make it to all the different events on the cal-
endar. People I didr1’t even know came up to
me to say hello; friends of theirs had pointed
me out earlier as the “new ldd in town.”
Somehow, it just never happened this way in
the old western movies I had seen. Wasn't
there a horse somewhere that I was supposed
to ride up on? Never 

I walked about the exhibit, which was rather
small but powerful and moving all the same.
Here and there around the gallery, people be-
gan to fall to the floor, eyes staring straight
up at anyone who bothered to look down
This was part of the performance art for the
evening, not an ACI‘ UP die-irr as I at first
suspected. Soon enough, a nice young man
in a white orderly suit came in to clear the
“dead” away. I half thought of dropping to
the ground myself, but then thought that
surely there were better ways of meeting
men than literally being dragged off by
them.

Several days later, as if to show me how ac-
cepting Montana society is of such events,
there was a barricade set in place around the
exhibit. Some administrator somewhere had
decided that passersby might find the art-
work “offensive” and thus ordered the mov-
able walls installed A minor fuss ensued in
the campus paper, and the walls were taken
down - though not as quickly as Larnbda’s
posters were taken down on National Com-
ing Out Day (another administrative order).

Next on the agenda was the “Another
World” party on Halloween. These monthly
parties are sponsored by and for the gay
community, and reminded me a great deal of
the parties OUTRIGHT sponsors, though
with an older crowd I danced away in my
Andy Warhol costume for nearly half the
night before I realized that yet again I had
made a blunder; no one but my date (the
wife of the Grim Reaper, for all intents and
purposes) knew it was me under the white
fright wig and glasses. So much for making
the best of another socializing opportunity...

An AIDS benefit show a couple of weeks
later proved much better. This took place in
the local gay bar, which was originally the
American Veterans’ watering hole. (Amaz-
ing where the gay community holds events
in this town, isn't it?) The bar is literally un-
derground, and about the only thing to rec-
ommend it over Pearls is that it has more

Anyone can get AIDS
Everyone can prevent it.

Do you know enough about
HIV AIDS to protect youselt?

Ask about our free
safe sex parties.

flashing and revolving lights and a bigger
dance floor. It also has lots of cowboys and
cowgirls, if that’s your style.

The show itself was... Well, picture if you
will the variety shows staged by the Little
Rascals on yesteryear’s television. Now
spice up the program a bit using your fa-
vorite gay stereotypes: Spanky as the drag
queen, Alfalfa and Lila as strippers, etc.
Need I say more? Actually, this description
is offered in as much fun as the show was in-
tended; it was very entertaining all in all. But
what member of Our Gang would go on to
become a leather-bound lesbian folksinger?

Beyond these events, there have been many
readings as well - some by local gay or les-
bian writers and others dealing with gay and
lesbian themes. East Coasters should be on
the lookout for Victor Mingovits, who will
be coming thataway soon to promote his
book A Satan Worshiper’s Guide to the
American Northeast. Victor originally hails
from New York, and his poetry reveals some
powerful aspects of the gay experience.
Check your local listings.

Insurn, ashardasitwastofmdatfirst,the
gay community here in Missoula has proven
to be quite active in its own way. There isn’t
the same caring sense of “family” here as in
Vermont, and there aren’t any well-known
front-line leadersp._ There’s also an uncanny
sense of isolation from the national agenda
in terms of politics - the whole Magic John-
son story has yet to spur us on to greater
heights out here, and instead of discussing
that when the news broke, the Alliance heard
all about a local gay/lesbian beauty pageant.
Now I wonder if that would be a good way
to meet more people out here...

Things will most likely step up next year as
groups organize once again to battle the
state’s anti-sodomy laws. In that respect, be-
ing “out” here carries a more tangible risk
here than being “out” back East. Just kissing
someone of the same sex in public could
land you in jail. But then again, why come
west at all if you can’t be an outlaw, right? It
reminds me of a greeting card Irecently sent
to my best friend: “In the west,” it reads,
“the outlaws were hung.” I leave it you to
imagine the accompanying visuals. In the
meantime, I’ll continue to test the truth-
fulness of that particular interpretation of this
particular part of the country... V

 

January 1992