India’s first ad featuring a lesbian couple deserves a thumbs-up
The online portal Myntra has done what many in India would squirm at – it has willingly accepted a lesbian relationship. The portal’s recent advertisement features a lesbian couple for their collection of ethnic wear, Anouk.
The online portal Myntra has done what many in India would squirm at – it has willingly accepted a lesbian relationship. The portal’s recent advertisement features a lesbian couple for their collection of ethnic wear, Anouk.
This is the first time in India that a lesbian couple has been shown in an ad, and, the best bit is that it steers clear of any cliches! The Myntra ad is refreshingly beautiful and touching.
A still from the advertisement.
We see the couple, gearing up for parents' visit to their house. What is unique is the fact that it does not stereotype lesbians. Neither of the two girls is extra 'masculine' or 'feminine' -- they are simply two girls living together and willing to accept their relationship. Nothing more, and yet, nothing less!
It is a huge leap forward in the Indian advertising world to not only make a lesbian couple the central characters of an ad but also to avoid the temptation to reduce them to caricatures.
Watch the ad:
There have been few instances in the past, when acceptance of a gay relationship has been hinted at – about five years back, a Hindustan Times ad series called ‘It is Time’ featured a man hitting another man on his head with HT paper for being nasty to a gay person.
But for a mainstream, popular e-commerce portal like Myntra to promote its ethnic wear collection using this theme is not only bold, it is beautifully humane. And the fact that the video already has more than 2.5 lakh YouTube views within 10 days of its release, proves that the audience, too, is ready to respect personal choices.
