December 20, 2009
GLAAD :: new leadership? new attitude?
Scott Stiffler READ TIME: 10 MIN.
Back in July, EDGE spoke with Jarrett Barrios, incoming president of the Click here to read the July article.)
In the article Barrios invited EDGE to check back in with him in December - when he was settled in and had a better sense of things to come.
So recently we were eager to find out what changes he has brought. The answer? Check back in in three more months. "My goal is to spend the first six months not changing too much, until I've had a chance to see what's working and what needs retooling. Largely, I am looking at how the systems work before I make serious changes; but I intend to make changes in terms of the staffing levels of different departments, come late winter, early spring."
Not satisfied with that answer, and keenly aware EDGE had cyberspace to fill that was bookmarked for this article, we decided to forge ahead and talk about what he's done so far and what he's committed to do in the future.
After three months on the job, Barrios envisions GLAAD "moving away from the mass media" as a means of disseminating its advocacy "to the social media; Twitter and Facebook. GLAAD has to be better in those spaces."
Building a multimedia platform
To that end, Barrios says GLAAD has begun to build a multimedia platform "for gay and lesbian media advocacy in response to defamation - as well as political and social advocacy."
This new clearing house for information would include ample space for individual advocacy and comments in the form of UGC (user generated content), Letter to the Editor and Call the Offender functions and a myriad of bells and whistles which will make the organization's advocacy efforts utterly 21st Century. Estimated launch date? "Late 2010." Why so long when the cybersavvy teen can get establish a social networking presence overnight? "It's a twelve month project. There's the design, the creation of the development of the tools, acquisition of server space which is not cheap, and video content uses a lot of memory."
In any event, when it's launched, Barrios pledges "You can expect our news and entertainment work to have more teeth; to draw the lines very clearly for American to see what is defamatory and ultimately hurts our equality. We'll be going after defamation hard and getting stories out there that tell the full story of who we are."
But will a late 2010 launch be too little too late? Some voracious consumers of web-based opinion think so. Jeff Epperly, a Boston writer/activist and former editor of Bay Windows, observes that "When GLAAD first started, there weren't really any national mechanisms to track these kinds of issues. Now, with the explosive growth of LGBT blogs, I get all my alerts about questionable things in the media from Andrew Sullivan; and that's just blogs, not news sites."
A change in position
Recently, GLAAD was up to its old finger-wagging tricks by taking on pop culture matters. This time, however, swift and strong negative reaction from those whose support they courted led to an uncharacteristic change in policy.
In November, the lewd bad boy cultural satirists at South Park ran an episode in which the elementary school friends re-contextualize "fag" so it refers to desperate attention-seekers instead of gay men. The word is then used with enough frequency to fill a swear jar ten times over.
The very next day, reaction from GLAAD was as swift as it was predictable. The terse missive they issued (in the form of a "Call to Action") managed to take the show to task without ever mentioning the word "fag" - a maddening little habit they have when that charged slur rears its ugly head:
"Though this seems to represent a well-intentioned effort by the creators of South Park to delegitimize a vulgar anti-gay slur, the fact is that the word is and remains a hateful slur that is often part of the harassment, bullying and violence that gay people, and gay youth in particular, experience on a daily basis in this country. The creators of South Park are right on one important point: more and more people are using the F-word as an all-purpose insult. However, it is irresponsible and wrong to suggest that it is a benign insult or that promoting its use has no consequences for those who are the targets of anti-gay bullying and violence... And while many South Park viewers will understand the sophisticated satire and critique in last night's episode, others won't - and if even a small number of those take from this a message that using the "F-word" is OK, it worsens the hostile climate that many in our community continue to face."
The myriad of opinions and assumptions above speaks volumes about why GLAAD's self-anointed role as media watchdog is bark that really bites. From linking a clearly satirical use of the word to an inevitable consequence of anti-gay harassment - to its condescending assertion that we should avoid hateful words in any context to accommodate those not sophisticated enough to "get it" - it seems GLAAD went a bit too far. Even its loyal constituents weren't responding to cries of wolf this time around.
The good news? GLAAD seems to have realized the futility of combating obvious satire.
In a November 16 clarification, Taj Paxton (GLAAD's Director of Entertainment Media) issued a follow-up on their South Park Call to Action which clarified
While he says he's been hesitant to change too much in his first six months, Barrios did cite GLAAD's change its satire policy as proof that the organization is evolving - noting that he acknowledge the importance of changing: "The blanket policy opposing all forms of satire that use an anti-gay stereotype or epitaph. In the instance of South Park, stereotypes were used to make people think about anti-gay attitudes, and not deride gay people."
Asked how the organization will assess what and whom they will damn or praise in the future, Barrios offers a curiously vague standard: "To paraphrase Justice Potter Stevens, you know it when you see it; so a one size fits all policy doesn't serve GLAAD and doesn't serve the LGBT community."
