Subject: MEDIAlert! - 05.23.97 [Part "A"]
From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 23 May 1997 09:05:27 -0400 (EDT)

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INDEX:  "MEDIAlert!" - 05.23.97 [Part "A" ONLY]

-ITEM 1:  "Homocide" [Andrew Cunanan; AP; UPI; Reuters; N.Y. Times; S.F.
Examiner; Jeffrey Dahmer; Murder, Violence & Homosexuality; Cruising;
Millennium].

-ITEM 2:  "Advice and Virtue" [Abigail Van Buren; Dear Abby; Ann Landers].

NOTE:  Part "B" (MEDIA/BRIEFS) posted separately.
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M   E   D   I   A   l   e   r   t   !
_________________________

May 10 - 23     Al Kielwasser

[1]

H O M O C I D E 

The recent case of murder suspect Andrew Cunanan has resulted in widespread
media coverage, which occasionally rises to the challenge -- but more often
falls into the traps of homophobic bias.  However rare, the emergence of a
serial killer who happens to be gay is typically -- and literally -- "bad
news."

To date, most news accounts have strenuously played up Andrew Cunanan's "gay
connection" -- that is, the suspect's possible homosexuality and his attacks
on gay men.  While these are certainly important and even objective facts,
the emphasis given to this connection reveals a more subjective (and
apparently phobic) spin.

In describing Cunanan and his first two victims, for example, the Associated
Press (May 10) reported:  "The motive for [the] slaying was unclear... but
apparently all three men knew each other and all were gay."  As used here,
the significance of "gayness" to the crime is not quite clear.

When reporting on crime, the Associated Press does NOT identify
heterosexuality in a similar fashion.  Indeed, mainstream reporters would
never think of indicating that a murderer and his victims "all knew each
other, and all were STRAIGHT."

In a later account, the Associated Press (May 14) fared slightly better --
leaving out the "gay" adjective, and simply describing Cunanan's victims as
"a former lover and three other men."  Similarly, "The New York Times" (May
14) reported that:  "Madson and Cunanan, according to a fugitive warrant
issued in Minnesota, had apparently been lovers."

In contrast, United Press International (May 7) reported that:  "Authorities
in Chicago County, Minnesota, have filed one murder count against Cunanan,
33, in the death of Madson, who reportedly was his gay lover."  The phrase
"GAY lover" is utterly superfluous, as the gender of Cunanan and his victim
had already been made clear.

By far the worst use of the "gay" adjective came from Reuters, a leading
international news service.  According to Reuters' (May 10) lead:  "A
nationwide murder hunt for a Californian man suspected of killing two men in
a gay lovers' quarrel as well as a wealthy businessman man in the Midwest
switched to the East Coast Friday after the slaying of New Jersey caretaker."

Reuters further described the murdered gay couple as "reputed" lovers, as if
homosexuality were also a crime.  The article even went on to speculate (in
the apparent absence of any evidence) that the killing spree was triggered in
"a fit of jealousy by Cunanan, who was believed to have been involved in a
homosexual triangle with the two men."

In the coverage of crime, such reporting panders to the incredible notion
that homosexuality itself -- and NOT homophobia -- is dangerous and evil.
 Once again, it is worth noting that mainstream journalists NEVER refer to
"straight lovers" or "straight triangles" when reporting on HETEROSEXUAL
killing sprees.

This bias has plagued the trade with particular tenacity.  Well-over a decade
ago, the authors of "Talk Back! - The Gay Person's Guide to Media Action"
suggested:  "If John Hinckley had declared that he tried to assassinate
Ronald Reagan in order to demonstrate his love for Robert DeNiro instead of
for Jodie Foster, his HOMOSEXUALITY would have been a major news angle to the
story.  As it is, no one refers to his HETEROSEXUALITY."

The guidebook suggests that, as a general rule:  "The press should either
omit the homosexual/heterosexual adjective altogether, or else ROUTINELY use
it in all cases -- at which point most readers would be shocked to see how
numerous are 'heterosexual' crimes."

With regard to the Cunanan case, a more subtle (and yet perhaps most
significant) bias has emerged in the media's persistent attempt to situate
the murderer at the heart of gay life, as a fixture -- if not a
representative -- of urban homosexuality.  News reports of Cunanan's presence
in several major cities (San Diego, Chicago, New York, San Francisco) have
routinely exaggerated his role as a "well-known" member of the "gay
community."

