Ukraine was the first among the former Soviet republics to abolish the punishment for mutually consented homosexual contacts between men as far back as in 1991. Still, the subject of the same-sex love remained all but left out in the cold. A big chunk of information which found its way into the hands of Ukrainian readers originated in Moscow papers which were still dominant in the informational sphere.
However the data on gays and lesbians gradually started leaking into Ukrainian independent press and first of all, into the papers meant for the wide readership. First those were desultory articles initiated by gays, or rather – gay activists. Normally those were the good quality materials which provided terminology applicable to same-sex relations, laid bare and debunked widely spread stereotypes concerning gays as well as advocated a person’s right to private life, the right of choice, the right to love. Homosexuality is a fact of our life – this was the basic idea of these publications. But such high quality articles had been very scarce in Ukrainian press until 1996.
However over the last two years the subject of homosexuality has been covered more widely in our mass media, and of late is dealt with more actively in local papers. It has become regularly featured and virtually incorporated in such publications as «Art Mozaika», «Kievskie Vedomosty», «Fakty». Nonetheless official Ukrainian press is still apprehensive of admitting same-sex love onto its pages.
We’re going to categorize the articles on this topic that catch Ukrainian readers’ attention.
The biggest portion of the «neutral» materials that one can come by is the information from foreign sources and deal with culture and events in the life of Western gay community (mostly major gay prides, festivals and other happenings). Though defined as «neutral», these articles can be referred to as positive unless translators tack on their own commentaries which, regrettably, often sound sarcastic. So, one comes across such terms as «conventionally opposite sex», «self-proclaimed representatives of the fair sex» and so on.
Fewer materials – if bigger in volume – are devoted to Ukrainian homosexuals and corresponding problems. These prove to be nice articles if created with the participation of gays themselves (or by gay journalists). They tend to be made in the form of an interview or refer to the subject via the outlook of a specific person. Sure this kind of narration helps a reader see a real, live person with his joys and sorrows, rather than a set of abstract, detached forms.
Increasingly bigger number of articles not so much deal with homosexuality per se (as an aspect of human sexuality) as try to fathom social problems of interrelation between gays and the society. At the current stage mass media is just starting to reflect the position of sexual minorities themselves.
Sadly, papers often address homosexuality only as a «hot» theme trying to boost readers’ interest in their publications with piquant materials, which can hardly be called beneficial. Here the weekly «Boulevard» definitely stands out. Titles of just two of its materials speak for themselves: «Popular poet and TV presenter K. Gnatenko: El. Kravchuk is a gay, but I don’t have the hots for him» and «Is the leader of Ukrainian Communists Peter Simonenko a gay?» But that is the prevalent style of this journal.
Unfortunately, the number of homophobic materials impregnated with enmity or hate – at worst – or lack of understanding with no desire to understand – at best – has grown over the last time. These articles can be divided into three groups .
First, one-sided view of heterosexuality. The brightest example is an article in the «Donbass-nedelya» weekly which shows the life in public toilets, prisons etc. The author appears to be right bringing the sickening aspects of life of some of the «residents of these places» to a reader’s attention, but take note: the article’s title is «Donetsk Gays» and thus it claims to be presenting a typical social picture of one of the groups of the population.
Here are some epithets and phrases used by authors of these articles for description of other citizens of Ukraine: «homos», «semi-naked ghouls», «copulating mustached ones», «these wretches», «this plague» and alike.
Second, obdurate hostility toward homosexuals. Authors of these materials choose the Bible as the groundwork for their speculations as well as their own interpretation of «Ukrainian spirituality» based on it. The best example is the editor-in-chief of one major publication Igor Tkalenko who expressed his opinion both in printed and oral form. His view rests on narrow philistine ideas full of antiquated concepts and jumble of information that have been accumulated in the head of an average person who doesn’t make the least attempt to go deep into the matter and investigate it thoroughly.
Just listen to «remarkable» thoughts of this man:
«The downfall of the greatest empires and kingdoms was preceded by the surge of debauchery and homosexuality. Such a society becomes weak, fearful and stupid. Such a nation is doomed to annihilation».
«...many homosexuals and their likes can today become «normal persons»... it is their duty if they wish good to their nation and state».
These inventions make clear who is to blame and who is to be bashed for our troubles, and they could be laughed at if they had not been made public in one of the biggest national papers – «Kievskie Vedomosty».
