A List
10/20/03

CHASTITY BONO TO SPEAK AT ST. LAWRENCE

CANTON – Author and gay-rights activist Chastity Bono will give a talk 
at St. Lawrence University on Tuesday, November 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Gulick 
Theatre. The event is open to the public, free of charge, and will be followed 
by a book-signing in the Northstar Pub.
      She is the author of Family Outing, a collection of coming-out stories, 
including her own, and suggestions. Offered in a positive context, the 
information provides intelligent and sympathetic advice for those who wish to 
come out and for their families, friends and colleagues who wish to understand 
and be understanding.
      Formerly the entertainment media director of the Gay and  Lesbian Alliance 
Against Defamation (GLAAD), a national media watchdog organization, Bono promoted 
fair, accurate and inclusive representations of gay, lesbian, bisexual and 
transgender people to combat discrimination in the media.
      She is an expert on how characters should be portrayed and how to control 
the content of today's movies, music, video and TV shows. Much of her time was 
focused on comedian Ellen DeGeneres' television show "Ellen" and its "coming out" 
episodes; she was a consultant, and developed the national "Coming Out With Ellen" 
campaign.
      Bono, herself, had come out as a lesbian on the cover of The Advocate 
magazine in April 1995. As a staff writer there, her memorable interview with her 
mother, Cher, was one of the best-selling cover stories in its history. In 1996, 
she traveled throughout the country as the National Coming Out Project 
spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian 
political organization, addressing gay and lesbian groups on community issues and 
the importance of coming out.
      As a child, Bono appeared regularly with her parents on "The Sonny & Cher 
Comedy Hour." A graduate of New York's High School of Performing Arts, she attended 
New York University's Tisch School of the Arts film program. In 1990, she left 
NYU to pursue a career in the music industry, and founded the band Ceremony as 
its singer, songwriter and percussionist. Geffen Records released the band's 
only album, Hang Out Your Poetry, in 1993.

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