Date: Fri, 26 Dec 1997 18:44:00 -0500
From: glaad@glaad.org (GLAAD)
Subject:  GLAADALERT December 26, 1997

 GLAADALERT December 26, 1997
The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation

1) "GLAADAlert" Update: Cyber Patrol Makes Good On Its Word (Microsystems
Software)
2) Playing Nicely With Others ("Washington Post")
3) William Bennett 0, Andrew Sullivan 1 ("New Republic")
4) Heche Becomes "More of a Woman"("LA Weekly")
5) He's Here, He's Queer, He's Got Blush ("Primetime Live")
6) "Ellen" Best of '97 Media Round-Up ("TV Guide", "Newsweek", "Time",
"People", "Primetime Live")

GLAADAlert Update: Cyber Patrol Makes Good On Its Word
On Friday afternoon, as promised (however, just short of the release of
last week's critical GLAADAlert), Microsystems Software, the makers of the
Internet filtering software Cyber Patrol, lifted the block on the majority
of the WestHollywood sites on Geocities.  The sites left blocked were sites
Microsystems still felt met its criteria as "CyberNOTs".

In a conversation with Susan Getgood, Director of Marketing at
Microsystems, GLAAD found that the company had every intention of working
to lift the block.  Cyber Patrol acknowledged the error of blocking the
entire WestHollywood directory and reiterated that the move was not
intended to discriminate against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
community. She noted that when GLAAD pointed the problem out, they
immediately started looking into the issue. She re-affirmed the company's
position of trying to create a software that can act as safety controls for
parents, yet represents and respects a diversity of opinions and
information. Getgood also let GLAAD know that aside from sitting on the
oversight committee for Cyber Patrol, GLAAD could also contact Microsystems
at any time and question any site. Finally, Microsystems will be working
with GLAAD's Interactive Media Director to make sure GLAAD has more of an
active role on their oversight committee.

Please thank Microsystems Software for making good on their word to lift
the block on the WestHollywood directory at Geocities and for re-affirming
their commitment to diversity.
Contact: Dick Gorgens, CEO, and Susan Getgood, Director of Marketing,
Microsystems Software, Inc., 600 Worcester Road, Framingham, Massachusetts
01701, e-mail: dickg@microsys.com for Dick Gorgens, susang@microsys.com for
Susan Getgood; Cyber Patrol's Web page is located at
http://www.cyberpatrol.com.

Playing Nicely With Others
In the December 25 edition of the Washington Post, Ric Bucher intelligently
explores two recent incidents of fighting between members of sports teams
in Washington, D.C., and illuminates the phenomenon of homophobia in
sports. In August of this year, Michael Westbrook, who plays football for
the Washington Redskins, attacked Stephen Davis, also on the team, for
"us[ing] a derogatory term in suggesting Westbrook was gay." On December
10, Rod Strickland, who plays basketball for the Washington Wizards,
accosted Tracy Murray, also on the Wizards, when a mutual friend played a
tape for Strickland that had Murray telling the friend that he thought
Strickland was gay, and using a derogatory term. In the article, Bucher
speaks to Richard Lapchick, director of the Center for the Study of Sport
in Society, who commented "'[n]ot to diminish racism or sexism, but we have
people studying diversity and conflict resolution, and they say homophobia
is the biggest problem by far. Nothing is even close to it. It is not
something about professional sports. It's a huge problem in society.'" At
the end of the article, Lapchick says "the fact that being accused of being
homosexual remains an insult reflects how deep-rooted homophobia is.'"

The article discusses the fact that homophobia in sports is an ongoing
problem in what is seen as a very macho arena, while also making the
important point that prejudice and bias against lesbians and gay men is
still pervasive in America. In addition, by speaking to the general manager
of one of the teams involved, Bucher also illustrates the unwillingness of
many in sports to talk about the problem (The Wizards' general manager Wes
Unseld closes his statement with the all too familiar "It's a dead issue.
Why try to resurrect it?")

Thank the Washington Post for highlighting these incidents, and for placing
them in a social perspective.
Contact: Robert G. Kaiser, Managing Editor, Managing Editor, Washington
Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071-0002, fax: 202.334.5269,
e-mail: webnews@waspost.com.

William Bennett 0, Andrew Sullivan 1
In the January 5 & 12 issue of The New Republic, Andrew Sullivan, the
former editor of the political affairs magazine, takes on Former Education
Secretary Bill Bennett's recent campaign of misinformation against lesbians
and gay men. Using the pseudo-science of Paul Cameron's discredited
statements about the average lifespan of gay men being 43, Bennett has
recently taken to the media (in the Weekly Standard and on ABC's "This
Week") "telling the truth" about homosexuality and "its dangers."

William Bennett's spurious numbers are derived from the fake statistics of
Dr. Paul Cameron, who was expelled from the American Psychological
Association for violating the organization's ethical principles, and whose
research (based on reading obituaries in lesbian and gay newspapers) has
been discredited numerous times by sociologists (see GLAADAlert 8.22.97).
Sullivan pulls apart Cameron's shoddy display of biased and homophobic
research, and then discusses Bennett's tarring of the gay male community
with the hateful and untrue taint of pedophilia. He then continues analysis
of Bennett's arguments, finding that when truly examined, Bennett is in
fact arguing "that one group of citizens should be publicly stigmatized,
denied the right to marry, legally fired at will from their jobs, expelled
from the military[...]." He uses a parallel with ethnicity, which while not
the same, could illustrate how if Bennett made similar statements about a
particular ethnic group, those statements would immediately be understood
as "racism." In closing, Sullivan writes, "There is only one possible
explanation for this [position]. It is that Bennett considers gay men and
women so beneath and beyond the concern of real society that it is
incumbent upon him merely to echo the stigmas that perpetuate their
exclusion. And if that isn't close to a definition of bigotry, I don't know
what is."

