FH Out Front Blog

Awareness For AIDS

Greater Than AIDS was launched last week, on National HIV Testing Day, by the Black AIDS Media Partnership to create a movement of HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness.  The campaign aims to mobilize the black community to talk about HIV/AIDS and protect against the spread of the disease.

Though blacks account for 13 percent of the total US population, this community makes up nearly 50% of new HIV cases. That means, approximately half a million Black Americans are living with HIV. Many of those affected lack access to health care and treatment, making this population even more vulnerable. According to the CDC, black men who have sex with men (BMSM) accounted for 63 percent of new infections among black men in 2006." A campaign that urges testing, prevention and conversation in the black community is essential for change.

Greater Than is a refreshing campaign, though visually dark. The Greater Than AIDS Web site provides advocates with an opportunity to engage others through social network tools, like Twitter and Facebook. The entire Web site is set up as an online community, giving visitors an opportunity to personalize their pages and start or join a conversation. This platform fulfills the campaign’s mission – opening the doors to discussion and change. Additionally, four videos show personal stories of HIV positive people – breaking the silence. Looking for a call to action, there’s plenty. The Web site provides national to local ways people can get involved in HIV advocacy. 

Looking for something to do this weekend? Join Greater than AIDS at the ESSENCE Music Festival in New Orleans. On-site, free HIV testing will be available to attendees, followed by an HIV/AIDS seminar featuring Phill Wilson, Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute; Marvelyn Brown, activist and author; Dr. Hilda Hutcherson and others.

To be quite honest, I really like this campaign – its overall mission, strategy and tactics. Each platform the campaign utilizes gives a voice to the black community. One of the greatest hurdles in changing behavior goes beyond pure education. Campaigns and communications tactics that truly make an impact are those that give communities what is needed – a platform to discuss issues and motivate personal change.  I’m excited to see the campaign grow and gain momentum.

A Different View of Pride

This year I wanted a different perspective on Chicago’s 40th annual Pride parade and festivities. I traded in the endless mimosas at brunch, rainbow beads and the leisure of lawn chairs and laughter with friends along the parade route for – a pair of pom-pons?!

As a member of the Chicago Spirit Brigade’s dance team, I had an entry ticket to view Chicago’s lengthy  – and glittered – street celebration as a parade participant. While I ended the parade with a light sun burn, sore muscles, and no pictures of eye candy in the parade, the experience blew me away! Beyond the more than 250 parade entries, including Chicago’s own Nettelhorst Elementary School (the first-ever school entry) located in Boystown, the streets were packed from before the step-off line to beyond the finish line. The sheer number of people that showed up to stand proud in their sexuality or express support for friends and family was moving. Local news media noted the continuing surge in attendees and supporters of our community.

The Influencer: Q&A with AfterElton.com Editor Michael Jensen

Our Pride Month special focus series wraps up today with a Q&A with AfterElton.com editor Michael Jensen. At a time when entertainment continues to dominate much of our culture, and drive much of society’s engagement with our community, it seems fitting to talk about pride and what it means now with one of the leading online authorities on entertainment.

If you’re like me, you visit - and enjoy - AfterElton.com regularly. It is one of the most visited gay entertainment news sites on the Web. If you’re unfamiliar with AfterElton.com, it’s the site for news, information and commentary about entertainment for gay and bisexual men (the ladies have their own site as well – the fabulous AfterEllen.com).

As Michael explains in our conversation, the site reports news as much as it reflects it and it serves a really important purpose in holding a mirror up to the entertainment community to reflect what is important to gay- and gay-friendly audiences. In so doing, it influences a great deal of what our community has to say about entertainment and the media.

We think Michael makes a great case for the power of online communications and the power of sites like AfterElton.com to shape the conversation about gay and lesbian people. Once you’ve read his interview, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Now, on with the show…

Ben Finzel: Tell us about the business model for AfterElton.com. You’re owned by Logo and are part of the Viacom family. How has that helped your growth and development?

Hot Time, Summer in Iowa City?!?

Aloha! Me and the BF are headed off to Hawaii next week for vacation. We were Googling ourselves to death trying to find a great place to get away, and we chose the Brady Bunch/Growing Pains route of trekking to Hawaii. But apparently, I should have considered Iowa as well!

We tweeted earlier this week about a great read from the Chicago Tribune about Iowa’s sudden status as a LGBT destination. Why? One could assume, as the article does, that our gaydar is tuned to the state because of the gay marriage law that took effect April 27. I’m not an Iowa-hater…I just don’t know much about the state. Plus, how could I not appreciate a fellow Heartland state?!?

This article is a great read, especially as it relates to how local businesses are recognizing the bling-factor of reaching out to a new tourist audience—LGBT couples looking to wed, or those who support such a progressive stance in the state. Reporter Josh Noel gives a great run-down of places to go if you are headed out the Iowa-y. Mad props to Iowa-based companies who are truly being inclusive in their marketing outreach. Tourism is an industry that has been challenged in this recession. Glad to see that Iowa folks understand that to attract a consumer, you need to speak to the consumer. Has anyone been to Iowa recently? Did you spend Des Monies in Des Moines?

Other random musings (as I dream about Waikiki Beach):
• 80s concert during Pride Weekend was great! We had such support from the LGBT and straight community here in Cleveland. Apparently, everyone loves doing the Thriller dance! Kudos to my pops for coming out on Father’s Day. And, speaking of the 80s, what a day yesterday. The loss of two great icons-- Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. As someone who clearly loves music, I am at a loss on how to describe the impact of MJ on pop culture and pop music. Truly, there was no one else like him.

• I’ll admit it. I love my NJ Housewives on Bravo. I flip a table every time a new episode is about to air. And, I have to respect crazy Danielle and Bravo SVP Andy Cohen for calling out the use of the word “gay” from one of the cast members as a synonym for “stupid.” We all know it’s a common expression—“that’s so gay.” Doesn’t mean that we have to embrace it.

Continuing the Conversation on HIV/AIDS

As many of us have said countless times before, the conversation about HIV/AIDS needs to be restarted and refreshed. We all need to be thinking about ways to ensure we keep the dialogue going about prevention and protection, treatment and care. With infection rates climbing in many places (including D.C. where it has now been labeled an epidemic), we simply have no choice but to think about all of the ways in which we can leverage communications tools to share information and encourage efforts to fight HIV infections.

So it was great to read this morning about a new coalition of business leaders that has identified three target cities in the U.S. for a new campaign to “fight the spread of HIV and AIDS with better marketing, appearances by professional basketball players and financial donations to city health departments.”  The Washington Post carried the story on the front of its Metro section today and provided good detail about a story that gets far too little attention. 

According to the article, the three cities receiving the funding are Washington, D.C., New York City and Oakland, California. The companies involved are all members of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and include Pfizer, Nike, Nokia, the National Basketball Association and Facebook (among others). Very cool. I must say, however, that I hope this program does not become a one-shot deal. If the companies just write checks and issue press releases and then the campaign goes nowhere, then this announcement will amount to nothing more than bad PR. I really hope that the partners are committed to this campaign and will see it through, including remaining engaged in outreach and communication focused on making a positive impact.

The announcement could not have come at a better time. Saturday, June 27, 2009 is National HIV Testing Day – an annual observance that often seems to be overshadowed by other events and activities. 

What do you think? Is this kind of corporate engagement helpful? What else should we be doing to further the conversation about HIV/AIDS? Please share your thoughts below.

What Are Your Pride Plans?

The 40th Anniversary of Stonewall is days away. New York City’s major Pride celebrations (and their awesome parade) culminate this weekend. San Francisco’s major Pride celebrations (including the Frameline film festival where our friend Tracy Baim will premiere her film “Hannah Free”) also culminate this weekend.

As Pride Month draws to a close, we’re wondering what you’re doing for Pride. If you’re in New York or San Francisco, will you celebrate your pride this weekend? If not, has your city already celebrated pride?  If so, did you participate in any of the events? Why or why not?

We want to hear from you – and we may use your thoughts in a future blog post. In the meantime, keep checking back for updates – we’ll have at least one more Q&A this month and more in the months to come. We look forward to hearing from you.

The Hotelier: Q&A with Kimpton COO Niki Leondakis

Over the years on this blog, we’ve talked a lot about what companies should and shouldn’t do and offered examples of companies that demonstrate their smarts by leading their competitors in the gay and lesbian marketplace. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is one company that’s definitely a leader. As we continue our Pride Month special focus series, I’m really pleased that we’re able to bring you a Q&A with one of their senior executives.

Niki Leondakis is Kimpton’s chief operating officer and the creator of the company’s Diversity Initiative.  As she explains in her bio, the Diversity Initiative is “committed to creating a culture that acknowledges, understands, values and celebrates differences among people.” 

