Media Watch - 2/3/10 - Jim Edminster

Harper's (Feb.) has a hilarious memoir by Darryl Pinckney about his obsession with the gay sections of the about-to-be-defunct soap opera "As the World Turns." Who would've believed, A) there are soap opera conventions for fans, B) those playing gay roles (AKA Luke & Noah) have their own (large) group of fans and C) many of these white boys' fans are African-Americans (of which the gay Mr. P. is a member)? The fans are so, so, umn ... fanatic that they have influenced the plot lines, & why have the series' writers listened to them? Perhaps the fact that the 49 second video clip "The Kiss" (of L & N), when posted online, got 2 million hits.

The NY Times (2/04) tells us that Adm. Mike Mullen in testifying that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ought to be tossed into the "Do-Not-Recycle" bin of history, decided at the last moment to use the phrase "gays and lesbians" instead of "homosexuals." This military man is apparently a lot more calm about gay issues than Senator John McCain who, in spite of his long (brave) imprisonment in the Viet Cong gulag is still throwing hissy fits about our soldiers having to face showers in common with - ick - gay guys.

Finally, a real excuse (tho' they're not going to use it) to NOT attend one of those "points-for-politicians-prayer-breakfasts" in Washington, D.C. The NY Times (2/04) says one of the major (hidden) sponsers of the National Prayer Breakfast is "The Fellowship", also called "The Family." As exposed in the book, "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power" by Jeff Sharlet, the group has direct ties to the Ugandan attempt to execute gays for being gay. Perhaps those attending could pray for the gay folk of Africa and for those in the Family to, ahem, come out since they're very reticent about publicity. Not ashamed or anything, are you guys?

The New Yorker (3/08) has found yet another group (as if we didn't know) which is just crawling with gays & lesbians: the Black Gospel Circuit. Anthony Charles Williams II, known as Tonex (Toe-Nay) is the "... first high-profile gospel singer in history to come out of the closet." Quoting a history of this genre by Anthony Heilbut, "The Gospel Sound": "There's more sissies and bull daggers in ...[these] Sanctified churches and they all think they're the only ones going to Heaven," and commenting on the "flirtatious" atmosphere in the choir dressing room in a large Harlem church, "They all carry on, even the straight ones. But as long as it's kept in the family nobody's gonna say nothing." Tonex has lost many of his fans and is being denounced from former friends' pulpits.