Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Superbowl Gay Panic

Apparently the culturally sensitive outrage du jour is over the Superbowl Snicker's candy bar ad, in which two men working on a car are so enamored of their Snicker's bar that they eat it from both ends until they end up in a kiss. One says to the other, "Quick! Do something manly!" At that point, they both rip out fistfuls of chest hair.

Okay...it was dumb, and it played into all sorts of stereotypes about homophobic gearheads. But was it damaging to the gay community?

Nah.

Showing dumb,straight white guys being dumb, straight and white doesn't reflect on the GLBT community in the slightest. If anything, it sort of plays on the goofy over-the-top paranoia of a segment of the population who fear gayness more than anything short of death.

I read some other blogger comparing it to the murder of Matthew Shepard. That's a little too melodramatic for my taste. I didn't feel threatened or demeaned by that 30 seconds of overblown Gay Panic. I just rolled my eyes and thought, "what a pair of dorks."

Ev

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was more offended by the big dreamy deal everyone made of two black coaches in the superbowl. Come on - the fact that this is news-worthy in 2007 should be shaming to the NFL, not a source of pride and joy! Robin

Ev said...

But the part that REALLY did me in was that they were competing to be the most Christianist of all.

I think Dungy actually said something to the effect that he was the first Christian coach to win a Superbowl.

Like what, all the other ones are Muslims and Hindus??

Anonymous said...

Buddhist - football is a buddhist game. Robin

Anonymous said...

Can we just get past the Stupor Bowl and come up with something new? Being stuck in the house with one arm and all is pretty boring adn I do depend on you for at least SOME of my entertainment.

So get cracking please. You worked last weekend so must be off today. I need reading material.

Thanks in advance.