A View From the East

by Lisa Van Buren

Exciting things are happening in Prague,
Czechoslovakia. During the weekend of
April 19-21st, the International Lesbian
& Gay Association (ILGA) held its 5tl1
Regional Conference for Eastern and
Southeastern Europe. The theme was
“Lesbian and Gay Media: Theory and
Practice.” The organizers hoped to bring
more experienced “Westemers” together
with Eastern Europeans to provide an ex-
change of infonnation and ideas and to
inspire new activities.

I left Vennont unaware that I would be
living in Czechoslovakia when this con-
ference took place. I feel fortunate to
have had the opportunity to visit with
gays and lesbians from around the world
and to share with them what Out in the
Mountains does.

The organization of gays and lesbians in
Eastern Europe is in some ways 20 or
more years behind the west. The freedom

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to give shapeand meaning to gay and
lesbian lives is underdeveloped. Funding
is also a basic issue. Citizens of the for-
mer GDR have an advantage now in that
unification brought funds from the West.
Even there, however, government social
expenditures are specifically designated
for women’s groups or youth groups,
and funds for gay and lesbian activities
must be skimmed off. Unlike U.S. pub-
lications, which often rely on ad-
vertising, Europeans more often rely on
subscription prices and other sources.
Many fear that the high cost of the newly
formed Czechoslovakian gay and lesbian
magazine will be its downfall. The hope
is that there are enough interested read-
ers to continue its publication.

There were about 80 participants at the
conference, most of whom came from
Eastern Europe (though there were a
good number of Western journalists and
heads of organizations). Several coun-
tries were represented solely by men.

One of the most intriguing participants
was a Russian woman (the only one)
who managed to come from Leningrad
on her way to the U.S. under dissident
organization sponsorships. Olga Zhuk’s
story was one I had the opportunity to
translate many times. I was both im-
pressed by this woman and shocked at
the current conditions in the Soviet Un-
ion. She was recently detained by the po-
lice on the illegal grounds of homo-
sexuality since the Russian Statute 121
specifically ‘outlaws male homo-
sexuality. She is one of the key members
of the Tchaikovsky Foundation in Le-
ningrad, which is working to eliminate
Statute 121. The current renewed clamp-
down in the Soviet Union, however, has
brought a new wave of harassment of
lesbians and gays and "made attempts at
change even more difficult.

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Participants from the West were eager to
be of help but were asked to view the sit-
uation from an Eastern perspective. For
example, using the word “emancipation”
was described as a poor choice since it
smacks of Soviet propaganda to many
Eastern Europeans. V

Particularly evident among the women
was the frustratuion over the lack of any
real women’s movement in the East,
making lesbians’ situations there much
worse. The issue of separate gay and les-
bian publications was discussed with
much emotion since many lesbians felt
oppression came not only from straight
men but also from gay men. One Czech
woman showed an article she had written
called “Woman to Woman”; beside it
was a framed photo of a penis.

It was stressed that entertainment must
be an integral part of a magazine to
maintain circulation. Another point was
that media focus should not further alien-
ate those who already disagree; rather, it
is more constructive to target people who
are uninformed and have not yet formed
strong negative attitudes toward gays and
lesbians. The group underlined the im-
portance of providing contacts for read-
ers as well.

There remain many legal restrictions on
lesbians and gays, and changing them
seems to be the first priority in many
Eastern countries. There was a member
of the Czechosolvak parliament present
at the opening ceremonies of the confer-
ence. Many changes are yet to come,
however attitudes, particularly about
women, slow to change. All were in
agreement that effectiveness in the media
is a very important step in the process of
change. V

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