The iphone as a Gay Pride symbol

Last week, on October 30, 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay - though it had been known, and he'd been included in gay press rankings of 'most powerful' LGBTQ people since at least 2011 - it was a definitive, public statement that, not only was he gay, but that:

"I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

The day after his coming out article was published, a Russian group of companies called ZEFS dismantled the Steve Jobs memorial they had put up back in January 2013 outside a St. Petersburg college.

The Steve Jobs memorial, before it was taken down. Photo from here.

The over 6-foot tall iphone sculpture had to be taken down, ZEFS said, because:

"After Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly called for sodomy, the monument was taken down to abide to the Russian federal law protecting children from information promoting denial of traditional family values."

It would be almost laughable if it weren't so horrible.

Being proudly gay is not a public call 'for sodomy' - and actually, what the heck would that be? He's not asking for straight people to suddenly become gay. Nobody is. And really, making a man's coming out as gay all about sex (by calling it 'sodomy') is a way to demean gay and lesbian relationships by saying they're not about love, they're only about sex. This perpetuates the idea that gay people are different than hetero-normative people, that we're less than.

We're not.

Our relationships and our loves are just as powerful, just as meaningful, just as 'regular' as hetero relationships. And guess what? We have families, too. We're children, and brothers, and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins and yes, even parents. And as a gay parent, my early mornings are all about making my daughter's lunch for school, and helping her get ready so my husband can take her to the bus stop. Crazy gay life, huh?

And how is this new twist in the anti-gay policies of Russia even tenable? What happens now to the millions of Russians who have iphones?

Because, whether they intended to or not, this action has made the iphone a symbol of gay pride.

I'll continue to use mine proudly. And maybe I'll add one of these, too:

Gay Pride Rainbow iphone case!