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GLAADAlert
GLAADAlert
The GLAADAlert is the activation tool of the Gay &
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
In our continuing effort to provide GLBT Vermonters and their allies information about the world outside our state, Out in the Mountains is pleased to offer excerpts from GLADDAlert, the activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Readers should note that these alerts are not necessarily a reflection of the opinions of OITM or Mountain Pride Media. Rather, they are written by the staff of GLAAD in their mission ot "promote 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."
Harper’s Magazine:
Matthew Shepard and Compulsory Heterosexuality
In its September 1999 issue, Harper’s Magazine re-examines the Matthew Shepard murder from a provocative new angle: rather than focusing on the sexual orientation of the victim, frequent Harper’s contributor JoAnn Wypijewski looks closely at the sexual orientations of the killers and the environment which may have helped shape them. Wypijewski’s excellent in-depth look at the culture of "compulsory heterosexuality" defies easy categorization - it neither demonizes Shepard’s killers nor venerates their victim, choosing instead to look at the history, character and culture of Wyoming and the social forces that simultaneously buckle under the weight of and reinforce institutionalized homophobia.
Wypijewski examines the pressure to conform to masculine heterosexual norms - a pressure she believes not only causes homophobia, but also damages heterosexual men. "Among the tolerance peddlers, it’s always the ‘lifestyle’ of the gay guy," she writes, "never the ‘lifestyle’ of the straight guy or the culture of compulsory heterosexuality." She proceeds to quote a University of Wyoming student in a discussion with a woman opposed to violence, but who was convinced that homosexuality is immoral. "The issue isn’t tolerance," he said. "We don’t need to learn tolerance; we need to learn love." For Wypijewski, love is not just an abstract concept - it is "life’s defining line," one held firm by "all the little things of a culture, mostly unnoticed and unremarked, like the way in which the simplest show of affection is a decision about safety, like the way in which a man entwined with a woman is the stuff of everyday commerce, but a man expressing vulnerability is equivalent to a quaint notion of virginity - you save it for marriage." In this outstanding, complex piece of journalism, Wypijewski has constructed a story that works on multiple thematic levels, one which compellingly suggests that the way to eradicate homophobia is to reconceive a heterosexuality now broken by fear of same-sex male emotional intimacy. Please thank Harper’s for publishing this vital, remarkable feature.
Contact: Mr. Lewis H. Lapham
Editor
Harper’s Magazine
666 Broadway
New York, NY10012
e-mail: letters@harpers.org
20/20 Gives a Voice to Homeless Gay Youth
ABC News’ 20/20 opened its 1999-2000 season with an extensive segment called "Throwaway Teens," which examined the plights of three homeless lesbian and gay youth who have been thrown out of their homes on account of their sexual orientations. The segment opens with a young man walking: "He spends his days going nowhere," explains 20/20’s Connie Chung. "Barely visible to the people he passes, he matters to no one. [H]e is homeless, fending for himself, far from anything he ever knew." Later, Chung explains that the youth, Daniel, "is certain that he was thrown out [of his family’s house] because he is gay … sent on his way without tears, without even a goodbye." Forced to find livelihood, Daniel admits that he has turned to prostitution during rough times. In the end, he says, "I miss my home. I’d like to tell my mom and my family that I love them and that I wish that they would accept me for who I am and just love me again."
At times, the segment seemed needlessly sensationalistic - with examples including gritty and blurred street footage and one teaser which broke to commercial with a description of these youth as "so young and struggling to survive - the price of being gay…" Furthermore, in spite of some passing references to the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center and a brief camera tour of the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), the general tone of the piece seemed almost hopeless: comments selected from interviews with HMI Executive Director Verna Eggleston were insightful and apropos, but focused on the plight and not the solution. With this as the first substantial foray into the topic by any major television program, it is understandable that 20/20 would emphasize the undercovered dilemmas of this community. But noticeably lacking were the voices ofthose lesbian, gay (and especially) bisexual and transgender adults who survived homelessness and were quite literally saved by the efforts of groups such as HMI and the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center. In spite of such concerns, however, the piece’s overall intention was certainly laudable, and producers were most successful in bringing understanding of the problem and sympathy for the plight of youth like Daniel, Ginger and Ron. The show’s producers have clearly committed themselves to excelling in their coverage of an extremely diverse set of topics. Please commend them for bringing much-needed attention to an underserved segment of our community and urge them to follow-up with the story - to show a hopeful side that really does exist.
Contact: Mr. Victor Neufeld
Executive Producer
20/20
147 Columbus Ave.
New York, NY10023
fax: 212.456.0533
e-mail: 2020@abcnews.com
"GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. GLAADAlert 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)."