Out of the Closet and Into the Classroom

It's the picture of a perfect educational experience. Twenty or so elementary schoolers seated around their teacher in rapt attention, responding to questions with thoughtful answers. Their wide eyes and wondering voices are evidence of the young minds eager to learn. But wait. Let's listen a little closer. What's that they're talking about?"Is it true that gay men and lesbian women dress in tight leather ... to attract people?" asks one student. "Are all women with short hair dykes?" asks another. Two others share their thoughts that all gay people are white; at least, that's what they'd seen on the talk shows.The scene is part of a controversial new documentary called, "It's Elementary," which focuses on the ways young children think and talk about homosexuality. The 58-minute film, directed by Academy Award-winner Debra Chasnoff, has been shown in more than 500 schools across the country. It has won numerous awards and garnered endless praise from film critics, educators and gay rights activists.But despite its critical acclaim, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) has decided not to pick up the program for national distribution on its satellite feed. Consequently, while individual PBS stations can choose to air it independently, the documentary will not gain nearly as much exposure as if distributed by the PBS feed.According to some observers, PBS's decision is a result of the influence of the Christian right, which sees the film as Chasnoff's evil scheme to turn children into gays and lesbians."Ever since it first came out, 'It's Elementary' has become a lighting rod for conservative criticism," says Robert Bray, former media director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "The way it brought together these three elements -- homosexuality and children and schools -- made conservatives go berserk. PBS obviously shied away from distributing it out of fear that the conservative backlash would put their Congressional funding at risk."Co-produced by Chasnoff and Helen Cohen through their production company Women's Educational Media, the film visits six elementary and junior high schools across the country. It focuses on the creative ways children are being taught about homosexuality in the classroom. Some of the most thought-provoking footage chronicles the attitudes children develop about gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people when they have no guidance from teachers or other adults -- or when those adults are actively attempting to bury the subject. From the questions students ask and the comments they make during the program, it's clear they're both curious and confused about homosexuality."Most of the time I put gays and lesbians down," admitted one junior high boy, "I say things like 'gay men molest children.' Most of the time I don't even know what I'm saying."Chasnoff was inspired to make the film because of the pervasion of anti-gay violence and harassment, and the need she saw to educate children on the topic. "Schools have a role to play in helping kids grow up so they are understanding and respectful of everyone in our community," says Chasnoff. "The goal is to get people to rethink assumptions." She had a personal interest as well: her own son, now 10, was entering kindergarten when she began filming. Chasnoff was wondering how his family structure -- having two moms -- would be received by his classmates.Conservative BacklashIf some Christian right leaders could have their way, however, "It's Elementary" would be kept entirely off America's airwaves. Since its release in 1996, the film has been attacked by scores of prominent conservatives, from radio personality Laura Schlessinger to Christian evangelist D. James Kennedy, who heads Florida-based Coral Ridge Ministries. Kennedy decried "It's Elementary" as "a propaganda program ... that will encourage children to embrace homosexuality." A statement from Janet Folger, national director of the reactionary Center for Reclaiming America, called the film the "Joe Camel of the homosexual movement." Coral Ridge Ministries even went so far as to create its own video, "Suffer the Children," which uses footage lifted from "It's Elementary" to accuse Chasnoff's film of such crimes as teaching children open-mindedness. In the climate of such conservative attacks, PBS declined to endorse the documentary by distributing it through its national feed.However, San Francisco's public television station, KQED, has stepped up to the plate. A longtime supporter of gay-themed shows, KQED is the sponsor and distributor of "It's Elementary." KQED is packaging the program with an "in-studio debate" component that viewers at home can dial in to or access online to voice their opinions about the film."We're very excited about the program because it does endorse tolerance and will help start a dialogue," says Tina Bachemin, a KQED spokeswoman. So far, says Bachemin, KQED's marketing efforts have paid off: of the 347 public stations across the country, 89 have already scheduled the program, 17 have said they'll broadcast it but haven't set a date, and 53 are still undecided. These figures -- which boil down to a third of public stations running the documentary -- are typical for a program that's not distributed by the PBS national feed.Though the program has been embraced by many stations, some have chosen not to broadcast it. Conspicuously absent is Dallas' KERA.Steve Anderson, KERA program manager, says the decision not to show "It's Elementary" was made because the film wasn't "balanced.""It spent a lot of time talking about why you should talk about these issues with kids, but didn't devote time to the opposite viewpoint," he says.Chasnoff calls such a response a "cop out" and says she didn't feel the need to cover the point of view that already permeates our society.There is still a possibility that KERA will run the program down the road, if they can come up with an acceptable way to "balance it out.""I think they're depriving people in the community of the chance to think about something in a new way," Chasnoff says of the stations that will not broadcast the film.However, there is still time for such stations to change their minds. Viewers can contact their local stations and let their opinions be known. The Women's Educational Media Web site at www.womedia.org has information about how to do that, as well as local air dates and times."Every PBS station should show 'It's Elementary,'" says parent Jeff Gillenkirk, author of an upcoming book about single fathers. "Because it will provoke honest discussions of gay and lesbian issues between parents, teachers and children. And those are the kinds of discussions our society needs to raise open-minded kids who can accept people of all sexual orientations."With such discussions, Chasnoff hopes, maybe the next generation will look back at homophobia and intolerance and wonder -- in the words of one "It's Elementary" fourth grader -- "What's the big whoop?"