[2001] Tulsa Family News, June 2001; Volume 8, Issue 6

[2001] Tulsa Family News, June 2001; Volume 8, Issue 6

Politics, education, and social conversation toward Tulsa’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities.

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.

Tulsa Family News

https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24

Tom Neal

June 2001

James Christjohn
Karin Gregory
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Scheppers
Hughston Walkinshaw

Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News

Tulsa Family News, May 2001; Volume 8, Issue 5

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PDF
Online text

English

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Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa

Minnesota ’Sodomy’ Law
RUled Unconstitutional
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota’ s law thatprohibits
oral sex and other intimacy betweenconsenting adults
is unconstitutional, a state district courtjudge has ruled.
~udgeDelila Pierce said the law, which had been on the
books since the 1800s, is unconstitutional because it
violates the right of privacy guaranteed by the Minnesota
Constitution.
The Minnesota Civil Liberties Union (MnCLU) and
the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Lesbian
& Gay Rights Project had filed a lawsuit last.summer
challenging the sodomy statute on behalf of a cross
section of Minnesotans.
Although the state court ruling should prevent the
sodomy law from being enforced anywhere in Minnesota,
the MnCLU is asking the court to technically
classify the case as a class action. MnCLU attorney
Teresa Nelson said that would lea~ "absolutely no
uncertainty" see Sodomy, p.ll
Global AIDS Goals
Debated at United Nations
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Delegates from over 100
countries began debating a plan recently calling for
tough new targets to combat AIDS worldwide, including
the spending of up to $10 billion a year by 2005 in
developing countries. The delegates opened five days
of negotiations on a declaration U.N. members are
expected to approve at the General Assembly special
session on HIV/AIDS in New York next month.
"This is a global problem that needs global actionand
a global response," said Australia’s U.N. Ambassador
Penny Wensley. ’-’We know it can be done, but it cannotbe
done unless there is a massive infusion of resources
and a mobilization of political will."
The draft declaration endorses the goal set last Sep-"
tember by some 150 world leaders at the U.N. Millennium
Snmmit ofhalting and starting toreverse the HIV/
AIDS epidemic by 2015. The document was drafted by
Wensley and Ibra Deguene Ka, the U.N. ambassador
from Senegal, who are co-chairing preparations for the
U.N. meeting June 25-27.
The declaration, if adopted, would commit U.N.
members to meeting a series of interim targets over the
next 15 years.
Among these proposed targets are the following:
- Governments should develop national strategies
"and financing plans see Global, p. 2
¯
Pride 2001 F ,atures N.ew
Parade Route, Bigger Fest,val
Interfaith Service Rescheduled
¯¯ TULSA (TFN)-Organizers of the 2001 Pride events areworking
frantically to finish last minute details for the parade and festival
¯
and associated events which they believe will be better than any
: before. And as happens, at least one event has been rescheduled:
¯ the Interfaith service is now at 7pr~_.on Wednesday, June 6, still ¯
at Sharp Chapel at the University of Tulsa, just off of 1 lth St. at
¯ College Ave.
¯ Greg Gatewood, spokesman forTulsaOklahomans forHuman
Rights (TOHR) notes also that the black-tie optional Gala Dinner
at the Tulsa Country Club on Friday, June 8th will have dancing
after the dinner as well as a silent and also brief live auction.
: Tickets are still available at the Center, 743-4297.
¯ Organizers also want to emphas:ze the change in Parade
location and time. It will begin at 3pm at 15th near Utica
¯ continuing along Cherry St. to Boston and along 18th to the
: Festival in Veterans’ Park as in the past. see Pride, p. 9
SGe.rvin.gaL.esyb.ian..,.___j,, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Our Families +Fji=~nd~
¯ Phelps’ Protest Raises $
for Gay/Straight Students
The 2001 Diversity Festival will feature booths & entertaiment.
¯ Vermont House Tries to
Revise Civil Union Legislation
¯ by Ross Sneyd, Associated Press Writer ¯
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - The Vermont House passed a recip-
: rocal partnership bill that would repeal civil umons even as it
: endorses same-sex relationships. The bill, which would confer
¯ mamage benefits on all couples who cannot otherwise marry,
¯ passed 72-69. Civil unions applied only to Gay and Lesbian
¯ couples, but the replacement reciprocal partnerships would ap- ¯
ply to same-sex couples and to pairs of blood relatives.
: The debate on final passage was marked by sharp exchanges
¯ over homosexuality. Ironically, it required many people who ¯
find homosexuality morally repugnant to endorse relationships
¯
between two men and two women. "It’s difficult because it still
¯ gives the same benefits to same-sex individuals, couples as the
¯ traditional marriage couple," said Rep. Nancy Sheltra, R-Derby,
: one of the leading opponents of civil unions. She voted for the
¯ bill.
¯ The state Senate will get thebill next, but leaders have said they
¯ don’t intend to address it. And Gov. Howard Dean has said he ¯
would not sign any legislation changing the civil unions law.
¯ The bill accomplished some of the goals of civil unions
¯ opponents; though,because couples no longerwouldbe required ¯
¯ tohave theirunions certified byAjudge, clergymember orjustice
of the peace in the same way that marriages are solemnized. It
¯ also would require the reciprocal partnerships licenses would be
¯ issued by the Health Depa],’tment instead of by individual town
¯ clerks, as civil unions and marriages are.
"We see this as a step in the right direction," said the Rev. Craig
i
Bensen °fCamb,ri,d~e, a leader in theanti-civil uni°n gr°upTake
it to the People. It s a bill that makes sense only in the world
definedbyBaker." Tha~’ s the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court case
that declared Vermont s marriage statutes unconstitutional becauseGay
and Lesbian couples were denied the benefits that flow
from marriage. To comply with the ruling, the Legislature last
year adopted civil unions. That’s a legal structure that parallels
mamage but remained separate and distinct, see Unions, p. 2
¯ TULSA (TFN) - Making lemonade out of lemons,
young and older supporters ofGay/Straight Alliances
in Oklahoma and new Jenks graduate, Kevin Barker,
¯
¯ gathered at the LGBT Community Center onMay 21 torespondpositively to a graduationprotestbyWichita
¯ anti-Gay preacher Fred Phelps and his clan. Phelps
¯ targeted Jenks High School because the school’s
adminstration, after someprodding andin response to
¯ fedcral law, allowed the formation of the Gay/Straight
¯ Alliance. ¯
In a widely distributed e-mail, Barker wrote, "my
: response to this is aimed to take a negative situation
¯ andmakeitapositiveone. Iloveusingkindness tokill
¯ hatred so here is what I wouldlike to do." Barker then
¯ proposed that supporters make a pledge to donate a ¯ sum for each hour that Phelps protested. The more his
¯ crew was there, the more would be raised for the
¯ Jenks GSA via the Oklahoma chapter of GLSEN
(Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network).
see Jenks, p. 9
Gill Foundation to Give
TOHR $40,000 Grant
Kevin Barker. Jenks Class of 2001, Kerry Lewis of
TOHR and Karin Weldin ofSoulforce at the Center.
TULSA (TFN)-TulsaOklahomans forHumanRights
(TOHR) has announced that the Denver-based Gill
Foundation has awarded one of its Fast Track grants
toTOHRfor $40,000 for operating andprogramming
expenses over a three-year period. The grant also
includes technical assistance support. TOHR is one
of only three organizations in the nation to receive the
grant.
~llae grant will help to ensure TOHR’s financial
stability, increase the effectiveness of its programs,
and continue its work of more than 20 years in
educating the public about issues affectingTulsa’s
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual &Transgender communities.
TOHR is Oklahoma’s oldest civil rights organization
dedicated to acheiving equality for the Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender communities.
TOHR’s largest program is the operation ofthe Tulsa
Gay, Lesbian, Bi &Transgender Community Center,
2114 S. Memorial Road.
The Gill Foundation was established in 1994 by
Tim Gill, founder and former chairman and chief
technology officer of Quark, Inc., a Denver-based
computer software company. Tim Gill and the Gill
Foundation have provided more than $21 million to
hundreds of organizations and programs serving
LGBT communities and people living with HIV/
AIDS.
Through the Gay and Lesbian Fund for Coloradol
the foundation funds Colorado nonprofits in the areas
of: social justice; children, youth and families; leadership
development; arts and culture and public broadcasting.
In addition, the foundation operates the OutGiving
Department which provides technical assistance and
other resources see Gill, p. 9
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine
*CW’ s, 1737 S. Memorial
*Play-Mor, 424 S. Memorial
Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*Schatzi’ s, 2619 S. Memorial
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan
*TNT’ s, 2114 S. Memorial
*Tool Box II, 1338 E. 3rd
*Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan
*The Yellow Brick Road Pub, 2630 E. I5th
832-1269
610-5323
838-9792
744-4280
585-3405
745-9998
280-1316
834-4234
660-0856
584-1308
835-2376
749-1563
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. H~rvard 743-1000
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E: 71 250-5034
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231 E. 41 665-4580
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15 712-1122
*Borders Books & Music, 2740 E. 21 712-9955
*Borders Books & Music, 8015 S. Yale 494-2665
Brookside Jewelry, 4649 S. Peoria 743-5272
*CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria 746-0313
*Cheap Thrills, 2640 E. 1 lth 295-5868
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis 581-0902, 743-4117
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker 622-0700
