Every June, the LGBTQIA+ community around the world celebrates Pride Month. Millions of people gather in prominent cities to celebrate their liberation and diverse sexual identities, fostering a sense of community while raising awareness of the unique challenges faced by those in the community. Pride promotes self-affirmation, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other groups, in opposition to the shame and social stigma these communities have faced and continue to face.
Pride celebrations first began in the early 1970s and were a far cry from the millions of people who attend Pride marches today. In 2024, 91 countries will take part in the Global Pride Movement with over 500 organisations. Over the decades, Pride has evolved in a way that goes beyond the number of participants, impacting not only the LGBTQIA+ community but the wider civic community to which they belong.
A History of Homosexuality
As long as history has been recorded, there have been signs of homosexuality. In the ancient sands of Egypt lies the tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep complete with engravings of the two men embracing each other in ways that were usually seen within portraits of heterosexual couples in Egyptian tombs1. In ancient Greece, homosexuality was not seen as taboo but accepted and institutionalised within specific contexts of ancient Greek society.
Today’s conservatives view the ideal representation of a man akin to the Greek hero Heracles (or Hercules) and consider him to be a paragon of strength, power and raw masculinity. However, they would indeed be shocked to realise that Heracles himself identified as bisexual. Throughout the course of this long and eventful life, and during his infamous twelve labours, he is said to have taken to many male lovers such as Iolaus, Abderus and Jason.2
Sappho of Lesbos, from whom the word ‘lesbian’ originated, also enraptured listeners with her homoerotic poetry encompassing intimate perspectives on love, passion and longing. Even Roman gladiators were free to enjoy sex with the same gender without any perceived loss of masculinity or social status as long as they took the dominant role3. Distinguished historical figures such as Alexander the Great of Macedonia and the Roman general Julius Caesar have well-documented records of homosexuality which depict indifference, reflecting societies that were rather comfortable with various expressions of sexuality and homoerotic relationships.
Source: The Tate // Sappho and her lover Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene by Simeon Solomon, 1864
The repression of homosexuality has been closely linked with the rise of Christianity, as can be seen from the introduction of the religion in Rome. Opposed to the sexually charged, polytheistic universe of Roman religion, Christian moral codes were generally associated with anti-homosexual sentiments and general intolerance of sexual expression. Their philosophy at the time was that sexual activities were only for procreation - making no space for homosexual relationships. Christianity’s growth in the Roman Empire certainly influenced the culture of sexual abstinence that developed both in the Empire and the world, if not directly causing it.4
In fact, even in pre-colonial India homosexuality and gender fluidity were not considered as taboo as is the case today. Hindu scriptures considered genders as fluid for yakshas and humans alike and also tell the story of Amba, a princess who was abducted by Bhishma but rejected by the warrior, who had taken a vow of celibacy. They were later born as Shikhandani, daughter of King Drupada, and through prayers, transformed into Shikhandi, a man, becoming the cause of Bhishma’s death on the battlefield.5 The Kamasutra, an ancient religious text on eroticism, even discusses oral acts, homosexuality and sexual activities among transgender people and acknowledges gay and lesbian marriage6. Other texts such as the Matsya Purana7 and the Rig Veda8 also contain mentions of homosexual relationships.
The founder of the Mughal Empire, Babur, mentioned having sexual attraction to a boy in Kabul in his infamous memoir titled Baburnama. Sufi poetry also exhibits homoerotic references, such as those of the Sufi Saint Bulleh Shah who spoke about the fluidity of sexuality and his love for his murshid, Shah Inayat. Another Sufi Saint by the name of Shah Hussain spoke about his love for Madho Lal, a Hindu boy. The two were eventually buried together, but several texts symbolise their divine love that lasted beyond their existence.9
However, in 1861 the British penalised consensual homosexual conduct by introducing Section 377 in the Indian Penal Code, causing the criminalisation of homosexuality largely based on European morality influenced by primarily Christian religious beliefs, rather than Indian ones. Indian society, one more liberal and tolerant of homosexuality, had suddenly been thrust upon the notion that homosexuality was pervasive and abominable, a notion that has lasted years after independence resulting in the homophobic attitudes and laws that have developed since.10
The Development of Pride - A Tale of Resistance and Resilience
And as long as there has been a repression of homosexuality, there has been resistance to such repression. In the world, the first gay rights group was founded in 1897 by Magnus Hirschfeld. Hirschfeld was a man who was quite forward-thinking for his time - unlike his colleagues in medicine who thought of homosexuality as a sign of mental illness, he believed that a person may be born into this category or binary categories and supported the idea of a third sex that existed naturally. 11
The city of New York is famously known to be a frontier of resistance, most notably for the Stonewall incident occurring circa 1969. However even before Stonewall, organisations like the Mattachine Society - considered to be one of the first gay activist groups in the United States - had already been advocating for equal civil rights for gay people nearly 20 years before.
