An Unlimited Future

This year’s 2022 Taiwan LGBT+ Pride stands as a milestone for how far we’ve come since our very beginnings at Taipei New Park (known as 228 Peace Memorial Park today) in 2003 – Taiwan LGBT+ Pride is approaching its 20th anniversary. Throughout these 20 years, parade themes have varied from the first year’s “看見同性戀” (meaning, “Seeing Gay People”), to the 18th anniversary’s “Beauty, My Own Way”, to the 19th anniversary’s “I (LOVE) Being Out”, representing our hope for the LGBT+ community to be seen, understood, and respected for who they are, and to let kindness trickle into the corners of their everyday lives. However, as Taiwan LGBT+ Pride marches towards its 20th anniversary, why has kindness yet to trickle into the corners of so many lives? Before we get into this topic, let us first recap Taiwan LGBT+ Pride’s 20 years in the LGBT+ movement!

As society continues to adopt the binary gender framework as the normative gender narrative, many people still find it difficult to grasp the concept of gender and sexuality spectrums. What we strive to do is to break down these fixed notions of gender and sexuality – that is, to push for “sexual liberation”. Perhaps you have heard the phrase “sexual liberation”, but did you know that it stands as a significant facet within the LGBT+ movement and continues to be one of its ultimate goals? The definition of sexual liberation is “challenging all forms of oppression and stigma against sex,” allowing individuals to assume agency over their physical and emotional desires. While homophobic groups have historically resorted to using the term “sexual licence” to refer to “sexual liberation”,referencing the movement’s “endangerment” towards traditional family values, this misinformed and misguided understanding of the movement fails to recognize the foundational principles that stand at the core of the sexual liberation movement. The perception of the movement as “promiscuous” or causing moral degradation is ultimately rooted in homophobia, as conservative groups continue to force the heteronormative narrative of “husband and wife” upon those whose gender identity and/or sexual orientation differ from their perceived norm. Many even go as far as to believe that the LGBT+ movement aims to use “sexual liberation” to oppress their cisgender-heterosexuality, falling into a delusion that the queer movement is a fight between two belief systems.

While we do not share those beliefs, Taiwan LGBT+ Pride welcomes every individual to express their views regardless of where they stand and most definitely will not erase these voices. Thus, we won’t deny that sexual licence stands as part of sexual liberation, but, by the same note, so are sexual conservatism and celibacy – because at the core of sexual liberation is the belief that no matter what choice an individual may make to be promiscuous, conservative, or celibate, they should all live freely without sexual oppression or stigma. With sexual liberation comes the freedom for every individual to make independent choices without the scrutiny and judgement of others, and this continues to be the stance we hold at Taiwan LGBT+ Pride. In other words, we hope for a day where no individual feels the need to prove themselves to the world around them. A day where every individual is able to just live freely as their authentic self A day where society’s attitude and treatment towards them will remain unchanged regardless of whether they are LGBT+ or not, whether they are closeted or not. A day where everyone is understood and respected for who they are, where our differences are seen, represented, and are a cause for celebration and not hatred.

This vision is going to take more than a single step to reach as we strive to break down the walls of sexual and gender oppression for an Unlimited Future. First and foremost, we must acknowledge that alongside the passing of marriage equality there continue to lie a myriad of sociopolitical inequalities borne by same-sex couples (as seen in the persistence of heteronormativity in ceremonial etiquette and familial titles) – because laws don’t stand simply by writing them into effect. Society must first understand the value of the sociopolitical order and legal equality we fight for. Not only must we raise public consciousness around the shared foundational values of same-sex and opposite-sex marriages (along with the groundlessness of legal differences), but we must also speak out against the disproportionate legal restrictions that continue to curtail queer families’ accessibility to adoption, IVF, and cross-national marriages, etc. We hope to raise social awareness around the sociopolitical factors that divide same-sex and opposite-sex marriages beyond their shared foundation, to no longer force same-sex families into the heteronormative framework of society – because to truly respect our differences is to safeguard equal rights and protection while recognizing the factors that truly set us apart. As a start, let us refrain from assuming the correct usage of gendered terminology (e.g. “husband and wife” or “mom and dad”) before understanding others' preferred titles, so as to build a gender-friendly atmosphere. And, when it comes to building such gender-friendly spaces, let us remember that the power of change lies in every one of us, no matter who we are.

