Greek men often greet one another with a peck on the cheek, but when it comes to displays of affection between two gay males, the situation still makes some feel a little hot and bothered. So it is no wonder that a smooch between two men on a high-rating, late-night television drama series in October 2003 raised the hackles of some sectors of Greek society, namely the Radio and Television Council (ESR), who slapped a 100,000-euro fine on private Mega channel .

The show, Close Your Eyes, focuses on the lives of a group of twentysomethings and features popular actor Christoforos Papakaliatis. Though he himself did not partake in the now-infamous kiss – believed to be the first screened on Greek television – he did pen the script.

The ESR, in the words of its chairman Ioannis Laskaridis, viewed the kissing scene as “vulgar and unacceptable”, saying “it could damage young people by making them too familiar with vulgarity”. He said a kiss between two men “is not a usual phenomenon – it is a particularity outside life’s reproductive process”.

Prevailing mores and reactions
When it comes to affairs of the heart, Greek society has a great task ahead of it in bridging the generation gap. Much of the older generations tend to stick rigidly to the conservative teachings of the Orthodox Church (98% of the population is baptized), which disapproves of homosexual relations. As one would expect, the younger generation is a great deal more open-minded, barely batting an eyelid over the kiss.

Gay rights groups in Greece and abroad strongly denounced the ERS’ decision as “hypocritical”. On any given night of channel-surfing, one stumbles upon portrayals of nudity, graphic (heterosexual) sex and violence, in programs that would never be shown in countries like the United States without going under the censorship knife.

For their part, media critics lambasted the ESR for penalising a portrayal of affection simply because it involved two same-sex individuals. Television commentator Popi Diamandakou was particularly outspoken, stating in the daily Ta Nea newspaper: “The council tells us … that it’s OK to be tolerant but we shouldn’t go too far.” She pointed out that no action was taken against television stations, which repeatedly showed a kiss between pop singers Britney Spears and Madonna during a performance at an MTV http://www.mtv.com/home/splash/ music awards ceremony a few weeks earlier.

Human rights watchdog Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) issued an appeal against “institutionalised homophobia in Greece”. Indeed, homophobia is a Greek word. Many Greeks simply refuse to acknowledge the fact that homosexuality is an inherent element of modern Greek society.

“Indicative of the prevailing climate in the Greek media is the fact that even the media that rushed to criticise the ESR for its ruling, some calling it an act of censorship or hypocritical, stopped short of showing the kissing scene; this included not only television stations but also print media that have no authority to control them,” GHM stated.

Kiss and tell about it
Homosexuality is not illegal in Greece but in previous years prosecutors have invoked a law on protection of “public decency” to break up events viewed as having sexual manifestations or connotations. “They want to tell us who we can kiss and what time kissing is appropriate,” said gay activist Grigoris Valianatos. “We believe a kiss is an act of love, tenderness and courage. We think the TV regulators should resign. We’d like to think of Greece as a tolerant country.”

Around 30 gays, lesbians and transsexuals, encouraged by Mega channel, staged a public rally – or kiss-in – on the doorstep of the ESR. Jerome Castellano, a Frenchman living in Greece, who protested together with his Greek boyfriend Manthos Peponas said: “It’s a shame there are such problems in this country.” Marina Galanou, a member of Greece’s Transsexual and Transvestites’ Union, said: “This decision is despicable and racist… what I hate most is the hypocrisy we have to deal with every day.”

Same-sex couples also kissed in protest at the council’s decision but, as GHM pointed out, their action attracted little media attention. “Greek private television stations referred to the protest, showed the protesters but did not show them kissing,” GHM said. Still, Mega channel said it would take the case to the country’s highest administrative court. Private TV stations signed a petition demanding a rethink of the decision.

Two daily newspapers reported on the protest – namely the English edition of Greek daily Kathimerini with a photo of protesters kissing. Conservative Apoyevmatini, on the other hand, published a photo of demonstrators outside the ESR building, but not actually engaged in the act. The story made a splash in the international media, which did not hesitate to publish photos of smooching gay rights advocates.