Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 16:56:43 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert 10.26.96 GLAADALERT October 25, 1996 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation When Will The Military Stop Harassing Gays? Don't Ask. Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page wrote a thought provoking October 23 commentary on the recent Supreme Court decision not to hear former Lt. Paul Thomasson's argument that the Clinton Administration's "don't ask, don't tell" policy which violates lesbian and gay service members' free-speech rights. In the words of Page, "rest assured that more challenges will follow. In the meantime, 'don't ask, don't tell' has been in force for two years and as I initially supported it, although tentatively, I am disappointed by how badly it [has] worked." After recounting the drastic increase in the number of lesbians and gay men in the military discharged for homosexual orientation or conduct since the policy was instated, Page explains the many ways in which the loose wording of the policy leaves many servicemembers wide open for persecution. "Eventually, after much more debate, gays will be integrated into the military as they already have been integrated into most other aspects of American life," Page says. "When will it happen? Don't ask. But I can tell something is happening. The times are a-changin', even at the Pentagon." Please write to the Chicago Tribune and commend Clarence Page's reasoned and impassioned response to a total policy failure. Contact: Howard Tyner, Editor, Chicago Tribune, P.O. Box 4041, Chicago, IL 60611-4041, fax: 312.222.3143, e-mail: tribletter@aol.com. Ellen Come Out, Already! On October 22, Associate Press television writer Jennifer Bowles said that when it comes to Ellen, enough is enough. "Message to Ellen DeGeneres: Take a hint from Star Trek and boldly go where no man-or woman-has gone before," she writes. Bowles goes on to recount all of the innuendo over the past month or so, from DeGeneres claiming her character, Ellen Morgan, was really Lebanese, to her recent appearance at the Museum of Television & Radio, where she responded to speculation that the coming out was the most anticipated television moment since Dallas's "Who Shot J.R.?" episode, noting how strange it was that her character's sexuality could be perceived as more offensive to viewers than a man being shot. Bowles also notes that "in cyberspace, most of the reaction has been favorable," and that there are already nearly two dozen openly lesbian and gay supporting characters on television. She ends by charging, "Outta there, Ms. Morgan." The overwhelmingly positive response that Ellen and Disney have received for the character's possible coming out bodes well for the future. However, there is still a handful of religious radicals who have mounted an organized attempt to censor the openly lesbian character. Please write to AP and thank them for this light-hearted but important editorial, and keep sending those letters of support to ABC and Disney. Contact: Associate Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10020-1666, fax: 212.621.7520; Dean Valentine, President of Network TV and Television Animation, Walt Disney and Touchstone Television, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521-0001, phone: 816.560.5000 or Touchstone TV's comment page on the Web at http://www.tvplex.com/Note; For ABC: Jamie Tarses, President, ABC, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067, fax: 310.557.7679, e-mail: abcaudr@ccabc.com. It's a Mad, Mad World In the November issue of Mad magazine, the famous back-page fold-in features a group of protesters standing before the Congress holding a sign that says "Stop Merger Mania" and asks the question "What Proposed Merger is the Federal Government Moving Quickly to Block?" The answer, once the page is folded together so that "A" meets "B," reads, "SAME SEX MARRIAGE." The folded image is of two men being married before a priest with a supportive crowd looking on. The fold-in clearly supports same-gender marriage and is a satire of how, in the face of many real issues, the Congress has created the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to ban gay marriage. Write to Mad and let them know we are honored to be postively portrayed in the fold-in of the month. Contact: The Usual Gang of Idiots, Mad magazine, Department 351, 1700 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, fax: 212.506.4848, e-mail: On America Online, use "Alfred E-Mail"-use keyword: MAD. How to Hate an American Quilt A patently offensive editorial cartoon in Alabama's Birmingham News dishonors those who have died from AIDS-related causes and the powerful message of the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt. The cartoon shows the Quilt on the Washington Mall. In the foreground are two headstones, one with "Self-Restraint" written on it, the other saying "Personal Responsibility." The caption below reads, "Names missing from the AIDS Quilt." It is a cruel indicator of our society's ignorance about HIV when a large city's newspaper prints such a hateful and insensitive cartoon. Clearly, the tens of thousands of people memorialized by the Quilt did not choose to be HIV-positive, though many of them were courageous activists who exhibited a great deal of "personal responsibility" in battling the disease and fighting AIDS-phobia, homophobia and small-mindedness. While some people would prefer to give excuses for their intolerance towards this pandemic, the tragedy of AIDS should not be belittled by such a crass message of dismissal. Inform the Birmingham News that this kind of hate is intolerable and inexcusable. Contact: Readers Opinion's, Birmingham News, P.O. Box 2553, Birmingham, AL 35203, fax: 205.325.3346, e-mail: 70550.3405@compuserve.com. San Francisco Chronicle Says No to Sanctioned Sex Clubs The lead