Lesbian couple asked to reverse shirt at Dollywood

[marmar]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A lesbian couple is asking for changes at Dollywood after an employee asked one of the women to turn her T-shirt reading "marriage is so gay" inside-out to avoid offending others on a recent visit to the Tennessee theme park complex.

Olivier Odom and Jennifer Tipton said Tuesday they want the park to be more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families after Odom was asked to reverse her shirt when they visited Dollywood Splash Country next to the Pigeon Forge amusement park. The story was first reported by WBIR-TV in Knoxville.

Dollywood spokesman Pete Owens said on Tuesday that Dollywood is open to all families, but their dress code policy is to ask people with clothing or tattoos that could be considered offensive to change clothes or cover up.

Owens said the couple was not asked to leave and complied with the rules to reverse the shirt when asked. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/gay-couple-asked-reverse-shirt-dollywood-200120079.html

[WCGreen]

1. So while the rest of the world is heading into the 21st century...

pockets of the deep south and midwest still cling onto 1st century traditions.

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. And Europe and the Northeast. And California. Don't single out the south. This would've happened

any-freakin-where. And you know it.

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. It COULD happen anywhere.

Only in the south and midwest is it SOP.

Don't be so freakin' defensive.

I don't expect every place in NC to be Ashville or Durham. I KNOW that the knuckledraggers are the majority. That doesn't mean there are not blue enclaves.

The reverse is true elsewhere, where there are red enclaves in solidly blue states.

Try moving around a bit - you will see, the South IS different. And that is because the South goes to great efforts to BE different.

[Shagbark Hickory]

13. Name 1 privately owned theme park that would allow someone to wear a melee-provoking

shirt or engage in other behavior that anyone can see is a liability.

Just one.

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. How about the one I once worked at, called Gold Nugget Junction

an old-west theme park in Missouri (kind of a poor-man's Silver Dollar City).

I don't know if it still exists, but I know we didn't turn anyone away who paid for admission.

And who the fuck says "Mairriage Is So Gay" is 'melee-provoking'?

[Dawgs]

3. Defending one group by attacking another is not 21st century.

This would have happened in Ohio just as much as the South.

[Shagbark Hickory]

14. Or New York. Or New Hampshire. And they know it.

[Lint Head]

4. I saw this last night. They should file a law suit.

The park spokes folks said they often tell people to turn around offensive statements on tee shirts because it is a family park.
I could understand Motherf#$&*r of S#!T being offensive. Being gay or homosexual is NOT offensive. I bet they would say nothing to someone wearing a "I'm a proud heterosexual" tee shirt. Bigotry is still alive.

[Shagbark Hickory]

16. It doesn't matter where you stand on the issue. Anyone can see that the shirt is a problem

waiting to happen.

It's a liability, just as hanging off the railings or misbehaving on a rollercoaster.
They have people on staff that have to monitor these things and I for one think it was justified.

What if they were wearing a shirt that said "librulz r going to hell." I'd probably shout some things at them. They'd push me. I'd push back. It'd turn ugly. Yeah. It'd turn ugly real fast.

[idiotgardener]

20. Then you'd be the problem, not the shirt. (nt)

[CreekDog]

5. Calling something "gay" is offensive to some folks

we aren't even supposed to do it here on DU.

i understand the message and support it, but i avoid using that terminology.

also, Dolly Parton is as far from anti-gay as one can get.

i think one should consider that before reacting too harshly towards her.

[marmar]

6. "also, Dolly Parton is as far from anti-gay as one can get"

True, but I doubt that Dolly is there micromanaging the day-to-day activities at the park.

[pitohui]

9. i agree w. creekdog

while i can now understand the point of the tee-shirt was to be supportive of gay marriage, let's be real, a lot of people could have misunderstood the shirt to be an anti-gay comment

it's one of those "jokes" that not everybody is going to get

why take a chance of being offensive, especially of offending those you actually intend to support?

jokes on t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. are not so witty as people may seem to believe, and tone of voice etc. can be the difference between a "joke" being a joke and an insult

the employee who asked the shirt to be turned inside-out could be very supportive of gay rights, they could actually just feel it's offensive to say ANYTHING is "so gay," a lot of people dislike that terminology, i for one feel uneasy about it

[ret5hd]

11. explain the line of reasoning that would lead someone to think this...

was an anti-gay comment.

really, explain it to me. not asking you to defend it, just explain the reasoning someone would use to get from A to B.

now, i understand how someone could take it to be anti-marriage, and that the use of an anti-gay slur to describe the "thing" (marriage, in this case) could kinda be a "second-hand" slur against gays, but first you would have to find someone that seriously believed that the statement was an anti-marriage statement.

so really, tell me how someone is going to think that this statement was anti-gay.

[CreekDog]

17. the "so gay" part

like saying, "equality for (n-words)".

supportive? probably.

offensive? to many.

[Prism]

7. I'm not very troubled by this

Saying something "is so gay" is considered a pejorative for many people. I can easily see why someone charged with monitoring a dress code would balk at that shirt - without anyone's opinion on gay marriage being involved.

I dunno. Honestly, the shirt kind of irks me. I don't think it's really appropriate for a place with kids. Simply because of that pejorative connotation. People are spending quite a lot of time and effort trying to get kids to stop calling things "so gay" and here's an adult with it on their t-shirt.

I think there's a lack of common sense here on the patron's part.

But, YMMV.

[Poll_Blind]

10. +1

PB

[Shagbark Hickory]

15. +2

[CreekDog]

18. and isn't Dolly Parton pretty pro-gay anyway?

i'm not saying her employee is, but still...

[Prism]

19. Very, very, very n/t

[Doctor Hurt]

8. Uh, doesn't Dolly Parton have an open marriage

I wonder if that would fly at Dollywood...