Thoughts from Vilnius pride march
Went to Vilnius pride march today. I'm the bi girl who brings her boyfriend, but I'm also semi closeted, so a lot of people think I'm the straight girl. And we also went there to support my boyfriend's gay sister, so maybe my boyfriend is the straight boy who brings his bi girlfriend. This is all very confusing.
Anyway, I saw some supportive old ladies on the sidewalk observing the march and I wonder if they are lesbians who weren't allowed to exist in Soviet times, or do they just like seeing people having fun. Or both?
There were some counter-protesters. Still not a lot, but more than in previous years. That's a bit worrying. The LGBTQ community is divided, because apparently the organization behind the march have been funded by, among others, Israel. I myself think people should be able to build coalitions and it seems like a lost art sometimes, in many areas. On the other hand, the march is rightly criticized for being a party, not a protest, so maybe there's no point in building that coalition? Anyway the march this year seemed smaller and there seemed to be more counter-protesters, so... :/
There were several corporate party busses - from two Scandinavian banks (Swed and Danske) and a make-up company Nyx. I see Americans complain that corporate support ain't real, but I think that these companies have everything to lose in a relatively homophobic country like Lithuania, but they still show support and that's not nothing and can't be written off as a mere business decision. Of course, this is the Lithuanian context and the American context is very different.
Anyway, I had fun, saw MANY hot sapphic women, didn't oggle them inappropriately, and supported my friends. Still won't be outing myself to everyone, but I had a great time among my people. At least seeing bi flags being used made me feel like I belong.
This is a photo of some flags, yes, including the Ukrainian flag, because we love Ukraine, and some random people.
