Date: Fri, 19 Dec 1997 20:57:09 -0500 From: glaad@glaad.org (GLAAD) Subject: GLAADALERT December 19, 1997 GLAADALERT December 19, 1997 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation 1) "GLAADAlert" Follow-Up: UPI Gets It (United Press International) 2) "EW" Names Ellen "Entertainer of the Year" (Entertainment Weekly) 3) Gay Sites Netted in Cyber Patrol Sting (Microsystems Software, Inc.) 4) "90210" Goes Homo for the Holidays (Spelling Entertainment and Fox Broadcasting Company) 5) Kinnear is "As Good As it Gets" (TriStar Pictures) 6) "Us" Has "Double Vision" (Us Magazine) 7) AFA Finds "'Ellen' Watch" Irresistible...Again! (GLAAD) GLAADAlert Follow-Up: UPI Gets It After receiving an October 24 GLAADAlert on a highly sensational October 22 United Press International (UPI) story that points the finger at the gay community for spreading the use of methamphetamines, representatives of the wire service pledged to examine the story, and issued a statement on Tuesday acknowledging GLAAD's complaints. "A national study calls methamphetamine abuse the most difficult addiction to treat and ranks it as California's fastest growing drug problem," the offensive UPI story began, adding "There are reports that in the San Francisco gay community, use of meth is related to 'marathon sex,' which is often unprotected. Its popularity in the gay community is now spreading to blue collar workers, young professionals and college students...". UPI Assistant General Manager Tom Gauger expressed concern over the story in conversations with GLAAD, noting that the otherwise reputable wire service had no desire to appear biased or sloppy in its reportage. He asked GLAAD to examine the initial report to ascertain whether or not the bias came from the journalist or the initial report on which the story was based. Pulse Check: Special Report, Methamphetamine Trends in Five Western States and Hawaii, by the Office of National Drug Policy, does connect San Francisco gay usage to "marathon sex," but this is a minor part of a much larger report. The UPI writer exclusively highlighted the San Francisco user data while ignoring the findings on users in the larger cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, both of which have more widespread problems. Moreover, the study clearly states that in statewide usage: "There are two basic profiles of users: 1) students, both high school and college age, males and females, and, 2) white, blue collar workers or unemployed persons in their twenties." When provided with this evidence, UPI then reviewed their story. On Tuesday, December 16, they issued the following statement: "Thanks for your letter-your points are valid. The story does not meet out standards and can be read in a way that gives a misleading impression out of context of the original report. We strive for accuracy, fairness and balance in our news reports and all those involved in this one have been reminded of that." Please write UPI and let them know that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community appreciates their acknowledgment. However, suggest to them that UPI institute sexual orientation trainings for its journalists, and issue guidelines on bias-free journalism to its staff so that incidents like this can be averted in the future. Contact: John Walston, Director of Editorial, UPI, 1400 Eye Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005, fax: 202.898.8064, e-mail: jwalston@upi.com. EW Names Ellen "Entertainer of the Year" Entertainment Weekly's (EW) "Best of 1997" issue (December 26, 1997) names Ellen DeGeneres "Entertainer of the Year" in a story that articulates a number of the openly gay star's contributions to television and popular culture. "Ellen DeGeneres is Entertainer of the Year because, at a time when an acknowledgment of homosexuality has entered all aspects of popular culture, when diversity and acceptance are the words of the day but by no means entirely the deeds, and when more and more of the sizable population of homosexual men and women working in the entertainment industry today are weighing the risks of coming out themselves, DeGeneres allowed herself to became a poster girl-not for lesbianism, but for honesty," EW writes. "She did good, important work, work that continues to shape the public discourse." EW also singled out openly gay entertainer Elton John as its number nine pick. Please acknowledge EW for recognizing DeGeneres' many talents and her positive influence on the evolving discussion of diversity and inclusion for all Americans. Contact: James W. Seymore, Jr., Managing Editor, Entertainment Weekly, 1675 Broadway, New York, NY 10019-5895, fax: 212.522.0074, e-mail: letters@ew.com. Gay Sites Netted in Cyber Patrol Sting Cyber Patrol, a leading Internet filtering software being used in homes, schools and libraries across the country, has recently been blocking the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender area of one of the Internet's most popular communities, a "neighborhood" called "WestHollywood" on Geocities. Geocities is a company that provides free Web space and archives sites into specific "neighborhoods" based on common interests. WestHollywood houses approximately 23,000 Web sites devoted to lesbian and gay interests (including sites such as Gay Hockey and the National Black Lesbian & Gay Leadership Forum's Young Adult Program). Microsystems Software, Inc, Cyber Patrol's manufacturer, said that the decision was made due to WestHollywood containing a large number of sites that displayed "nudity" or "pornographic images." Cyber Patrol is used by Internet giant America Online, Compuserve