Singapore bans exhibit of gay-kissing photos

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s censors have banned an exhibition of photographs depicting gay men and women kissing, a gay rights activist said, calling the move “absurd.”

The city-state’s Media Development Authority denied organizers a license because the photographs “promote a homosexual lifestyle,” Alex Au, founder of a Singapore gay rights group, People Like Us, told The Associated Press Wednesday.

The exhibition, titled “Kissing,” is a selection of 80 posed shots of same-sex kissing between fully clothed models, said Au, who shot the photographs.

“Kissing” was canceled after organizers received a letter from the Media Development Authority on Monday saying it was rejecting its application for a license to hold the exhibition, Au said. The media regulator confirmed in an e-mail that it rejected Au’s application for a license to hold the exhibition.

“Presently, homosexual content is allowed in the appropriate context, but it should not be of a promotional or exploitative nature,” Amy Tsang, deputy director of media content, said in the statement. “The proposed exhibition … which focuses mainly on homosexual kissing is deemed to promote a homosexual lifestyle, and cannot be allowed.”

Tsang said, however, that authorities previously have allowed “brief same-sex kissing” in stage plays and adult-rated films.

The exhibition was part of “Indignation,” a two-week gay pride series of forums, film screenings and lectures scheduled to start Wednesday.

“It’s absurd to think that gay people do not also kiss, and that representation of such a reality would be subversive,” Au said. “There is a very stereotypical representation of gays and lesbians as deviants, and I think it is important to correct the stereotype.”

Au added that in place of the canceled exhibition, organizers have planned a talk to be accompanied by a slideshow of the photographs. Indoor gatherings do not require police permits.

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