“If people associate them with real people, then attitudes change quickly. People who actually know gay people are much less likely to be homophobic.”
Igor Kochetkov, a Russian gay rights campaigner, quoted in The Independent.
A rare good article about The Gays in The Independent, that's mainly about Anton Krasovsky, pictured, a television presenter for a state-backed TV station - who was sacked, though possibly more for criticising Putin, and his anti-gay "propaganda" law, not for coming out.
There's a more revealing Russian interview here.
Not sure why journalists always think Peter Tatchell is the go-to-guy for a quote on any gay story, though, he usually talks sense, but he's hardly an expert on Russian life.
The journalist also seems to be oblivious to the fact that gay men being murdered also happens in the UK.
All of Anton Krasovsky’s friends and colleagues knew he was gay. But when he announced it on live television, it caused a sensation. The presenter, who had made a successful career on state television channels before being appointed editor-in-chief of a new Kremlin-funded internet broadcaster, was no marginalised liberal; he was very much part of the system. But with his words, he had crossed a red line.
“I am gay, and I am a human being just like Putin and Medvedev,” he said to the cameras, referring to Russia’s President and Prime Minister. In the context of Russian public life, it was a revolutionary statement. He was fired immediately, and all references to him were removed from the channel’s website...
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment