Subject: GLAAD MEDIA WATCH, Sept. 8
From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 11 Sep 1995 16:47:36 -0400

M E D I A   W A T C H   
for
September 8, 1995

by
Al Kielwasser
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,
San Francisco Bay Area

P O P   F R I C T I O N  

"The Gay '90's:  Entertainment Comes Out Of The Closet."  So declares the
banner headline on the cover of "Entertainment Weekly's" ("EW") September 8
issue.  Inside, the magazine's "special report" consumes over TWENTY glossy
pages with interviews, celebrity profiles, feature stories, poll results, and
historical sidebars devoted to the intersection of queer and pop cultures.
 In sheer volume alone, such coverage is unprecedented for a mainstream
publication.

Highlighting "Entertainment Weekly's" special report are a series of boxed
inserts, spread across the main features.  Biographical boxes provide brief
stats on a mix of queer media professionals (David Geffen, Melissa Etheridge,
Clive Barker, Wilson Cruz, Max Mutchnick).  Other inserts summarize "gay
milestones in entertainment history," Hollywood "gays (who) work behind the
scenes to give entertainment a makeover," and the results of a nationwide
Gallup poll conducted for the magazine.

The poll surveyed attitudes about "gay performers and entertainment."  The
results were fairly standard, with older, less-educated and (presumably)
heterosexual men giving the most homophobic answers.  A majority of
respondents (approximately 60%) said "no," when asked "If one of your
favorite actors were to announce he/she was gay, would this change your
opinion of him/her."  A similar majority (again, 60%) answered "yes," when
asked "Would you be offended by a TV show that showed two people of the same
sex kissing romantically?"  

These findings confirm the "Melrose Place Syndrome."  To appease the public's
fears, television has tended to DEFINE but not DEPICT characters as lesbian
or gay.  In the public and media mainstreams, homosexuals are a bit less
offensive than homosexuality.

Leading off the "Gay '90s" series is Jess Cagle's feature article, "America
Sees Shades of Gay."  Drawing an (awkward) analogy to the ways African
American traditions were "turned into mainstream rock & roll in the 1950s,"
Cagle argues:  "In 1995, the gay stream flows freely into the mainstream."
 With unbridled optimism, the author admonishes readers to "Just look around
-- look EVERYWHERE.  Gay characters are multiplying on screens big and
small."

To Cagle's credit, the article provides an interesting gloss on recent
cultural shifts, taking into consideration everything from gay actors to gay
aesthetics.  Still, the author poses and answers a key question
all-too-quickly:  "What force roiled this sea change? . . . .  Quite simply,
gay sells . . . .  So it's no accident that advertising was at the vanguard
of the gaying of America as the first business to realize that homosexuals
comprised a very desirable demographic.  Not the largest demographic, but one
with powerful handfuls of disposable income."

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people have no more "handfuls of
money" than anyone else.  In fact, many queers suffer from the economic
burdens heaped upon all oppressed minority groups.  Cagle is simply wrong.
 Calvin Klein did NOT pioneer the movement.

Ultimately, there is enough material in this "special report" to delight AND
offend most readers.  MOST, that is, but not ALL.  For Right Wing bigots,
ever-ready to rally the phobic troops,  "EW" can only offend.  Professional
homophobes, such as the American Family Association or the Christian
Coalition, will read this magazine as a collection of satanic verses.

****  ACTION:   Whatever media gains are made in the "Gay 90's," they will
only be held through our watchfulness.  Encourage "EW" to continue exploring
queer subjects, and add your voice to the current conversation.  Contact
Norman Pearlstine, Editor-In-Chief, "Entertainment Weekly," 1675 Broadway,
New York, NY 10019; "EW" specifically encourages on-line readers to "talk
about this week's cover story on the Gay '90s," utilizing American Online
(keyword:  EW) or the World Wide Web (http://pathfinder.com/ew/).

T H E   L A T E S T   F R O M   L E T T E R M A N  

The September 6 broadcast of "The Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS)
featured yet another indication that the talk-show is veering toward a
routine of defamation-as-comedy.  For his regular "Top 10" list, Letterman
presented the "Top 10 Horrifying Secrets" about professional baseball player
Cal Ripken.  The Number One horrifying secret was:  "Two Words -- Switch
Hitter."  This moldy epithet for bisexual people contains no remnant of humor
in 1995, particularly when presented as the MOST HORRIFYING SECRET a sports
hero could ever keep.

