Dolce & Gabbana Declare Belief in Traditional Family; Elton John, LGBT Activist Groups Call for Boycott
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, of the famous Italian luxury industry fashion house Dolce & Gabbana, and who were at one time in romantic relationship with each other, declared that they believe in "the traditional family." Singer Elton John and gay activist groups are reacting by calling for a boycott of the designers.
"The family is not a fad. In it there is a supernatural sense of belonging," Gabbana told Panorama magazine, according to First Things.
Dolce added that procreation has to be "an act of love."
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"I'm not convinced by those I call the children of chemicals, synthetic children," he said, according to The Guardian. "Wombs for rent, sperm chosen from a catalogue ... psychiatrists are not ready to confront the effects of this experimentation."
He went on to say that the only family is the traditional one. "No chemical offsprings and rented uterus: life has a natural flow; there are things that should not be changed."
Dolce and Gabbana were in a gay relationship for more than two decades.
After their comments last week, Elton John, who has two children with his "husband" David Furnish through IVF, and gay activist groups called for the boycott, saying their remarks were "archaic ... deeply insulting … out of step with the times."
LGBT News Italia also called for a boycott.
"We strongly dispute the comments made by Dolce and Gabbana. Being a good parent has nothing to do with sexual orientation or whether a child has two mums or two dads. The important thing is a loving family, whatever it's make up," Ruth Hunt, the chief executive of the U.K.'s LGBT equality group Stonewall, was quoted as saying.
Gabbana responded to John's call Sunday, saying, "We firmly believe in democracy and the fundamental principle of freedom of expression that upholds it."
Dolce added: "I'm Sicilian and I grew up in a traditional family, made up of a mother, a father and children. 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. But in my personal experience, family had a different configuration. That is the place where I learned the values of love and family."
Dolce and Gabbana have co-authored several books featuring pictorial narratives and their collection, and donated the proceeds to charities, including the Children's Action Network.
