m m n ew s
W edding B ell B lues
One of The
Oregonian’s
paeans to legal
proposals
Sexual minority marriages are making w aves in the media—
but it's not good news by Inga Sorensen
T
hose rascally powers that be at The
Oregonian are continuing their
campaign of inequity when it
comes to acknowledging same-sex
couples.
On the front page of the newspaper’s Satur­
day Living section, a cutesy snippet periodically
appears entitled “Popping the Question,” which
invites readers to send in their marriage propos­
al tales.
The readers, no doubt, are expected to feel a
collective rapture for the jubilant couples who,
thanks to the Big O ’s boosterism, have an oppor­
tunity to share these distinctive moments with
the broader community.
Many of Just Out’s readers have attended the
weddings, unions, commitment ceremonies—
call them what you will— of same-sex couples.
They have their own uplifting narratives that
are often laced with strands of self-discovery and
courage; in other words, their experiences can
make for some captivating copy.
Sexual minorities “pop the question” too.
Thing is, The Oregonian — the state’s largest daily
newspaper— won’t include queer offerings in its
“Popping the Question” segment.
“A t this point, that feature has always been
envisioned as something that involves legal
marriage, much like the wedding announce­
ments, so by default that would be heterosexu­
als,” explains The Oregonian’s public editor,
Michele McLellan, who says same-sex couples
can instead contact her employer if they believe
they have a “human interest” story of note.
Unfortunately, The Oregonian isn’t likely to
change soon. It has always banned same-sex
couples’ announcements from its Weddings sec­
tion.
In response to that discriminatory policy, a
lesbian couple brought a lawsuit against the
newspaper in the summer of 1996.
T he image around which
Network Associates’
ad was built
A t the time, one of the women told Just Out:
“There is this misperception that gay people
don’t have long-lasting, permanent and valid
relationships. That simply isn’t true. I had hoped
The Oregonian would have recognized this and
would have made this service available to the
entire community, not just heterosexuals.”
The Multnomah County district judge who
heard the case wound up denying a preliminary
injunction that would have forced The Oregon -
ian to publish the women’s wedding notice.
Following the ruling, however, Oregonian
Editor Sandra Mims Rowe said her newspaper
would accept same-sex couples’ wedding
announcements— as advertisements. Married
heterosexuals get theirs printed for free.
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M
eanwhile, a print ad appearing in the Oct.
12 and Oct. 26 issues of PC Week, a pub­
lication for computer buffs, is being blasted as an
example of “corporate advertising transphobia”
and is, as one source puts it, “stirring up quite a
storm in the transsexual community.”
Portland resident Ashley Amelia Hall of
Trans-Port, a peer support group for transsexu­
als, says she got wind of the ad from a friend in
California who first spotted it and then mailed
copies north.
“When I saw the ad I was absolutely
appalled,” Hall tells Just Out. “I have never seen
anything like it. It is so transphobic and insensi­
tive. It’s a terrible insult to transsexuals.”
Network Associates Inc. is the Califomia-
based software company whose
product is promoted in the ad,
which features the hands of a man
and woman adorned in wedding
attire. The couple is standing before
a minister. Another hand is display­
ing a note to the groom that reads:
“She’s a man!”
Accompanying the photograph are
the statements: “It’s nice to know about
something before it becomes a prob­
lem”; “Because it’s what you don’t know
that can hurt you”; and “It might just
save you from an embarrassing situation.”
Sarah D. Fox, a transsexual woman and
communications director for the rrans edu­
cation and advocacy organization It’s Time,
Ohio!, takes the company to task.
“Along with all the daily torment [trans folk]
must endure, there are indeed priceless
moments of humor. However, Network Associ­
ates’ advertisement clearly crosses the line from
humor to hatred and ignorance by suggesting
that transsexuals are out to dupe unsuspecting
men, thereby causing them ‘hurt,’ ‘a problem,’ or
‘an embarrassing situation,’ ” she writes in a
press release. “It clearly portrays transsexuals as
predators and their partners as victims, and it
conveys the message that marriages between a
transsexual woman and a man are somehow
improper.”
Representatives of It’s Time, Oregon! have
also voiced outrage and have contacted compa­
ny officials, as did Just Out.
Speaking on behalf of Network Associates,
Alissa Bushnell says the company aspires to be
on the “cutting edge.”
She quickly adds, “But we certainly didn’t
intend to offend anyone.”
Says Fox: “Besides being hateful, woefully
ignorant, and insulting, N A I’s ad campaign
hurts real people in real ways. Transsexuals are
without question the most relentlessly persecut­
ed people in society. There is nothing they
would like more than to be left alone to lead
normal lives, but society will not let them.”
According to Bushnell, Network Associates
officials have “been in touch with the [Think
Inc.) ad agency and they’re working on a new
ad.”
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