FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 1999

Contacts:
John McMullen, GAYBC Radio Network, 206/439-8535, john@gaybc.com
John Aravosis, Wired Strategies, 202/328-5707, john@wiredstrategies.com

AMERICA ONLINE THESAURUS CALLS GAYS "FAGGOTS"
Advocates Demand Merriam-Webster and AOL Be Held Accountable

Washington, DC - America Online's (AOL) thesaurus service offers shockingly homophobic synonyms for the word "homosexual" - including faggot, dyke, pederast and sodomite - the GAYBC Radio Network (http://www.gaybc.com; AOL KEYWORD: gaybc) reported today on it's Daily Dose news webcast.

Merriam-Webster, which provides the thesaurus to AOL, offers the same bigoted synonyms on its online thesaurus <http://www.m-w.com>, according to Wired Strategies, an online advocacy firm in Washington, DC.

"We are shocked and disturbed to learn that terms like pederast and fruit are among those offered by a respectable resource guide like Merriam-Webster's thesaurus," said John McMullen, president of GLOradio Corporation (GAYBC Radio's parent company). "One of our listeners made us aware of the inclusion of these terms and we felt that it was appropriate to give the matter national attention."

In addition to the blatantly offensive nature of the terms, some raised even greater concerns. "AOL is the world's largest Internet provider, and Webster's its primary source on the English language," said John Aravosis, president of Wired Strategies. "When a tag-team like that broadcasts to the world that gays are fags and possibly child molesters, the dehumanizing impact is overwhelming."

This was the exact search result from the AOL/Webster thesaurus:

The thesaurus can be found on AOL at keyword: thesaurus, then by typing in the word "homosexual" and selecting the search result "homosexual noun." Screen captures of the AOL and Webster search results can be found at <http://www.wiredstrategies.com/thesaurus.html>.

"With so many members from the LGBT community, AOL should be ashamed that this information exists on their site," said McMullen. "Using a word like pederast as being relative to homosexual perpetuates the gross lie that we are child molesters. When we looked up racial and ethnic words like Black, Jew, Hispanic and Chinese, we didn't find bigoted terms like the 'n-word' or other slurs. The homophobic references by Merriam-Webster are nothing more than a tool to perpetuate hate speech towards sexual minorities. In addition, millions of college kids, researchers and Web surfers turn to Webster's daily for the final word on the English language - it is unconscionable that AOL and Websters would team up to teach the world that gays are faggots," he added.

When asked whether removal of the anti-gay synonyms could constitute censorship, Aravosis responded: "AOL and Merriam-Webster clearly made a decision not to include slurs against other minorities in their online thesaurus." Searches for the words "black" and "Jew" did not return any ethnic slurs. Aravosis concluded, "All we ask for is equal treatment for gay Americans."

______________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 1999

Contacts:
John McMullen, GAYBC Radio Network, 206/439-8535, john@gaybc.com
John Aravosis, Wired Strategies, 202/328-5707, john@wiredstrategies.com

MERRIAM-WEBSTER REVIEWED ANTI-GAY SLURS ONE YEAR AGO, WHAT HAPPENED?
New Uproar: AOL Thesaurus Links Bisexuals With 'Hermaphrodites' and 'Lower Animals'

Washington, DC - It was discovered today that G. & C. Merriam Company, the parent of thesaurus/dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster, launched a review of "offensive" words in its publications last March, 1998. The review, sparked by widespread outrage over the inclusion of the word "nigger" in Merriam-Webster's dictionary, was to include anti-gay slurs such as "queer" and "fairy," according to a March 26, 1998 article in the Windy City Times.

In spite of that review, it was revealed yesterday by the GAYBC Radio Network http://www.gaybc.com (AOL KEYWORD: gaybc) that America Online's Merriam-Webster-provided thesaurus still compares gays with queers and fairies, and even goes so far as to equate the word homosexual with "pedederast" (commonly used to mean "child molester"), "fruit," "sodomite" and "faggot." In addition, an America Online member discovered last night that the company's thesaurus service describes bisexuals as "hermaphrodite," and suggests a link between bisexuality and "lower animals," according to a report distributed by gay journalist Rex Wockner.

"Merriam-Webster has made a conscious decision after careful review to include these words," said Charlie Dyer, Vice President/Programming for GAYBC Radio Network. "Their actions speak for themselves," he added.

The offensive-speech review began after Merriam-Webster's dictionary was attacked by the NAACP and other black civil rights organizations in 1997 for defining "nigger" as "a black person." A test or the company's online thesaurus did not turn up the word "nigger," or any other words slurring blacks, Jews, Asians or Hispanics. The thesaurus can be found at AOL KEYWORD: Thesaurus - or at <http:www.m-w.com>. Screen captures of the thesaurus results can be found at http://www.wiredstrategies.com/thesaurus.html.

"It's time for AOL to speak out," said John Aravosis, president of Wired Strategies, an online advocacy firm in Washington, DC (http://www.wiredstrategies.com). "This isn't an issue of censorship or political correctness, it's an issue of fairness. The Merriam-Webster thesaurus singles out gay people for its hate speech, while other minorities are spared the insult of being described with tasteless slurs," he added. "The world's largest Internet provider has a responsibility to do the right thing and take a stand against hate," Aravosis said.

