Subject: MediAlert! - June 14
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 19 Jun 1996 01:58:33 -0400

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INDEX:  "MediAlert! for 14 June 1996"
-Item 1: "Gay or Guy?" [The Single Guy; NBC Entertainment; Law & Sexuality].
-Item 2: "Homophobe Shopping Network" [American Family Association; Unilever;
PepsiCo; Procter & Gamble; Volkswagen; Mars; Revlon; Cosmair; Warner-Lambert;
Muppets Tonight; Kathie Lee Gifford; FAIR; Empower America; The Dana Carvey
Show; Friends; Good Company; Law and Order; Roseanne; Melrose Place; NYPD
Blue; Party of Five; Sisters].
-Item 3: "MediAlert/BRIEFS" [New Yorker; Associated Press; Crock; Barnes &
Noble; E Law].
-Item 4: "Web Watch" [Children's Animated Television Homepage; GLB Youth
Advisor; Liberty Tree; Queercore Beat; A Different Light].
-General Information [about MediAlerts; author notes].
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  M   e   d   i   A   l    e   r   t   !
  ____________________________

  June 14, 1996        Al Kielwasser

[1]

G A Y   O R   G U Y  ?

To ravage an old adage:  the road to homophobia is paved with
well-intentioned humor.  A recent episode of NBC's "The Single Guy" (June 13)
revolved around a recurrent sitcom theme, in which straight men are mistaken
for gay.  Upon closer inspection, such comic fantasies -- and the many "gay
jokes" they support --  reveal a rather dour heterosexism.

In this episode of "The Single Guy," the heterosexual lead -- "Jonathan"
(Jonathan Silverman) -- is placed in a homosexual environment, as the house
guest of a gay couple.  Such a storyline COULD have given way to inventive
humor, rather than the stale jokes it ultimately produced.

First, Jonathan's gay hosts assume that he, too, is gay.  Ironically,
television fiction often portrays lesbians and gay men as INSENSITIVE to the
facts of sexual orientation -- as dull buffoons or (even worse) wishful
thinkers, who constantly project their own homosexuality onto "innocent"
heterosexual bystanders.  In reality, of course, lesbians and gays are -- of
necessity -- better attuned to "reading the signs."

This particular plot device plays upon a heterosexist convention, which
positions straight folks at the epicenter of queer desire.  In real life,
such conceit takes many forms -- perhaps most tragically expressed as the
"self-defense" pleas used by gay bashers.

Jonathan's friends suggest that he tell his dullard hosts the truth.  To the
backdrop of canned laughter, he is playfully admonished:  "It's about time
you came out of the closet."  The joke is obvious, and somewhat insulting.
 Such humor belittles the coming out experience by transposing it onto the
lives of heterosexual men, where it becomes nothing more than an embarrassing
"mix-up."

When Jonathan does finally reveal his heterosexuality, his gay hosts respond
with expressions like "I'm not following you" and "Wow, when did this happen"
(as if to further demonstrate the dim wits of dizzy queens).  Keeping with
the sitcom's well-intentioned "liberalism," however, the gay men are not
really upset; obligatory "it's no big thing" speeches are made by each.

In another scene, Jonathan banters with the show's "lovable old coot" (Ernest
Borgnine), who is oblivious to homosexuality.  He tritely wonders why the two
gay men haven't "settled down with the right girl" yet.  Jonathan looks
bemused, but says NOTHING.

The message behind such humor is twofold.  Even though these gay men had
decided to live OUT of the closet, all-around "good guy" Jonathan chose to
participate in concealing their identity (reinforcing the notion that
homosexuality is a "dirty little secret").  Furthermore, there is no moral
imperative to challenge HOMOPHOBIC ignorance.  Indeed, such ignorance --
typically portrayed as an amusing affectation -- is RESPECTED.  In this
incident, Jonathan saw neither the need nor the opportunity for
enlightenment.

Continuing the plot's "mistaken sexual identity" premise, Jonathan himself
assumes that another straight man -- his new friend "Ross" (David Schwimmer)
-- is gay.  Likewise, Ross assumes that Jonathan is gay.  The audience is
supposed to assume that this sort of thing is hysterically funny.

By the episode's end, of course, both Jonathan and Ross declare their
heterosexuality to each other.  They laugh -- with RELIEF -- at all the
confusion.  These single (but REGULAR) guys all but congratulate each other
for being heterosexual (i.e., NORMAL).

One last, condescending joke concludes the story.  "Sam" (Joey Slotnick) --
who is also heterosexual -- has been annoying Jonathan throughout the
episode.  In the final scene, Ross wonders if Sam might be gay, and asks
Jonathan: "Is he?"  The meaning of the question is only made clear through
body language, as Ross swishes about the room.

