From: GLAADSFBA@aol.com Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 18:06:20 -0500 Subject: MediAlert!, March 31 ________________________________________________ INDEX: "MediAlert!, March 31" Item 1: "Ruth Of All Evil" [Ruth Westheimer; Ask Dr. Ruth; King Features Syndicate]. Item 2: "Advice Squad" [Ann Landers]. Item 3: "Access Abilities" [Viacom; TCI; PEG-access; Community Television Corporation]. Item 4: "The Party Isn't Over" [Party of Five; Mitchell Anderson; AFA; Procter & Gamble; Fox Broadcasting]. Item 5: "Fine Print" [Shade/Avon Books; Anything That Moves; Subaru]. General Information [about GLAAD; about MediAlerts]. _______________________________________________ M e d i A l e r t ! for the week of March 25 - 31, 1996 by Al Kielwasser Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, San Francisco Bay Area R U T H O F A L L E V I L Over the last year or so, a number of "big name" advice columnists have shown marked improvement in their ability to answer the "gay questions." However, one such columnist -- Ruth Westheimer -- actually seems to be REGRESSING. With each new effort, "Dr. Ruth" devolves further into homophobic quackery. In a column printed late last year (Dec. 21), Westheimer advised a 17-year-old transvestite to promise his phobic parents that "you will do everything in your power to keep your lifestyle under wraps" [see "Advice Without Virtue," MediAlert, Jan. 1]. Continuing a pro-closet theme this year (Feb. 27), Westheimer responded to the concerns of a young lesbian who wrote that she and another woman had been in a "wonderful relationship" for two years, but "the problem is that we are both in a sorority, so we have to keep our true feelings hidden, even though there are two other girls who have a similar relationship in our house." While paying a confused (and confusing) lip-service to the value of "rejoicing" in any relationship, Westheimer's reply NEVER touched upon the value that coming out has for EVERYONE, including heterosexuals (who often think they "don't know anybody gay"). Instead, she advised the young woman: "Whether a relationship is gay or straight, there are often times in life when it is better to keep it private . . . . I do not think that relationships, and particularly sexual relationships, have to necessarily be put into the public domain." Most recently (March 7), Westheimer printed a letter from a "concerned parent," who wrote: "Our son, 21, told us that he had visions of guys rather than girls and that he is homosexual. The next day he said he was not homosexual but rather bisexual and that he planned on marrying in several years . . . . He also told us he wants to go to a counselor and wants to be straight. Is there a psychological or medical way he could control his head? We told him that there could be an inclination but that he should control his actions. He seems to agree intellectually. What should we do?" Westheimer replied: "Of course you should provide him with the means of going to a counselor. It should be somebody who is experienced in this area. The one good thing is that since he has agreed not to be sexually active, at least for the time being you don't have to worry about AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases." Westheimer also assured this parent that "sometimes young people get very scared when they have dreams or fantasies about members of their own sex, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are gay." She then concluded by praising the reader's parenting skills. "It is very good that [your son] had enough confidence in you to speak about it," Westheimer wrote, "which gives you the opportunity to clarify the situation." Once again, Westheimer has out-quacked her rivals. In less than five sentences and fewer than 100 words, she has somehow managed to create a veritable laundry list of anti-gay defamation. Westheimer's notion that abstinence is "the one good thing" the son could do, suggests -- rather directly -- that "practicing homosexuality" would just be the worst. Her reference to "AIDS or other sexually-transmitted diseases" seems to assume that gay sex is deadly; no mention is made of ANY other possibility (perhaps this 21-year-old man could use a condom?). Anxious to assure a parent that heterosexuality is still possible, Westheimer makes no distinction between the "sexual confusion" sometimes experienced in EARLY adolescence and the so-called "scary fantasies" of the young adult in this case. Westheimer's advice is similarly confused on just about every