The Daughters of Bilitis were the first major organisation for lesbians in the United States, who had been publishing their magazine ‘The Ladder’ since 1956 to raise awareness and advocate for their rights. Three years before Stonewall, Julius’ Bar, just around the corner from Stonewall, saw members from the Mattachine Society taking part in a sit-in to protest against state laws preventing businesses from serving homosexuals. 12
Source: Associated Press //Protest organised pre-Stonewall, carrying signs calling for protection of homosexuals from discrimination
However, the Stonewall incident marked a turning point for the resistance. When police raided the Stonewall Inn in the early morning of June 28, 1969, the patrons and onlookers at the inn did the unexpected - they fought back and the days-long rebellion that ensued helped lay the foundations for the modern LGBTQIA+ civil rights movement. The most immediate effect of this riot was the creation of the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance, both crucial in shaping the modern movement. But the Stonewall uprising also saw a much broader cultural shift, bringing queer people forward to demand visibility and representation in mainstream culture. This led to an increase in queer literature, art, music and film which helped create a sense of community and pride.13
Capitalising on the momentum gained by this incident, Michael Kotis, the president of the Mattachine Society, addressed thousands who gathered in Greenwich Village on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall incident stating that “the gay people have discovered potential strength and gained a new pride”. Michael Brown, who was the founder of the Gay Liberation Front urged the community to “come out in the open and stop being ashamed” adding that the march was “an affirmation and declaration of our new pride”. Thousands of people then marched 50 blocks of New York City, from Greenwich Village to Central Park chanting “say it loud, gay is proud”.
The phrase “gay pride” became common usage in journalism, with one of the firsts being in the Times when Paul L. Montgomery wrote about thousands of people marching “in a demonstration of gay pride and solidarity”. The term was brought to the international stage in 1999 when then-President Bill Clinton declared June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, now known simply as Pride Month. 14
Crime & Consolation
Almost 55 years since the incidents at Stonewall Inn, our society has come a long way in improving the treatment of the LGBTQIA+ community. The Pride movement has brought about a greater acceptance of those in the community. A 2014 study examining surveys conducted in 52 countries since 1981 showed that attitudes towards homosexuality have consistently and significantly improved in most countries15. When 70 LGBTI activists marched in the streets of Latvia for the first time in 2005, they were met with over 2000 counter-protestors and many of them were attacked. Ten years on, in 2015, there were only 40 counter-protestors and no serious incidents of reported violence16. Such changes have been made possible with the notion of Pride, even with the existence of homophobic and transphobic attitudes.
While there have been significant improvements, legalisation has not necessarily meant acceptance. Today only 19% of LGBT adults in the United States say that there is “a lot” of social acceptance today, while many state they have been victims of discrimination, such as being subject to slurs or jokes, or suffering rejection by a family member17. Same-sex relationships still remain illegal in 64 countries and are a warrant for the death penalty in 7 countries. Improvements that have been made have also primarily affected sexual minorities (lesbians, gay men, bisexuals) rather than gender minorities (transgender and genderqueer people) and this has been disproportionately concentrated in North America, Europe and South America.