Long known for its unique, boutique-style hotels in San Francisco and Washington D.C., Kimpton is now becoming an even stronger player in the hotel industry with nearly 50 hotels and restaurants in major cities across the United States and Canada. Gay and lesbian engagement has been front and center in Kimpton’s outreach and communications for years and has included LGBT audience outreach, fundraising and marketing. 

As we discuss below, nearly every major hotel brand is now involved in some way in advertising or marketing to the LGBT community. But Kimpton was one of the first, and they certainly seem committed to maintaining their position in the front of the pack with their Summer of Pride promotion and their other outreach efforts to engage the LGBT community.

We’re grateful to Niki for taking the time to answer our questions. We hope you’ll enjoy reading her answers. For more information on Kimpton’s LGBT initiatives, check out their Web site.

Re:Post - The Gaysian Equation

We developed the Re:Post idea to highlight some of our favorite posts from the past. Today, we're posting another one. When Laura Nguyen joined the blog, she joined in a big way. Her first post – from December 10, 2007 – generated some of the highest traffic we had on the blog that month and earned Laura a reputation for thoughtful, compelling commentary right from the start. It’s been eighteen months since the post first ran, so we thought it was time to share it with you again. Here’s the post:

Last week, AfterEllen.com developed PSAs to rhetorically respond to their self-imposed question: “If you turn on the television and never see a lesbian, do we really exist?” This sparked a question about the importance of recognition and visibility for other minority groups if they are to exist and seem relevant in what makes up the American fabric.

If lesbians have minimal presence in mainstream media, then where do LGBT people of color fit into the equation? Growing up, I was surrounded with icons, images, and people who didn’t reflect me. Nights in front of the television left me unsatisfied. Despite the lack of Asian leads on network shows, the characters that are portrayed are laced with stereotypes, not to mention a lack of true representation within our vastly diverse ethnic group. More than 50-microsegments fall under the Asian-American label, as statistics lump the different Asian ethnicities — Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Taiwanese, Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Japanese, and others — together. Lucy Liu can’t be a representative for all of us, despite the numerous times when I wish I could fill her Jimmy Choo's. The Lucy’s on television were all cast as the “China doll,” “lotus flower,” “seductress,” or “dragon lady.” Sadly, they never resonated with me.

For those of us who identify as LGBT Asians, we are left with the same resounding question – if you don’t see us, do we exist? If we live by the mantra, seeing is believing, then no … we don’t. Asian Americans have minimal visibility in the media, and even those outlets that have attempted to be a voice for LGBT Asians, have failed. In my research for this entry, I found the topic of LGBT Asian Americans is virtually untouched! The first magazine to address gay Asians, Noodle magazine, folded after two years and others’ attempts quickly followed suit. Today, there are virtually no magazines specifically targeting this subgroup.

Feedback Friday - What Do You Think?

We’ve noticed that our comments have really tapered off lately – well, except for those spam comments from random sites trying to sell unrelated products (ugh). 

We’ve also noticed that we’re getting a lot of new visitors this week from davekoz.com and afterelton.com (thanks for the stories, guys!). Welcome to our new visitors!

To further engage our regular readers and welcome our new ones, we’re going to try something new today. We call it “Feedback Friday” and it’s all about you. 

We want to hear from you. Please leave a relevant, non-spam comment below, or send us a direct message on Twitter (@outfrontblog). Here are a few questions to get you started:

• What do you think about recent media coverage of gay and lesbian communications issues? Has it been fair or biased? Do media seem to understand how to cover trans issues (such as Chaz Bono's transition, for example)?  
• What gay and lesbian communications topics would you like to see us address in the future? What are your favorite gay and lesbian communications topics?
• What suggestions for Q&As do you have for us? Which ones have been most interesting to you so far?

We look forward to hearing from you!

The Politics of Commerce In Action

A little over two weeks ago (right before the start of Pride Month, actually), the Nevada Legislature overrode the Governor’s veto of a bill to create a domestic partnership registry, making Nevada the 17th state in the country to formally recognize the relationships of gay men and lesbians.

So, why is this relevant to our blog when we don’t normally address state legislative initiatives? Because of the way in which this measure became law. The Nevada legislature had originally passed the bill, but the governor vetoed it. His veto was overridden specifically because of pressure from the state’s tourism industry which successfully made the case that refusing to pass the legislation would harm the state’s reputation among LGBT people and likely drastically impact tourism, perhaps even leading to a gay boycott of the state.

Harrah’s Entertainment Senior Vice President Jan Jones (the former mayor of Las Vegas and former chairwoman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority) made the point in a letter to state legislators (as quoted in the Las Vegas-Review Journal) urging them to support the bill:

Gay Advertising on the Small and Big Screens

With summer and Pride upon us, many people our having a little more time to enjoy the movies, catch up on DVR'd favorites, or just flip on their new digital TV signal. This past week, three advertisements with LGBT references or issues hit TV and local theatres, yet only one made brief headlines. A quick summary of each is below:

(via Queerty) Long-time inclusive advertiser, Orbitz, released the above advertisement with it's subtle reference to LGBT audiences (check out the HRC-esque logo on the one golfer's polo).

(via Joe.My.God) Similarly, fast-food Taco Del Mar chain's spot for their roasted fajita burrito gave a quiet shout out to LGBT surfers by the inclusion of a Gay & Lesbian Surfer Association sticker on the first surfer's board. Both of these symbols, largely recognized by only our community (I didn't even notice the GLSA sticker, but we don't catch many waves here in the Midwest). Both of these ads fall into what former FH client Commercial Closet called "gay vague" advertising.

The Musician: Q&A with Dave Koz

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be famous but not out? What are the career implications once you do come out? What goes through your mind through all of these changes? 

I’m so pleased to be able to share one man’s perspective on these – and other – questions with you. When he came out in The Advocate in 2004, Dave Koz instantly expanded his already large fan base and shattered a lot of myths about gay men and music. As Dave points out in our conversation below, many people assume that gay men only like club music. That’s not true (I, for one, have been a Dave Koz fan for more than a decade). And the idea that the only gay musicians are those that make club music has been forever banished with Dave’s bold action to say who he is fully, as a person and a musician.

I met Dave at the Out for Equality Ball here in Washington during the Presidential Inauguration in January. I walked up to him and introduced myself after his opening set at the Ball (I’ve seen lots of famous people, but never had the nerve to say anything before). What a nice guy Dave Koz is – he greeted my partner Mark and I graciously and even agreed to pose for a picture with us (that’s us in the photo to the left). Fortunately, he also agreed to conduct a Q&A with me for the blog. We’re running it today as a Pride Month special feature in advance of the kick-off of Dave’s Side by Side summer tour (with Brian Culbertson) on Friday, June 26 in Kettering, Ohio.

As I said to Dave in an e-mail after I read his answers to my questions, he is as well spoken with words as he is with music. I hope you enjoy reading Dave’s thoughts as much as I enjoyed the opportunity to talk with him. And if you’d like to know more about Dave, check out his Web site (or set up a Dave Koz channel on Pandora as I’ve done).

Ben Finzel: You came out publicly in an interview in The Advocate. What was that experience like for you? 

Is Progressive Living Up to Its Name?

In the latest Progressive Insurance ad, two men enter a Progressive Insurance store asking an agent for advice. Who knew that these two men would cause such a chatter?

To be honest, I saw the ad several times and questioned whether the men were gay, but never took a closer look.  Slate did. According to a Slate article, the men exhibit gay mannerisms, subtle body language toward one another, and one wears  a rainbow shirt. Additionally, the quirky Progressive associate, Flo, looks at both men when asked about their financial situation.

Because two men walk into a store together, are they gay? As a consumer, what components lead us to assume that these men are gay? Is it clothing, their body size, their voice or their mannerisms?
The ad was not intended to target gay audiences, but the ad itself does not have an overly masculine tone. So, it doesn’t alienate the LGBT population and it doesn’t upset anti-gay advocates. Does that mean Progressive’s ad is, in fact, progressive?

At the close of 2008, we predicted more gay-vague ads. Could Progressive’s ad campaign fall into this category? I think so. The ad has all the makings of a gay-vague ad, giving Progressive an opportunity to reach a broad audience, gay or straight. With this movement toward gay vague, companies maximize their marketing dollars, targeting both the influential gay population and the general market consumers.

So, the last question is – does Progressive allow gay couples to have joint car insurance?  I think I might give them a call now.

If you haven’t seen the ad, click here.

Big Gay on Campus

Happy Pride Month! Here in Cleveland, our Pride Festival is next weekend, June 20 and 21. How fun is that—Pride & Father’s Day! In the ultimate gay moment, my dad will be coming to my gay choir’s “Totally Awesome 80s” concert on Father’s Day, on Pride Sunday (yes, the concert includes two drag songs—“Material Girl” and “Dude Looks Like a Lady”). Couldn’t have predicted that moment in a million years…. We’ll also be performing at the Cleveland Pride Parade, so I’ll blog next time about Pride here in the Midwest.

