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4“— OUT IN THE MouNTAiNs

 

   

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— JANUARY 1999

     Mountains

The Bisexual Community Gives Gay Conversion Ads 21 Run for the Money

BY KIMBERLY A. WARD

his year, there has been a

‘ lot of talk about the “gay

conversion” programs run
by the Florida-based Center for
Reclaiming America and other
similar groups. However, one of
the most invisible parts of this
discussion all along has been the
issue ofbisexual and trans identi-
ties and how they fit.

A few months ago, the nation-
al bisexual community decided it
was time to open up the discus-
sion. After all, ifthe “powers that
be” were going to claim that a
lesbian, had been converted, and
write under her photo, “she’s
married, a mother of two and
happy,” or something similar,
what was the first thing that
would come into the minds of
most bisexuals? “Well, so am I”
is one thing and “Maybe she’s bi”
is another. A

The fact that bisexuality is
ever-absent in any discussion
where it could muddy the waters
for groups such as the Center for
Reclaiming America has been
painfully obvious to many.

What did the national bisexual
community do about it? They

raised money and produced a‘-'

spectacular rebuttal ad, which ran

* in a recent issue of Anything that

FI'0IlI: V T I’ H II) E

   

A repeat of

NGLTFPRESISG Retexse:   

Moves. The only national maga-
zine of its kind, ATM has put all
ofits chips on the table and found
that it’s won the pot.

This ad, created with the
utmost care and love, is currently
circulating through the campuses
and communities of the world. It

_ shows boldly the faces of varied

community _members including
national speaker and activist,
Elias Ferrajaje Jones, youth orga-
nizer Penelope Williams from
New York City, pioneer Maggie
Rubenstein and many others.

The top ofthe ad states it simply"

“Toward a new national discus-
sion of sexual orientation.”
Underneath, in bold letters, is a
the Center for
Reclaiming America’s slogan, “If
you love someone, you’ll tell
them the truth.”

The ad is also running on the
magazine’s website (www.any-
thingthatmoves.org). Though the
site recently had to be rebuilt
from the ground upgdue to hack-
ers, it still makes the information
available to all who wish to use it
to further the cause of the gay,
lesbian, bisexual, trans,1., non-

. labelling, questioning communi-

\

ties. ' - 

The only thing they ask is that
anyone who uses it report how
and where they used the ad, so

NewStudyDebunksthe

Myth of Gay

December 3, I998 ,

Wealth

A WASHINGTON, DC——- Contraryltolconventionalvwisdorn on the
subject, gay, lesbian, and bisexual people do not earn more than het-
erosexuals. ln-fact, they may even earn less. 4

Released today by the’Policy Institute of the'National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force and the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic
Studies, Income Inflation: The Myth of Aflluence Among Gay, ,
Lesbian, and Bisexual Americans is a startling study of the econom-
ic status of a frequently stereotyped population of Americans. M.V.
Lee Badgett explores the inaccurate notion that GLB people are an
economic elite, insulated from discrimination by wealth and discon-
nected from society by a privileged status. After examining data
from seven different surveys, she finds that none support this stereo-

type.

“The evidence from many different scientifically sound data
sources points to the same clear conclusion: gay, lesbian, and bisex-
ual people do not earn more than heterosexual people, either as indi-
viduals or as couples,” reported Badgett. “Now that we have credi-
ble data, we can stop relying on flawed studies designed to find

high-income gay people.”

Right,-wing organizations and individuals perpetuate and exploit
the myth of gay wealth to bolster attacks against the GLBT commu-
nity. The myth is so pervasive that even Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia injected it into the dissenting opinion in the Colorado

Amendment Two case.

“We have long known that the myth of gay wealth is just that - a
myth,” said Urvashi Vaid, director ofthe NGLTF Policy Institute.

Right’s distortion ofthe facts.”

« “Income.lnfiation.shines the light oftruth on yet another of the

 

that they may track the ad’s
progress and keep us all informed
and pushing for national aware-
ness on the issue at hand.

I recently received a great list
of places that have been regis-
tered as hitting the website to see
the ad. The list included Ivy
League schools across the coun-
try, campuses in Australia,
France, and England, and the list
went on. .

The long list of contributors
and supporters includes organiza-
tions such as BiNet USA, FTM
International, LLEG, National
Black Lesbian & Gay Leadership
Forum, Parents, Families &
Friends of Lesbians and Gays,
and many others.

Many of these same organiza-
tions have also signed on as allies
to Bisexual Network, USA dur-
ing this past year. Within the
ranks of BiNet USA, the push is
on to get that bridge built
between the gay/lesbian and bi
communities of the world,
between the queer and straight
communities, the trans and bi and
so on.

