Last year, Erin Davies from New York State had her car vandalized, with the words ‘fag’ and ‘u r gay.’ Instead of getting her car repainted, she kept the graffiti on her car for more than a year as a way to start conversations and to raise awareness about queer issues and homophobia. She drove across the U.S. last year to document people’s reactions to the words gay.  

Well, Erin’s fag bug has a new look, thanks to Volkswagen. Now her car is a serious advertisement against homophobia. 

Erin said, “Fag Bug has become much more than when it started. And to be able to transform it into something positive, rather than have people look at my car and be upset and hurt, I’d rather they look and see how bright the colors are, see something fun and playful instead of something hurtful.”

She says about the old car, “It personally made me really uncomfortable to drive around in the Fag Bug, initially, and I will admit I still am at times. But throughout this whole experience I’ve grown stronger as an individual,” she said.

You can see her flickr photos here.