Brazilian YouTube censors gay kiss
Autor: rafael | Publicado: 2011-08-29T10:59:00-03:00

Source: Jornal do Brasil

After Rede Globo refused to show a gay kiss on the primetime, it was&nbsp;YouTube's turn to follow the trend and tagging as "innapropriate" a video showing a kiss between two men. The video was made to criticize Globo's decision and got over 70,000 views in one week.


Outraged by the decision, writer-director Rafael Puetter said he plans to sue Google for the incident if the company does not revise the classification. InYouTube&nbsp;there are several straight kisses from soap operas - the overwhelming majority rated free.
"The video was a protest against the censorship of the gay kiss on Rede Globo. It's outrageous when a protest against censorship is censored. You feel completely powerless. I was so angry I could no longer do anything that day", complains Puetter, responsible for the video, which had over 69,000 views. "The worst thing is that the protest has lost much of the range thanks to this censorship, since the user is now required to have a Google account and be over 18 to watch it. My parents couldn't see it, for example."



According to the website's&nbsp;Community Guidelines, videos that are only available to people over age who are registered on the site show sex or nudity, hate speech, shocking or disgusting images or dangerous/illegal acts. Contacted by&nbsp;Jornal do Brasil, Google's spokerperson explained that the content had its access limited due to complaints from other users.
"Google does not repudiate the attitude of those who put the video on the website in any way, and we are against any kind of prejudice, but we know that this is a controversial topic, as the user himself pointed out" said the company's press office. "If the user requires it, we can review the classification. We are not homophobic, but we believe it's a sensitive issue".
Google's posture made&nbsp;YouTube&nbsp;users angry and they sent supporting messages to the author of the video.&nbsp;"In a country where homophobia is still a problem, people are more tolerant to watch a scene of violence than a scene that shows affection. Sad", says one of those comments. In another, the user complains about the way gays are portrayed in the media. "The thing is that the gay carachter is never discreet, always flamboyant and based on stereotypes. Any demmonstration of affection is treated as indecent."
Rafael Puetter is more revolted because Google's censorship happened on the internet, a media that's considered free. In response to the age-restriction, the director uploaded another video, calling&nbsp;YouTube&nbsp;"HomophoTube".


Puetter agrees that the fear of showing scenes with homossexuals on TV hinders their acceptance in society. "Gays are often criticized by the desire of having a kiss between men showed on TV, but we all know that soap operas are a very important part of&nbsp;brazilian&nbsp;popular culture," says the director, who will only sue Google if the company keeps the notice on&nbsp;YouTube&nbsp;that the video was censored by the own author. "If gays don't exist in soap operas, they don't exist in our society. All this controversy is because people are not used to seeing a gay kiss".



Other sources:Folha de São Paulo, 17.Aug.2011 -&nbsp;http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/cotidiano/960831-beijo-gay-e-considerado-improprio-para-menores-de-18-no-youtube.shtmlJornal do Brasil, 18.Aug.2011 -&nbsp;http://www.jb.com.br/ciencia-e-tecnologia/noticias/2011/08/18/google-restringe-video-com-beijo-gay-no-youtube-e-revolta-usuarios/A Capa, 17.Aug.2011 -&nbsp;http://acapa.virgula.uol.com.br/cultura/youtube-classifica-beijo-gay-como-inapropriado-para-menores-de-18-anos/3/4/14481