In late July, Letterman's "Top 10" list delineated "ways to discourage your
teen from smoking cigarettes."  Reason Number Two:  "Tell them they'll end up
like that fruity ass bastard in the Montclair ad."

The "Late Show" production staff have acknowledged that they desperately need
new concepts in order to compete with rival Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" (NBC),
which recently beat out "Letterman" for an Emmy.  Apparently, however, "Late
Show" staffers have confused fresh material with stale homophobia.

****  ACTION:   Let "Letterman" know who ISN'T laughing now.  Contact:
 Rosemary Keenan, Publicist, "The Late Show With David Letterman," 1697
Broadway, New York, NY 10019, e-mail [email-masked]; copy your
comments to Peter Tortorici, President, CBS Entertainment, 7800 Beverly
Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036, tel. 213-852-2345.

A C T I N G   O N   I N S T I N C T  

The latest issue of "The Advocate" features an interview with Paul Verhoeven
("Cinema Fall Preview," September 19), in which "the director of 'Basic
Instinct' and (the soon-to-be released) 'Showgirls' talks to the gay press
for the first time."  Conducted by Peter Galvin, the doting interview reveals
(perhaps unwittingly) Verhoeven's complete disregard for heterosexism and
homophobia . . . and his consequent disdain for homosexuals.

Galvin begins his article with the observation:  "Paul Verhoeven is
laughing."  More to the point, Verhoeven is laughing AT a December, 1994
statement issued by GLAAD, which advised filmgoers to be on the alert
regarding "Showgirls."  At the time, portions of the film's script, as well
as complaints from gay staffers working on the film's set, prompted GLAAD's
warning.  It appeared that the bisexual villain in "Basic Instinct" would be
followed by a lesbian villain in "Showgirls."

Galvin reports that "Verhoeven, 57, thinks it's amusing that gay activists
are already gunning for his next movie long before the September 22 release
date . . . ."  However, GLAAD's early warning was not only warranted by the
facts at hand, but fully justified in light of Verhoeven's dismal record.  It
seems that the "amused," "laughing" director simply finds pleasure in our
persecution.

Galvin also reports:  "When asked if he thinks 'Showgirls' is homophobic,
Verhoeven answers with an emphatic no."  Ask a stupid question . . . .

"Verhoeven feels that -- like 'Basic Instinct' -- 'Showgirls' doesn't make a
big deal about the issue of bisexuality," Galvin writes, "In the director's
mind 'Basic Instinct' shows that 'homosexuality is exactly the same as
heterosexuality.'"

Ignoring the chasm that is Verhoeven's denial, the director misses a rather
basic point:  EQUITY is neither the same as -- nor dependent upon --
SIMILARITY.  Homosexuality and heterosexuality are not EXACTLY the same (and
why should they be?).

Near the end of Galvin's interview, Verhoeven disparages the "gay groups"
that had recommended script enhancements for "Basic Instinct" (and sought to
educate him about Hollywood's homophobia).  Verhoeven excretes:  "I thought,
FUCK YOU ALL.  YEAH, YOU MIGHT HAVE YOUR PROBLEMS, BUT IT'S MY FUCKING MOVIE.
 AND I DISAGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU WANT."

"Besides," the director adds, "the movie was NOT antigay, because I could
never make that kind of movie anyway.  In fact, it's a PRO-GAY movie, because
Sharon Stone's character says, 'I don't give a shit if I fuck to the left or
to the right, I'll do whatever I fucking want.'"  Finally, Verhoeven boasts
(and lies):  "I'm one of the few directors in the world who have dealt with
homosexual themes."

Unfortunately, "The Advocate's" Peter Galvin not only fails to challenge
Verhoeven, but seems to agree with "the handsome Amsterdam-born director."
 Galvin writes:  "It's actually ironic that Verhoeven has been branded a
homophobe by some gay activists in light of the homoerotic content of two of
his earlier films," "Spetters" (1980) and "The Fourth Man" (1979).

According to Galvin, "One of the young men (in 'Spetters') is a closet case
who is sexually and spiritually liberated after being gang-raped."  He goes
on to note:  "Even gayer is 'The Fourth Man,' a thriller about a bisexual
novelist who gets involved in a sexual triangle with a murderous beautician
and her hunky boyfriend."

