Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1996 15:54:49 -0800 From: glaad@glaad.org (Gay &Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Subject: GLAADAlert 10.04.96 GLAADALERT October 4, 1996 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation GLAADAlert Update: Surfing Apology Makes a Little Splash After the September 20 GLAADAlert reported a viciously anti-lesbian article in the November 1996 Surfing Magazine, Editor-in-Chief Nick Carroll now promises to publish an apology in the February 1997 issue. The apology reads: "I apologize if people were offended by Jamie's recent comments on the state of women's pro surfing in the 1980s. His views on the sexuality and appearance of women surfers of the time are not necessarily my views, nor those of the publisher's [sic]." Please let Mr. Carroll know that while his expressed regrets are a step in the right direction, the incredibly offensive language of the article, including accusations that women's surfing was "poisoned by a bunch of manly she-hims" and that "a herd of lesbians deflated the marketing potential for the package called 'women's pro surfing,'" warrant a stronger response. Demand to know what exactly are the editorial views "on the sexuality and appearance of women surfers." Contact: Nick Carroll, editor-in-chief, Surfing, P.O. Box 3010, San Clemente, CA 92674, fax: 714.498.6485, e-mail: surfing@netcom.com. Breaking Up is Hard to Do, Relativity Speaking Two new fall season shows on ABC explored the commonality between gay and straight heartbreak last week. In an episode of Relativity that aired both on September 28 and October 1, Rhonda, the lesbian sister of the male lead, Leo, gets dumped by her girlfriend Sylvia and commiserates about it with both her brother and his new girlfriend, Isabelle. Rhonda, played by Lisa Edelstein, is sensitively portrayed as she comes to grips with the reality that her relationship is over. While staying at Leo's house until she can find her own place, Rhonda bonds with Isabelle, who is breaking up with her fiancee. The two women share a bed one night, while Leo sleeps on the couch, and talk about the difficulties of saying goodbye and moving on. On the October 1 Spin City Carter (played by Michael Boatman), the gay African-American character, talks with Mike (Michael J. Fox) about the stress that high-pressure jobs can put on relationships. "I lived with a guy for two and a half years," he says. "It's exactly the same [as it is with straight relationships] except we get to skip the whole toilet seat argument thing." Mike notes, "There's a perk." Carter responds, "You know it. I was always busy with work and never had time for him." Mike takes this to heart in light of his own relationship and the amount of time he has to spend there. Please thank ABC for two shows with lesbian and gay characters that are portrayed in an accurate, honest, sincere and natural way and are treated as part of the mosaic of life. Contact: Jamie Tarses, president, ABC, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, California 90067, fax: 310.557.7679, e-mail: abcaudr@ccabc.com; Peter Chernin, CEO, Twentieth Century Fox, P.O.Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, fax: 310.277.2211. Hot New Lesbian Thriller Bounds into Theaters Kicking off a fall season of films with lesbian and gay protagonists is the Gramercy Pictures release Bound, a fast-paced and exciting thriller starring Gina Gershon (Showgirls) and Jennifer Tilly (Bullets Over Broadway) as two lesbians who try to dupe some mobsters and make away with two million dollars. The film, in which the sexuality of the women is integral to the plot without being either sentimental or sensationalist, has already screened well in film festivals around the country and is expected to do well at the box office when it opens nationally tonight, October 4. Please let Gramercy know that they are expanding the diversity of roles and representations for lesbians in the movies, and that pushing of the boundaries of lesbian and gay inclusion in Hollywood is vital to a more inclusive cultural landscape. Contact: Gramercy Pictures, 9247 Alden Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, fax: 310.777.1966. 