[2000] Tulsa Family News, July 2000; Volume 7, Issue 7
Title
[2000] Tulsa Family News, July 2000; Volume 7, Issue 7
Subject
Politics, education, and social conversation toward Tulsa’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities.
Description
Tulsa Family News was a monthly newspaper; No. 1 issued December 1993-January 1994. The final issue available was published in September 0f 2001 (Volume 8, Issue 9).
The newspaper brings up important, evolving topics of marriage, Pride, TOHR, HIV/AIDs, events, advice, and politics all at the local and national level.
This document is available in searchable PDF attached. It is also available to be seen at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center with permission.
The newspaper brings up important, evolving topics of marriage, Pride, TOHR, HIV/AIDs, events, advice, and politics all at the local and national level.
This document is available in searchable PDF attached. It is also available to be seen at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center with permission.
Creator
Tulsa Family News
Source
https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24
Publisher
Tom Neal
Date
July 2000
Contributor
James Christjohn
Karin Gregory
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
Hughston Walkinshaw
Karin Gregory
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
Hughston Walkinshaw
Rights
Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News
Relation
Tulsa Family News, June 2000; Volume 7, Issue 6
Format
Image
PDF
Online text
Online text
Language
English
Type
newspaper
periodical
periodical
Identifier
https://history.okeq.org/items/show/602
Coverage
Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America (50 states)
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America (50 states)
Text
High Court + Scouts:
No Gays Need Apply
by Laurie Asseo, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Boy Scouts can bar Gays from
serving as troop leaders, the Supreme Court said at the
end of June in a 5-4 decision on "free-association
rights." The decision may also let the-6.2-millionmember
organization reject Gay boys as members.
Forcing the Scouts to accept Gay troop leaders would
violate the organization’ s right of"expressive association"
under the Constitution’s First Amendment, the
justices nded on the last day of their 1999-2000 term.
"The Boy Scouts asserts that homosexual conduct is
inconsistent with the values it seeks to instill," Chief
Justice William H. Relmquist wrote for the court. Requiring
the organization to have a Gay scoutmaster
would force it "to send a message, both~£o the youth
members and the world, that the Boy Scouts accepts
homosexual conduct as a legitimate form of behavior,"
the ,..hief justice said.
"-.We’ re very pleased," said Scouts spokesman Gregg
Shields. "It’ s going to allow us to continue our mission
of providing character-building programs for youth."
see Scouts._ tg. 9
uNPredicts: AIDS Will Kill
One Half.of African Teens
GENEVA (AP) - AIDS has killed 19 million people
worldwide, but the worst is yet to come, the United
Nations has just predicted: the disease is expected to
wipe out half the teen-agers in some African nations,
devastating economies and societies.
’q’here is a whole generation which is being taken
outYsaid Peter Plot, head of the U.N. Joint Program on
HIV/AIDS. He said vulnerable countries in Asia, Eastem
Europe and the Caribbean risk a similar catastrophe
unless they act now to control infection rates.
In its 135-page report released at the end of June,
UNAIDS estimates:
-The virus has killed 19 million people worldwide,
up fronr 16.3 million at the end of 1998. ~t has infected
34 million more, including 5.4 million last year alone.
-More than 13 million children have been orphaned
by AIDS.
-In 16 sub-SaharanAfrican countries, more than onetenth
of the population ages 15-49 carries the Human
lmmunodeficiency Virus, or HIV.
-In seven of those countries, at least one-fifth of the
population is infected.
One-of the countries where 20% of the population is
infected is South Africa, which has 4.2 million people
who are HIV positive- the largest single national total.
The southern African nation of Botswana has the worst
rate, with more than one in three adults infected. That is
the equivalent of 90 million people out of the U.S.
population of 270 million, see Africa, p. 9
DIRECTORY P. 2
PRIDE PHOTOS P. 3
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4
HEALTH NEWS P. 6
ENTERTAINMENT P. 8
GAY STUDIES P. 10
Serving Lesbian; Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Our Families + Friends
Pride 2000: Greg,
Greta + ORU Too
TULSA - While the Edsel ferrying Greg Louganis broke down and despite a steady but mild rain, Tulsa’s 2nd Pride
Parade went off without a hitch. Beginning at the Tulsa Gay Community Services Center near 41st & Peoria, several
hundreds gathered along with grand marshals, Olympic champion Greg Louganis and distinguished US Army veteran
Greta Cammermeyer.
The. parade featured
churches, choirs, drag
queens and female impersonators,
leather "boys and
daddies," bars and businessmen
who spread out over
more than a mile and ended
up at Veteran’ s Park for the
Pride Festival.
This yearlikelast, a handful
of protesters gathered at
the beginning of the parade,
and then scurried to the end
to protest yet again.
Incontrast with those who
were protesting, the pastor
and a couple of members of
the CarbondaleAssembly of
God passed out bottles of
water without any message
of condemnation as they did
last year also. When asked
about their effort, they said
they just wanted to act with
compassion and to avoid the
nastiness - leaving judgement
to the Almighty.
see Pride, p. 6
Humanity Unites for Human Rights Oral Roberts University Alumni
Gree Louganis at the Millennium Parade Sharon Toele with Greta Cammermever
i" Vermont Judge Won’t Block-
Unions, Officials Rebel + More
¯ MONTPELIER,Vt. (AP)-Opponents ofVermont’ s civil unions. ¯
made another legal bid to block thelaw from taking effect on July ¯
¯ 1st. A day after a Superior Court judge refused to issue a ."
¯ preliminary injunction blocking the first civil unions ceremonies.
¯ from taking place, opponents filed a new request and added new °
plaintiffs.
A Virginia lawyer representing Shdtra and the other plaintiffs °
said Superior Cpurt Judge Stephen Martin did not have enough ;
information beftre him when the judge ruled that no irreparable °
harm would occur if the law went into effect. ¯
Lawyer Erik Stanley asked to add two new plaintiffs to the ;
lawsuit: town clerks in Corinth and Fairfield, who say they would °
be harmed if forced to issue civil union licenses. ¯
"These town clerks object to doing that on moral and religious °
grounds and have asked the attorney general’ s office if they could "
not issue these licenses," Stanley said. ’The attorney general ;
responded in a letter to them that if they refuse to issue civil ¯
unions licenses, they could be faced with civil lawsuits from the "
individuals to whom they refused to issue licenses." There also ¯
is the remote possibility of criminal fines or prison terms. ¯
Several town clerks say they object to homosexuality and do ¯
not want to be forced into providing licenses that will grant same- "
sex couples nearly all the rights and benefits Of marriage. " "
The clerks now have been added to 15 people who sued to -"
overturn the law. Eleven of those plaintiffs are members of the ¯
Vermont House who opposed civil unions, including prominent"
representatives such as Sheltra, Oreste Valsangiacomo, D-Barre, °
Robert Starr, D-Troy, and George Schiavone, R-Shelburne. ¯
They argue that an informal betting pool among 14 House "
members who supported the bill should invalidate it. The 14"
bettors each threw in a dollar to wager on the number of "yes" ¯
votes the bill would garner when it went before the House for ¯
preliminary approval in March. It passed by seven votes that day. "
Opponents argued the pool should have disqualified those who "
participated because it gave them an interest in the outcome of the ¯
vote. ¯
In a recent ruling, Martin said allowing Gay and Lesbian "
couples to enter into civil unions beginning Saturday would pose :
no harm to the initial 15 plaintiffs, see Vermont, p. 9.
Coke Adds Benefits for
Gay +-Lesbian Partners
WASHINGTON The Human Rights Campaign,
anational Gay civil rights organization, commended
the Coea-Cola Co. today for announcing plans to
extend health care benefits to same-sex domestic
partners of its United States-based employees.
"This is excellent news, and yet another sign that
domestic partner benefits are becoming a standard
component of benefits packages at forward-thinking
companies," said Kim I. Mills, HRC’ s education
director who oversees WorkNet, HRC’s
workplac project. "With this announcement, Coke
becomes the 99th member of the Fortune 500 to
take this important step."
The Human Rights Campaign and its Business
Council have been working with Coea-Cola and
KOLAGE, its Lesbian and Gay employee resource
group, for many months on this issue, Mills said.
HRC WorkNet (www.hrc.org/worknet) provided
data, strategy and other advice as needed.
The Coca-Cola Co. released a statement today
announcing the benefits, which will begin Jan. 1,
2001. According to the statement, employees will
be able to sign up during the fall benefits enrollment
period. The company also said it is researching
opportunities for implementing its policy on a
global basis. "Our company is committed to attracting
and retaining the most diverse workforce
in the world," Coca-Cola said in the statement.
"Our goal is to ensure that the Coea-Cola Company
is the best place for all people to work. This
extension ofbenefits is another step toward achieving
that goal."
"The Coea-Cola Company has provided worldclass
leadership to the beverage industry, and to the
business commtmity in Atlanta and all of Georgia
by taking this historic action," said Harry Knox,
executive director of the Georgia Equality Project,
whichrepresents Georgia’ s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
and Transgendered citizens, see Coke, p. 2
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Chasers, 4812 E. 33
*CW’ s, 1737 S. Memorial
*Club Cherry Bomb, 1926 E. Pine
*Club Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan
*Gold Coast Coffee House, 3509 S. Peoria
Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main
*TNT’ s, 2114 S. Memorial
*Tool Box, 1338 E. 3rd
712-2324
610-5323
583-2119
835-2376
749-4511
744-4280
745-9998
834-4234
585-3405
660-0856
584-1308
*The Yellow Brick Road Pub, 2630 E. 15th 749-1563
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Advanced Wireless & PCS, Digital Cellular
*Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard
*Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71
*Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231 E. 41
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15
*Borders Books & Music, 2740 E. 21
*Borders Books & Music, 8015 S. Yale
Brookside Jewelry, 4649 S. Peoria
*CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria
*Cheap Thrills, 2640 E. 1 lth
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. ISth
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan
Encompass Travel, 13161H N. Memorial
*Ross Edward Salon
Events Unlimited, 507 S. Main
747-1508
743-1000
250-5034
665-4580
712-1122
712-9955
494-2665
743-5272
746-0313
295-5868
581-0902, 743-4117
622-0700
749-3620
744-5556
838-8503
369-8555
584=0337, 712-9379
592-0460 "
*Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. Peoria 744-9595
Four Star Import Automotive, 9906 E. 55th P1. 610-0880
Cathy Furlong, Ph.D., 1980 Utica Sq. Med. Ctr. 628-3709
Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare 808-8026
*Gloria Jean’s Gourmet Coffee, 1758.E. 21st 742-1460
Leanne M. Gross, Insurance & financial planning 459-9349
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney 744-7440
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly 745-1111
*International Tours 341-6866
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th 712-2750
*Jared’s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th 582-3018
David Kauskey, Country Club Barbering 747-0236
The Keepers, Housekeeping & Gardening 582-8460
*Kerfs Flowers, 1635 E. 15
599-8070
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210 747-5466
*Living ArtSpace, 308 South Kenosha 585-1234
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd 584-3112
Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31 663-5934
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place 664-2951
Puppy Pause II, 1060 S. Mingo 838-7626
*The Pride Store, 1307 E. 38, 2nd floor 743-4297
Rainbowz on the River B+B, POB 696, 74101
747-5932
Richard’ s Carpet Cleaning 834-0617
Teri Schutt, Rex Realtors 834-7921, 747-4746
Scribner’ s Bookstore, 1942 Utica Square
749-6301
Paul Tay, Car Salesman 260-7829
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis 481-0558
Venus Salon, 1247 S. Harvard
835-5563
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counseling 743-1733
*Wherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan 665-2222
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis
592-0767
www.gaytulsa.org
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101
579-9593
All Sods Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria
743-2363
Black & White, Inc. POB 14001, Tulsa 74159
587-7314
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6
583-7815
"13/UGFr Alliance, Univ. ofTulsa United Min. Ctr.
583-9780
*Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th P1. & Florence
*ChurchoftheRestorationUU, 1314N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community ofHopeUnited Me~o~li."~st, 2545 S:.Yale 747-6300
*Community Unitarian-Universanst tgongregauon 749-0595
Council Oak Men’ s Chorale
748-3888
*Ddaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware
712-1511
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31
742-2457
Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa- Lesbian & Gay Catholics &
Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74170-1475 355-3140
*Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard
747-7777
*Free SpiritWomen’ s Center, call forlocation &info: 587-4669
)18.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
POB 4140, Tulsa, OK 74159
o-mail: TulsaNews@ earthlinl~ net
Publisher + Editor:
Tom Neal
Writers + contributors:
James Christjohn, Karin Gregory, Barry Hensley, J.-P.
Legrandbouche, Lamont Lindstrom, Esther Rothblum. Mary
Schepers, Hughston Walkinshaw
Member of The Associated Press
Issued on or before the 1st of each month, the entire contents
of this publication are protected by US copyright 1998 by
T~, lz:~ h/~w~ and may not be reproduced ei.th.er in
whole orin part withoutwrittenpermission from thepublisher.
Publication of a name or photo does not indicate a person’ s
sexual orientation. Correspondence zs asslmaed to be for
publication unless otherwise noted, must be signed & becomes
the sole property of TJ.~, F¢,~.’. No,w÷ ..Each..rea.der
is entitled to 4 copies of each ediuon at distnbutton
points. Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248.
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827
Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
HIV ER Center, 4138 Chas. Page Blvd. 583-6611
*Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194
Holland Hall School, 5666 E. 81st 481-1111
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
*House of the Holy Spirit Minstries, 3210e So. Norwood .
Interfaith AIDS Ministries 438-2437, 800-284-2437 ¯
*MCG United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
gAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1. 748-3111
NOW, Nat’l Org. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 365-5658
OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
*OSU-Tulsa
PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152 749-4901
*Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
*Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
O’ RYAN, support group for 18-24 LGBT young adults
O’ RYAN, Jr. support group for 14-17 LGBT youth
St. Aidan’ s ,Episcopal church, 4045 N. Cincinnati
425-7882
St. Dunstan,s Episcopal, 5635 E. 71st
492-7140
*St. Jerome s Parish Church, 205 W. King 582-3088
*Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171
*TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225
Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 E. 15 595-4105
Confidential I-IIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only
Tulsa Okla. for Human Rights, c/o The Pride Center 743-4297
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. 298-0827
*Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
*Tulsa Community College Campuses
*Tulsa Gay Community Center, 1307 E. 38, 74105 743-4297
Unity Church of Christianity, 3355 S. Jamestown 749-8833
B,ARTLESVILLE
*Bartlesville Public Library, 600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
OKLAHOMA CITY/NORMAN
¯ Borders Books & Music, 3209NWExpressway 405-848::2667
: Borders Books & Music, 300 Norman Center 405-573-4907
: TAHLEQUAH
: Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
¯ *Tahlequah Unitarian-UniversalistChurch 918-456-7900
Green Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570 918-453-9360
NSU School of Optometry, 1001N. Grand
HIVtesting every other Tues. 5:30-8:30, call for dates
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
Autunm Bre~.,ze Restaurant, Hwy. 23
*Jim & Brent s Bistro, 173 S. Main
DeVito’ s Restaurant, 5 Center St.
Fmerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St.
MCC of the Living Spring
Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429
Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery
Positive Idea Marketing Plans
Sparky’ s, Hwy. 62 East
White Light, 1 Center St.
501-253-7734
501-253-7457
501-253-6807
501-253-5445
501-253-9337
501-253-2776
501-253~5332
501-624-6646
501-253-6001
501-253-4074
www.gaytulsa.org
stirs controversy
TULSA - gaytulsa.org, a non-profit continues
to stir controversy about and in the
Tulsa Lesbian, Gay, Bi and ~rans communities.
Hosted by webmaster David and his
: partner, Seth, a statement onthe sitenotes,
¯. " [that it is] an effort to chronicle the dme
sl~ent out and about in the Tulsa gay scene
¯ mixed with a bit of news and
¯ information. We do not claim to be fair,
objective, or even nice. This is 99%
¯ opinion. Whileyoumayormaynotagree,
¯ wecanpromise youwill be either amused,
¯ baffled, or (more commonly) pissed if ¯
¯ youkeep visiting. We acceptgossip, slander,
or anything else you want to submit
¯ we can post here."
¯ The awardwinning sitefeatures links to
¯ other web sites of interest and offers the observations of local writer, Dyke Di-
¯ vine. Also included are cordial descriptions
of local and state pnnt media: Tulsa
Family News, The Gayly Oklahoman and
¯ newcomer to Tulsa, the recently renamed
Tulsa Triangle.
¯ On the net: www.gaytulsa.org
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
*Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 41%623-4696
* is where youcan findTFN¯NotallareGaY"ownedbutallareGay"fri"endly"
i The Georgia Equality Project also played
¯ a key role in working with the company
: andKOLAGEto helpbring aboutthenew
¯ policy.
¯ GEP also unveiled a new initiadvg~to-
¯ day to persuade nine other Georgia COm-
" panies to provide domestic partner ben-
" efits to their Lesbian and Gay employees.
¯ These companies are: Home Depot, At-
: lanta Gas Light Co., BellSouth, Georgia
¯ Pacific, DeltaAirlines, Wachovia, United
¯ parcel.Service, Shaw Industries and Gulf
¯ Stream Aerospace.
¯ "Some companies in Georgia are be-
: hind the times in their treatment of their
Lesbian and Gay employees, said Kno .
"We are launching this initiative because
our Gay daughters, sons, fathers, moth-
. ers, aunts, uncles and cousins should re-
. ceive benefits for their dependent family
¯ members just like everyone eis .
¯ Earlier this month, DaimlerChrysler
: Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General Mo-
¯ tots Corp., along with the United Auto
¯ Workers umon, announced they would
offer health care coverage to same-sex
¯
partners of all eligible U.S. employees. It
¯ was the first time an endre industry, along
¯ with its leading umon, announeed domes-
¯ - tic partner benefits simultaneously. More
: than.3,400 private and public employers
¯ provide these benefits to their employees.
¯ So far this year, an average of five
: employers a week are announcing these
: benefits, according to HRC’ s WorkNet,
: which tracks these trends. Many of
¯ America’ s leading companies offer these ¯
benefits including: IBM, MicrosoftShell
~ Oil, Walt Disney, Fannie Mae, Cifgroup,
¯ Xerox, Time Warner and United and
: American Airlines. Additionally, more ¯
thanhalfoftheFortune 500includesexual
: orientation in their non-discrimination
¯ polities.
