This Super Bowl Snickers ad has unleashed a storm of criticism from activists. Examples: GLAAD, Matthew Shepard Foundation Condemn Anti-Gay SNICKERS Campaign and Human Rights Campaign Condemns Violent and Homophobic Marketing Campaign by Mars, Inc.).
But I've heard several accounts regarding gay guys gathered to watch the game who reacted to the ad with hoots of laughter, seeing it as lampooning homophobia rather than homosexuality. So, was Snickers stoking the fires of intolerance in order to foster sales, or are gay activists manufacturing controversy for PR and funds from their provoked donor base?
Or could the ad in and of itself be innocuous, even good-natured fun, but still allow those squeamish about homosex to feel validated?
More. Some of the negative responses were provoked by these "player reaction" spots (here and here), which ran on the Snickers website (they're gone from there now).
Comments Roy:
If you want to see something truly funny, read this thread on Free Republic. Some of them have been calling in complaining that the ad seems to endorse homosexuality. Mars, Inc. must be spinning.
Indeed!
Still more. IGF contributing author James Kirchick offers his take: "what do gay rights groups with tons of money on their hands spend their time doing? Fighting against anti-gay ballot initiatives? No, condemning supposedly homophobic television commercials."
Kirchick includes a link to gay Democratic activist/outer John Aravosis at AMERICAblog:
The Mars family, that produced the violently homophobic ads, is one of the top billionaire Republican activist families in the country.
See, it's all part of the great rightwing conspiracy!
And more still.. USA Today, which scored the spot highly at 9th in its ranking of Super Bowl ads, finds an activist who breaks ranks:
Cyd Zeigler, co-founder of Outsports.com, a website for gay sports enthusiasts, says he saw it at a Super Bowl party with 30 gay friends-and no one had a problem with it. "I simply wasn't offended by it," Zeigler says. "I just don't see how a couple of mechanics pulling out chest hair because they kissed is offensive."
Still, the paper reports that "marketing experts" advise, "They might want to develop some very positive program to show they're progressive and inclusive" or "run an apologetic national newspaper."
See 'em all. Chris Crain has posted on his blog all four versions of the ad (the one that ran and the three alternate endings once available on the Snickers webste), as well as the two "player reaction" clips. He comment, in response to HRC's offer to put Snickers in touch with "any number of GLBT Americans who have suffered hate crimes," that:
Well I, for one, am a gay American - how, exactly, can one person be G, L, B and T anyway? - who has suffered a hate crime, and I am more disturbed by the gross overreaction of these overly earnest gay rights groups.
51 Comments for “Homophobia or Humor?”
posted by James on
The problem with the commercial is that it equates being gay with being effeminate. I feel the same way about effeminate guys as the men in the ad. Being gay doesn’t prevent you from being comically repulsed by effeminate behavior.
posted by Carl on
What you fail to mention, Stephen, is that there were 4 ads on the Snickers website. One involved an effeminate man with long hair who said he wanted to be on the “love boat”. Another had the men beating each other with wrenches and smashing the car hood on each other.
Worst of all, they had a piece on the website which showed the reactions of various football players who saw the ad. They were disgusted, and made homophobic comments.
The idea that the ad is fine because you heard some gay men laughed is not really taking into account the rest of the problem with this ad.
posted by James on
Anti-effeminate is not homophobic. Those football players were not making “anti-gay” comments, but “anti-fem” comments, and I would be right there with them. I feel about fem men the way many on this board feel about illegal immigrants, heterosexual married men, and Christians. If you think it is OK to laugh at comedy which mocks Christians or which makes light of the plight of undocumented workers, and I’m sure many of you do, then it is OK to mock fem men.
Why shouldn’t gay men sit in the same room with these football players and make fun of fems? I bet you flip through channels and make fun of Christian programming. I think it would help if gay men could demonstrate that gay is not fem, and that fem is just as disgusting to many gay men as it is to many straight men. (It’s the same feeling of disgust that many on this board feel toward Christians–so finding those you don’t understand disgusting must be OK.)
posted by Antaeus on
James needs to listen to the wisdom of Scott Thompson on the problem with anti-effeminates.
posted by North Dallas Thirty on
Carl, you miss the entire sardonic point of the ads; namely, that if you are that afraid of not being considered “manly” that you do things that stupid to yourself, you deserve to be mocked.