20/20 Exposes Lesbian Teenager's Torture in Psychiatric Hospital A segment of 20/20 on September 27 featured Lyn Duff, a young woman who, as a teenager, was forcibly placed into Rivendell, a private hospital in Utah, in an attempt to "cure" her homosexuality. In addition to examining the ways in which such hospitals psychologically torment and emotionally shatter young gays like Duff, the story put a very human face on the issue of lesbian and gay street youth. After escaping from the hospital and her mother, Duff was a homeless runaway for several years, like many other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth who are either shunned or attacked by their parents for their sexual orientation. Also interviewed for the story was Phylis Burke, author of Gender Shock, which reveals the systematic ways in which gender identity (and sexual identity) is enforced and regulated by some in the medical and psychiatric community. "It's child abuse, plain and simple," said Burke. When asked by reporter Tom Jerriel at the end of the story how she would feel if she had a lesbian daughter, anchor Barbara Walters answered, "I'd say 'You're my daughter and I love you,' because I do," adding, "Most experts do feel homosexuality is a condition you are born with and is rarely reversible and certainly not in a mental institution." After heavily sighing, she said, "When do we become enlightened?" The only slip in the story was made by Jerriel who, while interviewing Duff, asked if she would reconcile with her mother if she said, "'I understand. I'm happy with that lifestyle you've chosen.'" Please commend 20/20 for this excellent report and especially thank Barbara Walters for her insightful and heartfelt response. Remind Tom Jerriel, however, that being lesbian or gay is not a "lifestyle choice," and it is the assumption that we have a "choice" that misleads unhappy people into thinking that homosexuality can be "cured." Contact: Victor Newfeld, Executive Producer, 20/20, 147 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10023, fax: 212.456.2969, e-mail: abc@aol.com. Moesha Outs and Disses Gay Schoolmate On the UPN show Moesha that aired October 1, the title character (played by Brandy Norwood) displays unchallenged homophobia when she finds out that Omar, the new kid in school, is gay. The story is unveiled when Moesha and Omar (Chris Lobban) are hanging out together in a restaurant and a flamboyant gay man enters, hugs Omar, and asks him if he is going to a party in Silverlake (a gay district in Los Angeles). When Moesha starts outing Omar around school, she is criticized for spreading gossip. When Omar does come out to another character, the friends that objected to Moesha's gossip return to her side. The storyline seems to vindicate Moesha's homophobia by excusing her behavior when the new kid in school turns out to be gay after all. Moesha's ostracizing and outing of Omar is homophobic and offensive, but this goes unsaid in the program, which tries to make the main issue whether or not Moesha's friends believe her. In a time when lesbian and gay youth still face profound discrimination from both peers and school administrators, it is shameful that UPN has allowed a character on one of its flagship shows to be outed, insulted for being gay and subjected to the bigotry of his peers. Explain to UPN that the main issue is the homophobia of both Moesha and her friends, and that it is unpardonable that this central issue gets ignored. Contact: Lucie Salhany, UPN, 11800 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90025, fax: 310.575.7210. Ellen Extravaganza in Entertainment Weekly The cover of the October 4 Entertainment Weekly featured Ellen Degeneres and a headline reading "Gay TV: Should Ellen Join the 22 Gay Characters Appearing On Prime Time?" The magazine carried a major article discussing the myriad of issues around character Ellen Morgan's potentially history-making coming out mid-season on the ABC show, as well as several side items, including a poll (in which 72% of respondents said they would not be offended by an openly gay lead character on TV) and a list of celebrity suggestions on how to come out. Additionally a gay "wish list" mentioned other TV characters that EW wanted to see "declare their true sexuality," including Chandler and Joey from Friends, Niles from Frasier and Fran from the Nanny (rather than just being from Queens, "the secret could be that she is a queen. A drag queen."). While the general tone of the Ellen feature was humorous and upbeat, it also examined the very real issues of homophobia in Hollywood, the intolerance and threats of sponsor boycott by the radical religious right and the fine line that Ellen Degeneres would have to tread as "a woman whose sexual preference has been questioned in supermarket tabloids, the gay press, and New York magazine." Summing up, the article notes that if Ellen's character came out, "the comedian would be seen as courageous, a Rosa Parks of gay entertainment...If she doesn't, the biggest losers appear to be Disney, which will look as though it gave in to pressure and ignorance. The company would forever be the mouse that squeaked." Please thank Entertainment Weekly for a comprehensive, affirming and well-reasoned article on this potentially ground-breaking moment in television