KENNETH COLE Although only a few companies have shown the fairness to include lesbian or gay images in their advertisements, others are going even further and expressing support for our civil rights as part of their campaigns. Kenneth Cole, New York-based maker of terrific shoes, is currently running an ad in Vanity Fair and elsewhere that includes a clever endorsement of overturning the ban against lesbians and gays in the military. The ad features a photo of a gay/lesbian demonstration outside a US Army Recruiting Center. One of the demonstrators is carrying a "Gay Rights Now" sign. The ad copy reads "In support of our nation, everyone should have the right to bear arms--butnot bare feet." Give your support for this witty ad by writing to Mr. Kenneth Cole, President, Kenneth Cole Products, 152 West 57th Street, 15th Floor, NY NY 10019. FIRST FEDERAL BANK Also deserving praise is a recent ad from First Federal Bank of California. While Bank of America deceives the public about the Boy Scouts' policy of discrimination against gays, First Federal is showing itself as sensitive to the discrimination lesbians and gay men face. In its recent institutional advertising campaign, the bank included copy that read: "With continuing acts of bigotry, violence, and ugly slurs directed against people based on their religion, the color of their skin, their sexual orientation or ethnic background...we must speak out against any acts of bigotry." Why not write a letter of thanks to: Mr.Bill Mortensen, Chair of the Board, First Federal Bank of California, 401 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401. BANANA REPUBLIC More discreet but sexier are a recent series of Banana Republic ads. The clothing retailer's ads feature the tag-line "My chosen family" and include models portraying apparently lesbian, bisexual or gay people. One ad features three women, one of them African American, in a car. Two of the women are in the back seat with their arms around each other while one of them is holding and kissing the hand of the women in the driver's seat.Another ad features two men and one woman; one of the men is caressing the other's bare chest while the woman caresses his hand. Send support letters to Robert Fisher, President and CEO, Banana Republic, 1 Harrison St., San Francisco CA 94105. ADWEEK Fighting the positive advertising trend and insisting that gender-bending is bad for business was Ms. Jerri Shaftel of the Celebrity Endorsement Network. In a recent issue of Adweek magazine (aimed at the advertising industry), Ms. Shaftel, discussing the value of celebrities doing commercial endorsements, said "For any... celebrity who wants an endorsement, a man has to be a man, and a woman, a woman. Any questions about sexuality plummets their value." To suggest the commercial value of an open mind, write Ms.Jerri Shaftel, Vice President, Celebrity Endorsement Network, 20700 Ventura Blvd., Suite 227 Woodland Hills CA 91364;carbon copy to: Craig Reiss, Editorl, Adweek, 5055 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90036. YOUNG LESBIANS IN MADEMOISELLE The March issue of the popular fashion magazine Mademoisells included an unusual article called "Women in Love" on the new (17-25 year-old) generation of lesbians. The article was headlined "Young lesbians" they're fresh, they're proud, they're comfortable with their sexuality. Having staked out their own issues, they're now defining a new style." The article, which is sure to reach many young lesbians who have no real access to the lesbian community, included discussion of political activism, "role-playing," safe sex, lesbian zines and lesbian slang. Also included was a useful resource list of organizations providing support and information for young lesbians and their families. If you want to see more lesbians in Mademoiselle, make sure their positive feedback outweighs the negative. Write to Gabe Doppelt, Editor in Chief, Mademoiselle, Conde Nast Publications, 350 Madison Ave. NY NY 10017. YOUNG LESBIANS ON JENNY JONES Teenage lesbians held forth on a recent edition of the NBC daytime talk show Jenny Jones, keeping at bay an audience that wanted to know the difference between sex with a man or a woman. The women (ages 16, 17 and 18) had all experienced sex with males ("boring and gross" and "they kiss like piranhas") and females ("emotional and spiritual connections") The panelists handled all questions with a maturity beyond their years. During the program one told of her suicide attempts and started to cry, whereupon Jenny Jones hugged and comforted her. Ms. Jones had shown consistent support for the panel througout the program. Write to Jenny Jones Show, Ms. Debbie Glavin, Executive Producer, POB 3333 Chicago IL 60654 and send a copy to Mr. Jim Paratore, President, Telepictures Productions, 3300 Riverside Drive Burbank CA 91522. This column is compiled by Mr. Hollie Conley and typed in by Jessea NR Greenman crsdept@nature.berkeley.edu "Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead, noted anthropologist and bisexual woman. SIRENS Debuting March 10 on ABC-TV was the new series Sirens. The one-hour dramatic series follows three female rookie cops,newly graduated from the Pittsburgh Police Academy, during their first year on the beat. One of the storylines of the first thirteen episodes involves Molly (Liza Snyder) being