At the time of writing, same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption have been legalised in 37 countries around the world (with Thailand and Liechtenstein set to be added to this tally by late 2024), however, the effect of this legalisation has not been equal across all members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Transgender and genderqueer people continue to face significant barriers in many institutions such as that of marriage due to restrictions that exist within laws in many countries. For example, in the UK, while the Gender Recognition Act (2004) allows transgender and genderqueer people to marry in their acquired gender18, there are significant monetary and legal restrictions involved in this process such that there have only been 4910 approved gender changes since the inauguration of this act up to 2018.19
Today, there are only 25 UN member states which allow transgender and genderqueer people to change their gender identity without prohibitive requirements - many others require long and tiresome administrative processes for both marriage and gender change, with individuals having to undergo psychiatric diagnosis, hormone treatment, gender-affirming surgeries and even forced sterilisation.20
In many countries, there is a significant lack of legal protection for gender minorities against sexual violence as compared to sexual minorities. Even in seemingly progressive countries like the United States, anti-violence services have a gendered nature rendering legal services unattainable to gender minorities and dismissing their experiences.21 In India too, rape laws are not gender-neutral since Section 376 of the IPC only deals with rape against women. The non-inclusion of Section 377 in the soon-to-be-implemented Bharaitya Nyaya Sanhita means that only cases of grievous assault against transgender persons and men can be brought to the court, which have less severe legal repercussions than rape and hence result in gender minorities (and certain sexual minorities) being further susceptible to sexual violence.22
The Pride movement since its inauguration has helped bring visibility to such issues internationally, reflecting on how those in the community are being treated all around the world. Pride events are about human rights and empower individuals in the community to reclaim the rights and freedoms they have been denied. Visibility is crucial, especially when States and opposition groups go to considerable lengths to put LGBTQIA+ people at the margins of society.
In India, the Pride movement has been an instrument of political protest against Victorian-era laws present to curb freedoms. In Bangalore, for example, the kothis and hijras in 2003 used Pride to rally themselves against discrimination by both the State and society. As a result of intervention by a number of pre-existing queer rights groups, the community underwent the process of collectivisation, both internally as well as by networking with other Pride movements. This inspired confidence in the kothis, hijras and transgender sex workers in Bangalore who then started resisting police violence.
They built a strong sense of community by creating confidence that situations of violence and harassment would be responded to effectively through legal intervention. To complement legal intervention, a vigorous campaign was launched at many levels, including press conferences, other protest allies, representations to police officials, the Chief Minister and the National Human Rights Commission, and email campaigns. This campaign was supported by the media, especially the Kannada press in a positive and supportive manner.23
Source: The Hindu //Members of the hijra community taking out a procession from Chikkalalbagh to CM’s residence in Bangalore to Repeal Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in 2003
The kothis and hijras were among many groups all over India who had mobilised themselves through Pride to gain politicisation to claim emerging spaces in Indian society. Politicisation gave them visibility, a step towards acceptance and was particularly helpful in overturning the infamous Section 377. India’s LGBTQIA+ community repeatedly rallied together to mount legal challenges such as the Naz Foundation vs Govt. of NCT Delhi in 2009, in which the Delhi High Court held that gay sex between consenting adults was a gross violation of the fundamental right to privacy enshrined in the Indian constitution. However, the rallying of the community paid dividends in 2013, when the Supreme Court overturned the Delhi High Court’s ruling in Suresh Koushal vs Naz Foundation.
In 2017, the Supreme Court, in a seminal judgement, ruled that privacy was a fundamental right for individuals under Articles 14,19 and 21 of the Constitution. This helped set a judicial precedent that helped the community in its further legal battles. On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court eventually ruled that Section 377 was unconstitutional “in so far criminalises consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex” and thus declared “consensual same sex acts between homosexuals, heterosexuals, lesbians and other sexual minorities” to be legal, a landmark judgement and a testament to those who had been involved in India’s Pride movement for decades. 24
Fostering A Community
It perhaps should be a known and obvious fact that people of the LGBTQIA+ community face more challenges to their mental health than heterosexual individuals of the same age. This is perhaps due to the significant amount of hate crimes that still exist against this community, even in more liberal countries. An assessment by an advocacy group ILGA-Europe found that violence against LGBTQ+ people has been on the rise in the countries of Europe - 55% of people experienced harassment in their daily lives in 2023, a 37% jump from 2019.25 Findings by the UK government show that 90% of harassment goes unreported with individuals stating ‘it happens all the time’, a disturbing silence that could possibly lead to tragic consequences.
Due to this, it is no surprise that people belonging to the community are less happy with their lives than the general population, with transgender respondents ranking their happiness especially low. LGBTQIA+ individuals are more than twice as likely as heterosexual individuals to experience a mental health disorder, and 2.5 times as likely to experience depression, substance misuse and anxiety. 26 They also experience higher rates of suicide attempts and ideation. A 2023 survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly 70% of individuals belonging to the community needed a mental health service over the past two years compared to 40% of non-community individuals.