and the Boston Library, whose users will no longer be able to access the area. Bob Parker, Geocities' WestHollywood Community Leader Liaison, however, noted Geocities' clear guidelines to creating a Web page in the community. Those who use Geocities are prohibited from: "Displaying material containing nudity or pornographic material of any kind; Providing material that is grossly offensive to the online community, including blatant expressions of bigotry, prejudice, racism, hatred, or profanity; Displaying material that exploits children under 18 years of age." When GLAAD ran a spot check of 100 sites on Geocities, it found that 2/3 of the sites contained nothing that could even be perceived as nudity. The other 1/3 of the sites contained photos that had partial nudity (example - a shirtless man). GLAAD also noted that WestHollywood was rich with important informational and support resources. When GLAAD approached Dick Gorgens, CEO of Microsystems Software, last week he admitted, "Upon my review, you were absolutely correct in your assessment that the subdirectory block on WestHollywood is prejudicial to the Gay and Lesbian Geocities community. We took the 'easier' approach to blocking the small number of actionable non-nudity publishers in that area rather than individually sanctioning them. Taking that technique to the limit would have us pull the plug on the entire Internet which is obviously not our plan." Gorgens also pledged that, "Over the next week the problem will be corrected." A week later, however, the blocks still remain in place. Please write Microsystems Software and let them know how you feel about this discriminatory move and urge them to lift the block. Contact: Dick Gorgens, CEO, Microsystems Software, Inc., 600 Worcester Road, Framington, Massachusetts 01701, e-mail: dickg@microsys.com; Cyber Patrol's Web page is located at http://www.cyberpatrol.com. 90210 Goes Homo for the Holidays On the December 17 episode of Beverly Hills 90210, David stops a gay teenager, Ben, from killing himself in a fit of despair. David takes on a job at a local carwash and befriends Ben, another carwash employee who lives in a storage room above the carwash because his parents kicked him out of the house when he came out to them. "I can deal with being gay," he tells David, "I just can't handle having my parents' hate me." Still in high school, Ben decides to try once more to reach out to his parents by presenting them with Christmas gifts. Stopping by when his father is at work, Ben is warned off by his mother who tells him he has disappointed his father by being gay, "Your life-it will be so different now." Ben is crushed by this and says, "My dad hates me. I make him sick." David confronts Ben's mother and tells her that if Ben has a problem it is "not because he's gay. It's because he's 17 and he's sleeping in a carwash. He's all alone." Ben then suddenly tells David that he's going to live with an aunt and uncle he had never mentioned before and that David was the only person who was "cool" with his coming out. When David realizes the story is a fabrication, he races back to the carwash and tells Ben he knows he is lying. David notices Ben is hiding something behind his back and demands to see what turns out to be a razorblade. David tells Ben, "Your dad's not worth that," to which Ben cries out, "Then what am I worth?" David decides to address Ben's parents again but is turned away by Ben's father who says "Ben made his own choice." David replies, " Look, he's gay- I don't think that's a choice....You've got a choice: a gay son or a dead son." David takes Ben back to his house and lets him sleep on the couch. On Christmas Eve, Ben's parents' make a surprise appearance at Kelly and Brandon's party and invite Ben to come home. Ben's father tells him, "We just want the best for you. I've made mistakes. I'll probably make more because I really don't understand. But I'll try...you're my son." During the sometimes stressful holiday season, many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are shut out of the regular family events because of their family's discomfort with sexual orientation issues. 90210's brief but poignant look at the complex issue of gay teenagers and suicide comes at a time when many will be looking for advice on how to handle themselves in these situations. Please thank the producers of 90210 and FOX for this holiday gift of hope. Contact: … Beverly Hills 90210, Spelling Entertainment, 5700 Wilshire Blvd., #575, Los Angeles, CA 90036, fax: 213.965.5808; … Peter Roth, Entertainment President, Fox Broadcasting Company, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064-2606, fax: 310.369.7363; or call the viewer hotline at 310.369.3066. Kinnear is As Good As it Gets On December 25, TriStar Pictures will release multiple Golden Globe nominee As Good As it Gets, directed by James L. Brooks and starring Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Gregg Kinnear, who portrays a gay man in the film. Simon Nye (Kinnear) is an artist who lives across the hall from Melvin (Nicholson), a bigoted, homophobic, generally all around offensive and flawed man. When Simon is robbed and beaten, forcing him to spend time in the hospital, Melvin is asked to take care of Simon's dog. This and a subsequent road trip with Melvin and his love interest (Hunt) forces all the characters to come to a greater understanding of each other and for Melvin to confront his own homophobia. Kinnear, who was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for this performance, portrays a flawed, yet three dimensional gay man who battles his