Gay fashion designers Dolce and Gabbana slam ‘non-traditional’ families
Legendary fashion designers Domenico Dolce (pictured above right) and Stefano Gabbana (above left) have spoken out against same-sex families – despite being gay themselves.
The duo – who founded the designer fashion house in their own name – were a couple for twenty-three years, before a much-discussed break-up in 2005.
However, despite their own sexuality, the pair spoke out against ‘non-traditional’ families during an interview with Italy’s Panorama magazine.
The pair said: “We oppose gay adoptions. The only family is the traditional one. No chemical offspring and rented uterus: life has a natural flow, there are things that should not be changed.”
Domenico Dolce added that procreation “must be an act of love”, saying: “You are born to a mother and a father – or at least that’s how it should be. I call children of chemistry, synthetic children. Uteri [for] rent, semen chosen from a catalog.”
Stefano Gabbana added: “The family is not a fad. In it there is a supernatural sense of belonging.”
In an interview with an Italian newspaper in 2006, Gabbana said: “I am opposed to the idea of a child growing up with two gay parents. A child needs a mother and a father. I could not imagine my childhood without my mother. I also believe that it is cruel to take a baby away from its mother.”
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61 Comments
Oluwadamilare Okoro
March 16, 14:56Akuko.
“…It is cruel to take a baby away from its mother”… what is he saying here???
Most adopted children are kids abandoned by their mothers… so if a gay couple decides to give that child what the mother refused, “we” should say no? it’s like saying the child doesn’t deserve love.
chestnut
March 16, 15:30I don’t think they’re saying the child doesn’t deserve love (I don’t even know how anything they said,implied that). They’re just saying that two amazing fathers (or mothers),might be well and good, but not quite as “complete” as an amazing father and an amazing mother. And I do see their point…
Ok,since I’ve already started,I’m just gonna go ahead and say it: I don’t even believe in Gay marriage…gay co-habitation,yes, but marriage? Nah. I don’t even think it’s necessary for two gay ppl in love to NEED a certificate as a testament of their love and commitment to each other.
(Does anyone want to serve as my human bullet-proof shield on this post?…Dennis? Absie? Max? Pete?…Gad,u nko? Na only me waka come?)
Oluwadamilare Okoro
March 16, 15:39*in DM’s voice* Chestie 🙂
I am not pro gay marriage either… and of course two father’s can never be like being raised by a mother and father together.
I get what they are saying I just can’t agree with them because it’s not like these kids being adopted were with their (amazing) parents and the gay couple decided to go and remove the child from the “norm”.
And as for the other chemical means that gay couples get kids… I just believe it’s all about change (that very constant thing in life) and a choice they made which should be respected.
chestnut
March 16, 15:46Oh, of course I don’t “disrespect” their choice,I’m just saying personally,it’s not for me…just like polygamy, I don’t “disrespect” men who are willing and able to marry and cater to many wives,but personally,not for me.
pinkpanthertb
March 16, 16:04Lmao. Chestnut, you’re just going around seeking mines to step on
Gad
March 16, 20:46Chesty dear,you are actually speaking my mind so no need to say more except to adopt in its totality all your comments on this topic. i will mount guard to defend you from the attacks of chicken hearted people who cant stand opposing views
chestnut
March 16, 15:17Hmmm…this is a tough one. I see their point; I too can’t imagine what it would have been like to grow up without a woman to call “mommy”.I would have felt like I was missing something, like the family unit was…incomplete? Call me old-school, but two (wonderful) fathers isn’t exactly the same thing as one (wonderful)father AND one (wonderful) mother…maybe I’m just being sentimental,but I really would feel like I’m missing something that other children are getting, no matter how wonderful the two fathers are.
(U ppl should not drag me too much,I beg u; I’ve had a stressful day…tanx.lol)
Dennis Macauley
March 16, 16:49Chestie hun I am not surprised at your view point, you have dropped pointers before! To each his own
McGray
March 16, 15:19Just like i said on a related post like this one, although i’m gay/bi but i can’t even start to imagine marrying a man. That’s my own opinion though, i’m not against it but i even hate to think about it. Marriage, no matter whichever ingredients u wanna add to it to suit your desires remains for Man and Woman.
McGray
March 16, 15:21By the way Pinky, did u see ‘Me’?
pinkpanthertb
March 16, 15:58Yes, McGray. I saw you. Lol
My Chemical Romance
March 16, 15:41Make I no talk now before person carry bucket of acid and pour on me.
PP, I am expecting you to upload what Elton John did as a response to the outburst.
