By pussywhipping them into declaring their support, that’s how. A clever new campaign called Balls Of Pride hopes to get girlfriends of (or single ladies hunting for) straight guys to help them come out of the closet as being pro-gay. Because, the project’s creators (advertising students Emil Tiismann, Matilda Kahl and Jacob Sempler) hypothesize, most breeder dudes are, in fact, on our side. They just don’t have reason to tell anyone or campaign for our equality. But by getting straight chicks to show them being pro-gay makes them more attractive? It’s win-win for everyone: We get more vocal supporters, and the guys get laid
How does Balls Of Pride work? Straight gals tag lads on Facebook with a pair of “balls” to indicate their gay-friendliness. That adds a virtual set of balls to the campaign’s widget, which will eventually become a real-life ball pit, with one pair in the pit for every guy who declared his LGBT alliance. For now, it looks like the project is just a prototype, but Tiisman says they’d love to get GLAAD involved.
Or, you know, screw that and just do it on your own, kids. Who needs Gay Inc. anymore? With a little bit of love, straight women and men will be playing with tens of thousands of balls by summer. And that doesn’t even count what’s going to happen inside that giant ball pit.
Casey
What’s with the Australian accent?
Josh
“Without having to risk their heterosexual reputation?” Oh cool, reinforce the message that “it’s gay to be for gay rights.” Instead of telling insecure straight guys to man the fuck up and not worry about what their judgmental buddies think, we’re enticing them to support gay rights by way of their girlfriends.
This is either really insulting to the heterosexual population or sadly necessary–I can’t decide which.
GeriHew
So glad to see GLAAD using the colors of the bisexual pride flag for the straight pro-gay balls of pride – or am I?
Adam
Absolutely pathetic. The only way to get straight men to acknowledge that they’re for gay rights is to promise them pussy. Fuck this shit. And fuck all the breeders.
CA
Haha cool idea
Sceth
@Josh: It seems more like teasing than insulting.
Zzee
@Josh: Meh. If nothing else it’s cute.
Amanda
Wow, I’m still processing all of the implications of this…
It’s fascinating how GLAAD is marketing ally status to straight men and emphasizing their heterosexuality at the same time. It’s almost like they’re saying “we know you wouldn’t want to be portrayed as gay (who would?), but here’s a way to advertise your acceptance while simultaneously protecting your heterosexual image.” The subtext is that it’s ok to be skeeved out by gays, but we would still like your support, and here’s a cool way to do it.
I understand that they want to reach out to the straight population, but this feels like a backhanded way of doing it.
merkin
this isnt a official GLAAD campaign–its a pitch these guys want GLAAD to adopt. Maybe its not perfect, but what have YOU done to encourage equality?
T-in-Cali
whats the song they’re using in the background? its from some show that i can’t remember.
Francis
Anything that promotes acceptance or shows acceptance isn’t a negative.
ewe
I think this makes GLAAD appear very unprofessional. Since when is anti defamation reduced to testicles?
Josh
@Amanda: Yes, THANK you. I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way.
This doesn’t encourage acceptance because, you know, that’s a quality decent people possess; this encourages acceptance so that you can go get LAID BRO YEAHHHH once you say you don’t hate the geighs.
Amanda
@Josh: That’s what I was thinking. And it still promotes the idea that the geighs are icky, but this is a way you can look cool backing them up, if you want.
justiceontherocks
Another school project gone hopelessly wrong.
divkid
>> ////
imaginative. cynical. out side the box.
worth trying. quirky. patronising.
fun. worth trying. shallow.
optomististic young. worth trying.
\\\\ <<
Rob
@Josh:
Hmmm, the first thing that I thought of is once again people need to rely on normative bodies in order for queers to gain any notion of acceptance.
I also thought of single straight men. Is it gay for them to support gay rights since they do not have the “safety” of having a female to reinforce their (hetero) masculinity?
Bah, perhaps I’m just too cynical in everything. It is nice to see some straight men challenge their own norms of masculinity in order to support gay rights.
just sayin
You can complain on here all you want, but you’re exactly the ones who do it. Anytime a famous str8 guy comes out as ‘on our side’, you bury him with accusations of being a closet case in the comments section every time his name is mentioned in an article here. Do the names Hugh Jackman or Ewan McGreggor ring a bell? And Queerty slips into high gear with using ‘cutsey’ (actually stupid) double entendres as the headlines for the articles, implying they are gay as well.
Unless of course he’s a fat or old str8 guy – then you don’t really want him to be gay at all.
Aaron
@Josh: My thoughts exactly. Not to mention the fact it honestly comes off kind of sexist. Which, considering where homophobia stems from…. now that I think about this, no. Just freaking no. I’m sick of so many straights pretending to care about people who aren’t straight. Just because you slap a little sticker on your face that says “No H8” doesn’t make you goddamn tolerant. It’s like people who “accept” ethnic minorities, but aren’t really comfortable with them when they move next door.
Todd
I’m sorry, but this is the kind of crap that GLAAD ought to be opposing, not supporting. The under current of this whole “campaign” is offensive. And stupid. And juvenile. Straight guys are suppose to be chasing women who tag their pages with male genitalia. Did anyone think about this for more than 2 seconds?
