Nonprofit Profiles
Assessing the State of LGBT Characters on Television
Published July 27, 2009 @ 01:28AM PT
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has released their third annual Network Responsibility Index, surveying the state of LGBT characters across the span of television. The results show that two premium cable channels certainly know how to get their gay on, while two major television networks languish far behind in the amount of LGBT representation they feature in their programs.
Home Box Office (HBO) and Showtime take the cake this year for being the most inclusive networks when it comes to spotlighting LGBT characters in their shows. For HBO, GLAAD showed that 42 percent of its total programming featured content relating to the lives of LGBT folks. Showtime also showed a respectable number - albeit far behind HBO - with 26 percent of its programming featuring LGBT content.
This all makes sense when you think about the shows on both of these premium channels. True Blood (HBO), The L Word (Showtime), Entourage (HBO), The United States of Tara (Showtime), The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (HBO), and Weeds (Showtime) all covered LGBT issues or had LGBT characters. And it makes a difference in terms of the quality of programming, at least according to Rashad Robinson, a senior media staff person at GLAAD. Here's what he told the AP: "Television shows that weave our stories into the fabric of the series present richer, more diverse representations."
NBC and CBS were on the opposite sides of the spectrum. Despite being the network that aired possibly the most popular LGBT sitcom ("Will & Grace"), GLAAD found that NBC only had about 8 percent of its programming reflect LGBT issues. CBS faired even worse, scoring a staggeringly low 5 percent. Guess it's a little hard to work in an LGBT storyline on The Unit (another ramification of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"?).
For more information, you can check out GLAAD's "TV Gayed" page on their Web site. Ironically, the AP article that we're linking to throughout this post even scooped the GLAAD Web site, so there's no link yet available for the 2009 Network Responsibility Index. Once it's updated on the GLAAD Web site, we'll put a link here.
UPDATE: Here's the release from GLAAD.
Celebrating 100 Years of the NAACP
Published July 08, 2009 @ 06:17AM PT
Next week, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (perhaps more commonly known by the acronym NAACP) will hold their Centennial Convention, marking 100 years as an organization dedicated to pursuing civil rights across the country.
In recent years, the NAACP has become a crucial player in the debate over marriage equality. In particular, NAACP chairman Julian Bond has become one of the strongest and most supportive allies for LGBT rights. In 2005 he told an LGBT gathering in Virginia:
The lessons of the civil rights movement of yesterday … is that sometimes the simplest of ordinary everyday acts, of taking a seat on a bus, of sitting down at a lunch counter, of applying for a marriage license, sometimes these can have extraordinary consequences, can change our world.
Pretty damn cool. But that statement is eclipsed by Bond's comments last year in the wake of Proposition 8's passage in California:
Black people, of all people, should not oppose equality, and that is what gay marriage is. God seems to have made room in his plan for interracial marriage, and he or she will no doubt do the same for same-sex marriage.
The NAACP also joined a host of civil rights organizations and businesses in calling for Proposition 8 to be overturned, with current NAACP President Benajmin Jealous saying:
The NAACP’s mission is to help create a society where all Americans have equal protection and opportunity under the law. Our Mission Statement calls for the ‘equality of rights of all persons.’ Prop. 8 strips same-sex couples of a fundamental freedom, as defined by the California State Supreme Court. In so doing, it poses a serious threat to all Americans. Prop. 8 is a discriminatory, unprecedented change to the California Constitution that, if allowed to stand, would undermine the very purpose of a constitution and courts - assuring equal protection and opportunity for all and safeguarding minorities from the tyranny of the majority.
It's hard to say what the next 100 years will bring. Here's hoping that it doesn't take another century before marriage equality is real all across this country. But no matter how long it does take, it's clear that the NAACP will be there as an ally. Happy 100 years, NAACP.
Fighting Homophobia in Virtual Communities
Published July 02, 2009 @ 05:59PM PT
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has launched a cool new project that's ripe for the digital age: it's a campaign to combat homophobia in virtual communities. From Facebook to XBox message boards, homophobia won't have any hiding grounds. Here's a quote from Rashad Robinson, GLAAD's Senior Director of Media Programs:
As more and more people turn to virtual communities to connect with each other and for entertainment, we need to ensure these spaces are LGBT-inclusive and safe for our community – right now that’s not always the case. Our new project and work with leading tech companies aims to both educate users on the impact of homophobic remarks and put sustainable policies in place that make the experience fun and inclusive for everyone.
