| christian grantham | |||
| Christian Grantham was a student activist in the late 90s and later was a consultant to domestic policy forums for the Clinton Administration as well as events for HRC and GLAAD. | |||
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latest posts
March 09, 2005
They couldn't have come at a better time. While America is embroiled in an all out battle over civil rights for gays and lesbians, the nation's leading online trick stop for gay men, Gay.com, asks Americans to "come together," if you know what I mean.
The ads literally hit the streets just as the Washington state Supreme Court began considering whether same-sex couples should be able to wed. In other words, to be accepted.
Now I'm not saying that every image of a gay union ought to be Plain Jane and Joan or Jack and Gil and their apple-cheeked tots shopping Home Depot for kitchen supplies.
Besides, even a non-threatening image such as theirs would never convert those fearful folks who insist that only church-wed moms and dads deserve to be families.
Leathered-up Dykes on Bikes and gay men in cheekless jeans are all part of the human parade as well as the Gay Pride parade, as far as I'm concerned.
But bedrock issues like the basic human right to marry, the right to raise kids and visit a same-sex partner in the hospital, to inherit property and file joint taxes are currently on the block for a lot of our neighbors, co-workers and relatives. So why risk incendiary ads that look like throwbacks to the hoary old stereotype that being gay is all about sex?
[Are sexy ads the best way to achieve gay acceptance? - Seattle Post Intelligencer - 03-09-05]
At a time when it's stock price isn't doing well, there are reports of trouble in the online personals market, Gay.com chat rooms are mentioned in several gay murder cases, and HIV and syphilis infection rates are soaring among gay men, the controversy over the ads seems to draw even more attention to the lucrative business of facilitating quick sexual hook-ups for gay men. But hey, that's Gay.com's bread and butter.
filed under: Media
