From: MediAction@aol.com Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 21:31:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: MEDIAlert! [Part "A"] - 7.22.97 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INDEX: "MEDIAlert!" for 07.22.97 [PART "A" ONLY] -ITEM 1: "Weekly World Spews" [Dear Dotti; Weekly World News; America Online]. -ITEM 2: "A Lesson Spurned" [Ellen; Amelia Earhhart Elementary School; California Commission on Teacher Credentialing; Pacific Justice Institute]. -ITEM 3: "Seems Like Old Times" [Reuters; Newsweek; Andrew Cunanan; Talk Back!]. [Part "B" ("Media/Briefs" and "Web Watch") posted separately] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- M E D I A l e r t ! __________________________ July 22, 1997 Al Kielwasser [1] W E E K L Y W O R L D S P E W S Among supermarket tabloids, the "Weekly World News" has established its niche as the most outrageous and even comical of the lot. However, the paper's advice columnist -- Dotti Primrose -- is not only factless, but humorless as well. In the world of hyperbolic "journalism," her hate-spewing features are the stuff of homophobic excess. In the current (July 29) issue of the "News," a reader -- "Darlene in Lexington" -- wrote to ask: "Dear Dotti, I've been dating a wonderful guy for eight months now and under ordinary circumstances, I'd marry him in a minute. Unfortunately, these aren't ordinary circumstances, because I'm bisexual and love his sister as much as I love him. My boyfriend, Jim, isn't aware of my sexual preferences and I'm afraid I'll lose him if I 'fess up.... So what am I going to do?" In reply, Dotti answered: "Dear Darlene, You say you love Jim with all your heart, but like most bisexuals, all you really have on your mind is having sex with any creep you can drag into bed.... Just use Jim and his sister until they find out the truth -- and kick your butt to Nebraska and back!" Previous issues of the "News" are no better. In another recent column, for example, a reader wrote: "Dear Dotti, You always get to the heart of the matter, so you'd better tell me straight on this: Is my daughter-in-law making sissies out of my little twin grandsons by letting them sleep in the same bed with my son and her at night?" In answering, Dotti offered this malignant advice: "Let's just say she's not making self-assured, masculine, well-adjusted, straight guys out of the limp-wristed little fellas." In another letter -- signed "Worried in Hot Springs" -- a 14-year-old boy explained that his "dad's good buddy, George is gay." "Sometimes I get the feeling that George is attracted to me," the boy wrote. "So far, he hasn't tried anything. But I'm beginning to think he will." "Georgie boy is up to no good," Dotti advised the teenager. "And if you don't say something, he'll have you in his clutches quicker than you can say 'child molester.'" Yet another reader, "Lee in Mason," recently wrote: "I have a wonderful, 17-year-old son who makes straight A's in school and is as sweet a kid as you'd ever care to meet. The only problem is.... it seems like every time I turn around he's sashaying around in one of my dresses.... Should I get tough -- or leave well enough alone?" "Dear Lee," Dotti replied. "I wouldn't let a daughter wear my dresses, much less a son. Then again, I'm not a sicko transvestite - and you, apparently, are!" Such verbal bashing is typical of "Dear Dotti's" style, which frequently boasts of physical violence as well. In one column, for instance, "Debbie in Sparta" wrote to ask: "Dear Dotti, My mom is a lesbian and frankly, it's okay with me. Unfortunately, her girlfriend is a different matter.... The problem is, she's got the hots for me! She's always leering and pawing at me.... What can I do?" Typically, Dotti answered: "Dear Debbie, The last lesbo who ogled and pawed me is still trying to get her teeth fixed. Get the picture?" Covering everything from space aliens to vampire babies, other content in the "Weekly World News" can easily be dismissed as incredible satire. But "Dear Dotti" is far less creative. Collectively, her advice columns amount to more than just a bad joke. Reaching a weekly audience of some 30 million readers, they pander with disdain to the worst of homophobic FEARS. And in so doing, they foster the worst of homophobic HATE. * * * * ACTION ALERT! Don't let "Dear Dotti's" bi-, trans- and homophobic phlegm go unchallenged; criticism and complaints should be directed to: Dotti Primrose, Contributing Editor, and Susan Jimison, Managing Editor, "Weekly World News," 600 E. Coast Avenue, Lantana, FL 33464-0002, tel. 561-540-1001 (ext. 2402), fax 561-540-1084. In addition to print circulation, the "Weekly World News" is now "the first supermarket tabloid to be offered in America Online's newsstand" -- where current and past "Dear Dotti" columns are attractively archived for easy access. Whether packaged as "news" or "entertainment," these columns mock AOL's much-touted standards -- which claim to discourage online hate mongering, gratuitous defamation, and the pursuit of prejudice-for-profit. Contact: Steve Case, President, America Online, 8619 Westwood Center Drive, Vienna, VA 22182, tel. 703-448-8700; AOL users can post messages directly to (and about) the "Weekly World News" at keyword: WWN. [2] A L E S S O N S P U R N E D In May, a California school teacher briefly discussed the coming-out episode of "Ellen" with her 5th grade class. Two months later, a disgruntled parent is seeking revocation of the teacher's license -- for life. On July 9, Mike Trelow filed a formal