In his classic book, "The Celluloid Closet," film historian Vito Russo
describes "The Fourth Man" somewhat differently.  As Russo saw it, the movie
was typical of films in which "we are presented with gay men who obsessively
try to seduce straight (real) men and come to grief over it."  "It's a film
about the consequence of obsessive sexual desires," Russo explains, "that
paints women as predatory creatures and homosexual men as helpless victims of
their own lust.  Homosexuality itself, and not the individual homosexual
character, is seen in these films as obsessively sexual in nature."

That Verhoeven should have difficulty developing the "individual homosexual
character" is not surprising, especially given the unfounded theories of
sexual identity he shares with Galvin.  According to Verhoeven, sexual
orientation "depends to a large degree on the gender of the first person you
have sex with."  Galvin does not interrogate (or even comment upon)
Verhoeven's claim, even though it flies in the face of experience for many
lesbians and gay men.

At the end of the interview, Verhoeven declares that his films deal with sex
as "a way to play."  "In sex you can express what you did when you were 4 or
5 years old and you played with your friends on the street."  On this point,
he may be right.  Paul Verhoeven continues to embody the bullying ignorance
of a school-yard homophobe.

****  ACTION:   Send feedback regarding Peter Galvin's less-than-probing
article to Jeff Yarbrough, Editor-In-Chief, "The Advocate," P.O. Box 4371,
Los Angeles, CA 90078; direct any letters intended for publication to
"Letters to the Editor," at the same address, fax 213-467-6805, e-mail
[email-masked].  As always, individual filmgoers must draw their own
conclusions about "Showgirls;" comments for the director should be sent to
Paul Verhoeven, "Showgirls," c/o Carolco Studios, 8800 Sunset Blvd., Los
Angeles, CA 90069, tel. 213-850-8800.

J O U R N A L I S T S   U N D E R   A T T A C K  

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is preparing to release a
groundbreaking survey of attacks on lesbian/gay journalists and journalism.
 Summarizing a preliminary draft of the survey, "Chronicle" staff writer
David Tuller reports that "gay and lesbian journalists are arrested, censored
and persecuted . . . by governments around the world" 

According to Tuller, the survey documents more than two dozen cases of
persecution, including police detention of magazine editors in Hungary,
threatened and actual imprisonment of journalists in Russia and Nicaragua,
and government seizure of lesbian and gay news magazines in Canada.  In many
of these cases, repressive pornography laws have been used to vanquish ANY
coverage of lesbian or gay subjects.

As Tuller explains, CPJ hopes this new survey will not only shed light on the
documented cases of abuse, but also "encourage gay and lesbian journalists
around the world to inform the group of other repressive government actions."
 CPJ anticipates that the new report will serve as a catalyst for revealing
many more attacks on the lesbian and gay press, attacks which might otherwise
go unnoticed and unchallenged.

CPJ will formally issue its report, authored by Russian journalist Masha
Gessen, at the October convention of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists
Association (NLGJA).  Founded in 1981, CPJ is a nonpartisan, nonprofit,
membership-supported organization that "monitors abuses against the press and
promotes press freedom internationally."

****  ACTION:   For information on fighting back, contact:  Committee to
Protect Journalists, 330 Seventh Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10001, tel.
212-465-1004, fax 212-465-9568, e-mail [email-masked].

M E D I A   B R I E F S  

* COMING ATTRACTIONS . . .   On October 11, the Comedy Central cable network
presents "Out There in Hollywood," the third installment of the network's
annual queer comedy showcase.  Contact:  Comedy Central, 1775 Broadway, New
York, NY 10019.

* ACTORS' EQUITY . . .   "USA Today's" David Patrick Stearns joins the
growing number of reporters who see a new level of queer visibility emerging
in the nation's popular culture ("Gay Roles," September 6).  Stearns
acknowledges homophobic resistance, but concludes that "gay characters show
no sign of retreating from the mass media.  The theater, which so often feeds
movies and TV with ideas and talent, is teeming with gay plays."