Now back to the topic at hand (or on screen). My wonderfully observant colleague Bryan tipped me off to a just-published study that reveals “gay male college students are more motivated to learn and more likely to be mentored than their straight counterparts, and their above-average grades suggest this kind of engagement makes.” According to the study, the average gay male undergraduate’s GPA (should that now be Gay Point Average?) is 2 percent higher than that of straight males at the same institution.
Some other interesting findings:

• Gay males find academic work more important than straight males
• We spend 40 to 50 percent more time doing volunteer work or participating in student organizations
• 13 percent of us are more likely than straight male students to report they had a faculty member or administrator they could talk to about a problem

Our sisters were not left out of the study. According to the report, “behavioral lesbians” appear to do no worse, no better academically than behavioral heterosexuals. But “behavioral bisexuals (who are overwhelmingly female) do a lot worse. They spend significantly less time studying. They're much less satisfied with their academic work. They think their academic work is less important than do other women. Bisexual women are not having as good a college experience."

As you can imagine, this study sparked quite a loud online discussion about what these findings mean, why the difference exists between gay men and straight men on campus, and frankly some sad rationale as to why we get ahead (pun intended, if you read some of the message boards). I’m not going to use this forum to analyze the data—I’ll let the researchers do that. But, what I do find appealing is that perhaps this study, and other studies that show that homosexuals in the U.S. are far more likely to be college educated than heterosexuals, provides an opportunity for academic institutions to specifically market and attract LGBT students by providing specific programs, student organizations, and services to ensure that the college experience means something to all students. And if these studies are in fact true, corporate America should be recruting LGBT graduates because it sounds like we are true stars in the classroom!

Tell us—do these findings ring true from your college experience? Were you more academically-inclined than your hetero-counterparts? How involved were you on campus, and how much of that is related to your LGBT-ness?

What Does Pride Mean to You?

We’re now into week two of Pride Month and we’ve already featured three Q&As on the blog with more to come (heads up that we’ll have a great Q&A with Dave Koz next week and at least one or two others before the end of the month). 

In our Q&As and posts this month, we’ve started a conversation about what pride means now. We’ve addressed how media and advocacy organizations are engaged with pride activities this month and we’ve talked about what it means to us.

We’d like to hear what you think. What does pride mean to you? What do you think of the pride-related news and announcements you’ve heard or seen this month? Are you celebrating pride this month? Will you attend your local pride event (or have you already if it took place before this month)? Why or why not?

We look forward to hearing your thoughts on what pride means now. 

The Editor: Q&A with Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff

As I mentioned in my Q&A with Tracy Baim last week, regular readers of this blog know of my strong support for LGBT media. As much as I believe so-called “mainstream media” (MSM) must cover our community more, I also recognize how vitally important it is that we have strong, vibrant LGBT media outlets to ensure that all of the facets of our community are covered on a regular basis (and not just during Pride month).

So, I was thrilled when Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff agreed to participate in our Pride Month Q&A series. Kevin is increasingly recognized as one of the driving forces in LGBT media and the paper he edits is growing in importance and relevance. Kevin has done a very good job of evolving the paper’s presence and offerings. He is also a really nice guy and a friend of this blog. 

As in many communities, this is Pride Week in Washington and every day is chock full of events and observances leading up to this weekend’s Pride parade and festival. That makes this a great week to talk with Kevin about pride, media coverage and the future of the Blade.

Ben Finzel: We link to Blade stories quite frequently in our posts and in our tweets. The Blade has become one of the news outlets that sets the pace for LGBT news nationally. How do you balance that responsibility with your interest in covering the Washington community?

Kevin Naff: This is something we grapple with on a weekly — and sometimes daily — basis. The Blade is unique in that we have two distinct audiences: a local print readership and a national (and international) online readership.

Our local readers are looking for City Council coverage, local A&E events, etc., while our online readers come to us because of the Blade’s reputation for covering national politics, the White House, Congress, Supreme Court and more. You’d be surprised at how many IP addresses we see from places like Iraq, Kuwait and other international hotspots where the U.S. military is active. There are thousands of closeted service members and many of them check the Blade site for news on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

We work hard to balance our responsibilities to those two audiences. It sometimes means we can’t cover something that’s happening overseas because an important local story needs our attention. I wish we had the resources to devote more coverage to international issues, because the plight of foreign LGBT people is woefully underreported.

The Advocate: Q&A with GLAAD President Neil Giuliano

At the end of this week, Neil Giuliano will step down from his position as president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). After nearly four years, Neil has a lot to look back on even as he looks forward to the next chapter of his career (which might include writing a book, among other things). Neil was one of the first people to participate in our Q&A series, back in December of 2006, and we thought it fitting that as he prepares to leave GLAAD we talk with him one more time.

In this, our second Pride Month Q&A, Neil talks about pride, media coverage of our community and his thoughts on his own accomplishments at GLAAD.

Ben Finzel: What does “pride” mean now? Is it still relevant given the progress we are making as a community in terms of media coverage and attention?

Neil Giuliano: Pride in 2009 means being engaged, standing united for the change we seek and ensuring our visibility is strong, proud and enhanced. Just because we are more visible than ever before, and stand on the threshold of equality, we all know we have not yet crossed that threshold, we are not yet treated equally by our government. So the amazing coverage and attention must not wane, but must be strengthened, our stories still need to be told so the cultural change we enjoy turns into full equality under the law.

Clicking and Tweeting Your Way Out of the Closet

 

This month, in addition to the parties and parades, I hope every LGBT person reflects upon his or her personal, and the community’s collective, progress of “coming out” to the world, taking pride in the uniqueness of the experience and cherishing the commonalities that connect us as a community. Times have definitely changed from the Stonewall era and before, and a portion of that is thanks to more open, frank communications with our neighbors, co-workers, legislators, business leaders and others – conversations largely thanks to the bravery and sacrificial actions of our predecessors.

Last week, the Chicago Tribune ran an interesting article on how communications and new social media are changing the way many young LGBT people are taking the plunge and coming out of the closet. While opinions still vary on the best way to tell family and friends about your sexual orientation, many are now enjoying the safety and digital distance by breaking the news via blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or YouTube. For some, it takes away the issue of dealing with emotional reactions from those they love or the need to defend their sexuality. Many, however, still believe it is important to personally and directly come out to others.

Gays in Novelas - Breaking Through

I’m surrounded by gay and lesbian communications everywhere I look. Twitter, Facebook, Hispanic news portals, everywhere. I know a lot of this I’ve customized, or I am the “target” for, but the point is that as a consumer, there is a surround-sound effect set up for me to receive progressive messages. Our society is changing, and I am seeing these changes in new places I had not yet seen before, such as telenovelas.

 If, as a multicultural communications professional, you are still unsure of what these are, I may be concerned just a little. Telenovelas (television novels) are Hispanic soap operas that actually come to an end; a combination of sitcoms and daytime TV. Telenovelas have launched international icons such as Ricky Martin, Shakira, Thalia and many others and usually portray traditional Latino families, challenges, etc. But now, there is an edge, a change within novelas. We are not only seeing permanent gay characters in these storylines, but the way they are being portrayed, and talked about is progressing as well.

Just several years ago, the very popular RBD novela included a gay character with no real depth to him. He was obnoxious, loud and dramatic. From what I recall and yes, I could be wrong here, his character was not very developed aside from knowing that his father rejected him for being gay.

In the current novela “Las Tontas No Van al Cielo” we see a similar set-up with the token gay character. His ex-wife disapproves of the fact he is gay and keeps their son from him. There are many conversations about him being gay but the messages are more along the lines of support, proper representation (GLAAD’s work here is apparent) characters correct one another when they use the word “gay” with a negative connotation, there is more tolerance, more explanation “gay is not a virus,” and messages of that sort. Also, the main female character of the show is his full supporter – this will resonate with the millions of viewers who identify with the heroine.

There is no doubt that the messaging around gay characters is changing for the best on Mexican, Latin American and US Hispanic television-- it’s more educational. But, marketers should still be sensitive when reaching Hispanics because this culture remains very close to their traditions (religion, macho mind-frame) and is in its infancy in receiving positive messages about the gay and lesbian community. 

Celebrating Pride

Earlier this week, President Obama proclaimed June as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. It was a moment of celebration and one that instills hope and demands action. With depressing news of Prop. 8 and signs of progress in Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire, it’s no wonder that the LGBT community struggles with the constant emotional roller coaster for equal rights. To ease my emotions, I’ve opted to focus on one thing this month — conscious movement.

