Conference quark::mennotes-v1

"...And the Maligning of the Male"
By Ishmael Reed

Reprinted without permission from "Life," Special Issue, Spring 1988


Being a black man in America is like being a spectator at your own
lynching. Everybody gets to make a speech about you but you; white
supremacists, feminists, conservatives, liberals, sociologists,
psychologists, demographers--all manner of experts, editorial writers and
columnists, many of whom seem to live in cozy places like Georgetown or
Palo Alto.

Every time you try to tell your story, you're interrupted or called
paranoid. As a black male writer, sometimes you have to be strident to get
your point across, to get somebodoy to pay attention. You feel like the man
yelling fire in a crowded theater. You just can't seem to get the gag off,
so you engage in what to society is muffled incoherency.

If people only knew the truth, they wouldn't prejudge you, you think. If
they only knew the statistics that puncture the lies that are cuicrculating
about black men, they wouldn't get you mixed up with the one percent with
whom the media are so thrilled--the bums and deadbeats. Every time you see
footage of a drug bust on TV you see black males. Yet the Drug Enforcement
Administration has said that a number of ethnic groups, including Orientals
and Israelis, are involved in drug trafficking. The news shows dont show
the Chinese gangs that now supply 40 percent of the heroin in New York.

As with the persecuted Jews in Germany, somebody is always trying to pin
the Star of David on your clothes, but in this country it's very
convenient. You wear the Star of David on your skin. Your style disturbs
people--Bernard Goetz says he shot the black teenagers on the subway
because he was threatened by their body language. Even the white
avant-garde shares this view. Norman Mailer's "white negro" in his infamous
essay of that title is an irresponsible psychpath who lives constantly on
the edge.

When Susan Brownmiller, in her money-makinging book on rape, "Against Our
Will," wrote that to foster his manhood the black man contributes to the
"specter of the black man as a rapist," she was indulging in group libel.
You know that the mojority of convicted rapists in the U.S. are white
males. At the university where you work, the student newspaper for several
years carried stories about black rapists, but then, thanks to the feminist
movement, it was revealed that the most frequent type of rape occurring on
campus was date rape--white fraternity guys who were refusing to take no
for an answer.

You don't live in a true pogrom, but if you are caught in a neighborhood
where you don't belong, you might be placed under surveillance or you might
be killed. You've read a number of accounts of professional black men
who've been taken for muggers. The Reverand Floyd Flake, a black
congressman whose district includes Howard Beach in New York City, went
into a store there and had a hard timme convincing some whites that not
only wasn't he a threat to them, he was actually their federal
representative.

In "The Washington Post," columnist Richard Cohen said that shopkeepers
were perfectly justified in denying all young black men entrance to their
stores on the basis of the actions of a few. So, when a local merchant
complained about the behavior of a particular black customer, you told him
that the next time all the black people in the world had a meeting, that
black man's conduct would the first item on the agenda.

Despite this daily slander, most black men hold down jobs, however menial,
and many have proved their loyalty to their country. During the first years
of the Vietnam war black men were 13 percent of the grunts but took a
quarter of the casualties. In today's Vietnam movies you don't see these
men or, if you do, they're dope-smoking buffoons.

On a television talk show in San Francisco you spoke of some of the
emotional land mines that a black man has to traverse each day. You cannot
really communicate what it feels like to look into your rearview mirror and
see a cop pull in behind you. It's the little hurts that build up. After
the show, black men came up on the street and shook your hand. They stopped
theirs cars on the freeway and yelled over to you. You had hit a nerve.

These are the crtoon images presented of black men: the criminal, the
athlete, the clown, the entertainer, the good nigger, the brute. (Harold
Ross, the first editor of "The New Yorker," seemed to sum it up for the
media when he said, "Coons are either funny or dangerious.") These images
create tension, literally. Black men suffer from high blood pressure, they
get strokes and cancer more often than whites. If you don't have a sense of
humor, you become a scowling time bomb, striking out at people who are dear
to you. James Baldwin told of how his father punished his family for the
humiliations he received each day at work in the white world. A lot of
black men, hating themselves, turn their aggression on one another in the
streets.

As a novelist and essayist, you believe that black kids should be exposed,
not only to you and your writing, but to black scientists, inventors,
engineers, architects, generals. How many children know that 5,000 black
men fought in the Revolutionary War, and how many are aware of the black
Indian fighters who helped conquer the West, and how many know about the
blacks who fought in the Civil War, those immortalized in Robert Lowell's
beautiful poem "For the Union Dead"?

