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YouTube Censors Lesbian Kiss


Censored Double Rainbow x390 (grab) | ADVOCATE.COM

Google-owned video hosting site YouTube ordered Second City Network, the popular comedy group, to censor one of its skits that showed lesbians kissing.

Second City, the group that created the famous “Sassy Gay Friend,” devised the skit as a spoof on another video by “Bear” Vasquez that features a hiker’s enthusiastic commentary as he films a rainbow in Yosemite National Parl. Second City used the sound from that video in its parody, playing on the term “double rainbow” as a term for lesbians kissing.

In the video’s description, the group posts, “YouTube decided that two girls kissing is inappropriate, and flagged our video! So we uploaded a "CLEAN FOR YOUTUBE" censored version. If you think YouTube is Homophobic, leave a comment below!”

The uncensored version is still available on YouTube but requires that users sign in — a process that is tied to age verification from the account’s creation.

YouTube introduces its community guidelines by stating, “We're not asking for the kind of respect reserved for nuns, the elderly, and brain surgeons.” Its content regulations are to be expected: no pornography, drug use, gratuitous violence, copyrighted media, spam, etc.

The censorship of the "Double Rainbow" video is surprising given the nature of some of YouTube's other videos. A cursory search of “lesbian make out” yields seven pages of results, many of which are taken from published pornographic videos (a double violation of the guidelines). Some of these videos have view counts in the millions, and many do not require logging in.

The site’s process of removal is rooted in the viewers, who are asked to “flag” any video that may offend them and that violates the terms of use. After a video has been flagged, it is reviewed by YouTube staff, who “review flagged videos 24 hours a day, seven days a week to determine whether they violate our Community Guidelines.”

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Reader Comments
  • Name: SUZANNE
    Date posted: 5/14/2011 6:04:37 PM
    Hometown: BOARDMAN, OHIO

    Comment:

    LOST RESPECT AND WILL DO EVERYTHING IN MY POWER TO MAKE SURE THEY SUFFER FINANCIALLY!

  • Name: Victor
    Date posted: 8/11/2010 11:46:20 AM
    Hometown: Washington, D.C.

    Comment:

    I've had the same thing happen to me on Youtube, Facebook, and Ebay. I've posted a Youtube clip about what just happened to me on Facebook on August 10, 2010. The link to the clip is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqnWY6aERjg

  • Name: Fred Stanley
    Date posted: 7/31/2010 2:40:53 AM
    Hometown: Palm Springs, CA

    Comment:

    YouTube would probably censor the second coming of Jesus Christ!!!

  • Name: Donald Von Boeckman
    Date posted: 7/30/2010 7:52:22 PM
    Hometown: Cordova, Tn

    Comment:

    I totally lost my respect for Google for flagging something as innocent as 2 females kissing. I agree that if they are going to restrict lesbian and gay men who kiss, then let's include it to censor all kissing. After all, kissing someone of the same sex is murdurously wrong. Damned Disgusting in this century that we still have to tolerate being treated second class. No, there is not liberty and justice for all Americans, that kid in Arkansas is correct. Sad but true.

  • Name: Davin
    Date posted: 7/30/2010 3:34:46 PM
    Hometown: Los Angeles

    Comment:

    Just the other day I went to YouTube to watch the "I Want to Break Free" Queen video and was shocked when YouTube said it was flagged as being unappropriate. And than asked me to prove I was an adult. Really!?!

  • Name: Charles
    Date posted: 7/30/2010 3:04:33 PM
    Hometown: Rock Hill, SC

    Comment:

    …nothing better to capture attention on YouTube than to use the words: Banned, Censored, Too Hot for American TV, etc. in the title.

  • Name: Charles
    Date posted: 7/30/2010 3:02:28 PM
    Hometown: Rock Hill, SC

    Comment:

    Advocate News Fail! Definitely a publicity stunt. There are plenty of pretty hot uncensored gay and lesbian kissing scenes on YouTube. (Also, it's Yosemite National Park, not Parl.) I'm really starting to get tired with the non-news items on Advocate.com.

  • Name: MWA
    Date posted: 7/29/2010 6:45:26 PM
    Hometown: Manhattan

    Comment:

    It would be wonderful if google/youtube received a mass number of requests that they censor ALL kissing if they're going to censor lesbian kissing. I mean, really. The ONLY way this would be nondiscriminatory is if that happened. Either censor all kissing or don't censor it at all. It's kissing, not nudity, pornography, or gratuitous pointless sex. Theres worse in most PG rated films. Homophobic ignorant bureaucratic twits.

  • Name: Gray
    Date posted: 7/29/2010 6:38:26 PM
    Hometown: Minneapolis

    Comment:

    @Dan: Sweetie, just come out already. You're not fooling anyone.

  • Name: Gray
    Date posted: 7/29/2010 6:29:10 PM
    Hometown: Minneapolis

    Comment:

    @Dan: Sweetie, just come out already. You're not fooling anyone.



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