Famous fashion duo attacked for opposition to gay adoption and IVF

Catholic World Report ^ | March 16, 2015 | Mary Jo Anderson

[NYer]

A screen shot of the website of the Italian fashion house Dolce and Gabbana, which states, "The family is our point of reference" (www.dolcegabbana.com/dgfamily/)

One of the world's most famous and prestigious fashion houses has come under barrage of harsh and angry attacks after stating to the Italian press that, "The only family is the traditional one."

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of the Italian fashion house Dolce and Gabbana are themselves gay men. All the more surprising, then, that other high profile homosexuals should create a social media tsunami against the pair. Elton John, the English singer and songwriter, has called for a boycott of Dolce and Gabbana on Twitter with the hashtag#boycottdolcegabbana.

"How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic'," snapped Elton John, "And shame on you for wagging your judgemental little fingers at IVF..." 

This brouhaha began with an interview that Dolce and Gabbana gave to the Italian magazine, Panorama.  In the interview the pair offered a very clear defense of the traditional family: "We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one. No chemical off springs and rented uteruses, semen from a catalog... life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed."

Within hours Instagram and Twitter exploded with salvos aimed at the "medieval" and"oppressive" comments of Dolce and Gabbana. Numerous enraged critics blame the "Stone Age" views of the fashion pair on their Catholic Italian upbringing, perhaps because Stefano Gabbana noted that "The family is not a fad. In it there is a supernatural sense of belonging."

A blog post by Melanie McDonagh at The Spectator notes "there’s been a giant, collective hissy intake of breathe in the reaction" to the interview, and then suggests that recent fashion layouts featuring children in First Communion apparel underscores the Catholic sensibility of the two men:

They have a remarkably consistent – for fashion – way of looking at the world. It’s about family, the kind of families they had, of the Italian/Sicilian Catholic variety. So, their beautiful – and I mean really beautiful, not just freaky, unlike some – models are placed in the context of grannies, grandads, picturesque peasants and children – occasionally in first communion outfits. Their last show, which the fashion press loved, brought the house down at the end, when the models came on the catwalk holding or leading their adorable children. It was, I suppose, babies as accessories, but another way of looking at it was a celebration of motherhood.

What is most interesting about the split within the high-profile international gay community over the interview, followed by Elton John's call for a boycott, is that it is a very public display of the intolerance the gay movement shows toward anyone—however much otherwise admired—who refuses to comply with their agenda. On some French Instagram pages there are "Je Suis Charlie" warnings that such vitriol towards those who do not share one's viewpoint on gay marriage and adoption are another whole issue that the gay community must face.  In one exchange it was pointed out that "you worked for decades to bring about tolerance, and now you are yourselves most intolerant."

A second issue this dust-up demonstrates is the rage that flares when proponents of same-sex "marriages" are confronted with a biological truth. For them, the D and G interview was an "Emperor's New Clothes"  moment, a stark account of the truth they have tried to gloss over: Babies come from and need both a mother and a father.  Stefano Dolce stated it plainly, "You are born to a mother and a father—at least, that is how it should be." The designers' website features a page with numerous photos of families, with the quote:

"THE FAMILY IS OUR POINT OF REFERENCE."— Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

A last thought is that those who defend natural marriage and family must remember that the "gay community" is not monolithic. A good chunk of the gay (here the term means those homosexuals who live openly as homosexual persons) population do not in fact want to emulate natural families. Either they refuse such heterosexual expectations of family formation, or like Stefano Dolce and Domenico Gabbana, apparently, they recognize the biological truth and feel no need to pretend otherwise. This is perhaps an opening, a common ground on which discussion with gay persons might begin--that certain truths are immutable. 

[Bo1988]

So I guess, by their accounting, the “Stone Age” started about 10 years ago (when people started to take gay marriage seriously).

[DoughtyOne]

Hey great.

[ilovesarah2012]

Gay designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana hit back at musician Elton John, after he called for a boycott of their clothing over their remarks on gay families.