How can the United States become a truly great society if it continues to
cling, like Linus to his blanket, to the racist idea that black men somehow
are at the root of all social problems? You proposed in a magazine article
that white men and black men should meet in a national conference to
discuss their differences and common interests, but nobody took you up on
the suggestion. It's almost as if they don't want the situation to change.
You think that Jimmy the Greek shouldn't have been fired by CBS for what he
said that the breeding of black athletes. You think he should have been
made to take a year's course in ethnic studies at some university instead.
Better still, there could be a College for Racists, maybe along the lines
of "re-education" camps North Vietnam set up for the defeated generals of
the South.

For all the wounds, for all of your humilation, it could be worse. You
could be a white man. You feel sorry for the good, decent and fair white
men in this society. While you might be associated with creepy crack
merchants, small-time hustlers and gold chain thieves, nobody is
associating you with perpetuators of genocide, or with the people who
created slavery and invented the Bomb. Crowds in world capitals aren't
shaking theirs fists at you and calling you the great Satan, nor are they
hanging you in effigy. When you suffer a setback in life, you can always
claim that it's because of racism, and most of the time you will probably
be right. What's a white man's excuse for failure? You used to joke that,
with all of the opportunities that white men have in this society, any one
of them who ended up less than President of the United States should be
considered a flop.

You don't have that kind of pressure. You hear ever day on the news that
the public will never elect a black President. Nobody expects you to be a
white savior, a James Bond, an Indiana Jones or Superman. Imagine how that
kind of pressures feels. Women and all the minorites in this country, not
just the blacks, seem to have the same grievances about white males,
lumping the good ones in with the bad with such epithets as "power
structure." You wonder how white men are able to withstand it. Maybe that's
why they're the group with the highest suicide rate. And so as a black man
you are beleaguered, but at least you're not Atlas, carrying the world on
your shoulders.

                                Terminology

          Sometimes it can be confusing to keep up with the
          latest terms and phrases used by a group of people.
          Many folks, in an attempt to avoid offending a
          minority group, do not speak up because they are
          aren't sure which terms are offensive to the minority
          and which ones are not.

          This write-up is an attempt to explain terminology
          and phrases preferred by most of the people who design
          and give the Recognizing and Understanding the Lesbian
          /Gay/Bisexual Difference presentation. Nothing written
          here is cast in concrete; it's open to debate (please
          feel free to ask questions about terminology during
          the presentation!). Hopefully, though, this write-up
          will give you a "vocabulary" that can make you more
          comfortable during the presentation.


          Sexual Orientation

          Many people in the lesbian/gay/bisexual communities
          would like for people to use the words sexual
          orientation instead of the words life-style or sexual
          preference. Many believe that ones sexual orientation--
          whether determined by birth, by upbringing, or
          by both--is not a choice, but is a permanent part
          of a human being. Many of us believe that sexual
          orientation is part of "what one is" as opposed to
          "what one does." We believe that we are emotionally
          and sexually oriented towards members of the same
          sex, that we follow our hearts and fall in love
          with members of the same sex (with bisexuals being
          attracted to both sexes equally).

          We feel that the word preference implies a kind of
          choice, someone "liking" something more than something
          else. For instance, cola soda can be a preference.
          If cola were no longer available, one might choose
          orange soda and still be satisfied. The point that
          many lesbian/gay/bisexual people make is that people


                                                                1

 







          do not "choose" hetero-, homo-, or bisexuality like
          they choose soft drinks. We feel that people follow
          their hearts when it comes to sexuality, instead of
          sampling men and women and then deciding which they
          "prefer."


          The Gay Community

          First, there are three major communities involved:
          the lesbian community, the gay-male community, and
          the bisexual community. These three communities have
          unique qualities, but they overlap in some areas. For
          instance, a gay male might have very little idea what
          goes on in the lesbian community, with the reverse
          being true also.

          These three communities are comprised of a series
          of loosely networked organizations (softball teams,
          professional organizations, bars, political groups,
          health organizations, and so forth). The only thing
          that members of the communities share is that they
          are all predominantly oriented towards members of the
          same sex (with bisexuals being oriented to both sexes
          equally). There is no elected "president," there is
          no overall controling structure, and all its members
          do not share all the same values. The members of the
          lesbian, gay, and bisexual communities do not and
          cannot be expected to "act" one way or to follow one
          political path. For instance, the Gay Republicans
          (a political group) would be very different from
          the Radical Faeries (a liberal, male, pagan group)
          which in turn would be very different from Dignity (a
          lesbian/gay/bisexual Catholic organization).









