Posted on 12/11/2023 7:56:06 AM PST by Angelino97
A Russian reality TV show titled "I'm Not Gay," hosted by one of the country's most notorious anti-gay politicians, is drawing scrutiny and abhorrence from western media outlets amid the country's increasingly authoritarian crackdown on LGBTQ rights.
"I'm Not Gay" pits eight contestants against one another in a series of games centered around masculine stereotypes and homophobic humor, to determine which one of them is gay. The contestant who correctly identifies their gay peer wins two million rubles, or $29,000 USD, and the gay contestant wins the money if he makes it through the games undetected.
The show appears to be popular among Russian audiences, and could easily be dismissed as lowbrow entertainment. For instance, one of the challenges involves receiving lap dances from both female and male strippers, while the rest of the contestants watch. Another challenge involves contestants reaching through what appears to be a glory hole, and groping scantily clad men and women.
But one expert told Insider the show is more than just trash TV — it provides a fascinating study of Russia's attitudes towards both homosexuality and masculinity, and serves a dual purpose as both a cultural weapon against Russia's western adversaries, and a distraction from the nation's economic hardships and its invasion of Ukraine.
The first two episodes, which were shared on YouTube before being taken down for "violating YouTube's policy on harassment and bullying," racked up over 1 million views and 500,000 views, respectively.
Dan Healey, a professor of modern Russian history at the University of Oxford's St Antony's College, said homophobia in Russia is often used as a political device — and "I'm Not Gay" fits neatly into the Kremlin's narrative of Russia's cultural superiority.
[Below is an actual screen capture from the show's opening sequence.]
(Excerpt) Read more at insider.com ...
There are gay people in RuZZia?
Most anything you see streaming or on TV now has at least one gay person in it. It’s the unwritten rule
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But one expert told Insider the show is more than just trash TV — it provides a fascinating study of Russia’s attitudes towards both homosexuality and masculinity, and serves a dual purpose as both a cultural weapon against Russia’s western adversaries, and a distraction from the nation’s economic hardships and its invasion of Ukraine.
cultural weapon against western adversaries
If we shined the light on perverts what would happen?
Russia is a such an enlightened culture. We should want it spread world wide. //sarc
If people were to choose between Biden and Putin, Neocons would tremble.
I play the same game only with commercials. I see if I can pick out the “gay” character unfortunately it is getting easier every day.
Quien es mas macho?
The FSB is full of queers.
They’re usually pretty subtle about it.
So “What Fits Into Russia” and “Hey, Gheorghi!” were cancelled?
What about Tibor’s Tractor.
Interesting to recall that the USSR tried very hard to suppress degeneracy within its borders, but its puppets in the west promoted degeneracy very strongly.
The Soviets (and their neosoviet successors currently running Russia) knew that degeneracy is bad ... that's why they support it in their enemies.
wait, i thought it was illegal to be the gay in russia?
What is FSB?
The Iranian version is Guess who gets thrown off the building?
Everybody in that picture is gay ...
1.The internal counterintelligence agency of the Russian Federation and successor to the Soviet KGB; formerly led by Vladimir Putin.
2.A federally chartered savings bank.
Gotta keep a wary eye on those bankers...
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