Even dykes say "Yay!"
March 21, 2012 10:09 AM   Subscribe

Chick-Fil-A is known as much for supporting anti-gay organizations as it is for its tasty chicken. Nevertheless, drag queen divas assure you it's okay to Chow Down (at Chick-Fil-A).
posted by Lou Stuells (171 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
I saw the mattresses thing and I thought, my day can't get much better. Thanks for proving me wrong Internet.

Thanks.
posted by Fizz at 10:12 AM on March 21, 2012


This is Willam Belli, a contestant from the newest season of RuPaul's Drag Race. There are bound to be SPOILERS posted in this thread, just want to warn people right off the bat....
posted by hermitosis at 10:12 AM on March 21, 2012 [4 favorites]


Tried not to like it. Failed.
posted by darkstar at 10:18 AM on March 21, 2012


Spoiling the results of a 'Reality' Competition TV show so I don't have any reason to watch it is NOT a bad thing.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:19 AM on March 21, 2012


Maybe you should have tried to not like it.
posted by Doohickie at 10:20 AM on March 21, 2012


Not all of us who have dressed in drag are gay. Some of us are bi. So, stop profiling already.
posted by Ardiril at 10:21 AM on March 21, 2012 [8 favorites]


Oh, Willam. SPOILER: What did he do to get kicked off?
posted by josher71 at 10:21 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


Love it, but I wish people would learn that parody songs are not obligated to be the same length as the original song.
posted by Bookhouse at 10:21 AM on March 21, 2012 [9 favorites]


No WIRE HANGERSsplit infinitives!!!
posted by darkstar at 10:22 AM on March 21, 2012


Chick-Fil-A is not nearly as well known for it's anti-gay position as it is for it's tasty chicken.
posted by lstanley at 10:23 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


A drag queen has absolved me of my guilt of still occasionally eating Chick-Fil-A! Happy Hump Day! Chicken for everyone!!!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:23 AM on March 21, 2012


J/k, split infinitives are cool too. I'm a tolerant dude.
posted by darkstar at 10:23 AM on March 21, 2012


Chick-Fil-A is not nearly as well known for it's anti-gay position as it is for it's tasty chicken.

I guess it depends on where you live and who you truck with. The name of the chain would be followed by "MORMON" in just about any word association test I can imagine.
posted by hermitosis at 10:25 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


more like Shitty-School-Cafeteria-"Chicken"-Fil-A amirite
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 10:25 AM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


I've always preferred Los Pollos Hermanos.
posted by malocchio at 10:27 AM on March 21, 2012 [23 favorites]


I have been humming or singing this song since I heard it on Monday.

My coworker in the neighboring cubicle asked me why I keep singing about waffle fries.
posted by munchingzombie at 10:28 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


Yay I can eat Chick-Fil-A again!! I would refuse to eat there, but stare lustily at it from across the food court.
posted by Sweetmag at 10:30 AM on March 21, 2012


The dirty shame of financially supporting an agenda I'm against is part of the taboo appeal... also their cheese sauce
posted by MangyCarface at 10:32 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


Cute video, but Chick-Fil-A still doesn't get my money. Gimme Popeye's any day. I can get red beans 'n rice there, too.
posted by chuq at 10:34 AM on March 21, 2012 [8 favorites]


The name of the chain would be followed by "MORMON" in just about any word association test I can imagine.

Wait. Mormon? Chick-Fil-A was started by a Baptist, right? Did they switch teams?
posted by gurple at 10:35 AM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


For those of us without YouTube at work, what has changed that would make me want to give them my money?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:36 AM on March 21, 2012


McDonald's southern chicken sandwich is a pretty good facsimile. Yes, I know McDonald's is evil in its own ways, but at least they own it and aren't as self-righteous about doing the wrong thing.
posted by mccarty.tim at 10:40 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


Wait. Mormon? Chick-Fil-A was started by a Baptist, right? Did they switch teams?

My formative years were spent in Arizona, where the Mormons pretty much ran the show. As teenagers we didn't know who owned it, but they were run and staffed almost exclusively by Mormons, and we knew that the company itself had religious leanings.

Anyhow, I just meant to throw in my two cents that they are definitely as associated with Jesus as they are with chicken.
posted by hermitosis at 10:40 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


I am so happy that this was shot at the new Hollywood Chik-Fil-A. It honestly makes me feel better for being weak and giving them my money.
posted by infinitewindow at 10:43 AM on March 21, 2012


For those of us without YouTube at work, what has changed that would make me want to give them my money?

Satire.
posted by mykescipark at 10:44 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


My cousin is planning on starting a Chick-Fil-A franchise when he gets enough money. I wonder if I could talk him into letting me into the place on Sunday to run an Atheist greasy spoon where everything is Halal. Maybe also ask if I could take down the S. Truet Cathy posters and put up some George Soros pop art.
posted by mccarty.tim at 10:45 AM on March 21, 2012


They make damn good chicken sandwiches, though.
posted by Malice at 10:45 AM on March 21, 2012


Why the fuck would I want to blow up the Chick-fil-A? It's fucking delicious!
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 10:47 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


I've heard people argue without a hint of irony that liberals are intolerant for boycotting Chick Fil A over the company's political views and donations.

Kind of a "Why won't you tolerate my intolerance?" stance, minus winking the self-awareness you usually hear with it.
posted by mccarty.tim at 10:48 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


Anyone who doesn't know that Chick-Fil-A is down with Jesus doesn't live anywhere where Chick-Fil-A is a thing. They close on Sundays, for Christ's sake.

Anyway, fuck them and their Stepford customer service rituals and their tasty chicken. I needed to lose weight anyway.
posted by blucevalo at 10:48 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


Well, when was the last time Burger King toys ever dared to ask the tough questions?
posted by mccarty.tim at 10:50 AM on March 21, 2012


A Zaxby's is about to open down the street from the Chick-fil-A near my house, so my already strained loyalties to deliciousness are about to get split.
posted by Maaik at 10:51 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


I've heard people argue without a hint of irony that liberals are intolerant for boycotting Chick Fil A over the company's political views and donations.

Kind of a "Why won't you tolerate my intolerance?" stance, minus winking the self-awareness you usually hear with it.


Those people are the same people who argue in one breath that homosexuality is "destructive" and "unnatural" and in the next breath say "I can assuredly say it's my life mission to love all people."
posted by blucevalo at 10:52 AM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]



Okay, that sucks. I knew they were Christian, but I didn't know they actively did stuff that offends me.

It's not so much that it's the food, but their diet lemonade is the absolute best!

Oh well, I have lemons, I have water and I have Splenda. I can make my own.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:53 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


They close on Sundays, for Christ's sake.

Literally.
posted by crookedneighbor at 10:56 AM on March 21, 2012 [42 favorites]


Whole video was great but this is where I lost control of my laughter --

Someday somebody's gonna make you
wanna gobble up a waffle fry
But no, no don't you know Chic-Fil-A say
You make the Baby Jesus cry .....

posted by TangerineGurl at 10:56 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


Wait. Mormon? Chick-Fil-A was started by a Baptist, right? Did they switch teams?

Nope, the people running Chick-fil-A have nothing to do with Mormonism (aside from a few franchises in AZ, apparently).
posted by BurntHombre at 10:56 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


And Utah. I grew up in Utah, and it was all over there, and I think I vaguely assumed it was Mormon-related, too, because of the closed-Sunday thing, in Utah.
posted by gurple at 11:00 AM on March 21, 2012


The Chik-Fil-A in Hollywood recently had it's first official "Daddy-Daughter Date Night," which I think we can all agree is David Lynch-level creepy.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:05 AM on March 21, 2012 [10 favorites]


DAMMIT. My sincere, deeply-held admiration of drag queens vs my hatred of Chik-Fil-A's bigotry leads to CONFLICT.
posted by Edison Carter at 11:09 AM on March 21, 2012


At one place that I used to live at, the driving directions for telling out-of-town friends how to get there involved one intersection where the most visible landmark was a Chick-Fil-A on the corner. This almost backfired on me once when I gave the directions to someone from a part of the country that has yet to be blessed by the Chick-Fil-A franchise.

Unfamiliar with the chain, he said that up until the point he saw the resturant, he was looking for a misogynist gas station, and was unsure of how he'd be able to tell they were their attitude on women from the roadside.
posted by radwolf76 at 11:11 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


The Chik-Fil-A in Hollywood recently had it's first official "Daddy-Daughter Date Night," which I think we can all agree is David Lynch-level creepy.

Depending on what part of Hollywood it's in, that might bring this whole post full circle into David Lynch-level awesome. ;)
posted by Celsius1414 at 11:12 AM on March 21, 2012


everywhere i've lived they've been southern baptist. they'd hire mormons though if they didn't have enough kids in their youth group to staff the drive through.

as to their anti-gay stance, i know a group of LGBTQ people who go in with the free ice cream cone coupons, wearing pride shirts and rainbow pins, obviously gay paired up. they get their ice cream cone, take up some seats, show the staff what normal gay people are like. it's a pretty successful protest. it's not angry and they don't spend any money there.
posted by nadawi at 11:12 AM on March 21, 2012 [21 favorites]


So, I have weird mixed feelings about Chick-Fil-A. I was born in the town where Chick-Fil-A started, have met Mr. Cathy on many occasions, stayed at one of his houses, and went to the same high school/played on the same sports teams as his grandsons (who are very nice, and very pretty, and did not act like they are loaded). My high school was a fairly decrepit, underfunded public high school, and Chick-Fil-A kept the sports teams funded.

I do have to say that I come from a Southern town that somehow manages to be one of the country's top producers of sanctimonious Christians, and as one of the few Catholics in town I developed a very low threshold for that brand of BS. In all of my dealings with the Cathy family (I believe his sons run most of the operation at this point), no one has been anything but gracious and normal. And this is in a place where people don't think twice about asking strangers if they have come to accept Jesus Christ as their absolute Savior.

So, I've always managed to eat Chick-Fil-A and imagine that the money I spend goes to paying for scoreboards and track team uniforms, but that's kind of like imagining that my tax dollars just cover wild donkey management and school lunches.

I deeply disagree with some of the policies Chick-Fil-A supports, like offering college scholarships only to "Christian" employees (as the policy was during the late 1990s), or supporting Focus on the Family. I eat there less and less because it's getting harder to reconcile that disagreement with cravings for delicious waffle fries as time goes on. I enjoy the food and the people who run it at the top have been very personally nice to me, but it's hard to patronize a business that funds backwards organizations that are hostile to people I love. So, other than the occasional breakdown I stay away.

I don't know the politics of Truett's sons, so I hold a tiny wish that this will not be permanent.
posted by Alison at 11:12 AM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


I had Chick Fil-A once. I wasn't impressed.
posted by jonmc at 11:17 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


I don't understand why, whenever this topic comes up, people express such difficulty with not eating there.

I mean, yes, you get used to one kind of fast food and you crave it and want to eat it. Yeah. But then you shift to another one and the same thing happens, right? Give it six months and you'll be just as into Taco Time, or whatever, right?
posted by gurple at 11:26 AM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


Beats eating at Chick-Fil-B.
posted by Edison Carter at 11:26 AM on March 21, 2012 [11 favorites]


Appropos of nothing... I know something creepier than Daddy Daughter Date Night.
A DJ playing "Let's Get It On" at a Father Daughter Dance. At a Catholic School.
posted by luckynerd at 11:31 AM on March 21, 2012 [4 favorites]


I don't understand why, whenever this topic comes up, people express such difficulty with not eating there.

I mean, yes, you get used to one kind of fast food and you crave it and want to eat it.


I'm gonna stop you right there, because you've answered your own question.
posted by Maaik at 11:32 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


ppropos of nothing... I know something creepier than Daddy Daughter Date Night.
A DJ playing "Let's Get It On" at a Father Daughter Dance. At a Catholic School.


Only way you can top that is by telling me it was in the South.
posted by Edison Carter at 11:36 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


Cute video, but Chick-Fil-A still doesn't get my money. Gimme Popeye's any day.

But don't you realize Popeye's is a front for the Vatican?!? IT'S EVEN CALLED POPE YES!!!1!
posted by Mchelly at 11:41 AM on March 21, 2012 [28 favorites]


An ex-employee once told me that Chik-Fil-A bastes/soaks their fillets in pickle juice before cooking them. I wondered if that was the pickle surprise.
posted by octobersurprise at 11:42 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


I havent eaten at Chik-Fil-A since late last year. I shall not falter in my vow, even when they roll out peach milkshakes for spring.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 11:45 AM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


mccarty.tim: "I've heard people argue without a hint of irony that liberals are intolerant for boycotting Chick Fil A over the company's political views and donations."

People are not intolerant when they express their beliefs through a personal boycott. Mary is uncomfortable with Chick Fil A's positions on marriage equality so she refrains from eating there. There's nothing intolerant about that.

The intolerance part comes when people start asking for Chick Fil A to be kicked out of retail spaces, like what recently happened at NYU. The letter accompanying NYU's decision puts it better than I could: "There is a fundamental difference between personal boycott and institutional prohibition. To ban any entity from campus for ideological reasons is, in most every case, to limit freedom of expression."
posted by falameufilho at 11:46 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


Best thing all day. Love it.
posted by PuppyCat at 11:46 AM on March 21, 2012


Metafilter: Can you maybe NOT ACT like not eating at a fast food restaurant is as straining and challenging to your resolve as the fucking Montgomery Bus Boycott?"
posted by Renoroc at 11:46 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


Love the video. Still not interested in eating there.
posted by Splunge at 11:52 AM on March 21, 2012


Oh, Willam. SPOILER: What did he do to get kicked off?

Apparently all will be explained at the reunion. I was bummed when he was kicked off - he was one of my favorites!

