Several same-sex couples have created a joint video that shows their response to watching antigay ads.
The YouTube vlogging couples, among them the The Advocate’s 40 Under 40 honorees Will Shepherd and R.J. Aguiar, greet the camera and introduce their happy and healthy relationships. They then record themselves reacting to commercials opposing same-sex marriage and adoption by gay people.
The ads include the much-spoofed “Gathering Storm” commercial funded by the antigay group National Organization for Marriage, which shows a racially diverse cast expressing fears about marriage equality against a backdrop of dark clouds and lightning. Also included is the “Where’s Your Mommy?” ad that shows a child crying at the feet of two men in a playground.
“Gay people are obviously just disembodied legs,” Shepherd quips, sitting next to his fiancé.
“It is possible to want to laugh and cry at the same time?” asks vlogger Nicola, beside his partner of five years.
In a recent interview with The Advocate, Shepherd called the video-sharing platform YouTube an ideal outlet for breaking down stereotypes and ignorance, much like the kind demonstrated in these antigay ads.
“You’re letting people see what [gay people] do with their lives, and they’re not sitting around and plotting the destruction of the American family,” Shepherd said. “They actually eat food and go grocery shopping and have pets and have jobs. I liked the idea of painting this picture that was against what people were thinking about gay people at the time. YouTube was the perfect platform to do it.”
The video was posted on the YouToube channel of Michael Rizzi, who also participated with his boyfriend of one year. Watch the clip below.
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