The cast of Heartstopper taking on homophobes at Pride left me in awe of LGBT+ youth
going into Pride weekend in a bit of a funk.Three years on from the last full-scale Pride event in the capital, and 50 years after the very first one in 1972, and it didn’t exactly feel celebratory.Globally, including in countries white Westerners like to think of as ultra-progressive, it feels like LGBTQ+ rights are in a very fragile position.In the USA, proposed anti-trans bills are hitting headlines with alarming frequency, and the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law is now in full effect in Florida.
After the devastating ruling on Roe v Wade, there’s plenty of speculation that the nationwide legalisation of same-sex marriage may too be overturned.In Norway, Oslo’s Pride celebrations were cancelled after a deadly shooting around a queer bar; and here in the UK, where hate crimes are on the rise and transphobic rhetoric is constantly in the media, even a TV ad in which Baga Chipz plugs a popular dinner product has proven controversial.Marry all that with the coverage around FINA’s ruling on trans women in swimming, the fact a UK ban on conversion therapy is still being debated, and news that Amazon bowed to pressure to restrict LGBTQ-friendly search results in the UAE.
