CHENNAI: The 11th edition of the Chennai Rainbow Pride saw hundreds of individuals from LGBTQIA and ally community parade the streets on Sunday.
In addition to iridescent flags, umbrellas, badges and clothes, the plaques and sign boards emphasised on larger social issues such as consent, equality, inclusion and feminism.
‘I love freely given, reversible, informed, enthusiastic, specific consent,’ read a slogan. Another said, ‘Do not rape, it’s really that simple,’.
The others included, ‘We take pride in equality,’ ‘Smash Cis-heterosexual Brahminical Patriarchy’ and ‘Do not use caste and gender to oppress’. A sketch of Ambedkar and Periyar was embedded on several rainbow flags.
“Every year we come together to celebrate the pride of our gender identity and sexuality. This year, ahead of the parade we organised a series of workshops on mental health, gender and sexuality,” said Jaya, general manager of Sahodaran, an NGO.
The events were conducted by
Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition (TNRC) to create visibility of alternative sexualities, gender identities and sex characteristics.
“Our major agenda is to encourage an anti-discrimination law at the national level and affirmative actions for LGBTIQA + community,” she said.