Lez Keep It Real

It seems that the best way to get adolescents to pull up their pants instead of wearing them around their knees these days is to threaten their sexuality.

I’m sure you’ve all heard about the campaign to rid this country of saggy pants. (sigh, aren’t their more important things to focus on???) I’ll confess that when I see a youngin’ walking around with his pants hanging just above his knees, I roll my eyes. Not because it offends me, but because that style is sooo 1998.

Kidding. But seriously, isn’t that fashion statement as played out as the flipped-up collar or the Ashton Kutcher trucker hats? Not only does it look absolutely ridiculous, it looks horribly uncomfortable as well. I’m all for a shift in the tides of baggy pants, but I wouldn’t threaten someone’s sexuality in order to do it.

According an article on NPR, “a new campaign by the city of Dallas, TX targets the hip-hop style of wearing your pants low enough that your boxers are showin - and part of your posterior, too.” The campaign even has a signature song called, “Pull Your Pants Up.” The song links saggy pants to being gay with its use of what could be considered, homophobic lyrics. An accompanying billboard has also been erected (horrible pun, my bad!) saying that it is just plain rude to be, “walking around showin’ your behind to other dudes.”

Shame on the campaign organizers for this one. Since when is it a good idea to shame adolescents in order to get a point across? How about the fact that you are spreading homophobia? “Pull your pants up or people will think you’re gay?” Amazing concept, because really,  what youth would want to be perceived as being gay, especially those who wear their pants low, listen to hardcore rap and build their whole reputation on being hard. In their minds, being gay means being soft. So, these campaign geniuses may think they are brilliant, flipping the so-called script on the whole baggy pants issue. What these morons don’t realize is that they are simply enforcing a stereotype that is detrimental to gay men - that all gay men are weaklings, that being gay is wrong, and that gay men lack any masculinity.

I work in the advertising industry, and I would never use racism, homophobic rhetoric or sexism to get my point across in a “clever” campaign.

But, hey that’s just me.

Don’t forget about the Lez Keep it Real Contest!

pull your pants up, saggin’, baggy pants, homophobic lyrics