{"id":33892,"date":"2013-09-23T12:00:07","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T11:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=33892"},"modified":"2015-05-06T08:59:04","modified_gmt":"2015-05-06T07:59:04","slug":"gay-rights-in-russia-and-the-2014-sochi-winter-olympics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2013\/09\/gay-rights-in-russia-and-the-2014-sochi-winter-olympics\/","title":{"rendered":"Gay Rights in Russia and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"rainbow-flag-400x266\"<\/a>Introductory Background<\/b><\/p>\n

This article is written in part as\u00a0an update to my article of this past March 6 \u201cOverview Of The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics<\/a>\u201c. Relative to the upcoming winter Olympiad, that piece addresses the issues pertaining to feasibility, terrorism, corruption, human rights, environment and the Circassians.\u00a0Since then, a June enacted\u00a0nationwide Russian Article 6.13.1 law on restricting the communication of homosexual content to minors<\/a>,\u00a0has drawn a considerable degree of commentary, regarding\u00a0the 2014 Sochi winter Olympics.<\/p>\n

The Russian government maintains that the law\u2019s intention is not meant to encourage discrimination against the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community. (In less popular usage, there is the termed\u00a0LGBTQ<\/a>, which has faced opposition among some LGBT activists over the categorized\u00a0use\u00a0of \u201cqueer\u201d.) Critics of Article 6.13.1 include the opinion that the broadly stated\u00a0wording of the law serves to encourage rather than discourage discrimination. There will likely be an increased scrutiny of how Russia\u2019s LGBT community is treated.<\/p>\n

When compared to its\u00a0level of support in Russia, Article 6.13.1\u00a0is not\u00a0as popular a move from the overall perspective of Western\u00a0countries. It has been emphasized that Russia at large has a socially conservative outlook on\u00a0the LGBT\u00a0subject. There are other ways of supporting that position, in a manner (different from Article 6.13.1) which would not be seen as provocative.<\/p>\n

Without the law in question, the local municipalities could decide on whether to approve gay pride parades along major roadways, with the public education authorities influencing what is formally taught to minors.\u00a0(To a noticeable degree, these circumstances existed before Article 6.13.1.)\u00a0In turn, LGBT activists could civilly make the case on why the wording in something like Article 6.13.1 is unnecessarily divisive.\u00a0That nationwide\u00a0law\u00a0is not needed to aggressively prosecute homosexual as well as heterosexual pedophilia\u00a0via legal means. The non-existence of\u00a0Article 6.13.1\u00a0would have probably decreased the negative coverage that Russia has been receiving on the LGBT topic.<\/p>\n

Concerning the subject of the LGBT community in Russia, several English language articles have appeared, which place a different emphasis from what has been typically highlighted in Western mass media. A few of them immediately come to mind. Dmitry Babich\u2019s July 30 Voice of Russia commentary\u00a0 \u201cOlympic Stick: Can Washington Wield It Against Russia?<\/a>\u201d notes an openly pro-LGBT advocacy in Russia, running counter to the image of an underground movement. Patrick Buchanan\u2019s August 13 article \u201cPost Versus Putin \u2013 Whose Side Are You On?<\/a>\u201d and Aaron Wolf\u2019s Chronicles Magazine piece \u201cNazi Russians And \u2018Basic Morality\u2019<\/a>\u201c, take issue with likening present day Russia with Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n

The Motivation Behind The NBC-MSNBC\u00a0Coverage<\/b><\/p>\n

Following the enactment of Article 6.13.1,\u00a0it was suggested that NBC (the television network with the Olympic broadcasting rights in the United States), should make it a point to spend time on covering the opposition to that law<\/a>.\u00a0Unofficially, NBC\u2019s cable television news affiliate MSNBC has done this in a way which suggests a desired policy of accommodating the anti-Russian government legislation activism, for the purpose of lessoning any disagreement with NBC covering the Sochi winter Olympics. This stance meshes with the view favoring no boycott of the Sochi winter Olympics, while staunchly opposing Article 6.13.1.<\/p>\n

Among the three major American 24\/7 television news networks, MSNBC has spent the most time on the LGBT subject in Russia, with CNN coming in a clear second over Fox News. Part of this aspect might have to do with the overall slants of these networks. (Fox News is the more socially conservative of the three, with CNN having a perhaps\u00a0less liberal lean\u00a0than MSNBC.)<\/p>\n

