Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 19:12:55 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADALERT - January 21, 1999 GLAADALERT January 21, 1999 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation EDITOR'S NOTE: A segment on FOX's newsmagazine, FOX FILES, described by the network's website as "examin[ing] the growing trend of 'gay gangs'" airs tonight. GLAAD is aware of the piece and will issue its analysis of the segment following the broadcast. GLAADAlert Index: 1) Cinemax Makes MAJIC 2) Ladies' Home Journal Takes on Lesbian Moms 3) How Times Have Changed 4) Dolce & Gabbana Put Out 1) Cinemax Makes MAJIC Filmmaker Tim Kirkman's acclaimed documentary Dear Jesse made its small-screen debut Tuesday, January 19 on cable's Cinemax. In Dear Jesse, Kirkman looks at the political career of Senator Jesse Helms - who is originally from Kirkman's own hometown of Wingate, North Carolina. The piece is a cinematic letter to Helms, and begins with Kirkman remarking on the fact that Helms has, for the majority of his adult life, been obsessed with homosexual men. Kirkman points out that it's something the two have in common. And while Dear Jesse is full of examples of such wry wit, it also addresses many pertinent concerns about Helms' conservatism and prejudices through the course of his interviews and commentary. Among those Kirkman speaks with: prominent lesbian activist and North Carolinian Mandy Carter; students at a North Carolina college which had invited Helms as its commencement speaker; Mike Nelson, openly gay mayor of Carrboro, North Carolina, and the first openly gay elected official in the state; Kirkman's own articulate and outspoken aunt; and Allan Gurganus, author of the bestselling Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All, who compares Helms' supporters to pod people during their conversation. In a moment of particular poignancy, Kirkman speaks to Patsy Clarke and Eloise Vaughn, two mothers who lost their sons to AIDS. The two met and intended to start a support group, but in the course of considering their goals, they realized that Helms' attacks on the lesbian and gay community and especially upon people with AIDS necessitated response. So they founded a group called MAJIC - Mothers Against Jesse In Congress - to block his re-election. Kirkman's own comments speak to the challenges faced by many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, but use his personal experiences to effectively draw viewers in. In the fall of 1998, Kirkman realized that he had interviewed Matthew Shepard at the college mentioned above. In light of Shepard's brutal and high-profile murder, Kirkman decided to add the footage as a special post-script to Dear Jesse. The addition brings together many of the issues Kirkman had addressed, hitting home with the chilling footage of a talking, moving, breathing figure whose face has tragically become emblazoned in the minds of millions of Americans through photographs and words alone. Dear Jesse was screened in film festivals beginning in 1998. It has since been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary, and is also nominated for a Spirit Award - the premier awards given in the independent film industry. On its website, Cinemax notes that the film will be re-aired on January 25 at 8:30 a.m. EST/5:30 a.m. PDT and again on January 29 at 5:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. PDT. Please check local listings and tune-in for the broadcasts, and thank Cinemax for bringing such an outstanding and unusual piece to its wide audience. Contact: Jeff Bewkes, President, HBO, 1100 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036-6712 2) Ladies' Home Journal Takes on Lesbian Moms http://www.lhj.com In the February issue of Ladies' Home Journal, the column "A Woman Today" explores the lives of a family headed by two lesbians, entitled "Two Moms For Zack." Written by Aimee Genlaw, one of Zack's moms, the first-person narrative sensitively portrays the challenges of raising two children in a same-sex parented household. Gelnaw, who came out as lesbian after having married a man and giving birth to her son Zack, talks of the experience of coming to awareness about her sexual orientation, and the effects it had upon her husband and son. After her divorce, she and her partner began living together, along with Zack. (Genlaw goes on later to talk about how Zack maintains a good relationship with his father, despite their living in different states.) While this part of her life seemed resolved, she still had to come out to her parents and siblings, whose reaction might be best described as mixed. However, the family she had created with Margie was coming together: but Margie wanted to have a child. They discussed it for years before beginning the process of having Dewey, their daughter. The second-parent adoption, which would be unnecessary if they were a heterosexual couple, cost thousands of dollars, but was important so that both parents could make medical decisions and have legal standing. This brings up for Genlaw the need to find housing that is lesbian-friendly when relocating, employers and child care that is