November 25, 2013
Anti-Gay Message in Icing Really Takes the Cake
Winnie McCroy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
A Washington, DC, woman was shocked to find that the anniversary cake she bought for her genderqueer partner contained an anti-gay message.
The customer, identified as Sarah, said she had ordered a carrot cake from an Arlington, Virginia bakery catalogue, asking them to omit the icing balloons, and write "Happy Anniversary Lindsey, Love, Sarah!"
What she got when she picked up the cake was a chocolate cake with balloons, and the words "Lesbian Anniv. No Ballons [stet]" instead, written in sloppy blue icing.
"It's disappointing to know that when I want to honor the most important person in my life, I have to worry about some intolerant person ruining the surprise I had planned," Sarah told The Advocate in an article.
Sarah also said that when she spoke to bakery employees about the affront, the manager apologized for the sloppy text but refused to address the context of the message itself. She declined the owner's offer for a new cake, but said she and her partner would eat the one they ordered.
"How could anyone mistake that for something a person would want on a cake?" Sarah asked The Advocate. "And what baker would sell something so messy and unprofessional? When it occurred to me that this was probably an intentional insult to my relationship, I was appalled at the audacity of the cake decorator or baker or whoever was responsible."
Winnie McCroy is the Women on the EDGE Editor, HIV/Health Editor, and Assistant Entertainment Editor for EDGE Media Network, handling all women's news, HIV health stories and theater reviews throughout the U.S. She has contributed to other publications, including The Village Voice, Gay City News, Chelsea Now and The Advocate, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
