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Contents
NEWS

6

Debate Over Coors Boycott
Test Plan Stalled
Mapplethorpe CensoredCongressional Letter
Cuomo Names Gay Liaison
City's Pride Role DebatedCity Pride Chart
Singer Protested
Nkoli Passport Delayed
Hardwick Anniversary
Hate Crimes Bill Advances
PCP Approved'\
Vaid to Head NGLTF\
Hospital Protest

.7
8
9
10
12
14
16
16
18
20
21
23
23

HEALTHAIDS Treatment News
Safer Sex
Political Science
In Our Own Hands

'"'-

30
32
33
34

THE ARTS
FILM Laughing Matters
BOOKS After The Ball
THEATER Narcisse Mondoux
OPERA Where's Dick?
CABARET Phillis Diller
PERFORMANCE Absent Moon

50
51
52
53
54
55

DEPARTMENTS
Editorial
Sotomayor
BechdelCraig G Harris
Sandor Katz
Look OutOut Of My Hands
Gossip Watch
Going Out Calendar
Pop Shots
Bar Rounds
SportsJuly 3,1989

4
21
22
26
28
46
48
48
56
64
78
82

OUT~WEEK

3

T

Outspoken

Editorial

OUTTWEEK
Publisher
Kendall Morrison

Two Weeks of Terror·

Editor In Chief
Gabriel Rotello

if leaders and members of the gay and lesbian,Black, Latino and AIDS communities have nothing better to do with their time, Health Commissioner
Stephen joseph and Mayor Edward Koch recenlily
spun us all into a dizzying, horrifying, time-consuming nightmare.
On june 5th, at the Fifth International AIDS Conference,
joseph announced his intention to begin collecting the namesof people infected with HIV. The story had been leaked to the
New York Post, where it appeared the morning of theannouncement. From there it was two weeks of phone callafter phone call, meeting after meeting, and protest after
protest, while the people most affected lived in fear. The AIDS
community found itself drawn away from pressing work todeal with a frightening situation created by the city's own
health administration.
The end came only after leauers from AIDS organizations
representing all of the communities affected, front-line healthcare providers, activists and people with AIDS were invited tobreakfast at Gracie Mansion, in the city's attempt at damage
control. The group unanimously came down on a suddenly
neutral Koch and a suddenly conciliatory joseph, who said he
had just wanted to "spark. debate."
Perhaps the city administration was really set on pursuinga program of name reporting and aggressive contact tracing,and merely went about initiating it in a politically suicidal manner. Or maybe there really was "no original plan," as joseph
recently stated. Either way, questions arise.
sA• What kind of city is so poorly coordinated in its healthpolicies that its health corninissioner floats a trial balloon without first consulting the experts or even the
mayor?
• What kind of city has an AIDS policy based on leaks tothe press?
• What kind of city has a health commissioner
people in the guise of "sparking debate?"

who scares• What kind of city thinks about trying to find out who
has AIDS before it puts forth the dollars and services totreat thQse people?
• What kind of city has a health commissioner who is not
only conSistently opposed on AIDS issues by the state
health commissioner, but is also constantly under attackfrom .\IDS experts and people with the disease?
• What kind of city devotes more time and money todamage control 'of nonexistent AIDS policies than todeveloping actual AIDS policies?
The answer 'to all of the above: a city with a glaring lackof inclusive, culturally-sensitive, coordinated, sane leadershipon AIDS and the issues swirling around it.

4

OUTTWEEK

July 3,1989

I'rt Director
Mark Finlay·Arthur
News Editor
Andrew Miller
Features Editor
Michelang:lo Signorile
EDITORIAL.
Contributing Editors
Kim Christensen, Rick X.
Contributing Reporters
Chris Bull, Mark Chesnut, Suzanne Hall,
Rachel Lurie, Keith'Miller, Donna Minkowitz,
Jon David Nalley, Cliff O'Neill, Sarah,Schulman,
Jim Whelan, Rex Wockner, Phil Zwickler
Contributing Writers
Tim Allis, Bradley Ball, Marion Banzhaf, Charles Barber,
Alison Bechdel, Jill Benderley, Gwen Braxton, Susie Day,
Risa Denenberg, Ann Giudici Fettner, Gary Glickman,
Mark Harrington, Craig G. Harris, Terry Helbing,George Heymont, Sandor Katz, Bob Lederer, Jennie
Livingston, Maria Maggenti, Ray Navarro, Michael Paller,
Sarah Pettit, Veneita Porter, Patrick. Rogers, Vito Russo, Karl
Soehnlein, Daniel Sotomayor, James Wailer, John Wasser,
Katherine L. Williams
Editorial AssistantJames Conrad
Contributing Photographers
Margot Kingon, IL. Litt, Tom McKitterick, Scott Morgan,
Ellen Moses, Ellen B. Neipris, Ben Thornberry, Gerri Wells
PRODUCTION
Joseph D'Andrea
ADVERTISING(212) 685-6398
FAX (212) 779-4452
Director of Sales
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BUSINESS
Assistant to the Publisher
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Treasurer,
Lawrence Basile
OUTWEEK
is published weekly by OUTWEEKPUBLISHINGCORPORATION, 77 Lexington Avenue Suite 200, New York, New YOrk 10010(212) 685·6398.
The entire contents of OUTWEEK are copyright © 1989
by OUTWEEKPUBLISHINGCORPORATION,
and may not be repro·
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sian from the publisher.
All rights reserved.
Publication of the name or photograph of any person, group or organiza·tion appearing or advertising in OUTWEEK may not be taken as an indio
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The opinions of OUTWEEK are expressed only in our editorials.
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News

Debate Rages Over Coors BoycottSome In Community Break Ranks
by Chris Bull
"For all their difference of opinion, all five Coors brothers are inharmony on a couple of major
points. First, none have any moral
qualms about selling Coorsfor a living ... Secondly, Joe Coors' sons arealso in harmony on at least one
other point: homosexuals are an
abomination in the eyes of God."- From "Coors Clan: Doing it
Their Way, "The Los Angeles Times,
September 19, 1988.
NEW YORK-When Spectrum, a gay
disco in Brooklyn, held "Silver Bullet
Night" on June 3, the worst fears ofanti-Coors. activist Rick X were confirmed. Now even gay dollars are
lining the pockets of the notoriously
anti-gay Coors family, he thought.
Rick X, the host of the Closet CaseShow on Manhattan Cable, wassoon handing out anti-Coors flyers
at the entrance to Spectrum, imploring patrons to respect the boycott.

News Focus"Tonight you are making history.
By walking through Spectrum's
doors, you are breaking the boycottthat the New York City gay and lesbian community has maintained in
all its bars, businesses and organizations until tonight, June 3, 1989.
Coors has finally broken US, with a
lot of good public relations talk andlots of lovely presents for everybody,' announced the flyer.
While debate rages in the lesbian and gay community about
whether to accept Coors dollars, thecompany has quietly persuaded several lesbian and gay bars to begin

6

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

THE RIGHT BEER NOW?
Coor's ad in Equal Times celebrates "Pride Month."selling Coors. Rick X and other lesbian and gay activists hope to halt
Coors' march into the bars until thecompany
agreesto publicly
denounce anti-gay bigotry and provide major financial reparations to
the lesbian and gay community.
"Coors has come a long way. On
paper, they are now no worse thanmany corporations.
But they stillmust make reparations to the community. And I don't just mean giving money to AIDS, but giving
money to combat homophobia,'"

said Karin Schwarz, assistant directorof Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation (GLAAD).
The lesbian/gay,
Black andLatino communities,
as well as
unionists, have battled the Adolph
Coors Company for years over its
alleged anti-unionand far-rightactivities. In 1977 Harvey Milk won
votes among workers by getting
every gay bar in San Frandsco -nearly 100 -- to boycott the beer. At
the time, the AFL-CIO contended
that the company engaged in union-

Newsbusting tactics and discriminatory
hiring policies.
The nationwide boycott, one of
the most successful ever organized,
slashed Coors' profits by nearly 2S
percent. Coors was effectively prevented from competing in major
markets on the East and West coasts.
"Coors can't compete without ashare of the gay market and they
will do anything to get it," said RickX.

But in recent years Coors has
undertaken
an aggressive public
relations campaign aimed at improving its reputation among minorities
and unionists. 'In 1987 the AFL-CIO
dropped the boycott after Coorspromised to allow employees toorganize if they so choose.
The
company signed agreements with
the Black and Latino communities
promising to invest millions inminority-owned
businesses.
And
the company pumped thousands ofdollars into the lesbian and gay
community in the form of newspaper advertising,fundraisersand'direct grants, especially to AIDS
organizations, and included sexual
orientation in its anti-discrimination
clause.
Over the last year, dozens oflesbian and gay organizations, bars
and publications have begun accepting Coors money. Among the recipients of Coors largess are Gods
Love, We Deliver; Lambda Awards in
Philadelphia,
the Gay Rodeo;
Northern
Lights;AmericanFoundation
for AIDS Research(AmFar); Gay Men's Chorus of New
York and the San Diego AIDS
Walkathon.
The Advocate, Equal
Times, Frontiers, Private Lives anp
Wilds ide are among publications
currently· accepting Coors advertising. The back-page Coors ad in a
recent issue of Equal Times says
·Coors Salutes Pride Month" over a
photo of two heterosexual couples.

Joseph Backs Down
On Test Plan
"There Was No Plan" He Tells Experts
by Michelangelo Signorile
NEW YORK-Health Commissioner
Stephen Joseph, reacting to stinging
criticism of his proposal to end
anonymous HIV testing and begin
aggressive contact tracing, stated"there was nO!original plan," Hespoke at an impromptu press conference following an extraordinary

THE WIND WASN'T BLOWING IN
HIS DIRECTION

AmFar's ,Mathilde Krim
breakfast rT\eeting on June 18 at
Gracie Mansion, which brought
together leaders of the AIDS community to discuss the growing
firestorm of controversy surrounding
his plan. . In a major defeat for theembattled health commissioner, theproposal now seems staIted.
Joseph had presented the planin Montreal at the Fifth International
Conference on AIDS three weeks
ago, and created an uproar among
AIDS activists and advocates, whohave for years opposed any governmental listing of people infected
with' HIV, the virus believed tocause AIDS. Opponents of the plancharged that the Health Department
would scare people from getting
tested and seeking treatment if theirnames were on government records
and if their sex or needle-sharing
partners were mandatorily traced.
"It was a statement of.opinion
on how to reach and treat people,"
said Joseph. "I was not sending up
a trial balloon." He added that hewas not at all upset by any of theattacks on his plan. "I'm delighted,"he said with a smile. "I wanted tospark a debate and I did."
The meeting was called at, theheight of the controversy by Mayor
Edward Koeh, and was not to haveincluded the press conference. But.
when
variousprint reporters
showed up at the gates of Gracie
Mansion, an unscheduled conference took place, at which Koch,
Joseph and several of those who
attended the breakfast spoke andanswered questions. Neither Koch
nor Joseph firmly ruled out implementation of the proposal for the
future, bUt both took their mostneutral stance so far in the three
week debacle.
And many AIDS
experts present felt the idea had
been knocked .down once and forall.
"I wasn't going to make any
substantive remarks, but I will" said
Koch. "The city doesn't have any
such testing policy. If there is to bea change, I would have to agreewith it and I have not made any
decisions. And the state would also
have to then agree with my decision." New York State has the final
say in the testing matter since a confidentiality bill was signed into law

continued on page 24

continued on page 25

July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK7

Newsh Mapplethorpe Mes.

,

D.C. Gallery Axes
Retrospective
Activists And Artists Denounce D"ecision
by Cliff O'Neill
WASHINGTON-D.C.
The
Corcor~n Art Gallery cancelled ascheduled
retrospectiveof theworks of gay photographer Robert
Mapplethorpe on June 12th in aneffort to avoid entanglement in acontroversial political debate overcongressional
funding
for theNational Endowmen,t for the Arts.
Four days later, over 100 artists andmemqers of Washington's gay andlesbian community gathered outside
the Corcoran to denounce
thegallery'S decision. The protesters
expressed outrage at the Corcoran'sJune 12th caQcellation of "Robert
Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment,"a retrospective of the late photographer's works which has been on
tour since earlier this spring, andwas to have opened in Washington
on July 1st.
Brandishing placards bearing
reproductionsof Mapplethorpe's
photographs and condemnations of
the Corcoran, the oldest private
museum in Washington, the activists
formed a chanting picket line, witnessed by passersby lunching in thearea and crossed by a handful ofvisitors going into the gallery.
Mapplethorpe,
who died of
AIDS shortly after the tour began,
has been lauded by critics nationallyfor his startling wO,rks. His bestknown photographs are Black malenudes and sexually graphic self-portraits with sadomasochistic
overtones. One photographin theexhibition
shows
the
naked
u

8

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

Mapplethorpe
facing the camera,
bending over, and inserting a large
leather bullwhip in his rectum.
Other pictures include delicate
images of flowers and portraits ofmany well-known people, including
Richard Gere, Patti Smith andArnoldSchwarzenegger.
More
recently,
Mapplethorpe
photographed
Surgeon General C.
Everett Koop for Time magazine.
In cancelling the retrospective,
the Corcoran cited fears that theshow would fuel a continuing controversy
on Capitol Hill over
National Endowment for the Arts

BON ARE OF INSANITIES
Activists Z8P the Corcor8n.

,funding policies. The Corcoran'sshow was not funded by the NEA.
But on June 8th, 106 conservative
members of Congress sent a letter toHugh Southern, acting chairman of
the National Endowment for theArts, denouncing federal grants todisplay art they deemed offensive
and threatening future funding for
the NEA (see sidebar). The letter
mentioned the Mapplethorpe exhibitby name, and alluded to a NEA
grant to a Philadelphia
museumwhich made the retrospective's
nationallour
possible.
The
University of Pennsylvania's Instituteof Contemporary Art, which organized the retrospective, did receive
a $30,000 NEA grant, according to
the New York Post.
"In its 120 years of existence,
one criterion has always been steadfastly upheld at the Corcoran," stated Corcoran director
Christina
Orr-Cahall in a June 13th statementon the show's cancellation.
"Our
institution has always remained out-

Photo: Jim MarksNews

THE ARTIST AND HIS WORK''Morally reprehensible trash.

Photo: Jim MarksII

side the political arena, maintaining a
position of neutrality on all such
issues. Citizen and Congressional
concerns, on both sides of the issueof public funds supporting controversial art, are now pulling the Corcoran
into the political domain. Therefore, it
is with considerable
regret, theCorcoran Gallery of Art, with theunanimous approval of the board oftrustees and the full support of thestaff, has decided to withdraw fromthe tour."
ActivistsdenouncedtheCorcoran's
decisionas a direct
response to pressure from conservative members of Congress. "In saying
they don't want to politicize art they
are squelching that same art," .stated
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance
President Roger Doughty. ''They don't
see the irony of their actions."
Orr-Cahall was out of town the
day of the protest. She and other

Corcoran board members did not
return repeated phone calls from
OutWeek.
"Certainly the focus of memt>ersof Congress on the Mapplethorpe
exhibit was fueled by homophobia.
There is no question in that matter,"said Sue Hyde, director of NGLTF's
privacy project. "It is a disgrace that
this institution has been> brought
down by political bullying from
Capitol Hill."
Characterizing the Corcoran's
decision to pull the exhibit as "cowardice and censorshIp,"
UrvashiVaid, public information director for
the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force, stated, "We're not here to criticize [conservative
members ofCongress] for having b'ad judgment
and bad taste. We just think that themembers of Congress, as people
who have to uphold the First
continued on page 49

July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK

9

News
Gov Appoints New Gay Liaison
Announcement Made at Center Garden Party
by Andrew Miller
NEW YORK-Governor
Mario
Cuomo announced the creation of"a regular, continuous, full-time liaison" between his office and the lesbian and gay community,
andappointed Lance Ringel to the job,on Monday, June 19. The announcement was made at the Lesbian and
Gay Community Center on West
13th Street, during the annual
Garden Party, the Center's major
fundraising event.
"I come to say to you that I
congratulate you on the twentiethanniversary of Stonewall, and on all
the movement, and all the courage,
and all the strength that you've
shown since that event," Cuomo
said, as residents of buildings alongWest 13th Street piled up on theirstoops to get a better view. 'You've
converted a tragedy into the beginning of a very exciting experience
for the city, state and country,' -'Cuomo declared, before announcing
Ringel's appointment.
Ringel, who turned 37 a week
ago, is currently in charge of enforcing executive order 28.1, which prohibits state government agencies
from discriminating based on sexual
orientation in employment and provision of services. He said his firstpriority would be to get out aroundthe state to 'let people know that
this office is here.' Ringel is alreadyplanning
trips to Albany andRochester.
Ringel's office is located in theState Office Building on West 125thStreet in Harlem, among the otheroffices in the Division of Human
Rights. "I think it's really terrific tobe there,· he told OutWeek. "There
are a lot of folks from the Black,
Latino and Asian communities there,
and there's a lot of commonality ofinterest. It's important that eventhough we're not included in thehuman rights law, we're recognized

10

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

as another major constituency, andthis move does that."
Ringel,whoisfrom
Bloomington, Illinois, lives in Park
Slope with his lover. He said that hedid not know exactly how much his
new job would pay, but that it
would not be less than his current
annual salary of $42,000. His new
position will include the responsibilities of his former one, he said.
Cuomo'scurrent
liaison,
Virginia, Apuzzo, who is very wellknown in the community, has performed that job for three years. But
Apuzzo is officially the deputy executive director of the State Consumer
Protection Board, and her liaison
work is technicallyvoluntary.
Ringel's appointment
not only
makes the position full-time, but
official, and, administratively, is similar to Lee Hudson's recent municipal appointment
to the newly
created Mayor's Office for the

Lesbian and Gay Community.
Asked if Apuzzo wanted
the job herself, she good-naturedly
replied, "Are you kidding?' Asked if
the community would now have
two liaisons, she continued, "I amhere to support Lance Ringel, I am
here to support the community, andanytime I can be helpful in facilitating with the governor I'm available
to do that.'
Apuzzo said she had urged
Ringel's appointment. "It's clear thatthe issues have exploded, and thiscommunity is entitled to a full·time
person who deals with lesbian andgay concerns," she said.
Cuomo was enthusiastically·received by the hundreds of people
attendingthe block-party
style
event. The standing ovation hereceived contrasted. sharply with thereception afforded Mayor Koch,
who addressed the gathering justbefore Cuomo.
Amid jeers, shouts of "liar," andsporadic applause, Koch said, 'In
this city we will assist in every
respect not only those who have thefull-blown AIDS syndrome, not only
those who have ARC, but we willcontinued on page 70

JEERS. CHE(RS AND A NEW UAISON(I. to r.) Virginia Apuzzo, Center Pres. David Nimmons,Maror Edward Koch, Gov. Mario Cuomo.

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News
Municipal Flavor for Pride '89
City Involvement Stirs Debate
by Mark Chesnut
and Andrew Miller
NEW YORK -- "I want you all toturn around and look at that,'
Heritage of Pride's Janice Thorn
shouted over the hisses and boos
intendedfor Mayor Koch;-Whostood next to her on the platform
ere'cted for the dedicationofStonewall place on June 1st. 'This isNews Analysis
the first time that our flag has everflown from a municipal flagpole."
Behind the assembled crowd, on thecorner of Seventh Avenue South andChristopher Street, flew an enor-'mous rainbow flag.
Rainbow flags regularly fly froma crescent of City Hall flagpoles at
San Francisco's pride celebration.
That city also helps organizers
advertise the event in the hopes of
genFrating tourist dollars. But in
New York, where the marches up
and down Fifth Avenue occurred
without a city permit until 1985,
according to parade organizers, this
....

-

-_ ,'

HOP YES. MAYOR NO.
ACT UPActs Out.t Stonewall Place

12

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

is something quite new.
In fact, New York's 1989
Lesbian and Gay Pride and History
Month had a distinctly municipal flavor, and it was not just limited to
flagpoles.
There was the huge
events calendar for the month ofJune, produced and mailed out by
the Office of the Mayor, and coordinated by Lee Hudson, Koch's liaisonin the newly-created office for thelesbian and gay community. There
were mayoral proclamation ceremonies on Christopher Street, mayoral debates at the Community
Center, at which the community waspromiseda San Francisco-likedomestic partnership law by threeout of four candidates(Koch
demurred), and mayoral (and gubernatorial) visitations to the Center's
Garden Party.
"The creation of this officebrings us the facility to do more,"said Jan Carl Parks, Hudson's assistant. "This particular mayor has
always been involved in gay issues,
But this office has given us a voicein many areas previously not open
to us. It gives us much more clout.
There's real opportunity for input."

Photo: Tom McKitterick"I feel like we're doing a lot,and I hope the visibility is higher
than in previous years," Lee Hudson
told OutWeek, "but there have beenother years ih which we've done atremendous amount of work, also.,"
Hudson mentioned last year's photography exhibit of gay and-"esbian
history at the Tweed Gallery.
But there was an argument
among some members of the lesbian and gay community about thedegree of municipal involvement j~
New York's Lesbian and Gay Prideand History Month, the name of
w~ich seems to grow longer eachyear. To what extent the city, andtherefore Mayor Edward 1. Koch,should be' involved in the events,
given the general disapproval of
Koch's handling of the AIDS crisis in
New York City, generated no small
amount of discord and opposition.
. There is a division between
those who feel that the Mayor has
no place at any lesbian or gay gathering, and those who feel that the
Mayor's endorsement is an integral
part of the celebration. Tense relations have existed between ACf UP
and Heritage of Pride (HOP) since
ACf UP's disruption of last year's
municipal pride month celebration
at City Hall's Tweed Gallery. The
dispute ranges from a major feud toa small, personal disagreement
among individuals, depending on
who is describing it.
These opposing views once
again came to a head at the dedication of Stonewall Place on June 1st.
ACf UP demonstrators came prepared with signs and shouts, turning
the ceremony into pandemonium. .
"The Mayor is not a friend of
ACf UP. How dare Ed Koch show
up at an event oriented to the lesbian and gay community and try totake any credit at all," said Michael
Nesline, a registerednurse at
Bellevue Hospital, and a member of
ACf UP. "His record on New York
City's response to AIDS is disgraceful.' The feeling among most ACf
UP m!,!mbers is that HOP should nothave asked Koch to speak at all,

according to Nesline.
With the democratic mayoral
primary less than three months
away, some claim tbat Koch, a longtime supporter of the gay and lesbian community,
is aggressively
courting the lesbian and gay vote.
But Parks, Hudson and others, pointout Koch's long-standing record of
support for the city's gay rights legislation, and other issues of concern
to the community.
ACT UP sees its anti-Koch dis- '.ruptions as a way of showing dissatisfaction with what members call anentirely
inadequate
municipal
response to the AIDS crisis. And
while he praises HOP for their organizing efforts, Nesline thinks HOP
should join ACT UP in taking amore oppositional
stand. Still,
Nesline admitted, "there is legitimate
concern that ACT UP's behavior isdamaging 'within the community."That is one of the few points on
which HOP co-coordinator
Marc
Berkley agrees with Nesline. "ACTUP does a lot of wonderful things,"
Berkley conceded. "We have always
conmtinued

on page 15

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I
I

Given all the attention to municpal!mayoral involvement with
Pride Month in New York, OutWeekthought it would beinteresting to take an informal look at city sponsorship of gay
and lesbian pride celebrations in sort-of-randomly-selected
cities across the country.

Pri~eAGross America

by Mark Chesnut

Nf8;'ch'i~'-'RightS

Cost Of

Sourc. Of

Pars.,I,,'

nrdinAn~A7

Celebration

I=lIndinn

Length Of
Celebr.tion

P.rade?
Lenoth?

1 month

3 milesYes; No $No

For city
employees,

20 nights
June 20-30

No

None

No

No

June16-25

2.5 miles

Mayoral news
release: No $No

No

Approx.
$900

1 monthJune 10
2.5 miles

Mayoral declaration;
Gay flag at city hallNo

For city
employees

1 month

No

None

No

1 weekJune 16-25

2.5 miles

Yes. plus free listingin comm. guide

June 17-25

1.3 miles

1 mileMunicipal
FundinG?

