While we’re making slow but steady progress on several queer rights fronts it’s important not to forget that there’s a lot of catching up to do in some places.
Achievements like marriage equality, anti-bullying laws and out celebrities have helped to normalise the view on the queer aspects of sexuality & gender in many countries. In these places kids grow up learning that the love between two people of the same gender is every bit as real as any other kind. You won’t raise any eyebrows if you’re out on the streets, holding hands with your boyfriend in a town in Norway, Scotland or the Netherlands.
The same can’t be said about countries like Russia, which actually have and enforce anti-gay “propaganda” laws, as the little experiment by Russian YouTuber ChebuRussiaTV below will make obvious.
The start of the video is very loud // Don’t forget to enable subtitles
Keep in mind that this was done in Moscow, the most modern and progressive place you’ll find in Russia. I’d rather not imagine what would happened in a smaller town. And that does not only apply to Russia.
While it’s tempting to approach the issue from the high horse of “modern Western values” one should not forget that this horse is a pretty hypocritical nag. People get beat up in places like Germany for being gay, people get murdered for being transgender in America and kids get bullied into suicide all over the world.
There’s a lot to do.