MSNBC host Lawrence O\u2019Donnell has stood out among the hosts at MSNBC in criticizing Article 6.13.1. To a lessor degree, MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes have covered this subject as well.<\/p>\n

Organized Sports And The LGBT Community<\/b><\/p>\n

On\u00a0O\u2019Donnell\u2019s August 6 show \u201cThe Last Word\u201d<\/a>, retired American Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis made it a point to say that the Olympics are about different cultures exchanging their ideals \u2013 adding that he comes from a society of free speech. He also hails from a nation where there are some periodically exhibited mass media inaccuracies. Louganis apparently did not always feel so free to reveal his gay orientation, as evidenced by the years he remained silent on that aspect. Upon further querying, Louganis would probably (if not already) acknowledge this last point, along with the opinion that LGBT concerns in the United States are by no means settled, even with recent advancements.<\/p>\n

In media, academia and the arts, there seems to be a longer established understanding of LGBT sentiment, unlike some other fields, including sports, which relates to Louganis and the Olympics. This observation is partly underscored by the lower number of openly gay upper echelon athletes. An August 16 Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty article \u201cAs Gay Athletes Prepare To Take A Stand In Sochi, The Question Is How To Do It<\/a>\u201c, named only two gay winter Olympic athletes. In the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, I do not recall any past or present actively playing player\u00a0\u201dcome out of the closet\u201d. A limited number did so in retirement.<\/p>\n

This past National Basketball Association (NBA) season, Jason Collins became the first non-retired player in that league to reveal being gay. He acknowledged this when he was not actively playing. To date, Collins has not been signed by any NBA team \u2013 something that is universally considered as unrelated to his revealed sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

The NBA and others in the United States have generally lauded Collins\u2019 acknowledgement.\u00a0ESPN analyst Chris Broussard<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson\u00a0<\/a>were not as charitable. The expressed disagreement with these two NBA personalities was nowhere near as condemnatory as the feedback to what Russian pole vaulting great Yelena Isinbayeva said on the LGBT subject. Numerous media reports left out this excerpt from what\u00a0she initially stated<\/a>: \u201cWe are against publicity but we are not of course about every choice of every single person. it\u2019s their life, it\u2019s their choice, it\u2019s their feelings, but we\u2019re just against the publicity in our country and I support that<\/i>.\u201d Hence, Isinbayeva\u2019s follow-up was not so much a change of her opinion (as claimed by some) as a regret of an evident language barrier and\u00a0incomplete overview of what she first said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Same Sex Kissing In Different Cultures<\/b><\/p>\n

On his August 8 show, O\u2019Donnell posed the hypothetical instance of what\u00a0might happen if a gay American athlete decided to kiss his spouse at Sochi, with the cameras rolling.\u00a0In the history of the Olympics, when has\u00a0a known married gay Olympian\u00a0been seen kissing his spouse?\u00a0Besides Johnny Weir, who are\u00a0the other potential gay American winter Olympians \u2013 married or single?<\/p>\n

Shortly after O\u2019Donnell\u2019s aforementioned scenario of same sex kissing in Sochi, much hoopla was erroneously raised at the awards ceremony for the women\u2019s 4 by 400 meter relay at last month\u2019s International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Championships in Moscow. Some of those unfamiliar with Russian cultural norms, jumped to the wrong conclusion that the\u00a0kissing Russian female athletes on the award podium<\/a>\u00a0were sending a political message.\u00a0There was no noticeable look of astonishment in the stands by the mostly Russian crowd. No one in that country sought punitive action against the four women.<\/p>\n

Before world wide audiences, Soviet female athletes engaged in same sex kissing, during a period when the Soviet Union officially viewed homosexuality as abnormal. In the Soviet Union, I recall seeing two heterosexual men kissing in a very open public setting with no response of stunned indignation. The folks seeing this same sex kissing could not know for sure the sexual orientation of the two men \u2013 a family member and his happily married friend.\u00a0Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev engaged in same sex lip kissing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a youngster, my American upbringing was initially miffed at seeing this behavior. My parents informed me of a different culture and custom. Thereafter, I was no longer surprised to see this manner at gatherings involving my family and their Russian expat friends. Upon my noting this experience, a Russian friend added that in Russia, it is not so out of the ordinary to see girls\/women walking about, with their hands and arms around each other\u2019s waist.<\/p>\n

