Cracks in the rainbow – diepresse.com

Anyone who strolls through any city in Austria in June cannot avoid it, the rainbow. After all, it is also a pride month. A month that is characterized by queer visibility, diversity and the struggle for equality. What started with the Stonewall protests is now a colorful party and political protest at the same time. But where do we stand in relation to queer visibility and LGBTIQ rights?

Legal progress cannot be overlooked in many western countries: before all, adoption rights, anti -discrimination laws. However, these legal equations do not necessarily reflect in social reality. While formal rights are expanded, an alarming social backlash can be observed. Homophobia, trans hostility and polarization are increasing. Visibility is increasingly becoming a projection surface of social tensions – queer identity becomes the political line of conflict.

In Austria, too, all the progress in the direction of legal equality is not yet equivalent to real equality. For example, there is the possibility of getting married for same-sex couples and social acceptance increases, but at the same time violence and homo and transthobia are increasing again. Integrame and trans people are particularly struggling against pathologization and for self -determination. LGBTIQ people are still faced with prejudices and invisibility in schools, at work or healthcare. And also in the National Councilor is (again) against LGBTIQ person.

Increasing suicide rate

LGBTIQ people are exposed to repression worldwide. In Italy, the rights of same -sex parents are restricted. In Hungary, Pride parades and the entire LGBTIQ movement are prohibited in Russia. In Uganda, the death penalty threatens homosexual acts. In the supposedly progressive USA, under the leadership of Donald Trump LGBTIQ rights are systematically circumcised and numerous measures for diversity and inclusion are deleted.

At the same time, the suicide rate increases among queer adolescents – a sad indicator of the psychological stress that grows from stigmatization and exclusion. Real solidarity needs more than lip service and goes beyond symbols or social media posts. Queere visibility may not only be limited to the Pride month of June and short-term display of rainbow flags. It needs continuous commitment, political entry for equality, shelters and a clear attitude against queer hostility – also and especially if there are no headlights on the topic.

If you see yourself as an ally, you also have to act: name discrimination, respect queer spaces, listen to those affected. The fight against exclusion and intolerance is not the struggle of a minority – it is a democratic foundation that affects us all. June reminds us that freedom to live and love is not a privilege, but a human right. It is our common responsibility to defend this right.