          2

 







          Lesbians and Gay Men and Bisexuals and...

          Lesbian refers to homosexual women. Gay man refers
          to homosexual men. Gays is considered somewhat rude
          ("Those gays!"), although lesbians and bisexuals are
          courteous terms. Homosexual is used as an adjective
          and not a noun. Lesbian and gay are used to describe
          people. For instance: "A lesbian is a homosexual
          woman." Straight is slang for "heterosexual,"
          and is used primarily in the lesbian/gay/bisexual
          communities.

          Don't worry! You won't be quizzed on this stuff during
          the presentation. :-)


          Life-Style

          Many lesbian/gay/bisexual people believe that there is
          no such thing as a single lesbian and gay and bisexual
          life-style. Many of us believe that there are many
          life-styles in our communities, that life-style is
          more a matter of employment, class, where one lives,
          what one wears, what one eats, and what one does
          for fun rather than ones sexual orientation. Sexual
          orientation seems to cut across all life-styles.

          For instance, if referring to a gay male "life-style,"
          which one do you mean? For instance, do you mean the
          rich, effeminate man who lives in the fancy part of
          town, who wears ascots, who takes his pink poodles for
          walks every night, and who loves Broadway musicals? Do
          you mean the upper-middle-class software engineer who
          wears jeans and tee shirts, who loves basketball, and
          who is pretty much a "regular guy"? Do you mean the
          man who wears three-piece suits Monday through Friday
          but who wears leather clothes on the weekend and rides
          a Harley? (And so on and on and on....)






                                                                3

 







          Coming Out

          Coming out is a phrase that is short for coming out
          of the closet. "Coming out of the closet" is the
          process of revealing ones sexuality. For instance,
          when one says "I came out in '83," that means that the
          person discovered his/her own sexual orientation at
          that time. As another example, "Are you out at work?"
          means, "Have you told anyone at work that you are
          lesbian/gay/bisexual?" To "come out" to someone is to
          tell someone you are lesbian/gay/bisexual.


          Stonewall

          Stonewall is the name of a gay bar in New York City
          that was in business in the late Sixties. The bar was
          raided by the police on June 28, 1969, but, instead
          of quietly being ushered into paddy wagons, the club
          patrons fought the police. After this date, the mayor
          of New York City began to meet with representatives
          from the lesbian/gay/bisexual communities. This event
          marked the birth of the modern gay rights movement.
          Many events in our communities are dated "pre-" and
          "post-" Stonewall, and many cities and towns choose
          dates in late-June to hold Gay Pride celebrations.
          (For more information, refer to the article on
          Stonewall in your packet.)















          4

 














                                                          6/27/88


































                                                                5

From "The New Current"
April, 1987
[An Amherst, MA area college publication]


...In...Out
By Angela N. Traylor

Well, I went to another BSA party last weekend.  Every time I go to 
one of those things I swear to myself I'll never go again.  It's 
always the same old scene, ya know?  Me subtly avoiding guys...I have 
to do this (or rather, I _feel_ like I have to do this) for several 
reasons.  In the past, if I socialized with guys, people who knew me 
either hoped that I'd changed my ways or thought that I was trying to 
con those who didn't know me into thinking I was something I'm not.  I 
goto BSA parties knowing that a lot of the people there realize that 
I'm a lesbian.  However, I can't do anything that will reflect lesbian 
behavior while I'm there.  No overtly turning guys down, no bringing 
my lovers (who are usually white) to the party with me.  At the same 
time, to display heterosexual behavior would be seen as deceitful or 
giving people a false hope that I've "changed."  Dancing with guys or 
even talking to guys I don't know very well could make people think 
that I enjoy leading guys on.  Once when I was talking to this guy I 
know somewhat, a group of Smith women started to laugh, commenting, 
"Yeah, he thinks he's gonna get some tonight..."

After the party I thought about the last LA dance I attended.  Being 
the only Black woman there--I did the same thing I had done at the BSA 
party.  I brought with me the only part of me that the women attending 
the party could deal with.  I only let a minimum of the Black in me 
into the LA party.  My color calls enough attention to me, so when I 
dance too "ethnically," I get the feeling that the women are staring 
at me.  Not because they think I'm dancing well or acting cool, but 
because I dare to demonstrate my "difference."  They give me this look 
that says, "How dare you act differently or dance differently than the 
rest of us?  Can't you just be a _normal_ lesbian?"  When I feel such 
pressure--which has come even from lovers--I either chill out or 
leave.  The music is never that hot anyway.

