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Valentine's Day Media Kit
media center > resource kits > Valentine's Day Media Kit

February 8, 2008
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Valentine's Day Media Kit 2007

Valentine's Day Media Kit En Español

BACKGROUND

Valentine’s Day receives a great deal of media attention. Print and electronic press outlets nationwide share the romantic stories of couples proclaiming their love for one another. However, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) couples are often excluded from Valentine's Day media coverage—and LGBT couples of color receive even less attention in both mainstream and people of color media. GLAAD hopes that the following resources will help you produce Valentine's Day stories that reflect the true diversity of our society by including LGBT couples in the coverage of this romantic holiday.

LANGUAGE

LGBT people and relationships are often excluded by the kinds of language media professionals choose to use. Consider the language used to describe couples in general: Does it assume that all couples are heterosexual? Does it allow for non-traditional families? Does it subtly endorse opposite-sex relationships while marginalizing same-sex commitments? GLAAD encourages media to use words and descriptions that can be universally applied to all couples – gay and straight – and that respect the significance of their commitments.

LGBT people use a variety of terms to describe their relationships and significant others, including: partner, spouse, girlfriend/boyfriend, lover, husband/wife, companion, same gender loving couples (for couples from communities of African descent), marriage, partnership and family, among others. We encourage you to ask people which term they would like you to use. Also, please do not put quotation marks around the description, as this implies the described relationship is somehow illegitimate.

GLAAD’S Media Reference Guide contains a comprehensive glossary of LGBT-related terminology. http://www.glaad.org/media/guide/index.php

NEWSPAPERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY RECOGNIZE SAME-SEX UNIONS

A growing number of newspapers are committed to reporting on weddings, civil unions and commitment ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples. Five years after persuading The New York Times to open its Weddings/Celebrations pages to same-sex couples and launching its Announcing Equality campaign, GLAAD now reports that 883 newspapers – nearly 60 percent of all daily newspapers in the United States – now accept wedding and/or commitment ceremony announcements for gay and lesbian couples. That number has increased 584 percent since it was first measured in late 2002, when only 69 newspapers said they would print such announcements.

For additional information on GLAAD’S Announcing Equality Campaign, visit http://www.glaad.org/action/campaigns_detail.php?id=3945

DIVERSITY

In reporting on LGBT couples, please also remember that they are as diverse as the rest of society, crossing lines of gender, race, age, income, class, family structure, religion, geography and political affiliation. We encourage you to reflect this diversity in your coverage.

Below, you will find statistics and demographic information on couples in communities of color, including Asian-Pacific Islander (API) communities, Latino communities and communities of African descent.

LGBT Asian Pacific Islander Couples

The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, a UCLA-based think tank, has conducted extensive research on the U.S. Census and what it reveals about LGBT couples of color. According to the 2005 Williams Institute study: “Asians and Pacific Islanders in Same-Sex couples in California: Data from Census 2000,” (http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/APIs%20in%20same-sex%20couples%20in%20the%20US.pdf) research found that:

The 2000 Census identified more than 38,000 API people in the United States as living with a same-sex partner. More than half of these couples are raising children.
California had the largest number of cohabitating API same-sex couples (13,288), followed by New York (4,775) and Hawaii (2,186).
API same-sex couples in the United States are slightly more likely to be male couples; fifty-four percent of all API same-sex couples are male couples.
LGBT Communities of African Descent Couples

According to the 2004 Gay & Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute’s study: “Black Same-Sex Households in the United States: A Report from the 2000 Census,” (http://www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/blackcouples_census) research found that:

There are approximately 85,000 black same-sex couples in the United States.


The top ten metropolitan areas in the United States with the largest number of black same-sex households are: New York, Washington DC-Baltimore, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Houston and Miami.


Black female same-sex couples raise non-biological (fostered or adopted) children at the same rate as black married opposite-sex couples.
LGBT Latina/o Couples

In the 2005 National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute’s study: “Hispanic and Latino in Same-Sex Couple Households in the United States: A Report from the 2000 Census,”(http://www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/HispanicLatino_households) research found that:

The 2000 Census identified 105,025 same-sex Latino households.


Individuals in Hispanic same-sex couples report similar countries/regions of origin to those in Hispanic married opposite-sex couples, including: Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central America and South America.
In the 2005 Williams Institute study: “Latino/as in Same-Sex Couples in California: Data from the Census 2000,” (http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/Latino-as%20in%20same-sex%20couples%20in%20california%20-s.pdf) research found that:

There are more Latino/as in same-sex couples in California than in any other state; more than 30 percent of the 147,000 Latino/as in same-sex couples identified in the United States live in California. There are also more than 33,000 Latino/a children being raised by same-sex couples in California.
Other LGBT Demographics

The 2006 Williams Institute study: “Same-sex Couples and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Population: New Estimates from the American Community Survey,” (http://www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/publications/SameSexCouplesandGLBpopACS.pdf) also found that:

The number of same-sex couples in the United States grew by more than 30 percent from 2000 to 2005, from nearly 600,000 couples in 2000 to almost 777,000 in 2005. The institute concluded that most likely as stigma associated with same-sex partnering and homosexuality in general decreases, more same-sex couples are willing to identify themselves as such on government surveys like the American Community Survey.

