Voi. 6, No. 11
November 1991
p^FKEE
Former MAP honcho
tells his story
pages 8 & 9
Vote Nov. 5!
Charlotte candidates
respond to gay issues
page 6
Mandy Carter comes to town
- hand, namelv the establishment of the NC
Durham activist
looks to the future
by Frank Dalrymple
Q-Notes Staff
On October 1, Mandy Carter came down
from Durham to be guest speaker atCharlotte’s
First Tuesday monthly meeting at St. Peters
Episcopal Church.
Carter, who directed North Carolina Sen
ate Vote ‘90 (the political action committee to
defeat Jesse Helms) was in town to define the
work of NC/LGPAA (North Carolina Les-
bian and Gay Political Action Agenda) and to
help chart the political course for the state and
local gay and lesbian community for the
coming years.
Standing before agroup of about70 people
(mostly male) in the church basement, she
educated and persuaded the attendees to acti
vate their energies on a variety of issues,
events, and elections.
Carter’s public persona is closely matched
to her private one: intelligent, informed, witty,
and inspirational.
Because of the very specific guidehnes
afforded a political action committee (PAC),
she was quick to clarify that NC/LGPAA is
not a PAC.
Due to the fact that it was already October,
Carter touched lightly on 1991 events still at
Young men on the sexual fringe
A look at the hustlers of North Charlotte
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
Editor’s Note: This article is neither an
endorsement nor indictment of hustling, it is
merely an examination. All the young men
interviewed are using assumed names.
Openly gay film director Gus Van Sant is
making waves with his new film My Own
Private Idaho. The feature is about the lives
of a group of male prostitutes (hustlers), with
a focus on two of them. These are played by
River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves. The movie
explores the life of a hustler, something most
of us have no idea about, with thoughtfulness
and surprisingly tender insight. This non-
sensationalized approach has been rewarded
with three major film festival awards, two for
the film itself and one for River Phoenix’s
portrayal of a young hustler who suffers from
the sleeping disorder, narcolepsy.
While the movie involves the hustlers of
one particular town in Idaho, in real life they
can be found in practically eveiy metropoli
tan city. The adage that prostitution is the
world’s oldest profession doesn’t just apply
to the female variety; there have been male
prostitutes throughout history, even given
society ’ s added biases against male/m^e sex.
Clearly, hustling is a phenomenon which will
not “just go away.”
Q-Notes decided to take a closer look at
this perpetual, yet unknown, underworld by
interviewing several hustlers about their lives
and experiences.
To acquire these interviews, we went to
North Charlotte where hustling is a way of
life for many of the younger males in the area.
Even though the majority of the hustlers are
heterosexual, they have been raised in an
environment where they see themselves
strictly as businessmen making some money.
Captain W. C. Hilderman, of the Charlotte
Police Department - Special Information
Bureau, commented about the proliferation
of male prostitution in North Charlotte, “It’s
almost like a rite of passage, you have to do it
(hustle) to become a man.”
Although recent police crackdowns have
slowed the hustlers, they have by no means
eradicated them.
On the street
The following profiles were compiled from
in-depth interviews with four hustlers taken
on the street over the course of two months.
“Brian” is seventeen (he has no identifica
tion to prove this and looks younger) with
shoulder length brown hair and a small, slim
build. He says that he was raised in North
Charlotte by his mother, who now resides in
Continued on page 7
hand, namely the establishment of the NC/
LGPAA office in Durham; the re-election
campaign of Joe Herzenberg to Chapel Hill
Town Council; and the formation of a state
PAC, still to be named, to raise and distribute
funds to chosen political candidates.
Looking ahead to 1992, Mandy expressed
a great enthusiasm for the challenges to be
found in both state and national elections.
To address the statewide agenda. Carter
has helped form North Carolina Vote ‘92
(“which will NOT be a PAC”) to initiate a
community-building, voter-registration drive
within the lesbian and gay community at
precinct, county and state levels.'
