Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 17:39:35 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert 04.18.97 GLAADALERT April 18, 1997 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation contents: 1. GLAADAlert Follow-Up: Alabama Ellen Party Is A Go (ABC-33/40 TV (Birmingham, AL ABC affiliate) 2. Married...With Children Spoofs Ellenmania With "Lez Be Friends" (Married...With Children (television sitcom), FOX (television network)) 3. Not All My Children Anymore (All My Children (television soap opera), ABC Daytime (television daytime programming)) 4. GLAAD Works With Ad Execs to Rethink Gay Issues (Leo Burnett Media (advertising agency), McDonald's (restaurant chain)) 5. Dave Thomas Won't Serve Ellen at "Weasly" Wendy's (Wendy's (restaurant chain), JC Penny's (department store chain), Chrysler Corporation (automobile manufacturer), General Motors Corporation (automobile manufacturer), Johnson & Johnson (corporation)) 6. Oprah Catches Hell For Being Supportive of Ellen (Oprah Winfrey (television talk show host)) 7. Chasing Amy's Identity (Chasing Amy (film), Miramax (production company)) 8. GLAADAlert Update: Hateful Web Name Back Online (Network Solutions/ InterNIC (domain name registration clearinghouse), Cyber Promotions (internet service)) 1. GLAADAlert Follow-Up: Alabama Ellen Party Is A Go Since the ABC affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama refused to air the April 30 episode of Ellen, GLAAD and Birmingham Pride Alabama (BPA) will be holding the city's "Official Welcome Out Ellen Party," with the history-making episode being satellite-fed directly to a giant screen at the Boutwell Auditorium. According to BPA entertainment director Kevin Snow, thousands of attendees from all over the South will come together to make a stand for fair, accurate and inclusive representation of lesbians and gay men on television as well as the freedom for individuals to decide for themselves how they feel about the program. In addition to coordinating the media and public relations for the event, GLAAD will have several representatives on site who will be working hand-in-hand with local lesbians and gay men to celebrate this groundbreaking moment in American cultural history. Please tell ABC 33/40 that their cowardice is denying quality and precedent-setting programming to local viewers-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or otherwise. To attend this exciting community event, tickets are now on sale for a suggested $5 donation through Ticketline at (800) 277-1700 or (205) 715-6000. Contact: Jerry Heilman, President and General Manager, ABC-33/40-TV, P.O. Box 360039, Birmingham, AL 35236, phone: 205.403.3340--enter 7 and then 1, e-mail: jerryh@abc3340.com; For more information about the "Welcome Out Ellen Party," contact Alan Klein (GLAAD Communications Director) at 212.807.1700 or the BPA, Prideline: 205.254.9199. 2. Married...With Children Spoofs Ellenmania With "Lez Be Friends" The April 28 Married...With Children, airing just two days before the big coming out episode of Ellen, gives its own slant on lesbian coming out when Marcy's (out actress Amanda Bearse) identical twin cousin Mandy comes to town. Both Al and Jefferson find themselves attracted to the more laid-back and sassy Mandy, while man-hungry Marcy stews with jealousy, because once again her cousin is getting all the boy attention. But Mandy, as it turns out, is a lesbian, and comes out to Al, who first tries to identify with her sexual orientation through his concept of "lesbian" (i.e. the women he sees in porn movies). When Mandy asks him if he thinks there is anything wrong with two women being together, he replies, "Not if there's a man watching!" Eventually, though, he not only accepts Mandy for who she is, but helps Marcy come to terms with her cousin's sexual orientation. Even Peg takes a liking to sweet-talking Mandy. In addition, at the very end, another character on the show comes out as gay. In its own absurd and crude way, Married...With Children has created an excellent episode which shows how gay people help to make up our diverse society, our families and our friends. Please thank Fox for "Lez Be Friends," and encourage them to bring Mandy back every once in a while. Contact: Brett King, Program Director, Fox Broadcasting Company, PO Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, fax: 310.369.1433, e-mail: askfox@foxinc.com. 3. Not All My Children Anymore In an expected but disappointing move, ABC Daytime is pushing the gay characters on All My Children-the only ones on daytime soaps-off to the sidelines. According to numerous sources, including the April 19 TV Guide, Chris Bruno, who plays openly gay high school teacher Michael Delaney is not renewing his contract. He will, however, remain a tangential character, returning at "Thanksgiving, Christmas, whatever," according to Bruno. Meanwhile, Kevin (Ben Jorgensen), Pine Valley's gay teenager, has had very little plot development and Michael's boyfriend Brad (Daniel McDonald) will have little or no place without his contract player boyfriend. Since Bruno is not completely leaving the