[Electronically Distributed As A Public Service by: FOG CITY - San Francisco, CA (415) 863-9697] GLAAD Tidings 09/20/91 by Henry Yeager WNET-TV, New York Times The voices of AIDS and health-care activism have never been given adequate air time, and the recent PBS blow-up over Robert Hilferty's film Stop the Church has given us a new perspective on the problem. To bring everyone up to date briefly, the 28-minute Stop the Church, which chronicles the planning and execution of the 1989 demonstration (including a disruption of Mass) at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral by ACT UP and WHAM, had originally been scheduled to be shown on public television at the end of August. Two weeks before, PBS dropped the film from national distribution. What was unprecedented was that they cancelled the film prior to any protest about it. However, KCET in Los Angeles decided to air Stop the Church, but not the film alone. They bracketed it with extensive discussion by community leaders both opposed to and favoring its broadcast. In a news conference and full-page advertisements, Los Angeles' Cardinal Mahoney accused the station of hate-mongering and suggested a financial boycott by Catholics. The issue became one of censorship by PBS of a controversial viewpoint, and of exactly what the role of public television should be. William Kobin, president of KCET, went on the air to defend the broadcast by describing public television as having a mandate to explore significant issues of controversy, and to include opinions which may not be popular. Viewers in several other cities also got the chance to see the film recently. In the rest of the country, viewers can let their local affiliates know about the 90-minute KCET Los Angeles package: Stop the Church, plus discussion with gays and Catholics, plus the Cardinal. It's still unfortunate that KCET couldn't allow the film to speak for itself, and that no ACT UP representative was included, but they did make the broadcast in spite of all the heat they were getting. Later in New York, local PBS affiliate WNET broadcast the Los Angeles package, but with just 24 hours notice, so there was no time to get it in the TV listing. Perhaps qualified thank-yous are in order for WNET, though we would feel more enthusiastic if they had been brave enough to announce the 11:30 p.m. airing in advance. To comment to WNET, write to: Mr. Harry Chancey, Jr. Director of Programming WNET Thirteen 356 West 58 Street New York, NY 10019 The phone number is 212-560-2000. ======================================= A revered old daily paper competed with the gay travel guides in telling gay out-of-towners how to enjoy themselves on visits to New York. The feature article in a recent Friday weekend section of the New York Times was a write-up on concierges at New York's super luxury hotels. These are the people who offer all kinds of advice in such areas as theater tickets, tours, and shopping. To see what the top concierges in New York might recommend, the Times asked nine of them to devise interesting itineraries for three kinds of clients: a typical family from a small midwestern city, an older widowed woman, and a "a gay couple from Los Angeles in their forties, both in the entertainment industry." Now it's not what these concierges recommended that's important, but the New York Times' matter-of-fact inclusion of gays in an everyday context. This acknowledgment of our existence comes at a time when news reports often just leave us out. The gay couple in the article are assumed to be men. As always, it's wonderful to be included, but we hope that more of these pleasant surprises will involve the diversity in our community. It's always good to remind our friends in the media that there are gay women too, and that not all gays are white! Appreciation and comments to the Times should be sent to: Mr. Max Frankel Executive Editor New York Times 229 West 43 Street New York, NY 10036 You can also call 212-556-1234. Copyright (c) 1991 by GLAAD/New York. Permission to reprint granted, provided that proper attribution to GLAAD/New York appears with reprint. ******************************************************** [Electronically Distributed As A Public Service by: FOG CITY - San Francisco, CA (415) 863-9697] Naming Names 09/27/91 by Kirk-Evan Billet Geraldo, Essence Geraldo Rivera has done a gay show again, but this time things were a little different. You may be accustomed, as many gays and lesbians are, to feeling exploited by the daytime talk shows, especially Geraldo. It was only several months ago that Geraldo spent an hour asking, "Can Gays and Lesbians Go Straight?" Now there's a pertinent question. With the memory of that defamation-fest still fresh, it was especially surprising to see what Geraldo did recently. A new show called "Gay-Bashing: