LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
My Queer Life: In Defense of Dr. Laura |
by Michael Thomas Ford |
I have no love for Dr. Laura Schlessinger. But now I'm finding myself in the peculiar position of having to stand up for her. Before you start writing hate email, let me explain. Recently stations planning to air Dr. Laura's forthcoming television show in Canada were told they would have to edit out any negative references to gays and lesbians. Good news for those hoping for a quick end to Dr. Laura's program. But is it? The decision to censor Dr. Laura's comments was made by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, a government watchdog agency responsible for monitoring radio and television broadcasts in Canada and making sure that the content of programming doesn't pose a threat to any particular group. In the case of Dr. Laura, the CBSC feared that her negative comments about queer people might lead to violence against lesbians and gay men. This would seem to be a victory. The problem, though, is that in censoring Dr. Laura, the CBSC is relying on the same guidelines used for years to censor freedom of expression for the same people they are now claiming to protect. Canada's government has a long history of censoring art under the guise of protecting the rights of various groups. The most infamous example of this is the long-running battle against sexually-explicit material. Ostensibly enacted to protect women, children, and others from the threat of abuse, these so-called "protective" laws have been used to keep gay-oriented books and magazines out of the hands of readers. Erotic magazines have been favorite targets of Canadian censors, with guidelines preventing the import of any periodicals depicting, among numerous other things, anal intercourse or "excessive" ejaculation, both of which are considered degrading and violent sexual practices. Fiction is similarly restricted, and numerous gay and lesbian books have been seized by Canadian customs for allegedly containing material that would threaten the well-being of readers. As a result of this, many publishers of queer material have toned down their products. Instead of waging costly wars against a government with deep pockets, they've decided not to publish certain kinds of books and magazines. They have, ultimately, silenced themselves because it's too difficult to fight back. I know what it's like to have a book banned because someone thinks it's dangerous. My book 100 Questions & Answers about AIDS has been banned in several American cities because it allegedly promotes homosexual sex as healthy and normal. Similarly, my book OutSpoken, a collection of interviews with lesbian and gay people, has been removed from school libraries because opponents fear it will encourage young people to explore the quote "gay lifestyle." And yes, I've also been banned in Canada on several occasions. What made me maddest about these instances of censorship wasn't that my books annoyed certain people. What infuriated me was that the various school boards, city councils, and governments involved were effectively saying that readers of their communities weren't intelligent enough to decide for themselves what they should or shouldn't read. Instead of providing freedom of choice, they were making choices for people who were perfectly capable of making them themselves. As I said, I don't like Dr. Laura. I think she's a misinformed person whose dogmatic rhetoric spreads ignorance and makes people ashamed of who they are. But I don't think you protect people, or educate people, by running to the government and asking them to make her shut up, any more than you protect people from violence by stopping them from looking at pictures of excessive ejaculation and anal sex. Whether we like it or not, Dr. Laura has a right to her opinions, and she has the right to spread those opinions if someone wants to give her the forum to do so. And while it might not seem like it, this is a great thing, because it means that those of us who disagree with her also have the right to express our opinions. And that is where our power is. In America we're winning our battle against Dr. Laura not by censorship, but by letting the sponsors of her show know that we won't support their products if they support her views. One by one the advertisers on the Dr. Laura show have been pulling out, leaving her producers scrambling for replacements and running out of justifications for airing her views. If enough advertisers turn their backs on her, you can bet she'll be out of a job in no time flat. This kind of action is far more powerful than government sanctions. By standing up in record numbers and letting advertisers know that we watch what they do, we as gay people are using our voices to effect change. We aren't relying on someone else to protect us. We're doing it ourselves. And in the long run, that will make a huge difference. Maybe you're happy that Dr. Laura has been banned in Canada. But don't be fooledthe same laws that are being used to protect us from her may be used to protect someone else from what you have to say. So let Dr. Laura have her say. Because as long as we have freedom of expression, we can have our say right back, and our voices are a lot louder, and a lot clearer, than hers is. Michael Thomas Ford's latest book, It's Not Mean If It's True, will be in stores in September, as will My Queer Life, an audio collection of the most popular pieces from his Lambda Literary Award-winning essay collections. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 10, July 28, 2000. |