Is homophobia a problem in Dutch society? The Netherlands is a liberal country. Dutch society prides itself on being open and tolerant. But is it? A recent suit company advertising campaign may just have blown that particular theory to pieces.
Homophobia in Dutch Society Alive and Kicking
If you live in the Netherlands, you are probably more than aware of the discussion caused by Suitsupply’s recent marketing campaign that features gay men. Billboards and posters went up around the country featuring two men kissing and men affectionately touching one another. The accompanying slogan is “Don’t Just Fit In, Find Your Perfect Fit.”
Turns out, there are some living in the Netherlands who are not so tolerant as the Dutch reputation would make you believe. Around thirty bus stop posters were vandalised such as this one with a swastika, shared by Pride Amsterdam on Twitter:
New Spring Summer 2018 | Find Your Perfect Fit pic.twitter.com/zcjzmV5Rtt
— SUITSUPPLY (@suitsupply) 21 February 2018
Other posted were covered over with tape, or simply ripped from the holder.
The Dutch Reputation of Tolerance
The Netherlands has a reputation for tolerance and a support of gay rights, being the first country to legalise same sex marriage back in 2001. However, this advertising campaign is just one of many notable incidents in recent years that highlight that the LGBT community is often a target for prejudice and discrimination.
Remember the allemannenhandinhand hashtag? That was in response to a physical attack on a gay couple in a Dutch city:
The trend was sparked by reports of a gang attack on a gay couple, Jasper Vernes-Sewratan, 35, and Ronnie Sewratan-Vernes, 31, in Arnhem, a city in the east of the Netherlands, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Clear Discrimination Wherever You Look
Twitter is awash with comments about daily discrimination – albeit sometimes in subtle and indirect ways.
In other words, there is no doubt about the fact that homophobia in the Netherlands is alive and kicking. Just as it is elsewhere.
Notable is that this ad campaign has not only stirred up a debate about homophobia, but also a discussion about using sex to market goods. Sex sells, so they say. And companies know it.
Where Do the Boundaries of Advertising Lie?
Many have commented that they don’t want to see posters of anyone kissing whilst they stand at the bus stop, regardless of gender. Sexist campaigns of other companies are also topical again (like this one from the summer of 2016). People are busy with the question of where the boundaries lie of what is visually acceptable on the billboards on streets of the Netherlands.
Of course, this is all media attention for Suitsupply – and we all know that publicity is exactly why marketing departments exist. In this case, the publicity has also had some negative consequences for the company:
Suitsupply lost over 10 thousand followers on social media when this campaign was launched online. The company also received hundreds of complaints and curses via email. “Many people ask us how to explain these posters to their children”, De Jong said. “Those are questions we never get when we use an erotically loaded poster with a man and a woman.”
Fokke De Jong (CEO of Suitsupply) relaying parents’ concerns about explaining these billboards to their children highlights something we all know: prejudice is learned. Homophobia in Dutch society, in any society, is learned. And there are parents who teach their children that being gay is not okay. It’s that simple.
What Does the Dutch Youth Say?
This is not my first post about same sex relationships – here’s one about same sex marriage written in 2014. My eldest was then seven, he’s now eleven. I spoke to him yesterday about this advertising campaign following on from a tweet I saw about an opinion poll hosted by Jeugdjournaal (Dutch news program for kids – which incidentally is a good tool for reading about current affairs whilst you are learning Dutch….).
De peiling vanochtend op de jeugdjournaal app van mijn dochter. Ik schrik. Als hun ouders het niet doorgeven, zeg ik: onderwijs, onderwijs, onderwijs. pic.twitter.com/Utx4p1BYgl
— Anastasia Hacopian (@ahacopian) 7 March 2018
The topic as a lead in to the poll is about the Suitsupply campaign – however the question posed is such that the result is a little ambiguous. The poll states: A poster with kissing people is okay. 57% say yes, 43% say no. Were kids answering with the poster of two men kissing in mind? Or pictures of kissing in general, irrespective of gender?
It’s More About the Kissing Itself
I showed my 11 year old Suitsupply’s advertising posters and asked him what he thought about them, and if anything struck him about the pictures. His answer was that the pictures were all ‘mooi‘ but he didn’t need to see the kissing – what has kissing got to do with suits? he asked. The rest of them were fine, he said.
“I don’t like huge posters of people kissing,’ he explained. Delving deeper, I asked him if posters of men and women kissing bothered him. “I don’t care who’s doing the kissing – I don’t need to see huge posters of it.” Yep, he’s eleven.
To be honest, I am pretty sure his reaction is not a strange one amongst his age group. He really couldn’t care less if two men are on a poster, two women, or a man and a woman – but kissing – yuk!
He’s doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary in this particular advertising campaign. He has grown up in a home environment that is conscious of prejudice. It’s not something he has learnt to be – and he is now old enough to form his own opinions about the world around him.
And thankfully he is not unique. Most children are raised to be accepting of diversity. This is less ambiguous and certainly an encouraging poll:
Ask Your Children to Explain it to You
Discrimination is learned. It starts with our children. It starts at home.
And it is something that happens even in a society that prides itself on being open, tolerant and liberal.
So back to worried parents. On Facebook yesterday I saw exactly that question posted by a parent: how could they explain these Suitsupply pictures to their children?
I think the answer is obvious. Ask your children to explain it to you.
5 comments