Coming Out in a Hostile World" came across without the bias and exploitation, and delivered a powerful message. The guests on this episode included members of the Pink Panther Patrol, both on stage and in the audience, William Kiley, the San Jose man who caught his own gay-bashing on videotape, and Peggy Marlow, the sister of a gay man who was murdered last year in an anti-gay attack. At one point, a young gay man related an emotional story of violence he experienced while in high school. No one interrupted this young man even though he hesitated while trying to voice his painful memories. The show even went to the trouble of linking up with Kevin Berrill of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force via satellite. Geraldo avoided the usual biased questions and allowed the experiences of the guests to speak for themselves. The show included video clips of gay marches with special attention to the homophobic reactions of some bystanders. Geraldo himself said, "This crime of hatred and bigotry is much more common than any of us would like to admit." Don't underestimate the importance of your calls and letters to Geraldo this summer after they invited gay-hating fundamentalists to debate our existence. This kind of drastic improvement can't happen without your input. First, congratulate yourself, then write Geraldo again, this time with your appreciation. The address is: Geraldo Rivera Investigative News Group 555 West 57 Street, Suite 1130 New York, NY 10019 You can also fax 212-581-8196, or phone 212-332-0500. The producer of this particular Geraldo show was Bill Lancaster. ======================= Earlier this year, we alerted you to an unusual article by an openly lesbian editor of Essence magazine, co-written with her mother. For those who haven't seen it, Essence is the magazine especially geared to its African-American women readers. Linda Villarosa, senior editor for health at Essence, had written with her mother an article on coming out, and relating the ups and downs the two women had shared during this process. Subsequently, the Villarosas were barraged with reader responses, most of them positive. The overwhelming amount of mail prompted Essence to print a follow-up article chronicling the authors' feelings about publishing this piece, and excerpting some of the response from readers. In "Readers Respond to 'Coming Out,'" Linda Villarosa relates some of her anxiety about the Coming Out piece, and the reactions and support of co-workers. The follow-up then weaves together some excerpts from readers' letters, both positive and negative, from lesbian and heterosexual, mother and daughter, with her own observations on the broader attitudes the letters represent. The piece also includes contact information for national gay and lesbian organizations. It's significant that Essence not only makes an effort to include issues of concern to lesbians in its pages, but also that it has created a workplace environment that is safe for openly lesbian or gay workers. To express your appreciation, write to: Susan L. Taylor, Editor-in-Chief Essence 1500 Broadway New York, NY 10036 You can also call 212-642-0600, or fax to 212-921-5173. Copyright (c) 1991 by GLAAD/New York. Permission to reprint granted, provided that proper attribution to GLAAD/New York appears with reprint. ********************************************************* [Electronically Distributed As A Public Service by: FOG CITY - San Francisco, CA (415) 863-9697] Naming Names 09/27/91 by Kirk-Evan Billet Geraldo, Essence Geraldo Rivera has done a gay show again, but this time things were a little different. You may be accustomed, as many gays and lesbians are, to feeling exploited by the daytime talk shows, especially Geraldo. It was only several months ago that Geraldo spent an hour asking, "Can Gays and Lesbians Go Straight?" Now there's a pertinent question. With the memory of that defamation-fest still fresh, it was especially surprising to see what Geraldo did recently. A new show called "Gay-Bashing: Coming Out in a Hostile World" came across without the bias and exploitation, and delivered a powerful message. The guests on this episode included members of the Pink Panther Patrol, both on stage and in the audience, William Kiley, the San Jose man who caught his own gay-bashing on videotape, and Peggy Marlow, the sister of a gay man who was murdered last year in an anti-gay attack. At one point, a young gay man related an emotional story of violence he experienced while in high school. No one interrupted this young man even though he hesitated while trying to voice his painful memories. The show even went to the trouble of linking up with Kevin Berrill of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force via satellite. Geraldo avoided the usual biased questions and allowed the experiences of the guests to speak for themselves. The show included video clips of gay marches with special attention to the homophobic reactions of some bystanders. Geraldo himself said, "This crime of hatred and bigotry is much more common than any of us would like to admit." Don't underestimate the importance of your calls and letters to Geraldo this summer after they invited gay-hating fundamentalists to debate our existence. This kind of drastic improvement can't happen without your input. First, congratulate yourself, then write Geraldo again, this time with your appreciation. The address is: Geraldo Rivera Investigative News Group 555 West 57 Street, Suite 1130 New York, NY 10019 You can also fax 212-581-8196, or phone 212-332-0500. The producer of this particular Geraldo show was Bill Lancaster. ======================= Earlier this year, we alerted you to an unusual article by an openly lesbian editor of Essence magazine, co-written with her mother. For those who haven't seen it, Essence is the magazine especially geared to its African-American women readers. Linda Villarosa, senior editor for health at Essence, had written with her mother an article on coming out, and relating the ups and downs the two women had shared during this process. Subsequently, the Villarosas were barraged with reader responses, most of them positive. The overwhelming amount of mail prompted Essence to print a follow-up article chronicling the authors' feelings about publishing this piece, and excerpting some of the response from readers. In "Readers Respond to 'Coming Out,'" Linda Villarosa relates some of her anxiety about the Coming Out piece, and the reactions and support of co-workers. The follow-up then weaves together some excerpts from readers' letters, both positive and negative, from lesbian and heterosexual, mother and daughter, with her own observations on the broader attitudes the letters represent. The piece also includes contact information for national gay and lesbian organizations. It's significant that Essence not only makes an effort to include issues of concern to lesbians in its pages, but also that it has created a workplace environment that is safe for openly lesbian or gay workers. To express your appreciation, write to: Susan L. Taylor, Editor-in-Chief Essence 1500 Broadway New York, NY 10036 You can also call 212-642-0600, or fax to 212-921-5173. Copyright (c) 1991 by GLAAD/New York. Permission to reprint granted, provided that proper attribution to GLAAD/New York appears with reprint. ******************************************************** [Electronically Distributed As A Public Service by: FOG CITY - San Francisco, CA (415) 863-9697] Naming Names 10/11/91 by Kirk-Evan Billet Fox Network, Time and Newsweek The Fox network made TV history when two programs depicted African-American gay men within one hour of broadcast time. Fox TV's In Living Color recently featured the resolution of last season's "cliffhanger" episode of "Men On...," the sketch series featuring two stereotyped black gay reviewers. It was followed immediately by an episode of the new show Roc with a storyline dealing with a visiting uncle who is gay. Over the course of the last television season, many gays and lesbians wrote to In Living Color protesting the exploitation of a mean-spirited stereotype. Others just thought the skits were funny. But even many of these folks thought last season's cliffhanger went too far. That was the episode where Blaine gets hit on the head and goes straight: the link with gay-bashing was just too close for comfort. Now it's the present season, and the much-touted cliffhanger resolution airs. Antoine desperately keeps whacking Blaine in hopes of making him return to his gay senses -- which he eventually accomplishes -- and everyone celebrates. And so the nasty conversion and violence elements are disposed of, and we're back to the same old stereotyping of last season. And then comes the new show, Roc. Roc's Uncle Russell shows up and springs a few surprises on the family. He tells them he's gay, then introduces them to his intended, who is a white man. The family has to come to terms with all this news, and prepare for the gay men's wedding. It may be a coincidence that these two shows aired during the same hour, or it could be that Fox has taken to heart the concerns expressed in your letters this year. In the climate of black lesbian and gay invisibility on TV, the In Living Color characters dramatize the need for a broader spectrum of black gay portrayals. And Roc shows Fox beginning to realize that. To express your views to Fox, write to: Fox Broadcasting 10201 West Pico Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90035 Or call 213-277-2211. As always, it's great to be included, but the media need a constant reminder that gay