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Woolard & WGST Wrangle
The Letter
12 February 1988
Mr. Eric Seidel
WGST
550 Pharr Rd.
Suite 400
Atlanta, GA 30363
Dear Mr. Seidel:
I am writing to register a formal
complaint about Tammy Lloyd's
homophobic behavior and remarks on her
February 11 show on "Gays in the
Military". Ms. Lloyd opened this particular
show by quoting the recruiting slogans of
the Army, Navy, and Marines in a manner
which I would describe as sexual leering,
i.e. this ruling would lend new meaning
to... the Marines are looking for a few good
men. She also made references that
implied that gay men are more apt to
display sexually inappropriate behavior
while in the Armed Forces. I daresay the
large number of Amer-Asian children in
Vietnam are testimony enough to the
inappropriate sexual behavior of
heterosexual men in the Armed Services.
In addition, Ms. Lloyd "repeated" two
jokes about gay men in the military that I
found extremely upsetting. When I told her
how offensive gay men and lesbians find
such remarks, she replied that she was only
repeating what she had heard in the WGST
offices. Would you, as Station Manager,
allow a talk show host to "repeat" racist
jokes on the air? How about jokes about
Jews and disabled people? I think not. The
person responsible for the offense is each
person making the remark, not only the
person who made it up.
To further add insult to injury, Ms.
Lloyd stated early in the show that the
Supreme Court decision in Bowers vs.
Hardwick applied only to homosexuals. I
called the program to make a correction
only to be told by Ms. Lloyd that I was
incorrect. The Supreme Court ruling in this
case upheld that the Sodomy Statute of the
State of Georgia was not unconstitutional
and that homosexuals did not have a
fundamental right to privacy in this matter.
Whatever obscure language that Ms. Lloyd
used in her first statement on the air did not
reflect these facts and her subsequent rude
defense of such only served to confuse the
issue.
Throughout the show Ms. Lloyd made
remarks and innuendos that can only be
taken as homophobic and insulting by
members of the gay community. When
challenged she used the excusd that she was
repeating something she heard or denied
the innuendo. It doesn't matter to me how
it gets on the air or who said it. The Ed
Tyll matter showed that you don't consider
racist remarks appropriate for the air waves.
By what reasoning is Ms. Lloyd or any
other employee at your station permitted
homophobic behavior?
Mr. Seidel, there are approximately
250,000 lesbians and gay men in your
listening area. There are likely a million
listeners with lesbian and gay sons,
daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, and
fathers in every ethnic group and economic
class. Have you considered the hurt they
must feel to hear these stereotypes
perpetuated?
In keeping with my own policy of
following criticism with positive
constructive suggestion, I propose the
following:
1. An on-the-air thorough correction of
Ms. Lloyd's interpretation of the Supreme
Court ruling (her attempt to do so only
underscored her ignorance) as well as an
apology for any offense intended or
otherwise to the lesbian and gay
community for her behavior and comments
on the show.
2. I would appreciate the opportunity to
meet with you and members of your staff
(including talk-show hosts) to explain what
is going on in the lesbian and gay
community, how we would like these
issues discussed, and what we consider to
be insulting behavior. Several of us were
invited by Andy Fisher at WSB to do just
this and we all came away with greater
sensitivity.
3. An opportunity for lesbians and gay
men to be present on shows dealing with
issues of concern to us. Ms. Lloyd took
great pains apparently to solicit comments
from military recruiters regarding the recenl
California decision, why did she not take
tire same steps to solicit comments from
activists in our community? (Don't say you
couldn't find any lesbians or gay men. A
quick trip downstairs to the "Library"
would be a step in some direction, or hadn't
you noticed the gay bar in your basement?)
As an organizer of the October March
on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
and an activist in this community, I would
appreciate the opportunity to assist you in
improving your coverage of issues relevant
to us. I hope to hear from you and Ms.
Lloyd in the very near future.
Sincerely,
Catheren M. Woolard
cc/Chris Cash, Editor
Southern Voice
The Response
February 23,1988
Ms. Catheren M. Woolard
302 Oxford Place
Atlanta, GA 30307
Dear Ms. Woolard:
Thank you for your letter of February 12
regarding THE TAMMY LLOYD SHOW.
In response, I first want to say that after
having heard her show that day, I think
Tammy did an excellent job. I don't agree
that her behavior was "homophobic," and,
in fact, she even defended gays several
times against the attacks of callers.
As for repeating jokes she had heard, in
answer to your question would we do the
same with racial jokes. The answer is yes,
and we have, in order to help make a point.
I can think of at least two shows Tom
Houck has done on people and their
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
prejudices in which he used those "jokes"
to underscore his points.
As for the Hardwick decision, Tammy
made it clear, and gave attribution to the
state attorney general, that the Georgia law
is used against gays. I h^ard her discussion
with you, and she certainly made her point
clear then.
Tammy asked her audience some tough
questions, based on the reality of our times.
I can understand how this made you
uncomfortable, and agree with you that it's
unfortunate that these conditions still exist
within our society.
I see no need for an on-air apology or
correction. And, as for your request to tell
us "how we would like the issues
discussed," you need to understand we are
not a vehicle for your or any other special
interest group.
WGST NewsRadio 92 has done
countless talk shows on gay/lesbian issues
for which we have gotten excellent positive
reaction. However, I don't recall ever
having heard from you before now.
Sincerely,
Eric N. Seidel
Station Manager
cc: Chris Cash, Editor/Southem Voice
Ed. Note- Mr. Seidels response was not
received by Southern Voice as indicated in
his letter to Catheren Woolard. Ms. Woolard
was kind enough to share it with us.
hhbhbi
Viewpoints is part of a continuing effort to provide a forum of opinion for our
community. We invite your ideas, comments and feelings and your responses to
ideas expressed in this space.
The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily
represent the views of Southern Voice. Submissions should be typed, double
spaced and no longer than four pages. Mail to:
Southern Voice/Viewpoints
P.O. Box 54719
Atlanta, GA
30308
--If you could resolve one lesbian
and gay rights issue during the next
year, what would it be?
Spousal rights - The dignity and
right to marry and have children
openly and legally with societal
support instead of condemnation.
This includes all rights open to
heterosexuals.
Leslie Smith
Smyrna, GA
There are so many things that
come to mind, it is difficult to
choose. Rights for mothers and
children, employment rights,
everything rights.
Becky Bryant
Repealing all sodomy laws.
Greg Bates
Atlanta, GA
End discrimination by insurance
companies against people who test
positive for AIDS.
Dan Mazur
Atlanta, GA
Voices poses questions which reflect
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