ALL SHOOK UP | Some readers said they were disgusted by our online photo feature that debuted in June, ‘Dancer of the Month.’ (Chuck Marcelo/Dallas Voice)
It’s LGBT Pride Month, and what better way to celebrate the diversity of our community than by giving you a small taste of the diversity of opinions that are out there.
In fact, we’re gonna go ahead and make this a regular feature called #IMHO (for those who’ve been living under a rock, the popular hashtag stands for “In My Humble Opinion”). In #IMHO, we’ll relay reader questions, comments and concerns from social media, DallasVoice.com and email — as well as our responses, if warranted. So here goes:
• Speaking of new features, earlier this month we debuted “Dancer of the Month,” which consists of several photos and a brief bio of a male entertainer from one of the local clubs. Not surprisingly, a few readers weren’t thrilled about the idea.
Mark Clark wrote: “Now that’s some fine journalism. Let’s perpetuate our overly sexual stereotypes. The majority of these ‘dancers’ are prostitutes stuck in the cycle of sex/money/drugs. Not cute, Dallas Voice.”
Eric Ramsey wrote: “REALLY! We have decayed to this smut in the local gay publication? Doesn’t this belong more in BlueBoy? I’m revolted by this being representative of the same poor image that we are crucified for in the mainstream. Why not just call it this issue’s Top Hustler and have some truth to the article! I’m sincerely disgusted!”
But our favorite comment came from “Brandan Ballin’allthetime,” who wrote: “Uhhh I can see his PEE SLIT. This isn’t journalism, this is smut. The content of the article could have been tasteful and the article written with more focus on this young man’s goals. Instead the Dallas Voice decided to perpetuate gay stereotypes. Thank you Dallas Voice, nothing says ‘we want equality’ like pee slits and underwear.”
Your concerns are duly noted, but keep in mind that this is a once-a-month feature on our Life+Style blog. When you consider there are at least three gay bars in Dallas devoted primarily to male “pole-dancers,” we’d argue we’re just reflecting the community’s interests, for better or worse. We only wish that in the name of gender equity, we could find some LGBT female entertainers to highlight.
• You may have noticed that our Pet of the Week feature, which appears on Page 10, is no longer technically a Pet of the Week. It’s more like a “Pet of Whenever We Have an Advertising Sponsor and/or Sufficient Space.” It’s also possible that you haven’t noticed this change at all, but we’re glad somebody did.
Linda Porter wrote in an email last week: “Once again, I am disappointed to see no Pet of the Week. It seems there is not enough puppy love in the heart of the Voice to find a little 3-by-3 spot for a needy pet. Even if there is no sponsor every week, would it really break the bank to run it anyway? There is plenty of room for ads to run classifieds; couldn’t a kitty or doggie sneak in there? Your pet-loving readers miss our guaranteed smile every week.”
Trust us, Linda, there is plenty of puppy love around here, and that’s not even counting our affection for pets. On any given day, you’ll find at least one if not two canines roaming the halls of our offices. Still, your point is well taken, and we hereby resolve to resume publishing a Pet of the Week every week no matter what — unless we absolutely need the space for news, in which case we will make every effort to at least post it online. By the way, do others have strong feelings about the future of our Pet of the Week feature? If so, feel free to drop us a line.
• Needless to say, many were dismayed over the Dallas City Council’s recent handling of an LGBT equality resolution, and some placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of Mayor Mike Rawlings.
Carl Smith wrote: “The Mayor says he won’t put the resolution on the agenda because it is a misuse of the council time. Well, look how much time the council has spent on this issue due to his failure to put the resolution on the agenda. If he would have done it, it would be done with and over by now. No folks, the reason he won’t put it on the agenda is because he doesn’t support equality. It’s that simple.”
The equality resolution debacle led to calls for certain council members to be uninvited from participating in the Pride parade in September, which became the subject of our poll question and generated numerous additional barbs:
Alejandro Thompson wrote: “Only if they carry a banner saying: ‘Proud hypocrite!’”
John Myroro wrote: “I suggest a good supply of soft tomatoes be on hand if Rawlings is brazen enough to appear at the pride parade.”
And Bobby Natale wrote: “Why were they being allowed to in the first place??!!!”
Great question, Bobby. How about another float with dancers instead?
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This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition June 21, 2013.