sensitive. She points out how the legal, financial and practical benefits of same-sex marriage would help them enormously as a family: "For us, a ceremony wouldn't make our relationship more committed than it already is, but that little slip of paper would make a big difference from a legal standpoint." She closes with her commitment to activism: co-writing a booklet with her partner on the role of lesbian and gay parents in schools, and talking about how her father, a former mayor, served as a role model for her political involvement. She then observes how her son, too, despite the experiences of hurt and trauma with homophobic young people, has found that "speaking up is much better than silence." Please write to Ladies' Home Journal, and thank them for bringing this touching and homey portrait of a lesbian family to their readers. Contact: Carolyn Noyes, Managing Editor, Ladies' Home Journal, 125 Park Ave., New York, NY 10017, fax: 212.445.1313, e-mail: LHJ@nyc.mdp.com 3) How Times Have Changed http://www.latimes.com:80/excite/990121/t000006120.html In the January 21 edition of the Los Angeles Times, David Link writes of the recent commitment ceremony of two women, Jeanne Barnett, 68 and Ellie Charlton, 63, partners of 15 years. It was held in Sacramento, California and celebrated by 95 members of the Methodist clergy. Link writes: "There are many issues at work in this ceremony, questions about morality and love, religion and politics, equality and 'special rights'. But one fact may say more about this event than any other. It took place in Sacramento." He goes on to observe that the neighborhoods created by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community within large cities often drove the fight for equality. These struggles are now moving to smaller cities, and towns where now the issues of domestic partnership, inclusive curricula and school gay/straight alliances are coming out of the closet. In the instance of this commitment ceremony, the idea originated not with a lesbian and gay organization, but with the Rev. Don Fado, a heterosexual minister. On hearing that the Methodist leadership banned blessing same-sex unions, he asked if any same-sex couple in his congregation could come forward. Barnett and Charlton did so, saying they were "quiet advocates for change." These battles that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community face on a daily basis, where, says Link, "[t]hey are joined by millions of heterosexuals like Fado", are being fought increasingly in places like Sacramento, Laramie (Wyoming) and Vermont, where a judicial case for same-sex marriage is currently being fought by three couples. Link finds that "The gay rights movement isn't just for activists anymore. . .Political activism isn't in everyone's blood. But justice is. That's what drove Fado to issue his challenge, and for Barnett and Charlton to accept." He then speaks of the hundreds of people who surrounded the ceremony in a "circle of love" (blocking out anti-gay protestors), and the thousand who watched in side. "[They] probably couldn't name a gay radical. But by just being present, their quiet advocacy was moving the mountains radicals have been talking about for decades." While Link's labeling of those who have fought in the past for the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people as "radicals" seems unfounded, his moving picture of the two women, and the clergy member who chose to make a stand is a welcome snapshot of the state of the fight for equality in marriage. Contact: Michael Parks, Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, fax: 213.237.7679, e-mail: letters@latimes.com 4) Dolce & Gabbana Put Out In the February issue of Interview, Dolce & Gabbana's full page advertisement captures an image of young gay men with candor and beauty. The ad shows two young men in what seems like a suburban living room, or "rec room," with board games visible in the lower right of the photo. Magazines sit on a coffee table. They both sit on the couch, one sitting behind the other. The one further forward on the couch stares ahead into the camera, the one behind him has him arm wrapped around the other's chest and is kissing his face. The matter-of-fact statement made by the image is one of simple affection, perhaps love. The image speaks of the hopes and reality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, and really of everyone: that they may fall in love, and perhaps in an ideal world, pleasure would be as simple as sitting in their living room with their boyfriend. Contact: Christine Westerby, Dolce & Gabbana, 532 Broadway, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10012 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 213.658.6775 (LA), 212.807.1700 (NY), 415.861.2244 (SF), 202.986.1360 (DC), 404.876.1398 (Atlanta) and 816.756.5991 (Kansas City) Feel free to pass GLAADAlert on to friends, family and associates! Report defamation in the media by calling GLAAD's Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334) Visit GLAAD Online at http://www.glaad.org "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. 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