Why I Dislike The Stupid Adam Bouska NoH8 Campaign
Sheree Whitfield uses her NoH8 picture to advertise her fashion label 'She By Sheree'
I’m soooo over folks taking those godawful ineffective Adam Bouska NoH8 pics. They are overly edited, saturated with heavy lights and more about the vanity of the subjects which speaks louder than the eyeliner scribbled on their airbrushed cheeks. If you support marriage equality and want to convince others of the same, is the viable solution to have your photograph taken? These pictures don’t reach the people who need to be converted, they only get attention from celebrities who love any trend and gays for the very same reason. It does not change the minds of Evangelicals (which is the point right?). How much of the proceeds from the pictures go to marriage equality? Why is Adam’s watermark soooo prominent in the pictures? Seems like a pyramid of promotion…promote Adam’s skills, promote the celebs who agree to pose for free and lastly,a little promotion for marriage equality. I seriously doubt that the majority of blacks who voted for prop 8 in California are positively affected by a picture of Perez Hilton’s not so subtle advertising of his website in a pro marriage equality picture. On that same token, the types of people who are against gays marrying each other are the very same people who despise libreal celebrities who think they are more evolved than the average person in middle America & the Southern states, by constantly telling them what to think & how to vote as if Hollywood knows best. I also don’t think Adam Bouska is terribly original, in 2004 Aldo (shoe store) had an AIDS awareness ad campaign that featurde celebrities in white tee shirts with duct taped mouths. What exactly is Adam trying to say in his pictures, that proponents of marriage equality don’t have a voice in this debate? I would challenge that by saying that we do have a voice, we just didn’t mobilize and get the message out to the right people… like this stupid NoH8 campaign, we keep preaching to the choir instead of stepping outside of our microcosm to reach out and teach those who need to be enlightened. That is not the same as being silent or having your voice taken away.
Perez Hilton on a laptop with his website clearly visible... Cross promote much?
Also, if you have ever followed Adam Bouska on Twitter you would witness how he practically hounds celebrities to get them to pose. He phrases his offers to them in ways that suggests they are homophobic if they don’t participate. It’s that kind of overly aggressive gay activism that turns some people off. I call it the Dan Choi effect, Lt. Dan Choi had the support of sooo many when he 1st stepped onto the public scene, but after several months he became a nuisance due to his exhaustive carnival barking as a stupid, self-important, attention whore who will do ANYTHING for some camera time. In the midst of an economy on decline, he was trying to fight for something that, quite frankly, is not a fucking priority at this time (excluding the repeal of DADT). Let’s get the unemployed back to work, let’s get this debt paid down, let’s end these 2 wars and then we can get back to social issues. Dan seems to forget that Unlike the civil rights era, this battle can be delayed until the nation is on more stable ground. He actually said he wouldn’t vote for Obama in the next election as if the republican alternative will do a better job of fighting for gay rights. Does he not know that Obama is battling a Conservative House of Representatives and disproportionally Conservative State Legislatures (Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, Ohio, etc.) who are hell bent on preventing Obama from doing anything but fail?…. I’m getting off point.
The ORIGINAL photos
There’s something that rubs me the wrong way about a serious issue being turned into a cause célèbre.
darea1g
The NOH8 campaign has been very commercialized, and perhaps even a platform for promotion, and maybe a free photo shoot for people who want to take a great shot with some great lighting and an all white shirt. However, I do think one thing is clear, through all of the fog surrounding Adam Bouska’s campaign, some awareness has come to proposition 8. Yes, the minds of the evangelicals and conservatives needs to be changed, however awareness and education needs to be strong amongst each other before we can try and influence the minds of others. I think the campaign has made an issue which started out as a CA issue, has raised awareness and curiosity amongst the gay community. When I first saw “NOH8″ i instantly googled it and began reading the mission of the campaign.
One thing we all have to do, is give Bouska credit. Credit for at least coming up with an idea (although not entirely original) to raise awareness of Proposition 8 and educate those or at least tweak the interests of some to actually read up on the bill.
Aug 08, 2011 @ 10:44 PM
Chase Coxxx
You’re a gay man so your self interest in the issue matters not as you aren’t a member of the group who needs to be convinced. A pretty picture is not going to change the mind of a homophobe and I whole heartedly disagree that the NoH8 campaign broadened the awareness of this issue, the fact that so many states were trying to amend their constitutions is what brought the issue to the forefront. Gay rights has been a widely known issue ever since George Bush used gay panic to scare up votes for his two terms. He promised to protect marriage through a constitutional amendment, but once in office he never mentioned it again… In New York the reason gay marriage is legal has to do with rich power gays promising to financially support the republicans who agreed to cast a vote in favor of marriage equality… It had nothing to do with Miss Adam or her images.
Aug 08, 2011 @ 11:52 PM
Mitch4000
I totally to disagree with you. When you have professional athletes and celebrities showing their support it has impact. Validation is very important in America. Also it is not all about money as you attempted to point out in New York. Those politicians reviewed polls and positions. Yes, they accepted the money but they knew it was a safe decision. I love the images. I think it speaks volumes for the changes that have happened in this country in less than 30 years for the gay community. It took a far longer and too many deaths for African Americans to gain their rights. As an African American gay man I think sometimes people have forgotten this country is far from perfect and so many people had to die to get us where we stand today.
Oct 08, 2011 @ 4:09 AM
ChiPaulina
Terrific post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Ever since this began, I’ve wondered where the heck the money’s going! State and Federal Tax returns that disclose salaries, expenses, etc., haven’t been posted and are long overdue.
Oct 17, 2011 @ 8:14 PM
TsSexyChanel
So glad I am not the only one
Dec 08, 2011 @ 12:33 AM