Because I generally don't watch television, I'm a little slow at picking up on the the endless amounts of garbage out there as well as the little nuggets of good TV. A few weeks ago, I saw an ad for French Connection with two women kung fu fighting each other. They were doused with water for the perspiration effect, slim, perfectly made up and wearing tight, revealing clothes. After several frames of expert fake fighting, the two girls kiss. Then, the television is shut off immediately by my flying remote control. The Commerical Closet, a website that reveals homophobia and gay stereotypes in advertisements, hasn't picked up on this one yet, but points to a variety of instances where tropes like leather daddies and lipstick lesbians are portrayed.

I recently discovered "In the Life," a gay and lesbian news magazine on public television and my remote has been repaired with tape. In the Life is an hour-long show that plays new episodes each month devoted to topics on LGBT culture and issues that range from HIV to Arts and Culture to relationships and family. This month's episode is about literacy, and is hosted by Michael Cunningham, the out pulitzer prize winning author who wrote "The Hours" and who is up for a Leadership Award by the National Gay and Lesbian Task force (along with Christine Quinn). ITL's Literacy episode covers gay issues as seen in textbooks, novels, the Black Gay and Lesbian Archives at the Schomburg Center in Harlem, and those old pulp novels with titles like "Lesbian Lust Killed Her." It's actually a very informative and well-produced show that should be shown in schools.

ITL started out more as a variety show and has since won an emmy-nominated series. The Ford Foundation, which was started by Edsel Ford (Henry Ford's son and the family who runs Ford Motor Company) is a major financial underwriter for the show. The Foundation's mission is to "strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement." Ford has received a lot flak from Christian conservative groups for placing ads in gay magazines. In 2005, GLAAD and Ford came up with a public policy statement about Ford being gay friendly. Groups like the American Family Association have made public statements about boycotting Ford and has devoted a website to having others join the boycott. On the site the Association claims, "Ford Motor Company has proven its commitment to the homosexual agenda by sponsoring a TV program featuring a passionate kiss between two lesbians." It's really very spooky how tied in all of these groups are to the media, but even spookier is how much time these people have to look at every ad and commercial to try and stretch their imaginations to see what products are being marketed for queers and how to collectively boycott them. You can find a positve remark about some of Ford's ads on The Commercial Closet website.