EPTMy name is Kyle, mostly a lurker on TL. I'm 23 years old and I live in Cape Town, South Africa.
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As a gay male, one of the threads that caught my attention is Mora's Gay Starcraft Players thread, found here. I'm sure most know it, but for those who don't, if you'd like a bit of insight into homosexuality and the like, I'd recommend you check it out.
This post was originally intended for the gay thread but after a bit of thought I decided I'd blog it as to not limit who may see it.
As the topic name indicates, I'd like to discuss gay pride and what it means to us.
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Gay Pride: Why?
To start off, I'll tell you what I used to think about pride. After I came out of the closet and was still not entirely comfortably with myself, I used to say things like "Gay pride is nonsense. Straight people don't have to dip themselves in pink feathers and parade around half naked". Right? It just seems silly. Maybe an excuse to have a big party? Another way to be overtly homosexual in everyones faces.
I had this outlook until a couple of years ago when I watched a movie. It is called "Beyond Gay - The Politics of Pride". (Link). This movie shocked me to my core.
Here I live in Cape Town, the gayest city in Africa, with so many rights as a gay man - I can even get married to another man if I want. After watching this movie, I felt like a spoiled child. It educated me as to just how many countries are in the world where, not only there were no rights, but where being gay is punishable by law and even by death. Of course, I knew such places existed but I had no idea that it was as wide spread nor in so many "advanced" countries. How could these countries not have such "basic" legislation, I thought to myself.
Keeping this in mind, we can go about looking at the several interconnected reasons pride is celebrated.
Firstly and most obviously, it's a celebration of our rights. At a glance, this does certainly seem silly. But think again.
I'm gay. Gays before me had to fight for my right to get married. No, wait... they had to fight for me to not be prosecuted or tortured or even executed. I am allowed to be gay in public. I can hold my boyfriends hand without being arrested. Without debating the nature/nurture (are we born gay or do be become gay and extendedly can it be "cured") thing too much, I can be the person I am and how I was born.
One of the smaller side reasons is to raise local awareness. I mention above, holding my boyfriends hand in public. Though I am completely safe in terms of law to do this, I don't. This is wrong. Even though we have our rights, the discriminatory mindset still lingers and this needs to disintegrate. It will of course eventually disappear - gay legislation is fairly new it it will take years for everyone to just settle down and get used to it.
So the basis of the second reason is to say: We are gay, we are legally allowed to be gay and we're not going away, so just get used to it.
The second main reason is to raise international awareness. This is pretty self explanatory. To show the advancement of our legislation to other countries in a hope that they will do the same.
The third and most important reason is to give hope to all those around the world who are fighting a system that does not recognise them. A system that tells them that they are bad, that prosecutes and intimidates. This hope is on many levels, from someone who is afraid to come out of the closet because of the discriminatory mindset (even if there are no laws against it) all the way to the heroes in your country fighting for your rights. It's a message to everyone and it says: Don't give up, keep fighting because your rights will come and you'll be free to be who you are, just like us.
So Team Liquid, if you are someone who has to suppress who you are be it mindset or law, if you're in high school or collage, young or old, in the closet or out, I represented you at Cape Town Pride 2011 as did thousands of others.
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There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Keep fighting!
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I'm firmly in the closet (except online) so I couldn't ever be in a pride parade, but I'd like to be in one eventually :D![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/mirror/layout/tlheader_2010.jpg)
