1982_12 The Daily Collegian December 1982

              ===== Focus-
Homosexuality:
By Richard Lonti
Fresno's gay community is
inconspicous, but not passive
| he gey community of Fresno is
■ inconspicuous, but that lack of
I visability does not mean it is pas
1 Isl'.V
"As an organization we want to be seen,"
said Richard Stone, a board member of Gay
United Services in Fresno "As individuals,
most gay people don't want to be seen."
Through groups like Gay United Ser¬
vices, the imperial Court and Gay Re
sources Organization, Fresno's gays raise
monies for numerous charities. More impor
tant than fund raising, the gay organizations
want to raise people's awareness about
homosexuality and debunk the stereotype.
In a conservative town like Fresno, however, visibility
can cause problems for gays. Yet Stone said he appears
on programs like KJEO's "A.M. Show" because of peo
pie such as Anita Bryant who "made us realize we had to
stand up and declare our rights that there were people
trying io take them away "
During a march to Sacramento in the spring of 1980,
Stone said, "Something got lit inside me This hope that
somehow we've got strength "
Stone described the attacks on gay rights by govern
mental and religious groups as the "galvanization" of the
gay movement
iince that march, Stone has appeared on local televi
—n in two segments ol "The Baxters" and on the "AM
Show " He has also held several news conferences
Stone said he makes those appearances because "it's
■""xirtant people know we exist, know who we are.  see
is people."
But in a town like Fresno, there are problems the gay
community has io be aware of," Stone said.
"In this city, the gay community is seen as controver¬
sial." he said. "It's a conservative town; not just for gay
people, but for everyone.
"Two businesses denied us the use of their services.
They were afraid there would be flack (from the com¬
munity)," Stone said. He didn't want to elaborate
further on the specifics of the situation, hoping the
matter could be resolved through negotiations.
Not all straight-business repercussions from associat
ing with the gay community, said Mona Jenkins, vice-
president of Gay United Serices
"The straight community is realizing that there's a hell
What's important is
achieving intimacy.
Sometimes it happens to
be someone of your gender.'
of a market in the gay community," she said.
Jenkins noted that when Fresno's gay rights publica
tion Front Runner began three years ago, its staff had
to actively solicit advertisers. Now the advertisers call
Gay businesses in Fresno also have to keep the same
low profile as members of the gay community, said one
gay Fresno businessman
"Most gay businessmen don't advertise being gay
because it's not relevant to their business," he said.
Fears ol vandalism and loss of sales also prevent
businesses from advertising that they cater to gays.
Gays know what those businesses are so there is very
little advertising outside the gay community.
Incidents of people driving by Fresno's four gay bars
and yelling obscenities are not uncommon. But other
vocal objections by members of the straight community
have had a hidden positive effect, according to the gay
businessman.
"Anita Bryant was the best thing that ever happened
to the gay liberation movement," he said. "The media
took notice. Visibility is important to an activist."
Both the businessman and Stone agreed that the
"limp-wristed swish" and the "super-macho gay" are the
exceptions and not the rule.
"The misconceptions are all the stereotypes," Stone
said. "What we'd like is that people stop thinking stereo¬
typical. The way that happens is that people meet us as
individuals.
"The only difference we have," Stone continued, "is
sexual preference."
That difference, however, can cause a lot of problems
for someone who is gay. Most gay people do not publicly
come out of the closet. Stone said, because "people are
afraid of losing their jobs.. No one wants to heap abuse
upon themself."
That view was shared by "Brian", who runs the
Bi/Gay Association of Fresno, a phone referral service.
"Community-wise, there's a lot of pressure against
anyone who is openly gay," he said. "I cannot put on a
T-shirt that says 'Gay is Beautiful,' walk through
Fashion Fair, and not expect to be stoned from behind
by some cowboy" Although he hasn't found Fresno
to be openly hostile toward gay people, Brian said he
has received a few crank calls.
