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※Politicians with a banner proclaiming, "Rome against intolerance and all discrimination" (Photo provided by Arcigay)
On September 2nd, one day after a homophobic attack on a bar in Rome’s gay quarter (via San Giovanni in Laterano) over a thousand LGBT residents of the city took to the streets in protest of increasing anti-gay violence in Italy. In the days that followed, a series of rallies and other public displays against homophobia took place in the area, culminating in a march of 10,000 people on September 24th.
※A protester at the anti-homophobia march held in Rome on September 24th wears a mask reading, “I am a lesbian. A ghost,” implying that lesbian [and queer] citizens, much like ghosts, are recognized with neither rights nor respect by society and ultimately have their very existence denied.
The march, organized as a protest against intolerance and all forms of discrimination, was joined in by countless LGBT supporters, including a number of politicians such as Rome’s own mayor, Gianni Alemanno. Other politicians present included out lesbian and Democratic Party MP Paola Concia and Italy’s first transgender Member of Parliament, Vladimir Luxuria. With its aim of voicing opposition not just to homophobia, but also to racism and all other forms of discrimination, the march attracted the participation of people of all different backgrounds and sexual orientations.
※This placard reads, “Hypocrites, are you sorry now? Just like a tombstone, you may look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside there is nothing but a rotting corpse!”
The event, with its large number of participants and prominent political figures, appeared to be a great success. However, some in the local queer community felt a little uncomfortable with how it played out. As our Italian correspondent was getting reactions from the crowd, statements like the following stood out: “It’s nice that so many people have come together. However, we saw so many conservative politicians taking part as well, so it's hard not to feel like this is just a performance they're putting on for the sake of the next election. That made it feel like a really strange march.” Our correspondent reports that a number of other individuals expressed similar concerns that the march was being used in an effort to possibly grab votes in the upcoming election.
In nearby Spain, same-sex marriage was legalized four years ago. Italy, in contrast, continues to stand out as one of the few EU nations with no system for recognizing same-sex partnerships. While LGBT visibility is not unheard of--the country has produced a number of notable openly gay designers such as Dolce & Gabbana--public opinion in Italy and the mainstream’s stark opposition to homosexuality is still very much shaped by the country’s deep roots in Catholicism.
Photos by Lorenza Parisi
★The official home page for Arcigay, Italy’s leading gay rights organization: www.arcigay.it
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