DAN QUAYLE, POWER AND THE DISPLAY OF GENITALS
by Wayne Snellen

Dan Quayle? No, not his genitals, but the fact that the Dan Quayle Center and Museum in Huntington, Indiana got federal funding when Mr. DQ is so opposed to funding for the arts really pisses me off.

The issue of censorship, religion and community support has been on our minds lately -- but apparently not on enough of our minds. The City Planning Commission successfully passed the zoning ordinance to zone out XXX theaters and bookstores that now have a "substantial" portion of their enterprise devoted to "pornographic" material to the fringes of the boroughs. Now that they have won that little war they are not satisfied. The New York City Health Department recently confirmed that the Mayor is looking into how it can legally require bookstores and bathhouses to remove the doors from cubicles. Apparently, inspectors cannot look inside locked cubicles. But if there are no locks on the doors then guess who can look inside. I still say, "Can art galleries be far behind?" When I testified at the City Planning Commission about the XXX issue Commissioner Rose told me that this plan was not aimed at art galleries. I thanked him for the clarification but asked, "Why then does it feel that there is another agenda here?" It will be city inspectors who make the decision as to whether an establishment's "substantial" output is pornographic or not. City inspectors!? What great qualifications do they have that the Supreme Court does not? Greater minds than mine or city inspectors have wrestled with this issue for years and still have not come up with an answer.

The mood of the country has moved to a conservative position that is frightening. How can we Lesbian and Gay men enjoy the freedom we have come to enjoy. (Even though we can still enjoy very little when compared with the general population.) It makes me angry that I once again have to stand and defend my rights. What we gain on one hand is taken away on another. If we are not very careful even those we have won will slip away.

What are "they" afraid of, anyway? We do not want their children. We do not want their wives and husbands. (Well, maybe sometimes.)

The issue of religion is closely related. All those passages in the Bible considered by the moral majority and the religious right and by many just plain Americans are so insidious and pervasive that often we do not recognize what is happening until it is almost too late. In a recent show, Vulvavision, an artist from Decatur, Georgia, Becki Jayne Harrelson, has in effect been censured because her gallery, even though run by a gay man, would not show her current work. She has had to change the locks on her studio. In New York City, of all places, there are only a handful of places where one can show politically, sexually and religiously innovative and controversial work.

One thing I have never quite understood is that so many of the people I know from home (Missouri) think art is so unimportant. "Why would anyone do that [make art] anyway?" my Dad would say. One of the first things an insecure government will censor is art. Then if art is so unimportant why all the furor over a few fringe artists or groups who question the status quo -- especially Gay and Lesbian art? I propose that if we do noting else in life but make people question everything, then we have accomplished our reason for being.

Someone told me that in a time when Lesbians and Gays are seeking a positive image it is belittling to focus on the sexual and that we are more than that. They are right -- to a degree. Others feel that since we are sexual people it is appropriate and right to see work in this vein. They are right -- to a degree.

Since we as a group can "pass" so to speak, perhaps the major difference is who we go to bed with. I know that will offend some, but there is enough truth in it to consider what it really means. If we are different then perhaps we should be talking about that difference. It seems that from time to time we come into a perceived new found freedom. (It is no freedom at all to be granted grudgingly that which most others enjoy unquestioned.) We enjoy the new freedom for a time then it is uncannily taken away. And what do we do? Go back into the closet. Our hold on what we have gained is so tenuous that it can all be taken away with the snap of a finger.

Our organizations are too poorly equipped, organized and understaffed to deal with the issues of censorship and freedom. The Leslie-Lohman gallery is just one instance of a place where good art can be seen. But it just hangs on by a thread. It operated with 99% volunteers. There are a few dedicated people who keep it running -- but where are the supporters -- financial and staffing. If we do really constitute 10% of the population and are "well monied" why isn't it spilling over into the coffers of one of the most important organizations of our community.

The Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation is where art of a frankly sexual kind can be shown in a safe place. We do not apologize for that. It is one of our strong points. Art of any other kind can be shown elsewhere. But, if one stops to notice what is on the walls one will see that the vision is quite broad. We celebrate the whole range of Lesbian and Gay art.

Leslie-Lohman is a mainstay in the community. If it folded tomorrow it would leave a huge hole -- and there is no one to fill the gap. A few are trying but for how long. We encourage them but without your support they too will fail.

Leslie-Lohman is looking for more space and an endowment. We even have visions of one day elevating to the status of museum.

This is not only a plea for support of Lesie-Lohman but also for all those other places we have created. We cannot relax. We haven't "arrived" yet. The climate of fear and antagonsim towards gays in the U.S. is increasing. I urge you to "come out" and help us truly create the world we all deserve.