Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 18:18:35 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert - July 22, 1999 GLAADAlert - July 22, 1999 The GLAADAlert is the bi-weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation GLAADAlert Index: 1. National Review Has a "Gay Moment" 2. GLAADAlert Round-Up: The Media Respond to Regional Politicking 3. The Politics of Naming: Los Angeles Times Takes on Language 4. Dolce & Gabbana Put Out, Again 5. Make Way For Miranda 6. San Jose Merc Takes a Tough Look at Marriage 7. Arlington Heights Daily Herald: Women's Soccer Champs Are Marketed Straight 8. Leeza Asks: What Makes A Family? 1. National Review Has a "Gay Moment" In the National Review's July 26 issue, senior editor Richard Brookhiser presents a glib and trivializing view of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community. Early in the piece, he points to media blitzes surrounding Ellen DeGeneres and the sexual orientation of Teletubby Tinky Winky, as evidence of our situation in a gay "Moment" - a state he defines as being characterized by overwhelming attention given to a minority group. Brookhiser cites two other groups as having had American Moments in this century: Irish Catholics and Jews. And he draws a link between the three groups, supposing that "gayness in the Gay Moment has many qualities of a religion Š The central tenet of the faith is a creation myth, about how gays got that way." He goes on to state that "the orthodox belief [in the 'faith'] is that any man or woman self-defined as gay was gay from birth or infancy Š ." As for the genesis of the current "moment," Brookhiser points to a post-World War II America. "Gayness as a movement," he asserts, "arose from men looking for lost maleness in all the wrong places." Objecting to the term "moral majority," he continues to note that the "normal majority" is titillated by lesbians and gay men. But here, Brookhiser boldly states that "[t]he sexual turmoil in which so many gay men live - worse even than their own - they conveniently ignore." Brookhiser's vision of the future is no less cynical than the rest of his piece. "There is a specter haunting the Gay Moment: the specter of bisexuality," he writes. Referring to Chasing Amy, a film in which the lead - a self-identified lesbian - struggles to come to terms with her love for a man, Brookhiser wonders: "If we're supposed to believe what people say, what do we believe when we say this? It would be strange if the gay orthodoxy of sexual determinism were to be undermined by eros." In closing, he writes that "[t]he real end [for the Gay Moment] will be boredom. Like the Irish and the Jews before them, gays will run out of things to say. Š Some other well-spoken outsiders will audition for center stage. We'll all move on." In this highly problematic piece, Brookhiser focuses his energies on using stereotypes and pitting community members against one another. His assertion that there is an "orthodox" view within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is absurd for its homogenization of community members (although he also portrays a divisive rift and lack of respect for intellectual diversity). His casual omission of hate crimes, legislative struggles, educational plights and more do not figure into the piece, in spite of the fact that those battles have garnered much of the attention the community now receives. This is the second time in a month that National Review writers have shown such complete disregard for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender topics they've covered [see GLAADAlert 06.17.99]. Please let them know how you feel about their disrespect. Contact: Ms. Linda Bridges, Managing Editor, National Review, 215 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10016, letters@nationalreview.com 2. GLAADAlert Round-Up: The Media Respond to Regional Politicking In recent weeks, local anti-gay legislative measures across the nation have been the focus of supportive coverage in many media outlets. Here are some highlights: … Forrest Rose's July 6 column in the Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune reflected on the local Board of Education's decision to forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation in the schools - a new policy that has not come without controversy. Rose cites board members' linking of homosexuality to bestiality and pedophilia, and quotes one as saying: "If we pass this, Christian teachers can't talk about their life with Christ Š but gay teachers can talk about the joys of anal sex!" Rose's response? "Those statements presume that straight teachers currently enjoy the right to lecture their classes on the most titillating of topics Š They don't talk about such things in class because they know they would be fired. What evidence do we have that gay teachers are stupider than straight ones?" And while Rose points out that antagonizing remarks have been made from both sides, his overall message is exemplified in the column's title: "School policy toward gays simplified: Do unto