from Marketing & Medios

http://www.marketingymedios.com/marketingymedios/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000944720
June 01, 2005

By Mónica Taher
June Issue

When I was 13, a man on the streets of San Salvador, my home, called me "marimacha" [dyke] for the first time. When I turned to look at him, all I saw was hate. I felt terrified and helpless. Why had he said this? Perhaps it was my short hair. Whatever motivated him, that experience marked me forever.

I also recall "Cañitas," one of my classmates at the Baptist high school I attended, getting mercilessly teased and beaten until his nose would start bleeding because he was "amanerado" (effeminate).

Although it was shocking to witness such hatred, those weren't my first encounters with homophobia. Plenty of times I had heard derogatory terms on the radio and on television. As a result, I grew up both struggling with my sexual orientation and seeing the sensationalistic way in which the media demonized lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

Media images have tremendous power. They can define how we see ourselves, and they can define what others think of us. LGBT media representations have changed somewhat since I was 13, but they're still far from perfect. And the problem is hardly contained to El Salvador.

Here in the United States, homophobic language and violence reach into hundreds of thousands of Spanish-speaking homes. El Show de María Laria and José Luis Sin Censura, both on Los Angeles-based Liberman Broadcasting, regularly show audience members physically attacking gay and lesbian panelists while audiences cheer. Derogatory terms such as "puñal" [faggot], "joto" [faggot], "maricón" [faggot] and "marimacha" are common. Both hosts are shown laughing when audience members say things like "Todos estos bueyes tienen Sida" ["All gays have AIDS"].

In one episode, María Laria asked a transgender panelist if she'd had sexual reassignment surgery and then pressed her to lift up her skirt to show the audience her genitalia. Moments later, the panelist was beaten by audience members, her wig landing on the floor and her blouse ripped apart.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is leading a large coalition of diverse organizations to urge Liberman to stop broadcasting such defamatory images. We've repeatedly tried to arrange meetings with Liberman executives, but they refuse to speak with us. So we've reached out to the companies that sponsor these violent, defamatory programs. And to date, responsible companies such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, Chevrolet and Nissan have withdrawn their ads from these shows. Despite this, Liberman executives still refuse to acknowledge that these images create a climate of prejudice and intolerance.

According to data gathered by National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects, anti-LGBT violence in the U.S. increased 26 percent in 2003 and continued to grow in 2004. Latinos now comprise almost 20 percent of all LGBT hate-crime victims. And it is shows like Liberman's nurture that growing cycle of violence. LGBT people are a vibrant and important part of our culture. It is up to each of us – whether we're media executives, advertisers, media buyers, advocates or television viewers – to stand against those who profit from hatred and intolerance.

Mónica Taher is the People of Color media director for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). She has worked in print journalism and as talent for Telemundo KVEA Los Angeles.