VIDEO: GLAAD’s Panel on Homophobia & Virtual Communities
July 28, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
On Saturday, July 18th, GLAAD held its first ever Digital Media event as part of our newly launched Project on Homophobia & Virtual Communities.
The event, a panel discussion hosted by Electronic Arts on their private campus in Redwood City, CA, brought out some of the industry’s foremost companies, organizations, gamers and media as both panelists and audience members.
Linden Lab's Cyn Skyberg
Panelists included Flynn DeMarco, the founder of GayGamer.net, Dan Hewitt, the Senior Director of Communications for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) which owns and hosts E3, Caryl Shaw, a Senior Producer in the Maxis Studio (Electronic Arts, Inc.) who has worked on games like The Sims and Spore, Cyn Skyberg, VP of Customer Relations at Linden Lab (Second Life), and Stephen Toulouse, the Program Manager for Policy and Enforcement on Microsoft’s XBox LIVE service.
The panel started with an introduction from GLAAD’s incoming President, Jarrett Barrios who then introduced me, GLAAD’s Director of Digital Media, as the moderator of the panel.
XBox LIVE's Stephen Toulouse
To begin, we showed a video I produced specifically for the panel which highlighted the issue at hand – how rampant and vile homophobia and anti-LGBT rhetoric is across virtual communities and how that virtual vitriol has real world impacts, especially on young children.
The video was made entirely of content publicly available on the internet, from news stories on outlets such as 365Gay News on Logo, to homemade videos on YouTube, to comments on blogs, social networks, and other places.
You can watch the intro video below:
Click here to watch the high quality version.
The ESA's Dan Hewitt
From there, I invited the panelists up to begin our discussion. I decided the best way to run the panel would to truly moderate – take questions and comments from virtual community enthusiasts and have the panelists address them directly. Having written an op-ed about the panel’s topic a couple weeks prior for the popular gaming website Kotaku, I pulled from the near 500 comments and conversations generated there.
Maxis Studio's Caryl Shaw
The panel discussion was spirited, with the panelists addressing comments and questions ranging from what some have called “flaunting” sexual orientation in gaming, to the justifications people have for using anti-gay slurs, to why there aren’t more LGBT characters to identify with, to the importance of education, and much more. There was also a Q&A portion where attendees got to ask their own questions.
GayGamer's Flynn DeMarco
At the conclusion of the event, the panelists reaffirmed their commitment to working with GLAAD and stressed how important this issue was to all of them. We all agreed that our goal should be to make virtual communities fun and safe for everyone, and that “everyone” includes LGBT people.
Dozens of press outlets and blogs have written about the panel and GLAAD’s work in this area. A representative from Kotaku was able to attend the event in Redwood City and wrote about their experience here and here.
As you will see and hear below, this is just the beginning of GLAAD’s important work in virtual communities. We’ll be expanding our work with our current partners, reaching out to more companies, and engaging our members and supporters to call for more safe spaces, better and LGBT inclusive policies, and help educating people about the real world impacts of virtual homophobia.
I have broken the panel down into segments which you can view below. Just click where it says “click here to play” and that video will load and play.
Part 1 – Introduction by incoming President Jarrett Barrios.
Part 2 – Panelists introduce themselves and explain why think its important to be there.
Part 3 – On the topic of what some have called “flaunting” sexual orientation in gaming.
**NOTE: A comment in this section was wrongly attributed to the Kotaku user “GameBuddy.” The comment was actually left by the user “robinandtami.”**
Part 4 - A commentor notes that vitriol makes gaming less fun for everyone – the panelists respond.
Part 5 – How do virtual worlds differ from other communities in dealing with homophobia?
Part 6 - Why aren’t their more positive portrayals of LGBT characters in games?
Part 7 - Panelists address impediments to having LGBT characters in games and how we – both the industry and GLAAD – should respond to defamation like “Watch Out Behind You, Hunter!“
Part 8 – Where are the educational opportunities and opportunities for engagement?
Part 9 - Addressing the phrase “That’s So Gay” & a discussion about looking forward to solutions.
Part 10 – Being “out” in the industry.
Part 11 - The problem may be bigger than solely LGBT related, but solutions can be universal.
Part 12 – The trouble with reporting and reporting mechanisms.
Part 13 – Q & A #1: The head of an LGBT World of Warcraft guild describes his perspective.
Part 14 – Q & A #2: Question about anti-lesbian, bi, and transgender incidents & whether “shooter” games are the problem.
Part 15 – Q & A #3: A game producer asks about using certain language.
Part 16 – Q & A #4: A question about LGBT characters in games.
Part 17 – Q & A #5: On the ability to “sell” an LGBT character/game.
Part 18 – Q & A #6: Being banned for being gay? Microsoft says its committed to changing its policy on self-expression.
Part 19 – Q & A # 7: Is funding an issue with making needed changes happen?
Kotaku.com Runs GLAAD Op-Ed on Homophobia in Virtual Communities
July 10, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
Kotaku.com has run an article/op-ed I wrote on homophobia in virtual communities. It’s on their homepage and is generating a vibrant discussion with over 7,000 recommendations and over 300 comments. I encourage everyone to pop over and leave a comment.
Unfortunately, the Kotaku version doesn’t have all the links/video, so I’ll cross-post it below.
