ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the history of LGBTQ+ activism against media thought to be anti-queer and examines the strategies, tactics, and outcomes of the effort to undermine the Dr. Laura television series. Ultimately, it argues the success of the effort owed to a unique mixture of interpersonal, mediated, and online appeals to producers, advertisers, and stations, as well as the engagement of organizational and grassroots resources. As is the case with most groups that are marginalized and conventionally powerless, the LGBTQ+ communities have had to find creative ways of expressing their anger at oppression from power elites and directing attention to their situation. Beyond the zaps of LGBTQ+ activists, the 1970s were a period of increased power over broadcasters by citizen groups. One of the more powerful LGBTQ+ groups to emerge in the post-regulatory era was the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
