The Tarbes Pride March took place on June 29 in Tarbes. Many people marched in the streets to defend the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans and intersex: LGBT+.
All the colors of the rainbow brightened the gloomy sky on June 29 in Tarbes. For the second year in a row, the LGBTQUIA+ Pride March was organized by the collective 65 for women’s rights with the support of several unions, as everywhere in France throughout this month of June.
“Feminists have always fought against the discrimination that weighs on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people. We demand effective equality of rights,” Ingrid and Laurence, two of the organizers of the march, spoke on the microphone. And to recall that on a national scale, “LGBTIaphobic acts are on the rise”: + 19% in 2023 compared to 13% in 2022.
On Verdun Square, all generations gathered at the “pride village” before the colorful procession set off through the city streets, in order to raise awareness among the population about the problems faced by people who identify as part of the LGBT movement: school bullying, difficulty finding a job, stigmatization. With the theme this year being the rights of transgender people.
BeingLGBT+, in the countryside
Among the stands of the “pride village”, that of the collective Réseau d’Adelphes Trans Pyrénées (Ratp) which brought together in 4 months no less than 40 members from Bigorre and Béarn. “We wanted to create this collective so as not to be alone anymore”, declares Ava, one of the members of the network. “Because in our department, a lot of trans people live in the countryside and have the impression that their situation is unique. However, this is not the case. Unfortunately, few associations exist, and information on hormonal transitions, for example, is difficult to obtain. Most often, we are directed to specialists in Toulouse.”
DDM Sophie Loncan
Through the social network Discord, members of the network help each other and share their life and medical journeys. They also organize evenings to facilitate meetings and go out safely. “We filter out malicious people who try to infiltrate our group, so we invite those who wish to contact us to write to us at our email address: [email protected]”.
For Ava, being a transgender person in the countryside adds isolation, misunderstanding from others and sometimes rejection. “This is why many choose to live in big cities, where diversity is better accepted.”
And a high school student who came from the Baronnies especially for the march bounced back. “I’m a lesbian. I don’t say it even though the heterosexual normative society in which we live expects it of me. But what does that change? What does it say about me? Nothing more.”
The organizers stressed that it took more than 50 years before such a march saw the light of day in the Hautes-Pyrénées. “And it hasn’t been easy.”
