Monthly DEIJ Celebrations: October – Pride

This is the next installment in the 10-part series of monthly DEIJ celebrations at TAS.

 

Pride month began in the United States in 1969, following the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, "a tipping point in the Gay Liberation Movement.” While the United States celebrates Pride in June, Taiwan celebrates Pride in October. 

Throughout the month there are different art exhibitions, markets, and fundraisers to celebrate the culture and history of the LGBTQIA+ community.  The Taipei Rainbow Festival organized by TAIWANIZE puts together a Rainbow Market during the weekend of October 27, where domestic and international LGBT+-friendly brands and organizations will set up booths where people can learn about and purchase products.  To culminate the month of celebration, on October 28, 2023, Taiwan Rainbow Civil Action Association (TWRCAA) will be hosting the 2023 LGBT Pride parade, which has themed the parade “Stand with Diversity”.  This year is the 21st year of the Taiwan LGBT+ Pride parade.   

Although same-sex marriage was legalized in Taiwan in 2019, however, the legalization of marriage still does not give LGBTQIA+ couples the full rights of heterosexual married couples like family planning services like adoption, infertility treatments, and cross-national marriages.  Legalization also does not necessarily change the perspectives of individuals, and many places around the world are still working towards honoring and accepting the queer community as they would any other community. 

Pride is celebrated across the United States and is dedicated to celebrating the freedom and rights of those who self-identify within the LGBTQIA+ community. Pride month, held in June in the United States, generally includes national and city-wide activities and community discussions around LGBTQIA+ history, advocacy, identity, and rights.  Some of these activities culminate in parades or celebrations of those who identify with the LGBTQIA+ community.   

In celebrating the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, we also need to remember those who have dedicated their lives to fighting specifically for the LGBTQIA+ community to change our society and laws.  In the United States, these people include Bayard Rustin, Marsha P. Johnson, Silvia Rivera, Harvey Milk, Edith Windsor, Laverne Cox, and many, many more.  In Taiwan, Chi Chia-Wei 祁家威 was the pioneer in fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights.  In 2015, the Supreme court ruled same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.  

There are many ways that people can show support for the LGBTQIA+ and Queer communities.  Raising or displaying the Pride flag shows signifies that we are a safe space.  The Pride flag that hangs from the central office window represents the Intersex-Inclusive Pride Progress Flag.  It is referred to as the Intersex-Inclusive Pride Progress Flag because the purple circle was added to represent the intersex community, the black and brown colors were added to represent Queer People of Color, and the pink, white, and blue were added to represent the transgender pride flag.  The rest of the flag is an adapted version of the rainbow pride flag that was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978.  

The original pride flag created by Baker had eight colors, hot pink, which represented sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow signifying sunlight, green for nature, turquoise to represent art, indigo for harmony, and finally violet at the bottom for spirit.  The hot pink and turquoise were taken out in later years because those colors were hard to find.  Here is an article by the Human Rights Campaign about the different LGBTQIA+ flags.   

A friend and former colleague, Lakaya Renfrow, shares, “To celebrate PRIDE means being Powerfully Resilient, Individually unique, Daring dreamers who Endure in the face of ignorance, bigotry, and violence.”  Let us celebrate Pride every day of the year living as PRIDE people to build a society and communities where every person can be loved for the unique person they want to be.  

Below are some resources to learn more about the LGBTQIA+ community: 

• Taiwan LGBT+ Pride 2022 Highlights 

• Taiwan Celebrates Region’s Biggest Pride March  

• HRC Re: Coming Out 

• Stonewall National Monument: Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera 

• Gender Spectrum is an organization committed to the heath and well-being of gender-diverse children and teens.   

• GLSEN is a grassroots organization working to ensure safe schools for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. 

• 50+ YA Books by Queer PoC