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th 749-3620
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria 744-5556
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan 838-8503
Encompass Travel, 13161H N. Memorial 369-8555
Ross Edward Salon 584-0337, 712-9379
Events Unlimited, 507 S. Main 592-0460
Horal Design Studio, 3404 S. Peoria 744-9595
Four Star Import Automotive, 9906 E..:55th PI. 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 plaiming 459-9349
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney 744-7440
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly 745-1-111
*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
*Ken’s 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 743-4297
Ralnbowz on the River B+B, POB 696, 74101 747-5932
Richard’s Carpet Cleaning 834-0617
Teri Schutt, Ellen & Co. 834-7921,748-0224
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 - website for Tulsa Gays & Lesbians
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101 579-9593
All Souls 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
B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa United Min. Ctr. 583-9780.
Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th P1. & Florence
Church of the Restoration UU, 1314 N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community of Hope Church, 2545 S. Yale 747-6300
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation 749-0595
Council Oak Men’s Chorale 748-3888
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware 712- ~1511
918.583 1248, fax: 583.4615
POB 4140, Tulsa, OK 74159 o-mail: TulsaNews@earthlink.net
Publisher + Editor: Tom Neal
Writers + contributors: James Christjohn, Karin.Gregory, Barry
Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lament Lindstrom, Esther
Rothbluml Mary Schepers, Hughston Walkinshaw
Member of The Associated Press
Issued around the 1st of each month, the entire contents of this
publication are protected by US copyright 2001 by Tulsa
Family News and may not be reproduced either in whole or in
part without written permission from the publisher. Publication
of a name or photo does not indicate a person’ s sexual
orientation. Correspondence is assumed to be for publication
unless otherwise noted, must be signed & becomes the sole
property of Tulsa Family News. Each reader is entitled to 4
copies of each edition at distribution points.
Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248.
*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 Spirit Women’ s Center, call for location &info: 587-4669
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827
Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
*Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
*HouseoftheHolySpiritMinstries,1517S. Memorial 224-4754
*MCC United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral PI. 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
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
Soulforce-OK, R.t.4,#3534,Stigler74462 587-3248,452-2761
*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 HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only
Tulsa Okla. for Human Rights, Gay Comm. Center 743-4297
TUL-PAC, PositiveAdvocacy Coalition, POB2687,Tulsa 74101
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, 21st &Memorial 7434297
Unity Churchof Christianity, 3355 S. Jamestown 749-8833
BARTLESVILLE
Barflesville Public Library, 600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
"TAHLEQUAH
Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
Tahlequah Unitarian-Universalist Church 918-456-7900
Green Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570 918-453-9360
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23 501-253-7734
Jim & Brent’s Bistro, 173 S. Main 50!-253-7457
DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St. 501-253-6807
Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St. 501-253-5445
MCC of the Living Spring 501-253-9337
Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429 501-253-2776
Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery 501-253-5332
Positive Idea Marketing Plans 501-624-6646
~rhite Light, 1 Center St. 501-253-4074
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 417-623-4696
* is where you can find T’~N. Not all are Gay-owned but all are Gay-friendly,
to combat HIV/AIDS by 2003. The plans
should involve thebusiness sector, grassroots
groups and people living with HIV/AIDS.
- Countries most affected by HIV should
adopt by 2003 a set oftime targets to achieve
the goal of reducing HIV prevalence among
young men and women aged 15-24 by 25%
by 2005. HIV prevalence in the same age
group should be reducedby 25% worldwide
by 2010.
- A wide range of measures to prevent
AIDS - including information and education
- should be available by 2005 in all
countries, taking account of "local circumstances,
ethnic and cultural values."
- The number of infants infected with
HIV should be reduced by 20% by 2005 and
by 50% by. 2010 by providing treatment to
expectantmothers who are infected with the
HIV virus.
- By 2003, countries should develop national
programs to increase the availability
9f drugs to treat HIV infections by addressmg
issues such as pricing, and by 2005 they
shouldmakeprogress in implementing comprehensive
health care programs.
Theproposed draft also calls for countries
to initiate programs to identify groups most
vulnerable to AIDS by 2003, to implement
programs for AIDS orphans by 2005, and to
adopt legislation by 2005 protecting the
rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Last month, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi
Annan called for an annual war chest of $7
billion to $10 billion to fight the pandemic.
The draft proposal calls for reaching this
overall target incrementally by 2005, with
money coming from national budgets, international
donors, and private assistance.
Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Peg
Fiery devised reciprocal partnerships as a
¯ .way to comply with the Baker ruling but
." also to alter some of the moral objections to
¯¯ civil unions. She also argued that there are
other committed, loving "family units" that
¯
deserved the same benefits that same-sex
"_ couples were granted last year.
¯ Gay and Lesbian Vermonters, though,
¯ said the bill was an insult because it sought
-" to equate their committed relationships to
: those they have with a mother, sibling, aunt
.. or uncle. The relationships are significantly
¯ different, they said. "Last year we crafted a
¯
Ve.rmo,,nt compromise and we called it civil
¯ umon, said Rep. William Lippert, D-
¯ Hinesburg, one of two openly Gay lawmak-
¯ ers. "What we have before us today is not
just an expansion, as proclaimed, it in fact
¯ uhdoes that Vermont compromise called
civil union. You cannot escape that."
: Civil unions opponents were intent on
¯ scaling back the law, if not repealing it
¯ altogether. They reluctantly decided it was
impossible to repeal it outright and not provide
a replacement, though, because the
SupremeCourtmadeclear itprobably would
¯ grant Gay and Lesbian couples marriage
licenses in the absence of an alternative.
: Republicans won their majority in the
House largely on the strength of opposition
to the civil unions law. But Democrats re-
" tained control of the Senate.
by Matthew W. Holloway
The Gay community is not a happy one.
Homosexuals are often crippled in their
emotional stability byboth the outer forces
of oppression, hate and violence; as well
as the inner forces of depression,
doubt, self loathing
and loneliness. It is
mainly due to this crippling
emotional legacy that homosexuals
have developed
the well-deserved reputation
for drug use, mental
illness, and promiscuity.
Thesepattems, as once was
believed, are not an unavoidable
side effect ofhomosexuality;
they are, in
fact, not due at all to the
fact that one is a homosexual,
they are more related
to membership, either
claimed orexpressod, in the
much touted but rarely defined
"Gay community".
Oneofthe primary drives
of people is to align themselves into communities
of people. This is done for many
reasons, but one of the most influential
reasons is to give people smaller packets
Of society that they can deal with, and to
organize that society so that each can understand
it. These communities take many
forms, such as religions, governments, and
smaller sub-social communities.
In many situations these communities
of people serve a shorter term purpose,
such as the strength of African-American
commtmity in the 1960’s. The reason for
organizing very strong but temporary communities
such as these is to battle agmnst
some exterior force. It has been said that
people is at his strongest when he is united
in the face of some common evil, and this
is true. We unite ourselves into conmmnities
in order to battle against some outside
force.
The Gay community was originally organized
after this fashion, but the homosexual
battle for acceptance and equality
"... If the Gay
eommunlty does not
drastleally change it’s
image in the next ten
years from a eommunlty
united only by a shared
sexual preference to a
group of people with more
in common, with a
genuine uniting for~e,
then there will be no real
vletory in the struggle
against oppression
that we all share...."
has been a much longer
and harder one than that of
the African-American
community of the 1960’s.
In order for the Gay commuuity
to survxve as a social
group it must be
changed from the temporary,
constantly embattled,
and exclusive community
to a more functional and
longer lasting model.
If the Gay community
is not able ’to change satisfactorily
into a more stable
and permanentcommunity
it will do long term permanent
damage to the campaign
in this country for
Gay civil rights, ff the Gay
community does not drastically
change it’s image in the next ten
years from a community united only by a
shared sexual preference to a group of
people withmoreincommon, with a genuine
uniting force, then there will be no real
victory in the struggle against oppression
that we all share.
We must provide a world free of the
oppression to the many children who constantly
realize their own sexualities and
reach out for support. Will we be there for
them in the next ten years? Are we there
for them now? It is our duty to provide
these youngpeople with a stable and happy
commtmity that they will be happy and
