Fagbug
Fagbug is a Volkswagen New Beetle owned by Erin Davies of Troy, New York who, in response to graffiti on her car, embarked on a trans-American road trip to raise awareness of LGBT rights.[1][2][3]
History
On April 18, 2007, Davies, an art education graduate student at Sage College of Albany, found the words "fag" and "U R gay" [sic] spray-painted on her car.[4] In response, she put her studies on hold and embarked upon a video-documented, 55,000 mile (89,000 km) journey through 41 U.S. states, during which she interviewed 536 people and spoke out against hate crimes.[5][6][7] Davies received sponsorship from Volkswagen Group of America and HD Radio to use for gas money, car expenses, and the film.[8] In 2009, Davies' documentary film, Fagbug, premiered at film festivals throughout the United States and is also on Netflix, Hulu and iTunes, and was given the award "Best Gay Car Movie Of The Year" by Vanity Fair.[1]
After driving her car with the graffiti for a year, Erin decided to give her car a makeover. She now tours with her rainbow Volkswagen Beetle speaking at Universities across North America. Erin has presented the Fagbug story at over 300 schools (including Yale and Cornell University) and businesses (including Volkswagen of America, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Docs in Progress) to bring awareness about hate crimes and to confront homophobia. Erin's been featured on NPR, ABC News, Newsweek, BBC, Vanity Fair, and was highlighted in Clara Lewis' book about hate crimes titled "Tough On Hate." Vanity Fair defined Fagbug in "Words That Shaped The Week" as: FagBug [fag buhg], noun: An adorable, polychromatic, and frequently vandalized Volkswagen Beetle designed to facilitate LGBT-tolerance.
See also
References
- ^ a b Berk, Brett (February 28, 2010). "The Heartwarming Story of Fagbug". VF Daily. Stick Shift, The Gay Car Blog. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Raymundo, Oscar (December 19, 2007). "Driven to Spread Awareness". Current Project for Student Journalism. (Newsweek). Retrieved February 28, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help)[dead link] - ^ Stewart, Alison (January 16, 2008). "The Adventures of a Car Named 'Fagbug'". Bryant Park Project. (National Public Radio). Retrieved August 10, 2009.
- ^ Parry, Marc (May 1, 2007). "An act of hatred backfires". Times Union. (timesunion.com). Retrieved August 10, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Kroll, Morgan (June 19, 2007). "Meet the bloggers: Erin Davies". The Advocate. Retrieved August 10, 2009.
- ^ Smith, K.M. (September 1, 2007). "Activist Debuts the FagBug" (PDF). Curve. (fagbug.com). Retrieved February 28, 2010.
- ^ Jubie, Ken (April 22, 2008). ""Fagbug" turns hate into inspiration". Capital News 9. Retrieved August 10, 2009.
- ^ Kusner, Daniel A. "Erin Davies' Pride Ride". Retrieved 19 February 2013.
External links
- Fagbug.com
- Fagbug at IMDb
- Erin Davies radio interview, National Public Radio
- Erin Davies video interview, Syracuse.com
 | This article about lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender topics is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |