Gay Power, Gay Politics
| "Gay Power, Gay Politics" | |
|---|---|
| CBS Reports episode | |
| Original air date | April 26, 1980 |
"Gay Power, Gay Politics" is a 1980 episode of the American documentary television series CBS Reports. It was anchored by Harry Reasoner with reportage by George Crile. Crile also produced the episode with co-producer Grace Diekhaus. He conceived the show after becoming aware of the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights and took as his focus the 1979 San Francisco mayoral election. After intermittent shooting over several months in 1979 with the cooperation of prominent members of the city's LGBT community, CBS aired "Gay Power, Gay Politics" on April 26, 1980.
Although described by CBS as a report on the growing influence of the LGBT community in San Francisco politics, "Gay Power, Gay Politics" focused largely on the supposed sexual practices of the gay male community, especially sadomasochism. The documentary sparked outrage in the city and CBS was roundly criticized for its journalistic tactics. The National News Council, a media watchdog organization, found that CBS had violated journalistic standards through misrepresentation purposely to reinforce stereotypes and through deceptive editing.
"Gay Power, Gay Politics" was used as a tool of the religious right to block or repeal anti-discrimination ordinances. LGBT writers and theorists have continued to criticize the documentary.
George Crile became interested in making "Gay Power, Gay Politics" after learning of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights scheduled for October 1979. Crile had earlier produced a piece on assassinated San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk that ran on the program CBS Magazine. For this new program, he intended to focus on the 1979 San Francisco mayoral election and the political strength of the gay voting bloc in the city, which the several candidates were courting. He brought Grace Diekhaus in to co-produce with him and secured approval from CBS.
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