Cartoonist Joe King, who on Facebook lists “Christian satire” as his primary activity, has produced a 2012 wall calendar called “I’m Not Gay, I’m Just a Sissy” (subtitled “12 Months of Sexual Confusion – Not that there’s anything wrong with that!”). The strong LGBT online reaction to its content got the calendar kicked off Barnes & Noble in a firestorm that illustrates the sometimes blurry line between satire and hate-speech.

Andy Towle got the ball rolling on his blog Towleroad when, on December 27, he simply highlighted the fact that a reader was upset to find the calendar for sale on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.

On December 30, The Pink News, “Europe’s Largest Gay News Service,” noted that the calendar remained available on Amazon-UK and reported, “One of King’s cartoons depicts Paul Revere riding on horseback and shouting 'The sodomites are coming! The sodomites are coming!' [The calendar] is dedicated to the memory of the U.S. revolutionary hero and to gay rights opponent Anita Bryant.”

By Tony Adams, Feature Author

photo by Marius Bugge

Tony Adams is a writer, editor, retired CFO, and Roman Catholic priest. He is Senior Features Correspondent with South Florida Gay News and is the editor of the 20-member queer arts and culture blog Queer New York. He is also a member of the editorial board of Bilerico. His writing has been featured in the 2010 and 2011 issues of PRIDE Magazine.

Tony and his husband Chris have been together for 27 years and were married in Connecticut in December 2008. They divide their time between homes in Fort Lauderdale and Manhattan.