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The journey to LGBTQ spirit

The rainbow flag is a worldwide symbol representing the diverse community of LGBTQ. The flag was designed by the American queer activist, artist, army veteran, and drag queen named Gilbert Baker. He was urged by Harvey Milk, the first gay politician and a San Francisco councilman, to create a symbol for the LGBTQ community that might connect them all. The reason behind it was to substitute the pink triangle formulated by Adolf Hitler that was considered a symbol of shame. The LGBTQ community later accepted it as a symbol of pride. Gilbert wanted to replace the negativity behind that symbol, and therefore, he came up with a vibrant & positive symbol to celebrate love and uniqueness. He designed the flag with eight stripes of different colors and meanings: red for life, green for nature, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, pink for sex, indigo for harmony, turquoise for magic, and violet for spirit. Baker chose the rainbow colors to symbolize the LGBTQ diversity in race, gender, expression, and age. The first two flags were hand-stitched and hand-dyed by Baker and his thirty volunteers. On the Gay Freedom Day parade, these 30/60 foot flags were first displayed on June 25, 1978, in San Francisco, US. In November 1978, Harvey Milk was murdered, which increased the protests and demand for the pride flag, resulting in mass production. During that time, the limited supply of fabrics resulted in the withdrawal of two colors from the flag: pink and turquoise. Both these colors were too expensive to be mass-produced. In 2003, Baker set a world record by stitching a 1.25-mile long flag with all eight colors to mark its 25th anniversary. The flag was further cut into several parts and distributed across 100 cities worldwide, and people embraced it with a lot of hope and emotions. The flag was later altered, as they believed more the colors, more the pride. In 2017, Baker added a lavender stripe at the top of the flag to symbolize diversity. Later that year, two more colors, brown and black, were added to make it more inclusive towards black and brown members of the LGBTQ community. June is the Pride month of the LGBTQ community in the United States. It is celebrated to honor the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a series of events between the police and LGBTQ protestors at the Stonewall Inn, US. The police raided the Stonewall Inn with 205 people present there at the bar. They captured several people among the gathered crowd including, the folk singer (and mentor of Bob Dylan) Dave Van Ronk, who was not a gay while he came from the nearby bar by being attracted to the revolt. The people fought back when the police became violent, and the rebellion stretched for six days. During the blockade, the gay rights activist Craig Rodwell called some famous newspapers, including The New York Times, the New York Post, and The Daily News, to cover the incident instantly. In addition, new activists groups were formed within weeks to the impact of which, three newspapers were established to promote the rights of the homosexual community. The Stonewall rebellion was considered the first major protest in history at the behest of equal rights for homosexuals and marked the beginning of the gay rights movement.

The struggle against discrimination

Despite recent progress, people who identify as LGBTQ continue to be harassed and attacked. Every year, 30% of all suicides are committed by LGBT people. Over the years, there has been improvement in the legal system worldwide as well as social opinion and attitudes towards an individual's sexual orientation, sexual identity, and gender expression. Despite this, LGBTQ people continue to face pervasive and deliberate gender bias in all aspects of public and private life. Work opportunities, academic abilities, the ability to purchase goods and services, and meaningful participation in our society's decision-making practices are just a few examples. Nearly 41% of gay and lesbian individuals encounter workplace discrimination, including being fired or being asked to resign due to their sexual orientation. There are several rules to protect people from employment discrimination based on sex, nationality, creed, age, and impairment, but there are few laws that specifically prohibit private corporations from discriminating against people based on sexuality. Accessing inclusive health care and finding medical providers who understand their needs have also been major obstacles for the LGBTQ community. Many of them believe they put off or avoid getting proper medical care because they are afraid of how they will be treated by a professional. Most countries provide little recourse to LGBTQ people who face discrimination by lawyers, attorneys, and other legal professionals because of their sexual orientation. For them, legal settings, as well as many public and private areas, are no less than toxic spaces, with those living in rural areas at a higher risk of maltreatment. In the past, and indeed today, many social and public venues in the community have proven to be unpleasant or unwelcoming towards LGBTQ people. Despite their aspirations to contribute to society, LGBTQ parents, teenagers, teachers, and community representatives suffer rejection and abuse from others in their society. According to the GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) report, bullying caused 28 percent of LGBT students to drop out of school. For fear of discrimination,42.2% of transgender students had been personally prevented from using their preferred name. 66% of lesbian, gay, bi, and trans individuals believe that sexism and related intolerance exist in sports and that this acts as a barrier to LGBT people participating. Injustice and stereotypes in healthcare, the workplace, and other social situations have a severe psychological and emotional impact, as well as pose physical and mental health risks. The community has been fighting for equality in the eyes and respect of heterosexual men and women for the past sixty years. They have continuously and boldly demanded fairness through actions such as the Stonewall riots (1969), the Ashes Action (1992 and 1996), and many others.

