Kissing cousins Isabelle Daza, Georgina Wilson take on gender equality

Conventional thought says that kissing your cousin is taboo—even more so, if you're both of the same gender.

 

But to show their "take on equality for gay rights," models and cousins Isabelle Daza and Georgina Wilson let their lips touch for the camera, resulting in a highly controversial photo that has drawn the attention of thousands of netizens across social networking sites.

 

Wilson's mother, Aurora, is the sister of Daza's mom, 1969 Miss Universe Gloria Diaz.

 

Taken in black and white by celebrity photographer Mark Nicdao, the photo showed the first-degree cousins affecting a passionate kiss—complete with their eyes closed. Daza posted it on her Instagram account (@isabelledaza) on Thursday afternoon.

The post follows directly in the wake of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community's celebration over the US Supreme Court's decision in favor of same-sex marriages.

Reactions and debate
 

As of Friday afternoon, barely a day after it was posted, the post has received almost 10,000 likes and close to 500 comments, reflecting the mixed reactions and debates that the photo—and the topic of homosexuality in general—have elicited.

 

On the issue of the two being cousins, user @cherrystained came to the defense, saying: "To everyone saying stuff about incest, they did not have sex or anything. It's a picture, and an artistic one at that." 

 

But other users were quick to disagree, like @14tintin, who said the photo "is more of advertising para mapag-usapan."

 

"'Pag mayaman, popular, maganda, celebrity, [ang] tawag "ART", eh kung picture lang 'to ng ordinaryong tao, I don't think you can comment that it's nice to look at," she wrote.

 

Meanwhile, user @ronypoop agreed that it was "a great work of art," but it "does not convey anything about equality."

 

Netizens' reactions also bled to the microblogging site, Twitter, where both Wilson and Daza are active:

 

Same-sex union 'against natural law'

 

But amid the LGBT community's celebration over the US Supreme Court ruling, Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz stressed on Thursday that marriage must only be between a male and a female.

 

"Ang batas ng kalikasan po ay nagsabing ang [marriage] ay union. Ang ibig sabihin ng union, isang babae at isang lalaki, at hindi lamang nagsasama sa kaisipan at kalooban, kundi sa katawan din. At doon po sa union na iyon, doon lalabas ang mga bata, mga anak, para magkaroon ng isang pamilya," Cruz said in a phone-patch interview with Kara David on "News To Go."

 

"Sorry po, ang same-sex marriage is against natural law, against human law, against divine law," the former Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop went on saying, adding that such marriage will only be possible if the Constitution is amended. 

 

Cruz, however, said that members of the LGBT community should still be respected.

 

Gayness at the forefront

 

Prior to the models' kissing photo, the spotlight has been turned to same-sex issues with events like the "coming out" of international singing sensation Charice and the new GMA-7 series "My Husband's Lover."

 

After much speculation over her gradual change of style, Charice—dubbed by host and producer Oprah Winfrey as the "most talented kid in the world"—admitted to being a lesbian early this month.

 

"Opo, tomboy po ako," she said. "Hindi ko po alam kung ano ang problema du'n. Kasi po para sa akin, wala pong problema 'yun."

 

The 21-year-old's confession has earned her praises both in the Philippines and in the US, where she also made waves under the care of Winfrey and record producer David Foster.

 

Meanwhile, earlier this week, an official from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed concern over the themes used in television shows, making the comment in light with the teleserye "My Husband's Lover," which deals with a homosexual extramarital affair.

 

"Malaking pag-aaral ang dapat na gawin sa mga bagong teleserye, tulad ng 'My Husband's Lover', na sana [ay] maisa-alang-alang na nasa isang bansa tayo na mayroong kultura na pinahahalagahan ang usaping moral o mga bagay na saklaw ng moralidad," said CBCP youth commission executive secretary Fr. Kunegundo Garganta.— TJD/CM, GMA News