show, ABC Daytime does not have to replace the actor with someone else to play the character on a more regular basis. Both Michael and Brad are left in soap opera limbo, and gay representation on All My Children is basically on hold. Now, as Kevin remains as essentially the only gay character left standing on daytime dramas, it is even more critical that he be given a significant, sensitive and well-developed storyline over the next few months. Encourage ABC Daytime to introduce new lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters to Pine Valley and all their soap communities and to give AMC's Kevin a full life and an engaging story. Contact: ABC Daytime, 77 W. 66th Street, New York, NY 10023-6201, fax: 212.456.2381, e-mail: daytime@ccabc.com. 4. GLAAD Works With Ad Execs to Rethink Gay Issues This week, GLAAD uncovered an unsettling internal report by Leo Burnett Media, the advertising agency for McDonald's, about how to position the fast-food giant's ads in regards to gay television content. The report stated, among other things, that McDonald's "cannot completely avoid" gay program content, but "must set parameters to ensure McDonald's continues to appear in suitable environment." In order to establish these "parameters," Leo Burnett questioned whether to pull from "discussion of homosexuality," "major gay story lines" and/or "intimate contact between same-sex couples." The report noted McDonald's has "traditionally avoided homosexual content when possible," but that it was "becoming more difficult to avoid as it becomes more commonplace." GLAAD communicated with Robert Brennan, executive vice president and U.S. media director for Leo Burnett, about the language used in the report and the potential divisiveness of the implications of the report. In an April 15 letter from Brennan to GLAAD, he stated that "it is incumbent upon me to continually encourage our team to demonstrate at all times and in all communication the sensitivity which we have for all individuals." Further, he committed to "implementing measures to improve how we discuss gay and lesbian media, programming and marketing," through "diversity training with a specific gay and lesbian sensitivity module into our overall media training" and "when reporting on relevant, timely social issues," to more closely review documents "to better ensure that any type of analysis is dealt with appropriately." Please commend Leo Burnett Media for swiftly addressing GLAAD's concerns and encourage them to make good on their word. Also, ask McDonald's to articulate why they have "traditionally avoided" lesbian and gay-inclusive content in selecting where to advertise. Contact: Robert C. Brennan, U.S. Media Director, Leo Burnett Media, 35 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601, fax: 312.220.3299; McDonald's, 1 Crock Drive, Oak Brook, IL 60521. 5. Dave Thomas Won't Serve Ellen at "Weasly" Wendy's In other fast-food news, Wendy's has announced that while it was never scheduled to advertise on the April 30 coming out episode of ABC's Ellen, it has pulled all sponsorship from the show. According to Wendy's spokesperson Denny Lynch, the move was prompted by the media attention to title character Ellen Morgan's coming out as a lesbian. In the April 16 USA Today, Lynch said, "The story content no longer fits our advertising guidelines, which are primarily to avoid controversial subjects." In the same article, GLAAD Communications Director Alan Klein called the pullout a "weasly way of not being inclusive. I think diversity is the bedrock of American culture, and for corporations to avoid dealing with the fact that gays and lesbians are part of the rich and diverse culture of America means they are blinded by their own bigotry." The Wendy's annual meeting will be in Columbus, Ohio on April 29. Let Wendy's know that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families and friends eat fast-food, too, and that they will think twice about supporting a business that refuses to support inclusive TV programming. In addition, keep letting the other advertisers that pulled from Ellen know that their intolerance has been noticed and is unacceptable. Contact: Wendy's, 4288 W. Dublin Granville Rd., Dublin, OH 43017; Robert J. Easton, Chairperson, Chrysler Corporation, 1000 Chrysler Drive, Auburn Hills, MI 48326, phone: 800.992.1997; John F. Smith, Chairperson, General Motors Corporation, 3044 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202, phone: 313.556.5000, fax: 313.556.1988; Ralph S. Larsen, Chairperson, Johnson & Johnson, One J & J Plaza, New Brunswick, NJ 09833, phone: 800.635.6789, fax: 908.214.0332, feedback form on the WWW: http//www.jnj.com/feedback.html; William Howell, Chair, JC Penney Company, Inc., PO Box 10001, Dallas, TX 75301, phone: 214.431.1000, fax: 214.431.1977, email: webmaster@jcpenney.com. 6. Oprah Catches Hell For Being Supportive of Ellen During her April 15 broadcast, talk-show diva Oprah Winfrey reported that she has received both positive and negative letters since she participated in the taping of the April 30 Ellen. On the negative side, two of three letters she