Pride is designated as the time we commemorate the events of Stonewall, the turning point of the LGBT rights movement. For me, Pride is the time to celebrate our successes in the past year (and we’ve had many) and remember that the fight for equality must continue. In a time of economic struggle, we, as a community, have banded together to make a lasting difference not only in our lives, but in the lives of others in our local areas and across the world. We’ve seen companies continue, if not increase, their commitment to the LGBT community, we celebrated Harvey Milk’s memory in the Oscar-winning film – Milk, and Rachel Maddow’s entrance into the MSNBC family, and recently we rejoiced as states supportted equal marriage rights. Since last June, there has been great progress in LGBT visibility worth celebrating.

This weekend marks the 31st anniversary of Kansas City’s Gay Pride. As Kansas Citians and Missouri State Senator, Jolie Justus, rally in support of LGBT rights and marriage equality, it’s refreshing and humbling to see my state and my community call for change. For all of us, our days are filled with coffee meetings, lunch meetings, meetings to prep for meetings, and so on. Many of us forget the courage needed take a stand and fight for change. Many of us, myself included, forget that outside of our walls, there is a child who needs help because he left home in fear of rejection or abuse, or a senior struggling with cancer who feels isolated and alone with no family to care for him. This year, Pride is my reminder of conscious movement – to be educated and aware of the struggles that exist in my community and to take a unified step toward progress to make a lasting difference in my community — for my LGBT family.

What does pride mean for you?

Childish Behavior?

In this age of iPods, social media and digital marketing, radio as a communications channel is typically not the first thing that comes to mind. Living in the city and taking public transportation, I’m addicted to my iPod and couldn’t tell you a single Windy City station or show host. Despite my personal urban, digital bubble, radio continues to reach countless captive (read: gridlocked) audiences across the country, usually offering humorous banter and melodic relaxation. 

At times, however, radio hosts can take a dialogue too far, finding serious LGBT issues a source for humor or blatantly harmful comments. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation yesterday released a call to action on the Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning radio show (KRXQ 98.5 FM  in Sacramento, California and KDOT 104.5 FM in Reno, Nevada). I was shocked to read the comments made by hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States on May 28 against transgender or questioning children. The conversation stemmed from a recent story about a transgender child in Omaha, Nebraska and her parents’ decision to support her transition – and spiraled into more than a half hour of defamatory remarks towards children and transgender individuals.

Renaissance Woman: More Q&A with Windy City Media Group Publisher Tracy Baim

Welcome back to our conversation with Windy City Media Group publisher and executive editor Tracy Baim. In today’s conclusion to our two-part Q&A, Tracy shares her thoughts on the differences between LGBT media and so-called “mainstream” media and talks about the future of LGBT media. 

Given my strongly held views about the importance of LGBT media – and appreciation for the important role they play in reporting all of the news – I was particularly interested in Tracy’s comments. I think you will be too.

Tracy’s comments on marketing to our community should be highlighted in every public relations, marketing and communications class and used as the primer for how and what to do by anyone in our industry planning outreach to our community. I could not have said it better myself, and am thrilled to be able to share Tracy’s insight with you here. 

Ben Finzel:  You cover our community 365 days a year where your so-called “mainstream” counterparts generally only pay attention to us a few times a year (including during Pride). Have you noticed an increase in “mainstream” media following LGBT media on key stories? 

Tracy Baim: There are some stories that get universal coverage by all; marriage in Iowa is an example. The mainstream covered that as it happened, as it should. The LGBT media cover that kind of story in much deeper ways. That gives our readers a context for why things happen, and why they continue to happen. Someone reading just the mainstream may have been shocked to learn about that happening, but our readers would have had years of coverage related to marriage that set the stage for the recent successes (and setbacks). We will have many more follow-up stories on marriage, and explore it on a deeper level.

There are hundreds of stories the mainstream does not cover within the LGBT community. Maybe once every few years they cover LGBTs in sport, for example, but every week in Windy City Times you see LGBT athletes in our community, whether in gay leagues or in mainstream sports. Same with entertainment, the bars, culture, etc. The mainstream will do some coverage, and more frequently now does include gays in coverage of, for example, a home and design issue. But they just do not have the space or access to do the kind of depth a weekly gay newspaper, with a Web site updated daily, can do. This is no different than any "niche," for example African-American, Latino, Asian, women's etc.

Also, I would say as a whole the mainstream media has not done a good job of covering the diversity of the LGBT community: it's still mostly white gay men. Even most LGBT media are not very diverse, but we pride ourselves at Windy City Times in trying to cover all aspects of the community.

Renaissance Woman: Q&A with Windy City Media Group Publisher Tracy Baim

Hello and welcome to Pride Month on the Out Front Blog! Today, I’m pleased to present the first in our series of Pride-focused Q&As. Today’s conversation is with our friend Tracy Baim, publisher and executive editor of the Windy City Media Group (WCMG) in Chicago. 

WCMG is Chicago’s largest chain of gay and lesbian publications and reaches 50,000 readers with its weekly newspaper Windy City Times (founded in 1985), and numerous other media properties online, in print and over the air. This year marks Tracy’s 25th anniversary in LGBT media. She’s a true media and communications pioneer.

And if that’s not enough, Tracy also served in a leadership capacity for Gay Games VII in Chicago (when she was our client) and the founder of the Chicago Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Tracy is an accomplished business person, movie producer (more on that later) and out lesbian. 

Tracy had so much to share with us that we have cut our conversation into two parts. Today, part one of our conversation focuses on the Windy City Media Group and pride. Tomorrow, part two looks at broader media trends.

We’ve been pleased to call Tracy client, colleague and friend. I think that after reading her Q&A, you’ll just call her “brilliant.” And I think you’ll agree: she is a true Renaissance Woman.

Ben Finzel:  Tell us a bit about Windy City Times and your other media endeavors (including the upcoming film “Hannah Free” which you produced that opens this month).

Tracy Baim: I was a co-founder of Windy City Times newspaper in 1985, with three gay men. For 24 years, WCT has served the Chicago-area LGBT communities as a weekly newspaper. I left in 1987 and for 13 years ran a newspaper called Outlines in Chicago, but then purchased Windy City Times back from one of the co-founders in 2000. WCT has adapted and changed many times over the years. We have a significant Web presence, and enhance our community coverage through a bi-weekly club guide called Nightspots, which was founded almost 20 years ago, as well as online content through Windy City Queercast, QueerTVNetwork.com, Identity, Out! Guide, and articles and photos online that do not appear in our print publications.

Windy City Times is an award-winning newspaper which covers local, national and international news, features, entertainment, sports and more. We have dozens of reporters and photographers based around the country covering our community through first-hand accounts. We also have bloggers, videographers, radio co-hosts and a wide range of voices in all of our media.

In 2007, I launched ChicagoGayHistory.org as a labor of love, to start a video oral and written history project for Chicago. I interviewed more than 270 people on video, and the Web site started in early 2008. At the same time, WTTW public TV in Chicago was working on a documentary, Out and Proud in Chicago, and I consulted for them and provided hundreds of photos. As a result of that collaboration, a publisher approached me to do a book, and the result is Out and Proud in Chicago: An Overview of the City's Gay Movement, a glossy, 4-color book with more than 150 articles covering 200+ years of Chicago's LGBT history. I edited and co-wrote the book, which is the first comprehensive overview of Chicago's LGBT community.

In 2008, I partnered with writer Claudia Allen and director Wendy Jo Carlton to work on a lesbian feature film, Hannah Free. The film, which stars Sharon Gless (Cagney and Lacey, Queer As Folk, Burn Notice) and some amazing Chicago-based actors, has its world premiere at the oldest LGBT film fest in the world, Frameline, on Pride Sunday, June 28, in San Francisco, at the Castro Theatre. I am executive producer of the film, which is a flashback, period piece about the more than six-decade-long relationship between two women. While newspapers and journalism are my love, I also realize that movies have a long-lasting impact on the way we see ourselves, and how society sees our lives. I wanted to show a new side to lesbian lives, especially among different generations.

Ben Finzel: How are you covering pride – both the month and accompanying announcements and the actual events – this year? What has changed in your coverage over the past few years?

Tracy Baim: We cover all aspects of the LGBT community, by both listing and promoting events ahead of time, and then covering them as they happen. Because we now have video, we will be adding that to our pride coverage for the first time. We also have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, and we will use those to promote what we are doing on our Web site.

I think the LGBT press can still provide a unique role of gathering together information from a wide range of groups and making sure they get their information out in a comprehensive way to the wider LGBT community. The Internet makes it easy for groups to promote among their core followers, but a media company provides a "one-stop" location for seeing all that is happening.

In covering pride, the mainstream can only do so much. We can run a lot more in our print and online editions.

Ben Finzel: Are you seeing the same level of corporate involvement in Pride celebrations as you have in previous years? Beyond the economic impacts of this terrible economy, how does your pride-related advertising this June compare to last June?

