Badpuppy Gay Today |
Monday, 05 January 1998 |
In the January 1998 Esquire (the annual "Dubious Achievement Awards" issue), the magazine pokes fun at the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention's failed call for a boycott of Disney because of its anti-discriminatory employment policies regarding sexual orientation and a commitment to diversity in programming. "When we first heard about [the boycott], we chuckled softly at the quaintness of it all. Who's next, the Camp Fire Girls?" it begins. "It's not as though the Magic Kingdom is some kind of wholesome, star-spangled cover for an insidious plot to undermine the values of the vast and trusting majority of right-thinking Americans. Or is it?" It then cites numerous absurd and humorous examples of things Disney and its subsidiaries have done that paranoid radical religious folk could see as the "promotion of homosexuality," including: "The 'music' of Queen, the rock band headed by the late Freddy Mercury, is distributed by Hollywood Records, a Disney subsidiary. When he was alive Mercury usually wore leather pants;" and "Sinead O'Connor, who has recorded songs for Disney movie soundtracks, and who once tore up a picture of the pope on national TV, portrays the Virgin Mary in The Butcher Boy. Though [the film is not a Miramax [i.e., Disney] film, you know, it sounds like something that could be;" and "Paramount's In & Out featured an onscreen kiss between Tom Selleck and Kevin Kline. And though the film is in no way related to Disney, it made us wonder. Paramount? Paramount too?" Esquire should have included itself in its list of Dubious Achievements of 1997 for pulling a gay-themed story from its April issue, allegedly because the magazine feared that Chrysler, a major advertiser for the magazine, might be offended by the work by critically acclaimed author David Leavitt. When the magazine tried to explain the allegation away, its excuse was that the fairly tame sexual content of the story would "offend many, many people." The decision was either corporate pandering in editorial content or anti-gay bias, or both. Still, Esquire does a good turn with the Disney/Baptist satire and should be recognized for what might be a sign of good things to come in the new year. Please commend Esquire for the new Disney satire, but also remind them that while their dubious achievements during 1997 are gone, they will not soon be forgotten. Contact: David Granger, Editor-in-Chief Contact GLAAD by e-mail at Report defamation in the media by calling GLAAD's Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334) |
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