Washington Post Ombudsman Defends Photo Featuring Gay Kiss

Dan82 · Mar 9, 2010

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ombudsman-blog/2010/03/readers_react_to_photo_of_two.html

Powerful photographs can have lasting impact, and a Post photo of two men kissing is an image that many readers can neither forget nor accept.

The photo, which ran on the newspaper's front page and online last week, captured Jeremy Ames and Taka Ariga kissing outside D.C. Superior Court on the day that the District began accepting license applications for same-sex marriages.

Almost immediately, I began hearing from upset readers. That’s normal when controversial photos appear in The Post. The same thing happened recently when The Post published disturbing images of Haiti earthquake victims. Typically, the complaints quickly subside. With last Thursday’s photo, they continued into Friday, through the weekend and even today. Early this morning, before D.C. Superior Court began issuing licenses to same-sex couples who had applied, a caller phoned to warn that he would cancel his Post subscription “if I see another photo of men lip-locking.”

A few of the readers have engaged in rants, often with anti-gay slurs. One called me to complain about “promoting a faggot lifestyle.” Another complained about the photo in an e-mail to the two Post reporters who wrote Thursday’s story about the licenses: “That kind of stuff makes normal people want to throw up. People have kids who are being exposed to this crap. I will be glad when your rag goes out of business. Real men marry women.”

But most simply said The Post had offended their sensibilities by publishing the photo, especially on the front page...
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paint · Mar 9, 2010

You know I can't wait for April 16th. Flash freeze mob. I feel like I might be reaching people and showing how harmful those comments can be.

RaeofLite · Mar 9, 2010

Some people are rather immature aren't they? Then again I'm sure many people still think it's a choice or "lifestyle". Right... and you think we want to face your discrimination? No... Yes, we choose being gay so we can be called derogatory things... *eyeroll*

Swamp56 · Mar 10, 2010

I liked this question asked in the comments section:

I have to wonder if the photo have gotten the same reaction if it was two women kissing on the front page?
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Washington Post Ombudsman Defends Photo Featuring Gay Kiss

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