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Guest Op/Ed: The Impact of Homophobia in Virtual Communities
A few weeks ago there was a group established on Facebook called “I hate gays” which openly advocated killing gay people. When the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) sent a report through Facebook’s built in reporting system and then urged its Facebook and Twitter followers to do the same, the user was suspended, and the group abandoned and commandeered by pro-gay users in the matter of hours. It seems that real people in those virtual communities, as well as the massive companies that run the platforms, don’t like when people form groups that advocate killing people or targeting groups.
Now what happens when you take that model and you turn it to online gaming virtual communities?
To illustrate my point, take a look at this video previously highlighted on Kotaku and GayGamer to get a sense of the problem just in online gaming communities.
Halo 3: Homophobia Evolved (NSFW)
This isn’t to say that all gamers feel and think this way. As we know, there’s a great diversity in who plays computer and video games and how they think. But similar to other forms of mass medium entertainment-like music, books, and movies-the new frontier created by advances in technology, especially Internet technology, has increased ability to transmit our voices, images, and ideas. But it has also come with a greater capacity to harass, bully, and spread prejudices – often times with little-to-no repercussions.
The problem is widespread in these communities, with kids and adults alike throwing around virtual threats and threatening real world violence and death.
In 2006, a survey under supervision by the University of Illinois provided the first glimpse of “the social and behavioral demographics of gay video game players” as well as “the role of sexual orientation on gaming habits.” Here are some highlights:
- 52.7% of those surveyed said the gaming community is “Somewhat Hostile” to gay and lesbian gamers, 14% said “Very Hostile.”
- When asked what forms of homophobia people have seen in the gaming community, here are some of what the surveyed said:
- 87.7% – Players use the phrase, “That’s so gay.”
- 83.4% – Players use the words “gay” or “queer” as derogatory names.
- 52.3% – Stereotypical representations of gay characters in games.
- 42.5% – Refusal of game designers to include well-developed gay characters.
- 49.4% – Invisibility of gaymers and/or the gaymer community.
- When asked how frequently players experience homophobia, those surveyed who responded “Always” or “Frequently” equaled 42%. Add in “Sometimes” and it brings up that total to 74.5%.
- When asked how often those players respond to the homophobia they witness – 50.9% total responded “Never” or “Rarely.”
Keep in mind, that’s a survey from 3 years ago. According to the Entertainment Software Association’s 2009 Essential Facts, last year 68% of American households played video or computer games. It’s an industry that continues to grow – from 2.6 billion dollars in sales in 1996 to 11.7 billion last year. And don’t think it’s child’s play – the average player age is 35.
The problem is only getting worse and needs to be addressed with comprehensive and sustainable solutions. That’s why GLAAD has announced an initiative to do just that – The Project on Homophobia & Virtual Communities – which kicks off with a groundbreaking panel discussion to be held on the Electronic Arts campus on July 18, 2009.
The panel discussion will include an assessment of the problem in these communities, policy solutions that have been developed to address homophobia – some that are working and those that are not – as well as looking to the future at the challenges and opportunities to combating homophobia in various sectors of the industry.
Confirmed panelists include representatives from XBox LIVE, Electronic Arts, Inc., Linden Lab, the Entertainment Software Association, and GayGamer.net.
There is no doubt that this is a complicated endeavor. While most companies do have some sort of policy in place that prohibits threats, advocating violence or death, and hate speech, there are major concerns with the effectiveness of those policies. Those concerns including the policies themselves, which in some cases ban self-identifying your orientation or using words like “gay” or “lesbian” altogether. They also include the mechanisms in place to report violations of the policies, many which don’t allow you to submit evidence (i.e. recordings of in game audio/video). Then there is the lack of transparency once a user has been reported, leaving the harassed often feeling as if nothing has been done.
GLAAD’s project has an established set of goals to address these concerns. To get companies to provide safe spaces for LGBT people in these virtual communities (which includes virtual worlds, online games, social networks, message boards, etc). To work with each of the companies to ensure they have solid policies in place that prevent anti-LGBT defamation where possible and mechanisms to report the defamation when it does occur. And what will be the most challenging in my eyes – to educate the user base about the real impact of their virtual homophobia.
However, what this comes down to is that this really is a company-by-company and a case-by-case project. For example, when a potentially anti-gay situation with the Old Republic message board arose, I reached out to Bioware about the situation and ended up getting a call back from a VP at Electronic Arts (EA), Bioware’s parent company. After making sure the situation was corrected, he issued a statement through GLAAD, which we shared on our blog, and put me in touch with EA staff to continue conversations about the overall issue of homophobia in virtual communities.
Through ongoing conversations with EA, they have offered to host our upcoming panel on their private campus in Redwood City, CA, and have provided a panelist – a senior producer from the Maxis Studio. While I’m out in California I’ll also be meeting with EA staff to discuss the issue of homophobia, their policies and begin working on a comprehensive plan to address it.
Microsoft has also had recent and ongoing dust-ups regarding their XBox LIVE policies being “anti-gay.” After opening up a dialogue with them about the problems, they invited GLAAD out to their campus in Washington State for two days of meetings with XBox LIVE managers to review their systems, protocols and policies and provide recommendation on way to address the problem. We now have quarterly conference calls to continue working towards solutions.
These companies aren’t monoliths and are very much committed to providing a safe and fun environment for all their players – they’re just not all there yet.
We all know it’s not going to happen overnight and it’s not going to be easy. We have an uphill battle of policy issues, system improvements and campaigns to educate users on the real dangers of homophobia. In my job as GLAAD Director of Digital Media, I’ve also seen the real impact unchecked homophobia has on people’s lives and how it leads to a climate of intolerance, to bullying and harassment, and can ultimately lead to violence and death, especially among children.