It's a hefty task, as it involves monitoring everything from comments on blogs to company message boards. It will also involve making sure that online forums allow their users to be open about who they are. For instance, earlier this year XBox Live was found to suspend users for using the word "gay," even if it meant that the users were describing their identity. XBox Live has since changed the policy, but the hiccup was certainly a reminder that adding filters with certain words or phrases screened into them isn't a catch all for addressing homophobia.
For more information on GLAAD's program, go here. Also worth noting is that in two weeks, GLAAD will be hosting a panel event in Silicon Valley with some of the country's leading game and software companies on virtual homophobia. Way to stay ahead of the 21st century, GLAAD.
The Curious Case of School Districts Blocking Gay Rights Websites
Published May 19, 2009 @ 01:21PM PT
Earlier this year we wrote about the Nashvillle, Tennessee school district, and how they were blocking access to certain Web sites within their public schools. Those certain Web sites weren't adult-oriented, pornographic or scandalous; rather, they were the Web sites for LGBT rights organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Marriage Equality USA and others. A school district blocking access to organizations working for equality and civil rights? That can't be a good thing.
The ACLU agrees. Today they announced a lawsuit against the Knox County Schools and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools for blocking students from accessing the Websites of organizations working for the rights of LGBT people. Public schools, after all, shouldn't be in the business of discriminating against LGBT people, or censoring information promoting equal rights from their students.
Here's some goods from the lawsuit:
Not only does defendants’ blocking policy discriminate on the basis of content in violation of the First Amendment, the policy further constitutes unlawful viewpoint discrimination. Under the defendants’ policy, students may access websites that promote anti-gay views and that advocate that persons should change their sexual orientation through so-called “reparative therapy,” but not the web sites of organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, which is one of the largest civil rights organizations in the United States working to achieve equality under the law for LGBT persons.
One of the worst parts about this injustice is that students can access Websites for radical and extreme anti-LGBT groups, like Peter LaBarbera's "Americans for Truth About Homosexuality," or the "National Organization for Marriage." But they can't access sites like the Human Rights Campaign or GLAAD, which offer information on anti-bullying campaigns, coming out, creating safe spaces, hate crimes, and the like.
In short, the twisted Tennessee policy prevents students from accessing information that can be beneficial to their safety. And it exposes students to right-wing hatred while denying access to sites that promote equality. Tennessee students deserve better.
Equality in the Courts
Published May 19, 2009 @ 09:28AM PT
As President Obama winds down his search for a replacement for U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, the Human Rights Campaign has launched a Web site, Equality in the Courts, designed to help provide key information on the Supreme Court nomination process to the LGBT community. The site is loaded with information relevant to LGBT folks about the next direction the U.S. Supreme Court will take.
In other words, it's a really cool site.
The site has a section about "What Makes a Fair Judge?" and includes a checklist that includes the following:
- demonstrated commitment to full equality under law for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans; individuals living with HIV and AIDS; women; people with disabilities and racial, ethnic, and religious minorities;
- demonstrated commitment to the constitutional right to privacy and individual liberty, including the right of two consenting adults to enter into consensual intimate relationships
- respect for the constitutional authority of Congress to promote equality and civil rights and provide statutory remedies for discrimination and violence;
- sophisticated understanding of and commitment to the separation of church and state and the protection of those citizens with minority religious views;
- respect for state legislatures' attempts to address discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity and other factors through carefully crafted legislation that meets the requirements of the Constitution.
And that's just one of the cool features. The site profiles potential nominees to fill Souter's space, includes a number of basic legal resources, and includes a section on other positions within the Obama administration (beyond just the U.S. Supreme Court), and how they may (or may not) impact the world of LGBT rights.
Check it out. And stay tuned, because we're likely just days away from learning who Obama's pick to be the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice will be.
