“Ellen,” the fictional star of the ABC sitcom of the same name, will soon come out of the closet and reveal she is lesbian, which has the gay-haters quite upset. They don’t want America to see the reality that gay people are nice, normal everyday folks. Until very recently, negative gay and lesbian images have been the rule, rather than the exception. The cumulative nature of these portrayals adds extraordinary force to each individual stereotype.

A negative stereotype takes on even further meaning in a society in which most people claim they do not know (and often do not WANT to know) any gay people. For large numbers of people, the mass media are often their ONLY sources of information. Given that so much of this “information” has been defamatory, is it any wonder that many Americans still think lesbian teachers pose a “threat” to children? Anti-gay bias prompted 25 percent of the assaults and 2/3 of the homicides tracked. So for lesbians and gays, who daily face hate violence, job discrimination and legally sanctioned prejudice, “Ellen” is a tiny but welcome breath of fresh air.

Alan L. Light

Iowa City