Loved the video.
posted by SisterHavana at 11:53 AM on March 21, 2012


They had the father/daughter date night at the store near my house recently, and it was anything but creepy. It was sweet, and brilliantly executed, and some of the best marketing I've ever seen. You make your reservation, you go in and a kid in a tuxedo walks you to your table, where there's a pink tablecloth and hearts on the table. A lady gives your daughter a goody bag with little crafts you can do at the table while you're waiting for your food. There's a "conversation starter" card at the table with questions to ask each other.

The food arrives, and when you're done you go over to the corner where a professional photographer has set up. You get your picture taken, then it's outside for a ten-minute limo ride. At the end of the ride, the hostess gives your daughter a rose and wishes you a good night. A week later, your photograph arrives in the mail with a thank-you note for you and your girl.

All of this, for about ten bucks. Like I said, it's brilliant marketing, because every single person leaves there and tells twenty people about it, and it generates an enormous amount of goodwill for the company. I've got the photo framed and sitting on my desk as we speak. My daughter didn't stop smiling for days.

I totally concur with the folks who say, you know, I wish they weren't so anti-gay, but I also wish we didn't send troops off to war, and that doesn't mean I can stop paying taxes. It's naive to view anything as totally black/white, and this is a company that does things that I like and that also does things that I don't like. Guess what? That makes them like virtually every other company in the world.
posted by jbickers at 11:54 AM on March 21, 2012 [6 favorites]


Cute video, but Chick-Fil-A still doesn't get my money. Gimme Popeye's any day. I can get red beans 'n rice there, too.

You poor, benighted souls living without knowledge of Bojangles and the saving power of it's chicken.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:54 AM on March 21, 2012 [7 favorites]


but I also wish we didn't send troops off to war, and that doesn't mean I can stop paying taxes

And who is making you eat at Chik-Fil-A? Nobody. You enjoy it, regardless of the consequences.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:58 AM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


In Vermont, Chick-Fil-A is also known for its anti-kale attitude.
posted by MtDewd at 11:58 AM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


They had the father/daughter date night at the store near my house recently, and it was anything but creepy. It was sweet, and brilliantly executed, and some of the best marketing I've ever seen.

Purity balls are creepy, but I have no idea why anyone would assume that a daddy/daughter date night at a fast food restaurant would be creepy. It's not like fathers and daughters spending time together automatically means creepy.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:59 AM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


i had father/daughter dates with my dad. my brother had father/daughter dates with his step-daughters.

they really aren't creepy if the people involved aren't creepy.
posted by nadawi at 12:00 PM on March 21, 2012


Slight derail: anyone know any "sports bars" in NYC where I can go and watch Drag Race? Maybe even with (non-homophobic) fried chicken?
posted by modernserf at 12:01 PM on March 21, 2012


I got a pocket full of Hawthornes
posted by the_artificer at 12:01 PM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


I'm just going to pretend that you people are making up father-daughter dances.

Sadly, no, Burhanistan.

(How can anyone put "purity" and "ball" into the same phrase, nonironically?)
posted by IAmBroom at 12:03 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


yeah, anything involving chastity rings or V-cards, or ceremonies where daughters promise to their fathers and future husbands to stay pure are creepy as fuck. but, dad's modeling the date behavior for his daughter and taking time out of his schedule to take her out, at least in my case, was very nice. even decades later, they are some of my favorite memories.
posted by nadawi at 12:03 PM on March 21, 2012


It's nice the family funds sports teams for the underfunded school. Wouldn't it be nicer if they funded the actual teaching, though?
posted by rikschell at 12:04 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


Yeah, comparing eating at a fast food place as being as unavoidable as paying federal income taxes is quite an equivocation.

Yeah, and that's not what I was saying, either. Any company that you buy products or services from, in any industry in any corner of the globe, does something reprehensible if you dig deep enough. Usually, not much digging at all is required. If you truly and honestly abide by "I'm not going to buy any food from this company because I don't approve of some of the things they do!", you will starve to death.
posted by jbickers at 12:06 PM on March 21, 2012


chick-fil-a funded my school's marching band. is that close enough to teaching for you?
posted by nadawi at 12:07 PM on March 21, 2012


jbickers, I don't think that's really true. Most of us do a lot of research before we buy things.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 12:08 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


My husband knew I was struggling with boycotting Chik-fil-A. Yes, I hate their anti-gay stance, and I also don't care for the biblical-themed toys in the kids' meals, and the songs about Jesus playing while I have eaten food there. But I do love the chicken sandwiches, the lemonade, and the soft-serve.

But when he said - "every time you eat at Chick-fil-A, you are a kicking a gay person in the nuts" that brought it home to me. I don't want to kick gay or lesbian people in the nuts or absence of nuts. That is one of the last things I would ever want to do. That makes it much easier to avoid.

(and I don't eat fast food at all, but CFA was a guilty exception.)
posted by 41swans at 12:13 PM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


I had Chick Fil-A religion once. I wasn't impressed
posted by Fizz at 12:13 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


"every time you eat at Chick-fil-A, you are a kicking a gay person in the nuts"

That is brilliant and needs to be an ad campaign.

I'm walking through the mall, thinking about where to get lunch. Panda Express, Sbarro... hey, Chick-fil-A! They've got that really good -- wait, no, that's the place that's like kicking a gay person in the nuts. How about some General Tso's?
posted by gurple at 12:19 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


General Tso's is like kicking a person in the tastebuds with deliciousness.
posted by Edison Carter at 12:32 PM on March 21, 2012 [4 favorites]


"I don't think that's really true. Most of us do a lot of research before we buy things."

Let's test this out then. Name a company you patronize that you think does nothing but good and let's see what we find.
posted by briareus at 12:38 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


You make your reservation, you go in and a kid in a tuxedo walks you to your table, where there's a pink tablecloth and hearts on the table.

See, to me...that's creepy. I had some great times hanging out with my dad (usually at the ham radio club) with no Valentine's Day date parallels needed.
posted by JoanArkham at 12:41 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


People who think Daddy-Daughter Date Nights are creepy are creepy.
posted by BurntHombre at 12:43 PM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


So, I have weird mixed feelings about Chick-Fil-A. I was born in the town where Chick-Fil-A started

Holy cow, I grew up in Forest Park, just a few miles away from the original Dwarf House, meself! We're probably cousins! :)

The Cathys used to come to my school on career day and hand out freebies. Dad worked at the Owens-Illinois glass plant in East Point and drove right by there to and from work. We often had Chik-fil-a for dinner and I can't remember how many times I've walked through the tiny door in the restaurant there.

I introduced one of my best friends, a Frenchman, to their food as an example of some of the best modern fast food America has ever wrought. It was a great day when they opened one a mile away from my house here in Arizona. But I was deeply chagrined as I came to know more about the anti0gay agenda and some years back, swore off of them completely.

Now I has a sad every time I think of their delicious, delicious chicken sammiches.
posted by darkstar at 12:44 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


If people are still interested in the Eat More Kale stuff, the Eat More Kale dude is trying to raise money to fund a documentary on trademark bullies and his experience with Chick-Fil-A. The Kickstarter is here (just a few more days).
posted by cushie at 12:49 PM on March 21, 2012


I mean, yes, you get used to one kind of fast food and you crave it and want to eat it. Yeah. But then you shift to another one and the same thing happens, right? Give it six months and you'll be just as into Taco Time, or whatever, right?

