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Pen Points
Letters to Gay Today |
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Critiquing Divisions
I enjoyed reading your book review of John Lauritsen's A Freethinker's Primer of Male Love,
a very thoughtful appreciation and discussion of his perspectives.
I, too, was put off many years ago by the sometimes strident voices of judgmental feminists, and my first allegiance has always been to the Gay movement. Lesbian is a fine word, but I will not give up my claim to being a Gay woman. Gay unites men and women, and in the age of cell division in the Gay community, with more and more groups establishing their turf and claims, I am and have always been on the side of uniting Gay and Gay-friendly people. For me Gayness is a love style, not a lifestyle, not primarily a sexual orientation or preference, but a comprehensive affinity for, appreciation of, and love for someone of the same sex. At the same time I realize that while there will always be exclusively Gay women and men, bisexuality is probably the wave of the future -- but that can't be realized, I believe, till Gay rights are secure and anchored in society's consciousness.
Lilli Vincenz
Editor's Note: On April 17, 1965 the pioneering Lilli Vincenz, now a doctor of psychology, was one of three women (and seven men) who took part in the movement's first demonstration at the White House. In that same timeframe she became the editor of a co-ed publication regarded as the movement's first militant newsmagazine, The Homosexual Citizen. Later Lilli helped found The Washington Blade. (See Dr. Rodger Streitmatter's history of the rise of the gay and lesbian press, Unspeakable published by Faber & Faber, 1995) Today, she and her life partner, Nancy Ruth Davis, are putting their energies into a Washington,D.C. area organization, The Community for Creative Self-Development Ryan Idol Reclaims Himself
I just wanted to let fans of actor Ryan Idol know that the actor/former porn
star is doing a superb job starring in the Chicago theatrical production of
Scent of Rain. Ryan has been playing to packed houses in an original
production slated to run until the end of August.
Idol is in top form physically and I am sure to many fans surprise doing a great job in the role of Bill Tom. Idol seems to be comfortable and a real natural in the environment of the theatre. He is instinctive, in touch with his emotions and brings to full life the depth of the character he is portraying. Idol shares the space with the other actors with great ease. He gives a performance that is funny and touching in a play that, at times is overly sweet. The entire cast works incredibly well together. Anyone out there who thinks a or has thought that Idol should reconsider his attempt to work as a legitimate mainstream actor should purchase a ticket to Chicago and see for themself how gifted he actually is. Hats off to Mr. Idol for turning things around and creating new and exciting opportunities for himself. That's all folks.
M. The Transgender Debate
Our community has been seeking respectability for years. Now it seems to be rushing at us with open arms. The huge increase in advertising aimed at us by mainstream corporate America is a sign that respectability is here, or at least very near. But let us not forsake our comrades to embrace that respectability. Transgendered folks have been fighting in the trenches, alongside us gay men, lesbians, and bisexual people since the battle was joined. They helped build the foundation of this movement as much as anyone. We should keep in mind that our movement, this struggle for equal rights, did not reach out and grab the bisexual and transgendered communities in order to swell our numbers. Our description of ourselves as the GLBT community was adopted to more clearly show the reality of the makeup of those groups of us who banded together to fight a common enemy, and have been fighting that enemy together for years. It is morally wrong and politically unwise to abandon one's allies in the middle of a war. And that, in a nutshell, is what some are suggesting. Their argument seems to be that we can move further ahead, faster, if we shed ourselves of what some might see as our "socially unacceptable" members. I have news for them. Our enemies are not as discriminating as they might think. The bigots don't see any difference between a James Hormel and the most inept cross dresser. To the bigot, both are equally queer. If we were to follow this line of reasoning, where would we stop? To what point would we allow the straight majority to dictate which are "acceptable" members of our community? Who would we get rid of next? Are fem men and butch women to be the next group chopped? Lesbians are not only more politically active in our community, they are less threatening to the male ego. So should our sisters dump not only the "T", but also the "G" by getting rid of us, the less acceptable male segment of our community? If we can educate others to accept the concept of the fairness of equality for gays and lesbians, we can educate them to the fact that the same fairness applies to the transgendered and bisexed. Our strength is in standing united. Let us not do our enemy's work for him by encouraging division amongst ourselves. Because, as that old, but true saying warns, "...Divided we fall". Before I close, let me state that in an article on this subject, I was chilled to see the question "What about protection for overweight people, or ugly people, or short people?" I have run into this argument many times before, but in the past it has always been used by straight bigots railing against "special rights", the name they have given to equality for any of the GLBT community. For us to parrot this tired phrase against members of our own community is sickening. Many, many years ago, as a small child, I picked up and read the book Animal Farm under the mistaken impression it was a children's book. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it made a deep and long lasting impression on me. I can't but help think of a line from that book: "All animals are created equal. Some are created more equal than others." I'm afraid that some of us would gladly fall into the trap of putting ourselves into the "more equal" category if we could. No. We have little to gain, and everything to lose by giving into the temptation of setting up artificial boundaries of good queers versus bad queers. If the idea of human rights for our transgendered brothers and sisters is causing protective legislation to stall, the solution isn't to disown part of our community. Rather it is to redouble our educational efforts so that straight America can see that it is all the same battle.
Paul Barwick |
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