Seeing the question as an opportunity for revenge -- as a chance to get back
at Sam -- Jonathan answers:  "On yeah, big time!"  Once again, gay rumors are
reduced to the level of ultimate insult.

The final joke barely rises above a slur.  The use of "fag" as an insult is
one of the most common punch lines in television and film.  Such name-calling
is also common in real life -- accenting a basher's punch, kick, or stab --
the soundtrack for hate crime.

****  ACTION/OPTIONS:  "The Single Guy" ranks among the TOP 20 television
shows.  Nielsen estimates for the first week of June indicate that the
program reached an audience of approximately 15.4 million viewers.
 Such popular sitcoms want to do better; let them know how.  Contact:  "The
Single guy," c/o  NBC Entertainment, 3000 West Alameda Avenue, Burbank, CA
91523, tel. 818-840-4444, e-mail [email-masked].

Re/Sources:  Despite their weakening LEGAL persuasion, homophobic
"self-defense" pleas still enjoy a POPULAR currency.  In his article
"Dismantling the Homosexual Panic Defense" ("Law & Sexuality," vol. 2, Summer
1992), Gary David Comstock provides a brief overview of such pleas, which
would excuse hate crimes on the assumption that "a gay man making sexual
overtures to another man deserves to be punished physically."
 "Law & Sexuality" is edited and published annually by the students of Tulane
Law School.  Contact:  "Law & Sexuality," Tulane Law School, 6801 Freret
Street, New Orleans, LA 70118, tel. 504-865-5835.

[2]

H O M O P H O B E    S H O P P I N G   N E T W O R K

The American Family Association continues to attack advertisers who "sponsor
homosexuality" on prime-time television.  Companies are blacklisted if they
buy airtime during any programs deemed "pro-homosexual" by the AFA.

The AFA does not aspire to fine distinctions.  ALL prime-time depictions of
homosexuality are perverse.

Advertisers are reprimanded for sponsoring "objectionable" broadcasts -- past
or present -- and are advised to withhold all such support in future.
 Otherwise, they are warned, AFA members across the nation will boycott their
products.

The AFA's most recent hit list (June 1996) accuses ten companies of
"promoting homosexuality" on nine programs, which aired between March and May
of this year.  The following shows and sponsors have been targeted:

 * "The Dana Carvey Show" -- According to the AFA:  "In a skit on George
Washington... Ben Franklin is shown in bed with another man.  'The
Ambiguously Gay Duo' is a cartoon skit with two Superman-style heroes who are
also homosexual lovers. They drive a super car shaped like male genitalia....
 In a spoof of Regis and Kathie Lee (Kathie Lee Gifford is known for her
outspoken Christian faith), the Kathie Lee character sings a song to a
monkey:  'I didn't evolve from you, I evolved from Jesus/We're two different
species, I don't eat my own feces/You're not of my genus, that's why you
don't cover your penis.'"  Advertiser:  Unilever.

 * "Friends" -- According to the AFA:  "Ross shows the gang the 'Hers' and
'Hers' towels, a gift for his ex-wife and her lesbian lover."  Advertiser:
 PepsiCo.

 * "Good Company" -- According to the AFA:  "Prison/homosexual jokes appear
in Jody's song:  'In a cell with some big guy named Mitch/Being his favorite
little prison bi---.'  Other characters are equally crude... [and] discuss
urinals, how men use them and which man at work has the most impressive
genitalia."  Advertiser:  Procter & Gamble.

 * "Law and Order" -- According to the AFA:  "The homosexual agenda is
promoted when a poor, misunderstood homosexual is a suspect in the case."
 Advertiser:  Toyota.

 * "Melrose Place" -- According to the AFA:  "Matt, regular homosexual
character, turns off his date by talking about his former lover."
 Advertisers:  Cosmair, Warner-Lambert.

 * "NYPD Blue" -- According to the AFA:  "John, the homosexual secretary,
appears in numerous scenes."  Advertiser:  Volkswagen.

 * "Party of Five" -- According to the AFA:  "Claudia's homosexual violin
teacher has a small part in the story."  Advertiser: Mars.

 * "Roseanne" -- According to the AFA:  "Roseanne, her sister Jackie and her
homosexual business partner Leon all three are excited when a morning talk
show comes to their diner to do interviews."  Advertiser:  PepsiCo (Taco
Bell).

 * "Sisters" -- According to the AFA:  "Norma [is] the lesbian boss of one of
the series stars....  Also, the story takes a politically correct turn with
its stretch to highlight unfair salaries for women in the workplace."
 Advertiser:  Revlon.