Wrong.

In fact, I am disappointed by almost 60% of all Wendy's. You would think such a picky person would avoid fast food entirely, but here we are.

Fortunately, Chik-Fil-A does nothing but annoy me with their advertising. Why can't their cows misspell as well as LOL cats? What kind of dark plot is behind that? Are they trying to make me kick a gay person in the nuts?
posted by Lesser Shrew at 12:50 PM on March 21, 2012


Wait! This isn't "Otters who look like Benedict Cumberbatch" !!!

Oh. Oh my.
posted by Twang at 12:56 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


"I don't think that's really true. Most of us do a lot of research before we buy things."

Let's test this out then. Name a company you patronize that you think does nothing but good and let's see what we find.


Yes. It looks like you're going to have to take Qdoba, Outback, Jack-in-the-Box, Cracker Barrel, and many others off the menu, too. Also, you can't shop at True Value, A&P, HSN, Dollar General, Belk, Winn-Dixie, QVC, Overstock.com, Michaels, The Container Store, Dick's Sporting Goods or several dozen other stores anymore either.

What's that? You're into fashion? Well, no more Fossil, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Aeropostale, H&M, Guess, Cabela's or Chico's for you. You're going to have to cancel your Dish Network and Gold's Gym subscriptions, too. And I sure as heck hope that you don't have any money in any companies traded on NASDAQ!

And here's the thing: that's JUST companies that fail on LGBT equality rights. We haven't even begun exploring the many, many other ways companies do horrible things.

Look, if boycotting Chick-fil-a makes sense to you and is something you feel compelled to do, by all means, do it. But enough with the condescending attitude toward those people who don't.
posted by jbickers at 12:58 PM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


FWIW, jbickers, I haven't patronized any of the businesses you mentioned in the last 10 years.

And, no, I haven't been boycotting. It's just not particularly difficult to avoid those businesses.
posted by gurple at 1:04 PM on March 21, 2012 [10 favorites]


(though I guess it would more difficult if Winn-Dixie were my only accessible supermarket)
posted by gurple at 1:05 PM on March 21, 2012


I'm relieved to no longer live in the south for a myriad of reasons, one of them being that I never need test my moral resolve against the allure of Chick-Fil-A.
posted by EatTheWeek at 1:05 PM on March 21, 2012


Ditto, I don't patronize any of those businesses.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:05 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


es. It looks like you're going to have to take Qdoba, Outback, Jack-in-the-Box, Cracker Barrel, and many others off the menu, too. Also, you can't shop at True Value, A&P, HSN, Dollar General, Belk, Winn-Dixie, QVC, Overstock.com, Michaels, The Container Store, Dick's Sporting Goods or several dozen other stores anymore either.

What's that? You're into fashion? Well, no more Fossil, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Aeropostale, H&M, Guess, Cabela's or Chico's for you. You're going to have to cancel your Dish Network and Gold's Gym subscriptions, too. And I sure as heck hope that you don't have any money in any companies traded on NASDAQ!


Not a problem. What else you got?
posted by Edison Carter at 1:05 PM on March 21, 2012 [10 favorites]


Oh Trader Joe's, say it ain't so...
posted by elsietheeel at 1:06 PM on March 21, 2012


Not all of us who have dressed in drag are gay. Some of us are bi. So, stop profiling already.

Alfred Kinsey came up with a different answer than this. Not sure how accurate his work is but the flash animation is mildly amusing.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 1:08 PM on March 21, 2012


See, no shit it's hard to not patronize any establishment with a poor track record regarding LGBT rights. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't make an effort.

And Chik-Fil-A is as good as anywhere else to start.
posted by Edison Carter at 1:09 PM on March 21, 2012 [4 favorites]


And Chik-Fil-A is as good as anywhere else to start.

... it just seems to get a disproportionate amount of the outrage ... like an awful lot of people start AND stop there.
posted by jbickers at 1:12 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


And Chik-Fil-A is as good as anywhere else to start.

Yeah, I agree with this. I actually had an acquaintance that I de-friended on Facebook awhile back because of this Chik-Fil-A thing. She mentioned that her husband was taking their child to one of those date nights, and when I asked her if she knew that they gave money to anti-gay groups, she said it was fine with her. When I called her out on it, she said she had a gay brother, and so she was justified.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:13 PM on March 21, 2012


William got kicked off Ru Paul's Drag Race (the best reality show on television today) this season. Some speculate that it is because of this video.
posted by mikehipp at 1:14 PM on March 21, 2012


Look, if you're pro gay rights but you like to eat at Chick-fil-A anyway and you don't think boycotting is effective... ok, fine. I might try to convince you, but I'm not going to try to make you. Go ahead, eat there, kick a gay person in the balls.

But I'm not sure why you'd try to get all up in everyone's grill about their own desire to boycott them. Note that the boycott still exists, check the box in your head that says "nah, I don't do that", move on.

Unless, deep down, you're insecure about your own decision to be kickin' with the chicken.
posted by gurple at 1:17 PM on March 21, 2012 [4 favorites]


... it just seems to get a disproportionate amount of the outrage ... like an awful lot of people start AND stop there.

Well this is because there's media coverage about Chick-Fil-A, and people don't actually do a whole lot of research about the ethics of companies they work with, no matter what anyone says.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:18 PM on March 21, 2012


*sips genetically-modified corn ethanol from a child's skull*

Mmmmm! Refreshing!
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:20 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


... it just seems to get a disproportionate amount of the outrage ... like an awful lot of people start AND stop there.

So? Then let's call the whole thing off? They did a charming daddy-daughter event, so I'll call out people's lack of commitment and feel like I have the moral high ground? Come on, dude.
posted by Edison Carter at 1:21 PM on March 21, 2012


This video made me think that maybe, instead of boycotting Chik-Fil-A, the LGBT community should actually promote Chik-Fil-A. Encourage LGBT people to go there in droves. Turn Chik-Fil-GAY into a hotbed of rainbow pride! This would horrify the homophobes more than any boycott.
posted by El Sabor Asiatico at 1:21 PM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


The Anti-Protest. I like it.
posted by Edison Carter at 1:22 PM on March 21, 2012


I'd avoid Chick-Fil-A if it were around here, because I don't want money going to Focus on the Family.

But I'm also more worried about how I could get my mother to stop actually subscribing to Focus on the Family publications. /may be lost cause, but I won't let her bring them to my house when I have kids.
posted by jb at 1:29 PM on March 21, 2012


So? Then let's call the whole thing off?

Um, I never said that. In fact, I said the exact opposite of that.

They did a charming daddy-daughter event, so I'll call out people's lack of commitment and feel like I have the moral high ground? Come on, dude.

