Big Ugly Liars: General Mills, 'Pretty Little Liars' and Homophobia

Earlier this year the Florida Family Association, a conservative “moral watchdog” group with ties to the notoriously homophobic organization Focus On the Family, set its sights on ABC Family’s popular show, Pretty Little Liars.

The FFA asserts that the show’s portrayal of main character Emily Fields, who came out as queer in Season 1, is sending a message that “reinforces and legitimizes [the] homosexual lifestyle.”

The group encourages supporters to put pressure on advertisers to withdraw their funding in order to save young girls everywhere from the “salacious and glamorizing scenes” of lesbianism. Speaking of salacious and glamorizing, if you’re looking for screen shots of girls kissing or quick links to YouTube videos of Emily’s more romantic scenes, the FFA website has got you covered.

As the FFA references in their anti-gay campaign, Pretty Little Liar’s largest audience sector is composed of girls between the ages of 12 and 18. When I was that age I was a freaked out latent homo deep in the heart of Texas, certain that admitting I was queer meant settling in for a lifetime of being damaged and alone.

I sure as hell could have benefitted from seeing Emily Fields on my TV. What is remarkable about the queer content on Pretty Little Liars is how the writers have moved beyond the initial coming out conflict and seamlessly folded Emily’s narrative in with all the other story lines. It’s a big deal because it’s not a big deal and this is precisely what the homophobes at the FFA can’t handle. On a show full of dirty little secrets, Emily's queerness just isn’t one of them.

In the era of the Tea Party, moralist yahoos like the FFA are a dime a dozen, and as a queer lady who is protective of her sanity, I ignore the most of these folks. However, after hearing that corporate giant General Mills had pulled their advertising cash and then sent a thank-you note to the FFA, my interest was piqued.

When I read about their response to queer journalist Trish Bendix of AfterEllen.com’s direct questions regarding the link between their decision and the anti-gay campaign being run by the FFA, I got mad. Basically they gave her a non-answer and implied that by connecting and questioning these two actions, she was guilty of making incorrect inferences against the company. Like somehow it was Bendix who brought the unpleasant homophobia in the room with her.

This type of shady, deflective finger pointing is institutionalized oppression at work. It is insidious and infuriating. General Mills is refusing to take accountability for the intent behind their actions and they seem to think that this refusal will keep them safe. That they can somehow satisfy homophobic fundamentalists like the FFA and still keep the high rating they were given by mainstream gay-rights powerhouse the HRC. But institutionalized oppression is a matter of result, not a matter of intent.

Which is a fancy way for me to say, General Mills, I know what you did this summer and I call bullsh@#.

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