Pride 2014

PRIDE 2014

POLITICAL DOCUMENT PRIDE WAVE 2014

For more than twenty years now the Italian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI) Movement celebrates, in different places of the country, its own Prides. Every Pride event is both an expression of the many diverse identities that animate our community and a vital moment for LGBTQI people to assert their rights, equality, secularism, and self-determination. Thanks in part to forms of struggle and mobilization for self-determination and visibility such as Pride events, society and the media have established a positive relationship with our community, producing significant improvements in the perception of LGBTQI people, our needs, and our demands, and fostering a culture that values differences, relationships, exchange, and discussion. At the same time, institutions have failed to adequately respond to these demands for change and rights, widening the gap between a rapidly evolving reality and laws and policies that are too often inadequate and discriminatory.

There willful inertia of Italian political parties with the immobility of our institutions and our legislator it appears so much
even more serious and evident when compared to the progress made in terms of LGBTQI rights in an ever-increasing number of European countries and the rest of the world.

The theater in which our daily actions unfold—as individuals and as associations of LGBTQI people—carries within itself the unchanged characteristics of the crisis that has been affecting us for far too long: an economic crisis, certainly, but also a crisis of ideas, feelings, and desires. The economic and political crisis The crisis that affects our country and Europe, the result of criminal choices that have put the real economy and social needs on the back burner compared to the dynamics of international finance, has led to a de facto restriction of freedom and aggravated the conditions of discrimination and exclusion of the least protected minorities. The crisis has also favored the widening of social inequalities and the strengthening of extremist and/or populist political forces, often characterized by violently racist, sexist and homophobic undertones, and has provided an alibi for political forces to postpone, debase, and undermine the answer to our demand for full equality and the fight against all forms of discrimination, and for support for the self-determination of personal and family choices and the full valorization of differences.

The risk of social atomization, the resurgence of selfishness, and the escape into individualism and particularism has become a bitter reality, weakening the ability to network and reconnect struggles. Italian Pride events are an antidote and a response to this condition and forcefully express the courage to represent the rainbow of our desires: for a different life, for a revolutionary love, for a healthy and respected body however it manifests itself, for the enjoyment of rights, for self-determination in full authentic freedom.

The LGBTQI Movement, in this context of confusion, intends to recover its original vocation by broadening the perspective of our demands from the sphere of civil and human rights to that of identity, of’self-determination of choices, of secularism, of the fight against the slavery of the mafia and 'Ndrangheta, of liberation. Our vision of society, in fact, does not segment our lives but proposes an integrated perspective in which the promotion of the human and civil rights of LGBTQI people goes hand in hand with the rights of all minorities and social groups that are discriminated against, marginalized, and under attack, with the concerns of women, the world of work, precarious employment, young people, the disabled, and migrants.

The historical demands of the LGBTQI movement, of full equality, dignity and freedom declined in laws and rights such as the equal marriage, the recognition of civil and de facto unions, parenthood, trans identity, health protection and of the fight against homophobic and transphobic discrimination The right to choose and self-determination are therefore enriched by an integrated vision of society that fully conveys the meaning of an idea of a country in which democracy is based on comparison, differences, and solidarity.
We are aware that in times of political and economic crisis, the risk of the reemergence of nationalist, racist, and fundamentalist impulses that use minorities as their propagandistic scapegoats increases.

We saw it with Golden Dawn in Greece, with the far-right victory in Hungary, but also with its exponential growth in countries closer to us and politically very influential like France. We see it with the ideological anti-LGBTQI laws passed in Russia and other Eastern European countries.

Precisely for this reason we see with extreme concern the spread, even in Italy, of fundamentalist movements By appealing to human fears and impulses, to the clichés and prejudices that the LGBTQI movement has struggled to undermine over 40 years, it aims to block any advancement of rights and even the implementation of cultural policies and strategies to educate about differences and combat discrimination in schools and institutions.

The now daily attacks on freedom of teaching and opinion, The power of propaganda that seeks to sanctify and sclerotize a unique model of family and affection, alienated from the world, history, and reality, risks taking us back decades and reproducing the classic systems of criminalizing diversity that Italy and Europe already tragically experienced with Nazism and Fascism. We are deeply concerned that the political, cultural, institutional, and media response is utterly insufficient, if not even hesitant or complicit.

