From: GLAADSFBA@aol.com Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 21:46:09 -0400 Subject: GLAAD MEDIA WATCH, Aug. 18 M e d i a W a t c h for August 18, 1995 by Al Kielwasser Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, San Francisco Bay Area B O Y C O T T B L U E S The American Family Association (AFA) is a well-financed heterosexual supremacist group, self-described as "a Christian organization promoting the Biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on TV and other media." For several months now, the AFA has been waging a national boycott campaign against the Unilever corporation, claiming the company promotes "TV sleaze" by advertising its products on programs like "NYPD Blue." Among other things, the AFA has condemned "NYPD Blue" for its inclusion of a gay character that is NOT portrayed with abject derision. The August 1995 issue of the "AFA Journal" reports that the "boycott of Unilever apparently is achieving what many reasonable appeals to the company failed to produce --a re-evaluation of the programs they sponsor on TV." The AFA cites an internal memo sent by Unilever president Richard Goldstein to several of his company executives. In the memo, Goldstein states: "While we will not yield to the threat of a boycott, we have reflected on the points made by the AFA and others. There is, without question, a rising tide of sentiment that supports a reduction in the violence and explicit sexuality from many sources to which we and our children are exposed. Therefore, we will re-evaluate our programming selection practices, challenging our current assumptions about what is appropriate for a company as diverse as Unilever." A powerful advertising force, Unilever's huge product line includes cosmetics (Calvin Klein), colognes (Elizabeth Taylor's Passion, Obsession fragrance), toothpastes (Aim, Pepsodent, Close-Up), and soaps (Caress, Dove, Lifebuoy, Lever 2000). The company also manufactures Q-tips, Breyers ice cream, Imperial margarine, Lipton tea and soups, Popsicles, Ragu Italian foods, and Vaseline brand products. Expressing pleasure at the recent turn of events, AFA president Donald Wildmon has advised his supporters "to continue to observe and promote the boycott, while at the same time to thank Goldstein and encourage him in changing Unilever's practice." Additionally, Wildmon has called upon his homophobic cult to attack Barricade Books, a New York-based company that dared to oppose the AFA's boycott. After the AFA placed a full-page ad promoting the Unilever campaign in "The New York Times," Lyle Stuart, president of Barricade Books, wrote to Unilever and announced that his company had begun a counter-boycott. Barricade Books would encourage employees to oppose the AFA by purchasing Unilever products. The "AFA Journal" reports that Stuart even had the nerve to refer to the American Family Association as "those Mississippi bigots," "religious fanatics" and "mostly nut cases." Finally, this month the AFA also announced a related advertiser victory. According to the "Journal," Celestial Seasonings, maker of popular teas and cough drops, "has written an AFA supporter that the company will no longer advertise its products on ABC's soft core porn television series 'NYPD Blue.'" The letter, signed by three Celestial Seasonings executives, states: "We are working very closely with our partner, Warner-Lambert, to ensure that our products are not advertised on this program in the future." Despite all the homophobic damnation, "NYPD Blue" has established a remarkable record of critical success. During its first season, the program earned a record-breaking 26 Emmy Nominations. NYPD Blue" has since won awards from the National Board of Review, Golden Globes, Viewers for Quality Television, People's Choice, Director's Guild, Producers Guild of America, Humanitas, the Television Critics Association, and other organizations. Advertisers could easily do worse. **** To resist the AFA's censorship campaigns, send the appropriate feedback to Richard A. Goldstein, President, Unilever United States Inc., 390 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10022, tel. 212-888-1260 or 800-598-1223, fax 212-906-4411; Lyle Stuart, Barricade Books, 150 Fifth Avenue #700, New York, NY 10011, tel. 212-627-7000, fax 212-627-7028; Mo Siegel, Chairperson, Celestial Seasonings, 4600 Sleepytime Drive, Boulder, CO 80301, tel. 303-530-5300, fax 303-581-1249; Steven Boccho and David Milch, Executive Producers, "NYPD Blue," Steven Boccho Productions, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035; Ted