I did not see the infamous 'kissing mechanics' ad for Snickers when it first aired during the Super Bowl. I don't fit many gay clichés, but the whole thing about not enjoying sports fits me to a tee. Naturally, I took a brief break from cleaning the bathroom just long enough to see Prince perform, but then I was back on my hands and kness scouring the tub.
It wasn't until the next morning that I had even heard of the commercial. As it was described to me, it sounded fairly frivilous. The image of two 'guy's guys' accidentally locking lips, only to react by tearing hair out of their chest to rapidly bolster their 'manliness' sounded like the typical Super Bowl fare and, dare I say, kind of clever. It came off as a joke on the insecurities of straight males in our society as they relate to matters of sexuality. And if they can sell a few candy bars along the way, then all the better.
As a gay man, I concede that it sure would be nice to see images of my people in mainstream media. Will & Grace was all well & good, but it never acurately delved into the gayness of the characters ( 8 years and not one serious man-on-man make out session... come on! ) . Given the media's reluctance to give us these much-needed images, I expected a backlash to this commercial; even the hint of an expression of love between two men would surely cause the American Family Institute and their ilk to launch a campaign for the fragile souls of our nation's youth, or some such malarkey.
The backlash came... but it was not from the backlashers I anticipated.
In comes GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. 'That Snickers, Mars and the NFL would promote and endorse this kind of prejudice is simply inexcusable,' proclaimed GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. Thank gay God that we have such valiant warriors on our side who will fight the battle of not being able to take a fucking joke. Somewhere in the world, a gay kid is getting beat up in high school and summarily ignored by administration. Yet, GLAAD chooses to waste its resources ( and its reputation ) by lambasting a candy company for something so innocuous, most free-thinking Gays ( and straights and everybodies ) wouldn't even think it offensive if we did not have these wags creating prejudice and hatred out of good-natured humor.
I have never had a beef with GLAAD in the past; for the most part they are a vital community organization that champions worthwhile causes and promotes tolerance and understanding in a world sometimes woefully lacking in both. But to get up on the soapbox and condemn the Snickers commercial only hurts our cause. It portrays the Gay community as humorless, fragile, weak and reactionary.
So I'll continue to eat the embattled candy bar. And I'll 'snicker' when I think that it, like the world, is chock full of nuts.
Check out page 24 for the rest of the story...
kirk@windycitymediagroup.com