That said, Barrios stood by his stinging criticism of the film Bruno earlier this summer (in a statement released to the media months before he officially began work in the fall)' target='_blank'> "It can be argued, and I do believe, that there are many reasons to think Mr. Baron's approach to satire was entirely different than South Park. In the future, GLAAD would look at the entirety of a program and try to assess as opposed to applying a one size fits all policy."
Whether GLAAD can adapt Potter Stevens' invoking of common sense when deciding whether the use of a hateful word constitutes hate speech remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Epperly says that the whole notion of debating "what constitutes hate words or discriminatory actions on the part of TV shows" gets into the " original problem with GLAAD" - noting that assessing intent "is so subjective. South Park uses the word 'fag' on that show. Is that something GLAAD needs to take on? I'm not even really comfortable with them saying that the top thing on their website is (the Grammy nomination of homophobic Jamaican rap singer) Buju Banton. He's being nominated for an award in a specific context, and I'm not sure it's to our advantage to be telling artistic organizations what artists they should be giving awards to."
All activism is local
Epperly also weighed in on heat GLAAD took from its handling of the Adam Lambert American Music Awards kiss and its subsequent consequences. (Epperly: Adam Lambert is a perfect example of what" s="" wrong="" with="" GLAAD.="" Their="" default="" position="" was="" to="" take="" the="" word="" of="" ABC,="" that="" there="" was="" no="" bias="" involved="" in="" their="" decision="" (to="" block="" out="" the="" kiss="" on="" west="" coast="" editions="" of="" the="" live="" show).="" If="" they="" just="" looked="" at="" the="" history="" of="" awards="" shows="" and="" see="" how="" they'="" didn't="" block="" out="" Madonna="" or="" Pink="" when="" she="" did="" simulated="" oral="" sex,="" I="" think="" they="" were="" so="" quick="" to="" take="" ABC's="" word="" for="" it="" when="" in="" fact="" ABC="" clearly="" had="" a="" double="" standard="" when="" it="" came="" to="" Adam="" Lambert."=""
Barrios counters: "Our first seven statements on the matter were clear on that; and a statement regarding ABC's statement to us was understood somehow as our position, which wasn't the case; and we subsequently clarified. The larger issue is one of double standards, a man kissing another man is not treated the same way as a heterosexual kiss on TV. It's treated as scandalous, worthy of being editor out. If those double standards continue, the right wing will be able to use shock and awe efforts."
All activism is local
Epperly is supportive, however, of a recent GLAAD statement which called attention to "a shift in focus to being on the ground to assist as communications arms of local LGBT organizations in places where our rights are up for grabs. This has always been part of GLAAD's work but it's an area Jarrett is putting more resources behind."
Epperly notes that "GLAAD just launched a Boston chapter, and I was kind of glad to see that they're starting to localize; because that's where the work needs to be done in terms of alerting people. Someone does need to alert people about some of the things that go on in the Boston Herald and on some local right wing talk shows in New England.
GLAAD points out, fairly and accurately, that it's routinely raked through the coals for speaking out on pop culture matters - when much of the organization's resources and efforts are spent working on local matters. "In Washington state," a recent GLAAD statement noted, "Our Media Field Strategist was in Washington state, on the ground for two months, to assist the campaign approve Referendum 71 - which would uphold the state's domestic partnership law. GLAAD was there to facilitate media interviews, help local LGBT couples and allies share their stories, organize a letter to the editor campaign that resulted in over 150 letters and spread the word about the importance of legal protections for gay and lesbian families."
Barrios: "You can expect a digging our heels in on field work. I made a decision in Washington rather than to have a senior field strategist come in and train and leave, that they would stay for the duration of the campaign." That decision heralds the beginning of "A more sustained commitment than we've made in the past (to on the ground fieldwork); a way of having a deep impact on the outcome of these races where our rights are impacted."
Anne Levinson, Campaign Chair of the Approve 71 Campaign, recalls' target='_blank'> "GLAAD was a critical part of a broad coalition we brought together to engage new people and new organizations across the state and to coordinate with national LGBT partners across the country. Our campaign did not shy away from discussing lesbian and gay families and developed a message that was honest, clear and understandable. GLAAD was a strong proponent of this approach. GLAAD staff helped us reach out, prepare volunteers for interviews, respond to community print media and counteract the misinformation being put out by the other side.
Whether GLAAD can mimic apply this grassroots effectiveness to the goals laid out by Barrios remains to be seen. Check back in three months - the timetable set by Barrios as the point at which he'll be accountable for articulating the changes he speaks of above.
Scott Stiffler is a New York City based writer and comedian who has performed stand-up, improv, and sketch comedy. His show, "Sammy's at The Palace. . .at Don't Tell Mama"---a spoof of Liza Minnelli's 2008 NYC performance at The Palace Theatre, recently had a NYC run. He must eat twice his weight in fish every day, or he becomes radioactive.
