[This file can be found in /pub/QRD/GLAAD/SFBA/media.news.briefs-10.22.93 at vector.intercon.com, the Queer Resources Directory] San Francisco Say Area Chapter GLAAD Media News Briefs -- October 22, 1993 by Al Kielwasser Fresh Prince, Stale Phobia A feature story in the Fall '93 issue of Tell, a new teen magazine, profiles actor/rapper Will Smith (best known for his title role in the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air). Feature writer Karen Catchpole describes Smith's "commitment to growing as an actor," explaining that he just hired his first acting coach and "is taking his best shot at becoming a bone fide movie star" by playing the lead in the upcoming film version of Six Degrees of Separation. However, the "actor" shows few signs of growth when it comes to homophobia. Smith's character in Six Degrees of Separation is gay. When he accepted the role, Smith knew that the script called for an on-screen kiss with another man. However, when the time came to shoot the scene, Smith refused. "I just couldn't do it," Smith said. "I mean, I'm an actor. I can sit there with a greasy smile on my face and act like I kissed a man. But it's different when you actually, physically, kiss a man. It wouldn't have been acting. It would have been real. I have kissed girls on-screen. I could work that out. The difference is how people perceive it. If I'd kissed a guy and then went home, they'd be like, 'Yo, man. Why'd you do that?' And I'd be like, 'You know, Man. I'm an actor. I was acting.' And they'd be like 'Yo, man. You kissed a dude. Something's wrong with you, man.' I just didn't want to hear that." Let's just ignore (for now) why Smith is so worried that if he "actually, physically, kissed a man," he would not have been acting but that "it would have been real." Perhaps he's just suffering from the common hetero-anxiety that straight men can become gay men just by touching or kissing another guy in "that way." Perhaps not. In any case, Smith's attitude demonstrates a remarkable lack of sensitivity. For Smith, apparently, acting is not a means for expanding awareness but reinforcing ignorance. Write to Will Smith, Fresh Prince of Bel Air c/o NBC TV, 3000 West Alameda Ave., Burbank, CA 91505. Other Mothers The CBS School break Special, broadcast on the afternoon of October 15, depicted the travails of a high school freshman who weathers homophobic ostracism when his peers discover that he has two lesbian mothers. Other Mothers, directed by Lee Shallot and produced by Joseph Stern, depicts a happy home life for teenager Will Jergenson (William Russ), his biological mother Linda (Joanna Cassidy) and his "other mother" Paula (Meredith Baxter). In a "Read More About It" postscript to the program, actress Meredith Baxter says: "To learn more about the changing roles in our parenting society, the Library of Congress recommends these books: Diversity in American Families, by Maxine Baca Zinn and D. Stanley Eitzen, and Rethinking the Family, edited by Barrie Thorne and Marilyn Yalom. Advertisers on this affirming program were: Multigrain Cheerios (General Mills), Jell-O Actifed Sinus medicine, Cortisone-10, Campbell's soup, Sears, Airwick, Purina Cat Chow, Yuban Coffee, Aquafresh toothpaste, Efidac 24, Fleishmann's Egg Beaters, Lever 2000 soap, Mrs. Dash spices, JC Penny, 1-800-DENTIST (a registered service mark of Applied Anagramics, Inc.), Post Raisin Bran, Muggies diapers, M&M's, V-8 juice, Prego spaghetti sauce, Preparation H, Hershey's Hugs, and Rolaids. Comments should be sent to Jeff Sagansky, President, CBS Entertainment, 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90213. To Boldly Go Where No Queer Has Gone Before Shortly before Gene Roddenberry's death, he met with members of The USS Lambda, a lesbian and gay Star Trek fan club in Los Angeles. At this meeting, Roddenberry stated that, since there was virtually no racism in his 24th century TV world, he doubted that there would, be any homophobia either. He agreed to include openly (and unmistakenly) gay and lesbian main characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as other Trek spin-offs. After Roddenberry's death, his successors promised to follow his wishes and develop lesbian, gay and bisexual characters. Star Trek: The Next Generation is now in its final season and we have yet to see any openly queer figures on the show. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has begun its second season; though there are representatives of widely diverse cultures--from shape shifters to Ferengi--there seems to be no room for lesbian or gay characters on the Bajoran space station. Isn't it about time that Star Trek really went where no one has gone before? Write Rick Berman and Michael Piller, Executive Producers, Star Trek TNG & DS9, Paramount Domestic Television, 5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038. Bay Area Censored For the last five years, Media Alliance's "Bay Area Censored" project has called attention to important local news stories that the mainstream media underreported or ignored. Important stories about our community are routinely censored. The major news dailies and evening newscasts continue to pay little attention to everything from hate crimes to research on homophobia If you have read a story in any publication this year that you believe should have received more local coverage, let Bay Area Censored know about it. Along with your own name and address, send in the title of the story, where it appeared, and the date of publication. "Any topic is fair game," according to the folks at Bay Area Censored, "as long as its primary significance is to the Bay Area." The deadline is November 19 and submissions should be sent to Media Alliance/Bay Area Censored, Fort Mason Bldg. D, San Francisco, CA 94123, tel. 415-441-2557. Confront and cure homophobla! To notify the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation of any defamatory media coverage, or to request GLAAD membership information, write to GLAAD/SFBA, 514 Castro Street, Suite B, San Francisco, CA 94114. Call our office at 415-861-4588; fax, 415-861-4893; South Bay, 408-235-0229; East Bay, 510-273-9146. Ben Carlson and Bonnie Haley, GLAAD/SFBA, contributed to this week's report. [FAX/OCR by Alan Batie ]