reader Posted June 14, 2023 Posted June 14, 2023 From Thai Enquirer By Lynn Sasinpong You would be forgiven for thinking that pride month is all about LGBTQI+ being loud. Or even, that “gay love being thrown at our faces.” It is not a strange conclusion to arrive at, with the extravagant pride parade this month, with companies–even Thai Enquirer–adding rainbows to its logos, and with all the marketing gimmicks and rainbow decorations all over the streets, it is not a strange conclusion to arrive at. In Thailand, it is loud. Thailand has always been a hotspot for LGBTQI+ tourism: transgender entertainment, such as beauty pageants and cabaret, is very popular. Sex reassignment in Thailand is popular. Even Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt has pledged for the international World Pride event to be held in Bangkok by 2028. These acts are great for fostering visibility, acceptance, and support for the LGBTQI+ community. But overblown or not, they are besides the point. Because pride is not always about being loud, donning rainbow paint, and marching on the streets. Pride month is about love. And sometimes, love is quiet. It is about allowing two men or two women to walk on the streets holding hands. Or it is about allowing a transgender woman to finally undergo safe surgery to finally become who she is. In Thailand, it is about allowing a homosexual couple to enjoy the same perfect union as heterosexual couples have always been able to do. In other countries, it is about two people to share private, intimate moments without the threat of death or imprisonment. Pride, really, lies in those simple and quiet moments of love–love for another, and love for each other regardless of who they are. Pride month is about equality. Pride month is being proud of a society that allows all its people, regardless of gender, to live and love equally. A society that prides itself on respect of the rights of individuals, including especially those who belong in the LGBTQI+ community. And finally, pride month is the struggle for identity. In America, it started out as a protest–a riot. In an early morning of the summer of 1969, the people in Greenwich Village fought back against the police while the latter tried to raid the Stonewall Inn gay bar. Since then, the protests grew and grew. And today, it celebrates the history of how far the journey towards LGBTQI+ acceptance has come, and commemorates the struggles along the way. Continues at https://www.thaienquirer.com/49965/pride-month-is-not-just-celebration-but-protest-as-well/ alvnv and ichigo 2 Quote
