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Gay Kiss Censorship Reversed in iPad App


ImportanceBeingEarnestx390 (App Store) | Advocate.com

Apple has reversed its decision to censor images of two men kissing from a graphic-novel app for the iPad based on The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.

According to The Big Money, an Apple spokeswoman called the decision to block the panels a “mistake” and said that app developers would be invited to resubmit their original drawings.

The company came under fire for censoring images of a gay kiss in the Oscar Wilde app and for blocking displays of nudity in an app based on the novel Ulysses.

The Oscar Wilde app is based on the 2001 print graphic novel from Belgian comic artist Tom Bouden. Kevin Kelleher, a writer for The Big Money, examined the original images and found that “there are other panels of men in underwear that weren't blacked out, which led me to conclude that what really bothered Apple's censors was the idea of two men kissing.”

“The message that these black boxes send to Apple's customers isn't 'Hey, kids, don't look at porn,'” he writes. “The message is that the sight of two men kissing is a bad thing and that homophobia is a good thing. For allowing Apple to send that message, Steve Jobs should be ashamed of himself.”

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Reader Comments
  • Name: jack
    Date posted: 6/15/2010 6:18:57 PM
    Hometown: la

    Comment:

    I'd kiss more in public- if I wasn't afraid of getting my head bashed in......

  • Name: Charles
    Date posted: 6/15/2010 6:13:00 PM
    Hometown: Rock Hill, SC

    Comment:

    Remember that Apple scored 100% on the HRC 2010 Corporate Equality Index, and Apple stood against Prop8. The App store reviews over 100 new apps a day (and Steve Jobs doesn't do that all himself). I'm sure some of the 'rules' are pretty vague and open to interpretation by the specific reviewer. (for example, one sample showed a full-color drawing of a breast that was not censored, but a BW line drawing of a male's butt--alone in bed--was censored). Again: you can get all the porn you want on the iPhone/iPad via the web in the Safari browser. And Apple approved the Grindr app, but the company running Gridnr is the one doing the censoring of the photos.

  • Name: ozzy
    Date posted: 6/15/2010 3:02:05 PM
    Hometown: sacramento

    Comment:

    I love apple, but that was messed up. Thankfully they reversed that decision. The article posted the blacked out illustrations of "Being earnest"next to the uncensored graphic sex scene of the "Kick Ass comic" sold in the app store. I'm ok if they censor applications from porno sites, because the reality is that porno webmasters just want to spread as many malware, spyware, viruses and other crap as they can through their sites. That said, "The Importance Of Being Earnest" is a great graphic novel, is sexually explicit and some even consider it erotic art, but that's the key difference, this is art, not porn. At least their fast response is something to admire. Besides, Apple and Google were two of the Silicon Valley companies that stood against prop H8 and I will never forget that.

  • Name: Randall Valentin
    Date posted: 6/15/2010 12:50:20 PM
    Hometown: Dallas

    Comment:

    I believe we have ourselves to blame if many people aren't comfortable seeing same-sex couples kiss. How many of you have kissed in public outside a pride parade or gay neighborhood? Hiding only makes us invisible and shameful in the minds of many people. I'm glad DFW has a far more progressive gay population. For example, I saw two ladies kiss briefly at IKEA; it warmed my heart. Furthermore, my partner and I usually hold hands when we’re shopping and we always get great service in the Apple Store. I do love my Apple “stuff”.

  • Name: Glenn Dewar
    Date posted: 6/15/2010 12:11:18 PM
    Hometown: Astoria, NY

    Comment:

    A computer that protects adult men and women from their content? It's refreshing to see Apple right there on the cutting edge of the 19th Century. This is why I never have, and never will buy a product from Steve Jobs company. Apple has been about controlling the user from day one.

  • Name: doug
    Date posted: 6/15/2010 11:56:02 AM
    Hometown: vb

    Comment:

    Bouden should say screw you and pull his book- he'd get buckets of publicity

  • Name: Dweke
    Date posted: 6/15/2010 11:26:25 AM
    Hometown: hiNo JP

    Comment:

    Apple, the gayest computer-maker ever, should re-assess its standards. In Grindr, the most successful gaydar app ever to hit the net, pix of men in their underwear are allowed, while pics of men in their pants AND underwear are censored if the zipper is down. How much sense does that make? The message is, it is wrong for a man to try to look sexy, although pics of men with zipped up trousers that have a hand inside holding the crotch, seem to be OK ??? It's almost as if they are trying to appease the homophobes by setting up arbitrary standards of prudery. Glad to at least know they let men kiss now.



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