Covering the case for the Associated Press (May 10), for instance, reporter
Dana Calvo began her story by noting:  "Andrew Phillip Cunanan was a known
quantity in San Diego's gay community, a 'party boy' who tapped a seemingly
endless cash flow that he spent on lavish meals and extravagant gifts."  The
article concludes with a quote from "hairstylist David Dwayne," who said of
Cunanan:  "He danced a lot.  He danced without his shirt -- you know the
type.  He was the typical party boy."

In a follow-up story, the Associated Press (May 14) again reported that:
 "Acquaintances of Cunanan describe him as a 'party boy' known in San Diego's
gay community for having lots of money but working only as a part-time drug
store clerk."  The article actually cites just ONE "acquaintance," however --
an anonymous "San Diego business owner who knows Cunanan."

Writing for the "San Francisco Examiner" (May 15), reporters Ray Delgado and
Anastasia Hendrix took a similar slant.  According to their lead:  "San
Franciscans who knew the man being sought nationally for four murders
described him as a 'larger than life' bon vivant in gay circles -- with a
penchant for sadomasochism -- who mingled with a professional, well-educated
crowd and had an uncanny ability to remember names."

But just how many San Franciscan's did, in fact, know Cunanan?  How large was
this so-called "gay circle?"  According to San Francisco homocide inspectors,
of the city's vast homosexual population, "about 10 people" have reported any
recent contact with Cunanan.

Like "gay circles," the "Examiner's" reference to sadomasochism is also more
suggestive than substantive -- and probably as (ir)relevant to this story as
an aptitude for "remembering names."  Nevertheless, several newspapers made a
point of highlighting Cunanan's rumored "penchant."  None offered any
specific evidence to support their suggestion that, somehow, an interest in
S&M had motivated these murders.

However subtle, such unfounded suggestions resonate in a society predisposed
to homophobia and heterosexism.  Through popular fiction, the "gay serial
killer" has appeared repeatedly, in movies like "Cruising" and the TV series
"Millennium."  The bias "whispered" in mainstream newspapers is also loudly
echoed by Right Wing hate media.

Citing misleading crime and mortality statistics, for example, a report from
the American Family Association (April 1996) concludes:  "There can be no
doubt that the homosexual lifestyle is a dangerous one."  Similar claims are
made in "Murder, Violence and Homosexuality" -- one of several propaganda
pamphlets circulated widely by the Family Research Institute.

In many ways, the recent reporting on Andrew Cunanan is similar to another
infamous case -- Jeffrey Dahmer.  Examining the media's coverage of that 1991
case, sociologist Martha Schmidt has found that "the primary focus in the
construction of the discourse on the case was homosexuality.  Gayness and the
gay and lesbian community were used by both police officials and the press to
explain why the crimes had occurred."

A homophobic emphasis on homosexuality -- focusing on the "gay lifestyle" of
both Dahmer and his victims -- dominated media coverage right from the start.
 "In the mainstream press," says Schmidt, "his crimes were immediately
defined as specifically gay crimes, as the result of either his own
homosexuality or of the gay 'lifestyle' of his victims."

Dahmer was portrayed not only as sick and evil, but as the "logical
extension" of  the homosexual "lifestyle."  According to Schmidt, "This
equation of Dahmer and the gay community resulted in an increase of
homophobic harassment and violence."

Conscious or not, the maintenance of homophobic bigotry depends upon a belief
in, and fear of, the gay menace -- a sustained confusion between the
particular (a homosexual who happens be dangerous) and the general (the
"danger" of homosexuality).  Given the depth and widespread force of such
confusion, crime reporters MUST take special care in using the "homosexual
adjective."

These matters of style and slant are hardly small.  In the most insidious
ways, they reinforce a very "big lie."

* * *  ACTION ALERT!   As newspapers continue to cover the Cunanan case
(including any future arrest and trial), "Letters-to-the-Editors" can help to
point out bias, suggest alternative slants, and generally insist that queer
perspectives be taken into account.  In addition to your local news media,
send feedback to the major wire services:  Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller
Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10020-1666, tel. 212-621-1600, fax
212-621-7520, e-mail [email-masked]; United Press International, 2
Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10005, tel. 212-560-1100; Reuters, 199 Water
Street, New York, NY 10038, fax 212-859-1717, e-mail [email-masked],
web-site www.reuters.com.

