LGBTQ Pride Acceptance in Taiwan

The word “pride” has become a buzzword that many people from the millennial generation have rather owned. Synonymous to accomplishments with the LGBTQ community, the idea of pride becoming a proactive stance on same-sex marriage is now a reality for a few lucky countries across the globe. Having the privilege to marry a boyfriend or a girlfriend from the opposite sex is often overlooked, but the same can’t be said about those who happened to love people of the same gender.

LGBT pride is celebrated through a color parade that takes place every year in various parts of the world. The beauty of pride is encapsulated advocacy, youthful confidence, inclusivity all symbolized in the rainbow flag that people waved around the Pride Parade. The Pride Parade in itself is a privilege not many people in various parts of the world are able to have due to restrictive governments and religious differences.

Countries like Germany, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, the US, and most recently Taiwan, have been more transparent and open to the Pride celebration, taking place in various cities across the west and now the east. With Taiwan's president tweeting '#Taiwan, #LoveWon' yesterday, the future looks bright for Asia's LGBTQ youth as even the most powerful woman in office President Tsai Ing-wen supports this fundamental right. 'We took a big step towards true equality, and made Taiwan a better country.' Tsai posted in her tweet, according to the New York Times. t

Love Wins Again

The Asian culture isn’t usually the first thing that pops into one’s head when words like “gay marriage” or “gender normative” come up. It’s known that the traditional upbringing from various religious influences dictate the “morally corrupt” idea of 2 men and 2 women having the same right as heterosexual couples do when it comes to marriage and family planning. The skewed views on what a home or a family should look like often get in the way of a member of the LGBTQ community’s happiness or even chance at such.

With Taiwan’s historic new win on legalizing same-sex marriage recently, maybe some LGBTQ members from such strict and skewed Asian upbringing could finally pave the way for more Asian nations and governments to consider this kind of liberating victory, not just for the gay community, but as a progressive generation as a whole. According to Bustle, the most beautiful thing about the legalization was that it happened to pass on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.

The fight for equal marriage rights for the LGBTQ folks have been long-standing since May of 2017. When the high court of Taiwan decided to rule against same-sex marriage due to its unconstitutionality, the rest of the country was angry and challenged the government in the matter. The Taiwanese people, especially the Taiwanese members of the LGBTQ community have been captured in full ecstasy, rejoicing the victory in the streets of Taiwan, running into even the most prolific people pro-gay rights. Some of which include Wu-Tzu-n, a gay Taiwanese artist spoke to CNN in a quick interview and said 'Today the result was the best we got for this stage.”, a gay artist from Taiwan shared with CNN.

A Win for Chinese and Asian Culture

The new law will become effective beginning May 24 allowing marriage to be void and binding for all couples. The traditional views of the Chinese government have hindered the nation from a progressive stance on gender and sexuality, but according to the director of Beijing Gender Health Education Institute, Xiaogang Wei told CNN that Taiwan’s win was a win for all of Chinese culture. 'It will have a very positive impact on China's LGBT community, offering us a lot of hope. The Chinese government has pointed to cultural tradition as a reason for same-sex marriage being unsuitable in China,' Beijing Gender Health Education Institute director Xiaogang Wei told CNN. 'But the decision in Taiwan, which shares a cultural tradition with us, proves that Chinese culture can be open, diverse and progressive,' Wei adds.

The final vote on the law passed weeks before its final deadline with a marginal vote of 66-27 giving gays, lesbians, trans people, and other queer folks equal rights in terms of taxes, insurance, and child custody, much as heterosexual couples have the shared right to. A year ago, the referendum in Taiwan made headlines as majority of the votes failed to pass and further suspending the future of marriage equality for the LGBTQ community. Fast forward to a year later, the new law of same-sex marriage is now a huge step towards the opposite direction powered by activists, youth members, and famous people who believed in such a great cause.

The Fights Isn’t Over

Much can be drawn from this victory, but much can also be taken as a message to finally exhale and relax. The fight for not just tolerance but acceptance is one that will continue to require all people to keep standing up for. The civil rights of the LGBTQ community will be a 24/7 job that must be proven to be well-deserved through concrete action and proactive decision making in various sectors of society.

The members of the gay community now have the bigger responsibility of waving the rainbow pride flag not just during the annual Pride Parade in Taiwan, but every moment of everyday when societal systems and structures threatens to take it away again. Equality doesn’t stop at a law, it stops when all people are given the same level of freedom and liberty to be exactly who they are, without judgment or prejudice from outdated and toxic beliefs.