As the rainbow painted Beetle sat in the middle of campus, many students were in awe of the sight; however, it wasn’t because of the paint job. Erin Davies’ car was spray painted with the word, “fag” and “ur gay”. Instead of removing the hateful words, she drove across the country to capture people’s reactions to the vandalism.
Davies visited WSU to speak about her car and show her most recent film, Fagbug Nation, the sequel to Fagbug. Her story began in April 2007 in Albany, New York, after returning to her car to find it had been spray painted with the words ‘U R GAY’ on the hood and ‘FAG’ on her window in red. The only representation of her sexuality prior to this vandalism had been a small rainbow sticker on the back of her car.
Despite her initial shock and sadness, she turned a cruel hate crime into one of the most unique and impactful LGBTQ awareness movements in the United States. In her first film, aptly titled Fagbug, Davies drove around for a year with the original graffiti on her car, recording the reactions in people she came across, and more interestingly, looking for the person who defaced her car.
“One day I hope the person who did this sees my car and sees all of the supporters I have because of it,” Davies said. “I encourage anyone that may know who it is to email me.”
Davies has never (intentionally) missed an email out of the hundreds sent to her every month, and she appreciates every perspective, be it good or bad. Throughout her film, she traveled across 45 states, interviewed thousands of people, and documented every tear and triumph in-between. Following this feat of pure determination, she gave her car a makeover, resulting in the rainbow-wrapped car, which was parked on campus.
Davies wanted to take it one step further, which became her second film Fagbug Nation. Davies made the commitment to visit all 50 states, ending with Hawaii and Alaska. Her trip across the globe included paying thousands of dollars to ship her car overseas, and driving 90 hours in five days across a barren stretch of Canadian highway to get to Anchorage, Alaska, her only companion her Pomeranian, Hoosick.
With no film crew on board the Fagbug to help during the making of Fagbug Nation, Davies depended on people she met along the way to assist in the filming. From a Canadian hitchhiker she picked up on the side of the road, to random people she met on her flights, each person’s support inspired her perseverance. That is not to say she didn’t come across her share of negative encounters, many of whom told her what she was doing would send her straight to He**.
“People’s reactions were honestly entertaining,” Davies said. “and I was constantly getting pictures taken of me, I still am. I have no privacy.”
She encourages people to spread the word about the Fagbug, because even if they’re saying negative things, at least they’re getting the conversation started. Davies said that she believed “fag” to be an offensive word, and she wasn’t trying to offend people with her car, she was just showing people what had already happened.
“The first movie is a little dark but it’s the truth,” Davies said. “It’s honest and real.”
Fagbug Nation’s release date is TBD, but Davies’ first documentary Fagbug can be found on Netflix. The DVD of Fagbug is available for purchase at her website www.fagbug.com along with several other merchandise items like this cute little toy rainbow bug!