While the average player age may be 35, 25% of all game players are under 18. These are impressionable kids who are witnessing and then participating in anti-gay slurs, normalizing homophobia for them. They then take that behavior from their virtual worlds into their real world.
According to a 2007 report by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, “86.2% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 44.1% reported being physically harassed and 22.1% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.”
In February of 2008, a 14-year-old took out a gun during class and killed a 15-year-old classmate because of the student’s sexual orientation and gender identity. This past April, an 11-year-old boy in Massachusetts who didn’t identify as gay hanged himself because of anti-gay bullying, as did another 11-year-old boy in Georgia. These are but a few examples.
Some may argue that these examples don’t directly support the argument that unchecked homophobia in virtual communities leads to real world violence amongst kids. However, we can all agree that children learn what’s appropriate and acceptable and how to treat others from their friends, families and from their communities. And that includes their virtual communities.
This is a problem we cannot leave unchecked.
For those who say this is bigger than just being about homophobia – that there are also issues like racism and sexism to be addressed – you are right. But keep in mind; while the work being done here is focused around fighting homophobia its implications will affect many other groups. If we work to help implement better reporting mechanisms, it helps everyone. If we work to provide better policies and safe spaces for LGBT people, those policies and spaces can be replicated for other groups as well.
If we are moving in a direction where so much of our communications and interactions occur in virtual communities, then maybe its about time we start considering how we can make the spaces civilized and safe, inviting millions more into the communities, and paving the way for the expansion of this technology into other areas of our real world.
We have an opportunity to learn from the lessons of our real-life society, to not repeat the same mistakes in our virtual ones.
We at GLAAD hope you’ll join us in this effort.
Related Posts:Panelists Announced for GLAAD’s Panel on Homophobia & Virtual Communities
July 7, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
Today, GLAAD announced the panelists and topics to be covered in an upcoming panel on Homophobia & Virtual Communities. The panel will take place from 11am-1pm on July 18, 2009 at the Electronic Arts campus, just south of San Francisco in Redwood City, California.
To RSVP, please email digitaltickets@glaad.org or visit www.glaad.org/digitalevent. You can also join the Facebook Event Page.
The first of its kind panel discussion will spotlight the issue of homophobia in virtual communities and include the perspectives of both gaming companies and LGBT gamers. Discussion will revolve around the state of the problem in these communities, policy solutions that have been developed to address homophobia – some that are working and those that are not – as well as looking forward to challenges and opportunities in various sectors of the industry including production, policy and enforcement, financial, customer service and the end user experience.
Confirmed panelists include:
- Flynn DeMarco (Alias: Fruite Brute), Founder of GayGamer.net
- Dan Hewitt, Senior Director of Communications & Industry Affairs for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA)
- Caryl Shaw, Senior Producer in the Maxis Studio (Electronic Arts, Inc.)
- Cyn Skyberg, VP of Customer Relations at Linden Lab
- Stephen Toulouse (Gamertag: stepto), Program Manager for Policy and Enforcement on Microsoft’s XBox LIVE
I’ll be moderating the panel as the Director of Digital Media for GLAAD.
Jarrett Barrios, the incoming President of GLAAD, remarked today:
The panel will provide an important forum to discuss a problem many LGBT people face in virtual communities and will help set the groundwork for better and more LGBT inclusive policies. These companies have voiced a commitment to all their customers – ensuring a safe environment for LGBT people is a critical part of that.
To RSVP, please email digitaltickets@glaad.org or visit www.glaad.org/digitalevent. You can also join the Facebook Event Page.
Other key information:
- Title: Homophobia in Virtual Communities – Highlighting the Problem and Working Towards Sustainable Solutions
- Date: Saturday, July 18th, 2009
- Time: 11am-1pm PST
- Place: Redwood City, CA (specific location information and directions will be given to those who RSVP)
- Format: 1 moderator, 5 panelists – Introductions, three major questions each followed by discussion, audience Q&A
The panel is part of GLAAD’s previously announced advocacy and anti-defamation project that will focus on a range of virtual communities including networked PC games, social networks, online gaming and virtual worlds. The project will also address policies related to commenting features on blogs, Web sites and message boards.
GLAAD will work to ensure such communities remain committed to:
- Providing safe spaces for LGBT people to connect
- Enact the best policies to prevent anti-LGBT defamation
- Educate users of these communities about the effects of homophobia.
You can read more about our Digital Media work here.
Related Posts:GLAAD Announces Project to Combat Homophobia In Virtual Communities
July 2, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
Today, GLAAD formally announced our Project on Homophobia & Virtual Communities. We also announced we’ll be holding an exciting and FREE panel to discuss the issue on July 18th, in the San Francisco Bay area (RSVP here).
From the release:
As part of this project, GLAAD will focus on a range of virtual communities including networked PC games, social networks, online gaming and virtual worlds. The project will also address policies related to commenting features on blogs, Web sites and message boards.
GLAAD will work to ensure such communities remain committed to:
- Providing safe spaces for LGBT people to connect
- Enact the best policies to prevent anti-LGBT defamation
- Educate users of these communities about the effects of homophobia.
And also:
GLAAD will also be convening a groundbreaking panel discussion in Silicon Valley on July 18, 2009, that will spotlight the issue of homophobia in virtual communities and include the perspectives of both gaming companies and LGBT gamers. Confirmed panelists include representatives from XBox Live, Electronic Arts, Inc., Linden Lab, the Entertainment Software Association, and GayGamer.net. For more information on the panel event and to RSVP, please visit: www.glaad.org/digitalevent.
