Read this and

weep, or possibly barf. Then read this, passed to me by my Frisco Lady, who

adds: “Link isn’t up yet on the San Francisco Examiner website (local

throwaway rag, not to be confused with the ‘real’ newspaper of yesteryear)

so forgive any typos.”

The Old Switcheroo

Who would guess the ABC Family Channel would air a show that inclues a

lesbian household? Well, today, it is. “Switched!” features 15-year-old

Marina Gatto, who was the youngest grand marshal ever in S.F.’s Pride

parade. It airs at 4:30 p.m. Marina traded places for five days with a

teenager from Concord, Mass. Emily Manual’s parents were surprised to learn

their daughter would be in the Burlingame home of Marina’s two lesbian

mothers, Ramona and Arzu Gatto. “ABC was so funny,” says Ramona. “They told

me it was going to be on the network on Thursday – but also said they were

worried about it. After all, they run Pat Robertson’s ‘700 Club’ in the

morning. A backlash is expected.” Emily’s father is a Harvard professor,

who admonished Marina in the Manual home with, “We don’t talk politics at

the breakfast table.” Politics is young Marina’s life. On the other hand,

Ramona reports, “Emily wanted to talk about dates and cars – and she’s 18.”

Most teenagers do talk about dates and cars – but Marina is no ordinary

teen. “We took Emily to meet Mark Leno, Marina’s hero. She said, with a bit

of wonder, ‘I’ve never met a gay person before. And I think there’s one

black person in Concord.’” But, in the end, Emily told Ramona and her

partner, Arzu, “every preconceived notion I had about gays has been

shattered.” And, in Mass., the land of Puritans and a legislative testing

ground for gay marriages, Emily’s mother cried as she kissed Marina goodbye.

Maybe ABC Family wandered into new territory when it comes to what really

makes a family.

–Bruce Bellingham, SF Examiner Thursday July 24, 2003

This is one of those pieces that contains so many idiocies one just doesn’t

know where to start deconstructing it. Perhaps a good place would be the

notion that Massachusetts is a place full of starched-collar puritans.

Massachusetts!