Get real. This is no different than the AIDS Healthcare Foundation suing Pfizer with the claim that ads for Viagra make gay men use crystal meth and have unprotected sex; it’s a desperate cry from attention from groups that are so far gone as to be irrelevant.
posted by dc on
As someone who as an extreemly feminine gay guy (and always has been) I do not find the Snickers ad offensive. I agree with North Dallas Thirty; the ad is making fun of uptight “striaght” men who are hyper self councious with respect to their masculinity. Also I think the ad is funny because it makes fun of men who are “not gay” but find themselves doing sexual things with other men (after all the men in the add are drawn to one another and ended up kissing without realizing it, which is pretty gay in my opinion).
As far as the football players making homophobic comments…who cares! NFL football players arent exactly known for the intellegence, class, or sophistication. Most of them are jerks…just as their baby mamas and illegitimate children.
As for you James….
Why shouldn’t gay men sit in the same room with these football players and make fun of fems?
Because you are not straight. One thing being black has taught me…never make fun of your own group with others who are not a part of it. If you do, it will end up biting YOU in the ass. So dont be shocked when sitting in the same room as a bunch of football watching straight American men and making fun of those flaming gays/fags if you eventually become a target.
posted by Kevin on
Here’s a version w/ sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ-CK3Wurm4
I am offended by the ad…because it’s stupid and certainly not the least bit funny! Those millions of dollars spent to air it during the SB could have been so much better spent.
posted by Tim on
James said “comically repulsed by effeminate behavior”
James, I thought you were a Christian. You’re attitude doesn’t seem very Christ like to me.
posted by Bill from FL on
The player’s reaction ad was downright nasty. The one with the mechanics was kind of funny. I made sure and used my power as a Snicker’s customer and told them what I thought. Can’t wait to see what the religious right is going to say. Probably accuse us of being the PC police.
posted by Carl on
-Carl, you miss the entire sardonic point of the ads; namely, that if you are that afraid of not being considered “manly” that you do things that stupid to yourself, you deserve to be mocked.-
NDT, if that was the point of the ad, then they wouldn’t have made a player’s reaction video which consisted of most of the players being disgusted at two men kissing.
The ad was shock value. Two men kiss. Viewers are shocked. The men are so disgusted that they mutilate themselves. Viewers are supposed to love it.
The first ad, the one that aired on TV, didn’t really bother me. The ads on the website, with the wrenches, and with the man with the long hair (that one seemed to be more about making fun of a gay aspect), they did bother me.
The whole thing seems so stupid and pointless, like they were trying to appeal to dumb frat boys. If we lived in a place where gays still weren’t beaten and killed, then maybe the wrench ad wouldn’t have bothered me. If we didn’t already have to hear over and over and how sick it is for 2 men to kiss and how straight people should be disgusted by the sight, maybe the football players wouldn’t have bothered me as much.
posted by Roy X. Penguin on
Uh, James. Those guys who kissed in the ad weren’t “fem.” They were disturbed at doing something “gay.” “Fem” isn’t anywhere in the ad.
More to the point. The more unsophisticated contingent of straight men will be disgusted by you even if you were the burliest, most masculine gay guy.
They don’t think you’re the same. Sorry. Hate to break it to you.
posted by Roy X. Penguin on
If you want to see something truly funny, read this thread on Free Republic.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1779524/posts
Some of them have been calling in complaining that the ad seems to endorse homosexuality.
Mars, Inc. must be spinning.
posted by North Dallas Thirty on
NDT, if that was the point of the ad, then they wouldn’t have made a player’s reaction video which consisted of most of the players being disgusted at two men kissing.
Or they were reacting to the things the men were doing to each other in the ads in a desperate attempt to “prove” they were “manly”, such as hitting each other with wrenches, ripping out chest hair, slamming heads in hoods, or drinking motor oil and antifreeze.