Rashad Robinson, GLAAD’s Senior Director of Media Programs, from the release:
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.
As GLAAD’s Director of Digital Media, I’ll be heading up the project and moderating the upcoming panel.
As I said in the release:
In most cases, the policies devised by these companies were done so to stop defamation from happening – to protect LGBT people. For instance, by banning the use of the word ‘gay,’ the companies were preventing people from using it as a slur. Unfortunately, the unintended consequence of this is the creation of a virtual closet, where LGBT people cannot live, game, or interact openly.
Our aim here is to work with all the players – including companies, gamers, journalists, and community moderators – to develop sustainable policy solutions that address the rampant homophobia, provide safe spaces for LGBT people, and make the experience fun for all.
You can read the full release for more information.
If you’d like to provide questions or feedback, please feel free to email me at cole@glaad.org or via GLAAD’s Twitter feed @GLAAD. And if you’d like to attend the groundbreaking and FREE panel, please visit: www.glaad.org/digitalevent.
Related Posts:N.H. Marriage Equality Bill Goes to Governor, Again
June 3, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
This just in from Reuters:
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) – State lawmakers approved a bill on Wednesday to make New Hampshire the sixth U.S. state to authorize gay marriage, but the legislation still requires the governor’s signature.
New Hampshire’s Democratically controlled House of Representatives endorsed gay marriage in a 198-176 vote, hours after the state Senate approved the legislation by 14-10 along party lines, making the state the fourth this year to back gay marriage in the United States.
According to The Washington Blade’s twitter feed:
We’re told N.H. governor could sign the same-sex marriage bill before 6 p.m. Eastern.
When “Old Republic” Strikes New Media
May 1, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
This past Tuesday, a few of GLAAD’s supporters tipped me off to a story over at the site Kotaku. From the Kotaku post, by Luke Plunkett:
BioWare take their Star Wars role-playing seriously. So seriously that the developers are shutting down talk on Old Republic’s message boards about homosexuality, because it’s a term that does “not exist in Star Wars”.
Yes, if you care to trawl around the site, there are a few threads that either began as, or devolved into, discussion of how the game – or the game’s future player base – would handle gay relationships. And those threads are now locked.
According to Plunkett’s post, the community manager over at BioWare, Sean Dahlberg, posted this message on a closed thread:
As I have stated before, these are terms that do not exist in Star Wars.
Thread closed.
The story was also reported on prominent LGBT gaming sites like GayGamer.net and LesbianGamers.com.
GLAAD immediately reached out to BioWare on Tuesday to get clarification on the situation. In the email, I wrote:
If this is the case, and BioWare is not allowing people to either talk about gay relationships or to use the words “homosexual,” “lesbian,” or “gay,” we would like you to explain exactly why this is. Also, what are their other restrictions and other words not allowed on the message boards?
I’m looking forward to a prompt response, as many people – both within the gaming word and the lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender community – are beginning to discuss this issue and calling on GLAAD to take action.
While BioWare did not respond to GLAAD on Tuesday, I did receive an email from a Vice President at Electronic Arts, Inc. (EA), the parent company of BioWare, on Wednesday. EA also owns, amongst many others, the popular Sims and Madden NFL series.
In the email from EA, the Vice President responded by stating:
We made a mistake in constructing a filter that was intended to deter hateful language in one of our online communities. The filter was too broad and included the words “gay” and “lesbian.” When this mistake was brought to our attention, we corrected the filter, and apologized to the community with a statement to say that it was never our intention to restrict any specific group in the community.
The email also contained a series of facts about this specific situation and information about EA’s overall policy on comment thread moderation. Important among them was this statement:
The words “gay” and “lesbian” are NOT filtered in communities related to other EA games – however I have initiated a review to ensure this is the case with all EA sites.
Also:
Filtering the words “gay” and “lesbian” was clearly a mistake; but one made with the intention of providing a civil atmosphere for players – certainly including gay and lesbian players.
In closing, the Vice President wrote:
I hope that you and everyone associated with GLAAD understand that this was a mistake based on a sincere effort to filter hateful language off of our web site, and not to discriminate against anyone in the player community.
After receiving the email, I also received a call directly from the Vice President at EA. During the call, EA again expressed regret about the Old Republic message boards situation, we discussed the problem of homophobia in online gaming, and EA extended an offer for GLAAD to come out to California and address their staff.
I was also able to talk with EA about a new initiative that GLAAD’s Digital Media team has launched – GLAAD’s Project on Homophobia in Virtual Communities. I’ll have much more to say about this new initiative in a separate follow up post, but for now I will say that both Microsoft and EA have committed to collaborating on the project.
–
The situation with EA and the Old Republic message boards was an unfortunate one, but it highlights the problem at hand – how to fight defamation and homophobia in virtual communities without restrictions and/or moderation that either force LGBT people into virtual closets or ruin the gaming experience for everyone, LGBT people included. Then, there is the problem of how to educate these fast growing virtual communities about the real and negative impacts of homophobia.
There is no doubt these are significant problems, but GLAAD is actively working with a broad range of gamers, new media specialists, and the many companies that own and operate virtual communities to help solve them.
LGBT people, like everyone else, are looking for fun and safe spaces and communities online. The response from Electronic Arts, Inc. and their commitment, along with Microsoft and others, to collaborating with GLAAD on this project is very promising.
I, for one, am hopeful that this focus and commitment may soon lead to a new day and better experience for LGBT people and the many others who are currently bullied, harassed and discriminated against online.
