Sunday, April 29, 2012
"Ex-Gay" Bus Ads
This article on adweek.com discusses the London Mayor's decision to ban anti-gay advertisements from being plastered on buses across the city. A Christian ad agency promoting "reparative therapy" for homosexuals ran a local advertisement on public transit that read: "Not gay! Ex-gay, post-gay, and proud. Get over it!" The Mayor just recently banned their presence, a move that continues to garner a lot of controversy and criticism among the London public.
I think this example works to illustrate the ways in which the media construct particular identities as well as how these identities, whether 'true' or not, can be leveraged by the public in different ways and for different purposes. The mayor publicly chastised the ad for suggesting that being gay is an 'illness' or some other reversible circumstance, yet skeptics believe that he may just be siding with the LGBTQ community because their vote could prove critical in an upcoming election. In this way, the Mayor might just be bringing attention to the issue so that his "support" of the gay community hits the public airwaves more prominently, using that portion of the population as pawns in his campaign.
I think this relates somewhat to the use of public rhetoric and/or political tactics to commodify certain identities into electoral votes. What comes to mind is some of the GOP candidates that harped on the "illegalness" of undocumented immigrants throughout their campaigns yet tried to garner the support (in a horribly unsuccessful way) of documented immigrants because their votes will be crucial (and continue to be so) in upcoming elections. Some of our class readings to prep for Jordan Garcia's talk discussed the danger in creating these particular immigrant identities, and I think that translates directly into the exploitation of certain identified groups by politicians seeking public support. Do you see a connection to any other issues we discussed in class? If the mayor was in fact bringing attention to the ads just to spark support, how does globalization and the use of the media play a role in all of this?
Moreover, some people are arguing that dismissing these ads is an infringement on free speech, which I think is a pretty valid concern. While I don't agree with the message (or services) behind the ad, I do find it difficult to legally ban such an ad just because it offends a portion of the population. And, if there are in fact people who have been through these camps that consider themselves "post-gay," wouldn't banning the ad be deeming their particular experience and identity as illegitimate because they are 'outside the box'? I just keep thinking that if, on the flip side, the ad was for an LGBTQ cause that said "I'm gay and proud. Get over it!" that no one (at least in a place like London) would publicly yank it. But, what do you think? Do you see how this might be problematic or do you believe that there shouldn't be space for this kind of expression?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I understand that this is a particularly sticky situation and must be handled with care. But I see value in bringing the controversy to light. Although the ads may be immoral to the community, it is true that banning the ads is a violation of the First Amendment Right to free Speech. But protesting the ads is a capitalization of the First Amendment Right, and should be encouraged. As far as the Mayor's advocations, I could definately see that as a campaign strategy, but that is just because of the history politics has created dealing with these sorts of subjects. But now that Obama has come out with his support of Gay Marriage, the timing of it unfortnately leads to believe that politicians one care about these particular issues with their own self-interest in mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Blake that these ads showcase what is wrong with American politics. I feel that the candidates are using these ads as dogs in the dog fight that is the election. Instead of understanding that gay rights are a hot button topic right now and that respect should be given to the gay community, these politicians are self interested and willing to do whatever it takes to get votes. I think this situation is kind of ridiculous in itself, especially the fact that the ads are about getting over being gay. The Christian agency is treating homosexuality as a kind of illness one recovers from, which in my opinion is disgusting. How would they like it if there were ads about being a "recovered Christian"?
ReplyDelete