Out in the Mountains

VCLGR’s Coalition Notes:
Planning a Gay Day at the State House

Thomas Fleury

MONTPELIER -- At the second annual
“Town Meeting” of lesbians, gays,
bisexuals, and transgendered people, a
number of “new faces” were present to
participate in the grass—roots selection of
the Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and
Gay Rights (VCLGR) Board members
and Co-Liaisons to State Government for
the next year. The. large turnout, and
especially the attendance of people new
to the lesbian and gay civil rights
struggle, was partly due to the “wake—up
call” provided by the Republican
election victories in the last national
election. Voters concerned with civil
rights issues have learned that political
involvement by a broader spectrum of
the population would be necessary in
order to match the growing influence and
resources of the New Right.

VCLGR was formed to secure, maintain,
and advance the rights of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgendered
Vermonters. Newly reorganized and
renamed, the Coalition’s Board
membership reflects proportional
representation between the genders and
among the geographical regions of the
state. Christopher Wesolowski of

Newfane and Mary Hurlie of Hinesburg
will serve as Co-Chairs of the Board,
replacing Susan Aranoff of Randolph
(who is stepping into the role of
Co-Liaison to State Government) and
Bill Lippert (now a member of the VT
State House). I have chosen to take a
“political sabbatical” from my seat in
the House and will serve with Susan as
Co—Liaison for the next two years. We
replace Holly Perdue and Keith Goslant
who have served our community well
“under the Golden Dome” for many
years. ~

Holly and Keith leave us with big shoes
to fill, but Susan and I have begun that
difficult task of filling them. We have
already held an orientation meeting with
Kathy Hoyt, the Govemor’s Chief of
Staff, and a planning and strategy
session with Keith and Holly to develop
an historical perspective from their work
in past legislative years. We have
delivered a letter of introduction to all
180 lawmakers calling on them to
safeguard the civil rights of all their
constituents. We have also helped form a
public policy subcommittee of the
VCLGR to advance the political and

legislative agenda of the membership.
During this legislative biennium,
particular attention will be paid to
adoption reform and equal access to
marriage laws.

To further strengthen ties to the three
branches of government and build a
larger coalition of legislative allies, we
have scheduled a coffee and donuts
meeting with lawmakers at the State
House. This informal get-together is also
intended to be informational. Toward that
end, brochures about lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgendered groups will
be available. VCLGR members, as well
as other concerned members of our
community, are invited to attend this
“Gay Day at the State House” to be held
on Friday, April 21, beginning at 8:30
am in both the cafeteria and the Card
Room (next to the House chamber). For

further details, you may call me at (802) '

865-0505 or Susan at (802) 728-4121.

We hope that many of those “new faces”
as well as others inspired by our
community’s “Town Meeting” last
November will attend this event.

If you need to contact the Vermont
Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights
(VCLGR), you may write to PO Box
1125, Montpelier, VT 05602, or you may
call (802) 365-9139 or (802) 482-3927.

VCLGR Board of
Directors
Co-Chairs

Mary M. Hurlie (Hinesburg)
Christopher Wesolowski (Newfane)

Co-Liaisons to the Governor
Susan Aranoff (Randolph)
Tom Fleury (Burlington)

Terje Anderson (Burlington)
Tom Aloisi (Burlington)
Judith Beckett (Bradford)
Louise Brill (South Royalton)
D. Dudley (Strafford)

Carey Johnson (Brattleboro)
Laurie Labarthe (Worcester)
Judy Lashof (Sudbury)

Susan Murray (Ferrisburg)
Gabriel Q. (Northfield)
Joseph Watson (East Middlebury) V

LOOKING BOTH WAYS:

Bisexual flirt confesses all
Mike Rothbart

CUTTINGSVILLE -- I am not a flirt.
In fact, I am normally a staid, quiet
person who frequently reminds my
friends of a pebble. A gray pebble, to be
exact. I am your prototypical bisexual
wallflower. Robin Williams once joked
that “it’s hard enough for me to carry
around my little black book. Can you
imagine being bisexual? You’d need the
whole phone bookI” Alas, I decided I
was bisexual when I realized I was

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attracted to everyone. Unfortunately, the
principle is not reciprocal; not everyone
is attracted to me. The most exciting
place I use my phone book to call is the
shoe store.

