Krsna on Gay Mag Cover Outrages

[Guest guest]

>Anudasa

>radharani108, vy

>[VY] Re:Manjari makes the news

>Fri, 12 May 2000 14:31:12 EDT

>

>Manjari, Bhagavan's daughter, has made the news again. As many of you know,

>she put together the dance with Modana's Orissian dance at the MTV Music

>Awards as well as danced with her.

>

>Manjari has been meeting a lot of celebrity's like Modana as make up artist

>and preaches to them about krsna as the below article explains.

>

>Sorry its taken from PADA, but I think you will enjoy it all the same.

>Being

>as far behind as I am, this is about month old.

>

>I am catching up though.

>

>Raghu

>

>

>1) Krishna as gay on mag cover outrages Indians in US

>

>By Chidanand Rajghatta

>

>Washington, April 26 - Lord Krishna is known to be a happy God, but gay?

>

>The depiction of Krishna on the cover of Genre, a popular American gay

>magazine, has outraged some touchy Indians in the US and invitedanonymous

>death threats against the

>magazine's publisher and editor. The threat has been taken seriously enough

>by the

>magazine to reportit to authorities and equip its office phones with caller

>ID.

>

>"They called us motherf*&%$# and threatened our lives and our company,"

>publisher Doug Shingleton told The Indian Express. He said Genre is an

>independent alternative

>lifestyle magazine with a circulation of 120,000.

>

>The cover that some Indians find offensive is in the magazine's May issue,

>which is specially devoted to spirituality with a story titled "Choosing a

>Spiritual

>Path." Next a caption that asks "Was Jesus Gay?" It features actor Alexis

>Arquette in bright blue body paint.

>

>But there is no mistaking him for Jesus. Arquette has a silver tilak on his

>forehead and is adorned in a flower garland, a jewelled head-dress, a

>golden dhoti. He holds

>a golden flute in his right hand and is surrounded by a peacock and a deer.

>Inside, a 12-page story examines 30 different faiths including Hinduism,

>Buddhism, Islam, Sufism, Judaism, and their outlook on homosexuality. "As

>is typical of other world religions, the attitude of Hinduism toward

>homosexuality is schizophrenic at best. It is ignored in some texts and

>punished in others, though it is essential in the activities of the Hindu

>gods," the story says.

>

>It then goes on to suggest that homosexuality was commonplace in India

>because of the existence of a whole chapter in the Kama Sutra on homosexual

>fellatio and other erotic acts. "The criminality of being gay seems to be

>primarily absorbed from the puritanical values of Victorian Britain and the

>Law Code of Manu, best known as the sacred law

>texts, where the punishment for homosexuality ranges from a purification

>bath for the male to amputation for lesbians," the story adds. The section

>also provides links to the Hindu Temple Society and HinduNet.org. The

>editors of the magazine however say they did not mean to cause any offence

>and the cover is aimed at broadening the understanding ofthe attitude of

>religions towards homosexuality.

>

>"We are not saying Krishna is gay ... Those people (threatening us) have a

>narrow view of Krishna. Gods are transcendent, and they go beyond male and

>female... He goes beyond modern man's sensibilities," Morris Weissinger,

>the magazine's editor-in-chief said in an interview to India West, an

>ethnic newspaper that first reported the controversy.

>

>Arquette, who starred in The Wedding Singer and Pulp Fiction among other

>films, is an openly gay actor who often appears in drag. The photo is shot

>by well-known portrait photographer Greg Gorman, whose has previously

>worked with Richard Gere, Elton John, Johnny Depp and Alec Baldwin among

>others. The make-up for the shoot was done by the Indian artist Manjari,

>the Los Angeles-based Odissi dancer who performed with Madonna at the MTV

>Music Video Awards in 1998. Manjari told "India West" she had no idea until

>they were halfway through the shoot what kind of magazine Genre was.

>

>Manjari also handled the makeup for comedian Mike Myers in a similarly

>controversial Vanity Fair cover last year. The cover, which the magazine

>claimed was a spoof of the

>trendiness of religion, showed Myers as a Hindu holy man with gadgets.

>

>Manjari claimed in the interview that she is a Krishna devotee and was

>perfectly at ease with the shoot after she decided to take up the

>assignment. At the photo shoot,

>she played devotional music, posted pictures of Krishna, brought garlands

>to the crew, and even invited them to the Hare Krishna Temple in West Los

>Angeles.

>

>"It was a very sacred atmosphere. I wanted to be sure they did Krishna

>justice. I was concerned about the authenticity," she told the paper. The

>magazine said it had no plans to remove the issue from the newstands,

>although many kiosks, particularly in

>the New York area, are owned by Indians. The controversial issue is also

>not yet up on the magazine's website (http://www.genremagazine.com) which

>still featured the April issue at the time of writing.

>

>

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