Have a Gaytime...
Here in Australia, we have a popular ice cream called the Golden Gaytime - vanilla & honeycomb-flavoured ice cream on a stick, covered in sugary crumbs. It was first sold in 1959 when 'gay' just meant happy...
Fast-forward to 2021 & there is a small, but vocal push to have the treat renamed, due to the name's connection to the LGBTQI+ community. Interestingly, most Australians spoken to & surveyed about this, were in favour of keeping the name... including an organisation representing the Australian Gay community
So I'm not sure if only 1100 or so signatures on a petition is a significant number, or if this is just being beaten up into a bigger news story than it really is, just to get the old outrage flowing from both sides. Given the way media works, I suspect the latter...
Even the manufacturer caught on to the connotations by the 1980s - The company appears to embrace the camp name by retaining the tagline from the 1980s, "It's hard to have a Gaytime on your own". The in-home boxes feature the words "4 delicious chances to have a gay time". I should mention that, despite the name, I can't think of any negative connotation from it being used against the LGBTQI+ community. Back when I was at school, there was never any kind of shame about having a Gaytime. The fact that it's a delicious ice cream seems to transcend any desire to make fun of people eating it... In fact, I could go one right now!!
Knowing my diverse readership, it's over to you. Should the name be changed? Sure, it originally meant just being happy, but now?
And therefore, should the words to the Flintstones theme song be changed as well? After all, when you meet the Flintstones, "you'll have a gay old time..."
Fast-forward to 2021 & there is a small, but vocal push to have the treat renamed, due to the name's connection to the LGBTQI+ community. Interestingly, most Australians spoken to & surveyed about this, were in favour of keeping the name... including an organisation representing the Australian Gay community
So I'm not sure if only 1100 or so signatures on a petition is a significant number, or if this is just being beaten up into a bigger news story than it really is, just to get the old outrage flowing from both sides. Given the way media works, I suspect the latter...
Even the manufacturer caught on to the connotations by the 1980s - The company appears to embrace the camp name by retaining the tagline from the 1980s, "It's hard to have a Gaytime on your own". The in-home boxes feature the words "4 delicious chances to have a gay time". I should mention that, despite the name, I can't think of any negative connotation from it being used against the LGBTQI+ community. Back when I was at school, there was never any kind of shame about having a Gaytime. The fact that it's a delicious ice cream seems to transcend any desire to make fun of people eating it... In fact, I could go one right now!!
Knowing my diverse readership, it's over to you. Should the name be changed? Sure, it originally meant just being happy, but now?
And therefore, should the words to the Flintstones theme song be changed as well? After all, when you meet the Flintstones, "you'll have a gay old time..."