Subject: MediAlert! - April 14
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 10:46:20 -0400

------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDEX: "MediAlert!  -  April 14"
-Item 1: "Comic Reliefs" [DC Comics; Death - The Time of Your Life; Justice
League America; Heroes; DC Comics Online].
-Item 2: "Poor Performance" [National Coalition Against Censorship;
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center; Angels in America].
-Item 3: "The Matter of Opinion" [Gallup; Los Angeles Times Syndicate; David
Moore; PFLAG Tulsa].
-Item 4: "Web Watch" [Consumer Project on Technology; Radio Resistor's
Bulletin; Gay TV Home Page; Hex on Exon; Asian American Journalists
Association; LatinoLink; National Association of Black Journalists].
-Item 5: "Special Writes" [Pat Robertson/CBN; Jack Valenti/MPAA; Bill
Handel/KFI].
-General Information [about GLAAD; about MediAlerts].
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  M  e  d  i  A  l   e  r  t  !
  ___________________

  for the week of 
  April 8 - 14, 1996

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

[1]         C O M I C   R E L I E F S

Though they have always been the subject of conservative criticism and
fundamentalist fears, comic books are sometimes ignored by progressive media
activists.  The significance of the medium -- and the uniquely involved
audience it commands -- should not be overlooked, however.  Several comics
have made notable efforts to include queer themes.

Comic fan David Hamburger reports that Milestone Media "has included gay and
lesbian characters in almost all of their books."  According to Hamburger,
Milestone's latest effort -- "Heroes" -- includes an interracial lesbian
couple.  "Donner" (who is super-strong) and "Blitzen" (super-fast) are
"prominently featured in this comic as the core of the super-heroes team,"
says Hamburger.   "The comic is currently a six-issue mini-series, but --
with enough support -- it would likely become a regular series."

Lesbian characters are also included in DC Comics' new mini-series, "Death:
 The Time of Your Life."  The main characters in "Death" are Hazel and
Foxglove, a lesbian-couple-with-child.  Foxglove is also a successful rock
star, who must confront an industry that would rather she "played it
straight."  This plot offers unusual opportunities for depth, marred only by
the shallow warning slapped on the comic's cover:  "Suggested for mature
readers."

Another DC series -- "Justice League America" (JLA) -- takes a less-direct
approach to sexual orientation, but the subject is NOT reserved for "mature
readers."  In a recent issue (#110) , one member of the "League" is dismayed
to learn that his colleagues had simply assumed he was gay.  In fact, Albert
(aka "Nukion") was thought to be romantically involved with another
super-hero, Todd (aka "Obsidian").

His heterosexuality challenged, Albert rushes to confront Todd, demanding to
know if the rumor had ANY basis in fact.  Todd states that he IS happily
involved with a woman, but . . .  he DOES love Albert.  When pressed to
define just what kind of affection he's talking about, Todd refuses to "put a
label" on love.  

Later in the same story, another superhero -- Sigrid (aka "Icemaiden") --
seems a bit more willing to "put a label" on things.  When Albert asks Sigrid
for date, he suggests that they might have a lot in common.  Indeed they do,
Sigrid replies:  "We both like girls."  

In the next issue (#111) of "JLA," Sigrid explains further:  "I'm MORE than
attracted to women.  I feel such community with women, such validation . . .
."  However, she ultimately refuses -- point blank -- to identify as lesbian
or bisexual.  Mimicking Todd's lament, Sigrid refuses to be "put in a box."
 "People like nice neat boxes in confusing times," she says.  "But the truth
is, you just are who you are and you like who you like."  

Such "principled" rejections of "boxes" and "labels" are typically a
convenient substitute for affirmation; they amount to little more than
heterosexist collusions, in which lesbian, gay and bisexual persons are still
burdened with "the love that dare not speak its name."  In every medium,
queer characters have asserted the virtue of their "sexual independence" with
a complete disregard for the value (and necessity) of community.  Such
isolation effectively separates fictionalized homosexuals from the social or
political alliances that might pose too great a threat to heterosexual
privilege.

This spin is not only routine in fiction, however, but also in fact --  a
situation perhaps more reflected, than directed, by the media.  David
Hamburger argues:  "While the 'don't put a label on it' attitude might be
INFURIATING to some of us who are out (myself wholeheartedly included), it's
VERY common in the real world."  Amongst individuals in the early stages of
coming out, for example, a first step -- rejecting the "boxes" and "labels"
of compulsory heterosexuality -- can require a totalizing rhetoric not at all
unlike Todd's and Sigrid's.  As such, this comic fantasy could bridge reality
through a recognizable language that, for some readers, is clearly spoken. 