This column is hopefully the first of a
series about my life as a lonely bisexual.
Perhaps I should tell a story by way of
introduction. 1 just graduated from a

small liberal arts college. Don’t ask

where; you’ve never heard of it. It’s
about the size of a peanut. Although I
found both of the other students
attractive, I was afraid to ever let them
know. If I risked a word, I was
convinced that the Greek God of

Rejection would squash me with a very‘

large thumbtack. I kept my mouth shut.
Instead, I watched. I lusted. I
daydrearned. In one daydream, I
approached Rebecca Tittler and told her,
“You are amazingly beautiful.” She ran
away screaming.

I was weighed down with the fear of
offending someone, faced with the sure
knowledge that I’d have to spend the
next four years awkwardly living, eating
and studying with those after whom I
lusted. As it was, I still spent four years
with these people, but they never knew
my desires. I

My roommate Jason, however, was a
complete contrast to me. He was known
across campus as either a hunk or a
slimeball, depending on your
perspective. I thought he was a bit of

each. Now Jason, he could flirt. And
even though he claimed to be straight, he
would flirt with anyone. Even me. Once,
while quite inebriated at a party he
managed to get a smile out of a piano.
Believe me, it takes guts to flirt with a
piano. Not to mention patience.

One night as I decorated the wall of a
Celebrate Your Queemess college party,
Jason sidled up to me. “Mike,” he
whispered in my ear, smiling “shall I
teach you to flirt?”

“Sure, great, yes!” I blurted, dropping
my margarita.

“First tell me, who are you interested in
here?” ‘

I scanned the room and saw Rebecca
Tittler, who I had objectified for many
years. I pointed her out to Jason.

“OK. Watch closely,” he instructed
before slithering across the dance floor. I
studied -him as he said something to
make her smile. As I approached to
better hear the conversation, Jason was
telling his favorite anecdote about
toumiquets.

“This is important,” I thought to myself;
I pulled a pen from my pocket protector
and searched for a napkin to take notes.
By the time I returned, with 1.
TOURNIQUET printed neatly across a
Safe Sex party napkin, Jason had taken
Rebecca by the hand and led her out to

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the dance floor. Madonna whimpered
over the speaker system.

“2.” I printed. “TYPICAL
GENDER—ROLED HAND LEADING.”

Before my very eyes, the two of them
moved closer and closer, not stopping
between songs. Both were smiling.
Suddenly, without my noticing, they had
their arms around each otl1er’s waists.

“Excuse me,” I said, walking up to them,
“I missed the hands~around—the-waist
move. Could you repeat it?” Rebecca
gave me a strange look while Jason
pretended not to know me. They danced
away from me, across the floor. Two frat
boys came in, seeking a place to dance
together, and blocked my line of sight.
Peering around them, I noticed Rebecca's
hand descend to Jason’s derriere.

I wrote down: “3. SECRET HAND
MOVEMENTS OF INCREASING
INTIMACY.” I stuck my pen behind my
ear and looked back, just in time to see
my roommate disappearing out the door
with the woman of my daydreams.

Dutifully, I recorded, “4. E)flT,” and
went home.

Jason didn’t return until two the next
afternoon. “I hope,” he told me, “that my
lesson was informative.”

“Thanks Jason. Next time, perhaps we
could have a lab session.”

With this in—depth trainingin hand, and
my trusty napkin notes in my back
pocket, I was all ready for November’s
Queer Town Meeting. I talked up my
courage by reminding myself that I’d

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never have to see anyone I met again. It
made it easier to think that there was no
danger of actually getting involved with
anyone. It was particularly easy to flirt
with women, as I figured most of them
were lesbians. I danced up a storm and
batted my eyelashes at people whose
names I forget. I flirted with anyone who
moved, plus a few who didn’t. I invited a
cute man out to dinner. I told a beautiful
Middlebury student named Erik that I
thought she was extremely attractive. She
didn’t slap me; she thanked me. Then I
fled before she could respond further.

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I’m just glad to be such a quick learner; I
expect to move on to dating by the end of
the century. Jason would be proud. Even

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