point in this column. Obviously the son is not TOO comfortable or confident about speaking to his parents (consider the nervous chronology: after likely waiting a decade or so to reveal the truth, he quickly retracts and proceeds to change the story several times until, finally, announcing his willingness or "desire" to change). Contrary to "Dr. Ruth's" standards, it hardly seems like a sign of good parenting when -- a day after your child comes out -- you start asking around for "a psychological or medical way to control his head." Even more inexcusable than the parent's question about "control," is Westheimer's answer. All "Dr. Ruth" can vaguely recommend is "going to a counselor . . . . experienced in this area." Since most homophobes consider themselves experts on homosexuality, Westheimer's lazy advice could easily cause more harm than good. She should have at least advised readers that bona fide counseling offers an antidote for homophobia, NOT homosexuality. According to her newspaper byline, Westheimer is "a psychologist, educator and author of books about sex." It's hard to believe. In failing to dissuade her audience of the belief that homosexuality can be cured, Westheimer's "expert advice" reads like reckless malpractice. * * * ACTIONS/OPTIONS: "Ask Dr. Ruth" columns are widely syndicated by King Features, and letters can be sent in care of any paper that carries the column. To share feedback directly with Westheimer and her editor, contact: Sandy Klink, King Features Syndicate, 235 E. 45th Street, New York, NY 10017, tel. 800-526-5464, ext. 4068. - You might offer Westheimer the sort of advice she seldom gives (i.e., specific). Refer her to your local PFLAG chapter or similar group for much-needed information gathering -- perhaps she'll do the same for her readers some day (PFLAG National Offices, 1102 14th Street NW, # 700, Washington, DC 20005, tel. 202-638-4200, e-mail pflagntl@aol.com). Recommend that, as a psychologist and educator , Westheimer would also benefit from consulting any accurate resources from the Gay and Lesbian Caucus of the National Education Association (1201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036-3290, tel. 202-822-7700) or the American Psychological Association's Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns (750 1st Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, tel. 202-336-6041, URL http://www.apa.org/). - Additional Sources: In a project monitoring cases of psychiatric abuse, the National Center for Lesbian Rights has documented the recurrent torture of young queers forced to suffer "psychological or medical ways to control their heads." Contact: NCLR, tel. 415-621-0674, e-mail nclr@aol.com. A D V I C E S Q U A D In the nation's daily papers, the advice isn't ALL bad. The ubiquitous Ann Landers provides an example, in a column dismissing the notion of homosexual "cures" (Feb. 27). Landers' matter-of-fact style offers a pointed contrast to Westheimer's muddle-the-facts prose [see "Ruth Of All Evil," above]. In her column, Landers printed this letter: "Dear Ann -- Our son, 20, is confused about his gender identity. He told us that since high school he has had romantic fantasies about guys, not girls. He wants to see a counselor and become straight. is there any psychological, psychiatric or medical help for him . . . . Can you give us some guidance?" In reply, Landers wrote: "Dear Parents -- A 20-year-old male who has romantic fantasies about other males is unquestionably homosexual. Counseling will not 'straighten him around.' Nor is there any medication that will perform that magic. I do recommend counseling, however. Your son needs to talk to a professional about his feelings. He needs to know that he is not a freak, that he is not alone and that he can have a satisfying, productive life." Landers has credited her improved advice ABOUT homosexuality to fervent advice FROM homosexuals. Landers has begun to listen when her columns provoke the considerable feedback of lesbians and gays . . . who, after all, really do know better. *** ACTIONS/OPTIONS: "Dear Ann" helps shape the beliefs and attitudes of the nation. Help keep her advice in shape. Send feedback to: Ann Landers, P.O. Box 11562, Chicago, IL 60611-0562. A C C E S S A B I L I T I E S The telecommunications media in San Francisco have arrived at a major crossroads, confronting local issues of national significance. Closed-door negotiations between the City Attorney's Office and industry representatives are now taking place in an effort to hammer out