"It's An Indian Jhoola, Not Gothic Swing!" Internet Slams Foreign Artist's Post

Days after Prada was forced to acknowledge India's Kolhapuri Chappal as the inspiration behind its latest footwear line, another Indian invention appears to have been westernised. A recent post by a foreign artist has drawn the ire of Indian social media users after she shared an image of a traditional wooden swing and described it as a "hand-carved antique solid wood Gothic living room swing".

"Please do join me on the hand carved antique solid wood gothic living room swing," the woman captioned the post.

The swing showcased in the viral post is commonly known in India as a 'jhoola' in north India or 'oonjal' in south India. As soon as the post went viral, it was slapped with a community note, providing additional context about the swing, which has Indian roots.

"Needs a little context! This is an "Oonjal" or "Jhula" which originated in India. Not a "gothic living room swing" Calling it Gothic takes away its rich cultural context/background," read the community note.

please do join me on the hand carved antique solid wood gothic living room swing pic.twitter.com/VJqmqI8PQG

— Anne Chovy (@AnneChovy2) July 6, 2025

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Social media reacts

Meanwhile, a section of social media users slammed the OP for cultural appropriation, while others recalled how common it was to see such jhoolas in Indian households back in the day.

"Scandinavian scarf, turmeric latte, golden milk, Christian yoga, beaded Y2K maxi skirts, and now they're out here calling JHOOLA a "hand carved antique solid wood gothic living room swing"? white people pmo so bad," wrote one user while another added: "Babe wake up they're calling jhoola 'gothic living room swing'"

“scandanavian scarf”, “turmeric latte”,“golden milk”, “christian yoga”, “beaded Y2K maxi skirts”, and now they're out here calling JHOOLA a “hand carved antique solid wood gothic living room swing”? white people pmo so bad https://t.co/CHhuaMXxFK

— ✧ anj ✧ (@anjulaaaa) July 7, 2025

A third commented: "This is an Indian Jhoola not a gothic swing. We had a little jhula just like this, years ago. Back in the day, almost every Indian home had one, simple joys that stayed with you forever."

A fourth said: "Temu sellers fitting as many keywords as possible in their product name."