Harbert, President, ABC Entertainment, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067, fax 310-557-7170, e-mail abcaudr@ccabc.com. F A C I N G F A C T S On August 14, the Merrimack, New Hampshire School Board voted 3-2 to "ban teachers and guidance counselors from presenting homosexuality in a positive light." Incredibly, the new policy effectively prohibits the discussion or distribution of anything FACTUAL about homosexuality, including textbooks and other educational media. Similar policies are overtaking school boards across the nation, a sad though not unexpected trend. In the wake of mounting scholarship -- historical, psycho-social, cultural and physical -- the intellectual grounds for demonizing queers is quickly eroding. Because they literally cannot face the facts, avowed homophobes seek to suppress the truth; they must replace education with indoctrination. As these bigots realize they can no longer challenge the truth, they will increasingly seek to censor it. Unfortunately, there are no Federal protections that could defend the children of Merrimack, and that situation will only get worse. The current Congress is committed to "localizing" educational governance to protect "parental rights" and "school choice." In other words, they hope to place children increasingly at the mercy of a few school board members who, however insane, can act with almost total impunity. The children of Merrimack -- stuck where they are -- must now settle for the unequal opportunities of a profoundly inferior curriculum. Many of these children, not doubt, will carry the wounds of that deprivation through the rest of their lives. **** Direct criticism to Chris Ager, School Board Chair, Merrimack School Department, 36 McElwain Street, Merrimack NH 03054, tel. 603-424 6200, fax 603-424 6229. To help ensure the high profile and intense public scrutiny of this travesty, send letters-to-the-editors of New Hampshire's larger newspapers, "The Union Leader," (Box 9555, Manchester, NH 03108) and "The Telegraph," (Box 1008, Nashua, NH 03061). For more information about on-going efforts to combat homophobia in educational media (particularly textbooks), contact "GLAAD/Project 21," 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103, tel. 415-861-2244, fax 415-826-5203, e-mail glaadp21@aol.com. P A R E N T A L D I S C R E T I O N I S I L L - A D V I S E D When it comes to lesbian and gay programming, most public television stations have a far better record than their commercial counterparts. Perhaps that's why it is especially frustrating that so many of these well-meaning broadcasters continue to treat just about anything queer as if it were toxic television. "Warning announcements" and "viewer advisories" are prominently displayed before, after and even during programs that deal with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender issues. It doesn't matter whether the subject is civil rights or cunnilingus. The audience is routinely reminded that all such broadcasts contain "controversial," "mature" or "adult" subject matter that might not be "suitable" for all viewers. "Parental discretion is advised." A recent case in point involves the world premiere of a new documentary program, "The Question of Equality." This four-part series, which "explores the efforts of lesbians and gay men to secure equal rights protections and to live openly without fear of violence or discrimination," debuted August 14th on Northern California's major PBS outlet, KQED. Unfortunately, KQED interspersed the series with a standard litany of cautions. Once again, the disparaging mantra of "parental discretion" and "suitable subject matter" was gratuitously attached to lesbian and gay programming. Adding insult to injury, KQED used this particular broadcast as part of a "special pledge night" soliciting lesbian and gay dollars. Significantly, KQED does not plaster viewer warnings on every documentary it airs. Audiences aren't "cautioned," for example, each time the station broadcasts a series about the civil rights of WOMEN. Why, then, should viewers be repeatedly "warned" about a broadcast examining the civil rights of LESBIANS? When asked about the unequal treatment given to "The Question of Equality," KQED staff could not explain the practice. Instead, they could offered vague references to "sexual content" and "partial nudity" (hardly explicit themes in "The Question of Equality" at any rate) and a promise to "look into it." Actually, there is a familiar "reason" lurking beneath the warning labels affixed by KQED