Outrage over a gay kiss on a well known British Soap Drama, why so much complaints?

[Parasondox]

Good evening to everyone on the Escapist and planet Earth.

Outrage! Shock! Anger!... and all the other stuff that would describe many complaints towards a recent soap and one scene. Two men kiss and the numbers of complaints rises but I want to ask, why? Over 100 complaints have been sent to the programme makers. 11 odd years ago on the same soap, there were way less complaints when two gay characters kissed. So why is it now that 11 years later and many same sex kiss happens, we have have more viewers complaining about it?

Is it homophobia? Is it parents just protecting their children from two people of the same sex kissing because it's too "sexual"? Shouldn't that apply to straight individuals kissing as well? Would we ever get this same problem if it were two women? Or are people just generally uncomfortable with it? They can be if they want too but I just want to know why really.

The last gay kiss on that soap (Coronation Street) only received 10 complaints, 10. And may I add that was a lesbian kiss back in 2010. And the first lesbian kiss on a British soap (Brookside) was 20 years ago.

This is where I would like to ask you all, what exactly could be the factors to which people complain about this? Also, how come it's more okay for two women to kiss but less okay, or in this case cause outrage, when two men kiss? That one I am interested to know why also.

Comment, post and let me known and thank you for reading.

 

[sky14kemea]

Because it's Coronation Street. That's the soap for older folks.

Then again, you'd think a show with a (now deceased) Transgender [http://coronationstreet.wikia.com/wiki/Hayley_Cropper] character would be more in tune with stuff like this by now.

You want some gay kissing? I'm pretty sure Eastenders had a gay couple that kissed pretty often. And one of them was Muslim. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19520822] Though they're gone from the show now. I think they might have another couple, but I only ever see the episodes when my mum's watching them and I happen to walk past during something that looks interesting.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

I gather Beth Jordache getting her smooch on in Brooky wasn't the first gay female kiss on British TV. It was something like the first pre-watershed kiss of that kind.

As for why a patriarchal society might find two women less unsettling than two men? Hm, I wonder...

(non-facetious answer: generally, male homosexuality is seen as a threat to the heteronormative status quo. female homosexuality - that conforms to women = feminine, at least - isn't, and is also something through which women can be objectified for male pleasure and exploited)

 

[EeveeElectro]

Because women kissing is sexy and cool but men kissing is icky.

On a serious note, considering the millions that watch Corrie, over 100 complaints isn't bad at all.
Yes, there should be 0 complaints but with that many people you're bound to have some stuck up, bored dickhead who wants to complain about everything.

Accoriding to my mum who watches it, it's because it was before the half 9 watershed.
That's pathetic, they show heterosexual couples kissing all the time and even starting to have sex.

My god, those people need to get a grip.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

Consider the demographic the soap is mainly aimed at, Corry is aimed at the older generation mainly, sure they may try to spice it up for the young uns every once in a while but it's core audience tends to be of the older persuasion. And unfortunately it's them who tend to be the ones whom are most likely to write in and complain about things.

 

[Queen Michael]

Ugh. They must remember this: A kiss is just a[footnote]goddamn[/footnote] kiss. It's no more explicit than when a woman and a man kiss.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Accoriding to my mum who watches it, it's because it was before the half 9 watershed.
That's pathetic, they show heterosexual couples kissing all the time and even starting to have sex.

Yeah but this is different, you can't expose children to the gay, they'll get ideas.
That's how gayness works.

100 people isn't so bad.
Ignorant people are ignorant.

Edit: Obviously, there shouldn't be any complaints, just in case I need to clarify that.

 

[Parasondox]

You want some gay kissing? I'm pretty sure Eastenders had a gay couple that kissed pretty often. And one of them was Muslim. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19520822] Though they're gone from the show now. I think they might have another couple, but I only ever see the episodes when my mum's watching them and I happen to walk past during something that looks interesting.