partners with Heidi (Deidre O'Connell), a veteran officer who is a lesbian. According to a press release, this pairing will move Molly from "denial to gossipy fascination and ultimately to acceptance; Molly is forced to grow up and acknowledge that gay people are a part of today's police force." Comments to: Ann Lewis Hamilton and Robert Butler, Executive Producers, ABC Productions, 2020 Avenue of the Stars, 5th Floor, Century City CA 90067. CELESTIAL SEASONINGS Celestial Seasonings, the huge Colorado-based herbal tea company, last month met with New York Boycott Colorado to discuss the company's official neutrality of Amendment 2, which enshrined discrimination against lesbians, gays and bisexuals as a protected right in Colorado. After the meeting, Mo Siegel, the company's president, told the press that Boycott Colorado had attempted to extort money from the company under threat of a boycott. Others at the meeting denied that the threat occurred and Celestial Seasonings itself has since retracted the charge. The company is still however refusing to take a stand on the hate amendment. Please write them and demand they join other Colorado companies in taking a stand on this fundamental issue of human rights. If you're a consumer of their products, be sure to mention that. Write to Mo Siegel, President, Celestial Seasonings, 460 Sleepytime Drive, Boulder CO 80301. Jessea NR Greenman crsdept@nature.berkeley.edu "Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead, noted anthropologist and bisexual woman. GLAAD/SFBA Media Watch Column, 4-8-93 Begin transcript: CNN On March 28, CNN broadcast the half-hour special "Gay by Nature or Nurture," which focused on the debate over the causes of sexual orientation. Hosted by CNN Medical Correspondent Dan Rutz, the program interviewed researchers in genetics, biology, neurology, and psychology on the state of current sexual orientation research. Rutz also interviewed several lesbian and gay people about their experience of their sexual orientation. These interviews were conducted fairly and objectively. Unfortunately, the final segment (about a quarter of the program) focused on various methods of "changing" sexual orientation. Rutz interviewed members of "Love in Action," a Bay Area based religious cult that purports to make gays and lesbians heterosexual. Rutz described Love in Action as a "unique ministry" that is "non-judgmental." He didn't mention that it is closely involved with hate groups (its members are featured in "The Gay Agenda," the anti-gay video now being circulated to government officials nation- wide). Rutz also interviewed Joseph Nicolosi, an L.A. psychologist who claims homosexuality is a treatable illness. Nicolosi makes a career of talk show appearances and work with California, Oregon, and Colorado hate groups. This disproportionate and uncritical attention to the lunatic fringe left the audience with the impression that whether or not homosexuality is "changeable" is a controversy among psychologists, and that whether or not to "change" one's sexual orientation is a point of debate in the lesbian/gay community. Write to Dan Rutz, the reporter, and to R.E. Turner, Chair, at Turner Broadcasting System, POB 105366, Atlanta GA 30348. WALL STREET JOURNAL The WSJ still has apparently no journalistic standards when it comes to the publication of homophobic op-ed pieces. You may recall last year's piece by Irving Kristol which argued that the HIV virus was somehow caused by homosexual acts. This week (on March 31st) it featured an opinion by J. Gordon Muir entitled "Homosexuals and the 10 Percent Fallacy." The piece said that activists had based their claims for civil rights on the 'conventional wisdom' that 10 percent of the population is gay or lesbian, then set out to prove the fallacy of the 10 percent figure. Unfortunately, all the information cited came from Paul Cameron, identified in the article only as a "researcher" whose work on the subject is soon to be published in "Psychological Reports." Cameron has been kicked out of the American Psychological Association and censured by the American Sociological Association for distorting and misrepresenting data in his lifelong campaign to promote homophobia. His testimony in courts as an "expert witness" has been barred by judges who investigated his credentials. "Psychological Reports" is a vanity publication with no professional prestige, in which Cameron pays to publish his "reserach." He has worked closely with virtually every hate group in the country, going from talk shows to government hearings in his promotion of hate initiatives and fighting civil rights laws. Lesbians and gays deserve equal treatment whatever our percentage of the population, and we welcome all legitimate research which tells us more about our community. But the WSJ should not pretend that Cameron's incessant manufacturing of data to promote homophobia has any scientific credibility. Write to Daniel Henninger, Deputy Editor, Editorial Page, The Wall Street Journal, 200 Liberty Street, NY 10281. End Transcript "Give me but where to stand and I will move the earth." Archimedes, referring to the ancient principle of using levers and fulcrums. Handy in modernity for organizers to remember when leveraging. It's all in where you place the fulcrum. over and OUT...Jessea NR Greenman crsdept@nature.berkeley.edu