Are We Laughing With Gay Travel Commercials?
Story by Phillip B. Crook
When you're 10,000 feet in the air, chances are "I can get you off first thing in the morning" and "Just recline and let me service you" are words you only hear in flight attendant fantasies. One thing's for certain, you'd never hear it coming out of former JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater's mouth. But a British Travelocity commercial, on the other hand, capitalized on the slutty gay flight attendant stereotype by presenting us with a slew of such air queens. The company even enlisted gay Star Trek actor George Takei for the cast (look for him in the red uniform). True, some might take offense to the ad, but the concept more pokes fun at the stereotype than presenting it as a reality. And how can you not laugh at "I'm direct, I'm not into stop-overs but I will do the redeye."
While Travelocity laughs with the gays for its commercial, Virgin Atlantic made our demographic the butt of the joke for its gay-themed TV spot. In the set up, two men do what romance novel lovers do: enjoy a spring picnic together, ride bicycles along the boardwalk, soak in a bubble bath and then finally take a trip down the aisle...that is, until we find out it was all a dream. Call us overly sensitive, but we don't think of gay marriage as a nightmare.
