Keywords: From 71511.1375@CompuServe.COM Thu Jun 24 14:21:36 1993 Date: 24 Jun 93 14:05:54 EDT From: Tom Hudock <71511.1375@CompuServe.COM> To: Seth Bookey Subject: GLAAD/NY Newsletter Content-Length: 22162 Status: RO X-Lines: 476 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | I M A G E S | | | | A newsletter of the | | Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation / NY | | | | Spring 1993 - Issue 3 | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ CONTENTS: Executive Director Report Board Report A League Of Our Own Making Lesbian & Gay History Job Opportunities The Importance of Diversity GLAAD/NY On The Move GLAAD/NY Public Service Announcements Media Awards 1993 GLAD/NY Wish List GLAAD/NY Volunteer Form ----------------------------------------------------------------- EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT By Ellen Carton ========================= I marched proudly with one million gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and heterosexual Americans on April 25th in Washington for the equal rights we deserve, but do not yet have. Rather than a culmination, the march marks the beginning of a new stage of activism in our civil rights movement. Our increased visibility and activism is beginning to pay off. New Yorkers who care about teaching our children real "family values" were rewarded in May when three openly gay people were elected to seats on the school board. Gay culture is flourishing. Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" is a recent Pulitzer Prize winner. Even lesbians are now chic, according to recent stories in New York Magazine and Rolling Stone Magazine. While we should take a minute to stop and smell the roses, let's not forget the thorns. And, the thorniest issue of the year continues to be the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. While President Clinton continues to ruminate, gay Congressmember Barney Frank offered an unacceptable "compromise" that still keeps us closeted. Another thorn in our side is the numbers game. The now infamous study on sexual behavior, published by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, has been misinterpreted (by The New York Times) to conclude that only one percent of the population are gay (lesbians, as usual, weren't counted). Were we ALL in Washington, DC last month? And what does middle America think? They still don't know how they feel about us. We are still perceived as different from them. This is exceedingly dangerous because people are afraid of what they don't understand, and fear inevitably leads to hate. GLAAD/NY plans to shed some light about the reality of our lives. Our latest campaigns focus on reaching Americans in all their diversity. Our campaign to combat homophobic lyrics in the music industry is aimed at teaching impressionable young people tolerance and understanding. Young males between the ages 15 to 24, the MTV generation, are the most likely groups to gay bash. (See story on page 6). Our campaign to ensure that gays and lesbians are included in Good Housekeeping magazine's new non-tradition families campaign targets a mainstream women's magazine with a circulation of 5.2 million people! And, our latest campaign will bring diverse images of lesbians and gay men to 5,000 New York City subway cars during gay pride month. GLAAD/NY is working hard to represent the diverse reality of all of our lives in order to stop the hate, get us out of the closet and allow us to live and love without fear. Sometimes it seems impossible. But, when you least expect it, something wonderful happens: the March on Washington, the school board elections and the historic high level appointment of open lesbian Roberta Achtenberg give me renewed hope. GLAAD/NY has ambitious goals, ones that I know we can achieve, with your support! With your contributions, we will soon be adding two new staff positions, but it isn't nearly enough. Please become a media activist today by joining the growing ranks of GLAAD/NY volunteers (see page 7 for details). I thank you for your support and wish you a happy gay pride. ----------------------------------------------------------------- BOARD REPORT By Mary T. Nealon ============ How many lesbians and gay men are there in this country? How many participated in the March on Washington? How many watched from the sidelines? Were those that were watching counted? It seems that counting gays and lesbians has become the new national past time. But what else was accomplished with a March on Washington that was generally reported as "strangely nonpolitical...more like a joyous celebration?" And what were we celebrating? The day after the March the religious right had their "raw, unedited videos" of the horrors that occurred in our nation's sacred capital. "Listen firsthand to their own words, witness their own worst deeds" so they now advertise. Bill Clinton distanced himself from the March (and our issues). Was it because only 47% of Americans think we should be allowed to serve in the military (as reported by a CNN poll) or because we are only 1% of the popula- tion? Was it because he had miscalculated the effectiveness of the post-election outcry that erupted during his first days in office against his proposal to lift the ban on gays in the