complaint with the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, alleging that Victoria Forrester -- a teacher at Amelia Earhhart Elementary School in Alameda -- had violated the state's Education Code with regard to "sex education." State guidelines require teachers to provide parents with advance notice, in writing, of any discussions involving sexuality. Specifically, an "opt-out" clause in the California Education Code (Section 51550) mandates that: "No governing board of a public elementary or secondary school may require pupils to attend any class in which human reproductive organs and their functions and processes are described, illustrated or discussed, whether such class be part of a course designated 'sex education' or 'family life education' or by some similar term, or part of any other course which pupils are required to attend." As further required by the Code, parents of pupils enrolled in such courses "shall first be notified in writing of the class" and "no child may attend a class if a request that he not attend the class has been received by the school." The law also requires that all sex education must "teach honor and respect for monogamous heterosexual marriage" (Section 51553-6) and "stress that pupils should abstain from sexual intercourse until they are ready for marriage" (Section 51553-5). Trelow acknowledges that no specific sex acts were discussed in Forrester's classroom during the "Ellen incident." However, he contends that ALL references to sexual orientation necessarily raise such issues -- and thus require parental notification, as mandated by state law. Trelow also claims that he and his wife had specifically notified the school that they did not want their 11-year-old daughter, Heather, to participate in ANY discussions of homosexuality. "Homosexuality is immoral... and that is what my daughter has been taught," Trelow recently told the "San Francisco Chronicle" (July 15). "The teacher told my daughter... 'I know how your parents are raising you, but you need to be open to other points of view.' That was out of line." According to Trelow, his daughter "was one of three students who did not raise their hands agreeing with the teacher's praise for Ellen in the May 1 classroom discussion." When asked her opinion of Ellen's coming out, Forrester had described the actress as "brave and proud." According to "Chronicle" reporter Lori Oiszewski: "Everyone agrees the discussion started the morning after the 'Ellen' episode aired, when Forrester began the day by asking students, 'Did anything exciting happen to you?' Some children replied they had watched the 'Ellen' episode, and the teacher said she also had watched it." That is when Forrester allegedly "characterized Ellen's actions in a positive light." Following this incident, Trelow had first complained to local authorities -- but to no avail. Forrester's principal filed a supportive report with the Alameda Unified School District, asserting that the discussion was "nonbiased," "student-initiated" and in accord with the district's other efforts to abate bigotry. According to the "Chronicle," Trelow decided "to go public with his concerns after the school district did not chastise the teacher." He and his wife have since removed their daughter from Amelia Earhart Elementary, and plan to enroll her in a private school this Fall. Assisting Trelow in his state-level complaint is attorney Brad Dacus, of the conservative Pacific Justice Institute. Dacus has been involved in several such cases, including a highly-publicized incident that resulted in the suspension of two San Francisco teachers in 1992 (the teachers were sanctioned for "failing" to censor a lesbian guest speaker, who briefly strayed off an approved anti-violence lecture to answer a sixth-grader's question about homosexual sex). Trelow's complaint to the credentialing commission is currently under review, and a final decision could take up to six months. The commission may dismiss the case, issue a formal reprimand, or -- as Trelow and his supporters hope -- revoke the teacher's license altogether. * * * * ACTION ALERT! Encourage education officials to dismiss this homophobic complaint, which is based in utter ignorance. Contact: Carolyn L. Ellner, Chair, and All Members, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, P.O. Box 944270, Sacramento, CA 94244-2700, tel. 916-445-7254, e-mail credentials@ctc.ca.gov, web-site www.ctc.ca.gov (copy any correspondence to Delaine Eastin, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 721 Capitol Mall, P.O. Box 944272, Sacramento, CA 94244-2720). Support for Victoria Forrester can also be sent to: August Scornaienchi, Superintendent of Schools of Alameda, County Office of Education, 313 West Winton Avenue, Hayward, CA 94544-1198, tel. 510-887-0152, web-site www.alameda-coe.k12.ca.us. Not only in California, but all across the nation, state and municipal laws encourage parents to exercise the extraordinary option of REMOVING children from discussions of homosexuality (as if lesbian and gay lives were nothing but subjects of salacious propaganda!). Encourage your local officials to oppose such "opt-out" policies... which ultimately deny EVERY student's right to an education free of unchallenged bigotry and crippling fear. A child whose parents believe the Earth is flat would still be expected to attend geography class. Why should we expect anything less for the children of homophobes? [ R e / S o u r c e s : A growing range of resources supports the work of "curriculum advocacy" -- promoting