rjd@linus.UUCP (Robert DeBenedictis) (03/15/85)
O--------------------------------------------------------------O
The opinions expressed in this article are my own and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of the MITRE Corporation.
O--------------------------------------------------------------O
I was curious as to why the corporation didn't want to allow me to use the
word "gay" in my housemate wanted ad (see previous two articles). I went
to the editor of the corporate weekly, The Bedford Bulletin, and inquired
Why? He threw up his hands saying "Corporate Office" and Lawyers. HE
didn't make this decision. So I set out to talk to Mr. Corporate Office.
I first went to one of the VPs; the General Manager. He said that it wasn't
his problem AND that it was not he that was Mr. Corporate Office. So I
went a little higher and ended up making an appointment with the president
of MITRE, Mr. Bob Everett. I saw him this morning at 11. We only talked
for a few minutes. He said "We've got to draw the line somewhere." He felt
that if I were allowed to mention that I was gay that one thing would lead
to another and suddenly ads like "Sadist seeks Masochist" would be appearing.
The corporation simply does not allow "things like that" to be mentioned in
roommate wanted ads.
What does one say to this? I found myself agreeing, but only because I
could not articulate my case. Was he right? Is naive of me to think that
mentioning "gay" in an ad would NOT lead to outright racist ads (like:
"No Italians Need Apply"). What is the counter argument to "We've got to
draw the line somewhere."? I mean, I do agree that lines should be drawn.
Any help appreciated.
Robert DeBenedictislmf@drutx.UUCP (FullerL) (03/18/85)
I had a similar experience while I was running a gay male and lesbian roommate service. I tried to advertise in the local straight newspaper. They really gave me the run around. First they told me they wouldn't advertise a roommate service that wasn't licensed. So I checked with the city, state, and county and found out that (guess what) there was no such license. Then I went back to the newspaper, told them that and tried to run my ad. This time I talked to the supervisor of the supervisor of classifieds and they said it was against the paper's policy. What was really happening is they thought I was running a dating service, they didn't understand why sexual orientation had anything to do with finding a roommate. Their interpretation was that I was setting up sexual liasons. Totally wrong but I couldn't convice them otherwise. (Please don't try and tell me I'm jumping to conclusions, we had a very long confrontation on the subject and I finally figured out what was going on) It sounds to me like this was your company's interpretation also. I ended up running the ad edited. The name of the service was Lavendar Roommates so I figured people would probably figure it out. I got quite a few calls from straight people who didn't understand and had to screen callers right up front to avoid confusion. It was a hassle and I didn't advertise in that paper again. It was the Boulder Daily Camera by the way in Boulder Colorado not some hotbed of conservativism. On finding roommates: I personally have found it easier to deal with the (oh by the way I'm a lesbian) issue by coming out to people on the phone before they ever come over. If they are lesbians fine we'll talk. I at one point considered having straight roommates (that weren't already friends) and the responses I got tended to be upfront no I don't think it would work or I never thought about it but I don't think it would be a problem. I decided against the experiment because I figured if they hadn't thought about it then they also probably hadn't dealt with their homophobia yet and I didn't want to deal with it. Lori Fuller ihnp4!drutx!lmf