Date: Fri, 27 Sep 1996 16:42:11 -0700 From: glaad@glaad.org (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Subject: GLAADAlert 09.27.96 GLAADALERT September 27, 1996 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation TV Movie Tells Bottoms Story The September 22 ABC Sunday Night Movie, Two Mothers for Zachary, mirrors Sharon Bottoms' struggle to keep custody of her child after coming out as a lesbian. It sensitively explores the issues of how lesbian and gay parents get trapped between the homophobia of their relatives and the failure of the state to recognize lesbian and gay families as legitimate. Valerie Bertinelli plays the lesbian mom who loses her son to her mother (played by Vanessa Redgrave). As with the Bottoms case, the Virginia courts rule that she is an unfit mother because Bertinelli's character is in a committed live-in relationship with her lover (played by Colleen Flynn), and lesbian sex is illegal according to the state's sodomy law. The made-for-TV movie honestly portrays the struggles of the grandmother and mother, both of whom believe that what they are doing is morally right and in the best interests of the child. The relationship between Bertinelli's character and her partner is also surprisingly realistic, and is not compromised when the two share a passionate kiss. Please thank ABC for telling the story and presenting it in a way that, while showing the clear injustice of the Bottoms case, also gives all sides their humanity. Contact: Ms. Jamie Tarses, president, ABC, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, California 90067, fax: 310.557.7679, e-mail: abcaudr@ccabc.com. Lesbian Trade-Off in The First Wives Club The new Paramount studio release The First Wives Club, starring Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton, has undergone a sexuality switcheroo from the Olivia Goldsmith novel upon which it was based. The film does, however, wind up being both woman-positive and lesbian-sensitive. In the book, Bette Midler's character, Brenda, comes out as a lesbian, which has disappeared from the Hollywood hit. In the movie version Chris (Jennifer Dundas), the daughter of Annie (Keaton) is a lesbian. When Chris encourages her mother to look past her rose-colored glasses and acknowledge her husband's infidelity, Chris comes out to her mother. Annie quickly assimilates the information and moves on without being thrown. At one point in the movie, Annie, Elise (Hawn) and Brenda look for Chris at a lesbian bar. While Annie looks for Chris, Elise dances away with other women, including lesbian comedian Lea DeLaria. Brenda sits down at the bar and meets a lesbian who, like her, had her partner leave her for a younger lover, and the two commiserate over common ground. The upside of the lesbian character-swap is that the newly released edition of Goldsmith's novel features a promotional picture from the movie on its cover and will now bring a major lesbian protagonist to many reading audiences who otherwise might not choose to buy a book with such a gay-positive emphasis. The downside, of course, is that while the Chris character is a strong one, she doesn't have the same star-quality as she would if she were a principle character like Brenda. Please inform Paramount that while the recognition of lesbians as a part of the women's community and the fabric of life in general is valuable, the movie celebrates a lesbian character even as it marginalizes her. Ask them why the lesbian role got downgraded from principle-charater to a second-tier part, but thank them for the positive portrayal. Contact: Sherry Lansing, CEO, Paramount Pictures, 5555 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038, phone: 213.956.500, e-mail: clayton_carlisle@paramount.com. Crying Wolf??? An advertisement for Anheuser-Busch's Red Wolf beer running in Portland, Oregon and other markets either takes a shot at gay men, renders bisexuality invisible, or attacks bisexual men, depending on how one perceives it. In the ad, a deep voice-over describes a date between a woman and a man in which the woman pours her beer and watches it overflow. "Do you see the stream of a brewmaster's pride and joy slowly creep away from your coaster and head towards [the date's] left arm resting on the bar?" The voice-over continues, "Do you see yourself suddenly noticing the tattoo on his arm says, 'Chuck'?" Then there is a sudden record scratch sound effect, and a brief silence. "Fortunately most other dates and Red Wolf live happily ever after. See for yourself. Run with the Wolf." Does this mean that the date is a failure because the man is gay? Have they ignored the possibility that he may be bisexual? Or what is it about a man being bisexual that the ad assumes makes him instantly undesirable to the woman? What do you think? However you pour it, the ad comes up flat, stale and problematic. Write Anheuser-Busch and tell them what your interpretation of this heterosexist advertisement is. Contact: Mr. August A. Busch, III, CEO, Anheser-Busch Brewery, 1 Busch Street, St. Louis, MO 63118, fax: 314.577.2900, e-mail: budmaster@budweiser.com. A Very Gay People The September 30th People has three affirming pieces about gay men. In addition to naming The Death of Friends, the new mystery by gay author Michael Nava, "Page-Turner of the Week," there are stories about Ty Ross, the openly gay HIV-positive grandson of Barry Goldwater, and about