and other PBS stations. The homophobic bias that motivates their use is quite clear. Programs that AFFIRM lesbians and gays are treated as matters of legitimate controversy, while those that ATTACK our lives are not. PBS has never advised "discretion" whenever Bill Buckley bashes gays on "Firing Line." By contrast, PBS stations routinely recommend "parental discretion" in regard to programs like "The Question of Equality." This warning, in particularly, is unconscionable. It bolsters the widespread notion that homosexuality is strictly "adult subject matter." Queer youth are left to gag on the resulting censorship, which pervades nearly every aspect of their lives. Ultimately, broadcasters must recognize that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are entitled to fair and accurate information about who they are, REGARDLESS of any parent's desire for ignorance. "Parental discretion" warnings degrade this right and empower homophobic adults, giving them explicit permission to oppress their own lesbian or gay child (which they do with great success, if statistics on youth suicide and forced homelessness are any indicator). In her book "Tendencies," Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick notes: "I've heard of many people who claim they'd as soon see their children were dead as gay. What it took me a long time to believe is that these people are saying no more than the truth." In such a climate, the relentless appeal for "parental discretion" constitutes, in itself, a potential for harm that must vigorously be warned against. Of course, public broadcasters desperately deny any complicity in the harming of homosexuals. They prefer to ignore their role in what Sedgwick describes as "the systematic separation of children from queer adults" and "their systematic sequestration from the truth." "Seemingly," she concludes, "this society wants its children to know nothing; wants its queer children to conform or (and this is not a figure of speech) die; and wants not to know that it is getting what it wants." KQED and other PBS television stations ought to know better, whether they want to or not. For as long as they bracket queer subjects with discouraging, ignorant and insulting warnings, these broadcasters only affirm the homophobia that their broadcasts seek to challenge. **** Send feedback to Mary Bitterman, President, KQED, 2601 Mariposa Street, San Francisco, CA 94110, tel. 415-864-2000, fax 415-553-2456, e-mail tv@kqed.org; Kathy Quatrone, Acting Head/National Program Service and Bob Ottenhoff, Chief Operating Officer, Public Broadcasting Service, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314-1698, tel. 703-739-5000, fax 703-739-0775, e-mail www@pbs.org. Produced with funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (in the U.S.) and Channel Four Television (in the U.K.), "The Question of Equality" should achieve fairly wide coverage; ensure that your local CPB/PBS station has scheduled the series "without warning;" insist that queer programs -- and queer audiences -- are treated with unqualified dignity, equity and respect. W H A T W O U L D M I C K E Y T H I N K ? When the Walt Disney Company recently purchased Capital Cities/ABC, it picked up San Francisco radio station KSFO in the deal. Adamant about "high quality" and "good taste," Disney might want to re-think the "Hot Talk" format that has blared from KSFO over the past year. More aptly dubbed "hate talk" radio, KSFO's format panders to racism, sexism and homophobia. For example, the station's featured host -- Michael Savage -- recently ridiculed a prom held for lesbian and gay high-schoolers. The dance, Savage argued, was an "abuse of the civil rights of all heterosexual children." The chaperones for this "gay and lezzo" event were, according to Savage, "older pedophiles and things of that nature." "Older gay people who are acting as chaperones are out there cherry picking," Savage told his listeners, "You know it, and I know it . . . . They're cherry picking and their recruiting. It doesn't belong in the schools. It's disgusting." He insisted that every student attending such a prom should be given a flier that said: "Warning: The homosexual lifestyle most likely leads to AIDS and an early death." Moreover, "pictures of people dying of AIDS should be flashed on the auditorium screen." Savage -- who claims to be KSFO's "compassionate conservative" -- has argued that homosexuality essentially causes AIDS. During one broadcast, he told his audience that our public schools ought "to tell a boy not to take it