Of course I don't have any moral high ground. I'm guilty of all sorts of atrocities. I own Apple products. And I bet any number of people here that protest a chicken restaurant do, too.
posted by jbickers at 1:35 PM on March 21, 2012


I find the father-daughter thing creepy because it's all organized around super-traditional gender roles. Girls just want flowers and a limo ride? Why not sponsor a father-daughter baseball game, or a father-daughter bicycle ride? Why treat daughters like princesses?

Frankly, if my daughter ever says she wants to be a princess, I'm totally going to a) tell her about arranged marriages, b) talk about pappazzi and c) finish with the The Paperbag Princess. She needs to know the historical and contemporary reality, and to learn that the only awesome princesses are those who define themselves by what they do, not who they are or what they look like.

if it's going to be eating out, I'd rather it was "Father/Kid" themed, in time for Father's day or something.
posted by jb at 1:37 PM on March 21, 2012 [6 favorites]


"So, DAUGHTER'S NAME, what is your favorite color?"
"Well, FATHER'S NICKNAME, I like pink."
posted by Edison Carter at 1:39 PM on March 21, 2012


it just seems to get a disproportionate amount of the outrage

To be fair, few other stores put advertisements for local church events in their take-out sacks and on their trays to remind me of the relationship they have with religious organizations.

As for the father-daughter date night, I see nothing creepy with the theme of a father-daughter night. But why frame it as a date? I've never heard of a mother-son date night, or father-son date night.
posted by mikeh at 1:39 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


I have a pretty simple deal with the world, and here it is:

Sometimes I research unethical companies, but it's not how I spend all my time. So I don't always know what a company's deal is.

But then sometimes the information falls into my lap - like when I found out that money spent on Blue Moon beer goes to the Coors family who donate to hate causes. That sucked! I liked Blue Moon.

So my deal is: As soon as I find out that a company's money goes to loathsome causes, that is when I stop offering them my custom. It's really as simple as this: I don't believe Chik-Fil-A deserves my money. I didn't go looking for information about their stuff. I just sort of found out about it.

I used to shop at Urban Outfitters, too, and then I found out where that money goes, and I stopped. Fun t-shirts are not worth the rights of my gay friends, even if my money is only a tiny drop in the bucket, even if I donate hundreds more to pro-gay causes, the principle at stake is whether or not these people deserve my money. And I don't believe they do.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 1:42 PM on March 21, 2012 [10 favorites]


As for the father-daughter date night, I see nothing creepy with the theme of a father-daughter night. But why frame it as a date? I've never heard of a mother-son date night, or father-son date night.

because they want to promote the idea of a daughter as being the sexual property of her father, who has right to all her sexual/romantic attention until he transfers it to an approved spouse.

That's the only way that I can read either father-daughter "date" nights or father-daughter purity balls. It's not about fathers being friends or buddies with their daughters, helping them grow into autonomous and confident adults - it's about them being escorts and protectors.

and there are no Mother-Son purity or date events, because this is patriarchy and women don't control their sons' sexuality in a patriarchal system (though fathers might).
posted by jb at 1:43 PM on March 21, 2012 [9 favorites]


By happy coincidence, I don't patronize any of the above-listed stores/restaurants, either.

Now, where do I cash in my smugness coupons for cash? Papa needs a new pair of (LGBT-friendly, non-sweatshop-produced) shoes!
posted by darkstar at 1:46 PM on March 21, 2012


and there are no Mother-Son purity or date events, because this is patriarchy and women don't control their sons' sexuality in a patriarchal system (though fathers might).

You might want to try using Google before talking out of your ass next time.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 1:48 PM on March 21, 2012 [8 favorites]


But then sometimes the information falls into my lap - like when I found out that money spent on Blue Moon beer goes to the Coors family who donate to hate causes. That sucked! I liked Blue Moon.

You're out of date by a few years. Coors merged with... well, all the mergers that happened are a bit much to type out. In any case, the Coors company was excellent to gay employees, to the extent of being the 21st publicly-traded corporation in the United States to extend employee benefits to same-sex partners. Their chairman may have been a jerk, but there's that to consider.

Then again, this copy of Leviticus I just pulled out from between the bottles in this six pack seems oddly placed....
posted by mikeh at 1:49 PM on March 21, 2012


Good on Chik-Fil-A on the mother/son thing, then, Bulgaroktonos. I guess they're... consistent in their community/family approach.
posted by mikeh at 1:51 PM on March 21, 2012


I would never date my mother. I don't care how good the chicken sandwiches are.
posted by Edison Carter at 1:54 PM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


my brother went on mom & son dates. i also had mom & daughter days and my brother had father son outings. my dad never talked about or hinted at protecting my purity on our father/daughter dates. yes, it ascribes to traditional gender roles - but for us at least, it was more about "object lesson in dating" - like how to read the menu, how to order like an adult, pay attention to prices if someone else is paying, etc. he didn't treat me like a princess, but he did treat me like someone who had interesting things to say. my dad was a very busy man, so knowing that i was important enough to spend 3 hours solid with, without the rest of the family, made an impression.

when my brother took out his step-daughters it was because they had a pretty shitty dad and were getting near dating age. my brother had noticed that they accepted a lot of crap from their guy friends and it worried him. so, he scheduled a date or two with them to show them how they should be treated by guys who were interested. he picked them up, dressed up, took them out, pulled out their chair for them, asked them about their interests and their day, basically tried to show them that they deserved to be treated special just for being themselves.

i find it sad that some people can't imagine the practice outside of the realm of purity ring bullshit.
posted by nadawi at 1:56 PM on March 21, 2012 [9 favorites]


If my daughter asked me to take her to a purity ball, I'd consider myself a failure as a parent.

If my daughter asked me to take her to date night at Chick-fil-A, I'd suggest a different venue.
posted by gurple at 1:58 PM on March 21, 2012


Still sounds creepy as fuck.
posted by Edison Carter at 1:59 PM on March 21, 2012


If one needs the context of a "date" in order to spend time with one of their children, they've fucked up as a parent. My dad would take me out -- just me and him -- to get dinner once in a while, and we'd talk. We didn't call it a date.
posted by Edison Carter at 2:02 PM on March 21, 2012


You might want to try using Google before talking out of your ass next time.
posted by Bulgaroktonos 14 minutes ago [2 favorites +]


You might want to politely correct people before Metafilter gets a reputation for being a haven for assholes.
posted by jb at 2:06 PM on March 21, 2012 [6 favorites]


my dad didn't fuck up. maybe people just have different styles. my dad and i did shit all the time that wasn't a date. we'd cook together and we'd go on walks. he was a very involved parent. the daddy daughter date was for a specific purpose. it was part of him treating me like a near-adult instead of a child. i'm sorry that your world view is so limited that you can only see this in a creepy context, but i'm telling you, as a person who actually did it, it was very nice and not at all weird or sexual or whatever else you're imagining is going on.

and i've seen creepy, weird, sexual ownership bullshit. i was raised devoutly mormon. luckily, around my teenage years is when my whole family dropped out of the church.
posted by nadawi at 2:07 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


You know what I can't stand about Chick-Fil-A? They act like they invented the CHICKEN SANDWICH WITH PICKLES. Fuck them.
posted by Ron Thanagar at 2:12 PM on March 21, 2012


As a gay man who enjoys the occasional metaphorical kick to the balls, I say knock yourselves out. I've got better things to do than judge you for where you get your chicken sandwiches.
posted by malthusan at 2:12 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


my dad didn't fuck up.