+++    ACTION/OPTIONS!   "JLA" is "one of the VERY few mainstream comics to
feature gay/lesbian/bisexual SUPER-HEROES, not just supporting characters,"
says David Hamburger.  "So it's VERY important that people write to DC to
support it. People have been complaining about these subplots taking up too
much time in a super-hero comic, though they almost NEVER complain about
heterosexual romantic subplots."  Hamburger also notes that "DC Comics
HEAVILY promoted the 'Death' series, including frank mentions of the main
characters as lesbians.  And even though these comics are geared towards
adults, many kids also read them." 
     -Send comments regarding "Justice League America" to:  Brian Augustyn,
Editor, and Jenette Kahn, Editor-in-Chief, DC Comics, 1700 Broadway, New
York, NY 10019.  The "JLA" storyline was written by Gerard Jones.
     -Feedback regarding "Death:  The Time of Your Life" can also be sent to
DC, at the above address.  Send this correspondence to the attention of:
 Karen Berger, Executive Editor, DC/Vertigo Comics, and Shelly Roeberg,
Associate Editor, "Death."
     -Comments regarding "Heroes" should be sent to:  The World Needs Heroes,
c/o Milestone Media, 119 West 23rd Street, Suite 409, New York, NY 10011,
e-mail [email-masked].
     -Subscribers to America Online can also post feedback through AOL's "DC
Comics Online" forum.  The site offers access to the comic book company's
management and creative staff, and also provides numerous public "message
boards."  While many users of the forum are fans, homophobic posts are not
uncommon (and beg a response).  For example:  "I remember back. . . when the
writers were more concerned with writing good stories than they were
concerned with appealing to the poetry-reading P.C. coffeehouse shitheads who
have taken over so many of these comics. . .  I wonder if it would even be
possible . . . to write one single comic that did not have a gay person in
it.  Probably not.  Ah well, I guess that's what back issues are for"
([email-masked]).

[2]         P O O R   P E R F O R M A N C E

The recent "decency" battle in Charlotte, pitting Tony Kushner's "Angels in
America" against the "Rev." Joseph Chambers and assorted devils, has earned a
fair share media coverage.  Lost in the hubbub, however, is another story.
 It's a genuine morality tale, about standing up -- and sitting down -- in
the fight against censorship.

While individuals and groups, both local and national, rallied in defense of
"Angels," one organization was conspicuously absent.  The North Carolina
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center -- caretaker of the theatrical venue --
showed little care for the values of free expression.  Presumptively
responsible for defending art, the Center utterly failed in that task -- at
least in this case.

According to the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), the Performing
Arts Center actually sided with the censors, rather than the creators, of
queer art.  "When it chose not to defend the play and the vital free
expression principles at stake, the Board of the Blumenthal Performing Arts
Center failed in a basic responsibility to its community," said Leanne Katz,
NCAC executive director.  "A performing arts center cannot fulfill its
mission to contribute to a vibrant community life once it abandons artistic
integrity to judgments by outside pressure groups, however large or small
they may be," she added.  

What is perhaps "most disturbing," suggests Katz, is the Center's continuing
inability to understand that they "had a First amendment as well as artistic
responsibility to vigorously oppose any use of an 'indecent exposure' statute
intended to suppress production of controversial or challenging works on
their own stage."  

In a letter to the board of directors, Katz recently encouraged "the
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center to develop at once a strong policy of
resisting attempts by anyone, under any circumstances, to censor artistic
presentations in your community."  

Rather than rise to necessary challenge, however, the Center's president --
Judith Allen -- has responded with "indignation."  Apparently, the Performing
Arts Center can muster an angry voice, after all.    

+++    ACTION/OPTIONS!   Wherever they might occur, attempts to censor public
art and media threaten us all.  The organizations that are SUPPOSED to defend
freedom of expression MUST be held to that commitment; otherwise, their
silence could easily become our own.
     -Remind the Performing Arts Center of its moral (if not professional)
obligation; encourage the Board of Directors to heed NCAC's recommendation
and develop a policy of defending the censored, NOT the censors.  Contact:
 Jim Thompson, Chairperson, and Judith Allen, President, North Carolina
Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Charlotte, NC 28237; copy your
correspondence to NCAC.
     -The National Coalition Against Censorship was founded in 1974 and
currently "joins 45 national artistic, labor, religious, professional, and
civil liberties groups committed to promote and defend the principles of the
First Amendment."  "Angel's" author Tony Kushner is also a member of NCAC's
advisory board; the organization has consistently and effectively challenged
homophobic censorship across the nation.  Contact:  Leanne Katz, Executive
Director, NCAC, 275 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10001, tel. 212-807-6222, fax
212-807-6245, e-mail [email-masked]. 

