Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, October 27, 2006 Page: 16 of 104
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a HistoryMonth
TOMWADDELL
A testament to the inclusive-
riessand diversity of the gay com-
munity, Dr. Tom Waddeii's vision
of a global gay sporting event
resulted in the first-ever Gay
Games.
First held in 1982 n San
Francisco, with nearly 1,350 ath-
letes competing from 12 coun-
tries, the Gay Games have grown
into one of the most popular
sporting events in the world.
Modeled after the Olympics, the
seventh Gay Games, held in the
summer of 2006 in Chicago,
drew some 12,000 athletes and
140,000 spectators.
Athletics played a dominant
role in Waddeii's life. Fie used sports to compensate for his growing sex-
ual attraction to men. Fie excelled as a gymnast and football star at
Springfield College, and immediately began training for the decathlon
following his graduation in 1959.
It was his athletic talent which, even though he was drafted into the
Army in 1966, allowed him to avoid serving in Vietnam and instead train
for the 1968 Olympics, where he placed sixth out of 33 decathlon par-
ticipants. But, following a knee injury in 1972, Waddell decided to shift
his focus to medicine, his primary course of study.
His medical knowledge led him to work throughout the Middle East,
See WADDELL on PAGE 19
BARBARA GITTINGS
On July 4, 1965, Barbara
Gittings picketed outside the
steps of Independence Flail in
Philadelphia, brandishing a sign
which read: "Flomosexuals
should be judged as individuals."
But her work as an activist
goes far beyond that first protest.
During her more than 43 years
in the civil rights movement,
Gittings has made an impact on
the medical, literary and media
industries. She is a founding
member of the New York chapter
of the early lesbian group
Daughters of Biiitis and a former
editor of the DOB's national mag-
azine, The Ladder.
FHer tenure at The Ladder led to a shift in values for the organization
toward direct action, a concept which Gittings implemented in her strug-
gle with the American Psychiatric Association.
Gittings joined Frank Kameny in the campaign against the APA's clas-
sification of homosexuality as a mental illness, a battle which included
a rogue exhibit at the 1971 convention and participation in several APA
panels. The campaign's goal was realized in 1973, when the Board of
Trustees agreed to remove homosexuality from the list of disorders.
And in perhaps her most notable contribution as a pioneer, Gittings'
work with the American Library Association dramatically increased the
See GITTINGS on PAGE 19
BARNEY FRANK
A fiercely intelligent, often out-
spoken voice in the House of
Representatives, Barney Frank
has carved out an irreplaceable
niche in Washington. FHis trade-
mark fast-paced speech, humor
and understanding have pro-
pelled him to the top of the
Financial Services Committee, all
while he has maintained a posi-
tive voice for LGBT individuals In
national government,
Frank has served as represen-
tative of Massachusetts' 4th
District since 1981, with a con-
sistent voting record on gay rights
as well as the economic impact of
equality. Prior to his election to
Congress, he worked in the Massachusetts Flouse of Representatives
and as chief assistant to former Boston Mayor Kevin White.
A graduate of FHarvard University in 1962 and Harvard Law School in
1977, Frank displays an intelligence that precedes his often fiery
demeanor on the House floor. He was voted outstanding freshman con-
gressman in a public television survey, and during his tenure he has
become a leading voice of the Democratic Party, campaigning for low-
income individuals, the elderly and persons facing discrimination, and
against policies like the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" ban on open gay
and lesbian servicemembers.
See FRANK on PAGE 19
I
Reichen remembers:
Below is an exclusive excerpt from
Reichen Lehmkuhl's autobiography,
"Here's What We'll Say," set to be
published by Carroll & Graf this
month. Lehmkuhl and his then-part-
ner, Chip Arndt, won season 4 of the
reality show "The Amazing Race.
Lehmkuhl has since hosted his own
show on th Q Television Network and
has appeared on several other televi-
sion shows. He is now in a relationship
with pop singer Lance Bass, formerly
of the boy band 'N Sync.
Lehmkuhl's memoir is a product of
the author's recollections and is thus
rendered as a subjective accounting of
events that occurred in his life. This
excerpt recounts events that happened
while he was attending the U.S. Air
Force Academy, which he was nomi-
nated to attend at age 16 by
Congressman Barney Frank.
Trouble in Paradise
Meetings of the Underground were
still held often and our group was alive
and well, with about 50 cadets at every
meeting. Some of the Underground
cadets had figured out the tunnel sys-
tem and could get to our meeting point
from all the way across the Terrazzo
by their own hallway stairwells. We
continued to get cadets out of trouble
by making sure we all had the same
story and we remained a tight group,
following the eight key rules of our
organization in order to keep us safe.
The Underground wasn't just good
for getting people out of trouble; it was
also good for preventing it. We devel-
oped a whole way of life. When we
went out, it had become instinctual to
have our alibis perfectly memorized
before we came back to the academy.
"Here's what we'll say," would start
every story proposal to keep us safe
and away from trouble.
One weekend, just before spring
break of senior year, I was at Seth's
house in Colorado Springs because his
parents were away for the weekend.
He had hosted a couple of gay cadets
from the Underground for a night or
two. One of them, Thomas, had
brought his boyfriend with him. The
boyfriend was a security policeman
named Mitchell from the Air Force
Academy base, although he was not
assigned to be anywhere near cadets. I
don't know how they met, but I
thought it was cool that they had found
each other.
I stayed with the whole group that
weekend and witnessed a great deal of
drama between Thomas and his
boyfriend. I remember thinking that
they probably weren't so happy after
all. The argument ended with Thomas
storming out of the house, leaving his
security policeman boyfriend there
with us. I ended up talking to Mitchell
for quite a while and he filled me in on
their whole relationship. I can't
remember what the problems of the
relationship were, but I remember
sympathizing with Mitchell. He gave
me his number and we kept in touch
over the next few weeks.
Thomas had completely stopped
talking to Mitchell. He wouldn't return
Mitchell's
phone calls
or answer
his e-mails.
Finally,
after weeks
of this,
Mitchell and
I were talking
on the phone
and decided to
hang out. I met
See LEHMKUHL
on PAGE 20
Growing Up,
Coming Out, and
the U.S. Air Force
m
16 I dallasvoice.com I 10.27.06
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Nash, Tammye. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 24, Ed. 1 Friday, October 27, 2006, newspaper, October 27, 2006; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth238932/m1/16/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.