You can purchase an autographed copy of Anything But Straight by sending a $35 check or money order to:
-------------------------
Wayne Besen
PO Box 25491
Brooklyn, NY 11202
A controversy has erupted at The University of Iowa, where the pink visitors' locker room at the school's football stadium is being called sexist and homophobic. Well, actually it is sexist and homophobic. However, it is pretty low on my list of issues to worry about. As far as homophobic storms, this is a Category 1. I'm tend to get more worked up over Category 5 political storms, like anti-marriage Constitutional Amendments.
Finally, pink is a pretty color, unless it's on a car or a house. Thinking back to my days playing competitive football and basketball, we didn't care what color the locker room was. We were just content if the paint wasn't terribly chipped. So get back to playing football and stop whining about the color of the locker room.
2 Comments:
Sorry, but I disagree Wayne. When these high-school wise guys engage in this sort of thing, even if it seems insignificant like the color of paint in a locker room, they need to be clamped down upon and taught a lesson.
I remember these types from my own high school quite well. They have to learn that the world neither revolves around nor belongs solely to them. It will do them good if they grasp the fact that insulting someone by linking them to females or to gay people is, indeed, homophobic and sexist.
Imagine if the opponent's locker room was decorated in an African motif, intended as an insult. We need to have respect for ourselves. As such, this kind of crap is a big deal. It's time that these adolescents are taught the facts. It is simply never acceptable to denegrate anyone based upon their identity, period.
posted by Anonymous, at
9/29/2005 12:57 PM
This story reminds me of the Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff Joe Arpaio - who claims to be "America's Toughest Sheriff". Upon taking office he dyed inmates underwear pink and put them back in stripes.
I tend to agree with Wayne on this one -- sometimes there are bigger fish to fry.
