Today’s Google Doodle is more than just a commemorative drawing celebrating a notable figure’s birthday. It is more than just a notification of the beginning of the Sochi Winter Olympics and it is definitely much more than a celebration of sport.
It would seem that Google has made a bold statement on gay rights with its Doodle today. The homepage art shows a range of winter sports including snowboarding and ice hockey, on the backdrop of rainbow colours, with a different hue for each letter and sport.
The different colours represent the rainbow flag that flies for gay rights.
There is also a quote from the Olympic Charter:
"The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play."
The Sochi games have been overshadowed by the discriminatory anti-gay laws in Russia, with many people boycotting Russian products and choosing to avoid watching coverage of the Winter Olympics so as to not encourage more attention to it. The law prohibits ‘gay propaganda’, which basically bans anyone from giving information about homosexuality to people under the age of 18. There has also been serious questions over Vladimir Putin’s homophobic views, after he compared gay people to paedophiles.
Last week, 200 authors signed an open letter that condemned Russia’s anti-gay laws.
This subtle, albeit powerful, message from Google is simple: we will support the games but we will not support your laws.
