Russia’s steamy gay election advert is getting a lot of attention
An election ad in Russia is getting attention for including a gay sex scene.
The country has a law that bans “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships”, which has been used to stifle any public display of homosexuality or display of support for LGBT rights.
But the law didn’t dissuade the creators of an ad ahead of the country’s September local elections from including a steamy gay sex scene.
The minute-long ad, which has thousands of views on social media, features two men discussing their reasons for not turning out to vote – claiming that all politicians are immoral and that “we have more important things to do.”
At the end of the ad, the two are seen in bed together, and begin to strip off – as it is revealed they are a gay couple.
The apparent ad’s message appears to be geared towards a homophobic audience, pushing the idea that not voting is a homosexual trait and that by being disengaged in the political process, viewers are also being gay.
However to an audience not burdened with pre-conceived homophobic ideas, it’s just a weird time for a gay sex scene.
The ad – which has been linked to the local government of Samara – has racked up thousands of views on Russian social media platforms.
The Moscow Times notes that a previous ad ahead of the March 2018 Presidential elections imagined a ‘dystopia’ in which a straight man is forced to live with a gay man under ‘the law’.
The country has taken a distinct turn against LGBT rights in the past decade, with Vladimir Putin, the Russian Orthodox Church and nationalist vigilantes forming an ‘unholy trinity’ of oppression for gay people.
The ‘gay propaganda law’ has been condemned by the European Court of Human Rights, which warned of a chilling effect that stifles all dissent on LGBT issues.
Polling earlier this year showed that homophobic attitudes have become shockingly prevalent in Russia.
Research carried out by independent Russian polling agency the Levada Center found that 83 percent of respondents consider it “always reprehensible” or “almost always reprehensible” for two adults to have gay sex.
This marks a drastic increase from 1998, when just 68 percent found it unacceptable, and 2008, when 76 percent found it unacceptable.