people don't only come in the male gender. Also, urge Fox to take the next step by airing more episodes with Roc's gay uncle, and allowing the gay characters to develop into complex individuals. ================================= Now for a little quiz. Here's the background: It's difficult to encapsulate the effect Kimberly Bergalis has had on media coverage of AIDS. Her willingness to blame, and to place a moral value on the disease have given the media a convenient way to side-step responsibility for complete and fair coverage: this young woman says all these things, so they don't have to really cover the crisis. The most recent news hype came when Bergalis testified before Congress in favor of mandatory testing. Prominent homophobe Congressperson William Dannemeyer orchestrated the visit. (He's one of the most shameless in using Bergalis to further stigmatize the disease.) Her statement, "I didn't do anything wrong, but I'm being made to suffer like this" must have made Dannemeyer quite happy. Now the quiz. Of the two most widely-read weekly national news magazines, Time and Newsweek, which one conspired in the push to stigmatize AIDS, and which provided some equitable coverage? If you read Time's unsigned piece on the Bergalis testimony, you undoubtedly picked up on its slant, and you know the answer. The photo caption used the notorious slur "innocent victim," and the text dismissed critics of mandatory testing with the line, "That's small comfort to Kimberly." Meanwhile, Newsweek printed a fuller exploration of the story in a "My Turn" piece. Tom Ehrenfeld pointed out the way the undeniable tragedy of Bergalis is being used as a political tool. He wrote about the media's insistence on creating AIDS "heroes" and "villains," stating that "the real villains are hatred and ignorance [and] the heroes ... are love and education." Newsweek deserves credit for including this piece. Let these major news magazines know what you think of their AIDS testing coverage. For Time and the "innocent victim," write to: Mr. Henry Muller, Managing Editor Time Time and Life Building Rockefeller Center New York, NY 10020 For Newsweek's thoughtful story, write to: Mr. Maynard Parker, Editor Newsweek 444 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 Copyright (c) 1991 by GLAAD/New York. Permission to reprint granted, provided that proper attribution to GLAAD/New York appears with reprint. ********************************************************* [Electronically Distributed As A Public Service by: FOG CITY - San Francisco, CA (415) 863-9697] GLAAD Tidings 10/18/91 by Cheryl Moch Department of Defense Designing Women A lot of people just don't think that gays and lesbians pose a security risk to the Armed Forces. And it seems that the folks at the Pentagon agree. A new study just released by the Pentagon's Security Analysis Institute says "sexual orientation is unrelated to moral character." The report continues to inform us, "Both patriots and traitors are drawn from the class 'American citizen': and not specifically from the class 'heterosexual' or the class 'homosexual.'" But don't rush down to your local recruitment office just yet. A Pentagon spokesperson insisted that this new report was not a prelude to a change in the present policy barring gay men and lesbians from the military, but served to address the question of whether gay civilian employees could be entrusted with government secrets. Two months ago, Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney defended the right of gay civilians to hold jobs at the Pentagon -- just after the Advocate outed Assistant Secretary of Defense Pete Williams. And just this week, the Canadian government announced that it's about to end its policy barring lesbians and gays from the military. It's about time that things change here too. Every year, between 1000 and 1400 gay men and lesbians are discharged from the Armed Forces -- over 80,000 such discharges since the policy began in 1943. Let the Secretary of Defense hear from you. Tell him that this irrational policy (which he himself recently described as an "old chestnut") has gone on long enough. Write to: Dick Cheney, Secretary Department of Defense The Pentagon Washington, DC 20301 ============================= AI on TV? Those A-OK Designing Women strike again! On a recent installment of the high-rated CBS show, divorced designing woman Mary Jo wants to have a baby. With no husband and no boyfriend, she makes the decision to take matters into her own hands and exercise her reproductive freedom by buying sperm from a local sperm bank. When she gets cold feet after immediately getting pregnant, her boss and pal Julia comes over late one night, and in a really tender scene, tells Mary Jo not to let fear keep her from mothering a child. As Julia strokes her hair, Mary