Made me feel comfortable: Trans model who featured in viral jewellery ad

An advertisement for traditional Indian jewellery is doing rounds on the internet for all the right reasons. Starring a transgender model, the advertisement is being loved by the viewers. Featuring a story of transition of a trans woman, it takes you along her journey where she finds herself and, contrary to societal constructs, is embraced by her family for who she is. 

The 22-year-old Meera Singhania Rehani is in the lead in the ad which shows her embarking on her own journey where her family celebrates each milestone of her life by gifting her gold jewellery. 

Meera, a student of sociology at Delhi University and part-time model, came out to her family two years ago. She told the BBC that she was sceptical when she heard about the ad.

“I didn’t want someone to appropriate my trans identity for commercial use. I was also nervous since the film involved transition and as a pre-transition person I’m shown as a man with a beard.”

“But when I read the story and researched about the director, I said yes. And I’m glad I did. Doing this has also helped me become more comfortable with myself,” she said. 

With as close to two million transgender people in India, the fact that that the Supreme Court ruled that they equal rights under the law as people of other genders was a historic win in 2014. However, it did not bring the endless abuse and stigma to an end. Many transgender people continue to be thrown out of their houses by their families and take up prostitution and other jobs to make a living, or simply resort to begging. 

Navya Rao, the brain behind the ad, revealed that her colleagues were afraid and apprehensive of her proposal for the campaign “All our previous ads had happy heterosexual brides. So we were worried about how people would perceive it and react to it.

“Most of our stores are in rural parts of the state. We were not sure how much exposure people there would have had to these issues.” 

But they decided to go ahead to “give a social message” and “start a conversation”.

Meera said she “was expecting a lot of conflict, especially since the ad shows a Hindu wedding which directly challenges the Hindu hetero-patriarchal system”.

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“There was some criticism of the ad and we were accused of lending a voice to a cause that’s unnatural and not supposed to exist in society. But our inboxes have been filled with positive messages. Many from the LGBTQI community reached out to us saying the ad had touched their heart,” she said. 

The ad has been described as revolutionary by industry leaders and social media users were all praises for it. 

“Thank you for giving me someone I can aspire to be on screen,” a user commented on Youtube. “I am moved to tears to know that you’ve used a trans person for this film… For the first time it feels like my story matters TOO… and our lives deserve to be happy TOO. This is remarkable! ❤️ Bhima.”