Yes, I remember that story line. An openly gay man developed feelings for a muslim who had to hide his sexuality due to family and religious belief. Funny thing was, the openly gay male was named Christian. A gay man named Christian, falls in love with a man who is a practicing Muslim. I know many wouldn't like the sound of that.

This is an elder minority whining. Here in the UK we have a proud tradition of pre-watershed gay loving. So much so that Queer as Folk, a fulls series aired in 1999, featured pre 10pm rimming. 100 people is nothing. I bet you could get 100 people to complain about any crackpot subject out of a full TV audience.

Wait they showed what and what before 10pm? I know what the term means by the way, I just don't want this thread locked. Yeah true it can be the elderly minority whining but many other complaints were from parents with young kids.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I always thought you British were a bit more open-minded about this kind of shit than Americans. Now I'm interested though, tell me, did people's heads explode in the UK when Torchwood had gay sex in it?

 

[Padwolf]

Eh, 100 isn't that much really. I think most of it will just be elderly whining if anything. There are millions that watch good ol Corrie. Besides, here in the UK we've had many TV shows with a lot of different sexualities shown. But it's also probably because Coronation Street is shown before 7. I think it is, I haven't watched the show in years, my mum used to, I remember it being on around dinner time and then Emerdale straight after it. Can't go giving them kiddies ideas now, hmm?

 

[Kuala BangoDango]

Over 100 complaints have been sent to the programme makers.

...

Is it homophobia? Is it parents just protecting their children from two people of the same sex kissing because it's too "sexual"? Shouldn't that apply to straight individuals kissing as well? Would we ever get this same problem if it were two women? Or are people just generally uncomfortable with it? They can be if they want too but I just want to know why really.

You all are getting it all wrong. Those 100 weren't complaining that it was a bad thing 2 men were kissing they were complaining that it wasn't 3 or more men kissing.

I kid of course.

 

[MorganL4]

I always thought you British were a bit more open-minded about this kind of shit than Americans. Now I'm interested though, tell me, did people's heads explode in the UK when Torchwood had gay sex in it?

Well considering this: http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/24/world/europe/alan-turing-royal-pardon/ only happened LAST YEAR..... No, no I don't think they are.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

I always thought you British were a bit more open-minded about this kind of shit than Americans. Now I'm interested though, tell me, did people's heads explode in the UK when Torchwood had gay sex in it?

Different demographics, Torchwood was aimed at a younger audience while some Coro fans have been watching since it first aired. In 1960.

 

[Liberte]

Because vocal minorities are vocal. Seems that a really obvious answer. Doesn't stop people from painting a broad swath of the public with the broad brush that is that vocal minority.

Thankfully I think this is right, and so we don't have to pay too much attention to it ...

 

[TheRobotandtheBeast]

You know who watches coronation street.

Old people.

Ya know who'd not progressive in their thinking: Old people who watch coronation street.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Soaps... For people with boring lives who have to watch other people have fake, badly acted boring lives to affirm that boring lives is in fact normal...

Or you could go and do something interesting!

Incidentally, these boring fuckers that watch boring soaps, and are old and have no hobbies, have the time to write letters to the 'TV people' who they actually still think care about what they say, instead of, you know, trading controversy for viewing figures like they normally do.

 

[Shymer]

Coronation street is estimated to be regularly watched by between 7.7 million and 9.5 million people. 100 complaints would represent 0.0013% of the people viewing the programme. This is significantly smaller than the percentage of people who are suffering from, say, severe mental health issues, schizophrenia (1.1% of general population) or depression, for example.

I think it would be unwise to try and assess why the number of recorded complaints has changed from 10 to 100. External factors may influence the proportion of complaints much more than social changes. Say it was very very hot when the programme was watched. Would more people complain if they were hotter? Say a lot of people had been stressed because of flooding recently. Would more people complain if they had recently experienced difficulties due to flooding?

The same size is so small compared to the general viewing population that it would appear on the face of it to be statistically insignificant if you are trying to draw broad conclusions about social change based on this one observation.