Date: Thu, 8 Apr 1999 20:57:29 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert - April 8, 1999 April 8, 1999 The GLAADAlert is the bi-weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Index to articles: 1. Los Angeles Billboard Promotes Homophobia 2. Making Schools Safe for All Students 3. Homicide's Bayliss Faces Bi-Phobia on the Force 4. For the Phelpses, Hate is a Family Affair 5. Washington Post Columnist Calls for Hormel's Appointment 6. Salsa Teaches Tolerance Los Angeles Billboard Promotes Homophobia This week, community members in Los Angeles were perplexed by the sight of billboards that read--"Do You Know If Your Son's Coach is Gay?" They were uncertain whether this was a piece of religious extremist propaganda or an ironic campaign from a coalition of southern California gay bars. GLAAD Entertainment Media Director Scott Seomin learned that it was neither, but rather a local advertising campaign conceived by Los Angeles talk-radio station KFI-AM, and implemented by the billboard company, Outdoor Systems. GLAAD met with both Outdoor Systems and the radio station, as well as local area merchants who lease the space to Outdoor Systems, educating each on the implications of such a campaign. Considering that the other billboards read, "Do You Trust Your Babysitter?" and "Who is Reading Your E-mail?" this particular billboard campaign was obviously designed to exploit people's fears. The billboard in question employed stereotypes, reinforcing fears that might be manifested by violence towards gay men. "Even after discussions with GLAAD, KFI-AM failed to consider that its listeners might be offended by the campaign, and refused to remove the billboards. Outdoor Systems thought differently. After receiving concerned phone calls from area merchants, they registered GLAAD's complaint that the banners were dangerous, ultimately complying with our request to take down the offending matter," said Seomin. Please write KFI-AM and let them know that provocative advertising campaigns need not be offensive. In addition, please commend Outdoor Systems for accepting responsibility as an exhibitor. Contact: oStewart Turner, Marketing Director at KFI-AM, 610 South Ardmore Avenue, LA, 90005. oDennis Kuhl, and account executive, Carol Lewis at Outdoor Systems, 1731 Workman Street, LA 90031 Making Schools Safe for All Students An op-ed piece in the Spokane Statesman Review and a cover story in Teacher Magazine examine harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in the California and Washington school systems. Jamie Tobias Neely, writing for the editorial board of the Spokane(Washington) Statesman Review, describes the findings of a new report from the Safe Schools Coalition of Washington, which found at least 111 incidents of harassment due to sexual orientation, all in the last five years. Fortunately, Spokane's District 81 and the neighboring Cheney school district have policies that explicitly ban harassment related to sexual orientation. Enforcement includes counseling, suspension, or expulsion. The Statesman Review calls for all schools to enact this policy and recognizes "a cultural link between harassment in the public schools and the ongoing discrimination felt by gay and lesbian adults in the Inland Northwest. That link points out the need for Spokane's new human rights ordinance, which prohibits discrimination in housing, employment and public transportation." David Ruenzel's piece in Teacher Magazine examines the momentum behind a federal civil rights lawsuit recently filed by Live Oak High School students in Morgan Hill, California. The piece sensitively interviews the six plaintiffs, allowing them to elaborate on the charges that they experienced "pervasive, severe, and unwelcome" verbal and physical anti-gay harassment on a nearly daily basis. Of the six students, only Alana Flores, 19, chooses to reveal her identity. During her time at Live Oak, Flores had initially convinced herself that the abuse endured was part of the 'normal' high school experience. Matters escalated when fellow students placed death threats in her locker, and taunted her openly during class. Most of the teachers who were witness to her harassment remained silent; others, according to Flores, were "afraid to do anything that shows tolerance." The complaint, filed in a U.S. District Court, names as defendants Morgan Hill superintendent Carolyn McKennan and a roster of administrators; a jury trial is slated for September. The piece concludes with a cogent analysis of why discrimination continues in the schools, and how the anti-gay rhetoric of public figures such as Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott influences whether or not students treat one another with respect. While Wisconsin student Jamie Nabozny recently won a summary judgment of nearly $1 million, demonstrating that the courts recognize accountability, schools remain unsafe and teachers must continue to fight for protections in the face of indifference. Please thank the Spokane Statesman Review and Teacher Magazine for these comprehensive pieces. Contact: =85 John Webster, Editorial Page Editor, Spokane Statesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99201-1098, e-mail via WWW: http://www.spokane.net:80/news-story-body.asp?Date=3D033199&ID=3Ds554856&cat= =3D =85 Drew Lindsay, Managing Editor, Teacher Magazine, 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814, e-mail: tmletter@epe.org Homicide's Bayliss Faces