Zeenat Aman, for a Google campaign, strikes a poignant yet hopeful post for Pride Month

A North Star in the constellation of forced Pride Month messaging.

Actress Zeenat Aman’s Instagram post during Pride Month stands out and for good reason. A collaboration with Google India for its #Searchforchange campaign, it reflects honesty and self-reflection and hope in a time where every second Pride Month ad or online post reeks of fake pride and inauthenticity.

A part of her post reads:

“… my first instinct was to suggest they (Google) approach someone from the LGBTQIA+ community. As a straight person I have not lived any of their experiences and so cannot speak for them. I do however consider myself an ally. I have befriended, known and worked with many talented, creative, artistic and wonderful people from this community.”

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A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman)

“If you are someone who carries apprehensions about queerness, I urge you to not be a slave to the dead habit of hate or ignorance. The times are (always) changing, and with it so can our thoughts. The shame lies not so much in being ignorant, but in choosing ignorance. We have the tools at our disposal to know better.”

Google India’s #SearchForChange was launched on International Women's Day last year, where an ad elaborated on how women have used Google Voice Search to overcome challenges and stereotypes.