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27 January 2018 8:56 AM

Indian newspaper allegedly sent LGBT interviewees home because they ‘didn’t look gay enough’ for photoshoot

The LGBT students reportedly walked out of the photoshoot in protest

By Fabio Crispim

An Indian newspaper has come under fire after it allegedly told a group of LGBT interviewees they didn’t look “gay enough” for a photoshoot.

Suknidh Kaur, 19, was invited to participate in a photoshoot for The Bombay Times alongside six other LGBT students who were being interviewed about Section 377, a law that prohibits homosexual relations.

However, Kaur and several other students reportedly left the photoshoot when they were told to “go home and come back dressed as their stereotypes”.

Kaur revealed what happened during the shoot in a series of tweets made on Wednesday (January 24).

 

She wrote: “I don’t normally use Twitter, but I feel the need to address this issue. Today, @bombaytimes called upon a bunch of LGBT individuals to shoot for an interview about sec 377 with them. All was going well, until they asked us to go home and come back tomorrow.”

She continued: “They said that the queer people present were not dressed appropriately, i.e. they did not look gay enough for the shoot.”

According to Kaur, girls were asked to come back “looking more androgynous” and a boy was asked to come back wearing “more flamboyant clothes”.

Kaur wrote: “@bombaytimes asked a cross-dressing individual to come back tomorrow in his ‘costume’. Asked a gay boy to come back wearing more flamboyant clothes because his blue shirt was too dull for a photo of a queer person. Asked girls to come back looking more androgynous.”  

“They told members of the LGBT community to go home and come back dressed as their stereotypes, the ones they are ridiculed for time and time again. For a shoot+interview that was going to address the issue of their rights and dignity in the country.

“We walked out of the place,” she added.

In a final tweet, Kaur slammed the publication. She wrote: “Shame on you @bombaytimes. Learn how to work with LGBT individuals without being downright offensive and exploitative.

“If you cannot accept queer individuals as their authentic selves, don’t bother portraying yourself as some f*cked up version of progressive.”

The publication has since denied the allegations in a statement shared on Twitter yesterday (January 26) in which they claim the photographer asked the students to dress in brighter colours. 

The tweet read: “Given that many of the students had come at short notice, the journalist had suggested that a better picture could be composed if some of them were wearing brighter colours, and in that context some were asked if they could come for the shoot the next morning.”

“This was misconstructed by some of those present as being asked to come back wearing ‘queer costumes’ or outfits stereotyping the LGBTQ community. That was definitely NOT what we had requested.” 

They also claimed that several students stayed on for the photoshoot and had no issue with their treatment or the shoot and said they have “always spoken in support of the LGBTQ movement” and “believe in a non-discriminatory and open-minded society.” 

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