Gay Group Says Progress Comes From Speaking Out

A video played in the darkened meeting hall, showing various Hollywood types accepting awards for their aid to the gay community. Then a woman identified as a “lesbian comic” appeared on the screen.

“My worst fear is that I will become known as a lesbian comic and the National Enquirer will write articles calling me straight,” she says.

The meeting last Thursday was of the San Diego Democratic Club, an organization for local gays and lesbians. About 30 people gathered to hear about GLAAD--the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation--a group that monitors and often complains about stereotypical and derogatory media depictions of the gay community.

“Don’t let others define us,” the video’s narrator says. “The time for invisibility is over.”

GLAAD, which is 7 years old, is purely an educational group, Christopher Fowler, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of GLAAD, said when the lights came up. The intent of GLAAD is to educate and monitor the media, to point out when the media misrepresents or insults the gay community and praise it on the rare occasions when it does well, he said.

This was, of course, a receptive audience. The 30 people nodded approvingly as Fowler told of a reporter who used the word faggot and then expressed surprise that gay and lesbians are offended by the term.

“A lot of the time what we do is Homosexuality 101,” Fowler said.

Some members of the media, both entertainment and news, are wary of GLAAD’s actions, finding them overly sensitive to minor issues, such as their recent protest against the depiction of a bisexual character in the film “Basic Instinct.” To some media observers, the protest against Sharon Stone’s bisexual character took on a trivial point, as the character had more to do with sexual titillation than gender stereotypes. In a world of radical dissent, when protests often turn violent and some equate political correctness with censorship, lobbying groups such as GLAAD attract tremendous cynicism from some quarters.

But GLAAD is not as radical or as aggressive as ACT-UP or Queer Nation. Fowler told the group that they only want to encourage dialogue about issues and to educate, not attack.

“We never ask to change anything,” Fowler said. “We just say that’s offensive, and we hope next time they make an informed choice.”

Still, the group is often accused of trying to censor, to turn movies and television shows into politically correct Pablum.

“Our images are being censored out of media,” Fowler said. “They’re saying we’re censoring, but that’s them turning the language against us.”

Fowler said his organization is upset with the soon-to-be-released Penny Marshall movie “A League of Their Own,” about an all-woman baseball team. He said more than 50% of the real-life team was lesbian but that Marshall refused to allow any of the characters to be played as “butch.”

“That’s censorship, that’s butchering history,” he said, as the crowd murmured agreement.

GLAAD only seeks balance, he said. Instead of just the flaming transvestites or swishy interior decorators played for laughs, the group wants to see more characters that just happen to be gay.

Mention of a recent episode of “Northern Exposure,” which depicted a lesbian couple in a heroic role, drew applause from the audience. Still, Fowler pointed out, it was not a total victory. The couple were never seen kissing.

“They sort of did, it was very close,” Fowler said. The crowd laughed. When gays are shown on the screen, rarely is there any intimacy or closeness in the characters.

Fowler pointed out that a new Fox Television series, “Melrose Place,” will have a recurring gay character.

“We’re hoping they give him a boyfriend or two,” he said.

When Fowler opened the floor to questions, he was asked about how the gay community should deal with gay-bashing talk show hosts such as Roger Hedgecock.

“One of the effective ways is to zap them,” Fowler said. “Plant people in the audience on any given day that will cause a furor right then and there.”

He also urged the crowd to constantly write letters, which have to go into the stations’ FCC files. A pile of letters might affect the station’s license renewal, or at least scare station management into action.

Fowler reiterated a point that is clearly at the heart of GLAAD’s existence: “You have to respond.”

Reporter Marianne Kushi, dumped last week by KFMB-TV (Channel 8), has already received two “important” job inquiries, according to her agent, Conrad Shadlen. “Being fired by Jim (Holtzman) has never created obstacles in my clients’ careers,” said Shadlen, who represents Greg Hurst and Susan Roesgen, among others. . . .

Catherine Goldmann, a former sales assistant at KFMB-TV, has filed a sexual harassment suit against the station’s general sales manager, Weldon Donaldson. In court filings, she accuses him of rubbing her back, touching her and kissing her in the office. . . .

The morning team of Rick Rumble and Scott Thrower is scheduled to start this morning on KCLX-FM (102.9). Rumble, who had a brief stint at KKLQ (Q106), and Thrower worked together in Philadelphia for several years. . . .

Friday is expected to be the last day for KIOZ-FM ‘s (Rock 102.1) Greg Stevens and Steven O. Sellers, who are joining Pirate Radio in Los Angeles.

CRITIC’S CHOICE

‘HOWARDS END’ IS WORTH THE TRIP

It’s easy for critics to rave about “Howards End.” There are no car chases or nudity or any of the other schlocky elements of Hollywood movies. And it’s British, which makes a critic sound cultured for liking it. But moviegoers who have read the rave reviews might be disappointed if they go expecting an emotionally gripping, “feel good” film that will bring them out of their chairs. It’s not that kind of movie. On the other hand, it is a thoroughly enjoyable and sensitive film that has plenty to say about the mores and sexism of 19th-Century England. It won’t make the audience laugh or cry, but it’s worth the drive into La Jolla to see it at the Cove Theatre.