At the beginning of the traditional Pride month, rainbows sprout out of nowhere on flags in front of buildings and on public transport vehicles as well as on imprints on products we use every day. And just as quickly as they appear, the rainbows fade from our view at the end of June. Visibility and queer awareness are not limited to just one month, but to every single day of the year.
This year’s Pride parade in Vienna made a brilliant comeback in full size after the pandemic-related break. Between the individual groups, there were a striking number of companies that participated with trucks, gave themselves a queer-friendly look and even dipped their logo in rainbow colors. Such strong support at our demonstration for respect, acceptance and equal rights in Austria, Europe and around the world is a good feeling. Many companies live a diversity culture and have anchored real solidarity with our community in their corporate culture. Nevertheless, behind some business actions is pure rainbow-washing to make money. A look at a corporation’s social media feed is enough to distinguish sincere commitment from a mere facade. Are same-sex couples advertised there during the year or is the diversity of life shown? The companies’ Pride campaigns leave the impression that everything is fine in our society when it comes to LGBTIQ. Comments under a post about the Pride in Graz showed this clearly. Many users asked why these parades were still necessary, since we had already achieved everything and would therefore no longer have to demonstrate, causing road closures and interrupting tram connections. Those were the more harmless comments, since nowadays more than ever any kind of turning away from social norms has become social explosives.
No, we have not achieved everything. Austria is in the middle of the European rankings when it comes to equal rights and protection against discrimination. I can still legally be thrown out of a taxi or a café here because of my sexual orientation. Likewise, being gay is a valid reason in Austria for a landlord to decide against renting me an apartment. As a gay man, I am still not allowed to donate blood if I have had sex with a man within the past 12 months. During the Pride festival in Linz, transgender people were attacked. A jogger who came across my run recently and saw my rainbow Pride Run shirt crossed himself in front of me. How many suspicious looks do you get when you walk the streets hand in hand with same-sex partners?
Peter Fiske writes in his memoirs “My Leather Life” published in 2019: “That day in June 1970, at the first San Francisco Pride March, I vowed to make the fight for LGBT rights central in my life. Along with the other marchers, we were affirming that we would no longer be silent or put up with discrimination but would openly fight for our human rights when police raided our bars and parties. The Stonewall riots had been the spark that ignited the seething sense of injustice that so many of us had felt in so many ways – in employment, in sexual and social relationships, and in equal justice under the law. I felt that I was not only trying to lead an authentic life, true to myself, but that all of us gay men and lesbians were fighting for the rights of everyone, including those still in the closet.” In the sense of this spirit from more than 50 years ago, I still go out on the streets and set a self-confident sign for diversity and solidarity. Thus, I have little sympathy for the opinion of a homosexual friend who finds Prides too gay, feels out of place as straight-acting and doesn’t want to contribute to the stereotypical behavior of the LGBTIQ community – or maybe is rather afraid of it. If we now rest on our laurels and be content with what has been achieved, we will once again be marginalized and become increasingly invisible.
As a growing-up, closeted gay teenager, I had almost perfected my place in society with the utmost inconspicuousness. With this awareness and the memory of it, I’m walking the streets today in full leather to reduce reserve and end prejudices. And not just on one day a year at Pride, but whenever I can do so – on the street as well as in digital space. The fact that my Twitter account was recently permanently blocked shows that not everyone likes seeing me doing so. The blocking was preceded by a message from a Twitter user stating “BDSM is abuse” and some of my more explicit posts that were reported and then deactivated. Due to ignorance or even envy? I don’t expect everyone to identify with every attitude towards life and approve of every preference and practice. I don’t want to scare or provoke anyone with my “stereotypical behavior”, but rather being authentic to myself with a self-confident appearance and thus give space to others to be true to themselves. That is even more reason to get rid of prejudices with visibility – also regarding sexual freedom. Even if this is almost impossible for intolerant people who hide behind pseudo names in the digital world due to their own frustration. Hence, the decision of our leather club in Vienna not to take part in the Pride parade this year, but instead to watch it as onlookers made me both confused and sad.
Repeatedly at Pride parades I am asked about the leather flag that I carry with me. This question, which I like to hear, whether from young or old, is a door opener to get rid of reservations. Because my explanation for the symbolism of the flag, which has existed since 1989, speaks for itself: Black stands for leather, S/M, rubber, and various other fetishes. Blue stands for the brotherhood and sisterhood and our community, white is for the purity and honesty among each other. And the red heart not only symbolizes consent and respect, but above all love. A flag full of attributes that we as a community stand for and for whose acceptance and appreciation we not only have to be visible and fight during Pride month, but day after day…