military? Right now it feels like we are losing political clout and populari- ty very quickly. For the most part, much of the mainstream coverage of the March was fair, accurate and positive. But the press has a long history of being fickle. After all, they are in the business of selling news. What will happen if we become yesterday's news? Lou Sheldon, Chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, which claims affiliations with 27,000 churches nationwide, describes the gay movement as reaching a burnout point with a backlash against us on the streets. In April while we marched on Washington, the American Family Values Festival held a 4 day conference in Denver (of course) attended by 1,200 people (including Dan Quayle and Oliver North). Funding was provided in part by Coors Beer and Fannie Mae Candies. The goals of the conference include swaying the balance of power away from the left wing educational establishment toward white Christian values and bringing God back into American schools. Attendees were instructed to hide their affiliations and agendas, appeal to people's worst fears, lie if necessary, and how to raise money for their causes through fundamental churches and Catholic dioceses. We must develop a war mentality. However many we are, there are always more who are willing to hate than are hated. They are organizing. They are well funded and can succeed in taking over our political clubs and school boards, even here in NYC. As tired as we may be, we must do more. As much as we have given, we must give more. We must become more than a community of diverse peoples identified by our sexual orientation if we are to rise above the fear and hate that is being organized against us. More than ever, we need to be smart and impeccable in our actions and words, because everything we do may be used against us. In the months ahead, we must continue to counter the onslaught of the religious right. Each and everyone of us, our family members and friends, must write and urge our leaders to have the courage to resist being controlled by numbers. When 10 people say let's hate and only 1 person says we cannot hate, that singular voice is the one we expect them to listen to. As Anna Quindlen so poignantly stated, "The numbers in Washington were not as important as the faces, the sheer humanity of one person after another stepping forward, saying: Look at me. I am a cop, a mother, a Catholic, a Republican, a soldier, an American. So the ice melts. The hate abates. The numbers finally all come down to one." ----------------------------------------------------------------- A LEAGUE OF OUR OWN =================== On May 19th 1993, GLAAD/NY and the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) in New York unveiled an impressive image of lesbian softball players at The Yankee Stadium and 161st Street subway station in the Bronx. The panoramic mural, created by artist George Camarda, measures 32 feet wide and 5 feet tall. This work, titled "Subway Shortstops", is the result of a grant awarded to GLAAD/NY's Lesbian Visibility Committee through the MTA Exhibition Center's Arts for Transit program. The piece will be prominently on view for six months, roughly the length of the current baseball season. Pariah Burton Nelson, author of the best-selling book "Are We Winning Yet?", an expose on women in sports, attended our press conference co-sponsored by Gay Games IV. As a professional basketball player, Ms. Burton Nelson spoke eloquently about homophobia in the sports world and the invisibility of lesbian contributions to professional sports throughout history. The players -- Mary Ann Brown, Susan Kistler, Sue Lucarelli, Ellen Chen, Diana Marcus, Kimberly Miller, Marjorie Otter, Bridget Polk, Laurie Rhodes, Catherine Saalfield, Randy Smalls, and Rachel Williams -- were cast to represent the diversity of lesbians in sports. Along with members of GLAAD/NY's Lesbian Visibility Committee, the cast volunteered their time for an all-day Saturday shoot on Randall's Island. This exhibition furthers GLAAD/NY's mission to promote real-life images of lesbians and gay men to educate the public and increase understanding about the realities of our lives. Look forward to our upcoming IMAGES campaign coming in June to 5,000 subway cars in New York City. (This article sponsored by Uncommon Women.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- MAKING LESBIAN & GAY HISTORY ============================ On March 1, 1993, New York City added an important page to its history...one that finally recognizes the committed relationships of its gay and lesbian citizens. Through an executive order signed by Mayor David Dinkins, New York's landmark Domestic Partnership registry allows any two consenting adults 18 years of age or older, who are not blood relations and have lived together on a continuous basis, to have their partnership recorded at the City Clerk's Office. GLAAD/NY launched a campaign, which included wheatpasted posters all over the city, to encourage couples to be at the steps of City Hall to participate in an enthusiastic display for the press on the first day of the registry. GLAAD's efforts, combined with those of The Campaign for Inclusive Family Policies, resulted in a gathering of 106 lesbian and gay couples. Some couples