I didn't say he did. i said "If one needs the context of a "date" in order to spend time with one of their children, they've fucked up as a parent. " Notice that one word: needs. Obviously he didn't need the context of a date.
posted by Edison Carter at 2:25 PM on March 21, 2012


If one needs the context of a "date" in order to spend time with one of their children, they've fucked up as a parent.

I can tell that you don't have a daughter. The fact is, for a lot of girls (including mine), the whole princess and pink this and pink that and girly-girl world is VERY appealing. Now, people can have a separate debate about whether that's a good thing or not, but for me and my family, we embrace it and love it because it's a part of who she is.

She absolutely LOVES the idea of a faux "date" with her dad. It's charming and sweet and there's nothing creepy about it at all. Did we "need the context of a 'date'"? No, of course not. But it's fun and she likes it and it makes her feel special. Likewise with father/daughter dances. Total sweetness and awesomeness.

(Both concepts, by the way, which exist entirely outside of the realm of Chick-Fil-A.)
posted by jbickers at 2:25 PM on March 21, 2012 [6 favorites]


As a gay man who enjoys the occasional metaphorical kick to the balls, I say knock yourselves out.

Nice try. You're not gonna trick me into kicking you in the balls, sir!
posted by Edison Carter at 2:26 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


and there are no Mother-Son purity or date events, because this is patriarchy and women don't control their sons' sexuality in a patriarchal system

I see that this isn't true, but I've always thought the popularity of (non-Purity Ball) father-daughter dances was due to the fact that fathers might feel awkward parenting their daughters, and the girl gets to spend time with her dad while also getting excited about dressing up (or actually being formal and "grown-up," depending on the age of the girl).

There was a father-daughter ball at my junior high, and I didn't go, because I spent a lot of time with my dad anyhow. But a lot of girls and fathers (and mothers) seemed to love it.
posted by stoneandstar at 2:29 PM on March 21, 2012


and there are no Mother-Son purity or date events, because this is patriarchy and women don't control their sons' sexuality in a patriarchal system (though fathers might).

Clearly, you have never heard of the Mom Prom, which is also trending in certain circles.

And:

I find the father-daughter thing creepy because it's all organized around super-traditional gender roles. Girls just want flowers and a limo ride? Why not sponsor a father-daughter baseball game, or a father-daughter bicycle ride? Why treat daughters like princesses?

In my years of leading Brownie and Junior Girl Scout troops, I've done all of these things. But the event that both the girls and their fathers love the most is the father-daughter dance. My guess is that it has the patina of a "special" occasion because you get to dress up and have cookies after dark, and both father and daughter have a chance to give each other their undivided attention in a way that's not quite as possible with a bike ride (where you are paying attention to the route/the act of biking).

Perhaps there's something princess-y there, or perhaps there's some pleasure to be had in taking the time out to tell your kid/your parent, "You're special, and we're doing something special together."
posted by sobell at 2:30 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


due to the fact that fathers might feel awkward parenting their daughters

Shame on them, then.
posted by Edison Carter at 2:30 PM on March 21, 2012


Oh and I usually avoid ANY business that wears it's religion on it's sleeve (Christian fish symbol in print ads, etc.) because I think you should succeed on your merits and work ethic, not on which religious affiliation you are. Just because you advertise that you're a Christian doesn't necessarily make you an honest, hard-working plumber. Throw away your crutch!
posted by Ron Thanagar at 2:33 PM on March 21, 2012


Shame on them, then.

Whatever. I was raised by a single dad who was an amazing parent, but as he was raised with blue collar masculinity as the standard, he was awkward about "girly" things and special nights out. These kind of events gave a lot of dads like mine the opportunity to do something special without having to mastermind something they weren't accustomed to.
posted by stoneandstar at 2:33 PM on March 21, 2012 [6 favorites]


Choosing not to patronize a random anti-gay business may or may not be effective. But if there is an active, highly-publicized boycott being organized, then it is much more likely to be effective to choose not to eat somewhere. We saw this with the Taco Bell boycott that was called by the Imokolee Workers, which ended up being effective because the organized boycott got publicity that put a lot of pressure on the company.

Lots of businesses are pretty much evil, but if you have to choose where to concentrate your energy to make better consumer choices, you should go with businesses that are under active, well-organized boycott.
posted by mai at 2:41 PM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


It is interesting that there are more Mom-Son events - maybe they are recognizing that women are no longer the default childcare provider in a lot of families. There are, apparently, Mother-Son purity balls; I wonder if they are as popular? (I don't know how popular the father-daughter ones are, for that matter, though I still find them creepier because of the historic control of women's sexuality by fathers, and the emphasis still placed on female virginity in many places).

As for the other date nights - I know that little girls like to dress up and act like little adult women -- I was a little girl, and I did that. But at the same time, we project onto our daughters what adult women should be like, and I see a lot of projection of the princess, dressed-up-to-look-pretty aspects of adult womanhood, and a lot less of the rest of adult life -- most of which will involve working and playing and building. And when planning events like this, we don't just do what kids want -- otherwise we would feed them nothing but sugar and let them run around kicking each other -- but we also think about what's the best thing for them.

I feel the same way when hanging out in a toy store. I have no problem with pink toys for girls - or barbies, fashion dolls, make-up kits, etc. But I have a big problem when that is 90 or 100% of the toys advertised at girls, when even lego sets have to be appropriately feminine.
posted by jb at 2:45 PM on March 21, 2012


I don't always support companies with pristine records. I went back to shopping at Target, for example, even after they recanted on not supporting hate groups, when the hate candidate lost. But I will certainly never patronize Chik-Fil-A, because their hatred of people like me isn't even indirect. Also, because I don't like chicken.
posted by jiawen at 2:45 PM on March 21, 2012


You might want to politely correct people before Metafilter gets a reputation for being a haven for assholes.

Before?
posted by gagglezoomer at 2:52 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


I find the entire concept of "dating" creepy and weird. How can you live that way, America?
posted by howfar at 2:53 PM on March 21, 2012


This is all just another example of the ubiquitous lie that bad things happen because ordinary people insist on enjoying simple pleasures. Society is still pretty anti-gay! Put down that chicken sandwich! Every subculture has its own versions of this, and they're all stupid.

I have tried all the things I have been told to try. I have boycotted and marched and insulted and not watched and not read and ended friendships and made my mother cry according to whatever orders came down from whoever I looked up to at the time. To the surprise of no one, the force of my frowns and my pointless individual unhappiness completely failed to reshape the world in any way. I turn my back on guilt over what other people do. With no power comes no responsibility. Give me my chicken.
posted by jinjo at 2:53 PM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


You poor, benighted souls living without knowledge of Bojangles and the saving power of it's chicken.