OAN: The only good thing about these guys is their money and clothes…they look horrible. Just like something you use to scare naughty children.
chestnut
March 16, 15:50This same Elton John? I remember years ago, b4 gay marriage became quite common, this same Elton,in a british magazine (either “OK” or “Hello”, can’t remember), said he wasn’t down with the idea of gay marriage,and he didn’t feel like he needed a “piece of paper” to validate his love with David Furnish. I was surprised when they eventually got married and acquired that “piece of paper”.
Colossus
March 16, 15:54This news have been trending and I’ve been wondering when it was going to make an appearance here.
I do believe they are entitled to free speech but does not mean what they said was in good taste, calling children born via surrogacy, chemical babies is truly in bad taste.
I understand the backlash coming from this, your own kind pointing at you and plotting your downfall does not leave a good taste in your mouth. Were they right? No. Was it in good taste? No. Did they have a right to air their opinion? Sadly, yes.
Dennis Macauley
March 16, 16:50Colossus I want to hear your thoughts on the subject
#AskingForMyPeaceOfMind
chestnut
March 16, 15:56But dis Dolce & Gabanna wicked o! “Children of chemistry”? “Synthetic children”? Buahahaha! Oh can’t! I just imagined zombie-like children,running on batteries and puppet-strings,with dead eyes and no souls! LMAO. Who remembers that movie, “Children Of The Corn”?
Max
March 16, 16:15Ok stop now… You’re just poking around looking for who to talk.
You people don’t believe in gay marriage..***rolls eyes from Jupiter to Saturn and back..
I don’t believe in marriage as a whole.. Its not about being gay or anything. I think the whole going for an official ceremony is more symbolic than what people make it to be. There’s nothing scared about it. Nothing changes before and after. Its just a symbolic occasion.
Gay people making condescending statements about other gay people is something I’m against!!!
mike daemon
March 16, 16:54Personally I do not believe in marriage, two people sealing their life together, and cutting short the fun in exploring all the good stuff that nature has to offer, call me naughty, but I think everyone needs variety. Those who try to deprive themselves of this element of nature, u’ll see them getting bored, frowning, quarreling with each other, looking for a refreshment, its exhausting, LOL!
Max
March 16, 16:08Elton John spoke against them..CNN has been on it for a while now.. Thats the news in the office. some colleagues were now mankinh condescending statements about Elton, saying he’s foolish and adopted a child, kissing another man in front of the child and other homophobic shit.etc. Some people seemed unfazed about it.
It got heated up and I had to excuse myself.. Was beginning to lose my temper
Max
March 16, 16:23If we don’t believe in the happy union(I mean this as a committed relationship which both parties are in love, married or not) of two guys, then I wonder what we come here to do everyday. I’m very disappointed with the comments I’m seeing here. You think a mother is needed in a home because that’s how you were brought up to think. Its not rational thinking, its sentimental and I get it.. But nothing about being gay is easy.
This blog made me have hope that somewhere in Nigeria, there ll be men willing to marry the love of their lives, but today, that hope has been shattered. Khaleesi was right.
Nigerians are incapable of true love.
All ya’ll think about is SEX SEX SEX!!!!! .. MAKE A STOP FOR ASS IN YOUR TWENTIES ON YOUR WAY TO PUSSYVILLE LATER IN YOUR LIFE..
Its disgusting and highly hypocritical.
Dennis Macauley
March 16, 16:45People are entitled to their values max, no matter how silly it may sound
simba
March 16, 16:52Nwanne..dont mind them. They all against gay union now cus they ve never seen one at a close range…but it will all change in a good time. I wonder how somebody thts gay and even in relationship for 23yrs can spew such rubbish. D&G are saying, gay folks shouldn’t adopt kids and shouldn’t marry. In other words, take their liberty away and make them 2nd class citizens, keep their happiness in check and never allow them to have family… abeg.. D&G should die horribly..
chestnut
March 16, 18:43@Simba: …but u don’t really wish them death, do u? Just because their opinion is different from urs? That was just a figure of speech,right?otherwise u would be wishing a “horrible” death upon me too,no?
mike daemon
March 16, 17:04@max I totally agree with you, homosexuality is a fun-escape for many, as many are honing and breeding preparations toward getting into a heterosexual marriage later in their old age, and still look for ways to fuck younger guys, yea I said FUCK younger guys, it’s hypocritical and cowardly, I mentioned sumtin about it here and someone indirectly agreed that their aim was SEX, SEX, SEX!
chestnut
March 16, 17:40Max, sweerie,u really need to calm down though. I DO believe in the concept of a happy (and probably,eternal) union between two guys. I just don’t see the necessity of a ceremony,to validate what they feel for each other. If I love someone enuff to feel that I would want to spend the rest of my life with him, why can’t my love be sufficient to keep us together and happy, without standing in front of a priest? I believe in love; I hope to find it someday; the fact that I don’t want to have a 1-hour ceremony doesn’t mean I’m looking for “SEX SEX SEX” from every corner of the earth. Does my refusal to have a ceremony somehow invalidate my ability to love or stay commited? I don’t get it…
Deola
March 16, 17:46‘I DO believe in the concept of a happy (and probably,eternal) union between two guys. I just don’t see the necessity of a ceremony,to validate what they feel for each other’.
