By: John
This year, pride comes on the heels of a new celebration in Belize’s calendar year, Emancipation Day. While not a new concept, Belize has finally ushered in a long-standing tradition from most Caribbean countries. Now I know you might ask yourself, what does pride have in common with Emancipation Day or why this simple blogger is even trying to make an attempt to compare what may seem to be two disconnected ideas. To explore this idea we have to look at what pride means for LGBT Belizeans and what emancipation means to minority groups in Belize, especially given the fact that Belize being a melting pot of cultures and ideas. Is Belize truly emancipated?
August is Pride Month in Belize, the LGBT community in Belize try to come together and celebrate the right to be themselves. The majority of Pride activities take place in June each year in other places of the world, however other communities celebrate at other times of the year. Pride celebrations have their origins in the long battle of minority groups to overcome discrimination and be accepted for who they are. The initial organizers of Belize’s pride chose August 10th to celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision on section 53 - thus pride! But, are we where we want to be since that ruling back in 2016?
The abolition of Slavery took place in the British Empire on August 1st, 1833. While this took place, in the old British Honduras, a bunch of penal codes was inherited even after she received her independence and became Belize in 1981. Colonial masters of Belize left their beliefs and their own brand of control, hate, misogyny and homophobia. The criminal code was transferred from Britain to its colonies, and it continues to influence LGBTQ politics to this day. Being gay was deemed unlawful under the penal code, and while homosexuality was decriminalized in the United Kingdom in 1967, it remained illegal in at least 30 former British colonies. Before Britain imposed its own ideals of mob rule, most of these countries undiscovered by colonizers had no history of homophobia among the people found on this side of the globe or in other former British colonies around the world.
This year, pride comes on the heels of a new celebration in Belize’s calendar year, Emancipation Day. While not a new concept, Belize has finally ushered in a long-standing tradition from most Caribbean countries. Now I know you might ask yourself, what does pride have in common with Emancipation Day or why this simple blogger is even trying to make an attempt to compare what may seem to be two disconnected ideas. To explore this idea we have to look at what pride means for LGBT Belizeans and what emancipation means to minority groups in Belize, especially given the fact that Belize being a melting pot of cultures and ideas. Is Belize truly emancipated?
August is Pride Month in Belize, the LGBT community in Belize try to come together and celebrate the right to be themselves. The majority of Pride activities take place in June each year in other places of the world, however other communities celebrate at other times of the year. Pride celebrations have their origins in the long battle of minority groups to overcome discrimination and be accepted for who they are. The initial organizers of Belize’s pride chose August 10th to celebrate the Supreme Court’s decision on section 53 - thus pride! But, are we where we want to be since that ruling back in 2016?
The abolition of Slavery took place in the British Empire on August 1st, 1833. While this took place, in the old British Honduras, a bunch of penal codes was inherited even after she received her independence and became Belize in 1981. Colonial masters of Belize left their beliefs and their own brand of control, hate, misogyny and homophobia. The criminal code was transferred from Britain to its colonies, and it continues to influence LGBTQ politics to this day. Being gay was deemed unlawful under the penal code, and while homosexuality was decriminalized in the United Kingdom in 1967, it remained illegal in at least 30 former British colonies. Before Britain imposed its own ideals of mob rule, most of these countries undiscovered by colonizers had no history of homophobia among the people found on this side of the globe or in other former British colonies around the world.