LGBTQ+ Issues

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon are the founders of the Daughters of Bilitis, an early lesbian organization. They started the group in the 1950s before the rise of the gay liberation movement. Shortly after, they began publishing "The Ladder," the first Lesbian-themed magazine. Their landmark book, "Lesbian/Woman," published in 1972 has been updated. The two have also been a couple for 39 years.

Kramer is considered the "voice of articulate rage," railing against the government for its indifference to AIDS. His plays include, "The Normal Heart," and the new "The Destiny of Me."Kramer founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) and the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC). Terry will talk with him about being a writer, an activist, and a person with HIV.

Preston is quickly emerging as a voice for gay writing; his work is being archived in many universities for new gay and lesbian studies departments. He has edited many anthologies including "Hometowns" and "Safe Sex." He is a former editor of "The Advocate," and occasionally writes for "Harper's" and "Interview." Preston also writes and defends gay pornography. He recently finished editing "A member of the Family: Gay Men Write About Their Families."

Kalin wrote, directed and co-produced the new movie,"Swoon." It explores the lives of "thrill killers" Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb. They were Jewish and homosexual; the film looks at how anti-semitism and homophobia figured into their 1920s trial. "Swoon" is Kalin's first feature film. He worked for three years as a producer for AIDSFILMS and is a founding member of the AIDS activist collective Gran Fury.

Maupin served in Vietnam and worked for Jesse Helms in his pre-Senate days. When he moved to San Fransisco, he came out of the closet. He was a journalist for several years before writing his "Tales of the City" series, which blended gay and straight storylines. His latest novel, "Maybe the Moon," expounds on Hollywood's hypocrisy, as seen through the eyes of a little person actress. His partner Terry Anderson joins him for the interview.

Schwarzkopf commanded American troops in the Mideast during the Gulf War. He's got a new memoir, "It Doesn't Take a Hero," in which he claims "hawks" in the Bush administration pushed to start a land offensive against Iraq before troops were ready and diplomatic efforts were exhausted.

Scott Lively is the Director of Communications for the Oregon Citizen's Alliance, the group that brought an anti-gay initiative to the ballot, known as Ballot Mesaure 9. It would amend the Oregon constitution to outlaw "promoting, encouraging or facilitating homosexuality." Terry also talks to Peggy Norman, who manages the campaign against the measure, called "No on 9."

Liebman shocked his political associates and friends when he announced in 1990 that he was gay. His new autobiography is "Coming Out Conservative." Liebman joins Fresh Air to talk about his frustration with his party's family values platform, which he says is just a code word for homophobia.

Monette's book "Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir," published in 1988, was one of the first memoirs to be published about AIDS. It told the story of his lover's two year struggle with AIDS. Since then, Monette has watched another lover die of AIDS, and has been diagnosed with AIDS himself. Monette's new memoir about his life before he came out of the closet at the age of 25 is called "Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story."

Journalist Leroy Aarons and President of the newly formed National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. Aarons is founder of the group which was organized to deal with issues in the media involving gays and lesbians, to counter the homophobia often found in the mass media, and to promote fair and ethical treatment of gay and lesbian journalists who often fear exposure. The group is holding its first conference this week in San Francisco. Aarons is former editor, national correspondent, and bureau chief for The Washington Post and former executive editor for The Oakland Tribune.

Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, chief nurse of the Washington National Guard. Last week she was discharged from the army for being a lesbian. Cammermeyer is one of the highest ranking members of the military ever to be removed because of her sexual orientation. She served in Vietnam where she received the Bronze Star and in 1985 was chosen from 34,000 candidates to be the Veterans Administration's Nurse of the year. She is challenging her dismissal in Federal Court.

Producer Gil Cates. He produced the Academy Awards last night. Terry will talk with him about what it takes to put together such an endeavor.

Jeff Yarbrough is a senior editor of the Los Angeles based bi-weekly national gay magazine "The Advocate." He'll tell us what went wrong with the gay rights protest that was supposed to take place during the academy awards ceremony.

Sheila Kuehl is now a women's rights lawyer. But most people will remember her as Zelda Gilroy on the old TV show "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." Her TV career ended when rumors began to circulate that she was a lesbian -- and those rumors were true. Now Kuehl is one of the most vocal lesbian activists in Los Angeles

Dorothy Beam. Her son Joe Beam died of AIDS three years ago. He was a writer who was in the process of editing his second anthology of Black gay writing. Dorothy helped finish the work her son started, along with editor Essex Hemphill. The collection is "Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men," (published by Alyson Publications). Joseph Beam's first anthology is "In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology." (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Terry Gross talks with two people who are working to spread the word about AIDS.
1) Rashidah Hassan ("reh-shee-dah heh-ssan") is the Executive Director of BEBASHI ("beh-bah-shee"), short for "Blacks Educating Blacks About Sexual Health Issues." It's a Philadelphia-based group that used down-to-earth strategies to warn people of color about AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

Writer Patrick McGilligan. He's just written a new biography of film director George Cukor (KOOK-er), "A Double Life, George Cukor: A Biography of the Gentleman Director." (published by St. Martin's Press). Cukor's films included, "Little Women," "GasLight," "The Philadelphia Story," and "Dinner at Eight." This new biography reveals the part of his life that he kept private while he was alive, his homosexuality.

Filmmaker Isaac Julien. His new movie, "Young Soul Rebels," explores the rise of British funk clubs in late 70s London.

William Rubenstein ("steen," not "stine"), the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. He'll discuss yesterday's court decision that granted guardianship of a woman left brain-damaged by a car accident to her lesbian companion. This is the first case that has granted rights equal to a spouse to a gay or lesbian partner.

Author David Feinberg. His new novel, "Spontaneous Combustion," is the further adventures of an HIV-positive man in New York City. (It's published by Viking).