JCPenney Gay Ad
JCPenney knows that "family" does not have a rigid definition. In fact, the idea of a "family" in the twenty-first century is something completely malleable and evolutionary. Thus, JCPenney does not find the need to showcase one sort of familial unit. The department store features them all. So in a new Father's Day ad, JCPenney featured a same sex couple, two fathers, playing with their children. JCPenney

JCPenney knows that family does not have a rigid definition. In fact, the idea of a family in the twenty-first century is something completely malleable and evolutionary. Thus, JCPenney does not find the need to showcase one sort of familial unit. The department store features them all.

In a new advertisement for its June catalog, JCPenney features a same-sex couple - two fathers, in honor of Father's Day - playing with their children. The caption next to the photograph reads: First Pals: What makes Dad so cool? He's the swim coach, tent maker, best friend, bike fixer and hug giver - all rolled into one. Or two.

Jenny Block of the Huffington Post applauded JCPenney for its continued portrayal of the gay community in its ads.

Being visible means not allowing people to make assumptions about us as a group and instead demand that people look at us as individuals, individuals who write for the New York Times during the week and do drag on the weekends and individuals who own PR firms and pose for JCPenney ads with their beautiful family, wrote Block.

Say what you will. But you'd have to be crazy not to see the people in this JCP ad as the proverbial (and in this case, real) family next door. Thank you, JCPenney, and Happy Father's Day, One Million Moms.

This newest JCPenney ad further solidifies the 110-year-old retailer's support for the LGBT community. In February, the department store was condemned by One Million Moms, a group established to fight the filth many segments of our society, especially the entertainment media, are throwing at our children, for hiring openly-gay comedian, Ellen DeGeneres, as a spokeswoman. One Million Moms is an anti-gay organization.

Think Progress' Tara Culp-Ressler chimed in on the conversation about JCPenney's newest ad, writing:

The ad builds on the department store's recent decisions to stand with the LGBT community. In February, when JC Penney came under fire from the anti-gay group One Million Moms for bringing on the openly-gay comedian Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson, the store stood behind its partnership with Ellen. JC Penney's CEO said that 'Ellen represents the values of our company' - and with this kind of pro-equality advertising, JC Penney is continuing to reinforce its progressive values.

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