Tracy Baim: The Pride Parade itself seems to have more and more corporate participation. However, those corporations, a lot of them, still just think having a float in a parade is "outreach." Many of them are still afraid to brand with print and Web advertising to the LGBT market. So, unfortunately, I have not seen much growth in the courage of brands to do a comprehensive campaign to target LGBTs. There are so many who still just tippy-toe into the community one Pride day a year. That is no way to market. They know this in every other market, but they do not use that same basic marketing 101 in working the LGBT market.

There are exceptions, but they are just that, exceptions.

Ben Finzel: Tracy, thank you for making the point we so often make about the importance of understanding how to “do a comprehensive campaign to target LGBTs.”  Tippy-toe doesn’t cut it, and your real-world advice in this regard is really important. 

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the conclusion of our two-part conversation with Tracy. In tomorrow’s post, Tracy talks about “mainstream” media and consolidation (or lack thereof) in the LGBT media community.

Olympic Pride

 Earlier this year, I promised that I would give regular updates on Cleveland’s bid to host Gay Games IX. Latest news is that we are preparing to host a visit from delegates of the Federation of Gay Games here in Cleveland in late July. We have some exciting events planned, so I will be sure to share photos here.

Now that I have immersed myself in everything related to LGBT sports, I wanted to share a bit more detail on a news item we tweeted for you earlier this month. As we all know, the 2010 Olympic Winter Games are just months away, and Vancouver will serve as the destination for this global showcase of athleticism. Anyone who has watched either the Summer or Winter Olympics knows about the “Olympic Village,” where each country has some sort of venue to showcase not only their culture, but to provide a haven for its athletes. This winter, for the first time in Olympic history, there will be “Pride House,” a place for LGBT athletes to relax, watch events and meet friends. The organizer, GayWhistler, designed Pride House as a safe space for out athletes, coaches, fans and allies to come and essentially be themselves.

As Dean Nelson of GayWhistler put it, the Olympics have a “pretty homophobic structure where being out is not really encouraged." he said. "We're hoping we can be a catalyst and change that perception.”

This is big news in the Olympic community. As Olympic historian Kevin Wamsley commented in the story, the Olympics have traditionally skirted around the issue of sexuality, and have not provided a friendly environment for LGBT athletes in the past. And, at this point, neither the Vancouver Organizing Committee nor the International Olympics Committee are partners in this effort.

I applaud…nay, give a standing ovation… to GayWhistler for creating Pride House. The Olympics bring the world together, and that includes the LGBT community. With so many media outlets expected to descend upon Vancouver, I hope that there will be an opportunity to generate great interest in the LGBT Olympic Athlete and for sponsors and companies to market to the LGBT community. More important, I hope the IOC recognizes and embraces the importance of the LGBT community. Olympic athletes are role models. Let them be Out Role Models.

Re:Post - Gay as an Adjective

Our Re:Post series is designed to provide an opportunity to highlight our favorite, and sometimes overlooked, posts from the past. Leading up to the start of Pride Month next week, we thought it would be a good time to talk about language again. This topic - what to call us, how to address gay and lesbian communications issues and related considerations - is always a useful one to flag for marketers and others trying to reach our community. We thought that Ivette’s post on the use of the word “gay” as an adjective would be a good one to Re:Post to ensure her sound advice isn’t overlooked in this Pride season. Here’s Ivette’s post from July 18, 2008:

On my way into the office this morning, I was listening to a radio station’s morning show. It was a “best of” clips since the normal hosts are vacationing. One of the segments was about one of the radio hosts getting married, and how the rest of the team was trying to get him “primped up” a week prior to the wedding. As one of the DJ’s introduced the clip, the other said, “wait, wasn’t the official term, to ‘gay him up'?”

I changed the station to my other morning show and two of the cast members were talking about their friendship and how long they have known each other, etc., and a third member of the morning show said “you all just go be gay together!”

I didn’t know what to think about it at first. At least the term gay is being used on airwaves and is not forbidden. However at the same time, treating the word that way can lead to the same syndrome as the phrase “hot tranny mess” that Eddy has blogged about before. It can still be offensive, just like the “n-word” for African-Americans. Not too long ago, I also read an article on how popular the term “gay” is among teenagers which explained that teens don’t mean any harm by it. I get that. My siblings use it all the time, “That is SO gay, Oh my God!”

Pride, Now

June is traditionally recognized in the U.S. as “Pride Month” and it’s the time of year when many cities host their annual pride festivals and events. It’s also one of the most popular times of year for marketers to launch new LGBT-focused programs or make gay-themed announcements. For the past two years, we’ve been taking advantage of this “extra” attention on LGBT issues to focus on pride in our blog posts for the month of June. This year is no exception. 

Beginning on Monday, June 1, we’ll add several Pride-focused Q&As to our usual mix of opinion, news and commentary. In these conversations, we’ll take a look at what Pride means now, what companies are doing to engage with our community and what the media climate is like and may be in the future. We’ve lined up an all-star cast of Q&A subjects representing corporate America, LGBT advocacy organizations and LGBT print and online media. Be sure to check out the Out Front Blog all month long to read our conversations with:

• Niki Leondakis, chief operating officer, Kimpton Hotels
• Neil Giuliano, president, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
• Tracy Baim, publisher and managing editor, Windy City Media Group
• Kevin Naff, editor, The Washington Blade
• Michael Jensen, editor, afterelton.com

We hope these conversations will give you a perspective on what pride means now and what that means for the state of gay and lesbian communications. And we hope you’ll chime in with your thoughts and comments, too.

The Out Front Blog Team (Ben, Peter, Ivette, Laura, Bryan and Michael)

The State of LGBT Business

Each day, we hear the question asked — when will this economic crisis be over? For some of us, we are seeing optimistic growth for our communities and our businesses. For others, we’re just not sure.

Next week, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will host the annual National Business & Leadership Conference: Out for Business in Seattle, WA. The sixth annual conference gathers LGBT business owners, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and LGBT chamber members for educational and networking opportunities.  And, as he mentioned on Tuesday, our very own Ben Finzel will be there as well.

“For three days, our GSBA members and chamber members from other states, will meet face to face and have opportunities to make business connections with LGBT colleagues and national corporate leaders from across the country to exchange information, increase business skills and act as ambassadors of our beautiful, progressive city”, said Louise Chernin, Greater Seattle Business Association’s Executive Director, in an Echelon article.

Now is the time to be a sponge, to learn from experts who are succeeding and those who are positioning their companies for growth. Opportunities, like this conference hosted by the NGLCC, provide professionals a platform for growth, personally and for their businesses. 

Snap Judgment: What Does the "American Idol" Outcome Mean?

As it does every season, “American Idol” has dominated headlines and online conversations. But, as bloggers at afterelton.com and elsewhere have pointed out, the conversation has been different this year because of the emergence of an “almost openly-gay” finalist. 

Now that finalist has finished second in his quest to become American Idol. Did his perceived sexual orientation have something to do with that finish? If so, what does that mean about the country and about the public’s mood?

As follow-up to yesterday’s Snap Judgment post on “American Idol,” I asked the Out Front Blog team to consider these ideas and then answer the following question:

“What does the outcome of this season’s American Idol mean for gay and lesbian communications?”

Our answers, in alphabetical order by first name, are reprinted below:

Snap Judgment: Does It Matter Who Wins "American Idol?"

Given all of the media attention and online chatter about "American Idol" and the “is he or isn’t he” questions about Adam Lambert’s sexual orientation, we thought we’d take the opportunity today (the day of the season finale) to consider what this national conversation means for gay and lesbian communications (if anything).

So, we’re going to try something new today (and tomorrow). Today, we asked the Out Front Blog team to answer the following question:

“Does it matter who wins American Idol?”

Here’s our take, listed in alphabetical order by first name: 

Scapegoating Marriage, the Business Version

I’ve talked a lot about the intersection of business and commerce with policy and politics (in fact, it was the subject of my first post). So, I perked up my ears when I heard that a national political leader was doing the same thing. Well, sort of…okay, not really. 

As you may have read in the past few days, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele in a speech on Saturday said that legalization of gay marriage would hurt small businesses because it would be too expensive. His remarks were picked up by the Associated Press, covered on CNN and MSNBC and repeated by numerous LGBT Web sites and blogs including The Advocate, Towleroad, Americablog, Queerty and Pam’s House Blend.

There are a lot of things to be said about the impact of equal marriage, and most of them have been said over and over again. But the idea that a presumed cost trumps equality is a new one on me. It’s also, unfortunately for Mr. Steele, not backed up by the facts.

More than 500 corporations (big businesses) already offer same-sex partner benefits to their employees – it’s one of the principal measurement questions on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index survey, for example. These companies are not suffering – in fact, many trumpet this benefit as an advantage in their recruiting.