More to follow soon, so be sure to check back often…
Follow GLAAD on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/glaad
Congresswoman Foxx Claims Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Murder Was “A Hoax”
April 29, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
Here’s what Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) had to say on the floor of the House of Representatives today:
“The hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard Bill [sic] is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed. But we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. The bill was named for him, the hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s, it’s really a hoax, that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”
GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano responded in a statement released today:
Congresswoman Foxx’s comments are repugnant and should be condemned by all fair-minded people in the strongest possible terms. We urge media to expose Foxx’s falsehood and her malicious disregard for the basic facts of this case.
Just the other day we saw Glenn Beck, the host of Fox News’ Glenn Beck Program, allow Sandy Rios, president of the anti-gay Culture Campaign, to perpetuate the same false and hurtful claim.
However, as you can see here and here, GLAAD debunked the ABC News reporting YEARS ago. Here is a quote from former GLAAD Executive Director, Joan M. Garry, in a November 2004 press release:
This piece says much, much more about 20/20 than it does about the murder of Matthew Shepard. 20/20’s misleading oversimplifications and distortions do a tremendous disservice to a complicated case. This simply is not a credible piece of journalism.
Take a moment and read through GLAAD’s “10 QUESTIONS ABOUT ABC’S 20/20 SHOW ON MATTHEW SHEPARD” for more information.
It’s unfortunate that many conservatives and conservative media outlets are twisting the facts are mis-reporting both the story of Matthew Shepard and the impact of the pending hate crime legislation.
For instance, here is Molly Henneberg who, “uncritically reported the false claim made by religious groups that the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act would allow individuals or groups to “be prosecuted for their religious beliefs.”
Even on the local level, you can find reports like the below from Texas, where KTBB AM 600’s Garth Maier takes listeners’ calls and falsely claims the legislation could “potentially criminalize preaching against homosexuality,” and that its “opening up a can of worms.”
GLAAD is continuing to monitor the media for mis-reporting like you see above. We’re reaching out, asking for corrections and clarification, urging members and supporters to take action where necessary, and working to ensure fair, accurate and inclusive coverage of this and other issues important to the LGBT community.
On the National Day of Silence, Many TN Students Left in the Dark
April 17, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
Today, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is observing its 13th annual National Day of Silence to “bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools.” Unfortunately, many public school students in Tennessee may never learn about this important public education campaign.
On Wednesday, the ACLU sent a letter to Tennessee school officials over reports that many of their public schools were using software that was blocking student access to LGBT websites including, GLAAD, HRC, and GLSEN. From their site:
As many as 107 Tennessee public school districts could be illegally preventing students from accessing online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, according to a letter to sent to school officials by the American Civil Liberties Union. The letter demands that Knox County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative unblock the Internet filtering category designated “LGBT” so that students can access political and educational information about LGBT issues on school computers.
[…]
In its letter, the ACLU gives the districts and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative until April 29 to come up with a plan to restore access to the LGBT sites or any other category that blocks non-sexual websites advocating the fair treatment of LGBT people by the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. If that deadline is not met, the ACLU will file a lawsuit.
Kathleen Bergin noted over at the First Amendment Law Prof Blog that while pro-gay sites are being blocked, anti-gay sites are not:
According to reports here and here, the filtering software installed on school computers blocks access to sites like the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay, Straight Education Network, The [Gay &] Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and other civil rights groups, but allows access to websites like Exodus, Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality and other groups that promote “conversion therapy” and initiatives against gay marriage and equality. So far the school districts are passing the buck, claiming that the software company, Education Associates of America, decides which websites to filter. The company says otherwise.
WATE Channel 6 in Tennessee aired a segment about this controversy on its 11pm news broadcast, which it posted to its website:
It all started with a Central High School senior looking for college scholarships in Knoxville and now it’s affecting the entire state.
“I just want people to have access to information,” says Andrew Emitt, 17.
He says that’s what he was trying to do when he logged onto a Central High School library computer in December. “I googled LGBT scholarships. It said all gay sites were blocked.”
WKRN News 2 in Tennessee also aired a segment on the controversy and posted it on their website:
The ACLU is asking Metro and Knox County to unblock the websites by the beginning of the next school year.
It wants a response by the end of April, and if not, it plans to sue as a last resort.
Metro officials say they have not seen the letter from the ACLU yet.
There are 135 school districts in Tennessee. According to the ACLU, more than 100 of them use the filtering software that blocks gay and lesbian websites by default.
Today, on this 13th annual National Day of Silence, students across the country are choosing to be silent in order to give a voice to LGBT people affected by name-calling, bullying and harassment. Today, we need to be the voice of students in Tennessee.
Tennessee school officials need to hear from you today.
Below you’ll find contact information for the school officials that the ACLU has sent their letter to. Please, reach out to them today:
Dr. James P. McIntyre, Jr.
Knox County Schools Superintendent
(865) 594-1620
Dr. Jesse Register
Metro Nashville Public Schools, Director
(615) 259-INFO (4636), press 5 and ask to be transferred.
Dr. Lyle C. Ailshie
Tennessee Schools Cooperative
(423) 787-8014
Change.org also has an online form that allows you to send a letter to Tennessee officials.
You can learn more about the Day of Silence here: http://www.dayofsilence.org.
h/t to eccentriclee who sent GLAAD a message about the controversy to our new official Twitter account -http://www.twitter.com/glaad
XBox Live, Homophobia, and Online Gaming Policy
February 26, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
A post over at The Consumerist has generated a great deal of buzz in the blogosphere today.