But then again, that’s a rational and sensible perspective, notone one based on the belief that everyone hates gays and is out to kill them.
posted by Greg Capaldini on
The earlier comment that “NFL football players arent exactly known for the intellegence, class, or sophistication…” is regrettable. Members of the franchise here in D.C. have made significant contributions to community service, as have other professional athletes. If we gay men desire respect from heterosexuals, we can be begin by avoiding unkind generalizations.
posted by Carl on
–
Or they were reacting to the things the men were doing to each other in the ads in a desperate attempt to “prove” they were “manly”, such as hitting each other with wrenches, ripping out chest hair, slamming heads in hoods, or drinking motor oil and antifreeze.
–
They mentioned the kisses specifically, shock that they kissed, pity for the actors who had to play the roles and kiss, etc.
posted by urkel on
i found the kiss repulsive for other reasons; the guys were quite unattractive. 😛
posted by Carl on
As a gay man who was watching the game with a bunch of other gay guys, we all laughed. I thought it was one of the funniest ads I ever saw. It’s a bummer that the political correctness police had to jump on this.
posted by North Dallas Thirty on
They mentioned the kisses specifically, shock that they kissed, pity for the actors who had to play the roles and kiss, etc.
Well duh — if you were straight, how would you like to have to kiss a man?
Again, the rational and sensible perspective is to accept that other people have different opinions, not one based on the belief that everyone hates and is out to kill gays.
posted by Carl on
–
Well duh — if you were straight, how would you like to have to kiss a man?-
If I were being paid a lot of money just to kiss a man in a TV commercial, I wouldn’t be upset. Nor would I be horrified to see this if I were asked to watch a commercial. If I were an actor and in a commercial I had to kiss a woman, I wouldn’t be upset about that just because I’m gay. That’s what acting is about. That these football players acted so shocked and horrified was a bit bizarre and yes, homophobic.
–
Again, the rational and sensible perspective is to accept that other people have different opinions-
Their opinion in this case was that they were disgusted by men kissing. You said above that the point of the ad was to make fun of homophobia. Those comments by the football players were not doing that.
posted by North Dallas Thirty on
You said above that the point of the ad was to make fun of homophobia. Those comments by the football players were not doing that.
LOL….need I remind you of something?
Worst of all, they had a piece on the website which showed the reactions of various football players who saw the ad.
So in other words, the reactions weren’t even part of the ad.
Second off, your attempt at empathy is downright hilarious. Tell me that there are no gay men out there who’ve ever made rude comments about how disgusting it is to kiss a woman. Tell me there are no gay men out there who have ever called straight people “breeders”, or referred to women (or lesbians) as “rug-munchers” or “tuna-eaters”, and expressed pity for cute guys for having to sleep with those things.
But let straight people do the same thing about gays, and you’re convinced that they’re all homophobic murderers.
posted by North Dallas Thirty on
And, while I think about it, how about this take from OutSports?
Furthermore, as Robbie of the Malcontent pointed out, the main emphasis of such professional whiners as John Aravosis was on driving up their hit counts.
posted by jomicur on
I never stop being amazed at the way some of the regulars here defend blatant homophobia. This ad was designed for a purpose, i.e to sell candy bars to a specific demographic, sports fans. If we listen to ND and his pals, we’d have to come to the conclusion that that demographic consists of straight “macho” sports fans who find homophobia laughable. Um…right, sure, yeah, that’s a big, viable market, all right.
posted by dc on
After thinking of the ad some more and watching the idiot NFL players respond to it I’ve come to the same conclusion as jomicur. To be disgusted by two men kissing for less than 5 seconds is fairly childish…kissing is such a minor sexual behavior. Why should gays settle to be looked at with disgust? We should question heterosexual reactions to homosexuality.
At the same time I feel that the ad represents some sort of acceptance. Two men kissing on national television says something about the visibility and attention that gays have. Even if the publicity is negative, with visibility comes power.
posted by Josiah Blaisdell on
I’m going to have to agree with Jomicur and dc
this is pretty rediculous
its like highschool in the public arena.