All this reflection on parties of the past prompts me to think about 
my life in general and the way I interact with my friends.  I realize 
now that I have been two people for such a long time that I don't even 
know exactly when the division happened.  I know why it happened 
though.  I simply can't behave in certain ways around certain people.  
My Black friends for the most part are not going to treat my 
lesbianism casually.  Most of them do not accept it, especially since 
I look and act "normally" otherwise.  They can't understand, and most 
of them refuse to talk about it.  Once a Black friend of mine got so 
upset when I was telling her about the problems I was having with a 
lover that she started screaming at me.  She said that she couldn't 
stand that aspect of me and that if we were to be friends, I could not 
talk about my sexuality with her.  I was shocked, but since then I've 
been careful to separate my lsebianism from my Blackness, unless a 
certain degree of tolerance has been expressed.  Carefully, for the 
benefit of others, I have cut myself into separate, "normal" pieces.

The Black community is generally homophobic.  When they discover that 
I'm gay, most Black people prefer to think that I've been brainwashed 
by white lesbians.  Lesbianism is considered to be a white disease.  
In order to avoid becoming spokeswoman for the entire Black lesbian 
species, I avoid this subject.

There is always some issue of controversy in the lesbian community.  
Blackness gets shoved into this set of "issues," as though my being 
Black is a controversy which lesbians can resolve in a meeting.  They 
end up talking about what blackness (with a little "b") means to them 
as white lesbians, because they can deal with my color as long as it 
relates to them.  But what if that color drags in behavior that 
doesn't have anything to do with them...?  Certain issues...?  Then 
they can't deal.  Between meetings, the community feels that it can 
treat me and other "controversial" lesbians as though our 
"afflictions" don't exist.  Being Black is treated like a disease or a 
"sensitive issue" that might disappear if it is carefully ignored.  Or 
worse, the lesbian community acts as if being Black means my 
lesbianism is suspect.

Why is it so hard for me to prove that my Blackness is genuine and so 
is my lesbianism?  Being both simultaneously--and I should not have to 
be either separately.  Doesn't that make sense?  And are we not 
sisters?  I wonder sometimes.  The way I act should not be painful to 
me.  The way I am should not be suppressed.   Do you get my point?  I'm 
tired of being two halves.  I'm not just a Black woman.  I'm not just 
lesbian.  I am a black lesbian.


			*       *      *

To Myself:

Okay, let's chat.  You have been bothering me for some time now, and I 
want to know why.  Why do all of these things keep running through my 
head, screaming and yelling, when I know that I can't do this paper 
and pen any justice?  (Trees are dying for this.)  Fine.  Let's talk 
about where I am at now.  Physically, I am home for the first time in 
months, and being here makes me think of being at Smith.  As to the 
rest of me...well, I have been reading a lot of Black, feminist 
literature this year, and I find it all to much to take in at once.  
There are other Black women in the world who think the way I do.  This 
is great.  I was beginning to think I was going crazy.  Oh, you think 
that's funny!  You try coming out to the Mighty White Institution of 
Smith College when you just happened to be a poor Black child from 
Ohio (not conducive to sanity, let me tell you).  Let's talk about 
just a few of the problems I have had to deal with in my first two 
years at Smith.  Between my first lover, who was incredibly 
homophobic, and the Radicalfeministlesbians, who only want to be near 
you because it's "politically correct," and the Black women who kow 
that you are gay but think that it's okay as long as you don't talk 
about it, and the people at home who just think that you are trying to 
act white, not to mention classes and adjusting to being away from 
home, it's a miracle that I didn't just go insane.

_To_anyone_who_wants_to_listen_in_:

Well, you say, it's difficult for everyone in the beginning...but wait 
until you get into a good relationship.  Well, I am in a good one now, 
and I tell you it ain't all roses.  Besides the usual conflicts that 
you're going to have between two people, Black women have to deal with 
the fact that their lover is probably going to be white.  That is 
always going to be a cultural, emotional and societal 
barrier...however you want to interpret it.  How to be free and open 
with someone that, by all rights, you're supposed to hate...Let's face 
it, all Black people have an inbred hatred for all that is white.  I 
know it's scary, but would you, for one moment, put yourself in any 
Black woman's shoes?  Imagine having your existence negated for all of 
your life and being told, subconsciously of course, that there is 
something wrong with you because you are not a particular color.  Now 
you might be able to begin to comprehend the vastness and the depth 
of the gap between you and me.

