Last week, a story broke that JC Penney was being targeted by a group of homophobes, who are refered to as One Million Moms (OMM). OMM is a branch of the American Family Association, so that should give you a clear picture of what quality people these are.
JC Penney recently hired Ellen Degeneres as a spokesperson, just as she's recently done ads for Cover Girl and American Express. The OMM is demanding that JC Penney fire her, for no other reason than, she is a lesbian. These homophobic moms insist that not only will their children immediately realize that Ellen is gay based on an ad but that the children will try to emmulate her behavior. So OMM has organized a boycott until all Ellen pictures are removed from JCP's advertising.
More below the squiggle....
These "moms" are really the worst kind of people. They are trying to hide their biggoted, homophobic believes behind the old saying "think of the children!"
I have a few beefs with this.
First, these moms should stop trying to force the world to be "child-friendly". The world does not have to metamorphasize into a PG-rated Disney film just because you got pregnant. Sheltering them from simple realities, like gay people exist is ignorant and counterproductive. It will only lead to further confusion down the line, especially if one of their children turns out to be gay.
Second, unless you brainwash your children into thinking differently, they don't care who is gay, or even what gayness is. I have a gay uncle, but didn't know or understand that he was gay until I was a teenager. It didn't make me love him any less, I just didn't know or care about his lifestyle. Why should I? I was a child. Children are much more accepting of different things IF they are not brainwashed into being homophobic from a young age. It's very unlikely that a homophobic child would come out of an open and accepting environment.
Third, it's not like JC Penney didn't know Ellen was gay before they hired her. It's not a secret. And no one can tell she's gay just from looking at an ad featuring her. I doubt the ad has her dry humping another lady or wearing a shirt that says "I Love Girls". So unless you specifically tell your children that she's gay, they won't know or care.
So please, hypocritical moms, please stop hiding behind your children, like you're doing this for their sake because I can guarantee you that your 8 year old is not standing in JCP, studying an ad of Ellen and saying "yes, I would like to be a lesbian now". Stop using your children as an excuse for your homophobic, intolerant behavior. And please stop demanding that the world censor itself so you don't have to talk to your kids or explain that gayness exists and is completely natural. By treating it like a taboo subject, your implying that it's wrong and should not be spoken of.
I wonder if any of these homophobes would change their tune if one of their children turned out to be gay. I'd like to think so, but probably not.
GLAAD did start it's own petition to keep Ellen as the spokesperson for JCP. Please sign it so that OMM recognizes that being homophobic for the "sake of the children" is not ok. Not even a little bit. Click here to sign the petition.