Even the Muppets could not escape the AFA's consumer wrath.  The association
cites PepsiCo for advertising during an April 5 broadcast of "Muppets
Tonight," which featured "frequent sexual innuendo."  Specifically, the AFA
reports, "a mouse muppet sings 'I'm Too Sexy,' and a bear muppet uses blatant
double entendre...."

Several of the companies targeted by the AFA have also been attacked other
homophobic shopping campaigns.  Empower America, the Right Wing pressure
group attempting to "clean up" TV talk shows, has assailed Procter & Gamble,
Unilever, Warner-Lambert and Mars.  According to Empower America, the group
adopted the tactic of "going directly to the advertisers" because direct
appeals to programmers "received little response."

The strategic merits of "advertiser advocacy" remain debatable, however.
 Tactical effectiveness has yet to be determined.

Jeff Cohen -- a progressive media activist and founder of Fairness & Accuracy
in Reporting (FAIR) -- has suggested that boycotting advertisers "smacks of
censorship."  Moreover, he cautions:  "Right-wing groups, because of their
ideological closeness to certain corporate sponsors, have an easier time of
getting their attention."

Whatever the merits, this tactic is certainly grounded in a realistic
assessment of market influences.  "Selection of programming for network
prime-time television is almost exclusively tied to the advertising
marketplace," observes Fred Williams, a well-known media researcher.  As long
as mainstream television is commercially-driven, program content will be
heavily-influenced by advertiser interests.

****  ACTION/OPTIONS:  Encourage corporate responsibility; urge these
companies to publicly and forcefully repudiate the AFA's censorious efforts
to promote homophobia.  
 Contact:  James A. Nixon, Vice President, Cosmair, Inc., 575 Fifth Avenue,
New York, NY 10017, tel. 212-818-1500, fax 212-984-4999;  Roger Enrico,
Chair, PepsiCo, 700 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY 10577, tel.
914-253-2000, fax 914-253-2070;  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;  Melvin R. Goodes, Chair, Warner-Lambert
Company, 201 Tabor Road, Morris Plains, NJ 07950, tel. 201-540-2000 or
800-223-0182, fax 201-540-3761;  Jerry W. Levin, Chair, Revlon Group, Inc.,
21 E. 63rd Street, New York, NY 10021, tel. 212-527-6300 or 800-334-8332;
 Forest E. Mars, Chair, Mars, Inc., 6885 Elm Street, McLean, VA 22101, tel.
703-821-4900;  Clive Warrilow, President, Volkswagen of America, P.O. Box
3951, Troy, MI 48007, tel. 313-340-5000 or 800-822-8987, fax 313-340-5025;
 Shinji Sakai, President, Toyota Motor Sales, 19001 S. Western Avenue,
Torrance, CA 90509, tel. 310-618-4000 or 800-331-4331, fax 310-618-7800;
 John E. Pepper, Chair, The Procter & Gamble Company, P.O. Box 599,
Cincinnati, OH 45201, tel. 513-983-1100 or 800-435-9254, fax 513-945-9155.

Re/Sources:  Jeff Cohen's observations were made during an interview, which
has been transcribed as "A Call To Media Activism" in Martin Lee and Norman
Solomon's book "Unreliable Sources:  A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media"
(New York:  Carol Publishing Group).  
 Contact:  FAIR, 130 West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001, tel. 212-633-6700,
fax 212-727-7668, e-mail [email-masked], URL http://www.igc.apc.org/fair/.

[3]

M E D I A L E R T  /  B R I E F S

**  ALMOST NEW . . .   The Associated Press (June 10) reports that "New
Yorker" magazine is "raising eyebrows again with a cover
showing two male sailors locked in a passionate kiss in Times Square."
 According to AP:  "The provocative sketch is a lampoon of the famous Life
magazine photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt, who shot a euphoric World War II
sailor kissing a nurse in the square on V-J Day.  The cover of the June 17
issue...  also appears to be a comment on the recent compromise under which
lesbians and gay men can serve in the military only if they keep their sexual
orientation private."
 The magazine's color sketch, by cartoonist Barry Blitt, is preceded by a
similar "lampoon."  The same concept was used last year, by a clothing
manufacturer, in a black & white ad featuring a photo of faux sailors -- and
queer "supermodels" -- Bob and Rod Jackson-Paris.
 Though AP doesn't mention that previous image, the oversight is trivial.
 More significantly, the AP report commits one of the most common errors in
"don't ask, don't tell" coverage.  The "recent (?) compromise under which
lesbians and gay men can serve in the military" does NOT mandate privacy, but
SECRECY or -- more to the point -- DECEIT.
 Contact:  "The New Yorker;" 20 W. 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036; The
Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020, tel.
212-621-1500.

