Newsgroups: bit.listserv.gaynet
Date:         Mon, 6 Apr 1992 17:17:05 -0400
From:         gaynet@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Subject:      GayNet Digest Volume 5 Issue 259

In this issue:
                          gay studies courses
                     Gays and the Southern Baptists
          Stein's nasty sieg-file // more lesbigay directors?
                             Sissy software
                           Letter I received
                 Donald Wildmon to Speak at Notre Dame
                         mass confusion in mass
         Homosexual Environments on East Coast College Campuses
                           homophobia at UNC
                     Edward II, the movie, that is

Please send messages for the entire list to gaynet@ATHENA.MIT.EDU,
requests to be added or deleted to gaynet-request@ATHENA.MIT.EDU, and
personal replies directly to the other person, not the entire list.
Postings to GayNet are public communications.  If you must keep your
privacy, send your messages to gaynet-anonymous@ATHENA.MIT.EDU.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 05 Apr 92 11:23 CDT
From: C60RBR1%NIU.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu
Subject: gay studies courses

Greetings,
       The Task Force on Dircrimination Based on Sexual Orientation
( yes, I know we need a shorter name ) at Northern Illinois Univer-
sity is trying to come up with recommendations in many areas,among
them implementing some kind of a gay studies course. Having sifted
The ADVOCATE and other gay sources, we're not finding much. Anybody
out there who has a curriculum being used in lectures or even a
short presentation, or who knows " that man who knows that man who
knows ", please respond.
       Also,the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of DeKalb has just turned
one-a healthy child we are all quite proud of.If your travels bring
you out into corn country,let us know.


                                      Bob Ridinger

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Apr 92 07:55:01 EDT
From: mickey@math.duke.edu (Mickey McDonald)
Subject: Re:  Gays and the Southern Baptists

Here's an update on the situation at two Southern/American Baptist churches
in the Raleigh/Chapel Hill area.
(1) Raleigh's Pullen Memorial Church had their congregation vote 2-1 in favor
of performing a union ceremony for two gay men...they performed this
ceremony sometime in the past few weeks.
(2) Last night, Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill voted 57.5% to
42.5% to license a gay divinity student from Duke to preach.  This is
NOT the equivalent of ordination, but is a first step on his way to ordination.

Now the problems...the Baptist State Convention will vote on May 19 not
to accept funds from any churches which show "public approval, promotion,
or blessing of homosexuality."  The National Convention is also considering
NOT allowing these churches to attend during their meeting in June.  The
big problem for the the Baptist Convention though is balancing their
belief in the autonomy of the individual congregation and the convention's
disapproval of homosexuality.

-Mickey McDonald
Duke University.....GO BLUE DEVILS!!!!

------------------------------

Date:         Sun, 05 Apr 92 16:46:44 MST
From: Gabriel <G9348712%NMSUVM1.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
Subject:      Stein's nasty sieg-file // more lesbigay directors?

A comment on several recent posts:

  >From: "dan m." <DMYNE00@UKCC.uky.edu>
  >Subject:      irresponsible remark on child abuse
  >
  >Mr. Stein suggested in Saturdays listing that hitting 4 children ....

(etc.).   dan m. was outraged.  Please remember, dan m., that SteinKrav
should be considered a 'visitor' to this net; he denies being anything
other than strait.  Whoever he is a bad example for, it isn't queers.

  >From: awerling@NMSU.Edu
  >Date: Sat, 4 Apr 92 15:58:17 MST
  >Subject: proportional numbers of positive portrayals

That a person of such pre-eminent perspicacity could possibly postulate
such a preposterous proposition is positively pathetic.

  >Mike! wonders if I get the concept that people want a proportional
  >number of positive portrayals of lesbigays in movies.
  >
  >I agree.  I think that would be a nice thing.  But *who*
  >is responsible for that?  *Who* out there would you have
  >make these movies with positive portrayals?
  >
  >Perhaps more lesbigay directors need to be born.  And perhaps
  >the mainstream needs to embrace them.

More the second than the first.  There have been lots of lesbigay
directors who wanted to participate.  They have generally not been
allowed to participate, or have been required to mask their queerhood or
have been allowed to film only what the money people wanted them to film.
Or, like George Cukor, they have been thrown off the set by actors who
didn't want to be known as working under a queer.