up the butt if he wants to avoid AIDS." Regarding "gay activists," Savage has screamed: "How much more can we take from these monsters who are promoting heterophobia and promoting violence against heterosexuals? How much longer are we going to take it? I don't know what world they live in, but they don't live in my world and they don't live in the Savage Nation!" Ironically, Disney has actually come under fire from homophobes like Michael Savage for being "anti-family." Conservative organizations have attacked the Disney company for advertising in the lesbian/gay press, adding sexual orientation to its employment policies, hiring "avowed lesbians" and "practicing homosexuals," publishing the children's book "Growing Up Gay," releasing homosexual "propaganda" films like "Priest," and for allowing an "Annual Gay and Lesbian Day" to be held at Disney World (which the American Family Association described as a "homosexual invasion"). Most recently, however, Disney announced plans to release the movie version of "The Dreyfuss Affair," a comedy about a major league baseball team and the gay romance between two of its players. **** Ask Disney to continue rejecting the demands of homophobes AND the homophobia being promoted by it's newly-acquired radio station, KSFO. Contact Michael Eisner and Michael Ovitz, The Walt Disney Company, 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521, tel. 818-560-1000; copy your correspondence to Michael Luckoff, KSFO Radio, 900 Front Street, San Francisco, CA 94111-1450, tel. 415-398-5600, fax 415-391-3616. M E D I A B R I E F S * RADIO ACTIVITY . . . "Homo Radio" is an on-line mailing list for anyone involved in "putting together a radio show targeted at the gay, lesbian, bisexual and/or transgender community." The focus of the list ranges "from college radio to network radio to syndicated programming to international short-wave broadcasts (and everything in between!)." To join in, send an e-mail message to majordomo@abacus.oxy.edu, with the one-line message "subscribe homoradio." * TRUTH IN ADVERTISING . . . In a report filed by the Knight-Ridder News Service (and published in the "The San Jose Mercury News," August 11), Rene Rodriguez competently examines the mainstream marketing of lesbian- and gay-themed movies. She charts the varying degrees of honesty found in campaigns for a number of recent releases, including "The Incredible True Adventure of Two Girls In Love," "Wild Reeds," and "Jeffrey." Rodriguez optimistically concludes that the "coy campaigns" created for films such as "Philadelphia," "Making Love," and "Boys on the Side" -- which "didn't really address the movies' topics" -- are now being replaced by ads that are "out of the closet and proud to be there." Contact: "The San Jose Mercury News," 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190, tel. 408-920-5000, fax 408-288-8060, e-mail sjmercury@aol.com. * SEX, LIES AND VIDEO HATE . . . The homophobes of the American Family Association (AFA) have announced a "new resource for parents who want to know: 'What can I do about MTV?'" "MTV Examined" is a 30-minute video that, the AFA boasts, "arms parents, teachers, pastors and concerned citizens with the facts about what our children, teens and young adults are watching on MTV. Says the AFA: "'MTV Examined' takes a comprehensive -- and sometimes shocking -- look at the destructive effects of MTV and how the programming often crosses the line from entertainment to promotion of illicit sex, violence, drug abuse, immorality, profanity and liberal politics . . . . Caution: May not be suitable for younger children! " Contact: AFA, P.O. Drawer 2440, Tupelo, MS 38803, tel. 601-844-5036, fax 601-844-9176, e-mail AmFamily1@aol.com. * MAYORAL DRAG RACE . . . The race for Mayor of Palm Springs, California is quickly gathering national (and even international!) media attention. With the slogan "Vote for Kitty to Save Our City!," mayoral candidate Kitty Cole -- "the ultra glamorous drag celebrity" -- has been giving press interviews both day and night. As such, this local campaign could well serve as a global forum for drag visibility and awareness. Cole's upcoming whistle stops include an August 30th taping of the nationally-syndicated "Sally Jessea Raphael" show. For air dates, call the talk-show directly (tel. 212-582-1722) or contact the Cole campaign (tel. 619-770-3441, fax 619-320-2027). * MAKING HISTORY . . . Affirming the right of every student to textbooks and teachers that provide fair and factual information about homosexuality, the governor of Oregon has