Cyprus Censors Gay Kiss On TV
Image: A still from the Greek TV series 'Agries Melisses'.
When the third season of the popular Greek series Agries Melisses aired in Cyprus last month, it was with a very specific scene missing. The local channel Ant1 had censored the scene of two men kissing. LGBTQI activists have called it “another setback for gay rights in Cyprus.
Actors Dimitris Tsiklis and Giorgos Korobilis play the gay couple in the series.
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The channel blamed its decision to censor the gay kissing scene on “legislative ambiguity”. However, the state broadcasting authority denied such a thing existed within Cyprus.
“Scenes are judged based on their context and in accordance with the time they are broadcast, age rating and taking into consideration the logic of the average person in the country. For the specific case, the kiss, there are no provisions or general directions or mention in the legislation,” a representative of the state broadcasting authority told Cyprus Mail.
Although the channel was ready to censor the queer romance, Ant1 did allow another scene in the same episode. This scene had one of the two men half-naked, tied, beaten and covered in blood in a warehouse. He was subjected to the torture by the father of his partner, shocked to learn about his son’s relationship with a man.
Sweeping It Under The Carpet
The island nation only recognises marriage as a union between a man and a woman, making Cyprus one of the few European Union countries where same-sex couples can not marry. Since 2015, same-sex couples have been able to have their relationships recognised through civil unions.
Same-sex relationships have ben legal in Cyprus since 1998. The country has also enacted laws to protect LGBTQI people from discrimination and has a anti-LGBTQI hate crimes law. A bill to allow transgender people to legally change their gender has been pending in Parliament. Rights activists in Cyprus have been vocal about the fact that the nation is “generally behind when it comes to issues relating to LGBTQI+ issues”.
“What happened does not put us in a good light. We say that steps are being taken forward, but anything backwards overshadows the efforts to move forward,” Fotis Fotiou, the creator of a social media group for LGBTAQI+ rights, told Cyprus Mail.
Ant1, in addition to censoring the gay romance sub plot has also changed the air time of the Greek drama series from 9pm to 10.30pm. Activist say it is not a coincidence. “We are not as forward as we think we are because everything is swept under the carpet,” he said to Cyprus Mail.
Lazaros
The Greeks did not invent homosexuality, they merely practiced it. Gays were created and spread around the world by the Lord, who is very angry with the treatment of His LGBT creations
the world is finnished the evil mudworshipping poofter greeks that created gays are spreading there evil sin around the world