Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
A Malaysian newspaper published a how-to-spot-gays checklist, sparking fears of a witch hunt
Source: Washington Post
A Malaysian newspaper published a how-to-spot-gays checklist, sparking fears of a witch hunt
By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. February 12 at 4:34 PM
Among the things the Malaysian newspaper Sinar Harian saw fit to print in the past week: a story about a pricey government plan to prevent coastal erosion, an article on a proposed soccer match between the Malaysian and Ukrainian national teams, and a handy, foldable guide to detecting the homosexuals in our midst.
Gay men, the newspaper’s bulleted list noted, “like to wear tight clothes to show off their six-pack abs,” according to a translation by the Guardian. They go to the gym to work on said abs, but also to ogle other men. They also apparently “adore beards, mustaches and (name-brand) clothes.”
Lesbians, on the other hand, “enjoy hugging one another and holding hands” and can be spotted by alert readers because they “hate men and enjoy belittling them.”
The newspaper’s news-you-can-use piece was widely mocked as it reverberated across the world on Monday, but it also sparked an outcry among LGBT advocates and set off another ripple of fear among Malaysians who don’t happen to be straight.
In Malaysia, a person can be sent to jail for up to 20 years for being gay thanks to a colonial-era law. And the country’s outsize heterosexual antipathy toward gay people has sparked reactions that run the gamut from hilarious to horrifying.
-snip-
By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. February 12 at 4:34 PM
Among the things the Malaysian newspaper Sinar Harian saw fit to print in the past week: a story about a pricey government plan to prevent coastal erosion, an article on a proposed soccer match between the Malaysian and Ukrainian national teams, and a handy, foldable guide to detecting the homosexuals in our midst.
Gay men, the newspaper’s bulleted list noted, “like to wear tight clothes to show off their six-pack abs,” according to a translation by the Guardian. They go to the gym to work on said abs, but also to ogle other men. They also apparently “adore beards, mustaches and (name-brand) clothes.”
Lesbians, on the other hand, “enjoy hugging one another and holding hands” and can be spotted by alert readers because they “hate men and enjoy belittling them.”
The newspaper’s news-you-can-use piece was widely mocked as it reverberated across the world on Monday, but it also sparked an outcry among LGBT advocates and set off another ripple of fear among Malaysians who don’t happen to be straight.
In Malaysia, a person can be sent to jail for up to 20 years for being gay thanks to a colonial-era law. And the country’s outsize heterosexual antipathy toward gay people has sparked reactions that run the gamut from hilarious to horrifying.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/12/a-malaysian-newspaper-published-a-how-to-spot-gays-checklist-sparking-fears-of-a-witch-hunt/
&t=72s
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