the city's cable franchise -- and the stakes could couldn't be higher. The outcome will determine the vitality -- or decline -- of free expression, government access, and community education. At this time, a deal is in the works that would transfer San Francisco's existing cable franchise from its current holder -- Viacom Corp. -- to an even-bigger media baron, Tele-Communications Inc. (or TCI). The move has every potential for making a bad situation worse. The antennas at both companies lean well to the Right; neither Viacom nor TCI would qualify as First Amendment advocates. Moreover, a TCI takeover would only exacerbate that company's monopoly mania. TCI has undertaken efforts to merge with Time Warner and Turner industries, a deal that would give the company unprecedented, unilateral control over the creation AND distribution of the nation's media. In the (nine county) San Francisco Bay Area alone, TCI would directly control 90 PERCENT of the cable market. As a politically-regressive venture, TCI has demonstrated little regard for diversity. In one instance, the company effectively forced the nation's only progressive cable service -- "The 90s Channel" -- off the air. By imposing back-breaking rate increases, TCI left the "The 90s Channel" with no option but to discontinue its programming on each of seven TCI-owned companies. TCI chairman John Malone is "a predatory capitalist," according to "Boston Phoenix" media reporter Dan Kennedy. Kennedy also reports that Malone is "widely known within the communications industry as 'Darth Vader.'" That characterization is confirmed by Daniel Zool, a reporter for the "San Francisco Bay Guardian," who recently wrote: "TCI and its chair, John Malone, have a reputation for promoting a conservative political agenda and have been criticized for censoring progressive programming. Malone is a self-described fan of Rush Limbaugh and . . . TCI carries a variety of conservative channels, including Newt Gingrich's National Empowerment Television." Yet, despite such apparent pitfalls, San Francisco's current contract negotiations also provide a unique -- and long-anticipated -- OPPORTUNITY. Because any recommendations that come out of the City Attorney's Office must ultimately be approved by the city's more-progressive Board of Supervisors, a possibility for POSITIVE CHANGE remains. A majority of the board COULD broker a deal that would not only safeguard the public interest, but bind TCI to a higher (yet fairer) level of community support. Much like a broadcast license, the cable franchise is essentially a "license to print money." Unlike a broadcast license, however, cable franchises are granted by a municipal rather than Federal government. In exchange for such lucrative options -- and the use of a city's or county's "public rights-of-way" -- a cable company is expected to provide some form of community compensation. Typically, such compensation has involved funds, facilities and channel space to support "public, educational, and government access" -- or "PEG-access" -- programming, sometimes simply referred to as "community-" or "public-access" cable. In San Francisco, the compensation has been slight, and the community slighted. Critics point out that, for the past 40 years, city officials have failed to bargain competently (or even ethically) with cable companies. Successive franchise agreements have ignored community needs and industry obligations outright. Even when public interests WERE spelled-out, such provisions have been "overlooked" -- and un-enforced. As a result of this historical ignorance, PEG services have been woefully neglected (along with citizen's rights). The POTENTIAL of public access has gone largely UNFULFILLED. Zane Blaney, executive director the Community Television Corporation (CTC), is spearheading an effort to ensure that history does NOT repeat itself. "Viacom Cable has made a billion dollars from the use of our rights-of-ways and TCI will make even more," Blaney says. "They can afford to give back a small portion of their profits for the use of our streets and other utilities." Blaney has called upon individuals and community groups to send a strident message to San Francisco's Mayor and Board of Supervisors, insisting that -- this time around -- the public interest is not sacrificed to private profit. Specifically, Blaney is urging elected officials to REJECT the TCI transfer UNLESS the franchise agreement is modified to provide the following, basic guarantees: - 1. A commitment to increase the relative channel