Ye.r OfFirst
Celebr.tion\h;, .IY: ,:;)W{lm¥June 16-25

I

1 mile,,~',b.

L.-Angeles

1

Merchandise,Donations

I 1970No$3-4,000

Donations, cruise
concerts

Yes

Yes$8,000

Parade fees,
merchandise

I

1970

No

No

Housing/
employment

Donations,merch., events

I

1981

Yes
No $

No
Attends
certificate
ceremonies

No$40,000

Fundraisers,
beer co's,me(chandise,
float fees,

I

1979

Yes
No $

No

No

$45.000(Incl. Rodeo)

Donations
I(incI.Repub. Party:

1974

No

No

No

I Yes; Some fees

Yes

Yes-In West
Hollywood$10 door,
beverage sales

I

1969

No

Yes·

$12,000

Fundraiser,
donations, gay
found. grant

11979demo
1988 first org.
event

Yes

$200,000

Yes

Events funded
separately

No, but gives
speechNoI

1.5 miles

waived; No $2 milesI

Yes; No $5.5 miles

I

Yes

I

Yes

~f'§~'i?'". It ," ~ ,Ffhil.d.I ....~.)"

,,

Yes

1

3 blocks

Zdays

I

6-8 blocks

Yes; No $1 monthI

3 milesYes; $55,000 from
,SFarts grants

Yes

2 milesYes; free park usage& policeNo

Yes; free permitsNo

1 weekYes-.---1..--14I

1 month

1 weeR
June 18-25

OUT~WEEK. July 3, 1989

Donations$40,000

1 monthlmont~1

1985

I 1979No; Maybe party I, at Billy Jack's on
Main St.
-I

I

Merch., drinks, .
fundraisers

Personal
donations

None

June 16-27$10,000

No

I

I$10.000

1

1~esmerch, 1969-84
50% donations, w/o permit;
community
1985-89sponsors
w/permit

I

1985$40,000

Fees, beer truck. I
program adver.

1979

Yes

$225,000

Participants
Fees

1970

Housing/
employment$20,000
lapprox.)

I' Donations,Yes$40,000'1 Fundraising,vendors

Parade funded
personally

I

1985

merchandise

I

1977

MUNICIPAL continued from page 13

supported ACT UP.' But Berkley feelsthat ACT UP's actions at theStonewall commemoration ceremony
were inappropriate. He said the lesbian and gay community alreadyknows about Koch's shortcomings,
and by "being only at gay events,
they're preaching to the converted.'
Responding to the criticism overinviting Koch to speak, Berkley
countered, "Koch wasn't invited. It
was the Mayor of New York.
Stonewall Place had to be signed into
law by Koch. And it kind of ruins it
for a lot of people to be called 'Nazi
collaborators,'" he said, referring to aremark made by one Acr UP member, who reportedly likened associating with Koch to working for Hitler.
ACT UP and HOP also clashedon the planning of the June 24th rally
in Central Park. ACT UP alleged alack of inclusivity in HOP's list of
speakers, and balked at its refusal toprovide 'open mike" time at the rally.
Tim Powers, a member of ACT UP,
was on the list of invited speakers.
Disagreements notwithstanding,
Schwartz
supported
ACT UP's
derqonstration on June 1st. "Anywhere that Koch is appearing is anappropriate
place for ACT UP toprotest," she ~aid. However, shequestioned ACT UP's disruption of
Janice Thorn's speech. "Sometimes ingrasping for a media opportunity, themeaningfulness [of a demonstrationl
is lost," she commented, adding that
there is a danger when the media
begins to shape the activism.
In a letter to the Village Voice onJune 27th, Schwartz wrote ''There's
nothing fundamentally incompatible
between Heritage of Pride's philosophy of upbeat, prideful events and
ACT UP's philosophy of angry, forceful activism" (see sidebar),
And in an interview, Nesline
took pains to clarify his point ofview. "ACT UP does not zap Heritageof Pride. ACT UP zaps the mayor,
wherever he appears.·
Meanwhile, Jan Carl Parks said
that the mayor would continue tomarch in the parade. "He has a tradition of participation, and demonstrations or not, that's not going tochange.' T

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News
Scuffle At Bo~ton~ride Party:

Donna Summ~r,Song Protested
by Gabriel Rotello
BOSTON-The
Gay Rights Grass
Roots Fund's (GRGRF) outdoor party
was briefly disrupted by activists
protesting the playing of a Donna
Summer song, participants reported.
The activists, some from Boston andsome from ACT UP/New York,chanted "shame, shame, shame," atthe DJ and attempted to prevent himfrom playing a recording by thecontroversial singer. The June 10
party was part of Boston's annual
Gay- and Lesbian Pride Week celebration. Donna Summer has been
the subject of gay protests since she
made religion-inspired homophobic
rema'rks several years ago.
According to party organizer
Larry Basile, the incident becam~ ashoving match when protesters
attempted to mount the portablestage to stop the music. "This issomething ACf UP should look at,in terms of shooting itself in thefoot. I've gotten arrested with thesepeople in the past, but this wasinappropriate."Frank Smithson of

ACT UP/NY said that many
Bostonians in the crowd found theSummer song "offensive."He
claimed that the protest was about
to end after 60 seconds of chanting"shame" when a brief scuffle brokeout.
Both ·sides later expressed
regret over the incident, whichmarred an otherwise successful
fundraiser for the Boston organization. Debate has swirled around
Summer since her controversial
statements to the Village Voice in1983 concerning
gay and AID,S.
Recently gay clubs have begun playing her records again in the belief
that she long ago apologized to thegay community. In the current issueof the Advocate, Summer denied
ever making the offending remarks.
"I did not make that statement," sheinsisted, "what I supposedly said I
did not say." As to her. religious
convictions, the singer explained, "Iknow what my commitment to God
has meant to me ...If I was asked todeny that, I'd have to deny everything else, because it's the only reason I'm alive." ....
Filed from New Yor*.

THIS TIME ITS FOR REAL

Donna Summer when she was bad.

South Africa Wavers On Nkoli Passort
by Rex Wockner
JOHANNESBURG -- South African
authorities are delaying, and may
deny; a passport for South Africa's
most well-known Black gay activist,
Simon Nkoli.
Nkoli plans to attend the 11th
World
ConferenceoftheInternational
Lesbian and Gay
Association in Vienna, July 16-22,
and then visit Toronto and New
York, and Rutgers University in New
Jersey.
"Every time I go [to the passport
office)," Nkoli said, "they say, 'It's
not approved yet.' So, the Canadianand United States embassies a're

16

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

helping me. They have written a letter to [the authorities] but they have
not received a reply. My lawyer has
sent a telex to the Minister of theInterior; no reply yet either.
"They don't really want to tellme that they don't want to give me a
passport because they don't have areason," Nkoli added. "I don't have acriminal record.'"
Under law, the government must
respond to the embassies by the endof June, Nkoli said.
Nkoli is 'a founding member ofSouth Africa's largest Black gay group'-- the Gay & Lesbian Organization of

Witwatersrand, which celebrated its
first anniversary in April. The celebration was boycotted by white gay
activists, who had been sent invitations.
Nkoli became an internationalgay figure in 1984 when he began athree-year prison sentence in connection with his anti-apartheid activities.
Among the stops he plans to make inNorth America are visits to the groups-- primarily Canadian -- that supported him while he was jailed.
"I'm still hopeful [the passport
could come through)," Nkoli said,"but I'm not hopeful it will be on

Newstime. I'm "telling myself that I haveto fight until I get it."David Murphy, with the ILGA
information secretariat in Stockholm,
said he thinks this is the first time adelegate to an ILGA conference has
been prevented from leaving his
own country.
He said ILGA is "very con-'cerned" about the matter and has
provided Nkoli with a formal letterof invitation "to help the authorities
decide \in his favor."
A~tivists in Toronto say the
Canadian-based Simon Nkoli AntiApartheid Committee is planning anationwide tour centered aroundgay/lesbianvisibility and antiapartheid issues.
"It was supposed to happen
before the ILGA conference," said
Gary Kinsman, a writer with Rites
magazine, "and then was moved
until after the conference.
But asyou know, 'everything is just up in
the air now." ~Filed from Chicago.
Those wishing to provide support
may write Nko/i in care of GLOW,
P.O. Box 23297, Joubert Park,
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News

Three Years After Hardwick
New Focus On State Laws
by Cliff a 'Neillsion and, in doing so, upheld theright of the state of Georgia -- andhence the right of all states -- todeclare gay and lesbian sex illegal.
Actually,
Georgia
calls itsodomy. Others call it "lewd andlascivious behavior" (Fla.), a ·crime
against nature" (several), "sodomy
and buggery" (Mass.), "sexual psychopath[ic behavior]" (D.C.), "unnatural intercourse" (Miss.), "deviant
sexual conduct" (Mont.), "unnaturalor perverted sexual practice" (Md.),or, as was the case in North
Carolina, the "detestable and abominable crime against nature." (Thestate has since trimmed down thename, but not the statute.)'In some states it is a misdemeanorj in others, a felony.
In
many, it is directed specificallytowards gay and lesbian seXj and in
some, it extends to many forms of

WASHINGTON - In shades of
purple, pink and lavender, the hugewall map at the National Gay andLesbian Task Force is sectioned off.
Reminiscent of pre-Civil War mapsof the u.,S., the country is divided
into a nation of "free" and "unfree"states. But the freedom involved
here is the freedom to engage incertain sex acts with consenting
partners behind closed doors.
Hardly the stuff that inspires
civil wars.
But in a sense, there is one
going on now, and the battle lines
have been\ drawn.
The present
confrontation
began with a crushing defeat. The"massacre" in this melee took placeon June 30, 1986, when the U.S.
Supreme Court voted 5-4 in thelandmark Bowers v. Hardwick deci-..
0

O! ~I\)HAWAII ~18

OUT~WEEK

July 3. 1989

heterosexual sex as well.
And in all 25 "unfree" states andthe District of Columbia, the laws
make unconvicted criminals of all
sexually active lesbians and gay'men.
"The Supreme Court dealt us avery serious
blow withtheHardwick decision,"states Sue
Hyde, Privacy Proje,ct director for
the National Gay & Lesbian Task
Force in Washington.
[It] is citedover and over again, not just in
court cases, but in the legislative
arena, as justification and rationale
for denying us basic civel rights. [It]would be wonderful if the Supreme
Court reviewed the Hardwick caseand decided that they had erred,"In the era of the Ronald
Reagan-appointed
court, which
recently reversed a number of landmark civil rights rulings, the only~,@1

Heterosexual and homosexual sodomy law~

Homosexual"sodomy law only

I~o sodomy law (free state)

Map courtesy of NGLTF

Newschance before the Supreme Court
now would be the chance thatthings could get worse for lesbians
and gay men, according to Hyde.
CourtChallengesStateby StateFor now, activists have redirected their attention to the states.
Since the 1986 decision, many of thesodomy repeal efforts have been
played out in state courts, oftentimes throughlegal challenges
involving members of the gay andlesbian community (and sometimes
heterosexual couples and disabled
persons) recruited to claim injury
from the presence of these laws.
Such cases are now pending in
Texas, Minnesota and Michigan
courts.
The most visible of the present
state court efforts is the Michigan
challenge, being handled in largepart by the New York-based Lambda
Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Filed on the second anniversary of

the Hardwick decision in 1988, thebroad-based case also involves heterosexuals and the disabled, whose
sex lives are also affected by theMichigan felony statute.
Filed shortly after the Hardwick
defeat in 1986, a "recruits" case challenging Nevada's sodomy statutewas quickly thrown out of court ona technicality.
No new challenge
has been filed there since.
A new appeal challenging
Georgia's sodomy law is set to be
filed June 30 by the Georgia
American Civil Liberties Union. In
that case, a heterosexual man was
sent to jail for two years based on
testimony during divorce proceedings in which his wife describedbeing a willing partner in non-vaginal sex with him.
Probably the best tool withwhich to attack these laws, says
Hyde, is a state privacy law, which
would easily allow state courts tofind sodomy laws unconstitution~1

on privacy grounds. However, only
two states, Florida and Montana,
have both sodomy and privacy lawsside by side.
\
In Montana, Hyde has found little interestin challenging
thesodomy law in the state's dispersed
gay and lesbian community i. And
in Florida, efforts headed up by theloosely formed Florida Right toPrivacy Committee have suffered
two false starts and now stand nofurther than they did two years ago
when the effort was first considered.
LegislativeChallenges
The other front on which to
challenge these laws, Hyde says, isthe state legislatures.
But there,
things have been even tougher. In
fact, the only real change since
Hardwick has been a change in
Tennessee's sodomy statute which
dropped the "crime" from a heterosexual/homosexual felony to a Class
continued on page\

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I·

News

U.S. Hate Crimes Bill Clears Another Hurdle
I

Dannemeyer Defeated On Anti-Gay Amendments
by Cliff 0 'Neill
WASHINGTON -- At a dramatic andoften heated meeting June 20, theU.S. House Committee
on theJudiciary voted 34-1 to approve theHate Crimes Statistics Act, defeating'no fewer than three hostile amend-.
ments from anti-gay Rep. WilliamDannemeyer CR-Calif.) by equallystriking margins.
. The Hate Crimes Statistics Act
CH.R. 1048) would order the U.S.
Justice Department to collect dataon crimes motivated by race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
The bill was approved by the House
last year by a broad margin, but was
killed in the Sepate when a lastminute tactic maneuver from Sen.
Jesse Helms CR-NC) kept the billfrom the Senate floor.
Lead sponsor
Rep. John
Conyers CD-Mich.), opening thedeoate on the bill, praised anamendment offered by the Criminal
Justice Subcommittee's
ranking
Republican Rep. George Gekas CRPenn.).In debate on the bill last.year, Gekas offered two unsuccessful amendments seeking to strike
the bill's "sexual orientation" provisions. However, in the May subcommittee
meeting on the bill,
Gekas only offered an amendment
allowing the Attorney General tobroaden the bill to include othergroups which in the future could
become a target of hate violence.
"We are all painfully aware of
the brutal crimes committed becauseof prejudice,"chimed in Rep.
Charles Shumer CD-N.Y.), the subcommittee chair. Shortly thereafter,
Dannemeyer surprised many of thelobbyists working on the bill byintroducing his first amendment tothe bill which would have limited
the scope of the bill and eliminatedthe bill's "sexual orientation" and"ethnicity" provisions. He proposed"ethnicity" be replaced with "nation- ,20

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

al origin" as per standing federal
civil rights laws.
"When you affirm the heterosexual ethic in society, that value isnecessarily in conflict with homosexuality," stated Dannemeyer. "Weshould affirm the heterosexual ethic
and not have to apologize for that."
In speaking for his amendment,
Dannemeyer insisted that the Hate
Crimes bill would make "criminals"of those expressing their disapproval with "two men having sex ina public restroom" or a "group ofmen having a sex orgy in a river in
California. II He also blamed highrates of AIDS in New 'York andCalifornia on what he called "publichealth laws being turned on their.heads" due to the "political clout of
the homosexual community."
Conservative Republican Rep.
Henry Hyde CR-I1I.) immediately
took
vocal
exception
with
Dannemeyer's
amendment, citing
gay bashing as a problem which hesaid needs to be included in the bill.
"They literally want to beat [gay]people up," stated Hyde. "I think if
you are going to quantify racial andother attacks and leave out attacks
based on .sexual orientation, I don't
think that's appropriate."
Dannemeyer also offered an
anecdote he said he heard over the
weekendabout a ministerin
Sweden, "where they have alreadygone down this road a great deal,"
who was arrested for "affirming theheterosexual ethic" from the pulpit.
Hyde continued his criticism ofDannemeyer by offering examplesof religion-based attacks in Northern
Ireland, adding, "We're not going
down any road."
After Dannemeyer attacked thebill for seeking to collect data on
hate-motivated threats, openly gay
Rep. Barney Frank CD-Mass.) and.
Conyers defended the bill. "Toleave off sexual orientation protections in this bill is like leaving off
provisions for the collection of da~
on racial acts of violence 20 years
ago," stated Conyers.
A visibly irritated Frank vocallycriticized Dannemeyer's
calls forthreats also to be excluded from thedata collection guidelines, explaining that the threats included would
be those that are criminal acts.
"Fortunately
we have the First
Amendment in tlie U.S. and insults
are not a crime and never havebeen," said Frank.
Challenged by Dannemeyer toname a threat which would constitute a criminal act, Frank responded
curtly, "Threatening to blow up aplane," explaining that such threats
and others against the life of presidential candidates could be motivated by bias based on race, religion or
ethnicity.
After Dannemeyer's amendment
was obviously rejected by a voice
vote, the California Republican
requested a roll call vote, inducing
an incredulous look from committee
chair Rep. Jack Brooks CD-Texas)
who asked for a show of hands of
who wanted
a roll .call vote.
Dannemeyer's hand went up andwas joined moments later by twoothers.
As the names were called, one
by one, even the most conservative
Repu\)lican members voted against
Dannemeyer, leaving his amendment to fail by a 1-33 vote.
Two later Dannemeyer amendments: one seeking to limit thescope of the bill and another seeking to limit the spending for the billto $250,000, failed by similar margins. Another amendment, sponsored by Rep. Craig James CR-Fla.)seeking to include union-related violence, also failed by a wide margin.
continued on page 68 .

News
FDA Approves AIDS Drug AP

an anti-viral, and the cancer drug
alpha interferon. The approval of
DHPG, or gandclovir, used in treating CMV-related retinitis, which
often causes blindness in people
with AIDS, is expected in coming
weeks.

Community Research Trials A First
by C/iffO'Nei//\

WASHINGTON -- The Food andDrug Administration granted final
approval status to aerosolized pentamidine CAP), a popular treatment
used as a preventative
against aform of pneumonia associated with
" AIDS. The June '15 move marked thefirst time that a drug has achieved
FDA approval based upon information gathered exclusively in community-based trials. All trials of AP
have been conductedat theCommunity Research Initiative in
New York, and the County
Community
Consortiumin SanFrancisco.
The drug will now be marketedby Lyphomed Inc. of Rosemon~,Illinois under the brand name
NebuPent. It has been widely available for use by AIDS patients as aprophylaxis against pneumocystis
carinii pneumonia, or PCP, under an
FDA pre-approval distribution program. Many patients, however, havenot been able to receive insurancecompensation
for the treatments,
due to the drug's officially experimental status. Some insurance companies and state Medicaid programs,
includingNew
York'sand
Massachusetts', have been making
reimbursements for the treatments.
FDA Commissioner
Frank
Young lauded the work of the clinical trials in a prepared statement.
"The approval of this vital drug heralds a new era of close cooperation
among FDA, industry, and thosecommunity physicians who are on
the front line of dealing with thisterrible disease," Young said.
In a press conference announcing the drug'S approval, Health andHuman Services Secretary Dr. LouisW. Sullivan stated that he hopes theapproval will help alleviate theproblemof access.
'Today's
approval will help many of those
infected with the AIDS virus avoidI

one of the most deadly opportunistic infections associated with AIDS,"
said Sullivan. "It may help an estimated 100,000 or more individuals
who are at risk of developing first or
subsequent episodes of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
and will,therefore, significantly improve thequality of their lives."
PCP has until now been theleading cause of death among AIDS
patients, but AIDS specialists havesuggested that the widespread use
of aerosolized
pentamidine
hasbegun to change that. Because of
the availability of AP, many AIDS
advocates have joined the medical
community in encouraging voluntary HIV testing, since there. is now
a prophylactic treatment available
for an HIV-related illness.
Aerosolized pentamidine is now
one of three government-approved
drugs used in treating AIDS-related
conditions. The other two are AZf,

Activists
Pricing

Target Lyphomed OverThroughout the drug's approval
process, its manufacturer, Lyphomed
has been the target of heated criticism for price gouging by many
AIDS activist groups.
The drug can cost up to $100 .
per treatment.
Accordingto
Lyphomed, the approved dosage
regimen is 300 milligrams every fourweeks, deliveredby way of apatented
nebulizer,
which
aerosolizes liquid pentamidine intotiny droplets,
which are theninhaled. That dosage could bring thecost of the drug to $1,300 a year,
According to an investigative
reportin .Coming Up, a San
Francisco gay monthly, the company
is charging an exorbitantly
highprice for a drug, that has a low mancontinued on next pageby Daniel Sotomayor

=~
If
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upona t,me-,---C"- J....

gr.nere was.a \1,rI""f' A""f'.
She lived in the land di ~~ ~~"~.
rever never
~ ~ ~

C

~
~

She m!lde lot::. 01 molle'( OFF
the backs 0\ Gay people.

~\\hen she sa'ld bad i.hinQ~
AtnJt Goy jlEl:pe and AI DSj.,".A. ~'AIDS is God's p~shment
to Gay peo!>le Gay F€Ople stbJ>peO boyi~and ~I\dng to her muSIC
She. blew it .
One cia,! she nwol<eb ~ind ierseLf IHithout a~J... !.{i

**

"'~l"

J...

~ ~

Career51)e \).)&5 ciisapf"'nted
And 6he dre"rt\ed
And ::.he. dre~lIl1ec\
She areall1eo &e could.JMai<e a Correb~«. in the. ,\IG'
Ga~ c\ISCo Scene. ,~But she wa~ dr-eamins· . »III'

July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK21

I~I

by Alison Bechdel

continued from previous pageufacturingcost. Lyphomed has
repeatedly refused to release data, on the cost of the drug's manuf~cture.
"We've been on this quite awhile," stated Paul Adams of ACf
UP/Chicago, which has taken thelead in pursuing Lyphomed on thisissue.
"[Lyphomed
officials]
promised to reduce the price of theintravenous form [of the drug] once
they got the aerosol patent, but noone's going to use the IV form once
the aerosOl is available."
In a February press release,'Lyphomed promised to begin a program to help indigent AIDS patients
receive AP. No such program exists

22

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

as yet.
"We are currently designing
progra~," Lyphomed spokesperson
Melissa Marsden asserted in a phoneinterview on June 19. She said thatthe company has been examining
proper dosages and funding levels
before formally starting the program
The company has set up anational toll-free hotline, l·800·PCP7003, through which people may get
information on the drug. Althoughthat number initially reached arecording extolling the benefits ofthe drug, it is now a fully operational information hotline, according
to the staffer on the line on June 19.
T

Out Week· will':, 'beaccepting and publishingobituaries from our readers free of charge. Entries
should be submitted 'in
writirlg', 'and'f may, be
accompanied by a photograph. OutWeek reserves
the right to edit obituaries
for style, taste and clarity.
Please mail them to~
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OutWeek Magazine,
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New York, NY 10010

News

Vaid To Head NGLTF
by Michelangelo SignoriJe
WASHINGTON-After an intensive
three month search that attracted 86
candidates,
Urvashi Vaid, public
information director of the National
Gay and Lesbian
Task Force(NGLTF), has been named its executive director by a unanimous decision of the organization's board of
directors.
'NGLTF's program of organizing, activism, lobbying and education is a potent vehicle for our
movement,' said Vaid. "My objective will be to bring in moreresources so that we can continue
the great work we've been doing.
Specifically, my goals are to raiselots of money so we can increase
our staff and increase our ability toorganize around all of our pertinentissues.'Vaid succeeds Jeffrey Levi, who

is leaving the organization
toexpand his work in the area of public policy development.
Levi hasbeen executive director since 1986.
A graduate of Vassar College,
Vaid received a law degree from
Northwestern
University in 1983.
She has worked for more than 10
years in the lesbian and gay rights
movement, holding staff positions
with Gay and Lesbian Advocatesand Defenders,
Boston's
Gay
Community News and the National
Prison Project of the American Civil
Liberties Union, before joining
NGLTF in 1986. In the past eight
years, Vaid has also been instrumental in focusing the media on issues
surrounding people with AIDS..
"We're currently in a period ofpolitical retrenchment,"
she said.
"The Bush Administration has not

VAID ATTHE CENTER GARDEN PARTY

Photo: GerriWells
shown us the leadership we need on
AIDS issues and on issues of gay andlesbian rights. We have a lot of work
ahead of us."
Vaid will officially take over the
executive directorship on July 28th.
T
Filed from New York

Protesters At Brooklyn Hospital

~,
I

r?