Do you feel the same way about straight couples???
pinkpanthertb
March 16, 17:50Exactly what I was going to ask. Deola, you beat me to it.
pinkpanthertb
March 16, 17:51Chestnut, is this sentiment of yours exclusive to gay unions or for all marriages in general?
chestnut
March 16, 17:56And as regards my opinion that two dads isn’t the same as one dad and one mom, let’s look at it this way: if I have children with a man, I wonder how I’m going to teach her how to insert tampons or sanitary pads or sanitary towels or whatever they’re using these days? Teenage girls don’t want to talk about “that” with their fathers! Should I send her off to a female neighbour? Or leave her at the mercy of her friends?or google?
Ok,personally,I don’t like entering the kitchen; I’m not a good cook.if I happen to marry a man who is just as clueless as I am in the kitchen,and we can’t afford servants, what are our children supposed to eat?indomie and cornflakes everyday? If a button falls out of my son’s shirt, how the hell am I supposed to fix it with my two left thumbs,if my bf/husband is also as undomesticated as I am?
In my opinion, a woman has a vital role to play in a family that has kids. If the couple had no kids,or had only dogs,that would be a different thing entirely, but the existence of kids changes things considerably (in my opinion).
chestnut
March 16, 18:06Deola and pinky: actually,I feel d same way abt straight couples,except that society DEMANDS it of straight ppl. We,on the other hand, are kind of fortunate that no one will give us side-eye for not “legalising” our union b4 deciding to live together forever. I still don’t get why the concept of a ceremony is so important here; maybe u guys can explain something I’m not seeing? Is it actually functional or just decorative? I really don’t get it; will his love for me diminish because we didn’t sign any documents? Is dat what is supposed to hold his love for me forever,instead of his heart? Y’all act as if if those documents aren’t signed, then the love will start fading away.then was it actually “love” in d first place?
So I ask again,are u guys looking at it from a functional point of view (alimony and life-insurance and stuff – then I would understand better)? Or is it just decorative/symbolic to prove a point in “our fight”?
Deola
March 16, 18:16Your line of argument doesn’t really work here. So what, it’s every mother that is a good cook and can sew abi??
What about father’s that are single parents? How do they deal with their daughters tampon issues or cooking??
Single parents manage just fine…if they can then I should think two men or two women will do just fine too.
Parenting is not a perfect science that heterosexual couples are better at, you learn stuff along the way that makes you a better parent to your child, no one is a ready made parent.
Gay straight or whatever you will face parenting challenges that can’t be magically solved because you posses a vagina.
Dennis Macauley
March 16, 18:22Chestnut are you for real? Tampons? Cooking? Buttons? These are the reasons you need a woman in a household?
Sigh
chestnut
March 16, 18:33@Deola: ok, maybe my arguement doesn’t work here, maybe I’m just being sentimental about the whole parenting issue, but I would still like one of u to explain the dire importance of a wedding ceremony btwn two guys (I feel the same way about straight weddings,but I’m not talking abt them now,because theirs has become such a widely-accepted norm, that it’s almost unquestionable so let’s leave them aside for now). Are u telling me u wouldn’t agree to spend d rest of ur life with someone u love,unless he agrees to have an actual wedding? (This is not a rhetorical question; I want to also understand what u guys already understand about the subject).
pinkpanthertb
March 16, 18:53Chestnut, there’s gay marriage and there’s gay parenting. Two different issues you’re cramming in here. I don’t believe in marriage but if I found the love of my life and we’re disposed to tie the knot, it won’t be a problem to me.
And in the case of parenting, putting in mind all those illuminating points you put forth about the importance of mothers in the household, you know, tampons, kitchen and buttons, I’d like to think any gay couple who are thinking of being parents would have afforded themselves all the basic knowledge of how to raise a family. Unlike heterosexual family units that can happen at the snap of a finger, gay families actually take some thinking and care before the couples take the step. IMO
Dennis Macauley
March 16, 16:43I already fought with my colleagues on this matter courtesy of CNN, let me just read comments in peace
Deola
March 16, 16:44I call complete total Bullshit to all that traditional old school Nonsense.
