Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 15:52:03 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert 02.21.97 GLAADALERT February 21, 1997 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Contents: 1. No Love Lost For Gay People on MTV's Loveline (Loveline (call-in advice program), MTV (cable network)) 2. TV Guide Says Citizen Ruth May Be Ellen's Girl (TV Guide (magazine), ABC (television network), Ellen (television sitcom)) 3. Homer's Phobia? (The Simpsons (television animated comedy), FOX (television network), Gracie Films (production company)) 4. San Francisco Examiner Is Good Sports (San Francisco Examiner (newspaper)) 5. Cool Stuff for Kids Online (Open Prairie Syndicate (online cartoonist syndicate), If The Sun Were Queer (online picture book)) 6. GLAADAlert Update-NIC'ed On The Net (InterNIC (domain registration clearinghouse), The Netly News (online news publication)) 1. No Love Lost For Gay People on MTV's Loveline On Loveline, MTV's late-night call-in sexual advice program for young people, a disturbing trend has developed involving both co-host Dr. Drew and Adam Carolla that is creating an atmosphere of alienation for lesbian, gay and bisexual youth. On the December 27 program, Dr. Drew referred to anal sex as "not a very loving act," and said that it was not worth the health risks. On an early January show, a caller said that he'd performed fellatio on fraternity brothers as part of hazing, that he liked it, and that he was beginning to think about sex with men. Dr. Drew said he might be gay but hadn't dealt with it, but essentially ignored any discussion of bisexuality. On January 17, a young man called with concerns that he was having sexual fantasies about men. Dr. Drew told him that either he had suffered some sort of trauma, perhaps in childhood, or that he was gay and needed to deal with it. A guest host suggested that the man could be bisexual, which Dr. Drew shot down, saying essentially that bisexuality is very rare and that most people who call themselves bisexual are suffering from "sexual ambivalence" and need to deal with what "caused" that. On February 6, a student called about being pressured to join his fathers fraternity, which, at his college, was now a gay frat. Carolla said, "Lord knows what goes on in their hazing!" The laughter continued and by the time Dr. Drew suggested that "there's nothing wrong with being gay, you're just not into that," everyone had already spent a great deal of time smirking about gay sex, straight discomfort with gay sex, and the idea of a straight person rushing a "gay" fraternity. It was akin to making fun of African-Americans for five minutes and then, at the end, saying, "Of course, there's nothing wrong with being black..." While MTV has almost always been an industry leader in its representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, Loveline needs to review some very basic realities about being sensitive to gay and bisexual sexuality. The information Dr. Drew, the supposed voice of authority, espouses about both anal sex and bisexuality is flatly inaccurate, and the general atmosphere of mocking and giggling about lesbian, gay and bisexual orientation is the Loveline norm. When approached by GLAAD, both representatives from MTV and Loveline Producer David Sittenfeld, who is openly gay, expressed a desire to address the issues GLAAD cited and a willingness to have an open dialogue about issues with the show. Please write to MTV and Loveline and let them know that for a show that professes an openness and knowledge about sexual matters, Loveline can sometimes be insensitive and ignorant. Also, if you hear something you disagree with, call them on air about it. Contact: Judy McGrath, President, MTV Network, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, fax: 212.258.8303, e-mail: Feedback@mtv.com; David Stanley and Scott Stone, Executive Producers, Loveline, 1040 North Los Palmas, Hollywood, CA 90038, call-in line: 213.520.LOVE, fax: 213.860.2532, e-mail: Feedback@mtv.com. 2. TV Guide Says Citizen Ruth May Be Ellen's Girl On February 20, TV Guide leaked inside information about the Ellen show indicating that on the proposed hour-long April 30 coming out episode, Ellen's love interest (yes, she will have one) will be played by Laura Dern (Citizen Ruth) and that as GLAAD reported last week, Oprah Winfrey will be playing Ellen's therapist. ABC and Touchstone Television, however, still refuse to saying any more than that ABC Entertainment President Jamie Tarses still has not seen or approved the actual. In the February 22 TV Guide, "The Couch Critic," Jeff Jarvis, expressed his own exasperation over ABC's foot-dragging about letting Ellen out of the closet. "Ellen DeGeneres' game of sexual-preference cat and mouse has gone on too long," he writes. "So why doesn't she just open the closet door, already? She is treating lesbianism as a shameful tittle, a dirty secret. I thought we were past that by now." He criticizes the show, but has faith that it will be stronger for the decision to come out: "The show and the star should both just decide what they are, announce it, and be proud of it. Enough rambling." ABC's attempt to continue hyping the "will she or won't she?" has many viewers, GLAAD and the media frustrated and puzzled. With sponsors willing to endorse an out Ellen and fans of the show eager to see the development of the character, it is beyond comprehension why ABC Entertainment President Jamie Tarses does not give her endorsement to a coming out story line that is clearly already well into development and set to air April 30. Write ABC and tell them it is time that Tarses review the script and get on with the show. Also, please thank TV Guide for keeping pressure on ABC. Contact: Jamie Tarses, Entertainment President, ABC, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067, fax: 310.557.7679, e-mail: abcaudr@ccabc.com; Steven Reddicliffe, Editor-in-Chief, TV Guide, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10036-8701, fax: 212.852-7470. 