Starbucks India’s latest campaign on transgender persons triggered a row, adding momentum to the ongoing debate over queer rights in India. The American coffeehouse chain Wednesday launched a campaign titled ‘it starts with your name’, in a bid to promote inclusivity and shared a video featuring a transgender woman meeting with her parents at a Starbucks outlet.
Your name defines who you are – whether it’s Arpit or Arpita. At Starbucks, we love and accept you for who you are. Because being yourself means everything to us. #ItStartsWithYourName. 💚 pic.twitter.com/DKNGhKZ1Hg
— Starbucks India (@StarbucksIndia) May 10, 2023
While many LGBTQIA+ community members and allies welcomed the effort, a set of users seemed unhappy and accused the company of pretending to be ‘woke’ at a time when it has been charged with promoting anti-union activities and unfairly compensating its workers. The LGBTQIA+ community also used the incident to highlight the stigma faced by them in response to negative or crass comments, as seen in the reply section of the original tweet.
Some users also reiterated the Narendra Modi government’s stance on queer rights, claiming the campaign ‘an agenda to impose the Western idea of homosexuality’ on the Indian audience, where the majority of the people are conservative and have largely believed in a heteronormative lifestyle. The campaign comes amid as the Supreme Court concluded its hearing on the issue of marriage equality and reserved its order Thursday.
As Starbucks operates its outlets in India in a joint venture with Tata Group’s subsidiary Tata Consumer Products, some users also recalled the Indian conglomerate’s past controversies including the 2020 interfaith Tanishq ad, and indicated they would boycott the company’s products if it continues to indulge into sensitive issues.
Source- Hindustan Times.