Date: Fri, 12 Aug 94 22:26:30 EDT From: GLAADSFBA@aol.com GLAAD MEDIA WATCH -- August 11, 1994 By Al Kielwasser THE STAR OF SLEAZE "Cher's Ex: I Turned Gay After She Dumped Me," screams a headline in the August 9th issue of the Star. The widely-read tabloid purports to tell the story of music industry mogul David Geffen, who "has revealed for the first time that he decided to live his life as a gay man after his heart- breaking split" with Cher. Whether writing for a sleazy tabloid or The New York Times, no journalist should thoughtlessly perpetuate the insidious myth that homosexuality is the result of some horrific trauma. Such irresponsible reporting reinforces the notion that homosexuality is a disease, of which lesbians and gay men are the living symptoms. The Star encourages readers to call in story ideas, so why not suggest an exposé on homophobic reporters? Call 914-332-500 (New York) or 310-858-1591 (Los Angeles). Alternatively, send your complaints to Richard Kaplan, Editor, Star, 660 White Plains Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591. DINING WITH THE ENEMY On August 2nd and 3rd, Today show correspondent Willard Scott offered several supportive pitches for Cracker Barrel Restaurants. Scott recommended the restaurant to his viewers and described, in detail, the company's breakfast menu. What Scott failed to describe was Cracker Barrel's homophobic employment practices. Cracker Barrel has refused to enact an employment policy preventing discrimination against lesbians and gay men despite widespread national protest. In February 1991, the restaurant/gift shop chain issued a corporate policy stating, "it is inconsistent with our concept and values . . . to continue to employ individuals . . . whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values." Because many -- if not most -- Americans are still unaware of the fact that no federal anti- discrimination laws protect gay or lesbian workers, it is especially egregious for the Today show to endorse the restaurant without giving viewers the full story. Write to Steve Friedman, Executive Producer, Today, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Rm. 304, New York, NY 10112, tel. 212-664-4602. SURVEY REPORTING: A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE TRUTH A recent survey conducted for Parade magazine (and reported in the August 7th issue) explores "Sex in America Today." Typically, the statistics on homosexuality are misleading. Mark Clements reports that, in his survey, "3% of male respondents identify themselves as homosexual. Among the women surveyed, 1% say they are homosexual; 3% of the men and 0.4% of the women say they are bisexual." Such numbers, in themselves, are not so surprising. It's reasonable to assume that, in a society which punishes homosexuality with a vengeance, many lesbians, gays and bisexuals do not publicly "identify" their sexual orientation. However, Clements makes no effort to account for or explain the impact of homophobia on the survey process. Instead, his readers are given what appear to be absolutely "authoritative" and "scientific" numbers. Clements also reports (or perhaps mis-reports) the observations of Beverly Whipple, associate professor of nursing at Rutgers. Reacting to the statistics on homosexuality, Whipple sates: "This is much lower than the 10% estimate that has been used in the past, but it confirms recent research showing that 1% to 3% of the male population is gay." To date, no research has demonstrated that 1 or 3 percent of the population is gay; some research has, at best, suggested that 1 or 3 percent of the persons surveyed are willing to tell a stranger who claims to be a researcher that they are lesbian or gay. Certainly, the size of a community has no moral bearing on whether individuals should be despised or discriminated against. However, homophobes delight is using such statistics to "prove" that lesbians and gays have attempted to purposely deceive the public with "exaggerated" estimates of our numbers. To that end, serious researchers and reporters should make an extra effort to provide a proper context for the estimates they report as "facts." Send comments to Larry Smith, Managing Editor, Parade: The Sunday Newspaper Magazine, 711 Third Ave., New York, NY, 10017. "SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE . . . " Journalist James Brady recently interviewed actress Meredith Baxter for Parade magazine, writing: "I noted that in previous acting jobs Meredith had been an addict, an alcoholic, a lesbian mother, a bulimic and a murderer. So I asked [her], 'What have they got against you?'" When GLAAD asked why he seemed to believe that lesbian roles were some sort of punishment imposed upon straight actresses, Brady retorted: "For me and I think a majority of people, lesbian motherhood is somewhat outside the social mainstream. Not evil or appalling but hardly comme il faut [as it should be]." He further stated: "How you can link me to homophobia is something of a reach . . . . I don't know if you are aware I was for six years publisher of Women's Wear Daily and probably have more gay friends in the fashion biz and in showbiz than most gays have gay friends. Lecture somebody else, not me." Direct comments and/or lectures to James Brady, Editor-at-Large, Advertising Age, 220 East 42nd St., New York, NY 10017-5846, 212-210- 0195, fax 212-210-0200. Send copies of your correspondence to Rance Crain, Editor-in-Chief, Advertising Age, at the same address. Advertising Age ranks among the leading trade publications for professionals in the media and marketing industries. TEXTBOOKS IN JAPAN: DEVIATING FROM THE FACTS "The most serious cases of sexual crimes other than exhibitionism and pedophilia are of a homosexual nature . . . ." according to a Japanese psychiatry textbook. The book also discusses "cures" for homosexuality and explains that "homosexuals are often seen as falling into lives of larceny, fraud and prostitution, but it is not unusual for complications of the breakdown of homosexual relationships to lead to murder." These and other homophobic "facts" plague Japanese psychiatry textbooks, according to OCCUR, a lesbian/gay civil rights organization in Japan. These textbooks still classify homosexuality as "sexual deviance" and "sexual abnormality." OCCUR is leading an effort to combat such textbook defamation and has also challenged the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology to formulate a coherent position on homosexuality. OCCUR is asking for people around the globe to join in the campaign and demand that the Society of Psychiatry and Neurology "start discussing homosexuality immediately" and cease classifying homosexuality as "a form of sexual deviance." Contact the Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology, International Exchange Committee and Concepts of Diseases and Terminology Committee, Hongo Sky Building, 3-38-11 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 164, Japan, fax 011-81-3- 3814-2992. We must confront homophobia to cure it! To notify the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation of any defamatory media coverage call our defamation hotline at 415-861-4588 or write to GLAAD/SFBA, 1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94103; fax, 415-861-4893. Send items for this weekly report to the attention of "Media Watch" at GLAAD/SFBA or e- mail to glaadsfba@aol.com. When appropriate, attributions for items used should be made to Al Kielwasser, GLAAD/SFBA. As always, we greatly appreciate copies of any publications that use all or part of the "Media Watch."