Dismantling Homophobia with Some Big Gay Ice Cream

by Michael Jones · 2009-08-08 07:14:00 UTC
Topics:

Big Gay Ice Cream

Big gay ice cream is peaking at the right time given the August heat.  For those traveling to (or living in) NYC this summer, there's another item to add to your 'must-see' list.  It's a Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, and it seems to be gaining in popularity with each passing summer day.

What is the Big Gay Ice Cream truck?  It's an ice cream truck service started by Doug Quint, who is part professional bassoonist and now part ice cream truck guy.  Quint is gay, and he drives around an ice cream truck with a giant rainbow soft-serve cone plastered on it.  Sounds kind of funny, right?  Well, it's gone from a quirky little adventure, to a seemingly NYC culinary experience.  In the past two weeks alone there have been stories on NPR, Gothamist, Heeb, and Metro Weekly to name a few.  And Quint's ice cream truck now has more than 2,300 followers on Twitter (and counting), looking for a daily dish of dessert.

But how can ice cream dismantle homophobia?  Well, for that, check out Quint's own words, courtesy of Heeb. Yes, ice cream is not political.  But it seems like in a small way, Big Gay Ice Cream is having an impact on people's hearts and minds:

The Big Gay Ice Cream truck has become more than a summer gig for Doug [Quint], who recently blogged about the kids—most seem to be tourists—who are amazed about the GAY truck.

"Usually the kid is between seven and 12, I’d say. You can tell that they only think of the word ‘gay’ as an insult. The parents brush it off. I can see that some of them do so naturally, and others take a brief moment while they decide how to react. They shrug, or tell their child, ‘Yep, it’s the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck.’ Sometimes they even come over for a cone.

I wonder if my silly banner, and the child/parent reactions to it, might be a good thing. Maybe one or two of the kids that pass by my truck will now think twice before using ‘gay’ as an insult. If that keeps one kid from hearing it the way I (and lots of you) did—as a personal attack— I’m proud."

Who knew ice cream could be so powerful?  So if you're in NYC, or heading there soon, check out the Big Gay Ice Cream truck on twitter.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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