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Gay group drive draws fire
Gulf-DailyNews.com ^ | July 23, 2003
"Birgitta, six-year-old, lesbian," reads the advert with a photograph of a little girl in a swimsuit and armbands, alongside some childish drawings. "Not all princesses choose a prince," it adds.
A campaign by a Swedish gay group to promote awareness that non-heterosexual orientation can start from an early age caused a backlash yesterday from a child protection group that said the sexual depiction of children could encourage paedophiles.
Stockholm Pride, a volunteer group that organises an annual gay, lesbian and transsexual festival, launched the campaign on its website and plans advertisements in the mainstream and gay press. Pride's chairman Anders Selin stressed all the children depicted are now adult gays, lesbians or transsexuals between the ages of 24 and 40.
"We're not telling people that every youngster is homosexual but that it should be as respectable as being heterosexual," he said. Selin said he wanted to provoke debate about how adults' sexual orientation is influenced in childhood by "how our parents raise us and how we're influenced by toy shops etc". But conservative member of parliament Rosita Runegrund, who works for Ecpat, an international network of organisations that combat the sexual exploitation of children, objected to the fact the campaign gives young children a sexual identity. "Paedophiles use the argument that children have a sexual identity. For me it was a shock to find the pictures on their website because Pride is a respectable organisation," she said. "There is a strong reaction from the public who don't understand these pictures.
It's not necessary. Children must have their own experience and it takes time for them to find their own sexual identity," Runegrund said. Selin, a 36-year-old youth worker who features in one of the adverts as "Anders, seven years old, gay", said: "As soon as you talk about homosexuality and children everyone starts yelling about paedophiles." Sweden has a tolerant attitude towards gays and lesbians who can enter into legal partnerships, but not same-sex marriages. The country has a low incidence of crimes against children.
Gulf-DailyNews.com ^ | July 23, 2003
"Birgitta, six-year-old, lesbian," reads the advert with a photograph of a little girl in a swimsuit and armbands, alongside some childish drawings. "Not all princesses choose a prince," it adds.
A campaign by a Swedish gay group to promote awareness that non-heterosexual orientation can start from an early age caused a backlash yesterday from a child protection group that said the sexual depiction of children could encourage paedophiles.
Stockholm Pride, a volunteer group that organises an annual gay, lesbian and transsexual festival, launched the campaign on its website and plans advertisements in the mainstream and gay press. Pride's chairman Anders Selin stressed all the children depicted are now adult gays, lesbians or transsexuals between the ages of 24 and 40.
"We're not telling people that every youngster is homosexual but that it should be as respectable as being heterosexual," he said. Selin said he wanted to provoke debate about how adults' sexual orientation is influenced in childhood by "how our parents raise us and how we're influenced by toy shops etc". But conservative member of parliament Rosita Runegrund, who works for Ecpat, an international network of organisations that combat the sexual exploitation of children, objected to the fact the campaign gives young children a sexual identity. "Paedophiles use the argument that children have a sexual identity. For me it was a shock to find the pictures on their website because Pride is a respectable organisation," she said. "There is a strong reaction from the public who don't understand these pictures.
It's not necessary. Children must have their own experience and it takes time for them to find their own sexual identity," Runegrund said. Selin, a 36-year-old youth worker who features in one of the adverts as "Anders, seven years old, gay", said: "As soon as you talk about homosexuality and children everyone starts yelling about paedophiles." Sweden has a tolerant attitude towards gays and lesbians who can enter into legal partnerships, but not same-sex marriages. The country has a low incidence of crimes against children.
