An advertisement which features a lesbian couple has been released in India and yes, in a country where homosexuality is still against the law, it is very groundbreaking.
Titled “The Visit,” the ad for clothing brand Anouk Ethnic apparel focuses on a lesbian couple as they lounge around and nervously wait for one of the woman’s parents after deciding it’s time for the family to know about their relationship. The ad gathered over 3 million views after just 10 days of being released.
“We tried to avoid the stereotypes associated with gay people,” producer Avishek Ghosh told the Times. “We tried to give it a candid feel, like it is any other couple being apprehensive about meeting the parents.”
While the ad has been met with praise, there is also a handful of criticism. After all, homosexuality is punishable by up to 10 years in jail ever since India’s Supreme Court restored an 1861 law a few years ago. As such, being openly homosexual is still widely seen as taboo in Indian culture.
As for the Indian lesbian community, they are apparently torn about the ad.
“There was a part of me thinking, ‘It’s good… people are at least talking about lesbians.’ But then the activist in me is questioning, ‘Aur bhi kuch hota (Wish it had more),” Rituparna Borah, a queer-feminist activist, told Quartz. “Maybe a single lesbian woman fighting discrimination in a work space, or the harassment she faces at the hands of her family.”
On the other hand, Noor Enayat– a public relations person & civil rights activist– says that she realizes the romance in the ad seems like a “marketing gimmick,” but she doesn’t mind it since her relationship with her life partner is exactly like that. After all, we can’t expect this one ad to represent the way every single lesbian relationship is, so why not allow these girls to share this touching moment?
Whether it’s praise or criticism, the ad has certainly caught the attention of millions. Supporters of the ad have taken over twitter with the hashtag #BoldIsBeautiful.
