qPDX.com – Queer news, views and events for Portland

Looks like our neighbors to the north might be outdoing us again. And I don’t mean Canada. While Oregon may have just passed Measure 36, a consitutional ban on gay marriage, Washington is expected to declare such “defense of marriage” measures unconstitutional themselves, smoothing the way for same-sex marriages to be introduced. A bit complicated, and, as ever, facing several battles, but certainly a couple steps ahead of us.
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Religious homophobic Baptists are opening a charter school right on our very own liberal Nopo backyard. I’m not sure exactly when character and ethics became school subjects, let alone whole foci for publicly funded charter schools, but it looks like a school dedicated to those very subjects is coming to the Jefferson High School campus. Mount Olivet Baptist Church, one of the primary backers of Ballot Measure 36, has approval to foist their religious beliefs onto minors, with the help of your money. Amidst the many problems of the Portland Public schools, this just does not seem like a good idea and certainly to help in upholding any school non-discrimination policies.
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• Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney says that the needs of children must come before the needs of adults. More like, the needs of politicians and religious agendas above American citizens and children in need.

• If I don’t understand Log Cabin Republicans I really don’t get the whole gay Mormon thing. Hasn’t anyone seen Angels in America?

• Are you saying gay spies are really gossips who can’t keep secrets? Oh, you mean you’re worried we’ll tell the truth about our government?

• Don’t worry, there’s always more.
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This Wednesday sees SmokeLess: an LGBTQ community forum on smoking & secondhand smoke in bars, as part of National LGBT Health Awareness week. A mere 7 day period to recognize the specific health concerns that may affect our community more than others.

Some of the discussion that that the queerportland Livejournal community has brought up used to make a lot of sense to me. I’ve never wanted big business or the government anywhere near regulating my personal freedoms. (Although corporations have always been in the business of exploiting queers and pushing unhealthy products in the name of money…) But really, there’s only one major issue I’ve been unable to ignore. Bar workers. I really can’t see how a bartender or cocktail waittress who wished not to be around smoke could not be at a disadvantage in this already tough job market. And I’ve never been fond of exploiting workers wither. I welcome your thoughts.

SmokeLess is Wednesday, March 15
Studio 1050, 1050 SE Water
Free before 9pm, $5-10 sliding scale after 9pm
Doors open 6pm, community forum 7-9 pm, performances 9pm-midnight
tabling by LGBTQ and/or health-based organizations
a town-hall style community discussion about smoking and secondhand smoke in bars aimed at reaching LGBTQ bar owners, performers and event planners,
performances by local LGBTQ artists, including Ashleigh Flynn
open to the general public, all-ages
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I didn’t know it would be this bad. Ah, the proud state of Oregon…

Thanks, Towleroad, for paying attention to the boonies up in the PacNW here.
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It’s about time we recognized that there are, indeed, all kinds of relationships out there. There is a lot of hurt and confusion surrounding marriages that didn’t work out due to a partner’s infidelity upon realizing same sex attractions. Michelle Williams did an excellent job of making me feel the shocking loss upon seeing her hubby snog a fellow cowpoke. But gay men’s marriages to women are not always a sham, nor do they necessarily always end in divorce. Well, maybe they are shams in our traditional view of the institution of marriage, or if you’re a big closeted movie star, but Queerty has clued me in to today’s New York Times article on what they are calling “Brokeback Marriages.”

Firstly, it implies that in a culture more open to males exploring their sexuality, men might be better equipped to decide if marriage to a woman is what they really want, before the commitment rings are slipped on. This, though important it realize, is apparent. What I find more interesting is what it goes on to say.

There might be reasons for couples to stay together. Firstly, many really do love each other. It may be platonic or still have sexual elements. Now, I ain’t all about the couple with the monogamous wife and freewheeling husband from the article. Sounds too much like regular straight married life to me. But there can be all sorts of arrangements. To live out a promise of growing old with your closest friend, or perhaps a couple stays together for stability and financial reasons, as well as love. An important queer lady in my life had a very happy marriage to a gay man. Their love was strong and, though both primarily preferred partners of their own gender, it was certainly not a sexless marriage. They shared a happy, well-made bed. After his death, she continues to handle his finances and donate to numerous to queer, queer-friendly, and arts charities that his family might have otherwise overlooked. They took care of each other then, and they do now, gay as they may be.
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Oh, you know the annihilation of gender has really begun with a lesbian can be homecoming king. Beating out three “real” men for the honor, 21-year-old senior Jennifer Jones will wear the crown. The boys, being upset from their position of power, are of course furious, whining that other boys won’t want to participate in the future. Maybe they just thought they had a better chance at a school that is a mere 11% male and only went co-ed 4 years ago. Sorry lads, you still have real competition.
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Needless to say I’m disappointed. And I have to reiterate my feeling ever waning enthusiasm. The show, even my treasured Jon Stewart, was rather bland, and the queers didn’t quite sweep like we thought they would last night. Yes, Philip Seymour Hoffman took Best Actor and Brokeback Mountain heralded Best Director as well as a few more minor categories. But Felicity Huffman did not pull a Hilary Swank with her trans performance and the cowboys ultimately lost the big prize to Crash. I am disappointed that Brokeback lost, not to a brilliant portrayal of Truman Capote or a sad look at the price of revenge, but to a film with an engaging topic, though not a particularly well-crafted story. Looks like the Academy is not as ground-breaking and forward-thinking as we thought. Another theory is that those who may have voted either Brokeback or Capote were split, leaving those with the less courageous Crash vote to triumph. Can anyone say Ralph Nader?
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My my but if there isn’t even more drama surrounding my favorite queer-hustler-done-good for himself writer JT Leroy. A mere two months ago it was revealed that the acclaimed Leroy was actually a married middle-class woman in her 30s named Laura Albert. This occurred right in the midst of all kinds of literary memoir scandal ala James Frey, Nasdijj, et al. But it looks as if Miss Albert might still find herself in the spotlight, even without hiding behind the mask of a beautiful and talented shy boy in sunglasses. A picture deal is already in the works.

To read all about the confusion, my thoughts and feelings of love, betrayal, forgiveness and trust, take a gander at this post from January.
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While I can’t personally imagine going through such an operation in my 70s, more power to you teacher-lady. I’m glad you didn’t have to add jobless-ness to your current list of difficult changes. I mean, isn’t it hard enough just living in New Jersey?
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