Bi-Phobia on the Force In the last two episodes of NBC's GLAAD Media Award-nominated Homicide: Life on the Street, Detective Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) has been tested as he has tried to come to terms with being openly bisexual , a Buddhist and a cop. As he has personally grown more at ease with his sexuality, his private life has been subject to professional scrutiny. Just as the show has been praised by law enforcement agencies for accurately depicting life on the homicide beat, it has sensitively scripted Bayliss' vulnerable position as a bisexual. On the March 26 episode, when Bayliss visits a uniformed--and closeted--officer, after having had a drink with him at a gay bar, he is threatened by the officer who says, "Leave me alone or I'll kick your faggot ass." From that point on, he must contend with officers who view him as a predator, and see his honesty "as flaunting" his sexuality. On the April 2 episode, Bayliss joins an investigation after a Buddhist monk is found murdered. While he regains the trust of his fellow officer Mildrick Lewis (Clark Johnson) for solving the case, he remains at a crossroads, uncertain of how to accommodate his professional and personal lives. Please watch and thank Homicide: Life on the Street for providing viewers with thought-provoking, groundbreaking television. Contact: Mssrs. Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana and Jim Finnerty, Executive Producers, Homicide, c/o NBC Studios, 330 Bob Hope Dr., Burbank, CA 91523 =46or the Phelpses, Hate is a Family Affair The Rev. Fred Phelps has defined the lunatic fringe of anti-gay religious extremism. While even such religious political extremists as Jerry Falwell, Gary Bauer and Trent Lott have distanced themselves from Phelps, his reach is not to be taken for granted. Since 1992, Phelps has been protesting the funerals of well-known activists (such as Randy Shilts, and more recently, Matthew Shepard). Three recent pieces looked at Phelps' brand of "activism." In the March/April 1999 issue of Mother Jones, Kerry Lauerman documents Phelps' turnabout from being a civil-rights lawyer to placing himself at the very epicenter of the anti-gay hate movement. The article contends that Phelps has crossed the line, even for the intolerant, with his relentless protests at the funerals and marriages of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and that his actions now mobilize turnout of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community many times more than his forces can muster. A story on Phelps' waning cultural significance might seem reason to celebrate for readers, but the cover story of USA Weekend (March 26-28) is a reminder that if Phelps' public appearances carry less weight, then his cyber-presence is intimidating. While the piece is devoted to an examination of hate speech on the web, it spotlights none other than the grandson of Phelps, Ben Phelps, who is the webmaster for Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church website, www.godhatesfags.com. USA Weekend quotes Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center as saying, "The Internet has done for hate groups what the printing press has done for literature. Before, these groups would post a message on a bulletin board and few people would see it. Now, they post a message on the Net and millions see it. We should be outraged and alarmed, because these ideas can lead to violent events." =46inally, in the Sunday, April 4, edition of The Salt Lake Tribune, guest writers Rev. Philip de Rochambeau and Michael Thomas Taylor diagram the relationship between the anti-gay rhetoric of Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church and hate crimes. Beginning with the 1976 murder of Richard Heakin, whose teenage killers were found guilty, but not sentenced to any jail time, to the murder of Matthew Shepard, Rochambeau and Taylor articulate the consequences of hate, writing that when "people are taught that "God Hates Fags," how much of a leap is it for someone to conclude that since God hates fags anyway, torturing and killing them is only doing His work on earth?" Please thank the editors of these periodicals for exposing three key aspects of Phelps' destructive influence. Contact: =85 Kerry Lauerman, Legal/Legislation Editor, Mother Jones, 731 Market Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94103, fax: 415.665.6696, e-mail: letters@motherjones.com =85 Marcia Bullard, Editor, USA Weekend, 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22209-3901, fax: 703.247.3108, e-mail: editor@usatoday.com (include name, address and phone) =85 Harry Fuller, Opinion Page Editor, The Salt Lake Tribune, 143 S. Main St., Salt Lake City, UT 84111-1945, fax: 801.521.9418, e-mail: letters@sltrib.com (include phone number with all correspondence) Washington Post Columnist Calls for Hormel's Appointment In an April 6, 1999 column for the Washington Post Geneva Overholser questions where Americans stand with regard to full acceptance of homosexuality. While she acknowledges the work of sociologist Alan Wolfe, whose concept of "homosexual exception" speaks to misconceptions Americans continue to have regarding the practices of sexual minorities, Overholser asserts that a clear majority of Americans do support equal access to employment, housing, and job protection for all. She then follows this observation with an endorsement of openly gay James Hormel as ambassador to Luxemburg. [In 