Comments on: ESPN removes offensive ad

By: Gerry Fisher

Gerry Fisher — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:19:53 +0000

>This is NOT AT ALL trivial.

I agree with you. What bothers me, though, is that it’s an issue that takes some sophistication and experience to comprehend. What I mean by that is that Joe and Josephine Average American–people who haven’t had to think about this stuff daily, like most gay people have–probably can’t connect the dots between homophobia and gender-role oppression. So, they could probably be very tolerant to the point of supporting our equal rights, but then turn around and think that it’s perfectly “normal” to recoil at a same-sex sign of affection.

What’s the point?

The point is that we can get more traction on this issue with discussion than we can with protest, boycott, and demand. I’m not opposing the protest that was made of this commercial, but, without follow up explanation, willingness to talk it out, and so on, then I’m concerned about it appearing as if we’re just the PC behavior/speech police trying to control other people.

Having Shaq participate in a round-table discussion about homophobia and gender-role oppression in professional sports and airing such a show at a prominent time would have been a LOT more impressive to me than issuing an apology and yanking the commercial.

By: Chris Sullivan

Chris Sullivan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:56:12 +0000

This is NOT AT ALL trivial. This constant perpetutation that affection between men is somehow repulsive or at least something to be laughed at, made fun of or vehemently defended against – is the exact reason that so many GLBT youth endure constant taunting and harassment (if not outright violence). It’s bad enough that we have many very weak political and religious leaders in ths country that add constant fuel to that fire and there isn’t very much we can do about that quickly – we can at least call the media to task when they do the same. What I find annoying is implying that everyone’s sensitivity level is, or should be, the same. An adult GLBT person who has survived all the rough years is not necessarily in the same position as a GLBT youth today. We also don’t know what other co-factors these kids have to endure. It’s small wonder that even with the heightened level of GLBT visibility in our country today that there are still so many youths that attempt or commit suicide. You have shows like South Park that use the word “gay” interchangeably as both a statement of fact “Big Gay Al” and an insult “dude, that’s so Gay!”. YOu have religious leaders that are constantly undermining their self-esteem (Heir Ratzinger comes to mind). Add to this new social dynamics that simply did not exist years ago (online websites that discuss peoples personal business etc.)Instead of dismissing these concerns as “trivial”, why not support a productive response to them – if not, you are more a part of the problem than the solution..

By: JayC

JayC — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:33:43 +0000

Such protests look extremely trivial to me. Small wonder that our opponents refuse to see that we are struggling for equal rights. They’ll think we’re merely trying to stop free speech so we won’t be offended. Just wait. This will be used against us.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:09:46 +0000

Since when has propaganda not been important? Take a history class. This is very good news!

By: Bunz-Lover

Bunz-Lover — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:05:08 +0000

Hmmmm…Morgan, I didn’t see any anal fisting connection there. I suppose some people will project anything on something that may seem suggestive to them.

Yes, I did see a sissy joke there. Perhaps even a reference to two guys kissing — with fist or lips being (by inference) referred to as “disgusting” between two men. But that is all.

Sorry, didn’t see anything anal in it at all. Not that there is anything wrong with that if you douche and your partner wears a condom.

After all, oral sex involves an hole too. One that, it might be said, involves pre-fecal matter functions; occasional vomiting of such; bad breath, and germs — which could be considered disgusting as well. Vagina’s are another oral cavity, they involve decomposing blood “periodically” and toxic shock syndrome far more often than anuses.

So Morgan, any hole can be disgusting if you really focus on it in a negative way. Even hands are problematic considering where they’ve been in your life.

Believe me, if your relatives think of you as a disgusting butt bandit…it won’t be because of some lame ass commercial. It will be because of every school yard put-down they’ve heard from grades K thru 12 and beyond.

Sex education and respect for different sexual orientations needs to start in school at the beginning. If a kid in the first grade is old enough to call another kid a faggot, then he is old enough to know how hurtful that is to a member of the GLBT community.

PS – I’m glad ESPN pulled the commercial, it was juvenile. But Morgan, please, don’t be so offensive to people who have a different sexual expression than you by sounding no different that the homophobes. Work on that a little.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 05:54:58 +0000

quite the tempest in a jar.

By: JayC

JayC — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:53:13 +0000

I wish the gay community wouldn’t haggle over such trivial things. We have important issues to address, and this isn’t one of them.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 21:03:20 +0000

I am glad this ad got pulled. When I come out to my family, I want to be thought of as a man, a human being, a stepson, a brother, a nephew, as a friend to someone, not reduced to implied images (thanks to the crude ad) of fists (which I refuse to get involved with) and maybe other things getting shoved up his turd-tunnel.

This ad is taking away the humanity of gay men and depicting them as “weirdo men”. While I don’t object to whatever it is other gay men have got to do, just don’t connect me “image-wise” to a place where fecal matter is formed and base your opinion of me as a gay man on that “so-called ad” if you are family or friend who is straight and “not familiar with me as a gay man” but only as a relative.