Streets have responded to the petition that’s calling for the name of the Golden Gaytime icecream to be renamed.
The petition reads, “In 2021, Gay’s meaning primarily is related to sexuality. As a Gay man I have needed to fight to be myself, overcoming many things in my life, I am a proud Gay man.”
Brian continued, “As a part of the LGBTQIA+ community I believe my sexual identity is owned by me, not a brand and that the outdated meaning no longer applies. Isn’t it time for this double entendre to end?”
Brian also references the fact that a number of other Australian confectionaries and foods have renamed or rebranded their namesakes including Red Skins, now known as Red Ripper, Chicocs now being named Cheekies and Coon Cheese becoming Cheer.
Streets have issued an official response to the petition, saying that, “The first Streets Gaytime was released in Australia during 1959 when the word ‘gay’ had not yet been applied to gender preference.”
“The origin of the Gaytime name was and remains related to having a joyous or happy time and was meant to capture the pleasure that comes with enjoying an ice cream.
“The Gaytime name is not and never has intended to cause offence and your petition is the first that we have been made aware of.”
The representative also stated that the brand “has a deep and long-standing commitment to help build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive society for all,” and also that Streets and other brands owned by Unilever have been involved in both local and global equality initiatives including the Australian Marriage Equality campaign.
On the other hand, while Brian is petitioning for the Golden Gaytime icecream’s name to be changed, he also feels that it’s not his place to tell Streets what to call the rebranded product, but he does feel that, “it’s time that the Golden Gaytime is called out for being outdated, especially when Streets is releasing new products and cross promotions in 2021.”
Finally, his suggestion is that, “the product should be called that and its time to remove Gay from its name.”
According to Pink Advocate, the response to the petition has been mixed, notably with a number of LGBTIQ people stating that they “enjoy the camp Golden Gaytime branding.”
