“We are the
Giorgio Armani of FM radio stations,” said Rob Basile, program director and
operations manager for the Toronto, Ontario-based 103.9 PROUD-FM, which hit the
airwaves in April 2007. “Fifteen years ago, the most conservative males were
wearing Armani suits and very proud to show them off — suits that had been
designed and tailored by a gay man.”
In the same
fashion, PROUD-FM, the first and only commercial LGBT radio station in the
world, hopes to reach beyond its core audience to anyone with an open mind and
willing to experience something no other radio station has done in the history
of the medium.
“By being the
first and doing it successfully in the mainstream, we can prove to the world
that this is a viable format that needs to exist,” Basile said. “In order to
advocate it successfully, it needs to be done in a way that is informative and
educational, not aggressive and militant.”
When it comes
to the music format, don’t cling to stereotypes and assume PROUD-FM is playing
show tunes around the clock. According to its website, Proudfm.com, the sound is
“an eclectic mix … from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s” with “a splash of classical and
dance music.”
“What we do is
we play fun, happy, and upbeat music,” said Basile, who names the Pet Shop Boys,
Erasure, Boy George, and Madonna as regulars in the station’s rotation. “If we
come across an artist that is LGBT and they fit the sound of the station, then
we play them. We won’t play artists simply because they are gay … but we will
still celebrate them.”
Deb Pearce,
PROUD-FM mid-day host, proud lesbian, and self-proclaimed “gender illusionist,”
says her station provides a forum for rarely discussed topics that are often
mocked on other commercial radio stations.
PROUD-FM’s
ability to inspire social change was evident during the month of September as
they protested on-air against reggae star Elephant Man performing at Toronto’s
Kool Haus. With anti-LGBT songs like “We Nuh Like Gay,” the station felt it was
a slap in the face for Elephant Man to come to a venue located in the Garden
District, a destination heavily visited by members of the LGBT community. By the
end of the month, the concert was cancelled.
“On the ground
level, our community has been fighting against things like this for so long,”
Pearce said. “Now, we can amplify the voice through the power of radio and can
get our message out there ten-fold.” •