Stefano Gabbana posted dozens of photos and comments on social media, at one point calling John a “fascist” for “an authoritarian way seeing things: If you don’t agree with me, I will attack you.” The designer also posting an image that borrows from the “Je Suis Charlie” movement, saying Je Suis D&G and #boycottfalsenews. Some of the messages posted include #boycottEltonJohn.

“This online campaigning is useless. A gay rights group put words in our mouths in bad faith, and it got out of control,” Gabbana told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Tuesday. “We don’t and won’t boycott anyone.”

RELATED: Check out the reactions to #BoycottDolceGabbana

He added in a statement provided to NBC News: “We firmly believe in democracy and the fundamental principle of freedom of expression that upholds it. We talked about our way of seeing reality, but it was never our intention to judge other people’s choices. We do believe in freedom and love.”

Dolce also noted in the statement that “I was talking about my personal view, without judging other people’s choices and decisions.”

Gabbana and Dolce, who were previously a couple, have said in the past they oppose same-sex marriage, but added this weekend that they opposed same-sex families. In an interview, the pair called children conceived using in vitro fertilization “synthetic.”

John posted a photo of the business partners on Instagram and slammed them for their comments. “How dare you refer to my beautiful children as ‘synthetic’. And shame on you for wagging your judgemental [sic] little fingers at IVF,” the musician wrote in part. “I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana”

John and his husband David Furnish have two children, both by in vitro fertilization through the same surrogate mother in California. Since posting his call for a boycott, #BoycottDolceGabbana has been mentioned 42,000 times on Twitter in the past day.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/dolce-gabbana-fire-back-elton-john

[matginzac]

That’s right...they are ignoring the “gay” memo, not walking in lock step with the PC police and voicing aloud in public what many believe...
what a shame!

[DoughtyOne]

We all dress for different reasons. Most of us try to look presentable. There are different levels of consideration.

I don’t have the money to bring that level of consideration to my fashion statement, but honestly, if people can do it, I don’t mind. Why not?

I can’t buy the top level sports car. I make do with what I can afford. Those that can afford it, I’m actually happy for them.

No offense is intended to you, but it seems to me those who don’t have concerning themselves with those who do have, it what is wrong with our Black community today. It’s such a wasted effort.

I’ve had money, and I’ve had to be frugal at times. I was happy in each situation, because I decided to be. I accepted what I was at in each situation.

You’ll never catch me thinking negatively about people who can spend like there’s no tomorrow. If they worked for it, great. If they didn’t, I don’t really care.

As long as these people treat everyone with respect, that’s all I expect from them.

I’ve met some internationally known people who were very wealthy. None the less, they talk to folk around them as if they were of the same station. That’s class.

It works both directions. I must respect people with incredible means, if I wish them to respect me.

[WashingtonSource]

Bump

[DoughtyOne]

This is an interesting spat. I will be interested to see what comes of this.

Thanks for your response. Pretty good one...

[Old Grumpy]

If I owned any of Elton John’s music, I’d toss in in the trash. However, since I’ve been boycotting him forever, that would be beside the point. More people should boycott a$$holes like him and his “spouse.” Hit ‘em in their bank account.

[NYer]

This is like watching a cat fight.

Gabbana and Dolce, who were previously a couple, have said in the past they oppose same-sex marriage, but added this weekend that they opposed same-sex families. In an interview, the pair called children conceived using in vitro fertilization “synthetic.”

And, lo and behold, they are absolutely right!

In response, we find

Elton John and his "husband" David Furnish have two children, both by in vitro fertilization through the same surrogate mother in California.

There is nothing natural about IVF. Moreover, every child has a father and a mother. In raising these two children, Elton John has said he regrets they will not know their "mummy". Why not? Every child has a right to know who his/her parents are. That is their heritage. IVF will put Ancestry.com out of business.

[DoughtyOne]

Yes, I have to admit there is an entertainment factor in this.

And yes, IVF will make for some interesting Ancestry.com “affiliations.”

[ConservingFreedom]

You’ll never catch me thinking negatively about people who can spend like there’s no tomorrow.