: Letters Policy
: TulsaFamilyNewswelcomes letters on ¯
issues which we’ve covered or on issues
: you thinkneed to be considered. Youmay
: request that your name be withheld but
letters mustbe signed&have phonenum-
~ bers, or be hand ddivered.
Anti-Gay Ads in Mexico "¯ past. of police was once so pervasive that
hate crimes andsame-sex domestic violence went
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The two leading candidates
in Mexico’ s presidential campaign have raised eyebrows
by casting doubts on each other’ s masculinity.
But the real surprise to .many,,,I~__ple in tl~i."s land w~.ith
a reputation for "machismo has been me negauve
reaction to the tactic.
Criticism led opposition candidate Vicente Fox to
quickly drop a negative TV ad aimed at rival Fran=
cisco Labastida, the candidate of the long-governing
Institutional Revohition.ary. Party, or PRI. Using a
¯ Mexican slang termfbr s0iii~0ne Of madefined seXu2
ality, the ad showed Labastida hugging and lifting a ~
PRI colleague by the thighs: It also featured shots of
male strippers at a’ campaign rally for another PRI
candidate. "
After canceling the ad, Fox’ s socially conservative
National Action Party, known as PAN, ran an advertisement
in newspapers defending itself tothe Gay
community. The p~t,,y is "not against.the ,O,,ay community
in any way,’ the ad said, adding: In a Fox
admiulstration, there will befrcedOm for people to
live without masks."
Carlos Monsivais, an author and social critic, said
the party’ s retreat was a milestone for Mexico, where
there are no openly Gay politicians and homosexualtty
has not been wtdely accepted..The most tm.po,
t~( thing is that even Fox and the right had to oacK
down and apologize to the Gay commumty,, h,e’ s.atd.."
"It’ s incredible to hear the word ’homophobta oemg ~
used even by the right."
Labastida’ s supporters have drawn their own criticism
for taking shots at.Fox’ s masct!!.inity with allusions
to his separation fromhis wife andhis being the
father of four adopted children. Such attacks have
seldombeenso directinMexicanpolitics, althoughin
the previous presidential election six years ago, the
PRI allegedly hired transvestites to attend an opposition
campaign rallyin Veracruz state in an attempt to
discredit it.
This time, the attacks were started by Fox. Fo,x,
called the PRI candidate a sissy and" La Vesttda,
a pun on his rival’s name implying Labastida is a
cross-dresser. But the atmosphere changed when a
minor-party candidate, Gilberto Rincon Gallardo of
the Social Democratic Party, stuck up for homosexuals,
the handicapped, rape victims and Indians in a
televised debate, the first time many of those groups.
had been mentioned in the race. "In weak democracies
like Mexico, legal protections are necessary to
prevent a tyranny of the majority over minorities, so
that people can decide on their own private lives
withou,,t a majority imposing its moral or cultural
views, Rincon Gallardo said.
On June 17, the Gay community held what was by
far the largest Gay-pride parade in Mexican history,
with organizers estimating a turnout of 30,000. Just
¯ five years ago, SUCh parades drew an average of about
1,000 people. But Gays haven’ t had much success in
their effort to make an issue of the banning of some
Gay cultural events by PAN officials in towns they
goBveemnj.amin Araujo of the Front for-People with
AIDS-HIV said that "Gays are more tolerated than
accacne~udteadte"iisnaMneimxipcoosasnibdiltihtyat. aTnhoepperenvl.yat..Ge,nacye,,p.oo.Il"~iatni.c,.ua.1-.
Gayattitudes wasillnstratedbY areportoymet_,mzen)
CommitteeAgainst Homophobic Hate Crimes: It
estimates that 190 Gays were killed in Mexico bec1a9u9s9e.
BofuttMheoirnss~evxautasl soereisenptraotgiorenssb.etWweeesnul1!h9a9v4ena"ndt
reached the point of having an openly Gay candidate,"
he said. "But we are now at a point where there
can no longer be an openly anti-Gay candidate."
Denver Cops & Gays
Work Together
DENVER (AP) - Gays and Lesbians have formed an
alliance with police to deal with late-night cruising,
loud noise and sex in public around Cheesman Park.
Police, Gay civil-rights activists and park neighbors
have been handing out fliers to motorists for the
past few weeks warning that police will crack do.wn
on traffic, park curfew violations and inappropriate
activity on surrounding streets. ¯
Thejoint effort wouldnot have been possible in the
¯ unreported, activists said.
: "I think there was, clearly, some traditional stereo-
. typing on both sides, but that has changed alot," said
¯ Lt. Jimmy Martinez, who leads a communi.ty-poli.c;
~ ing team in the Cheesman Park area: Marttnez sara
¯ acting Police Chief Gerry Whitman devised the strat-
~ - egy when he was captain of District 6 surrounding
~ Cheesman. Once the "Fort Apache" of city police
~ districts, District 6 is now a model for community-
~ policing programs.
Cheesman is ~a .well:known gathering #ace for ~ -~
Gays and Lesbians,~and friction de~eloped between
neighbors andparkusers¯ Marfinez~idpolicegot the~ --
Cheesman Park West Neighborhood Associationand
Equality Colorado, a statewide Gay civil-rights orga-
: nization, directly involved.
¯ Representatives on both sides said the strategy has .
~ worked. "For one thing, our work with the Denver
:~
police has become a model for how an organization
like ours can work with law enforcement," said Lori
¯ Girvan, directorofEquality Colomdo.DedeDePerein,
¯
who heads Equality’s Anti-Violence Project, sai.’d
i cooperadun with police has "built bridges" over me
". Gay community’ s prevalent, persistent fear and misi
trust of law enforcement.
JoeBarrows of theChcesman ParkWestNeighborhoodAssociation
saidheandhis neighbors frequently
called oolice with complaints before the communitypolicing
campatgn. Now compl.amt.s a~..e rare: Tl~.e
result has been a positive changem tlae atsrupttons m
the neighborhood. It’ s been a positive experience all
the way around," he said.
Mormans Attack Gay
Relationships in Nevada
CARSON C1TY (AP) - A Mormon church-endorsed
ban on same-sex marriages cleared one hurdle recendy
when the secretary of state’ s office said aballot
~etition contained enough signatures. The ruling by
Deputy Secretary for Elections Susan Morandi advanced
the constitutional referendum to its final step
- a test sampling names on the petition for regist.ered
voters. County clerks and voter registrars were given
until July 7 toverify that registered voters signed the
petition.
Morandi’ s office said the Coalition for the Protection
of Mamage got 120,558 people to sign its 15etitlon,
which is almost three times the number of
registered voters needed to put a question on the
Nevada ballot: Under the measure, Nevada would
recogmze mamages only of a re.an and woman. ,That
already is part of state law, but advocates want to t~acK
it up in the state constitution.
Opponents say the initiative amounts to discriminadota
and bigotry. The Progressive Leadership Alliance
of Nevada and about 20 other groups across the
state formed the Coalition for Unity to campaign
against the ballot measure.
The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage is
heavily supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, whose members were central to
anti-Gay marriage efforts in Hawaii and Alaska, and
most recently, in California. However, the former
Catholic bishop of Las Vegas, Daniel Walsh, asked
priests and paris.ke_s to. support the ’~.aditi0nal f_~amily"
but not to support Ziser’ s effort because it fosters
ill-will toward Gays.
Gay Pride in Tel Aviv
" TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - Celebrating Gay pride,
thousands of Israelis in tank tops and shorts danced to
¯ deafening music and waved rainbow-colored flags at
¯ the end of June. The annual street party has become
¯ the latest venue in the culture war between secular
¯ Israelis and devoutJews who consider h°m°sexuality
¯ an abomination.
¯ "We promise to support your struggle against the
~ religious," legislator Tommy Lapid, leader of the
¯ secular rights party Shinui, told the cheering crowd.
~ In recent years, Gays and Lesbians in Israel have
¯ scored a string of successes in the courts, though not
¯ in parliament, where ultra-Orthodox religi°us Parties
¯ have considerable deut. Last month, the Supreme
Court allowed a Lesbian spouse to be registered as the
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By contrast, Gays were hugging and kissing in Tel : except church weddings and the right to adopt.
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in-hand. There were no religious protests. Tel Aviv is
anoverwhelmingly secular city, and the parade was
being heldjust before the onset oftheJewish Sabbath,
during which observant Jews refrain from work and
travel.
Taking a break from the blazing heat, Kinneret
G01an said the scene made her feel that Israel was no
different from othercountries. "You only see pictures
of Israel when rocks are being thrown. I’m proud that
despite everything we can still do this," she said.
Golan~ said that in the increasingly bitter culture
war betwTeen Israel’ s secular majority and thedevout
minority, the distrust is. so great that "each side
defines itself as the opposite:of what the other is."
Therefore, she said, many secular Israelis will sup-
]2~ort causes as long as they are denounced by the
’~:~’~r~igious community.
Lapid, standard bearer of the secular fight against
whathe calls religious coercion, said his party and the
homosexual movement are natural partners. Next
week, a bill proposing recognition of same-sex civil
unions will be up for approval. However, Lapid said
it will likely fail because of the influence of the
religious parties. But some of those dancing in the
parade said they paid little heed to politics. "Who
cares what they do in the Knesset? Look at this
celebration," saidAnat Schumaker, one of theparticipants.
"We’ re here and they can’ t do anything to stop
Gay Clergyman Shakes
Up Norweigan Church
OSLO, Norway (AP) - The selection of an openly
Gay clergyman in defiance of state Lutheran church
guidelines raised concerns Friday that the issue of
homosexuality could split the church. The Church of
Norway’ s highest body, its 85-member national congress,
ruled in November 1997 that clergy who enter
homosexual partnerships could not hold jobs that
require ordination.
However, the~Oslo Bishops’ Council of clergy and
laity voted 4-3 on June 15 to appoint Jens Torstein
Olsen as chaplain for the Majorstue Church. Olsen
noted onhis application that he was living with a Gay
partner.
The council minority appealed the decision to
Trend Giske, head of the churches and education
ministry that formally employs state church clergy.
He initially said he saw no reason to reverse the
council majority’s decision, but will make a final~
decision next month. If hired, the 51-year-old Olsen
would be Norway’ s first male minister who is openly
living with a Gay partner.
Oslo Bishop Gmmar Staalsett saidhe expects the.
ministry to respect his council’ s majority, in keeping
with usual practice. "Olsen is dearly the best qualified
for the post," Staalsett said.
But the move prompted Norway’s head bishop,
Odd B0ndevik, to say he was calling an emergency
meeting of the national bishops council on the matter
probably in August. "The appointment.., can split
the Church of Norway," he was quoted as telling the
Norwegian news agency NTB.-"When we said the
issue does not have to be a splitting factor, we assumed
that each individual bishop would be loyal to
the national church council’s resolutions and the
church itself," Bondevik was quoted as saying.
An anguished debate over Gay clergy has already
led to bitter disputes within the church. Last year,
reform. Half a million people were expected for the
annual Christopher Street Day parade in the German
capital. The bill, to be presented to parliament before
t breaks for summer next month, would recognize
registered Gay palTmerships as families, said Greens
lawmaker Volker Beck. However, homosexual
couples apparendy would not have the right to adopt
children - a demand of the Greens rejected by the
dominant Social Democrats.
Gay partnerships wonld get legal rights similar to
heterosexual couples on taxes, social security and
~mmigration law - an important point for Gay couples
where one parmer is a foreigner. Beck said the proposals
still require formal approval bythe parliamentary
groups of the two governing parties.
Opposition conservatives blasted the plahs and
hinted they would try to stall the bill in th~ upper
house of parliament, where the govemment,lack.s a
majority. Thomas Goppel, aleader of Bavaria s rightist
Christian Social Union party, called the proposals
"absurd." Germany’ s Association ofGays and Lesbians
welcomed the draft saying it did notmeet all of the
group’ s demands but still were a great st p forward."
Minnesota ’Sodomy’
Law Under Challenge ¯
¯ MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A state law that makes oral
and anal sex acrimeis unconstitutional and shouldbe
¯ thrown out, tim Minnesota Civil Liberties Union
¯ claimed in a lawsuit filed at the end of June. The
i MCLU and the Lesbian and Gay Rights Project of the
American Civil Liberties Union are challenging
¯ Minnesota’ s sodomy statute, saying the law violates
the right of privacy guaranteed by the state constitui
tion. Thelaw - which applies to all consenting adults,
even married heterosexuals - makes violations pun-
: ishable with a year in prison and up to $3,000 in tines.
¯ Theclass-actionlawsuit,filedinHennepinCountY,
¯ asks the court to declare the statute void and prevent ¯
the state from enforcing it. The plaintiffs include two
: married heterosexuals who say they risk prosecution,
: a Lesbian who fears eviction because her lease pro-
" hibits illegal activity, a Gay law student who fears
¯ being disbarred, a divorced Gay manwhofears losing
¯ his right to visithis children, and a group of Lesbian,
¯ Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered lawyers and law
¯ students.
¯ According to the MCLU, 18 states still have sod-
.: omy, statutes, down from all 50 in 1961. In five of
": ~ose s’tat~s, the law hpplies 0nly to Gays [editor’s
¯
note: Oldahoma is one of those with laws only di-
¯ rected at Gay people]’. Legislatures have repealed
¯ sodomy laws in 25 states, while courts have over-
. turned them in others. In one of the most recent cases,
an appeals court in Texas voided that state’ s sodomy
¯ law two weeks ago.
¯ Attorney General Mike Hatch was out of state and ¯
unavailable for comment on the lawsuit, said his
¯
spokeswoman, Leslie Sandberg.
¯ Tom Prichard, executive director of theMinnesota
Family Council, which has helped fight off attempts
¯ to repeal the law at the Legislature, said the law
should stay on the books, and he criticized theMCLU
¯ for filing the lawsuit. ’°They’ re trying to do an end run
by getting the courts to strike it down instead of going
through the appropriate channel, which is the Legis-
¯ lature," Prichard said.
. ated offices to deal specifically with Gay
alth Officials to health issues. Officials in Seattle have
Focus Gay Needs :d velo#as iali d mpaigntovac-
¯ cinate Gay men for hepatitis.
BOSTON (AP) - Boston public health
officials have agreed to try to better meet
the needs of the city’ s Gay community by
collecting data onillnesses,raising awareness
of health issues and seeking funding
for new programs. Their decision follows
the lead of other big U.S. cities, where
officials have already taken action to address
the health needs of Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and Transgender residents.
’q’hereis clear datathat shows there are
health differences between the Gay and
larger communities," said Stephen
Boswell, executive director oftheFenway
Community Health Center, which serves
a high percentage of Boston’ s Gay population.
"If those problems are addressed,
we can make a significant impact."
At a conference held in Boston in May,
officials from public health agencies
around the country cited studies showing
Gays are at risk for a range of health
problems, including depression, breast
cancer, and substance abuse.
After years of focusing solely on HIV
and AIDS, Boston’s public health officials
decided soon after the conference to
develop a more efficient way to deal with
the community’s other pressing needs,
said John Auerbach, executive director of
me Boston Public Health Commission.
q~nis.is the first time the he~Ith department
has acknowledged it needs to specifically
address the health needs of the
Gay community," he said. "This is a significant
step forward."
Health departments in New York, Chicago
and San Francisco have already c~e-
While Louganis left immediatdy alter
the parade to fly out of the city,
Cammermeyer spoke briefly in the rain,
noting that she really might have preferred
not to come to Tulsa, thinking that
it might not really be safe or wdcoming,
but that probably she needed to come to
Tulsa for precisdy that reason.
Another group which received great
atteiation was ORU.out.com, a new Lesbian
and Gay alumni organization for
Oral Roberts University (ORU). While
Gay alumni groups exist around the country,
ORU.out.com is unusual in thatORU
has a policy of banning Gays as.students,
faculty or staff. Regardless, ~e ~oup
numbered about 20 and group orgamzer,
Jeff McKissic notes that about 60 people
have gotten involved.
Orgamzers of the Parade and Festival,
Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights,
Inc. estimated that some 3,000 participated
or attended.
More than !00,000 march in
Paris Gay Pride parade
PARIS (AP)- In a festive celebration of
Gay pride; more than 100,000 people
marched and danced on the last weekend
in June through the streets of Paris behind
a giantbanner with the slogan for this
year’s parade: ,Homophobia - a social
pl~gr~h------ Educatton Mimster Jack Lang
and the Socialist Party’s mayoral candidate
Bertrand Delanoe were among the
politicians thatkicked offGay Pride 2000
behind dozens of motorcyclists from the
Gay Bikers Club.
Rainbow-colored flags waved under
overcast skies as the parade wound from
:: Feds to Fund AIDS
¯ Vaccine Search
¯ WASHINGTON (AP) - Four new part-
" nerships were announced by a federal
¯ health agency Tuesday to provide fund-
: ing to groups attempting to bring anAIDS
¯ vaccine to market.
i Theseparme.rships, call,edHIV ~acone
¯ design and development teams, were
¯_ prompted by~ a. presidential dirertive to
¯ increase public-private cooperation in
: developing vaccines to major diseases,
: according to the National Institute of Ai-
: lergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID),
¯ the section of the National Institutes of
: Health that set up the deals.
¯ "Many vaccines in use today resulted
i
fr°mb°th g°verument-sp°., snL0r--~andpfi.-
vate research," said Dr. Anthony S. Faucl,
: director of NIAID.
¯ The awards are incentive-based, aimed
¯ at teams that have a vaccine in develop-
: ment but have not yet reach_ed human
~ testing. The teams will receive funds as
¯ they achieve preset goals.
¯ Three U.S. companies - Advanced
~ BioScience Laboratories in Kensington,
¯ Md.; Chiron Corporataon in Emeryville,
¯ Calif.; and Wyeth Lederle Vaccines and
¯ Nutrition in Pearl River, N.Y. - as well as
~ a consortium of Australian universities
¯ led by the University ofNew SouthWales
¯ all have different tactics on how to create
¯ a serum that will protect humans from
; HIV infection, which causes AIDS.
.district. Boolmng techno and 0asco music
¯ played as drag queens and other elabo-
¯ rately costumed men and women danced
on colorful floats and along the sidelines
of the parade Police estimated the crowd
size at between 100,000 and 130,000
people, while organizers said that 250,000
people turned out for the event.
