Irony has long been one of London’s most prodigious exports, but is it in short supply among its more literal-minded millennials? Are they suffering an irony deficiency?
The official posters for this year’s Pride In London celebration are being cancelled after a considerable backlash: People think the posters focus far too much on heterosexual people. People are particularly perturbed by the poster that says “Being homophobic is gay,” which they feel promoters a negative connotation for the word “gay.”
Related: Straight NYC cop’s Pride message goes viral for all the right reasons
The images, innocently enough, were built around statements heard from Londoners on Pride, which an artist then interpreted into images for the online posters.
People are also upset the posters make no mention of bisexuals or the transgender community.
Imagine being a kid at school who dies a little every time they hear something called "sooooo gay" and then seeing this trash. pic.twitter.com/V4v1u1v3mt
— Ryan James (@RyanJL) June 29, 2017
the new posters from pride london make it crystal clear they would rather straight people feel welcome at pride than qpoc or trans people
— kate (@eatmenIikeair) June 29, 2017
'Most diverse pride' & not a single visibly bi or trans poster beyond two mentioning all LGBT. Hugely disappointing. https://t.co/QodoO0vE8g
— Meg-John Barker (@megjohnbarker) June 29, 2017
As the BBC reports, even Gay Times‘ deputy editor Ryan Butcher is decrying the posters, saying the “execution has been abysmal”:
“The word ‘gay’ being used as a pejorative is one of the many reasons LGBTQ+ folk grow up with mental health problems, and are bigger suicide risks than straight people.”
Pride in London organizers ultimately decided to remove the images, saying in a statement:
“It is clear we misjudged the content of some of the messages in this poster series, undermining the individuality, importance, and dignity of the LGBT+ community.
This was never our intention.
We are genuinely sorry to have played any part in something that appears to devalue our own community.
Our ambition is, and always will be, to promote and celebrate the visibility and diversity of London’s LGBT+ community, to stand up against hate, and campaign for true equality at home and abroad.”
The Pride In London’s Pride Parade takes place Saturday, July 8.
What do you think of the posters? Are they as offensive as the complaints suggest, or are people making a big deal out of nothing? Sound off in the comments below.
Chris
So much for irony.
J.T.
Why should GAY Pride have anything to do with bisexuals and transvestites? Assuming bisexuals really exist, that is.
DavidIntl
That is WAY too extreme, and of course bisexuals really exist. Most of us are bisexual to some degree. But yes, it is silly that we can’t celebrate gay pride anymore without being accused of excluding other sexual minorities. Keep calm, everyone…
mhoffman953
@J.T.
Agreed, but they’ll keep pushing the crazy trans people to the front
burningtyger
@MHoffman, trans people are not crazy! They may occasionally get strident, but not being heard Ir seen tends to push one to the breaking point.
And JT, “Gay” pride, of necessity, includes lesbians, bi people, ace, and other queer folk. We are outsiders, multicolored birds-of-a-feather with slightly different plumage in the same boat. If we don’t work together, things could turn out as badly as that mixed metaphor in my last sentence.
mhoffman953
@burningtyger
Yes they are. Anyone who thinks they are born biologically wrong or someone who thinks that by having a doctor chop off the things that make up that person’s identity is crazy.
There are people who claim their gender changes day-to-day and identify as gender fluid. That is mental illness. What if I claimed my race changes each day? What if someone feels they were born the wrong species?
Just look at this guy: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3356084/I-ve-gone-child-Husband-father-seven-52-leaves-wife-kids-live-transgender-SIX-YEAR-OLD-girl-named-Stefonknee.html
He is a 52 year-old man but identifies as a 6 year-old transgender girl. Are you saying he’s not crazy?
Heywood Jablowme
You would have liked their other rejected poster that said “Being Bisexual Is So Gay” – yuk, yuk, yuk.
ethan_hines
I don’t think there is anything wrong with the posters. The whole idea IS to attract more straight people so they do get all “Where’s my Straight Pride” on us. If they are happy all the better.
Jack Meoff
I thought the idea was to attract the straight people so we could seduce and convert them.
burningtyger
I think people must have a sense of humor about the whole thing. It may nit have been the smartest way to put it, but it IS FUNNY.
Glynn
Yes, I agree burningtyger – Gay’s have a history of appropriating those words that TRY to hurt us, QUEER being the most obvious example. But then again many right-on Queers don’t get irony and totally missed the whole meaning of Tori’s comment on the poster. Time to turn-it-around and grab ‘GAY’ back.
Mandrake
There has been a surge of exclusions against what groups may march, who Pride should include, and more political considerations than ever. Most of these issues were non-existent 5 years ago. Pride organizers are starting to show more hubris than pride, and the result will be the death of Pride Parades. Political correctness will harm all we’ve strived for.
Lvng1Tor
Yeah…this was not well thought through. Borderline homophobic but completely insulting and once again, focussing on making “allies” feel like pride is for them and not us.