content to join.
Matthew W. Holloway will attend Tulsa
Community College this fall, majoring tn
English.
Our GLBT Pride week is fast approaching
and many members of ourGLBT community
ask: "why. even get involved?" I’ll
tell you why...
To celebrate your own diversity as a
unique individual and to be proud who you
are! To unite us as a stronger community.
To meet others in the community who
wouldn;t meet otherwise. TO LEARN.
During themonthofJune, I tend to come
out to more people and feel better about
not hiding that I am a lesbian and I am
proud. Being "out" is not a requirement to
attend the Pride events, so those of you
who struggle with that need not won’y. I
want you to consider going to at least one
Pride event, you’ll be glad you did!
It seems tomethat people fear what they
have not experienced or what.they do not
understand. "Fear of the unknown" rings
so true with this one. I-have found that
most people have had a strong feeling for
a member of the same sex at some point in
their life (if they are honest enough to
admit it). Whether or not they choose to
labd that attraction as a sexual feeling or
not has a lot to do with many factors;
cultural, religious, & the comml~tity they
live in.
Often people do not know what to label
these feelings. They mav not have any
exposure to homosexualit~ except through
the media, which basically portrays a homosexual
as a deviant person to be feared,
- or a comedian! The news does the best
job of all at slapping anegative view our
way. Anytime a homosexual is in thenews
it is because they .have been involved in
some bizarre love triangle or are trying to
adopt a child. In either case, the homosexual
looks like a pervert, pedophile, you
name it. I think thatmost people are either,
a strong,heterosexual or a strong homosexual.
Of course, this makes for very
interesting "water cooler’, discussions.
Somepeople fall somewherein the middle,
and depending on their life circumstances,
at some point act on it or not.
So now you are thinking what point in
all this?Actually, I will let youin on a little
secret.., people, humanbeings, menAND
women want to be loved. Some feel that
can happen in a relationship with awoman
and some feel that can happen in a rdationship
with a man.
see Divine, p. 11
I spent a lovely evening recently at the
Tulsa Philharmonic and followed that by
meeting some friends at a favorite Gay
watering hole and was amazed at the conversations
that I overheard. "Have you
seenhimlately... ? Oh gift,
she is packing on the
pounds! Must be lonely."
Khother one went like this:
"ThatQueenhas morerolls
than Pillsbury." And then a
little later: "Ooh Mary. .
he looks like the Michelin
Man on a bad hair day."
Fascinating.
At first, I dismissed this
behavioras abunchofhateful
queens with nothing
better to do than talk, but
my observations actually
bring up a much larger (no
pun intended) issue: Why
are Gay men so crazed
about weight?
It is true that welivein an
in.credibly image-conscious
society where looking good is paramount,
but the obsession with staying thin
is especially pervasive with Gay men. On
a recent trip to Toronto, I caught the great
film "Parting Glances", and my point was
driven home when a hefty character made
the statement that "I may have co~umitted
the gay Cardinal Sin of being overweight
but I still have a lot to offer someone."
Being overweight can’t be a sin, can it? In
Gay society, you bet it is and the consequences
can be devastating.
I recently came out of a year-long rela-
¯tionship with a ~nan who was mmfiacal
about weight - mine. I am a healthy 37
year old man who is 5’ 11" mad a solid 180
pounds and I work out regularly. Like any
person, I have been known to gain a few ¯
pounds afler sphtrging on some great meals.
At first, my Ex put me on display as if to
say "’Look what I" ve caught," but when the
scale neared 190 the adoring cormnents
turued nasty. "You are getting a double
chin!" he barked at me one morning "mad
I won’t have a fat boyfriend." Ouch. Was
I not the same personjust because I gained
7 pounds? I tried going to the gym more
and eating less but my weight continued to
fluctuate. I told my Ex that the topic ofmy
weight was offlimi ts but this did not work.
In public, he was the perfect boyfriend. In
private, he was critical and cold. I became
frightened at losing my Partner. Then I
became bulimic.
It happened slowly at first. I popped a
couple of laxatives before going to bed as
if they were an herbal supplement. Our
relationship seemed to improve as I became
thinner. So two laxatives became
four, eight, ten... I finally quit counting.
When we went out, friends would comment
on how great I looked now that my
waist was 29 inches and shrinking. I was
told that I looked a decade younger. People
were amazed that I could eat and drink
whatever I wanted and still lose weight. It
should have felt great...but if they only
knew.
The relationship ended between Christmas
and New Year’ s. Upon learning ofmy
bulimia, my Ex left a terse note onmy door
"... In our group of six.
there were four Gay men,
two of whom I knew. We
were at once frightened
and outraged that our
partners, friends, and Gay
brothers could not accept
us for who we are. Give us
the AIDS epidemie to
fight or mobilize us
against hate and we’ll join
together as One,
but God forbid if any
of us are chunky . . .
stating that he wmated nothing further tc
with someone who had a selfish, sic"- ~ ~g
disorder. Charming.
"’I’ll show him," I said and I decided to
losemore weight. Two weeks later I was in
The GAP wanting some
new jeans but they had
nothing for aman with a 26
inch waist. There were
whispers among people
that I had Cancer or AIDS.
In reality, I was fooling
Mother Nature and soon
she fought back. First my
personality began to
change. Gone was the self
confident, easy-going man
I was and in my place was
afrightened, obsessive, and
vicious Mr. Hyde. I backed
out of an important promotion
at work, fearing that I
would fail I brought new
definition to the term "lean
and mean."
Then I rushed to the
doctor one day in agony with stomach
pains and he told me that I was suffering
from malnutrition and had lesions on my
colon. IfI continued to abuse laxatives, the
doctor said, I would indeed have a new
Partner: a colostomy bag. And that was if
I lived. I was frightened that if my condition
were exposed, I would be treated with
the same disgust that my Ex displayed. So
I went to Bulimics Anonymous.
In our group of six, there were four Gay
men, two of whom ! knew. We were a~
once frightened and outraged that our partners.
friends, and Gay brothers could nol
accept us as we are. Give us the AIDS
epidemic to fight or mobilize us against
hate and we’ll join together as One, bul
God forbid if any of us are chunky - then
we are "dmnaged goods."
I learned that bulimia is not about weight:
it is about control. In my case, I was tryiug
to balm~ce a career, a relationship, graduate
school, AND stay in shape. I was not
expected to gmn any weight. Sometlfing
had to give. I also lemned to share my
experience with others. I leaned on three
people: a parent, my personal trainer, and
a close friend - ironically all of whom are
heterosexual. They were completely supportive.
My trainer did get angry with me
for not trusting him to help me out of this
darkness and then he put his arms around
me and held me while I cried in disbelief
that this understanding and compassion
seems virtually non-existent in the Gay
connntmity.
Fortunately, I had recovered. It was not
easy. My hair turned gray for a time and I
had severe skin eruptions as I leached the
chemicals out of my body. My digestive
system is extremely sensitive and will
remain so for the rest of my life. But my
weight is stable and I amhappy withmy 32
inch waist. Most important, I know that I
am a good person no matter what my
weight and any man is lucky to have me.
And my Ex ? I saw him recently. He
walked by and refused to speak to me. As
I looked at this man who had become a
stranger, I noticed that he had indeed put
on some weight... - anonymous
Memorial to Gay
Soldiers Dedicated.
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (AP) - A Gay veterans
group unveiled a monument to remember Gay service
members killed in combat. The recent ceremony was
attended by veterans in tmiform, the mother of a Navy
serviceman beaten to death at age 23 for being Gay, -"
and a color guard carrying the rainbow banner that _"
symbolizes Gay pride. ¯
The activists who pushed for the monument in this :
desert city just south of Palm Springs say it is the first ¯
of its kind. "It’s a turn-of-the-century event," said¯"
Dennis Palt, a former Air Force staff sergeant who
served in Vxemam. I had hope for this but you could "
have never thought this would becomea reality in the "
1970s, 1980s or ’90s. It’ s fabulous."
Hawaii Passes Hate
Crimes Bill
HONOLULU (AP) - Gov. BenCayetano said that he
will sign the "hate crimes" bill passed.by this year’ s
Legislature. It gives longer sentences for crimes motivated
by the victim’ s race, religion, disability, ethnicity,
national origin or sexual orientation.
Cayetano said while he has concerns about making
distinctions between various kinds of victims, in this
casehefeels there’ s a statement tube made. He said his
decision was "close call" because he doesn’ t believe
Hawaii has a problem with hate crimes - yet.
The hate crimes bill was supported by Gay and
Lesbian groups and several civil rights groups, including
the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission. It was opposed
by the Public Defender’s Office, the Honolulu
Police Department. and several religion-based groups.
Disciples Church Adds
Partner Benefits
Man Adopts Gay Partner "
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP)-A Montgomery County ¯
man has adopted his Gay partner. Chief Circuit Judge "
DeLawrence Beard approved the petition of the 60-
year-old adopter and the 65-year-old adoptee, Beard’s :
law clerk, Tracy Silverman, confirmed.
The men’s lawyer, James Shrybman, said that since "
the men can’t legally marry, they sought the adoption ",
to guaranteefamily rights regarding e~.ch o,th.err s ,me.dical
care andfuneral arrangements, and to clarity c~mms
of survivorship and inheritance Shrybman would not
identify the men, citing their desire for privacy. Their
adoption records in court are sealed. The lawyer said
the Silver Spring couple have lived together at least 32
years.
Shrybman said they considered forging some sort of