Third, annoyance of an average «Soviet» person not yet accustomed to the wide scope of information and so striving to narrow it to the limits of his understanding. In this case the slogan is: «I don’t want to be shown this». And this thought is visible in all homophobic articles.
We received a curious cutting from Dnepropetrovsk paper of free advertisements. It lists the ads not accepted for publication in foreign press, specifically those «containing pornography and reflecting relations of sexual minorities» which we view as barefaced homophobia and discrimination.
To demonstrate the diversity of information here’s the list of headings under which the articles on gays are carried: «Intimacy», «Scandal», «Unthinkable!», «Weather in the home», «Times and morals», «Ouch!», «Family affairs», «Et cetera», «Orientation», «Elimination of illiteracy» (which featured an article titled «How To Make Your Child Gay» – implying quite the reverse), «Public opinion».
Much amusement was caused by one of the eminent Ukrainian papers which name can be translated as «Day». Having taken an interview from a participator of the Gay Games in Amsterdam and having made a nice material with added picture, the paper placed it under the heading «Aquarium». What did the editors mean? Who do they take us for: plain tadpoles, rainbow fish or maybe sharks? Probably aloud this sounds as: we’re a democratic paper and we do not shy away from any topics; while inwardly: but let us better partition them off with glass, just in case, to be on the safe side.
All this varied information appearing in Ukrainian press is amplified by Russian publications where this theme is often touched upon on the pages of the «Komsomolskaya Pravda», «Argumenty i Fakty» and other popular papers that reach our media market.
Though we note that the number of materials dealing with homosexuality have grown considerably over the last time, they still remain to be few and far between. But let us hope this tendency to growth will persist. We think that now «normal» and «positive» materials outnumber negative ones in our press, if marginally.
The largest percentage of information on homosexuality comes from sex-press which runs not only scanty homoerotics but social articles as well. So, the «Simona» weekly issued in Kharkov, have been lately using gay news from the «Nash Mir» (OUR WORLD) magazine. Ukrainian gay press is still at the stage of conception. It has not gained a firm footing yet, though there are ( and were) a number of publications designed exclusively for gays and about gays. Here’s their brief description.
Magazine of male aesthetics «Odyn z Nas» (ONE OF US) published in Kiev. Unquestionable achievement and merit of this publication is that it has become an equal among other journals. For the first time it is freely available on news-stands, in many post offices and by subscription. It boasts a large circulation and did its best to come out regularly. This is the only «classic» gay publication in Ukraine at the given moment, the undeniable leader among others. It has carried out the first major breakthrough of gay information whose right to existence has been recognized in the society. Unluckily, nowadays the journal finds itself in low water. Its problems are both of subjective and objective, outward nature. The latter hardships are due to the fact that gay readership is still weak and far from well-off. Material difficulties prevent the magazine from creating materials on a more up-to-date level and of better quality.
Informational and educational journal «Nash Mir» (OUR WORLD), published in Lugansk. Sadly, its activity continues to be just a project which hangs on the enthusiasm of one person. The publication is not a full-scale magazine complete with editorial staff etc., so unevenness in quality of its issues is obvious.
Basically, ideas, aims and realization of this small-time project – which includes publication of the magazine as just part of a large-scale activity – can be viewed as a prototype of a public organization of gays and lesbians with a mission to carry out similar activity on a higher social level.
The «Soldat Lubvi» (SOLDIER OF LOVE), a magazine of new life (Kharkov). This was a sex publication meant for gay readership alone. Unfortunately, only two issues came out back in 1996 and then the magazine ceased to exist due to the «battle for morals» raging in the region. The «Soldier of Love» started coming out almost simultaneously with the «One of Us» magazine but in the more rigid provincial situation and was one of the first public journals with large circulation.
The «Iskra» (SPARK) paper is being published in Zaporozhie, but its small circulation and overly scandalous nature of materials have only impact on verbal combat among gays within Zaporozhie region – between separate persons or groups. This paper is not officially registered.
There are some other publications that come out once in a blue moon and in small circulation – thus having no a special influence on the information current in our society.
Sure the press contributes considerably to the education of the society in the sphere of homosexuality, the television’s contribution is a whole lot bigger. And here the situation is similar to that in the press. Information on the given subject is presented mostly in three ways. First: purely informational style used for delivering news from abroad. However reports of this kind may be sometimes accompanied by ironic commentaries, or their authors try to distance themselves from the topic this or that way. For instance, while covering the Gay Games in Amsterdam, a woman journalist dropped a phrase: «These are not quite men and quite women». It’s hardly likely the author can explain the implication of these words – but the phrase got pronounced and imprinted on viewers’ memory.