capacity for public access as overall cable capacity increases; if at some future date a cable company acquires the capacity for offering a hundred new channels, for example, this provision would ensure that at least a few of these would be reserved for something other than home shopping, pay-per-view, and "psychic friends" networks. - 2. A governance system in which community-access channels are actually community-managed. Currently, Viacom exercises inordinate (even censorious) control over San Francisco's public access channel; a more appropriate and accountable custodian of the channel would be the CTC, a city-established and publicly-accountable agency. - 3. Under no circumstances the city enter into any agreement with TCI -- one of the largest and wealthiest media monopolies around -- unless expanded operational funding is guaranteed for public, education and government access channels. - 4. Finally, these funds and resources must be sufficient to support a new Public Access Media Center (which would provide broad community access to video, multimedia, and Internet resources) as well as the upgraded, state-of-the-art, fully accessible PEG facility San Franciscans sorely deserve (unlike San Francisco, several other major cities already require such a level of compensation from cable franchises). Along with these franchise modifications, Blaney is also urging the Mayor and Board of Supervisors to create a new "telecommunications oversight authority." This municipal body would serve as a CREDIBLE agency for franchise enforcement and provide a source for COMPREHENSIVE strategic planning. The safeguards proposed by Blaney and the CTC seem prudential -- not only for San Francisco, but any cabled community. In the midst of unrestrained mergers, as corporations like TCI continue to consolidate their media control, the right of access has seldom been more precious -- or more vulnerable. Within the competitive climate of media conglomerates, "free speech" is increasingly understood a corporation's freedom to talk and the individual's freedom to listen. Unless we can preserve and promote our basic right to SPEAK THROUGH the public media, we might very well be left with only one option -- being SPOKEN TO. In failing to defend public access, we will have guaranteed our "right" to be silenced. * * * ACTIONS/OPTIONS: The public interest will only be served if the public gets interested. Send cards and letters to: The President and All Members, Board of Supervisors, City and County of San Francisco, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102; The Honorable Willie Brown, Mayor, City and County of San Francisco, 401 Van Ness Avenue, Room 336, San Francisco, CA 94102. Send copies of all correspondence to the San Francisco Community Television Corporation, P.O. Box 427190, San Francisco, CA 94142, tel. 415-557-4293, fax 415-557-4449, e-mail accesstv@sfctc.org, URL http://www.sfctc.org; the CTC can provide sample letters or postcards, as well as additional background and updates on the TCI deal. - For information regarding efforts to defend and expand public access across the nation, contact: The Alliance for Community Media, 666 11th Street NW, Suite 806, Washington, DC 20001-4542, tel. 202-393-2650, fax 202-393-2653, jobline 408-864-5413, e-mail alliancecm@aol.com. - Additional Sources: After being charged off the air -- literally -- by TCI, providers of "The 90s Channel" recouped as "Globalvision." Contact: "Globalvision," 1600 Broadway, # 700, New York, NY 10016, tel. 212-246-0202, fax 212-246-2677, e-mail dschechter@globalvision.org. T H E P A R T Y I S N ' T O V E R The Fox network has announced that "Party of Five" will be renewed for a third season and 22 new episodes. Though critically-acclaimed, the drama series has been less successful in the ratings department. Recently, Mitchell Anderson -- the actor who plays "Party of Five's" recurring gay character ("Ross") -- revealed that he, too, is gay. This real-life coming out will certainly fan the fires of an otherwise waning campaign against the series, orchestrated by the conservative American Family Association (AFA). From the start, the AFA has encouraged its members to protest the show's "homosexual violin teacher," and the series is listed on the AFA's current roster of 11 prime-time programs that "bombard viewers with pro-homosexual TV." The AFA has specifically pressured Procter & Gamble, urging the company to cease buying airtime during "Party of Five" broadcasts. According to the AFA, Procter & Gamble has been