1997, Hormel's nomination was scuttled at the hands of Jesse Helms; his name was resubmitted in January, 1999.] Overholser advocates for Hormel saying, "[Trent] Lott should listen to the people on this one. Even for a gay man, when it comes to job applications, live and let live is the rule." Please thank the Washington Post for publishing this articulate editorial. Contact: Meg Greenfield, Editor, Editorial Page, Washington Post, 1150 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20071-0002, e-mail via WWW: http://www.washingtonpost.com Salsa Teaches Tolerance In the March 30 Los Angeles Times, columnist Agustin Gurza wryly recounts his experience partnering with a male salsa dance teacher, and tries to explain why Latino elected representatives who are heterosexual have supported legislation that benefits the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. While he does not dispute that Latino culture has had a tradition of being conservative, Catholic, and aggressively heterosexual, he believes that a younger segment of the population is open-minded and perceives the issue to be one of civil rights. While two Latino assemblymen have been targeted by one Art Pedroza, Jr. and have been charged as being "anti-family," Gurza returns to the example of his dance class, affirming that if you can "come to admire those guys who can do both parts, dancing the male role in reverse," then you can begin to understand the mindset that supports full citizenship for all. Please thank the Los Angeles Times for providing its readers with this witty and erudite column. Contact: oMichael Parks, Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, fax: 213.237-7679, e-mail: letters@latimes.com Correction: In the piece "Cupid Hits Bullseye in Love Matters" [GLAADAlert, March 25] Jesse Heiwa was misidentified as Japanese. He is Asian/Pacific Islander. 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) =46eel free to pass GLAADAlert on to friends, family and associates! Report defamation in the media and breaking news of interest to the LGBT community 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. GLAADAlert may be freely distributed and reprinted in all forms of media under the condition that any text used carry the full attribution of "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= ~~ 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 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" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of combating homophobia and 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. --============_-1288491920==_ma============ Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Courier_NewApril 8, 1999 The GLAADAlert is the bi-weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Index to articles:=20 1. Los Angeles Billboard Promotes Homophobia=20 2. Making Schools Safe for All Students 3. Homicide's Bayliss Faces Bi-Phobia on the Force 4. For the Phelpses, Hate is a Family Affair 5. Washington Post Columnist Calls for Hormel's Appointment 6. Salsa Teaches Tolerance Los Angeles Billboard Promotes Homophobia=20 This week, community members in Los Angeles were perplexed by the sight of billboards that read--"Do You Know If Your Son's Coach is Gay?" They were uncertain whether this was a piece of religious extremist propaganda or an ironic campaign from a coalition of southern California gay bars. GLAAD Entertainment Media Director Scott Seomin learned that it was neither, but rather a local advertising campaign conceived by Los Angeles talk-radio station KFI-AM, and implemented by the billboard company, Outdoor Systems. GLAAD met with both Outdoor Systems and the radio station, as well as local area merchants who lease the space to Outdoor Systems, educating each on the implications of such a campaign. Considering that the other billboards read, "Do You Trust Your Babysitter?" and "Who is Reading Your E-mail?" this particular billboard campaign was obviously designed to exploit people's fears. The billboard in question employed stereotypes, reinforcing fears that might be manifested by violence towards gay men. "Even after discussions with GLAAD, KFI-AM failed to consider that its listeners might be offended by the campaign, and refused to remove the billboards. Outdoor Systems thought differently. After receiving concerned phone calls from area merchants, they registered GLAAD's complaint that the banners were dangerous, ultimately complying with our request to take down the offending matter," said Seomin.=20 Please write KFI-AM and let them know that provocative advertising campaigns need not be offensive. In addition, please commend Outdoor Systems for accepting responsibility as an exhibitor. Contact:=20 oStewart Turner, Marketing Director at KFI-AM, 610 South Ardmore Avenue, LA, 90005. oDennis Kuhl, and account executive, Carol Lewis at Outdoor Systems, 1731 Workman Street, LA 90031 Making Schools Safe for All Students An op-ed piece in the Spokane Statesman Review and a cover story in Teacher Magazine examine harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in the California and Washington school systems.