Who will win "The Genetically Modified Tomato Awards"

This year the eighth of “The Genetically Modified Tomato Awards” is organized. The nominees of the competition which is organized in order to catch attention to Homophobia/Transphobia/Sexual Discrimination will be determined with a survey this year as well. The awards will be distributed in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans) Pride Week, which is organized in Istanbul in the last week of June. The idea concerning The Genetically Modified Tomato Awards came out in 2005 from Lambdaistanbul LGBTT Association. The eponym of the award which tries to catch attention to the discriminations exposed to LGBT people is ex-regrate and referee, recent football commentator Erman Toroğlu. Toroğlu had said in a TV program that “you should not eat genetically modified vegetable, otherwise you become a homosexual.”

 

There are personalities and institutions such as Hülya Avşar, Okan Bayülgen, Mehmet Ali Erbil, Takvim newspaper, Turkish Armed Forces, Deniz Baykal, Erol Köse and Alişan among those who won the awards. The former Minister responsible for the affairs of women and families, Selma Aliye Kavaf who claimed that homosexuality is an illness was assigned the value of “lifelong tomato”.

 

Bawer Çakır from the team of the competition said in an interview given to Akşam newspaper that Melih Gökçek (Mayor of Ankara) is among the prominent candidates in this year". Gökçek answered the question of Okan Bayülgen, “When will we have a gay mayor?” as “Hopefully, never.” The other nominee is the speaker Ikbal Gürpınar who is known as ‘Allahu Ekber wuhu’ by public and who said that homosexuality is an illness. The most frequently mentioned personality is the minister Idris Naim Şahin who said “I am so sorry mentioning it but homosexuality...” One of the names proposed is Istanbul commissioner of police Hüseyin Çapkın who is the inventor of bonus practice by punishing trans individuals with fines under the names such as “pavement invasion.”

 

Those who want to participate in the survey may send an e-mail to hormonludomates@gmail.com or may write the nominee he or she “supports” with #hormonludomates hashtag in Twitter.