Mixing Politics With Sports<\/b><\/p>\n

O\u2019Donnell is aghast at the International Olympic Committee (IOC)\u00a0for trying to keep politics out of the Olympics as much as possible. As a Russian government instituted law,\u00a0Article 6.13.1 falls under a political matter. The IOC has\u00a0expressed\u00a0the ideal that the Olympics should primarily focus on the events and athletes, with\u00a0the backdrop of their national identity. Allowing folks to express themselves on varying\u00a0subjects, results in a free for all of promoting numerous agendas.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donnell expressed sympathy for what John Carols and Tommie Smith did at the 1980 summer Olympics in Mexico City. During the playing of the American national anthem at the awards ceremony, honoring their athletic achievement, these two athletes gave a clench fisted black power salute to express solidarity with the American civil rights movement. They were then expelled from the Olympiad (but not stripped of their medals). Likewise, Serb swimmer Milorad Cavic was suspended from the 2008 European Aquatics Championships for wearing a \u201cKosovo is Serbia\u201d t-shirt at the awarding of his first place performance.<\/p>\n

One can sympathize with the American civil rights movement and the mainstream Serb position on Kosovo, while not necessarily believing that these subjects should be highlighted at the awards ceremonies at major international sporting events. Some\u00a0might take issue with likening the Carlos-Smith expression with Cavic\u2019s. Such a stance leads to determining which political advocacy is more legitimate.\u00a0Within reason, the IOC does not seem enthused about getting into the business of judging these kind of\u00a0subjects.<\/p>\n

Histrionics\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

It was no surprise to see O\u2019Donnell uncritically laud the neoconservative leaning gay journalist James Kirchick\u2019s August 21 stunt on RT.\u00a0The following day, Kirchick was treated as a very welcomed guest on O\u2019Donnell\u2019s show<\/a>. RT responded to that segment with an August 23 commentary \u201cMeet The True Journalists: James Kirchick And Lawrence O\u2019Donnell<\/a>\u201c.<\/p>\n

Going into his RT appearance via a Stockholm studio, Kirchick calculatingly\u00a0went contrary to the subject that\u00a0he was invited to speak about.\u00a0The involved RT staff gave him plenty of\u00a0time before appropriately cutting him off. O\u2019Donnell does not come across as someone who\u00a0would be more tolerant in a situation where\u00a0a guest\u00a0rudely hijacks the\u00a0intended topic\u00a0of his show.<\/p>\n

Someone who can be categorized as part of the American neoconservative-neoliberal leaning punditcracy privately communicated the view that \u201cJamie was wonderful<\/i>\u201d in what he did on RT.\u00a0I responded by adding wonderful, as in wonderfully crank like\u00a0for a certain slant,\u00a0which in\u00a0Kirchick\u2019s example lacked basic civility.<\/p>\n

Professional wrestling\u00a0has been\u00a0classified as \u201csports entertainment<\/a>\u201c, in contrast to\u00a0a \u201csport\u201d as has been generally defined. Likewise, the\u00a0category of \u201cnews\u00a0entertainment\u201d\u00a0over\u00a0\u201dnews\u201d\u00a0has validity.<\/p>\n

Concluding Thoughts\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Russia is by no means alone in exhibiting a limited tolerance of LGBT concerns. In English language mass media, this point has been raised in an incomplete way. Up to a point, it is understandable why a high profile country like Russia will get more attention than many other nations. This facet does not completely explain the negatively inaccurate and hypocritical coverage against that country. In contrast to how some other countries are treated, Russia bashing seems to be more popular.\u00a0There is a lack of constructively critical pro-Russian advocacy in English language mass media, coupled with a lingering, although decreased Cold War attitude.<\/p>\n

On\u00a0Chris Hayes\u2019 August 14 MSNBC show \u201cAll In\u201d<\/a>, actor\/playwright\u00a0Harvey Fierstein passionately stated that LGBT activism should focus attention on where it is needed. Earlier,\u00a0O\u2019Donnell\u2019s August 9 show<\/a>\u00a0had a segment which targeted other parts of central\/eastern Europe besides Russia, for an intolerance towards the LGBT community. The non-Russian condemnation was limited. For example, there was no mention made of European Union member Lithuania\u2019s\u00a02009 implemented law<\/a>\u00a0on restricting the communication of\u00a0homosexual content\u00a0to minors. On a more recent note, Lithuania is\u00a0considering further measures<\/a>\u00a0that run counter to LGBT preferences. Following\u00a0the recent G-20 meeting in St. Petersburg, American President Barack Obama stopped off in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. He did not say anything about the LGBT situation in Lithuania. Some other countries with a less tolerant attitude attitude than Lithuania and other central\/eastern European nations were not mentioned on O\u2019Donnell\u2019s aforementioned August 9 show.<\/p>\n