The groups included HEAL, ACT
UP, the People's
AllianceofCommunity Organizations, and the
Coalition of Religious, Civil andProfessional Organizations.
The protesters marched throughthe streets of Flatbush for nearly twohours to draw attention to what theactivists termed 'hospital genocide' atKCH. The groups accused KCH of!improperly discharging PWAs without" the state-mandated 24-hour notice; of
denying experimental treatments todesperately ill patients; of overcrowd·, ing emergency and waiting rooms,
and of treating minority patients in a
racially insensitive manner.
In a prepared statement, the hospital administration later denied theallegations, and said that many of the
Photo: Ellen8. Neipris
demands would be met after the hosNearly 200 demonstrators converged on King's County Hospital (KCH), in pital undergoes an $800 million renovation project this summer.
Brooklyn, June 17, to present a list of seven demands aimed at improving medical-Chris Bull T
care for people with AIDS (PWAs) at the hospital.
July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK

23

COORS continued from pell. 7

According to New York area
Coors distributor Stu Levitan, ·several" gay bars have decided to begin
selling the beer in the last month.
"Our salespeople
have had muchsuccess getting new locations in thegay community lately. I think our
support of the community is finallypaying off," said Levitan. He said
Coors has given more to the gay
community and AIDS organizations
than any other beer company. "Budhasn't done anything for the community, but we get all the criticism. Our
critics accuse Coors of being homophobic.
I accuse them of being
Coors-phobic. "Despite the agreements
andCoors' apparent willingness to bringitself within the mainstream of corporate behavior, many activists insist
that the boycott should continue.
They object to the funding patternsof the Adolph Coors Foundations,which supports right-wing causes tothe tune of $4 million every year.
Chip Berlet is an expert on the
far-right, and a researcher for Political
Research Associates in Cambridge.
He told OutWeek that "all the family
has done is buy an expensive PR
firm. Th~y still have a reactionary,even white supremacist
view of
America. Coors is a primary funderofracistandhomophobicorganizations. Every beer bought islike buying a gun for these people ...
It simply pays for them to keep theirmouths shut. For every dollar theygive to lesbian and .gay groups theygive 100 to groups that work against
gays."'.
An
investigationoftheFoundation's
1987-88 tax return
reveals a $100,000 donation to the
Heritage Foundation, a right-wing"think tank"; $150,000 to the Free
Congress Research and Education
Foundation, led by Reagan advisor
Paul Weyrich; $80,000 to the Christian
Broadcasting Network University run
by televangelist
Pat Robertson;

24

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989$25,000 to the R~ky Mountain Billy
Graham Crusade, $20,000 to Morality
in Media and $50,000 to the Ronald
Reagan Presidential Foundation. In
addition, smaller contributions weremadeto theU.S. Olympic
Committee, which successfully fought
to prevent the Gay Games from using
the word "Olympic"; the Salvation
Army, which has testified against
every gay rights bill introduced in
New York City; and the National
Association of Life Underwriters, theinsurance group that lobbied against
HIV testing restrictions on insurancecompanies.
"And that's only the beginning,"
said Berlet. "Much of their familymoney goes to neo-nazi groups funneled through front organizations
which are very difficult to get a handle on," he said. During the IranContra hearings, Joseph Coors, amember of former president Ronald
Reagan's unofficial "kitchen cabinet,"admitted giving $65,000 to Oliver
North to help arm the Contras.
A Coors spokesperson,
Cinde
Dolphin, claimed that Coors haschanged more than its image. She
said the most conservative membersof the family, Joseph and William
Coors, no longer playa major role in
the operationof the company.
"Jeffrey and Peter have more influence now," she said. "Plus you haveto differentiate between the company
and the Foundation.
They havenothing to do with one another.
. Coors never promised to change
what it did with family money."
But as GLAAD's Schwartz pointed out, "It's not that easy to separate
the company and the foundation.
The problem is that they share thesame board, and profits from thebeer have built the foundation."
Several activists also disputed
Dolphin'S assertion that the younger
Coors are politically moderate. For
example, the Free Congress Researchand Education Foundation, whichlists Jeffrey Coors as chairman Qf theBoard, includes an order form for
Gays, AIDS and You in its 1988 annual report.
The book, published in 1987 by
the Devin Addair Company
inGreenwich, Connnectictit, was written by Father Enrique Rueda, founderand director of the Catholic Center of
the Free Congress Foundation, who
is also the author of The Homosexual
Network. The book's introduction "reads in part, "Today, throughout theUnited States, our children are being
subjected to homosexual propaganda
to an extent that would have beenunthinkable just a few years ago.
Moreover, this is being done' in ways
most of us consider to be repugnant.
For the homosexual movement isnothing less than an attack on our
traditional~ pro-family values. And
now this movement is using the AIDS
crisis to pursue its political agenda.
This in turn, threatens not only ourvalues but our lives."
Buddy Noro, special events
coordinator
for God's Love, We
Deliver told Out Week that the community should still accept Coors'
new-found generosity. He said thatduring a trip to the Coors headquarters in Golden Colorado, financed bya "community benefactor,"Coors
employees assured him the company
is no longer anti-gay.
"I really
believe they are trying to turnaround.
I met many people whowork there. It was not' a setup. I
met with Peter Coors and he wasquite a wonderful person. As a community, we have to forgive, to allow
people to change," said Noro.
A Coors Radiothon on HOT 97
recently raised over $200,000 for
God's Love. "Ultimately," Noro continued, "I don't have a political job.
My job is to feed home-bound PWA's.
I wouldn't take money from Adolph
Hitler, but I will from Coors," headded.
Schwartz suggested following
the example of a settlement reached
between Boston's gay city councilor

David Scondras and Coors.
In
return for dropping the boycott,Coors agreed to set up a $25,000
fund to be distributed to the community. Gary Dotterman, an aide to
Scondras, said the first $5,000 will
be distributed within the next few
weeks. ''The boycott is over nationwide. I'm still concerned about
Coors' giving patterns, but I'm notprepared to start another boycott.
They are not that much different
from other corporations. Domino's
Pizza is just as bad, We might aswell get what we can out of them,"
said Dotterman ....
Rick X and Michael Musto also
provided information for this article.

JOSEPH continued from page 7,

last year by Governor CUomo. For
anonymous testing to end, that law,would have to be stricken.
Koch said the city should,
instead of collecting names, expand
its efforts to educate and provide
medical services to the thousands ofintravenous drug users who are now
in treatment, and to women who
may not know they are infected.
"We can do that without somemandatory approach," Koch said.
"We can do it through counseling. n
Dr. Mathilde Krim, founder ofthe American Foundation for AIDS
Research (AmFAR), who also attended the breakfast meeting and thepress conference said, "We have avery politically savvy mayor and heknows which way the wind is blowing --' and it isn't blowing in the
direction of this proposal."
Krim said the meeting went
"very well" and that all but two of
the 21 attendees
were in "total
opposition" to joseph's plan. Those
two, according to Krim, were themayor, whom Krim said, "remainedcarefully neutral," and Dr. Saul
Farber, dean of New York University
Medical School, whom Krim said,"was ·quiet." Farber. serves on thecity Board of Health, of which
joseph is the chairperson.
When the two-hour 'breakfast
meeting had ended, many of thosepresent went to a room downstairs
at Gracie Mansion to which thepress had been ushered.
Koch
spoke briefly and asked the others
to say a few words, urging especially james Eigo of ACT UP to "goahead and talk.""I am appalled at the way thecity conducts its AIDS policy," said
Eigo. "They scare people and tell
the press before anyone else."
When the press conference
ended, reporters gathered aroundEigo, while Krim and joseph went
off into a corne~ and had a heateddebate.
"Not through contact tracing!"
Krim could be heard shouting at
joseph,. who seemed adamant.
Later, Krim told Out Week, "He keeps
explaining to me that his goal' is toreach people, and I keep telling him
we are doing that through the existing organizations, through counseling. Reporting and notifying don't
need to be linked."
After the conference broke up,
the mayor told a few reporters thath~ would institute newspaper andsub~ay ads targeted to those who
may be at risk of HIV infection.
According to Koch, the ads would
say, "Listen. We want you to knowthat while there's no cure or vaccine
for AIDS, there are life extenders. If
you come V1 now, we'll make themavailable to you and if you have noinsurance, it will be free."
Koch said the group he met. with for breakfast, which consistedof AIDS activists, physicians, drug
treatment experts and advocates forpeople with AIDS, was "the bestgroup I've ever met with on any
controversial subject."
He said hewanted to meet with them every
three months.
Those who attended the meeting were: Ron johnso'n, director of
the Minority Task Force on AIDS;
Dr. Robert Newman, president ofBeth Israel Medical Center; Yolanda
Serrano, director of ADAPT; Dr.
Barbara Starrett; Dr. David Rogers,
chair of the Mayor's Task Force on
AIDS; Brian Dionne, president of the'PWA Coalition; Bruce Vladeck, president of United Hospital Fund;Margaret Mahoney, president of theCommonwealthFoundation;
Dr.
Martin Cherkasky,Montefiore
MedicalCenter;Dr. Richard
Schwartz,
presidentof theAssociationof New York City
Medical Schools; jim Eigo, ACT UP;
Dr. Mathilde Krim, founder of theAmerican Foundation
for AIDS
Research; Tim Sweeney, deputy
director of the Gay Men's Health
Crisis; William Case, PWA Coalition;
Catherine O'Neal, senior staff attorney of the Legal Action Center;
Richard Munro, co-chairperson and
CEO of Time, Inc; Dr. Saul Farber,dean of New York University
Medical School. AlsO in attendancewere Lee Hudson and other members of Koch's staff. ...
\July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK

25

Craig G_Harris
COMING 'TOGETHER' IN THE BATHS

Commentary

ast year I had the dubious plea- the perceived sexual deviance of gay Some came with a burning urgency
for sexual release and others came tomen. Still, I couldn't help question
sure of addressing the congregaUse the steam room and sauna, and tothe motives that allow the Mounttion of a Roman Catholic Church
The
Morris Baths to remain open while so watch the parade of bodies.
in Harlem on the disproportionate
common denominator was that theseincidence of AIDS among Black gay many similar baths have been shutwere Black men who enjoyed themen, and the related topic of homodown.
The relationship between racism, company of other Black men. Thisphobia in the Black community, Therealization was striking against the
genocide and AIDS must be carefully
assembly was' attentive and supportive
backdrop of a society which pits
overall--showing a willingness to dis- scrutinized. If health officials are con'Black men against each other.
cuss issues lurking in the shadows. At vinced that the closure of bath houses
I found that the incidence of
one point, however, a physician not is in the best interest of gay men, does
sex was not as propossessing
the reputationof a the unwillingness to enforce such a anonymous
policy on the Mount Morris Baths, a nounced as I'd expected. Men asked
homophile, asked, "If you're so coneach other's names, what they did forfamily business whose third generacerned about Black gays dying, whata living, what their interests were, fartion management is both white andare you.-what are we as a communitymore ofren than one would-going to do about the Mountassume.
RatherthanaMorris Baths?" This woman's
monotonous chant of lustfultone, subtly suggesting that themoans and groans, I heard theestabl ishment
be closed,
chatter of multiple conversaseemed based more on thetions in all parts of the bathcommunity's
desire to keep
house, occasionally drowned
Black gay men invisible thanout by the sounds of orgasm.
on genuine concern for theIt seemed, in fact, that there
patrons of the bath house. All
was more social bonding taking
eyes turned to focus on myplace than physical bonding.
reaction.
For many of the men that I
I explained that AIDS pre·had seen, my double brothers,
vention precautions
involvethe ability to name themselves-how one has sex rather thanwhere one has sex, and said that rep-- heterosexual, indicate a disinterest in to declare their sexual attractions forother men--was neither a priority nor
the lives of Black gay men, or worse,
resentatives from several public anda probability.
For these men, theprivate health agencies discussed and a conscious desire to eradicate them?
manifestations of racial oppression far
A few months after the physician
would investigate methods of using
outweigh the injustices they experi~
this bath house to disseminate AIDS posed her question, I found myself
ence solely on the basis of affectional
prevention information. I added that it again searching for answers. I had
is easier to reach a 'population at risk been requested to go to the baths to preference. In addition, the gay liberwhen interventions are performed in . investigate, in order to suggest feasible ation movement's failure to address
AIDS prevention interventions.
My the needs of gay people of color andthe milieu of the targeted population.
naivete was probably obvious as I rent- economically and educationally disad,While I was confident that thisvantaged lesbians and gay men has
was an adequate
response
for a ed a room for the evening, listened
limited the social outlets of Black men
carefully to the instructions of the kind·church-basyd audience, the question
Iy, elderly attendant, changed into my who have sex with men.
of the Mount Morris Baths remained
White gay men can choose fromunresolved in my mind. Having lived towel and unpacked my bag to readymy pen and legal pad. I was intrigued _ a number of well-advertised gay.orioutside of N'ew York for several years,
by the amount of traffic on a ented social clubs, political organizaI was surprised to come home andweeknight, and by the types and atti- tions and sports collectives. If Blackfind that this Harlem bath house,men opt to join such groups, they findwhich is frequented by Black men, is tudes of the men who came to thisthemselvesin an overwhelming
place.
one of four which 'escaped the bathminority, and the recipients of raciallyI saw men who ranged from theirhouse siege during the early days ofinsensitive treatment. In addition to
the epidemic. I opposed the policy of early twenties to their eighties, profescommunity arid political groups, thebath house closure because I saw it sionals to block boys, those who
white gay middle class has establishedproudly strutted their nudity to one
not as an effective means of prevent·
wore a long~ businesses which cater to their public
ing the spread of HIV, but rather as a who self-consciously
accomodation and recreatiorpl needs.
means of calling public attention to sleeved sport shirt with his towel.

L

I questioned the
motives that 'allovv
the Mount, Morris
Baths to stay open
vvhile other baths
have been shut
dovvn.

26

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

T
While the list is by no means extensive, there's a roster of bookstores,
gyms, bars, restaurants, dance clubs,
theaters and resorts which are gayowned, operated and identified. But
the Black gay man patronizing such
facilities will only have one facet of
his identity served, in a manner which
may not be consistent with his tastes.
In the last few years, there has
been a growth of autonomous Blackgay organizations
to fill this gap.
Groups such as Gay Men of African
Descent,
Other
Countries,
andRainbow Repertory Theater which
respectively contribute to political, literary and artistic development within
the Black gay community have been
established. For the many Black men
who have chosen to remain in thecloset, these organizations and support services have limited appeal.
For these men, there has long
been a network reminiscent of secretsocieties--Blackgay social support
groups whose memberships
aresolicited by invitation or advertised byword of mouth. I will not name anyof these groups because their primaryfeature, and their appeal to manymembers,
is the assuranceofanonymity and confidentiality. To an
overwhelming extent, these groups
provide their memberships with recreational outlets such as parties, boatrides and banquets, but rarely participate in political activities which would
prescribe public disclosure of one's
sexual/affectional proclivities.
Any time two or more Black gay
men gather together, it is indeed apolitical act. Their mere willingness
to share their mutual secret is! a pivotal step toward self-empowerment
through group identification. These
are thoughts which came to mind during my visit to the Mount Morris
Baths. From the Harlem Renaissance,
through the more repressive Civil
Rights and Black Power Movements,
to the post-Stonewall era, this bathhouse, in business since 1927, hasserved as a refuge for Black men
whose ability to connect with othermen-loving men in public places wasseverely limited. There is somethingaffirming about this historical continuity I would hate to see lost.
I can not negate the problematic
implications of white heterosexuals

targeting Black gay men in an attempt
to sell them their birthright of sexual
expression. Neither can I ignore thenegative reinforcerpent coming fromthe overall society, and a paucity ofrecreational and sociopolitical outlets
within the Black, gay community. I
can, however, see the political potential inherent in the gathering of members of any oppressed class regardlessof the intent and motivation of thatcoming together.
Because I am concerned about
Black gays dying--and Iiving--I would
assert that what we need to do, as
individuals and as a community, is togo where our alienated double brothers are--whether
it be the Mount
Morris Baths, the parks, the pier or
porn theatersnoffering informational
resources and tangible .support in acontinuing process of creating environments which address the needs ofBlack gay men. If we accomplish thistask, the fate of establishments such as-the Mount Morris Baths might be left
in the hanOs of its clientele rather thanin those of government officials or ofreactionary, conservative Black homophobes ....

presents it's ongoing series

THE SYPHILIS CONNECTION
Joan McKenna.'Ph.D.
Director of Research at the BASISProject(Biological Assessment ofSyphilis and Immune Suppression),

who will be

speakingon:

A ssessment of Riskfor
Inadequately TreatedDrug-Distorted
Syphilis ...

- 60% of people with a hi~toryof syphilisshow indications - PWAspatients who are aclequately treated for syphilisof super-infection for syphilis in their blood ... and over alose various symptoms such as Kaposi Sarcoma lesions,half of these show complete disappearance of anti-bodies.
night sweats, rashes, diarrhea, fevers, and more.

Date: Thursday, June 29, 1989. Tone: 8 pm
Place: 441 Lafayette Street, Manhattan.Oust south of Astor Place subway station)
Suggested Donation $5.00

Sandor Katz
New York AIDS
Education: Anti-Sex
Fear-Mongering

COllllllelitaryleaflets with interest and asked forextra condoms. The schools, though,felt very threatened by ACf UP's presence.
At Seward Park High School on
the Lower East Side, administrators'
called the cops, Luckily, the ACf UP
group went through the 1,000 condoms they'd brought before the police
arrived for a heated argument overwhether condoms and safer sex information were covered by the firstamendment.

chool'sout. And after nine
years of AIDS, the New York
City Board of Education is still
not giving young women and men, theinformation
they need to protect
themselvesfrom HIV, the virus
believed to cause AIDS. In the epidemic's epicenter, where up to half amillion people are alr~ady HIV-infected, typical "AIDS education" consistsof the ominous department of healthads plastered throughout the subway
system.
These
posters
warn
teenagers:"Before you do it, ask
yourself how bad you really want it.
You get AIDS by having sex or sharing a needle with someone who has
At Junior High School 125 in
the AIDS virus. So don't."
Middle Village, Queens, the principal
Rather than offering practical andstood at the school's entrance with auseful information for young people
to use in sexual decision-making, this garbage can, pointing to it as the kids
who took condoms passed, so that all
campaign mystifies the simple facts
but the most strong-willed discarded
and uses AIDS as a convenient superweapon in the never-ending war on them. School District 24 in Middle
Village merits special mention. The
sex and desire, which we, as gay peodistrict's health education coordinatorple, know all too well.
The same approach dominates in reported to me over the phone thatthe schools, where the major thrust of the district takes the materials sent by
AIDS education is abstinence. This is the Board of Education and deletes
references to homosexuality, masturtrue even in the twelfth grade, where
research indicates that at least 75 per- bation, contraception, condoms andabortion. Which doesn't leave muchcent of students are sexually active.
of interest. "What if they ask about
For sexually active students, the Boardof Education recommends, "Find out any of these things?" I asked. "Weabout a potential sexual partner's sex- . refer them to clergy. II So much forual history and risk for HIV,' as if separation of church and state.
Finally, at Cardinal Spellman Highpotential partners would know or
School in the Bronx, a Catholic school
would tell. The curriculum barely
under Cardinal O'Connor's jurisdicacknowledges safer sex.
Since the schools aren't getting this tion, the group was chased by alife-saving information ou~, a group of crazed priest who screamed, 'You
might as well be distributing swastikas
men an4 women from ACf UP decided to distribute explicit safer sex infor- in front of a synagogue."
These schools seem to have anmation and condoms to students.
The kids loved it. . They read the enormous vested interest in keeping

S

The Board ofRegents views
the use of condoms
as high risk
behavior.

28

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

explicit safer sex information fromtheir students.
Unfortunately
theproblem is far larger than the Catholic
Church and a few isolated fanaticprincipals.
In fact, it is completely
systematic.
The New York State
Board of Regents, a powerful bodywith considerable control over school
curricula throughout the state, has its
own stupid and scary condom policy:"The Surgeon General of theUnited States, the Centers for Disease
Control, and state and local healthdepartments have included condom
use as one of the strategies for further
preventing the spread of HIV. The
Board of Regents views the use of
condoms as extremely
high risk
behavior.
The view that condoms
should or can be used as a way to
reduce the risk of transmissionof
AIDS should not be supported."
Explicit safer sex information andcondoms save lives. "Just say no' has
not worked to reduce teen pregnancy,
and with AIDS, the stakes are muchhigher. The simple fact is that kids
are sexually active. Period. Like it ornot. Libido leads the way, and themore information they have about sex
the more responsible they can be
about it.
AIDS education needs to start with
explicit and practical safer sex information. It must be mandatory, at leastin public schools, and the Board of
Education must monitor its implementation and provide staff as needed. A
serious effort to encourage young
people to protect themselves withcondoms and dental dams must use
the existing network of the schools
themselves for distribution.
As usual, the bureaucracy is inert.
Governor Cuomo's state AIDS policy
coordinator,
Dr. Nicholas Rango,
claimed not even to know about the
Regents condom policy when I asked
him about it recently. One thing is forsure: unless· AIDS education gets a lot
less squeamish soon, the AIDS crisis
will needlessly get much worse. Tj:jjJ .1L(j~: ,:::=::. ,JI

r::J:~[_t± j JJiUJ_Lt::::. ..J .::~t..L_ ..

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_'._ ...,t.>AIDS Treatment NewsHow To Use

Hypericin
by John S. JamesIDS Treatment News has published several articles andupdates on hypericin, an antiviral available in extracts of the St.
John's wort plant (see AIDS Treatment
News numbers 79, 77, 75, 74, and 63).
A1m9st all the reports we are hearing
from users are good-afact notalways reflected in our articles, as wehave felt obligated to publish reportsof side effects or possible dangers
immediately, but have not hurried into
print with the reports of benefits. Few
people who have told us about theiruse of hypericin have failed to reportbenefits--usuallyobjective improvements in symptoms, bloOd-test results,
or both, often entirely unexpected.
However we have only received about
25 reports overall, and it is possiblethat we have seen a biased picture
because persons who did not see any
effects may not have bothered to contact us. We hope that the survey elsewhere in this issue will help to correctsuch bias.
And the upcoming
prospective monitoring study by San
Francisco's
Community
Research
Alliance should obtain better information than any survey could.
There has also been confusion
about how to use hypericin. We havereported several different dosage regimens, and <;iifferent brands. AIDS
Treatment News has a policy against
making its own treatment recommendations; but we have closely followed
the use of hypericin herbal extracts,
and since little information is available, we decided to summarize thepicture as we see it.
The following three standardized
extracts contain significant amounts ofhypericin: Yerba Prima St. John's wort
tablets, Psychotonintincture,orHyperforat tincture.
"Standardized"

A

'I

30

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989/

people are using as many as six
tablets every day. (The dose recommended on the bottle is two.) There
are also intermittent schedules being
tried, in which the tablets are not usedevery day.
Absorption and blood-level studies are now being done, with hypericin being administered intravenously,
intramuscularly, and orally. Dose recommendations
may change in the
future. AIDS Treatment News willreport information as it develops.
The most important safety precaution, in our view, is to have liverfunction tests (often included in a
blood-chemistry panel) within several
weeks of starting hypericin.
In a,handful of cases, persons using hypericin have been found to have elevated
Pharm and from Jarrow Formulas,transaminase values, and their physiwere found to contain comparable
cians had them stop all treatments
amounts of hypericin. These products
which
might have been responsible:
are not standardized for hypericin
Whilenoone is sure that St. John'scontent, however, so the concentrawort
causedthe problem, it would betion may vary. ,unsafetotakerisks until more is
Not acceptable
are products
known.
which have not been independently
Another precaution is to avoid
tested. As there are no standards for
exposure
to sunlight or ultra-violet
herbal products in the United States, alight.
Photosensitivity(abnormal senproduct can be labeled "St. John's
sitivitytosunlight)
d~e
to St. John'swort" no matter how little St. John's
wort
extracts
has
been
so rare inwort or hypericin it contains. Evenhumans
that
there
is
d~bateabout
some European extracts may have 10
whetherithappens
at
all.
But
again
it
times less hypericin as the products
seems
better
to
err
on
the
side
of
safewe named above. We could not testty.
everything, however, and other prodDrowsiness has been reported
ucts we do' not know about may also
whenpeople have used large doses ofbe good.
hypericin-containing
extracts.
Also not acceptable are teas madeOne
conservative
strategy forfrom dried St. John's wort, which areusing
hypericin
wouldbe
to continue
sold in health-food stores. As previit
only
if
there
are
clear
benefits.
In
ously reported, we have heard of little
most
of
the
reports
wehaveheard,or no benefits from these teas, andunmistakable improvements in sympone report of possible harm.
toms and/or blood work were seenHypericin may be especiallywithin a few weeks. One approach toeffective for persons who are alsorisk reduction would be to accept theusing Azr.
probably small risks of the treatment
What about the dose? For theprovided that there are clear benefits
Yerba Prima tablets, with which weare most familiar, the usual dose is to balance the risk, but to discontinue
two or three of the 250 mg, 0.14 per- use if there was no evidence that it
cent hypericin tablets per day. SorTie was helping. Tmeans that the concentration should
be uniform from batch to batch.
Of the three, the Yerba Primatablets are much less. expensive thanthe other two, which must be imported from Germany.
As far as weknow, the tablets are just as good.
AIDS Treatment
News had achemist test several brands, as we previously reported. Two other products,
St. John's wort tinctures from Herb

Hypericin may
be especiallyeffective forpeople on AZT.

