Brody's Scribbles... "Those Old Queens never listen! It's always about sex with them!"

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) Sept 27 | A self identified young reader from New Hampshire sent me the JPEG of the advert to the left along with a strongly worded e-mail opinion expressing his disgust and incensed displeasure with its layout, not criticising the cause it promotes, but rather for the depiction of the three young bare-chested young men at the bottom of the ad. His complaint stated that there was absolutely no need whatsoever to have them half-naked, and he also questioned as to the motives of the advertising agency that created it, as there were no Lesbians or even Transgendered persons included/depicted.

He then went on to state that he is tired of the barrage of adverts that place emphasis on sex, especially given the topic matter, and giving appearance that all the LGBT community cares about first and foremost is the sexual aspects of their lives. Then he finished with the quote I used as the headline for this article.

I have previously resided in Miami and have attended White Parties there over the years. These functions have raised millions for HIV-Aids research and prevention and were begun as a small fundraising event for the Health Crisis Network in Miami, Florida, in 1985, bringing in a total of $16,000. In 1995, more events joined the White Party, including "The Victory Party" and "Muscle Beach". In 1998, the Health Crisis Network merged with Community Research Initiative, and the White Party brought in over $2 million for their efforts. It is now the largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser in the world. With DJs and artists attending from all over the world, the music has come to be renowned and a central part of the party. White Party CDs have been produced since 1996.

Today Care Resource (Community AIDS Resource) governs the party. It operates with over 100 employees in both Dade and Broward County providing medical, counseling, testing, psychosocial, a food bank and more to their clients. White Party Week Miami attracts thousands of participants with a week of events, including the signature White Party at Vizcaya, Muscle Beach Party, and exclusive Women's events. White Party Week Miami has been featured in W, Vanity Fair, Glamour magazine, The New York Times, and has been the subject of documentaries on Bravo, The Travel Channel, the BBC, Playboy Channel, and others.

Does the ad really serve a greater purpose by having half naked men in it? And what of the young man's complaint that its not inclusive? The greater LGBT community does need to perform a critical self examination as it strives to obtain equality and acceptance. Granted, "Sex Sells" has long been accepted practise for Ad agencies, but given the theme of this particular event as envisioned by its founders; 

The all-white clothing theme was chosen by co-founder Frank Wager because, as he said, "White stands for purity. White is elegant, non-political, non-combative and makes people look just plain beautiful."

 I would tend to agree with my young reader in the Granite State that this advert is not appropriate and doesn't reflect favorably on the event at all nor on the greater LGBT community.