educational equity and reforming educational media. Warren Blumenfeld, founder of the National Gay Student Center (and editor of the "Journal of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity"), has compiled a list of suggestions on "Making Schools Safe for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Students and Staff" (Contact: Warren J. Blumenfeld, P.O. Box 929, Northampton, MA 01061, e-mail blumenfeld@educ.umass.edu). Online, the P.E.R.S.O.N Project maintains a comprehensive yet practical web site -- promoting "Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally" (www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/). Another source of news and action bulletins is "GLSTNAlert," a list service distributed by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network; to subscribe, simply e-mail a request to: GLSTNAlert@aol.com -- with the words "Subscribe GLSTNAlert" in the subject line, and your name in the message. ] [3] S E E M S L I K E O L D T I M E S Despite pockets of improvement in the coverage of murder-suspect Andrew Cunanan, most mainstream media continue to use the words "gay," "prostitute," and "serial killer" in one quick breath -- as if these terms were virtually interchangeable. Reuters filed a recent (July 16) story with this lead, for example: "Fashion designer Gianni Versace knew the alleged serial killer and gay prostitute suspected of his murder, according to 'Vanity Fair' magazine." This "laundry list" style of reporting (literally) balances the crimes of "serial killing" and "gay prostitution" -- which is hardly consistent with the central facts of the story. Cunanan is not on the FBI's most wanted list for prostitution, after all, but MURDER. Being either gay or a prostitute is not the problem or the issue here; being a MURDERER is. In the same story, Reuters goes on to report that Cunanan's victims "carried the signature of what police called a 'pathological sadistic sexual offender.'" These strained sexual connotations are unfounded, however -- at least to date. When heterosexuals kill an ex-lover, they are first (and foremost) presumed to be murderers. Just because Cunanan is gay does not make his crimes a "sexual." Consistently, he press and the public tend to fixate on homosexuality in this way -- treating it as either the cause or symptom of any and every ill. Clearly, a similar standard is not applied to heterosexual mayhem. In the endless coverage of O. J. Simpson's trial, the mainstream press NEVER reported that the accused was "straight." Such heterosexist bias is also evident in another Reuter's story on Cunanan (July 21) -- which took cross-dressing as its focus. "Slipping on a skirt may sound like a strange way for a man fleeing the FBI to elude detection," the article began, "but in gender-bending Miami Beach even a cross-dressing multiple killer could blend right in." Here too, the reporter has opted for a long and awkward adjective chain. Implicitly, cross dressing is cast as one more act of deviance -- right alongside killing. Of course, the implied connection is baseless. In the context of this story, in fact, it makes about much sense as reporting the murderer's political affiliation or favorite color ("Andrew Cunanan, a Republican-voting, brown shoe-wearing, multiple serial killer...."). Individually, these matters of word choice and phrasing can seem a bit subtle -- even insignificant. Collectively, however, such reporting reveals a constant, consonant bias. The effect might be ignored, but can no longer be denied. The recent coverage of Cunanan harkens back to much earlier reporting on homosexuality. A 1949 issue of "Newsweek" included the article "Queer People" -- which began: "The sex pervert, whether a homosexual, an exhibitionist, or even a dangerous sadist, is too often regarded merely as a 'queer' person who never hurts anyone but himself...." The article referred to homosexuality just that once (and then went on to give examples of other horrors). "But the damage was done," according to the editors of "Talk Back! - The Gay Person's Guide to Media Action." "To the average 'Newsweek' reader, homosexuals were established as violent psychopaths." A half-century later, that damage has yet to be undone. Even worse -- it's being done again. * * * * ACTION ALERT! Reuters and other mainstream news outlets must be held responsible for the cumulative effect of an enduring media bias. Send critical feedback to: Reuters, 199 Water Street, New York, NY 10038, fax 212-859-1717, e-mail webmaster@reuters.com, web-site www.reuters.com. [ R e / S o u r c e s : The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has compiled a useful list of journalist's "do's and don'ts" -- titled "Murder By Design - A Resource for Media Professionals on the Andrew Cunanan Story." For a copy, contact: GLAAD, 8455 Beverly Blvd., Suite 305, Los Angeles, CA 90048, tel. 213-658-6775, e-mail glaad@glaad.org. For additional background on the troubling media coverage of Andrew Cunanan, see "Homocide" (MEDIAlert!, May 23), available online at http://www.qrd.org/media/medialert. ] [end part "A"] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT MEDIALERTS Distributed continuously since 1992 as a community press service, "MEDIAlert!" [TM] is a biweekly, action- and advocacy-oriented column of media criticism, 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!" = August 5, 1997. Contact: MEDIAlert!, 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; he was twice elected Chair of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area.