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_. ;.“I©i;:19§r;‘ Out in .thevMountains.

To Subm|t.Art|c|es
 e-andLetters p  
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a paperboth for and by gay,_»lesbian_,—
and .bisexual VermojnteArsfiE:i=PIe"ase as-E.
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your namefand phone number
w_e_,ha.\‘_/_e ahyquestions ; jYojujr.sub'r‘nis—
sioii5‘§Hould be_ received by ‘OITM no
later than the 710th of the .previous
rnonthf Thank you‘ for helping out!

  
    

  

by Hugh Coyle

It’s something like those glorious days
we’ve been enjoying in Vermont this
spring: it shouldn’t be eighty degrees out
there yet but it is, and you’re already shed-
ding those layers of winter-weather-wear
and basking in the sun, thinking that true
balance is attained only when you shine out
as many rays as you soak in, feeling once
and for all that you’re a vital part of the
natural world just by being out there in it...

This is close to what it’s like on Pride
Day, when we can tear down the facades
that we often wear in our daily lives and
show the world (or Burlington, in our local
case) who we really are. Surrounded by
friends and supporters, we latch on to akind
of pride that shines far brighter than the
individual lights which comprise it.

That pride doesn’t have to evaporate
when the clock strikes midnight on June 22.
Cars won’t turn back into pumpkins, nor
will horses turn to mice, and you just might
find yourself heading home with Prince
Charming rather than running from the
palace ball.

The key to Pride Day is to bring it all
inside where itcan work like abattery that’s
been charged and hooked up to the spirit.
That energy can then be channelled into
other tasks, whether that means lobbying
the legislature, caring for people with
AIDS, or writing for your local g/I/b news-
paper. This is our power, generated by us
and directed toward the projects we feel
need to be realized. .

French philosopher (and fellow gay
man) Michel Foucault once wrote that
power was a neutral concept until it was
utilized in some way. Pride Day gives us the
opportunity to throw a distinctively posi-
tive spin on the power latent in the gay
men’s and women’s communities. We’re
not battling our oppressors (at least not
directly); we’re celebrating ourselves, set-
ting aside our angers and frustrations to
focus on the strength of our love.

As I prepare to leave these mountains
behind and head off to distant parts, I am
hopeful that part of that strength will travel
with me. Pride Day ‘90, also known as “The
Great OUTpouring” given the weather at
the time, sparked a new era in my life and
provided a good part of the impetus behind
the work which went into the continuation
of this newspaper. It gave members of the
staff and me a chance to meet and appreci-
ate the community we serve, leading us to
push onward to new heights with the pub-

The Pride Inside

lication. (And you thought we expanded to
24 pages last fall because there were size
queens on the staff...shamel)

One of the major lessons I’ve learned
in working on Out in the Mountains over
the past year is that things don’t happen in
the gay and lesbian communities because
of what we are - they happen because of
who we are.

The “what” of us is like the list of
ingredients on the breakfast cereal box; it’s
the tag that chafes at the neck on that new
cotton shirt; it’s the collection of labels
others use to focus on the parts and ignore
the whole. It’s mistaking the recipe on the
index card for the prize-winning cake itself.
It's taking the label "gay" and saying that's
all we are.

The “who” of us goes beyond such
analysis and considers the whole. It dis-

counts labels in favor of definitions, words ‘

which acknowledge and support the full-
ness and richness of our experience. It
accepts our sheer presence and existence in
the world and doesn’t seek to pinpoint the
heart of the mystery. In our case, the heart
is the mystery.

I’ve spent the last year living with and
learning from that mystery, engaged in the
undertaking because of the joy, compas-
sion, and love that I felt emanating all
around me at events like Pride Day 1990.
For me, the parts of whole had yet to come
together, thoughlhad abetter sense of them
than ever before.

Last year I celebrated what I was as an
adjective, as though the one word - gay —
could ever fully stand for the depth and
diversity of thosel would march alongside
in the rain-soaked streets of Montpelier.
This yearl celebrate who I am and who we
are, connected by that common adjective,
yet needful and appreciative of the various
other adjectives and nouns which accom-
pany “gay” to give us a richer understand-
ing of our culture.

This year, too, I will be saying good-
bye for a while to some of the most wonder-
ful people and best friends I’ve ever known,
and it will be a difficult leave-taking. This
state itself will cause many nights of home-
sickness, but there’s a positive message
behind all of this: Vermont is a powerfully
special place, and it’s home to one of the
most impressive gay, lesbian, and bisexual
populations in the country. That in and of
itself is something to be proud of and cele-
brate on June 22 in Burlington.

See you there...

 

r