A Place at the Table: The Gay Individual in American Society Cleland Selby “Let us build an American home for the twenty-first century where everyone has a place at the table and not a single child is left behind.” Bruce Bawer, a gay man who professionally has won accolades as a cul- tural critic and poet, is not about to let Pres- ident Clinton’s vision fall as quickly as the President apparently has for gay people. Clinton made that statement on the eve of his inauguration. Bawer’s recently released A Place at the Table: The Gay Individual in American Society will surely stir the adren- aline for many Vermont gay people. How- ever painful the message, Mr. Bawer makes a rather cogent argument for lesbians and gay men to re-evaluate many of the political strategies employed by the gay subculture. Emerging in this work are many of the basic themes that also appeared in Kirk and Mad- sen’s After the Ball; that being openly out will better assure that all gay people gain “a place at the table.” ’ “In the war against homophobia a million gays marching on Washington would have less impact tan a million gays being honest about their homosexuality in their re- spective homes and work places and hous- es of worship,” says Bawer. Although it rambles at times, the text is engaging and provocative and seems almost to have been written in a single writing session. One wonders how this work with refer- ences to August 1993 could have been in the bookstores by November. Clearly the work reflects a firm grasp of the issues as well as an ability by the author to point out what he considers to be many of the flaws in some well respected works; Paul Mon- ette’s Becoming a Man, Michelangelo Signorile’s Queer in America, Culture and Desire by Frank Browning, and even the E,. M. Forester classic Maurice. Bawer advocates assimilation through reform, not through revolution. According to the De- cember 14th issue of The Advocate, he has stirred up a beehive of gay activists who are certain to sting him for his attacks on “gaythink”, gay writers, and much of the gay subculture. Examined in A Place at the Table are the author’s perceptions of the “negative im- pact” upon heterosexuals of many gays who participate in pride events, of homo- sexual promiscuity, and of gay attacks upon almost all religious organizations. His major theme is simple: most gay per- sons are within the mainstream as are most heterosexuals. Bawer maintains that a large percentage of gay persons are not po- litically or religiously liberal but that in- stead work and live within mainstream America. The book is his plea that all gay persons recognize the common values we share with heterosexuals, values Mr. Baw- er believes are too often not seen because of the publicity given by the Christian Right to the actions of the minority living “the gay lifestyle.” The writer’s voice is one of urgency al- though the social and political climate in Vermont may appear to be more gay af- firrnative than in most other states, maybe the message in A Place at the Table needs to be considered even by Vermont lesbians and gay men. If nothing else, this is a work that is certain to create some lively discussions in the coming year.V AIDS HOTLINES: Vermont 1-800-882-2437 New Hampshire 1-800-752-2437 New York State 1-800-541-2437 Massachusetts 1-617-522-4090 Maine 1-800-851-2437 National 1-800-342-2437 Canadian 1-613-563-2437 AIDS Community Awareness Project (ACAP) ' PO Box 608 St. Johnsbury VT 05819 (802) 748-1149 AIDS Community Resource Network (ACoRN) PO Box 2057 Lebanon NH 03766 (603) 448-2220 Bennington Area AIDS Project PO Box 1066 Bennington VT 05201 (802)442-4481 or 1-800-845-2437 Health Resource Organizations Brattleboro AIDS Project PO Box 1486 Brattleboro VT 05302 (802) 254-4444 (Helpline) (802) 254-8263 (Office) Franklin-Grand Isle AIDS Task Force P. O. Box 241, St. Albans VT 05478 (800) 524-7742 - (802) 638-7834 Friends Vermont Emotional, Spiritual, & Psychological Support PO Box 402 Bristol, VT 05443 1 800 639-3316 Gay/Lesbian Alcoholics Anonymous GLAA, P.O. Box 5653 Burlington, VT 05402 Lesbian Cancer Support Group (802) 660-8386 North Star (Holistic Health Care) RR2 Box 3255 ‘ Morrisville VT 05661 - (802) 888-2858 Vermont AIDS Council PO Box 275 Montpelier VT 05601 ' (802) 229-2557 Vermont C.A.R.E.S. (Committee for AIDS Resources, Education, and Services) PO Box 5248 30 Elmwood Avenue Burlington VT 05401 (802) 863-2437 (Burlington) 1-800-649-2437 (Rutland and Washington County support groups) Vermont Department of Health 1-800-882-2437 (AIDS Hotline) or (802) 863-7245 (AIDS Program office) VT PWA Coalition PO Box 1055 0 Brattleboro, VT 05302 1-800-698-8792 or (802) 222-5123 Vermont Women’s Health Center 336 North Avenue Burlington VT 05401 - (802) 863-1386 February 1994