It may seem paradoxical that Washington, the capital from where the president of the United States, Donald Trump, leads what activists describe as an offensive against LGTBIQ+rights, is the headquarters of the World Pride this year.
At first, some voices called the boycott as a form of protest, but a few hours after the start of the event, the slogan is clear: raise the voice for the rights of the collective.
“It is an extremely difficult time for the United States. That is why it is so important that people manifest, go to the streets, form community and demonstrate that LGTBIQ+ people belong to all spaces,” he tells the Efe Brian Bond agency, executive director of PFLAG, the largest support organization to the collective in the country.
This weekend, Washington becomes the headquarters of world pride, a celebration that promotes the visibility and normalization of LGTBIQ+rights. In addition, this year the 50th anniversary of the first pride parade in the US capital is commemorated.
Trump’s offensive
Since his return to the White House, Trump has promoted at least four measures that activists consider direct attacks against the community: he eliminated the legal recognition of non -binary people by establishing that there are only “two sexes” in the EU, he withdrew passports with genre “X”, prohibited women from competing in women’s sports and excluded trans people from the armed forces.
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He has also lashed out against public policies for diversity, equity and inclusion, causing numerous companies to abandon these commitments to align with their position.
“Our country should be leading the defense of the rights of the collective, but what we see is that their freedoms are being trampled,” Bond denounces.
Despite calls for action, many people have decided not to attend the event in the capital. In 2019, the World Pride brought together about five million people in New York; For Washington, about three million were expected, although estimates point to a remarkable reduction due to Trump’s presidency.
“People are afraid, but, despite everything, the city is prepared. We are cozy,” says Ryan Bos, Capital Executive Director Pride Alliance, an organization in charge of the event, in statements to the local Fox chain.
The arrival of the month of pride has evidenced a change in attitude in large corporations, many of which have stopped showing their support to the collective.
While years ago the launches and advertising campaigns with trans people or same -sex were common, this year it is difficult to find support samples such as these in large companies.
In fact, Washington’s celebration, as reported by the media, no longer has the sponsorship of two companies that had traditionally supported him: the Comcast and Deloitte multinationals.
“Queer people have always existed”
Despite regretting that the rights, the historian Jay Watkins, expert in LGTBIQ matters of the University of William & Mary (Virginia), points out that “LGTBIQ people have always existed beyond governments.”
“Although we lose many of these bills, there are much fewer people who will exercise violence to queer people,” says Watkins confident.
Anyway, he invites him to fight with force against the setbacks especially of trans people or not satisfied with their gender, which, “have always been the most attacked.”
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According to the annual report of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance against defamation (Glaad), 52% of the aggressions against the collective in the last year were headed against trans and non -binary people (485 of 932 attacks).
In addition, a study by the Center For American Progress revealed that LGTBIQ+ people continue to face significantly higher levels of discrimination than the rest of the population, which highlights the importance of events such as the World Pride in Washington.
With EFE information
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