Gay Outrage! From "30 Days" to Mayonnaise

Meanwhile, the reaction of the media outlets in question all varied too, which played a part in the GLBT community’s reactions. GLAAD’s 30 Days “media alert” came only after they’d tried to work behind-the-scenes with FX before the program aired, asking them to correct the false information with an edit or a disclaimer. FX declined.

In the case of Heinz, the gay criticism only came in response to the company’s pulling of the ad in reaction to conservative criticism. “Heinz spokesperson Nigel Dickie apologized to consumers who felt ‘offended’ by the advertisement,” wrote the U.K.’s Pink News of the controversy. “However, Heinz had no response for the many gay consumers it had also offended by its actions.”

When news broke of the unwarranted Brokeback edit, Bravo immediately issued a statement to AfterElton.com, saying it was “an unfortunate mistake” and that “the scene will appear in all future airings of Brokeback on Bravo.” Given Bravo’s long history of gay-positive programming (including the broadcast of GLAAD Media Awards immediately prior to the movie), most GLBT people seemed to take them at their word although some most definitely did not.

“There are a number of factors that go into our responses,” says Rashad Robinson, GLAAD’s Senior Director of Media Programs. “The history of who it is, the media outlet or public figure. What was said or what was done. It’s not a natural rubric or equation. We judge each situation individually.”

As for the response itself, “We don’t just react,” Robinson says. “We have a proactive relationship [with many media outlets]. We try to work with people to make changes before something is released. We try to never put out a press release.”

When GLAAD decides that some sort of public reprimand becomes necessary, “Our options range from a call to action versus a posting on the blog versus an all-out campaign such as the one over the Isaiah Washington issue.”

But what does the GLAAD imprimatur mean? Are their views necessarily representative of the GLBT community at large? Naturally, Robinson says yes. “It’s a collaborative project,” he says. “People constantly contact us, and we pay close attention to the blogs.”

Maybe so, but was such a public protest of the 30 Days episode really necessary? It’s true that a person did speak factually incorrect information, repeating particularly insidious anti-gay stereotypes. But he seemed pretty clearly to be an anti-gay advocate with an ax to grind. And in every other respect, the show was pro-gay — almost ridiculously so.

The spokesperson’s mere words were countered by an unabashedly emotional and very compelling personal story that had the effect of more than rebutting them. And a previous 30 Days episode won a GLAAD Media Award.

The case of Heinz is even more complicated. Who exactly was the villain? Professional demagogue Bill O’Reilly and the conservative bluenoses upset over a simple kiss? Well, sure, but what about Heinz? It’s true that they showed an appalling lack of conviction in the face of right-wing criticism, but aren’t they still better than their competitors and most other corporations who have steered entirely clear of their gay consumers?

“We should be targeting the ones shooting bullets at Heinz,” wrote one AfterElton.com commenter, “not the company who dared making a positive ad in the first place.”

The Heinz commercial kiss

And what of the disagreements among gay and bisexual people themselves? How can something be “anti-gay” if not even all GBLT people agree it is?

The fact is, people of intelligence and good will sometimes just plain disagree (and that’s not even getting into the issue of contrarians, cranks, and morons!).

Absolute unanimity is impossible in any community. Indeed, after what has been, by virtually every objective measure, one of the worst presidencies in U.S. history, plenty of Americans still tell pollsters that they “support” Republican George W. Bush; there is even a statistically significant percentage of Democrats who do.

Next page! Does the outrage ever end?