Why we take part in Roma Pride

On Saturday 10 June, the Roma Pride appointment returns, the event that every year celebrates the LGBTI pride of being different, but also part of that whole that is the human race. Because even in 2017, after years of struggles, claims and battles, the fact that lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans and intersex people are an integral part of society has still not been fully digested.

And there is really a lot of evidence that leads us to think so. We could talk about the Civil Unions Law, which a little over a year ago saw rainbow families, many “traditional” families (if they really still exist), men and women of every political, religious and sexual orientation take to the streets, ready to support the need for a fair law that would allow everyone to have equal rights in family matters. In the end we all know how it went: a law was passed which, although revolutionary for our antiquated legal system, still has flaws and gaps that are unacceptable in a country that calls itself civil, modern, but above all secular.

But it’s not only this. Pride also serves to bring to the streets the suffering and the voice of those who cannot do so because they are persecuted, as witches and political dissidents once were and as all those considered “different” always have been. This is the case of the Chechen citizens accused of being homosexual and for this reason imprisoned, tortured and killed in some prisons of the region, as if being gay could be considered a fault. Perhaps for some the image of these men massacred for reasons beyond human understanding is something a bit blurred, far away, but think of all those boys and girls who are daily insulted, offended and discriminated against for being gay, trans or lesbian and so on. Sometimes people talk of bullying, some would like to label everything with the word kids’ pranks, even though the bullies are thirty and armed with a mobile phone to film their deeds, but perhaps it would be better to simply speak of discrimination.

Then there are what we might call remnants of a past that dies hard. On 3 June, 300 Catholics marched in procession through the streets of Reggio Emilia reciting the rosary. The reason? To free and purify the city from the horrible sin of hosting one of the events of Onda Pride 2017, which from 27 May to 19 August will colour many places of our peninsula with rainbow. Not to mention the municipal banners not granted, the sponsorships not honoured and all those obstacles that return every year as punctually as peperonata and by now are also a bit ridiculous.

Of course one cannot forget the internal disagreements within the LGBTI movement and the controversies that in recent days set some of the organising associations against each other, but Pride can also be a moment of dialogue to mend any rifts. And we really need dialogue, now more than ever, today more than yesterday.

For these reasons, this year too Leather Club Roma will take part in Roma Pride, reaffirming its being a gay-fetish association, an active and integral part of the great Italian LGBTI community. We will march with our bodies, our clothes and our flags because we believe that our being homosexual fetishists must not hide or normalise, but rather show itself proudly together with the many souls of our community.

Alongside LCRoma will also be Fabrizio, and Gennaro, Mister Leather and Mister Rubber Italia 2017. The meeting point is at 4 pm in Piazza della Repubblica, corner of Via delle Terme di Diocleziano.

The other Italian gay-fetish associations will also take part in Onda Pride. In particular, Leather & Fetish Milano will march on 24 June at Milano Pride, while LFI will be in Turin on 17 June.
Will you be there?

 

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Leather Club Roma takes part in Roma Pride

Rainbow Railroad, an organisation that supports (among others) Chechen gay men

 

(Article by Chris)