For small businesses, it’s actually the fact that equal marriage is not an option that creates a cost problem. As the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce puts it in an online story about the cost burdens of providing same-sex partner benefits for small businesses, “this burden, of course, stems from the fact that most same-sex couples don't have access to civil marriage, creating a parallel universe of complex paperwork for employers who offer domestic partner benefits in their effort to attract and retain workers.”

Kids Say the Darndest Things

"We're all the same people, it's just that we think differently or we were born differently, and these people should be treated the same way as you would treat somebody else."

As an 8-year-old child, I think I was typically more mature and compassionate than others my age. However, those qualities extended as far as sitting next to the lonely kid in the cafeteria or wanting to save the Florida manatees I'd recently seen at Sea World. It pales in comparison to the statement above, spoken by Colorado third-grader, Ethan, who organized and held an equal rights rally on the steps of the Denver capitol this weekend.

The young student was moved to action many grown adults shy away from these days after discovering a neighborhood child whose two moms are unable to get married in Colorado. Ethan spoke to local officials, lined up permits and speakers, and even handled his own marketing -- posting flyers on the event throughout Denver.

His message is simple, which you can hear at our friend Pam Spaulding's blog Pam's House Blend: "People should be treated the same and they should have equal mariiage rights and equal protection." His example, though, is more profound. Without words, Ethan's belief in America's protection of equal rights and freedom speech, coupled with his determination that one person -- no matter their age -- can bring about needed change, sends a compelling message to parties on both sides of the controversial issue.

Check out the video of his speech from the rally after the jump.

Way to Go, Wanda

Yesterday, I finally viewed video of Wanda Sykes performing at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner on the Washington Blade Blog (the media coverage discussing her comments about Rush Limbaugh have been tough to ignore). The event took place last Saturday, May 7th. On that evening, Wanda Sykes made history as the first African-American woman and first openly gay person to perform at the Correspondent’s Dinner.

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for Ms. Sykes. She and her wife (married in 2008) welcomed twins Olivia Lou and Lucas Claude into the world on April 27th.

While I’ve enjoyed Wanda’s comedic performances over the years, I was most impressed with her involvement in the "Think Before You Speak“ campaign created by GLSEN and the Ad Council. Watching Wanda’s work got me thinking about the power of comedy and its ability to communicate a common message to diverse audiences through the universal language of laughter.

LGBT folks are lucky to have someone like Ms. Sykes on our side… an ally who clearly understands the power of laughter to communicate a message clearly.

As a tribute to Ms. Sykes and her pioneering work, I did some research into her background and discovered five facts I thought might be interesting to the Out Front Blog’s readers:

1.) Wanda was raised in the Washington, D.C. area.
2.) She attended Arundel High School in Maryland, Hampton University in Virginia and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing (like me).
3.) Her first job after college was as a procurement officer for the National Security Agency (NSA). She worked there for five years (now that makes me laugh for some reason… is that where she developed her signature droll expressions?).
4.) Sykes was married to record producer David Hall from 1991 to 1998. Hall has worked with a number of A-list musicians including Madonna, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Usher.
5.) In March 2009, it was announced that Sykes would be the host of a new late-night talk show on Saturdays on Fox.

Wanda Sykes, thank you for your bravery, honesty, and commitment to the LGBT community. Despite the challenges we face, your presence always provides a laugh, chortle, and smile that takes the edge off the fight for equality.

*To be clear, this post in no way intends to comment on the appropriateness of Ms. Sykes comments about Rush Limbaugh. I imagine those comments entertained some and offended others.

Photo Credit: x-factor-e on Flickr.com

Ms. Greenlee Goes to Washington

Last September, Laura blogged about the aging LGBT community—specifically, that over the next 25 years, seven to 10 percent of Americans age 65 or older will be members of our community. At the time, Newsweek addressed the health/well-being reality of LGBT seniors: Gay seniors are twice as likely as straight seniors to live alone, 10 times less likely to have someone care for them when they are ill, and half as likely to have health insurance than heterosexuals.

 

Why am I bring this up? This month, President Obama announced the appointment of Kathy Greenlee to serve as the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Assistant Secretary for the Administration on Aging—a long title which means that Greenlee will focus on aging issues on behalf of the administration. Greenlee has some impressive credentials – she has served as secretary of aging in Kansas since 2006 and previously served as Kansas' long-term care ombudsman, assistant secretary of aging and a general counsel at the Kansas Insurance Department. She also was chief of staff and chief of operations for former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who recently became the secretary of health and human services.

Another great aspect of Greenlee? She is an out lesbian. This of course means we not only have another representative in the upper echelon of U.S. policy-making, but we also have someone at the top who will focus on our growing LGBT aging population.

My hope is that Greenlee, with her seasoned experience with the healthcare and health insurance sectors, will combine her passion for aging issues with her demonstrated commitment to our community (through her participation in Equality Kansas) to develop aging programs and services that are specifically tailored to the needs of our LGBT boomers and elders. From corporate America to the halls of the White House, this segment of our LGBT population, and our aging population, is one that needs our attention now so that we have the systems and resources in place to provide the help when we need it.

Welcome to Washington, Kathy. Readers—what LGBT aging issues would you like to see Ms. Greenlee address during her first year in office? Let’s hear them! 

 

(Photo courtesy of Kansas Department on Aging)

Where Are You Off To?

The weather’s improving, shorts and swimsuits are hitting the retail rack and many gay and lesbian travelers are packing their bags for a summer getaway. But just what cities and companies will be receiving the majority of LGBT tourism dollars? If history is any indication, it’s those places of business and leisure that directly communicate and connect with our community.

This week, Gay.com announced its 2009 Travel Awards, which included long-standing havens of inclusiveness:

• Favorite Airline:  Delta
• Favorite International Destination: London, England
• Favorite Romantic Getaway: Paris, France
• Favorite Domestic Destination: San Francisco, CA
• Favorite Resort Town: Provincetown, MA
• Favorite Hotel Chain:  W
• Favorite Guest House: Island House, Key West
• Favorite Casino: Mandalay Bay
• Favorite Car Rental Company: Enterprise

Tourisme Montreal Gets Out, Online

Our friend Tanya Churchmuch of Tourisme Montreal wrote us recently to tell us about a new tourism promotion program launched by her organization. It’s called the Insiders program and features news, information, tips and travel advice from five different Montrealers representing different themes. One of the five is Daniel Baylis, a gay man, blogger, journalist and columnist (that's him in the photo at left). As part of the program, Daniel has his own blog, a Twitter account and a Facebook profile. Tourisme Montreal is actively promoting these social media aspects of the program and issued a press release last week encouraging people to read, follow and friend Daniel (we’re now following him on Twitter).

Known for its gay-friendly reputation and wonderful gay “village,” Montreal is using this program to highlight its reliance on social media and online communications for travel outreach. The Insiders program also marks a shift in focus with the entire program built on Web-based advertising and social media engagement. Daniel and his four colleagues are part of a fairly large shift away from the traditional print plus online advertising model that is still practiced by many destination marketing organizations. The Montreal program is still fairly new, so it’s hard to say if it will work, but we’re betting that the high interest in online communications and social networking among members of our community will at least make Daniel’s efforts successful (if not the others).

Check out the program and let us know your thoughts. We’ll share interesting tidbits we learn from Daniel along the way via our Twitter feed (reposted in the upper right hand corner of the blog).  Let us know if you plan a trip to Montreal, and if you do, what role the Insiders program played in encouraging you or helping you to make plans.

Photo courtesy of Tourisme Montreal.

Levi’s Campaigns for Harvey Milk

Last week, Levi Strauss & Co. launched the “Give Them Hope Now” campaign to raise $500,000 to support the Harvey Milk High School. The high school, located in New York’s East Village, was founded as a safe space for LGBT and questioning young adults. The Harvey Milk High School is a public school operated by the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit social service, education and advocacy organization dedicated to serving LGBT and questioning youth.

Levi’s launch of the “Give Them Hope Now” campaign includes a Web site housing a series of videos, a direct means for donations, social media integration opportunities and information about Levi’s corporate involvements. According to an AdAge article, the campaign utilizes digital outreach efforts with banner ads, e-mail outreach to bloggers, social media and community outreach through Facebook, Twitter, AOL, Glam, Hulu, MSN and Yahoo, pre-roll video and editorial coverage.  In addition to the campaign’s heavily digital components, Levi partnered with Regent Media, photographers and celebrities to generate additional awareness and host monthly fundraisers.

My two favorite elements are the videos and the social media opportunities. The Web site offers heartfelt videos with real life stories of LGBT youth. The videos raise awareness and educate visitors of HMI’s commitment and importance in the lives of these youth. These videos highlight a diverse group of HMI alum and volunteers – male, female, youth, adult, Caucasian, African American and Hispanic. It’s important to see a variety of faces and life experiences – giving potential donors a story they can relate to. 

