Pilranc CONFESSIONS: an Interview with the Lesbian Folksinging Phenomenon Hshanghaied I" He Groaned
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PIlRANC CONFESSIONS: An Interview WIth The Lesbian Folksinging Phenomenon HShanghaied I" he groaned. "My head-!" c»'" ..... c.Rs ChipDuckettpresents MARS NEEDSMEN/Sunday Nights at Mars/Dancing / Go-Go Boys / Drag Queens / Live Bands 7 OJ's Michael Connolly, Larry Tee, Perfidia & John Suliga/West Side Highway and 13th Street 9PM~4AM ,THEART$ , Film (Breaking In) 54 Music (Melissa Etheridge) 55 COP Art (Plauto) QUAKE: 56 Complete Books (Sure of You) 58 San Books (Bedrooms Haw Winm) 60 Francisco Coverage, page 12. Political Science (Harrington) 30 On the cover: Phranc, photographed by Maria Perez. makeup by Ronald Rivera Positive Alternatives (Lederer) 32 AIDS Treatnx:nt News Games) 36 DEPARTMENTS Outspoken (Editorial) 4 FEATURES letters 6 Sotomayor 6 Stonewall Rias (Natalie) 8 Victoria Starr Chats With The lesbian First Lady Of Folk 38 Xeroxed 9 Nightmare of the Week 9 Dykes To Watch Out For (BechdeD 10 Adam Block Interviews Armistead Maupin As He Launches Sure Of You, The Last In His Tales Of The City Herstory (Archives Collective) 34 Series 42 Out Of Control (Day) 35 Lookout 46 Out Of My Hands (Ball) 48 Gossip Watch (Signorile) 49 Social Terrorism (Conrad) 50 Best Bets (X) 63 Going Out Calendar (X) 64 Community Directory 66 Bar Guide 68 Classifteds 71 BEVERLY HILLS, Personals 76 photo by Bill Bytsura HQtshot (Conrad) 88 Crossword (Greco) 90 Sydney Pokorny Confirms The Vicious Rumor: "j Am A lesbo Drag Hag" 52 Vote 'No' on the .Ne~ City Charter An integral aspect of the charter reform before the voters this fall is to guarantee representation to the diverse groups which comprise New York. This will be done primarily by redrawing electoral districts to reflect the social realities of neighborhoods. Under the proposed new charter the city will anempt to create districts which keep intact a neighborhood's natural cohesiveness, based on "historical, racial, economic, ethnic and religious" considerations. The city will be obligated to create districts keeping these criteria in mind: that obligation is wrinen into the new charter. What is not written into the charter is the obligation to keep sexual orientation in mind. The charter commission rejected our community's appeal to do so, and we should reject their charter in return. -, One of the lasting shames of New York's lesbian and gay community has been our continued inability to elect openly gay candidates to the City Council. Despite the enormous size and potential power of our community, we have failed where ~ny smaller cities have already succeeded. But it's not entire- ly our fault. Our electoral districts are larger than most coun- tries' parliamentary districts, and often cross and divide established gay neighborhoods. The only permanent solution is to redraw district lines to create lesbian and gay districts. When FAIRPACtestified to this effect before the Charter Revision Commission, they were politely told that if sexual orientation were included in the final draft it would probably never win approval. FAIRPAC'sclout with the commission was not bolstered when only 12 people showed up at a com- munity forum to discuss the issue. So after the long list of legiti!nate groups with protected status, the new charter lists the word "other" which refers to us. Now, apparently, we are not only the love, but also the constituency, that dare not speak its name . This is wrong on two counts. One, there is no guarantee that this little deal will be respected when the time to redistrict comes along. There is no recourse for us if those charged with redrawing district lines simply choose to ignore us, which they may well do. And two, it is unendurably insulting for homo- sexuals in New York City to be considered an unmentionable group 20 years after Stonewall. Until we demand equal treat- ment with other legitimate minorities we will never recieve it, and we won't deserve it. Gays and lesbians do tend to live in certain neighbor- hoods, and our vote i$ noted, though rarely acknowledged, by pollsters and politicans. We .can send a strong and simple message to those who think we're too apathetic orpreoccu- pied to care about this nasty insult by voting 'no' on the new charter. We must learn to demand what we deserve: a seat at the table .• 4 OUT.WEEJ< October 29. 