Why Zoe Terakes’ Reaction To Kuwait’s ‘Talk To Me’ Ban Should Be The Standard

Trans Australian actor Zoe Terakes acknowledged his film’s ban in Kuwait while standing in solidarity with Kuwait’s LGBT community, and it should be the standard.  

Many countries overseas have strict anti-LGBT laws that their governments use to prohibit films with LGBT content and themes from being distributed. These countries include Romania, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Vietnam, and many countries in South West Asia and North Africa, as well as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Egypt, and many others. 

It’s not uncommon for films that feature LGBT content to be edited for release in these countries, or to be banned from release altogether. In fact, it’s been happening for decades. In the last few years alone, Disney’s Eternals, Lightyear and live-action Beauty and the Beast were banned in the Gulf regions after the company refused to edit out scenes featuring gay characters. Other films such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, and even the third instalment of Fantastic Beasts had explicit mentions and depictions of queer life edited for certain overseas markets.  

You may have also noticed that many of these countries are majority non-white countries. Thus, frustration and outrage over Western LGBT media censorship in these countries is often tinged with xenophobia. When Sir Elton John commented on Samoa’s banning of Rocketman, he called the nation “backwards.” When Chris Evans reacted to Lightyear being censored overseas, he called those upset by the gay characters “idiots”. On the censorship of Eternals overseas, Angelina Jolie is one of few high-profile celebrities who acknowledged the impact these bans have on audiences in those countries, saying she felt “sad” for them. 

Nevertheless, the prevailing reaction to these bans in the media, by fans, and even those involved in the films is typically one that dismisses the LGBT communities within those countries. Often, these countries are spoken of as faceless monoliths that are entirely ignorant compared to the US or other Western countries. Queer theorist Jasbir Puar called this phenomenon — in which powerful corporations (Disney for instance) align with the claims of queer people to further xenophobia and Islamophobia — homonationalism. In this discourse, LGBT identity is leveraged to prop up xenophobia and nationalism, creating an “us versus them” narrative between the East and West that completely disregards the humanity of LGBT people in non-western countries.  

Thus, as an Arab queer person, I really admire trans actor Zoe Terakes’ reaction to Kuwait’s banning of the new Aussie horror film Talk To Me. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the movie was banned because of Terakes’ casting. Despite the film itself making no mention of Zoe Terakes’ being trans or queer, the film was banned by Kuwait’s government due solely to his presence as an out trans actor. What I admired about Terakes’ reaction was that they conveyed how hurtful the ban was to them personally, while also acknowledging how this censorship by Kuwait’s government harms the country’s LGBT community. 

“Our film doesn’t actually ever mention my transness, or my queerness,” Terakes wrote on Instagram. “I am a trans actor who happened to get the role. I’m not a theme. I’m a person. Kuwait has banned this film due to my identity alone. Reportedly, this is a first. This is a new precedent. It is targeted and dehumanising and means to harm us. As much as it is very sad to be on the receiving end of this, what is even more heartbreaking is what this precedent means for the queer and trans people of Kuwait.” 

“Representation is hope,” the actor continued. “Representation is a light at the end of the tunnel, a reason to keep going, something to hold onto in the dark, a voice that whispers things can be better than they are. Eliminating trans actors on screens will not eliminate trans people (as much as the government of Kuwait wishes it would) but it will eliminate a lot of hope. And hope is such a large part of how we live as marginalised people. It’s how we learn to move through the hatred and the mistreatment and the violence. We look to all the people who have done it before us, we look to all the people who are doing it beside us, and that gives us hope to keep going. We are a community that has learnt to depend on each other, because cis people have historically been no help.” 

“Therefore, our survival is so dependent on our ability to look to each other, to share with each other, to lean on each other, to love each other, to see each other. My heart breaks for the trans people and queer people of Kuwait who have so few places to look. If you feel angry, sad or confused by this, consider donating to the Rainbow Railroad; an organisation that helps queer and trans people access safety and lives free from persecution worldwide.” 

Terakes concluded their post by sharing a link in their Instagram bio to the Rainbow Railroad charity.  

The oppression and persecution of marginalised people should never be used as an excuse to condemn an entire country as “idiots” or “backwards”. When it comes to films being censored overseas for LGBT inclusion, standing in solidarity with the communities living under anti-LGBT laws should be the standard, as Zoe Terakes has graciously shown.