Activists say the rare LGBT-friendly commercial is a step toward acceptance and equality.
In China, it’s not every day that you see a man on TV bring another man home to meet the parents — but that’s precisely what many viewers have been talking about this week.
The 23-second clip, part of a longer commercial produced by Alibaba subsidiary Tmall, features a man introducing his boyfriend to his family over dinner. During the meal, which appears to be a family reunion over the Spring Festival holiday, the father warmly welcomes his son’s guest, telling him to “feel at home.”
The ad is a departure from the host of similar promotions featuring heterosexual couples. According to activists, the video has made an effort to promote LGBT acceptance in a country where same-sex relationships are still largely taboo.
Yang Yi, a program officer at LGBT Rights Advocacy China, a domestic nonprofit, said the ad is a good example of normalizing a relationship, irrespective of sexual orientation. He added that such portrayals help to increase visibility of the LGBT community at a time when they’re increasingly overlooked in mainstream media coverage. Continue to read the full article here.
– This article originally appeared on Sixth Tone.