Jo tells her she's going to need her there every step of the way -- and Julia says "You've got me." It looked a lot like these women were about to have a child together. Though no references were made to the "lesbian baby boom," and even though by the end of the episode Mary Jo has had a miscarriage (although she says she'll try again), this show will certainly help more people to understand Alternative Insemination. This issue is of great concern not only to designing women-types, but to many lesbians as well. Tell the producers of Designing Women how much you appreciate their graceful handling of this topic. Write to: Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, Executive Producer Mozark Productions Columbia Pictures Television Production Building #8 Burbank, CA 91505 Copyright (c) 1991 by GLAAD/New York. Permission to reprint granted, provided that proper attribution to GLAAD/New York appears with reprint. *********************************************************** [Electronically Distributed As A Public Service by: FOG CITY - San Francisco, CA (415) 863-9697] GLAAD Tidings 10/25/91 by Scott Sherman and Kirk-Evan Billet Scholastic Magazine, Roseanne Remember how it was in High School, only hearing about heterosexual families? Remember thinking how wonderful it would be to hear something positive about gay people? Well, thanks to a magazine written for High School students, today's kids have it a little better. Scholastic Update is a magazine that is distributed in High School classes. In September, the cover story was "The Changing American Family." It featured profiles of a number of families, presented from the adolescent's point of view. Some of these households were non-traditional, such as single parent families. But of special interest to us was Jake's family. Jake is a fourteen year old boy who spoke of life with his parents, father Will Dixon-Gray, and Will's lover, Gregor Benko. Jake spoke movingly of his home situation, and seemed at ease and well adjusted with his two loving parents. The magazine showed how normal and healthy this family is. This wonderful article will provide support to other teenagers growing up with gay parents. It will also be a positive role model for the thousands of lesbian and gay students who read it, and learn that their orientation does not mean that they can't look forward to building their own happy families. But it's sure to be criticized by homophobes, who attack any fair portrayal of gay lives, especially when it's directed at young people. No doubt, they will contact Scholastic Update to voice their assertions that such stories "promote" homosexuality. In fact, if sexual orientation could be "taught," we would all be straight. Make sure Scholastic Update hears from you, too. Tell them how much an article like this might have meant to you. Better yet, if you have children, tell the magazine how much it will mean to them. In either case, applaud their decision to run this story, and encourage them to continue challenging homophobia. Scholastic Update reaches young people at a critical stage--advocate that they use that power to teach acceptance rather than hate. Write to: Lee Kravitz, Editorial Director Scholastic Update 351 Garver Road PO Box 2700 Monroe, OH 45050 More good news comes to us from TV land. Television's top-rated show has had two good appearances by gay people in just three weeks! Roseanne has been the number one show for much of the new season. It has also been the number one show in challenging homophobia. Last year, the program introduced the characters of Leon Carp (Martin Mull) and his lover Jerry (Michael DesBarres). This year, the two have been proudly out. They have been positively presented, and although funny, are not the butt of the joke. First, Roseanne's boss Leon came out during a poker game to Roseanne's husband. On another episode, Leon and Jerry had a quarrel about a visit from Jerry's mother, a situation which Roseanne could not resist butting in on. Not only is the inclusion of these ongoing characters exciting, but the character development showing the individuality of each, as well as exploring how the couple relate to each other, are things even rarer on television. And the fact that all this is happening on a show with consistently high ratings is extraordinary. To give support to the producers of Roseanne, write to: Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, Executive Producers Roseanne Carsey-Werner Co. 4024 Radford Avenue Los Angeles, CA 91604 The inclusion on Roseanne is beautiful. Now if we can just get some top-rated lesbians onto the airwaves! The all-too-familiar flip-side to this story is what the right-wingers are doing. Not only did they try to get us off the air altogether with their "Turn Off TV Day," but the American Family Association is up