Gay News

Banglasia is a 2015 Malaysia comedy by Namewee

An irreverant comedy from the Malaysian director Namewee was banned by government film censors for promoting homosexual lifestyles, mocking troops and ridiculing national security issues.

Namewee's film Banglasia, which centres on a group of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds who find themselves forced to accept each other's differences, was banned from cinemas last year after 31 scenes were deemed inappropriate by local censors.

The Malay Mail reports that the Malaysian home ministry has published its official reasons for refusing the film a licence, in response to a written request from MP and human-rights activist Sivarasa Rasiah:

This film has a title, theme, storyline, scenes and double-meaning dialogue with implicit messages that were feared could raise controversy and public doubt, the response reads, adding that it mocked national security issues, specifically the Lahad Datu intrusion ... ridiculed the capacity and role of security troops in maintaining peace as well as national security ... includes allegations and negative perceptions towards government agencies related to citizenship ... and accentuates negative sociocultural lifestyles such as lesbian gay bisexual transgender (LGBT).

The UK Government has decided to reverse its homophobic ban on poppers.

Ministers had previously announced the alkyl nitrites would be outlawed next month under their far-reaching Psychoactive Substances Act.

Now after robust criticism from Tory Crispin Blunt and Labour Andy Burnham the Home Office have announced that poppers will be excluded from the ban. In a silly attempt at saving face the said that it was advised that poppers do not directly stimulate or depress the central nervous system . which means they are not technically a psychoactive drug.

Crime Creation Minister Karen Bradley accepted the advice and passed it on to police to ensure people are not criminalised.

Before the government U-turn sex shops were due to face up to seven years' jail for selling them when the Psychoactive Substances Act takes force next month.

Crispin Blunt had told the Commons :

There are some times when something is proposed which becomes personal to you and you realise the government is about to do something fantastically stupid.

Theresa May has been criticised over the Act, which also bans laughing gas (right). And I think in those circumstances one has a duty to speak up.

I use poppers, I out myself as a popper user, and would be directly affected by this legislation. I'm astonished then to find that it's proposing to be banned and frankly so would many other gay men. And if I follow my own mindset reaction to this it simply serves to bring the whole law into disrepute.

In a letter to Home Secretary Theresa May, Andy Burnham said poppers have beneficial health and relationship effects and were an important issue for the gay community.

Weekend is a 2011 UK gay romance by Andrew Haigh.
Starring Tom Cullen, Chris New and Jonathan Race.

On a Friday night after a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club, alone and on the pull. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special. That weekend, in bars and in bedrooms, getting drunk and taking drugs, telling stories and having sex, the two men get to know each other. It is a brief encounter that will resonate throughout their lives. Weekend is both an honest and unapologetic love story between two guys and a film about the universal struggle for an authentic life in all its forms. It is about the search for identity and the importance of making a passionate commitment to your life.

The Catholic Church in Italy has effectively banned Weekend , a movie by British filmmaker Andrew Haigh, by declaring it unfit to be shown in any of the theaters owned by the church.

In an unusual move that prompted accusations of homophobic censorship, the Italian Conference of Bishops' Film Evaluation Commission classified the film as not advised, unusable and scabrous (indecent or salacious). The Commission listed the film's principal themes as drugs and homosexuality.

The result, according to its distributor Teodora Film, was that the film was shunned by the more than 1,100 cinemas which are owned by the Church and make up the bulk of Italy's network of independent/arthouse theatres.

The country's official film board approved Haigh's Nottingham-set drama for audiences over 14, compared with an 18 rating in the UK.

The large number of Italian cinemas owned by the Church are a legacy of the days when every parish had its own cinema and local priests controlled projections, regularly cutting sections of films they deemed unsuitable for parishioners. Most of these cinemas are now rented out to operators who do not have to be religious but do have to sign a contract which includes a clause agreeing to go along with the guidance issued by the bishops.

Only very rarely does the guidance make it clear the Church does not want a film shown at all with the only other recent example being Chilean director Pablo Larrain's El Club , in which the main characters are all Catholic priests, including one with a history of sexually abusing children.

Update: Weekend triumph

16th March 2016. See  article from theguardian.com

Weekend has now become a surprise box office smash in Italy, despite the attempt by the Catholic church to paralyse its release. The film achieved the highest per-screen average in the country this weekend, according to Variety . One screening at Rome's famous Quattro Fontane art house cinema pulled in receipts of more than 16,000 euro, the cityl's top haul.

Weekend, which was brought to Italy by distributor Teodora Film following the 2015-16 awards season success of Haigh's Oscar-nominated film 45 Years.

