Teletubbies Tackled In Poland
- May 30th, 2007
- Posted by EUEditor
Talk of a wave of anti-homosexual activity in Eastern Europe has received a bizarre boost with official moves in Poland against the British children’s television characters, the Teletubbies.
The Polish children’s rights ombudsman, Ewa Sowinska, was quoted in a magazine this week (28.5.07), proposing to check with psychologists to see if the character Tinky Winky might be promoting “homosexual attitudes”.
It emerges that Tinky Winky, a male character in the BBC cartoon, sometimes carries a handbag, and has previously attracted criticism as a subliminal gay from the religious right-wing in America.
Journalists gathered at the European Commission in Brussels laughed out loud at the Teletubbies imputation, as government leaders in Warsaw made statements disowning it.
Poland’s socially conservative government from time to time brings up stern measures on the morals front, out of step with generally liberal European social legislation for which it has also signed up.
Spokespersons for the European Union said it supported freedom of the mass media but could offer no further comment on the Polish question this time.
They were more direct about the bashing of homosexual rights campaigners , and human rights advocates with them, in Moscow on Monday.
They said the European Commission was very concerned about the behaviour of anti-homosexual groups in the presence of police, considering it an attack on human rights and free speech.
Homosexuality has been decriminalised in Russia but the gay rights movement there has been unsuccessful in campaigning for permission to conduct public celebrations of that change.
Picture: Teletubbies; Tinky Winky is in blue