domestic partner contract, but felt it wouldn’t have
provided the family relationship recognized by law
and might not withstand challenges by other claimants.
"They chose to proceed to have the court put its
~mprimatur on their relationship and this is the only
one that was open to them," Shrybman said. The
adoptee’s parents are both dead, he said.
Other Gay couples have attempted such adoptions,
with varying degrees of success, m recent years, said
David Buckel, senior staff attorney with the Lambda
Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national Gay
civil-rights organization based in New York.
"’At present, same-sex couples throughout the nation
are denied the freedom to marry, which would bring
the greatest array of protections for their family," he
said. "’When you are a couple and you can’t get
roamed, you kind of reach out for whatever alternaayes
there are, and it sounds like these gentlemen have
found a helpful alternative in the state of Maryla_~.d."
A bill to diminate sex discrimination in mamage
was introducedin the 2000 General Assembly but was
blocked in committee. Baltimore city, Takoma Park
and Montgomery County offer domestic partnership
benefits to their employees.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -The 831,000-member Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) has become one of the
first mainline Protestant denominations to authorize
medical coverage for domestic partners of unmarried
employees.
The decision was announced by the church pension
fund, which had discussed the issue for five years and
agreed to consider coverage if July’ s national General
Assembly approved it. But the denomination’s General
Board said last month the pension fund should
decide, not the national meeting. The coverage, which
could start as soon as January, doesn’ t extend to pensions.
Group Condemns
i Disney Gay Days ¯
¯ ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The president of a Christian
group is asking that Disney officials denounce "Gay
¯ Days," the annual gathering of Gays and Lesbians at
¯ Orlando’ s theme parks.
¯ Martin Mawyer, president of the Forest, Va.-based
~ Christian Action Network, sent a letter to Disney
¯ chairman Michael Eisner also asking Disney officials
¯ to warn families about the event. He asked that signs be .
¯ posted and that other visitors to be able to get refunds
¯ if they Want. "After all, these families made plans to
¯ attend a theme park, not ahomosexual event," Mawyer
¯ said in the letter.
Disney and the other Orlando theme parks don’t
sponsor Gay Days but many of the week’s events, are
¯ held on the theme park resort’s property as well as
: Universal Studios, SeaWofld and Tampa Bay Busch
Gardens.
"Our policy is to be hospitable to everyone who
comes to our resort, to welcome everyone as a guest
and to treat everyone with respect," said Disney spokeswoman
Rena Callahan. "Mr. Mawyer is w~elcome to
visit Walt Disney World any day and we will wdcome
him as a guest as well."
Gay Days started out as a single day in 1991 when
then-Orlando resident Doug Swallow and friends from
a Gay computer bulletin board service informally
decided to get together at the Magic Kingdom. Since
then, Gay Days has become a multi-day event that
starts June 1 this year. It is expected to attract as many
as 100,000 Gays and Lesbians and dozens of parties in
local clubs and venues.
Find out for yourself how good the Lord is! - Ps. 34:8
Come share
good ness of
Lord with our
community
€ Morning
11:00 AM
=hildren’s Worship
During Service
MCC United
Rev. Cathy Elliott, Pastor
1623 N. Maplewood (918)838-1715 mcctulsa@aol.com
Lesbian Kiss Gets
Yearbook Censored
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Dozens of Boulder High
School students locked lips outside the school to protest
a decision to withdraw a photo of a same-sex kiss
from the yearbook. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Straight
students were encouraged to kiss one another, and
about 150 people turned out at the protest. It lasted
about an hour.
Students had claimed discrimination after the picture
of two girls kissing was yankedfrom the yearbook.
The picturewas to be included in a feature called"First
Kiss" along w;th those ofheterosexual couples kissing.
Yearbook adviser Ruth Palmer said the parents of the
two girls would have to give permission for the photo
to run. When she didn’t hear back from them, she took
the photo out.
Student Rachel Stanley said that decision showed a
double standard because photos of male-female kisses
were allowed to run without parental approval. "A lot
more needs to be done to open people’s eyes about the
problems facing kids" with different sexual backgrounds,
Stanley said as students behind her hugged
and kissed. "It has to start somewhere and maybe this
is it."
Community
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
at Community ofHope
2545 South Yale, Sundays at llam, 749-0595
A Welcoming Congregation
HOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Sun. Worship, 10:45 am, Sunday School, 9:30 am
Wed. Bible Study, 7 pm, Sunday Eve. Service, 6pm
1517 S. Memorial, 628-0802, hffo: 224-4754
The Open Arms Project
Young Adult Support Group
Outreach Program Thurs. Nights
Meet Others in a Safe Enviroment
Call for meeting times and place:
918-584-2325
Mingo Valley Flowers
9413 E. 31st St., Tulsa 74145
918-663-5934, fax: 663-5834, 800~dAA-5934
Family Owned & Operated
Trinna L. W. Burrows, LSW, ACSW
Ghild, Family, Individual & Gouplo Psychotherapy
(918) 743-9559
2121 South Columbia, Suite 420
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114-3518
The Pride Store
21st Street & Memorial
Tulsa Gay Community Services Center
743-GAYS (743-4297)
6-9 pm, Sunday - Friday
12-9 pm, Saturday, all sales benefit the Center
TOM NEAL
BUILDING & GARDEN
DESIGN
583-I248
Red Rock Tulsa
Free Confidential HIV Testing
Walk-in Clinics
Tues. & Thurs.,5 -8 pm
at the Center, 1307 East 38th
Daytime appointments available.
Call for more information:
918-.584-2325
G
American Red Cross
American Red Cross
-Tulsa Area Chapter
10151 East Eleventh
Tulsa 74128
Dannette McIntosh
Diversity Co-ordinator
83-8:1100
Saint Aidan
4045 N. Cincinnati, 425-7882
Saint John
4200 S. Atlanta Place, 742-7381
OPENARMS .o
OPEN MINDS
OPEN I-IFARFS
Saint Dunstan
5635 East 71st, 492-7140
Trinity
501 S. Cincinnati, 582-4128
The Episcopal Church Welcomes You
Louisiana Senate Kills
Anti-discrimination Bill
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Legislation outlawing
employment discrimination against Gays was defeated
in the Louisiana Senate after a polite but sometimes
emotional debate. "If we fail today we’ll be back again
in the next session," the bill’ s sponsor, state Sen. Don
Cravins, said just before the 14-21 vote against the
measure.
Cravins’ bill would have outlawed discrimination in
hiring, firing or promoting anyone on the basis of
"actual or perceived sexual orientation." Cravins said
some lawmakers supported the idea but admitted to
him they could not vote for it because it would cost
them political support.
While Senate committee debate included views from
religious opponents of the bill, opposition on the floor
centered around the practicality of the bill.
State Sen. Bill Jones said the bill was unworkable
since it created a protected class and proving someone
is a member of that class would be based solely on that
person’s claim.
Lutheran Bishop Resigns
Over Gay Ordination
LOS ANGELES (AP)- Southern California’s ranking
Lutheran bishop says the church has asked him to
resign for participating in last month’ s ordination of a
Lesbian in Minnesota in defiance of church law.
Bishop Paul W. Egertson, whose sonis Gay, said he
has decided whether to comply with the request, which
comesjust months before his term expires Aug. 31. He
was not seeking re-election.
Presiding Bishop H. George Anderson asked
Egertson before the ceremony to reconsiderhis participation,
said John Brooks, a spokesman for the Chicago-
based Evangelical. Lutheran Church in America.
Brooks would not confirm that the bishop had asked
Egertson to resign.
Rev. Paul Tidemann of St. Paul-Reformation
Lutheran Church said he is not surprised by the decision.
Anita Hill, the pastor who Egertson ordained,
now serves at St. Paul-Reformation with Tidemann. "I
think that the ELCA is doing what it feels it has to do
given the policy that it has," Tidemann said. "Every:
body is in a bit of a difficult spot because the church has
not decided to change that policy ""
Egertson, 65, became bishop of the Southern California
(West) Synod in 1995. The synod includes 140
churches, 275 ministers and nearly 46,000 baptized
members.
Egei’tson became the church’ s first active bishop to
participate in the ordination of a Lesbian when he took
part in the ceremony for Hill. Egcrtson said he was
conscience-bound to defy the church by joining in
Hill’ s ordination. "I can no longer advocate this cause
with credibility from a posihon of personal safety,"
Egertson wrote Anderson at the time.
Somechurch leaders were concerned aboutEgertson
whenhe was elected bishop in 1995 because he said he
had earlier joined in blessing same-sex couples. For
that reason, Egertson said, he promised in writing to
resign if he ever felt he must defy church law as a
matter ofconscience. He said Anderson has now asked
him to follow through.
The Saint Paul Area Synod would not comment on
Egertson because "responsibility for this matter rests
with our churchwide leadership," said spokeswoman
Beth Helgen.
But the Saint Paul Area Synod is considering disciplinary
action against St. Paul-Reformation. Bishop
Mark Hanson and the Saint Paul Area Synod Council
could decide to expel the congregation from the ELCA.
Helgen said she expected the synod to make a decision
soon, but there is no deadline for the announcement.
Religious Leader
Opposes Partner Benefits
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The executive director of
the Christian Civic League of Maine has begun taking
steps to prohibit all state and local governments from
providing domestic partnership benefits. Michael Heath
filed a petition with the Secretary of State’s office to
force an election on the issue.
ff Heath’s petition is approved and he meets the
requirements necessary to land the issue on the November
2002 ballot, voters will also decide whether or
not to overturn a decision by the Portland City Council
