Around the World in LGBTQ+ Days by Travis Cunningham

The United States has been making huge strides in the fight for equity of the LGBTQ+ population and I'm very appreciative of this. The fight for marriage equality is well under way with more and more states overturning their marriage bans so I can't help but think about where we should turn to next. Thinking about what our future struggles as a community will be got me thinking about the progress that is being made in other parts of the world. So I've been looking at what current events are happening in other countries and have found some interesting things that I'd like to share with y'all.

 

First up is the Islamic world. Typically when we think of the Islamic world, we first think about the Middle East and their social policies towards women and all the wars that have gone on and are continuing there. Honestly, I wouldn’t put LGBTQ+ issues in the area at the forefront of their priorities. Surprisingly, there is quite a bit of advancement in the advocacy for equality and justice for the community over there. Check out this article which talks about a couple of cases for trans people in the Middle East and the Islamic world. (http://islamandhomosexuality.com/5-trans-activists-islamic-world/)

 

Next on the stop is China. China has been making quite a bit of a stir in international politics so it’s quite interesting to see things that are progressive for the community over there. Over in the Asian world, they have an app similar to Grindr called Blued. Blued is a dating app for the gay and lesbian communities to find their ideal partners. As part of their development, they agreed to increase awareness about HIV and create an extensive HIV prevention campaign in exchange for funding. Over 15 million people have joined it. (http://www.west-info.eu/in-china-homophobia-is-a-paper-tiger/)

 

Over in the UK, the city of Brighton recently received a new license allowing them to host their annual Pride event until the year 2020. I personally view that as an awesome occurrence because now they have guaranteed approval from their city council for the next 6 years for their Pride Celebration. (http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/11/14/brighton-pride-safe-until-2020-under-new-license/)

 

In Botswana, a country in South Africa, a court case has been ruled in favor of an LGBTQ+ group. They were blocked from registering as an organization by the Department of Labour and Home Affairs. However, a judge ruled this illegal, stating that since there were no laws strictly prohibiting the formation of such a group, that the formation should continue as normal. This is an amazing thing to see since within the country there are laws in place that significantly punish gay sex. Many are overjoyed seeing this act as a significant step towards legitimizing the LGBTQ+ movement and decriminalizing homosexuality in all of Africa. (http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/11/14/botswana-gay-rights-group-wins-right-to-exist-after-court-battle/)

 

A high school in Japan not too long ago held a ‘Sex Change Day’ aimed at allowing boys and girls to explore a day the others uniforms. Japan is a country whose school system relies on heavily entrenched gender role. This event was seen as a way to promote a message of tolerance and acceptance, and to challenge traditional notions of gender. I feel it’s nice to know that as part of the event they were taught about the perception of gender and how changing their established roles can influence themselves and others. (http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/11/14/japan-school-holds-sex-change-day-for-students/)

 

I believe it to be important to know what is going on in countries around the world in regards to their social and political policies and am hopeful that everyone is taking steps towards ending intolerance towards the LGBTQ+ community and promoting acceptance and understanding.