September 1.2000
in defense of
Dn. Laura
The laws being used
to silence her could
come back to haunt us
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| have no love for Dr. Laura
5 Schiessinger.
|
But now I’m finding myself
in the peculiar position of hav
ing to stand up for her. Before you
start writing hate e-mail, let me
explain.
Recently, stations planning to
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air Dr. Laura’s forthcoming televi
sion show in Canada
77
were told they would
have to edit out any
on several occasions.
negative references to
W hat made me maddest about these
gays and lesbians. For those hop
instances of censorship wasn’t that my books
ing for a quick end to her pro
annoyed certain people. W hat infuriated me
gram, this was good news.
was that the various school boards, city coun
But is it?
cils and governments involved effectively were
The decision was made by the
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saying readers of their communities weren’t
Canadian Broadcast Standards
intelligent enough to decide for themselves
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Council, a government agency
what they should or shouldn’t read. Instead of
responsible for monitoring radio
providing freedom of choice, they were making
and television programming and
choices for people who were perfectly capable
making sure the content doesn’t
of making them themselves.
pose a threat to any particular
As I said, I don’t like Dr. Laura. I think she’s
group. In the case of Dr. Laura,
a misinformed person whose dogmatic rhetoric
the watchdogs feared her nega
spreads ignorance and makes people ashamed
tive comments about queer peo
of who they are. But I don’t think you protect
ple might lead to violence
or educate people by running to the govern
against lesbians and gay men.
ment and asking it to make her shut up, any
This would seem to be a vic
more than you protect people from violence by
tory. The problem, though, is
stopping them from looking at pictures of
that in censoring Dr. Laura, the
excessive ejaculation and anal sex.
council relied on the same guide
W hether we like it or not, Dr. Laura has a
lines that have been used for
right to her opinions, and she has the right to
years to censor freedom of
spread those opinions if someone wants to give
expression for the same people it
her the forum to do so. And although it might
now is claiming to protect.
not seem like it, this is a great thing, because it
Canada’s government has a
means those of us who disagree with her also
long history of censoring art under the guise of
have the right to express our opinions.
protecting the rights of various groups. The
And that is where our power is. In the
most infamous example of this is the long-run-
United States, we’re winning our battle against
ning battle against sexually explicit material.
Dr. Laura not by censorship but by letting the
Ostensibly enacted to protect women, children
sponsors of her show know we won’t support
and others from the threat of abuse, these so-
their products if they support her views.
called “protective” laws frequently have been
One by one, advertisers have been pulling
used to keep gay-oriented books and magazines
out, leaving producers scrambling for replace
out of the hands of readers.
ments and running out of justifications for air
Erotic magazines have been favorite targets
ing her views. If enough advertisers turn their
of Canadian censors, with guidelines prevent
backs on her, you can bet she’ll he out of a job
ing the import of any periodicals depicting,
in no time flat.
among numerous other things, anal intercourse
This kind of action is far more powerful
or “excessive” ejaculation, both of which are
than government sanctions. By standing up in
considered degrading and violent sexual prac
record numbers and letting advertisers know
tices. Fiction is similarly restricted, and numer
we watch what they do, we as gay people are
ous gay and lesbian books have been seized by
using our voices to effect change.
customs for allegedly containing material that
We aren’t relying on someone else to pro
would threaten the well-being of readers.
tect us. We’re doing it ourselves. And in the
long run, that will make a huge difference.
As a result of this, many publishers of queer
Maybe you’re happy Dr. Laura has been
material have toned down their products.
banned in Canada. But don’t be fooled— the
Instead of waging costly wars against a govern
ment with deep pockets, they’ve decided not to same laws that are being used to protect us
from her may be used to protect someone else
publish certain kinds of books and magazines.
from what you have to say.
Ultimately, they have silenced themselves
So let Dr. Laura have her say. Because as
because fighting back is too difficult.
long as we have freedom of expression, we can
I know what it’s like to have a book banned
have
our say right back, and our voices are a
because someone thinks it’s dangerous. My
b(X)k 100 Questions & Answers About AIDS has lot louder—and a lot clearer—than hers is.
been banned in several U.S. cities because it
■ M ichael T homas F ord ’ s latest book, It’s
allegedly promotes homosexual sex as healthy
Not Mean If It’s True, will be in stores this
and normal.
month, as will My Queer Life, an audio collection
Similarly, my book O utSpoken , a collec
o
f the most popular pieces from his Lambda Liter
tion of interviews with lesbian and gay peo
ary Award-winning essay collections.
ple, has been removed from school libraries
because
it will
encourage
And yes, opponents
1 also have fear
been
banned
in Canada
young people to explore the "gay lifestyle.”
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