=20 Jamie Tobias Neely, writing for the editorial board of the Spokane(Washington) Statesman Review, describes the findings of a new report from the Safe Schools Coalition of Washington, which found at least 111 incidents of harassment due to sexual orientation, all in the last five years. Fortunately, Spokane's District 81 and the neighboring Cheney school district have policies that explicitly ban harassment related to sexual orientation. Enforcement includes counseling, suspension, or expulsion. The Statesman Review calls for all schools to enact this policy and recognizes "a cultural link between harassment in the public schools and the ongoing discrimination felt by gay and lesbian adults in the Inland Northwest. That link points out the need for Spokane's new human rights ordinance, which prohibits discrimination in housing, employment and public transportation."=20 David Ruenzel's piece in Teacher Magazine examines the momentum behind a federal civil rights lawsuit recently filed by Live Oak High School students in Morgan Hill, California. The piece sensitively interviews the six plaintiffs, allowing them to elaborate on the charges that they experienced "pervasive, severe, and unwelcome" verbal and physical anti-gay harassment on a nearly daily basis. Of the six students, only Alana Flores, 19, chooses to reveal her identity. During her time at Live Oak, Flores had initially convinced herself that the abuse endured was part of the 'normal' high school experience. Matters escalated when fellow students placed death threats in her locker, and taunted her openly during class. Most of the teachers who were witness to her harassment remained silent; others, according to Flores, were "afraid to do anything that shows tolerance." The complaint, filed in a U.S. District Court, names as defendants Morgan Hill superintendent Carolyn McKennan and a roster of administrators; a jury trial is slated for September. The piece concludes with a cogent analysis of why discrimination continues in the schools, and how the anti-gay rhetoric of public figures such as Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott influences whether or not students treat one another with respect. While Wisconsin student Jamie Nabozny recently won a summary judgment of nearly $1 million, demonstrating that the courts recognize accountability, schools remain unsafe and teachers must continue to fight for protections in the face of indifference.=20 Please thank the Spokane Statesman Review and Teacher Magazine for these comprehensive pieces. Contact: Symbol=85 Courier_NewJohn Webster, Editorial Page Editor, Spokane Statesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99201-1098, e-mail via WWW: http://www.spokane.net:80/news-story-body.asp?Date=3D033199&ID=3Ds554856&cat= =3D Symbol=85 Courier_NewDrew Lindsay, Managing Editor, Teacher Magazine, 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814, e-mail: tmletter@epe.org Homicide's Bayliss Faces Bi-Phobia on the Force In the last two episodes of NBC's GLAAD Media Award-nominated Homicide: Life on the Street, Detective Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) has been tested as he has tried to come to terms with being openly bisexual , a Buddhist and a cop. As he has personally grown more at ease with his sexuality, his private life has been subject to professional scrutiny. Just as the show has been praised by law enforcement agencies for accurately depicting life on the homicide beat, it has sensitively scripted Bayliss' vulnerable position as a bisexual.=20 On the March 26 episode, when Bayliss visits a uniformed--and closeted--officer, after having had a drink with him at a gay bar, he is threatened by the officer who says, "Leave me alone or I'll kick your faggot ass." From that point on, he must contend with officers who view him as a predator, and see his honesty "as flaunting" his sexuality. On the April 2 episode, Bayliss joins an investigation after a Buddhist monk is found murdered. While he regains the trust of his fellow officer Mildrick Lewis (Clark Johnson) for solving the case, he remains at a crossroads, uncertain of how to accommodate his professional and personal lives.=20 Please watch and thank Homicide: Life on the Street for providing viewers with thought-provoking, groundbreaking television. Contact: Mssrs. Barry Levinson, Tom Fontana and Jim Finnerty, Executive Producers, Homicide, c/o NBC Studios, 330 Bob Hope Dr., Burbank, CA 91523 =46or the Phelpses, Hate is a Family Affair The Rev. Fred Phelps has defined the lunatic fringe of anti-gay religious extremism. While even such religious political extremists as Jerry Falwell, Gary Bauer and Trent Lott have distanced themselves from Phelps, his reach is not to be taken for granted. Since 1992, Phelps has been protesting the funerals of well-known activists (such as Randy Shilts, and more recently, Matthew Shepard). Three recent pieces looked at Phelps' brand of "activism."=20 In the March/April 1999 issue of Mother Jones, Kerry Lauerman documents Phelps' turnabout from being a civil-rights lawyer to placing himself at the very epicenter of the anti-gay hate movement. The article contends that Phelps has crossed the line, even for the intolerant, with his relentless protests at the funerals and marriages of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and that his actions now mobilize turnout of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community many times more than his forces can muster.