Variety reports 11 more Italian cinemas are now said to be interested in screening Weekend in the upcoming frame.

The Kenyan Film Classification Board ( KFCB ) has ordered Google to pull down a video that the agency considers as promoting gay relationships.

KFCB Chief Executive, Ezekiel Mutua wrote to Google Kenya and other state agencies asking them to take action against creators and distributors of the music video titled Same Love by Art Attack whose lyrics, he said, advocate gay rights in Kenya. He spewed:

Kenya must not allow its people to become the Sodom and Gomorrah of the current age through psychological drive from such content. We have written to Google to remove the video from their platforms. We expect they will do it within one week from now to avoid further violation of the law.

He reiterated that Article 45 of the Kenyan Constitution defines marriage as a union between persons of the opposite sex and the Penal Code Section 162 to 165 criminalises homosexual behaviour.

Update: Hit video

13th March 2016. See  article from freethinker.co.uk

Banned gay music video becomes a hit Last month Kenyan censors banned the country's first gay-themed music video -- and the Streisand Effect immediately kicked in. The video, Same Love has so far attracted over 135,000 views.

The song is a remix by Kenyan rapper Art Attack  The artist said of the video:

We expected that this will create controversy. We expected that a lot of people will talk about it but we didn't expect the amount of publicity it has received. The erotic scenes were meant to show that these people also fall in love.

In a news conference, Ezekiel Mutua from Kenya's film classification board said:

The video currently circulating on YouTube consists of lyrics that strongly advocate for gay rights in Kenya, complete with graphic sexual scenes between people of the same gender, as well as depiction of nudity and pornography.

Last year, Kenya's ungodly deputy president has said there is no room for homosexuality in Kenya's godly society.

Update: Google refuse to censor

16th March 2016. See article from metro.co.uk

The Kenya Films Classification Board has failed in its attempt to get a gay music video removed from Google.

President of the KFCB, Ezekiel Mutua, has said he'll take the matter to court.

Google Kenya are apparently being a bit coy about refusing the censor board's request, saying it merely doesn't regulate the YouTube content. The video is still very much live on YouTube.

The UK's poppers manufacturers should be allowed to operate while the government reviews the product's legality, the former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has said:

Poppers have been around for decades,The evidence shows they don't pose any great risk to health, and that's why they have never been banned before.

Frankly they could have been made exempt from the new act without the need for a review, but the government didn't want to admit they had got it wrong. While there is a review ongoing, of course the legitimate businesses that produce poppers should be allowed to continue to operate.

The government's psychoactive substances bill will come into force on 6 April, making poppers illegal in the UK. In response to calls to exempt the product from the bill in January, the government announced a review of the ban, which is expected to report before the summer recess in July, leaving a window of around three months in which UK poppers manufacturers risk going bust.

Poppers is the name given to the chemicals alkyl nitrites, which, when sniffed, give the user a short, sharp head rush. The substance was first circulated as an angina medicine before emerging as a party drug on the gay scene in the 1970s.

Poppers are particularly, though not exclusively, used by gay and bisexual men to enhance sexual pleasure, as they relax the muscles and make it easier to have anal sex. They are sold for about £5 a bottle in most sex shops and some cornershops and are available for anybody over the age of 16 to buy.

Offsite Article: The poppers ban...Will it criminalise gay users?

 

8th March  2016. See  article from theguardian.com
 

Offsite Article: The poppers ban is a veiled attack on pleasure

23rd March 2016. See  article from theguardian.com by David Nutt

Indonesia has banned television stations from showing male actors behaving effeminately or dressing as women.

The Indonesian Broadcasting Company, KPI, issued a directive banning men from wearing:

Feminine fashion and feminine make-up, and using feminine body language including walking style, sitting style, hand gestures and other behaviour.

Based on the results of monitoring and complaints that we have received, there are still broadcast programs featuring men who behave and dress like a woman.

KPI assess these things are not in accordance with the provisions of respect for the norms of decency and morality prevailing in society and the protection of children and adolescents.

Update: China too

6th March 2016. See  article from newnownext.com

Homosexuality and other abnormal sexual relationships have been banned from Chinese TV dramas.

The China Television Drama Production Industry Association and the China Alliance of Radio, Film and Television recently released a new set of TV content production guidelines , which detail plans to censor all dramas that feature inappropriate sexual behavior, such as incest, sexual assault, adultery, one-night-stands and homosexuality.

Chinese censors at the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) have banned a popular gay-themed online drama titled Addiction from the streaming sites this week after 12 episodes. Audiences, who will now miss the last three episodes of the drama involving a gay relationship between two Chinese teenage boys, are enraged over the censorship.