the show's "top advertiser" since last September. The company has also been cited for being the top sponsor of several other "pro-homosexual" series, including "The Crew" (Fox), "Friends" (NBC), and "Sisters (NBC). *** ACTIONS/OPTIONS: Anti-AFA letters and counter-calls can be directed to John E. Pepper, Chair, Procter & Gamble, P.O. Box 599, Cincinnati, OH 45201, tel. 513-983-1100 or 800-435-9254, fax 513-945-9155; Fox Broadcasting, P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, tel. 310-277-2211, e-mail foxnet@delphi.com. -- The American Family Association -- "a Christian organization promoting the Biblical ethic of decency in American society with primary emphasis on TV and other media" operates through: Donald E. Wildmon, President, AFA, P.O. Drawer 2440, Tupelo, MS 38803, tel. 601-844-5036, fax 601-844-9176, e-mail amfamily@ebicom.net, URL http://www.gocin.com/afa/home.htm. F I N E P R I N T -- Hailed as "the first anthology devoted exclusively to fiction by Black gay men," SHADE will be published this June by Avon Books (tel. 212-261-6832, URL http://www.glyphmedia.com/host/shade/); the collection's editors are Charles H. Rowell and Bruce Morrow (tel. 212-691-6590, fax 212-675-0171, e-mail bmorrow@panix.com). -- The Winter 1996 (Issue # 10) edition of "Anything That Moves" - "the magazine for the discriminating bisexual" - focuses on "media watching." A special section on "Bisexuality and the Media" collects feature articles, essays and reviews that range across the mass media -- from "Newsweek" to the Internet. Contact: "ATM," 2404 California Street, # 24, San Francisco, CA 94115, e-mail qswitch@igc.apc.org. -- A new print campaign for Subaru cars will begin appearing in lesbian/gay magazines in April. The ad depicts two women smiling at each other; the copy humorously confuses "long-term commitments" to people and/or cars. According to the "San Jose Mercury News" (March 17), the campaign was created in response to market research indicating "lesbians are four times as likely as the general public to buy Subarus." Contact: Takeshi Higurashi, Chair, Subaru of America, Inc., P.O. Box 6000, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034, tel. 609-488-8500 or 800-782-2783. _______________________________________________ ABOUT GLAAD . . . . 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 an independently-incorporated, nonprofit organization, which is volunteer-based and member-supported. Dedicated to cultural advocacy and media activism, GLAAD/SFBA promotes the fair, accurate and diverse representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lives. The San Francisco chapter of GLAAD is the largest and oldest in the nation. To report any defamatory or affirmative media coverage, call the 24-hour "MediAlert Hotline" (415-861-4588), or write to: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103, tel. 415-861-2244, fax 415-861-4893, e-mail glaadsfba@aol.com, URL http://www.ccnet.com/gaytrek/glaad.html. ________________________________________________ ABOUT MEDIALERTS . . . . "MediAlert!" is a weekly, action-oriented media criticism column, produced and distributed on request by GLAAD/SFBA. This material may be printed, published or posted, under these or any titles, in whole or part, without prior permission. When appropriate, attribution may be made to "Al Kielwasser" and/or "GLAAD San Francisco." ________________________________________________ ABOUT MEMBERSHIP . . . . GLAAD/SFBA's work is directly supported by our members; we receive no funding or other benefits from the GLAAD/National office. To request a membership brochure or further information about GLAAD/SFBA projects and programs, please contact: Kristy Billuni, Managing Director, GLAAD, tel. 415-861-3021, fax 415-861-4893, e-mail billuni@aol.com, URL http://www.ccnet.com/gaytrek/glaad.html. For membership information in any of the following cities, direct requests to these GLAAD Chapter Offices: Atlanta (tel. 404-876-1398, fax 404-876-4051), Chicago (tel. 312-871-7633, fax 312-685-8064), Dallas (tel. 214-521-5342 ext. 816, fax 214-247-5803), Kansas City (tel. 816-374-5927, fax 816-561-7604), Washington, DC (tel. 202-429-9500, fax 202-857-0077), San Diego (tel. 619-688-0094, fax 619-294-4814). ________________________________________________ "MediAlert" [TM] and "Project 21" [TM] are trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area, a nonprofit [501(c)(3)] organization; the views expressed by GLAAD/SFBA do not necessarily represent the opinions of other GLAAD chapters.