Sydney Skywriter Strikes Again With Possible Anti-Lesbian Sentiment
Image: "KIDS NEED DADS" message scrawled across the Sydney sky.
Sydney residents looked skywards on Tuesday to find 鈥淜IDS NEED DADS鈥� written in 500-metre-high vapour.
The message, the latest in a series of controversial sky signs, sparked heated debate online and across the city.
The phrase itself was also the subject of debate, with many on social media confused as to whether the statement holds anti-lesbian sentiment or is protesting parental alienation.
The man behind the signs, Rob Vance, owns Skywriting Australia, supposedly the nation鈥檚 only skywriting business. He鈥檚 been commissioning sky signs for individuals, groups and corporations since the 1980s but has only come under public scrutiny in recent years.
听Back in 2017, the word 鈥淭RUMP鈥� was written in the sky on the same day as the Sydney Women鈥檚 March. In the same year, 鈥淰OTE NO鈥� appeared prior to the national plebiscite on marriage equality.
During New South Wales鈥� debate over abortion legislation in 2019, Vance鈥檚 sky signs read, 鈥淪AVE UNBORN鈥� and 鈥淐HOOSE LIFE鈥�.
Late last year, the then President of the United States received another plug when 鈥淭RUMP 2020鈥� littered the sky.
However, Vance does not only accept commissions with conservative messages. In June last year, 鈥�#BLM鈥� soared overhead as Black Lives Matter protesters marched through Sydney.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Vance conceded he had the final say in which messages would and wouldn鈥檛 be accepted.
鈥淸People] always want to do a cock and balls. It鈥檚 just not on.鈥�
Vance also rejected a request to write 鈥淰OTE YAAASS鈥� during the marriage equality debate in 2017.
听In the same interview, he explained his refusal was the result of backlash from the 鈥淰OTE NO鈥� sign.
鈥淚 just said 鈥榓fter the way your 蝉颈诲别鈥檚 treated me, I鈥檓 not doing anything鈥�.鈥�
Trivia host and founder of DIY Rainbow, James Breko, told 17c起草社区 skywriting needs be regulated like other forms of advertising.
鈥淭he government needs to regulate skywriting like they do with all other advertising platforms. If the industry is here to stay, we need a competitive skywriting economy with many players in the market. Otherwise it鈥檚 time to shut down a bigoted monopoly.鈥�
However, this change may be out of reach, with skywriting exempt from many of the laws that dictate advertising practises in Australia.
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