others." … Referring principally to Oregon's infamous Ballot Measure Number 9, which would have defined homosexuality as "abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse" and threatened all civil rights for lesbians and gay men, Oregon's Medford Mail-Tribune said in a July 2 editorial that "Oregonians rightly thought that our state had put anti-gay politicking behind us." But earlier in the week, a bill had passed in the State's House of Representatives that would prohibit same-sex marriage - one of a number of such bills popping up across the country. "Of course," it justly points out, "state law does not permit gay marriage now Š In other words, legislators dredged up this gay-bashing measure as a meaningless sop to hard-right conservatives." The paper asserts its own opinion clearly: "We urge the Senate to weigh the human costs against the solely political benefits of this measure, and spare us a repeat of Oregon's ugly anti-gay nineties." … The Idaho Press-Tribune examines a ballot initiative aimed at denying "special rights" for lesbians and gay men in a sharply-written July 8 editorial. "The only problem," the paper says, is that "homosexuals do not currently enjoy any 'special rights.' And everybody knows it will be a cold day in you-know-where before the most Republican legislature in the country lavishes 'special rights' on this frequently demonized minority Š And yet [the initiative's sponsors] continue to stir up negative emotions - including hate - in their efforts." The Press-Tribune dismantles the explicitly political motivations behind the initiative, and concludes that its sponsors' "behavior is a major reason so many of us are so disgusted by politics." In the end, the editorial makes a call to political leaders: "Raise your sights from the gutter of confrontational politics to the heights of cooperative problem-solving. If we find positive efforts in which to invest our energies, then we'll all benefit. If not, then start holding your nose. It's going to be a long - and ugly - 18 months to the next election." … On July 8, Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court invalidated Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's executive order extending domestic partner benefits to city employees. According to the Court, those persons eligible to receive insurance benefits are strictly defined by existing laws; laws that do not include same-sex partners. Therefore, Menino's order cannot be upheld. The Boston Globe's July 9 report on the subject was strong, but its editorial the same day was particularly compelling. The piece highlights the Court's call for the Legislature to amend the laws that preclude provision of benefits, based on its recognition that health insurance is a "critical social necessity." And the Globe concurs: "The central issue remains one of simple equity. Most jurisdictions are not yet willing to legalize same-sex marriages, so gay and lesbian couples are denied benefits that go automatically to married couples. Yet they cannot legally take the step that would qualify them." While the Globe describes a number of "enlightened businesses" offering domestic partnership benefits, the editorial closes: "The Boston employees Š will likely lose those benefits until state law changes Š This should be done as quickly as possible. The equity is clear; so, too, is the need." Please thank the Daily Tribune, the Mail-Tribune, the Press-Tribune, and the Boston Globe for providing their readers with lucidity and insight on the legislative issues facing their respective communities. Contact: … Mr. Jim Robertson, Editorial Page Editor, Columbia Daily Tribune, 101 N. 4th St., Columbia, MO 65201, fax: 573.815.1701, e-mail: jrobertson@trib.net … Mr. Bob Hunter, Editor, Medford Mail-Tribune, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501 … Ms. Vickie Holbrook, Editorial Page Editor, Idaho Press-Tribune, P.O. Box 9399, Nampa, ID 83652, fax: 208.467.9562, vholbrook@idahopress.com … Mr. David Greenway, Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Dorchester, MA 02125-3338, fax: 617.929.2098, e-mail: letters@globe.com 3. The Politics of Naming: Los Angeles Times Takes on Language On July 20 , Los Angeles Times columnist Agustin Gurza explored the effects of denigrating language on communities of color and on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Gurza recalls a Spanish-language slur against African Americans ("mayate" - a slang reference to a large, destructive black beetle) that he encountered in college and still hears today. Likening it to use of the words "faggot" and the Spanish "maricon" to denigrate gay men, he quotes UCI criminologist and hate crimes expert Valerie Jenness, who says, "The use of that language doesn't mean you're going to go off and kill somebody. But it sustains the culture that leads to that." Gurza argues that "(w)e don't kill with our speech, but we help the killers take aim . . . If you wish, call me politically correct, a term bandied about by those who can't stand to feel inhibited about their own bigotry." Gurza acutely observes that derogatory naming and language serves to devalue and stigmatize those groups targeted by the slurs. Yet his argument hits even closer to home, calling on those who are the targets of social vilification to be mindful of their own name-calling, whether it be toward people identified by skin color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race or religion. To Gurza, such language supports and enables those who commit violence against people they consider "different" - legitimizing action spurred by hate. Please thank the Los Angeles Times for providing readers with a column as evocative and challenging as Gurza's. Contact: Mr. 