to establish a registry of same-sex and opposite-sex
unmarried couples.
Heath’s referendum would also prohibit the state
university*system from providing benefits to the domestic
partners of their employees, and would take
away health insurance from the domestic parmers of
employees who already have them.
"We are praying and thinking about it and talking
with folks who have concerns about this, about domestic
partnership and the agenda of the Gay movement
here in Maineand throughout the country," Heath said.
The Secretary of State’s office is reviewing the
petition and is expected to respond by June 4. Heath
will then be able to collect signatures- he needs 42,101
- to place the question on the ballot.
The state has made significant strides in recognizing
stone-sex couples in recent months. Earlier this year,
the State Employee Health Commission approved
granting health insurance beuefits to Gay and unmarried
heterosexual partners of state employees.
On Monday, the Portland City Council made history
by unanimously supporting the creation of a registry,
which will recognizedomes tic partners as families and
afford them many of the same rights and privileges as
husbands and wives The university systeln and the
City of Portland have offered the benefits for some
time, and the ordinance City Councilors in the city
approved on Monday would require any recipient of
city funds to offer the benefits to employees.
A bill is also in the state Legislature that would
require health insurance companies to offer domestic
partner benefits if they offer coverage to the spouses of
plan-covered Legislature members. The measure was
approved by the House of Representatives and is
headed to the Senate for a final vote.
Karen Gcraghty, a Portland city councilor who cosponsored
the city’s ordinance, said she and others
knew that Heath had filed the petition, and are taking
steps to keep a ballot question from passing. "This is
about denying peoples’ access to health care," she
said. "This is about inequity in the workplace.’"
Heath has been successful with statewide referendnms
oncivil rights issues for Gays. In February, 1998,
voters overturned a statewide anti,discrimination law
that the Legislaturehad passed. Last November, voters
again turned down such a law.
Portland Eases Ban on
Military Recruiting
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Portland school board
has loosenedamilitary recrmting ban that was prompted
by the military’ s "don’ t ask, don’ t tell" policy toward
Gays. In a unanimous vote, the board decided teachers
and counselors can refer students to recruiters offcampus
only if students are told that the military
prohibits Gays who disclose or act on their orientation.
The decision is a compromise between Gay civilrights
activists who opposed military recruitment in
schools and recruiters, who said the armed forces offer
opportunities for students who aren’ t college-bound.
Abrams wrote the district’ s ban on military recruitment,
which was put into place in 1995. The board had
pushed various plans in recent weeks to give students
more access to the military in school.
Powell Will Lobby
for More AIDS $
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - Secretary of
State Colin Powell says his four-nation
tour of Africa has pu.t human faces on the
AIDS epidemic sweeping the continent,
and he’ll use the experience to lobby for
more U.S. aid.
"I can go back and make a case in
Washington of the need for more resources,"
Powell said. "I hope I can convey
the passion of what I have seen" when
he reports back to President Bush. Powell
was wrapping up an African gour that also
.tookhim to Mali, South Africa and Kenya.
He was next headed to Budapest, Hungary,
for NATO meetings.
The secretary visited AIDS outreach
. centers in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, and
Kampala, the Ugandan capital. He said he
was deeply moved by heating the experiences
of AIDS victims in both places, and
watching Africans trying to come to grips
with the disease ttL~ough song, dance and
skits. "You don’t really get a full appreciation
until you see the people who are
sla’icken," Powell said.
In Nairobi, Patricia Ochieng, 33, told
Powell it had been nearly 10 years since
she’d tested positive with HIV, the virus
that causes AIDS. Since then, both her 4-
year-old son and her husband have died of
the disease, she said, and"I kept dying day
by day. All my dreams were gone."
The Bush administration announced
earlier this month it was contributing an
ilfitial $200 million to a global $7 billion
fund to combat AIDS. That’s on top of
about $460 million the United States had
earlier committed to fighting AIDS.
In Kampala, Powell announced $50
millionin aid over five years to helpUganda
expand a prevention program. The programhas
sharpl) cut Uganda s HIV-AIDS
rate from nearly 30% to about 10%.
On his travels through Africa, Powell
has said repeatedly that he would work to
get additional U.S. support for AIDS prevention,
research and trealanent programs.
"Even though there are wars in other
parts of the world, even though there’s a
crisis in the Middle. East, even though
people are dying in these conflicts around
the world, there’s no war more serious,
there’s no war causing more death or destruction,
there’s no war on the face Of the
earth that is more grave than the war in
sub-Saharan Africa against HIV-AIDS,"
he said. More than 25 million people on
the continent are infected with HIV.
Teens Want
Complete Sex Info
CHICAGO (AP) - Take a look at some of
the spicy novds aimed at readers as young
as 12. Tune in any number of TV shows
popular with young viewers and try finding
the characters who haven’t had sex.
Ever hear the "Thong Song" or the recent
No. 1 "It Wasn’t Me," a tune about a
couple getting caught "banging on the
bathroomfloor"?Many dementary school
students have.
Officially - from President George W.
Bush on down - young people are being
told to just say ’no’ to sex. Yet they are
bombarded with images that, they say,
make the mantra difficult to take seriously.
Frustrated with mixed messages,
many teens say the)’ would make better
choices for themselves if they had more
information about sex - and less hype.
"How can you expect teens to be abstinent
when all they see is sex?" asks DeVoia
Stewart, 16. "It’s a little hypocritical."
Through the 1990s, biennial surveys
from the federal Centers for Disease Control
andPreventionfound fewerhigh school
students saying they had had sexual intercourse
- from just over 54.1% in 1991 to
49.9% in 1999. The number of teen-age
mothers giving birthalso dropped, although
there are still about a million teen pregnancies
each year.
But health officials say sexually transmitted
diseases are a big concern for teens
- among them HIV, chlamydia, herpes,
gonorrhea and human papilloma virus,
which can develop into cervical cancer.
They also say that, instead of intercourse,
someteens are having otherkinds ofsexual
contact, like oral sex, that can easily spread
disease.
The statistics have only heightened the
debate about what to tell young people
about sex, evenamongyoungpeople themselves.
"In my school, there are people
who adamantly preach about waiting for
sex, and there are also people who love to
recount their own racy experiences," says
Alessa Thomas, 16.
For adults, part of the debate is whether
to distribute condoms and other forms of
birth control to teens. This spring, Planned
Parenthood distributed "prom Survival
Kits," including condoms, to students in
Minneapolis and other cities.
About the same time, a health board in
northern Kentucky decided to change its
sex .education curriculum to "abstinence
only," seeing any talk of safer sex or
condom distribution as lessons in "how
to." "We’re talking about young people
who can’t remember to bring their homework
to school or set their alarm dock -
and yet we want them to remember to use
acondomevery time they engage in sexual
intercourse?" says Addia Wuchner, who
oversees the board’s haman sexuality committee.
But many young people say they should
be trusted to handle more information -
the more, the better. Christopher Batu, 20,
agrees that abstinence education is important,
but he still wishes he had knownmore
about "the reality of what could happen"
because of sex when he was younger. He
says "sex isn’ t evil," but it carries a load of
responsibility with it.
The hunger for accurate, frank informa~
tion has prompted some teens to educate
themselves. Some efforts are official, including
SEX, ETC., a sexuality and health
newsletter and Web site sponsored by
Rutgers University that is written by teens
for teens.
Other teens say they get their information
from sources such as drDrew.com, a
healthWeb sitefor 14- to 24-year-olds that
answers questions ranging from "What is
considered safe sex?" to "What can I do to
helpmyboyfriend last longer during sex?"
Thomas says she doesn’t go to adults
because "I am afraid they will judge me."
Still, a report released this month shows
that many young people want more infor-
Tulsa
A R E S
p r e s e n t
Hair Ball
2001
Juty 14, 8pro, PAC’sWestby
Pavilion & LaFortune Studio,
$80 donation.
Call Rebecca at 884-4194
On the 20th Anniversary
of AIDS, the AIDS Coalition
of Tulsa presents a
Town Hall Meeting
June 5th, 2pm
Topics:
Update on the Epidemic, Janice Nicklas
Testing Positive, Living with HIV, Tommy Chesbro
Knowing Your HIV Status, Ebony Skillens
Diversity In New HIV Cases, Kristi Frisbie
HIV Treatment in Tulsa,
Damon Baker, DO, & Don Eberly
Care Needs of PLWAs, Sharon Thoele
How Tulsans Can Help, Janice Nicklas
Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder
The Tulsa City County
Library System
is proud to
Embrace Diverst
honoring Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgendered
Oklahomans with the following events:
Saturday, June 2. 2pm. Maxwell Park Library
"Coming Out in Tulsa Area High Schools"
Dr. Doug Gronberg, English teacher at Booker T. Washington High School,
moderates a panel discussion by high school students in Gay/Straight Alliances.
Monday, June 4. 7pm. Central Library
"Council Oak Men’s Chorale"
Monday, June 4. 7pm. Helmerich Library
"Family Law Issues Affecting the Gay COmmuaity"
Panel discussion with IJnda Lacey, TU College of Law, moderating.
Thursday, June 7. 7pm. Central Library
"Diversity Film Festival"
Harvey.Fierstein and Matthew Broderick star in "Torch Song Trilogy."
Saturday, June 9. 12 Noon. Central Library
