Ayushmann Khurrana: Bollywood star sparks LGBT + reaction with fluid gender post

Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana has drawn heavy criticism from the LGBT + community in India for calling a recent photo shoot gender fluid.

The actor was introduced as one of GQ Indias Men of the Year in the December issue, featuring Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, actress Vicky Kaushal and Indian rap artist Prabh Deep.

Featuring the words Game Changer and Year of the Brave, the GQ the cover featured a photograph of Khurrana with kohl-rimmed eyes and painted fingernails.

The Article 15 The actor shared the cover on Instagram on November 30 and captioned the fluid genre post with a black heart emoji.

Soon after, the coverage was criticized by Yes We Exist India, a digital LGBT + advocacy initiative. He shared a series of images, including the Khurannas cover, to highlight the important difference between gender expression and gender identity.

The caption read: Ayushmann Khurrana does not become sexist by painting nails, unless he actually identifies as a sexist person, which is highly unlikely.

Gender fluent people experience social isolation, harassment, violence, and humiliation because of who they are. It takes a lot of strength, courage, hope and support to live openly as a fluid person in a country like India, the organization added.

Yes We Exist founder Indrajeet Ghorpade, who identifies as a queer panromantic person, said The independent that the actors’ publication on social networks reads like a marketing gimmick for their next film Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui rather than an expression of solidarity with the community.

He said: It would have been different if he had added a line highlighting the experiences of gender fluid people in India, or talked about his own gender identity through this post.

Another member of the trans community, who wished to remain anonymous, said The independent that their problem with legend is that the fluidity of genres is a real identity and not an aesthetic.

The eyeliner is not gendered, they added.

Yes We Exist also dubbed the film Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui transphobic for reinforcing the problematic and tired tropes of a marginalized community, while also sharing examples of how other Indian movies and shows, such as Pati, Patni aur Panga (which roughly translates to husband, wife, and their problem), have historically distorted trans characters.

In the 2020 comedy-drama series in six episodes Pati, Patni aur Panga described by critics as atrocious and despicable, Adah Sharma, a cisgender actor, played a trans woman. Disastrously, Sharma also said that she played a man on the show, instead of a trans woman, while promoting it on Instagram.

Swarnim, a 24-year-old data analyst and trans woman, shared her take on both the film Khurranas and the GQ cover with The independent.

Explaining that while the outrage against Khurrana for using the word fluid gender was justified, she said that attaching a definition or identifier to the fluid gender, like using eyeliner or painting her fingernails, is detrimental to the community. in general.

I think we better realize that what’s really wrong with the post is that it is using a historically marginalized group as a marketing trick, Swarnim added.

She also criticized the trailer and the still unreleased film. Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, for allegedly using a decades-old plot that trans women are deceivers who trap men because we desperately need love and then portray it as comedy.

In the film, which releases December 10 in India, Khurrana plays a Chandigarh-based macho gym owner who falls in love with a Zumba instructor (played by Vaani Kapoor) only to find out later that his girlfriend is a trans woman. .

During the trailer, the character of Khurranas tells the character of Kapoors that she betrayed him by hiding his identity until they had consummated their relationship.

Meanwhile, author and poet Rohan Dahiya said The independent this post from Khurranas reads as a display of arrogance from the people making the movie to those conceptualizing such promotional shit who thinks just do it and call it genre fluid and the mainstream will praise their inclusiveness.

Calling it a classic case of queer baiting, Dahiya added: No one who has seen the trailer or the excuse of sex using nail paint will forget the grotesque misrepresentation of a community fighting for visibility and authenticity to begin with.

Other members of the queer community have expressed disappointment at the Instagram caption of Khurranas and the misguided timing of her coverage, online.

One social media user urged the actor to rectify the fluid genre caption, writing: The term you are looking for is androgynous, which has to do with gender expression! Fluid gender is when an individual’s gender identity is not fixed!

Prominent drag artist and media personality Sushant Divgikr commented on Khurranas’ post: Actually, I love you a lot, so I’m a little terrified that it’s out and quite blatantly! You don’t mind having a conversation about this with yourself anytime you think you would be open to unlearning and relearning the gender, focus, expression, and the various intersectionalities involved.

The independent contacted Khurrana for comment.