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, Again Following up on its gay-themed ad from earlier this year [see GLAADAlert 01.21.99], D&G (a product line owned by Dolce & Gabbana) has placed another full-page advertisement in next month's Interview magazine that depicts an interracial same-sex couple with candor and beauty. This new ad captures two young men of color (Asian and Latino) embracing one another and sporting matching wedding bands. The matter-of-fact statement made by the image is one of simple affection and love, taking their previous ad campaign to the next level. Dolce & Gabbana, the worldwide fashion company headed by openly gay Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, has had a huge gay following for nearly a decade. The ad was photographed by renowned fashion photographer Steven Meisel, who cast the two models. To view the ad visit: http://www.glaad.org/glaad/alert/images/d&g.gif . Please thank D&G (and Steven Meisel) for highlighting the committed relationships of many same-sex couples, for marketing directly to a large segment of their customer base, and for including diverse representations of the community. Contact: … Ms. Kristine Westerby, D&G Public Relations Manager, 532 Broadway, 4th Floor, NY, NY 10012 … Mr. Steven Meisel, c/o Steven Meisel Studio, 64 Wooster Street, 4th Floor, NY, NY 10012 5. Make Way For Miranda In a Salon magazine piece dated July 9, Joan Oleck describes the process she went through to become a single adoptive mom - she adopted a Russian-born baby girl in 1996. It's from this perspective that she questions a new piece of legislation being proposed, S.B. 682. "If Jesse Helms has his way," she explains, "new legislation could limit international adoptions for everyone but married straight couples." Oleck extensively examines the current state of international adoption rights, alternating between fact-driven analysis, political discourse and human interest to spark the lengthy piece. While much of the piece focuses on single parenthood, she is careful to be consistently inclusive in her language, and ends with an affirming description of her neighbors - a lesbian couple who recently adopted a Chinese-born daughter. "Just like everyone else with small children," writes Oleck, "Miranda's parents are busily engaged in reading their child 'Make Way for Ducklings' and stockpiling juice boxes and diapers." She further details the unique problems faced by same-sex couples wanting to adopt who were forced to conceal their relationship in order to secure the adoption. Please thank Salon for sharing with its readers this smart, informative and poignant piece, and for providing a forum for warnings about a proposed bill that jeopardizes children the world over. Contact: Mr. David Talbot, Editor, Salon, 706 Mission St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, fax: 415.882.8731, e-mail: salon@salonmagazine.com 6. San Jose Merc Takes a Tough Look at Marriage An op-ed in the July 11 edition of the San Jose Mercury News chronicles and examines the struggle for equal marriage rights. Syndicated columnist Paula Martinac seems initially critical of activists working for the freedom to marry, opening her piece with a look at a recent campaign with high financial cost and what she saw as an unrealistic goal. "My pessimism," she explains, "doesn't stem from a desire to see gay marriage fail. On the contrary, my partner and I would legally marry if we could Š The desire to marry is deeply ingrained in us from childhood, and lesbians and gay men aren't immune to cultural conditioning. But marriage also hits home for a lot of us because so many lesbian and gay families Š. have experienced real economic hardships and draining legal battles because of the lack of protections for our relationships." So it's the tactics she criticizes. She says marriage activists, in their work on the issue, have "made the mistake of trying to characterize marriage as simply a civil right, when for a majority of heterosexuals, marriage is a moral right as well. Now there's the rub. Popular notions about 'morality' will snag lesbian and gay rights almost every time." In spite of polling that shows many Americans to believe in basic civil rights, Martinac says "they draw the line at marriage." She gives insight into the issue by tying marriage into feminist ideology and societal fears, too, noting that "marriage