"Diversity Film Festival"
"Out Of the Past" documents the struggles of Kelli Peterson, who started a Gay’/
Straight alliance in her Salt Lake City school in 1996.
Thursday, June 14. 7pm. Central Library
"Diversity Film Festival"
’°Trevor": Winner of the 1994 Academy Award for best live action short.
"If These Walls Could Talk": Stories about Lesbian couples in three deeades.
"Bubbeh .Lee and Me": A Gay man’s visit with his 87 year old grandmother.
Tuesday, June 19.2pm. West Regional Library
Book Discussion: "Deliver Us From Evie"
Thursday, June 21. lpm. Broken Arrow Library
Book Disa~ssion:"Fried Green Tomatoes"
Thursday, June 21. 7pm. Brookside Library
AIDS Memorial Quilt Project
Vale Bode, director of Education and Outreach for the Tulsa Area chapter of
the NAMES project, discusses the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Please call 596-7977 or your local branch library if you have questions or
need more information. Please plan to attend. "
marion from adults about sex.
The survey of 12- to 17-year-olds by the
fkaiser Family Foundation found that48%
wanted more information about sexual
health from their doctor and 42% from
their health class teachers. A third wanted
more discussxons with their parents.
"This is difficuh stuffto talk to yourkids
about, but youhave to do it-kids want you
to doit," says Margaret Anderson, a senior
program manager for the Academy for
Educational Development, a nonprofit
group that uses fe,~Ieta]and privatefuhding
to help-community organizations develop
sex education and other programs.
Jonathan Olinger, 18, agrees. He says
that his parents’ first talk with him about
sex was awkward but that it _opened the
door to other questions. "We listen to our
parents a lot more than they realize," he
says.
Glaxo Lowering
AIDS Drugs Costs
NAIROBI,- Kenya (AP)~_-. Glaxo
SmithKline will expand a program tod-e--
liver low-cost AIDS drugs in Kenya to
include -aid organizations andl~ge employee
health programs, the marketing
director in Kenya said at the end of May.
Dr. William Kiarie said the company’s
drugs would be offered at a no-profit price,
90% cheaper than the retail price charged
in North America and Europe. Glaxo
Kenya already Offers the drugs at the discounted
pnee to government hospitals.
"It is not a new program, it is just new in
the way it is being implemented," Kiarie
said. "What we are talking about is implementing
the price reductions and expanding
that to more groups of people."
Glaxo, along with other multinational
pharmaceutical companies, has come under
increasing pressure to lower the prices
of antiretroviral drugs that treat HIV, the
virus that causes AIDS. More than 26
million people in Africa have HIV, but
most live on less than $1 a day.
Glaxo’s discount will bring the price of
treatment down to $2 a day, Kiarie said.
Only about 1,000 of the 2.1 million
Kenyans infected with HIV are being
treated with antiretrovirals now, Kiarie
said. But even at the lower price, this
numberwill only expand to between 20,000
and 30,000, he added.
"As an industry, we have to lower the
prices," Kiarie Said. "But this will not be
enough. If we want a significant increase
in access to antiretroviral drugs, we have
to look for other funding and infrastructure
buildup." Kiarie refused to discuss
specific drugs or what the exact prices
would be.
Indra Van Gisbergen, an attorney working
with the Kenyan CoalitiOn for Access
to Essential Medicines, said the offer was
nothing that hadn’t been promised by the
pharmaceutical companies before and that
the lack of details was disturbing.
"Glaxo is misleading the public on the
-prices by hiding all the conditions that
come with the price," Van Gisbergen said.
"In order to get those pnces you have to
sign a contract that hasa very funny paragraph
about agreeing with the company."
Van Gisbergensaid Glaxo has refused
to show AIDS activists copies of the contract,
but she had obtained one copy. She
said Glaxo’s announcement was timed to
influence a bill in Kenya’s parliament that
would allow the government to override
patents and allow the importation of lowpriced,
generic AIDS drugs. "This announeement
should not be used as an’ excuse
not to pass the bill and allow generic
drugs into Kenya," Van Gisbergen said.
HIV Clinic Targets
Rural Poor
GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) - qlae fight
against HIV disease is being stepped up in
Greenwood, Leflore County and the rest
of the Delta.
To Dr. Hamza O. Brimah of Greenwood,
director of the program, it’s about
time. "I have a growing base of padents
who are living with HIV," said Brimah,
40. "Back in 1997, when the Magnolia
Medical Clinic opened, we had barely 10
patients. Today, we’ve seen almost 200."
A $1 million grant provided by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
will be spread over three years and
provide primary care services for !owincome
individuals living with HIV, he
said.
Called the Magnoli~ Medical Clinic/
Greenwood Leflore Hospital HIV Program,
the project covers a nine-county
region that runs west to Washington
County, south to Holmes County and north
to Coahoma County.
The grant has two goals, Brimah said.
The first is to improve the quality of care
provided to the HIV patient. One way is to
upgrade patient referrals to other primarycare
services, such as dental care, mental
health care and women’s health care.-
The other is improving access to care.
"Werealize that there are still many people
who are not in care," Brimah said. For
every person living with HIV, he said,
there are nine or 10 who aren’t aware that
they have it. "What we’re trying to do is
encourage people to get tested, to access
care by being able to provide them with
transportation and to pay for their clinic
visits," Brimati said.
Testing and treatments, if necessary, are
provided at no cost for low-income individuals.
Treatment for AIDS and HIV has
improved significantly over the past five
years.
"In the past, there used to be complex
regimens, which meant several pills that
had lots of side effects that differ from the
more recent treatment options," Brimah
said. One improvement is a new pill that
has to be taken only twice a day. "That’s a
long way from the time when patients had
to take upwards of 30 pills a day," Brimah
said. "The cost has remained about the
Average treatment costs for HIV patients
are around $1,000 per month. Drugs
also have been developed that can reduce
the transmission of HIV from mother to
baby. "We encourage all pregnant women
to get HIV tested," Brimah said. "It is
possible to reduce the chances that the
baby will be born with HIV disease."
AIDS and HIV cases have leveled off
nationwide, but the number of rural cases
has risen slightly, Brimah said.
by TFN staff
James Christjohn, TFN’s most excellent
entertainment editor, is taking much
needed time offforgoodbehavior (editor’s
note: is that what that’s called now?). He
is gearing upfor the Stevie Nicks tour. The
high priestess of rock and roll STEVIE
NICKS will embark on an extensive concert
tour this summer
with an itinerary that
will take her across the
United States.
Nicks will perfonfi
material from her new
CD TROUBLE IN
SHANGRI-LA which
entered the Billboard
albtun charts at No. 5
and has remained a Top
2Ohit for the last three
weeks. She" will also
cover material from her
previous solo albums as
well as her hits as a
member of Fleetwood
Mac.
Billboard Magazine
hailed Nicks’ new album as "this years
comeback equivalent to Carlos Santana
and her strongest material since her landmark
Bdla Donna." Check local venues
for on sale dates and ticket prices.
The tour dates are as follows, being the
closest to Tulsa She gets: August 3 Dallas,
TX Smirnoff Music Center; August 4
Houston, TX Cynthia Woods Mitchell
Pavilion; August 28 Banner Springs, KS
Sandstone Amphitheatre; August 29 St.
Louis, MO Riverport Amphitheatre. -
But meanwhile in Tulsa, there’s things
happening. From June 6th to July 1, Light
Opera Oklahoma (LOOK) will be prov!ding
the best in light, summer entertmnment
with, as always, some Gilbert &
Sullivan, the Mikado, Herbert’s Naughty
Marietta and Lerner & Lowe’s My Fair
Lady, based, of course on George Bernard
Shaw’s Pygmalion.
LOOK is also presenting a one woman
"Carmen" which feature Julie Goell as a
cleaning lady who entertains hersdf by
performing scenes from the Bizet opera.
And Broadway and film .veteran Lynette
Bennett will reprise the career of Jeanette
McDonald in a show Bennett wrote. For
times and dates on all these performance,
call 583-5398 or see their website: www.
webtek.com/gilbertsullivan
Down at the Performing Arts Center,
American Theatre Company will close
their season with Wit, the riveting tale of
Dr. Vivian Bearing, a professor of 17th
century English poetJohn Donne. Bearing
has cancer and the play addresses her
struggle with the disease and is full of
allusions to Donne’s work. Tulsa theatre
veteran Lisa Wilson stars in the, production
directed by Ken Spence. Call the
PAC, 596-2525, for times and prices.
Also there. Theatre Tulsa will present
the Cotton Patch Gospel which recounts
the life and times of Jesus Christ as set in
the hills of Georgia. It’s been characterized
as "a story for intellectuals who are
closet hillbillies..." This, of course, describe~
so many that we know... This is
Philbrook’s award winning lawns.
likdy to be good despite this description.
¯
Again call 596-2525.
¯¯ Put on your radar Tulsa’s annual
SummerStage Festival which will present
¯
a number of plays during July and into
¯ early August. Call thePAC at 596-2525 or
log on to www.tulpac.com
¯ Now over at Philbrook, they’re notcoming
up daisies and dandelions
in the lawn. In
fact, the museum has
won an award from
Briggs and Stratton
(yes, that’s right, the
lawn mower engine
manufactorers) for having
one of the top ten
lawns in the US. Others
who’ve won the award
include Graceland, the
Alamo, and this year,
the Biltmore Estate and
the Hemingway Home
in Key West. All the
work at Philbrook is
done by only four
people according to
¯ grounds supervisor, Ralph Bendel.
¯ And one ofTulsa’ s summer traditions is
film and theatre on the lawn at Philbrook.
¯ Keep reading this column for further in-
¯. formauon.
Also at Philbrook is a show opening
¯ June 10 of the glass artistry of West Coas!
¯ artist William Morris. Morris’ work is ¯
reflective of his interest in archeology and
¯ ancient pagan cultures. Morris lives near
Seattle where he was master glassblower