LGBTQ rights evolution worldwide

Around 2.8 billion of the LGBTQ population are living in countries where being identified as gay could lead to physical punishment, imprisonment, or even death. Whereas, only 780 million of the population are living in countries where same-sex marriage or civil unions are legal rights. There has been a considerable improvement over a decade and that should be recognized. It is important to understand that the fight for LGBTQ rights is not a geographical manifestation. Most of the governments at the forefront for LGBTQ rights are from developing nations. In the United Nations Human Rights Council, the LGBTQ Resolution was adopted in September 2014, which was led by governments from the global south, primarily Latin America, and supported by others from all over the world. In 2001, the first gay marriage took place in the Netherlands. In 2015, Ireland allowed same-sex marriage where homosexual acts were illegal until 1993. Earlier, India was acceptable about this community for cultural practices but they were dismissed upon by convenient ideologies. Later in 2018, gay marriage was legalized, and took responsibility to help end the humiliation attached to being an LGBTQ. Now, around 29 countries allow same-sex marriage, and 34 others provide some partnership recognition for same-sex pairs. As of December 2020, 81 countries had laws against discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation. This protection of the LGBTQ community from legal discrimination and political, social, and economic marginalization has become a priority for activists and a growing number of governments. These changes in society have driven recognition of LGBTQ rights, such as more equitable relations between genders, the rights revolution generally, and greater respect for individual autonomy. It was seen that the LGBTQ population gradually came out, and people suddenly discovered that they had a gay son or brother or neighbor or close colleague that started shaping public awareness and strengthened social changes. The LGBTQ population has existed in societies for all time, they have simply been more or less open, depending on the politics and the mentality of the people. The status of the LGBTQ community in a country is considered a litmus test for the status of human rights because it is a vulnerable minority.

The Rainbow Wave in parliament house

The LGBTQ community projected to win their respective positions in society brought the “Rainbow Wave” across the countries. The LGBTQ representation in public services is as important as the involvement of women and minorities in politics. Just a few decades ago, it would have been all but inconceivable for politicians, power-holders, or elected officials to be publicly vocal about their identity as LGBTQ. With the passing years, many cultures and norms have hopefully moved on to accept more progressive realities of society. Nowadays, there are more elected officials and politicians who acquired remarkable progress and public acknowledgment as members of the LGBTQ community than at any time in history. These candidates have made a historic walk in political representation across the country. The “Rainbow Wave” arrived with the massive victories of LGBTQ people in the US elections. In 2018, over 150 LGBTQ candidates won elections at the federal and state levels in the United States. Later, the “Rainbow Wave” came into the US in 2019, bringing approximately 700 LGBTQ elected officials. Similarly, the country witnessed a huge “Rainbow Wave” in 2020 when Sarah McBride made history by becoming the United States’ highest-ranking transgender elected official and the first transgender person to serve as a state senator in Delaware. Other transgender women such as Taylor Small of Vermont, who was elected the first transgender legislator, and Stephanie Byers, who became the first transgender native American to serve in the Kansas legislature. Some other significant achievers include Mauree Turner, who identifies as non-binary, becoming Oklahoma's first Muslim state representative. And, Kim Jackson became the first LGBTQ state legislator of Georgia in January 2021. Florida got its first LGBTQ state senator, Shevrin Jones. The President and CEO of LGBTQ Victory Fund, Mayor Annise Parker, said that LGBT candidates have made historic strides in state legislatures across the country, winning in states and chambers in this new era. The United Kingdom has made remarkable progress in delivering equality to all LGBTQ+ communities. Following the 2019 general election, the UK parliament discovered the largest number of self-identified gay, bisexual and lesbian representatives than any national legislature in the world. Having nine percent of the 650 MPs identify as LGB, sitting in the House of Commons. In the United Kingdom, there is a Workplace Equality Networks (WENs) for LGBTQ and their representatives in parliament known as ParliOUT. It annually represents the Houses of Parliament in London. The parade, held in central London, is an opportunity for LGBTQ people and the community to be more visible and vocal about their journey and achievements. In New Zealand, the LGBT-friendly environment is exemplified by several members of Parliament belonging to the LGBTQ community. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, chose Grant Robertson, the openly gay as her deputy prime minister, marking the most inclusive and diverse cabinet in history. Ana Brnabić is a Serbian politician serving as the country’s first female and first openly gay prime minister of Serbia since 2017. Also, in 2019, Brnabić was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 19th most powerful female political leader and 88th most powerful woman in the world. In India, Shabnam "Mausi" Bano was the first Indian transwoman to be elected as an MLA of Madhya Pradesh in 1998. However, no state has yet sent LGBTQ candidates to the Lok Sabha. Although six candidates contested in the 2019 general elections, none was elected. Slowly but surely, the Rainbow Wave is spreading across the globe, contending centuries of despotism with the doctrines of love and tolerance.

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