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News Release:
Bodies Like Ours Concerned Over FCC Indecency Standards and Their Effect On
Media Coverage of Intersex Issues.
BODIES LIKE OURS NEWS RELEASE
Contact:
Betsy Driver
Bodies Like Ours Executive Director
betsydriver@bodieslikeours.org
www.bodieslikeours.org
908-212-4662
908-447-6671
For Immediate Release
03/01/2005
Bodies Like Ours Concerned Over FCC Indecency Standards and Their Effect On
Media Coverage of Intersex Issues.
Throughout March, many public television stations around the country will be
airing an In the Life episode called "American Gender" that deals with gender in America and includes an outstanding segment on intersex issues
titled, "Size Matters".
Due to the current political climate and the stringent standards set by current FCC guidelines, some of the language and graphics in the program
have been more crucially evaluated by public television affiliates to make
sure they meet "contemporary community standards". These stations face a
difficult decision as current fines and sanctions the FCC imposes on stations they deem as violating contemporary community standards can reach
as high as $500,000. Such a fine could potentially bankrupt a public television affiliate, forcing many stations to run the program at a latertime or pull the episode from their schedule.
Bodies Like Ours does not question the decision by individual affiliates who
decide for themselves whether to carry any type of programming, including
this one. We are especially supportive of those affiliates who have chosen
to air the program because we are keenly aware of the current climate in our
country and eagerly await it's passing on as a quaint period of our storied
history.
We are very concerned about an FCC that is a puppet of the cultural police.
It appears that physiologically correct words like clitoris and penis could
be considered offensive under their current standards of "decency".
One example in the intersex segment involves Betsy Driver, Director of Bodies Like Ours, talking about the clitoral surgery done on her as an
infant. In the segment, she quotes "They cut my clitoris off of me." The
segment itself deals with an overall look at the intersex movement and the
current controversy over genital surgeries done for social and cosmetic reasons.
Though the language used could be considered by some as violating "contemporary community standards," the producer's of In the Life felt it
was important to leave the reference as it served to reinforce the impact
such surgeries inflict on those that must experience them. Unfortunately,
the use of such language translates into yet another effort by the cultural
right to further enforce shame and secrecy about intersex in America and
elsewhere. By enforcing such strict standards, the FCC is potentially suppressing the airing of the stories of those who have lived with intersex
by forcing public television affiliates to analyze "contemporary community
standards" instead of presenting factual educational information for which
public television is historically known. In the end, stations must be concerned about the minority few who has taken it upon themselves to impose
their values and definitions of "obscene", "indecent", or "profane" on the
rest of the country.
The FCC has created a climate in which individuals who have lived with intersex cannot accurately tell their stories on public airwaves therefore
denying the very existence of those born with intersex and the genital mutilations many of them undergo without their consent.
The intersex movement has been quite successful thus far in gaining media
attention about the issues involved. Attempts by the FCC to interpret physiologically correct words for body parts everyone has as potentially
offensive will have serious consequences on the efforts of the intersex movement, as well as on any other type of programming that may include these
words, including medical programming.
To ensure that this important program and segment is seen by as many people
as possible, In The Life, the Gay and Lesbian Newsmagazine airing on public
television, has taken the extraordinary step of offering to make copies of
the program available to local community centers and other non-profit organizations who wish to organize community viewing events in their local
areas if their local public television affiliate is not airing the program.
Please contact Bodies Like Ours for more information about how to obtain a
copy of the program.
Founded in 2002, Bodies Like Ours provides peer support and information for people born with intersex conditions.
Our mission includes elimination of the shame and secrecy of intersex births through education, awareness, and community. Bodies Like Ours is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Hunterdon County, NJ.
To learn more about Bodies Like Ours, please visit our website at http://www.bodieslikeours.org
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