------------------------------

Date:         Mon, 06 Apr 92 06:59:55 CDT
From: An Anonymous Sender

to: Gaynetters
from: S.A.G.E. Person
date: 4-6-92
subject: Retirement

Hi.  For those who don't know, S.A.G.E. stands for Senior Action in
a Gay Environment.  This is an organization for elderly gay people
and their friends.  I don't know whether it could be called political;
it is more of a service group, perhaps.  And for those who take offense
at anonymity, consider that the world is not as you might like it to be.
The e-closet can be threatened by the hostiles as easily as the glass
closet or the un-closet.  Consider Eve Kosovsky Segwick's book
_The Epistemology of the Closet_.  She shows, fairly well, that at
least part of the closet is involved in the unique  perspective of
gay people.  The construct sits on a cartesian grid where the x axis
is the spectacle of the world to the eyes watching from the closet,
and the y axis is the spectacle of the gay, silently acknowledged
as separate and special by the watching world.  After all,  "the world
is a stage, and we are players on it "  We are also the audience.
The simplistic cry "Out of the closet" is really unable to account
for the complexities of the postmodern world.  It sounds rather like
a 1960's rallying call for a street party.  Speaking of the '60's...
ah, well.  Fond memories.  :-)

Anyhow, friends, the topic is retirement.  Yes, I'm getting on
towards that time of life.  Ripe, as it were.  I want a gay community
where I can be of service to the community and also be comfortable.
And while it's true that I have a nest egg, I don't want to spend
the whole amount on groceries within the first month.  So...I'd like
some input.  I'm thinking Provincetown?  Key West? Palm Springs?
I'd appretiate input.  If you have some thoughts, you can post them
or contact me privately at MORIARTY@NDSUVM1.  Thanks for supporting
your seniors with your care.  :-)

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Apr 92 08:49:13 EDT
From: dwoolwin@cc.gettysburg.edu
Subject: Sissy software

I can't decide if the "Sissy Software" posting was a joke or not, and this
may be humorles, but I wouldn't buy anything called "Sissy Software" no
matter how it was marketed - I've never found "sissy" to be an endearing
term, having had it applied to myself, in a negative context, during most
of my childhood.
David E. Woolwine                         717-337-6187
Sociology and Anthropology Department     dwoolwin@cc.gettysburg.edu
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, PA 17325

------------------------------

Resent-Message-Id: <9204061310.AA16658@Athena.MIT.EDU>
Resent-Date:  Mon, 06 Apr 92 09:09:49 EST
Resent-From: Jeff <JAJONE02@UKCC.uky.edu>
Resent-To: gaynet@Athena.MIT.EDU, CLGSG <clgsg-l@ricevm1.rice.edu>
Date:         Sun, 05 Apr 92 11:52:04 EST
From: AMLONO01@UKCC.uky.edu
Subject:      Letter I received

Here is something a friend asked to me to post.

______________________________________________________________
1  Jeff Jones                         JAJONE02@ukcc.uky.edu  1
1  University of Kentucky                                    1
1  "Blessed are those who hunger for justice."               1
1____________________________________________________________1

- --------------------------Original message----------------------------
I recently received this letter from Ken Dawson.

Dear Friend,

   This letter is from a man to other men.  It's about lesbians.

About two years ago I was in the hospital with an HIV infection. It was then
that I saw how many lesbians were helping to care for people with AIDS. Some
were friends of mine.  Many were professionals whom I had never met before -
nurses, doctors, social workers, and others.

Later, I was struck by how many lesbians are involved in the political battles
against AIDS and AIDS bigotry.  Some are visible, out-front leaders.  Many more
work behind the scenes - in AIDS organizations, in government, in the media -
whereever the struggles are being fought.

Also, many lesbians have helped me remember that AIDS is not the only issue
affecting my life, that AIDS is part of a larger, nationwide crisis in health
care, that even as gay men work to end the AIDS crisis we must fight for our
civil rights, that issues pioneered by lesbians - like the movement to create
new definitions of family - will benefit all of us.

These women have helped to keep the AIDS crisis in perspective, and have shown
me that a genuine community between gay men and lesbians, while never easy, is
possible.