Please thank the New Republic for this important and thoughtful unraveling
of Bill Bennett's anti-gay agenda. The more Bennett continues to tell these
lies unopposed, the more likely people will hear and believe them.
Contact: Martin Peretz, Editor in Chief, The New Republic, 1220 19th Street
NW # 600, Washington, D.C. 20036, fax 202.331.0275.

Heche Becomes "More of a Woman"
The January 1998 cover story of Los Angeles Magazine features an intimate
and frank look at openly gay actress Anne Heche.  "Addicted to Love" by
Merle Ginsberg explores Heche's rising star, the headlines she began making
when she starting dating Ellen DeGeneres and whether she can still "play
straight." Heche explains that for her movie roles she "'put(s) on the skin
of whatever's in the script. And I've obviously had a lot more experience
being straight than being gay. They should ask me if I can play gay!'"
Heche also tackles criticism and stereotypes of how she dresses predicted
on myths of how lesbians all dress like men, "'Did I suddenly become a boy
because I'm in love with Ellen?....To me, I became more of a woman...The
story is between your ears-not your legs.'"  For her honesty, Anne's new
found life with TV's most visible openly gay star has cost her contact with
most of her ultrareligious family. Instead, Heche has embraced DeGeneres'
mom as her own. "'I'm sad because I would love to have that closeness with
my family, but I'm not going to hang on to "form" if it gives me pain,
angst and ulcer.'"

Please write LA Weekly and thank them for prominently highlighting Heche.
Contact: Spencer Beck, Editor-in-Chief, Los Angeles Magazine, 11100 Santa
Monica Blvd., 7th Floor, LA, CA 90025-3334, fax: 310.312.2285, e-mail:
webmaster@laweekly.com.

He's Here, He's Queer, He's Got Blush
Besides highlighting Ellen DeGeneres, the December 24 Primetime Live
featured a story on the life and career of Kevyn Aucoin, world renowned
openly gay makeup artist to the stars. Calling him one the "most glamorous
people of 1997," Primetime looks back at Aucoin's childhood in Kentucky,
his parents displeasure with his sexual orientation (they have since gone
on to found a chapter of PFLAG) and his suffering repeated taunting and
violent anti-gay attacks at school.  He also talks openly about his
feelings of alienation and a subsequent suicide attempt at 25.  Also
featured are interviews with his mother and footage of his boyfriend of
four years.

Primetime Live does something unique with their story of this talented
artist.  They look at the man, sexual orientation and all, in order to
explore his drive and success.  Pretty faces and celebrity interviews
singing his praises take a back seat to the segments profile of Aucoin.
Many stories like this often gloss over or completely ignore the sexual
orientation of such high-profile people, preferring to hide one's sexual
orientation in a closet they never even had.

Please contact Primetime Live and thank them for exploring what drives
Aucoin, sexual orientation and all.
Contact: Phyllis McGrady, Executive Producer, Primetime Live, ABC
Television Network, 77 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023-6201, fax:
212.456.1297, e-mail: abcaudr@abc.com.

Ellen Best of '97 Media Round-Up
Between White House scandals and the death of Princess Diana, 1997 was a
big year.  One of the most interesting and debated events of the year, and
subsequently one of the biggest stories covered by the media, was Ellen
Morgan and Ellen DeGeneres' simultaneous emergence from the closet.  In the
past two weeks, a number of media outlets have done year-end round-ups and
"Best of '97" lists.  Entertainment Weekly named DeGeneres "Entertainer of
the Year" and Us Magazine wrote an insightful article as well (both are
featured in 12.19.97's GLAADAlert).  Some other looks back at Ellen's
landmark year included:

… The December 20 TV Guide named DeGeneres the third "Best of '97," placing
her among a group of ten other TV personalities, "each a person of strong
personality and great accomplishment."
… The December 29th issue of Newsweek all but ignores DeGeneres.  Besides
giving her a down arrow on its "Conventional Wisdom" page for "market(ing)
(her) personal life to revive (a) flagging sitcom," and a satirical cartoon
espousing much of the same sentiment, DeGeneres' accomplishments are
missing from the remainder of the special double issue.
… In its "Man of the Year" issue, Ellen's coming out "Puppy Episode" got
Time's pick for the 2nd best television event of 1997. "To live up to its
hype, it had to be a classic-and it was," Time writes.
… The December 29 issue of People Magazine places DeGeneres among its "25
Most Intriguing People of the Year" for "reshaping TV's take on sexual
identity."
… The December 24 special edition of Primetime Live featured a look back at
1997, with the program's first, rather lengthy, segment dedicated to
portions of DeGeneres' April interview with Diane Sawyer.

Contact:
… Jack Curry, Managing Editor, TV Guide, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 4th
Floor, NY 10036-8701, fax: 212.852.7470, feedback form:
www.tvguide.com/report.html;
… Letters to the Editor, Newsweek, 251 W. 57th St., New York, NY
10019-6999, fax: 212.445.5068, e-mail: letters@newsweek.com;
… Letters to the Editor, Time, Time-Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New
York, NY 10020, fax: 212.522.0323, e-mail: letters@time.com;
… Carol Wallace, Managing Editor, People, Time-Life Bldg., Rockefeller Ctr,
New York, NY 10020, fax: 212.522.0331, e-mail: editor@people.com;
… Phyllis McGrady, Executive Producer, Primetime Live, ABC Television
Network, 77 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023-6201, fax: 212.456.2381,
e-mail: abcaudr@abc.com.


The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation.
GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation in the media as
a means of
challenging homophobia and all forms of discrimination based on sexual
orientation or identity.
Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org or by phone at
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