Jehan F. Agrama is a cofounder of GLAAD/LA, as well as the president and CEO of Harmony Gold, an international television production and distribution company. Born in Cairo, Egypt, she now lives in Los Angeles with her wife, Dwora Fried, and their three daughters. Richard Jennings is a cofounder of GLAAD/LA, as well as the founding executive director of GLAADs Hollywood Supports initiative. Through Hollywood Supports, he served as a longtime spokesperson in the entertainment industry on AIDS and LGBTQ issues. A writer and photographer, he was born and raised in Pasadena, California, and now lives in Andalucia, Spain.
Description
Contents
Foreword by David Hyde Pierce
A Note on Nomenclature and Point of View
Introduction
Chapter 1: Activists Ignited
Chapter 2: A Key Recruit
Chapter 3: Getting the Word Out
Chapter 4: The Targets Get Bigger
Chapter 5: Andy Rooney Puts Us on the Map
Chapter 6: Growing the Organization
Chapter 7: Getting in the Door: Homosexuality 101
Chapter 8: A Major Target: Rush Limbaugh
Chapter 9: Building Relationships with Local News
Chapter 10: Launching GLAADs Media Awards
Chapter 11: Highlighting Hollywood Homophobia
Chapter 12: Hollywood Inroads and Headaches
Chapter 13: In Living Color
Chapter 14: Media Awards Night, 1991
Chapter 15: Rising Anger at Hollywood
Chapter 16: Hollywood Supports
Chapter 17: Taking Over the Streets
Chapter 18: Righting a Bill of Wrongs
Chapter 19: GLAAD Gets Embedded in Hollywood
Chapter 20: Lipstick Lesbians
Chapter 21: AIDS in the Workplace
Chapter 22: Bans, Ballots, and Boycotts
Chapter 23: Sexual Orientation in the Workplace
Chapter 24: Banner Year
Chapter 25: Transitions and New Heights
Chapter 26: Taking Over the Screens
Chapter 27: Days of Compassion, Retirement, and Passing the Torch
Chapter 28: All Grown Up
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
"As a longtime supporter of GLAAD, I knew a little of this story, but this book reveals so much more about the drama and massive effort it took to get LGBT people more accurately represented in all media. As diversity and inclusion face a backlash these days, the lessons of how GLAAD did its early work are more important than ever." --Lily Tomlin, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor and comedian
"Reading this book today, as we face renewed waves of disinformation and attacks on LGBTQ images in entertainment, I am struck by how much of the authors early wisdom remains true: Stories have the power to change hearts and minds, but only if we have the courage to demand they be told accurately. Agrama and Jenningss work is a love letter to the volunteers who built this movement and an inspiring call to action for todays media activists and storytellers. This is required reading for anyone who believes in the power of the media to create a more accepting world." --Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD
"Agrama and Jennings recreate the decades-long heroic struggle of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to transform the media image of gays and lesbians from sickos and monsters to human beings. These days, as the bad old times threaten to recur, Queering the Media can serve as an inspiration and virtual blueprint for how to advance the LGBTQ cause for social justice through courage, determination, and a healthy dose of good sense and common sense." --Lillian Faderman, author of Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers and The Gay Revolution
"A clear-eyed account of a moment when the industry was compelled to stand up for its own, often in the absence of broader support. The origins of Hollywood Supports and the greater movement it helped advance were driven not by virtue, but by necessity. While Im proud to have played a role, it was the many more individuals who chose to act, at real reputational or greater risk, who made the difference. Jennings and Agrama capture that period of urgency and friction with true conviction. This work stands as a stark record of a dark time that, while difficult to revisit, is crucial to remember." --Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of IAC and of Expedia
"Queering the Media is essential and inspirational history. It charts the path of GLAAD, a radical organization that, through storytelling and acceptance, drove LGBTQ visibility and accelerated social change. In this repressive fascist era where we can feel powerless and lost, this book is critical, reminding us that when a small group of committed people takes control of the narrative, they can create lasting change everywhere." --V (formerly Eve Ensler), author of The Vagina Monologues and Reckoning
"Making the decision to publicly come out is the thing Im most proud of because it wouldve been easier for me to stay quiet. Coming out can be very scary. But as the authors of Queering the Media remind us, every voice makes a difference." --Ellen DeGeneres, award-winning comedian, writer, and producer
"GLAAD taught us to have a critical eye when viewing depictions of ourselves in the media. It also celebrated our achievements and showcased and nurtured new talents that would go on to redefine the entertainment landscape. This is the story in Queering the Media, and GLAAD is the reason so many of us thrive creatively today. We are nowhere without GLAAD telling us where we are and who we are." --Margaret Cho, comedian and actress