Mission:
OUTstanding Amarillo promotes empowerment and acceptance of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender population of the Texas Panhandle by initiating dialogue, providing education, and creating support systems with the ultimate goal of social change.
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NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE - JUNE, 1999
PRIDE '99 PLANNED FOR JUNE 21-26
For the second year in a row, OUTstanding Amarillo is coordinating efforts for Amarillo's annual Gay Pride celebration. Local events start June 21 and will continue through Saturday, June 26, the day of the Gay Pride picnic at Thompson Park. Activities planned for the week include: Movie nights: Monday through Friday, June 21 to 25, a social will be held at Stage Right's new location, 4418 Washington (corner of 45th and Washington), to feature a pansexual (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered) themed video. The social will start at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 9 p.m. on Friday.
Marsha Stevens Concert: The Metropolitan Community Church of Amarillo (MCCA) will host a concert with noted lesbian singer Marsha Stevens at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 25.Pride Picnic: The flagship of Pride Week will continue to be the picnic to be held at Thompson Park on Saturday, June 26, starting at 12 noon and continuing throughout the afternoon. It will be at the same site as the 1998 picnic. Look for rainbow flags.
Carnival: As in years past, MCCA will provide a carnival at the picnic which will include horseback rides, a bean bag toss, a cotton candy machine, a ring toss and more.
Volleyball Tournament: A new addition for 1999 will be a volleyball tournament including teams from various Amarillo bars. Many bars will also offer special Pride week performances Saturday night after the picnic.
In keeping with OUTstanding Amarillo's effort to provide a safe environment for youth, those planning to attend the picnic are asked to maintain a drug free and alcohol temperate (no drunkenness and no alcohol for minors) environment.
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Community Calendar
Anyone wanting to include listings in the calendar can call 356-9600.
June 21 to 26 -- Pride Week, Movie nights Monday through Friday starting at
7:30 Monday- Thursday and at 9 p.m. on Friday
June 25 -- Marsha Stevens Concert, MCC, 7 p.m.
June 26 -- Gay Pride Picnic, Thompson Park
July 23 -- OUTstanding social, Stage Right, 7:30
June 27 -- Miss Gay Amarillo Pageant with special guest, Miss Gay Texas USA,
Layla LaRue, 9 p.m. at Club 212
Ongoing:
PFLAG -- Second Thursday of every month, 7 p..m., call 358-4810 for
information
OUTstanding Board Meeting -- First Thursday of every month
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Guest editorial ...
LGBT Pride: What Does It Mean to You?
(by Dr. Jeffrey Chernin)
As this is the time of LGBT pride, I did some reflecting on what pride means. I started by looking up the term "pride" in the dictionary. The first definition of pride is: A sense of one’s own proper dignity or value; self-respect, and the last definition for pride is: A flamboyant or impressive group.
Although the seeds of LGBT pride were sown by homophile organizations in the 1950s and 1960s, Stonewall heralded the gay liberation movement. The Stonewall Inn is a bar in New York which at the time was often frequented by crossdressers—a flamboyant and impressive group. The patrons were routinely harassed and feared arrest by the police, as did thousands of other lesbians and gay men across the country.
One particular night in 1969—and questions remain as to why it was this particular night but student activism spread to the streets. Judy Garland had just died and the mood in the gay community was sullen. One drag queen decided she had had enough. While being arrested at the Stonewall, she resisted by hitting a cop on the head with one of her high heels. She gave other gay people at the bar the courage to fight back, and they cornered the cops, who had to, literally, barricade themselves in the bar. Riots ensued, and they lasted for days. Newspapers around the country gave various levels of coverage as a bunch of “queers” fought back.
Because these drag queens finally stopped feeling ashamed and started experiencing pride, the Stonewall riot was the first major steppingstone to what has become known as LGBT pride. The fact that it started at a “Stonewall” is ironic. When you think of being in the closet, the walls are made out of stone, and there are walls between you and other people. So, when you come out of the closet, you initially feel relief, and ultimately proud to be who you are.