AIDS Treatment News
Cimetidine(Tagamet) As
Immunomodulator,
Antitumor
Treatment?
by Denny SmithC

imetidine (Tagamet), commonlyused to treat stomach ulcers andone of the most widely prescribed drugs in the U.S., has shown
immune enhancing
and antitumor
activity in recent studies. In its original use, cimetidine worked by blocking the receptors on stomach cells
which control digestive acid secretions, and it has also been shown to
be useful for controlling herpes simplex and herpes zoster outbreaks, aswell as chronic Epstein-Barr infection.
CCimetidine can slow the metabolism
of other drugs, leading to increased
concentrations of them in the bloodstream. This is important for druginteractionslhalf-Iife considerations.)
The results of the current studies
demonstrated variously that cimetidine
appeared to increase in vitro the proliferation and potency of lymphocytes,
probably by stimulating interleukin-2
production; in,creased the median survival time of patients with gastric cancer and possibly lung cancer as well;enhanced natural killer activity inpatients with leukemia and reduced
T8·suppressor cell activity in patientswith hypogammaglobulinemia.
Themost interesting research relating to
HIV was done at the University of
Essen in West Germany. 1200 mg of
cimetidine
was given daily to 33
patients with ARC for five rponths. Allof the participants showed improvement of symptoms, such as decreased
fevers, diarrhea and lymph node size,
and increased body weight and sensitivity to skin antigen tests. Significant

increases in several immune functions
were noticed, including elevated Thelper cell counts. These effects werereversible
when cimetidine
wasstopped,and, reproducible
whenresumed.
We spokewith S. Jeanne
Bramhall, M.D., who conducted her
own informal cimetidine monitoring
project with five patients in Seattle.
All five patients experienced relief
from a number of AIDS or ARC symptoms, apparently after several weeks
of Tagamet, 300 mg three .times daily.
Here is a brief summary of the results:
Patient 1: After three weeks on
Tagamet and imipramine, her fatigue,night sweats and lymphadenopathy
disappeared completely. These symptoms returned
when the patient
stopped the Tagamet, and disappeared
again when she resumed. Her T-cellratio returned to normal and thesymptoms did not recur when she discontinued the Tagamet after a second
three-month trial. This patient has
since been lost to follow-up.
Patient 2: Experienced relief ofdisseminatedherpes lesions andthrush after two weeks of Tag;tmet,
and after three months a diagnosed
Kaposi's sarcoma lesion in his mouth
vanished. His T-cell ratio was improving after eight months, and he had
added amitriptyline,
acyclovir andketoconazole to his medications. He
also wanted to start AZT, but wasapprehensive about the potential for
cimetidine to increase the toxicity ofcertain drugs.
To avoid this hereplaced Tagamet with ranitidine
CZantac), a related drug which studies
found somewhat
as active as an
immunomodulator
but less likely topotentiate the toxicity of other drugs.
After switching he suffered several
bouts with a persistent staph infection
and two episodes of PCP. He wasalso lost to follow-up.
Patient 3: Started Tagamet after
hospitalization for pneumocystis. He

noticed increased energy levels anddiminished oral thrush and enrolled ina local AZT study. After three months
the AZT had caused anemia severe
enough to warrant a transfusion (bonemarrow toxicity is not unusual with
AZT but perhaps the potential for toxicity was enhanced with Tagamet). He
elected to discontinue both medications and after a month the anemia
was corrected. He now takes no medication other than Chinese herbs, but
seven months after the Tagamet. hehas seen four KS lesions subside,and
has gained 25 pounds.
Patient 4: After a month on
Tagamet, his persistent leukoplakia,
intermittent fevers and diarrhea all
subsided. After five months, he discontinued the Tagamet and megavitamins, thinking that they were causing
a recurrence of diarrhea. At the time
he was lost to follow-up, he was noton any medication and had remained
symptom-free.
Patient 5: Fatigue decreased dramatically after one week on Ta~met,but oral thrush persisted until heincreased the dose to 400 mg threetimes a day for a week. He discontinued Tagamet and continues to be ingood health.
r. Bramhall is not a researcher
and did not have access to substantial funds or resources. But
her anecdotal results should be aspringboard for more and larger stud.ies. She points out that cimetidine isrelatively a very safe drug and is available now to people with HIV andtheir physicians.
Ou.r thanks to Dr.
Bramhall for her work and to Jonathan
Lax and Jim Tavitian for helpful information. We hope to find more information on this potential treatment at
the
Fifth
International
AIDS
Conference in Montreal. ~D

Reprinted by permission fromAIDS Treatment
News, P.O. Box
411256, San Francisco, C4 94141(
July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK

31

Health'.- 'ORAL SEX: WHAT THE AIDS HOTLINES SAY
he issue of safer sex continues
to be fraught with confusionand disagreement. While it's
often taken for granted by health officials that gay men are aware of, andpracticing, safer sex, a cursory poll by
OutWeek indicated a great deal of
genuine confusion among men in
New York about certain practices andtechniques ..An even greater uncertainty surrounds the issues of lesbian safer
sex practices.
. Recently, health officials on bothcoasts have begun reporting a disturbing new trend called 'relapse,'inwhich those who had previously
engaged in safer activities were reverting to unsafe sex in' the mistaken
belief that certain practices are actually safe.
As a service to our readers,
Outweek will periodically run a section on safer sex for gay men and lesbians.
We will be specificindelineating the risks of certain practices. We will also attempt to describe,in specific language, ways to engage
in, and eroticize,
those practices
which are safe, healthy and fun.

T•
Some of the questions most often
asked about safer sex concern the relative safety of oral sex. So we called
various AIDS hotlines, and asked thesame four questions of each: 1. Whatis their policy recommendationonoral sex; 2. Does saliva kill the virus;
3. Can the virus pass directly throughmucus membrane, and; 4. How long'
can the virus survive outside thebody? The differences in their answers
were as infonnative as the similarities.
Following are the conversations intheir entirety.

contact with either semen, precum orvaginal fluids. And because there's
mucus membranes in your mouth,and lots of people have either bleeding gums or chapped lips, it may well
be possible to absorb the virus in yourmouth. If someone performs it onyou, you are coming in contact with'
their saliva. Saliva only rarely has thevirus in it, and it's in real weak concentrations. We don't see saliva as
really transmitting this virus.
Q. Do you know if saliva kills
the virus?
A. I've never seen a study thatsays saliva kills the virus. There aresome studies"and they're not big studies, in which some enzymes in saliva
inhibit the ability of the virus to attach
onto another cell. But that's by no

A. Yes. We know that's possible
anally and vaginally. And we knowthat health care workers who've been
exposed to test tubes exploding andhave gotten blood in their mouths,
have gotten the virus through theirmouths. Presumably through mucus
membranes in the mouth. But maybe
it was from a cold sore 'or somethingelse, we don't really know.
Q. Does anybody know how
long the virus lasts outside the body?
A. They've managed to keep it
alive in a Petrie di~h for three days.
That was with perfect temperatureand so forth. It's not clear. The mainstudies are that it lasts a few hours.
But we don't see any transmission
from it being outside the body.

Generally yourrisk is notgoing to befrom saliva
because HIVis
not in highenough concentration totransmit.

NATIONAL AIDS HOTLINE

means c!efinitive. And we have somestrong cases of oral transmission.
Now most people in the past
who had oral sex had other kinds ofsex, and we've always assumed theworst case scenario: if they had analintercourse and oral sex, we assumed
they got it from anal intercourse. What
we're worried about is that in 10
NYC DEPT OF HEALTH AIDS years, ';hen there's more people whohave only had oral sex, we'll start seeHOTLINE
ing oral sex transmission much more
Q. What's your policy on oral , commonly.
Q. I had once. heard that HIVsex?
can pass directly through mucus memA. If you perform oral sex onbrane. Is that true?
someone, you're coming in intimate

32

July 3, 1989

Q. Do you have guidelines fororal sex?
A. For anybody who's having
oral sex, they're going to be at risk,
whether it's male male, female female,or heterosexual. The risk is generally alower risk compared to intercourse,
because in intercourse there's no air
involved. Anytime that there's no oxygen it's easier for the virus to survive.
With oral sex sometimes there's oxygen, and sometimes saliva helps dilutea body fluid.
.
With oral sex both people areat risk. The person at higher risk is
the one taking the body fluid insidetheir mouth. If they were to have a cut
or canker sore from brushing the teeth
or anything that can cause an abrasionin the mouth, the infected body fluid
can get into that: blood, semen, vaginal secretions and also pre-cum. The
virus may be able to get into thebloodstream through that hole in theskin. As far'as someone performing
on you, generally your risk is notgoing to be from saliva. In some people with AIDS the virus has been isolated in the saliva, but we feel it's notcontinued on page 74

Political Science
How Not To
Get Pneumonia
If You HaveAIDS
by Mark HarringtonT

he human body is a tropicalenvironment
teemingwithmicrobes. One trillion immune
cells course relentlessly through theblood and other organs, holding a
multitude of viruses, bacteria, fungiand parasites at bay. Occasional new
infections violate this benign equilibrium, and are usually disposed of
rapidly by the immune system.
With AIDS, this exquisitely choreographed defense mechanism breaks
down. No one knows exactly how.
HIV, the virus believed to cause AIDS,
directly attacks T4-helper cells, which
coordinate the immune response, andinfects macrophages,
making thembloated and dysfunctional.
Usually
macrophages act as the scavengers of
the immune system, engulfing anddestroying invading organisms, but in
AIDS they lose this ability.
.
The quickest
way to assess
whether a person is at immediate risk
for AIDS is to tak~ the test. Not the
HIV antibody test, the T-cell test. HIV
antibody testing does not show whatstage of infection a person is at. The
T-cell test does. People with morethan 200 T4-cells per cubic millimeterof blood rarely develop opportunistic
infections. People with 200 or lessare at immediate risk for pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) and otherinfections. PCP occurs in 80 percent
of people with AIDS and causes 60
percent of AIDS deaths.
The T-cell test provides the best
"snapshot' of a person's susceptibility
to AIDS-related infections. Now thattreatments are available which can
prevent PCP, it is essential for people

at risk to have their T-cells counted
regularly--twice a year if the initialcount is above 400, every threemonths if it's below. Unfortunately,
T-cell tests are not free. If you have aprivate physician, most labs charge
between $75 and $150, plus doctor'sfees. If you have to use the city hospital system, the wait to get your Tcells counted ranges from between
one month to indefinitely, dependingon whichhospital·
you visit.
Manhattan'sCommunity
HealthThe b~st way toasses's risk is totake the test.
Not the HIV test,
the T-Cell test.
Project has a several-month waiting
list, and Brooklyn'S Bushwick Clinic,
the only other city-sponsoredHIV
center, is closed to new patientsindefinitely.
Soon the state may begin covering the costs of T-cell testing for somepeople. This is essential if thousandsof needless AIDS deaths are to beprevented over the coming years.
Over 32,000 Americans have died of
PCP since the epidemic began. Morethan- 17,000 died since Michael Callenof the Community Research Initiative(CRI) and others asked Dr. Anthony
Fauci, .directorof the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Disease (NIAID), which runs mostfederal AIDS drug trials, to expedite
testing of aerosol pentamidine
in
1987.
The AIDS Program gave aerosol
pentamidine a "high priority" designation, but then neglected to fund trials
for lack of a single staff person. The
trials which resulted in June IS's FDA
approval of aerosol pentamidine formarketing were carried out by newcommunity-based
institutions, San

Francisco's
CountyCommunity
Consortium (CCC) and New York's
CRI.
The pentamidine trials showedthat most people with 200 or fewer
T4-cells were protected from PCP by
a dose of '30 mg taken once a month.
Aerosol pentamidine is breathed in
via a mist of tiny droplets which
deposit pentamidine in the tiny lungsacs where the pneumocystis organism grows.
Although the FDA
approved the 300 mg/month regimen
using the Respirgard II nebulizer,
there is much to be learned about
which dose, frequency and nebulizer
is the best, as well as what posture
the pentamidine should be taken in.
Aerosol pentamidine is not yet
available in all NYC hospitals, KingsCounty in Brooklyn, for example,
doesn't even have its own nebulizer.
Patients have to go to nearby SUNY
Downstate to take the treatment.
There is another drug which also
prevents PCP. It is cheaper and easier
to take than aerosol pentamidine.
Bactrim (trade name Septra) is a.. sulfabased antibiotic which is taken orally
once a day and effectively prevents
PCP. It also seems to prevent toxoplasmosis, a dangerous infection of
the brain which strikes some people
with AIDS. Fifty percent of people
with AIDS are allergic to Bactrim anddevelop rashes.
But people who
haven't had this allergic reaction to asulfa-drug should consider Bactrim as
the first option for preventing PCP,
then switch to aerosol pentamidine ifthey become allergic.
Thousandsof people are at
immediate risk of contracting PCP
unless the government moves rapidly
to institute T-cell testing and PCP prophylaxis programs nationwide.
But
don't wait for sluggish health bureaucrats to wake up and sense the danger. If the last nine years are any
guide, people at risk must fight for
their own lives before the government
will. 'Y

July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK33

In Our Own Hands
edited by Kim Christensen

W

elcometo "In Our Own
Hands, " a column on women's health issues, which is
being jointly written and edited by acollective of women. At press time, thisstill-growing collective includes four
core members, as well as several other
women who have agreed to contributearticles on various topics. Our collective includes lesbian, bisexual andheterosexual women, and both ablebodied and disabled women. Some ofus have been active in the health careor disability rights movements; others
have related to the health care system
primarily as providers qr as patients.
What we have in common is that
we all see women's health as a political issue, not just a personal one.
Many of our health problems arecaused by the unequal distribution of
resources, labor, and power resulting
from discrimination
based on sex,
race, class, sexual orientation and·dis/ability level. (Examples range fromthe obvious -- the baby who was premature because her mother was malnourished - to the'more subtle stressof being ck>setedto keep a job.)
The medical treatment that we
receive for our health problems is also
affected by these same inequalities
and politics. (Witness the woman trying to get decent treatment for a vaginal infection without telling her doctor
she's a lesbian, or the woman who
can't even get in to see the doctor
because she lacks health insurance.)
We would like to provide a spacefor women to share our experiences of
the cu"ent health care system, andour successes and failures in self-help
health care, as well as our politicalanalyses of what's wrong with thismedical system, and what we can do
to change it. We also hope to help eachother become aware of what self-help
networks and resources exist in the
New York area, so that we can takebetter care of ourselves and each other,while we work to change this health34

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

care system.
The "In Our Own Hands" collective is always open to suggestions for
topics, for people to intenJiew, and for
new collective members. Contact us incare of OutWeek,
77 Lexington
Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
In this first column, we would liketo reprint, in slightly revised form, anarticle from Healthtalk, the newsletterof the New York Black Women's Health
Project (BWHP).
- Kim Christensen, Kathryn L.
Williams, Marion Banzhaf and Risa
Denenberg

Total Health
And WellBeing:
A Vision For
Black Womenby Gwen Braxton"How's your health?""Oh I'm just fine, can't complain.
How're you doing?""Just fine."
I've heard variations of this all mylife, I've participated in it for at least
30 years before I realized that what I
meant was that I wasn't sick, I.wasn't
in the hospital, I hadn't seen a doctor
in years, I wasn't taking any medicine,
I worked every day and took care of
my responsibilities, I felt about like I
usually felt, I didn't even know, how I
felt, it wasn't important, I couldn't
possibly know whether I, was well ornot. Other people were certainly
worse off than I was, I wasn't important enough for me to be concerned
about.
Somehow I had learned that how
I felt wasn't important; I was disq>n-nected from me. I was so alienatedfrom myself in general and my bodyin particular that I didn't know thatfeelings were physical. I thought they
were somewhere out there in my soul,
wherever that was. In some sense I
was walking around dead, not living
my life, but I was just fine, thank you.
A lot of the time, I had no ener:gy, was exhausted,sometimes
depressed, no enthusiasm, couldn't
breathe well, had trouble climbing
stairs, was angry, frustrated, felt powerless, described myself as a marshmallow, spent a lot of time escaping
from living through working, reading,eating, watching TV, sleeping, listening to and understanding others, fantasizing.
I made decisions to maintain theillusion that I was in charge of my life.
I didn't boss anybody, and nobody
bossed me, no fighting or struggling
about it either. I was shy, quiet, a listener not a talker, a private person. I
was scared of people. I was socially
backwards and didn't know how tointeract unless I had a clear role toplay, or I sat, smoking cigarettes anddrinking alcohol, looking like I was apart of the group. A lot of the things
that I did contributed
to my badhealth, but I knew nothIng abouthuman beings, or what was healthy,
even after four years of college, voracious reading, after health, biology
and psychology courses. I was ignorant.
There is a health crisis in the Cityof New York. This health crisis
includes heart disease, strokes, cancer,
TB, high infant mortality, emotional,
physical and sexual child abuse, malnutrition, alcohol and drug addiction,
sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancy, the use of. abortion
as a sole or primary birth control
method, the loss of our children to thefoster care system, homicide, rapeand, of course, AIDS. These conditions lead to physical disabilities, emotional
distress,
depression,hopelessness, isolation, and lack ofself-esteem.
Many of the health problems that
Black women, and all people, are suffering from, are preventable thr9ugh
education, and an effective support
system enabling people to change
their behaviors, and advocate changes
in industrial and governmental policies.
The New York City chapter of the
National
Black Women's Health,
Project is initiating a citywide wellness
campaign. The complexity of healthproblems
experienced
by Black
women requires a comprehensive
plan of action. It requires strategies
designed to identify and eliminate root
causes, and promote prevention andwellness, by creating new, healthy
ways of living and relating, throughearly diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, follow-up
and accesstoresources necessary to maintain life
with comfort, independe11;ce, dignity
and joy. The strategy must include

those who have severe disabilities,
and who are chronically or terminallyill.

I was soalienated frommyself ingeneral and mybody in particula'rthat I didn·t knowthat feelings
were physical. '1
thought they
were somewherein my soul.
Our vision is to establish a fiveyear program that increases the healthand well-being of Black women (andour allies), and that decreases illness,violence, disability and death, bydeveloping community health education programs th?t provide people
with information regarding the natureand extent of the health crisis, and the
behavioral changes needed to end it.
This includes t~aching Black
women of all ages to organize andlead self-help support groups, andteaching a corps of allies to lead similar groups for Black men, and womenand men of all ages and races. It also
includes participating in local, national
and international coalitions and net.works that advocate policies that
,insure the health and well-being ofindividuals and the world community. '...

Membership in the Black Women~
Health Project is open to women andmen of all races. For more information on the BWHp, write P.O. Box
401037, Brooklyn, NY 11240, or call(718) 596-6000:

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ONE THING HAS
INFLUENCED.EVERYPRESIDE . DEQSIONIN THE HISTORY
OF THE UNITED STATES.
-,The Constitution.
For 200 years, through war, the Depression, even civil
unrest, the Constitution has influenced every Presidential decision.
It's what the framers of our Constitution wanted~Theyknew what it was like to live in ~icountry governed by a king.
So. when our Founding Fathers created the Constitution theywrote Article Two specifically to define the powers of the
Presidency .
.To take a closer look at one of history's most importantjob descriptions, send for a free information kit which/".,conta~ a copy of the Constitution.Write: Constitution. \Washington, D. C. 20006-3999.
·.'C"T£ •• "~·CO~'>'AL~,)

THE CONSTllUfION~e wordswelive byEVERYTHING YOU DIDN'T
WANTmKN.
ABOUT AIDS. BUT SHOULD.
To start with, you don't have to be gay or a drug user to get it.
AIDS has hit these two groups.hardest because the AIDS virus hit
them first, before anyone knew why or how people should protect
themselves from it.
\ ,And the virus is spreading. Scientists report that about one and ahalf million people are already infected.
You can't tell who has it and who doesn't. Most people who havethe AIDS virus don't even know it. They don't look or feel sick. It cantake up to ten years for symptoms to show up. So people who seem
perfectly healthy can pass the virus on to others.
'
HOW IS IT PASSED ON? One way is shooting up drugs withsomeone whds infected and sharirig the needle. But most peopl~ catch
the AIDS virus THROUGH SEX. A woman can catch it from a man.
A man can catch it from a woman. A man can catch it from a man.
Obviously, the surest way to avoid the virus is to avoid sex. If you
do have sex, YOUR BEST PROTECTION IS A LATEX CONDOM withspennicide. Use them every time, from start to finish, according to thE
manufacturersrurections.
.
You can ignore these precautions only if you and your partner
have been together for at least 10 years, and both of you have been
totally faithful.
Otherwise, DON'T MAKE ANY EXCEPTIONS.
Because the one time you do can be the one time you shouldn't
have.

HELP STOP AIDS. USE A CONDOM.

