IKEA GAY KISS IN PROTEST
Gay couples have taken a stand against Ikea’s willingness to give in to Russia’s infamous gay propaganda law by staging a kiss in protest at a New York store.
The Swedish furniture company was recently criticised for removing an article about a British lesbian couple from the Russian edition of its December Family Live magazine because of the oppressive law.
A spokeswoman for Ikea admitted to Sweden’s Aftonbladet newspaper: “That’s the reason why Russia has another article.”
She added: “We have two guiding principles in the communication we distribute from Ikea. The first is home interior design. The second is following the law.”
In response, a group of Russian gay couples posed for gay Russian artist and photographer Alexander Kargaltsev in a Brooklyn Ikea store.
In the guerrilla protest, the couples were photographed kissing and showing affection in the shop’s home-like settings.
Protest organiser Joseph Huff-Hannon told the Huffington Post: “Ikea should stop insulting their LGBT customers in Russia and around the world, show some backbone, and publish the story in Russian.”
Ikea has 14 stores in Russia, where any positive depiction of homosexuality that might be seen by anyone under the age of 18 has been banned.
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