GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE AUGUST 2, 1996

ON THE AIR OFF THE PRESS

Martina has a new love; drag queen is GOP delegate

by John Graves

Sometimes the tabloids are right! A few weeks ago, tennis star Martina Navratilova confirmed a story in the July 23 edition of the Globe that her new love is none other than U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno's niece, model Hunter Reno.

Gaywaves correspondents Jim McGrattan and Dave Haskell came up with a couple of items of interest from the July issue of the Progressive. One article, "Drag Queen Goes to the Big Tent," is about Dan Savage, the seven-foot-five (in heels) former head of the Madison, Wisconsin chapter of ACT UP, who is now a delegate to the Washington

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state Republican convention. It seems Savage automatically became a delegate because he was the only registered Republican to run for the position in King County (Seattle) Washington where he now lives.

Savage said he does plan to attend the convention; either in men's clothes, if the Republicans treat him right, or in full drag if he gets hassled. In the article, Savage went on to say, "Come November I'll vote for Bill Clinton. I may be a Republican, but I'm not

a moron.

Another article in the same issue tells of Patsy Clarke, a Raleigh, North Carolina grandmother who has founded MAJIC, Mothers Against Jesse In Congress. MAJIC is an

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organization of North Carolina mothers and grandmothers who have lost children to AIDS who are dedicated to "retiring" homophobic and AIDS-phobic Sen. Jesse Helms from Congress in the next election. Clarke founded MAJIC after Helms responded in his usual homophobic way when Clarke sent him a letter asking for compassion for people with AIDS and for his support of funding for AIDS research.

A young lesbian couple, one in the closet and one out, are among the couples included in Showtime's new sexual drama series, Bedtime.

A real-life lesbian couple is one of the couples who discuss their reasons for living together and how they make it work on Sex in the '90s VIII, the newest in MTV's series of sexual issues specials.

Lesbian filmmaker Jocelyn Taylor and her work are featured on one segment of the HBO Channel's sexual issues series, Real Sex 13.

People magazine reports that most readers, writing in response to a feature article on lesbian and gay parents in their June 10 edition, support the idea that gay parents are just as capable of being good parents as straight parents.

Openly gay Dan Renzi is one of the young people brought together to live as roommates for a year in a house in Miami for the new season of Real World, on MTV.

Renzi, the fourth openly lesbian, gay, or bisexual roommate in the five seasons Real World has been on the air, is profiled the August issue of Out magazine. Also in that issue: feature articles on openly gay national skating champion Rudy Galindo and Ralph Reed, the executive director of Pat Robertson's anti-gay Christian Coalition.

Cable's Showtime has re-acquired Anjelica Huston's film version of Bastard Out of Carolina, lesbian author Dorothy Allison's semi-autobiographical novel of growing up poor in the rural South. Showtime originally developed the project, but lost it to Ted Turner's TNT channel when their director quit. Showtime re-acquired the film after Turner balked after seeing the final product.

Allison talks about her newest book, Two or Three Things I Know For Sure, in issue 4 of 50/50 magazine. Openly gay Kids in the

Hall star Scott Thompson and lesbian comics Amy Boyd, Carla Carmeny, Karen Ripley and Nicole Wiedig are featured in two other articles in the same issue.

Lily Tomlin is set to replace Grant Shaud on the hit CBS sitcom Murphy Brown next season after Shaud's character, Miles Silverberg, left the FYI news team last season. Tomlin will play a network specialist called "The Fixer" who wants to fix an already perfect show.

The character, who is somewhat of a jerk, will become FYI's new executive producer. CBS also signed Tomlin to a post-Murphy Brown development package should the series end next year.

Finally, in her syndicated column two weeks ago, Ann Landers ran a letter from a lesbian asking that her same-sex marriage be respected like any other. Landers responded that, although she supports legal rights and respect for same-sex couples, she is opposed to same sex marriages because "it flies in the face of cultural and traditional family life as we have known it for centuries. And that's where I must draw the line. Sorry."

This is the same position she took a few years ago when surveyed her readers on their position on same-sex marriages. Then, she just said, "I vote no." This time, at least, she tried to give a reason for her vote. Well, once again I must ask Landers (and President Clinton), "Who died and made you Queen of the Popes?" Both of you seem to have the presumption that it is your "right" to say who can be married and who cannot.

Must I remind you, as a proud American of African descent, that slavery and racial segregation were also a part of "cultural and traditional family life as we have known it for centuries"?

Yes, we are demanding that our committed relationships be treated the same as heterosexual marriages. If the term “marriage" is such a heterosexual sacred cow to you, then what are your plans to ensure same-sex couples and their families are afforded the same rights and benefits of heterosexual families? Don't talk to us about the "responsibilities of marriage." We already accept and bear those responsibilities! If you expect us to respect your marriages and your religious beliefs, then you must afford us the same respect.

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