history. Contact: Entertainment Weekly, 11766 Wilshire Boulevard, 17th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90025, fax: 310.268.7610. S.F. Dailies Recognize Lesbian and Gay Parents Both the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner have recently featured contributors criticizing the shameful state of the legal system in protecting lesbian and gay parents and their children. Columnist Jeff Stryker wrote an Examiner article entitled, "Who Gets Custody? Killer Dad or Lesbian Mom?," about the much-publicized Florida case in which an appellate court refused to grant custody to the lesbian biological mother, preferring instead the father, who had murdered his first wife. "The family values espoused (if not always lived) by social conservatives involve a family with a married heterosexual couple at the helm. Such a cramped vision does not begin to address the diversity of family arrangements in today's America," Stryker writes. "Eventually the law will catch up when legislators and judges wake up and realize that children benefit who two adults share the rights and responsibilities associated with child rearing-even if the adults are two men or two women." An October 1 San Francisco Chronicle editorial by University of California, Davis Professor Judith Stacey attacks opponents of legalized same-sex marriage and of same-sex second parent adoptions on the grounds that they ignore the best interest of children because of irrational hatred and intolerance. Stacey illustrates her argument with the concrete example of co-parent Janine Ratcliffe and her daughter Kristin's struggle to stay together after Kristin's biological mother died. Stacey notes that "until same-sex couples enjoy the right to marry, the same logic makes it unjust, irrational and against the state's interest to apply a marriage restriction to lesbian or gay adoptive parents." In California, Governor Pete Wilson is attempting to do just that. "When will the champions of two-parent families-President Clinton and Governor Wilson among them-open their eyes, minds and hearts enough to recognize invisible families like Kristin's?" she asks. Please let the Examiner and Chronicle know that the inclusion of this vital and timely editorial is appreciated and encourage them as a newspaper to come out against the Governor's homophobic and cynically political attempt to restrict second-parent adoptions. Contact: Phil Bronstein, Editor, San Francisco Examiner, 110 5th Street, San Francisco, CA 94111, fax: 415.512.1264, e-mail: sfexaminer@examiner.com; William German, editor, San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-2988, fax: 415.512.8196. Fox's Lush Life Becomes First Fall Casualty Lush Life, a new Fox program which aired on Monday nights throughout September, had a positive openly gay character named Nelson Margarita Marquez played by actor John Ortiz. However, this show is now in the past tense, and after just four episodes, has the dubious distinction of being the first new show of the season to be canceled. Whatever the quality of the show, please thank Fox for their inclusiveness, and let them know that, if only for a brief moment, it was nice to know the character. Contact: Fox Broadcasting Company, P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90123, fax: 310.369.1433, e-mail: foxnet@delphi.com. October is Lesbian & Gay History Month The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announces that October is "Lesbian & Gay History Month: A Celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History." The third annual event commemorates a global gay legacy too often ignored. Throughout the month, nationwide observances will honor the lesbian and gay historical figures and events that helped shape the modern world. On October 4, in the nation's capital, GLAAD, The Advocate and the House of Seagram present "The Long Road to Freedom," a stirring scrapbook of modern lesbian and gay history. Other events will take place nationally on college campuses, bookstores and libraries and on the Internet. GLAAD's organizing primer and educational brochures and posters are being distributed to local community-based groups. For more information, call GLAAD at (800) GAY-MEDIA or e-mail at glaad@glaad.org. The official History Month World Wide Web page, with a challenging interactive quiz, is located at www.glaad.org/glaad/history-month. Check it out! What are you doing to celebrate? GLAAD is compiling a list of events around the country that revolve around the celebration of Lesbian & Gay History Month. Please let us know what events are going on in your community. E-mail us at history.project@glaad.org. 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 Francisco). 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