The Pride Issue

Dear OM readers,

The Pride Issue is finally here! Over the past month, our Instagram feed has been dominated by the achievements, status of, and work by LGBTQ+ Asians - primarily in the West. As much as they deserve to be celebrated, and as wholly as we adore and support them, for the purpose of this note I want to shift our focus east, back to Asia. Where homosexuality is legal in only 28 out of 49 states - barely half. And adoption of a child by a same-sex couple is legal in only 
2 out of 49 countries. People who identify as LGBTQ+ are protected from discrimination in a stunning 9 out of 49 countries. As important as it is to focus on challenges and victories in the west, we cannot do so while ignoring the countries we come from. We must remember the privilege we hold, and use it to make a change. This issue is not going to singlehandedly alter the beliefs of a continent’s worth of governing bodies, but it is a start. The start, maybe, of remembering that these homophobic and transphobic beliefs have not been part of our history longer than colonization has. Happy Pride!

Yours,

Rehana Paul

Founder, Editor-in-Chief