Equinox’s Pride Month Ad Accused of Excluding Asexuals (Video)
Equinox Gym set out to make a video about inclusion for Pride Month, but one group feels left out: asexuals.
The beautifully orchestrated 5-minute video, titled “The LGBTQ Alphabet,” includes ballet dancers spelling out letters of the alphabet with their bodies. Each letter represents a different group: “L” stands for lesbian. “G” stands for gay.
It stars with “A” for ally, which didn’t sit well with people who identify as asexual, agender or aromantic — because they say the A should stand for one of those terms, not ally.
If you aren’t familiar with the term “asexual,” the UC Davis’ LGBTQIA Resource Center explains, “A sexual orientation generally characterized by not feeling sexual attraction or a desire for partnered sexuality. Asexuality is distinct from celibacy, which is the deliberate abstention from sexual activity. Some asexual people do have sex. There are many diverse ways of being asexual.”
Many expressed their frustration at feeling excluded from an ad about inclusion.
One asexual-identifying activist, Heather Leah, published an essay to Candid Slice on Wednesday in response to the video. “And guess what, Equinox? Videos like yours that erase Asexuality from the equation completely just perpetuate a system where young Asexuals continue feeling ‘broken,’ like we don’t belong anywhere,” Leah wrote.
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UC Davis offers a glossary of “terms related to both the LGBTQIA community as well as general social justice terms.” The gallery lists both “asexual” and “allyship,” among other terms beginning with the letter “A.” The page also points out, “Many of the terms and definitions below are ever-evolving and changing and often mean different things to different people.”
Equinox explained that it does not consider the discussion to be “a closed narrative.”
With ‘The LGBTQAlphabet,’ our goal was to spark a conversation and shed light on the many diverse, evolving identities of the community,” the gym told TheWrap in a statement. “This is not a closed narrative. Rather, it’s intended to inspire conversation and new ways of thinking. At Equinox, we want to empower everyone in the community to be proud and unapologetic about who they are and how they identify, and that goes well beyond six or even 26 letters. We’ve learned a lot from the social dialogue inspired by this work, and we want to thank those of you who spoke out to educate us and others. We welcome these moments of growth and inclusion.”
Watch the full Equinox video below.
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