Every year on May 17th the international day against homophobia, bi-, inter- and trans-hostility takes place in short: IDAHOBIT.
Why We Write About It Because the time has come to show our colors clearly. 🏳️🌈
The IDAHOBIT has been around since 2005 and has been used as a day of action on May 17th every year since then. The aim is to use media and lobbying to draw attention to the discrimination and oppression of people who do not fit into the hetero norm, i.e. are lesbian, gay, bisexual, inter- or transgender.
May 17th is not an arbitrary date: on this day in 1990, the WHO decided that homosexuality was out of the diagnostic key forDiseases deleted and thus cleared the stage so that homosexuals can live without discrimination. It wasn't until four years later that thee Impunity of male homosexuality in Germany deleted from the penal code. That was the 175 (May 17th sends its regards).
Even later, as recently as 2018, transsexuality was removed from the diagnosis code for diseases.
Then everything will be fine for the queer community in 2021
Anyone who has witnessed the last few decades remembers: A lot has happened in terms of LGBTIQ rights. Women are allowed to marry women and men, they are allowed to adopt children, we have gay and lesbian ministers, transgender people in public life
So it's not slowly becoming good
No.
The European and German laws protect gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people, but
- furthermore, in other parts of the world these people are openly suppressed, persecuted, punished and / or killed
- people are still afraid of being openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans or intersex out of fear of violence and / or discrimination, because:
- Furthermore, non-heteronormative people are discriminated against, attacked or attacked. Also in Germany.
The problem is not just the legal situation in a country: The attitude of society contributes to how safe LGBTIQ in Germany, Europe and the world feel.
Berlin 2019: Every day a homophobic or trans-hostile act
“Socially rooted hatred was the headline Süddeutsche Zeitung in December 2020when she wrote about a study commissioned by the Justice Senator into violence against homosexuals and transgender people:
In 2019, a total of 344 homophobic or trans-hostile acts were registered in Berlin.
Almost one a day!
And that only gives one direction, because the number of unreported cases is known to be higher; at the same time, this number does not reflect those forms of oppression that are not relevant or barely detectable under criminal law, vilifications, microagressions, insults, disadvantages…
In 91 percent of the cases from 2019, the perpetrators were male.
The study also states that (lesbian) women are more likely to accept homophobic insults (and accordingly report them less often) because they are used to sexualized devaluation and insults through everyday experiences of sexism. They also turn to the police less often, who are perceived as male-dominated and macho, the article says..
What we also see:
The hostility towards homosexuals, bisexuals, trans- and intersex people is closely linked to socially anchored sexism. In other words, dominant ideas and expectations about the value men have over women and which behaviors belong to or are expected of the respective gender.
Anyone who falls out of this rather rigid grid risks falling victim to oppression and violence. Because of this:
We need an international day against homophobia, bi-, trans-hostility to
- to remember the victims of this hostility,
- to remind of the ongoing oppression,
- to appeal to society and
- to work for an open and peaceful community.
It's about freedom for all of us to be who we are.
At Sober, we are or see ourselves as part of the LGBTIQ community. Many of us live in gay and lesbian relationships, we have friends and relatives who are gay, lesbian, trans or intersexual.
As a Berlin clean care company, we are also faced with the important task of questioning gender stereotypes. In our opinion, these stereotypes are related to forms of oppression and hostility towards homosexual, bisexual, trans and intersexual people.
An example of such stereotypes would be pointed: Personal hygiene is there to make women look good. No real man is concerned with smooth, well-groomed skin.”
The problem with such beliefs is that they reduce women to their appearance and at the same time forbid men access to better (skin) health. And at this level we find forms of oppression again.
There are too many of these unwritten rules about how men and women should behave and how they should be perceived by those around them.
As a cosmetics manufacturer, we have to get rid of this.
It is not our job to dictate peoplehow they have to look where they should have hair, whether they paint their nails, put on make-up or what kind of fragrance their perfume has.
People are diverse and must have the freedom to be what they want to be. We understand our task to be to support them and give them the means to feel good.
We want an open and tolerant society in which people, regardless of their sexuality, have a safe place without fear of prejudice, disadvantage or oppression.
That is our attitude and it applies every day. On the international day against homophobia, bisexual, inter- and trans-hostility, we find it all the more important to share this attitude with you and others.
6 tips on how you can (not only) get involved in IDAHOBIT
There are many ways in which you can support the queer community, i.e. your relatives, friends, neighbors and the people around you. You will find that there are many everyday things that go beyond something like donations..
1. Talk about the topic
A person's sexuality is something very intimate, but that is why sexuality is not yet a taboo subject. When homo-, bi-, trans- or intersexuality comes on the table, you can talk about it. Goenlightened andNaturally talk to your friends and family members on the subject and break the silence. This creates a stage for other people to deal more loosely with the topic (and themselves).
2. Don't look away
If someone is hostile, attacked or treated unpleasantly because of their sexuality, do not look the other way. Get involved, e.g. by de-escalating, creating a safe space for the person concerned and turning the focus away from the rabble.
3. Support your fellow human beings
It's very simple: let people around you be who they are. If someone doesn't look or act like you think is normal, it's no big deal: normal doesn't exist..
Better yet, help your friends be the people they want to be. That can be honestly positive encouragement for outward appearances as well as for life paths, for example a: e new: r partner: in.
4. Fight against sexism
If people around you pull off homosexuals, bisexuals, trans or intersex people, give them counterattacks. Do not just leave claims and counter them with your attitude.
Incidentally, it doesn't just have to be about presumptuousness towards LGBTIQ +: Sexism already takes place when it comes to expectations towards women or men, for example when women are reduced to children and the household. You don't have to (and shouldn't) accept that.
5. Support queer work
There are many good associations that work for lesbians, gays, inter- and transsexuals. You can support these associations by getting involved with them. This is often a nice opportunity to get in touch with other people.
Incidentally, it doesn't always have to be the club: Visit the rainbow bookstore or the queer bar nearby or the LGBTIQ working group at your company.
6. Create awareness at work
If you have the feeling that colleagues or friends could suffer from queer hostility at work (or at school): There are workshops to sensitize the workplace to the topic! Often times they are even free because they are sponsored by public money.
One example of many workshops is the offer of theLSVD Berlin-Brandenburg.
Show, be good to each other and #TreatYourself.elf.
Anne