Vol. 7, No. 2
February 1992
Teens hold
AIDS benefit
... page 3
Personals
begin
... page 24
The Carolmss’ Most Comprehensive Gay & Lesbian Newspaper'^^ Printed on Pecyoied Paper'^' FREE
Grady Cole manager verbally abuses MAP volunteer
Mayor's office praised for timely response to criticism
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—Metrolina AIDS Project
staff member and volunteer. Bill Gareau,
charged that on Sat. Jan. 11, he was the victim
of homophobia and AIDS-phobia stemming
from remarks made by the manager of the
Grady Cole Center prior to the start of an
Ozzy Osbourne concert.
Gareau was at the concert at the request of
Ozzy Osbourne management to distribute
condoms and safer-sex information to attend
ees as they entered the building. Osbourne
was a close friend of the late Freddie Mer
cury, former lead singer of the rock group
Queen, who passed away in Dec. 1991 of
AIDS. Osbourne wanted to do something to
inform people about the disease so he con
tacted AmFAR (American Foundation for
AIDS Research) about his wish to have con
doms and information distributed at concert
sites. AmFAR in turn contacted all the AIDS
service organizations in the cities where
Osbourne would be appearing, and passed on
the singer’s request.
MAP received the call from AmFAR and
agreed to have someone at the Grady Cole
Center when the tour reached Charlotte.
Gareau and another volunteer arrived at
GCC several hours before the start of the
show to set up their information table when
the manager of the facility learned who they
were and their purpose, he told them they
would have to leave. Gareau said they were
there at the request of Osbourne, and the man
walked away to verify the story. As he was
leaving, Gareau overheard him state that he
didn’t want faggots promoting promiscuous
sex at the center.
Osbourne staff assured the manager that
the performer wanted the items handed out.
So he told the men they could give away the
packets, but not set up a booth or table nor
distribute them inside the building.
They moved outside and offered the con
doms and pamphlets to early arrivers.
Two hours ^fore the start of the concert,
the manager appeared again order Gareau
and his assistant to come into the center and
pick up the condoms which some fans were
throwing onto the floor. The two men refused
and, having been harassed enough, left.
On Monday morning when Gareau ar
rived at MAP, he informed Executive Direc
tor Mike Averbuch of his unpleasant experi
ence with the GCC manager.
Averbuch called the City Manager’s of
fice complaint number and relayed the infor-
Publisher prevails over printing problems
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
BOSTON, Mass.—Gay Sex: A Manual
for Men Who Love Men has finally been
published after five months of delays caused
by printers’ refusals to accept the job.
Aly son Publications, based in Boston, MA,
approached eighteen publishing houses about
pr^ucing the book only to be turned away
each time.
The saga began in August 1991 when
Alyson contacted its usual
printer for a price quote.
Upon learning of the book's
content, the printing firm
asked to see the illustra
tions which would be used
in it. After reviewing these
the company “declined” to
give a price for the job.
Gay Sex is an update of
The Joy of Gay Sex pub
lished in the late 1970’s as
a guide to the gay male lif
estyle (from language to
sexual positions to styles of
dress). Over the course of
the past decade that book
became woefully outdated,
however, especially in the
age of AIDS. Gay Sex
serves to bring readers up-
to-date on safer-sex through
its text (numerous listings
deal with HIV precautions,
infection, and testing) and
illustrations (condoms are pictured in all
sexual situations defined as “risky” for HIV
infection).
The printer's refusal to accept the layouts
left Alyson in a quand^.
They began searching for another print
house to do the job, resulting in seventeen
additional rejections. Paula Jones, a spokes
person for Offset Paperback (which turned
Alyson down), stated, “This (Dallas, PA) is a
very conservative area. The people on the
binding line would just rebel. We tried to put
i
/
GAY
Sasha Alyson with the cover art of
Gay Sex
mation to them. The operator thanked him for
calling and assured someone would call back.
Within several hours, a representative of
the mayor’s office called to say they were
sorry the incidents had occured and that the
center’s manager would be reprimanded. The
city liaison then reiterated that the employee
was acting on his own behalf when he told the
men they could not distribute the packets in
the building and had not been operating under
any city mandate.
Gay community leaders have been quick
to praise Mayor Vinroot’s office for it’s han
dling of this matter and anticipate a better
relationship with the current mayor than had
been possible with the previous.
out a book like this a while back and there was
a total uproar.”
Sasha Alyson, the book’s publisher blasted
those firms that were approached, “Most of
them say their workers will be offended. But
only on this subject do they claim that work
ers in the camera room can dictate content. At
a time when even George Bush says we
haven’t done enough about AIDS, and when
the need for more safer-sex education is so
clear, I am appalled that a potentially life
saving book should be
turned down by so many
printers.
