Anti-gay slogans are catchphrases which express opposition to homosexuality. They have been increasingly prevalent since the 1980s, and range from disrespectful, denigrating and pejorative slogans, to those expressing antipathy on religious grounds or moral grounds. They commonly use pejorative terms like "fag" or "faggot". Godhatesfags.com is a prime example.
In political use, anti-gay slogans are commonly used to convey the varied cases against homosexuality. They reflect the spectrum of opinion among those who oppose homosexuality and gay rights. Many are considered homophobic hate speech by those who accept the concept of hate speech.
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1.1 AIDS as a gay disease
2 See also1.2 Homosexuality as a sin Recruitment"">1.3 "Recruitment" 1.4 Homosexuality as a perversion 3 External links and references |
Themes
The basic themes of anti-gay slogans are based on various claims:
AIDS as a gay disease
Related article: gay disease
A common theme of anti-gay slogans is that AIDS is a gay disease which is somehow deserved. One example is the slogan "AIDS Kills Fags Dead" (fag being a pejorative term for a male homosexual).
The "AIDS Kills Fags Dead" slogan is a parody of the advertising slogan "Raid: Kills Bugs Dead", the tagline used in televison advertising for the SC Johnson insecticide. It thus implicitly identifies gay men with vermin fit for extermination.
The slogan appeared during the early years of AIDS in the United States, when the disease was mainly diagnosed among male homosexuals and was almost invariably fatal (see "gay disease"). The slogan caught on quickly as a catchy truism, a chant, or simply something written as graffiti.
It is reputed that the slogan first appeared in public in the early 1990s, when Sebastian Bach, lead singer of the heavy metal band Skid Row, wore it on a t-shirt. Some sources say this happened during a concert; others claim it was in a magazine photo shoot. No photograph has surfaced for either claim, and there is certainly no way of knowing if Sebastian Bach was the first, or merely the most popular, proponent of the saying.
At first, Mr. Bach joked about it on MTV, but he later apologized, claiming that he had many gay friends. He said that while he thought it was funny at the time, that it was comparably upsetting to someone else wearing a "Cancer kills grandmas dead" T-shirt (his grandmother had died of cancer). For years afterward he wore an "AIDS Kills Everyone" t-shirt, after being confronted by his friend, the designer Michael Schmidt. Bach's website does not mention the episode.
The phrase has been used by religious opponents of homosexuality. It was for example seen in 1998 at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a victim of anti-gay violence, when a group led by Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church staged a protest.
Many slogans, including the above, have been used by religious opponents of homosexuality. These have also included "God Hates Fags," "Fear God Not Fags", and "Matthew Shepard Rots In Hell".
Recruitment"">
Another common theme is that homosexuals are somehow predatory on children, or are "recruiting" in secret. A common slogan is "Homosexuals cannot reproduce — so they must recruit" or its variants.
A final theme is that homosexuals perform unnatural sex acts, such as inserting small creatures like a gerbil into their anus (shown on a South Park episode). Many sources have claimed that Richard Gere for example, was injured and thus hospitalized making such an attempt. While this is almost certainly an urban legend, attempting such an act is widely frowned upon as a health risk, as well as the potential legal issues involved.
Homosexuality as a sin
"Recruitment"
Homosexuality as a perversion
See also
External links and references