Coinciding with the weekend of the
parade, Social Affairs Minister Martine
¯ Aubry said the government planned to
: introduce new laws oudawing discrimi-
¯ nadon against homosexuals. Aubry said
: the new legislation would appear as an
¯ amendment tO a "social modernization"
: bill currently going through Parliament.
¯ Denver Pride Draws 100,000
¯ DENVER (AP) - More.than 100,000 at-
" tended Denver PrideFest 2000. The festi-
~ val, organized by the Gay, Lesbian &
: Bisexual Community Services Center, is
¯ inits 10th year. No violence was reported
~ dUring the parade betweenCheesmanPark
: and Civic Center Park that featured 100
: floats. The festival also featured 230
¯ booths and. a family zone with the signs:
~ "drug-~ alcohol-, hate-flee zone."
¯ Activists told a crowd at the Civic Cen-
: ter that good people standing up to big-
~ otry, not legislation, will protect Gays,
¯ Lesbians and Bisexuals from violence.
¯ "In every case, a mass mobilization of
¯ people changed thepolitteal clunate, sm
¯ Leslie Feinberg, author of ’q’ransgender
¯ Warriors" and "Stone Butch Blues."
Gay Pride Elsewhere
¯ SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A rollicking
; ,,Gay p,fi,de parade replete with dancing
nuns, all-maleche.~rleading squads and
¯ drag queens in stilettos attracted a half
¯ million revelers as it made its way from
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artur0
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by Karin Gregory
COMING OUT.
Even the words evoke an ominous, almost
surreal scene, like the Great and
Powerful Wizard, whose
deep voice echoes
throughout closets everywhere.
In my case, my 44
yearold closetwas sot’ffled
that I couldn’t hea~ the
echo e~}en if I tried, i finaily
Sprang out, machete
inland, :r~dy to tell everyone
that I’ma Lesbian!
Well, two or three people,
anyway.
Because I didn’t know
what was all involved in
"coming out." I had no
good role models to speak
--of in that area. And don’ t
tell me Melissa Etheridge
and Ellen DeGeneres -
because famous people
will always be heard and
don’ t have to repeat themselves.
I, onthe otherhand,
have to tell friends individually
and hear such remarks as: "Oh, I
always knew that"; "Yeah, I was wondering
when you were going to tell me"; and
the ever popular, "YES! We knew it! We
win the bet!"
Umm, friends, if you knew it for so
long, how come I JUST found out? You
could have let me in on it! (Best friend’ s
¯ note: I tried! You don’ t just sit someone
down and tell them "Um, Karin, I think
you’re Gay. Deal with it!" - Jim) Actually,
I hav&known, all my life, but I never
gave a name to it. And there were the
various signs that threw me totally off
track. Instead of telling you my. boring
life, I’ 11 give you a sampling of it, interspersed
with the steps I went through (and
probably many of us go through) in realizing
my true nature. ~
I know what you’ re saying. If I’mreading
Tulsa Family News, I know I’m Gay
and what could you possibly tell meabout
it?" Nothing, but since I want you to read
about my boring life anyway, I have to
jazz itup somehow. Also, there may be a
few of you who are reading your
boyfriend’s copy of this newspaper. If
you’re "curious" and your boyfriend is
reading Tulsa Family News, then you’ re
both Gay! Read on.
I. "I’m What?"
Sooner or later you have to start questioning.
What kind of music do you listen
to? Yep, if you answered Tori Amos, Ani
DiFranco, Sophie B. Hawkins, !Indigo
Girls, and Sarah McLachlan, then you
need to examine your lifestyle. I haven’ t
known a Gay personyet who doesn’ t love
Sarah McLachlan. However, if you own
five differentcopies ofMelissa Etheridge’ s
Breakdown (and I do!), the questioning is
over. ’ ~ ¯
II..Environment
.I came into this world kicking and
screaming, and when I found out, in my
neighborhood full of boys,-that I was
differentfromthem, Ikickedandscreamed
again. I wanted to be a boy. lplayed just
like ~the boys; doing everything they did
exeep,tJ~,e,, standing up. And I was pissed
I icouldn’t master that! Physically and
¢motionall);i Was a gifl~butI thought like
a:boy. So when I would question myself
- years later, I always wentback to the same
thing: I HATED girls then. Well, most
little boys do hate little girls at that age. If
"It was hound
to happen...
Marolyn was
i~autfful, with
lees and
weB, 7ou
~en yo~ mantra
[or a smmer
s~s no~
~ST yo~ ~d;’
" they don’ t, they’ re usually Gay boys WhOr’i".
.. feel more comfortable around girls play-
" ing house, school, and Easy Bake Oven.
¯ By the .way, if you played with dolls
when you werelittle, don’ t
think that disqualifies you.
Especially if you. had a
Barbie doll and spentmany
a day practicing undressing
her. It was when I was
13 that things became, for
want of a better word,
sticky.
III. Crushes
She walked in beauty,
like the night...OK, so
they all did at one time or
other, didn’t they? This
particular she walked into
my eighth grade English
classroOm, and I immediately
thought,"Wow, she’ s
pretty." I never used that
word to describe any gift
before. All right, there was
the time I whistled at Ann
" Margret in the movie theatre
when she came on
" screen in "Viva Las Vegas."
¯ Some people don’t see signs that say
" "Caution - Falling Rocks"; I don’t see
¯ signs that clearly scream, "Karin- you’ re.
¯ a Lesbian. Get over it. when my eighth
¯ grade crush continued into ninth grade, I
¯ went to her house for a sleepover.
I’ll say this here and now - Jane Eyre
¯ shouldbeforbidden reading injunior high.
" The protagonist as a little girl has a crush
" on her best friend, which author Charlotte
¯ Bronte says ~s normal Besides the very
¯ obvious inference that Charlotte had her
¯ own Lesbian feelings, it did much to help
¯ me rationalize the rest of my life. If I felt
¯ something for a girl, then I invoked the
¯ name ofCharlotte Bronte, and things were
¯ "normal" again. So when I wanted to
: watch my friend undress in front of me,
¯ that wasjust anormal straight girl feeling.
¯" When I fantasized about crawling in bed
: naked withher, I still usedCharlotte Bronte
: as a guide. Charlotte was talking about
- "little" girls, mind you.
¯ When I was 30 I met a woman who,
". without touching me, did things to my
¯ southerly regions that no one had ever
done before. When I’ d had enough frus-
" tration, I had sex with a man, and truly
¯ believed there was something wrong with
: me for not feeling what I thought I should
¯ feel. Whom did I call in as my counselor?
" Yep, good old Charlotte.
¯ IV. In Love
It was bound to happen, and this time a
¯ Lesbian became not only my crush, but
¯ probably the only person I’ ve ever fallen
: in love with. Marolyn was beautiful, with
¯ great legs and a great pair of - well, you
¯ get it. When your mantra for a summer is
¯ "She’s just my friend, she’s just friend,
¯ she’ sjustmy friend", she’ s notJUST your
¯¯ friend.
Have you ever had amoment of clarity?
¯ Amoment when suddenly the clouds part,
¯ the sky opens up, and you just KNOW
-" what you want? Marolyn took me to my
¯ first Lesbian bar (we were "just friendg’:,,
¯ mind you), Sue Ellen’ s in Dallas. As we
danced a slow _..d~,c~ together, my m~ ....
-" merit of clarity hit. I d shoved down the~.;~ ~
¯ feelings about Marolynfor so long that a!l,;!’~::
¯ at once they came rushing at me and l
¯ conldn’ t deny any longer. I looked arotmd
¯ and just knew I had finally found some-
" place to belong, see Lesbian, p. 11
by Jim Christjotm, entertainment editor
Some of you might ask, "What’s he
clucking about this time?" And well you
might - run, don’t walk, to see Chicken
Pun. Created by ’%Vallace and Gromit"
impresario Hick Parks, this rollicking
comedy about chickens dreaming of a
better p!a~..~.~, ~far away fromthe ~neentra-
¯ tion c~ami3 Chlcken farm ttiey re in’fs a
witty, int~-.ligentfi~~1m........ ¯ .~
I havehad my suspicions~’abtut Nicks~
familystatus given
some subtle references
in the
Wallace&Gromit
shorts (available
on video, and well
worth it), such as
Gromit (a dog)
knitting a rainbow
striped sweater.~
The Wallace and
Gromit shorts are
guaranteed to
cheer up the most
depressed person
in the world, and
watch for the
subtle touches he
puts in, like the
newspaper-headlines
in thepapers
the characters
read.
While the films are claymation, they
are not children’s films. With Chicken
Run, thereality ofwhathappens to chickies
whodon’ tlay theft share ofeggs is brought
home in an unflinchingly touching way.
And yes, you wiII reIate to the characters
- and never look at chicken pot pies the
same way again. As for the aforementioned
clues as to the Gay sensibility of
the film, Cheek out the ratsi relationship.
And when the birds are practicing flying,
one ofthe best gags was when they fall,
and the rat says "It’ s raining hens", which
to those of us who re,c~l a certain song
with a similar rifle, realize it’ s a pretty big
tipoff as to the sensibility that inspired
this film.
The jokes are all extremely well done,
and the sight gags, well, the film begs a
second and third viewing to take everything
in, and look at the backgrounds.
There are gems hidden everywhere. It is
ironicthatMel Gibson,homophobicadulterer
that he is, lends his voice to the film
in a really well done turn as a Rhode
KD Lang
¯ KD Lang’s newCD is a delight. Re-
: member those lazy weekends whenmom
: (in some ease, you) Wouldpiit her favorite
¯ records on the changer in the late 60’ s
: early70’s?BarbraStreisand’sStoneyEnd,
¯ and Sergio Mendes’ Brazil ’66 come to
¯i miipindadt.eWd ieiilil{,aK~Dfhioa~sslt~a.k~enmthait~sofu’n.d~_a~nv~d-,"~ ~
¯ met fling that grows in to ab~t diore of a.
"...While the films are
claymation, they are not
children’s films.
With "Chicken Run,"
the reality of what happens to
ehiekles who don’t lay their :
share of eggs is brought home in
an unflinehlngly touching way.
And yes, you will relate to
the characters- and never look
at chicken pot pies
the same way again...."
serious thing.
And it is the perfect
album for a
cloudy Sunday afternoon
with your
loved One, your.
summertimefling.,
or even an imaginary
lover. The
-albuin’ S title is In~..
vindbte Summer,
and La Lang has
ne~er soundedbetter.
Thealbumprogresses
with the
nervous, first on~-
tact ditty about a
possibleloveinter--
est titled "The
Consequences of
Falling", and she
captures the moment
perfectly.
Island Red cock named Rocky. One must
think that someone planned that casting -
and this is the place for an obvious joke,
¯ This segues into an up tempo number
¯
called"Summertime Fling" thateapsulizes
¯ that high, giddy feeling when itis discov- ¯
ered that indeed, the objet d’affection
: returns the feeling. It is sure to bring a
: smile to the mostjaded heart. Thememory
¯ may be buried deep, but it’ s in there some-
" where! The albums builds to a quieter
: climax than one might imagine, as the
THE ART 0f PERFORMANCE
For ~.ales, contact Rupy Robateau 280.5999
. or Marcus Winkler 280.6234
For Service, contact Danny Quigg 280.6828
JAGUAR
9607 S. Memorial Dr.
: seriousness of the relationship deepens. Are You Gay or Bisexual?
¯ "Love’ s Great Ocw.an" is a winner, and - ~B~,~t Va~ll ~r’~[il/a~ &m~.e’|eltrm9 _
has a mysterious feel to it that gives the /’~1 ~ /OM II~.ilI~.~ a’~III~.~lI~.ll.
album some weight. The rest are pretty~--
standard love songs, pleasantto~ " ............. n’
eat for a dinner o essin to- /ulsas iwo-~plrlteo inolan Me S ",eta \"~
: makeout album. The retro feel is great, Support Group ts here for you.
¯ andblends well into the music, capturing
¯" the feeling perfecdy ofsome ofmy favor-
: ite songs remembered-from childhood
: and beyond. Highly recommended. It’ s a
¯ great companion, piece to Melissa
: Etheridge’s darker "Breakdown". With
: Melissa, you cover the darker cynical
: moments, with La 1 ang, the bright sun-
: shiny day moments.
¯ I caught Arturo Brachetti on a guest
¯
appearaneeonDrewCarey, andyes,he’s
: family, and yes,he’ s fantastic. Well worth
¯ Evening support group meetings
¯ Relationship workshops
¯ Short trips, outings and retreats
¯ Free HIV testing -
which I will leave to your imaginations. ¯ seeing what he’ s gotup his sleeve! Check
Think about it. (R~oc~y,.....Rhode, gg~.it? ;.,rpriorcol~f~r~t~.. ¯ :
Right up there with Ginger Chickeh, ifi~ : .... And fi~t mbliffi, the’R~ilt ifiteiaiiews!’
heroine of the piece. Rosemary is the :
Chicken that doesn’ t have babies. You’ll
get it when :~you see.the, film.) All the
actors are marvelous, and if you’ re a fan
of any of the British comedies on PBS
Sunday nights, you’ll recognize a few
voices. If there’s one film you see this
summer, make it this one. It’ 11 be well
worth your time. I plan to see it several
more times, and get the DVD when it
comes out - just to scroll through the
frames and catch what I missed the first
ten times. And I think instead of chicken
pot pies, I’ll stock up on the vegetarian
ones instead. Andinstead of roast chicken
sandwiches, the veggie chick burgers as
well.
Buh-bye, colonel!
¯" in the city’s 30th annual Lesbian Gay
¯ Bisexual Transgender Pride Parade, he
¯ said such events provide "a little light of
: hope.., acceptance of Gay people is still
¯ the toughest issue out there," said Ellard,
¯ 35. "The religious right still thinks we’re ¯
a threat to family values. But when you
¯
look at the Gay families marching with
: their children.., you see thatit’ s not true."
¯ What began in 1970 as a meager pro-
: cessionfollowedby an unassuming"Gay-
¯ in" at Golden Gate Park has become one
: of California’ s biggest events,
¯ see Pride, p. 9
For information call Tulsa Native American AIDS Prevention Project
’q’beprobability thatyoudiefromAIDS
when you arc 15 today is over 50%in
these countries," Plot told a press conference.
"We arc going into societies where
there arc more people in their 60’ s and
70’ s than there are in their 40’ s and30’ s,"
hc said. "This is unheard of."
¯ In Washington, the Peace Corps an-
: nounced a worldwide campaign to push
¯ similar measures - training its 2,400 vol-
: unteers inAffieain preventive tedmiques
¯ and forming a200-member"crisis corps"
: tohelp educate commtmities. "There is no
¯ option for any organization working in
: development other than to play a role in
¯ helping these countries confront the HIV-
¯ AIDS crisis," Peace Corps Director Mark
With dwindling numbers of economi- i Schneider sai~.
eally active adults left tosupport the re~ L .,~ .~o~~i~~~.~d~l~st rate
of the .’.population, the. impact on ~.~tff~ot~:~i~A~i~t~i2~.;%~ is cooving
¯ . ~!~ .....,~ ~,-~.o:,~. ~7~." ~~ ~7,~>.>-.~ : ~_.: Afficamnattous ts devastating. Agng,~ t.~ ~ai[.an*-~i~su~ssf.u~ ~..emBpatgn 0,f protural
production in nations like Zim.~: ~ moting’¢Offdoni~us~. And’ Brazil" s policy
bwe, wh,ere 2,000people die each w..~ee;;~ : of prevention coupled with locally pro-
AIDS, is falling. Businesses are goi~i~g ¯ ducedaltemativestohigh,costanfi-AIDS
bankrupt beeause of the deaths of skilled, : drugs has halved the number of deaths
educated staff members. Hopes of better
education are also in tatters. The number
of new teachers trained in 7a~bia is just
keeping pace with .the number felled by
AIDS. Children are leaving school because
they are orphaned or forced to work
to support their families.
Hospitals are overwhelmed by AIDS
patients. Many have inadequate supplies
of even basic antibiotics to fight the pneumonia,
tuberculosis or mouth fungus that
accompany AIDS, let alone the sophistieated
drugs whichhave eased suffering in
rich countries, the report said.
Denial continues to be a problem. The
report cited a 1999 survey of 72 minors
orphaned by AIDS in a hard-hit Kenyan":
commnIfity: Although all knew of the
disease~one of them believed their parents
had died of it. Most thought witchcraft
or a curse was to blame.
Piot Said one of the reasons for the
explosion of cases in southern Africa is
the legacy of apartheid~ which separated.
men from their families in rural areas and
forced them to work in towns, with only
prostitutes for relief. But he said govern:
ments were also to blame for ignoring the
problem for too long. "What is happening
in southern Africa should.be a lesson for
countries today which don’t have a big
problem yet," he said. "I’m thinking of
Asia, I’m thinking of easte,,m, Europe, I’m
thinking of the Caribbean. About $~ bill
lionis needed annually forprevention and
education programs to turn the tide, Plot
said. He called for debt-relief programs
for poor comitries..
Sandra Thurman, director of President
Clinton’s White House Office on AIDS
policy, said the report urgently underscores
the need for goverm~ent l~aders to
face the crisis head on. "It will take the
engagement of all sectors of all societies
ifwewantto winthebattle againstAIDS,"
Thurman said in a recent statement.
Although Asiahas relatively low infec:
tionrates overall, there arefears that could
change because of the density of its population,
gome 0.7% of the Indian po,,p~ation
is ~IV-positive, or 3.7 milliof~ii~e
overall:Thediseasehas so farbeenl~g~ly
confined to drug addicts.
Infections in the former Soviet blocare
soaring because of drug addiction. Piot
said the number of new HIV cases in
Moscow last year far outstripped all previous
years combined. And the disease is
proliferating in Caribbean countries like
Haiti and Barbados because people have
multiple sexual partners from an early
age.
Despite the gloom of the report, Plot
said there are signs of hope. Uganda,
whichused to be the worst-affected country,
has slowed new infections thanks to
strong prevention campaigns and increased
condom use. Zambia is following
suit.
: and led to huge savings in hospital bills,
," the report said.
¯ "In the West and in Europe, the impact
:. of treatment has been spectaculars" Piot
said. "Mortality has really collapsed..There
isa longer and better life for people with
AIDS."Onthe Net: http://www.uuaids.org
In renewing his plea for suspending the
law until the central issues go to trial,
Stanley argued that there is realharm that
could happen.’ The clerks’ rights to freed0m
of religion under the Vermont Constitution
would be violated, he said:,
He also argued that taxmoney wouldbe
spent through providing,rights and benefits
to same-sex couples. Permitting
umous to go forward that may in the
future be ruled unconstitutional would
cause irreparable harm, he said. In all, the
~ lawsuit_,claims.:that the.,civil unions_law_
violates five different articles of the state
Consttitution, several state statutes and
House rules.
Many of those arguments were made
when the i|~wsuit first was flied and the
state’ s lawyer handling the ease said he
did not believe any substantially new
claims were made that would prompt the
judge to change his mind. "I don’t think
there’ s a ntl~ ttdt:~~ys~~u:can only ask
once, butinpractical term~ someonewould
put together their best case for a preliminary
injunction," said Chief Assistant
Attorney General William Griffin. "My
view is they’ ve had their day in court and
-the court made a decision. I.guess I’ d be a
little surprised if we went around again."
Varmont Official May.Dof~ LaW
TOPSHAM, Vt. (AP) - The town clerk is
considering defying the state by refusing
to issue civil union licenses to Gay and
Lesbian couples. Juanita Claflin describes
the unions as "endorsed perversion." The
law, whichis to gointo effectJuly 1, states
that if a town clerk does not want to issue
the licenses he or she must at least appoint
someone else to do so.
In a memo sent on town letterhead to
every Topsham honsehold earlier this
month, Claflin tells voters she will not
issue the licenses and asks if they believe
she should defy the law, resign or appoint
a willing assistant to deal with the paperwork.
Most of the responses so far have
urged defiance of the law, but Claflin said
she has not decided whether to risk lawsuits
and penalties by following the
townspeople’ s wishes.
"I still have to make that absolute final
decision," she said. After the townspeople
respond, she will meet with the select
board and possibly hold a public meeting
to tell residents about the potential consequences
of defying the law. "I made the
commitment to the people that I would
uphold what they said," she added. "If "
they’ re still of that opinion (after being
informed of the consequences), I’ll take :
my licks." ¯
At least one other town clerk, in "
Tunbridge, has resigned over the issue. In
Waterbury, the town clerk and assistant
town clerk also resigned recently, citing "
unspecified personal reasons and an ef- ,
fective date of July 1. ¯
Claflin’ s opposition to civil unions has "
~no secret since She was elected in "
summa.e,dCh. t~hWe hpe~n,,s~h.ee ,w,easxcsewp0trtonins,elslheciivni-l
on licenses into her oath of office. At
the time Claflin thought the bill, then
being debated, would notpass, she says in
her letter. "Well, I was wrong... The
unthinkable did become law," she writes.
"I stand firm and unwavering in my commitment
to refuse to be a party to this
endorsed perversion based on my constitutional
rights and personal belief."
But theNew Jersey assistant scoutmaster
ousted when the organization learned
he is Gay expressed dismay at the ruling.
"I’mdef’mitely saddenedby thedecision,"
said James Dale. "People don’t join the
Boy Scouts beeaus~ they’re anti-Gay.
People join the Boy Scouts because they
want acceptance, they want community."
The ruling did not specifically give the
Scouts permission to bar Gay youth from
membership, but its language left room
for that interpretation. "I think it suggests
that they can" ban Gay boys from being
Scouts, said Evan Wolfson, Dale’ s lawyer.
"They won the.right to declare themselves
an anti-Gay group." University of
Southern California law professor Erwin
Chemerinsky agreed, saying, "I don’ t see
any basis for drawing a distinction between
Scout leaders and Scouts."
The Scouts organization, formed in the
United States in 1910 and now boasting
6.2 million members and adult leaders,
has a policy that "avowed homosexuals
are not extended membership or leadership
positions," Shields said. He would
not say whether the organizationhas withdrawn
membership from Gay youths.
But Scott Cozza, an adult Scout leader
in California and president of Scouting
For All, which advocates letting homosexuals
join, said: "They’ve kicked out
Gay Scouts and now they’ll continue to
do so because they’ ve been given the goahead
by the Supreme Court to continue
to discriminate."
The justices reversed a New Jersey
Supreme Court decision that said the
Scouts wrongly ousted Dale, an Eagle
Scout. The state court said the Scouts
violated a New Jersey law banning discrimination
in public accommodations.
But Rehnquist wrote, ’q’he forced inclusion
of an unwanted person in a group
infringes the group’ s freedom of expressive
association" if it harms the group’s
ability to advocate its viewpoint. His opinion
was joined by Justices Sandra Day
O’ Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M.
Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. Dissenting
wereJustices John Paul Stevens, David
H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and
Stephen G. Breyer.
Writing for the four, Stevens said the
New Jersey law does notforce the Scouts
"to communicate any message that it does
not wish to endorse. New Jersey’s law,
therefore, abridges no constitutional right
of the Boy Scouts." Wolfson, Dale’ s lawyer,
had cited Supreme Court decisions
during the 1980s that let states force the
Jaycees and Rotary International to admit
women as full members.
But Rehnquist said requiring such
groups to accept women members would
not interfere with the message they seek
to express. Instead, the chief justice likened
Dale’ s case to a 1995 Supreme Court
ruling in which thejustices let the private
sponsor of the Boston St. Patrick’s Day
Parade exclude a group ofGays andlesbi7
a~.s, s,,aying parades are a"form0fexpres~
slon.
The American Center for Law and Jus~
tice, a conservative advocacy group that
supported the Scouts’ appeal, said the
ruling "will have a dramatic impact on all
private organizations - including religious
groups - to define their own mission and
set their Own criteria for leadership."
The. Human Rights Campaign, of the
largest Lesbian and Gay civil rights organizatious,
called the Supreme Court decision
to allow the Boy Scouts of America
(BSA) to continue its ban on Gay scouts a
travesty of justice that may allow large,
open membership groups to be above the
law and evade .state and local nondiscrimination
laws.
"We are gravely disappointed with a
ruling thatgives theBoy Scouts ofAmerica
the ability to discriminate withimpunity,"
said HRC Legal Director Tony Varona.
"TMs is a hollow victory for the Boy
Scouts of America - considering the
wasted time, energy and money it has
spent on maintaining its ability to .discriminateand
attack young menwhohave
served its organization with distinction. Is
this any way to teach youth aboutfairness,
honesty and justiceT’
Dale was 19 and an assistant scoutmaster
of a Matawan, N.J., troop when in
1990 he was identified in a newspaper
article as co-president of a campus Lesbian
and Gay student group at Rutgers
University. The Scouts’ MonmouthCouncil
revoked Dale’ s registration as an adult
leader, andhe sued, citing the New Jersey
anti-discrimination law. The New Jersey
court ruled that the BSA is not a private
club, but a public accommodation given
its size, open membership and extensive
entanglement with government agencies.
In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the
Boy Scouts argued that New Jersey’ s antidiscrimination
law infringed on its First
Amendment right to association.
)’In accepting the BSA’s arguments
concerning expressive association, the
Court inexplicably ignored the fact that
theBSA’ s purposeandmessagehas never
had anything to do with sexual orientation,"
added HRC’ s Varona. "To the contrary,
the Boy ScOuts’ oath stresses public
serviceandhonesty, andits Congressional
charter and bylaws make clear that membership
is open to ’any boy’."
Dale now lives inNew York City and is
advertising director for a magazine for
people who are HIV-positive.
On the Net: Supreme Court decision in
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale: http://
supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-
699.ZS.html
and one of the world’s best known celebrations
of Gay pride. Numerous celebrities,
including comedienne Margaret
Cho, made appearances. Police said the
parade had proceeded peacefully, and
knew of no counter-demonstrations.
Parades took place also in S~atfle. New
York, Chicago and Atlanta.
by Lamont Linds~rom. Ph.D. skins for very long. Early medical science
Is it the unkixxdest cut? That’s what a ¯ of the late 19th century seized on the
foreskin-challenged writer to Dear Abby " operation as a cure for excessive masturrecently
claimed. He bitterly reproached ¯ bation and also to treat an odd collection
his morn for letti~ag himbe
circumcised - a condition
he blamed for bis regrettable
shortcomin~,~ inbed.
Circtmacision is a body
modificationritua~ ",hathas
fascinated antLropologists.
People everywhere
redesign-their ~odies.
Modification may be as
simple as a haircut and a
shave, or more invasive
foot-binding, ear-piercing,
- head-molding, ~attoomg,
or scarification. Modifying
the body carries social
and personal meaning. Individuals
may remake
themselves -andhow they
think about themselves -
by altering their bodies.
These alterations have social
implications as well.
We ustmlly know what to
think when we see someone
dieting, or sporting a
new tattoo, or a tongue
pierce, or a shaven head.
Humans modify lots of
body parts - elbows, fingers,
chins, bellies - but
it’ s no surprise that many
societies have fixatedupon
Cireumelslon is a
body modlfleatlon
ritual that has
faselnated
anthropologists.
People everywhere
redesign
their bodies.
Modifieatlon may be
as simple as a halreut
and a shave, or
naore invaslve footblndln~,
ear-piereln~,
h d-mo!dln ,
tattooln~,
or searlfleatlon.
l~lbdlfyln~ the body
earrles sodal and
personal rneanlnff
the foreskin. Like earlobes, foreskins are
easily pierced, sliced, or cut away without
much endangering human functiomng.
Unilke earlobes, however, foreskins attach
to the dhief organ of male pleasure
and reproduction. Many cultures have
elaborated the powerful symbolic uses of
snipping off a piece of men’ s genitals.
Circumcision is often the key component
of male initiation rituals, as it is on
Tanna, anislandin the SouthPacificwhere
1livedfor some years. TheTarmese gather
up their sons between the ages of six and
twelve and lead them away to a secret
house in the forest to be snipped. Traditionally,
boys were cutwithbambooknives
- their foreskins sliced down the top - an
superincision rather than a circumcision.
Nowadays, island fathers anduncles might
take the boys down to a local clinic for a
full-blown Western circumcision.
The loss of foreskin marks the boy’s
journey into manlaood. Tannese kids tease
boys who are yet to be circumcised. They
call them a name that means something
like "pulls back skin." A Presbyterian
missionary from New Zealand lived on
Tanna, in th~ 1980S wi,th his triple~ sons.
My island friends were scandalized that
these boys remained uncircumcised as
they approached their teen years. Every
time the boys wandered by, you knew
localmenwere ponderingbambooknives.
New Zealanders, like most people in the
world, leave their foreskins alone. Circumcigion
is uncommon in Europe, Asia,
and Latin America and is disappearing in
AustraJia and Canada. We Americans
share the ritual mostly with sundry Pacific
Islanders and Australian Aborigines,
peoples of the Middle East (notably Jews
and Arabs), and various northern and central
African societies.
Artistic depictions of circumcision in
Egypt dated to 4500 years ago suggest
that the ritual has a long history. But
Americans haven’t been snipping foreof
other conditions. Once
circumcision became part
of the modern medical
toolkit, doctors were loath
to giveitup. They invented
a series of spurious rationales
for the operation. The
newes t defense of circumcision
argues that uncut
menare three to eight limes
morelikely (different studies
give differentnumbers)
to.catch HIV. The vires -
so says this hypothesis -
attaches itselfmorereadily
to cells thathave been kept
tender underneath a foreskin.
Whether or not this latest
medical rationale for
circumcision holds up,
cutting has powerful social
meanings that go far
beyond the merely hygienic.
Just why do we
mess withforeskins? Is this
a male attempt to appropriate
natural female fertility:
Menbleed their genitals
to mimic menstruation?
Or are men coneemed
to drain away dangerous
female blood from
their sons, as do the Tannese, in order that
these boys can fully mature? Or do men
cut their sons - and in so doing potentially
endanger the reproductive future of their
family line - as a mark of loyalty to their
tribe? Or do boys undergo symbolic castration
as a-price they pay fatherg to join
the men? Anthropologists have proposed
all these explanations.
It’s pretty clear that in 20th century
America circumcision became a marker
of class and status. Only people with
money could afford doctors and genital
surgery. And only trendy parents who
supported mainstream beliefs about public
hygiene would accept new scientific
rationalizations for the operation. Circumcision
rates were far higher among the
urban and the wealthy than they were
among poorer, rural, immigrant, or minority-
group families. Middle-class white
boys carried on their bodies the mark of
their family’ s status claims.
By the 1940’ s, the medical industry had
captured control of childbirth. A majority
of women went into hospital to give birth.
And for the first time amajofity of Ameri-
:canb0ys wer~eircumcised. Circumcision
rates peaked at around 85% in the 1970’ s.
Since that decade, these numbers have
dropped - as an anthropologist would
predict - down to 60% in the mid 1990’ s.
When everyoneshares the same practice,
that practice no longer serves to create
distinctions of class and status among us.
Thefact thatmanyHMOs nowadays force
parents to.pay for the.operation also has
spared many sons’ foreskins~
Still, being cut continues to symbolize
"clear," "healthy," and "modem" across
much of America. Until these meanings
erode, it’ s likely that many of us will yet
be able to hold our heads up high, should
we happen to mninto any teasing Pacific
island boys.
Lamont Lindstrom teaches anthropology
at the University of TUlsa.
Council Oak Men’s Chorale
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Saturday, July 15, 2000 - 8pm
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~agarger:O9. 1C8r-u8z8,9L-5M2.5T5.
Voice Mail: 918-697-9282
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Custom.Styling for Men & Women
David Kauskey
3310 E. 51st, 747-0236, Tues.-Fri., 8-5:30, ~at. 8-5pro
Tulsa’s only
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Images:
Portrayals of
Native America
Gilcrease Museum
1400 Gilcrease Museum Road
5 9 6 2 7 0 0
by Jim Christjohn, entertainment editor
Sam Harris returns to Tulsa as Josephin
Theatre Arts’ productionofAndrew Lloyd
Webber’s "Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat"
heading up a cast of thousands
of locals - well, ok,
maybe not quite thousands,
but it’ s aprettylong
cast list.
The cast includes John
Orsulak and Patrick
Hobbs, members of the
Council Oak Men’s
Chorale’ s (we really need
agoodacronymhere!) and
formerly Finales, along
with David Hubbard,
Kathy LaFortlme, Bradd
Gillespie, Larry Gray, and
Eric Cornell (an actor and singer to watch,
as he’s got a lotta talent, and he’s dedicated
to performing enough to go far).
Directed by New York’s Jon Grodeski,
the musical is a.,lively rethinking of the
biblical tale of Joseph and his jealous
brothers.
Sam Harris, a Sand Springs native, left
home at 15 to pursue the dream of performing
on Broadway. Everyone knows
about Star Search, and the recording career
that followed. His latest endeavors
have included the critically acclaimed "In
the Life," a Broadway musical; Grease on
Broadway; and his latest CD, "Revival",
a return tohis pop and soul roots.. He also
wrote the TBS sitcom "Down to Earth."
He’s been a busy boy! And he still manages
to look fabulous!
. He recently completed work on the
feature film "In the Weeds", with Eric
Bogosian, Molly Ringwald, and Joshua
Leonard. He recently premiered his new
oneman show, "Revival", and is planning
to tour the show after a New York Run.
He’ 11 bemaking his Tulsa concert debut
July 28 in "An Intimate
Evening with SamHarris."
There’s a joke in that, but
I’m trying to maintain a
more staid image. Actually,
there’s about three
jokes I could make. It’s
kindalike resisting chocolate
- you know it’s the
right thing to do, but it’s
just so tempting.., but no,
I have eschewed that behavior.
Performances run July
14th- 23rd, and the
evening shows start atT:30
rather than the usual 8pm, so plan accordingly.
Matinees are at 2pm. The venue is
Tulsa Community College’s PACE theatre
at their southeast campus at 81st and
169, so don’ t go downtown to thePACfor
this one. For more info., call 595-7777.
July 15th is "Sand Springs Night" in
honor of Mr. Harris’ hometown roots.
July 19th is "Youth Night" - if you don’t
qualify for that one, you can at least pretend
to be from Sand Springs.
And I would like to welcome a couple
of new writers to Tulsa Family News.
Hughston Walkinshaw will be covering
film and local theatre for us here. He’ll
make his debut in our August issue. And
while -I’m at it, some of you have read
about my best friend Karin. Wall, who
wouldhave thunkitbut she’ s finally’’come
out" and this month, we will feature her
thoughts, in a new column entitled"Raging
Lesbian."
Sam Harris
More importantly, the woman with her
arms around me was the woman I wanted
to be with. My heart was telling me this
was right, tree and just. Then the song
ended, and that insidious thing called my
brain took over. Years of living in the
Bible Belt made me once again think too
much, and I acted straight again. Which is
fnnny since I obviously don’t know from
straight. Too many missed opportunities
later, and my unrequited love affair with
Marolyn (I didn’t DARE think about this
at the time!) endedwhen shemovedaway.
V. Random Musings
Don’t get me wrong. Three girls does
not a Lesbian make. There have been
many more I’ve felt "that way" about,
including Ms. Black Hair, DeepBlueEyes
with whom I worked; Ms. Nude Model
whom I LOVED to draw in art class; the
two English teachers at school where I
taught; and the young P.E. teacher at the
same school. Comeon, there’ sALWAYS
a P.E. teacher! And when I was 25, there
was the <ahem!> 16 year old I worked
with! Hey, I can’t be arrested for my
thoughts, not even in Tulsa!
VI. Acceptance.
I know acceptance doesn’ t come in six
easy steps, but time and space being what
they are, I’ ve cut to the chase. What made
me finally accept myself as a Lesbian?
Not any one thing. I guess years of chipping
away at my libido, and the fact that
everytime I had sex with a man, it coincided
with some girl I had a crush on.
Then there’ s the entertainment world. A
friend got me interested in’qRte X-Files"
years ago, but for the past few seasons my
heart has skipped a few beats more and
I’ ve thought,"Was DavidDuchovny even
in that episode tonight?" If you listen
exclusively to Melissa Etheridge for a
year, it’ s not just her music you identify
with. And even when you do identify with
it- need I say more?- you’ re Gay! When
you tape the ENTIRE Gay Rights Rally
on CSPAN it’ s a pretty sure bet that, yes,
you’ re Gay!When you seriously consider
moving to the state capital (what do you
call a city FULL of Lesbians? Austin!),
then, you guessed it - you’ re Gay! When
your best friend calls you long distance
from Tulsa to tell you the new issue of
Curve is out - with Gillian Anderson on
thecover- and youhaul ass to the nearest
Gay neighborhood to buy it within the
hour, well, you’ vejust taken a ride on the
Dyke Express! When you own copies of
"Desert Hearts", "Bound", "Everything
Relative", "Claire of the Moon", etc., and
display them prominently on your shelf,
then grrlfriend, you have swung those
closet doors open for the last time.