came dressed in formal wear while others took a more casual approach. Some had been together only for a few months, others for 20 years or more. But all were there to gain the recognition previously available only to heterosexual couples. For all city residents, registering a partnership offers visitation rights in all city hospitals and prisons, and gives survivors certain rights regarding rent stabilized apartment leases. Employees of the city who register as domestic partners are also guaranteed unpaid bereave- ment and parental leave. GLAAD/NY's work ensured that the first day of registry received extensive local press coverage, the majority of which was very positive. The New York Times ran a front page story along with a prominent photo of the lesbians who were second in line to register, a ground-breaking first for the publication. GLAAD/NY continues to urge The New York Times to take another big step including announcements of gay and lesbian commitment ceremonies. GLAAD/NY also supports the passage of Intro.277 by the City Council, which would ensure domestic partners the same rights and privileges provided by the city of New York to legally married couples. Intro.277 would in effect, fill in the many gaps left by the Mayor's executive order, thus strengthening the city's acceptance of non-traditional couples. ----------------------------------------------------------------- JOB OPPORTUNITIES ================= GLAAD/NY is expanding. We are hiring a Development Director and an Administrative Assistant and GLAAD/USA is hiring a National Coordinator. Call Ellen Carton at 212.807.1700 for more informa- tion. ----------------------------------------------------------------- THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY =========================== In an effort to fulfill our mission of fighting for fair, accurate and inclusive representations of our lives, GLAAD/NY has made a long term commitment to build diversity and gender parity at all levels of our organization on our Board as well as in our member- ship and programming. We began this effort on March 6, 1993, when the GLAAD/NY Board of Directors, staff and a number of volunteers participated in a day- long diversity workshop jointly facilitated by Donald Kow of Project Reach and Mitchell Karp of the NYC Commission on Human Rights. The workshop included a series of innovative exercises aimed at sensitizing the members of GLAAD/NY to issues of power, privilege and oppression as they relate to race, gender and class. As a result of the workshop, GLAAD/NY has set diversity and gender goals for the Board and has begun to do the same for our numerous programming committees. Watch for our IMAGES subway campaign and our expanded media monitoring committee for the Spanish language and People of Color press. Please join us in our efforts so that GLAAD/NY will truly reflect the diversity of our community. ----------------------------------------------------------------- GLAAD/NY ON THE MOVE ==================== * The united chapters of GLAAD/USA recently asked Blockbuster Video to give wider national distribution to "The Lost Language of Cranes." The New York Times coverage of the campaign helped increase distribution of Cranes and focused additional attention on the growing national market for lesbian and gay-themed video. * When one of Newsweek's Washington correspondents told lesbian and gay community leaders in Washington, DC, that she didn't think the March on Washington (MOW) deserved extensive coverage, GLAAD/NY joined MOW in protesting. The result: Newsweek's coverage far surpassed Time's and both MOW and GLAAD/NY met with Newsweek brass to discuss ways to improve coverage of lesbian and gay issues. * When Good Housekeeping omitted lesbians and gay men and our families from its "New Traditionalist Family" ad campaign, GLAAD/NY responded with a postering campaign and a Mother's Day activation undertaken in conjunction with Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (FLAG). When the campaign was covered in Stuart Elliot's advertising column in The New York Times, Good House- keeping was finally forced to respond. So thanks for getting Mom to send that Mother's Day card to GH Publisher Alan Waxenberg. ----------------------------------------------------------------- GLAAD/NY PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS ===================================== It's Summertime, but the livin' ain't easy, because when school's out and the weather is hot, violent attacks on the lesbian and gay community increase. GLAAD/NY is prepared with a series of public service announcements (PSAs) that will soon be coming to a television or radio station near you. These PSAs denounce anti-gay violence and feature stars such as rapper/underwear model Marky Mark and Grammy-winning reggae singer Shabba Ranks, who will bring this message to an audience of young people GLAAD/NY could not otherwise reach. Marky Mark's PSA is being co-produced by GLAAD/NY and the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, with The Anti-Violence Campaign (ARC) behind the camera. Shabba Rank's PSA will be shot in July, and will be out this summer. Mercury Records' PSAs are currently running on New York's largest youth-oriented radio stations: WBLS-FM, WRKS-FM, and