Pride Parade Review｜Beauty, My Own way
October 31st is not only the eve of the international holiday Halloween, but also a special day of the year for all Asian LGBT community to be proud to be themselves. Nearly 130,000 people arrived on the streets of Taipei that afternoon to celebrate Taiwan's 18th annual Pride Parade. The theme of this year's parade was: Beauty, My Own Way.
According to the organizer, "Beauty, My Own Way" not only means helping others achieve their goals, but also means the beauty of being born as a human being. Wherever we are, each person has the right to live in his or her own way and to realize the beauty of life.
Despite the impact of COVID this year, which prevented visitors from abroad from participating in the event, there were still many local people on site who joined the event on their own initiative. Among them were not only sexual minorities, but also family members of sexual minorities and citizens who support the development of LGBTQ+ in Asia.
01 LesPark’s booth: Pre-Parade Reunion
The LesPark booth was particularly prominent this year. Early in the morning, a lot of people gathered at the big heart-shaped balloon with the LesPark Logo, LesPark staff were handing out rainbow branded products to everyone, and there was a steady stream of people coming to the booth to take the gifts.
02 Follow LesPark: Starting the Journey Together
The LesPark Parade Float, surrounded by crowds of people and fluttering rainbow flags, departed on time, and the bright colors became an eye-catching sight in Taipei City.
LesPark not only invited Taiwan's saxophone girl Huan Huan (ID:2160082), DJ Klaus (ID:7625430), as well as the popular lesbian couple Tu Nv Lang (ID:4471564), who interacted with the crowds and had a great time with laughs along the way, which enlivened the atmosphere.
On the day of the parade, Tu Nv Lang’s live broadcast in LesPark reached 750,000 broadcasts, with interactive comments in the live room, bringing the rainbow atmosphere across the screen.
It is worth mentioning that the tour started in the square in front of the Taipei City Government, divided into two routes, north and south. The two routes split in Renai Road, and finally returned to the Taipei City Government Plaza, by means of different routes to attract crowds of people along the way in the metro stations and business districts, and to invite more people on the streets and alleys to join together to support the theme of the colorful parade.
One of the organizers of the Taiwan Rainbow Civic Action Association, Shao Li Yi, chairman of the organization, said that "Beauty, My Own Way" conveyed the beauty of the many forms of tall, short, fat, thin, feminine, masculine, can be confident to enjoy the beauty of the appearance, and she hoped that the society can understand and respect each other.
She said that this year, she specially set up the "Tear off the Label" games in the streets by tearing off the labels of effeminate, lack of masculinity, etc. so that the public can realize the stereotypes that the LGBT community often encounters.
03 Live Stories - Teaching Children About Gender Diversity
In addition to the many LGBT people who dressed up for the event, some heterosexual families brought their children there. Mrs. Xie, a 34-year-old medical professional, brought her three children north from Taoyuan to participate in the parade. Mrs. Xie said that this is the first time she has participated in the Taiwan Pride Parade, and she brought her children to participate in order to let them know more about multiple genders.
Mrs. Xie said that it is normal to be LGBT, and that participating in the parade is mainly to let children know that it doesn't matter what gender identity they are. Even if their gender is different from their biological sex in the future, "it doesn’t matter".
In the past, Mrs. Xie had brought her children to participate in LGBT-related activities held in Taoyuan, and the children later began to think about gender-related issues, asking questions such as "Is it okay for a boy to marry a boy, or is it okay for a girl to marry a girl in the future?" She was able to take the opportunity to tell her children about gender awareness issues through the parade.
Another Mrs. Huang said that this is the fourth year that her family has participated in the Pride Parade. And the main reason is that she has gay friends around her, and "they’re having a hard time," so she hopes to come to the parade to help make people understand the LGBT community better.
Mrs. Huang also said that after the children participated in the Pride Parade, they could gradually understand the gender issues, and learn that "boys can marry boys, and girls can marry girls".
04 After the LesPark Taiwan Parade
LesPark, as an international women's dating app, always adheres to the belief of "linking global minorities to make the world a more inclusive place". LesPark not only participated in the parade together with many LGBTQ+ friendly international famous enterprises, but also supported the "Beauty, My Own Way" event as a silver sponsor.
At the same time, media outlets such as TAIPEI TIMES covered the event extensively, letting more people know that Asia is making efforts to fight for the rights of sexual minorities.
Finally, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the volunteers who participated in our booth work and the partners who followed the LesPark float parade. Everyone's help and dedication made the colors of this tour more brilliant and colorful.