And it feels good, clean, and honest.
|
Want to get involved?
Need to get tested for HIV or
a Coming Out Support Group?
Call 743-GAYS (4297)
Tulsa Gay
Community
Services Center
1307 E. 38th, 2nd floor
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No Gays Need Apply
by Laurie Asseo, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Boy Scouts can bar Gays from
serving as troop leaders, the Supreme Court said at the
end of June in a 5-4 decision on "free-association
rights." The decision may also let the-6.2-millionmember
organization reject Gay boys as members.
Forcing the Scouts to accept Gay troop leaders would
violate the organization’ s right of"expressive association"
under the Constitution’s First Amendment, the
justices nded on the last day of their 1999-2000 term.
"The Boy Scouts asserts that homosexual conduct is
inconsistent with the values it seeks to instill," Chief
Justice William H. Relmquist wrote for the court. Requiring
the organization to have a Gay scoutmaster
would force it "to send a message, both~£o the youth
members and the world, that the Boy Scouts accepts
homosexual conduct as a legitimate form of behavior,"
the ,..hief justice said.
"-.We’ re very pleased," said Scouts spokesman Gregg
Shields. "It’ s going to allow us to continue our mission
of providing character-building programs for youth."
see Scouts._ tg. 9
uNPredicts: AIDS Will Kill
One Half.of African Teens
GENEVA (AP) - AIDS has killed 19 million people
worldwide, but the worst is yet to come, the United
Nations has just predicted: the disease is expected to
wipe out half the teen-agers in some African nations,
devastating economies and societies.
’q’here is a whole generation which is being taken
outYsaid Peter Plot, head of the U.N. Joint Program on
HIV/AIDS. He said vulnerable countries in Asia, Eastem
Europe and the Caribbean risk a similar catastrophe
unless they act now to control infection rates.
In its 135-page report released at the end of June,
UNAIDS estimates:
-The virus has killed 19 million people worldwide,
up fronr 16.3 million at the end of 1998. ~t has infected
34 million more, including 5.4 million last year alone.
-More than 13 million children have been orphaned
by AIDS.
-In 16 sub-SaharanAfrican countries, more than onetenth
of the population ages 15-49 carries the Human
lmmunodeficiency Virus, or HIV.
-In seven of those countries, at least one-fifth of the
population is infected.
One-of the countries where 20% of the population is
infected is South Africa, which has 4.2 million people
who are HIV positive- the largest single national total.
The southern African nation of Botswana has the worst
rate, with more than one in three adults infected. That is
the equivalent of 90 million people out of the U.S.
population of 270 million, see Africa, p. 9
DIRECTORY P. 2
PRIDE PHOTOS P. 3
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4
HEALTH NEWS P. 6
ENTERTAINMENT P. 8
GAY STUDIES P. 10
Serving Lesbian; Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Our Families + Friends
Pride 2000: Greg,
Greta + ORU Too
TULSA - While the Edsel ferrying Greg Louganis broke down and despite a steady but mild rain, Tulsa’s 2nd Pride
Parade went off without a hitch. Beginning at the Tulsa Gay Community Services Center near 41st & Peoria, several
hundreds gathered along with grand marshals, Olympic champion Greg Louganis and distinguished US Army veteran
Greta Cammermeyer.
The. parade featured
churches, choirs, drag
queens and female impersonators,
leather "boys and
daddies," bars and businessmen
who spread out over
more than a mile and ended
up at Veteran’ s Park for the
Pride Festival.
This yearlikelast, a handful
of protesters gathered at
the beginning of the parade,
and then scurried to the end
to protest yet again.
Incontrast with those who
were protesting, the pastor
and a couple of members of
the CarbondaleAssembly of
God passed out bottles of
water without any message
of condemnation as they did
last year also. When asked
about their effort, they said
they just wanted to act with
compassion and to avoid the
nastiness - leaving judgement
to the Almighty.
see Pride, p. 6
Humanity Unites for Human Rights Oral Roberts University Alumni
Gree Louganis at the Millennium Parade Sharon Toele with Greta Cammermever
i" Vermont Judge Won’t Block-
Unions, Officials Rebel + More
¯ MONTPELIER,Vt. (AP)-Opponents ofVermont’ s civil unions. ¯
made another legal bid to block thelaw from taking effect on July ¯
¯ 1st. A day after a Superior Court judge refused to issue a ."
¯ preliminary injunction blocking the first civil unions ceremonies.
¯ from taking place, opponents filed a new request and added new °
plaintiffs.
A Virginia lawyer representing Shdtra and the other plaintiffs °
said Superior Cpurt Judge Stephen Martin did not have enough ;
information beftre him when the judge ruled that no irreparable °
harm would occur if the law went into effect. ¯
Lawyer Erik Stanley asked to add two new plaintiffs to the ;
lawsuit: town clerks in Corinth and Fairfield, who say they would °
be harmed if forced to issue civil union licenses. ¯
"These town clerks object to doing that on moral and religious °
grounds and have asked the attorney general’ s office if they could "
not issue these licenses," Stanley said. ’The attorney general ;
responded in a letter to them that if they refuse to issue civil ¯
unions licenses, they could be faced with civil lawsuits from the "
individuals to whom they refused to issue licenses." There also ¯
is the remote possibility of criminal fines or prison terms. ¯
Several town clerks say they object to homosexuality and do ¯
not want to be forced into providing licenses that will grant same- "
sex couples nearly all the rights and benefits Of marriage. " "
The clerks now have been added to 15 people who sued to -"
overturn the law. Eleven of those plaintiffs are members of the ¯
Vermont House who opposed civil unions, including prominent"
representatives such as Sheltra, Oreste Valsangiacomo, D-Barre, °
Robert Starr, D-Troy, and George Schiavone, R-Shelburne. ¯
They argue that an informal betting pool among 14 House "
members who supported the bill should invalidate it. The 14"
bettors each threw in a dollar to wager on the number of "yes" ¯
votes the bill would garner when it went before the House for ¯
preliminary approval in March. It passed by seven votes that day. "
Opponents argued the pool should have disqualified those who "
participated because it gave them an interest in the outcome of the ¯
vote. ¯
In a recent ruling, Martin said allowing Gay and Lesbian "
couples to enter into civil unions beginning Saturday would pose :
no harm to the initial 15 plaintiffs, see Vermont, p. 9.
Coke Adds Benefits for
Gay +-Lesbian Partners
WASHINGTON The Human Rights Campaign,
anational Gay civil rights organization, commended
the Coea-Cola Co. today for announcing plans to
extend health care benefits to same-sex domestic
partners of its United States-based employees.
"This is excellent news, and yet another sign that
domestic partner benefits are becoming a standard
component of benefits packages at forward-thinking
companies," said Kim I. Mills, HRC’ s education
director who oversees WorkNet, HRC’s
workplac project. "With this announcement, Coke
becomes the 99th member of the Fortune 500 to
take this important step."
The Human Rights Campaign and its Business
Council have been working with Coea-Cola and
KOLAGE, its Lesbian and Gay employee resource
group, for many months on this issue, Mills said.
HRC WorkNet (www.hrc.org/worknet) provided
data, strategy and other advice as needed.
The Coca-Cola Co. released a statement today
announcing the benefits, which will begin Jan. 1,
2001. According to the statement, employees will
be able to sign up during the fall benefits enrollment
period. The company also said it is researching
opportunities for implementing its policy on a
global basis. "Our company is committed to attracting
and retaining the most diverse workforce
in the world," Coca-Cola said in the statement.
"Our goal is to ensure that the Coea-Cola Company
is the best place for all people to work. This
extension ofbenefits is another step toward achieving
that goal."
"The Coea-Cola Company has provided worldclass
leadership to the beverage industry, and to the
business commtmity in Atlanta and all of Georgia
by taking this historic action," said Harry Knox,
executive director of the Georgia Equality Project,
whichrepresents Georgia’ s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
and Transgendered citizens, see Coke, p. 2
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Chasers, 4812 E. 33
*CW’ s, 1737 S. Memorial
*Club Cherry Bomb, 1926 E. Pine
*Club Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan
*Gold Coast Coffee House, 3509 S. Peoria
Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main
*TNT’ s, 2114 S. Memorial
*Tool Box, 1338 E. 3rd
712-2324
610-5323
583-2119
835-2376
749-4511
744-4280
745-9998
834-4234
585-3405
660-0856
584-1308
*The Yellow Brick Road Pub, 2630 E. 15th 749-1563
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Advanced Wireless & PCS, Digital Cellular
*Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard
*Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71
*Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231 E. 41
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15
*Borders Books & Music, 2740 E. 21
*Borders Books & Music, 8015 S. Yale
Brookside Jewelry, 4649 S. Peoria
*CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria
*Cheap Thrills, 2640 E. 1 lth
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. ISth
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan
Encompass Travel, 13161H N. Memorial
*Ross Edward Salon
Events Unlimited, 507 S. Main
747-1508
743-1000
250-5034
665-4580
712-1122
712-9955
494-2665
743-5272
746-0313
295-5868
581-0902, 743-4117
622-0700
749-3620
744-5556
838-8503
369-8555
584=0337, 712-9379
592-0460 "
*Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. Peoria 744-9595
Four Star Import Automotive, 9906 E. 55th P1. 610-0880
Cathy Furlong, Ph.D., 1980 Utica Sq. Med. Ctr. 628-3709
Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare 808-8026
*Gloria Jean’s Gourmet Coffee, 1758.E. 21st 742-1460
Leanne M. Gross, Insurance & financial planning 459-9349
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney 744-7440
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly 745-1111
*International Tours 341-6866
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th 712-2750
*Jared’s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th 582-3018
David Kauskey, Country Club Barbering 747-0236
The Keepers, Housekeeping & Gardening 582-8460
*Kerfs Flowers, 1635 E. 15
599-8070
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210 747-5466
*Living ArtSpace, 308 South Kenosha 585-1234
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd 584-3112
Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31 663-5934
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place 664-2951
Puppy Pause II, 1060 S. Mingo 838-7626
*The Pride Store, 1307 E. 38, 2nd floor 743-4297
Rainbowz on the River B+B, POB 696, 74101
747-5932
Richard’ s Carpet Cleaning 834-0617
Teri Schutt, Rex Realtors 834-7921, 747-4746
Scribner’ s Bookstore, 1942 Utica Square
749-6301
Paul Tay, Car Salesman 260-7829
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis 481-0558
Venus Salon, 1247 S. Harvard
835-5563
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counseling 743-1733
*Wherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan 665-2222
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis
592-0767
www.gaytulsa.org
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101
579-9593
All Sods Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria
743-2363
Black & White, Inc. POB 14001, Tulsa 74159
587-7314
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6
583-7815
"13/UGFr Alliance, Univ. ofTulsa United Min. Ctr.
583-9780
*Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th P1. & Florence
*ChurchoftheRestorationUU, 1314N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community ofHopeUnited Me~o~li."~st, 2545 S:.Yale 747-6300
*Community Unitarian-Universanst tgongregauon 749-0595
Council Oak Men’ s Chorale
748-3888
*Ddaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware
712-1511
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31
742-2457
Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa- Lesbian & Gay Catholics &
Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74170-1475 355-3140
*Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard
747-7777
*Free SpiritWomen’ s Center, call forlocation &info: 587-4669
)18.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
POB 4140, Tulsa, OK 74159
o-mail: TulsaNews@ earthlinl~ net
Publisher + Editor:
Tom Neal
Writers + contributors:
James Christjohn, Karin Gregory, Barry Hensley, J.-P.
Legrandbouche, Lamont Lindstrom, Esther Rothblum. Mary
Schepers, Hughston Walkinshaw
Member of The Associated Press
Issued on or before the 1st of each month, the entire contents
of this publication are protected by US copyright 1998 by
T~, lz:~ h/~w~ and may not be reproduced ei.th.er in
whole orin part withoutwrittenpermission from thepublisher.
Publication of a name or photo does not indicate a person’ s
sexual orientation. Correspondence zs asslmaed to be for
publication unless otherwise noted, must be signed & becomes
the sole property of TJ.~, F¢,~.’. No,w÷ ..Each..rea.der
is entitled to 4 copies of each ediuon at distnbutton
points. Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248.
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827
Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
HIV ER Center, 4138 Chas. Page Blvd. 583-6611
*Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194
Holland Hall School, 5666 E. 81st 481-1111
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
*House of the Holy Spirit Minstries, 3210e So. Norwood .
Interfaith AIDS Ministries 438-2437, 800-284-2437 ¯
*MCG United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
gAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1. 748-3111
NOW, Nat’l Org. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 365-5658
OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
*OSU-Tulsa
PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152 749-4901
*Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
*Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
O’ RYAN, support group for 18-24 LGBT young adults
O’ RYAN, Jr. support group for 14-17 LGBT youth
St. Aidan’ s ,Episcopal church, 4045 N. Cincinnati
425-7882
St. Dunstan,s Episcopal, 5635 E. 71st
492-7140
*St. Jerome s Parish Church, 205 W. King 582-3088
*Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171
*TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225
Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 E. 15 595-4105
Confidential I-IIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only
Tulsa Okla. for Human Rights, c/o The Pride Center 743-4297
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. 298-0827
*Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
*Tulsa Community College Campuses
*Tulsa Gay Community Center, 1307 E. 38, 74105 743-4297
Unity Church of Christianity, 3355 S. Jamestown 749-8833
B,ARTLESVILLE
*Bartlesville Public Library, 600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
OKLAHOMA CITY/NORMAN
¯ Borders Books & Music, 3209NWExpressway 405-848::2667
: Borders Books & Music, 300 Norman Center 405-573-4907
: TAHLEQUAH
: Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
¯ *Tahlequah Unitarian-UniversalistChurch 918-456-7900
Green Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570 918-453-9360
NSU School of Optometry, 1001N. Grand
HIVtesting every other Tues. 5:30-8:30, call for dates
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
Autunm Bre~.,ze Restaurant, Hwy. 23
*Jim & Brent s Bistro, 173 S. Main
DeVito’ s Restaurant, 5 Center St.
Fmerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St.
MCC of the Living Spring
Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429
Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery
Positive Idea Marketing Plans
Sparky’ s, Hwy. 62 East
White Light, 1 Center St.
501-253-7734
501-253-7457
501-253-6807
501-253-5445
501-253-9337
501-253-2776
501-253~5332
501-624-6646
501-253-6001
501-253-4074
www.gaytulsa.org
stirs controversy
TULSA - gaytulsa.org, a non-profit continues
to stir controversy about and in the
Tulsa Lesbian, Gay, Bi and ~rans communities.
Hosted by webmaster David and his
: partner, Seth, a statement onthe sitenotes,
¯. " [that it is] an effort to chronicle the dme
sl~ent out and about in the Tulsa gay scene
¯ mixed with a bit of news and
¯ information. We do not claim to be fair,
objective, or even nice. This is 99%
¯ opinion. Whileyoumayormaynotagree,
¯ wecanpromise youwill be either amused,
¯ baffled, or (more commonly) pissed if ¯
¯ youkeep visiting. We acceptgossip, slander,
or anything else you want to submit
¯ we can post here."
¯ The awardwinning sitefeatures links to
¯ other web sites of interest and offers the observations of local writer, Dyke Di-
¯ vine. Also included are cordial descriptions
of local and state pnnt media: Tulsa
Family News, The Gayly Oklahoman and
¯ newcomer to Tulsa, the recently renamed
Tulsa Triangle.
¯ On the net: www.gaytulsa.org
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
*Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 41%623-4696
* is where youcan findTFN¯NotallareGaY"ownedbutallareGay"fri"endly"
i The Georgia Equality Project also played
¯ a key role in working with the company
: andKOLAGEto helpbring aboutthenew
¯ policy.
¯ GEP also unveiled a new initiadvg~to-
¯ day to persuade nine other Georgia COm-
" panies to provide domestic partner ben-
" efits to their Lesbian and Gay employees.
¯ These companies are: Home Depot, At-
: lanta Gas Light Co., BellSouth, Georgia
¯ Pacific, DeltaAirlines, Wachovia, United
¯ parcel.Service, Shaw Industries and Gulf
¯ Stream Aerospace.
¯ "Some companies in Georgia are be-
: hind the times in their treatment of their
Lesbian and Gay employees, said Kno .
"We are launching this initiative because
our Gay daughters, sons, fathers, moth-
. ers, aunts, uncles and cousins should re-
. ceive benefits for their dependent family
¯ members just like everyone eis .
¯ Earlier this month, DaimlerChrysler
: Corp., Ford Motor Co. and General Mo-
¯ tots Corp., along with the United Auto
¯ Workers umon, announced they would
offer health care coverage to same-sex
¯
partners of all eligible U.S. employees. It
¯ was the first time an endre industry, along
¯ with its leading umon, announeed domes-
¯ - tic partner benefits simultaneously. More
: than.3,400 private and public employers
¯ provide these benefits to their employees.
¯ So far this year, an average of five
: employers a week are announcing these
: benefits, according to HRC’ s WorkNet,
: which tracks these trends. Many of
¯ America’ s leading companies offer these ¯
benefits including: IBM, MicrosoftShell
~ Oil, Walt Disney, Fannie Mae, Cifgroup,
¯ Xerox, Time Warner and United and
: American Airlines. Additionally, more ¯
thanhalfoftheFortune 500includesexual
: orientation in their non-discrimination
¯ polities.
: Letters Policy
: TulsaFamilyNewswelcomes letters on ¯
issues which we’ve covered or on issues
: you thinkneed to be considered. Youmay
: request that your name be withheld but
letters mustbe signed&have phonenum-
~ bers, or be hand ddivered.
Anti-Gay Ads in Mexico "¯ past. of police was once so pervasive that
hate crimes andsame-sex domestic violence went
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The two leading candidates
in Mexico’ s presidential campaign have raised eyebrows
by casting doubts on each other’ s masculinity.
