butch professed homosexualbutt pirate queerdegenerate queer dyke bitchdiesel dyke sexual nonconformistdyke sinnerfag sodomitefaggot unnaturalfascist pervert from hell vanilla lesbianfemme wickeda willful choice of godless evilthe love that dare not speak its name In the 1990's, coverage about the growing visibility of gays and lesbians and their campaign for equal rights often dominated the news. And yet, while a number of the issues--such as gay and lesbian marriage and parenting--were new, the allegations against gays and lesbians were not. Gays and lesbians again were described as a threat to (that is, as likely to "recruit," molest or otherwise negatively "sway") children in stories about the rise of gay and lesbian parenting, the battle over gay and lesbian marriage, efforts to include mention of gays and lesbians in schools. [In the original version, the author goes on to analyze reporting about the decade's biggest story: gays and lesbians in the military. She concludes with a discussion about ways to improve the fairness and accuracy of reporting on gays and lesbians.'] The problems that have plagued reporting about gays and lesbians have fallen into three categories: first, the implicit assumption that homosexuality is inherently negative - or, gays and lesbians inherently inferior to heterosexuals; second, the use of unsupported and unbalanced allegations; and, third, the profound imbalance in the power and prestige of the sources quoted. On the basis of this history, it is recommended that a "fair practices" policy be adopted that would require reporters to do what, in fact, we all rely on them to do: question assertions and ask for evid...
