On the 14th of June this year, thousands flooded the streets of Budapest protesting the new laws to be adopted the following day. The Hungarian government - which has shown concerning signs of turning authoritarian under Prime Minister Viktor Orban - passed these laws almost unanimously in the parliament at 157-1. Seventeen EU countries have condemned the laws so far, calling them anti-LGBTI propaganda and a way of repressing discourse about sexuality in the country. With an already tarnished reputation internationally, some EU MPs have threatened Hungary’s expulsion from the union. These laws come ahead of the 2022 election in which, according to recent polls, suggest a win for Orban unless a monumental coalition of right wing and left wing parties come together to defeat him. The chances of that happening seem bleak, but Orban seems to have tried to rally up support for his own conservative base.
Dubbed by many as a Russian Propaganda tool, the laws curb discourse on sexuality among minors by controlling media coverage of issues discussing the LGBTI community. It is sold to the Hungarian public as a law that protects children from pedophilia and grants stricter sentences to offenders. However, the reality is far from it. Sneaked into the text of the law, it pits the LGBTI community with pedophiles and censors any content that "popularizes homosexuality".
Sex education curriculum will now be directly controlled by the government, which has been following quite regressive ideas of homosexuality. The people who teach sex ed in schools and educational institutes will have to register under the central government policy. The content cannot include homosexual views and any deviations from the gender assigned at birth, i.e., trans identity. Hungary has become infamous for cutting down fundamental rights and cracking down on minorities since Orban came into power in 2010.
On the national radio in October 2020, Orban stated:
Despite Hungary being "tolerant and patient" towards LGBT people, "there is a red line that cannot be crossed" and that "gays are to leave our children alone".
The same year, Hungary passed landmark laws that banned adoption by same sex parents and preventing people from legally changing their gender.
Hungarian media, who have seen a decline in freedom since late 2010s, will also now be limited in the kind of content they present. Content that shows homosexuality can only be presented on televisions and radio between 10 PM to 5 AM. The law has been framed vaguely and broadly, which makes media houses unsure about what content to publish and which to leave out. Some media houses have taken down popular shows like FRIENDS and the Harry Potter movies.
The representation of LGBTI people and ideas of gender change will be severely undermined along with any discourse that will shape children’s minds. By limiting freedom of expression and speech, the Hungarian government has tried to not only crackdown on minorities but also reduce safe havens for children. It restricts their abilities to talk about sex and explore their sexuality in a healthy manner, with a safe space for them at home and in public spaces in an already conservative society.
By under-representing trans and queer identities in media, the government believes that it is protecting children from "turning" queer, calling gay sex a "harmful influence".
So far, many countries including Germany and France, have condemned Hungary for such outward silencing of trans and queer identities and called it objectively rotten and fundamentally flawed.
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