to world renowned artist Dale Chihuly.
Morris’ work is in the collections of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre
and the Victoria and Albert Museum in
¯ London as well as theLos Angeles County ¯
Museum.
¯ Philbrook is at 2727 S. Rockford Rd., is
¯ open Tues. - Sat. 10-5pm, Sun. 11-Spin
¯ and till 8pm on Thurs. Admission at the ¯
grounds, Museum Shop and la Villa res-
¯ taurant is alway free and more information
¯ is available at www.philbrook.org
". Don’t" forget that Tulsa CiU-County
¯ Library is presenting a variety of Diversity
¯ programnfing during the month of June.
¯ Central Library will host the Council
Oak Men’ s Chorale on Monday, June 4 at
¯ 7pro. The Chorale will perform a variety
¯ of vocal selections.
¯ On Thursday, June 7 at 7pm, Central ¯
will begifl its "Diversity Film. Festival"
¯ with Harvey Fierstein and Matthew
¯ Broderickin"TorchSongTrilogy," which
¯ was adapted from the Tony Award win-
. ning Broadway hit. The musical numbers
¯ are a hoot, and Anne Bancroft chews the
: scenery nicely.
¯ Next will be "Out of the Past" docu- ¯
menting the struggles of Kelli Peterson,
¯ who started a Gay/Straight alliance in her
¯ Salt Lake City school in 1996. Her fight ¯
became a statewide battle that brought
¯ national attention. This film is scheduled
¯ for Saturday, June 9 at 12 Noon.
Thursday, June 14 (7pm) will see
" "Trevor": Winner of the 1994 Academy
¯ Award for best live action short. This
¯ highly acclaimed, see arts, p. 9
Bernsen
Foundation
For Tickets Call
(918) 583-5398
Kendall Theatre
The University of Tulsa
Matinees: 2:00 Evenings: Thursday &
Friday 7:30, Saturday 8:00
Tirnothy W. Daniel
Attorney at Law
An Attorney who will fight for justice
& equality for Gays & Lesbians
Domestic Partnership Planning,
Personal Injury, Criminal Law & Bankruptcy
1-8OO-742-9468 or 918-352-9504
128 East 3roadway, Drumright, Oklahoma
weekend and evening appoinlmenls are available.
Kelly Kirby, CPA, PC
Certified Public Accountant
a professional corporation
Lesbians and Gay men face many special
tax situations whether single or as couples.
Electronic filing is available for faster refunds.
747-5466
4021 South Harvard Avenue, Suite 210, Tulsa 74135
touching, funny film addresses issues of
sexual identity and compassion and, "If
These Wails Could Taik" a trio of stories
about Lesbian couples in three different
decades.
The last film that evening will be
"Bubbeh Lee and Me": about a Gay man’ s
visit with his 87 year old grandmother in a
Florida retirement community.
Pleasecall 596-7977 or yourlocal branch
library if you have questions or need more
information.
GLSEN is the sponsor of Student Pride
USA, the organization that helped me to
get our Gay Straight Alliance started, and
GLSEN in Oklahoma provided assistance
to Barker as well.
Phelps, aiso adisbarred attorney, didnot
attend the protest himself but members of
his congregation, most of whom are also
related to him did picket near Orai Roberts
University’s Mabee Center.
Barker, in remarks made to supporters
at the Center, noted that in response to ’the
protest a number of his classmates, many
unknown to him, offered .him words of
support and encouragement.
Barker aiso notedthat as afundraiser the
incident was highly successful, raising
several thousand dollars for Gay/Straight
student organizing in Oklahoma.
to supportthe conmaunities it serves. The
Gill Foundation and OutGiving Department
are headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
The Gay and Lesbian Fundfor Colorado
is based in Colorado Springs.
The Festival will feature booths with pride
merchandise, food, beverages as well as a
variety of entertainment, from singers to
femaieimpersonators,maybe a comedian,
grrrl bands, the Council Oak Mens Choraie
and "surprises." The opemng ceremonies
for the Festivai will be held at
4:30pm. The Festivai is scheduled to continue
until dark.
Tulsa Transit shuttles will begin at noon
at Veterans’ Park to take people to several
stops aiong the parade route.
Volunteers are encouraged to help carry
the 120 foot long rainbow flag, Oklahoma’ s
largest. Entries into the parade are still
possible but the entry fee has now gone to
$50, profit and non-profit alike.
At the Gaia Dinner, TOHR will present
its Community Hero awards to four individuals
as well as recognize some of the
organization’ s donors, and the TOHR Volunteer
of the Year.
And on June 16th, Borders Books &
Music will haveaTOHRbenefit day where
a percentage of purchases will be donated
by the store to TOHR. Cail the Center at
743-4297 for more information.
Viewpoint: Study ¢:
Gay to Straight Bias ¯
by Wayne Besen
The Human Rights Campaign
What do John Paulk, Jeremy Marks
Wade Richards have in conm~on ? ~I
were ail high profile"ex-Gays" who c:~ v.
out of the closet in the past year - c:
Paulk’s case, was photographed at a ~ y
bar in Washington. If there is one kn~:.
fact about "ex-Gays," it is that one camaot
aiways take their stories of "change" at
face vaiue.
In light of the double lives of prominent
"ex-Gays," it seems questionable to conduct
a"scientific" study on whetherpeople
can "change" their sexual orientation - if it
is based solely on their testimonies. Yet
this is exactly what psychologist Dr. Robert
Spitzer did. Moreover, many ofhis 200
subjects wereinvolvedupon the referral of
several virulently anti-Gay political groups.
Themostobvious flaw in Spitzer’ s study
was the clear role played by these groups.
The "ex-Gay" ministries referred 43% of
the subjl~cts to Spitzer. The anti-Gay National
Association for the Research and
Therapy of Homosexuaiity referred 23%.
"His sampling method was totally inadequate,"
Dr. Lawrence Hartmann, a professorat
Harvard and alongtime researcher
on homosexuality told Newsday. A year
ago, the Human Rights Campaign urged
Spitzer in a letter to use objective physical
measures in determining whether his subjects
were still attracted to the same sex.
Why did he decline? Spitzer and others
claim that the new study shows that sexuai
orientation in "highly motivated" people
may be changeable.
But the results show quite the opposite.
Even though study participants were a
hand-selected sample of activists - with
78% having spoken out publicly about
~onver~ion therapy - only .17% of the men
and55%ofthe womencharacterized themselves
as 100% heterosexual after at least
five years of therapy. Additionaily, 56%
of the men and 18% of the women still said
they fantasized about the same sex.
Anti-Gay activists have long claimed
that tens of thousands of people have gone
from Gay to straight. But after a review of
the most "’successful" 200 cases, it is clear
that the failure rate of conversion therapy
is high. This is why Spitzer acknowledged
having "great difficulty" in finding nonreligious
therapists able to refer clients
whom had successfully changed their
sexual orientation.
Another study by Ariel Shidlo and
Michael Schroeder, represents a more realistic
picture of conversion therapy efforts.
TheNew York psychologists studied
202 subjects who tried to change their
sexual orientation, and found that 97%
failed to change in any meaningful way.
And of the 3% who claimed to have fully
changed, all but one work as "conversion"
counselors.
Until society is freefrom anti-Gay prejudice,
people will feel compelled or be
coerced into attempting to change. While
new research on this controversial subject
is welcome, Spitzer’s study does not further
enhance the current debate. It only
offers a view that is long on right-wing
influence and short of objective data.
by Lamont Lindstrom
Here is a childhoodmemory: Iamriding
the bus to school - fifth grade, I think. I’m
relaxed, looking about here-and-there: At
other kids, out the window, at myself refleeted
in the window, and
- oh my god! - I’m wearing
a yellow shirt! And it’s
Queersday! Thursday, that
is. I can’t anymore remember
all the indignities, but
friends and enemies used
hands and tongues to reprimand
me for breaking one
of the sacred rules of
schoolyard society: Only
queers would wear yellow
on Thursday.
We followed a complicated
and often cruel kid
culture full of beliefs, rituals,
and regulations. These
rules starkly delineated the
normal from the abnormal,
the acceptable from the
forbidden. Many focused
on appearance. Boys cross
their legs at the knee, gifts
at the ankle. Boys carry
books at the side, girls
complicated and often
cruel kid culture furl of
beliefs, rltuals, and
regulations... Many
focused on appearance.
Woe was he, or she, who
failed to monitor the
body... It is an easy
guess that playground
taboos refleet children’s
attempts to grapple with
gender... [trying to fit]
ourselves into an adult
world of maseuline
and feminine...’"
cuddled in front. Boys do not stand with
hands on hips akimbo. Woe was he, or she,
who failed to monitor the body.
Schoolyard surveillance was. painstaking
if sometimes quirky. Be cai~ful not to
wear a shirt with a little loop in the middle
of tim shoulders. Playground police’would
rip off these fruit-loops just as they did the
fagtags on Polo shirts. And when I made it
to high school, the heavy question was
which ear to pierce. Boys who pierced
their right ears were likely fags. Left, we
all knew, was right.
Folklorists have recorded many similar
elements of kid lore around America.
Queersday still exists, although the day in
question differs from place to place, as..
does the tabooed color (yellow or green in
some towns, and redin others) Itis aneasy
guess that playground taboos reflect
children’s attempts to grapple with gender.
All of us experienced the challenge of
fitting ourselves into an adult world of
masculine and feminine. We had to be
boys or gifts. Anything in-between was
to(~ upsetting to contemplate. It could imply
that those vital categories, male and
female, weren’t as solid as we needed to
believe they were. Rather than doubt our
categories, we witch-huntedfags and dykes
- failed boys and inadequate gifts.
Folklorists al so collect elaborated, adult
versions of schoolyard culture Jan
Brunvand, for one, has published a series
of collections of urban legends. These are
stories, presented as the truth, that circulate
by word-of-mouth and, increasingly,
over the Internet. (Several excellent
websites, including www.urbanlegends.
corn andwww.snopes2.com, track
new legends and also maintain story archives.)
Just as playgroundfolklorereflects kids’
gender anxieties, we can suppose that urban
legends similarly express areas of