I didn't mean to address the white community at Smith in particular, 
or even white people in general.  But I realized as I thought about it 
that these are things I didn't want to keep to myself because so many 
other people need to deal with them.  None of what I've said is likely 
to change anything, nor is it likely to stop me from being me.  It 
does, however, communicate to those who want to hear what I've got to 
say.  That is all that I've ever wanted to do.  Besides, as a friend 
of mine said, "F*ck the trees."

 			I LOVE CHINESE FOOD

 			       by
 
 			     Jack Lo

The  People  of Color Task Force of the National March on Washington in
October was formed to help fight the bigotry of racism and  homophobia.
In  a series of articles published by the Gay Community News this first
article addresses gay Asians and racism.

Sometimes I wonder how much does  the  gay  community  know  about  gay
Asians?  How much do they want to know about our culture?  Do they care
about our feelings?  Are we an integral part of the community?  Is  our
voice being represented? Do they ever think of our existence?

When I first came out I was a Buddies Regular.  I often wandered around
the bar by myself feeling uncomfortable about meeting other gay people.
My  physical  appearance  was very different and I spoke English with a
very pronounced Chinese accent.  As a gay Asian,  I  did  not  know  if
others  found me attractive.  When I saw other gay Asians we would look
at each other, but we never talked.  Other  gay  Asians  told  me  that
there  was often a sense of competing with each other for the attention
of white gay Americans.  My isolation from gay Asians  changed  when  I
met  a  member  of the Boston Asian Lesbian and Gay Men.  I was so glad
that I was able to meet other Gay Asians from whom I could get support.

Over the years I have been able to build close friendships  with  other
gay  Asians.   Many  of my Asian friends feel it is difficult to meet a
gay American.  They feel that they  are  indeed  a  minority  within  a
minority.   Some  of  us  try  to  assimilate  and become more like gay
Americans keeping up with the American way of  dressing,  dancing,  and
speaking.   It  appears  as though some of the more "modern gay Asians"
are the ones who are more likely to meet gay  Americans.   Perhaps  the
feeling of being "too different" are reduced.

No  matter  how American we become though we can never ignore our Asian
background and culture.  Gay Americans are quite ignorant of us.  It is
not  uncommon  to hear, "Where are you really from?  Are you Chinese or
Japanese?  You must be going to MIT.  I love Chinese food."   I  wonder
how  would  they feel if I told them that I loved hamburger?  Sometimes
it seems as though gay Americans only see us  as  good  candidates  for
mathematicians,  cooks  or  houseboys.  Other times we feel that we are
being used as toys or as passive partners in our  relationships.   Many
gay  Americans  cannot  relate  to  our feelings or needs.  They cannot
relate to our need to keep in close contact with our families  or  with
our  feelings  towards  relationships.  Gay Asians are more inclined to
have monogamous, spiritual and solid relationships  than  our  sexually
liberated gay American counterparts.

The  igorance  of  Asian  culture  in  general  and  of  gay  Asians in
particular along  with  the  stereotypes  that  exists  serve  only  to
increase  our  segregation from the rest of the gay community.  Overall
gay Asians see a lack of support from the gay community.

Even in the progressive anti-racist literature I read, gay  Asians  are
rarely  even  mentioned.   Our voice needs to be represented in all gay
movements.  I have paritcipated in  many  political  meetings  in  this
community  and I feel that the decision-making processes are structured
to  the  disadvantages  of  the  gay  Asian.   In  many  of  the  white
progressive  groups  to which I belong Asians and even other minorities
are  left  powerless  when  it  comes  to  having  a   voice   in   the
decision-making process.

The  Asian  population  in  Boston has increased dramatically in recent
years.  In order to survive and adjust to a  world  that  is  different
from  our  origin  and  culture,  we  must  correct  misconceptions and
stereotypes and increase our visibility at the same time.   The  Boston
Asian  Gay  Men  and  Lesbians have been instrumental in increasing our
support and visibility.  It is our role to speak out for gay Asians and
to educate the community about our culture.  Among ourselves we must be
constantly on guard against ignorance, stereotypes, insulting attitudes
and insensitive remarks.  We are proud to be gay and we are proud to be
Asian.  It is important to gain recognition as an integral part of  the
gay community.

