In honor of LGBT Pride Month,
American Apparel debuted its first-ever transgender model, former "America's Next Top Model" contestant Isis King. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation praised the clothing company for its decision to include King, and hopes that it will help promote the phrase "Gay is OK." We wanted to know if the public thinks the campaign is a great idea, or just a gimmick.
Naturally, this is a controversial issue. We'll leave politics alone in the demographics this time, because it's clearly a determining factor, but in the end most people feel American Apparel's decision to use a transgender model was a good thing. Some respondents were uncomfortable with it, but others saw it as a step forward. One commenter wrote, "People need to not care what someone else's preference is, and worry about something worth while."
The Straight Stats
Homosexual voters were all for the use of a transgender model, as would be expected, but how did straight voters respond? Filtering out the LGBT vote, we found that straight voters were less than thrilled about the ads. It was still close, but 53% of the straight vote suggested American Apparel's use of King was just a gimmick.
Females Are Fine With It
Gender was almost as divisive as sexuality. While men were largely unimpressed with the ad, female voters strongly supported it, with more than two-thirds of the vote in favor. In the past, our polls have shown that women are typically much more comfortable with homosexuality, while men sometimes tend to be grossed out by it.
Older Voters Are Against It
Usually, when there's a stark difference between younger and older voters, the shift occurs somewhere around 45. However, in this case, the age difference was a little bit young. The vast majority of people over 35 voted against the ad, while a large number of voters under 35 were impressed. The difference was enormous -- approximately 43%.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about Isis King. We'd love to hear from you!
Please share with those you know, this topic is serious and everyone deserves love and equal opportunity.
My frustration derives from communities who represent/identify themselves by sexual orientation, of which I consider the "queer" community to be a part, taking this and running with it, when it really has nothing to do with sex, or with being gay, directly. I'm simply saying the focus could have been, and in my opinion should have been, expanded to include a message of general acceptance, rather than making "gay OK".
I think this company is using the gay angle for more business.
t's simple, penis=meant to be a man,
vagina=meant to be a woman.
any other confusion is a mental disorder
-show some empathy
smileyface
Hope you find peace and happiness some day