Above all, do not step out of line. Singaporean authorities announced on Friday that they had revoked the one-year publishing license of the magazine’s local edition. Vogue. In question ? Nude images and the promotion of “non-traditional” families. Singapore applies very strict rules to limit LGBTQ content in the press. Magazines are prohibited from promoting “alternative lifestyles”, defined as deviant.
The regulations also prohibit, therefore, the publication of nude images, including “depictions of semi-nude models whose breasts and/or genitals are covered by hands, materials or objects”. Vogue applied for a new permit, which was granted to him for only six months, according to the Ministry of Communication.
Four unspecified “faults”
The monthly “has violated content guidelines for local lifestyle magazines four times in the past two years for nudity and content promoting non-traditional families,” according to the ministry, which did not specify. what content was involved.
It is the first time that authorities have reduced the duration of such a permit since 2014, when a local arts magazine was sanctioned for “religiously insensitive or denigrating content”.
The government advances and retreats
Conde Nast Group launched the Singaporean edition of Vogue two years ago, with a printed monthly and a website. On the latter, Vogue proclaims its goal to produce “thought-provoking content to drive change for the good.”
In recent months, the magazine has published articles on LGBTQ topics, reports on “body positivity” with photos of semi-nude women, and interviews with prominent Singaporean activists. Vogue Singapore did not immediately respond to a request for comment by AFP.
The Singapore government announced in August a plan to decriminalize same-sex relations. But Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also said the city-state would change its constitution to “safeguard the institution of marriage”, defined as the union of a man and a woman.