Continues Tradition of Homophobia With ‘Elton and Wife’ Headline

Announcing the adoption of Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John to new dads Elton John (pictured, right) and partner David Furnish (left), the New York Post continued a tradition of antigay language and cartoons, running a story Wednesday with the headline “Elton and wife proud dads.”

The story by David K. Li, which ran in the print edition and online, was free of antigay slurs or language, but the headline, inaccurate, sophomoric, antigay, and anti-female, has elicited responses from blogs and editorial writers.

Gawker’s Brian Moylan points out that apart from the insult to both gay men and women, the joke is journalistically inaccurate, as the men are civil partners in the United Kingdom, though not technically married.

GLAAD reached out to the New York Post’s managing editor, but the newspaper has not changed its headline. In previous years GLAAD has taken to task the newspaper for calling transgender women “she-males” and for its insulting cartoon depictions of gay men. The watchdog group was created 25 years ago in response to the Post’s antigay AIDS coverage.