ambiguity and disquiet in everyday American
life.
Accounts of Kentucky-fried rats, for
example, are plentiful: couple goes to fastfood
chicken joint, drives through, buys a
bucket, and chows down. Wife says, "Gee
honey, my chicken tastes
funny !" Husband turns on
light and both are shocked
to see thatWifehas chewed
through hunk of rat, tail
still hangs from the breading.
Couple rushes io lawyer
and sues chicken joint
for XXXX dollars.
A pervasive feature of
contemporary American
life is that we eat food
cooked by strangers (and
poorly paid strangers, at
that). The rat story, and
many similar, reflect and
express the anxieties that
fast food engenders.
Similarly, stories of
poodles in the macrowave
shadow worries about technology
we neither understand
nor completely control:
old lady who on rainy
days dries her toy poodle in
her oven gets new microwave as a gift.
Next time dog gets wet she pops it into the
microwave. Poodle explodes.
Computer virus hoaxes, or stories of
people having cybersex with someone who
mrus out to beMom or Dad, reflect similar
alarms about complex technology.
Many Americans also are worried and
disquieted by homosexuality. Not surprisingly,
their anxiety has sparked a genre of
Gay-themed urban legends. But notably,
there are not that many of these.
Snopes.com archives ouly five, and all
date back several decades or more. The
hoary legend of the horrified college student
puzzled by rectal pain who discovers
his roommate has been drugging him
nightly to have his way with hirn can be
traced back, in one form or another, to the
1880s.
Also decades old is the legend of the
rock star (Elton John, David Bowie, Mick
Jagger, Jon Bon Jovi, Li’l Kim, Britney
Spears, etc. etc.) who is rushed to hospital
after collapsing on stage to have [insert
your number here] gallons of semen
pumped from stomach.
Three other Gay-themed legends were
all first collected back in the 1980s: (!)
Guy goes home with woman who, playfully
it seems, ties him up. But then Batman
(or other masked person) emerges from
closet to leap his bones; (2) a movie will
-soon be released portraying Jesus as Gay;
and, perhaps the most notorious, (3) closeted
cdebrity has trouble with his gerbil.
But several newer legends have surfaced
that reflect fear of AIDS: AIDS
Mary or AIDS Harry - the trick who
disappears after writing "welcome to the
world ofAIDS" on your bathroom mirror;
and stories of AIDS-infected needles left
sticking out of theater seats or public telephone
change return slots.
We can hope that the decline of Gaythemed
urban legends see Studies, p. 11
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I
NOW... you are thinking, no way.., itis
about sex. Thanks to the media, we tend
to be an incredibly sexual society. Well
okay, sexuality has some to do with it too,
but it is only an expression of the feeling of
acceptance and security they feel in the
relationship.
What kind of behavior should be "socially
acceptable" for GLBT people? Or
better yet, what would the heterosexual
society find acceptable behavior?
"MEN will refrain from hugging, kissing,
or holding hands in public; firm handshakes
only. WOMEN will be permitted
to hug, and to kiss each other on the cheek.
ANY public expression of sexual or romantic
interest in members of the same
gender will be unacceptable. WOMEN
will shop in the Women’s Department at
Sears; men in the Men’s Department.
EACH woman will find aman to live with,
change her last name to match his, and
maintain their home. CHILDREN will be
optional, but encouraged."
So, how many heterosexuals do YOU
know that follow this .code of conduct? So
if we all acted that way, they’d love us..
yeah right. Whoever believes that, I would
strongly suggest to get out of your
"CandyLand" world of beliefs. But what’ s
so great about their rules that we should be
asking for permission to assimilate? Rules,
if they are not clear should be questioned
and changed, if need be.
Those rules say that men must be Men
and womenmust be Women (and children
are the property of biological parents).
They say that everyone should conform to
a standard code of conduct, dress, and
even beliefs. People who don’t conform
may (or may not) be tolerated, but will
never be treated like equals. As for sex..
the rules are both silly and oppressive, and
they’re observed with such hypocrisy it
isn’t funny. Can we say Neanderthal...?
I’m positive that these social standards,
right out of?Father Knows Best," refers to
are a limiting set of nfles: this is acceptable,
that is not. But for me, one of the
benefits ofbeing LesbianAND outspoken
has been that it made me question those
rules.., and ultimately reject those that
didn’t make sense. Don’t ask me to go
back to them; I’d rather go forward.
Rather than a rigid rule book, why don’t
we instead outline something positive to
aspire to? After all, if we must negotiate,
I’d rather do it from a position of strength.
.. of pride in the example we have to offer,
not one of shame and embarrassment.
Here is my revised, socially accepting
behavior for EVERYONE: "WE will accept
others, regardless of the way they
look, dress, talk, or act. WE will support
people’ s right to do whatever they want in
their bedrooms, regardless of whether we
want to do it ourselves. WEwill be honest
about who we are, rather than pretending
to be what others want us to be.WEwill let
people believe things we don’t bdieve,
and express opinions we don’t share. WE
will never negotiate away the righ( to be
whoever we are."
PS: Go visit a nursing home and make a
friend... STOP the abuse and neglect of
the elderly.
that the law cannot be enforced statewide.
"This is a good day for privacy and
fairness in Minnesota," said Charles
Samuelson, executive director of the
MnCLU. "By inviting the governmentinto
every bedroom in the state, this law was
dearly unconstitutional - which is why
the court struck it down."
Gov. Jesse Ventura agreed, his spokesman
said. "It’s consistent with the
governor’s philosophy that there are some
things the government has no business
making laws about," said John Wodele.
"He sees this as a welcome decision."
Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Mirmeapolis,
has tried unsucessfully more than once to
repeal the provision through legislative
channels. She had a bill ready again this
year, but never introduced it because she
was waiting to see the outcome of the court
case. "I obviously thinkit is terrific," Kahn
said of the ruling. "I always thought that
law was unconstitutional."
Tom Prichard, president of the Minnesota
Family Council, disagreed. "This is
another case of blatant judicial activism
where a judge decides to make the law
rather than interpret it," Prichard said. He
said the issue should be decided by the
Legislature.
Matt Coles, director of the ACLU’s
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, says 35
states, including Minnesota, havehad their
sodomy laws either repealed by legislatures
or struck down by the courts. In
1961, all 50 states had sodomy laws on the
books. "One more down, 15 to go," Coles
said after hearing about ’the Minnesota
j.udge’s decision. "We absolutely are gomg
to stay with it."
Minnesota’s taw prohibits oral and anal
sex between any adults, including married
couples and disabled people who cannot
engage in any other form of intimacy.
Penalties include up to a year injail and up
to $3,000 in fines.
For years, efforts to repeal the law in the
state Legislature were unsuccessful.
Although sodomy laws are rarely enforced,
Coles says they can be used against
proponents ofdomesticpartners ordinances
and other issues sought by Gays and Les-
- bians. ’The people who want to keep the
(sodomy) law onthe book, there’ s amethod
to their madness," Coles said. "The existence
of these laws are used to generally
delegitimize Gays and Lesbians in public
debate."
indicates dissipation of public anxieties
about homosexuality - the gradual
mainstreaming of Gay. But wait! Have
you heard about-Yahoo! shutting down the
porno sites? Have you heard that Rock
Hudson and Jim Nabors were married?
lsa Oklahomans for Human Rights
presents
Celeb
Diversi-ty
ti 2001
Saturday, June 2, 2001
TOHR Follies 2001
"Hollywood TimeWarp"
~..:Avondale Studio & Theatre (the old Delaware Playhouse)
1511 So. Delaware Ave., 8pm
Reception immediately following.
Tickets: $15.00, At the Door: $20.00
The Pride Store @ Tulsa GLBT
Community Center; 2114 S Memorial
or by calling 918.743.4297 or toll
free (outside Tulsa) at 866.335.9074
Wednesday, June 6, 2001
Tulsa Interfaith Service
Sponsored by TU BLGT Alliance, Sharp Chapel, TU, 3pm
Monday, June 4, 2001
Council Oak Men s Chorale Concert.
Presented by Tulsa City/County Library
"Diversity in Song"
Aaronson Auditorium, Central Librarym 3rd.& Denver, 7pm
Monday, June 4, 2001
Family Law Panel
Presented by Tulsa City/County Library
Law Professor Linda Lacey& an expert panel
Helmerich Library, 91st and Yale, 7pm
Tuesday, June 5, 2001
APt Exhibit: ,"Embracing Art"
IAll Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria Avenue, 6-gpm
Thursday, June 7, 2001
GLBT Film Festival
Sponsored by Tulsa City/County Library
AaronsonAuditofium, Central Library, 3rd and Denver, 7pm
Friday, June 8, 2001
TOHR Diversity Gala
Benefiting TOHR and Diversity Celebration 2001
"Embrace Diversity" Parents of Hate Crime Victims:
Speakers and Parade Grand Marshalls:
Gabi Clayton, Olympia, WA,
Dorothy Holman, Chicago,
Don Sinclair, Houston, TX,
Carolyn Wagner, Fayetteville, AR
"Community Hero" Awards presentation honoring
those in the local GLBT community.
Tulsa Country Club, 701 N. Yukon Dr., 7pm, reception &
silent auction, 8pm dinner, $100/ea. $1,000 table of eight.
Sponsorships available. Reserved seating available by calling
918.743.4297 or 866.335.9074
Saturday, June 9, 2001
The Pride Parade
Cherry Street (15th Street) to Boston Avenue to
18th Street to Veterans .Park
Stags at 3pm, Float/marchers begin assembling at lpm.
No entries after 2:45pro
Featuring:Entries from across the region
Community Heroes, Oklahoma’s largest Pride Flag
Diversity Festival
Sponsored by: Bud Light & Eastern Oklahoma Beverages
Veterans’ Park, 1875 So. Boulder Ave., 3pm
Featuring Entertainment, Speakers, and¯ more.
Sunday, June 10, 2001
Women’s Tea Dance
Women only dance, DJ, and live entertainment by Melanie
Fry, pipe & cigar patio, unplugged music circle, and more.
Greenwood Cultural Center, 322 N. Greenwood, 3-Tpm

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