In its editorial today, The Daily Campus criticized CBS for its hypocrisy in allowing Tim Tebow to appear in a pro-life ad while barring the gay dating site ManCrunch from running a spot that features two straight-seeming football fans discovering their love—or at least lust—for one another.
I agree with the editorial but think it doesn’t go far enough. This isn’t about a conservative ad trumping a liberal one. It’s about the network reinforcing bigotry.
Don’t get me wrong; ManCrunch’s ad isn’t all puppies and roses. It’s definitely PG-13. But so are countless ads that run every year during the Super Bowl without comment. The only difference is the gender of those involved.
By refusing the ad, CBS suggested that gay people are dirtier than straight people. It implied that there is something immoral about two men kissing but not about girls in bikinis selling beer. I guess it’s okay to objectify women, but heaven forbid we acknowledge our gay brothers and sisters.
The time when that kind of thinking was acceptable (as if it ever should have been) is long since over. Homophobia is as disgusting as racism and sexism, and those that argue that it’s an abomination are no better than the people who once claimed that blacks are naturally inferior to whites.
Gay Americans deserve the same rights as everyone else. They should be allowed to marry and adopt and lead lives free from fear. At the very least, they should be able to watch ads for dating sites catered to them.
–Nathaniel French
Opinion Editor