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

[verdant monkai]

I'm disgusted at these people. Because watching a soap drama is only just lower than watching the teleshopping channel with no money. (Joke) (Although fuck Soap drama's)

Who cares what these people think? its not like gays everywhere will stop kissing.

 

[The_Longier]

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?

Nope we just collectively rolled our eyes as the show tried to convince us that Gay sex solves every problem.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Who cares what these people think?

They didn't appear out of nowhere, they are an absurd example of a widespread idea, which is unpleasant on average, but has dangerous spikes.

 

[loa]

Gays are the new group that is in fashion to hate now that it has become too unpopular to hate blacks.

 

[88chaz88]

The vocal minority are getting more vocal because they know they're losing. Also lesbians are totally hot but gays are icky! I think the first male gay kiss on a British soap was Eastenders back in the '90s, that gathered quite a few complaints but I think the Eastender's audience is at least a little more liberal.

 

[Nathan Josephs]

when you have to ask why just realize the same people bitching about it were the same type of people againest interracial couples.

 

[Albino Boo]

Most of the fuss was not about it being a gay kiss be more about it being a little to racy for 7:30. From what I understand, one of the actors was half naked and the kiss was more than you would see in PG movie. Admittedly there was some homophobic nonsense as well.

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.

Eastenders had a gay male couple kissing way back in the 80s and a lesbian couple in the early 90s

 

[Zero Originality]

1978


Kenny Everett and Freddie Mercury having a romantic tussle, BBC1, 8pm.

 

[azukar]

I have this crazy idea sometimes, when things like this rear their heads:

How about we take this opportunity to redefine the conversation. Let's think of the thousands of people who *didn't* complain about the kiss, as being the norm, and ignore the 100 or so complainers altogether!

Imagine the world we could live in, where nobody even bothered listening to people rolling out the same boring, tired, homophobic (transphobic/racist/bigoted etc) drivel. A world where, as soon as someone starts whinging about two people kissing, everyone else just stopped paying attention. Completely.

Edit: this clip from 12 Angry Men comes to mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTDhgR3p12w
This is how you put out a fire. Starve it of oxygen.

 

[Verlander]

In times of recession and uncertain economies, you get extremist political divisions. In the UK it's things like UKIP, the EDL, BNP etc. People that throw their lot in with a group like that then vocalise more regularly, to reaffirm their decision. They might be unhappy with immigration, progressiveness, science, anything, but they'll generally shout about anything that the broader faction agree with. Honestly though, look at the mass audience for those shows, then look at the EDL membership, and you'll see the link. Stupid and intolerant.

Before you get your knickers in a twist though, remember that 100 complaints is less than 0.00016% of the population. I think we're ok

 

[Verlander]

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.

Stupid comparison. Pardoning Turing is a gesture, he's dead. It's not important. As for Torchwood, you do know that it's a British show to begin with?

What we don't do is introduce legislature that would give people freedom to discriminate against anyone if they later claim it's a "deeply held religious belief" *cough*Arizona*cough*, nor do we have an evangelical population that actually believe in creationism. We also don't have a GOP, and sorry to shatter illusions, but we don't have Tea Parties of any kind. Are there idiots and right wing bigots? Sure. They just don't get much political power, because as a nation we've mostly moved beyond that "church is infallible" bullshit.

 

[Trivun]

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.

Just for the record, the last gay kiss on Coronation Street aside from this was about two months ago. A lesbian kiss, and then the one who started it ran off. Yep.

Anyhow, I think it's because the sort of people who watch these shows more than, say, Torchwood and Lip Service and so on, are older and more culturally conservative people in general. They're more likely to be 'moral guardians' even when there's nothing immoral about whatever they're complaining about. I'd just love to see what Mary Whitehouse would think of the modern day. She'd be having one long, constant heart attack...

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

This reminds me of the "angry letters" (i.e. fake) that would show up every now and then at the end of a Monty Python sketch. We should treat them as such, laugh and move on.

 

[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.

Just for the record, the last gay kiss on Coronation Street aside from this was about two months ago. A lesbian kiss, and then the one who started it ran off. Yep.

Anyhow, I think it's because the sort of people who watch these shows more than, say, Torchwood and Lip Service and so on, are older and more culturally conservative people in general. They're more likely to be 'moral guardians' even when there's nothing immoral about whatever they're complaining about. I'd just love to see what Mary Whitehouse would think of the modern day. She'd be having one long, constant heart attack...

You know what, funny you brought up Mary Whitehouse because that name pops up ever so often whenever something "outrageous" happens on British TV. I did some research a few years back and she was so extremely conservative that she made Margret Thatcher look like a cute puppy. Someone even did a topic on their show about "How would Mary Whitehouse react, if she were alive today" and your answer came up many times from the viewers who remember her. A very painful and constant heart attack. I weren't around when she was casing headaches for people but sounds to me she really try to take things so far, especially against the BBC.

 

[Jamieson 90]

How many people watch Coronation Street? Probably millions. 100 people complained? Pffft who gives a shit? These sort of people love and live to complain and if it weren't a gay kiss it'd be something else; back when I was a kid I remember playing out with my friends and this old lady absolutely hated it. She'd be stood at her window with a note pad in hand jotting down all the times we played football and you know did what kids do..... Eventually it caused so much trouble that it wasn't worth playing football anymore and then we were bored and had nothing to do. Guess what? Then she was annoyed that we were "loitering around," and no doubt "Up to no good," well what were supposed to do? You fucking banned everything fun... That's it simply, some people have way too much time on their hands, that and they're dicks too.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Wasn't there a man-on-man kiss on Casualty, like, last year?

Not that I watch it, but I walked past when it happened.

 

[TelHybrid]

I find it messed up that a show can get so much hate for a gay kiss, yet two cousins can hook up on Eastenders and nobody bats an eyelid. Is incest more accepted than homosexuality?

 

[Parasondox]

I find it messed up that a show can get so much hate for a gay kiss, yet two cousins can hook up on Eastenders and nobody bats an eyelid. Is incest more accepted than homosexuality?

Yeah that's the thing I didn't get either. Lauren and... whatever his name was, were caught doing something they shouldn't be doing as cousins at their nans house and no complaints came from it but with a homosexual kiss, people STILL complain. The one heavy reaction we got to the cousin love story was Dot and that character is a devout Christian. Maybe incest is excepted more than homosexuality cause the incest situation, especially in that story, it could have be seen as a "phase" they were going through.

Something doesn't seem right there.

 

[TelHybrid]

I find it messed up that a show can get so much hate for a gay kiss, yet two cousins can hook up on Eastenders and nobody bats an eyelid. Is incest more accepted than homosexuality?

Yeah that's the thing I didn't get either. Lauren and... whatever his name was, were caught doing something they shouldn't be doing as cousins at their nans house and no complaints came from it but with a homosexual kiss, people STILL complain. The one heavy reaction we got to the cousin love story was Dot and that character is a devout Christian. Maybe incest is excepted more than homosexuality cause the incest situation, especially in that story, it could have be seen as a "phase" they were going through.

Something doesn't seem right there.

I guess it's acceptable when the girl is as hot as Jacqueline Jossa?

...

Maybe not...

 

[Playful Pony]

WE'RE ALL GONA CATCH THE GAY, RUN FOR THE HILLS!

Just a vocal minority as usual, but that still doesn't make it alright. I guess the world will never be cured of all this pointless hate and bigotry.

Gays are the new group that is in fashion to hate now that it has become too unpopular to hate blacks.

"New"?