Letters to the Editor
Trans
Info
Besides IFGE there is The National
Center for Trangender Equality – lots of info on an online newsletter.
I'm not sure if it would be of interest but Helen Boyd, author of My
Husband Betty, is coming to The New York State Museum auditorium
Nov. 12 at 7 pm. She was a nominee for the 2005 Lambda Literary award.
Her message resonates with all people on the trangendered spectrum.
Beverly Lane
Via the Internet
Judging Leahy's Politics
Senator Leahy of Vermont has announced
before voting that he will vote for Judge Roberts to be named to the Supreme
Court of the United States. Judge Roberts avoided answering many of the
questions put to him by the Judicial Committee by saying that he did not
want to comment on any cases that may come before the Supreme Court while
he is on it.
He didn't mention, nor apparently has Leahy
mentioned or asked about Judge Roberts' involvement with a case he judged
as part of an appellate panel. The case regarded the inmates at the Guantanamo
facility. After the appellate panel overturned a judge’s verdict
that military needs to court-martial the inmates if they are prisoners
of war or try them in civilian court if they are not the case was appealed.
It was appealed to the Supreme Court where it appears that Judge Roberts
will need to rule on whether or not to overturn his own overturning of
another judge's decision.
But that's not all. It doesn't seem
to bother Senator Leahy that Judge Roberts worked closely with the meddling
Kenneth Starr. The only reason that Senator Leahy hasn't spoken about
these items must be political. As things go in Washington perhaps the
President promised Senator Leahy he would get a more reasonable choice
to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.
But why is Senator Leahy making a
deal about his personal politics? He was voted in to serve Vermont. When
the time came for action he caved in.
Alfred Brock
Canton, MI
No Stereotype
Just read your article about the gay stereotype
(OITM August, 2000, "Books and Their Covers: Examining the
Gay Stereotype" by Larry Rudiger, via our online archive), and I
must admit that although it striked on some strings, being gay does not
take away the masculinity; neither [does] being gay add effeminate behavior.
What is apparent is just a man liking/loving
another man. I have a partner for over three years and we are both rather
emotional but not in any way effeminate. And the favorite quote from a
friend is if "I wanted a woman I would get a woman." Men can
be sensitive and yet be masculine.
I think the definition of masculinity
gets a knee jerk reaction from the masses when they see an otherwise masculine
or straight looking man kissing another guy. There is this sense of hysteria,
an overwhelming sense of disgust for such "abnormal or deviant"
behavior. I think there are harsher things in this society than two men
kissing that ought to raise more eyebrows.
But we wrap ourselves in this notion of
what a man must be and we seldom look the other way to perhaps consider
that there maybe alternatives to this otherwise obvious definition. Just
like every straight man is not macho and a man's man, every gay man is
not effeminate either. In fact a lot of gay men that I run into would
be considered straight by every scale.
So then what makes a man masculine? Is being
able to bed numerous women somehow induc[ing] this macho gene into every
man that then raises their standing in the straight society? Or is every
gay man going to be looked with disgust because he is gay and hence not
masculine? Why do we hold such stereotypes when so many of us do not fit
the mold?
Isaac Asimov
San Francisco, CA
Isaac Asimov is writing under a pseudonym for reasons he kept to himself.
Good Ad
I am writing this letter to anyone
needing good advertising. I have been advertising with Out in the
Mountains for a year now. I have found many in our community want
to support our businesses. In my case I remodel homes, and clients tell
me they enjoy knowing who they have in their most private part of their
life makes them feel safer. Some just like supporting each other. I had
a client who needed emergency work on their home but was too afraid to
call just anyone out of fear. For three years she risked injury to herself
and more expense to her home from lack of attention to this problem.
My point is, not only does it make
good business sense to advertise in this newspaper, it also gives some
living in fear a safe place they can call to get services that some of
us take for granted. I don’t advertise much, but I find my return
for my investment in Out In The Mountains gives me a-better return
than any other media I have used. It only makes sense.
Our community in Vermont is a tight-knit
one. Give people a place they feel safe. Give our community unity by supporting
each other. Eighty percent of my business is GLBT clients. Most of which
found me in this newspaper. When IBM and many other large corporations
are finding business sense-in catering to diversity, it only makes sense
for those in these groups to target our market as well. Do something great
for your business while strengthening our community. No one paid me for
this letter nor provoked me to write this. I just wanted to share my experience
as an advertiser to others in my community and our allies because if we
share what works, we as a glbt community all make out.
April Villemaire, President
April's Home Improvement, Inc.
April Villemaire is a member of the Mountain Pride Media Board of
Directors.
Misunderstanding?
Thanks so much for your continuing
hard work to provide the Veront community with a high quality publication
focused on the glbtq community. We're lucky to have Out in the Mountains.
Thanks for your recent article covering
UVM's recognition of a Canadian civil marriage between two Vermont men
("UVM Recognizes Canadian Marriage," OITM October, 2005). I'm
afraid I may have been misunderstood, and I apologize for my lack of clarity.
The article implies that UVM's position
is at odds with public positions taken by our attorney general. That's
not my understanding of our attorney general‘s position.
When asked what I would say if our attorney
general did take a position counter to UVM's, I said, "He would be
positioning himself outside the mainstream." The way the article
reads, it suggests that our attorney general [William Sorrell] has actually
taken such a position – and I am not aware that he has – and
that I said he is, in fact, positioning himself outside the mainstream.
I don't believe that to be the case. I am anxious to clear up the record
on this point.
Thanks much.
Beth Robinson
Langrock Sperry & Wool
I apologize for not appreciating or communicating clearly the nuances,
and thanks for the detailed explanation. – Ed.
Correction
Last month an ad (fully labeled as
a paid advertisement) was placed directly under the news header on page
2 in error. While it was clear that it was advertising, the header should
have been moved to prevent any confusion.
At Witt's End by Leah Wittenberg
