The second Taiwan Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Parade put a spotlight on homosexual issues.
Organizers estimated around 3,000 people turned up to have their voices heard, their presence felt, and -- because it was a parade -- to fill the streets with music, dancing and bacchanalian revelry.
The fact that the parade-goers did not encounter much societal disapprobation, save the Christian saviors and the occasional annoyed motorist, might cast Taiwan as a gay-friendly Shangri La.
Last year, 1,000 people participated and the larger-scale event this year may indeed bode well for the Pride Parade's future in Taiwan, yet one attendee took a more jaded and perhaps more realistic view of Taiwan's state of affairs. "Society doesn't have a problem with gay people in the public sphere, but when gays enter the home, when a gay is in their family, that's where they draw the line."
True enough, unlike similar manifestations in New York, San Francisco, or Sydney, one did not catch a glimpse of parents out to support their gay children. But reaching that level of acceptance might be a long-term project, or at least an aspiration for the next Taiwan Pride Parade.
by Alonzo Emery
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER - Tapei Times
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