a gay male couple who refurbished a dilapidated South Carolina mansion into their dream house. The Ty Ross story explains how he was instrumental to his famous conservative grandfather's support of lesbians and gay men in the military. It also details Ross' coming out at 15 to his supportive mother. The story carried a photo of Ross with his lover, ending with Ross quoting his grandfather, saying, "'The day is going to come when whether a person is gay or not isn't going to matter.'" In "This Old Mansion," the third gay-positive feature in the issue, the sexuality of a gay couple is treated as incidental to their adventures in real estate and publishing. As Greg Smith, one half of the couple, notes, "'Except for a couple of drive-by-hollerers, no one has seemed to care that we're gay.'" Please let People know that the on-going, non-sensational inclusion of stories about lesbians and gay men are appreciated and welcome. Contact: Norman Pearlstine, Editor-in-Chief, People magazine, Time & Life Building, Rockefeller Center, New York, New York 10020, fax: 212-552-0794, e-mail: editor@people.com. =46or Many Gay Couples, It's DOMA-Schmoma An excellent Los Angeles Times article from September 22 entitled "No Wedding Bell Blues for Gay Couples" tells how many lesbians and gay men are creating strong unions, planning families and building homes together regardless of the recent passage of the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Focusing on several lesbian and gay couples from Oklahoma City, author Melissa Healy notes that "the Senate's rhetoric, the subsequent votes and Clinton's signature are strangely irrelevant....In places such as Oklahoma City, gay and lesbian couples took the news with a measure of both resignation and equanimity. ...[DOMA] is but a temporary setback in the gradual assimilation of same-sex couples into mainstream culture. Judging from the experiences of same-sex partners here in America's heartland, that process is proceeding with or without the nation's political consent." Helen and Tina Stiemiller are budgeting new plumbing bills into the month's expenses as they discuss the possibility of having children. Don Hanks and Jack Wozniak have been together for 13 years. Still, the story notes, while DOMA has no effect on their relationship, it does affect their attitude. "'I forget that it's an issue with people,'" Wozniak says in the article, "'that there are people who hate me or are frightened by me. When something like this happens, I'm looking at it all over again for the first time. We should be able to use the same terms that everybody else uses." Amid all of the theorizing, political posturing and fire-and-brimstone Bible thumping of the recent debate, much of the mainstream media overlooked the very real people who live in committed, loving same-sex relationships, and Healy's article serves as a reminder that who wins the individual battles isn't as important as who wins the war. And for lesbians and gay men, time, social progress and justice are on our side. Thank the Los Angeles Times for a strong story about the humans who, while singled out by the political process for discrimination, are hardly single. Contact: Shelby Coffey, editor in chief, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, fax: 213.237.4712, e-mail: letters@latimes.com. Outside Magazine Dishonors Slain Lovers In the September issue of Outside magazine, an article entitled "Trail of =46ears" describes the brutal murder of 24-year-old Julianna Williams and 26-year-old Lollie Winans in Shenandoah National Park last May, but fails to mention that the two women were an openly lesbian couple. The story accuses the National Park Service of a "muddled" investigation, in which they implied "that the perpetrator either knew the victims or targeted them for a particular reason," and then a week later said that, "'We've not ruled out any motive.'" The story then goes on to explain that "Park Service investigators at least appear to be learning from their mistakes, but they aren't releasing any information, period. Unfortunately, this ongoing code of silence has left many hikers on edge." Yet Outside magazine doesn't feel that the two women's love for one another is worthy of inclusion in the story and has enforced its own "code of silence" about Williams and Winans that leaves many in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities "on edge". Tell Outside that by remaining silent on this central part of the two women's lives, they unpardonably fail to give them dignity and wholeness in death. Contact: Outside, 400 Market Street, Santa Fe, NM 87501, phone: 505.989.7100, web: http://outside.starwave.com. Men's Fitness Says It's Okay to Experiment with Sexuality An article entitled, "Sexual Disorientation" in the September issue of Men's Fitness explores the ways in which many college men experiment with both gay and straight sex before finding a comfortable sexual identity. According to Dr. David Landers, director of the student resource center at St. Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, "'One homosexual experience or 10 doesn't make a person gay any more than one or 10 heterosexual experiences necessarily make a personal heterosexual....Ask yourself what your primary sexual arousal pattern is over a period of time.'" The article explains that while "most psychologists agree that what definitely turns your screws is hard-wired into your brain, perhaps before age four," social forces might confuse the issue. Athletics, in particular, are culturally intolerant of any homosexual or bisexual desires, but that doesn't change the fact that many athletes are closeted gay or bisexual men who are afraid to unlock their identity. "As you evaluate what floats your boat," the article states, "resist the pressure you may feel to form tribal affiliations and push aside any fear you may have of being stereotyped, as well as your own stereotypes." As Landers puts it, "'The truth is, once you accept your sexuality, you get to define your sexual identity any way you want.'" Please thank Men's Fitness for this sensitive yet light article on a serious topic. Contact: Men's Fitness, 21100 Erwin Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367-3712, fax: 818.704.5734. Abby Is Pro-Choice The September 26 "Dear Abby" included a letter from a 40-year-old gay man in Bellevue, Washington, who asked Abby, "'What is a 'gay lifestyle'?'" He continues, "'Once a friend told me what he thought was a gay lifestyle, but by the sound of it, he was describing a single's lifestyle, gay or straight. Is that what some people mean, that is, a gay lifestyle is synonymous with a single lifestyle?'" Abby answers by referring the man to the Eric Marcus book Is It A Choice?. The book concludes that "'There is no such thing as a 'gay lifestyle,' just as there is no such thing as a heterosexual lifestyle. Gay and lesbian people, like heterosexual people, live in a variety of ways, from poor to middle-class to nouveau riche, from urban to rural.'" Thank Abby once again for her clarity about lesbian and gay issues. Contact: Dear Abby, Universal Press Syndicate, P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, California 90069. Both Ellen and Rosie Come Out As "Lebanese"-The All-Ellen Media Roundup: On both the September 24 Late Show with David Letterman and the September 25 The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Ellen Degeneres responded to questions about her character's coming out by playing off the word "Lebanese." On both shows she said that there have been subtle clues - her character eating baba ganoush and hummus, being a fan of Casey Kasem and Kathy Nijimby - which will lead up to the characters coming out as openly Lebanese. On the Late Show, Dave said that he endorsed the idea of her character being a lesbian, while Rosie responded by saying that since she was also a big fan of Casey Kasem, "maybe I'm Lebanese, too," Degeneres responded, "I pick up sometimes that you might be Lebanese." In a week of rumors and speculation, a flurry of articles appeared in the press, including: =85 The September 28 TV Guide containing the article which began the buzz appeared on newsstands nationwide. =85 The October 1 National Enquirer quotes Degeneres telling a source, "I'm coming out of the closet with my TV show because I want to deal openly and honestly with the issues of real women-including gay women." The article also speculates on the nature of Degeneres' relationship with Teresa Boyd. =85 Variety, drawing a thoughtless and absurd conclusion, quips in a September 20 item that "Ellen may be better off staying in the closet if the record low ratings for the show's season premiere are any indication." =85 An editorial in the September 22 San Francisco Chronicle entitled, "Just Let Ellen Be Ellen," says that Ellen would handle the coming out with a sense of propriety, adding, "come on out." =85 Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman writes in her September 23 column that, "this cycle of 'outness' is at the root of changed attitudes and policy. In a world where homosexuals are still demonized, it turns out that the most radical thing a woman can do is expose herself as a 'human being.' And to play one on TV." Please continue to write both Disney and ABC and insist that the pubic deserves the chance to see an openly lesbian Ellen. Remind the sponsors that the lesbian and gay community has a long history of remembering its allies, and that economic strength of the community far outweighs any small-minded boycott from the fringe. Contact: Dean Valentine, President of Network TV and Television Animation, Walt Disney and Touchstone Television, 500 South Biennia Vista Street, Burbank, California 91521-0001, phone: 818.560.5000 or go to Touchstone TV's comment page on the World Wide Web at http://www.tvplex.com/Note. For ABC: Ms. Jamie Tarses, President, ABC, 2040 Avenue of the Stars Los Angeles, California 90067, fax: 310.557.7679, e-mail: abcaudr@ccabc.com. For sponsor contacts, visit GLAAD's website at http://www.glaad.org or call 415.861.2244. Erratum: The September 13 GLAADAlert erroneously referred to Dennis Rodman as bisexual. To our knowledge, he does not identity as such. GLAAD regrets any confusion this may have caused. The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. GLAAD is the lesbian and gay news bureau and the only national lesbian and gay multimedia watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging 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 =46rancisco). Report defamation in the media by calling GLAAD's Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334) 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 TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. 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