The Edge radio network says it has set a new world record for the numbers of girls kissing girls simultaneously, but the stunt has drawn ire from gays and right-wing groups alike. They kissed a girl - but did anyone like it?: Girls pash in Roturua This afternoon at 4:45pm in various cities across New Zealand, 120 couples – making a total of 240 girls – puckered up and kissed for 20 seconds in an attempt to win a trip to Melbourne to see I Kissed a Girl singer Katy Perry live, says the station. The competition was promoted through the radio station's nationwide network and via a text message campaign. The Christchurch Press says onlookers at the stunt in Cathedral Square were "mostly male" while participants were told to be "as hetero or gay as you like about it." Of the 17 locations planned to feature a kissing event, Hamilton had the best turnout, reports suggest. The right-wing Family Party – which recently also opposed Auckland's Boobs On Bikes event, slammed the stunt, saying it "reflects the decline in standards of public decency" and it worried that "young children could be innocently exposed to these event." Writers on GayNZ.com's Forum were annoyed for a different reason, seeing the competition as a voyeuristic fantasy for straight men, rather than an authentic exercise in lesbian visibility. "This is about as lesbian as a wet t-shirt contest," read one comment. Another said the promotion was "sexist and offensive". A third wondered "what would they do if a whole lot of boys turned up and joined in – with each other?"
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Friday, 5th September 2008 - 7:26pm