The city feels more colourful and brighter and gayer than usual. There are LGBTQ+ workshops, lectures, plays and fun family activities happening everywhere in town. It feels like Gothenburg belongs to us queers too this week.
But I also see people scoff and complain about the rainbow flags. And I and many people like me still aren’t fully out where we work because it would be too mentally taxing to have to go every day to a place when you know you’re going to be mocked.
People ask: What’s the point of a Pride festival in 2022 in one of the most socially liberal countries in the world? The answer is that while it’s far better here for LGBTQ+ people compared to many other places, it’s still not near good enough. Because even though gay people are supposed to be equal in the eyes of the law, you never see men holding hands in public and we risk being assaulted if we do. Because the Swedish state stopped forcibly sterilising trans people not even a decade ago and still controls if and when we get medical help to transition. And because even in the oh-so-progressive country of Sweden, conversion therapy is still fully legal, causing lifelong trauma in many young people.
This week, we get to feel a bit more at home. But even now, and beyond the colourful flags, this is a cishet’s world.
Son Of Freya 
Wow, I am sort of shocked, reading this as an American. I would have thought there was more progress in Sweden already. It sounds like some parts of the U.S. might actually be better for certain rights, which is a (not-so-pleasant) surprise. Wishing you a very happy Pride month!
GillaGillad av 1 person
Yes, Sweden is actually behind many US states when it comes to trans rights and accessibility to medical care. Just getting the approval for hormones can take years. But we keep on fighting and hopefully things will get better.
GillaGillad av 1 person
I hope they get better too, sooner rather than later.
GillaGillad av 1 person