Eurovision Brings Things Out In The Open
It’s been seven years since the gay community in Belgrade, Serbia marched in the streets for their first and only gay pride event. It wasn’t pretty. They were attacked by nationalist groups and the police turned a blind eye.
According to Reuters, the gay community in this part of the world are looking forward to the arrival of the Eurovision Song Contest. They see the influx of gay tourism, as well as the glitz and glamour of the contest, as their chance to come out publicly again.
Boban Stojanovic, a spokesperson for gay advocacy group Queeria, told Reuters that homophobia in its current form in Serbia is a relatively new phenomenon.
“Before 1990 the gay scene was more free. Although formally illegal, homosexuality was tolerated because the social climate was more liberal,” Stojanovic said.
“But when Yugoslavia started breaking up, there was a rush in all the republics to define a very clear national identity. Today, to be a Serb means to be Orthodox and heterosexual. Being Serb and gay is seen as incompatible. The macho warrior culture of the 1990s is the root of Serbia’s homophobia today.”
If the threats from far right groups in Belgrade are anything to go by, the ‘macho warrior culture’ is definitely a force to be wreckoned with. They’ve warned gay tourists that they won’t be tolerated.
“We are waiting for them,” said the Obraz group. They promise to be on the streets looking for gays and there will be “zero tolerance to the promotion and spread of evil”. They will use whatever means necessary to stop it.
Authorities, worried about the threats, have promised increased security across the city up until the final this Saturday.
Queeria have put up pro-gay posters across the city asking for “love on the streets, hooligans in prison” but it didn’t take long for the posters to either be defaced or removed.
“With all this repression there is huge pressure to be invisible. We don’t agree.” said Stojanovic.
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flindershotel
said ages ago