If a child isn’t raised by a mother and a father there would be an incomplete feeling??? Bwahahhaha.
It’s not the type of family that raises the child that matters , it’s the quality of the people that make up that family. Two heterosexual parents don’t not necessarily make a better environment for a child than a child raised by gay parents, and vice versa. It’s the parents themselves that determine that.
What a child needs is love, care, support and safety and the type of family that provides this does not really matter. We are allowed sentimentality because we all love our mothers and fathers but that’s where it stops, a child brought up by gay parents isn’t going to lack anything that you were given so park that sentiment to one side and think for yourself.
I don’t believe in marriage, and I would like to think that if I were straight I would feel the same way, it doesn’t mean I don’t respect it tho. So if two gay people want to get married then, perfect.
if the heterosexuals can do it for whatever reasons it’s done, the gays should be able to do it too even if it’s just for the paper, y’all didn’t say anything about the paper when it was heterosexual marriages, but then gay marriage comes up and you hear stuff like ‘you don’t need a piece of paper to show love and commitment ‘. We aren’t lesser creatures for fuck sake.
Some of the comments here are just disapointing…but not suprising.
Max
March 16, 16:48Finally, a comment to wipe my tears of disappointment.
Deola
March 16, 16:54Oh and Dolce and Gabbana can suck my Dolce and lick my Gabbana. Their comments especially the one about synthetic children is disgusting and reeks of homophobia.
They deserve each other, you would think in a partnership, one person can call the other person out when they are being stupid and unreasonable. But this is the epitome of mumu jam mumu…
Dennis Macauley
March 16, 17:01I pity them, gays are a fashion shopping power house. Watch how fast the stock prices fall.
Deola
March 16, 17:02I bet they don’t see anything wrong with straight couples using a ‘rented uterus’…cause straight couples adopt and use IVF too. I bet those children aren’t synthetic or chemical.
Max
March 16, 19:31@Deola, what do you say>>> you, me, Saturday @Leisure mall… You need coldstone to chill that beautiful brain of yours.
Deola
March 16, 20:01Hahahaha! It’s a date!
Absalom
March 16, 16:58Chestnut, looooooooooool. You know we will not see eye to eye on this one! Hehe.
If we can love, why can’t we marry who we love? I hope to someday.
To the topic: gay people raising kids.
What is Dolce & Gabbana’s definition of a “traditional family”? Does this include polygamous homes, nuclear families, extended families, single-parent homes? What about kids raised in “parentless” settings: orphanages, foster homes, grandparents and extended relatives’ homes?
The problem with D&Gs stance is: they are linking parenting to the reproductive process, therefore it has to be a heterosexual affair – penis and pussy. Please they should get their minds out of the gutter! Parenting is more or less a vocation; reproduction is not. Any idiot boy can impregnate a girl – doesn’t make him a parent; any girl can take in – doesn’t make her a parent. All the messed-up kids we have in society today, they did not all come from two-dad and two-mum homes; many are from the “traditional family”…so where’s the logic in D&G’s statement?
Question is: what do children need to grow up as balanced humans in society? Food, an education, protection from all forms of abuse, a nice bed to sleep in, nice and clean clothes to wear, a caring adult, someone to build their self esteem, etc. What does gender and sexual orientation have to do with the provision of these things?
Deola
March 16, 17:05Nicely said Absie…
Dennis Macauley
March 16, 17:00I am curious, why are there many gay people who “do not believe in marriage” than straight people? Why is that phrase more common amongst gay folk? Could it be that deep down you dont subscribe to the notion of marrying a man and starting a family, and since you wont marry a woman either you have subconsciously convinced yourself that you dont want it? Is that whats at play here?
Absalom
March 16, 17:09Dennis, philosophically and culturally, I know marriage is socially constructed. The state really has no business in people’s love lives. But do I want to get married someday? Yes. Especially if he wants it; personally, I’m fine just being committed.
Again, one has to remember that in, say, the US, marriage goes with certain benefits so it’s advisable to legalise your union. The last thing you want is to be sick in hospital and the bae is barred from seeing you because the state does not have you two on record as an item. 🙂
mike daemon
March 16, 17:15@dennis I think it has something to do with it, the fear that one would be unhappy, and as a result it will be burdensome, and trapping.