1989 IF YOU EARN IT, WHY NOT KEEPIT - ALL 100% OF IT? You can with an investment in a New York Tax-Exempt Income Fund. And you get safety, affordability and liquidity too. 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I NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE --------~~--------ZIP TELEPHONE - HOME BUSINESS CHRISTOPHER STREET FINANCIAL, INC. 80 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005 Mpmn('r :,p{ uritl(',lnvP'-olo( Protpctu>o ('orporc1trnn ---------------------------------------------- OUTTWEEK 5 slight Increases In T4 cell tant, these are controllable LETTERS counts. Since Compound Q factors. Harrington seems to is thought to work by killing feel the recent Q trial fell only AIDS-infected cells, it is short in these areas, yet he very encouraging to see does not follow through by QOutrage drug-related, which did not increases of any magnitude Justifying his intimations. He I was angered by Mark appear uniformly across in T4 cells during this very insidio~y salutes the bravery Harrington's slanted and patients, and many of which short study. In other words, of all those Involved in the dangerous views on unoffi- were transient) while virtually assumIng Compound Q trial, foiling to acknowledge cial AIDS drug trials, and on ignoring the impressive array does kill off a significant seg- that Information and access Compound Q in particular, of Q's potential benefits. ment of one's T4cell popula- to drugs, not hollow praise as expressed in 'Compound These benefits, published tion, immune system and platitudes, ae the keys Q & A' (Political Science, by the pincipal investigators reconstitution is greater than to closing this nightmarish October 8). of one arm of the trial, before-and-after T4 cell chapter of history. Harrington, who sounds include dramatic increases counts would imply. Thanks to this unofficial more like an FDA bureaucrat in white blood counts Harrington extends his trial, we have begun to build than an advocate for the among all patients, sharp poorly substantiated criti- a body of valuable knowl- HIV-infected, is fixated for decreases in both percent- cisms to unofficial drug trials edge on Compound Q that some reason on denouncing ages of HIV-infected in general. He explores new did not exist a few months both Compound Q and the macrophages and p24 anti- dimensions in over-caution, ago. Thisvalue will soon dissi- recently completed unoffi- gen levels (not slight outlining a laundry list of rea- pate, however, unless we cial Q trial. He feels no com- changes as Harrlngotn sons future unofficial trials rapidly develop a more punction about ascribing to wrongly states), marked may not be a good idea. complete understanding of this drug a daunting list of reductions in size of enlarged While good patient care, the the drug's real benefits and health problems identified lymph nodes, improved ability to collect useable dangers. Over the last sever- during the trial (problems appetites, increased energy data, and well-represented al years, AIDS drugs like which mayor may not be levels, weight gains and patient groups are all impor- Compound Q that were dU~ll~'NKOF IT T~ISWAY ., roL BRING IN MORf. BVSlNESS I = --./-~. , / 6 OUT~WEEK October 29, 1989 either discovered or devel- the many Challenges pre- it, some people are never oped outside the laborato- sented by AIDS. happy. God knows we all ries from inadequate clinical I was pleased to see this have problems. Which is why testing (Peptide T may be piece in OutWeek, consider- I am writing to you. I have a the best example). In order ing it might confuse and problem, which isto sa{ that to ensure that Compound Q anger some readers, and risk it isn't really my problem, it is not share this fate, we must the call for a boycott. simply a problem that I demand answers to the It was quite exciting to would like to mention to your many questions that still sur- see the recent response to readership. Your readership round this drug. We should "science by pressrelease" as being, from my observation, even b~ pr9pQred to move in the recent Times hype, a diverse group of very forward with additional "AlJ proven to be helpful for groovy fags and dykes. It is "underground" testing healthy seropositives." Many is very much a male-domi- more specifically to the should our government not of the complaints came nated industry. There is a groovy fags that I would like respond quickly and com- from M.D.'s and scientists comparatively small number to address my problem.