What’s a gay pride? When, where and why did it appear? Here is the question. How does it influence the general public’s attitude to LGBT-community? Is it worth holding gay pride in Russia? These and other issues are becoming now the subject not only for discussions inside the LGBT-community, but also for the public discourse in wide sense.

АThe importance and urgency of these questions, the absence of definite answers and the diversity of opinions called forth a discussion within the project “ComingOutInfo”. The discussion was organized by the Petersburg LGBT-organization “Coming Out” on Saturday, May 30th.

About 30 people participated in the discussion, including the representatives of the organization “Coming Out” led by Valery Sozaev, Elena Tsertlih who is a researcher and an activist of LGBT-movement, some representatives of the Youth Human Rights Group, and some other guests. The Open Radio was broadcasting the discussion, so the listeners could also take part in the discussion as well as all interested Internet users.

Valery Sozaev was the first to speak. He underlined the importance of consolidation of all members of the gay movement in struggle for their rights including gay prides events. He mentioned some facts from the history of American LGBT movement and said that the first gay pride parade held in 1970 in New York was the result of a 20-year-long step-by-step development.

Elena Tsertlih also presented her point-of-view on the question. She focused on the civil rights aspects of gay prides and stated the idea that any person or organization has a right to express their opinion publicly and stand upon their views.

One of the main instruments in regulating the realization of these rights is the European Human Rights Convention. Russia joined this Convention in 1998 but still lives with double standards, actually ignoring its requirements.

Taking this into consideration, according to Elena, the general strategy of the LGBT organizations in struggle for their rights should be a progressive law-based compulsion of the state to carry out its obligations taken up in front of the international community. The form of the struggle can be various. All legal means will do.

The representatives of the organization “Coming Out” noted that such model of struggle for civil and human rights is ideal and doesn’t correspond to Russian reality. Valery Sozaev stressed that, firstly, there are problems concerning the existence of the civil society itself in Russia nowadays; secondly the consolidation of the LGBT community isn’t sufficient yet; thirdly, Russian LGBT movement is too young, and fourthly, some problems with the concept of such called “LGBT identity” exist there. It’s important because such a concept lies in the basis of any liberation movement.

According to the “Coming Out” representatives, at the given stage of its development Russian LGBT community rather needs marches, processions and demonstrations in support of human rights than gay prides. These are different terms and shouldn’t be substituted for each other. These are very important methods of work all over the world. The educative work (such as seminars, discussions, trainings, publications etc.) matters a lot as well. Following these ideas the organization “Coming Out” held several anti-shocking actions which informed people around about the existence of the LGBT community as healthy adequate people whose life is a variant of the norm (the Week Against Homophobia, The Days of Silence, The Rainbow flashmob).

So the discussion about gay prides appeared only one aspect of more global issues, such as: How to consolidate the LGBT community? How to assimilate it into the society? What strategies are the most effective and suit Russian socio-cultural conditions? All the questions mentioned could be the topic for further meetings.

By Mikhail