Date: Mon, 10 Jun 1996 09:18:30 -0700 From: glaad@glaad.org (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Subject: GLAADAlert 06.10.96 GLAADALERT June 10, 1996 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation "RENT" WINS TONY FOR BEST MUSICAL GLAAD congratulates multiple Tony winner "Rent", the season's most talked about play, for its AIDS positive content and handling of issues dealing with sexual orientation and identity. Jeffrey Sosnick, GLAAD Board Member and Co-Chair of the organization's Media Awards (held in March of this year), called the best musical winner "Rent" "a celebration of life," and noted that it exemplifies what GLAAD is all about. "The characters in this musical illustrate the tremendous diversity within our community, and yet their sexual identities seem very natural parts of their characters, unobtrusive and non-controversial." Please congratulate the company and the producers of "Rent." Contact: Jeffrey Seller, Kevin McCollum, Alan Gordon, Producers, "Rent" Company, 145 West 45th Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10036; Rent's publicist Richard Kornberg, 208 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036. THANKS, MARTA! The Atlanta Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Celebration has placed tail light poster signs on MARTA, the local bus system, announcing the city's Pride Celebration in Piedmont Park on June 28-30, 1996. The ads include a list of sponsor companies, individuals and couples. Atlanta Pride Co-Chair Glen Paul Freedman reports that there have been negative calls about same-gender couples jointly listing names and that the ads have become a hot topic on local radio talk shows. Call MARTA and thank the company for running the ads. Contact: Mak Gebrehiwett, Director of Public Relations, MARTA Bus System, 2424 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30324, or call 404.848.5116, ask for the Public Relations Department, to ensure documentation of your thanks. from The International Association of Lesbian/Gay Pride Coordinators, Inc. (IAL/GPC) CLOTHESTIME IN THE CLOSET In a GLAADAlert released last month, we reported on a new advertising campaign by the women's clothing chain Clothestime. The ad campaign featured lesbian and transgender images, one of the few to represent the community in broadcast advertising. While many television stations in the Los Angeles area have run the ads, two have refused to run them - KCBS-TV and KNBC-TV. Please contact these stations and urge them to give the ad campaign airtime. Contact: John McKay, General Manager, KCBS-TV, 6121 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028, 213.460.3000, reach KCBS electronically through their Web page at http://www.kcbs2.com/002/001/003.html; Carol Black, General Manager, KNBC-TV, 3000 West Alameda, Burbank, CA 91505, 818.840.4444, e-mail: knbc@nbc.com. "PEOPLE" ARE GOOD PEOPLE "People Magazine" has once again been inclusive of the gay and lesbian community in a fair and accurate manner. Following recent articles in the magazine about openly gay ice skater Rudy Galindo and the possibility of Friends' character Chandler (played by Matthew Perry) being gay, "People" features in its June 10th issue an eight page article about gay and lesbian parents ("Happy Families Are Not Alike"). Boasting 12 color photographs, the magazine paints an encouraging picture of real family values, profiling six families around the country. The article concludes, "Whatever rights and status individual gays may have achieved over the past 25 years, the notion of their living in quasi-nuclear families continues to inspire a good deal of uneasiness, if not outright hostility...Opposition to gays raising children seems even more deep-rooted, mostly on the grounds that the kids might turn out gay themselves. Yet there is scant evidence to support that view...As our profiles suggest, children of gay parents face a host of nettlesome, at times wrenching, issues. But many manage to make their peace with, and often thrive in, their untraditional circumstances." Please write "People Magazine" and thank them for such an insightful article and their continuing coverage of gay and lesbian issues. Contact: Landon Y. Jones, Jr., Managing Editor, "People Magazine", Time & Life Building, Rockerfeller Center, New York, NY 10020, fax: 212.522.0794, e-mail: 74774.1513@compuserve.com DIGNITY DENIED Is racism and homophobia behind the denial of burial reimbursement for Moses Preston Waller, an African American transvestite and prostitute who was killed during a robbery in Harlem last year? A request from his grandmother for reimbursement of burial expenses was denied by the New York State Crime Victims Board who stated that Waller's behavior "contributed to the infliction of his injury." However, the Board did reimburse the families of the female prostitutes killed by Joel Rifkin of Long Island. The New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project has filed an appeal on behalf of Waller's grandmother, Rosalie Roots. Please express your dismay and anger at the Board's apparent double standard in justice. Contact: Board Chairman Gennaro Fischetti, 845 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 BOYCOTT AT BARNES AND NOBLE The Barnes & Noble bookstore in Springfield, Illinois is facing a possible boycott by a local Christian fundamentalist group. Why? Because the bookstore has presented a display for Gay Pride Month. As a national chain, Barnes & Noble has been very gay friendly and provides partner benefits to same-gender couples. In smaller towns, where there is not a great deal of information readily available to the gay and lesbian community, this kind of visibility is important. Please contact the manager of Barnes & Noble in Springfield and let her know that you appreciate the great display and its importance to the local gay and lesbian community, particularly youth. Also write to the President of the national Barnes & Noble chain and thank him for being supportive of the gay and lesbian community. Contact: Kim Balinsky, Manager, Barnes & Noble, 3110 West White Oaks Drive, Springfield, IL 62704; Tom Tolworthy, President, Barnes & Noble, 120 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10011 GAY IS ELEMENTARY San Francisco's education community has joined forces with the gay and lesbian community to endorse a new film devoted to gay and lesbian education equity issues by exploring "what happens when teachers find creative, appropriate ways to confront anti-gay prejudice and counter gay invisibility in their classrooms." "It's Elementary Talking About Gay Issues in School", a film by Debra Chasnoff and Helen Cohen, has been endorsed by San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent of Schools Bill Rojas and Board of Education President Steve Phillips. Says Phillips, "School boards across the country have been banning discussion of lesbian and gay people in the classroom based on misinformation from anti-gay activists. This film puts a human face on classroom discussions that are crucial to preparing our children for the diverse communities of the 1990s. I urge my counterparts across the country to screen this extremely moving and powerful film for the educators in their districts-to inspire them to integrate responsible, appropriate education about gay issues into their classrooms." Please write Bill Rojas and Steve Phillips and thank them for their endorsement of this important film. Contact: San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent of Schools Bill Rojas, 135 Van Ness Avenue, Room 209, San Francisco, CA 94102; and Board of Education President Steve Phillips, 135 Van Ness Avenue, Board Office, San Francisco, CA 94102 from Women's Educational Media "CHRONICLE" FEATURES DENNIS RODMAN The June 6th issue of the "San Francisco Chronicle" featured a front page story ("As Gay as He Wants to Be - How Rodman's drag-queen style plays in the Castro") about Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Rodman. While not identifying as gay, Rodman has been a very outspoken advocate for the gay and lesbian community. The article highlights how "he is addressing homosexuality in a way that no other American male athlete has since former baseball player Glenn Burke" by his gender bending style. Please write the "San Francisco Chronicle" and thank them for their outstanding coverage of an outstanding athlete. Contact: Bill German, Managing Editor, "San Francisco Chronicle", 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, phone: 415.777.1111, e-mail: chronletters@sfgate.com The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of combating homophobia and all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. Copies of articles referred to in the GLAADAlert are available to our members by contacting GLAAD. Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org or by phone at 213.658.6775 (Los Angeles), 212.807.1700 (New York), 413.586.8928 (Northampton), 503.224.5285 (Portland, Oregon), 202.986.1360 (Washington, DC) or 415.861.2244(San Francisco). Visit GLAAD's Web Site at http://www.glaad.org "GLAADAlert," "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org VISIT THE GLAAD WEB SITE AT http://www.glaad.org! GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.