Subject: GLAAD/SFBA MEDIA WATCH
From: Song Weaver <[email-masked]>
To: Multiple recipients of list GLB-NEWS <[email-masked]>

February 20,1994

"HEATHER HAS A DIFFERING FAMILY STRUCTURE?"
New York City's multicultural "Children of the Rainbow" curriculum
continues to be gutted by the bigots who have railed against it for the
last two years.  The original guide included Heather Has Two Mommies and
Gloria Goes to Gay Pride on a recommended reading list and suggested that
younger children should be taught to respect all people, including gays
and lesbians.  A revised version of the guide has recently been
distributed for review and it omits nearly all references to gay and
lesbian parents and makes no mention of these affirming books.  In lieu
of specifically acknowledging lesbian and gay families, the watered-down
guide makes only a vague reference to "differing family structures."

        By censoring fair and accurate information about homosexuality,
the homophobes are transforming a curriculum of understanding into a
curriculum of hate.  Express your outrage to Ramon Cortines, Chancellor,
Board of Education, 110 Livingston, Brooklyn, NY 11201, tel. 718-935-2000.

NEWSWEEK ON HOMOPHOBIA
In a series of articles, the Feb. 14 issue of Newsweek asks "Just what is
homophobia?  In an era of increased tolerance and acceptance, the word
has kept its bite but lost some of its definition."  In the lead article,
John Leland uses Lewiston, Maine, as the backdrop for exploring
homophobia.  The small town was the site of a struggle over
anti-discrimination legalization last year.  To his credit, Leland
manages to make a crucial point:  many citizens who claim that they are
neither anti-democratic nor homophobic are, upon closer examination,
intolerant bigots.  However, this is hardly an "in-depth" examination of
homophobia, and many questions remain unasked and unanswered.

        A related article by Michele Ingrassia takes a look at
lesbian/gay adoption, focusing on the case of Megan Lucas.  Lucas, who
has been convicted of arson, larceny and kidnapping, abandoned her son
when he was 5 months old.  Now, she is suing to get him back from the gay
couple who adopted him.  Unfortunately, this important article is
headlined "The Limits of Tolerance?" and the reporter writes that
"perhaps more than any other issue on the social landscape, gay adoption
pushes the limits of tolerance."  This rhetoric echoes the question that
appeared, in regard to lesbian visibility, on Newsweek's June 21, 1993,
cover:  "What are the limits of tolerance?"  Such questions pander to the
notion that there is a finite point at which lesbian and gay existence
can become "intolerable."  Homophobia has less to do with the limits of
tolerance than with the boundaries of hatred and ignorance.

         Send your comments (along with your name, address and daytime
phone) to the Letters Editor, Newsweek, 444 Madison Avenue, New York, NY
10022, fax 212-350-4120.  You can also call Bill Christotherson, Letters
Director, at 212-350-4000.

PIGS AND PREJUDICE
A recent "Media Watch" column noted how ironic it is that "piggy" Rush
Limbaugh used his TV show to suggest that lesbians and pigs were
cross-breeding in Mississippi.  The Animal Rights Connection (ARC) has
objected to this use of the "piggy" adjective.

        "To use an animal as an object or image of scorn reflects a bias
no different in concept than heterosexism (or racism, sexism, ageism, et
al)," writes ARC's Baron Miller.  "Pigs are sensitive, gentle beings who
harm no one, " he adds, "and due to their inability to prevent it, they
are victims of a hideous and universal oppression which should rightly
appall every freedom lover.  We hope this helps you understand why
calling Mr. Limbaugh 'piggy' is unnecessary, inaccurate, and unfair to pigs."

        Comments may be sent to Baron L. Miller, Animal Rights
Connection, P.O. Box 410862, S.F., CA 94141-0862, tel. 415-441-4245.

HEARTLESS RADIO
A Valentine's Day report on National Public Radio's  popular program All
Things Considered offered up several stories of people involved in
long-term relationships.  In a classic case of defamation by omission,
the reporter interviewed straight couples only, suggesting once again
that romance is exclusively heterosexual.  Send corrective comments to
All Things Considered, National Public Radio, Box 96600, Washington, DC
20090-6600.

EXPRESS YOURSELF
Major advertisers continue to reach out to queer America through the
pages of Out magazine.  American Express has become the latest corporate
giant to buy ad space in the magazine.  The April and May issues of Out
isco, CA 94133, tel. 415-512-1053, fax 415-777-0608.

CONTEST ENTRIES WANTED
The S.F. AIDS Foundation is soliciting entries for the second annual Gay
Men's Erotic Safe Sex Video Contest in categories ranging from "Sex Makes
Me Laugh" to "Hardcore

Fetish and Fantasy."  For entry guidelines and complete category
listings, write to Safe Sex Video II, S.F. AIDS Foundation, 1170 Market
St., 6th Floor, S.F., CA 94102.

WE MUST CONFRONT HOMOPHOBIA IN ORDER TO CURE IT!  TO NOTIFY THE GAY &
LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION OF ANY DEFAMATORY MEDIA COVERAGE, OR
TO REQUEST MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GLAAD, CONTACT GLAAD/SFBA, 514 CASTRO
STREET, SUITE B, SF, CA 94114, TEL. 415-861-4588, FAX 415-861-4893,
E-MAIL [email-masked].