ON THE AIR OFF THE PRESS

Lesbians on TV-but not MTV

by John Duane Graves

The Plain Dealer ran a full-page story on gay students on October 6. Unfortunately, the gay student story appeared in the early editions only.

Country singing star Kathy Mattea will be one of the artists performing on Red Hot + Country, a Mercury Records release to raise funds for AIDS research and education. Mercury Records' previous AIDS benefit releases, Red Hot + Dance and Red Hot+Blue, have raised more than $7 million.

Cable's Discovery channel has begun airing A Time of AIDS, a four-part documentary on the history of the AIDS crisis this month. Topics for the 4 hour-long segments include the disease's early history, early efforts to find the source of the virus, the social and economic impact of AZT and current treatment and research.

USA Today reports that Playboy TV, the USA network and the Comedy Central channel have teamed to air comic Suzi Landolphi's one hour AIDS awareness and sex education performance, Hot, Sexy and Safer, right after Out There, the Comedy Central channel's upcoming hour-long all lesbian-gay comedy special which will air December 3 at 10 pm. Hot, Sexy and Safer will also air on the Playboy channel at 11 pm December 3 and on the USA channel December 30 at 12:30 am.

Following the lead of Other Mothers, the season premiere of CBS' Schoolbreak Special about a high school freshman with lesbian parents, cable's Showtime channel has aired shows with gay themes on Ready or Not and Chris Cross, Showtime's two new drama series aimed at children between 8 and 13. Both shows deal with homosexuality and stress acceptance and tolerance.

The woman who produces Alex's TV show on the NBC drama series, Sisters, has come out of the closet as a lesbian. The character, played by comic Nora Dunn of Saturday Night Live fame, is a recurring character on the show and hopefully there will be other lesbian storylines involving her in the future.

Melrose Place's recurring gay character Matt has been getting more air time this season. When last we heard, Matt entered a marriage of convenience with Katya, a foreign woman friend, so that she could stay in this country. His marriage, however, is looked on with suspicion by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and may cause him problems with a new boyfriend. The music video for the song "Switch"

by the lesbian singing group Fem 2 Fem was banned from MTV because some people thought the openly gay song would encourage listeners to experiment with "alternative sex." Pat Atkinson, the mother of a 17year-old girl, is afraid that this type of music and its explicit lyrics will influence impressionable teens and debated the issue with members of Fem 2 Fem on a recent Maury Povich Show. Fem 2 Fem were among the guests on a recent Joan Rivers Show about lesbians in the limelight and will also be featured in an upcoming edition of Playboy magazine. Other guests on the Joan Rivers Show were Martina Navratilova's ex-lover Judy Nelson and her new lover, author Rita Mae Brown; lesbian comics Suzanne Westenhoefer and Kate Clinton; Dorothy Atcheson, the assistant editor of Playboy magazine and Diane Salvatore, editor of Redbook magazine.

The October 18 edition of Newsweek magazine reported on Gay Rights, Special Rights, a video produced by the antigay religious group, the Traditional Values Coalition, that tries to persuade AfricanAmericans to join their anti-gay crusade. The Traditional Values Coalition, and other predominantly white anti-gay religious organizations, have been trying to attract African-American supporters by attacking traditional civil-rights groups that have supported gay civil rights. As to how sincere the anti-gay groups are, the article points out that two of the major figures appearing in Gay Rights, Special Rights-Mississippi Senator Trent Lott and former attorney general Edwin Meese-have followed policies that are unfriendly to the struggle for African-American civil rights. Lott opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1990 and tried to reverse the ban on tax exemptions for segregated schools while Meese led the Reagan administration's war on affirmative action.

Finally, GayWaves is looking for one or two volunteers to help produce the show in the WRUW recording studio. Volunteers will be trained in studio production techniques and should be absolutely committed to making sure this local lesbian, gay and bisexual show gets on the air each week. Currently the show is taped on Wednesday evenings between 8 and 11 pm in the recording studio at WRUW 91.1 FM located in the basement of the Mather Memorial Building at 11220 Bellflower Road in University Circle. If you would like to volunteer, call WRUW at 368-2208 and leave a message for GayWaves telling us how to contact you.

POSTINGS

Stonewall 25 Ohio Kickoff Meeting to assemble an Ohio contingent for Stonewall 25, the International March on the United Nations in New York to affirm the human rights of lesbian and gay people, and honor the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Everyone interested in attending, participating or volunteering should attend the planning assembly on Saturday, December 18, starting at 9 am. It will be held at the National Offices of the United Church of Christ (UCC), 700 Prospect Ave., 9th floor. For further information call 522-1999, fax 522-0025.

Fetishes, fantasies and fashion, a social evening to benefit the Living Room including a private showing of the photographs of Herbert Ascherman takes place Friday, December 10 at the Ascherman Gallery, 1846 Coventry Road. Donors of $50 arrive at 7:30 pm to enjoy hors d'oeuvres, mindless chatter, dessert and coffee; $30 donors arrive at 9 pm for dessert, coffee, and yes, mindless chatter. Photographs for sale

will be offered at various size and price ranges. Tickets are available at the LesbianGay Community Service Center. For more information, call the Center (522-1999), or 961-3711.

A Toy Party and Benefit is being hosted again by Ohio City Oasis on Tuesday, December 7, starting at 9 pm. Organizations and businesses are encouraged to donate a box of toys, pies and cakes for a pie auction to benefit children at Christmas. There will be a pie toss, raffles and other fun-raising events. Oasis is on the corner of W. 29th St. and Detroit Ave. Call 771-0369 to arrange donations or for more information.

The North Coast Men's Chorus winter concert, "Welcome to the Holidays," takes place Saturday, December 11 at 8 pm at the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church (UCC), 9606 Euclid Ave. Tickets are $10 in advance through Chorus members or Advantix, and $12 at the door.

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NOVEMBER 26, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

TECHMAN

SERVICE S

ELECTRICAL WORK

LOW VOLTAGE LIGHTING CODE VIOLATION CORRECTIONS

391-9813

Home Environments

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(216) 651-4685

Joseph A. Smith Larry Shaffer

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Travel Place

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* Olivia Club Med & Cruises

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