Bangladesh is a country where clothing is manufactured and sold en mass in the United States and other nations.\u00a0Put mildly, that country has a noticeably less tolerant attitudes towards the LGBT community than Russia<\/a>. Where is the mass media outrage? Is there an economic interest at play, having to do with not rocking the boat against a country where cheap labor has benefitted American and other foreign big business interests?<\/p>\n

Along with Bangladesh, a number of other countries including\u00a0Qatar<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Saudi Arabia<\/a>\u00a0have worse records than Russia on LGBT tolerance.\u00a0Qatar based\u00a0Al Jazeera has\u00a0highlighted the LGBT issue in Russia. Upon a quick review, I was not able to see any Al Jazeera coverage of LGBT\u00a0concerns in Qatar. An August 29, Al Jazeera America telecast featured a piece on the opposition to\u00a0same sex marriage in an American state. Rather ironically, that segment was followed by a news item about Qatar\u00a0having a satellite in outer space. That country is scheduled to host\u00a0soccer\u2019s 2022 World Cup.<\/p>\n

In historical terms, the not too distant past reveals a dramatic change in how the LGBT community is viewed. In the 1970s, I attended a socially liberal Long Island public school district. At the time, the sex education taught there at the junior and senior high school levels did not include homosexuality, without any protest. The American government led boycott of the 1980 Moscw summer Olympics did not include protesting the official Soviet view that characterized homosexuality as an illness. A historian acquaintance\u00a0reminded me<\/a>\u00a0that the American Psychiatric Association (until 1973), American Psychological Association (until 1975) and the World Health Organization (until 1990) held a similar view.\u00a0It was not long ago<\/a>, that some American states had laws against homosexuality. Homosexuality has been decriminalized in post-Soviet Russia.<\/p>\n

The increased acceptance of the LGBT community has not ended the violence\u00a0and discrimination it has faced in the Unites States and elsewhere. Last month, Mark Chapman of the Kremlin Stooge blog brought up a\u00a0crime story\u00a0which has received little, if any\u00a0major headline news coverage\u00a0in local New York\u00a0area and\u00a0American national media (include MSNBC and CNN).\u00a0In a discussion following his August 16 article \u201cThe Sucking Sound of Receding Credibility: MSNBC\u2019s Chris Hayes Drops The Ball<\/a>\u201c, Chapman said:<\/p>\n

\u201cReturning for a moment to topic, hate crime case opened in New York for the\u00a0<\/i>murder of a transgender woman<\/i><\/a>. She\u00a0was apparently punched in the face. That must have been some punch.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Defenders will say, ah, yes, but in the United States these things are punished, while they are not even reported in anti-gay Russia. That so? Show me your evidence of widespread anti-gay hate crimes in Moscow. This is the 68th incident this year in New York, up from 54 last year, and we\u2019re only a bit over halfway through the year. Just off the top of my head, I\u2019d say the strict measures the U.S. authorities take are not much of a deterrent against what looks like a building wave of anti-gay hate crimes. No Olympics for you New York<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

****<\/p>\n

Since the enactment of Article 6.13.1, Russia has hosted two international sporting events (the World University Games and the IAAF World Championships), without any report of abuse against LGBT athletes or spectators. In comparison to these two sports events, the winter Olympics receives greater attention, thereby making it a more attractive event for advocacy promotion. At Sochi, the Russian authorities might be tested in a situation of\u00a0provoking activism in opposition to Article 6.13.1. In this scenario, many will not take kindly to either a heavy handed Russian counter response and\/or a blatant attempt to\u00a0focus\u00a0the interest\u00a0away from the athletic competition.<\/p>\n

______________________<\/p>\n

Michael Averko<\/i>\u00a0is a New York based independent foreign policy analyst and media critic.<\/i><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 globalresearch.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since the enactment of Article 6.13.1, Russia has hosted two international sporting events (the World University Games and the IAAF World Championships), without any report of abuse against LGBT athletes or spectators. In comparison to these two sports events, the winter Olympics receives greater attention, thereby making it a more attractive event for advocacy promotion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sexualities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33892\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}