When Satire of Homophobes Looks Like the Real Thing
Last week, an article from ChristWire.org purporting to tell women the fifteen signs of a gay husband got links from all over the web, from the Huffington Post to obscure twitter users. While everyone could agree that the nine signs were ridiculous, no one could agree on whether it was a joke or not. Now, all can be revealed: yes, Christwire.org is a joke, at least according to the New York Times:
Not the readership — which hit a high of 27 million page views in August — but the content, the opinions and the fake authors who write the stuff. (There is no “Stephenson Billings.”) Neither of the two founders is a conservative Christian. They are just like-minded 28-year-olds who met on the Internet, have never seen each other in person, and until this week had never given their real identities to a reporter.
The nine reasons that the article listed include:
Porn addiction is closely associated with homosexuality and a secretive nature implies he’s trying to hide something from you. Be on the lookout for a man who doesn’t want to web surf or answer phone calls in your presence. Texting is another favorite trick used by adulterers. For the sake of trust, a married couple should share everything, including phone logs, email accounts, chat friends and website histories.
Fetishism is a sign that a man is seeking a harder thrill beyond the normal intimacy of heterosexual relations. The woman may not appeal to the deep desires that are coming to the surface as the marriage drags on. If there is a sudden interest in sodomy, sadomasochism, lubricants, role-play, sex toys or other non-traditional intercourse methods, this is clearly an indication of deep emotional abnormalities.
8) More interested in the men than the women in pornographic films
Pornography is a dangerous element in any marriage but there are many Christians who feel watching it does add something to their sexual lives. If you have gone down this road and find that your man perks up at the sight of the men in these sorts of videos, you should be concerned. If he selects films because of specific male actors, this is an obvious sign that he is suffering from a crisis of ego and desire.
A man who is secretly engaged in homosexual activity with others may exhibit feminine qualities when they get together in a group. In a sense, he has “let his hair down” and this will be seen in excessive back talk and speaking with one’s hands.
12) Love of pop culture
It’s quite common for young men to enjoy the science fiction end of popular culture, but when your husband becomes overly obsessed with romantic and feminine shows, that is cause for alarm. Gossip websites, Glee and The Golden Girls are three well-documented icons of the gay movement that genuine heterosexual men avoid.
The thing is, you could hardly be blamed for wondering whether this is real or not. The whole question about ChristWire.org is an excellent example of what's called Poe's Law, first articulated by Nathan Poe in 2005:
The fact is that what ChristWire.org published sounds frighteningly close to some of the things that "ex-gay" leaders say with complete seriousness. The satirical site for Landover Baptist Church, for example, is often mistaken for the real thing, despite (or because of) headlines like What Can Baptists Do to Help Speed Up Global Warming So Jesus Comes Back Quicker?, A Look Inside Our Facility for the Treatment of Pre-Sodomy, or Christian Kids Want to Know: Do Negroes Go to Heaven?
The satire is brilliant, but the fact that it's so hard to spot the satire is terrifying.
Print
