Several people – almost all female – have pointed out this bill board (hoarding) in Colombo as having distinctively lesbian imagery. No idea why – I don’t get it. Perhaps some one can explain..
Here’s the location on Wikimapia. Its right by the roundabout at the centre of the screen – on the square marked “Virtusa Horton Place”.
Cerno 
Man you are talking to wrong females!
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I dont see whats wrong. Lookes like shes telling a secret to the other lady 🙂
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well you know, women are almost always envious towards other women (esp. on grounds of looks, jewelery, clothing) So it might be the root. she looks awesome you know..
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Errrr… lesbians? Where?
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lol..I gotta agree wid star on that.
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no lesbians on that billboard.
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I just wish there was more of ’em! Will keep my fingers crossed!
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I`m here,mm……o
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The girls you hang out with must be a pretty frustrated lot to find the lesbian context in that image… it looks like one girl is telling the other a secret and nothing more. The model used is very pretty in a ‘hot girl next door’ kind of way
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Aiyooo Machang,
Don’t be ABSURED!
It’s just another bilboard advertiesment.
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Doesn’t it highlight the physical closeness that girls normally share anyway?
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How can this be lesbian? i have no idea
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Less….what?
Those who say it is that way may know what such bian’s do when so close to each other.
As for the rest of us are yet to learn and until then its just a good looking bilboard that’s got the attension its supposed to do.
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Well quite few comments but I still haven’t a clue why people think this is has Lesbian imagery. Does that make any men’s clothing ad gay?
I agree with Jack Point on this.
And those Colombo Jewelry stores ads have a better quality of graphic design than most design work in Sri Lanka
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Excellent! I for one, welcome our new Lesbian overlords.
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Well if the other girl had her tongue in the main one’s ear, then maybe:)
Who is that girl?! She’s a cutie!
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U cant say lesbian unless there photo continues south!
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By Toutatis – if I had been worried about a hit count, I’d have posted this way earlier and posts like this more often 😉
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Dude! How on earth does this advert seem lesbian???
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Whoa. He never said ‘he’ thought it it seemed lesbian did he?
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That’s the question I’m asking too 🙂
I don’t know why the imagery in this ad has been described as being lesbian.
So far there’s been some analysis but nothing definite yet.
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Well.. unless your friends have seen the full picture.. whats going on below.. the .. um. bust area.. i dont see how the analysis is gonna help..
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Deane: Quite right 😉 The analysis is going nowhere and the hit count is going through the roof (mind you though my ceiling is rather close to the ground)
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yeah, say sex. lesbian. naked or anarkali and ur in business.. expect search results now from ppl searching for sri lankan lesbian pics. joy. 🙂
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Deane: he he 😀 You are quite right. Noticed that the post put me on the most popular post list on Kottu for at least 2 days.
Interestingly enough, I found your comment stuck in the spam filter 😉 Words 3,4 and 5 makes it a definite candidate.
Interestingly this post come up on page 2 of a google search for guess what? 😉
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I too don’t see any dyke connotations.
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Theena Its all in the webcam of the beholder 😉
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Lesbians?
And if?
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well, i cant see any lesbian background, though, it’s obvious that photographer tried to add the shadow of sexuality and secret to the shot. nothing more. so that you may think that they talk about “yesterday’s exprerience with a post-man” (lol) or some part of the body of the guy in front of them.
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Not that Lesbian. But I saw one some where in col an billboard about ….err….I can’t remember but it looked really lesbian. Advertising has no limits. Thank god they don put porn pix n increase Road accidents :LOL:
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chanux: Do you remember where that billboard is? Should be an interesting followup to this post 😉
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Haneeeyyy!!! I really can’t remember. But it was really lesbian. sometimes back I read on a mag that big boobs n micro-mini skirts gets drivers eyes outta the road n increase accidents.
However do you like to miss that eye candy for your life??? I don think so ha ha…
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Hey found it!!! chk near the Cargills Food City – Kirulapone. 😀
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chanux ThanX 🙂 will try to sniff it out if I go that way…
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this ad is in alexandra place (kannangara mawatha) in front of vihara maha devi park in colombo7 !! its near the roundabout leadind to horton place!!!!!!!!
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ude: yes 🙂 There’s a link to wikimapia in the post that shows a satellite image of the approximate area..
have you seen any other ads like this (besides the one chanux is talking about)?
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hey macho…I think u are a Lankan right.. so i’m sure that u know for sure (100%) that this is not a Lesbian Add.. You just wanted to start hot topic here.. that all.. As i heard there are Lesbians activities in some Night clubs and private places in Sri lanka now a days.. so take Pic of such a place and start your hot lesbian topic.hehehehe
Don’t use a this kind of a common advertisement image….LOL!!!
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Oracle119: This sign bill board was pointed out to me by several people as having Lesbian imagery.
Honest.
I wanted to write a post ABOUT the image used in THIS ad to gauge what a broader perception might be (as broad as the the kottu.org crowd is). So the image of the advertisement HAD to go on the post. If you look around the blog, you’ll notice that I have an interest in the imagery used in public advertising/graphic design.
As for starting a “hot lesbian” topic – well that was oddly enough unintentional. But you’ve got every right to be cynical given the similar sounding posts of this type elsewhere in the blogosphere. Which makes me doubt you’ll take my word for it.
If you wish to judge me by stereotypes so be it. 🙂
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it’s great .it need to be more sexy.
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“Everything is vulgar to the vulgar mind” as one of my classmates used to quote. People see what they want to see.
Though I would love to be able to capture an expression like that. So natural, not forced, inner shine. Its just a great photo.
What can I say, I like taking pictures 🙂
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I dont think. It’s wrong.
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kusumsiri: Not sure what you mean there
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Boy I will bring some Lesbians with me next time I come to SL, I did not know that they were in that much demand!
But the girls look cool! (Did the lesbians themselves comment? )
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Ok, this is the lesbian commenting and I have two things to say:
Cerno – thanks for having posted this. If I had been into blogs at the time, you would have got a reply to this then and not an year later! I am interested in imagery/visuals in the public space as well, which is why I like your blog.
To the question of whether this is a lesbian ad – I think there is a definite sense of intimacy that is projected that could be read as being sexual. Also, the particular positioning of the bodies, which can be seen between friends but also typically between lovers/couples. I guess it is in how it is read by the public and that reading would make it ‘lesbian’ or not. Personally, I wouldn’t have thought it was a ‘lesbian’ ad but would have thought it was suggestive of that. For other ads, did you see the odel ads that were around for awhile – especially the one near thummulla?
To all the others who commented – what’s with the resistance? I mean, if it was a couple of lesbians so what? Also, does it have to be an overtly sexual posture for it to be a ‘lesbian’ ad? And what if it had a man and a woman in the same position – would you have thought it was just friends or would you have thought it was a couple?
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An eye opening comment – thank you 😀
I agree with your take on it as not being a sexual photo. What I can see is platonic intimacy between friends not a sexual angle between the two people in the photo. After all this is in a country where machangs holding hands or walking arm in arm don’t raise an eyebrow. Then again any picture with a “hot chick” is automatically labelled – or meant to be labelled as sexual by the intended male audience.
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We must agree, its wrong for people not to think.
But recognizing the fact is the first step to correcting it.
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quite true 😀
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this is a colombo 7 posh lesbians
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Well there can’t be lesbian billboards in Sri Lanka now can there? Cos there are no lesbians in Sri Lanka. And the mere hint of the possibility has lead to screaming denial, and voicing of the necessity to see whats going on down there….
Vak’s question of what if a man was in the same pose still has remained unanswered. I dont think it would be “platonic intimacy of friends” that we would read.
I am not saying we can assume it has lesbian connotations… but I am saying we can’t rule it out….
One things for sure, the women look damn sexy together 🙂
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I agree with your last point 😉 but not in a gay context. Personally I’m not convinced that this bill board has any lesbian references. Though its been pointed out as being so. Nothing to do with homophobia etc.
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They are obviously not”‘ CARPET MUNCHING”!
but well, you never know they maybe into it.
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It doest show any lesbianism in that. I am sure in da advertisers point of view he/she hs gotta chance of advertising more jeweleries using two female models. Now he/she cudnt use a man and make him wear female jeweleries hey? Try to take things in an artistic manner. Few ppl r corrupted in their minds. Sad!!!
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Two girls are having a friendly chat .How can they be classed as Lesbians ? If they were involved in love making , yes you can call them by that name .Still for all there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Let them enjoy
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That’s my point as well. But several people have pointed out this bill board to me insisting that it had Lesbian/sexual references.
I guess its all in the mind of the beholder 🙂
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