Facing the Media: Is Your Family
Ready? Jonathan Kipp, Alternative Family
Magazine
In the four years since gay dads Jon and Michael Galluccio sued the
state of New Jersey for the right to adopt, the media spotlight on
GLBT families has grown steadily brighter. This attention is
driving the growing public acceptance of gay and lesbian families,
and has propelled family issues to the forefront of the GLBT
agenda, writes Jonathan Kipp in Alternative Family
Magazine. Kipp traces the evolution of the media’s
portrayal of gay families — in the name of ‘balance,’ early
stories about the Galluccio family nearly always included a
negative comment from the religious right. Then the dads began
turning down interview requests unless the reporters promised not
to include such counter-arguments. ‘After all,’ writes Kipp, ‘was
every story about an African-American countered with a statement
from the KKK?’ In a helpful sidebar to Kipp’s piece, GLBT activist
and media strategist Cathy Renna gives gay and lesbian parents some
helpful tips on what to say or not say when the media comes
knocking.
–Leif
Utne
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