The  October National March in Washington is an opportunity to proclaim
our rights, our existence, and our  power.   We  need  the  support  of
everyone  regardless  of  race.   Let  us  unite  to gain power, and to
achieve unity...

The following is meant as a parody of opponents of gay rights 
legislation due to biblical doctrine.  It is meant to be funny, but it 
is also meant to make a serious point about literal interpretation of 
the Bible.

Religious people who believe in literal interpretation of the bible 
may wish to skip this note.  


 
 A LETTER FROM
 SISTER POLLY ESTHER
 From BAY WINDOWS
 Feb. 11, 1988
 New England's Largest
 Gay & Lesbian Newspaper
 
BAY WINDOWS received a copy of the following letter, sent to the Rev.
Earl W. Jackson:
 
 MIXED FABRICS SHOULD BE NIXED
 -----------------------------

I am writing to thank you and congratulate you for your diligent
work that helped defeat the 1987 Massachusetts Gay Rights Bill.
People who, like gay men, break laws casually mentioned somewhere in
The Bible should not be given civil rights protections.  More
Christians should be as dedicated as you to fighting basic civil
rights and human dignity.  Good work, Reverend.
 
However, I am concerned that many people break other laws mentioned
in The Bible and yet do not suffer just discrimination for their mere
existence.  I am specifically concerned about people who break the law
outlined in Leviticus Chapter 19, Verse 19: "Neither shall a garment
mingled of different fabrics come upon thee."
 
Yet you can see people out on the streets every day shamelessly
wearing flannel shirts with wool sweaters, acrylic blended with
cotton, and all manner of other sinful combinations one could imagine
in a nightmare.  This sort of disrespect for the Laws of God is
leading to the moral decay of our society.
 
And what's even worse: they flaunt their perverse mixed fabrics in
front of children.  (I've even heard that some of them like to dress
children in mixed fabrics, but this sin is just too perverse for
further elaboration ... and of course, ALL people who wear mixed
fabrics have a secret or overt desire to dress children the same way.)
 
If a mixed-fabric wearer wanted to become a foster parent, the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts would allow it.  There are no questions
on the application referring to this sin.  No one asks if the child
will be exposed to mixed fabrics or might even be forced to wear them.
We should spend some tax dollars to study the effects of mixed fabrics
on children, though I am sure it has a negative impact.
 
Furthermore are people who eat bacon for breakfast, which is
outlawed in Leviticus 11:17, and Deuteronomy 14:8; rare steak for
supper, which is outlawed in Leviticus 17:10-14, and cheeseburgers for
lunch, which is outlawed in Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26, and
Deuteronomy 14:21.  (This must mean that cheeseburgers are three times
as sinful as gay sex since the former is mentioned thrice.)
 
Now there so-called Christians who want to liberally "interpret"
the Word of God or leave out certain parts of it.
 
They say that Jesus came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:18) and that
His message of love is far more important (Matthew 19:19, Mark 12:30,
Luke 10:27, and I Corinthians 13:13) than mixed fabrics or
cheeseburgers.  I point out that there is a curse on anyone who
completely leaves out any part of it (Revelations 22:18).  Besides,
it's all right to call yourself Christian, just don't try to be TOO
MUCH like Jesus.  After all, look where it got Him.
 





For the sake of christianity and the children, Earl, I want you to
join me in restoring some morality to government.  Together we can
take away the civil rights of homosexuals, mixed-fabric wearers, and
unclean meat-eaters.  Next we can persecute barbers (haircuts are
outlawed in Leviticus 19:27) and veterinarians (outlawed in Leviticus
22:24).
 
Then we can enforce all the Biblical laws and directives!  I can't
wait until we will be able to apply the death penalty for adultery as
Leviticus 20:10 mandates.  Because you have never committed adultery,
Earl, and lived without sin among us, you should be the one to cast
the first stone (John 8:7).
 
 
   Sister Polly Ester
   Christian Coalition
   Against Mixed Fabrics
   Boston, MA
 

The following article was written by a gay man for 
lesbian/gay/bisexual people.  It is strongly worded.  People who do 
not wish to read strongly worded pro-gay essays may want to skip this 
note. 




[Reprinted from the "Advocate," Issue 411, January 8, 1985]
 
 
Design for Living:  Strengthening the Body Politic Seven Ways
 
by Armistead Maupin
 
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Several months ago my friend Timothy Leary gave me some advice about 
my upcoming national book tour. 
 
