Out in the Mountains

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To send your queer queries to Ger-
trude and Alice, write to us c/o Out in the
Mountains, P.0. Box 177, Burlington, Vt.
05402. Please write! Anonymous ques-
tions are fine.

Dear Gert and Alice:

I am discouraged with the extent of
intolerance for different kinds of lifestyles
that I see in the Burlington lesbian
community. Must one be writing a book
on incest or making less than $6.00 an
hour to be considered “politically cor-
rect.”

Why do so many lesbians equate
modest material comfort with “selling
out”? In their effort to free themselves
from mainstream, heterosexist America,
many lesbians seem to have bought into an
equally confining alternative — i.e., toe
our high-minded, morally correct line or
don’t bother us. Whatever.

What do you think of all this? Am I
off base or is there some truth in this?

-Irritated in Burlington

 

Dear Irritated:

You aren’t off base, you’re right on.
target! There is definitely some truth in
what you say. We too have been
discouraged by the “more-organic—than-
thow” attitude held by parts of the lesbian
communityin Burlington and elsewhere.
Perhaps it is natural, when people are going
against everything that is the norm, to
sometimes lose a little flexibility along the
way. It is really unfortunate, however,
when a woman who makes good money, or
eats meat, or wears make-up, or enjoys S/
M, or is bisexual, or anything else feels
excluded from the lesbian community. On
the positive side, there are always indi-
viduals who do not fit into this generaliza-
tion. We suggest that you seek out these
individuals. If you’re feeling brave, you
might also ask your intolerant aquintances
to examine their own exc1usionistbehav-
ior. Meanwhile, readers with money to
spare can make their checks payable to the
“Gert and Alice Vacation Condominium
Fund”, because WE don’t believe in stop-

ping at mere “modest” material comfort!

Dear Gert and Alice,

I have made a decision to come outta
my mother, who seems to be “fishing” for
ways to open up the subject, but whenever
she does, I am the one who gets nervous&
changes the subject.

A few years ago, my mother displayed
strong verbal efforts to deny that her daugh-
ter was alesbian & Ihave since, always felt
justified about my suspicions that I need to
keep myself and my sexual preferencea
secret.

But, how can I tell the difference
between dynamics of mistrust that I am
keeping alive needlessly, and those or
actual reality? How can I tell what to,
allow my imagination to entertain alone,
and which to give my serious considera-
tion? How can I learn to trust my mother,
or should I? Sign me as

-Perplexed

Dear Perplexed,

First of all, we applaud the courageil I

took for you to make the decision to come
out to your mother. As for being able to tell
the difference between imagined and real
dynamics of mistrust- in many ways you‘
can’t. In the situation you are in, where
everything is left unsaid and messages

20 Elliot Street
Brattleboro, Vermont

Downstairs in the old church

 

  Distinction

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(802) 254-8646

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