Donnie Davies

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Donnie Davies is a character who is featured in a number of websites. There is controversy surrounding whether his activities are genuine or part of an elaborate hoax. Davies describes himself as an Anabaptist youth pastor, "reformed homosexual", and lead singer for the band Evening Service.

Davies and the band were unknown until the release of the music video for the anti-homosexuality song "The Bible Says" on the Internet on January 24, 2007. Davies claims affiliation with the organization Love God's Way Ministries, which launched a website around the same time as the release of the video.

He is also the founder and spokesman for the C.H.O.P.s program. The acronym stands for "Changing Homosexuals into Ordinary People". C.H.O.P.S is promoted through Love God's Way's website.

His video has been removed from Youtube.com without comment from the company and has been removed by Google.[1]

[edit] Controversy

Much of the controversy revolves around whether or not this is a real person with a real agenda, or if this is a viral marketing campaign. Some gay rights advocates acknowledge that as a spoof there is humor, but claim the message behind it is still as malicious as someone who seriously possesses this opinion.[2][1][3] Debate has quickly risen regarding the authenticity of Davies' youth ministry activities, the band Evening Service, and the organization Love God's Way ranging from entertainment publications such as Spin[4] to thousands of personal blogs[1] Some in the blogosphere maintained that Davies was a true former homosexual seeking to convert other homosexuals to heterosexuality[citation needed]. Others considered Davies ministry and the video part of a carefully orchestrated hoax mocking the Christian Conservative community. Other controversy involve the claims on Donnie's website of what music "will make you gay."[5]

Gay rights organizations such as Heartstrong[6] are addressing this as a serious threat to the gay community. The reasoning is that whether or not it is a humorous spoof, the message behind it is still malicious and being disseminated without control and in the end accomplishes what it intended through humor.[2][1][3] Others have reasoned that, regardless of Davies' authenticity, his actions have played an important role in raising awareness of efforts to "reform" homosexuals.[7]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c The Latest!. The Washington Blade (29 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  2. ^ a b Dan Savage, "Slog". The Stranger (28 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  3. ^ a b One Big Conn: When Viral Marketing Misses Its Mark. Philadelphia Weekly (31 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  4. ^ Donnie Davies: Real McCoy or Offensive Gag?. Spin (24 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  5. ^ Music Makes You Gay?. Cinema Blend (30 January 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
  6. ^ Heartstrong
  7. ^ The case of Donnie Davies and "God Hates Fags". Online Journal (2 February 2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-04.