* WEB WATCH . . .  (1)  The Feminist Majority (FM) has launched a World Wide
Web site (http://www.feminist.org); the new site contains "a comprehensive
array of information on all aspect's of women's issues -- with over 1200
screens of information.  Contact:  Women Leaders Online/Political Woman
Hotline, 276 Chatterton Parkway, White Plains, NY 10606, e-mail
[email-masked].    (2)  "CTN" Magazine, the "National Magazine for Deaf
Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals," has formed an online Deaf Resource Center
(http://www.hooked.net/users/dqrc/).  Contact:  CTN, e-mail [email-masked]
or [email-masked], TTY/fax 415-626-9033.    (3)  The Same-Sex Marriage Page
can now be browsed on the web
(http://www.nether.net/~rod/html/sub/marriage.html).  

* ON THE RACK . . .   (1)  A "special fall preview issue" (September 19) of
"The Advocate" -- "The National Gay & Lesbian Newsmagazine" -- offers a broad
summary of new developments in music, books, television, cinema and theater;
Contact:  "The Advocate," P.O. Box 4371, Los Angeles, CA 90078, tel
800-827-0561, fax 213-467-6805, e-mail [email-masked].    (2)  Openly-gay
actor Dan Butler ("Frasier," NBC) is the cover story for the July 13 -26
issue of "Metroline," a New England-based lesbian/gay newsmagazine; Contact:
 "Metroline," 1841 Broad Street, Hartford, CT 06114, tel. 203-278-6666, fax
203-278-9898.

* CLOUDED THINKING . . .   This month, the American Life League, a Right Wing
fundamentalist group based in Virginia, has demanded that the Walt Disney
Company recall video copies of "The Lion King." In one scene  -- the Leaguers
claim -- the word "sex" appears, ever so lightly, etched in a cartoon cloud.
 In April, the League mounted a mail campaign against another Disney film,
"Priest," for its depiction of a gay cleric.  Disney spokesperson Rick
Rhoades said there are no plans to recall "The Lion King" and he stated that
his company "can guarantee there's no symbolism, nor sordid imagery" in the
children's animated film.  Contact:  The Walt Disney Company, 500 S. Buena
Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521, tel. 818-560-1000.

* CRITICAL JOURNALISM . . .   Salem, Oregon's leading daily, the
"Statesman-Journal," recently (September 5) featured a review of "The Pink
Swastika:  Homosexuality in the Nazi Party," a book published by the Oregon
Citizens Alliance (OCA).  Part of the OCA's on-going hate campaigns, the book
essentially argues that homosexuals caused the holocaust.  Dan Hays, book
reviewer for the "Statesman-Journal," accurately perceived "The Pink
Swastika" as "a work of pure propaganda masquerading as serious scholarship
and historical study" and "an argument Hitler himself would have admired."
 Such a critical lens should be focused regularly on Right Wing media, which
are filled with claims that -- however outrageous -- go unchallenged in the
mainstream press.  Contact:  Mike Whitehead, Executive Editor,
"Statesman-Journal," P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309-1015, tel 503-399-6611,
fax 503-399-6706, e-mail [email-masked].

* E-MEDIA WATCH . . .   The Women's Studies Programme at Massey University
has established a new online discussion list, "Queer Studies Aotearoa."  The
purpose of the list is "to connect scholars and activists working in the
areas of feminism, queer studies, cultural studies, gay, lesbian and
bi-sexual rights."  To subscribe, e-mail [email-masked], with the
message "subscribe QSA."  Contact:  Women's Studies Programme, Massey
University, P.O. Box 11-222, Palmerston North, Aotearoa, New Zealand, e-mail
qsa@@massey.ac.nz, URL:  http://cc-server9.massey.ac.nz/~wwwms.

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LET THE MEDIA KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING!

The GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION challenges homophobia in and
through the mass media . . . shaping the forces that shape our society.

Founded in 1988, the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of GLAAD is a non-profit,
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.

To notify GLAAD/SFBA of any defamatory or affirmative media coverage, or to
request GLAAD membership information, please call the 24-hour Media Watch
Hotline (415-861-4588) or write Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation,
1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103; Fax 415-861-4893;
E-mail [email-masked]; World Wide Web
 http://www.gaytrek.com/gaytrek/glaad.html.

To support on-going monitoring and response efforts, GLAAD asks individuals
to forward copies of any correspondence they send to, or receive from, the
media.

MEDIA WATCH is a weekly report that may be printed, published or posted, in
whole or part without prior permission.  When appropriate, attribution should
be made to "Al Kielwasser" and/or "GLAAD San Francisco."  GLAAD/SFBA greatly
appreciates copies of publications that make use of the MEDIA WATCH.

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