Of special appeal to the television are the bright, glitzy stories (smacking of scandal) from the life of show-biz stars and celebs as a whole, which is quite natural – those are a nice bait for attracting the audience. But as a result an average person starts to associate homosexuality with a kind of the Bohemian atmosphere, unnaturalness, marginality. The only open gay on our TV and the local media star – Konstantin Gnatenko – ideally fits this image. The same goes for multitudinous scandals concerning our popular entertainers spreading from the press pages to TV screens and backwards.
The third type of TV programs that deal with this theme are the numerous talk-shows. Probably these provide most interesting and enlightening encounters of the audience with the gay subject. Varying in level and style, talk-shows allow gays to speak openly about themselves, their problems and interrelations with the society. Viewers perceive not just an abstract image of a homosexual presented through authors’ mentality, but just a specific person like themselves. Though, of course, the position and professional knack of programs’ creators inevitably affect the final result – that, what the audience will see.
The latest, widely advertised, talk-show «Taboo» on the topic of gay marriages showed that quite opposite positions concerning homosexuality exist in our society, and one cannot speak of a unified, consolidated social opinion.
It would be interested to mention numerous films and TV series this or that way referring to the gay theme. Since almost all of those are the Western production, we come across the attitude, heroes and situations which are alien to us. On the one hand, a viewer gets used to the fact that a gay or a lesbian can be just an ordinary character, on the other – the abundance of such personages, looking unusual to us, tells the audience that this phenomenon looks foreign, alien to them and thus causes irritation.
However this hardly applies to soap operas immoderately loved by our housewives. These shows are made in such a way that they cannot cast a slur upon any character, hence each hero is supposed to provoke positive feelings. So, following the destiny of «Dynasty» and «Melrose Place» characters, a viewer does not separate those who are gay from the rest. This gets the audience inured to the idea of ordinariness and even normality of gays.
The films on the tube are rarely meant for homosexual audience, though an average viewer can form such an opinion. Such pictures are aired quite often due to this theme’s popularity in the Western (and not only Western) film industry. More often one happens to come across just references to homosexual subject in various films. This looks commonplace to the Western audience – and does not seem weird to us either.
Such films vary hugely in their level – from such world masterpieces as «Ludwig» by Visconti to the last year’s smasher «In And Out». The latter can be regarded as a rare case of a film, devoted mostly to the theme of homosexuality but designed for the wide audience.
Actually, each group of viewers requires cinema of its own – you cannot please everyone’s taste. Gays may get the impression that these films are «wide of the mark», while common viewers may think that those are «overdone». All these problems are solved with the development of television network and TV channels, oriented at their own viewers. At the same time, universal nature of our television makes for infiltration of the Western cinema and TV – far more open, uninhibited and knowledgeable in the discussed area – into every household as well as gradual breaking of social molds and stereotypes.
Quite notable is also the contribution of Russian TV channels relayed on Ukraine’s territory. Difference between the state-owned and private companies in volume, quality and presentation of information on gays boils down to the general technical and artistic level of programs. Local TV companies – private ones in particular – more often air films dealing with homosexual subject which their bigger counterparts are not willing or fearful of running (sometimes due to the fact that they buy the films). At the same time the level of regional companies’ programs is vastly lower than those of major, more professional ones.
We’ve told about the materials in our widely available papers and programs on the tube, but there are some more things which are still kept under the hat and which should be put into spotlight. First, homosexuals as a big layer of Ukrainian society.
Second, the necessity of rendering our legislation more liberal – up to the level of advanced European countries so that gays should be recognized as citizens with equal rights.
Third, we’ve never heard our politicians dwell on these issues – yes, politicians keep silent, but it is journalists who do not ask.
To conclude: information on homosexuality is scarce in Ukraine compared to any Western country, still it is being in the process of catching up lately, and its quality is being upgraded along with the process of creation of the modern society. Though outer results are not that visible, we suppose that Ukrainian people are heading – slowly but unswervingly – for tolerance toward gays. One can hear more often that today’s young generation of both sexes discuss the issue of homosexuality quite freely, without panic – and this is a sure step in the direction of accepting gays as equals.
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