Jeffree
GLAAD didn’t develop this project and hasn’t endorsed it or signed on to it.
ousslander
thought it was a comedy skit
alex
this is a great idea. glaad or some other org should adopt it.
on a sidenote, it’s amazing and frustrating how many people on here obviously aren’t reading the text and just assume that this is something glaad is already doing, and then judge glaad for it. quite literally these people are _rushing_ to judgment.
ewe
@just sayin: Do your clank your bell for every gay person who comes out “on the side” of straight people? Oh silly me, i guess i just happen to remember there are lesbian women who share the planet with us. You are a victim and you don’t even know it. No gold star for you either.
Shannon1981
I really hope GLAAD doesn’t pick this up. Sends all the wrong messages. “Here, if you help us, here’s a way to make sure nobody mistakes you for one of us!” WTF?
just sayin
@ewe:
I might be a victim and not know it, but it’s better than being an asshole and not knowing it. Sucks to be you.
GeriHew
“When girlfriends state that their boyfriends are Pro-Gay they are obviously straight” WHY? Why are they obviously straight? If he’s Anti-Gay is he obviously in the closet or something? And why are they using the colors of the Bi Pride Flag?
Symbolism of the Bi Flag (for any who don’t already know)
The pink color represents sexual attraction to the same sex only (gay and lesbian), The blue represents sexual attraction to the opposite sex only (straight) and the resultant overlap color purple represents sexual attraction to both sexes (bi).
http://biflag.com/Activism.asp
GeriHew
Is a bisexual guy with a girlfriend not being Pro-Gay? Is Beth Ditto behind this nonsense or something?
Str8Edge
Cool. Gotta start somewhere. Gay people need to reach out to str8 people more, instead of acting like str8 and gay are different species.
ewe
@just sayin: what ever makes you think i don’t know the many facets of myself. Go hissy on someonw else. You want to pick a fight with gay people on a gay blog, you’re fucking going to get one.
ewe
@Str8Edge: Gay people don’t have to reach out to straight people. You got it backwards. If you were right then we would be talking about gay people celebrating the acceptance of straight people for being heterosexual. But we are not doing that here, there or anywhere because gay people don’t have to reach out to straight people. You flipped out tarts coming to the defense of straight guys who need coaching with regards to accepting gay men are rediculous.
mcm
LOL wow this is sad and manipulative. These fags will go to all sorts of lengths, pun intended.
Tomcat
For the record, that wasn’t a proper Australian accent. It sounds like they were going for some sort of International accent. is a strange muddling of Aus, NZ, South African etc. which of course are all middle grounds between the English and US accent (with a little Dutch thrown in, in the case of NZ and South Africa). But I totally agree, whatever they were going for, they didn’t get it.
just sayin
@ewe:
fuck you
ewe
@just sayin: no thanks. i am not interested.
Step back and think
@Josh: Yeah, I feel uncomfortable with that. Straight guys should be “pro-gay” (right term??) simply because it’s the right thing to do, not to get in with chicks or please their girlfriends. And it absolutely shouldn’t take “balls” to be pro-equality/anti-homophobia. Gawd. It’s like saying I have “balls” for being a white guy who is profoundly opposed to anti-black prejudice. I think a lot of straight guys would find this campaign insulting.
I personally like the approach at athleteally.com a lot better.
I also find the choice of narrator bizarre, and his narration offputting. This is not an Australian (or whatever) campaign. GLAAD’s an American organization focusing on American media and culture.
Step back and think
@Jeffree: Hmm. Who did develop it? And why is GLAAD’s name on it? Is it just a trial balloon?
Step back and think
@Step back and think: MY BAD! I went back and read that it’s a prototype developed by advertising students, not by GLAAD. Well, that makes a ton more sense.
I say: Good for you for coming up with a novel idea. But this particular novel idea is really questionable. I recommend going back to the drawing board.
Again, straight guys should be pro-equality and anti-homophobia because it’s the right thing to do.
GeriHew
So if a straight guy would be too embaressed to go out wearing a T-Shirt with a picture of Bisexual Balls on it would that make him a not Pro-Gay str8 dude?
Matt
I think this is a little unrealistic… The way I see it, guys are hesitant to say they are pro-gay because, as was stated, they feel like it might imply that they themselves are gay. Straight guys in relationships, however, would probably be more willing to say that they are pro-gay, since they have physical proof that they are straight, whether she is physically THERE or not. They can say “I have a girlfriend”, and even if there is someone in question of this fact, the guy won’t care because they don’t currently NEED anyone to know that they are straight. They already HAVE a girlfriend, so who cares that other girls assume they are gay?
This campaign, valiant as it may be, addresses only one subgroup of its target audience, which seems to be the group needing the least help in this matter. Straight singles are really the ones that need the biggest push, and unless this idea gets girls running through the streets begging for pro-gay dudes to hook up with, I really don’t think it’s going to help.
Diego
Why are the women icons are one-legged?