Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 16:29:48 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert -- January 28, 1999 GLAADALERT January 28, 1999 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation 1) Fox Files: Turn Up The Heat 2) Intel: Outed By A Chip? 3) Ann Landers Gets Wiggy on Us 4) CBS Tells Gay Youth's Story 5) Deer Avenger 6) Special Announcement: GLAADAlert FOX FILES: TURN UP THE HEAT On Thursday, January 21, GLAAD issued a special online alert regarding that night's episode of Fox Files, the Fox Network's tabloid television news magazine. Having learned that the segment, "Undercover in the Night," might be defamatory to the lesbian, gay and transgender community, we asked that people watch the segment. On Friday, January 22, GLAAD issued a press release condemning the episode (see more below) and demanding that Fox take the following actions: o agree to never air the segment again, whether on Fox or on the Fox News Channel o issue an on-air apology on the next edition of Fox Files (to air tonight) o issue a written statement to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community o agree to work with GLAAD on a segment covering lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth, eschewing the sensational and exploitative tone that "Undercover in the Night" was told with. As of this date, Roger Ailes, President of Fox News and former Republican strategist, has not returned phone calls from Joan M. Garry, GLAAD Executive Director, or Scott Seomin, GLAAD Entertainment Media Director. Publicly, Fox has only said that they found the segment "a fair an accurate portrayal of the dangerous fringe of the gay, lesbian and transgender community." GLAAD has issued a compendium of statements from community-based organizations, as well as media analysts. We have received numerous copies of letters written by members of the community to Roger Ailes, asking that Fox meet with GLAAD and take responsibility for the story. As of this time, Ailes' e-mail address is no longer working, and none of the letters have been responded to substantively. It is not GLAAD's policy to release voice phone numbers of outlets that are mentioned in GLAADAlert, whether positively or negatively. We believe that each outlet should be approached with the respect and consideration which we would hope GLAAD would be met with by them. However, in the face of Fox's and Ailes' grave unwillingness to engage in meaningful dialogue regarding "Undercover in the Night," we are suspending this policy in order to encourage a response from the network. As this is a serious undertaking, GLAAD asks those who phone to share their concern to do so with the respect that Fox has yet to show us. Please call Fox News at (212) 301-3000, and Roger Ailes at (212) 301-8224, and tell them that our community will not be ignored, and that their silence speaks volumes about the news network that bills itself as "fair and balanced." If you wish to read the full press release issued by GLAAD on January 22, point your Web browser to http://www.glaad.org/ and click on the Fox Files banner. You can also read the compendium statement there as well. If you contact Fox News or Roger Ailes via fax or e-mail, please copy GLAAD on the letter, so that we may keep a record of your correspondence. You can find the contact information below. Contact: Roger Ailes, Chief Executive Officer, FNC/Fox News Channel, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York NY 10036, VOICE phone (212) 301-8224; fax phone (212) 301-4229; e-mail: comments @foxnews.com; http://www.foxnews.com/foxfiles/ "MY COMPUTER OUTED ME!": That’s one powerful chip! This week, Intel announced that each of their new computer chips, the Pentium III, would have a unique serial number, which would be broadcast to help e-commerce (i.e. Web shopping) sites verify the user's identity, and helping prevent credit card fraud. Unfortunately, Intel seemed to have forgotten about the needs of those who use the Web and Internet specifically because of the anonymity of the medium. Intel said that the "feature" would be turned on when a consumer received the computer containing the chip from the factory. The user could then turn the feature off for each individual user session, but upon restart, would then reinstate the serial number, making it available to other computers. Upon learning of the release, electronic privacy groups EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) and Junkbusters called for a boycott of Intel. GLAAD, along with John Aravosis of Wired Strategies, and Carl Pritzkat of Mediapolis, issued a release calling for Intel to voluntarily remove the "feature," out of concern for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. As we have learned with the Timothy McVeigh/AOL case, where McVeigh's identity was revealed by an AOL employee, beginning a chain of events which then forced him from the military, most often breaches of privacy online are due to human action. What Intel has done is make the threat to users' privacy much greater, as those who may not be technologically adept may not understand how to turn the serial number off, or may simply forget. This may track the user across the Net, broadcasting their identity to sites and helping them collect information on their visitors. Results could be disastrous: employees may be fired for contacting a LGBT informational site in a state with no job protection legislation; young people may be confronted about their sexual orientation long before they're willing (or able) to discuss it with parents or educators; identities may be stolen and used against the person. As of this writing, Intel has announced that it will release the chip with the serial number turned off, however, they have not yet agreed to disable the feature completely. While this is certainly a positive response, the full removal of the serial number is essential to preserving the personal privacy of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, let alone those who simply don't want their computers to be tracked. Please contact Intel and tell them that the Net is too important to our community to be lost to the threat of unwanted disclosure. Contact: Andrew Grove, Chairman of the Board, Intel Corporation, 2200 Mission College Blvd., Santa Clara CA 95052-8119, feedback: http://www.intel.com/feedback.htm Ann Landers Gets Wiggy On Us In a recent