[3]         T H E   M A T T E R   O F   O P I N I O N

A new Gallup poll -- "based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected
national sample" -- posed these two questions:

     1. "Do you feel that homosexuality should be considered an acceptable
alternative lifestyle or not?"
     2. "Do you think marriages between homosexuals should or should not be
recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional
marriages?"

Immediately, the PATENTLY BIASED language is hard to ignore.  Contrasting
"marriages between homosexuals" and "traditional marriages" is certainly
skewed toward heterosexism.  At the very least, "traditional marriages"
should have been reworded; the equity of "marriages between heterosexuals"
and "marriages between homosexuals" could then be discussed,

"Valid" is another loaded, ambiguous qualifier.  "Validation" is not the
objective; equality of treatment under the law is.  Respondents could have
been asked whether or not they respected the concept of CIVIL RIGHTS.

Even less valid, of course, is Gallup's continuing use of the phrase
"homosexual lifestyles."  Because there really is no lesbian or gay
"lifestyle" per se, the question is tantamount to asking respondents if they
approve of mermaids.  

"Alternative lifestyle" is also a favored canard of homophobes.  The
"lifestyle" lingo -- and those who use it -- ultimately reinforce the notion
that "being gay" is an alternative to "being normal."  This terminology
degrades homosexuality to the level of "something tried" -- not someone's
life. 
 
Writing for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate (April 4), David Moore reports
the results of this Gallup poll.  Unfortunately, he apes much of the bias as
well.  

Moore writes that, "although Americans are somewhat more accepting of
homosexuality as a lifestyle than they were a decade ago," 50% of the
population still feels homosexuality "should not be considered an acceptable
lifestyle."  He also reports that the poll shows some significant
"differences of opinion."  Men, older people and Republicans are
"considerably more opposed to homosexuality" than women, younger people and
Democrats.  Young men (under 30) are an exception, however, and also "show
opposition" in larger numbers.    

Moore could have summarized the results simply:  homophobia is still
abundant, justice more scarce.  That's what the poll SHOWS, anyway.  But that
is NOT what Moore TELLS.  

Significantly, the word "homophobia" NEVER appears in either Moore's article
or Gallup's poll.  Instead, they dwell on "negative feelings" and
"differences in opinion," as if "opposition to homosexuality" really had
nothing to do with HATING HOMOSEXUALS.  

Yet describing "negative feelings about homosexuality" is, in effect, NO
different from describing "the feelings of homophobes."  The young men who
are most opposed to homosexuality in Gallup's poll are also the young men
responsible for most of the hate violence committed against lesbians and gays
each year.

By treating this bigotry almost exclusively as an un-named "matter of
opinion," both the pollsters and the press have conferred an unwarranted
respectability upon homophobia.  Homophobes now enjoy the pernicious
"innocence" that James Baldwin decried decades ago, in his book "The Fire
Next Time."  

"They have destroyed and are destroying hundreds of thousands of lives, and
do not know it and do not want to know it," Baldwin wrote.  "But it is not
permissible that the authors of devastation should also be innocent.  It is
the innocence which constitutes the crime."

Ironically, one of the basic axioms of successful polling is that respondents
should possess some knowledge of the subject, otherwise their opinions would
be useless.  Homophobes understand nothing about homosexuality, but -- if
they can even recognize the word -- they are surveyed.  

Unless the process is properly contextualized, however, such polls may
actually promote the very ignorance they purport to measure.  The public
opinions of an uninformed public are polled to inform the policies and
politics that keep the public uninformed.  

+++    ACTION/OPTIONS!   Critical feedback can be sent to:  Gallup,
Princeton, NJ, tel. 609-924-9600;  David W. Moore, Los Angeles Times
Syndicate, 218 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.
     -The Tulsa chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
has published several newspaper ads that effectively highlight the particular
devastation of "authored" by homophobes.  One ad begins with this headline:
 " 'Homophobia' Isn't In Every Dictionary . . .   But It's All Around Us. "
 The copy then continues, in part:  "If you're not sure what homophobia means
. . . .  We'll give you a hint.  'Hate' is a part of the definition."  The
Tulsa campaign is one aspect of PFLAG's groundbreaking national effort,
"Project Open Mind."  Contact:  PFLAG Tulsa, P.O. Box 52800, Tulsa, OK 74152.

