Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 14:10:38 -0700
From: glaad@glaad.org (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
Subject: GLAADAlert 09.06.96

GLAADALERT

September 6, 1996
The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation

Omaha Newspaper Spews Old-Style Hate
The Omaha World-Herald is up to its old anti-gay tricks. A September 4
article about police raids of men accused of having sex in a local park
entitled "Lewd Activities Bring Vice Officers to Elmwood Park," reads like
a seedy police blotter from the sixties. It fails to interview any gay
people, not-so-subtlely equates homosexuality with child molestation and
reports with voyeuristic zeal the exploits of the vice squad. The story
quotes police Sgt. Ron Cole, saying "'You certainly don't want your kids
there.'" Later, the article states that "staff members of the city's Sun
Dawgs summer youth program complained about the activity that occurs just
west of where the children play all summer. [There have been] no reports
about children in the Sun Dawgs program being accosted." Sgt. Steve Clouse
also describes an episode where "a black Saab and an older model station
wagon passed though the park just before noon, 'trolling to see who's out
there.' As they did, a couple parked their car and took their little girl
into the park for a picnic lunch." The perpetuation of lies linking
homosexuality and the danger of child molestation is the most bigoted kind
of hysterical sensationalism.

"Lewd behavior" is never defined in the article. Instead, the story quotes
Sgt. Jim Deagan, saying, "'This problem has created such an unhealthy
environment for the city parks that we have every intent to literally take
back the parks....We're trying to ensure that we don't push that problem
onto mothers in other parks.'" While officers brag about  arresting more
than 60 men this summer, there is no real explanation of why the raids of
public bathrooms are so critical to the welfare of Nebraska's people, nor
is there ever a discussion of "victimless crimes." Neither gay nor civil
liberties activists are consulted.

Tell the Omaha World-Herald that their homophobic rant, sensationalistic
tone and lack of balance will not be tolerated. Using anti-gay stereotypes
is both offensive and harmful.
Contact: Omaha World-Herald, World-Herald Square, Omaha, NE 68102, fax:
402.345.4547, e-mail: pulse@novia.net.

Are All Arizona Politicians Gay?
On the heels of congressional Representative Jim Kolbe's (R-Ariz.) "coming
out" in early August, Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano announced on August 28 that
he, too, is gay. State Representative Ken Cheuvront (D-central Phoenix) is
openly gay. And recently, a candidate for the Arizona Legislature has also
been outed. This mass exodus from Arizona's political closet has prompted
the Phoenix Gazette to print a September 1 story entitled, "Forced
Disclosures Invade Private Lives." "Increasingly, politicians are telling
on themselves, buckling under the pressure of those who threaten to expose
their private lives," journalist Kris Mayes reports. Mayes notes that the
threat of outing is a political tool used by both lesbian and gay groups
and the radical right. The militant right-wing group Concerned Women for
America has recently threatened to out yet another member of the state
Legislature.

Along with quotes from outing detractors, Mayes peppers his story with
comments by sometime-outing proponent Kim Mills of the Human Rights
Campaign, who said that "there certainly are times that it [outing] may be
appropriate." In addition to all of the struggles Arizona politicians have
encountered post-outing, Mayes also cites several positive results of
outing, including enabling "other politicians to come forward without fear
of public humiliation and electoral defeat."

While the article's tone comes down squarely opposed to outing, Mayes and
the Phoenix Gazette are beginning to develop more well-rounded stories that
examine the issue in depth. Write the Phoenix Gazette and let them know
that more sophisticated analysis on the gay political spectrum is welcome.
Contact: Letters to the Editor, Phoenix Gazette, P.O. Box 2246, Phoenix, AZ
85002, fax: 602.271-8933, e-mail: gazeit@aol.com.

Dragging Out The Class of 1986
On August 31, an NBC special entitled The Class of 1986 featured a drag
queen and several frank discussions about homophobia. The program, created
by the producers of MTV's The Real World, followed a group of heterosexual
twentysomethings for four days leading up to their 10-year high school
reunion in Portland, Oregon. During one conversation in which a group of
"soc" (the popular crowd from high school) decide where to go out, a debate
ensues over whether or not to go to a gay dance club. While the majority
want to go, Joe, an ex-football player, vehemently protests, saying he
refuses to go to a "faggot" bar. The rest of the group questions his
homophobia and his ignorance. Later on, the group readdresses the issue,
and Joe is more explicitly labeled a bigot for his small-minded views.
Finally, during the reunion itself, a person named Kevin comes back to his
alma mater as his drag performance personae, Poison Waters, and entertains
his now-supportive former classmates.

Please let NBC know that the inclusion of the discussions about homophobia
was valuable and well-presented. Additionally, the non-sensational coverage
of Poison and his appearance at the reunion added a positive transgender
dimension to the program. While it was disappointing that none of the
fifteen or so individuals mainly featured for the show were openly lesbian,
gay, bisexual or transgender, The Class of 1986 showed that drag queens,
homophobia and gay-supportive straight people are all part of the mosaic of
the real world.
Contact: Jonathan Miller, programming vice president, NBC, 30 Rockefeller
Plaza, New York, NY 10112-0002, fax: 212.664.7234, e-mail:
entertainment@nbc.com.

Hawaii Newspaper Blasts Overzealous Gay Witch Hunt
Following last week's U.S. News & World Report expose on the aggressive
violations of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" at Honolulu's Hickam Air Force Base,
an August 29 Honolulu Star-Bulletin editorial makes it clear that the
military witch hunt has got to stop. After citing a number of violations
around the world of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by the U.S. Military, the
editorial asserts that "in Hawaii, the Air Force has declared war on
homosexuals. The Air Force clearly interprets the 'Don't ask, Don't tell'
policy as allowing it to question service personnel about the sexual
orientation of others. The Air Force is 'asking' a great deal." It sums up
by stating that, "while sodomy is a violation of the military code, the
military is being too aggressive in finding out about and prosecuting cases
of homosexual acts. Military commanders should restore privacy rights and
take to heart the first part of President Clinton's order: 'Don't ask.'"