3. Homer's Phobia? Despite his favorite song being "It's Raining Men," his friendship with an assistant played by Harvey Fierstein and a recent show in which he inadvertently called a "GBM" from the personals, during the February 16 episode of the Fox series The Simpsons, Homer confronts a newfound homophobia. Special guest John Waters provides the voice for a gay antique dealer who befriends the Simpsons after seeing their campy house. Bart begins to idolize Waters, and Homer panics. Marge and Lisa think Homer is being absurd, but can't dissuade him from taking Bart on a hunting trip to attempt to "straighten out" his son. In the end, Waters saves Homer from certain death at the antlers of angry reindeer that he tried to force Bart to shoot as a right of passage into "manhood." Homer says he'll always be Waters' friend, and his friends, Lenny and Moe try to figure out how they'll ever live down having been saved by a "sissy." On a show that has always been overwhelmingly positive and admirably inclusive of lesbians and gay men, "Homer's Phobia" stands out as a shining example of how to bring intelligent, fair and funny representations of our community onto television. Even closeted Smithers has a brief appearance as a jealous friend of Waters who, upon discovering him hanging out with the Simpsons, says, "So THIS is the sick friend you're visiting?" Such little touches make The Simpsons one of the best and most gay-positive shows around. Please congratulate Fox and Gracie Films for another sensitive, hilarious and quality episode of The Simpsons. Contact: Chase Carey, Chairperson/CEO, Fox Broadcasting Company, P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90123, fax: 310.369.1433, e-mail: askfox@foxinc.com; James L. Brooks, Producer, c/o Sony Film Corp., 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90233, fax: 310.280.1530. 4. San Francisco Examiner Is Good Sports While the sports section of a newspaper is often one of the last places accurate and inclusive representations of our community can be found, the San Francisco Examiner has recently bucked the tradition. The February 8 edition includes a story about Jim Howley, an openly gay men with AIDS who is also an accomplished triathelete. Howley received the ALS Ironman Award for his "dedication and inspiration." According to the article, Howley believes his daily workouts and frame of mind brought him back from the brink of death. "This year he'll take part in his sixth L.A. Marathon, followed by a biking and running tour across country, followed by triathlons in Germany and Hawaii," the story says, spreading the message that being HIV-positive does not mean giving up. Please commend the San Francisco Examiner for profiling Howley and his inspirational story. Contact: Phil Bronstein, Editor, San Francisco Examiner, 110 5th Street, San Francisco, CA 94111, fax: 415.512.1264, e-mail: sfexaminer@examiner.com. 5. Cool Stuff for Kids Online A new Web site offers education and entertainment for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and their children. Open Prairie Syndicate, located at http://www.visi.com/~oprairie, is a Minneapolis-based collective that showcases cartoonists who work outside of the mainstream press, including Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For and Jennifer Camper's SubGURLZ. A new addition to the site is an online picture book for children with gay and lesbian parents. If the Sun Were Queer, written by Open Prairie founder Joe Hoover, a political cartoonist whose work has been published in 23 gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender publications nationwide, is inspired by the Sharon Bottoms case as well as other cases where children have been taken away from parent's homes because of the parent's sexual orientation. Please thank Joe Hoover for his wonderful book and for making it available to all via the Internet. It is appreciated and will certainly touch the lives of children with gay and lesbian parents everywhere. Contact: Joe Hoover, Open Prairie Syndicate, P.O. Box 8117, Minneapolis, MN, 55408; e-mail: oprairie@visi.com.WWW: http://www.visi.com/~oprairie /hoover/book/book.html. 6. GLAADAlert Update-NIC'ed On The Net Amidst the controversy surrounding the domain name "godhatesfags.com," GLAAD recently spoke with Sherry Proehl, a representative from InterNIC, in hopes that she might shed more light on the policy behind registering a domain name. GLAAD has been challenging InterNIC's arbitrary policy since "godhatesfags.com" first hit cyberspace. During the conversation, Proehl described that InterNIC automatically screens the FCC listing of the "Seven Dirty Words." Other than those words, she said that InterNIC does not engage in any political statement and because they register domains internationally, the company did not want to be responsible for drawing the line on speech. However, in order to test their policy, a member recently tried to register "nigger.com," a domain with a hateful and clearly inappropriate racist epithet. His request was declined by InterNIC, which stated that "Network Solutions has a right founded in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to refuse to register, and thereby publish on the Internet, registry of domain names words that it deems to be inappropriate." When Proehl was asked why this domain name was declined and not "godhatesfags.com," she replied that it contained one of the "Seven Dirty Words." However, "nigger" is decidedly not one of the Seven Dirty Words. So, why does it allow "godhatesfags.com?" The February 19 issue of The Netly News, an online publication put out by Time-Warner's Pathfinder, does an excellent job at highlighting InterNIC's "uneven policy." The article clarifies the concerns behind such a hateful domain: "The domain name itself, the activists feared, might incite violence against gay people. Just as troubling, though, was the uneven way the NIC handles cases like this. What's the NIC's policy on allowing discriminatory names? Clearly, it has none." Please write Network Solutions/ InterNIC and ask them to clarify their policy around discriminatory names. Also, let The Netly News know that their insightful reporting is much appreciated. Contact: David Graves, Internet Business Manager, Network Solutions, 505 Huntmar Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170, fax: 703.742.8449, e-mail: bmo@netsol.com; The Netly News, e-mail: thenetlynews@pathfinder.com. The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. GLAAD is the lesbian and gay news bureau and the only national lesbian and gay multimedia watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. Copies of articles referred to in the GLAADAlert are available to our members by contacting GLAAD. Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org or by phone at 213.658.6775 (Los Angeles), 212.807.1700 (New York), 413.586.8928 (Northampton), 202.986.1360 (Washington, DC) or 415.861.2244 (San Francisco). Report defamation in the media by calling GLAAD's Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334) Visit GLAAD's Web Site at http://www.glaad.org "GLAADAlert," "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. 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