Here we go again. Some art design student made a mock Nike ad that ran in CMYK magazine. The ad’s tag line read: “The only thing worse than going to the ballet is going to the ballet to watch your son.” Some gays apparently got GLAAD involved because the ad is supposedly anti-gay; Ted Rybka, head of GLAAD’s sports desk, in turn got an apology from the magazine’s editor.
I totally get GLAAD and Rybka’s role in this: Some gay people complained and they took it up with the magazine on their behalf. But for crying out loud, this isn’t anti-gay! I am so tired of hearing these complaints every time a company does something that mocks feminine behavior. Welcome to 2009: Feminine behavior DOES NOT EQUAL gay behavior!!
Just because some student is mocking boys who take ballet doesn’t mean the ad is anti-gay! I can’t stand the ballet. Not all gay people like the ballet, and all men in ballet aren’t gay (in fact, it’s likely that most aren’t). So some kid wanted to mock people who choose to take ballet; Gay people mock sports-lovers all the time, coming up with bullshit terms like “butch” to put them in a neat little box. I’m sorry, ballerinas are not a protected class!
Of course, the same people who got up-in-arms about the ad and immediately jumped to the anti-gay conclusion are many of the same people who jumped to the conclusion that Nike had created the ad, instead of doing their homework to learn that Nike had nothing to do with it.
Good for GLAAD for getting the story right. Now, to the rest of you who want to occupy their time with nonsense like this, they have more important things to do. So go take a boxing class or something and let your aggression out that way. Maybe I better do the same . . . .
on Jan 15th, 2009 at 6:35 am
Oh, come on. You know fairly well that most straight men do NOT make that distinction. When the ad was done, the ridicule was clearly aiming at the angle of “Your child may turn out a faggot”. Because that’s what ballet and other feminine tasks do to “healthy” boys. Just ask any father how he feels about having his son engage in “ballet” and other feminine behavior. Delve into his objections, and you’ll find that the root fear is that of homophobia.
Most straight men still see gay men as more generally feminine. I know this bothers you; and frankly, this stereotype bothers me too. It annoys me that the gay “scene” still promotes one legitimate form of behavior, and that it produces devious labels like “straight-acting”. But I do feel GLAAD was right on this one. Nike has a past of playing to homophobic reactions.
on Jan 15th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Thank you Cyd!
Ballet sucks, does that make me anti gay?
on Jan 15th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Thanks for a great post Cyd.
on Jan 15th, 2009 at 10:53 am
“Oh, come on. You know fairly well that most straight men do NOT make that distinction.”
I agree with this. The issue is not with effeminacy or ballet in a vacuum. The ad plays on the fear that effeminate little boys who do ballet will grow up to be homos, not that they will grow up to have a lisp. Good for GLAAD noting that Nike didn’t produce the ad, and good for them continuing to call the ad anti-gay — because it is.
on Jan 15th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
In any case, the concept is neanderthal. Anyone heard of Baryshnikov – not to mention Billy Elliot?
on Jan 15th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Whether the ad was intended as a gay slur or not really isn’t the point. As a gay man, who grew up playing sports, and taking ballet classes, (even on into my college years as I actually minored in ballet) I will say I found the ad offensive. I’m not sure if I was offended because it was “anti-gay” but I am certain I was offended because it stereotypes males who participate in the “sport” of dance. I’m not sure if any of your readers (who like myself love sports) have ever taken ballet classes, but if they have, they would know there is a great degree of athleticism that goes into ballet. I would challenge anyone to an hour of ballet class and see how they hold up! Regardless of the ad’s intent, I am not pleased with the fact it perpetuates a stereotype. Taking the jabs and jibes, as I did constantly growing up, (for doing what I loved) perhaps made me a better and stronger man today, but I don’t wish that upon anyone. It takes an especially strong person to stand up and be man enough to admit they love ballet, but no matter how strong you are, physically and mentally, those very jabs can leave scares that no one should have to bear, as they would be avoidable if we didn’t condone this behavior.
on Jan 15th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
i am not an overly sensitive homo, however, i am sensitive to the fear of effeminate traits. the straight men in our society do have a fear of effeminate behavior. it is associated with homosexuality… STRONGLY associated w/ homosexuality.
this ad plays on that fear and says: the only thing worse than the ballet (something girls like, girls perform, and effeminate guys perform), is seeing your son in the ballet. i have no problem w/ the association between effeminate behavior and homosexuality. i have a problem w/ the NEGATIVE association. if someone wants to think i am more effeminate b/c i like men, then go ahead. but if someone wants to say that’s a bad thing, then that’s not fair, and it sends the wrong message.
on Jan 15th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
The “Raise a champion” line at the bottom of the ad makes the creator’s view clear: your son can’t be a champion if he’s a ballet star.