Continued on page 13
Straight Talk hotline opens
Blue ribbon panel announced
by Dan Kirsch
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE — As reported in the Oc
tober issue. Straight Talk, a new teen hotline
that provides accurate, unbiased information
on a variety of topics facing teenagers, in
cluding drugs, sex and peer pressure, opened
in Charlotte on October 1 without informa
tion about horhosexuality.
According to Julie Braswell, state coordi
nator for the Straight Talk project, the homo
R.A.G./Tag sale
part of Lambda
Business Expo
by Dan Kirsch
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE — A giant rummage/
attic/garage /tag sale will be part of the
Lambda Connections Winter/Holiday
Business/Craft Expo on November 2 and
3. The Expo will be held at Masters Inn,
3815 N. Tryon Street in Charlotte.
Kimberly Melton, owner of Lambda
Connections said the following businesses
will be in attendance; Home Bodies (pet
service). Family Estate Services, Security
Travel, Rising Moon, Wild Zone Enter
prises, Out of the Dark, Stained Glass by
Nash, Books and Beyond, and White Rab
bit. Other vendors will also be in atten
dance.
In addition to the many not-for-profit
groups that will have booths with informa
tion, three groups plan a giant r.a.g.tag sale
as a fundraiser. Black and White Men
Together, First Tuesday and ONE VOICE
will have booths filled with all kinds of
junque for interested browsers and buyers.
The “Bear Men of Charlotte” 1992 calen
dar will also be on sale, with models avail
able to sign autographs at different times
over the weekend.
Hours for the Expo are 11:00 am-6:00
pm Saturday, and 1:00-5:00 pm Sunday.
For further information, call Melton at
704/535-8435.
sexuality tape was one of several scripts the
“blue ribbon panel” has sent back to the
University of Wisconsin for review. The U of
W developed the project.
The project is sponsored by the Telephone
Pioneers of America and The Relatives, Inc.,
the oldest youth shelter with counseling in the
state. In addition, the project will have local
sponsors in each county as the project ex
pands statewide.
Gay and lesbian activists have been cout
cemed that once the homosexuality tape was
eliminated from consideration from the open
ing of the hotline, that it may be in danger i -t
ever being included. Braswell reaffirmed tliat
new messages will be added in the tuturc, but
there is no timeline for approval or addition ol
any message under consideration.
In a press release issued on September 30
about the project. Jo Ann Greyer, executive
director of The Relatives, stated “before we
add [a message] to the Straight Talk line, it
will be reviewed by a blue ribbon panel of
parents, physicians, counselors, religious lead
ers and legal experts. The panel’s job is to
ensure that the messages are unbiased, factu
ally accurate, relevant to North Carolina and
in accord with state law.”
Members of the Blue Ribbon Panel in
clude Barbara Allen, Manager-Community
Relations, Carolina Power & Light; Dr. (Sis
ter) Mary Thomas Buike, Chair-Dept. of
Human Services, UNC-Charlotte; Gary E.
Carlton, President, Southern National Bank;
Dr. Gwen Chunn, Director, N.C. Division of
Youth Services; Charles Dunn, Deputy Di
rector, State Bureau of Investigation.
Also, Dr. Dudley Flood, Executive Direc
tor, N.C. Assoc, of School Administrators;
Dr. Jonnie McLeod, Retired pediatrician,
Professor-Dept. of Human Services, UNC-
Charlotte; Sen. Helen Marvin, State legisla
tor; Dr. Edwin Moore, President, N.C. Medi
cal Society; L. Richardson Preyer, Retired
business executive; and Justice Willis
Wichard, N.C. Supreme Court.
When this project began in Miami as The
Link, it generated 400.000 calls the first year,
with masturbation and homosexuality the top
two topics selected. The number in Charlotte/
Mecklenburg is 344-1111. Straight Talk is
free and requires the use of a touch-tone
phone. Currently callers are given a choice of
70 topics.