own issues of depression, parental rejection and internalized homophobia throughout the film. Melvin's attitude and bigoted references aimed at Simon may cause many to squirm in the theater, but the issues Simon face are real, and often heartbreaking. Please contact the film's producers and acknowledge their contribution to bringing a multi-faceted gay character to the big screen. Contact: Laurence Mark, Richard Sakai and Laura Ziskin, Executive Producers, As Good As it Gets, TriStar Pictures, The TriStar Building, 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, feedback form: http://www.spe.sony.com/Pictures/feedback.html#feedback. Us Has "Double Vision" In the January 1998 issue of Us Magazine, writer Stacey D'Erasmo takes an interesting and fresh look at both actress/comedian Ellen DeGeneres and her on screen persona, Ellen Morgan. In "Double Vision," D'Erasmo explores the differing points at which DeGeneres and Morgan are at in their lives, be they real or TV fiction, and how those differences have caused a "chasm" of perceptions by the media and general public. "While the Morgan story may cause one discomfort, the DeGeneres story causes more," she writes. "It's one thing to aver carefully to Diane Sawyer that, yes, you're gay, tearing up as you explain how hard it can be, but quite another to poach a starlet, fight a network and completely overhaul an expensive prime-time sitcom." Calling Morgan an "ingenue" and "hip lesbian Gidget," D'Erasmo points out that now "everyone in the country who has turned on the TV in the past 10 months can plainly see that you can be a gay adult with a full, complicated life and beautiful lover and a house and even a supportive family but there will be some places-prime time, for instance-where you have to pretend to be less than that." She concludes, "Ellen Morgan is showing what it's like to exalt in the first blush of grasping your identity. Ellen DeGeneres is showing what it's like to live, day by day, in the gap between who you really are and what the world can stand to know about it." Besides moving beyond the anti-gay, anti-Ellen rhetoric that often accompanies these types of commentaries, Us explores the fraught cultural aspects that both Ellens' are caught in. D'Erasmo goes beyond the hype of a frenzied debate on so-called "morality" issues, and looks at the difficult predicament that being gay and being a star holds for Ellen DeGeneres. Please acknowledge both Stacey D'Erasmo and Us Magazine for an interesting and intelligent look the Hollywood milestone that Ellen Morgan and Ellen DeGeneres have become. Contact: Stacey D'Erasmo, Reporter, and Barbara O'Dair, Editor, Us Magazine, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10104-0295, fax: 212.767.8204, e-mail: us@usmagazine.com. AFA Finds 'Ellen' Watch Irresistible...Again! The American Family Association (AFA), in its quest to derail diversity on American television, has taken to using GLAAD's 'Ellen' Watch on a regular basis. Every Thursday, GLAAD produces 'Ellen' Watch, which gives subscribers a synopsis of the previous night's episode, and lists the advertisers who appeared. This is the second incident of the AFA appropriating GLAAD's work, for the most part word-for-word, for their own narrow-minded, anti-gay agenda, and releasing it as an "AFA Action Alert." Compare these two paragraphs: GLAAD's (12.18.97): "When Ellen gives Laurie a key to her house as part of a one month anniversary present, Laurie assumes that Ellen is asking her and Holly to move in. Ellen then tells her the truth, which causes a rift between them. Laurie, worried about her and Holly's emotional future, breaks off her relationship with a heartbroken Ellen." The AFA's (12.19.97): "The ABC/Disney program continued to push the homosexual agenda on the 12/17/97 episode when Ellen gives Laurie a key to her house as part of a one month anniversary present. Laurie assumes that Ellen is asking her and Holly to move in. Ellen then tells her the truth, which causes a rift between them. Laurie, worried about her and Holly's emotional future, breaks off her relationship with a heartbroken Ellen." This example was followed by the very same advertiser information that GLAAD compiled. Contact for contact! After the AFA used "Ellen" Watch last month, GLAAD began including the following at the end of every "Ellen" Watch e-mail: "'Ellen' Watch may be freely distributed and reprinted in all forms of media under the condition that any text used carry the full attribution of 'Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).'" Buddy Smith, Editor of the "AFA Action Alert," did not return phone calls or e-mail sent by GLAAD. The e-mail in part read, "While [GLAAD is] flattered that you find our 'Ellen' Watch so helpful, [we] would ask that you give us the proper credit when using our materials." Please do not let the AFA's narrow-minded hate be the only voice that these advertisers hear! To receive "Ellen Watch" every Thursday, simply respond to this e-mail (if you are receiving this GLAADAlert via e-mail) or contact GLAAD at glaad@glaad.org and ask to be added to the list. AFA subscribers get GLAAD's "Ellen" Watch, why shouldn't you?! The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation in the media as a means of challenging homophobia and all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org or by phone at 213.658.6775 (Los Angeles), 212.807.1700 (New York), 415.861.2244 (San Francisco), 202.986.1360 (Washington, DC), and 404.607.1204 (Atlanta) Feel free to pass GLAADAlert on to friends, family and associates! 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