Dubem
March 16, 17:17You say you believe in two men loving each other and being committed but you don’t believe in gay marriage. But you believe that any man and woman who fall in love and naturally want to get married is all well and good. I hate to trot these two words out, but isn’t that some kind of twisted ‘internalised homophobia?’
chestnut
March 16, 18:20No,Dubem dear, it is not “internalised homophobia”. As I said up there,even with straight couples,I really don’t see the necessity of the wedding ceremony,but society has made it a norm for them,that’s why I didn’t mention them.but for gays,it is not (yet) a mandatory exercise,that’s why I talk about gay marriage,and not straight marrige. I swear,right from when I was young,I used to wonder why a man and a woman who truly love each other can’t just move in together and live happily ever after,without all the wedding brouhaha.
Deola
March 16, 18:35How about the simple reason that they just want to get married. If you and I don’t believe in the institution,it doesn’t mean there aren’t people who do and are very right for doing so.
And you know that there are certain privileges available to married couples that aren’t available to ‘people who love each other and are in a committed relationship’. That paper is the legal document that the state recognizes…not your undying love for each other.
chestnut
March 16, 18:53Wonderful Deola, now we’re getting somewhere! Now I’m beginning to understand why it is sooooo important (from a legal point of view). But remember, I haven’t said anyone should take away their right to get married; I just stated my opinion. U said u personally don’t believe in the institution,and I said I don’t believe in it too; why is my own now different from urs?lol. I haven’t said gay ppl should be stopped by the govt from getting married; I was just stating my opinion,just like u.
Deola
March 16, 20:08Lol. We can’t always agree on everything, that gets boring real quick. Nice exchanging intellectual blows with ya.
Mandy
March 16, 17:26A mother is only as good as the individual. There’s nothing sanctified and glorious about motherhood that makes mother’s an irreparable gap in the life of a growing child. Caring adoptive mothers who raised wholesome children have disproved the tendency people have for thinking the world about ‘that special bond between a mother and her biological child becos she carried him for nine months.’ The umbilical cord isn’t the magic of good maternal parenting. D&C were just speaking from a bullshit sentimental point of view, which is unfair to gay parents doing well by their children.
iamcoy
March 16, 18:31This is a post where I would have loved to hear what the women folk have to say..
Peak
March 16, 19:05I never ever thought a day would come that chestnut would give a cringeworthy comment!
Na this kind comment go make complete stranger waka meet u 4 road and tear u hot slap. Mother ko! Iya ni.
Look! I don’t believe in the concept of having biological parents. Like deola said its all about quality ppl who are willing to make sacrifices to raise, nuture and care 4 a child. Str8 ppl get married all the time and and bam! It turns out that wife can’t cook or know nothing about running a home, guess what? She goes out to get the necessary training to save her marriage! If u are commited to someone, It only natural to what it takes to make it work. U ve a man u love to death and talk of children gets thrown in the mix, then provisions to change the dynamics to fit a child in would come to play! Grounds would be moved to fit in the change. Children aren’t thrown into the mix in a union! They are agreed up on! B4 u and ur man decide 2 ve kids, I’m sure it would ve been discussed. Even in the so called traditional home, some fathers do better jobs at raising kids compared 2 women. Having a pair of breast and soothing voice doesn’t license u to raise a child. New borns are dumped everyday all over lagos, I’m guessing they were dumped by their fathers abi? The whole matter is just another attempt to whore for attention. When u are old and washed up, what do u? You start talking shit to get some shine.
This is just career suicide! I expect a full scale boycott. This is a classic case of what we preach everyday here on KD! “Not everything should be said out loud”
Max
March 16, 19:46Chestnut’s comments hurt me… I didn’t expect such to come from him.
***blows hot kisses @Peak
Chuck
March 17, 03:27marriage matters because it’s a symbol. It deepens the meaning of your affection when you can proclaim it via a social institution. It even keeps you together.
keredim69
March 17, 13:28All what Chuck said and for tax and financial planning reasons too
Ruby
March 17, 10:08These dudes are just plain STUPID!
Pardon my Lingo.
Uterus for rent, sperm chosed from a catalogue, yada yada yada…
They are just spewing dumbness from their mouths.
Self righteous pricks
Khaleesi
March 17, 15:10smh … am late to the party!! by the time i saw this, i was too exhausted from a long day and frankly couldnt be bothered with these shocking bigots!!
How Rejecting Labels Is A Sign Of Internalized Homophobia – KitoDiaries
January 02, 05:08[…] Gabbana has always been a PR car-crash; when he’s not busy downplaying sexual assault or denouncing gay adoption, the designer spends his time creating “mammy” earrings, “slave” sandals and sneakers […]