I would like to strongly dispute this common Russian theme about "propaganda", at least that coming from Russian English-speakers.
The reason why LGBT people hold pride parades and make efforts to celebrate LGBT identity in places like the United States, Germany, Brazil and elsewhere is because of how LGBT people were treated when there were no pride parades.
There were no public displays of affection by gays or lesbians which could not get them arrested or harassed by the police or mobs.
There were few safe places for LGBT people to live or carry on relations together without civil harassment.
There was shame emanating from the pulpit and the newsroom against LGBT people when homosexuality or transgender identity were discussed.
Being openly-homosexual could get you fired and blacklisted from most "respectable" professions, arrested and placed in jail, detained in mental institutions, and subjected to lobotomies, sterilizations, and electroshock therapy.
When people celebrate Pride, it's a rejection of all of those treatments and an embracing of their orientation. Offense on the basis of how "annoying" it looks, or how un-[insert name of country/continent here]-like it is, is logically unsound, as any of these displays usually do not vocally shame heterosexuals or demean their heterosexuality. So why is shame and annoyance only reserved for those who dress differently? Why is shame and annoyance only reserved for those who protest against brutality or for civil protections? Why is shame and annoyance only reserved for those who live openly as gay couples?
I mean, does any of what you said in your comment come off as a wee bit hypocritical? Isn't it cognitively dissonant to describe LGBT parades as "propaganda" to "recruit minors" (because we're totally a bunch of pedophiles who are ignorant of ages of consent) while LGBT people have been thoroughly demeaned and shamed through the educational and ritual propaganda of Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) for 2000+ years?
Anyway, it is a misnomer to say that Russian LGBT people have their rights in the present, especially when few civil protections exist for people in the Russian Federation based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The way that such arguments come off is similar to the way that Christian fundamentalists in the US tell gays and lesbians that they are "already free to marry, just to the opposite sex." It comes off as "I won't try to make your life Hell on Earth, just as long as you know your place."
The sense of offense felt by Christians and Muslims, no matter where they are, to events like Pride parades or movies showing gay men kissing is utterly undeserved, untenable, unrealistic and unnecessary.
I would like to strongly dispute this common Russian theme about "propaganda", at least that coming from Russian English-speakers.
The reason why LGBT people hold pride parades and make efforts to celebrate LGBT identity in places like the United States, Germany, Brazil and elsewhere is because of how LGBT people were treated when there were no pride parades.
When people celebrate Pride, it's a rejection of all of those treatments and an embracing of their orientation. Offense on the basis of how "annoying" it looks, or how un-[insert name of country/continent here]-like it is, is logically unsound, as any of these displays usually do not vocally shame heterosexuals or demean their heterosexuality. So why is shame and annoyance only reserved for those who dress differently? Why is shame and annoyance only reserved for those who protest against brutality or for civil protections? Why is shame and annoyance only reserved for those who live openly as gay couples?
I mean, does any of what you said in your comment come off as a wee bit hypocritical? Isn't it cognitively dissonant to describe LGBT parades as "propaganda" to "recruit minors" (because we're totally a bunch of pedophiles who are ignorant of ages of consent) while LGBT people have been thoroughly demeaned and shamed through the educational and ritual propaganda of Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) for 2000+ years?
Anyway, it is a misnomer to say that Russian LGBT people have their rights in the present, especially when few civil protections exist for people in the Russian Federation based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The way that such arguments come off is similar to the way that Christian fundamentalists in the US tell gays and lesbians that they are "already free to marry, just to the opposite sex." It comes off as "I won't try to make your life Hell on Earth, just as long as you know your place."
The sense of offense felt by Christians and Muslims, no matter where they are, to events like Pride parades or movies showing gay men kissing is utterly undeserved, untenable, unrealistic and unnecessary.