Despite repeated inquiries from gay and national media, neither AOL nor Merriam-Webster has released a statement about this incident.

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SPECIAL UPDATE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 1999

Contacts:
John McMullen, GAYBC Radio Network, 877/456-7234 (toll free), john@gaybc.com
John Aravosis, Wired Strategies, 202/328-5707, john@wiredstrategies.com

AMERICA ONLINE & MERRIAM-WEBSTER TAKE DOWN ONLINE THESAURUS OVER ANTI-GAY SLURS
Advocates Say Merriam-Webster Still Doesn't Get It

Washington, DC - Just twenty-four hours after GAYBC Radio Network http://www.gaybc.com broke the news that America Online's (AOL) Merriam-Webster thesaurus described Gay people as pederasts (a term often use to mean "pedophile"), faggots, and fruits - and bisexuals as "hermaphrodites" - the thesaurus is nowhere to be found on the Internet, according to Wired Strategies, a political Internet consulting firm in Washington, DC.

In the late hours of January 15, America Online, the world's largest Internet provider, made the thesaurus "temporarily unavailable" to its 16 million users (AOL KEYWORD: thesaurus). At the same time, Merriam-Webster, America's self-proclaimed "foremost publisher of language-related reference works," removed the thesaurus from its own Web site http://www.m-w.com. (Copies of the full list of defamatory synonyms in the thesaurus can still be found at http://www.wiredstrategies.com/thesaurus.html).

When KEYWORD: "thesaurus" is typed in on AOL, subscribers now see the following:

When a word is entered into Merriam-Webster's thesaurus on their Web home page http://www.m-w.com, visitors now see the following:

 

In a statement released late January 15, after considerable public outcry, Merriam-Webster apologized for not including a warning label of sorts alongside the homophobic synonyms and related words, and promised to review "policies regarding inclusion of words that are offensive or inappropriate."

The company then seemed to shift the blame to society at large, arguing that the thesaurus "does not prescribe which words a person should use." The statement concluded: "In order to change the words found in references such as thesauruses and dictionaries, our language must change." (Full statement attached below). America Online did not release a public statement.

"Merriam-Webster just doesn't get it," said John Aravosis, president of Wired Strategies. "We don't need a change of policy, we need a consistent policy," he said. "Merriam-Webster excludes slurs against other minority groups from its thesaurus, but finds nothing wrong with calling Gays 'faggot.' Gays and Lesbians should be treated the same as other minorities in the guide, and they're not," Aravosis said.

"I find it hard to believe that a corporation such as Merriam-Webster would block access to their thesaurus simply because of an omission of what amounts to a word legend," said Charlie Dyer, Vice President of Programming at GAYBC. "Taking such an extreme action is an implicit admission of a far deeper guilt," he concluded.

Aravosis also stressed that this is not an issue of censorship or political correctness, but one of accuracy. "We don't need warning labels, we need correct synonyms," Aravosis continued. "Describing Gay people as child molesters isn't just obscene, it's inaccurate. No policy review or warning will change the fact that Merriam-Webster screwed up - their thesaurus is wrong and needs to be fixed."

"America Online deserves our praise for doing the right thing," said GAYBC's president John McMullen. "The onus is now on AOL to keep Merriam-Webster off their service until the publisher stops discriminating and defaming Gays and Lesbians."

McMullen, who also hosts the Network's issue-oriented talkshow Hangin'OUT, says the message is coming in loud and clear from listeners around the country. "They're saying it's a cop-out by Merriam-Webster to put the burden on the rest of society to quit using these words, and that the publisher should lead by example. It's not a matter of wanting them to remove the word faggot. It's a fact of life that it's used commonly, whether we like it or not. But, they are not applying the editorial standards consistently when you see blatantly defamatory words for homosexual which could just as easily apply to the word heterosexual. Some of our listeners' feedback is calling for a boycott until both electronic and print editions are corrected."

Merriam-Webster can be reached at <suggest@m-w.com>, and AOL at stevecase@aol.com.

[STATEMENT OF MERRIAM-WEBSTER ON HOMOPHOBIC SLURS]

Merriam-Webster Inc.
Statement
January 15, 1999

Merriam-Webster has begun a review of its editorial policies regarding the treatment of offensive words in its publication Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus. We have just learned that Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus, at www.m-w.com and on America Online, does not carry any explanation of the symbols used to indicate terms that are considered inappropriate for regular use. We were unaware of this omission and are very sorry for it. We are taking immediate steps to correct the situation. Additionally, we are reviewing policies regarding inclusion of words that are offensive or inappropriate.

The immediate changes that Merriam-Webster is in the process of making is the addition of a "Thesaurus Symbol Key" -- brief explanation at the end of every thesaurus results screen. Included in this key is a symbol that is used to indicate synonyms or related words that have restricted usage, including usage restricted because words may be considered offensive. Additionally, we are adding a "Thesaurus Symbol Guide" containing a more detailed explanation, to our on-line resource. This tells readers that "the thesaurus user should consult a dictionary if he or she is in doubt about the...appropriateness of the work."

