Subject: GLAAD/SFBA's Media Watch (3/4/94)
From: Bonnie Haley <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 1994 11:45:58 +0000

GLAAD/SFBA MEDIA WATCH
March 4,1994
 
A KISS IS STILL A (HETEROSEXIST?) KISS
The much-awaited "lesbian kiss" episode of ROSEANNE (March1) finally 
beamed across the globe.  The program had become mired in controversy 
following reports that ABC intended to censor the episode.  Series 
producers Tom and Roseanne Arnold began a media blitz and the television 
network ultimately supported airing the show.
    And what did viewers see?  All-in-al, the program offered up a fairly 
mixed message.  The "lesbian" episode managed to effectively combat 
homophobia, though it stil reinforced heterosexism.
    In the first place, it's unclear whether a kiss between a 
hetoerosexual woman playing a lesbian character (Mariel Hemmingway) and a 
heterosexual woman playing a hetoersexual woman (Roseanne Arnold) is even 
a "lesbian kiss."  Argueably, such imagery merely perpetuates the 
sterotypical and heterosexist portrayal of predacious (or just plain 
stupid) homosexuals.  In any event, the five-second kiss was shot from an 
angle that showed very little kissing.  For all the controversy, the 
moment came and went rather quickly.  Despite its flaws, however, the 
scene brought an undoubted message of hope and affirmation to young and 
closeted viewers across the country who rarely (if ever) see portrayals 
of same-sex affection.
    Thought the kissing scene was rife with heterosexism, the program as 
a whole confronted homophobia.  Roseanne's character took a good (and 
funny) look at her own insecurities.  Fearful of being labeled "gay," 
Roseanne says to her bisexual friend Sandra: "I am not gay!  I didn't 
mean for that to sound like it was bad or anything, you know, because if 
I was gay that would be just fine, but I'm not gay.  So I don't like 
people calling me things that I'm not, like a hypocrite or gay, you know, 
because I'm not.  And I wouldn't like anybody calling me 
like...umm...like an astronaut.  Because it's fine to be an astronaut, 
but see I am not an astronaut."
    Roseanne admits she was wrong and hopes her friend won't think of her 
as "not cool" because she is uncomfortable with the "gay" label.  Sandra 
replies: "I'm not comfortable with everything about you either.  Every 
time I think of you and Dan in bed...Yuck!"
    A tag scene at the end of the episodeshwoed Roseanne and husband Dan 
in bed.  Roseanne tells Dan that she had been kissed by someone else; Dan 
is upset until he learns that the "other man" was really a woman.  His 
anger turns to arousal, and the scene offered a self-critical commentary 
on the mainstream media's willingness to exploit lesbian sexuality for 
the benefit of heterosexual men.
    To let ABC know what you thought of the episode, contact Edward 
Harbert, President, ABC Entertainment, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, LA, CA  
90067, tel. 310-557-7777, fax 310-557-7160; Roseanne Arnold, Executive 
Producer, ROSEANNE, Carsey-Werner Co., 4024 Radford Ave., Bldg. 3, Studio 
City, CA  91604.
 
AND A BIGOT IS STILL A BIGOT
The controversy surrounding the "lesbian" ROSEANNE episode has been 
deemed a "publicity stunt" by some critics.  However, TV GUIDE critic 
Harry Stein argues that Roseanne Arnold's campaign to get the show aired 
was nothing more than "extortion, and could, under slightly different 
circumstances, get the perpetrator tossed in prison."  In his March 5 
essay entitled "Do We Really Need To See Roseanne's Latest Kiss?," Stein 
suggests that lesbian love is offensive (or at least confusing) to the 
"tolerant traditionalists" who make up the bulk of the TV viewing 
audience.  Stein quotes an Ohio man who asks: "Don't they (the TV 
producers) have any concern about the influence of what they pump into 
hour homes?"  Stein concludes by stating that, in light of this "lesbian 
kiss," Roseanne Arnold "now seems poised to take her (character) in 
directions that, as far as many of us are concerned, ought to have been 
left between her and her therapist."
    To suggest that homosexuality is strickly a matter for clinical 
treatment i nothing but blatant, antiquated homophobia.  In his professed 
concern over the impact of what is "pumped into America's homes," Stein 
ignores the fact that, for the most part, our television sets pump out 
heterosexism and homophobia.  Decades of such televised bigotry have 
taken a terrible toll.
    To criticize this critic, write to TV GUIDE, box 500, Radnor, PA  
19088.  If you want your letter considered for publication, copy it to 
the attention of the "Letters Department."
 
THE DEVIL'S BREW
The Miller Brewing Company -- makers of Miller Genuine Draft and Lite 
Beer -- is the latest corporate advertiser to come under attack from the 
"Redligious" Right.  The company is receiving numerous calls and letters 
from homophobes protesting Miller's support for the Gay Games IV & 
Cultural Festival in June.  Miller is also one of the key sposors of Gay 
Entertainment Television (GET).  Compliments can be sent to John Bowlin, 
President, Miller Brewing Company, 3939 West Highland Blvd., Milwaukee, 
WI 53201-0420, tel. 800-645-5376.
 
A FAX FROM PHELPS
In a press release issued after his failed "picket" of Randy Shilts' 
funeral, the "Reverend" Fred Phelps -- the notorious homophobe from 
Topeka, Kansas -- claimed that he and his Westboro Baptsit Church 
congregation "kicked fag butt in Fag Frisco."  Said Phelps: "WBC gave 
Filthy Fag Randy Shilts a proper sendoff to hell Feb. 22 by preaching the 
Gospel to his butt-buddies at his lying funeral.  It was a great dau for 
the cause of God and Truth!"
    In actuality, Phelps and his hateful family demonstrated for all of 
30 seconds before they turned and ran.  In his press release, Phelps also 
vowed to "sue Mayor Frank Jordan" for the right "to picket famous fag 
funerals."
    Phelps has been getting considerable media coverage, milking the TV 
talk show circuit.  Talk show hosts should not shy away from showing the 
face of homophobic hatred, but it would be nice if they spent more time 
investigating Phelps and his lunatic church instead of treating him as a 
"guest" or (even worse) an "authority."
    If you want to communicate with Phelps himself, you can write to the 
Westboro Baptist Church, 3701 West 12th St., PO Box 1886, Topeka, KS 
66604, tel. 913-273-0325.
 
MEDIA BRIEFS
Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE) is seeking submissions 
for "The Children of Stonewall: A COLAGE Experience," a first-of-its-kind 
multi-media installation by daughters and sons of lesbians, gay, bisexual 
and transgendered parents.  For information, contact Stefan Lynch, 
COLAGE, 3200 Market St., Box 165, SF, CA 94114.
 
The Gay & Lesbian Media Coalition is now accepting submissions for the 
12th Annual Los Angeles International Gay & Lesbian Film and Video 
Festival, which will be held July 7-17, 1994.  The dealine for 
submissions is April 1.  Contact GLMC, 8228 Sunset Blvd., #308, West 
Hollywood, CA 90046, tel. 213-650-5133, fax 213-650-2226. 
 
The latest issue of THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR, a national newsletter for 
lesbian and gay parents, is hot off the press.  For more details, call 
510-482-5778 or write to Next Door Publishing, Ltd., PO Box 2158, 
Oakland, CA 94620.
 
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].