My second favorite element of the Web site is its social media and grassroots outreach component. Each video has a social media sharing opportunity, giving people a chance to post the videos and the campaign on their social networking site of choice.  These stories are personal ones, and the grassroots elements give people a chance to tell their stories while supporting the campaign and its goal.

It is evident that the LGBT community is a priority audience for Levi’s and this partnership with HMI not only aligns with the company’s brand position, but positions Levi as a leader in the LGBT market. I look forward to seeing the campaign’s progress and commend HMI and Levi for their efforts in making a difference in LGBT youth’s lives.

Our Advocates on the Airwaves and Ads

 

Yesterday I blogged about two recent marketing pieces that leveraged prison rape and negative references about femininity to “humorously” promote their brand. These and other poor choices of words and images in advertising are common, and FH Out Front is not the only one raising these LGBT communications issues.

Today the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announced the launch of its new Advertising Media Program, which will work to ensure and promote truthful and inclusive depictions of the LGBT community in all forms of advertising. This program was formerly the Commercial Closet Association (CCA) and has now been merged into GLAAD and included as part of its broader agenda (note: CCA was an FH Out Front client). 

In the release, GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said, “Words and images matter and can shatter stereotypes. Fair, accurate and inclusive media images prove that we are connected through common, human experiences. And these are images that we – and advertisers – have a responsibility to share.”

Cleaning Up Corporate Communications

Maybe it’s because I’ve recently been researching the hygiene industry for a client or because H1N1 coverage has me washing my hands with near paranoia fervency, but yesterday’s article, Fox Offends With Prison Break Soap Promo, by the Advocate piqued my germaphobic interest.  

Apparently Fox’s marketing team for the successful series about two brothers exposing a federal conspiracy while breaking in and out of jail repeated a 2008 promotional stunt by sending a bar of soap with press materials to media outlets. Fox’s communication pros were apparently hoping to “lather up excitement for the two-hour series finale airing Friday, May 15.”

First, Do No Harm

We’re not doctors, but we communications professionals often follow the adage commonly associated with medicine in our advice to clients: “first, do no harm.” The concept is that we should not plan or conduct communications efforts that cause harm to our clients’ reputation, image or products. If it sounds like common sense, it is.  But that doesn’t mean it’s always practiced in the real world.

I bring this up today because The Advocate ran a story online Sunday about Walmart’s CEO and the 2008 Arkansas amendment to ban adoption and foster parenting by LGBT couples. According to the article, Walmart’s new CEO, Mike Duke, signed a petition last year to put the amendment on the Arkansas ballot (it was placed on the ballot and passed by a large margin in November of 2008).

Communications and marketing, as with politics, is a game of addition. The objective of most communications and marketing efforts is to add more people, not drive them away. Increasingly, efforts that drive away LGBT customers are being seen by consumers as problematic, even for companies that might not seem all that interested in reaching our community. More and more companies are beginning to understand that it’s just not good business to openly discriminate. Not just because our community is offended, but because in ever-larger numbers consumers value companies that value all people equally. 

You could make the argument that Walmart’s CEO was simply expressing his opinion and say that he had every right to do so (and note that he wasn’t CEO when he signed the petition as he just took on that job in February of this year). But consumers also have the right to shop where they feel welcome, wanted and respected. And they are expressing that right more and more by supporting those companies that support them and their neighbors – even the LGBT ones.

Walmart’s CEO is entitled to his opinion. But the consumers he wants to continue adding to his customer base are also entitled to show their displeasure at his exclusionary beliefs by exercising their right to shop elsewhere.

We’ll see if this development has any measurable impact on Walmart’s sales. Despite past support for LGBT organizations and issues, Walmart has been inconsistent in its engagement with our community.  And previous missteps by the company on LGBT issues received scant attention – even in the LGBT blogosphere – and it may be that this is another one-day story. However, if I were advising Walmart (I’m not), I’d tell them to take these kinds of situations seriously.

Walmart has apparently spent a great deal of time and resources to reshape its reputation and build a positive record on sustainability and environmental concerns (no doubt to move beyond their negative “big box” image of the past). They had previously begun attempting to do that with the LGBT community as well, but this latest news adds to the pattern of inconsistency about where Walmart stands on LGBT issues. Continued confusion could cause harm to Walmart's efforts to build a corporate image of responsibility and responsiveness. That may not happen today, with this story, but a continual pattern of these actions will add up over time. It takes a long time to build a reputation, but a very short time to damage one.

Rallying Support in Today's Networked, Tech World

It's not often that I feel out of the loop on LGBT events and issues, as I'm addicted to my RSS feed and LGBT TweetDeck column that includes most of the leading bloggers and news sites. However, it was this past Friday afternoon I heard from a friend -- in person -- about this past weekend's national gay rights rally in Philadelphia.

The National Equality Rally brought together hundreds of LGBT individuals who marched the streets of historic Philly with signs and speeches addressing current issues, such as marriage equality, adoption rights, AIDS research funding, discrimination in the workplace, health care, and the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. The event, which was considered the first national demonstration since 2000, garnered an AP wire story that ran on the sites and pages of many papers across the country and LGBT media coverage.

Reviewing the coverage and online buzz about the event, I wonder if marches and public demonstrations such as Sunday's rally work well in today's tech-driven, hyper-networked world. Have we moved to a point of one-to-one online networking and personal interaction that large advocacy events are little more than replications of historic communication methods with decreasing effectiveness? Personally, I think these demonstrations can still be effective, if used correctly within an integrated communications effort, and are woven into the eternal DNA of Americans.

Attention Corporate America: You're So Gay

 

Another week, another top 10 list.

But, this one is important. DiversityInc has released its “Top 10 Companies for LGBT Employees.” How were these companies chosen? Instead of a talent/swimsuit/public speaking contest, these companies were appropriately analyzed by the following factors: inclusive benefits for same-sex partners of employees, strong diversity training programs, recruitment efforts aimed at LGBT people and the vitality of the company's LGBT employee-resource group.

Check out the Web site for a complete listing of the winners. In addition to the #1 company on the list, our client Ernst & Young, I was also impressed with:

Marriage Matters

Wedding season is upon us. Formal invitations, matching earlier save-the-dates, have recently flooded my mailbox and I’m busily writing toasts, selecting gifts, and booking flights for my best friend’s and little brother’s summer nuptials. Add to that the growing mainstream and LGBT news media coverage on same-sex marriage, and recent movement in the legislatures of Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Washington D.C. and New York, and I can’t stop thinking – or talking – about marriage. [Check out Laura’s post that looks at the online buzz on same-sex marriage.]

Both of the big weddings I’m in and looking forward to are in Kentucky and Florida, two states banning same-sex marriage. As the hopeless romantic still believing in a happy family of my own one day, I have recently focused on how to communicate the importance of marriage equality in my daily interactions, and in between the cake cutting and bouquet tossing this summer (if the topic is raised).

Lesbians Optimistic About 2009 Economy

    The current issue of Curve has a very interesting poll* on the lesbian economic outlook for this year. Almost half of lesbians see the glass half full: 49 percent say “I’m making some cuts, but overall I’ll be Ok.” Fourteen percent said things are looking good from where they stand, and an 11 percent said “Recession? What recession?”

Based on this poll, about 75 percent of lesbians have a positive outlook on the economy. That is a promising number. So who is getting our attention? Advertisers in the magazine lean heavily on the travel and tourism side with Sweet and Damron among others, along with online dating and music festivals. The list seems pretty varied, however the majority are gay and lesbian companies. From the non-gay and lesbian business community: Bridgestone (yes, the tires), Visit Las Vegas and Subaru.

There needs to be a little more diversity within these pages. As pretty much the only nationally distributed lesbian publication, this is an important platform in reaching your optimistic, forward-thinking, brand-loyal female. The diversity in support will compliment the diversity of women that grace each page of the publication and our community.  In addition to celebrities, authors and musicians, Curve recognizes ten powerful lesbian politicians.

I’d like to take a moment to highlight two Latinas who made the list: Rosie Mendez, NYC councilmember and Mautner Project board member, and Sheriff Lupe Valdez – the highest ranking law enforcement officer in Dallas County, Texas.

I digress. Our community will only diversify as time passes and progress is made. There are plenty other ways to communicate with this audience as alternatives to advertising in publications; some ways even more credible. Ways of connecting with your audience have grown exponentially, mainly through the digital arena ( social networking, bloggers, Twitter, etc.) And as each dollar spent on your product is increasingly becoming more and more valuable, so should targeting a population which is most willing to listen and take action.

*Curvemag.com

Re:Post - Thank You for Being a Friend

As you may know, actress Bea Arthur died over the weekend. Much of the LGBT media and blogosphere coverage of Arthur's death referenced her fan base in the gay community. Arthur's star turn as Dorothy on The Golden Girls, her history-making role as Maude in the sitcom of the same name and her Broadway, film and other TV work endeared her to millions of fans. 

