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Zachary Zydonik
Professor Lori Bedell
CAS 137H
24 September 2015
Gay is Good
On June 26th of 2015 the United States Supreme Court, with a vote of 5-4, legalized
same-sex marriage across the fifty states, upholding the 14th Amendment. (Chappel) The date
marks a tremendous step forward in the battle for equal rights for homosexuals. After countless
attempts to strike down the right to same sex marriage in the United States through numerous
acts such as the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the validation of same sex marriage puts the
nation at the forefront of tackling the acceptance of the new federal law. At the front lines of the
army protecting this emerging ideology include various online campaigns seeking to calm fears
and displace negative commonplaces. Specifically, the YouTube videos, “The Ultimate AntiGay Marriage Ad” and the “Tale of Two Dads” promote same sex equality either by mocking
heterosexists, challenging the logical claims in their arguments, or through use of pathetic
appeal, facilitated by the emotional connection between father and daughter/son.
The video, “The Ultimate Anti-Gay Marriage Ad”, uses the classical representations of
characters in a typical household to establish the attention of viewers. At the beginning of the
video the mother is shown setting the table, fulfilling the typical housewife role that every
American can relate to. To normalize the household even further, the father enters the scene
appearing to have arrived home from a long day’s work. Just within these two characters, the
producers of the video have established the environment of an “expected” common household,
which most heterosexists would be able to relate. By utilizing standard American characters, the
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producers are able to project their message, without the use of a gay character, which some
viewers may immediately turn away from. The ethos established here ensures that viewers will
be able to relate to any claims made by the characters.
With familiar characters established, the producers used absurd homophobic statements
to make the arguments against same sex marriage appear ridiculous, or even humorous. The
flawed logic behind the claims made in the video encourage the viewer to question the validity of
the negative association attached to same sex marriage. An ideal example of this occurs when the
daughter of the couple appears and asks, “If gay people are allowed to get married, will you still
love me?” ("The Ultimate”). When the father hesitates, glances at his wife for affirmation, and
concludes, “Lets just hope it doesn’t come to that,” the viewer is left puzzled ("The Ultimate”).
Although the father may disagree with idea, same sex marriage will not break apart his family.
The producers stressed this point here, by mocking the ideas held by a homophobic couple,
showing that the man can still love his daughter, whether couples of the same gender marry or
not. The logic in the argument falls apart across the entire video, including the final remark by
the narrator, “Help keep straight couples from getting divorced and hating their children” ("The
Ultimate”). There is no proven correlation between the marriage of gay couples and straight
couples getting divorced or hating their children. This relation becomes blatantly obvious given
the stern tone accompanied by such a ridiculous remark. By utilizing logic in a sense that is
supposedly valid, the unraveling heterosexists’ merciless logic is revealed.
The second video, “Tale of Two Dads,” takes a different approach to promoting gay
equality. The beginning of the video focuses on two different males who the narrator tells
viewers are fathers-to-be. Immediately, every person who has ever had a father figure in their life
can create a connection with the two males. They might associate the men with the stereotypical
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role of father here, assuming that they will be caring, passionate for their spouse, and willing to
do anything they could possibly do for their children. The producers strategically made the men
appear as two heterosexual males, by showing only one of the men in a picture with a woman,
who is at the beginning of the video assumed to be the wife, as well as never showing the men
together. Most viewers, especially the heterosexists who the producers are targeting, will
understand the fathers and appreciate their efforts in preparing for the arrival of their child. It is
not until the end of the video that the two men finally meet and embrace, revealing their true
sexual identity. The heterosexist would doubt the feelings he/she felt for the men as the video
reveals their relationship to each other. The producers are aiming for viewers to realize that
taking care of a child can be done effectively by any two parents, whether they be male and
female or of the same sex, but by relating the character to the typical father figure, more viewers
with varying backgrounds and beliefs will likely remain attentive to the video.
By incorporating scenes that grab the viewer and pull out their real emotions the video is
effective in encouraging the support of same sex rights. A heartwarming sensation is associated
with the two fathers as they caress their newborn child and stare gleamingly into her eyes. By
creating this strong emotional appeal to the viewer it becomes hard to want to rip the child from
their hands and not allow them to take her home. The heterosexist cannot deny the love that
spills from the scene and therefore would have to question their willingness to bring hatred into a
scene as such. Through the use of emotions, the video becomes incomparably effective in
producing the desired support for same sex marriage.
The two videos are effective in supporting gay rights, but in very different ways. As
described, the first mocks heterosexists, focusing on the negative connotations usually associated
with same sex marriage; however, ““Tale of Two Dads” focuses on the positives of allowing gay
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marriage. Both videos center their characters on figures known in the common household, but for
different purposes. The first uses the mother, father, and daughter roles to create a household that
would inevitably fall apart if gay marriage becomes legal, while the other video combines use of
two father roles with a daughter role that relies on the legalization of gay marriage for their
sustainably. The pathetic appeal to viewers also differs between the two videos. “The Ultimate
Anti-Gay Marriage Ad” generates a negative image of gay marriage in the household, all the
while making the scene appear illogical, while “Tale of Two Dads” creates a positive image in
the American household, upholding the value of fathers in a child’s life. Through use of different
tactics, the videos are still effective in getting the message desired across.
As the United States progresses into the future, the acceptance of same sex marriage will
likely increase. Now protected by the 14th Amendment, equality will thrive. Critics of ads such
as “The Ultimate Anti-Gay Marriage Ad” and the “Tale of Two Dads” must consider same sex
marriage with a positive attitude. The marriage of same sex couples is becoming more and more
frequent, and therefore the acceptance of such behavior must follow in suit.
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Works Cited
Chappel, Bill. "Supreme Court Declares Same-Sex Marriage Legal In All 50 States." The TwoWay. NPR, 26 June 2015. Web. 25 Sept. 2015. <http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwoway/2015/06/26/417717613/supreme-court-rules-all-states-must-allow-same-sexmarriages>.
"Love Is Changing History - "Tale of Two Dads"" YouTube. The Trevor Project, 11 Oct. 2013.
Web. 25 Sept. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQLvIXpvwfM>.
"Strategic Plan & Mission." Strategic Plan & Mission. The Trevor Project, 2015. Web. 25 Sept.
2015. <http://www.thetrevorproject.org/pages/strategic-plan>.
"The Ultimate Anti-Gay Marriage Ad." YouTube. NonRandomNonSense, 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 25
Sept. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jrngYNGNeE>.