A judge in Russia has ordered a man to be deported after ruling that he “committed propaganda of non-traditional sexual preferences” by posting a positive online review of a mini skirt, reportedly alongside images of himself modelling the item.
According to Mediazona, Gulomova Islomzhona Numonzhon was found guilty after posting the review on Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer.
In the review, Gulomova wrote: “Beautiful skirt! Hides not only the flaws of the figure, but even the fact that I’m a guy.”
The judge cited the comment as evidence that Gulomova was “openly demonstrating the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual attitudes”.
Court documents state that Gulomova is a foreign national, though his country of origin was redacted.
Review treated as LGBTQ+ “propaganda”
Gulomova was found guilty of posting “information aimed at forming non-traditional sexual attitudes, the attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relations, a distorted idea of the social equivalence of traditional and non-traditional sexual relations and preferences”.
The review was posted to Wildberries last September, with the alleged offence discovered in the Russian city of Tula two weeks ago.
At the court hearing, Gulomova “admitted guilt in committing the administrative offence”.
In handing down the decision, the judge cited Russia’s laws restricting so-called LGBTQ+ “propaganda”, including rules framed around the protection of children.
The judge wrote that Russian authorities are required to protect children from information considered harmful to their “health, moral and spiritual development”, including information that “promotes or demonstrates non-traditional sexual relations and/or preferences”.
The ruling also referenced “family, motherhood, and childhood” in their “traditional, ancestral understanding” as values requiring state protection.
Deportation described as “the only alternative”
The judge ruled that administrative deportation was necessary, describing it as the only appropriate punishment in the case.
“The dissemination of beliefs and preferences concerning sexual orientation and specific forms of sexual relations should not infringe upon the dignity of others, call into question public morality as understood in established Russian society, or otherwise contradict the foundations of the legal order adopted in the Russian Federation,” the judge wrote.
He said deportation was “the only possible way to achieve the goals of administrative punishment”.
Gulomova was ordered to be held in detention by Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs before being forcibly deported within 90 days.
The case highlights the increasing use of Russia’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws to punish expressions of gender nonconformity and queer identity, even in contexts as seemingly ordinary as an online clothing review.