Additionally, our preconceived notions of relationships must also be diversified. Beyond opposite-sex families, society’s perceptions of same-sex relationships remain constrained by assumptions of monogamy, and often, being unable to bear children. And, this notion of marriage is only a single example among a diversity of relationship-types, also standing as the victim of countless societal assumptions (for example, that negotiating responsibilities and commitment is out of the question). So, when it comes to other types of relationships such as that of BDSM, topics and discussion concerning open relationships must also be seen and heard on both social and legal grounds. Furthermore, we must also work to destigmatize singlehood as single people continue to bear the brunt of discrimination in their everyday lives (such as from businesses that don’t take single customers or require additional fees for people without a ‘plus one’). Single people have also been the victim of much social mockery, often falling under the pressure to marry, leaving them vulnerable to self-loathing, anxiety, and a loss of self-confidence; this social phenomena has often left single individuals to pursue extreme and/or unhealthy relationships. We believe that under the circumstance that all parties remain unharmed, an individual’s right to choose their own relationships should not be obstructed by societal views or legal restrictions. Our relationships are an aspect of our personal lives and should be built up by our individual preferences and independent decisions – this won’t change no matter how hard we try to fit society within a normative framework.

Furthermore, overemphasis on being “LGBT+ friendly” can also become a culprit of LGBT+ oppression. In last year’s theme statement, we delved into the topic of LGBT+ friendly spaces, discussing how there must be a point in time when society no longer needs the additional label of “LGBT+ friendly” to indicate queer inclusive areas, because only when all spaces are LGBT+ friendly by default can society be truly LGBT+ friendly. At present time, it might be true that we see many LGBT+ friendly facilities, shops, and businesses, but furthering this train of thought – when we make an emphasis on being “LGBT+ friendly”, aren’t we, too, making an emphasis that the opposite it true for other areas? Moreover, many of these “LGBT+ friendly” labels originate from an ill intention to differentiate LGBT+ areas from non-LGBT+ areas – these types of “friendly” often become the root of “separate but equal” segregation, unfairly citing queerness as the reason a person “must use” and “soley belongs” to these LGBT+ friendly areas. (Though, as specified in last year’s theme statement, the “LGBT+ friendly” label doesn’t target specific demographics in nature, but the opposite presumption continues to persist as people continue to use the term “LGBT+ friendly” as an invisible barrier to divide those whose gender or sexuality differs from theirs.) Hence why “LGBT+ identities” should not be a barricade to equality but a label to bring queer individuals a sense of pride and community. Our aim is to break down the walls of sexual/gender oppression and stigma while safeguarding the sense of “identity” brought by sexual/gender labels because the day where every single “identity” is respected for who they are is the day we can see the Unlimited potential held by every individual, regardless of their identity. And, to create a space without limit, not only must we stand in solidarity with the voices of all LGBT+ identities, we must also respect each person as an individual, to understand and to stand up for their rights, to march towards an Unlimited Future. This has been our cause at Taiwan LGBT+ Pride. The reason we continue holding our annual events, inviting different LGBT+ groups to tell their stories, and hoping for you to march with us on the streets of Taiwan is because not only is this a march for us, it is the march for those who can’t. A march for the change we want to see.

Along this road of 20 years, Taiwan LGBT+ Pride has marched through rain and shine, standing as a platform to advocate for various human rights issues – from raising visibility for gay identities in our earliest days, calling for political leaders to take words to action, to speaking up for the many underrepresented communities of the LGBT+ acronym. Even as we’ve come to witness a victory with the passing of same-sex marriage, Taiwan LGBT+ Pride doesn’t take this as our final destination, but a crossroad we stand at on this 20th anniversary. We will continue to stand with queer communities in hopes of diversity being seen, understood, and respected, regardless of where one stands on the gender or sexuality spectrum – because gender and sexuality hold infinite possibilities and shouldn’t ever be limited by societal notions of normality nor political hurdles. Not only are we pushing for LGBT+ and gender-friendly spaces, but for society to understand the values that lie beneath this label of “friendly”. Only once we break down the walls of sexual oppression and stigma will we be able to march towards a diverse, all-inclusive society. We look forward to a future where nobody, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, preference, or relationship, is limited by sociopolitical restrictions – where people are able to live freely as who they are, where the social atmosphere, political climate, and relevant facilities do not interfere with their freedom to live a life of their own. This vision of society has been and continues to be our biggest impetus as we continue to march onwards over these past 20 years and beyond with Taiwan LGBT+ Pride.