In regards to the Jan. 20 Daily Illini, I would like to point out a piece of disturbing and crude “humor” I found in the comics section. In the cartoon strip titled, “Marco And Marty,” by Billy Fore, Marco and Marty, a male cat and dog respectively, panic over Marty’s presumed pregnancy. Stereotyping this apparent same-sex couple, Marty exclaims, “I’m too pretty to be a mom!”
As the young boy and his grandpa read this story, the young boy points out that Marty can’t be pregnant because he is a male, human-like dog. His grandfather replies, “Fine, he isn’t pregnant ... but you hafta admit this is a pretty gay story.”
I’m confused as to whether the staff of The Daily Illini is aware that the University of Illinois is a world-class, top-tiered institution, and houses an incredibly diverse group of students. The LGBTQ community at UIUC strives to raise awareness that homosexual stereotypes are offensive, and using the word gay as a synonym for “stupid” is not on any level humorous or effective. In fact, it is backwards and homophobic. I am a gay undergraduate student and was appalled to see that the publication that represents my university would publish such backwards and offensive material. While the intent was probably not aimed to offend the LGBTQ community, it did offend me, and many people who did read the strip.
For the sake of the integrity of your publication, and this university, maybe try a less offensive route in your comic strip section. Until then, you’ve lost the respect of many students as a reputable news source.
This information is taken from- http://www.dailyillini.com/node/46519
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