Just updating my blog for class on something interesting, though entirely unrelated to fitness!
This week, we were asked our opinion on gay friendly ads and if we thought it was smart that companies like JC Penny and Gap were getting involved in this issue. To that question, I can respond wholeheartedly with a big, ol' YES. YES OF COURSE companies should be including gay people in their advertisements. Before I climb up onto my soap box, here's my favorite ad from this year so far:
This ad is so lovely and cute and gives me the warm fuzzies every time I watch it. This is what ads today SHOULD look like. It's not playing on stereotypes, it's not using gay rights to sell the product, it's just a sincere ad that depicts gay and straight people interacting in a totally normal way- you know, like in real life?!
I think that gay rights is a black and white issue. It's totally a matter of right and wrong. I've noticed that people frequently make excuses for others who are a little homophobic- as if that was an illness or something. To me, homophobia is just a sign of complete ignorance and I'm guessing that these "mildly homophobic" people would have also been "mildly racist" slave owners or "mildly anti Semitic" Nazi Youth in another time and place. There is nothing wrong with being gay! Or straight! Or asexual! Who cares! If you're a human walking around this good, green planet then you deserve to be included- and that means advertisements should be speaking to you.
Companies should understand that someday, in the near future, it will seem absolutely backwards that gay people weren't represented in commercials. So if some nutty right wing group refuses to buy their khakis at your store, who cares? Those idiots will be irrelevant soon enough. More often than not, I think it's far more important for companies to focus on their cultural capitol than on their financial gain. There is nothing wrong with a brand showing compassion and someday when gay rights are no longer tangled in a nasty debate, companies like Kindle and Gap will be remembered and respected for their open minded attitude.
One love yall!
Peace, love, sweat xoxo SR
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