I mean seriously, what is that?
I’m gay and I’m fairly liberal (at least on America’s standards) and this commercial was funny, not offensive. I’ve noticed GLAAD does a lot of crap that seems right straight out of a high school setting, for instance here they are found doing all sorts of odd things; http://www.glaad.org/eye/stories.php
maby its just me but i think GLAAD needs to GROW up and start dealing with issues of importance stuff like John Corvino’s Article on Gay marriage in Michigan.
posted by Thomas Henning on
Given the size the viewing audience (about 93 million), this is one of the most damaging pieces of media homophobia in years.
Several million gay children and teens watched this spot with their friends and loved ones beside them, mocking an intimate behavior -kissing- that someday they will hold precious and dear.
The reaction of gay adults on this forum, positive or negative, is utterly irrelevant in comparison.
posted by dc on
Thomas Henning-
I definently agree with your comment as I think it puts the situation in perspective. However, the situation as not as grimm as it used to be…gay children and teens can find positive/neutral representations of gay sexuality and life on many networks. Numerous shows now have gay characters and homosexuality is openly talked about in mainstream political discourse. I think the juvenille homophobia present in the SuperBowl ad is merly a reaction to the increasing presence and visibility of gays. Any time a marganalized group rises up against a represive society, the masses holding them down will have some sort of responce. I see ads like this as the homophobic responce to the changing times.
Also gay male sexuality (kissing and sex) is more commonly represented in American visual culture. Just think of Brokeback Mtn; Dirt; Gay, Straight, or Taken; and many other shows on networks like MTV, VH1, ect
posted by James on
Just to make this point again so it’s clear–this is a “femophobic” ad not a “homophobic” ad. It is about the masculine fear of femininity, not the fear of gay sex or gay attraction–neither of which has anything to do with femininity. If the two men in this commercial were gay, they would still be just as concerned about being perceived as feminine.
I am femophobic. I don’t like effeminate men, gay or straight–don’t have to. Being femophobic does not make me less gay.
Gay is not effeminate.
Gay is not effeminate.
Gay is not effeminate.
OK, I hope you see my point.
posted by Audrey B. on
The actions of John Aravosis provide a kind ironic counter-point to the advertisement its self. In response to the commercial with a comical over reaction as its center piece, he issues? another comical over reaction.
posted by lpm on
first heard about this kerfuffle tonight at dinner and actually refuted the assertion that the ad was ‘anti-gay’. while i did not watch the superbowl (watched ‘my boys’ marathon instead) and, thus did not see the aired ad during that broadcast, i did see the ad with two mechs working on a truck. i found everything about the ad humorous, from the way the guy unwrapped the skickers to the look of desire for the snickers from the other guy, to the way they both focused only on the candy bar as they ate it from both ends, to the way they touched lips (very lady and the tramp), and yes, to the way they recoiled in unsure horror. didn’t really see anything homophobic. and i’m pretty damn “soapbox political” gay. i only hope i don’t have to defend another red flag mistakenly thrown by my glbt advocay groups and PACs. here’s wishing neil and joe nip this issue before it gets too much play!
posted by Carl on
–
So in other words, the reactions weren’t even part of the ad.-
Actually they were. This was an ad campaign that was supposed to go on for some time. At the end of the Super Bowl ad, they linked to the Snickers “After the Kiss” website. The website had the video featuring the players.
-Tell me that there are no gay men out there who’ve ever made rude comments about how disgusting it is to kiss a woman. –
NDT, the “gay people do bad things too” defense doesn’t exactly have a lot to do with the ad itself. The ad was about straight men, and making fun of homosexuality. If the ad had a gay man accidentally kissing a woman, and he had a fit and started beating himself up, or if they had videos with gay men making hostile comments about a gay man and a straight woman kissing, then I would be just as angry and disgusted as I was at the whole Snickers campaign.