Sleaze, Mister, Sleaze

by Kenneth Sedi//a

Photos by Margot Kingon

It'sa weeknight, shortly after 11 pm,
and a group of five or six men invarious stages of undress 'arewatching a fuzzy, third-generation
porn tape in a small room at
Cellblock. The men who didn't checktheir pants at the door ali have theirflies open and their erections on hold.
A young Body-by-Jake blond, wearing
only Reeboks and a jockstrap, is yanking his bulging, oil-stained pouch with
one hand and pulling one of his nipples out by the roots with the other.
On the TV screen, which is suspended
from the ceiling, a beefy leather boy ismoaning incessantly as a greasy fist
plunges deeper and deeper insidehim.
As the men continue
theirstroking, more concerned with who isstanding around them than what ishappening on the tape, they begin torealize that the greasy fist in the film is
actually a greasy foot; the greasy arm
is actually a greasy leg. One of themen who is watching turns to a guy
he's been seriously cruising for the
past ten minutes and begins to twitter.
An older man, sitting on a black
vinyl sofa, clears his throat and says,"Don't forget your rubbers," and theentire group, hard-ons intact, begins
to laugh uncontrollably.
The mood
broken, they shake their heads anddepart, one by one, to other cornersof the club.
Such scenarios were not uncommon 10 years ago in backroom bars
where the drinks were cheap and thesex was free-for-all. Those were wild,
adventurous days and nights: cruising
the tubs, checking out the glory holes,
popping into a sleaze pit at 6 am on
the way to work.
And guess what? They're back.
In the '70s some' of us saw ourbackroom antics as liberating andpolitically correct. The rest saw themfor what they really were - libidinous38

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

frenzy. "Just imagine," we would tellour straight friends at the time, "if you
could make it with the woman of yourdreams tonight, and another one
tomorrow, three more on Thursday
and four more on Friday..."The International Stud, glorified
in the first act of Harvey Fierstein's
Torch Song Trilogy, has gone the wayof all flesh palaces which prospered in
the '70s and early '80s - down thedrain, along with the St. Marks Baths,
the Anvil and zat internacionale sensation, the divinely decadent (but ohso-butch) Mine Shaft.
Says one man, who frequented
the sex clubs, on and off, for over a
decade: "The lifestyle was wild andall that, but without the drugs I don't
think people would have done half
the things they did. I mean fantasies
are fine: I want to get gang-banged
by 20 studs and slapped around andpissed on and whatever... It's perverse
and extreme but that's what a fantasy
should be. The problem was thatguys were dropping Quaaludes andsticking poppers up their noses anddoing coke all night and they weregoing out and living all those thingsout. It was too much. When it was
all over, I actually felt relieved,"~.Ii

The speaker says he has nightmares about the Mine Shaft. "Notabout what I did there, or even what I
saw going on there. But once, not
too long ago, I dreamed that I waswalking into the back, towards thedownstairs steps. When I got there,
all the staircases were closed off, but I
could hear people trapped underneathme, screaming in the basement.
It
scared the hell out of me. I think I
still see the Mine Shaft as a symbol ofeverything that was wrong with gay
life at that time. It was society out ofcontrol. And when I read the stories
in the newspapers after the city shutthem down, I cringed."
The matter is one we will debate
till the cows come home: Did common 'sense kill sleaze or was it guilt?
Did AIDS put it all in perspective for
us or merely blur the lines between
good dirty fun and blatant irresponsibility?
After the Mine Shaft caved inunder pressure from the Koch administration (and a sizable, suddenly
health-conscious and totally panicked
gay mandate),
the sleazy-does-it
crowd had some serious re-evaluating
to do, The tubs were disappearing in

iii

~

But I would have preferred to outgrow it than have it ripped out fromunder me."A 40-year-old disagrees: "AIDS
has devastated our community, but at
the same time, it has provided us with
an opportunity to redefine ourselves.
There is more--much more--to being
gay than having anonymous or groupsex in some sleazy back room bar.
Real pride includes having pf.ide inyour body and your health. Anyone
who feels proud because seven com-bidden than they seem right now,which may explain why clubs like
Cellblock, Jay's, Locker Room and theLoft are thriving. (Good sleaze has a
way of mushrooming
in eras of
oppression.)
The easing of safe sex guidelines
has been' another contributing factor.
As one Locker Room fan explains: "Iknow what's safe and I know what
isn't and so does everybody else in
the room. The crowd is hot, thescenes are satisfying and I can feelselves in our jobs, our gyms, our caus- plete strangers blew him in some dirty
es and our politics. We grew up. We basement couldn't possibly have muchgrew strong.
And then, we grew
respect for himself, and he certainly
doesn't have much respect for hisbored.
Let's face it: Acting up is great
partners, which makes the achievebut it doesn't have the same elan as ment that much more dubious." .
Still, as the struggle continues tojacking off, particularly jacking off in a
put AIDS into some kind of perspeccrowd of men who are just as sweaty
tive, it no longer seems as tacky as it
and horny as you are.
once did to miss all that sleaze,"I look better than I ever haveand I've completely cleaned up my whether it was your way of life or justact," a 35 year-old man begins. "No something you did "once io a while"
more coke. No more all-nighters. But after 'an all-nighter at 12 West, or ado I have a lover? No. Am I happy? long night of sitting at home by yourself, longing for a close encounter
Sometimes, but not really, I readonce that AIDS was going to force gay with a cock that wasn't your own. Or
people to learn how to date. Well, it 10 cocks. Or 10 cocks, three fists andwhatever else turned you on. ("Heyhasn't. Maybe the kids can approach
buddy, is that a foot in your pocket. ..?")
it that way, and I'm happy for them.
Of course, there's much more to
But I grew up having sex in t-rooms
being a gay man than sleazing it up
and back rooms. I grew up on having
once in a while, but orgasms aresex first and getfing to know eachsomething we've always had a flair
other later. I know it's unfashionable
to say, but I miss it like hell. Maybe it . for, especially if they're forbidden.
And they've never seemed more forwas sleazy. Maybe it was juvenile.

sleazy without feeling guilty."
As another notes: "I go in, I beat
my meat, I twist some tits and I leave.
I'm sure they're gonna come up withsome new disease you can get frommasturbating, but until that happens,
I'm more concerned with. getting athlete's foot than HIY."
If sleaze makes you happy thenyou'll be happy to know that New
York is getting sleazy all over again.
Just keep in mind that this is 1989
sleaze and the rules have changed abit. (For one thing, there are rules.)When gue.sts enter the Loft, a
two-floor
apartmentin the West
Village, they check their clothes in theback and their beers in the front. The
bartender informs them that drinking
and smoking are prohibited "upstairs
and in the pisser." He then tells themto have a good time and ·play safe.'
The'Loft is actually a scaled-down
Mine Shaft (with carpeting) and you
will see some familiar faces on thethe same wave of terror. Gay discos
went straight--to hell--and took theirback rooms with them. The Saint
went to heaven. The only thing missing was a Time magazine cover: "Is
Gay Passe?"
The health crisis threw thelifestyle of non-stop drugs, dicks anddisco right out the window. Friends
and lovers were dead or dying or living with somethingthat no one
seemed to understand.
In the wakeof the madness, we immersed our-July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK

39

'premises if you used to frequent theaction on Little West 12th Street.
There's even a room with a sling in it
and, weather permitting, a tub on thepatio where shower lovers can squirm
around and pray for a cloudburst.
But, unlike the Mine Shaft, the activities here are monitored.
Fisting-a
rarity these days-requires
use oflatex gloves with proper lubrication.
The gloves are provided at the bar
along with condoms and "grease."
The apartment
is a series of
alcoves where the nude and seminude can cavort with the leathered
and heavy-leathered,
A four-poster
bed dominates the upstairs level,
which also contains a miniature jailcell' and a smaller room with a cot'and some chairs. If it sounds spacious ... well, it isn't. The sling is
downstairs along with some glory
holes, a bathroom equipped with atrough, some sofas and a TV set
which plays S/M porn.
The music, which emanates froma reel-to-reel player by the staircase,is the same blend of heady classicaland new-age mind-fuck sounds that
helped set the mood at the Shaft.
Ravel's "Bolero" is repeated so manytimes you can still hear it during thecab ride home. Rest assured, you'll
never hear any disco or show tunes
here, although Cole Porter's "AnythingGoes" might be appropriate, particularly that Iine about "the set that's
smart intruding 'in nudist parties instudios "As with all the clubs, if you don't
play by the rules, you'll be asked toleave. The' Loft is perhaps the mostliberal of these establishments when it·comes to what's allowed, but rimming, unprotected penetration andthe use of drugs other than poppers
are grounds for dismissal. Scat is outof the question.
(After all, this is
someone's apartment.) Water sports
and oral sex are at your own discretion.
The Loft periodically sends out anewsletter to its members, which u'sually consists of some steamy Tom of
Finland-type art alongside the list oft
upcoming events. About four parties
are held each week and every one ofthem has a theme, whether it's "Wet
Wednesday,' "Uncut Friday" or theironce-a-month"Night at the T\lbs"40

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989~

bashes during which there is a strict
dress code of "jockstraps, underwear,
towels, bareass chaps and nudity."On the reverse side of this sheet
is a series of typed messages andannouncements concerning upsomirig
AIDS benefits, motorcycle "runs," andleather-oriented chit-chat. A recent
newsletter addressed a rumor making
the rounds that the Loft had beenraided. "IT DIDN'T HAPPEN," said'the newsletter in bold capital letters,
although one of the stories that had
been circulating suggested that a NYC
policeman (and former Mine Shaft
member) was calling his friends andWe·ve always
had a flair fororgasms, ,especially if
they·re forbidden.
They·ve neverseemed more
forbidden thanthey seem now.
telling them that the Loft had been
under surveillance for weeks.
The newsletter went on to say,
"We are not open to the general public, we are 'not open every night, andwe do not permit people to come andgo as' a public place. We do pay sales
tax 'on entry contributions. As laws
can be interpreted in many ways, I
assume that we, like anyone else,
could be charged with violations ofsome sort. But such actions are usually handled by a visitation rather
than a bust. And one has a chance tocorrect said violations in the proper
manner."
The Loft crowd is generally quite
hot looking and friendly. There's astrong sense of camaraderie here-leather brotherhood, or whatever you
want to call it--and everyone seems toknow at least some of the otherpatrons. Admission is by membershipso there is a steady stream of regulars
with just enough new faces passing
through to keep things interesting. At

a pre-announced time the doors arelocked and no one else is allowed
entry.
Some stop in to be with dozens
of people in one night. Some prefer
one-on-one's.
Some.just want towatch, often in amazement, at what isgoing on around them. Maybe youwere there the night.a handsome,hairy young bear was waiting for his"master" to arrive. The top, whofinally stopped in around midnight,
was a pale and' scrawny-type dressedhead to toe in leather. But, as soon
as he entered, the bear walked over,kneeled down and kissed the man'sboots.
"It's not easy being a slave, is it?"the top asked in a strangely soothing
tone. The bottom shook Qis head"no" and spent the rest of the evening
crawling around his master's feet,bowing, scraping and doing as hewas told. Not surprisingly, they drewa crowd in whatever part of theapartment
they happened
to bestanding in.
Meanwhile,over at Lqcker
Room, a butch blond with a handfulof tit clamps was looking for an
appealing pair of nipples to use themon. As with all the safe-sex clubs,
being cute is okay, but having a hotchest is imperative, unless you have ahuge cock. If you've been blessedwith all three of those attributes,
you'll cause a mini-sensation wherever you happen to be, although groupgropes are not as popular at Locker
Room as they are at the Loft andCellblock.
Locker Room's downstairs area,
only open on weekends, consists of
two dark and relatively large backrooms and one better-lit section for
cruising.
The patrons don't needmonitors--mutual masturbation andtitwork is about as heavy as things
get here, and regulars want it to staythat way.
Safe-sex .guidelines are posted
just as conspicuously as those restaurant signs explaining the Heimlich
Maneuver. There is also a printed
admonition concerning the use ofdrugs on the premises.
The upstairs bar is strictly forsocializing and if you haven't brought
your own hard stuff, soft drinks are
sold. The crowd here is younger androom, jay's would be more accurately
less leather-oriented than at the otherdescribed as an after-hours club. It's
clubs, but a few leathermen do stopwhere the leather boys congregate
in on their way to jay's just to makewhen the Spike and the Eagle close;
sure they aren't missing anything.
it's where employees from Palladium
On weekends it isn't uncommon toand the World might stop by before
see patrons walking back and forth
going out for breakfast.
between the two clubs until they
jay's doesn't really get filled until
find someone they like or just get
after 4 am and most of the patrons
tired of looking.
seem more interested in socializing
Cellbock, the largest of the safeand meeting someone to go home
sex clubs, is the former Hellfire, now
with than in jerking off in the back.
known on Fridays and Saturdays as
There's a pool table here, two video
the Vault, a straight S/M joint. The
monitors and plenty of music to keep
club began instituting gay nights during the week about a year ago.
They then opened
to gays on
Sundays and Mondays and havesince opened a second, gay-onlyclub, "The Annex, II on Fridays andSaturdays.
It takes a special event, like theperiodic Hot Ash cigar parties, to fill .
Cellblock and even then it seems
half-empty. The crowd here is completely unpredictable(21 to 61,
White, Black, Asian...) and there arealways a couple of totally-hot numbers floating around.
And, sincegroup activites are de rigeur here("Right this way, your tableau's waiting..."), you should be able to angle
your way into some interesting j/oscenes.
Unliketheotherclubs,
Cellblock provides soft drinks foryou occupied. The back features two
free, along with munchies (usuallysmall wooden alcoves and a morestale) and small dollops of lubricantsspacious corral which is dark andin individual plastic containers.
often packed.
There is always an employee moniThere's kind of an "anything
toring the action and sweeping up
goes· attitude among the clientele
the debris, and the place is kept as
who have generally been drinking
clean as it can be without losing it's
and snorting earlier in the evening,sleazy charm. Cellblock advertises
although the management patrols regitself as a dungeon and, as a result,ularly and will throw you out forthe crowd is strongly S/M-oriented.
unsafe activities. Group frenZies are
Whippings (light to heavy) are regunot out of the question, but the layout
lar occurences here on any givenof the club isn't as conducive to thisnight and there are plenty of chainssort of thing as the others are. jay's ishanging from the ceiling along withdeliciously sleazy, though, and thecertain other nasty amenities. Oralmix of types--leathermen,
rockers,sex, water sports and anything even
Hispanics in Speedos, etc.--defies easyvaguely resembling penetration are
categorizing. We even spotted a wellno-nos. The club opens at 8 pm andthe crowd usually changes twice . known TV actor once, who seemed
pissed that nobody recognized him.
before the 3 am closing, although,Locker Room, jay's and Cellblock
because of the size of the club,are all within a stone's throw of eachmany people arrive during a lull andother and all are just about half aleave without giving the place ablock from an apartment on 14th St.
chance.
which, until recently, held some of
Despite it's rather active back-the hottest and wettest
Saturday nights in town. The man
who lived in the apartment (he hassince moved out of state) was a
wide-world-of-water-sports aficionado, who opened
his home on
Saturdays to some of the humpiest
guys in the city.
For a $15 contribution,
thepartiers (about 30 per night) had two
floors to play on and all the beer orsoda they could consume and recycle. A VCR in the living room
offered assorted
porn and thechance for the clientele to talk andcruise. A spiral staircase took you
downstairs
to a plastic-wrapped
playland where pissing down somebody's pants was a come-on, while
pissing in a real toilet was considered a waste of natural resources.
The piss-boys take their scene
seriously, defend it as safe (someeven say it's healthy) and, needlessto say, miss those Saturday nights on
14th Sf. Among the regulars was ahandsome urologist who once admitted that his fascination with pee-pee
started long before he grew pubic
hair. When he was asked if he takes
his work home with him, he rolled
his eyes and said, "Everyone asks methat question.·
The Loft has picked up some of
the wet set with their monthly "Wet
Wednesday" parties; other piss freaks
have discovered '''!be Ground Floor,"
continued on page 14

July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK41

No Roman Holiday
Why NY Girls Don't Have Sex Clubs
by Sarah Pettit/'•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
entirely surprising that there aren't

ay you're a single girl. Not anentirely implausible state ofgrace
in thispounding
metropolis. Say also you possess an inquiring mind and an equallyrequiring body. You're hot, hungry
and pent up-not
looking for love,
just a wild rut. Night after night you
race through the circuit of conceivable
options. The Cub, The Grove, HerBar, Girl Bar, Girl World. Every mailing list has your name. On the brinkof nervous exhaustion, you descend
again, but the Amstel Light and widescreen Anita Baker only serve topique your condition. Riding homeon the IRT, you resign yourself to dissipating the eve's energies with aCamel Light, a Taylor Dayne tape andthe' golden massage oil your ex-lover
overlooked on her departure. Before
collapsing into a spent, wet heap you
wonder why there can't be more.
WeI!, there might be more.
Lesbian computer networks, a convex
mirror for your ceiling, the convent.
One thing you won't find in our faircity is a place to get tied 'up, to get
low down, to jack your body. At least
not readily. Unlike our brothers inarms, the Sapphic u'nderworld has
never had equal access to, or showeda clear and necessary interest in, sex
clubs. The reasons behind this particular state of affairs are at once simple
and complex, and, as with all issues
that simultaneously straddle lesbians
and sex, it requires some digging to
lay them bare.
It would be easiest to assume thatlesbians "by nature" don't go in forsex clubs, communal sex scenes or

42

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

public sex acts. Modern day lesbians
wedded the personal and the political,
drew a hard party line, and neverlooked back. But we all know thissort of thinking to be as rigid andnon-inclusive as it appears. These are.One thing you
wonlt find in ourfair city is aplace to get tiedup, to get I.ow
down, to jack.your body_the '80s and we are, by all visible
signs, getting down with the ladies.
So, what exactly is going on?
Having taken a random, and by
no means scientific, poll of the city'sgals, it seems that few rather thanmany have ever been to a sex club.
The reasons they cite are manifold.
They don't care to, they would but
don't know where to go, they've
looked and there aren't any. Women
giving the first of these responses, andthere are many in this category, simply do not conceive of sex as something they wish to do or see in public.
As one seasoned bouncer at a popularlesbian bar put it, "Women are looking
for relationships.
If they're single,
they buy magaZines, they go homeand masturbate." '. With a sizable
chunk of the populace showing disinterst or distaste for such clubs, it's notany. But that's not the whole story.
What of the women who are curious, who would go, but don't know
where to begin? In most cases, interest infrequently translates into action.
The fact is that there is no single clubwhich caters exclusively to a lesbianclientele. New York does not have alesbian sex club. Simple, red-blooded
body lust is therefore insufficient.
With no ads, no postings, no clubs,
the burden is on the lesbian to lookeven further afield. A dyke must be
willing to forgo the idea of being in awoman-only environment and actually
venture into the wider, and most often
less appealing, realm of sex clubs
open to the general population.
At
this stage many will not bother proceeding.
What New York does offer is asmall number of sex c1ubs··Paddles,
The Vault--that are open to both sexes
and, for a fee, offer one the opportunity to engage in public acts new andold, passive and active. Some dykes
do go so far as to try them. According
to one source, a lesbian who was on-the S/M scene for years, these clubs
are less than ideal playgrounds. They
are by turns dirty, scary and dangerous. While some have management
supportive of lesbians, others clearly
do not. Once inside, a girl is left tofend for herself. Quite often the priceof admission is lower for women ($35
to $45 for men, $5 to free for women
depending on whether they hold out
the promise of being good tops) andconsequently an atmosphere is fostered where straight men feel "enti-

All WORKED UP AND NOWHERE TO GO
LeatheT Women '89 Calendar.
tied" having payed their dues.
seen a way to make a profit off
Lesbians
who have stamina
dykes," With lesbians not running theenough to attend these clubs often do show, it's no great wonder that potenso in groups and attempt to maketial customers can find no place to suit
their own "party." The unwritten code
their needs.
of ethics reads that such groups
In San Francisc.o, a city with ashould then be left to engage in their strong history of sex education moveown fun unmolested, but the reality is ments and organizations such as theoften quite different. Support groups
Sexual Freedom League, the sex clubsuch as the Lesbian Sex Mafia havescene is far more advantageous for the
sprung up over the years to provide
outgoing lesbian. Not only do clubs
environments for lesbians interested in such as Amelia's frequently have bursex parties, but these are limited in . lesque nights (in New York I heard of
only one such night at Club Paradise
their comprehensiveness.
According
to one ex-group member, the LSMis a and a smattering of performance-relatfairly closed circle and requires an ed kinkinesscare of Jennifer
Blowdryer and Annie Sprinkle), butinterview-type process before admitprivately-owned
space is regularly
ting any new players.
It is easy to see why the sex club rented out for sex parties. These paroption is such a limited one for the ties cater to single sex crowds and
New York dyke. There is not much to often attract up to 200 zealous individoffer and what there is is no Roman uals. One lesbian party organizer
spoke excitedly about the turnout.
holiday.
According to Pat Califia,
author and guru of the lesbian sex While AIDS has dampened the entire
community, the problem is rooted in community's attitude over the last few
the fact that lesbians don't run clubs years, there's now a renewed spirit
by and for themselves. The owner"celebrating what we're not giving
ship of sex clubs is presently of the up," For $15 and a signed waiver
underworld variety and they 'haven't(that ensures the guest will comply by

Photo: ;)C Collins
safe sex guidelines, perform only consensual sex acts, and maintain secrecy
about other guests' identities) a fullevening's fun is guaranteed.
Themanagement provides food, safe sex
materials (gloves, condoms, dams), as
well as close supervision to ensurethat etiquette is maintained.
When
asked about the difference in atmosphere between New York and San
Francisco, the organizer said the cities
bore no comparison. She insisted thatthe lack of activity in New York
among lesbians was less a product ofdisinterest and distaste than simply acomplete lack of exposure to a positive and supportive
atmosphere.
-Apparently, New York dykes don't
know what they're missing.
So, the next time you find yourself under the late night neon glare of
the IRT train bound for the simple
pleasures of horne, take a moment toconjure the whacky scene we New
York gals could be making. Tough toimagine? I'm sure the sisters in San
Francisco wouldn't mind lending us
their 13-foot cross for inspiration. Just
like a prayer ... T

July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK43

_NG IT WON11OLL YOU.
NOTUSING IT MIGHt

Maybe you don't like using condoms. But if you're going to have sex, a latex
condom with a spennicide is your best protection against the AIDS virus.
Use them every time, from start to finish, according to the manufacturers'
directions. Because no one has ever been cured of AIDS. More than 40,000 Americans have already died from it.
And even if you don't like condoms, using them is definitely better than that

HELP STOPAIDS. USE A CONDOM.

Dam, Ma'am?
by Andrew Miller
Back in March, the Women's
Caucus of ACf UP ·initiated a contest
to rename the dental dam, a latex barrier used in safer oral-vaginal sex. The
purpose of the ·cuntest" as it wasbilled, was to popularize the conceptof safer oral sex with women, according to Caucus members. They also
said they wanted to demonstrate a
new market for the dental dams, inthe hop~s that condom companies
would redesign them for oral sex, andmake them more widely available.
Many find dental dams too thick for

DENTAL DAMES?
ACT UP Women's CBUCUS.
adequate sensation during sex, if they
can find them at all.
The latex squares are available
from some ph'armaceutical companies;
and from the Community
HealthProject(CHP),
locatedat theCommunity Center at 208 West 13thStreet.
According to Denise Ribble, aregistered nurse with CHP, the dental
dam is designed for dentists, who usethem during root canals and similar
proq:dures to protect patients' mouths
from tooth fragments that break off
during drilling. Ribble advocates theiruse for oral sex as well, The latex
square is placed over the vagina during cunnilingus, in order to preventthe communication of vaginal secretions or menstrual blood, which many

believe may be a way of transmittingHIV, the virus believed by many to be
the cause of AIDS.
Now, just three months later, theresults are in. The Women's Caucus
received 466 entries, the best 50 ofwhich were leaked to Out Week, andreprinted below. The contest winner'
will be announced at a caucus-sponsored women's safer sex forum on
July 13th at the Community Center.
Given the unwieldy success of
this contest, and the rash of creativity
it seems to have unleashed, and in the

Photo: Ben Thornberryinterests of gender parity, OutWeek
editors have decided to hold a contestof their own. On June 21st, they
announced the "Rename the Condom
Competition," with the goal of inventing a new word to describe the everpresent prophylactics, which are so
important in the world of safer sex.
Gabriel Rotello, OutWeek's editor-inchief, said the contest will"develop a.word "that is as much fun to say as
the damn things are to use. II
Contest entries may be sent to
Out Week, Rename the Condom
Competition, 77 Lexington Avenue,
New York, New York 10010. For
more information on the women's
safer sex forum, contact the ACf UP
Women's Caucus at (212) 533-8888. T• Snatch Patch• Vulva Veil
• Vagina Visor• Clit Canopy• Freedame• SheChic/SheShiek• Caper Capper• Orgamask• Box Top• Beaver Dam• Lickety splits• Eat-a-sheet.6x6• Lover cover• Hoo Hoo Hats
• Goily doily• Eve Sleeve• Dyke Dikes• Muff Buff
• Safe Sucks• Pussy Caps
• Dental Damoiselle• Slurp-ease• Oral surance• Lover Cover• Rubber Dykie• Girl Gates• Lover Liners• Wonder Walls• Bikini-betweenies• The Sheridan Square• Nite Nurse• Tu-lips• Pussy Poncho• Lady Latex• Clit Coat
• Woman Hood
• Envulvalope• Fire Blanket• Spread Sheet• Seal-a-meal• Bush Blocker• Entre Nous
• Rubyfruitsuit• Clitmitt• Cheat Sheet• Nose Pants• Shower Curtains• Helen-of-Troy• Vulva Va-voom
July 3,1989'OUT~WEEK45

Look Out

Photo: rL. LittW

hile the anti-gentry
forces continue tooccupy chunks of Tomkins
Square Park, yuppie
investoraders(investors/invadersJ havegained considerable groundfurther south at Houston Street
and Avenue A. First came the
new $10 million condo complex designed completely insimulated colonial (said one
Black passerby: "They're trying to bring back slavery!'1. 'Now there's the huge, rectangular, brick apartment building
called Red Square, which has
iis own built-in shopping mall.
With enough coaxing we might
be able to swallow the factthat such a capitalist vimture isnamed for the location of the46