=20 A story on Phelps' waning cultural significance might seem reason to celebrate for readers, but the cover story of USA Weekend (March 26-28) is a reminder that if Phelps' public appearances carry less weight, then his cyber-presence is intimidating. While the piece is devoted to an examination of hate speech on the web, it spotlights none other than the grandson of Phelps, Ben Phelps, who is the webmaster for Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church website, www.godhatesfags.com. USA Weekend quotes Morris Dees of the Southern Poverty Law Center as saying, "The Internet has done for hate groups what the printing press has done for literature. Before, these groups would post a message on a bulletin=20 board and few people would see it. Now, they post a message on the Net and millions see it. We should be outraged and alarmed, because these ideas can lead to violent events." =20 =46inally, in the Sunday, April 4, edition of The Salt Lake Tribune, guest writers Rev. Philip de Rochambeau and Michael Thomas Taylor diagram the relationship between the anti-gay rhetoric of Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church and hate crimes. Beginning with the 1976 murder of Richard Heakin, whose teenage killers were found guilty, but not sentenced to any jail time, to the murder of Matthew Shepard, Rochambeau and Taylor articulate the consequences of hate, writing that when "people are taught that "God Hates Fags," how much of a leap is it for someone to conclude that since God hates fags anyway, torturing and killing them is only doing His work on earth?"=20 Please thank the editors of these periodicals for exposing three key aspects of Phelps' destructive influence.=20 Contact: Symbol=85 Courier_NewKerry Lauerman, Legal/Legislation Editor, Mother Jones, 731 Market Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94103, fax: 415.665.6696, e-mail: letters@motherjones.com Symbol=85 Courier_NewMarcia Bullard,=20 Editor, USA Weekend, 1000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22209-3901, fax: 703.247.3108, e-mail: editor@usatoday.com (include name, address and phone) Symbol=85 Courier_NewHarry Fuller, Opinion Page Editor, The Salt Lake Tribune, 143 S. Main St., Salt Lake City, UT 84111-1945, fax: 801.521.9418, e-mail: letters@sltrib.com (include phone number with all correspondence) Washington Post Columnist Calls for Hormel's Appointment In an April 6, 1999 column for the Washington Post Geneva Overholser questions where Americans stand with regard to full acceptance of homosexuality. While she acknowledges the work of sociologist Alan Wolfe, whose concept of "homosexual exception" speaks to misconceptions Americans continue to have regarding the practices of sexual minorities, Overholser asserts that a clear majority of Americans do support equal access to employment, housing, and job protection for all. She then follows this observation with an endorsement of openly gay James Hormel as ambassador to Luxemburg. [In 1997, Hormel's nomination was scuttled at the hands of Jesse Helms; his name was resubmitted in January, 1999.] Overholser advocates for Hormel saying, "[Trent] Lott should listen to the people on this one. Even for a gay man, when it comes to job applications, live and let live is the rule."=20 Please thank the Washington Post for publishing this articulate editorial.=20 Contact: Meg Greenfield, Editor, Editorial Page, Washington Post, 1150 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20071-0002, e-mail via WWW: http://www.washingtonpost.com Salsa Teaches Tolerance In the March 30 Los Angeles Times, columnist Agustin Gurza wryly recounts his experience partnering with a male salsa dance teacher, and tries to explain why Latino elected representatives who are heterosexual have supported legislation that benefits the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. While he does not dispute that Latino culture has had a tradition of being conservative, Catholic, and aggressively heterosexual, he believes that a younger segment of the population is open-minded and perceives the issue to be one of civil rights. While two Latino assemblymen have been targeted by one Art Pedroza, Jr. and have been charged as being "anti-family," Gurza returns to the example of his dance class, affirming that if you can "come to admire those guys who can do both parts, dancing the male role in reverse," then you can begin to understand the mindset that supports full citizenship for all. Please thank the Los Angeles Times for providing its readers with this witty and erudite column.=20 Contact: oMichael Parks, Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, fax: 213.237-7679, e-mail: letters@latimes.com Correction: In the piece "Cupid Hits Bullseye in Love Matters" [GLAADAlert, March 25] Jesse Heiwa was misidentified as Japanese. He is Asian/Pacific Islander. =20 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.=20 GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation in the media as a means of=20 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) =46eel free to pass GLAADAlert on to friends, family and associates! Report defamation in the media and breaking news of interest to the LGBT community=20 by calling GLAAD's Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334)=20 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. GLAADAlert may be freely distributed and reprinted in all forms of media under the condition that any text used carry the full attribution of "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~= ~~ 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 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" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of combating homophobia and 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.