But the real surprise to .many,,,I~__ple in tl~i."s land w~.ith
a reputation for "machismo has been me negauve
reaction to the tactic.
Criticism led opposition candidate Vicente Fox to
quickly drop a negative TV ad aimed at rival Fran=
cisco Labastida, the candidate of the long-governing
Institutional Revohition.ary. Party, or PRI. Using a
¯ Mexican slang termfbr s0iii~0ne Of madefined seXu2
ality, the ad showed Labastida hugging and lifting a ~
PRI colleague by the thighs: It also featured shots of
male strippers at a’ campaign rally for another PRI
candidate. "
After canceling the ad, Fox’ s socially conservative
National Action Party, known as PAN, ran an advertisement
in newspapers defending itself tothe Gay
community. The p~t,,y is "not against.the ,O,,ay community
in any way,’ the ad said, adding: In a Fox
admiulstration, there will befrcedOm for people to
live without masks."
Carlos Monsivais, an author and social critic, said
the party’ s retreat was a milestone for Mexico, where
there are no openly Gay politicians and homosexualtty
has not been wtdely accepted..The most tm.po,
t~( thing is that even Fox and the right had to oacK
down and apologize to the Gay commumty,, h,e’ s.atd.."
"It’ s incredible to hear the word ’homophobta oemg ~
used even by the right."
Labastida’ s supporters have drawn their own criticism
for taking shots at.Fox’ s masct!!.inity with allusions
to his separation fromhis wife andhis being the
father of four adopted children. Such attacks have
seldombeenso directinMexicanpolitics, althoughin
the previous presidential election six years ago, the
PRI allegedly hired transvestites to attend an opposition
campaign rallyin Veracruz state in an attempt to
discredit it.
This time, the attacks were started by Fox. Fo,x,
called the PRI candidate a sissy and" La Vesttda,
a pun on his rival’s name implying Labastida is a
cross-dresser. But the atmosphere changed when a
minor-party candidate, Gilberto Rincon Gallardo of
the Social Democratic Party, stuck up for homosexuals,
the handicapped, rape victims and Indians in a
televised debate, the first time many of those groups.
had been mentioned in the race. "In weak democracies
like Mexico, legal protections are necessary to
prevent a tyranny of the majority over minorities, so
that people can decide on their own private lives
withou,,t a majority imposing its moral or cultural
views, Rincon Gallardo said.
On June 17, the Gay community held what was by
far the largest Gay-pride parade in Mexican history,
with organizers estimating a turnout of 30,000. Just
¯ five years ago, SUCh parades drew an average of about
1,000 people. But Gays haven’ t had much success in
their effort to make an issue of the banning of some
Gay cultural events by PAN officials in towns they
goBveemnj.amin Araujo of the Front for-People with
AIDS-HIV said that "Gays are more tolerated than
accacne~udteadte"iisnaMneimxipcoosasnibdiltihtyat. aTnhoepperenvl.yat..Ge,nacye,,p.oo.Il"~iatni.c,.ua.1-.
Gayattitudes wasillnstratedbY areportoymet_,mzen)
CommitteeAgainst Homophobic Hate Crimes: It
estimates that 190 Gays were killed in Mexico bec1a9u9s9e.
BofuttMheoirnss~evxautasl soereisenptraotgiorenssb.etWweeesnul1!h9a9v4ena"ndt
reached the point of having an openly Gay candidate,"
he said. "But we are now at a point where there
can no longer be an openly anti-Gay candidate."
Denver Cops & Gays
Work Together
DENVER (AP) - Gays and Lesbians have formed an
alliance with police to deal with late-night cruising,
loud noise and sex in public around Cheesman Park.
Police, Gay civil-rights activists and park neighbors
have been handing out fliers to motorists for the
past few weeks warning that police will crack do.wn
on traffic, park curfew violations and inappropriate
activity on surrounding streets. ¯
Thejoint effort wouldnot have been possible in the
¯ unreported, activists said.
: "I think there was, clearly, some traditional stereo-
. typing on both sides, but that has changed alot," said
¯ Lt. Jimmy Martinez, who leads a communi.ty-poli.c;
~ ing team in the Cheesman Park area: Marttnez sara
¯ acting Police Chief Gerry Whitman devised the strat-
~ - egy when he was captain of District 6 surrounding
~ Cheesman. Once the "Fort Apache" of city police
~ districts, District 6 is now a model for community-
~ policing programs.
Cheesman is ~a .well:known gathering #ace for ~ -~
Gays and Lesbians,~and friction de~eloped between
neighbors andparkusers¯ Marfinez~idpolicegot the~ --
Cheesman Park West Neighborhood Associationand
Equality Colorado, a statewide Gay civil-rights orga-
: nization, directly involved.
¯ Representatives on both sides said the strategy has .
~ worked. "For one thing, our work with the Denver
:~
police has become a model for how an organization
like ours can work with law enforcement," said Lori
¯ Girvan, directorofEquality Colomdo.DedeDePerein,
¯
who heads Equality’s Anti-Violence Project, sai.’d
i cooperadun with police has "built bridges" over me
". Gay community’ s prevalent, persistent fear and misi
trust of law enforcement.
JoeBarrows of theChcesman ParkWestNeighborhoodAssociation
saidheandhis neighbors frequently
called oolice with complaints before the communitypolicing
campatgn. Now compl.amt.s a~..e rare: Tl~.e
result has been a positive changem tlae atsrupttons m
the neighborhood. It’ s been a positive experience all
the way around," he said.
Mormans Attack Gay
Relationships in Nevada
CARSON C1TY (AP) - A Mormon church-endorsed
ban on same-sex marriages cleared one hurdle recendy
when the secretary of state’ s office said aballot
~etition contained enough signatures. The ruling by
Deputy Secretary for Elections Susan Morandi advanced
the constitutional referendum to its final step
- a test sampling names on the petition for regist.ered
voters. County clerks and voter registrars were given
until July 7 toverify that registered voters signed the
petition.
Morandi’ s office said the Coalition for the Protection
of Mamage got 120,558 people to sign its 15etitlon,
which is almost three times the number of
registered voters needed to put a question on the
Nevada ballot: Under the measure, Nevada would
recogmze mamages only of a re.an and woman. ,That
already is part of state law, but advocates want to t~acK
it up in the state constitution.
Opponents say the initiative amounts to discriminadota
and bigotry. The Progressive Leadership Alliance
of Nevada and about 20 other groups across the
state formed the Coalition for Unity to campaign
against the ballot measure.
The Coalition for the Protection of Marriage is
heavily supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, whose members were central to
anti-Gay marriage efforts in Hawaii and Alaska, and
most recently, in California. However, the former
Catholic bishop of Las Vegas, Daniel Walsh, asked
priests and paris.ke_s to. support the ’~.aditi0nal f_~amily"
but not to support Ziser’ s effort because it fosters
ill-will toward Gays.
Gay Pride in Tel Aviv
" TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - Celebrating Gay pride,
thousands of Israelis in tank tops and shorts danced to
¯ deafening music and waved rainbow-colored flags at
¯ the end of June. The annual street party has become
¯ the latest venue in the culture war between secular
¯ Israelis and devoutJews who consider h°m°sexuality
¯ an abomination.
¯ "We promise to support your struggle against the
~ religious," legislator Tommy Lapid, leader of the
¯ secular rights party Shinui, told the cheering crowd.
~ In recent years, Gays and Lesbians in Israel have
¯ scored a string of successes in the courts, though not
¯ in parliament, where ultra-Orthodox religi°us Parties
¯ have considerable deut. Last month, the Supreme
Court allowed a Lesbian spouse to be registered as the
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in-hand. There were no religious protests. Tel Aviv is
anoverwhelmingly secular city, and the parade was
being heldjust before the onset oftheJewish Sabbath,
during which observant Jews refrain from work and
travel.
Taking a break from the blazing heat, Kinneret
G01an said the scene made her feel that Israel was no
different from othercountries. "You only see pictures
of Israel when rocks are being thrown. I’m proud that
despite everything we can still do this," she said.
Golan~ said that in the increasingly bitter culture
war betwTeen Israel’ s secular majority and thedevout
minority, the distrust is. so great that "each side
defines itself as the opposite:of what the other is."
Therefore, she said, many secular Israelis will sup-
]2~ort causes as long as they are denounced by the
’~:~’~r~igious community.
Lapid, standard bearer of the secular fight against
whathe calls religious coercion, said his party and the
homosexual movement are natural partners. Next
week, a bill proposing recognition of same-sex civil
unions will be up for approval. However, Lapid said
it will likely fail because of the influence of the
religious parties. But some of those dancing in the
parade said they paid little heed to politics. "Who
cares what they do in the Knesset? Look at this
celebration," saidAnat Schumaker, one of theparticipants.
"We’ re here and they can’ t do anything to stop
Gay Clergyman Shakes
Up Norweigan Church
OSLO, Norway (AP) - The selection of an openly
Gay clergyman in defiance of state Lutheran church
guidelines raised concerns Friday that the issue of
homosexuality could split the church. The Church of
Norway’ s highest body, its 85-member national congress,
ruled in November 1997 that clergy who enter
homosexual partnerships could not hold jobs that
require ordination.
However, the~Oslo Bishops’ Council of clergy and
laity voted 4-3 on June 15 to appoint Jens Torstein
Olsen as chaplain for the Majorstue Church. Olsen
noted onhis application that he was living with a Gay
partner.
The council minority appealed the decision to
Trend Giske, head of the churches and education
ministry that formally employs state church clergy.
He initially said he saw no reason to reverse the
council majority’s decision, but will make a final~
decision next month. If hired, the 51-year-old Olsen
would be Norway’ s first male minister who is openly
living with a Gay partner.
Oslo Bishop Gmmar Staalsett saidhe expects the.
ministry to respect his council’ s majority, in keeping
with usual practice. "Olsen is dearly the best qualified
for the post," Staalsett said.
But the move prompted Norway’s head bishop,
Odd B0ndevik, to say he was calling an emergency
meeting of the national bishops council on the matter
probably in August. "The appointment.., can split
the Church of Norway," he was quoted as telling the
Norwegian news agency NTB.-"When we said the
issue does not have to be a splitting factor, we assumed
that each individual bishop would be loyal to
the national church council’s resolutions and the
church itself," Bondevik was quoted as saying.
An anguished debate over Gay clergy has already
led to bitter disputes within the church. Last year,
reform. Half a million people were expected for the
annual Christopher Street Day parade in the German
capital. The bill, to be presented to parliament before
t breaks for summer next month, would recognize
registered Gay palTmerships as families, said Greens
lawmaker Volker Beck. However, homosexual
couples apparendy would not have the right to adopt
children - a demand of the Greens rejected by the
dominant Social Democrats.
Gay partnerships wonld get legal rights similar to
heterosexual couples on taxes, social security and
~mmigration law - an important point for Gay couples
where one parmer is a foreigner. Beck said the proposals
still require formal approval bythe parliamentary
groups of the two governing parties.
Opposition conservatives blasted the plahs and
hinted they would try to stall the bill in th~ upper
house of parliament, where the govemment,lack.s a
majority. Thomas Goppel, aleader of Bavaria s rightist
Christian Social Union party, called the proposals
"absurd." Germany’ s Association ofGays and Lesbians
welcomed the draft saying it did notmeet all of the
group’ s demands but still were a great st p forward."
Minnesota ’Sodomy’
Law Under Challenge ¯
¯ MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A state law that makes oral
and anal sex acrimeis unconstitutional and shouldbe
¯ thrown out, tim Minnesota Civil Liberties Union
¯ claimed in a lawsuit filed at the end of June. The
i MCLU and the Lesbian and Gay Rights Project of the
American Civil Liberties Union are challenging
¯ Minnesota’ s sodomy statute, saying the law violates
the right of privacy guaranteed by the state constitui
tion. Thelaw - which applies to all consenting adults,
even married heterosexuals - makes violations pun-
: ishable with a year in prison and up to $3,000 in tines.
¯ Theclass-actionlawsuit,filedinHennepinCountY,
¯ asks the court to declare the statute void and prevent ¯
the state from enforcing it. The plaintiffs include two
: married heterosexuals who say they risk prosecution,
: a Lesbian who fears eviction because her lease pro-
" hibits illegal activity, a Gay law student who fears
¯ being disbarred, a divorced Gay manwhofears losing
¯ his right to visithis children, and a group of Lesbian,
¯ Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered lawyers and law
¯ students.
¯ According to the MCLU, 18 states still have sod-
.: omy, statutes, down from all 50 in 1961. In five of
": ~ose s’tat~s, the law hpplies 0nly to Gays [editor’s
¯
note: Oldahoma is one of those with laws only di-
¯ rected at Gay people]’. Legislatures have repealed
¯ sodomy laws in 25 states, while courts have over-
. turned them in others. In one of the most recent cases,
an appeals court in Texas voided that state’ s sodomy
¯ law two weeks ago.
¯ Attorney General Mike Hatch was out of state and ¯
unavailable for comment on the lawsuit, said his
¯
spokeswoman, Leslie Sandberg.
¯ Tom Prichard, executive director of theMinnesota
Family Council, which has helped fight off attempts
¯ to repeal the law at the Legislature, said the law
should stay on the books, and he criticized theMCLU
¯ for filing the lawsuit. ’°They’ re trying to do an end run
by getting the courts to strike it down instead of going
through the appropriate channel, which is the Legis-
¯ lature," Prichard said.
. ated offices to deal specifically with Gay
alth Officials to health issues. Officials in Seattle have
Focus Gay Needs :d velo#as iali d mpaigntovac-
¯ cinate Gay men for hepatitis.
BOSTON (AP) - Boston public health
officials have agreed to try to better meet
the needs of the city’ s Gay community by
collecting data onillnesses,raising awareness
of health issues and seeking funding
for new programs. Their decision follows
the lead of other big U.S. cities, where
officials have already taken action to address
the health needs of Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and Transgender residents.
’q’hereis clear datathat shows there are
health differences between the Gay and
larger communities," said Stephen
Boswell, executive director oftheFenway
Community Health Center, which serves
a high percentage of Boston’ s Gay population.
"If those problems are addressed,
we can make a significant impact."
At a conference held in Boston in May,
officials from public health agencies
around the country cited studies showing
Gays are at risk for a range of health
problems, including depression, breast
cancer, and substance abuse.
After years of focusing solely on HIV
and AIDS, Boston’s public health officials
decided soon after the conference to
develop a more efficient way to deal with
the community’s other pressing needs,
said John Auerbach, executive director of
me Boston Public Health Commission.
q~nis.is the first time the he~Ith department
has acknowledged it needs to specifically
address the health needs of the
Gay community," he said. "This is a significant
step forward."
Health departments in New York, Chicago
and San Francisco have already c~e-
While Louganis left immediatdy alter
the parade to fly out of the city,
Cammermeyer spoke briefly in the rain,
noting that she really might have preferred
not to come to Tulsa, thinking that
it might not really be safe or wdcoming,
but that probably she needed to come to
Tulsa for precisdy that reason.
Another group which received great
atteiation was ORU.out.com, a new Lesbian
and Gay alumni organization for
Oral Roberts University (ORU). While
Gay alumni groups exist around the country,
ORU.out.com is unusual in thatORU
has a policy of banning Gays as.students,
faculty or staff. Regardless, ~e ~oup
numbered about 20 and group orgamzer,
Jeff McKissic notes that about 60 people
have gotten involved.
Orgamzers of the Parade and Festival,
Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights,
Inc. estimated that some 3,000 participated
or attended.
More than !00,000 march in
Paris Gay Pride parade
PARIS (AP)- In a festive celebration of
Gay pride; more than 100,000 people
marched and danced on the last weekend
in June through the streets of Paris behind
a giantbanner with the slogan for this
year’s parade: ,Homophobia - a social
pl~gr~h------ Educatton Mimster Jack Lang
and the Socialist Party’s mayoral candidate
Bertrand Delanoe were among the
politicians thatkicked offGay Pride 2000
behind dozens of motorcyclists from the
Gay Bikers Club.
Rainbow-colored flags waved under
overcast skies as the parade wound from
:: Feds to Fund AIDS
¯ Vaccine Search
¯ WASHINGTON (AP) - Four new part-
" nerships were announced by a federal
¯ health agency Tuesday to provide fund-
: ing to groups attempting to bring anAIDS
¯ vaccine to market.
i Theseparme.rships, call,edHIV ~acone
¯ design and development teams, were
¯_ prompted by~ a. presidential dirertive to
¯ increase public-private cooperation in
: developing vaccines to major diseases,
: according to the National Institute of Ai-
: lergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID),
¯ the section of the National Institutes of
: Health that set up the deals.
¯ "Many vaccines in use today resulted
i
fr°mb°th g°verument-sp°., snL0r--~andpfi.-
vate research," said Dr. Anthony S. Faucl,
: director of NIAID.
¯ The awards are incentive-based, aimed
¯ at teams that have a vaccine in develop-
: ment but have not yet reach_ed human
~ testing. The teams will receive funds as
¯ they achieve preset goals.
¯ Three U.S. companies - Advanced
~ BioScience Laboratories in Kensington,
¯ Md.; Chiron Corporataon in Emeryville,
¯ Calif.; and Wyeth Lederle Vaccines and
¯ Nutrition in Pearl River, N.Y. - as well as
~ a consortium of Australian universities
¯ led by the University ofNew SouthWales
¯ all have different tactics on how to create
¯ a serum that will protect humans from
; HIV infection, which causes AIDS.
.district. Boolmng techno and 0asco music
¯ played as drag queens and other elabo-
¯ rately costumed men and women danced
on colorful floats and along the sidelines
of the parade Police estimated the crowd
size at between 100,000 and 130,000
people, while organizers said that 250,000
people turned out for the event.
Coinciding with the weekend of the
parade, Social Affairs Minister Martine
¯ Aubry said the government planned to
: introduce new laws oudawing discrimi-
¯ nadon against homosexuals. Aubry said
: the new legislation would appear as an
¯ amendment tO a "social modernization"
: bill currently going through Parliament.
¯ Denver Pride Draws 100,000
¯ DENVER (AP) - More.than 100,000 at-
" tended Denver PrideFest 2000. The festi-
~ val, organized by the Gay, Lesbian &
: Bisexual Community Services Center, is
¯ inits 10th year. No violence was reported
~ dUring the parade betweenCheesmanPark
: and Civic Center Park that featured 100
: floats. The festival also featured 230
¯ booths and. a family zone with the signs:
~ "drug-~ alcohol-, hate-flee zone."
