readerforum.

Captains courageous

May I congratulate you on your "Generations of Trailblazers" issue [August 15]. The coverage was very broad. For someone who was informed to a small degree, it was eye-opening and heartwarming to know that there have been so many courageous members of my community. This issue of The Advocate could become a reference book.

Bob Meima, via the Internet

I thought your August 15 issue to be one of the best ever published. However, I was surprised no mention was made of the numerous clergy who have worked to bring equality for gays and lesbians within the religious milieu. Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, spiritual leader of the world's largest gay and lesbian synagogue, Congregation Beth Simchat Torah in New York, has integrated traditional Judaism into the social construct of gay and lesbian life. She is a liaison between traditional Judaism and the relatively new Reconstructionist arm, which was formed to unite all Jews as one people regardless of past upbringing, gender, and sexual orientation.

Paul Sibley-Schreiber, New York, N. Y.

You left out one of the most influential politicians ever elected from our community. Allan Spear was the first openly gay individual in state office in the United States and has served countless terms in Minnesota's state senate, eventually rising to become president of that body. He managed to fight the good fight for gay rights, not by shrieking, marching, or pouting but by talking, listening, and leading. Harvey Milk is certainly an important tragic figure in our community, but it is people like Spear who have truly paved the way for gay legislators.

Sam Bergman, Minneapolis, Minn.

You did a great disservice by excluding late author and activist Peter McWilliams from your roster of trailblazers. McWilliams was a best-selling author, a successful businessman, an AIDS and Libertarian activist, and an openly gay man. Surely this man, his activism, and his legal plight with the federal government over his use of medical marijuana for treating nausea related to his AIDS treatments are newsworthy.

Edward TJ Brown, Perham, Minn.

Although I easily spotted the similarities between many of your trailblazers and current counterparts, I thought you could've done better than comparing Rufus Wainwright with Elton John. John never even wrote his own lyrics, while an obvious portion of Wainwright's appeal lies within his lyrical skills. Might I suggest Cole Porter as a more viable forebear? Always dapper, charming, and utterly glamorous, Porter produced a body of work that has withstood the test of time, evolving into standards, as Wainwright's ditties and dirges no doubt will.

Gillian Masland, Hingham, Mass.

To give a valid history lesson, The Advocate should have recognized former sergeant Miriam Ben-Shalom, who in 1976 truthfully answered the U.S. Army's question as to whether she was a lesbian For the next 15 years of her life, she fought the long process of challenging the U.S. ban on gays in the military and was thus the first openly gay person in the history of the United States to serve.

Karen K. Weiss, Milwaukee, Wis.

Thanks for the special issue pairing past and present heroes of the gay movement. Here's another pair. Oscar Wilde and Camille Paglia While the careers of the two writers could not be more different, they have in common the ability to pierce established ways of thinking. Wilde subtly mocked the conventions of Victorian moralism. Paglia not so subtly exposes the threat that political correctness poses to our freedom and imagination. We pride ourselves on producing cultured writers with wit and style. Wilde and Paglia are enduring examples of that tradition.

Jeff McQuary, Indianapolis, Ind.

Boys on the side

You ask, "Where are the highly visible long-term gay male celebrity couples of the 20th or 21st century ["Gertrude & Alice & Ellen & Anne," August 15]?" The answer is obvious: Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy. As an artist, Bachardy was every bit as recognized in his own right as Anne Heche and more so than Alice B. Toklas.

Thomas Rogillio, Glendale, Calif.

[Editors' note: Recognition of Isherwood's works can be found on page 63 of this very issue]

Oxygen-deprived?

I wonder if I will ever understand people like Anita Bryant and Dr. Laura Schlessinger ["Straight From Theft Mouths," August 15]. I am a 37-year old lesbian mom, one of the people Dr. Laura is none too pleased with. After frequent inspections I can safely report that I show no signs of being evil personified. In fact, I am an active member of my local United Church of Canada, I am the editor of the church newsletter, and I belong to the ladies' quilting group. How is that dangerous to society and offensive to right-wing extremists such as the good doctor? Would she be shocked to learn that I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie? What planet is this woman from, and what is the oxygen level there (because I have a theory)?

April O'Flaherty, Hamilton, Ont.

Kiss, kiss

How can anyone compile a list that is supposed to comprise ten of the most memorable same-sex kisses ["One Kiss Leads to Another," August 15] and not include the kiss(es) between James Wilby and Rupert Graves in Maurice? This Merchant-Ivory masterpiece is not only the most romantic, beautifully produced, and movingly acted gay love story of our time, it contains some of the hottest male-male love scenes ever put on film.

J. Lloyd, Aldan, Pa.

You overlooked the 1961 French movie version of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge (Vu du Pont), which starred Maureen Stapleton, Raf Vallone, and Carol Lawrence. The two straight characters kiss, and neither enjoys it. Vallone's character is trying to prove that the recipient is gay, which he isn't. But it's a smacker, right on the lips!

Will Mir, Woodland Hills, Calif.

Overdue book

Your issue comparing our generations was fine! My only quibble is with "Our Lesbian Roots" [August 15]. Missing is a book that really touched me when I was new to gayness. It was 1973; I was 26 and just out. I'd been unhappily married, divorced, unhappily in love with a woman, and then I found the lover who has now been my life partner for 27 years. Before this the only "lesbian" books I could find had always killed off the real lesbian or had the sweetheart go off with a man. My friends told me I had to read Isabel Miller's Patience & Sarah. What a difference!

Flossy Powell, Brushton, N.Y.

Outing rage

Signorile's essay on his supposed role in expediting the degeneration of American journalism over the past decade is stupendously patronizing ["Outing by Any Other Name," August 15]. He assumes that the increasing willingness of the media to wallow in private scandal is somehow a wonderfully liberating advance in journalism for which he alone is responsible.

Hogwash. Signorile's quoting of Barbara Walters's unprovoked attack on Ricky Martin is hardly evidence of his signal accomplishment. It only testifies to the fact that journalism is now little more than the purveying of titillation to the dimwit viewer or reader. Signorile gleefully participates in that very process. If Signorile is in any way responsible for the media's proclivity for wallowing in garbage now, he deserves our contempt, not our admiration.

Carl Wright, Cookeville, Tenn.

Queering the word

It may be too late to reverse direction, but it appears some may be waking up and realizing their error in promoting the word queer as an all-inclusive term for our community [Last Word, August 15]. I have never understood the rationale for adopting that particular word. It wouldn't surprise me if many on the other side have been laughing at us for having taken one of their oft-used terms of denigration, under the false guise of self-empowerment, and slapping it on ourselves. I congratulate Gabriel Rotello for having the courage to reverse himself.

A. Thomas, via the Internet