–
But let straight people do the same thing about gays, and you’re convinced that they’re all homophobic murderers.-
You’re the only one who has called them homophobic murderers. They made anti-gay comments. The whole point of that video was laughing at the idea of two men kissing. You don’t like that people dared to criticize the ad. That doesn’t mean we’re calling them murderers.
As for James Kirchik’s comments, he is actually undercutting his point by not bothering to talk about the website content. HRC and GLAAD said over and over that this was about the website content. Unless Kirchick himself has done a lot to help in various gay rights battles, then his complaints about how this somehow means gay groups don’t care about other issues falls even more flat.
–
i only hope i don’t have to defend another red flag-
You never “had” to defend any red flag in the first place. I notice that you didn’t mention the website content either.
If people are going to go on about how hilarious this ad was, they should at least know the whole story.
posted by North Dallas Thirty on
Next time, read the article, Carl, because it puts you nicely in your place.
The Snickers Web site features some of the Super Bowl participants reacting to the commercial. Aravosis focuses on the facial reactions of Chicago Bear Muhsin Muhammad and Indianapolis Colt Cato June, who look less-than-comfortable with the kiss. Aravosis seems to be saying that not only are people not allowed to be uncomfortable watching something, but certainly no one can show that discomfort.
In the Web site video, producers of the commercial can be heard telling Bears tight end Desmond Clark that it took 50 takes of the two men kissing for them to get it right.
“I hope they got paid a lot of money,” Clark said, assuming that the two men were straight and did not enjoy kissing one another. “I think this is going to be the most shocking commercial for the Super Bowl.”
Some of the featured voices, however, are overtly positive about the commercial.
Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison took the piece well, laughing along with it and saying, “It’s definitely a great piece. I don’t know who came up with it, but it’s definitely a great piece.”
Bears quarterback Rex Grossman had praise for the commercial: “It’s up there with some of the best I’ve ever seen, and there’s been some great ones. A lot of people that don’t like football will watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and the parties. And those types of people are really going to love this commercial.”
Unfortunately, this is what Carl claimed:
Worst of all, they had a piece on the website which showed the reactions of various football players who saw the ad. They were disgusted, and made homophobic comments.
Notice how Carl, who is desperately trying to spin and rationalize his paranoid beliefs, completely ignores the comments that don’t fit it, and trumps up others to MAKE them fit his assertion that these football players are all homophobes who want to beat and kill gays.
And then Carl tries this:
If the ad had a gay man accidentally kissing a woman, and he had a fit and started beating himself up, or if they had videos with gay men making hostile comments about a gay man and a straight woman kissing, then I would be just as angry and disgusted as I was at the whole Snickers campaign.
Please. More likely you’d whine about how they’re capable of defending themselves, just like you did when one of your fellow gay leftist ideologues told me here to commit suicide.
Several million gay children and teens watched this spot with their friends and loved ones beside them, mocking an intimate behavior -kissing- that someday they will hold precious and dear.
LOL…..I fell down laughing at this one.
More likely, what they found out the next day is that, in order to be gay, you have to have hysterical screaming fits and make public fools of yourself being offended over a candy-bar commercial — and then be told that your family and friends are all evil, mocking homophobes if they laughed at it.
posted by Carl on
–
Unfortunately, this is what Carl claimed:
–
You do realize that what you quoted from the article just reinforced my claim, right? You also weaken your argument by repeatedly saying that people think these men are homophobic killers.
-More likely you’d whine about how they’re capable of defending themselves, just like you did when one of your fellow gay leftist ideologues told me here to commit suicide.-
So that’s what this is about? You’re still upset because I thought you were mature enough to be able to defend yourself against an idiotic comment?
At least this explains why you’re so put off about this, NDT. I’m sorry that someone would say such a comment to you. But that doesn’t change that no matter how much you may claim otherwise, I would have just as much of a problem with an ad about a gay man disgusted by kissing a woman.
posted by Josiah Blaisdell on
oh interesting comments guys on effimanate behavior in homosexuals. I’ve recently been exploring this idea trying to find out whats true and whats just publicized in the media
I guess recently something that really caught my eye and the eyes of many of my gay friends and their parents was this
http://www.borndifferent.org
watch the 60 minute spot “born different” I found it just intriguing… it was a little bit weird and i definitely had to approach what they had to say with an open mind but honestly overall its very well done and deserves applause
enjoy!
posted by Thomas Henning on
Adults who have little contact with gay teens (I’ve worked the past fifteen years as an advocate for them) need to realize that while we are aware of how far we’ve come since the 80s, they are not. It is all new to them.
