GLAAD Awards: Sort of Gay
We attended the GLAAD Media Awards last night, which are designed to "recognize and honor mainstream media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community." It was a fun evening — mostly because of the free-flowing booze and the attractive boys — but it also left us feeling conflicted. How so?
• Brokeback Mountain won the night's big award, Outstanding Wide-Release Film. After its Oscars snub, we thought, how great that the move got this recognition. Until we remembered: What, it's a surprise that the gays liked Brokeback?
• Earlier, the award for Outstanding TV Journalism - News Segment went to SportsCenter for its piece on Dartmouth's openly gay lacrosse player, Andrew Goldstein. Goldstein joined producer Greg Garber to accept the award and received a standing ovation. Mazel tov, Andrew! Until the guy next to us pointed out: "Wait, now we're applauding a guy for being a gay guy at an Ivy League school?"
• There are actually four different nights of GLAAD Media Awards, at four different cities with rich gays. Because, really, the event is just an excuse for a fundraiser. And so the crowd was repeatedly implored to support the organizations efforts to both help the media learn how to talk about gay people, as GLAAD president Neil Giuliano says, and serves as "a much-needed watchdog on the media," as presenter Phil Donahue says. Then we remembered: Watchdogs? Aren't all the guys in media gay already?
(Oh, speaking of which, our personal highlight was a brief moment during the montage of nominated TV news segments. One opened with its CNN graphics, which displayed the segment's title and the show on which it aired. "Secret Sex Lives," it said. "Anderson Cooper 360." Indeed.)