One person that called Brian requested that he
"come to the Free Speech area so 1 can hit you." Most
people who call, though, are either from out of town or
just curious, Brian said. ■'•  "- 5 ■
The Women's Studies Program also receives calls
from gay members of the community, said former secre-
tary Kris Eyssell. Many people assciate the gay move¬
ment with feminism, she said. Although the two are not
related, both movements came to prominence simul¬
taneously, thus the association.
When the office receives a call, Eyssell would refer the
caller to the various gay organizations in the com-
"One-fifth of the women who come in here (Women's
Studies Office) are gay," Eyssell said.
Many people in town are surprised when they find out
there is a gay community in Fresno, she said. "They
don't want to know about it, so they don't see it."
There was a gay student union on campus, but
according to Jenkins, there was a problem finding
someone to run the organization after its founders
graduated.
"There weren't enough people who wanted to expose
their anonymity...who would risk having people know
they're gay," she said.
But the biggest problem facing gays, according to
Stone, is facing themselves and their own internal fears.
"The very hardest person to come out to was myself,"
he said. "I didn't deal with my homosexuality until I wa*
30. I had fantasies (about men), but I did not act upon
After falling in love with a couple of women, and even
getting married, Stone said he was still not happy. He
suppressed his homosexual urges because "I hadn't
fully accepted there wasn't something wrong with me".
Nothing traumatic happened in Stone's life that made
him turn gay, he said. With the ascent of the gay move¬
ment, Stone stopped fighting what he called his "homo-
erotic tendencies."
"1 realized I was no more flawed than anyone else," he
said. "What's important is achieving intimacy. Some¬
times it happens to be someone of your own gender."
Both Brian and Stone dispell the stereotype that peo-
I
pie become gay because'they can't get into a relation¬
ship with a member of the oppositie sex.
" I believe being gay may have a genetic link...a genetic
predisposition," Brian said. He likened it to someone
having the body of a swimmer, but living in a desert.
"Biologically, they are predisposed (for swimming),
but they are nowhere near the water," Brian said. Sim-
ilarly, someone who has gay tendencies may not fulfill
them if the environment isn't right.
Until recently, psychiatrists lablelled homosexuality
as a mental disorder. But that has changed, according
to Ralph Miles, a psychiatric social worker for the Adult
Emergency Outpatient Services and Crisis Interven-
" The perspective on homosexuality has changed," he
said. "It is not a psychiatric diagnosed catagory. 1 tend to
view it as a problem if they (the person seeking counsel¬
ing) view it as a problem.
"Very few times have I worked with people who say, '1
don't know if I'm gay. Please help me.m
The problems gays have with relationships and inti¬
macy are no different than straight people, he said.
One concern Miles said many gays share is whether
they should go public about their homosexuality.
"They risk a part of themselves that may not be
accepted...that may be rejected because of an aspect of
their life that wouldn't be judged if mey were straight,"
Miles dispelled the stereotype that people become
homosexuals because they cannot find someone of the
opposite sex.
"I don't thirik there's one specific view how it (homo¬
sexuality) conies about," he said. "My personal belief is
that there is a variety of factors...not 6ne specific
Stone said there are no hard and fast rules as to why
people become gay, but he also mentioned that envir¬
onment and sexual predisposition are a factor.
"What's important can't be determined by arbitrary
limits. It means following the calling and nature of your
history."
Homosexuality is not undoing the moral fiber of this
country, Stone said, but along with the women's move¬
ment, it is redefining gendeT roles and stereotypes.
"Because of the women's movement, people have
had to deal with the gender role. What I'd tike to see is
those lines not be drawn as to what is permissible and
what is not."
Although many fundamentalist churches are oppo¬
sed to homosexuality, not aD religions are anti-gay. The
Unitarian Church in Fresno allows the gay community
to use its facilities. There is also gay Catholic organiza¬
tion.
"Behind it all," Stone said, "the problem with people
being afraid is not homosexuality, but sexuality..
"Sexuality is one of our great guides to truth," he
continued, "to break us out of our »©ciBl blindfolds.
What Td like to see is people not be so afraid of H.