+1,000,000,000,000,000
posted by scose at 3:05 PM on March 21, 2012


To the surprise of no one, the force of my frowns and my pointless individual unhappiness completely failed to reshape the world in any way. I turn my back on guilt over what other people do. With no power comes no responsibility. Give me my chicken.

That really is astonishingly bleak. Just to give up and wait for the end. I hope you're just having a bad day.
posted by howfar at 3:11 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


It seems like parenting a child and avoiding reinforcement of gender roles while at the same time actually being involved in your kid's life and letting them live it as they choose must be really tough when it comes down to it. It's easy to talk theoretically about what all parents really should do to fix the world, but if it were just me trying to figure out how to raise one kid to be the happiest person I could, I think it wouldn't quite be so simple.
posted by koeselitz at 3:14 PM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


To the surprise of no one, the force of my frowns and my pointless individual unhappiness completely failed to reshape the world in any way.

Ah, so I see, because you're asserting this as truth, that you must have a counterfactual. You must have access to a portal to a version of our world in which no one marched in the marches or participated in the boycotts, and in that world, things are exactly like they are in this one, and no worse.

Oh, wait. No, you don't.
posted by gurple at 3:15 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


Do you have children?

Two. And shame on me if PARENTING either one of them is AWKWARD to me.
posted by Edison Carter at 3:19 PM on March 21, 2012


Edison Carter: Nice try. You're not gonna trick me into kicking you in the balls, sir!

Damn.
posted by malthusan at 3:23 PM on March 21, 2012


gurple: "I don't understand why, whenever this topic comes up, people express such difficulty with not eating there.

I mean, yes, you get used to one kind of fast food and you crave it and want to eat it. Yeah. But then you shift to another one and the same thing happens, right? Give it six months and you'll be just as into Taco Time, or whatever, right?
"

As someone who renounced Chick-fil-A and all their works last year, I can assure you there is no substitute for Chick-fil-A. The McDonald's sandwich comes close, but only close enough that you curse the bigots at Chick-fil-A and the WinShape Foundation.

At the time, when someone in another conference accused me of being just as bigoted against religous people for my position against Chick-fil-A, I wrote
I don't hate Chick-fil-A or Truett Cathy. Except for this error in judgment, I actually admire him. It's one thing to have a faith and practice it piously, to the point of keeping your popular restaurants closed on Sunday so that your employees can do the same. It's another entirely when one of the tenants of that faith is you have to discriminate against people.
posted by ob1quixote at 3:25 PM on March 21, 2012 [4 favorites]


I think organized religion is a dumb relic, gay people are just people like everyone else, and I do think in theory that voting with your wallet is the right thing to do.

I also love Chik-Fil-A. Their employees are always so pleasant. So whatever the reason for that is.. well at least I don't mind spending money at a place with good customer service.

I want some waffle fries.
posted by ninjew at 3:30 PM on March 21, 2012


Hey, this is timely. Apparently, NOM is boycotting Starbucks for exactly the opposite reason.
posted by gurple at 3:31 PM on March 21, 2012


Why not sponsor a father-daughter baseball game, or a father-daughter bicycle ride?

My Girl Scout troop sponsored a father-daughter paper-airplane-flying contest, which my father and I handily won. When I got married, a father-daughter dance was not even on the TABLE, because oh my god no. But I briefly considered looking for a venue with an interior balcony so that my father and I could fly paper airplanes down on the guests.
posted by KathrynT at 3:37 PM on March 21, 2012 [7 favorites]


I havent eaten at Chik-Fil-A since late last year. I shall not falter in my vow, even when they roll out peach milkshakes for spring.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 2:45 PM on March 21



They...they do peach milkshakes?





dammit
posted by magstheaxe at 3:41 PM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


It seems like parenting a child and avoiding reinforcement of gender roles while at the same time actually being involved in your kid's life and letting them live it as they choose must be really tough when it comes down to it.

Yes. Yes it is. My solution so far is to make sure that we don't reinforce anything exclusionary; sure, you can have your pink princess stuff. Sure you can wear it to the science museum. Sure we can play "The Princess Vs. The Dragon." (This is where she puts on all her fancy things, and then she says "I'm the princess and you're the dragon," and then I flap my arms and raaar, and then she runs up to me and punches the absolute living crap out of me.)

In other words, liking fancy dresses and pink things and sparkly fake plastic jewelry is exactly 100% as valuable and OK as liking big stomping boots and dinosaurs and shiny fake plastic swords. I don't need to teach her that princesses are crappy any more than I need to teach her the truth about pirates.
posted by KathrynT at 3:44 PM on March 21, 2012 [8 favorites]


They...they do peach milkshakes?

You know who else does really good peach milkshakes?

Anyone with a blender, some ice cream, some milk, some peaches and some sugar.
posted by gurple at 3:46 PM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


As for the other date nights - I know that little girls like to dress up and act like little adult women -- I was a little girl, and I did that. But at the same time, we project onto our daughters what adult women should be like, and I see a lot of projection of the princess, dressed-up-to-look-pretty aspects of adult womanhood, and a lot less of the rest of adult life -- most of which will involve working and playing and building. And when planning events like this, we don't just do what kids want -- otherwise we would feed them nothing but sugar and let them run around kicking each other -- but we also think about what's the best thing for them.

I dunno. I think adulthood, with all of its disappointments and meetings and responsibilities, gets here fast enough. I'm happy to let them be kids. She'll find out soon enough that she's not really a princess, and that she won't get a unicorn or a castle. But the transition from childhood to adulthood is always crushing, no matter what you're into as a kid. My girl is six; I'm content to let her love the things she loves (within the bounds of safety, of course, to your "nothing but sugar" point), whether those things are Barbies or G.I. Joes.

Likewise, if my boy wants to play with dolls, that's fine too. My oldest son doesn't, having opted for Legos instead. My toddler boy likes dolls. Whatever floats their boat and gets the wheels in their minds turning. My job is to keep them safe, help them turn into really great adults, and give them the happiest childhood I can.

I feel the same way when hanging out in a toy store. I have no problem with pink toys for girls - or barbies, fashion dolls, make-up kits, etc. But I have a big problem when that is 90 or 100% of the toys advertised at girls, when even lego sets have to be appropriately feminine.

You're right about this, of course, and the opposite is also true - most toys marketed at boys are based in aggression (guns, wrestlers, muscle-bound superheroes, etc.). Which is why it is so important to give kids a balanced media diet and show them Miyazaki films early and often.
posted by jbickers at 3:47 PM on March 21, 2012 [3 favorites]


hello i am a genderqueer VENTURE CAPITALIST and i will fund anyone who starts a competitor called chick-fil-u
posted by BEE-EATING CAT-EATER at 4:20 PM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


also would this actually be protected under trademark->parody case law
posted by BEE-EATING CAT-EATER at 4:20 PM on March 21, 2012


shame on me if PARENTING either one of them is AWKWARD to me

Did you see the follow-up I posted? If so this is really egregious.
posted by stoneandstar at 4:26 PM on March 21, 2012


Wendy's always made the best chicken sandwiches anyway. Monterey Chicken Ranch Reprazent!
posted by jonmc at 4:31 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


So I guess we can't all agree about the David-Lynch-creepy thing then? OK, never mind. / derail
posted by Bookhouse at 4:32 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


"To the surprise of no one, the force of my frowns and my pointless individual unhappiness completely failed to reshape the world in any way."