It's not always obvious why some people become gay icons or why some television programs resonate so strongly with different LGBT communities. Our very own Peter Klaus examined this issue more than a year ago right here on the Out Front Blog. In Bea Arthur's honor, we thought we'd run Peter's post again to give a useful perspective on that question. In this Re:Post, we present Peter's original post from January 4, 2008:

I’ve often wondered exactly why the classic TV sitcom The Golden Girls is a stereotypical favorite of LGBT community and what that communicates about this specific audience. I started thinking about this again when I stayed at a gay friend’s apartment (he’s in his late twenties) in NYC on New Year’s Eve and tripped over a stack of The Golden Girls DVDs the size of a loaf of bread (must have been every season).

Certainly, the razor wit of the dialogue, inclusion of LGBT-sensitive plot lines (according to Wikipedia, the show’s original pilot episode even featured a gay character named Coco who was the girls’ cook…who knew?), and the larger-than-life characters are key draws.

However, I think I have a more fundamental answer to the question after reading the results of a new study focusing on the behavior of older LGB adults.

Some of the study’s key findings are featured on 365Gay.com. It was conducted by Arnold H. Grossman and Eliza Dragowski of New York University, and Anthony D'Augelli of Pennsylvania State University and was published in the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services.

The research finds that older LGB adults have a “history of caregiving” during times of illness and that social networks in this population often develop to fill unique support gaps, such as estrangement from biological families (based on homophobia or being closeted) or the inability to access health coverage through partner benefit plans.

Despite increased debate and discussion about gay adoption during the past several years, the fact remains that the majority of LGBT folks do not have children. Even though not all children may end up supporting their parents when they fall ill, I believe there is still a general societal assumption that children are obligated to support their parents when they reach an age when they can no longer care for themselves. 

Well, where does that leave most in the LGBT community? I know I’ve personally thought about this particular concern: “Who’s going to care for me if I become ill when I’m in my twilight years? Who is going to care for me and about me during that time?”

Equal Marriage Rights Dominates Online Media

Marriage equality headlines living room debates, office cooler conversations and court room deliberations, but not your daily newspaper. Based on a recent study from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, the topic of equal marriage rights has dominated the blogsphere following the Vermont and Washington D.C. Equal Marriage Rights votes. Despite a substantial amount of blog and social media links on the topic, traditional media has chosen to minimize coverage. The study claims 26 percent of links from April 6-10 focused on the topic of marriage equality compared to only 1 percent of traditional newspaper coverage.

What I find most interesting is the root of conversation about marriage equality. The online community chose to focus on two subjects during that designated time period — marriage equality and the death of a man on the G20 Summit. However, traditional media discussed more global issues, such as the economic crisis and the hostage situation with the Pirates of Somalia. Prior to the advent of online outlets, the public’s primary form of news and current events was traditional media. Today, people around the globe are instantly engaged in dialogue — not only debating issues but connecting on personal and emotional levels.

The question can be raised – is marriage equality not a top priority for traditional media? If so, can social media, generated through every day people, cultivate an environment for public action on political challenges? What do you think?

Which Cars Move You?

Our friend Joe LaMuraglia of gaywheels.com this week released his list of the “top 10 most-researched vehicles” on the site for the first quarter of 2009. In his press release, Joe says that the results of this quarterly snapshot “support the results of our recent LGBT Auto Owner’s survey.” Here’s the list:

1. Volkswagen Rabbit

2. Volkswagen Eos
3. Volvo C30
4. Saab 9-3
5. Audi A-3
6. Toyota Yaris
7. Mazda MX-5
8. Maserati Gran Turismo
9. Volkswagen Jetta
10. Mazda 3

And here’s what Joe had to say about how this list matches up against his survey: “Volkswagen and Audi are two brands that are overrepresented by Gay Men in the study and those brands represent 40% of the Top 10 list. Other brand positions further supported the recent survey results; the Saab 9-3 has consistently been on the most-researched list and that brand is the most over-indexed for both Gay Men and Lesbians.”

I looked back at the post I wrote on Joe’s second quarter 2007 report and the lists are pretty similar. I find it interesting that our community’s brand interests are apparently fairly consistent, even with dramatic changes since then in the auto industry and the economy. For me, the question is whether that consistency will continue. As the recession continues and auto makers of all kinds struggle with falling sales, will media coverage of the economic impact on automakers affect our interest and ultimate purchase of specific vehicles?

We’ll keep tracking Joe’s results and report back in the future. In the meantime, what do you think? Are you thinking about buying a car? If so, what are you considering? What factors will affect that consideration? Let us know in the comments below.

Iowa Gets It!

Why does Iowa get it? I just ran across a new ad from OneIowa.org. The ad is to be applauded for many reasons.  I encourage you to see for yourself (click here). The primary reason I love this is that it does not focus on the recent legalization of gay marriage in Iowa but instead on the rights of all Iowans to enjoy the benefits of marriage. They have shifted the message to be more relevant for all Iowans, not just gay ones.

Communication channel of choice? I congratulate OneIowa.org for rolling out this new ad on Youtube, the perfect medium to offer broad distribution and allow for many different audiences to see it: gay, straight, young, old, black, white. Brilliant! I will note it has been picked up and featured on many other websites now, so it is enjoying the freedom of being viral online.

And finally their website, while cut down to the essential key information, is well done. My favorite section is "Our Stories." I read every one of them, and enjoyed them for their honesty and diversity - gay, straight, single, bi-racial.

So, what do you think of how OneIowa.org communicated this message? And do you agree with their approach? Please share your thoughts. I'd love to hear what you think.

Re:Post - Earth Gay

Note: Today we're launching a new feature to highlight some of our favorite posts from the past. We're calling it Re:Post. Yes, it's a form of recycling, so we thought launching the feature today might be an appropriate way to celebrate Earth Day this year. Our first Re:Post is from one year ago: it's my post on Earth Day 2008 about the intersection of gay and lesbian communications with environmental issues. Although the world has changed considerably in the past year, it's interesting to consider what is still relevant from the post as well as what has changed. Here's the post:

Today is the 38th observance of Earth Day. As I’ve blogged before, environmental issues have not always been front and center for the gay and lesbian community. With so many more pressing, more personal matters before us, we haven’t often been seen (or considered ourselves) as ardent environmentalists.

That doesn’t mean we weren’t there, just that we didn’t often take center stage. Now, as consumer engagement in all things “green” has taken off in the past year, engagement and recognition of gay and lesbian audiences with environmental issues has also increased. I’ve talked in the past about the Greening of Gay Travel and other “green gay” topics. But with this Earth Day, I think the two communities – environmentalists and gay and lesbian people – have now intersected.

The Advocate’s current issue is their first ever “Green Issue” and features “tips for green living,” profiles of “eco heroes” whose professional careers are devoted to “green” issues and a cover story on singer Rufus Wainwright and his efforts to engage his fans on environmental issues. But that’s just one example, retailers such as Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams include “green” messages in their ads aimed at our community. Carbon offsetters focus on our community as a target audience for their “green” products (and Jen Christensen writes about that in the latest Advocate too).

Overlooked in the Miss USA Flap

By now, you’ve likely heard or read about the latest example of the way the conversation about equal marriage rights has become part of the national dialogue. This weekend, blogger Perez Hilton asked Miss California USA (one of the top five contestants in the Miss USA pageant) her views on gay marriage. Miss California’s answer – that she believes “marriage should be between a man and a woman” – sparked a media firestorm that likely gave the Miss USA Pageant more media attention than it ever would have earned otherwise (I wasn’t even aware the pageant was taking place prior to this incident). 

Hilton’s response to Miss California's answer and his follow-up to that response sparked equally intense coverage and disappointment, outrage and commentary from every corner – including in the gay community.

But almost overlooked in this story is the reaction of the Miss California USA organization. As the Christian Science Monitor put it in their story on Monday, “The directors of the Miss California pageant condemned her answer on Monday morning.” Here’s the detail from the story:

Glamorous and GLAAD

This past Saturday, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) honored another set of celebrities and influencers in seven of this year's 41 media categories at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre presented by IBM and ABSOLUT® Vodka.

Hosted by performer Miss Coco Peru with performances by Cheyenne Jackson and Jennifer Holliday, the night was filled with recognizable individuals who are daily using their roles or careers in the media to bring greater awareness and understanding about the LGBT community to the public as a whole. Those recipients at the LA awards include:

• Kathy Griffin, who received the Vanguard Award for continuing advocacy of same-sex marriage and the LGBT community around the world.

• The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop in the history of the Episcopal Church, who has and continues to make a difference for the LGBT community, specifically among religious audiences, who received the Stephen F. Kolzak Award from Dustin Lance Black, Cleve Jones, and GLAAD President Neil Giuliano.