Subject: MEDIAlert! - 01.31.97 ["B"]
From: [email-masked]
Date: Sun, 2 Feb 1997 09:20:44 -0500 (EST)

----------------------------------------------------------------
INDEX:  "MEDIAlert!" for 31 JAN 97 
(Please note:  Parts "A" and "B" are posted separately; this post contains
Part "B" only)

["B"]

-ITEM 4:  "Holiday Sins"  [Holiday Inn; Super Bowl].

-ITEM 5:  "Media/Briefs"  [More Tales of the City; Showtime; PBS; Alternate
Sources CD-ROM; Variety; All Over Me; Chasing Amy; Kiss Me, Guido; Newsday;
Gay Teen's Pen Pal Connection; EuroBoy; Child Pornography Protection Act
1996].

-ITEM 6:  "Web Watch" [The Current News; Lesbian.org].

["A"]

-ITEM 1:  "Don't Ask, Don't Television"  [Dallas Independent School District;
Getting Personal; Montgomery County Public Schools; Shades of Grey; WBNC-TV;
NCAC; The High School Journal].

-ITEM 2:  "Rating the Ratings"  [Murphy Brown; CBS; TV-PG; TV-14; Jack
Valenti; AFA; FCC].

-ITEM 3:  "Reporting Homophobia"  [Esquire; Journal of Abnormal Psychology].

-GENERAL INFO  [about "MEDIAlerts"].
----------------------------------------------------------------

[Part "B"]

M   E   D   I   A    l    e    r    t    !
___________________________

January 17-31       Al Kielwasser

[4]

H O L I D A Y  S I N S ?

Few commercials achieve such heights of hype as those aired during the Super
Bowl, and this year's crop of spots included a Holiday Inn ad with a
transsexual spin.  Just a few days after this spot aired, however, the
company pulled it from the airwaves -- forever.

Set at a high school reunion, the ad portrays a women entering the room.  As
she saunters in, a voice over announces the cost of various "refurbished"
body parts -- her new nose, lisps and breasts.  Finally, she is greeted by a
classmate who recognizes her -- with certain surprise -- as the former "Bob
Johnson."  The message:  Holiday Inn plans to spend even more in refurbishing
its hotel chain, and the results promise to just as spectacular.

Following its "Super Bowl" debut, the ad became an immediate focus of comment
and controversy.  Greg Kilbourne -- host of Comedy Central's "Daily Show"
(Jan. 30) -- joked that, because the ad had created a glut of homosexual
bookings, Holiday Inn would be opening a new chain of hotels:  to be known as
"Lesbi-Inns."

According to an Associated Press report (Jan. 27), the ad "got gripes as well
as cheers."  The AP quotes two Holiday Inn representatives, who suggest that
-- initially, at least -- the cheers were louder that the gripes:  "Craig
Smith, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based hotel chain, said about two dozen
people called corporate headquarters about the commercial, and that half of
the callers liked it and the other half didn't....  Gary Sclajet, head of the
hotel's franchise owner group, said about 30 calls came into the
association's offices from franchisees and were 5-to-1 in support of the ad."

Ultimately, though, it seems that the "gripes" were heeded.  In a statement
issued on January 28, Holiday Inn apologized for any offense that ad caused
and promised to pull it off the air -- permanently.

"Our sole intent with our Super Bowl advertisement was to communicate the
significant renovation currently under way in Holiday Inn hotels," said
company spokesperson John Sweetwood.  "We aired it because we had the
overwhelmingly positive endorsement of the ad concept when it was tested with
consumers prior to its broadcast."  However,  Sweetwood added:  "We
understand that the ad has offended some people.  That was never our
intention, and that's why I have today taken the action to discontinue any
further broadcast of the Super Bowl ad."

While this ad could have offended on many levels -- in its literal
commodification of the sexual body, for example, or the typically
over-exaggerated response to transsexual revelations.  Yet, it is possible --
even likely -- that transphobic intentions motivated Holiday Inn's decision.

The ad's transsexual character -- "Bob" -- was portrayed as happy, confident
and obviously well-adjusted.  In the popular mind, however, "those people"
are not supposed to be healthy, but sick.  In its vague capitulation, Holiday
Inn may have given an "overwhelmingly positive endorsement" to the real
sickness of transphobia.

* * * *  ACTION ALERT!:   Share your thoughts on the ad and advertiser; send
comments to John Sweetwood, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing
Officer, Holiday Inn Worldwide, Corporate Headquarters, Three Ravinia Drive,
Suite 2900, Atlanta, Georgia  30346-2149, tel. 770-604-2000, fax
770-604-5403, e-mail [email-masked].

[5]

M  E  D  I  A   /   B  R  I  E  F  S  .  .  . 

