Russian TV viewers noticed that a famous episode of SpongeBob SquarePants was changed to remove the rainbow. This is clearly part of the country’s sweeping censorship of media and symbols deemed pro-LGBTQ.
According to independent news outlets astraRussian television channel 2×2 replaced the rainbow with a solid yellow arc in the scene where SpongeBob waves his arms while talking about the fun of using his imagination.
A clip of SpongeBob waving his arms and revealing a rainbow has been a popular social media meme for years. This scene has nothing to do with LGBTQ identity, but it has been around for a long time. speculation SpongeBob and his friend Patrick were “coded” as a gay couple, which may have contributed to the decision to eliminate the rainbow.
Since Russia’s Supreme Court ruled in November 2023 that the “international LGBT movement” was “extremist”, authorities have escalated their campaign against LGBTQ visibility, raiding clubs that cater to LGBTQ patrons or hosting LGBTQ-themed parties, shutting down advocacy groups, and prosecuting people who display rainbow symbols.
The crackdown extends beyond the six-color pride flag to traditional depictions of rainbows. as astra Note: “While the rainbow is certainly a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, the LGBTQ+ flag differs in appearance from a standard rainbow; it features six colored stripes instead of seven.”
Despite this distinction, authorities have not stopped going overboard in prosecuting people who display rainbow images and threatening others with fines and prison terms, while warning others against expressions of LGBTQ identity. In 2024, a woman who posted a photo shaped like a rainbow-colored frog was jailed for five days. earrings online.
Russia’s censorship campaign predates the Supreme Court’s ruling. A 2013 law banned so-called “LGBT propaganda” to protect children from depictions of “non-traditional family relationships.” In 2022, Russia’s Duma (parliament) expanded the ban to include content accessible to all age groups, sparking a flurry of prosecutions for alleged violations.
Earlier this year, a Russian court ordered a foreigner to be deported due to an online review of a leather skirt he bought, according to an independent newspaper. Novaya Gazeta. In February, a Russian man was fined for posting a photo of himself in drag by the band Queen, which authorities deemed to be a violation of the country’s anti-propaganda law.
In April, a Russian court fined news agency Saratov Business Consulting and its IT director for publishing reviews of HBO’s gay romance series. fierce rivalryis censored on Russian streaming platforms and can only be accessed through a virtual private network. In May, a 36-year-old woman was sentenced to a forced labor camp for writing gay fan fiction about a K-pop group.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