represents a sexual status quo that most Americans are still loath to question: that is, men earn money, women raise the kids, end of discussion. Extending marriage rights to [same-sex] couples Š opens up a big can of gender-role worms, and that makes people nervous Š the truth is, same-sex couples threaten the fabric of society by challenging society's gender-based roles for men and women." Ultimately, Martinac issues a call to marriage rights proponents: "embark on a proactive, aggressive, national campaign to chip away at stereotypes and stymie the political tactics the right wing uses so well against us," calling principally for educational reform and alliance with religious leadership. While Martinac might not do full justice to the work being done within the lesbian and gay community to ensure equal marriage rights, her assessment of the underlying struggles and her analysis of defeats along the way are terse and compelling. Please thank the San Jose Mercury News for Martinac's illuminating column. Contact: Ms. Minal Hajratwala, Perspective Editor, San Jose Mercury News, 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190-0001, fax: 408.271.3792, e-mail: letters@sjmercury.com 7. Arlington Heights Daily Herald: Women's Soccer Champs Are Marketed Straight In a July 13 Arlington Heights (Illinois) Daily Herald piece titled "Heterosexuality part of formula for popularity," sports columnist Mike Imrem scrutinized the marketability of women's soccer. Imrem notes that "the perception - accurately or not, fairly or not - is that lesbianism is widespread in women's professional sports." And he goes on to examine the U.S. women's largely unique popularity, breaking it down into three principal factors: they are American, they are predominantly White, and lastly, they have a distinctly heterosexual image. As Imrem puts it, "[n]ot only were the women projected as sexy, but as heterosexy." He recognizes, though, the inherent implications in that marketability - that prejudice is pervasive in our society. "[S]ports is the one place sexual preference shouldn't matter," he writes. "You lace them up, compete as intensely as possible and then are judged by the scoreboard. Except it's so much more complicated than that because image still matters Š" Imrem tells readers that "In America [the U.S. women's team's image] is easier to accept than if they were known lesbians. Just as it's less acceptable for a male athlete to be gay than to have an illegitimate child, choke a coach or do drugs." In closing, he describes the attention the team received after its World Cup victory. "Would open homosexuals have received the same treatment? Common sense says no, and not just because of Jerry Falwell, but because of our culture as a whole." While other columnists focused their coverage on team dynamics and success strategies, Imrem used the opportunity to examine troubling socio-cultural values and their impacts. Please thank the Daily Herald for this sharp, insightful and clever piece. Contact: Mr. Tom Quinlan, Sports Editor, Arlington Heights Daily Herald, 155 East Algonquin Rd., Arlington Heights, IL 60005-4617, fax: 847.427.1301, e-mail: fencepost@dailyherald.com 8. Leeza Asks: What Makes A Family? On the July 15 episode of Leeza, entitled "What Makes a Family?", Leeza Gibbons explored what she called "the new face of the American family." Featured guests were Jon and Michael Galluccio, who challenged New Jersey laws and made history as the first same-sex couple in their state to jointly adopt children. Gibbons' supportive and informed remarks encouraged the couple to speak openly about their seventeen years together, their parents, and their two toddlers, Adam and Madison, who joined them on the show. Responding to heated debate in the audience about religion and non-traditional families, Gibbons stated, "You guys can talk about religion all day long, but let's talk about what we know based on the children." She followed with a study that showed the children of same-sex parents to be just as well-adjusted as the children of opposite-sex parents. Gibbons also invited other children of lesbian and gay parents to join the show. She interviewed Sarah - a member of Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE) - a teen who was raised by both her mother and her father, but grew up knowing her father was gay. With her "What Makes a Family" episode, Gibbons worked to break down the far-too-common notion that traditional family structures are the only valid ones. Please thank the Leeza show for working to educate its viewers on issues of same-sex parenting. Contact: Ms. Leeza Gibbons, Host and Executive Producer, Leeza, c/o Paramount Domestic Television, 5555 Melrose Melrose Ave., Balaban Bldg., #B, Los Angeles, CA 90038-3112, e-mail: leeza@pde.paramount.com The GLAADAlert is the bi-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 323.658.6775 (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 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 GLAADNOTES 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.