Where you're not allowed to look normal

You can't be portrayed as a normal, regular guy or gal if you're gay in Singapore. In fact, the government there has just reinforced that notion by fining a TV station the equivalent of £5,000 for "featuring a gay couple in a way that makes them look 'normal'", according to a story in Pink News.

"The Media Development Authority fined MediaCorp TV for featuring the couple with their adoptive [sic] son, claiming that it 'promoted a gay lifestyle'," says the online news outlet. The story continues:

Homosexual sex is illegal in Singapore[;] however, in October 2007, the Singapore government declared that private, consensual, adult homosexual sex would no longer be prosecuted but that its illegality would remain.

The authority said the episode contained scenes of the gay couple with their baby and the presenter's congratulations and acknowledgment of them as a family unit "in a way which normalizes their gay lifestyle and unconventional family setup".

The show they featured on is called Find and Design – one of those crappy makeover shows we get too much of on British TV. In this episode, the couple wanted to make over their little boy's bedroom.

Earlier this year, a cable station had to stump up a £3,500 fine for showing an ad in which two women kissed.

Shock, horror! What is the world coming to?