topic: | LGBT Rights |
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located: | Russia |
editor: | Andrew Getto |
Russia is one of the few countries in the world to wage a war against LGBTQ+ people on the government level. At the same time, queer minorities have a considerable presence in the country’s elite spheres, but their high status makes them stay silent, rather than take a stance for fellow queer people, who are oppressed on a daily basis.
In the beginning of June, a strange scene took place in Moscow. A convertible car carried a pair of well-groomed men, dressed in wedding suits, to a red carpet. They posed for the press surrounded by muscular guys wearing only trousers and bow ties. At first glance, one would say it was a pride event - but that’s impossible in Russia. It was, in fact, the annual award ceremony for Muz-TV, the biggest pop music television channel.
The eccentric, gleaming man in the white suit was the 54 year-old Filipp Kirkorov, one of the biggest figures in the Russian music industry. When the host asked the singer about his entourage, he took his partner by the hand and said: “love is beautiful. It doesn’t have borders, moods, or genders; it’s all in the name of love, and it’s the right thing.” But it turns out that in modern Russia, speaking of love has legal consequences.
This week, the court issued Muz-TV a maximum possible fine of 1 million rubles ($13,550) for violating the “homosexual propaganda” law. According to the court, Kirkorov’s passionate speech “implicitly pointed at the possibility of same-sex relations” and “attracted positive attention to men in relationships… not culturally traditional for Russia.” Translated from the unbearable legal lingo: Kirkorov had the audacity to exclaim “it’s okay to be gay” and it should be punished.
Apparently, the 54 year-old Kirkorov thought the event was a safe space where he could just be himself and enjoy the show. After all, he respected the unwritten deal: don’t ask, don’t tell. Extremely famous musicians, actors and politicians pass themselves as heterosexual, or at least avoid the LGBTQ+ topic at all costs. But, of course, one can’t hide oneself forever.
Sometimes it’s a comedy: millions laugh at pictures of populist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky spending his spare time with his half-naked assistants in a sauna. Sometimes it’s a tragedy: a pop star named Dima Bilan, whose homosexuality and addiction to illegal substances are widely reported, recently broke into tears on an Instagram-live session, saying he has “two secrets he can’t admit to anyone.”
The rich and famous have a lot to lose: decades of hard work and millions in fans and profits. Celebrities like Kirkorov thought the status quo would last forever and remained hidden as the LGBTQ+ people of Russia were oppressed and murdered. But now, the most colourful, universally loved and extremely influential man has been publicly humiliated by the intolerant authorities. The question is how long would people like Kirkorov take it?
Human rights, including the right not to hide one’s own sexual identity, are never handed on a plate. There is nothing I’d love to see more than a famous and powerful queer individual coming out and publicly defying homophobia. Risking one’s status for the greater good is too much to ask from anyone, but it seems it’s the only way to reclaim dignity and pride.
Photo by Jasmin Sessler