Ads like this form early assumptions about how they will be treated when they come out. The same with the reaction to Brokeback Mountain: derision, laughter, dismissal. What’s the #1 putdown in American schools today? “That’s so gay.”
I’m glad I didn’t have to grow up with that in the 70s.
Ask yourself if this joke would work if it were a male and a female mechanic. No! The joke is on us, and I worry about the gay men who find it so funny.
posted by Mark on
Alice Nathanson,
Masterfood Spokeswoman, where is the GOD DAMN apology to the LGBT community, OBVIOUSLY the alternate ending with the pipe wrench attack, was meant to start a controversy…OK you GOT ONE, deal with the BOYCOTT!
posted by abel on
james – okay i see your point. but to (some) straight men, who are all used to sticking their thing in a female, the thought of taking it up the butt is on par with being a female… being f*cked. it doesn’t matter if you look and act like arnold schwarzenegger. to (some) of them, the physical act itself is feminizing. it’s anathema of being masculine. OK? whatever you say will never change (some) of their perceptions, because the act of gay sex is never going to change.
why are you so dense? it’s like you live in an alternate universe of what “should be in the mind of james” rather than accepting reality.
posted by Just Me on
james – okay i see your point. but to (some) straight men, who are all used to sticking their thing in a female, the thought of taking it up the butt is on par with being a female… being f*cked. it doesn’t matter if you look and act like arnold schwarzenegger. to (some) of them, the physical act itself is feminizing. it’s anathema of being masculine. OK? whatever you say will never change (some) of their perceptions, because the act of gay sex is never going to change.
why are you so dense? it’s like you live in an alternate universe of what “should be in the mind of james” rather than accepting reality.
(JAMES I WANT YOU TO READ EVERY WORD OF THIS.)
Very much agreed. A straight friend of mine said that he felt really uncomfortable at a predominantly gay gym, because he didn’t like being accosted by men (understood, of course – he’s STRAIGHT, duh). We were talking about this at brunch, and his girlfriend piped up “Wow, now you know how it feels to be a woman walking down the street.” And he agreed, and said “How do you girls deal with us? Ick!” Now, this doesn’t mean “feminine” – it has NOTHING to do with being “queeny.” It has everything to do with WHO is hitting on WHOM. In the framework of their existence, to be hit on by a man is to feel like a woman, because they themselves are men who are attracted to women. It’s psychological hard-wiring and nothing more. This has nothing to do with being “fem” or “flaming” – it’s simply being put in the position of a female perspective as they see it.
Anyway, so I think the Snickers commercial is just playing on this knee-jerk feeling hard-wired into straight men.
posted by James on
I agree that gay sex is seen as effeminate, and that’s the point–that’s the mistake gays have been making. They have allowed homosexuality to be equated to effeminacy, and they have nothing to do each other. We need to show men that two men in love leads to a stronger male identity. Kissing a guy is a powerful, masculine feeling. The last thing I feel is like a female.
I think what men are afraid of is that sex with a man is much more masculine, much more testerone-filled, than sex with a woman–and that women don’t really create the same level of response that two men can create together.
posted by ETJB on
Well, I did not see the IGF or the LCR do too much to stop the state anti-gay ballot initiatives that passed.
It is possible that the Mars family was trying to make some type of pro-Republican, anti-gay comment in their ad…but I doubt it.
I saw the ad and I did not feel that it was homophobic. It seemed to be mocking the two men for their homophobia or sexism.
