In 1955, the late, great civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a White passenger, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In 2010, a male prostitute is using her name in vain and blogger Julie Gerstein is doing something about it.


"Markus," the man-whore in question, is the first legal gigolo in the United States. Because he's broken down the gender barrier in the female-dominated world of prostitution he believes it makes him akin to a martyr.

We beg to differ. As does You're Not Rosa Parks (YNRP) site creator, Julie Gerstein. Her Tumblr blog is dedicated to the asinine quotes from people like Markus, Gabrielle Union, Ted Nugent and 'Girls Gone Wild' creator, Joe Francis -- all of whom have compared their own trivial accomplishments to those of the civil rights icon.

BVX interviewed Gerstein to find out what inspired her to start the blog that has become "the Rosa Parks of Rosa Parks blogs"

What gave you the idea to start YNRP?

JG: I started the site about two weeks ago because I was reading an interview with Markus, a male prostitute in Nevada and I was like "Dude, no." I thought he was not the first to misappropriate Rosa Parks' legacy, so I started researching.

What has the response been like so far?

JG: My site has been picked up in the past couple of weeks on Jezebel, GQ, and Buzzfeed.

What have the comments been like?

JG: The comments have not been super heavy yet. I'm hoping to get a dialogue going. Some people get the satirical nature of the blog and some don't. My goal with this blog is not in anyway to defame Rosa Parks and her legacy, but to point out those who are defaming her name.

What do you think it takes to be "like a Rosa Parks"?

JG: Rosa Parks did something revolutionary at the time as an African American and as a woman. What she accomplished with the civil rights movement is remarkable. She was standing up against personalized and instutionalized racism and it was critical.

There are tons of people with worthwhile fights such as Somaly Mam, who helps women against sex trafficking. I think she embodies the spirit of Rosa Parks, but there are tons of others.

Outkast, do you think they were wrong for the song "Rosa Parks"?

JG: I don't know the song. It's like a cultural moment that I missed.

Who's the most ridiculous wannabe Rosa Parks you've come across?

JG: Joe Francis, the "Girls Gone Wild" guy. I don't see his legacy of getting girls to take their clothes off as similar to the struggle for civil rights. Also, Canadian nudists. Are they really struggling?