Pride marches, with their subversive power of visibility, with the strength of our bodies and our lives taking to the streets, are the most powerful response to the standardization and enslavement of consciences. The point of maximum public expression of our
A community of strength and diversity among our loved ones and our non-conformist families. This diversity is not exclusive to us and is evidenced throughout society by the proliferation of models that refuse to be conform, but need to be recognized and enjoy the same dignity and rights as the traditional family.

This diversity is expressed through the broad spectrum of our diverse associations, which every day, throughout the region, offer services and points of reference for the LGBTQI community and fight to defend the founding values of democracy and freedom through activism, volunteerism, and political and civic passion.

The theme of the is central training at all school levels: under pressure from Catholic associations and center-right parties, this action is suffering unacceptable delays. The Italian LGBTI movement can only respond by relaunching and raising the stakes of its demands: it is necessary to place the issue at the center of the internal and external debate of the
The theme of emotional education is a movement. We use the term in the plural because it's necessary to provide all citizens, especially the younger generations, with the tools to best build their relationships, without discriminating between the various types of emotionality.

Precisely at a time of economic crisis and the risk of societal fragmentation, affectivity can offer a new perspective for a critique that encompasses all aspects of contemporary society. Another concern for our movement, well aware of the serious impact that discrimination, exclusion, and prejudice can have on the world of work, is that the economic crisis will ultimately penalize those very segments of society, like ours, who are already experiencing pressure or hardship. We are thinking, in particular, of Trans and queer people who, due to their visibility and the inconveniences associated with the inconsistency between their identity documents and their outward appearance, are too often marginalized in social and working life. This exclusion is all the more serious if we consider that work is a fundamental right and an important element of autonomy and social identity, and that its absence or precariousness has dire consequences on every aspect of people's lives.

The trans people and all those who do not conform to structured gender role and identity patterns They require special and extraordinary attention from us because this condition exposes them to severe and pervasive discrimination in almost every aspect of their daily lives: in family and social life, education and training, employment, and health. Given this, the entire LGBTQI community must urgently demand appropriate policies and laws. Our history has led us to be particularly sensitive to the protection and promotion of health. We cannot allow the cuts resulting from the budget crunch implemented in recent years to further impact healthcare, and the principle that health is an inalienable right must be reaffirmed. Institutions at all levels and with all responsibilities must reinvest in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, in related communication, and in sexual education. The LGBTQI Movement and Pride strongly reject discrimination and stigma against people with HIV and AIDS and ask that the National Health System continue to guarantee free, quality and adequate care in the future.

We believe that the freedom of each person can only be expressed in a social and political context free from organized crime. Our movement's constant and widespread activity in the southern regions, in particular, makes us privileged observers of the mafia and 'Ndrangheta, which represent the most difficult socio-cultural barriers to overcome. They manifest themselves within the logic of the "Family" and generate in individuals the certainty of the impossibility of coming out. They fuel homophobic beliefs that living against must mean hiding. Among the movement's new frontiers of action and demands, today more than ever it is necessary to make a clear and coherent choice. the ongoing cultural and political struggle against realities based on clientelism and the oppression of each person's identity.

This year we are truly proud of a Pride movement that has grown and matured exponentially in Italy, capable of expressing itself in large-scale demonstrations from North to South.

In good 13 Italian cities Pride marches will be held, which have decided to coordinate within a single, powerful framework to give greater strength and coherence to our demands and battles. Together, we offer the country our commitment and our desire to be a resource for change and growth for society as a whole, and we do so in keeping with our tradition and culture of profound respect and inclusion of all differences. The 2014 Onda Pride parade opened with a parade in Rome on June 7th. On June 28th, International Gay Pride Day, Pride parades will take to the streets in Alghero, Bologna, Catania, Lecce, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Turin, and Venice. On July 5th, the Syracuse Pride parade will take place for the first time. The Reggio Calabria Pride parade, also making its debut, will close on July 19th.