HERE’S HOPING THAT IRELAND WILL BE BETTER RANKED IN THIS YEAR’S INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANS AND INTERSEX ASSOCIATION (ILGA) RAINBOW MAP. “ Looking ahead at more news and actions coming up in the future, and here’s hoping that Ireland will be better ranked in this year’s International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) rainbow map. I was disappointed with our ranking last year, but as I mentioned above, the fight continues. Amid growing transphobia in Ireland and the UK, in a community that already faces huge challenges in Ireland and worldwide, I see this as a particularly important area of concern at the moment. It’s important to me to keep showing support to the trans community and to keep informing myself and educating myself around what support is wanted and needed. It’s all down to respect and inclusivity. Those intentions and actions have to spread throughout all aspects of our lives, however we identify. Words, for example, are powerful and I’m conscious of doing everything I can to use respectful, inclusive terminology like for example “persons who menstruate” and making sure to use the right pronouns for trans folk. I’m led by members of the LGBTIQ+ community and will continue to do my best to reflect your wishes around where and when activism is needed, and how best I can support my friends and citizens throughout the community.
BEING AN LGBTQI+ ALLY IN EUROPE
To that end, I’ve shared content on International Coming Out Day, Bisexual Awareness Week, Lesbian Visibility Day, Trans Day of Visibility, International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHO), and LGBT History Month. I have also been vocal in very actively calling for a ban on the utterly abhorrent practice of conversion therapy. On 14th September last, I took the floor in the European Parliament to reject LGBTI-free zones in Poland, standing in solidarity with LGBTIQ+ persons throughout Europe. The day after that, I stood outside the European Parliament dressed in the colours of the rainbow flag, together with like-minded MEP colleagues, in support of the Polish LGBTIQ+ community and inspired by Polish legislators who had taken a similar photo action. I’m proud to say there were many members of the Greens/EFA showing solidarity in that action. Our group in the European Parliament is particularly strong and vocal in this area. Just a few months ago, in November 2020, the European Commission presented its first-ever strategy on LGBTIQ+ equality in the EU. The actions I’ve outlined form part of a global call for recognition for rights and regulation supporting rights and legislation in this area. The Commission Strategy is a further acknowledgement that actions and giving voice to issues of concern do produce action. Fast forward to March 2021, when the European Parliament voted to declare the EU an LGBTI Freedom Zone. I was proud to sponsor this resolution. We contacted several LGBTIQ+ NGOs to inform them in advance of the vote and urged them to get involved: LGBT Ireland, Belong to Youth Services, Gay Project, and other LGBTIQ+ personalities came on board.
By Grace O’Sullivan MEP
Until not so long ago, Ireland largely lived up to its long-held reputation as a conservative little country, where the Catholic church had its citizens in a stranglehold grip of repression. It was a country that, to put it mildly, didn’t encourage or value personal expression or freedom of choice around living an authentic life relating to the bodies we inhabit, our sexualities, and who, what or how we want to be, in the privacy of our autonomous selves. While in more recent years we have come a long way interms of openness, equality and inclusion around the LGBTIQ+ community, I don’t want to examine this topic through rose-tinted glasses. The lived experiences of many still indicate that we have not yet come nearly far enough. Sadly, I must mention, of course, the disturbing backdrop of a rise in the deplorable efforts and alarming actions of the far-right, and say that however far we have come, the fight continues today and looks set to continue into the future. Against another, more positive backdrop, though, of that wonderful day just a few short years ago, I want to guardedly acknowledge the evolving maturity of a nation that has become more generally accepting and open.
When Ireland embraced the more positive aspects of our reputation - for warmth and welcome - and overwhelmingly voted in favour of equality and fairness in the Marriage Equality Referendum, it was a day worthy of the mighty celebration the country erupted into. And while demands for equality and fundamental human rights continue, my own support and activism in this area will always, I hope, be tinged with an underlying tone of pride and celebration! I’m a proud and supportive ally of the LGBTIQ+ community, and I do my best as a member of the LGBTI Intergroup in the European Parliament to fight for LGBTIQ+ equality within the EU and beyond. I’ve supported and signed letters, written questions and resolutions. I’ve taken part in photo actions and social media storms, and I’ve spoken out in support of the community many, many times. I fundamentally believe that if I want to stand by my own principles, values and claims around being an open-hearted person who values equality and inclusion, it’s important to be visible and outspoken.
www.corkpride.com
#CorkPride2021
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