** NO JOKING MATTER . . .   The nationally-syndicated comic strip "Crock" is
apparently full of it.  In the June 1 strip, a character asks his troops:
 "What color would you like your new backpacks to be?"  While a majority give
the expected reply -- "khaki" -- a lone character yells out:  "Pink!"
 Addressing the reader, the troop leader announces:  "Houston....I think we
have a problem."
 Contact: Bill Rechin and Don Wilder, Crock, c/o North American Syndicate,
Inc., 216 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017, tel. 212-455-4000 or
800-526-5464.

**  READING IS FUNDAMENTAL(IST)? . . .   A media watcher in Springfield, IL
reports:  "Our Barnes & Noble bookstore in has a display for Pride Month
throughout June.  A local Christian fundamentalist group is objecting and
threatening a boycott, saying B&N is anti-family.  We need supportive
letters...."  B&N stores in other cities have created similar displays,
despite similar threats, and the company is generally perceived as
"queer-friendly."
 Contact:  Tom Tolworthy, President, Barnes & Noble, 120 5th Avenue, New York
10011; Kim Balinsky, Manager, Barnes & Noble, 3110 West White Oaks Drive,
Springfield, IL 62704.

**  SUBMIT! . . .   The "Electronic Journal of Law" (E Law) is now seeking
submissions for a special issue on "Sexuality and the Law."  The editors
indicate that:  "This issue, planned for October, will include papers
presented at a conference to be held at Murdoch University on August 3
concerning sexual orientation and the law.  The special issue will also be
produced in digital multimedia format to include audiovisual as well as
textual materials and will be made available for distribution on CD-ROM
disks.  Consequently submissions in a variety of formats are welcome."  
 Contact:  Editorial Board, Electronic Journal of Law, Murdoch University,
Perth, Western Australia, e-mail [email-masked].

[5]

W E B   W A T C H 

**  COOL CAT . . .   The Children's Animated Television Homepage
(http://www.qcfurball.com/cat/) has announced its welcome return.  The CAT
site has been moved, and revamped.  Highlights include "AIDS Daily Summaries"
(http://www.qcfurball.com/cat/aids.html) and "The Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Youth
Advisor" (http://www.qcfurball.com/cat/glb/glb.html).  "The CAT Chronicle"
newsletter is also scheduled to return soon.  Contact:  Claude DiDomenica,
e-mail [email-masked].

**  MEDIA WATCHDOG . . .   "The Liberty Tree" -- subtitled "An Independent
TeleJournal of Comment on Media" -- deals with various aspects of the media,
"news, comment, and critical analysis."  Contact:  Liberty Tree, P.O. Box
382, Urbana, IL 61801, e-mail [email-masked],
 http://www.prairienet.org/libertytree/.

**  THIS BEAT GOES ON . . .   "Queercore Beat" has set new sites and "joined
on with The Youth Arts Project (http://www.qcc.org/yap) to bring queercore
music news to gay youth."  The Youth Arts Project "provides an opportunity
for young people to get hands on experience with the web. To check out the
Youth Arts Queercore Beat pages, go to the above URL and find 'music' in the
table of contents.  Click on and voila... Queercore Beat!"

**  SHELF HELP . . .   "A Different Light" -- billed as "America's largest
lesbian & gay bookseller" -- can be browsed at:
 http://www.adlbooks.com/~adl.  

[end]

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ABOUT MEDIALERTS

"MediAlert!" [TM] is an activist-oriented column of media criticism, focused
on lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender issues, and distributed weekly on
request.

Recipients may print, publish or post this material, in whole or part, under
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Contact:  "MediAlert!," 163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-5835,
voice-mail 415-826-5203,  fax 415-826-5203 (ext. 8),  e-mail
[email-masked].

Next "MediAlert!"  =  Friday, June 21, 1996

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AUTHOR NOTES

Al Kielwasser is the editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (Haworth
Press) and has taught a wide range of courses and workshops in media theory
and practice.  His research appears in the "Journal of American Culture,"
"Journal of Homosexuality," "Journal of Popular Culture," "Feedback: Journal
of the Broadcast Education Association," "Critical Studies in Mass
Communication," and other publications; recently, he completed a two-year
term as Chair of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco
Bay Area (GLAAD/SFBA).

__________________________________________________

 Shape the forces that shape our society . . .
 challenge homophobia in and through the media.
___________________________________________________