[ R e / S o u r c e s :   "Talk Back! - The Gay Person's Guide to Media
Action" (Boston:  Alyson Publications, 1982) offers several tips for
analyzing media bias, which -- though dated -- still apply.  Related
resources are available from the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists
Association, a professional organization dedicated to working "within the
news industry for fair, accurate and comprehensive coverage of gay issues."
 Contact:  NLGJA Headquarters, 1718 M Street NW, #245, Washington, DC 20036,
tel. 202-588-9888, fax 202-588-1818, e-mail [email-masked], web-site
www.journalism.sfsu.edu/nlgja.html.

Organizations exploiting a spurious connection between gays and crime include
the American Family Association (the nation's largest anti-gay media watchdog
group) and the Family Research Institute (a bogus project of defrocked
psychologist Paul Cameron).  Contact:  American Family Association, P.O.
Drawer 2440, Tupelo, MS 38803, tel. 601-844-5036, fax 601-844-9176, e-mail
[email-masked]; Family Research Institute, P. O. Box 2091, Washington, DC 20013,
tel. 703-690-8536. ]

Martha Schmidt's article, "Dahmer Discourse and Gay Identity: The Paradox of
Queer Politics," was published in a 1994 issue of "Critical Sociology"
(Volume 20, Number 3).  Contact:  "Critical Sociology," Department of
Sociology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403; Martha A. Schmidt,
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701.

Warnings about Andrew Cunanan have been widely distributed -- along with his
picture -- in the lesbian/gay press; the basic details are also posted
online, at the FBI's web site:  www.fbi.gov/mostwant/tenlist.htm.

[2]

A D V I C E  A N D  V I R T U E

For nearly four decades, two sisters -- Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren
(aka "Dear Abby") -- have dominated the "advice" beat.  Their ubiquitous
columns are now read around the globe, exerting an unparalleled and
influential counsel.  By one estimate, Landers alone has reached some 90
million readers a day, making her the most widely-syndicated columnist in the
world.

In recent columns, both "Abby" and Ann offered advice to readers confronted
by homophobia.  Where Landers typified the dull and trite approach of too
many advice columnists -- who literally have nothing to say -- a much
brighter effort was made by Van Buren, who apparently knows how to listen.

In her May 13 column, Van Buren printed a letter from an 11-year-old girl,
who wrote:  "I don't have a mother but I have 2 dads.  My dad adopted me just
after I turned 1 year old because my mother took drugs and didn't take care
of me.  My dad met his lover when I was 4, and we have lived together since I
was 6."

The young reader further explained:  "The reason I am writing is for all the
people who say bad things about my dad and me....  They ask me if it bothers
me that I was adopted by a gay man and don't have a mom. Well, it doesn't
bother me --- only their questions bother me.  I love my dad and he loves
me."

"Some people say that living with my dad is going to make me gay, but his
parents raised him to be straight and he isn't," the girl added.  "He has
never told me to like boys (or girls).  He says when I am older I will feel
love for somebody, just like he loves John, just like my godmother loves her
husband and just like my uncle loves his wife."

Finally, the girl concluded:  "Abby, I know a lot of people read your column.
 Please print my letter so maybe people will think twice before they say
hurtful things to people like me.  Just because my family is a little
different doesn't mean I'm not happy."

Much to her credit, Van Buren did just that.  In addition to printing the
letter, Van Buren offered this short -- but sweet -- response:  "Dear Happily
Adopted, Thank you for a wonderful letter.  There is an incredible amount of
wisdom in that 11-year old head of yours."

As for Ann Landers, her May 8 column included a letter from "a gay man who
reads your column regularly."  "Tom and I are in our 30s and have been
partners for six years [and] Janet, Tom's sister, has invited me to her
wedding," the man told Landers.  "Tom's mother, however, sees this as
strictly a family event and has told Tom that she would rather I not attend."

