Queer couples share tender, steamy, defiant kisses in new Stonewall anti-hate campaign
Stonewall encourages festive PDA with Proud Mistletoe kiss campaign (Stonewall)
A new Stonewall campaign is celebrating the beauty of queer love and ‘kissing hate goodbye’ amidĀ rising homophobic and transphobic hate crimes.
The Stonewall video, entitled Proud Mistletoe, shows queer couples kissing in parks, under Christmas decorations and on the night bus home.
It was filmed in response to the worrying spike in anti-LGBT+ hate crimes recorded across Britain this year, which has left many queer couples afraid of showing affection in public.
Unveiling the campaign, the LGBT+ charity said: āReports of homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic hate crimes continue to rise in 2021. Help create a world where all LGBTQ+ people can show affection without fear.
āThis Christmas, kiss hate goodbye.ā
Stonewall announced that a rainbow-coloured mistletoe filter will be added to Instagram for the campaign, so couples can “kiss responsibly” amid the pandemic.
Reports of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crimes continue to rise in 2021. Help create a world where all LGBTQ+ people can show affection without fear. This Christmas, kiss hate goodbye. šš³ļøāš Donate for a chance to win your own #ProudMistletoe: https://t.co/3hFEe8gshi pic.twitter.com/C90m02Pvii
— Stonewall (@stonewalluk) December 16, 2021
The charity said in a statement: āThis Christmas, weāre encouraging LGBTQ+ people to kiss goodbye to hate.Ā
āLetās fight hateful attacks with love, and help create a world where all of us can show affection to our friends, family and partners without fear. By continuing the legacy of LGBTQ+ trailblazers, who used kiss-ins as a form of protest in the 1970s and ā80s, we too can reclaim public spaces in the name of love and pride.ā
Davinia Green, the director for Stonewall in Wales, said on Twitter: āFeeling so emotional this morning as my timeline is flooded with our new Proud Mistletoe campaign.
āLetās keep up the momentumā¦ letās (COVID-friendly) kiss hate goodbye.ā
Feeling so emotional this morning as my timeline is flooded with our new #ProudMistletoe campaign. Let's keep up the momentum! Please like, share, discuss, donate and let's (Covid friendly) kiss hate goodbye https://t.co/d0ndrRWH3E— Davinia Green (@dlg23uk) December 17, 2021
Stonewallās campaign comes after reports that the number of anti-gay hate crime reports in the UK has tripled over the last six years.Ā
Data obtained by Vice World News shows there were 6,363 reports of hate crimes based on sexual orientation in 2014-15, compared to 19,679 in 2020-21, a total increase of 210 per cent.
The number of transphobic hate crimes has quadrupled across the same period.
Only ten out of the 45 UK police forces recorded a decrease in hate crime, and the vast majority of those who provided data had seen a year-on-year rise in hate crime reports since 2014.
Diana Fawcett, Victim Supportās chief executive, told the Independent: āIt is both concerning and disheartening that our figures reflect this significant increase in hate crimes across the country.
āItās also worrying that there has been a huge jump in the number of people seeking support for disability, homophobic and transgender-identity related hate crimes, which weāve seen have a damaging effect on the victimās sense of safety, well-being and self-worth.ā
