEALING
Barbara Isaacs, PH.D..........................59 Carol Carver, Ph.D.............................59 Catherine Cooney..............................59 Imagine Changes................................59 Judith Crop..........................................59 Mariah Ureel.......................................59
DENTAL
Bling Dental........................................11
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FAMILY
FINANCIAL
Impac Home Lending........................43 Lenington Financial...........................23
GARDEN/YARD
Linton Feed & Seed............................63
HEALTH
Center for Dermatology and Laser Surgery.........................31 Central Drugs.....................................35 Multnomah County Health Dept.....................................63 Multnomah County Health Dept.....................................19 OHSU Partnership Project................35
HOME
Brooklyn Furniture............................47 Daniel Kasch Handyman...................59 Eager Beaver Duct Cleaning.............59 Studio Coop Architecture.................59 Urban K Hutchins Construction......57
INSURANCE
Absolut.................................................68 Avion...................................................... 6 Pacific Pie Company..........................57 People's Food Co-Op.........................31 Willamette Valley Confectionery..............................56
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CAP - AIDS Walk...............................66 Darcelle XV La Femme Manifique...................39 Equity Foundation................................ 5 Imperial Sovereign Rose Court........21 Just Out Sizzlin Summer...................... 7 Oregon Coast Pride Lincoln City...................................20 Peacock After Dark............................13 Portland Gay Men's Chorus..............20 Portland Lesbian Choir......................21 Portland Spirit.....................................25 NW Surrogacy Center.......................43
AUTO
DRINKS/EATS
EVENTS
Bias Insurance.....................................61
LICENSED MASSAGE
Anthony Gitch....................................63 Fermata Massage................................63 Massage by Adam...............................63
PETS
Dignified Pet Services........................63 Rock Creek Kennels...........................63 Sterling Bloodstock............................65
PRODUCTS
Morel Ink.............................................17 The Beaded Heart...............................65
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
Palisades Property Mgt......................47
REAL ESTATE
Celia J Lyon Meadows Group............................61 H. Dwayne Davis Realty Trust...................................25 Joel Hamley Meadows Group...........................57 Kelly Stafford Home Sweet Home Realty............61 Ken Spurlock Realty Pro......................................61 Killingsworth Station LLC................... 3 Laurie Gilmer Willamette Realty Group.............61 Scott Werner & John Lippe Bridgetown Realty........................61
RESTAURANTS
Beaterville Cafe...................................59 Beau Thai Restaurant.........................59 The John Street Cafe...........................59
WEDDING/COMMITTMENT
Bridal Loft............................................65 David Barss Photographer................56 Inn at Harbour Village.......................39
JEWELRY
Malka Diamonds & Jewelry..............11
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June 2012
Calendar 5 th
THE FEMINIST PORN SHOW, showcasing feminist porn, a genre of adult films and a growing movement. Tristan Taormino will share a brief history and definition of feminist porn, then screen a special compilation of clips. The screening will be followed by a facilitated discussion, where we'll explore some of the current issues surrounding feminist porn. Presented by She Bop. Mississippi Studios (3939 N. Mississippi) Doors 7 p.m., pre-show 7:30 p.m., show 8 p.m. $25
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Magic Mouth
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IMore Calendar info:
THE OREGON BEARS celebrate BearTown 17: Bearpocalypse for three days, June 7 to 10. An annual event, the group is gathering to party away any fears that may exist due to the end of civilization that some say will come at the end of the Mayan calendar in December 2012. Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition will be the beneficiary of funds raised at the event.
PRIDE WEEKEND NIGHTLIFE It's a weekend of party, party, party. And while there are plenty of pride-sanctioned parties, some of the best stuff isn't. Blow Pony's Queer Mutiny is one featuring Boy Funk, Magic Mouth, Christine and Pink Slips. 9 p.m. - 2 a.m. at Rotture/Branx (315 SE 3rd Ave.) $10. Get more details about the weekend on pg. 42.
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www.beartownweekend.com
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GLEE'S JANE LYNCH comes to Portland for "An Evening With Jane Lynch" at 7:30 p.m. Third Rail Repertory Theater and Powell's Books are behind Lynch's trip from Hollywood to the Rose City. Tickets, $55 and $75, aren't cheap but do include a copy of Lynch's memoir. Ticketmaster.com or the Portland Center for Performing Arts Box Office. JustOut.com
Jane Lynch
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MR., MISS & MS. GAY OREGON PAGEANT The Imperial Sovereign Rose Court, one of the oldest LGBTQ organizations in the U.S., holds its annual pagaent, benefitting Audria M. Edwards and Pride of the Rose Scholarship Funds. $20 donation , 5 p.m. doors, Embers Avenue ( 110 NW Broadway), www.rosecourt.org
THE PORTLAND LESBIAN CHOIR 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT/CELEBRATION, "DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'" 7:30PM AT THE SCOTTISH RITE CENTER IN DOWNTOWN PORTLAND. (1515 SW MORRISON) PRICES ARE $15 ADVANCE $18 DAY OF SHOW (DANCE INCLUDED!). WWW.PLCHOIR.ORG 503-877-4812
June 2012
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June 2012
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JustOut.com
June 2012