Ayushmann Khurrana shared a picture of himself featured on the cover of GQ India with the caption, “Gender Fluid,” and it has social media divided. While some think that Ayushmann 'wearing kohl and nail paint' doesn’t amount to being gender fluid, others argued that the hate for the actor is ‘unnecessary.’
One user shared Ayushmann’s post and wrote, “AYUSHMANN KHURANA THINKS IT'S GENDER-FLUID IF YOU ADD SOME KOHL AND NAIL ENAMEL THIS MAN SHOULD BE STOPPED WTF.”
Agreeing with the user, another wrote, “no like...the audacity to do this while doing a transphobic a-- movie....after taking all the bRaVe and pAtHbReAkiNg compliments for taking a gay role....” seemingly referring to Ayushmann’s upcoming film Chandirgarh Kare Aashiqui wherein Vaani Kapoor plays a trans person.
Another remarked, “We should've stopped him during Shubh mangal zyada saavdhan itslef, all those encouragement is what led to this.”
On the other hand, a Twitter user commented that they ‘don’t get the unnecessary hatred towards Ayushmann’ while adding, “like yes we understand that femininity is NOT gender fluidity BUT at least he’s doing something? idk but the KHANs yall worship so much would tremble at the thought of saying something about the lgbtq community.”
A Twitter user argued, "Most aren't gonna like this but - While I know Ayushmann's (or whatever the spelling is) genderfluid post is a marketing gimmick, the reasons y'all are giving are really not okay."
They argued, "'Nail paint and eyeliner don't make you genderfluid' you don't get to decide that. This is also about imposing righteousness om marginalized identities. If someone is an ass you can call them an ass for the reasons they're an ass without claiming "But you are this! You can't be that!" because it won't harm Ayushmann, it would harm other trans folks."
"Also, I think my big problem with that post is the phrase gender fluid. He's a straight- cis- man, unless something's changed over night. He can wear whatever he chooses to. Nail paint, kajal a fu----- tutu but captioning it "gender fluid" makes it a fashion trend," an user stated.
Some people compared the reaction to Ayushmann Khurrana's post to the reception Harry Styles gets for his outfits. Reacting to that, the user further wrote, "As nothing in particular is an indication of a gender fluidity, I refuse to believe that a straight man should have the space on the internet to write that. As per hate Harry styles gets, hey he never once wrote that he is gender fluid or is trying to be."
One user talked about how queer identities are capitalised and tweeted, “where is my GQ cover for being Queer! Oh sorry no nail polish Smiling face with tear Not only cis het men occupy LGBTQAI+ spaces but they also capitalised our identities however they like it. Platform,brands and individuals participating are equally responsible for diminishing identities.”
While several people on Instagram appreciated Ayushmann’s post, others echoed that applying nail polish doesn’t equate to a gender fluid identity.
Here are some of the other reactions:
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