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus is a reference tool that contains the general vocabulary of the English language. It does not prescribe which words a person should use; rather, it simply makes lists of words available to the reader. The reader is encouraged, through the symbols, to obtain further information before deciding to use a certain term. In addition, readers are instructed in each entry as to whether a word is a synonym or merely a related word. This, too, should help thesaurus users choose their words wisely.

The thesaurus is not a political tool, but rather is a reflection of the language used in our society. The thesaurus doesn't attempt to label any segment of society in either positive or negative ways. In order to change the words found in references such as thesauruses and dictionaries, our language must change.

What can be done? We can choose our own words responsibly and protest the use of inappropriate words by those around us and by influential people in the media, the entertainment industry, and elsewhere. If we as a society hope to be successful in our opposition to the use of negative words and labels, this is where we should put our efforts.

____________________

BREAKING NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 1999

Contacts:
John McMullen, GAYBC Radio Network, 206/439-8535, john@gaybc.com
John Aravosis, Wired Strategies, 202/328-5707, john@wiredstrategies.com

GAY SLURS PULLED FROM MERRIAM-WEBSTER THESAURUS
Company Admits Policy Treated Gays Unfairly

Washington, DC - Merriam-Webster, America’s self-proclaimed "foremost publisher of language-related reference works," announced today that it will be removing the word "homosexual" from its online thesaurus and from future print editions, according to a company spokesperson in an exclusive interview with GAYBC Radio Network http://www.gaybc.com (Merriam-Webster's statement is attached at the bottom of this email).

Following criticism that the thesaurus included defamatory - and sometimes incorrect - slurs against gays such as "faggot," "fruit," and "pederast," while not listing defamatory words for other minorities, the company removed the reference guide from its Web site and from America Online late Friday night.

Merriam-Webster’s Marketing Director Deborah Burns disclosed the new policy this afternoon in an exclusive interview on GAYBC Radio Network’s talk show Hangin’OUT. The show included a panel discussion with Ms. Burns, Mike Webb (who discovered the problem with the thesaurus), John Aravosis of Wired Strategies (who led the effort to spread the word online and to the media) http://www.wiredstrategies.com, and John McMullen, president of GAYBC. The entire panel's discussion will be available this evening starting AT 8PM EST via RealAudio from the GAYBC Web site http://www.gaybc.com.

"I applaud Merriam-Webster for taking such a quick and decisive stand against homophobia," said John Aravosis, president of Wired Strategies, a political Internet consulting firm in Washington, DC. "I also thank AOL for joining Merriam-Webster in pulling the thesaurus off-line Friday night. Both companies acted quickly to treat Gay people with the same respect they accord other minorities, and that’s all we were asking for," he said.

"We’re pleased to know that after reporting these matters to the Gay and Lesbian community the responsiveness of our listeners helped to drive a quick resolution to this unfortunate editorial blunder," said John McMullen of GAYBC.

Advocates noted that there will still have to be continued discussions with Merriam-Webster to ensure that the review is done properly. "The thesaurus also includes ‘hermaphrodite’ as a synonym for ‘bisexual,' " said Aravosis, "so more needs to be done than simply dropping the word ‘homosexual.’ " Aravosis added, "there are also other editions of the thesaurus that contain the same defamatory references, not to mention past prints of the reference tool that are still at bookstores across the country. All of these issues will need to be dealt with to ensure that this is resolved once and for all."

Copies of the defamatory thesaurus entries for the word "homosexual," and previous press releases, can be found online at <http://www.wiredstrategies.com/thesaurus.html>.

********************

Merriam-Webster Inc.
Statement
January 18, 1999

Merriam-Webster recently learned of problems regarding the inclusion of offensive words for the term homosexual in its thesaurus. Merriam-Webster acknowledges that inclusion of these words was the result of an error on its part, and it fully extends its apologies. Long-standing editorial policy for this thesaurus excludes offensive or disparaging terms from the word lists. This policy, mistakenly, was not extended to the entry for the word homosexual. The company is grateful to have this situation brought to its attention, and it is taking immediate action to ensure this policy is implemented consistently.

On learning of this situation, Merriam-Webster immediately took down its online thesaurus database, which can be found at www.m-w.com, and asked America Online to do the same with the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate
Thesaurus that is located on AOL. These thesauruses will remain unavailable until Merriam-Webster makes the changes that bring its treatment of this word into conformity with editorial policy.

These changes will include the removal of entries for the word homosexual. This keeps the thesaurus consistent, as there are no entries for racial or ethnic minorities such as Jews, Hispanics, and Blacks. In addition, an editorial review will continue to determine whether there are other entries that do not comply with the editorial policies of the thesaurus.

This work is a top priority at Merriam-Webster, and it hopes to have its thesauruses up and running at both www.m-w.com and AOL in approximately a week. Changes will be reflected in the on-line database at that time. Print versions of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus will be changed with the next printing.

Merriam-Webster Incorporated
Springfield, MA
Contact:
Deborah W. Burns
Director of Marketing