Date: Thu, 29 Sep 94 06:51:14 EDT From: GLAADSFBA@aol.com GLAAD MEDIA WATCH for September 28, 1994 By Al Kielwasser DRIVING OVER BIGOTRY Should lesbians and gay men be allowed to drive? Not according to pseudo-psychologist Paul Cameron. In "The Psychology of Homosexuality," a pamphlet that attempts to demonstrate that lesbians and gays are prone to criminal behavior, Cameron reports that homosexuals are "about a third more apt (than heterosexuals) to report a traffic ticket or traffic accidents." When lesbians and gays aren't busy fighting for special rights, it seems, we're running people down on America's highways. Two recent, national advertising ventures should send chills down "Dr." Cameron's spine (or lack thereof). A recent issue of Urban Fitness -- a new magazine "aimed primarily but not exclusively at gay men and women" -- contains advertisements for Mercedes-Benz and Mazda cars. The Mercedes ad includes an apparently gay couple. The two-page Mazda ad features a lesbian couple embracing alongside a gay couple, accompanied by the familiar slogan: "Mazda . . . It Just Feels Right." The November '94 issue of Out magazine contains another advertising milestone. With this issue, Out becomes the first gay publication to receive advertising support from the Saab automobile company. According to Out's account manager, Matt Lancellotti, the Saab ad "is a major breakthrough, as car companies tend to be amongst the most conservative of advertisers." "Furthermore," Lancellotti added, "Saab is 50% owned by General Motors, a company that pays great attention to, and has deep concerns about, right-wing media campaigns such as those waged by Donald Wildmon's American Family Association (AFA)." To make sure that Saab hears from more than the homophobic censors of the AFA, send your comments to John Fleming, Saab Cars, USA, Inc., Saab Drive, Norcross, GA 30091; John G. Smale, General Motors Corporation, General Motors Bldg., Detroit MI 48202. Comments can also be sent to Kazuo Sonoguchi, CEO, Mazda, P.O. Box 19734, Irvine, CA 92713. For a copy of Paul Cameron's hate pamphlet, "The Psychology of Homosexuality," write to Family Research Institute, Inc. P.O. Box 2091, Washington, DC 20013-2091, tel. 703-690-8536. A ROTTEN SNAPPLE ? Amongst the sparse "official sponsors" of the bigoted Rush Limbaugh Show is the Snapple beverage company. Last year, Snapple -- which has a company policy against discrimination based on sexual orientation -- indicated a willingness to re-think its sponsorship of the homophobic, racist and sexist Limbaugh. However, in response to a recent complaint from the National Organization of Women (NOW), the Snapple company seems to be back-peddling. NOW President Tammy Bruce wrote to Snapple, stating: "Our organization is opposed to Mr. Limbaugh not because he is 'conservative,' but (because of) his misogyny and homophobia." Lisa Ballas, Snapple's marketing director, replied: "First, (the advertising) purchase is made based on recommendations of our advertising agency. . . . Second, Snapple does not support or even agree with the views of Mr. Limbaugh. . . . Third, Snapple does not contribute money to Mr. Limbaugh. . . ." As Tammy Bruce points out, Snapple's advertising dollars "do contribute directly to the spreading of misogynistic, homophobic and hate-based messages." Bruce also informed Snapple management that she was not impressed with the company's "attempt to justify Snapple's support of a hate-monger by sending us a list of the progressive groups you support. . . . (These groups) would have a much easier time if it were not for the likes of Rush Limbaugh." Send letters to Lisa M. Ballas, Marketing Coordinator, Snapple Beverage Corp., P.O. Box 9400, East Meadow, New York, 11554-9400, fax 516-872-4874. UNLUCKY 13 "Measure 13," Oregon's anti-gay/lesbian initiative is a study in homophobic defamation and hate. The initiative is euphemistically -- and inaccurately -- titled "The Minority Status and Child Protection Act." Among the provisions of the Act are a ban on public funds "expended in a manner that has the purpose or effect of promoting or expressing approval of homosexuality" and an adults-only restriction on "the