declared October 1995 to be "Lesbian and Gay History Month" in his state. Send compliments to: The Honorable John Kitzhaber, Governor, State of Oregon, Capitol Building, Salem, OR 97310. For more information about the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual History Month project, contact: Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network, 2124 Broadway, Box 160, New York, NY 10023, tel. 212-387-2098, e-mail glstn@aol.com. * THE REST OF THE STORY . . . Though widely touted as liberating legislation for queers, the Congressional "Employment Non-Discrimination Act" (ENDA) has come under fire for "purposely, deliberately, and intentionally" excluding protections for transgendered persons. That's but one of many under-reported civil rights abuses to be challenged by transgender activists who will convene October 2 and 3 in Washington, DC "to destroy stereotypes and educate Senators and Representatives." For more information, contact: International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy, 5707 Firenza Street, Houston, TX 77035-5515, tel 713-723-8368, fax 713-723-1800, e-mail prfrye@aol.com. * FUNDIE RAISING . . . Activists at Project Tocsin have launched a series of investigations into the shady financial dealings surrounding one of California's most homophobic television stations, KFCB-TV (Channel 42, Concord). Jerry Sloan, president of Project Tocsin, likens KFCB's business ethics to the fiscal antics that ultimately lead to televangelist Jim Bakker's notorious fall from grace. For more information, contact: Project Tocsin, P.O. Box 163523, Sacramento, CA 95816-3523, tel./fax 916-381-3115, e-mail projtocsin@aol.com. * WEB WATCH . . . On-line media watchers can now access a variety of useful resources through the World Wide Web, including: The Children's Animated Television Chronicle (http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/newslett/newslett.html/). The Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival (http://videos.com/gandl/). Digital Queers Home Page (http://www.dq.org/dq/). The Gay and Lesbian "Star Trek" Page (http://ccnet.ccnet.com/gaytrek/). The Electronic Gay Community Magazine (http://www.fn.net/~awes/egcm.html). The GLB Youth Web page (http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/glb/glb.html). CBS News Up To The Minute (http://adware.com/uttm/welcome.html). The Film & Video Resource Guide (http://http2.sils.umich.edu/Public/fvl/film.html). E-mail addresses for many media can be found at TV Net (http://www.tvnet.com/TVnet.html). The Queer Resources Directory's "Media Section" has some new additions (http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/highlights.html), and the QRD also includes a number of useful media lists (http://www.qrd.org/QRD/). Of special interest is the new Gay TV Home Page (http://pages.prodigy.com/NJ/carol_mortimer/gay_tv_menu.html). This experimental site provides information about Carol Mortimer's weekly listings of any up-coming TV programs dealing with queer characters, subjects or themes. ****************************************************** THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN GLAAD'S WORK. YOUR PARTICIPATION IS VITAL! Founded in 1988, the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of GLAAD is a volunteer-based membership organization dedicated to cultural advocacy and media activism. GLAAD/SFBA promotes the fair, accurate and diverse representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lives. GLAAD challenges homophobia in and through the mass media . . . . . shaping the forces that shape our society. MEDIA WATCH is a weekly report that may be reprinted, published or posted without prior permission, provided that, when appropriate, attribution is made to Al Kielwasser and/or GLAAD San Francisco. We greatly appreciate copies of any publications that use all or part of the MEDIA WATCH. To assist our monitoring and response efforts, GLAAD/SFBA also asks that individuals send us copies of their correspondence to or from the media whenever possible. To notify GLAAD/SFBA of any defamatory or affirmative media coverage, or to request GLAAD membership information, please call our Administrative Office (415-861-2244) or 24-hour Media Watch Hotline (415-861-4588). You can also write to: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103. Fax: 415-861-4893. E-mail: glaadsfba@aol.com. URL: http://www.gaytrek.com/gaytrek/glaad.html. LET THE MEDIA KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING! ****************************************************