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

seat of Soviet Communism,but
we'll never, ever be able tobear their use of art. The owners of Red Square, you see,obviously desiring to '1azz up"
their building, strolled down toGasat Avenue B and 2ndStreet. Gas, a bar and performance space, is an old gas station reconstructed mostly withjunk from the neighborhood,welded, sand-blasted, cemented and glued together. Red
Square owners liked it somuch, they decided to buy
some of the junk art and stick it
on top of their building. We
only hope Gasartists charged
a hehy fee so that we canrationalize at least one
redeeming quality from thisnightmare.
-Michelangelo SignorileLook OutT

he Gay Dating Gameis thelatest vehicle for anyone
jaded by the personals but who
still wants a crack at cruising
the wonderous Circle Line withhis or her would-be dreamboat.
Created by Tommie Saeli (center), who plays producer andhost, the show features·spokesmodel" La Homa Van
Zandt (left) introducing bacheloIS and bachelorettes who
ask poignant questions("Number one, are you a heavyduty diesel dyke?'~. The Gay
Dating Game is taped in frontof a live audience every two
weeks on Tuesday nights at
7:30(July 4th and 18th)at the
Sanford Misner Theater, 141
11thAvenue between 22nd and23rd Street. It is televised
every Friday evening at 7:30pm
on Manhattan Cable's Channel
J. And lonelyhearts take note:One can become a contestanton The Gay Dating Gamesimply by calling (212) 645-9342.
-Michelangelo Signorile

Photo: MOZI

July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK

47

UT

O

OF

MY

HANDS
BY BRADLEY BALL

Q: These days my lover and I
always seem to be arguing about one
thing or another and I'm beginning tolose hope in the future of our relationship. I've read that couples should
follow constructive guidelines in theirarguments and wondered if maybe
you'd tell me for free what theseguidelines are.
JUST ABOUT HAD IT

A: Gladly! So many problems inthis world are the result of poor conflict management.
If we would alltake a little time to learn how to deal
effectively with misunderstandings,
well, just imagine how pleasant life
could be for everybody,Now, somebody is always showing up in print or on television with
neW ideas about conflict management,

and perhaps there really is no right orwrong way to solve a problem (humanbehavior being, as Joan Didion said,
circumstantial). But for my money, theold wfys are still the best - which is
how they got to be old.
The most important thing to realize is that conflict is a tedious thing
and should be strenuously avoided
when at all possible.
Perhaps one
reason you and your lover are always
arguing is that you choose to address
every little problem as it pccurs. If
you could just save everything up for
one really good fight, then you would
both be spending some lovely nonconfrontational
time
together.
Through the exercise of a little self
control, this can be accomplished in
two ways: 1) Silence is golden. . If
your lover is doing something thatmakes you angry, learn to maintain aremote silence. If he or she truly
loves you, then he or she will gradually modify his or her behavior until

you're willing to speak again. (Forfun, practice this technique in restaurants or extended car trips!) 2) If you
are absolutely compelled to air yourgrievances, try to do so in the company of friends or your 10v6('s co-workers. That way, not only will yourlover feel constrained against responding (and thus escalating the argument
until it gets out of hand) but the otherpeople present, if they have any class,will all\too gladly suggest new topicSof conversation - any of which willinvariably be more captivating thanyour lover's shortcomings.
Sometimes, however, an argument is sadly unavoidable .. In thatcase, remember that relationships areabout power, and arguments are just amaneuver either to maintain or upset
the balance of that power.
Youshould, therefore, always fight to win
and win through control. Always, forinstance, let your lover instigate theargument, otherwise you'll get saddledcontinued on page 76

By Michelangelo

Signorile

Who is Billy Norwi'ch?
This is the question I ask myseff
every day as I read his "society" column in the New York Daily News. I
wonder moreso why he wants tochronicle the likes of the Trumps andsuch. Is it the parties, the champagne, the yachts, the helicopters?
Or is it the dresses, the hairdos, themake-up, the face-lifts? I suppose it's
all of these things, as Mr. Norwich

48

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

loves to report everything:fromwhat the ladies wore to how theydanced, chatted and sipped. It seems
so exhilarating, but I sometimes thinkhe must be lonely; an unmarried,
mid.dle-aged man who runs fromparty to party in search of something.
And yet, he excites me. I simply
love reading about has-been party
promoters
who are probably
hisfriends, and who desperately need aplug. And it tickles me when hechronicles every little thing that Jay
McInerney and Brett Easton Ellis do(those two wild men!), or tells me
more about the wonderful, compassionate Reagans.
But what I love
most are his daily ravings about Pat
Buckley.
This woman is simply
amazing, according to Mr. Norwich,and now she even hosts AIDS benefits! So what if she remained silent
when her husband William advocatedtattooing the asses of people with
AIDS. So what if she and everyone
else who Mr. Norwich writes about are
oppressing our community. So what if

these a're th<:;very Republicans who
are keeping us down at best, murdering us at worst. This is what I love
about Mr. Norwich. He doesn't holdthings against people; so unselfish that
he forgets about who he himself is.
Why sometimes I wonder if he forgot
his own real name. Yes; I love that
Billy Goldberg.

•••••••••
I read with interest Liz Smith'scolumn of June 6 in which shecomes to a startling realization, saying, "Even I notice that we havethree AIDS benefit mentions -- fordifferent facets of this terrible disease-- in this' column alone. Does thisgive you a clue that AIDS may soonbe the nation's No. 1 health problem?
Perhaps even the world's most dangerous worry? The scare stories areproliferatingthese days and it
behooves everyone to get into thisstruggle for real." Question to Liz:
How long were you in a coma, and
who was writing the column all thattime? ....

MAPPlETltORPE

continued from page'

Amendment, should have had thejudgment not to sign that letter."
In a prepared statement, NGLTF
called Orr-Cahall's statements "false
and absurd." Referring to the congressional letter, the statement said "it isirrelevant that Members of Congress
are offended. The freedom to be controversial, to provoke, is protected by
the First Amendment. •On June 14th, the board of directors of the Washington Project for theArts, another city arts institution,
voted unanimously to request theMapplethorpe exhibit, so that it may
be shown in Washington.
The
Washington Post reported that several
members of the WPA board also siton the Corcoran board, which reportedly voted to cancel the controversial
exhibit unanimously.
The WPAtrustees pledged $30,000 to pay forthe display, and one sponsor of theshow at the Corcoran
has also
pledged to transfer a $20,000 grant to
the WPA if they choose to show theart, according to the Washington Post.
"WPA is a very different organization from the Corcoran, and has adifferent role to play,' WPA board
member Ann Kinrley told the Post.
·WPA is an organization dedicated toshows that are really selected byartists, and it is much more of anavant-garde, cutting edge institution ..
. . The artists on the board very muchwanted to present the show at WPA,
and as a board member, I support
their prerogative to do so." She said
she finds some of the show's images"in extremely bad taste," but nevertheless voted to bring it to WPA,
according to the Post.
"I think the Corcoran has done
the right thing for the Corcoran. I
think it's sad, but I think they've done
the right thing. From the WPA perspective, its a very different problem."Kinney is married to Gilbert Kinney,chairman of the Corcoran's financecommittee, who supported the decision to pull the show from theCorcoran.
Also at June 16th's demonstration
was Derek Guthrie, publisher of the
New Art Examiner,a non-profit
monthly visual arts magazine. He told

the crowd that Sen. Jesse Helms (RNC) had launched a project monitoring federally funded art programs
perceived to be "anti-Christian," andwas planning to introduce legislation
to somehow ban funding of such art.
Helms' office did not return
OutWeek's phone calls to confirm or
deny the story, although in a June
15th report in the Washington Pos~ aHelms spokesperson stated, "The factthat the Corcoran is not going toopen the show is not the end of thematter."Countering with an attack of

Art and the Whitney Museum of Art
in New York. It is next scheduled toopen in Hartford, at the Wadsworth
Atheneum, beginning October 8th.
There are also shows planned at the
University Art Museum in Berkeley,
California, Cincinnati's Contemporary~
Center, and Boston's Institute ofContermporary
Art in 1990. To
replace the Mapplethorpe
exhibit,which is being kept in the museum's
basement until it f(loves on to its nextstop, the Corcoran will display an
exhibit of Japanese photography in
America.
In a related development, Rev.
Pat Robertson, on a recent edition of
his syndicatedprogram, The 700
Club, also launched an all-out campaign against the NEA, based on the"Piss Christ" photograph. 'Y

Photo: Jim Marks

their own, protesters wore pig masks
and carried signs bearing Helms'
name. Others carried signs that read"Experts Agree: Helms is a Pig." Stillothers made connectfons between the
Mapplethorpe controversy and thefracas over Salman Rushdie's book,
Tbe Satanic VetSe5.
Gay and lesbian activists haveexpressed concern that a great many
programs could be put at risk withinsuch an environment, noting that gay
and lesbian choruses and bands occasionally receive NEA funding, usuallybased on blind audio tape auditions.
To further protest the Corcoran's
decision, members of the arts community will stage an evening demonstration on June 30th, the night
before the show would have opened.
As part of that demonstration, laser
artist Rockne Krebs will project slidesof Mapplethorpe photographs on theoutside of the gallery.
The retrospective
has alreadybeen exhibitedat Philadelphia's
Instituteof Contemporary
Art
Chicago's Museum of Co'ntempora~

July 3, 1989

OU~WEEK49

Film
Laughing Mattersby Karl Soehnlein~,0

id you hear about the two
gay men who robbed anold lady? One held her
down, the other did her hair." OK...sowhat? Funny is chock full of jokes
like this - told by straight white me~with bad haircuts. Opening this week
at Film Forum, Funny consists of people, including some celebrities, tellingthe funniest jokes they know. The
film is supposed to be about laughter,but it's really about privilege: a gunseller in North Carolina jokes about
bagging women, a WASP from
East Hampton, sipping gin andtonics, ridicules .Catholics andJews, a white woman affects "jivetalk" to describe a Harlem' synagogue ("Temple Beth-you-is-mywoman-now").
The film has
moments of guilty pleasure (Iadmit a soft spot for Borscht belt
humor myselO. Still, I couldn't
help but cringe at a joke (told by
three different people, one ofthem actress Anne Jackson) that's
based on an old woman longing
for the gorilla who raped her ("henever calls, he never writes"), A
film devoted entirely to such fareis simply not funny.
Those who prefer theirlaughs on the sublime side shoulderal new works.
ThosefamiliarwithPhil
Solomon's exquisite -~ but very serious-- films will be gleefully surprised at
Rocket Boy V~. Brakhage, his giddy
spoof of the avant-garde.
Solomonchronicles the generational struggles
between the "old" and the "new" wave
of experimental filmmakers, dropping
names and puns frame by frame (critic]. Hoberman beeomes "]. Uber-mensch"). He endearingly pokes fun atthe "establishment" in the course of asearch, I imagine, for his own cinematic identity. The film is oct entirelyan
inside joke; a section entitled "Who's on
Faust?" imagines Stan Brakhage's prolifichead to the American Museum of APE RAPE
the Moving Image in Astoria to Actress Anne Jackson
catch the remainderof themm career to be the result of a deal with
"Comedy and Avant-GardeFilm"the devil, and is funny even on its mastseries. Although grouped together
under the rubric of "comedy," the 40 superlkiallevel.
Less hilarious than Solomon's
films included here are more an
work, Emily Breer's Brute Charm is a
explorationof the rel_ationshipbetween humor and experimental film whimsical look at the ways of the animal kingdom, which says much about
than laugh-a-minute sketches.
Thehuman beings. Combining footage
opening weekend of the series included works by the Kuchar brothers, as shots in Kenya with her own whacky
well as early efforts by John Waters animation, 'Breer creates a tension
and Paul Bartel. Never fear, lots of . between these images which belie thegoodies still lie ahead, including sev- casual surface laughs. The opening50

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

shot of lions fucking is startlingly
funny, but takes on a new meaning
when, later in the film, Breer refers tofaking an orgasm, then cuts back to
the coupling beasts -- only this timethe male lion rolls away from his mateduring a post-coital
thunderclap.
(Another satisfied male, another anticlimax for a female.)
Cartoon ish
visions weave in and out of the frame
throughout the film. Particularly memorable was a carrot attached to a vacuum brush, phallically curling anduncurling. The "meaning" of every
image is not always clear, but to dissect
each piece of the puzzle is to miss thepoint. ~rute Charm is worth seeing to
witQess Emily Breer's seemingly
limitless visual imagination.
The series' best bet is the"Woman's Satire" show, a groupof six films which use humor totrash the very male conventionsof popular imagemaking. Abigail
Child's Covert Action takes film
loops of two "ordinary" couples
ritualistically courting, and uncovers the unwritten rules of romantic interaction.
Mary Filippo's
Who Do You Think You Are? is abrilliantly deadpan look at quitting smoking. 'Evoking everythingfrom the ironic promises of televised cigarette commercials to the
mystique of Jack Kerouac, Filippo
turns the mythology of smoking
on its head.
Sharon Sa'ndusky's C'mon
Babe (Danke Schoon) is chillingbla.ck humor.
Documentary
footage of lemmings marching en
masse to the sea is re-worked to theaccompanimentof silky jazz songs
about the end of a relationship. The
film simulates the horror of "taking theplunge": a woman sings "thank you
for all the joy and pain" while lemmings dive off a cliff to their communal death. C'mon Babe is morbidly
appealing, sort of like slowing down
your car to view a roadside accident.
Who said comedy has to be pretty?

I

Book Review
Party's Over
After the Ball-How

America Will Conquer Its

Fear and Hatred of Gays In the '90s
by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen,

Ph.D.

(Doubleday)

I

by Gabriel RotelloT

he Gay Men's Health Crisis has a
program of support groups forthe 'primary care givers' of peopie. with AIDS. Having been such acare giver, I joined a group during thefinal months of my friend's illness andthe experience helped me get throughthose dismal days.
The group consisted of six gay
men whose lovers had advanced AIDS
infections, and a female volunteer
therapist who directed and focusedour discussions. The experience was
warm, loving and often almost
unbearably moving as we sustained
each other through rituals of fear,
anger and denial, and finally helped
each other face our lovers' deaths.
Throughout my time in the group
I was aware of a compelling fact: noone ever discussed or seriously contemplated leaving his ailing lover. I
remember feeling that those homophobes who depict gay men as superficial, uncaring and incapable of deep
and profound love and committment
to each other had obviously neverbeen in such a room, or known suchmen.
This fact should be borne in mind
when reading After the Ball by
Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, abook whichamong dozens
ofunfounded and horrific allegations,
implies that gay men aren't ?ften
capableof bonding
emotions.
Purporting to be about homophobia,
After the' Ball is often a sad exampleof the behavior it so stridently decries.
The book begins with a catalogueof how straight SOCietyhates, discriminates against and oppresses gays.

Lesbians are largely ignored, un.lessthe authors' use of the term 'gay' istaken to be inclusive of women,
which I assume it is not. Kirk andMadsen take us on a depressingly
accurat~ field trip of what they call"homohating"
America. This trip,
through territory familiar to even theghetto dwellers amongst us, is followed by a rather silly pseudo-scientific analysis of how homohating
arises in individuals and in society.
The reader begings to founder on
the shoals of the authors' own brandof homohating when we learn that:"~Fringe' gay groups ought tohave the tact to withdraw voluntarily
from public appearancesat '.gayparades, marches and rallies, but they
don't seem to care whether they fatally compromise the rest of us." Theauthors complain that people like thevery effeminate are "selfish" in want-

Their program:ditch the dragque'ens andconform
ing to claim membershipin thecommunity, and that they should keepa "low profile" because "they have noright to set themselves
up as
spokespersons
for the rest of us -_especially when the rest of us areworking our butts off to convince
straights thal. .. we're exactly like(other)folks."
The
writers'
Machiavellian arrogance in casting out
from our community
drag queens
and the very effeminate because they
supposedly give us a bad name, ismaniacal. To say such people, those
who inaugurated
the Stonewall
Rebellion, are not intrinsic to the success of lesbian/gay liberation, is tomiss the entire point of liberation.
This is followed by what theauthors think. is the jist of their presen-tation, ~hat we all need to engage in a
propaganda
program to convince
straight society that we're really abunch of OK guys and gals.
But the real jist of the bookcomes in the next section, where theauthors determinedly expose what
they see as the real evils of gay (notlesbian) behavior in an orgy of selfaccusation and self-hate not seen
since the debate over Larry Kramer's
Faggots. They begin by debunking noless than Oscar Wilde, whose qUipthat "the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it" is held up as an
example of "...perverse moral sentiments" which have "...echoed down
the decades to the present day, andare still staple ingredients of the halfbaked political pronunciamentosofself~appointed gay 'spokespersons'and 'steering committees.'"
The chapter is littered with comments like: "How cruel we gays can
be! And how richly we deserve it
when it comes back and bites, us· inthe ass!" C~ting a gay who writes thatstraights have a propensity for selfishness and war, the authors respond:"As a group, latter-day American gays
are arguably even more selfish ~nd
greedy for material things, than are
straights; as for "war," we cite (1) various homosexual warrior castes - suchas the gay Greeks [sic] of the Trojan
War - of the ancient world; (2) the
highly homosexual Nazi SS; and (3)the pain and hatred peddled by apologists for gay sadomasochism,
forwhom the leaders of our community
long ago rolled out the welcome
wagon."In a passage that could havebeen lifted from an Anita Bryant
speech, the authors cite the so-called
corruption of young gay men who
come to the big city looking for true
love and find only cynicism and sexual degradation at the hands of jaded
queers. According to the authors, suchpeople inevitably end up as grotesquecontinued on plge 76

July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK

51

Theater
An Old-Fashioned
Passionmay be Narcisse's
passion (and,according to the program, Gelina's
inspiration for the play), the evening.
mostly belongs to the master plumber.
by M1Cbael Paller
For much of its length, Gelinas
The Passion of Narcisse Mondoux
stands or sits in the middle of theby Gratien Gelinas
stage. Like a soloist in a romantic
The Apple Corps Theater
conce,rto, most of the big themest the outset, The Passion of
belong to him, and while Oligny
Narcisse Mondoux, at the Apple
pitches in sturdily, she is almost
Corps Theater,
announcesalways in the background, providing
pleasantly and absolutely what it is: anecessary but discrete accompanibreezy, exuberant,
old-fashioned,
ment, or the introduction from whichromantic vehicle for two performers.
the plumber-soloist launches into a
Written by Gratien Gelinas,
lengthy cadenza. Peter Ma;s has directNarcisse Mondoux features himself
00 the two stars, but they seem to be veryand his wife Hugette Oligny, two vetmuch on their own and very much at
eranperformersof the ~,'home in Michael Egan's properly
canadian theater. She plays the 'diaphanous setting.
suddenly-widowed
LaurenLike any purely decorative
tienneRobichaud.
He isentertainment, the play provides
Narcisse Mondoux, a self-styled
moments for the mind to wan"master plumber" who has beender. When the mind wanders
in love with Laurentienne sinceback and. picks up the thread, itadolescence, and now, a widdiscovers it hasn't missed anyower ~imself, sees a chance tothing crucial, and sits back to
woo her, win her and surroundenjoy the perfumed music on
her with, as he puts it, "intenthe air. The play also supplies
sive care.'some very pleasant moments.
Sick of his "damned freeWhile Narcisse's story of his
dorq," he tries numeroul> tacks
schoolboy introduction to theto win her. He plies her withjoys of plumbing may cast a
postcards from Florida, favors
trace of doubt on the efficacy ofher with a bottle of genuine
a catholic education, it does say"Florida water" and promises asomething about the brothers'
carefree existence devoid of
ability to spot a useful talent.
blocked pipes and gurgling
Narcisse's phone conversation
drains. Because she is interestwith Laurentienne's other likely
ed in politics--her late husband DE~YING US NOT!O ~E CHARM~D.
mayoral opponent,
whom hewas a member of the town Gelinas (left) and Ollgny In The Passion of NafCIsse Mandaux. convinces to drop out of theAcouncil--he has taken out papers to
run for mayor. The course is less thansmooth, however. Narcisse is as oldfashioned as the world he inhabits,
and neither he nor it will brook
women with their own supply ofbrains and independence.
Thingslook especially shaky when she coolly
informs him that there is no need toimpress her by running for mayor, as
she intends to be mayor herself.
Finally, however, Narcisse shrugs his

52

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

shoulders--theworld is an old, old place,
so what can one do but give in?
This is not so much a play as a
wisp, a fragrance wafting through theevening air. What matters, and what
lingers, are not the details, but the
memory of its bouquet. It's not thesort of work that calls for "realistic"
acting; it is a divertissement, and is
performed as one by actors with twovery different ways of performing.
Gelinas, who for years wrote a
series of revues in which he starred,
has all the jauntiness of a revue performer. He punches, chops and slices
the air as if it is his enemy whichmight prevent the words and style

from reaching the audience. He is anactor of personality, displaying his
entire self in the first scene, and overthe course of the evening exhibiting itfrom various angles and profiles, defying us not to be charmed.
Oligny, on the other hand, is agraceful woman of the theater; oldstyle, she moves through the atmosphere with the ease of one who
knows that it is caressing her andsculpting itself around her. Whil~ sherace, reveals another practical skill at
least as persuasive as any of thosecurrently on display in New York during this election summer.
The Passion of Narcisse Mondoux
defies carping over its simple, straightforward purpose, and has no time foran audience not interested in being
charmed. And the audience, to a per- .
son, was charmed.
Incidentally, the play is performedin French on Tuesday nights. ~OperaThe Chase Is On
by George Heymont
ny adventure movie worth its
salt features a chase scene inwhich cars go bounding overhills, create havoc and the action
accelerates
to a' rousing climax.
However, maintaining the momentumof a chase in a live theatrical situation
is much more difficult. Dramatic time
(as it elapses on the stage) moves at amuch slower pace than it does infilgls. Thus, whenever a chase scene
is staged before a live audience, thedirector must aim toward a definite
goal while acknowledging
that aseries of pratfalls will occur along theway. The timing and precision ofeach visual gag is of paramountimportance. If the dramatic equilibrium within the theater is slightly off"disaster can occur.
Two recent productions proved
how intensely one man's vision canaffect the success of an evening in thetheater. In one case, the director not
only missed, but misused a wealth ofcomic opportunities.
In the other, adirector/designer
created a uniqueatmosphere which served to underscore the show's manic energy level.

A

Fumblers, Bumblers & Clowns
The first Broadway show to boast
music
and
lyricsby Stephen
Sondheim, A Funny Thing Happenedon the Way to the Forum, was carefully shaped by director George Abbott
as a showcase for burlesque-style
comedy.
Working with such great
clowns as Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford
and David Burns, Abbott transformed
Sondheim's musical into one of thefunniest romps ever to hit the GreatWhite Way. Unfortunately, the recent
staging of this work by San Francisco's
American Conservatory Theater (ACf)offered audiences a mere shadow of theoriginal show.
I enjoyed Ralph
Funicello's unit set and Rick Echols' wigs,

but most of Albert Takazauckas' stage Houston's Hermann Park. Although
Wbere~ Dick? suffered from technicaldirection was appallingly under par.
While some of the problem may 'problems with the sound system on
have been due to insufficient
opening night (nearly 30 minutes
rehearsal time, the weakness of ACT's were cut from the piece at subsequent
performances), it showed phenomenal
ensemble
could not be denied.
potential.
Thanksto Richard
Forum demands extremely strong
Foreman's design and direction, themusical comedy performers
and,although he worked hard at trying to production boasted the imaginative
stamp and manic energy one might
pleaseanaudience,
Michaelif the darker side of
McShane's Pseudolus was painfully ill- encounter
Stephen Sondheim were placed in
at-ease with his timing, singing and
PeeWee Herman's Playh'ouse andenunciation.
William Patterson's

SLAP YOUR NEIGHBOR'S FACE AND GET'INTO THE SPIRIT OF THE SHOW.
Henriksen, Oliver, Hill and Castle in Where's Dick?
Photo: Jim Caldwell
Erronius missed important comic
moments and Mark Daniel Cade's
Hero was a profeSSional embarrassment (the kind of performance' one
expects to find in a bad high school
production).
The strongest work of
the evening came from Peter Donat's
Senex, Ruth Kobart's Domina andHoward Swain's Hysterium, Alas, thiswas one instance wherein a grand oldshow was done a great injustice.

