“There is still work to be done to recognize our rights”, thousands of people at the Amiens Pride march

The Amiens Pride march attracted thousands of people this Saturday, June 29, 2024. Among the demands: a guarantee of respect for their rights, better care for trans people and the freedom to be able to live far from fear.

In Amiens, the demonstrators of the pride march occupied the space for their rights, “to have the opportunity to free ourselves from all the hatred that revolves around us” says Dylan, 16. A trans man, he wants everyone to be able “express what we feel, have our rights, our freedoms, be ourselves, have the right to love and simply express our feelings through all these colors and all this joy”.

He and Noéline, 15, marched in the streets with thousands of other people to be visible, at a time when LGBT rights are in decline in many countries around the world. In France, if these are partly guaranteed, “There is still a lot of work to be done, precisely because many people do not have the mentality high enough, I would say, to accept us as we are”adds Noélie.

Dylan would like better rights, particularly for minors who would like to transition. Also, he would like that in educational establishments, private or public, everyone is free to gender themselves as they wish, but “it’s super complicated and generally, it’s not accepted”. He would also like trans people to be given the freedom to live. “We didn’t choose, we are ourselves, we didn’t choose to be different, because it would be great to be a cis man” (a person whose gender corresponds to the sex assigned to them at birth).

Previously, the teenager had struggled to accept his trans identity and experienced harassment. “Before, I felt really bad, but today, I tell myself that I am myself and I don’t care about your opinion. In the end, they are the ones who lost by judging me”.

Noéline, for her part, affirms that “Everyone has their own mentality, but that’s no reason to expose your thoughts to others. There are some that you have to keep inside yourself so as not to hurt because it can lead to an accumulation of things in some people. A lot of problems can happen behind it and we don’t realize the burden that it can have on a single person.”. She also lived “a lot” of harassment.

Zac, a trans man, came to support and show solidarity with the march, “especially right now, with everything going on in the world”He notes that it is important to demonstrate and claim one’s rights. “And it’s a moment of joy, of happiness, we laugh, there’s a good atmosphere, lots of music, it’s great”he rejoices. The festive atmosphere does not overshadow the reasons for his arrival and the importance he places in this fight. He emphasizes that LGBT people do not yet have all their rights, “This is unacceptable, everyone should be equal and have rights”.

The first concerned are not the only ones to have moved. The allies also came in numbers. This is the case of Diane, her husband and their five-year-old daughter. “We are in a society with equal rightsshe insists. Whether we are racialized, gay, lesbian, trans, it doesn’t matter: we make up society”. She tries to go to the pride marches as regularly as possible “because it’s important. In schools, there are same-sex parent families who are families like any other”.

It is also essential for her to come and support her fellow citizens. “who may feel more fragile. It’s not easy to be gay, even at work, in private. There are still people who hide it and it’s important to say that we are there and that we support”.

She is also well aware that parents are afraid of social changes for their children. To these people, she responds: “I’m very proud of my daughter, she’s five and a half. She knows what consent is, she knows that two men who love each other or two women who love each other, it’s good and it doesn’t matter. I’m proud to teach my daughter that we love people for who they are, not for what they represent or what they are not.”she concludes.