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Chinese erotic writer jailed for more than 10 years over gay sex scenes in novel
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- metildaa 8y agoIts not safe to be queer. There are broad societal protection that one loses out on the second they aren't straight acting and cis-gendered, all it takes is a shift in the political winds for governments to start rounding up any class or minority they don't like. There are "safer" places in the world to be queer, but the threat of danger and violence never goes away, even in gayborhoods like here in parts of Seattle.
- chimeracoder 8y ago> There are "safer" places in the world to be queer, but the threat of danger and violence never goes away, even in gayborhoods like here in parts of Seattle. 100% true. And the risk is multiplied for those of us who are both queer and not-white. Yes, sometimes there are ways to mitigate that risk, but most of the time, it's just there - nothing we can do except hope that we're lucky.
- metildaa 8y agoThis is on point. HN blows chunks for downvoting you, but whadaya expect from a site heavily populated by cis-gendered techbros pushing a lawbertarian agenda?
- downandout 8y agoWhat you're saying may well be true, but it has no bearing on the case in this article. Based on the article, it appears that the author wasn't jailed for writing gay sex scenes, but rather for selling books with sex scenes of any kind. Apparently China has a law against selling pornographic books of any kind, and this author ran afoul of it.
- chimeracoder 8y ago> Based on the article, it appears that the author wasn't jailed for writing gay sex scenes, but rather for selling books with sex scenes of any kind. Apparently China has a law against selling pornographic books of any kind, and this author ran afoul of it. All over the world, sex-negative laws are disproportionately enforced against queer people (and specifically queer people of color). Sure, the statue here applies to all pornography/erotica, but that doesn't negate OP's point that it is not safe to be queer (or to produce content targeted at a queer audience).
- downandout 8y agobut that doesn't negate OP's point that it is not safe to be queer Nor did I say that it did. In fact I said the opposite, in the very first words of my comment..."What you're saying may well be true...".
- chimeracoder 8y agoYou said > but it has no bearing on the case in this article Except it very much does have bearing on this case.
- downandout 8y agoExcept it very much does have bearing on this case. That's your assumption, but without hard data about how many people have been sentenced for distributing gay pornography books vs. straight pornography books, it is exactly that...an assumption.
- Nasrudith 8y agoSaid laws are likely made to be enforced selectively when a distraction is needed or a pretext. One naughty book in a library and you have something to vilify that troublesome bookseller over.
- drankula3 8y ago
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- Illniyar 8y agoThat's true for every minority everywhere - for ethnic, religious and as you mentioned sexual minorities. The threat that the majority would turn the tables on you is always a future threat.
- n4r9 8y agoIt's a matter of degree surely. There are plenty of places in the world where a straight, white Westerner can live as a minority with relatively little fear of violence. Almost none for a gay person.
- biggusdickus 8y agoOnly because he is perceived as rich and cool.
- metildaa 8y agoGotta love it when HN downvotes you for reasonable comments! To the downvoters of OP, where is safe from harassment and attacks? Here in Seattle, the queer haters literally roll in and beat us up for fun, even enclaves like Fire Island aren't going to be able to avoid this threat.
- Jach 8y agoIt's true for the smallest minority, the individual, too. The threat of a group going after you doesn't even need to come from a majority.
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- nevez 8y agoMaybe that means something.
- ionised 8y agoWhy don't you explain it to us.
- kubakan 8y agoHow do you explain the extremely high domestic violence rates amongst gay couples? It might be higher than Hetero couples. It seems gay is not even safe with gay.
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- kbos87 8y agoSource please? I’ve never heard this.
- metildaa 8y agoI couldn't find anything on domestic violence among gay couples, but I would be surprised if it were notable.
- metildaa 8y agoI would love to see a citation for this, as I can't find domestic violence statistics for this. Most of the domestic violence I hear about is family attacking the queer member of the household, my current SO has multiple scars from that, and my prior one left home at 16 to get away from the abuse.
- dragonwriter 8y ago> How do you explain the extremely high domestic violence rates amongst gay couples? A combination of indirect effects of heteronormative broader society: "We found evidence that supports the minority stress model - the idea that being part of a minority creates additional stress," he says. "There are external stressors, like discrimination and violence against gays, and there are internal stressors, such as internalised negative attitudes about homosexuality." https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29994648 https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29994648
- BurnGpuBurn 8y ago> cis-gendered Not to take anything away from your point, but if you mean white males, then why not say so? And what do I (a white male) have to do with any of this? Should I feel guilty now?
- zimpenfish 8y ago"cis-gendered" just means "same gender identity as birth" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisgender https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisgender Nothing to do with white or male.
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- kbos87 8y agoNobody is implying that you should feel guilty, it was just an observation.
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- froh 8y agoThe Reddit discussion said the issue was not about being gay but about being pornography, sold illegally, to minors, violating all sorts of copyright and porn related regulations. Apologies for not having a link handy from my cell phone, I'd appreciate if someone could look it up and respond with links.
- akfanta 8y agoThank you. Correlation != Causation, but I guess logic doesn’t apply when it comes to anything China related discussion here. Saying that, this is still an ridiculously outdated law, 10 years sentence seems rediciculous.
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- claudiawerner 8y agoCensorship of erotic material isn't a purely Chinese thing, other countries practice it at smaller scales. In England, various fictional artworks can be prosecuted under the Obscene Publications act, even possession of some cartoon pornography can be prosecuted under CAJA 2009 s.63. To the dismay of LGBTQ+ and sexual freedom campaigners, even possession of simulated rape pornography is illegal. That's not to say that homosexuality can be compared to fetish porn, but people should be aware that in some countries without constitutional protection for free speech (or those with one but with an "obscenity" exception, looking at you Canada) censorship of harmless porn is par for the course. (Would someone mind explaining why this is being downvoted? In my experience, few people are familiar with such laws in Western countries, and of course I condemn China's laws more; is this comment off topic? Please tell me if I can improve.)
- chimeracoder 8y ago> In England, various fictional artworks can be prosecuted under the Obscene Publications act, even possession of some cartoon pornography can be prosecuted under CAJA 2009 s.63. To the dismay of LGBTQ+ and sexual freedom campaigners, even possession of simulated rape pornography is illegal. The UK is hardly a touchstone of freedom of erotica. It's not just simulated rape - if you look at the full list of things censored under Cameron, it includes a lot of things that would be considered rather dry by American standards (such as most pornography filmed outdoors).
- claudiawerner 8y agoI didn't reference that material because as far as I know, only the production of such pornography within the UK is illegalised, that is to say, it's still fine to possess and view it, download it etc. so long as you don't produce (or even sell?) it. Correct me if I'm wrong here, please. But yeah, there's very little room for disagreement here, England is known for its ingrained doctrines of legal moralism and legal paternalism.
- AnaniasAnanas 8y agoPossession of certain drawings is also illegal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_drawn_pornography_depicting_minors#United_Kingdom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_drawn_pornogra...
- weihanzhang 8y agoMy friends I am NOT allow.