Content provided in partnership with
Another first
Advocate, The, Feb 26, 2008 by Nancy Boutilier
In "A Year of Firsts" [January 15], The Advocate reported that Melissa Etheridge "made history as the first lesbian Oscar winner to thank her wife and children." However, a full 15 years ago, in 1992, the same year Jodie Foster won an Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs, out activist filmmaker Debra Chasnoff accepted her Oscar for best documentary on national television and thanked "my friends and family, especially my life partner, Kim Klausner, who always had faith in me, and our son, Noah, for reminding me on a daily basis of why it is so important not to give up and to keep working for peace and justice."
- Most Popular Articles in News
- The Ten Best Laptop bags
- Tata plans cheapest-ever car for Indian market
- GLOBALIZATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF THE THIRD WORLD
- Corn is good for you; Corn is not only a tasty treat, but also a cereal that ...
- THE 50 BEST STYLISH HANDBAGS TO CARRY
- More »
It was a thrill for those of us watching and was reported in Outlook magazine at the time. Having high-profile out women in Hollywood today is great, but Melissa came out after becoming high-profile, and Jodie only recently acknowledged her partner in public. Many of those who paved the path for them may have actually sacrificed their ability to get to the A-level by coming out early in their careers. Let's not erase our trailblazers from history. Debra Chasnoff was a hero to many of us 15 years ago, and as far as I know, the first to come out at the Oscars. Though not a household name, she remains a hero to the movement today and has continued to create noteworthy documentaries like It's Elementary, a film about teaching LGBT issues in schools.
NANCY BOUTILIER, Oberlin, Ohio
COPYRIGHT 2008 LPI Media
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
