Entertainment :: Culture
Not so glad about GLAAD
(Continued from Page 1)by Scott Stiffler GLAAD seal of approval
But what does it benefit a cause to gain the attention of a nation if it means losing hearts and minds in the battle to change, improve and otherwise elevate the cultural perception of LGBTs?
Other recent press releases took on gay gossip blogger (and former GLAAD staffer) Perez Hilton-after he used the word "faggot" when reacting to his physical assault at the hands of the Black Eyed Peas’ manager. GLAAD admonished Hilton for the epitaph, suggested he apologize, appealed to the press to "avoid repetition of the slur in their coverage of this story" and linked Hilton’s use of "faggot" to the damage done to LGBTs victimized by the word when hurled by schoolyard bullies.
That’s an impressive number of suggested behavioral modifications within a single press release-a shame, then, that the appeal for change made by such skilled wordsmiths merely leaves one with the lingering feeling that GLAAD cares more about its role as self-anointed arbiter of what can and cannot be said than it does crusading against defamation in a manner conducive to promoting tolerance and genuine give-and-take conversation.
Read through two or three of their pious, finger-wagging press releases in one sitting and you, too, may come to instinctively distrust LGBTs as much as the average 700 Club viewer (Pat Robertson’s Christian news/talk show, which never fails to channel the latest polarizing GLAAD statement into a prolific fundraising opportunity).
Cathy Renna, managing partner, Renna Communications, was associated with GLAAD for fourteen years. First, in 1989 as a volunteer; then, in the mid-1990s as a staff member working to monitor the media and coordinate the organization’s volunteer group. She started GLAAD’s media training program and also served as the Director of Regional Media and its first National News Media Director. In the spirit of full disclosure, Renna notes that she was a finalist for the job of GLAAD’s president (recently filled by Jarret Barrios, who’s scheduled to take the reins in September)
That Renna is critical of the organization yet wouldn’t have minded working for them again demonstrates "GLAAD’s mission is still incredibly relevant, if not more relevant than ever" says Renna-who also notes that the organization has stopped short of realizing its full potential amidst a cultural and media landscape which differs radically from what it was when the organization began (thanks in part, she notes, to the work of LGBT advocates such as, and including, GLAAD). Renna emphasizes she is not "being critical of the organization’s existence, more of the direction it is heading in."
As for that direction, Renna refers to GLAAD’s handling of Hilton and Bruno as indicative of their bad habit of issuing "press releases that applaud or condemn" at the expense of acknowledging that "most of what we’re dealing with in the culture is about nuance; that grey area."
Renna recalls that during her tenure at GLAAD, whenever addressing some kind of controversial representation which could be perceived as homophobic, she was constantly aware "that it is very important to talk about the context of the presentation: the intent. Frankly, the goal is not about squelching speech or in some non-subjective way saying thumbs up or down. GLAAD is not the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval." Its role, instead, should be "to promote conversation" rather than control language.
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