Singer Janet Jackson was one of a handful of public figures recently honored by national gay groups in high profile dinners, events that critics said recognize people not fully supportive of gay civil rights. (Photo by AP)
MORE INFO National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Leadership Awards: 2005 Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean Former U.S. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle New Paltz, N.Y. Mayor Jason West Mary Frances Berry, past chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 2004 Civil rights attorney Mary Bonauto, GLAD legal director Equality Fairfax Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson Leadership Awards, Los Angeles, CA Transgender advocate Sylvia Guerrero Executive producer/director Greg Berlanti Lesbian filmmakers POWER UP Ilene Chaiken, executive producer of ‘The L Word’ Julie and Hillary Goodridge, Mass. marriage plaintiffs Awards given during Human Rights Campaign dinners since 2003 include: Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino Rosie O’Donnell & Kelli Carpenter O’Donnell Jessica Lange Multnomah and Benton County Oregon Commissioners Georgia Equality Executive Director Allen Thornell Georgia state Rep. Karla Drenner Sen. Paul Wellstone Paul M. Smith, ESQ Ted Koppel
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Jul 15, 2005  |  By: Ryan Lee  | COMMENTS |   |  

Janet Jackson. Howard Dean. Paris Hilton. Tom Daschle.

The four disparate personalities share one common trait: They all were recently recognized in high-profile ways by gay organizations.

For the gay groups that lauded them, including two national advocacy groups, it’s a matter of honoring “brave though not perfect” political leaders.

For critics, it’s an effort to “curry press and favor” without any civil rights victories to show for it.

“How desperate can we get?” said Robin Tyler, a longtime gay rights activist. “We’ve mistaken cultural visibility for civil rights.”

Tyler was specifically referencing the selection of ubiquitous pop culture figure Paris Hilton and her mother, Kathy, as grand marshals for the Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade on June 11.

But Pride organizers defended the choice.

Despite their previous lack of public advocacy for gay rights, the Hiltons had “a genuine desire” to make a contribution to the gay civil rights movement, which they did by simply leading the Pride parade through West Hollywood, said Rodney Scott, president of Christopher Street West, the organizers of Pride in Los Angeles.

“They felt they bring certain press and visibility, and they wanted to lend their voices to our issues,” Scott said. “We are all looking for the same thing, and that is to bring a greater awareness to our issues. We just have different tactics for how to accomplish that.”

‘Keep the doors open’
On June 18, the Human Rights Campaign dinner in Los Angeles honored singer Janet Jackson with its Humanitarian Award, citing her financial contributions to AIDS organizations.

While Jackson’s efforts are praiseworthy, calling her humanitarian of the year is a stretch that could affect the value of future awards presented by HRC, said Jim Key, chief public affairs officer for the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.

“I think it’s appropriate to honor celebrities who are active and involved in supporting our community, but I think it’s important what you name that honor so that you don’t diminish that honor for future recipients,” Key said.

He added that gay groups in Los Angeles are likely inspired by the city’s star culture to court big-name celebrities for their functions. Big names draw attendance as well, fulfilling the event’s goal of raising money for the host group.

Gay rights organizations across the country are eager to attract well known figures to big events, even if that sometimes means honoring someone who isn’t fully supportive of gay civil rights, said Cheryl Jacques, a former president of HRC.

“The reality is the fund-raising pressure for all of these organizations to keep the doors open, the staff paid, the computers running, the e-mails going out to keep our community informed is an extreme financial burden,” Jacques said.

“From witnessing what some organizations do, if it’s a choice between a big-name celebrity who probably will fill the seats, but who may not be supportive of all our issues, they’ll beat out an unknown, hard-working activist who won’t draw a crowd.”

But honoring celebrities and high-profile politicians simply to “curry press and favor” has brought no rewards or civil rights victories to gay organizations, said Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network.

“I think it sends the message that our community is about fluff and glitter, and not about civil rights, because if you flatter our egos by associating with us, then that is good enough,” Thayer said. “It says something about the lack of self esteem that our community has that we’re willing to glom onto anyone with a big name who is willing to give us the time of day.”

Thayer was also critical of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force for awarding Daschle, the former Senate minority leader, a Leadership Award in New York City on June 13. The task force credits Daschle for risking his own re-election to kill the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004.

But throughout his unsuccessful re-election bid in 2004, Daschle qualified his opposition to a federal constitutional ban on same-sex marriage by emphasizing his support of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, and his belief that individual states should be allowed to decide whether to recognize gay unions, Thayer said.

“He was running away from our ...