.» 2 — OUT IN TH\E.f._M5,Ufi,TA|NS — SEPTEMBER 1997 .«. "i * \ Om‘ fiaz‘kt.ir//zfr.ar]7,s(—ISStrl~i081-5562)T.» L .ub|!shed'm°nlhly bv‘M°untain Pride. . _ edia, lnc. Thenewspaper maintains ‘ ‘offices at 109 South Vlfinooski Avenue in Burlington, ‘Vermont. Our mailing address is PO Box.177, Burlington, VT 05402-0177. Our email address is oitm@together.net and our website is located at http://www.vtpride.org. The subscription rate is $20 per year within the United States of America. ©1907, Out/‘net/re Mountains Statement of Purpose The purpose of 0a/M//7e/I/oz//7- E/7/sis to serve as a voice for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered people, and our supporters in Vermont. . We wish the newspaper to be a source of information, insight, and affirmation. We also see OlT M as a vehicle for the celebration of the goodness and diver- sity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered communities here in Vennont and elsewhere. Editorial Policy ~ "We will consider for publication. any material which broadens our under- standing of our lifestyles and of each other. Views and opinions appearing in the paper do not necessarily represent those of the staff. This paper cannot , and will not endorseany candidates or actions of public officials on issues of importance to lesbians, gay men, bi- - sexuals, and transgendered persons. * Wereserve the right not to pub- ‘ lish any material deemed to be overtly racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, ageist, classist, xenophobic, orhcmophobic. 7 Writers’ guidelines are availbale on request. All materials submitted must - include a namefand a contact number. However, within the pages of the news- - paper, articles may appear anony- ‘— r mously upon request, and strict confi- dentiallywill be observed. , ‘ ’ Articles, letters, and artwork should be sent to us by the 15th of the month prior to the ‘month of publication (i.e. February 15th for the March issue). We encourage and implore our readers to do what they can to make 0/77!/a paper which truly represents the many voices of our communities. Materials should be sent to: I Out in the Mountains PO Box 177 Burlington, VT 05402-0177 phone: (802) 865-9294 email: oitm@together.net Advertising = . It you would like to place an ad in 0/////‘M75/I/0///7/a/7/.5; please contact us for rates and guidelies. Ad copy should be mailed to the address above. Check us out on the World Wide Web! http 1/ www.vtpride.org OITM now available in braille format! Contact Chris Moes at {$02) 855-9294 for more information A »_ EDITORIAL: Giving Back to the Community *5’ BY CHRISTOPHER Moss The unofficial theme for this years pride day celebration was, ”What have you done for the community” and it seems the uproar over how this message came about may have dis- torted the point. The issue has lingered in my mind, and I feel it is a valid one. It is, perhaps, not fair for us really to make de- mands on gay businesses. Pearls, which seems to come under fire most with this question, has the right as a business to do anything it wants. It is a business, not a community center, not a nonprofit. The reason this issue has continued to resonate in my mind is because several months ago I took charge of this paper you are reading now, an exciting proposition and at the same time a daunting one. The paper has been serving the community twelve years, existing too often just above financial ruin. It exists to this day because of the quiet and dedicated work of a number of people. I want to mention them here and the work they do be- cause it is all at this paper we can afford to give our staff. David Grist has taken care of distribution now for years, a thankless job. Steve West, in a more humble permutation, has been the business manager, working with ads, calling overdue advertisers, paying debts while crossing his fingers that our checks don't bounce. The past three editors, Hugh Coyle, Deb Lashman, and Fred Kuhr, all worked countless hours, which isn't the hardest part. As editor you become a lightening rod for controversy in this paper, and it becomes a struggle not to take it personally. I feel myself an heir to a huge responsibility, and I hope I can do as well as they have. ' All of the other writers and volunteers around here do-_ nate their time and energy: Staci Visco did layout for the past year; Don Eggert has taken on layout; Kathie Sawyer, from Pa- perwork Solutions, handles all of the design for our website; Tracy Kommons came in and turned the office from a storage space into an office; and Paul Olsen, as well as a myriad of writ- ers, donate their time because they see this forum as a crucial living institution that benefits the growth of our community. Then there are the financial contributors, who fall into two categories, the first just the straight forward donors, who we greatly appreciate, and then there are the advertisers who make up the vast chunk of our income. We appreciate our advertisers, although it may be perceived by some businesses as a loss, the resounding truth is that advertising in this paper works. A num- ber of our advertisers have told me that they have gotten nu- merous loyal clients clue to their ads in this paper. When it comes down to it, if a business does something for the community, like advertise in OITM, or donate a space for a benefit or a meeting space, and if this business makes money in the process, then basically every one wins. The Rainbow Business Association and gay businesses in general have gained a certain amount of attention lately, and I think we all see this as a good thing for the community. Busi- nesses don't owe the community anything, merely by virtue of being gay owned, although, those that help the community are greatly appreciated. While you read OITM, take time to notice who they are. ON THE OTHER HAND: packet of bisexual resources and contacts, including the Bi- sexual Resource Guide, will be -Three local bisexual activists go to national gathering. BY KIRSTEN ISGRO In early June, the national Bisexual organization, BiNet USA, held it's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Three Ver- mont bisexual activists at- tended the ’_’Building Bridges” meeting, and the following is a brief report of the weekend. The annual meeting is a time for national and regional organizers to connect and . work with other local bisexual activists, thus increasing and developing bisexual commu- nity and visibility. The meet- ing was scheduled in conjunc- tion with Gay / Lesbian Day at Disney World, in attempts to increase awareness about bi- sexuality. Disney World does not officially endorse Gay Day, a tradition for the past 17 years. In additional to joining thou- sands of other queers at Disney World, BiNet USA’s annual meeting worked on creating a strategic plan for the next year, particularly in terms of doing more outreach and networking with other organizations. Over the last year, BiNet USA has continued to operate as an information clearing- house for Bisexuals and our allies. The Bi Youth Initiative pursues its efforts to include A bisexuals in queer youth orga- nizations and send young adult representatives to na- tional gatherings. BiNet USA has also created and delivered dozens of workshops on bi- sexuality at the national con- . .. ‘l-<'Y‘-~MF: : ferences of others organiza- tions, such as the National Gay and Lesbian Creating Change Conference and the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Conference. Three BiNet USA national co- ordinators met with a liaison to the White House in Novem- ber 1996 to educate the admin- istration on issues specific to bisexual and transgendered people. BiNet USA also lob- bied on Capitol Hill in Febru- ary 1997 to promote the pas- sage of ENDA. BiNet also has been working with the Human Rights Campaign to establish more regularrcollaboration be- tween the organizations. One issue of great im- portance to Vermonters is the continued effort to establish the Rural Bisexual Initiative, for those people who are liv- ing in less populated areas. A / ttelrefac arrce... available for a small fee. (More, about this packet in the future as it becomes available to the public.) For me, personally, at- tending the BiNet USA annual meetings continues to be a great source of solidarity with other social justice activists. ‘It is great to notice that the names of local organizations are be- coming more bi inclusive and that true partnership with other queer organizations is not only possible, but is actu- ally happening! e a condomif — For more information about BiNet USA Contact: PO Box 7327, Langley Park, MD 20787. - To finddout about Vermont BiNet, Contact Kim at: mcain@together.net or write us at PO Box 8124, Burlington, VT 05402-8124.