Granted, what sex, gender roles, sexuality or sexual orientation has to do with candy bars is another story….. ;0)
posted by arthur on
Now I can ask someone if they want to share a Snickers bar, and the less ‘hip’ will know what I mean. Thanks Mars!
posted by Josiah Blaisdell on
I agree that gay sex is seen as effeminate, and that’s the point–that’s the mistake gays have been making. They have allowed homosexuality to be equated to effeminacy, and they have nothing to do each other. We need to show men that two men in love leads to a stronger male identity. Kissing a guy is a powerful, masculine feeling. The last thing I feel is like a female.
-James
I can’t help but think what this would do to the large amount gay men and teens out there who are effiminate. Not that I find what you have to say “bad” or “not true at all” but seriously it seems to me that pressuring gay men and teens to become masculine isn’t going to lead to something good; maybe I’m waay off
Ask yourself if this joke would work if it were a male and a female mechanic. No! The joke is on us, and I worry about the gay men who find it so funny.
-Thomas Henning
Gay man and a Lesbian woman? Gay man and a straight woman? Lesbian Woman and a Straight man? these would all work… And I guess my question would be; are they politically incorrect? I don’t know, and if they aren’t what does that mean?. And Thomas please, explain the last sentence of that quote that was non-sequitor to say the least.
posted by Just Me on
I agree that gay sex is seen as effeminate
No, no, no. You don’t understand my point at all! You confuse “being in the female role” and “effeminate.”
I’m going to try to explain this without being too graphic. Guys penetrate. Girls receive. This is the way in the straight world. When a straight guy is hit on by a gay guy, he thinks, “Uh oh, he wants to penetrate me.” Again, in the straight world, a woman gets penetrated. Okay? Straight guy, psychologically, gets momentarily shifted into a female role in his mind, because this is the framework he exists in. This is about gender ROLE, not gender EXPRESSION. It’s not about being “outwardly girly” – it’s being being made to feel like the “penetratee.”
posted by ricardo on
What is it with “James” ? “…being femophobic does not make me less gay.”
Perhaps not; but it still makes you a bigot. You are having an abnormally strong reaction to this. Seek to love James!
posted by James on
If being femophobic makes me a bigot, what does your disgust for Christians make you? Or your disdain for undocumented workers?
In this life, you are not required to like everyone. To me, the definition of being gay is being femophobic–not liking femininity is the root of homosexuality, isn’t it? If I don’t like women, why would I like effeminate men?
posted by Tracker on
The ad is all the things being said by both sides, and none of them. There’s no way to convey these views with any real coherence in a medium as brief as a commercial. Whether they change the channel or not, people will see what they want to see on TV.
posted by Tim on
“If being femophobic makes me a bigot, what does your disgust for Christians make you? Or your disdain for undocumented workers?”
James, if you’re a typical Christian, then I guess I am Christian Phobic. I see nothing of Christ in you.
Didn’t Christ say the meek shall inherit the earth ?
posted by ETJB on
BTW, it is not really care if Bush kept the Federal anti-discrimination policy or not or is just ignoring it.
ENDA and the HCPA have the best chance of getting past as they are mainstream bills with strong bi-partisan support and support from most Americans.
posted by James on
So, Tim, what is your stance on undocumented workers? Or Muslims? I don’t see much of the tolerant and diverse Rainbow in you!
posted by Steve on
As a gay man, I thought the ad(s)was funny and poked fun at “red-neck” types, not gays. (Leaving the players out of it) We need to have a sense of humor and get over ourselves. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, then we really aren’t “out.”
posted by dalea on
What does ‘disgust with christians’ make one? A reasonable, rational person, of course. Disgust shows an ability to look at what is, see it for what it is, and act accordingly. Those who continuously bring up all the Jesus loved puppies routine, are IMHO and IMHE seriously delusional. Anyone who seriously believes that christianity is about ‘love’ should seek professional help.
posted by Doug on
I don’t see how anyone is saying the ad is “anti-fem” as opposed to “anti-gay.”
The men do nothing effeminate – they kiss (accidentally). Since when is kissing effeminate? Do he-men gays not kiss?
I couldn’t care less about Super Bowls or Snickers. But the follow-up Web site with the repulsed reaction of the football players was really just stupid.