From yesterday’s post:
Teresa says that she was harassed by other players and later suspended from XBOX Live because she identified herself as a lesbian in her profile. When she appealed to Microsoft, she says they told her that other gamers found her sexual orientation “offensive.”
The Consumerist also posted Teresa’s letter to them in which she describes the incident. They followed it with:
We’ve heard of gamers being suspended for identifying themselves as gay in their GamerTag, and even one case of a guy whose name was actually “Richard Gaywood” but his tag was suspended anyway because apparently the word “gay” is so offensive that it doesn’t matter if its actually your name.
As far as we know, Microsoft is unwilling to reconsider this position.
The Seattle, WA, based The Stranger had this to say about the situation:
“The story doesn’t entirely add up-mostly because The Consumerist prefers to hit copy+paste than do any research or fact-checking (no user name? no request from Microsoft for a response? hello libel?), but also because the way Xbox Live works, this user wouldn’t have necessarily broadcast her sexual preference as described. But a user can find him/herself temporarily banned if a boatload of people send complaints through Xbox Live’s reporting system…”
The Stranger also noted that Stephen Toulouse, who handles policy and enforcement for XBox Live, updated his twitter feed with this message:
re: the consumerist story. Expression of any sexual orientation (straight or gay or otherswise) is not allowed in gamertags. However we’ve heard from the user base they want that capability, so I am examining how we can provide it in a way that wont get misused. I can’t say any more at the moment, except to say I’m working right now in finding a way to safely express relationship preference.
Since the beginning of this year, GLAAD has been in active conversations with Microsoft, specifically with Stephen Tolouse, about XBox Live and how their policies affect LGBT people. The conversations actually began as a result of work GLAAD did around the launch of Sony’s beta for it’s new online virtual world, Playstation Home.
At the end of 2008, when Sony launched the beta for Playstation Home, we fielded concerns from GLAAD supporters that the system was not LGBT friendly. It was being reported to us that when people used the chat feature and would type in certain words like “gay” or “lesbian”, they would come up as asterisks like “***” or “*******.” Typing and sending “I am gay” would actually send “I am ***.” Also, people found they were banned from using a similar set of words to name “clubs” in the virtual world.
We reached out to Sony and after a series of productive conversations over a few days, changes were made to the system that removed some of these restrictions. Unfortunately, some still remain. And GLAAD remains dedicated to working with Sony to address them.
Back to Microsoft – While researching the Sony issue, we came across many different articles and blog posts from May of 2008 talking about Microsoft and the banning of users and the many restrictions that were affecting LGBT gamers. Wanting to see if any progress had been made since May, we reached out to Microsoft and got an almost instant reply from Stephen Toulouse.
After talking with both Sony and Microsoft, GLAAD began to notice a common thread in both of the gaming giant’s policies – they were both put in place to fight and/or prevent defamation. It sounds counterintuitive to some, and to even us at first, but upon further review and discussion, the issue at hand became clearer.
The online world provides unprecedented anonymity for people. They can, and do, say what they want. Unfortunately, in online gaming that has often translated to homophobic, racist, and misogynistic attacks.
Look at some of these staggering numbers from a survey done in 2007:
88% of respondents said they had heard the phrase “that’s so gay” while 84% said they had heard ‘gay’ used in a derogatory fashion. Over 50% said they felt that games portray gay people in a stereotypical way, while 42% believe gays are under-represented in games. 15% said the industry creates a culture where gay employees “feel like they must stay in the closet”. 52% believed that the gaming community is hostile to gay and lesbian gamers. Only 9% said they “never” encounter anti-gay sentiments from online gamers.
Sony, Microsoft, and many others have been trying to address this by putting policies in place to prevent subscribers from using the online shield of anonymity to harass, verbally assault, and generally defame others. Are they the best policies? No. Are they working to improve them?
In the case of Stephen and Microsoft – they have been nothing but open, welcoming, and willing to discuss ideas for positive and inclusive changes during these conversations. Microsoft has invited GLAAD out to its headquarters in Redmond, WA, for multi-day meetings with developers, executives, and policy enforcers in the upcoming weeks.
As for the rampant homophobia in the online gaming community, GLAAD is also working to address that. In addition to meeting with gaming companies, we’re planning to host a panel discussion early this summer in Silicon Valley. We’ll be discussing the issue and getting feedback from both the LGBT and gaming community about how to fight the defamation and educate users about the impact of their words and actions.
We’re truly in a new era. And with new technologies, come new challenges. LGBT people have fought hard for years to come out of real-world closets – we’re not willing to accept virtual ones.
As GLAAD makes progress, we will be engaging the community in a vibrant discussion and work together to find the best solutions to make online gaming safe and enjoying for us all.
Delonas Controversy Is A Symptom Of A Larger Problem At The Post
February 25, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
Last week, the controversy surrounding a cartoon by Sean Delonas, the New York Post editorial cartoonist, vaulted the New York City-based tabloid into the national spotlight. As we’ve written about here and here, the cartoon from Wednesday, February 18, depicted police officers having shot and killed a chimpanzee and made an implied reference to President Obama, saying, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.”
Soon after the edition of the Post with Delonas’ racist cartoon hit newsstands, a chorus of voices began questioning and condemning both Sean Delonas and the leadership at the New York Post, focusing on Col Allan, the Post’s editor-in-chief.