Please let the Star-Bulletin know that their call for sanity and support
for personal liberty and privacy is appreciated and warranted.
Contact: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080,
Honolulu, HI 96802, e-mail: letters@starbulletin.com.

Mr. Jenkins' Speech Slurred: Outs Waitress
In a Tanqueray advertisement that has appeared in several magazines
recently, including Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, the normally
queer-supportive Mr. Jenkins makes a bad judgment call in outing his
waitress as a transsexual. The ad reads, "Mr. Jenkins informs the brunch
crowd that his zesty 'Tanqueray Red Snapper' was the original 'Bloody
Mary.' And that the waitress was originally a man."

While seeming fairly innocuous, this advertisement has several disturbing
undertones. Whether intentional or otherwise, the transsexual waitress is
used as the punch line to Mr. Jenkins' joke, made out to be outrageous,
shocking and funny both in tone and in the visual context of the ad, where
one woman sits in mouth-agape amusement.  Additionally, saying that a
transsexual was "originally a man" is similar to saying that a gay person
was originally straight. While transsexuals may originally have male or
female genitalia, gender is far more complex than biology alone. To reduce
their identity to the biological make-up of their birth is to demean their
sense of self. As with gay people, straight people, or anyone else,
transsexuals are who they are, and have always been transsexual, whether or
not they previously identified as such.

Tanqueray and their ad agency for the Mr. Jenkins campaign, Deutsch, have
always been gay-positive, and Tanqueray has given a great deal of support
and sponsorship to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community
through events like the AIDS Ride. Please help Mr. Jenkins become educated
and more sensitive about transgender issues.
Contact: Mr. Jenkins, c/o Margaret Hekker-Conway, media supervisor,
Deutsch, Inc., 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10003.

A Beacon of Truth for Gay Children
The August 20 Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal ran a sensitive and
thought-provoking story entitled "Living With an Unsettling Secret," about
the struggle that young children face when they begin to realize that they
are gay. Through interviews with Mary Ann Cantwell, author of the book
Homosexuality: The Secret a Child Dare Not Tell, as well as parents of gay
children and gay men, Beacon Journal staff writer Thrity Umrigar explores
the ways that pre-adolescent children often feel that they should hide
their homosexuality even before they know how to identify themselves as
lesbian or gay. As Mike Mahern, a gay man, puts it, "I knew in a vague way
(that I was different) when I was 5 or 6, but at the same time I knew the
need for circumspection."

Umrigar also explains that it is important for parents to talk about
lesbian and gay issues when a child is young. Confiding in a parent can
make a child feel more comfortable when trying to articulate sexual
identity in early adolescence. Additionally, according to psychologist
Karen Cimini, "simply expose your child to a multitude of role models, both
gay and straight." Finally, several of the people interviewed encouraged
parents to overcome their own homophobia so if they do have a gay child,
they will be able to talk about the subject with sensitivity and openness.
As Cantwell says at the end of the article: "'How much richer we'd all be
if these children could grow up knowing they are fine the way they are.'"

Please commend the Akron Beacon Journal for a well-prepared and thoughtful
discussion on an issue frequently not discussed by parents, much less the
mainstream media.
Contact: Letters to the editor, Akron Beacon Journal,  P.O. Box 640, Akron,
OH 44309-0640, fax: 216.376.9235, e-mail: beaconjrnl@aol.com,.

PlanetOut Lands on The Site
On September 4, Denise Caruso of MSNBC's news program on interactive media,
The Site, welcomed Karen Wickre and Tom Rielly, executive producer and
president, respectively, of PlanetOut and co-founders of Digital Queers.
PlanetOut recently launched on the World Wide Web and America Online.

On The Site, Wickre and Rielly spoke of how they came to form Digital
Queers to offer technology support and resources to the gay and lesbian
community and how PlanetOut seemed to be the next logical step towards
reaching out to the community. Rielly explained that the Internet has
become a central means of connecting to the community for gay men and
lesbians, especially those in isolated areas, adding that the anonymity of
cyberspace allows those struggling with their sexual orientation a place to
gain support.

Please thank The Site for recognizing the important work of Digital Queers
and for citing queer technology pioneers Karen Wickre and Tom Rielly as two
of the most fascinating contributors to the Internet.
Contact: Denise Caruso, The Site, 535 York Street, San Francisco, CA 94110,
fax: 415.437.5881, e-mail: zdtvhome@zd.com, WWW: www.thesite.com.

Working Woman Comes Out
The July/August Working Woman featured a story about lesbians coming out in
corporate America, examining the various reasons why more management-level
lesbians are coming out now than ever before-and why some still feel they
must stay in the closet. Citing domestic partnership benefits, increased
understanding and sensitivity in the corporate culture and
anti-discrimination policies, the article profiles a number of powerful
women who are out of the closet and climbing the corporate ladder. In
addition to all of the structural changes in corporate America, the article
notes, younger lesbians are less willing to live a lie once they graduate
from college, and their presence in the ranks is being felt. However,
author Kara Swisher notes, "the process remains a risky career move....A
lesbian faces a double bind. She differs in not one but two important ways
from straight male executives, who still tend to surround themselves with
similar colleagues at the very top of the ladder."

Let Working Woman know that their recognition of the struggles and
victories of management-level lesbians was pertinent and well-researched.
Contact: Lynn Povich, editor-in-chief, Working Woman, 230 Park Avenue, New
York, NY 10169.

The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation.

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