This
summer I had the chance to complete one of the tasks on my Bucket List. I
attended The Toronto Pride Parade with a few of my closest friends. Initially,
I wanted to attend the parade because I was curious to see what it was about- especially
because Toronto celebrates Pride Week in such a fantastic way. Although this is
something that I have always wanted to do, I am glad I waited until the near
end of my university career because I was able to witness the parade from the stance
of an International Development student and an advocate for pluralism.
Watching
the parade was like no other. Besides all the glitzy costumes (or lack of
costumes) and loud music, was a collective expression for love that goes beyond
gender, race, and sexuality. It was amazing to see people representing
different countries, religions, places of work, ethnicities, and sexual orientations
as advocates for the right to love whoever they choose too.
Marriage
and love equality tie into a lot of development issues that are faced in the
Global North. There is a lack of awareness regarding same sex marriages and
relations that lead to the spread of diseases. In many cultures and countries,
people are killed if they deviate from societal and cultural norms. Therefore
education and the spread of knowledge regarding these issues are key facets towards
eradicating the stigma associated with gender, love, and marriage inequalities
around the world.
The
biggest affirmation I had from attending the parade was that love is love
regardless of any orientation. Unfortunately we don’t live in a world where we
can love freely. But once upon a time, we also lived in a world where people of
different races could not attend the same school, or get married and where
woman were not allowed to vote. Some of these things might seem irrational
today, but back then they were just as controversial as love equality is today.
However, progress has been made on many of these issues, and I believe that
love and marriage equality have the potential to be recognized by everyone
through a pluralistic outlook that involves open dialogue and acceptance.
The hashtag #loveislove was trending worldwide when Obama tweeted it to celebrate the end of Prop8 and DOMA. It's amazing how, with education, equality is slowly coming forth throughout the globe. Love your post on equality and the parade! Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Aalia! Your last point about things like woman's right to vote being social taboo in the past really gave me hope that marriage equality will be a reality world-wide one day. Also, I believe that although the developed world is slowly catching up in terms of marriage equality, the developing world still has a long way to go. I can't even imagine what stigma those of "culturally unaccepted" sexual orientations must face in the developing world. We should have the right to love whoever we want, and this right should not be compromised by the culture we live in. Saying that makes me feel a Westerner imposing their views, but it's something I truly believe in and it's a belief I will not compromise.
ReplyDeleteGreat insight Aalia! Great title it a perfect summary for the progress made today in how we express love. I hope Love is Love can be shared and practiced globally especially in developing countries where traditional beliefs and laws in certain countries restrict people from expressing themselves.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this post! I am so proud that you got to accomplish something off your bucket list and that you learnt so much from the experience. I do believe that many people are against the LGBT community because of the stigma associated to it and as you mentioned, the only way to erase the stigma is through education so I thank you for speaking up and writing about an issue that most people wouldn't bother reflecting on. Right now, a lot of people focus on marriage equality, which is wonderful but I also do hope in the future that more people start learning about trans* rights (or lack thereof) because they face more abuse and the percentage of hate crimes against trans* people are significantly higher than any other group within the lgbt community. After all, your post does make it clear that love is love, regardless of race, gender or sexuality. Great read!
ReplyDeleteThe changing current of societal values and beliefs is moving in favour of love being accepted, no matter who is involved, and I think that it will spread globally in the near future. Thanks for sharing Aalia!
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