CARNAL NATION

As the days grow shorter and the nights longer, we also begin to see those other harbingers of 2009 coming to its inevitable conclusion: holiday decorations and, of course, the new crop of calendars for 2010. Amid the usual profusion of Georgia O'Keefe flowers and Impressionist paintings adorning each month, you can usually find some calendars that are a bit more provocative. There are, of course, the ones that have become—for lack of a better term—cultural phenomena like the annual nude French rugby player extravaganza known as the Dieux du Stade, but you can also expect some that appeal to more specific tastes or niches, like, say, sexy knitters or Mormon beefcakes. Perhaps not appropriate for most work places, calendars such as these rarely create controversy; however, the 2010 calendar put out by the Collective of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals of Madrid (COGAM) has outraged Spanish Catholics, some of whom are calling for criminal prosecution. [Photos after the jump]

Tensions between LGBT communities and the Catholic Church are not exactly groundbreaking news, but in Spain there is particular animosity. Spanish gays enjoy many rights, including marriage and adoption, which does not sit well with many devout Spanish Catholics. There is also some history of baiting between the two communities, such as the controversy over posters reading "Beware of the German Shepherd" with a picture of Pope Benedict XVI that were displayed during the 2007 Pride celebration in Madrid. Adding fuel to that fire, COGAM's new "secular" calendar features photographs of transgender Virgins, gay apostles, bare breasts, mixed race Holy Families, and lots of condoms.

The calendar promotes safer sex and seeks to do so in a provocative way. Calendar photographer Juan Antinoo says, "The idea of transgressive art is to break patterns, including those received by our generation from a Catholic education." He adds, "The only message that concerns me is the importance of condom use." That is definitely not the message that concerns the outraged Catholics; rather, they object to what they deem to be blasphemous imagery that was created, in part, with government funds. Indeed, even a gay Catholic group has condemned the calendar, labeling it "an offensive and frivolous use of symbols with the sole aim to shock and sell." Some Catholics are even asking the government to step in and prosecute because Antinoo's transgressive imagery may constitute an offense under Article 525.1 of the Spanish Penal Code, which makes it a crime punishable by up to 12 months (a full calendar year) in prison to offend publicly the convictions or feelings of any religious denomination. COGAM insists that the calendar is completely secular and merely uses images that are part of the popular culture of very Catholic Spain.

Is the calendar transgressive or merely profane? Judge for yourself...

[via Têtu]