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Pride Month 2019: Seven Ways in Which India Is Celebrating

Instagram posts, celebratory parades and inclusion on dating apps are just some of the ways in which we are celebrating the LGBTQ+ community????

25 June, 2019
Pride Month 2019: Seven Ways in Which India Is Celebrating

June is International Gay Pride Month and India is celebrating for the very first time! September 6, 2018 is marked as an iconic day in Indian history as the Supreme Court abolished Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalising the LGBTQ+ community in our country. This court ruling was crucial, not just for the fundamental rights of individuals but also to move towards a more inclusive, harmonious society.

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This year shows a higher participation in the celebration of gay pride. From parades to social media posts, people across all platforms are extending support and encouragement towards the community. With Love is Love as the core message of the Gay Pride movement, here are seven ways in which the people of our nation as well as Indians abroad are celebrating Gay Pride Month 2019.

1. Social Media posts

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

#Repost @usconsulategeneralmumbai • • • • • • “It’s 2019! Obsolete ideas of morality, misinformation about LGBTQIA+ must go. By repealing section #377, India has joined the ranks of other progressive nations in the world. For the common man, there’s now a growing understanding that being LGBTQIA+ is normal. But repealing the law on paper and having greater acceptability as an LGBTQIA+ in society are very different things. We need to work tirelessly to remove ignorance, misinformation and stigma attached to the community and its choices. Life must be made easier. An open and welcoming approach to the LGBTQIA+ must percolate down to the tier two cities and villages in India, and not stay restricted to the cosmopolitans. As a society, we must become more inclusive and aware about all genders and their needs. The role of LGBTQIA allies is crucial in this regard, as we can help bring issues of stereotyping and harassment to the notice of people and popular media. We should team up with artists who fight for freedom of expression, against censorship, and also join hands with those fighting for marginalized groups.” -- Richa Chadha, Actress and LGBTQIA+ ally. #LGBTQIChampion #PrideMonth #pride @therichachadha

A post shared by Richa Chadha (@therichachadha) on

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

We're celebrating Pride Month by sharing stories of the numerous path breakers who have paved the way for the realization of rights and the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. Manvendra Singh Gohil, the ‘prince’ of Rajpipla in Gujarat is an immense source of inspiration and a leading activist of the LGBTQ+ movement. Due to the nature of his family, he was never able to come out to his family and was married to the princess of the Jhabua state. The marriage was never consummated and within a year, his wife filed for divorce, now aware of his sexuality. For years, he faced pressure from his family to re-marry, which led to his mental breakdown. His psychiatrist finally told his family about his sexuality, and the reactions were less than encouraging, the public of Rajpipla burned his effigies, and his family disowned him publicly. Not one to bow down to pressure, Prince Manvendra immersed himself in advocacy work, and found a close confidant in leading gay activist, Ashok Row Kavi. Gohil went on to establish the Lakshya Trust that works for the sexual health of LGBTQ+ minorities, and recently he has thrown open the doors of his palace to accommodate vulnerable and marginalized people. We truly salute the grit and courage of Manvendra Singh Gohil, and all the others who in their own way are paving the path to a more inclusive and tolerant society. PC: Frontiersmedia . . . . . . . #lgbtq #queer ##gaypride #loveislove #gay #pride2019 #lgbt #lgbtqcommunity? #equality #lovewins #gayprideindia #gaypride #junepride #manvendrasinghgohil #junepridemonth2019 #gay #queer #lgbtqindia #worldpride2019 #pridemonth #celebratinginclusivity

A post shared by Jaypore (@jaypore) on

Actor Richa Chadha, clothing brand Jaypore and many others put up posts on social media to celebrate Pride Month. A tweet by by brain scientist Jiwandeep Kohli (a San Diego native) has gone viral, attracting the attention of former US President Barack Obama. The tweet features a reposted image of Kohli wearing a rainbow coloured turban and proudly portraying his bisexuality. Obama shared it thanking Kohli and complimenting the turban.

 

2. Celebratory parades

Dressed in colourful garb with rainbow coloured flags waving in the air, the streets of various cities in India were sprinkled with people as they celebrated the message of inclusivity and LGBTQ+ pride.

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Pune celebrated its ninth pride parade on June 2, 2019, as nearly 600 people marched across town with signs, rejoicing the festivities.

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Chennai has planned an entire month of celebrations, organised by Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition which will include cultural performances, workshops on mental health, sexuality and gender-identity sessions, plays, film exhibitions and many other activities.

 

3. The Pride Wikipedia Editathon

Feminism in India, Gaylaxy magazine and India HIV/ AIDS alliance made a collaborative effort to eradicate ignorance with the fourth edition of Pride Wikipedia Editathon. Recognising the popularity of Wikipedia, the event strives to improve the quality of content on the pages of pride and queer activists. The editathon works towards adding and editing pages and citations in order to produce better data on the website. The event was held in Delhi on June 15th.

4. US Embassies in India went rainbow-hued.

Prior to the Trump administration, all US embassies around the world were granted permission to hoist rainbow coloured flags to honour Pride month celebrated every June. However, this year the embassies have been denied the right to do so by the state departments. Unhappy about this, the US embassies in Chennai and Delhi have ‘trumped’ (hehe) the disapproval and found their own  innovative ways to bring colour to their buildings.

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The entrance of the US embassy at the Delhi is lit up with rainbow coloured lighting to celebrate Pride, while the Chennai counterpart has defied the denial completely with a massive rainbow coloured flag hoisted above the country emblem.

5.  Dating apps Tinder, Bumble, and OkCupid are swiping right on inclusion

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 Tinder recently rolled out an update which will go live in India, US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand throughout the Pride Month – introducing sexual orientations into its signature matching experience.

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The idea is to help users share more information about their sexual orientation with options like straight, gay, queer, asexual, bisexual, and demisexual. Taru Kapoor, Gm India –Tinder and Match Group elaborates:
“Tinder has been facilitating connections for the LGBTQIA+ community since inception. With this feature, we’re working towards making orientation expression easier and improving the community’s experience.”

 

Meanwhile, OkCupid, which claims to have more than a million strong user-base in India, collated data through questions on its app that new and existing users answer to match with better potential partners, and came up with the following results:

“Sixty-eight percent of men and 90 percent of women say that they care a lot about LGBTQIA+ issues. Women express greater empathy towards the community than men,” the company shared.

 

 

6. Instagram, Snapchat and Bitmoji are celebrating as well

 

Insta has gone rainbow-hued on gay pride related hashtags such as #lgbt #bisexual, #gay #loveislove #pride and amongst others.

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 Don’t miss these super-cute stickers by Snapchat and emojis by Bitmoji.

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7. Manish Arora is doing a Love is Love resort wear collection

 

 Designer Manish Arora’s  Instagram posts have been celebrating Gay Pride all month. He gives us a sneak-peak into his 2020 resort collection, Love is Love.  It looks vibrant, rainbow-hued and dramatic and is the perfect ode to his pride in his gender identity 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

#resort2020 #manisharorafashion #details #manisharora #pinkandgoldismyreligion

A post shared by manish arora (@manisharorafashion) on

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

#pride #loveislove #resort2020 #sneakpeek #manisharorafashion #manisharora

A post shared by manish arora (@manisharorafashion) on

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

#loveislove #pride #resort2020 #manisharorafashion #manisharora

A post shared by manish arora (@manisharorafashion) on

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