From the outside looking in, it may be hard to see how the queerphobic laws passed in Russia actually affect the lives of LGBTQ+ people. In this post, we’ve listed just a few recent cases of “LGBT propaganda” in different areas of life.
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TW: discussion of homophobic persecution, t-slur in quote
In media
In May, a court in St. Petersburg ruled against a streaming service for hosting the movie “Yves Saint Laurent.” The movie contains a scene of two men kissing, as well as a discussion of gay relationships.
The TV show “How to Get Away with Murder” and the movie “Three Steps Above Heaven” met a similar fate due to having LGBTQ+ characters.
In June, another streaming service was fined for €15,000 for hosting the TV show “Supergirl.” According to the court decision, it contains “LGBT propaganda” in the form of a background lesbian character.
Recently, one of the biggest Russian TV channels received a €10,000 fine as well. It failed to rate a movie NC-17 for containing a scene of two women kissing.
In real life
In Voronezh, two women were reported to the police for “LGBT propaganda” because of sharing a kiss at a local bar. The case ended up being dropped, since the court failed to prove that a mere kiss could count as propaganda.
In June, a man was persecuted for placing an ad for his sex work services. According to the court ruling, he identified as a “transvestite.” Therefore, the advertising of his services was interpreted as “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.”
For our symbols
In June, a €10 fine was imposed in Volgograd for a rainbow flag posted on social media.
In July, the Adler District Court kept a woman under arrest for 10 days for “demonstration of extremist symbols” — a photo with a rainbow flag on her social media page.
It’s important to mention that regardless of whether a person was fined or arrested, if they get caught with a rainbow flag on their social media again, the consequence will be the same: criminal prosecution, possibly resulting in imprisonment.