June has been observed as LGBTQIA+ pride month since 1969, which is a movement that aims to achieve equal rights and raise awareness among people around the world. 51 years later, we still have severe biases against the LGBTQIA+ community and people’s sexual preferences are viewed as a sort of disorder in several parts of the world. These kinds of biases are particularly prevalent in India, where superstitions surround us and most topics are shrouded in taboo. While we approach the end of the month, we thought it would be a great time to talk about one of the first campaigns to break the taboo after the removal of article 377, which decriminalised homosexuality in India, back in 2018.

OkCupid’s #LoveAtFirstPride campaign urged people to look beyond binary identities when it comes to love. The dating app tried to raise awareness about gender and how people have been looking at it the wrong way in the hopes of representing different sexual orientations and normalising them in society. The campaign posed questions like, “What are your views on moving in with your partner?”, “How much would you reveal about yourself on a first date?” and “What are your thoughts on PDA?”. Then it urges people of the community to answer these loud questions proudly. It was launched in the middle of the pride month in 2019 and received an amazing number of supporters across social media.

Take a look

This campaign has inspired other Indian brands to stand up for equal representation for the LGBTQIA+ community and has done a good job of it, however, we’re still a long way from achieving that goal.