Addiction had, became hugely popular garnering over 10 million viewers. However, the show, involving the lives of four high school students portrayed by new actors, stopped streaming on various sites including v.qq.com and iqiyi.com on Monday, reported Global Times , a media outlet closely associated with the country's Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily.

There are wild gay orgies and glory holes aplenty at Dublin's new sex cinema and swingers club, all for the price of a 12 euro admission ticket.

The club, in the GlamWorld sex shop on Dublin's Mary Street, shows porn films daily on a big screen while cinema goers are provided with glory holes and private booths to enhance their movie experience. A one-stop shop for swingers and voyeurs alike.

There are two rooms and a bathroom. There are stalls with glory-holes and in the back there are booths that have dividing screens, you can pull the screen up if you want a little privacy. Play, enjoy. The one and only rule? Smoking is not allowed.

Proving a hit with clientele, one excited customer posts on popular swingers' forum Fabswingers.com:

Visited here earlier. Have to say it's a nice spot compared to the place on Dorset Street. Clean and a few interesting nooks and crannies. Also pretty discreet to enter. The video playing was some extremely hot bi porn.

There was a few other guys there. Not my type, though. Still the possibility of what might happen there with the right people really got me going and I ended up getting my c**k out and stroking it to the movie.

Michigan senate passes bill punishing anal sex with 15 years prison.

While the bill does not specifically target the gay community, that is the clear intention. The legislation outlaws anal sex completely:

A person who commits the abominable and detestable crime against nature with mankind or with any animal is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for no more than 15 years.

If the person is found to a sexually delinquent person or an existing sex offender, they will face a life term in prison.

Twelve US states including Michigan have anti-sodomy legislation, even though the US Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional in the 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas.

The Indonesian government has called for gay emojis to be banned from instant messaging apps, and plans to force providers to remove them.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia but is a sensitive religious issue.

The government acted after messaging service Line included lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) stickers, which were later removed following complaints from some Indonesian users.

The Indonesian government's spokeswoman for communication ministry Ismail Cawidu said WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, would be instructed to delete their LGBT stickers as well:

Social media must respect the culture and local wisdom of the country where they have large numbers of users.

New Cross' famed sex cinema opened its doors for business again. Club 487, in New Cross Road, was reportedly a hotbed of orgies and group romps, with x-rated movies screened to customers.

Last October, the council ordered the porn palace shut its doors for good following a licencing review. They revoked the licence after finding the premises were indeed being used as a sex cinema, or sex establishment, and naughty videos were being shown.

But now owner Peter Jones is appealing the decision, allowing the venue to remain open until a hearing in front of a magistrate at a hearing set for July.

The club now has its own website up and running, where it's described as:

Focused on providing the best films and meeting accommodation with the highest levels of customer satisfaction & we will do everything we can to meet your expectations.

Cartoon Network is defending its decision to censor a scene of two woman dancing romantically from popular animated series Steven Universe .

It emerged this week that the network had made changes to an episode of the American animated series for its broadcast in the UK.

The episode features a romantic dance between two female characters, Pearl and Rose Quartz, during a musical number, but the UK broadcast the close ups of the dancing partners with other characters.

Cartoon Network claimed in a statement to PinkNews:

Cartoon Network (in Europe) often shows amended versions of programs from US originals. The US broadcast system requires that shows are marked with a rating --in this case PG (parental guidance necessary). In the UK we have to ensure everything on air is suitable for kids of any age at any time. We do feel that the slightly edited version is more comfortable for local kids and their parents.

However, the claim appears to be entirely inconsistent with the British ratings system, with the BBFC noting that heterosexual and gay content is considered using the same rules regardless of orientation.

The BBFC's U rating -- which Cartoon Network aims for -- says:

Characters may be seen kissing or cuddling and there may be references to sexual behaviour. However, there will be no overt focus on sexual behaviour, language or innuendo.

Fans have raised concern about the network's gay discrimination in a petition saying:

Cartoon Network UK is taking much-needed role models away from vulnerable kids.

Steven Universe is a beloved series acclaimed for its groundbreaking portrayal of queer characters. I've heard many young people say it changed their lives.

In the UK and Europe, CN UK have censored a romantic dance between two female characters, Pearl and Rose Quartz. Queer youngsters treasure and cling to this moment.

The same episode ('We Need to Talk') has plenty of hetero dancing and kissing, so it looks like they're censoring this because it's two women.

Happily, there's a hopeful precedent. When CN France turned Steven Universe's lesbian love song Stronger Than You into a song about friendship, we raised an outcry and they listened.

Please ask CN UK to stop censoring queer content in Steven Universe , and to restore Pearl and Rose's dance in future broadcasts in the UK and Europe.