The Russian streaming service Kinopoisk has given an 18+ adult rating to the cartoon series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
It appears to be an attempt to comply with the country’s law prohibiting the spread of pro-LGBTQ “propaganda,” reports Meduza, a Latvian-based Russian- and English-language online news outlet.
Kinopoisk did not officially explain why it changed the rating of the children’s show. However, speculation has largely centered around a tomboyish character named Rainbow Dash, who has been interpreted as queer despite having no stated sexual orientation.
Those familiar with the My Little Pony series note that the rating may also have been inspired by the introduction of two characters — Aunt Holiday and Auntie Lofty — who appear to be a same-sex couple in the show’s ninth and final season.
The cartoon series, intended for viewers ages four to seven, follows a group of ponies, pegasi, and unicorns in the kingdom of Equestria on various adventures, including searches for magical artifacts.
The change in the rating is one of several developments that have taken place in the days and weeks following the Russian Supreme Court’s recent ruling designating the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization.
Just hours after the court’s ruling, police raided multiple LGBTQ venues in Moscow, including a nightclub, a male sauna, and a bar hosting LGBTQ parties, carding patrons and taking down personal information under the guise of investigating possible drug use.
Meduza reports that the dating app Pure has removed the option for Russian users to indicate their sexual orientation when registering.
According to the Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novosti, users from Russia can now only specify their height, weight, and language, while users from all other countries can choose from a list of sexual orientations.
Several other LGBTQ venues and advocacy organizations have permanently closed their doors out of fear of reprisal from the Russian government, which is now empowered to enforce the law and mete out jail sentences — some of which could be as harsh as 12 years in prison — to anyone participating in or providing financial assistance to any LGBTQ organization.
Perhaps even more troublingly, 2GIS, a Russian digital mapping company, has instructed its staff to begin reviewing businesses on the company’s maps and creating a special standalone register of LGBTQ establishments, as reported by Novaya Gazeta.
Staff at 2GIS have reportedly been instructed to check individual entries and file complaints in cases of “compromising” photos or reviews.
“My opinion is that they [data on establishments] will go further,” an anonymous company employee told iStories, an investigative journalism website, as reported on the platform’s Telegram channel.
With LGBTQ entities all listed on a special registry, it doesn’t take much imagination to foresee how the Russian government might use the list if it obtains a copy.
These developments continue more than a decade of actions by government officials targeting the LGBTQ community for persecution or discrimination, often at the urging of, or with the approval of, President Vladimir Putin, a right-wing authoritarian who has touted his opposition to LGBTQ rights to cement support among social conservatives.
In 2013, Putin’s government adopted a law prohibiting the spread of “propaganda” related to “nontraditional sexual relations” among minors. In 2022, the law was expanded to make it illegal to promote or acknowledge LGBTQ identity, even among adults.
The law specifically targeted depictions of homosexuality or gender identity on television, online, and in various forms of media, culminating in threats to fine or permanently block streaming platforms like Netflix that offer LGBTQ programming.
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a "religious freedom" bill that critics say will legitimize instances of anti-LGBTQ discrimination.
The "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" passed on a party-line vote in Iowa's GOP-led Legislature, with all Republican lawmakers voting in favor of it.
Reynolds signed the measure at a private event hosted by The Family Leader, a conservative Christian organization opposed to LGBTQ rights. She also sought to justify her actions by claiming those with conservative religious beliefs are a persecuted group.
"Thirty years ago, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed almost unanimously at the federal level," she said in a statement. "Since then, religious rights have increasingly come under attack. Today, Iowa enacts a law to protect these unalienable rights -- just as 26 other states have done -- upholding the ideals that are the very foundation of our country.
One Million Moms is accusing the Hilton hotel chain of attempting to "glamorize sin" for portraying people wearing gender-nonconforming attire and including a shot of a same-sex couple in one of its advertisements.
The commercial features hotel heiress Paris Hilton walking through a Hilton hotel lobby wearing a pink dress and carrying her dog.
Throughout the lobby, everyone -- men and women, including several celebrities and influencers -- are dressed in pink and have blond hair or wigs, repeating some of Paris's trademark catchphrases as they snap selfies, scroll social media, and preen in mirrors -- actions that are "on brand" with the heiress's public persona.
Anti-LGBTQ trolls have blamed openly gay Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg for a bridge collapse in Baltimore believed to have killed six people after it was hit by a 95,000-ton cargo ship.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after the Dali, a 985-foot container ship flying the Singapore flag, crashed into the bridge's reinforced concrete support pier.
The container ship, which was traveling at about 9 miles per hour, lost both engine power and electrical power to its control and communications systems minutes before it crashed into the bridge stanchion.
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