I need to be careful to judge not lest I be judged, of course - but it seems clear to me that flaunting one's wealth is not a Biblical mindset toward material prosperity (a valid topic in a thread about D&G's "Catholic sensibility").

[NetAddicted]

I read an article yesterday, in response to this, about a website for test tube babies to complain about their breeding. I can’t find it again. Does anyone know the link?

[trebb]

There's a segment of the population who would listen to Dolce & Gabbana, who would never listen to you and me. So, good on D&G.

Elton John himself, just three years ago, said he thought it was "heartbreaking" that his little boy Zachary wouldn't have a "mummy." But I guess children don't have any rights that can trump the decisions of rich and powerful men who want what they want.

So true and sad. One of the things that I liked about Elton John, other than his musical talent, is that he didn't seem like one of the rabid activists. I get in many "discussions" about homosexuals and whether or not they can be saved but one of the things that makes my heart hurt the most is when they go out of the way to mimic a traditional family by putting children in the mix - far too many tend to try to steer the child towards the same lifestyle.

I know a couple homosexuals that have ended up having to raise a child when the related parents died, but never any who "decided to have a child". The ones I know took the job seriously and responsibly and the children grew up without being "indoctrinated". It is individuals like that, that I have in my minds eye when I upset many who assume that all homosexuals are of the same ilk.

Once again, I thank you for your measured responses to some of my threads - God Bless.

[Mrs. Don-o]

This would be a good time to call to mind that the great Southern Catholic novelist Walker Percy and his two brothers, orphaned when they were half-grown, were adopted and raised by their homosexual second cousin, poet William Alexander Percy. According to Walker's testimony, "Uncle Will" was an upright and admirable man who did an excellent parenting job in every way.

But culturally/socially, things were different then. It was the 1930's; "Uncle Will" was known as a bachelor, not as a gay; he was, as far as anybody knew, celibate, certainly during the period he was raising Will, Roy, and Phin; his gayness "came out" years later in the form of veiled pederastic poetry and memoirs.

They had another distant cousin, William Armstrong Percy II, who was (is) an outright pro-pederasty activist and advocate. Pederasty and suicide seemed to run through the males of the Percy family for generations.

At any rate, today we're not talking about closeted uncles. We're talking about proudly gay couples probably ensconced in a much wider and more exhibitionistic gay culture. That's an unacceptable way to raise boys. Even "Uncle Will" would say so, I think.

[wolfman23601]

Probably 99.9% of people who employ IVF are straight married couples using the husband’s sperm and the wife’s egg.

[Mrs. Don-o]

...and kill 80% of their embryonic children.

[wolfman23601]

???

That doesn’t even make any sense.

[Mrs. Don-o]

In standard IVF procedure, women receive fertility drugs which result in hyperovulation. Then four, five or six embryos at once are produced by in vitro fertilization. The “best” one or two are used for implantation; the rest of the embryonic siblings are destroyed or frozen for later experimental use.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I wanted to add that IVF is also expensive, costing at least $10,000 per attempt. Over 90% of the embryos created perish at some point in the process. In a desire to hold down costs and enhance the odds of success, doctors sometimes implant five or more embryos in the mother's womb. This may result in more babies than a couple wants. In Canada, one woman gave birth to five children engendered by IVF. She had wanted only one, so she sued her doctor for "wrongful life," demanding that he pay for the cost of raising the four children she did not want.

To avoid the problems of carrying and rearing "too many" babies after several have been implanted, doctors sometimes engage in something euphemistically called "fetal reduction" or "selective reduction."

Here they monitor the babies in utero to see if any have defects or are judged to be not as healthy as the others. Then they eliminate those "less desirable" babies by filling a syringe with potassium chloride, maneuvering the needle toward the "selected" baby in the womb with the aid of ultrasound, and then thrusting the needle into the baby's heart. The potassium chloride kills the baby within minutes, and he or she is expelled as a "miscarriage." If it cannot be determined that one baby is less healthy than the others, some doctors simply eliminate the baby or babies who are easiest to reach. Again we see the unspeakable diminishing of the value of human life which can arise from this procedure.

[trisham]

That’s horrible.