At last there seemed to
be a breakthrough, in Oc
tober a Canadian printer,
which normally prints
baseball cards, agreed to
accept the job. Alyson sent
the layouts (completely
redesigned to meet the
requirements of the print
ing company) by over
night courier to Canada
only to have them seized
at the border by Customs
officials (who subse
quently refused to return
them and still have not).
Once again Alyson
began a quest to find a
print house willing to ac
cept the job.
Finally, on Nov. 12, a
U.S. printer that special
izes in catalogs accepted Gay Sex. But their
layout requirements were different from the
Canadian firm’s and the book had to be re
worked again.
On Dec. 19, the book rolled off the press.
And due to all the publicity surrounding the
printing controversy, Alyson’s advance or
der was its biggest ever.
Gay Sex: A Manual for Men Who Love
Men is available at Rising Moon Books, Char
lotte; White Rabbit Books, Greensboro; and
White Rabbit Books, Raleigh.
; ■ j _
The Brothers Foundation Board of Directors, front row: William J. Cook, Jr., Ms.
Beth Maust, Ms. Sandra Bisanar, Dr. David H. Hall, MD; back row: Andrew D.
Taylor, Jr., Jim Jordan, Calvin E. Hefner, ASID. Not pictured: Robert W. Elliot,
Jr., Ms. Sharon Dixon, Rev. Gary Gloster, Dr. Adele Hagood, Mr. Gene
Humphries.
The Brothers Foundation dedicates home
Hope to take initial occupants by late February
by Gordon Rankin
Q-Notes staff
CHARLOTTE—^With a nearly stand
ing-room-only crowd of approximately 200
people, Fieldstone House (previously
named “Hagood House”), Charlotte’s first
home for people living with HIV, was dedi
cated on Sunday, January 19. The attend
ees, many of whom were couples, listened
as the Reverend Gary Gloster (pastor of the
Chapel of Christ the King) delivered the
dedication, and then enjoyed a variety of
entertainmentand education throughout the
house and its grounds during the two-hour
event.
The ceremony was the culmination of a
dream conceived in 1988 by Calvin Hefner,
a local interior designer who founded the
Brothers Foundation, an organization com
mitted to aiding low income or indigent
people living with HIV and AIDS.
Upstairs, SheilaLockhart of the NAMES
Project gave information about her organi
zation and its upcoming role in the June
production of Heart Strings, an Event In
Three Acts (which the Brothers Foundation
will co-sponsor), while the Charlotte chap
ter of the Red Cross provided information
aboutHIV infectionand AIDS in the home’s
library. On the veranda, Wendy Tate of
ONE VOICE (Charlotte’s gay and lesbian
chorus) sang and performed on her guitar.
All three local network television stations
were present to interview board members
and guests. These and other factors “con
tributed to an afternoon filled with hugs,
smiles, and tears,” said Bob Nulf, Execu
tive Director of the Foundation.
Fieldstone is a large, two-story home
located on 35 acres. Its approximately 5,000
square feet offers five upstairs bedixx)ms,
about half of which are suitable for two
residents each, with a downstairs private
bedroom and bath for a resident manager.
There is also a living room complete with
fireplace, a newly-restored kitchen and a
dining room with three or four small tables
rather than one large one, a furnishing deci
sion which Nulf said was intended to ac
commodate those occasions when two or
three residents would want to dine together
yet not be isolated at opposite ends of an
imposing table. Ultimately, the facility will
house six to eight individuals.
“The Foundation is working along with
the Metrolina AIDS Project and a number
of other service organizations to get refer
rals for potential occupants, and our Care
Committee is finalizing its selection crite
ria at this time. Although no approvals have
been reached [as of this writing], we hope
to have the home filled by the end of Febru
ary,” Nulf said. He added that all applicants
must be 18 years of age or older and be HI V
positive.
Nulf wishes to thank the hundreds of
volunteers who contributed their efforts to
the dedication ceremony, including PTK
andFriends (a service organizationatCPCC)
and Lutherans Concerned. Food was do
nated by the Social Ministries class at the
Little Church on the Lane and by Armin
Desch, owner of The Country Boardwalk.
Bill Penfield, of Eli’s, donated the punch.
There is still a great need for other dona
tions, namely in the form of amenities,
furniture, and games. For the bedrooms,
any furniture such as dressers, table lamps,
and night stands in very good condition are
welcome. Small appliances for the kitchen
are needed, as are linens for the bathrooms.
Televisions, VCR’s, board games, books,
and video games are also needed for the
living areas.
Persons who wish to contribute any of
the above items are encouraged to contact
Nulf by phone at (704) 358-0411 or in
writing to The Brothers Foundation, P.O.
Box 36512, Charlotte, NC 28236