Our Raison D'être
| posted by Melissa McEwan | 4:39 PM | permalink |



On Thursday, March 20, 2008, Jay Leno welcomed as his guest on The Tonight Show the actor Ryan Phillippe, who, early in his career, played a gay character on the daily soap One Life to Live. During the interview, Leno hounded Phillippe, telling him to look into the camera, pretend it was his "gay lover…Billy Bob," who "has just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming" (still milking the Brokeback jokes), and give it his "gayest look."

See the video!


Jeff—who, in 2006, famously penned a letter to Jay Leno about his homophobic humor—completed another missive, in which he included a photographic sign-off (at left) of his "gayest look." Melissa—who was similarly agitated in 2006—then offered up her "gayest look" (also at left), and soon her readers began to send in their gayest looks—and an avalanche began. Simultaneously, writer Dan Savage suggested to Jeff that he collect people's "gayest looks," and that, folks, is called synchronicity. Forces were joined.

And while we're being a bit cheeky about all this, our message is dead serious: A 2005 study by GLSEN found that 90% of LGBTQ teens had been harassed or assaulted during the previous year. They were three times as likely as non-LGBTQ students to say that they do not feel safe at school and remain at increased risk for bullying, assault, and suicide. That doesn't happen in a void. Gay jokes are not harmless; they contribute to a culture in which institutionalized homophobia has tragic consequences. We want Jay Leno to know that we, LGBTQ people and their allies, are not amused.

So now it's your turn! Send us your "gayest look" for Jay .

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Lar the Destroyer's Gayest Look

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Robert's Gayest Look

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Steffa B's Gayest Look

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Cat-Club-Founder-Tim's Gayest Look

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Christopher's Gayest Look

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Paul the Spud's Gayest Look

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Paul's Gayest Look



Mike's and Skip's Gayest Look



Rocco's Gayest Look



BStewart's Gayest Look



Sammy's Gayest Look



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Scott's Gayest Look



Elise's Gayest Look



David's Gayest Look



Mykill's Gayest Look


Lue's Gayest Look


John's Gayest Look


Mr. Poe's Gayest Look


Chuck's Gayest Look


Dillon's Gayest Look


Comic Jim David's Gayest Look


Dancingman and Friends' Gayest Looks


Steph's Gayest Look


Giovanni's Gayest Look


Kevin's Gayest Look


Annie's Gayest Look


Bree's Gayest Look (with help from John Barrowman)


Phil's Gayest Look


Andy Towle's Gayest Look


Philip's Gayest Look


Patrick's Gayest Look


Miros's Gayest Look


Jeremy's Gayest Look


Matt's Gayest Look


Evan's Gayest Look


Felipe's Gayest Look


Dykes and the City and Her Lover C's Gayest Looks


Steve's Gayest Look


Jorge's Gayest Look


William's Gayest Look


Robert's Gayest Look


Rodrigo's Gayest Look


Narwhal's Gayest Look


Master Chef Rachel's Gayest Look


Loquacious Laura's Gayest Look


Josh's Gayest Look


Liz's Gayest Look


Diane's Gayest Look


Elizabeth's Gayest Look


Dave's Gayest Look


Brian's Gayest Look


Bob's Gayest Look


Aaron's Gayest Look


Betsy's Gayest Look



Pat's Gayest Look



Kenny Blogginz's Gayest Look



Pizza Diavola's Gayest Look



Grumpy Old Man's Gayest Look



Erin's Gayest Look



Lisa's Gayest Look



Magda's Gayest Look



Tom's Gayest Look



Barry's Gayest Look



Patty's Gayest Look



Montex's Gayest Look



Johnny A's Gayest Look



Otterevil's and Bondage Bear's Gayest Look



Jeffrey's Gayest Look



Nick's Gayest Look



Lolita's Gayest Look



Adam's Gayest Look



L's Gayest Look



Billy's Gayest Look



Julie's Gayest Look



LivvySidhe's and TankDiveGirl's Gayest Look



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Pidomon's Gayest Look



Everstar's Gayest Look



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TS' Gayest Look



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Corey's Gayest Look



Sarah's Gayest Look



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Infamous QBert's Gayest Look



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CB's (with help from Doyle) Gayest Look



Car's Gayest Look



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Luisma's Gayest Look



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Carolyn's Gayest Look



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Iain's (aka Mr. Shakes) Gayest Look



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Jeff's Gayest Look