The Reverend Al Sharpton and his National Action Network, the NAACP, ColorOfChange.org, New York Governor David Patterson, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and many other local and state officials were some of the first voices in a loud and growing outcry over the Post’s ugly defamation.
GLAAD was also one of the voices joining in this chorus. We put together a slideshow of Delonas’ defamatory and anti-LGBT cartoons and issued a national Call to Action, asking supporters to contact the Post and its parent company, News Corp. As part of our mission and ongoing work, we felt it was important that continuing conversations about Delonas’ latest offense be put in the context of his long history of defamatory attacks, including those against LGBT people
It is also critical to note, however, that Delonas’ work is just a symptom of a larger problem at the New York Post. After all, activists formed GLAAD in 1985 as a direct result of the Post’s deplorable and defamatory coverage of the AIDS epidemic during the 1980’s.
Through the years, the Post has continued to engage in exploitative tabloid sensationalism of LGBT issues. Just since 2000, when Col Allan began his tenure as editor in chief, if you picked up a New York Post you could find headlines such as, “Tranny Heaven,” “Free to be He-She,” “Attack of the Killer Lesbians,” and many more (see the slideshow with more headlines below). In response, GLAAD issued numerous Calls to Action and the Post has made the “Worst” list on our “Best and Worst of National News” multiple times.
We’ve repeatedly had our supporters – our community and our allies – rise up and call for a change in the way the Post covers LGBT issues. Unfortunately, a majority of the time the calls and the letters and the protests have fallen on deaf ears.
Yesterday, news came that Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of the New York Post, had decided to publish a statement on the recent controversial Sean Delonas cartoon:
“As the Chairman of the New York Post, I am ultimately responsible for what is printed in its pages. The buck stops with me.
Last week, we made a mistake. We ran a cartoon that offended many people. Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted.
Over the past couple of days, I have spoken to a number of people and I now better understand the hurt this cartoon has caused. At the same time, I have had conversations with Post editors about the situation and I can assure you – without a doubt – that the only intent of that cartoon was to mock a badly written piece of legislation. It was not meant to be racist, but unfortunately, it was interpreted by many as such.
We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community.”
But looking through the catalog of anti-LGBT Sean Delonas cartoons and reflecting on the Post’s long history of hurtful and defamatory coverage, it is clear that real, substantive change needs to be made at the New York Post, and that change needs to come from the top.
Therefore, we at GLAAD are calling on Rupert Murdoch to take real and appropriate measures to stop the defamation at the New York Post.
Rupert Murdoch
Chairman and Chief Executive
News Corporation
1211 Avenue of Americas
8th Floor
NY, NY 10036
Phone: 212-852-7000 (Ask for Mr. Murdoch’s office)
E-Mail: rmurdoch@newscorp.com
You can also CC the News Corp Press Contacts on your email:
Teri Everett, Senior Vice President
Corporate Affairs & Communications
Phone: 212-852-7070
E-Mail: teverett@newscorp.com
Jack Horner, Director
Corporate Affairs & Communications
Phone: 212-852-7952
E-Mail: jhorner@newscorp.com
Why Rupert Murdoch? Well, in Murdoch’s own words, “The buck stops with me.” As Chairman of the Post and owner of News Corp, which own the Post along with Fox News and The Wall Street Journal, the responsibility ultimately lies at his feet.
And after all, it’s clear that his editor in chief, Col Allan, won’t be a credible agent of change here.
Look through some of the Post’s coverage below and stand with GLAAD and its allies by calling on Rupert Murdoch to take real and appropriate measures to stop the New York Post from continuing its hurtful, inaccurate, and defamatory depictions and portrayals.
You can click here to view the individual images.
Sample of New York Post Stories:
- December 2008 – ‘60s By Cher
- December 2008 – Woman to Claim ‘Tranny Defense’ in Murder Trial
- September 2008 – Ye-She-Va
- March 2008 – Tranny Heaven
- February 2008 – Axis of She-Vil
- January 2008 – EVIL LESBIAN MOM LEFT TODDLER TO DIE SLOW DEATH: DA
- December 2007 – Lesbian ‘Killer’s’ Bitter Truth
- November 2007 – Lesbian ‘Killer’s’ Mental Woe
- April 2007 – Attack of the Killer Lesbians
- February 2007 – Free to Be He-She
- March 2005 – HE-SHE FUMES OVER DOOR DISS
- May 2001 – SCHOOL KILLS MOTHER’S DAY
Sean Delonas Cartoons:
- Click here for a slideshow of defamatory and anti-LGBT cartoons.
GLAAD Actions:
- December 2008 – New York Post Continues to Denigrate the Transgender Community
- June 2008 – New York Post Cartoon Takes an Immature Swing at Gay Couples
- June 2008 – Call To Action: New York Post Publishes Juvenile Cartoon Swipe at Gay Couples
- February 2008 – New York Post Prints Two Dehumanizing Headlines About LGBT People
- January 2008 – NY POST ARTICLE FEATURES GRATUITOUS AND SENSATIONAL HEADLINE
- November 2007 – The New York Post Continues to Defame the Transgender Community
- October 2007 – GLAAD Condemns Dehumanizing New York Post Column
- July 2007 – NY POST PUBLISHES YET ANOTHER GRATUITOUS VULGAR ANTI-GAY CARTOON
- June 2001 – New York Post’s Homophobia, AIDS-phobia Continue
- May 2001 – Homophobia and the New York Post
CALL TO ACTION: Sean Delonas & The New York Post
February 20, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
From Good As You to Pam’s House Blend to Joe.My.God to Gawker to The Huffington Post and almost everywhere else on the intertubes, you can read about the brewing controversy surrounding Sean Delonas’ recent cartoon in the New York Post. The cartoon depicts police having shot and killed a chimpanzee while making reference to President Obama’s recently passed economic stimulus bill.