WLIB-AM. They feature Mercury artists, John Lucien and Crystal Waters, and are pitched specifically at New York area teens. Under the leadership of Robert Seidel, GLAAD/NY's Media Committee has developed radio spots, which will be on the airwaves nationwide this summer. ----------------------------------------------------------------- MEDIA AWARDS 1993 ================= The 4th Annual GLAAD/NY Media Awards filled the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel to capacity on March 28. Grossing $235,000, the Media Awards celebrated the best achievements by the media in 1992 for presenting the gay and lesbian community fairly, accurately and inclusively. Covering a period in which gay and lesbian issues permeated the media, the contributions of this year's award recipients were particularly notable. Hosted by comedians Tony Randall (of "Odd Couple" fame) and Kathy Najimy (best known for "Sister Act"), the awards ceremony was entertaining and funny, but also poignant and moving. Highlights of the evening included: ANNA QUINDLEN'S acceptance speech, during which she choked back tears. The audience of 650 gave her a tumultuous standing ovation. The winner of this year's Best Print Journalism award went on to tell those present that she uses her column to fight prejudice because she does not want another child to feel inferiority or self-hatred merely for being himself or herself. BARBARA WALTERS' taped presentation of the award for Best Achieve- ments in Broadcast Journalism for David Sloan's provocative piece on gay teen suicide for 20/20. During her presentation, Barbara noted that viewer mail indicated that the segment had already helped parents to accept and support their gay children. JEFFREY SCHMALZ'S acceptance of the Best Newspaper Journalism award on behalf of The New York Times saying how proud he, an openly gay man with AIDS, was of the progress the Times had made in reporting on issues of importance to the gay and HIV+ communities. Other award recipients were Liz Smith (Outstanding Media Colum- nist), "Roseanne" (Outstanding Television Comedy Series), The New Yorker (Outstanding Magazine Coverage), "One Life To Live" (Outstanding Television Dramatic Series), and "Falsettos" (Out- standing Theatre Production). Also, the first Craig F. Davidson Community Service Award was presented to Allan Morrow, longtime friend and supporter of GLAAD and the gay and lesbian community. The co-chairs of the event were Jane E. Hoffman and Steven F. Weissman. Timm Whitney chaired this year's very successful silent auction. ----------------------------------------------------------------- GLAAD/NY WISH LIST ================== Donations of any of the following items would be greatly appreciat- ed. Donors can call the GLAAD/NY office at 212.807.1700. * New or used computers for our membership database with large hard disk (120-200 Meg) and fast processor (486 or 386) and lots of RAM. * QuarkXpress software and Macintosh hardware for in-house production of our newsletter. * A correcting Selectric typewriter. * TV's and VCRs. * A plain paper fax machine and a new copying machine. * An electric mail meter and letter opener to make our mass mailings more efficient. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTORS ----------------------- Peggy Brady, Ellen Carton, Cathay Che, Michel Del Sol, Joe Galli, Athena Gassunmis, Rob Green, Steven Hooper, Cookie Miranda, Mary Nealon, Donald Suggs, Tom Trela, Steven Weissman. ------------------------------------------------------------------- GLAAD/NY VOLUNTEER / MEMBERSHIP FORM Sign up to volunteer and/or become a member of GLAAD/NY. As a GLAAD/NY member, you will receive the quarterly newsletter and our bi-monthly Bulletins in the mail. You will also be informed of special events or activations sponsored by GLAAD/NY. If you'd like to volunteer, please check your areas of interest: [ ] Office Work [ ] Visibility Action Committee [ ] Newsletter [ ] Media Monitoring Committee [ ] Membership Committee [ ] Lesbian Visibility Committee [ ] Host House Parties [ ] Public Relations Committee [ ] Tabling For membership and/or volunteering, please and fill in the informa- tion below: [___________________________] [________________________________] First Name Last Name [______________________________________________] [______________] Street Address Apt./Suite No. [_______________________________] [_________] [________________] City State Zip [(_____)_______ - _____________] [(_____)_______ - ____________] Day Phone Evening Phone ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For GLAAD/NY membership, please fill in the following information: Enclosed is my [ ] $35 basic membership check for: [ ] $50 [ ] $100 [ ] $250 [ ] $500 [ ] $1,000 [ ] Other $______________ Please charge my: [ ] VISA [ ] Mastercard Amount: $___________ [__________________________________________] [__________________] Name on Card Expiration Date [________________________________] [____________________________] Account Number Signature ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail this form to GLAAD/NY, 150 West 26th Street, Suite 503, New York, NY 10001, or call (212) 807-1700 for information. ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMAGES is Copyright (c) 1993 by GLAAD/NY, All Rights Reserved.