From: MediAction@aol.com Date: Mon, 7 Apr 1997 23:30:58 -0400 (EDT) Subject: MEDIAlert! ["B"] - 04.4.97 ------------------------------------------------------------ INDEX: "MEDIAlert!" for 04.4.97 [PART "B"] -ITEM 3: "Families Valued" [Ricki Lake; Love Makes A Family, Inc.; GLPCI; Society for Research on Child Development; COLAGE; Charlotte Patterson]. -ITEM 4: "A Few Words From The Sponsors" [Ellen; Chrysler; General Motors; Johnson & Johnson; Jerry Falwell; Home Access Health Corp.; San Francisco Examiner; UPI; Philadelphia Daily News; Corporate Watch; Ellen Media Watch; Christian Family Network]. (Please Note: Parts "A" [Items 1-2] and "C" [Items 5-12] are posted separately) ------------------------------------------------------------ M E D I A l e r t ! __________________________ April 4 - 17 Al Kielwasser [3] F A M I L I E S V A L U E D A recent episode of "Ricki Lake" (April 4) explored -- with relative good sense -- the subject of lesbian, gay and bisexual parenting. Specifically, the day's topic for debate was: "You Shouldn't Be A parent Because You're Gay!" For most of the hour-long show, various queer parents ably dispatched the phobic objections of their straight friends and family. However, the unusually diverse panel also featured a gay African-American couple who disagreed, amongst themselves, on the issue of raising children. Other guests included two lesbian mothers and a gay single father. The panelists also ran the gamut "cultural types," from bull dyke to snap queen -- without apology. Those opposed to queer parenting objected on various grounds, including the standard appeal to "God's will." Most, however, argued that the children of homosexual parents are "gonna be teased in school" -- and therefore, for the sake of children, homosexuals should not be parents. At the show's conclusion an expert -- and lesbian mother -- was introduced as someone who could "clear up... the teasing issues." "Let's not accommodate to homophobia," advised Bonnie Tinker of Love Makes A Family, Inc. Tinker deftly encouraged those panelists concerned with teasing to combat in a genuine way -- by going out and fighting homophobia; as long as there is homophobia, racism or sexism in the world, Tinker pointed out, children cannot be protected from it. Throughout the broadcast, host Ricki Lake did an admirable job as well. When a guest objected that her gay brother's daughter needed a "female role model," Lake challenged the woman to be just that. After another panelist spewed objections to non-conventional family life, Lake asked: "Who made you God?!" In concluding her show, Lake addressed the audience at large. "What matters is not the sexual orientation of the parent," she pointed out. "But whether you are responsible, dedicated and available to the child." Appropriately enough, this "Ricki Lake" broadcast coincided with an (independent) press announcement of new research on queer parenting -- indicating that the children of lesbian mothers develop no differently than others. Presented at a national meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, three new studies (conducted in the U.S., Britain, and the Netherlands) essentially came to this conclusion. Charlotte Patterson, a research psychologist at the University of Virginia and author of one of the new studies, summarized the results in an interview for the Associated Press (April 4). "When you look at kids with standard psychological assessments, you can't tell who has a lesbian parent and who has a heterosexual parent," said Patterson. "That's really the main finding from these studies." Acknowledging that the existing research remains "relatively sparse and open to criticism," Patterson and her colleagues also reported that -- where differences DO exist -- lesbians seem to be BETTER parents than their heterosexual counterparts (a suggestion sure to rankle the Traditional Values Coalition, et al.). In her study, Fiona Tasker of Birkbeck College in the Netherlands, "Found that the non-biological lesbian parent was usually more involved with the children than are the fathers of heterosexual couples." * * * * ACTION ALERT! If homophobia is ignorance, information can cure. Encourage the "enlightened conversation" of: Ricki Lake, Host, and Garth Ancier and Gale Steinberg, Executive Producers, "The Ricki Lake Show," 401 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10016; on-line comments can be left at "feedback" web site for Columbia Tristar TV