read on camera attacked her for "promoting lesbianism," and she said that members of her own staff had told her she would go to hell for her involvement in the history-making episode. An audience member on the verge of tears also challenged Winfrey's Christian faith because of her embracing of an openly lesbian title character and Ellen DeGeneres herself coming out of the closet. However, one letter she read of the "bins" of letters she received commended her for being so supportive of Ellen, and Winfrey said that her faith is about loving instead of judging, and many audience members applauded her and supported her. DeGeneres will appear on Oprah on April 30. Reflecting the values of many Americans, Oprah Winfrey's continual inclusiveness and appreciation for lesbians and gay men is a testament to the strength of her Christian faith and love. Please thank Oprah for her support of the Ellen show, DeGeneres and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Contact: Oprah Winfrey, Oprah, 110 N. Carpenter Road, Chicago, Illinois 60607 7. Chasing Amy's Identity In the recent limited-release hit Chasing Amy, Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams), struggles with reconciling her sexual identity and her sexual orientation when, as a lesbian, she falls in love with her straight friend Holden (Ben Affleck). In addition to her own exploration of finding a person she loves, regardless of gender, Holden has to confront his own sexual identity and views about homosexuality and desire. Holden also has to deal with Alyssa's sexual past, which includes men and women. In addition, Holden's best friend, who is homophobic and says terrible things, is the least sympathetic character in the movie, and is countered at every turn to correct myths, stereotypes and prejudices he has. At one point, Holden even suggests that his friend may be a repressed gay man who pines for him. Alyssa's lesbian friends, while realistic, are also very opposed to her dating a man and at one point toast her, saying "another one bites the dust," implying that Alyssa has somehow betrayed her sexual orientation by crossing genders to find love. Finally, one supporting character, an African-American, gay man, articulates a complicated sense of race and sexual orientation as a person of color in the gay community. Unfortunately, for a movie which is all about moving beyond (and being confined by) restrictive senses of identity, it never articulates the possibility that Alyssa could be bisexual, or what it means to be bisexual both to heterosexuals and lesbians and gay men. Clearly, the movie is in part about bisexuality, but without ever using the word, it missed an opportunity to talk about the fluidity of sexuality and the way that bisexual identity strengthens and facilitates discussion about that concept. Please congratulate Miramax for tackling a complicated issue about identity and realistically portraying each character. Point out, however, that by ignoring the term "bisexual," Chasing Amy gets trapped in "straight" and "gay" labels rather than liberating itself from them. Contact: Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein, Co-Chairs, Miramax, 7920 Sunset Blvd., #230, Los Angeles, CA 90046, fax: 213.969.9840, e-mail: webmaster@miramax.com. 8. GLAADAlert Update: Hateful Web Name Back Online After being pulled from NetGate Communication's server and being placed on hold status for two months, the hateful domain name "godhatesfags.com" is back in cyberspace and is currently housed on servers at Cyber Promotions, owned and operated by Sanford Wallace. This means only that a Web page using that domain name will soon be in existence. From the beginning, GLAAD has been challenging InterNIC's arbitrary and inconsistent policy toward the use of hate language in domain names. In February, GLAAD Interactive Media Director Loren Javier spoke with Sherry Proehl, a representative from InterNIC, in hopes that she might shed more light on the policy behind registering a domain name. Proehl told Javier 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 [containing] 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, in light of this new home for the hateful domain, GLAAD continues to ask why it allows "godhatesfags.com" and for clarity in its policy. Please write Cyber Promotions and ask what their policy is in regards to hate speech on its service. Contact: David Graves, Internet Business Manager, Network Solutions, 505 Huntmar Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170, fax: 703.742.8449, e-mail: bmo@netsol.com; Sanford Wallace, Cyber Promotions, e-mail: domreg@CYBERPROMO.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. Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org or by phone at 213.658.6775 (Los Angeles), 212.807.1700 (New York), 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. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's DISPATCH AND QUARTERLY IMAGES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" GLAAD is the nation's 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 discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.