glaad notes
by the Cay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation
One foolish moment
In the July 26 issue of the National Review,
senior editor Richard Brookhiser presents a glib
and trivializing view of the GLBT community.
Early in the piece, he points to media blitzes
surrounding Ellen DeGeneres and the sexual
orientation of Teletubby Tinky Winky as evi
dence of a gay “Moment” — a state defined as
being characterized by overwhelming attention
given to a minority group. Brookhiser cites two
other groups as having had “Moments” in this
century: Irish Catholics and Jews. And he draws
a link between the three groups, supposing that
“gayness in the Gay Moment has many quali
ties of a religion. The central tenet of the faith
is a creation myth, about how gays got that
way.”
As for the genesis of the current “Moment,”
Brookhiser points to a post-World War II
America. “Gayness as a movement,” he asserts,
“arose from men looking for lost maleness in
all the wrong places.”
In closing, Brookhiser writes, “The real end
[for the Gay Moment] will be boredom. Like
the Irish and the Jews before them, gays will
run out of things to say. Some other well-spo
ken outsiders will audition for center stage.
We’ll all move on.”
Let the National Review know how you feel
about this disrespect article. Contact: Linda
Bridges, Managing Editor, National Review, 215
Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10016; email:
letters@nationalreview.com.
Noxious names
On July 20 , Los Angeles Times columnist
Agustin Gurza explored the effects of denigrat
ing language on communities of color and on
the GLBT community. He recalls a Spanish-
language slur against African Americans
(“mayate” — a slang reference to a destructive
black beetle) that he encountered in college and
still hears today. Likening it to “faggot” and the
Spanish “maricon” — both used to denigrate
gay men — he quotes UCl criminologist and
hate crimes expert Valerie Jenness who says,
“The use of that language doesn’t mean you’re
going to go off and kill somebody. But it sus
tains the culture that leads to that.”
Gurza argues, “We don’t kill with our speech,
but we help the killers take aim.... If you wish,
call me politically correct, a term bandied about
by those who can’t stand to feel inhibited about
their own bigotry.”
Thank the Los Angeles Times for providing
readers with a column as evocative and chal
lenging as Gurza’s. Contact: Michael Parks,
Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times
Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053; fax:
(213) 237-7679; e-mail: letters@latimes .com.
D&G put out...again
Following up on its gay-themed ad from
earlier this year, D&G (a product line owned
by Dolce & Gabbana) has placed another full-
page advertisement in Interview magazine that
depicts an interracial same-sex couple with can
dor and beauty.
This new ad captures two young men of
color (Asian and Latino) embracing one another
and sporting matching wedding bands. The
matter-of-fact statement made by the image is
one of simple affection and love, taking their
previous ad campaign to the next level.
Dolce & Gabbana, the worldwide fashion
company headed by openly gay Italian design
ers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, has
had a huge gay following for nearly a decade.
The ad was photographed by renowned fash
ion photographer Steven Meisel, who cast the
two models.
Commend D&G (and Steven Meisel) for
highlighting the committed relationships of
many same-sex couples, marketing directly to
a large segment of their customer base, and for
including diverse representations of the com
munity. Contact: Kristine Westerby, D&G
Public Relations Manager, 532 Broadway, 4th
Floor, NY, NY 10012; Steven Meisel, do Steven
Meisel Studio, 64 Wooster St., 4th Floor, NY,
NY 10012.
Miranda’s rights
In a Salon magazine piece dated July 9, Joan
Oleck describes the process she went through
to become a single mom by adopting a Rus
sian-born baby girl in 1996. Lfsing her personal
perspective, she questions a piece of proposed
legislation, SB 682, that would affect many
potential gay and lesbian adoptive parents. “If
Jesse Helms has his way,” she explains, “new
legislation could limit international adoptions
for everyone but married straight couples.”
Oleck extensively examines the current state
of international adoption rights, alternating
between fact-driven analysis, political discourse
and human interest to spark the lengthy piece.
While much of the story focuses on single par
enthood, she is careful to be consistently inclu
sive in her language, and ends with an affirm
ing description of her neighbors — a lesbian
couple who recently adopted a Chinese-born
daughter. “Just like everyone else with small
children,” writes Oleck, “Miranda’s parents are
busily engaged in reading their child Make Way
for Ducklings and stockpiling juice boxes and
diapers.” She further details the unique prob
lems faced by same-sex couples including be
ing forced to conceal their relationship for ap
proval.