"Before you go," he suggested, "figure out exactly what you want to 
say, and don't be embarrassed to say it over and over again.  It may 
be the hundredth time you've said it, but it's the first time they've 
heard it, so make sure you sound like you mean it.  The hundredth time 
is just as important as the first."
 
He was right.
 
Three weeks and 15 cities later, I had summoned up the same answers so 
often that I felt like a cross between Dr. Ruth Westheimer and the 
audio-animatronics Abe Lincoln at DisneyLand.  Most of the questions 
were about my books ("When will Mouse find a lover?" and "Didn't you 
kill Connie twice?"  were two of the biggies), but a surprising number 
of them cast me in the role of Coming-Out Consultant, a keeper of the 
mysteries of Happy Homohood.
 
Remembering Tim's suggestions, I surveyed my most frequent responses 
and discovered the following blueprint for a more fulfilling life.  
Read it once, and I promise I won't bring it up again.
 
 
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1.  Stop Begging for Acceptance
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Homosexuality is still an anathema to most people in this 
country---even to many homosexuals.  If you camp out on the doorstep 
of society waiting for "the climate" to change, you'll be there until 
Joan Rivers registers Democratic.
 
Your job is to accept yourself---joyfully and with no apologies--and 
get on with the adventure of your life.
 
 
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2.  Don't Run Away from Straight People.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
They need variety in their lives just as much as you do, and you'll 
forfeit the heady experience of feeling exotic if you limit yourself 
to the company of your own kind.
 
Furthermore, you have plenty to teach your straight friends about 
tolerance and humor and the comfortable enjoyment of their own 
sexuality. (Judging from "Donahue," many of them have only now begun to 
learn about foreplay; we, on the other hand, have entire resorts built 
around the practice.)

 
Besides, it's time you stopped thinking of heterosexuals as the enemy. 
It's both convenient and comforting to bemoan the cardboard villainy 
of Jerry Falwell and friends, but the real culprits in this melodrama 
are just as queer as you are.
 
They sleep with you by night and conspire to keep you invisible by 
day.  They are studio-chiefs and bank presidents and talk-show hosts, 
and they don't give a damn about your oppression because they've got 
their piece of the pie, and they got it by living a lie.
 
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3.  Refuse to Cooperate in the Lie.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
It is not your responsibility to "be discreet" for the sake of people 
who are still ashamed of their own natures.  And don't tell me about 
"job security."  Nobody's job will ever be safe until the general 
public is permitted to recognize the full scope of our homosexual 
population.  
 
Does that include teachers?
 
You bet it does.  Have you forgotten already how much it hurt to be 14 
and gay and scared to death of it?  Doesn't it gall you just a little 
that your "discreet" lesbian social-studies teacher went home every 
day to her lover and her cats and her Ann Bannon novels without once 
giving you even a clue that there was hope for your own future?
 
What earthly good is your discretion, when teen-agers are still being 
murdered for the crime of effeminacy?
 
I know, I know---you have a right to keep your private life private.  
Well, you do that, my friend--but don't expect the world not to notice 
what you're really saying about yourself.  And the rest of us.
 
Lighten up, Lucille.  There's help on the way.
 
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4.  Stir Up Some Sh*t Now and Again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Last spring I wrote a commentary for the "Los Angeles Times" on the 
subject of television's shoddy treatment of homosexuality.  The piece 
originally contained a sentence to the effect that "it's high time the 
public found out there are just as many homosexuals who resemble 
Richard Chamberlain as there are who resemble Richard Simmons."
 
The editor cut it.  When I asked him why, he said: "Because it's 
libelous, that's why."
 
To which I replied: "In the first place, I'm not saying that Richard 
Chamberlain is gay; I'm simply saying there are plenty of gay men who 
resemble him.  In the second place, even if I were saying that Richard 
Chamberlain is gay, it wouldn't be a libelous remark, because I'm gay 
myself and I don't say those things with malice.  I don't *accuse* 
anyone of being gay; I state it as a matter of fact or opinion."
 
Three years earlier, I confronted a similar problem with an editor at 
the "New York Times" who forbade me to make reference in an essay to 
"gay film writer Vito Russo" without some written proof from Vito---an 
affidavit, no less---that he was in fact, one of *those*.
 

