Golden Gaytime: 98 per cent of Australians vote to keep Streets iconic ice cream name
An overwhelming number of Aussies have spoken out against a movement to change the name of the iconic ice cream, labelling it “ridiculous”.
Australians are urging ice cream giant Streets to keep the name of its iconic Golden Gaytime following a petition that called for it to be rebranded.
Over 1150 people have signed the petition that argues the name of the ice cream, which was first released in 1959, was “outdated” and “offensive” – and implores for the term “gay” to be banished from its title.
But news.com.au readers have spoken out against the request, with a whopping 98 per cent voting to keep the renowned name.
In a survey published on Wednesday, more than 45,000 voters said the name is “harmless and not offensive”.
RELATED: Why renaming Golden Gaytimes would be a terrible decision
Over 1000 agreed with the petition set up by an Australian man known only as Brian Mc who said he felt it was “time that the Golden Gaytime is called out for being outdated, especially when Streets is releasing new products and cross promotions in 2021”.
In a statement to NCA NewsWire, Streets stressed the word “gay” had not been applied to gender preference when the product was first released in the 1950s.
“The origin of the ‘Gaytime’ name was and remains related to having a joyous or happy time and is meant to capture the pleasure that comes with enjoying an ice cream,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“The ‘Gaytime’ name is not and never has intended to cause offence and this petition is the first that we have been made aware of.
“As a Unilever brand, Streets has a deep and longstanding commitment to help build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive society for all.”
Mr Mc said he had been subject to personal attacks for speaking out about the name but stood by his view that it was outdated.
“Just to be a gay man, even in 2021 is still hard … (we) still have a long way to go to be fully accepted as equals, but if we see an area in life that’s not equal, and we are able to change it for the better, why wouldn’t you speak up,” Mr Mc said.
“This is why I’m speaking out against Golden Gaytime.
“I’m not calling for the product to be cancelled, I’m calling for the product to remove Gay from its name.”
Weighing in on the debate, many readers said they felt the request was an example of cancel culture “gone way too far”.
“The meaning hasn’t changed, we have only added more meanings,” one reader commented. “Just leave it, it still means happy,” another stated.
“It’s not offensive; we shouldn’t change it,” one man said.
While one woman said: “The name is fine, the world is going crazy.”
Others said the suggestion the name was offensive was “ridiculous” and “a joke”.
Mr Mc has seen support for his movement grow since news of the change.org petition hit headlines, swelling from 800 signatures to 1152 at 10.30am this morning.
But a string of new online petitions have also launched calling to “Keep the name Golden Gaytime”.
“I’m trying to prevent a small minority from ruining the fun of this iconic ice cream. The vast majority of the LGBTI+ community enjoy the double entendre, and would be disappointed with this change to say the least,” a post by Pat Mahon reads.
Another petition said “enough is enough” and urged people to “look up the meaning of gay in the dictionary”.
In his original post, Mr Mc suggested Streets adopt one of the names used in other countries for the product. It is known as a Cookie Crumble in New Zealand.
Several news.com.au readers also made suggestions, including “Golden Gdaytime”, “Golden Happytime” and “Golden Theytime”.
Some said changing the name would be “changing Australian history”.
Recently other brands have changed their names to remove racist connotations, with, Redskins becoming Red Ripper, Chicos becoming Cheekies and Coon Cheese being renamed Cheer Cheese.
However the LGBTQIA+ community has widely condemned the movement to remove the word “gay” from Golden Gaytime, stating it is not an “offensive” word.
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