A court in annexed Crimea has fined a local woman 100,000 rubles ($1,280) for allegedly spreading “LGBT propaganda” after she posted photos on social media poking fun at gender norms in heterosexual relationships, the exiled news outlet Vyorstka reported Wednesday.
According to court documents, Irina Khokhlatkina was found to have shared images on her VKontakte page showing men in wedding gowns with captions such as: “Why should I ask you out?” “I’ve been waiting for you to make the first move,” “Let’s split the bill” and “Prove and show that you need me.”
The captions appear to satirize traditional gender roles by portraying men who make such statements as “feminine.”
Khokhlatkina told the court that the photos, which she reposted from a public group on VKontakte, were meant to “improve the psychological relationship between men and women.”
However, investigators accused her of promoting “non-traditional sexual relationships,” encouraging “gender reassignment” and advocating against parenthood.
The Kerch City Court found Khokhlatkina guilty in April of spreading “LGBT propaganda,” and an appeals court upheld the verdict in May.
The appeals judge agreed with the lower court’s conclusion that the images “portray men in a way that culturally deviates from the traditional image of heterosexual masculinity in Russia.”
Russia has for years been criticized over its LGBTQ+ rights record, including a 2013 law banning “gay propaganda among minors,” as well as a ban on the adoption of children by same-sex couples in foreign countries.
Russian courts heard more than 130 “LGBT propaganda” cases in 2024, according to Vyorstka. More than 70 people and 20 legal entities were found guilty of the charges.
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