Letters to the Editor
Identity
and Orientation Separate Issues
This is in response to Lynn McNicol’s call for a new way of describing
ourselves (OITM, June ‘06). I agree that neither the alphabet soup
of “LGBTIQQA” nor “queer” serves us well. Part
of the problem is that we’re looking at two aspects of personality
- sexual orientation on the one hand, and gender identity and expression
on the other - that don’t necessarily have anything to do with each
other. Most LGBs don’t identify as transgendered, and some transsexuals
consider themselves completely straight within their preferred gender.
It would be good if our terminology recognized this distinction.
A second issue is that the gay
or lesbian/bisexual/straight model is inadequate and outmoded. It assumes
that there are only two sorts of people to be attracted to, and two sorts
of people to be attracted. This is fine if you consider yourself a conventional
man or woman and take it for granted that the rest of the world also fits
into one of those two categories.
However, anyone who reads this newspaper
even occasionally knows that there are many genders, and many ways of
expressing them. The G-L/B/S model breaks down when confronted by relationships
in which one or both partners are transgendered and/or physically ambiguous.
The L-G/B/S model has its usefulness
and is well entrenched, but I’m hopeful that as we recognize its
limitations, and the transgendered and intersex communities gain recognition,
more accurate and practical terms will emerge.
Evan Lawrence
Cambridge, NY
Big Tobacco Won’t Give Up
As the coordinator of the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Vermont, I work
with certain realities everyday in the course of my work.
I know that in spite of Vermont’s
excellent Tobacco Control Program, smoking rates for queer youth and adults
in Vermont are much higher than the state average.
I also know that for small nonprofits
in Vermont, operating budgets are tight, grants are scarce, and valuable
work sometimes cannot continue because the funds just aren’t there
to support it. Finally, I know that despite claims to the contrary, the
tobacco industry has not changed. Big Tobacco continues to market new
highly addictive, death- and disease-causing products to Vermont adults
and youth every day, and they continue to fight tobacco control legislation
in Vermont, every time it comes up!
I am not surprised to hear that RJ
Reynolds has been targeting Out in the Mountains as a desirable place
to advertise its products. In fact, despite OITM’s commitment to
not accept advertising dollars from big tobacco to date, RJ Reynolds continues
to ask OITM over and over again to place their ads in its pages. And why
wouldn’t they? With high smoking rates, Vermont’s queer community
represents a lucrative market, and OITM is a respected source that the
queer population trusts. And, even scarier, since OITM is a valuable resource
that is distributed to colleges and youth programs, big tobacco could
access an impressionable and already at risk youth market by advertising
in OITM. Studies show that youth are much more responsive than adults
to tobacco marketing.
The Coalition for a Tobacco Free Vermont
understands OITM’s struggle to secure sustainable revenue sources.
And we applaud OITM for declining to accept tobacco industry dollars to
date. The tobacco industry spends an estimated $100,000 per day in Vermont
to market their products - roughly six times that of Vermont’s tobacco
control program budget. Big tobacco companies like RJ Reynolds invest
significant resources to determine who their key markets are and where
they should spend their advertising dollars. This is why they continue
to approach OITM even though it has repeatedly declined their offers in
the past!
Targeting small, local media is yet
another way that big tobacco gets around increasingly strict regulations
around tobacco advertising.
And, these companies are turning to
new, more ‘creative’ advertising schemes like supporting the
Miss Teen-America pageants, developing new youthoriented products like
fruit-flavored cigarettes, and rolling out hip, trendy, graffiti artist-inspired
promotions to market their new products to youth.
The Coalition for a Tobacco
Free Vermont urges OITM to continue to say “no” to Big Tobacco
and to protect queer Vermonters from the tobacco industry’s ongoing,
underhanded marketing efforts.