column, Ann Landers seems to retreat from her formerly positive advice on lesbian and gay issues. Published on January 24, a woman planning her wedding asks whether it is appropriate to have the name of her father's partner of 19 years on her wedding invitation. Landers responds: "[he] will be very much in evidence at the festivities, so he should not feel that anyone is hiding him. To put his name on the wedding invitation as if he were a spouse would, in my opinion, be improper and invite a lot of criticism." Unfortunately, Landers misses the point that the woman's father does not have the freedom to marry his partner -- one assumes that having spent 19 years together, they might well take advantage of the legal and financial rights granted by a civil marriage. Her comment that he'll be present anyway somehow makes it seem that his presence alone is acknowledgement enough, and that putting him on the invitation might somehow be "flaunting" their relationship. Please write to Ann Landers and "lash her with a wet noodle," as she’s so fond of saying. Contact: Laura Mazer, Senior Editor, Creators Syndicate, 5777 Century Blvd.,#700, Los Angeles, CA 90045-5667, fax (310) 331-7625, e-mail cre8tors@aol.com, web site http://www.creators.com. Gay Youth At Work On January 21, CBS This Morning told the story of a young gay man in Massachusetts, and revealed the results of a poll gauging homophobia among 11th grade high school students. The story, entitled, "Gay Teen Teaches Tolerance," tells the story of Sam Hanser, a 16-year-old high school student in Newtown, MA. Hanser tells of assaults at the hands of his classmates: " 'A lot of people called me faggot and spat on me and did a lot of annoying things," says Hansen.'" But as Massachusetts was the first state to pass a law making harassment of lesbian and gay students a crime, Sam has been empowered and taken on a role of leadership. He runs a hotline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, and speaks publicly about LGBT youth issues. He closes by saying, "`I think that seeing diversity starts the whole process of being comfortable and acceptance of different people.'" In addition, CBS released the findings of a poll done on questions of tolerance for lesbians and gay men among 11th graders nationally. Among the findings: o a third of students knows of incidents of harassment of gay or lesbian students; o 28 percent of students polled have made anti-gay remarks themselves; o nearly a third of those polled have a family member or close friend who is gay or lesbian; o among those making anti-gay remarks, boys are more than twice as likely than girls to have done so; o those who report their parents make anti-gay remarks are more than twice as likely to do so themselves. Please thank CBS News for this illuminating report (both on television and the Web) about a young gay man who is making a difference, and how far we have to go. Contact: Al Berman, Executive Producer, This Morning, CBS Television Network, 524 W. 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-2902, fax: (212) 975-2115, email: thismorning@cbsnews.com, web site http://www.cbs.com. Deer Avenger: Parody or Pansy-Baiting? In Deer Avenger, Simon & Schuster Interactive's parody of the highly popular Deer Hunter computer game, the object of the game is to hunt down stereotypes of various types of men, including rednecks, a jock, a yuppie and an ambiguously gay stereotype. While no mention of sexuality or sexual orientation is made in the game, the limp wristed, frolicking, lispy voiced character, which exclaims things like, "Look at the rainbow," has raised an eyebrow by some members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. One can understand how people might take offense to the character is one draws an analogy to gay representation in the history of film. In the 1920s-1950s, gay men were often portrayed as sexless sissies and wimps. Since there were no other representations of gay people in the movies, it created a lopsided image of our community. Now, in the age of the computer and video game, where really the only sign of sexual orientation, when mentioned at all, is heterosexuality. So, it can be quite unnerving with the Deer Avenger being one of the few games containing any sign of a gay representation and the goal is to blow the character up (the goal however is to hunt down ALL characters). But, at the same time, the game pokes fun at all kinds of people -- so, the character in question is not singled out. In fact, the character has some of the funnier lines. Also given that there is nothing that makes the character gay outside of ambiguous stereotypes. Check out the game and write Simon & Schuster Interactive to let them know what you think. Contact: Simon & Schuster Interactive,1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10020, Feedback form: http://www.simonsays.com/feedback_form.cfm SPECIAL ANNOUNCMENT: GLAADAlert goes Biweekly Dear Readers: This edition of GLAADAlert will be the last one to be published on a weekly basis. As GLAAD has assessed the need for GLAADAlert, we have found that a more in-depth analysis and discussion of issues related to media coverage of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community is vital to continuing to inform you as educated media consumers. With this in mind, the extended time on which to focus on particular stories and outlets will allow us to pursue this goal. We thank you for your readership, and hope that you will continue to join GLAADAlert in its biweekly format. Remember that we're always interested in your feedback, and our door is always open. Please contact us at glaad@glaad.org and let us know what you're thinking. 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 (LA), 212.807.1700 (NY), 415.861.2244 (SF), 202.986.1360 (DC), 404.876.1398 (Atlanta) and 816.756.5991 (Kansas City) Feel free to pass GLAADAlert on to friends, family and associates! Report defamation in the media by calling GLAAD’s Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334) Visit GLAAD Online at http://www.glaad.org "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. 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TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's QUARTERLY IMAGES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of combatting homophobia and challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.