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LEXINGTON GAY SERVICES ORGANIZATION I
POST OFFICE BOX 11471 "TOGETHER--
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY 40511 GAY & PROUD"
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! DEEEMBER 1985 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
The following letter was drafted as a group project and sent to the Lexingtoanerald—Leader and
WLEX'JI‘VO
"This letter concerns the recent series "Cruisin' the wall", WLEX—TV's investigative report on
juvenile male prostitution which has created quite a controversy in both the gay and the non-
gay communities. Let us preface the remarks by saying that because of the highly sensitive na-
ture of this issue, there can never be a clear consensus of opinion.
Overall, the Board of Directors of GSO feel that it was accurate and well done. We recognize
that the problem exists and are deeply concerned about it. We understand that there was no
deliberate attempt by WLEX to malign the gay community, but through several inaccurate state-
ments and opinions, they succeeded in painting the gay community in a rather bad light.
First, their statement that there-was no attempt to sensationalize this problem is not quite
true. Juvenile male prostitution is only one facet of a much larger problem-~child exploitation.
This includes juvenile female prostitution, sexual abuse in the home, child pornography, etc.
By focusing so heavily on this part of the child exploitation issue they have trivialized other
equally important aspects and spectacularized this one. Also, we all know that it is sweeps
month and this is a good way of drawing a large audience.
Secondly, as someone who works very closely with the helping professions, I was rather disap—
pointed that they made no attempt to explain why these kids were really out hustling. Sure,
they need money, they do it to survive, but why hustling? Could it be that many of these chil-
A dren are rebelling against what they perceive to be unduly strict home environments or against
parents they view as uncaring? 'Could this be a way of life—-doing this to get a sense of being
needed and thought of as a valued and valuable individual? Possibly some just want a little
affection.
Third, their series left viewers with the impression that diseases such as herpes, gonorrhea,
syphillis, hepatitis, et. a1. originated in and were spread to heterosexuals by the gay popula-
. tion. No responsible health care professional would make such statements because these diseases
have been around for centuries and have always been found in both gay and non-gay society. -
Let me also say that the number of cases where a man contracted AIDS from a male prostitute and
passed it along to his wife, who in turn, gave it to her unborn child has’never been determined
and is totally conjecture on Channel 18's part. In addtion, less than 1% of all cases of AIDS
are a result of blood or blood products transfusion. These facts have been passed along to me
by Dr. James Curran, the head of the task force on AIDS research at the Center for Disease Con-
trol in Atlanta.
Lastly, Det. James Castano's remarks showed a clear ignorance and prejudice toward all gay people
His comment about the victimization of these children being the result of "a homosexual society
that preys on young people" is just reinforcing the misconception that all gay people are child
molesters. He went on to say that "if you eliminate the adult (clearly he means the adult gay)
male, there wouldn't be a problem." This is an extremely dangerous and irresponsible thing for
him to say. These statements condone and even encourage violence that is discriminately