Community Life
The Open Door
The Open Door was a Bloomington local newspaper in the late 1980s that reported on gay and lesbian events at the local and national levels.
History and Description
First published in February 1987, The Open Door ran for only one year. The paper's editor, Kevin Richey, started the publication because there were no local newspapers reporting on gay and lesbian issues, and what little local visibility there was for the community tended to dwell on the AIDS crisis. Richey wanted to cover culture, social life, and politics, besides reporting on AIDS.
The Open Door was sponsored by local Bloomington businesses and received some indirect assistance from the staff of the Indiana Daily Student, as well as from students and professors. The Open Door was printed in Chicago, because no local printer would take the job. Though primarily a gay publication, the paper aimed to attract a straight audience, as well, with features like "Straight Talk," an advice column for parents whose children were coming out.
Community Response
The Open Door received negative reactions from several businesses that did not want to sponsor the publication. Some cited political differences with what they characterized as the paper's "partisan" beliefs. Others feared a potential backlash from customers if they support of a gay and lesbian newspaper.
As the paper’s readership increased, some sponsors suggested the paper include a gossip column and a section for personal ads. Richey chose not to include these because he wanted the paper to continue to center news, events, and education. He was also worried that personal ads or gossip columns mights alienate both straight people as well as gay and lesbians who were looking for a news-oriented publication.
The Open Door Closes
The Open Door ceased publication after only a year in print. Richey stated that as the paper “became bigger than the rest of us,” he and his volunteer staff simply began to prioritize other aspects of their lives. Richey nevertheless expressed a justified sense of pride over helping to spread understanding and acceptance of gay and lesbian people to the straight community. He said “I feel like Bloomington can be looked at as a smaller version of how the rest of the world has changed, but looking back, I feel that the straight community has changed more than the gay community.”
Gay and Lesbian Community Switchboard
Bloomington community volunteers outside the university developed many resources to assist the gay community. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and into the 1990s, one such resource was the Bloomington Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. A volunteer service whose primary mission was to help gay men and women while they were coming out or in a crisis situation, the switchboard also referred callers to authorities on subjects the staff was not capable of handling. The Bloomington Gay and Lesbian Alliance-sponsored switchboard was officially founded in 1978; however, there had been a sporadically-staffed gay and lesbian crisis and information line since 1970, originally organized by the Bloomington Gay Liberation Front.
Services
Starting in 1978 the switchboard was staffed by twenty volunteers who were trained in listening skills, role playing, and peer counseling, to assist callers with problems. Additional training was done through Listening Line and Middle Way House’s twenty-four-hour crisis line. Although harassing phone and hang-ups calls were the most common made to on the switchboard, the volunteers otherwise mostly answered questions regarding places to go that were gay friendly in Bloomington. The switchboard received approximately 80-100 calls per day from lesbians and gays in the local Bloomington area. Many of the callers called to inquire as to whether area restaurants and bars welcomed gay clientele.
In 1988, the switchboard joined Doris and Bob Fox to help found the “Friends Indeed Project,” otherwise known as “Project FIND.” FIND was a networking, support, and resource-locating tool for Monroe County residents with AIDS.
Community Recognition
During the year 1990, the seven volunteers who worked a total of 800 hours and answered over 2,000 calls on the switchboard were nominated for and won the Bloomington-wide award for Volunteer Group of the Year.
Troubles
In 1987 the Bloomington Herald-Telephone newspaper made a wish list for supplies needed by nonprofit groups. The gay and lesbian switchboard requested several items related to its phone system. The Herald-Telephone found itself the target of significant disapproval for having "supported" a primarily gay and lesbian organization, but defended its decision to offer aid to the switchboard.
Homophobic harassment in the community and at IU became a significant issue for the Bloomington Gay and Lesbian Switchboard; the most common types of calls throughout the 1980s were attack calls and hangups, which wasted the time and effort of the volunteers working the board.
In late March and early April 1983, the Indiana Daily Student ran a series of five articles about the problems frequently faced by gay and lesbian students at Indiana University. The articles sought to demystify some of the aspects of homosexuality that otherwise frequently inspired confusion or negativity in heterosexual acquaintances and friends.
The March 28 article discusses the difficulties of being out in Bloomington, including the fears of violence and the risk of job loss.
The March 29 article discusses the difficulties that face gay freshmen at Indiana University.
The March 30 article deals with college freshman struggling with their sexuality and the decision between coming out and remaining in the closet.
The March 31 article deals with GLB faculty and the university administration's attitudes towards queerness.
The April 1 article deals with GLB identities and the complexities that surround decisions about coming out, or remaining out in different contexts.
Sources
Creek, Julie. “Miller Wins Volunteer Award for Lifetime Contributions.” Herald Times, April 3, 1990. http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/1990/04/03/archive.19900403.1d4dde4.sto. (Accessed 9/24/09) (Link no longer active or archived on Internet Archive.)
Dorn, Martin. "Wish List' sparks controversy." The Open Door, February 4, 1987, H-T
Hooker, Lisa. “Gay and proud.” Indiana Daily Student, March 28, 1983.
Hooker, Lisa. “Gays find there are three sexes: men, women, 'others.'” Indiana Daily Student, March 29, 1983.
Hooker, Lisa. “Freshmen struggle with sexuality.” Indiana Daily Student, March 30, 1983.
Hooker, Lisa. “IU accepting gays (officially) hasn't eliminated their fear.” Indiana Daily Student, March 31, 1983.
Hooker, Lisa. “'Just a lesbian.'" Indiana Daily Student, March 28, 1983.
Whitaker, Kimberly. “Switchboard offers advice for local gays.” Indiana Daily Student, Feb 18, 1981, News section.
Zollman, Kim. “Local homosexuals fighting homophobia.” Indiana Daily Student, March 7, 1989.