page 3 . February 1986 . Out in the Mountains

  Finding our voices

For too long, lesbians and gay men
have been denied our voice. Our existence
has been defined by others — the medical,
psychiatric, religious and legal authorities
gained power over us through their
ability to name us. The names they called
us were neither pretty nor true - "sick,
disturbed, immoral and dangerous." Their
names kept us isolated from each other,
ashamed of our own selves, and
frightened of the world around us .

Somehow, almost miraculously, that
has changed. In the decade and a half
since Stonewall, lesbians and gay men
have taken power over our own lives by
defining our own existence. We have
changed our own, and society's, perception
of who we are.

As far as we have come, however,
there is still far to go. Lesbians and gay
men still face the challenge of living in a
world which is essentially homophobic

and sexist. The reality of life for most
lesbians and gay men still involves a
significant amount of fear — fear of being
discriminated against, fear of physical
violence, fear of being found out.

Yet, against that background, there is
a significant amount of joy - the joy of
being part of a loving and caring lesbian
and gay community, the joy of
discovering new ways of living and
loving, the joy of simply finding and
recognizing each other. Our community is
full of creative, talented, dedicated and
wonderful people. Anything which ties us
together is a step forward: a way of
fighting the myths and lies about us, a
way of building a stronger community, a
way of giving strength and hope to
ourselves.

"Out in the Mountains" looks forward

to being part of that community building

Thankyou,

Haymarket

We would like to extend special
thanks to the Haymarket People’s Fund
which provided a $2,000 start-up grant
for this newspaper. Haymarket is a
progressive foundation which funds a
wide array of progressive projects, and
which has a special commitment to
lesbian/gay organizing. Haymarket is
Boston based and funds groups
throughout New England.

Some of you may remember that it
was a Haymarket grant, awarded to

Common Woman, that helped fund
Vermont’s first lesbian/gay pride march
in 1983. This began an event which will
continue this June 14th with our fourth
annual pride march and celebration.

If you would like to contact
Haymarket for more information, write
to:

The Haymarket People’s Fund

25 West Street

Boston, Mass. 02111

process in Vermont. We recognize the
special challenges lesbians and gay men
face in a small, rural state - as well as
the special opportunities.

We hope that you will think of this
as your newspaper -- whether you're just
now "coming out" to yourself or you're
"out" on the evening news. As the paper
grows and evolves, it will be up to you
to shape and mold it to fit your needs
and concerns.

We make no special claim to speak for
all lesbian and gay Vermonters. What we
hope to provide is a mechanism for your
voices to be heard.

The diversity of our experience is
incredible. The voice of our community is
not the voice of any small group, but
rather a rich and varied, sometimes
discordant, cacophony of countless men
and women. We hope you'll join with us
and add your voice to that beautiful
chorus.

You can have a future in the exciting
world of lesbian/gay journalism. As an
"Out in the Mountains" writer, artist,
photographer, typist, layout person, editor,
ad salesperson, or distribution volunteer,
you can learn all there is to be known
about modern print media (or at least
have some fun while we stumble our way
through each of our monthly issues).

Intrigued? Want to find out more’?

Come to the next staff meeting,
Friday, February 7th, 7.30 pm at the
Peace and Justice Center in Burlington;
write us at Box 438, Hinesburg, VT
05461; or call Terje at 658-0883.