why PRIDE? Celebration vs. Protest Generally speaking, pride parades have various meanings for people in different cities and countries. They often serve as global examples promoting the human rights initiative, but Pride as a concept also has an individual value, so its existence has numerous reasons. Many see it as a celebration of diversity and self-acceptance, but originally it started as a protest in the fight for equality of the LGBTQIA+ community. When organizing our first parade, an important question was raised: which of these is the “right” way? Do we want to protest and take a political stand? Or do we want to promote and celebrate the ideas of acceptance and inclusion in the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond? The answer is that we shouldn’t exclude either of the two aspects, which can’t be fully separated in the first place. In other words, the concepts of celebration, protest, as well as promoting greater visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community and raising awareness about its problems will always intertwine.
The question of how these aspects interact in specific cases depends mostly on the environment where the pride parade is being organized. Countries and cities around the world have different laws and mindsets regarding LGBTQIA+ issues. Because circumstances differ from place to place, there can be no single right answer. Organizers need to understand the local communities and their needs, including nonLGBQTIA+ individuals, as well as other unique factors. Any pride parade can be, will be and, to a degree, has to be provocative because of its role of creating change in an unequal society. It’s still important to find a balance between raising awareness and claiming our rights and not pushing boundaries in disrespectful ways. What could some of those boundaries be? When we talk about LGBTQIA+ topics, we often center them around sex and sexuality. How could we not? Those aspects are hard to ignore when discussing different sexual and romantic orientations and gender identities.
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