Vancouver Hindu community calls out use of deity image by local company

A group representing Vancouver’s Hindu community is calling out a business for what it calls the inappropriate use of an image of a deity.

“Big D*ck Energy Coaching,” which offers life-coaching and “relationship and passion management” courses, uses the deity Ganesha in its branding and marketing.

The India Cultural Association of Vancouver (ICA) has launched a Change.org petition, calling for the company to stop juxtaposing its name with the image of the deity. The petition has amassed about 4,000 signatures.

ICA Vancouver calls it disrespectful, adding people in the Hindu community are upset by this imagery.

“The Hindu community feels it is inappropriate to use words ‘big d*ck’ in conjunction to the image of the deity revered to Hindus,” reads a statement on the petition.

It says many people have approached the business in the past and asked it to make a change, but it has so far been unresponsive.

“Canada is a multicultural society, and no one has the right to disrespect anyone’s faith, belief, or religion. This has been enacted in the Canadian Multiculturalism Act adopted in 1988 and clearly acknowledges multiculturalism as the fundamental characteristic of Canadian society,” the petition reads.

ICA Vancouver believes the business “purposely orchestrated” the placement of the words, suggesting it may have had nefarious intentions.

“This is a cultural appropriation and not acceptable,” the petition adds.

So far, company owners have not responded to the backlash.

While the business is largely conducted online, the domain of the site is based in Surrey.