It’s not outwardly homophobic, but it’s clearly a little anti-gay.
on Jan 16th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Mr. Zeigler, there are so many things wrong with this article that it makes me cringe. Let’s start with “I am so tired of hearing these complaints every time a company does something that mocks feminine behavior.” When exactly will you get tired of mocking feminine behavior? How exactly do you see it comparable that the butch-athlete and the ballerina get equal time when bashing? Do you not live in a patriarchy where everything masculine already has the upper hand? Are you oblivious that masculine = power and importance, while feminine = weak, undesirable. It must take a lot of guts for you to speak out like that and stand up for all those poor disadvantage masculine men. Thanks for making it clear to us that the faux-ad has nothing to do with homophobia. Clearly you’re not homophobic, you’re fine with gays as long as they act like men. Please regale us some more with your moronic misogynistic hymns. They’re swell, self-loath much?
on Jan 16th, 2009 at 2:31 am
Ah, but what this “ad” does is it plays into the macho bullshit idea that being a man means you cannot display any traits or do things that show femininity, because that means little Johnny will grow up to be a “weak little faggot”. Do you really think the average macho straight male is going to read between lines you’re writing here, Cyd? I don’t think so, and if you do, you’re fooling yourself. This may be 2009 but don’t even try to tell me that the majority of straight men don’t presume feminine boys to be gay. What rock are you living under?
It’s also offensive because it implies ballet reduces your son into an embarassment. Do you consider that to be something real men do? Be embarassed over what their sons do? What kind of Father is that? If that’s true, that’s stupendously pathetic, and I feel sorry for you.
on Jan 16th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Totally agree with the last comment. It’s highly offensive, because not enough with playing with the association ballet-femenitty and homosexuallity, it also condemns ballet children to be weak the future, to intend that doing ballet means you are less than another child. Bad message to parents and slur for those whose children do that.
on Jan 17th, 2009 at 9:23 am
As someone who used to read CMYK (which is a magazine for graphic artists/designers and students, which provides a lot of “how to” tips and tricks, and offers opportunities for budding young art directors to get their work published), I do find the over-sensitivity of some groups (gays, in this case) to send a chilling message to the corporate world and to artists.
You know what artists’ job is? To provoke. And that’s what this ad did. But all the complaining by us gays means that the corporate world, the media world (magazine publishers) and artists are going to be afraid to upset our delicate sensibilities. And you know what–they’re not going to use us in their ads.
Someone just told me about a Wendy’s commercial that some Asian people claim is racist because an Asian guy in the ad is a “stereotype.” I haven’t seen the commercial (or the mock Nike ad in question) am worried that all this complaining will mean that we won’t see any Asian people in advertising at all (not that we see many anyways). As an Asian person, I WANT to see my people portrayed in TV and movies and magazine covers and advertising (just as I want gay people seen). But you know what–we can’t just be the perfect role model everytime.
This ad was likely INTENTIONALLY playing off of the straight male fear of ballet being gay. Have you seen Billy Elliot (the movie or the musical–with music by Elton John)? That’s what it was about.
For a design student hoping to get a job as an art director in an advertising agency, doing provacative work is mandatory. This ad was likely chosen for just that. It was well-designed, had an attention-grabbing, edgy message, was memorable, was something that could be used in a campaign (“Raise a champion” was this student’s version of “Just do it”). It probably deserved to be published for those reasons (again, I haven’t actually seen it).
There is plenty of homophobia out there, but we really need to pick our battles and not sound like whiners.
on Jan 17th, 2009 at 11:12 am
OK, I saw the ad in question. Lots of Photoshop work in that. The tone reminds me of those Dennis Leary commercials* that are laden with attitude. Hostile, even. This is an ad about athletics, about competition. An aggessive attitude is part of that.
* http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw25FtOgNms
“You know what I’m sick of hearing about? The Internet”
“You wanna surf? Move to Maui.”
on Jan 17th, 2009 at 11:38 am
You’re such a schmuck Cyd. After your bizarre “liking” of Ms. Palin, I don’t know why I even come back here (other than the nice pictures).
I know you have an issue with anything that suggests that people think gay means sissy, since you want all your straight buds to think of you as a macho guy, completely different from the stereotype. The stereotype that makes you wish you weren’t gay and hate yourself a little bit.
But come on, this ad was implying that it sucks, or your child is less of a man, if they don’t do traditional masculine things. You know what isn’t a traditional masculine thing, sucking dick or taking it. So, despite your weird insistence that people not equate gay with non-traditional, they do.
This was made by a student who has a problem with non-traditional boys. How many of your readers suffered because they weren’t big macho football players?
Oh, and sidenote, a guy who can really do ballet can probably lift more than you. and don’t forget, many NFL players take ballet classes for coordination, etc.
on Jan 19th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
a student made it, its not officially nike
http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com
on Mar 11th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Lynn Swann was the most famous football player who took ballet; his on-field coordination was amazing and at least some of that should be attributed to his ballet training.
University of Michigan football team takes ballet.
I met a guy at the gym who was the former starting QB at University of Arizona. He told me how they (the team) took ballet and how much it helped him. Primarily, as a QB, it helped him open up his hips so that he could get into his drops easier. He also said how brutally hard it was and that you’d never see an uglier bunch of dancers than the team. BUT, they went to a Bowl game that year.
on Mar 2nd, 2010 at 6:56 pm
offensive, it’s sad that nike would go this route. Regardless if it clearly states the hatred towards the gay community, it does produce the idea that being “effeminate” is a bad thing and instills that into the average Nike consumer. It’s wrong. Nike has a responsibility, and many people look up to Nike and the image it creates. Things may appear to be just a “joke”, but it’s these kinda jokes that cause hate crimed and hatred in general toward the gay community.