availability in public libraries of books and materials . . . which address homosexuality." "No on 13" organizers encourage everyone outraged by this censorious and hateful legislation to speak out in the mainstream press. Alert your local paper to what's happening in Oregon and/or share your thoughts by writing Letters-to-the-Editor, Robert Landauer, The Oregonian, 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201, tel. 503-221-8157, fax 503-227-5306. For more information about the "No on 13" effort, call the campaign offices at 503-222-6151. COMPUTER ACTIVISM To improve and expedite community response to chaotic Congressional activities, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) creates on-line legislative alerts outlining homophobic amendments and describing alternative amendments that your representatives can support instead. To be added to the Legislative Alert E-Mail Distribution List, send your e-mail address to Tanya Domi, NGLTF Legislative Director (tldngltf@aol.com) or Beth Barrett, NGLTF Public Information Assistant (babngltf@aol.com). Activists can also make good use of the computer medium by plugging into a lesbian/gay action alert e-mail list on the Internet. To be added to the distrribution list, send e-mail tomajordomo@vector.casti.com and, in the message body, type the words "subscribe action alert." To send an action alert message, e-mail action-alert@vector.casti.com. MEDIA BRIEFS * Steamy Journalism Dept. . . . The Autumn '94 issue of STEAM magazine -- self-described as "the literate queer's guide to sex and controversy" -- focuses on freedom of speech, and includes a number of probing articles "dedicated to keeping pornography legal and available." For information, contact STEAM, PDA Press. Inc., 530 Howard St., #400, San Francisco, CA 94105, tel. 415-243-3228, fax 415-243-3233, e-mail steam.roller@studs.com. * "Are Children at Risk for Sexual Abuse from Homosexuals," is an article in the July 1994 issue of the highly-respected academic journal, Pediatrics. The researchers estimate that "a child's risk of being molested by his or her relative's heterosexual partner is over 100 times greater than by someone who might be identifiable as being homosexual, lesbian or bisexual." * The All-Russian Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Library and Archives -- a new and unique resource available to all Russians -- has issued a call for "any materials which you feel could be useful -- old Out or Advocate magazines, gay or lesbian non-fiction and fiction, informational brochures and pamphlets, video cassettes, etc." Send media contributions to 125047, Moscow, P.O. Box 9, All-Russian Library, Russia; tel. 7095-297-18-96, fax 7095-383-75-53. * CultureWatch, a monthly annotated bibliography on culture, art and political affairs, has become an indispensable resource for anyone fighting censorship and other right wing assaults on progressive social change. For subscription information, contact CultureWatch. The DataCenter, 464 19th St., Oakland, CA 94612, 510-835-4692. * A call for entries formlesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered storytellers has been issued for a new radio programming venture. Submissions for pilot programs will be accepted through October 15. For more details, contact Paul Vandecarr, P.O. Box 427056, San Francisco, CA 94142-7056, tel. 415-995-2857. ******************* WE MUST CONFRONT THE MEDIA'S HOMOPHOBIA IN ORDER TO CURE IT! TO NOTIFY THE GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION OF ANY DEFAMATORY OR AFFIRMATIVE MEDIA COVERAGE CALL OUR 24- HOUR MEDIA MONITOR'S HOTLINE AT 415-861-4588, OR WRITE TO GLAAD/SFBA, 1360 MISSION STREET, SUITE 200, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103; FAX, 415- 861-4893; E-MAIL GLAAD SFBA@AOL.COM. SEND ITEMS FOR THIS WEEKLY REPORT TO THE ATTENTION OF "MEDIA WATCH" AT GLAAD/SFBA OR E- MAIL TO GLAADSFBA@AOL.COM. WHEN APPROPRIATE, ATTRIBUTIONS FOR ITEMS USED SHOULD BE MADE TO AL KIELWASSER AND/OR GLAAD/SFBA. AS ALWAYS, WE GREATLY APPRECIATE COPIES OF ANY PUBLICATIONS THAT USE ALL OR PART OF THE "MEDIA WATCH." THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUING INTEREST IN GLAAD'S WORK!