The Times of India: Out & Proud by FCB Ulka

September 6, 2018 will forever be remembered as a landmark day for the world’s largest democracy as India took an iconic step to build a progressive and inclusive future when the Supreme Court of India de-criminalised the 158-year-old colonial law of section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. With this landmark judgment, the gay community got a legal nod to sexual rights. Although laws have changed for the better, we still witness negative attitudes towards the LGBTQ people unfortunately persisting. To address this taboo, The Times of India in collaboration with FCB India launched the campaign “Times Out & Proud” to drive the one-point agenda – Acceptance.

The initiative, Times Out & Proud, is conceptualised as a continuous series of multiple initiatives across print, digital, TV, radio and on-ground. Through various content, interactions and activations, the campaign will aim to better integrate the LGBTQ community and raise awareness of their issues. The concept of gender-fluidity is not easily accepted or even understood by many. We live in a world where everyone is presumed to be heterosexual (or straight). And, a significant chunk of society think that everyone should comfortably fit into a male or female gender bracket. Well, that’s not true. We will never know the exact size of LGBTQ community in India because of the stigma attached to it and therefore, many choose to remain in the ‘closet’. But, we do know that more number of people are extending their support to the pride-movement, and more members of the LGBTQ community are coming-out. The lack of understanding is one of the key reason for confusion, fear and hate leading to low acceptance and alienation of the community.