Out in the Mountains Out in the Mountains Established in T986 Editor: Hugh (oyle Business Manager: Steven West Future___Iayoul: Siacianne Visco Circulation Manager: David Grist WebSite Managers: Kathie Sawyer and Tracy Buttles Contributors: Susan Bell, Bob Bolyard, Alex (orey, Joy Griffith, Bruce‘ Johnson, Susan Murray, Paul Olsen, Beth Robinson, and Kim Ward. Out in the Mountains IISSN T08]- 5562) is published monthly by Moun- tain Pride Media, Inc. The newspa- per maintains offices at I09 South Winooski Avenue in Burlington, Ver- mont. Our mailing address is PO Box T77, Burlington VT 05402-0l77. Our e-mail address is oitm@together.net. Bulk rate postage for the mailing of the newspaper is paid in Burlington, Vermont. The subscription rate is $20 per year within the United States. © I997, Out in the Mountains. Statement of Purpose The purpose of Out in the Moun- tains is to serve as a voice for lesbi- ans, gay men, bisexuals, transgen- dered people, and our supporters in Vermont. We wish the newspaper to be a source of information, insight, and affirmation. We also see OITM as a vehicle for the celebration_of the goodness and diversity of the les- bian, gay, bisexual, and trans- gendered communities here in Ver- mont and elsewhere. Editorial Policy We will consider for publication any material which broadens our un- derstanding of our lifestyles and of each other. Views and opinions ap- pearing in the paper do not neces- sarily represent those of the staff. This paper cannot and will not en- dorse any candidates or actions of public officials on issues of impor- tance lo lesbians, gay men, bisexu- als, and trans-gendered persons. We reserve the right not to pub- lish any material deemed to be overtly racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, ageist, classist, xenophobic or ho- mophobic. Writers’ guidelines are available on request. All materials submitted must include a name and contact number. However, within the pages of the newspaper, articles may ap- pear anonymously upon request, and strict confidentiality will be observed. Articles, letters, and artwork should be sent to us by the l5lh of the month prior to the month of pub- lication (i.e. February l5th for the March issue). We encourage and im- plore our readers to do what they can to make OITM a paper which truly represents the many voices of our communities. Materials should be sent to: Out in the Mountains PO Box l77 Burlington, Vermont 05402-0l77 E-mail: oilm@logether.net Advertising If you would like to place an ad in Out in the Mountains, please contact us for rates and guidelines. Ad copy should be mailed to the address above or call Hugh (oyle at (802) 388-6503. Check us out on the World Wide Web! http://members.aol.com/oitm/ Y Editorial A Football Fan Looks to the Sexual Frontier by Hugh Coylc It was New Year’s Day, 1994, and I’d laid in a good supply of junk food and soft drinks for a marathon session in front of the TV set. Having fussed with the aerial for nearly half an hour, I got a semi- decent picture from a no—cable set in a rural mountain homestead. I hunkered down for a full afternoon and evening of hard—hitting, pad- pounding college football, while downstairs, my partner talked on the phone with another gay friend of ours. It seems neither one could quite comprehend this unusual behavior of mine. When he came up later to check on me, I had to crane my neck around him to keep an eye on the play. It was fourth and goal with less than a minute to go. He shook his head in disbelief as Ijumped up and down and cheered on my team. He worried aloud that I was becoming heterosexual. I have to admit that sometimes I don’t score well on the homo/ hetero chart. I don’t like the color pink, I hate high fashion, and Broad- way shows do nothing to raise my blood pressure. I have never worn a dress, and leather sounds as ecologically questionable tolme as any full-length fur coat. When I tell people I’m gay, they sometimes laugh at me. A former secretary persisted for weeks in her disbelief, and I shudder to think what it might have taken to convince her. Throughout my entire coming out process, I battled against the well-ingrained stereotypes, the same depiction of the “typical” gay man which had kept me in the closet for so many years. ("I don’t lisp. I have no desire to put on heels or makeup. I'd rather listen to the Jam than the Bee Gees. Therefore, I must be straight...") When I finally realized that, despite all this,.I was still attracted to more men than women, I was ready to make my claim to gayness. Even so, I wasn’t sure that the gay movement would want to lay claim to me. Todd, another gay friend of mine, knows this dilemma all too well. He’s a card-carrying Republican, and he makes no bones ofthe fact that he voted for Rcagan...twice. “How can you be gay AND Republican?" our friends would tease him. He has become the butt of many jokes, a patsy for his party, and it irks me to see supposedly open-minded people closing in around him. Despite their attacks, he retains his sense of sclf—worth and identity — resilience being one trait that all “out” gay people have to master. Members of the gay and lesbian rights movement have fought