¯ Activists told a crowd at the Civic Cen-
: ter that good people standing up to big-
~ otry, not legislation, will protect Gays,
¯ Lesbians and Bisexuals from violence.
¯ "In every case, a mass mobilization of
¯ people changed thepolitteal clunate, sm
¯ Leslie Feinberg, author of ’q’ransgender
¯ Warriors" and "Stone Butch Blues."
Gay Pride Elsewhere
¯ SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A rollicking
; ,,Gay p,fi,de parade replete with dancing
nuns, all-maleche.~rleading squads and
¯ drag queens in stilettos attracted a half
¯ million revelers as it made its way from
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by Karin Gregory
COMING OUT.
Even the words evoke an ominous, almost
surreal scene, like the Great and
Powerful Wizard, whose
deep voice echoes
throughout closets everywhere.
In my case, my 44
yearold closetwas sot’ffled
that I couldn’t hea~ the
echo e~}en if I tried, i finaily
Sprang out, machete
inland, :r~dy to tell everyone
that I’ma Lesbian!
Well, two or three people,
anyway.
Because I didn’t know
what was all involved in
"coming out." I had no
good role models to speak
--of in that area. And don’ t
tell me Melissa Etheridge
and Ellen DeGeneres -
because famous people
will always be heard and
don’ t have to repeat themselves.
I, onthe otherhand,
have to tell friends individually
and hear such remarks as: "Oh, I
always knew that"; "Yeah, I was wondering
when you were going to tell me"; and
the ever popular, "YES! We knew it! We
win the bet!"
Umm, friends, if you knew it for so
long, how come I JUST found out? You
could have let me in on it! (Best friend’ s
¯ note: I tried! You don’ t just sit someone
down and tell them "Um, Karin, I think
you’re Gay. Deal with it!" - Jim) Actually,
I hav&known, all my life, but I never
gave a name to it. And there were the
various signs that threw me totally off
track. Instead of telling you my. boring
life, I’ 11 give you a sampling of it, interspersed
with the steps I went through (and
probably many of us go through) in realizing
my true nature. ~
I know what you’ re saying. If I’mreading
Tulsa Family News, I know I’m Gay
and what could you possibly tell meabout
it?" Nothing, but since I want you to read
about my boring life anyway, I have to
jazz itup somehow. Also, there may be a
few of you who are reading your
boyfriend’s copy of this newspaper. If
you’re "curious" and your boyfriend is
reading Tulsa Family News, then you’ re
both Gay! Read on.
I. "I’m What?"
Sooner or later you have to start questioning.
What kind of music do you listen
to? Yep, if you answered Tori Amos, Ani
DiFranco, Sophie B. Hawkins, !Indigo
Girls, and Sarah McLachlan, then you
need to examine your lifestyle. I haven’ t
known a Gay personyet who doesn’ t love
Sarah McLachlan. However, if you own
five differentcopies ofMelissa Etheridge’ s
Breakdown (and I do!), the questioning is
over. ’ ~ ¯
II..Environment
.I came into this world kicking and
screaming, and when I found out, in my
neighborhood full of boys,-that I was
differentfromthem, Ikickedandscreamed
again. I wanted to be a boy. lplayed just
like ~the boys; doing everything they did
exeep,tJ~,e,, standing up. And I was pissed
I icouldn’t master that! Physically and
¢motionall);i Was a gifl~butI thought like
a:boy. So when I would question myself
- years later, I always wentback to the same
thing: I HATED girls then. Well, most
little boys do hate little girls at that age. If
"It was hound
to happen...
Marolyn was
i~autfful, with
lees and
weB, 7ou
~en yo~ mantra
[or a smmer
s~s no~
~ST yo~ ~d;’
" they don’ t, they’ re usually Gay boys WhOr’i".
.. feel more comfortable around girls play-
" ing house, school, and Easy Bake Oven.
¯ By the .way, if you played with dolls
when you werelittle, don’ t
think that disqualifies you.
Especially if you. had a
Barbie doll and spentmany
a day practicing undressing
her. It was when I was
13 that things became, for
want of a better word,
sticky.
III. Crushes
She walked in beauty,
like the night...OK, so
they all did at one time or
other, didn’t they? This
particular she walked into
my eighth grade English
classroOm, and I immediately
thought,"Wow, she’ s
pretty." I never used that
word to describe any gift
before. All right, there was
the time I whistled at Ann
" Margret in the movie theatre
when she came on
" screen in "Viva Las Vegas."
¯ Some people don’t see signs that say
" "Caution - Falling Rocks"; I don’t see
¯ signs that clearly scream, "Karin- you’ re.
¯ a Lesbian. Get over it. when my eighth
¯ grade crush continued into ninth grade, I
¯ went to her house for a sleepover.
I’ll say this here and now - Jane Eyre
¯ shouldbeforbidden reading injunior high.
" The protagonist as a little girl has a crush
" on her best friend, which author Charlotte
¯ Bronte says ~s normal Besides the very
¯ obvious inference that Charlotte had her
¯ own Lesbian feelings, it did much to help
¯ me rationalize the rest of my life. If I felt
¯ something for a girl, then I invoked the
¯ name ofCharlotte Bronte, and things were
¯ "normal" again. So when I wanted to
: watch my friend undress in front of me,
¯ that wasjust anormal straight girl feeling.
¯" When I fantasized about crawling in bed
: naked withher, I still usedCharlotte Bronte
: as a guide. Charlotte was talking about
- "little" girls, mind you.
¯ When I was 30 I met a woman who,
". without touching me, did things to my
¯ southerly regions that no one had ever
done before. When I’ d had enough frus-
" tration, I had sex with a man, and truly
¯ believed there was something wrong with
: me for not feeling what I thought I should
¯ feel. Whom did I call in as my counselor?
" Yep, good old Charlotte.
¯ IV. In Love
It was bound to happen, and this time a
¯ Lesbian became not only my crush, but
¯ probably the only person I’ ve ever fallen
: in love with. Marolyn was beautiful, with
¯ great legs and a great pair of - well, you
¯ get it. When your mantra for a summer is
¯ "She’s just my friend, she’s just friend,
¯ she’ sjustmy friend", she’ s notJUST your
¯¯ friend.
Have you ever had amoment of clarity?
¯ Amoment when suddenly the clouds part,
¯ the sky opens up, and you just KNOW
-" what you want? Marolyn took me to my
¯ first Lesbian bar (we were "just friendg’:,,
¯ mind you), Sue Ellen’ s in Dallas. As we
danced a slow _..d~,c~ together, my m~ ....
-" merit of clarity hit. I d shoved down the~.;~ ~
¯ feelings about Marolynfor so long that a!l,;!’~::
¯ at once they came rushing at me and l
¯ conldn’ t deny any longer. I looked arotmd
¯ and just knew I had finally found some-
" place to belong, see Lesbian, p. 11
by Jim Christjotm, entertainment editor
Some of you might ask, "What’s he
clucking about this time?" And well you
might - run, don’t walk, to see Chicken
Pun. Created by ’%Vallace and Gromit"
impresario Hick Parks, this rollicking
comedy about chickens dreaming of a
better p!a~..~.~, ~far away fromthe ~neentra-
¯ tion c~ami3 Chlcken farm ttiey re in’fs a
witty, int~-.ligentfi~~1m........ ¯ .~
I havehad my suspicions~’abtut Nicks~
familystatus given
some subtle references
in the
Wallace&Gromit
shorts (available
on video, and well
worth it), such as
Gromit (a dog)
knitting a rainbow
striped sweater.~
The Wallace and
Gromit shorts are
guaranteed to
cheer up the most
depressed person
in the world, and
watch for the
subtle touches he
puts in, like the
newspaper-headlines
in thepapers
the characters
read.
While the films are claymation, they
are not children’s films. With Chicken
Run, thereality ofwhathappens to chickies
whodon’ tlay theft share ofeggs is brought
home in an unflinchingly touching way.
And yes, you wiII reIate to the characters
- and never look at chicken pot pies the
same way again. As for the aforementioned
clues as to the Gay sensibility of
the film, Cheek out the ratsi relationship.
And when the birds are practicing flying,
one ofthe best gags was when they fall,
and the rat says "It’ s raining hens", which
to those of us who re,c~l a certain song
with a similar rifle, realize it’ s a pretty big
tipoff as to the sensibility that inspired
this film.
The jokes are all extremely well done,
and the sight gags, well, the film begs a
second and third viewing to take everything
in, and look at the backgrounds.
There are gems hidden everywhere. It is
ironicthatMel Gibson,homophobicadulterer
that he is, lends his voice to the film
in a really well done turn as a Rhode
KD Lang
¯ KD Lang’s newCD is a delight. Re-
: member those lazy weekends whenmom
: (in some ease, you) Wouldpiit her favorite
¯ records on the changer in the late 60’ s
: early70’s?BarbraStreisand’sStoneyEnd,
¯ and Sergio Mendes’ Brazil ’66 come to
¯i miipindadt.eWd ieiilil{,aK~Dfhioa~sslt~a.k~enmthait~sofu’n.d~_a~nv~d-,"~ ~
¯ met fling that grows in to ab~t diore of a.
"...While the films are
claymation, they are not
children’s films.
With "Chicken Run,"
the reality of what happens to
ehiekles who don’t lay their :
share of eggs is brought home in
an unflinehlngly touching way.
And yes, you will relate to
the characters- and never look
at chicken pot pies
the same way again...."
serious thing.
And it is the perfect
album for a
cloudy Sunday afternoon
with your
loved One, your.
summertimefling.,
or even an imaginary
lover. The
-albuin’ S title is In~..
vindbte Summer,
and La Lang has
ne~er soundedbetter.
Thealbumprogresses
with the
nervous, first on~-
tact ditty about a
possibleloveinter--
est titled "The
Consequences of
Falling", and she
captures the moment
perfectly.
Island Red cock named Rocky. One must
think that someone planned that casting -
and this is the place for an obvious joke,
¯ This segues into an up tempo number
¯
called"Summertime Fling" thateapsulizes
¯ that high, giddy feeling when itis discov- ¯
ered that indeed, the objet d’affection
: returns the feeling. It is sure to bring a
: smile to the mostjaded heart. Thememory
¯ may be buried deep, but it’ s in there some-
" where! The albums builds to a quieter
: climax than one might imagine, as the
THE ART 0f PERFORMANCE
For ~.ales, contact Rupy Robateau 280.5999
. or Marcus Winkler 280.6234
For Service, contact Danny Quigg 280.6828
JAGUAR
9607 S. Memorial Dr.
: seriousness of the relationship deepens. Are You Gay or Bisexual?
¯ "Love’ s Great Ocw.an" is a winner, and - ~B~,~t Va~ll ~r’~[il/a~ &m~.e’|eltrm9 _
has a mysterious feel to it that gives the /’~1 ~ /OM II~.ilI~.~ a’~III~.~lI~.ll.
album some weight. The rest are pretty~--
standard love songs, pleasantto~ " ............. n’
eat for a dinner o essin to- /ulsas iwo-~plrlteo inolan Me S ",eta \"~
: makeout album. The retro feel is great, Support Group ts here for you.
¯ andblends well into the music, capturing
¯" the feeling perfecdy ofsome ofmy favor-
: ite songs remembered-from childhood
: and beyond. Highly recommended. It’ s a
¯ great companion, piece to Melissa
: Etheridge’s darker "Breakdown". With
: Melissa, you cover the darker cynical
: moments, with La 1 ang, the bright sun-
: shiny day moments.
¯ I caught Arturo Brachetti on a guest
¯
appearaneeonDrewCarey, andyes,he’s
: family, and yes,he’ s fantastic. Well worth
¯ Evening support group meetings
¯ Relationship workshops
¯ Short trips, outings and retreats
¯ Free HIV testing -
which I will leave to your imaginations. ¯ seeing what he’ s gotup his sleeve! Check
Think about it. (R~oc~y,.....Rhode, gg~.it? ;.,rpriorcol~f~r~t~.. ¯ :
Right up there with Ginger Chickeh, ifi~ : .... And fi~t mbliffi, the’R~ilt ifiteiaiiews!’
heroine of the piece. Rosemary is the :
Chicken that doesn’ t have babies. You’ll
get it when :~you see.the, film.) All the
actors are marvelous, and if you’ re a fan
of any of the British comedies on PBS
Sunday nights, you’ll recognize a few
voices. If there’s one film you see this
summer, make it this one. It’ 11 be well
worth your time. I plan to see it several
more times, and get the DVD when it
comes out - just to scroll through the
frames and catch what I missed the first
ten times. And I think instead of chicken
pot pies, I’ll stock up on the vegetarian
ones instead. Andinstead of roast chicken
sandwiches, the veggie chick burgers as
well.
Buh-bye, colonel!
¯" in the city’s 30th annual Lesbian Gay
¯ Bisexual Transgender Pride Parade, he
¯ said such events provide "a little light of
: hope.., acceptance of Gay people is still
¯ the toughest issue out there," said Ellard,
¯ 35. "The religious right still thinks we’re ¯
a threat to family values. But when you
¯
look at the Gay families marching with
: their children.., you see thatit’ s not true."
¯ What began in 1970 as a meager pro-
: cessionfollowedby an unassuming"Gay-
¯ in" at Golden Gate Park has become one
: of California’ s biggest events,
¯ see Pride, p. 9
For information call Tulsa Native American AIDS Prevention Project
’q’beprobability thatyoudiefromAIDS
when you arc 15 today is over 50%in
these countries," Plot told a press conference.
"We arc going into societies where
there arc more people in their 60’ s and
70’ s than there are in their 40’ s and30’ s,"
hc said. "This is unheard of."
¯ In Washington, the Peace Corps an-
: nounced a worldwide campaign to push
¯ similar measures - training its 2,400 vol-
: unteers inAffieain preventive tedmiques
¯ and forming a200-member"crisis corps"
: tohelp educate commtmities. "There is no
¯ option for any organization working in
: development other than to play a role in
¯ helping these countries confront the HIV-
¯ AIDS crisis," Peace Corps Director Mark
With dwindling numbers of economi- i Schneider sai~.
eally active adults left tosupport the re~ L .,~ .~o~~i~~~.~d~l~st rate
of the .’.population, the. impact on ~.~tff~ot~:~i~A~i~t~i2~.;%~ is cooving
¯ . ~!~ .....,~ ~,-~.o:,~. ~7~." ~~ ~7,~>.>-.~ : ~_.: Afficamnattous ts devastating. Agng,~ t.~ ~ai[.an*-~i~su~ssf.u~ ~..emBpatgn 0,f protural
production in nations like Zim.~: ~ moting’¢Offdoni~us~. And’ Brazil" s policy
bwe, wh,ere 2,000people die each w..~ee;;~ : of prevention coupled with locally pro-
AIDS, is falling. Businesses are goi~i~g ¯ ducedaltemativestohigh,costanfi-AIDS
bankrupt beeause of the deaths of skilled, : drugs has halved the number of deaths
educated staff members. Hopes of better
education are also in tatters. The number
of new teachers trained in 7a~bia is just
keeping pace with .the number felled by
AIDS. Children are leaving school because
they are orphaned or forced to work
to support their families.
Hospitals are overwhelmed by AIDS
patients. Many have inadequate supplies
of even basic antibiotics to fight the pneumonia,
tuberculosis or mouth fungus that
accompany AIDS, let alone the sophistieated
drugs whichhave eased suffering in
rich countries, the report said.
Denial continues to be a problem. The
report cited a 1999 survey of 72 minors
orphaned by AIDS in a hard-hit Kenyan":
commnIfity: Although all knew of the
disease~one of them believed their parents
had died of it. Most thought witchcraft
or a curse was to blame.
Piot Said one of the reasons for the
explosion of cases in southern Africa is
the legacy of apartheid~ which separated.
men from their families in rural areas and
forced them to work in towns, with only
prostitutes for relief. But he said govern:
ments were also to blame for ignoring the
problem for too long. "What is happening
in southern Africa should.be a lesson for
countries today which don’t have a big
problem yet," he said. "I’m thinking of
Asia, I’m thinking of easte,,m, Europe, I’m
thinking of the Caribbean. About $~ bill
lionis needed annually forprevention and
education programs to turn the tide, Plot
said. He called for debt-relief programs
for poor comitries..
Sandra Thurman, director of President
Clinton’s White House Office on AIDS
policy, said the report urgently underscores
the need for goverm~ent l~aders to
face the crisis head on. "It will take the
engagement of all sectors of all societies
ifwewantto winthebattle againstAIDS,"
Thurman said in a recent statement.
Although Asiahas relatively low infec:
tionrates overall, there arefears that could
change because of the density of its population,
gome 0.7% of the Indian po,,p~ation
is ~IV-positive, or 3.7 milliof~ii~e
overall:Thediseasehas so farbeenl~g~ly
confined to drug addicts.
Infections in the former Soviet blocare
soaring because of drug addiction. Piot
said the number of new HIV cases in
Moscow last year far outstripped all previous
years combined. And the disease is
proliferating in Caribbean countries like
Haiti and Barbados because people have
multiple sexual partners from an early
age.
Despite the gloom of the report, Plot
said there are signs of hope. Uganda,
whichused to be the worst-affected country,
has slowed new infections thanks to
strong prevention campaigns and increased
condom use. Zambia is following
suit.
: and led to huge savings in hospital bills,
," the report said.
¯ "In the West and in Europe, the impact
:. of treatment has been spectaculars" Piot
said. "Mortality has really collapsed..There
isa longer and better life for people with
AIDS."Onthe Net: http://www.uuaids.org
In renewing his plea for suspending the
law until the central issues go to trial,
Stanley argued that there is realharm that
could happen.’ The clerks’ rights to freed0m
of religion under the Vermont Constitution
would be violated, he said:,
He also argued that taxmoney wouldbe
spent through providing,rights and benefits
to same-sex couples. Permitting
umous to go forward that may in the
future be ruled unconstitutional would
cause irreparable harm, he said. In all, the
~ lawsuit_,claims.:that the.,civil unions_law_
violates five different articles of the state
Consttitution, several state statutes and
House rules.