Ex-~op Chokes Gorilla Bride
Believe it or not, that's one of theheadlines touted during Act II of
Where~ Dick? This new pop opera by
Stewart Wallace and Michael Korie
received its world premiere last monthat the Miller Outdoor Theater inforced to watch a videotape of The
Adventures of Baron Munchausen
while on serious drugs.
In its attempt
to deal withsuch timely issues as child abuse,
fake evangelists,
urban violenceand America's growing dependency on drugs (which are represented in the opera
by pickles),Where'sDick?
combinesan
An imalHousesense of humor
with the comic book level of political awarenessthat has resulted
from eight years of Reaganism.
Itis also the first opera to aim directly at the audience which reads the
National Enquirer and watches theMorton Downey Show.
continued on page 76

July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK53

Cabaret
Phyllis Diller
by John Wasser
porting an outfit best describedas "Star Trek nouveau," Phyllis. Diller parades an army of subjects through the ringer/ during her act
at Rainbow and Stars. Nobody isspared, including Sylvester Stallone,
Dan Quayle, obscene phone callers,John Tower, Exxon and; of course,

S

STAR TREK NOUVEAU

Phyllis Diller at Rainbow and StarS
Photo: Marc Raboy
everyone's favorite husband, Fang. In
her first New York appearance in 10
years (her last was at Les Mouches),
Diller consistently aims for the jugularand rarely misses the mark.
She
pokes fun at her facelifts ("I'm the Bo
Derek of the Geritol set"), but the lampooning reaches full throttle whenpointed at "husband" Fang ("I'd like to
see his picture on a milk carton ").
Admittedly, the jokes are noteverybody's cup of tea (how many

54

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

people have a mother-in-law or eventhe same mother-in-law after five or
six years?) and the humor might befrom a bygone era, but midway
through the act, I realized I was notlaughing at the jokes per se, but at thewindup and delivery. Like Johnny
Carson, whose own monologue could
use an energy infusion, Phyllis Diller
has the knack of making outdated
jokes sound funny. It's a rare opportunity to watch a pro in action.
Several ,days following the opening night performance, I spent sometime with Phyllis Diller at her wellappointed East Side apartment. She'sin the midst of watering her plants
when I enter ("This one's a gift fromMaureen McGovern") and I'm soon a
captive audience learning about various flowers, some of which are edible.
Diller finishes her routine ("Ishould probably sing to them too")
and with little prompting, offers an
explanation of her long absence fromthe New York club s<;ene.
"Honestly, there is no place in
New York for seasoned veterans toplay," she states.
If New York has missed out on
Diller's unique brand of comedy, others have been more fortunate. She
spends much time crisscrossing thecountry
playing Las Vegas, theCatskills and many points in-between.
"One of my next stops after New Yorkis Michigan. I'll be playing ... " Shestops in mid·sentence and searches
for the proper phrase "1:0 characterize
comedian Pat Paulson's dinner theater.
She smiles. "I'Il.be plaing a 'summer
r.esort'." She then expels that famous
raucous laugh.
Beside hopping from nightclub tonightclub, Diller also makes periodic
forays into the theater. She was oneof several women to follow Carol
Channing into Hello Dolly! and she
recently portrayed
the hysterical
Mother Superior in the San Francisco
company of Nunsense. Can a returnto Broadway be the next step, eventhough it's been over 20 years?
"Oh yes, most definitely, II shesays. "As a matter of fact, I'm readinga script" right now for that purpose. II
She points in the direction of her pubIieist sitting on the other side of theroom.
But, rather. than talking about herself, Diller likes to yap about thosewhom she's helped launch.
"Burt
McHugh, who was a model and the
Tom Selleck of his generation, also
ran the Bon Soir where I was appearing. It was located down on Eighth
Street. One day, he mentioned that
he hired an opening act. A few days
later, this girl walks in dressed inhead-to-toe thrift stiop clothes. She
told me the shoes alone cost 35 cents.
Anyway, in those days she wanted tobe someone like Yma Sumac, and say
she 'was from a foreign country, but
her accent was pure Brooklyn.
\
However, when she openedher~outh, she sang like an angel. For thelife of me, I'll never forget that opening
night. I just knew Barbra Streisand
was going places. And it wasn't justme. Everyone felt it."
Apart from her nightclub bookings, which already take her into thenext decade, Phyllis Diller owns "La
Vie, II her own beauty care line ("It'S
soldon the Home
Shopping
Network"), her own chili brand currently distributedin Texas andCalifornia ("I want to go national.
How did Paul Newman do it so fast?...
He's probably better looking thanme."), and is about to produce a western ("Until every piece of paper issigned ... II). She also plans to chal·lenge Burt Reynoids when she unveils
a chain of Phyllis Diller Theaters.
Until that day, we'll have to makedo with Phyllis Diller's televisionappearances, videos ("HoW to Make
Money at a Garage Sale" is one title)
and her current Rainbow and Stars
engigement. She appears twice nightly until July 1st. Tell the reservation
desk, "Fang sent you.""'"

Performance
ABSENT MOON:
EIGHT SEASONSFROM THE LIFE OF
Directed and Designed by Peter Reed
The Kitchen
512 W. 19th Street.

., by Charles Barber
am hidden and I am not hidden,' wrote Rimbaud at theage of 19 in 1873. Already an.
accomplished poet, seasoned
traveler and home-wreckerof theVerlaine marriage, Rimbaud burnedout brightly and swiftly,
dr.inking too much absinthe.
By the age of 21, he was a
has-been:
restless,ill,money-obsessed and wasting
the rest of his short life running guns in Ethiopia - andmaybe even dealing slaves.
He died at 37, like so manyin the French literary crowdof the time, of untreatedsyphilis.
Rimbaud would be quite
at home in the world today,in the teen
cultureofAmerica, 1989. He could be
an inventionof Dennis
Cooper, washed up at 21, hisslim talents already squandered, just another over-thehill boy movie star. It's anattractive story, even a banalIetc.) After Stark ie, a silly play by
Rimbaud, proves that Rimbaud knew
Christopher Hampton (of Dangerous
all about us, about cities and sex andillness and New York; about 1980s Liaisons fame), made for a Masterpiece
Theater-type occasion that strained ,toculture as well as 1880s. He may
shock the middle-brow (Rimbaud as
have been examining private hells,.
but he's also the boy who at his low- feckless pop star, etc.).
Now Peter Reed, a choreograest moment could write: "Hunger,pher,
director and designer has turnedthirst, yells, dance, dance, dance,
hisnotinsubstantial resources onto
dance!"
Rimbaud has had his share of the subject of Rimbaud, with disapThe piece wasinterpreters, alas, and one hopes he pointing results.
will be saved from them as much as advertised with a photo of a bearded,from the obscurity to which he was vacant-eyed Rimbaud, and behind him
earlier consigned. A dull, meritorious,.. a rear view of a nude guy -- the sortfag-bashing biography by Enid Starkie of theater ad cum pin-up we should
all have come to dread by ·now. It's
was clearly well-intentioned,but
Rimbaud neady eluded the 5~ men- an inevitable sign of theatrical paucity.
Inexplicably, there are no nude mentality (N As for the immorality of his
in Reed's piece, poets or otherwise,homosexuality, which many consider
which is not only mysterious,
considering
Rimbaud's justly
famous odes. to the asshole,etc., but irksome in the false
advertising department.
,Reed divides Rimbaud into
three roles, and although' it's
hard to think of the life of a 37year-old as young, middle-aged,
and old, one actor is boyish(Byron Suber), one indeterminate (Jorge Socarras) and one ill
and tired looking(StevenCook).
The, production
issumptuous, and fu,1Iof technicalinvention,
but short on the
blood and guts of Rimbaud.
Despite the obvious extravagance, the piece is loose anddragging. Everything one could
wish for is there except for any
visible, compelling reason to do

Photo: Arne Svenson the piece at all. It's a bit cold
one, but it's saved from the NO NUDE IS GOOD NUDE
and monotonous, measured out
obscurity of the predictable Steven Cook in Absent Moonin teaspoons. While we can bebecause Rimbaud's talent ingrateful to Reed for avoiding thefact was not sl im: it was
extraordinary.
Both hidden and not his most heinous crime, the only rela- gushiness of a Christopher Hampton,
hidden, his voice is real enough today tionship of this nature which he is Rimbaud is a curious choice if
restraint is going to be the style.
that his poems and books seem eerily known to. have had, was the one
Unfortunately,
Rimbaud's religion
prophetic. A Season in Hell, the bookwhich occurred when he was 17 andon which Peter Ree!f has based his came under the influence of a man 10 seems to have attracted Reed, and thetone is inevitably sanctimonious.
new performance piece Absent Moon: years older than himself, who wascontinued on page 71
Eight Seasons from the Life of Arthur
weak, self-indulgent and vicious ... "July 3,1989

OUT~WEEK

55

'prepared by Rick X
with information fromThe Gay & Lesbian Switchboard

AN

CALENDAREVENTS

Send calendar items to:

PEOPLEWITH AIDS COALITION
Forum: Lawrence LeShan,clinical psychologist and authorof Cancer as a Turning Point,
discusses his work; at the Center,
208 W 13 St; 7:30 pm; free; 532·
0290

Rick X, Going Out
Box 790
New York, NY 10108
Items mus~ be received by
Monday to be included
followingin theweek's issue.

(Editor's Note: This calendar is acompendium of anything in the
Greater New York area that may beof interest to gay, lesbian andbisexual people. Items are generally
not excluded on moral,
philosophical, political or aesthetic
grounds. However, commercial
ventures, especially those withlimited appeal or requiring large
expenditures, are'included at thediscretion of the editor.
Regularly held meetings oforganizations Will be listed when
they are of interest to tbe public
and when details about the
programs are submilled. Whensending an organizational
newsleller, please identify which
events should or should not belisted in these pages; otherwise, aprivate potluck dinner in anapartment may become a publicaffair. Please provide contact
numbers which are suitable fornon·members to call.
Finally, for all the mistakes,
current and future, regarding
places, times, and phone numbers,
and for all the lives ruined by such
errors, the editor begsforgiveness.)(NOTE: All phones numbers without
area codes are 212.)

WNET·TV/13Whoever Says theTruth Shall Die, a look at thecontroversial life and murder offilmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini; 1
am latenight

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2

20th Anniversary of Stonewall
FAMILYDIVERSITYCOALITION
Rally to Support Domestic
Partner Legislation, at Sheridan
Square, 5:15 pm; info 627·1398
MEN OFALLCOLORSTOGETHER
Boatride around Manhattan,
with music, dancing and cash
bar; an alcohol·free space on
upper deck; dinner available for$12; leaves 42nd St Pier on the
Hudson, 7:30 pm sharp, returns
10:30 pm; $20; 245-6366

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RAOICALWOMEN Report fromthe National Women's Studies
Conference,with dinner at 7 pm($6); program at 7:30 pm ($2); at
the Center, 208 W 13 St; 677·7002
LESBIANGAYCONCERNSCOMMITIEEVideotape of the1987 March on Washington,"Affirming Our Heritage," withdiscussion; at Unitarian'Universalist Fellowship at
Huntington, 109 Brown's Road; 8pm; free
EAGLEBAR Movie Nite: The
Accused; 1/2 price drinks from
10·11 pm; free popcorn; movie at
11 pm; 142 11th Ave at 21st St;
691·8451

July 3,1989

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VILLAGEPLAYWRIGHTS
presents
Summer Affairs, a production
consisting of seven interrelated
short plays by seven different gay
and lesbian playwrights,
encompassing murder, love,friendship, fun and sex at asummer resort; at Ernie Martin
Theater, 311 W 43 St, 5th Fl; 8
pm; $10; 718-499-0497 forreservations
WOMENABOUl Assateague
Island State Park camping trip,
four to seven days; visit andcamp on the fascinating "Island of
the Horses"; 353'()()73

GAYMEN'S HEALTHCRISIS
Preventive Health Seminars:
CompUmentary
Health Care,
129 W 20 St, 3rd Fl classroom; 7·9pm; free, 807·6655 (TDD 645·
7470 for hearing impaired)

WNET-TV/13Before Stonewall, aone·hourfilm explores thehistory of the gay experience inAmerica through recollections
and archival footage; 9 pm

N

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ACTUP LESBIAN& GAYACTIVISTHISTORYPROJECTpresents A
Queer History Teacb·ln, talking
about people, actions, dvil
disobediences ~nd philosophiesthat marked the beginning of
lesbian and gay liberation; at theCenter, 208 W 13 St; 7·10 pm;
533..s888

LESBIANS& GAYMEN OFNEWBRUNSWICKFUm: Parting
Glances, at the Friends Meeting
House, 109 Nichol Avenue, New
Brunswick, NJ; 8 pm; $3(LGMNB, Box 1949, New
Brunswick, NJ 08903)

UChildren
11:00 pm

H.E.A.l. Exposition of Effective
Alternative Approaches,
includes nutrition, acupuncture,
Chinese herbs, chiropractic,
macrobiotiCS, yoga, syphilis
connection, much more; at 441
Lafayette St (next to Public
Theater); 674·HOPE (4673)

FREDERICKTIMM presents a
Staged Reading of his "New
Love," a new comedy by theaward·winning playwright, aboutDavid and Leslie's struggle to getboyfriends; at the Center, 208 W
13 St; 8 pm; $2; 620·7310

Jr//Ej//Ar

WNET-TV/13"Choosing(Lesbian Parenting),"
TIfURSDAY, June 29

HETRICK·MARTININSTITUTEandHERITAGEOFPRIDEBenefit
Reading of Doric Wilson's
Street Theater, the acclaimed
play about the Stonewall Riots;
call HOP for info, 691·1774

rJrMr~of New YorkFor more information or referrals, to rap, or to volunteer,call the GLSB daily, noon to midnight, 212·777·1800

i:'o

NATIONALGAYAND LESBIANTASKFORCE(NGLTF)National Day ofMourning for the Right toPrivacy, commemorating thethird anniversary of the Supreme
Court's decision in Bowers vs.
Hardwick; 202·332·6483
LAVENOERLIGHTGOSPELCHOIR
presents "Please Touch
Somebody_ .. Right Now!", 2nd
in a series of seven concert
programs of gospel music andinformation on stopping the AIDS
epidemic; at Brooklyn YWCA, 30
Third Ave (take 2,3,4,5,D,B,Q,R,N
to Atlantic Ave); 7 pm; free; 212·245-6266
VILLAGEPLAYWRIGHTS'
presents
Summer Affairs, a production
consisting of seven interrelated
short plays by seven different gay
and lesbian playwrights,
encompassing murder, love,friendship, fuf! and sex at asummer resort; at Ernie Martin.Theater, 311 W 43 St, 5th Fl; 8
pm; $10; 718-499·0497 forreservations (also 7II)

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COURTYARD
PLAYHOUSEpresents
the opening of Jane Chamber's''The Quintessential
Image,"
through Labor Day, at 39 Grove
St (west of 7th Ave below
Sheridan Square); 869·3530
ISLANOERS'CLUBJuly 4th
PartyBoat for gay men andwomen; cruise around
Manhattan with dandng under
the stars, buffet, and fireworks;
63H898rJrPMn¥OII
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EAGLEBARMovie Nite: Madame
Sousatzka; 112 price drinks from
10·11 pm; free popcorn; movie at
II pm; 142 11th Ave at 21st St;
691.s451
TIfURSDAY, July 6
JUDITH'S ROOMReading byMichelle M_Tokarczyk, poet,"The House I'm Running From;"
681 Washington St (btwn lOth &Charles); 7:30 pm; free; 727·7330
CENTERSPORTS goes to Mets vs.
Cincinnati Reds; 7:35 pm; 620·
7310

THERAPYSERIOUS THERAPY FOR MEN
Leading expert on Gay Male identity,
sexuality, and relationship issues. AffiliC!tedwith major NY research hospital. Stress andpsycho·physical training.
Dr. James A. Serafini, PhD.
(212) 877·3319

FITNESS
BODY BY SERGE
Shaping • Body Building • Joning • Men,
Women, and Couples • One-on-One •Professional Trainer. Free Weights • Fully
Equipped Private Gym •Specializing with Working Out With Beginners
Home and Office Calls
SERIOUS MINDED ONLY(212) 675·1179

LIGHTING
LIGHTING
TRACK BY JACK, INC.
Track lighting specialists. Designs,
installations. Discounts. Everything stocked.
(212) 340·9111

CLUBS
MEN & BONDAGE?
Swap experiences and fantasies. Watch or
take part in demos. Learn the ropes withexperts and novices. Write for info: NYBC,
P.O.Box 457, Midtown Station, NY, NY 10018

PHOTOGRAPHY
SARGENT STUDIO /Dollie. Sargent. Photographer
Portraits· Special Events· Promotions
We'll Come To You!
Mailing Address
P.O.Box 937
Plandome, New York 11030
516·88J.9372-----

Personals
GWM, 41, 5'5, 148 lb.,
seeks companions ofroughly similar age andheight who appreciateclassical music, history,
religious ritual and art,
international affairs,
progressive politics. For
spiritual communion,
physical affection andvery safe sex. Write:
P.O. Box 7674 FOR
Station, NY NY 10150.
Real Batman Seeks
Real Robin: Holy
partner! Let's ditch
Gotham City andconcentrate on eachother! YOU: sharp mind
& looks, 20-38, a winner
who deserves the best,
enjoys cuddling,
laughing, old movies &fresh popcorn,
comfortable in jeans,
tux or a cape. ME: solid
6' showbiz pro, 185,
dirty blond/sea-greeneyes, young 44,
handsome, hung, hot,
hunky, happy, aroMANtic catch. Sharesafe adventures atdream BatCaves in NYC& P'town. Unmask thisCaped Crusader &discover your hero, top
pal, protector, defender,
teacher, lover & more.
Zap letter & photo now(BOTH required): POB
1704, Provincetown,
MA. 02657. (NOTE:
Jokers and Riddlers
please apply
elsewhere. Try
Geraldo.)Asian gay maleinterested in travel,
aesthetics and a
relationship sought bytall, serious, sensitive
GWM, early 40's.
OutWeek Box /000
Need a spanking?
Attractive guy, 43, 6',
160 Ibs, will put you
across his knee, pull
down your pantsnand
underpantsnand spank

58

OUT~WEEK

your bare bottom till
you promise to behave.
Am into fantasynnot
pain. Good with
beginners. Box 1316
FOR Sta, NYC 10150.
Seek trim guys only.
GWM, 35, 5'10, trim
beard, balding. Mature,
together, independent.
Enjoy GWM workouts,
beac'h, arts,
architecture, history.
Looking to meet guy 30·
45 with simila r interests
and attributes. P.O. Box379, NY, NY 10101.
Very affectionate,
GWM, 41, 5'9, 170,
stache, furry, attractive,
seeks smoother guy 3050 for relationship. You
have a great sense ofhumor, enjoy musicaltheatre, cabarets,
travel, long walks, talks,hugs & kisses. Let's get
acquainted. Send letter,phone & photo to: P.O.
Box 7116, FOR Sta., NYC
10150-1909.
European businessman,
attractive w/m 45, 6'1,
175, commute between
Paris·NY often, will
host gdlk w/m 23-30,
educated, cleanshaved,slim; for civilised
stimulating nights ofgood drinks, food,conversation, (safe)
fun. POB 8324, NY
10150-1918.
White male, 38, 5'6,140,
muscular, healthy,
discreet, youthful, attr.,
seeks muscular·beefy
man for safe mutual
times, big arms a +,prefer men 30-55. Box783, NYC 10008.
Overzealous dyke,
young of year, firm in
loin, seeks big haired
girl for a nonstop
bonanza. Psycho
bambis, hungry
monsters and dullards

July 3,1989

need not even try.
OutWeek Box 1001
WM, 44, look 30, 5'8",
160, seek black,
Hispanic or Asian guy,
20's to 40's for fun
times. Let's shareaffectionate
experiences, safe
mutual jlo, light s/mscenes or whatever we
can improvise. If you're
muscular, a plus. No
drugs. OutWeek Box
1002. 0td·fashioned, safe,
sensuous & erotic"daddy·enemas; ass·
play & more given with
TLC. I cater to shy guys
& beginners. Also want
to share your childhood
experiences. Rick, P.O.
Box 45, Caldwell, NJ
07006.
LOOK NO FURTHER.
GWM, experienced
friend and lover
seeking same. I'measy-going, sensitive,
romantic, intelligent
and witty. 44 years
young, 5'7", 1421bs.
Beautiful blue eyes,
curly brn hair,
moustache. I'm
sensual, sexually vers
and into safe sex.
Interested in perf. arts,
film, books, dancing,music. Jogger. People
watcher and nature
lover. Yourph/photo/letter gets
mine, Box 2004, NYC
10009.
GWM 29 brlbr healthy,
good shape, romantic,
many interests seeks
younger GM for friend,.poss. relatnshp. BOM
Box 305 Blkn, 11240.
Send letter & phone. All
answered.
Are you an animal
during sex? Want tobe? (I mean literally)
Hypnosis might give thefeeling. Let me changeyou. Letter/photo to
O.H. Box 350-148,
Booklyn NY 11235-0003.
After·the-Office:Handsome, healthy,
trim, 5'10",145,40
Brooks Bros. type livingin midtown wishes tomeet male exec. forsafe sensual fun after
the office or atlunchtime. POB 1197
NYC 10156.
Team Coach: do you .
want to act out yoursweaty locker room frat
hazing, foot and otherfantasies with a hot
WM, 33, 6'1 ",185, very
handsome, masculine,
and works out? Thentall guys write to meetfor your real explosive
action. Bobby, P.O.Box
304, Village Station, NY
NY 10014.
Chubby·chasers wtd.
by tall, handsome
chubby with lots tooffer-·into all safe
scenesnfrom latins toslaves, wanted photoand pix, P.O.Box 430 NY
NY 10018.
Strict discipline soughtfrom someone who
knows its value. Spank,strap, paddle, whip,
crop or switch my buns
to a good red color
while I'm tied down
crying like a child.
GWM 38, 5'1", 183,br/br, good shape. SS,
no drugs. Can
reciprocate. OutWeek
Box 1003
Mildly Kinky: GWM,
52, attractive, 5'10",
145, versatile, risktaking, seeks hot sex,
fun, relationship,friends, enjoys politics,
conversation, walks,
movies, much more.
P.O. Box 173, NY NY
10023.

Marrlbi/gays: Getting
enough/any? Me .
neither! Masc, ripe,
hlthy guy sks ss. M·Th
NYC daytim/early pm
mutual fun; wkend
Ha.mptons outdoor
woods & beach romps.
Write your hlthy
fantasies/needs to Bob,
Box 871, SAG Harbor,
NY 11963. Cum on, let's
go for it!
"\
White male couple
early 40's healthy, fit,nonsmokers, looking to
expand social circles
seek other male
couples (ageunimportant). We enjoy
the theatre, restaurant. dining, traveling and,most important,friendship. Please
reply to P.O. Box 1636
NY, NY 10185-0014.

Hot. handsome, GWM,
47,5'9",155, br/br,
moustache, healthy,
youthful, smart,masculine, muscular.
Seeks attr., bright.
health·consc, well·built
men for hot safe sex.
Send phone & photo toJim, P.O.Box 20100, NY
NY 10017·9992.
Tall, slim, cute GWM,
23, activist, tv
personality, writerseeks radical hunkcomrade. Interests:
f;lms, reading, cable tv
and the Pyramid on
Sundays. Photo/phone:
OutWeek Box 1006
Complicated guy wants
simple life. Me: 5'6",
130 Ibs., blondish,passionate. You: smart,funny, honest. Beard a+. Any race, any .
temperament. OutWeek
Box 1004
Female: to spend timegoing to shows,country, just being
friendly, etc. I am 49, 5',

I 1351bs. OutWeek Box
1005
Fantastic Romantic!
Handsome, intellectual
and witty man, 34, darkbrown hair & eyes(slavic), moustache, 170
Ibs., 5'8". Into arts &honesty. Seeking dating
relationship with man,
25·42. Open topossibilities. Write P.O.
Box 8272, FOR Station,
NY NY 10150.
Low mileage GM, 1951,
5'10",140 Ibs., non·smoker/drinker, live
outside city, work·NYC.
Seeks slowly evolving
friendship/lover.
Davies, Box 1055,
Chelsea Station, NY NY
10011.