***   TIME FOR TALES...    The Showtime cable network has commissioned "More
Tales of the City," a sequel to the PBS miniseries based on gay novelist
Armistead Maupin's popular book series.  As "Variety" (Jan. 27) reports:
 "The planned follow-up to the enormously popular four-hour 'Tales' was
scrapped by PBS two years ago amid a swirl of controversy and accusations
that the public broadcaster was backing off the project for political, rather
than financial, reasons.  It was charged that the behavior of Maupin's
characters -- many of whom were gay and some of whom used drugs -- inspired
the change of heart for PBS."

Perhaps signaling a progressive trend, this is the second "bailout" -- in
recent months -- of projects abandoned by more-banal broadcasters; according
to "Variety;" Showtime "also picked up 'Bastard Out of Carolina' after TNT
passed on it due to its explosive content involving rape, incest and child
abuse."

[ C o n t a c t :  Jerry Offsay, President-Programming, Showtime, 1633
Broadway, New York, NY 10019, tel. 212-708-1600,
http://www.showtimeonline.com/ ]

***   ROM & REASON...    Alternate Sources publishing has released what it
describes as "the world's first global CD-ROM reference database for all the
alternate sexualities."  "No other academic-level reference exists that
combines, catalogues, and indexes the global associations, health resources,
retailers, and other businesses that serve all the alternate sexualities,"
says editor Trevor Jacques.  "The 'Alternate Sources CD-ROM' is the world's
first all-encompassing snapshot of these communities."

With the release of their CD-ROM, Alternate Sources has also established a
free Internet search engine of the database.  That database organizes and
indexes some 10,000 resources, covering 40 countries and over 250 categories
for each of the 2,000 communities included.

Database entries are divided into 18 categories (including AIDS resources,
archives, artists, counselors, Internet/web resources, health services,
helplines, organizations, publishers, and radio/TV stations).  Listings are
further characterized by sex (male, female, transgender, transsexual,
intersex), orientation (heterosexual, homosexual, and/or bisexual) and fetish
(when appropriate).  As Jacques explains, this approach to "alternate
sexualities" was intentionally broad -- intended to encompass "everything
that is not heterosexualMissionary-position."

[ C o n t a c t :  Alternate Sources, P. O. Box 19591-557, 55 Bloor Street
West, Toronto, Ontario  M4W 3T9, tel. 416-962-1040, fax 416-962-1044, e-mail
[email-masked]; demo copies of the Macintosh/PC CD-ROM application can
be downloaded from the Alternate Sources web site, http://Alternate.com ]

***   NOW PLAYING...    Several queer-themed movies have caught the critics'
eyes at "Variety," Hollywood's venerated trade magazine.  "All Over Me" -- a
Fine Line release of a Medusa Pictures production -- is described by
"Variety's" (Jan. 17) Emanuel Levy as "an instant classic."  He adds:  "'All
Over Me' achieves the almost impossible task of probing seriously -- but not
earnestly -- the sexual awakenings of three teenagers, a lesbian, a
homosexual and a straight girl, without resorting to any stereotypical
cliches."  

According to "Daily Variety's" (Jan. 29) chief film critic, Todd McCarthy,
"Chasing Amy" is another film "grappling with some touchy sexual and dramatic
issues...  the story of a young man's attempt at romance with a
self-professed lesbian."  "This spring Miramax release will be a tricky
sell," says McCarthy.  "Some gays and lesbians will undoubtedly decry it,
Smith's youthful fans could find it too angst-ridden, and viewers older than
30 are likely to consider the film's central issues not exactly pressing, its
point of view too immature.  For all of this, however, the pic is
fundamentally amusing and appealing...."

Finally, "Variety's" (Jan. 24) Dennis Harvey gives a favorable nod to "Kiss
Me, Guido" -- which, he says, "plays gay and Italian-American stereotypes
against one another to good-natured, crowd-pleasing results."  "With each
role a stereotype of some sort,"  Harvey says, "they cancel out any possible
offensiveness, and provide juicy opportunities for a solid cast."  "Kiss Me,
Guido" is a Capitol Films-Kardana Films presentation of a Redeemable Features
production. 

[ C o n t a c t :  "Variety," 5700 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036,
tel. 213-857-6600, fax 213-857-0742;  Fine Line Films, http://www.flf.com/;
 Miramax, 7920 Sunset Boulevard #230, Los Angeles, CA 90046, fax
213-969-9840, e-mail [email-masked], http:www.miramax.com;  Capitol
Films, 23 Queensdale Place, London W114SQ, UK tel. 011-44-171-471-6000, fax
011-44-171-471-6012 ]

***   THE MEDIUM IS THE MODEM...    An antidote to widespread reporting on
"internet molesters," a recent article in "Newsday" (Jan. 28) offers
less-panicked coverage of queer teens and cyberspace.  In "What A Difference
A Modem Makes," staff writer Matthew McAllester interviews not only adult
advocates, but other authentic experts -- young lesbians and gays -- who
speak for themselves.  In this mix of careful background and compelling
biography, McAllester illuminates a liberating role that the internet can
play for lesbian and gay youth who would not otherwise have much access to
accurate and affirming information.

