by Avie Shuai As a traditional eastern society, we emphasize solidarity, group spirit and family. The Civil Code in Taiwan claims that marriages are valid only when they are composed of two people of different gender. The Taiwanese community is ignorant and sometimes vicious toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people (LGBT). This is why the Taiwan LGBT Pride Community was set up. The Community provides a shelter from criticism and conducts activities to protest for LGBT rights. One of these activities, the Taiwan LGBT Parade, began in 2003 and has been held yearly. It aims to encourage the public to acknowledge LGBT rights and beliefs and to clarify misunderstandings and embrace the LGBT community. The parade allows LGBT people to show themselves and provides an opportunity for them to communicate with each other. “See the HOMOs 2.0” is the subject for this year. It is using the same subject as the 2003 event and tries to point out that after ten years of struggle, the poor conditions of LGBT have not changed.
Michael Luo, one of the group leaders of the parade this year, has joined the event several times since junior high school. He points out that the parade has changed its focus from protesting about rights to letting LGBT bravely show themselves in front of the public and be proud of their sexual orientation. This explains the carnival atmosphere of many groups participating in the parade. As a gay man formerly bullied by his classmates, Michael is willing to show his face to the press after coming out to his family. He is touched when more and more people advocate LGBT rights. “We still need more care and respect! God loves everybody and everyone should be fairly treated.” Allen Su is also one of the participants. One interesting thing about him is that he is wearing a mask throughout the parade. “I don’t want my parents to see me, they are still not ready for it,” he said. Allen was born in a conservative environment and he feels depressed that his parents object to homosexuality. Also, due to bad experiences in the past, he never lets his classmates know about his sexual orientation. However, he has joined GayChat club in college and will join the parade with his friends in the club. Showing up and meeting other people who possess the same identity is very meaningful to him. “This the moment when I can feel blessed and loved,” he said emotionally. To understand those who will attend the parade more completely, I also interviewed Karen Tu, a straight woman, and Jacqueline Chang, a bisexual. The former is an office worker who has many lesbian and bisexual friends. “I know how they feel and their desire of being fairly treated. So I come to the parade to support them.” She also told me that she enjoys the atmosphere of people dressed up and marching in the streets proudly. Jacqueline, a dancer, said she lives from the heart and loves to feel the connections between people. She has joined the parade many times and observed people from all parties. But she is disappointed that the parade has gradually gone off-topic and has become less attractive. “The parade has lost its essence of loving and caring for all human beings. Some people just want to show themselves naked in order to gain public attention and to benefit from it afterwards,” she said angrily. Freedom of marriage and acceptance by society are still unreachable dreams for many people in Taiwan. They really need our support. There are many different reasons for joining the parade, however, and the LGBT Pride Community should to come up with more effective measures to appeal to everyone and to enhance group cohesiveness. Meanwhile, we should try to focus on the message they are trying to convey, not just the fancy costumes! a
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
|