Dolce & Gabbana Defend Their Opinion On Same-Sex Families

Just
a few days ago, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana made some polarizing — and downright unsettling — remarks about their opposition to gay adoptions and IVF births.
The designers' opinion about same-sex families is obviously a controversial one, and these comments ignited a heated discussion within the fashion industry, with everyone from Victoria Beckham  to Olivier Rousteing to model Josephine Skriver (an LGBTQ activist and the child of
two gay parents) chiming in. After Elton John called for a Dolce & Gabbana
boycott on Instagram, the designers have fired back — and as BritishVogue reports, the duo stand by their statements.

According to Gabbana, the freedom to state one's beliefs should be a universal one, no matter how unpopular those beliefs may be. "We
firmly believe in democracy and the fundamental principle of freedom of
expression that upholds it," he told the magazine in a statement. "We talked
about our way of seeing reality, but it was never our intention to judge other
people's choices. We do believe in freedom and love." This may be true, but calling a child "synthethic" because he or she doesn't have both a mother and a father insinuates otherwise. 

The designers' remarks come at a strange time, given the most recent Dolce & Gabbana runway show centered around the importance of family. But, as Dolce explained, their concept of family was based on the "traditional" sense of the word:

"I'm
Sicilian and I grew up in a traditional family made up of a mother, a father, and children," he said. "I am very well aware of the fact
that there are other types of families, and they are as legitimate as the one
I've known." Citing his own background, he continued, "That is the place where I learnt the values of love and family.
This is the reality in which I grew up, but it does not imply that I don't
understand different ones. I was talking about my personal view, without
judging other people's choices and decisions."

Clearly this is a discussion that extends far beyond the fashion industry — but it's particularly fraught within an industry that often leads the charge in terms of LGBTQ acceptance. If some of fashion's own power players can't be publicly accepting of other people's choices, how can we possibly expect progress there, or beyond? (British Vogue)