long and hard against the negative effects of cultural stereotyping, but despite all their best efforts, the battle continues both inside’ and outside the movement. Most recently, I’ve heard an incredible num- ber of hurtful and ignorant remarks about bisexuals and transgen- dered people. Like our conservative straight counterparts, a number of people within the gay and lesbian communities have been quick to dismiss hi and trans people as “confused,” “just going through a phase,” and even “psychologically sick.” I was reminded of these comments while reading the latest issue of TRANS, the newsletter of the Transgender Radical Action, Net- working, and Support group. Several ofthe articles grappled with the complexities of what it meant to be “transgendered” and hoped that continued dialogue on the matter would help to educate others. Even the amusing piece on hair removal spoke volumes about the tension between who we are and who we feel we should be. For those caught “in the middle,” either between genders or between orientations, such a tension can be overwhelming. ~ ~ _'plrnenix rising v .. - spiritecl jewelry & gifts - '' :€‘V'’i"9 =95’./‘id v ”lt doesn't maHer who we love, it matters that we love.” V . T04 main street, one flight up monlpelier 802.229.0522 The disrespect that many people show toward the transgendered movement reveals something of a hypocrisy within the gay and les- bian movements. If a gay man wears women’s clothing to affirm his “gay” identity, if he refers to himself as “girl” and “lady,” if he speaks in a high voice and chooses Bette Davis or Judy Garland as his per- sonal role models -— is he not crossing traditional gender lines (i.e. being trans-gender)? Is his motivation real, or is it intended as a mock- ery of women, a perpetuation of the harmful and sexist myth that to be gay is to be girlish, that to be lesbian is to be mannish? As a gay man, I get grief for watching football because women don’t watch football. Some rather clueless straight friends insist that since I’m gay, I must like men who act and look like women. As in any spectrum of diversity, there are bound to be examples of polar extremes, but to establish them as an enforceable “norm,” either di- rectly or indirectly, pays serious disrespect to those ofus in the middle. Those who believe that the frontier of the gay and lesbian move- ments lies at the extremes should turn toward the center and pay close attention to the bisexual and transgendered movements. As their names imply, these two communities are working toward rekindling the whole glorious potential of human sexuality and not simply staking out one little end zone of the Kinsey scale. They are challenging many ofthe mistaken assumptions and stereotypes that straight, gay, and lesbian people have perpetuated for years on end. They are redefining the sexual frontier, and we should accept their generous invitation to ex- plore those new territories with both respect and gratitude. V OITM Web Site Receives Award CYBERSPACE -— The Out in the Mountains Web Site recently re- ceived a “Speech Friendly” award from Magical Mist Creations, a group which checks Web Sites for user—friendliness to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The group distributes yellow rib- bon graphics to sites which are easy to navigate and which interact well with “screen readers” used to make the Web more accessible to people with disabilities. OITM site designers Tracy Buttles and Kathie Sawyer began re- designing the pages as part of a Haymarket grantawarded to the pa- per for increasing outreach to historically disadvantaged communi- ties. They plan to incorporate even more changes in the months ahead to further increase accessibility. “Your site is wonderful! It was really easy to navigate,” said Cathy Murtha of Magical Mist Creations. “Blind people must use screen readers to access the Internet and it is a pleasure to come upon a site that is totally accessible. I like how your stories are on the first page and set up so that the blind and visually impaired can easily navigate through them. I even had to stop and read a few stories. I liked the one about the Christmas present of freedom that the mom gave her son. As a mom of three, it made me think of what I would do.” “I hope you will display your speech friendly ribbon award with pride,” Murtha wrote. “You have opened the door to information to a 7 community that is extremely grateful!” For more information about Magical Mist Creations and about increasing Web Site accessibility, visit them at http:// www.wwwebit.com/magical—mist/ribbon.htm. V FOR ma WORLD ARTS or-‘ VERMONT PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE GAYG. LESBIAN (XJMMUNITY CELEBRATING LIFE (DMMITMENT S FAMILY MILESTONES ENVIROMENTAL PORTRAITS DIVA PORTFOILOS 802 454 -7187 VOICE/I-‘AX E-MAIL: TAZDIVAOAOLOOM P.O. BOX 435 PLAINFIELD, VT 0567-0435 gammy mm; Accounting, Business and Individual PO Box 431 Essex Junction, Vermont 05453 Tel (802) 879-4596 E-mail: V'l'fAX@aol.com Arcadia House V Elegant Accommodations PO Box 520 V Hyde Park, VT 05655 V 802-888-9147 John Towne V Ed Pepe V Innkeepers 25 acres V pond V nieadows V trails V river V peace & privacy l\J