I asked the editor if the "Times" took similar precautions when 
mention was made of black or Jewish people.  Surely there are plenty 
of Americans who would hate to be mistaken for black or Jewish, so why 
isn't their bigotry protected by the strong arm of the newspaper libel 
law?
 
"Because," said the editor, "it's just not the same thing."
 
And they're doing their damnest to keep it that way.  When the new 
city of West Hollywood assembled its council last month, the 
Associated Press identified the three openly gay members as "admitted 
homosexuals."  Admitted, get it?  Fifteen years after the Stonewall 
Rebellion, the wire service wants to make it perfectly clear that 
homosexuality is still a dirty little secret that requires full 
confession before it can be mentioned at all.
 
If you don't raise some h*ll, that isn't going to change.
 
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5.  Don't Sell your Soul to the Gay Commercial Culture
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Well, go ahead, if you insist, but you'd better be prepared to accept 
the Butt Plug as the cornerstone of Western Civilization.
 
I am dumbfounded by the number of bright and beautiful men out there 
who submerge themselves completely in the quagmire of gay ghetto life, 
then wonder why their lives seem loveless and predictable.
 
What the h*ll did they expect?
 
If you have no more imagination than to swap one schlock-heavy 
"lifestyle" for another, you haven't learned a god-d*mned thing from 
the gay experience.
 
I'm not talking about sex here; I'm talking about old-fashioned bad 
taste.
 
No, Virginia, we *don't* all have good taste.  We are just as 
susceptible to the pit falls of tackiness as everyone else in the 
world.  Your pissing and moaning about the shallowness of *other* 
faggots falls on deaf ears when you're wearing a T-shirt that says 
"This face seats five."
 
Not long ago I sat transfixed before my TV screen while an earnest 
young man told a gay cable announcer about his dream of becoming Mr. 
Leather Something-or-Other.  He was seeking the title, he said, "in 
order to serve the community and help humanity."  He wore tit rings 
and a codpiece and a rather fetching little cross-your-heart harness, 
but he sounded for all the world like a Junior Miss contestant from 
Medesto [California].
 
If our fledging culture fails us, it will be because we forgot how to 
question it, forgot how to laugh at it in the very same way we laugh 
at Tupperware and Velveeta and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

 
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6.  Stop Insulting the People You Love by Assuming They Don't Know 
    You're Gay.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
When I began my book tour, a publicist in New York implored me to 
leave his name out of it, because "my family doesn't know about 
my...uh, lifestyle."

Maybe not, but they must be the dumbest bunch this side of Westchester 
County [New York]; I could tell he was gay *over the telephone*.
 
When my own father learned of my homosexuality (he read it in 
"Newsweek"), he told me he'd suspected as much since I'd been a 
teen-ager.  I could've made life a lot easier for both of us if I'd 
had the guts to say what was on my mind.
 
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7.  Learn to Feel Mortal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
If AIDS hasn't reminded you that your days are numbered---and always 
have been---then stop for a moment and remind yourself.  *Your days 
are numbered, Babycakes*.  Are you living them for yourself and the 
people you love, or are you living them for people you fear?
 
I can't help thinking of a neighbor of mine, a dutiful government 
employee who kept up appearances for years and years, kept them up 
until the day he died, in fact--of a heart attack, in the back row of 
an all-male f*ck film.
 
Appearances don't count for squat when they stick you in the ground 
(all right, or scatter you to the winds), so why should you waste a 
single moment of *your* life seeming to be something you don't want to 
be?
 
Lord, that's so simple.  If you hate your job, quit it.  If your 
friends are tedious, go out and find new ones.  You are *queer*, you 
lucky fool, and that makes you one of life's buccaneers, free from the 
clutter of 2,000 years of Judeo-Christian sermonizing.  Stop feeling 
sorry for yourself and start hoisting your sails.  You haven't a 
moment to loose.

I have two other articles/write-ups that are too big to post here.
They can be copied from the following directory:

	DSSDEV::USERB$:[FISHER.PUBLIC]

They are the following:

Male Sex Role and Homophobia    Everyone who has read this 800 line
(HOMOPHOBIA.TXT)                article tells me that they were glad
                                they did.  It is a very insightful
				look into abuse of gay people by 
			 	strate folks.

Lesbian/Gay/Bi Book List 	An 18-page book list of 
(BOOKS.TXT/.POST/.LN03/		gay/lesbian/bi-themed books.  It is
      .LPR)			divided into sections for Beginners,
				Fiction, Non-Fiction, Religious, and For
				Parents.  It's good reference material.