“I think a lot of straight people in the mainstream press, and straight liberals, have this hands-off attitude,” she adds. “ ‘I don’t want to hurt anybody; I understand it’s a personal choice.’ Come on. Aren’t we beyond that at this point? It’s very 1980s or 1990s. Here’s the bottom line: there’s a special word for outing somebody with regard to their sexual orientation. It’s called reporting.”
A modest proposal
Early on in my time at the Phoenix, I listened awkwardly as a colleague aggressively worked to out a state legislator who was reputedly a lesbian but opposed to gay marriage. It seemed a bit much; after all, wasn’t the politician in question entitled to her privacy?
Perhaps. I don’t know what personal considerations may have led this woman to keep her sexual orientation quiet; even if I did, as a straight male, I probably don’t have the right to decide whether or not they pass muster. But suppose, just for the sake of argument, that a similar exchange had taken place during the civil-rights struggle, with a reporter pursuing a lead that a politician who opposed integration was actually part black. Think, too, of how absurd it seemed when Republican senator George Allen of Virginia accused a reporter who asked about his reported Jewish ancestry of “making aspersions.”
Here’s the difference: on some level, it seems, even well-intentioned straight observers seem to think there’s something vaguely unseemly about being gay or lesbian. That sentiment may not be the only reason the media handle the issue as delicately as we do. But it’s part of the equation.
Which brings me to a modest closing proposal: at news organizations across the US, publishers and editors should sit down for a couple hours to discuss — in detail — how to report on matters involving sexual orientation in the coming years, especially given the central role sexuality now plays in the nation’s culture wars. If there’s a consensus that sexual orientation is a noteworthy but value-neutral aspect of personal identity, the paper or network or station in question might want to formulate some specific policies geared toward specific scenarios — nothing binding, but a useful addition to the current baseline criteria of newsworthiness or relevance. The issue isn’t going away; it’s time to tackle it with self-awareness and subtlety.
On the Web
Adam Reilly's Media Log: http://www.thephoenix.com/medialog