Many of those arguments were made
when the i|~wsuit first was flied and the
state’ s lawyer handling the ease said he
did not believe any substantially new
claims were made that would prompt the
judge to change his mind. "I don’t think
there’ s a ntl~ ttdt:~~ys~~u:can only ask
once, butinpractical term~ someonewould
put together their best case for a preliminary
injunction," said Chief Assistant
Attorney General William Griffin. "My
view is they’ ve had their day in court and
-the court made a decision. I.guess I’ d be a
little surprised if we went around again."
Varmont Official May.Dof~ LaW
TOPSHAM, Vt. (AP) - The town clerk is
considering defying the state by refusing
to issue civil union licenses to Gay and
Lesbian couples. Juanita Claflin describes
the unions as "endorsed perversion." The
law, whichis to gointo effectJuly 1, states
that if a town clerk does not want to issue
the licenses he or she must at least appoint
someone else to do so.
In a memo sent on town letterhead to
every Topsham honsehold earlier this
month, Claflin tells voters she will not
issue the licenses and asks if they believe
she should defy the law, resign or appoint
a willing assistant to deal with the paperwork.
Most of the responses so far have
urged defiance of the law, but Claflin said
she has not decided whether to risk lawsuits
and penalties by following the
townspeople’ s wishes.
"I still have to make that absolute final
decision," she said. After the townspeople
respond, she will meet with the select
board and possibly hold a public meeting
to tell residents about the potential consequences
of defying the law. "I made the
commitment to the people that I would
uphold what they said," she added. "If "
they’ re still of that opinion (after being
informed of the consequences), I’ll take :
my licks." ¯
At least one other town clerk, in "
Tunbridge, has resigned over the issue. In
Waterbury, the town clerk and assistant
town clerk also resigned recently, citing "
unspecified personal reasons and an ef- ,
fective date of July 1. ¯
Claflin’ s opposition to civil unions has "
~no secret since She was elected in "
summa.e,dCh. t~hWe hpe~n,,s~h.ee ,w,easxcsewp0trtonins,elslheciivni-l
on licenses into her oath of office. At
the time Claflin thought the bill, then
being debated, would notpass, she says in
her letter. "Well, I was wrong... The
unthinkable did become law," she writes.
"I stand firm and unwavering in my commitment
to refuse to be a party to this
endorsed perversion based on my constitutional
rights and personal belief."
But theNew Jersey assistant scoutmaster
ousted when the organization learned
he is Gay expressed dismay at the ruling.
"I’mdef’mitely saddenedby thedecision,"
said James Dale. "People don’t join the
Boy Scouts beeaus~ they’re anti-Gay.
People join the Boy Scouts because they
want acceptance, they want community."
The ruling did not specifically give the
Scouts permission to bar Gay youth from
membership, but its language left room
for that interpretation. "I think it suggests
that they can" ban Gay boys from being
Scouts, said Evan Wolfson, Dale’ s lawyer.
"They won the.right to declare themselves
an anti-Gay group." University of
Southern California law professor Erwin
Chemerinsky agreed, saying, "I don’ t see
any basis for drawing a distinction between
Scout leaders and Scouts."
The Scouts organization, formed in the
United States in 1910 and now boasting
6.2 million members and adult leaders,
has a policy that "avowed homosexuals
are not extended membership or leadership
positions," Shields said. He would
not say whether the organizationhas withdrawn
membership from Gay youths.
But Scott Cozza, an adult Scout leader
in California and president of Scouting
For All, which advocates letting homosexuals
join, said: "They’ve kicked out
Gay Scouts and now they’ll continue to
do so because they’ ve been given the goahead
by the Supreme Court to continue
to discriminate."
The justices reversed a New Jersey
Supreme Court decision that said the
Scouts wrongly ousted Dale, an Eagle
Scout. The state court said the Scouts
violated a New Jersey law banning discrimination
in public accommodations.
But Rehnquist wrote, ’q’he forced inclusion
of an unwanted person in a group
infringes the group’ s freedom of expressive
association" if it harms the group’s
ability to advocate its viewpoint. His opinion
was joined by Justices Sandra Day
O’ Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M.
Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. Dissenting
wereJustices John Paul Stevens, David
H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and
Stephen G. Breyer.
Writing for the four, Stevens said the
New Jersey law does notforce the Scouts
"to communicate any message that it does
not wish to endorse. New Jersey’s law,
therefore, abridges no constitutional right
of the Boy Scouts." Wolfson, Dale’ s lawyer,
had cited Supreme Court decisions
during the 1980s that let states force the
Jaycees and Rotary International to admit
women as full members.
But Rehnquist said requiring such
groups to accept women members would
not interfere with the message they seek
to express. Instead, the chief justice likened
Dale’ s case to a 1995 Supreme Court
ruling in which thejustices let the private
sponsor of the Boston St. Patrick’s Day
Parade exclude a group ofGays andlesbi7
a~.s, s,,aying parades are a"form0fexpres~
slon.
The American Center for Law and Jus~
tice, a conservative advocacy group that
supported the Scouts’ appeal, said the
ruling "will have a dramatic impact on all
private organizations - including religious
groups - to define their own mission and
set their Own criteria for leadership."
The. Human Rights Campaign, of the
largest Lesbian and Gay civil rights organizatious,
called the Supreme Court decision
to allow the Boy Scouts of America
(BSA) to continue its ban on Gay scouts a
travesty of justice that may allow large,
open membership groups to be above the
law and evade .state and local nondiscrimination
laws.
"We are gravely disappointed with a
ruling thatgives theBoy Scouts ofAmerica
the ability to discriminate withimpunity,"
said HRC Legal Director Tony Varona.
"TMs is a hollow victory for the Boy
Scouts of America - considering the
wasted time, energy and money it has
spent on maintaining its ability to .discriminateand
attack young menwhohave
served its organization with distinction. Is
this any way to teach youth aboutfairness,
honesty and justiceT’
Dale was 19 and an assistant scoutmaster
of a Matawan, N.J., troop when in
1990 he was identified in a newspaper
article as co-president of a campus Lesbian
and Gay student group at Rutgers
University. The Scouts’ MonmouthCouncil
revoked Dale’ s registration as an adult
leader, andhe sued, citing the New Jersey
anti-discrimination law. The New Jersey
court ruled that the BSA is not a private
club, but a public accommodation given
its size, open membership and extensive
entanglement with government agencies.
In its appeal to the Supreme Court, the
Boy Scouts argued that New Jersey’ s antidiscrimination
law infringed on its First
Amendment right to association.
)’In accepting the BSA’s arguments
concerning expressive association, the
Court inexplicably ignored the fact that
theBSA’ s purposeandmessagehas never
had anything to do with sexual orientation,"
added HRC’ s Varona. "To the contrary,
the Boy ScOuts’ oath stresses public
serviceandhonesty, andits Congressional
charter and bylaws make clear that membership
is open to ’any boy’."
Dale now lives inNew York City and is
advertising director for a magazine for
people who are HIV-positive.
On the Net: Supreme Court decision in
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale: http://
supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-
699.ZS.html
and one of the world’s best known celebrations
of Gay pride. Numerous celebrities,
including comedienne Margaret
Cho, made appearances. Police said the
parade had proceeded peacefully, and
knew of no counter-demonstrations.
Parades took place also in S~atfle. New
York, Chicago and Atlanta.
by Lamont Linds~rom. Ph.D. skins for very long. Early medical science
Is it the unkixxdest cut? That’s what a ¯ of the late 19th century seized on the
foreskin-challenged writer to Dear Abby " operation as a cure for excessive masturrecently
claimed. He bitterly reproached ¯ bation and also to treat an odd collection
his morn for letti~ag himbe
circumcised - a condition
he blamed for bis regrettable
shortcomin~,~ inbed.
Circtmacision is a body
modificationritua~ ",hathas
fascinated antLropologists.
People everywhere
redesign-their ~odies.
Modification may be as
simple as a haircut and a
shave, or more invasive
foot-binding, ear-piercing,
- head-molding, ~attoomg,
or scarification. Modifying
the body carries social
and personal meaning. Individuals
may remake
themselves -andhow they
think about themselves -
by altering their bodies.
These alterations have social
implications as well.
We ustmlly know what to
think when we see someone
dieting, or sporting a
new tattoo, or a tongue
pierce, or a shaven head.
Humans modify lots of
body parts - elbows, fingers,
chins, bellies - but
it’ s no surprise that many
societies have fixatedupon
Cireumelslon is a
body modlfleatlon
ritual that has
faselnated
anthropologists.
People everywhere
redesign
their bodies.
Modifieatlon may be
as simple as a halreut
and a shave, or
naore invaslve footblndln~,
ear-piereln~,
h d-mo!dln ,
tattooln~,
or searlfleatlon.
l~lbdlfyln~ the body
earrles sodal and
personal rneanlnff
the foreskin. Like earlobes, foreskins are
easily pierced, sliced, or cut away without
much endangering human functiomng.
Unilke earlobes, however, foreskins attach
to the dhief organ of male pleasure
and reproduction. Many cultures have
elaborated the powerful symbolic uses of
snipping off a piece of men’ s genitals.
Circumcision is often the key component
of male initiation rituals, as it is on
Tanna, anislandin the SouthPacificwhere
1livedfor some years. TheTarmese gather
up their sons between the ages of six and
twelve and lead them away to a secret
house in the forest to be snipped. Traditionally,
boys were cutwithbambooknives
- their foreskins sliced down the top - an
superincision rather than a circumcision.
Nowadays, island fathers anduncles might
take the boys down to a local clinic for a
full-blown Western circumcision.
The loss of foreskin marks the boy’s
journey into manlaood. Tannese kids tease
boys who are yet to be circumcised. They
call them a name that means something
like "pulls back skin." A Presbyterian
missionary from New Zealand lived on
Tanna, in th~ 1980S wi,th his triple~ sons.
My island friends were scandalized that
these boys remained uncircumcised as
they approached their teen years. Every
time the boys wandered by, you knew
localmenwere ponderingbambooknives.
New Zealanders, like most people in the
world, leave their foreskins alone. Circumcigion
is uncommon in Europe, Asia,
and Latin America and is disappearing in
AustraJia and Canada. We Americans
share the ritual mostly with sundry Pacific
Islanders and Australian Aborigines,
peoples of the Middle East (notably Jews
and Arabs), and various northern and central
African societies.
Artistic depictions of circumcision in
Egypt dated to 4500 years ago suggest
that the ritual has a long history. But
Americans haven’t been snipping foreof
other conditions. Once
circumcision became part
of the modern medical
toolkit, doctors were loath
to giveitup. They invented
a series of spurious rationales
for the operation. The
newes t defense of circumcision
argues that uncut
menare three to eight limes
morelikely (different studies
give differentnumbers)
to.catch HIV. The vires -
so says this hypothesis -
attaches itselfmorereadily
to cells thathave been kept
tender underneath a foreskin.
Whether or not this latest
medical rationale for
circumcision holds up,
cutting has powerful social
meanings that go far
beyond the merely hygienic.
Just why do we
mess withforeskins? Is this
a male attempt to appropriate
natural female fertility:
Menbleed their genitals
to mimic menstruation?
Or are men coneemed
to drain away dangerous
female blood from
their sons, as do the Tannese, in order that
these boys can fully mature? Or do men
cut their sons - and in so doing potentially
endanger the reproductive future of their
family line - as a mark of loyalty to their
tribe? Or do boys undergo symbolic castration
as a-price they pay fatherg to join
the men? Anthropologists have proposed
all these explanations.
It’s pretty clear that in 20th century
America circumcision became a marker
of class and status. Only people with
money could afford doctors and genital
surgery. And only trendy parents who
supported mainstream beliefs about public
hygiene would accept new scientific
rationalizations for the operation. Circumcision
rates were far higher among the
urban and the wealthy than they were
among poorer, rural, immigrant, or minority-
group families. Middle-class white
boys carried on their bodies the mark of
their family’ s status claims.
By the 1940’ s, the medical industry had
captured control of childbirth. A majority
of women went into hospital to give birth.
And for the first time amajofity of Ameri-
:canb0ys wer~eircumcised. Circumcision
rates peaked at around 85% in the 1970’ s.
Since that decade, these numbers have
dropped - as an anthropologist would
predict - down to 60% in the mid 1990’ s.
When everyoneshares the same practice,
that practice no longer serves to create
distinctions of class and status among us.
Thefact thatmanyHMOs nowadays force
parents to.pay for the.operation also has
spared many sons’ foreskins~
Still, being cut continues to symbolize
"clear," "healthy," and "modem" across
much of America. Until these meanings
erode, it’ s likely that many of us will yet
be able to hold our heads up high, should
we happen to mninto any teasing Pacific
island boys.
Lamont Lindstrom teaches anthropology
at the University of TUlsa.
Council Oak Men’s Chorale
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Gilcrease Museum
1400 Gilcrease Museum Road
5 9 6 2 7 0 0
by Jim Christjohn, entertainment editor
Sam Harris returns to Tulsa as Josephin
Theatre Arts’ productionofAndrew Lloyd
Webber’s "Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat"
heading up a cast of thousands
of locals - well, ok,
maybe not quite thousands,
but it’ s aprettylong
cast list.
The cast includes John
Orsulak and Patrick
Hobbs, members of the
Council Oak Men’s
Chorale’ s (we really need
agoodacronymhere!) and
formerly Finales, along
with David Hubbard,
Kathy LaFortlme, Bradd
Gillespie, Larry Gray, and
Eric Cornell (an actor and singer to watch,
as he’s got a lotta talent, and he’s dedicated
to performing enough to go far).
Directed by New York’s Jon Grodeski,
the musical is a.,lively rethinking of the
biblical tale of Joseph and his jealous
brothers.
Sam Harris, a Sand Springs native, left
home at 15 to pursue the dream of performing
on Broadway. Everyone knows
about Star Search, and the recording career
that followed. His latest endeavors
have included the critically acclaimed "In
the Life," a Broadway musical; Grease on
Broadway; and his latest CD, "Revival",
a return tohis pop and soul roots.. He also
wrote the TBS sitcom "Down to Earth."
He’s been a busy boy! And he still manages
to look fabulous!
. He recently completed work on the
feature film "In the Weeds", with Eric
Bogosian, Molly Ringwald, and Joshua
Leonard. He recently premiered his new
oneman show, "Revival", and is planning
to tour the show after a New York Run.
He’ 11 bemaking his Tulsa concert debut
July 28 in "An Intimate
Evening with SamHarris."
There’s a joke in that, but
I’m trying to maintain a
more staid image. Actually,
there’s about three
jokes I could make. It’s
kindalike resisting chocolate
- you know it’s the
right thing to do, but it’s
just so tempting.., but no,
I have eschewed that behavior.
Performances run July
14th- 23rd, and the
evening shows start atT:30
rather than the usual 8pm, so plan accordingly.
Matinees are at 2pm. The venue is
Tulsa Community College’s PACE theatre
at their southeast campus at 81st and
169, so don’ t go downtown to thePACfor
this one. For more info., call 595-7777.
July 15th is "Sand Springs Night" in
honor of Mr. Harris’ hometown roots.
July 19th is "Youth Night" - if you don’t
qualify for that one, you can at least pretend
to be from Sand Springs.
And I would like to welcome a couple
of new writers to Tulsa Family News.
Hughston Walkinshaw will be covering
film and local theatre for us here. He’ll
make his debut in our August issue. And
while -I’m at it, some of you have read
about my best friend Karin. Wall, who
wouldhave thunkitbut she’ s finally’’come
out" and this month, we will feature her
thoughts, in a new column entitled"Raging
Lesbian."
Sam Harris
More importantly, the woman with her
arms around me was the woman I wanted
to be with. My heart was telling me this
was right, tree and just. Then the song
ended, and that insidious thing called my
brain took over. Years of living in the
Bible Belt made me once again think too
much, and I acted straight again. Which is
fnnny since I obviously don’t know from
straight. Too many missed opportunities
later, and my unrequited love affair with
Marolyn (I didn’t DARE think about this
at the time!) endedwhen shemovedaway.
V. Random Musings
Don’t get me wrong. Three girls does
not a Lesbian make. There have been
many more I’ve felt "that way" about,
including Ms. Black Hair, DeepBlueEyes
with whom I worked; Ms. Nude Model
whom I LOVED to draw in art class; the
two English teachers at school where I
taught; and the young P.E. teacher at the
same school. Comeon, there’ sALWAYS
a P.E. teacher! And when I was 25, there
was the <ahem!> 16 year old I worked
with! Hey, I can’t be arrested for my
thoughts, not even in Tulsa!
VI. Acceptance.
I know acceptance doesn’ t come in six
easy steps, but time and space being what
they are, I’ ve cut to the chase. What made
me finally accept myself as a Lesbian?
Not any one thing. I guess years of chipping
away at my libido, and the fact that
everytime I had sex with a man, it coincided
with some girl I had a crush on.
Then there’ s the entertainment world. A
friend got me interested in’qRte X-Files"
years ago, but for the past few seasons my
heart has skipped a few beats more and
I’ ve thought,"Was DavidDuchovny even
in that episode tonight?" If you listen
exclusively to Melissa Etheridge for a
year, it’ s not just her music you identify
with. And even when you do identify with
it- need I say more?- you’ re Gay! When
you tape the ENTIRE Gay Rights Rally
on CSPAN it’ s a pretty sure bet that, yes,
you’ re Gay!When you seriously consider
moving to the state capital (what do you
call a city FULL of Lesbians? Austin!),
then, you guessed it - you’ re Gay! When
your best friend calls you long distance
from Tulsa to tell you the new issue of
Curve is out - with Gillian Anderson on
thecover- and youhaul ass to the nearest
Gay neighborhood to buy it within the
hour, well, you’ vejust taken a ride on the
Dyke Express! When you own copies of
"Desert Hearts", "Bound", "Everything
Relative", "Claire of the Moon", etc., and
display them prominently on your shelf,
then grrlfriend, you have swung those
closet doors open for the last time.
And it feels good, clean, and honest.
|
Want to get involved?
Need to get tested for HIV or
a Coming Out Support Group?
Call 743-GAYS (4297)
Tulsa Gay
Community
Services Center
1307 E. 38th, 2nd floor
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Citation
Tulsa Family News, “[2000] Tulsa Family News, July 2000; Volume 7, Issue 7,” OKEQ History Project, accessed December 24, 2024, https://history.okeq.org/items/show/602.