The New York Times was beaten by a small Vermont paper for the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing, and the Rutland Herald's topics were defenses in support of civil unions for same-sex couples, according to PlanetOut April 17. Editorial page Editor David Moats wrote more than 20 editorials defending gay civil unions. No Vermont paper had ever received a Pulitzer.
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg left his post as a member of the advisory board to the Boy Scouts of America because of discriminatory policies, Reuters reported April 14. Spielberg, who wrote the requirements for a "Cinematography" merit badge, said through a spokesman that he was opposed to the exclusion of gays from Scouting. In a sign that they still don't get it, the Scouts issued a statement that said in part, "We're not looking for anyone to kick out as long as they are good role models for kids."
PlanetOut of April 16 reports that Thailand will issue a special before-and-after photo passport for transgender Thai's even though under Thai law people cannot officially change their gender. Many transgender Thais have emigrated to Germany, which does legally recognize sex changes but there have been passport problems where recent photos do not resemble previous pictures.
Probably not meaning to inject any gay humor, the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition said, in relation to President Bush's appointment of a gay man to run the White House AIDS Office, "We don't want this to become the leak in the dike," according to PlanetOut.
U.S. News' columnist John Leo on April 16 comments on the non-commenting by establishment news media on the murder of a 13-year-old boy by two gay men. Andrew Sullivan's April 2 column in the New Republic re-started this issue, and Leo believes the news business will have to respond. Sullivan and Leo believe there are political components especially in comparing this murder to the murder of Matthew Shepard. It would seem to this columnist that it is wrong to chauvinistically defend ( or ignore ) an evil act by a gay person, if gay people want to be fully accepted as rightful members of society. We certainly have not been lax in criticizing the closeted J. Edgar Hoover or Roy Cohn.
The New York Times of April 15 carries a front-page, graphically told story of male rape in prison. The article asserts that guards often set up rape situations either by carelessly putting smaller men into cells with known rapists, or actually doing it on purpose to punish, for instance, a smart-mouthed detainee,.
The severely gay overtones have helped push Broadway's The Producers into success, according to The New York Times April 20. Mel Brooks' upped the gay quotient in converting the movie to a musical. Of course, everything is so over-the-top that a theater queen to end all theater queens who appears in a ball gown that makes him resemble the Chrysler Building seems commonplace.
The Chicago Tribune of April 13 touts the Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club on Halsted for its mixture of drag, drinks and dinner. The divas entertain during the food and drinks, and apparently to the amazement of the reviewer the food is as extraordinary as the high heels.
From a visit to relatives in Kansas, this columnist filched a local newspaper, the Hutchinson News of April 18, to check out a writer who's still fussing about [ ex ] TV talkshow host Dr. [ sic ] Laura. he quotes her at length about her put-upon life, asserts a number of unproven statements ( about the many people who've been "converted" to heterosexuality ) and still is angry about the hijacking of the word "gay." The nationally syndicated writer, Cal Thomas, is still stuck in the 1930s.
The New York Times Book review section April 15 reviews a novel, Endangered Species by Louis Bayard, which records the problems of a likeable young gay man who wishes to keep his family line going. The visits to the sperm bank sound fall-on-the-floor funny,
The Chicago Tribune April 24 edition reviews the new book The Bedtrick: Tales of Sex and Masquerade by Wendy Doniger, University of Chicago Press. Doniger, a professor at the U. of C., collected hundreds of stories of sexual deception, including many gender benders. "All the stories involve at least one person who goes to bed with someone while thinking it's someone else, and discovered the mistake only after the deed is done," the Trib states.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell reviewed the new film Kevin's Room, which aired on WPWR Sunday night, in her April 22 column. Mitchell thanked executive producer Lora Branch for "keeping it real." Mitchell said she was "surprised" at how well the program was done.
Jim's e-mail address: daunsenbere@prodigy.net