Thank Salon for sharing this smart, infor
mative and poignant piece, and for providing a
forum for warnings about a proposed bill that
jeopardizes children. Contact: David Talbot,
Editor, Salon, 706 Mission St., 2nd Floor, San
Francisco, CA 94103; fax: (415) 882-8731; e-
mail: salon@salonmagazine.com.
Straight sports champs
In a July 13 Arlington Heights Daily Herald
piece, entitled “Heterosexuality part of formula
for popularity,” sports columnist Mike Imrem
scrutinizes the marketability of women’s soc
cer. He notes that “the perception — accurately
or not, fairly or not — is that lesbianism is wide
spread in women’s professional sports.”
He examines the US women’s largely unique
popularity, breaking it down into three princi
pal factors: 1) they are American; 2) they are
predominantly white; and 3) they have a dis
tinctly heterosexual image. Imrem says, “Not
only were the women projected as sexy, but as
heterosexy.” He writes that the inherent impli
cations in this marketing style is that prejudice
is pervasive in our society.
“In America,” Imrem observes, “[the US
women’s team’s image] is easier to accept than
if they were known lesbians. Just as it’s less ac
ceptable for a male athlete to be gay than to
have an illegitimate child, choke a coach or do
drugs.... Would open homosexuals have re
ceived the same treatment? Common sense says
no, and not just because of Jerry Falwell, but
because of our culture as a whole.”
While other columnists focused their cov
erage on team dynamics and success strategies,
Imrem chose to examine troubling socio-cul-
tural values and their impact. Applaud the Daily
Herald for this insightful piece. Contact: Tom
Quinlan, Sports Editor, Arlington Heights Daily
Herald, 155 E. Algonquin Rd., Arlington
Heights, IL 60005-4617; fax; (847) 427-1301;
e-mail: fencepost@dailyherald.com.
Leeza takes the lead
On the July 15 episode of Leeza, talk show
host Leeza Gibbons explored “the new face of
the American family. ” Featured guests were Jon
and Michael Galluccio who challenged New
Jersey law and became the first same-sex couple
in their state to jointly adopt children. Gib
bons’ supportive and informed remarks encour
aged the couple to speak openly about their 17
years together, their parents, and their two tod
dlers, Adam and Madison, who joined them
on the show.
Responding to heated debate in the audi
ence about religion and non-traditional fami
lies, Gibbons stated, “You guys can talk about
religion all day long, but let’s talk about what
we know based on the children.” She followed
with a study that showed the children of same-
sex parents to be as well-adjusted as the chil
dren of opposite-sex parents. She also invited
other children of gay parents to join the pro
gram — like Sarah, a member of Children of
Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE)
who was raised by both her mother and father,
but grew up knowing her father was gay.
Thank Leeza for trying to debunk the no
tion that traditional family structures are the
only valid ones and for educating viewers on
issues of same-sex parenting. Contact: Leeza
Gibbons, Host and Executive Producer, Leeza,
do Paramount Television, 5555 Melrose Ave.,
Balaban Bldg., #B, Los Angeles, CA 90038-
3112; e-mail: leeza@pde.paramount.com. T
\ ; 131^-. -'y-aVlf' u ■:
Q-Notes T August 7,1999-▼ PAGE 23
WhiteGate Inn & Cottage
Asheville’s ONLY Gay owned
and operated
Bed and Breakfast
Innkeepers: Ralph Coffey &
Frank Salvo
Web Site:
http://www.WhiteGate.net
Email:
InnKeeper@WhiteGate.net
Phone: 1-800-485-3045
1997 Preservation
Society’s Award
Winner.
Fully restored 1889 shingle-style home.
4 luxurious guest rooms with
Private baths.
3-course Gourmet breakfast.
Evening social hour.
Separate cottage for complete Privacy.
6-minute walk to downtown Asheville and
its 100 plus Art Galleries, antique stores,
restaurants, bookstores, sidewalk cafes
and Gay bars.
The perfect place for
Union Ceremonies
A NEW EXPERIENCE IN CHARLOTTE
Class & Discretion
in the
Art District
at
North Davidson
&36th
0
with
Warm Subdued Lighting
Comfortable Seating
• Full Bar
• Coffee
• Ice Cream Drinks
A Variety of Music
NO COVER
Oil Painting Classes
Twice a Week
by Resident Artists
FOR MEMBERS AND THEIR GUESTS
704.377.4886
emmm