Karate Kick the Sissy Out of Your Son

by WAYMON HUDSON

(Photos: Zubi’s ad campaign for Key Biscayne’s Academy of Martial Arts, courtesy of Miami New Times Blog)

In what has to be the most offensive ad campaign I’ve seen in a long time, Key Biscayne’s Academy Of Martial Arts RDCA in Florida has decided the best way to sell their karate classes is to use gay panic.

The print ads, created by ad agency Zubi, feature young boys doing “feminine things” like wearing their mother’s high heels or playing with make-up. The cure for this “shocking” behavior and the best way to “man up” your obviously burgeoning queer kid? Super butch Karate classes.

These ads are more than just offensive, however. They are actually dangerous.

The blog at Miami New Times points out some glaring hypocrisy with the ad agency, Zubi:

“You know what’s funny? When you go to Zubi’s website they encourage you to “Erase stereotypes.” Turns out they only means Hispanic stereotypes though. Apparently, you’re still free to capitalize on gay stereotypes for advertising. How hypocritical.”

Even more disturbing that the use of the gay-baiting of children or the rank hypocrisy of claiming to “break down stereotypes” while using them in the basest fashion is the very real danger of playing into gay panic and encouraging the bullying or harassment of what they see as “effeminate” boys (although to be clearalmost all boys play dress up. It has nothing to do with being gay). As Andy Towle at Towleroad points out, parents hurting or even killing their sons because they see them as too feminine are not unheard of.

Pedro Jones, 20, of South Hampton fatally beat a 17-month-old infant he was babysitting because the child was “acting like a girl, and not like a boy”. Those ads don’t seem quite so clever or harmless now, do they? Stay tuned to the update next week with contact and conversations with the Ad Agency.

Waymon Hudson is a contributing writer to the Bilerico Project and has been a project contributor since September 2007. Waymon Hudson is also President and Co-Founder of Fight OUT Loud. If you have any question or comments for Waymon, you can contact him at waymon@bilerico.com.