"Homosexuality is truly a scapegoat:"
Exceptionally 'close knit*
Gay men, women work together in Fresno
By Bartara Hamby
Despite what some people want to
believe, a gay community does exist in
Fresno. And it is an exceptionally
"close-knit" one.
"Unlike the gays in San Francisco or
Los Angeles, the gay men and women
of Fresno work beautifully together,"
said Cindy Williams, former manager
of Front Runner, a monthly gay rights
publication produced in Fresno.
"In these larger-cities, the gay wo¬
men don't like or feel they don't need
men and the gay men feel the same
way about the women. There is a lot
of fighting between them," Williams
said. "Fresno is unique because the
men and women don't have separate
they are young, but they tend to leave
it once they have started a career, Wil¬
liams said. "It's fine to be a gay activist
when you're in college, but not when
you're a professional," she said.
"There's just too much to lose."
It is estimated that 10 percent of the
nation's population is gay and that the
majority of this group is male, ac¬
cording to the Kinsey study, which was
done about 10 years ago.
Being a gay man has some advan¬
tages over being a gay woman, Willi¬
ams said. Although "straight" men are
apprehensive about gay men because
when a man finds out a woman is gay,
he doesn't want to believe it," she said.
"They feel it is their responsibility to
change her and make her straight."
Despite all the drawbacks a gay
women encounters, the majority of
them seem to be successful at what-
. ever they do, Williams saicL
Wiliiams has been a gay activist in
Fresno for the past five years and is a
member of the Speakers Bureau.
Brenda Fouquette is coordinator of
the Speakers Bureau, which serves as
a liasion between the gay and straight
communities. The bureau was esjab-
Wlliams, 28, has been a lesbian for
14 years. "I prefer to be called a gay
woman," she said. "Lesbian is too
much of a separatist term."
'For many gays, the most difficult
step is "coming out," Williams said.
"This is when you realize that you are
gay. It is especially tough for women
because it's just one more strike a-
gainst them," she said.
"Most women don't want to come
out of the closet because of their child¬
ren or their jobs. They have too much
to lose," Williams said.
Gay women are more apt to be
involved in the gay movement when
Fouquette: 'I feel sorry for the people
who pass judgment on us without even
bothering to get to know us as people.'
they think the gay man will try to
"make a pas*" at them, the women
have no need to worry.
"Straight women aren't afraid of gay
men," she said. "The men shouldn't be
either, because gay men do not make
passes at straight men."
The problem with being a gay wo¬
man is that she cannot be with either a
straight man or a straight woman, Wil¬
liams said.
Straight women have the same fear
about gay women as straight men do
about gay men, Williams said., "But
lished eight years ago and its member
go to various groups and classes to
speak about gay issues.
"We have gone to Fresno City Col¬
lege and Fresno State and have spo¬
ken to psychology, human sexuality
Fouquette. said that the main pur¬
pose of the Bureau is to educate the
non-gay public and cortcei out some of
the myths about sexuality.
"We are people with a
like everyone else," she said. "1 feel   |
sorry for the people who pass judg¬
ment on us without even bothering to
get to know us as people."
Fouquette also serves as a board
member ol the Gay United Services
(GUS), which began a hotline one and
a half years ago for gays and for friends
parents and relatives of gays. The
hotline offeres mainly counseling to its
callers, but has a referral service also,
"The line is run strictly by trained
volunteers and the callers are dealt
with on an anonymous basis," Fou¬
quette sakL "We don't offer long-term
counseling, but if it is needed, we refer
the caller to a qualified person."
Fouquette feels the gay community
is Fresno is a very organized one,
although it has been struggling for
many years.
The community is not growing in
size, but the gay people of Fresno are
feeling more comfortable and am get"
ting more involved in it, Fouquette
said.
The gay community is the on*
place where everybody a treated as
equals, whether you art a man or
This isn't found m the straight com¬
munity, she said.
"It's never 'Who** job is tt to raise ■„
out the garbage,' but rather 'Whoa*