Not to mention that places like Chick-Fil-A probably gain way more customers from such moves than they lose to boycotts.
posted by Ardiril at 4:40 PM on March 21, 2012


Not to mention that places like Chick-Fil-A probably gain way more customers from such moves than they lose to boycotts.

Yes, well, then we'd better make sure they lose some to boycotts, better'n't we? Otherwise, right wing pandering crap like this will become a formula for unalloyed success.
posted by gurple at 4:44 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


I always thought is was pronounced "Chick-fil-ah"

Fuck, I'm so Canadian.
posted by weezy at 5:03 PM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


You know who else does really good peach milkshakes?

Penn State?
posted by radwolf76 at 5:48 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


this alone puts willam far ahead of the past 'drag superstar' winners of drag race we never hear about.
posted by fallacy of the beard at 6:07 PM on March 21, 2012


I always thought is was pronounced "Chick-fil-ah"

Fuck, I'm so Canadian.


It feels so, so lazy to write something about "Chick-fil-eh"
posted by foursentences at 6:33 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


I guess now Willam can say she's been in a Chik-fil-a commercial.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:39 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


"right wing pandering crap like this will become a formula for unalloyed success."

Will become? I would say that starting now is at least a century too late.
posted by Ardiril at 6:44 PM on March 21, 2012


I take my daughter out on "dates." She's five. It's pretty awesome. I don't do it because she's my property, I do it because I love her, I enjoy her company, and I want her to feel important. I want her to know that some day, when she chooses a guy, it's okay to look for someone who enjoys her company and wants to make her feel important, as well.
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:45 PM on March 21, 2012 [5 favorites]


When I was growing up my father's business was down the street from the original Dwarf House. Going to visit him at work I was always taken there for lunch (after getting my coke in a glass bottle and orange crackers from the vending machines, of course) as a treat. It's comfort food to me. I've always known about the whole Christian thing, obviously, but only recently discovered in the past few years that it was the form of Christianity that doesn't include gay people.
I try to boycott, but fail occasionally, because...so delicious.
posted by mkim at 6:55 PM on March 21, 2012


It looks like you're going to have to take Qdoba, Outback, Jack-in-the-Box, Cracker Barrel, and many others off the menu, too. Also, you can't shop at True Value, A&P, HSN, Dollar General, Belk, Winn-Dixie, QVC, Overstock.com, Michaels, The Container Store, Dick's Sporting Goods or several dozen other stores anymore either.

Oh bullshit. Seriously bullshit. That's some serious false equivalence going on. Half those points are a simple case of "insurance in the service industry sucks ass" and yes, is a problem, and any other points just don't make sense. For instance Micheal's loses points for having "appropriate and respectful advertising" really? And how does Krispy Kreme "Engage in action that would undermine the goal of LGBT equality?"

Chick-fil-A is aggressively hostile towards homosexuality. Most of those companies you mentioned aren't. Could they be better? Sure. If you care is that a reason to boycott them? Maybe. Everyone has their lines. But don't try to claim it's the same thing.
posted by aspo at 7:08 PM on March 21, 2012 [12 favorites]


If you can buy carbon offsets for pollution, you should be able to buy gay offsets for eating at chick-fil-a.
posted by dr_dank at 8:34 PM on March 21, 2012 [2 favorites]


you should be able to buy gay offsets for eating at chick-fil-a

I don't know if we can buy our way out of this one.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:51 PM on March 21, 2012 [1 favorite]


I totally understand people getting on the boycott wagon, but I'd like to point out that sometimes gay people work at Chik-Fil-A. And it's not always a terrible experience.
posted by magstheaxe at 5:32 AM on March 22, 2012


"Yes. It looks like you're going to have to take Qdoba, Outback, Jack-in-the-Box, Cracker Barrel, and many others off the menu, too. Also, you can't shop at True Value, A&P, HSN, Dollar General, Belk, Winn-Dixie, QVC, Overstock.com, Michaels, The Container Store, Dick's Sporting Goods or several dozen other stores anymore either.

What's that? You're into fashion? Well, no more Fossil, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Aeropostale, H&M, Guess, Cabela's or Chico's for you. You're going to have to cancel your Dish Network and Gold's Gym subscriptions, too. And I sure as heck hope that you don't have any money in any companies traded on NASDAQ!

And here's the thing: that's JUST companies that fail on LGBT equality rights. We haven't even begun exploring the many, many other ways companies do horrible things.
"

Actually, with all of those, the most important part is the last bit, where they monitor actively working against gay people. None of the places that you list do that. That's what differentiates Chick Fil A.

Also, I don't shop at Target if I can avoid it, and not just because of one of the worst customer service interactions I've ever had (motherfuckers told me that using a manufacturer's coupon was "stealing" and didn't apologize after wasting an hour of my time).

Throwing up your hands and saying, "They're all bad, there's no hope for ethical consumption" is a weak-sauce justification for not doing the very least possible that you could.

And here's a solution for all y'all chick addicts: Each time you eat there, what, cents on the dollar (if that) go to the anti-gays? Send a buck to your local pro-equality non profit. From Lamda Legal to AFER to any of the state Equality orgs (disclosure: I work for one) to the GSAs or PFLAG, they could all use your help, and you can easily offset any harm you may cause with a contribution that will do at least as much good. It's easy.

(One of the best events I ever went to was covering a Phelps protest of a gay bar back in Ann Arbor, where people pledged a dollar for each minute Phelps's crew was out there. They raised thousands, and it was delicious to have drink specials right across the fence from lunatic haters totally vexed by the nonchalance of the crowd.)
posted by klangklangston at 6:09 AM on March 22, 2012 [4 favorites]


Also, I don't shop at Target if I can avoid it, and not just because of one of the worst customer service interactions I've ever had (motherfuckers told me that using a manufacturer's coupon was "stealing" and didn't apologize after wasting an hour of my time).

Sheesh. What kind of coupon keeps you in Targét for an hour? I'd have just put the item back on the shelf and said, "Thanks, but no thanks" and walked out the door. What do they sell you can't get anywhere else, without all the anti-gay BS?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:37 AM on March 22, 2012


gurple: "Give it six months and you'll be just as into Taco Time, or whatever, right?"

Not unless Taco Time also coats their meat with crack and makes their lemonade with ecstasy.

jbickers: "... it just seems to get a disproportionate amount of the outrage ... like an awful lot of people start AND stop there."

Personally, I start when it comes to my attention that a company makes an active effort to degrade people.
posted by wierdo at 10:09 AM on March 22, 2012 [1 favorite]


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