"The moment the modem stops screeching and the connection is made to the
'Net, the world of a gay teenager on Long Island can change dramatically,"
McAllester writes.  "The fear of being different -- even of being beaten up
-- subsides and the long roads and intolerant views that separate gay teens
lose their impact.  The communities of Long Island are far from the more
tolerant and freewheeling neighborhoods of downtown Manhattan."

Though some teens are the objects of "chicken-hawking," he cautions, "there's
no need for parents to become hysterical with worry or for pedophiles to feel
they've found a rich new vein of gullible minors to mine...."  Significantly,
McAllester quotes several bona fide "gay kids and their adult counselors"
(rather than the usual roster of ranting homophobes who masquerade as
"experts").  Their well-grounded advice:  "don't believe much of the hype
about how cyberspace is populated by pedophiles."

"Newsday" also cites several World Wide Web resources, of particular use to
lesbian, gay and bisexual youth.  Those mentioned include LIGALY's "first
Long Island-based site for gay teens" (http://www.ligaly.com), the
internationally-oriented PlanetOut (http://www.planetout.com), and Gay Teen's
Pen Pal Connection (http://www. chanton.com/gayteens.html) -- a site which,
McAllester reports, "is considered a particularly safe place to meet other
gay teens."

[ C o n t a c t :  "Newsday," 2 Park Ave., Floor 9, New York, NY 10016-5676,
tel. 212-251-6800, fax 212-696-0396, e-mail [email-masked] ]

***   BOY CRAZY...    Blasting "a new law in the United States," publishers
of Europe's leading gay erotic magazine -- "EuroBoy" -- have reluctantly
changed their name to "EuroGuy."  According to a release from Prowler Press
(Jan. 15):  "The Child Pornography Protection Act 1996 makes it a criminal
offense to depict people engaged in sexual activity in such a way as to lead
the user to feel they may be below age 18; simply proving they are over 18 is
not a defense."  Bjorn Andersen, editor of "EuroBoy," explained that the term
"boy" is understood differently in the U.S. and UK -- where it is used
more-generally, in reference to men under 30.  Andersen also lambasted "the
American Thought Police," which have forced many U.S. distributors of
"EuroBoy" to drop the title altogether while "several thousand copies of the
latest issue have been incinerated."  The new title has been adopted to avoid
such problems, Andersen said, despite the fact that "EuroBoy" is "the only
gay magazine title which is actually a household name in the UK, even amongst
people who are not themselves gay."

[ C o n t a c t :  Prowler Press Limited, 3 Broadbent Close, 22 Highgate High
Street, London N6 5GG, England, tel. +44 181 348 9963, fax +44 181 348 0023 ]

[6]

W E B  W A T C H . . .

***  Yet another member of the queer press has woven a site on the World Wide
Web; publishers of "The Current News" -- Kansas City's "largest gay and
lesbian weekly news magazine" -- recently announced their launch of "a
website in full function"  [ http://www.lobokc.com/cur_news/ ].

***  For lesbian links across the web, check out the extensive listing
maintained by Lesbian.org  [ http://www.lesbian.org/ ].

***  HHH on the WWW...   "Hollywood's Homosexual History" is the subject of a
web site that includes a who's who -- or who was -- of actors, directors and
producers  [
http://www.movienet.com/movienet/sonycl/celluloid/misc/history.html ].

***  A new web page covering the "biological research of sexual orientation"
has been launched, intended to serve as "a resource for journalists and
non-scientists interested in the research into the biological origins of
hetero- and homo-sexuality"  [ http://members.aol.com/GAYGENE ].

[End Part "B"]

--------------------------------------------------------------

ABOUT MEDIALERTS

Distributed as a community press service since 1992, "MEDIAlert!" [TM] is a
biweekly, advocacy-oriented column of media criticism, primarily focused on
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender issues.  Recipients may print, publish or
post this material, in whole or part, under this or any title, without prior
permission.  When appropriate, attribution can be made to "Al Kielwasser"
and/or "MEDIAlert!"  File copies of publications using all or part of any
"MEDIAlert!" are always appreciated (and can be sent to the address below).
 Next "MEDIAlert!":  February 15, 1997.   Contact:  A. P. Kielwasser,
MEDIAction, 163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-5835, voice-mail
415-826-5203,  fax 415-826-5203 (ext. 8), e-mail [email-masked].

--------------------------------------------------------------

AUTHOR NOTES

Al Kielwasser is the editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (New York:
 Haworth Press); his criticism and research have appeared widely, in both
mainstream and academic publications (including the "Journal of American
Culture," "Journal of Homosexuality," "Journal of Popular Culture," and
"Critical Studies in Mass Communication"), and he was twice elected Chair of
the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area.

___________________________________________

Shape the forces that shape our society . . .
Challenge homophobia in and through the media!

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