“Not To Adorn The Genitals!” Hindus Fume Over Lord Ganesha Boardies For Sale On Amazon Australia
Brands continuing to use symbols from the Hindu religion has again outraged its religious leaders.
A pair of men’s shorts featuring Lord Ganesha has appeared on Amazon Australia priced at $22.90 leading Hindu statesman Rajan Zed to call for their immediate removal.
In a statement to media, Zed said: “Lord Ganesha was highly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to adorn one’s thighs, groin, genitals and pelvis. Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts or symbols for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the devotees.”
Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Amazon Australia general manager Matt Furlong to offer a formal apology; besides withdrawing the shorts.
At the time of writing, B&T notes the shorts were still on sale online and appear to come via a youth surfwear company called BEACHTEE.
The latest boardshorts incident follows a spate of products being sold online that feature icons from the Hindu religion.
In February, MyDeal.com.au was busted selling playing cards that Hindus deemed as “highly inappropriate”.
In early January, Sydney-based online retailer My Diva Baby was outed selling a toilet cover and mat featuring images of Lord Ganesha for $45 via its website and Facebook and Etsy stores. It apologised and immediately pulled the item from sale.
Meanwhile, last December, Puma caused global outrage after it ran a campaign starring American singer/actress Selena Gomez standing on a pile of books. According to Hindus, books are something to be revered and the ads showed “flagrant disrespect” for “mercantile greed”.
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Thanks for reporting on this story B&T. Unconscious Bias or to attract notoriety? Hard to know with some. It is still good to learn what is not appropriate for some cultures so we all don’t go and do something similar. WE can’t assume that graphic design in some cultures doesn’t have meaning that’s for sure. Colours, numbers, symbols all matter too. We can’t always anticipate every possible issue but some of these are pretty obvious and the creative team need to take more responsibility. Thank you for sharing this.