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Public Opinion and Discourse on the Intersection of LGBT Issues and Race the Opportunity Agenda

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Public Opinion and Discourse on the Intersection of LGBT Issues and Race the Opportunity Agenda Opinion Research & Media Content Analysis Public Opinion and Discourse on the Intersection of LGBT Issues and Race The Opportunity Agenda Acknowledgments This research was conducted by Loren Siegel (Executive Summary, What Americans Think about LGBT People, Rights and Issues: A Meta-Analysis of Recent Public Opinion, and Coverage of LGBT Issues in African American Print and Online News Media: An Analysis of Media Content); Elena Shore, Editor/Latino Media Monitor of New America Media (Coverage of LGBT Issues in Latino Print and Online News Media: An Analysis of Media Content); and Cheryl Contee, Austen Levihn- Coon, Kelly Rand, Adriana Dakin, and Catherine Saddlemire of Fission Strategy (Online Discourse about LGBT Issues in African American and Latino Communities: An Analysis of Web 2.0 Content). Loren Siegel acted as Editor-at-Large of the report, with assistance from staff of The Opportunity Agenda. Christopher Moore designed the report. The Opportunity Agenda’s research on the intersection of LGBT rights and racial justice is funded by the Arcus Foundation. The statements made and views expressed are those of The Opportunity Agenda. Special thanks to those who contributed to this project, including Sharda Sekaran, Shareeza Bhola, Rashad Robinson, Kenyon Farrow, Juan Battle, Sharon Lettman, Donna Payne, and Urvashi Vaid. About The Opportunity Agenda The Opportunity Agenda was founded in 2004 with the mission of building the national will to expand opportunity in America. Focused on moving hearts, minds, and policy over time, the organization works with social justice groups, leaders, and movements to advance solutions that expand opportunity for everyone. Through active partnerships, The Opportunity Agenda synthesizes and translates research on barriers to opportunity and corresponding solutions; uses communications and media to understand and influence public opinion; and identifies and advocates for policies that improve people’s lives. To learn more about The Opportunity Agenda, go to our website at www.opportunityagenda.org. The Opportunity Agenda is a project of Tides Center. FEBRUARY 2012 The Opportunity Agenda Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Summary of Findings 3 Introduction 9 Public OPiniOn Meta-analysis 12 Executive Summary 12 Introduction 15 Methodology 16 Findings 17 cOntent analysis: african-aMerican Media 30 Executive Summary 30 Major Findings 30 Introduction 32 Methodology 37 African-American Community Newspapers Analysis 39 Overview 39 Storylines 39 Spokespeople 50 African-American Magazines Analysis 55 Overview 55 Storylines 55 Spokespeople 61 African-American Online News Media 65 Overview 65 Storylines 65 Spokespeople 74 Dominant Narratives 78 i The Opportunity Agenda cOntent analysis: latinO Media 80 Executive Summary 80 Major Findings 81 Introduction 82 Methodology 83 Findings 84 Overview 84 Framing of Stories 84 Storylines 85 Spokespeople 94 Dominant Narratives 97 Appendix I 98 Appendix II 110 Online discOurse scan 112 Executive Summary 112 Introduction 114 Overall Methodology 116 Blogs 116 Facebook 123 Twitter 125 YouTube 130 Appendix 136 ii The Opportunity Agenda Executive Summary A growing number of advocacy organizations are working at the intersection of racial justice, sexual orientation, and gender identity, challenging the myths and biases that continue to hamper the rights and opportunities of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people, especially LGBT people of color. The meta-analysis of public opinion research included in this report shows that Americans are more open to issues of LGBT equality than at any time in our history. Some segments of the population, however, including those who can usually be counted upon to support the rights of victims of discrimination, continue to harbor reservations about granting lesbians and gay men full equality, particularly when it comes to marriage equality. Anti-LGBT biases, including within the African-American and Latino communities, have created divisions and stymied collaborative activism and advocacy. The human cost of these divisions is high. Many LGBT people of color experience marginalization from the mainstream as a result of both their race and their sexual identity, as well as a compounding marginalization from within their own racial and ethnic communities because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The result is a “double-outsider” status in which individuals are systematically separated from the already-diminished opportunities that might exist within their own communities. Creating a more responsive and supportive media environment — one that conveys the movement’s values, concerns, and