-

Address all
responses to
OutWeek Box # s:
Out Week Box
77 Lexington Ave
NY, NY 10010

LLI

C

.,

en
)

en

CLASSIFIED ORDER FORM
Return this entire page, along with appropriate'payment, to:
OutTWeek Classifieds, 77 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
All classified advertising must be prepaid.
Name_

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To calculate the cost of your ad:
1 bold headline + 6 more lines @ $15 fop personals, $30 for other c1assifieds (minimum! =+:..additional lines @ $1 per line for personals, $2 per line for other classifieds =Run this ad for __additional issues @ $15 per issue (1 to 25 lines! =Give me an Out~eek

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Pop Shots

Photos: Erich Conrad T

WHAT BECOMES A LEGEND MOST?
SiSter Dimension. PLanet EarthET PHONE HOME?
Billy Beyond and Ludovic

QUENCH WENCHThe Connie Girl at Canal Bar

WAHTS WRONG WITH THIS PICllJRE?
Mega-Diva Doorman Kenny Kenny and boyfrie~ds at Red Zone.

64

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

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ONE SEX ACT MEETS ANOTHER

John Sex and Rob LoweJUST BEFORE THE ROOF CAVED IN

Armand and Tasty Tim at Mars

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE SNU·GGLY... YOU DECIDE

Jayne County, Joe Deitrich & Nelson Sullivan at Cafe X.

66

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

HATECRIMES continued from page 20

All-MALEMINI THEATER(Lower Level)
Mon,-Sat.: 11am-11pm I Sun.: 10am-7pm

Ann Street
Adult Entertainment

Center

21 Ann Street (btwn. Broadway & Nassau St.)New York City I (212) 267-9760
Mon.-Fri.: 7am-11pm I Sat.: 10am-11pm
Sun.: 1Dam-7pm

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Mon.-Fri.: 7am-11pm I Sat.: 10am-11pm
Sun.: 10am-7pm

Finally the bill was approved by committee by a 34-1
vote, leaving Dannemeyer as the sole member voting
against the bill.
After the vote, National Lesbian and Gay Task Forcelobbyist Peri Jude Radecic was pleased that such staunch.supporters of Dannemeyer's anti-gay initiative as Reps.
Gekas and Bill McCollum (R-Fla.) voted against
Dannemeyer's amendments. "People have corne to understand that whatever their feelings are on homosexuality, thisis not a civil rights bill," she said.
"Dannemeyer is breaking rank with everybody," added
Human Rights Campaign Fund lobbyist Steve Smith. "Youhave some of the most conservative members of the Houseon this committee and if Dannemeyer can't even get one
vote in this committee, it shows that he has no claim toleadership even within his own faction."
The bill is expected to see Qoor action in the House in
July. A companion bill is also awaiting floor action in the
Senate. That bill, however, is being held up while lobbyists
seek to secure solid votes against an expected four-part"sense of the Senate" amendment from Sen. Helms which
would declare that the "homosexual movement" is a threat
to the "American family"; mandate the enforcement of state
sodomy laws; ban funding for any school curricula which
portray homosexuality as "an acceptable lifestyle"; and put
the Senate on record against ever passing a law banning dis-(212)
(516)
(718)
(914)

970 ..4000
PROYEN liME AND liME AGAINII

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GARDEN continuedfrompage 10

provide all of the services that are
required to those who are sufferingfrom the HIV virus and are ill." By
way of an example, Koch mentioned a city program that he said
provides AZf to all people who areunable to pay for it. (AZf is a drug
taken by many people 'who haveHIV-related illnesses.)"I think you know, whether you
agree with everything I say or everything I do, that I want to help, and I
promise you I will," Koch said.
In his speech, Cuomo, who hasin the past lost a mayoral election toKoch, and beaten him in the governor's race, made an attempt to salvage Koch's reputation with thecommunity, "I'm surprised by someof the boos," Cuomo began. "I have
known the mayor for a long time.
This is one of the only places in theworld where you have a mayor who
wanted to be governor and a gover-

I

.,.;

nor who wanted to be mayor. I haveheard him speak for the lesbiancommunity, for the gay community
over and over. I have heard him doit when it was popular, in places
where it was popular, like thisstreet, and in places where it wasn't
so popular. Fairness requires thatyou ac~nowledge what this man has
done for freedom, for dignity, forfairness," Cuomo said.
He qualified his remarks bysaying that he was not supportinganyone in the upcomlOg mayoral
race, but that he would support thewinner of the democratic primary in
September.
Cuomo also reaffirmed his support for the recently-defeated biasrelated violence bill. "If there is one
thing we will insist on, it is thateverybody allow everybody else tobe free ... to love the way theychoose to love," he said amidst
cheers and applause. "You have tocelebrate diversity in this country or
perish. Sometimes I regret even that
I've raised the question, when I see
what an ugly response it's drawn,
but now that we've had that
response we have to stay in thisfight until we win.'
The party 'itself went on far into
the night, with performances by theLavender Light Gospel Choir and the
Flirtations. The evening's emcee wascomedian
Kate Clinton. Among
those in attendancewere Lee
Hudson,Councilwoman
Ruth
Messinger,
Brooklyn
District
Attorney Elizabeth Holzman and.
Chelsea District Leader Tom Duane,
an openly gay candidate for. the city
council
districtthat includ'es
Greenwich Village.
Robert Woodworth,deputydirector of the Center, estimated thatover 2,000 attended the party, which
he said raised at least $30,000. T~m

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July 3,1989

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from Pl1ll19

C homosexual-specificmisdemeanor, punishable by a $25 fine.
This, according to legal activists,
although continuing to stigmatize
gay and lesbian sex, could open thedoor to a court challenge to thestatute on equal protection grounds.
A New Hampshire effort to recriminalize sodomy died in a state
subcommittee in 1988, a death that
Hyde characterized as "quick, timely and appropriate." But aside fromthat reactive victory, most pro-active
actions have met with little success.
in many states, legislative
repeal efforts have met with stiff
resistance from skittish lawmakers.
Maryland saw its state senate give
quick approval of a repeal bill in
1987, only to have it die in the State
House Judiciary Committee thatyear. The following year, efforts
were concentrated on that committee, but proved fruitless after a committee member held .up a brochurefrom the North Man/Boy Love
Association as an "example" of thesort of behaviors which would
become common in the state should
the sodomy law be repealed. The
bill was quickly repealed.
In Minnesota,
a repeal bill,sponsored by openly gay state legislators Sen. Alan Spear and Rep.
Karen Clark, suffered a similar fatein that state's lower chamber.
A comparable bill was introduced this year into the Texas legislature, although it did not see
substantial action before the session's close.
In Minnesota and Texas, therepeal efforts have been redirectedto the courtoom, while in Maryland,
activists are waiting for 1991, when
the House Judiciary Committee's
makeup will may be changed after
the next election.
In the District of Columbia, thelocal sodomy statute is entangled in
the district's thoroughly unique battle over home rule versus congres-sional powers over the local government. In 1982, the District Council
passed the Sexual Assault Reform
Bill, which lifted the district's
sodomy law and lowered the age ofconsent from 16 to 14. However,Congress, bowing to immense pressure from the Rev. Jerry Falwell-led
Moral Majority, pulled the entire
law.
A new bill, titled the Rape
Protections Act of 1989, is scheduled
to be introduced
to the District
Council June 29. Although the billhas broad support, many think thata beleaguered D.C. government may
be reluctant to act, fearing further
interference from Congress.
"You have to remember, when
we're asking people to vote forthese bills, we're asking them tovote on sex," Hyde says.
They don't like doing that.·
But regardless, Hyde feels thatsodomy reform should continue tobe a major agenda item for the lesbian and gay community. 'Y

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SLEAZE continued from page 41

an apartment on the Lower East Side,
presided over by two lunatic lovers
who pop up regularly in the otherclubs handing out little invitations to
the young and the hung. Their place
offers beer, soda, slings, videos andglory holes for a $15 cover. They're
opc:;n on Tuesdays,
Fridays andSaturdays only and their weekend
beer blasts continue until 8 am.
There are plenty more of theseparties going on regularly throughout
the city. You invariably have to know
someone to be invited. And, thoughmost of them insist on safe sex, somearen't as strict as they might be, whichbrings' us to some' final thoughts on
the scene by the people who know it
best.
., Anyone who isn't practicing
safe sex in this day and age isn't juststupid, they're dangerous. When I'm
in one of the clubs, I just assume thateverybody is a threat to my healthand take it from there. I've had greattimes playing by the rules and I know
I'm not the only one.''''The term 'safe sex' worries me
because it was all safe 20 years ago.
Who knows what else could comeup? I only get into masturbation
scenes and have made some really
nice friends at Locker Room who feelthe same way.'"I like all the clubs for different
reasons and have dated quite a few ofthe guys I've met there, which isunusual but not impossible.
I've
found that hanging around the bar
areas to be really conducive to meeting people. It's not like the cruisebars where people just walk awaywhen you talk to them. The people
are friendlier and more relaxed. I
guess it's because they've alreadycome so many times.'"Sometimes I'll be walking homefrom work and I'll see guys from theclubs talking to friends, wearing theirsuits and holding their briefcases. We
give each other a look and it's
strange. ,I feel like I know all theirsecrets.""'1 do go to the sex clubs fromtime to time but I don't feel great
about it. I'd ratl:er be home watching
TV with a lover. When I come home,
I feel so dirty I have to take a shower ..
Even if I just watched.'

74

OUT~WEEK

July 3: 1989

"1 like the clubs, but you have toknow th~t this is just the ,beginning. I
mean, the Mine Shaft didn't just comeout of nowhere. There was a wholeprocess that brought us to that point,
and this was how it started.""I've had some hot, hot scenes
in these places, especially the Loft,but I don't think it's all that satisfying.
I really like SIM, but I prefer getting
to know my partners first. In theseplaces everyone is just using everyone.
else for a quick fantasy fix. To me,real S & M is a little more involved
than that."''The clubs are great but they're
addictive.
I love them and I hatethem."'''I'm an exhibitionist., Need'I say
more?"'''1 always seem to have a goodtime when I go, but I only seem to go
when -I'm depressed so I guess that
isn't the best barometer. When I'm
happy or busy doing other things andfeeling good about myself there's no
way I'd go to a place like that. It's
like the furthest thing from my mind.'"I met my lover two years ago at
Locker Room. I was downstairs mostof the night and he was upstairs. We
met by the bar while I was getting a
SO<!a. Only our closest friends know
where we met and they still tell little
jokes about it."
"My friends tell me I'll nevermeet a lover in the dick clubs, but I'drather stay home and clean my toilet'
bowl than stand around in one ofthose prissy cruise bars posing allnight.
Or· listening to everybody
whining about how much they wantto meet somebody.
I know thatscene too well. Those .queens don't
want to meet anybody.
They justwant to com pia in.""'I like this scene, I play safe and
I'Ve never encouraged anyone to go
who didn't want to. These kind ofplaces have always been around andthey always will be no matter what
the city does or what the healthdepartment does or what happens
with AIDS or herpes or anything else.
We've learned a lot during the last
few years but we can't just hide in
our apartmentS and become eunuchs.
Safety and numbers.
That's mymotto. And besides, safe sex is thehottest anyway." T

HOTUNE continued from page 32..:

in a high enougconcentration to transmit. But if the person has blood intheir mouth, that could transmit backto you either through the tirethra or
much more likely through a cut or
abrasion on the penis. And it could
be a tiny cut.
Q. DOes saliva kill HIV?
A. No, not that we know of.
Not according to the CDC, but it may
dilute body fluids containing
thevirus.
Q. Do you know whether ornot HIV can pass directly throughmucus membrane?
A.
I would say there would
have to be a cut or an abrasion, but it
doesn't need to be a big cut, it could
be microscopic.
Q. How long does HIV last outside the body?
A.
Well, eventually
the air
would kill the virus, but we don't
have a time span on that, whether it's
minutes, hours or days, because it
would depend on how much virus in
how much body fluid

GMHC HOTLINE
Q.
I wanted to know whatguidelines you have for oral sex?
A. Use a condom. You don't
want to insert the penis in yourmouth without a condom.
Q.
Do you know if saliva kills
the HIV virus?
A. It doesn't kill the virus, no.
Q. Because a lot of people saythat oral sex is OK because saliva kills
the virus.
A. Well that's just stupid. People
don't bother to get the facts. This issomething that's so serious, that canaffect their lives.
Q. I had also heard that HIV
passes directly through mucus membranes. That you don't need an open
cut in your mouth.
A. That's not true. It takes anopen exposure to blood for the HIV
virus to transmit.
Q. Do you know how long thevirus lasts outside your body.
A. It dies right away, immediateIy.
Q. OK, thanks a1ot.
A. Get the facts, and be careful.
TQ:confused

A:

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opera continued from page 53

David Gockley had to have a lotof balls to produce Wbere's Dick? for,in many ways, ~he show's bitter sarcasm is better suited to an offBroadway venue, The characters inthis opera include Baby Snowflake (analbino gorilla, symbolizing pure violence, who lusts after virgin flesh), Fate
Spritely (an eternal victim who carriesa bridal veil in her purse--just in case),
Stump Tower (the famous midget realestate developer who has a surprisingly masochistic streak in him), Mrs.
Heimlich (a suburban matron who
dabbles in child abuse and shopping)and Boldface Headlines (a male soprano dressed in kabuki robes). Add insuch buffoons
as Reverend
J.J.
Newright and Sister Immacula (a takeoff on Jim & Tammy Bakker), Ma
Paddle (a sadistic old bitch who run~an orphanage), and a pederastic Santa
Claus who's tired of groping chicken,
and you'll hav'e some idea why
Foreman staged this opera in "a gymBOOK REVIEW continll8d from page 51

predators themselves: 'And sooner orlater, there they are - at the Greyhoundbus station, waiting to greet the next
busload of farm boys from Peoria."
The authors seem to take a certain
perverse pleasure of their own indelineating stereotypes, such as one
they call the 'Shrill Doll': "The firstthing you'll notice about the Doll is
how stiff he is. Typically, the body isheld, tensely and rigidly, in an unnatural posture reminiscent of department
store mannequins (which, it's worth
noting, are usually designed by gaymen). The posture may be effeminate,with arms akimbo or pinkly aloft, orbizarrely macho, with chin thrust forward, arms held rigidly at the side, andlegs planted apart, as though in the laststages of tetanus.· I'm not making thisstuff up, folks, it's in the book.
The authors' agenda is strikingly
illustrated by the statement that gay
self-hatred
was the problem of a"bygone era,· while today, ·we're confronted by a whole new set of issues,

76

OUT~WEEK

July 3,1989

nasium for crooks."
Wallace's lively and energetic
score reflects today's pop idiom while
Korie's libretto contains such startling
moments as a nun describing how
Reverend Newright "dangled his wang
in my face,' and the Tarnish Brothers(Sterling & Stainless) urging the audience to "slap your neighbor's face andget into the spirit of the show.' There
are plenty of bad puns - "Half girl,half ape, I'm all bent out of shape" and a final chorus which insists that'there's a little Dick in all of us standing tall,·Like Nixon in China, Where's
Dick? was written to be performed
with microphones.
And with goodreason. This is an intensely difficultscore to sing and a fearsome libretto tocommunicate to an audience. Working
with conductor John DeMain, Texas
Opera Theater's ensemble deserves
nothing but kudos for its hard work. I
was particularly impressed by Joyce
Castle's Mrs. Heimlich, Henry Stram's
Junior, Karen McVoy's Fate Spritely,

Cindy Benson's Ma Paddle, Da~1
Henriksen's Reverend Newright andNatalie Oliver's Sister Immacula.
Agelina Reaux (Baby Snowflake),
Consuelo Hill (Chief Blowhard), Randy
Wong (Boldface
Headlines)
andWilbur Pauley's dirty old Santa Claus
added to the fun.
Some people in the audience were
horrified by the society mirrored in
Michael Korie's libretto; others thoughtthat Wallace and Korie's opera was too
pornographic. The hard truth is that
Wbere~ Dick? is no more pornographic
than the 11 o'clock news or the headlines one sees every day in the New
York Past. My own feeling is that thisextremely contemporary piece is a welcome addition to the operatic repertoire
and a long overdue relief from theblandness of too many other newworks. With appropriate cuts, Wbere~
Dick? can and should become a highly
provocative opera which will continue
to outrage and entertain audiences foryears to come. I certainly wish it along and healthy life. 'Y

some of which have to do with ourliking ourselves altogether too much".
Their analysis is that we've brought all
this hatred down on ourselves. Their
program for the future; ditch the dragqueens and conform.· Their statement
that, "The sad truth is that, in real life,
absolute individuality produces only
absolute isolation and absolute loneliness,· stands as the simple and sublime credo of authoritarian oppression
throughout the ages, be it by fascists,
totalitarians or puny little peddlars ofgay self-hate.
The real 'sad truth' is that there
does exist much in the lesbian/gay
community that could stand improvement. The authors' complaint that we
don't sufficiently support our politicaland service organizations is well taken.
Their argument that we need to launcha media campaign to, alter straights'
opinions of us is interesting and could
be usefully explored by more thoughtful writers. There is a great deal of
un faced racism and sexism within ourcommunity, and obviously much to doin the way of lesbian/gay interaction

and solidarity.
But to seriously propose that weshould jettison major portions of ourcommunity as undesirable, and thenturn around and demand that society
accept us, is cynicism in the extreme.
The writers' whole agenda is' fatally
tainted by their seemingly unconscious hypocrisy. For this reviewer,
who discovered a wellspring of gay
meaning, compassion and faithfulness
among men in the trenches of theplague, statements like "Too many gay
men stick together in pairs not forlove, but for sexual convenience: having a ready cock to suck," render theentire argument of After The Ball sadand small and pathetic. 'Y

IIPERFORMANCE continued from paga 55

Reed writes in the program that A
Season in Hell ·should be perceived
as a literary eventj to perform the text
would be a disservice." But so too
are the poems that Reed uses as his
text, among them the most famous of
Rimbaud's. They do not need a production around them, eitherj it would
have been much more theatrical simply to have Byron Suber, who evenlooks like the young Rimbaud, reclining on a sofa reading the poems outloud (perhaps while nibbling at a/bowl of fruit). This is, after all, thepoet who wrote: HOh to be naked
now, seeking peace and sunshine/My
face basking before your glorious
ass/And both of us free to murmur
and moan!"
Perhaps rebelling in .the face of
this Rimbaud, Reed has abstracted
him. The result is strangely disembodied, in a work about a man who

was obsessed with the body. Video
monitors and voices coming out of
speakers are not particularly vivid
devices. The three central performances seemed rather listless andinert, and did little to get the production heated up. But perhaps they felt
trapped by so much lV.
There
are
beautiful
moments-thethree 'Rimbauds inlarge sweeping black opera capes, thetalented singer Marlene Meenard(unfortunately, on video), and Byron
Suber's sly performance of "Le Bateau
Ivre." Reed's ending, with Rimbaud
tangled in a web of LV. tubes whilewater softly trickles over his head,
was moving and apt, and delicately
achieved, If only the rest of the production
had been
as simple.
Rimbaud's verse, like Shakespeare's,
doesn't need the trappings of a production-no real poetry does. It is its
own scenery. T

Bar Rounds

I

CONTROL continued from paga 48

with the blame. Also, if you're theparty who's been put on the defensive,
yours is the choice of tactics. Now is
the time to bring forth all of those little
annoyances you've been saving up forso long. Use the testimony of otherpeople when available, thus maintaining an atmosphereof objectivity.
Remember all of your lover's faults
and past indiscretions O've found thatkeeping a journal is helpful for this).
And if a particular line of defense
strikes a disarming chord in your partner, make a mental note of it for futureuse. Don't go to bed angrYj sleep
somewhere else if need be. And don't
let an argument go on forever (everything loses luster with age)j two weeks
should be an absolute maximum. If,
after that time, you've not reached asolution, just swallow your pride,
declare a stalemate and wait for the
next time. Enjoy your summerl T

Photos: Scott Morgan
MARK at Eighty Eights

PAUL at Julius'
BRIAN and JOE at Clyde's

78

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

TI

OUTWEEK CROSSWORD
DOWN

by Phil Greco
Edited by Gabriel Rotello

2

13

14

6

17

18

10 111

14
17

37
41
44

47

64
68

71
ACROSS
41. Gay documentary__

1. La __
aux Folies
5. Gay play
9. __
hair
14. "__of Livin' to Do"
15. Star in 11 Down
16. Stadium
17. Alexandra del __18. Reed instrument
19. Bucky et al.
20. Warren's novel,
The __(2 wds.)23. Shrimp·
24. Pork dish25. Not pos.
27. Child __31. Actor Vallone
33. Shankar piece
37. Legume
39. __
Khan
40. Kind of sex

80

OUT~WEEK(2wds.)

44. Ireland.45. Nab
46. High-pitched
47. Italian family
48. 20rro, the __Blade
49. Pyromania
50. After Fri.
52. Small bird
54. Self
57. __
Street64. __
Starr
66. Harem rooms
67. Making __68. __
Wilde
69. Hairdo
70. Sign
71. Gertrude __72. Five __Pieces
73. Word with. flag or cat

July 3, 1989

12

13

1. Leg part
2. Winglike
3. Fagbar dancer
4. British school
5. Market
6. Scalp secretion
7. Ferrum
8. Observed
9. CA player
10. Actress Mary
11. Gay play
12. Day __Night
13. The Closet __Show
21. __and Saddles
22. __
Terrible26, Horticulturist
27. Playwright Edward
28. Drinks at Ty's
29. Out of shape
30, The Rollin&-31. Tacky
32. Bygone
34. Saudis
35. Virologist Robert __36. Peter __38. Measurement
42. __
cruise43. Greek muse
51. Baby oak
52. Russian'rulers
53. "__
Party"
54. Love god
55. Essence
56. Fairy tale starter
58. Hitchcock's "gay" film
59. Thought
60. Drip sound
61. __ sexual
62. Daredevil Knievel
63. __ Clair
65. Gay, to Genet

Solutions innextweek!son saleTuesdays

Sports

VolleyballMCAAVolleyball, with 300 people
divided into 32 teams, ·is ·the largest
volleyball organization, gay or straight,
in New York City. Founded sevenyears ago, the league is open to all
lesbians and gays at any level of skilL
The volleyball year is divided into
three seasons, From early June to midSeptember the league holds free play
to which anyone is welcome. Gamesare held each Wednesday
andThursday nigh~ from 7:30 t~111:30 atthe High School for the Humanities,
7th floor, on 18th St between 8th and
9th Avenue. The cost is $5 per night
and there are no membership requirements--just show up and you'll beassigned a team for the night basedon your level of skill.
The formal season begins in
September. Those wishing to join pay
a membership fee (last year it was$70), go through tryouts and drafts
and are then assigned a team for the'durationof the 12-week season.
Teams are ranked in divisions, from
Recreational, up through Intermediate
and Advanced, to Competitive Bandthe highest rank, CompetitiveA.
Teams play within their divisions forthe, season, .ending with an all-day. tournament· at Hunter College inJanuary. The second formal season
begins in February by repeating theprocess, and again the 12-week season en~ in May with another all-day
tournament at Hunter.
After a few weeks off, the league

participates in the North American
Gay Volleyball Association Nationals,
usually around Memorial Day. In addi·tion, the league is host each year to
the Big Apple Tournament in April,
the largest annual 'Iesbian-gay athletic
event in the city, which draws 30
teams from across the U.S. find
Canada.
For further information about the
MCAA Volleyball League, contact
Bruce Kaye, Commissioner, at (212)242-7904. Or better still, show up at
one of their weekly games and try it
out yourself•••
OutWeek is looking for a sports
nut to write our weekly gay and lesbian sports column. Anyone interested
should contact Gabriel Rotello at 212685-6398. T

OutWeek Marches On
No sooner did OutWeek's first edition appear last week
than it showed' up on the picket line, in this case lastTuesday's zap at Forbes Magazine. Activist Marvin
Shulman (left) shows off his very first copy. How many
people in the picture, and the one below, are zapping,how many are reading? There will be a quiz.

Photos: Scott Morgan

82

OUT~WEEK

July 3, 1989

What do YOII thillk
I'illvited YOII here for... COMPANY?