Nicole Lukas,
Coordinator, Coalition for a Tobacco Free Vermont
Williston
Vermont Needs Venue of Gay Solidarity
Last week my partner and I made our yearly trip to Stowe, where he has
maintained a timeshare for over 20 years. One of the events we were anticipating
eagerly was the Pride in Burlington. In preparation, we went to Burlington
earlier in the week, hoping to get more details at Pearl’s. We parked
across the street, and ate at a cafe on Church St., expecting to visit
Pearl’s after dinner. Of course, as we discovered, there was no
activity at the bar. Surprised, we drove back to Stowe - where we finally
found your newspaper - and the news that Pearl’s was closed. I found
it incredibly ironic that the front page news was shared with the story
of the governor’s veto of transgender rights.
Frankly, I was not at all surprised:
the two stories most certainly go hand-in-hand. Gay rights were earned
through the tireless work of many, many people in all states. However,
by the mere fact that the gay population of Vermont cannot sustain one
bar in the state is a tacit admission of weakness in the gay community
- like it or not. And it would only follow that opportunists, like your
Republican governor, would seize that moment of weakness to pounce - and
attempt to reverse the progress that has been made.
Surely I am aware that the real, inclusive
gay community goes well beyond the bar scene; however, it is important
to have one showcase of unity for all to see. I would hope that SOMEONE
in Vermont is able to reopen a venue of gay solidarity in Vermont.
It need not be merely a bar: many
gay bars here in Connecticut have survived by adding cafes, which have
provided good, reasonable food for those who would not care to limit their
socializing to drinking.
I hope your entire community unites
on this issue, and does not become blase, as seems to be the case of many
who were interviewed for the Pride article in the newspaper Seven Days.
I wish you all luck!
Stephen M. Martin
Meriden, CT
Editor’s Note: Fortunately for members of our community, a number
of people have been busy organizing new gathering places and venues. Please
see the article about Queer Social Space on page 3, and check out the
Community Compass for the new location of Womyn’s Night.
Press Missed Real Story
Most notable about this year’s Pride was the lack of press coverage
of our legislative priority: the gender identity and non discrimination
bill. Simultaneously, messages of divisiveness seemed to be the theme
in the media covering Pride, topped off with false accusations about Freedom
to Marry members regarding their contributions to the community and passing
this bill.
For nearly two years, TransAction,
a small group of committed organizations and community members, have joined
together to ensure that Vermonters are not discriminated against based
on their gender identity and sexual expression. The Vermont Freedom to
Marry Task Force is one of the organizations that worked diligently to
pass this bill. VFMTF dedicated two weeks of staff time to help TransAction
respond to the governor’s veto, and activated its members throughout
the state to contact their legislators, to write letters to the editor
and to educate others about the importance of this bill. VFMTF’s
members, board and staff have contributed greatly to the success of the
gender identity bill and we applaud their contributions.
Other members of TransAction include
the R.U.1.2. Queer Community Center, Safe Space, OutRight Vermont, and
several community members. Each organization has organized its volunteers,
communities, and board members to focus on passing the gender identity
and non-discrimination bill. With a combination of our work and thanks
to many throughout the community who have acted when we have asked you
to, it passed this year with tri partisan support. We remain disappointed
by the governor’s disgraceful veto, however, this has only made
us stronger. We will continue to work together to ensure that we win so
that all GLBT individuals are treated equally.
As we prepare for the next legislative
session, we urge you to join us. Email any of the organizations of TransAction
to find out how you can help.
Together, we can win!!!
Members of TransAction including Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force,
R.U.1.2? Queer Community Center, SafeSpace, and OutRight Vermont
Student Government Association Also Sponsored Ad
In July’s Out in the Mountains, a number of University of Vermont
offices sponsored an ad celebrating LGBT community and pride. Inadvertently,
the Student Government Association (SGA) was left off the ad. Please know
that the SGA joined with 33 other UVM departments and groups in sponsoring
this ad and supporting LGBT peoples. Our apologies for this mistake.
Dorothea Brauer and Eli Clare
LGBTQA Services
University of Vermont
Correction
Martin Hyatt wrote A Scarecrow’s Bible, which was reviewed
in the July issue of OITM.