[This file can be found in /pub/QRD/qrd/glaad/glaad-SFBA-6.18.93 in the Queer Resources Directory at vector.intercon.com] GLAAD News Briefs-- June 18,1993 by Al Vielwasser GLAAD/SFBA Fighting High School Homophobia The Spring 1993 issue of The Wire, the literary magazine of George Washington High School, features a hate poem, "Deal Offered on Gay Ban in the Military." The poem refers to homosexuality as "morally wrong" and calls for a continuation of anti-gay/lesbian discrimination. On the subject of the military's ban, for example, the poem's author writes: "Fifty years of sin in the closet, now an issue to be lifted by fools in politics and Gays which slap morality in its face, sinning and coming together as if it were a race." While recognizing the author's right to poetic expression, the lesbian, gay and bisexual community of George Washington High felt that their dignity and their safety had been compromised. In a letter to the staff of The Wire, the high school's lesbian and gay students explained: "You are endangering us and encouraging prejudice ... The message that a reader of this poem could get is that homosexuals deserve to be punished. By supporting this poem, you are also saying that our trusted faculty support it." Following student complaints, and swift intervention from Board of Education and School District officials, an apology was announced over the school's public address system and an on-site forum was held to discuss the issue. Send your comments to Al Vidal, Principal, George Washington High School, 600 32nd Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121, tel. 415-750-8400. Also, for the swift response to the student's concerns, send thanks to Tom Ammiano, President, San Francisco Board of Education, 135 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102-5229, tel 415-241-6000. Bremerton High Meanwhile, at Bremerton High School (near Seattle), students voted against an effort to ban lesbians and gays from holding office. A student panel had previously voted, 49-47, for a "Respectable Student Body Image" bill that would have made being lesbian or gay grounds for removal from student office. The bill was defeated in a vote before the entire student body, consisting of 1,300 students. If the bill was not rejected, school Principal Marilee Hansen had vowed to veto it. Send congratulations to Marilee Hansen, Principal, Bremerton High School, 1500 13th Street, Bremerton, WA 98310, tel. 206-478-0753. Stanford The June 1993 issue of Stanford -- a nationally distributed magazine published by the Stanford Alumni Association -- contains a special feature section on "Stories of Self- Discovery: Gays at Stanford." The collection of articles ranges widely, with profiles of a filmmakers' coming out odyssey, the saga of a father whose lesbian daughter challenged him to re-think his gay-bashing fraternity background, and glimpses into various alumni and staff. Rounding off the collection is an essay on the history of lesbian, gay and bisexual students at Stanford. According to Gerard Koskovich, a contributor to the publication, "The editors -- and the Stanford Alumni Association -- have been very forward looking in choosing to prepare this issue given its function as a fundraising and outreach auxiliary for the university. I am certain they will receive strong complaints from inside the university and from alumni readers." Counter the complaints, and send your comments to Bruce Anderson, Editor, Stanford, Bowman Alumni House, Stanford, CA 94305-4005, tel 415-725-0672. Naked, Hairy, Homo, Smut The ubiquitous Gannett Outdoor Advertising company has rejected a bus shelter poster for BEAR magazine. The poster, which features a picture of man without his shirt, was intended for display at 18th and Castro Streets. According to a spokesperson for Brush Creek Media, Inc., creators of the poster, Gannett Outdoor Advertising deemed the poster "offensive to the moral standards of the community." In particular, Gannett objected to the slogan appearing just at the top of the poster: "Naked Hairy Homo Smut." The billboard company asked Brush Creek Media to change the slogan to: "Masculinity ... without the trappings." Send comments to Gannet Outdoor Advertising, 1695 East Shore Highway, Berkeley, CA 94710, tel. 510-527-3350, fax 510-527-7041. Sassy The cover of the July '93 issue of Savvy -- a monthly magazine for teenage women -- carries the headline: "My brother's gay. Big whoop." Inside, Sassy's feature writer Margie Ingall takes a look at "How My Brother Came Out." The amusing and affirmative essay details the coming out path taken by Margie's brother, Andy. Illustrating the feature are a few photos of Andy and Margie when they were children. One photo is captioned: "It's Margie and her brother. Both of 'em grew up to like boys." The author concludes her essay on this note: "My brother is a regular brother. People who choose to hate him because of who he is need to get a hobby ... Right this second there are as many as 100,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual high school seniors in America. That's how it is. The only question is whether we want to make their lives easier or harder." Sassy's January '93 issue included, on the "It Happened To Me" page, a coming out story by one of Sassy's readers. Encourage the magazine to keep up the good work! Write to Jane Pratt, Editor-In-Chief, Sassy, 230 Park Ave., New York, NY 10169. S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Several months ago, the American Family Association (AFA) and CLEAR-TV (Christian Leaders for Responsible Television) launched a boycott against the Johnson Wax company for sponsoring "filthy" television programs -- including shows with any lesbian, gay or bisexual content. In the latest statement on the boycott Johnson Wax declares: "We have communicated with CLEAR-TV and we've sent the lists of television programs that we purposely avoided advertising on because we felt their content was inappropriate. This, despite the fact those programs attracted our target audience and the air time was offered to us at attractive prices." Despite repeated requests for copies of those lists, Johnson Wax has not communicated with GLAAD/SFBA. Additionally, the company has now announced its membership in "the Media Directors' Council, an organization that works with television producers to encourage them to clean up their program content." A recent news item in TV Guide (June 5) confirms that sponsors are moving farther away from "controversial" programming. According to TV Guide editors, "risque' sex" and "adult language and themes" have been expunged from the announced Fall programming schedules. Remind Johnson Wax that the company is making deals with hate mongers. Rather than being conciliatory, the company should express outrage that CLEAR-TV and the AFA are demanding that the public airwaves be used to teach fear and hatred towards lesbian, gay and bisexual people. And, you might add, fundamentalist "Christians" are not the only people who wax their table tops! Contact Thomas R. Conrardy, Director, Consumer Resource Center, S. C. Johnson Wax, 1525 Howe Street, Racine, WI 53403-5011, tel. 414-631-2000, or 1-800- 558-5252. S-E-X In her review of Love Match -- Judy Nelson's book about her life with tennis star Martina Navratilova -- columnist Liz Smith writes: "There is nothing about S-E-X. (This is probably good -- a landmark perhaps -- since most lesbian literature, gay newspaper coverage, and general gossip seem to be exclusively about sex.)" Send your C-0-M-M-E-N-T-S to Liz Smith, Newsday, Two Park Avenue, New York, NY 100 1 6. The only way to cure homophobia is to confront it! Notify the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, of all defamations, omissions or affirmations, and if possible supply us with documentation. Our office number is 415-861-4588; South Bay Hotline 408-235-0229; East Bay Hotline 510-273-9146; fax 415-861-4893. Our mailing address is GLAADSFBA, 514 Castro St., Suite B, San Francisco, CA 94114. Items for this weekly media report should be sent to Al Kielwasser. ****************FAX/OCR done by Alan Batie**************