The cartoon has sparked widespread anger and outrage, and community leaders have coordinated ongoing protests of the New York Post.
GLAAD’s President had this to say about the controversy:
Sean Delonas has a history of defamatory work and we stand with those who decry this recent cartoon as unacceptable and a vicious portrayal that neither enlightens nor entertains. It’s unacceptable that the New York Post continues to provide a platform for such instances of hateful defamation.
Below is a slideshow (images available here) of Delonas’ defamatory and anti-LGBT cartoons.
As we mentioned yesterday, Delonas has been the subject of three separate GLAAD Action Alerts for his continued juvenile and defamatory treatments of LGBT issues as well as making the “Worst” on the “Best and Worst” list on several occasions. This year he was named to GLAAD’s “Worst Defamation of 2008” list.
Today, GLAAD has issued a Call to Action for members and an Eye on the Media to raise awareness for Delonas’ history of anti-LGBT cartoons.
From today’s Call to Action:
GLAAD is calling on our community members and allies to stand up and join those who are speaking out against the New York Post and News Corp.’s continuing promotion of Sean Delonas’ hateful defamation. Demand that News Corp. hold the New York Post and Delonas accountable for their defamatory representations, and that the Post stop providing a platform for such vile, abusive attacks.
Contact:
Mr. Col Allan
Editor In Chief
New York Post
Phone : 212-930-8272
Email: col.allan@nypost.com
Teri Everett, Senior Vice President
Corporate Affairs & Communications
News Corporation
Phone: 212-852-7070
E-Mail: teverett@newscorp.com
Jack Horner, Director
Corporate Affairs & Communications
News Corporation
Phone: 212-852-7952
E-Mail: jhorner@newscorp.com
We urge you to please contact the Post today.
NYC LGBT Center Hosts “Real World” Debut Party
February 11, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
If you’re going to be in New York City tonight, you should stop by XES Lounge to celebrate the NYC LGBT Center’s debut on this season of “The Real World: Brooklyn.” This season is The Real World’s most LGBT inclusive yet, with the Center playing a prominent role as three of the cast members’ place of work.
As you may remember, GLAAD was able to get exclusive interviews with many members of the cast. If you haven’t yet seen the interviews with Ryan & Chet, J.D. and Scott, Sarah, or Katelynn you should check them out!
The cast will be at XES Lounge, 157 W 24th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues, tonight from 8-10:30pm. You can read more information on the event here by clicking here.
UPDATE: Police Claiming Long Island Vandalism Not A Hate Crime
February 10, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
As an update to the recent post by former GLAAD Transgender Advocacy Fellow, Mik Kinkead, Newsday.com is reporting that the incident is not being classified as a hate crime. From the article:
The Suffolk County Police Hate Crimes Unit investigated last week’s incident at the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth Center as a hate crime but determined it was not, police said Tuesday.
Police arrested three men and a woman, all from Bay Shore, Monday in connection with the vandalism and charged each of them with second-degree criminal mischief. None of the four was charged with a hate crime.
The Long Island GLBT Center plans to issue a statement soon. We’ll update this post with that statement once it is made.
UPDATE: The Long Island GLBT Community Center has released it’s statement. Here is an excerpt:
Over three years ago, two of the four people arrested were former clients of LIGALY. The individuals regularly displayed inappropriate and disruptive behavior toward staff and other clients. This behavior made many of our clients feel unsafe, and the organization responded appropriately by discharging them from our services. We are saddened to hear that the individuals arrested continued to act out in hatred and violence, as these attacks illustrate.
While the vandalism is no longer being investigated as a bias crime, we feel that the investigation and the attention paid to these crimes by public officials and media was appropriate. Vandalism of this magnitude is intended to send a message of fear. The Center stands as the most public declaration of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender pride on Long Island. As the most visible symbol of GLBT presence and pride, the vandalism was indeed interpreted and felt as an attack on these already vulnerable communities.
Coverage of the Lesbian And Gay Band Association During Inaugural Parade
January 21, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
The Lesbian and Gay Band Association was selected to be the first-ever openly LGBT organization to march in the presidential inaugural parade. Some news outlets took note of this important piece of history.
Below are some videos of that coverage. As we find more outlets who covered the band, we’ll be sure to update this post.
CNN’s The Situation Room:
As Pam’s House Blend makes note, a local DC Fox Affiliate also covered the band:
EXCLUSIVE – Interview With Ryan & Chet From The Real World: Brooklyn
January 21, 2009 by Justin Cole, GLAAD's Director of Digital Media
If you missed our first few interviews with some of the cast members from this season of MTV’s The Real World, you can click here to see JD & Scott’s interview and click here to see Katelynn’s. This season is the most LGBT inclusive Real World to date!
And if you missed the first couple of episodes, you can visit MTV’s website and watch them along with video dailies from the cast members.
Below is our exclusive interview with Ryan & Chet, two straight cast members who initially don’t seem as open to the LGBT housemates, especially Katelynn, as the other cast members. Ryan was once in the military and is from a small town in Pennsylvania while Chet is from Salt Lake City, Utah and is Mormon. I ask Ryan about serving with gays in the military and I ask Chet about the role of the Mormon Church in Prop 8 and about attitudes towards LGBT people. Their answers are surprising!
