Hungary’s media watchdog launches probe into same-sex kiss in dinosaur cartoon
Two female characters kiss in the Netflix cartoon Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous. (Netflix)
Hungary’s media regulator has launched an investigation into a same-sex kiss in the Netflix cartoon Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous.
As part of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán’s relentless attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, in June 2021, legislation banning any discussion of LGBTQ+ people in schools and in the media was passed in a near unanimous vote.
The law specifically bans portraying “divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality” in media for minors.
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, a cartoon rated for children age seven and above, includes a scene where two female characters confess that they love each other and kiss.
Of course kissing is shown in thousands, if not millions, of children’s movies and TV shows, from Snow White to Peppa Pig. But Hungary’s National Media and Communications Authority reported “several complaints” over the dinosaur cartoon, simply because the kiss was between characters of the same gender.
According to Politico, the regulator is currently investigating Netflix over the cartoon, to determine whether is has violated the country’s so-called LGBTQ+ propaganda law.
Hungary ‘discriminates’ against LGBTQ+ people
On 15 July, the European Commission announced that it had “decided to refer Hungary to the Court of Justice of the EU over a Hungarian law which discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity”.
The commission said the anti-LGBTQ+ law “singles out and targets content that ‘promotes or portrays’ what it refers to as ‘divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality’ for individuals under 18”.
A legacy of homophobia
During his time as Hungary’s leader, Orbán has overseen the banning of same-sex adoption, the ending of legal gender recognition for trans people and the redefinition of marriage in the country’s constitution as the union between one man and one woman.
Earlier this month, he delivered a keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the US, in which he declared: “[Hungarians] decided we don’t need more genders – we need more rangers. Less drag queens and more Chuck Norris.”