Distribution, http://www.spe.sony.com/Pictures/feedback.html. Also, urge other local and national media to report widely on the current research on lesbian parenting, in particular, and homosexuality generally -- and to cover not ONLY the bio-medical, but also socio-cultural evidence (the media's preoccupation with "brain" and "gene" research can become a limiting effect on queer humanity). Related (Re)Sources: Family Diversity Projects, Inc. is a non-profit organization "devoted to educating students, parents, teachers, spiritual communities, and the general public about family diversity, bias, sexism, racism, and homophobia. Contact: FDP, P.O. Box 1209, Amherst, MA 01004-1209, e-mail famphoto@aol.com or LMFexhibit@aol.com. Excellent educational, support and advocacy resources are also available from the Gay & Lesbian Parents Coalition International (GLPCI) and its affiliate association, Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE). Contact: GLPCI, P.O. Box 50360, Washington, DC 20091, e-mail GLPCINat@ix.netcom.com; COLAGE, 2300 Market Street #165, San Francisco, CA 94114, tel. 415-861-KIDS, e-mail KidsOfGays@aol.com. Charlotte Patterson's pioneering research first captured the attention of mainstream journalists nearly a decade ago; her seminal 1992 report on "Children of Lesbian and Gay Parents" was published in the journal "Child Development" (vol. 14, pp. 177-196). Contact: Charlotte Patterson, Dept. of Psychology, University of Virginia, Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, VA 22903. [4] A F E W W O R D S F R O M T H E S P O N O R S As the April 30 "coming out" episode of "Ellen" approaches, advertisers appear to have taken their stand -- either for or against the much-touted storyline. Except for assurances that the episode is "fully sponsored," ABC has refused any comment (spokesperson Janice Gretemeyer said the network "doesn't discuss its advertisers"). However, other sources indicate that several major companies have already backed away from the show. Carol Ness, staff writer at the "San Francisco Examiner" (April 2), reports that even: "Though the hour-long special, featuring celebrities Oprah Winfrey, Laura Dern and Melissa Etheridge, is expected to attract a huge audience, Chrysler decided to take a pass. And, Chrysler told its employees, so did General Motors and Johnson & Johnson." Not coincidentally, those companies had been specifically targeted by the homophobic lobbying efforts of "Rev." Jerry Falwell, who admonished advertisers to "stop spending your dollars to underwrite a program that Disney and ABC have decided to use to corrupt the views and values of our children." "I want to congratulate the chairmen of these three companies," said Falwell. "They have done the responsible and right thing." Attempting to excuse her company's decision, Chrysler spokesperson Megan Giles explained: "It's the hype -- not the show itself." "Basically when there's a big media and public controversy about something, we don't think it's the best environment to try to sell our products," said Giles. "We offend one group or the other." Chrysler had been a regular advertiser on "Ellen." However, Carol Ness reports, "The company said its sponsorship of future episodes would depend on whether the hype recedes." Chrysler does not offer domestic partner benefits and, Ness adds, the company "also figured in a recent controversy over 'Esquire' magazine's decision not to publish a new story by writer David Leavitt that contained explicit homoerotic scenes. Leavitt's agent reportedly said the story had been killed because Chrysler, a major advertiser, threatened to pull its ads." Other sponsors have also made shallow excuses for keeping their distance from "Ellen." Johnson & Johnson spokesperson Jeff Leebaw would only say "we were not scheduled. I'm told we're not a major advertiser." Dean Rotondo, a spokesperson for General Motors, said his company's ad schedule had "nothing to do with the content" of "Ellen's" April 30 show. However, the American Family Association (March 27) reports that Rotondo also promised, "GM will evaluate future episodes for their 'fairness and family values.'" Of course, the news is not all bad. According to UPI Entertainment Editor Valerie Kuklenski (March 31), "At least one advertiser is being drawn to that show by its message and the audience it is expected to attract." Kuklenski reports that: "Home Access Health Corp. has announced it will run a commercial for its home testing kit to detect HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, on ABC affiliates in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York." "We think it's better to face reality and take control than to hide from it," Home Access president Richard Quattrocchi said. "We applaud Ellen's coming out of the closet and wish her a happy and productive life." Niche marketing aside, Home Access' applause is a striking break in the "un-offending" silence of most advertisers. Even if the decision really "had nothing to do with content," General Motors could have rejected Falwell's homophobia directly. Instead, GM -- like Chrysler, J&J, and most advertisers -- pled a dubious "neutrality." Though the company said nothing bad about lesbianism, neither did it say anything good. The refusal to reject homophobia -- in order to avoid offending homophobes -- cannot be excused by a congruent refusal to reject homosexuality (even to avoid offending homosexuals). There is no virtue in a "neutrality" that supports neither homophobes NOR homosexuals... Neither misogynists NOR women... Neither racists NOR people of color. Clearly, such "neutrality" can only be a boon to homophobia, sexism and racism. Perhaps, with their tendency to put profit over principle, certain advertisers might never become a part of the solution. To claim they are never part of the problem, however, is no longer a permissible lie. As Jerry Falwell recently gloated: "It really doesn't matter why General Motors, Chrysler and Johnson & Johnson have pulled their ads. The simple fact is that, by doing so, these companies have sent a very clear and powerful message to network executives." In response to recent advertiser actions, Debbie Woodell, a columnist for the Philadelphia "Daily News" (April 1), has suggested that it's "Time for gay consumers to show they mean business." "Do we pay enough attention to our corporate allies?," Woodell asks. "How many of us can rattle off even a half-dozen mainstream advertisers in any one of our big-time glossy magazines? No peeking." "It's time to start paying closer attention, because the other side does," Woodell advises. "And it's time to let our supporters know we support them." She adds: "The opportunity of a lifetime exists between now and April 30, the night TV sitcom character Ellen Morgan tells the world what we've suspected all along -- that she's a lesbian." * * * * ACTION ALERT! Urge advertisers to make a particular point of rejecting homophobia and supporting fair, accurate and diverse LGBT images on television. Contact: Robert J. Eaton, Chair, Chrysler Corporation, 1000 Chrysler Dr., Auburn Hills, MI 48326, tel. 810-576-5741 or 800-992-1997; John F. Smith, Chair, General Motors Corporation, 3044 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202, tel. 313-556-5000, fax 313-556-1988; Ralph S. Larsen, Chair, Johnson & Johnson, One Johnson & Johnson Plaza, New Brunswick, NJ 09833, tel. 908-524-0400 or 800-635-6789, fax 908-214-0332, web http://www.jnj.com/feedback.htm; Kevin Johnson, Home Access Health, Hoffman Estates, IL, tel. 847-781-2504, e-mail kj@homeaccess.com, web http://www.homeaccess.com. Related (Re)Sources: The "Corporate Watch" web site is a PROGRESSIVE project for "monitoring the activities of transnational corporations; on-line resources include current news, analysis, how-to guides, an image gallery, and links to other sites. Contact: http://www.corpwatch.org. Among the HOMOPHOBIC organizations targeting "Ellen's" advertisers is the Christian Family Network (CFN), which has launched a national "Ellen Media Watch." The campaign is rallying fundies across the nation, "monitoring the program for local advertisers and taking steps to influence those advertisers to spend their dollars in a responsible [sic] manner." Contact: Don Jackson, Executive Director, CFN, P. O. Box 24171, Dayton, OH 45424, tel. 937-236-5433, fax 937-236-5056, e-mail jacksondp@aol.com, web http://www.cfn.web.com. [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. Next "MEDIAlert!" = April 18, 1997. Contact: A. P. Kielwasser, MEDIAction, 163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-5835, voice-mail/fax 415-826-5203, e-mail mediaction@aol.com. ---------------------------------------------------------- AUTHOR NOTES Al Kielwasser is the editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (New York: Haworth Press). His media 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"); he was twice elected Chair of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area.