After Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the two openly gay men and former couple behind the Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana made outrageous comments in an interview with the Italian magazine Panorama there has been a fierce backlash from within the gay community.
The two men had stated that “the only family is the traditional one” and that children born through in vitro fertilization were “synthetic”. “The family is not a fad,” Gabbana explained ,”No chemical off springs and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed. Dolce added “Procreation “must be an act of love, Children born through artificial insemination or egg donors are children of chemistry, synthetic children. Uteruses for rent, semen chosen from a catalog.”
The pages of social media exploded with angry responses from right across the gay community.
Sir Elton John wrote on Instagram, “How dare you refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic’. And shame on you for wagging your judgmental little fingers at IVF – a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfill their dream of having children. Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana’.
He was quickly joined by other celebrities such as Martina Navratilova who wrote on Twitter: “Wow- I had no idea. It will be interesting to see if this ridiculousness hurts them in the bank. #BoycottDolceGabbana”
As the boycott quickly built some significant momentum Gabbana quickly put out another statement yesterday that said, “It was never our intention to judge other people’s choices. We do believe in freedom and love.”
Dolce says he was expressing his view about family based on his experience growing up in a traditional Sicilian family, “made up of a mother, a father and children.
“I am very well aware of the fact that there are other types of families and they are as legitimate as the one I’ve known.”
Dolce said he was expressing his personal views, “without judging other people’s choices.”
It remains to be seen if this will placate all those who found the original statements offensive and if the boycott of their clothes will be lifted.