solutions, and accurately portrays LGBT people of color — is vitally important in breaking down the barriers that keep people apart and prevent communities of color from wholeheartedly embracing the movement’s goals. Media representations of people and issues have important effects. Research shows that depiction in the media, especially distorted portrayals, affects public perceptions, which ultimately have a real impact on people’s lives every time their fate depends on how they are perceived by others (e.g., Dong & Murrillo, 20071 or Entman & Gross, 20082). Research also provides evidence of the potential of media representation that is fuller, more accurate, and more sympathetic. Political scientist Shanto Iyengar’s influential study3 (among others) of the effects of television news choices on viewers’ attitudes shows that news stories about racial discrimination help reduce the tendency to blame individuals for outcomes. To the contrary, coverage of black poverty focusing on individuals rather than larger trends or forces increases the degree to which viewers hold individuals responsible for racial inequality. Ethnic and new media play an integral part in the media terrain. According to New America Media, the fastest growing sector of American journalism is ethnic media, with more than 3,000 outlets in the United States.4 In addition, a survey shows that African Americans and Latinos are significantly more likely than whites to believe that they can help get the word out about a social issue or cause through online social networks (58 percent and 51 percent, respectively, vs. 34 percent of whites).5 1 Dong, Q., & Murrillo, A.P. (2007). The Impact of Television Viewing on Young Adults’ Stereotypes Towards Hispanic Americans. Human Communication, 10 (1), 33-44. 2 Entman, R.M., & Gross, K.A. (2008). Race to Judgment: Stereotyping Media and Criminal Defendants. Law and Contemporary Problems, 71 (93), 94-133. 3 Iyengar, S. (1991). Is Anyone Responsible? How Television Frames Political Issues. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 4 New America Media (2011). National Online Directory of Ethnic Media. San Francisco, CA. The directory provides the most comprehensive listing of this type of media in the United States and lists over 3,000 ethnic outlets. According to their estimations, these outlets reach over 60 million Americans. http://newamericamedia.org/network/directory. 5 Georgetown University, Center for Social Impact Communications and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, “Social Media Plays Greater Role in Cause Engagement For African Americans and Hispanics,” May 31, 2011, at http://csic.georgetown.edu/OPR_ SM_GT_Ethnicity_FS_Final.pdf 1 The Opportunity Agenda The research findings described in this report build on other recent research commissioned or supported by the Arcus Foundation: in-depth interviews, a national survey, a series of focus groups of African Americans conducted in 2007-2008, and a study of the relationship between racial justice organizations and LGBT communities completed in 2010. This report takes a close look at the roles ethnic and new media are playing today in both perpetuating and challenging negative stereotypes. The report includes four studies: 1. What Americans Think about LGBT People, Rights and Issues: A Meta-Analysis of Recent Public Opinion; 2. Coverage of LGBT Issues in African-American Print and Online News Media: An Analysis of Media Content; 3. Coverage of LGBT Issues in Latino Print and Online News Media: An Analysis of Media Content; and 4. Online Discourse about LGBT Issues in African-American and Latino Communities: An Analysis of Online Discourse. Each study has its own Findings section, but there are themes common to all that bear mentioning. These commonalities suggest that although each type of media merits its own specific, culturally sensitive strategy, coordinated strategies may also be appropriate and effective. In no particular order, we present some highlights: X Pro-LGBT spokespeople predominate in both the African-American and Latino print media by a wide margin. X The storylines in all three types of media tend to focus on LGBT-specific issues like marriage equality, homophobia, and the “down low lifestyle.”6 Few articles place LGBT people and issues within a broader societal context. X There is some narrative overlap. The clash of values between equality, human rights, and dignity on the one hand, and morality, “natural law,” and God’s will on the other is present in both the African-American and Latino coverage. Both communities are wrestling with this apparent contradiction, and in both instances religious leaders are the primary promoters of homophobic ideology. The full report takes a close look at current public opinion and the role of ethnic and new media in both perpetuating and challenging myths and biases about LGBT people. Because the meta-analysis
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