Columns/Letters
PRIDE GUIDE THANK YOU
WELCOME TO THE 1992 OHIO LESBIAN AND GAY FREEDOM MARCH AND GAYFEST. I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY. HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF WORK HAVE BEEN GOING ON BEHIND THE SCENES ALL SPRING TO PREPARE FOR THE BIG DAY. THERE ARE TOO MANY VOLUNTEERS TO LIST EVERYONE HERE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS OF THE PRIDE COMMITTEE FOR THEIR DEDICATION. WITHOUT THE EFFORTS OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, GAY PRIDE 1992 WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED.
CHRIS COZAD PHYLLIS GORMAN MAX GRUBER BARB SHOULDERS CHRIS WAGNER MARSHA WATKINS ROBB VAN ORDER BRAD HUTTON RAY GOOCH III
PHIL PISHITELLI
KELLY MCCORMICK DAN WARNER
HOLLY FEATHERSTONE HERBY'S
EUNICE HORNSBY
ED PFEIFFER
SUSAN MOSELEY
RHONDA MADDEN
DON COOK KAREN HAMM
RHONDA RIVERA
RICH PENIX
TRADEWINDS
MICHAEL WEISS
JILL MCDONALD & WALL STREET
PROUDLY,
GLORIA MCCAULEY LEA WENTWORTH
STEVE FRANKS
MIKE DITTMER
KIM DILL
TRENDS/THE GARAGE
CONNIE
DIANA VEZMAR-BAILEY
VICKI SUSSMAN
THE VULCANS
PLANET EARTH GRAPHICS ED & TODD & THE EAGLE STAFF OF ALTERNATIVE AUTO CARE
CHRIS COZAD, CHAIR, GAY PRIDE COMMITTEE
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Stonewall Union Reports
Pride Guide/June 1992 Volume 4 Issue 6
Stonewall Union Reports is the newspaper of Stonewall Union.
Stonewall Union strives to empower Gay men and Lesbians and to foster a sense of community through educational programs, referral networks, and advocacy. Any opinion expressed herein should not be construed as an official position of Stonewall Union unless explicitly stated as such.
Editor: Mike Dittmer
Managing Editor: Christopher R. Wagner
Design:
Planet Earth Graphics
Production:
Mike Dittmer, Christopher R. Wagner, Planet Earth Graphics
Contributors:
Chris Cozad, Mike Dittmer, Howard Fradkin, Phyllis Gorman, Ed Pfeiffer Jr., John Roeder, Christopher R. Wagner
1992 Stonewall Union
AFFIRMING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
GAY PRIDE AND LESBIAN PRIDE, PART II
In 12-step recovery, they have a saying, "You're only as sick as your secrets." Translated for us here, when we disclose the secret of our sexual/ affectional orientation to significant people in our lives, we develop pride and power and heal from the shame of the secret we often feel we need to keep hidden. This is why Gay and Lesbian activists advocate for all of us in the community to COME OUT to as many people as possible. Not only do we usually feel relieved not to have to keep such an important part of us secret, but in coming out, we also help to diffuse societal homophobia, because one more person who might be homophobic is now challenged to change their attitudes and be more accepting and loving.
Many of us grew up in religious/ spiritual traditions which also shamed us for our homosexual feelings and/or behaviors. Again, in order to claim our pride, it will be important to find ways to develop a relationship with our Higher Power who we believe accepts us as exactly as we are. Fortunately in our
community, there are now many groups which meet regularly where you can get support for integrating your homosexuality in with your religious and/or spiritual traditions.
For some of us, another block to our pride is unresolved childhood issues of abuse. A number of us in our community have been victims of childhood physical, emotional, spiritual and/or sexual abuse. For these survivors, healing from the resulting shame of abuse is a critical component in developing pride as Lesbians and Gay men. Again, we are fortunate that there are now many resources in our community to help in this process-self-help books which are Gay/Lesbian affirmative; 12-step meetings which are Lesbian/Gay affirmative; and a number of Lesbian and Gay affirming psychotherapists who are available in a number of settings to assist in the process of healing.
Developing Lesbian and Gay pride is a step-by-step process. It begins when you come out to yourself, acknowledging your homosexual feelings are valid and
okay. The pride builds as you begin to come out to others, and in most cases, find out there is a lot of acceptance in the world for you. By beginning to associate and socialize with other Lesbians and Gay men, you learn you are not alone, and you come to realize WE ARE EVERYWHERE-in all walks of life, all colors, shapes, sizes, occupations, neighborhoods, ages, roles. For some, our pride will increase further as we can also claim our right to be spiritual persons. Accepting our Higher Power, however we relate to this power, affirms our right to be exactly who we are— proud Gay men and Lesbians. For others, healing from early childhood shame is an additional step which may be necessary to fully claim our pride. And you can regularly affirm messages that counter society's homophobia, such as, "I AM A PROUD AND POWERFUL GAY MAN" or "I AM A PROUD AND POWERFUL LESBIAN."
Dr. Fradkin welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns, c/o Affirmations, 918 South Front Street, Columbus OH, 43206.
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