LGBT Turks Seek to Capitalize On Gezi Good Will
While record numbers participated in Turkey's annual LGBT pride parade, some still doubt whether this atmosphere will help them in their fight for acceptance.
While the jury is still out on whether the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has really understood the message from the Gezi Park protesters, people continue to speak up for their individual rights. On Sunday [June 30], for example, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups had a record number of participants at about 20,000 at their 10th annual parade at Taksim Square in Istanbul, demanding better treatment and equal rights.
“It’s difficult to be a member of the LGBT community anywhere around the world, but it’s even more difficult in Muslim countries and in places where democratic culture has not really been established,” Deniz Yurdakul, an activist on LGBT rights for many years, told Al-Monitor. Yurdakul attended the Sunday parade with heavy eye makeup resembling a rainbow flag, symbol of the pride march as a sign of diversity, inclusiveness and hope. She said she just wanted to transform herself for a day into looking like a tranvestite, as they’re the most isolated of all in this community.
The LGBT community supported the Gezi Park protesters from day one. Their presence in such an environment hand in hand with the rest has naturally created an atmosphere of empathy.
“This is the first time that people came out on the streets in such massive numbers and for a significant duration. And these protests have provided an opportunity to the minorities, the extremes, a chance to express themselves about their challenges in this system,” psychologist Dr. Selin Kor told Al-Monitor. “They demand the same rights granted to the heterosexuals. This Y generation has a different approach to the LGBT community, but it’s a very slowly progressing issue in general.”
