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03/05/2008
AFA throws dirt at soap; we'll give you one guess why
When heterosexual characters hook up, break up, make up, cheat, break up again, get back together, cheat a few more times, marry and divorce on the same day, and then go back to sleeping with a different person each week, they are simply a part of standard soap opera protocol. But when gay characters share one on-air kiss and express benign affection for one another, they are a "controversial issue." Such is the logic of the American Family Association.
The notoriously anti-gay AFA, who was already been gunning for Procter & Gamble after finding the company to be the "top pro-homosexual sponsor of television," is now lashing out against the corporation for allowing two gay male characters to show affection towards one another on "As The World Turns", a daytime show owned by P&G. This from the AFA's One News Now "news" site:
Randy Sharp, AFA's director of special projects, says P&G should stop pushing the homosexual agenda. "What Procter & Gamble has done by not having a neutrality policy on any controversial issue [is] they've now put themselves in the middle of this battle between homosexual activists and those who aspire to more traditional family values -- especially on network TV in the public forum," argues Sharp.
The AFA spokesman is hopeful P&G will simply opt not to get involved in controversial topics, such as a homosexual kiss on television, and adopt a policy toward that end. But "the best thing that they could do," he suggests, "is to go ahead and drop these two characters [from the show]."
Sharp stresses AFA is not calling for a boycott of P&G, but suggests pro-family activists contact the company and see how P&G executives respond to requests that the characters be removed from the plot.
Yes, that's right -- the AFA is seeking to have a pair of characters removed from a soap opera simply for being gay. The pair has only shared one kiss, a lack of physicality that has (rightfully) earned the ire of some gay activists. But their lack of on-air affection doesn't even matter to the AFA. The characters' queerness alone has earned them the AFA's "controversial" label.
So essentially the situation is this: This "battle," through the lens of the AFA, is one in which we gays enter simply by having the radical notion that we have a right to be represented in the media. And then when the AFA fires the only true shots, they don't see themselves as the ones who militarized the situation. No, no. They see it as a two-sided battle between immorality and decency, with their army merely working to push back unrighteousness. We don't have to even pick up a weapon. The acknowledgment of our existences is considered to be the first shot.
Well guess what? We refuse to sit back and let these folks foster a world that keeps viewing gayness as an evil bomb that we queers are dropping on society. And we refuse to let them wash their hands of the fact that without their biased pushes against reality, there would be no "controversy" here! Anyone who places freedom over discrimination, regardless of sexual orientation, has a responsibility to stand up against faith-based bullying and persecutory rhetoric. We're doing our part. Are you?
Procter & Gamble urged to remove homosexual couple from daytime soap [ONN]
*SEE ALSO: Andy has a roundup of other aspects of the ATWT "controversy"
Your thoughts
"battle between homosexual activists and those who aspire to more traditional family values" - Traditional family values??? on soap operas. Actually I guess since divorce, cheating, lying, stealing, etc. are traditional family values then it makes sense
Posted by: Ron | Mar 5, 2008 10:41:59 AM
Heh. I remember when they used to issue such reports over the instances of divorce, infidelity, violence, swear words, etc. and monitor the shows, especially when soap-like shows were popular in prime-time, on a regular basis. Obviously, nobody cares about those other issues on the soaps anymore, so this is the best they can do, to continue to try and stir-up controversy over gay characters.
Posted by: JWSwift | Mar 5, 2008 1:08:55 PM
What they really want to do is remove all gay "characters" from society.
Posted by: Zeke | Mar 6, 2008 1:03:20 AM
No one like AFA can tell me what i can or can't watch on My TV. they taching Hate right now.
Posted by: Blae | Mar 8, 2008 2:48:19 AM
Sexual preference should not be the issue with this show. It should be viewed with its vision and it is to educate the reality. Whether it is the Guiding Light or the As The World Turns. Critics should be open on shows that only expresses reality and not some fairytale.
Posted by: payday loan | Apr 7, 2009 2:23:10 AM
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