We have a right to feel proud about overcoming the obstacles we have faced to come out. We can feel good about maintaining self-respect and dignity in the face of people who hate us just for being LGBT. We can feel pride about being ourselves when just being ourselves is a risky venture. As a community, we have come out in huge numbers, thanks in part to raw courage, assisted by brave, public LGBT people leading the way. The Bryants, Helms, and Falwells of the world helped as well. The latter group helped us by forcing us to become organized, determined, and fearless, as well as proving to middle America, through their absurd comments and hate-filled actions, that we are not the people they have painted us to be. Over the years, we have co-opted the words of homophobic individuals and proclaimed it for ourselves—Queer.
Although we have a lot to be proud about, we have yet to come to terms as a community with the last few stone walls. If we could get through these last stumbling blocks, we would have the right to complete and total pride.
The first challenge is to consider is that many smaller cities and towns are still in a pre-Stonewall era. Many people who live in large cities take for granted what some LGBT people struggle with on a daily basis. If you live in a small city or town, as I do, it is up to us to publicly confront homophobia where we find it—both outside and within the LGBT community. Another hurdle to overcome is the continual drum beat of why a particular group is worse than our own group or why a particular individual is _____ (fill in the mean-spirited blank). Many gay men disparage lesbians, many lesbians belittle gay men, and individuals in both groups put down drag queens, overweight individuals, ethnic minorities, older people—and heterosexuals.
The only reason I can think of for putting other people down is that when we don’t feel good about ourselves, we try to elevate ourselves over others. Therefore, this LGBT pride day, the day which commemorates a group of fed-up drag queens who set the wheels in motion for our level of freedom today, I’m going to rededicate myself to overcoming my own prejudices. I ask you to join me, to realize that every lesbian, gay male, bisexual, and transgendered life is precious. I’m not going to let mean-spirited comments by friends and family members slide by any more, and I am going to silence myself when those thoughts well up in me. I ask you to join me in recognizing that our personal well-being is influenced by the health of our community, and the more respect we have for all members of the LGBT community, the healthier each of us will be.
I’m going to ask every reader to join me in considering perhaps the biggest challenge—to not hate those who hate us, to recognize that every homophobe is also a precious human life. Concentration camp survivor Victor Frankl once said that prisoners in the camps died only once, but the guards died every time they shouted an order at one of the prisoners. This LGBT pride day and beyond, I’m going to recognize that Fred Phelps and people like him continue to die on a daily basis, and I am going to look past their hatred of us and into the humanity that is buried beneath what surely began as self-hatred, knowing that even the hardest of hearts can been softened. On this LGBT pride gay, I’m inviting you to remember how strong, beautiful, and powerful you are, and that no matter what, no one can touch your spirit. You have the right to feel proud—not just for being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transsexual, but to know that surviving to this day is a triumph.
Editorial note: Jeffrey Chernin, Ph.D. is an author, workshop facilitator, and psychotherapist in Carmel, California. He can be reached at Cheson@AOL.com.
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Theatrical Reviews
(By Cedric G. Asberry
Contributing Writer)
If you decided to skip out on the male review May 2 at Club 212, don't let curiosity and regret get the best of you ... everyone else missed out on a show as well!!!
The performing group, "The Headliners," decided to be "no-shows." The customers were quite disappointed, including "yours truly," but we couldn't have been any more disappointed than David or Kevin, or the others working in Club 212 that night.
However, all was not lost -- the owners satisfied all the disappointed customers with "Happy Hour" drink specials all night long! We didn't have the opportunity to satisfy our "erotic desires," but we had the opportunity to socialize and have fun nonetheless. Kevin and David, again, extend their apologies ... but don't miss-out on all the other spectacular events at Club 212.
AN EVENING AT STAGE RIGHT (by Kay C. Peck, editor OUTspoken)
When Stage Right first housed OUTstanding Amarillo's monthly movie nights, it was an introduction for some in the pansexual community to a whole new source of entertainment. Stage Right, located at 45th and Washington, offers live theater in its purest form ... directed, produced, acted and viewed by those who love the performing arts.
During a recent performance of "Steel Magnolias," I gained my first taste of Stage Right in its full element. Amarillo, and especially the city's pansexual community, has a precious jewel hiding in the form of a small, community theater that encourages dramatic performances that are of, by and for the people.
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