[4]         W E B   W A T C H  .  .  .  .

- -  The Consumer Project on Technology is a non-profit organization, founded
by Ralph Nader to promote "consumer interests in matters concerning the
development of new technologies, including information technologies"  [
http://www.essential.org/cpt ].

- -  "Radio Resistor's Bulletin" is a quarterly publication "that examines
the issues and concerns that matter to those of us involved in noncommercial
radio, as well as those just passionately concerned about it."  Sample copies
are available by e-mail ([email-masked]) or WWW  [
http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/feature/rrb.html ].

- -  Carol Mortimer recently retired her much-valued "Gay TV" list service.
 However, the task has since been taken up by Michael Biocco; look for his
new "Gay TV Home Page," which lists upcoming TV shows of queer interest [
http://www.jersey.net/~not2/gaytv.htm ].

- -  Anyone worried about their ability to use "dirty words" in the post-CDA
era might want to download "Hex on Exon," a program that replaces the obscene
language in your text with the names of those obscene members of Congress who
voted for the Telecommunications Act  [
http://users.aol.com/lapreysys/index.html ]. 

- -  For resources and information regarding journalists of color, browse the
web pages of the Asian American Journalists Association [ http://www.aaja.org
], LatinoLink [ http://www.best.com:80/~latino/ ], and the National
Association of Black Journalists [ http://www.nabj.org ].

[5]         S P E C I A L    W R I T E S  .  .  .  .

THE LOVERS OF . . .  SOMETHING:   Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays sent a (April 2) letter to Pat Robertson and the Christian
Broadcasting Network following a CBN broadcast (March 26) in which PFLAG was
ridiculed as an organization of "misguided parents."  Robertson's co-host
described PFLAG as "Parents, Families and Lovers of . . . something."  PFLAG
executive director Sandra Gillis is requesting that Robertson make "a public
on-air apology for your careless remarks about our members and for your
co-host's attempt at humor to discredit a national organization with 389
chapters in every state and 11 foreign countries."  

*  WRITE:  Pat Robertson, Christian Broadcasting Network, 977 Centerville
Turnpike, Virginia Beach, VA 23462, tel. 804-420-0700, e-mail
[email-masked]. 

V-TV GUIDES:   Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) president Jack
Valenti chairs the committee of "industry leaders" developing the nation's
new V-chip/TV ratings system.  According to "Variety" (April 4):  "Although
no final decisions have been made, Valenti said the initial inclination is to
assign a 'generic rating' to sitcoms, soap operas and dramatic series based
on the content of a typical episode. Once the generic rating is applied,
however, the rating could be changed for individual episodes dealing in more
controversial themes.  Valenti said he has been 'avalanched' with requests
from writer, producer and religious groups who want to meet to discuss the
ratings."  Given Valenti's weak record on lesbian/gay issues, queer cards and
letters should be added to the "avalanche."

*  WRITE:  Jack Valenti, President, Motion Picture Association of America,
1600 Eye Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, tel. 202-293-1966, fax
202-293-7674; 14144 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423, tel. 818-995-3600.
Ultimately, the FCC will have to sign off on whatever plan Valenti proposes;
copy your correspondence to Reed Hundt, Chair, Federal Communications
Commission, 1919 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20554, tel. 202-418-0200, e-mail
[email-masked].

BROADCASTING, NARROW MINDS:   At radio station KFI in Los Angeles, host Bill
Handel has polluted the airwaves with racist and homophobic rants.  During a
March 7 broadcast, for example, Handel referred to a waiter he had met as a
"prancy little fag."  Handel's attacks on Asian-Americans have already drawn
condemnation from a number of groups, including the Media Action Network for
Asian Americans, the Chinese-American Civil Liberties Organization, and
GLAAD/San Francisco.

*  WRITE:  Howard Neal, General Manager, KFI 640-AM, 610 South Ardmore, Los
Angeles, CA 90005, tel. 213-385-0101.  

_______________________________________________

A B O U T   G L A A D  . . . .

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 [email-masked], URL
 http://www.ccnet.com/gaytrek/glaad.html.

________________________________________________

A B O U T   M E D I A L E R T S . . . .

"MediAlert!" is a weekly, action-focused column of media criticism, 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."  

Next "MediAlert!" = April 15 - 21;  Next "Media/BRIEFS" = April 15 - 28;
 Next "Class Activist" = May 1.
________________________________________________

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 http://www.ccnet.com/gaytrek/glaad.html.

For membership information in any of the following cities, direct your
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Diego (tel. 619-688-0094, fax 619-294-4814).
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