Pride can help with this by fostering a sense of community for individuals to help understand and cope with the unique struggles faced by those within the community. Pride especially gives young individuals navigating the complexities of being openly who they are a chance to attend events and meet others like them. This promotes opportunities for support and creates an environment where people can feel acceptance of themselves. While it can be difficult for individuals to deal with feelings of depression and suicide on their own, some of the challenges faced can be made easier to cope with as a community.
In a qualitative study that explored the well-being of LGBTQIA+ youth, three of the major factors that positively influenced the teens' lives were having a strong sense of identity, having peer networks and involving themselves with movements of the community - traits all found within the support of the Pride movement.27 For those who live outside major metropolitan areas or have limited ability to travel, connecting with the larger community may be difficult. Hence, Pride month and the events associated with it are great steps to fostering that connection. It helps in introducing individuals to the range of organisations and services that exist to support the queer community and meet peers that could help them on their personal journeys.
Many LGBTQIA+ individuals also suffer from loneliness because of their histories of family rejection. Having strong social and support networks like those fostered by Pride can mitigate feelings of loneliness and depression which lead to poor mental health outcomes as Pride events create opportunities to connect with others who share similar experiences and identities.
Source: Getty Images //Pride creating a sense of community
Is Pride Still Necessary?
With the onset of Pride month everywhere comes the seemingly ceaseless influx of individuals questioning if Pride itself is necessary. The answer can be nothing but an unequivocal yes. As long as discrimination and prejudice exist towards any member of the community, as long as there are countries that criminalise same-sex relationships and marriage and as long as being a member of this community warrants violence, the argument can be made that pride is and absolutely will be necessary. Pride is necessary for those who cannot get access to gender identity clinics, for those who are bullied every day for being a member of this community, for those who cannot advance in their careers due to discrimination based on their sexual preferences and gender identity, for those who get kicked out of their houses for committing no crime except being their authentic selves and for those who have to suffer alone due to lack of services to help them navigate being a member of the community.
But perhaps, eventually years later, we may reach an idyllic society where such discrimination, prejudice and violence don’t exist - a society where all are accepted regardless of differences. However unlikely, the question arises - in this scenario do we still need Pride? Even in such a utopia, Pride still remains necessary, as achieving this utopia is the result of the struggle of millions of individuals who every single day went out there and fought for the rights of those in their community. It remains necessary to remember their struggles and achievements and imbibe a sense of pride in those in the community, helping the new members understand and remember the exemplary role models that brought them to this point. And perhaps, should a situation again arise where they need to fight they can use the lessons and stories of their predecessors as a source of motivation and confidence.
Conclusion
“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free”, a quote by famed civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer is possibly the best in summarising the plight of the modern Pride movement. While the movement has been heavily whitewashed and far removed from the Black transgender and queer leaders at Stonewall, campaigns for racial injustice and transgender rights have become more prominent in recent years. Intersectional injustices have now come to the forefront, and several aspects of the modern Pride movement have come under intense scrutiny. Activists in New York and San Francisco have started their own separate parades to protest police and corporate involvement given the disproportionate policing of black and queer communities. This awareness of the lack of diversity has urged events to create a more safe space for the more marginalised among the LGBTQIA+ community. UK Black Pride was started in 2005 as an opposition to Pride in London, which has been criticised for its lack of diversity. 28
The Pride movement is closely integrated with other civil rights movements all around the world. Starting as a resistance to police harassment, Pride once again helped those on the streets during the Black Lives Matter protests fight for their liberation. Both movements are heavily integrated and seem to draw strength from each other. Both the Pride and the Black Lives Matter movements were spearheaded by black people of colour to fight cultural and institutional intolerance and discrimination. Even before 2020, Global Pride provided a platform to raise the voices of people of colour from the community, to fight against the systematic patterns of violence and abuse they have been facing.
Perhaps it is a good reflection on our society that the Pride movement has been going so strong. A movement that was born out of a decades-long fight for liberty and justice now inspires and integrates other movements within it. People march onto the streets, demanding more visibility for the issues they face, demanding legislation and fighting for their civil rights and liberties. Communities all around the world take inspiration from the resilience and grit of individuals who have made Pride what it is today. Pride might’ve started out for the LGBTQIA+ community, but its influence has been far-reaching, inspiring others and improving the lives of all who live in this world through its incessant fight and determination to provide everyone access to fundamental rights and equality.
Article by: Shriya Asija
PES MUN Society
RR Campus
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