editorial of the October 21 San Francisco Chronicle disputes recent proposals to regulate the city's sex clubs, but misses the reasoning behind regulation. According to the editorial, "Supervisor Tom Ammiano's latest brainstorm of licensing group sex clubs in the city would be absurd, except that it is getting serious consideration from Mayor Willie Brown, the Health Department and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. We...are surprised that [they] seem to be ignoring the grim local history of AIDS and the part that gay bathhouses played in spreading HIV in the early 1980s before they closed." The editorial continues by saying that "San Francisco has seen the sad results of tolerating bathhouses and sex clubs, and should not license or endorse the kind of promiscuous, anonymous and potentially deadly dangerous activity that Ammiano's proposed law would sanction and encourage." The Chronicle seems to be confusing Ammiano's proposal to bring safety standards to currently operating sex clubs with its own apparent editorial desire to close down all private clubs which cater to men meeting to have sex. In San Francisco, sex clubs are not illegal. If the Chronicle thinks they should be, they should say so. But the actual issue of licensing is never really addressed by the editorial. Instead, it relies on the false assumption that "gay 'promiscuity' causes AIDS," when, of course, it is the unsafe sexual practices the licensing would work to prevent which increases the chances of HIV transmission. Write the Chronicle and tell them to get their story straight. Are they opposed to the proposed policy or just to gay sex clubs in general? Contact: William German, Editor, San Francisco Chronicle, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-2988, fax: 415.543.7708, e-mail: chronletters@sfgate.com. AIDS Buzz in the Beehive State An editorial in the October 22 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune viciously and inexplicably attacked the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt organizers as "radical AIDS activists" and accused those lobbying for greater healthcare funding for people with AIDS as being selfish. In an unfortunately familiar right-wing editorial, they make accusation that AIDS research and healthcare receives a disproportionate amount of government health funding. "How many other disease sufferers are guaranteed access to treatment or medications?" The editorial says, "What kind of government facilitates drug addiction with free needles?" The editorial goes on to link the NAMES Project with ACT UP's recent action at the White House where activists spread ashes of their loved ones on the White House lawn, saying, "These distasteful, in-your-face stunts generate less sympathy than resentment-especially among the many Americans touched by other chronic or fatal diseases who realize AIDS has long been a federal priority." To demonize the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt as "radical" is to detract from the very compassion to which it appeals. Needle exchange programs have time and again shown a real reduction in the spread of HIV and do not the increase drug use in those places where they are operating. To say that a needle exchange program promotes drug use is like saying a condom distribution program "promotes" sex. Finally, while many people with diseases need adequate health care which our country does not provide them, this is not the fault of AIDS activists or people with AIDS. It is the fault of a government that has turned its back on making health care for everyone a priority. Tell the Salt Lake Tribune that their overstated and irrational attack on the NAMES Project, on all AIDS activists and people with AIDS is shrill, offensive and misinformed. Contact: Letters to the Editor, Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, fax: 801.521.9418, e-mail: the.editors@sltrib.com. "Are Newspapers Too Gay-Friendly?" The September 28 issue of Editor & Publisher magazine, a journalism trade publication to which over 22,000 media outlets subscribe, included two article of importance and interest to the gay and lesbian community. The first, "The Process of Coming Out," is a personal and insightful profile of Berl Schwartz, a broadcast and print journalist for over 20 years. Schwartz, who spent many of those years in the journalistic closet, describes his journey to self-acceptance and his current role in helping make the newsroom a safe place to be openly gay or lesbian. The second article, "Are Newspapers Too Gay-friendly?," is based on a panel discussion at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association convention held recently in Miami, and addresses some of the complex issues concerning coverage of the gay and lesbian community. A major criticism leveled by some panelists, including openly lesbian journalist Bettina Boxall of the Los Angeles Times, was that coverage of gay issues is "too gay...we do too many simplistic, formulaic sappy stories....It's time for coverage of gay issues to move to a higher level." Others, like John Gallagher of the Advocate, felt that papers "don't want to offend their gay and lesbian readers." Other journalists, however, remain unconvinced-as do many activists and media consumers-and realize there is a great deal of work to be done until our lives are reflected in the media in the three-dimensional manner our community deserves. Please thank Editor& Publisher magazine for bringing these issues to the professionals who directly affect coverage of our community. Contact: Editor& Publisher, 11 West 19th St., NY, NY 10011, fax: 212.929.1259, e-mail: edpub@mediainfo.com. WWW: www.mediainfo.com. 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). 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 t-he 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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