February 18, 2000 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 11

on the airoff the press

Melissa Etheridge joins battle against marriage ban

by John Graves

Rock star Melissa Etheridge has joined the battle against Proposition 22, a California ballot measure aimed at banning state recognition of same-sex marriages legally performed in other states, saying that the proposal was fueled by hate and bigotry.

"There are hundreds and thousands of people that I represent that are just like me that don't happen to have two Grammys that this affects," Etheridge said. “And this affects me deeply."

Etheridge went on to say that the measure is not about telling gay people they can't be married because California law already pro-

hibits that.

"What Proposition 22 does," she said, "is tell me, my partner, my children, that we are less than my neighbor."

Californians vote on the measure March 7.

Joining Etheridge a press conference was Judy Shepard, who feels the initiative indirectly relates to the death of her son, Matthew, who was brutally murdered in 1998 because he was gay.

"What it [Proposition 22] does is create a climate where such actions are viewed as acceptable," Shepard told reporters.

Lesbian storyline on 'Buffy'

TV Guide's Lynette Rice reports Buffy the Vampire Slayer's producers are giving Alyson Hannigan's character Willow a chance to explore the lesbian side of her personality by showing a romantic interest in a fellow Wiccan, Tara, played by Amber Benson.

Creator Joss Whedon wouldn't tell the magazine how long the story line would last or how deep the relationship would be.

"My hope is that people won't be so anxious to put a label on it, like she's become a lesbian, or it's just a phase, or she's bisexual. I didn't want to make it a big issue," Whedon said.

"Yeah, like that was a possibility," Rice quipped.

Perez in the jungle

The February issue of Girlfriends reports Rosie Perez is playing the lesbian love interest of the mother of a mentally challenged man in the upcoming film King of the Jungle. No release date has been set yet.

'Grapevine' returns to CBS

CBS is bringing back the envelopepushing sitcom Grapevine, which follows the romantic entanglements of a group of singles in Miami.

The show, which originally aired as a sixepisode summer program in 1992, features lots of sexy talk between the actors and the audience, rather than actual depictions of sex. Trailers for the upcoming sitcom Grapevine indicate there will be plenty of lesbigay themes on the show, set to debut on CBS February 28.

Mercy, a steamy affair

Can't wait for the three lesbian-themed

Gary Bauer outed on national TV

Jay Leno poked a little fun at ultraconservative Republican Gary Bauer's antigay stances in a Tonight show skit that portrayed the former presidential hopeful as a closet case.

Bauer fell off the back of a platform during a New Hampshire photo op on January 31, and Leno altered the news video that night to show a man backstage helping Bauer to his feet.

As Bauer stands up, he looks at the attractive man who helped him, and suddenly the two are gazing deep into each other's eyes. The two men then embrace and kiss just before the man helps Bauer back up onto the platform, and back into public view.

Leno prefaced the skit by saying that Bauer's strongly homophobic positions led him to believe that "Thou protesteth too much."

Rhodes to be 'Stark Raving' daughter

According to a report in the Star, actress Kim Rhodes, who used to play Cindy on the soap Another World, will play the lesbian daughter of Scream director Wes Craven's character when they guest star on an upcoming episode of the NBC sitcom Stark Raving Mad.

stories on HBO's If These Walls could Gay dad on 'Los Beltranʼ

Talk II?

La Femme Nikita star Peta Wilson has a steamy lesbian affair with actress Ellen Barkin in Mercy, a cable murder mystery which began airing on HBO last week. Wilson plays a bisexual murder suspect who seduces the detective (Barkin) pursuing her.

Sounds very much like Basic Instinct, but with a definite lesbian twist.

The making of the dance

by Michelle Tomko

The February 29 video release of Dancemaker gives insight into the cruel and fast-paced underbelly of the world of professional dance. Brilliantly directed by Matthew Diamond, this documentary is told through the eyes of knighted choreographer Paul Taylor and his world-famous company.

The intimate footage of the film chronicles things like Taylor as one of Martha Graham's soloists back in the 1950s, the frustrating rehearsals with his own company, and the nervous crew scurrying around backstage as dancers keep perfect time when all sound goes out during the company's tour of India.

Amidst a triumphant New York opening of Piazzola Caldera, which is deliberately cast with seven men and five women so there will be same-sex partners, nothing is sugar coated, either.

The film also includes a union musicians strike, an interview with Paul as he

speaks about several of his proteges who died of AIDS and his company's reac-

"IT'S A MUST"

Paul Taylor DANCEMAKER

A FILM BY MATTHEW DIAMOND

tion to a thirty second phone call Taylor makes which results in the firing of one of the dancers.

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Although not readily available in Ohio, the Spanish-language Telemundo network recently broadcast an episode of its popular sitcom Los Beltran that made history for the Latino lesbian, gay and bisexual community.

The show is already noteworthy for featuring an ongoing, positive portrayal of a gay couple as lead characters.

Previews for the episode, which was broadcast February 6, indicated that an ongoing gay character would attempt to hide his homosexuality from his visiting father, and the father would also turn out to be gay.

Mano a Mano, a network of New York City Latino lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists and organizations applauded Telemundo and programming director Nely Galan for going against homophobic stereotypes often espoused by Latino media.

"I believe that this is the first time that a Spanish language television show has high-

lighted an ongoing gay storyline in such an open and positive way," said Mano a Mano coordinator Andres Duque. “There have been several recent Spanish language television soaps with positive representations of gay characters, but there has been nothing like this on Spanish-language television."

Among the programs mentioned by Duque is the Mexican soap La Vida en el Espejo, aired on Telemundo at 8 pm weekdays. No award for this

Sorry to say that City of Angels, the new African-American medical drama on CBS, has done little during African-American History Month to present positive images of LGBT African-Americans.

The January 19 episode of the show had a story line about the hospital staff making puns and jokes when a gay man comes into the emergency room with a Golden Globe award lodged in his rectum.

Although later in the episode, a senior physician reprimands staff members on their poor attitude and lack of compassion, the show continued the history of defamatory jokes that seem to pepper the routines of many African-American standup comics.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, in a release, said that while they "appreciate producer Steven Bochco's effort to show the valid problem of discrimination experienced by gay and lesbian patients in health care settings, the manner of the portrayal was less than admirable."

"Besides the questionable choice of story line, included was the graphic image of an X-ray showing the award in the man's rectum," GLAAD continued. “Such images can only reinforce the audience's perception of gay men as perverts. Many other story lines could have been used to get the message across of discrimination and callus treatment of gay men and lesbians in the health care system."

John Graves is the producer and host of Gaywaves, an LGBT public affairs show on Cleveland's WRUW 91.1 FM Fridays at 7 pm, and at http://radio.cwru.edu. Dave Haskell, Jim McGrattan and Kim Jones also contribute to this column.

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