to its old tricks of attempting to intimidate advertisers on shows that "promote homosexuality." The recent winners in this category include PepsiCo, Philip Morris, General Motors, and Chrysler. If you need these addresses to show your support of inclusive programming, call your local GLAAD office, or GLAAD/New York (212-966-1700). Copyright (c) 1991 by GLAAD/New York. Permission to reprint granted, provided that proper attribution to GLAAD/New York appears with reprint. ****************************************************** [Electronically Distributed As A Public Service by: FOG CITY - San Francisco, CA (415) 863-9697] GLAAD Tidings 11/01/91 by Henry Yeager Dynasty, Coach, Good Morning America In the early 80s, Dynasty's Steven Carrington was probably the first prime-time homosexual who came across not as a stereotype, but as a real person. Steven's sexual orientation, however, was difficult for him to deal with, and caused problems in his relationship with his father, Blake Carrington. ABC network officials apparently had problems too. Indeed, Blake murdered his own son's lover, and later Steven even married and fathered a child. In the recent TV-movie revival of the series, a Steven much more sure of himself (once again played by Al Corley, who had left the show early on) confronts his father. Just out of jail, the father is looking for a place to hide from his pursuers. When he shows up at Steven's place, the latter introduces his roommate, Bart, who is also his lover. The father senses tension: "But maybe this is the wrong time for me to be moving in on you fellows. Maybe there's not enough room." To which Steven replies, "There's a lot more room than you might think, because, you see, Bart and I share a bedroom." Later, the father and son go out for coffee, and Blake explains another reason for his visit. "You are my son, Steven. I wanted to see for myself if you were happy; if your life was good." Steven: "We share the same expenses. We do the laundry together. Is that the kind of thing you wanted to know?" "Do you love each other? That's what I wanted to know." "Yes, yes we do." "I envy you, Steven." We couldn't ask for a greater improvement over the Dynasty series' handling of gay family issues. To applaud ABC for their increased enlightenment, write to: Robert Iger, President ABC Entertainment 2040 Avenue of the Stars Los Angeles, CA 90067 Or call 213-556-3096. The TV climate is a little different now from when Steven Carrington first appeared. The networks -- ABC especially it seems -- show signs of being less likely to censor out lesbian and gay characters to please the evil haters of the religious "right," in spite of their increasing (and increasingly shrill) efforts. "Turn Off TV Day," the so-called "morality" groups' day of wrath to clean up TV of nasty things like homosexual characters, was a big flop. Ratings reported every bit as many viewers as the equivalent Tuesday last year. And not only were the viewers there, but the programming conspired to thwart the anti-gay effort. That evening, ABC's Coach dealt with a player on the football team who is gay. The coach thinks a lot of this young man, and at first won't believe that he's gay. Coach tries to deal with his discomfort with the idea that one of his best players could be gay, only to find out that several other former players on the team were gay. This discomfort leads to some laughs, culminating in a scene in a gay bar, where he encounters two former players dancing together. Coach proceeds to talk himself into a corner trying to explain his presence in this gay joint. The situation of macho coach confronted by gay athletes is played out into a humorous and pro-gay episode. To commend the producers of Coach, and to applaud this episode's (strategic or coincidental?) placement in opposition to "Turn Off TV Day," write to: Mr. Barry Kemp, Executive Producer Coach 100 Universal City Plaza Bungalow 78 Productions Universal City, CA 91608 The flipside to lesbian or gay characters is lesbian or gay actors. Another high-rated show, Good Morning America (also ABC), gave us a rare occasion to hear openly gay voices from the acting world. GMA devoted a healthy segment recently to the coming out of Dick Sargent, of Bewitched fame, and Sheila James Kuehl, who played Dobie Gillis' friend Zelda. Both spoke strongly about the power of coming out, about the importance of role models for lesbian and gay youth, and about the climate for gay and lesbian actors. GMA's effort deserves praise, and it has already heard from "outraged" people protesting its "promotion of homosexuality." Let them hear from you too. Write to: Mr. Jack Reilly, Executive Producer Good Morning America 1965 Broadway New York, NY 10023 Issues like the ones Sargent and Kuehl discussed are usually given less attention than, say, outing