WATCH: Russia’s new reality show takes homophobia to a weird new level
I’m Not Gay pits eight Russian men against each other, all attempting to prove how stereotypically “straight” they are. Each episode sees another contestant eliminated via a vote by the cast following contests such as a swimwear pageant and getting lap dances from female strippers.
Hidden in the cast is an actual gay man (and we feel really bad for him); the show concludes once he is rooted out.Related: How Russia’s war on Ukraine is a war on LGBTQ peopleRussian politician Vitaly Milonov hosts the series.
Readers might recognize him as the mind behind the nation’s harsh “anti-gay propaganda” laws which demonize LGBTQ people, and encourages violent treatment of them.
The laws have encouraged queer people to flee Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe in recent years. Reports amid the country’s invasion of Ukraine also detail increased violence toward queer citizens.The irony is that the premise of the show is pretty gay unto itself.