I mentioned all this to a lesbian friend recently, and added:

If there is ever a crisis in the lesbian community, I hope that I and other gay
men will respond as quickly and as effectively as lesbians have to the AIDS
crisis.

My friend replied, more in sadness than in anger:

But Ken, there is a crisis in the lesbian community. It's not one single, highl
y visible event like AIDS. It is the accumulated weight of economic and politic
al injustice against women in general and lesbians in particular.

As a gay man, I know something about the discrimination that our culture direct
s at homosexuals: in housing and employment and other aspects of daily life,
not to mention the half-hearted response to AIDS and the rising tide of anti-
gay harassment and violence.

Lesbians experience similar anti-homosexual bigotry, but they also must live
daily with the effects of sexism - discrimination because they are female.

HEALTH CARE - We all know that health care in the U.S. is a mess, an that only
the rich or well-insured have access to the best treatment. Even women who do
have access face a system that, for the most part, was designed for men.

VIOLENCE - Bias-related violence in our society is increasing at all levels, in
cluding vicious attacks on gay men. However, women and girls have historically
been the primary victims of male violence. Male rage against women is often hei
ghtened when the man believes that a woman is a lesbian.  In a national survey
on homophobic violence conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force,
91% of lesbians reported attacks ranging from harassment to beatings, and rape.

FAMILY RIGHTS - Courts often deny lesbians custody of their children, stating
that a lesbian mother is incapable of being a fit parent. Like gay male relatio
nships, lesbian relationships are not legally recognized.  They have none of
the benefits or protections accorded to heterosexual marriages, and their
children are especially vulnerable.

INCOME - Women continue to be paid less than men - 69 cent on the dollar. Imagi
ne if your salary were reduced to 69% of its current value. This economic reali
ty, combined with more subtle effects of sexism in the work place, puts women
at a severe disadvatage in providing for themselves and their families.




The letter continues on and talks about an organization called Astraea. I have
listed the address of Astraea, so that you may contact them for more informatio
n or make a contribution to their efforts to help lesbians.


ASTRAEA
National Lesbian Action Foundation
666 Broadway, Suite 520
New York, NY 10012-2317

I don't know much about this organization and would like to find out more befor
e I sent them any money, but I thought the message was a good one and that it
could help our community understand one another better.

PS Yes, I'd like for you to distribute this over JefNet! You can forward it to
GayNet too if you have the address. Maybe we can find out more about this org.
if we ask everyone in GayNetland.

Andrea M. Lonon
AMLONO01@UKCC.UKY.EDU [INTERNET]        AMLONO01@UKCC [BITNET]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Apr 92 09:39:33 -0400
From: fsteele@helix.nih.gov

Brian writes...


>Once again, we are told that Washington, DC is the center of the
>universe, and are reminded that Maryland and Virginia (read: the sticks)
>are backwater banana republics. Can we please drop this crap.
>Most people don't live in Washington, DC or other cities which have
>large gay communities. Most of us live out away from these areas.
>...All in all, I'd prefer to live here in Blacksburg anyway. It's cheap. The
>people here are well educated, and open minded (generally speaking). I
>can walk home at 3am and not get my head bashed in by roving thugs. And,
>we haven't raped and pillaged (paved over...yet) our environment.


Two points....
As a boy from a small Midwestern town, I hardly intended to slight the
"wide world outside of I-495"...I love small town america...but in DC I and
my lover are much more comfortably out than we were elsewhere....

Regarding stereotypes, continuing to believe that in DC it is inevitable to
be bashed, mugged, or paved over is as bad a stereotype as that of which I
am hostilely accused.

Fintan...out and about

P.S.  For those at the rally yesterday for women's rights, it was
incredible, wasn't it???!!
Fintan---Out and About

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Apr 92 10:26:30 EST
From: John.M.Vore.1@nd.edu
Subject: Donald Wildmon to Speak at Notre Dame

On Tuesday, April 7, Donald Wildmon, President of the American Family
Association, will be speaking at the Library Auditorium of the Hesburgh
Library at the University of Notre Dame.  His lecture, entitled, "The Rise
of Anti-Christian Bigotry in American Culture," will begin at 8:PM.