or gay serial murders. And allowing openly lesbian or gay people to speak without rebuttal from professional homophobes is to be commended as well. Copyright (c) 1991 by GLAAD/New York. Permission to reprint granted, provided that proper attribution to GLAAD/New York appears with reprint. ********************************************************** [Electronically Distributed As A Public Service by: FOG CITY - San Francisco, CA (415) 863-9697] GLAAD Tidings 11/08/91 by Ellen Carton L.A. Law, (Sterling, Illinois) Daily Gazette Have you been waiting for the serious issue of gay-bashing to be treated seriously on television? Once again, NBC's L.A. Law has continued its history of gay-positive storylines. In a recent episode, Douglas Brackman (a partner in the law firm) went to dinner at a gay restaurant with an old friend who had decided to come out to him. When Douglas later left the restaurant alone, he was beaten up by a young man who called him "fag" and "queer." He was so badly hurt in the attack that he had to be hospitalized, but he still refused to identify the basher because he was afraid that people would think he was gay. After some soul-searching, Douglas began to think that he had been living his entire life as a coward, and changed his mind about bringing the gay-basher to justice. Just in the nick of time, he appeared in court to identify his attacker. (In a related scene, our favorite bisexual character, C.J. Lamb, recognized the name of the gay restaurant where Douglas and his friend had had dinner!) To thank L.A. Law for treating the issue of gay-bashing in a sensitive manner, and for exploring the related issue of violence against persons perceived to be gay or lesbian, write to: Patricia Green, Executive Producer L.A. Law, 20th Century Fox 10201 West Pico Blvd. Building 80 Los Angeles, CA 90035 Or call 213-203-1361. Recent news reports say that L.A. Law is looking for an actress to play a new lesbian character in what could turn out to be a recurring role. Let them know that we can't wait to see C.J. Lamb with a woman lover! While gay-bashing is being taken seriously on L.A. Law, lesbians and gays are being bashed on the editorial pages of the Sterling, Illinois, Daily Gazette. Managing Editor Gerald A. Carroll recently wrote an editorial called "Common Sense and Gay Rights" -- a misnomer on both counts. The column was ostensibly about California Governor Pete Wilson's veto of a gay rights bill and the gay response; however, the editorial did not explore any issues raised by the California bill. Instead, Carroll launched into a homophobic diatribe of a sort that has become all too familiar to the lesbian and gay community. The anti-Wilson demonstrations in California he dismissed as "Such indecent, immature behavior." Carroll generalized about gays, writing, "They are self-centered and apparently care little for the long-term survival of the human race," and blamed what he called gays' "lifestyle choices" for spreading AIDS. He also blasted gays for complaining about our government's response to the epidemic, citing that the Reagan administration allocated billions of dollars to AIDS research. Let the Daily Gazette know that such outrageous, slanted editorializing is unacceptable and irresponsible. Tell them that inflammatory editorials like this one serve only to perpetuate bias and bigotry against lesbians and gays. Write to: Russell Siefken, Jr., Publisher and Editor The Daily Gazette 312 Second Avenue Sterling, IL 61081 Copyright (c) 1991 by GLAAD/New York. Permission to reprint granted, provided that proper attribution to GLAAD/New York appears with reprint. ************************************************** [Electronically Distributed As A Public Service by: FOG CITY - San Francisco, CA (415) 863-9697] GLAAD Tidings 11/15/91 by Cheryl Moch Face to Face with Connie Chung; NBC Sisters For Navy women who say "no" to sexual advances from a man -- perhaps their commanding officer -- all he has to do is yell "dyke," and they're out of there. This is not a new story. A year ago, the Commander of the U.S. Navy's Atlantic fleet sent a memo to all commanding officers, urging them to seek out and eliminate gay women from Naval ranks. It's worth quoting again from the Admiral's directive: "the stereotypical female homosexual in the Navy is hard-working, career-oriented, willing to put in long hours on the job. ..." But none of that matters. If you're accused of being gay, you don't get a trial, and hearsay is admissible evidence at your hearing. What has ensued in the year since that directive was issued is a witch-hunt against women in the Navy. Connie Chung did a segment on this important topic on a recent installment of her investigative "Face to Face with Connie Chung" show. The segment was about how lesbian-baiting is being used to