Why? Because if we don’t
join togethersoon, the push to
oust‘ us all grom our very own
backyards vi/”i’l”l begin to succeed.
And because BiNet USA has

reached ‘a point where’ it is old

motions mom oun
mun Iusousslou usr:

>>My household income is prob-
ably about.the same as that of my
neighbors,_ but since I don’t have
four kids, my income after living
expenses is probably much high-
er. Does that make me wealthier?

It’s the same issue as with ‘DlNKs
(Dual Income - No Kids).

>>... queer leadership has con-
tributed to the myth _of gay
wealth. Rarely do community
leaders take on class issues, or
concern ourselves with queer
access when it comes to anti-
poverty organizations, homeless
shelters, or low cost medical clin-
ics. And while we have taken on
some of these issues as they
relate to HIV or AIDS and gay or
bisexual men, there has been lit-
tle attention given to single les-
bian or bisexual women with
children.

I believe that queer people in
rural areas have an intuitive
understanding of the fallacious-
ness of this myth. '

>>Another group for which sta-

tistics would be interesting, are:

those of‘ us who have been dis-

owned —by families.-F-Economic 

consequences vary, depending on
when ,tl‘1‘i"S“ha:ppens._ ’Y4.p_un=g'adrrIts*

enough and organized enough
that it is not only able to stand
alone, but to start mobilizing
toward others and reaching out a
hand.

This ad campaign is proof that
not only is there still a bi commu-

notocnooooonooolooonoououuooooltuuuo

nity out there, but its national
consciousness is becoming active
enough to be noticed. With the
religious right adding our name
to the lists of evil on their pro-
posed legislation, those who
resist bi inclusion are realizing
that bi people are and have
always been a part of their com-
munity as well.

With the Equality Begins at
Home_visibility project coming
up in March, many activists are

N H >

of living at home while attending .

school, and may have to leave
high school to support them-
selves. Others lose the family
contribution towards higher edu-
cation. When one has to enter the
workforce earlier, with less edu-
cation, s/he will have reduced
earning potential for the.future,
until such time as they can get a
degree, unless‘they’re in a field
where experience brings signifi-
cant economic reward.

>>Did the study look at the dif-
ference between men’s income
and women’s income? A family
living on one male and one
female income (straight) may
have less money than one living
on two male incomes —- which is
often enough the case with gay
men, even some of those with
children. I think these double-
male-income households are
probably what the myth of gay
wealth is based on —— though
they may be in the minority. And
a family living on two female
incomes islikely to have propor-
tionately less. This “class” differ-
ence between many gay men and
many lesbians has sometimes
been discussed and debated in the
gay/lesbian press.

>>Let’s think about whichqueers
‘we see in the media: Ellen and
Anne, Elton "John, .George

9 _ _ _ g 4 5;-Michae1,’.Barney:sFrank, Andrew
may lose the financial‘“adva'n'tage’ '

Siillivan; 4 Rosie --- O’Donne1I,

excited to have such a wonderful
new tool with which to help pre-
sent the case for bi inclusion. The
ad’s text body is full of the most
precise, on-target arguments
we’ve made for years. As the
EBAH push starts, and the idea

The push is on to bridge the gay/
lesbian and bi communities, between
the queer and straight communities,
the trans and bi and so on. Because
if we don ’t join together soon, the
push to oust us all from our very
own backyards will begin to succeed.

of having a “50-state march” is
fleshed out with specifics, I know
I am one activist ‘who will be
spending some time and money
at the copy machine. Y

Kim Ward is Volunteer
Coordinator for BiNet Vermont, a
North East Regional Organizer
for BiNet USA, and author of the
column: “On the Other Hand,"
which has run on and ofl for three
years in Out in the Mountains.

>>l>

‘Chastity Bono. Not exactly a

' crosssection of our community.

Queer people are often portrayed
as middle or upper class in

. movies: The Opposite of Sex,

Object of My Aflection, Basic
Instinct. Let’s see, we’re absent
on the television, unless we’re

- talking about Will & Grace or
cable. And on the ‘radio, mostly

NPR, we’re talking about 1)
AIDS, 2) Gourmet Food, or 3)
Life in New York.

>>I agree that money DOES buy

access and visibilty. How many
poor queer people are asked to be
on boards of directors of non-
profits? The wealth that these
people enjoy means they are able
to give TIME and MONEY to a
cause. When I think of some of
the wealthier people queer people
I know, MOST of them are using
their money to support gay orga-
nizations, and do a lot of commit-
tee work to support them! Thanks
to those people for doing the
right thing!

>>ln Vermont, however, I feel we
are better about encouraging par-
ticipation from all walks of life,
not just the well off. This might
be because most of the queers I
know in Vermont are here for our
great lifestyle, rather than money.
I see much greater class issues in
the big queer centers like NYC
and SF.

. . . . . . . _ . . . . _ -4