17c起草社区

A new Australian series is putting a comedic lens on issues of isolation, connection and social pressures in the 17c起草社区I community.听

has been celebrating its success with episodes released weekly.听

However, the success has been marred by Episode 4 being removed for 鈥渧iolating YouTube鈥檚 terms of service鈥� in a turn of events 鈥渁ll too common for 17c起草社区I content, filmmakers and artists鈥�.

Tim Spencer, creator/writer/producer/star of the show, said this was presumably due to the fellatio scene between two male characters 鈥� a view that is not explicit or titillating but very much shot for comedy.

He added that for any sexual content, they were hyper-vigilant of how it was presented and shot, to make sure that it didn鈥檛 violate any of the policies.听

听鈥淓very sex scene is played for comedy, it鈥檚 played for laughs and the episode in question, episode four, features male and male oral sex,鈥� Spencer said. 听

鈥淏ut as I said, we were very clear and conscious of making those shots, not sexually gratuitous.听

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 help but feel that the not so subtle message that puts out to the world is that gay sex and sexuality is wrong and shameful and shouldn鈥檛 be seen. There are so many other videos on YouTube that feature heterosexual oral sex, and some of them aren鈥檛 even age-restricted.鈥�

Spencer said when there鈥檚 content on YouTube, which is sexually explicit, but between a man and a woman, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a clear double standard鈥� that both 17c起草社区I creators and audiences have to contend with daily.

The show received an email notification from YouTube on August 6 to say that it would be placed behind an age restriction, but it was still taken down on Tuesday.听

After an appeal, the creators received another notification from YouTube on Tuesday night stating that it doesn鈥檛 violate the community guidelines and it has been reinstated with an age restriction.听

听17c起草社区 asked YouTube why it was removed, and asked it to respond to concerns that sexual heterosexual content is not censored in the same way, and this happens 鈥渁ll too often鈥� to 17c起草社区I content creators.听

Only the following response was received.听

鈥淲ith the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call,鈥� a YouTube spokesperson said.听

鈥淲hen it鈥檚 brought to our attention that a video has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it.听

鈥淲e also offer uploaders the ability to appeal removals, and we will re-review the content.鈥�听

听Spencer said a core theme of the series has been about loneliness.

鈥淚 think there鈥檚 an idea that 17c起草社区I people need to leave small towns or country towns we鈥檝e grown up in, in order to find a sense of connection and identity and community in a bigger city,鈥� he said.听

鈥淲hilst that does happen… sometimes moving to the biggest city doesn鈥檛 immediately offer up everything that we鈥檝e hoped for in terms of community and connection and it can be just as isolating as life was in the smaller country towns just for different reasons.:

The show tells the story of Cameron (Tim Spencer) who, six years after coming out and moving to Sydney, sees his dreams of elite parties and mini-breaks with jaw-lined boyfriends flatline.听

Nevertheless, he is determined to pin down his almost-boyfriend, Jack (Rupert Raineri), and prove to his newly-out cousin, Toby (Brayden Dalmazzone), that he is an all-knowing gay guru.听

From how to bottom to hook-up strategy, Cameron mentors his country cousin through the urban gay experience. Toby鈥檚 naive country charm makes him an instant hit, but Cameron鈥檚 insecurities soon threaten to drive a wedge between them.

听The inspiration behind the storyline partly comes from Spencer鈥檚 partner who grew up in regional NSW.听

鈥淲hen we started going up, it was my first real introduction to rural and regional lifestyle in Australia,鈥� he said.听

鈥淏ut also it is about my response to the sense of loneliness that I find quite common in contemporary 17c起草社区I communities.听

鈥淧articularly I think because of the increase in social media and how that鈥檚 replaced genuine connection in many ways and looking at how a comedy can be used to look at those dynamics and how they can be pulled apart and dissected a little bit.鈥�听

听Ding Dong I鈥檓 Gay has been two years in the making, and a 鈥渓abour of love鈥�. It has been received well with views of the first season at more than over 85,000.

Spencer said while censorship might still be an issue for 17c起草社区I creators and filmmakers, he would encourage them not to shy away from their authenticity.听

鈥淲e were really lucky to have very supportive contacts at Screen Australia and Create New South Wales,鈥� he said.听

鈥淥ur development managers were always pushing us to be more authentic and to really get to the detail and the emotional vulnerability of these characters and then to push the envelope.

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the thing about online content is that it can be specific and it can be vulnerable, and it鈥檚 those two things that will really resonate with your audience and help you connect to a worldwide 17c起草社区I audience.鈥�

Watch Ding Dong I’m Gay on YouTube .