Just out., June 16, 1995, Page 37, Image 37

Just out ▼ J m im 16. 1909 T 37
The Angel has Landed!
BEST PLAY 1993 «TONY' AW ARDS • BEST PLAY 1994
The only play in history to win BroaJway s highest honor twQyears in a row.
Queer folk with heart
Celebrating 35 years in the entertainment in­
dustry, folk music legends Peter, Paul and Mary
have issued Lifelines, a new CD that features
various guest artists. One of the numbers is a duet
between Mary Travers and Holly Near. The song,
“Home Is Where the Heart Is,” was written by
Sally Fingerett, and is an ode to queer families.
ilfi
/ *
/ •
*
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Written as if sung by a mother to her daughter,
the lyrics touch upon the lives of various couples,
with references to both lesbian and gay individu­
als. The chorus reminds listeners: “Home is where
the heart is, no matter where the heart lives.”
Significantly, W arner Brothers has released
“Home Is Where the Heart Is” as the CD’s first
single.
Compliments can be sent to Donna Russo,
Warner Brothers Records, 75 Rockefeller Plaza,
20th Floor, New York, N Y 10019, (212) 275-4500,
fa x : (212) 275-4500; and Gerald Levin, CEO,
Time-Wamer Inc., 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New
York, NY 10019, (212) 522-1212.
Nothing Better to Write?
Recently, widely syndicated gossip columnist
Liz Smith wrote a piece on Chastity Bono, who
came out in an April 18 interview with The
Advocate. Amazingly, Smith— who is a “semi-
closeted” lesbian herself—refers to Chastity
Bono’s “sexual
preference.” Of
course, m ost
mainstream
journalists
have begun to
use the more
accurate termi­
nology “sexual
o rie n ta tio n .”
“P re fe re n c e ”
carries the un­
fortunate im-
Chastity Bono
plication that
lesbians and gay men can be changed; it’s a term
that appeals to the homophobic imagination, in
which evil queers prefer immorality over righ­
teousness.
Of Bono’s lesbianism. Smith writes: “Now,
you may think this is old news, but Chastity, the
daughter of Sonny and Cher, has actually never
spoken about her sexual preference. She was
‘outed’ by the tabloids (with help from gay activ­
ists who have nothing better to do than tell other
people how to live).” Smith’s blanket condemna­
tion of “gay activists” is also inaccurate, as well as
unfair.
The practice of “outing” has been driven by
tactics that are much more complex than Smith
admits. She seems to assume that referring to a
public figure as “lesbian” or “gay” can only be a
defamatory invasion of privacy, rather than a
simple statement of fact. In his book Contested
Closets: The Politics and Ethics o f Outing, media
researcher Larry Gross points out that, even at the
height of the rumors regarding Bono, the lesbian
and gay press virtually ignored them. He con­
cludes that Bono’s outing was largely “commit­
ted by the tabloid press and by mainstream jour­
nalists, not by gay activists.”
Smith’s cumulative record on lesbian and gay
issues has been less than admirable. In 1984, for
example, she expressed public disgust at Harvey
Fierstein because he actually (gasp!) thanked his
gay lover at the Tony Awards. Over the years,
Smith has also used her column to paint an impos­
sible picture of the pervasiveness of heterosexu­
ality; by insisting that such notables as Rock
Hudson and Malcolm Forbes were straight. Smith
has actively engaged in what Larry Gross de­
scribes as “one of the most common forms of
journalistic deception.”
Honestly, does Liz Smith have nothing better
to write about?
“Fan m ail" fo r Liz Smith is received by the
Los Angeles Times Syndicate, 218 South Spring
St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, (213) 237-7987.
Rock ’n’ Role Models
Jill Sobule’s new music video I Kissed A Girl
tells the story of a bisexual woman’s first lesbian
kiss, about which Sobule sings: “Her kiss was
sweet/It was just like kissing me/I’ll probably do
it again.”
The video depicts the singer’s romantic fanta­
sies about both men and women. Throughout, the
tone is upbeat and the message is positive. /
Kissed A Girl is currently in regular rotation on
MTV.
Contact Judy McGrath, President, M TV Net­
works, 1515 Broadway, New York, N Y 10036,
(212) 258-8 7 1 2 o r (212) 258-8000, fa x :
(212) 258-8718, e-mail: mtvmail@aol.com.
Library Freedom
A Rutland, Vt., woman has vowed to rid her
local library of any children’s books that include
fair and factual references to homosexuality. Ac­
cording to USA Today, Karol Raiche “says she’ll
search the city library’s children’s section for
books featuring gay men and lesbians and will ask
the library to remove them.”
Raiche became panicked after her 6-year-old
son checked out D addy’s Roommate from the
Rutland Free Library, which also keeps a copy of
H eather H as Two Mommies on the shelf. Written
for young readers, both books offer age-appropri­
ate depictions of lesbian and gay families.
June Osowski, reference librarian at the
Rutland Free Library, fears that not only these
children’s books, but “any book in the library”
might become subject to homophobic challenges.
“Our concern is with the erosion of the right to
read,” Osowski said.
Those who support the right to read are en­
couraged to send letters to Paula Baker, Direc­
tor, Rutland Free Library, 10 Court St., Rutland,
V T 05701, (802) 773-1860.
The Phobic Broadcasting
System?
The Public Broadcasting System seems to be
cracking under the conservative pressure of the
new Congress. The television service has been
repeatedly targeted as a source of “homosexual
propaganda” at the “tax-payers’ expense.” And
while nothing could be
further from fact, the
threats to cut PBS
funding— leveled by
hom ophobic p o liti­
c ia n s— have taken
their toll.
R ecen tly , PBS
softened its support for Coming Out Under Fire,
an award-winning documentary about lesbians
and gay men in the military. Originally, the docu­
mentary was scheduled for a national broadcast.
PBS reconsidered, however, and is now offering
Coming Out Under Fire as an optional program.
The mission of PBS— as mandated by law—
is to “help us see America whole, in all its diver­
sity” and to “provide a voice for groups in the
community that may otherwise be unheard.” Once
again, it’s time to remind PBS of that noble intent.
Write to Ervin Duggan, President, PBS, 1320
Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314-1698,
1-800-356-2626, fax: (703) 739-5295.
Compiled by Al Kielwasser o f the Gay and
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, San
Francisco Bay Area Chapter.
“ The most thrilling
American play of my adult lifetime.’
Frank Rich, The New York Times
Winner o f 7 Tony' Awards,
8 Drama Desk Awards and
the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
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