intimidate and control all women in the Navy. A possible solution to this homophobic use of sexual harassment was put forward by one of the three former Navy women Chung interviewed: eliminate the Defense Department policy which states that "homosexuality is incompatible with military service." Every year, an average of three times as many women as men are thrown out of the Armed Forces because they are, or are thought to be, lesbian or gay. The women who do stay in function with a powerful control hanging over their heads: put out or we'll get you out. A recent Pentagon study reports that two out of three military women say they've been sexually harassed while in the service. Media coverage of the various aspects of the discriminatory practices of the U.S. military is vital to the process of eliminating these anti-gay policies. To let Connie Chung know that you appreciate her show's recognition of Navy lesbian-baiting sexual harassment as an important national issue, write to: Connie Chung CBS News Division 524 West 57 Street New York, NY 10019 According to a recent report in TV Guide, NBC has quietly quashed plans to introduce a lesbian character on its new series, "Sisters." The co-executive producer of the show said in TV Guide that "We wanted Alex's daughter Reed (played by Ashely Judd, of the singing Judds) to come back from six months abroad and tell her mother she thinks she may be a lesbian. But NBC said forget it." An NBC spokesperson insisted that the reason for doing away with this episode's concept involved creative criteria: "given that the show is so new, the focus should remain on the central characters." However, the producer said that NBC had not ruled out the possibility of bringing in a gay character at a later date. To us, that sounds like they're fishing for support! To cast a vote for a lesbian on "Sisters," write to: Warren Littlefield, President NBC Entertainment 3000 West Alameda Avenue Burbank, CA 91523 Tell NBC how well a lesbian character would fit "Sisters"' premise, and that you'll be waiting to see her. Copyright (c) 1991 by GLAAD/New York. Permission to reprint granted, provided that proper attribution to GLAAD/New York appears with reprint. From the 12-5-91 GLAAD/SFBA column in the Bay Area Reporter: "The current Demi Moore film 'The Butcher's Wife' contains a rare instance of a nonlethal lesbian character in a Hollywood film. Academy Award nominee Frances McDermont plays an open lesbian who is the best friend of the male lead. Clairvoyant Demi Moore predicts a woman in the character's future, and the subplot is followed throughout the film in a positive way. Lesbians who don't kill or hate men (or themselves) are considered wildly avant-garde and financially risky in Hollywood films. Send appreciative communiques to Wallace Nicta and Lauren Lloyd, Paramount Pictures, 5555 Melrose Ave., Dressing Room 201, Hollywood CA 90038. California lesbians and gays fared so-so in 'Time' magazine's recent special issue on California, meriting only passing mention in a few articles, some of them derogatory. In a series of brief items under the heading "California Grapevine," one paragraph was devoted to the political fallout to Governor Wilson's veto of AB 101. Titled 'The Guv's Presidential Hopes Hurt Him at Home,' the brief described how Wilson's national political ambitions were probably to blame for the veto, which damaged his reputation in California. The tiny paragraph of a Los Angeles protest accompanying this paragraph represented the entirety of Time's coverage of the massive and ongoing uprising still going on in southern California in response to the governor's action. Most noteworthy, on the positive side, was the inclusion of 'Advocate' Editor Richard Rouilard in a series of six brief profiles of trend-makers called 'Galaxy of Rising Stars.' Send your thoughts to Henry Muller, Managing Editor, 'Time' Magazine, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, NY NY 10020. The Nov. 23 'San Jose Mercury News' included a column by Kevin Cowherd of the 'Baltimore Evening Sun' titled 'We're talking King of tears, for cryin' out loud.' The column was a semi-humorous look at increased tolerance of men who cry. In discussing televangelist Jim Bakker's tears while being taken to prison, Cowherd commented: "Let me hasten to add that if they were dragging me off to spend the next 7-10 years in a dank prison cell with an oddly affectionate weight lifter named Todd, I would be crying, too--as well as screaming and hanging on to someone's pants leg." Why do straight people constantly fret about us pushing our sexual orientation on them when in reality it's heterosexuals who are always trying to recruit us? Try to enlarge Kevin Cowherd's mind by writing to him c/o 'The Baltimore Evening Sun,' 501 N. Calvert St. P.O. Box 1377, Baltimore