The largest percentage increase in the number of same-sex couples was reported in the Midwest, an area that had relatively few same-sex couples in the 2000 Census.

The ten states with the largest percentage increase include: Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Colorado and New Hampshire.
STORY POSSIBILITIES

Please consider integrating LGBT couples into your Valentine's Day feature story. You might cover topics such as:

- Couples looking back at how they met
- Valentine's Day weddings and anniversaries
- Dating trends (meeting online, dating services, blind dates, etc.)
- Massachusetts’ marriage anniversary
- Vermont and Connecticut civil unions anniversaries
- Valentine's Day events for singles
- Long-distance relationships
- Surprise marriage proposals on Valentine's Day
- Retired couples re-igniting romance
- Planning a Valentine's Day getaway
- Couples' favorite poems, songs, vacation spots, etc.
- Choosing the perfect Valentine's Day gift
- High school sweethearts
- Celebrity couples and break-ups
- Wedding-day successes and disasters
- Balancing romance and family obligations
- Workplace romances
- Bi-national couples’ stories
- An entertainment-related profile on the film Gray Matters, a new romantic comedy to be released on February 14 about a woman who discovers she is gay
- Making Valentine’s Day dinner reservations – especially at the last minute
-Finding a babysitter on Valentine’s Day

Also:

- Include romantic lesbian/gay-owned restaurants in your area in your list of Valentines Day dating recommendations.
- Include lesbian/gay-themed comedies or dramas in your list of all-time most romantic movies.
-Report on National Freedom to Marry Day events across the country (Feb. 12 - See RESOURCES below for additional information).
- List relationship development books for same-sex couples in features about keeping romance alive.
- Talk to local jewelry stores, wedding planners, bakeries, florists and other companies that offer services and products for same-sex couples' commitment ceremonies.
- Talk to pastors who conduct same-sex ceremonies at inclusive churches, particularly in communities of color.


RESOURCES & INFORMATION FOR INCLUSIVE COVERAGE BY TOPIC:

LOCATING LGBT COUPLES FOR INTERVIEWS

For help in finding LGBT organizations or couples in your local media markets, please contact a member of GLAAD’s Media Field Strategy Team.

You may also want to contact the organizations listed in the MARRIAGE and CIVIL UNIONS sections below.

MARRIAGE

Asian Equality
Andy Wong
Coalition Manager
(415) 341-6415
awong@caasf.org
http://www.asianequality.org

Freedom to Marry
Samiya Bashir
Communications Director
(212) 851-8418
samiya@freedomtomarry.org
http://www.freedomtomarry.org

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders - GLAD (Massachusetts)
Carisa Cunningham
Director of Public Affairs and Education
(617) 426-1350
ccunningham@glad.org
http://www.glad.org/

Lambda Legal
Lisa Hardaway
Director of Media Relations
(212) 809-8585 ext: 266
LHardaway@lambdalegal.org
http://www.lambdalegal.org

Mass Equality
Marc Solomon
Campaign Director
(617) 878-2300
Marc.Solomon@massequality.org
http://www.massequality.org/

Marriage Equality
http://www.marriageequality.org
(877) 571-5729
[NOTE: Marriage Equality also has chapters in California, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington. Visit their Web site’s “chapters” link for more information.]

National Black Justice Coalition
Herndon Davis
Director of Communications
(202) 349-3755
hedavis@nbjc.org
http://www.nbjcoalition.org/

Unid@s, the National Latina/o LGBT Human Rights Organization
Pedro Julio Serrano
Spokesperson/Portavoz
787.602.5954
pserrano@thetaskforce.org
www.unidoslgbt.org

CIVIL UNIONS

Vermont Secretary of State - Vermont Guide to Civil Unions
http://www.sec.state.vt.us/otherprg/civilunions/civilunions.html

Love Makes a Family (Connecticut)
Anne Stanback
Executive Director
(860) 525-7777
anne@lmfct.org
http://www.lmfct.org

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE MEDIA IMAGES

Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
Rashad Robinson
Senior Director of Media Programs
(646) 871-8017
robinson@glaad.org
http://www.glaad.org

COMMITMENT CEREMONY/MARRIAGE RESOURCES

International Commitment Ceremonies Registry
http://www.unionoflove.com

Rainbow Unions
http://www.rainbowunions.com

NATIONAL FREEDOM TO MARRY DAY

Lambda Legal
Lisa Hardaway
Director of Media Relations
(212) 809-8585 ext: 266
LHardaway@lambdalegal.org
http://www.lambdalegal.org

PUBLICATIONS

GLAAD’S MARRIAGE EQUALITY RESOURCES MEDIA KIT
This publication provides facts, statistics and media spokesperson contact information – resources to help journalists assess the real impact of marriage equality on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families, whose stories should be a part of any coverage of this issue.

http://www.glaad.org/media/resource_kit_detail.php?id=3457

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.