Asian communities around the world are celebrating Pride Month and opening new space for every expression. Pride Month has grown considerably since the early days after the 1969 Stonewall Riots. The Riots gave rise to the Gay Rights Movement.
NAAAP Boston has scheduled many events for Pride Month.. Beginning with different perspectives, NAAAP Boston released a collection of first-person narratives coined the “Coming Out Collection”. Honoring Coming Out Day (October 11), each narrative shares a different story about the journey that comes along with coming out. “In ia society that still grapples with homophobia and transphobia, coming out is as salient and powerful a tool as ever, ” Jason Ng said in his opening remarks in the collection. A powerful testament to sharing your story, he ended it with “Be See. Be Heard. Be Loud. Be Proud.” Several stories follow, from having to come out three times, to becoming free once the truth was out and life starting to be lived.
Coupled with the release of this collection, NAAAP Boston is showcasing, with photos on their website, the Trans Resistance Rally. Though the photos are from last year, addressing racism and sexism within the LGBTQI+ community, has remained a priority for NAAAP Boston. . (GBH). Another march is scheduled on June 25, and NAAAP Boston has more events scheduled. . Book clubs, trivia nights, social outings, and service days are in abundance to bring people together in solidarity.
The City of Boston is celebrating as well, lighting up City Hall with a rainbow to kick off Pride Month on the 1st day and offering a whole month of exciting and fun events. The Pride Day Party, a higher love celebration on Arlington Street, theater company celebrations, marches, and a church service supporting LGBTQI+ are on the calendar
A strong point of pride for LGBTQI+ Asians this year is the recent appointment of Julie Chen as the first Asian American, second woman, and first LGBTQI+ person to become chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus. Chen also co-leads the university’s Council on Social Justice and Inclusion. Reflecting on the appointment, UMASS President Martin Meehan cites Chen’s “deep commitment to empowering students and communities through education and innovation.”
On Wednesday, June 1, at the start of Pride Month, dozens rallied in the rain outside the Massachusetts State House for a gathering that was both a celebration and a call to action. The Massachusetts Parentage Act, was revised and refiled last year but is currently stalled in the Judiciary. It provides more definite protection for children no matter the circumstances of birth, sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status of their parents. The bill would expand the definition of “parents” to include de facto caregivers, many of whom are not genetically related to the children in their charge. Full passage of the Massachusetts Parentage Act would help, as one lesbian mom at the rally put it, elevating affected caregivers out of a current status that “…sends a message that we’re not included as community members in the commonwealth.”
Internationally, Taiwan is lifting the spirits of the LGBTQI+ at home and abroad with the Asian Pride Games. It has come to enrich and commemorate Pride Month. The organizer of the Aiiiisian Pride Games, Tang Chih-Chun described the rest of Asia as “a desert for marriage equality”, noting the importance of such an event at this time. While some cities in Japan, Hong Kong and Cambodia are fighting for some limited rights, Taiwan stands at the top in LGBTQI+ affirmation, announcing the forward movement of their Asian Pride Games, despite the spike in COViD. After delaying the games last year due to the closing of its borders, they have made a calculated decision to open up and commence the games.
Tang Chih-Chun expressed much hopes for these games. “We’ve worked very hard to make the event happen amid the pandemic as we hope that by hosting it in Taiwan, other Asian countries can see hopes for equality in same-sex marriage and in sports.” He explains, “For the first time the Asia Pride Games are to be held in a country that has legalized same-sex marriage and that’s significant for LGBTQI+ movements in Taiwan and across Asia. In addition to representing the entire country, it’s an opportunity for Taipei to demonstrate its commitment to supporting and uplifting diversity.”
The Asian Pride Games will surely push boundaries and hopefully open hearts. More and more celebrations and events during Pride Month and throughout the year in US and abroad are increasing solidarity, understanding and coexistence without dissension.
