I recently sent out a newsletter containing a guide to creating a great Valentine’s Day. The first image accompanying the guide was the one above of two men kissing. Chatting with a friend of mine after it had gone out he was surprised to hear I had done this and tried to persuade me that it was wrong of me to send this to everyone on my list. He thought that I should be sending specific images to specific people so that it would resonate with them and feel like I was talking to them. Basically, heterosexual images for heterosexual people… homosexual images for homosexual people.
I was really upset with what my friend was saying, that heterosexual people shouldn’t see homosexual love. That somehow it would turn them off buying or using my products because they couldn’t possibly buy something that was used by homosexual people.
My friend’s attitude to sharing a homosexual intimate image isn’t unusual. It’s so rare to see two people of the same sex doing anything more than holding hands in mainstream advertising but how often do we see heterosexual couples kissing in film and media?
To be honest, when I see an image of two men kissing it shocks me just a little. I’m not homophobic at all, but because we see this so rarely my brain does a double take and has to process the information just a little bit longer than normal.
As a brand owner of an ethical, fair and sustainable company I am proud to be diverse and inclusive. The fundamental philosophy of Mumanu is Love, Kindness and Connection. We make organic massage and body balms and a personal lube as well as other beauty and health balms all with Fairtrade ingredients. Promoting products that are used by couples in their intimate moments means selling not just to heterosexual couples but homosexual and bisexual couples too.
What you do in the bedroom is no one else’s business so we’re not going to ask you who you love or who you play with. This means my newsletters and marketing material will have images of gay couples, lesbians and straight couples, because LOVE IS LOVE!
Samantha Thurlby-Brooks
Managing Director & Founder of Mumanu Ltd