The letter went on to explain:  "I have always gotten along well with Tom's
family, including his mother, so I am somewhat baffled by this....  Tom has
told his mother her position is unreasonable, selfish and hurtful.  He has
assured her that we will be discreet and anyone who does not know me will
assume that I am just another guy at the wedding.  The rest of Tom's family
agrees with us.  Tom's mother, however, insists that her wishes be
respected...."

In conclusion, the troubled reader said:  "I would love to attend Janet's
wedding and be part of the celebration, but because his mother has made it
known that she doesn't want me there, I'm not sure I should go.  I really
don't want to make her miserable on such an important day.  I need your
advice."

Landers' reply was also short -- like Van Buren's -- but more simple-minded
than sincere.  She advised:  "Dear Maryland, You have been invited to this
wedding by the bride.  This is HER day, and her wishes should prevail.  By
all means, go and be sure to ask Tom's mother to dance."

At best, Landers responds to bigotry as if it were a question of etiquette,
rather than hate.  The bride's wishes should prevail NOT SIMPLY because it is
"her day," but because she is RIGHT -- and homophobia is WRONG.

Landers ignores (and tacitly supports) her reader's own INTERNALIZED
homophobia.  The gay man's promise to behave ("we will be discreet and anyone
who does not know me will assume that I am just another guy at the wedding")
is pathetic and unwarranted.  Landers should have advised him of as much.

Instead, she somehow manages to overlook the gross absurdity of a homosexual
taking responsibility for "upsetting" homophobes ("I really don't want to
make her miserable on such an important day").  Landers failed to point out
that misery is a product of the homophobe's own ignorance -- a condition that
is perpetuated by acts of "discretion."

Indeed, to attend the wedding with honesty and pride -- as a gay man, and NOT
"just another (heterosexual) guy" -- would be the only considered AND
considerate thing to do.  In her final word of advice -- "Be sure to ask
Tom's mother to dance" --  Landers suggests that homosexuals should politely
ignore homophobia.

This advice would have been much better (and less patronizing) if Landers had
added:  "Be sure to ask your lover to dance, as well.  And tell Tom's mother
to get used to it."

* * *  ACTION ALERT!    Landers and other well-intentioned columnists want to
do better; they just need some good advice.  Send suggestions to:  Ann
Landers, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., #7000, Los Angeles,
CA 90045-5600.  To encourage Van Buren's more-enlightened effort, compliments
should be sent to:  Abigail Van Buren, "Dear Abby," P.O. Box 69440, Los
Angeles, CA 90069.  Both advice mavens can usually be contacted in care of
any of the 1,000+ newspapers that carry their columns, as well (web browsers
can access addresses at the Newslink site, www.newslink.org/news.html, which
is searchable by newspaper name or location).

[ R e / S o u r c e s :   In contrast to her 1997 (May 8) column, Ann Landers
wrote a 1995 (June 15) piece in which she told a 52-year-old gay father that
he should keep his lover home when attending his own son's wedding.  In the
wake of what she described as an outpouring of "angry mail," however, Landers
eventually offered a retraction.  In an August 20 column, Landers admitted:
 "My advice was gutless.  I should have said, 'Tell your son if your life
companion is not welcome, you won't be there. He needs educating, and this
could be an important first step.'"

Her failure to give the same advice concerning "Tom's mother" suggests that
Landers is haplessly forgetful -- or hopelessly insincere.  Just last year
(July 21, 1996), after all, Landers responded with blatant bigotry when a
lesbian reader wrote seeking her support for same-sex marriage.

"I define marriage as a union between a man and a woman," Landers drooled.
 "I cannot support same-sex marriage...  because it flies in the face of
cultural and traditional family life as we have known it for centuries." ]

[end]

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ABOUT MEDIALERTS

Distributed as a community press service since 1992, "MEDIAlert!" [TM] is a
bi-weekly, 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
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publications using all or part of any "MEDIAlert!" are always appreciated.  

Next "MEDIAlert!"  =  June 6, 1997.  Contact:  A. P. Kielwasser, MEDIAction,
163 Park Street, San Francisco, CA 94110-5835, voice-mail/fax 415-826-5203,
e-mail [email-masked].

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AUTHOR NOTES

Al Kielwasser is the editor of "Gay People, Sex and the Media" (New York:
 Haworth Press).  His media criticism and research has 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.