Marti Abernathy, over at the Transadvocate Blog, took on a subject that’s near and dear to me. That is, the subject of how transgender people are portrayed in the media, and how LGBT activist organizations respond when negative portrayals of transgender people hit the media — especially when anti-transgender pejoratives and slurs are used.

GLAAD disappointed her with their recent lack of response to the recent verbal bleatings of Michael Savage on the death of a transwoman in San Francisco. Considering it’s reported that Michael Savage has approximately 8 million listeners (per Talkers Magazine), I know I would think a story like this would rate a press release from the LGBT media watchdog organization GLAAD.

Someone like me would be wrong.  Marti writes in her blog:

(GLAAD’s Director of National News Cindi Creager quietly comments after the flip.)

In my March 26th post “Just Wondering?“, I asked where the outrage was concerning Michael Savage’s recent tirade against transgender people. I checked the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) website to see if they’d issued any kind of statement concerning Savage’s assault on the transgender community. Finding none, I contacted the only transgender contact at GLAAD that I knew of, Andy Marra (She’s also on the board of NCTE, GLSEN (NYC), and NYAGRA, but you might recognize her from her recent appearance on the ABC soap, All My Children). I explained my concern and asked if GLAAD had a response to this verbal tirade. She said that she would look into it and get back to me. Late Friday afternoon I received the following statement from GLAAD’s national news director, Cindi Creager:

“This is the kind of grotesque vulgarity that got Savage fired from MSNBC and why you never see him on any credible news outlet. Savage is a fringe extremist whose behavior continues to validate the mainstream news media’s wisdom in shunning him.”

*crickets*

Is that all?! No press release, protest, call to action, or any other kind of campaign?

Lord knows if “fringe extremist” Ann Coulter used the word “faggot” to comment about presidential candidated John Edwards, GLAAD would probably have a press release out about it — oh wait, GLAAD did release a press release on that.

GLAAD’s mission statement:

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Is GLAAD’s remaining silent about a talkshow host — who reaches 8 million people — that calls a murdered transwoman a “psychopath” and a “freak” supporing “fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people … as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation?”

It’s a pretty sad day when the non-LGBT specific media watchdog organization Media Matters For America turns out to be a stronger voice against transphobia than LGBT media watchdog organization GLAAD.