This is a call for:
	1)  Information about Wildmon ASAP, so we can do a release and a
flyer which announce opposition to his views.  I need SPECIFIC statement
with references, please.
	2)  Bodies/Minds/Spirits.  Please come to Notre Dame and help us
welcome Wildmon.  Call me at (219) 237-1864 for information, directions,
or accomodations.  We have friends that can put people up for the night
(just bring yr sleeping bags!).
	3)  Suggestions as to best attack Wildmon.

Call me at the number in point (2), which is, again (219) 237-1864 for voice
AND FAX.  I'm Michael Vore, by the way, Spokesperson for Gays and Lesbians
at Notre Dame/St. Mary's Community, and the Forming Coalition of Michiana
Lesbian and Gay Groups.  My e-mail address is: John.M.Vore@darwin.cc.nd.edu.

Thanks for your help (and please excuse my typos).
--Michael

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 09:15 EST
Subject: mass confusion in mass
From: An Anonymous Sender

Hello All,

        I have been "out" for a long time (ie. 6-7 yrs) and I am
        very comfortable with my sexuality, but recently I have
        become quite confused.  I am a 26 year old male.  Recently
        I have been thinking about having sex with a womyn.  I
        have even gone so far as to fantasize about it.  I thought
        I was so secure in my acceptance of myself being gay and
        now I feel totally screwed over.  I did have a couple of
        lovers that were female before I came out to myself, but
        after I came out I never was turned on by womem until
        about 2 weeks ago.  I don't want to be "straight", but
        these feelings I have been having really freak me out.
        What should I do?

------------------------------

Subject: Homosexual Environments on East Coast College Campuses
From: moon!cyberden!putrid@well.sf.ca.us
Comments: "Vote for Pat Buchanan or He'll Whip You and You Might Like It"
Date: Mon, 06 Apr 92 04:45:04 PDT
Organization: Indescribable Creations

Greetings!  M' name is Andrew Card, and this message is directed to
those who {are attending, have attended} one or more of the following
eight colleges.  I'm collecting information of interest to a
pre-freshman who's attempting to narrow down his college choices--
namely *me*!  I know I'm asking a lot, any info you can give will be
GREATLY appreciated. :-)

The colleges: MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Swarthmore, SUNY
Binghamton, Colgate, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Rochester
Institute of Technology.

If you have any information of interest to a gay student who has to
choose between the above colleges, I'd love to hear from you!

In particular, I need relative sizes of the GLB community on each
campus (if there IS a GLB community?!), how accepting the strayt
are toward GLB-folk, and whether the college has a reputation of
standing up for the rights of gays/lesbians.
As well as anything else you feel important!  I sincerely appreciate
any help you can give me, it will help me decide which college to
attend this fall.

Once again, *thanks*!

Queerly,
AC

 ___   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  \\    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 \  X/ moon!cyberden!putrid  / \   $ cat "door: paws too slippery"
  \/   putrid@well.sf.ca.us / /\\  cat: cannot open door: paws too slippery


 ___                         \\
 \  X/ moon!cyberden!putrid  / \   $ cat "door: paws too slippery"
  \/   putrid@well.sf.ca.us / /\\  cat: cannot open door: paws too slippery

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 13:54:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Medlin <jmedlin@u.washington.edu>
Subject: homophobia at UNC

As an alumnus of Carolina, I'm distressed to hear of recurring problems
foisted upon gay/lesbian students there, and have decided to write a
letter to the editor of the campus paper.  Is it still the called the
Daily Tar Heel?  Could someone post the address for me, please?
Thanks from John Medlin, medlin@u.washington.edu.

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 13:57:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Medlin <jmedlin@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Edward II, the movie, that is

Somebody offered the movie Edward II as an example of gay-positive cinema.
 I haven't seen it, but have read one ostensibly objective review with
some detailed discussion of the plot, and it seems to be one long orgy of
torture, rape and bloodshed perpetrated by and upon homosexuals.  Doesn't
sound anything-positive to me; I gather from what I've read about Edward
and his chums that they weren't much in the way of role models for anybody
then or now.  Has anybody seen the movie?

------------------------------

End of GayNet Digest
********************
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU