When will I just be a woman in your ads?

Let me ask something I’ve felt deep inside for years—when will I be woman enough to be seen on screen not as a cause, but simply as a woman?

In India’s glossy world of advertising, where brands compete to define beauty, family, fashion, and aspiration, trans women like me are still invisible. Or worse, we’re only visible when the goal is to stir emotion. The Vicks ad featuring Gauri Sawant was powerful, yes. It brought a transgender mother into millions of living rooms. But it also reinforced something subtle—that we are to be admired, pitied, respected… but not simply included.

We're shown when the goal is social awareness, not product appeal.

Debangshi Biswas, a transwoman and gender rights activist, writes about the pain of being seen as a symbol rather than simply a woman in Indian advertising. She calls on brands to move beyond tokenism and include trans women in everyday, aspirational narratives where they belong.

Download The Pulse’s Superwomen edition to read the full article.

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